Two Men and A Little Baby

(Ref: The places are real, the people aren't.)

The trip from Oklahoma all the way up to South Dakota was a truly memorable one and not all for good reasons. Somewhere between Kansas and Nebraska, everything went to hell in a handbasket. First of all, Sam and Dean had to pass through Lawrence, Kansas, their birthplace and hometown. Not a word was spoken as they made a detour and passed through the local cemetary, even as Dean slowed the Impala and they stared longingly at Mary Winchester's gravesite. And then they drove by their childhood home, which still looked the same as the last time they'd seen it and saved the family inside from the same fate as the Winchesters. The silence that followed for two more towns up was deafening, filled with unseen ghosts, demons, and bittersweet memories for both. It wasn't until they were sitting in a Trails Cafe up in Holton, Kansas that the worst happened.

"Dean?" Sammy asked from across the table. Dean looked up from a half-eaten breakfast, questions in his eyes. "Does she feel a little warm to you?" Dean set the fork down, reached across and brought his fingertips lightly across the baby's forehead. The expression on his older brother's face told Sam all he needed to know. "I thought so, how high do you think it is?" Sam asked again as he set the empty bottle on the table, bringing the baby up over his shoulder to burp her. He could hear two ladies sitting in the booth behind him giggling and talking about how cute she was, how pretty her big brown eyes were. "I don't know, Sammy, did you get a thermometer that night?" Sam shook his head and Dean shoved his plate aside, both hands reaching out once the little girl belched and Dean brought her to him, resting his cheek against her forehead. When she fussed over it, he murmured quiet, soft words to her and the scene left Sam with an amazed grin on his face, shaking his head. "I don't think it's too bad, yet. We gotta find something we can give her to..." Dean happened to look up and see Sam's expression. He frowned almost immediately. "...get the fever down. What? Dude, will you quit lookin' at me like that? People already think we're gay!" Dean hissed in order to keep his voice down. And if he hadn't been holding the baby at that moment, Sammy's laughter would have brought out more than just an angry growl as they got ready to leave.

Since they couldn't chance traveling with a sick baby, they both agreed to stay in the Super Eight for a couple of days, just until the dangers passed. Dean opted to stay with her in the room and bathe her down with cool cloths while Sam went down to the local grocery and filled the cart with everything he could think of that babies could use when they were sick. When he returned to the motel room, Dean looked up from where he was laying next to her on the bed. "Sam, I thought you were just goin' for a thermometer and some Motrin. What the hell did you do, buy out the entire baby section?" Sam set the bag on the table and started setting everything out, from what Dean mentioned all the way down to the cutest little stuffed blue bunny he'd ever seen. "I didn't know what else to get," Sam replied. He ignored Dean's laughter as he sat down and wiggled the toy above the little girl, in sight where she could see it. "Did you see that?" Sam snickered, wiggling the toy again and once more, the baby seemed to smile. "Course I see it, Sammy, but that's just gas, right?" Sam shook his head, handing over the toy for her to gnaw on once her chubby hand finally grabbed it. "Not really, babies can smile when they're like a little over a month old. Besides, she was looking right at it," Sam explained and watched as Dean reached down, with the baby still holding the rabbit, and made it wiggle. Dean's wide, green eyes shot up to Sam, who'd been halfway between sitting and standing but he'd frozen the moment he heard it. "Did she just..." Sam's voice trailed off. "Yeah...I think so." Dean's voice was almost a whisper. "Do it again," Sam said and Dean wiggled the rabbit. Sure enough, a soft giggling sound was heard and the boys laughed like children themselves as they spent the next half hour trying to hear it again.

With her temperature at a level 99 degrees, it left both Sam and Dean between a rock and a hard place. While her fever was scary enough, it didn't warrant a trip to a doctor or hospital but if it crept to 100 after they gave her the Motrin, then they'd have no choice. And wouldn't that just open up a whole new can of worms! How would two grown men explain a month old baby girl who didn't even have a name yet? And that began another conversation. "She didn't even leave a note, man," Dean grumbled as he handed Sam a soft-shell taco from the bag and grabbed one of his own. "Yeah, she could've at least left something with the baby's name on it," Sammy agreed, sitting down at the table with his blue-green eyes focused on the sleeping infant. "So, I guess that means we get to do the honors," Dean suggested through a mouthful of taco, to which Sam got a glance at and rolled his eyes. "Dude, how many times? I'm tryin' to eat here!" Dean washed down his food and promptly stuck out his tongue. "And that's even worse, what are you, four?" Sam scolded his older brother and that annoying smirk before the two turned their attention back to the sleeping baby. "Sadie?" Sam asked and Dean made a face. "Nah, sounds like a grandmother," Dean answered, taking a drink and he let out a hearty belch without thinking, which caused the baby to jerk and twitch in her sleep. "Dean!" Sam hissed, earning an apologetic look from across the table and a shrug. "Hell, maybe she really is my kid," Dean replied and Sam responded with a sigh and grumbled, "Wouldn't be surprised."

"Daisy," Dean finally said after several moments and even more names being passed between them, all of which didn't seem to fit the tiny girl. Sam's dark eyes turned toward Dean and a slow smile spread across his face, matched by the same, wide smile of his brother. "I think it fits," Sam agreed and balled up the paper, tossing it in the wastebasket behind him. "What made you think of that, Dean?" The older Winchester looked across to the bed and thought for a minute. He wasn't too good at all the emo stuff that Sammy ate, slept and breathed. "I dunno, Sammy," he began. "Look at her. She even makes me think of a daisy. All those bright, yellow curls, the big, brown eyes. You remember that field of daises that Dad let us run through when we were up in Tennessee that year?" Sam nodded with a faltering smile on his face. He did remember, all too well. That day had been one of his most favorite memories of being a child, not that they had too many of those, with what they'd seen. He remembered that he spotted them first, and how they went on for miles and when he nudged Dean, his brother spoke up and asked Dad if they could stop. It took a little convincing on the boys' part but John Winchester finally gave in and stood leaning back against the Impala, with a wistful smile as he watched his sons acting like the children they were meant to be.

"Daisy, it is, then," Sam responded quietly and Dean actually smiled when they raised their paper Taco Bell cups over the table and toasted it. They'd taken shifts that night, getting up with Daisy, feeding her, changing her and checking her fever as they talked softly to her and rocked her back to sleep. By morning, both boys were worn as hell and Sam offered to stay with her while Dean went for breakfast this time. The moment Dean walked in, Sam hit him with the news. "Dean, it's up to a hundred." He didn't hesitate. They gathered up their belongings and stuffed the duffels in the back seat next to Daisy's carrier. Dean kept looking back in the rearview mirror, his concerned expression mirrored that of Sammy's, who was turned around constantly. "What are we gonna tell them, Dean?" Sam finally asked the dreaded question, to which Dean frowned and pressed on the gas. "Don't worry, Sammy, I'll think of somethin'." And he always did. He figured it would be easier to bring Daisy to the ER instead of a doctor's office. That way, she'd not only be seen right away given her age but there was less paperwork and he'd have to find a way to ignore some of those important questions. One wrong move by either of them would land this baby in a foster home, or worse, back to her negligent mother.

The Impala sat outside the ER entrance to Holton Community Hospital. Dean had been right, with Daisy being so small and with fever, they were taken into a room right away. Dean fumbled over the paperwork while Sam sat on the examining table with the baby beside him, still sleeping in her infant carrier seat. "I can't fill this stuff out, Sammy," Dean grumbled through clenched teeth and set the clipboard aside. "Let me see." Sam extended his hand and Dean shook his head. "No, dude, if we try and put anything fake on that thing, they'll run it and take Daisy away from us so fast, it'll make our heads spin!" Dean explained and Sam had to agree. He was right, one wrong move and they'd lose this little girl. "Just follow my lead, Sam." It was the only thing Dean could come up with and just this once, he hoped it would work.

"And what seems to be the trouble with this little angel?" A woman's voice came through the open doorway. Both heads turned to see a woman probably in her mid 40's, with a pleasant smile and dark, curly brown hair that was graying at the sides. She went over to Daisy immediately and placed the thermometer gadget in her ear, reading exactly 100 degrees. "My name is Dr. Connors," she said, introducing herself and then looked up to Sam with inquisitive, blue eyes. "I..." Sam began but Dean was already rising from his seat and walked over beside her. "I'm Tom and this is my partner, Jerry," he replied with a charming smile that would have rolled Beethoven over in his grave, Sam thought. "And this is Daisy, the new addition to our little family." Dr. Connors seemed pleased with Dean's response and smiled just as brightly. "Oh, well, congratulations to you both!" Sam chimed in then, to make it seem more believable. Seriously. Tom and Jerry?! "Thank you, Dr. Connors." He then shot Dean a frown as the doctor looked Daisy over, rousing her from her quiet sleep. Dean shrugged and returned his attention to Daisy. "It's kind of our second day with her and her fever went up so fast, we forgot and left all our information at home," Dean explained and the woman nodded sympathetically. "There's nothing more frightening than a sick child, especially one that's just a month old. We can worry about that later." Off the hook with the paperwork, Sam and Dean both breathed a sigh of relief and let Dr. Connors work her magic, even as Daisy became instantly annoyed from being disturbed so rudely. She was measured and weighed, undressed and given the basic routine of examination, which the boys hated as much as Daisy seemed to. The instant she was released, Dean snatched her up carefully in arms and bounced her, talking quietly as the doctor informed Sam that it was just the start of a common cold. Again, sighs of relief filled the room and with a prescription in hand, more congratulations and a kiss to the forehead of the cutest little baby she'd ever seen, they were headed out the door and back into the safety of the Impala.

"Dude," Sam said with an amused grin. "Tom and Jerry? That's the best you could come up with?" Dean took a moment to move his eyes from the road and he glared at Sam. "I'm just saying..." Sam continued and Dean finished the sentence for him. "Didn't see you comin' up with any better ideas. Besides, half the county probably thinks we're gay anyhow, just cashin' in." Sam couldn't help but wide smile on his face, even his blue-green eyes were dancing as he stifled his laughter. "Me-ow.." Sam laughed until he banged his head against the window, trying to duck when Dean swung at him. And out of pure relief, both brothers started laughing and it continued for countless miles until Daisy woke up to be fed, changed and entertained.

(TBC)