Dean burst through the door of their motel room, his arms flailing about his head.

"They're still floating around my damn face Sam," he growled, turning to look at Sam when he heard his brother's sigh.

"WHAT!"

"It's probably your blood pressure at this point." Sam's exasperation was apparent in his tone.

Dean stopped swinging his arms long enough to glare at him before jerking his head back and batting at something only he could see.

"It's not my blood pressure! It's whatever that damn witch did." Dean stopped swatting again and pointed his finger at Sam's chest. "Why is it that even when you're being the asshole I'm the one that gets whammied! You're the one that called her a sideshow hack, and let's not forget you're also the one that called her a stringy haired hag."

"You were pouring gasoline all over her altar, maybe she thought you were being the bigger asshole," Sam reasoned, not really believing it himself. He still didn't understand why everything with or without a pulse went for Dean 9 out of 10 times. Okay, well maybe he could understand it, but it was still ridiculous.

Dean's mouth opened and shut several times before he whirled around, grabbed his clothes, and stomped his way to the bathroom.

"Easy case, he says. In and out, he says," Dean mumbled. He threw one more glare over his shoulder before he slammed the door to the bathroom and the water turned on.

Sam winced as the plaster on the sides of the door flaked off and the wall sconces rattled. It wasn't like he'd planned for the damn witch to come back early. Hell, he'd tried to distract her so Dean could finish torching her spell book. Just thinking about the book made him shudder.

Dean hadn't been all that pleased he'd lost the rock-paper-scissors either, especially when he found out the thing was made from human skin and inked with human blood. Sam could have sworn when the it finally went up in flames it wailed as the pages shriveled in on themselves and blew away, much like the witch did herself.

Unfortunately, she'd gotten off one last spell. Dean hadn't sprouted any extra appendages, there didn't seem to be any new quirks, and there was no spewing out odd comments and declarations. Sam kept a close eye on him all the way back to the hotel, and other than the flailing, there hadn't seemed to be any outward signs that the spell had done anything.

Sam spent the time Dean was taking his shower researching the few pieces of the spell he'd overheard the witch snarling before Dean had lit the book on fire, the ensuing chaos had drowned out the end of her chant. Sam wasn't sure she'd even gotten to finish it as she went up in smoke and fire along with the book.

Dean stood under the spray, his head resting against the tile and the hot water beating down across his neck and shoulders. He hated witches. Nothing ever went right when they had a case with witches.

The little white dots floating in front of his eyes and diving at his head made it impossible for him to drive home without killing them both, but having Sam watch him so closely while behind the wheel made him even more antsy

The little floaters had started to dissipate not long after he'd stepped into the shower, but he was feeling a little off balance like something had changed, he just couldn't really place what. If he wouldn't be punishing himself, he'd make Sam sleep in the other bed, but he'd gotten used to having Sam's arms and legs wrapped around him like an octopus.

Dean would never admit it out loud, but he didn't sleep worth a shit when Sam wasn't next to him, so he'd have to figure out another way to get even with his brother. He knew it wasn't Sam's fault, they had to put a stop to the killings that had plagued the small town, but he really hated witches, damn it!

He sighed as the water started to cool against his skin. It was time to get out and face whatever Sam had found. Dean had no illusions that his brother hadn't been on the computer as soon as the door shut, trying to figure out what the stupid hag had been spewing at him before he sent her up in smoke.

Dean hadn't even gotten all the way out of the bathroom door before Sam had started asking him questions, and he rolled his eyes for not even considering just how freaked out Sam could get when he couldn't find the answer to something.

"How do you feel?"

"Dude, I'm fine. The little sparkly lights are gone too."

"Were they pulsing, or just sort of glittery?" Sam asked, looking back down at the computer.

Dean just stood and looked at him until Sam glanced back up to see why his brother hadn't answered him.

"What?"

"Glittery? Really?" Dean quipped.

"Would shimmery do it for you instead?" Sam snarked.

"No, they weren't any of those, it was like when you rub your eyes too hard and you get those little lights behind your eyelids." Dean frowned as he thought about the lights. "Of course, they don't typically zoom at your head though."

"Is that why you kept waving your arms around?"

"Duh! Do you think I want to see the inside of a funny farm again?"

Sam shuddered at the reminder of their short stint in an institution for a case.

Dean didn't miss it and nodded his head. "Exactly, although the pudding was really good."

Sam shook his head and shifted over so Dean could sit down beside him.

"Did you find anything?" Dean dried his hair while he watched Sam click a few more links before answering.

"No, but I didn't get to hear everything she said. I don't even know if she finished it," Sam admitted.

"Oh, I bet she finished it. The bitch pointed her gnarly old wand stick at me. It wasn't even a cool one like Harry or Dumbledore has, hell even Malfoy's dad has a cool one. You'd think she'd have been embarrassed by that thing and upgraded."

"Somehow, I don't think she was all that worried about picking up a new one at Diagon Alley," Sam responded rolling his eyes.

"So maybe she screwed the pooch and didn't get it right, or it might have been a dud," Dean suggested.

"Maybe..."

They both knew they'd never been lucky and that wasn't about to change anytime soon with the way things had been going over the last several months.

"Look, we'll both keep an eye out for any changes. I'll let you know if I start craving brains or something, and you can do what you always do."

"What is it I always do?" Sam asked, knowing he was walking into a smart ass retort.

"Obsess, and worry until you have that constipated look I've grown so fond of," Dean answered, grinning as he dodged the half-hearted backhand his brother threw at him.

"Keep making fun, but when you start sprouting horns out of your head or a tail, don't be asking me to figure it out." Sam huffed. "Maybe I should call Bobby," he mumbled absently.

"Sam seriously, I feel fine. I haven't found anything that's not supposed to be there and I'm not missing anything either. There's nothing you can tell him right?" Dean waited for Sam's reluctant nod.

"Okay then, if something starts happening then you can call him. Right now though I just want a steak, baked potato and a cold beer, so go get changed and lets get some food."

All through supper, Sam had maintained some form of contact with him, anything from touching his hand, to wrapping his ankle around Dean's own under the table. He'd barely gotten the door closed before Sam had him pushed face first against it.

"Shirt," Sam muttered, giving him roughly two seconds to lift his arms before yanking it over his head.

Dean got it. They'd had a close one today, and if this was what Sam needed to realize they were okay, Dean had no problem with it whatsoever.

He knocked his forehead against the door when Sam licked a hot wet stripe down his spine, tongue tracing just under the waistband of his jeans, and zeroing in on the knob at the base of his back. Dean's hips jerked forward when Sam started sucking a bruise into the spot. He felt teeth scrape across the sensitive skin and fingers working the button and zipper of his jeans.

He was sure he'd find burns later where Sam had yanked the denim down his legs. A strangled moan tore its way out of his throat when Sam licked along the crease of his ass, his tongue delving further in to lick across the puckered ring of muscle.

Dean twisted as much as he could, getting a hand behind him to rest in Sam's hair. It was an awkward angle but he needed to let Sam know he was right there with him. He felt the burn as Sam slid two fingers inside, spit the only thing slicking the way as he stretched the muscle to take his cock. A third finger followed quickly behind the first two and he choked on a groan when Sam's thumb massaged around the spot his fingers disappeared into Dean's body.

He felt empty as Sam's fingers slid out and his brother stood, swinging him around until his back was against the door. Their mouths crashed together, lips splitting even as Sam pulled back, gentling the kiss. Dean followed as he was led to the bed, dropping backwards with only a second to breath before Sam's body came down on top of him.

Dean worked on leaving some marks of his own while Sam fumbled in the drawer for the lube. He grabbed the tube from his brother as Sam ripped his own shirt off, yanking the buttons of his jeans open and standing just long enough to push them off.

Sam grabbed the tube and slicked himself up, groaning as Dean dropped his legs open. He lifted his hips so Sam could shuffle forward, rubbing the head of his cock against Dean's balls. Dean sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly as his brother breached him, pushing in slowly.

He waited for the sting to subside, shifting his hips to let Sam know it was okay to move. Dean knew neither of them would last long, Sam's pace was already at high and heading towards super sonic. He could feel the tingling starting in the base of his spine, seeping along his veins into his legs and down to his toes.

Dean wrapped his legs around Sam's waist, shortening his stroke into a grinding motion. His body seized when his prostate was hit dead on, Sam's strangled groans mirroring his own as his brother followed him into a nerve shattering orgasm. Sam rolled to the side, pulling Dean up close to his side while they caught their breath.

"I almost lost you," Sam whispered.

"But you didn't."

"It was too close this time."

"I know," Dean acknowledged, snuggling into the heat of Sam's body. They could clean up later, it wasn't like they hadn't been covered in worse gunk.

Month One

Sam pushed the door open to the motel room, juggling a tray of coffee, a bag of food from the local diner and the room key without dropping them. He shut the door with his foot, dropping the bag on the table. Dean was still dead to the world, which wasn't all that unusual for this time of the morning.

What was unusual was Dean didn't even twitch, and he hadn't been all that quiet. Sam had tried to sneak in on more than one occasion, but his brother always knew he was there, even if he never opened his eyes Sam could tell he wasn't asleep. It had been a late night, but the complete absence of awareness his brother had been exhibiting lately was really starting to worry him.

Then there was the whole reduction in appetite. They had never truly gone hungry as kids, but sometimes it had been a close thing. He knew there had been times when their dad was gone that Dean had resorted to rationing and he always took the smaller portion so the one thing his brother didn't scrimp on now was food. Sometimes, they slept in the car just so they didn't have to go without food.

Dean had been eating less and Sam knew he'd heard his brother throwing up at least five times in the past two weeks. There was no telling how many times he'd missed, Dean was a sneaky mother when he wanted to be. However, he couldn't miss Dean's pallid skin and the sweat beading across his forehead when he exited the bathroom.

Sam had tried to get him to go to a clinic but Dean had steadfastly refused to admit that there was anything wrong. So, Sam was left with only one way to test his theory that indeed something was making his brother sick.

Dean woke to the smell of fresh coffee, and not the crappy gas station coffee either, but the diner down the street coffee. There was another smell overriding it, though, and his stomach churned. He swallowed thickly and turned his head slowly trying to keep his movements shallow as to not upend the bile climbing up his airway.

Sam was sitting at the small table, the laptop open and a sausage biscuit almost completely hidden by his huge paw. His eyes flicked over to the open bag and grimaced at the thought of what Sam had gotten him.

"Hey man, you finally awake? " Sam announced as if it was of national interest. He rummaged in the bag, bringing out a biscuit the size of Dean's fist.

"What's that?"

"Sausage, egg and cheese, and I got those hash browns you like. "

"I'm not really hungry right now. Stick it back in the bag and I'll warm it up later." Dean shifted towards the edge of the bed. His mouth was watering, and not in the good way. He figured he had about twenty seconds before the taco he'd been able to keep down last night would make a reappearance.

"Are you sure? I don't think it's going to taste as good warmed up." Sam looked at the biscuit. "It might be really greasy," he offered as innocently as he could.

Just the thought sent Dean hurtling to the bathroom, the door slamming in his wake.

Sam couldn't help feeling guilty as he heard his brother losing what little bit he'd eaten the night before. If Dean had just admitted he was sick, that something was definitely off, he wouldn't have had to resort to dirty tactics.

Dean emerged from the bathroom on shaky legs, pinning him with a glare. "Not cool man, not cool at all."

Sam winced as his brother slumped back on the bed, bringing his arm up and putting it across his eyes.

"Maybe if you'd just admit you're sick then I wouldn't have to play dirty pool."

"So I've got some kind of stomach bug Sam. What do you think you're knowing about it is going to accomplish."

"A stomach bug that's lasted two weeks, or is it three?" Sam asked, exasperated.

"Three, and it still doesn't change anything. If it's not better in a week or so, I'll go see a doctor, so you can get your panties untwisted. Now throw that damn bag outside in the dumpster and open the window before I puke again."

Sam started to argue, but gave up when he realized that was all he was going to get out of his brother at the moment. Dean promising to go to the doctor at all was a major accomplishment so he didn't want to press his luck.

Month Two

Sam was standing outside a motel room just this side of Colorado freezing his ass off waiting for Bobby to answer his phone. When the voice mail picked up, he left another message and disconnected. Hopefully, it wouldn't be days before the older hunter got back to him. Sam had to share the worry with someone or he was going to go nuts.

He slid back into the room quietly closing the door, not that he had to worry too much about waking his brother. Dean was curled up in a ball, buried under a stack of blankets, the only thing you could see was his hair sticking up in disheveled spikes. His brother's appetite, while not back to 100%had improved, and Sam hadn't heard any throwing up in the last week or so. That didn't really mean anything because he knew Dean wouldn't tell him if he could get away with it.

No, the newest trial in Sam's life was Dean's ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. He'd been sleeping any chance he'd gotten but on the last hunt they'd been on, Dean had nearly been eaten by the werewolf they'd been after when he'd fallen asleep keeping watch. If Sam didn't know better, he'd think his brother had narcolepsy.

Sex was apparently still not on the menu either. At first, Sam had thought Dean was punishing him for the witch fiasco. They'd had sex that night, but then his brother had seemed to completely lose any desire to be intimate. When he'd realized Dean was getting sick every day and was barley eating anything, Sam had completely forgotten the lack of sex and started a non-stop regime of worry and frustration caused by his brother's denial of any health problems.

Dean was actually more tactile than usual, his brother would deny it until his last breath but Dean was always patting him on the back, slinging his arm across his shoulder, or ruffling his hair, and that was in public. Now, though, he sat next to Sam whenever he got the chance, their shoulders bumping each other and their thighs pressed tightly together.

At night when they locked the door, Dean wasn't happy until they were occupying almost the same space, not that Sam was complaining. He had always been the one that craved the physical contact, and Dean had always accommodated him, sometimes with a smart ass comment, more often than not, or a put upon sigh affected just to keep up the status of brotherly exasperation.

Sam put his phone on vibrate, and settled back down in front of the computer, hoping this time he'd find something that hadn't shown up the last four hundred times he'd looked. He glanced over at Dean one last time before he focused all his attention on the screen in front of him.

Dean woke up to silence, the deep shadows in the room telling him it was a lot later than he thought it was. He turned over, looking for Sam even though he knew his brother wasn't in the room. His phone was resting on the bedside table a piece of paper under it.

He relaxed once he knew Sam was only going out to grab some food. The last hunt had been a cluster fuck, and it had been his fault. One minute he'd been sitting there watching the leaves blowing in the breeze and the next he'd had a foul smelling werewolf dripping slobber all over his jacket and getting ready to make him it's new chew toy.

Dean wasn't stupid, he knew there was something wrong, but he had no idea what to do about it. Sam hadn't found anything, they still had no idea what the witch had been trying to curse him with, and now they didn't even have another job because Sam refused to hunt another thing until they figured it out. Dean couldn't even be pissed about it because Sam was right, not that he intended to tell him that, his brother was already too big for his britches.

He crawled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, trying to decide what they should do next. They could hang around for a while, get some funds together and hole up somewhere, or they could start heading to Bobby's. Dean didn't doubt for a minute that Sam hadn't already called the man. He also knew that Bobby hadn't called back yet or they'd already be on their way there.

Dean climbed into the shower, letting the hot water massage the aches and pains that seemed to have taken up residence in every joint and muscle he had. His head had been hurting the last few days and he didn't know if it was the worry over what was going on or something more sinister. The hot water seemed to ease some of the tension so he stayed in as long as the water held out.

When he exited the bathroom, their food was spread out on the table and Sam was in the middle of packing their bags.

"Um..Sam?"

"Bobby called me back. We're heading out tonight," Sam answered the unspoken question.

"Do I get any say in this?" Dean asked getting a little frustrated with Sam's high handed manner.

"Nope. You wouldn't go to the doctor, and I still can't get you to eat more than half a meal." Sam stopped packing long enough to glare at him when he tried to respond.

"You've been having headaches, and you're still not interested in sex," Sam finished his rant as he shut the computer and shoved it into its case. "As soon as you get dressed and we eat, we're heading to Bobby's."

Dean didn't have a clue how to respond, not only was he not aware that Sam knew about the headaches, but the lack of sex hadn't even registered with him. It was official, he was dying, not just dying but a slow torturous decent into his worst fears before he went. He was eating like a teenage girl on a date, sleeping like a middle aged man in a mid-life crises and he hadn't wanted sex in...shit, he didn't even know how long.

He hadn't even realized he'd been talking out loud until Sam rolled his eyes and growled at him. "You're not dying, stop saying that!"

"Okay, jeesh! You don't have to yell." Dean pouted as he pulled on the clothes Sam had left out for him frowning as he tried to button his jeans. "Did you have to leave out the pair that was too small?"

"I didn't. I threw that pair away the last time you wore them."

"Sam! I wear those when I play pool."

"I know and I'm tired of having to watch stupid ass frat boys leering at you all night long," Sam answered sitting down to eat, steadfastly ignoring that he'd been one of those stupid ass frat boys not too long ago. Dean was his though and he didn't appreciate everyone and their best friend trying to get in his brother's pants.

"Now I've got to break in a whole new pair of tight jeans," Dean grumbled, taking in the bland looking soup his brother had gotten him. "What is this anyway?"

"It's some kind of broth. I asked the lady at the diner what would be good for someone recovering from a stomach virus. She said you would probably be able to finish that off and the crackers would help settle you stomach."

Dean wrinkled his nose, but was pleasantly relieved that not only did it taste better than it looked it didn't make him want to run to the bathroom. He felt like he'd taken down his first monster when Sam smiled at the empty bowl.

"We'll stop and get you some more of that," Sam nodded at the bowl. "A couple of their To Go containers we can warm up wherever we stop next."

"Yeah, okay," Dean agreed, pulling on his coat and grabbing his duffle. "Let's see if we can get there before we're skating on black ice."

Sam had wanted to get to Bobby's as quick as possible but Dean had vetoed driving at night when the weather had gotten sketchy. Sam hadn't missed the exhaustion on his brother's face and the slump of his shoulders so he'd caved and found a hotel close to the road hoping to be back on it as soon as the sun came up.

He'd ignored Dean's fussing when he'd pulled into a hotel several notches nicer than their typical room. The fight had gone out of him pretty quick when Sam had just ignored him, pulling their bags out of the trunk and heading for the desk.

The desk clerk didn't bat an eye when he asked for a king instead of two queens and Dean followed him into the room without anymore complaining for which Sam was grateful. He called Bobby to let him know about the change in plans while Dean wandered around the room setting up the sigils and salt lines.

Dean had disappeared into the bathroom by the time he ended his call, the water starting up not long after. Sam had noticed his brother had been spending more time under hot showers, not that Dean wasn't prone to hogging the water on most occasions, but he hadn't missed the way Dean moved slower than normal, as if his bones ached.

Sam got their packs situated, pulling out the weapons they usually kept close by, and getting them ready to turn in. He'd just turned the blankets down on the bed when Dean emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and was drying his hair when he looked up and caught Sam watching him.

"You going to take one tonight?" Dean asked and he threw the towel in the corner under the sink.

"No, I'll take mine in the morning. You ready to turn in?"

"Yeah." Dean didn't get the opportunity to elaborate, a huge yawn catching him by surprise.

Sam waited until Dean had thrown the other towel towards the bathroom and crawled under the covers before he slid in beside him.

"Damn, the bed's comfortable," Dean sighed as he snuggled a little further into the pillows.

Sam couldn't have agreed more as he scooted up to his brother's back until it was flush with his chest. He wrapped his arm around Dean's waist and pulled him even closer. He'd just closed his eyes, and was breathing in the warm scent of Dean's skin when he felt his brother stiffen in his arms a little.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Dean."

"You're not mad are you?"

Sam wanted to lean up and look at his brother's face, but he had a feeling if he pulled away now it would be a bad decision. He nuzzled the back of Dean's neck waiting for him to relax.

"Mad about what?"

Dean paused, and Sam wasn't sure he was going to answer, until he felt the subtle shift that foretold of Dean being prepared to move if he needed to. "About us not having sex in awhile."

Sam would have laughed if he hadn't thought Dean would bolt. He'd been expecting anything but that and he was relieved it was something simple. "No Dean, I'm not mad. I've been a little more worried about other things."

"Oh," Dean said in a small voice.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to Dean, especially when you come strolling out all wet and half naked, but I know you haven't been feeling well and I'm not going to push you to do something you don't feel like doing. Understand?"

Dean nodded his head and shuffled back even further into Sam's body. It didn't take long before they were both asleep, exhaustion and worry proving a potent enemy to consciousness.

It took them two more days to get to Bobby's, between the weather and Dean not tolerating the ride well. When Sam had talked to him last, Bobby still hadn't made it home, but was expecting to make it back sometime that night. He'd raided the kitchen, realizing pretty quick someone was going to have to make a run to the store in town.

Sam volunteered even though all he wanted to do was start going through Bobby's books and seeing what he could come up with. Dean grabbed their gear and headed for the steps as Sam disappeared out the door on the grocery run. He sat down on the bed pulling, clothes out of duffles so he could start a load of laundry.

The guns he laid on the small table that had resided in the corner of their room for as long as he could remember. Dean kicked the duffles under Sam's bed and slumped back onto the mattress. He felt the fatigue settle over him. Bobby's was the safest place they'd ever known, and while he knew he should be worried about what was going on, he just couldn't find the energy.

Sam drove past the rows of cars eager to get back to Dean. He hadn't felt comfortable leaving his brother alone since the werewolf hunt. Bobby had called while he was in the store to let them know he'd probably be there before midnight. Sam knew Dean would more than likely be asleep, but he had a long night ahead of him searching the stacks of obscure texts so he told Bobby he'd see him then.

He made quick work of putting the groceries away and started a pot of stew cooking before he went in search of his brother. It didn't take him long to find Dean slumped sideways on the bed. He hadn't even taken his shoes off. Sam unlaced the boots and shifted his brother's legs onto the bed, trying to make him a little more comfortable.

Sam stood watching Dean sleep for a few minutes. There was a constant air of fatigue around his brother that matched the dark circles under his eyes. He didn't understand how Dean could look like he hadn't slept in months when that's all his brother had been doing the past few weeks. He pushed away from the doorframe, grabbing the laundry and quietly closed the door so he could start searching for a resolution.

He was still slumped in the corner chair by the fireplace when Bobby shuffled through the door, his duffle dragging behind him. The older man dropped into the huge chair behind his desk with a groan.

"Where's Dean?"

"Upstairs asleep," Sam mumbled, not bothering to look up.

"How long's this been going on?" Bobby asked, leaning forward to grab the bottle of whiskey.

"Started not long after the puking, maybe five weeks." Sam dropped the book into his lap and sighed. "I'd have pushed him harder to go to the doctor if I thought they could do anything, but other than the throwing up and sleeping he's been fine."

Bobby nodded, taking the last swallow of amber liquid. "You got something cooking?" He asked sniffing the air.

"Yeah, stews on the stove, been keeping it warm till you got here."

"Well, go get your brother. I'm starving."

Sam marked his spot in the book and stretched. There were a dozen pops as his bones protested the long inactivity and the sudden movement. He'd almost reached the room when the door jerked open and Dean barreled through it.

"Dean?"

"Gotta pee." Dean shoved past him and slammed the door.

"Dinner's ready when you're done, and wash your hands." Sam threw in the last part as an afterthought. He grinned at the muffled fuck you he heard from behind the door.

Bobby had already gotten the table set by the time Sam made it back to the kitchen. He pulled one of the plastic containers out of the fridge that had the last of the broth they'd picked up before they'd left two days back.

He was just sitting down when Dean rounded the corner and eyed the stew on both their plates. Sam could see the yearning on his brother's face but he could also see the way he'd paled at thinking of eating it.

"We've still got a little bit of that broth and some crackers if you want that," Sam offered.

"Yeah." Dean shuffled over to his seat and waited for Sam to get it out of the microwave. "Thanks."

Dean shrugged at Bobby's raised eyebrow, refusing to get into anything until he'd eaten the one thing he could keep down. They talked about the hunt Bobby had just finished and the impending bad weather they were expecting in the next several days until everyone was finished eating.

Bobby threw a few more logs in the fireplace while the boys settled into their favorite spots. He didn't comment when Dean drug the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped up like it wasn't nice and toasty in the room.

It took them a couple of hours to explain everything that had been going on over the past two months. By the time Bobby felt he knew everything, Sam was holding his head in his hands and Dean was more than halfway asleep.

"Well, we're not going to get anything done tonight. Let's grab some sleep and then we can make a plan," Bobby told Sam, dropping his hand onto Dean's shoulder and shaking him a little. "Go on up to bed. We'll work on it tomorrow," Bobby answered the question in Dean's glazed focus.

"Yeah okay," he mumbled, pulling himself to his feet.

Sam and Bobby watched him climb the stairs, the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders trailing behind him.

"We'll figure it out Sam." Bobby didn't say it was going to be okay, the kid wouldn't believe him right now if he tried. "Tomorrow get up a list of things we need so I can get them in town before the storm hits. We might be stuck here a few days." He stopped halfway down the hall. "Oh, and look up a recipe for that broth. If it's the only thing he can keep down, we need to make sure we have plenty of it."

Sam felt his shoulders sag, some of the weight lifting now that he had someone else to share his worry with. If anyone could figure this out, Bobby could. He slowly climbed the stairs, trying to figure out if he dared shove the beds together. They hadn't slept apart in the last two years except when one of them was in the hospital or too injured to risk it, and he didn't want to do it now.

He pushed the door open, the rest of his anxiety seeping away. Dean had taken the decision out of his hands and had already pushed the beds together. His brother was curled up in the center of the bed. Dean's face was still pale but it was relaxed in a way it hadn't been in months. Sam knew now more than ever that coming to Bobby's had been the right thing to do, not just for Dean but for him too.

Sam quickly shed his clothes and slid into the bed, bumping against Dean until he'd made enough room for his large frame. It didn't take as much maneuvering as one would think since Dean tended to gloam onto him and become a living blanket. It was a state of affairs Sam was more than okay with, he thought as he wrapped his arms around his brother and buried his nose in Dean's hair.

MONTH THREE

It had taken Bobby three more weeks to come up with a possible scenario, and it was not what any of them had been expecting. Sam hovered over the obscure text, reading the first part of a spell that had become infinitely familiar to him.

"Sam, how far did that witch get?" Bobby asked. He'd been watching Dean over the last few weeks and he had a sinking feeling he already knew.

Sam traced his finger down the text, reading swiftly through the words until he came to the spot that he thought the witch had stopped at. "I think this is it, but she was still chanting as she went up in flames so I'm not sure if she got anymore in. "

His brow furrowed as he read a little further, hovering over a spot a few words down from the last one he remembered understanding. He tapped the passage and turned it back around so Bobby could read it.

Bobby quickly marked the spot and pulled the book back to him so he could read the spell in full up to where Sam had indicated. The spell had been almost completed and Bobby shuddered at what would have happened if she'd have been able to finish it. Dean wouldn't be standing in his junkyard puttering around with some of his unfinished projects if she had.

He reread the last line several times, debating the meaning and discarding the unlikely. What was left was a physical impossibility, except it was a witch's spell so anything was possible.

"Bobby?" Sam asked, voice laced with hope and dread in equal measure at what the older man had found.

"Sam, this is important and I need you to be honest." Bobby waited for Sam's agreement, cursing John Winchester for not being there to have this talk instead of him.

"Has Dean slept with any men lately?"

"Bobby?" Sam asked, not quite sure how to respond. Dean was going to kill him.

"Sam, I'm not stupid and neither was your daddy. we both knew Dean was equal opportunity when it came to sex. I need to know if he has been with anyone since the spell and if you have any idea which position he likes to play."

Sam thought back, trying to remember the last time they'd had sex. The only time he could remember in the past three months had been the night of the witch fiasco. Now he just had to figure out what to tell Bobby. Sure they lived in each other's pockets, but that didn't mean they would know when the other was having sex and with whom.

"Yeah, just once though. He started feeling sick soon after. Why?" Sam responded erring on the side of truthfulness. Dean was too important not to come clean even if it meant spilling the beans about their relationship.

"And his preference?" Bobby prompted.

Sam could see the wheels turning in the older hunters head. There was no way in hell the man wouldn't know what was going on as soon as he answered. "He prefers to receive." Sam cringed inwardly at his attempt at a delicate answer.

He felt like a science experiment pinned to a board as Bobby contemplated his answer. Sam let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when Bobby nodded once and looked back down at the book.

He pushed the book closer to Sam and turned it so they could both look at the text again. "You see right here where it talks about the creation of new life followed by life draining away in death?" Bobby asked, pointing to passage.

"Yeah, but what does it mean?" Sam asked, still not coming up with anything new.

Bobby blew out an exasperated breath. "I think it means your brother is pregnant."

"Pardon?"

"You heard me, I think Dean's going to be a daddy. Actually, I think you're both going to be daddies." Bobby stated matter of factly, grabbing the whiskey bottle and pouring two generous measures into glasses, pushing one towards Sam.

"But he's a guy!" Sam exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing the cup, downing the contents in one go.

"Yes, and it was a witch with a spell. It's not going to matter if you're male or female. Hell, if Dean hadn't torched the book when he did, you'd have been burying him back there in that Podunk town."

Sam shivered at the reminder of how close it had been, as he pushed his glass back to Bobby and waited for the man to refill it. He grabbed it as soon as the bottle was out of the way, taking a large swallow, before staring into the amber liquid.

"What in the hell are we going to do?"

"Going to do about what?" Dean asked.

Sam jumped, twisting around in his chair to find his brother leaning against the doorjamb, cleaning his greasy hands on a rag. "Bobby thinks he knows what's wrong." Sam threw back the rest of the alcohol and set the glass down.

"How long do I have?" Dean asked, pushing off the wall and dropping into the chair next to Sam.

"You're not dying son," Bobby growled, grabbing the whiskey bottle Dean had been reaching for and shoving it in a drawer.

"Hey! How come Sam gets to drink and I don't?" Dean pouted.

"Because Sam's not pregnant!"

Dean blinked at the implication, searching Sam and Bobby's face for humor.

"Bobby, maybe you've had a little too much of the good stuff. I'm a guy. I can't get pregnant." Dean scoffed, looking at Sam for back up. Sam's shell-shocked expression did nothing to settle the growing ball of anxiety building in his gut. "Sam?"

"It fits Dean, the nausea, the vomiting. How you're always tired no matter how much you sleep."

"But I'm a guy. Guy's don't get pregnant. We don't have babies," he repeated desperately, looking back and forth between them, seeking confirmation from either man.

"Dean you set the book on fire before she could finish the last paragraph. Sam's pretty sure of where she left off." Bobby pushed the book towards Dean so he could look for himself.

Dean finished reading, a look of horror crossing his face. He slumped back in the chair, looking down his body and seeing nothing different from any other day. His hand crept up without his knowledge and was hovering over his stomach, before he even processed the move. When he realized what he'd been about to do he yanked his hand away.

"Here, go take this." Bobby pushed a pregnancy test across the desk.

Dean looked like he was either going to start yelling or puke, but he reached across and grabbed the box off the desk. "You're serious!"

"We need to know for sure and this is the only way thing I can think of right now."

Dean glared at the box a few more seconds before pushing himself to his feet and stomping up the steps.

Sam looked over at the older hunter. "Do I even want to know why you have one of those?"

"You never know when you might need one," Bobby answered gruffly, raising his eyebrow at Sam.

Sam couldn't really argue the point, not with his brother in the bathroom upstairs taking it right then. They waited ten minutes, listening to the clock tick over the fireplace, neither one of them uttering a word, not sure what to say if the test came back negative or positive.

If it was negative then they were back to square one trying to figure out what was wrong with Dean, but if it was positive they were on a whole new board all together. They both jumped when they heard the bathroom door bang against the wall overhead and Dean's boots making quick work of the stairs. The back door slammed so hard they could hear the window panes rattle.

Bobby winced at the rattle but when no glass shattered he just picked up his glass and took another swig. Sam moved to follow his brother but Bobby's gruff voice stopped him.

"Let him go, he needs some time to process it, and so do you."

He nodded, sinking back into the chair and staring into the fireplace. Sam didn't know how long he sat there, his mind whirring at the impossible and thinking of all the things that could go wrong. He couldn't believe it. Dean was going to have their baby. The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. There was no way it could end well.

Sam knew Dean was somewhere on the property, he'd never heard the Impala start up, not that he thought his brother would try in five foot of snow. He couldn't say if their places were reversed he wouldn't have, though. Just imagining what his brother must be going through was enough to send him running in denial if their places were reversed.

Dean didn't run he never did. He might try to weasel out the backdoor and go around the problem, might deny one even existed, but he never ran. No, that was more his thing, as soon as he became emotionally overloaded, he bolted. There'd be no running from this though, not that he wanted to.

He didn't even hear Bobby calling his name until the man was shaking his shoulder. "Sam you need to come eat something."

"Dean?" Sam asked as he stood up.

"He's outside in the shop. The heaters are running so don't worry. I checked on him a little while ago, he's working on the Plymouth's engine," Bobby explained, grabbing a bowl and dishing up some chili for the both of them.

"How come you're not freaking out?" Sam asked, grabbing a couple of bottles out of the fridge.

Bobby shrugged. "I guess I've seen weirder. Male pregnancy is on the more normal end of crazy."

Sam waited a few minutes before trying again. "No, I mean why aren't you freaking out about me and Dean?"

Bobby set his spoon down and grabbed a piece of bread. "I watched y'all when you were kids, Dean was always there making sure you got fed, did your homework, went to bed, trained, and you followed him around like he hung the sun and moon."

"The older you both got it never really changed, I mean you got all angsty, and Dean was quieter about the way he kept an eye on you but it was still there, that mutual need to be everything to the other. It just seemed over time it would be a natural progression to something more."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Sam asked, taking a sip of his water trying to calm his nerves at the possible answer he'd get.

"Son, you're both adults, and up until this point I didn't think there was a chance of either of you getting pregnant. Which was the main reason for all the laws against it in the first place...well that and the possibility it was coerced. I don't think you or your brother stood a chance in hell of not being wrapped up in each other the way you were raised. Hell, I'd I've been surprised if your shot at normal life would have lasted much longer."

Sam was a little disconcerted that someone other than Dean could read him so well. Even Dean hadn't caught on to the fact that he had started to wonder why he was at college and trying to pretend it was what he wanted. Jess dying had sent him into a tailspin of guilt and inability to admit that their relationship had been slowly falling apart.

Sam exhaled slowly. If anyone else was ever going to know him that well then he couldn't have trusted anyone anymore than he did Bobby. He grabbed his spoon and started working on his chili, still trying to figure out what to do about his brother being pregnant.

They ate in silence, until Bobby got up to set his bowl in the sink. Sam looked over to see the man watching him with careful consideration. He waited quietly for whatever Bobby needed to say to him.

"Sam, let Dean take the lead on this one. He's the one that needs to make this decision."

Sam nodded his head and watched him as he made his way upstairs. He sat up hoping Dean would come in, but several hours later he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. He climbed the stairs to their room and shoved the beds back together, thankful they wouldn't have to keep hiding their relationship, now that he knew Bobby wasn't going to send them packing. He fell asleep making lists in his head of all the things they'd have to consider.

Dean had escaped to Bobby's workshop. The fact that Bobby knew he didn't just like girls registered in the back of his mind, but it was sorely overshadowed by the fact that he'd managed to get himself knocked up, and by his brother no less. Fuck his life!

He worked on the first thing he came to, a sad pile of car parts wrapped around an even sadder engine. His mind kept twisting back to the fact that he was carrying a tiny little Winchester somewhere in his body.

Dean pushed himself out from under the hood and collapsed on the overstuffed chair that was pushed in a corner. Working on the engine helped keep him grounded, but he couldn't concentrate enough to get anything done. He leaned back, picking at the nubby material on the arm of the chair.

He'd never thought about kids...okay, well, he'd thought about them, but in the other people had them way. Dean figured he'd be lucky to make it to thirty. Hunting wasn't a job that came with any life guarantees, and he knew he was more reckless than he needed to be sometimes.

Dean looked down at his stomach, trying to imagine himself months pregnant. He pulled his shirt up, tucking it under his chin and studying the muscles that had been there since he'd lost the baby fat coming out of puberty. His hand hovered there for moments before he finally gave in and dropped his hand over his belly.

It didn't feel any different, same warm skin, same dips and valleys, but now he knew there was something growing under all that. A new life that was a combination of him and Sam. He didn't even try to justify it to himself. He wanted this, wanted it more than he'd let himself want anything in a long time.

Dean sat for a long time trying to figure out what to do next, there were so many things that would have to change. He didn't even know how Sam felt about it, wasn't sure he'd be able to tolerate his brother not feeling the same way. Bobby was another matter as well, would they need to leave the only place he'd felt safe in months when he found out it was a product of not just a witch's spell, but of him and Sam?

He sighed, pushing himself to his feet. He hadn't even noticed how late it had gotten. Dean was a little surprised that Sam hadn't shown up and tried to drag him to the house but he was grateful it hadn't happened. He'd needed the time alone to come to terms with things and start to adjust.

Dean turned the heater, and the lights off as he shut everything up for the night. He grabbed a quick shower, cleaning off the day's sweat and grime. He let out a long sigh, a small smile curving his lips when he saw the beds had already been pushed together and Sam had fallen asleep on top of the covers.

"Sam," Dean called, softly shaking his brother's shoulder.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, get under the covers before you freeze." Dean yanked at the blankets Sam was still holding hostage with his body.

"You okay?" Sam asked sleepily as he rocked around trying to free the blankets.

"We'll talk about it in the morning," Dean replied tiredly as he slid under the covers, sighing when Sam wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

"Okay," Sam mumbled burying his nose in the hair at the nape of Dean's neck.

Bobby was absent the next morning, but he'd left out the fixings for breakfast so Sam set about getting it ready. He found a note stuck to the fridge letting him know the older man would be home for supper.

Dean shuffled down the stairs fifteen minutes later, his hair sticking up in every direction, cowlicks making him look like he was five. His brother had been letting his hair grow a little longer lately and Sam loved running his fingers through it. Dean got more than his fair share of attention, but the longer hair, softened his brother's features and made him almost ethereal.

Sam was reminded why Dean had kept his hair short for so long when he'd had to scare off more than a few potential men and women looking for a hook up. Dean just grinned when Sam would forget himself and growl to assert his claim. The sex that came after was always a possessive tug of war for domination, one they both enjoyed too much to care who won and how often.

"You want to try some pancakes today?" Sam asked as he flipped the ones that were already browning in the pan.

"Sure, I'm not feeling sick yet. Might want to hold off on cooking that bacon though, not sure how well I can handle the smell," Dean acknowledged, amazed how at ease he was now that he knew what had been causing him to be so sick.

Sam nodded and threw the bacon back into the refrigerator to cook when Dean went outside. He finished the last stack of pancakes and slid them onto the table. Dean had already heated the syrup up and grabbed the orange juice.

He didn't mention that Dean hadn't turned the coffee maker on, no matter how many times the smell had made his brother sick over the last several weeks, Dean had tried every morning anyway. They ate in comfortable silence, Sam happy to see his brother get three pancakes down and not look like he needed to bolt for the bathroom.

Dean was a little amazed himself that he'd been able to finish three. He wasn't sure if it was the finally knowing what was going on that relieved some of the stress, or if it was something to do with his pregnancy, and wasn't that just odd to say even if his own head.

He helped Sam clean up the kitchen, both gravitating into what they considered the living room, even though it had Bobby's desk in there. It was also the one with the fireplace and the couch they'd both spent more than one night on. Sam waited for Dean to take the lead. He'd watched his brother gearing up for this conversation since they finished eating, but refused to rush Dean in any way.

Dean had been surprised when Sam had made them breakfast, and not attempted to talk about the pregnancy, or plans for anything of any significance. They'd eaten in silence, but it had been the type of quiet that was soothing, not stressful. He'd followed Sam into Bobby's main room, curling up in the big chair by the fireplace like he'd done when he was young. He watched as Sam settled on the couch, stretching his long legs out across the cushions.

"I need to know how you feel about this Sam?" Dean watched Sam watching him.

"Dean, I'm with you no matter what you decide. I'm scared. I want to be able to tell you I'm thrilled or happy, but all I am right now is scared." Sam waited for his brother's reaction.

Dean sat quietly listening to Sam's answer. He could understand his brother's fears, he had the same ones, but he was going to do this and he was going to be fine. He had to believe that. He wasn't willing to accept any other resolution.

"Okay, and I get that, but I want this baby and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure nothing happens to it. So I need you to help me start figuring out how to do that. Does Bobby know who helped get me this way?"

"Yeah, he said he wasn't really surprised," Sam sighed.

"So we don't have to leave?"

"He'd probably hunt us down and drag us back if we tried."

Dean felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. "We're going to have to stop hunting, get real jobs. Maybe Bobby will know somebody that can help with the medical issues I'm going to have."

Sam was a little flabbergasted that Dean had been the one to bring up hunting. Besides the whole male pregnancy issue, he'd thought getting his brother to stop hunting was going to be the hardest. "I'm sure we can find something short term until we can decide where to go and what else needs to be done."

"I don't want to go anywhere. I mean I know we can't stay with Bobby, he didn't sign on for this kind of crazy, but he's family and I'd prefer to stay here. He might know someplace we could rent or something."

"Okay, but you're going to have to let me look into the job situation. You're only going to get a few months in before you'd have to quit anyway. I doubt you'd be able to hide behind too many beers and burgers before people started getting nosy. I can't see them seriously considering male pregnancy, but I'm not willing to take the chance someone won't think it's a sex change thing and do something stupid."

"All right, but I might be able to find something I can do from home, once we figure out where that is." Dean heaved a sigh. "There's an awful lot to plan with a whole lot of question marks all over the place."

"No worse than us working a case, coming in not knowing what it is or how to kill it. We'll talk to Bobby when he gets home. He might be able to get us moving in the right direction," Sam suggested.

Sam spent the rest of the day searching the want ads in the paper and online while Dean worked outside in the shop until Bobby got home.

MONTH FOUR

Bobby had indeed had ideas, and they started working on them the very next day. The house down the road had been vacant ever since the woman that lived there had been attacked by the monster Rufus hadn't finished killing.

The realtor had been more than happy to speak to the owner and the offer of rent to own had been accepted. Bobby made the first three months payment in spite of the loud grumblings coming from the Winchester corner. He'd finally told them to shut up and deal, they deserved something nice and they were damn well going to get it.

Sam had finally given up, hugging the older man but receiving a swat at his head for his troubles. Dean waited until right before he went upstairs to go to bed before he shuffled into the living room and stuttered out his appreciation. Bobby had just nodded and let him escape up the stairs.

Dean took one look at the flowered wallpaper, and pale pink moldings and started surfing the web for more manly colors. Sam wasn't about to argue, he would swear the rosebuds splashed all over the kitchen was multiplying right before his eyes.

It hadn't taken Sam long to get a part time job at the local library, and was working another at the grocery store. Dean hadn't liked Sam working so much but he knew until they got themselves settled there wasn't much that could be done about it.

Dean stumbled across an opportunity at the local university when he'd been secretly looking into options for his GED. He may not have finished school but it wasn't because he was stupid, it was hard to concentrate on school work when your dad might be getting himself killed, or you had to decide what was more important, buying groceries or paying the electric bill so they'd have heat.

So he'd quit, taking jobs that were temporary or flexible enough that he could be at the school when Sam got out. Dean had been in the process of signing up for the refresher courses and the practice tests when he'd come across a posting for someone to translate texts from Latin to English.

Dean met with the professor, who'd been impressed with his fluency, and offered him the job. Professor Thompson had been planning to take a sabbatical and translate the texts himself, but one of the other professors had a family emergency and been called away.

Dean figured he could take the courses he needed at the college and translate the texts after he'd finished for the day. He was hopeful that he'd find something else before the job was completed.

Sam had been excited for him, but a little leery of the fact that he'd have to do the translation at the college. Dean assured him he'd have it finished in a couple of months at the latest. Dean was just hoping it was before he started showing too much.

He pushed the job situation to the back of his head when Bobby called to let him know he thought he'd found someone to look after Dean and the baby during his pregnancy. Bobby being the observant man that he was, made sure that he approached Dean with anything relating to his and the babies health first.

"Did Bobby say who this doctor was?" Sam asked, trying not to let his worry bleed all over the place.

"Nope, just said it was a man that knew the truth about monsters and that he trusted him. If Bobby trusts him I figure we give him a shot and see how it goes. I know I can't have the typical pre-natal stuff, but it'd be nice to know what's going on in there." Dean waved his hand around his stomach as if it were a crystal ball.

Sam nodded in agreement, even though he was going to make damn sure this guy knew what he was doing before he touched his brother, or his kid.

Dean was a nervous wreck in the days leading up to his meeting with the doctor. He'd tried to keep it to himself, not wanting Sam to worry anymore than he already was. The ride to Bobby's was made in silence, both of them too far into their own heads for it to be uncomfortable.

They arrived ahead of schedule, Sam seeking Bobby out and trying to get more information on the doctor, while Dean decided he could get in a few minutes with the car he'd been working on since they'd taken up root at Bobby's place.

He didn't hear the other man approaching, but he'd been a hunter long enough to listen to his body and when the hair on the back of his neck stood up, Dean dropped the wrench and grabbed his gun, ducking to the left and turning in one smooth motion. The man standing a few feet behind him had his hands raised in the universal sign of surrender and looked like he was stuck between laughing and cringing at the large gun pointed at his forehead.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean growled.

"My name's Seth Roberts, but Bobby just calls me Doc." The man grinned, lowering his hands slowly.

Dean watched the other man easing his hands down, so it took a few seconds for the name to register. He dropped the gun until it was pointing at the ground and gave him a once over before shrugging and taking a seat on one of the chairs Bobby kept in the shop.

"You know that's a good way to get shot. Not sure you'd be much good with another hole in your head."

"Well Bobby said it might be a good idea to talk to you first, he mentioned something about an overprotective yeti."

Dean's lips twitched but he wasn't prepared to like the guy yet. "Did Bobby give you any particulars about how this happened?"

"He said you dodged a witch's death curse and got some added bonus features installed without your knowledge," Seth answered, going for straight forward instead of his typical medical jargon.

Dean took in the man sitting in front of him. The doctor looked to be in his early to mid thirties, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Seth was two or three inches shorter than himself, in good shape and didn't seem at all bothered by Dean's inspection.

"Did Bobby explain who got me in this predicament?" He had to know the doctor wasn't going to run for the hills, or get his morals in a twist over the fact that they were brothers.

"Yeah, and I'm going to be honest with you. If he'd told me that you and your brother had a thing before some harpy tried to gouge my eyes out, I'd be more than a little disturbed. However, finding out that monsters are real and you better be damn scared of the shit that goes bump in the night tends to change your prospective on what's really important."

Dean nodded, and waited for the doctor to finish, hoping Sam wouldn't come outside and butt in before he'd gotten his answers.

"You're adults and I'm assuming this started when you were both of age, correct?"

Dean's horrified look must have been answer enough because Seth continued without missing a beat. "So everyone knew what they were getting themselves into. I can't say I understand it, but then I've not lived your life, and I'm certainly not here to judge you."

Seth switched gears to physician mode with his next statement. "Up till this point, there wasn't an issue about children since you were both male. Now that it is an issue, we'll have to do some tests, make sure the fact that your brothers hasn't caused some problems we need to address."

Dean nodded. He'd been reading about the different problems children of incest faced beyond just the stigma, the physical and medical issues could be numerous. He'd had to stop after awhile, the fear that something would be wrong with their child made his chest hurt. The horror stories he'd read about forced incest had made him throw up, which had brought Sam to the door to ask if he was okay.

He was brought back by the sound of boots on gravel. "That will be Sam," Dean said in warning just as Sam rounded the corner.

"Dean. Why don't you come in and get warm, the doctor should be here any... Who the hell are you?" Sam growled at the stranger who was sitting with his brother.

"I'd be the doctor you're waiting for," Seth responded before Dean could. He kept his hands on his knees, hoping the lack of aggression would keep the huge man in front of him from reaching for the gun Seth knew was in the back of his pants.

"So why not come through the front door?" Sam's hand still hovered behind his back.

Dean decided it was time to ease the tension. "I think it's pretty obvious. Bobby told him to come in the back so you wouldn't scare him off before I even got the chance to talk to him."

He eased himself up off the chair and put himself between his brother and the doctor. Dean put his hand out, easing Sam's away from the gun at his back. "Everything's fine," he reassured.

Sam didn't respond just continued to glare at the man that was now standing and watching them interact. "Why wouldn't Bobby tell me the guy was coming in the back? Did he want him shot or something?" He asked glancing down at his brother's amused face.

"Why does Bobby do anything he does, although if he'd told you would you have been in the house while I got acquainted with the good doctor here?"

Sam finally looked away from the other man, blushing a little at the honesty of Dean's assertion. "Fine, but let's go inside. It's getting colder by the minute and I don't want you getting sick."

Dean rolled his eyes, waiting for the doctor so he could buffer the glares Sam was still shooting the other man. Sam brought up the rear, a few steps to Dean's side, far enough away that he could pull his gun, but still close enough to move his brother out of the way if he needed to.

Seth leaned in just a little, whispering his next question. "Are you sure he's not older than you?"

Dean snorted, glancing at his brother. "Yeah, I'm sure. "

"Does he lift cars in his free time."

"Guys, you know I can hear you. I'm right here," Sam huffed.

"We are aware Sam. It's hard to miss you." Dean grinned at Sam's frown.

Bobby ignored Sam's disgruntled expression as they all took seats. Seth waited until everyone was settled before he addressed the reason he was there.

"Sam, my name is Seth Roberts and I've been an OB for over a decade. I've had a private practice between Sioux Falls and Lincoln for the past five years. There's never been a documented case of male pregnancy that anyone's aware of and if there's been one like Dean's then no one in the hunting community's ever heard about it, or at least none that Bobby could find."

"So since there's never been one before, how are you going to go about taking care of Dean and the baby?" Sam voiced what everyone had been wondering.

Seth turned to address Dean directly. "Well, we're going to start the same way we would with any patient. I'll get a past medical history, along with a family medical history." He paused at the groans heard around the room. "Is there a problem?"

"Dean's medical history alone could fill a 3" binder and neither one of his parents was very forthcoming with family history," Bobby explained. "But we'll get you what we can."

"Then what?" Dean asked.

"The best way to go about this is to have you come to my office either after we've closed or on a Saturday or Sunday when no one is there. I'm leaning more towards the weekend since we have a cleaning crew that you might run into on the weekdays."

"Either's fine, we'll be there whenever you feel would be best," Sam answered for them both, if his brother was this relaxed around a doctor then he'd do what he had to do.

"Okay, at your first appointment we'll start with the basics and probably do a scan so I can see where the baby is hiding out since you don't have a uterus." Seth stopped speaking, looking perplexed.

"Is there a problem?" Sam asked, all the worry he'd pushed to the back of his head came roaring back.

"No, but it just occurred to me that there could be a uterus. Bobby, you said it was a witch's spell? Did it say how it gave life? "

"Nope, it wasn't specific like most of them aren't. Of course, the fact that it wasn't a fertility spell in the first place makes it even more obscure."

"Well, the scan will tell us one way or the other. I'm going to want to see what kind of hormones are pumping through your body. You'd not normally have the amount of estrogen that a woman needs during pregnancy. Bobby said you'd had no problems other than nausea, vomiting, and some dizziness correct?"

Dean nodded. "I've been reading some of the books... you know about pregnancy and stuff."

Seth waited patiently for Dean to continue. "I just don't know how much really applies to me."

"I'll be honest with you, I'm not sure either, but we'll figure it out. So far, it sounds like a textbook female pregnancy. I'd say keep reading, it's all we have to base this one off on at the moment, and if we get some different things going on later we'll figure those out too," Seth assured.

They talked for a little longer and made plans to meet at Seth's office on Saturday afternoon. Dean was still a little nervous but he felt much better now that he had a doctor and would soon be able to check on the baby. Sam had already booted up the computer and was digging for all the medical files he'd been keeping since they'd started hunting again.

Dean wasn't at all surprised when Sam showed up in the bedroom later that night with a notebook and pen intent on cataloguing every scar so he could be as complete in his list making as possible.

Month Five

Now that he wasn't losing everything he ate, Dean had gained a few pounds. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that because he'd gone through puberty with very little weight gain, mostly because he was constantly training or hunting so he had no frame of reference.

On the one hand he knew it only looked like he'd had a couple cheeseburgers too many, but on the other it was starting to sink in that the pregnancy was not a dream. Of course, they were driving to see the doctor for the first time at his office so that made it a little more real.

Sam had made a list of questions to ask and Dean had added a couple of his own. Bobby had given them a folder with all the medical information he could remember about John and anything the man had said about Mary. Dean also knew most of John's information but was glad Bobby had put everything together for him.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked. He'd been watching Dean out the corner of his eye for the last several minutes.

"Yeah, just you know nervous. What if something's wrong with the baby because we're brothers?" Dean finally voiced his biggest concern.

"We'll deal with it, but I think everything's going to be fine." He had nothing to base that opinion on, but he was damn sure going to make it his job to see that it was true.

"Okay." Dean grew quiet again, slipping into his own head. He startled when his brother called his name to let him know they were at the doctor's office.

They'd parked around back where the staff parked and waited at the back door after ringing the bell. Seth opened the door shortly after and ushered them into his office. Sam handed him the medical file on his brother and Dean handed over the family history they'd been able to piece together.

"Bobby wasn't joking about your history was he?" Seth grimaced at the size of the file.

"Well hunting's not exactly easy on the body, and I've been doing it a long time."

"I'm sure it's not. When did you start, hunting I mean?" Seth asked as he pulled up the screen the office used for new patients.

Dean shrugged, "Not sure really, probably seven or eight. Course, I didn't do anything but hold the shovel, or the flashlight. Dad did show me how to light the matches."

Sam sighed at Dean's love of fire and focused on Seth who was trying to hide his disbelief. Dean was oblivious to the doctor's reaction though, the chart of the difference stages of fetal development had caught his gaze.

Dean looked at the pictures charting the babies' growth and his eyes tracked to the picture of the fifth month. The fetus in the picture had fingers and toes. The caption stated that there were now eyebrows and eyelashes on the baby.

"Will we be able to hear the heartbeat today?" Dean asked after reading the information on the chart.

"Depending on the baby's placement we should. I'm going to do an ultrasound today as well to see where everything is, so there's a chance you'll be able to not only hear the baby but find out if it's a boy or girl," Seth answered, taking a break from reading over Dean's file.

Dean swallowed thickly the full implication of his pregnancy and all it entailed. His hand automatically went to his stomach, stroking over the small swell that had taken up residence under his skin a couple of weeks back. He was so focused on the chart he didn't notice Sam watching him with a small smile.

Seth soon finished his cursory examination of the medical file and moved right along to drawing tubes and tubes of blood. Sam was a little worried that either the doctor had a blood fetish or they needed to check to make sure he wasn't some new fangled vampire.

"Doc, is there something you need to tell us?" Dean asked half joking.

Seth looked up, confused until he saw the look his patients face. "Sorry, I don't usually draw the blood. We usually take five vials in a regular pregnancy to test for different plasma proteins, hormones, and chromosomal disorders. The last test is an amniocentesis, but there is a small percentage of patients that have miscarriages after having one preformed.

"Then we won't be having that one," Dean stated firmly.

"Dean, maybe you want to hear what it determines before you veto it," Sam suggested cautiously. He didn't want to take the decision away from his brother but the results of all the tests would affect him as well.

"I know what it will tell, I've been reading. I just don't care if the baby isn't perfect. This is ours and that's all that matters to me. I know that's selfish, but I'm not going to take the chance of losing it, on the off chance there might be something wrong." Dean's voice had risen some and Sam was a little concerned that he'd upset the vial Seth was working on filling

"All right."

"All right? You're sure?" Dean asked a little suspiciously.

"We're just going to have to hope we pull the long straw on this one." Sam cupped the nape of Dean's neck in his palm and gently massaged.

Dean watched him for a minute before focusing back on the doctor. "So you said you usually take five. This makes seven." He gestured to the last vial.

"I have to have more in order to do the extra tests because you're brothers." Seth pulled the needle free and placed a cotton swab on the puncture wound and placed a strip of tape over it to hold it in place.

"Won't the lab throw up red flags if they get test results that show something like that?" Sam questioned.

"Well, normally in an incest case we'd do a CVS which is more invasive than an amnio and has a higher risk of spontaneous termination, but I wasn't going to suggest that before Dean's response to the amnio."

"Why not?" Dean asked, still shielding their baby with his hand.

"Because it's not an easy procedure and we've no idea what the baby is even contained in. You're already high risk, I'd prefer not to make it any higher." Seth finished sealing up the vials in the envelopes he's already set out. "The blood test I'm sending in Sam are really just extra testing for genetic disorders. These wouldn't necessarily be exclusive to incest victims. The lab wouldn't do anything except send them back. It would be up to the doctor and what state you're in how you'd handle it from there."

They waited for the doctor to finish cleaning up and then followed him into a room with several machines. "I figured we'd do everything in here today so I'd only have one area to tidy up."

Dean climbed onto the table and took off his shirt as requested. Seth felt along the edges of the small swell, before taking out a measuring tape and placing it at the top all the way to the bottom of the baby bump.

"This helps me track the baby's growth. Every time you come in, I'll measure to make sure you're in the normal percentile for growth, just like earlier when I weighed you. It tells me if the baby is growing by how you're gaining weight."

Dean nodded and waited for Seth to tell him what to do next. He felt nauseated but he figured that was probably from nerves, more than anything else.

"So far, the baby is running along the same parameters of a normal pregnancy." Seth picked up a bottle of gel and a small machine with a wand attached. "This is going to be cold," he warned right before he squirted a generous amount across Dean's stomach.

Dean sucked in a his breath on a quick gasp. "Jesus you're not kidding. Where do you keep that, in the freezer?"

Seth grinned. "No, but it feels that way doesn't it?"

Sam watched as Seth pushed the wand through the gel, spreading it around until it covered a large portion of Dean's stomach.

Dean was surprised by the press of the wand as Seth moved it across his stomach. It took some maneuvering but the doctor was finally able to track the baby to its hiding place. When the soft whoosh whoosh cut through the air, Dean released a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding.

"Is that the heartbeat?" Sam asked quietly in awe.

"Yeah, it's amazing isn't it?"

Dean heard his brother and the doctor talking but couldn't focus on what was being said, all his attention was focused on the rapid beat of his baby's heart. "Is it supposed to be that fast?"

"It's perfectly normal, babies heartbeats are pretty fast. There is, of course, debate on what sex the child is by how fast the heartbeats, but it's not a science. If we're lucky, you'll know in a few minutes anyway."

Dean nodded, almost grabbing Seth's wrist when he pulled the wand away and everything became quiet again. Sam caught his hand gripping it in his own and waited while the doctor fiddled with the larger machine in the room.

"It's been awhile since I've done one of these. Usually, we have a tech that does it, but I don't think I've lost my touch."

Dean jumped a little when Seth squirted some more of the freezing gel on his stomach, but otherwise remained still, waiting to see their baby for the first time. The wand was a little bigger and was curved so it would follow the rounded shape of a pregnant stomach.

They watched the screen as a black image appeared, grainy at first, but becoming clearer as Seth moved the gel around to help the conductivity.

"I'm going to check to see how your internal organs have shifted around Dean, so we know a little bit more about what we'll be dealing with. Once I get a good look at that, I'll focus in on the baby, okay?"

Dean and Sam both nodded, watching as the picture on the screen moved with the placement of the wand. Ten minutes later and a lot of odd noises from Seth they knew that the witch's spell had left Dean with a uterus that looked as if it had always been there. The doctor had taken numerous pictures of all the organs, where they had been displaced to, and where they should have been.

There had been some serious rerouting of functions and Sam felt a little more comfortable with the doctor when the only thing he seemed interested in was figuring out how best to help Dean and their unborn child. Seth explained that by taking the pictures he could become familiar with where everything was, since it looked as if a C-section was the only way the baby was going to be making its exit.

Dean had assumed that if he was going to get any extra female parts they would have appeared at the same time everything else had, but it was nice to hear it from the doctor anyway. They waited patiently while Seth finished up his exploration and were rewarded when he turned the volume up on the machine and their baby's heartbeat once again filled the room.

Seth moved the wand around, concentrating on one area until the image on the screen cleared and they could see their baby for the first time. Dean felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest. He had no problem seeing where everything was, and when the baby turned, they had a perfect view of one hand consisting of all it's little fingers.

"Did you want to know what the baby is?" Seth asked in a low voice.

Sam glanced down, looking at his brother who never took his eyes off the screen. "Yeah, I think we would."

"You're going to have a little girl."

Dean hadn't really thought about it too much, still trying to come to terms with being pregnant, but if he was honest, he'd have thought it'd be a boy. No real reason other than he had a small bit of experience raising a boy, and that had seemed to translate to his thoughts of it being a boy.

He cast a panicked look behind him, seeking Sam, "I don't know anything about little girls."

Sam didn't know anything about babies period, but he knew they couldn't both freak out. "I'm assuming they're not that much different when they're babies. By the time we have to worry about the whole girl thing, we should be old hands at it," Sam reassured.

"You think so?" Dean asked, looking back at the screen to see their little girl.

"Yeah, I think we can figure it out."

Month Six

Dean was almost finished with the classes for his GED and the translation for Professor Thompson was a couple of weeks from being complete. He had been spending time in several of the different shop classes on days he'd had to wait for the Professor to finish with classes or a meeting and he'd decided to try his hand at a few projects, that was if he could get around Sam's mother hen act.

Professor Thompson tried to convince Dean to enroll in classes once he finished his GED. So far, Dean had been able to dodge his attempts, but he'd have to come up with something to stall him soon. It wasn't that he hadn't been thinking about it himself, it was just that he knew he'd be out of commission for the rest of his pregnancy and however long it would take him to recuperate from the birth.

Dean groaned when Sam wrapped an arm around his waist and used his other hand to massage the balled up muscles in his lower back. They'd discovered the more weight Dean gained the more his back protested. Apparently, years of being thrown into walls didn't help at all when you had a growing bowling ball pulling down on the other side.

Dean placed both hands against the counter as Sam moved behind him to work on a particularly stubborn knot at the base of his back when a sudden sharp jab to his stomach shocked a gasp out of him.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked jerking away, afraid he'd hurt his brother somehow.

"Holy sh..crap!" Dean sputtered, looking down at his stomach.

"What is it?"

"I think she just kicked me," Dean answered before he took another sharp jab, this time in the side of his stomach.

"She's moving?" Sam asked in awe, turning Dean around so he could put his hands on his brother's growing stomach.

"No, she's beating the crap out of me." Dean lifted his shirt and watching his stomach as if it was going to attack him.

"Where?" Sam dropped to his knees and moved his hands over Dean's skin trying to find their daughter's movements.

Dean grabbed his hand and moved it to the side of his stomach just in time to take another shot. "I think it's an elbow, it feels sharp and pointy like yours," Dean grumbled, but the look of absolute fascination gave him away.

"Could be knobby knees like yours." Sam leaned forward and kissed the last spot he'd felt their baby girl.

"Hey!"

Sam grinned as he stood up and kissed his brother quiet. "I love your knobby knees."

Dean shot him a suspicious look before leaning up and giving his brother something else to love, when he pulled back he smoothed his shirt back down and slid into one of the dining room chairs. "I think I've felt her but it's not been like that before."

"Why didn't you tell me she was moving?" Sam asked, trying not to be upset that he'd missed it.

"Because I wasn't sure. It's not something I could feel on the outside."

Sam looked at him confused and Dean tried to think of a way to explain it. "It's like when you get nervous and you've got butterflies in your stomach. Well it's sort of like that except it's like little brushes of wings against the inside. Maybe like she was floating around like a guy in space and brushing up against me."

Sam nodded understanding what Dean was trying to explain but he had no real frame of reference himself. "Do you want to eat now or are you going to grab something later?"

"I'll grab something at the cafeteria. They have the best apple pie."

Sam rolled his eyes, "So did Chuck get back to you about that extra work?"

Dean shot him an irritated look. Ever since he'd called the Professor by his first name, Sam had been acting like a jealous husband, not that it didn't lead to some hot sex, but Sam was being a little ridiculous.

"Yeah, he said that he has some more pieces he needs translated for a book he's planning on doing and then there are a few of his professor friends that seem interested as well. He's got our email address so they can get in touch with me."

"He didn't give you any problem about doing it from home, did he?"

"Nope, I told him we had a surrogate and she was having some medical problems so I was going to be staying at home to help her out."

Sam was a little surprised Dean had mentioned the possibility of a baby, but he'd known they'd have to explain to someone at some point. Dean had come up with a great cover story, and it worked well with his need to stay at home.

"Was that all right? I figured we'd have to come up with how we got a baby somehow," Dean asked when Sam hadn't responded.

"No, that's a great explanation. I guess I knew we'd have to come up with something, just hadn't really given it much thought," Sam reassured.

"Okay, I've got to get going." Dean adjusted his position preparing to stand. "You want me to drop you at the library?"

"No, I'll drive. I picked up an extra shift at the grocery store."

"Sam."

"Dean. It's a short shift. I'll be home by ten."

"That's not the point and you know it."

Sam pulled his brother up out of the chair. "No the point is you've spent your whole life taking care of me, now it's my turn. After the baby's born, you can take care of us both. We're making ends meet and we've been able to put some aside so don't start stressing about things now. Seth said you can't afford to put any extra pressure on yourself."

"Fine, but I still don't have to like it," Dean grumbled.

Sam smiled as he followed his brother out the door.

Dean had been working in the wood shop over the last several weeks, practicing until he felt he knew what he needed to know. He'd been able to borrow most of the tools for his project from Bobby, but he'd spent a few dollars to buy the engraving tools he wanted so he could finish everything the way he'd planned.

Sam had painted all the rooms, refusing to let Dean anywhere near the house when he'd been doing it. He'd spent a lot of time in Bobby's shop, just not working on any of the cars. The older hunter had left him to it, only interrupting when he felt Dean needed to eat, rest or get warm, which was a little more common than he was comfortable with. He wasn't sure what to do with Bobby's passive aggressive mothering.

They'd picked a pale lavender to paint the baby's room. Dean had threatened to remove Sam's balls if he even suggested pink, blush or rose. Of course, Sam had found a couple of rugs in pale yellow and soft greens to throw on the hardwood floor. Dean had rolled his eyes but he secretly loved how it made the room feel warm and homey.

Dean had finished building, sanding, engraving and staining, and all he and Bobby had to do now was get his surprise to the house and in the room before Sam got there. Bobby had taken pictures of Dean with the respirator so Sam wouldn't kill him when he realized the things his brother had been working with.

When Sam finally made it home, Dean had worked himself up into a nervous frenzy. He hoped his brother would like what he'd done, but the more he thought about it the sicker he felt to his stomach. Sam found him squashed in the corner of the couch chewing his fingernails.

"Dean?" Sam pulled his coat and boots off, leaving both by the door. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Dean bluffed.

Unfortunately, Sam called it. "Bull shi..crap! You're about as green as you were the first two months when you were sick all the time. What happened?"

"Nothing, honest. I just did something you might not like."

Sam took a deep breath, trying to figure out what Dean could have done. He looked his brother over carefully but didn't see any injuries and there was nothing out of place in the house that he could see so far.

"Okay, why don't you tell me and let me decide if I don't like it before you get all worked up."

"I made something for the baby's room."

"Why wouldn't I like that?" Sam asked, truly confused.

"I thought you might get mad because I didn't include you," Dean mumbled.

Sam reached up and removed the thumb Dean was chewing from his mouth. "Why don't you show me what it is, so you can stop stressing out about it."

"Okay," Dean shuffled to his feet, leading the way to the baby's room. He pushed the door open and stepped to the side so Sam could go in first. Sam didn't say anything and Dean was already backing away. His hormones had been all over the place for the last few weeks and he felt an overwhelming desire to cry, which was just not cool at all.

Sam snagged his arm before he could clear the doorway. "You made this?" Sam asked, running his hands over the glossy finish of the crib.

"Yeah."

"When did you do it?" Sam couldn't take his eyes off the bed that Dean had made for their daughter. The wood was a cross between a pale blonde and a light brown, the stain that was used had brought out the natural color of the wood instead of masking it. There were designs carved into each of the ends and along the slats.

To anyone else, the spirals and circles would just be pretty decoration, but he'd picked out at least ten protective sigils and knew there were probably many more. "It's beautiful."

Dean relaxed, smiling as Sam inspected the symbols engraved into the wood. "I did it over at Bobby's. When I have to wait at the school, I hung out in some of the shop classes. The woodworking class looked interesting so.." Dean shrugged.

"You know," Sam turned and looked at his brother with a hint of mischief. "There's only one thing missing."

Dean searched the crib looking for what he could have forgotten, but he couldn't find anything. "What did I forget?"

"Not forgot, just missing." Sam smiled pulling Dean against him. "I think she might need a changing table to match the crib."

Dean snorted. "I knew you'd find something else for me to do." He let his weight rest on Sam. "I think I can do that."

Month Seven

Dean had gotten emails from several different sources looking for translations and Sam had been given a full time position at the library. Dean tried to get him to quit the grocery store but his brother said the discount would help when they had to buy milk and diapers. He couldn't fault Sam's logic, but he was starting to go crazy at home alone.

Which was why he found himself on Bobby's doorstep just hours after the man returned from a two week hunt. He'd already made the changing table and was contemplating a dresser, but he needed Bobby to get the wood. Sam had threatened to chain him to the bed Misery-style if he even thought about getting it himself.

Dean hadn't even made it into the living room when Bobby rounded the corner and drew up short. "Jesus boy!"

"What?" Dean asked, confused at Bobby's inspection.

"When I left I could just barely make out the baby, now it's like..." Bobby swung his hand in front of Dean's stomach.

"Like I swallowed a watermelon. I know," Dean moaned.

"Everything's all right though?"

"Yes, Seth says everything looks fine. All the tests came back within the acceptable range. He's watching my blood pressure and the swelling in my ankles but he says right now there's nothing to worry about."

"Good, that's good. I need to talk to Seth because I think I've found him a nurse."

"Why does he need a nurse?" Dean sat down, taking the bottle of water Bobby offered him.

"You didn't think he could do a C-section by himself did you?"

Dean sat back in his chair. "I hadn't honestly thought about it. Thinking about somebody cutting me open isn't high on my fun list. I guess I figured you or Sam would be there."

"Well, me and Sam aren't going to be all that impartial so he's going to need to have someone there to help him."

"So whose is this nurse? Do you trust her?"

"Yeah, I trust him. He was a medic in the military. Got all his certifications and things when he got out, works at the hospital in Sioux Falls."

"The nurse is a man?"

"Yep, his dad was a hunter before he didn't make it back from a hunt. Kid started his medic training young like you and your brother. He just took to it more, decided he'd be able to help more if he trained in it. He's been the go to guy around here the last several years when one of us gets the wrong end of the monster."

"So he's not going to freak and run when he sees me, or worse, sell the story to a tabloid?"

"No, he's a good guy, and then there's the matter of not wanting a Winchester hunting you down. The kid has no desire to be on your brother's top ten shit list."

"He said that?" Dean grinned.

"He was just happy you were the one pregnant, said he wouldn't be able to deal with you breathing down his neck if you and Sam's position was reversed."

"Why would he think I'd be any worse than Sam?"

Bobby looked at him like he'd grown an extra head, along with the belly. "You really don't know do you?"

"Know what?"

"Dean, there's not a hunter out there, unless they just got in the game, that doesn't know who the Winchesters are. Your daddy was a force to be reckoned with, your mom's family had been hunters for generations and you and Sam are legends in the hunter community. Your dad kept you two pretty isolated so even if you did come across other hunters, no one with any sense was going to approach either one of you, not if they wanted to walk away from the encounter with all his body parts."

Dean blinked, it was a little disconcerting hearing there were people out there that knew all about you and you had no clue who they were. "Should we be worried?"

"No, I can't think of any reason you should be. Hadn't you ever noticed the hunters you came across already knew who you were?" Bobby asked, a little surprised that neither of the boys had picked up on it before.

Dean shrugged. "No, not really, don't think I ever really thought about it. So what's this guys name?"

Bobby shook his head at Dean's change of direction, but followed his lead. "His name is Parker Davis, he's a couple years younger than you, I think. He used to go on hunts with his dad when he turned thirteen, went in the military at seventeen, and got out at twenty-two when his dad got killed. He finished up his schooling and he's been over at the hospital for about two years now."

"Does Seth know him?"

"No, their paths wouldn't typically cross. He's going to meet Seth before your next appointment, and then if things go well, you'll meet him after."

"Okay, I'll let Sam know tonight when he gets home."

"He still working at the grocery store?"

"Yeah," Dean sighed. "I tried to get him to quit, but he's only working three nights a week, and he's right, the discount will help."

"What have you been up to?" Bobby asked as he puttered around putting up his equipment.

"I've finished a couple of the jobs Chuck had for me and I'm almost done with the Mexican script one of the other professors needed help with. Sam took pictures of the crib and changing table to show the women he works with at the library and one of them showed her sister who works at a baby boutique and she wants to talk to me about making customized cribs and things."

"That's great Dean! Have you called her yet?"

"No," Dean rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why not?" Bobby asked, taking a seat again and focusing all his attention on the man in front of him.

"I don't know. I mean I did the one for us because I wanted to incorporate all the protective sigils and things. I never thought anyone else would see it, much less be interested in it."

"But they are, and for good reason. You should at least hear what she has to say."

"Yeah, maybe," Dean mumbled.

"So did you just come over talk?" Bobby asked, letting the topic go for now. He was sure Sam was doing a good bit of pushing from his end and he didn't want Dean to dig his heels in.

"I was going crazy at home, but I also need you to get me some more wood. I'm going to try and make a dresser, and you know how Sam is, he doesn't want me getting it," Dean complained.

"Damn right he doesn't, and neither do I. I'll run into town tomorrow and drop it by the house, just make me a list of what you need."

Dean glanced at his watch, noticing how late it was getting. He made the list, leaving shortly after so he'd get home a little before Sam. He'd put a roast on, but he still needed to finish everything up and he wanted it done when Sam got home.

"Dean?" Sam called as he pushed the door open.

"In here," Dean called from the kitchen where he was elbow deep in dishwater.

"Whatcha cooking, it smells great?" Sam asked as he flipped through the mail.

"That roast you brought home the other day. Should be ready in just a little while."

"Hey, you got a letter from the school." Sam waved the envelope around. "Want me to open it?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Dean?" Sam questioned.

"What is it?" Dean turned to see what Sam was talking about. "Oh."

"When did you take your GED?" Sam asked, looking down at his brother's diploma and certificate.

"That's why I was at the school to begin with. I just saw the job notice by chance. " Dean shrugged trying to brush it off.

"When did you take the classes?"

"I took those in the morning and then I worked on the translation in the afternoon."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sam watched his brother fidget and look anywhere but him. "Dean?"

"I don't know Sam, thought maybe you'd think it was a dumb idea."

Sam tried not to be hurt by the implication, he knew he had and still did pick on his brother. Sure he'd called him stupid on more than one occasion, and inferred it often enough, but he'd never really believed it. He was sure he wasn't the only sibling out there that had called his brother names.

Of course, he hadn't realized at the beginning just how low Dean's self esteem was. Ever since he'd gotten a true glimpse at what his brother believed about himself, he'd made sure not to do anything that would re-enforce that opinion.

"I think it was a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Sam dropped the mail on the table and pulled his brother closer so he could wrap his arms around him. "Have you thought about taking some college classes?"

"I thought about taking some of the woodworking classes, and maybe a couple of business classes," Dean mumbled into Sam's collar.

"Why the business classes?" Sam asked. Dean had always been good at math, but it wasn't something he would have thought his brother would want to sit through.

"Maybe if this lady really wants me to build her some furniture, it might be a good idea to know a little bit about business," Dean offered tentatively.

"I think you're right, and you'll be great at it," Sam encouraged kissing Dean on the top of his head.

Month

Dean moaned when Sam's hands fisted in his hair and his brother's cock slid further down his throat. He swallowed around the thick length, the feel and taste spurring him ever closer to his release.

"Dean," Sam gasped, his free hand reaching back to grab the headboard, his hips jerking up of their own accord.

Dean rolled the satiny weight of his brother's balls across his palm, saliva slicking the motion, the sound so dirty and so fucking hot!

Dean let his fingers drift further back, stroking the smooth skin behind Sam's balls, he relaxed his jaw and rode out Sam's frantic thrusts, swallowing down each and every drop of come that exploded across his tongue and down his throat. He pulled back slowly, licking each inch of skin clean until Sam whimpered and pulled at his hair a little more forcefully.

He grinned as he let Sam's cock slide out of his mouth. Dean straddled Sam's lap, leaning forward to steal a kiss, his tongue slipping in to tangle with his brother's. He moaned at the feel of Sam's hand wrapping around his leaking dick.

Dean rocked forward, his dick riding the tight tunnel of Sam's fist. Dean sucked Sam's thumb into his mouth when his brother ran it along his bottom lip. His breath hitched as Sam moved his hand in counterpoint to his thrusts, the slow sweet pressure building into wave after wave of come painting Sam's chest and stomach.

Dean collapsed forward as much as his stomach would allow. He moved closer as Sam wrapped an arm around him. His cock twitched as he watched his brother lick the come from his fingers. Dean groaned and hid his face in Sam's neck.

"We need to get up and take a shower." Sam nudged his chin against Dean's head.

"I don't want to move. I think you broke me," Dean whined.

"I broke you?" Sam asked, astonished.

Dean snickered. Ever since he'd hit his fourth month his libido had come roaring back. He'd always had a high sex drive but it was ridiculous how much and often he wanted his brother. It surprised him that either one of them could walk on any given day."

"You complaining?" Dean nipped at Sam's collarbone.

"Definitely not," Sam groaned as a wet tongue ran along his neck and sharp teeth caught his earlobe.

"Didn't think so." Dean's voice was smug.

"We need to get up or we'll miss our appointment with Seth." Sam shivered as Dean ran the tip of his tongue along the shell of his ear.

Dean dropped his head to Sam's shoulder. It really sucked having to be responsible sometimes. "Fine, but I get first shower."

"Okay, but I thought we could share one." Sam grinned as he walked past Dean bare ass naked.

It took a couple of seconds for Dean to close his mouth and follow his brother into the bathroom, slamming the door behind them.

Dean had no idea why but he was more nervous about meeting Parker than he'd been about meeting Seth. He figured it was the non-direct association he had with Bobby instead of like Seth who owed the older hunter a favor, or it could be the glowering picture of intense focus that was currently driving his baby.

Sam hadn't been all that thrilled about another person being involved with Dean's delivery, but he'd understood the need. He'd already informed Dean that he would be in his line of sight during the whole thing, and of course they both knew Bobby didn't want to be responsible if things went wrong, something else they understood completely.

Seth had met Parker the week before and called Dean to let him know that he really liked the kid and thought he'd be the perfect help in this particular case. They'd made his next appointment so that they could meet the new addition.

They pulled around back like they usually did, and were greeted by the sight of a stocky young man, with bright red hair. As they got out of the car and approached the seating area where the man was waiting they could make out numerous freckles. His eyes were an odd hazel that reminded Dean of wolf eyes.

The man stood, holding out his hand. "Name's Parker." He said.

Dean waited until his brother had introduced himself before taking the other man's hand and doing the same. He'd learned early on in his pregnancy that Sam got a bee under his bonnet if he didn't let Sam get a feel for strangers first especially after Seth had managed to get past him.

"Bobby said he needed my help on something hush hush and Seth clued me in a little on the overall medical side of things but it'd be helpful if I could hear it from you, seeing as Bobby wouldn't break your trust and Seth can't break the privacy laws."

Dean took a seat on one of the outdoor chairs, making himself as comfortable as possible. He finally looked up at Sam and realized his brother was going to tower over them the whole conversation if he didn't do something about it.

"Sam, sit down. I'm not getting a crick in my neck looking up at you while I tell this story." Dean waited until Sam had drawn up a chair next to his and looked Parker over.

"Did they tell you anything?" Dean asked, trying to decide where to start.

"Just that there was an unusual pregnancy and that they were going to need help with it. I'm assuming you're the pregnancy," Parker stated, glancing down where Dean's shirt had pulled tight across his stomach.

Dean glanced down and shifted to release the tight stretch of fabric. "Yeah, got hit by a witch's curse. Bitch tried to kill me, but I torched the book before she could finish. What we didn't know is that she got cut off at the surprise you're pregnant part."

Parker sat back and eyed them both. "I'm assuming that you've taken into account that the baby might not be a baby but something else entirely?"

Dean put his hand on Sam's arm when his brother looked like he was going to sail across the table, and looked back at Parker who seemed nonplused by Sam's aggression. "Yes, and we did every test there was that could be done with the baby still inside. Plus Seth has already done several ultra sounds and everything appears normal."

Sam was still vibrating in his chair and Dean knew his blood pressure was not going to be on the good side today. Just when Sam started to relax, Parker hit them with the baby daddy question.

"So I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess your gay, or at least bi in order for you to have conceived or was it an immaculate conception brought on by the curse?" Parker asked in all seriousness. There was no sarcasm and Dean could tell the guy had seen some things if he could take this in stride.

"Oh, I was an equal opportunity kind of guy, but I've been with someone for awhile now." Dean could feel Sam tense back up beside him.

"Mind me asking who the other father is?"

"She's mine," Sam growled.

Parker looked from one man to the other and then back again, when neither one of them cracked a smile he nodded and stood up. "All righty then."

Dean watched, understanding flash across the other man's face, but he never saw the judgment he'd been expecting to see. "That's it? You're not freaking out?"

"No, not really. I had to take some Psych classes in med school. What little I know about your life and how you were raised, it really doesn't surprise me. " Parker pushed the door open and preceded them down the hall.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sam asked, stopping in the middle of the walkway.

"Doesn't mean anything really, just that it's not uncommon for kids that rely on each other in the most extreme of circumstances to look to each other for everything, even the things that normal society labels as illegal or wrong."

"It doesn't bother you?" Dean asked, still unsure. Seth's reaction had been unusual to begin with but Parker's was like they'd told him it was going to rain tomorrow.

"Why should it? You're adults, it's your business. The only thing I have to know is are you taking care of yourself and what I can do to help you have your baby and both of you make it through okay."

Parker resumed walking, pushing through the door of their exam room, which was also where the scanner was. Seth looked up from the computer, glancing at each of them.

"Everything all right?"

"Yeah, we're good," Dean answered for both of them as he slid onto the bed.

Sam took his spot at the head of the bed, waiting as Dean pushed his jeans down over his stomach and lifted his shirt out of the way.

Seth took his time feeling along the sides of Dean's stomach, making sure everything was as it was supposed to be. Sam watched closely as each step was checked off the list. Dean wasn't sure if he was just biding his time until they could see their little girl again or if he was keeping an eye out so they didn't miss anything.

Dean gasped, turning his head to glare at Seth. "You could have warned me."

Seth grinned as he moved the wand around, spreading the gel out. "I could have but then we'd have had to listen to the whining."

"Make a note Sam, next harpy gets to eat Seth," Dean grumbled.

"Not even funny," Seth complained.

"Parker thought so." Dean grinned over at the nurse who'd tried to choke back his snicker, but failed.

"Keep it up and I'll be pulling the gel out of the freezer for real," Seth threatened right before he flipped on the sound so they could hear the baby's heartbeat.

They all listened to the tiny whoosh thump echo around the room, everyone quiet while Seth checked for anything out of the ordinary. Dean's head automatically turned towards the monitor when Seth started to zero in with the wand, pushing down a little harder to get a clearer picture.

Dean felt Sam's fingers in his hair, rubbing across his scalp as Seth found where she was hiding and a foot showed up followed by a tiny little butt. They all jerked around at the loud clatter, to discover Parker groping for the clipboard he'd dropped while never taking his eyes off the screen.

"First time seeing a baby via ultrasound?" Seth asked amused.

"Yeah, and on a guy no less, no offense."

Dean shrugged and looked back at the screen, but Sam continued to stare at the other man.

"It's not that I didn't believe you, it's just not something you can wrap your head around. The visual proof, though, is kind of staggering," Parker explained, positive he did not want to be on Sam Winchester's shit list.

"Sam." Dean tugged on his brother's sleeve without even looking back. "You know we'd be acting the same way if it weren't happening to us. Leave him alone."

Dean relaxed when Sam's fingers slid back into his hair. "Well, we know she's got all her toes. He pointed at the screen where their daughter had both her feet propped up. "She definitely got those from you."

He smiled, looking up at Sam, who was staring at the screen enthralled. It didn't matter how many times they saw her, they couldn't get enough and it still seemed surreal.

Seth gave them their next appointment and gave a heavy suggestion for Dean to stay off his feet as much as possible to help not only with his backaches but with the swelling in his ankles.

MONTH EIGHT

Dean hadn't felt well all day, but he'd done what he always did and soldiered through. As soon as Sam left for work, he slumped down on the couch and didn't move again until he heard Bobby's truck pull into the drive several hours later.

He hadn't quite made it to his feet when Bobby's key hit the lock and the door swung open.

Bobby took one look at him and pulled his phone out. Dean had no idea who the man was calling but he really hoped it wasn't Sam.

"Seth said to take you over to Parker's. He'll meet us there." Bobby bustled around, grabbing go bags, blankets and a pillow.

"Bobby I'm fine, my back just hurts," Dean complained as the man disappeared out the door, ignoring him completely.

"Boy, you look like you're going to fall over if a stiff wind blows through the door. Your back does more than hurt, and that rubbing you're doing tells me it ain't just your back," Bobby groused as he came back through the door.

Dean huffed and dropped his hand from where he'd been trying to massage the tightness in his stomach, letting Bobby take his arm and help him down the steps. "You didn't call Sam did you?"

The man's look of disbelief and exasperation told him that, yes, indeed he had called his brother.

"It's too early for her to come," Dean groaned as he sat back in the seat.

"Well, if we didn't know she was a Winchester before, we do now."

"We haven't even agreed on a name yet," Dean mused, looking down at his phone. He was a little surprised Sam hadn't already called.

"I told him to keep both his hands on the wheel. He knows I'll get you where you need to be," Bobby answered his unspoken thought.

They'd decided it would be wise to have an alternate birthing site in case the baby didn't wait until the scheduled C-section date. A pregnant man wouldn't be something they could explain at the local hospital, nor at his office. Parker had the room and half of what they already needed since he treated hunters when they were nearby and injured.

Parker met them outside, helping Dean out of the truck and up the steps. They had to stop twice when the pain became too intense to walk. They'd just made it to the door when Seth and Sam nearly collided in the driveway.

"Jesus Christ, neither one of them can drive," Parker observed.

"That's why I always drive." Dean grabbed hold of the railing, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Dean!" Sam scooped his brother up and followed Parker into a room near the back of the house.

"Sam, put me down. I can walk!"

"Yes you can, but it hurts you, so we're doing it my way. Why didn't you say anything this morning before I left?" Sam asked as he gently set his brother on the table.

"Because I just thought it was my typical back ache. " Dean watched as Seth and Parker started setting up machines and hooking things to each other.

"Sam, help Dean put this on, leave it open in the front, though," Parker requested as he held out the hospital gown.

"Why even bother, it's not like it's covering anything," Dean complained as Sam helped him out of his clothes and into the gown.

"Beats me." Sam waited with his brother as the two men started setting up the barrier to shield Dean from seeing his own surgery.

Bobby appeared at Sam's elbow, pulling him away so they could both scrub up and get into their own gowns and booties.

"We're going to do the epidural while they're out of the room." Parker moved behind Dean, while Seth to stood in front of him.

"You ever done this?" Dean asked, watching as they pulled all the equipment out of the sterile packs.

"A time or two. Now hold real still, you're going to feel a pinch," Parker warned.

When it was over and Seth had helped him lay back, he found Parker on the far side of the room. "That was more than a pinch, jerk."

"Yeah," The nurse agreed, grinning. "But it was a damn sight better than a bullet."

Dean thought about it a second. "That's true."

Sam reentered the room and Seth and Parker exited to scrub up themselves.

"Where's Bobby?"

"He's waiting so he can help them get ready. He'll be here," Sam reassured, pulling up a chair and sitting by his brother.

"Okay." Dean relaxed, Sam's presence and the absence of pain finally lulling him into a light sleep while he waited for things to start happening.

Fifteen minutes later, the three reappeared. Seth showed Bobby how to read the different monitors and told him what to watch out for.

Dean took a deep breath when Parker and Seth stepped up to the table. Sam ran his fingers through his hair since holding Dean's hand wasn't an option as both of his brother's arms were strapped down to keep him from making any involuntary movements.

"Dean, are you feeling anything?" Seth asked.

"No." Dean focused on Seth. "Are you poking me? Sam is he poking me?" Dean looked at his brother.

"I have to make sure you're numb before I go cutting on you."

Dean glared at the man for a few seconds, dropping his head back down on the bed. Parker circled around them to place a temperature indicator on his forehead.

"Dude, that's just wrong," Dean grumbled, trying to wriggle it loose by bunching his forehead up.

Parker just grinned, going to stand by Seth and waiting for the doctor to start.

"Dean, you're going to feel some pulling and tugging but you shouldn't feel any pain. If you do, let me know, don't try toughing it out."

Dean glanced over at Sam, and then back at Seth. "Okay, I'll let you know."

Several minutes passed and Dean felt the odd sensation of being moved and maneuvered without truly feeling it. He was so focused on the strangeness of it all, he almost missed Seth telling them they would be meeting their daughter very shortly.

"Bobby? Numbers okay?" Seth asked while Parker provided suction so he could see what he was doing.

"Everything's fine this side," Bobby assured, looking away from the monitors for the first time.

"Parker," Seth warned as he handed the man a squalling Winchester baby.

Dean took a breath he didn't even know he was holding as soon as the baby started crying. He heard Sam inhale beside him just before Parker placed the baby in his arms.

He watched as Sam stared down at the combination of their DNA, finally getting his first look at her when Sam lifted her up so he could see. Dean took the few seconds before Parker whisked her away to catalogue as much about her as he could.

Her hair was still wet but he thought it was going to be somewhere between Sam's darker color and his light. She had Sam's nose and chin, but he didn't know what color her eyes were because she'd decided the lights were to bright and hadn't opened them.

Bobby came and sat beside him when he won the argument over Sam staying with him or hanging out near the baby. They had discussed what to do with Dean's uterus on several visits. Seth had been worried about removing it unless something went wrong on the table, because of how Dean's organs had been moved around.

Dean finally opted just to keep it rather than test fate. With his luck, trying to remove it would bring about the part the witch had been trying to get to all along. Since there wouldn't be any sex for the next two months, Seth was going to monitor his hormone levels and try and come up with a birth control if the results said one was necessary.

Seth finished closing the incision, stapling him back together as Bobby talked to him to keep his mind off what was going on behind the shield. They both looked up when Sam came back to his side.

"Parker's going to put her on some oxygen. He said it's just a precaution until Seth can get over there to do her tests and things. He said her coloring is good though so he's sure she won't stay on it."

Dean nodded, even as his eyes started to slip shut. Sam and Bobby automatically looked up at his vitals, but everything was still holding strong.

"It's a side effect sometimes. Once the adrenaline and stress of the procedure wears off and they know that the baby is okay, the body goes into a mini shut down. Let him nap, I'll check on your daughter and then we'll get him moved over into the guest room."

"How long do we need to stay here?" Sam asked. He knew neither he nor Dean would relax until they were at home.

"I want to monitor him and make sure he doesn't develop a fever. If he and the baby are doing well over the next several hours then I'll let him go home because I know Bobby will be there to help you get them both settled.

An hour later, Dean was lying in Parker's guest room with their baby tucked up beside him. He hadn't taken his eyes off her since Sam had placed her there. Seth finished all her tests, including sticking the heel of her foot to do blood tests, the whole house knew what she thought of that indignity.

Seth had asked Sam if he'd like to help give her, her first bath, and after some serious prodding and a boost of confidence from Dean, he not only gave their daughter her first bath but even dressed her.

Dean inhaled the intoxicating scent of baby shampoo and lotion, and watched as tiny eyelashes flickered before opening to reveal green eyes a little darker than his own.

"We've really got to give her a name," Sam whispered. He wasn't even sure why he was whispering, it just seemed like the thing to do.

"She looks like a Lillian." Dean ran his finger over her cheek.

"We could call her Lilli," Sam offered, finally looking away from the baby and at his brother.

"Yeah, I know you liked Brooke..." Dean trailed off, as the baby started making sucking noises.

"You're right, though, she looks like a Lilli. We can use Brooke as her middle name."

"Okay, can you get her bottle? I think she's getting hungry." Dean watched as the little lips puckered up and started to quiver.

Sam made a beeline for the kitchen, nearly knocking Bobby over who was coming through the door carrying a bottle of water and some pills.

"Where's he going?" Bobby asked.

"To get a bottle." Dean tried to shift into a sitting position, gasping as the pain in his stomach shot fire through the rest of his body.

"You know better than that," Bobby grumbled helping Dean sit up and situate the pillows before handing him the pills and water. "Take those and then I'll hand you the Sprite.

Dean did as ordered even though he wasn't thrilled about it. He knew the pills would make him sleepy and he didn't want to miss a second of their daughter's first day.

"Did you choose a name?" Bobby asked, scooping up the feather light bundle and settling her in Dean's arms.

Dean caught movement at the door and glanced up to where Sam was hovering just the other side of the door frame.

"Bobby, meet Lillian Brooke Winchester. Lilli, meet your granddaddy."

Bobby looked up shocked, meeting and holding Dean's eyes before swallowing thickly and looking down at the little bundle of Winchester.

"Hey there, Lilli Bell."

Epilogue

"Daddy, daddy!" Lilli yelled as she ran towards the front door.

Dean watched as Sam reached down and plucked their three year old off the floor, her little legs still running in place.

"Papa!" Her exasperated squeal was followed by the sound of a raspberry being blown on her stomach while her giggles ratcheted higher.

Sam opened the door, thankful that Bobby was prepared for the squirming mess that he was trying to hold onto.

"Grandaddy!" Lilli lunged out of Sam's arms and into Bobby's.

"Hey sprite." Bobby nodded his head at the packages on the doorstep.

"I'm not a sprite, I'm your Lilli Bell." The little girl eyed her most favorite person outside of her daddies.

"You are, are you? Well then I guess those presents might be for you then."

"Weally?" Lilli whispered in an awe filled voice as she looked over at the stack of packages that both Dean and Sam were taking into the living room.

"Maybe, we'll have to see once we finish dinner." Bobby followed Dean into the kitchen, putting Lilli in her booster chair.

"You know she's only three, right? She's going to pick one thing and play with it for eternity and the rest of them are going to go to the island of misfit toys."

"Not no misfis," Lilli grumbled from her seat as she watched her Papa pull the pizzas out of the oven.

"Oh really?" Dean slid into the seat beside her. "What happened to that big block set I remember you getting."

Bobby watched the little girl's chin come up and tried to hide the grin that he knew was getting bigger by the second. She looked more and more like Dean every day with blonde hair, and bright green eyes. She was so fair they all traveled with at least one bottle of sun protection at all times, but every day she seemed to have collected a few more freckles.

Lilli had Sam's nose, which he took every opportunity to tweak and her dimples charmed more than one scoop of ice cream out of the local restaurants, but her attitude was all Sam. Bobby figured if anyone knew how to deal with a replica of Sam it was Dean.

"Daddy tooked it to the book place."

"Yes he did, but why did he take it to the library?"

"So Timmy could play," Lilli answered referring to her best friend in the whole wide world. Sam always took Lilli with him on reading circle day and Timmy Johnson was always there.

"No, he took them there because you never played with them, and he thought it'd be nice to let the other kids have something to play with.

"Still no misfis," Lilli grumbled under her breath.

Sam broke the stalemate by sliding Lilli's plate in front of her. He'd already cut her piece into small bite size portions.

Bobby decided a change of subject was needed. "Who did your hair?"

Lilli twisted around to give him a good look at the braid she was sporting. "Daddy did it." She announced proudly.

Dean shrugged when Bobby looked his way. "I got Shelia to show me the last time I took her with me to the shop. One of us had to figure it out, and I was always better with rope and knots than Sam was."

Bobby would have loved to witness Dean learning to twist hair into submission so he could do it for Lilli. He'd never had any doubt that both his boys would be great parents but they took to it like it was their sole purpose in life.

Dean still did translations for several of the professors, and took work from other sources as well. He'd finally called the lady at the baby boutique, and had been making furniture for the shop ever since he'd gotten back on his feet from the delivery.

Sam had gone back to school and had one more year before he'd graduate with a degree in business law. He still worked at the library full time, but he'd gotten a grant his second year back in school so he'd been able to quit the grocery store.

Bobby had known they wouldn't be able to walk away from hunting completely. Neither one of them could stand the thought of not doing what they could to keep people safe, but they weren't willing to put their daughter in danger either.

Sam had set up a website. On the face of things, it was a site for folklore and information on all sorts of charms, sigils and spells for protection. They'd had anyone from kids fooling around to directors looking to make their sets authentic looking to writers researching books, and students writing papers.

The site charged a small monthly fee to visit, and they'd both been asked to visit movie sets to consult on the occult for a much higher fee. The boys used that money to run the secret portion of the site that only hunters were privy to. Dean had collected copies of journals from numerous hunters and he and Sam had consolidated all the information into a hunter's dictionary to everything evil and how to kill it.

Bobby could only imagine how many lives they'd helped save even though they weren't physically hunting themselves. Once the hunting community realized who was running the site, they'd been inundated with information, every hunter vying to prove they knew something the other didn't, and in many cases it was true.

"I think it's beautiful, Lilli Bell. Your daddy did a mighty fine job.

Dean grinned as he took a bite of his pizza, looking at each of the people at the table. He'd never envisioned having a family of his own, knowing that if he made it to thirty it'd be a miracle. He certainly never thought an encounter with a witch would give him everything he'd craved for as long as he could remember. The spell the witch wove turned out to be not a curse after all, but the most precious gift he could have ever asked for.