Chapter Text
By the time Abigail had been in the bunker for a week, they had grown somewhat accustomed to the toddler’s existence.
Dean still had no recollection of her conception, but there was no denying that she was his. How was he supposed to raise a kid, though? Sure, he had pretty much raised Sam from infancy to teenhood, but that was different. This kid was his own spawn.
“Dean!” Cas yelped from the living room. “She is doing something!”
Shit.
Dean rushed out of his bedroom and found Cas sitting on the couch. He immediately burst out laughing. Abigail sat on Cas’s lap, a purple marker in her left fist. Cas’s face was adorned with the toddler’s handiwork.
“You look fabulous, Cas. The prettiest angel of them all.”
“Dean, I look disgraceful!” Cas protested. “She maimed me. What if it does not come off?”
“Oh, come on. You think I’d let a two-year-old have friggin’ permanent markers? It’ll wipe right off.” Dean sat down. “But you look great.”
“I believe you might be teasing me.” Cas glared at him. Abigail giggled and dragged the marker across Cas’s forehead, leaving a bright purple streak. “Ouch. Please, be gentle.”
“Sowwy!” Abigail loosened her grip on the marker and added another stripe to Cas’s face, this time more softly. “Purple tiger!”
“Do I resemble a tiger?”
“Purple tiger!”
Dean snorted. “A purple tiger, Cas, for God’s sake. Get it right.”
“If you insist.” Cas sighed and gave in as Abigail switched to a pink marker and colored his fingernails with it. “When is Sam returning with less… marker-necessitating activities?”
“He should be back any minute.” Dean grinned ear to ear as he took a picture of Cas. “This could replace my Playboys. You look like a goof.”
Cas looked offended. “She is vandalizing my vessel, Dean,” he huffed, holding still as Abigail scribbled on his palms with a blue marker. “Why did you purchase markers? Crayons would have been more practical, because they wouldn’t have left a mark on skin.”
“I didn’t get crayons because toddlers eat crap, Cas. Like crayons. I’m not about to run to the ER so they can cut a box of crayons of out my kid’s intestines.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Cas sighed in defeat when Abigail changed markers again, this time to a green marker. She scrawled smiley faces on each of his cheeks.
“Done!” she sang, leaning back to admire her handiwork. “Colors!” She pointed to each scribble. “Purple, g’een, pink…”
“She does seem rather intelligent for two,” Cas noted.
“Yep. Don’t know where she got it.”
“You are intelligent, Dean. Surely she inherited it from you.” Cas accepted the wipe that Dean handed him. He began wiping at his face, hoping to remove the marker.
Dean bit his lip, trying not to laugh as Cas wiped at his face, mostly succeeding in smearing it across his face. “You might need soap and water.”
“Why?” Cas frowned. “Am I still tainted?”
“Nope.” Dean smiled innocently. “Your face is as pure as a baby’s butt. Spotless. I was joking.”
“I believe you are full of shit, Dean Winchester.”
Dean stared at him before he laughed loudly. “You think, angel?” He grinned and patted Cas on the back, watching as Abigail put away her markers. Then she sat down on Cas’s lap and leaned back against his chest.
“Is she going to sleep?”
“Probably. Most kids are worn out after giving a fallen angel a Crayola makeover.” Dean propped his feet up on the coffee table. “She really likes you. Trying to steal my kid, huh?”
“No, not at all. She is a sweet child.” Cas gently touched his fingers to Abigail’s temple. “Innocent. We must protect her at all costs.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Dean fell silent for a while. This was why he never planned on having kids. He loved kids. He wanted that life. And now he might very well have it. But he had his life. Even if he tried, he couldn’t throw it all away.
He couldn’t stop fighting evil. There was too much of it in the world for him to stop. But he knew that if he stayed in the hunter’s life, it would without a doubt become part of his daughter’s life. He didn’t want that for her. But if he stopped, it would only mean that danger would run even higher.
Life would be so much easier if kids came with a manual.