Three Men an Angel and a Baby – Part 1

"Dean, come on DEAN WAKE UP!" Sam said shaking his brother lightly on the shoulder.

Dean was instantly awake and sat up looking at his brother with tired eyes; with a quick "I'm up!" he moved to get out of bed.

Sam hated waking his brother; he had been driving for a straight eighteen hours the previous day, but they still had two more days of driving before they would get to Bobby's. They were functioning on little sleep and their nerves were frayed. Both of them needed some down time in a safe place, well as safe a place as they could find given that every angel and demon on the planet was out to get them. Bobby's was the best place for that; they could still research ways to defeat "the Devil" whilst laying low for a couple of weeks and getting some much needed rest at the same time. Sam knew that they couldn't go on as they were; one of them would end up getting killed, AGAIN! They needed to be focused and on their best game to do what needed to be done.

"Sammy, give me five minutes to take a quick shower then we can go" Dean said tiredly, his voice gravely from sleep.

"Take your time, I'll go out and get us breakfast. What do you want?" Sam said as he stretched his long body and put on his jacket.

"Get me a couple of breakfast burritos and a large coffee, oh and some donuts for the road" Dean answered as he made his way into the bathroom. Hearing Sam's "Got it, burritos, coffee and donuts" as he left the motel room, Dean closed the bathroom door with a firm click.

Stripping out of his clothes Dean stepped into the shower, the icy water a shock to his still sleeping body. He stood for a few minutes, his head leaning lightly on the tile of the wall, simply letting the water pour over him as it began to heat. He had been back from Hell for months and every day was a struggle to go on. Cas had said that it was his job to stop the Apocalypse, how was he supposed to live with the responsibility of saving the world, how could one man stop the Devil? All he wanted was for this fight to be over, his whole life had been one freaking long manipulation and he was tired of it, tired of being stuck between heaven and hell, between wanting to save his brother and between just wanting to give up and say yes to Michael and be done with it. With a long sigh Dean quickly finished his shower, wrapped a towel round his body and then moved to the sink to shave; looking in the mirror he didn't recognise the man staring back at him. He could see clearly the scar left by Cas on his shoulder from when he pulled him from hell. The rest of his body was free from scars but that didn't take away the scars in his mind, the memory of his time in hell, of the torture he endured and of the souls that he had tortured. He could barely even look at himself in the mirror "Some saviour, I'm the monster that needs ganked" he thought as a tear slipped from eyes and down his cheek, torture and despair evident in his green eyes his whole posture screaming out that he was suffering. He just didn't want to feel anymore, it was too much. Closing his eyes to shut out the man in the mirror he took a deep shuddering breath and tried to pull himself together "man, I'm turning into a chick" he thought.

Finishing up quickly he turned away from the mirror and walked back into the bedroom stopping suddenly as he noticed a small figure leaning over one of the beds "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Dean growled menacingly as he reached instinctively for the gun usually tucked into his waistband.

Straightening and turning quickly the intruder raised her hands and said in a soft Irish accent "Dean, I'm a friend, I need your help"

"A friend lady, I've never seen you before in my life!" Dean ground out roughly as he took in the woman's appearance. It was clear that she had been in a fight, her face was bruised and she had a cut on her mouth, her lips swollen. He could tell from the way that she held herself that she was in a lot of pain.

"Not yet, but you will. I'm from your future Dean" she said lightly as she struggled to stay upright.

"My future! What did the angels send you back?" He asked incredulously as he continued to stare at the tiny young woman in front of him. She appeared to be slightly older than him, mid thirties with long chocolate coloured hair, tied back loosely on her head.

"No, well yes, Cas sent me back" she said stuttering slightly over the words.

"Cas! Is he with you?" Dean asked stepping towards the young woman.

"No, he's not here" she said as her green eyes filled with tears, a sob falling unbidden from her throat. Dean could see the visible effort that she made to pull herself together as she turned towards the bed that she had been leaning over as he came out of the bathroom. Lifting a small bundle into her arms she turned her gaze back towards Dean her eyes filled with fear as she said "I need you to look after my baby, keep her safe until I can come back for her"

"Baby, what do I look like Super Nanny? I don't know who you are lady, but if you're from my FUTURE, then you know the heap of shit that I'm in just now I don't have time to look after a baby I've got an apocalypse to stop" Dean said incredulously as he looked at the young woman.

Looking up as Dean; her eyes pleading as she said "I know what you're going through Dean and I hate that I am putting one more burden on your shoulders, but you and Sam are my only hope. I know that you're on your way to Bobby's for a couple of weeks, you told me that this was the best time to come to"

"Wait a minute! I told you?" he said with a raise of his eyebrow, doubt clear in his tone.

"Yes you, future you! I told you I'm a friend. You said that you didn't trust anyone else to keep her safe that no matter what you would do it"

Shaking his head he said "Let me get dressed and then we'll talk" grabbing some clothes from his bag Dean made his way back to the bathroom and dressed quickly then returned to the room. The young woman was now sitting on the bed, the baby cradled in her arms a soft look on her face a she gazed at the child. "So do you have a name?" he asked as he sat down on the other bed opposite her. His eyes were wary as he waited for her to respond.

"Yes, I have a name, but I can't tell you who I am. I'm sorry, but I can't take a chance on changing the timeline more than I already have by coming here. There are certain events that have to unfold before we meet" the young woman said as she stood up and handed the baby to Dean "her name is Mary"

Dean looked up sharply eyes widening in surprise as he replied "Mary! Is she mine, my daughter, are we...?" as he carefully took the baby into his arms.

Laughing lightly the young woman said with a slight grimace "No, GOD NO! She's not yours, but she is important to you"

Noticing the look he said "Well thanks" slightly offended.

Laughing outright now "No Dean it's not like that, we are very close, just not that type of close" shaking her head as she continued "Dean I don't trust anyone else to do this. Please say you'll help"

"I don't know how to look after a baby; future me must have been crazy to send you here, I'm barely holding things together now" Dean said anxiously as he looked down at the tiny infant. How can he look after such a small innocent life, he was tainted and dirty, broken from his time in Hell. This child needed her parents not him.

Seeing the internal struggle on his face; the young woman placed her hand on his arm saying softly "You looked after Sam and... Sam when he was just a baby, you practically raised him. I trust you to do this, you're my Obi Wan" her face conveying the trust that she was putting in him "Dean I know that things look bleak just now, but they get better I promise" she said earnestly.

Looking up into her eyes; Dean asked "Do we win?" needing to know, needing the hope that her answer would bring.

"I can't ...I can't give you details Dean, it could alter everything, but trust me it'll be over soon and things will get better" she said with a slight nod her voice tainted with sadness and her eyes filled with tears. She wanted nothing more than to give him the answer that he craved, knowing what lay ahead for the brothers and knowing that things would come to a head very soon. "Will you do it, will you take care of her. I'll be back to get her as soon as I can"

"Yeah, I'll do it" he said softly looking at the baby; he didn't know what it was about this young woman but he believed her. There was something in her eyes as she looked at him that made it impossible for him to say no.

Her smile suddenly bright; she turned back towards the bed and indicated to the bag and the child's car seat lying there and said quickly "Everything that you'll need for a few days is in there, her diapers, formula and bottles. I know that the Impala isn't geared up for a baby seat, but it will sit in between you and Sam on the front seat quite easily, there's some money in the bag for anything else that you need" stepping towards Dean she leaned down and placed a kiss on the sleeping baby's forehead and said "Mummy love's you sweetheart, I'll be back real soon. Be good for Dean and Sammy" then kissing Dean lightly on the cheek she said "Thank you"

She looked over at the door as the sound of the key turning in the lock indicated that Sam was back with breakfast. Backing quickly away from Dean the young woman said a slightly panicked "I can't see Sammy" Moving to the centre of the room she quickly recited an Enochian incantation. When she was done she disappeared in a flash of white light leaving Dean sitting on the bed with the infant in his arms.

TBC

Authors Note: Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think.