Vrskaandrea: Gabe is awesome. I used football because, despite not being a sporty person, thats one of the sports I know best. I did play netball for many years but didnt think that would quite work.
Malic Malic: Michael will hold up to his end of the bargain and leave 'when its safe'.
Franki3Winchester: Don't worry about Sam, he will be reunited with his family. The sigil is speciric to one particular being. Michael has an idea of what is going to happen so when he says 'when its safe', trust him, but he's not going to lock Deana away because she needs to be the one to birth the babies.
ShadowXMoonlight: Thank you and I love Gabriel in this too. I've always believed Gabe and Cas had a special bond.
Shazza19: Yes! One of my most biggest pet hates is being sucked into a story that is abandoned or not updated in forever. This is one of the reasons I like to write a large amount before I begin posting. I want to make sure I know where the story is going so I dont get stuck halfway through and give up. As much as I got down about this one, I was always going to finish it. :)
Chapter 42
With Michael on board, the labour progressed quicker. Michaels grace warred with the golden grace of the Nephilim. Slowly, slowly Michael was able to diffuse it and repair some of the damage during the, oh so brief, dips between contractions.
"How is she going?" Castiel asked.
Deanas eyes glowed blue as Michael replied.
"She's tired and her strength is fading fast, but she's a fighter and I think she'll be able to do it, but I warn you brother, the damage is great."
Castiel nodded solemnly and Michael faded back into the background.
Less than forty minute after Michael 'joined the team', the first Nephilim was finally making its way into the world.
Ruth spoke in a flurry of Hebrew that Ellen didn't need Castiel to interpret as she held a clean blanket out for the newborn to be wrapped in. Ruth tied off and cut the cord as the child drew first breath and let it out a loud wail.
"You have a girl!" Ellen announced.
Deana let out a huff of relief and lay back against her pillows. She tried to raise her arms but lacked the energy. She lay back against the pillows, vaguely feeling the cooling sensation of Michaels grace working within her. Just as her eyes began to slip closed she saw movement at the door.
"Daddy?"
…
John stood at the window watching the battle beyond, keeping an eye out for any Demons attempting to sneak in. His attention kept being drawn away by the pained cries of his daughter in the room at the end of the hall. Without noticing, he slowly made his way down the short passage and found himself in front of the door.
The door was ajar but he did not enter. From here he could hear every sound, every murmured instruction, the deep voice of the Angel as he encouraged Deana to keep going, keep trying, just once more.
John closed his eyes and grit his teeth. His grip tightened around the handle of the hard blade in his hand. He wanted nothing more than to burst through the door and plunge the cold steel into the heart of the Angel inside, this Castiel, the very angel that tore his family apart and was responsible for the agony his child was in at that very moment.
Johns heart clenched with every agonised scream that left his daughter.
She was dying, that's what Michael had told her. His beautiful girl was dying and he was just standing outside the door doing nothing. Tears formed behind his eyelids as he sent a silent apology to Mary for failing to protect their daughter.
Suddenly Deana fell silent. John opened his eyes and looked up. A baby's cry sounded through the house, quiet yet deafening at the same time. With a trembling hand John reached out and pushed open the door.
"You have a girl!" He distantly heard Ellen announced but his eyes were locked onto the worn out figure of his daughter on the bed, only when she tried to weakly raise her arms did he release the breath that was burning his lungs.
"Daddy?" Deana whispered and he stepped into the room.
…
Castiel held the little girl in his arms as he watched father and daughter interact. He smiled at the irony of him holding his squirming, whimpering newborn daughter while John held the hand of his, leaning in close, murmuring calming, loving words as he wiped the sweat and tears from her face. He didn't drop his gaze when John suddenly looked up, his own eyes filled with fear and fury. Castiel knew he would have to accept any and all wrath that Deanas father rained down on him.
…
Ruth felt around Deanas stomach, giving a little push here or a nudge there, as soon as she was happy she gave Castiel a nod. Next thing Deana knew, she felt a pressure below and again a flow of amniotic fluid and then prepared to birth her second child. She was tired and hurting but her dad was here, Castiel was here and her daughter was lying safely nestled in the crib.
Just as she thought this was all over Ellen told her, quite urgently, to stop pushing.
"Pant, Deana. You've got to stop and just pant." She said watching the biblical midwife carefully.
"You're doing so well baby, just a little bit longer." John said as he held Deanas hand tightly and rubbed circles on her back, everything he did for Mary when she brought their children into the world.
"What's happening? What's going on?" Deana asked as she obeyed the instruction.
"Nothing, everything's fine." Castiel assured her as he watched Ruth deftly and carefully unwind the cord from the second child's neck.
When the cord was free she spoke to Castiel who nodded.
"Everything's fine now. You can go ahead and deliver our baby." He said to Deana squeezing her hand.
She collapsed back in relief as her second child slid free from her body. She closed her eyes panting heavily.
"You're not done yet Deana. You have to deliver the placenta. If we don't get it out in one piece we could be in serious trouble." Ellen said.
Deana began to giggle weakly.
"Ellen, I just gave birth to two half human, half angel kids who may or may not destroy the World. I think we're already in trouble!" She continued to giggle as Cas helped her back up into a sitting position.
"John?" Ellen said as she walked to his side. "Do you want to hold your grandson?"
…
The child slipped out into a bright harsh world and immediately felt alone. Drawing a first breath it cried for its sibling. The sound ripped through the universe, causing the angels outside to flinch and forcing the demons to their knees.
Seven minutes and twenty three seconds later a second cry rang out through the air, answering its sibling.
The angels that where guarding the fallen demons at the point of their blades fell to their knees from the sheer force of power within that cry while the demons dissipated into ash and flew away on the breeze.
Gabriel, the only one left standing, dropped his hands from his ears and turned back toward the cabin.
"Well done brother." He whispered with a proud smile.
…
Deana lay against her pillows, her eyes slipping closed. It was over, done. Joshua had surprised everyone when he unexpectedly appeared and took the placentas way, informing them he would be planting them with new trees in Heavens gardens. She was exhausted and wanted to rest but there was something she needed to do first.
"Cas. I wanna see the babies." She said.
"Of course."
He sat on the edge of the bed, Ellen coming to stand behind him as he held their daughter, the eldest, out for Deana.
"We have a daughter." He said.
Deana reached up stroked the tiny hand poking out from the blankets.
"Isolde." She whispered.
"And a son." John said standing on her other side holding the little boy for her to see.
"Tristan." She said with a small smile as she ran her finger down his cheek.
The smile slipped from her face as her hand fell to land softly on the bed.
"Deana?" Cas stood, handing Isolde to Ellen. "Deana?"
Deana sank against her pillows as the light faded from her eyes. The breath left her body in a soft sigh and she did not inhale as her head fell to the side.
"What's going on?" John asked, stepping back to place Tristan in the crib.
"Deana, no!" Castiel placed his hands on Deanas shoulders and shook her gently, forcing his grace into her lifeless body. "Wake up! Michael! Michael you swore! You promised she would be okay!"
John reached across his daughters body and roughly grabbed a handful of Castiels shirt.
"You!" He spat. "You did this! You killed my daughter!"
Ellen quickly moved to try and calm the distraught father. Cas stepped back, his shirt tearing as it pulled from the angered mans grasp. He looked down at Deana, tears streaming down his face. A blue light weakly stuttered deep in her eyes. Slowly the flickering grew stronger and with a gasp, Deanas body arched up and the blue light glowed, engulfing her irises as her lungs drew in deep greedy breaths.
"Michael, you bastard! You get out of her! Get out of her now!" Castiel demanded.
Michael turned Deanas head toward the other Angel.
"I can't." He said weakly.
"You promised. You said you'd leave once it was done." Cas reminded his brother.
"That I did brother but yes, her heart beats, her lungs draw air but that is only because of my presence. If I leave now, she will die." Michael informed them.
"Wait." John said, placing a hand on Deanas shoulder. The Angel turned to look at him. "Will my daughter be alright?"
"Yes. With some time, I will be able to heal her and then, and only then will I leave." He said turning back to Castiel. "Now, there is much damage in here and we are tired, leave us to rest."
…
After ushering a reluctant John from the room Ruth and Ellen gave the sleeping Deana a gentle sponge bath, cleaning most of the sweat and blood from her. Castiel refused to leave and being a powerful Angel, they really didn't have much to argue with. He stayed and watched over his children while the women worked. All the while Deana slept and Michael worked at healing her.
As soon as the twins had been placed in the crib together they had settled and fallen asleep. They didn't sleep for long until their tiny eyes opened and they began whimpering.
"They're probably hungry." Ellen said. "It's probably hard work being born. I'll go make them a bottle each."
"Maybe they should feed from their mother." Castiel suggested.
"She's sleeping. I'll make up some formula."
"It's a natural instinct for the children to suckle, we could just..."
"Oh no you don't!" Ellen snapped stepping into the Angels space, jabbing a finger at his chest. "You've already tricked and manipulated and impregnated her without her consent. I think almost killing her is enough for one day. There is no way I'm letting you latch those children onto her while she's unconscious like she's some kind of...cow! I'll make formula!" She growled.
"It's okay Ellen, I'll feed them." Deana said.
Castiel and Ellen turned back towards the bed, moving to help Deana as she tried to push herself up into a sitting position.
"I'm sorry Deana, we didn't mean to wake you." Ellen said as she adjusted the bed head and put some pillows behind Deanas back.
"You didn't. They did." She said pointing to the crib and crying babies.
"Are you sure you're up to doing this?" Ellen asked.
"Yeah, I want too. I haven't even held them yet, so yes. I want to do this, well at least try. Mothers milk is the best thing for them, right? But can I change out of this gross thing first?" She asked pulling on the oversized tshirt she was still wearing.
Ellen helped Deana change into a long button up shirt. Ruth and Castiel stood by the bedside, each holding a child.
"Okay, so how do I do this? They're both hungry and I don't want to make one wait while I feed the other."
"There's a couple of ways but with the twins I think a football hold would be best." Ellen said and set about explaining while she positioned pillows either side of Deana.
Once set up the other women helped Deana latch the babies onto her breasts. There was a strange tingling sensation as both babies began to suckle. She smiled at the little snorts and snuffles the babies made as they drank. She felt an overwhelming sense of love warm her and sighed contently as she relaxed back into the pillows and closed her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Ellen asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Uh-huh." She replied, nodding slightly. "Just happy."
Ellen smiled.
"You're doing really well." She said.
Only being tiny babies with tiny bellies, Isolde and Tristan didn't need to feed for long. Ellen and Ruth showed Deana how to burp them but told her being breast fed they wouldn't get too gassy so it didn't matter if they didn't burp right away.
Deana sat on the bed, cradling her twins while Castiel spoke quietly with Ruth. The woman walked back to the bed and gave her a brief hug before Castiel sent her back to heaven. Ellen had excused herself from the room citing the need for a large drink.
"You wanna hold one?" Deana asked cas.
He nodded and picked up the closest child. His grin widened impossibly as he gazed down at the tiny baby.
"Hello Tristan." He said quietly.
"You know I almost expected them to be born with wings." Deana joked.
Cas chuckled.
"Michael says that was one of the most horrendous experiences he's ever had to endure and we're not allowed to have any more children." Deana said tapping her temple.
Cas laughed again.
"Well, I can't promise anything."
He moved to the window and started pointing things out and explaining quietly to the babe in his arms what the outside world looked like. Deana just pulled Isolde closer and stared at her. She looked up and watched Cas with their son, a contented smile on her face. Cas felt her gaze on him and looked back at her.
"What?" He asked.
"I get to keep you." She said.
"You do." Cas grinned back.
"If I look really closely, I can see the differences. The shape of your eyes and nose. A little around the jaw. Your shoulders might be a little broader."
"Is that a problem?" Case asked, tilting his head.
"No. I fell in love with who you are, the looks were just a bonus, but any changes Joshua made were definitely for the better."
Careful of the babies between them, Castiel leaned down and kissed Deana on the lips.
"That's the stuff." She said with a smile. Cas chuckled. "You know, I still don't know how this happened. I mean, I get that you're an Angel and all but we were always careful."
"Hmmm, not always." Cas said casually readjusting the blanket around his sons face.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember the day of the storm?" He prompted.
"I remember the storm." Deana said thoughtfully. "You gave me a book. My bracelet broke, we had a picnic, I stood Sammy up." She added sadly before her eyes widened and she gasped. "I saw your wings!"
"Yes you did."
"And you bit me." Cas looked away embarrassed. "And we didn't use...ooooh... but I was still on the pill. It shouldn't have happened." Deana argued.
"Ambrosia." Cas said.
"Oh you sneaky person...Angel." Deana gasped shoving Cas very carefully.
"You still want to keep me?" He teased.
"Yes but no more crazy mythological drinks." She teased back laughing as Cas leaned down to kiss her again. "Hey, why did Michael say you would wither away if I died?"
"Oh, Umm." Cas shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot before sitting on the side of Deanas bed. He cleared his throat and looked at her. "It's because of that bite."
"The bite?"
"Yes, you see when Angels mate, they pair for life and to create that bond, that connection with each other, they mark each other with a bite to the neck. It's a way that other Angels can see there is a claim on them. Unfortunately if something happens to either of the pair the other will lose the will to live and just give up, wasting away until they die."
"And that's what you did to me? You 'claimed' me?" Deana asked reaching up to run her fingers over the pale scar on her shoulder.
"Yes."
"So if I decided I was done with the lot of you and never wanted to see you again, you'd what? Just die?"
"Yes." Castiel answered honestly. "It also meant that you'd never be totally happy with another."
"So I would have ended up miserable and alone."
"Yes, probably."
"Right, awesome." Deana said quietly as she looked down at the sleeping child in her arms.
"Deana?" Cas said hesitantly. "Are you okay with all this?"
"No." She answered, Castiel flinching away. "But I guess it's lucky that I have fallen completely in love with you, so none of that should be an issue anyway." She looked up with a smile. "I'll be your mate for as long as you'll have me and even then, maybe longer."
She reached up and placed a hand behind Castiels neck pulling him in for a kiss, which was difficult because of Castiels humongous relieved grin. They rested their foreheads against each other and just sat like that for a moment, bowed together over their children.
"Does that mean I get to bite you now?" Deana asked, lifting her head to look at her Angel.
Cas chuckled.
"If you wish to."
"Hmm, kinky!"
They were both laughing when a quiet knock drew their attention to the door. Johns head appeared.
"Can I come in?" He asked.
"Of course." Castiel answered.
He stood and placed Tristan in the crib and then took Isolde from Deana and placed her next to her brother.
"I'll leave you two alone." He placed a small kiss on Deanas head then with a nod to John, left the room.
…
a/n: I'll let you in in a little secret, this was one of my favourite chapters.
