Dean was driving way too fast for the icy roads. He was in a hurry to get back to the motel and drown himself in a bottle of whiskey. Sam slept next to him. His head resting at an awkward angle against the passenger window. They'd just finished chasing down a wendigo, literally. Sam was beat. He was too, but he didn't want to spend all of Christmas Eve in the Impala.
He took his eyes off the road for just a second to switch the radio station. When he looked up there was a parked car with a woman standing next to it on the side the road and he was headed straight for them. Forgetting about the icy conditions, Dean slammed on the brakes causing the car to skid. He tried to regain control but ended up burying his baby in the snow filled ditch.
"What the hell, Dean," Sam yelled as he awoke to his body being tossed around like a rag doll.
"Son of a bitch! Sorry, dude, lost control on the ice. I didn't want to hit the woman."
"What woman?"
Sam's question was answer by a pounding on the window and a female voice, "Hey, are you okay in there? Hello, can you hear me? Dear Lord, please let them be okay."
Dean rolled down the window and found himself looking into the worried face of a young girl of what he guessed was middle eastern descent. Her dark hair was very long, almost to her waist and her big brown eyes surveyed him with solemn gaze that almost hid the sparkle behind them.
"Are you guys all right?" Her voice pulled him out of his appraisal.
Both men ran their mental checklists for personal injury and then just nodded.
Backing up, surveying the scene, she predicted, "Look's like there's two of us needing a tow."
"What! Oh, Man!" Dean scrambled out of the car to check for himself. His baby was indeed firmly stuck. "Sonnabitch."
"Dean."
"What?"
"Watch your language," Sam said gesturing towards the girl.
"Oh, shit. I mean crap. Sorry," Dean sputtered.
By now the girl had an infectious smile on her face. "Don't worry, I've certainly heard worse. But if you don't mind, I'm gonna go sit in my car, my back is really aching."
As she carefully waddled her way to the other car, the brothers froze in amazement. How could they have missed it? The kid was pregnant, very pregnant.
"You call for service and I'll go see how the girl's doing," Sam called over his shoulder already moving towards the second car.
She was sitting in the front seat, eyes closed, taking deep breaths. Sensing his presences, she spoke in a low voice, "I'm Mary by the way."
"Sam."
"Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, uh, you too. What happened to your ride?"
"Not sure. One minute it was running and the next we were coasting to the side of the road."
"We?"
"Yeah, my fiancé and me."
"Where's he now?"
"He decided to try to walk to the next town and get some help. He's been gone about an hour." Catching the look on Sam's face, "The weather wasn't that bad when he started out. There's not much traffic on this road, so he figured it was best to head out."
Sam's face showed exactly what he thought of that idea, but before he could say anything, Dean's voice came to them through the icy air "Hey, Sammy, no reception."
Mary smirked, "Sammy, huh."
"It's Sam." He gave a forced smile. "You knew there wasn't reception, didn't you?"
"Yep."
"And you didn't say something because?"
"Because you'd have tried anyway. Saved myself the effort."
Sam couldn't disagree with her logic. He looked towards their stuck car and realized Dean was in the process of unloading their bags and some weapons from the trunk.
"Excuse me a sec," Sam muttered over his shoulder, already heading to the Impala. He didn't see Mary's slight grimace.
"Dean, what are you doing?"
"What's it look like I'm doing, Sammy? We can't stay in the Impala buried at an angle and her car is smaller. It'll take less body heat to keep it warm."
Again, Sam couldn't argue with the logic.
Mary didn't acknowledge the men's approach. She seemed to be concentrating on something. Dean's disgruntled, "Humph," got her attention.
"What's all this? You two moving in?" she asked cheekily.
"We thought it would be better if we camped out together in your car, rather than try to sit upright on a slope. Hope that's okay," Sam explained.
"Sure, why not. The more the merrier." Mary's eyes glistened with amusement as she watched the two men try to settle themselves into the Prius. The one guy was big, but not overtly so, but Sam, he made her little car look like a clown car. She couldn't quite conceal her giggles as the two continued to rearrange their limbs, trying to get comfortable.
"Glad we amuse you," Dean grumbled as he knocked his knees against the steering wheel.
"I'm so sorry for your discomfort," Mary crooned without a single bit of remorse in her tone. The twinkle in her eyes, didn't help the matter.
"You have to forgive my brother, he's not usually such a jerk with the women," Sam injected before Dean could come back with snappy reply.
Sam was right. He was being an ass. He couldn't seem to help it. There was something off about this whole thing. His hunter instincts had kicked in as he watched the girl walk to her car. He couldn't put his finger on it though. Glancing back at Sam's face, Dean offered a half hearted apology. "Sorry, just edgy."
"No worries," Mary replied absently.
The only sounds heard for the next twenty-five minutes were the constantly rustling of clothing and the occasional joint popping as both men sought to find a comfortable position in the little car. After a bit, Mary no longer found humor in the situation.
"That's it," Dean exclaimed, "I'm gonna see if there isn't some place near here we can camp out in. I saw a couple of side roads a little ways back. Maybe there's some cabins or something we can use."
"No, I'll go," Sam offered. "I'm more cramped than you are. You can move to the back seat."
Dean started to argue, but he noticed Sam's pointed look at his stomach and squelched his original words. "Yeah, good point."
Mary couldn't help but smile again as the men untangled themselves and Dean moved to the back. "Wish I could be more help," she murmured as she also shifted to find a more comfortable position.
"Nah, you're good. Sam and I can handle this." Dean stared at her for a long moment. "How old are you any way?"
"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to ask a lady her age?" Dean continued to stare. "I'm nineteen." His gaze remained steady. "Okay, I'm sixteen."
"Mighty young to be engaged," Dean stated pointing towards her ring finger.
"Don't you mean, pregnant?"
"That too."
"It's part of our culture. Most girls my age have at least two kids by now."
"So what, you're a late bloomer?"
"That's funny," Mary chuckled.
"What can I say, I'm a funny guy."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence. It wasn't too long and Sam was back.
"Scored on the first road. There's an abandoned house bout two hundred yards off the road. The house is no good, but the barn behind it is sturdy enough. We should be able to build a fire plus the tack room still has some useable things."
"Sounds good. Let's get this show on the road," Dean urged extracting himself from the backseat.
Neither brother noticed the slight grimace on Mary's face at the distance they were planning to travel nor did it register how long it took her to get out of the car. They were already dividing up what they felt they needed to take with them and bickering about it.
"Either of you have a piece of paper." When they both gave her a dumbfounded look she explained, "I want to leave a note for my fiance."
After some scrounging, Sam produced a convenience store receipt and Mary scribbled a quick note, placing it on the driver's side dashboard. The load was divvied up, but not equally. Dean insisted that Mary only take her purse and a blanket. It didn't escape her notice that Sam took the bulk of what was left.
It was slow going over the ice. More than once Dean had to catch Mary as she slipped. He ended up just hanging onto her for the last half of the trip. When they reached the barn, Mary was so relieved, she sat down on a bale of hay and sighed. Sam insisted on getting the fire started, grabbing the stuff from the tack room and going back to the cars to get the remainder of their things. Dean ordered Mary to stay put while he arranged their gear and set up a seating area near the fire. Mary was so tired, she didn't argue.
Sam double checked their area and left on the second round. The fire heated the drafty barn up enough that Mary started to dose in the warmth. She watched Dean through half closed eyes.
"You're injured."
"Excuse me?"
"You're injured," she stated again.
"No, just tired."
It was Mary's turn to stare.
"Yeah, okay. A couple of cracked ribs. No big deal. How'd you know?"
"The way you move, Sam not letting you carry too much and the slight wince when you breath too deep, all dead give aways."
"You're fairly observant for someone so young."
"You learn to be in my country."
"And where would that be? I can't place your accent."
It was a long moment before she replied, "That would be Jordan."
"Long way from home."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
It was at that moment Sam returned with the remainder of their things. Mary marveled at how much he brought. He'd even dragged her cooler of food behind him.
"Well, this should keep us for the night. I'll go get some more firewood."
"Wait, any sign of." Sam's shaking head stopped Mary mid-sentence.
"No, no sign of him."
Mary's reaction was more profound than Sam expected. She groaned, held her stomach and sank down to a hay bale. Then it dawned on him.
"What the hell! Are you in labor?"
Both men stared at her, hoping the answer was no. At that moment, all Mary could do was nod.
"Awesome, just frickin' awesome! What the hell do we do now, Sam?" Dean bellowed.
"First, first we need to call down. We can't panic."
"Okay, what do they do in the movies? We need some water and clean blankets. I can get some snow and melt it in one of the pots you brought back. You get the blankets out, but keep the ones for the baby off the ground. We can make a pallet over some hay." Dean was really on a roll and Sam was nodding his head at each statement, so it took a while before they realized Mary was laughing.
"What's so funny?" they questioned in perfect unison.
"You two. Dr. Sexy MD's you are not. Calm down, guys. First babies can take a while. The contractions are still very sporadic. It'll be hours yet. We'll have help by then."
Dean didn't look convinced, "What make's you so sure?"
"I'm not, but I don't need you two panicking on me."
"We're not panicking. We're trying to be prepared," Dean insisted.
"Yeah, okay. Whatever you need to tell yourself. Would one of you be so kind as to hand me a water?"
Sam grabbed the water. Handing it to her, he said, "Okay, you're obviously the expert here. What do we do?"
Dean looked both annoyed and relieved at the loss of leadership. "Yeah, your wish is our command, princess."
"Not so funny anymore, Dean. I just need a place to lie down for a while."
The brothers worked in tandem, quickly setting up a bed role, well cushioned with hay, close enough to the fire to keep Mary warm without setting her on fire. Mary sighed her thanks as Sam helped her to the makeshift bed.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a little rest." She was asleep before they could answer.
"So now what, Sammy."
"Why you asking me?"
"Cause you're the one with the college degree."
"Prelaw doesn't cover childbirth, Dean."
"Well, I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies, Miss Scarlett."
Sam shot Dean a look of incredulity.
"What? I was laid up and Dad was hunting. Gone With the Wind was the only thing on TV. I do a mean Rhett Butler. Wanna hear it?"
"Uh, No."
"Bitch."
"Jerk."
"So what now?"
"I guess we wait," Sam replied.
Not known for their patience, both men put their restless energy to work. Dean gathered snow to melt for water and set up a bathroom of sorts in one of the horse stalls. It wasn't much, but they'd have some privacy. Sam brought in more wood, organized the blankets and divided up their rations. Both frequently checked on Mary, often jumping when she moaned in her sleep. If this is what expectant fathers went through, neither of them wanted any part of it.
The sun had settled below the horizon before Mary woke. She noticed how busy the guys had been. "Wow, you two are really an efficient team." She couldn't stop the giggle that erupted upon seeing their startled reactions.
Sam was the first to recover. "How are you feeling?" His concerned tone saying more than the simple words.
"Not too bad. I do need a bathroom break though."
"Well, Dean set up something in the third stall over there."
"Uh, that's great. I could use a little help here."
"Oh, God, sorry." Sam apologized running over to help her stand up.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
The guys made no effort to hide their attentiveness as Mary waddled to the rustic bathroom. "Hey, guys, I'm not a china doll. I won't break," she called back to them as she disappeared around the stall.
As she came back just a few minutes later, Dean grudgingly gave Mary a couple of approval points because she didn't dither. He never understood how women could spend so much time in the bathroom. He quickly subtracted them when he noticed she was just standing there with a pool of liquid at her feet.
"What the hell. Don't you know you're supposed..."
Sam's reprimanding, "Dean," cut off his next words.
"You are such an idgit. My water just broke."
"Awesome, just frickin' awesome!"
There was a moment where all three of them stood staring at each other before Sam stated, "Well, I guess we're gonna have a baby."
Mary made it back to the bedroll just before the first big contraction hit. Dean was immediately by her side. She grabbed his arm with more strength than he thought a woman could have in her hand. "That might leave a bruise."
"Oh man, Dean, I'm so sorry."
"I've had worse. Now how do you want to be? Sitting, lying, squatting?"
"Squatting, Dean, really?" Sam questioned.
"Yeah, squatting. I saw it on a, well never mind where I saw it. Some women are more comfortable in that position."
Chuckling, Mary replied, "I think I'd like to just lean up against the hay bale. Don't suppose you'd time the contractions?" She nodded at his watch.
"Uh, sure." The look of confusion that crossed Dean's face made Mary grin even more.
"Just would like to know how far apart they are."
"Oh, yeah, sure, that might be good."
"It's gonna be fine, you know. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years."
"Yeah, well, this is my first."
"Mine too."
Dean gave Mary one of his determined nods, then helped her settle on the blankets. "Just tell us what you need, deal?"
"No worries, I'm not shy."
Mary proved her statement over the next few hours. She got ice cubes for her dry mouth, steady arms for the pacing she insisted on and a couple of back massages when she couldn't take the ache any longer. Through it all the three talked about trivial things when Mary was able to talk and the guys told her unbelievable stories when she couldn't to take her mind off the contractions.
Mary gained respect from the two harden men with each passing hour. Her voice never waiver from talking level and not once did a word of profanity slip out. Neither of them could make the same claim. Dean muttered colorful words every time he saw a contraction start and Sam would almost yelp in sympathy.
"Guys, I think I need to push now."
The sheer terror that crossed their faces normally would've made her laugh, but Mary wasn't capable of laughing. "It's okay guys, I get to do all the work. For the record, this isn't my birth plan."
"I'll bet," Dean snorted, "exposing yourself to two strangers in a barn wasn't on the checklist?"
"No, I planned on exposing myself to a whole room of strangers in a hospital of my choosing." Everyone chuckled, relieving some stress.
"Okay, boys, here we go."
When push came to shove, no pun intended, they made a pretty good team. Sam sat behind her with his legs on either side of her so that he could help her sit forward when needed and so she could slump back against something slightly softer and definitely less scratchy than the hay bale. Dean would've traded him places in a heartbeat, but his ribs protested fiercely. Instead he sat at her feet occasionally lifting the blanket to check for a baby. The flush of embarrassment that crossed his face each time made him fodder for ribbing. Finally, a beautiful baby boy was born. Dean glanced at his watch to note the time and was surprised to see it was after midnight. As he placed the baby in Mary's arms, Dean whispered, "Merry Christmas, Mommy."
Mary's exhausted smile was contagious. The guys grinned like idiots.
"What are you going to name him," Sam asked as he marveled at the baby's tiny fingers.
"Asher, for his grandfather. Asher Dean Samuel after his god fathers."
Dean awoke to a pounding in his head and a pounding on the car window.
"Hey, are you guys okay in there? Look's like I came along at the right time."
Dean's confused gaze moved past the man to see a tow truck parked just up the road. He looked back at the man, noticing his name tag, Joseph.
Slapping Sam on the shoulder, he brought his brother to consciousness. "Dude, you're not gonna believe the dream I just had."
"No, you're not gonna believe mine."