A/N: I am so. So. So sorry. College and sports and a now ex-boyfriend have taken up all my spare time and I haven't had the inspiration lately. I didn't want to force myself to write if I knew it would suck. This isn't quite as exciting as a chapter you all deserve, but I wanted everyone to know I haven't forgotten this story! I do intend to finish it, and I have it planned. Hopefully I can make myself update more often… Enjoy!

Chapter Forty Nine

"Dammit, Sam, hurry up!" Lilly snapped into the phone. Dean covered his mouth to hide his snicker, but Lilly shot him a glare anyway. Dean tastefully ignored it.

They were waiting for Sam to return with dinner, and Lilly was getting incredibly impatient. Dean was hungry, but he found Lilly's frustration too amusing to hurry his little brother.

It had been two weeks since they learned Lilly was pregnant. They'd lived in the hotel, eating takeout and Pop Tarts. There had been no fighting, only light-hearted quarreling when Lilly wanted something. Dean was enjoying himself, as were the others.

But deep down, he felt a small twinge; something missing.

He wanted to hunt.

At his core, Dean Winchester was a fighter. He loved the thrill, the exhilaration, the danger- even the killing. He didn't know what kind of man that made him, but he knew he couldn't change it, and didn't really want to.

And he knew Lilly felt the same way.

When he looked in her eyes, particularly late at night, he knew she felt caged. She was craving the open road, ready to be on the trail of another monster. But they shared a common trepidation; now there was a third party involved, one whose safety depended directly on that of its parents. They both worried, without having to say it, that a return to hunting would result in harm for their unborn child.

Lilly stared out the window into the dark night. Dean followed her gaze. It was times like this- when her face was wistful and longing- that he knew they felt the same way.

He moved closer, sitting next to her on the bed.

"We won't be here forever, you know," he said quietly.

Lilly turned toward him, her eyes steely and her posture defiant. When Dean put an arm around her waist, she softened slightly, smiling briefly. "I know that."

Dean poked her stomach gently. "We can always leave you in the car for moral support. And Band-Aids." He joked, grinning.

Lilly rolled her eyes and smirked back, but her expression was still tense. "You usually need a lot more than a Band-Aid…" her voice trailed off.

Tightening his arms around her, Dean leaned in. "I may need ice and stitches and lots of whiskey, but nothing we can't fix. I promise."

Lilly's eyebrows raised, but she didn't press the issue. Dean hoped it was a promise he could keep.

After another week in Memphis, they were all ready to leave. On Bobby's advice, they headed for Mississippi, where there were several potential cases. The closest, at first glance, seemed like a haunting. Though Dean wouldn't admit it, he didn't want to take on anything too serious. Luckily, even though Lilly had caught on, she wasn't protesting.

Too much.

"Why can't I kill anything?" Lilly asked from the backseat, where she was laying on her back and tossing something repeatedly in the air.

"Does that even require an answer?" Dean replied. He realized Lilly was throwing a bullet and suppressed a laugh.

"Yes. That's why I asked."

"Lil, I'm not letting you put my niece in danger." Sam joined the conversation and Dean fist-bumped him.

Lilly sat up, propping herself on an elbow. "Wait, niece? How do know?"

"Castiel told me. And I'm always right." Dean lied.

"Right," Lilly snorted. "You're wrong on this one, Dean."

"How do you know, Dr. Winchester?" He countered.

Lilly raised her eyebrows; Dean realized his mistake.

"Shut up."

She laughed and patted her stomach. "Think what you want; but I'll bet you twenty bucks it's a boy."

Dean glanced at Lilly in the rearview. "You want to bet on my child?"

Lilly just winked.

Dean shook his head and turned his attention to his brother. "Tell me what we got."

"Uh, yeah, husband and wife moved into a new house with their baby, and strange things started happening about a week after they moved in. Lights flickering, stuff going missing or not being where they left it, strange sounds. The usual." Sam said. "It shouldn't be too-"

"Ah, shut up, Sam!" Dean said. "The minute you say 'it shouldn't be too bad' is the minute it becomes a monumental pain in my ass. So shut it." He shook a finger at Sam to emphasize his point. Sam held his hands up in defense and remained silent.

"You know what else will be a monumental pain in your ass?" Lilly's face appeared in the rearview mirror. "Me. If you make me sit in this damn car while you two get to kill things."

Dean gave her a longsuffering look. She smirked back.

"You can keep your gun." He said.

Lilly gaped. "Thank you so much. I relish the opportunity to participate." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Take it or leave it, princess," Dean said, grinning at her.

She smiled back. There was a hunger and excitement in her eyes that Dean loved. She fed off the thrill of the chase just as he did, and there was no one he'd rather have beside him on a hunt than a sexy woman who was ready to kill something.

Dean drove faster.