Sam explains the situation to Dean, who eats his burger voraciously despite the unnerving news Sam is sharing, and I pick at the sandwich they brought me. I can't even think about eating right now.
"So… Let me get this straight. Eva… is pregnant. And you want to use the unborn baby as a way to get out of the deal?"
"Not out of the deal. Just to extend it by eight or nine months. We can use the time to figure a way out of the deal."
I roll my eyes. There is no way out. Everyone knows it, despite the fact that they keep pretending otherwise.
"So are we going to go talk to the crossroads demon tonight or not?" Sam says.
"Come on, man, it's almost one in the morning, and we've been driving all day!" Dean groans.
"I don't want to wait an entire day," Sam complains.
"I'd rather get this out of the way now," I agree.
"Come on!" Dean whines again.
"This is important, Dean," I say, unimpressed.
He lets out an exasperated sigh, knowing already he's not getting his way. "Fine. We can go now."
Roughly thirty minutes later, the three of us are standing at the crossroads, Sam and Dean leaning against the Impala as I bury the box and then walk back over to them. Again, there's no devil's trap. The goal here isn't to catch a demon, just to talk to one.
Sam and Dean look more confident, more in their element. I'd rarely gone up against demons in the past years. I hunted smaller things, like ghosts and werewolves and vampires, things that normal hunters go after. It wasn't until I joined up with the Winchesters that demons started popping up more often. And even then, the brothers had been dealing with them for years up to that point. They're like goddamn magnets for the things.
"Hello, boys," a voice finally says, and the three of us glance up to see none other than the King of the Crossroads himself. Or rather, the King of Hell, at this point, now that Lucifer's locked up tight in the cage. "And girl," Crowley adds in surprise. "I didn't think she'd still be sticking around with you two by this point." He nods at me. "You deserve better than these two numbskulls," he says courteously.
I don't respond, just scowl at him.
He pauses for a moment as he contemplates me, then smiles. "Congratulations, by the way."
I know what he means but I ask anyway. "Congratulations for what?"
"The baby!" Crowley says enthusiastically, motioning vaguely at me. "Who's the father?"
Sam clears his throat and raises a hand up. "That would be me."
"Moose! You're going to be a dad. You must be so excited." He sounds almost sincere, as if we've run across each other at a party rather than meeting in the middle of the night at a crossroads.
"Enough with the pleasantries," I snap. "We came here to talk."
"Only talk?" Crowley asks suspiciously.
"Only talk," I assure him. Dean and Sam are letting me take this one. It's my fight, not theirs, as much as they want to help. "It's about the deal I made."
"Ah, yes, I heard about that," Crowley says. He glances at Sam. "Glad to see you up and about, by the way." He looks back at me and purses his lips. "How long do you have again?"
"T-two weeks left," I stutter. I hadn't meant to say it so unsurely, but saying it out loud makes me realize just how short a period of time I have left. "And, as you pointed out, I'm pregnant."
Crowley furrows his eyebrows and nods thoughtfully.
"The deal was for one soul, not two," I add, though I'm sure he's already figured that out himself.
"Well, we are in a bit of a situation, aren't we?" he says, narrowing his eyes like he's trying to work something out. "Ah!" he finally says, eyes back on the three of us again. "Two birds with one stone."
"Wha—" I start, but then Crowley snaps his fingers and there's a stabbing pain in my abdomen, like period cramps but fifty times worse. I cry out as I fold over from the pain, and Sam and Dean are immediately there to hold me up.
"You okay?" Sam asks softly enough for just me to hear, concern on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, fine," I lie. I push Sam and Dean away and straighten up to face Crowley. "What the fuck was that?" I say in a strained voice, almost a whimper. I'm clutching onto my lower stomach, still having trouble breathing from the pain.
"Simple," Crowley says with a quick smile. "You"—he points to me—"are no longer expecting. And now, there's a nice couple who have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive and who are going to be receiving a pleasant surprise."
"You… you gave my baby to someone else?" I say in a broken voice.
Sam is silent beside me. I don't even know if I want to see the look on his face. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing good. Dean, on the other hand, is angry. "Not cool, Crowley!" he growls furiously.
Crowley raises his eyebrows unsympathetically. "Would you rather have had the baby die along with its mother?"
Dean steps back but fumes silently.
"Glad I could help you lot out," Crowley says, and with a wink, he's gone.
"That son of a bitch!" Dean yells after a moment, to no one and nowhere in particular.
"It's okay, Dean," I say quietly, even though its not. I can't help but be filled with grief like I've had some great loss, even though I'd only found out about the baby a couple of hours ago. "I didn't want the baby anyway," I lie.
Dean grumbles something as he opens the driver's side door and slides in behind the wheel.
"You sure you're okay?" Sam asks, taking my hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. I gaze up into his eyes. He's sad, but not as crushed as I must seem.
"Fine," I say again, but as I say it, a tear slides down my cheek. Sam gently wipes it away with his thumb and pulls me into a tight hug.
"You will be," he says as he releases me.
I laugh, throat thick with tears, and sniff sadly. "Yeah. About the time I'll be headed to hell."
"Forgot about that," Sam says with a lopsided grin.
It fades as we stand there, replaced with look of solemnity on both our faces. There's a sense of understanding passing between us, like we know what we've lost and we know what the other feels like.
"Get in the damn car!" Dean shouts through the rolled-down window, snapping whatever connection Sam and I had been having right then.
I sigh. "Coming, Dean."