The day started like any other day—the Winchesters awoke, Sam before Dean, the coffee was made and breakfast was eaten and cleaned up. Sam was researching on his computer diligently, as usual, and Dean was continuing to sort through the numerous and uncategorized relics in the bunker.

"Hey—dude, did you ever see anything like this?" Dean held up a small, oddly-shaped box with an inscription on the outside.

"No. Take a picture of it and send it to me. I'll check it out on the 'net later. "

Dean did as he was asked. Sam was in the process of organizing and categorizing everything the bunker held and trying desperately to bring their new home into the 21st century. It was a slow process, to say the least…

He could see from the corner of his eye that Dean continued to fiddle with it. "I wouldn't open it if I were you." He shook his head.

Dean silently glanced over to his brother, eyed the object suspiciously, put in back in the drawer where it was previously held and commanded it to stay there.

He grabbed a cup of coffee from the kitchen and joined his brother at the table. "You got anything?"

Sam lowered his brows as he was reading an article from the internet. He twisted his head as he read it out loud to his brother. "It may not be anything, and it's not hurting anyone, but 50 sailors reported seeing the Green Flash off the coast of Mexico two days ago. Weird."

"Why is that weird?"

"Well, sailors have a lot of lore, but to have 50 of them say they saw it is pretty unusual. It only lasts for a millisecond and…"

There was a knock at the door.

Their eyes locked on each other and both became silent. Another one came, and this time it was more insistent. The bunker was so far out of the way and so well-concealed that to have anyone actually knock at the door hardly appeared as though it would be a welcome intrusion. Charlee would have called or emailed first, and Kevin was tucked safely away with Garth. Both Winchesters grabbed the weapons nearest to them and prepared for the possible hostile invasion. Having done this together for so long, the brothers worked in silent tandem to meet whatever was on the other side. Dean took his place behind the opening with a katana and Sam cracked it open.

It was Cas. And he wasn't alone. He had a young woman slumped over his right shoulder in a fireman's carry. She wasn't awake.

"It's Cas." He widened the space to allow him to enter and Dean lowered his sword.

Cas carried the woman easily down the steps. Sam and Dean eyed each other as they followed. They'd had cases find them before, but one never literally appeared at their doorstep…

Cas laid the woman down on a leather sofa not far from the map table and began to brush her dark hair away from her face. She was dressed in professional attire with long gray slacks and a pretty blue sleeveless top with ruffles along the plunging neckline. It didn't take Dean long to recognize her.

"Hey—that's the girl from Pittsburgh," he started. "Why is the girl from Pittsburgh here, Cas?"

"THE girl from Pittsburgh?" Sam raised his eyebrows at this brother. This can't be good.

"Yeah. Cas, explain."

Cas turned to the brothers and sighed. "She needs to be protected. Particularly by you, Dean."

Dean's eyes wandered about the room, then focused again on Cas. "She needs protected? By me? Why Cas? What happened?"

Cas took an uncharacteristic deep breath. "Maybe you should sit down."

Dean furrowed his brow and did what his friend asked. Sam looked suspiciously at his brother and the angel. Nope. This isn't good at all.

"This is the girl you—spent time with in Pittsburgh a few days ago, is it not?"

Dean nodded. He recalled for a moment how mad Sam was after they'd separated for the night and Dean hadn't reappeared until 4pm the next day. The younger Winchester was ready to call in the cavalry to find his brother only to learn he'd spent the night with a woman he'd met at Primanti's and forgot, apparently, what a cell phone was for.

48 HOURS EARLIER:

Sam dropped (no—slammed) his phone on the table as his haggard, hung-over brother opened the motel door. "Dude! Where were you?"

"Um, a few blocks down…at a place called The Duquesne, I think. Hot girl."

"I called you, like, a billion times! We're chasing a ghost from the French-American War and you decided to take a break? What the hell?"

"She was a masseuse. I needed a massage. She said it would reduce my tension. I am a neurosurgeon, after all."

"Oh, God."

"That's what she said."

PRESENT DAY:

Sam clenched his jaw. He was still mad. He'd spent most of that morning panicked, thinking his brother had been sucked back in time-or worse—and had called everyone and consulted everything he could have as a way of mounting a rescue. He made sure his brother knew that he was angry, too. It was a long, mute trip home…

"She has conceived. As a result of your union."

This smacked Sam out of his reverie. What did he just say? Sam looked at the angel and then at his brother, who stood, disbelieving for a moment, almost with the same expression of the Golem when he didn't have his little scrolly-thingy inside his mouth.

Dean's eyes widened and he ran his hand over his face. "Conceived? Conceived. Like, with a baby, conceived?"

"Yes."

"It was, like, two days ago, Cas, and we used-."

"No, you didn't."

"Is she a monster?"

"No. She's not a monster. She's human."

Dean sat down in a nearby chair with his hand over his mouth. He looked at the girl and then closed his eyes. Sam stepped forward and put his hand on Dean's' shoulder.

"You can tell that soon?"

"Yes. As soon as the fertilized egg implants in the uterus. Sperm only last three days in the female reproductive system, and-."

Dean stood up from his chair and started to pace, glancing at the sleeping woman every few steps. "I'm gonna be sick."

Sam watched as his older brother approached the liquor cabinet and poured himself a rocks glass full of Jack Daniels. His hand was shaking. Neither he nor Cas said a word as he lifted the drink to his mouth and downed the whole thing at once.

It didn't seem to help.

He stared at her for what felt like an hour. Cas remained silent and Sam paced some, but neither said a word. Dean spoke up again.

"Does she know?"

"No. Not yet."

The elder Winchester closed his eyes and looked to Sam like he was thinking really hard. "How did you get her here?"

"She was at work and I waited until she got into the elevator to take a break. I told her she needed to come with me, and then I brought her here."

"Oh, great. So now we have a woman who doesn't know she's pregnant and we kidnapped her. That's just great. Kidnapped by an angel. Angel-napping."

"I needed to get her here as soon as possible. If anyone in the supernatural community knows that you're having a child, Dean, they could terrorize her in more ways than one. And to think what might happen to the child-."

"Okay—OKAY! I get it! Wait. Please just stop for a minute, please? Just stop."

"He's right, Dean. If Crowley would ever get an inkling that we have more family anywhere, he wouldn't stop." Sam sat beside his brother and put his hand on Dean's shoulder, if for nothing more than support. For the first time in his life, Sam saw his brother turn green. His eyes were closed again and his hand covered his mouth. Any unexpected pregnancy was difficult, but with the Winchesters, everything multiplied by ten. A child was at risk, just because of his parentage. The father was at risk, because he had a child. A mother would not only be the nurse, appointment maker, housekeeper, kisser of wounds, school teacher, and referee, she'd have to discern spirits and guard against ghosts and demons instead of playground bullies…

All three men sat silently. Dean found himself opening his eyes and quickly closing them again, like he thought he might wake up from a bad dream. He kept his hand where it had resided since the conversation began, and Sam swore he could hear his brother muttering, "Oh, God," under his breath.

The girl started to stir.