It had taken almost a half hour to calm his brother… daughter… the little person in his arms enough for him… her… to go back to sleep. The whole situation was racing through Sam's head like a continuous loop and he couldn't seem to get it to slow down enough to grasp a single thought, much less analyze what must have happened. So, instead, he had stiffly cradled Dea…ee up close and quietly told… her… that everything was alright and nothing bad was going to happen. Only, it already had… hadn't it? Trying not to disturb the little bundle next to him, he crawled out of bed and covered her up with the blankets before starting his pacing across the floor.
Sam had no idea what to do, well, that wasn't entirely true; but he didn't think running out of a motel room screaming into the early morning would be a good idea. Looking back at the little body asleep on his bed curled up in the covers, he wasn't sure there was enough coffee on the planet to help him wrap his head around the situation. He knew that his brother Dean had gone to sleep when he did, but somehow had been turned into Dee – his daughter! The realization that they had passed the need for coffee and gone straight into the whiskey zone hit him hard, and he really wished his brother was there to help him deal with it; and wasn't that ironic in itself?
Sighing, he sat on the edge of the bed and watched as the sleeping girl seemed to try and snuggle closer to him. Reaching out, he tentatively touched the straight blonde hair and had the urge to cry. Not only for the sudden feeling of loss of his brother, but because this little girl was the exact image that he and Jess had always thought their little girl would look like. Jess had always insisted that he would make a great dad and had periodically drawn him into the 'what if…' game of parenthood. The results were always the same; as many children as they could take care of, and at least one girl – blonde, freckled, and green eyes. Their friends had laughed and said 'Of course, you two will have a little Jess', but it hadn't taken him long to realize that she had picked out the description from his mom's photo, and he couldn't help but love her even more for it. Now though, he was looking at a miniature replica of his mother and he couldn't help but wonder about it.
A quiet knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts and he quickly pulled his gun from his bag before checking the window to see the woman from the night before standing there. His brother's transformation, a witch, and a promise to help; it all clicked into place with a suddenness that almost sent him to his knees. Instead though, he flung open the door, grabbed her by the blouse and dragged her inside all while pointing his gun in her face making her eyes as huge as saucers.
"Wait! I came to explain!" Lillian said frantically, knowing that she would only have one shot to make her case, because in all honesty, she didn't blame him for being ticked.
Quickly shutting the door, Sam made sure that no one was lurking about before he hissed, "Make it quick, because lady, you screwed with the wrong people."
Looking at the gun still being pointed at her, she nodded and began, "After I got home, I was pondering the deal your brother made. I'm sure you've already figured out that it wasn't a fair trade; that the whole thing was a set up from the beginning." Seeing his questioning look, she sighed. "You dying was just a way to position Dean into something he would never normally do. The deal, the amount of time he got, it was all staged. From what I've been hearing, you're not exactly living up to certain expectations, and those involved needed a way to push you into it. Without Dean around, they knew that you'd be easier to manipulate. They could wait a year, they couldn't wait ten. Things are heating up, more people are taking notice, and that's making them more than a little nervous. They need you to do what's expected, so they can take over."
"I hear you talking, and most of it I already know, the rest… let's just say I humor you and agree. What does that have to do with you turning Dean into a girl?" Sam asked, he was normally a sympathetic and patient man, but when his brother was involved; all bets were off.
"The terms of the agreement are for Dean's soul to be collected at the end of the year, correct? Dean isn't here right now, therefore at the end of the contract, the term will expire, but there will be nothing to collect. Null and void."
Sam groaned, he was starting to see the logic, however flawed it was, and he was trying hard to rein in his temper. "Ok, so basically, you've hidden Dean until what… time's up? What's going to happen when he turns back? Oh God, he will turn back, right?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"Of course, but only after the agreement has been either fulfilled, or nullified. There is no way that they can take an innocent child in place of your brother, that's why I sent him back to whatever age he is, back to a time when he was still unaware of what lurked in the shadows; a time of true innocence."
Confused, Sam looked between the bed and Lillian. "Ok, but a girl, and my daughter?"
Lillian shrugged, "It's a safeguard, just to make sure that they can't find a loophole. I'm sorry Sam, I wanted to say something to you first, but then… I was advised not to. I don't fully understand why, but I was told that if you knew ahead of time, it could still enact a second part of the deal. I thought this would be safer, I'm sorry."
Sorry… she was sorry, and he was… what… horrified? Was that the word he was looking for? Suddenly a thought worried him. "Does he know? I mean that he's a…"
"I think you're asking if he's aware of the change… no. To her, she's your little girl and that's all she has ever been. Whether or not he will remember this time as your daughter, I don't know… that was a little foggy in the description." She said; disappointed in herself that she hadn't slowed down enough to investigate that avenue.
Nodding, Sam was sure that there were other things he needed to know, but he still was getting over the shock of being an instant daddy, and he was ashamed to say; he wasn't taking the news well at all.
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He had already known that the morning was going to be rough; after all it wasn't every morning that your big brother is suddenly your three year old daughter – right? So after scouring the bags for anything that might fit Dee even a little bit, it was quickly decided that as soon as the stores opened, they were going shopping. However, there was a little situation about breakfast that needed to be handled first.
Stepping into the small diner next to the motel, Sam was bombarded with a mixture of looks that went from adoring to disgust. It took him a moment to understand that Dee was still in Dean's t-shirt, and barefoot. While she didn't notice anything except her tiny fist still trying to work the sleep out of her eyes, Sam was feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the attention they were getting. Seeing a booth in the back, Sam tightened his arm around Dee and he carried her toward it as if there was nothing out of the ordinary.
It didn't take long for Sam to realize three things. The first was Dee only ate what her daddy ate – no exceptions; second: she was very much a daddy's girl and would not even consider being anywhere except by his side; third: once Dee fully woke up, so did her energy level and it rivaled the Energizer bunny.
"Daddy, we go to zoo today?" Dee asked as she stood on the bench seat and looked out the window all the while pressing her face to the window enjoying the feeling of the coolness against her cheek.
Stunned, Sam looked at Dee and while sitting her back down answered, "I'm not sure. I think we need to get you some new clothes first."
Dee seemed to think about that for a moment before asking. "Sand'ls too? Peese Daddy… peese?"
Not able to help himself, Sam laughed at how adorable this little girl was… no, not this little girl – his little girl. Suddenly, something started to fall into place and his concern from earlier started to melt away. "Alright, sandals too… but only if you sit and eat some more breakfast, ok?"
Excited, Dee nodded her head. "K, Daddy!"
Satisfied that they had come to some sort of understanding, Sam helped Dee butter her toast and watched as she ate while watching the people walk past. Thinking that he had about another thirty seconds to try and get a couple of more bites in, he was surprised when Dee dropped her toast, gasped while holding her hands over her mouth, and her eyes got even bigger that what they were normally. 'Oh my God! What the…' he thought, wondering what was wrong. She didn't look like she was choking, and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary outside, so he was completely confused.
"I forgot Daddy… I sowwy." Dee said finally as she stood on her seat and took Dean's necklace off, placing it around his neck. "There that better!" Dee said as she gave him a big hug and a kiss on his cheek.
Not sure what to say, Sam smiled and gave her a hug back, all the while hoping and praying that he didn't screw up before he got his brother back.
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Finding a department store open after breakfast had been the easy part, keeping Dee occupied while trying to find clothes that fit her was another story. Part of the problem was that he had no idea what he was doing. He knew what he liked, he knew what his brother liked, but what do you buy a little girl who a day a go was your brother? The answer hit him suddenly when Dee squealed in delight at a purple shirt with puppies on it; you don't, they do. Hoping that Dean wouldn't remember any of this, he watched as Dee pointed out tops with bows, shorts with ruffles, and an assortment of other items he knew that if his brother found out; he'd be dead – again. Allowing Dee to pick and choose certain clothes made the experience a little less traumatic for both of them, and even allowed Sam to enjoy a happy little girl when she suddenly saw a stuffed hound dog. After getting the 'puppy dog eyes' that his brother always claimed he did, he said 'yes' making Dee jump up and down while squeezing the stuffed animal so hard he thought the stitching would come undone.
Between the clothes, sandals, booster seat for the car, and of course some coloring books and crayons, they walked out of the store a couple hundred dollars lighter and several bags heavier. By the time Sam got the car seat put in, Dee changed into a new outfit, and the rest of the bags in the trunk, they both were ready for lunch, and then if possible, maybe the zoo. First though, a McDonald's had to be found and Sam just hoped that Ronald wasn't making a personal appearance today.
So lost in his own thoughts, it wasn't until they pulled to a stop in the parking lot that Sam noticed that Dee hadn't said anything since leaving the store, and instead had a very intense look on her face. "Dee, what's wrong?" he asked, thinking that anything that her concentrating that hard had to be monumental.
"Potty, Daddy!" she said pitifully, turning her big eyes to him.
Quickly unbuckling the car seat, he scooped her up and rushed into the fast food restaurant knowing that he should have thought of this a lot sooner. Reaching the bathrooms he suddenly stopped not knowing what to do. A three year old couldn't be left alone in a public bathroom, but he shouldn't take her into the men's, but then again he couldn't go into the women's either…
"Ok, Daddy… I ready." She said covering her eyes.
Shaking his head, Sam could only wonder about this little girl and how adaptable she really was. Pushing open the door, he was suddenly thankful that she had her eyes closed since there were several men at the urinals not caring who saw what. Helping her get situated in a stall, he turned around until she needed help, then after washing both their hands he picked her back up and took her to pick out her lunch.
The energetic Dee was back and asking questions none stop around her cheeseburger and French fries, the most entertaining was 'Daddy, you think my doggy have puppies now?' In which case he had to explain to her the very sad news that no, her doggy wouldn't have puppies because he was a boy; and only girl doggies had puppies, and only after they got married…sometime after they turned fifty.
Watching Dee on the indoor playground, Sam had to wonder how his Dad and Dean did it. From all the stories he had been told about when he was small, and what he was experiencing now, he was amazed that neither one went totally insane. 'Well, ok, more insane that what hunter's normally were anyway.' He mused as he listened to Dee giggle while she went down the slide; now he knew why she didn't want any dresses.
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Yes, Sam knew that the morning was going to be rough, but he had no idea that the day was going to end so badly. Looking in the rear view mirror, he checked again to see if they were being followed, and after confirming that they were the only ones on the dirt road, he looked over and saw Dee with her tear stained face still sobbing.
Pulling off the road into an overgrown driveway, he reached over and pulled Dee into his lap. "Shhh, it's ok Dee, we lost them. It's ok… shhh." He kept repeating it over and over again, until he felt her relax and finally drift to sleep. Waiting until he was certain she wasn't awake anymore; he dug out his cell phone and hit the speed dial. After three rings, the call was answered.
"Sam? That you? Where the hell have you and your brother been boy? Don't you know..."
"Bobby, we're in trouble. Hendrickson found us."