Chapter 12
A/N: This chapter includes a description of childbirth which some readers may find disturbing.
As always, I have no affliliation with the CW, Supernatural, or any of its characters. I'm just playing in their sandbox.
XXX
"Did you know that it was Captain Hanson Gregory who had the idea to cut out the centre of the doughnut?"Frank said suddenly.
Dean was at the wheel, driving down the highway towards Madison."Where do you come up with this stuff?"he asked her in the rearview mirror.
"I read."Frank shrugged.
"How about you go back to reading."Dean suggested with a roll of his eyes.
"That's cool, I didn't know that."Sam said as Frank half-heartedly glared at his brother from the backseat.
Frank shifted in her seat and went back to reading.
"Which one are you on, now?"Sam asked.
Frank looked up,"I just finished The Rapture...the one where Castiel is sent back to Heaven and you have to take care of Jimmy Novak. I've just started the second chapter of When the Levee Breaks."
"That's a Zeppelin song. What story is that?" Dean frowned.
"Well, so far you've locked Sam in my father's basement. Demon blood detox. I have to say, it's not working very well, thus far."Frank muttered, flipping a page with a little more force than necessary.
They were just outside of Bloomington, Illinois on I-39 when Dean noticed a 1990's beige Honda Accord on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing. Sam was looking at the map and hadn't noticed the car, so when Dean started to pull over, Sam asked,"Why're we stopping?"
"Just checkin' something out, Sammy. Don't get your knickers in a twist."
Sam just made a face and sat up, folded his map and looked out the window.
Dean pulled the Impala over in front of the Accord and glanced over his shoulder,"I'll be back in a second." He exited the car. He returned a minute later, opening the door to the backseat,"Frank, you'd better come help."
Frank's eyebrows rose and she exchanged a baffled look with Sam. They both got out of the Impala and followed Dean back to the beige montrosity.
"This is Mallory Emerson. She's having a baby."Dean introduced the very pregnant woman in the drivers seat.
"It's too soon!"Mallory whimpered,"My due date's not for another month, it's too soon!"
"It's ok, Mallory. I'm a doctor, I'm here to help you."
"That's always a line when I say that."
Frank glared a Dean over her shoulder."I'm going to need a pair of scissors, two new shoelaces or lengths of string, a sock, a dropcloth, a plastic bag and two towels."she declared."And the hand sanitizer from my purse."
"What are you-a female MacGyver?"
"I'll go get the stuff."Sam assured Frank.
"Mallory, my name is Frank, this is Dean. Sam is going to collect the things I need. Let's move you into the back seat where is a little more comfortable. We'll have more room back there."
"Oh man, is this going to change the way I look at-"
"Dean, I advise you not to finish that sentence."Frank said sharply.
"Dr. Frank, I'm really scared. It hurts..."
"I know, Mallory. But trust me, I'm going to help you."
Mallory looked to be no older than 19, with curly auburn hair, big brown eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Her pale skin was flushed with perspiration. She wore a long sleeved Jersey dress that fell just above the knees.
Dean and Frank helped the young woman into the back seat, having her face out of the car.
When Sam returned, he had a knife, one of Dean's new socks, a tarp from their camping supplies, an empty Walmart bag, the small bottle of hand sanitizer and some dental floss."We had rope, but no string. And we don't have towels."
"Dental floss will work. I need it to tie off the umbilical cord. I have new hand towels in my bag. Front panel. Better bring one of the big towels as well."Frank accepted the supplies and shooed Sam back to the Impala."How are you doing, Mallory?"
"Fan-freakin'-tastic, Dr. Frank, ma'am."Mallory gritted out.
Frank helped Mallory slide the tarp beneath her to serve as a drop cloth and once Sam returned with the towel, Frank draped the bigger towel across Mallory's lap. Mallory had the presence of mind not to wear tights on her trip to the hospital and Frank helped the young girl off with her underwear.
Dean looked like he was about to make a comment, but he was silenced by another of Frank's glares and her sharp explanation that wearing underwear while trying to have a baby was not an ideal situation.
Mallory whimpered as she gritted her teeth and rode out another contraction.
"Try to remember to take slow deep breaths, Mallory,"Frank advised calmly,"You don't want to start hyperventilating."
"I don't want to have my baby on the side of the road."Mallory sniffled.
"It's going to be a great story to tell them when they grow up. Hey Sam, can you come over here?"Frank summoned the taller Winchester.
"What else can I do?"
"Stand there and look pretty. Mallory's going to try to stay calm. It's good to focus on something, and you're going to smile so she can focus on your dimples."Frank rolled up her sleeves and squirted a copious amount of hand sanitizer onto her palms, rubbing the solution all the way up to her elbows.
"Uh..."
"Smile!"Frank commanded.
"Ok."Sam gave Mallory an uncertain grin.
The next few contractions left Mallory winded and teary-eyed. "Aren't we supposed to be timing the contractions?"she asked Frank.
"You said the baby's early?"Frank confirmed.
Mallory nodded.
"Then it's harder to gauge the contractions. They can be misleading. When it's time to push, you'll know. I'm just going to take a peek and see how things are moving along."Frank gestured to the edge of the towel across Mallory's lap.
Dean, who had been hanging (hiding out) around the trunk of the Impala, had allowed his curiousity to get the better of him, and was heading over to investigate the status of things. He did an about-face as he caught sight of Frank lifting the towel.
"Ok, well, I think the next few contractions you can start to push."Frank declared,"You're dilated enough that I can see the head."
"Oh God!"Dean moaned. Sam's dimples deepened at his brother's obvious discomfort.
Dean's cellphone rang."Cas? Oh thank God!"he wandered away from the tortured cries to talk to his favourite angel.
"Dean, I have some information that may be useful to you regarding the cursed object in Wisconsin."
"Great, what is it?"
"There is an old text which holds a key in the library there. It's very old. It's also on display. You will have to steal it."
"Ok, well, that's obviously not gonna be a problem."
"We've got shoulders! You're doing great, Mallory!"Dean could hear Frank cheerleading in the background. He cringed and tried to focus on what Castiel was telling him.
"The text has a code which will decipher the curse."
"'The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true'."Dean retorted.
"Great job Mallory! It's a boy!"
"I don't understand what that means."Cas said patiently through the phone.
"I never really did, either."Dean admitted,"Anyway, thanks Cas."
"Ok, now we've just got to wait for the placenta..."Dean heard Frank say cheerfully over the sound of very small lungs taking their first wailing breaths.
Dean held back when he heard these words. There was something he probably needed to check on in the trunk.
Dean rejoined the trio, which was clearly now a quartet. Sam was looking a little shaken, Frank was covered in...fluid. The infant was wrapped in Frank's towel wearing a sock on his head and Mallory was holding her new son to her chest. Frank was holding a Walmart bag full of something Dean didn't want to think about, looking fairly pleased.
"Alright, we need to get you to the hospital."Frank smiled down at the mother and child."The doctors there will want to run a few test..."
"Is there something wrong?"Mallory looked up at Frank in panic.
"No, no. It's just good to make sure everything's alright. You have a little bit of tearing, nothing that can't be fixed by a competent doctor."Frank assured, before going onto praise Mallory,"But otherwise, everything went very well. You did a beautiful job, and no one even held your hand. The baby has a satisfactory initial Apgar score but it's better to be safe than sorry."
"You are not even speaking English anymore."Dean declared.
XXX
The nearest hospital turned out to be rather close. Dean turned the Impala onto Empire Street and headed for the Children's Hospital. After much cajoling, Frank convinced Dean to let Mallory and her baby into his car, leaving her Accord on the side of the road.
"We're very fortunate. This hospital has an excellent reputation for neonatal care. It had one of the first NICUs in the world. You'll both be very well taken care of."Frank was saying as she helped Mallory into the Emergency Room entrance.
Frank took care of the paperwork with Mallory's insurance as an orderly took Mallory to her room and a nurse took the new baby to NICU. Sam collected Frank's bag from the trunk of the Impala for her to change into fresh clothes while Dean went in search of food.
Once Frank had freshened up, and Dean was fed, the three of them reconvened outside of Mallory's room.
"We should probably get back on the road."Dean reminded,"We still have that cursed object to deal with."
"You're right, I'd just like to check on Mallory before we leave. She is technically my patient."Frank straightened her cream coloured blouse and pushed into Mallory's room. The Winchesters followed her in.
Mallory was resting in her hospital bed.
"We've got to go, Mallory."Frank said gently."Is there anything else you need me to do before we leave?"
'No, thank you. You've already done so much. You really saved us."Mallory said emphatically,"I don't know how I can thank you enough."
"I did what anyone would have done."Frank downplayed, tucking a loose strand of hair into her chignon."Have you decided on a name?"
"I'm going to name him Frank Edward Emerson. After you."Mallory smiled back."You're like my guardian angel."
"He's going to have to grow up to be a lawyer, or something with a name like that."Frank smiled with embarrassment."Is Edward a family name?"
"No, I'm a huge Twilight fan."
Frank's smiled froze,"Of course."
"Robert Pattinson is so hot."
"Yes, and that's exactly the sort of thing you want to think about when you're looking at your infant son."
Sam choked back a snicker, and Dean squinted to keep from the impulse to roll his eyes.
"It was lovely to meet you, Mallory."Frank squeezed the young woman's hand," 'Throughout our lives we are sent precious souls...meant to share our journey however brief or lasting their stay they remind us why we are here. They help us to see that everything on earth is part of the incredibility of life...and that it is always there for us to take of its joy.' "
"Happy trails to you, too."Mallory grinned.
XXX
Frank was quiet as she curled up in the backseat of the Impala with her book. She flipped the page and continued to read about Sam's hallucinations with a grim expression across her features. Her frown deepened as Castiel appeared in the story and manipulated Dean into swearing fealty to the angels. She turned over the limited options that they were faced with in her head.
"Your lives suck."She concluded morosely, not expecting any response. The Winchesters had none to give.
By the time Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot of their motel, Frank had worried her lip to the point of being sore and swollen. It had been a rough read. Not only did she find out the story behind Lucifer's Fall, she had disturbing images of a baby-eating Lilith to contend with, and the heartwrenching split of the Winchester's relationship over Ruby.
She picked up the next book, entitled Lucifer Rising. Well, that doesn't bode well, she thought morbidly to herself.
"Hey, don't you want to eat?"Dean offered the carton of Schezwan chicken to her.
"I can't talk to you, or especially you,"she gestured towards Sam with her book,"...until something good happens in the story. You aren't even talking to each other right now. And Sam's off with Ruby..."Frank could feel the hysteria rising in her chest."I'm not hungry."
"Fair enough."Dean said, remembering that grim chapter of their history. He hadn't felt much like eating either. Drinking, yes. Eating, not so much.
XXX
"Oh, thank God for Bobby!"Frank exclaimed.
Dean looked up in surprise.
"Is she talking to us again?"Sam stage whispered.
"I'm talking to Dean...he hasn't given up on you. You're still with Ruby, so I'm not talking to you yet."Frank snapped.
"How obvious is it that she's Bobby's daughter, huh?"Dean said gleefully.
XXX
"What the hell is Zachariah doing pimping out Ginger and Mary-ann?"Frank looked up from her book with a thoroughly disturbed expression.
"Uh..."
"Nevermind, I'll just read..."
Frank grumbled a few moments later,"I can't decide whether Zachariah's just the most gigantic ass, or if he's a gigantic ass with a plan. Either way, I really don't care for him."
"He's an ass with a plan."Sam said.
"Still not talking to you."Frank reminded him.
"Right, sorry."
XXX
Frank was alternating between giving Dean dewey-eyed looks for his forgiveness phone call from the Green Room, and shooting Sam looks that were near lethal for the torture that he was enacting on the demon nurse.
She had gone into the bathroom to press a cool damp cloth to her forehead. She wanted to throw up. She hated Ruby. And she currently wasn't very fond of Sam either.
She padded back into the main room.
The boys were low on cash again and Dean had made the executive decision to save by getting one room with two Queen sized beds. Frank really didn't care, there was plenty of room for two people in the Queen, but she knew for certain that there was no way she'd be sharing with Sam. She could hardly stand to be in the same room with him, much less the same bed.
She returned to her book and felt the disgust curling more violently in her stomach as she read the conversation between Ruby and Sam. However, she felt as though the rug had been pulled out from beneath her when Zachariah explained that he actually wanted the Apocalypse to happen...and that God had left the proverbial building.
Just keep reading, she told herself firmly. It has to get better.
But not before it got worse.
First, Castiel was going off about destiny and God's will, while Dean was screaming back just as loud his refusal to roll over and take it.
And then Ruby was pressuring Sam to suck the RN's blood. Sam checked his message from Dean, only to hear a message that Dean had not left.
"Was it Zachariah, or Ruby?"Frank asked suddenly.
"Was who what?"Sam frowned.
"That message you heard form Dean in Illchester, that wasn't actually Dean...was it Zachariah who manipulated the message, or was it Ruby?"Frank demanded.
"I'm not sure."Sam admitted,"It could have been either of them."
Frank rolled her eyes and continued to read. While Sam was bleeding the nurse, Dean was pacing around the Green Room like a caged animal. Frank gasped as Castiel appeared and started fingerpainting with his own blood, sending Zachariah into oblivion, and announcing that Lilith was the Final Seal.
"Tabernac!"Frank spat in frustration,"Angels and their secrets!"
"Which secret are you talking about?"Dean inquired.
"Lilith being the Final Seal!"Frank raged."And Sam's going to kill her thinking that he's stopping her! Merde!"
Sam and Dean exchanged looks. Those were the days.
Sam started to clean up the garbage from their take-out as Frank finished reading the book.
"Black eyes."Frank whispered in disbelief a little later,"Sam's a demon?"
"What? No!" Sam hurried to explain,"I'm not, it was a one time thing."
Frank looked over at Dean for confirmation. Dean gave a nod.
Not reassured, Frank continued reading.
"'Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object.'"Frank mumbled a short time later.
"Albert Camus."Sam cited, tossing the empty take-out containers into the trash.
Frank nodded,"Ruby knew. She was playing you the entire time...I knew...I mean, I didn't know what her end game was...but this...I never expected..."
"Honestly, neither did we."Dean admitted.
"Ok, I've got 3 more pages, I'm almost done..."Frank tucked back into the book.
Moments later there was a gasp from her direction and a strange wiggling dance in her seat.
"What was that?"Dean snorted.
"Celebrating Ruby's about-freaking-timely death."Frank chirped,"I'm going to read it again, I want to savour it."
"Savour it?"Sam questioned.
"Don't judge...there's nothing in that body besides demon. So I didn't even have to mourn the death of an innocent, because it was 100% Rubicide."
"New word?"
"Just made it up."Frank re-read the Ruby death scene."Just as good the second time."she sighed happily.
"Ok, you're freaking me out a little."Dean admitted.
"Oh please, you totally were doing a happy dance in your head when it happened."Frank rolled her eyes."One more page to go, so shush!"
Dean went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Moments later, Frank silently set the book down on the bedside table. Sam looked up when he heard her quiet sniffle.
"Are you alright?"he jumped to his feet in concern.
Frank looked up at Sam with incredulous tear-filled eyes,"Lucifer...when he-you must have been so scared..."
Sam gave a small sigh, remembering the bright light of Hell shooting up from the floor of the chapel.
"Sam, what the hell?"Dean had finished up in the bathroom and returned to find Frank trembling and crying on the bed, while Sam stood frozen in remenicence.
Frank waved a hand,"No, everything's fine. Everyone's good. I'm just getting caught up in the story and keep forgetting that Lucifer isn't strolling around anymore...which, you know, thank you for that, by the way..."she snuffled and searched the room for a facial tissue; finding none, she shrugged and wiped away her tears with her fingers.
"Why are you so nice to us?"Sam asked, shaken from his reverie.
"Because you saved the world."Frank mumbled, blinking through her tear spiked lashes.
"We brought on the Apocalypse."Dean pointed out, giving Sam a glance.
"And then you fixed it."Frank said distractedly, getting to her feet and going into the bathroom to splash water on her grabbed her pyjamas from her luggage on the way in. When she returned, Dean was standing by the bed with a furrowed brow."Are you ok?"
"I'm good."
"Are you sure?"Sam asked anxiously.
"I'm just tired, It's been a long day."Frank nodded, climbing into bed.
Sam gave her one last worried look before shedding his extra layers and getting under the covers of his own bed.
"Dean? Are you coming to bed?"Frank asked, fluffing her pillow and snuggling down under the blanket.
Dean and Sam exchanged concerned looks before Dean crawled under the covers.
XXX
It was well after midnight when Dean woke to the snuffling sounds of Frank's restless dreaming. His eyes adjusted to the light(or lack thereof) and he peered over at her pinched expression.
With a piercing shriek of "NO!" Frank sat bolt upright in bed, gasping as though she'd just run a marathon without any training. Her shoulders shuddered convulsively and she flinched when Dean sat up beside her, his left hand slipping around her waist, pulling her into his chest, while his right hand rested on her bent knees. Frank felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she tried not to hyperventilate. Dean pressed small, calming, chaste kisses into her hair and across her temple with such tenderness that Frank thought her heart was going to swell until it burst.
Sam had also been shaken from sleep from her shout; he sat up groggily and the room was soon bathed in the yellow glow of the bedside lamp. "What's wrong?"his voice was rough with sleep.
"Nightmare."Dean replied for Frank, whose eyes were shut tight as she concentrated on getting her breathing back to normal. Dean's strong heartbeat against her smaller body was helping immensely. "I hate the Apocalypse."Frank mumbled into his chest.
Dean huffed a laugh and petted her hair."Try to get some sleep."
Frank nodded and they all lay back turned off the light and Dean allowed himself to slip back into sleep with Frank curled towards him, her hand resting gently over his heart.
XXX
The next morning they were back on the road again. Dean had stolen a pillow from the motel room and ordered Frank to nap in the back seat as he drove. He even shed his jacket and draped it over her curled up body when she started to doze off.
When they arrived in Madison, Wisconsin, Frank blinked at the afternoon sun as she poked her head from beneath the collar of the heavy coat, inhaling the heady scent of leather.
Frank dug into the carboard box that was filled with Chuck's books and pulled the next book from the series onto her lap. She kept Dean's coat tucked around her and began to read.
XXX
Frank was giggling in the back seat.
"What's so funny?"
"Chuck's description of himself. 'Devastatingly gorgeous' and apparently Sam's a little jealous of Chuck's 'raw animal magnetism.'"Frank was reading Sympathy for the Devil.
Sam snorted,"Right."
XXX
"So Castiel exploded...but now he's ok?"
"Yes."
"Ok then."
"How is that something you just accept?"
"Faith and such."
"Right, I forgot."
XXX
"Ok, I'm really not a fan of Zachariah." Frank made a face."He really is getting on my nerves. Do either of you punch him in the face at some point? That would make me a little happy."
Dean smirked.
XXX
"So, this is how you met Becky?"Frank waved the book,"She came to your hotel room to tell you about the Michael Sword?"
"Rambled about a castle made of dogs. As if we needed to think she was more crazy than she already appeared."Dean snorted.
"Actually, it was a castle on a hill made of 42 dogs. It's probably an address or something, right? The bible's full of seemingly nonsensical poetry like that. Are we stopping for food at some point?"Frank looked out the window for restaurant signage.
"We just had breakfast."Sam pointed out.
"150 miles ago. I'm hungry again. Car rides give me an appetite."
"Woman after my own heart."Dean took the next turn off."Biggerson's ok?"
"We only got free food for a year there...not life, Dean."
"I like their food."he shrugged.
Sam rolled his eyes."Fine, but next time I get to pick the restaurant."
"No way,"Dean made a face,"We'll wind up at a salad bar, or eating sushi...I like my fish deep-fried."
"You like everything deep fried."Frank pointed out.
"So true."
XXX
"What the Hell is wrong with Bobby? I can't believe he said those things. Sam...I'm sure he didn't mean what he said about losing his number. Ok, yes, you were largely responsible for starting the Apocalypse...people make mistakes...I just hope he apologized to you...I'll make him apologize if he hasn't."
They were back on the road again, after a filling meal at Biggerson's.
"Uh..."
"Wait...is he possessed? He is, isn't he?...no, don't tell me!"Frank dove back into the book.
XXX
"Meg came back and a possessed Bobby stabbed himself?"Frank said weakly, her normally pale skin was now completely white."I feel sick."
"It gets better."Sam said helpfully.
"Well, Meg obviously didn't die."
"And neither did Bobby...so we considered that a win."Dean argued.
"Fair enough."Frank conceded,"Also, I was right about Becky's cryptic message being an address."
"Good for you."
XXX
"Forget what I said about Zachariah. I want to punch him myself. I want to punch an angel."Frank gave a slightly hysterical laugh,"I'm going crazy."
"You're not. Zachariah was a dick."Dean said firmly.
"First he tells you that you're Michael's vessel and then he proceeds to torture you and Sam to get you to accept...just what is wrong with him? Didn't he get the memo about free will? It's a good thing that Castiel showed up. I knew God must have fixed him." Frank turned back to her book,"I'm starting to like this one better now."
XXX
"Lucifer found a vessel? LUCIFER FOUND A VESSEL?"
"Pipe down back there!"Dean glared into the rearview mirror,"We know."
"Remember, you know the punchline, we stopped the Apocalypse."Sam said gently.
"Of course, I know...just...Lucifer was walking around in this poor guy's body. And this guy is now probably dead. I don't like this book anymore."Frank said with a little bit of sulk in her voice.
"You're almost done."
Frank grumpily went back to reading. Minutes later she was finished the last chapter."Bobby's in the hospital and apologized to Sam..."she caught Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror,"But you told Sam you don't trust him anymore...which has a tiny speck of merit."
"Hey!"Sam exclaimed.
"Don't 'hey' me, you were the one who chose Ruby over Dean."
"I said I was sorry."Sam grumbled.
"Which I'm sure made everything better."Frank rolled her eyes.
XXX
"Bobby was paralyzed? But, obviously he isn't now...so...no, don't tell me!"
"Aren't you finished yet?"
"This is the next book...last one said that Bobby was in the hospital, this one he's paralyzed. Oh, and I'd really like to see those X-Rays you had done, if you still have them."she said to Dean,"The Enochian writing on your ribs would be interesting to take a look at."
"It's not something I keep in the trunk of the Impala."
"But you did keep it, didn't you?"
Sam looked to his brother for his answer.
"I put it in a storage facility."
"Really?"Sam was surprised.
"What? If you had a picture of the markings Cas carved on your ribs, you'd keep it too."
"Are we eating dinner at some point?"Frank interupted,"I get cranky when I go without food."
"She's like a female version of you."Sam joked to Dean.
"And that's a bad thing?"Dean grinned.
Frank flipped open her cellphone...and then closed it, having tuned out their banter.
"Frank, what's up?"
"Castiel couldn't heal Bobby...and he was so angry and confused and sad and I just wanted to...say...I don't know, something..."
"He's fine now."Dean reassured her.
She nodded, looking troubled."Right, of course."
"So, Biggerson's?"Dean suggested.
"No!"Sam moaned.
"Sure, whatever's fine with me. I'm not really hungry anymore."Frank stared at her phone and chewed on her bottom lip. She picked up her book and continued to read.
XXX
Frank looked over at Dean,"You were so mean to Castiel!"she glared, clearly she had moved on from moping over Bobby's temporary paralysis.
"What? When?"Dean looked startled at her ferocious expression.
"He just wanted to find God, and instead of being supportive, you told him that God was dead, or didn't care! What is wrong with you?"
"It seemed like a dumb plan!"Dean said defensively."And I gave him my amulet."
Sam wisely kept his mouth shut.
"That's it, I officially don't like you very much right now."She crossed her arms,"You hurt his feelings!"
"Angels don't have feelings."Dean explained slowly.
"Of course they do! How can they worship God if they don't have feelings? How can they betray other angels if they don't have feelings?"Frank huffed,"Castiel killed other angels because he felt a sense of loyalty to you and Sam. Of course he has feelings."
"Fine, fine!"Dean raised his hands in surrender."Cas has feelings."
They sat and stared at each other awkwardly for another few moments in the rearview mirror.
Frank flushed and sighed,"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. But you were mean to him. Although, he seems to have forgiven you, so I guess I can't really be all that offended. I'm just cranky because I'm tired. And I miss Bobby."she said a little wistfully.
"You could call him."Dean suggested,"I'm sure he'd like to hear from you."
XXX
