Here we go! Thanks, as always, to everyone that reads and supports.

AN: I have never had a baby so all my research comes from the internet. I realised I've used centimetres (cm) to talk about dilation but that's because I don't know how it works in the US as much and my sources are all from the UK. Please forgive me for this.

Sam woke slowly; bleary eyed and dry mouthed. A half look at the alarm clock on the table next to him confirmed that it was far too early to get up, it was only just past six. He rolled over and reached his arm out to pull Laura close to him. But she wasn't there and her side of the bed was cold.

Sam pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep out his eyes and running his hands through his fluffy bed hair. He assumed she'd probably gotten up already but even so there was a funny feeling in his chest that he couldn't place. He swung his legs out of bed and pulled on the t-shirt he'd discarded yesterday and a pair of sweatpants that were folded on the corner chair. It had been too hot lately to sleep in more than boxers but Dean always complained if he walked around in just his underwear.

As he stepped out onto the landing he could see a light on under the bathroom door and hear the running of water. His eyebrows crinkled and he tapped gently on the door, hoping he wouldn't disturb Dean or Cas.

"Laura? Are you ok?"

There was a slight splash from the other side of the door, Sam assumed he'd made her jump, but he could hear a quiet response.

"Sam? It's open, you can come in." He took up the invitation and opened the door slightly, sticking his head through the gap and being greeted with a wave of steam.

Laura was sat in the bath tub, which was filled with bubbles and was being topped up with a steaming stream of hot water. She smiled at him and gestured to him to come in.

"It's a bit early for a bath isn't it?" Sam joked, closing the door behind him.

Laura nodded and smiled,

"Well it helps with the pain," she grinned at him, "I'm in labour, Sam."

It took him a moment to process those words and he could feel his face wrinkling and his jaw opening, despite his attempts to keep his face neutral.

"Ok… do you need to go the hospital? Do you want me to call the doctor?"

"No it's ok," Laura responded, turning the tap off with her toe and sinking back into the water, "it's too early yet, I'm just having early contractions."

Sam nodded, his memory quickly searching for everything he'd read and heard over the past few months.

"Are they bad?"

"Not really, just like bad period pain… not that you'd know what that feels like I guess."

Sam laughed. "Not really. Can I get you anything?"

Laura shook her head, picking up a book from the little ledge on the other side of the bath.

"I'm good, but…" she paused, chewing her lip thoughtfully.

"Would you like me to stay?" Sam asked, guessing that that was half the question on her mind. Laura nodded with a half smiled. Sam pulled a couple of towels off the rail and placed them on the floor next to bath to act as little cushion, he doubted it would be comfortable sitting on the floor for very long. He settled himself down resting his back against the tub and turned his head to look at her, noticing the book in her hands.

"What were you reading?"

"Good Omens, have you read it before?" Sam shook his head. He recognised the title but he didn't think it was one he'd picked up. "I think you'd like it, the angel in it, Aziraphale, reminds me of Cas a little." Laura passed it over for him to look at.

He opened it and realised there was some sort of character list the start, he scanned his eyes over it and did a double take.

"Crowley? There's a demon named Crowley in this?"

"Yeah, why?" Her tone was curious, "He's not such a bad guy actually, for a demon. I think he's in the dedication too."

Sam rolled his eyes and muttered to himself under his breath. Trust Crowley to actually get himself into a book. He vaguely remembered something about Crowley's meatsuit being a former literary agent… maybe that had something to do with it. Either that or he'd seriously underestimated the size of the guy's ego.

Still the novel looked fairly interesting, he realised, as he turned it back over to read the cover again. He was lost in thought for a second when he heard a little hiss from behind him. Laura's eyes were closed and her teeth were gritted.

"You ok?" Sam asked, even though he was pretty sure it wasn't.

"Yeah fine, just another contraction… they're only gonna get worse." Sam squeezed her hand that was resting on the side of the bath.

"Don't worry, I'll be here every step of the way." He said softly, "Have you read much?" he added, turning back to the book in his hands. Laura shook her head. Sam opened it at the beginning, cleared his throat and begun to read,

"It was a nice day. All the days had been nice—"

Laura's contractions continued throughout the day. They stayed in the bathroom for several hours, until the hot water began to run out. Sam helped her dress, rubbing her lower back whenever the contractions came. They were still quite far apart and there was nothing they could do except wait.

Dean insisted Laura have something to eat, to keep her strength up. In fact, he insisted they all ate a large breakfast, because they didn't know when they'd have to go to the hospital and after that, who knew when they'd get a decent meal again.

Sam checked and re-checked the hospital bag at least a dozen times, making sure they had everything they could possibly need as well as a few extras. He and Dean unpacked the car seat and worked out how to fit it in the Impala, which was difficult at first, but they managed it.

The whole house was on edge as the hours crawled past. The contractions increased slowly and Sam could tell they were becoming more intense as the time past, but there was nothing he could do except rub Laura's back and squeeze her hand.

At about seven that evening Laura's waters broke. She was very calm, simply pulling herself up from the sofa and saying softly that she was going to take a quick shower and that after that they should probably go to the hospital.

She noticed the panicked looks on everyone's faces as she moved slowly to the stairs,

"Don't worry, it's not like the movies, I'm pretty sure we've got another couple of hours yet." She sighed and a tiny flash of fear crossed her face, "I get the feeling I'm in the for the long haul here."

They arrived at the hospital an hour later, heading straight for the maternity unit. Sam checked her in at the desk, handing over all of Laura's carefully ordered paperwork as she breathed through another contraction.

A friendly nurse lead them to the room. Sam carefully guided Laura, who refused a wheelchair because, in her words, she wasn't dying. They settled down to wait for the doctor as the nurse carefully hooked Laura up to a couple of different monitors.

It was a bit cosy with all four of them in the room but Laura had been insistent that Dean and Cas come too, they were family. Sam was grateful, he got the feeling he might need the endless support of his brother more than ever. Dean was currently perched on the edge of the bed, distracting Laura with a Dr Sexy marathon.

Sam excused himself into the corridor to call Caroline, who assured him she would be there as soon as possible.

Dr Svanberg came and checked Laura, chatting softly, as he examined her. Sam stood by the head of the bed and squeezed her hand while the others made themselves scarce.

"You're about 6cm dilated and you need to be about 10cm to start pushing, so I think you've got another couple of hours yet. How's your pain?" Laura shrugged but didn't complain.

Over the next few hours the contractions got worse. Sam didn't know what to do as he watched helplessly as they got stronger and closer together. He hated the intense feeling of powerlessness he felt, he wished desperately there was something he could do. Every time he mentioned pain medication, Laura snapped at him and told him it wasn't that bad and to mind his own business.

They were same in some regard, the same as all hunters. They'd been trained to ignore pain, to ignore fear and to carry on regardless. Even if they were scared. And all Laura's worries and fears were nothing to the years of training and reinforcement she'd suffered at the hands of her father.

True, Sam was used to pain himself… but this… this was unimaginable to him and he hated watching her suffer.

About ten, Laura cracked. He watched it in her face.

The contractions were every minute or two now and lasted nearly a minute each time, every one draining her of a little more energy as her muscles tightened. She was tired already and she hadn't even started pushing. The pain was more intense with every one that shook her.

"Sam…" she whispered, as a moan of pain escaped her lips. "Sam… please…" He nodded, knowing exactly what that meant. They'd talked about this.

"I'll go find a doctor." He said softly, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, "You're doing so well."

"I'll go," muttered Dean, pulling himself from the chair in the corner and stalking out of the room. He felt as helpless as his baby brother and Sam could read it all over him. Cas was sat quietly in a chair next to him, there was nothing he could do either and there was worry etched in the lines of his face.

Dean returned a minute later, dragging both Dr Svanberg and a woman in scrubs they didn't know. They examined her and conferred for a minute,

"Well Laura, you're nearly at 10cm so it won't be too long now until you need to start pushing and it's a bit late for an epidural now." Sam watched as fear shot across Laura's face,

"Hey, hey it'll be ok." He muttered softly, "You're doing amazingly."

"But," the doctor continued, "there is gas and air available for you as pain relief. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it before." The woman in scrubs showed Laura how to use the machine as Dr Svanberg muttered darkly to himself about incompetent staff before he disappeared with the promise to return soon.

"Should've cracked sooner," muttered Laura through gritted teeth as she lifted the mask to her face and took a few deep, slow breathes of the painkiller.

Sam chuckled and shook his head,

"Told you not to tough it out." He muttered,

"Sod off." Laura replied, head sinking into the pillows. "I just want it to be over now."

"Soon baby," added Caroline, who was sat on the other side of the bed, "I promise."

She'd been oddly quiet throughout the evening and Sam realised that she was nervous, maybe more than any of them.

The doctor returned ten minutes later and checked Laura again as well as the machines, watched as her contractions spiked across the screen.

"Good, good. Laura," he looked at her, speaking clearly, "I think we can start pushing."

The clock in the hallway read 12.02am and not for the first-time Dean stared at it angrily as he stalked up and down the corridor, retracing the path he had stomped up and down for the past two hours.

He and Cas were outside the delivery room now and all he could hear was muffled voices and Laura's moans and whimpers of pain. There was even the occasional small scream. But there was nothing he or Cas could do except wait.

He was a bundle of nervous energy, twitching and bouncing and snarling at any of the nurses who asked him if he was ok. Cas sat on one of the nearby plastic seats, his hands folded in his lap as he stared helplessly into space.

They were alone and worried but all they could do was wait.

On the other side of the door, Sam felt the same and part of him wished his brother was here, just to offer a tiny bit of comfort.

Laura was exhausted. Her face was pink and covered in sweat and she'd sworn at Sam more times in the past two hours than in the past nine months. That was usual, the doctor had said, and he should just ignore it. It was just Laura venting. And Sam understood, he really did. Although quite why Laura felt she needed to call him a massive dickbag and blame him, repeatedly, for the whiskey that Dean had bought her in the bar – which Laura was insisting had caused this all in the first place – was beyond him.

His hands were battered where Laura gripped them tightly and squeezed every time her body pushed. But Sam hadn't noticed, he was too in awe of her. Instead he encouraged her softly, telling her over and over how well she was doing, how amazing she was and how proud he was.

"Sam…" she said, breathlessly, her voice strained and shaking with exhaustion, after another rigorous contraction and push. "I can't do it Sam… I can't… I'm so tired… I can't." There was a little sob there too.

"Yes you can, yes you can." He answered, kissing her knuckles again and again. "I know you can do it. You've got this."

"C'mon baby, you can do this." Added Caroline, "I've never seen you give up and you're damn well not starting now!" Laura nodded as the urge to push overtook her and wracked her body.

"Very good Laura," said Dr Svanberg, his voice calm and measured. "I can see baby's head. You're nearly there. A couple more pushes should do it, I just need you breathe for me and just slow down so we can get baby out safely."

And she did. Sam squeezed her hand tightly, encouraging her over and over until… a high-pitched cry pierced the air.

"Congratulations."

Laura relaxed, her body exhausted as the doctor carefully lifted the small, bloody figure up for them to see.

"You have a little girl."

You have a little girl… those words shook Sam down to his very core. Who'd have thought five little words could change his life so much? He squeezed his eyes tight and rested his head against Laura's, pressing a kiss onto her forehead.

"I'm so proud of you." He whispered, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. "We have a little girl." Laura nodded and sighed.

Dr Svanberg carefully wiped her down and wrapped her up, gently placing her in Laura's arms.

"Hey… hello there… hello my love…" she said softly, cradling the tiny figure in her arms, "it's so nice to meet you." She turned to Sam, who was gazing down on the wrinkled face of his tiny daughter, "Isn't she perfect?"

Sam nodded, words were lost to him.

He moved in a daze. The doctor asked him if he wanted to cut the cord and he nodded. The nurse took their tiny daughter and weighed her, noting down her time and date of birth and her weight. He and Laura chuckled slightly when she read them out.

"Friday 13th July, 12.13am and 6 pounds, 6 ounces. Not bad considering she's a couple of weeks early."

"Well those are wonderful omens!" Muttered Caroline with a smile, kissing her granddaughter's forehead. "You did amazingly baby."

They wrapped her back up in a blanket and went to pass her back to Laura but she shook her head,

"No, give her to her father. Sam, you ready?"

Sam snapped out his daze as the nurse handed him the little bundle. He looked down on the face of his daughter, drinking in every detail from her tiny nose and cluster of eyelashes around her baby blue eyes that were gazing up at him, to the tufts of dark hair and the little fingers poking over the top of the blanket. He wanted to watch her forever. She wriggled slightly and he smiled.

For months, he'd stared over and over at her ultrasound photo and now here she was in the flesh… the most precious being in the universe. All he could feel was an overwhelming rush of love, it swept over him and engulfed every molecule of his being. He knew that from this moment his heart totally belonged to this tiny, little girl… his daughter. And he realised that he would do anything to protect her, keep her safe and make her happy. He pressed his lips gently against her skin, sealing his silent promise with a kiss.

"Sam?" Laura's soft voice interrupted his thoughts, "Sam? You should take her to meet your family."

Caroline nodded at him from her seat and the nurse opened the door.

Sam stepped out into the corridor, clutching the blanketed bundle in his arms. Dean stopped his pacing and spun around, Cas looked up from his seat.

"Dean, Cas… I'd like you to meet my daughter."

The look on their faces was one he would treasure forever.

"Have you got any ideas for names?" asked the nurse, as she prepared to take their daughter to the nursery. "Is there anything you want me to put her down as?"

"We haven't really talked about it," replied Sam, who was perched on the edge of the bed, "we weren't sure what we were getting."

"That's ok, we'll just pop her down as Baby Holland for now."

"No." said Laura, "Not Holland. Winchester. Baby Winchester please."

"Like the rifle?" asked the nurse, scribbling on her chart. Laura made an affirmative noise, but she was looking at Sam who had his eyebrows raised.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He could think of a million reasons why his daughter shouldn't be a Winchester. Firstly, he wasn't even sure he could his name down as Winchester on her birth certificate. Secondly, well where did he start? "I'm really not sure if that's a good idea." He added, glancing at Dean who was making agreeing faces at him.

"Well I am. She's as much mine as she is yours." Laura smiled at him softly, "She's a Winchester Sam."

Sam said nothing but he smiled. He lent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"Thank you."

Ta-da! We have a little Winchester. I am aware that Friday 13th may be a little tacky but I don't really care. (Also in case anyone is interested the last Friday 13th was in 2012 - which I know mucks up the timeline slightly but go with me on this, you've come this far!) Please continue to read and review!