Chapter 2
"It's what?!" Dean asked in disbelief.
"You rigged this, right?" Sam waved the stick at Dean. "You did something so that it would register positive no matter what. This is all a joke. Tell me, Dean."
Dean shook his head. "I didn't do anything. I swear."
"Then what the hell…" Sam tried to make sense of the results. "It can't be. This is totally impossible."
"Wait a minute," Dean drawled. "Give that man the Oscar."
"Dean?" Sam asked in confusion.
"You! You rigged it," Dean went on. "God, I almost bought it. I didn't know you were such a good actor. Man, your face…priceless. I tell you."
"Dean, I didn't do anything," Sam protested.
"Yeah, right," Dean laughed. "I tried to shame you into going to the doctor, and you're paying me back. I can't believe I almost fell for it. Then blaming me…that was a stroke of genius."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sam interrupted.
"Yeah, right," Dean replied. "Sorry, but I'm not believing this."
"No, I'm serious, Dean," Sam said, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't do anything to this test. So, if you didn't, then…" His voice trailed off at the implication.
Dean was finally beginning to realize that this wasn't a prank. "I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you aren't pranking me."
Sam met Dean's eyes. "No, Dean, I'm not pranking you."
The color drained from Dean's face as he saw the sincerity in Sam's eyes. "I'll be right back." He grabbed his keys from the table and headed to the door.
"Wait," Sam said. "Where are you going?"
"Just stay here," Dean ordered and left.
Sam began pacing around the room. His mind whirled trying to come up with a plausible reason for the positive test. He wanted to believe that Dean was playing a joke, but after seeing the look on Dean's face before he left, Sam knew better. He had no concept of time as he paced, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, Dean was back, carrying another bag.
"Where in the hell have you been?" Sam angrily demanded.
"I went to the store…" Dean began only to be interrupted.
"Like that couldn't have waited," Sam continued his angry tirade. "First, you make me take this damn test, and then when I get this," He waved the test stick towards Dean. "You take off. I'm here trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and you're out on a beer run. I can't believe you, Dean. Don't you care about anyone other than yourself?"
"I do care!" Dean snapped back. "And I wasn't on a beer run. I went to the drug store instead of the carryout to get a different test."
Sam's eyes widened. "You want me to take another test? Are you crazy?"
Dean shrugged slightly. "Actually, I want you to take three more."
Sam shook his head. "NO! No freaking way am I taking another one of those damn tests. You can just forget it."
"Sam, you've got to," Dean argued. "You want to put your mind at ease that this one was just a faulty test. Don't you?"
"How can you be so sure that this one was faulty?" Sam asked.
Dean could hear the worry in Sam's voice. "It's gotta be faulty. You can't be pregnant, Sam. Men don't GET pregnant."
Sam still had a worried look on his face. "But what if these ones are positive too?"
"They're not going to be," Dean tried to sound confident. "Just keep telling yourself that." He shoved the bag into Sam's hands. "Now, get going."
"But…" Sam tried to argue, but Dean cut him off.
"No buts," Dean said, his gaze softening. "Look, I don't know what we'll do if these are positive. I guess we'll have to see if that happens. But it's not going to. The first one was just some weird fluke. Okay?"
Sam swallowed hard and nodded his head. "Okay," he replied, and he went into the bathroom. He came back out a couple of minutes later.
"Well?" Dean asked immediately.
Sam shook his head. "I don't know. It'll take a few minutes, but I couldn't stay in there waiting."
"Oh," Dean glanced at his watch as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He watched Sam carefully as he stood stiff backed looking out the window. He knew the first test had thrown Sam for a loop. Hell, it had thrown him for a loop. The feeling that something was wrong with Sam, continued to grow. He couldn't help but wonder what would cause a man to test positive for pregnancy. Unfortunately, his medical knowledge was limited to taking aspirin for a fever and cough syrup for a cold. They really had been lucky that they had been generally healthy growing up.
Dean glanced at his watch again and saw that the time had elapsed. "It's time. You can go look."
Sam continued to look out the window. "I don't think I can."
"Do you want me to?" Dean asked.
Sam sighed. "I guess. Although, I'm not too sure that I really want to know."
"Well, no use putting it off." Dean said as he stood and went into the bathroom.
Sam waited nervously for Dean to check the tests. It was only a couple of seconds before he heard Dean exclaim: "Son of a bitch!" Sam closed his eyes as he fought against the tears that sprang to his eyes.
Dean exited the bathroom. "Sam…" He began.
"You don't have to say it, Dean," Sam interrupted. "They're positive."
Dean cursed himself for even buying that first test, but he asked Sam. "Will you finally admit that you need to see a doctor?"
Sam looked at Dean in horror. "There is NO WAY in hell that I'm going to go tell a doctor, or anyone else for that matter, that I even TOOK a pregnancy test, let alone that it was positive."
Dean shook his head. "You don't have to tell them about the tests. Just tell the doctor about your 'flu-like' symptoms that won't go away. Let him take it from there."
Sam sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands. "Oh God, what the hell is happening to me?"
"That's why you need to see a doctor," Dean answered. "To find out."
Sam sighed heavily. "Okay, how do you want to handle this?"
"What do you mean?" Dean replied.
"Well," Sam began. "In the past, if we couldn't ourselves up, we would go to the emergency room, but this doesn't really seem like an 'emergency room' type of thing. If I go in there complaining about the flu, they'll blow me off, especially since I'm not running a fever."
Dean nodded. "I see your point."
"So," Sam asked again. "How do we do this? Look up a name in the phone book? Go to a walk-in clinic?"
"How about I call Bobby and see if he knows a doctor that we can trust?" Dean offered.
"No!" Sam said in alarm. "Don't call Bobby. I don't want him to know about this."
"It's okay," Dean tried to give Sam a reassuring smile. "I'll only tell him that you have the flu. He won't know anymore than that."
"No," Sam shook his head. "This is Bobby you're talking about. He'll see right through the 'flu' story. He'll hear it in your voice."
"Oh no, he won't." Dean curled his lips in disbelief.
"Yes, he will." Sam was adamant. "You've heard him say it: 'Don't con a con man.' So, no, you can't call Bobby."
"How about Ellen?" Dean asked. "Maybe she knows someone. Can I call her?"
Sam nodded. "I guess Ellen in okay."
Dean dialed the number to the roadhouse, and Sam listened to his one side of the conversation.
"Hey, Ellen, it's Dean Winchester.'
"Yeah, it has been a while. How are thing going?"
"Good, that's good. How's Jo?"
"I see…"
"Well, yeah, I did call for a specific reason. I was wondering if you know of a good doctor."
"Yeah, Sam is sick."
"Well, we thought it was just the flu, but he can't seem to shake it."
"Uhm…it's just been a couple of days."
"It may not seem that long, but Sam is normally pretty healthy, so for him to be sick for this long…:
"Hunting related? No, I don't think its hunting related, but since we don't know what it is, I can't be completely certain."
"Hang on, let me write this down."
"Okay and he's where?"
"Right, got it. Thanks a lot, Ellen."
"Yeah, I'll tell him."
"Sure, you take care too."
"Yeah, bye, Ellen."
As soon as Dean hung up, Sam asked. "So, what did Ellen say?"
Dean looked at the piece of paper in his hand. "Well, she gave me the name of a doctor in Elk Point, South Dakota. His name is Dr. Brady Forester. He's making a name for himself among hunters. Apparently, he understands about what we do and the weird injuries that we get. Oh, and she said to tell you to get better soon."
"Elk point? How far is that from here?" Sam questioned.
Dean shrugged. "A little over an hour, maybe an hour and a half."
"Let's get going then." Sam grabbed his bag and threw in his few belongings that were still lying around the room. "The sooner we find out what's wrong, the sooner I'll get better."
Dean grabbed his own bag and began filling it. "All right then." He was glad that Sam was finally willing to see a doctor. Although, he did feel bad that Sam had to be scared into it. When he threw his last shirt in the bag, he said. "I'm ready."
The two brothers climbed into the impala and headed towards Elk Point. The first ten minutes of the drive was quiet. Sam stared out the window and nervously tapped his fingers against his knee.
"Do you want to stop and get something to eat?" Dean broke the silence.
"No, thanks, I'm not hungry," Sam replied.
Dean glanced over at Sam. "Are you sure? You haven't eaten anything yet today."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Sam nodded. "I don't think that I could eat anything right now." He went back to tapping his fingers.
Dean shook his head. "You know. We're going through Sioux Falls. If you're nervous about seeing this doctor, we could stop and talk to Bobby about him."
Sam looked at Dean in alarm. "No Bobby!" He exclaimed, but then forced himself to calm down. "I'd rather not see Bobby until we find out what is wrong. Is that too much to ask?"
"Okay, if that's what you want." Dean nodded, but he still felt a twinge of apprehension. Ever since their father had died, Bobby had been the one who they turned to when they had questions or problems. Dean felt a bit guilty keeping him out of the loop with this problem, but he also didn't want to upset Sam anymore than he was. So, Dean didn't push the point. Dean glanced over towards Sam. He was still staring out the window of the car. Dean sighed heavily and turned his attention back to the road. The rest of the drive to Elk Point was done in silence.
The next morning, Sam sat at the edge of the exam table. He idly flipped through an old People magazine. Unfortunately, his nerves kept him from really reading it. He closed the magazine with a disgusted sigh and glanced at his watch. It had been almost ten minutes since the nurse had left him alone after taking his vitals. He almost wished that he had made Dean come with him to the exam room. At least then he would have someone to talk to. He shifted his position on the bed and rolled his shoulders. He glanced at his watch again and inwardly groaned as time crawled along. He picked up the magazine and began to flip again. He had only gone a few pages when the door finally opened and a six foot African-American who appeared to be in his early forties, walked in.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Forester," the doctor said, extending his arm out to shake Sam's hand.
Sam shook the doctor's hand. "Sam Winchester."
The doctor sat on a rolling stool and opened Sam's file. "Okay, Mr. Winchester, it says here that you've been suffering from nausea and vomiting for four days."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's right."
"Have you been able to keep anything down in that time?" Dr. Forester asked.
Sam nodded. "Some, it's really weird. I'm sick first thing in the morning and then again in the late evening, but the rest of the day I'm okay and can eat some."
"I see." The doctor stood and placed his stethoscope in his ears. After listening to Sam's heart and lungs, he sat back down and made a couple of notes in the chart. He looked over the personal information sheet that Sam had filled out. "I also see that you didn't fill in your information sheet fully. It's missing your address and insurance information."
Sam shook his head. "I don't have any."
"Insurance? Or an address?" The doctor questioned.
"Either," Sam replied. "My brother and I are on a road trip, and I'll pay cash for this."
Dr. Forester raised an eyebrow and studied Sam for a moment. "You also marked that you got my name from Ellen Harvelle. How well do you know Ellen?"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know. My dad and her husband hunted together a few times. We've visited her at the roadhouse, and she's helped us with a couple of jobs."
The doctor gave Sam a knowing look. "And are you a hunter like your dad?"
Sam just nodded his head.
The doctor closed the file. "Okay, this is what we are going to do. I'm going to run some tests. The nurse will come and take some blood. Meanwhile, I want you to make a list of everything you have hunted, demons, ghost, whatever, and where you've hunted it in the past three to six months just in case it's pertinent."
"How long will these tests take?" Sam asked.
The doctor shrugged. It'll depend on what I find in the first series of tests. They'll be general ones like blood counts and such, but it'll give me an idea where to go from there."
"Can you send my brother in here?" Sam asked. "At least then I'll have someone to talk to."
"Sure, not a problem," the doctor replied as he left the room.
A couple minutes later Dean entered the room. "So, what did the doc say?"
"He wants to run some tests," Sam answered. "He also wants me to make a list of all the hunts we've been on lately."
"So, he thinks it may be job related?" Dean continued.
Sam shook his head. "He doesn't know, but he's keeping the possibility in mind."
The nurse entered the room before Dean could respond. "Well, Mr. Winchester, Dr. Forester has ordered a blood draw. Do you have a preference on which arm I use?"
"It doesn't matter." Sam held an arm out for her, and she began filling vials.
As the nurse began filling the third vial, Dean looked over her shoulder. "Geesh, how much blood are you taking?"
"Five vials," the nurse answered.
"Is that a lot?" Sam asked in concern.
The nurse shook her head. "No, not really, it just sounds like it." She finished filling the last vial and pulled the needle from Sam's arm and disposed of it. She then handed him a specimen cup. "The doctor also wants a urine sample. The bathroom is two doors down, and there is a small door in the wall that opens to a shelf. You can leave the sample on the shelf." She held up a clipboard. "Here's some paper and a pen for you to make the list for the doctor." She laid it next to him. "I'll come back later to get it."
Sam nodded. "Okay, thanks." Sam took care of the sample and then he and Dean made the list together.
The nurse returned a short time later to get the list. She gave Sam a reassuring smile. "I'll give this to the doctor." Then she left again. Quiet conversation flowed between the two brothers while they waited for the doctor to return.
It was about an hour before the doctor came back to the room. "Well, Mr. Winchester, I believe that I have found your problem."
"Great," Sam replied. "So, what is it? An infection? A virus?"
Dr. Forester glanced over towards Dean and then looked back at Sam. "You may want to hear this in private."
Dean and Sam exchanged concerned looks. Sam shook his head. "No, I want Dean to hear this, especially if it's…" His voice trailed off as his mind refused to acknowledge the realistic possibility of bad news from the doctor.
The doctor nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want." He cleared his throat. "This is going to come as a shock, but given the things you've seen in your line of work, it shouldn't be too unbelievable."
"Doc, you're kind of scaring me here," Sam said while Dean took up a protective stance near Sam.
"Sorry," the doctor replied. "Normally, congratulations would go along with this statement, but given the circumstances, it's not appropriate. Sam, you're pregnant."
A roaring sound filled Sam's ears, and his vision began to gray. He could hear Dean talking, but he couldn't make out what he was saying.
Dean saw Sam pale and began to fall to one side. "Whoa, there big guy," he grabbed Sam and tried to hold him up. "Come on, breathe."
The doctor grabbed Sam from the other side. "Let's lay him down." Once they had Sam stretched out, the doctor grabbed a couple of small pillows from the supply cabinet and placed them under Sam's legs. He then took Sam's pulse.
"Is he okay?" Dean demanded.
"His pulse is a little fast," the doctor answered. "But I think it's just shock."
"Dean," Sam called out weakly.
Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I'm right here for you, Bro."
"Did he really say that?" Sam asked. "I'm really pregnant?"
"Don't worry about that right now," Dean told Sam while shooting the doctor a dirty look. "I'm sure that the doctor was just trying to be funny."
"But, after…" Sam began.
"I know. I know," Dean interrupted. "It wasn't funny at all, but you can't be pregnant. Men DON'T get pregnant."
The doctor shook his head. "I wish I could say that it was a joke, but it's not. In your line of work, you've seen lots of things that most people would say is impossible. Trust me when I say this is possible, AND it is happening."
Sam tried to sit up, but Dean held him down. "You'd better stay there. I don't want you passing out again."
Sam pushed Dean's hand off his chest. "I didn't 'pass out'. I just got a little lightheaded, but I'm fine now."
Dean shook his head. "You sure gave a good impression of passing out."
Sam gave Dean a disgusted look as he succeeded in sitting up. "Oh shut up." He turned his attention towards the doctor and rambled. "So, how could this happen? To a man? To me? God, this has to be a dream."
The doctor sat back down. "Tell me about the trickster that you dealt with."
"The trickster?" Sam shrugged. "There's not much to tell. He was terrorizing a college campus. "
"He caused all kinds of chaos before we finally managed to off him," Dean interrupted.
"Well, if you hadn't been 'Mr. Attitude'…" Sam muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" Dean asked snottily.
Sam shook his head. "Nothing."
The doctor pretended to check the chart as he fought the urge to roll his eyes at the bickering brothers. "You said that this trickster was terrorizing a college campus. How?"
The two brothers exchanged amused looks. In the course of their bickering, they had gotten side tracked in their explanation. Dean spoke up. "He was a fan of the World Weekly News, and he was making the stories come true, like a ghost throwing a guy out the window or an alien abduction story."
"Don't forget about the crocodile in the sewer," Sam added.
The doctor nodded his head. "So, the idea of a man giving birth would be right up his alley?"
Sam's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I guess it would be."
"So, you're saying that he impregnated Sam before we killed him?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"What makes you so sure that you killed it?" Dr. Forester countered.
Dean rolled his eyes at the doctor. "I think the wooden stack sticking out of his chest was a dead giveaway."
The doctor just gave Dean a disbelieving look.
"Look, I was there! Okay?" Dean replied, a bit put out that the doctor was even questioning him. "I SAW the dead body. We both did."
The doctor sighed. "But did you double check the body? How can you be so sure that it wasn't another trick on his part?"
"Does it really matter?" Sam snapped. "I'm pregnant. Whether he's dead or not isn't going to change that."
"No, it won't change that, but it would give me a time frame to work from." The doctor consulted Sam's list. "According to this, you dealt with the trickster 4 ½ months ago. So, we know that is the furthest along you are, but if he wasn't really dead, you could have run into him since and not even know it. I'll have to run an ultrasound to determine the gestation age. Then we'll have to discuss your options."
"Options?" Dean shook his head. "There's only one option. Men don't have babies. You have to get this thing, whatever it is, out of Sam."
"I will if that is Sam's choice," the doctor replied.
"Of course it's Sam's choice." Dean looked at Sam. "Tell him, Sam."
Sam fiddled with a stray thread on his jeans. "I don't know, Dean. It's a lot to think about."
"What's there to think about?" Dean argued. "You get rid of it, and we get back to our lives."
Sam looked away from Dean. "It's not that simple. This baby…"
"Baby?" Dean interrupted. "You don't know that it's a real baby. Knowing the trickster, it's probably a devil child with horns and a pointed tail."
"You don't…" Sam began only to be cut off again.
"And what about you," Dean continued his argument. "How do we know that you can safely carry a baby?"
"I have delivered a baby safely from a man," the doctor interjected.
Dean gave the doctor a disgusted look. "You're not helping here."
"You mean I'm not helping you," Dr. Forester replied in a sarcastic tone of his own. "Sam is my patient, and it's my responsibility to present him with all the available options and then abide by his decision, not yours."
"This is my brother, damn it," Dean declared angrily. "I know him better than anyone."
"Dean, shut up!" Sam exploded. "I want to know my options. This is not cut and dry. If you can't respect that, then get out."
"Fine," Dean leaned against the door. "Get your options, but I know what you'll choose."
Sam turned back to the doctor. "So, what are my options?"
"We really need to do an ultrasound before we discuss what you want to do," the doctor replied. "I need to see where the fetus is attached at."
"Okay, so when do you want to do that?" Sam asked nervously.
The doctor stood. "I'm already slightly behind, and I have a full schedule until four this afternoon. Come back at five, and I'll run the scan then."
Sam slid off the exam table. "I'll be back. Thanks, Doc."
As the two brothers left the doctor's office, Dean asked. "So, what are we going to do until five?"
Sam shook his head. "I don't know what you are going to do, but I'm going to take a walk, alone, and think about all this."
Dean nodded. He could understand that Sam was upset. If the situation were reverse, he'd be freaked. Of course, if the situation were reversed, he'd be terminating the pregnancy. There'd be no thinking about it. Dean nodded. "Okay, I'll be at the hotel if you want to talk."
Sam just nodded and walked away.
Later that day, Sam was back on the exam table, and the doctor ran the ultrasound wand over Sam's stomach area, while Dean sat next to the table.
"I've found the fetus. Do you want to see it?" The doctor asked Sam. Sam swallowed hard and nodded. The doctor turned the screen so that the two brothers could see. He began pointing out features. "Here is the head, and the eyes. They're a little hard to make out from this angle, but the nose and mouth are in this area. You can see the chest moving with the heartbeat. Here are the arms and legs."
Sam was mesmerized by the moving picture on the screen. "Can you tell if it's a boy or girl yet?" He asked.
The doctor shook his head. "Not from this angle. Besides, at this stage it's usually just a guess anyways."
"Can you tell if it's normal?" Dean asked.
"Dean," Sam sneered.
Dean held his hands up. "Hey, I just want to make sure that you have all the info before you decide."
The doctor turned off the ultrasound machine and handed Sam a towel to wipe his abdomen. "From what I can see, it is a normal, healthy eleven-week old fetus."
"Eleven-weeks?" Sam asked dumbfounded.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean declared. "That bastard is still alive."
"I would say that's true," the doctor replied.
Sam sat up on the table. "So, about my options?"
The doctor nodded. "Well, you basically have two viable options: have the baby or terminate it. Either way, it will require surgery."
"But it would be safe for me to have the baby?" Sam pressed.
The doctor ran a hand over his face. "It's complicated. The placenta placement is about as good as can be hoped for, but a man's body is not designed to carry a baby. Complications can arise at any time."
Dean stiffened. "What kind of complications?"
"Well," the doctor explained although ht kept his comments focused towards Sam, not Dean. "As the baby grows, it will put pressure on the internal organs. From the placement, the stomach and intestines will bear the brunt of the pressure. As you get further in the pregnancy, you'll have to eat smaller meals more often to keep the nutritional levels up. Plus, I'll be watching for signs of intestinal blockage. There will also probably be pressure on the kidneys, bladder, and even on the lungs."
Sam nodded. "I can handle that."
"But that's not all," the doctor continued. "The baby itself could have complications. It has an amniotic sac, but it doesn't have the protection of a uterus. There's the possibility that it could leak or rupture all together which obviously, neither option would be good for the baby. My biggest concern, though, is placental abruption. If the placenta tears, there's a possibility that both you and the baby could bleed to death."
"It's too risky," Dean told Sam. "There's too many complications. You can't risk your life."
Sam looked at Dr. Forester. "You said that you've delivered a baby from a man before. Did he have all these problems?"
The doctor shook his head. "The only problem he experienced was pressure on his stomach, and he experienced a severe backache that came and went depending on how the baby was laying. His cesarean went just as expected. I told you what could happen so you can make an informed decision, but it doesn't mean that they will happen."
"Sam, you really can't be thinking of doing this," Dean tried to argue. "Can you imagine what our lives will be like for the next six months? Hell, what it will be like for years? You can't hunt with a baby."
"Dad did," Sam replied.
Dean shook his head. "Dad had a small support group that he trusted to leave us with, like Father Jim or Bobby. Then when I got old enough, we stayed alone. We don't have that option."
"What about Bobby? Or Ellen? Or Jo?" Sam counted names off on his fingers.
Dean rolled his eyes. "I can't believe this. We are not cut out to raise a kid. It's not like we had a normal childhood to draw from."
"This may be my only chance to have a child," Sam argued back.
"You never know," Dean replied. "You could meet a nice girl and have a baby the right way."
Sam snorted in disbelief. "Oh yeah, like we have all this spare time to date girls. Besides, after Jess, I'm not sure that I want to get serious with a girl or anyone ever again."
Dean rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you that what happened to Jess wasn't your fault?"
"Who's Jess?" The doctor questioned.
Sam shook his head. "I'd rather not talk about her."
"Look, Sam," the doctor said. "You're mental health is just as important as your physical health. So, if there's something about this Jess that is upsetting you, I need to know about it."
"Jess was my girlfriend," Sam began, but he suddenly found himself battling tears. "I thought we would be together forever." Sam ducked his head to try to hide his emotions.
Dean picked up the story for Sam. "Jess was killed by a demon a while back."
"It wasn't just a demon," Sam snapped. "It was the yellow-eyed demon. The same yellow-eyed demon that killed our mother when I was a baby! The same demon that had something to with dad's death. The same damn demon that is terrorizing me and 'children' like me with visions and strange powers. It was because of me that he went after Jess, and I wasn't there to protect her. Hell, I didn't even warn her so that she could be on her guard. I had those visions that she would die, and I did nothing! It was my fault, all my fault." Sam buried his face in his hands and sobbed.
Dean placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder but gave the doctor a helpless look.
The doctor moved closer to Sam and placed a hand on his knee. "Go ahead and let it out. You're emotions are being overwhelmed by raging female hormones. This is totally normal."
Sam's crying only lasted a few minutes. He wiped the remaining tears away. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I lost it like that."
"All the more reason for you to terminate the pregnancy," Dean said.
"No," Sam answered quietly.
"What did you say?" Dean demanded.
Sam stared down at his fingers. "I don't want to terminate the pregnancy."
Dean's eyes widened in shock. "I can't believe this." He turned towards the doctor. "Tell him that this is crazy. Tell him that this is too dangerous. He can't do it."
The doctor shook his head. "I've already given him a list of possible complications, and I've already told him that I have successfully delivered a child from a male pregnancy. It is now his decision. It is his body. Only he can decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. I won't pressure him either way."
"But…" Dean began to argue.
Sam cut him off. "No buts, Dean. I've given this a lot of thought. Unless my death becomes a certainty, I want to do this. I hope you can respect my decision."
"It's not that I don't respect you, Sam," Dean replied. "I just don't understand. Men having babies…it's just so unnatural. Plus, with our jobs…"
"If you go through with the pregnancy," the doctor interrupted. "You will have to stop hunting immediately. That would be too dangerous in your condition."
"See," Dean continued his argument. "You can't work, and I can't do it alone."
"Sure you can," Sam countered. "You and dad used to go on separate hunts before. This is no different."
"It is too different," Dean replied.
"How so?" Sam challenged.
Dean shook his head and snapped. "Damn it, Sam, I don't know, but it just is."
"Well, I've made my decision," Sam replied in an equally peeved tone. "And unless something changes, you'll just have to live with it."
"Live with it?" Dean asked in disbelief. "You're risking your life for a baby that may or may not be human, and you think that I can just 'live with it'? Well, I can't! Now, I need a walk. I'll meet you back at the hotel." Dean stomped angrily out of the room.
"Dean, come back," Sam called to his brother. Dean, though, ignored him. Sam turned back towards the doctor. "Maybe Dean's right. Having a baby would really complicate things. Maybe I should think about it some more."
The doctor shook his head. "Rethinking a difficult decision is never a bad thing, but I must caution you not to base your decision on how your brother feels. This can only be your decision. If you want this baby, and as long as you stay healthy, I will support you. It has to be what you want. Although if you opt to go through with it, there will be some rules that I will expect you to follow. I am confident that you can do this as long as we work together."
"Like what kind of rules?" Sam asked.
"Well, like I said before, you will have to stop hunting immediately," the doctor explained. "You've been lucky so far that you haven't miscarried. Plus, I will want you to find a place here in town to stay until at least six weeks after delivery. I want you close by in case any complications arise. I will want to see you twice a week and I will probably run an ultrasound once a week. There will be plenty of blood tests over the course of the next six months. I'm sure that I'll be adding more rules as the gestation time progresses. Can you handle working closely with me on such a personal matter?"
Sam hung his head. "That's a lot of rules. I really should think about it some more. Can I have another day?"
The doctor nodded. "I'll tell you what. How about we set an appointment for Monday morning? That'll give you the whole weekend to think about it."
"That sounds good," Sam replied. "Although the extra time probably won't make the decision any easier."
The doctor shook his head. "I'm sure you're right. Do you have a way back to your hotel?"
Sam stood up from the table. "Well, Dean has the keys to the car, but the hotel isn't that far. I can walk, unless you think that is bad for me."
"Actually, walking is about the only exercise that you should be doing right now," the doctor replied.
They set up an appointment for Monday morning, and Sam left the office with a simple. "I'll see you then, Doc."