Sweet Child of Mine

"For now we can stick to the liquids like pop and Shirley Temples, but as soon as your teeth start coming in I'm gonna show you just how awesome sweets are," Gabriel cooed down at their new daughter as he stepped through the front door of his and Sam's house, bringing her home for the first time. She smiled up at him, gurgling in response as her wings flapped unconsciously behind her, happy to have her daddy's full attention. "There's chocolate and gummy bears and caramel and ice cream and—ooh, I bet we could get you started on mousse before too long. You'll love mousse. It's like baby food only delicious!"

He heard his overnight bag from the hospital hit the floor behind him and Sam's heat curled comfortably against his back as he looked over Gabriel's shoulder at their daughter, Jo-Anna Mary Ellen. One long arm came around to help cradle her head as the other wrapped around Gabriel's waist. "You are not turning her into a diabetic before she even has teeth," he murmured in Gabe's ear.

"She won't be a diabetic; she's half angel," Gabe argued, jostling her again to watch her wings flap. He loved the way it made her giggle.

"She's also half human. Give it a rest with the sugar."

Gabriel pouted up at him even though he knew he had no chance of matching his partner's famous puppy eyes. "If you really loved me—"

"No," Sam interrupted firmly, moving his hand from Gabriel's waist up to cover his mouth. Of course, with the size of his giant paws it covered the entire lower half of Gabriel's face, cutting off his air and making him shiver at the flashes of intimate memories the gesture evoked. "Nu-uh. I'm not going to fall victim to your sugar-coated, woe-is-me act again. That's how we ended up with a chocolate fountain built into the kitchen counter. Which, by the way, we are getting rid of before she's old enough to reach it by herself. She's going to start off on formula and baby food just like every other baby, unless there's some specific angel dietary needs you haven't told me about. And don't say sugar," he cut Gabriel off as he felt him open his mouth to respond.

Sam dropped his hand and gave Gabriel a quick peck on the lips before easing their daughter from his arms. "Don't listen to your Papa, Jo. Daddy loves you both very much. And you don't want any of that sugary stuff anyway. Not until you can walk at the very least."

Gabe perked up at that. "Does flying count?"

Sam rolled his eyes but gave in to his partner's pleading look. "Fine. No sugar until she can either walk or fly. Happy?"

Gabe gave one of his patented Trickster grins and eased Jo-Anna back into his own arms, unwrapping the blanket from around her. Sam flinched a couple times with aborted motions to reach out and support her, but caught himself in time to pull back, trusting Gabriel to keep her safe. A brilliant smile was his reward as Gabriel eased her to an upright position, dropping the blanket unceremoniously to the floor beside him.

"Ok, sweetie," Gabriel crooned, bouncing her up and down so that her wings automatically started flapping. "Let's show Daddy just how special your angel mojo makes you."

He bounced her higher until her wings started flapping in earnest, then suddenly let her go, holding his arms beneath her protectively as she hung suspended in the air between them, supported only by the hesitant beating of her own wings. He let her fly on her own for a few seconds before snatching her out of the air and spinning her in a circle, her squeals of delight mixing with his full-bodied laugh. He touched his forehead to hers, a gesture as sweet as any kiss, before turning back to Sam, who stood dumbfounded and terrified.

"I…She…She's not even a week old! Even baby birds can't—"

Gabriel cut him off with a mock scowl. "We're a bit more evolved than birds, thank you very much." He gave her a huge, smacking kiss on the forehead before swooping down to grab the blanket from the floor, wrapping it around her haphazardly before turning back to Sam with a grin once more lighting up his features. "Flying is as instinctive as breathing to angels. We can do it from the moment we're made. Probably has something to do with being non-corporeal entities or something." He shrugged, unconcerned.

Sam continued to gape at him. "But she's not an angel, Gabriel. She's half human! Did you even stop to consider how that might affect her development? What if she hadn't been able to fly on her own? You could have dropped her!"

Gabriel's expression spoke volumes, telling the tale of a highly intelligent being who was put-upon by the inane questions of a simpleton. Sarcasm wove its way in and out of his words. "No, really? I had no idea. It never occurred to me that she was different." He glared at his partner. "Of course I considered it, Sam! Do you think she's the only angel-human hybrid? Their development is well documented if you know where to look. I was sure she would be fine, or I would have never tried letting her fly."

Sam blinked at him. "Oh… But I could never find any information on them before." He sounded genuinely wounded that his research skills had not procured the desired material.

"Because most of it is in Enochian and not available to the general public." He jostled their daughter to hear her giggle yet again—he never got tired of that sound; it rivaled even the choirs of his brothers—then smiled up at Sam, clearly forgiving him for being snappy. "Not that there's anything general about you, sweets."

An answering smile drew across Sam's face as he stepped forward, slowly kissing Gabriel in apology. He broke the kiss but didn't step away, instead turning his smile down toward the squirming baby girl between them and resting a giant hand under her back to calm her. "So, Professor Gabriel," he murmured, "what can you tell us about the future development of our daughter?"

Gabe bumped his head against Sam's shoulder affectionately as they stared down at their daughter together. "Oh, we are definitely incorporating that 'Professor Gabriel' comment into our sex life," he smirked as Sam rolled his eyes, but then turned more serious. "She'll develop much more rapidly than a human baby and almost as fast as an angel. My estimate? She'll be toddling around the house within six months and flying steadily within three."

Sam gaped at him, obviously starting to panic. "So fast? But…how are we supposed to raise her like that? She won't be able to have any play dates. We won't be able to enroll her in any day care or join parenting groups. They'll notice if she grows up that fast! Gabriel, being around other kids is an integral part of a child's development; if we can't give her that she won't be able to learn how to properly interact with other kids, have problems sharing and understanding teamwork, not to mention—"

Gabriel laid a single finger against Sam's lips, silencing his panic attack. "Breathe, Sammy. Honestly, did you really think she would be able to hang with the human kids with a pair of shiny wings sprouting from her back?" He paused momentarily to let Sam gape at him, but not long enough for him to formulate an answer. "No, she won't be able to have play dates with the humans, but like I said, she isn't the only one of her kind. Other hybrid parents have run across the same problem, and a lot of them meet up regularly so that their children can be around their own kind. It's just like a normal play date, just with more feathers." He grinned cheekily up at Sam, thankfully seeing some of the tension melting from his shoulders. "And besides, she'll have some of her own little playmates around here before too long."

Sam stared blankly at him long enough for Gabriel to realize what he had said. Suddenly he was very interested in fixing their daughter's blanket.

"Gabriel," Sam drew his attention back to him. "What do you mean by that."

Gabe looked a bit like an animal staring down a pair of headlights. "You can't tell Dean," he blurted out before snapping his lips shut, trying to keep any other confidential information from escaping.

Sam continued to stare at him blankly for a moment before it clicked. "Cas?" Gabriel flinched slightly and Sam knew he was right. "Castiel is pregnant? And he hasn't told Dean?"

Gabe's look told him he was seriously questioning Sam's IQ. "You know how flustered he gets around Dean, especially when he's trying to figure out how to say something important. Not to mention that Dean would start flitting around like an overprotective mother hen as soon as he knew, and it would drive Cassie crazy. He's just…biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity."

"He knows the longer he waits, the more pis—ticked Dean is going to be, doesn't he?"

There was something slightly malicious in the note of glee in Gabriel's voice. "Oh, he knows. He's just hoping Dean will be so caught up in the news that he doesn't think too much on the timing." Gabe turned to grin up at Sam, but it turned into a yawn halfway there.

Sam's worried expression melted into something much softer as he laid a hand against the small of Gabriel's back. "It's been a long day. Why don't you take her upstairs and get her changed for bed. I've just got to put some things away down here and then I'll be right up so we can tuck her in."

Gabe bumped his head against Sam's shoulder again in grateful acknowledgment and turned toward the stairs, taking it slow as his body reminded him what he had been through in the last few days. He stopped on the upstairs landing, hearing the rustle of papers downstairs. Sam must have been going through the folder of papers the hospital had sent them home with, a collection of release papers, prescriptions, pamphlets on childcare, her new birth certificate—

Gabe grinned as Sam's disbelieving cry made it's way up the stairs.

"Jo-Anna Mary Ellen Candy Winchester? Seriously, Gabriel?"