Howdy everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of Where Do We Go Now! This is a series of one shots with my original character, Natalie Winchester. I intend to post at least once a month, but, you know, life, so no promises :) We will be jumping all over the map, with some fluff, some serious topics, and some major butt kicking of evil! Hope you enjoy!

Special thanks and gratitude to Jenmm31. She helped me believe in myself enough to actually post, and she's been the best cheerleader along the way. Check out her fantastic sisfics- you will NOT be sorry- they're amazing.

Well here we go! Enjoy!

A/N- in this story, Dean is 32, Sam, 28. This is my own alternate universe. It takes place between seasons 5 and 6, but in my version, Sam got out of the box with his soul intact, no further damage. When Sam came knocking on Dean's door, Dean chose the hunter's life over Lisa. They broke up and never spoke again.

Spoken Like a True Winchester

Dean-32

Sam- 28

Natalie- 2 days

The rain smacked the window loudly. It had been raining for the last 4 days. The creeping grey mist seemed to cover the miserable parking lot, blotting out any chance of sun. Dean was seated in a threadbare armchair that had once had a floral pattern, but years of being motel room furniture had faded and stained most of it away. The TV was on; turned to some football game, but he didn't register it. He continued to stare out the window idly, still in shock.

When Jamie, an old flame of his from a couple months ago, had called, telling him that she needed him to come to Seattle right now, he had no idea that it would have been for this. This was way, way out of his league. Way more than any wendingo, shape shifter, or even blood sucker. He continued staring into the motel parking lot, unmoving. He didn't know how long he sat there, until a warm squirming in his arms woke him out of his stupor. He looked down. The newborn he was holding was waking up. She had been asleep for almost two hours. He found he had kept doing strange things while she slept, like checking to make sure she was breathing- just for sure. Once he had checked for the seventeenth time, he had let the little one sleep in peace, resorting to staring out the window instead. All over again, the shock of reality slapped him upside the head. He still couldn't believe that she was actually his. Natalie. Natalie Grace Winchester, his daughter.

He looked uncertainly, at the baby's expression. She was realizing that she was awake, and stretching her tiny arms. Her little red fist accidently hit her cheek. She had very few motor skills, being only 2 days old, and she wrinkled her nose in displeasure. Dean's heart swelled a bit at the face she made- he had never seen anything like it before, never really being this close to a newborn, and even he had to admit it was adorable. He smiled at her, and shifted himself slightly, still panicking that every movement he made was somehow going to hurt her. He looked closely at her for any signs of discomfort. When she gave none, Dean breathed a sigh of relief.

Sam heard the noise, and turned his head away from the TV. "Hey, you doing okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm peachy," Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes. The day that Dean didn't make a smart aleck comment was the day HE would ask for extra onions and bacon on a burger. Sam stood up and walked over to them. He knelt down next to the chair, and reached out a finger to gently stroke the tiny head nestled in the crook of Dean's arm.

"She's awake?"

"Yup."

"Do you think she's hungry?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her?"

Sam rolled his eyes and crossed back to the couch to pick up his phone. Even in the midst of one of the most life-altering things that could ever happen to his brother, he was still a jerk. He opened the Google app, and typed in "How often do babies eat". They had pretty much lived off of Google since they had left the hospital. Dean had only been four when Sam was a baby, so he barely remembered anything about how to care for a kid, and neither of them had much reason to be around them in their line of work, so they were making this work the only way they knew how to- by doing research.

"Okay," he said, reading, "It says that a newborn eats every two to three hours." He looked up at Dean. "You fed her before she fell asleep, right?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah. Man, that formula stuff smells nasty." He looked down at Natalie. "Sorry, kiddo. I'll get you eating bacon cheeseburgers as soon as you get teeth," he whispered with a smirk. He looked back up at his little brother. "Come to think of it, I could use something to eat, too."

"I don't think either of us have eaten since yesterday," Sam said, nodding his assent. "Okay, you stay here and feed her, I'll go pick up something at the store." He picked up his tan jacket and the keys to the Impala. He was heading towards the door, when Dean stopped him.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there," Dean said. Sam turned around.

"What?"

"Can you just..." he started, but then just stopped. Sam counted to ten in his head.

"What?"

Dean gave a frustrated sigh. "Just...hold on till I get the formula mixed, okay?" Sam stared incredulously at him.

"Seriously?" he said. Dean Winchester- the big brother he looked up to, wanted to be like, admired in every way- freaking out about mixing formula? Dean didn't answer; he just shifted his weight around and refused to make eye contact with Sam. Sam shook his head.

"Fine. But you know how to do this already, you don't need me to watch."

"Shuddup." Dean walked over to Sam. "Here, take her," he said, gently lifting the baby into Sam's arms. He was trying so hard to make sure her neck was supported (Google had been VERY explicit about that one) that he ended up with his hand stuck between the crook of Sam's elbow and the baby's head. The brothers looked at each other awkwardly, then tried to extract themselves from each other.

"Hang on..."

"Wait, don't move, I'll move."

"You're going to get twisted even more if you try to move."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Right. Because your genius got us in this in the first place."

"Sammy, I swear, the second I get my hand out of your arm, I'm going to use it to slap you." Dean finally managed to pull his hand away. "See? I told you I'd get it."

Without waiting for Sam to respond, Dean walked over towards the table littered with all kinds of baby paraphernalia. He took a deep breath and blew it out in a whoosh, then shook his shoulders and got down to business. With all the precision and care that he usually poured into making ammunition to gank the undead, he mixed up 2 ounces of baby formula. He would never say it out loud, but he'd take working with the explosives any day rather than freaking out that he was screwing up mixing some powder into some water. God, this terror was worse than flying. Get your head out of your ass, Winchester, he silently scolded himself. You can do this.

After he had tested the water for the right temperature, added it to the bottle, and shook in the formula, he inspected it closely. It LOOKED right. He held it out to Sam for confirmation. Sam nodded his patient nod, as if to say, See? I told you so. Dean smiled like a rock star.

"Alrighty then. Bring her on." Sam walked over, and held the baby out for him. "And don't get your hand stuck." Sam rolled his eyes and with one gently move, gracefully slid her right into Dean's arm. Dean shot Sam a cocky grin. "Now, aren't you glad I taught you how to do that?"

"Sure. I'm going to start calling you Super Nanny."

"Who?"

"I'll be back." Sam snatched up the keys and was out the door. Dean took a moment to try to figure out who or what a super nanny was, but then his attention shifted back to the bundle in his arm. She was so tiny that he could easily hold her like that, in just one arm, without panicking. He picked up the bottle and gently placed it on the infant's lips. She pulled away for a second at the strange feeling, but once she realized that the touch on her lips meant "food", she was all about it. She began sucking away at the bottle with surprising strength. Dean smiled down on her.

"That's my girl," he said, and began slowly walking around the room while she ate. His eye glanced over to the table covered in baby items again, but then he quickly turned away from it. It surprised him how much it stung, looking at those items Jamie had left them. He didn't want to think about Natalie's mother, about how on earth she could have left this precious little girl, on the very day she was born. He knew that Natalie had her tiny fingers entwined in his heart already- he just didn't understand how her mother of all people could break that bond without another thought. But what was done was done. Dean focused on Natalie now, making sure that she finished the whole bottle. He placed it down on the table. Just then, Natalie started to squirm and fuss. He bounced her gently.

"It's okay, baby girl. I've got you. I'm not going anywhere."

Sam wandered the aisles of the convenient store, randomly chucking food items into his basket. He was only half paying attention to what he was doing. His brain was still trying to cope with the completely random turn of events that this last week entailed. Out of all the things he and his brother encountered, this was, by far, the most daunting. But he knew that Dean was in this for the long haul, which meant that he was, too. He smiled at the idea- he had always liked kids, and this little girl was something special. He could tell already. That didn't mean that they didn't have a tough road to hoe, but they were going to do what they always did, which was watch out for each other. There was just one more of them to watch out for now. He smiled wider- he kind of liked that idea.

Sam went to the front counter and paid for the items, then headed out into the parking lot. Just as he shut the driver's side door, his phone started ringing. He fished it out of his pocket. He was surprised- it was Dean's number. Why on earth was Dean calling him? He pressed the answer key, and was immediately assaulted by a high pitched scream. He yanked the phone away from his ear, and tried to yell into it from a distance.

"Dean?" he hollered.

"Sam!" came the panicking voice on the other end.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Sam asked, now worried.

"I don't know! She won't stop crying!"

"Well, what's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, genius! That's why I'm calling you! Just get your ass back here, and fast!" Click. Sam stared at the phone, then threw it into the passenger seat, gunned the engine, and took off.

Several speeding ticket inducing moments later, he screeched into the motel parking lot, and ran up to the room door. Just as he was pulling out his key, the door flung open, and there was Dean, looking more scared than he had ever looked in his life. He was still holding Natalie, who was wailing her head off.

"Sammy- we've got to figure out what she wants. I can't get her to stop crying," Dean said, the panic making his voice tight. Sam shifted into crisis mode, trying not to let the emotion of the moment cloud his thinking.

"Did she get hurt?" Dean shook his head.

"I don't see how- I haven't put her down since you left." They both began examining the baby, looking for any signs of pain or stress, but other than the ear splitting cries, she seemed fine.

"Okay," Sam said, putting out his hands as if to brace himself. " So we know she's not hurt. You just fed her, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, so we know she's not hungry, we can rule that out. What else makes babies cry?" Dean shrugged his shoulders wildly.

"I don't know...do you think she needs her diaper changed?"

"Good idea! Okay, lay her down on the couch, and let's check it out." Dean made his way to the couch. Sam grabbed a changing pad from the table, and laid it down for Natalie. Dean gently put her down. She didn't like that at all. Her volume intensified. Sam was flabbergasted- how could something that was the size of a football make this much noise? Dean gently reached into the baby's diaper and felt for any signs of wetness. He shook his head.

"No, that's not it, she's dry as a bone." He looked up to see Sam staring at him. "What?"

"I can't believe that you just put your hand into a diaper willingly."

"I had to check, didn't I?!"

"It's not that. It's just...wow dude, that's impressive."

"Is now really the time?!"

"Right, right! Sorry," Sam said, then tried to think of something else. "Maybe she just needs a change of atmosphere?" Dean looked at him like he had two heads.

"Great. Let's pop in the car and take her to Disneyland."

"Dean, I'm serious. Sometimes babies just need to move around, you know? Look at something different. Here, let me take her." Sam picked his niece up off the couch. She settled down upon being picked up again, but then started screaming again within seconds. Sam walked around, bouncing her gently.

"Hey sweetheart, calm down now, it's okay, calm down," he said in as gentle voice as he could manage- he was starting to panic too. She hadn't screamed like this yet, and it was seriously starting to scare him. "Maybe she's still hungry?" he asked, desperate. Dean nodded frantically.

"Yeah, maybe! On it!" With the speed and accuracy of a Navy Seal diffusing a bomb, Dean began working on a new bottle. For someone who had to have his brother watch him do this earlier, he sure nailed it now. 7 seconds later, he was pressing it into Sam's hand. Sam touched the baby's lips with the bottle topper, but she twisted away from it and continued screaming. He tried again, but she wasn't having it. The poor thing was beginning to turn red from all of her crying. Sam handed the bottle back to Dean.

"No, she's not hungry, she's not taking it," he said. "Do babies just…cry sometimes? I mean, for like, no reason?" Sam asked, completely at a loss for the next move.

"Alright, that's it. Where's my phone? I'm going to Google this," Dean said, pushing away the trash that was on the coffee table, searching for his phone. He found it, and tried to punch in his pass code, but his fingers were shaking so badly, it took him three tries. After much cursing, he finally unlocked it, frantically tying "why won't my baby stop crying" into the search engine. The damned thing took forever to load, which did nothing to help either boy's stress level. Dean squeezed his phone tightly as the stupid little circle thingy kept spinning.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled. Sam looked at him, reproaching.

"You yelling is not going to help calm her down," he said matter of factly. Dean could have clocked him right there, but clenched his teeth, and took a deep breath instead.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," he muttered. He looked back at his phone, where, thankfully, the search engine had finally yielded its results. "Oh, thank God. Here we go," he said, clicking on the first website he found. He began frantically scanning and reading out loud, offering his own commentary as he did so.

"Okay, it says that it is common to feel frustrated, anxious, or angry when a baby won't stop crying...yeah, no shit, Sherlock...blah blah blah, techniques to help you cope...blah blah blah...okay...don't shake the baby...really, dipshit, I never would have guessed...reach out for support...I'm trying to and you're only giving me the Dr. Phil answers...gah!" he said, throwing the phone on his bed, reaching his limit. "This thing is useless!"

Sam walked over to Dean's bed, and sat down with Natalie, still screaming, in his arms. "Maybe she's just tired. Should we try laying her down maybe?" he asked. Dean threw up his hands.

"Yes, yes, whatever, I just have to help her stop crying," he said, his voice still tight. Sam laid Natalie down on her back. Upon being laid down again, she waved her arms in displeasure, and, even though they didn't think it was possible, upped the volume. Dean shook his head.

"No, she doesn't like that! Turn her over, maybe she doesn't want to sleep on her back."

"Isn't that bad for babies?" Sam asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Dean responded. He gently turned her over, so she was laying on her front, with her head turned out. He reached out to stroke her head, and the volume of crying dropped a notch. Dean looked at Sam with a look that suggested he had found the treasure of El Dorado.

"Look, she likes that!" He gently stroked her cheek with his finger, and for two seconds, she actually stopped crying. When she picked it up again, it was, again, slightly less volume than before, but her cries were still very real. Dean tried stroking her cheek again, but she continued crying her little heart out. Dean's heart dropped to his feet. He didn't know what to do next. He had no idea how to help her. He finally looked up at Sam.

Sam had been watching the whole exchange, but looked up at Dean the moment Dean looked up at him. He was shocked to see a single tear sliding down his brother's cheek.

"Sammy- I can't get her to stop crying. I can't give her what she needs. What kind of father am I going to be if I can't even get her to stop crying?" he asked, the fear ripping though his voice. Sam was stunned. He had never seen Dean so vulnerable before. Sam opened his mouth to respond, but Dean shook his head, not wanting an answer. He reached out again, looking at his daughter. Out of desperation and the need to be trying to comfort her, began gently patting Natalie on the back.

All of the sudden, the loudest belch either of them had ever heard poured forth from the baby's tiny mouth. Silence followed.

In a moment of stunned disbelief, Sam and Dean, once again, looked at each other at the exact same time.

"She was..." Dean began.

"She just had...gas?" Sam said.

"I guess so?" Dean looked back down. Natalie had stopped crying, and her little face was slowly going from red back to newborn pink. She gurgled contentedly, and almost seemed to sigh with relief. Dean let out a surprised guffaw, and looked back at Sam, wild joy spreading across his face.

"It was just gas!" he said, never thinking he would be so elated about a belch. He patted her again, and another tiny little burp followed.

"Ha! That's my girl! Spoken like a true Winchester!" Dean said, his cocky grin back in place. Sam rested his head back and let out a relieved laugh of his own.

"Okay, so now we know, burp her after feeding," he said, thinking that something was seriously lacking in the Google website for that NOT to have been mentioned. He felt like he had just run a marathon. He looked back at Dean, who was smiling from ear to ear, and once again, stroking Natalie's head. She seemed to enjoy Dean's touch, making delighted, adorable baby noises.

"Hey," he said. Dean looked up at him. "Just for the record, you're going to be an awesome father." Dean swallowed hard, then nodded once, and looked Sam right in the eye.

"Thanks," he said with a smile, and focused his attention back on the baby, who seemed to be falling asleep. Sam smiled, and then noticed Dean's phone behind him on the bed where Dean had thrown it. He clicked on the phone, and the website that Dean had been searching popped back up. He scrolled down to the bottom, where it read, "Has this been helpful?"

"Not at all," Sam muttered, pressing the button.