Chapter 69

Jessie felt uncomfortable going into the hospital with the three men tagging along with her. Sam wasn't a problem, but Bobby and Dean were. They insisted on staying near the child where ever he went, regardless of the protests from the nurses.

And while she felt the baby was safe with the men watching over him while she had her exam, she felt afraid. Not because of the demons, but because she didn't want to let him out of her sight. She already felt that motherly instinct to protect her child at any cost and didn't want to let him go.

After her exam, the nurses brought the baby back to her then kicked the men from the room, despite their protests. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt anxious.

"Mrs Drake-Winchester," the shortest of the two nurses began. "Your son seems to be showing signs of withdrawal. Have you been doing any drugs while you were pregnant?"

She felt a twinge of guilt run through her.

"Of course not."

The nurses shot each other a look, before the short one spoke once again.

"You wouldn't mind taking a blood test to prove it, would you?" she asked scornfully.

"Not at all."

The nurses shuffled from the room in a hurry, Sam walking into the room almost immediately after they left.

"What's up?" he asked as he noticed his wife on the verge of tears.

"They know," she said choking on tears.

He walked closer to her, wrapping a supportive arm around her. "Know what?"

"That he's in withdrawal," she replied sadly. "I guess my wishful thinking was just that."

"Hey," he said while squeezing her tightly. "He's healthy, okay? That's all that matters right now. They won't find any drugs in your system or his. It'll be fine."

"You can't know that for sure," she replied while fighting to hold back tears. "What if they try to take him from me?"

He continued to hold her tightly. "I won't let that happen, okay?"

She nodded her head lightly in agreement, but stayed silent.

They weren't alone in the room for very long when Bobby and Dean came in to wait with them. Jessie hadn't wanted to tell them why it was taking so long, because she was ashamed. But she knew if she didn't tell them, Sam surely would. And she figured it would be better if it came from her own mouth.

It was more than an hour before any medical staff returned to the room. And when they did, they immediately kicked Bobby and Dean out. Although neither of them left without kicking up a fuss.

After the doctor discussed the health of the baby with Sam and Jessie, he brought in a social worker to speak to them. While it turned out that there were no drugs in Jessie's system, or the baby's, both the doctor and the nurses were still concerned about the baby's well being. And while he called it a precaution, his choice of words didn't relieve Jessie in the least bit.

The social worker seemed to be kind, but also very suspicious. Or at least that's how Jessie felt. Sam told her it was fine. But she couldn't agree, no matter how much he tried to reassure her. Especially after the worker insisted on making an appointment to visit them at their home. She knew Bobby's house was not exactly the tidiest, or in the greatest of repair. It just made her worry even more.

Once the worker had left, Jessie hastily dressed the baby then left the room quickly. She didn't stop to say a word to either Dean or Bobby as she swept past them, figuring they would just follow behind. She felt like the walls were closing in on her and she needed outside now. She couldn't wait for any of them.

The three men managed to catch up to her just outside the doors. Sam called her name, but she ignored him and kept walking. When she didn't immediately stop, they continued following her, each of them calling her name.

She stopped walking as she approached a grassy area with a wooden bench that people often used for cigarette breaks. Turning around, she looked at them, her eyes wide.

"I'm sorry," she said, slightly winded. "I just needed to get outside and away from that place."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, as he reached his arms out in hopes she would hand over the baby.

She opened her mouth to tell them she was fine, but the words never made it out of her mouth. Before she could, she felt an excruciating pain rip through her back, then out through her chest. She remembered trying so desperately to hold onto her son, before everything went black.

It took a split second before either of the men realized Jessie had been shot. She had nearly dropped to the ground, before Sam was able to catch his son. And Bobby managed to barely catch Jessie, lying her down gently on the grass.

"Bobby!" Sam yelled in fear and desperation. "The baby's been shot, too."

Before anyone else could object, Dean announced loudly he was going to go find whoever shot them, taking off in an instant.

"Sam," Bobby called. "Get him into the hospital, now!"

"What about, Jess?" he asked, visibly shaking. He was in shock and wasn't thinking clearly.

Bobby glanced across to the hospital, where he noticed several people running in their direction.

"I'll manage. Don't worry," he said as reassuringly as he could.

Sam hesitated for only a second more, before he ran off towards the hospital.

Once he'd left, Bobby was able to focus on Jessie. He checked to see if she was still breathing, which she was. Then he began to examine the wound, while yelling at the crowd to get him some help. The bullet had exited her chest slightly to the left and down from the center of her torso. He hoped it meant her heart had been completely missed.

He was trying to take her jacket off when paramedics had finally made it over to them with a stretcher, shooing the crowd of onlookers away slightly. Bobby could only watch in panic as they made him back away as well so they could lift her onto the stretcher.

He followed them as they wheeled her into the emergency room, but they stopped him as he tried to follow them in the room with the doctors.

"She's my daughter!" he yelled frantically. "I need to be there with her!"

"You can't go in there right now," a nurse said as she placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. "I'll come out and let you know what's going on as soon as I know."

He looked at her helplessly, but nodded his head once to let her know he'd understood. She stood there for a few more moments before leaving into the room they had taken Jessie.

Bobby began to pace back and forth outside the room, all the while watching the door intently. He felt so helpless and lost. He'd only been pacing for a couple of minutes when Sam found him.

"How's the baby?" Bobby asked, hoping the answer wasn't as grave as the look Sam had on his face.

He swallowed hard once. "It's not good, Bobby. But he's alive. They've taken him into surgery."

Bobby placed a supportive arm on his shoulder. "He's a fighter, Sam. Just like his mom and dad."

He nodded his head, wishing he was as hopeful as Bobby sounded.

"How's Jess?"

Before Bobby could open his mouth to respond, the nurse who had talked to him earlier came out of the room, her clothing now splattered slightly with blood.

"We're taking your daughter down to surgery," she said before he could ask.

"How is she?"

"She's alive and stable at the moment. That's the important part. I'll have a doctor come and talk to you as soon as they can."

With that, she turned and left, leaving the men alone with their worry.

"I'll stay here and wait, Sam," Bobby said, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You go see to your son."

He stared at him for a moment, not completely understanding him. It was only a moment, though, before he was able to shake himself out of it.

"Okay, Bobby," he replied quietly before leaving.

Bobby looked around helplessly for many moments before he plopped himself into a chair, his head in his hands.

Jessie's eyes fluttered open slowly, her lids felt heavy and her head was groggy. It was difficult for her to think with the pain medication running through her veins, but she was aware enough to vaguely remember what had happened to her, and her son.

She did her best to pull herself into a more upward position, but she was too weak to fully sit up. She glanced around, seeing a row of stretchers but with nobody in them. She was grateful, since she wasn't sure what people would think about what she was about to do.

With a hoarse voice, she began to call out for Crowley as loudly as she could. It wasn't very loud, and she began to cough because of her severely dry throat, but she managed to make the words come out coherently.

Each moment that passed felt like an eternity to her, as well as intensified the panic and anxiety she was already feeling. She didn't know what had happened to her son and she needed to know now. She could only hope that Crowley was around and he could hear her. She had no other way to contact him while she was trapped on a gurney.

She began to flitter in and out of conciousness, while she tried so hard to stay awake and focused. Eventually, she spied someone standing beside her. As she struggled to focus her eyes to see who it was, the man began to speak to her in a hushed voice.

"Hello, Darling," Crowley said with a flash of a grin. "How are you feeling?"

Her disdain made it much easier for her to stay focused, despite the pain medication.

"Do you know how my son is doing?" she asked, completely ignoring his question.

He was silent for a few moments before responding.

"He's still in surgery and the doctors are not at all confident he'll survive."

She felt a sudden pain deep inside her, as if someone had punched her. She had to swallow hard before speaking, fighting back tears.

"How do I know you're not lying to me?"

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "You don't. But think about it. He's a tiny being who was shot by a big bullet. How do you think he's doing? The fact he's alive is already a miracle."

She rolled her eyes at his choice of words, but she couldn't deny his logic. If he had really been shot, then it was lucky he was still alive. With that realization she had an idea. It was the worst idea she'd ever had. And she wanted so desperately to stop the words about to come out of her mouth, but she couldn't.

"I want to make a deal," she blurted out quickly before she could change her mind.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I know you're on drugs right now, so I need to know you understand exactly what it is you're asking me."

She shook her head once. "I'm know exactly what I'm asking you, Crowley. I want to sell my soul to save my son."

He was silent for many moments before responding. "I'm surprised by you, my dear. You're the last person I would've thought would want to sell their soul to me."

"You're surprised? Really?" she asked with a snort. "This is probably your doing."

He glared at her with irritation. "You think I wanted this? No. This was not my plan at all. Your stupid hunter buddies did this."

"What?" she asked with surprise.

"You heard me," he snapped. "And you may not believe this, but I have not been after your soul. Despite what you may think."

"But you'll take it, right?"

He narrowed his eyes in scrutiny. "If I must."

She was silent for a few moments, pondering. She knew she shouldn't do this, but she couldn't see any other way. After all she had done to keep her son safe, she couldn't let him die. Especially like this. She figured she could try and get out of it at a later date. Or at least she hoped.

"I have some conditions."

"Oh?" he said with a raised eyebrow, suddenly curious.

"For starters, there's none of this ten year bullshit. You get my soul when I die, whenever that happens to be." He nodded his head once in agreement. "Next, you will not tell anyone about this deal. Not Sam, not Dean, not Bobby, not anyone. Got it?"

He grinned slightly, knowing he had no desire to tell them anyway. "I can live with that."

"And lastly, you need to make it impossible for my son to be found by any unusual means by anyone that isn't related to him, by blood. Can you do that?"

"I can," he replied shrewdly. "But I'm not sure that's in my best interests."

She raised her eyebrow in suspicion. "If you mean no harm to him like you've been telling me all along, then not being able to use magic to find him shouldn't be a worry now. Should it?"

He was silent for a few moments. "Fine. I can agree to these things," he replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Fine," she said, reaching out her hand.

"Oh no my dear," he said with a mischievous grin. "Deals with the king of hell require more than a hand shake.

She looked at him questioningly.

He chuckled. "You really didn't know, did you? That's so adorable."

Stop patronizing me and let me know what you need.

He grinned widely. "Just a kiss, my dear."

She looked at him with repulsion, but said nothing.

He chuckled once before leaning over to kiss her lightly.

"If there's nothing else..." he said trailing off.

"Wait!" she said before he could leave. "Do make sure my son doesn't heal quick enough the Winchesters are suspicious."

He glared at her for a few moments before snapping his fingers, disappearing instantly.

She breathed a long sigh once he'd left, then laid back to relax once again. She was trying not to think about the regrets that were cropping up in her mind as she began to feel weary, her eyelids once again becoming heavy. She tried to fight off her weariness, but she succumbed to it quickly.

Sam was frantically pacing back and forth in front of the room his wife was supposed to be moved into, when Bobby and Dean found him.

"Did you catch him?" Sam asked his brother eagerly.

"Wow, nice to see you, too, Sammy," Dean replied sarcastically.

Sam glared at his brother. "Dean, please. This isn't the time."

"Ok, that's enough," Bobby admonished.

Dean glanced at his brother apologetically. "No. I didn't catch him, but I know who it was. We'll get him when Jessie and the baby are out of the hospital."

"Who was it?"

Dean glanced back and forth from his brother to Bobby, trying to decide if he should say. He knew it would upset both of them, but especially Bobby.

"It was, Brandon," he spat.

"I thought he was in jail?" Sam said as he glanced in Bobby's direction.

"So did I," replied Bobby regretfully. "I knew I should've been keeping track of him."

Dean placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You've had a lot going on, Bobby. None of us were thinking about him."

He shook Dean's hand off, turning away. "That was my responsibility, though," he said with regret, his eyes staring at the floor.

"No one blames you, Bobby," Sam said quietly.

The three men were quiet for many minutes, each of them imagining what they were going to do when they caught up to Brandon. But their thoughts were cut short when they saw hospital staff wheeling Jessie on a gurney into the room they had been waiting in front of.

Sam stepped towards the door, when one of the nurses stopped him.

"You must be Jessie's family," she said, shaking Sam's hand. "Before you go in there, I am supposed to let you know the doctor will be up shortly to talk to you about her surgery. He also asks that you don't tire her out too much. She needs her rest." She half turned away, before turning to face them once more. "Oh, and don't stress her out. She needs to be kept as calm as possible."

The three men shook their heads in understanding and agreement, before following the nurse into the room.

Sam immediately sat on the chair beside the bed, taking his wife's hand gently into his. He swallowed hard once, fighting back some tears. Her pale skin had him frightened. He'd never seen her so pale.

He sat beside Jessie for a long time, pretty much ignoring what was going on around him. He just wanted her to wake up. To hear her voice again. He trembled slightly at the thought of losing her. At this he felt a supportive hand on his shoulder, but he had no idea if it was his brother's or Bobby's. It didn't matter to him, though. He was just glad for the support. He didn't know what he would do without them.

It was almost an hour, before Jessie began to stir. By this time the doctor had already been in to speak to them about her condition. Sam lightly squeezed her hand in support as her eyes began to flutter.

As she opened her eyes, she immediately turned her head towards Sam. She could feel him squeezing her hand, so she knew where to look. Even though her brain was still foggy, she knew it was him. She smiled as brightly as she could, lightly squeezing his hand in return.

Sam smiled back brightly, so pleased she was awake. He leaned up from the chair, kissing her lightly on the forehead before sitting back down again. "I'm so glad you're finally awake," he said, squeezing her hand lightly once again.

"It'll take more than a bullet to take me down," she said hoarsely.

Sam shuffled in his seat nervously. "I know. But I worry all the same," he said, trying to smile.

"I know, you're an old fuddy, duddy," she said with a slight chuckle, which made her cough.

He got up from his seat, looking at her with concern.

"I'm fine," she said once she stopped coughing. "Can you ask him to relax a little?" she asked, glancing at Bobby and Dean.

Dean glanced around uncomfortably for a few moments before telling her he was glad she was awake then made an excuse to leave, hurrying out of the room.

"Jessie," Bobby said gently, shuffling closer to the bed. "We're all worried about you. You got shot in the chest. It's nothing to take lightly."

"Bobby, I'm fine," she said reassuringly. "I promise I'll be back in action very soon."

He gently sat down on the bed beside her, placing his hand lightly on her leg. "Whatever am I gonna do with you?" he said with a smile.

She smiled back at him brightly. "Am I allowed to have water? My throat is so dry."

"Yes," he replied, standing up from the bed. "I'll go get you some." He smiled at her again before leaving the room.

She turned to Sam with a more serious look on her face. "Now that he's gone, I can ask you how our son is doing."

"Jessie..."

"Sam," she said firmly, cutting him off. "I know the doctors want me to stay calm. I will not be calm until I know what is going on with him."

He sighed loudly in defeat. "The doctors are cautiously optimistic. Now promise me you'll relax."

She pondered his question for a few moments before responding. "Not yet. I need one more thing first."

He gazed at her with concern, waiting for her to speak again.

"I need to know who it was," she said firmly.

"You're killing me here," he said with frustration. "Why do you need to know this now? Can't it wait a few days?"

"No. It can't," she said loudly, causing herself to cough a few times. "You know me. You know what I'm like."

Sam stood up, sitting next to her in the bed, taking both of her hands into his, he gazed into her eyes lovingly, speaking softly. "Yes, I know how you are. But I'm asking you to forget it for a few days, please?"

As upset as she was that he didn't want to tell her, she knew it was out of concern and love. She returned his smile, squeezing his hands lightly. "I guess I can wait a few days, for you."

He lifted her hands to his face, kissing them lightly before placing them down again. "I love you, Jess."

She smiled brightly. "I love you, too, Sam."

The couple were silent for a long while after, just enjoying each other's company. Even after Bobby returned with some water for Jessie, there was very little said. It wasn't until the doctor and some nurses showed up to run some tests that Sam and Bobby left the room.

Sam decide to walk across the hospital to check on his son while Jessie was being looked after. When he arrived, he was greeted by the nurse he'd first seen when he brought his son into the hospital.

"He's doing so well, Mr. Winchester," she said, shaking his hand. "The doctors are so pleased with his progress."

"May I see him?"

"Of course, she replied, leading him into the room. "He's right here," she said pointing to an incubator.

Sam placed his hand on the incubator as he glanced in at his son. He was hooked up to many wires and his entire chest was wrapped in bandaging, but he seemed to be sleeping calmly. It helped him relax a little, even though he just wanted to hold him in his arms.

He spent many minutes watching him, before he let the nurses know he'd be back soon. He just wanted to tell his wife the good news.

He was coming down the hallway towards Jessie's room when he noticed Bobby and Dean standing just outside the room. There was something about their posture that made him begin to worry. And as he got closer he could hear the commotion going on inside the room. He began to run towards the room, but Bobby and Dean managed to block the doorway.

"Let me in there," Sam said frantically, trying to push through the two men.

"Sam, let the doctors do their work," Bobby said as he tried to restrain him. "You'll just get in the way."

Sam stopped trying to push them, slumping his shoulders in defeat. He looked at them helplessly, tears running down his face. "I can't lose her. Not now," he said between sobs.

The two men ushered him away from the door, managing to get him to sit down. But he didn't sit long, standing up immediately when one of the doctors and a nurse came out of the room.

"How is she?" Sam asked them frantically.

The doctor looked at him gravely. "I'm sorry, Mister Winchester, we did everything we could."

"What?!" he yelled. "She's not dead. She can't be!"

Bobby and Dean got closer to Sam, trying to restrain him as he began to yell irately, tears streaming down his face. They both held him as tightly as they could, while he continued to cry out in disbelief. Once he was calm enough, they allowed him into the room.

As he approached the bed his wife was lying in, he began to cry then practically threw himself onto the bed, holding her tightly as he sobbed into her lifeless body. It was several minutes before he let go of her and climbed up from the bed, turning to face his brother and Bobby.

"Our son now has no mother," he said, fresh tears forming.

"Sam..." Bobby called, but Sam interrupted him.

"Don't even, Bobby," he said through gritted teeth, his hands clenching into fists. "That son of a bitch is gonna get what's coming to him."

Bobby and Dean passed a knowing glance, then began ushering Sam from the room.

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long. Not only did I have computer problems, but writing this was difficult. And while it went slightly different then I had imagined it all those years ago when I started this, the end result is the same. Please don't be mad. I'm already mad at myself, ok? This isn't the end. There's more to come soon.