First Light
"She's so beautiful Sam."
Mary stood in the doorway of the motel room, leaning against the frame watching as Sam reached with a tentative finger to stroke the cheek of the bundle that her best friend was holding. Her heart swelled with emotion as Sam sat next to her friend resting on the bed and peered at the newest edition to the Winchester family.
Jessica Mary Winchester.
That was the name of her granddaughter, born the day that her father and uncle made it out wherever they were held with the help of their Avian friend, Kesset and the night that Castiel killed Billie the Reaper to save them. A beautiful thing in light of everything that seemed to be filled with despair.
Sam and Dean had been gone for over six weeks and Angela was going on two days overdue when Castiel called her about the boys. It was a miracle to hear something and it ended up being a firm insistence from Angela to go with them. Mary knew her friend was the most stubborn woman alive and even though she was heavily pregnant, she still was moving about and looking for anything that could help.
They ended up asking the British Men of Letters for help despite Angela's objections. Mary suspected that they had a history and one that angered her friend. It was something she kept in mind but this was Sam and Dean on the line. It seemed to be the right thing to do and they did have resources that they didn't. Angela was angry about it but she didn't fight, a good thing, and Mary knew why.
Angela had been in labor since they left her in the motel with her dog Gideon and Fiona. Mary was disinclined to do so especially upon learning Fiona was a werewolf but Castiel vouched for her, claiming that she had taken care of Angela and could be trusted. It left Mary apprehensive that her friend was in labor and she was more worried about Sam and Dean.
It was on Mary's mind the entire time she drove to meet the boys. It fueled her adrenaline to do this and make sure that Sam was there to see his child be born. It was on full alert as they found the spot and she clambered out. It was nerve wracking waiting and she almost shot Kesset when he emerged first.
It was the first time that she had met the Avian and he looked very young, roughly about Sam's age but so intense. He looked like he was ready to rip apart someone with his bare hands and he would do it. He bore her no ill will for pulling a gun on him but he was wary of the Men of Letters. His hawk like eyes bore into them and he assumed a stance that clearly said that he was not in a trusting mood.
They Men of Letters were surprised that Sam and Dean were working with Kesset. Apparently it didn't seem to be the norm to working with supernatural creatures but there were exceptions. Kesset was one of them and even if they did try to hurt him, his shifting ability was quick but he was more intimidating with the wings that projected from his back. She saw that when Billie the Reaper showed up in the middle of the road.
"You shall not do anything of the sort."
Mary thought Kesset was ballsy for standing up to a reaper. It wasn't until later that Dean mentioned that Kesset had every right and that he was a captain of a royal guard. It was a lot to take in especially learning that her best friend was adopted royalty of the Egyptian pantheon and hence the bodyguard. It certainly was impressive when he stood up to the reaper after learning the details of what the boys did and insisted that the reaper was messing with things that would make her consequences inconsequential. Mary had no idea what that meant but the reaper seemed to respond to that.
It was motherly instinct and love that prompted her to be the Winchester that was taken. That was how it had to be and to be honest it was a struggle to live in this world and she was a mother; she would protect her boys. What surprised Mary was that Kesset said no to her as well. It surprised her since the Avian didn't know her from Adam. There was no reason for him to put his life on the line for her or willfully defy a blood bond and yet he was. He stood between her and the reaper and said that the deal was null and void. Mary doubted it was that easy but the Avian would not be deterred.
"It's okay."
Mary recalled how the Avian looked at her. His reddish brown eyes looked at her with a piercing look that clearly said that it wasn't. The emotions that flitted across his face surprised her. This being really cared for her as he cared for her boys. The way he held himself told her that he would fight for her as he fought for Sam and Dean and Angela. It was like seeing the male version of her friend and it touched her and made it easy for her to tell him to stand down, which he did with surprising and reluctant alacrity.
"This isn't over, reaper. There will be hell to pay."
Again it baffled Mary that the Avian was still asserting himself to the reaper on her behalf. He didn't fight it though because she said not to help. She should have known though that it was to give Castiel time to get behind the reaper and kill her. She only knew about it when Kesset moved towards the angel after he broke down saying how much the Winchesters meant to him and how much her friend meant to him and patted him on the shoulder. They looked at each other in understanding what the other was feeling.
"As much as this… hamster wheel you run around in annoys us… you do matter to us. All of you. I owe Shifa' much including my own life. And you all have become more than friends to us. You are family."
It certainly was a humbling act and Mary was grateful for it from the angel and the Avian. It was one of those many things that she needed to get caught up on like her friend changing from what she knew then to what she knew now. She knew Angela had the ability to inspire loyalty by her actions and on occasion her words. That was a physical manifestation of people who followed even though she never asked because she touched their lives in the manner that she did. It was why Mary loved and stood by her friend.
Now they were at the motel and Sam was able to welcome his brand new baby daughter into the world. Angela had been in the middle of a contraction when they got there and immediately Sam tensed up and made like he was going to bust down the door. It took Fiona opening the door and welcoming Sam like he was coming in for coffee that kept things from getting out of hand. From there, she finished the wait with Dean, Kesset and Castiel in the room next door.
It was a couple hours later when the first wails of a newborn were heard. Well, Kesset heard them and said something in a language that had Dean tease him about his language. Castiel was nodding in approval and if it was happiness then it was something unusual to see. Either way, it was… It was something to be happy about and Mary was happy.
Standing there, watching her youngest son and her friend look down at their daughter, Mary was reminded of when her own boys were born and when they were babies. She knew what she wanted when they were born. And she knew that it was in the same vein for Angela and Sam… he was like an open book with his feelings when it came to Angela and now his daughter. For her…
Before this, Mary wasn't sure how she was going to fit in. She had been brought back thirty years after her death, a time where she remembered Dean as a four year old and Sam was a six month old baby, to find her sons were grown up and the world had changed drastically. It was different and yet it was still the same. There were still plenty of nasty things out there both normal and supernatural; it was a pretty dangerous place. She knew what she had to do when her boys were babies. There was purpose there.
Now it seemed that there was purpose again. She could see a means of getting used to this world and living in it. It was in the room she was looking into. It was a tiny bundle of joy that was looking at her parents, unaware of the world she had been born into and her parents, her family, would do everything to keep it that way for as long as possible. Standing there, Mary made a decision. She knew that it wouldn't make her friend happy but there was the possibility of understanding. It was something she could do, what she couldn't do for her boys. She would work for a world for her granddaughter to grow up unafraid and not trapped in the life.
It was unrealistic to think that it would go completely away. After all her friend was half vampire and, according to Castiel, she was once a real angel and partially responsible for her being brought back to life. And that meant that baby had vampire blood in her veins and the fact that she was her friend's daughter… What she would do… it would be to make things easier for that little girl, the light from the first light; the light that led her to her family.
A/N: Another view of when Jess Winchester is born and Mary finding another reason to stick around. Tag to First Blood. Enjoy.
