The hospital chair dug into his back, but Dean ignored it as he tuned into the sickening thud of his own heart. Cassie had been in labor for the last seven hours, and was showing no sign of progressing. Talk had been had among the doctor and Cassie as to whether or not she should have a C-section. Not having a clue what that all entailed, Dean simply contented himself with holding her hand and trying his best to make her laugh.

His knee jiggling up and down, his phone in danger of falling off said knee, Dean focused on the composure Cassie had. She had always been a tough girl, but even in labor she was defying every expectation. Even her own. Settling in for the long haul, he typed out a reply to Sam, and rolled his eyes when his brother reminded him that it was not safe for baby's to be laid on their tummy. Clicking his phone off, he resisted the urge to check the news. Claire, Krissy, and all the others had taken over for him.

Now all that was left for him to do was become a dad. Swallowing the lump in his throat when he thought of it, he reached out his hand and took Cassie's. Rubbing her wrist in soothing motions with his thumb, he could see how exhausted she was from the labor. This had been a long pregnancy, with a miscarriage scare and the fears that had plagued both of them. For Dean, that fear was presenting itself to an almost nauseating degree now. On the cusp of being a father, he wondered if he was simply dooming his daughter to more of the same from his childhood.

Sam seemed to be doing okay at it, but he was new. His son was only a few months old. Cassie, who had been trying to get some sleep, opened her eyes when she felt Dean squeeze her hand. Always perceptive, her eyes warmed when she sensed the internal struggle he was going through. Hiding it was pointless, and so he didn't even try.

"Tell me about him."

"Who?" Playing dumb was the only option.

"Don't be like that," she scolded, tapping his hand. "Your dad. Tell me about him."

This was one conversation he had avoided having with her. Not that Cassie had not pried and used every bit of her experience as a journalist to extract information, but he simply could not. Diving into that arena was a box he had kept closed for a reason, and he was not looking to open it.

"He was my dad. He was...a hard-ass, hunted all the time. That was when he wasn't drinking, of course." And left me in group homes for months, and knocked me down a peg or two.

"And you're thinking you'll end up like him?"

Dean shrugged. "Sam seems like he's doing okay, so that means it'll probably all fall on me to continue that damn cycle."

It was a fear he had held ever since finding out about the baby. Looking down at his knees, he was shocked he wasn't passing out from the panic that was now coming in full-tilt. Cassie, for her part, remained silent as Dean worked through the myriad of emotion he was going through. It was one thing to be raised on the way he was, but he would not be able to live with himself if he raised his little girl anywhere close to how John did.

"I never met your dad, Dean, but I know you. Every stubborn, hard-headed part of you. And I also know how kind you are, how affectionate you are. And I know you would sooner die than raise this baby like that."

"Yeah..."

They did not get a further chance to talk. Bolstered by the drug the doctors had given her, Cassie's labor soon progressed at top-notch speed. Her fingernails soon clawed permanent marks into his arms as she held him for dear life. Focusing on her face, Dean was astounded at her ability to push even though she was in agony. Holding her hand as tightly as he could, he recited the words Sam had coached him to say in that moment. The baby was coming, and that only intensified the scream that came from Cassie's mouth. Bracing himself for the unpredictable emotion he knew was coming, he did not have time to think. The baby was there, and came out without warning.

Her cries soon filled the room as the nurses rushed to stabilize her before they allowed him to cut the cord. Staring into his daughter's sweet face, her gaze fixed directly on him, he felt a love he had never known ever in his life. She was only a few minutes old, and already he could see himself in her. Leaning over Cassie once the baby had been placed on her chest, he could not help but kiss the top of her head, and then Cassie's.

Hesitantly accepting the baby when Cassie held her out to him, he cradled her the way he had been shown. And then settled back in the recliner, and did what felt right to him. Holding the baby against his chest, he closed his eyes and listened to the rapid sound of her heart. It was similar to the rushing of his own. Holding out his hand for the baby, she soon rolled her tiny hand around his thumb.