Chapter 58

There had been nothing more to say; they both knew there was no amount, or combination of words that would change her mind. And, Sam realized, as he pulled back onto the interstate, he really had no argument to make. Integrity and personal sacrifice had been part of all the important decisions he had ever made. Was he going to ask her to abandon her core beliefs, to stay and make him happy?

Amelia rode along just as silent, the tension palpable between them. She stayed out of his thoughts, both to let him process what she had said and to make sure she didn't accidently reveal the last piece of their destiny. She knew she would, but didn't know how to tell him the rest, and hoped it would wait until after they got Dean back. Amelia hadn't really wanted to remind him they had no future, but couldn't let him live in the impossible illusion they had created.

It was close to an hour before Sam finally broke the silence. "I'm not sure I can call you anything but Amelia." He smiled weakly at her.

"I like the name. I'd like it if we could continue to use it." Amelia paused, and Sam glanced at her, just as tear slid down her cheek. "Sam, I'm so sorry. I don't.." Was all she got out before Sam interrupted.

"Stop." He looked back at her again, and she could see the moisture in his eyes. "There's no one to blame here. Like you said, all you did was remind me of something I already knew." He removed one of his hands from the steering wheel and wiped his eyes. Then, he smiled, with only a trace of sadness. "If I've learned anything as a hunter, it's that life is uncertain, and probably short. And, to appreciate the good things you're given." He turned back to face her. "You, by any name, and for however long we have, are one of my good things."

Sam smiled, truly and deeply at her reaction to his words, and was glad for the long summer days as he turned back to watch the road. The brightness of the setting sun helped mask the glow emanating from the goddess in the passenger seat of the SUV, as they continued to cruise east through the Iowa evening.

X

The rest of the trip was uneventful, if a little bittersweet; but they found a comfortable familiarity with each other. They reached the outskirts of Madison at midnight, just as Sam had predicted. They checked into the first decent motel they could find near the storage facility. Amelia had stayed out of Sam's thoughts during the drive. She was pleasantly surprised, and very grateful, that the room Sam had gotten only had one bed. She had been afraid Sam would start distancing himself from her.

After they unloaded the gear out of the car, they ate the last of the food Missouri had sent. Sam told her to take the first shower, while he secured the room. He added a 'don't use all the hot water', a habit he had developed after a lifetime of living with a brother who loved long, hot showers. Amelia just gave him a puzzled look as she stepped through the door. Sam couldn't believe he was missing Amelia reading his thoughts.

Amelia emerged after only a few minutes, the clean, wildflower smell he had come to associate with her wafting out of the bathroom behind her. "I put a little spell on the plumbing; you'll have as much hot water as you want." Sam felt bad as he headed to the bathroom. She hadn't realized he was joking. He was going to stop and explain, when he noticed her grin in the mirror.

It had been a long and stressful day, and Amelia hadn't been kidding about the hot water. Sam finally emerged from the bathroom after more than a half hour. He had taken advantage of the relaxing warmth and used the spray to wash away more than just the 10 hours of driving. All of his fingers were pruned, but it was worth it because he left all the earlier pain and fear running down the drain.

He stood and watched Amelia from the doorway. She appeared to be asleep already; her breathing was smooth and regular. Sam turned off the bathroom light and made his way around to the other side of the bed. As he lifted the sheet to climb into the bed, she opened her eyes. Amelia watched him as he settled into his side of the bed.

Sam knew she was waiting for permission; that she would not initiate the intimate contact that had become their normal sleeping position. Would avoiding the comfort and peace he felt with her wrapped in his arms make it easier to let her go in a few days? He lifted the sheet with one arm and held the other out toward her, inviting her to lie next to him. Amelia quickly moved over into his waiting arms. She had let him keep his thoughts to himself, and been afraid their happy little bubble had been burst. At the end of the day, neither had needed words to express their true feelings.

X

Yesterday, Sam had been glad of the long summer days; this morning he groaned as the early morning light flooded the room as Amelia opened the curtains. "What time is it?" He glanced at the alarm clock, and groaned again. "It's only 6:30, why are you up so early?"

"I don't know, I just couldn't sleep anymore." It was a small, white lie. She only had two days left before she would leave this planet, and this man; she didn't want to waste it sleeping. She plopped down on the side of the bed, and bounced a couple of times. "Come on, get dressed; I'm hungry." He quickly reached up and tried to grab her, but she easily evaded his attempt to pull her back into bed. She pulled the covers off the bed as she moved out of his reach.

As he rolled out of bed, grumbling about childish behaviors, Sam once again thought how much Dean would like this woman. He got up and headed to the bathroom. By the time he came out to dress, Amelia had opened the door and was standing in the sunlight. She had her arms wrapped around torso and her eyes closed, humming and slightly swaying. Sam couldn't tell if it was the bright morning light, or she was glowing again. Either way, there was no mistaking he was looking at beautiful and powerful goddess; even if she was in the body of a short girl with funny red hair.

"Hey, Mother Nature. You want to close the door so I can get dressed, and no one else sees you glowing like a flood light." Amelia smiled, enjoying the teasing banter from Sam; it meant all the tension from yesterday was gone. But, as she stepped inside, she also knew she had to do a better job at keeping her growing inner power from manifesting itself.

It would be harder to control her body from displaying its power, now that the fertilized ova she had felt for two days had reached the critical eight cell stage, activating its own genetic destiny. Mother Nature had known her vessel would conceive; she had seen it as part of Sam's future.

She hadn't lied to Sam; her powers had started returning because of his love for her. But, she also remembered the last time one of her vessels was pregnant. That had been with Apsu, another god; and she had reached her pinnacle of power while carrying their children. Sam was just a human. Well, Sam Winchester was far more than just a human. He had both started and stopped the Apocalypse; and been the vessel of Lucifer, but had had enough strength of will to control him. He had been in heaven and hell and survived it all only to be stronger.

Yes, she would have to work very hard to conceal the power this child would generate within her.

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A.N. I again wanted to thank everyone who has followed/favorited and reviewed my story. It was supposed to be a quick little project, to try my hand at writing and keep me from going crazy waiting for Season 8 to start. It took on a life of its own. (Not a pun for the last line of the chapter.) I took a lot of detours to get here, but this was actually in my original outline for the story. I'd like to tell you there are only a few chapters left; but I've discovered I kind of like the detours. But, the end is in sight. I'm just hoping to get it finished before the Season 8 finale!