take a step back } { tender shepherd, tender shepherd, let me help you count your sheep
[HAPPY BIRTHDAY lollobrigida! Everyone here is connected to the appropriate journal at takea_stepback. Set in that space between S5 and S6.]
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
David had Hannah in his arms, and she was trying to chew off a piece of his shirt as he spoke. April was standing in front of him, while Jo was further down the lobby, being psudeo-forced into a jacket with an apprehensive look on her face. She wasn’t sure about this. It was natural that she wouldn’t be sure of this-she’s the mother who’s leaving her six month-old in the hands of two ex-Vikings. Especially when that child’s father is the love of her life who jumped into Hell to save world. Really, David can understand why she’d be a little nervous about leaving the hotel.
He’s a little nervous about her leaving the hotel.
April, however, just glared.
“Jo needs to get out of the hotel and have some fun.”
“Yes. I agree. But why can’t it be baby-related fun?”
“Because it can’t.”
He wasn’t sure what April is getting at, but he’s pretty sure she has a good reason to do it, so he let it go at that, just trying to balance the baby on his shoulder and trying to figure out how he and Christopher are going to manage this. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Hannah. He adored Hannah. He thought that Hannah had snapped quite a few people out of the doom, gloom and anger that had clouded the hotel ever since Sam had taken that ill-fated jump. Hannah was happiness in a bottle, and all that David was really concerned with is the fact that he didn’t want to screw that up. Or have her accidentally find one of his swords.
“Well-why do me and Chris-”
“You and Christopher will be fine.”
“Where’s Dean?”
“Covering patrol with Angel for Buffy so that she can come with us.”
“And that eliminates Angel,” he muttered quietly, and she rolled her eyes before he gave her a look. “I just think that there are more qualified babysitters here. We can cover-”
“You’re on baby duty,” April hissed. “Deal with it.”
David huffed slightly, before Jo made her way over, concern written all over her face. “Is she going to be okay with you guys?”
“Of course,” he said, his face flashing into a smile. It was one thing to show doubt with April, but you didn’t do that with the mother. “She’ll be safe as houses, don’t worry. Besides, all we have to do is put her down to bed.”
Jo nodded slowly, before reaching and gently taking the baby from David’s grasp. David watched as she held her for a moment, keeping her close. “You be good, okay?” She pressed a kiss to the little girl’s forehead. “Don’t give ‘em too much trouble.”
She then looked back at him, slowly handing the baby to him, and when their eyes met, he saw the worry sitting in her eyes. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to continue to hole herself up and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist. But David knew that this would be good for her. So he gave her another smile, as he braced Hannah in his arms, and nodded.
“We’ll be fine, Jo. Have a good time.”
She nodded again, watching them for a moment, before turning and heading towards the door, where the other girls were waiting. There was one last glance back at them, before the crew disappeared out the door and David and Hannah were left alone in the lobby.
“Okay,” he sighed, before turning back to the little girl. “Let’s get you to bed.”
***
An hour and a half later, Hannah was still bright eyed and alert, while David was starting to run on empty. He and Christopher were standing side by side over the crib in Jo’s room, looking down at the baby who was currently trying to shove her feet into her mouth. They were silent for a moment, before Christopher held up a finger.
“We could always just ask Cas to-”
“No,” David replied, holding up a finger. “We can do this. It’s just a matter figuring out the trigger.”
“The trigger?” Christopher replied with a frown. “David, she’s a baby. Not a bomb. We probably just have to wait her out.”
“We’ve been waiting her out for an hour and a half. She was supposed to be sleeping a long time ago.”
“Her dad wasn’t a big sleeper. Maybe it’s genetic.”
“Her dad was a severely traumatized guy. I think that’s more likely the cause of his not sleeping.”
There was a beat as Christopher processed that. “Should we be talking about her father like this when she’s at this kind of impressionable age?” David’s response to that was to smack Christopher upside the head. “Ow! I don’t think violence is very good for her either.”
David rolled his eyes before looking at the baby and drumming his fingers against the side of the crib. “How do normal parents get their kids to sleep?”
Christopher was quiet for a moment, repeating the gesture, before shrugging. “Warm milk. Slow but steady movement. Some people drive their kids around forever.”
“We’re not going driving, we’re safer in the hotel.”
“Okay, so no driving. Warm milk?”
He nodded, before scooping up the baby and heading for the door. “Right. To the kitchen.”
Twenty minutes later, they were in the kitchen and had successfully put a bottle together and were in the process of microwaving it, while David was pacing back and forth in the kitchen with Hannah in his arms.
“You know, we really suck at this.”
“You’re the one who read all the baby books, genius,” Christopher replied, watching lazily as the cup holding the milk turned on the tray in the middle of the microwave. “You tell me what we’re doing wrong.”
“I don’t think the books were meant to prepare you for Winchester spawn.” He rubbed a hand against Hannah’s back gently, hoping that would soothe her a little in case the milk didn’t. “Where did those books go, anyway?”
“I think they went back into Angel’s office.” He finished fixing the bottle, before screwing the top on and handing it to David, once he had shifted his grip on Hannah so that she can eat. “I’ll go find them.”
Never let it say that they weren’t resourceful.
David gave Hannah the bottle and she latched onto it eagerly. He slowly made his way through into the lobby, heading towards the circle couch in the middle of the lobby, so that he could sit for a bit. The warmth of the milk seemed to be working a bit. He could see her mouth slow, her movements start to get a bit more sluggish, but even as she finished the bottle she still opened her eyes to look back up at him.
“You are stubborn,” he muttered as Christopher returned to the room, one of the baby books in his hand. “Guess that’s the part you got from your mom.”
“You know, it says in here that letting the baby rest against your chest so that they can hear your heartbeat, it’s relaxing to them as it simulates the feelings of the womb? Apparently the baby can hear their mother’s heartbeat while they’re all-in there.” There’s a beat as he looks up. “That’s a little gross. And kinda creepy.”
David rolled his eyes, before pushing up from the couch. “I’ll be upstairs.”
***
Hannah fell asleep before he did. That much he was sure of. When he fell asleep is more of the question, but at the end of the day, that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was that a few hours later, Jo was standing over him, shaking him awake.
“David? Hey.”
He blinked open his eyes, one hand resting gently against Hannah’s back, as though to make sure she was still there. He then turned to focus his eyes on her mother, and gave her a smile. “Hey. How was your night out?”
“It was a night,” she said softly. She shed her jacket on one of the chairs before starting to reach for Hannah, and David held up a hand.
“It took us almost two hours to get her to sleep. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pick her up unless you absolutely had to.”
She smirked a bit at that, before moving to the other side of the bed. She pulled off her boots, before turning to face him as she kicked her legs up onto the bed. “She give you a run for your money?”
“Something like that,” he replied with a smile as she settled in next to him. “But we reached an understanding eventually. She’s just stubborn. Like her mom.”
She smiled sadly, her hand wandering over and brushing against the top of her daughter’s head gently. “Her dad was stubborn too.”
“Oh, I know. But this was definitely some Harvelle level stubbornness.”
She laughed softly as she settled in closer to him. David had gotten used to being a Sam substitute in the first few months that Sam was gone, so this wasn’t anything new. But he also knew that he wasn’t the person Jo was seeing, so he wasn’t going to push it.
“The girls are trying to get me to move on.”
“Yeah. I noticed that.”
“I’m not ready.” She’s quiet for a moment her hand trailing down so that it was resting next to David’s. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready.”
“You’ll be ready some day,” he said softly, his fingers shifting to rest against hers. “But until you are-getting out of the hotel sans baby every once in a while just to get out won’t hurt.” He paused. “And, I think that Christopher and I just proved ourselves very capable babysitters.”
She gave him a bemused look at that, before shaking her head. “We’ll see what she’s repeating once she starts talking, then we’ll talk about how capable a babysitter you are.”
He smirked back at her, before slowly-very, very slowly-starting to shift to let her have her daughter. Once Jo had Hannah securely in her arms, he gave her a small smile as he started to sit up and climb off the bed. “We’re all here to help, Jo. You know that.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, cradling Hannah softly as she returned the smile. “Yeah, I do.”
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“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
David had Hannah in his arms, and she was trying to chew off a piece of his shirt as he spoke. April was standing in front of him, while Jo was further down the lobby, being psudeo-forced into a jacket with an apprehensive look on her face. She wasn’t sure about this. It was natural that she wouldn’t be sure of this-she’s the mother who’s leaving her six month-old in the hands of two ex-Vikings. Especially when that child’s father is the love of her life who jumped into Hell to save world. Really, David can understand why she’d be a little nervous about leaving the hotel.
He’s a little nervous about her leaving the hotel.
April, however, just glared.
“Jo needs to get out of the hotel and have some fun.”
“Yes. I agree. But why can’t it be baby-related fun?”
“Because it can’t.”
He wasn’t sure what April is getting at, but he’s pretty sure she has a good reason to do it, so he let it go at that, just trying to balance the baby on his shoulder and trying to figure out how he and Christopher are going to manage this. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Hannah. He adored Hannah. He thought that Hannah had snapped quite a few people out of the doom, gloom and anger that had clouded the hotel ever since Sam had taken that ill-fated jump. Hannah was happiness in a bottle, and all that David was really concerned with is the fact that he didn’t want to screw that up. Or have her accidentally find one of his swords.
“Well-why do me and Chris-”
“You and Christopher will be fine.”
“Where’s Dean?”
“Covering patrol with Angel for Buffy so that she can come with us.”
“And that eliminates Angel,” he muttered quietly, and she rolled her eyes before he gave her a look. “I just think that there are more qualified babysitters here. We can cover-”
“You’re on baby duty,” April hissed. “Deal with it.”
David huffed slightly, before Jo made her way over, concern written all over her face. “Is she going to be okay with you guys?”
“Of course,” he said, his face flashing into a smile. It was one thing to show doubt with April, but you didn’t do that with the mother. “She’ll be safe as houses, don’t worry. Besides, all we have to do is put her down to bed.”
Jo nodded slowly, before reaching and gently taking the baby from David’s grasp. David watched as she held her for a moment, keeping her close. “You be good, okay?” She pressed a kiss to the little girl’s forehead. “Don’t give ‘em too much trouble.”
She then looked back at him, slowly handing the baby to him, and when their eyes met, he saw the worry sitting in her eyes. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to continue to hole herself up and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist. But David knew that this would be good for her. So he gave her another smile, as he braced Hannah in his arms, and nodded.
“We’ll be fine, Jo. Have a good time.”
She nodded again, watching them for a moment, before turning and heading towards the door, where the other girls were waiting. There was one last glance back at them, before the crew disappeared out the door and David and Hannah were left alone in the lobby.
“Okay,” he sighed, before turning back to the little girl. “Let’s get you to bed.”
***
An hour and a half later, Hannah was still bright eyed and alert, while David was starting to run on empty. He and Christopher were standing side by side over the crib in Jo’s room, looking down at the baby who was currently trying to shove her feet into her mouth. They were silent for a moment, before Christopher held up a finger.
“We could always just ask Cas to-”
“No,” David replied, holding up a finger. “We can do this. It’s just a matter figuring out the trigger.”
“The trigger?” Christopher replied with a frown. “David, she’s a baby. Not a bomb. We probably just have to wait her out.”
“We’ve been waiting her out for an hour and a half. She was supposed to be sleeping a long time ago.”
“Her dad wasn’t a big sleeper. Maybe it’s genetic.”
“Her dad was a severely traumatized guy. I think that’s more likely the cause of his not sleeping.”
There was a beat as Christopher processed that. “Should we be talking about her father like this when she’s at this kind of impressionable age?” David’s response to that was to smack Christopher upside the head. “Ow! I don’t think violence is very good for her either.”
David rolled his eyes before looking at the baby and drumming his fingers against the side of the crib. “How do normal parents get their kids to sleep?”
Christopher was quiet for a moment, repeating the gesture, before shrugging. “Warm milk. Slow but steady movement. Some people drive their kids around forever.”
“We’re not going driving, we’re safer in the hotel.”
“Okay, so no driving. Warm milk?”
He nodded, before scooping up the baby and heading for the door. “Right. To the kitchen.”
Twenty minutes later, they were in the kitchen and had successfully put a bottle together and were in the process of microwaving it, while David was pacing back and forth in the kitchen with Hannah in his arms.
“You know, we really suck at this.”
“You’re the one who read all the baby books, genius,” Christopher replied, watching lazily as the cup holding the milk turned on the tray in the middle of the microwave. “You tell me what we’re doing wrong.”
“I don’t think the books were meant to prepare you for Winchester spawn.” He rubbed a hand against Hannah’s back gently, hoping that would soothe her a little in case the milk didn’t. “Where did those books go, anyway?”
“I think they went back into Angel’s office.” He finished fixing the bottle, before screwing the top on and handing it to David, once he had shifted his grip on Hannah so that she can eat. “I’ll go find them.”
Never let it say that they weren’t resourceful.
David gave Hannah the bottle and she latched onto it eagerly. He slowly made his way through into the lobby, heading towards the circle couch in the middle of the lobby, so that he could sit for a bit. The warmth of the milk seemed to be working a bit. He could see her mouth slow, her movements start to get a bit more sluggish, but even as she finished the bottle she still opened her eyes to look back up at him.
“You are stubborn,” he muttered as Christopher returned to the room, one of the baby books in his hand. “Guess that’s the part you got from your mom.”
“You know, it says in here that letting the baby rest against your chest so that they can hear your heartbeat, it’s relaxing to them as it simulates the feelings of the womb? Apparently the baby can hear their mother’s heartbeat while they’re all-in there.” There’s a beat as he looks up. “That’s a little gross. And kinda creepy.”
David rolled his eyes, before pushing up from the couch. “I’ll be upstairs.”
***
Hannah fell asleep before he did. That much he was sure of. When he fell asleep is more of the question, but at the end of the day, that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was that a few hours later, Jo was standing over him, shaking him awake.
“David? Hey.”
He blinked open his eyes, one hand resting gently against Hannah’s back, as though to make sure she was still there. He then turned to focus his eyes on her mother, and gave her a smile. “Hey. How was your night out?”
“It was a night,” she said softly. She shed her jacket on one of the chairs before starting to reach for Hannah, and David held up a hand.
“It took us almost two hours to get her to sleep. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pick her up unless you absolutely had to.”
She smirked a bit at that, before moving to the other side of the bed. She pulled off her boots, before turning to face him as she kicked her legs up onto the bed. “She give you a run for your money?”
“Something like that,” he replied with a smile as she settled in next to him. “But we reached an understanding eventually. She’s just stubborn. Like her mom.”
She smiled sadly, her hand wandering over and brushing against the top of her daughter’s head gently. “Her dad was stubborn too.”
“Oh, I know. But this was definitely some Harvelle level stubbornness.”
She laughed softly as she settled in closer to him. David had gotten used to being a Sam substitute in the first few months that Sam was gone, so this wasn’t anything new. But he also knew that he wasn’t the person Jo was seeing, so he wasn’t going to push it.
“The girls are trying to get me to move on.”
“Yeah. I noticed that.”
“I’m not ready.” She’s quiet for a moment her hand trailing down so that it was resting next to David’s. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready.”
“You’ll be ready some day,” he said softly, his fingers shifting to rest against hers. “But until you are-getting out of the hotel sans baby every once in a while just to get out won’t hurt.” He paused. “And, I think that Christopher and I just proved ourselves very capable babysitters.”
She gave him a bemused look at that, before shaking her head. “We’ll see what she’s repeating once she starts talking, then we’ll talk about how capable a babysitter you are.”
He smirked back at her, before slowly-very, very slowly-starting to shift to let her have her daughter. Once Jo had Hannah securely in her arms, he gave her a small smile as he started to sit up and climb off the bed. “We’re all here to help, Jo. You know that.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, cradling Hannah softly as she returned the smile. “Yeah, I do.”
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