Good morning, gorgeous! How are you today?
Alright, you all asked for it- here it is. This is the three part story of Natalie's birth. A couple of you have requested it (my dear guest Kim, and a couple other guests- THANK YOU!) and so, here you go.
Keep those requests coming! I'm trying to write as many requests right now as I can. You all know I take forever to do it, but please be patient and I promise you your story will come up unless it doesn't fit with Natalie's character. That having been said, I recently had a request for a story where Natalie gets really sick with cancer. Normally, I'd privately respond to that, but this person was a guest, so I can't do that. I'm sorry, but there is a reason why that wouldn't happen to her. I don't want to tell you now (can't give away ALL my secrets :) ) but I will work on one where she gets sick with pneumonia or something serious like that. I hope that works!
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. You all make me so happy and fill me with such joy. I appreciate every single one of you. Special shout out to the best beta and dearest friend, Jenmm31. She just published a new story last week, and it's heartwarming, heartbreaking, funny, and sweet. Go check her works out- they're fantastic! Happy Birthday to Aunt Kate from Natalie ;)
Have a great day! Love and Hugs!
A/N- This is the 3 part story of Natalie's birth. Dean is 32, Sam is 28. The first couple paragraphs let you know where this lands in the SPN storyline. Please see profile page for disclaimer.
It was a lovely April morning. The sun was shining, the clouds were a perfect fluffy white against the robin's egg blue sky. The birds were singing their hearts out. But you'd never know it from the interior of the car. The roar of the '67 Impala's engine combined with the radio cranked up to eleven drowned out all that stupid bird song crap. Dean drummed on the steering wheel as "Sweet Child of Mine" blared from Baby's speakers. He sang along to the licks of Slash's infamous guitar solo in the middle of the number. This band had nothing on Led Zeppelin, but even he had to admit Slash was one hell of a rock god. Sam even was getting into it, bobbing his head in time to the music.
They had just cleared a house out of a pesky poltergeist without any damage coming to the family that had been living in it or themselves. The small bags of Angelica root and crossroad dirt had been placed in all the north, south, east, and west walls in the house. The spirit tried to go after the boys, but they moved so quickly it had almost been an open and shut case. The family had had no problems since then, and the Winchesters went on their merry way, instead of being run out of town; a nice change of pace. Eager for their next case, there had been rumors circulating through their small network of hunters of a vampire nest in Utah. Having nothing better to do, the boys set off towards the west.
Dean was uncommonly relaxed. He and Sam had just completed a successful hunt- something he wasn't sure he would ever have been able to do again. About a year ago, when Sam had taken Lucifer to the Cage, Dean had left hunting behind completely. He had gotten back together with Lisa, his old flame, and tried to make a go of a normal life. He hated every freaking second of it, but had stuck to it, because it was what Sam would have wanted. However, when Sam emerged a few months later, back from the dead, Dean had walked out on Lisa, who made it clear that she wouldn't take him back. He knew which way he wanted to go. He had loved Lisa, but it just wasn't enough. All the sleepless nights, wondering about all the people that were dying, all the children getting hurt, all the families breaking apart because he wasn't there to stop the Supernatural- it had taken a toll on him. He had tried; for Lisa's sake, for Ben's sake, for Sam's sake- but his hardwiring couldn't be changed. He had to save people and hunt things. And now that Sam was back, they were back in the family business. Like they had never left.
He glanced sideways at his little brother, wondering as always about Sam's mental health and state. Cas had been able to pull him out of the Cage, miraculously with his soul intact. But the guilt that Sam felt over all of the trouble he had caused had been astronomical. Sam had always been sensitive to others' pain, and to know that he had caused so much of it was nearly unbearable for him. Dean had watched Sam become so depressed that he couldn't get out of bed some days. Those were the times Dean worried the most. Sam was one of the strongest people he knew. To watch him be reduced to a shell of himself was brutal. But they were Winchesters, and Dean wasn't going to let his brother go without a fight. They had been taking it one day at a time- sometimes even one hour at a time. Dean had swallowed his pride, letting Sam talk all his feelings out, even though the idea of getting all Dr. Phil and chick-flicky made him want to hurl. This was his brother. He would do anything to help him, even if it meant talking about feelings.
Sam knew that he couldn't do it alone- he couldn't fight by himself. He had been confiding in Dean more than he ever had before- sharing thoughts and feelings that he used to keep bottled up. The strange thing that they were both discovering was instead of making them both feel like giant thirteen year old girls, it brought them closer. There were still moments that they both clammed up and swallowed their feelings, but every time they let their walls down just a bit, they discovered that it helped both of them. It was strange trying to change their mental programming of not talking about their issues, but when they won even a small mental battle, it made it just a bit easier to keep changing. They had never been stronger as a duo.
As Dean reflected on the fact that his life was starting to feel normal and right again, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, and chortled low to himself when he saw the number. "Oh, ho ho. Hello," he purred when he recognized the caller. He looked over at Sam, who reached out and turned the radio down with an inquisitive look on his face. Dean just bobbed his eyebrows suggestively at his brother as he put the phone up to his ear. "Well, hello, gorgeous," he said in his sultry voice as a means of answering the phone. Sam just rolled his eyes. Of course it was one of Dean's booty calls.
"Hey, Dean," said a watery voice on the other end of the phone. Dean instantly sat up straight, pressing the phone tighter to his ear.
"Jamie- what's wrong?" he asked, immediately on the alert. Sam's head snapped over to his brother. He recognized the name.
On their first case after being reunited, Sam and Dean had found themselves in Seattle, Washington. The Supernatural series author Carver Edlund had called them, asking for a favor. The daughter of an old friend of his was in danger. The boys booked it over to the Northwest corner of the country, and had come across a very pretty girl named Jamie, who was being targeted by demons. She had been vague on the details of why they were after her, but the boys had their job- to keep her safe. And Carver had been right- the demons were indeed after her. The story finally came out. She was working with an underground organization that was trying to come up with a chemical solution to deal with monsters. Both Sam and Dean had been stunned to learn that such a place even existed- that more people were aware and active against the supernatural than they thought. They booked it to Washington, almost more out of curiosity than out of the case alone. When the boys had been granted access to the facility and met Jamie, she and Dean had hit it off right away.
"So this is like a...what...Supernatural Johnson and Johnson's or something?" Dean had asked, making Jamie smile. Of course seeing the lovely dark haired woman smile at his jokes gave him all the permission he needed to turn on his waterfalls of charm. When she had explained the chemistry behind the product- which Sam had semi-followed and Dean had nodded through, pretending like he was following- he asked her why they just didn't put salt in the holy water or something. Before Sam could remind Dean that putting anything in holy water contaminated it, Jamie had laughed, causing Dean to grin like an idiot. Sam closed his mouth, knowing immediately what Dean would be up to later on that night.
She had been Dean's first fling after Lisa, and it had restored new life in him. Dean remembered how good he was at playing the field, and in an attempt to continue to get over the heart break he refused to recognize, he had thrown himself back into bachelor life with a vengeance. However, this phone call didn't seem to be a mere "Hey, how are you". Dean could hear Jamie's distress through the connection.
"I just...I need you..." she managed to stammer out before sniffing again.
"What's going on? Are the demons on your tail again?" Dean asked, all business, as he pressed his foot on Baby's accelerator. As the car roared into action, Jamie answered.
"Well, they may be, but there's something...look, I'm sorry, I know you're probably on a case or something-"
"We'll be in Seattle by tomorrow morning."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. Listen. Do you still have the goofer dust and the holy water we left with you?"
"Yes."
"Good girl. Okay, you know what to do. Sam and I are on the way. Sit tight, sweetheart."
"Oh, thank you Dean...this isn't...I don't want you think...I'm not really...well, thank you."
Dean wrinkled his brow, wondering what she had been trying to stammer out, but when she just abruptly ended her sentence, he cleared his throat. "No problem," he said genuinely. As Jamie hung up, Dean tucked the phone back into his pocket and looked sideways at his brother.
"Is Jamie in trouble?" Sam asked. Dean casually shrugged, but Sam could see the tightness in his brother's shoulders indicating that he was worried.
"Sounds like she's run into something."
"So...Seattle?"
"Seattle."
The last notes of "Sweet Child of Mine" faded as the Impala raced down the highway.
*SPN SPN SPN*
The next morning, Dean took an extra second to make sure his hair was on point before getting out of the car and sprinting up the drive to Jamie's house. They had pulled into Seattle around 3 am, and checked into a motel. They had agreed that, the next morning, Sam would go scope out the old locations where the demons had been bunking last time to see if there had been any recent activity, while Dean checked in with Jamie. His fond memories of the short, gorgeous scientist were enough to put a spring in his step. This girl was HOT. He almost wanted to shake the hand of the demon on her tail for reuniting them, before, of course, blowing the demon to smithereens. The chance to be a hero and save the damsel in distress was always a good time. He walked up to Jamie's door, and knocked. He quickly checked his breath, then he heard the lock turn.
Jamie opened the door, just a crack. He saw her warm, dark brown eyes peer around the door at him, and his heart skipped a beat. She only moved so far in as to put her face around the door, so he could see it better, and he was glad she did. She was still just as beautiful as he remembered. She smiled gently at him.
"Hi, Dean," she said in a light, trembling voice.
"Hey there," he said, his best come-hither smile on. He thought she was going to open the door then, but she just stayed there, looking at him. He chuckled awkwardly for a moment, then shifted his weight as they continued to stare at each other. "So...uh...you called?" he finally said, feeling like an idiot, standing out on his one-night-stand's porch. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Dean finally got a full look at her body.
She was pregnant. Hugely pregnant.
Dean's eyes went from her face to her belly, and fixated there for what felt like an eternity. He pointed to her stomach and managed to get out "Uh..."
"So...I'm pregnant."
"Uh..."
"And it's yours."
"UH..."
"I scheduled a DNA test for the two of us this morning, just so you could see for yourself," Jamie continued, ignoring the fact that Dean seemed to only be able to speak in the same monosyllabic utterance. "We're due at my OBGYN in half an hour."
"UH..."
"Look, I'm sorry to spring this on you like this. I was just worried...you know?" Jamie said, looking up at Dean, trying to get him to make eye contact with her. "I wasn't sure how you were going to take this. I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up. I know I'm blind siding you here, but I wanted to tell you face to face. I really thought that I could do this alone- that I wouldn't have to bother you, but I just...I can't. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what else to do," she babbled, her eyes overflowing.
Dean, meanwhile, didn't hear a damn thing the poor woman said. He was still trying to get back to a plain of existence where things made sense. The world had just radically shifted, but he couldn't seem to catch up. Okay, you can figure this out...his brain told him, while his common sense screamed You're going to be a father! Dean closed his eyes once, tight, then opened them back up. The belly was still there. Dammit. He was hoping that would have worked. He breathed in and out, which seemed to be a chore. Jamie and I hooked up about...eight- no, nine months ago...that realization made breathing once again a laborious task. You're going to be a father his common sense hissed at him. We were careful...I was packing a Trojan, and she said she was good to go...you know those things aren't infallible. You're going to be a father!...and now we're going to take a DNA test because...why? HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT, DUMBASS?!
Dean finally tore his gaze away from Jamie's midsection and back to her face. "I'm...it's...baby?" was all he could stammer out. Jamie just smiled gently.
"Don't worry- I'll drive," she said.
*SPN SPN SPN*
About an hour later, Dean was nervously sitting in a sterile, white room, full of pictures of only God knows what. He was avidly avoiding looking at them- they all had words like "placenta" and "amniotic" and "fetus" on them- he was close enough to barfing from sheer nervousness as it was. He didn't need to look at photos that looked like inside out animals. His eyes darted around the room, desperate to find a safe place for them to land on. His foot bounced anxiously like he had restless leg syndrome.
For the fiftieth time that hour, he began the same sentence. "So...um...you're..."
Jamie just rolled her eyes. "Yup. Still pregnant."
Dean rubbed the crook of his elbow where they had withdrawn his blood about twenty minutes ago. This lab was state of the art, top notch, and had promised results within a half hour. Dean supposed that being a pregnant scientist like Jamie was had its perks when it came to getting tests pushed to the forefront. He nodded in response at her answer, and his head kept bobbing nervously. Jamie tried to ease his mind.
"Dean, look. I know that you're...well...YOU...and that this was never in the plan for you. I tried not to call you, but I just can't do this alone. If you want to-" she suddenly broke off, and tears filled her eyes. Oh God, please don't start crying again, Dean's overwhelmed mind begged. Not being a mind reader, however, Jamie's eyes overflowed. Dammit.
"-if, after the baby's born, you want to leave, then..."
"No."
The word was out of his mouth before his brain or his common sense registered it. He looked up into the watery chocolate eyes that were staring at him in disbelief. "I'm not going anywhere. Look- if that baby is mine-" he said, pointing at her large stomach, "-then it's a done deal. It's my responsibility too- you shouldn't have to go this alone." Where the hell did that come from? his brain said. You made the right call, his common sense whispered, finally giving him a tiny sense of peace. Jamie smiled at him.
"I'm...I'm really glad to hear you say that," she said thickly. She attempted to smile, but her lips still wobbled as she tried to keep her tears in check."I just know that you'll be a great father. She's lucky to have you."
Dean's eyes widened. "She?" he whispered. Jamie smiled again, and this time, it was genuine.
"It's a girl," she whispered back, her eyes overflowing again.
A Girl? A Girl.
Just then, before Jamie could do more than wipe away the torrential downpour coming from her eyes, the door opened. A tall, heavyset doctor with a file entered. Dean found himself staring at that file just like he had stared at Jamie for the majority of the morning. The entire rest of his life was in that file. Whatever was printed on those pages was about to change him forever.
Apparently not giving a damn that the young man in the room was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, the doctor opened the file and got right down to brass tacks. "Well, Mr. Winchester, it appears that you are the father. Now, I need to ask. Do I sound like Maury Povitch when I say that?" The doctor chuckled to himself as he looked at Jamie, who was clearly not amused. "Little doctor joke," he said while still chuckling, oblivious of the fact that he was the only one laughing. He closed the file and handed it to Dean, who took it wordlessly. He opened the file himself, and started scanning it. From what he had been able to pick up of medical jargon while on the field, he could see the orders for the test, the checkoff list of what was to be done and to whom, the tests that they had done to both Jamie and Dean's blood samples...and there it was. In one simple statement.
Match: Positive.
Dean's mind cleared instantly. The panic, the anxiety, the sheer terror he had been living in for the past hour were gone. Dean was amazed- what was happening? He felt himself transported to another plane. He had a sudden vision- of a little girl standing in a doorway, looking at him quizzically. His eyes widened as he took her in. She was cute, and very small. Her head was tilted to the side as if she was studying him. She looked like she was about three years old. Her long, black hair rippled in the breeze that was coming from somewhere. Dean didn't care where- he only had eyes for the little girl, and was stunned to find his own eyes staring back at him. He looked down to see what she was wearing, and chuckled to see that she was sporting a tiny Led Zeppelin tee shirt. At hearing his laugh, the little girl smiled a smile that knocked his feet out from under him. He felt the air leave his lungs. Before he could catch his breath, she threw her tiny arms open wide. "Daddy!" she squealed.
Suddenly, Dean became aware that he was standing in the middle of a doctor's office, gripping a manila file as if his life depended on it. He looked up to see both Jamie and the doctor staring at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. He cleared his throat, and felt a ridiculous grin spread across his face. The words "Daddy" echoed in his mind.
"Sweet," he managed to say.
*SPN SPN SPN*
After dropping Jamie back off at her house with the promise that he would be back tonight, Dean numbly walked back to the Impala. He barely blinked or drew a breath as he slid into the driver's seat. Everything was happening way too fast. He wanted to floor the accelerator, and drive into the sunset. But the image of that little black haired girl was burning behind his eyes. He longed to reach out and pick her up, to hold her, to protect her. He knew she belonged to him- and he liked that. He really liked that. Didn't mean he wasn't scared as shit.
Before he really knew what he was doing, he found himself driving by a park. Suddenly needing fresh air, he slammed on the brakes and did a U-turn in the middle of the road, causing a few motorists to give him the finger, but he didn't give a rat's furry ass. He screeched into a parking spot, turned off the ignition, rocketed out of the car, and slammed Baby's door. He almost felt bad for treating her like that- and then his nickname for her suddenly had a completely different tone to it. Baby. He spun on his heel and practically took off running for the jogger's path.
As he shoved his hands in his leather jacket pockets, he bent his head down and tried to untangle his wild, jumbled thoughts. So he was going to be a dad. He was going to be a dad.
Holy shit, I'm a dad.
That thought was sobering. Amazing. Terrifying. He had thought about it before. In the couple days when he wasn't sure about Ben's parentage, he had been nothing but panicked. But for some reason, this one felt different. Maybe it was because this one, unlike Ben, was actually his kid. Ben was great- he had been glad to be able to give the kid a father figure for a while. But it never clicked between the two of them. Ben never really accepted him as his father, and Dean wasn't ready to make that commitment without knowing he would be able to follow through. He had been so damaged when he lost his little brother, that he was afraid to get closer to both Ben and Lisa, for fear of losing them and going through that pain all over again. It was excruciating enough to keep everyone at arm's length.
But this time, it was a helpless little baby. The kid didn't ask to be born- she just...was about to be. It wasn't her fault that she existed. But she was going to need someone to take care of her. Dean grimaced when he realized that he really knew very little about Jamie. Was she cut out to be a good mother? Did she even want to be? Well, she hadn't aborted the kid, and she hadn't brought up adoption, so he guessed that Jamie wanted to keep the little rugrat too. That was comforting.
However, when they were talking back in the doctor's office and she had asked Dean if he wanted to leave, she had almost looked- disappointed- when he said he wasn't going anywhere. Like it was bittersweet for her. What the hell did that mean? Was he being too sensitive? When the hell did Dean Winchester get SENSITIVE?!
And for that matter, how had his subconscious taken control of his mouth like that? Not that he minded. It had said the right thing. It was just weird to have his upstairs brain do the talking for him for once. Which, he supposed, was how he got in this situation in the first place.
So what about hunting? His brain was spinning, but seemed to be pointing to this train of thought. Really, there was only one thought. There was no way. There was no way that Dean would ever bring a child into this lifestyle. No kid should be forced into this the way that he and his brother were. So that left him with only one option.
He had to leave the hunting world.
He was surprised when that conclusion didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. Before, the idea of leaving the hunting world was awful- because he wasn't making the choice to do so. Sam had wanted it for him, so he did it. All the families that were broken, just like his had been, had always weighed on his mind. However, now there was a whole new family to consider. His own. Now, he had a reason. A reason he could stick with. A reason that he was okay with. The image of the little girl with the dazzling smile was something he didn't have words for. There wasn't a universe big enough to hold the feelings he already had for her, and he hadn't even technically met her yet. For all he knew, she could come out with red hair and blue eyes, or whatever. But deep in the part of his brain where his most vulnerable feelings were kept, he knew. He knew she was his. He knew she was waiting for him.
So there it was. He was going to leave the hunting world to raise his kid.
He fished around in his pocket for his cell to call Sam. Sam. Boy, was Sam going to raise Cain when he heard about this. As Dean was searching for his cell, a jogger came right up next to him.
"Great day, isn't it?" said the man, who, despite being on a jogging trail, was surprisingly un-sweaty and chatty. Dean just started, looking up at the man, and gave a noncommittal grunt that was more along the lines of "Do I look like I want to talk?" The man ignored it, and kept pace right beside Dean.
"I mean, the trail's barely got anyone on it. I'd say it was my lucky day, you know?"
"Sure thing, buddy."
"Trail to myself, and running into you..."
Those words made Dean stop short. He cautiously slowed down his walk a bit, and turned his attention to the jogger. He stopped reaching for his cell phone in his pocket, and instead, his hand closed around another item.
"It just must be my lucky day," the jogger said. Then his eyes turned black.
Dean stopped moving immediately. The jogger- or, to be more accurate, the demon wearing the jogger meat suit- took a step back. "Good to see you, Dean," he said. "Didn't think you'd be back in Seattle so soon."
Dean knew that tone. "Aredon," he growled. He instinctively took a step back. This was one of the main bastards that had targeted Jamie. "I thought we sent you to take a long nap downstairs," Dean remarked sarcastically.
Aredon smiled that smug smile that Dean hated. This bastard had almost gotten the jump on Sam- something that Dean wasn't likely to forget. He had personally sent this asshole back to the depths- or so he thought. "Seems that when the King of Hell heard that the Winchesters were back in town, he decided to call me up from the bench," Aredon said nonchalantly. "And since my brothers couldn't finish what they started...well, like I said, looks like it's my lucky day." And he lunged towards Dean.
Dean quickly whipped the flask of holy water out of his pocket that he'd been gripping onto since realizing who this was. He jumped back, trying to give himself a second to open it, but Aredon was too fast. He knocked Dean to the crunchy dirt road of the jogging trail, and planted his fist in Dean's face. He kept on pummeling him until Dean managed to splash his back with the holy water. Aredon screamed in pain and reared back, giving Dean just enough of an edge to curl his legs out from underneath the demon, plant them in his chest, and send him flying back. Dean quickly got up from the ground and spat the blood out from his mouth.
Once Aredon stopped moaning and got back on his feet, he looked at the eldest Winchester and laughed a sickly maniacal laugh. "If you only came with holy water, boy, this is going to be over a lot faster than I thought," he hissed, taunting Dean. With supernatural speed, he raced at Dean again, but suddenly stopped short. He looked down in disbelief at Dean's hand, gripping the handle of something that seemed to be stuck in his stomach. His wide opened surprised eyes met Dean's gloating ones.
"Demon knife. Never leave home without it," Dean said, his own taunting grin in place. Aredon's eyes sparked and snapped, and then glazed over as he dropped to the ground. Dean wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand, and retrieved the knife, looking down at the demon and chuckling. Dumbass. If he was back in Seattle, of course he would be packing against a demon. Moron.
In all the excitement of the last two minutes, Dean had almost forgotten what he was doing out here in the first place. Oh. That's right. I'm a father, the sobering reminder came crashing back into his skull. And he had just decided to leave the hunting world.
In that terrible moment, as Dean looked down onto Aredon's dead form, and then looked at the demon knife still clenched in his fist, a terrifying truth stood right in front of him.
He couldn't leave the hunting world. Because the hunting world would never leave him.
He had taken too many supernatural lives for Hell and Heaven to leave him alone in peace to raise his child. There were too many people gunning for Winchester blood- and not all of those gunning were just monsters. He remembered all too well the hunters who had broken into his and Sam's motel room and shot them both. Thankfully, Heaven's personal gardener or whatever he had been saw fit to send them both back. He knew he wasn't always going to be so lucky. All the things he hunted would always be coming for him.
There was only one way to keep his family safe. To keep his daughter safe. And that was to stay right in the thick of things.
Boy, Sam was going to flip his lid.
Sam...
Dean fished his phone out of his pocket as he continued to stare at Aredon's body. He quickly hit his first contact number. The phone rang twice.
"Hello?"
"Sammy...we need to talk."
Stay tuned for Part 2! Thank you for reading!
