Title: The Curse of Bittersweet Kisses
Chapter 27

~~~~~~~~~~

Mindy was stronger than she looked, keeping Jo steady and drawing her away from the two men as they began to fight in earnest. She urged Jo back towards the cabins and didn’t seem to be worried about Jimmy. “Come on, Jo. I’ll help you. Let’s leave the boys to fight this out.”

They made little progress. Jo wondered how some pregnant women could stroll along like nothing was happening. This freaking hurt!

The fight was over as fast as it had begun, Gil on the ground with his eyes closed and a concerned, yet slightly battered Jimmy coming towards Jo and Mindy.

“Are you okay,” he asked, wiping blood from his lip with the back of one hand.

“I’m in labor,” she gasped, afraid to move for fear that moving would cause more pain to ripple through her. “I need Dean.”

Jimmy stepped close. “We’ll find him.” He held out a hand. “Let me help.”

There was a movement behind him. Gil was back on his feet and moving forward, a cocky grin in place.

“Cas,” Jo cried in warning.

He turned, fist driving forward even as Mindy threw the contents of a small vial at Gil. Gil’s flesh sizzled, and he stumbled back, eyes flashing black for just a second.

“The king wants you and your baby. He’ll be coming for you, darling.” Black smoke shot from Gil’s mouth, the body dropping to the ground.

“Quick thinking, Mindy.” Jimmy crouched down, checking for a pulse. “He’s dead.”

Mindy nodded. “Thanks.”

“A demon? He was a freaking demon? We tested for that!” Another pain hit Jo, doubling her over. “Ohhh….” He’d mentioned the king. That meant Crowley unless some other demon had managed to depose him in the months that had passed.

“He may not have been one when you first met him.” Standing, Jimmy dusted off his hands. “Crowley once had one of Dean and Sam’s cousins possessed for months and the Campbell family took all the precautions as well.” Jimmy placed a hand on her back. “Mindy, go find Morgan, have her go to Dean’s cabin --”

“She’s already there.” Jo tried to stand up straight and found that she couldn’t. She really didn’t want to move at all. Even breathing seemed to make her ache already and this bent position eased some of that. What she wanted to do was curl into a little ball and scream for Dean.

“Tell her I’m bringing Jo back, apprise her of the situation, then find Dean and Jody in that order.”

Mindy ran back down the path.

He rubbed a hand across Jo’s lower back. It didn’t help, but it was a nice gesture. “Can you walk?”

“I don’t know. I’d rather not.”

“Then you should hang on to me,” he replied, lifting her into his arms.

She pressed her face to his chest. The last time Jo had been carried like this, it had been Dean carrying her and she’d been well on her way to dying. The pain now was just as intense in a different way. This pain meant life.

They were met at the cabin door by Sam, who took her from Jimmy and carried her on to the infirmary. He laid her on the bed Morgan had ready in one small room to the back of the building and remained bending, arm around her. “Want me to stay until Dean gets here?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay.” Sam nodded and released her. “I’ll be right here.”

Morgan held out a stack of fabric. “Jo, let’s get you changed into this, then you can lie down again.” Behind the screen in the corner, she helped Jo undress and put on the gown.

“Hurts already,” Jo told her. “I didn’t think it’d hurt like this so fast.”

“It comes on some women like that. Once you’re situated, we’ll see if you’re dilated any yet.”

“I feel like I could push already.”

“Don’t do that until I tell you. Pushing before you’re dilated is a bad idea.”

“I know. I just…I want this over.”

Back on the table, and with her lower body draped by a large cloth, she held Sam’s hand. It wasn’t the same as Dean being there, but Jo knew he’d get there as soon as he could. She also knew Sam didn’t really want to be in there. It was obvious to her on how he avoided looking anywhere below her face.

Finally, she heard Dean in the main room and cried out for him. The relief on Sam’s face when Dean walked in the room would have made Jo laugh if she hadn’t been hit by another contraction.

Dean replaced Sam beside her as the contraction passed. Leaning down, he kissed her temple. “Breathe, Jo. Just breathe.”

His hand in hers felt comforting, his presence soothing. “I’m trying. Really hurts. When I was dying, there was this numbness eventually, but this is getting worse.”

His free hand brushed her hair back from her face in gentle strokes. “We’re in this together, remember? We promised each other that.”

Those words carried her through the next hours.

~~~~~~~~~~

The demon that had been Gil was going to be a problem. Castiel knew he needed to tell Dean immediately despite Jo being in labor. Dean had to be aware of the threat so he could make arrangements. When the door of the cabin banged open and Dean demanded where Jo was, Castiel grabbed his arm before he could head to the closed door at the back of the cabin.

“She’s in there but,” Castiel pointed, “we have a problem.”

Dean’s eyes opened wide. “Something’s wrong with Jo?”

“No,” he hurried to assure him. “It’s something else.”

“Can it wait? I need to get in there.” He looked at the closed door, a mix of fear and excitement on his face, and took off his jacket before beginning to roll up his shirtsleeves.

“I know, but it can’t wait. Crowley wants Jo and the baby.”

That got Dean’s full attention. “What?” His eyes narrowed. “How did he even know?”

“Gil’s a demon.”

“Gil? Gil who?”

“The guy in Jo’s group. The dark haired, bearded one. Mindy and I came upon him trying to drag Jo down the path to the gate. He’s a demon, or rather he was a demon. His body is down by the vehicles. The demon fled. I’d guess he alerted Crowley of Jo’s state. Crowley is smart. He would’ve figured out you were the father of her baby. Gil was likely keeping an eye on her for him. Crowley did know about you and Jo. Think about it. The child of a Winchester in the hands of the king of hell? He’ll be anticipating all the ways he can use it against you.”

“Son of a bitch!”

“Dean,” Jo screamed from the other room.

“I bet we’ll be seeing Crowley soon. Within a few days anyway.” Not exactly news Castiel wanted to give as Dean was heading in to the birth of his child.

“Damn it.” Dean took a few steps towards the room and turned back. “You and Sam take care of initial preparations, get the people ready. Grab Jody to help when she’s done with whatever Morgan has her doing in here. I want the camp moving on this by the time I come out of this room.” He opened the door and went into the room without another look back.

“Will do.” Castiel felt a sense of purpose filling him, a sense that had begun as he’d sat with Ellen in the back of that van. It was a strong feeling that they’d been in limbo of sorts and stuck on pause and it was time to finally move forward. Events were in motion that couldn’t be stopped, almost like Jo and Ellen’s arrival had been the catalyst to cause it.

Sam emerged from the room, looking like he was glad to be out of there. He let out a whoosh of breath. “That,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder as the door shut, “isn’t something I want to see any more of.”

“Sam, I need your assistance.”

“Sure. With what?”

“Crowley is going to be coming here for the baby and possibly Jo as well, probably within a few days at most. We need to mobilize the forces.”

“Great, but, uh, has anyone told Ellen Jo’s in labor? She kind of needs to know.”

“Right. I don’t know. Probably not? We’ll go there first.”

Ellen’s reaction wasn’t exactly what Castiel expected -- to him or the news. While she eyed him with suspicion, she accepted Sam’s introduction, then demanded they pick her up and carry her to the infirmary so she could be there when the baby was born. He’d expected her to be rational and stay out of the way, waiting in her cabin until there was actual news. Not to mention she hadn’t been fever free for a full day yet and it wouldn’t be good for a newborn child to be exposed to anything.

In a bout of what seemed like mind reading, Sam shook his head. “Sorry, Ellen. No can do. You’re still on the mend and your fever hasn’t been gone very long. I doubt Morgan would approve. She won’t let you stay and you don’t want to chance getting the baby sick, do you?”

Irritation flashed in her eyes. “You’d better keep me updated as soon as anything happens or so help me, Sam --”

“I will.” He turned his head and motioned for Castiel to go. “Look, I’ll stay with you and go get an update every twenty minutes or so. Sound good?”

If they both left right now, Ellen was likely to drag herself to the infirmary. It would be best if Sam stayed and kept her in her cabin.

“I’ll be back shortly,” he told them.

Castiel left her to Sam and went on to talk to a few others that would help with the planning. Crowley could be counted on to come at the most inconvenient time possible. It was something of a special talent of his. They needed to have a sound plan ready for Dean’s approval the second he was able to step out of that room. When the bare bones were in place, he returned to Ellen’s cabin.

Ellen and Sam had their heads together over a map of the camp that appeared to have been drawn by Dean. Castiel recognized Dean’s handwriting on it. As he watched, Ellen ran a finger along the fence line.

“Iron posts and wire sprayed with Bobby’s favorite paint-salt combo?”

“We touch it up a lot.”

“Every little bit helps for defense, I guess. Too bad you don’t have a source for a ton of gargoyles to help on the PD front.”

“Why is that,” Castiel asked, moving towards the folding table they sat at. The table was a new addition to the room, as were the chairs. Ellen’s chair was close to the bed and her bad leg was propped on the bed itself.

“Well, when Jo and I were stuck in one town, I noticed a building that had gargoyles all along the upper level. There were eight gargoyles total, one on each corner and one placed in-between. I saw a PD go near it and react like a cat tossed in water as soon as it neared the building. They left that building alone.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t consecrated ground or something?”

“It was a courthouse, not a church, and had never been a church.”

“Interesting.” He crossed his arms.

“I agree. I’d heard of gargoyles being used as symbols of protection, but pretty much every hunter I’ve ever talked to about them said it was a bunch of superstitious bunk.”

“It is ‘bunk’,” he agreed, considering the idea coupled with everything he knew. “Gargoyles have no meaning to angels, demons, or other creatures, but….” Castiel thought back over history. “There was a rumor that in France in the mid-seventh century the door to Purgatory was opened. I have no facts for that, merely the rumor, and gargoyles began to be used in architecture about that time. You may be on to something, Ellen.” He’d thought it was merely a story, but what if it wasn’t?

“Garden center,” Sam said, tapping his fingers on the table top.

“Sam?” Ellen turned her head and looked at him.

“Garden center,” he repeated. “Gargoyles are a big garden thing, right? Like garden gnomes only garden gargoyles. I’ve seen them. They’re cheap plastic things, but they are gargoyles.”

Castiel nodded, thinking over the nearest towns and what was available there. “Town to the west has the biggest center. No telling how many are in their stock.”

“Four might be enough for a single structure,” Ellen said. “Not sure if it was the number present on that roof or the fact there they were there that did it.”

“We need more spray paint and salt anyway. Probably should pick up some baby things as well,” Castiel rationalized, already planning a list of items they could get while they were out. May as well make a good run.

“Look for….” Ellen snagged the pad of paper beneath the map. “I’ll just make you a list. Oh, and in one of our vehicles, Morgan and I had a stash of baby things we were going to surprise Jo with. Ask Kaitlynn where it went.” When she’d finished writing, she held it out. “Not saying you should get everything on this list, just get what you can. Priority is at the top.”

“I’ll get a team together and head on out.”

Ellen studied him a long moment. “Be careful and come back safe…Jimmy.”

“I’ll do my best, Ellen.”

Castiel split his team into two groups. The first went to find the items on Ellen’s list and the second looked for garden gargoyles. Ellen’s items were the easiest to find. The gargoyles took some work, but they lucked out on two big boxes of them in the stockroom of the garden center. Upon returning, he had the boxes carted to the infirmary and the rest to Dean and Sam’s cabin before he and a few men got started on their project.

~~~~~~~~~~

Waking in a cabin had been mildly disconcerting to Ellen, but it was nothing compared to having Castiel walk through the door of that cabin hours later calling himself Jimmy. Ellen decided right then that both the boys must have been completely distracted not to see it. She saw it right away in how he looked at her. His eyes begged for forgiveness and his discomfort was obvious. His shoulders hunched and he took quick glances at her.

Castiel gave himself away, almost like he meant to do so.

Sam’s obliviousness she could understand. The boy was drugged to the gills. He was having trouble being aware of anything for too long. Dean however…. Did he, deep down, know this ‘Jimmy’ was a lie? Or was he too busy trying to hold everyone else together to see it? Could be either or a bit of both. Perhaps Castiel had done a decent job at lying to them. She wondered how he’d come to be there when Dean and Sam had set out to kill him.

Once Castiel had gone and in between Sam’s runs to the infirmary for news, Ellen slowly began to drag the story from Sam. He told her everything and then it was her turn. Sam asked about Morgan.

“Tell me something about her,” he said. “She wants to have dinner and I’d like to know a little more about her first.”

“You could talk to her.”

“I want to hear your thoughts on her.”

Ellen nodded. “Okay. She’s a determined woman. Made over her entire life after her husband died a few years ago. She’s the granddaughter of a hunter and that’s how she knows about things. Her dad managed to break away from it somewhat and raised her to understand the life. Doesn’t scare easily, keeps a calm head in a crisis….” She raised her brows. “What else do you want to know?”

He looked a little guilty, shifting in his seat and glancing away. “I’m just, you know --”

“Interested in her?” Ellen smiled. “It’s okay. She berated me earlier when I woke for not telling her you were cute.”

“She thinks I’m cute?”

For a second, he seemed so very young and vulnerable and Ellen nodded. “Have dinner with her. Be good for you both.”

He crossed his arms. “Why would she want someone as crazy as me?”

“Your sickness doesn’t define you, Sam. You’re a lot more than that and Morgan isn’t the shallow sort who won’t look beyond to the real you. Give her a chance.”

“I don’t want to hurt her, Ellen. She seems nice.”

“She is nice. She’s also a grown woman. Let her worry about whether or not she wants to chance getting hurt.”

A small smile flickered and disappeared. “You know, she sort of said the same thing.”

“Well then, what are you waiting for? Have dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll have dinner with her.” His watch beeped. “Time for another run to the infirmary.”

It had taken Ellen awhile to get used to the way Sam talked now. The slurred speech bothered her and when he tried to talk like he used to, he was the hardest to understand. He had to slow way down to be clear. It seemed so wrong to hear him fighting to get words out and her heart ached for him as the hours passed. She wondered how often he simply decided not to talk at all rather than bother trying. Had to be unbearably frustrating.

Jo’s progress was slow and steady and he finally told her they were close and he’d stay at the infirmary until the baby was born, then come tell her.

Ellen could hardly wait to find out if she had a grandson or granddaughter.

~~~~~~~~~~

At 8:05 p.m., Dean, Jo, Jody, Mindy, and Morgan were all startled by a loud thumping on the roof. As Sam assured them everything was fine and to go back to having the baby, they ignored the rest of the thumps and concentrated on bringing the child into the world.

At 9:47 p.m., nearly seven hours after she’d gone into labor, Jo gave birth to a baby girl. Holding that tiny swaddled bundle a short while later, Dean felt a swelling of pride and sheer wonder inside him.

“I have a daughter,” he whispered.

She was small and perfect and, in his opinion, looked just like Jo. The connection he already felt to this child surprised him a little. He hadn’t expected to love her so fast, but he did. He brushed a finger along her cheek. She opened her mouth and squirmed a little before sighing and settling back down.

Jo rested her head against his shoulder. One hand slid along his back, the other adjusting the folds of the blanket. “We have a daughter.”

Leaning down a little, he kissed her, then asked, “How completely awesome is that?”

“It’s definitely awesome,” she replied with a tired smile.

Morgan cleared her throat. In her hands was that camera Jo had recorded her diaries on. “Okay, you two. Before I leave you alone for awhile, I thought you might like to get a few family pictures to commemorate this evening.”

He nodded. “Go ahead.”

When she was finished, she set the camera aside and slipped out the door. She’d be outside if they needed her.

Jo touched the baby’s hand, held it in hers a moment. “We need to talk names.”

“What names had you planned?” He was curious what names Jo had been considering and they hadn’t had time to talk about it until right now.

“If she’d been a boy, I was going to name her after you. Dean.”

“And a girl?”

“I was thinking Elizabeth. It’s a family name on my mom’s side and has been for about five generations now. My middle name was supposed to be Elizabeth, but dad didn’t like it. They compromised.”

“Elizabeth is good. I like it. We could name her Elizabeth Ellen.”

She raised a brow. “Dean. Sweetheart. Think about those initials a minute.”

“E.E.H?” He was fishing and knew it, asking in a roundabout way how she’d planned to raise their child: Winchester or Harvelle.

“No, E.E.W.” She cleared her throat. “I never planned on giving her the name Harvelle. This baby was always a Winchester.”

“Might be safer as a Harvelle,” he suggested, though very pleased that Winchester had been the only option in her mind.

“Doubtful. You family isn’t the only one with issues. I learned a few things about my Harvelle side these past months. Mom got talkative.”

“Yeah? Like what?” He’d bet her Harvelle side had never done some of the stupid shit he and Sam and the Campbells had done in the past.

“Tell you later. How about Elizabeth Rose?”

“I dated a Rose once. She was a bitch. Screwed me in ways other than the usual one.”

“Okay then. How about Elizabeth Anneke?”

“Anneke?” He considered it, mentally running through all of the nicknames possible, and shook his head. “Nope. Anneke can be shorted to Nikki and every Nikki I’ve ever known has been a wild child.”

“Dean, we’re not looking for a first name. It’ll be her middle name.”

“I’m taking no chances with my daughter.”

She laughed. “This could take awhile if you shoot down all my suggestions.”

“You shot down mine first.”

“Only because her initials would be E.E.W. Eew. Other would kids would make that noise at her. Trust me on this.”

He looked down at their daughter and stroked one finger across her cheek, an idea forming. “How about Hope? Elizabeth Hope.”

“Hope?”

“Yeah. As in ‘we both hoped you’d get here safely’. Or ‘hope for the future’.”

She returned her cheek to his shoulder. “I don’t know, that’s sort of sappy,” she teased.

“I’m a new dad. I’m allowed sappy.” Hope seemed perfect to him.

“That you are. Elizabeth Hope Winchester.” Jo smiled. “I like it.”

“Call her Ellie?”

“Liz,” she countered.

“Lizzie?” Dean raised a brow.

“Bess?”

“Beth?” He glanced down at their daughter, trying out the shortened name. “Beth.”

“I like Beth. Always have. Beth it is.”

Dean gently grasped one tiny hand. “Hi Beth.” Turning his head, he pressed a kiss against Jo’s forehead. “Thank you, Jo.”

“For what?”

“For her.” He hated to ruin the moment and knew he should wait for awhile, but he couldn’t. She had to know this peaceful moment wouldn’t last long. “Jo, Crowley wants our daughter.”

“He can’t have her.” She eased away from him and back into bed. “What’s your plan to keep us safe when he comes?”

“Both of you?” He was surprised she was including herself in that since she was very capable of taking care of herself these days.

“Of course both of us. I just gave birth. I’m in no shape to be fighting and won’t be for awhile. I mean, I can and will if I absolutely have to, but if you’ve got a better idea, I’ll let someone else run the show.”

“I put Jimmy and Sam on it, so I’ll talk to them and get back to you.” Once she was settled, he handed Beth to her. “I’ll be here all night, either in the chair over there or out on one of the cots.”

Jody, Mindy, and Morgan were all planning on taking shifts to help Jo through the night and he left so Jo could have some time alone with Beth. There were a few things he needed to get done, such as telling Ellen and talking to Jimmy and Sam.

He emerged from the cabin to find that thumping on the roof had had a purpose. At the corners of the roof, plastic gargoyles had been affixed and he could see symbols spray-painted on the roof itself…and on the outer walls and doors into the cabin. Sam was looking it all over with an air of satisfaction to him.

“Sam?”

“Yeah?” Sam stepped up beside him.

He gestured at the building. “Do I want to know?”

“Keeping Jo and the baby safe.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “What’s with the symbols?”

“Um…just something I heard…read about that might keep Crowley away.”

Heard or read? Sam seemed to use the two words for the same meaning a lot lately. Was it another side effect of the medicine that he got words confused? “Right. Whose idea was this?”

“Ellen, me, Jimmy…. A couple other guys…. Ellen observed that gargoyles work to keep PDs out of places. I know we’re preparing for Crowley, but we might as well add things for PD’s as well.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Jimmy’s team found a lot of things while they were out.”

“Team?”

“Yeah, after we started looking at plan ideas we realized we needed a few things.” Sam scrutinized one spray-painted symbol, then bent, retrieved a can and added a squiggle to it. “There. You staying here tonight?”

“Was planning on it. The plan, Sam,” he prompted.

“We have more salt and paint. Iron. Holy water.”

“You guys didn’t come up with a plan, did you?”

“Not much of one, no. Increased patrols.”

“Where’s Jimmy?”

“Huh….” He sidestepped and began walking away, around the building. “He’s busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Construction.”

“Sam.” Striding forward, he caught Sam’s arm, stopping him from moving away again. “Jimmy doesn’t do construction. He banged his thumb with a hammer last time he tried to nail anything and never did get any nails into the wood. Handy the guy ain’t. Amelia probably did all the handy work at their house.”

“There’s not much we can do, Dean, except make sure Jo and the baby --”

“We named her Elizabeth. Beth for short.”

“-- Jo and Beth are in a safe location and keep it guarded until he shows up and we can kill him with the knife.” He blinked. “Isn’t Jo’s middle name Beth? Won’t that get confusing?”

“It is and only if Ellen hollers for Jo using both.” He sighed. “Tell me we can do this and keep them safe from him.”

“We will do this and keep them safe from him.”

Dean nodded again. “Thanks. Send Jimmy in to see me when he’s done ‘constructing’. I’ll be at Ellen’s.” He started towards Ellen’s cabin.