Author's Note: Yay, this finally happened! Love this chapter. Let me know what you think in reviews!

I don't own Supernatural.

***Castiel POV***

December 13th, Early Morning

Castiel felt good, if confused. Ember had spent the last six hours talking with him as though they were friends again. She had laughed, and giggled, and even given him at least five glances that could've been construed as loving (he had counted). He wasn't sure if he was in Heaven, or if she was about to kill him. But Joshua had said to come to the gate, and she had driven him here…

"Are you sure, Ember?" he asked.

"As long as you're here, I know it's gonna be okay," she said, smiling up at him.

Suddenly, a cloud began to swirl over the sandbox, and Joshua appeared. "Castiel. Ember. It's good to see you."

"Hello, Joshua," Castiel said.

"I know you must be scared," Joshua said. "But don't be."

But then Joshua's mouth opened, and for a second time was frozen. Joshua looked like a grotesque statue… and then, with no warning, he exploded.

Castiel screamed, "No!" and attempted to step in front of Ember, who at the same time had attempted to step in front of him.

Dagon appeared in Joshua's place. "Ugh," she said, flinging ash out of her long black hair. Her eyes fixed on Ember. "Hey, girl. I made it here at the last possible second." She grinned. "J. K," she said, looking at Castiel. "Flipped your pal Kelvin ages ago, then smoked him. I've been here for hours."

"You stay away from her," said Castiel, succeeding this time in his effort to stand in front of Ember. He drew the Colt, but she ducked, knocking it out of his hand. Again. He'd failed Ember again… The Colt flew behind him.

And Dagon was on him again. She was beating him, once, twice, three times. "Look at him, your angelic defender," Dagon yelled to Ember. "You really thought he was gonna save you? This sad, fluttering, aimless little moth?" Castiel felt himself being lifted above her head, and he could hear Ember screaming.

Suddenly, he heard an engine revving in the distance, and headlights. It was Sam and Dean!

Dagon dropped Castiel, and suddenly Sam was tossed backward. Castiel struggled to recover, and he saw Dean taking aim with the Colt. Ember was doing her best to use her powers, but with the handcuffs still attached, she was nearly powerless.

Just as Castiel stood up and readied himself to jump back into the fight, Dagon teleported behind Dean. Castiel heard the crack of Dean's arm as it broke, and he grunted with pain.

"Yeah, time to take this off the board," Dagon said, and the next second, the Colt had been turned to melted ash. "Nooo!" Dean screamed.

"Okay, who wants ice cream?" Dagon said, advancing on Ember again.

Castiel stood in front of Ember, resolute, to the last. He would not let Dagon take her.

"Kid, come on," said Dagon. "It's just getting sad."

"Run," Castiel said to Ember.

But she didn't. Instead, Ember took his hand. Her hand felt warm and comforting, but there was something else, something -…"

"Aw!" Dagon chided. "Adorbs!"

Castiel felt the energy coming up his arm, and suddenly, he felt the child. It was his child, he knew that now. He understood. It was his child. And it was good…

Dagon raised her hand to deliver her final blow.

"Cas!" screamed Sam.

"No!" screamed Dean.

Castiel held up his hand, and caught her hand. He felt calm, and peaceful, with his other hand in Ember's, and the strength of their child surging through him.

Dagon asked, "How –?"

"Call it a miracle," he said fiercely, and he burned her to ash.

***Dean POV***

December 13th, Morning

"Cas?" exclaimed Sam, running toward where Castiel and Ember were standing. Castiel was breaking Ember's handcuffs. "What was that?"

When she was out of the handcuffs, Ember threw her arms around Sam, and he hugged her back.

"It was, um, it was me," said Castiel. "But it was also…" he looked at Ember. "You're hurt," he said, looking at Dean. He held out his hand, healing Dean's arm. After the healing was complete, Ember hugged Dean as well.

"Thank you for coming to fight for us," Castiel said sincerely to the two.

"Yes, thank you," Ember said. "As usual, you saved our bacon. I'm really, really sorry about the Colt, too."

"Are you okay?" Dean asked the two of them.

"I am," Castiel said. "I've been so lost. I'm not lost anymore. And I know now that this is my child… and, that he must be born with all of his power."

Sam shook his head. "Don't you think it's a little more… complicated than that?"

"It is," said Ember. "But… we'll call you. We can't afford to stand around, especially not here. I'm pretty powerful these days, but… not very mobile in a fight."

"Where are you going?" asked Dean.

Ember and Castiel looked at each other, a very sappy, unashamedly in love look. Dean wondered if they even knew what their faces clearly expressed. It reminded him of the look he'd seen on Sam's face when he'd let Eileen leave the bunker the week before. And, for the first time, he found that it didn't bother him. The deathly thin girl that stood with Castiel, who was 9 months pregnant, was not his Ember… she was Castiel's. And that was okay.

"We'll go on the run for awhile," Castiel said, as loudly as possible. "It's better if you don't know. You'll just have to trust me."

Dean smiled. "You'll call when you get somewhere safe?" he asked softly.

Castiel nodded. Using his angel powers, he broke the handcuffs on Ember's wrist.

"Wait!" said Ember. She turned to Sam. "Sam, if you love that woman, get her back in the bunker, immediately. I hope you've already changed the locks, a million times over. I spent enough time watching the Men of Letters while I was on the run, and they have weapons you can't even imagine. I don't know what the Men of Letters will send after her, but it won't be something she can fight on her own."

They all looked at Sam, who nodded, a scared look on his face.

Ember shot one more smile at Dean, and he recognized it as a smile of thankfulness, and of peace. And then they both disappeared.

Dean realized then that he felt better than he had in the past four months. Finally – Lucifer was back in the cage, Dagon was dead, and Ember would be safe, and would survive the nephilim. "Sam, I'm going home," he said. "And I'm gonna get some pie, and a beer, and some sleep, and then we're gonna get your girlfriend back."

***Castiel POV***

December 13th, Morning

When Castiel opened his eyes, the two of them were in what he could only describe as an elaborate home. He could see a bathroom with a Jacuzzi off to one side. The bedroom was huge and lavish, and there was a living room with a desk off to one side. In the middle of the bedroom was a couple engaged in what looked like extremely engaging sexual intercourse.

Horrified, Castiel turned toward Ember, but before he could catch her eye she was already teleporting them somewhere else.

This time, Castiel appeared in a smaller house. This house was more modest, with a smaller bed. It didn't appear to be well-kept, but it wasn't rundown either. Castiel could smell water nearby, so perhaps this house was on a lake or a pond.

"Sorry," Ember said, turning to him. "Sometimes my teleport spots are already occupied. I should've warned you, I teleport invisible."

"Where are we?" he asked Ember.

"A lake house," she said. "North Cove, Washington. It's one of my favorites. All of these are summer homes, and these people have been kind enough to tint their windows so the security guy can't tell that the light is on."

"How long have you been here?" he asked her.

She shrugged, waddling over to the small bed. "On and off, but mostly off. I've moved around." She sighed. "I can't continue to move around like I've been doing, though. I'm too tired these days. I need a place to stay until the baby's born. This is pretty out of the way… I suppose it'll do. I've got to sit down for a few minutes, and then I'll go get my stuff."

"Where is it?" Castiel asked. "I'll get it for you." He felt helpless. He felt like an idiot, actually. All this time, he should've been helping her. She was still so thin, and she'd been on her own now for so long…

She snorted. "Not likely. It's in a forest in Texas."

"What?"

Ember laughed, her shoulders heaving as she did so. Castiel thought she looked beautiful, but there was something else… it was almost as if she were happy for the first time in months. He could sense, somehow, that it had been a very long time since she'd smiled like this, a long time since she'd really had anyone to talk to. "There are places I can stay, and places I can leave my stuff. The places I can stay have nice beds, most of the time, but there's also an increased chance of other people being there… like you saw. So I can't leave my stuff there. When I teleport to a new place, I do so invisible, but I can't make my stuff disappear. So when I move around, I teleport, with my stuff, to some sort of forest or out of the way building. I leave my stuff there, and then teleport to a new place to make sure it's… you know… safe, and abandoned. Then I go back for my stuff."

Castiel's brain worked quickly. "And you've been doing this… for months now?"

Ember shrugged, though he thought he caught a slightly blameful look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ember," he said. "I'm sorry for everything. For not listening to you about the child, and for forcing you into this… this…"

Ember walked over to him slowly and put her hand on his. "You're here now… right?"

"Right," he said, placing his other hand over hers.

"And you're not going anywhere? You'll stay until the baby's born, and help me survive it?"

"Yes," he said, looking into her eyes.

"Thank you," she said, and pulled him into a hug. It was the first time in months – years, maybe - that he'd been this close to her, besides touching her hand and her stomach, and he felt suddenly light-headed. He was suddenly happier than he had felt in ages.

It felt so good to hold her again.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

After they returned from retrieving Ember's belongings, they made an additional trip to the gas station to steal drinks and some food. Ember seemed happy, and Castiel made sure that she ate a full dinner. Afterward, Ember plugged in her computer and turned on some Netflix. She gave Castiel a long-winded explanation about how Charlie had helped give her untraceable access to the internet wherever she was. Castiel didn't understand any of the explanation, but he liked to hear her talk.

Finally, Ember propped her computer up on a table and went to sit down on the sofa. Castiel sat down next to her, unsure of what else to do, but wanting to be close to her.

After about half an hour, Ember announced, "Cas, this sofa's uncomfortable as all hell, and I can't sit up anymore, and I'm cold. Wanna be my pillow?"

"Yes," he said, because he didn't know what else to say.

Thirty seconds later, she was tucked under his arm, his trenchcoat wrapped around her back and arms, and her head lying on the sofa's one tiny pillow in his lap. He still wasn't sure how she got there, but he liked it. For just a few hours, he could pretend that she was his again.

***Sam POV***

December 13th, Noon

Sam had called Eileen on her laptop seven times, and still no answer. The eighth time, however, he was in luck. "Eileen, I'm glad you finally picked up! Look, it's urgent! Ember said-…"

Eileen mimed "Stop!" with her hands.

There was a lot of sign language after that, and Sam's ability to understand it was limited, but he felt he did a valiant job overall. She eventually managed to communicate to him that he needed to call her back when he had a link that he knew was untraceable and not from the bunker.

Two hours later, he was at Charlie's computer. He'd been meaning to head out to Charlie's anyway, because it'd been awhile since they'd seen each other, so it was good to once again see a friend. Still, they had work to do. "Hey, Eileen, I'm at Charlie's house," he explained. "This computer is untraceable."

"It's great to finally meet you in person… ish," said Charlie flirtatiously from Sam's shoulder.

Sam rolled her eyes at Charlie, smiling.

"Look, Sam, I hate to be all girly about this," Eileen said, "But I think I might need to take you up on that offer to crash at your place for a little while. I think you were right about the Men of Letters… I think they're watching me. I think they're watching everything I do. I think I'm bugged or something. This is a new computer… I'm starting to get really paranoid."

"It's no problem," Sam said. He didn't dare talk about Ember in front of Charlie. Charlie was a good friend, and Sam knew that she missed Ember, but the less she knew, the better she would be. "How soon can you be back from Ireland? Where do you want me to meet you?"

"I actually left Ireland," she said. "I was hoping to shake whoever was tailing me, but I don't think I managed it. I'm in Chicago right now."

"I can meet you in Iowa in about 5 hours," said Sam.

***Castiel POV***

December 13th, Night

Castiel sat in a rocking chair, reading a book by candlelight. He felt as though none of this was real, as though he were in a happy scene from someone else's life. He didn't deserve to have a child, and he definitely didn't deserve to be happy about it. Above all, he didn't deserve to be sitting here, reading a book by candlelight, and watching Ember sleep.

Suddenly she started to moan. Within a few seconds she was thrashing about, and screaming. "Ember," he whispered quietly. "Ember, wake up!"

But it was no good. She had fisted the blankets, and she was saying, "No! No! You can't have him!"

He had to calm her. This couldn't be good for the child, much less Ember herself. He had to do something.

Without thinking, he had crossed the room in two strides and put two hands onto her head. He was in her mind.

He loved being in her mind. The attraction he felt to her due to her powers had only intensified over time, and being in her mind was pure bliss, even when she was having a nightmare. He had forgotten… forgotten how much he craved this… how much he loved this…

But he was here for a purpose. He could see her nightmare. Ember was holding a baby, and she was clasping Castiel's hand. Lucifer was there, too, and he was surrounded by fire. And he looked like Castiel, but also very, very different. This version of Castiel didn't wear a trench coat, but instead favored a simple shirt and pants. He looked much happier, but up close his face was formed into a sneer and his eyes were red – a distorted version of Castiel. And he was pulling Castiel and Ember closer to him, his arms outstretched. And she didn't want Lucifer, never again. It was Castiel's baby, and she loved Castiel-

"What the holy Fuck, Castiel!" Ember was screaming.

Castiel found himself pinned to the wall, and Ember was across the room, her arm thrown up in the air and an angry look marring her beautiful face. A second later, she had released him and his vessel was free to move again, but she was still glaring daggers at him.

"I- you were having a nightmare," he stammered.

"So you thought you'd go and read my mind?!" she exclaimed. "Who does that? I've had plenty of nightmares before you came along!"

"I'm sorry, I just thought you'd sleep better-…"

"You have no right to see what's going on in my head!" she screamed at him.

"You – you still love me," he said stupidly, because the words were playing on repeat in his own head, and he couldn't think of what else to say.

She froze. Very slowly, she seemed to deflate, the anger slowly leaving her features and resignation seeping in. "Castiel, I never stopped loving you."

In three strides, he was across the room and kissing her. Nothing else mattered – it was only her, and the rest of the world seemed to slip away. Her lips were parched, but still somehow soft, and endless. His tongue begged entrance and she allowed it, and Castiel was floating.

Castiel felt her stumble, and he caught her. He realized then that she was almost nine months pregnant, and it was really difficult for her to stay standing for that long, let alone let out that much exertion. He helped her back to the bed, loathe though he was to leave her. When he tried to stand up again, however, she pulled him back down to sit next to her, and began kissing him again.

"I don't… I don't understand," he said, looking into her smiling face.

"You broke up with me," Ember said simply. "That… that didn't mean I ever stopped having feelings for you. You must've seen that… when Lucifer was with you."

Castiel shook his head. "When he read your mind, he never let me see what he found out," Castiel admitted.

"Is it so difficult to think that I might still love you?" Ember asked. "You've loved me for… what, like 8 years? I mean…" Suddenly Ember looked doubtful. "You told me you loved me with Ramiel… but I suppose you thought you were going to die…"

Castiel shook his head, and tilted his chin up to look into his eyes. "I love you… I've loved you with everything I've had, for… for years now. And I'll never stop loving you. But… but I'm an angel. I mean, humans-…"

Ember rolled her eyes. "God damn you and your stupid angel elitism!" He could tell she was annoyed, but not angry.

"Ember," he said gently, "you know how I feel about-…"

"Fine," she said, teasingly, "Chuck damn then!"

He quirked a smile. "You know, that's not really much bet-…"

"Here," she said finally, and pulled his hand up to her forehead.

There was the blissful feeling again, like he was drowning in chocolate. And then memories assaulted him, one after the other, memories belonging to her. First he saw their kiss, from Ember's perspective, back when Dean had the Mark of Cain. Then the scene morphed to Charlie's apartment complex.

"You know it's only because he loves you, right?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know that," Ember said. "He won't even look at me."

"He's embarrassed," Charlie said. "He kissed another man's woman."

Ember shook her head sarcastically, holding up her now ringless finger. "You mean the man who threw me across the room and left to go do who knows what with who knows who?" she said, rolling her eyes.

Charlie sighed. "When was the last time he actually talked to you?"

Ember sighed too. "When we kissed," she admitted.

Charlie sighed again. "He can't avoid you forever," she encouraged.

The scene changed once again, and this time Ember had been crying. She was in a room that Castiel recognized immediately as Dean's, and Dean was there with her.

"Did you ever stop loving Castiel?" Dean asked her softly.

"No," was her quiet response.

"Will you ever love me again, the way you used to?"

Her eyes flitted up to Dean just for a second, before she once again looked down at her lap. Tears were falling onto her lounge pants. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She bit her lip, hard, visibly, drawing blood, but the tears finally stopped. Slowly, she turned to him. "I thought – I thought… I don't know what I thought."

She bit her lip again, and then continued. "I've never loved anyone the way I loved you. And we tried so hard, but in the end… in the end… I don't know, something happened, after Gabreel. And I kept thinking that we could start over, that things would get back to the way they were before, but they just… never did. And you've been so wonderful, and so supportive, and so great, that I just didn't want to-…"

"It's been the same for me, you know," he said.

"What?" she asked, looking at him with surprise.

"After you were with Cas… it hasn't been the same. I thought that it was, but…" He shook his head. "Things never really felt the same. And then we were both demons, and afterward I thought I was so lucky we were still together… but it was because it was familiar, wasn't it?"

The scene changed again, and this time Castiel recognized the scene – it was when they had said goodbye, after Amara.

"Look, if we survive this… I think I'm gonna take a break from the whole hunting thing," Ember was saying. "You know, with Dean gone, and all, I think it's just best if I sort of… lied low and took some time to heal." Because Castiel didn't know they had broken up weeks ago.

"It's not your fault," she said again, seeing the upset look on his face. "And I don't blame you, or anything like that. It's just… I think I need some… space. You know, a quiet life. For awhile." But she didn't want space, she wanted him to hug her and kiss her, but she had to protect the baby, and she knew Castiel would never accept it…

"I've never stopped loving you," she said, pulling his hand back from her face and holding it in front of them.

"Ember," he said in awe, and their lips met once more.