Thank you so much Blondie 20000, Angels-heart1, BloodforInk for your feedback! Feedback always makes me happy :) so thank you!

Ok I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in so long. Honestly I had about 8 pages written and decided that I didn't want to reveal what I was revealing in those pages just yet so I had to save them to another file and re-write 90% of this chapter. Oh the joy of self editing *grin*.

So this is mostly some Dean, Sam and Jo bonding. Please see the Author Note at the end. I know that Jo is OOC in this story in that she is taking a step back from hunting...obviously due to her pregnancy and she started to re-evaluating hunting way back before she knew Dean was actually the baby's father, when she thought she was going to be a single parent. Jo is still trying to figure it all out because now that she isn't a single parent I can see her actually wanting to be involved in the action again. I just don't want people to think Jo's flip flopping...it's just that everything she thought she knew changed and so have her options.

Thank you again and I hope people enjoy this part!

Thanks

Val

Chapter 18

Sam sat across from his brother and Jo slack jaw as he listened to Dean and Jo little Back to the Future trip before they got married and Jo's theory about the demons long term plans. That was a horrifying thought…that a good chunk of their lives was steered towards where they were now.

"Sam?" Jo said as she took in the younger brother.

"We've been nothing but pawns," he hissed as everything Jo said made more sense than he cared to admit.

Jo's hand dropped to caress her baby bump as Dean wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "How do you think we feel?"

Sam swallowed at the way his brother reached down with his free hand and placed it over Jo's…over their child. "You two really think the angels were playing us too?"

Dean nodded his head, "makes me wonder if there really was more to Castiel's comment about Jo's destiny too."

Sam suddenly felt sick to his stomach but it fit into place. "Mom's family hunted…who knows how far back they go. What about the Harvelles?"

Jo sighed, "as far as Ash could figure out I make the 9th generation of Harvelle hunters in the US. He never got around to before we left England so we don't know if it started back then."

"Bet the Campbells go back…Samuel seem like someone raised doing the job." Dean told his brother.

Sam watched the way his brother and his new sister frowned as they turned the information they had over in their heads and knew they feared the life they were building was some sick cosmic joke. "Screw them," he said suddenly.

Dean looked over at his brother, "what?"

"I said screw them…they played us…well it's time we play them."

Jo and Dean looked at Sam and a slow smile creep up on Dean's face. "I can see those big cogs turning in that brain of yours…what are you thinking?"

Sam blushed as he said, "first thing…detox…I can't believe I let that bitch trick me."

Jo didn't attempt to hide her tears as she stood up and enveloped Sam in a hug. "Oh Sammy," she cried. The younger Winchester looked at his brother who laughed and mumbled, 'hormones'.

Sam patted Jo on her back as he untangled himself from the crying woman before gently turning her and guiding her to Dean. He smiled when his brother asked if she wanted to lay down while they prepped the food and grill.

"I can help," she said as she blew her nose with one of her ever present tissues.

"Come on," Dean said as he started walking her to the bedroom. "The others will be here in a about two hours…lay down and rest."

"You won't plan everything without me?"

"Scouts honor," he said as he held up a hand.

Jo snorted, "like you were ever a scout."

Sam laughed at the way his brother gaped at his wife. "I think it's safe to say it's true love between Buttercup and Westley."

"Dread Pirate Roberts bitch," Dean called back to his brother. Suddenly he felt like things were actually going in their direction for a change.

SPNSPNSPN

"So what are you gonna do about Ruby?" Dean asked as he made the hamburger patties. Sam had helped him cleaned up the back patio, set the picnic table and clean the grill. Now they were back in the cabin, prepping the food.

"Pretend I'm still working with her you and that you and I will be going on back to back hunts and will be gone for a while."

Dean's head shot up at this, "what? I can't leave Jo."

"Don't worry you won't. It'll be the excuse for why I'm gone. She been pushing me to make you see reason. I'll tell her we're bonding and that I'll be working on you getting behind the whole blood drinking thing when in fact I'll be detoxing…we can use Bobby's panic room."

"What if she hangs around…sees me with Jo."

"I don't think she will. I think she'll take off because she has to be working for someone and will probably use the time to give her report and get her next marching orders. Besides, I don't think she sees Jo as any kind of threat to her."

"I don't know," Dean said not completely sold on the idea.

"So we send a scout to watch her."

"Who? She knows everyone we work with including Rufus, Bart and Bucky."

"Bobby must know someone that we could trust." Sam suggested.

Dean nodded his head, "okay we'll talk tonight. We're really going to have to go on a real job to sell this."

Sam smirked as he slapped Dean on his shoulder. "Travis called me a little while ago, wanted to know if we could handle a hunt for him in Carthage, Missouri…rugaru. We could head out tomorrow."

Dean looked towards the bedroom where Jo was resting and nodded his head. "I'll ask Ellen to stay with Jo when she gets here."

Sam saw the way Dean bowed his head as he went back to making the patties. "I'm sorry…you and Jo should be…ummm…well you know doing honeymoon things. Not dealing with this."

The older Winchester looked at his brother. "I'm sorry Sam…for going through with the wedding like I did. Jo tried to tell me I would regret you not being there…standing by my side and she was right."

Sam frowned as he put down the knife he was using to chop up the vegetables for the salad he was making and stepped around the table. "Dean, I get it and yeah it hurt but I don't blame you… I don't." He told his brother. "We were being played…Ruby wanted to drive a wedge between us while pretending she wanted us all to play on the same team and I was desperate enough to believe her."

"Yeah well there was one thing they didn't plan on…my wife. Always said she put together a Hell of a file but she also has a knack for picking things apart and re-examining them from different angles." Dean boasted with a look of utter pride on his face.

Sam frowned as he thought about what Dean was saying about Jo ."Maybe you aren't the only one who appreciates Jo's abilities."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not saying that yours and Jo's feelings aren't real because I believe they are. I think you both are the best thing that happened to each other so don't take this the wrong way but do you really believe Castiel's story about why the angels were so invested in you and Jo's baby making lost week and why they raised you from Hell?"

"I did not deceive you or Joanna and the importance of this child." Castiel said as he suddenly appeared behind the brothers.

Dean dropped the patty he was making, "that's it I'm putting a bell on him." He said to his brother.

"Dean, do you guys need any help?" Jo called out as she came out from the bedroom. She stopped short when she saw Castiel standing in the kitchen. "Castiel…what are you doing here?" She asked as she glanced over to her husband.

"Joanna, you look well. May I check the child?" The angel asked. After the way Dean and Joanna had reacted when he had explained that he has check the the child while Joanna was asleep before he figured it was the appropriate thing to do.

"The baby's fine," Jo said as she crossed the room and stood by Dean.

Castiel watched the three humans in front of him and nodded his head, "very well."

Jo frowned as saw the way Dean and Sam were eyeing the angel, "what…what's wrong?" she asked.

"Samuel believes that I deceive you and Dean when I spoke to you both about conceiving your child." He explained.

"I see," Jo said as she exchanged a quick look with her husband and brother. She saw the way Sam nodded his head slightly towards the angel. "I am curios though. You haven't told us exactly how our child will help defeat Lucifer."

The angel looked at the three hunters in front of him and cocked his head. "The child has already begun to help defeat Lucifer."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked as he saw the way Dean placed a hand on Jo's lower back and guided her to a chair to sit down.

"The demons are depending on you and your brother's discord to continue to pit you against each other and distracting both of you from stopping them from breaking the 66 seals." He said before looking at the eldest Winchester.

"You were instructed to stop your brother. When you found out that Samuel was ingesting demon blood, you did not stop him. Instead you turned your back on him in anger. Driving a deeper wedge between you and your brother."

"Hey!" Dean began to argue but stopped when Jo placed her hand over his and took a deep breath before giving Castiel a tight smile, "you were say."

"It was Joanna that Samuel reached out to and spoke to. It was Joanna who was able to reason not only with Samuel but also with you Dean as well."

"But that doesn't explain how our baby will help defeat Lucifer." Dean said as Jo nodded her head in agreement.

Sam swallowed as he said to his brother and sister. "It was the thought that I wouldn't be allowed to be part of the baby's life. Jo wasn't being cruel because she didn't care about me. I could see how much it hurt her to say those words to me. If that had been you Dean my knee jerk reaction would have been to walk away. We're too much alike in that aspect. It's our downfall isn't it? No matter how much we love each of we always have to be right and we don't actually listen to everything the other is saying. When Jo said it though it made me stop and weigh everything she was saying to me."

Dean sighed as he nodded his head at what Sam was saying. "We never would have talked. I was already thinking of a way to try and trick you away from Ruby and locking you up to force you to detox off the damn blood."

"And I knew that is what you would plan and I would be focusing on what you were plotting." Sam agreed.

"But that was Jo not our child," Dean argued.

Jo smiled at her husband as she , "Sam loves this baby as much as we do. She's brought us together."

"She's uniting us," Sam said as he reached out and placed his hand over Jo's and Dean's joined hands.

Dean turned his attention to the angel, "that's why your lot were praying it would be Jo that I would realize was my true mate. Neither Cassie nor Lisa would ever embrace Sam like Jo. She loves him too."

"Yes," Castiel admitted actually gracing them with a hint of a smile.

Jo chewed on her lower lip as she asked the question that's been running through her head since her and Dean had talked earlier. "Did the angels bring us together two years ago?""

Castiel looked up suddenly as if someone were speaking to him. Jo started to speak again but stopped when the angel that had been standing in front of them suddenly vanished before their eyes and they heard the sound of flapping wings.

Dean rolled his eyes as he huffed, "I'm just gonna say it, these angels are a bunch of pricks."

"Did you notice how he looked up, like someone was talking to him. I think he was about to tell us something that somebody doesn't want us to know." Jo said.

Dean watched the way Jo's eyebrows knitted together and shot a glance at his brother. "Hey Sam, I left the charcoal in the car. Would you mind grabbing it and we can get the grill going."

"Sure," Sam said as he gave Jo a reassuring smile.

Dean waited until his brother left before he stood up and pulled Jo into a hug. "You okay?"

Jo pulled back and looked up into her husband's handsome face and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Guess I thought my destiny would entail more than being a peacekeeper between you and your brother."

Dean snorted in amusement, "oh Sweetheart that isn't an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination but I don't think that's your full destiny."

"What do you mean?"

Dean looked over Jo's shoulder out the window and watched his brother placing the charcoal by the grill. "Like I said to Sam, you have a way to breakdown and look at things differently than anyone I know. It was your question that scared Castiel off just now. I think you're going to be contributing to this fight a lot more than you realize. I think you're meant to strategize the troops to stop Lucifer from rising."

Jo thought about what he was saying and felt a surge of love for the man in front of her. She knew he never let anyone other than his father, Bobby and Sam organize a hunt before so him telling her what he believed her true destiny was and actually seeming to embrace it showed her how much trust and faith he had in her.

She smiled as she reached up and rubbed the back of her knuckles along Dean's jawline. "You need to shave," she murmured lovingly before leaning up for a kiss.

"Tomorrow morning, promise." He told her as he stole another kiss. "Look, we need to talk with Sam if you're up to it."

"I need to pee and get dressed before everyone gets here."

"Okay, we have time. Besides maybe we should wait until after dinner. I forgot to tell you Bucky and Bart aren't coming, they both needed to head out on hunts. We can fill in your Mom, Bobby and Rufus in on everything when they get here and go over what Sam and I were discussing before Castiel showed up."

Jo nodded her head, "I think that's a good idea. I'm sure my Mom will be happy when she learn that her grandchild won't actually be used as a weapon." She said as she looked over her shoulder and saw the other Winchester pouring the charcoal into the barbecue pit.

"You should go help Sam." She told him before taking a deep breath and adding as she turned back to look at him. "You need to tell him the truth Dean…that you remember Hell and about what you did when you came off the rack."

Dean sighed, "I know…I will. Just not tonight. We have need to fill the others in on everything."

"Okay," Jo agreed. She knew he needed to do it at his own pace and sadly she knew they had time because now more than ever she was convinced they just stepped up at the starting line for the marathon of their lives.

TBC

A/N: Okay sorry if this is a bit sappy that the baby is helping defeat Lucifer is by uniting them. Making not only Dean but Sam stand up and put their crap behind them and be honest with each other. Also I will be changing the story going forward than what was on the show...namely there will be no Anna Milton in my story and there won't be 600 possible seals that only 66 need to be broken to raise Lucifer.