The delivery room was finally quiet. The doctor had placed the baby against Lily's chest, and she calmed almost instantly. Dean smoothed back the locks of hair that were stuck to Lily's sweaty forehead and kissed her.
"You are beyond awesome," he said. He put his finger in the baby's hand. "She's so small."
Doctor Rizlow saw the look of worry on Dean's face. "She's perfectly healthy. Just over five pounds."
Tears slipped down Lily's face, and she looked up at Dean with a smile. "Do you want to hold her?"
"I don't know."
"It's your daughter, Dean... and you're great with kids."
"I've never held a newborn before."
"Neither have I. First time for everything."
Dean took the baby carefully from Lily and sat on the edge of the bed, turned slightly so Lily could still see her daughter.
"Hey, Samantha," Dean said. "God, Lily," he whispered, "she's beautiful."
"She is," Lily said.
They spent the entire first week with the baby without leaving the bunker. To say Dean was overprotective would be an understatement. Lily had put the baby to sleep almost an hour earlier, but Dean was still sitting in the chair next to her bassinet, watching her sleep.
"Dean," Lily whispered from the doorway.
When he looked up, she crooked her finger for him to follow her and she walked slightly down the hall. Dean was there a moment later.
"What's up," he asked.
"You don't have to sit with her every minute of the day, you know. You should work."
"I'm not going on a hunt, Lily. Not right now."
"I know. What do you think of taking over Bobby's network? Work with Garth. He's a great hunter, but you know more than he does, and we have the Men of Letters library at our fingertips. We can do this together, and still be home for Samantha."
Dean smiled. "That could actually work."
"And I get the feeling that Kevin would like to come back... at least to visit. He calls sometimes."
"I thought he was happy to be out?"
"He's happy, but I also think he misses it sometimes. I think if we needed help, he'd be here quick."
Over the next few months, Dean worked with Garth to get the word out that he was there to help hunters find jobs and do research. With all the demons locked up, and the angels behaving the way they should, it wasn't as busy as the last few years had been, but there were still monsters out there. Vampires, djinn, ghosts, and all kinds of other creatures.
The first few weeks, Dean and Lily would be doing research and Dean would get stuck and call out for Sam. It would take him a moment to remember that Sam was gone, and Lily saw the loss hit him again as if it just happened. She caught a tear slip down his face on more than one occasion, though he tried to hide it. Lily didn't push him to talk. He was functioning and living his life, enjoying her, and their daughter. He would grieve Sam for a long time, and Lily knew that he would talk about it if he wanted to, and pushing him wouldn't help anyone. So, she let him be, but he never talked. It wasn't until she quietly came up on him with the baby one night as he was putting her to sleep that she realized why.
He had Samantha curled up in his arms, and he gently patted her bottom. The baby reached up and touched his face with tiny hands as he spoke.
"...and I knew I had to keep him safe," Dean said softly, "and I'm going to keep you safe, too. That's my job." He sighed and smiled at the baby. "I was there when your uncle Sammy first learned to walk, and I'll be here when you learn."
Lily backed out of the room as she wiped a tear from her eye. She would let him have these private moments. If this was how he was dealing with Sam's death, she couldn't complain. At least he was dealing with it.
Lily climbed into bed and waited for Dean, who came in a few minutes later, waving the baby monitor in the air.
"She's asleep," he said.
"You have the miracle touch. She doesn't fall asleep that fast for me. I guess she'll be a daddy's girl."
Dean stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. He pushed close to Lily and wrapped his arms around her as she curled into him. Their legs tangled together and they kissed, slow and lazy, for several minutes. When Dean finally pulled away, he ran a hand through Lily's hair and let his thumb brush over her cheek.
"I love you, so much, Kitten," he said with a smile.
Lily smiled back and gently squeezed his arm before moving her hand to his chest.
"I love you, too, Tiger."
The End