Chapter 8: Diplomacies

Meg closed the lid of the trash can and left the downstairs bathroom, willing herself not to get too excited. Plans didn't usually work out in this world, but a smile of promise made itself visible on her face anyway. She had been taking that test every day for the last week, hoping, and then there it was!

Contrary to her mood, the main room of the bunker was radiating an air of desperation. Dean sat by the table, staring at his breakfast, clearly spaced out from the exhaustion of caring for Sam, who had shown no signs of improvement over the last couple of weeks. He was alive, but barely, ailed by a supernatural force no doctor could ever detect. Castiel was not far behind Dean in terms of fatigue. Having to rely solely on human means of exploration, he was going through as many books and other forms of data storage the bunker provided as possible for potential clues about how to help the younger Winchester, ignoring the needs of hunger and sleep his body craved so much till he repeatedly literally fell off his feet. Meg found it hard to watch, but while she could pop some food into his mouth in the passing sometimes, she could not make him sleep. Kevin, well, he didn't speak much either, instead he finally found a genuine inclination to try to translate everything he could find, driven by compassion towards his only friends.

The demon stood at the other side of their table, taking position at equal distance from the Dean and Castiel to address them, "I know what to do. How to heal Sam and how to get the angels access back to heaven."

Dean looked up at her, long and hard, "this should better not be one of your little games of pretence and time wasting."

"Sam has lucid moments, right? All you have to do is influence him to say yes to Lucifer."

"No." Dean said harshly, turning his attention back to his sodden piece of toast that had long drowned in his tea. "You know, you haven't changed that much, Meg."

"I'm not saying this for Lucifer's sake, although that would be a nice additional benefit. I have checked, he was unaffected by the angels' falling, the spell's influence could not reach him in hell. One second in Sam's body and your brother would be healed. What's more, Metatron would be no match for him. He could make the scribe reverse the spell without much effort. All problems solved."

"Apart from the minor detail of my brother becoming the devil," Dean glowered at her, "Cas, could you make her shut the hell up?"

Castiel looked from one to the other, hesitant. "Meg please, if you would like, maybe the two of us could talk in private in my room about this and your exact recommended diplomatic position in connection to Dean?" He tried to disarm both of them.

"Honeybee, Dean is the last thing I'd like to talk to you about in private," Meg established, "although I appreciate the offer. In addition, you should prepare yourself as well for what I'm going to say cause you're not going to like it, but here, I'm actually offering you a chance to save your precious brothers, both of you. So are you going to hear me out or not?"

Castiel took a tentative look towards his friend, "Dean, let her speak."

"This better be good," the hunter pursed his lips and leant back on his chair expectantly with his arms crossed.

"So," Meg spoke with self-assurance, "with Lucifer's powers, he won't need more than five minutes to take over heaven and then Sam can have his healthy as a whistle body back."

"Why would that son of a bitch give the body back?" Dean raised his chin questioningly.

"Well, so far, Sam was his ideal vessel. Not anymore. As of from less than nine months from now, he will have the vessel he was foretold to have when he is forgiven and his imprisonment ends for good."

Kevin's head snapped up at the side of the room where he sat, at the demon's words, "oh, the vessel?"

"What do you know about this?" Dean urged the prophet, standing up and walking towards him. He would trust Kevin's words a lot more than Meg's, no matter who's side on or who's girlfriend she claimed to be."

"Well," Kevin started, frowning, "of course I wouldn't bet my life on the exact translation, but I think it says on the tablet that if the ultimate vessel becomes available, Lucifer can redeem himself."

"What kind of vessel?" Castiel stood, grounding out every word like a threatening growl that made Kevin tense up and expect to be pounced on like in the good old days of Castieldom.

"Uhm..a vessel that'd fit him like a glove, the perfect match. An unflawed combination, in equal measures angel and demon."

It was however, Castiel who stuttered, "nine," he gulped, "in nine months you s..aid." His bottom lip trembled and he paled considerably, "Meg?" The demon gave a poised nod, grinning at everybody and ignoring Castiel's reaction for the moment.

"Wait a minute," Dean held up a hand, "as far as I understand you wanna say that you're pregnant with Cas' baby and that this baby is destined to be nothing more than Lucifer's toy?!" He was already angry on his friend's behalf.

"But Meg, I'm not an angel anymore," Castiel looked at her desperately. As much as he wanted this solution to be true, he wanted it not to be true just the same.

"Your essence, you, will always be an angel, Clarence," Meg assured him, "I can see it. But if you don't believe me, ask Crowley or anyone you like. He's still locked down on the lower ground floor, right?"

"So let's say you're pregnant with this..this.." Dean tried to get his head round the concept.

"Abomination?" Meg supplied deceptively nonchalantly, "antichrist?"

"Baby." Dean said forcibly. "Do you not care it's your child? Do you not think Cas will care? Is the question of free will even an option for him? Her, it?"

"I believe it will satisfy Lucifer as Meg assumes," Castiel said evenly, as if in control, but the pale face and the hand gripping his stomach was giving him away. "It will heal Sam, get the angels access to heaven and thankful enough to Lucifer to let everything else slide. It is the perfect solution," he stated, having a hard time controlling his erratic breathing. "You need to trust me on this Dean."

The hunter blew the air out his lungs, deep in thought. Kevin said it would work, and so did Cas, but the price and the possible risk dependant price even higher. He drew a shaky hand up to his forehead, "I'll go run this by Sam."

Tbc