Chapter Text
On January 18th, 1981, two years after the Righteous Man was born, residents of Lawrence Kansas reported seeing two comets falling to Earth.
Only one comet struck the ground, damaging nothing and no one while the other simply faded into nothing like an oversized shooting star. But the other landed in a landed in a park near a neighborhood and the next morning, the sprout of a tree could be seen coming out of the ground. Some thought it was coincidence, others believed it to be a miracle.
At the same time that morning, John and Mary Winchester discovered that Mary was pregnant with their second child.
Exactly nine months later, on September 18th 1981, Castiel Winchester was born into the family. Mary picked the name, after the angel of Thursday, the day he was born, and calling the boy their fallen angel since he seemed to come almost out of nowhere. He had black hair and bright blue eyes that almost seemed to glow.
From the moment he was born, Mary and John could feel that their new son was different. He hardly ever cried and was almost always calm; hardly anything frightened or upset him. While it was a nice break for the couple, sometimes they couldn’t help but worry, even though their son was the picture of perfect health. However, seeing Dean smile down at his new younger brother made all that worry vanish almost instantly.
Despite being only two, Dean took the role of big brother in stride. Before he was half a year old, Castiel had a bond with Dean that no one could replicate. Mary adored watching them play together. She and John would take them to the park whenever they could, watching the brothers chase each other around, play in the sandbox, or just sit and talk about random things.
Castiel loved going to the park, because that meant he could see his tree. Castiel claimed that tree the moment Mary sat under it one sunny day shortly after his birth, cradeling him as a baby. Ever since he saw it, he had been drawn to it, like a bee to honey. Whenever he was under that tree he felt safe. If he was crying, that tree would calm him down. If he had gotten into a fight with Dean or his parents, or if he just wanted to think about something, his family could always find him under that tree.
John would joke that once Castiel learned how to walk the first place he would go would be that tree, and that’s pretty much what happened. Castiel was a fast learner compared to other boys his age. By the time he was two he was already better at speaking than any toddler.
No one knew how that tree was special to Castiel and he didn’t know either. But all that mattered was that the tree made him happy and made him love his family more and more every day.
And finally, on May 2nd 1983, Sam Winchester was born. Castiel remembered clearly when Dad took him and Dean to the hospital. Mom was sitting in a bed, holding a bundle in her arms. Castiel and Dean carefully climbed onto the bed and stared down at the tiny face of their new brother.
“He’s so tiny!” Dean had said. “Tinier than Cas!”
Castiel had simply stared at the boy, a smile coming to his face. He then raised a tiny hand and gently touched his head, “Hi Sammy.” he said softly, and to his delight, Sam had responded with a happy gurgle.
Castiel was beyond ecstatic that he could finally help Dean be a big brother with their new addition to the family. He couldn’t wait to show him his tree and play with him and Dean and teach him about bees.
Unfortunately, the happy times for the Winchester family were about to draw to a close.