Dean's car was stopped outside of a small brick house, and both boys stared at the home, not knowing what to do next.

"This is it," Dean commented.

"...Do you think she's even home?" Cas asked, worried.

"Only one way to find out." Cas glanced anxiously at him.

"What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Cas, the only way you're going to know is if you knock on the door and find out. What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"She could slam the door in my face."

"And if she does, then I'll break it open and demand that she talk to you."

"Somehow I don't think that would make a good impression." 

"Well then let's hope I don't have to do that. Come on," They got out of the car, and Cas stared up at the house, it somehow looking even more imposing.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Dean asked. He wasn't sure what Cas wanted to get out of this, but if he wanted him there for moral support or anything else, Dean would be there for him.

"No," Cas said, slightly unsure. He thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "No, I think I need to do this myself."

"Okay," Dean offered. "I'll wait here."

And so Cas walked up to the door and rang the bell, positive that this was the most terrifying thing he'd ever done. The most ballsy move ever. Stupidest idea he'd ever had, and yet here he was, watching as the front door swung open.

It was her. Cas knew it instantly. She had barely changed from the photo he'd found.

She was a tall woman, with auburn hair and blue eyes. Blue eyes that greeted Cas everyday, because they were the same as his own, and Michael's, Balthazar's, and Hannah's. Auburn hair, the same shade as Anna's.

Cas nearly winced at the resemblance Anna had to the woman before him. He imagined it had to be difficult for Chuck to look at his daughter's face and only see this woman.

"Can I help you?" The woman questioned, and then it occurred to Cas that he had just been staring.

"Are you Naomi Milton?" He asked.

"Yes."

"The same Naomi Milton that was married to Chuck Novak?" Her eyes narrowed.

"How do you know that?" She demanded, her tone shifting. Well, there was that answer.

"I'm Castiel." He offered, and she went pale. "I'm your son."

****

Dean couldn't hear the conversation Cas had with the lady at the door from all the way out by the car, but he imagined it was going well. He watched as the woman stepped aside and let Cas inside, shutting the door behind him.

It occurred to Dean then that he'd just gotten a better look at Naomi Milton then most of her children had in fifteen years. He hated that. He hated this. Seven children. What kind of horrible woman left her seven children when they were all under the age of five? He could understand why Chuck never talked about her.

******

Castiel and Naomi sat down at a small table, and Cas could tell that his mother was very uncomfortable.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked. "I know it's a long drive up from Kansas."

"No, I'm fine." He offered. She fiddled with her hands, eyeing him.

"Castiel," She echoed. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't even stand up. And yet, here you are."

"Yep," Cas forced a small smile.

"Why are you here?" Naomi questioned suddenly. "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything," Cas admitted. "I just wanted to meet you, maybe learn something about you. I didn't even know your name until a couple months ago."

"Yes, well, that doesn't surprise me. I imagine Chuck is still sore about the fact that I left him."

"Why did you leave?" Cas asked. He hadn't realized that he wanted to know the answer until the question was already out there. Why had she left? Cas loved his family; it's not like there was anything wrong with them. Why would she abandon them? Naomi sighed.

"It was killing me," She declared. "All of it. The house, the husband, the children, the white picket fence life. I didn't want to sit around and be some mother. I wanted to rule something, take charge."

"So you thought we held you back," Cas concluded.

"You did, a bit." Naomi admitted. "Chuck was sweet, but he was always so.... soft. I tolerated him enough to marry him, and then kids were just something that happened. Three before thirty, I had always grown up on. I had wanted children, but then we got Michael and Lucifer, and they were just tyrants." 

"Lucifer is a troublemaker," Cas said.

"We named him after Satan for a reason- and that was your father's idea, if you didn't know. I named Michael because it was a powerful name, and your father laughed and thought it would be funny if we named the other one Lucifer. They were awful as infants. I thought a girl would be more well behaved, so we had Anna, but she had colic and only added to the disaster."

"But babies are meant to be unruly," Cas insisted. "And surely, even if they were annoying, you still loved them?"

"Of course," Naomi declared. "They just weren't my whole world. Chuck was always the one obsessed with you kids. He's the one who took the pictures and made the little mementos and everything. I didn't care about any of that."

"Then why did you keep having children if you didn't like them?" Cas asked.

"Gabriel was an accident." Naomi explained. "And by the time he was born, Chuck and I's marriage was a disaster. He'd finally figured out that I didn't really care about him, and that hurt him in some way. We tried the counselors, the advice, everything. You were a piece of advice, actually. A 'save the marriage baby,' they called it. But that obviously didn't work. Hannah was another accident, and Chuck and I were officially divorced by the time she was born. I gave up custody, so I moved out of the house and Chuck stayed with you kids." She shrugged. "Eventually, I got a job transfer out here and took it."

"And you left us." 

"No," Naomi objected. "We drifted apart. Chuck understood, and got full custody of you and your siblings. I send my checks in the mail, and that's all the contact I was promised."

"Oh." Cas said quietly. This wasn't what he had been expecting, but maybe then, it was a good thing that Chuck hadn't told them about their mother. He hadn't wanted them to get their hopes up, only to have them crushed.

"....Chuck doesn't know that you're here, does he?" 

"No." 

"What about your siblings?" Cas shook his head. "Then how did you even get here- you look a little young to drive." Cas pointed out the window and Naomi glanced out to where Dean was sitting on the hood of his car, waiting. "Who's that?"

"That's Dean." 

"Oh, so you just brought along whatever friend had a car." 

"Uh," Cas gave her an awkward look. "Actually, Dean is my boyfriend." Naomi blinked.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"....Oh." She shifted awkwardly. "I guess it didn't occur to me that you kids were old enough to date."

"Well, we are. Luci's- Lucifer- has a girlfriend- he actually might get engaged soon. Gabriel has a boyfriend too, and I'm sure Balthazar is dating somebody, but I've lost track of who. He changes boyfriend and girlfriends every other week or something."

"I see." 

"I brought some pictures," Cas said, digging in his pockets for them. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to see the others or not," He spread the pictures out on the table and Naomi glanced at them, finally picking up one of Hannah and Anna at Homecoming. 

"You can certainly see the resemblance," She whispered.

"Yeah, Anna looks just like you," Cas said, smiling a little. "She's the only other one who- I mean-" Naomi looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "...She's the only other one who was curious about you." 

Naomi put the photo down.

"How wonderful." They sat in awkward silence for a minute. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?" Cas searched his brain for a question, for anything. He'd had so many questions when he considered coming up here, and even up until he had knocked on the door. But now that Naomi was actually in front of him, his brain was mostly empty.

"Were you ever going to talk to us?" He asked. 

"I'm sorry?"

"Most absent parents send things. Christmas or birthday cards, the occasional letter. Some kids get phone calls. But you've been radio silent for so long that Anna actually thought you were dead. I get that you left us, but you also have children whether you wanted them or not. Were you ever going to interact with us? Ever?" Naomi shrugged.

"No." She didn't seem to feel the need to give him more of an explanation than that. Naomi glanced over at the clock and sprung to her feet. "Well! Would you look at the time. I'm going to be late for work, and you probably shouldn't keep your uh, friend waiting. Plus your father will probably get mad if you're not home soon." She gathered up the pictures, largely unlooked at and handed them back to him before leading him back towards the door.

"Could you not tell him that I was here?" Cas asked.

"Tell him? Oh heavens no, I'd never tell him. Chuck and I haven't spoke in.... well, almost fifteen years!" She nudged him toward the door. "It was nice to see you again, Castiel."

"You too," Cas frowned.

"Oh, and could you do me a favor?" 

"Sure!" Castiel's face lit up hopefully, but he was only greeted by Naomi's stern expression.

"Don't come here again." She shut the door, leaving him alone on the doorstep.

He stared at the closed door, not quite knowing what to do. He stared at the door, wondering if it would open again if he stood in silence long enough. Eventually he wandered away, and headed back to the car.

"Hey," Dean grinned. "How'd it go?" Cas shook his head and climbed into the passenger's seat as the grin faded from Dean's face. "Cas?" He asked, getting to the driver's seat. "What happened?"

"....She doesn't even care." Cas said finally, a mixture of sadness and stunned running through him. "She has no feeling towards us whatsoever."

"I'm sorry Cas." He shook his head, fighting back the tears that were pricking up in his eyes.

"It's fine," He insisted. "I don't know what I was expecting anyways." He sniffled. "I just thought that maybe she'd want to know. Would want to see pictures or hear stories- I thought she'd apologize for something, for anything, not...." He shook his head. "Forget it. Let's go home."

Dean hesitated. There was something about the fact that they had driven all this way, only to end up with Cas crying. It wasn't fair. Not when Cas had been so excited and nervous. Not when he had cared more about meeting her than Naomi had cared about all her children combined. That wasn't fair to Cas.

Hell, that wasn't fair to a single one of the Novaks. She couldn't just get away with that.

"I'll be right back," He told Cas, climbing out of the car.

"Dean-" Cas started, but he was already gone.

Cas's mother had made him cry. She had shut him down, shut him out, and slammed the door in his face. Dean wasn't having that.

He pounded on Naomi's door until she opened it.

"What-" She started.

"You are a moron." Dean declared. "And an asshole."

"Excuse me?" She demanded.

"Castiel is the sweetest, most kind-hearted person in the world, and you just shooed him away like a stray animal you don't care about. And you know what? That's fine. Because if you can't realize how amazing of a person he is, then you don't deserve him. You don't deserve any of the Novaks. You left them broken and they fixed themselves, and I hope each and every one of your children shows up on your doorstep to spit in your face and tell you to go to hell, because that's all you deserve from them. Fuck you."

He walked away and climbed back in the car.

"What did you say to her?" Cas asked.

"What had to be said." Dean said firmly, starting the car and driving away. Cas glanced out his window, the last sight of his mother being her stunned face standing in the doorway.

"She'll never change, will she?"

"No." Dean offered. "But it's okay. She doesn't deserve you anyways." Cas smiled softly.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For driving. For being here. For saying whatever it was that you said. Just....for being you." Dean smiled back.

"Anytime, angel."