The Huntress -Prologue
Title: The Huntress
Pairing: Sam/Dean
Summary: This is the sequel to Hunter's Lullaby. This time, Sam and Dean thought they knew what they were in for, but this pregnancy quickly becomes much more complicated than the first one. Dealing with incomprehensible symptoms, taking care of Sumiko and seeking answers, they'll have to face something that will jeopardize their quiet and domestic life.
Word count:Approximately 100 000 words overall
Warnings: NC-17 for wincest, mpreg and language
Disclaimer: Supernatural and his characters don't belong to me. No profits are made with this story.
Thanks to: disneymagics my wonderful beta reader, who's always there for me when I need it. Beta'ing for someone who's first language isn't english is one hell of a job, let me tell you. She's the reason why Sam never whips Dean's forehead, nobody's holding a phone between the ear and the elbow, and other nonsense ;)
A/N: As some of you already know, I'll post each chapter when it's ready. For those who prefer to wait, there will be a masterpost eventually. This story, although it contains some supernatural elements, is mostly a domestic one, just like Hunter's Lullaby. I hope you'll like it.
“SAM!”
Sam jerked awake, sitting up in bed before he even knew what was going on. He thought he’d heard his name. Thought he’d heard Dean screaming for him.
Rubbing at his face, he realised he was alone in bed. The house was perfectly quiet.
“Dean?” He called, but received no answer.
He got up, sheets tangled around his legs, and almost face planted there. Finding his balance, he walked out of the room to have a look around their house, starting with a Sumiko’s nursery. Her room was silent, except for the occasional soft snores and snuffling noises coming from the crib. He closed the door back carefully.
“Dean?” He called again and only realised then that the bathroom light was open.
He froze on the threshold at the sight before his eyes. Dean was holding the counter with one hand, his other arm wrapped around his stomach. His naked body was covered in sweat, his face a pasty white and his eyes shining with a wild expression. He was slightly hunched over himself and, at first, Sam had no idea of what was going on.
“What-“
Dean pointed a shaking finger at him, revealing the lower part of his stomach. Something was wrong, there were…
Shit, Sam thought.
Symbols engraved in the skin, red and swollen. He recognised them immediately. Hell, how could he not?
“You got me pregnant again, you bastard!” Dean growled.
Then, his eyes rolled in their sockets and he fainted. Sam caught him just before his head hit the floor.
::: :::
Hampton Falls, December 16
Sam waited until seven o’clock that morning before calling Rania. She answered on the first ring with the usual salutation she reserved just for the Winchesters.
“What’s going on, Sam?”
He cleared his throat. In her swing, Sumiko smiled at him and regurgitate a big gob of formula milk.
“I have a favor to ask you. Dean is… There’s something up with him and I need someone to take care of Sumiko and huh-“
“Is he sick? Can I do something?”
“Yeah, but no. I mean, he saw a doctor; he has tonsillitis and he’s really sick, like… he has a high fever and blisters in the back of his throat and…”
“Okay,” Rania didn’t insist, for which Sam was glad. “Hey, here’s an idea. If you don’t want to leave Dean alone, I could come get Sumiko.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t…”
“It’s my pleasure, Sam. My only thing I want to do today is to decorate my Christmas Tree. Think Sumiko will enjoy that?”
“Yeah, she will. But-“
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
Rania hung up, leaving Sam speechless but relieved. They had to get a regular baby-sitter. This was getting ridiculous.
“You’ll spend the day with Rania,” he told Sumiko as he cleared her chin. She fought and groaned and wined. She wasn’t in a good mood that morning and Sam knew damn well what the reason for that was. Dean wasn’t in a good mood either - an understatement, really - and Sumiko was more than ever in touch with her father’s moods and feelings. He would have to talk to Dean about that, eventually. Sam didn’t even know if Dean realised it. Anyway, they had more pressing matters right now.
He calmed Sumiko with her pacifier and climbed the stairs to have a look at Dean one more time.
His brother had been out of it since Sam had found him in the bathroom. He was burning up with fever, sometimes even to the point of being delirious, sleeping on and off and never waking up completely. If it had been the first time this had happened, Sam would’ve been seriously worried about it.
But this was exactly what had happened a little more than a year ago. Dean had been out of it for twenty-four hours after being cursed and, just like this time, Sam couldn’t tell what was the result of the curse and what was Dean’s illness manifesting itself. A head cold, tonsillitis. A curse that Sam had been too stupid to think of countering after Sumiko had been born.
Dean had never been freed of Hannah McPherson’s curse. That much is now clear. It must have remained dormant until the right conditions had been once again been present. It needed Sam’s semen, of course, but Sam thought it was more than that. Dean had given up control to Sam. He hadn’t been feeling well and was more vulnerable and open than usual. The sex had been intense.
God, had it been…
Dean was still sleeping, tucked into a ball on his side. He barely moved when Sam laid the back of his hand on his forehead. It was still hot, but less than last night. The meds Sam had given him around four in the morning looked like they were working.
Sam carefully pulled the comforter down and tried to have a peek at Dean’s stomach, but both of his arms were wrapped tightly around it. Wincing, Sam pulled one up, getting Dean to startle and groan, pushing him away.
It had been enough to see that the symbols were still there, even if the redness of the skin seemed to have receded.
“Burns…” Dean mumbled, his eyes opening to slits.
“I know. It’s going to get better, Dean,” Sam said softly, brushing his fingers through Dean’s damp hair.
There wasn’t much he could do right now, not until Rania came to pick up Sue. Sam had spent the night researching when he hadn’t been taking care of Dean, and he had a couple of solutions in mind. He had found a general counter-spell that was very powerful when used in the first twenty-four hours following the beginning of the curse. He needed to make a couple of adjustments and to find all the ingredients, but he was pretty confident it would work.
If that was what they both wanted. They couldn’t have another baby. Sumiko was a miracle. Dean had almost died giving birth to her. Sam had never told him how bad it had been after Sumiko was born, how Rania had worked to stop the curse from killing him.
Sam remembered too well.
Besides, how would they explain the appearance of a new baby? How would they hide Dean’s pregnancy…
Sam ignored the dull throb of sadness in his heart. He just couldn’t ask that from Dean. It wasn’t reasonable.
That’s what he told himself while he packed Sumiko’s stuff, cleaned the kitchen and entertained his grumpy daughter while waiting for Rania. Like a mantra, like he would convince himself if he repeated it enough times. He had Sue and Dean. He was lucky enough as it was.
Rania didn’t stay long, just long enough for Sam to strap the baby seat in the car and dress Sue in her winter suit. Sumiko tried to stay grumpy but couldn’t resist giving her most adorable smile to Rania. She went into her arms willingly, not even looking back at her father.
Then, it was time. Sam had to take care of Dean.
“Dean? Hey, Dean, come on, you gotta wake up.”
Dean shook his head like a stubborn kid and Sam had to insist until he had no other choice than to rub his knuckles over his sternum. Dean let out a hoarse cry and rose immediately on his elbows.
“Sam, what the hell?”
“How’re you feeling?”
Dean rubbed his eyes lazily. He still wasn’t all there, Sam could tell.
“My throat hurts,” Dean grumbled, “And huh… Dude, I feel strange. It’s like…
Then a light seemed to pass over his eyes and he lowered his head toward his uncovered stomach where the symbols had started to fade to the point where they could hardly be seen.
“Oh, fuck. I thought maybe… I had dreamed it or something.”
“Yeah… no, Dean.”
Dean looked completely awake, now. He let out a long string of curses and fell back on the bed, covering his face with his hands.
“I’m sorry, Dean. I never stopped to think maybe the curse could still be on you somehow, dormant. I should’ve…”
“Don’t be stupid,” Dean cut him off in a muffled voice. “It’s not your fault. I never thought about it either.”
He started coughing, then, and Sam had to help him sit up so that he could breathe easier. Dean’s head fell forward onto Sam’s shoulder as he tried to get some air into his lungs, then he started shaking, and Sam knew it wasn’t just the sickness.
“Hey, come on, you’re okay.”
“You know damn well I’m not,” Dean whispered. “Fuck, Sam. I can’t… I can’t do it all over again. I… we can’t…”
Sam started talking, then, keeping his voice as low and soothing as possible, telling him all about the counter-curse and how it would probably work if they did it soon. After a while, Dean stopped shaking and propped himself against his pillow, his eyes still burning with fever but clearer that they had been in hours.
“Like a supernatural abortion,” he said with a miserable lopsided smile.
“Don’t think about it that way, Dean. Curse reversal. And after everything is done, I’ll make sure the curse is gone for good.”
“Well, you can play with the words all you want, but we both know we made a baby last night and now we’re going to get rid of it.”
“Dean, if you don’t-“
“We can’t, Sam, okay? We can’t. Sue’s still so young and it… it doesn’t make any sense. Just. Let’s get it over with, okay?”
“Gotta go out to buy some stuff, then we’ll do it.”
Dean cleared his throat and coughed harshly. “Yeah, I’ll take care of Sue and-“
“No. No need. She’s with Rania.”
“What? You didn’t tell Rania, did you?”
“No. Just told her you were sick. Had to take care of you. I want you to stay in bed while I’m gone. Try to get some more sleep.”
Dean frowned, but laid down obediently. It was easy to see that he could barely keep himself awake. Sam made sure he took his round of meds, then went out in the cold to buy some candles and herbs.
::: :::
Of course, Dean didn’t listen to him. When Sam got back, he had showered and was waiting for him in the living room, a cup of coffee between his hands, pale, with deep dark circles under his eyes and a grimace of pain on his mouth. Still, it wasn’t probably the best moment to point out that he should have stayed put.
“Need some help?” Dean asked simply.
“No. It’s very simple. Give me an hour.”
Sam worked fast. They could do it in the kitchen. Once the concoction was ready, all Dean had to do was to drink it as Sam recited a simple spell in Latin. He placed the candles and mixed the herbs, concentrating on what he was doing instead of the dark thoughts that continued to shoot through his mind. Supernatural abortion. What an ugly expression.
“Dean?” He called once he was done.
His brother joined him with slow, uneasy footsteps. He took a look at the table and frowned, stopping dead on the spot.
“Dean, what?”
“Okay, no. I can’t go through with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I can’t!” Dean yelled. “I fucking can’t, Sam! Damn it!”
He swayed on his feet and started to cough. Sam tried to grab him by the arm but Dean pushed him away so hard he lost his balance. He stepped back clumsily until his back hit the refrigerator, then let himself slide down to the floor, still coughing in the crook of his arms, eyes rimmed red and face flushed.
Sam filled a glass of water and crouched besides him, handling it to him without saying a word or trying to touch him.
Dean finally stopped coughing and downed the glass of water, holding it with both hands. A few drops slid down his chin. He didn’t seem to realise it.
“I’m so fucked up,” he whispered in a barely audible voice. “I… whatever this is, I mean… It barely exists and I’m sitting in the living room with my coffee and all I can think about is that it’s not good for the baby.”
“Okay,” Sam sat down next to Dean, crossing his legs.
“And then I’m thinking about Sue and what if we had decided to… you know, get rid of her… And it’s stupid, I know, and the only logical thing to do is this counter-curse thing, but I can’t.”
“Well, then don’t,” Sam said softly.
Dean let out a sad little laugh and looked at Sam, eyebrow raised. “Really? I mean, you do realise that our life has just gotten a whole hell of a lot more complicated, right? And what are we gonna tell people? Hell, screw that, how are we supposed to deal with another pregnancy?”
“We’ll deal.”
“Fuck, Sam.”
Dean sighed and banged his head softly against the refrigerator door, closing his eyes. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
Sam knew. He knew the risks all too well, but he couldn’t help but feel an incredible sense of relief coursing through his veins. And the darkness that had seemed to be taking hold of his mind was gone. He wanted this. Another baby. Despite everything.
“She won’t be alone.” He murmured.
“What?”
“Sue. She’ll never be alone. She’ll have a brother or a sister.”
“Sam, I can’t put you though this all over again,” Dean protested, but the anger and anxiety were gone from his voice and he was looking straight at him.
“Dean. Can I be a little sappy?”
“Oh jesus.”
“Hey. I’m entitled.”
“Under what pretense?”
“My brother’s pregnant with my child.”
Dean grimaced.
“There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. The way you handled things last time… It made me so freaking proud. You’re the strongest person I know. You’re a terrific father and you’re my brother and I love you so much. I’m ready to go through anything with you.”
Dean was now a deep shade of red and looking at the floor. He shivered.
“So, now what?”
“Now? We deal with it.”
“This is so messed up.”
“I know, but hey, we’re freaks. Nothing’s gonna change that.”
Sam bumped shoulders with Dean as his brother smiled hesitantly. And that was that. They were starting all over again.
Chapter 1