A/N: Vivi here! As promised, the second half of the two chapters I promised just a few minutes ago. Mild language and violence again. Without further ado, here's Pie, Periods, and a Difficult Decision!
I came to just a few seconds later, but my head had hit the steering wheel and honked the horn. Cas was already opening my door when my eyes opened. "Are you hurt?" He asked. I fumbled with the buckle until it came off and pushed past Cas to get out. The effort made me stumble and I caught myself against the back of the car. "What happened this time?" Cas asked, somewhat impatiently.
"Nothing." I snapped, standing upright. Most of my weight was on my good leg.
"Cas, would you mind?" Sam and Cas carried Fisher into the dungeon. I took advantage of the small window of distraction and closed myself in my room. Dean was coughing occasionally, and giving me the cold shoulder from his playpen in the corner while I pressed a wad of gauze against the bullet wound on my leg. My vision was still swimming.
Cas returned more quickly than I'd anticipated. He knocked at my door; it had taken me a few weeks to train him to do that after I moved in, but he had it down now. "Allison, what's going on?"
"Nothing you need to be worried about." I yelled through the door. If I passed out again, at least I'd already be in my bed.
"Allison, there's blood in the car. What happened?" He sounded irritated.
"It's shark week." I said, irritation leaking into my tone. At least it was good for something this time around.
"No, Shark Week isn't on television until July." Cas said.
I sighed loudly. "Aunt Flo has come to visit. The red tide is upon us. It's flooding down south."
"I- I don't understand. Your aunts are-"
"I'm menstruating." I groaned. The door was quiet after that. A few minutes later, I peeked out to see if Cas had really gone or if I had just stunned him into silence. He was gone. I left Dean closed in my room while I ran to the bathroom with a change of clothes. I rinsed the blood from my leg. The bullet had just grazed me; the pain was so much worse than the actual injury. I was glad. With my wound patched and fresh clothes on, I returned to find Dean playing with the black sports car and making loud car noises. If I hadn't known him as an adult, I would think he was the cutest, most innocent little boy I'd met in a long time.
I watched him from my perch on the end of my bed. He was in his own little world. The familiar ache in my chest that greeted me every time I watched him play came seeping back. He looked so much like my nephew; blond hair, green eyes. As a man, Dean looked exactly like my husband from behind. Same short hair, same build, same shoe size even. But he could never compare to those deep, chocolate brown irises and that toothy grin that my husband wore so well. Sometimes I wondered what our son would have looked like. I tried to avoid dwelling on that subject. There was still too much pain there.
"Li?" I looked up to see Dean standing as close as he could to me inside the playpen. The car was forgotten, upside-down in the other corner. He looked concerned and held out his hand to me.
I smiled and quickly wiped the tears from my eyes. "What's up?" I asked, picking him up and holding him against my hip.
He reached up and got a tear that I'd missed. Then he leaned against my shoulder and hugged me as hard as he could. I hugged him back and let the melancholy feelings fade. "Sorry about risking your life. I couldn't let them risk theirs alone and I couldn't leave you. You are a handful, Dean Winchester."
An angry shout came from deep within the bunker and made me jump. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The interrogation had begun.
Five minutes later, the yelling was still audible; I couldn't understand what was being said but the sound of shouting was enough. I dragged Dean in the playpen into the kitchen. He enjoyed the ride and I enjoyed the fact that the kitchen was relatively closed off and I could no longer hear as much shouting.
"Well, today was a mess." I said, massaging my temples at the table. All those little details, the guns, the vests, the total lack realization that as soon as the bag was out demons would show up… All those details were utterly overlooked in my quest to make myself useful. I'd effectively endangered the lives of all my remaining friends as well as my own. I'd never live this down. I would never let myself.
A soft echo of shouting made its way into the kitchen and I let my head rest on the table. There was no escaping it. Unless… I stood and turned on the stove hood. It was loud enough to drown out the noise.
Dean looked up with a gleam of hope in his eyes when I turned around. "What's that look for?" I asked. He pushed his hand into his stomach. I glanced at the clock; it was almost dinnertime. He got a handful of cereal in a plastic bowl while I started making dinner to drown out the thoughts and shouts.
"Burgers sound good?" I asked him as I dug through the freezer.
"Ya." Dean sounded overjoyed to finally have a chance at his favorite dish.
"It's final then." I set the burgers to cook on the stove and was left with nothing to fill my time. Looking around the kitchen, I saw a bag of flour, a bag of sugar, several cans of fruit, and some ideally shaped bakeware. It didn't even matter that it had a fine layer of dust covering it. I glanced at Dean, who was once again lost in his own little world. I hoped some pies would help him feel better.
Several hours later, Dean had already devoured the burger I gave to him in very small pieces. He snoozed like a happy drunk while I put the second pie, uncooked, into the freezer for later. The first, which I'd only just pulled from the oven, sat steaming on the stove top. I was only half surprised that Dean hadn't woken up at the smell of it. His nose was probably plugged.
Sam and Cas walked in, looking tired. Sam had his sling back on and slumped down at the kitchen table. Cas came up to me and looked me over. "How are you feeling? Sam told me the more intricate details of your predicament." Cas said with too much eye contact. "I understand the lining of your uterus is shedding and causing you significant pain. He was very detailed in his explanation."
"Come on, Cas." Sam said, blood rushing to his face.
"I'm fine." I said quickly. "It's no biggie. After a few years a girl learns how to deal. How's your chest?"
"I'll survive. Did you make… pie?" Cas asked.
"I thought I smelled something delicious." Sam stood and came to look at the oven-fresh creation. Dean had woken up at the very word and was now pounding on his playpen and calling for Sam. Sam, of course, brought him to join in the viewing of the pie.
"I made burgers too. No pie until the burgers are gone." I said, wagging my finger at them. "It's too hot to eat right now."
"Yes, ma'am." Sam said.
It was no wonder they ate the burgers so fast. Dean had gotten a small piece of pie, cooled quickly in the freezer, and was thoroughly enjoying it in front of them, making a mess of the table and his clothes. I'd made my award winning cherry pie; personally, I didn't care for pie, but this and apple were the only two I did like.
"So how's Fisher coming?" I asked after Sam had finished his slice and was eyeing a second.
"Uh, he's not. We haven't cracked him yet." Sam said, as if he thought he had let me down. He stood and retrieved another slice.
"I'm guessing this is going to take a while?" I asked.
"We're doing all we can." Cas said. "He seems resolved to die with his secrets."
"Why wouldn't he just reverse the curse he put on Dean and walk away?" I asked.
"He won't be walking away." Sam said. There was a frightening darkness to his words that reminded me of just how much he'd been through and how far he was willing to go for his family.
"Have you tried to get him to lift it?" I asked cautiously.
"Yes, Allison." Cas said. "That was the first thing we asked. We haven't made any progress since he regained consciousness."
I frowned. "I feel bad for asking, but if he 'doesn't walk away', will the curse go away?"
Sam hung his head. "We don't know. Some curses die with the holder, some don't."
"Sam, what if it doesn't resolve? What will we do?"
"We'll just have to figure something else out." He said quickly, stabbing the pie with his fork.
My jaw threatened to drop open. "O-okay then." I cleared my throat and collected my thoughts. Perhaps I would have to raise one of my best friends after all. "Are you going to go scream at him anymore?"
"Could you hear that?" Cas asked.
"Vividly." I said, suppressing a shudder.
"We'll try to keep it down." Sam said. Once he finished his slice, he and Cas headed back to the dungeon. I washed the dishes and turned the stove's vent fan off. The remaining pie made it into the fridge before I turned back to the playpen.
I felt bad for Dean. His cold wasn't improving fast enough for his taste and he certainly let me know. When he woke up, I checked his throat and his tonsils were red and swollen with little white spots all over them. I gave him some medicine for the pain and warm water in a sippy cup to try and soothe the angry looking throat, but he still seemed uncomfortable. I carried the play pen into my room and he fussed when he realized it was bedtime and he couldn't sleep in Sam's bed. I got changed in the bathroom, cleaned up the bloody mess, and returned to change him into pajamas. When I felt his skin, though, I decided against the extra layers. He was running a low fever again, so just a diaper would do for now.
He clung to my arms when I set him back in the pen. "Dean, it's bedtime, okay? Go to sleep. The medicine should kick in soon." I turned out the overhead light and got in bed.
"Li?" The voice was hoarse and quiet. "Li?"
My desk lamp flicked on and I sat up so Dean could see me. "What is it, Dean?"
"Up." He said, lifting his arms to me. Snot had started to run down his face; tears were just a few moments away.
"You have your own sleeping spot, Dean." I said. I got up and handed him a tissue, which he rubbed all over his face. Finally, I had to wipe his nose myself.
"Peas Li, up." He held his arms to me again and coughed.
I felt my resolve begin to wane. Those big green eyes, that pitiful voice, the total lack of grammar… For a long time, I'd known I had a soft spot for kids. I sighed and picked him up, putting him in my bed. "Just for tonight, okay?"
He was already asleep. I climbed in next to him and pulled the sheets over us; the boilers would go off in a few minutes. I sincerely hoped that Sam and Cas would keep the noise level down; I did not need eerie shouts invading my already awful nightmares.
The desk lamp was extinguished and I rested my left hand on Dean's stomach. Somehow his steady albeit congested breathing and quick heartbeat, normal for kids that age, were very comforting to me. I fell asleep more quickly than I had in a long time.
A/N: Review, peas!