Chapter Seven

"You think Guthrie is possessed?" Dawn shook her head wrapping an arm around her swollen belly.

"I know it doesn't sound very likely to you, but this is sort of what we do." Autumn smiled leaning forward on her knees. Dawn had let them into her home, and all six had gathered in the living room.

"The time, what can you tell me about that?" she chewed at her lower lip staring at the hunters before her.

"How long has it been going on?" Sam asked, preparing his 'we're chosen' speech.

"In August, right after I found out." she gently tapped her stomach. "I can't control it, it just happens. Usually when I've been spooked."

"It's probably the baby, then." Darcy shook her head angrily. "The demon is planning on this war going on a lot longer than I thought."

"Guthrie's planning a war?" fear consumed Dawn's features.

"Oh, no! Different demon, old friend of ours." Darcy corrected.

"I don't believe this."

"Honey, you don't have to believe it, it's real and it's coming." Dean spoke up. "Do you know where we could find Guthrie, we might be able to exorcise him before the baby gets here."

"He's out of town until Monday."

"That's convenient." Autumn muttered under her breath.

"H-how would I tell if he had the devil in him?"

"It's not the devil, that bad boy hasn't been on earth in a looooong time." Athena offered. "We're lucky for that, if he decided to come up here we'd all be screwed."

"Do you know the Latin word for Christ? Or, well, any sign of God should repel him. But a word is easier than flinging holy water on someone." Sam reasoned.

"No, what is it, and what do I do if he is…. A demon?"

"Christo." Sam supplied. "We'll be close, when he gets home we'll be around to stop him if he is, and if now we'll disperse."

"Oh!" Dawn jumped.

"What's wrong?" Autumn was up and across the room to the woman, worriedly hovering over her.

"Nothing, just a contraction." Dawn grimaced.

"Then, let's get you to the hospital." Athena stood up, not the only one intent on the vision not coming true.

"Do you have a bag or anything?" Sam asked. "I can grab it and"

"Sam, don't worry these things take a while." Dawn rocked back to her feet and went to the kitchen counter and brought back a stop watch ready to count the time between contractions. "Keep going you were saying I need to say 'Christo', shit!" she set her jaw closing her eyes. " to Guthrie and he'll do something if he's a demon. What's he gonna do, jump through hoops?"

"No," Dean exchanged looks with Autumn. "it will just piss him off. His eyes will flare black, he'll tense up."

"In other terms he'll get scary." Autumn settled down on the edge of the coffee table.

"So after I say 'Christo'," she flinched again.

"Christo." Darcy repeated leaning forward in her seat, again Dawn had a contraction. We've got a baby demon coming, she transmitted to the other hunters. All four stiffened to suddenly have a voice in their heads, Autumn going as far as to glare at Darcy.

"What's wrong?" Dawn noticed the change in her guests. "You know something."

"It's nothing we can't handle." Sam said in his best comforting voice, soulful eyes softening as shifted in his seat, realizing what he was about to promise. "We'll take care of everything, but you're going to have to trust us."

Autumn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Everyone else was buzzing with nervous energy, she was just hoping that what she was about to do was like riding a bike. That she hadn't forgotten how to deliver a baby, that it was still in her mind somewhere buried and locked away like so many other useless things she'd learned growing up. She opened her eyes when she felt someone stand next to her.

"It's still there." Darcy said softly. Her stance was stiff like she thought Autumn would strike her.

"It's supposed to be instinct right?" Autumn leaned back into the wall, she was out in the hall way while Athena perched on the foot of Dawn's bed talking to her excitedly, exchanging stories, keeping Dawn's mind off of what was about to go down. While Sam and Dean huddled at the kitchen table trying to decide the best way to exorcise a baby without killing it.

"Most natural things are." Darcy agreed.

"Athena won't be much use in there." Autumn said into the silence that took hold of the otherwise empty corridor.

"Yea, I saw that much. She's not too hands on until the kid arrives is she?" Darcy grinned.

"We've never done this with a person, sheep, goats, a couple of cattle, and the neighbors horse once but people are different." Autumn shrugged peeking into the room. She caught enough conversation to know that Dawn was asking about hunting, and Athena was being as elusive as possible.

"Yea, I don't think Dawny's going to do too much bleating."

"That's what will get Teenie, the noise." she was trying to find a way around the fact that she didn't like or trust Darcy to ask her for help.

"Just tell me what you need in there." Darcy shrugged. "You give an inch so will I."

"Would it be cruel to keep saying Christo to piss the bugger off enough that he'd come out?" Autumn asked smirking at the thought of a demon being born and the first thing it doing was taking on five hunters.

The day had been eventful enough, and now they were just playing the waiting game. Athena, Sam, and Darcy were in the living room dozing while watching what television offered at two in the morning, which wasn't much. Dean kept to the head of the bed, as Autumn was frequently checking Dawn's progress. Dawn was rather resilient, she kept a steady stream of questions going, working the couple, who had opted to stay with her, through every possible scenario and a few that weren't even possible by paranormal standards.

"She agreed to this too easily." Athena said coming back from the bathroom and dropping into Sam's side. "You didn't do some freaky mind control thing did you?"

"I can read minds, and say things into your head. I can't make you do things… But maybe hit in the back of her mind to trust us." Darcy grinned.

"You're evil." Athena laughed. "I like you."

"Yes, well it runs in the family." despite her light tone Athena read the truth behind the words.

"No family talk." Athena wagged her finger. "We don't talk family, families are big trouble."

"I like that rule." Darcy bounced a little in her seat before catching the look on Sam's face. "Sorry, dude, we can be serious. Go ahead and ask though, about the abilities and what I know."

"What do you know?" Sam inquired after a moment's pause.

"I know the demon wants us to be his puppets. He's trying to start one hell of a war. He wants us to join the dark side." Athena slid a hand over Sam's knee.

"That's fine but he's not getting Sammy." Sam shifted uncomfortably.

"Teenie, it's not really your choice. This guy isn't used to not getting what he wants. He won't stop until he has Sam or no one can ever have Sam." Darcy reasoned.

"Then we'll just have to off him before he gets that far." Athena leaned back into the couch. "It's as simple as that."

"Athena," Sam sighed, shaking his head. "What about the your mind reading, how does that work?"

"Haven't got a clue, it just does, I've got a good bit of control on it. If I don't want to hear I just put it on lock down, not that that is easy. Here let me show you something." Darcy pulled herself onto the edge of her seat. Okay, I can talk to you guys like this, but it's easiest with you. I don't know why exactly, probably has something to do with us both being special kids. We have a constant link, I feel what you feel in waves. It's almost impossible to turn you off. "What do you think?" she asked needlessly.

"So, you'll be able to do battle with Guthrie?" she'd stopped questioning whether or not her boyfriend was a demon and just went with the popular assumption that he was.

"Yea, we don't come across a lot of demons, more recently than when we started, but we can handle him." Dean nodded. "He never did anything to tip you off?"

"I don't know," she stopped as another contraction came along, gripping the bed and growling. "I never really considered demonic possession as a real option. He started getting wicked mood swings last year, his dad had just died and he and his sister had a huge fight, they'd been very close before. I just chalked it up everything he was going through, ya know?" Autumn nodded with a smile.

"Depression or possession? Yea, I don't think too many people would lean toward the latter."

"How 'bout after you found out you were pregnant did he change any?" Dean kept going.

"He was ecstatic, called his mom right up, started to buy things for the baby." she shifted trying to find a comfortable position and failing. "Then here lately he's been very protective, barely lets me out of his sight."

"But he left?" Autumn asked lifting the blanket again to see how far along they were.

"Yea, four days ago I guess. Didn't say much either, he had a big important business meeting, couldn't miss it. Had to leave town." Another contraction came and went.

"Okay," Autumn slid off her long sleeve denim shirt, leaving her in a tee. "Next time we are really going to start pushing. Dean, you want to get them?"

"Yea, I'll go. Are you going to need me?" Autumn patted his arm.

"No, babe. You and Sam can stay out there, I'll get you when it's your turn." he inclined his head a fraction leaning in for a kiss but stopped short when Dawn growled again.

"G'luck."

"Go."

"Are you sure we don't have anything for the pain?" Athena asked over Dawn's screams.

"Even if we did it would be too late, Tee." Autumn answered pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Dar you're coaching here. You need really push for me Dawn."

"Where do you want us?" Sam asked, keeping Dean's arm in his hand refusing to let him slip away.

"Go put down salt or something, Sam, you don't want to see this." Darcy dismissed them. Both Winchesters fled the room, and Autumn flicked the blankets up so she could work unhindered.

They'd already salted the apartment, securing the entrances with extra charms, and symbols. But all the same the boys went to check over the rooms again, before standing in the mouth of the hall where it led into the living room. They listened to Autumn bark out orders, and coo to Dawn. Athena ran out of the room once getting a washcloth and soaking it before disappearing back into the bedroom.

"SHIT!" Autumn's yell brought them both running into the room though they averted their eyes from the woman on the bed.

"What's wrong!?!" Dawn demanded panicked.

"Don't push, Dawn. Just hold on." Autumn coached, Dawn ground her teeth, and tightened her fists around the knot of sheets she was holding.

"Breath, it's almost over." Darcy moped Dawn's forehead imitating the way the woman should be breathing. "Okay, Red what are you doing?" she looked up away from the woman in labor on the bed.

"Last time I did this breech was a goat when I was sixteen." Autumn ducked down between Dawn's legs again. "Okay, I can't turn him. We're going to have to do this thing backward. Next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can." Autumn said as calmly as she could wiping a hand across her forehead streaking blood, and matting her bangs. "Boys you okay over there?" Sam felt like a fly on the wall, watching the scene unfold, Athena had a warm baby blanket folded over her arm and was trying to talk a very green Dean out of the room.

"Not so good, Aut."

"Sam get your brother and get out, when it's over we'll find you."

"Here we go." Darcy called Autumn's attention back to her task.

A/N: Sorry ya'll had to wait on this chapter, but the truth is a little difficult to tell in this paticular sitiuation. But I hope I pulled it off.