Having a gun pointed at her was the most surreal experience in Rachel's life. Her entire world narrowed two one thing: the barrel of the gun. There was nothing else. Just the gun and the rushing of blood in her ears.
Painfully, Rachel worked moisture into her mouth. "John... John, please. Don't. Please. Oh God." Her brain wouldn't work. It just kept repeating those few words, begging him for her life, not even caring why he might want to take it in the first place.
John took a step forward. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"I don't... I don't..."
And then, her world got a little wider as a hand clamped around her throat and pulled her back against a lean body.
"You really want an honest answer to that?" a voice drawled.
The gun faltered. Then, John readjusted his aim to just above Rachel's head.
The voice behind Rachel tisked. "John, I'm surprised. I took you of a lot of things, but stupidly reckless wasn't one of them."
"Let her go," John demanded.
Knuckles caressed Rachel's cheek. "If you had this pretty little thing where I do, would you be letting go?"
John took another step forward. "I'm not joking."
"Neither am I. You summoned me, John. Now, you can shoot. But, chances are, you're gonna miss." The demon yanked Rachel off the floor, completely shielding its stolen body.
Rachel couldn't help the cry that escaped her. She bit her lip, tasted blood. Begged John with her eyes to tell her what to do. It was a demon, the demon and if she struggled...
John gave a minute shake of his head at Rachel.
The demon dropped her back to the floor. "Did you really think you could trap me?"
"Oh," John said. He lowered the gun. "I don't want to trap you. I want to make a deal."
The demon lowered his face next to Rachel's and turned her head. His eyes were orange, slitted. Scary. She'd never seen a demon this close up before, and, involuntarily, she tried to pull away.
It held her tighter. "Did you hear that, little princess? He wants to make a deal with the devil. Now, does that seem likely? I think that old John-boy here is trying to pull a fast one on me."
She pulled her eyes away from the demon to John.
"No tricks," John said. "I give you the Colt and the bullet, you do something for me."
The demon straightened. "And what is it you want me to do for you?"
"I want you to save Dean. Bring him back."
"John," Rachel said, but the demon tightened its hand around her neck.
"Why John, you're a sentimentalist," the demon purred. "If only your boys knew how much you loved them."
"It's a good trade," John said. "You care a hell of a lot more about this gun than you do Dean." His eyes flicked down to Rachel's and he grimaced.
Rachel could feel blood from her lip dripping slowly down her chin. Her body shook in the demon's arms.
"Don't be so sure. He killed some people very special to me." It paused. "But you're right, he's not much of a threat. And neither is your other son." The demon tilted Rachel's head back. "Smart little girl here. Figuring out what I was really after. I was bored, princess, I really was. And you are so very fun to play with." It bent its head and licked her chin. "But my experiments failed, and Sam's not a threat," it whispered. "It looked back up at John. "You know the truth, right? About Sammy and the other children?"
It was getting harder to breathe. Sweat gathered at her temples, at the base of her spine.
"Yeah," John said, just loud enough that Rachel could hear over her gasping breath. "I've known the truth awhile."
"But Sam doesn't, does he? You've been playing dumb."
A muscle in John's jaw twitched. "Can you bring Dean back, yes or no?"
The demon's thumb caressed Rachel's jaw. "You probably want to know the answer, too, don't you princess?" it asked. "Well, the answer is no. I can't."
Despite the fact that Rachel knew what a colossally bad idea this was, her heart sank at the revelation.
And then the demon said, "But I know someone who can. It's not a problem."
John's expression didn't change, but Rachel could see him relax just a little bit. "Good." He looked at Rachel, then back. "Then let her go. And, before I give you the gun, I'm going to want to make sure Dean's all right with my own eyes."
The demon slid its free arm around Rachel's waist in a tight embrace. "Ah, John, I'm offended. Don't you trust me?"
John looked amused.
The demon snorted. "Fine.
"So we have a deal?"
Please say yes, Rachel begged silently. Her palms were sweating and she didn't know how much longer her legs would support her.
"No, John, not yet. You still need to sweeten the pot." It ran its thumb down her face again, over her neck. Traced her collarbone.
John's fist tightened, knuckles going white. "With what?"
"Something else I want as much as that gun. Maybe more." It stepped forward, propelling Rachel towards John. "Your boy killed my children, John. Why should I give you back one of yours without something in return?"
"What?"
"I'm short two children. We can either balance the scales by letting Dean go. I'd be one behind. Or you help me replace one of the children I lost."
John's eyes widened and he looked from the demon to Rachel and back again. "I don't understand."
"Let me explain. You see, demons like me need a host to incubate our offspring until they're ready to take their own forms. Mostly, we use humans. I want to use this one." He squeezed Rachel's chin. "Ain't she pretty?"
"What. You want my permission or something?" John asked. "Because I think you're asking the wrong person."
"No, I don't want your permission. Not for her. I want permission to use you. See, it rather tickles my fancy to use a Winchester for my incubator."
"Me?"
"Why not? You're proven stock. Strong, hard to kill. And the little princess here comes from a long line of strong, healthy folk. The risk is minimal." It moved closer to John again, until Rachel was mere inches away. It forced Rachel to look up at John. "Look at her. Pretty. Young. Untouched. It'll be fun for both of us. I repossess you, pop the cherry, do the deed, and bang. I've got my offspring nestled right here," it placed its hand over Rachel's womb, "and you've got yours, alive and kicking."
"Oh, God, please," Rachel sobbed. She didn't mean to, but all she wanted was to get away.
"God isn't here, little girl." It leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I'll make it real good for you, baby. Ever hear about the wonders of sex with demons? It's not lies. I'll ruin you for every other man for the rest of your life, and you'll love every minute of it."
Tears poured down her cheeks.
"I can't..." John seemed at a loss for words. "She's like my daughter."
"She's not like mine. Not anything like mine. Of course, she has the benefit of being alive, unlike mine, so there is that." The demon put its hand on the back of Rachel's neck. Squeezed and pushed her away, towards John. "One little baby you'll have a good fifteen years with. Think about it. Fifteen years of living in a house, knowing your family is safe. Fifteen years of a child with your eyes and her looks. And then, just as all those damn human hormones start turning your baby into a little demon, I'll drop by. Release my child, and we'll be gone. And for all that time and more, you'll have your son. Dean."
"Like we're all going to be some happy family knowing what that baby really is," Rachel said through her tears.
"It'll seem normal long as it's in human form. And you'll have fifteen years of trying to make sure it don't go bad. You'll fail, but humans always try."
She wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "We won't be happy."
"Well, now, darlin'. I really don't care." It squeezed again.
John clenched his fist. Pressed it against his forehead. "There has to be some other way. Something else you want."
This time, the demon did press Rachel into John's body. Held her, face pressed into his chest. She struggled against it, but it was much too strong.
"Maybe, maybe not. But look at her, John. Feel her. Why on earth would you let this opportunity pass? Make the balance sheets right. Get me off your back a little while. Save your son."
Rachel stopped breathing as John's hands ran up her arms. Over her shoulders. Around her back. He turned her face to the side, so her cheek was pressed into her chest. Her tears soaked into the fabric of his shirt.
"What's my other option?"
"Oh no, John. You make a choice. Yes or no to an hour of unbelievable pleasure? Not until you decide do we move onto door number two."
Rachel clenched her fists in John's jacket.
John exhaled loudly. "No. No, I won't let you possess me to replace your child. Find another way."
The demon slipped its hand underneath Rachel's shirt and said, "Believe me. I will, John." Then it stepped back. "Door two then. Final door. Choose this, or your son dies. Also an effective way to restore the balance sheet, by the way."
"What do you want?"
"A life lost for a life saved. Specifically, John, your life lost. I am sick of you. I want you gone. Now, the question is, do you love your son enough to give your life up for his?"
Rachel was about to pull away, tell John that he couldn't do this, that she and Sam would find another way, but John must have sensed it. He clapped his hand over her mouth and held her head down.
"Yes," he said. "I'm willing. But I need to see Dean alive and well first."
"Of course. My pleasure." It leaned back into Rachel's ear and whispered, "Don't worry about the baby, princess. I have other ways of incubating my offspring. Little Noah looked mighty fine."
John yanked Rachel away, shielding her from the demon with his body. "My son."
"I'm going. Nice talking with you." There were receding footsteps and then just silence.
"Christ," John whispered. His arms tightened around Rachel. His forehead pressed into the top of hers. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault." She couldn't stop crying. "I'm sorry I came down here."
"Did you come down voluntarily?"
She bit her lip and tried to remember. "I don't know. I don't remember how I got down here."
He smoothed down her hair. Then he let her go, stepping back. "It probably influenced you somehow."
Rachel nodded. Wiped her eyes and nose. "What is it planning for Sam?"
"I don't want you worrying it."
"But..."
"Your number one priority is Dean," John interrupted. "Do you understand that? I don't want your focus of him. Let Dean worry about Sam. You take care of Dean."
"But John..."
"No." He sighed. Took her hand. "They're going to need you. Dean's going to need you."
"I know." Tears welled up again. "I can't believe you..."
"You won't tell them. They'll only blame themselves. And I was glad to make this choice."
Rachel nodded, tears slipping from her eyes.
John wiped them away. "What did it say just before it left?"
She shook her head. "Nothing important. Just trying to scare me." She took a deep breath. "We should go make sure Dean's all right." Rachel took John's hand.
John looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. "You're probably right. Let's go."
Rachel turned and started walking on through the boiler room when John tugged her hand, stopping her.
"Rachel," he said.
"Yes?"
He smiled. "I'm glad Dean found you."
She blushed. "Yeah, well. I'm glad I found him, too."
