Chapter Text
Chapter one
Dean pushed his shopping cart along the aisles of the Super Target, his eyes resting on the little girl sitting in the carrier strapped into the cart. The little girl was almost 7 months old now and eager to babble along to her father’s talk, trying to answer the adult.
Dean had never had someone in his life he loved more than Emma. She was the light of his eye, even though the circumstances around the time of birth hadn’t been the best. He loved her dearly, even more than he loved his brother Sam or his mother and father. He had always had a relatively calm life, but the birth of Emma and her mother walking out on them had turned everything around. Not that he wasn’t happy now, he was freaking ecstatic. But he couldn’t deny being a single father of a little baby girl was damn hard. He wouldn’t want to have it any other way, though. Emma’s mother had made it clear even before the birth that she didn’t want a baby, and had made true of her threat shortly after the four weeks marker of little Emma’s life. She had packed her bags and walked out of the front door of Dean and her one story house, not looking back for a moment, leaving the man and his daughter’s life.
But Dean was fine. He wasn’t all alone with caring for Emma. His mother and father were there whenever Dean needed extra help, as well as his brother and his girlfriend Jessica. Dean had made sure Emma would grow up within an intact family, even if she wouldn’t have a mother, at least not a biological one. Who knew what would happen to him along the way of his daughter’s life. He still had more than 17 years of caring for the girl in front of him, after all.
Dean was turning around a corner, heading towards the aisles with baby supplies. That was the main reason he had come to the store in the first place. He was running low on diapers and formula, and his mother had taught him early enough not to wait until the last minute to stock up, especially with a baby. Dean loved Emma too much to ever have her without anything her little heart desired. The man already knew the child would be spoilt rotten, not only by him, but also by his uncle and grandparents.
Dean was studying the backside of a pack of formula when he felt something, or rather someone, run into the backside of his legs, followed closely by the thump of someone falling on their behind. Dean turned to see a little girl, not older than four years old, sitting in front of him, eyes wide and lip quivering, as if she was trying her mightiest to keep in the cry that undoubtedly demanded to be let out.
“Hey there sweetheart, you alright?” he asked softly, crouching down in front of the girl, making sure she wasn’t hurt in any way. The girl nodded tentatively, as if she wasn’t sure that was the right answer to the question.
“That’s great, you want to get back up?” he asked further, holding out his hands for the little girl to take to help her stand back up. She breathed in once deeply, before taking the offered hand and got back on her feet.
“I’m sorry” the girl said, looking down at her feet, not meeting Dean’s eyes.
“That’s alright, sweetheart, no harm done” Dean answered her, grinning slightly. The girl was raised well, well mannered, but at the same time wary of strangers. He hoped Emma would be like this when she was that age, as well. Thinking about parents, Dean looked around, trying to spot an adult belonging to the little girl. He didn’t see anyone.
“Sweetheart, where is your Mommy or Daddy?” he asked softly again, worrying the little girl had lost her way. The girl looked around herself, obviously trying to find her parents, like Dean had done before.
“Papa said I’m allowed to go to the toy part of the store, because I was a good girl” the girl said, not really answering Dean’s question, continuing to look around herself to spot her father.
“Well, how about we wait here together until your Papa arrives, alright?” Dean asked, trying to reassure the little girl, who seemed to get a little unnerved with not finding her father near her.
The girl nodded just when Dean heard a voice behind him.
“Claire!” Dean turned to see a man around his age arrive in their aisle, pushing a cart just like his along. Dean turned to the little girl, Claire, to see her face break out in a smile and run towards the man, leaping into his arms when she arrived at his side.
“Papa, I didn’t saw him, but I ran into him, but the mister was very nice and helped me up” the girl exclaimed hugging the man tightly around the neck and then motioning to where Dean still stood, looking over at the display while having his pointer finger grabbed tightly by Emma. Dean smiled slightly at her words and shrugged. Claire’s father came towards him, smiling as well.
“I’m sorry she ran into you. Claire tends to get very excited in supermarkets, especially when there is a toy aisle around” he said, his voice deeper than Dean would have assumed from the look of the man. He was slightly shorter than himself, with dark brown, almost black, hair and bright blue eyes. He seemed to be slightly swallowed in the trench coat he wore over a shirt and tie, the knot loosened a little.
“That’s alright, there was no harm done. I just wanted to make sure she was alright after she fell down” Dean reassured the man. In that moment he saw Claire’s eyes drift from her father’s face to the little girl sitting in the carrier, babbling along to what she heard the adults say and still gripping Dean’s finger.
“Who’s that?” she asked loudly, interrupting her father, who was just about to reply to Dean’s words. Dean smiled and looked down at his little girl.
“That’s Emma, my daughter” he explained and Claire nodded, eyes wide. It seemed she had never been close to such a little child before.
“She’s tiny, like a baby” she said, making Dean and her father erupt in laughter.
“Angel, that’s because she is a baby. You used to be this small as well” her father explained, and if it was possible, Claire’s eyes widened even more.
“Really? Wow!” she said, looking back to Emma for a moment, then back to her father. “Papa, I’m hungry.” Claire’s father nodded and set her down on the ground.
“Alright then, Angel, let’s find you something to eat and have a break from shopping” he said to the little girl, then looked up at Dean, “It was nice to meet you. Thanks again for looking out for Claire.” Dean just shrugged, waving away the thanks.
“It was nothing. Have a nice day” he said, waving at Claire, making her grin. “Bye Claire.”
“Bye nice mister” the girl answered, making her father and Dean laugh.
***
Dean continued to do his shopping, loading the cart with all the things on his list as well as some new pink and peach colored romper suits for Emma that were just too cute not to buy. He was nearing the end of his list when Emma started to fidget around in her seat, letting out noises of discomfort. Dean stopped pushing the cart and lifted Emma out of her seat, letting her rest on his shoulder. Sometimes her being close to her father helped her calm down again. Not so this time, though. Emma fidgeted more and more, letting out mewls of discomfort, being close to crying.
“Are you hungry sweetheart?” he asked the baby, settling her back in the seat and making his way towards the café area of the shop. He’d have to make a stop there and satisfy his daughter’s needs it seemed. Dean left his cart at one of the empty tables and took Emma back into his arms, taking a pre-made bottle of formula out of the diaper bag hanging of the handles of the shopping cart. He walked over to the counter and ordered himself a cup of coffee, as well as asked the barista to heat up the bottle. Having paid his order Dean walked back to his table, settling Emma in the crook of his arm and rocking her slightly, waiting for the bottle to arrive, so Emma would stop gurgling in discomfort and obviously hungry.
“Just a moment, sweetheart, your bottle will be done in a moment” he soothed his daughter, stroking her soft cheek with his index finger, trying to shift Emma’s focus from her hunger to his motions. Dean was still glad when the barista arrived with his coffee and the now warm baby bottle. Emma eagerly started drinking, breathing deeply through her nose. Dean loved watching the little girl being this comfortable and happy.
Emma was an easy child to handle. She had never been the cause of much trouble of sleepless nights. By the beginning of her third month she was sleeping through the night, as if she didn’t want to make more work for her single father. Dean had been glad for that. He didn’t know how he would have managed taking care of a baby on his own if Emma had been a tough child to deal with. Yes, he had taken off time from work, but that didn’t mean he had nothing other to do. Without his mother he probably would have never managed what he did now. Mary had helped the first few weeks after Emma’s mother had left, coming over a couple days a week to watch Emma while Dean managed all the chores around the house. He didn’t have problems caring for Emma, he just had difficulties doing that and keeping the house clean at the same time. But now that Emma was a little older he was getting better at it, able to leave Emma in her play pen for a moment without constant supervision. Still, his mother helped greatly, watching Emma now throughout the days Dean was back at work, which was three times a week. He was slowly getting back into his routine, but wouldn’t ever pull 12-hour shifts again. It would take away too much time he could spend with his daughter, and he didn’t want to miss anything with her.
While feeding Emma, Dean looked around at the rest of customers in the café. It was a Thursday afternoon, so it wasn’t too full, and the patrons all minded their own business, probably tired after a day of hard work, just at the shop to enjoy a cup of coffee or a slice of cake in peace and quiet.
Dean looked back at Emma, the girl still drinking her bottle of formula eagerly, while looking at her father with wide eyes. Emma looked a lot like him, you could already see that. Her hair was a light brown color, thin and soft, and her eyes were slowly changing into the piercing green that he sported as well.
“Look Papa, it’s the nice mister” Dean heard a familiar voice exclaim and he turned to see Claire and her father nearing the seating area from the rest rooms. Claire was pulling the man at the hand, eager to go back to their table, which, surprisingly, was next to the one Dean and Emma were sitting at.
“Hey Claire, did you get something yummy to eat?” Dean asked when the girl arrived next to him. The girl just nodded, her eyes glued to Emma, who was still sucking at the bottle’s teat, trying to get even the littlest rest out of the bottle. Dean looked back at Claire’s father, who wore a grin on his face watching Claire.
“She has never been close to a baby before” he explained Claire’s curiosity. Dean nodded, understanding what he meant. A baby was a lot different from anything you saw on your normal day, at least for a little girl.
“She’s so small” Claire said again in a low voice, not wanting to disrupt the comfort in which Emma seemed to be. The girl looked back at her father. “Just like my dolly.” The man nodded.
“That’s right Angel, she’s small just like your dolly” he agreed with her, sitting down at his table. Dean finally pulled the empty bottle out of Emma’s reach and burped her, then settled her back in his arms, so she could look at her surroundings without being constrained in the carrier. Claire still stood in front of the two with wide eyes, her arm reached out halfway between them, as if she wanted to touch the baby, but wasn’t sure if she was allowed to.
“You can hold her hand if you’d like to, Claire. But you have to be careful” Dean said and the little blond girl looked up at him, a smile bright on her face. She moved a finger towards Emma’s balled up fist and stroked it carefully across the knuckles. She giggled in surprise when Emma loosened her grip and instead curled her tiny fingers around Claire’s bigger one.
“She’s strong!” she exclaimed, looking at Dean. The man nodded.
“Yes, she really is. You have to be careful with your hair, she loves gripping hair” he said and Claire nodded. She waited for Emma to release her finger again and then went to sit next to her father, taking a sip from her glass of juice that still stood on the table.
“Does she do that with her mommy’s hair?” Claire asked after swallowing and Dean smiled wrily. How do you explain to a little girl why Emma didn’t have a mommy?
“No, she does it with her grandma’s and auntie’s her, though. Emma doesn’t have a mommy” he decided on saying nothing more, but Claire nodded in understanding.
“I don’t have a mommy, either. But my friend Tiffany has a mommy and she makes really great peanut butter cookies!” Claire said in a matter of fact voice. She turned to look at her father, her eyes going wide and a small pout forming on her lips. The man sighed after a moment and nodded.
“Alright, yes, you can have the cookies” he conceded and the girl smiled brightly. It seemed she had her father wrapped around her little finger. It also seemed as if she was a master in changing subjects in a matter of moments.
In that moment Emma began to move around in her father’s grasp again, starting to make sounds of discomfort. Dean sighed and looked down at his daughter, downing the last remains of his now lukewarm coffee and stood up.
“Well, it seems like this princess here is getting grumpy. I’m going to have to hurry with finishing the shopping before she starts having a meltdown. It was nice to meet you” he said while strapping the antsy baby back in the carrier and putting his jacket back on. “I’m Dean, by the way.” The man next to Claire stood up as well, motioning for his daughter to rise.
“I’m Castiel. Thanks again for making sure Claire was okay and letting her be around Emma. We don’t really come around babies all too often” he said and held Claire’s jacket for her to slip into. “Say good bye to Dean, Claire.”
“Bye Dean” Claire did as her father said and waved at the tall man. Dean smiled at the blond girl.
“Bye Claire, enjoy your cookies!” he said and made the girl smile with his words.
“I will!” she exclaimed excitedly and took her father’s offered hand. They made their way out of the café together and parted ways at the aisle leading up to the register.