CHAPTER 21

Sam rubbed his face, "Bobby, we're in Olympia. It'll take us at least a day to get there." Just then, Castiel was in the room. "Um, did you send Castiel for us?"

Sam could hear Bobby laugh on the other end of the line,"No, Lily must have."

Sam smiled. "Okay, we'll be there soon." He hung up.

Dean was already in the bathroom getting ready.

While he waited for his brother, Sam was looking at Cas; something seemed off with him, "Hey, everything okay?"

Castiel just stood there for a moment, ignoring the question. With a confused look on his face, he spoke in his low tone. "Lily called me. She must have been in a contraction, because she was talking funny. She demanded I get there and when I got there, she told me to go get you." He paused for a moment, and then continued quietly, "She used the word… 'pronto'."

Sam snorted a laugh as he passed Dean coming out of the bathroom.

Moments later, all three men were in an empty hall near the Labor and Delivery wing.

They entered the waiting room and found Lily's boys already there. Castiel went on into Lily's room.

"Hey guys, how're you doing?" Dean walked up to the boys and gave them hugs. Sam followed.

"We're good; tired. It's five am and we're shaken awake by Bobby who tells us we can't stay at the house, 'cause Mom wants us with her."

"It was three a.m. our time." Sam smiled at them. "I think, when a woman in labour wants something, she's gonna get it."

Dean added, "Especially when she has an angel doing her dirty work for her."

They sat down in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. Two hours later, the Remington boys had fallen back to sleep and the Winchesters were dozing, when Bobby came out to get them.

"Lily wants to see ya." He nudged Dean and then Sam Winchester.

"What? In there?" Dean was instantly on guard. Sam stood up like he was shot from a cannon.

"Man up, ya knotheads, come on." Bobby wasn't gonna take no for an answer. He led the way to the room and Sam and Dean slowly entered. Bobby went down the hall in search of coffee for himself and ice chips for Lily.

Lily was reclined on the bed and there were wires coming out from under her blankets. She looked tired, but happy to see them. "Babies have their own time schedules, don't they?" She held up her arms for hugs. Sam and then Dean carefully hugged her.

"Are you okay?" Sam whispered. He seemed to feel that it should be quiet in the room.

Lily laughed and spoke normally. "Oh, yeah; the nurses think I'm a trooper because I'm not reacting to the contractions. What they don't know is Castiel is making sure this isn't hurting; at all. How cool is that? I'm pretty sure I screamed my fool head off with Sam; at least until the epidural."

They looked at Castiel who was standing by the window and just watching Lily. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, they both are." Castiel answered quietly.

Sam, who had an excellent memory, asked, "Cas, how many angels are here right now?"

Cas looked at him, "In the wing or in this room?"

"The room"

Cas' eyes moved around the room, "There are… a lot; not counting me."

Lily laughed. "Is that typical?"

Cas returned to looking at her, "No."

Dean looked around, "Why are so many here now?"

"Because Emily Claire is the first and only of her kind"

"Is Chuck here?"

"No"

"Is he coming?"

"No, but he is watching."

"Well that's not creepy, is it?" Deadpanned Dean.

Lily laughed again, and then started breathing weird.

"Lily! What's wrong?" Sam was instantly panicked.

Dean grabbed Sam and pulled him away. "It's a contraction. She's fine."

"How the hell do you know?"

"I told you, I was there when Lisa's sister had –" Instantly Dean knew he'd made a mistake. "Sam…" He glanced at Castiel, "Cas…"

Castiel was watching Sam, but Sam wasn't seeing anything, "When did you tell me?" Cas moved over to Sam and placed his hand on Sam's forehead. Then he let go and moved back over to Lily. He nodded to Dean that Sam was fine.

Dean grabbed his shoulders, "Nevermind! Forget about it."

Sam looked at him, confused, "I don't remember."

In an effort to distract him, Lily held up her hand for Sam. "I'm fine, Sam, I'm fine. I told you that it's not hurting. But there is pressure."

Just then a nurse came in and shooed everyone out. "Go on, I need to do a check."

After the men left the room, the nurse started to lift Lily's covers. Castiel turned his back and the nurse never seemed to notice him. The nurse finished her examination and lowered the covers back over her legs. "You're at eight centimeters; it won't be long now."

Lily nodded and the nurse left the room. A few minutes later, Bobby entered the room, "Dean is practically hyperventilating right now. He's watching Sam like a hawk, what happened?"

Lily described what happened, "Dean may have triggered a memory. It was an accident." She turned to Castiel, "Cas is he okay?"

Cas nodded, "The wall is intact. Sam's fine."

She nodded and then took Bobby's hand, breathing through the contraction. They were coming along faster. "I think I'm ready to push." She started to breathe faster and Bobby talked to her to get her breathing back in hand. He pressed the call button for the nurse.

Castiel took hold of her other hand and directly helped to keep the pain under control. At that point, the nurse came back in. She looked at the readouts and checked under the covers again.

"You're at 10 centimeters already! That was fast. I'll get the doctor." She left and Castiel followed to inform the boys that the baby would be born soon.

After Castiel went back into the room, Sam and Dean woke the Remington boys and let them know the baby was coming. Dean was relieved; it was a good distraction for Sam.

They only had to wait about 20 minutes before she arrived. Bobby came out with a huge grin on his face and tears in his eyes.

He hugged everybody and then went back into the room; without saying a word. About 10 minutes later, he came back out. This time he was coherent. "Lily wants to see all of her men." He gestured to the younger boys and they went in to meet their sister. A little later, they came out and Sam and Dean entered the room. For the first time in their lives Dean and then Sam held a newborn baby. They couldn't believe how small she was and how frightened of her they were.

Lily was watching them hold her daughter with tears in her eyes. It's amazing how powerful an image it is of a big, strong man gently holding a tiny baby.

Later, Lily fell asleep while Bobby, Sam, Dean and Castiel stood in a circle in the room and just looked at the tiny girl. She already had them firmly wrapped around her finger. Bobby went to the door and quietly gestured the younger boys into the room.

Bobby was holding his daughter, just looking at her and he started to laugh. Quietly, he said, "Lily was in the middle of pushing and the nurse was telling her to push to the count of ten. Only no one was paying any attention to that, we were all watching the baby's head crown. So, even though she wasn't in any pain, Lily got cranky. The nurse again told her to push to the count of ten and Lily yells out, "Well then someone better frickin' start counting!"

They all laughed at that. Bobby passed the little girl to Cas. Castiel was holding her and staring at her. Every once in a while, he would hold the baby in a way that made the others think he was showing her to someone. Finally he spoke, "She came out glowing a little." They all looked at him. "I modified the memories of the people who saw it." They nodded. Considering the fact that she has grace, none of them were really surprised by that.

Castiel passed the baby to Sam Remington. He looked nervous holding her, but then they all seemed nervous holding her. He wanted to say something important to her, but couldn't think of anything, so he just said, "Welcome, little sister. You're never gonna date." The men laughed at that. Then he looked at Castiel. "Should I hold her so the others can see her?" Castiel looked at someone behind him and nodded.

Dean Remington held her for awhile, but didn't say anything. He just stared at her. The overwhelming love he felt for her was making him speechless. He too would hold the baby up a little whenever Castiel's eyes would glance behind him.

They stood like that for a long time; just looking at her and making comments to each other, passing her to the next set of loving arms. Occasionally, they would show her to an unseen presence behind them. Knowing that angels would be watching over her made them feel that she would never have to worry about their kind of danger.

A few hours later, Castiel took the time to take Sam and Dean back to their car in Washington. They would drive back as fast as they could. This time, Castiel also took the younger boys with them. Since it was their first trip with Castiel, Dean jokingly reminded them to take fiber for a couple of days.

All four boys would drive back together which would give Bobby and Lily time to rest and regroup without having to worry about taking care of her sons. The Remington boys didn't mind; they hoped the trip would last longer.

AN: Sorry this is such a short chapter, but it was the best place to break the story. I'm closing in on the end – three to go.

BTW, the incident in which Lily yells that someone should start counting actually happened... to me... and I didn't use the word "frickin'". ;)
Thanks,
Sali.