AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Less Angels and Demons than I thought would be in this chapter, but they are the main focus of the next chapter and they bring with them a cliffhanger.
WARNINGS: Language, Blood, Sex, Violence, Dark Themes

ENJOY!

xxxx

Zachariah wasn't entirely upset that Sam and Dean weren't doing as planned—he was furious.

It was his job to make sure that the Apocalypse happened and while there were others too, this was a very important task that had been assigned to him. Lana was back in the picture and while she was a wild card, she had that easily manipulated bleeding heart and if hers and Dean's offspring would bring about another vessel, than so be it. He looked up as Castiel came to him, summoned, but not trusting, smiling a bit.

"I see you came," Zachariah extended as a greeting.

Castiel nodded at him. "You were going to harm Lana if I did not and I cannot allow that to happen."

"No, you can't, can you? Her and Dean trying for an offspring means that I could be hurting an innocent and you won't have that, Castiel," Zachariah grinned. "Well, I wanted to bring you here to cut you a little deal."

"A deal?" Castiel asked him.

Zachariah nodded. "I'm afraid Heaven needs a bit of a task completed by Lana and seeing as how she trusts you…you are the person for the job."

"Why me?" Castiel asked, clearly confused.

He was helping the Winchesters instead of the angels—helping Lana because she'd aided him so much the last six months—and now Zachariah was sending him on a task for the angels? It just seemed strange to him that he was suddenly being so trusted again after everything that had happened and that was unfolding around them. Even though he wanted to follow every order that was laid out for him, Castiel also wanted to protect Lana, Lily, Sam and Dean with everything that he had…and he would. He was conflicted.

"Like I said, she trusts you," Zachariah told him with a nonchalant shrug. "She trusts you over all the other angels and that was always the plan. You told her about Dean, you gave her the nightmares so she could stay close to him—it was all part of the master plan. Now, I need you to make sure that she gets in touch with Crowley. Their spell isn't the right one…well…it doesn't have the right components. Either way, Heaven wants this exchange to happen because Florence can't run forever. Crowley is trying to make his move and because of that, we have to make a move too: we have to win."

Castiel nodded slowly. "So you want to get to Florence first…"

"Of course I do!" Zachariah responded with a laugh. "We have to throw her back to where she came from."

"You want to send her back to Purgatory?" Castiel asked slowly.

"Yes…because otherwise she and Lana are going to find out things about themselves that I don't want them to know…" Zachariah explained, but that was partially a lie.

Even Zachariah didn't know what they weren't supposed to know: that was above his pay grade.

xx

Lily stretched the next morning, turning over to snuggle her naked body up against Sam's. He chuckled gently and then hugged her, stroking her hair and kissing her temple gently. Sam enjoyed mornings like this where he got to wake up to Lily and just hold her for a few hours in the morning. Granted they were going to have to get up and deal with things, but right now it was just the two of them and he wanted to cherish the moment.

"Good morning," Sam whispered, kissing Lily's temple again.

She smiled and hugged him tighter. "Good morning,"

"I miss this," Sam told her.

"I miss it too—it was harder to get away with, with Dean being so clingy with Lana gone," Lily admitted with a nod. "Hopefully now, though, he has her back forever."

Sam chuckled and nodded. "I don't think he'll let her go again."

Lily was glad he had said that, nuzzling her nose against his pecks before kissing them, kissing up to his mouth as Sam chuckled some more. They kissed tenderly before Lily kissed him more passionately, Sam moaning into his mouth as she climbed on top of him. Resting against him, Lily kissed him some more with a smile on her face, pulling back and stroking his hair as she rested her arms against him and looked him in the eyes.

"We were brought into this for a reason," Lily said slowly. "We were sent to Lana because we're part of this bigger picture still. Satan can still possess you, if you let him—which I know you won't—but as a vessel, we're still in this. You're still psychic."

Sam nodded slowly. "Sadly, you're right, Lily."

"I really wish I wasn't," Lily admitted with a smile.

"The angels and the demons aren't going to stop until one of them gets what they want," Sam said with a sigh.

"They want the Apocalypse and the fact that both sides do, is definitely a bit disconcerting," Lily agreed sighing.

They were aware that their part in this wasn't done yet, but even though they knew that, they kissed each other again and decided to ignore it. The two of them had a couple of hours to kill before meeting back up with Lana and Dean and they were going to take advantage of it, just like Lana and Dean were going to. Dean smiled as he stirred, glancing over at Lana lying there sleeping.

He reached over to stroke her hair, smiling when she did and then rolling his eyes playfully when she turned away from him. It was all part of their game and though she groaned gently, Dean pulled her to him, her back to his front, and then he nipped at her ear. She couldn't ignore how that made her feel, and she turned over in his arms, kissing him tenderly on the mouth. Dean grinned, letting his hands run up and down her, fingers slipping underneath her tank top.

"Oh, do you think you're getting lucky?" Lana asked him with a laugh.

Dean nodded, kissing her jaw to her neck. "We have a couple of hours before we meet Sam and Lily at the diner—Sam and I went through the plan three times."

"You two just wanted to get lucky," Lana teased before she pressed her body against his. "Not that I'm complaining…"

"Of course not," Dean told her, kissing her nose. "How would you like to—"

Dean trailed off when he felt Lana slip her hand into his pajama pants, and closed his eyes, smirking as she started to nibble on his chin. He honestly hadn't thought the morning would play out like that, but he let Lana tug his shirt off and then let his eyes focus on her as she pulled off her tank top. They then settled there on her bra and he smiled loving everything about it.

"Nice choice," Dean said as he settled into the bed.

Lana rolled her eyes playfully this time. "You're not gaining back control. I believe it was you who taught me that sex should be spontaneous, yeah?"

"Yes, I did," Dean replied with a grin. "Though something tells me that all this assertiveness will get passed to me eventually…"

"Alright, probably," Lana admitted with a laugh.

Just like that she was kissing him again, hand sliding back down his body and then she turned over on her side, Dean sidling up right next to her, spooning her. He took her hand in his, fingers interlacing and pressing into the pillow, Lana making a noise into her pillow as he slipped in from behind. She appreciated Dean's needs to be different and spontaneous and while he would never cheat on her, it made her feel better about keeping him. Besides, it kept the bedroom life exciting as well and Lana was always up for new things even though she was always awkward at and about it at first.

Lana turned so she was on her stomach, Dean using his free hand to move her hair out of her face, mouth and teeth on her neck as he sank in deeper. The noises she was making was music to his ears, louder noises coming from him as she clenched and moaned his name into the pillow. These days Dean felt like he was making things up to her, trying to make her hit her peak before he did, moaning against her and biting her shoulder as he hit his, but Lana was feeling a little bad about it. She liked it when he went over the edge first too.

"That was good," Lana said smiling, her eyes closed as she reached back to stroke his hair.

Dean nodded, kissing the back of her neck reverently. "That was very good."

"I love you," Lana told him slowly.

She hadn't said it since Dean had come back into her life, but she wanted him to know it and when he turned her over so he could see her face, he kissed her lovingly. The smile she'd brought to his face was a smile that no other could bring and she knew he felt the same way even though he didn't say it much. 'Love' wasn't really a thing that he did, but she was the exception and because of that she made sure that he knew that she knew.

"This time will be different, right?" Lana asked him suddenly, Dean pulling back to look her in the eye.

He cupped her chin and nodded. "We will take every precaution."

"Even though it's more dangerous now?" Lana asked, nodding when Dean did. "Are you ready for all of—"

Dean cut her off with a kiss, nodding into it, Lana nodding too and just wrapping her limbs around him as he rested against her. She just kept asking if he was sure and regardless of the fact that if he kept thinking about it he might talk himself out of it, Dean wanted this. This wasn't like it was with Lilith and he wouldn't let it be. Lana was going to be who she was and then on top of that, she was going to be a mother because this was his family and if there was any part of that future he wanted selfishly for himself, it was Lana and the kids.

When Lana woke up, she could feel the warmth on Dean's side of the bed so she knew he was there, and she felt the sudden need to talk to him. Lana didn't really want to wake him up, but it was the middle of the night and she'd been dreaming about things and wanted to talk. Everything with Lilith was driving her crazy and having Dean back and expecting a baby…it just felt too good to be true. Unfortunately, thinking that made her feel like things were coming.

"Are you awake?" Lana whispered, turning over.

Dean rolled over and nodded. "Yeah."

Lana opened her mouth to tell him what was going on, but then she closed it—she couldn't do it. She had to deal with these feelings on her own because she could be wrong. She had been stressing more than normal because she was having a baby and because of the seals breaking and Uriel threatening her and right now she had to just let it go. If the feelings got worse or didn't go away, then she would tell him and not a moment before.

"I love you." Lana told him.

Dean smiled and kissed her softly. "I love you too."

She returned the kiss gently, holding him close to her and feeling really happy that he cuddled with her as much as he did. He'd told her once that Cassie was the only other one to get that kind of treatment—he was normally just in and out—and that even with Cassie it didn't mean what it meant now. Those romantic moments always got him more points with her and he had done them without knowing before he had committed as well.

"Was that all you wanted to tell me?" Dean asked and Lana nodded, kissing him one more time, and then smiled a little smile and got out of bed.

"I need coffee." Lana told him softly.

Dean laughed and rolled his eyes. "Is that healthy? You have a baby growing inside of you and it's the middle of the night."

"I don't think it's really wise to argue with a pregnant woman." Lana responded with a smile. "I'll be fine, I promise."

Dean just nodded at her and though Lana knew he was sad that she was up from the bed, she headed downstairs to get her caffeine fix. Lana was even gladder to see Sam in the kitchen with coffee brewed, and she smiled at him, him looking up when she turned on the light. Lily was obviously still sleeping in the guest room and so Sam and Lana nodded at each other, and he chuckled a little as Lana got herself coffee. They both leaned on the island counter for a good while before Sam opened his mouth to speak first.

"You're keeping some stuff to yourself." Sam told her.

"Yeah," Lana admitted and took a sip of her coffee before placing her head on the table hard, unable to keep anything from her best friend.

Sam reached over and stroked her hair. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No," Lana mumbled into the counter. "How are you and Lily?"

Sam chuckled a bit. "Dealing—I'm feeling demon blood purged, she's feeling forgiving and sooner or later you're going to tell me why you're so forlorn. You should be happy—you're having a baby."

Dean remembered how he had stumbled downstairs to hear part of the exchange of words near the end and then soon after that baby was taken from him. He'd never realized just how much he had loved it until the moment Lilith made her move and Lana was inconsolable for weeks. Then he'd pushed her away and now, thinking about it, he held Lana tightly and showered her face with kisses, Lana stroking his hair and nodding. She could feel the guilt coming off of him in waves, so she ran her hand down his arm to his hand, grasping it and smiling as their fingers interlaced.

"Hey," Lana said gently, nuzzling Dean's nose with hers when he looked at her. "I have faith that we'll get through this, okay?"

Dean nodded and kissed her gently, running his hands down her legs and making sure they were locked around him. "Well, I'm going to double check our work, and then we're going to shower and then we're going to meet Sam and Lily."

"Best plan ever," Lana replied with a smile, moaning into Dean as his lips captured hers and he started their morning fun over again.

xx

Lana had been brushing her hair when Castiel popped in on them, Dean putting his shoes on and sighing when the angel made an appearance. He swore that Lana's 'friendliness' was bordering on flirting and while he hadn't said a thing, it irked him when she gave him that smile she was giving him right now—the one she always gave him. Normally he enjoyed seeing Castiel and he could totally look past it, but right that moment he was feeling vulnerable and he didn't know why, so he was on high alert.

"What brings you here, Cas?" Dean asked him.

Castiel looked at him. "I hear that you are trying to contact Crowley."

"Oh? Angels?" Lana asked as she sat down next to Dean on the end of the bed. "Because I've been really good at hiding my tracks here."

"Crowley is not an easy demon to summon," Castiel continued, avoiding the question for now to do his duty to Heaven. "Why do you want to summon him?"

"Because he sent Anarazel after my mother and then after me," Lana explained with a nod.

Dean nodded as well. "Don't worry though—Lana killed him."

"With her powers?" Castiel asked them.

The way that he said that made Lana make a face, Dean noticing the tension that suddenly rose in the room. Her powers were a subject of much debate and Dean knew that they always would be no matter what the situation. In fact, he had given both Lana and Sam a hard time about the demon blood inside of them and sometimes he wished he hadn't been such a dick about it, but there were reasons to be cautious. Every time they used their powers it felt to Dean and Lily like they were losing them.

Lily had gone through so much with Sam hopped up on demon blood and while Dean went through a lot too, it was more emotional for her. She was there for him as much as she could be, but in the end she had to make a tough choice to make him make the right choice and Dean wondered when that time would come for him. He and Lana had fought about her powers and about her heritage over and over, but in the end, she was Lana and she was on their side and it was different than Sam. Sam could still do his psychic thing, he just wasn't as powerful but that was fine—made him less demonic.

Lana was demonic because of her birthright.

Still, all of the fireballs and the nose bleeds and the angelic-like healing was enough to make other hunters have a field day and considering there was more she could do, sometimes Dean was scared. There was this look in her eyes when they flashed that yellow that marked that she was a special breed of demon just like her father, Azazel, that just sent chills down Dean's spine. Sometimes, he wondered if he was only okay with her using her powers when he didn't have to see it…it was certainly easier than admitting that he was screwing a monster.

Even so, even thinking like that, Dean started to hate himself because Lana wasn't a monster. She didn't choose her parents and she didn't go on rampages trying to kill everyone and so Dean had been able to let it go. Scared of her powers or not, he was in love with her and he wanted a future with her, and he would live in this shade of grey and he would love every second of it. So having Castiel make Lana make that face, stirred mixed feelings in him, the strongest emotion of them all being protectiveness of his fiancée.

"She does nothing but support Heaven," Dean pointed out, standing up for Lana. "Even Lana is wary of her powers, but there's nothing wrong with them."

"They stem from demon blood," Castiel put in without skipping a beat. "Using them too much could result—"

"—in me becoming a demon myself?" Lana asked him. "I don't see that happening. Most of what I can do, I seem to get from my mother and we all now know that she's from Purgatory, so why are you really interested in this, Cas? What do the angels want to do with her?"

Castiel took a breath and looked at her. "Send her back."

"To Purgatory?" Lana asked after a long pause.

"Yes," Castiel responded.

Dean reached over and took Lana's hand in his before looking back at Castiel. "I may not agree with Florence's parenting skills, but I do not think she deserves that. If these powers have shown me anything, it's that Lana is in control. She uses them only when she has to and it gets the job done. Florence uses hers all the time and I assure you that while I disagree with her a lot on most things: she is not a killer and she is not evil."

Castiel nodded, taking that all in and looking at Lana because no one believed the same about Lana outside of her family, and on top of them, Lily, Sam and Dean. The angels were certain that because of her being half demon, she could snap at any moment and succumb to the darkness, and the demons? The demons had been counting on that since day 1, but Lana just didn't enjoy senseless killing and torture. She'd do it for her family without hesitation, but she wanted to do the right thing and in order to bring about an Apocalypse, drastic measures were going to have to be taken.

"Lily and Sam are here," Lana said suddenly, looking at the door.

"I asked them to come," Castiel told her. "I saw them at the diner before I came here."

Lana nodded, smiling at Lily and Sam as they came in the door. "I see you've come to join the party: Heaven wants to know about Crowley too."

"Because that isn't disconcerting at all," Lily responded as she took off her jacket and her shoes.

Lana smiled at her. "Want to help me get in touch with some people while Cas and the boys go over the spell?"

"Absolutely," Lily said excitedly.

"Just don't play chess," Dean begged, trying to make the atmosphere more playful again.

"Oh my God," Lana replied as she laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "Just show Cas the spell and then we can get this summoning over with."

Dean nodded, returning Lana's kiss as she pressed her lips to his. "Yes, Ma'am…"

Note: There are so many twists and turns to this story, but in the end I swear it will all make sense. Next chapter has a Crowley focus (this will be the first time I have ever attempted to write him and I'm excited about it) and also Florence is back for a bit. Feedback is always appreciated!