A New Chapter

Mary

Reaching down, you picked the child up, knowing in your heart that this was your girl. Your Mary. And it made tears slide down your cheeks at the realization that you had missed so much time with her. Even with her time in hell, she still had the same sweet baby smell to her. The same silky soft dirty blonde hair, and the same slightly crooked smile that she inherited from her Dad.

You could hear the footsteps coming closer, but you could do nothing more but hug your child close to you, needing to comfort her as much as you needed to be comforted. She snuggled into your neck, rubbing her nose up and down your skin, tickling you while repeating the word Mommy over and over again. 

"Y/N!" You heard Dean yelling as he checked each and every room for you. You didn't yell back, knowing sooner or later he would find you, and you didn't want to upset the child in your arms. Your child, you had to remind yourself.

It was only seconds later when the door behind you was shoved open, and Dean stood there, panting heavily. Behind him, you could hear the hushed whispers of Sam and Cas, but you didn't turn. You were still off to the side, in the shadows, where Dean probably couldn't see what you held in your arms. "Are you okay?" He asked you, moving to stand forward. "We couldn't find her." He told you, his voice full of grief and heartbreak.

"Dean, she's here." You whispered to him, stepping out of the shadows, so Dean could see.

You could see the hope on his face. That was the first emotion crossing, but it swiftly turned to shock, then confusion. "But Y/N, that's not a baby. Our girl should only be a couple of weeks old. This one is at least a year old!" 

"I know Dean. But I can feel it, it's her." You insisted, just as Sam and Cas came further into the room.

"May I?" Cas asked, moving to step in between you and Dean. Dean nodded, stepping away, towards Sam, who placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hi." Cas started, and Mary picked her head up, looking at him curiously. 

"It's alright." You told her, patting her back comfortingly. Even if it turned out this wasn't your Mary, there was no way you would leave her here.

Cas came forward, placing his hand softly on her cheek. She just stared up at him with eyes that reminded you so much of her Dad's, and you knew the answer, even without Cas' help. "Hi Mary. I'm Cas. I guess you could say I'm your uncle. It's nice to finally meet you."

Feeling shy all of a sudden with so many people in the room, she clutched her arms tightly around your neck, almost choking you. You saw Cas go over to Dean and nod, confirming the fact that this was in fact your daughter. "Time moves differently in hell, we all know that. Even though it had only been a couple of weeks for us, it's been over a year down here for her."

You saw Dean's eyes glistening with tears, his feelings the same as yours. Feelings of remorse for not getting to your daughter as quickly as you should have. For letting her go in the first place. And for knowing you've already missed so much of her life. 

"Y/N, do you want to meet your Dad?" You asked her, and she perked up, sitting up in your arms. 

"Dadda?" She asked, and you nodded. Tilting your head Dean's way, he came over, stiffly and unsure.

"This is your Dad." You told her as soon as he was beside you, staring down at her nervously. It broke your heart that he had never gotten the chance to hold her as a baby, to even see her at that stage. 

"Dadda!" Mary yelled, throwing herself from your arms into his. It was sweet, and amazing, how quickly the girl had taken to the fact that you were her parents. It was like she had realized it all along. 

At first Dean's arms were stiff as he held her. She had her pudgy little arms wrapped around his neck, her head nuzzled tightly to his chest, her eyes closed in contentment. A huge smile soon covered his face as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, pressing a kiss to her head. 

"I hate to break up this little family reunion, but we need to go, now!" Crowley said from the doorway, his face bloody. 

"What happened to you Crowley?" Sam asked, pulling out his demon killing knife in case the threat was still there.

"Ambushed by the rest of his followers. Pretty sure we killed them all, but we need to leave here, now!" Crowley yelled, before turning and leaving down the stairs. You glanced at Dean, who had your daughter securely in his arms, before following along. Dean was right behind you, with Sam and Cas bringing up the rear. 

Crowley retraced his previous steps, and you kept glancing nervously behind you, making sure Mary wasn't getting too upset over the smells and sounds around her. But what you saw had your heart melting. She was sound asleep, cradled against Dean's chest, with one of his hand's possessively holding her head tight. 

It was just as creepy going this time, but your heart was a little lighter. You had your baby girl back. Even if she was different, older, you still had her back, and that's all that mattered. Once you were back in Crowley's study, he finally stopped rushing, and turned to give you his full attention. "I take it you found your daughter." He said, eyeing Mary curiously. 

"Yeah we did. But she's older than she should be. Can you fix that?" Dean asked Crowley, who just frowned and shook his head.

"I was afraid of that. Hell is no place for a child. In here too long, and they will lose their childhood in a second. But, at least you have her back." He said, walking over to where Dean was holding the sleeping girl. "I'm sorry you missed out on her being a baby. I would have loved to have been there for that too."

"Thank you for all of your help Crowley." You told him, itching to be away from hell, and back in the bunker.

"It was the least I could do." He told you, before handing you a blue velvet bag. "I won't be making it topside soon, which saddens me. I would love to visit you and your darling over there. Get to know her a little bit. But please, when she wakes up, give this to her. You can call me Grandpa Crowley, I don't mind. The girl doesn't have grandparents, so maybe I can be one. Spoil her a little bit. After all, you were like a daughter to me." He said, pressing a kiss to your cheek, before opening the door so you could head back home.