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“Yeah?” Dean answered without even looking who it was.
A female voice came through the phone, sounding not quite frantic but definitely a bit stressed “Dean? Dean Winchester, is that you?”
Dean glanced at the phone, a bit more awake now, reading the phone number which wasn’t recognized by his caller ID. “Yeah, that’s me. Who’s this?”
“It’s Catherine, I don’t know if you remember me, five foot ten, blonde hair, we met last year in April at the bar in Holdrege, Nebraska.”
Dean frowned, trying to remember which demon or ghost they were hunting back then.
It apparently took him to long too respond; because Catherine sighed in his ear “You don’t remember do you?”
Now that offended Dean, that wasn’t fair, he just woke up and it was more then a year ago. He usually remembered his one night stands… well the good ones if he wasn’t to drunk. And he told her just that… the first part at least.
“Just give me a minute to think.”
And a minute was all he needed. He and Sam were there hunting a couple of vampires that had moved into town a month earlier causing several mysterious deaths. After killing the vamps, they celebrated with a few drinks and a woman for him before moving on to their next case.
A smile came to Dean’s face as he remembered that night; it was a good night indeed. “Yeah, okay, I remember now, we had a good time.”
He looked up when Sam walked in the room with a towel around his waist and his hair still wet. He waved off Sam’s raised eyebrow in silent question of who was on the phone, while Catherine mumbled something like, “Yeah, it was a good night.”
She continued, the stress again obvious in the voice. “I really need your help Dean, please tell me that you’re in the area.”
“Actually I am, we’re in Fort Morgan, Colorado, and we can be there in about four hours. What’s up Catherine, are you okay?”
She ignored the question. “Good, please come, get a room at the same motel you stayed in last time, I’ll meet you there in four hours.”
“Now hold up here Catherine, tell me what’s wrong. You can’t just expect us to drop what we’re doing and come to you without any indication of why?”
Catherine gave a frustrated sigh “I wouldn’t have called you if anyone else could help me, just come, please, I need you.” And with that she hung up.
Dean started at the phone is disbelief.
Sam in the meantime had gotten dressed, and was now toweling his hair while sitting on his bed, listening to the one-sided conversation. “I’m thinking that that’s exactly what she expects.”
*********************
After a quick shower, while Sam went out for coffee, they got in the car and drove to Holdrege. The first half of the trip Dean was grumpy, mumbling things like, “This better be a life or death situation” and “She could have just told us what was wrong.”
This lasted until Sam said with a smile, “You must have been something, if she still had your number after all this time.”
That of course perked Dean right up, shooting back a, “Of course I am,” to his brother. It shut Dean up for the rest of the trip, which was exactly what Sam anticipated when he said it.
Four hours and five minutes later Dean had the key to the same motel room they stayed in last time, and he was driving the Impala around back to park in front of the room. As he and Sam got out of the car he saw Catherine waiting for them in front of the door, still looking as beautiful as last year, with a bundle in her arms and a bag at her feet.
Dean left Sam to pick up their bags from the trunk and walked over to Catherine.
“Hi Dean, thanks for coming, you’re a live-saver.” she said with a tired smile. Then she handed him the bundle she was holding. “This is Sara-Jane, and yes, she is yours.”
Dean looked at the baby he was now holding, she looked maybe six months old, wrapped in a baby blanket, just like Sam was when his dad handed him to Dean to take him outside all those years ago. He looked back at Catherine in shock, while she just kept on talking.
She had picked up the bag and gave it to him as well “In here is everything you’ll need. I’ll pick her up here tomorrow around this time. Thanks again.” And with that she walked off.
Dean, still in shock, looked at the baby again, then at Sam who had joined them just as Catherine walked away, and then at Catherine who was getting in her green SUV just three parking spots way. “But… Catherine wait!” His protest was ignored as she shut the door and drove of without even looking back.
“Dean?” Sam questioned, getting Dean’s attention away from Catherine’s SUV that was now driving out of sight.
“What? Oh… uh… yeah. Sam this is your… well your niece Sara-Jane, according to Catherine anyway.”
Sam looked at Sara-Jane, who looked back at him with interest. “She’s got your eyes.”
“She does?” Dean looked at the baby again, for the first time really looking at her. Two green eyes stared back at him. “Uh, yeah, I guess she does.”
“Give me the key and let’s get everything inside”.
*****************
Dean was sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard and Sara-Jane in his arms without her blanket around her. She was perfect according to Dean, he had even counted all ten toes and fingers, just to check.
Sam in the mean time had taken all the bags inside and salted the windows and the door opening. He was now sitting on his bed, looking at Dean. “What are you going to do?”
“Take care of her of course.”
Sam was surprised that Dean was taking this so well and apparently it showed on his face.
“Don’t look at me like that; I took care of you just fine didn’t I? Sure I was four when I last took care of a six month old, but I bet it’s just like riding a bike, you never forget how to.”
“Uh, Dean, you’ve never ridden a bike,” Sam said with a smile. He knew that Dean was right. Their dad didn’t leave them alone back then as he had when they were older, but he was too distracted half of the time to take care of them, so Dean took care of Sam and himself.
In response Dean just rolled his eye.
“Catherine will be back to pick her up tomorrow afternoon, right?” Sam questioned.
“Yeah, that’s what she said.” Starting to look worried, taking care of Sara-Jane for a day is one thing. “I mean, why wouldn’t she pick up this beautiful baby tomorrow, right?”
Sam felt that there was no point in worrying about it now. Most likely she would be here tomorrow as promised. “She’ll be here.” He nodded to Dean and picked up the bag Dean got from Catherine “Let’s see what’s in her bag.”
A few minutes later the bed was filled with baby products, such as clean clothes, milk powder, bottles, baby food, some toys and a note with the number of a pediatrician.
“Catherine seems like a good mom, Sara-Jane looks health and happy,” Sam observed. “I wonder what happened that she needed you to watch her for the day.”
“Don’t know, I’ll ask her tomorrow.” Dean picked Sara-Jane up with both hands and held her high above him playing airplane. As he had hoped, she started giggling. After a minute he sat her back on his lap. “Pick up some of those toys Sam, and come play with us before it’s time for her lunch and a nap. If I’m only going to have twenty-four hours with her, I’m going to make the most out of it.”
Sam picked up a colorful rattle and a white stuffed bunny and sat next to Dean on the bed. Sitting here, playing with Dean’s daughter was not something he could have imagined doing today, but now that she was here, he, like Dean, wasn’t going to waste a minute of it.
They played for about an hour before giving Sara-Jane her bottle and putting her down for a nap. Dinner was quite a challenge; only about half of the mashed peas ended up inside of Sara-Jane, the rest was on her clothes, her face, in her hair, and Dean didn’t look much better either.
The whole day was pleasantly domestic and both Dean and Sam loved every minute of it.
*****************
Before they knew it, it was already eleven AM the next day and Catherine knocked on the door to pick up Sara-Jane, as promised.
Sam let her in, but kept the door open “I’ll let you two talk, I’ll be outside.” Dean nodded his thanks, and Sam closed the door behind him.
The room was a mess, with toys and clothes all over the place, but Sara-Jane was bathed and dressed in clean clothes.
Catherine walked over to the bed where Dean and Sara-Jane were sitting, picked her up and hugged her. “Hi sweetie, did you have fun?”
Dean got up and started putting Sara-Jane’s stuff back in the bag. “I think she did, she seemed happy. She’s a great baby Catherine, hardly cried and slept through the night.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty easy most of the time.” Catherine said as she sat down on Sam’s bed with Sara-Jane in her lap. “Thank you for taking good care of her. I’m sorry that I pushed you into this; I was in a rush and didn’t want to explain everything just then.”
Dean finished up packing and sat down on his bed facing Catherine. She looked less stressed then yesterday. “It’s all right. I’m glad to have had the chance to meet her and spend some time with her. But why did you call me now, and not when you found out that you were pregnant or when she was born?”
Catherine sighed and stayed silent for a minute, looking at Sara-Jane as if she was gathering strength from her. “I was engaged when we spent that night together; I got married a month later. David, my husband, thought that Sara-Jane was his and I never told him otherwise. I was afraid that he would leave if he found out. Two weeks ago, Sara-Jane was pretty sick, we took her to the doctor and he did some blood tests. He told us her blood type, which is when David found out that she couldn’t be his daughter. He was furious, kicked us out that afternoon. I have no family in town, but we could stay with a friend. In the last two weeks David has been blabbing the story of my betrayal all over town, disgracing me. It’s a small town, everyone knows now; they look at me and Sara-Jane like we’re trash, even my so called friends. Yesterday afternoon and this morning I arranged my divorce, and everything I needed to leave this town forever. I called my mom, I hadn’t talked to her in years, but she was happy to hear from me and Sara-Jane and I are welcome to stay with her for as long as we need. She lives in Parsons, Kansas. It’s not too far from here, if I leave now I can be there before sunset.”
Catherine stayed silent for a moment looking at Sara-Jane in her arms. “She’s got your eyes,” she said with a small smile.
Dean just nodded. “I noticed.” He couldn’t blame her for not letting him know he had a daughter, it’s not like he would have stuck around to raise her. Catherine had a chance to give Sara-Jane a real family, and she took it. To bad that it all fell apart.
Catherine looked at Dean, both sadness and gratitude in her eyes. “Again, thank you so much for coming and taking care of her, I didn’t want to leave her with anyone in this horrible town.”
Dean shrugged “No problem.” He looked at Sara-Jane and then down to his hands in his lap. “Catherine, could I… would it be all right if I… well if I stop by to spend some time with Sara-Jane every now and then?” He looked up at Catherine hoping she would say yes. One day with his daughter was more then long enough for him to love her. He couldn’t give up hunting and play fulltime dad, but he did want to be part of her life.
Catherine looked down at Sara-Jane, who was babbling and smiling at her. And she looked back at Dean with her own smile on her face. “We would like that; we would like that very much.” She went through her purse and pulled out a pen and paper. “This is my mother’s address and my cell number. Just call before you drop by.”
Dean took the piece of paper and put it in his pocket. Later he would put the info in this phone, in Sam’s laptop and put the note in dad’s diary, so that he’d never lose it. “Thanks.”
Catherine got up from the bed and picked up Sara-Jane’s bag. “We really should go now; my mother is expecting me.” She turned to Sara-Jane who she was holding with her left arm. “You go and say goodbye to daddy, while I’ll put your bag in the car.” With that she handed her to Dean. “Is that all right? If she calls you daddy? She’s so young, she won’t remember David anyway. It’s alright if you’re not comfortable with.…”
Dean interrupted her, a proud smile on his face. “It’s fine, she can call me that, though she has yet to learn how to talk.”
Catherine walked out the door to her car, and Dean slowly followed, all the while talking to Sara-Jane, not taking his eyes off of her. How fast life could change, how fast such a little creature could worm a way into his heart. Outside, Dean first walked to Sam who was leaning against the wall, so that he could say goodbye to his niece. Then he walked to Catherine’s car and gave Sara-Jane a kiss on her cheek. “I don’t know when I’ll see you again, but I’ll try to come and visit as often as possible. I love you baby girl, bye.”
With that he handed her over to Catherine, who buckled her up in the child seat in the back. “Thanks again, Dean, for everything.” She hugged him, and waved at Sam before getting in the drivers seat and driving off.
Dean didn’t know how long he stood there staring in the direction where the green SUV drove off, before Sam put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. She gave me her new address and phone number, and said I could drop by whenever we’re in the area.” He looked at Sam “I’ve got a daughter, Sam, I’m a father.” he said with wonder and happiness in his voice, the fact of it all finally settling in.
Sam, happy to hear that they could be a part of Sara-Jane’s life, squeezed Dean’s shoulder. “Yes, Dean, you’ve got a beautiful daughter.” Now it was time to get back to work and kick some demon butt. But he would make sure to find an excuse/job that would take them to Parsons, Kansas at least a handful of times per year. No way was he going to miss watching his niece grow up and, better yet, watching Dean play dad.
The End. |