Author's Note: I don't own Supernatural.

***Dean POV***

October

If Dean was honest with himself (which he usually wasn't), he would have admitted that the past month or so had been quite possibly the best month of his life. He was doing, on a constant basis, the two things he liked best – having sex, and hunting things with his brother. His relationship with Ember had never been stronger, and fortunately Sam still felt guilty enough about the whole Lucifer debacle that he wasn't as much of a cock-block as he might have been. And, just as good, Sam was back in his life, filling a hole that Dean hadn't been willing to admit to himself was there. With the two of them by his side, for the first time in his life, Dean felt unstoppable.

***Ember POV***

October 15, Day

Near the middle of October, Ember and the brothers ended up in Alliance, Nebraska, to investigate a woman who had literally scratched her skin off with itching powder. Other similar murders occurred shortly after the three had arrived; a man was electrocuted by a joy buzzer, and two kids ended up in the hospital from mixing pop rocks and coke. Even more odd, a local man's face had gotten stuck in the same position while he was making a funny face, and another local man whose teeth had been pulled out claimed that he had seen the tooth fairy. Dean even ended up with a hairy palm from masturbating. ("We had sex last night," Ember reminded him, rolling her eyes. "Next time you can go out and squirm into a bank vault for an hour, and I'll sit in the hotel room and eat ham and masturbate!")

Ultimately, Dean realized that all of the events were "all lies that kids believe."

"So whatever's doing this is reshaping reality," Sam added. "It has the powers of a god... or, of a trickster."

"Yeah, with the sense of humor of a nine-year-old," Dean added.

"Or you," added Sam.

Their search ultimately brought them to a farm house in the middle of what Dean and Sam called the "splash zone of weirdness." The boy living in the farm house, Jesse, was definitely the source of all the odd things happening in town, the brothers concluded almost immediately.

"What do you know about itching powder, Jesse?" Dean asked.

"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out," he responded immediately.

"Pop rocks and coke?" Dean asked.

"You mix them, and you'll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that."

"What if you make a really funny face and hold it that way for a long time?" Ember asked.

"It'll stick that way," said Jesse immediately.

Dean pulled out the joy buzzer. "You shouldn't have that," Jesse said immediately.

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"It can electrocute you!" Jesse said.

Dean turned it over in his hand. "Actually, it can't," he said. "It's just a wind-up toy. It's totally harmless. Doesn't even have batteries."

"So it can't shock you?" Jesse asked.

"Nope. Not at all. I swear."

"Oh," Jesse said, looking disappointed. "Okay."

"I mean, all it does is just shake in your hand," Dean continued. "It's kinda lame. See?" And he held it up against Sam.

Ember knew she probably shouldn't have found this funny considering the joy buzzer had killed a man and then electrocuted a ham a few hours earlier, but perhaps this life was affecting her sense of judgment. She stifled her laughter at the look on Sam's face as he got a very small shock.

"What'd you say your name was again?" Dean asked.

"It's Jesse," said the boy. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Ember said, because Jesse was looking at her.

"You sure smell nice. Are you wearing perfume?"

Ember froze, and she could see that Dean and Sam had as well. Both of them looked to her, questioning their next move. Ember shrugged. "Well, Jesse, I guess that's all we have to ask you today. We might be back…. um, later. Is there a number we could call you at?"

"Yeah, sure," Jesse said, and wrote down his number.

As soon as they were out the door, Sam and Dean both turned to Ember.

"You sure smell nice? What the hell?" Sam asked.

"Is he a demon?" Dean asked.

"No," Ember said, alarmed.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Uh, yeah," Ember said. "I mean, I've never met a demon that could hide being a demon, not from me. Do you think... maybe he was just a kid being nice?" She knew as she said it that even she didn't believe that.

"There's no such thing as a coincidence," Dean said.

Apparently it was time for some research.

***Ember POV***

October 15, Afternoon

Ember couldn't believe it. In all of her life, through all of the books she'd read, and online searching, and even hunting, she had never met another half-demon.

Sam had unearthed that Jesse had been adopted. When they had gone to visit Jesse's mother, Julia, she had revealed that a demon had possessed her for 9 months, until she had had the child. After she had had the child, she had managed to take control and exorcise the demon, after which she had put Jesse up for adoption.

A million thoughts swirled in Ember's head on the way to the motel, but she was interrupted by Sam. "Why didn't you tell the mother? About you?"

Ember laughed. "The less anyone knows about me the better, Sam," Ember said. "And you have to understand, that woman hates demons. She wouldn't think of it as a shared experience… no, she'd just be terrified of me. She's had enough scares for one lifetime," Ember said.

"You're probably right," Sam said. "Hey, Ember, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Ember said, already guessing what the question was going to be.

"Bobby's your father, right? But that woman… she was a virgin when she got pregnant with the demon's child."

Ember sighed. "Yeah, I figured that's what you were going to ask. The answer is, I didn't know that was possible. Maybe… maybe we should call Cas. He'll know more about these things. I probably should've done that a long time ago. I've never really asked him about me. It's probably past time, to be honest."

***Castiel POV***

October 15, Evening

Castiel rarely missed calls, but when Dean called he was flying as fast as he could away from three angels, each only slightly less powerful than himself. It was another three hours before he managed to shake them long enough to address the red light on the primitive electronic device he had managed to buy a few weeks before.

"Cas, hey," said Dean's voice. "We might need you. There's a young boy here causing some trouble… a few people have died already. His mother was possessed, got pregnant, some kind of weird-ass immaculate conception. She put the boy up for adoption, and now he's making weird things happen. Alliance, Nebraska, in the Motel 6. Room 114."

Castiel flew immediately the Motel 6 in Alliance, Nebraska, but the hotel room was vacant. He could see items that he recognized as belonging to the Winchesters, however – a duffel bag that he knew to be Sam's, and Ember's computer. He would wait for their return, then. In the mean time, he reached out with his powers, scanning the surrounding town.

Castiel was a fairly powerful angel, probably one of the most powerful currently walking the Earth, though not by any means one of Heaven's finest. His vast experience with the humans and other Earth beings allowed him to reach out with his mind and find other creatures, to be able to identify each individual being, better than most other angels. He could feel even from here, for example, the small pull of Ember's demonic power. It was stronger than his own power, he knew, and with its strength its pull on Castiel intensified. This pull was currently mostly concealed by the hex bags she carried and the Enochian markings on her ribs. Castiel could still sense it, however, because he knew exactly what he was looking for. He couldn't feel any other half-demons, however.

Castiel dug deeper, reaching into the depths of his power and doing a more thorough search for demonic energy of any sort. There were two or three demons hanging around, but they were low-level, and he couldn't pinpoint their exact locations – they must be miles away. And there was something else…

It was a feeling he had never felt before. It felt like warding… natural warding given off by a creature, covering up some sort of demonic energy. It was so subtle that Castiel never would have sensed it if he hadn't known exactly what he was looking for due to his time around Ember. Now that he did sense it, however, he focused upon it, and was shocked that he hadn't found it before.

This half-demon was different from Ember, Castiel could tell. It was a half-demon, Castiel could sense that much; at the base, it was the same powerful demonic energy that Castiel associated with a half-demon being. Ember's power acted like a beacon to other angels and demons, though currently it was shielded by the hex bags and the Enochian warding. This being's power was the inverse of hers, Castiel could tell – it was a natural shield. Even if Castiel had wanted to, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint this being's exact location.

Suddenly, Sam, Dean, and Ember entered the motel room. "I take it you got our message," said Sam, sitting down at the small table.

"It's lucky you found the boy," Castiel said.

"Oh, yeah, real lucky," said Dean sarcastically. "What do we do with him?"

"Kill him," said Castiel immediately. He knew none of the three of them were going to want to go along with his plan, but there was no other alternative.

"Cas," Dean started, and Sam, Dean, and Ember all looked at each other dubiously.

Castiel sat down at the table next to Sam, and was alarmed to hear a giant fart. What was wrong with his vessel? Horrified, Castiel shifted position, but the noises continued. Dean watched, raising his eyebrows, and Ember had started giggling.

"That wasn't me," Castiel insisted, finally pulling out a whoopee cushion.

"Who put that there?" Dean asked, but Castiel could tell that it had been Dean's idea of a joke.

Castiel ignored the whoopee cushion, tossing it aside, and swallowed down his embarrassment. "This child is half demon and half human," Cas said, "But it's far more powerful than either."

"Cas." Ember said. "Hello."

He really should have known this would be a difficult issue for Ember, in particular, he thought. He supposed he could chalk this up to her human side. "Ember, this is different," he said. "The angels were willing to withhold judgment on you because you were already fully grown, had never taken a human or angel life, and were already more allied with Heaven than Hell," Castiel said. "None of which apply to this boy."

"That's not fair," Ember raged, "He's nine, Cas."

"I'll agree it is unfortunate," Castiel said in his deep voice. "Perhaps if he had time for his powers to mature with puberty, like yours, instead of all at once-…"

"Is this about Lucifer rising?" Ember asked.

"When was the last time you tested the full extent of your powers?" asked Castiel.

"I don't make a habit of it," Ember grumbled.

"See if you can move me with your powers," Castiel said.

"What?" Ember asked. "But you're an angel!"

"See if you can move me," Castiel repeated. "I'm braced." He could sense exactly how powerful she was, but he also suspected that she had no idea how powerful she had grown. This was no longer allowable, if they were to take an offensive stance against Lucifer. Still, it was a mark of the trust between them, and of their mutual trust for Dean, that Castiel took this step in proving his point to the half-demon woman.

Ember sighed. "Fine. Whatever." And she hit Castiel with the full blast of her powers.

In slow motion, Castiel was blasted off his feet, and hit the wall opposite, where he slid down to the floor, unhurt.

Sam and Dean stared at Ember in horror, and Ember was shocked. "I'm so sorry, Cas! I didn't mean to-…"

Castiel ignored her, his point made. "It is thought that these demon spawn will be one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against Heaven," he said, standing up and brushing himself off.

Dean shook his head. "If Jesse's a demonic Howitzer then what the hell's he doing in Nebraska?" Dean asked.

"The demons lost him. They can't find him. But they're looking," Castiel answered. He knew from his forays into Hell recently that the demons were looking for a human who was also half-demon, but until tonight he had assumed that this referred to Ember. Perhaps not, however.

"And they lost him because?" Dean asked.

"Because of the child's power," Castiel answered, thinking of the natural warding the child was giving off. "It hides him from both angels and demons… for now."

"Oh great!" Ember exploded. "Of course, he gets powers that hide him from demons… I get powers that attract demons like a damn beacon!"

Something clicked in Castiel's brain. This half-demon boys' powers hid him from angels and demons alike. Ember's powers attracted angels and demons alike. They not only attracted angels and demons in the way of leading them to Ember's location, but also on a more supernatural pheromone level, if there was such a thing.

Of course! Castiel had been so stupid! He had made the classic angel mistake that lately he had thought he had finally risen above. He had thought himself so different from humans, and even from the demons which were humans twisted by Lucifer, that he had considered himself above the base attraction that drew salivating demons to this woman. Even when the signs had been all around him, he had still ignored the obvious. Other angels had not seemed to suffer similarly around Ember… but none of them would admit to being attracted to a half-demon, would they? He certainly hadn't. Besides, he had been the only angel to ever enter her mind; he was confident of that, and it made him feel possessive, in a very human way.

Relief flooded through him. He was not demonic after all, not suffering some ailment as a result of the Fall…

"It seems like you may have powers that are the reverse of his," Castiel said finally.

"Wait a second," Ember said. "Do my powers… do they attract angels, too?"

"Yes," said Castiel. "And I must be honest with you, I'm extremely relieved. Now I understand these feelings I've always had for you. For a moment I was scared I was actually attracted to a demon!"

Castiel knew immediately that he had mis-stepped, but it was too late to retract his statement. Three things happened at once.

Sam exploded with laughter. Dean said, "Dude! Haven't you ever heard of bro code?"

Ember said, "Fuck you, Castiel! Fuck you and all your stupid angel friends!" and slapped him across the face.

***Ember POV***

October 15, Night

It was several minutes after Castiel's outburst before the group calmed down. Ember was still hurt by Castiel's words, and Dean kept shooting her looks as though he was afraid she might throw Castiel against a wall again. Castiel had apologized profusely and admitted that he "could see how you interpreted that differently than the way it was meant", and Sam had gotten Ember and Dean to calm down enough to focus on the task at hand after he'd finally stopped laughing.

"So, he's got, like, a force field around him?" Dean asked. "Well, that's great. Problem solved."

"With Lucifer risen, this child grows strong," Castiel reminded them. "Soon he will do more than just make a few toys come to life. Something that will draw the demons to him. The demons will find this child. Lucifer will twist this boy to his purpose. And then with a word, this child will destroy the host of heaven."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait," said Dean. "You're saying that Jesse's gonna nuke the angels?"

"Why?" asked Ember. "I'd never nuke the angels."

"You understand what's at stake," Castiel said, "That has already been determined. The angels want you alive. They think that if you were going to be twisted to Lucifer's purpose, you would have done so a long time ago. Or, at least, they think that for the time being you are doing more good than harm. This boy is different. He's still in his formative years, and there have already been deaths. We cannot allow this to happen. The boy must die. I am sorry, Ember."

And before Ember could send a blast of power his way to pin him, Castiel disappeared.

A few minutes later, Dean, Ember, and Sam broke down the door to Jesse's house. "Was there a guy here?" Dean asked in a panic. "In a trench coat?"

But the damage was already done. A very small action figure version of Castiel lay on the floor. Jesse was clearly terrified – his eyes were wide, and he was shaking slightly. "Was he your friend?" he asked.

"Him?" Dean asked. "No,"

"I did that," Jesse said. "But how did I do that?"

Both Dean and Sam looked at Ember. "Jesse… what have your parents told you about your birth?"

"They don't talk about it much," he said, his eyes getting wider. "But Mommy doesn't have any pictures of when she was pregnant like all my friends' mommies. Steve said maybe I was adopted."

"Well…. Steve was right," Ember said gently. "And your real father… well, he was a demon." Ember watched Jesse's eyes widen as if in slow motion.

"Finally, the truth comes out!" said a singsong voice from the doorway. It was Jesse's mother Julia, clearly possessed by a demon. She sent Dean flying across the room, and Sam as well.

Ember quickly pinned Julia against the wall. "You must have been very stupid to come here," Ember told the demon. She could sense that it was more powerful than a usual grunt… but not that powerful. "You must have known I travel with the Winchesters."

"That's why I didn't come alone," the demon said. And three more demons piled in through the door.

It was a "do or die" situation. Ember wasn't sure how many demons she could handle. Her power had quite clearly grown even since her fight with Bobby, if her interaction with Castiel earlier had been any indication, but she still wasn't sure she could take on all four demons. She felt the familiar power spring from her, however, far more powerful even than it had been earlier with Castiel. All four humans hit the back wall, and all four demons were dead.

"What did you do?" asked Jesse in alarm.

"They're okay," Ember said. "Look!"

And so they were. A few seconds later, a couple of the men began to stir. One by one, the three men got to their feet in Jesse's living room, all of them in various states of shock. It didn't take long for them to leave. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm out of here," the biggest man said, and the other two followed on his heels.

"What just happened?" Jesse asked in alarm.

"Jesse… over there is your biological mother. Her name is Julia."

"Is… is she okay?" Jesse asked.

"Just passed out," said Dean, who had gone over to feel for a pulse. "She should be fine when she wakes up."

"The thing in her was a demon," Ember said. "You're half demon, and half human. And so am I.. My name is Ember Nelson. This is my boyfriend, Dean Winchester, and his brother Sam. We hunt monsters. We're sorry we couldn't tell you sooner."

Jesse began to cry. "I… I don't understand," he said clearly very upset. "Why… why all of a sudden? Why did nobody tell me before?"

It was Sam who spoke. "There's a, kind of a… a war, between angels and demons. And you're a part of it," Sam explained.

Jesse looked at Ember for reassurance, but Ember bowed her head. "You're very powerful," Ember said. "Both of us are. We're more powerful than the demons or the angels. I just killed four demons. And the man you turned into an action figure… he was an angel."

"I'm just a kid!" Jesse said, crying. Her heart went out to him. She knew he was terrified.

"I know," Ember said. "But the truth is that you're lucky to have managed to stay hidden from both sides until now. You'll have to choose a side before this whole thing is over."

"And if you choose the wrong one," Sam said, "Millions of people will die."

"I'm really… I'm really half demon?" Jesse asked, disbelieving.

Ember looked at him with pity, her heart breaking for him. She couldn't imagine going through this at the age of 9… it was bad enough going through it at the age of 13. Even at 13, she had barely been able to do a few party tricks… she had been nowhere near as powerful as they both were now, with Lucifer on the rise.

"Yes," Sam said. "But you're half human, too. You can do the right thing. You've got choices, Jesse. But if you make the wrong ones, it'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jesse yelled, his voice breaking.

"Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice, even if I couldn't," Sam said. Ember looked up and realized that Sam was staring at her. She gave him a slow smile. She knew how sorry he was about everything that had happened with Lucifer. Finally, finally, she was beginning to forgive him.

***Ember POV***

October 16, Very Early Morning (Still Dark)

"Okay, what now?" Jesse asked.

It had been another half an hour of explanations, but Jesse finally fully trusted them and understood his situation. Ember was beginning to get excited. She had never known another half demon before. She had been scared for him, and scared for the rest of the world, when she first found out about him. Now, however, she was optimistic, relieved, and even happy. She could teach him how to control his power. She could make sure he was kept in check. Maybe she could move him back to Bobby's and they could hide there, together, until they were needed for the Apocalypse.

Apparently Dean was thinking the same thing. "Now we take you someplace safe," Dean said. "Get you trained up. You'd be handy in a fight, kid."

"What if I don't want to fight?" Jesse asked.

"Jesse," Ember said. "You're powerful. More powerful than… than me, even, I think. I'm not sure yet. That makes you…"

"A freak?" Jesse said.

"To some people, maybe," Sam said. "But not to us. See, we're kind of freaks ourselves."

"I can't stay here, can I?" Jesse asked.

"No," Dean said. "The demons know where you are, and more will be coming."

"I won't go without my Mom and Dad."

"There's nothing more important than family," Sam said. "And if you really want to take them with you, we'll back your play. But you gotta understand…. it's gonna be dangerous for them, too."

"It'll be best for them if they don't know anything about you, especially where you are," Ember said. "I've had to move away from everything… my mother, my home, and even my friends. But it's kept them all safe." Except for Carl, she added to herself.

"Jesse, you're in this fight," Dean said, "and you're in it until the end. Win or lose."

"What should I do?" Jesse asked.

"Come with us," Ember said. "We can go back to my father's house. His house is protected from demons and angels, and you'll be safe there. Dean can add some protection to your parents' home before we leave, too. Things they won't notice, but will keep them safe."

"It's not fair, I know," said Sam.

"Can I go see my parents?" Jesse asked. "I… I need to say good-bye."

Ember smiled at him. "Sure, kiddo."

Twenty minutes later, however, Jesse had not come back downstairs. Ember knew, without having to go upstairs, what he had done. She had hoped against hope that he'd make a different decision. But, if she was honest with herself, she'd known from the start that she'd never see him again.

***Ember POV***

Late October

It was nearly a week after their time with Jesse before Ember felt back to normal. She had been so close – so close – to having a real relationship with someone else like her. If she was honest with herself, she had always wanted children, though she had never considered having them, not since she found out she was half demon. For a second, Ember had gotten a glimpse of what it may have been like to have a child, and then it had been snatched away.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Castiel's lack of knowledge about the paternity of half-demons was highly frustrating. She finally had time to ask him about her paternity issues after the incident with Jesse was over and Castiel had been restored to his former self. "That I don't know," he told her. "You really ought to ask another angel these questions."

"Cas, you're the only angel I don't want to stab through the head with an angel blade," Ember said.

"Well, that's just highly unnecessary," he responded. He thought a second, then asked, "Don't humans have some way of telling who the father is?"

"Yeah, a paternity test," said Sam. "But Bobby would have to be involved in it, and he hasn't been the same since he lost his legs." The last few times they'd spoken with Bobby, he had been increasingly surly and grumpy.

"In that case, I'm not sure if I really even want the answer," Ember asked. "I mean, does it really matter?"

Sam and Dean stared at her. "I mean, Bobby's been my father for… well, for years. My Mom got back in touch with him after she found out I was half demon. No amount of demon or non-demon is going to make him any less my father. And maybe… maybe we just shouldn't tell him there might be a possibility that he's not actually my father."

Ember was just starting to get used to the idea of never knowing for sure whether Bobby was her father when the situation was taken out of her hands. "Why the hell didn't you tell me I might not be your father?!" Bobby roared over the phone to Ember.

"What – how did you-…"

"How did I find out? You must've told your mother about Julia and Jesse, right? Well, your mother called and asked if I could pay a visit to Julia, teach her how to protect herself, like I did you two."

Shit.

"Bobby, I'm sorry!" Ember said. "I mean, you've been in the hospital, you know, and-…" She knew immediately it had been a stupid thing to say, and so she quickly backtracked. "It doesn't matter whether I was conceived by some damn demon or not, does it?" Ember thought for a second that maybe Bobby would look at her differently now.

"Of course it doesn't matter, ya idgit!" Bobby screamed at her from the other end of the line. "It'd just be nice to be told things once in a damn while! Instead, everybody thinks I'm too old and sick to find out bad news!" And Bobby hung up on her, and didn't speak to any of the three of them for a week.