Chapter 40

Everyone was mostly silent as Dean drove from the fraternity house to the motel they were staying at. Sam was more worried about the cuts on Jessie's arms than he was about himself, although he was the one with the big goose egg on his head. She did her best to have a look at it while they were in the backseat, but he wasn't interested in cooperating with her.

"Sit down, right now!" Jessie said to Sam as she nearly shoved him onto a chair as they walked into the motel room.

"I'm fine, Jess," he replied in irritation. "You don't need to make a fuss over me."

"And when did you ever let me get away with that excuse?" she replied, putting her hands on her hips.

He rolled his eyes but relented. He knew when to argue with her and when not to. This was one of those times he wasn't going to win, so he decided not to waste his breath.

While she was checking on Sam's injuries, she decided to explain about the case.

"So, almost twenty years go, there was a young man named, David Moss. He was, in their own words, the greatest prankster ever," she rolled her eyes heavily before continuing. "One day, he challenged the frat house to outdo him, and whoever beat him would not only get the title, but they would never have to buy another beer while they lived there."
"And someone beat him and he became angry, right?" Dean asked.

She shook her head with a grin. "No, Dean. The frat brothers became so obsessed with outdoing him, one of the pranks turned deadly and the prank master himself ended up dead."

"So his spirit wanted revenge on the pranksters. That doesn't explain the bone and how you knew where it was."

She sighed loudly. "This would go much quicker if you'd quit interrupting me."

"Yeah, I suppose it would," he replied with a boyish grin.

She rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond to his childish antics.

"Well, he was buried in a small cemetery not far from here. And every year, for the last ten years, pranksters have dug up his grave just to steal a bone. They usually returned the bone after their prank week was finished, only the past few years they haven't been returning it quickly enough."

"Is that when the deaths happened?" Sam asked.

"Yes," she replied with a smile. "However, this year before prank week, the family decided to cremate his body because they were tired of people digging up his grave."

"Then how did there happen to be a bone just lying around?" Dean asked.

"It wasn't exactly, lying around, now was it?"

He rolled his eyes, eliciting a chuckle from her.

"Actually, the trophy was just a wild guess. I had to assume that someone had taken a bone from the grave before the family had the body cremated, since it was the only logical explanation."

"Naturally," Dean said with sarcasm.

She shot him a dirty look before she went on. "I read an old account that said the boys kept their most prized possession inside the trophy, who once belonged to Moss. So, I put two and two together and figured that was where they were keeping the bone."

The brothers both looked at her in shock.

"So you had no idea for sure?" Dean asked.

"No. Just a logical guess."

"Are you kidding me?" he replied as he threw his hands in the air. "You could have gotten yourself killed for a logical guess."

"So what would you have had me do, Dean? Let the two of you get killed instead?" she asked with frustration. "A long shot was better than no shot."

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he replied with a shake of his head.

She narrowed her eyes knowingly. "You're treating me like I can't handle this job again. I thought we were past that."

"We were, but..."

"But, what, Dean?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

He glanced quickly at his brother who only shrugged in response.

"Fine," he replied with resignation. "You haven't been yourself for awhile. I was just—worried."

She glared at him angrily for a moment, before her look softened. She knew he cared about her and she could tell by his eyes that he was being genuine. But at the same time, she felt he was only thinking that way because she was female. She looked at Sam to see if she could tell what he was thinking, but she regretting doing exactly that. She could see he felt guilty about something, which meant he'd probably been speaking to his brother about her.

She sighed and shook her head. "Whatever. I'm going to sleep. I think I've earned it."

The brothers watched silently as she kicked her shoes off, set her gun on the night stand then crawled underneath the covers and closed her eyes. Both of them knew she was upset, but they were also surprised she didn't put up a fight.

"I'll see ya in the morning," Dean said after a few awkward moments of silence, before leaving the motel room in a hurry.

Jessie said very little to anyone the next morning. She wasn't angry, but she was slightly irritated. She knew she'd been acting strangely, but she didn't think that should have anything to do with her ability to work a case. She had been tired, and sick, but her mind was just as sharp as ever. And although she was still feeling guilty about her secret, it hadn't taken over her every waking moment—yet. She didn't think she seemed that distracted.

As they were preparing to leave, Sam pulled her aside while Dean was busy loading up the car.

"Are you angry with me?" he asked as he put his arm around her waist.

She looked into his eyes, smiling slightly. "No, of course not, Sam."

"Are you mad at Dean?"

"No, Sam. I'm not. Maybe a little irritated and frustrated, but not mad."

"And I suppose I can't change your mind about going home?"

She smiled, but she felt a twinge of guilt run through her. "I'm not staying there, Sam. I'll be heading over to Bobby's a few hours later. I just need to have a few hours to myself."

He scrutinized her for a few moments before he kissed her lightly on the cheek. "As long as you promise not to stay away for too long."

Guilt ran through her once again, but she did her best to ignore it. "How could I stay away from you for too long?"

He smiled brightly, although he wasn't quite sure if she was teasing him or not.

She chuckled then pinched his behind. "You're so cute, Sam."

"Now I know you're teasing me," he replied with a grin.

"No, she isn't," Dean said as he walked in. "You are very cute, Sammy."

He rolled his eyes while she laughed.

"Can we just go now?" he asked with irritation, shooting his brother a dirty look.

Dean laughed as he left the motel room, followed by Jessie, who was also laughing, and Sam, who was not so amused.

It was only a couple of hours before the Impala pulled up to Jessie's house. She grabbed her belongings before she gave Sam a very long and sensual goodbye kiss, regardless of Dean's impatience and his mock gagging. She promised she would head over to Bobby's as soon as she could then watched the car drive out of sight before she headed into her house.

She dropped her laptop and dufflebag on the couch before flopping herself on it as well, placing her face in her hands. She tried her best not to cry, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't manage to stiffle a sob. She felt lost, unsure of herself and she had no one to talk to. She felt like she did nine years earlier. The only difference was, she had people to talk to this time, but she just didn't think she could talk to them about this. At least not right now.

After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself, she went into her computer room and began to google some phone numbers for abortion clinics. But the moment she called one of them and they answered, she knew she couldn't go through with that, no matter how much she didn't want a child. She still had no idea what she was going to do, but she knew that wasn't going to be an option. She'd killed a lot of creatures, but there was no way she could do it to a baby, especially her own.

For the next hour, she flip-flopped on deciding anything about the baby. But it wasn't long before she finally chose to do something. It was a small step, but, at least it was something. She called the only doctor nearby who would not only make an appointment for her after hours and last minute, but one she knew would keep his mouth shut.

She grabbed a quick shower before she headed on her way to Sioux Falls. She made sure she took side roads just in case either Bobby or the Winchesters were driving around town, making it to the doctor's office shortly before his office closed. She sat in her car until just minutes before it closed, then walked into the building, down the long hallway until she reached the door at the end. The name on the door said, Dr. Riley.

"Good evening, Jessie," Dr. Riley greeted her as she walked into the office.

She glanced around quickly, making sure the room was completely empty. "Thank you for making time for me tonight."

"Of course. It's never a problem for you," he replied.

"Well, thanks all the same," she replied nervously.

He nodded his head before directing her into the exam room, asking her to hop up on the table.

"I hear congratulations are in order," he said as he sat down on his chair. "Bobby told me you got yourself hitched."

She smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, thanks."

He looked at her strangely for a moment. "So what is it you need from me tonight?"

She shifted around on the table for a moment, folding her hands together.

"Well, I, uh," she began to stammer nervously. She took one quick deep breath to ready herself, then she decided just to come out and say it. "I'm pregnant and I need to know how far along I am."

He narrowed his eyes scrutinizingly, silent for a few moments. "Is it because you have no idea how far along you are, or are you worried there might be two possible fathers?"

She looked at him in shock for a moment, feeling slightly insulted. But as she thought about it, she realized it was a legitimate concern, even if she very much doubted it could be Dean's child, there was still a very tiny chance. She hadn't even thought about the possibility until he mentioned it.

"Both," she replied succinctly.

He was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking. "Okay. Lay back on the table and pull your pants down just below your stomach."

She did what she was asked while watching him with curiosity. He washed his hands, put on gloves before he picked up a small device in one hand and a small plastic bottle in the other.

"I'm going to use this to listen to the baby's heartbeat," he said as he showed her the device. It looked like a small speaker with a microphone attached to it. "But first," he continued, as he placed them on the table beside her. "I need to feel your stomach."

She shrugged, lying back comfortably and watched him carefully as he gently prodded at her stomach with his fingers. When he was done, he picked up the bottle he'd set down and gazed at her with a grin. "This is going to be cold," he warned as he squeezed a small amount of clear gel onto her stomach, making her wince.

"You weren't kidding, doc," she said with a hint of a smile.

He smiled slightly. "Now, let's see if we can hear your baby's heartbeat."

She smiled awkwardly as he began to roll the microphone across her stomach in search of a heartbeat. It was only moments before they could hear an unusual rhythmic sound coming from the speaker. He was silent as he listened to it for almost a minute.

"Sounds good and healthy," he said with a smile as he turned the machine off.

She watched in interest as he set the machine down before wiping the gel off of her stomach with a towel. As he was cleaning everything up, her thoughts began to wander and she found herself thinking about the baby. It was easier to think about not keeping the baby before she'd heard it's heartbeat. But now, she began wondering how beautiful Sam's baby could be, even though she knew she shouldn't. She couldn't think of any possible way she could raise a baby. Not with the sort of life she led.

When he finished tidying up, he asked her to follow him down the hall and into another room. This room had another examination table, only there was a large machine sitting next to it and one swivel chair. He directed her to climb up on the table and pull her pants below her stomach once again while he sat on the swivel chair and began adjusting things with the machine.

"Did you drink enough water?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes sarcastically. "That might be why I feel like my bladder is about to burst."

He chuckled lightly. "I promise this won't take too long."

"I hope not," she mumbled.

He warned her before he squeezed some cold gel on her stomach once again, then began dragging an instrument across her stomach until he had it where he wanted it. It was larger than the one he'd used to hear the baby's heartbeat, but it was similar. He would stop every so often and click something on the machine, or type something on the keyboard, then move the instrument again slightly. It was a few minutes before he spoke to her again.

"Are you ready to see your baby?"

She desperately wanted to say no, since she didn't want to become attached to this child. But she didn't think she could explain it to the doctor, so she reluctantly agreed.

He turned the monitor around so she could view the screen clearly, moving the device around on her stomach slightly to get a better look. When it came into view, he explained everything that could be scene, the head, the back and stomach and the arms and legs. It didn't look that way to her, but she took his word for it. All she really wanted to know was how far along she was.

He passed her an ultrasound photo of her baby, which she barely looked at, instead, quickly folding it and tucking it into the pocket of her pants. After she had cleaned the gel off of her stomach and pulled her pants back up, she watched the doctor until she had his attention.

"So, can you tell how far along I am?"

"Well, I can't be sure until I do some additional measurements, but I would say you're no farther than three months, perhaps a little less."

She thought about the time for a moment, then sighed in relief. "Are you sure?"

He smiled lightly. "No, I'm not sure. But I'm positive you're no farther than three months. I imagine that's good news?"

"Yes," she replied thankfully. "There was a tiny chance it wasn't my husband's baby."

"Then he should be happy about that," he said.

She averted her gaze for a moment before looking at him seriously. "He doesn't know about this, and either does Bobby. I trust that you won't even tell him I was here."

"Of course, Jessie," he replied with concern. "But I do hope you're not planning to go through this alone."

She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I just—I just don't know what to think about this right now."

He placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. "If you need any help you just have to ask."

"Thank you, Dr. Riley," she said with a weak smile. "I'm sure I'll figure something out. I always do."

"Just a moment," he said, grabbing a pen and piece of paper from the desk beside him. He scribbled something on the paper, folded it and handed it to her. "Here are the names of some books you might want to read."

She stuffed the paper in her pocket quickly, smiling at him in thanks. "I appreciate your help."

He nodded his head. "Just promise me something."

She pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "That depends on what it is."

He shook his head. "No matter what you decide, make sure you come and see me at least once a month for a check up."

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed. "As long as you swear no one will know I've been here."

"If that's what you want."

"It's what I want," she replied, before thanking him once again and leaving hastily.

Once she was outside she began to feel a moment of panic building inside her. She'd been able to keep herself calm while she was in the doctor's presence. But now that she was alone, her thoughts began to run rampant. She barely even noticed that she'd made it to her car, until she tried to open the door, which was locked. Digging for the key in her pocket snapped her out of her momentary haze.

She had a difficult time unlocking her door because her hand was shaking so much it caused her to drop her keys, not once, but twice. Once she had her door unlocked, she didn't open it. She could only stare at her car, unsure what she should do next. She stood there for a minute or two thinking, before she felt like someone was standing behind her, causing her to turn around quickly.

"Hello again, my dear."

"Crowley!" she shrieked as she reached into her jacket pocket for her gun.

"Don't bother with the gun. I'm only here to talk."

"Go to hell, Crowley! I don't have anything to discuss with you!"

He was silent for a moment, studying her. "You seem agitated."

She snorted. "Demons usually agitate me."

"Come now, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

She glared at him angrily. "I'm not really in the mood for your banter right now."

"No, I don't suppose you are. Nonetheless I am here," he replied with a grin.

"And I'm leaving," she replied, turning around to open her car door.

"I thought you'd want to know why I came to see you," he said, watching her in amusement as she turned around to face him. "You don't think I make special visits just for fun, do you?"

"I could really care less why you insist on visiting me, Crowley. I'd prefer it if you'd just leave me alone."

"I told you before that I want to help you."

"I don't need your help."

"Yes, actually you do. Meg will catch up with you sooner or later. I wouldn't want to be you when she does."

She shook her head. "You still haven't told me what she wants. Or what you want for that matter."

"You mean you haven't figured that out yet?" he said with a look of amusement. "I thought you would have by now—especially today."

"What the hell does that mean?" she snapped.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Come now, Jessie. You aren't really that dense, are you?"

She had an idea what he was alluding to, but she couldn't be sure. She definitely didn't want to give anything away.

"I suppose I am."

He shot her a furtive glance. "No. You're much smarter than everyone gives you credit for. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Her eyes shifted uncomfortably. "She wanted Sam and I together, that's all I know. I have no idea why."

"You mean you have no idea? No idea at all?" he laughed derisively. "I have a hard time believing that."

She shook her head in refusal, although she had a feeling she knew what he meant. She really had no idea why a demon would be interested in her child, unless they were out to hurt Sam. But why would they go through so much trouble to make sure it happened? There was something she was missing, something she should know. She just wanted Crowley to tell her already because she had no idea and she was already tired of speaking to him.

"If you're not gonna tell me then piss off, Crowley," she replied angrily.

He grinned in amusement at her frustration. "No. I think I'll let you try and figure it out on your own—for a little while."

She narrowed her eyes dangerously, trying another approach. "Maybe I'll just ask Meg. I'm sure she would tell me."

"Are you truly that stupid?"

"Yes. Actually I am," she replied with the slightest of grins.

He laughed in disbelief. "If you really want to then go ahead. You'll regret it. I assure you."

"What about you? You say you want to help me, obviously because you don't want Meg to win, but here you are jerking me around. Why is that?"

He narrowed his eyes shrewdly before chuckling. "You're much smarter than those Winchesters."

"Crowley!"

"Fine, fine," he replied with irritation. "I'll give you a hint."

"Just a hint?"

He ignored her interruption. "I know why you came here to see a doctor today," he replied, glancing quickly at her stomach so she had no doubts what he meant. "That's what she wants."

"Why would she care?"

"That's the part you need to figure out," he said, raising his hand to silence her before she interrupted again. "I will give you a clue because I want you to figure this out on your own, but first, you need to make me a promise."

"What?! A promise?! Are you being serious?!" she shouted. "I don't make promises with demons, Crowley."

"Well you need to get over that," he replied with a raised voice.

She shook her head in disbelief at herself. She couldn't believe she was still speaking with him, let alone listening to him. She knew she was going to regret what she was about to do, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "You tell me what it is first and then I'll see if I can make a promise."

He grinned for a moment in triumph. "You can't tell anyone about your little—secret."

She stared at him pensively for a moment before answering. "I can live with that."

"Good," he replied. "Now I want you to think long and hard about what I'm going to tell you. I'm not repeating myself. I expect you to figure it out before I visit you next."

"Just get on with it," she said impatiently.

He fixed his impassive gaze on her. "Sam has something that other men don't have. Now put two and two together and do try and get four."

She glanced at him with confusion for a moment, but the moment she blinked he was gone. She stared at the now empty spot for a moment before she climbed into her car, although she had no idea what she was going to do. All she could do was run the last words Crowley had spoken through her mind, over and over again. They made no sense to her at the moment, but she knew they should. Maybe she didn't want to know, maybe that's why she seemed unable to think straight. Like the moment someone gives you bad news and you automatically think they must be joking because you don't want to feel like the world is falling apart around you. That was how she felt right now. If she figured it out, her world would begin to fall down around her.

Her mind was in a fog as she started her car and began driving. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she couldn't go to Bobby's, not yet. She needed to think. But first, she needed to find a bathroom. In her haste to leave the doctor's office, she'd forgotten to pee and she needed to so badly it hurt.

She pulled her car into the nearest coffee shop, using the bathroom before she grabbed herself a coffee. She decided to sit at a table in the corner to relax and think, figuring it would be much easier to do while in public. She knew if she was alone, the tears would begin again and she'd already shed enough tears for one day.

It wasn't long before she realized what Crowley had been trying to tell her. The only difference between Sam and other people was that he had demon blood in his veins. It wasn't something she really thought about, and she was unsure what it could mean to a child. The one thing she was sure of was it couldn't be anything good or the demons wouldn't be bothering with her. She thought for a quick moment that maybe she'd made a mistake being with Sam, but she pushed those thoughts out of her head. She wasn't going to let Crowley, or any demon for that matter, put doubts in her mind. She loved Sam and that was all there was to it.

As she was about to stand up to leave, she noticed Dean walk through the front door. She wondered for a moment if she should pretend she didn't see him, but she quickly realized he would have seen her car so there was no way to hide. Instead, she stood up immediately and called out to him.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said with a smile as he approached the table.

"Yeah," she replied with an insincere smile.

"I just came into town to grab some beer and I saw your car."

"So you thought you'd come track me down?" she asked with a little irritation.

"Whoa, don't get defensive, Jessie," he said quietly. "I just came to check on you, that's all."

"Came to check on me?" she asked in disbelief. "Since when do I need to be checked on?"

"Are you still pissed about last night?"

She paused to think for a moment. Was she really angry with him about last night? Or was she just upset about her entire day and was taking it out on him? She wasn't sure, so she decided to drop the attitude, since none of it was his fault.

"No. No, I'm not, Dean," she replied with a sigh. "I just feel like I don't have any freedom anymore."

He was quiet for a moment before smirking at her. "Isn't that what marriage is about?"

She rolled her eyes heavily. "Right."

"Are you heading to Bobby's now?"

She had wanted a little more alone time, but she knew that was no longer an option.

"Yeah."

"Do you need anything at the store?"

"No, but thank you," she replied with a smile.

He nodded his head and left quickly.

Jessie followed behind him a few moments later, getting into her car and driving away before he did. She figured he really was keeping an eye on her and it wasn't just her paranoia, but she wasn't going to worry about it for the moment. She had more important things to think about.

The ride to Bobby's was uneventful. So much so, she barely remembered driving with everything that was running through her mind. As desperately as she wanted to forget about Crowley and the baby, she knew neither were just going to go away, something had to be done. Her only immediate worry was keeping everything a secret from both Bobby and the Winchesters. They had learned to read her a little too well and she wasn't sure what to do about it. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and make it all go away. But she was a realist and that wasn't going to happen.

When she finally made it to Bobby's, Sam was waiting for her outside. She felt a little irritated about that, but the moment he wrapped his strong, loving arms around her, that feeling disappeared. Now she only felt safe, secure and loved. It made her forget about every bad thought running through her head at that moment.

He kissed her lightly at first just to welcome her, but she felt the need to have more, which he felt as well, kissing her deeper and more passionately, their arms grasping each other tightly. They stopped only a minute later when Sam had pushed her up against the screen door to the house, snapping both of them out of the moment.

"I missed you, too, Sam," she said with a giggle and a smile.

He smiled brightly, holding her around the waist. "Is it that easy to tell?"

"Definitely."

He smiled warmly. "So how was your day?"

She knew he would ask, but she wished he hadn't. It was difficult to maintain the same smile and enthusiasm while she was keeping something from him. Something she knew was wrong to hide, but she was hiding nonetheless.

"It was okay," she lied. "How about yours?"

"Same. I spent most of the time researching something with Bobby."

She didn't know what to say next because anything she was thinking of was mostly a lie. She almost wished she hadn't made that promise to Crowley, she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to keep it. Not that there would be any consequences if she did break the promise, it wasn't like she'd sold her soul or anything. But she did wonder what he would do if she did tell someone. Either way, telling Sam about the baby was the last thing she wanted to do right now. She'd barely had time to let it sink in as it was.

"So, what's for supper?" she asked.

"Come inside and see," he replied with a smile.

She returned his smile and took his hand, following him into the house.

A/N: How long do you think she can keep it a secret? And what about Crowley? What do you think he really wants?

Thanks for reading!