Chrys had met Jesse's parents, which had gone surprisingly smoothly. She'd told them she was from the school, just here on a home evaluation. They'd had dinner, which had been lovely. They were nice people who loved their son. Chrys just didn't want to see them get hurt.
She'd pretended to leave, then circled back and snuck back in after they'd gone to bed. Jesse, apparently, was a bit of a night owl.
"Why did we have to lie to Mom and Dad?" he asked, looking up from the playing cards he was looking at.
Chrys tried hard to think through the pain she was in. Sam and Dean had agreed not to go far, but she could feel agony pulsing behind her eyes. "Sometimes, grown-ups don't understand things like kids do. It would have upset them, and they would have kicked me out, and you guys would have been unprotected."
He looked at her. "You're hurt."
She nodded. No use lying to him, Jesse was perceptive as fuck. "When I get too far away from Sam, I get a headache."
"Why?"
She smiled. "That, I think, is a story for another day, Jesse."
His eyes flicked behind her and widened, and all of the instincts in Chrys had her standing and turning, the chair falling to the floor. She glared. "Castiel."
"Chrysanthemum," he said stonily. "How are you even still standing?"
She glared. "I'm real stubborn, Cass."
Jesse had come up next to her, and she swept her arm out to push him behind her. "Stay behind me, babe," she said softly, trying to blink as the pain in her head increased.
A small hand at her back. A brief tightness across her whole body. And the pain was gone.
She blinked, and turned around to the child behind her. "What did you just do?"
He looked up at her. "I just wanted you to stop hurting. I think… I think I just made the pain go away."
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Chrys accepted and then turned back to Castiel. "Ha," she said cheerfully, "Outclassed by a littlun. How's it feel, Angel of the Lord?"
His face darkened. "Chrys, get out of my way."
She stood her ground, pulling the gun from her waistband and pointing it at him. It wouldn't kill him, or even hurt him, but the gesture made her feel better. "The only way you will hurt this child is over my cold, dead body, Cass." She tilted her head. "And I don't think you can kill me. Do you?"
Cass ignored her and looked to the child. "I won't hurt you. Don't be afraid."
"He's lying, Jesse," Chrys said sadly.
"I know," Jesse replied, somehow more sad.
Castiel sighed. "I'm sorry."
Chrys's finger tightened on the trigger. "You're gonna be, anyway."
Castiel advanced on her, and she heard a crash from the front door, signalling Sam and Dean's return. She didn't turn, just kept her gun pointed at the angel.
Between one blink and the next, Castiel disappeared. In his place, was a two-inch tall action figure of the angel. Chrys bent to pick it up, examining it. "Ha," she said easily. "Suck on that, dick."
"Chrys!" Sam came to her, his hands on her shoulders. "Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Jesse got the pain to go away somehow."
Dean's eyes widened, then he looked back down at the child. "Good job, kiddo."
Jesse started to smile again when the door opened. Chrys picked him up by his shoulders and put him in the corner, putting herself in front of him with her arms spread wide. "Stay there, Jesse," she whispered as the Winchesters put themselves between her and the door. Rolling her eyes, Chrys stepped in front of them, too, pushing Sam in front of Jesse. "Keep him safe, Sammy," she snarled.
A woman that Chrys didn't recognize walked in. She flicked her hand, and frowned when nothing happened. "What the fuck?"
"Language," Chrys snapped, "Jesse is nine. Keep it clean."
The woman sneered. "Ugh, you're a-"
"What did I just say?"
The woman rolled her eyes and tried to see around Chrys. "Where is Jesse, by the way?"
Chrys felt a small hand slip into hers, and she gripped Jesse tightly. "You should stay behind Sam."
"I'm not afraid, Chrys."
She smiled. "Rock on, babe."
The demon practically purred when she saw the kid. "Jesse, dear, you're my-"
"What is she, Chrys?" Jesse interrupted, looking up at Chrys.
She looked down at him. "She's a demon. The woman she's possessing is probably your birth mother."
His eyes filled with tears. "Can we save her?"
She gazed down at him. "I'm gonna try like hell, babe."
He nodded. "Okay."
Chrys looked at him. "Jesse, she's going to want you to go with her. Do you want to?"
"Chrys!" Sam hissed.
"Shut up, Sam. Jesse gets to decide this. It's his life." She smiled down at Jesse. "Whatcha think?"
"Come with me, Jesse," the demon crooned softly. "We can help you. These people are lying to you."
Jesse looked at the demon with a frown. "Chrys didn't lie to me. Be quiet." The demon struggled to speak, but couldn't. Chrys grinned, then looked down at Jesse.
He gazed up at her for a long moment. "I don't want to go with her. Can I come with you?"
She winced. "I don't think I can keep you safe. But if you really want to, I will do my damnedest."
He nodded. "I do."
She nodded back. "All right." She looked back up at the demon, and felt a fierce protectiveness wash over her. "Then you're with me, babe."
"She's lying to you, Jesse! She can't protect you!" the demon screeched.
Chrys's concentration broke for a second to snarl at the demon. It was enough.
The Winchesters flew across the wall, and the demon charged at Chrys. Chrys lifted her arms to defend herself, but the demon was strong. She grabbed Chrys and tossed her across the room. When Chrys hit the wall, she felt something rupture in her stomach. She grunted, and she tasted blood. "God dammit! Jesse!"
"Stop!" The demon flew against the same wall Chrys had crashed into. Chrys took the opportunity to punch the woman across the face. "Bitch," she snarled softly.
"Jesse," Sam said softly, his voice desperate. "Jesse, I need to get to Chrys, please."
Jesse gazed at the men, and they both fell off of the wall. Dean stayed down, grimacing, and Sam ran to Chrys. "Jesus, beautiful, are you all right?"
She nodded, wincing. "Yeah. It's… It's possible that another hospital is a good idea, though."
His face tightened and he moved to pick her up, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Not yet, Sam, hold on."
She limped forward and dropped to her knees in front of Jesse. She put a hand on his face. "Hey, babe, tell me how you're doing."
There were tears in his eyes. "I don't think I can stay here. My… My parents could have been hurt."
Tears gathered in Chrys's eyes, too. "It is going to be a dangerous road, I don't want to lie to you. It's going to be hard."
He nodded. "You got hurt, too."
"Yes, I did," she agreed. "But that's what I do, babe, so don't you worry about me, okay? Hear me, Jesse?"
He started crying. "But Chrys-"
She placed her hand over his mouth. "No, no worrying about me, deal?"
He nodded reluctantly, and she smiled. "All right then. What do you want to do?" On the last word, blood trickled down the side of her mouth. She wiped it away, not breaking eye contact with Jesse.
He thought for a moment, then nodded. "I want to write my parents a letter."
She smiled. "Okay. Go on."
Once Jesse was out of earshot, she turned to Sam. "Sam, I need help standing."
He rushed to her and picked her up, curling her against his chest. "Are you okay? What happened?"
She laid her head against his chest. "Shut up, Sam," she said softly. "Not now."
He frowned. "Chrys, you need a hospital."
She nodded against him. "Yes, and a million dollars, a way to beat the devil, and a man to fall wildly in love with me and take me away. But none of those are here, and Jesse comes first. So shut up."
He growled, and the rumble it caused in his chest soothed her somehow. She closed her eyes and soaked in the close contact with him.
A few minutes later, Jesse came back downstairs. Chrys heard him on the stairs, and made Sam put her down.
Jesse came and looked up at her. "I should go alone."
She shook her head and knelt again, wrapping him in a hug. "Hey, no, we'll stay together. We'll figure this out, okay?"
He sniffled against her shirt. "I don't want to leave my Mom and Dad."
She nodded, tears pricking her eyes again. "I know, babe, I know. We'll figure out a way for you to get back to them someday, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay."
Sam picked a sleeping Jesse up out of the backseat of the Impala, then watched Chrys gingerly get out, too. She looked tired, and the hospital band around her wrist made him a little sick to his stomach.
She smiled at him. "Come on, Sammy, let's put the kids to bed."
He smiled and followed her and Dean into the motel room, kicking the door shut behind him.
Jesse had turned Cass back, then transported him somewhere so they could leave. Cass's words about what Jesse would do if he was unhappy had made Sam nervous, but Chrys seemed to have a calming effect on the kid. Once he had gotten his things together, he'd crawled into the backseat of the Impala and fallen asleep on Chrys's lap in a few minutes. It was amazing.
When Sam came out of the bathroom later, Chrys was sitting next to the couch where Jesse was sleeping, brushing hair off of his face. He came and stood behind her, placing a hand on the back of her head. "How's he doing?" he whispered softly.
She leaned into his leg. "He's horrible, Sam, he just left his whole life behind. He's tired. We'll get everything else figured out in the morning."
"All right, beautiful. Let's go to bed."
He helped her up and curled into bed with her, her back pressed into his chest. He put a gentle arm around her middle and buried his face into her hair. "Scared me again, beautiful."
She sighed and settled back into him. "I know. I'm sorry."
He pressed a kiss to her head. "I'll probably let it go if it stops happening."
He heard the smile in her voice. "No deal, Winchester."
A few hours later, Sam woke up to a small body pressed to his. He cracked an eye open to see Jesse nestled between he and Chrys. Chrys was turned toward him, her arm around the kid between them, her head using Sam's outstretched arm as a pillow.
He took a minute to look at her, her lovely face relaxed in sleep, her long hair wild around her face. He also studied the way her body was curled around Jesse's, like she had positioned herself that way to protect him.
Sam felt something ache in his chest as he drifted back to sleep.
The next morning, Sam woke to an empty bed. Frowning, he sat up, looking around for Chrys. When all he saw was Dean, he realized that Jesse was gone, too. Panic wormed it's way into his gut as he dressed quickly and ran out the door.
He was greeted to the sight of Chrys and Jesse walking back toward the room through the parking lot, hand-in-hand. Jesse had a bag in his other hand, and Chrys was carrying a cardboard drink tray with three coffees in it. She was looking down at him, and Sam watched her face light up and laugh at something the kid had said. Jesse was grinning up at her, clearly smitten, and Sam felt a real connection to the boy for the first time.
Jesse wasn't the only one a little smitten with Chrys.
She looked up to see him watching them and grinned as they got closer. Once they were close enough, she tilted her face up, and it was almost instinct to lean down and kiss her softly. "Morning, you," she murmured against his lips.
"Are you two married?"
Chrys grinned up at Sam, then looked down at Jesse. "Nope, we're just together."
The child nodded. "Okay. Can we eat now?"
Sam chuckled and backed out of the way. "Lead the way, Jesse."
"Her name is Serene, Jesse, and she's one of my best friends," Chrys said soothingly, straightening Jesse's jacket.
They were in a bus station, waiting for Serene to arrive to bring Jesse back with her. Chrys knew that he could get there on his own much quicker, probably, but routine was soothing.
He was looking at her sadly. "Why can't I stay with you?"
She cupped his face with her hand. "We talked about this, babe. I don't think I can keep you safe. As soon as I have everything else figured out, I'll try to find a way to visit, okay?" She smiled. "You're not the only superhero, Jesse."
"Chrys?" Chrys stood and smiled at Serene, who was standing nervously behind her with Kevin. Chrys had called them that morning, explaining the fuck up that was her life in full for the first time. They had been upset with her for not telling them the truth, but had agreed to take Jesse in until they figured something else out. Chrys put them in contact with a powerful witch coven close by, whose head priestess was a trusted friend, so they could ward Seren and Kevin's home against detection from demons, angels, and anything in between.
"Jesse," Chrys said softly. "This is Serene and Kevin. They're going to help you out, okay?"
He stepped forward and held his hand out. "Hi. I'm Jesse."
Chrys couldn't have loved Kevin more when the man stepped forward and took Jesse's hand with an air of seriousness. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jesse. My name is Kevin, and this is my wife, Serene."
Serene came forward and smiled. "Hi, Jesse. I'm excited to have you living with us."
Jesse glanced back at Chrys, his eyes flicking down to her stomach, where there had been some internal tearing. "It's not always safe to have me."
Kevin shrugged easily. "Nothing's always safe, kiddo. But when you're with family, at least you're with people who will stay with you regardless." His reproaching eyes went to Chrys, who looked down at her shoes.
After some small talk and hugs all around, Chrys watched the three of them board the bus back to home. She'd insisted that Kevin and Serene not tell her where it was, so it would be kept secret and safe.
She didn't realize there were tears in her eyes, or that her shoulders were shaking, until Sam wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into him. "Hey, they're going to be all right, Chrys. Jesse's smart, and Serene and Kevin are good people."
She put her arms around his waist and nodded, sniffling. "I know, I just hate it. I wish he could have a normal life, away from all of this."
She felt Sam press a kiss to the top of her head. "I know, beautiful, I know."
**Feedback gives me the warm fuzzies and keeps me going.
