Dean was now getting the earful he had expected much, much earlier. Pam was being rather fussy. Handing him all sorts of things he had no clue what they were for.
"Welcome to parenting."
He raised an eyebrow.
Pam put her hands on her hips and gave him a warning look. "This is your kid whether you like it or not, and you are gonna need all this to take care of him."
Dean gave her a panicked look. "But, but… I don't do kids!"
"Well, now you're gonna learn how." She handed him a few more things and a list. "Get yourself checked in at a motel and buy the stuff on this list."
"Wait… I can't stay here?"
Pam gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Dean. I'm leaving for a hunt."
He had a wistful look on his face. "A hunt…"
She gave him a light smack and nodded towards the miraculously still sleeping child. "You got more important things to worry about."
Dean sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah… I just don't know if I'm cut out for this."
Pam cracked a small smile. "You'll do just fine."
"I don't know about that," he muttered, shifting the items in his arms. "What is all this anyways?"
"Just a few things my mom kept when I was a kid. Couple of toys and books and stuff like that. The rest you are gonna have to buy yourself." She gave him a small smile. He may be unsure of himself, but she knew Dean would be able to handle things just fine. Though, there was something that did worry her a little. "About his wings… You're going to want to be careful with those," she warned. "I'm not familiar with angel wings, but judging from the looks of them, it's going to be like taking care of a bird. You can't use soap on them."
Dean gave her a puzzled look. "Why?"
"Something about special oils the wings need. Not too sure about those sorts of things… just be careful."
He nodded some, storing the information for later use. Wouldn't be good to hurt the kid because of a stupid mistake. A small smile tugged at his lips as he gently stroked the boy's wings. So soft… His brows furrowed slightly as his fingers traced along a feather. Speaking of which, there was one thing he needed to know.
"How exactly is he my kid anyways?"
Pam pursed her lips, unsure of how to answer him.
"I mean, he's got wings. And I'm pretty sure I haven't flirted with any angels lately…"
She raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Dean asked defensively. "I haven't! Honest!"
She sighed and shook her head. "I know…"
Dean huffed. "So you care to explain how the kid has wings?"
Pam made a face. "Look, Dean. It's complicated."
"I can do complicated!"
She couldn't help but her roll her eyes. "It's not that kind of complicated. It's something your brother would understand."
A soft but irritated growl passed Dean's lips. He wouldn't argue with that. After all, Sam was always considered the smarter of the two boys. No point in convincing anyone otherwise.
Pam cocked her head ever so slightly, wondering if maybe… maybe she had read Dean wrong. But now really wasn't the time to be questioning physic powers.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "From what I gather… the kid was some sort of experiment."
Dean's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as he nodded for her to continue.
"Apparently, they thought you'd make a good dad or something like that, and used you to make the kid." She sighed once more. "That's about as much as you'll understand, Dean. Just be careful, okay? I had heard about this… I didn't know it was actually possible."
Dean crossed his arms, frowning. He didn't bother answering Pam. There was too much to think about. An experiment to create a kid. What sort of twisted minds came up with this? And who on earth thought he would make a good dad? They must have gotten the wrong information. But no matter what… this kid was his and he had to take care of his own.
A few hours had passed and the boy had woken up. Dean was busy studying some parenting books while Pam packed for her hunt and the kid ate some oatmeal (it was the safest thing Pam had for him to eat). Every few minutes, Dean would look up from his book and check on the kid.
He cleared his throat uncertainly as his green eyes met the kid's matching ones. "So um… you got a name?"
The kid lowered his eyes and poked at his oatmeal. "Demons call me boy…"
Dean frowned. "Boy?"
The kid immediately looked up, eyes reflecting some fear but hope as well.
"We aren't going to call you that." Dean tossed his book aside. Not like it was really helping anyways. "You're going to have a different name." He gave the kid what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
"Could name him after your dad," Pam suggested.
Dean shot her a glare. Now was not the time to remind him of his father.
She gave him an apologetic look. "Your mom?"
Dean snorted. "Mary? For a boy?"
The kid looked at the two curiously. "Mary?"
Dean ruffled the kid's hair. "Don't worry. We most definitely are not gonna give you a girly name."
Pam sat down at the table. "What about Marius then? It's a boy name and sounds kinda like Mary."
Dean pursed his lips thoughtfully and glanced at the kid. "What do you think?"
The boy cocked his head before a smile slowly appeared on his lips. He looked up at Dean hesitantly. "I… I like it."
A smile spread across Dean's face as well. "Then Marius it is."
The kid's smile widened before he ducked his head away shyly. Dean shook his head some, smiling. The kid was seriously too cute. It made him think back to the days when Sam was still a little thing. Dean held back a sigh. Those days had been nice… but he didn't think he couldn't really repeat that now. This kid didn't deserve the hunting life, but he couldn't just abandon his own kid. What was he to do? He rubbed his face, willing the worry to go away to no avail. This was going to be an interesting couple of days.
Once the kid-Marius-had finished eating, it was time to hit the road. Pam had loaded up the box of stuff for Marius as well as a few more words of advice for good measure. She checked and double-checked that Dean still had the shopping list on him before they finally set off. Pam hoped deep in her heart that things would work out for them. After all, physic powers didn't always see the full future in store.
Traveling across the US was never a quick trip. Dean knew it would take quite a few stops before he reached his destination. It would be faster if it was just him, but with Marius in tow, he couldn't exactly pull any all-nighters. Slow and steady was the way to go, but that was all right. It would give him time to adjust to all this. He just hoped Sammy would take it well.
Sam probably wouldn't appreciate him doing this, but what choice did he have? He couldn't exactly bring the kid-his son?-into this mess. Marius deserved better, and Sam could at least provide somewhat of a normal life? He did promise Sam that he'd stay out of his college life…. He could at least let this one slide, right? It was a "family" issue. Certainly Sammy could understand that. Dean could only hope.
Checking into a motel wasn't awkward as when he checked out at the last motel with the kid… Marius (that was going to take some getting used to). He supposed it had to do with the fact that now he knew for sure that the kid was related to him. He held Marius on his hip and his duffles were slung on his free arm as he made his way to their room. The kid was half asleep already, but Dean knew that was normal. Little kids tended to sleep a lot. Sammy certainly slept a lot when he was that age. The memory caused him to chuckle softly as he placed the kid on a bed and tossed his duffles to the side.
Marius watched him with a sleepy expression, causing him to chuckle once more. He gently ruffled the kid's hair. "Take of your jacket and get to sleep. Okay, kiddo?"
The kid gave him a confused look but did as he was told. He let out a small sigh of contentment as his wings unfolded from underneath his jacket. It was very uncomfortable having to wear a jacket over them. The demons made him wear it whenever he went outside. He didn't really understand why, but he was grateful that he didn't have to wear the jacket now. His wings were aching from the tight space, and he was so tired. Car rides were exhausting… He wondered why his daddy didn't just zap to other places like the demons. It was faster, but he wasn't going to question his daddy's decisions. Daddy's knew best he was sure of that. He yawned and looked over at his daddy with a small, tired smile.
"Good night, Daddy," he whispered, getting comfortable under the blankets.
Dean looked up in surprise, not expecting to hear from the kid. He felt a bit guilty for focusing a little too much on his research.
"Night, kiddo," he answered softly, cracking a small smile.
Yeah… this was going to take some getting used to, but it didn't seem awful. It was oddly kinda nice?
Author's Note: Yay, update time! It's been a loooong time, but I've been sadly rather busy with college and home life, but I finally managed to squeeze in some writing time. Woot woot! I hope all of you guys and gals out ther enjoy this update!
Swiss Blue: Thank you for your review! :) And no, the kid isn't Sammy. But that would be really cute! Squee! Might have to consider that for a different story.