"Dean, this is really not needed, I can dry myself." Dean glared at Castiel, before continuing to towel the angel dry, paying special attention to the stomach. "I haven't seen you in god knows how long, I feel like I haven't touched you in longer, and so help me, I feel like I remember your stomach being smaller, you're also in labor and you want me to NOT dote on you? Suck it." Castiel sighed.
"Dean, it has been seven hours since you saw me last, five hours prior to that we had sex, my stomach was not this big earlier today and yes I may be in labor, but the contractions are FAR from painful, so I will be fine for a while yet, you can dote on me should you choose and I cannot suck it since you have IT tucked between your legs in those silly boxers." Dean smiled, realizing how very horrible his life would be without this angel to grace him with facts that somehow come across as funny. "Yes Castiel, I want to dote on you. I want to make you feel loved in so many different ways. I want you to know that no matter what happens, you are the most important person in my life, and that's saying something." Castiel felt himself blush.
Another contraction made Castiel gasp. The pain wasn't bad, but it had startled him quite a bit more than the others had. "Cas?" Dean looked worried. "Dean, I am fine. If you are going to be this hysterical every time a contraction hits, I will knock you out until I have to push, do you understand me?" Dean nodded and looked a little butt hurt.
Once Castiel had dressed in a pair of boxers and was covered up in a robe, they walked downstairs together and found the others gathered, as always, in the kitchen. "I could eat." Castiel thought out loud, walking towards the fridge, only to be stopped by Gabriel. "Unless you want to puke, have indigestion and feel like your insides are on fire while you labor, I would refrain from eating anything. You can have water, juice or ice chips, but that's about it. I actually suggest you drink a cup of water every hour you labor, your body is going to go through an ass ton of liquids and we can't afford for you to get dehydrated." Castiel looked like a child denied sweets, but he grabbed a cup and walked towards the sink, filling it about halfway with water before sitting at the table and sipping on it.
"I'm sorry, but once this is all over, you can have anything you want to eat." Castiel didn't give a damn, because when this was all over he wouldn't need nor want to eat anything. Pouting some more, Castiel turned away from the others as he continued drinking his water.
It was about 30 minutes later when another contraction made Castiel stiffen and take a deep breath. The pain was there, but not nearly as bad as he had assumed it was going to be, and after about 20 seconds the pain faded away. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad?" Castiel thought about it before answering Gabriel. "About a three." Gabriel nodded and sighed to himself.
"I need to…um…I need to…" Gabriel couldn't say it, he was embarrassed for his son. "You need to check my progress, I understand." Gabriel looked like he was dreading this stage, but there wasn't anyone else that would know what to feel for. "I really would rather not…but I don't know anyone else that would know what to feel for…this is not what a parent imagines when they think about becoming a grandparent." Castiel sighed and felt bad for Gabriel, if there had been anyone else Gabriel could just sit aside and dote on his granddaughter when the moment came.
Castiel walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, knowing those who needed to, and or wanted to, could follow him for the exam.
Gabriel stood with a sigh and smiled sheepishly at Sam who looked so very sympathetic. "I'm sorry." Gabriel shook his head. "Nope, no need, I can be professional and pretend this is someone completely different…" Dean had a question all of a sudden (Which at this point I'm pretty sure everyone has.)
"Um…Gabe…how do you know all this?" Gabriel sighed and looked anywhere but at Dean. "I wasn't always a trickster; I did a lot of different jobs before I settled." And that was the only answer Dean knew he was going to get. "Do you want to come along or do you want to stay down here?" Gabe asked Dean and the hunter nodded standing and following Gabriel upstairs towards the room Castiel was in.
Opening the door slowly they saw Castiel taking his boxers off. "I do not wish to make you any more uncomfortable so I will keep the robe on, if that is alright." Gabriel nodded and had Castiel lay on the bed.
"I need to check and make sure the baby is in the right position, and then I need to um…" Castiel nodded and let the rope part open and expose his stomach.
Gabriel walked over and immediately lost all embarrassment; this was for his son and damn it all if he wasn't going to be professional about the whole thing.
Placing his hands on Castiel's stomach, he felt around before pushing down a bit, feeling here and there before moving his hands lower, towards Castiel's groin and squeezing his hands together. "Head down, good girl." He sounded pleased about that.
"Now I need you to bend your knees, put your ankles together and let your knees fall apart." Castiel went to do as he was told, watching Dean out of the corner of his eye. "Come here Dean." Dean did as he was told, not wanting to see the birth canal.
Gabriel looked at the fully formed birth canal and nodded his approval before snapping his fingers and making a pair of gloves to wear. "This is going to be very uncomfortable." Gabriel said putting a hand on Castiel's lower stomach and pushing two fingers into the canal and adjusting his fingers a little before pushing in deeper. Castiel took a deep breath and held it in, not knowing how to describe the sensation he was feeling. "Are you okay?" Dean asked, holding Castiel's hand. "Yeah, I'm fine, just uncomfortable I guess." Gabriel continued to push in deeper with his fingers, while pushing down on Castiel's stomach with his hand. "You're about one centimeter dilated and about 30% effaced which means you might have a long labor." Castiel nodded, feeling relief when Gabriel removed his fingers and took off the gloves. "I'm going to check you in three or four hours and go from there."
Dean helped Castiel sit up and put his boxers back on before looking at Gabriel, wondering where the angel had learned all this. Yes Gabriel had been pregnant, but that still didn't explain his knowledge. Being pregnant and knowing in depth detail about the birthing process were two completely different things.
If Dean wanted to ask or not was a moot point, the hunter already knew that Gabriel wouldn't tell him jack squat when it came to what he did and did not know, or how the angel knew any of this. "You do not have to stare at him, this is quite normal for Gabriel. He has always been curious about everything, it does not surprise me that he went and learned as much as he could." Dean nodded, still curious about everything but dropping the subject for the time being.
Castiel stood off the bed and immediately tensed. "Does it hurt much now?" Gabriel asked, looking over at his son. Castiel shook his head. "It just caught me off guard is all." Gabriel nodded. "Still a three?" Castiel shrugged. "I guess." But to be honest Castiel didn't know. The pain wasn't bad, but it was sharper than it had been before. "It'll be okay, the progress is good, not fast, but good. Walking around will help a little, if that's what you want to do." Castiel shook his head.
"We can play cards until the contractions get closer together." Gabriel suggested then and got two identical looks of irritation thrown towards him.
"What the hell do you want to do then? It's not like labor is all that entertaining. It's boring, full of pain and waiting so we have to do SOMETHING to pass the damn time."
"We could watch a movie." Dean suggested and when both angels seemed to truly contemplate the request Dean smiled. "Good, we're gonna watch the lord of the rings, that's about three and a half hours long in the extended version, so we'll be plenty occupied for the time limit you gave." Gabriel nodded and started heading out the door and down the stairs.
Castiel and Dean looked at each other, kissed, and followed Gabriel downstairs. Sam greeted them with a smile. "Gabe is beyond enthusiastic about the Lord of the rings. He already has everything set up and popcorn, three different flavors, have been poofed into existence and he is impatiently waiting for you." Dean looked shocked, Gabriel hadn't had that much of a head start.
"YOU TWO COMING OR AM I GOING TO HAVE TO START THIS DAMN MOVIE WITHOUT YOU?" Gabriel sounded impatient, and with a smile the three of them found themselves in the living room. Gabriel was sitting on the floor, Bobby was sitting on a random chair and Sam looked like he was heading towards where Gabriel sat, which meant the couch was being left for the pregnant angel and the anxious hunter.
The opening credits had Castiel intrigued, but not even 20 minutes into the movie, Castiel had fallen asleep on Dean's lap. Dean, wanting Castiel to get as much sleep as possible, let the angel be.
A couple of times Dean had to sooth Castiel back to sleep, as a contraction would make him uncomfortable enough to move, or groan. From the sounds the angel was making Dean knew the contractions were starting to hurt, but knowing they still had time, he continued to sooth his husband, hoping the angel slept through the entire movie at least.
Half an hour before the movie's end, Castiel sat bolt upright and held a hand to his stomach as he took a deep breath in and let it out in a groan of pain, panting heavily as his other hand found Dean's leg and squeezed. Dean was rubbing soothing circles on Castiel's lower back, trying to help him through the pain, as Castiel's breathing evened out. "That one hurt, a lot." Castiel sounded so small as he let go of Dean's leg and looked at Gabriel for some answers. "They'll do that. It's about time anyway, so let's go and get you checked out." Castiel nodded and stood up, with Dean's help, and walked up the stairs.
Gabriel made another pair of gloves appear and put them on, looking at Sam, who looked to have a question. "Is it a good idea for him to keep walking up and down the stairs?" Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, it'll be fine, and depending on how far along he is, he might still be able to wonder around. If he's close, though, I'll keep him upstairs in bed. Could you crush some ice, put them in four or so different cups and put them in the freezer? He's going to get really thirsty and from now on he can only have ice." Sam nodded and went to do as he was told.
Gabriel made his way up the stairs and into the room, watching Castiel growl, outright growl, through another contraction. "One through ten, how bad?" Gabriel asked, helping Castiel onto the bed and out of his boxers, as Dean continued to hold the angel's hand. "Bad!" Gabriel gave Castiel a look that said, really?
"Seven." Gabriel nodded and positioned Castiel's legs. Two fingers entered the angel and Castiel gasped in pain as he felt Gabriel pushing in deeper, using his free hand to push down on his stomach again. A twist of the fingers had Castiel crying out and Dean looked ready to punch the arch angel. "You're about four centimeters now, so no more going downstairs. Walk around this room for as long as you want, but you seem to be progressing fast." Castiel nodded and looked at Dean. "Thirsty." He panted out as another contraction hit him dead on. "That wasn't even three minutes." Dean looked panicked but Gabriel kept his cool and smiled. "Fast isn't always a bad thing, it just means you'll be seeing Alana sooner than you think, go downstairs and get him a cup of ice, your brother has them prepped." Dean nodded, kissed Castiel on the head as the contraction ended and walked out of the room.
"This hurts so bad." Castiel sounded afraid. "I know, and it's going to get worse." Gabriel wasn't going to sugar coat this experience. "But it'll be worth it." Castiel nodded, not sure he wanted it to get worse, but knowing the faster this progressed the sooner he would be done with it and be able to hold his daughter. Another contraction hit him and he tensed, holding his breath before crying out in pain. "They're worse than before." Castiel looked about ready to cry as he turned, lying on his side and holding his legs as close to his chest as he could manage. This seemed to help a bit as the pain finally passed and he was able to breathe.
"You can't keep holding your breath; you need to breathe through the pain, if you tense up it'll hurt more." Castiel nodded.
Dean walked through the door not too long after holding a cup of ice, Sam following close behind. Bobby wanted nothing to do with any of this and had barricaded himself in his study.
Dean walked over towards Castiel and handed him the ice, watching the angel take a mouthful and start chewing, before another contraction made Castiel drop the cup and clench his mouth and try to scream out in pain. "Breathe through it." Gabriel instructed as Dean went to touch Castiel, only to have the angel move away. "No…do not touch me. FUCK." Castiel couldn't hold in the pain anymore, as it intensified and made him feel nauseous.
Once the contraction was over Castiel looked to be shivering, teeth chattering violently. Dean went to cover him with a blanket but Castiel pushed him away. "They're labor shivers, there's nothing you can do about it, he's not cold." Gabriel explained as he saw the confused expression on both hunters faces.
"This sucks." Sam walked close to Cas and smiled kindly. "I know it sucks, but Alana will be here soon, and you won't have any more pain and you'll be able to look at your little daughter. I know you'll love it." Castiel nodded and smiled at Sam. "Thank you Sam, and Dean I'm sorry." Dean waved away the apology, knowing what it was like to be in so much pain you lashed out.
Another contraction hit Castiel and the poor angel started cursing and sobbing, sitting up and rocking back and forth, hoping the pain would stop. Dean wanted to help, but every time he went to touch the angel Castiel would lash out and not let the hunter touch him.
Dean was feeling useless, but he knew he needed to be there for Cas, regardless of if Cas wanted him there or not.
"It's time to check you." Gabriel said and got a glare in return. "Do NOT touch me." Castiel looked absolutely livid, but another contraction had him screaming again. "I don't want to be touched."
"Too bad." It was Dean who had talked, grabbing Castiel's hand and allowing the angel to squeeze the life out of his hand. A pop and an intense amount of pain, signaled to the hunter that his hand was now broken, but he could live with that as long as Castiel knew that Dean was there for him.
"Lay back and spread them." Gabriel said, voice authoritative, which made Castiel nod and do as he was told. Sam and Dean stood as close to Castiel's head as they could get, both focusing on the angel's face instead.
Castiel didn't even flinch at the intrusion this time, as Gabriel pushed his fingers as far as they could go, searching for the opening and hoping, HOPING, the pushing could start soon.
"Ten Centimeters." Castiel looked relieved but immediately his face screwed into that of discomfort and then severe pain. "Another contraction?" Dean asked but Castiel shook his head. "No it hurts bad, but it feels…" Castiel blushed.
"What does it feel like?" Gabriel asked, slightly worried. "It feels as though I have to defecate." Gabriel nodded. "That's just the baby dropping, you'll be starting to push soon." Castiel sighed in relief, as did Sam and Dean. They all wanted this to be over.
It seemed to take forever, but the baby was finally in position. Gabriel snapped his fingers and made the necessary equipment appear before helping Castiel get comfortable.
Dean and Sam each held one of Castiel's hands and lifted him up, positioning as many pillows as they could behind him, hoping to help angle him better. "Alright, on the next contraction, you're going to have to push, do you understand me?" Castiel nodded at Gabriel and braced himself.
Once the contraction started Gabriel grabbed Castiel's feet and pushed the angel's legs towards his body, helping open him up. "PUSH" Castiel bore down with all his might, holding onto Dean's hand, and screaming through the pain. The pain ebbed away slowly and Castiel threw his head back and panted. "Sam I'm going to need you to help hold his leg up." Sam nodded and Grabbed Castiel's leg, hoping he didn't get a glimpse of anything, but not being so lucky. "You're doing great Cas, you're doing so great." Dean was reassuring his angel, knowing Castiel was so very tired.
Castiel took a deep breath as another contraction hit. Closing his eyes shut, he started to push again, listening to the encouraging words Dean was spewing off. The contraction eased off and Castiel breathed heavily again, waiting for the next contraction to begin pushing.
"And push." Gabriel was a rock of support, as he gently talked Castiel through even this portion of labor. Dean was doing even better, petting Castiel's head and whispering reassurances and support to his husband. Sam was the only one that didn't seem to know what to say. There he was holding Castiel's leg with absolutely no idea what the hell to say or do, so he just focused on rubbing the angel's back after contractions.
"One more really pig push, she's starting to crown." Castiel nodded and pushed again, feeling absolutely drained, but he was going to give it his all, he was going to help his daughter come into the world. "That's it Castiel, that's it, slow and steady. I love you so much." Dean was saying, hoping to be a rock of support for the young angel who seemed to be in so much pain.
"There's someone here to see you." It was Bobby, and he looked white as a ghost. "Yeah Bobby, we're kinda in the middle of something, tell them to fuck themselves." Bobby swallowed thickly and shook his head. "He won't take no for an answer."
"One more push, and….there, you can stop pushing." Gabriel said, holding the baby's head in his hands, and with a snap of his fingers the baby's nose and mouth were clear. "Alright, one more big push and the baby'll be out." Castiel nodded and on the next contraction bore down as hard as he could, feeling the baby leave his body and the pressure in his stomach decrease as the remaining amniotic fluid spilled out in a whoosh.
Immediately after the baby was born, the pain was gone and Castiel fell back onto the bed and sighed in relief. "You did it Cas, you did so good." Castiel looked up and beamed with pride at Dean, they were parents.
A shrill cry pierced the air and Castiel laughed. "She is not happy to have been born." Dean nodded his agreement and watched as Gabriel cut the baby's umbilical cord and wrapped her in a blanket.
Handing her to Dean, who grabbed her with pride, Gabriel started getting the afterbirth out. "Cas, she's so beautiful." Castiel didn't have the energy to lean up so Dean lowered Alana for Castiel to be able to see. "Oh yes Dean, she is absolutely gorgeous…so perfect." Dean nodded and showed Alana off to Sam who smiled happily down at the baby.
"I don't mean to be rude Dean, but I have to go find out who the hell is here." Sam said, kissing Alana's tiny little head and smiling happily at Dean. Dean nodded and Watched Sam walk out of the room, a pale white Bobby following close behind.
Gabriel disposed of the afterbirth with a snap of his fingers, before pushing down on Castiel's stomach, trying to see how well everything was going. Gush after gush of blood came pouring out of Castiel and Dean looked terrified. "It's normal." Gabriel said, constantly banishing the blood. "He'll be fine. In six to eight weeks the canal will be gone and it'll be like it never even existed." Dean nodded and continued holding his tiny, so very tiny, little girl.
"I am sorry to intrude." The occupants of the room immediately froze, fear gripping everyone but Gabriel tight.
"Raphael." Gabriel said, turning to face his brother.