James and Dean sat at the kitchen table waiting for their siblings to come back from the assessor's office with leads on the apartment building on Harlem. Saving each other from what Dean referred to as 'the vampire skanks' seemed to seal a temporary alliance. That didn't mean they had to like each other. James saw it as a 'you don't kill me, I won't kill you' momentary pledge. So, they sat together with a case of beer and drank in silence.

"Cool tats," Dean said breaking the quiet before taking a sip of beer. He gestured to the words engraved on James' fingers. "I've been thinking about getting one."

James gave a sullen nod.

"So, can I ask you something?"

James nodded again in response.

"Why are you so damn possessive of Abby?"

James another sip of his beer before he spoke.

"Isn't it obvious? After losing everyone, she's all I got left. Besides, I'm her big brother; it's my duty to protect her. When someone is all you've had as a companion for 290 years, you usually become attached."

"Abby told me about your parents. I'm sorry, man."

"Yeah, that was a rough month."

"Month?"

James looked up at Dean thoughtfully.
"Didn't Abby tell you the rest?"

Dean just eyed him suspiciously.

"I was married you know. She was a beautiful human girl. We met on accident. I saved her from being run over by some imbecile on a horse. He was drunk and was about to trample her and I pulled her out of the way. I'm not a hopeless romantic but it was love at first sight. We were inseparable after that," James smirked at the memories.

"What did she look like? I figure girls back then looked…I don't know, different."

"If you put her in today's clothing and style you wouldn't notice. In fact she'd probably be confused for a model. And if you hadn't noticed, Abby and I blend in pretty well. We just assimilated. My wife had a timeless beauty. When her hair wasn't pulled up, it fell in long blonde waves down her back. She had these piercing green eyes. Her skin was as soft as rose petals and her scent…it was roses and cinnamon."

"Scent?"

"Vampire remember? I could smell her blood," James said as he tapped his nose.

"Did she know about you being Lamia or whatever?"

James smiled remembering when he told her.

"She began to notice little things. I usually politely passed on human food. Sure we can eat it, but for the most part it tastes awful and doesn't help us nutritionally. We either end up throwing up or get horrible stomach cramps that can incapacitate us for days. But to make her happy, I endured them when she tested new dishes. Only for her," he chuckled. "She began questioning me about my late night walks, when I would actually be out on the hunt. Then it was how little sleep I needed. I finally sat her down and explained. I thought I was going to scare her away but she reminded me that she fell in love with me, vampire or human. Of course, we kept it our little secret. Couldn't run off to the in-laws and tell them."

James finished off his beer and started drinking another one.

"Question," Dean started. "If human food is bad, why are you drinking the booze? Sorry, I've never been around Lamia."

"Funny thing. Alcoholic beverages are ok for us. Maybe it's because we usually drink our food that we can digest it just fine," James shrugged. "However, we do get horribly drunk and the worst hangovers you can ever imagine. Cotton mouth and migraine does not even begin the description."

"So what happened with your girl?"

James' eyes looked down at the table. His demeanor had quickly turned sullen yet he had a hint of a smile.

"She got pregnant shortly after we were married. I couldn't wait to be a father," he proudly stated. With a deep inhale, he continued. "But I never realized the complications she would have from being pregnant with a half human, half vampire baby. Vampire gestation is usually faster than 9 months; it can be anywhere around 5-6. Lamia females have stronger bodies and are able to accommodate. There's not a lot of what we refer to as 'half-breeds' out there. Plus we didn't have a ton of info on childbirth like today. With the research today, we know the half-breed survival percentage is higher with Lamia women giving birth rather than human women. So I didn't know then what could…" He rested his head in his hand before he went on as if to brace himself for the ending. Dean figured the story was going to be an unhappy ending. James' posture changed into one of defeat.

"She went into early labor. She was in pain for hours pushing while I held her hand. Men usually weren't in the birthing rooms while their wives were in labor but I insisted that I couldn't leave her. Her body…she hemorrhaged. There was so much blood. I could feel my vampire senses start to take over from the smell. There was just too much. I had to leave. By the time I came to my senses, she was dead…along with our child."

Dean looked at James' with a sympathetic look. It seemed 'I'm sorry for your loss' or a sympathy card could never be enough. It was obvious his loss was something that no one could recover.

"They made me name my baby girl before I buried her with my wife. I choose the name Grace because Mercy always liked that name for a little girl," James said as his eyes instinctually went to the tattoos on his fingers. He looked up at Dean and gave a sad smile. "Mercy used to consistently nag me about tapping my fingers on the dinner table. I figured these would be the best way to remember them."

"So, that means, Abigail can get…"

James' eyes took on a predatory gaze.

"Can get what, Winchester?"

Knocked up by a human, Dean thought before remembering James could read minds.

James began tapping his fingers on the kitchen table.

"In your case, I'm very grateful she can't reproduce." He chugged back his beer before he eyed Dean questioning. "So she obviously didn't tell you the whole story about my parents murder?"

"She said that the guy she was having an affair with found out about her as a vampire and rallied a bunch of hunters to kill your family. You guys got out, your folks didn't. That's all I know."

"That coward who my naïve sister was sleeping with did more than just that. You see, he got her pregnant," James angrily slurred.