It had been two months of hunting for the boys, with me staying home and doing everything I could, but unable to do much. I wasn't involved with the hunting. I was just involved with the smarts and the go-to girl in case they needed help on finding out what to do.
But it was making me restless as hell.
I was having nightmares of my time as a demon, killing Lester, those guys in the bar, and then killing those guys that had gone after Claire, reliving the fight with Cain, remembering when he had told me.
"Why do you think I started killing all of my descendants, Ness? Why now? Why did I start only a few short weeks ago?"
"I don't know. I don't care. It doesn't have anything to do with me. I'm not your descendant."
"It has everything to do with you. You may not be my descendant, but you're married to one. But it's not just that. No, no, no. You're carrying two. I'm doing this for you, my dear. So you won't have to go through what I already have. To spare you from the pain of seeing your children turn into monsters."
"Even if what you say is true, I don't believe that they'll turn into the same monster as you."
I remembered the doctor's appointment.
"I believe one is a boy. And the other is a girl."
I remembered me and Dean talking.
"I'm just starting to think that... maybe there's more to it all than I thought. I can't keep doing that and end up getting killed. I can't do that to you, and I sure as hell can't do that to them. I'm not leaving you alone to deal with this on your own. I don't buy for one second that the Mark is a terminal diagnosis. And with everything that's going on, we gotta get that thing off of you now more than ever. I'll do anything to get this off f you."
"Even if I can't do anything to help?"
~~~~~~~~~
I was lured back to consciousness when I felt someone kissing my belly to draw me awake, hearing Deans voice. "It's just a dream, Ness. Come back to me."
I still had my eyes closed, mumbling, deciding to tease him and pretend to still be asleep. "Protect me. Save me. Dean..."
"Now you're just pretending," Dean told me.
"Am not," I told him, opening my eyes, looking at Dean, smiling a small, tired smile. "Maybe just a little."
"What were you dreaming about?" Dean asked.
I sighed, looking down. "Everything."
Dean looked like he wanted to help but didn't know how.
~~~~~~~~~
I was starting to show a little bit more, a little bit more round and bloated, because it had been two months since the job with the ghost named Isabella.
Dean and I were in the library when morning came.
"Avian," I told him.
"A bird?" Dean asked skeptically. "Really?"
I smiled a small smile. "It's a lot more than just a bird."
"Veto," Dean told me. "Gaige."
"Gaige gauge?" I asked sarcastically. "Veto. Ever."
"And forever?" Dean asked sarcastically. I tilted my head at him. "Veto. Malik."
Dean and I exchanged a look, shaking our heads. "Veto."
I sighed, looking down.
Dean looked at me curiously. "What?"
"Dean, I'm... I'm happy about this," I told him. "I'm happy for us. More than I have been in forever."
"But..." Dean trailed off.
"But..." I trailed off, showing him the Mark. "We've seen what this thing does to me. What will it do to..."
Dean shook his head. "No, you don't get to worry about that. Let me worry about that. Your job is taking care of all the rest. All right, next name."
I sighed, nodding. "Trinity?"
Dean tilted his head back and forth, debating it. "Eh... veto. Haiden."
Sam walked in. "You guys talking vics?"
"Depends on how you wanna see how a name treats a person," Dean told him.
Sam stopped in confusion. "What?"
"Names," I answered. "You choose the wrong one, you could very easily create a victim."
Sam understood, shaking his head. "My brother Dean Winchester and his wife Ness Singer-Winchester debating baby names. Now I have seen everything."
I laughed quietly, looking at Dean. "What do you say, baby? Does the uncle get name or veto power?"
"I'd say neither," Dean answered.
We looked at Sam, smiling.
"Yeah, laugh it up," Sam told us. I rubbed a hand over the Mark. Sam noticed. "What's wrong?"
"I've been out of a job for about two months now, and the Mark does not agree," I answered. Sam and Dean nodded. I looked at Sam. "I'm sorry. Were you going somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah, actually," Sam answered. "There's been some weird deaths and Demons signs at some truck stops outside of Boise, and I'm pretty sure that we can handle it alone."
I rolled my eyes, sighing. "I'm so tired of being on house arrest."
Dean chuckled, stepping closer. "I wouldn't say that you're on house arrest." He took my hands, pulling me closer. "Just... maternity leave."
I shook my head. "Yeah, no."
"We've got it handled," Dean told me. "You stay here and kick back with decaf or water or something. God, I can't imagine going two months without a single drop of alcohol, and I bet it's pretty hard for you, since you used to work in a bar for over a decade."
I laughed sarcastically.
Sam and Dean started to gather their stuff.
"We won't be gone but a few days, a week at the most," Sam told me.
"Well, I trust you," I told them. "Make good choices."
"Don't do anything too strenuous," Dean told me.
"Dean, I'm pregnant, not handicapped," I told him.
Dean and Sam smiled, nodding in farewell, walking out, leaving.
I watched them go, sighing, holding a hand to my bloated belly. I looked down.
~~~~~~~~~
I got really, really restless, leaving the bunker to go to a restaurant, sitting at a table, eating something healthy, drinking soda, placing my drink down, sighing. "I miss whiskey." The waitress walked closer. "Hey, Donna."
"Hey, Ness," Donna told me. She looked at my bloated belly. "Ooh, hoo. Looks like something's growing inside you."
"Two, actually," I told her. "It's been a hoot and a half."
Donna chuckled. "Where's your man?"
"On the job," I answered.
Donna nodded. "Oh."
"You know, after the birth, I was thinking about getting a job to have a little extra cash for the babies," I told her. "You know anywhere that's hiring?"
"Yeah, here, actually," Donna answered. "I'll put in a good word with the manager and make sure he keeps a spot open for you."
I smiled. "Thanks, Donna."
We heard college boys playing pool.
A boy had just beat his friend. "Boom. Money. Now. Loser! Give me your cash. Now. Right now."
I looked at Donna. "What's up with the Abercrombie rejects?"
"College kids 'slumming it'," Donna answered.
"Slumming?" I repeated. "What are you talking about? This is a nice joint, okay?"
Boy 1 looked at his friends. "Come on, bitches. Who's next? 20 bucks a game. 20 bucks."
I looked at Donna. "Seems like easy money. Plus, somebody's got to put them in their place."
Donna smiled. "Go for it."
I ran a hand through my hair, walking closer. "Yo! Yeah, I'll, uh... I'll play."
"What, seriously?" Boy 1 asked.
"Dude, she's pregnant," Boy 2 told him.
"No, no, no, no, don't take pity on me," I told them. "Fair game. All right? Fair game. Hmm?"
Boy 1 nodded. "All right. Grab a stick."
~~~~~~~~~
I was throwing the game, hustling them. "I'll gt it. I'll get it."
"There it is," Boy 1 told us. "Corner pocket. The king is here."
"Okay, all right," I told him. "Again?"
"Sure," Boy 1 answered. "Say $100 this time."
I nodded. "Yeah. Make it $300." I tilted my head, smiling a small smile, daring him. "What do you say?"
"Uh..." Boy 1 trailed off, looking at his friends. "Give me your cash."
All of the boys chipped in.
I looked at the money on the table. "Looks like we're good to go. Rack them."
~~~~~~~~~
I was pounding at pool now, indicating which pocket the 8-ball would go in. "That one."
I made the shot.
Boy 1 looked at me. "You hustled me."
"Well, you're pretty quick for a guy who's all hair gel and body spray," I told him, picking up my jacket and the money. "Thanks, fellas. This really means a lot. Don't mean to be a bitch, but I kinda need it." I held a hand over my stomach, smirking. "You understand, right?"
I didn't wait for an answer, turning around, walking away, toward the bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~
I was in the bathroom, getting sick for a moment, coughing, gasping for breath. I sighed, breathing heavily. "Damn you, morning sickness. It's not even morning, you son of a bitch."
I looked out the window to see it was dark outside, walking over to the sink to wash my hands and face, rinsing my mouth out with water, spitting it out. I pulled on my jacket, still really restless, walking out into the restaurant.
It was deserted aside from Rowena, who was drinking a glass of red wine, wearing a black cloak. "Ness."
"Rowena," I replied. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? I'm sorry. Did I say 'nice girl'? I meant 'evil skank'."
"You say that like it's an insult," Rowena told me. "But nice girls, they're pathetic. Here's to evil skanks."
Rowena took a drink.
Boy 1 came at me from behind. I sensed him coming, turning to face him, backing away out of his reach.
He was changed like what Rowena had done to Elle, the hooker, the animal spell.
The other college boys came out of hiding, changed.
"Whoa, fellas," I told them. "What did she do to you?"
Boy 1 ran toward me. I stepped aside, turning to face him, punching him in the face, making him fall. I looked around for a weapon, knowing that I had Ruby's knife, but I didn't want to kill them. I picked up a pool cue, using it to hit Boy 2 in the face, making him fall unconscious. Boy 3 ran closer. I picked up a pool ball, throwing it at his head so hard he fell unconscious. Boy 4 tried to punch me. I took a step back, using the pool cue to push him onto the table, hitting his head against it twice to knock him out.
Rowena took off her cloak, pulling up the sleeves of her floor-length dress to reveal sigils all over her skin, and her chest, shown by the V-neck in the dress. "Someone's tougher than she looks. Even while pregnant, you can still fight without killing."
Rowena cast a spell. "A spioradi an tsaoil, eistigi liom!" I pulled out Ruby's knife. Rowena started to glow with purple light. "Duighigi an fear seo! Duighigi go luaithreach e!" The purple light soared toward me, but it didn't hurt me. I didn't feel any different. Rowena was confused, shaking her head in disbelief. "Not possible."
I walked closer, gripping her throat, pushing her against the counter, the knife posed at her throat. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Rowena gasped for breath. "Saving my son."
"Your son?" I repeated.
"Crowley," Rowena answered.
I looked at her in shock, processing. "Crowley Crowley?"
"My son is a king, a god," Rowena told me. "Or he would be if you didn't... you snap your fingers, and he comes running like a wee lapdog."
"Lady, I don't know what you're talking about," I told her.
"His obsession with you," Rowena told me. "You're a good influence on him. That's why you need to die."
"Well, sorry your little light show didn't work," I told her.
"Oh, I'll try again," Rowena told me.
"What, you think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?" I asked.
"I think you're a hero," Rowena told me. "You could have killed those men, but you didn't because they're innocent. 'Cause you're the good girl, and you want them to live. But the spell I cast will devour them from the inside out like it did that girl. Elle. I'm the only one that can save them. What's it going to be... hero?"
I was torn, but in the end, I had to let her go so she could reverse the spell and save those guys.
I could not let them die for something like this.
~~~~~~~~~
I knew that Crowley would come.
And he did.
"Been waiting on you," I told him. "Hello, Boris. Where's Natasha?"
"Would it make a difference?" Crowley asked.
"Not really," I answered.
Crowley looked at my bloated belly, walking closer. "The bearer of the Mark of Cain having twinsies. This is an extremely rare event."
I took a step back. "Something that you're not gonna be apart of."
~~~~~~~~~
Crowley told me that Rowena had been bruised, beaten and bloody by the time she went to see him.
"Look, I'm not saying that I didn't want to slice and dice the witch," I told him. "I'm just saying that that's not how it went down."
"So, she's liar?" Crowley asked.
"Must run in the family," I told him.
"Mother says that Mark is just a curse," Crowley told me. "That it can be removed. Of course, she doesn't know how."
"Figures," I told him.
"She says I've gone soft," Crowley told me.
"You have," I told him. Crowley looked at me in confusion. "What? Yeah, maybe it's all the human blood that Sammy pumped into you, you know? Maybe it's, uh, all the time that we had you locked in the dungeon. I don't know. But the old Crowley, he would have come in here with an entourage of demons just to take me to a cell in Hell, lock me away and let me rot, because the Mark means power, and two children are being born into it. Now? You didn't want to fight. You wanted to talk. But I know that I haven't changed with giving Dr. Phil sessions. I've given them to everyone, now including the King of Hell. Never saw that coming. What is it, huh? Why you letting mommy dearest tie you into knots?"
"Because..." Crowley trailed off. "We're family. Blood."
"That's not the same thing," I told him. "You know what my dad used to say? 'Family don't end in blood'. But it doesn't start there, either. Family cares about you. Not what you can do for them. Family's there through the good, bad... all of it. They got your back... even when it hurts. That's family. That sound like your mother?"
Crowley didn't answer, knowing I was right. "You're free to go. I'm not going to take you."
"Good," I told him. "Because I've gotta go see if that spell witch bitch cast did anything to my babies."
I walked out, leaving.
~~~~~~~~~
I was sitting in an exam room at the hospital.
The OB/GYN was checking the babies with the ultrasound wand. "They seem to be okay." She put the wand down, looking at me. "Is there a reason you came to make sure they were fine?"
I nodded. "I got jumped by a few guys and I had to fight them off. I just wanna make sure that everything was good."
The OB/GYN nodded understandingly, reassuringly. "Believe me. They are fine. Whatever happened, they were protected by some kind of miracle."
I looked at the Mark of Cain. "I doubt that."