Well, it took forever in coming, but here is the final chapter of Timelines. I still don't like the ending and I changed it three times! UGH!
Carthage
Winchester and Co. walked down the empty streets, everyone on the lookout. Leigh gave Cas a questioning glance and the angel nodded.
"There's Reapers everywhere. I'm going to find Lucifer." he said.
"Cas!" Leigh called as he began to walk away. He stopped and turned.
"Don't forget about the trap, okay?" she asked him. He nodded and continued walking off. As he disappeared, Meg appeared. She zeroed in on Leigh immediately.
"You are not of this time, little girl." she sneered. Leigh just stared at her, reminding the others of the plan. Everyone scattered as Meg set her hell hounds upon them. Just as Leigh had said, Dean was attacked by one.
"Keep going!" Leigh screamed as Jo paused and looked back at Dean. Sam herded her towards an abandoned shop as Leigh fired a shot at the invisible hellhound. The bullet hit it in the flank and she felt it turn towards her. Too late, she started running and the hellhound left upon, tearing apart her abdomen. She screamed as Dean fired another shot into the hellhound. As Sam reappeared as backup, the eldest Winchester hoisted her into his arms. They managed to get into the shop before the hell hounds were upon them again. Dean set Leigh down and she coughed, holding her abdomen.
"Dean. Dean! Listen to me, okay? I've got Blessed Salt* in my bag. Put a line in front of the door. It should keep them at bay for a while." she said. Dean nodded and did what she said, then raced back to her.
"I thought you said you weren't trying to get yourself killed." Dean said. She laughed, then grimaced.
"I wasn't." she replied, a bloody hand fumbling at her neck, "I'm so cold."
Dean shook his head as she grasped what she was looking for, her eyes starting to close.
"Hey, you stay awake, alright? Cas will be here soon, remember? You told him about the trap. He'll come." he told her as she pulled a locket from her neck. She grabbed his hand and folded it over the necklace. He looked down at their hands, slick with her blood.
"I love you, Daddy." she whispered. He looked up at her sharply and she gave him a small grin before her eyes fluttered closed and she went almost deathly still. Thankfully, he could still see the shallow rising and falling of her chest. He opened his hand and saw the locket in the middle of his palm. He flipped it over and read the inscription on the back.
Happy Birthday Natalie
Love Daddy
He opened it and stared at the picture inside. It wa a family photo of him and Jo, and the girl lying almost comatose in front of him. He tucked the necklace into her shirt pocket and stood up.
"No. Castiel, get your feathery ass in here now. This is not how it ends, Cas. Get in here and save my daughter!" he yelled, other three hunters in the room. Sam looked at him with worry as Cas appeared. The angel took one look at the still girl and immediately knelt by her side.
"Natalie, what have you done?" he whispered.
"Cas? What about the baby?" Jo asked, as she walked over. Cas gave an apologetic glance towards the unconscious Natalie.
"The child is half-angel, a nephilim. It is surviving due to the residual angel grace transferred from the father, but it won't last for long. Not without Natalie's lifeforce." Cas said as he placed a hand over the gaping wound in Natalie's side. He concentrated for a moment and soon a glow emitted from his palm. Dean waited anxiously as the glow faded. When she didn't stir, he turned towards the Angel.
"I have healed her completely, Dean. There is nothing more I can do."
As Cas finished his sentence, Natalie coughed and opened her eyes. A tired grin stole over her lips as she looked at Cas.
"Knew you'd be here." she said. He glared at her.
"Do you know how dangerously stupid that was? You could have killed that child, which is half m-." he was cut off as Natalie slapped a hand over his mouth.
"I get it. You're angry with me. But, you will NOT tell what you promised you would not." she said, leveling a glare at him also. She shifted her gaze to Dean next, who looked just as angry as Cas.
"You're really my daughter?" he asked. She nodded.
"Then as your father, I have the right to know what the hell you were thinking getting yourself mauled by a hellhound!" he said angrily. She sat up.
"I told you I would do anything to save Jo. And in saving Jo, I've saved you and Sam. If Jo had died today, Sam would have gone to the pit and returned with no soul. You would have lost everything worth living for. I'm sorry that I scared you, but I won't apologize for what I did." she told him. He stared at her.
"Are you really pregnant with a half-angel child?" he asked. Natalie threw a glare at Cas.
"Relax, I did not tell who the father was, Natalie." the angel said. She turned back to Dean and nodded.
"Yes. But I can't tell you who the father is. I'm sorry. Besides, Gabriel and Balthazar are expecting me back soon. I can feel the spell wearing off. Time is almost up." she said. Dean wrapped his arm around her in a half-hug.
"Thank you, Natalie." he told her. She grinned at him, one he recognized as Jo's grin.
"You're welcome, Daddy." she told him. And with that, she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Dean noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It was Natalie's locket.
"I'll be taking that." a voice said. Dean looked up.
"Balthazar?" Cas asked. The other angel waved a hand.
"Hello, brother. Congrats on the kid, by the way. Now, I'll take that necklace and pop back." Balthazar said, holding out his hand. Dean placed the locket into his hand and the angel disappeared.
"Wait, did he say 'congrats on the kid'?" Sam asked.
24 years later
Natalie appeared in the kitchen of the bunker. Sam, who was fixing what appeared to be breakfast, merely looked up before turning back to the pancakes on the stovetop.
"You've been gone for almost 72 hours. You mom and dad are in the library. Research for a case. Cas is with Balthazar and Gabriel in the study." he told her.
"Thanks, Uncle Sam." she said, turning to leave. His voice stopped h.
"Natalie, your parents and angel may not remember all that happened in Carthage, but I do. You need to tell them. Don't let your fears rule you." he said, glancing towards her abdomen. She nodded.
"Ok. I made a promise, anyway." she said.
"A promise to what?" came a voice from behind her. She whirled around to see her parents and the three angels standing there. She took a deep breath and looked at the three out of four people who meant the most to her in the world.
"Mom, Dad, Cas, do you remember the details of Carthage? Specifically the kickass girl who saves your butts?" she asked, slightly cringing when Cas fixed her with a stare. Dean nodded.
"Yeah. Funny, she kind of looked like you, talked like you too. But, she was pregnant with a nephilim-Natalie Winchester!" her father said.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"Are you pregnant?" the question came from the angel to her right, instead of her father. She turned towards him, her angel, and met his eyes.
"What would you do if I said yes?" she asked quietly. Glancing towards the other two angels, she noticed they were talking in hushed tones, Gabriel making sporadic hand gestures. She dragged her eyes back to Cas' face.
"This." he told her, before kissing her, much to the horror of her father.
"Oh, God. My eyes." he complained. Jo punched him in the shoulder.
"Shut up. We're going to be grandparents!" she said. As Cas and Natalie made their way to the living room, Balthazar called her name. She turned and just barely caught the golden object he tossed to her. She held up her locket and looked back at him.
"You forgot it. And Gabe is working out a way to keep you safe on missions. Because we all know you aren't going to sit around for nine months and do nothing."
She smiled, "Thanks Bal."
Well, there is the end. I hope you enjoyed my dabble into a time fic. Since I have a different scene for when Cas arrives to heal Natalie, I am thinking about posting it. It's the same ending, just that scene is different.
*Blessed Salt: Blessed Salt is basically blessed salt. I read that it can potentially keep hellhounds at bay. Coming from the future, it makes sense that Natalie would know a few things the boys don't yet.