Mary's Baby Part II – Riders on the Storm

This is a sequel to my first story, Mary's Baby, which I began writing before the episode "Hunted" in which Dean tells Sam his father's final message. I wrote Mary's Baby as my take on what might happen in season 2 and what I thought John had whispered to Dean in the hospital. So this will be AU, as well, but still in keeping with the characters. This begins where Mary's Baby ended. I suggest reading that story first, because it takes the series in a different direction than Kripke has.

Chapter 1

Sam and Dean stood on either side of the Impala in the dusty parking lot outside of Harvelle's Roadhouse. They both stood facing the old weathered building, neither brother moving, neither ready to go inside. The midday sun glared off the black car's chrome as small funnels of dust and debris circled around them, prompting Dean to reach inside the car for his sunglasses perched on the dashboard. As he did, Sam looked over at his older brother and saw pain reflected in his bright hazel-green eyes. He swallowed hard, wishing they didn't have to deliver this news. It tore at Sam's heart when he recalled the ordeal they had been through just days before, and the shock of finding a possessed Jo threatening his brother's life. The most eerie thing, though, had been Jo's complete embodiment of the succubus Lilith; the mother of the yellow-eyed demon, Cain. Lilith had proclaimed herself to be Sam's "grandmother." The thought sickened him. The knowledge now that he did indeed, have demon blood inside him clung to him like a poison, tainting everything. He couldn't even bring himself to be relieved that the demon was gone; because in its wake, Sam was left to deal with his own, literal demon inside. The power he had harnessed to save Dean had both shocked and terrified him. He had dispatched Lilith and Cain, sacrificing Jo's body in the process. At least, that was the conclusion he and Missouri had reached when Lilith and Cain both disappeared. Jo had been not only possessed, but bound to Lilith. And Sam had sent her back to Hell.

He blinked and shook his head slightly as Dean's voice broke through his reverie. "Sam. Sam? You okay?"

The younger Winchester nodded. "I, uh, yeah." He let out a breath and met his brother's eyes; eyes that mirrored his own pain.

"Sam, do you think it's such a good idea for you to go waltzing into the Roadhouse after what happened? I mean those hunters are still going to be wondering about you. I can go in and talk to Ellen myself."

"No, you can't, Dean. Hell, you were barely alive when I, when Jo . . ." Sam's voice trailed off at the thought. He had seen his brother die by Lilith's hand. Sam had felt the fury within himself as he banished the demons. It had consumed him. He had briefly been inhuman. He knew how it felt. He hadn't been possessed. He had been one of them. He felt physically ill as he realized it could happen again.

Dean leaned his arms on the top of the Impala, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Sam, you had no choice." Don't do this to yourself, Sammy.

"I know that, Dean. But it doesn't make it any easier, you know?"

The older sibling nodded in understanding and positioned his sunglasses on his face. What are we going to tell Ellen? Where do we even start?

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Ellen knew something was wrong the minute she saw the Winchester brothers walk through the door. She quickly finished placing the glasses under the bar and turned her attention to the pair, who looked positively grim. Neither of them looked physically hurt, for which she heaved a sigh of relief. But given what she had heard about them lately, she was confused, and more than a little concerned.

"Boys? You two look like you lost your best friend. Has something happened?"

"Hey Ellen," Dean forced a small smile. "Can we get a couple a beers?"

The woman frowned, but nodded and turned to retrieve two bottles of Budweiser from the cooler. She placed them on the bar, in front of Dean, who had perched on a stool; but Sam paced back and forth behind his brother like a caged animal.

"Sam, you're going to wear out what's left of that old wooden floor if you don't stop pacing. Sit down and tell me what's on your mind."

Ellen studied the boys, who exchanged glances. She looked at them, confused.

"Look you two, I heard about what happened in Oregon. Hunters have been through here almost daily; talking about how Sam had taken care of the demon; that Gordon had taken Dean as bait. My god, you're heroes. I don't understand why you aren't celebrating. Instead you look like hell," she paused, scrutinizing the two brothers. "Has something happened I don't know about?"

Sam look incredulous and Ellen thought, even a little frightened. "What? Ellen, you know what happened? I mean you heard about . . .?"

"Hold on." Dean held up his hand to stop his brother from saying anything else. "Ellen, what do you know about Oregon? What are the hunters saying about Sammy?"

"Just what I said. They're saying Sam's a hero, and, even more, they couldn't quite believe what they saw. And this is coming from hunters, who have pretty much seen it all," Ellen looked pointedly at Sam, admiration in her eyes. "I don't understand how you did it, but they say you sent the demons straight back to Hell, son."

Sam looked stricken and glanced at Dean for support. Dean took a long pull from his beer and cleared his throat. "Ellen, there's more to the story."

"Well, I'm all ears boys. I can't wait to hear exactly what happened. Hold on a sec." Ellen turned towards the back room. "Jo! Come in here. Sam and Dean are here!"

Both brothers looked at each other, eyes wide in shock as Ellen's daughter Jo, the one they thought Sam had sent to Hell, the one they thought was bound to Lilith, hurried into the room, a wide smile aimed at the boys.

"Sam! Dean!" Jo came bounding up to them looking positively giddy. "I can't believe that yellow-eyed bastard is finally gone. You did it!" She grabbed a stunned Dean and hugged him around his neck; then she turned to an equally stunned and speechless Sam and gave him a bear hug.

Ellen noticed the shell-shocked expressions and frowned. "Boys? What in the hell is the matter with you two? You did kill the demon didn't you?"

Dean was the first to recover, although he stumbled nervously over his words as he attempted to hide his complete shock. "Uh, hey Jo. I – uh – I thought you were out on the road somewhere. I'm just a little surprised to see you here, that's all. And we, well Sammy here, he sent the demon on, we didn't shoot it with the Colt, so we can't be sure he's gone for good, but yeah - wow it's good to see you, Jo."

"All in one breath, Dean, that's pretty good. Take another drink. Then, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Ellen pressed, suddenly serious.

Sammy stepped forward, frowning at Jo, trying to get some sense that a demon was present; wishing he had the EMF meter with him, instead of where it sat uselessly in the trunk of the Impala. Where's all that psychic ability now? "Nothing's wrong, Ellen. We just aren't completely sure this whole thing with the demon is really over. Like Dean said, we didn't shoot it with the Colt." His eyes never left Jo as he spoke. Jo never looked away, keeping his gaze firmly in her own, smiling sweetly.

"Yeah and, uh, we wanted to be sure that the hunters were, you know, on our side," Dean added, still shaken by Jo's presence. "That they weren't going to come after Sam because he has ties to the demon. We were a little reluctant to come back here."

"No worries, boys. Not one hunter has indicated to me that Sam is anything but a hero. So you can feel safe here." Ellen touched him on the shoulder and smiled.

Dean looked at Jo, who was still smiling as she tilted her head sideways, her eyes locked to his. "Mom, don't you think this calls for some real drinks? I can go in the back room and get some private reserve whiskey."

"Yeah, Jo. That's a great idea. And I'll get the boys whatever they want off the menu, on the house, of course. And then I want to hear every detail."

Once Ellen and Jo had left, the brothers huddled at the bar, talking in whispers, staying out of the women's earshot. They were glad the Roadhouse was nearly empty, because they weren't sure of their next move, and things could go south quickly if they miscalculated.

"Dean, I saw Jo disappear right along with Cain! I'm not sensing anything odd about her, no chill, no weird energy, nothing. How can that be?"

"I don't know, Sam," Dean's voice held a rare edge of uncertainty and fear. "Maybe it wasn't really Jo with Gordon? Maybe she was a shape shifter of some sort, trying to get in good with Gordy and the other hunters so she and Cain could take them all down together."

"Yeah, I guess that could be the case. How will we know? I mean if she is Lilith, she's pretty much immune to the old "Christo" test."

"True. She's probably immune to the holy water test, too. Remember when Dad was possessed by the bastard? It didn't even faze him." Dean took another long swallow of beer, finishing the bottle. "Before we do anything, though, we have to be sure. Let's eat dinner and get the hell outta here so we can get over to Bobby's. He'll know what to do."

"Do you think it's safe to leave Ellen here with her? I mean, what if she is Lilith, Dean?"

Before Dean could respond, Ellen returned through the kitchen doors, her arms laden with two plates of food. Jo followed with a bottle of whiskey, and produced two glasses from under the bar for Sam and Dean. The boys thanked Ellen and immediately dug into their meals.

"You two enjoy your dinner; I'm going to get a room ready for you, so you don't need to worry about driving anywhere tonight."

"Ellen that's not necessary. . ." Dean started to protest around a large mouthful of food he had just tucked into, but Ellen held up her hand.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You two deserve a little rest after what you've been through. Besides, I have a feeling we'll be up half the night talking about what happened."