Hi there! And thank you so much for the amazing reviews :) I really appreciate the support
This big section of the Domesticity story arc will draw to a close in the next couple of chapters and I'm still plotting out the next big story arc. So please be patient with me :) More Domesticity AU one shots will keep coming in the interim though.
"So remind me why you are dead set on breaking the no work over Christmas rule? Specifically, on breaking this rule while I am thirty-five weeks pregnant?" Sophie asked.
"Because Jody asked us to do this as a favor," Dean repeated, "And she's letting us stay at her house so you can have the baby at a good hospital. So we owe her. Big time."
"Fine," Sophie huffed, sitting down on their bed, "But I can't reach my feet so I need you to put my shoes on for me."
About three weeks back Sophie had kicked Sam out of the front seat, telling him that she didn't care how long his legs were given he didn't currently have an entire extra human residing inside his body. She was uncomfortable. Constantly. And Dean felt bad. But she only had five weeks to go. They'd drive to Sioux Falls in sixteen days. And her mom and sister would meet them there in three weeks. Home stretch.
Turns out Jody's friend, Nancy, needed help burning a body. She knew where it was. She knew what was wrong. But she was a sixty-eight year old woman and she couldn't dig out the grave herself. So she'd called in backup. The whole thing took five hours total - plus the drive. It was cold and snowy and awful out and Sophie was shivering after spending two hours sitting on the trunk of the Impala - wrapped in a rough wool blanket since none of her coats would zip…and neither would any of Dean's or any of Sam's. She was ready to not be pregnant.
When Sam and Dean had finished immolating the corpse, Nancy invited them all for tea and pie.
"If you could just leave your shoes by the door," Nancy said as she let them in from the covered front porch.
Dean and Sophie exchanged a glance as Sophie looked around for a place to sit that wasn't the floor. At this point she was fairly certain that if she sat on the ground it would take both Sam and Dean to get her back up. And she wasn't sure her pride could handle that…not that she had much left at this point. Living with your brother-in-law while sick and pregnant would do that to you.
Nancy turned and saw them standing motionless.
"Not you honey," she gestured at Sophie, "You're not too muddy. And even if you were you'd get a free pass. You've got to be what…thirty-eight weeks?"
Nancy held out her hand and led Sophie to the kitchen.
"Thirty-five," Dean heard Sophie say.
"Oh!" Nancy cooed, putting a hand on Sophie's belly, "Big baby!"
Dean was on his second slice of pie - which was good, but nowhere near as good as Sophie's - when Nancy's daughter and grandson came through the back door.
"Oh hi! You all came to burn that corpse right?" Her daughter said cheerily.
"Um…yeah," Sam replied, looking to Dean and Sophie. Even they didn't talk about hunting quite that casually. Dean just shrugged. He was relaxed, happy, quickly sinking back into Christmas-break-mode after their exceptionally brief hunt. His mind was wandering to where they could hole up for the night. The roads were awful and it was four hours back to Lebanon even in good weather. It was nearing six o'clock and he knew Sophie couldn't sleep in the car at this point. So he was trying to figure out how to ask if they could stay with Nancy without seeming needy.
"That's Emma and this is Theo," Nancy said as she took her grandson on her lap and started undoing the zippers on his snow suit. He was about ten months by Dean's best guess. He'd been practicing baby developmental milestones with flashcards for months at this point. The little boy was tolerant at first, but eventually grew frustrated and started to wail. Even once the snowsuit was off, he didn't stop.
Dean sent an amused glance at Sophie, but her expression was worried and she was holding her chest like something was hurting her. He shifted to face her directly, hoping everyone would be distracted enough with the baby to give them a moment of privacy. He pulled her hands away and panicked when he saw two growing dark stains on her shirt.
"Are you okay?" He whispered.
Sophie looked panicked.
"I'm so sorry," she said, shaking her head and fixing her gaze on the ceiling - like she always did if she was embarrassed or uncomfortable.
Dean still wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation. Then Nancy and Emma both started laughing.
"Oh poor thing," Nancy said, passing Sophie a kitchen towel.
Sam and Dean both looked equal parts perplexed and concerned.
"This late in the game," Emma said, "A crying baby can make your milk come in. It hurts like a bitch. And it's embarrassing to boot. Being pregnant is great isn't it?"
She chuckled and Sophie cracked a smile, holding the towel over her chest.
"Boiled cabbage leaves will help with any pain," Nancy said casually, "Do you want me to get you a dry shirt?"
"Yes please," Sophie nodded.
Nancy offered them her guest room not five minutes later.
While Nancy cooked dinner, Dean watched from the doorway as Sophie and Emma sat in the living room, playing with Theo. Sophie had her feet propped up on the couch, Emma swore it would help them feel less swollen. She was wearing one of Nancy's shirts, but it wouldn't pull down over her belly. She didn't seem to mind, though the dark purple stretch marks made Dean wince every time he looked at them. Emma sat on the floor while Theo crawled around and chewed on his alphabet blocks. They were laughing and talking and Emma was handing out advice about everything from breast pumps to carseats to cloth diapers. Sophie just looked so incredibly relaxed.
Guilt tightened in Dean's chest. She'd spent her entire pregnancy surrounded by men. And somehow at no point had it occurred to Dean that might have been neglectful.
And of course she hadn't said anything. She didn't complain. That wasn't Sophie. He thought about those weeks right after the narrowly averted apocalypse. With Sam gone he'd been an utter wreck. He'd dragged her away from Bobby. Away from her home. He'd drank himself into oblivion to keep himself from breaking the promise he'd made to Sam. And she'd just kissed him and told him she loved him and carried on. Just like she'd patiently waited until convenient moments to mention migraines that felt like they were burning a hole in her skull. Just like she'd gamely accepted having to drive three hundred miles for an obstetrician.
He should have spent more time up at Jody's with her. He should have convinced her parents to visit…somehow. He should have…
He shook his head. He couldn't change the last eight months. He sure as hell couldn't change all the years since he'd picked her up in that bakery parking lot back in Windsor.