The Angel, The Hunter and The Nephilim (Destiel x Daughter)

37. Birth

"Leah, can I talk to you?"
She looks up and sees her father standing in the door. His green eyes are searching for an answer, a half smile, and despite her still being a bit upset with him, she motions to the bed for him to sit down. He nods and closes the door behind him and comes walking into the room, sitting down on the side of her bed with a sigh. She's reading a book, the protruding belly working as a stand for it, but she closes it and puts it away.
"What is it?"
"I just wanna apologize, first of all. I didn't respect your feelings earlier, when you were scared and just wanted to find out what the deal was. I gotta admit, I did, too, for a moment. But it all works out in the end, you know what I mean?"
"No, dad, I don't know what you mean. You said he was dad's brother, but what did he want?"
"Oh yeah," Dean says and chuckles lightly, stroking his cheek before he slowly looks back to her. "Secondly, I lied to you. Gabriel isn't Cas' brother. He's a social worker."
"What?" Leah's heart jumps up in her throat. "I didn't call them yet, I was gonna give birth first," she says, and her hands find their way up to her mouth when she realizes what she just said. Dean frowns but shrugs.
"I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but it isn't what I meant. I meant that he's here for you. Cas and I called him."
"You mean he's here to help me?" Leah asks, hopeful. Dean smirks and chuckles.
"No, Leah, he's here to take you away."
All the blood leaves Leah's face as she stares at her dad. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it should be clear. I found out the other day that I'm not your biological dad, and therefore there's no reason for me to take care of you anymore. You only brought stress into mine and Cas' lives. Sam's, too. I get that you're hurting right now, but you know what? It's not my problem anymore. That social worker is coming up here pretty soon and he's gonna take you away. And you know what? I can't wait to have you gone."
"Dad, no," Leah cries and tries to get up, but a sharp pain in her stomach holds her back and she falls back onto the bed as Castiel enters the room. The oldest Winchester brother looks at her as she cries out in pain. "Looks like the kids are coming," he says to his husband.
"Yeah, we better get her out of the house fast. I'll go get the social worker. I can't wait to have her gone."

Leah wakes up, warm, sweaty, uneasy and with tears pouring down her face. There's something wrong, she knows it. Her breaths are shallow, too quick, but she can't stop them. The pain from Cas and Dean's words are still haunting her, even through the physical pain she's feeling. She tries to clear her voice and call out for her dads, but her voice just breaks again. There's no way she'll be able to yell for them now, so she picks up her phone on the nightstand and dials Dean's number. While waiting for him to pick up, a new flash of pain rushes through her body, and she's sobbing when she can get a breath in. Then Dean picks up.
"Hello?" he asks, his voice groggy, he's obviously sleeping.
"Dad, come quick," she whimpers, her words almost disappearing between the sharp and shallow breaths.
Without answering, he hangs up, and she can hear scrambling and a muffled yell from her parents' bedroom, and she pulls her legs up to her stomach only to realize that the bed is soaking wet. Her waters have broken. The birth has started.
Cas and Dean are standing in the doorway two seconds later and they rush up to the bed, just as another wave of pain makes Leah bash her head into the headboard. She still can't get her breaths even.
"Leah, what's wrong?" Cas asks, and she's barely ever seen him that worried. That's scary as hell, and she chokes up trying to gasp for air.
"I think I'm in labor," she croaks and cries out in pain. Dean and Cas exchange quick glances before Dean shuffles closer.
"Okay, Leah, don't panic. You've gotta breathe. It's gonna be fine, alright? Just breathe. Cas?" he asks, looking at his husband while he places his hand on Leah's stomach. "Call Gabriel. We need him to ward the house."
Cas nods and gets up, leaving the room as Dean looks back at his daughter.
"Leah, breathe," he says and mimics slow, steady breathing, while placing another hand on her face that's wet from sweat. "Breathe with me, come on."
"No, don't call that man, I don't wanna go into the system again," she cries out when another wave fills her with pain.
Dean frowns. "What? You're never going into the system, what are you talking about?"
Leah stops gasping for air at long last, and tries to wipe away the oncoming tears, pushing her dad's hand away. "I thought he was a social worker and you wanted to get rid of me," she sobs, and Dean shakes his head. "No, Leah," he says and puts his hand back on her face, lovingly wiping the tears away as she presses at her belly.
"It must have been a nightmare. We're not ever giving up on you, you hear me? I told you earlier, Gabriel is Cas' brother. He's here to help us."
"Okay," Leah says and breathes out but contracts in pain again, crying out.
"We need to get you downstairs," her father replies and gets up, trying to help her up. "Do you think you can walk?"
"Dad, no, I can't give birth now, I'm just six months along! They could die!"
"Well, they're ready now, and there's nothing we can do about it. Can you walk? We have to go downstairs."
"Call an ambulance," she screams and lunges forward from the pain of another contraction. Dean stops and grabs her, helping her sit down on the edge of the bed. "It's too late to call an ambulance when the contractions are so close. We'll get you to a hospital later. You have to give birth here at home. Come on," he says and hauls her up on his shoulder, steadying her so he can lead her downstairs.
"I can't give birth at home, we don't have doctors here," Leah whimpers on the way out the door and through the hallway.
"Jody and Sam are coming to help. Cas," he calls out. "Call Sam and Jody!"
Cas and another man Leah now knows as her uncle, come running up the stairs and Cas takes over for Dean, lending him his phone. Gabriel grabs the other side of Leah and they half carry her down the stairs together as Dean dials the numbers and makes the calls in less than a minute before he joins them downstairs. Cas and Gabriel have placed Leah on the living room floor by the windows, leaning her to the edge of the couch. Cas has a cold towel he wipes her face with, and he sits calmly by her side while she's gasping for air through the contractions.
"Leah, it's going to be alright, I promise. This pain is gonna pass. It will soon be over."
"Don't talk like I'm going to die," she sobs and looks at him with pain in her eyes. Cas' heart breaks.
"You're not gonna die, we'll make sure of that," Gabriel says reassuringly and sits down by her side. "Hi, I'm your uncle Gabriel. We haven't formerly met," he says and holds his hand out with a sad little smile. Leah tries her best to steady herself and reaches out her hand to shake his. "I'm Leah," she replies, breathing fast.
"Can't you help her with the pain?" Cas asks, looking at his brother, noticing Leah looking up at him. Gabriel shakes his head. "I can't do much. I'm not at full power yet after warding the house. It'll take a while to restore itself."
"What? Warding? Power?" the young girl breathes. "What are you talking about?"
Cas' reply drowns in the sound of Jody Mills and Sam practically running down the front door. Sam runs to Dean in the hallway, and Jody immediately comes into the living room and gets down beside Leah with a bag hanging on her shoulder.
"Hey, Leah, how you doing?" she asks and takes off her jacket swiftly, putting the bag on the floor and rolling up her sleeves.
"It hurts, it hurts so bad," Leah sobs, getting a sympathetic nod from the sheriff. Cas strokes his daughter's wet hair as Sam and Dean walk in, Sam crouching down beside Cas while Dean sits down on the floor beside Leah and Gabriel, leaning closer to his daughter.
"Dad, why aren't we going to the hospital? We could have gotten to the hospital by now," she cries. Dean shakes her head as he reads the room; Jody is looking at him as if he just fell out of the sky. "You haven't told her yet?" she exclaims as she pulls on latex gloves from a pack in her bag.
"Told me what?" Leah screams and groans loudly from the pain. Dean looks down and clears his voice. Everyone looks at him, waiting for a reply. He can feel his daughter's jade green eyes boring a hole through him.
"Leah, we really can't go to the hospital. It's not an option. You have to give birth here at home."
"Why? God, it hurts so much, dad, I can't take this on my own!"
"Believe me, it's for your own safety. That's what you need to know for now. We're here helping you, we're here keeping you safe. The pain will subside, I promise."
"I'm gonna kill Michael if I survive this," she sobs, feeling defeated about not being able to go to the hospital.
"You're gonna survive this, and you won't be able to kill him if your father and I get to him first," Cas remarks darkly.
"Leah, I need you to spread your knees for me, alright?" Jody asks, putting a towel on the floor between herself and the girl.
"That's it, very good," she says as Leah gasps for pain while spreading her legs for the makeshift midwife. She takes a quick look under Leah's night gown and looks at the nervous fathers. "She's almost crowning," she says and cracks her knuckles. Leah starts hyperventilating again, and Cas quickly lifts her head, getting up and sitting down behind her so she can rest against him and grab his hand when needed. Dean sits down closer and grabs her hand. She immediately clutches it in hers, when another contraction wreaks havoc in her body, and Dean tries to conceal how much it hurts him to watch it happen.
"Do you need anything else?" Sam asks the sheriff, desperate to make himself of use. She nods. "A bucket of lukewarm water and some more towels would be great, thanks," she says and he's up the next second, getting a bucket in the cupboard in the kitchen and turning the sink on to fill it, throwing the towels in.
Leah writhes in pain again. "Dad," she whimpers.
"Yes?" the married Winchesters reply in unison. Jody smiles a bit.
"I need a distraction," their daughter breathes and she looks at Dean. "Do you want me to tell you the story about the motel room again?" he asks, and she shakes her head. "Please tell me what's wrong with my babies," she says and tears up. "I noticed by the way you were behaving. He's here because something is wrong, right?" She nods to Gabriel, who looks at Cas and Dean. "Yeah, it's time to come clean, guys," he says, causing Dean to swear under his breath.
"We successfully protected you from this your whole life, but it seems like it's as good a time as any," he admits, and his daughter looks at him, panicked.
"What's wrong with them?" she asks in horror.
"Okay, I need you to trust me, okay? It's important, it's really important that you trust me now more than ever, because you're not gonna believe me right now, but I'm telling the truth. Okay?"
"Okay," she breathes and groans in pain. Dean takes her hand, folding it warmly in his, taking a deep breath, knowing he's about to ruin his only child's life.
"The first thing you need to know is that your dad and his brother - they're not human. They're angels. Halo, fluffy wings, all of it."
"We don't have halos," Cas remarks and looks disapprovingly at his husband who sends him a goofy half smile before he looks back at his daughter who's staring at him while her body contracts again.
Sam joins Jody by the end of Leah's legs and hands the sheriff the bucket. She in turn gives him a pair of latex gloves, much to his dismay.
"Dad, I'm not five," Leah cries out in frustration. "You said you'd tell me the truth, and angels aren't real!"
"Yes, Leah, they are! I am telling you the truth. I waited way too long to tell you. But I just found out this afternoon that one of your babies is a nephilim."
"Nephilim?" Leah whispers and turns her head to look at her father who Dean just said was an angel. "I've heard that word before. You said nephilim when you left us, in the hospital."
"I did?" Cas asks and frowns, looking at Dean, who nods in reply. "Yeah, he did, Leah, but that wasn't Cas. That was the demon who was possessing him saying it so he can't remember it."
"Demons?" Leah cries out and screams in pain at another wave.
"Yeah, demons are real too, but don't worry, they're not coming near you ever again, alright? You're gonna be fine. One of your babies is a nephilim. That's why you have to give birth at home, because we can't ward the entire hospital. The angels want your child."
"What is a nephilim?" she asks, frustrated again, tears running down her face. Dean reaches for her. "It's, uh... half angel, half human. Which means Michael must have been possessed by another angel when..." Dean stops himself right there, the "r" word makes him angry, and he doesn't want to upset his daughter even more than he has to.
"Okay, Leah," Jody calls out. "I'll need you to push for me. Your baby is coming right now."
"Now? Already?" Leah cries and stares at the only other woman in the room in disbelief. Cas' grip around her tightens, and Dean groans in pain as her small hand crushes his.
While she cries out in pain, trying to push, Dean wipes at her face with the cold, damp towel Cas brought. "You're safe from all angels and demons and everything else out there. We're never, ever gonna let anything happen to you. This was our life before I found you. We hunted evil supernatural creatures who were hurting people, but I quit when you came into my life because I was scared you'd get hurt!"
Leah screams while she pushes for her life, and Jody cheers her on, encouraging her to keep going.
"Dad, I'm not going to survive this," Leah sobs between the attempts to push the baby out. "It hurts so bad, I can't survive this!"
"Yes, Leah, you will. You just need to be brave right now. It's all over soon. You're gonna be done with this in no time." He groans when she clenches his hand again, screaming, and Jody and Sam pull out the first baby. Jody wraps it in a towel quickly and hands Sam a pair of scissors to cut the cord.
"That's the girl," Jody tells Leah calmly as the baby starts crying. Upon seeing her daughter born, Leah turns into a sobbing mess when Sam tries to hand it to his niece.
"No, I don't wanna see her," she cries, and Sam, Dean and Cas exchange glances, Dean shaking his head. Sam nods in reply and wipes blood off the baby girl before he wraps her in a soft blanket beside him and laying her down in his lap.
The pain subsides for a bit, Leah notices, and her vision is getting foggy. She blinks several times. "Dad," she gasps and tugs at Dean's hand. "I think I'm dying. It's getting dark."
"No, Leah, stay with me, okay?" Dean cries, starting to panic, looking at his brother-in-law who's still sitting there, who's been quiet most of the time.
"Help her, now," he barks, and Gabriel sighs, leaning over and placing two fingers on Leah's sweaty forehead. Suddenly her vision's clear again, and the contractions start back up.
"Okay, just one more, Leah," Jody calls out and gets back down on her knees. "You can do this. Just push for me, alright?"
Leah nods, panicked, sweating as she flails for Dean's hand that slipped out of hers. He kisses her hand softly and holds it as she crushes his, trying to concentrate on breathing and pushing, eventually finding a rhythm with the help of her fathers.
"There he is," Jody says and breathes out, pulling the second child out and doing the same procedure as with the first, wrapping him in a towel. Leah closes her eyes, the pain finally calming down. She's done.
With her eyes closed and Dean telling her to rest and that they'll watch over her, she doesn't notice the panicked look Jody sends the new grandparents. She shakes her head at Dean, and Gabriel immediately reaches for the newborn, taking it in his arms, putting two fingers to its forehead like he did with Leah, to prevent her from dying. He looks up with sadness shining from his brown eyes, shaking his head to the adults in the room, and the sudden silence is deafening. Leah opens her eyes again as Gabriel covers the newborn boy with the towel and hands him back to Jody, who's striving to keep back the tears.
"No, what happened?" Leah asks and stares at Jody. Dean clutches her hand. "Kiddo, you need to rest. Everything will be fine."
"Oh my god, is he dead? Don't tell me he's dead, dad, he's fine, right?"
Gabriel stops the spectacle and the oncoming hysteria by reaching over and putting two fingers to Leah's forehead again, causing her to black out and fall asleep while simultaneously reviving her body after the birth.