Title: A Life Event

By: Tidia

Beta: That Girl Six

The Future

Dean sat on bed facing the bathroom waiting for Juliet to exit. He had heard her get up, no matter how quietly she had tried. She had even kept the lights off.

He did not want to intrude on Juliet. He could hear her retching noises, then the flush, brushing her teeth, the click of the door closing. In a moment he made out her silhouette in the doorway as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He cleared his throat to make some noise, but it didn't help as Juliet yelped.

"Ah! You scared me."

Dean reached out to her and guided her to sit next to him on the bed. Juliet's hand was still around her throat. "Sorry, how are you feeling? Can I turn on a light?"

She nodded, and he clapped his hands. He loved the Clapper. Juliet hated it and rolled her eyes in response of the dim light casting the room.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Juliet kept his hand in hers.

Her paleness and occasional sickness had gone on for a month now. She had brushed him off in the beginning, but now that she was clinging to him it made Dean believe there was more going on. "Promise me you'll go to the doctor's."

She slipped her hand out of his. "It's nothing. A stomach bug. Stress. I just opened the office, and it's busy with not enough staff. Do you know how hard it is to find office staff?"

Dean shook his head as he heard the excuses, so similar to what he would do in her position. Juliet did not like creating a drama. "I can send over Sal to help you." He bumped her shoulder in jest.

Juliet returned the bump. "You complain you can't read his writing."

It was true. His employee had the worst writing, so much so that Sal had to type out notes to Dean about menial tasks like lunch orders. "I'll help you."

"Thanks, honey, but you're busier than I am." She patted his leg, then stood up to go to her side of the bed.

He was not letting the issue drop. He wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her in so she was facing him. "Then promise me you'll at least go to the doctor's. If not, then I'll call Mac."

"Are you threatening me, Winchester?" She crooked up an eyebrow, which was so non-threatening with her hair set up in a high ponytail askew.

Dean brought his hand to her neck. "Yes, yes, I am."

She leaned down with her lips close to his. "Fine, tomorrow morning I'll call. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Dean kissed her. "Come back to bed."

Juliet kept her promise. Dean stayed at home to witness her making the phone call and then getting an appointment for later in the morning. She dissuaded him from going with her. Her independence was both a blessing and a curse. He could not say that he actually got much work accomplished. He was tinkering on cars instead of fixing their mechanical issues. Finally, he decided to get some paperwork done in his office. Juliet said she would call when she was finished, so hiding out in his office seemed like a better idea.

"Boss, the missus is here!" Sal yelled out to him.

Dean swallowed. This was not a good sign. She came to give him bad news in person. He did not have a chance to get out of his chair before she came in, her eyes shielded by sunglasses, but he could tell that she had been crying.

He went to her, enveloping her in a hug before pulling away to take off her sunglasses and hold her face in his hands. "Tell me."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I'm not trapping you. This wasn't on purpose."

"I know that." He flashbacked to his father in cardiac arrest, about all his long bedside vigils. Dean would stand by her no matter what the treatments or where it took them.

"We were careful." She looked him in the eyes.

"Careful about what? Darling, you're killing me here. What is it?" He needed to know so that he could fix it. Dean had a lot at his disposal, more so than any other normal person. He, Sam, and Caleb had made a promise about no more deals, but Dean had never foreseen anything like this.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted, bringing a hand to her mouth to cover the downcast mouth.

His hands fell from her face to splay on her collarbone where he could feel her heart beating. "We're having a baby?"

She nodded, moving her head so her cheek almost touched his hand. "I used protection. I'm sorry."

Dean was reeling with the only thought reverberating in his brain being BABY. His heart clenched in excitement where before there was dread of unforeseen illness. "Nothing is fool proof, especially when Team Winchester is involved." He felt giddy, though he would never admit the uncool reaction. He looked at Juliet and noticed she did not have the same uncontained emotions. He then thought of their conversation. "Wait, do you think this is a bad thing?"

"Do you?"

"No. I know you're not trapping me." Dean hugged her tight and lifted her off the floor, then twirled her around until she laughed. He put her down when he thought this may not be good for Juliet and the baby. "Sit down." Dean placed her gently in the beat up padded chair. "How are you?"

"Fine. A bit of a shock. I didn't notice at all." Her hand wavered on her nonexistent belly.

All the retching and vomiting made sense now that Juliet was not dying from some fatal illness. "That was morning sickness?"

Juliet frowned. "All day sickness more like."

Instinctively he rubbed her back. It had hit in the early morning hours, but he was not going to disagree with her over semantics. "When's the baby due?"

"The doctor thinks I'm two months along. I have an appointment with an OB on Thursday."

"I'm going to go with you."

"Okay." Juliet shifted in the chair. There was more on her mind.

"Now that you know that I don't feel this was a scheme on your part to get my millions, you want to tell me what else is going on?" He pulled his desk chair close so that they were sitting knee to knee.

"I love you," she started. He didn't know if that was a good start or a bad one. "But this baby could be a hunter or involved in the Brotherhood."

"He or she could." Dean never thought what it was like to be an outsider to The Brotherhood and a female. Carolyn was part of The Brotherhood so she knew what she was bringing Max into; Juliet did not. "Though are you thinking it's a he?" He wanted a healthy baby, but a boy would be awesome, especially in light of Joshua having a boy.

"That's not the point." She playfully tapped his leg.

He grabbed her hand. He recalled Juliet's return to him three weeks after their breakup. Over a bottle of wine and some apple pie he told her all about The Brotherhood and his role as The Guardian. "I would never force my child into this life. But if he chooses it, I won't stop them either. I can't make any guarantees, Juliet. I'm not going to hide what I do." Dean could not imagine disappearing on his child with lame excuses that would leave him or her insecure. You could not hide being The Guardian.

"I know they'll think it's cool." She sighed.

Dean laughed. "It is cool." He thought of growing up and the summers immersed at the farm, wanting so much to be a part of The Brotherhood.

"It's dangerous, too. I'm scared." Juliet shivered.

"I'm scared, too," he admitted. Any time he sent a hunter on a hunt he was concerned and worried, more so if it was his family. A child on a hunt would be unbearable, yet it had been done for generations. His father had done it. "I think we have a while before he gets his ring."

She nodded, temporarily accepting his answer, but he knew the topic would be revisited. "What if I'm a bad mom?"

"What if I'm a bad dad?" What kind of dad would he make? His father wasn't a great role model when it came to parenting. There had been a lack of stability under the best circumstances. However, he had Jim and Mac as examples, and advice would be forthcoming from Joshua, he imagined. It would bring a new dimension to his Advisor role.

Juliet shook her head. "I don't think that is possible. I see how you are with Sam and Caleb."

Dean snorted. "Honey, they're grown men."

This time it was her giving an unladylike snort. "Really? I'll take pictures next time you have to referee one of those video games."

"Those are for Max. We have to test them out," Dean explained, recalling them buying a few games for Max to play with and having to decide which was the appropriate one. Dean and Caleb enjoyed spending time with the little guy and influencing him. Max already had 'dude' in his repertoire of words.

"Max is two." Juliet held up her fingers.

Dean shrugged. "Worse comes to worst, we make a lot of mistakes with this one, screw him up, then have another one and do better. Practice makes perfect."

"Slow down. One baby at a time." She placed his hand on her stomach. "I just opened my own practice."

He was thinking how they would work it out so that he could refute this list of insecurities she was going through. "You don't have to give it up. We'll figure it out. I'll be home more. Juliet, you, this baby, you're my first priority, my family. Everything else is second."

"Will you say that when I'm really big?" She moved her arms out a foot.

"I'll have to think about it." He was imagining her with a big belly, his child growing inside. He couldn't think of a prettier sight. "Can I tell everyone?"

She gave a shy nod.

"We're having a baby!" he whooped.

"Congratulations!" Sal hollered from the garage.

Juliet and Dean laughed. Dean had forgotten about Hal.

Juliet regained her composure, using her fingers to wipe her tears of laughter. "Do you want to call them right now?"

Dean knew Juliet was talking about Sam and Caleb. He wanted to tell them in person, but he couldn't wait for the weekend. The weekend could be spent celebrating.

"I suggest a conference call." Juliet had her hand on the office phone.

He got Sam on the line first on his cell phone. He should have been on his way to class. He was frenzied but happy with following through on his dreams of law school.

"Sam, hold on for a second."

Dean dialed Caleb next. He had no idea where Damien would be, just that he was not on Brotherhood business. Caleb had been branching out with his life—painting and Tri-Corp.

"Hey, I have Sam on the line, too," Dean announced.

"Were we scheduled for a phone meeting?" Sam asked.

"What's wrong?" Caleb asked at the same time.

"Paranoid much? Can't I just call without having a reason?"

"What are you, a girl?" Caleb replied.

Dean caught Juliet's eyes. She frowned, then placed her hands on her hips. "I resent that."

"Hi, Juliet," Sam said in a warm voice.

"Sorry, present girl excluded. I see what Josh means about speakerphone," Caleb quipped. "Are you two running off to Vegas finally?

"No," Dean answered. For an unconventional guy, Caleb could be so traditional sometimes. "You two better come down this weekend with some Cubans."

"When you say Cubans you mean—" Sam started. Because of law school he was always looking at the ulterior meaning of things.

"Cigars," Dean further explained. "You're going to be uncles again."

"Josh and Carolyn are pregnant? That's a surprise since Max is a handful," Caleb added.

Juliet poked him. "Because of you."

"That's not going to be our kid," Dean whispered back. "No, Juliet and I."

"Are what?"

He didn't know if Sam and Caleb were being purposefully obtuse. Unintentionally, he raised his voice, "I'm pregnant."

"What? Were you hit by a curse?" Sam sounded panicked.

"I'm the pregnant one, the girl," Juliet said into the phone clearly, then turned to Dean. "Do I need to know something?"

He shrugged his shoulders. They had heard the tall tales of hunters being cursed to carry babies when they had wronged a witch, but so far none had been corroborated.

"Holy sh—. Sorry, Juliet. Man, wow, congratulations." Sam was stunned.

Like Dean, maybe more so, he never thought Dean would have a kid. However, Dean thought this was exactly what was needed to give Sam hope about what his future could have.

"I'm bringing a case of cigars and some scotch," Caleb said loudly in excitement. "Guess that means that dream that you'll dump Deuce and run away with me is never going to happen."

Juliet smiled, an eyebrow lifted. "If you bring me some chocolates with those cigars and scotch for you boys, then you never know."

"Were we the first ones to know?" Caleb asked.

Dean should have lied, but it slipped out in all the merriment. "That would be Sal."

"Sal, your employee?" Sam clarified.

"Well, I'm going to get back to work," Juliet interrupted, having perfect timing. "I have to call my mom and dad, but that can't be on a conference call."

Juliet navigated being a child of divorce very well with her parents. It helped that neither lived nearby so she could not be accused of playing favorites. He kissed her, extended it when she tried to pull away until he heard the phone speaker.

"What are you two doing, as if I can't guess?" Caleb's voice came through loud and clear.

"Bye, boys. I'll see you this weekend." Juliet waved to the phone, caught herself, then shook her head.

Dean watched her leave. In the background he could hear Caleb and Sam having a conversation about him involving getting him drunk. "This is not a bachelor party."

"Close enough. We're talking about another Winchester. Maybe we should go to Vegas?" Caleb suggested.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked. "Sure, you're okay, but it must have been unexpected."

He wasn't going into the whole story about how he thought Juliet was dying at first. This was a surprise, and it was better this way. "Sometimes not knowing what's coming is better than planning it."

THE END