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Sam was in a daze on the way back to the house. He sighed as he remembered his first conversation with Cassie after she told him about Megan.
{Flashback-almost a year before}
“Sam you can’t tell Dean, I promise I will do it, I just need more time.”
“Cassie you have had three years, then you told me and I am like an… accessory now,” he looked out the motel room to make sure Dean was still at the bar.
“I know, I’m just scared, I have waited so long maybe I should just forget it.”
“No, if you aren’t going to tell him then I will,” Sam said frustrated as he ran his hands through his longish her.
“You’re right I need to suck it up…”
”Sh*t, I have to go Dean is coming,” Sam said as he closed his phone as Dean opened the room door.
“Oh you still up?” Dean asked as he stumbled over Sam’s shoe in the floor.
“I was watching some television.”
Dean eyed the silent television screen but noticed the laptop was open on the table.
“Television or porn, whatever helps you through the night,” Dean teased as he went into the bathroom.
Sam rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh, his under arms where so wet he thought he might need another shower. Why don’t I just tell him, he thought.
{End Flashback}
When Sam walked in the house, the first thing he heard was the sound of Dean’s voice as he called his name.
“Sam we need to talk,” Dean said.
“Okay, what about?” Sam asked as he sat on the sofa on the other side of the room from his brother.
“Did you give Cassie our address?”
“Um, yeah I did a while back. Why?”
“Just curious as to how she got it to send this note saying that she had a daughter and it’s mine,” Dean said as he noticed Sam’s eyes would not meet his.
He glared at his brother. Sam should have been shocked as he had been. Instead, his younger brother sat looking at his large feet.
“Did you hear me?” Dean asked with barely contained anger.
“Yeah I did, seems those condoms you been using may be um, may be defective,” Sam said with a straight face.
“Screw that, tell me what you know. Did you know about this Sam?” Dean yelled.
Sam swallowed hard; he knew he deserved this treatment form Dean. He hadn’t expected to feel so bad about withholding the information. But it had not been his information to reveal; besides if he had told Dean, Cassie might have moved away or done something really dumb. She seemed fragile when he spoke with her at times. He was used to fighting with Dean and felt he could endure it. Ari showed up at the door. She knocked before she peeked in the room.
“You guys need a time out in here?” she asked as she looked from one brother to the other while she attempted to size up the situation.
“Looks like Sam may have known about Megan,” Dean was in Sam’s face by that time.
“I ….”
“You what? You did know or you did’t? It is a simple yes or no.”
Ari stood quietly by the door a moment before she left again with a shut of the door. She figured they needed to be alone to hash things out.
“Yes I knew but I swore to Cassie I would let her tell you. She just took a while it seems.”
“Get out, I can’t look at you. Doesn’t my being your brother mean anything to you?”
“Dean, don’t say that, you are all I have,” he pleaded before Dean opened the door for him to leave.
Sam looked sadly at his brother as he walked out of the room. Dean slammed the door before he went back to the computer to pick up the picture again. He ran his hands through his hair. He sat down and this time the tears came.
Amber watched Sam from the door as he packed some things in a bag to take downstairs with him. He would give Dean time to figure things out. It was best if he moved to the other part of the house.
“Sammy?”
“Yeah, Munchkin,” he said as he sat on the bed and Amber went to sit on his lap.
“Are you mad at Dean?”
“No, he is mad at me, but don’t worry okay. He will get over it, I promise.”
“You love him?”
“Yeah, I do love him, he is my brother and you my little Munchkin, I love you too,” Amber smiled as he hugged her.
Ari knew Dean had to be hurting. She felt helpless as he sequestered himself in the study for most of that day. She had gone in a couple times to take him food but didn’t feel as though she could deal with staying to look in his sad face. He pretended to be hard at work on finding a hunt, but she figured he was trying to figure out a way to get to see his child.
“Dean you can go see her, I mean if you want you should go…”
“Ari I’m fine, really. I don’t want you to worry about me. I mean she is a little girl not a life threatening disease. I’ll be fine,” he insisted as he pulled Ari into his lap.
He absentmindedly rubbed his hand over her stomach to feel the boys move against his against his hand. He smiled up at her.
“How could I love her already? I haven’t even met her.”
Ari smiled at him.
“Honey, she is your kid, of course, you love her.”
“I don’t know anything about her. I mean what if she isn’t even mine.”
“You don’t believe that do you?’
He hesitated only a moment.
“I know she is, Ari, but I never expected this in a million years. Damn, Cassie for keeping her from me,” he said as Ari got up.
Ari remembered when she had threatened to take off when she found out she was pregnant and Dean had been hesitant about the situation. She could only imagine how Cassie had felt. Dean had been long gone when she found out she was pregnant. It would have been a surprise for her to find herself unwed and pregnant by a man who had told her he was a ghost hunter and moved on after she didn’t believe him. Ari bit her lip as she contemplated what she should say if anything.
“She looks sweet,” Ari finally said.
Dean smiled as he looked at the picture again.
“She does doesn’t she,” he said as he beamed with pride.
Dean leaned down to kiss Ari, she knew he would do the right thing after he railed Cassie out.
****
It was close to a week later when Ari saw a white Grande Prix drive into the yard. They hadn’t had visitors since Ash left a couple weeks before. Whoever it was sat in the car a moment before they got out. Ari noted it was a tallish afro American woman, or maybe mixed race, she thought. This can’t be Cassie, why would she show up here? Had Dean called her? The lady got out of the car the same time as a little girl. Ari knew it was Cassie then because she recognized Megan. Ari stood still as she waited unsure of what to do. She went to the mirror to make sure she looked nice. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she wore jean shorts with a blue maternity top. She took a deep breath after she convinced herself she looked stylish and cute.
Outside Sam met Cassie, who wore Capris and a blue tee shirt with sneakers, at the back door.
“Hey,” he said as he gave her a hug.
“I’m not sure about this Sam.”
“You owe it to Dean to let him meet her, Cassie. My brother hasn’t talk to me in almost a week. He is hurt that I didn’t tell him.”
Cassie looked up at Sam.
“You’re right, I’m sorry you are being shunned because of me.”
“No worries, I get to meet my niece this way too,” he said as he looked down at the little girl at Cassie’ side.
“Megan this is you uncle Sam,” Cassie said as Megan smiled up at giant Sam.
He picked her up as Amber ran out the screen door.
“Hey I’m Amber,” she said with a grin at the two strangers.
Sam put Megan down so she could meet Amber.
“This is Megan and her mother, Cassie,” Sam said as an introduction.
Amber took Megan’s hand with a smile.
“Sammy can I take her out back to play with Sammy Doo?”
Sam looked at Cassie for consent.
“Sammy Doo?”
“He’s Amber’s puppy.”
Cassie tried not to laugh before she nodded her permission. Megan was only a tad shorter than Amber at three and half years. Sam smiled as the two little girls headed around the house.
“She calls you Sammy?”
Sam cleared his throat.
“Never mind about that, you should go get this over with,” he said.
“You will watch the kids?”
He smiled as he gave her a slight push toward the back door as he followed the path the girls had taken.
Cassie was at the door about to knock when she noticed Ari stood on the other side.
“Hi.” Ari said.
“Hey, I assume you are Ari.”
“And you Cassie?”
Cassie nodded as she went inside the door that Ari held open. They walked inside and into the kitchen in silence.
“So why are you here?” Ari said a bit suspicious, before she sat down at the kitchen table after she offered Cassie a drink that she refused.
Cassie sat down opposite Ari as she took note of the nice large kitchen and the hallway that all seemed cozy to her.
“I thought it was time Dean met his daughter since he knows about her now.”
Ari held her cup of tea with both hands
. “You know I’m glad you came. Dean has been in a bit of a funk since he got your note.”
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I waited all this time to tell him and now he should at least see her, spend some time with her, something so she knows he… cares.”
Ari nodded.
“I just wish you had done it all before now. Cassie you have to know he is very upset with you.”
“He told me, already. He phoned to rant and rave about how unfair I have been,” Cassie said.
“At least he spoke with you, he won’t talk to Sam.”
Cassie pursed her lips as she nodded; she hated herself for putting a wedge between the brothers because of her selfishness.
Dean came out in the hall and heard voices in the kitchen. Cassie saw him and his facial features switched from curiosity to anger. He turned on his heels and went back into the study. He shut the door and went to the window. He smiled when he saw Megan in the yard, she wore a pink shirt and pink shorts with white sandals. Sam pushed her and Amber on the swing set as Sammy Doo barked and ran around them all. What would his life have been like if he had known about her? Would he have really made time to visit her? Or was Cassie’s way of dealing the better way? He couldn’t keep his eyes off his little girl. She seemed shy though her and Amber both laughed at Sammy Doo’s antics. He heard a knock on the door a moment later.
“Come in,” he said without looking to see who it was.
“Dean, will you talk to me?” Cassie asked with frustration in he voice.
“We have talked.”
“No you yelled, I held the phone away from my ear.”
“You said all you wanted to say in your note.”
“Look I know you are angry, I get that. I know you think I am a Bitch, that I get too, but will you at least talk to Megan.”
He turned to Cassie with anger in his face again.
“Of course, I would love to talk to her, just not you,” he said as he went back to the window.
Cassie cringed at what she saw in him.
“Okay I’ll get her.”
“No give her time to play. You aren’t planning to leave right away are you?” he asked as he faced her again this time she saw only resolve in his face.
“It’s up to you.”
“At least let me have some time with her, you can do that right?”
“Sure, I can do that,” she said before she left he room.
An hour later, Cassie brought Megan to the study to meet Dean. She was afraid the little girl would be too tired from playing to meet him if she didn’t do it soon. She already seemed to be a bit sleepy. When Dean saw Megan walk in the room, he met her half way. Megan looked up at him with a small smile.
“Mommy says you’re my daddy.”
Cassie watched Dean’s face as it softened. She left the two of them alone in the room.
“I am and it’s nice to meet you.”
Megan lifted her arms up to show she wanted to be picked up. Dean picked her up and held her close. Megan held him tightly around his neck. He closed his eyes a she leaned her head on his shoulder, his emotions where in a jumble. He kissed her cheek as he leaned his cheek to hers. After a minute, he sat down on the sofa with her in his lap. That was when she began to tell him her life story. He heard all about her friends, her grandmother, her kitten and her mother. Dean took it all in silently as he watched her eyes light up. Of course, some things he really did not understand because she was so young all that mattered was that she was with him. His flesh and blood, his offspring, he loved her even more. How was he going to let her leave him? When she finally stopped talking she smiled up at him, before he tapped her little nose with his finger. She leaned her head against his chest with a sigh.
“Daddy, I love you.”
“I love you too, Megan.”
TBC