The Huntress -Chapter 15
Freeport, August 18
The principal problem that came along while August flew by was Dean’s determination not to slow down, even a little. Of course, Dean Winchester was a manly man, even in the thirty-seventh week of his pregnancy, and he wouldn’t admit he needed help. He had been more inclined to do so during his first pregnancy because it had only been the two of them and each symptom Dean had experienced was new and unknown.
Now, even though Sam would’ve liked him to rest and take things easy, Sumiko was Dean’s first concern -his own comfort was way down on his list of priorities. That was okay up to a point. Of course, Sue came first, but Sam was there, with them, and although he’d always assumed his fair share of the responsibility for taking care of their daughter, he wanted to do more, just to give Dean a rest. But his brother was still doing fifty percent of the work with Sue and the house, and since he couldn’t go out to shop for groceries or anything they needed, he seemed to believe that Sam was already doing more than his share.
Sam suspected Dean’s stubbornness had something to do with his abduction and the after effects. He knew Dean felt as though he had let Sumiko down and that he had been hurt by his daughter’s rejection. Trying to talk with him about any of that, even if Dean had made a lot of progress in opening up to Sam and in the way he saw his abduction, still wasn’t easy, and Sam had concluded that getting Dean to slow down wouldn’t work unless he realized on his own that he couldn’t keep up.
That happened for the first time in the middle of the afternoon on a sunny, warm day. They took Sumiko to the beach after lunch to dip her feet in the small waves caressing the shore. Dean was bare foot as well because his ankles had begun to swell and there wasn’t a day that passed when he didn't take a short walk on the beach near the water's edge, his used maternity jeans rolled up to his knees.
When Sumiko got tired of walking, she just sat in the sand and traced patterns in it with her chubby fingers, all of her concentration on the art she was creating. Her soft hair was ruffled by a warm breeze. She was beautiful. Not beautiful in the classic sense, Sam could admit that without any problem. Her eyes were a little too close together, which often gave the impression that they were crossing. Her mouth was large, almost disproportionately so compared to her thin face, and her ears definitely stuck out a bit - okay, maybe more than a bit. Sam still thought she was the most beautiful child in the world, with her surprised expression and her large eyes. Dean had that exact same look in the rare photos of him as a toddler. He'd looked kind of goofy as a kid, but he had grown up to be the most gorgeous man Sam had even seen.
Dean bent down to take Sumiko in his arms. She was getting tired and that would inevitably lead to some eye-rubbing with her hands full of sand. He had just grabbed her by the waist when he froze suddenly.
“Sam?” He said in a choked voice.
“What?”
“I huh… I can’t get up. Need a hand here.”
Sam quickly took Sumiko and used his free arm to help Dean up. Dean's face was beet red with embarrassment and his forehead was covered in sweat.
“I told you to-“
“I know you told me. Shut up,” Dean replied, turning his eyes away and scratching the back of his head.
“You’re-“
“Sam, can we just go back inside?”
“Yeah.”
“Bye-bye bee,” Sumiko said sadly, looking at the ocean.
Bye bye beach. Was that cute or what, Sam thought, letting Dean take the lead up the path. Just in case.
Later that afternoon, Dean fell asleep on the couch while he was folding laundry, his chin on his chest, one of Sumiko’s pj’s half folded on his belly. This too was cute, but a little ridiculous. His body was telling him to slow down. Eventually, he’d have to listen to it.
They received a call from Ellen that night. She or Bobby - but mostly her - called every few days to catch up on how things were going. Sam was the one to answer. Dean was playing with Sumiko in the living room - both of them sitting on the floor surrounded by plastic and wooden blocks. The game was simple enough: Dean would build something, Sue would enthusiastically destroy it, Dean would pretend to be upset, she would laugh, and they would start again.
To tell the truth, Sam was amazed by Dean’s patience. He had never doubted how much his brother loved their daughter, but the time he spent with her, just playing, never getting bored or impatient, was amazing. Sam had memories of Dean inventing all kinds of games to pass the time when they were in the car, riding from one place to another, and seeing him do the same with Sumiko brought back so many wonderful moments. Of course, at the time, he had been so focused on the fact that he hated his life, he hadn't realized how wonderful those moments were.
He was making small talk with Ellen while doing the dinner dishes when she asked him what kind of arrangements they’d made for the baby’s birth.
“Arrangements?” Sam asked, not knowing where she was going with that.
“Well, when it's time, where will Sumiko go? You won’t take her to Rania’s with you, right?”
“I um…”
Sam didn’t know what to say. With everything that had happened, neither he nor Dean had talked about the actual labor, and he felt suddenly ashamed. Sam was the one who liked to plan everything and overthink things.
How could he had not stopped and asked himself what they would do with Sumiko during the labor and delivery?
Well, there was Clover. She would probably find it odd having Sam call her at the spur of the moment to ask if she could babysit, especially when she hadn’t done it over the last two months.
“We haven’t talked about it,” he finally said, trying to sound nonchalant, like this was no big deal. “We’ll probably ask Clover.”
“When is Dean’s due date?”
“September 7.”
“Hum.”
“But when he gave birth to Sumiko, he was three weeks early, so we don’t really know how it’ll go this time.”
“Okay then I’m coming,” Ellen said.
“What? Why?”
“Come on, Sam. It'll be simpler this way. It’s not like I have a regular job or anything, and I barely see Jo these days. Always on a hunt with her husband, like the whole world depended on the two of them. Anyway, I could take care of Sue when the time comes, and then afterwards, you’ll have your hands full with Dean, a toddler and a newborn. Trust me, you’ll be glad to have me around for a few days.”
“But… God, Ellen, we can’t ask that of you. You’ve already done so much and-“
“Hey. Don’t be an idiot. I want to do this.”
Sam scratched the back of his head, then realized he had just put soap bubbles all through his hair. Ellen's suggestion had really taken him by surprise. Dean probably wouldn’t like the idea of someone piercing their small intimate bubble, but he was way more at ease with Ellen than with Bobby, and Sam couldn’t deny it, if anything were to happen in the middle of the night, if they had to leave in a hurry, they would have no other option than to take Sue with them or leave her at Clover’s house under a false pretense.
Sam didn’t like either of those ideas. He wanted someone able to react if anything were to happen, supernaturally speaking. It was highly unlikely, but after what had happened to Dean, Sam would never again consider them completely safe. Maybe he was paranoid, maybe with time the feeling would slowly subside, but under these delicate circumstances, with his brother giving birth to a baby who had already manifested unheard of abilities, he could not take the risk.
Taking Sumiko with them added a whole other range of issues.
What if… What if the labor went faster than they expected it to, what if they were stuck in the car with a crying Sumiko while Dean was ready to push the baby out. What if Rania’s meds didn’t work and Dean went into curse-withdrawal mode again? Then what? Sam would have Dean to take care of, plus a new-born and Sumiko.
Even if everything went right, Dean would need some time to recuperate and in the meantime Sam would have to deal with…
“Sam, you've gone awfully quiet. What're you thinking?”
“I have to talk about this with Dean. M’sorry, Ellen, I don’t wanna give you the impression that I don't appreciate your offer, but if I do another thing without telling Dean first I’m a dead man.”
“I understand. Listen. Bobby isn't coming. He knows how uncomfortable Dean is with him and he doesn’t want to put any more stress on him.”
Sam didn’t know what to say to this unexpected show of support. Ellen laughed nervously at the other end of the line. “Come on, let me mother hen you both a little, if only in the memory of John. Hell, screw him. I love you guys, I know how important you are to Bobby… and maybe, maybe I’m doing this a little for myself. My baby is all grown up and doesn’t need me anymore. I feel like being a mom for a while.”
::: :::
“Okay.”
Sam suddenly stopped his pacing, his mouth open, ready to give another reason as to why they should accept Ellen’s offer.
“What?”
“Mm’kay,” Dean repeated around a mouthful of ice cream.
“Dude, are you messing with me?”
Dean sighed. He looked relaxed but tired. It had been a long day for him, even with his sort-of-nap in the afternoon.
“M’not messing with you, Sam. V’been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now. I mean, I like Clover, but you’re right. I can’t just leave Sumiko with her, not after… Clover is just a girl. A nice, innocent girl. She doesn’t have any idea about what goes on out there. And we don’t know what'll happen this time around, but come on, Sumiko needs someone to take care of her. You can’t just park her in the stroller outside Rania’s medical room and check on her from time to time. And you’re right. What if the baby comes suddenly and we’re in a hurry and... So. Yeah.”
“Okay,” Sam dropped onto the couch next to Dean, feeling deeply relieved.
“I mean, I’m not excited about having someone here twenty-four seven, but what can we do? We have to put Sumiko first and having Ellen here is the best solution.”
“Look at you, being all reasonable and stuff.”
“Shut up.” Dean mumbled.
He bent forward to put his empty bowl on the coffee table and stayed in that position, wincing.
“Another false contraction?”
“Yeah, I guess. She's been kicking me non-stop today. Don’t know… I remember Sumiko being quieter toward the end.”
Dean breathed hard through his nose, then relaxed and flopped back on the couch. “We have some serious talking to do, Sam.”
“What? About Ellen?”
“No I… About our future, with the girls.”
Dean was about to go on when they heard Sumiko whining upstairs. “I’ll get it,” Sam said, standing up quickly, not giving Dean the choice.
It took quite some time to put Sue back to sleep. By the time Sam was finished, Dean had taken his shower and was already in bed, drifting off. Since Sam wanted to call Ellen back that same night, he let him fall asleep and forgot about what Dean had wanted to talk about.
::: :::
Sam had thought Dean would accept Ellen’s presence in their home only with reluctance even though the previous times he had definitely been more at ease with her than with Bobby. It wasn’t a matter of personality, or getting along - Dean loved Ellen very much. Sam knew that, especially for his brother, she was the closest thing he had to a mom.
No, what Sam had been afraid of was that Dean wouldn’t be able to relax in front of someone other than him. He was still shaken by his abduction, still stressed about Angelia, how she would be when she was born. He was at the end of his pregnancy, had trouble doing some very simple tasks like bending down to tie his shoes, and Sam was scared Ellen would make him even more self-conscious than he already was.
To his surprise, none of that happened. Ellen arrived on August the 20th and everything clicked into place like she’d always been there. Sam had readied a room for her on the first floor so that she could have her privacy, as well as to give Dean and him theirs on the second floor. The first lunch they all had together was a little tense, maybe because they couldn’t avoid speaking about the abduction. The last time Ellen had seen Dean, he could barely stand on his own and it was difficult not to comment on his marked improvement. As the day went by though, they all gradually relaxed. Sumiko was in her seduction mode, winking at Ellen, even though she couldn’t manage it without shutting both of her eyes, trying to babble her name and offering her toys and bits of food. That day, right after dinner, Ellen insisted she and Sumiko needed to spend some girl time together so Dean and Sam went down to the beach to take a short walk and let Dean dip his feet and ankles in the ocean to relieve some of the swelling.
Sam hadn’t realized how he missed being able to do things alone with Dean without worrying about Sue until then. He felt good, the smell in the air was nice, the waves were quiet, and he found himself smiling like an idiot. He even went as far as to take Dean’s hand into his, which, of course, was rewarded by a horrified look and a punch on the shoulder. “Dude, are you out of your mind? Ellen could be looking.”
Sam laughed. “So?”
“So? Walking on the beach holding hands like some gay couple? Really?”
“We are a gay couple,” Sam replied playfully.
Dean stopped walking then, looked him straight in the eyes with an unreadable expression on his face. “Yeah,” he murmured, like he was talking to himself. “We are."
::: :::
Ellen cooked for them. Things that could be frozen so they wouldn’t have to worry about it once Angie was born. Dean helped. Sam was in charge of the numerous trips to the grocery store. He was also in charge of buying every last minute item they still hadn’t gotten for Angelia, like diapers, pacifiers and bottles. They were planning on reusing a lot of Sumiko's things and they hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about what Angelia would need. This pregnancy had been so problematic they hadn’t really had time to enjoy the simple thought of having another baby in the house.
Sam took his time shopping with Sumiko sitting in the cart, telling her about her little sister, about small babies who cried and how she would need to be quiet sometimes. He didn’t know how much she understood, but she was excited, wiggling her legs and pointing to other kids, babbling non-stop. She saw a woman carrying a small baby who couldn’t be more than a month old and kept repeating “baa-bee” enthusiastically. Sam stopped in the toy section, letting Sumiko pick a stuffed animal. She choose a small elephant with its trunk lifted up in the air made of different shades and material of a bright yellow fabric. There was another one similar to it, but in pink, and Sam took it for Angelia.
“This one's for your sister,” he told Sumiko.
“Sssissseer,” she said, spitting saliva right in Sam’s face.
“That’s right, sister! You’re going to have a little sister soon.”
“Baabee!”
“Yeah. You’re a wise little monkey,” Sam laughed and Sumiko smiled at him like she was saying: I know I’m funny, come on!
Dean had finished the crib before Ellen’s arrival. It was a thing of beauty with dark, fluid lines and even more delicate carving of the different symbols than on Sumiko’s. Ellen helped Sam move it to their bedroom. Angelia would sleep with them for a few months, just like Sumiko had, then they would fit out the small room that was still unoccupied on the first floor. Sam had wanted to work on it right away, but Dean had insisted they wait so vehemently that Sam had given up.
When Ellen saw the crib, she was impressed and complimented Dean on it until he became beet red. “You ever thought about doing this professionally?” She asked. Dean shrugged. “Maybe. Since we stopped huntin’, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
Apparently, Sam thought, surprised. Surprised and pleased. His biggest fear since they had settled down was that Dean would never find his place, would never be able to do something other than hunting or feel useful in another line of work.
They had their whole lives ahead of them. What that meant filled Sam with a sense of anticipation and hope, something he thought he'd never feel again after the beginning of the summer they had. Maybe there was still a possibility of leading a balanced life, something between hunting and normal that would allow them to protect their daughters while giving them a good childhood.
On the 25th of August, Dean had to go through a complete check-up during his now weekly appointment with Rania. He had hit the 38th week mark and could go into labor at any time. All he'd had so far were Braxton-Hicks contractions, on a daily basis. Rania wasn’t worried. Dean had been more active during this pregnancy and any physical effort could trigger them.
After she’d checked that Angelia hadn’t gone back to her breech position, Rania gave Dean a gynecologist exam. He still hated it, of course. No one liked having their legs parted and someone up close and personal with their private parts. Dean winced when Rania slid her gloved fingers in his birth canal. Even Sam had to resist the urge to cross his legs
“Jesus, it’s… Are you sure you’re not up to my freaking tonsils?” Dean groaned.
Rania smiled and pulled her fingers out. “You can take your legs out of the stirrups.”
Sam helped Dean to sit and put his underwear back on. His brother was short of breath and he leaned heavily on him. He hadn’t been able to sleep well recently and he was back to nodding off on the couch in the evenings. The little energy he managed to gather, he used to take care of Sue the best he could. He was resting as much as he was able and napping when he needed - he wouldn’t have listened to Sam, but one word from Ellen and he obeyed immediately. First time he had tried to protest when she suggested he go to lie down a little, she’d cut him off right away. “Hey. Dean. Look at me. Been there, done that. Now, you can fool your brother with your manly growls of denial, but I know how tough the end of a pregnancy is. And the face you’re making right now, it tells me you really need to take a break.”
That had been that.
“So,” Rania said, washing her hands. “You’re already two centimeters dilated.”
Dean paled so fast Sam could actually see it.
“I’m not in labor, I haven’t felt anything,” he protested weakly.
“It’s normal, Dean. It’s even a good sign that your body is preparing itself for the birth. It's pretty common, actually, when the due date gets close. This also means those first centimeters that usually take a lot of time to dilate will already be done. So, it’s good news.”
“Okay.”
“Now, if you experience a little light bleeding it’s also normal, since I just measured the entrance of the uterus. I don’t want you to worry about it.”
“Uh huh.”
“And I want you guys to know everything here is ready, and that I have all the drugs I need to help Dean’s body with the aftermath of the curse without too much trouble.”
Rania had already told them she had cancelled her hospital duties for the next couple of weeks and that she was keeping a light schedule at her clinic. She was available to them 24/7.
She looked very pleased with the way Dean’s pregnancy was drawing to a conclusion. The last measurements taken had shown that Angelia would be an average baby in weight and height. Dean’s blood pressure was still steady and he had almost gained back all the weight he had lost during and right after his abduction.
It was written all over her face that she hadn't quite believed everything would go so smoothly after the events of the summer. Of course, there was still a slight risk that the electric shock, or Charlotte’s spirit, had altered Angelia’s health in some unknown way, but Rania didn’t mention it and neither did Sam or Dean. Sam was hopeful that Angelia had been able to take care of herself, just like with the placenta, but there was more to it. Even if he did spend his days worrying about it, what would that change? There was nothing to be done except to be prepared for whatever might come and the least he could do for Angelia was to hope for the best. Angelia certainly deserved a good outcome after all she'd been through.
::: :::
Freeport, August 30
Sam woke up to Sue’s persistent calls for Daa-dee! Daa-Sssaa!” He was alone in bed but that didn’t surprised him since Dean barely slept more than two hours at night before waking up and moving to the couch.
Sumiko was in a great mood, jumping and shaking her head quickly when she saw him. Sam changed her diaper and took her downstairs where Ellen was already up, drinking her coffee.
Sam settled Sumiko in her high chair and prepared her a grated apple.
“Dean sleepin’ on the couch, again?” He asked Ellen.
“He’s outside.”
Sam took a look out the window. The sky was grey and the trees were shaking in the wind.
“Is he alright?”
Ellen rubbed Sam’s back, handling him a cup of coffee. “Yeah. He was just a little sore, needed to walk for a bit.”
“Mmm…”
Sam offered the bowl of fruit to Sumiko who planted both of her hands in it and started to stuff herself with the grated apple. Sam added a sippy cup of milk and put two slices of bread in the toaster.
“I think Dean is close.”
“Close to what?”
“For the labor to start.”
Sam froze. “What? Did he tell you somethin’?”
“No but there was this expression on his face this morning. Also, his belly has dropped, the baby is lower. That means the baby’s getting ready.”
“So? Feminine intuition?”
“Are you mocking me, young man?” Ellen joked.
“No. Well, maybe a little,” Sam smiled, cutting Sumiko’s toasted bread into tiny pieces.
He shoved the other piece of toast in his mouth and scattered the small toasted pieces of Sumiko’s breakfast on her high chair tray. She looked at him with adoration, half of her grated apple sticking to her face.
“You’re impossible,” Sam told her.
“Mam-mam,” Sue answered.
“Yeah, I know.”
“If you want to go find Dean, it shouldn't be hard. He won't have gone too far.” Ellen sat at the table next to Sumiko.
“Is he down the beach?”
“No, the sand was too wet. He must be walking around somewhere else.”
“Okay, thanks Ellen.”
“You can tell him his coffee is ready.”
Sam, who was already heading out of the kitchen, froze in place and turned back to look at Ellen.
“He asked for coffee?”
Just like the morning he had went into labor with Sumiko…
“Yeah. I was making some and he said he would kill for a cup. Why?”
“You know, I think I’m going to go with you feminine intuition.”
::: :::
By the time Sam was ready to go out, Dean was back and sitting on the porch. It had begun to rain and the thermometer showed the temperature was dropping. Sam took his old black hoodie - the only one that still fit Dean,kind of - and the coffee mug and joined him outside.
“There,” He put the coffee on the small plastic table next to the patio chair in which Dean was sitting, catching his breath. “And there.”
“Thanks.”
Dean fought with the hoodie to put it on and the fabric stretched taut over his belly, but at least, he would be warm.
“I was so fucking hot when I woke up. M’back was killing me,” Dean said, looking off into the distance, like he saw something Sam couldn’t.
“And you wanted a coffee,” Sam said, trying to sound casual.
Dean looked at him for a few seconds, his hair sticking up in tufts, dark circles under his eyes. Then he burst out laughing. “Oh. Okay. Subtle there, Sammy.”
“Well, last time-“
“I feel fine. No contractions, no disgusting mucus plug in the toilet-“
“Rania said it probably already fell out without you noticing it, since you’re two centimeters dilated.”
“Fuck, Sam, you want to freak me out?”
“No. Sorry.”
“Anyway, it’s not like I’ll stay pregnant forever. My due date is September 7 so…” Dean’s smile turned into an uncertain pout. “M’not gonna stay pregnant forever, right?”
“What?”
Dean looked like a little kid all of sudden. “I mean, what if Angelia decides she wants to hang out in there past the due date, ya’ know, get back that advance she had… What if she wants to stay until week forty-two, or three?”
“Dean.”
“Okay, that was stupid. Don’t look at me like that.”
Dean took a sip of his cup and got this ecstatic expression on his face. “Jesus, that’s good.”
“I bet.”
“Can’t wait for this to be over,” Dean sighed. Then, he quickly added, when he saw Sam opening his mouth. “But I don’t think it will be today.”
“I think I’ll seriously miss Ellen when she’s gone.” Sam said with sincerity.
It had been good, not to feel so isolated anymore.
“Yeah, she’s awesome.”
Dean took another sip and lay back on the chair, patting his belly without any shame.
“Freaking heartburn,” he mumbled. Then, he cleared his throat, which could only mean one of two things: he was coming down with a cold or he wanted to talk. About something serious. “Sam?” Dean began with enough uncertainty in his voice for Sam to go with door number two.
“Yeah?”
“No more uncle Sam for you.”
“What?”
“Sumiko is calling you what sounds like… a combination of daddy and Sam. And I want Angie to call you daddy.”
Sam sighed. Of course, he wanted that too. It just wasn’t possible.
“And I don’t want to hide anymore.”
“Hide like…?”
“You were right. We’re brothers, but we’re also a damn gay couple. Hell, even before this thing actually happened between us, people were mistaking us for gay lovers all the time.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at.”
Dean shook his head and smiled uneasily. “I’m not sure myself. S’just… Family, it’s important to us. It’s everything. We’re gonna have two little girls and whatever we choose to tell them, one day they’ll figure out something doesn’t add up. What will I do if Sue asks to find her mom someday? And what if one of them catches us while we’re… you know…”
“Intimate?”
“I would’ve said fucking but let’s be politically correct for the time being.”
“Dean, just… spit it out. What is it?”
“Watched this freaking show the other day with these gay couples telling the story of how they became parents. And some of them, they found a surrogate mother to have their kids.”
“Okay…”
“What if… I mean… We would have to move away from here, and by that, I mean out of the country because we’re way too well-known amongst the hunter community. It would mean lying to the girls, but at least we could both be their fathers, you know? They’d see us as a couple, not brothers and maybe it'll blow up in our faces some day, but I think it's worth a shot. We never talked about what story we would come up with to explain Angelia’s existence. This... this could work.”
Dean was now blushing red and biting his lower lip. Sam was a little bit shocked by the whole conversation and it took him some time to take everything in.
“Let me get this straight. You want us to move away from the country and um… start a new life somewhere where people don’t know we’re brothers and let them think we’re a gay couple, a gay couple who used a surrogate mother to have their two daughters.”
“Basically? Yeah. I mean, it has its downside. We already don’t have a lot of friends and acquaintances. And we can’t move to a place where the people aren’t… liberal enough but-“
“Europe, or Canada maybe?”
Dean’s eyes grew wider. “So, you don’t think the hormones have driven me crazy?”
“You were crazy way before the hormones kicked in.”
“Shut… aoww, fuck!”
Dean bend over suddenly, his features strained, visibly holding his breath.
“Shit, I knew it,” Sam said, kneeling quickly in front of him.
“Stop it,” Dean croaked. “Not a contraction. Angie’s moving.”
He was already starting to relax.
“Wanna get inside?”
“Yeah. A little help?
Sam grabbed Dean’s hand and helped him up.
“She’s done,” Dean said, sounding relieved.
“It hurt?”
“Yeah it… not as much room for her gymnastic sessions anymore.”
“I bet. Come on, let’s go.”
::: :::
Dean was nervous that morning. Sam attributed it to the fact that he felt as though both Ellen and him were watching him. Around eleven, as he was slowly making his way to the kitchen, he grunted, making Sam’s head lift up immediately. That’s when he snapped.
“Holy freaking shit, Sam, will you stop it?! I’m fine, I don’t feel anything special. Let it go!”
Ellen, who was reading the newspaper next to Sam, blushed a little. Clearly she had gotten the message too. Sumiko mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “shit” using the same exasperated tone as her father. Sam found it wiser not to chastise Dean about watching his language around their daughter for the time being.
Of course, as soon as Dean was out of the kitchen, Ellen bent toward Sam.
“I’m tellin’ you…” She murmured.
“I can still hear you. I’m pregnant not deaf,” Dean called from the living room.
::: :::
Dean couldn’t eat anything more than a bunch of grapes for lunch. He was nauseous and impatient, even snapped at Sumiko when she threw her sippy cup at him. She burst out crying and, for a moment, it seemed like he would do the same. He got her out of her high chair and took her to the living room despite Sam’s protests that he should let him carry her. Ellen was in town. She wanted to bake some kind of cake and needed ingredients. Sam could still picture the knowing look of “feminine intuition” she would have given him had she been here.
Dean settled on the couch with Sumiko pressed against him and turned the TV on, choosing an infomercial. Sumiko was crazy about those. She could remain calm for half an hour watching some hysterical guy trying to sell what was basically a tiny and cheap vegetable chopper.
“You alright?”
“Yes, Sam,” Dean said in a tightly controlled voice. “I’d be even more alright if you’d give me some space.”
“Okay.”
Sam backed off. If he went to the hall to check the bag he had prepared two weeks ago, Dean didn’t need to know it.
The infomercial had a sedative effect on both Dean and Sumiko and they fell asleep even before it was over. Sam covered them with a blanket, smiling at the way Sumiko was letting out tiny little snores while Dean drooled on the couch’s armrest.
In the middle of the afternoon, Ellen and Sam were whispering quietly in the kitchen while the smell of the cake filled the air. Ellen was telling him about Jo’s birth and how Bill had almost missed it because he had been on a Rugaru hunt at the time. Dean surprised them by walking into the kitchen, his face still rumpled from sleep. His cheeks were red, his face a little swollen.
“I feel weird,” he mumbled.
A sudden dark wet spot stained his jeans and widened until the inside of his thighs were wet to the knees.
“Think my water broke,” he added in dreamy voice, then smiled nervously at Sam.
“I knew it would be today,” Sam said, quickly standing up.
“Yeah, congratulations,” Dean groaned. Then, his face drained of all color and he swayed on his feet.
“What?”
“Fuck, a contraction, a fucking real one.”
“It hurts that much already?”
“What do you think?” Dean hissed between his teeth.
“Okay, guys, let’s stay calm.” Ellen said in a very, very nervous voice.
“Yeah, m’gonna call Rania,” Sam said.
His phone was in their bedroom. He ran up the stairs to get it while Ellen took Dean to the bathroom so he could change.
Angelia was coming, Sam thought with a combination of awe and anxiety.
“Everything will be alright,” he told the empty room.
Then he grabbed his phone.
Chapter 16