Title: That Old Illusion of Free Will

Chapter: Ten

~~~~~~~~~~

“Dean, it’s Ellen.”

Her voice was static-y and Dean put a finger in his other ear in an attempt to hear her better. “Hey Ellen. What’s up?” He glanced at the gas station. Sam was inside, buying a few drinks and snacks.

“You got a location on that vessel yet?”

“Yeah, we’re heading there now. Why?”

“Bobby and I’ve got some news you need before you go rushing in there.”

“Okay, what is it?”

Ellen laughed. “No way am I telling you this unless it’s face to face. Give me your location and we’ll meet you.”

Dean leaned his head back against the car seat. No need to tell her they were already in the town, was there? He told her the location. “You guys driving?”

“No, we’ll take the first flight available. I mean it, Dean. Don’t go see him without us.”

“Sure. We’ll, uh, we’ll sit tight. Gimme a call back with your flight info.” He hung up as Sam got back in the car.

“Who was that?” Sam pulled a soda from the bag he’d brought and opened it, taking a long drink before recapping it.

“Ellen.”

“What’d she want?”

“Not to go to Jimmy’s without her.”

Sam laughed. “Why not?”

“Hell if I know. She was being all cryptic, said she knew something we needed to know before seeing him.”

Sam shook his head. “What could she possibly know that we don’t?”

He shrugged. “She and Bobby are flying out. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I doubt they’ll get anything soon. You want to wait that long?”

“It’s Jimmy. I mean…I hardly think he’s a threat to us, if that’s what she meant.”

“Yeah, I agree. Let’s go see Jimmy, then meet Ellen and Bobby at the airport when they come in.”

Dean started the car and maneuvered it onto the narrow side street at the back of the gas station. The address Sam had for Jimmy wasn’t far. He figured they’d stake out the place for a bit and if nothing seemed out of the ordinary, they’d knock on the door and say ‘howdy’.

~~~~~~~~~

After a productive morning and afternoon Christmas shopping with Jimmy, Jo was worn out and ready for a nap before dinner. They had slow-cooker stroganoff cooking and all they had to do was make the noodles and toss a salad together. She went to their bedroom, glad to take off her shoes and stretch. Her back ached, her legs ached, and she’d had to pee at every store they’d gone into -- sometimes twice. All in all, an average day while pregnant.

Jo laid back on the bed and drew the blanket on the end up over her. She smiled a little as she settled down, exhaustion tugging at her. Tucked in the bags she’d brought in here were a couple gifts for Jimmy that she’d managed to pick up when he wasn’t paying attention. She’d wrap them when she woke up, then take them out and put them under the tree when she went out to help finish making dinner.

A crash and cry of pain woke her and put her on instant alert. She pushed off the bed, grabbed the gun beneath it and left the bedroom on sock feet. The hallway was dark, but the light in the living room showed Jimmy on the floor, a woman straddling him, leaning over him. There was a line of salt across the carpet. Demon. Had to be.

Jo raised the gun. “Get off my husband, you demon bitch!”

~~~~~~~~~~

The winter air was crisp and Meg drew in a deep breath as she walked up to Jimmy Novak’s house from the back yard. Lucky her that his house backed up to a field. All she’d had to do was hike up to the fence and find an opening. She slipped through the shadows, keeping an eye on the windows along the back of the house. There were lights on in one room to her right, though closed curtains obscured her view, and in a room directly ahead of her. She could see a man in the window there, hear the strains of music.

A kitchen. Jimmy was in the kitchen. The light showed him quite clearly. He looked relaxed. Unaware of her presence. Good. Her steps slowed as she reached the back door. Quiet now, she told herself. Don’t alert the little lamb.

She forced the lock and slipped inside the garage, glance noting two vehicles. Meg listened at the door, then sat, slipping from her host’s body in order to take a look at the man inside the house. He was cooking, his back to the family room, utility room, and entrance to the garage. Returning to her host, she tried the garage door, pleased when it opened easily and with no screeching of hinges.

Meg studied him as she approached. He was lean, trim, and she intended to make the most of this time with him, almost salivating at the thought of having him.

“Castiel let you out to play, I see,” she said, enjoying his startled gasp and the emotions that slipped across his handsome features as he turned, the knife he’d been chopping vegetables with still in his hand. There was shock at seeing her, worry and confusion, and that wonderful scent of his fear in the air. “Might as well put that knife down, Jimmy. It won’t help you against me.” She let him see her eyes, a quick flash that produced an instant result.

His gaze darted to the counter and while he did drop the knife, he grabbed a large container of salt, pouring it in a quick line across the kitchen floor.

“Very good,” she purred, amused as he moved into the living room, the salt container still in hand. “You do know you’re going to run out, right? That container is piddly.”

“It’s enough,” he replied and she stepped into the living room from the dining end of the kitchen to watch him pour a line of salt along the wall-to-wall carpet. “I have more if I need it.”

“That’s going to be a bitch to clean up later.”

“I don’t mind.”

Meg returned to the kitchen, contemplated the salt line for a second, then grabbed a dishtowel from the rack. “It was a valiant attempt at protection, Jimmy. I’ll give you that.” Crouching down, she swept the cloth along the floor, disrupting the line of salt and giving herself an opening. She quietly followed him. He was watching where she’d been in the other doorway. Meg smiled. Really, he was rather entertaining. “Valiant, but not nearly good enough.” She turned him with a hand on his arm, backhanded him to stun him and grabbed his shirt, throwing him onto the floor and straddling him. With one hand, she held his wrists, gripping them tight.

“Castiel,” he gasped in a pain-filled voice. Blood trickled from his mouth.

“Isn’t here now,” she finished for him. “Oh look, his empty vessel.” Meg ran her thumb along his lower lip. “Mmm. You’re almost as yummy as Castiel. Baby, I’m going to gobble you up.”

Behind her came the cocking of a gun and a feminine voice. “Get off my husband, you demon bitch!”

Meg turned her head, feeling a bit of confusion at who she saw standing there. Jo Harvelle. How? Her hound had gotten Jo, Meg remembered that clearly enough. She eased up a bit on Jimmy’s wrists. “You. No way did you survive my hound. He ripped open your side like a cellophane wrapped package. Dean Winchester had to carry you into a building, you dripping blood all the way.”

“You were mistaken.”

“No way, sweetie. If there’s one thing I do know well, it’s wounds that kill. I’m guessing you bled out. You died that day, didn’t you?”

“So what if I did?”

“Who brought you back? I didn’t think Castiel had the juice to do that. He was bleeding out himself, his precious angelic powers draining away. He couldn’t even hurt me with them, so I very much doubt he brought you back. Who stepped in? And why? Not like you’re important. The things I know…. I would have heard if you were something significant.” She backhanded Jimmy again and stood.

“Not your concern.”

Meg took a few steps to her left, then her right, pacing a little, concentrating on the facts before her. Jo was pregnant. Her glance lowered to Jimmy’s hand and the ring there, then lifted again and found the matching ring on Jo’s hand. She’d called him her husband. She puzzled that out, ignoring the fact the Jo had a gun pointed at her. It wasn’t the Colt, so it couldn’t really hurt her. “You rose up somehow and married the vessel.” She touched her tongue to her upper lip, and shook her head, eyes narrowing. “Or did you marry the pansy ass angel so he’d feel it was okay to slip it to you? Is that…a vessel inside you or an angel-human abomination?”

“Again, not your concern.”

“Oh, it is my concern. I think I’ll cut you open and find out. And when I’m done with you, I’ll move on to Jimmy. Castiel was a tasty piece of heavenly ass wrapped in a nicely appealing human package, but if I can’t have Castiel, then I want a bite of his vessel.”

“You can’t have him. I won’t let you.”

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to share?”

“She tried, but what can I say, I’m a selfish bitch. Jimmy’s mine.”

“We’ll see about that sweetheart.”

Meg started forward, grabbing the gun and tossing it away, uncaring that it might go off. She gripped Jo’s throat and squeezed, unfazed by the woman’s attempts to injure her, slamming Jo against the wall by the front door. As far as Meg was concerned, she had all of the cards right now.

“Cas….” Jimmy breathed in a groggy voice. “Help me….”

Jo’s hands moved, one scratching at Meg, the other flailing against the table beside them. Items fell from the table and then, Jo brought her hand towards Meg, raking the item in it across her face.

She released Jo with a cry of pain. Keys. Jo had used keys to slash at her. Meg reached for her as Jo tried to move past her, her anger growing. She twined her fingers in Jo’s hair and yanked her back. “You’re almost as much of a pain in the ass as the Winchesters.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Meg jerked Jo’s head back against the wall. The agonized gasp that came from her lips was satisfactory and Meg strode towards the kitchen, dragging Jo along behind her. “No time like the present to get a look at that baby, is there? Relax, Jo. It’ll only hurt a minute and then you’ll be dead again.”

As she rounded the corner, she saw Jimmy waiting there in the kitchen.

Only it wasn’t Jimmy.

She smelled angel, saw Castiel looking at her through Jimmy Novak’s eyes and released Jo. “Castiel. How nice of you to join us.”

Jo scrambled across the kitchen floor on hands and knees.

“I know you. You were in Carthage. The holy fire.” His head tilted a little to the left. “I was unable to smite you then.”

Meg raised her chin a notch.

One brow quirked. “I have no such problem now.” He raised a hand and stepped forward, intent in that blue gaze.

She fled.

~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sure this is Jimmy’s house?” Dean peered at the house. It wasn’t like the one in Illinois where they’d once followed Jimmy. This was a one story with a hedge and privacy fence.

Sam nodded. “Checked it three times. Same name, same age, same picture, different social and address. Either it’s him or he’s got a twin with the same name.”

“You think he knows about the vessel stuff?”

“Cas might have told him before he ditched out of him.”

“That bothers me. Whole thing bothers me. Why ditch? Why keep doing it? I mean, we were there when he told Jimmy what would happen if he went back in him. What would cause Cas to have to leave Jimmy repeatedly?”

“One way to find out.”

They got out of the car and walked up the front walk. From inside, they could hear voices, a man and woman, raised loud in an argument. The words were muffled, but the emotion was clear. Both were adamant about something.

With a shared ‘now or never’ glance, Sam reached out and pressed the doorbell.

~~~~~~~~~~

Meg fled before Castiel could put a hand on her, pouring from the body in a rush.

Jo breathed a tiny sigh of relief that imminent danger was gone and raised a hand to her head, gingerly exploring the place Meg had slammed against the wall. There wasn’t blood, but she was going to have a goose egg. It was already forming, the spot tender to touch. She rested against one cabinet, her hands going to her stomach, feeling the tiniest comforting flutter of the baby moving inside her.

There was salt all over the kitchen floor. Jimmy had tried to stop Meg from advancing into the house any further than she had. Castiel crouched down by the body, frowned and snapped his fingers. The woman’s body disappeared.

“Have you always been able to do that,” she asked, throat feeling a little raw. She kept patting and rubbing her stomach, the baby’s movements soothing her. Jo felt better feeling that movement.

“No,” he replied, standing and turning to face her. “It apparently comes with the power level.”

“Where’d she go?”

He came to her and knelt, gaze slipping over her. “Elsewhere. Are you injured?”

“No.”

His gaze focused on her throat and he reached out his hand, fingers sliding on her skin. “This isn’t an injury?”

“She tried to choke me, but I’m fine.” She felt warmth radiate from his fingers, the discomfort in her throat easing. “Thanks.”

Castiel didn’t release her yet, looking her over as thoroughly as a physician would. Jo felt more tingles of warmth here and there and then he pressed his palm to her stomach. “The baby is well. The demon may have injured you, but she didn’t hurt her.” He released her and stood. “Pack a bag for you and for Jimmy.”

She stared at him. “Why?”

His attention lowered to her belly. “You have to ask? She knows this location, Jo. She knows about Jimmy and you. There’s nothing to stop her from returning and --”

“I’m not leaving my home.” She got to her feet.

He argued with her and while he wasn’t as persuasive as Gabriel could be, he did make some very good points. Still, she wasn’t convinced that leaving her home was the best plan. Bobby had had demons find him over the years and he still lived at his house. Why should she leave hers? With a fierce frown, he left Jimmy. She could tell by the sudden awareness in Jimmy’s eyes.

He staggered a little and she steadied him. “I hate him doing that.”

“Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know. To get Gabriel maybe?”

“Oh, great. That’s just what we need. He’ll snap his fingers once and we’ll be in BFE.”

The doorbell rang. They stared at each other until it rang again.

“New host,” he asked, going to the spice cabinet and pulling out the only salt left in it: a tiny table-sized salt shaker. He carried it back to her. “It’s better than nothing.”

“I don’t think it’s her. She probably thinks Cas is still here, ready to smite her if she peeks her head in.”

“Do we answer it?”

She shrugged. “I guess.” Moving to the door, she glanced out the sidelight and jerked open the door. “Dean. Sam. What are you doing here?”

Shock reflected in their eyes, growing as their attention lowered to her undeniably pregnant belly. Their mouths opened. She sighed a little. She’d assumed her mom had talked to Dean, told him that she was alive. Obviously not.

Jimmy joined her at the door. “You’d better come in,” he told them, drawing her back a fraction and half stepping in front of her.

It was both a protective and possessive gesture that almost made her smile. There was no way Dean and Sam would miss it. It was a blatant message that Jo was his. She didn’t mind in the least, a wave of exhaustion crashing over her. She was about ready to drop, but Sam and Dean were going to need explanations -- or as much of one she could give them.

~~~~~~~~~~

The woman who answered the door was Jo. Dean’s knees felt weak, his mind not wanting to process her there in front of him. First Ellen and now Jo. Her hair was still long, her pretty features reflecting an inner radiance, and while still slim of frame, she was also pregnant. Jo was pregnant. He stared at her belly, then back up at her. It was Jo there before him, really her and not some woman who looked like her.

No greeting came to him, or anything else for that matter. For once, Dean had no words to say, no smart-ass comment at the tip of his tongue, no quip that would make him feel like all awkwardness had slid away. This meeting wasn’t under normal circumstances.

Jimmy Novak was right behind Jo, inviting them in, that hand on Jo’s arm territorial and very possessive; the way he stepped in front of her protective. Dean’s mind raced, putting that together with Jo’s pregnancy in a conclusion he didn’t really want to consider. He could smell her perfume now, that same perfume that had been on Castiel when he’d seen him. He swallowed hard. At the very least, Jimmy and Jo were lovers. Remembering Jimmy and Jo both, he thought it was probably more than that.

He let himself be led inside, into a large living room, hearing Sam’s apologies for barging in on them and Jimmy’s polite invitation to sit. It was Sam who asked the questions Dean wanted to ask, but Dean sat there watching Jo and Jimmy both, trying to understand what was happening here.

“What happened, Jo? When were you brought back?” Sam’s voice was gentle, coaxing.

She adjusted her position in the circle of Jimmy’s arm, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment, before raising it again. “I woke up in an apartment by myself,” Jo told them, patting her belly. She looked tired, the purple smudge of shadows beneath her eyes. “It was the day after Carthage.”

A baby. Hers and Jimmy’s. Had to be, unless he was reading all the clues wrong. Dean was having trouble with that, both of those things freaking him out more than a little. Jo and Jimmy? He couldn’t see them together at all. And Jo pregnant by Jimmy?

He sucked in a breath to steady himself.

“You weren’t hurt,” Sam asked. Good old Sam, not quite as dumbstruck as Dean apparently.

“Nope. No sign of the wounds, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have nightmares about it or phantom pains. Everything was arranged here for me. I had what I needed. Food, clothes, a place to rest. I always had what I needed.”

“Last time I saw you, you were bleeding out on the floor of a hardware store.” Dean blurted the words out, unable to stop staring at her stomach.

“You think it’s not weird for me, Dean? I was dead and then I wasn’t. I knew I was supposed to be dead. You know, I even thought I was in some kind of hell until an angel showed up to guard me.”

“You couldn’t have called?” He glanced up at her eyes. What was he hoping to see there, he wondered. Regret maybe, that she hadn’t called him? Or called someone, at least? “A few of us might have been happy to know you were alive after that.”

Her expression hardened. “Called? No, I couldn’t have called. When I call out, even now, I get ‘cannot be completed as dialed’ messages. I couldn’t…can’t…even leave this town. I set foot outside the city limits and I loop to town center. I’m marooned here, Dean.” Getting up, she went to the cupboard in the corner and opened it, retrieving a box and bringing it to the coffee table. She set it down. “All I can do is put together files and even then, I have to ask Theresa at the library for help with the out-of-town work on them.”

With lips set in a thin line, she reached inside the box, pulled out several folders and slammed them down. “You once said I put together a good file. There you go. Files. And they’re all yours because I’m trapped here. I can’t leave and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to leave.”

“Jimmy--”

“Oh, he can leave if he’s flying angel air, but otherwise, he’s just as stuck as I am. We get to sit here and have babies. This town is a cage. It’s big and shiny and there’s plenty here, but it’s still a cage.”

As she spoke, her tone got sharper and sharper until that last word was spat out. He blinked. “You’re taking it well.”

“It’s been a sore subject off and on for awhile,” Jimmy explained, catching her hand in his.

“Freakin’ angels,” she muttered, sitting back beside Jimmy. “Did I mention the best part? This one angel that was here to guard me? Put me in a time loop.”

“You were in a time loop?” Sam glanced at Dean, probably remembering Gabriel’s penchant for them, though Gabriel was long gone now, killed by Lucifer. Dean even sort of missed him a little.

“Sure was. Dick angel thought he was being really funny. Castiel put a stop to that.”

“Good for him.”

“He puts a stop to that, then turns around and leaves the barrier up that keeps us here. He’s real swell.”

She appeared to be on the verge of tears. “Are you okay, Jo?”

“There was an agreement made and welched on. Angels aren’t my favorite thing in the world.” She rubbed a hand across her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m…tired. It’s been a long day and I…”

“Hormones, busy day, demon.” Jimmy put an arm around Jo again and nodded, hand chafing her arm in slow strokes. “Give it a couple minutes.”

Demon? “Okay.” Dean cleared his throat, searching for some other topic that might not cause a strange mood shift. “Cas tell you anything about a problem with the vessels?”

Jo rubbed one hand in a circle on her stomach. “Do we know about the vessel problem?” She patted Jimmy’s leg with her other hand. “Is there a vessel problem?”

Covering her hand with his, Jimmy grasped her fingers. “Jo….”

“Oh right, that vessel problem. You know about it then? How the arrogant angels dropped the ball and let all the vessels be killed? Why do you think I was brought back and set here out of the way? All I am is a vessel incubator. Someone had to push out Jimmy’s babies and because of my super special genes and extra fertile eggs, it falls on me to do that -- because Amelia wouldn’t come back down here. She didn’t want to come back.” Her teeth grazed her lower lip and she nodded. “I’m so fertile, I got knocked up on the first try. How’s that for special?”

“Good to know you’re not bitter or anything.”

Her smile was sweet. “The angels can shove it all up their non-corporeal asses. Cas, too.”

In the awkward silence that fell, Dean watched Jimmy and Jo’s faces. They appeared to have an entire conversation without words, ending when Jo got up and flounced from the room. After a minute, Jimmy excused himself and followed her.

“What the hell was that,” he whispered to Sam.

“She’s a little on edge looks like.”

“A little?”

Jimmy rejoined them. “Sorry about that. Jo’s lying down for awhile. She usually rests in the afternoon, but we had some excitement and she’s a little tired.”

“Looks to me like you’ve had a lot of excitement,” Dean remarked. “How far along is she?”

A slow, satisfied grin tugged Jimmy’s lips and he stretched his arms along the couch back. “About six months.”

“Congratulations.” Sam raised his brows at Dean and jerked his head towards Jimmy.

“Yeah, congrats. So what kind of excitement were you talking about?”

“We had a demon break in.”

No more information was forthcoming and Dean shook his head. “You’ve been Cas’s vessel too long. Details, Jimmy?”

“Oh. Um…female, apparently has a thing for Castiel. She called him yummy and…” he snapped his fingers, “she said her hounds killed Jo.”

He and Sam groaned at the same time. “Great. Meg.” Dean stood and began to pace. “Out of all the demons Lucifer bled, why didn’t he bleed her? You’re awfully calm about this, Jimmy.” Turning, he looked at Jimmy. He was relaxed on the couch, legs stretched out and ankles crossed, one foot jiggling, apparently unconcerned about the demon attack.

“Castiel intervened. We’re okay.”

“This happened when?”

“Just before you got here.”

Sam stood as well, moving to the window and parting the curtain to peer out. “Delayed emotional reaction. Mental shock. That’s what was wrong with Jo. And why he’s so calm.”

Jimmy shook his head and laughed. “Guys, it’s okay. She’s gone. Castiel was here, he made sure we were both fine. Jo’s good, I’m good, the baby’s good. We’re good.”

“No, it’s not okay.”

“Come on. Sit. Castiel sent her host hours away. She probably still thinks he’s here. Sit down.”

Sam crossed to the chair at one end of the couch. “Okay, Jimmy. We’ll sit awhile. Dean, let’s sit.”

“Fine.” Dean rolled his eyes and took the chair at the other end of the table. “Tell us about Jo. Does she really loop to town center? Just, uh, blink and she’s there, like Jeannie?”

“No, no it’s not like that, Dean. She goes into a trance state and wakes up there. She walks or drives herself.”

“I see.” He picked up a file, opened it, and flipped through it before stacking it back on the others. “I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“All of it. This. Your family.”

“You mean Amelia and Claire? They’re happy in heaven.”

He snorted. “You been there?”

“No, but Castiel says the individual boundaries are broken and he can’t figure out how to put them back, whatever that means.”

“Good,” Sam said, leaning forward and clasping his hands together. “It’ll be better that way. Let it stay broken, so people can find each other and maybe some real peace.”

“Look, he says they’re happy together up there and I believe him. I have Jo and a baby on the way and I’m content with that. Of course I miss Amelia and Claire, but I’ll see them again some day.”

Dean sat back. “Did Cas know why Jo was chosen?”

“Her super special genes and extra fertile eggs. Seriously, that’s really it. Genetics. Apparently, each vessel has a certain number of potential mates out there and Jo’s one of them. With Amelia not willing to come back, Jo was the most compatible.”

“You have any idea why Amelia didn’t want to come back?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah, of course I do. Claire’s birth was hard on her. The whole pregnancy was an overall nightmare for her. Claire was a miracle anyway. We’d thought she couldn’t have kids, so her being pregnant at all was…”

“A miracle,” Sam finished for him. “She didn’t want to go through that again.”

“Nope. It was her decision. Castiel argued with her, did his best to get her to come back. She told him to give me her blessing to move on and have a family with another woman.”

“Claire wouldn’t come back either?”

“Her mother needed her. That’s what she told Cas to tell me. Her mother needed her and she’d look forward to seeing me again some day.” He sat up. “What was Castiel supposed to do? Force them back down?”

Yes, Dean thought silently to himself.

“Jo’s right for this, Dean. She’s young, healthy, and she knows all of this life. She embraces it, understands it. She gets me.”

“Does she?”

“This vessel line is voluntary. No cupid’s arrow, only free will choices.”

“Jo agreed to this? Because it doesn’t sound to me like she’s too thrilled with the arrangement.”

Jimmy’s voice turned hard and cool. “You have no idea what we’ve gone through together. We’ve both made decisions, took vows. Jo’s my wife. My wife. She carries our child. I’ll love, honor, and protect both her and any children we have.”

Dean leaned forward now, moving close, staring into Jimmy’s eyes, ignoring how Sam cleared his throat twice in a row. “You mean like Amelia and Claire were protected?”

“Dean!” Jo’s voice came from behind him. She came into view, anger on her face. “Don’t you dare lay that on him! Castiel was the one who promised them safety, who put the guard on them who betrayed them. Jimmy tried to protect them by leaving. He tried. Who are you to criticize?”

The words hit him hard. Who was he to criticize with some of the things he’d done in the name of protecting family and friends?

She sat beside Jimmy. “Maybe this isn’t saving the world, but we’re needed. The angels need us. Think about it, Dean. I mean really think.”

“Now you’re happy with the situation? Because a bit ago you were pissed.”

She grasped Jimmy’s hand, her own hand turned so that her rings were visible. “What can I say? I’m my mother’s daughter. I can be pissed one minute and fine the next. There has to be a vessel line. They have to be able to communicate with us and as much as they frustrate us, Castiel’s doing what he can to change their attitudes. He’s trying.” Jo watched him a long moment, then stood again, motioning. “Get up.”

“What?”

“I said get up. You’re gonna piss on my party, then I’m gonna show you just what you’re pissing on.” She went around the table and started down the hall. “Come. Now.”

He glanced at Jimmy. “Damn, she’s bossy.”

“Sometimes.” There was a hint of amusement on his face. “I’d follow her. She’s not above grabbing your ear and dragging you when she’s pissed.”

“She do that to you often?” Still, he was curious what Jo wanted to show him. He got up and followed her.

Jo led him into a bedroom and flipped on the light. He saw a crib, dresser, table. All ready for a baby. There was a rocking chair to one side. He swallowed hard. The colors were feminine in shade, muted pastels.

“Geez, Jo.”

“Jimmy wants to name her Katherine, Katie for short, but we’ve got awhile yet to argue that.”

“You’re really doing this?”

She pointed at her stomach. “A little late to back out. I’m committed to this, to being a wife, a mother, a hunter if I ever get the chance again.”

“You’re planning on hunting with a kid? Let me introduce you to Sammy and I, in case we haven’t met. You know, two guys who were raised in it --”

“And I wasn’t?”

“You’re going to get yourself killed. And Jimmy and that baby, too.”

She crossed her arms. “Nice to know your confidence in my skills has dipped since we partnered up last. Was it the whole dying thing? Because if it is, it seems a little hypocritical considering how many times you’ve bit the big one.”

“It’s not funny, Jo.”

“I know.”

“Why are you making jokes?”

“Why are you not?”

“You’re out, Jo. Stay out. You have something more to your life now, something that’s good and real. You have a chance. You’ve got it. Don’t jeopardize it for hunting. Don’t be stupid.” He shook his head, pointing at himself. “Don’t be me. You grab normal with both hands and hold on tight.”

“Normal isn’t going to happen, Dean. As long as Jimmy is a vessel and I’m the wife of one and the mother of vessels, we’re targets. I’m not out. You’re kidding yourself if you think any of this here,” she gestured, “means that.” She left the room and walked back towards the living room.

Dean stayed in the baby’s room a moment longer, then turned out the light and followed her once more. “It won’t work, you know. This family unit thing. It’s doomed to failure.”

“Aren’t you full of sunshine?”

Sam and Jimmy were quiet, both watching them, and Dean turned his attention to Jimmy. “History teach you nothing, Jimmy? Your family is dead because of this and you’re willing to try again? You’re willing to put Jo and that baby in danger?”

Jo made a noise of protest. “Like I’m some damsel in distress who can’t take care of herself. Do you really remember the woman I am, or only the girl I was? We’ll do what we have to and it’s no concern of yours.”

“She’s correct, Dean.” The voice was lower, still Jimmy’s, yet no longer his. Sometime while Dean had been in the baby’s room, Castiel had decided to join them.

“Well, well, seems you are keeping a woman, Cas.”

“She’s not mine to keep or not to keep. She’s Jimmy’s wife. Their life together isn’t your worry. You’ve learned what you came to learn. Both of you should go.”

“We can’t, Cas,” Sam told him.

“What prevents that occurrence?”

Dean watched Jo’s face as he spoke. “Because Bobby and Ellen are flying in.” Jo wasn’t surprised. She already knew, that was what her calm meant. “You knew about your mom.”

She sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I did. Not about her flying in, but…yeah. I knew she was alive, that she’s been looking for me.”

“Ellen never said a word about you when we were there,” Sam said. “Didn’t mention you.”

Dean crossed the rest of the way to the couch and chairs. “You haven’t seen her though, right?”

“No, I’ve seen her. She just didn’t see me.”

Castiel’s expression was faintly guilty. “That’s not…entirely true.”

Jo turned to him. “Explain.”

He glanced at her twice, the guilt increasing. “I brought Ellen here to see you not too long ago while you were sleeping.”

“I see.” Her nod was slow. “Didn’t by chance turn your back on her, did you?”

“Perhaps. You’d kicked the covers off. I thought you might be cold.”

“That’s sweet. Isn’t that sweet, Sam?” Dean sighed a little, seeing right away the point Jo was going to make.

“Sure is, Dean. Considerate.”

Jo’s brows raised. “More considerate than you know, but not to me. Cas…. You showed Ellen Harvelle her married, pregnant, and missing daughter, then turned your back on her in a room that has framed wedding pictures on the dresser. Think about that.”

“It was dark,” he protested.

“You know my mother.”

“It was dark,” he reiterated with less certainty than before.

“Castiel. It’s Ellen Harvelle. Think.” As he lips parted and his expression shifted to acknowledgment of the mistake, she nodded. “Oh yeah. She looked. She leaned down, studied them really well, and all she had to do was ask Bobby if he knew the name of your vessel. It was simple after that.” She leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling. “What time is their flight coming in, Dean? We should be there to meet them.”

“It’s Christmas, so they had some trouble. Won’t be in until four tomorrow afternoon.”

She sighed again. “All right. Cas, Jimmy has to meet my mother tomorrow, so I’m going to need you to go so I can prepare him for that.”

Castiel stared at the table, frowning. “I apologize, Jo. I thought I was helping.”

“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “It must be time for us to meet.”

Jo invited them to stay for dinner and while Sam kept making motions towards the door, Dean wasn’t willing to leave yet. There was still more he wanted to know.