"Daddy Dearest"
The Demon was dead and Sam decided it was time to end it. This life, always traveling and killing wasn't going to last forever, at least for him, and Sam wanted something more.
This hunt would be his last and then he was moving to a small town to settle down. Dean didn't take the news very well - not that Sam had actually expected him to - but Sam was sticking to his plan.
It was their one-year anniversary. Sam thought it was time to get serious.
Dani had been teaching 2nd grade at the Birchview Elementary for three years. He'd been repairing and rebuilding houses in the area. Sam had just finished one perfect enough to start a family in, with three bedrooms and plenty of open areas inside. The backyard was large with room for a playhouse.
Sam brought Dani there to make sure she liked it.
Dani was in awe of his work. What had once been a rundown pile of junk was now one of nicest houses in the neighborhood - with new shingles, siding, and landscaping. The smile that lit her face was enough for him to know. He led her through the house and onto the wooden deck that overlooked the backyard.
The green plastic furniture was tacky but the candles, beer, and food he had carefully selected made up for it. The evening was filled with their laughter. Sam took her hand across the table unable to hold it any longer.
"When I saw this house and was working on it, I knew it would be perfect for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key dangling from a long white ribbon.
Dani's brown eyes glistened with tears. "Oh Sam! But I can't afford it."
Sam reached across the table and handed her the key. "I didn't expect you to buy it. I want you to move in with me."
As she took the keys, a silver ring slid down the ribbon -- the diamond catching the light from the candles.
"So…will you?" Sam smiled, the dimples Dani had fallen in love with appeared near his mouth.
"Will I what?"
"Danielle Williams, will you marry me?"
He'd agreed to meet Sam at the next house Sam was planning on fixing. They always went through each one carefully, making sure they were spirit-free before Sam sold it, and for once, Dean was early.
Finally, about 15 minutes later Sam came pulling up in his 2006 Impala. Dean couldn't help but laugh. A new Impala? It's so not as cool as mine. It doesn't even look right. What?! It has a spoiler. And with a trunk like that, how does he expect to hide weapons, or a dead body? What an embarrassment to the family!
As Sam pulled his lanky frame out of the car, a huge smile covered his face. "She said yes, Dean! And my idea with the ring on the ribbon was perfect!"
"Of course it was Sam." Dean punched him on the shoulder, "Come on, little brother, but we've got work to do."
Sam and Dani were sitting on the deck in those same ugly green chairs, looking up at the stars on a warm summer night. Sam reached into a small cooler and pulled out two beers. As he offered one to Dani, she just shook her head no.
"So, you've been quiet lately. Is everything going ok at school?"
"Oh, yeah." Dani's answer sounded distracted.
"Okay." Sam wanted to say more but she took his hand in hers. She pressed what she was holding into his hand, folding Sam's long fingers around a hard plastic object.
When Sam opened his hand, there was a key sitting in his palm, but it wasn't a house key or a car key. This key was big and yellow, the same bright yellow that parents painted on the walls of nurseries.
Sam's his head up to look into her eyes. "We're gonna have a baby?"
Dani took his hand again and nodded, smiling for the first time that evening.
It was a hot, humid summer day and Sam was walking around the yard with Derrek. He was toddling through the soft, green grass leading his Daddy to smell the flowers surrounding the swing set. Sam smiled, trying to remember if he'd ever been happier. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain on his back. Must have been stung by a bee. But then it happened again and again.
Sam sprung up from bed, just in time to see Dani prepare to slap him again. "Geez, Sam, you sure were sleeping hard. Good dreams?" she asked through clenched teeth. Before Sam could answer she was pushing him out of bed. "We've got to go now!" Dani added.
Sam shook the sleep from his eyes, pulled on his clothes, and headed down the hardwood steps to Dani whose lack of patience and the increase in her pain was shown by her red, sweating face.
How long does this take?
Sam had sped through the rolling hills of the countryside to get Dani to the hospital before she had the baby in the backseat of their car. They had pulled into the first parking spot he'd seen about 6 hours ago, but the baby was still on its way. Dani's contractions were getting closer together and the doctor was hoping the baby would be coming soon. Sam was sitting next to her bed, their fingers intertwined, going over the Lamaze class techniques one more time.
Finally the doctor came into the room.
It's almost time.
Excitement was building in the delivery room as nurses bustled around making last minute preparations. Sam felt almost dizzy but he ignored the feeling, like he always did on a hunt and chalked it up to too little sleep and too much excitement.
Sam moved his hand to completely cover Dani's and she gave him a tiny smile and before turning to face the doctor. Instructions began flying through the room and all of a sudden, Sam was afraid, one of the first times since he stopped hunting fulltime. In a matter of minutes, he was going to be a father. Not a father-to-be but a real dad. Dani pushed and groaned and squeezed his hand until it went numb.
"I can see the head, I'm gonna need just a few more big pushes, Dani." The doctor pitched his voice low, eye's focused on Dani's.
She nodded and her face flushed as she tried to catch her breath. She gave Sam's hand another squeeze and pushed again. A moment later, as she collapsed against the bed, Sam heard the first shrill cry of their child. The doctor held up a bloody, slimy, crying mess. And just like that, Sam was a father. Sam tried to focus but the room was spinning.
He toppled backwards onto the tile floor; Dani's eye's going wide in shock as he crashed to the floor.
What happened?
Sam's head throbbed. He opened his eyes, getting his bearing as he looked around the hospital room. To his left he saw his family. Dani was lying in the bed nursing their baby. "Is that my son?"
"Nope," her smile lighting up her eyes. "This is our daughter, Grace. She's named after her father's fall in the delivery room."
A smile played on Sam's lips as he shook his head. "Well, just don't tell Dean ok?"
"Too late Sammy." Dean leaned against the doorframe, nursing a cup of coffee, "You think I would have actually missed this? Let me see this niece of mine."
"You think you get to meet my daughter before me?" Sam stood up along the side of the bed but, as he did, the room began to spin again and he wobbled.
"Sit down, Sam," Dani commanded. "Your daughter needs you to be healthy, not passed out on the floor." Sam nodded as Dean took Grace into his arms.
"Dean, do you even know how to hold a baby? Remember how much you love kids?"
"Oh, I've been practicing. I'm planning on being the babysitter and teaching her all the important things you're going to forget."
Dani picked herself up off the pillow, sitting up straight and shaking her head. "No way! We'll teach her the important stuff she needs to know. You're only going to baby-sit if you leave the rock music and alcohol at home."
"No rock music?"
"That's right," Dani said, looking at Sam for some backup.
He gave an awkward nod of his head and then added, "At least for now. Maybe when she's older."
Sam and Dean were sitting on the hard plastic chairs in the cafeteria, drinking something that was supposed to be coffee. It reminded Sam of the breakfasts they used to share. So much had changed since Dean had picked up Sam from Stanford. Dad had died and the Demon was gone. And he'd pretty much stopped hunting. Now he had a family.
Dean looked up at Sam. "Dude, you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking, looking back and ahead. Man, I can't believe I have a kid, a perfect little girl."
"She is pretty good-looking, considering…"
"Considering what, Dean?"
"Well, considering her father's looks." Dean snorted into his coffee and Sam just shook his head. He had missed this, Dean being Dean and just having a chance to be brothers.
"So, what are you going to do now? Still hunt with me on the weekends or just give it up all together?"
"I don't know yet. I've had nine months to think this through, but… I just don't want anything to happen to her or to Dani. I want to be prepared to protect them. If I stop hunting how prepared would I be when it counts?"
"Well, I've been saving some money. And, I found this place; it's an old garage that I could fix up and be a mechanic. It's not far from here. We'll be close enough that if we need to hunt we can do it together and still protect our families."
Sam looked confused. "Dean, you're going to give up the life? The hunt? Are you sure? I mean, I'd love to have you close by, but are you sure?"
Dean nodded and took another long drink. "I've been thinking, and seeing you and Dani so happy and now with Gracie, I want to give this life a try. It's not like we're giving up hunting entirely."
Sam smiled. His life was perfect. He had a healthy baby girl sitting upstairs with his wife, his best friend, and now Dean was moving near him to actually settle down.
"Gracie?" Sam asked Dean with a big smile.
"Yeah…" Dean coughed.
"I like that."