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Cas grunted, grabbing for his lower stomach with his free hand. He held his angel blade in a tight grip in front of him as he squeezed his eyes shut, the pain causing him to turn his head with a wince.
Sam, sweat cascading down his face in sickly droplets, stepped back and let the last syringe of blood clatter unto the table. His breath came in harsh pants as he grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself.
Dean's head came up and with a shudder the black bled out his eyes to be replaced with his emerald green orbs. "You look worried fellas." He said softly, before blinking. Cas sank down against the wall as relief sunk in. Sam hit his knees, rubbing his face with the back of his hand. "Son of a bitch." Dean struggled against his restraints. Sam gathered enough strength to strike the bonds off his brother before another wave of vertigo hit, causing him to sway and nearly collapse into Dean's arms.
Dean didn't ask questions. Instead he hefted Sam's good arm over his shoulders, half dragging. Half carryin his brother. "Cas? Can you stand." Cas looked up and then nodded wordlessly as he got to his feet. Dean offered his free hand to the angel who took it, clamping his own fingers around the hunter's as another contraction hit.
"Get yourself into my bed, I'll be a minute." Dean whispered to Cas as they neared the bedrooms. He hesitated before planted a soft kiss on his angel's cheek. Cas pulled back, frowning a little before heading into Dean's room.
"Here we go Sammy." Dean muttered, dumping his brother into his bed. Sam hit the sheets with a soft grunt.
"I'm alright Dean." He muttered.
"Bullshit. You're sweating and dizzy and your pulse is rapid." Dean told him, his fingers resting on his brother's wrist. "You cut? Bleeding? Stitches anywhere?" He helped Sam take the sling off of his shoulder.
Sam undid the buttons on his blue plaid shirt and shucked it along with his shoes. "No." He muttered. Dean gently grasped Sam's injured shoulder, manipulating it lightly and watching His brother's face for signs of pain. "Shoulder's alright, Dean."
Dean sat down beside Sam as he undid his jeans and pulled them off, tossing them to the ground. He watched as Sam's breath hitches a bit as he moved to get under the blanket. "Cole did something to you, didn't he." It wasn't a question.
"He...hit me. Uh...whipped...actually."
Dean raised an eyebrow, trying to keep his temper under control. The demon that had inhabited him was gone but the anger that boiled in his veins lit up the Mark and Dean set his jaw. "With what?"
"Switch." Sam finally answered.
Dean counted to ten, taking deep breaths. "Ok. I'll be back. I need to check on Cas. You rest."
He got up and headed down the hall and then down the stairs to the medical wing. Grabbing two metal trays he filled both of them with various supplies and headed up to his room. "Cas?" He kicked the door with his foot and then walked in.
Castiel was laying on the covers, breathing through a particularly painful contraction. He had disrobed himself of his trench coat and suit jacket, his white dress shirt was untucked and unbuttoned away from the rounded bulge of his stomach. Dean stared at the bulge, watching as the skin tightened and relaxed with the contraction. "Cas..." He tore his eyes away to look at the angel's face. "I need you to trust me." He put a cool hand to the angel's face.
"I trust you, Dean." Cas replied staring up into the hunter's eyes.
"Okay. Gonna get you outta these clothes." He pulled Cas into a sitting position, allowing Cas to rest his face against his hunter's chest as he maneuvered the white dress shirt off of his body. "How's your grace?" He whispered.
"Weak." Cas replied. "The baby is draining it quickly." There was no sense in lying to Dean. Not the real Dean, the human Dean anyway. Dean would need to be ready in case he died before giving birth so that their child could be saved.
"Gonna help you through this." He pushed Cas back against the pillows so he could take off his pants. "Uh...sorry Cas, afraid modesty is gonna have to take a backseat." His hand hovered over the angel's boxers. Cas pretended to understand what Dean meant before allowing him to remove his boxers.
"I just gotta take a look, alright Cas? I'm not gonna touch you, I promise." Apparently Dean needed his consent despite the fact that Cas knew very well where the child was going to be coming out from and that Dean would need to physically assist it in getting out. But nevertheless he nodded, complying as Dean spread and flexed his knees and set his feet flat on the bed. "Okay. Good, I was worried you would be crowning. Has your water broken?" Cas shook his head. "Okay. Can I touch you now?" Cas nodded. Dean reached over and grabbed a rubber glove from one of the metal trays. The angel watched skeptical as he put it on and then touched his opening gently.
"Dean. I'm aware of how childbirth works. Please stop the theatrics, do what you must, and get on with it." Cas hissed. Dean looked shocked for half a moment before nodding, his expression stoic as he pressed his index finger up into Cas, making a sweeping motion before withdrawing. "Well?"
"You're barely dilated. I think it might be awhile." Dean confessed, tossing the glove in the trash can. "Probably outta rig up an IV. You could use the fluids." He coaxed Cas's legs down but not before sliding a large towel underneath his hips. He covered him with the sheet and got up.
Cas sighed. "Yes. Perhaps you should. And some pain medication ideally."
Dean snickered softly, patting his angel's chest. "I don't think we have anything that wouldn't drug the baby too." He picked up a bag of IV fluids from the tray and hung it on a nail beside the bed. He sat back down beside Cas and took the angel's arm, wrapping a rubber band around his forearm so that the veins in his hand bulged. "Small stick." He remarked before sliding the needle into the vein. He slid the needle out and put it back on the tray, and then taped the plastic tubing in place. Cas watched with interest as the saline and dextrose solution dripped down from the bag, through the tube, and into his arm.
"Something interesting, Cas?" Dean asked, amused.
"No." Cas replied, cringing as another contraction tightened its grip on his lower body.
"Breath, man." Dean coaxed, rubbing his lover's thigh. It passed and Cas took a deep breath. "I gotta go check on Sam. Are you gonna be okay for a few minutes?" The Angel nodded and Dean picked up one of the trays. He patterned Cas' stomach tenderly before heading into Sam's room.
Sam was laying on his stomach, somewhere between half asleep and comatose, but he glanced up as his brother came in. "How's Cas?"
"He's wonderful." There was a subtle sarcasm in Dean's voice as he sat down beside his brother. "Alright, your turn. Let me see." Sam groaned softly before lifting his shirt off his lower back. Angry red welts stripped his skin, pus filled crevices where the skin had broken open dotted his back. "Christ." Dean swore, ghosting over one of the welts. The imprint of the welt gave away the torture implement, a switch. Sam wasn't kidding. "I'm gonna clean and bandage these, Sam, and then you're getting Penicillin. No arguing."
Sam cringed as Dean applied a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol over his back. Both brothers remained silently, save for Sam's vocalizations of pain while Dean worked. Once his back was bandaged Dean grabbed a syringe and filled it with penicillin. "This will probably hurt a bit Sam." He warned, rubbing Sam's arm with alcohol. He stabbed the needle in and Sam hissed in pain.
"Fuck. Give it in my ass next time." He swore, holding his arm once Dean pulled the needle out.
Dean chuckled, setting the needle down. "And here I thought I was doing you a favor." He got up, rubbing his brother's uninjured shoulder. "Get some sleep, Sammy."
Sam muttered something incoherent into his pillow. Dean left the door slightly ajar as he left so he could check in later.
When he got back to his own room he found Cas on his feet, holding a soaking wet towel. "Shit. Did your water break, babe?" He asked, rushing to Cas's side.
Cas hissed in disgust, giving Dean a hard look. Dean took that as a yes and gestured for Cas's arm. He had put a lock in Cas's hand so that he could take out the drip without removing the tubing. He guided Cas towards the bathroom. He chucked the wet towel to the floor and started a warm shower. "Come in here, Cas. You'll feel better. But you gotta keep that hand dry."
Cas sighed, looki tired and partly annoyed but he stepped into the shower anyway. Just as Dean was about to close the curtain he stopped the Hunter. "Come in here with me."
Dean hesitated for a moment before nodding. He quickly stripped off his clothes and dIscarded them into a corner. "How are you doing?" He asked softly, wrapping his arms around his angel as he got in.
"I'm exhausted." He confessed, leaning to the strong, secure embrace of his Hunter. "Dean...there is a very real possibility I could die from this."
"Shh." Dean kissed Cas's neck tenderly, pressing his lips into the soft flesh. "I'm not gonna let that happen." He whispered.
A couple hours later Cas was in agony. He was on his back again as Dean probed his opening, and was trying to resist the urge to kick the father of his child in the head. "Before you kill me, you'll be happy to know I can feel junior's head, and you can start pushing." Dean announced. Cas sighed in relief before sitting up. "Woah, what are you doing?"
"Giving birth on your back is stupid and invented by ignorant male physicians who liked the view. Squatting is a much easier position as it increased blood flow, and gravity helps." Cas hissed struggling to get on his knees.
"Okay. If you say so." Dean wasn't about to argue. Instead he helped Cas get into the desired position, holding him gently and allowing the angel to use his body for support.
"Dean...Dean!" Cas screamed as a particularly painful contraction ripped through him. Dean reached around and felt their child's head begin to emerge.
"Okay, okay. I got you, but I gotta catch the baby, I'm gonna put you down on your knees, Cas." He kissed the angel's face as tears were rolling down his cheeks. "Hey, hey. You're okay, the baby is almost here." He lowered Cas unto his hands and knees, moving over so he could catch the baby's head. Cas screamed through the next contraction as their child's head emerged. Dean grabbed a blanket and spread it down beside Cas.
"I don't wanna die Dean!" Cas cried as another contraction racked over him.
"You're not going to!" Dean promised. The last contraction freed their child's head and not a second later he was crying in Dean's arms. "Cas." The hunter breathed. "Cas, look."
Cas turned to look over his shoulder, gasping as he saw the infant, covered in blood but howling loudly. Dean used a towel to wipe off most of the blood, before cutting the cord and wrapping the baby in a blanket. Cas turned over unto his back, collapsing onto the pillows. Dean put their infant into his arms and then bent down to take care of the placenta and clean Cas up.
While Dean doctored him Cas gazed into his child's eyes, bright green just like Dean's. "A son or a daughter?" Cas whispered, realizing he hadn't asked.
"A son." Dean answered, throwing out a bloody towel.
"John then. John Samuel Robert Winchester." Cas's eyes fluttered.
"Hey, hey hey." Dean snapped his fingers in Cas' face. "Stay with me."
"Not dying." Cas muttered. "Just tired."
Dean frowned, but he looked down at his son and couldn't help but smile. "Well, at least let me change the sheets before you nod off." The hunter rubbed his angel's thigh. A moment later he looked down, confused as the blood had disappeared. He looked up at Cas to find him awake and staring into him, the way he always looked at him. "Hey. I thought you said the baby was burning through your grace."
"He was, but there's still enough left for awhile." Cas answered, sitting up. "You in the other hand..."
Dean chuckled, "Move over." He climbed into bed beside his angel, reaching over to get a good luck at his son. "John Samuel Robert Winchester." He repeated. "It's a mouth full Cas. But I like it." Cas turned his head and kissed Dean's lips.
"Dean...everything that's happened. I want you to know, I never stopped..."
"I know." Dean answered, pulling Cas closer. "I know."
Sam cracked Dean's bedroom door open the next morning to find his brother asleep, Cas leaning on his shoulder, and their newborn asleep on Cas's chest. Cas looked up and smiled at Sam, who smiled back and closed the door.