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They had talked about it. Several times.
Personal space. And about appearing suddenly out of nowhere.
So, it’s simply not Dean’s fault this time.
Bad Company sounds from the boombox in the kitchen. Dean's hips swing in time to the rhythm of ‘Feel Like Making Love‘ and he sings the lyrics while stirring the sauce.
And if I had
the sun and moon
They were shinin'
You know I would give you
both night and day
Love satisfyin'
And under the final Feel like makin' love, he sprinkles some salt on the Chicken Alfredo.
*Whoosh*
Hunter reflexes kick in and he spins around when he feels a draft behind him, hitting the intruder immediately with the wooden spoon.
Cas stares at him questioningly while the creamy sauce drips from his forehead.
"Hello Dean."
"Cas, what the… why didn’t you call, damn it."
Dean turns off the stove and rubs his hands on his apron with Ask me about my jumbo shrimp written on it. Sam had laughed like a little schoolgirl when he gave him the gift on Christmas day. But later, when Dean buried his shrimp deep in Sam's ass, the little brat didn’t laugh anymore.
Still smiling at the memory, Dean goes to the fridge, pushes aside the countless smoothies that somehow take up more and more space in their fridge, and takes out two beers. He unscrews the caps and hands one of the bottles to Cas.
"Haven't seen you in a while, buddy."
"You know that I'm rarely on Earth anymore."
Dean nods understandingly. It could have gone much worse back then. God, the empty, Jack, yet from time to time he misses the old band. Team Free Will 2.0.
"How's Jack?"
"At peace with himself."
The classic non-answer. But by now Dean was used to that. And if it means that Earth is safer and he and Sam are no longer controlled by a foreign power, then Dean has to accept that Jack, who was more like a son to Dean than he will ever admit, was no longer a part of their lives.
Oh, speaking of a son.
"There's something we want to tell you."
Dean pulls out only two plates after Cas politely refuses. He arranges the chicken and the pasta on the plates and fills up a big glass of water.
"Sam, dinner." He shouts into the hall and places the plates on the dining table.
"You know, actually Sam can explain it to you, he's better at it," Dean grins and takes off the apron.
In the hallway, he hears Sam's footsteps. They are slower these days.
"Is everything all right?" asks Cas, and Dean answers before Sam enters the kitchen.
"Let's just say our lives have changed quite a bit in the last three month. Long story short, we went to a wedding, got bitten by a wolf. We, are wolves now, but we're getting along fine. Oh yeah..." Dean raises a finger as Sam walks into the kitchen, "...and Sam is pregnant."
"Dean!" Sam, stunned, looks at his brother and then notices their guest. „Hey Cas.“
"What? It's not like you can miss it."
In fact, Sam can no longer deny his pregnancy. Even if he wears a loose hoodie, the baby bump is clearly visible. And the warm feeling that flows through Dean whenever he sees his brother is written all over his face. Proud and protective.
"Sam, good to see you." The angel announces briefly, as if seeing Sam in this condition were the most normal thing in the world.
"Cas, did you understand what I said?" Dean asks, confused.
The angel looks again at Sam, then back at Dean.
"Sam is pregnant."
"That's all you have to say?"
"That's all you said, Dean."
"No, I mean, that's all you got to say about it?"
"Congratulations?" Castiel asks hesitantly.
Dean rolls his eyes. "I was thinking more along the lines of, whaaaat?! Sam's a man, and now he's pregnant, how can that be, Dean?"
"I'm assuming you penetrated him, and in the process your seed..."
"Okay, okay, okay," Dean interrupts him. "We'll just talk more after dinner.“
Eating together, it's almost like before. Cas talks about heaven; the new, open, and under new direction heaven, that he and Jack are creating. Dean tells of the last hunt Sam and him did together, before they decided it was just too risky in Sam's condition.
"We're still supporting hunters, looking for background information, or seeing what the MOL have in their repertoire," Sam reports, as he eats the last piece of chicken breast. Hopefully, it stays inside of him this time. Contrary to many reports, his nausea attacks started only last week, but then they happened after almost every meal. He notices that Dean is watching him out of the corner of his eye, and Sam nods almost imperceptibly at him. I'm fine.
Sam has devoured probably every book there is on pregnancy. About the "normal" human ones. Then about wolves. Then he called Nicole and asked for more material. He was a walking encyclopedia on the progression of pregnancy. In theory. In real life, he was a nervous wreck. Was the nausea normal? Was it harmful to the baby? Is knotting okay during the pregnancy and that he thinks about it like, all the time? Was he too old, too broken, too manly? For nights on end, Sam stayed awake. When Dean checked on him, he would pretend to have heartburn and that he wanted to read some more. It was enough for Sam to be nervous, he didn't want to drag Dean down with his thoughts. Dean was busy enough trying to process the whole thing in his own way. The Alpha wolf in him was still bothering him from time to time. The feeling of not being able to hunt, not being able to protect. Then there was constant care of Sam and the baby. Or the babies? Sam doesn't trust any normal human medical practice. Garth offered to run some tests, but Dean made it very clear that the day Garth would dare to look at Sam's private parts, will be his last.
In two weeks they'll drive to the pack, down to Missouri, and then they'll know. How many babies, no… call them pups, because they'll be wolves, little tiny wolves and they'll be dependent on Sam and he'll give birth to them as a wolf and care for them and they'll be helpless without him and....
"Please excuse me..." Sam holds his stomach. The chicken won't stay in.
Dean glances after Sam as he leaves the kitchen.
"He looks tired," Cas notes.
"He's barely keeping anything in. He sleeps too little. And he's thinking too much."
"Want me to check on him?" The angel offers.
"Only if he wants it."
Cas nods in understanding, and Dean clears away the food. He pulls two more bottles of beer from the fridge. "Should we talk about it?"
"About what, exactly?"
"I don't know, maybe about the fact that we're not completely human anymore, at least not quite. Or about the fact that we're now targets ourselves, at least we will be once the news spreads that we became wolves, or maybe the crazy fact that SAM IS PREGNANT!" Red flashes in Dean's eyes. His wolf is restless.
Cas looks intently at his friend . Dean is upset, sarcastic, and belligerent. A sign that Dean is worried, and Castiel is clear who the worry is for. "Did you hurt people?" Cas asks, emphatically calm.
"No, we still focus on monsters. Or, we did. On our last hunt we took out a nest of vampires. It was close… after that, we decided to take a break."
Cas nods thoughtfully.
"Can you live with being a werewolf?"
"Wolf, not werewolf," Dean corrects. Dave would be so proud. "There's a difference, we only change into wolves. I don't harbor a thirst for blood, or want to kill humans. And no, we don't want to sacrifice virgins either."
"Why would you sacrifice virgins?" Castiel, confused, asks, and Dean ignores him again.
"So, how did Sam get pregnant?" Castiel finally asks.
Dean runs his fingers through his hair. "When we got bitten and turned, something inside of us awoke. And although normally humans who got bitten just become 'Betas ' - that's what they call the main wolf form, comparable to humans--but of course with us, it was a special case again. I became an Alpha wolf and Sam became ... he became an Omega, and before you say anything, Sam is not weak, he's not submissive, he's not lesser." Dean's words turn harsh and Castiel raises his arms placatingly.
"Nothing of the sort was in my mind."
"Sam is great, he ... he takes it all in stride, the turning, the shifting and the pregnancy, and he positively glows. He's so strong, Cas."
"And you're not?"
"I don't know. I feel helpless. Like I'm standing by, doing nothing, watching Sam endure everything."
"Are you taking care of him?"
"Of course."
"Will you take care of the little ones?"
"With my life."
"Then I don't know why you torture yourself with guilt."
"Speaking of which, I should go check on him." Dean is about to rise when Sam comes back into the kitchen. He's wearing a different hoodie and is a little pale .
"You okay?" Dean asks, and Sam nods. He goes to the fridge and takes out a smoothie.
Cas waits until Sam sits down before turning to both of them.
"I understand this is a challenge for you guys. But if anyone can master it, it's you two. Sam, you don't have to worry so much, you're doing a great job. The babies are strong and healthy. And Dean, there's not much you can do right now, but trust me, your duties will increase after the birth."
Both brothers are moved by Castiel's words, but before the angel can continue, Sam interrupts him.
"What do you mean the babies, Cas?" Sam looks excitedly at Cas, and Dean also looks expectantly at his friend.
"I don't quite understand."
"Can… can you see them?“ Sam asks.
"I can feel their presence, their heartbeats. Fascinating by the way, they are already so strong and developed. May I?" Cas looks questioningly at Sam's belly. Hesitantly Sam stands up and Cas stands in front of him. But before his hands touch Sam's belly, Dean growls at the angel.
"Dean, I'm not going to hurt the little ones." Cas speaks softly to Dean.
"It would be your death sentence. No offense." Dean snarls and Sam rolls his eyes.
"Dean, your Alpha protector, growly, attitude with all honor aside, but I think Cas knows what he's doing here."
Dean raises his hands apologetically and steps back a bit. Two whole inches back.
Gently, Cas places both hands on Sam's baby bump. The familiar glow appears around the angel's hands and Sam feels a slight tingle. Cas has his eyes closed and seems focused, then a smile plays around his mouth. Dean doesn't take his eyes off of Cas for a second. Rationally, he knows that his friend would never hurt Sam, but the Alpha in him wants to tear the rival away.
Cas finishes his examination and opens his deep blue eyes.
"So?" Sam asks nervously, biting his lower lip.
"They are well-fed, their vital functions are adequate for the circumstances, and their cardiovascular system is already complete."
Dean releases his breath, which he realizes he's been holding.
"Thanks, Cas." Dean looks at Sam and can't stop grinning. Sam's face beams as well, and in two steps Dean is in front of him, placing his hands tenderly on Sam's cheeks. "See, it's all good." He pulls Sam to him and kisses him gently on the forehead. "Please stop worrying so much."
Sam frowns. "You know?"
"I've known you your whole life, Sweetheart ."
Cas clears his throat a little uneasily and thinks about what else he could say. "Ahem, so on Grey's Anatomy, the doctors always ask if the parents want to know the sex, then the parents refuse because they just want the kid to be healthy, but then they do want to know and then somehow it's the wrong sex after all. So there are three very healthy little pups, so if you want to know, or not..."
"Cas?" Dean's gaze doesn't leave Sam's hazel eyes for a second. He looks up at his little brother with pure pride. "Just say it."
Cas smiles a little proudly now, too. "It's two boys and a girl. They're fine, their blood types are..."
"Cas?" Dean's voice is brittle. "Thank you, and you know you're always welcome here, but will you please give us a moment."
"Of course." Once again Cas looks to the two Winchester brothers, who are holding each other, forgetting everything around them, and fixated only on the other. There are tears of joy shimmering in Sam's eyes and so much love on Dean's face. "I think I'll check in on you guys when the time comes, which by my count should be in ... 43 days."
Panic briefly flickers across Sam's face, but the familiar flapping of Cas' wings lets them both know they're alone again in their kitchen.
It is quiet all at once. Only the other's breath resounds in the room. "Three. We will have three cubs. They're really there." Tears well up in Sam's eyes and trail down Sam's cheeks.
"They are." With his thumb, Dean wipes Sam's cheek dry. He places a warm hand on Sam's baby bump. "Hello you three, this is your daddy. It would be quite sweet if your papa could keep his food down for a change."
"You said it for the first time." Sam's voice is full of love.
"What?" Dean looks so vulnerable as his green eyes widen questioningly.
"That you're their daddy." Sam presses his forehead to Dean's. "It's going to be okay, isn't it?"
"Yes, Sam. Everything is going to be okay."