Work Text:
Gabriel’s bed is squeaky and hard, the sheets itchy and the blanket too thin to do much more than hide their nakedness, but it was Sam’s favorite place in the whole world. He loved waking up to the weight of Gabriel’s head on his chest, his warm breath brushing against his sternum, and their legs intertwined under the blanket. Sam turned his head, burying his nose in his lover’s sweet smelling hair, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Gabriel made an incoherent noise, turning his head and burying his nose in Sam’s pectoral.
“What time is it?” he grumbled, voice muffled by Sam’s skin.
“About seven,” Gabriel groaned loudly, rolling over and falling on his back with a thud, tossing an arm over his eyes to block out the rays of sun peeking through the makeshift drapes. Sam smiled, pushing himself up and leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll make pancakes while you get ready for work.”
Gabriel peeked past his arm. “With chocolate chips?”
“Of course.” Gabriel smiled, pushing himself up on his elbows and pressing his lips against Sam’s. Sam nuzzled his cheek, before gently swatting at his hip. “Go get ready,” he ordered, tossing the blanket off of them both. Gabriel shivered once, wrapping arms around his naked body as he reached down and felt around for some clothes. He grabbed some boxers and pulled them up, stretching with a yawn, the sound of tired bones cracking. Sam tossed his legs over the bed, watching Gabriel wander around his room, looking for his uniform that had ended up tossed all over the room during their activities during the previous night.
Sam pushed himself up, grabbing his boxers and t-shirt from the floor and pulling them on. Gabriel disappeared into his bathroom just outside the bedroom door, grumbling and yawning all the way. Sam walked down the hall, hitting the light to the kitchen. The fluorescence lights flickered to life, illuminating Gabriel’s crappy little kitchen with yellow light.
He shuffled around the kitchen, pressing the on button of the coffee pot as he walked past, looking for the pancake mix and chocolate chips. It wasn’t hard to find - Gabriel’s pantry was pretty bare. The older man had been putting off going grocery shopping for about a week now. Sam knew it was because the money was tight now that Lucifer had moved out. He considered going out and buy groceries for him. He never used his money for much - he and Gabriel’s dates mostly consisted with hanging around his apartment. But Gabriel would just tell him not to worry about it, that he’d be getting paid again soon and he’d can live off of pretzels and coffee.
The pancake mix had an odd scent to it, and the chocolate chips had started to turn chalky, but they were still good. Or at least, they wouldn’t kill them - hopefully. Sam wasn’t an expert on food. He had very limited culinary skill. If it had directions on the package, he could cook it. Otherwise, it was Dean or Gabriel’s problem. But pancakes, he could make pancakes. It was just adding water and trying not to burn the batter when you put it in the pan.
Gabriel’s fridge was just a bit less bare than his pantry - beer bottles and cocktail mixes and a half empty bottles of vodka filled the door, with butter, eggs, milk and lunch meats making up the rest of the contents. Gabriel had never eaten well, which Sam guesses works out considering he can never afford to now days. That’s the one thing Sam dreads about graduating and moving out - Kate and Dean had always fed him well. He wasn’t sure how he’d handle a ramen noodle diet. He didn’t even like ramen.
The bowl had an odd film of grease, most likely from Gabriel’s old broken down dishwasher, that Sam had to wipe away before he could start mixing the pancakes. He had to do the same with the pan - though Sam remembers somewhere in the back of his mind that pans should be like that. Something about non-stick coating - and the spatula. Sam used a measuring cup to dump the pancakes into the pan. They were oddly shaped and looked a bit lumpy, but they would be edible. Or, at least he hoped.
Gabriel came sliding into the room, catching himself on the counter by the coffee pot. He pushed himself across the kitchen and slide to a stop behind Sam. He wrapped his arms around Sam’s waist, resting his head against Sam’s bare shoulder blades. “Have I told you I love you today?”
Sam smiled, leaning back just a bit into the warm body behind him as he flipped the pancakes. “No, but you screamed enough last night to make up for that.” Gabriel laughed, placing a kiss between his shoulder blades, then letting go and walking over to the cabinet.
“You want some coffee, kiddo?” Sam hummed a yes, not taking his eyes off the pancakes. Last time he’d made them, they’d been underdone, and the time before that they’d been burnt. This time he’d actually make edible pancakes.
“Warm up the syrup too.”
In the end, Sam did manage to cook the pancakes all the way through but something must have been bad, because Gabriel ended up vomiting after eating half a plate. Sam sighed, rubbing his hand over Gabriel’s back as he emptied his stomach into the sink, grateful that he wasn’t a sympathetic puker. Gabriel groaned, holding himself up against the counter. Sam reached around him, turning on the sink and trying to wash the remaining chucks down the sink. Gabriel cupped his hand under the flow, catching some water and drinking it.
“Do you want me to call your work?”
“Naw, I’m good now, kiddo,” Gabriel gave him a weak smile. “Plus, you’ve gotta get your ass to school.” Sam raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fine, Sammy,” Gabriel patted his cheek. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth. You go put on pants.”
***
Gabriel leaned against the counter, taking a long breath to calm his stomach. He was lucky that today was looking like it would be a slow day - mostly just regulars. He should have stayed home. He should have let Sam call him in sick and maybe even Sam would have stayed home and taken care of him? But he couldn’t do that. Sam needed to go to school and Gabriel couldn’t miss work.
The bell above the door jingled, drawing Gabriel’s attention away from his upset stomach. Castiel smiled at him, readjusting the textbooks in his arms before walking over to he and Dean’s usual table. Dean swatted at Cas’ backside as he walked in the opposite direction towards the counter. “Hey, Gabe.” Gabriel nodded acknowledgingly at him, pushing himself off the counter.
“Usual, Dean-o?” he asked, already getting to work on their coffees.
“Throw in one of those big brownies too, I’m hungry.” Gabriel’s stomach gave a lunge, remembering the chocolate chip pancakes. “Dude, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Gabriel assured, setting two cups of coffee in front of Dean. He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “My stomach’s bothering me, that’s all.”
Dean winced. “Did you eat Sammy’s cooking?”
Gabriel laughed, bending over to grab a brownie from the display case. “He tries so hard.”
“He loves you. Bitch won’t every cook me anything - then again, you’re looking so bad I think that maybe a good thing,” Dean said. Not that Gabriel ever needed reminding. Sam always made him feel loved. He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up with such a great boyfriend. “You sure you’re feelin alright? You look pretty pale.”
“I’m fine, Dean,” Gabriel assured, taking the ten that Dean held out to him. He popped open the cash register and counted out his change. “Doesn’t matter anyways. I’m the only one working right now, so I’ve got to wait til five for someone to take over.”
“You gonna make it til then?”
“Yeah. I feel a lot better than I did this morning,” Gabriel held out Dean’s change. “Don’t worry about me. Just go and study like a good boy.”
“For someone who flunked out you care way too much about other peoples grades,” Dean rolled his eyes good naturedly, gathering his things and walking back over to Cas. Gabe rolled his eyes as Dean leaned down and kissed Castiel’s cheek, setting the coffee down. They were really too cute, but Castiel was still Gabriel’s little brother and that means Gabriel didn't approve of him kissing anyone, even his fiance.
***
Four days of nausea came and went. Normally, during the week, he if something was wrong, he could keep it from Sam because they hardly got to see each other, between school and work. But someone - he suspected Dean - had told him that Gabriel was still sick. So, Sam sent him several caring, but bordering on annoying texts throughout the week, telling him that he should take some time off work and get rest and Do you want me to tell Dad I can’t work today? I can come over and take care of you.
And yeah, Gabriel would like to have Sam hanging around and bringing him soup and stuff. He felt like absolute shit. The nausea still persisted, with the added benefit lightheadedness and fucking nose bleeds - he wasn’t sure if those were related, but because the world seemed to hate him this week, he assumed they were. But John Winchester was a hardass who wouldn’t have let Sam off work without a good explanation.
“Better have pants on ‘cause I’m coming in,” Gabriel regrets giving anyone a key to his house.
“Tell Cas never to give you the key,” he ordered, pushing himself up to look over the back of couch at Dean. The older Winchester rolled his eyes, walking around and plopping down in bean bag.
“Well, Cas and Sammy were worried about you, and since I’m the only one free tonight, I got to stop by and check on you,” he shrugged. “So, gotta stomach bug or are you knocked up?” Dean said it joking, throwing one of his smirks Gabriel’s way. But felt his stomach drop, and not in the nausea way. In the oh shit I’ve fucked up haven’t I? way. Dean’s face fell. “Gabriel, you’re not, are you?”
Gabriel bit his lip, swallowing in an attempt to clear the lump rising up in his throat. It was a possibility - a very definite possibility. He and Sam were always careful, but condoms break and sometimes they’ve got small defects and maybe he shouldn’t have skipped so much sex-ed. “It’s possible.”
Dean sighed, running a hand over his face. “Are you fucking serious?”
“I think I am.”
“Well shit. Guess we should get you a test or something.”
“You should probably be more pissed than you are.” Dean shrugged.
“Cas and I have had our pregnancy scares,” Dean held out his hand. “Need help up?”
“I’m not an invalid.”
***
And that’s how Gabriel finds himself here, pacing in and out of his bathroom as he waiting for three little plastic sticks to tell him if he’s royally screwed up or not. Dean was leaning against the wall beside the bathroom, watching him.
“I mean, if you are, it could be worse.”
“How could it be worse, Dean? Because I can’t think anything worse than this right now. I’ve got a shit job that barely pays the bills and Sam is in high school. Tell me, how could this be worse?” he snapped.
“At least you know who the father is.” Gabriel took a deep breath, slumping against the wall beside Dean and sliding down.
“He’s gonna hate me.”
“He’s not gonna hate you, Gabe,” Dean slides down to sit beside him. “It takes two to tango, and Sammy knows that. Hell, knowing him he’ll blame himself for this.” He reached out, and clapping him on the shoulder.
“I’m the older one. I should have...shit, I don’t know what I should have done. We’ve always used condoms - maybe I should have shelled out the money for the pill. I can’t really afford it...but I can afford it a hell of alot more than a baby.” The timer on Gabriel’s phone buzzed. He heart dropped into his stomach as he fumbled with the phone to shut it off. He finally managed to shut if off and let his phone fall to the ground with a thud. He pushed himself up off the ground and walked into the bathroom.
“Well?” Dean asked, peeking into his shoulder.Gabriel took a deep breath to steady his nerves, then forced himself to look down at the three little sticks.
Two lines, a plus mark, and one pregnant.
***
It took an hour for Gabriel to convince Dean that, yes, I’ll be fine, and get him to go home. He’d actually really like Dean to stick around, because honestly he wasn’t sure he was alright. He felt numb - he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around that fact that holy shit, I’m pregnant. But he knew for a fact that Dean had an early class the next day, and Gabriel didn’t want him missing it just because he was probably on the verge of some extreme breakdown. So he’d sent Dean off, made himself some hot chocolate, and plopped himself down on the couch with his laptop and his phone. He opened up a new text message, and addressed it to Sam. He tapped his fingers against the back of the phone, trying to figure out what he even wanted to do. He could send a picture of a mass amount of diapers. But that would probably just confuse the poor kid - plus, telling Sam over text was probably not the best choice. That was kind of like sending of break up text. No, he’d have to tell Sam in person, which scared him shitless.
He pressed the lock button on his phone, and tossed it between his hands. He was probably at home, working on school work or watching TV with his little brother. He wasn’t worrying about suddenly impending fatherhood. He stopped fidgeting with his phone, opening it up again and looking at the blank message addressed to Sam. Maybe he should just wait until tomorrow to talk to him.
The thought of you don’t have to tell him crossed his mind. There was a clinic two towns over that specialized in male pregnancies. Gabriel had gone there when he’d still lived at home and could afford the biannual check ups that were recommended for people like him. The clinic covered everything, from check ups to prenatal to abortions. He could call in sick to work, drive down there tomorrow and take care of this without ever having to tell Sam. He could convince Dean never to mention it. Dean would understand - he was probably the only person in the entire damn town that could understand.
But, Gabriel couldn’t do that to Sam. This was as much Sam’s baby as it was Gabriel’s - and yeah, it was Gabriel’s body and he’d be the one dealing with all the backlash because people just weren’t accepting of people like him - things were getting better. In the past men like Gabriel would be ostracized if they were found out, but nowadays there were laws in place to keep from being discriminated against for it in the workplace and such, and a lot of people who still had prejudices tended to keep their mouths shut. Like a Racist who tries their best to hide their racist feelings. Then toss in that Gabriel was knocked up by an eighteen-year-old high school at twenty-three, so yeah, he’d be facing some major backlash.
But, he’d still have his family, and he’d still have Sam, if he did have this baby, and that was all he really needed.
***
Sam readjusted his backpack, walking up the stairs to Gabriel’s apartment. He’d been assuring Sam all week that he was alright, but from how invasive Dean had been when he’d asked after Gabriel, Sam knew that was a lie. He was probably worrying about nothing.Gabriel was a grown man, he knew his body and if something was actually seriously wrong he would do something about it. Gabe probably had just caught some nasty little bug, and getting annoyed with Sam’s constant worrying.
He pushed the unlocked door and quietly walked in, letting his backpack fall to the ground by the door. “Sam, that you?”
“Yeah,” He called back, making his way to Gabriel’s bedroom. His boyfriend was laying on the bed, beat up laptop balanced on his chest. He shut it and set it on the floor as Sam walked over, plopping down beside him. Gabriel pushed himself up, and Sam placed a kiss on his cheek. “Are you feeling better?” Gabriel shrugged.
“Yup,” something sounded off about that reply, but Sam wasn’t going to pry. Plus, Gabriel was already pulling him down for a kiss, and if he was feeling up to it, Sam could think of so many better things to do. Gabriel pulled him back onto the bed with him, pulling away and running a hand through his hair, and just kind of staring. It reminded Sam way too much of Castiel for his comfort zone. “We need to talk.”
That was definitely not something anyone wanted to hear. Gabriel had been kissing him and stuff just a minute before, so it couldn’t be a break-up talk, but somehow that was even more unnerving. What could they need to talk about? “Okay, what’s up?” Sam pushed himself up on his elbows, looking down at him.
Gabriel took a deep breath, biting his lip and looking anywhere but at Sam. Yup, this definitely wasn’t going to be good. “I’m pregnant.” Sam stared at him for a minute, before shaking his head and chuckling.
“You had me really worried there for a second, Gabe. Thought there was actually something wrong.”
“I’m not joking, kiddo. I’m pregnant,” Gabriel said, pushing himself up a bit, propping himself up on his forearms. Sam stared at him, waiting for him to start laughing or something, to tell him that this actually is a joke. But with each passing moment it became clear that Gabriel wasn’t joking. Sam pushed himself up into an upright position, trying to take a deep breath to keep himself from completely freaking out. “I’m sorry, Sam. I thought we were being safe enough but I guess I was wrong and...I’m sorry. I understand if you leave, I really do. You’re still a kid yourse-”
“I’m not gonna leave you and our baby, Gabriel,” Sam exclaimed, perhaps a little louder than he intended, which immediately made him feel bad. He reached out and took Gabriel’s hand in his. “I love you. I mean, I always wanted this - us - to be a long term kind of thing. Getting married and having a family, and retiring to Florida. So, I’m not gonna leave you just because one of those things happened a bit too early..”
“You’ve got school. College in the fall. A baby’s gonna make all that hard, Sammy.”
“I’ll put off-”
“Don’t you dare say that, Sam,” Gabriel cut him off. “It we’re gonna have this baby, one of us is gonna need a college education, and let’s face it, that’ll have to be you.”
“Are we gonna have this baby?”
Gabriel bit his lip again. “It’ll be hard. Like, really hard. And honestly, it would probably be best for us and our baby if we gave them up...” Sam felt his heart drop into his stomach. Gabriel was right of course, but he couldn’t help but want to keep their baby. Sam always knew he wanted a family, and eighteen was a bit young, but he loved Gabriel and he was sure they could make it work somehow. “But I wanna keep ‘em.” Sam smiled.
“I do too.” Gabriel gave a nervous little chuckle.
“Guess we’re having a baby.” Sam squeezed his hand, and leaned over to place a kiss on his forehead.
***
Sam woke up the next morning with Gabriel in his arms, and for a moment he thought that the night before was an odd dream, but then Gabriel rolled over, ran a hand over his stomach and said, "Baby's hungry."
"What does the baby want?"
“I don’t even know what I’ve got,” Gabriel declared, slowly pushing himself up. He got about halfway up before he laid back down with a nope. “Could you make me some peppermint tea? It’s by the coffee pot.”
“Tea? Isn’t caffeine bad for the baby?” Sam asked.
“Doesn’t have caffeine,” Gabriel informed. “But I am convinced it’s got magic. Helps with the morning sickness like you wouldn’t believe.” Sam nodded, reaching down and running a hand over Gabriel’s hair.
“Is it bad?”
“Could be worse,” He leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead.
“Do you want any sugar or something for your tea?”
“Who do you think you’re talking to? I always want sugar.” Sam chuckled, carefully slipping off the bed and walking towards the kitchen to make the tea. Which gave him a second to actually pause a think about everything that had happened.
Holy shit. He was going to be a father. He’d always pictured Dean getting into this situation, not him. Dean slept around and forgot protection, not Sam. Sam had only ever been with Gabriel (with the exception of a blowjob from Ruby Masters when he was a freshman), and he sure as hell always wore a condom. But of course this would happen to him - because he’s the one that’s got a secret relationship that his parents didn’t know about. him and Gabriel had been together since he was fifteen, and while age of consent was sixteen, but Sam hadn’t ever wanted to risk it. Five years was a big age gap. Of course, Gabriel had made him wait until he was sixteen before he’d even considered doing anything other than kissing him, but Sam worried that everyone would just see a twenty-something dating a teenager and think the worse.
And now he had a child to worry about. If Gabriel got in trouble for them being together, what would happen to their kid? Sam assumed he’d still be able to keep their child but what about Gabriel? He’d have to look into it. He’d also have to look into how he’d manage college and a family. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Gabriel was right. There was no way this was going to be easy, but he’s sure they can do it.
***
Sam kind of didn’t want to go to work that day, and instead spend the day curled up with Gabriel. But Gabriel also had work that afternoon and with a baby on the way, neither of them could really afford to miss it.
“So, spend the night at Gabriel’s last night?” Dean asked, leaning against the desk of the garage. Sam looked up from the invoices. It struck him that he hadn’t even considered how he was going to tell his family.
He figures Dean would be cool with it, but Dean had always known about him and Gabriel. Hell, Dean was the reason there was even a him and Gabriel to begin with. And his mom would probably take it pretty well - she’d be disappointed, definitely, but he thinks she’ll come around pretty quickly. It was his dad that he was most worried about. John had been making efforts to change - to be more accepting and to not push his expectations on them as much - after Dean had gotten himself into trouble a few years before. Trouble involving antibiotics and burning when he peed, and had gotten really bad before he’d told anyone in fear of what their dad would do if he found out how he’d gotten it (When Sam had found out how, he hadn’t been able to look at Castiel the same for months)
“Yeah,” Sam knows he’ll probably tell Dean before he tells anyone else, because that’s the kind of relationship they have. He’ll tell Dean, and Dean will be by his side when he comes out to his parents.
“Anything interesting happen?” Sam rose an eyebrow. Did Dean already know? How would Dean already know? Gabriel had just told him last night. Sam knew that Gabriel and Dean were pretty good friends, but would Gabriel really tell Dean before him? “Like, life changing?”
“You know?”
Dean shrugged. “Dunno, gonna have to be more specific, Sammy. I know a lot of things.” Sam sighed, quickly looking around the lobby of the garage to make sure no one was within earshot before leaning closer to his brother.
“Do you know that Gabriel’s...” Sam bit his lip.
“Yeah, I know about that,” Dean nodded, reaching out and ruffling Sam’s hair. “Poor guy was practically wearing a hole in the floor when he took the test.” And, okay, if Gabriel was going to take a pregnancy test with anyone it would be Dean, but it still hurt a bit to know that Dean knew he was going to be a father before he did. “So, you okay?”
“I’m not the one who’s pregnant.”
“No but you’re the one who’s gonna be a teenage father,” Dean pointed out. Sam sighed.
“I don’t wanna talk about this here, Dean."
***
Dean takes him out to lunch, because Sam knows that Dean wants them to have A Talk. Dean had been pretty insistent on having Talks, even though it wasn’t exactly his forte. Sam thinks its because Dean really did do some shit at Sam’s age, and he didn’t want Sam to screw up in the same way. He remembered when he and Gabriel had first started seeing each other, and Dean had pulled him aside and given him a whole box of condoms (“Listen, Gabriel’s probably clean, but you can’t take risks, okay Sammy? Always wrap it.”). And Sam feels bad, because he had always worn a condom, but somehow he’d still ended up in this situation, and Dean probably thinks he didn’t listen to his advice.
Sam’s nervous about talking about Gabriel’s pregnancy in the Roadhouse. The diner was a popular hang out and owned by Ellen Singer, the wife of their dad’s business partner, and the waitstaff included Castiel, along with Gabriel’s cousin, Anna Milton. Sam doesn’t know if Gabriel told any of his family yet - Dean knew, and that meant that Cas probably knew, but if Anna found out that meant Ruby Masters would know by the end of the night, and Ruby would without a doubt mention it to Meg and Crowley, and Meg may keep her mouth shut but Crowley liked to talk. Though, he may keep his mouth shut purely because of his friendship with Gabriel, but who knew with him.
“Have you and Gabriel talked about what you’re gonna do?” Dean asked, once they were seated in a booth near the back. Sam looks down at the menu, clasping and unclasping his hands in his lap.
“We...we’d like to keep the baby,” Sam answers, quietly waiting for Dean to tell him how stupid he’s being.
“That’s gonna be hard, Sammy,” Dean says, and Sam is sure he’s going to be sick of hearing that soon. “What about school? Work? Have you thought about how you and Gabriel will manage all that?”
“Money’ll be tight, but both Gabriel and I have pretty decently paying jobs. Gabriel’s still on his father’s health insurance - but we’ll still have to cover the difference but that’ll be a hell of alot cheaper than the full price,” Sam mumbled, talking a bit more to himself than Dean.
“How do you know Mr. Shurley’s insurance covers pregnancy? Not all plans to - our family plan doesn’t,” he pointed out.
“Our family plan does. When our father found out Gabriel was a carrier he made sure - specifically just in case of a scenario like this,” Castiel slipped into the booth beside Dean, order pad held in hand. “Hello, Sam.”
‘Hey, Cas.”
“I hear I’m to be an uncle?” Sam bit his lip, nodding. “Always expected that it would be Dean and I who ended up in that kind of situation.”
“Thanks, babe,” Sam thinks Dean may actually be upset.
“It’s purely a statistical fact, Dean. We’ve been together much longer, not to mention that we live together and have sex at least every other day. Also we can be a bit forgetful with protection.” Dean looked scandalized.
“I didn’t need to know any of that, Cas,” Sam declared.
“I apologize,” Cas sighed. “So, I’m assuming from what I came in on that you and Gabriel intend to keep the child?” Sam nodded. “My father will be thrilled - he has been mentioning grandchildren lately. Though, I think it was more directed towards Michael and Lucifer than Gabriel. I’m sure if you two need help with medical finances he’d gladly give you money. Heaven knows he has enough.”
“Dude, where’s this attitude when our rent’s due?”
“We make enough money to cover our rent, Dean. We don’t need any assistance from my father.” Dean rolled his eyes, grumbling something about if Cas would accept some of the money his dad was always offering, they could afford some real food. “He won’t ask for it, but if dad offers, Gabriel will accept help from him, if only purely because it’s what’s best for the baby. He’s stubborn, but he’ll do what’s best for his child.” Sam nodded. “Though, our father will want to meet you.”
“What?” Meeting Mr. Shurley had never occurred to Sam before - Gabriel and his brothers only ever communicated with their father by phone and they had never been very close. From what Sam had gathered, their parents’ divorce had been a nasty one, and had led to their mother all but cutting them off from their father. The Shurleys had only reconnected with him after each had been cut off by their mother, who was a strictly, and highly religious woman who had never accepted any of her children developing into someone who didn’t match her ideals.
“Yes. He’s been wanting to come and visit for awhile now. He wants to meet Dean, Lilith and Amelia, and when he gets word that a grandchild is on the way, it will be hard to hold off his visit any longer. Though, I do guess it’s about time. Jimmy’s getting married next spring and dad should meet his fiance before hand,” Castiel readjusted his order pad, “Now, I need to take your orders or Ellen will have my ass.”
***
“Were you waiting for me?” Gabriel smiled at Sam as he walked out of the cafe. Sam nodded, pushing himself off the hood of the mustang.
“Dean finished doing the work on my car, so I figured we could go get some dinner or something?” Sam explained. “And I guess we should talk about telling our families?” He took two strides towards him, resting his hands on Gabriel’s waist and placing a kiss on his forehead.
“Your parents are gonna arrest me - what’s the statute of limitations on statutory?” He mumbled into Sam’s shoulder.
“Well...I mean, I was sixteen before you’d even thought about touching me, and sixteen is age of consent in Kansas,” Sam said. “Plus, mom wouldn’t let the father of her grandchild be thrown in jail.”
“I sure as hell hope so,” he declared. Sam kissed his cheek. “So what was that about dinner?”
Dinner was burgers at The Roadhouse. There were other places to eat in town, but The Roadhouse had good food, low prices, and smiling waitresses. Or, at least most of the time they were smiling. Sometimes they were scrawling and had a sarcastic comment.
“So, how’re we going to break this to our families?” Gabriel looked up from his burger.
“You keep saying our.”
“Aren’t you gonna tell your family?”
“From what I understand my brothers already know.”
“What about your dad? Your cousins?” Gabriel bit the inside of his cheek. He hadn’t thought about telling his family - his family in general hadn’t been on his mind since he’d found out he was pregnant; Sam and Sam’s reaction had been his biggest concern.
“I mean, yeah I’ll tell him. Next time I talk to him. Not sure how he’ll take it but...” Gabriel shrugged. “Dad’s pretty chill. Probably won’t even phase him - that or he’ll go into dorky grandpa mood.” He could already hear his dad’s offers to help them out - and yeah, Gabriel knew for a fact that he and Sam would definitely need help. But something felt wrong about accepting any help from him. Chuck was his dad, and Gabriel loved him, but their mom had made him such a nonexistent part of their lives. Gabriel hadn’t even really gotten to speak to the man until his mom had kicked him out after his eighteenth birthday. It felt wrong to take anything from him when he hadn’t even been allowed to be their dad. “What about your parents? How are we gonna tell them?”
Sam shrugged. “Guess we just sit them down and tell them.” Sam smiled a bit, chuckling to himself. “Think this is something they always expected from Dean, not me.”
“God, your parents are gonna kill me,” Gabriel sighed. “Shit, I’m gonna go to jail.”
“We’ve been through this today, you’re not gonna go to jail, Gabriel. I’m eighteen,” Sam rolled his eyes. “But, for now, let’s talk about getting you a doctor’s appointment, check up on our baby.”
***
While male pregnancies are becoming more and more common, now that the world is becoming more accepting of carriers, it was still hard to find a doctor that specialized in them. Dean and Gabriel had a doctor that specialized in carriers - a male gynecologist, Gabriel described them as (Dean didn’t talk about those visits. Dean didn’t talk about anything about him being a carrier. He went to his appointments and took his pill and pretended he didn’t have to worry about either) - but he didn’t handle pregnancies. Fortunately, the doctor was able to give them the name of an OBGYN that could handle a carrier pregnancy. Unfortunately, it was an hour and half drive and three towns over.
Sam had insisted that he get to go with Gabriel, even though he’d have to skip school. Gabriel had protested, saying that Sam needed to be in school, but Sam assured him that he wouldn’t miss anything important (“Dude, it’s like the last month of senior year, do you think we’re doing anything?”). He wasn’t going to miss anything that had to do with his baby- he’d be at every appointment and scan and the birth, and he’d do his share of diaper changing and midnight feedings.
The first appointment wasn’t all that interesting. The doctor - an older man by the name of Joshua Garden - asked them about their past medical histories and Gabriel’s history of drinking and smoking and other drug use. Doctor Garden spoke to them about what was to come, and what Gabriel would have to do to take care of himself. Really, the only thing Sam would say was worth mentioning is when Dr. Garden let them listen to the baby’s heartbeat. He uses a small device called a fetal doppler, not an ultrasound like Sam was expecting, and at first he’d been a bit disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to see their baby, that all went away when they heard the thump thump of the baby’s heart. Sam turned to look at Gabriel, eyes wide.
“We’re having a baby.” Gabriel chuckled, taking Sam’s hand.
“Yeah, yeah we are, kiddo.”
The rest of the appointment is Dr. Garden giving them an estimate due date (October fourteenth), a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and scheduled them again for next month.
“We need to tell your parents,” Gabriel sighs, running a hand through his hair as they drove home. “Best not to wait too long, right?” Sam nodded, not taking his eyes off the road. He knows Gabriel isn’t actually too keen on telling Sam’s parents, but they really did need to.
“Tonight’s family dinner night - Dean and Cas’ll be there, so there’s less of a chance they’ll murder us.” Sam suggests. Gabriel nods.
***
Sam nervously dropped his backpack by the garage door, walking into the kitchen, where Kate was working on a meatloaf. “Hey, mom.” He smiled.
“Why weren’t you at school?” she asked, not looking up from where she was mixing the ground meat together in a bowl. Sam sighed.
“Was today the one day someone was home when they called?” he asked.
“I had leave work early - Adam wasn’t feeling well,” she explained, dumping the meat into a pan to start forming it. “You’re not in trouble - heaven knows how often Dean skipped class, and he never got in any trouble, so why should you? I’m just curious, why?”
Sam shrugged, “Just didn’t feel like going, I guess? I spent the day with Gabriel.” Kate nodded, working on forming the meatloaf into an actual loaf shape. “I was...uh...actually wondering if Gabriel could join us for dinner tonight?”
“I don’t see why not - now could you turn on the sink?” Sam nodded, reaching over to turn the faucet on. “We’ll have an extra place. I think Adam’ll be on a chicken soup diet for the rest of the week.”
“Okay, then I’ll go upstairs and call him.” Sam slips past him mom and runs upstairs, pausing to stick his head into Adam’s room to check on him. The poor kid was curled up under at least three blankets, surrounded by tissues. He ruffles his brother’s hair, tells him to get some sleep, and then disappears into his own room. “Mom says it’s cool for you to come over,” he says when Gabriel picks up the phone.
“Then what time should I be over?” Gabriel asked.
“Dunno - around six is normally when we eat? So probably five-thirty would be good,” Sam explains. “But...Adam’s got like a cold or something, so if you don’t wanna come around.”
Gabriel was quiet for a moment, “I mean - I’m not gonna like lick your brother or anything, so I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” Sam laughed. “I’ll be over there later, okay?”
“Yeah. I love you.”
“Love you too, kiddo.”
Dinner was awkward. John and Kate didn’t seem to notice much, asking questions about their lives -school and work, and Kate liked to repeatedly ask “when is the wedding, Dean?” to which Dean would reply “I dunno, mom. Just because I gave Cas a ring don’t mean we’re getting married right away.” . “Well, the sooner you and Cas get married, the sooner you can give us grandkids,” Kate said, half-jokingly like she always did. Dean and Sam both exchanged looks, and Cas and Gabriel both looked down at their plates. “Dean, I know you’re uncomfortable being a carrier but you two could always ado-”
“It’s not that, mom,” Dean assured, exchanging a look with Sam. “But y’know, shouldn’t assume I’ll be the first one to have a kid. Cas and me are years away from settling down, and Sammy and I aren’t that far apart in age.” Sam looked down nervously, biting his lip.
“I’m sure it’ll be years before either Sam or Dean are having kids,” John declared. Sam swallowed hard.
“Actually, dad, it’ll be more like months.” In retrospect, not the best way to tell them.
“What?”
What followed was a good thirty minutes or so of John and Sam yelling at each other, with Dean and Kate trying to calm them both down. Finally, Gabriel stood up, grabbed Sam by the shoulder, and said in a shockingly no nonsense way, “Sam, you’re about to be a father, so how about you start acting like it and stop yelling at your father.” That shut Sam up real quickly. “Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, Sam and I never planned for this to happen.”
“Whatever this,” John motioned between Sam and Gabriel, “Is, it shouldn’t have happened. You’re what? Twenty-five? You have no business dating a teenager.”
“I’m twenty-three,” Gabriel corrected. “But you’re right, I shouldn’t have - I should have never dated Sam. He’s too young, but…”
“We love each other.I started things with Gabriel. He’s always been hesitant about it but, I’m pretty damn persistent, and maybe I shouldn’t have been, but now we can’t worry about all that shoulda woulda coulda stuff. He’s pregnant, with my kid,” Sam piped up.
“What do you two plan to do?” asked Kate, placing a calming hand on John’s shoulder.
“We’re to keep the baby,” Sam said, trying to sound as sure as he could. “I’ve saved up a lot of money since I started working, and Gabriel has a job.”
“What about the difference? I doubt either of you make enough money to cover everything,” John demanded.
“Our family will gladly cover any other costs,” Castiel spoke up. “This child will be no financial burden to either of you. All Sam and Gabriel would need is your emotional support - or at least to not be antagonistic towards them.” Gabriel gave Castiel a look, but the younger Shurley just shrugged, and set his beer back on the table. Gabriel sighed, deciding not to argue with his younger brother.
“Cas is right.”
“What about college, Sam?” asked Kate.
“I’ll go to community college for now, plenty of kids do. It’ll give us a few years to figure everything out. Maybe I won’t go to Stanford, but I can still transfer to a State University or something.”
***
“Well, that was stressful,” Gabriel sighed, letting his head fall back against the headrest of the driver’s seat. Castiel, who had decided to go to Gabriel’s apartment instead of his, sighed from his seat.
“It’ll be much easier telling our father,” Castiel pointed out. Gabriel laughed nervously.
“I guess I’ll have to do that, right?”
“It would be advisable not to wait.” Gabriel sighed again, grabbing his keys out of his pocket and putting them in the ignition. “We can call tomorrow, together. And, even if he doesn’t offer help you, I will. So will our brothers and cousins. You’ve always helped us when we needed it.”
“Cas, you can barely afford your own rent.”
“I have some savings that...well, I was saving up for Dean and I’s wedding. But, we don’t intend to actually get married until we’re out of school, plenty of time to save up some more.”
“Cas, I’m not gonna take money from your wedding fund - this is...this is my problem, okay?” Castiel narrowed his eyes.
“Gabriel, you will take the money. Consider it me paying you back for the money you lent me for school.”
***
Gabriel stared nervously at the phone, finger hovering over his dad’s number. Castiel was hanging at his side, waiting for him to hit call. Gabriel took a deep breath, pressing call and hitting speaker. His father picked up on the third ring - because it was friday, and they always called him on fridays, in their attempt to seem like a normal family.
“Good morning, Gabriel,” Chuck answered, voice raspy and broken, probably from a hangover.
“Morning, Dad.”
“Hello.”
“Oh, hello, Castiel,” Chuck added, “How’re you boys? How’s Dean been, Cas? School? How about work, Gabriel?”
“Everything’s well, but Gabriel does have something he’d like to tell you.” Gabriel glared at his brother.
“What’s up, Gabriel?” Gabriel took a deep breath.
“Well...uh...I recently found out that...well, I’m pregnant, dad. So...congrats, you’re gonna be a granddad,” His father was quiet on the other end for several long moments.
“That’s great, Gabriel! How far are you?”
“Eleven weeks.”
“Who’s the father - anyone you’ve mentioned?” he asked.
“Sam Winchester - He’s Dean’s little brother.”
“Dean, as in Castiel’s fiance?”
“The one and only,” Castiel confirmed, rather boredly from his spot perched on the back of Gabriel’s couch.
“Well, it sounds like I’m going to need to come and meet these boys, won’t I? Especially this Sam.”
***
“Need you to be free Saturday three weeks from now,” Gabriel said when Sam walked into the apartment. Sam dropped the reusable grocery bag on the counter, pulling out the tupperware containers of food his mom had sent over. “My dad’s coming to town and he wants to take everyone out for lunch.”
“Should I dress any special way? Anything I should know>” he asked, wrapping his arms around Gabriel’s waist.
“You should probably wear clothes. And for the love of God don’t mention those damn Supernatural books, okay?” Gabriel sighed, resting his head on his head against Sam’s shoulder. “Hates those things - regrets writing them and signing on to a ridiculous contract.”
“I can do that,” Sam kissed Gabriel’s head, pulling back a bit and placing his hands on Gabriel’s stomach. “How are you feeling? The baby’s not giving you too much trouble, is he?”
“It’s a she,” Gabriel murmured into his shoulder. “And she’s been fine - I only puked once today.” Sam smiled, gently rubbing his thumbs in circles over Gabriel’s stomach. He wasn’t showing just yet - it was obvious he’d put on a bit of weight, but he didn’t have a full on baby bump yet.
“Are you hungry? Mom sent over lasagna,” Sam pulled away, grabbing the tupperware off the counter. “Says she wants you eating something other than ramen and my cooking.” Gabriel laughed, taking the container from him. “She’s always cooking too much anyways - hasn’t gotten used to not having Dean and Cas around all the time.”
“Well, if she’s making too much anyways,” Gabriel popped off the lid and placed the tupperware in his microwave.
***
It wasn’t long before it was summer, and Sam was out of high school for good and spending almost all his time at Gabriel’s apartment. To be honest, by this point he’d pretty much moved in. He’d go home once or twice a week, get some new clothes and spend a little time with his family, then head back over to Gabriel’s. Though, honestly he was working a lot more now, so he was only there for meals and sleeping. He’d taken some work at the Roadhouse, to make up for Anna moving out of town. It was only for the summer, but it was another paycheck for them to put in the bank before the baby was born.
Gabriel was officially in his second trimester, and was starting to show. Gabriel would pout and complain about his pants not fitting, but Sam loved the little bump, and knew Gabriel did too. He’d caught his boyfriend more than once just standing there, running his hand over the slight protrusion of his stomach.
Gabriel was laying back on the bed, trying to get his jeans to button. Sam leaned against the doorway, and said with a sigh, “I think we’re gonna have to invest in maternity clothes for you soon.”
“I can still get a few more weeks out of these clothes,” Gabriel declared stubbornly, finally getting his pants done. He kicked his leg, using the momentum to get up. Sam could see his face pale a bit, obviously from nausea, but it cleared away quickly. Gabriel wasn’t having a particularly difficult time with the morning sickness anymore, which had him happily eating everything in sight. He stood up, holding his arms out in a sort of ta-da! pose. “See? Fits fine - just a bit hard to zip up.”
“When I get my paycheck, we’re going shopping for new clothes.” Sam said. “You ready to go to lunch?” He added after Gabriel pulled on a t-shirt. It was baggy enough that you could only tell he was pregnant if you knew, and were actively looking for a bump.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
It was rare to see all the Shurley siblings gathered in one place, but there they were, gathered around a table at this little restaurant on main street. Sam had always thought they were a mismatched bunch. Michael, the eldest, had always been a bit of stick in the mud, and now was by far the most successful of his siblings (Sam liked to think of him as Percy Weasley.). Then there was Lucifer, who had actually horrified Sam as a child, and while he wasn’t by any means an upstanding citizen, he was getting better than he had been (If Michael was Percy, Lucifer was Charlie). Gabriel was the third eldest, followed by the twins, Castiel and Jimmy (Sam wouldn’t compare them to Fred and George, but as they grow older and Dean became more open about some of the things that happened growing up, he’s starting to think it may actually be an accurate description.). The various romantic partners were also gathered around the table. Dean was sitting at one end, leaning back in his chair and joking around with Amelia Novak, Jimmy’s fiance. Lucifer’s girlfriend, Lilith, was sitting near him, looking bored.
Chuck Shurley reminded Sam of a chihuahua. He was small, and a bit meek looking, bearing almost no resemblance to his children. He smiled when they walked up, getting up and pulling Gabriel into a tight embrace. “It’s good to see you, Gabriel.”
“Good to see you too, dad,” Gabriel smiled, pulling back from the hug. Sam saw Chuck’s eyes flicker down to Gabriel’s stomach.
“How have you been?” Gabriel shrugged.
“Pretty good. Stopped puking. We’ve got another appointment next friday,” Gabriel explained. “Um, by the way, this is Sam. Sam, my dad.” Chuck turned his attention to Sam’s direction, smiling and holding out a hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sam.” Sam returned his smile, shaking his hand.
“You too, sir.”
Lunch goes better than any other gathering of the Shurley siblings Sam had ever witness. Lucifer and Michael snap at each other a few times, but overall it was very civil. Chuck did a lot of question asking - mostly towards Amelia, Lilith, Dean and himself, trying to get to know his sons’ significant others, but he also spends a lot of time asking his sons about the going ons of their lives, and how their many cousins were.
***
Gabriel was four months and half pregnant before he finally accepted that he couldn’t keep wearing his normal clothes. He’d already been wearing mostly sweat pants, with two pairs of jeans that were big enough to stretch over his growing belly. Money wasn’t as tight as it had been, with Sam’s added income and some money borrowed from his father and brother (He was going to pay them back. Somehow, one day.), so they had a bit extra to spend on buying him an almost entirely new wardrobe.
Male maternity clothes were...lacking. There seemed to be a mentality that carriers were okay with wearing the flowy dresses and frilly stuff that filled most of the maternity sections around their town, so Gabriel ended up with a collection of big shirts and maternity jeans. He wasn’t complaining much. He liked t-shirts and the maternity jeans are shockingly comfortable. They were almost like sweatpants, only you looked like less of a slob wearing them out in public on a regular basis. And, he was thankful for the stretch, since he now he was getting bigger and bigger every week. Dr. Garden had said that he should be gaining a pound per week. A pound didn’t sound like much, but when you’re putting one one every week, it adds up.
He sighed, pressing a hand over his stomach. “It’s a good thing I’ve already landed your dad, kiddo, because I don’t think I’m getting my figure back after you,” he declared, placing a hand over his stomach as he laid back on the bed, ready for an afterwork nap. That’s when he felt it, a little feather light touch along his stomach. His eyes flew open, propping himself up on his elbows to look at his stomach. He felt it again. “Sam, c’mere.”
Sam walked in, peanut butter and jelly sandwich in hand. “What’s up?” Gabriel smiled at him.
“I felt ‘em move.” Sam’s eyes went wide. He set his sandwich on the dresser by the door, walking over to the bed and sitting beside him. Gabriel grabbed his hand, placing it over his stomach. It was a few long moments before he felt the light touch again. “Did you feel it?”
“No,” Sam shook his head. Gabriel looked down. Maybe he was imagining it? “But, I read online that you’ll be able to feel them before I am, so I’ll feel them soon.”
***
“Do you want to know the gender?” asked the ultrasound tech, putting the gel on Gabriel’s stomach. Gabriel’s face scrunched up and he mumbled about it being cold.
“Can you actually tell?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. He and Gabriel hadn’t talk about if they wanted to find out, or even what they wanted. If Sam was to be honest, he wanted a boy. He and Gabriel both came from all boy families, so he thinks it would be easier.
“Almost certainly, as long as the baby’s turned right,” she explained. Sam looked at Gabriel.
“Well - if the kid’s turned right, I’d like to know, if you do?” Gabriel said, turning his head to meet his gaze. He nodded.
“Okay, then let’s see if they’ll corporate,” The tech smiles at them, pressing the probe against Gabriel’s stomach.
She moved it around until the baby showed up on the screen. Sam stared at the screen, wide-eyed. He thought the baby would still look...well, not like a baby. But he can see the shape of the head and the curve of the spine and...holy shit, it’s a baby. And yeah, Sam had already had about three “holy shit I’m going to be a father.” epiphanies, but actually seeing his child to go along with the thump thump of it’s heart and the bulge of Gabriel’s stomach, it just really drove the point home (though at this point, driving the point home is more like driving it into the ground.) It seemed like Gabriel was having a similar epiphany, staring at the screen with wide eyes. “That’s our kid.”
“That’s your daughter,” the ultrasound tech. Sam felt his lips spread into a wide smile, staring at the little baby on their screen. His daughter - their daughter.
The rest of the appointment was routine, and Sam was honestly too busy thinking about how he was going to have a daughter. They got a few little printed out pictures to show off though, and the knowledge that yes, there was infact a living human being inside Gabriel.
***
“You should just take all your stuff to Gabriel’s,” declared Adam when Sam walked through the door.
“Nice to see you too,” Sam said, dropping his bag on the couch and taking a seat beside his brother. “Wanna see something cool?” Adam looked up from his homework expectantly. Sam reached into his pocket, and pulled out the ultrasound, handing it to his brother. “That’s your niece.” Adam’s eyes went wide, looking down at the picture in his hand.
“That’s so cool! Have mom and dad seen yet?” Sam shook his head.
“Have mom and dad seen what?” Kate came walking into the living room, basket of laundry balanced against her hip. Adam held up the ultrasound, waving it excitedly.
“My niece,” he stated proudly. Sam smiled, reaching out and ruffling his hair. Kate set the laundry basket down, taking the ultrasound from him. She looked at it, a soft smile on her face.
“Bet this really drove it home for you, huh? Seeing the baby,” she stated. Sam shrugged.
“Kinda, yeah. I mean, I think I had the really big “crap, I’m gonna be a dad” thing when we first heard the heartbeat, but...well, seeing him or her really solidified it, you know? I mean, I’m having a daughter.”
Kate nodded in understanding, “Gabriel’s due in October, right?” Sam nodded. “Just in time for the holidays. It’ll be nice having a little girl in the family.” She handed the ultrasound back to him, “Why don’t you go out to the garage and show your dad?”
Sam was a bit hesitant. He doesn’t know how to really talk to his dad about anything, but especially the baby. Ever since they told him, other than the big screaming match they got into, John doesn’t bring it up. It’s like he’s trying to pretend that Sam’s not going to be a father - that he’s not going to be a grandfather. He’s just sure if its because he honestly wants to forget what’s going on, or if he’s like Sam, and has no idea how to bring the subject up. Sam sighs, getting up and walking towards the garage. He should probably broach it. They only have so much time before the baby’ll be there, and Sam wants to be on good terms with his father. He wants John to be a good grandfather to his kid.
He hesitates on the threshold, watching his dad work on the old junker he’s been fixing up. Sam’s never been as enthusiastic about cars as his dad or Dean, but he knows enough to appreciate that with the right care and attention, the car will be really nice when John’s done. He almost doesn’t want to bother him, but he knows he has to. “Uh, hi, dad.”
John straightens up, turning around to face Sam. “Hey, Sam,” he greets, pulling a rag from his belt loop to wipe the oil from his hands.
“We went to the doctor today - got an ultrasound.I was...well, I was wondering if you wanted to see your granddaughter?” He held out the picture. John hesitated a moment, before reaching out and taking the picture with a mostly clean hand. He stares down at the picture for a long moment before he says anything.
“Do you think you’re ready?”
Sam leans against the frame of the door. “No,” he answers truthfully. “Did you think you were?” John actually smiles, letting out an amused huff.
“Hell no -and Dean was planned,” He looks up at Sam. “I don’t think anyone’s actually ready. Raising a family is hard and...you never know what’ll happen. But, I think you can do this.” John takes a deep breath, “I know I didn’t react too well to any of this, but being a dick won’t help this situation. You - for reasons I don’t understand yet - love Gabriel, and you’re going to have a family with him. I haven’t always been the best dad in the world, and I can’t fix that, but I’ll try to be a better grandfather.”
“I know I’ve said otherwise in the past but...you’re not a bad dad,” Sam mumbled. “I mean, you were never dad of the year, but who is? You’ve always taken care of us. We’ve always had food on the table, clothes on our back, and a roof over our heads, and considering how shitty things were...early on, that’s saying something. You were a widower with two little kids. You could have just turned tail and run - left Dean and I with Grandpa Henry or something - but you didn’t.” He smiled at John. “So, we’re okay?” John nodded, handing back the ultrasound.
“We’re good, son.”
***
“I’ve always liked the name Sophia,” Gabriel declared, looking at the ultrasound attached to their fridge. Sam walked over, wrapping his arms around his waist. “What name do you like?” Sam pursed his lips, thinking. There were plenty of names that sounded nice, but one that he liked enough to name his daughter? Everyone was probably assuming they’d name her Mary or Marie or some variation of those. And Sam had considered it, early on, but he’d decided he didn’t want to name her after anyone. He didn’t want her to feel like she had something to live up to.
“I’ve always like Adriene or Amber,” He said. “But Sophia is nice. We could go with something like...Sophia Adriene?” He suggested. Gabriel rested his head back against Sam’s shoulder. Sam spread his hands across Gabriel’s stomach.
“Sophia Adriene, I like that.” Sam smiled, rubbing his hand over Gabriel’s stomach. He felt a little pressure under his hand. His eyes went wide.
“I felt her kick!” He exclaimed. She kicked again, and another time.
“I think she may like her name,” Gabriel laughed, placing his hand next to Sam’s. Sam leaned down, pressing his lips against Gabriel’s in a quick kiss.
“I love you - both of you.”
***
“We should throw a baby shower,” Castiel declared, slipping into the booth beside Dean and stealing one of his fries. “Would you and Gabriel like a baby shower?”
Sam set his burger back down on the plate. “I mean - I’m not gonna say no.”
“It could be a surprise thing for Gabriel - ya know he loves surprises,” Dean suggests. “His birthday is in September - we could throw it then? Like a dual birthday-baby shower?”
“Would it be safe to do the whole surprise! thing while he’s pregnant?” asks Sam. He liked the idea of throwing Gabriel a party. By september, he’d be eight months and huge and probably grumpy and miserable. Sam would like to do something nice for him, and Gabriel did like surprises and parties. He flourished in big groups.
“I’m not going to recommend that we all jump out from behind furniture,” Cas said. “But, on the day of the party, you could take him out for a bit, and come home and we’ll all be there. No jumping and yelling through.”
Sam nodded, “I think he’d like that.”
“Awesome, then let’s do it! Cas and I can plan it, if you want? I mean, someone other than the parents to be are supposed to plan the baby shower, aren’t they?”
“I believe that’s the tradition - though I think it’s normally not supposed to be family, but we can ignore that.”
Sam smiled, “Thanks, guys. Gabe’ll love it.”
***
Time flew amazingly fast. Sam started his classes at the local community classes in late August, which meant he had to cut back on hours at the Roadhouse, working there on weekends, at the garage during the week, and taking his classes in the evening. It was stressful, and Sam had already told Ellen he’d have to quit when Sophia was born. Gabriel went on maternity leave a week into september. (Sam was actually shocked he had maternity leave. He didn’t think baristas got it. It was only three months with a quarter of his normal pay, but it was something.)
“Sam, I don’t wanna go out,” Gabriel whined, glaring at him from his spot on the couch. “It’s my birthday, can’t we just stay in?”
Sam smiled, leaning down to place a kiss on his head. “I thought you wanted ice cream?”
“I do.”
“And aren’t you always saying it tastes better from one of those ice cream parlors?”
“I do say that.”
“Well, if I just bought you something from there, it would melt before I got home.”
“Could just speed.”
“I’m not Dean,” Sam joked. “C’mon, babe, you don’t even have to put on real pants. You can keep the sweats on.” Gabriel pressed his finger to his lips, looking thoughtful.
“You make a good argument, Winchester. Let’s go.”
***
Gabriel felt full - a good full. Sam hadn’t let him get a large like he wanted, and that was a good idea. He always gets a large, and he always regrets it. Sam was smiling, kept looking back at him as his unlocked the apartment door. “What’re you up to?” he asked.
“What makes you assume I’m up to something?”
“Because you suck at acting nonchalant.” Sam shrugged, pushing open the door, holding it open for him. Gabriel waddled past -and god, he was actually waddling now. He’s sure Sophia will break some kind of record for World’s Biggest Baby - and into the apartment.
And apparently everyone else they knew had also decided to come inside while they were gone. “Hello, Gabriel. Happy Birthday,” Castiel smiles at him from the kitchen area, waving his hand. Gabriel waved back.
“Thanks...Why is everyone in our apartment?”
“It’s a baby shower-slash-birthday-party, dude,” Dean spoke up. “Ya know, we’re gonna eat cake, sing out of tune, and practicing diapering baby dolls and stuff.” Gabriel laughed, smiling at them.
“Well, you can diaper baby dolls. I’ve got plenty of diapering in my future.”
***
The baby shower went off without a hitch. Gabriel had a great time, sitting around and joking around, listening to what Kate and Ellen had to say about parenthood. Not to mention that the gifts were really helpful. Kate and John had already given them some of Adam’s old nursery furniture, which had been stored up in the attic for almost a decade (Sam suspects that they always wanted another kid, just never got around to it), but the other guests got them clothes (Nothing too frilly. Sam had specifically requested that Cas and Dean put that on the invite.), toys, bottles and diapers galore. All the gifts were now stored in the extra bedroom-turned-nursery(-formerly-Lucifer’s-room), awaiting the arrival of their daughter.
At this point, Sam was just counting down the days. They were seeing Dr. Garden every two weeks now, and Gabriel was scheduled for a C-section on October Fourteenth, his due date. Sam was impatient for it to just happen already, for the baby to be born and for them to finally get to meet her. Gabriel made no secret that he was eager for this all to be over (“Don’t listen to anyone who tells you pregnancy is fun - they’re fucking liars.”).
But, as impatient as Sam was to finally meet his daughter, he had to admit that he was nervous. In theory, he knew that he could take care of her. Change diapers, feed her when she cries, don’t drop her. He was scared he wouldn’t be emotionally ready to raise a child. He was eighteen, just in college, and honestly his only experience with babies was when Adam was a baby. Dean had always been so much better with kids than he was. What if he somehow screws his daughter up? He wanted the best for her, but he wasn’t in much of a position to give it to her. What if he taught her wrong or didn’t make her feel loved?
“Hey, kiddo,” Gabriel looked over at him. “Something wrong?” Sam smiled, rolling over and resting his hand on his stomach. Sophia gave a little kick - she wasn’t kicking as much lately, the doctor says it’s getting a bit too cramped for her to move around.
“Just...worried is all.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
“Worried about what?”
“I’m scared I’m not gonna be a good dad.” Gabriel smiled, reaching down and intertwining their fingers.
“You’ve had months to worry about that, why’s it keep you up now?” he asked.
“I dunno...guess it’s ‘cause she’s gonna be here so soon? I mean...we’ve only got a week.” Gabriel pulled his hand free,pushing himself up on his elbows so he could lean over and press a kiss to his cheek.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be a great dad, Sam. I know you will.”
***
October fourteenth is a dreary, rainy morning, and Sam tried not to think that it was a bad sign. Everything was going be fine. Their families were gathered in the waiting room, awaiting the newest little arrival (Kate and John had even let Adam come with them instead of going to school.), Sam was all dressed in surgical scrubs, and Gabriel had been prepped for surgery. Dr. Garden had done this plenty of times before, and he’d assured them that everything would go perfectly fine. He was just being nervous to be nervous.
“Sammy, let up a bit on the hand holding,” Gabriel ordered, glaring up at him. “That’s hurting more than the knife cutting through my stomach.” The nurses and Dr. Garden chuckled. Gabriel smiled, gave his hand a light squeeze, and that helped calm him a bit. Sam felt bad - he should be calming Gabriel, not the other way around, but it was the other way around.
Sam is actually shocked at how little time it took before the nurse was lowering the little curtain that was covering Gabriel’s lower body, and Dr. Garden was holding up their little girl for them to see for the first time. Sam stared, wide-eyed. She was smaller than he had assumed she’d be, but she was loud and red-faced and the most beautiful thing Sam had ever seen. This time, Gabriel was squeezing his hand painfully tight but Sam hardly noticed. The doctor handed her off to a nurse, who walked away. Sam knew this was happen - they needed to check her and clean her up before they could hold her, but it didn’t change the fact that Sam wanted to hold his daughter now. And Dr. Garden had told them they’d get to see her in the operation room, while he finished up, so he wouldn’t only have a wait more than a few minutes (Five, the internet had told him.), but it still felt like too long before a nurse walked over, his daughter swaddled and calm now.
“Do you want to hold her?” she asked. Sam smiled wide, nodding a bit too enthusiastically. The nurse smiled, handing over his daughter and helping him put his arms in the right position. She was a warm, solid weight in his arms, but at the same time it almost didn’t seem real. This was his daughter, not just some random baby. She was his and Gabriel; they had made this tiny little person. And she was absolutely gorgeous. She had chubby little cheeks and a little nose and pouty little lips. Her eyes were closed and she had a little hat covering her head, so he couldn’t see who’s eyes she’d gotten or if she had hair yet, but it didn’t even matter. He was too distracted by every other little detail of her face.
“Sam, bend down and let me see her,” Gabriel ordered.
“I’m sorry, Gabe,” Sam muttered, bending over so that Gabriel could get a good look at their daughter. He should have done that right away, but he thinks Gabriel can forgive him for getting distracted.
“Wow...we made that.” Gabriel whispered, holding up one hand to run his index finger along their daughter’s cheek. Sam smiled, nodding.
“We did.” Gabriel returned his smile.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
*~*~*
Sam doesn’t think he should be this nervous. Sophia was just going to kindergarten. But it meant she wasn’t going to be safely at home or at his parents’ house. Instead, she was probably going to be in the hands of some stranger, surrounded by a bunch of other kids, and god knows kids can be mean. At least Dean taught at the school, and that gave him some peace of mind. But she’d been all smiles when she’d climbed into his car after school, spending the whole ride home telling him every little detail about his day.
“Uncle Dean’s classroom is the one next door, and Uncle Cas dropped off lunch for us!” She explained, pushing open her door with a bit of effort, and slipping out. “I wish Uncle Dean was my teacher, but Ms. Moore seems nice. Uncle Dean told her she better not be mean to me ‘cause I’m his favorite niece. Of course, I had to tell him I’m his only niece,” she continued, following Sam inside. “How was your day at work, daddy?”
“Good enough,” Sam smiled down at her as he opened their front door. “Wish Uncle Cas had thought to bring me lunch, though.”
“You should call him and tell him to bring you lunch tomorrow!” She suggested, dropping her backpack by the front door and kicking off her shoes, revealing the mismatched socks. She had insisted she get to pick out her own outfit, and at first Sam and Gabriel had been a bit fearful of what she’d picked out, but then she’d come prancing out of her room in a pale yellow dress, and yeah her socks were two different lengths and colors, but it could be worse. “Papa, we’re home!”
“Welcome home, sugar-lump,” Gabriel poked his head out of the kitchen, smiling at both of them. “How was your first day of school?” Sophia launched back into her story, repeating everything she’d said to Sam on the ride home. Sam smiled, watching his daughter pull herself up onto one of the stools in their kitchen. He reached down, grabbing her backpack, and pulling out the thick yellow envelope that held her first day paperwork. He set himself up at the table to fill it all out before dinner, half-listening to Gabriel and their daughter.
Sam would like to say life had panned out pretty well for them. Things had been tough the first few years, trying to juggle work, and Sophia, and school, but once Sam had gotten his associate's degree, he was able to get a job as a paralegal. Sam enjoyed his job, and it paid well enough to take care of them without really worrying. (He still worried. After years of constantly worrying, it was hard not to). He was still slowly working on becoming a lawyer, but it was slow going between work and his family. He’d very recently been able to finish his bachelor's degree in Law. He was going to wait a few years to go into Law school, but he’d get there eventually. For now, he wanted to spend more time with Sophia and Gabriel.
Sam was nearing the bottom of the stack of papers when Gabriel slipped into the chair next to him. He looked up and smiled, “Hey.”
“So, we’ve gotta talk.” Sam sighed, setting his pen down.
“That doesn’t sound good, Gabriel.” Gabriel smiled, shrugging.
“It’s not bad, but...it’s unexpected,” he explained. Sam readjusted himself in his seat to face Gabriel better, waiting for him to continue. “I’m pregnant.” Sam stared at him, brain working overtime to process what he’d said. Gabriel was pregnant again. They were going to have another baby. Yeah, not bad - definitely not bad. Sam had always wanted Sophia to have a sibling, but he’d never known when the right time to bring it up was.- but definitely unexpected. But, they’d had Sophia with a fraction of the income they have now, and Sophia is in school now and it just seemed like if they were going to have another, now would be the time.
“We’re having another baby,” Gabriel nodded. Sam smiled, leaning over and pulling him into his arms. Sam pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you.”
“Love you too, kiddo.”