Title: Consequences of Action

Chapter: 11

~~~~~~~~~~

In Dean’s opinion, Castiel was spectacularly unconcerned that his secret was out and was going to likely be all over camp in a few hours. Cas continued to hold Claire, his attention in the direction Jo had headed, a regretful turn to his brow. Dean didn’t think the regret was from the secret being out, but rather that Jo had found out before he was ready to tell her. Castiel touched one hand to the back of Claire’s head, then began the process of loosing her from him. She was clingy, not willing to release him.

“Claire, you need food, a shower, and rest. You’ve had a long journey.” Cas patted one of her shoulders. “You need to let go of me and attend to those matters.”

“I’m fine. Really.” She turned her head, cheek against his chest. Her hands grasped his jacket. “I don’t need any of those things.”

“We’ll talk later, after you’ve properly rested.” Discomfort rippled across his face as he tried to pry her fingers free. “Claire, please.”

Off to one side, with Risa, was Chuck. Dean wondered why he wasn’t off nursing a migraine. He’d certainly seemed to have the start of one, yet here he was, standing watching like it was prime time tv. Curious.

“I’m fine,” Claire insisted.

Castiel’s lips tightened into a thin line. “You may be fine, but I’m not. Your father and I need some time to process this.”

“I’m here, what’s to process?”

“You’re here. Exactly. That’s what must be processed.”

He imagined Castiel was thinking about all the ways Claire’s arrival changed his life. There would be issues with Jo and with the baby due to Claire that hadn’t been there. Would Claire accept Jo and the baby? Would that even matter to her? Dean suspected a lot was going to matter to Claire. Cas would have to work Claire into his life for Jimmy’s sake, see her daily, and the family he’d started with Jo was going to have the necessary addition of a teenage girl that wasn’t his or Jo’s.

Risa moved forward to join them. She gave him an odd look. “We need to talk later.”

“Okay. What about?”

She shook her head, gaze turning to Castiel and Claire. “Later.”

Claire drew back a little. “Isn’t dad happy I’m here?” The gaze she turned up to Castiel was fearful, as though she was deeply afraid that he and Jimmy wouldn’t want her. “Is that what you mean?”

Perhaps this would be a good time to intervene. Dean stepped forward. “Whoa, I think we need to get you some food, Claire, and give Cas and your dad some time to talk between themselves. Food, a shower, and some sleep. You’re here, like you said, and you’re not going anywhere. You’ve plenty of time to get together and have a proper reunion.”

“But --”

“No.” He shook his head. “Right here is not the time for this. Of course your dad’s happy you’re here, but he and Cas both need to think about how your arrival changes a few things and how they’re going to accommodate those changes.”

She scowled at him, an expression strangely fierce on her pretty features. “How does it change things?”

Castiel finally managed to loose Claire and set her back from him with an obvious firm touch upon her shoulders. “I have things to tell you about my life and your father’s by extension, but they’re best told when we’re both rested and better prepared.” He glanced down at the ground, then back at Claire. “Your father loves you and is happy you’re here. He is. However…. Seeing you was a shock for both of us. You have readied yourself for this day. We thought you were dead. We need a few hours. Go with Risa and Dean. Have a meal, a shower, rest, and we’ll talk later.”

Her scowl dropped away as he spoke and Claire raised a hand, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Do you promise?”

“Yes, Claire. I promise.”

There was reluctance on her face as she stepped back beside Dean and Risa. “I’ll see you later then.”

“Tomorrow. Let’s plan on tomorrow. I’ll have breakfast with you and we can spend the day together. We’ll talk.”

She nodded.

Cas looked at Dean. “Will she be with you?”

Dean could see Cas wanted to run after Jo, but that he needed to know Claire would be looked after first. Jimmy needed to know. He felt Risa’s hand grasp his and she spoke before he could even really think about the question.

“Yes. She’ll stay with us until we can find a good fit for her in the cabins. You go.”

Dean squeezed Risa’s hand, nodding in agreement. They’d take good care of Claire. “Go on.” As for Jo, he hoped she wouldn’t be too upset; that she’d understand how hard it had been for Cas to talk to her about Jimmy and why he hadn’t.

Castiel started down the path.

~~~~~~~~~~

Claire stood with Dean and his wife and watched Castiel walk away. She wanted nothing more than to grab hold of him and never let go. Her dad was there! She’d be able to talk to him and tell him everything that had happened. She’d tell him how her mom had tried to keep her safe and what had happened when Meg had found them. Then, she’d tell him about Ellen and Jo taking care of her. There was some logic in waiting until later for a reunion, however. Claire could see that. It’d give her a chance to smell better, for one. Showers were good and it’d been a long time since she’d had one. A real meal would be nice, too, and being able to sleep without having to hide herself first was a luxury. She’d meet him well rested, after a good night’s sleep. It was going to be good. It had to be.

Her excitement fell in a rush, leaving her strangely unsettled and restless, uncertain. What things did Castiel have to tell her? She was half afraid to know.

Castiel was headed in the direction Jo had gone. Despite her own emotions at finally finding Castiel, she hadn’t missed the byplay between him and Jo. The way Jo had said his name was the same way Claire remembered her mother saying her dad’s name. With loving familiarity. She turned to look at Dean and Risa. “Is he following Jo?”

“I think he and Jo have some things to talk about.” Dean exchanged a weighted glance with Risa.

“Why?”

Risa answered her. “Castiel and Jo are a couple, Claire.” She said it gently.

She blinked. Jo and Castiel? She was having trouble thinking of him as human. What about her dad? Where did he fit in if he was awake sometimes? Would he and Jo count as a couple, too? Or was he just there? “How does that work? My dad --”

“I bet Jo’s asking herself that question right now.” Dean reached out, taking Claire’s bag. “Let’s drop your bag at our cabin and head to the dining hall.”

Claire followed Dean, walking beside Risa. As they walked, Risa told her about the camp. They were little things: when the camp had been formed, how many people were there, what they did during the day. As they passed a grouping of cabins, she saw Castiel hurrying from one and touched Risa’s arm, drawing her attention to him. “Is that where he lives?”

Glancing over, Risa nodded. “Yes. Castiel lives there.”

“Could I stay with him instead of you and Dean? I mean, my dad is in there.” She didn’t expect to, but she was curious what they’d say.

Risa shook her head. “Oh, sweetie, no. I’m sure he wants to see you, Castiel and your dad both, but Jo’s living there with him. Couples sometimes --”

“Fight. They’re going to fight.”

“I suspect, yes.”

“She didn’t know about my dad, did she? He didn’t tell her.”

She didn’t answer.

Dean led them up a set of steps and opened the door to the cabin. “Here we go. Claire, this where Risa and I live. Bathroom is over there, you’ll sleep on the couch. It’s a comfortable couch. We’ve plenty of blankets and pillows.”

“You have a tv.” It wasn’t that she particularly wanted to watch it, just that she hadn’t thought anyone had much reception anymore.

“No channels, just plenty of DVDs.”

She could see they had DVDs. They had shelves full of them. Maybe she’d look at them later. Claire crossed her arms. “You mentioned food?”

“Right. Let’s do that.” Dean kissed Risa, asked if she was coming with them, but Risa declined to join them right away. She said she’d catch up after she put the laundry away.

They headed to the dining hall. While Claire remembered what Dean looked like from the time they’d met before, she hadn’t remembered his name, nor had she known much about him. He’d simply been someone helping them. Him and his brother. She wondered what had happened to his brother. As they walked, she glanced at Dean, little glances out of the corner of her eye.

“You got a question, Claire?”

“No, I just…. I don’t remember you very well. I sort of remember you helping us, but not very clearly.”

He nodded. “It was an intense time for you. I’m not surprised. Maybe it’s best you don’t really remember. Something like that…it’s hard for anyone. And what came after? It’s okay you don’t remember me well. I don’t expect otherwise.”

The continued in silence and didn’t speak again until they were seated at a table.

~~~~~~~~~~

Claire ate like every teenager Dean had met. She went back for more three times. He sat with her, studying her. She’d grown into a pretty girl. It was surprising that she’d come through her journey by herself as well as she had. It was a hard world out there even for groups of people, let alone a single girl. She spoke as she ate, giving him a brief overview of her life since Meg. He learned that Jo had comforted Claire in her grief for her mother and let her cry on her shoulder whenever she needed someone to talk to. He discovered that Claire knew Rick and Mya as well and that Claire appeared to have formed an attachment to Jo in the months she’d been with the group.

Maybe her appearance wouldn’t upset Cas’s life too much. When Claire talked about Jo, it was with happiness. Jo was a woman she liked and trusted.

“You like Jo,” he asked.

Claire rolled her eyes. “She was never too busy to talk to me and she never talked down to me. Of course I like her. You know she taught me how to put on eye shadow? And do this smoky eye thing with liner and shadow. My mom wouldn’t let me wear make-up because I wasn’t old enough and she thought it might send the wrong sort of message to boys. By the time I was old enough by her standards….”

“It was Jo there to teach you.” He could see Jo taking a few minutes to teach Claire how to put on make-up, picture it in his head. It was a sweet picture. He imagined Jo smiling, laughing a little as she showed Claire what to do.

“Yeah. She sort of told me things my mom never did and Ellen did, too. Ellen sat me down and said a few things to me straight.” She took a drink of her water. “My mom would have told me those things. I’m not saying she wouldn’t have, just that she wasn’t there to do it so Jo and Ellen, Jo mostly, told me for her.”

“I’m sure your mom would have.”

“She would. I know. But I’m glad I had someone, you know? It’s bad when you don’t.” She took another long drink. “I didn’t think I’d ever see Jo again. When I left, man, she tried to talk me out of it! I had to find Castiel though. It didn’t occur to me that they’d come here too. Jo never said where we were going. At least not that I knew.”

“Sometimes leaders have those sort of decisions to make. Not everyone has to know certain things.”

She ate in silence a moment. “Jo was very nice to me then.”

“You still like her even though she’s with Cas? They’re sort of a package deal these days.” This was a key question, he thought. Would Claire become jealous of Jo?

Claire twirled her fork in her pasta. “I don’t know. I’ll have to spend time with her again.”

A careful answer, like she was suddenly uncomfortable with the conversational direction, and Dean let the conversation move on to other subjects. Around Claire’s second dessert, he asked, “I’ve been wondering, Claire, do you still remember it?” He was curious about her experience as Castiel’s vessel.

She looked up from her plate with a tiny frown, studying him. “It?”

“Being a vessel.”

“You mean Castiel.” A sigh left her. “It’s not something easily forgotten, Dean.”

“I didn’t think it was.”

“It was one of the best experiences of my life during the worst experience of my life. Well, one of the worst experiences. I felt cold, alone, scared, and Castiel came in and I wasn’t afraid anymore. I knew he’d do everything he could to take care of things. I felt warm, no longer alone, and when he left, I was…regretful. Weird, huh?”

“Regretful?” An odd word choice.

“I’d felt wrapped in peace and goodness. Who wouldn’t feel regretful to have that gone?”

A big difference from Jimmy’s experience. Was it different for children? “You didn’t mind at all?”

“It was certainly different, but…no. I didn’t mind. Castiel promised that if and when he left me, I’d be unchanged. He kept his promise. Maybe if I’d been his vessel longer it would have felt different, but for that short time, it was okay.”

Dean nodded sat back in his chair. “Okay. So, how did you find us, Claire? Tell me the truth.”

She seemed hesitant, shoving the plate away. “It’ll sound crazy.”

He smiled a little at her. “I’ve got the market cornered on crazy. Go ahead.”

“It was a voice.” She took a drink of her water. She was steadily working her way through that carafe in the middle of the table, drinking as though she was dying of thirst, glass after glass. “A voice guided me here, told me not to be afraid and that my journey was at an end. It said I’d find Castiel here and I did.”

He raised his glance to the ceiling. What are you guys up to up there, he thought. “A voice.”

“Yes.” She grinned. “See, I told you it’d sound crazy.”

“It’s no more crazy than angels and demons running around. Tell me about the voice. What’s it like?”

“Small and quiet, but big and booming at the same time. Sure. Strong. Whenever I had trouble, it told me what to do, what to say, where to go. It helped me.”

He wondered if Claire’s inner voice was similar to Chuck having visions and if she was going to begin manifesting prophetic visions anytime soon. “You ever see future events, like in dreams, maybe?”

Her gaze dropped and she shook her head. “I don’t dream, Dean. And when I do, I wish I didn’t.”

“I hear you on that one.” When he remembered his dreams, he usually wished he hadn’t.

“You have nightmares, too?” She seemed relieved, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah,” he assured her, “I have nightmares, too. And I have it on good authority that even Castiel has nightmares.”

“An angel…ex-angel has nightmares?”

“Well, he has a lot more scary things to dream about considering his age and what he saw in the angel trenches.”

She nodded. “I suppose. What’s scary to an angel, Dean?”

He saw Risa come in and motioned for her to join them. “Not being one, Claire. That’s what scares an angel. Losing that identity, the powers, all of it. Believe me, Cas knows what fear is and he does dream, so I guarantee you he has nightmares. A nightmare within the nightmare.”

“His came true. He’s not one anymore.” There was a spark of sadness in her eyes. “His nightmare became his reality.”

“Yes, it did.”

And yet out of his nightmare, he’d woven something good. He’d changed it into something that no longer frightened. Or if it frightened, it wasn’t as terrible and all-encompassing as it was. It would be nice if they all could be so lucky.

~~~~~~~~~~

Risa waited until Claire was in the shower before she turned to Dean. It appalled her that Castiel had kept such a secret from Jo. He’d been honest with her about those four women, but kept a thing like Jimmy a secret? Had he been thinking about it or had it somehow slipped his mind? “Okay, we need to talk. What the hell was he thinking not telling Jo something like that?”

He shrugged, removing his jacket and hanging it up. “Don’t ask me. Sometimes the inner workings of Cas’s mind are a complete mystery to me. I don’t know why he does things he does.”

“Does he surface? Jimmy? Is he capable of control?”

Opening one trunk, he took out extra blankets and a spare pillow and brought them to her. “From what I understand, it’s more like he’s the occasional voice that pipes up. There, but not there, with little control over anything. Cas is the one in control.”

“Like a multiple personality disorder sort of thing.”

“Uh…sure. I guess.”

“He needs a slap upside the head. You don’t keep the fact that there’s another person in your body a secret.” Risa shook her head as the sheer absurdity of that statement hit her. “I have lots of words, but no words.” She worked on making a bed for Claire on the couch and when she was done, she faced him again. “And another thing….” Risa crossed her arms. “We have prophets now? When did this happen? Was there some management meeting I missed where it was decided we needed a prophet? Was there no vote, because I don’t think we absolutely need a prophet along with an ex-angel. Isn’t that like overkill?”

“Prophet.”

“Chuck, Dean. I mean Chuck. He told me he’s a prophet and he writes everything down. He sort of emphasized that. Everything.”

“He came out and told you that?” Dean’s surprise was all over his face. His brows rose and he blinked several times, lips parting.

“So it’s true.”

“Well….”

“You weren’t reading his fiction, were you? You were reading his prophecies. What was on those pages?”

“You really want to know?”

She was curious what Chuck had meant by ‘everything’. Did he really mean it, as in every little thing she did, like brush her teeth in the morning, or was it more of a general everything? “Hell, yes.”

“He wrote about us. Not just basic boy-meets-girl, but the deep, detailed boy and girl hate each other, get hot together and get it on, eventually getting married and dreaming of a family. He wrote about events in and out of camp, things that happened. He wrote about Jo and Ellen, too, and now her and Cas. It’s weird, I know. I was a little freaked out when I first met Chuck and continue to occasionally have a freak-out. Only reason I read it was to know what’s going on. Cross my heart.” He made that gesture on his chest.

“Details?” Her brows rose and she crossed her arms.

“Um…he knows all about that birthmark you have….”

Risa cleared her throat. “Oh.”

“And the French maid and naughty nurse and there are a few details.” He made a hand gesture that indicated with great clarity what those details were.

“I see. Who else knows?”

“You, me, and Chuck. It’s not like he can turn off the visions, Risa. They hit him pretty hard.”

“Castiel doesn’t know?” She certainly hoped he hadn’t read any of it.

“I don’t think so. He read some of the books from back when Chuck published them thinking they were just his imagination, but I don’t think he’s read any of the new stuff. I’ve threatened Chuck several times in the past about letting people besides me read any of it.” He came to her, hands grasping her waist. “You want to read it? I’ll get Chuck to relinquish them again.”

“No.” She smoothed his shirt. “I’d rather be blissfully ignorant of just how much of my life has been exposed. All the private moments, the petty thoughts, the mean thoughts, the bits that show just what a wretched woman I truly am. I don’t want that kind of mirror in front of my face.”

“You’re a pretty hot character actually.”

“Am I now?” She put her arms around his neck.

“You’re a sassy wench.” He kissed her cheek. “A feisty vixen.” He dropped kisses along her face and neck as he continued. “A delicious temptress….”

Dean continued to whisper endearments into her ears until Claire emerged from the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Cas?”

He got into bed and looked over at Jo. She was brushing her hair. Since talking earlier, she hadn’t appeared to feel strange about him and Jimmy. He worried it hadn’t really sunk in yet. “Yeah?”

“You do realize you’re not the only one who’s going to get questions about this, right?”

He adjusted the covers, then the pillows behind his back. “I’m aware of that. You, Dean, Risa --”

“Claire. People are going to ask Claire questions. Most people won’t understand the angel-vessel thing, or they’ll think it’s a delusion. Either way, it’s going to be assumed that you and Jimmy --”

“Are two personalities of one human.” Castiel ran a hand through his hair. “I know that too. Jimmy has tried to discuss that with me several times. We can’t choose what people think. If they believe that, they believe it.”

“You’re comfortable with that?”

“Those who matter know the truth.” He dropped his hand back down to his side, pushing the covers down a little, then reaching out and adjusting the pillows on her side of the bed.

She set her brush aside and came to the bed. “You’re nervous.”

“Is it obvious?”

“A little.” She climbed beneath the covers. “I’m supposed to be the nervous one, going to bed with two men.” Jo shrugged a brow at him, her lips curving in a seductive grin. “How risqué!”

“You’re really okay with this?”

The grin faded. “We keep going back and forth with those words. I’m okay, Cas. You’re okay. Jimmy’s okay. We’re all okay. He’s asleep, right?”

“He’s not making a peep.” He wasn’t either. He’d gone silent the second they’d walked into the cabin.

“Then we’re golden.” Jo moved against him, placing her head on his chest. “Tell me something about him and you, something you haven’t shared with Dean.”

There was really only one thing he could think of off the top of his head that fit her criteria. He’d never told Dean the full reason why he’d gone to see that doctor. He’d mentioned Jimmy, but he hadn’t told him the complete reason. Castiel told Jo though, lying in bed holding her.

“You know I have depression and that’s why I take the pills every morning. When Jimmy woke up and took stock of what was going on, he started yelling at me. Jimmy wouldn’t shut up until I made an appointment and went to the doctor. Imagine having a voice inside your head shouting at all hours that you’re a ‘dumbass who needs to admit he needs help’. A dumbass, Jo. He called a former angel of the Lord a dumbass.”

“He has a way with words.” She trailed her hand across his chest, fingers drawing little circles.

“When he gets going, yes. He informed me that depression is easily treatable, then played the ‘if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me’ card. I couldn’t argue. I’d promised not to hurt him and I was. Just to be sure I’d go, however, he talked nonstop until I’d filled the prescription and begun taking the pills.” He stroked her hair with a hand. “We made a deal. I take the pills, he won’t yell.”

Jo raised up and shifted position so that she was on her knees facing him. “Sounds like he cares.”

“It is his body. What affects me, affects him. I did have a very bad spell for months. I spent weeks at a time in a constant state of drunkenness. Bobby had my stomach pumped more than once, but neither he nor Dean could really say anything, since drinking was their choice coping method. I’d bring women to the room and not remember it. I was all set to be like Dean, but then all of my powers were gone and Jimmy started yelling. So really, I could say that Jimmy Novak saved me from myself.”

Jimmy’s voice had stabbed at his mind like the very worst of hangovers, giving him no peace. Castiel remembered that very clearly. If he was honest with himself, he’d admit that up until that point, he’d actually forgotten Jimmy was there.

Once he’d gotten sober and drugged up to normality, he’d begun planning the camp with Bobby and Dean to Dean’s refrain of ‘Damn Cas, it’s good to have you back’.

“Then I’m glad he’s there.”

“You are?”

Jo smiled. “Without him, there’s a good chance I’d be without you. Path you were on doesn’t usually end well.” Leaning over, she pressed her lips to his.

His fears that Jo wasn’t handling Jimmy being there well were obviously unfounded. She showed no hesitation in displaying her affections.

~~~~~~~~~~

Claire had been awake and waiting on Dean and Risa’s porch when he’d gone to get her. While the walk to the dining hall had been free of people, that turn didn’t last. Her arrival had been noted, rumors already flying, and people were curious. He attempted to keep a casual conversation going as they ate.

“How long were you with Jo and Ellen?”

“A long time.”

People were staring. It wasn’t a new thing for him, as he’d been stared at often, but it appeared to be making Claire uncomfortable. She kept ducking her head so that her hair slid down and hid her face.

Castiel sipped at his coffee.

People suck. Jimmy said. Do something. They’re making her uncomfortable.

What would you like me to do, Jimmy? Throw them all out?

Yes.

I can’t do that.

“Is your omelet satisfactory,” he asked. “If not, I’ll get you something else.”

“It’s fine. How did you meet Jo?”

“The first time we met was through Dean, but we reconnected a couple months ago when she brought a group of fifteen in to us.”

“Uh-huh. How long have you been together?”

He smothered a smile. Her rapid-fire questions were straight to the point of what she wanted to know. “Since that day. Please eat, Claire. You’re father is worrying that you’ve learned improper nutrition by yourself.”

I never said that. You’re putting words in my mouth.

Technically, I do that everyday.

You know what I meant. Though she could use some fruit with that. Offer to get her a fruit cup or something.

She looks healthy, Jimmy. I doubt one breakfast without fruit will kill her. Still, he obliged Jimmy, unsurprised when Claire turned down the offer.

She finished her food and slid the plate aside. “So if you’re seeing Jo and obviously sleeping with her, what about my dad? Does that mean he’s seeing her and sleeping with her too? Because you did say he’s awake, which means he can see and hear things.” Her gaze challenged him to answer.

She looks just like her mother right now. Amelia had that stare, too.

How would you like me to answer this, Jimmy?

Tell her about the vows.

You’re sure?

Yes. The vows first, then you can confirm the rest. She knows I thought they were both dead. It may upset her at first and probably will, but she needs to know so she can deal with it. Do this gently, Castiel. She needs to understand it’s not a casual arrangement we have with Jo. Stress that. There’s nothing casual about Jo.

He slid his cup aside and crossed his arms on the table, leaning over towards her. “Jo and I made vows to each other. We’re not simply sleeping together.”

“Vows?”

“Vows of commitment. We pledged ourselves to each other until death.”

She shifted in her chair. “You’re married.”

It could be put that way. “Yes.”

Some of the challenge faded from her eyes. “My dad’s okay with that?”

“He is. He likes Jo.”

“He’s okay with all of it?”

“Yes.”

Tell her I made the vow same as you did.

He relayed the words and watched the play of emotions cross her face. Surprise, shock, sadness. “It doesn’t mean he stopped loving your mother. He thought she was dead, grieved, and moved on.”

“Is he happy like this?”

“It’s not ideal, no, but he deals with the situation. We both do.”

“What about Jo? Does she deal? Because if I understand yesterday right, she didn’t even know about my dad.”

“Jo’s a very understanding woman.”

Claire snorted and rolled her eyes. “She’d have to be.”

“Claire.”

“It’s true.” She turned in her chair, crossing her legs and swinging one foot. Her lips pursed as she thought. “He made the same vow, which means….” Her eyes narrowed, expression smoothing out as though she wasn’t sure what to think about her conclusion. “Jo’s my step-mom?”

Yeah, there is that….

Jimmy? What’s she talking about?

Go with it. Tell her yes.

“Yes?”

Say it with firmness, Castiel.

He tried again. “Yes, she is.”

Claire frowned. “Oh.” After a moment, she looked at him, frown still in place. “Can I talk to my dad at all? I want to talk to him, not you.”

Her words were curt, but Castiel thought he understood. She wanted Jimmy’s own words on the subject.

She’s upset. We should go somewhere more private for this. Maybe back to the cabin and take something for Jo? She should be awake soon, right?

It’s probably not fair to spring Claire on her first thing, but I agree.

“Of course. We could go to my cabin for privacy. Jo’s there --”

“I know. Dean and Risa told me. That’s fine, let’s go.” She stood and began clearing her place.

Castiel drank the last of his coffee, took the cup to the dish room, grabbed a muffin for Jo, and motioned for Claire to precede him out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t that Jo was fully at ease with Jimmy being there. That was going to take some time. However, there wasn’t any chance a single thing would change about the situation. Castiel and Jimmy were one and had been long before she’d arrived. She thought she could understand why Cas had been hesitant to tell her about Jimmy. He’d been a well-kept secret, there to Cas and not to the rest of the world.

Jo chose to forgive him. She forgave both of them. What good would it do to become upset and stay upset? She still wanted Castiel. That didn’t change. She’d decided, after her talk with Jimmy, to brazen it out, push through her discomfort and make it work. If Jimmy kept his promise they’d be fine.

She got out of bed carefully, half afraid she’d have nausea rise up. It didn’t and she stretched as she stood. Her morning sickness seemed to be triggered by motion such as riding in a car or boat, which was bizarre in her opinion since she’d never had problems with motion sickness. The book Chuck had sent with Castiel explained that morning sickness was different for every woman. She’d learned that morning sickness didn’t always mean morning was when it happened. It could hit any time of day. With a final stretch, she headed into the bathroom.

When she emerged, dressed and contemplating going to breakfast, she was surprised to see Claire and Castiel come through the beads. “Oh, hey. Morning.”

Claire stopped in the doorway, peering into the cabin.

Cas slipped past her and came to Jo, handing her a muffin and giving her a kiss. She tasted coffee on him and longed for a cup herself, but since coffee was supposed to be bad for the baby, she’d given it up, along with beer in the evening. Her plan was to be very good about food, drink, and exercise and have a normal, average pregnancy. “It’s apple cinnamon,” he told her. “Claire and Jimmy are going to talk. Would you stay?”

“You want me to stay?”

“Yes. Jimmy says people will be watching and for Claire’s protection you should stay until it’s common knowledge that she’s family.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. Jimmy made a good point. Some people had nasty minds and it was best to try to protect Claire from speculation that anything hinkey was going on. “Sure. I’ll stay. I’ll just work on the puzzle and listen to music.”

They’d set up a card table and had been working on a puzzle in idle moments. Castiel was better at it than she was, able to sit for hours staring at the pieces until he’d suddenly reach out and slap a couple dozen pieces together in a stretch. Jo usually got bored with it long before he did. Today, though, she’d sit as long as he needed her there. She took out his iPod, chose a playlist, and started it, setting it on the table. As she worked, she nibbled at the muffin.

Hours passed. Whenever she looked up and over at them, Claire and Castiel were in varying stages of emotion. At one point, Claire was crying. At another, Cas was angry, body language indicating that he was livid at something Claire had said. Or maybe it was Jimmy who was angry. Jo turned the music up a bit more and pretended she wasn’t seeing any of it. Finally, her stomach began to growl and she glanced at them again. Cas was holding Claire, rocking her just a little as she clung to him.

Jo tugged her earbuds free and stopped the music. She got up and stepped to the couch. “I’m going to get some lunch. Either of you want anything?”

Claire pulled free and wiped her eyes. Her voice was nasally and husky. “I could eat, but I don’t want to go out there.”

“Bring us back something?” Castiel stood. “Sandwiches would be fine.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I think so. We’ll wait out on the porch for you to come back.” He held his hand out to Claire. “Come on, Claire. We could use some fresh air.”

After a moment, Claire took his hand and let him help her up. She wouldn’t look at Jo.

Jo touched her arm, wondering what had been said. She’d had the music up loud enough that she hadn’t heard much. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just hungry.” She glanced at Jo, a quick, almost curious look, like she was really seeing Jo for the first time. “A sandwich would be good. Thank you.”

She nodded and dropped her hand. “Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

When she returned, Risa and Dean had joined them and both Claire and Castiel looked to be in a better mood. She wondered how long that mood would last.