John returned, marking the end of Kate and Taylor's grounding. They still weren't allowed to go to other people's houses but neither protested. Taylor was bitter toward Nate. He couldn't lay all the blame on Nate but John was right. He had been a bad influence.
Kate had made several prototypes of her temporary tattoos. Having so many people in the house meant she could test them on plenty of subjects.
Bobby made a supply run and brought back different materials.
Kate found that she liked carving stamps. It was therapeutic. The anti possession symbol was hard to recreate because every point and line had to be perfect. So, when she was carving the material used for stamps, she had to be precise. She finally got one that she thought was perfect and cut away the excess rubber. She gave it to Taylor to attach to a wooden backing.
John was intrigued, just as Bobby and Karen were. He watched the process and gave Kate gentle critics.
Kate tested the stamp and then handed it to John to use. The ink pad was the kind that party places and theme parks used to stamp guests. It was meant for skin and meant to stick around for the day.
John was pleased, to say the least.
Kate had researched and narrowed down the best paper, ink, and process to use the temporary tattoos. "Stamp is for the short term. Tatoo is for the longer term. The tattoo is also bigger. So you could use a tattoo if you knew you were walking into a demon trap. Then, whoever you were with wouldn't get possessed and attack you. The stamp is quicker and you could use it on multiple people but it won't last as long."
Dean looked at the stamp that John had placed on his arm. "This reminds me of clubs, right Sam?"
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, I've never been to a club because I was not of age."
Dean chuckled. He caught John's facial expression and nodded. "No, that must have been Caleb and me."
Kate cut out symbols and placed them in small boxes "Now we just need a demon to test them on." She shrieked and threw her hands behind her when John's hand connected with her backside. "Where did you even come from? You were all the way across the room."
"No demons." John said.
Kate sidestepped. She had a smirk on her face knowing he was just warning her and not angry. "Why? There are at least two friendly ones." She scrambled by him and hid behind Jess.
Jess squeaked and regained her balance.
John cleared his throat. "Dean." he said with a twinkle in his eye.
Dean pulled Kate's arm and swatted her once.
Kate rubbed where he hit. "No one in this house can take a joke."
Jess hugged Kate. "You'll just have to hang out with me."
John walked by them and gently tapped Kate on the back of the head. "No demons." He walked outside to see if Bobby needed assistance.
Kate flopped down on the couch. "I have a theory."
"What is that?" Dean asked.
"We can all agree that dad has the ability to scare the crap out of people. He is fast. He is a huge person but is quiet when he wants to be. I am pretty sure he teleports and he just knows if one of us does something." Kate said.
Dean snorted. "Go on."
"Our families have grace in their blood. Mary may have had an ability, I think dad does too." Kate said.
Dean poked her to tickle her. "Maybe you aren't as slick as you think you are."
Kate rolled off the couch. "I'm just saying he is basically a ninja."
Sam shrugged. "I agree with Kate."
Dean sat down to lace up his boots. "While I don't think he has a supernatural ability, I do agree that he can put the fear of god into people."
Kate hopped up and skipped to the door.
"Where are you going?" Dean asked.
"To tell him we were discussing our respect for him and you said that he doesn't scare you anymore," Kate said.
Dean grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. "I'll just carry you out there and say you said that."
Kate laughed and tried to wiggle free. "No!" She tried to hold onto the door facing but Dean dug his fingers into her ribs making her laugh and let go.
Jess wrapped her arms around Sam. "She is still my favorite."
"Only because she is a hellion," Sam said.
"She is entertaining," Jess said and tiptoed to kiss him.
Sam looked at the time. "Caleb and his family will be here soon."
Jess got excited. She thought Ian was adorable and was excited to see April. Andy was cute too but Ian still had his baby fat and liked to be held. "When is their new baby due?"
Sam shrugged. "January I guess."
Jess grinned. "You know what that means, right?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "You dragging me through the baby clothes while you stare at them for hours?"
"Yep!"
Andy wanted to be more helpful with Ian. He could teach him things so his mom could focus on the little baby. He knew they were about to go to Bobby's house. Ian had eaten breakfast and his outfit was covered in food. Andy picked out a new one and proceeded to try to put the shirt over Ian's head. It wasn't easy. Ian was wiggly and fighting him. He sat down on the floor and wrapped his legs around Ian's middle so that he could wrestle his arms into the shirt.
Caleb opened the bedroom door. "What on earth is going on in here?"
Andy froze.
Caleb raised an eyebrow.
"I'm trying to put a shirt on him."
Caleb chuckled. "You have to wrestle him to do that?"
Andy gave Caleb a sheepish look. "He wasn't cooperating." While Ian was distracted he managed to get both arms into the t-shirt. He yelped and pulled his arm away from Ian. "He bit me!"
Caleb scolded Ian and sat him down on his bed.
Andy rubbed his arm.
Caleb sighed. "That is a pretty good bite."
Andy glared at Ian. "I'm starting to not think spanking babies is a bad thing."
Caleb laughed. "Oh, buddy. Have your mom look at your arm. I'm going to finish getting Ian dressed."
Andy left the bedroom and showed April his arm. "He bit me again."
April gave Andy an icepack. "He has a habit of doing that." She kissed his head. "I'm sorry."
Andy gave her a small smile. "I think a piece of candy would make me feel better."
April smiled. "Pick out one piece."
Karen met Caleb and April at the truck as soon as they got to the house. She scooped Ian up and asked how their day had been.
Andy saw Bobby at the shop and ran over to see what was going on. "Can I help?"
Bobby gave him a task to do and carried boards over to the house with John's help.
"It is looking good." Caleb commented.
"I have good help." Bobby said. They would need to insulate and wire that part of the house but it really did look good.
Kate ditched Dean to spend time with Jess and April. She listened to them talk for a few minutes and just enjoyed the female company.
Ian saw that Kate had a snack and signed to ask her for some.
Kate broke off a piece and handed it to him.
Instead of grabbing it, Ian ate it from her hand.
Kate jerked her hand back and shook it.
"Did he bite you?" April asked, frustrated.
"No." Kate said. She held up her hand to show April the welts on her thumb and pointer finger. "I handed it to him like this and he didn't bite me. That is just from spit."
That sparked a line of conversation and confusion.
"It only happens with me and Taylor." Kate said. She chewed her cheek. "So it is probably because of what we are. I wonder if angels would react the same way."
April picked Ian up and finished feeding him the snack. "I'm so sorry that happened."
Kate smiled. "It is okay. He didn't mean to hurt me. If it does work on angels, his teething toys could be like ninja stars against angels."
The conversation turned to April's pregnancy and how she was feeling.
"I am feeling so much better. I still get queasy but it isn't so bad. I'm enjoying sleeping on my stomach until I can't anymore." She said.
"Can you feel the baby?" Kate asked.
"I can. The baby is still tiny but the swelling is what I can feel." She placed her hand on her stomach. "I can feel a hard spot here. Caleb still says he can't see it."
Kate reached her hand out to touch April's stomach. She felt warmth spreading up her fingers and pulled her hand back. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks pink.
"What happened?" April asked.
"Uh, I saw something," Kate said.
April's heart dropped. "What did you see?"
"I saw the baby." Kate said.
April touched her hand. "What do you mean?"
Kate was about to burst at the seams. "It was just a brief glimpse. The details were hazy."
April squeezed Kate's hand.
"Well, I don't know if you want to know or if it is accurate." Kate said. She saw April's face. "No, it was good. I just saw.. I saw what the baby was and their name."
Karen and Jess got closer.
"Tell me what you saw." April said.
"Wouldn't that ruin the surprise?" Kate asked.
April's eyes brightened. "No, so tell me."
Kate bit her lip. "I saw Caleb holding a baby. All I saw was a blanket and little shoes. Then the name on their wrist band."
April gave her an exasperated look.
"The shoes were pink with a bow and the name on the band was Lauren Elizabeth Fisher." Kate said.
April squealed and hugged Kate.
Kate grunted from the unexpected loss of air. "I don't know if it is accurate though."
April let her go. "Were the shoes light pink and looked like ballet shoes?"
Kate nodded.
"Karen, did you tell her about the name?"
Karen shook her head.
April hugged Kate again. "I picked up a pair of shoes the other day when I was with Jody. Then, Karen was over at our house and we come up with a girl name. Lauren Elizabeth to honor our sister."
Kate blushed deeply. "So I guess it is true. We should make sure though. Maybe Cas could tell." She closed her eyes and called out for Cas.
Cas appeared. "You needed my assistance?"
"Can you tell what a baby is before it is born?" Kate asked.
Cas put his hand on April's head. "Yes."
"Well, is it a girl?" Kate asked.
Cas nodded. He wasn't sure why there was a commotion.
Kate remembered Ian's issue. "Um, when Ian bites or gets slobber on Taylor or me, we burn. Could you see if it does the same thing to you?"
Cas crouched down and looked at Ian. He held his hand out and winced when Ian chomped the side of his hand. He stood back up. "There does seem to be an abnormal reaction."
That was something that would need to be researched.
"Is there anything else that you require?" Cas asked.
Kate shrugged. "You could bug Dean before you go."
Dean was holding a board above his head when a fluttering appeared behind him. He flinched. "Dammit Cas, personal space."
Cas stepped back. "Yes. Would you consider yourself bugged?"
Dean gave him an odd look. "What?"
"Kate suggested that I bug you before leaving. My research into human language says that bug is another term used for annoy." Cas said.
"Yeah, Cas, I would say that bugs me," Dean said. He scoffed when Cas vanished.
Kate was looking out the window and met Dean's eyes. She grinned and waved at him.
Dean made a throat-slicing motion and rolled his eyes.
Kate pushed away from the window. "So, are you going to tell Caleb?"
April was processing the news. She was going to have a daughter. They were going to have a daughter. "I'll be right back."
Caleb heard April call him and walked over to the other side of the house. "Is everything okay?"
April motioned for him to sit down. "Kate saw something about the baby, do you want to know?"
Caleb swallowed hard. "Is it okay?"
"Yes, she saw if it was a boy or girl." April said with a chuckle.
Caleb's eyes lit up. "So what is it?"
April smirked. "Maybe I should wait a while to build up the suspense."
Caleb narrowed his eyes. "You aren't that mean."
April fidgeted excitedly. "It is a girl."
Caleb stood up quickly and picked her up into a hug, spinning around. He kissed her. "Really?"
April put her arms around his neck. "Cas confirmed it."
Caleb spun around again and put April back on the ground. His mind started to race. "What on earth are we going to do with a girl?"
April laughed. "She will have two big brothers to keep her safe."
Caleb had the boy stuff down to a science. He was a boy, after all, so the learning curve was minimal. Girls though... girls were different. He hugged April again. "How did Kate know?"
"She had a vision of you holding a baby in a blanket. She had on the pink shoes I got the other day and her wristband had her name." April said.
Caleb tried to wrap his head around it. Ian was solid. He was a toddler and holding him wasn't hard. A newborn was fragile though. She was going to be so tiny.
April could see that Caleb's mind was racing. She chuckled. "We have plenty of time to figure things out. Don't panic."
Caleb blinked. "If Kate softened John as much as she did, what is going to happen to me?"
April smiled. "You'll be just fine. You were pretty soft and cuddly, to begin with. Do you want to tell them? Kate, Karen, and Jess know."
Caleb grabbed her hand. He walked with her to where the guys were standing. "We have an announcement."
They turned around and gave him their full attention.
Caleb looked at April for the go-ahead and crouched down so that he could look Andy in the eyes. "Andy, you're going to have a little sister."
Andy gasped and looked up at April. "How do you know?"
"Kate saw a vision and Cas confirmed it." April said.
Andy hugged April and kissed her stomach. "We are gonna have a baby girl?"
April nodded. "Yes."
Andy's thought process was about like what Caleb's was.
The guys were happy for them. They got congratulated by all of them.
Dean clapped Caleb on the back. "I warned you that this may happen."
"See, the difference is that this baby has my last name, not yours. So she might be sweet." Caleb said.
Dean looked toward the house. "You might be right." He smiled. "I'm happy for you."
Kate could see the look on Dean's face and giggled. She knew what he was thinking. He didn't actually think she was awful but she enjoyed picking at him. She didn't wish that Lauren would be a handful, that wish was solely reserved for Dean's future kids. She hoped he had kids one day. He would make a good dad. She would make a great aunt.
Jess found Sam.
Sam saw her face. "I heard. Should I just pack you a bag so you can camp out in the baby clothes section?"
Jess huffed. "No. Maybe. This is so exciting."
April called Jody to give her the news and couldn't contain the excitement. She would have been excited with a boy too but now she could get all the glittery, ruffly, girly things that her heart desired.
Jody reminded April that she could pick things out from Elsie's store.
April was worried that Elsie would wonder how they found out so soon.
"If she asks, tell her that you had to get blood work done since you have health issues." Jody said.
April asked the others if they would want to drive over to the store. She got a resounding yes. "I think it would be nice for her if I folded clothes and did my volunteer work."
Karen patted her arm. "We can help with that."
Kate cornered John. "Can I please go with them to look at clothes?"
John crossed his arms. "Can I trust you to behave yourself?"
Kate's eyes drifted. "Yes."
John handed her some money. "If you see anything that will fit you, go ahead and get it."
Caleb nudged Dean with his elbow. "I asked April what was going to happen to me since Kate had made a teddy bear out of your old man."
"Damn jellyfish." Dean said.
John suggested that Kate also look for Taylor too. He waved her off and walked over to Caleb and Dean. He smacked them both across the back of the head.
Dean rubbed his head. "Maybe Kate is right. Your hearing is not natural."
John raised an eyebrow.
"Kate has a theory that you have abilities." Dean said.
John snorted. "You two couldn't whisper if your lives depended on it."
Dean scoffed. "Our lives have depended on it before and we are still alive."
John just shook his head.
Andy thought it was funny when John smacked people that weren't him. He tugged on Caleb's hand. "Can I climb?"
"No, bud." Caleb said. "Those boards aren't made to be climbed. I don't want you to get hurt."
Andy frowned. "Okay."
With the women gone, Taylor went inside to make something to eat. He called everyone inside when it was ready.
"At this rate, we are going to need another deer." Bobby said.
Dean chewed is food. "I could have been fine with just the meat and potatoes."
"You're setting a good example for Andy." Caleb said.
Dean poked at the carrots on his plate. He forked one and bit into it, forcing a smile.
Andy ate one of his carrots. "They are good."
Dean finished chewing. "They are good. I can hardly tell it is rabbit food."
Andy gasped. "Can we get rabbits? What about chickens?"
Bobby rubbed his chin. "Karen was wanting a few chickens for eggs."
Sam snorted. "That may be the only way for Dean to be around chicks who aren't reapers." He grunted when Dean's fist hit him in the shoulder.
"It was one reaper!" Dean said.
Andy's eyes grew wide. "A reaper?"
Dean's face turned red.
Sam's did too because he hadn't thought about Andy being at the table.
Caleb spoke up. "Dean met a reaper. She looked like a normal person and he didn't know."
"Did you talk to her?" Andy asked.
Sam mumbled something and rubbed his head after John smacked him.
"The reaper knew some important information and told Dean. That is all." Caleb said.
Andy still had questions but didn't ask them. Maybe he could ask Dean after they ate.
Jess wasn't sure what to expect with second-hand clothes. Her mom talked about those types of places like they were trash. She looked at a few price tags and the items attached to the prices. She had been in enough stores to know how expensive clothes could be. Those looked fine though and they were way cheaper. She had enough money to buy new but it made sense. Kids grew fast. She found one-piece pajama suit that was soft and had kittens on it. She smiled. One day, they'd be looking for clothes for her baby. She wondered who the kids would look like. She had blonde hair, Sam had brown. He was tall, she was short. She had a pretty good idea of what baby Lauren would look like because Caleb and April both had brown hair and brown or hazel eyes. Her parents pushed her to be a career woman or a trophy wife. What if she just wanted to stay home with a bunch of mini Sams? Sure, that life wouldn't bring her riches but she would be happy. Sam needed to finish college. Honestly, she did too. It just wasn't her passion.
Elsie was thrilled with the influx of visitors. She showed Ian the toys so that he could play while the others shopped. She promised to keep an eye on him and sat down in a chair while he scooted around on a ride-on car.
Karen copied the way that April was folding clothes after looking at them. With Jess helping, they made quick work of a few tables. Clothing had changed since she last looked at children's clothes. A lot of time had slipped by. After Lauren, she hadn't been around many more children. She babysat for people but the clothing was from the same time period. Being in heaven cut her off from the world.
Kate left the baby clothes to look for her own clothes. She replaced them the way that April showed her. She had gotten new clothes before the party but the next size up could be useful. She was trying to be practical although they rarely let her hunt. She looked through the boy's clothes. She found Taylor's size of pants and held them up to herself. They were the next size up but was he really that much taller than she was? She knew he was taller but had she stopped growing? Maybe it just seemed like a big difference because they were the next size. She found some band t-shirts and got them for herself.
Karen checked on Kate. "Have you found anything?"
"A few things." Kate said.
Karen thought it was cute that Kate copied Dean with the band shirts. She really did look up to him. She could tell Kate was off. "What is wrong?"
Kate sighed. "When did you stop growing?"
Karen rubbed her face. "That was so long ago."
"I think Taylor has had more growth spurts than I have. He has always been taller but I think he is too much taller now." Kate said.
"Honey, boys do that."
Kate looked into the mirror. "Do you think I will get taller?"
Karen smoothed her hair down. "Maybe a little bit."
Kate sighed again. "Well, if I stay small, I'll just fit into spaces the guys can't and I'll be useful for something they can't do."
Karen chuckled. "You won't hit your head on anything."
Kate smiled. "I guess being short is good."
Elsie looked at the tables. "My goodness, this looks amazing."
"I hope you don't mind that I brought help." April said.
"Not at all. Thank you."
Ian pushed the car with his feet and ran into the back of April's feet.
April looked down. "Did you find a car?"
Ian grinned and made the vroom sound.
"He hasn't gotten off of it this whole time." Elsie said.
April decided that they could get it. He could ride around in the backyard or downstairs. She thanked Elsie and promised to visit again and refold clothes that got messed up.
Ian was not happy to be removed from the car. He cried and fought April as she tried to buckle him.
Kate smirked. "He acts the same way that Dean does about baby." She sat beside Ian's seat and flipped the car over so that he could play with the wheels.
Ian happily spun them. His eyes grew heavy and he rubbed them.
Kate kept spinning the wheels until Ian's head dropped. "He is asleep."
They got food from a drive-through and ate on the way back to the house.
Karen carried Ian inside and put him on her bed to nap. She tucked a blanket around him and kissed his cheek.
The guys had been talking about a variety of things from hunting plans to finding a car for April.
Caleb wanted to make sure that she had an easy way to move around if no one was available. He did not want her stranded with three kids.
"I will call around." Bobby said.
Taylor finished sanding one of the boards. "What are we going to do about the bunker?"
"What about it?" John asked.
"Well, Karen wanted to see it. There are still rooms we haven't been in. It might be a fun trip to check on it. We could take some stuff to stockpile." Taylor said.
Dean grumbled. "The last time we went to the bunker, that trip wasn't fun."
Taylor blushed.
"We will think about it." John said.
Andy played on the tire swing for a while. He was getting bored. The guys were on the other side of the house. He looked at the wooden boards. They weren't that different from the jungle gym at school and the supports were thick wooden beams. He tested one of the horizontal boards. He could stand on it with both feet and bounce. It was very sturdy. He got to the top and walked along the long boards. He skipped from one to the other since they were so close. He thought it was fun. There was a gap and then another set of boards. It wasn't that far away. He could reach it by taking a big step. So that is what he did. His foot hit the board and it continued to slide as the board wasn't nailed down. He fell through the boards and braced himself to hit the ground.
John had been walking around the house and saw Andy just before he fell. He caught him before he hit the ground.
Andy yelped and grabbed onto John. He opened his eyes. "You caught me." He looked into John's eyes and got worried.
John lowered Andy to the ground and whistled. "Caleb."
Andy tugged on John's hand. "No, don't call my dad."
Caleb walked around the house and asked what was going on.
"I caught him before he hit the ground. He was up there walking around." John said.
Andy's eyes got wide.
"Andrew, did you climb up there after I told you not to?" Caleb asked.
Andy shifted from foot to foot.
Caleb took his arm and walked behind the solid wall. He asked Andy again.
Andy frowned. "I did. I didn't know that one wasn't attached."
Caleb tucked him against his hip and lit him up with his hand. He put him back on his feet. "If you are told to do something, or not to do something, what do you do?"
Andy sniffled. "Listen."
Caleb hugged him. "You could have broken an arm."
Andy rubbed his face on Caleb's shirt. "I'm sorry."
Caleb stood up and walked around to the back door of the house. "You can sit inside for a little bit."
Andy wiped his face. He nodded his head. "Okay, dad."
Caleb gave him another hug and then went back around the front of the house.
Dean and Sam gave him an odd look.
"Now what?" He asked. He blew air through his nose as they teased him. "Dean you can't say anything."
"Andy is little. Taylor and Kate aren't." Dean said.
Caleb shook his head. "Shut up."
Sam looked at Taylor. "These two have turned into what they feared most."
Taylor tilted his head. "Dad?"
John tossed an empty can at Taylor's head. "Unless you all want to run laps, you can keep your mouth closed and get back to work."
Karen poured Andy some lemon aid. "Did you get into trouble?"
Andy nodded. "I climbed where my dad told me not to."
"That wasn't a very good idea." Karen said.
"Sometimes I forget." Andy said.
Karen gave him a small smile. She sat down across from him. "What do you think about having a baby sister?"
Andy took a deep breath. "I'm happy. Baby brothers are hard work. I won't have to share my room with another baby. She will be cute."
"Do you think having all the pink, girly things in the house will be weird?" Karen asked.
Andy considered it. "As long as it stays out of my room, I won't mind."
Karen chuckled. "You've got it all figured out."
Andy leaned on the table and whispered. "I think my mom really wanted a girl. She put a bow on Ian's head."
Karen fought the urge to laugh. "She did?"
"Uh-huh. It was just for a few seconds but he is a boy. Boys don't wear bows." Andy said as if he was exposing a dark secret.
"I don't think it hurt him." Karen said.
Andy sat back and sipped his drink. "I have to be respectful to my mom but if she tries to put a bow on me I'm not gonna be happy."
Karen winked. "I'll make sure she knows that."
Jess sat down with Kate to look at books.
They still hadn't made it all the way through all of the ones that they got from Mary's family cellar.
"You can flip through the pages. Note the first and last day and write it down. They've already been organized by type of book. If you see a name, write those down too. That way, we can cross-reference if more than one mentions the same person or place." Kate said.
Jess got lost in the pages of a journal. The handwriting was neat and the pages were old. She did as Kate said and had a running list. The next journal was damaged by water. It still had most of the pages that were easy to read. She wrote down several names and paused. "Where is this one from?"
Kate looked at the numbered sticker. "Bunker."
Jess furrowed her eyebrows. She flipped back through the pages and found the same name several times. She wasn't sure exactly what some of the pages meant. Maybe it was a list of people the writer knew. She turned the journal around and pointed to the name.
Kate slowly pulled the journal to her and stared at the name. She walked outside and found Bobby. "Hey, do you know a Francis Robert Singer?"
Bobby resituated his cap. "Well, that was my grandfather's name."
Kate turned the journal around. "Why is he in the journal of a men of letters member from the 1940s?"
