We're not calling it Babe 4/?
Chapter 4
"You think they have stuff for pigs?" Dean glanced somewhat doubtful up at the advertising, not quite ready to acknowledge the list Sam had made. And the meaning of it. Did he mention that it was a stupid idea to keep the pig? "People have pigs as pets, right? George Clooney was basically married to his pig."
"If they don't have anything for pigs, dog stuff should do just fine." Sam said, holding the list still awkwardly in his hand as if he wasn't sure what to do with it. Between his feet the piglet blinked its eyes open and looked up at them with interest.
"Let me see." Dean snatched the piece of paper out of his brother's hand.
Sam had thought of the obvious things like a leash and a harness. A bed. And Sam was right, it didn't matter if the bed was intended for a dog or a pig as long as it was low enough for the short legged pig to climb in.
Sam also had thought of things Dean would have forgotten like a litter box. And a blanket. Would the pig need a blanket? And if so why would they need to buy one and not use one of the many in the bunker's linen room? They didn't have a linen closet like normal people had, they had a frigging linen room, a large linen room. With sheets and quilts and blankets and things Dean had no clue what they were called or used for.
They could built the world's largest blanket fort if they wanted to, and suddenly Dean really wanted to, but they would get the pig his own blanket. Because it was on Sam's list. It for sure would smell nicer and would be more fluffy than the fifty year old stuff in their linen closet.
Okay, point for Sam for thinking of that. Which Dean immediately took back when he noticed what Sam didn't have on his list.
"Dude, you forgot the toys." Dean searched for a pen to write it down. "And treats. How can you forget the treats?"
"It's just a quick list." Sam defended himself and snatched the piece of paper back. "Half of the stuff you're going to load in the cart isn't on the list."
That would be true if Dean would go with him, he had to admit. But he had no intention to leave the piglet alone in the car and the manager's words still rang in his ear. The pig wasn't a domesticated animal and people would know, especially people in a pet store, that was screaming for trouble he really didn't want.
"You go, we wait here." Dean slapped Sam's shoulder, half in encouragement, half a as push towards the door to get him moving. At Sam's puzzled look he added: "We can't risk too many people seeing him. It's not like he's a puppy or something like that."
"Right." Sam said as if only then it occurred to him what other people might see in their little pet.
"So, you go and we wait here." Dean repeated. "He likes me better anyway." Which was true. The pig did like Dean better. He just didn't want to think about the reason for that.
Dean watched his brother enter the store and then turned his attention to the pig sitting in the foot room next to him.
"If he brings you a pink harness with rhinestones you're totally allowed to pee on his boots." Dean told him and reached out to scratch him behind the ear. The pig leaned into the touch and closed its eyes in pleasure.
By the time Sam came back an eternity later the pig was in Dean's lap, little feet in the air so Dean had better access to his belly. Apparently the little guy loved his belly rubs.
"Did he buy the whole store?" Dean muttered when he saw Sam struggling with a full cart.
"I better help him before he throws out the shotguns to make room for your manicure set." Dean told the pig and gently put it back in the foot room. It gave a little whine and tried to climb over the console in the middle to get back to Dean.
"Just stay put for a minute." Dean pushed it back but couldn't help it and included a quick scratch behind the ear. "Stay here and be quiet for a moment. I'll bring something yummy for you if you do that."
The pig sat down on his hind legs and watched Dean with his head tilted to the side. For a second he looked like Cas when he tried to figure something out.
But he was quiet for the moment and Dean knew better than to waste his chance. He got out of the car, made sure to close the door properly and then helped Sam to put everything in the trunk.
"What is all this?" He asked and stuffed just another squeaky toy between the bed and the bag with the dog beauty products. He'd heard of dog shampoo before but this was insane.
"There was this helpful lady." Sam made a face and sat down on the lid of the trunk to make the lock click. The rest would have to go on the back seat.
"Helpful?" Dean shuddered at the way Sam emphasized the word.
"Yeah. She asked if I had a new puppy and if I had one before and when I said yes to the first and no to the latter, I was doomed." A moment of sheer horror crossed his face. "She forced puppy food on me and chewing toys for when he will lose his baby teeth. Do pigs lose their baby teeth?"
Dean had no idea but he was sure that Sam would google it as soon as he had a hand free for his phone.
"She put things in my cart." Sam said and Dean suppressed a chuckle. Sometimes Sam was such a pushover. But he got all the things they needed, plus a thousand they would never need, and so far Dean hadn't spotted anything pink. Sam even got a huge collection of treats.
While they loaded the car Dean didn't hear a sound from the little pig and every time he glanced to the front of the car just to make sure it was still there he found intense little eyes watching him. As far as he could tell the pig hadn't moved since it had sat down.
So when they had everything secure in the car he grabbed one of the boxes with dog biscuits, for puppies with a happy Golden Retriever puppy on the box, before he slipped back in the driver's seat.
"Good boy." He rubbed the piglet's head and gave him two of the biscuits. Munching down on them it settled down in the nest of shirts again and was fast asleep only minutes later.
They drove in silence for a while, both brothers lost in their own thoughts. Dean on his part wondered how intelligent the pig really was. He had the nagging feeling that it understood way more than an ordinary pig should. On the other hand, this was not an ordinary pig. Which was kind of the problem.
"He needs a name." Sam eventually broke the silence.
"Hmm." Dean made, eyes fixed on the road. A name would seal the deal. If they gave him a name, there was no turning back. Not that he could turn back, if Dean was honest. The little guy had already wormed his way in his heart and he was pretty sure into Sam's as well. There was no turning back anymore.
"How about …" Sam started but Dean cut him off.
"We're not calling it Babe." He made his point clear with a finger pointed at Sam.
"I wasn't …" Sam started but didn't finish the sentence. They both knew that that was exactly what he had in mind.
"How about Wilbur?" Sam suggested. "You know like …"
"I've seen the movie." Dean cut him off once again. "No. No sweet little movie pigs. He's a … what did you call these pigs?"
"Twrch Trwyth." Sam supplied fluently without breaking his tongue.
"Yeah, that." Dean didn't even try to pronounce it correctly. "Point is, he's a wood spirit. A badass supernatural creature." He paused, thinking about their choices so far. "Besides, Babe makes me think of Sonny and Cher eye-fucking each other and Wilbur … what's that even supposed to mean?"
"Okay." Sam made a defeated gesture. "What would you suggest?"
"Little Mac." The answer just popped into his mind. Little for the obvious reason and Mac? He was thinking of MacGyver, a guy who was way smarter than he looked, and Mac had also been short for MacLeod the immortal Highlander. Scottish and Irish, close enough, at least for Dean, he was pretty sure the Scots and the Irish would disagree with him on this. And it had the supernatural aura. It was perfect. Of course that wasn't the answer he gave Sam when his brother repeated the name, trying to figure out the meaning behind it.
"Little Mac." Dean said with a smug grin. "Because he's not a Big Mac yet."
Sam gaped at him.
"That's …" For once his brother was lost for words. "That's not even the right species." He thought about it for a moment. "I hope."
"Little Mac it is." Dean nodded to himself and reached out to crank the music up just to make it impossible for Sam to argue with him on this. At the last second he remembered the little guy sleeping at Sam's feet. He dropped his hand without touching the knob on the radio.
However, Sam saw the move and got the intention behind it.
"Okay." He agreed. "Little Mac." The way he looked down at the sleeping pig he'd already accepted the name.
About an hour later Mac woke up. At first he just sat there and let Sam pat him but soon he became fidgety.
"I think he needs to go." Sam said while Dean was already looking for a place to let the pig out for a moment.
He stopped the car at the far end of a picnic area. There were only a few other people around so he hoped they could have a short break without anybody bothering them.
"You need to wear this so you won't get lost, Little Mac." He told the pig, for one to use his name so the pig would get used to it and second because there was the off chance that Mac actually understood at least a bit of what he was saying. And soothing words never hurt, especially when he was about to strap the pig in a harness he'd never worn before.
There was no way to tell for sure but Mac did stand still for Dean to fasten the harness around him. Dean clicked the leash in.
"Okay, let's go for a walk." He led the pig over to some bushes where Mac could take care of business. After that he let the pig wander around. Mac was sniffing here and chewing on something there, Dean was pretty sure he ate at least two bugs and dug out a worm, but all in all Dean just enjoyed watching the little guy exploring the area. They both were not back to one-hundred percent so neither of them was up for running around but they enjoyed a slow walk.
Sam walked quietly next to Dean, his eyes never leaving the pig, and Dean caught him smiling at Mac's antics.
"Puppy!" A high pitched voice suddenly startled Dean out of his thoughts. He only caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye before there was a little girl all over Mac.
The pig made a frightened noise and Dean hurried to pick him up, out of the little girl's reach.
"I'm sorry." A women, probably the mother, hurried over. "She's obsessed with puppies." She gave them an apologizing smile while she tried to hold her daughter back who made grabby hands at Mac who watched her from his safe spot in Dean's arms.
As a compromise the woman picked her daughter up as well so that the little girl, not older than four, Dean guessed, was at eye-level with Mac.
"Puppy." She whined and reached out for the pig. Seeing that Mac stretched out for her as well Dean stepped closer.
"He likes to be scratched behind the ear." Dean said, not having the heart to correct her on the puppy part. He kept a watchful eye on Mac, ready to step back if necessary, but now that he wasn't ambushed Mac seemed okay with the girl patting him.
"And quite a cute puppy you have there." The woman spoke up. "He's a Golden Retriever, right?"
Chapter 5
Masterpost