It was the sound of a baby crying that jolting out of his sleep and made Dean sit up in his bed. He was almost out of bed automatically until he remembered exactly where the source of the crying was coming from and with a scowl he forced himself to lie back down. The other side of the bed was cold in a way that it had been for a few days now, ever since Sam had moved back into his own room away from Dean.
He could hear Sam already moving, the sound of crying got louder for a moment as he passed Deans room and went towards the kitchens and Dean glared up at the ceiling as he did.
Moving his jaw from side to side Dean already knew that nothing was going to let him get back to sleep other than the one thing he didn't want to do.
Scowling he forcefully threw his blanket to the side and got up; fighting the urge with everything he had to not grab his gun as well, and started towards the kitchen.
A corner of him twitched at the sight of the mess in the kitchen once he reached it, he had cleaned before he had gone to sleep, one of the few things he could still control here, and the sight of books and papers as well as baby bottles and bottles of formulas and towels on the table made him want to just throw it all away.
There was his brother, staring intensely at the bottle in his hand, eyes narrowed as he read the instructions. His eyes stared hard at the instructions as if they held the secret to the universe and the best recipe of pie ever created.
And there, right there, right in Sam's arms was the cause of it all, the cause of the screams and the shouts and the reason that he and Sam hadn't been able to talk to one another civilly in days.
Jack Kline. The son of the fricken devil. Nephilim and future destroyer of worlds and creation.
Sobbing with tears and snot running down his face as Sam bounced him slightly as he desperately tried to prepare a bottle of formula for him.
Sam was talented at many things, some of them Dean didn't get and wasn't sure where he had learned it. Others he just accepted and didn't question.
Taking care of babies in any way however, was not a part of what Sam could do.
Dean breathed out slowly and walked forward, finally getting Sam's attention on him. His brother glanced at him for a moment, hesitating but then turning his focus back onto the formula. Jack was starting to cry harder then, wiggling and turning in Sam's one arm.
Shaking his head Dean came forward and took the formula from Sam, ignoring his brother's petulant protest. With ease he opened it and after glancing at it measured out the right amount with the cap that came with it.
Looking around the counter he spotted the water that Sam had specifically gotten for this and opened it single handled, pouring it into the bottle and adding the formula into it. Closing it he started to shake it and once he felt like it was ready he tossed it to Sam who caught it in the hand that wasn't holding the baby.
There was a look of gratitude on Sam's face as he shifted Jack in his arms, moving the bottle to his mouth until the baby latched on, starting to drink.
Dean nodded and turned to leave, having done whatever he needed to to make the screaming stop and therefore he can go back to sleep.
"Dean." Sam said quietly, his body automatically stopping when he heard the exhaustion in Sam's voice and turning around to face him.
His brother looked as exhausted as his voice had said. Sam had been focused entirely on the kid since they had gotten back to the bunker and as every baby in the history of babies they took everything from the person taking care of them including sleep, mental stability, and any strength they had left.
"Thanks." Sam said softly, his head bowed and seemingly looking at Jack as the baby ate. The kid was started to drift back to sleep already, still slowly drinking from the bottle.
Dean nodded once more, leaning in the doorway but not leaving just yet. Sam's own head was bowing over slightly, falling forward before he forced itself to rise up once more, wanting to go to sleep, and a part of Dean that he was trying to ignore immediately was set ablaze.
"When was the last time you slept?" he asked gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Sam shrugged as best as he could without disrupting Jack. "Don't know." he mumbled. "Just been...busy."
"Taking care of the devils kid." Dean said, trying and failing to keep the bitterness from his voice.
Sam sighed and finally looked up at Dean again; Dean ignored how his heart twisted at the sight of the bags under Sam's eyes.
"Dean." Sam said softly, coming to him slowly. "He's a baby. He's not just Lucifer's kid. He was Kelly's kid too."
"He's the reason that mom is trapped in some god awful other dimension that we can't get to." Dean said. "He's the one that opened a fricken rift that Lucifer pulled her into."
"He didn't do it on purpose." Sam said bringing the kid up. "Dean look at him, he can't do anything right now."
Dean forced himself not to look down at the baby, he knew that if he did then he was going to break and break hard.
"You're okay with this? He's Lucifer's kid and after everything that dick did to you..." Dean trailed off for a moment, seeing how Sam's eyes glazed over for a moment. That moment was enough for his arms to go limp and the baby to start to slip.
Before Dean even knew what he was doing he had immediately jumped forward, hands coming up to keep the baby up and keep him from falling, his hands curling around the kid. Sam blinked and quickly did the same, his hands entwining with Deans to make sure Jack didn't fall.
The kid wasn't even bothered, more than halfway to being asleep, bottle barely slipping out of his mouth.
Both the brothers breathed out a sigh of relief and Dean steadfastly refused to look at Sam who he could see was smiling slightly.
Sam shifted Jack so that he could hold him properly again and Dean pulled back, clearing his throat.
"I know whose kid he is." Sam said quietly. "And I know what happened during his birth, but he didn't do it Dean. He's just a baby right now, he needs our help and he needs our protection. We can...we can do this, we can raise him and we'll raise him right, so that he can use his powers for good."
Dean breathed out slowly and glanced at the kid again. Jack was deep asleep now, curled into the crook of Sam's arm and breathing slowly.
Dean felt those same feelings, those feelings he had towards Ben all those years ago or whenever he sees a kid that had gotten hurt on hunts. Those feelings he gets when he thinks about Kristy or sometimes Claire and how they're hunting.
"And what if he doesn't?" he asked quietly. "What if even after all that he turns and he starts to hurt the people around him?"
What if he hurts you was left unsaid.
Sam nodded. "That's a possibility too, no matter what." he agreed. "And we'll go through that if it comes to it." he looked down at Jack once more. "But I have a feeling that it won't."
He couldn't argue with Sam like this, not when he looked completely drained and exhausted and looked at the bundle in his arms with such a softness that he hadn't seen in a long time on his face.
"Fine." Dean said, finally letting it go and giving in. He was too tired and he just wanted to go back to sleep. He reached out to take Jack from his brother, shifting him properly into his own arms. "On one condition."
Sam smiled at his brother, already knowing what he was going to ask. "Alright."
Dean tried to ignore how warm Jack was in his arms and how automatically his body shifted so that he could hold him properly. "You come back into my bed."
Sam breathed out a laugh and his smile widened. "I'm going to have to move the crib into your room too then."
A sacrifice he was willing to make. "Fine." Dean agreed. "But now, I need my five hours." he glanced over the kitchen. "Also you're cleaning this tomorrow."
"That wasn't part of the condition." Sam said his voice light and teasing. He leaned over and quickly kissed Deans lips. "Give me two minutes and I'll have the crib in the room."
Dean nodded and turned to go back to their room, still holding Jack close to him. He glanced down at the baby and because Sam wasn't there anymore, he had gone to get the crib, and felt himself relax a bit more. Almost comforted by the familiar weight in his arms he held onto him gently and once he went into his room there was Sam already in his bed and a crib was pressed against the wall.
Carefully Dean put Jack into the crib, covering him with a small blanket before he stepped away and got into the bed with his brother, curling around him.
Almost immediately all the tension seemed to leave Sam at once as he moved more into his brother. Dean wrapped his arm around him and rubbed at his back, feeling the air from Sam's lips as he sighed, nuzzling closer.
Dean cast one eye at the crib once more and then closed them, curled close to Sam and easily falling asleep.
I do not own Supernatural.