Food for Thought

Sam was used to waking up early. He had been doing it for years. He was even better at jumping to full alertness when on the hunt. Apart from being part of a hunter's lineage, he had senses that were well honed and could pick up anything that didn't contribute to the overall feeling of being secure and just right. At the moment his ears were picking up sounds that disrupted the peaceful bliss of sleep that he had tucked himself into with his beloved and his eyes shot open.

Stifling the yawn, he sat up and glanced over to see his wife asleep. His gaze then shifted over to the source of the sounds that he was learning to distinguish into different types. Slowly he got out of bed and padded on the carpeted floors of his room in the Batcave and walked over to a contraption that actually put some good points down for the Librarian Sherlock in his book and peered over. At the sight of the source, his features molded into a smile.

"Hey Jess. Whatcha crying for?"

Reaching into the crib, Sam gently picked up his newborn daughter and cuddled her to his chest to ascertain why she was crying. He chuckled a bit when the crying turned into gentle sobs but still mewling. She was hungry.

It was almost a week and he managed to learn that as much which was evident when he quietly stole out of the room and down to the kitchen. He knew that Dean had made a couple of bottles that were sitting in the fridge. It was just a matter of heating one up, which was what he was doing all the while holding his daughter to his chest, her little head near his heart.

Looking down at her, Sam could hardly believe that he was a father to someone so tiny and helpless. Inwardly he chuckled from the memory of Angela commenting on how tiny their daughter was and why she looked like a walrus while she was pregnant but it had been uttered lovingly. Gently he stroked Jess' cheek with his finger and chuckled when her tiny mouth opened and closed around the tip.

Jessica Mary Winchester. That was the name her mother suggested and he felt that it was a good name. She had been conceived, carried and born during a time which could be called inconvenient. The climate of the list of friends and enemies had shifted and the fact that someone like Angela was expecting… it was a royal rumble of who could have dibs. Not that anyone would notice looking at the way Sam was gazing at his daughter.

At first Sam had been in shock when he found out coupled with the fact that his wife had passed out after a relatively easy job. It scared him and his brother so they called Doc Fi, Liam's sister to take a look. Looking back it was funny at how he and Dean were guessing as to the supernatural means of what was wrong, making diagnosis until Fiona came and asked to speak to Sam alone. It was then that she quizzed him and he was clueless as to where it was going until she spelled it out.

The next emotion was worry. It wasn't just worry for Angela since she was just as susceptible to the ailments of humans including what could happen during pregnancy. He was also worried about his role in things; he questioned the rightness in bringing a child into the world that the vast majority didn't know exist and living with a potential target on their back. He wondered if he would be a good father and often compared himself to his own but the greatest fear was that his child would be used against him and if the baby were to come to harm…

He had voiced his concerns to Angela and she revealed her own. He knew that she feared she would curse their children with her genes; it was a personal fear that never went away. In his mind though he knew that if the baby were to have super cool freaky mojo like its mother, it already had the best teacher around. He spent nine months showing her that with a little help from Dean and Castiel even though it was more of a 'what the hell?' moment.

It had been rough when she started to show and she couldn't exactly hunt. She went out when she could and her pregnancy did give an interesting cover for some jobs. It certainly made an impression on women who cooed over it and Sam did what he could to prevent Dean from milking the situation for its full worth. It also seemed to have an effect on her powers and there were spikes that were the equivalent of 'you just hurt my Sam (or Dean, or both) now you die' and 'you killed my boys so you will suffer and die' modes. It helped a bit but also seemed to make a bigger target but thank God for the pups.

Gideon lived up to his name 'mighty warrior' and with stayed by Angela throughout the whole pregnancy. Of course he turned into a little chicken when the labor pains started. As was his right, Sam was the one that endured the torture with Angela and he wondered where in hell did she pick up a strange set of vocabulary that included obscenities that even his academic mind couldn't fathom but it didn't matter since he was working on convincing her not to use her full strength on his hand otherwise it would be human soup pulp. Later Dean asked him if he conducted a botched exorcism and that warranted the grade AA bitch face.

She's so beautiful Sam.

That was the first complete phrase in English that was uttered by Angela as she held their daughter and it was then she suggested the name. Dean thought she was a mass of wrinkles but Sam was inclined to agree with Angela. Jess was beautiful then just as she was now. He smiled as he checked the temperature of the milk, making sure that it wasn't too hot.

Satisfied that it was just right, he carried Jess over to the study and sat in one of the plush chairs and said, "Alright Jess. Here you go."

Jess accepted the teat in her mouth and began suckling. Her tiny hands were fisted but they grasped the sides firmly. They only uncurled when one of her hands touched his finger and her tiny fingers wrapped around it.

Sam gazed with a smile on his face and watched as Jess suckled her nightly feeding. She was not a fussy eater and finished her bottle with no problems. Even the burping wasn't too bad though she did sick up just a little. It didn't matter to him as he put everything back and went back to their room and sat in the rocking chair, a surprise from Castiel, and held his daughter to rock her back to sleep.

Sitting in the chair and looking down at her, Sam knew that even though he had fears about his parenting abilities, he knew that he would do everything in his power to keep that tiny life safe for as long as possible. She was his daughter, a product of the love he and Angela had for each other. He watched as Jess cuddled close to his body, her head near his heart and chuckled, "You're just like your mother."

He continued to sit and rock Jess, watching her sleep. His heart swelled with love for her and seized with a fit of inspiration, he brought her over to the bed and placed her between him and her mother. He was barely under the covers when Angela's hand sleepily moved and gently stroked the baby's palm with her thumb while Jess' fingers closed around it. He couldn't help but smile as he gently massaged Angela's hip and leaned down to kiss Jess gently on the head before drifting back to sleep. He would do what he had to and protect his family.

A/N: Okay here it is folks, a piece of fluff right around the time little Jess Winchester was born. Enjoy.