Dean hasn't heard his Dad's voice in his head in years, but he hears it the night that Jo gives birth to his son. He's in the hospital waiting room because Ellen had warned him if he was anywhere near Jo when she was pushing out the baby, chances were he'd lose a hand.
An hour into her labor, he gets up off the couch and looks into the room. There was an awful lot of blue hospital fabric. In the midst of it was Jo, her blonde hair sticking to her sweaty face. Jo had been the least phased of all those involved considering the baby was coming a little bit early. She catches his eye through the little glass window and sticks her tongue out. She mouths something to him and it looks an awful lot like "Asshat."
When the doctors told him that the baby was early, he called Sammy in California to ask what it meant exactly. Sam had done his nerd thing on the Internet and then put his girlfriend on the phone. She told him it meant that there could be complications in with the baby, but since Jo was more or less at the ninth month, it shouldn't matter. She put Sam back on and the brothers Winchester were silent for a while. They both knew what it meant. That there was something that could get his baby that Dean might not be able to protect him or her from. And if it did get the as yet unborn child, he wouldn't be able to shoot it up with rock salt and have a even the tiniest bit of closure.
Dean hangs up after a while and goes back to pacing. Two hours into Jo's labor, Bobby shows up and hands Dean a silver flask.
"Don't know how holy water's gonna help us here, Bobby."
"It ain't holy water, its whiskey."
They both sit in on the too small, under-stuffed chairs and ponder. They both seem very in out of place in a room with yellow ducks and bunnies on the wall. Finally, Ellen comes out of the delivery room looking dog tired and exasperated.
"We've got another damn Winchester boy in the world."
The doctors clear out and Jo gets wheeled back to her room and that's where they all go afterwards. Its when Dean crosses the threshold that he hears his dad's voice and feels his dad's warning hand on his chest.
"Son, why you want to go get yourself something new to protect? You can't keep them safe, not forever anyway. Hunters don't make good family men."
Dean has trouble arguing back because he can't think of one hunter who's family life is all right. Bill and his dad and Isaac and even Bobby. He could probably cut and run now, save the kid and Jo a whole lotta trouble. Hell, it wasn't like Jo couldn't take care of the baby herself, although both of them would probably hate him 'til the end of time. They could be better of without him, anyway.
But then he looks at Jo in bed, looking all pink and flushed and girly in a way she's never been before, and she's cooing to the little swaddled figure in her arms, singing Guns'n'Roses to his son and he knows there's no way in Hell he could walk away now. She looks up and catches Dean's eye again and smiles her sincere, Mid-Western smile.
"Baby, this is your daddy. You're gonna hate him sooooo bad in about sixteen years."
She won't let him hold the baby right away and he understands, so he sits next her on the bed, reaching around her shoulder to offer his big, callused finger to the baby boy. Bobby and Ellen drift off after a while and leave the couple alone with their baby. They argue about what they're going to name him, argue over who's dad's name is going to go first. William John? Or John William?
Eventually choose John William after a quick call to Sam, who finds that a guy named John Williams made all the music for Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was so awesome that even Jo couldn't pass it up. Dean wondered if she was letting him win just this once.
"Tired," Jo yawns, putting her head on Dean's shoulder.
"You did push a little human out of your-"
"Hey!" Jo nods down at little John William Winchester in her arms, "We gotta clean up our language now. Don't want our son swearing like an old hunter before he can walk."
"Guess so."
"Exactly." Jo's eyes flutter and she holds the baby up to Dean. "You can hold him now. I'm going to sleep."
"You do that." Jo shimmies down against the pillows and watches Dean with his son, supporting the baby's head just like he's supposed to (Ellen taught him how to hold a baby right with a sack of flour).
"Dean?"
"Yeah?"
"Next one is Robert Ashley."