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Chapter 16: The Consequence

I had been awake for a couple hours. Dean and I had both been admitted into the hospital. He was only in for over night, but they didn't know about me.

I liked my job, but I was getting very tired of hospitals.

And I wanted to see Dean. Something wasn't right with me. The doctors kept coming in and they had this sad look on their faces but they wouldn't tell me what was going on.

So the only thing I could think of was that I was dying, and they didn't have the courage to tell me. I started bracing myself for that possibility when Gabi came in with the same look all the doctors had.

"Ok someone better tell me what is going on before I go insane." I croaked. She came and sat down next to me.

"Look Annie, the doctors thought it would be better for this to come from someone that you knew. And since they won't tell Dean, and Sam and John don't really feel right then I am your only option." She told me.

Oh God, I was dying. I knew it. This really wasn't fair. So I just took a deep breath and looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

But she didn't.

"Ok, so what is wrong with me?" I asked.

"I really don't know how you are going to take this Annie, I am a little afraid to tell you." She said honestly. But her honesty wasn't doing anything but pissing me off.

"Just tell me." I said with frustration. She sighed and went on.

"See, you probably don't remember because I am pretty sure you were unconscious but when we were in the car on the way to the hospital something else happened to you, something none of us would have expected." She told me. "It freaked all of us out because out of no where there was so much blood."

Ok this didn't sound good at all.

"You were still knocked out, but you were struggling and screaming. It sounded like you were in more pain then you were in before we left the house. And when we brought you in, the doctor's had put you under emergency watch for twenty four hours, which you are still under now because of all the trauma and…" I had to cut her off. This dodging the problem was getting on my nerves.

"Just get to the point Gabi." I stated blankly. She closed her eyes and reluctantly continued.

"You kind of lost something." She said quietly. Ok, so Gabi had never been very good at delivering bad news. She beat around the bush so much that sometimes you had to make her angry at you in order for her to tell you. I had a feeling that is what I was going to have to do.

"Lost what? My power? What are you talking about?" I said harshly. She bit her bottom lip before telling me everything.

"You kind of lost a baby." She said.

Ok now I was in shock. I wasn't dying, and I wasn't sick. But all of this happened I hadn't even known about it.

"No." I said in disbelief. "But I wasn't…I mean that isn't…"

"Why didn't you tell me Annie?" She asked. I stared at a spot on the wall.

"Because I didn't even know…" I told her.

It was quiet for a long time. I didn't really know how to feel. Part of me was almost crushed, and then the other part was almost relieved, while another part was so confused that everything seemed blurry.

I didn't understand… how could I have not known?

After the silence Gabi left me alone and I thought about everything. I had all the symptoms, being tired and feeling sick, all of that stuff. But I had been to busy to even pay attention to how I felt because I was to busy worrying about killing the Enchantress.

I couldn't even decide whether or not I would have even wanted it. I mean I definitely didn't want to stop what I was doing, and I hated having to sit still. And I would be moody and grouchy and all that stuff. Plus I would be sick half of the time.

So maybe I didn't want it. Or that is what I was trying to convince myself anyways.

I was up all night trying to convince myself, and I never took my eyes off of the wall.

When the nurses came in to bring me food and give me medicine, the pity in their eyes had gotten much more apparent, same with the doctors. Then, later that morning, Sam came in to visit.

"Hey Annie." He said, but I didn't answer. I just scrunched my eyebrows together and kept thinking about everything. "Look, I am really sorry about all of this."

That is what got my attention.

"For what?" I whispered.

"For what you lost and everything." He said, almost as if he didn't believe that I didn't know. I put on the fakest smile I have ever conjured and looked at him.

"Don't worry; I didn't lose anything that I knew I had, so it doesn't really count." I had been thinking that all night, and saying it out loud just helped me convince myself of it.

The worry in his face grew, but to a different kind of worry. He stayed for a while longer and tried to talk to me, but I didn't listen. I just kept saying something in my head over and over again.

'You can't lose anything that you don't know you have… you can't lose anything you don't know you have…'

The phrase was welding itself into my brain until it became undeniable.

It may not have been how I felt. But I forbid myself to be weak over this. I didn't want to feel it. So I wouldn't.

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(Gabi's POV)

Ok this just wasn't right. I knew Annie hated being and feeling weak but this wasn't natural for her at all.

She may hide her feelings but she would never deny them and never fake them. Until now that is.

Dean knew, I mean he was in the room when the doctor's told us. He was acting the same way. But unlike Annie, for at least one moment after he heard, you could see a flash of pain in his eyes. But Annie didn't even flinch. There wasn't a tear or anything. She just turned her head, and with that turned emotionless.

It had been three days. Dean was released but we all stayed. She still wasn't feeling anything. So I went in to get it out.

"Hey there Annie." I said cheerfully as I plopped down in the chair next to her bed. She looked at me and gave me a small fake smile.

"Hey Gabs." She said. I rolled my eyes. I was cutting straight to the chase.

"Ok look," I said directly. "We are all worried about you. You aren't doing anything. You sit here and stare at the wall all day with something going on in that thick skull of yours but you won't open up to any of us. You keep saying the same thing about not losing what you didn't know you had, but I don't think you really feel that way."

Her eyes were breaking down.

"I want to tell you…" She whispered. I softened my tone and looked directly at her.

"Then tell me." I said. "It is me, Gabi, your cousin slash best friend in the entire world. Who covered for you when you went out on supernatural missions, who let you boss her around just because you were older, and who always had your back no matter what. You know you can talk to me."

That triggered it.

"But I feel so guilty." She told me.

"Guilty for what?" I asked. She struggled with it, but got it out.

"For feeling halfway relieved." She said. I just looked at her.

"Relieved that you lost it?" I asked. She nodded. Ok now I was in shock.

"I mean, yeah I am sad and confused and angry, but those things don't even match up to how relieved I am. And I feel awful about it but I am twenty three… well almost twenty three years old, and my life hasn't even gotten close to the point where I am ready to be a mom. And I am sure as hell not ready to quit what I am doing. But even though I am relieved for all that, I can't help but feel guilty and be angry at myself for feeling that way."

I understood. Four days ago everything she had wanted to achieve was fulfilled, now she had her life back. And having a kid might slow down what she wanted. But then she said something that shocked me beyond belief.

"And I would never be able to tell Dean, there is no way he could handle it. I mean, he is way more immature then I am. Neither of us could do it." She said.

Apparently she said it at the wrong time.

Dean had been at the door, waiting to come in. And right after she said that, he walked in with the most confused expression ever.

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(Annie's POV)

He had heard. And the speech I had just given Gabi was a whole different one then what I planned to give to him. And he heard all of it.

Now I was scared. Gabi saw him and decided to leave and now he was sitting in the chair next to me. But he wasn't angry. Instead he grabbed my hand lightly.

"Do you really feel that way?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Depends on how much you heard." I said, practically giving myself away.

"Well I have kind of been standing next to the door ever since Gabi came in." He told me.

Shit. This wasn't good. Bu I just nodded. I figured being honest was my best bet right now. But for some reason, it was so much harder with him.

"I'm sorry I feel this way Dean, but I wasn't ready for that, and you weren't either and as much as it hurts maybe it was for the best…" I told him. He just nodded.

"I understand that part. But what I don't understand is how could you not tell me about this?" Wait… he didn't know that I didn't know? How wonderful.

"Because I didn't know." I said softly.

"You didn't?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nope, I was too concerned about finding the Enchantress and the ghost. I mean I had been feeling sick but I just pushed it aside and decided that there were more important things at stake then just my health. So I didn't even bother to worry myself or anyone else with it." I said honestly.

"How could anything be more important then your health Annie? For God's sake I have almost lost you a million times and you expect me to respond well to that?" He was almost angry now. And him being angry made me angry.

"I'm sorry! But there were innocent lives that could have been lost if I had delayed us with needing to go to the doctor! Think about it, if I hadn't pushed aside how sick I felt and found you when I did you could have been dead!" My anger was rising with every thought that came to my head.

"Oh, so now you are the hero? Look I swore to myself that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. But for some reason you always end up interfering with that plan." He said, almost yelling this time.

My anger rose to a higher level. And then, it happened. There were vases with flowers and glass picture frames in the room. My head was pounding from anger and exhaustion and it hurt. I clenched my eyes shut and brought my hands to my head. Dean's anger went to worry almost immediately.

"Annie?" He asked.

"Dean get down." I said.

"What?" He replied.

"Get down!" I yelled. Then all the glass in the room broke into a million pieces.

My anger was released. Dean wasn't injured and neither was I, but he looked at me in disbelief.

"So what Sam told me is true, you are a…" He struggled with the last word.

"Witch?" I asked. He shrugged and I nodded. "Yeah I am. I don't want to be, but if it is a burden I have to carry in order for the Enchantress to be dead, then I will take it."

He nodded and started to walk away. "Dean wait…" I called out. He turned around and looked at me.

"Look, I never needed a hero. I appreciate you for wanting to be one, but all I ever need was you to be the guy I fell in love with. The same arrogant, loud, funny, sweet, and not to mention very cute guy that crashed into me at the Inn in Pennsylvania." I told him. His face softened and he walked back over to me. "That is, if you still love me after all of this. I mean if you don't want to be involved with a witch then by all means I am… ok so I won't be ok with it but I will understand. And I mean I can still fight, especially now that I have all of these kick ass powers, even though I don't know how to use them yet… but they will come in handy once I do know how to and then I can fight off all that evil crap with out ever having to worry and…" But he cut me off.

"Annie…" He said laughing.

"Yeah?" I questioned. I was worried.

But instead of saying anything, he just kissed me. And that was all of the answer that I needed.