-8-

It became pretty clear pretty fast that the ritual was killing Dean. Sam had called Cass and so there was an angel up our sleeve on the way to the bunker, but it would take him a while to arrive since he was still struggling with his Grace since the fall of the angels. And at his insistence, Sam continued to administer the purified blood to the demon who was turning more and more human with each dose.

And of course, the more human he became, the less the chains and Devil's Trap worked. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to us when Sam went down to the dungeon and was met with an empty chair.

Sam pulled me along with him through the halls, avoiding Dean. I knew it was stupid for me to hide as well. It was his brother the elder Winchester wanted, not me. It was Sam's name that was being yelled through the halls as Dean opened doors.

"Come on, Sammy! Don't you want to hang out with your big brother? Spend some quality time?"

Sam grabbed a set of keys from a drawer, before pulling me deeper into the maze of hallways inside the bunker. Using one of the keys, he unlocked the control room as we heard Dean kicking in doors elsewhere in the building. He flipped a switch and all the power shut down, leaving red emergency lights flashing in the halls and every room.

"Smart, Sam! Locking the place down. Doors won't open. I get it. But here's the thing: I don't want to leave! Not 'til I find you!"

While Sam was distracted, I "accidentally" let something fall to the ground, causing a loud clatter that I knew would draw Dean in our direction. I didn't know why I was siding with the homicidal older brother on a quest to kill the younger. I suppose part of it had to do with the fact that he was my ex and we had had a kid together at one point.

"Sammy! You're just making this worse for yourself, man! Oh, by the way, you can, uh… blame yourself for me getting loose. All that blood you pumped into me to make me human… Well. The less demon I was, the less the cuffs worked. And that Devil's Trap? Well, I just walked right across it. It smarted, but still!"

Sam grabbed me, holding a hand over my mouth to keep me from crying out as Dean appeared in the control room and flipped the power switch back on.

"Yeah, that's more like it," he said to himself, the first time he'd not yelled since the chase had ensued.

Sam chose that moment to pull me back out of the room with him, slamming the door and locking Dean inside. He threw the keys on the ground as he leaned against the door, a knife clutched tightly in his fist.

"That's your big move?" Dean demanded from the other side of the door.

"Listen to me, Dean!" Sam yelled back. "We were getting close, okay? I know you're still in there somewhere. Just let me finish the treatments."

No response came from Dean's side of the door, and Sam glanced over at me.

"Dean?"

A moment later, Sam jumped back as the door began to splinter. We both stared, wide eyed as Dean made the hole in the door bigger and bigger with the hammer in his hand.

"You act like I want to be cured," he taunted, finally making the hole in the door big enough to see Sam and I clearly. "Personally, I like the disease. And I think someone else can agree with me, right darling?"

He shot a wink at me and I swallowed, glancing down at my feet.

"Dean, stop that!" Sam reprimanded. "Look, I don't want to use this blade on you!"

"That sucks for you, doesn't it? 'Cause you really meant that!"

"Look, if you come out of that room, I won't have a choice!"

"Sure you will! And I know which one you'll make. Isn't that right, Sammy? But, see… Here's the thing: I'm lucky! Oh, hell, I'm blessed! 'Cause there's just enough demon left in me that killing you? Ain't no choice at all."

Sam grabbed my hand, taking off down the hall as Dean finished breaking the door down.

"Sammy? You could have at least left Lexi. She's not a part of this."

Sam was breathing hard, one hand once again clamped over my mouth and the other still holding tight to the knife as Dean continued to call out to him.

"Come on, Sammy! Let's have a beer, talk about it. I'm tired of playing. Let's finish this game!"

Sam chanced a glance down the hall and while he was distracted, I watched Dean stalk up to us silently. He put a finger to his lips, telling me to stay quiet and the moment Sam turned back, he swung the hammer at his brother's head. However, Sam managed to duck in time and instead, the hammer was embedded in the wall. Letting me go, Sam shoved Dean up against a wall, knife pressed to his throat. I watched a smile spread on Dean's face as he stared back at his younger brother.

"Well… Look at you," he taunted. "Do it. It's all you."

Sam swallowed, letting the knife fall as he released the other Winchester. The partial demon's eyes flashed black as he grinned, advancing toward Sammy. However, a second later, a pair of arms curled around him, pinning his arms to his sides as he thrashed.

"It's over," Cass said, eyes burning blue with Grace. "Dean, it's over."

The demon started to yell, fighting the angel's embrace as Cass just held onto him.

"It's over," the angel repeated a third time, and the demon slumped to the floor.

We got Dean chained back in place, and Sam finished administering the last dose of purified blood.

"What the hell are we doing to him, Cass?" Sam inquired. "I mean, even after I gave him all that blood, he still said he didn't want to be cured, that he didn't want to be human."

"Well… I see his point," Cass replied. "You know, only humans can feel real joy, but… also such profound pain. This is easier."

Dean came to then, his eyes still black, but it quickly dissipated. Sam unscrewed the flask in his hand as Dean groaned and looked between the three of us.

"You look worried, guys."

Sam chose that moment to splash the holy water on Dean's face. Nothing happened, other than Dean spitting out a bit of the water before pulling the infamous Winchester bitchface. Sam grinned at him.

"Welcome back, Dean."

Is it time for another break? Oh, we're just swapping you guys out again. Awesome, that was a good stopping point anyway. I have to gather my thoughts a bit more before I tell you what happened next. We're nearing the end, you know. Life returned to normal after that. Or as normal as it could have been. Let's see… Before we get to the big reveal, I suppose we need the final set up...

I leaned over the toilet, throwing up for the fourth time that day. A few moments later, I felt my hair lifted up off my neck and back from my face and a hand started rubbing gentle circles on my back.

"You sure you aren't feeling bad? This doesn't seem normal," worry laced Dean's voice.

"I swear, I feel fine. I just-" I gave another dry heave, "-can't seem to keep anything down."

"Have you considered seeing the doctor? Just to make sure?"

"It's just a little nausea, Dean. It's-" another dry heave, "-nothing to worry about."

The overwhelming feeling of nausea disappeared, leaving me tired. I leaned back against his chest, closing my eyes. He reached out and flushed the contents of the toilet while he held me.

"This has been going on for nearly two weeks now, Lexi. Will you please just go get a check up?"

I opened my eyes, looking up at Dean's furrowed brow and worried green gaze as he stared down at me.

"Just a check up?"

He nodded in confirmation and I took a deep breath, sitting back up.

"Fine. I'll call the doctor later today and get an appointment scheduled."

"Thank you."

"So, what's the verdict, doc?"

"Well, let me see," Doctor McCarthy began, glancing at the clipboard in his hand. "It seems the bathroom has become your favorite place to spend your time these past two weeks. Increased urination, nausea… You're also a lot more exhausted lately, slight dizziness and headaches… Does this all sound right?"

I nodded in confirmation and the doctor smiled at me.

"Well, I think I know what's going on, but just to make sure, can you tell me when your last cycle was?"

My brows furrowed as I thought back, trying to recall the answer to the question and finding I could not for the life of me remember the last time I had my period.

"Um… It was…" I trailed off, realization hitting me, "It should've been three weeks ago, but…"

"Well, that confirms it. Miss Turner, it seems you are pregnant. Congratulations."

"P-pregnant?"

"Yes. From the symptoms it would appear you're about six to eight weeks along, though it will be impossible to know for sure until we run some tests."

"Six to eight…" I quickly did the mental math.

It had been seven weeks since we cured Dean with the blood. Which meant that it had been seven and a half since we had had sex. Human Dean had been a bit ashamed of the way he treated me as a demon, and thus had refused to do anything more than cuddle or steal a chaste kiss every once in a while. He always stopped us before things could go too far.

"Are you interested in running any tests to confirm, Miss Turner?"

"N-no, that won't be necessary," I shook my head firmly. "Thanks, doc."

"If that's all, then you are free to go. Congratulations once more."

"You're what?!"

"I'm pregnant, Dean."

"Are you certain?"

I rested my hands over my stomach even though I hadn't started showing yet, looking down at it before meeting the frantic gaze of the father and nodding my head.

"I'm about eight weeks along."

"Eight… Eight weeks? But we haven't… How long has it been since I was… I…"

Dean ran his hands through his hair, eyes searching my face as he struggled to form a complete thought. It was really something else, seeing the great Dean Winchester reduced to that state. The man barely batted an eyelash ganking things that went bump in the night, staying calm even when things didn't go according to plan. However, the moment he found out he was going to have a kid, he was a mess.

"Hey," I grabbed one of his hands in both of mine. "We'll figure it out. It'll be fine, I promise."

"You have to get rid of it."

"Excuse me?"

"It's an abomination. You have to get rid of it."

I stared at the trench coat wearing angel, my mouth slightly agape as I brought my hands to cover my stomach. Sam and Dean sat at one of the tables off to the side, watching the exchange.

"He's my kid," I insisted.

"It is part demon. It cannot be allowed to live."

"Cass has a point."

I rounded on the floppy haired giant who had spoken. He slumped down further in his seat, meeting my fiery gaze with his wide puppy-dog look.

"Castiel does not have a point, Samuel," I hissed. "I'm having this child. End of discussion."

"But-"

"No. We're done talking about this. We have bigger problems to deal with, like getting that blasted Mark off of Dean's arm!"

As I spoke, Dean placed a hand over said Mark, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Giving one last pointed look at Sam and then Cass, I stormed out and down the hall to my room.