Crusaders 3 6/7
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Chapter 5
Loose Ends
Kansas law mandated the three-day delay between getting the marriage license and having the actual wedding, but in the case of Sam and Jess, three days turned out to be almost too little time. Even drafting Ash to help, the family was busy from dawn to well after dark the entire week, making phone calls and arranging food and accommodations for everyone. Bobby brought Amanda and the kids down from Sioux Falls right away, and Pastor Jim rushed down from Blue Earth to perform the ceremony. Samuel and Old Dean ended up switching houses to stay with Gabriel and Cas, both to leave room for everyone who needed to be in John and Mary’s house and to stay out of the worst of the bustle that they couldn’t help much with. Anxious to do something, however, Old Dean took charge of as much of the cooking as he could do with modern ingredients, utensils, and appliances, and Samuel helped-when he wasn’t busy reading every book he could get his hands on, that is.
The only real snag in the proceedings was dealing with Jess’ parents. The Moores had met Sam and approved of him; they had met Dean and Amanda and provisionally approved of the rest of the family. But Mrs. Moore had evidently been planning a major blowout of a church wedding, with a fancy dress and a catered reception and all that jazz, and she was not best pleased that what Jess was planning was, from her point of view, practically an elopement. Jess pleaded that the rush was only to allow Sam’s “cousins” to attend before they had to go back to England, but Mrs. Moore wouldn’t budge.
Finally, Jess sighed as Sam rubbed her back gently. “Okay, Mom. If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to come. We’ll send you a video.”
“Jess-”
“Mom, we’re getting married Friday. And that’s final.”
“You are seriously willing to put that boy above your own family?!”
“Honestly? Yes.” Jess slipped her hand into Sam’s. “I know where I belong now.”
“Now, you listen to me, Jessica Lee-”
“Bye, Mom.” And Jess hung up.
Sam studied her face. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “I’m sure. I love your family, Sam, and I love you. I didn’t want a big wedding, and I don’t want to think about how my family would have reacted to what we’ve just been through. And besides,” she added with a twinkle, “this way she won’t have to find out quite so soon what we’re planning to do after graduation.”
He smiled. “What would I do without you?”
“Crash and burn.”
He kissed her.
Gabriel and Castiel had the larger backyard, so Friday’s preparations largely involved setting up a trellis and chairs in their yard and the reception meal in their combined living and dining room. Castiel bought the cakes, plus a cherry pie for Dean, and Gabriel snapped the trellis full of tea roses. A few of Sam’s high school friends happened to be in town, so they contributed champagne and a handful of wedding presents, and some of the couple’s friends from Stanford sent flowers and a fruit basket.
Samuel had a hunch, though, and set up a small holy water font at the entrance to the backyard. The hunters all knew what to do with it, as did the Catholics and Lutherans, and the few Baptists who came succumbed to Samuel’s puppy eyes and anointed themselves as well. Only one guest did not-and his presence surprised Sam.
“Brady!” Sam called, walking over as the unexpected guest shied away from Gabriel’s glance. “Dude, what are you doing here?”
Brady grinned. “Just had to be here for my best bud. Need a groomsman?”
“None of thy help is needed, fiend,” Old Dean growled, coming around the font with Samuel to intercept him.
Brady laughed, startled. “What? What the-”
“Exorcisamus te, omnis immundus spiritus,” Samuel interrupted.
Brady turned to bolt, but Castiel grabbed him and held him until Samuel finished the exorcism. The non-hunters murmured and stared as the demon came roaring out and Brady slumped back in Castiel’s hold, but Castiel eased him gently into a chair, and Ash ran inside and brought out a glass of water just as Brady came around.
“Sam?” he asked weakly, looking around in shock. “What-where am I?”
“We’re in Lawrence,” Sam prompted. “It’s almost noon. My wedding’s supposed to start in, like, five minutes.”
Brady blinked. “Wedding? In Lawrence? Wait, what... what day is it?”
“It’s Friday. June 10.”
“Friday? I... I don’t... I can’t remember anything after Monday.”
“You were possessed,” Castiel informed him as Ash pushed the water glass into his hand. “The demon sought to avenge something that happened Monday night.”
Brady took a drink and looked at Sam, who nodded. Then he swore quietly and took another drink.
“You okay?” Sam asked.
Brady nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I will be.” After a few more drinks of water, he suddenly said, “Wait. You-you and Jess?”
Sam grinned. “Yup.”
Brady laughed. “Dude, that’s wonderful! Glad I’m not going to miss it!”
Then the organ music CD started, and everyone rushed back to his place.
The hiccup with Brady aside, the wedding went off without a hitch, as did the reception meal. But the gifts, on Bobby’s advice, were packed off to John and Mary’s house to be opened after Sam and Jess got back from their short honeymoon in the Ozarks. “I don’t wanna have to explain the bullet mold and silver knife,” he confided to Gabriel, who laughed.
Amanda broke up the party first, since Johnny and Bobbi Jo needed to head back to John and Mary’s house to nap. Not until the other guests from Lawrence had left did Castiel offer to take Brady back to Palo Alto, an offer Brady bemusedly accepted. Bobby, Jim, Ash, John, and Mary said their farewells shortly after that and headed back to the Winchesters’ house.
But Sam, Jess, and Dean found it hard to tear themselves away, and they stayed another couple of hours, chatting with the older Winchesters. Finally, Amanda called to ask whether Dean was planning to stay there for supper; Dean guiltily agreed to eat with the rest of the family.
He sighed as he hung up. “Sorry. I know you guys need to get home. It’s just... knowing we’re never gonna see you again....”
His namesake nodded. “’Tis the same for us. But mayhap we shall meet again hereafter.”
“I know you really didn’t have any choice in the matter, but... thanks.”
“For everything,” Sam added.
“It was our pleasure, children,” Old Dean replied. “You bring honor to our family. I am proud to call you mine. And I am glad to have freed you from such evil.”
“As am I,” Samuel agreed.
A round of tearful hugs followed, and then Dean and the newlyweds finally left. And Gabriel was alone with the last loose ends that needed tying up.
Dean of Winchester, no longer in need of an adjective to keep his identity straight, took his brother’s hand and sighed. “Are we ready?”
“Not quite,” Gabriel answered and snapped his fingers, turning Dean’s modern clothes into the clothes he’d been wearing when Chronos dropped the brothers outside Lake Tahoe.
Once he saw that he was back in his own clothes, Dean looked at Gabriel again. “Will we recall aught?”
Gabriel shrugged. “That’s up to you. Honestly, I don’t know if I’m up to wiping your memories completely on top of taking you back; that’s a long hike, even for me. And those kinds of blocks never work perfectly anyway. If you think you might have trouble keeping it all secret, though, I can dull the memories when I undo the language fix. You won’t forget, but it would be like remembering a dream. I can even knock you out for a short time before I take you back.”
Dean looked at Samuel, who nodded. “Aye, that... that might be best. Only-”
“I’ll explain to Aelred.”
Samuel blew out a relieved breath. “Then aye. ’Twould be easier not to have to explain what I cannot recall in full.”
Dean nodded thoughtfully. “Aye, there is that.”
Gabriel nodded back and shifted his clothing to the Cistercian robes he’d worn the last time he’d been at Rievaulx. “All right, then. When you’re ready.”
Both brothers nodded. Gabriel snapped his fingers, making all of the changes at once and knocking them out, then caught each by the shoulder as they fell and pulled them back to 1150.
The guesthouse was in an uproar when they arrived, Aelred and the brothers scouring the room to try to find any trace of Samuel and Dean. Everyone went still in awe, though, as Gabriel eased Samuel and Dean back into the seats Chronos had taken them from.
As Gabriel turned, Aelred began to fall to his knees. “St. Gabriel....”
Gabriel held up a hand. “Please, Aelred, I have told thee, do not kneel before me. I am a fellow servant with thee, and I come only to return these men to thy care. They were not taken at my order, but I have had need of them. But do not ask them what has happened; even were it lawful for them to speak of it, they will recall little, save as a dream.”
Aelred nodded, still stunned, but caught himself and stood up straight again. “I... I trust dear Brother Samuel has given satisfaction?”
Gabriel smiled. “Perfect satisfaction.”
Samuel and Dean stirred then, blinking and frowning around drowsily. And Dean did a double-take when he saw Gabriel. “G-Gabriel?” he asked.
“Yes, Dean. I was just on my way.”
Dean nodded vaguely-and suddenly swallowed hard. “Er, Gabriel, I... that is, would you mind... I-I would fain....”
Gabriel blinked. “You want a ride home?”
Dean nodded eagerly. “An-an Sammy....”
Looking somewhat queasy, Samuel nodded and waved vaguely. “Go, brother. Do what thou must.”
And suddenly Gabriel understood and smiled. “Very well.” He snapped his fingers, and Dean’s sword and gear returned to his side. Then Gabriel nodded to everyone, laid a hand on Dean’s shoulder, and flew straight to Oxford, depositing Dean a few steps outside the door of the Eagle and Child. Another snap of the fingers returned Dean’s horse to the stable.
Dean looked at him. “My thanks.”
Gabriel grinned, nodded, and vanished-but he didn’t leave just yet. Rather, remaining invisible, he popped into the inn and found Joanna at a table in the common room, mending her gear after having taken a brief hunt with Rufus while Dean was away. He touched her back gently, which she registered only as a wave of intense longing for Dean that left her breathless. She drew in a deep breath and looked up at the door... just as Dean hurried in, scanning the room for her.
“Dean!” Ellen and Asce exclaimed at the same time, surprised to see him back so soon.
But Dean and Joanna had eyes only for each other and rushed to meet in the middle of the room. “Joanna, I-” Dean began, but Joanna grabbed him and kissed him hard enough to elicit some very undignified noises.
“An ye wish to play like beasts,” Ellen grumbled good-naturedly, “take the room above the stables.”
“My thanks,” Dean gasped as Joanna released him and started pulling him toward the back door, though he was just as anxious to get out of there as she was. “And pray!”
“For what?”
“A grandchild!”
Chuckling to himself as the door banged shut behind the excited couple, Gabriel left the pub and headed home. Of course, Dean would want to get the family started ASAP after the experience he’d just had... and of course, Gabriel had to leave them a parting gift.
It took little time for Joanna to feel the first signs of being with child, much to Dean’s mingled delight and dismay. There followed no little disagreement over what she could and could not do, both in the inn and in the hunt, but finally Brother Asce proposed that Joanna take only easy hunts and only when joined by Dean. That accord held until about the time the child quickened-or rather children, as the midwife was able to make out at least two and thought they were belike both boys. Joanna began tiring more easily, and it took more and smaller meals for her to keep up her strength. Dean stated then that they should both stop hunting, and he held to that purpose, though as Ellen warned him might be so, there were times when a very cross Joanna tired of his presence and practically pushed him out the door to take a hunt.
As Joanna neared the time of her lying-in, however, Dean left the inn only to go to market for Ellen. And the beginning of the ninth month saw a series of friends arriving: Father Seamus, Robert and Rufus, and Cynehunde and his new wife, a wise-woman named Pamela. Abbot Aelred even found some errand on which to send Samuel to Oxenford and gave him leave to stay with the family rather than with the canons of Osney or St. Frideswide; the former house was in the midst of construction and could ill afford to lodge guests, and the latter was in disgrace over its dishonest dealings regarding St. Aldate’s Church. His reasons were sound, and neither the journey nor the lodging was indefensible by Cistercian rules, but they all knew better than to expect such a gift in the future.
A bare hour had Samuel been settled at the inn when Joanna’s time came, so the men kept Dean distracted with tales and songs while the womenfolk hurried Joanna into the birthing room. It seemed an age before Joanna’s cries were joined by the wail of a babe, and Dean was still in a daze when Pamela returned to the common room with a linen-wrapped, very fussy bundle.
She smiled as she gently placed the tiny burden in his arms. “Your firstborn, Dean-a strong son.”
The bairn quieted in Dean’s hold, and Dean’s breath fled in a quiet “Oh!” Some heartbeats passed ere he could say, “John Robert I dub thee, my dear one.”
Pamela’s smile grew as she left, and Robert sniffled and flushed, while the other men pounded Dean’s back and drank his health and young John’s.
Presently the second babe cried, and again Pamela returned. “Another son!”
Dean felt almost giddy as he took the other lad. “James,” he declared more easily. “James Rufus is his name.”
Father Seamus squeezed his shoulder, and Rufus spluttered but puffed up like a pigeon, and another round was drunk.
And then Joanna cried out again-and her voice was joined by another babe’s cry.
Startled, Pamela ran back to the birthing room. But it was Ellen who entered the public room moments later, flushed and beaming.
“Joanna is well,” quoth she, “as is our last surprise: this little maid.” And as Dean’s arms were already full, she placed the babe in Samuel’s arms.
“Oh,” Samuel breathed. “Oh, Dean, she favors thee!”
Ellen patted Samuel’s shoulder and looked at Dean again. “’Twill take but a few moments more, Dean, but she will want thee and thy wee ones back again after the christening.”
Dean could only nod. Ellen smiled again and left.
“What think you for a name, Dean?” Cynehunde asked.
Dean shook his head. “We... we’d given no thought to a maid-child. Sammy?”
Samuel studied the lass sagely for a long moment before answering, “Jessica. Her name is Jessica.”
And as the wassail rang out again and he and Samuel grinned at each other, Dean somehow felt the last bolt securing the future they had made slide home.
Next
Chapter 5
Loose Ends
Kansas law mandated the three-day delay between getting the marriage license and having the actual wedding, but in the case of Sam and Jess, three days turned out to be almost too little time. Even drafting Ash to help, the family was busy from dawn to well after dark the entire week, making phone calls and arranging food and accommodations for everyone. Bobby brought Amanda and the kids down from Sioux Falls right away, and Pastor Jim rushed down from Blue Earth to perform the ceremony. Samuel and Old Dean ended up switching houses to stay with Gabriel and Cas, both to leave room for everyone who needed to be in John and Mary’s house and to stay out of the worst of the bustle that they couldn’t help much with. Anxious to do something, however, Old Dean took charge of as much of the cooking as he could do with modern ingredients, utensils, and appliances, and Samuel helped-when he wasn’t busy reading every book he could get his hands on, that is.
The only real snag in the proceedings was dealing with Jess’ parents. The Moores had met Sam and approved of him; they had met Dean and Amanda and provisionally approved of the rest of the family. But Mrs. Moore had evidently been planning a major blowout of a church wedding, with a fancy dress and a catered reception and all that jazz, and she was not best pleased that what Jess was planning was, from her point of view, practically an elopement. Jess pleaded that the rush was only to allow Sam’s “cousins” to attend before they had to go back to England, but Mrs. Moore wouldn’t budge.
Finally, Jess sighed as Sam rubbed her back gently. “Okay, Mom. If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to come. We’ll send you a video.”
“Jess-”
“Mom, we’re getting married Friday. And that’s final.”
“You are seriously willing to put that boy above your own family?!”
“Honestly? Yes.” Jess slipped her hand into Sam’s. “I know where I belong now.”
“Now, you listen to me, Jessica Lee-”
“Bye, Mom.” And Jess hung up.
Sam studied her face. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “I’m sure. I love your family, Sam, and I love you. I didn’t want a big wedding, and I don’t want to think about how my family would have reacted to what we’ve just been through. And besides,” she added with a twinkle, “this way she won’t have to find out quite so soon what we’re planning to do after graduation.”
He smiled. “What would I do without you?”
“Crash and burn.”
He kissed her.
Gabriel and Castiel had the larger backyard, so Friday’s preparations largely involved setting up a trellis and chairs in their yard and the reception meal in their combined living and dining room. Castiel bought the cakes, plus a cherry pie for Dean, and Gabriel snapped the trellis full of tea roses. A few of Sam’s high school friends happened to be in town, so they contributed champagne and a handful of wedding presents, and some of the couple’s friends from Stanford sent flowers and a fruit basket.
Samuel had a hunch, though, and set up a small holy water font at the entrance to the backyard. The hunters all knew what to do with it, as did the Catholics and Lutherans, and the few Baptists who came succumbed to Samuel’s puppy eyes and anointed themselves as well. Only one guest did not-and his presence surprised Sam.
“Brady!” Sam called, walking over as the unexpected guest shied away from Gabriel’s glance. “Dude, what are you doing here?”
Brady grinned. “Just had to be here for my best bud. Need a groomsman?”
“None of thy help is needed, fiend,” Old Dean growled, coming around the font with Samuel to intercept him.
Brady laughed, startled. “What? What the-”
“Exorcisamus te, omnis immundus spiritus,” Samuel interrupted.
Brady turned to bolt, but Castiel grabbed him and held him until Samuel finished the exorcism. The non-hunters murmured and stared as the demon came roaring out and Brady slumped back in Castiel’s hold, but Castiel eased him gently into a chair, and Ash ran inside and brought out a glass of water just as Brady came around.
“Sam?” he asked weakly, looking around in shock. “What-where am I?”
“We’re in Lawrence,” Sam prompted. “It’s almost noon. My wedding’s supposed to start in, like, five minutes.”
Brady blinked. “Wedding? In Lawrence? Wait, what... what day is it?”
“It’s Friday. June 10.”
“Friday? I... I don’t... I can’t remember anything after Monday.”
“You were possessed,” Castiel informed him as Ash pushed the water glass into his hand. “The demon sought to avenge something that happened Monday night.”
Brady took a drink and looked at Sam, who nodded. Then he swore quietly and took another drink.
“You okay?” Sam asked.
Brady nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I will be.” After a few more drinks of water, he suddenly said, “Wait. You-you and Jess?”
Sam grinned. “Yup.”
Brady laughed. “Dude, that’s wonderful! Glad I’m not going to miss it!”
Then the organ music CD started, and everyone rushed back to his place.
The hiccup with Brady aside, the wedding went off without a hitch, as did the reception meal. But the gifts, on Bobby’s advice, were packed off to John and Mary’s house to be opened after Sam and Jess got back from their short honeymoon in the Ozarks. “I don’t wanna have to explain the bullet mold and silver knife,” he confided to Gabriel, who laughed.
Amanda broke up the party first, since Johnny and Bobbi Jo needed to head back to John and Mary’s house to nap. Not until the other guests from Lawrence had left did Castiel offer to take Brady back to Palo Alto, an offer Brady bemusedly accepted. Bobby, Jim, Ash, John, and Mary said their farewells shortly after that and headed back to the Winchesters’ house.
But Sam, Jess, and Dean found it hard to tear themselves away, and they stayed another couple of hours, chatting with the older Winchesters. Finally, Amanda called to ask whether Dean was planning to stay there for supper; Dean guiltily agreed to eat with the rest of the family.
He sighed as he hung up. “Sorry. I know you guys need to get home. It’s just... knowing we’re never gonna see you again....”
His namesake nodded. “’Tis the same for us. But mayhap we shall meet again hereafter.”
“I know you really didn’t have any choice in the matter, but... thanks.”
“For everything,” Sam added.
“It was our pleasure, children,” Old Dean replied. “You bring honor to our family. I am proud to call you mine. And I am glad to have freed you from such evil.”
“As am I,” Samuel agreed.
A round of tearful hugs followed, and then Dean and the newlyweds finally left. And Gabriel was alone with the last loose ends that needed tying up.
Dean of Winchester, no longer in need of an adjective to keep his identity straight, took his brother’s hand and sighed. “Are we ready?”
“Not quite,” Gabriel answered and snapped his fingers, turning Dean’s modern clothes into the clothes he’d been wearing when Chronos dropped the brothers outside Lake Tahoe.
Once he saw that he was back in his own clothes, Dean looked at Gabriel again. “Will we recall aught?”
Gabriel shrugged. “That’s up to you. Honestly, I don’t know if I’m up to wiping your memories completely on top of taking you back; that’s a long hike, even for me. And those kinds of blocks never work perfectly anyway. If you think you might have trouble keeping it all secret, though, I can dull the memories when I undo the language fix. You won’t forget, but it would be like remembering a dream. I can even knock you out for a short time before I take you back.”
Dean looked at Samuel, who nodded. “Aye, that... that might be best. Only-”
“I’ll explain to Aelred.”
Samuel blew out a relieved breath. “Then aye. ’Twould be easier not to have to explain what I cannot recall in full.”
Dean nodded thoughtfully. “Aye, there is that.”
Gabriel nodded back and shifted his clothing to the Cistercian robes he’d worn the last time he’d been at Rievaulx. “All right, then. When you’re ready.”
Both brothers nodded. Gabriel snapped his fingers, making all of the changes at once and knocking them out, then caught each by the shoulder as they fell and pulled them back to 1150.
The guesthouse was in an uproar when they arrived, Aelred and the brothers scouring the room to try to find any trace of Samuel and Dean. Everyone went still in awe, though, as Gabriel eased Samuel and Dean back into the seats Chronos had taken them from.
As Gabriel turned, Aelred began to fall to his knees. “St. Gabriel....”
Gabriel held up a hand. “Please, Aelred, I have told thee, do not kneel before me. I am a fellow servant with thee, and I come only to return these men to thy care. They were not taken at my order, but I have had need of them. But do not ask them what has happened; even were it lawful for them to speak of it, they will recall little, save as a dream.”
Aelred nodded, still stunned, but caught himself and stood up straight again. “I... I trust dear Brother Samuel has given satisfaction?”
Gabriel smiled. “Perfect satisfaction.”
Samuel and Dean stirred then, blinking and frowning around drowsily. And Dean did a double-take when he saw Gabriel. “G-Gabriel?” he asked.
“Yes, Dean. I was just on my way.”
Dean nodded vaguely-and suddenly swallowed hard. “Er, Gabriel, I... that is, would you mind... I-I would fain....”
Gabriel blinked. “You want a ride home?”
Dean nodded eagerly. “An-an Sammy....”
Looking somewhat queasy, Samuel nodded and waved vaguely. “Go, brother. Do what thou must.”
And suddenly Gabriel understood and smiled. “Very well.” He snapped his fingers, and Dean’s sword and gear returned to his side. Then Gabriel nodded to everyone, laid a hand on Dean’s shoulder, and flew straight to Oxford, depositing Dean a few steps outside the door of the Eagle and Child. Another snap of the fingers returned Dean’s horse to the stable.
Dean looked at him. “My thanks.”
Gabriel grinned, nodded, and vanished-but he didn’t leave just yet. Rather, remaining invisible, he popped into the inn and found Joanna at a table in the common room, mending her gear after having taken a brief hunt with Rufus while Dean was away. He touched her back gently, which she registered only as a wave of intense longing for Dean that left her breathless. She drew in a deep breath and looked up at the door... just as Dean hurried in, scanning the room for her.
“Dean!” Ellen and Asce exclaimed at the same time, surprised to see him back so soon.
But Dean and Joanna had eyes only for each other and rushed to meet in the middle of the room. “Joanna, I-” Dean began, but Joanna grabbed him and kissed him hard enough to elicit some very undignified noises.
“An ye wish to play like beasts,” Ellen grumbled good-naturedly, “take the room above the stables.”
“My thanks,” Dean gasped as Joanna released him and started pulling him toward the back door, though he was just as anxious to get out of there as she was. “And pray!”
“For what?”
“A grandchild!”
Chuckling to himself as the door banged shut behind the excited couple, Gabriel left the pub and headed home. Of course, Dean would want to get the family started ASAP after the experience he’d just had... and of course, Gabriel had to leave them a parting gift.
It took little time for Joanna to feel the first signs of being with child, much to Dean’s mingled delight and dismay. There followed no little disagreement over what she could and could not do, both in the inn and in the hunt, but finally Brother Asce proposed that Joanna take only easy hunts and only when joined by Dean. That accord held until about the time the child quickened-or rather children, as the midwife was able to make out at least two and thought they were belike both boys. Joanna began tiring more easily, and it took more and smaller meals for her to keep up her strength. Dean stated then that they should both stop hunting, and he held to that purpose, though as Ellen warned him might be so, there were times when a very cross Joanna tired of his presence and practically pushed him out the door to take a hunt.
As Joanna neared the time of her lying-in, however, Dean left the inn only to go to market for Ellen. And the beginning of the ninth month saw a series of friends arriving: Father Seamus, Robert and Rufus, and Cynehunde and his new wife, a wise-woman named Pamela. Abbot Aelred even found some errand on which to send Samuel to Oxenford and gave him leave to stay with the family rather than with the canons of Osney or St. Frideswide; the former house was in the midst of construction and could ill afford to lodge guests, and the latter was in disgrace over its dishonest dealings regarding St. Aldate’s Church. His reasons were sound, and neither the journey nor the lodging was indefensible by Cistercian rules, but they all knew better than to expect such a gift in the future.
A bare hour had Samuel been settled at the inn when Joanna’s time came, so the men kept Dean distracted with tales and songs while the womenfolk hurried Joanna into the birthing room. It seemed an age before Joanna’s cries were joined by the wail of a babe, and Dean was still in a daze when Pamela returned to the common room with a linen-wrapped, very fussy bundle.
She smiled as she gently placed the tiny burden in his arms. “Your firstborn, Dean-a strong son.”
The bairn quieted in Dean’s hold, and Dean’s breath fled in a quiet “Oh!” Some heartbeats passed ere he could say, “John Robert I dub thee, my dear one.”
Pamela’s smile grew as she left, and Robert sniffled and flushed, while the other men pounded Dean’s back and drank his health and young John’s.
Presently the second babe cried, and again Pamela returned. “Another son!”
Dean felt almost giddy as he took the other lad. “James,” he declared more easily. “James Rufus is his name.”
Father Seamus squeezed his shoulder, and Rufus spluttered but puffed up like a pigeon, and another round was drunk.
And then Joanna cried out again-and her voice was joined by another babe’s cry.
Startled, Pamela ran back to the birthing room. But it was Ellen who entered the public room moments later, flushed and beaming.
“Joanna is well,” quoth she, “as is our last surprise: this little maid.” And as Dean’s arms were already full, she placed the babe in Samuel’s arms.
“Oh,” Samuel breathed. “Oh, Dean, she favors thee!”
Ellen patted Samuel’s shoulder and looked at Dean again. “’Twill take but a few moments more, Dean, but she will want thee and thy wee ones back again after the christening.”
Dean could only nod. Ellen smiled again and left.
“What think you for a name, Dean?” Cynehunde asked.
Dean shook his head. “We... we’d given no thought to a maid-child. Sammy?”
Samuel studied the lass sagely for a long moment before answering, “Jessica. Her name is Jessica.”
And as the wassail rang out again and he and Samuel grinned at each other, Dean somehow felt the last bolt securing the future they had made slide home.
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