Chapter 60
She'd had her chance, and she'd lost it.
Once Jessie had known Sam and Dean were fine, it was all that was running through her head over and over again on the drive back to Bobby's. She'd had the chance to hurt Meg and she missed it. And the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She didn't even want to talk to either of the brothers, completely ignoring them during the entire drive. With her rage beginning to boil, she needed to keep her mouth shut. Besides, she'd already told them she'd explain what happened once they were back at Bobby's. She didn't want to repeat herself.
Bobby was outside waiting for them as the car pulled into the driveway. Jessie could see the deep look of concern on his face, it made him seem much older than he was. She knew it was only going to get worse. And she was afraid his suspicion was going to increase as well. But there was no way to help that now. She'd screwed up once, which was all it had taken. She had to make this story believeable without seeming like she was leaving details out. That was going to be the real challenge. Bobby was much smarter than many people gave him credit for. And much more intuitive.
She stormed past Bobby and into the house without a word or a glance. When she reached the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of milk, consuming it quickly. She was shaking inwardly with rage and all she wanted was an alcoholic drink. She wanted to drown herself in it. But she couldn't and she wasn't sure how to handle the urge. Not this time.
She had just slammed her glass on the counter when the boys, followed by Bobby, walked into the kitchen, all of them gazing at her expectationally. She wondered who was going to be the first one to ask her what had happened. But as strong as her curiosity was, she decided to speak first. She didn't want them to be any more suspcious of her.
"It was, Crowley," she stated matter-of-factly.
"What was Crowley?" Bobby asked quickly.
"He's the one who saved us from Meg."
"What? Why?"
"Apparently, she'd set a trap for us and he set a trap for her."
"Does that mean he got her?" Dean asked hopefully.
"No," she replied with obvious disappointment. "He got her lackeys, but she managed to escape."
"That's just great," he replied.
She noticed Sam's look of concern before he attempted to hide it from her. It made her feel worse about everything.
"I'm confused, Jess," Bobby said as he grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Why did Crowley just leave? Why'd he let you go?"
She shrugged. "I've told you before, I have no idea what he wants from me. All I know is he doesn't want Meg to get a hold of me. Maybe that's why he's left me alone. Maybe he figures he can use me as bait to flush her out."
"You really think it's as simple as that?"
"I don't know, Bobby. All that matters to me is that I'm here and not with demons."
He nodded in agreement before sitting down at the kitchen table with his beer.
"I have another question," Dean said, everyone turning to gaze at him curiously. "What happened with Meg? How come her demon powers didn't work on you?"
It was the question she'd been dreading, yet she knew it was inevitable. She didn't even know what to say. His question was accusatory. But her heart sank a little when Sam glared at his brother. He still seemed to believe in her, even when his brother had his doubts. She had to come up with something believeable. And quickly.
"Wait. What?" Bobby interrupted before she had a chance to respond. "Meg's powers didn't work on you?"
"That's what she said," she replied, trying to avoid a straight answer for as long as possible.
He glanced curiously at each of the boys before turning back to her once again.
"Why do you think that is?"
She wasn't sure, but his tone seemed slightly accusatory as well. It made her feel even worse than Sam believing in her.
"How should I know?" she replied, trying her best not to sound defensive.
"I don't know, Jess. But it seems like you know more than you're saying."
"Bobby!" Sam said with a stern look.
"It's okay, Sam," she interrupted calmly. "I understand why Bobby has his doubts. After all, it wasn't all that long ago that none of you trusted me."
The three men looked uneasy for a few moments before Bobby once again spoke up.
"I never said I didn't trust you."
"I know, Bobby," she lied.
She had a feeling he didn't completely trust her. At the least, he knew she was hiding something.
"But you have an idea, don't you?" he asked.
She sighed, more for show than any other reason. She'd finally come up with a story she hoped they would all believe. At the least it was completely plausible. She just hoped she was convincing enough.
"I do," she said with a nod. "I think it's the baby."
"The baby?" he asked questioningly.
"Well, he is supposed to be powerful. What if it's because of him."
The looks between the brothers looked promising, but Bobby still seemed to be skeptical. She was positive he was thinking about the bottle cap incident. There was no way she'd be able to explain that away by blaming it on the baby. If she wouldn't believe it, she knew no one else would either. At the very least, being protected by the baby because of his blood was a stretch, but not completely preposterous. And since no one knew exactly how powerful he would be, no one could completely deny it was a possibility. She just wished she could have been more convincing. But if she tried too hard, he would definitely know something was going on—and she couldn't take that chance.
"I suppose that's possible," he said with a note of finality.
As her eyes searched for Sam's, she noticed Dean eyeing her strangely. She wasn't quite sure what his expression meant, but she figured it was nothing good.
"I'm gonna go lay down," she said to no one in particular.
She had hoped that Sam would follow her up to their bedroom, but he didn't. She wasn't really tired, just drained from the encounter with Meg. After finally making herself comfortable, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Jessie felt a little disoriented when she awoke from her nap. She wasn't quite sure how long she'd slept for, or what time it was. But after she looked at her watch and realized she'd only been asleep for an hour, she felt a little better. After using the bathroom, she headed downstairs to look for Sam.
Out of habit, she climbed down the stairs as quietly as possible, avoiding any spot that would make a creaking sound, heading towards the kitchen where she heard the sound of voices. When she arrived outside the door, she heard Dean and Bobby talking. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she couldn't help herself.
"Now that Sam's gone, are you gonna tell me what's going on Bobby?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Dean."
"Right. You're gonna sit there and lie to me."
There was a short silence for a few moments before Bobby replied.
"I think Jessie knows more than she's letting on about all of this."
"Why would you say that Bobby? Of all people."
"I've known her long enough to know when she's hiding something. I thought maybe it was nothing. But after today, I'm not so sure."
"You don't believe her explanation?"
"It's not that I don't..." he replied, trailing off.
"What is it, Bobby?"
"Nothing for you to worry about kid."
"It doesn't sound like nothing."
"Just keep an eye on her, Dean. Your brother's completely oblivious when it comes to her. Look how angry he got when I suggested she might know something more about what's going on."
"But was he angry at us, or himself?
The silenced that followed Dean's rhetorical question was Jessie's cue to walk in. She didn't want to because she wanted to continue listening, to see if Bobby would elaborate on his suspicions more than he had. But she knew if she listened any longer, her anger would overtake her rationality, and she couldn't allow that to happen. At least not now. And definitely not in front of Bobby. She figured he'd probably already put two and two together, but he didn't like the math.
She walked into the kitchen as casually as possible greeting them lazily. Both men looked slightly uncomfortable, but she pretended not to notice.
"Where's Sam?"
Dean glanced at Bobby, expecting him to answer.
"He went to get some food," Bobby replied nonchalantly.
She knew from Dean's uneasy look and Bobby's quick answer that they were both wondering if she'd heard their discussion.
"Okay. I guess I'll grab my laptop and go back upstairs then," she replied.
She took a few steps towards the kitchen before clutching her stomach abruptly releasing a quiet groan of pain.
"What's wrong?" Bobby asked as he made his way up from the kitchen table to her side swiftly.
"I dunno," she replied through heavy breathing.
"Dean. Call Doctor Riley. Tell him to come immediately."
"I'm fine, Bobby," she said as she rubbed her belly. "The pain is gone."
"I don't care if you feel fine, young lady. You need to be looked at."
She sighed in annoyance, but allowed him to lead her into the livingroom, helping her ease onto the couch. He hovered nearby, pacing back and forth with worry until the doorbell rang.
The doctor kicked the men out of the livingroom so he could examine her. And when he was done, he met them in the kitchen to explain his diagnosis. By this time, Sam had returned.
"You have nothing to worry about. She's gonna be fine."
"Are you sure?" asked Sam with concern. "What's wrong with her?"
The doctor smiled supportively.
"She just had some Braxton Hicks contractions. They're completely normal and nothing to worry about."
"Does that mean she's gonna have the baby soon?"
"Not at all, Sam," he replied with a hint of a smile. "Braxton Hicks are normal and can occur at almost any time throughout a pregnancy. She may have already had some minor ones already and never noticed. But after today's excitement, well, I'm not surprised. Just have her take it easy today, just in case."
"Thanks again, doc," Bobby said as he shook his hand.
After the doctor left, Sam stayed at his wife's side for the rest of the day, much to her chagrin. Although she was happy to spend time with him, she drew the line at allowing him to follow her into the bathroom. And because of this attention, she was unable to visit the shed that day. But for once, she was able to resist that particular urge and push it from her mind. She wasn't sure if it was just simply because she was tired, or because she had been worried about the baby. No matter the reason, she slept well that night regardless.
It was much later in the morning than usual when Jessie finally woke up and began her morning routine. And when she finally made it into the kitchen, her breakfast was waiting for her—two eggs, bacon and a piece of toast.
Once she got over the surprise of having breakfast ready for her, she realized there was a palpable tension in the room. Each of the three men were quiet—almost too quiet. And by the looks on their faces, she was sure they'd been arguing about something, and she didn't like it.
"What's going on?" she demanded, glancing at each of the men in turn, stopping to glare at Bobby.
She knew neither of the Winchesters would answer her if he'd told them not to.
"We've been talking, and we all agree that you need to get away from here for a while," he replied without hesitation.
"Who exactly is, we?"
He rolled his eyes slightly. "All of us."
"Except me," she replied, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly. "I just got back."
"It's not safe here right now."
"Says who?"
"Are you kidding?" Dean interjected. "We got attacked by Meg yesterday and you think it's safe here?"
She didn't think that either of them were wrong. However, she didn't want them to continue making decisions for her. Especially after the conversation she'd eavesdropped on the day before. But at the same time, it would be easier to keep them in the dark if she wasn't being watched by both Dean and Bobby.
"I never said that, Dean. I just hate it when people make decisions without including me."
The three men shifted around uncomfortably for a moment. None of them had expected her answer.
"But I supposed you're probably right. We should probably leave for a few days at least."
The men cast curious glances at each other, but that was all she noticed as she turned on her heel and left the room without waiting for a reply from any of them.
She was having a difficult time keeping it together. She was tired of the travelling, and the demons, and the men making decisions for her. Of course, she was also angry at herself for getting into the mess she was in. On top of it was the usual pregnancy symptoms, which some days bothered her more than others. This was one of those days she was bothered. She didn't know if it had anything to do with not having demon blood the day before, but she had to blame it on something. It was easier that way.
She reluctantly packed up and left with the Winchesters in the Impala a few hours later.
The next few days were not easy for anyone.
Jessie was miserable. And the only targets for her anger and frustration were two of the three people who cared about her most in the world, Sam and Dean. As much as she tried not to snap at them, she found herself doing it much more than she knew she should. She was also finding it increasingly difficult to stop herself once she'd began.
It was almost impossible for her to be alone long enough to contact Crowley for more demon blood. And as much as she hated to admit it to herself, she needed it. It was the main source of her frustrations. She'd always wondered what being addicted to a drug was like and why it was so hard to just quit. But now she knew all too well. And as much as she was suffering, there was more to it. She knew her son was suffering as well. He seemed much more active than usual, which was only another reason why she was upset. She already had a difficult time sleeping without him constantly kicking her. Now it was almost impossible.
The fourth day after leaving Bobby's house was the worst of all of them. She'd managed to get blood the day they had arrived in some little town she couldn't remember the name of. But it had been three days since either of the boys had left her alone. Which meant three days without it. It was the longest she'd gone without it since early in her pregnancy. Between being completely exhausted, she was also jittery. It didn't make for a very good combination.
On the fifth day, she couldn't handle it any longer. No matter how difficult it was, she knew she had to get away from her chaperones. If she didn't, she felt like she was going to lose her mind. Normally she might have been able to come up with some excuse to at least get a couple of minutes away. But her mind was not thinking clearly anymore.
It was mid afternoon when Sam went out to grab some lunch, either neglecting the fact that Dean was in the shower, or not caring.
The second she knew the car was no longer within eyeshot, she grabbed her phone and hurried from the room quietly, heading around to the other side of the motel.
There was only a small courtyard that faced the back of an apartment building, so no way for anyone on the road to see her. It seemed secluded. Which was perfect for her needs.
The phone was dialing when she felt someone slide up behind her, taking the phone from her hands before she even had a chance to react. She turned around to see who it was, instinctively placing her hand on her waistband, cradling the butt of her gun in her palm. But the moment she saw their face, she dropped her hand, glaring at them with a steely gaze.
"Give my phone back, Dean!" she demanded, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Who were you trying to call?" he asked suspiciously, glancing at the screen of her phone. "Who is C?"
"No one you know. Now give it back."
He narrowed his eyes supiciously. "Crowley? You're not calling Crowley, are you?"
"What? Why the hell would you think I'd be calling him?"
"Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe because you've been acting suspiciously for a long time now."
She knew he was right of course, but she definitely couldn't let on. However, she wasn't thinking clearly enough to talk herself out of it, at least not very convincingly. At this point, she didn't really know what to say. But then it suddenly came to her.
She sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but, his name is Chad."
"Who is Chad?" he demanded.
"A couple weeks ago, I found some pictures of me in a news article online. They were recent pictures. Pictures of my pregnant belly with a stupid headline about the reason why I went into hiding after the TV show."
"And?"
She rolled her eyes in irritation. "I hacked into the website and took it down. But the next day there were new pictures. So I found out who the paparazzi was that took them and began feeding him fake leads to where I would be."
"And this is why you've been acting so crazy?" he asked in disbelief.
She narrowed her eyes. "Are you really that short-sighted, Dean?"
He gazed at her in surprise.
"Think about it. Some guy managed to find me to take pictures of me, more than once. And you don't see how that could be a problem? Have you forgotten there are hunters on the look out for me as well as demons?"
His expression changed to understanding in an instant. "Why didn't you just tell me—or Sam?"
"Because I can take care of things myself. I don't always need you or your brother to save me. I'm not a damsel in distress."
He seemed somewhat satisifed, but he was still curious.
"And how long do you think fake leads are gonna work?"
"They didn't for long. So I had to promise to pay him more than he would get for his photographs."
"What? Why would you do that?"
"Don't worry about what I do with my money, Dean. I needed him to stop following me and he has."
"And how do you know some hunter won't offer him more money to find out your whereabouts?"
She snorted. "First of all, he doesn't know where I am at the moment. And secondly, there is no hunter who could offer him more money than I can."
He was mostly satisfied with her explanation, although deep inside he still had his suspicions. But so she wouldn't realize that he only half believed her, he 'accidentally' dialed the number as he was about to hand it to her, glancing at it quickly so he could memorize the number. He would check it out later when he had a chance.
She took the phone from him, glad that Crowley was smart enough to never answer the phone until she spoke first. She had no idea what excuse she could use if he had found out. But that was the least of her problems now, since she figured Dean would be out of her hair, yet wouldn't let her out of his sight again. She needed to find a way to contact Crowley and get her hands on some blood.
The instant Sam got back to the motel room, Dean made a point of telling him what had happened. And just like she suspected, he was upset and disappointed, but didn't seem at all suspicious.
Of course she still had to deal with the constant nagging craving for blood. And it wasn't easy. It was all she could think about. And although Sam wasn't suspicious about her phone call, he did seem to notice how distracted and jumpy she was. He was becoming more and more worried about her and that wasn't helping things at all. He was constantly asking her if she was okay, and it was driving her nuts. As well as almost never taking his eyes off of her.
After a verbal blow up about something innocent, Dean took Sam outside to chat about Jessie's attitude.
She began thinking of ways to get away from them when a female member of the motel housekeeping staff walked in with a pile of towels. She knew the boys were just outside, but she was still surprised they had allowed her to come in.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" the women asked impatiently. "Come take these towels from me."
Jessie stood up from the couch, looking at the woman with irritation. She'd never been talked to like that from any motel housekeeping staff. But then she noticed the smell a moment later. She couldn't mistake the smell of sulphur.
"Who...?"
"Who do you think?" the woman interrupted.
"Crowley?" she asked with surprise.
She didn't respond, instead approached her with the towels and handed them to her.
Jessie couldn't help but grin a little as she thought about Crowley in this tiny woman's body. But her grin only lasted a moment before it turned to shock and dismay.
"You need to get the hell out of here Crowley—and fast. What the hell were you thinking?"
The woman's face glared at her. "I was thinking that you needed what I have hiding in those towels."
She tried not to look desperate as she stuck her hand inside the pile, fishing out a small thermos. But it was difficult not to. She needed the blood so badly, all rational thought had nearly left her mind.
The tiny woman sighed. "Get your ass into the bathroom and do what you need to do before your boys come back in here and discover you. And for crying out loud, do something about Dean, or you're going to have a serious problem."
She was staring at the thermos as the woman spoke, listening, but barely comprehending. By the time she did, she glanced over to notice the woman was gone. Crowley was gone. She didn't even have time to ask what he meant about Dean.
A moment later, she hurriedly ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, haphazardly throwing the towels on the counter beside the sink. She wasted no time draining the entire contents of the thermos, barely taking a breath while she did. Even only a few seconds later she began to feel the familiar warming sensation pass through her and her anxiousness begin to ebb away.
Once her mind was clear, she realized she needed to enact some damage control. The first thing she did was hide the thermos in the back of the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom. She hoped she would get a chance to move it from there later. And although she was pretty sure the boys would never look under there, she didn't want to take that chance if she didn't have to. Either way, it was tucked under one of the towels Crowley had brought.
The second part of her plan was to get the boys away from the apartment in hopes the smell of the sulphur would dissipate. Or at the very least, weaken enough so they would suspect whatever demon had stopped by had done so when they weren't around. However, as she was trying to think of an excuse to get them away from the apartment, she heard them come in, immediately calling her name with concern.
"I'm in the bathroom," she yelled nonchalantly, tidying up the pile of towels on the counter.
The boys were standing right in front of the door when she opened it moments later, both gazing at her with concern.
"What's going on?" she asked.
The brothers traded curious glances with each other.
"Don't you smell that?" Dean asked with disbelief.
The smell was no longer overwhelming, but it was still noticeable.
"Sulphur," she replied with slight surprise.
Dean glanced at his brother again with an eyebrow raised, but he wasn't paying attention, he was too focused on his worry for his wife.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she replied, placing her hand on his arm reassuringly. "I'm fine."
"So a demon came in here and you never noticed?" Dean asked accusingly. "How is that?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but it was Sam who replied first.
"Dean, I've had enough of this," he said strongly. "What exactly do you think Jessie is doing? Inviting a demon into the apartment while we were right outside? Are you serious?"
"Sam," she said, squeezing his arm gently. "It's okay."
"No. It's not okay," he said, shaking his head firmly. "Dean's been overly suspicious of you for too long and I've had enough."
She felt a twinge of guilt run through her. She knew he was wrong and Dean was right, so it was difficult for her to stand between them and say otherwise. But her mind was at least thinking clearly enough to think of a way to stop the arguing, if only for the moment.
"Look, I'm sick of the two of you arguing over me. I'm sorry I've been so difficult, I'm just feeling... like I want to crawl out of my skin sometimes. Being near the end of my pregnancy is no picnic. I just want it to be over already."
Dean rolled his eyes. "I'm not buying this anymore. Something more is going on with you and I'm not just going to give up on it so easily."
"Dean," Sam called with warning.
"It's okay, Sam. I don't want you fighting with your brother. Let him believe what he wants. All I want is for this case to be over so we can get out of here."
He nodded in agreement before shooting a warning glance at his brother.
"I couldn't agree more," Dean replied with slight sarcasm. "I want this case over, too."
It was awkwardly silent for the next few hours while everyone continued researching the case they were working on. The only time anyone actually spoke was when it was absolutely necessary. Although occasionally there were glances exchanged, it remained silent. Even up until it was time to go to sleep.
Jessie had the best sleep she'd had in many nights. She was able to fall asleep quickly, and actually stay asleep the entire six hours. There were no cravings to deal with and the baby seemed to be moving around much less violently than he had been. Even the anxiety she had about Dean didn't seem to stop her for once. She only hoped that boded well for the rest of the day.
Dean on the other hand had not slept much at all. And what little bit he did was not peaceful. He was positive now more than ever that something was going on. And he intended to find out what it was. He really liked Jessie. But if she was doing something that was going to screw his brother over, well, he couldn't let that happen. He needed to get to the bottom of it. He just felt he needed to be a bit more subtle about it. Although he thought it might already be too late for that. They both knew how he felt.
After a very quiet morning, they had a break through on their case. The three of them headed out in the Impala to do some surveillance. They were only there for an hour when they caught a break. Unfortunately they had to leave Jessie behind while they followed up on their lead. But she promised to only stray as far as the little coffeeshop half a block down from where they had parked.
For the most part she kept her promise, sitting in the coffeshop having some coffee and a sandwich. She hadn't intended to leave, but then something happened that was completely out of her control. She began to feel cramping in her stomach again, only this time stronger than she'd ever felt.
Doing her best to speak while she was feeling such intense pain, she managed to ask the staff to call her a cab so she could go to the hospital. Instead, they panicked and called an ambulance, which showed up much quicker than she'd anticipated. She barely had a moment to send a text to Sam before they loaded her into the ambulance and drove her to the hospital.
A/N: So sorry it has taken me so very long to update. I've had computer problems, which should finally be resolved very soon. And a bit of writer's block. I'm still fighting with it a bit, but for the most part I know where the next chapter or 2 are going so hopefully it will not take me as long as this last one did.
As always, thanks for reading!