Chapter 12

The male looked at the pair with a wary eye but let them through. Angela was relieved that alpha dominance wasn't going to be an issue here. It would just not be good. She hopped over to where the female was lying on a pile of hair and she didn't look too good at all. It was automatic for her to go near the head and start petting her and gently rubbing her ears. "It's okay," she murmured.

The female gave a low moan. Angela looked and now could make out the slight bulge near the abdomen. She had no idea whether to make this out as coincidence or not. Oh boy. How long has it been since I actually played midwife?

She checked the abdomen, not quite sure what she was looking for. How could she? She was used to the farm animal variety and maybe she delivered a few human babies. She pressed her hands on the abdomen while murmuring to soothe the mother trying to ascertain… forget it. It was guesswork but she had to be accurate in that guessing.

Sam watched as Angela rubbed her forehead as if to think before moving towards the abdomen of the female. He had been shocked when Angela revealed that the female was actually giving birth when she hinted at it; as if things couldn't possibly be worse, but then again this was mild if he put the Winchester luck on a scale. He asked, "Um… Do you know what you are doing?"

"Well… I used to help out on a farm and a couple of times played midwife," Angela admitted as she felt with her hands. "Yetis are a different story but the principles are basically the same." She sounded more confident than she felt considering that she was human sized and yetis were huge.

Sam nodded, "Okay. Do you need me to do anything?"

"Knife, sterilize… uh water," Angela rattled off things that probably wouldn't be needed but it made her feel better.

Sam grabbed her back and fished out the knife. He held it to the flames of the fire he had built for them and then carried it over and put it on the cloth she had. He noticed the rubbing alcohol so they were good on that. Now he needed water. He started to go gather clean snow when the male scooped him up and bounded deeper into the cave and dropped him by the edge of a pool.

Sam looked at the male with a raised brow after dusting himself off and said, "So you actually understood that?"

The male gave a low rumble and a nod. He gestured to the pool with his limbs. He peered at Sam with trusting eyes even though he appeared gruff.

Sam took the water bottle they had and tentatively walked over to the pool and dipped it in and filled it up. So the thing understood him and seemed to grasp the situation. It was probably the reason why he hadn't acted violently with them. Angela patched him up and the yeti knew she wasn't out to hurt them and the big plus was that she knew how to pet all animals or anything with fur.

When he was finished he turned to look at the male and said, "Uh… this is all that I have."

The male grunted and disappeared, leaving Sam to wonder if he pissed the thing off. He was back though with something that looked like a bowl but Sam knew right away that he wasn't going to be able to carry it. It was made of rock and too big. The solution was that the male put him once again on his back and dip the bowl in the water.

Sam held on for dear life as the male bounded back to where his mate was. Sam could see that Angela had already managed to clear an area and build a second fire. She was hobbling and hopping and getting pretty good at it. The female was still where she had been and it looked like she was curled into a ball. He slid off the male's back and handed his water bottle while the male set down the stone dish, "I brought this but he seemed to think he could do one better."

Angela looked at the rock tub and raised a brow, "Alright then." She started hobbling towards the mother and murmured, "I think she is having trouble. We might have to… reach…"

Sam didn't need her to spell it out. He got the picture. "You're serious?"

"Sam, something isn't right. We have to help her," Angela hissed. She looked at the ground before looking up, "I can't walk away when someone needs help in the medical variety. I just can't."

Sam wasn't sure about this but he understood where Angela was coming from. He had never seen her leave a stray dog or injured person, animal or thing to fend for themselves. Cerebus was the best example and now that thing was loyal to her emphasizing 'man's best friend'. He sighed, "What do you need me to do?"

Angela gave a slight smile of gratitude at him. She needed help on this. "I need you to do something for me. Just don't be too offended." She started hobbling towards the female and pressed her hands on the abdomen. "I need you to peek and tell me what you see."

Sam felt like she had just asked him to kiss Dean's ass literally. He had bodily fluids, monster blood and other stuff sprayed on him but to actively do something like this… It was different but he couldn't keep her grateful smile out of his head. He made a slight sound and walked towards the rear of the female. He muttered to himself, "This has got to be the worst thing."

It didn't help that he had to move fur out of the way to see. He took his gloves and jacket off and moved the fur aside. He made a slight face since he felt like he was peeking up a girl's skirt.

"What do you see? A head?"

Sam looked at Angela who was trying to feel along the yeti's abdomen. He moved the fur and thought he heard the male chortle. He turned and gave it a slight scowl before resuming what he was doing. He peeked back around and said, "I think I see a butt."

Angela jerked up her head. That was bad. No wonder the mother was having trouble. She did a running hop towards Sam. "Shit. Wrong way."

"What are you going to do?"

Angela was already looking at what was considerably the messiest part of the whole thing and no doubt the most painful. She glanced at the male and said something and he acknowledged it by joining his mate near her head and holding her down. Making a slight face she pushed her hands in slowly and began feeling up the body of the infant.

Sam watched with a look of horrified fascination as he watched as Angela literally stuck her hands up the yeti's ass. It was one thing to hear about it and a completely different thing to see it. She was up to her elbows and frowning as she was trying to move her hands. He heard the mother groan a little. "Yeah I would too if someone stuck their hand up my ass," he muttered to himself.

Angela had managed to tug a little on the baby so she could reach further. She managed to find the problem. The cord was wrapped around the neck. If she pulled the baby out, she risked killing it by strangulation. If she didn't, the baby could die and so could the mate and she didn't want to contemplate on that scenario. There was a third option and she tried to do it since she was pretty much in there.

It was delicate work grasping the cord and unwinding it from the neck. She had to do this without being able to see and she prayed while she was doing it that she wasn't killing the baby or doing anything that would hurt the mother and baby. When she was done, she knew she had to help pull it out. There was a problem though. "Um Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to help me pull the baby out." Angela had been gritting her teeth as she pulled. She looked over at Sam and said, "I don't have good leverage with my ankle. My grip is good but I need some help."

Sam gave a slight nod. He got the picture and didn't grumble. He got behind Angela and wrapped his hands around her waist. He wasn't sure of the type of grip. He knew he had a stronger one if he did something like the Heimlich but he didn't want to hurt her. He compromised by holding her like he would do that but his hand was flat on her abdomen and his other hand was over his wrist. He paused as he readied himself, feeling her abdomen flex as they tensed to pull. "Ready. On three?"

Angela dug her good foot into the ground as she braced herself. She felt Sam's hands on her and tried not to overreact. She checked her grip and nodded, "On three."

Together they counted and on three, Sam pulled on her as she pulled. He could feel her trying to help him in that endeavor but he continued to pull. He fell when the resistance gave way and Angela landed on top of him and she had half a baby yeti on her and him. He could feel the warmth and the goo of the fluids that came with this kind of thing on his arms and it was getting all over him. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain that one.

Angela was chuckling. She managed to get up and make her way to the baby's head and clear the nasals and it let out a mewling sound. It turned into happy laughter as it opened its eyes and looked around. She turned to look at the parents smiling and laughing, indicating that it was all right. She stepped back to let the parents take over still laughing and rubbing her hands together in glee.

Sam managed to get to his feet once the baby was off him. He heard Angela chuckle and it turned into full blown laughter. Not the forced kind or when she was laughing at something funny. It was joyous laughter and he found that it sounded nice. He looked to see the mother already cuddling the baby and the male doing whatever males did. He walked over to where Angela was standing. They were both covered in goo but even he had to smile at the sight. He was more happy at the smile on her face and he felt the faintest of warm feelings that he helped in some way put that smile on her face. "I guess this is one of your successes?"

"Yes it is," Angela agreed and she couldn't be happier. It made her feel like she could charge full on into whatever other crap that was going on in their lives. She looked at her and Sam and realized that they really were a mess. "I guess laundry is in order?"

"It's late."

"I know. I can hear it," Angela replied as she yawned. She could hear the howling winds as the fire began to die down. She could hear Larry snoring away and he was conked out on the meds she had dug out of her bag. They were in for the night. She just hoped that Dean was handling Hibah and not feeling ready to commit hara-kiri. She gave a slight stretch of her limbs.

Sam looked at her as they sat next together. It was warm in the shed fur but even he could pick up on the cold that occasionally filtered through. Larry had been bundled up so he was fine. He sat next to her to make sure that they didn't catch cold. He heard her yawn. "You should get some sleep."

"So should you." Angela did twists to stretch her back. Their clothes were a little bit cleaner after they used the water the male brought to clean the gunk off. They were stained but not too obvious.

"Trying to boss me again?" Sam teased her with a grin.

"Whatever Sam," Angela replied as she stretched out on the fur. She laid on her right side since it was easier to curl up and conserve warmth that way and her injury was on top. So less jostling was a good thing. "There's no point in staying up. The storm will keep critters in."

Sam watched as she stretched out and curled up. He reached over and pulled her coat closer and put it over her. "Still."

"Don't be macho man," Angela said though closed eyes. "Go to sleep."

Sam threw a look in her direction and shook his head slightly. He muttered, "Yes Mom," and started to move to make a pile to sleep on.

"I don't bite."

"You like your own space," Sam replied looking at her. He rubbed his hands together.

"We've shared floor space before," Angela reminded him.

Sam made a face. He shook his head. Of course she would remember. She may get a little loopy on pain meds but she wasn't forgetful. He could admit that it wasn't that bad but she was like a sister to him. He sighed and was going to finish when the baby yeti came up to him and looked him in the face. Sam looked at him back, not sure what was going on.

It wasn't until the baby nudged Sam in the direction of Angela that he got the reason for the staring. He gave a slightly puzzled stare at it as it continued to bump him more. Giving a slight eye roll he gave in. He felt like he was being asked to touch a strange sort of goo as he scooted behind Angela and laid down. Slowly he put his arm around her waist and pillowed his head under his arm.

He was startled when the baby came up on them and circled around them. He thought it was going to try and do something like kill them in their sleep and tensed. He relaxed though when the baby curled around them and settled to sleep. Sam blinked since the baby was partially on top of them but it wasn't crushing them and he felt warm and drowsy and started to close his eyes. He didn't even see the parents come up and curl beside the baby. The last thing he consciously remembered was that it felt good curled up by Angela. They stayed that way until morning.

"So we had yetis and a wendigo?" Dean stood looking at his brother and Angela as they were sitting on the couch of their cabin.

They had come back late in the morning a couple of days ago. Well Sam was carrying Angela and they looked like they had been dragged through a pile of dirt and blood and guts. They also had Larry with them and Dean helped to carry him back to the main lodge since he had a broken leg. That didn't matter to Hibah since she came running out to hug them both and she babbled about what she did. It took a bit to calm her down and to have her go play while they talked.

It was Sam that explained that they had been ambushed by the wendigo. He tried to downplay the serious stuff like the fact that they rolled down the hill and almost got clawed by the thing. He couldn't hide the fact that they yeti saved their lives and helped them take down the wendigo. The more he thought about it, he was beginning to think that he might have been crazy since it sounded crazy himself. The look that Dean shot his way said that as much. "Yeah Dean, they were both up there," he said looking a little sheepish.

Angela had her foot propped on the table. She had been right that it had been fractured and badly sprained. It would be good as new in about a week. The upside was that Larry said that they could stay that long free of charge and thanked them for their help. She looked at Dean and said, "I know it sounds crazy but it's true. The wendigo invaded their territory and we sort of helped."

"Their?"

"Male and female pair," Angela answered. She stared at Dean and added, "You hardly ever find a lone yeti. There are few exceptions but mostly it is the pair bond. Always two there are and any offspring."

"So the yeti family is up there? Are they going to be a problem?" Dean wanted to make sure. After all, the last yeti they were supposed to be hunting turned out to be a man eater.

"No. They are generally not man eaters," Angela replied, knowing what he was thinking. "They are guides to lost travelers. They were really quite hospitable." She said it with such a straight face that one couldn't help but laugh.

Dean certainly did a little. Mostly it was at the idea of Sam and Angela up there in the mountains and snuggling. He didn't need them to tell him what happened with that. While he knew it was a practicality, he couldn't help but be amused by it since a picture was worth a thousand words. He managed to reply, "Okay then. So I take it that Larry is going to leave them alone?"

"They won't bother anyone unless they sense they are lost," Angela replied. She winced a little since her foot was falling asleep. "I explained what the yeti normally do. Besides I think it will be a benefit to him since they will more or less protect the place. They are extremely territorial and will defend it to the death."

At that point, Sam noticed that Angela was flexing her foot. He figured it had fallen asleep and was probably achy. The on-site doctor said that she would be fine. The fracture was nothing and there was no reason to have a cast put on. The sprain just needed to be massaged every now and then and commented that she had been lucky. Sam inwardly thought that it was because she was hardy.

Taking the opportunity, he silently lifted her left to place her foot on his lap and started massaging it gently. He sent a glare at Dean that told him not to say anything. At Angela he gave the same look when he put the yam on her ankle which blatantly said 'too bad and deal with it'. It really was no big deal and to him it was a necessity since it seemed to help when she hobbled around the place. It wasn't like she was going to stop since she needed to exercise it a little.

Angela raised a brow as Sam massaged her ankle. The last time he did that she was reading with Hibah and that was yesterday. It was achy and sore then too and it had fallen asleep. She said nothing about it and continued, "So all's well that ends well."

Dean looked at the sight and said, "So we're done here?"

"Tired of the snow already?" Angela gave a slight smile. It was the kind that was designed to be infuriating and teasing.

Sam gave a quiet chuckle. Dean rolled his eyes slightly. It actually wasn't a bad scene seeing the pair of them getting along. They seemed a bit more relaxed than when they went up. Maybe it was a good thing. "I'm worried about my baby."

"Sure," Angela replied.

Dean made a snort. He never could come up with an insult that wasn't derogatory towards her. Yet she always managed to get him. It was the same: she always won. He just waved his hands and walked away. He wasn't about to admit that he kind of liked the idea of staying for a week.

Sam watched his brother leave and looked at Angela who seemed to be like a cat. Her eyes were closed and she had a slight smile on her face. His hands hadn't stopped massaging her ankle and she hadn't complained. "You know that he's going to keep trying to win."

"I know but I'm still ahead," Angela replied as she lounged on the couch. Her thoughts drifted to what happened the night before. In the end the birth of a baby yeti seemed to bolster her over the hill of the slump she was in. She felt like she did when she first held Hibah after her initial surprise and every day she was with the little girl that she had grown to love.

"You're thinking about the baby," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah."

"I don't think I've ever seen you that happy. Except maybe when Hibah was a baby."

"That's the thing about babies. They always do that."

Sam gave a slight hum as he finished massaging her ankle. He didn't put it down but just held it in her hands. "So you feel better?"

"Back to the usual," Angela replied. She noticed that Sam hadn't let go of her foot. She hoped that he wasn't into a foot fetish thing like he was with her hands even though it felt good. It drove her crazy when he did that and it was harmless stuff like fixing her hands when she let them go when she went on a training craze. There were also the funny looks that made her take a step back… It was times like that she went to Dean since she was comfortable with that.

"After the week is done?"

"Mmm," Angela murmured. She was deep in thought. She was recalling how instantly the mama yeti started teaching the baby the basics. She knew that Hibah was fast reaching the age where she could help out on small stuff but she was in two minds about it. To keep her out completely would sort of try to deny her what she was but it would keep her safe. On the other hand, she needed to teach her control and how to defend herself.

It was going to be a bit of a shocker but… "I was thinking maybe have Hibah practice more. Maybe an easy hunt."

Sam looked at her and held her foot. He raised his brow, "You want Hibah to hunt?"

"I said maybe." Angela cracked her eyes open so she could look at Sam. "It was a suggestion. I do want to keep her a child but…" She paused a moment. "I can't stop what is happening naturally even if it is at a fast rate."

"So you want to go heavy duty on the powers and other stuff?"

"I've been teaching her the basics of self-defense," Angela replied. "She's been watching me and imitating me. As for her abilities, they have been manifesting and it's better that I teach her control and set the rules. She can already sense emotions and thoughts. Other stuff will come and will be at full strength by the time she's nine."

Sam thought about it some. Angela was right on some level and she did understand this better than he or Dean. She was the best choice. "Are you sure?"

"No but it's better than getting caught with the pants down."

Sam made a slight sound as he absently picked up her other foot and started massaging it. "This has something to do with the newborn and the yetis, doesn't it?"

"Partially. It's nature and nurture," Angela replied. She was effectively trapped now with Sam massaging her other foot. It wasn't injured but he just picked it up and started on with his magic hands. "Her play has shown her abilities which I think are clairvoyant but I think they are mingled with her memories."

"I know that," Sam replied as he remembered the snowball fight with Hibah. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. She seems to listen to you."

"Don't even try that Sam," Angela replied as she closed her eyes with a slight smile on her face. "You and Dean are in this too."

"Should've known," Sam muttered smiling.

It was quiet for a moment before Angela started humming. She had her eyes closed as she started humming. She paused long enough to mutter, "Winter's visible light is a seeming blight. Yet what has ended a new turn around the bend."

She then began humming the tune she had been playing on the piano. It seemed to be fitting for what was around the bend. Her thoughts drifted to the possibility of what was to come and the chances that were given as she hummed her song, not seeing Sam listening intently and joined by Hibah who came to curl by him.

A/N: All's well that ends well and Angela begins to acknowledge that she can't protect Hibah forever. At least she and Sam are on the same page. Stick around for 3.09 Heart and Soul...