Chapter Text
The Heart of the Willow
Chapter 1
The Birds, The Bees, and the Best Friend’s Womb
The two weeks leading up to Dean’s birthday were quite literally dragging for Castiel. The excitement and anticipation he felt about telling Dean his and Charlie’s plan was almost too much to keep in. But he did it. He kept it a secret and didn’t break though he wanted too when he was watching Dean lay in Emma’s bed, sing her to sleep. He wanted to tell him that he was going to be able to do that for another child, that he would experience all of this and more again. He wouldn’t be left behind this time. But he waited, though impatiently.
He had checked in almost daily with Charlie like always, only now he had to be careful of what he said over the phone if Dean was around. That itself was exhausting and he was tired of hiding it from Dean. Thankfully Dean hadn’t noticed since he was so busy with the ranch. There was a heifer that kept escaping though they found no holes in the fence or broken posts. They figured she was jumping the fence which was concerning because they didn’t want her to get on the road. She seemed to only be jumping the fence to sleep on the porch though, she never went anywhere else. She wasn’t causing any damage, not to the ranch at least. The only damage she was causing was to Dean physically. She would escape sometime in the night and come lay on the porch… Right in front of the front door that Dean walked out of every morning before the sun broke the horizon.
The first night it happened Cas came running down the stairs when he heard a crash and Dean swearing. Turns out he hadn’t thought to look down because there had never been an immovable object there before and he tripped over the large black cow. She was of course unphased, unconcerned, and uninjured, while Dean had a bruised shoulder and an aching hip from flying down the porch steps.
Cas, in his haste to see what had happened, almost tripped over the cow himself but skidded to a stop just in time. With the cow visibly unphased, Dean cussing while checking himself for any serious injuries (there were none), Cas couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Dean joined in once he realized how ridiculous the situation was. It took a few more days of the cow turning up at the front door, sleeping in front of it, for Dean to look before he stepped over the threshold. Thankfully he only tumbled down the steps that first time.
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January 24th, 2012. Dean’s birthday.
Dean didn’t want an elaborate birthday this year. He was tired, and he just wanted to spend time with the people he loved. But this year one would be missing. Charlie had called him a few days before his birthday and said she wouldn’t be able to make it. He was really sad about it. He realized that he had just seen her over Christmas and New Years, but she was his best friend, he loved her and until Christmas, he hadn’t seen her in a year. They talked daily via text or call, but that wasn’t enough. He missed his friend, and he found himself reminiscing about when they were kids and spent every waking moment together, and the several times she lived with him for months at a time after he built the ranch house. They didn’t see each other enough anymore and he hated it.
“You ok love?” Cas asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the Roadhouse.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just disappointed that Charlie couldn’t make it.” He said, parking the truck in a spot close to the front door.
Cas didn’t realize how bummed Dean would be when Charlie told him the lie that she wouldn’t be there. It broke his heart that Dean was this upset over it. He had watched Dean mope around the house for the past three days, pretending he is fine, but saying he misses her and wishes she could be there. At least it’s all a lie so she can surprise him. Cas wasn’t sure how long it would take Dean to get over the disappointment if it were true.
“At least we will see her soon for Emma’s birthday.” Cas tried.
Dean nodded and they all exited the truck. Emma jumped down and ran to the door, pulling the heavy door open with all her might and running inside. Dean and Cas laughed as they followed her.
They hung their coats up and went to the bar, greeting everyone.
“Happy birthday baby.” Ellen said as she wrapped Dean in a warm hug.
“Thanks momma.” He whispered. He was feeling down about Charlie not being here, and just off in general. Sometimes birthdays could be hard for him. reminders that his mother was gone, and she never got the chance to make him his 16thbirthday cake. Ellen of course made him one and he loved it. But he always thought of his mother on his birthday.
Cas’s phone pinged with an incoming text message a few minutes after they arrived.
It was from Charlie and read as follow:
Charlie: You’re here?
Cas: Yes. Come down. Dean is sitting at the bar with his back to the stairs. He won’t see you.
Charlie: perfect. Beaming myself down Scottie!
Cas snorted at her joke and then made conversation like normal with Ellen and Bobby so Dean wouldn’t be suspicious. Thankfully, Emma was preoccupied with Robbie who was trying to imitate what she was saying, so she wouldn’t give away the surprise.
Dean was deep in conversation with Bobby, Ellen, and Sam when Charlie entered the room. Everyone knew about the surprise, so no one said anything while she snuck up behind him.
She stopped and stood directly behind him. “Bitch I can’t believe you really thought I would miss your thirty third birthday.”
Dean stopped in his movement to bring his beer to his lips. Eyes wide he set it down on the counter, sloshing the amber liquid and turned quickly to face Charlie who stood with her arms crossed, a playful smirk on her face.
“You little shit!” he exclaimed as a smile took over his face and he stood, scooping her up in a bear hug and spinning her around as she laughed.
“I can’t believe I fell for that.” Dean mumbled into her shoulder as he set her on her feet. They broke apart and he turned to Cas, pointing a finger at him. “You’re a little shit too! You went along with it you traitor!” There was no heat in his words as his smile only widened.
Cas laughed and threw his hands up in surrender. “It was Charlie’s idea. I just work here.”
Everyone laughed as they all surrounded Dean and Charlie to greet her.
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The party was a success. Dean got the lowkey evening he wanted, playing cards with the people he loved, his best friend and fiancé by his side. He blew out his candles on the blueberry pie Ellen had made him and they got home by 9pm.
Emma fell asleep on the drive home and Dean put her to bed while Cas and Charlie got their birthday surprise ready for him.
“Ok she’s back asleep.” Dean said as he walked into his bedroom.
Charlie was sitting in the oversized chair in the corner while Cas was leaning against their dresser. This wasn’t Charlie’s first time in their room. She and Dean had shared plenty of movie nights here during her visits, or on the many occasions she lived with him. They would watch them in his room and fall asleep halfway through. They were comfortable with each other in a way most best friends weren’t. It was effortless; years of shared experiences, late conversations, and storms weathered side by side. There was a closeness between them that sometimes caught other off guard – they’d been mistaken for a couple more times than they could count. They always laughed it off. To them it was just easy, natural, it was just them. It never bothered them, not much did.
Every so often, though, Dean would catch a familiar feeling with Charlie – something that tugged at the edges of his mind, a sense of ease that was both familiar yet unfamiliar, a feeling he often felt with Cas. He always let the thought slip away before it could settle.
“What do you have to show me?” Dean asked, closing the door behind him so they didn’t wake Emma up.
“We have a surprise present for you. But we needed to give it to you in private.” Cas explained.
“Sit so we can present our offerings.” Charlie said in a bad British accent, standing up with an excited bounce.
Dean plopped onto the end of the bed while Cas handed Charlie a box to give to Dean.
She handed the small gift box to him without a word. He eyed it then her, then Cas before untying the bow and opening the lid.
“It’s an egg.” Dean stared at it, then furrowed his brow, “An egg specifically from Ruby. She’s the only one of our chickens that lays blue eggs.”
Cas and Charlie continued to stay silent while Cas handed Dean his box. Dean eyed it with caution before taking it and opening it without hesitation. Inside he pulled out a four-by-four picture of a single human sperm from under a microscope.
“A picture of a sperm.” Dean looked between his fiancé and best friend. “Is this supposed to be a birds and the bees conversation because your about twenty years too late.” He narrowed his eyes at Cas, “Or is this your way of telling me you finally bought that rooster you’ve been begging me for?”
Cas rolled his eyes, “No I didn’t buy that rooster.” Then added under his breath, “But I still really want too.”
Dean chuckled. “Then what is this? An egg and a sperm. We already have pregnant cows and a pregnant horse. What else are we supposed to be breeding?”
Charlie shrugged and said casually. “Me.”
Cas spluttered and choked on air. That was not how they had agreed to tell him if he didn’t get it right away, but Charlie couldn’t help the joke she just made.
Dean blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry, but what the fuck does that mean?”
“What do you get when you mix an egg and sperm?” Charlie asked.
“A baby.” Dean stated, still confused on her previous comment and the photo and egg in his hand.
Charlie and Cas nodded.
“I don’t get I – wait! Charlie, are you pregnant?” Dean asked in concern. But before she or Cas could say anything, he added in a rush, “Who’s the deadbeat dad? I’ll beat the shit out of them if they hurt your or left you or –“
“Nonono!” Cas and Charlie said together.
“I’m not pregnant yet.” Charlie said, “Calm down Rocky, there is no deadbeat dad.”
“Oh good. I was about to hunt a motherfucker down.” Dean chuckled. Then Charlie’s words sunk in and he stood up, needing answers. “What do you mean yet? Someone please tell me what’s going on.”
“Dean. Sit down love.” Cas said with a hand on his shoulder. Dean did what he was told sitting back down on the bed. Cas sat on one side next to him while Charlie sat on the other.
“Dean I’ve seen the way you are with Emma. You are an amazing father. You show her nothing but love, support, and kindness.” Cas started, a soft smiled on his face as he spoke. “You love kids. And I know it is hard on you that you missed so much of Emma’s early years.” Cas watched as Dean swallowed thickly at the mention of that. But he continued, “I know we’ve talked about it and agreed we are happy with one child. But I want to give you more. I want you to have more and have the big family you’ve always dreamed of.”
Cas took his hand and squeezed tightly. “I’ve been seeing a fertility specialist, and we came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t be able to afford surrogacy or adoption unless I could find an egg donor and surrogate that we knew and trusted that would do it for basically nothing.”
“That’s where I come in.” Charlie jumped into the conversation like they had planned.
Dean turned to her with wide, shocked, tear-filled eyes. He was putting the pieces together, he was speechless, and he was emotional. “Charlie.” He choked out.
Charlie was starting to get a little choked up as well, but she took a deep breath and pushed through it. She needed him to know how much he means to her and how much she wants to do this for them. “We’ve had so many conversations Dean. I know you like no one else except for Cas. You’ve wanted several kids since high school. You are an amazing dad, and this baby will be lucky to have you. Just as I am lucky to have you as one of only two people who mean absolutely everything to me. The other being Cas.”
A tear fell from her eye, and she sniffled. Dean cupped her cheek with his large hand and smiled a watery smile while she continued. “You saved my life Dean Winchester. I love you and I want to do this for you and Cas. This is how I pay you back. By giving you another life to care for and to love unconditionally, as you have loved me.”
Dean gasped for air, choking on a sob as he pulled her into him, hugging her tightly. “Fuck Charlie.”
She held on tightly, hoping that she conveyed it well enough.
“You don’t have to do this.” Dean tried.
Charlie held up a hand and Cas chuckled behind Dean. “I’m gonna stop you right there Winchester. Cas already tried that. I’m doing this and you can’t stop me. You deserve this more than anyone I know.”
Dean smiled and nodded, “Ok my Queen. I won’t try to stop you. But what I will do is tell you how grateful, happy, and excited I am. Thank you so much. This means more than you will ever know.”
“I have a pretty good idea.” She smiled, “Now we have to get my shit out of my car because I’m moving in.”
“Oh, fuck yeah! We’re gonna have so many movie night slumber parties!” Dean fist pumped the air.
“I’ve created a monster.” Cas teased, “Does this mean I get a glimpse into what you two were like as teenagers?”
“Absofuckinglutly.” Dean was beaming. He had his wonderful fiancé who was trying his hardest to give him the family he always wanted, and his best friend who he loved very much, who was willing to help him achieve that dream.
“So how does this work?” he asked turning to Cas.
“Well, if we go with what we have talked about, me being the bio dad, I will do the deed into a cup and then Charlie will use an insemination kit–“ Cas started, then Charlie added, “Which we already bought several of.”
Then Cas continued, “And she will use that to insert the semen and see if it takes. She has to do it during ovulation, and she’s been monitoring that for the last few weeks. She will do it once every cycle and it can take a few tries to get pregnant so we shouldn’t get our hopes up for the first try.”
“We are also talking with Doctor Hawthorne, the wonderful fertility specialist and OBGYN that I will see once I am pregnant.” Charlie added.
“Wow that’s a lot to process.” Dean’s eyes widened. “Yes, I still want you to be bio dad. I made Emma so you get to make the next one.” He said to Cas a loving hand on his shoulder. “
So, you’re going to be living here for well over a year then.” He turned back to Charlie.
She nodded with a smile.
“This is gonna be great.” Dean flopped back onto the bed, overwhelmed by excitement and joy. “I can’t believe it. We’re gonna have a baby.”
“Hopefully soon.” Cas said. “We have come up with a plan to tell the family that Charlie asked if she could live with us for a while because she wanted a change and to be closer to us.”
“I don’t think anyone will think it’s odd.” Charlie added.
Dean shook his head. “Definitely not. They love you and know this is like a home to you Charmander.”
“Well now that that’s settled, get off your ass’s and come help me get my shit out of my car!” Charlie hopped up and the guys followed.
Dean couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He had his ranch, his family, his fiancé, his sweet Emma, and his best friend all right where he wanted them. Life was already sweet, but it was about to get a whole lot sweeter.