A call distracted from Dean from feeding Sam his soup for lunch, nearly making him spill the bowl onto his own lap as the loud noise pierced his ears. With a sigh, Dean set down the bowl and picked up the phone instead, pressing the answer call button and nestling the phone between his cheek and shoulder.

"Hello?" Dean said gruffly into the phone, picking the bowl back up and giving Sam another spoonful, watching it dribble down his chin despite Dean's carefulness.

"Dean, this is Tim. Kyle can't make it in and we really need some backup here for Black Friday. Do you think you can come in by two?" He heard his manager's voice say on the other line, bringing out a stifled sigh from him. He knew if the manager had called him, he was the last resort, and Dean couldn't fault the poor guy for that.

"I don't know if I can. Let me see if I can find someone willing to babysit for that long," Dean replied, earning a few, slightly breathless, farewells from Tim before he hung up and switched to his contacts, dialing the daycare's number.

"This is the Lawrence DayCare Service. How may we help you?" A chipper female voice said on the other line. He set the bowl back on the table, wiping off Sam's chin with a rag and pulling him out of the highchair, making sure he didn't have any soup on his clothes before beginning the search for his shoes.

"Hey, this is Dean Winchester again," Dean stated, sighing as he dug the shoes out from under the couch with his foot, balancing Sam carefully on one hip, "I have to go to work tonight, and I won't be back until late. Is there anyone that could watch Sam while I'm out?"

"I'm sorry, Dean. The daycare closes at two, today and everyone will be with their families." The woman replied, and Dean stopped, looking at Sam, then down at the floor, sitting the two-year-old on the couch before stooping to pick up his shoes.

"Thanks anyways. Have a good night," Dean replied before hanging up, not giving the woman a chance to respond. He began pushing Sam's shoes on, strapping the velcro straps in place before looking at his brother with a worn smile, "Looks like you'll be coming to work with me, buddy."

Sam pouted at that, shaking his head, but Dean just petted the top of his head, smoothing back that mop of hair on top of the toddler's head, "Sorry, Sammy. There's nothing else I can do."

Despite Sam's annoyed expression at being forced to go to work with Dean, Sam allowed Dean to scoop him back up into his arms, holding tightly to his shirt as he was carried to the front entrance. Dean managed to shuffle the door open and closed, locking it and heading to the Impala, setting Sam down so he could open the door.

"Good afternoon, Dean," He heard a deep voice behind him and turned, giving Castiel a small smile when he met his gaze. While they had talked pretty regularly, and Castiel often brought Sam small things as gifts, they struggled to get past the acquaintance stage and into a proper friendship, mainly because the both of them were so awkward when it came to spending time with each other. Dean didn't understand it, especially when he was able to sweet talk anyone, but he never gave it much that thought.

"Castiel!" Sam exclaimed, rushing over to Castiel and laughing as Castiel picked him up into a hug almost automatically. It warmed Dean's heart, seeing Sam having someone else that he enjoyed the company of.

A lightbulb went off in Dean's head, and he was speaking before he even realized it.

"Hey, Castiel. Are you busy tonight?" Dean asked, earning a shocked and slightly confused look from Castiel. It slowly faded into an expression that Dean couldn't really read, and Castiel shook his head, his gaze strangely focused on Sam instead of Dean.

"No, I have nothing planned," Castiel responded, and Dean's eyebrows furrowed just the smallest bit at Castiel's voice. It sounded...off, somehow, but he wasn't going to question it.

"Would you be willing to watch Sam for the afternoon then? I have to go to work and I don't really have anyone to keep an eye on him," Dean explained, flinching just a little when he saw Sam's face light up like a Christmas tree. In all honesty, he probably shouldn't have asked in front of Sam. Castiel probably didn't have a choice now.

"Oh, that will be fine. I do not mind," Castiel responded, his expression fading into something more normal and he shifted, pulling Sam into a more comfortable position, "I will see you tonight, then?"

"Yeah, thanks so much. You're a life saver," Dean replied before he was hurrying to get into the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean's feet dragged as he walked up to Castiel's front door, his legs heavy and his entire body feeling like lead as he sighed. Black Friday was hell, and he would never understand why people were so willing to fight for a ten cent clearance on an item.

The door was unlocked, so Dean just entered, looking around the dimly lit hallway for Castiel. No doubt Sam would be asleep, so he wasn't surprised when he found them in the living room, Sam asleep with his head propped on Castiel's side.

"You look exhausted," Castiel commented, his voice low and warm, something Dean was really drawn to in his tired state. Nevertheless, he didn't do anything, just nodding before breaking out into a yawn.

"Did Sam behave okay?" Dean asked, attempting to get moisture back into his lips as he licked them. Castiel nodded, an affectionate look crossing over his face as he turned his gaze to Sam, even a small smile beginning to twitch in the corner's of his mouth.

"He is the most well-behaved kid I have watched. Do you suppose I could babysit him from now on?" Castiel asked, looking back to Dean with more emotion in his eyes than he had ever seen.

Dean paused, a little surprised at the request, but only for a moment before he was nodding, "That's sound like a good idea, actually," He commented, moving over and scooping up Sam gently in his arms, "How much do you want a day?"

"Save your money and buy things you need," Castiel responded with a shake of his head, standing now that there wasn't a kid lying on top of him, "I don't need the money, I promise."

Dean arched an eyebrow, "Not that I'll fight you about it, but are you sure? I know you work at home, but won't babysitting affect your job?" Dean asked, his voice dropping a level when Sam snuffled, rubbing his nose against Dean's shoulder before falling back to sleep.

"Don't worry about me, Dean. I want to do this," Castiel offered, and Dean couldn't find it in him to argue. He nodded, giving Castiel a relieved smile.

"Then, I'll see you tomorrow," Dean replied, earning a soft farewell from Castiel in return. He turned to leave, barely stepping out the front door before Sam shifted, gripping to his shirt a little tighter.

"Bye bye," Sam mumbled, despite them already being outside. It made Dean smile though, and he couldn't wait to see Sam's face when he told him that Castiel was going to be his babysitter from now on.