Samuel Winchester's Demonic Pleasure Palace (Part 5 A)
“Come on, Cas, help me out here.”
“You must kill the baby,” Castiel said, matter-of-factly. “Samuel’s heir cannot live.”
“What about Jo? If she has the baby, she’s not gonna to make it.”
Castiel cocked his head slightly. “She will not make it anyway, Dean.”
“That’s not how I deal, Cas!” Dean yelled at him.
“Need I remind you that you swore a fealty to Heaven? We all will have to make sacrifices to save this world.”
Dean stepped right up to Castiel and met his eyes. “Then we’re no better than the demons. What the hell are we fighting to save, Castiel, if we kill our own?”
He watched as the Angel took a deep breath and gave Dean a curious look. “You have to keep faith in-“
“I’m not going to start giving up on people for a war that we never asked for - we got fucked. This is your war, not ours. You, Angels, demons, Heaven, and Hell - you Angels couldn’t control Lucifer and his black-eyed buddies so you’re going to put it on us, put us in the middle of prophecy? No way am I going to give up human beings in a fight that you should’ve won before time began.”
Castiel gave him a long look and drew a soft breath. “If the mother does not live, then the son of the Anti-Christ will not be born.”
“Bullshit,” Dean drawled, rolling his eyes. He turned to Bobby. “There’s got to be something that we can do to help Jo. There’s got to be something in one of your books that-“
“This ain’t ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, Dean. There’s nothing in my books about how to stop the son of the Anti-Christ because no one ever thought there could be a son of the Anti-Christ.”
“Bobby is correct. There is nothing that foretells this event,” Castiel said. “Samuel has started a path that is unknown to us. We are as blind as you.”
Dean slammed his hand on the roof of the Impala. He winced - sorry, baby - and stroked the metal and closed his eyes. “I’m not gonna kill Jo because it’ll be easier to kill Sam’s baby.”
“This is not your choice,” Castiel said, his voice softening.
“Why is it yours?”
Dean turned to look at the Angel and frowned when Castiel disappeared with a faint flutter of wings.
“Damn it!” Dean clenched his hands into fists and stared at the ground. He knew what he had to do and he regretted having to lie to his friends. Dean might be a lot of things, not always the good guy and the hero, but he wasn’t going to kill his friend - God, she was the mother of his nephew; in a parallel world, she might’ve even been a sister - to justify that means to an end crap.
“Come on, let’s go inside and check on Jo,” Bobby said, putting his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “We still have some time to figure something out.”
Dean nodded, his head feeling ten times heavy, and followed Bobby into the house. They found Jo curled up on the battered floral print sofa, a blanket covering her. Ellen sat beside her, running her hand over Jo’s head. For just a second, Dean thought that Jo looked like a small, scared kid. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes, jaw clenched tightly.
“I’m dead, aren’t I?”
“Don’t say that,” Dean told her, shaking his head.
“There’s no way, Dean, no way that I’m going to let this…” Jo said, her voice rough with tears. “You have to kill me so that it dies inside of me.”
“No,” Ellen said, pulling Jo against her, holding her tight. She glared at Dean and Bobby over Jo’s head. “We’ll figure something out.”
Dean wished that he knew what to tell her that would give her any kind of comfort, but he knew that whatever he said to her wouldn’t mean anything. He ran his hand through his short hair and closed his eyes.
“Don’t give up on me, Jo,” he said, huskily. “I’m not going to give up on you.”
Jo grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, looking wildly into his eyes. “When the time comes, you better not let me down, Dean.”
Like the way John Winchester let down William Harvelle. Dean knew that was what Jo meant.
He nodded. “You with me?”
“I’m with you,” she said, steel underneath the tears.
Dean squeezed her hand and stood up, looking at Bobby. “Start talking to your contacts. There’s got to be something out there that will give us a clue.”
“Yeah, let me just call up my friend the Pope at the Vatican. Oh wait, the demons bombed the hell outta the Vatican already.”
Dean gave Bobby a hard look and Bobby relented, moving to his bookshelf to collect a thick black book. He gave Dean a sidelong glance and then walked into the kitchen, taking his cordless phone with him.
“Dean.”
He startled and turned to see Castiel standing in the room. “Where did you fly off to?”
“There is a way that we can help her.”
A moment later, Dean was staring at Gabriel and Raphael. “Oh, you two chuckleheads. Your little bloody Angel cocktail didn’t work on Sam, by the way.”
“Samuel is as strong as we believed,” Gabriel said, nonchalantly.
Raphael snorted, looking at Dean. “It was only a matter of time that he found you. You are tainted by Hell.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hey!” Ellen yelled at them. “Are you here to help her or not? Because if you’re not here to help, then you can all fuck off.”
Dean always felt like he got his ass handed to him whenever Ellen got pissed off. She was no way his mother figure or whatever, but he respected her. And he could admit to himself that she scared the crap out of him.
“We are here to help,” Castiel said, softly. He glanced at Dean and gave him a familiar look of chastisement and resignation. Dean raised his eyebrow at him. What else was new?
Raphael and Gabriel took out small leather sacks from their pockets, dipping their fingers into what looked like white cream. They began drawing a large circle on the hardwood floor of Bobby’s living room. There were three concentric rings, complex and ancient runes drawn in each circle. Dean recognized a few of the runes, but the others were unfamiliar.
“It’s Angelic script,” Castiel murmured to him. “Nothing unholy can survive within these circles.”
“So, what, you’re going to perform some kind of magical abortion?” Dean said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“We will remove the demon child from the womb.” Raphael told him.
“Without killing Jo,” Dean said, making sure that they were all on the same page.
Castiel stared at Dean. “We cannot promise-“
“Not good enough,” Dean growled at him. “You make that promise or you’re not going to touch her.”
Gabriel walked towards them. “We do not have time for this drama. Step away from the circle, Winchester.”
“I’m so sick of you Angels pushing us around-“
“Please, Dean, not now,” Castiel said, softly. “I give you my promise that we will not kill your friend.”
“Castiel, it is time,” Raphael said to them as he watched Ellen place Jo in the center of the painted circle. “All of you will stay outside of the circle. Your interference will not only cause her death but your own.”
Dean, Ellen, and Bobby stood at the far side of the living room, keeping their eyes on Jo as she panted heavily, staring up at the ceiling. Dean heard Ellen whispering the Lord’s Prayer. Dean knew the Lord’s Prayer in six languages, but he never drew comfort from it. He saw Bobby reach out and take her hand; Dean smiled to himself and looked away, allowing them privacy and also glad that even now, during an apocalypse, people could still find love.
Castiel, Raphael, and Gabriel stood outside of the circle and reached out to hold hands, the three of them forming an unbroken connection. They closed their eyes and began chanting softly. The white lines of the circle began to glow, so strong that everyone had to turn away.
There was a flash in the room and Dean covered his eyes with his forearm. He squinted against the brightness. Jo let out a piercing scream that made his ears ache.
“Jo!” Ellen yelled, moving towards her.
“Bobby, don’t let her cross the lines!” Dean shouted, blinking past the pain of the light, trying to see what they were doing.
“Stop it!” Ellen screamed at them. “Stop it! You’re hurting my daughter!”
Jo writhed on the floor, her arms and legs slapping hard on the wood. She screamed again as the white light from the runes seemed to go through her body, her abdomen glowing from within.
“Castiel! Stop! Stop it!” Dean yelled, moving towards them. “Damn it, Cas!”
Castiel opened his eyes, chanting with the others. He gazed at Dean without stopping.
“No, Cas!” Dean shouted, taking a step to break their connection. He felt the force push him back, throwing him across the room. He slammed into the wall, the wind knocked out of him. The back of his head collided against the dull papered wall and Dean sat on the ground, watching as Jo screamed and screamed, twisting, lights moving through her body.
Fucking liars.
Jo wailed a chilling sound, her body arching and twisting on the floor. Her scream was like a thousand knives slicing into Dean’s flesh.
“Stop it, you fuckers! Stop it!” Dean yelled, his hands unable to penetrate the invisible wall keeping him outside of the protected circle. “You’re killing her! Castiel!”
The Angels continued chanting, ignoring him.
“You promised that you wouldn’t kill her!”
Jo screamed again, her body lifting a few inches into air, writhing in pain. Spit and blood drooled out of her mouth, falling down her cheeks and into her hair.
“Do something!” Ellen screamed at Dean as Bobby grabbed her, pulling her away from him.
Dean couldn’t penetrate the barrier that the Angels created around them, but he knew what would work. He hurried to the table and picked up his knife, pulling it from the scabbard. He walked to the wall, pulling the pieces of paper taped over the dirty wallpaper, and sliced the palm of his hand. He slapped his bloody hand on the wall and began to draw the familiar runes that would expel the Angels out of the room.
“DEAN!” Castiel shouted. “NO!”
Dean ignored him, finishing the runes quickly and them slamming his hand in the center, turning to see the three Angels lit up like white fire and cannoned out of the room.
“Oh Jesus!” Ellen yelled, pushing Bobby away and falling to her knees, holding Jo. “Jo, honey, can you hear me? Jo?”
Jo let out a soft moan, her arms flailing as she clung to her mother. Dean sank against the wall, blood dripping down his fingers, his entire body tense and numb. He took a deep breath and swallowed back the taste of bile in his mouth. He was relieved; and he knew that they were alone. The Angels wouldn’t help; and Sam…he’d find them again at a moment’s notice.
Bobby took his hand and wrapped it tight with a long piece of clean gauze, looking at Dean. “You all right?”
Dean nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.”
Bobby leaned close. “You can’t stay here much longer.”
“Yeah.” Dean whispered, looking at Jo and Ellen. “I know.”
***
Bobby and Ellen had passed out at the table, their mugs spilled with the drugged coffee. Dean made them as comfortable as possible, cleaning up the mess and doing the dishes in the sink. He left them a note: Sorry for drugging you. I took Jo somewhere safe; I’ll call you later. Dean.
He looked through Bobby’s herbal collection and began grounding them in a bowl, using his blood to create a base. He read aloud the ancient rites from Bobby’s books. He didn’t know how long it would keep them invisible, but Dean would try everything before giving up. He worked carefully and slowly, making sure that he did everything right. He picked up the bowl and small paintbrush and walked into the living room where Jo was sleeping on the sofa, a blanket covering her body.
“Hey,” he said, sitting down on the edge of the sofa.
She inhaled sharply and turned her head, looking at him. “You have to help me, Dean.”
“I’m gonna try my best.” He said, softly. “Come on, help me here. Pull up your shirt a little.”
Jo gave a tired laugh as she moved the blanket off her body. She slowly lifted her shirt to expose her swollen belly. “That line really work on anybody?”
“All the time,” Dean said, grinning slightly. He dipped the paintbrush into the mixture and began drawing symbols on her rounded stomach.
“What is it?”
“Something to keep us off the grid,” he told her. “All right?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “What about my mom and Bobby?”
“I drugged them. It’s just the two of us. We’re gonna hit the road, get the hell out of here.”
“Okay,” she said, looking up at him, trust in her eyes.
He patted her shoulder and then stood up, going into the bathroom. He flicked on the light and stood in front of the mirror. He set the bowl down and then pulled off his shirt. He drew the same symbols on his chest and then checked in the mirror to make sure that they were done right. He slipped the shirt back on, but not before he saw the hand print scar on his shoulder. He stared at it for a long moment and then pulled his shirt down. He wasn’t going to think about how Castiel lied to him, betrayed his trust. He wasn’t going to think about Hell and what Sammy was doing down there. He wasn’t going to think about anything except to save Jo for as long as he could.
Dean worked diligently to clean up the kitchen, put away the books and equipment that he used, not giving Bobby and Ellen a chance to figure out what he had done. He knew that Bobby would figure it out, but it would take him awhile to figure out which protection sigils Dean used on them.
He cleaned the backseat of the Impala and cushioned it with four blankets, creating a nest for Jo. He dressed her quickly in a fuzzy blue cardigan and then carried her to the car, putting her gently on the seat and covered her up.
He closed the door and stood up. He walked to the trunk and started to unpack the weapons, making sure that he was well stocked.
“Dean.”
Dean spun around holding the shotgun in his hands, pointing it at Castiel. He looked around. “Where are your two buddies? You guys always travel in packs nowadays.”
“I am alone,” Castiel said, softly. “You cannot save her.”
“I’ll do whatever I can.”
“You would expend precious time when you know how it will end?”
Dean snorted. “Yeah, it’s called doing the right thing even when everything’s fucked and gone straight to hell. That’s what makes us human beings. Look, are you going to stop me or what?”
“What will do you with the demon child when he is born?”
“I’m going to kill him.” Dean said, moving around to the driver’s side and getting in the car. He tucked the shotgun away on the floor of the car and started the engine.
Castiel gave him a long look and then nodded. “We will not meet again after this. You will be beyond my reach.”
Dean frowned at him, wondering what he meant. He gunned the engine and shook his head at the Angel. Dean loved Castiel like a brother; and understood that it was out of love that Castiel was letting them go. “It’s been real, Cas.”
He drove away quickly and glanced into his rearview mirror to see Castiel standing there, watching him drive away.
***
“You must kill the baby,” Castiel said, matter-of-factly. “Samuel’s heir cannot live.”
“What about Jo? If she has the baby, she’s not gonna to make it.”
Castiel cocked his head slightly. “She will not make it anyway, Dean.”
“That’s not how I deal, Cas!” Dean yelled at him.
“Need I remind you that you swore a fealty to Heaven? We all will have to make sacrifices to save this world.”
Dean stepped right up to Castiel and met his eyes. “Then we’re no better than the demons. What the hell are we fighting to save, Castiel, if we kill our own?”
He watched as the Angel took a deep breath and gave Dean a curious look. “You have to keep faith in-“
“I’m not going to start giving up on people for a war that we never asked for - we got fucked. This is your war, not ours. You, Angels, demons, Heaven, and Hell - you Angels couldn’t control Lucifer and his black-eyed buddies so you’re going to put it on us, put us in the middle of prophecy? No way am I going to give up human beings in a fight that you should’ve won before time began.”
Castiel gave him a long look and drew a soft breath. “If the mother does not live, then the son of the Anti-Christ will not be born.”
“Bullshit,” Dean drawled, rolling his eyes. He turned to Bobby. “There’s got to be something that we can do to help Jo. There’s got to be something in one of your books that-“
“This ain’t ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, Dean. There’s nothing in my books about how to stop the son of the Anti-Christ because no one ever thought there could be a son of the Anti-Christ.”
“Bobby is correct. There is nothing that foretells this event,” Castiel said. “Samuel has started a path that is unknown to us. We are as blind as you.”
Dean slammed his hand on the roof of the Impala. He winced - sorry, baby - and stroked the metal and closed his eyes. “I’m not gonna kill Jo because it’ll be easier to kill Sam’s baby.”
“This is not your choice,” Castiel said, his voice softening.
“Why is it yours?”
Dean turned to look at the Angel and frowned when Castiel disappeared with a faint flutter of wings.
“Damn it!” Dean clenched his hands into fists and stared at the ground. He knew what he had to do and he regretted having to lie to his friends. Dean might be a lot of things, not always the good guy and the hero, but he wasn’t going to kill his friend - God, she was the mother of his nephew; in a parallel world, she might’ve even been a sister - to justify that means to an end crap.
“Come on, let’s go inside and check on Jo,” Bobby said, putting his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “We still have some time to figure something out.”
Dean nodded, his head feeling ten times heavy, and followed Bobby into the house. They found Jo curled up on the battered floral print sofa, a blanket covering her. Ellen sat beside her, running her hand over Jo’s head. For just a second, Dean thought that Jo looked like a small, scared kid. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes, jaw clenched tightly.
“I’m dead, aren’t I?”
“Don’t say that,” Dean told her, shaking his head.
“There’s no way, Dean, no way that I’m going to let this…” Jo said, her voice rough with tears. “You have to kill me so that it dies inside of me.”
“No,” Ellen said, pulling Jo against her, holding her tight. She glared at Dean and Bobby over Jo’s head. “We’ll figure something out.”
Dean wished that he knew what to tell her that would give her any kind of comfort, but he knew that whatever he said to her wouldn’t mean anything. He ran his hand through his short hair and closed his eyes.
“Don’t give up on me, Jo,” he said, huskily. “I’m not going to give up on you.”
Jo grabbed his hand and pulled him closer, looking wildly into his eyes. “When the time comes, you better not let me down, Dean.”
Like the way John Winchester let down William Harvelle. Dean knew that was what Jo meant.
He nodded. “You with me?”
“I’m with you,” she said, steel underneath the tears.
Dean squeezed her hand and stood up, looking at Bobby. “Start talking to your contacts. There’s got to be something out there that will give us a clue.”
“Yeah, let me just call up my friend the Pope at the Vatican. Oh wait, the demons bombed the hell outta the Vatican already.”
Dean gave Bobby a hard look and Bobby relented, moving to his bookshelf to collect a thick black book. He gave Dean a sidelong glance and then walked into the kitchen, taking his cordless phone with him.
“Dean.”
He startled and turned to see Castiel standing in the room. “Where did you fly off to?”
“There is a way that we can help her.”
A moment later, Dean was staring at Gabriel and Raphael. “Oh, you two chuckleheads. Your little bloody Angel cocktail didn’t work on Sam, by the way.”
“Samuel is as strong as we believed,” Gabriel said, nonchalantly.
Raphael snorted, looking at Dean. “It was only a matter of time that he found you. You are tainted by Hell.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hey!” Ellen yelled at them. “Are you here to help her or not? Because if you’re not here to help, then you can all fuck off.”
Dean always felt like he got his ass handed to him whenever Ellen got pissed off. She was no way his mother figure or whatever, but he respected her. And he could admit to himself that she scared the crap out of him.
“We are here to help,” Castiel said, softly. He glanced at Dean and gave him a familiar look of chastisement and resignation. Dean raised his eyebrow at him. What else was new?
Raphael and Gabriel took out small leather sacks from their pockets, dipping their fingers into what looked like white cream. They began drawing a large circle on the hardwood floor of Bobby’s living room. There were three concentric rings, complex and ancient runes drawn in each circle. Dean recognized a few of the runes, but the others were unfamiliar.
“It’s Angelic script,” Castiel murmured to him. “Nothing unholy can survive within these circles.”
“So, what, you’re going to perform some kind of magical abortion?” Dean said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“We will remove the demon child from the womb.” Raphael told him.
“Without killing Jo,” Dean said, making sure that they were all on the same page.
Castiel stared at Dean. “We cannot promise-“
“Not good enough,” Dean growled at him. “You make that promise or you’re not going to touch her.”
Gabriel walked towards them. “We do not have time for this drama. Step away from the circle, Winchester.”
“I’m so sick of you Angels pushing us around-“
“Please, Dean, not now,” Castiel said, softly. “I give you my promise that we will not kill your friend.”
“Castiel, it is time,” Raphael said to them as he watched Ellen place Jo in the center of the painted circle. “All of you will stay outside of the circle. Your interference will not only cause her death but your own.”
Dean, Ellen, and Bobby stood at the far side of the living room, keeping their eyes on Jo as she panted heavily, staring up at the ceiling. Dean heard Ellen whispering the Lord’s Prayer. Dean knew the Lord’s Prayer in six languages, but he never drew comfort from it. He saw Bobby reach out and take her hand; Dean smiled to himself and looked away, allowing them privacy and also glad that even now, during an apocalypse, people could still find love.
Castiel, Raphael, and Gabriel stood outside of the circle and reached out to hold hands, the three of them forming an unbroken connection. They closed their eyes and began chanting softly. The white lines of the circle began to glow, so strong that everyone had to turn away.
There was a flash in the room and Dean covered his eyes with his forearm. He squinted against the brightness. Jo let out a piercing scream that made his ears ache.
“Jo!” Ellen yelled, moving towards her.
“Bobby, don’t let her cross the lines!” Dean shouted, blinking past the pain of the light, trying to see what they were doing.
“Stop it!” Ellen screamed at them. “Stop it! You’re hurting my daughter!”
Jo writhed on the floor, her arms and legs slapping hard on the wood. She screamed again as the white light from the runes seemed to go through her body, her abdomen glowing from within.
“Castiel! Stop! Stop it!” Dean yelled, moving towards them. “Damn it, Cas!”
Castiel opened his eyes, chanting with the others. He gazed at Dean without stopping.
“No, Cas!” Dean shouted, taking a step to break their connection. He felt the force push him back, throwing him across the room. He slammed into the wall, the wind knocked out of him. The back of his head collided against the dull papered wall and Dean sat on the ground, watching as Jo screamed and screamed, twisting, lights moving through her body.
Fucking liars.
Jo wailed a chilling sound, her body arching and twisting on the floor. Her scream was like a thousand knives slicing into Dean’s flesh.
“Stop it, you fuckers! Stop it!” Dean yelled, his hands unable to penetrate the invisible wall keeping him outside of the protected circle. “You’re killing her! Castiel!”
The Angels continued chanting, ignoring him.
“You promised that you wouldn’t kill her!”
Jo screamed again, her body lifting a few inches into air, writhing in pain. Spit and blood drooled out of her mouth, falling down her cheeks and into her hair.
“Do something!” Ellen screamed at Dean as Bobby grabbed her, pulling her away from him.
Dean couldn’t penetrate the barrier that the Angels created around them, but he knew what would work. He hurried to the table and picked up his knife, pulling it from the scabbard. He walked to the wall, pulling the pieces of paper taped over the dirty wallpaper, and sliced the palm of his hand. He slapped his bloody hand on the wall and began to draw the familiar runes that would expel the Angels out of the room.
“DEAN!” Castiel shouted. “NO!”
Dean ignored him, finishing the runes quickly and them slamming his hand in the center, turning to see the three Angels lit up like white fire and cannoned out of the room.
“Oh Jesus!” Ellen yelled, pushing Bobby away and falling to her knees, holding Jo. “Jo, honey, can you hear me? Jo?”
Jo let out a soft moan, her arms flailing as she clung to her mother. Dean sank against the wall, blood dripping down his fingers, his entire body tense and numb. He took a deep breath and swallowed back the taste of bile in his mouth. He was relieved; and he knew that they were alone. The Angels wouldn’t help; and Sam…he’d find them again at a moment’s notice.
Bobby took his hand and wrapped it tight with a long piece of clean gauze, looking at Dean. “You all right?”
Dean nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.”
Bobby leaned close. “You can’t stay here much longer.”
“Yeah.” Dean whispered, looking at Jo and Ellen. “I know.”
***
Bobby and Ellen had passed out at the table, their mugs spilled with the drugged coffee. Dean made them as comfortable as possible, cleaning up the mess and doing the dishes in the sink. He left them a note: Sorry for drugging you. I took Jo somewhere safe; I’ll call you later. Dean.
He looked through Bobby’s herbal collection and began grounding them in a bowl, using his blood to create a base. He read aloud the ancient rites from Bobby’s books. He didn’t know how long it would keep them invisible, but Dean would try everything before giving up. He worked carefully and slowly, making sure that he did everything right. He picked up the bowl and small paintbrush and walked into the living room where Jo was sleeping on the sofa, a blanket covering her body.
“Hey,” he said, sitting down on the edge of the sofa.
She inhaled sharply and turned her head, looking at him. “You have to help me, Dean.”
“I’m gonna try my best.” He said, softly. “Come on, help me here. Pull up your shirt a little.”
Jo gave a tired laugh as she moved the blanket off her body. She slowly lifted her shirt to expose her swollen belly. “That line really work on anybody?”
“All the time,” Dean said, grinning slightly. He dipped the paintbrush into the mixture and began drawing symbols on her rounded stomach.
“What is it?”
“Something to keep us off the grid,” he told her. “All right?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “What about my mom and Bobby?”
“I drugged them. It’s just the two of us. We’re gonna hit the road, get the hell out of here.”
“Okay,” she said, looking up at him, trust in her eyes.
He patted her shoulder and then stood up, going into the bathroom. He flicked on the light and stood in front of the mirror. He set the bowl down and then pulled off his shirt. He drew the same symbols on his chest and then checked in the mirror to make sure that they were done right. He slipped the shirt back on, but not before he saw the hand print scar on his shoulder. He stared at it for a long moment and then pulled his shirt down. He wasn’t going to think about how Castiel lied to him, betrayed his trust. He wasn’t going to think about Hell and what Sammy was doing down there. He wasn’t going to think about anything except to save Jo for as long as he could.
Dean worked diligently to clean up the kitchen, put away the books and equipment that he used, not giving Bobby and Ellen a chance to figure out what he had done. He knew that Bobby would figure it out, but it would take him awhile to figure out which protection sigils Dean used on them.
He cleaned the backseat of the Impala and cushioned it with four blankets, creating a nest for Jo. He dressed her quickly in a fuzzy blue cardigan and then carried her to the car, putting her gently on the seat and covered her up.
He closed the door and stood up. He walked to the trunk and started to unpack the weapons, making sure that he was well stocked.
“Dean.”
Dean spun around holding the shotgun in his hands, pointing it at Castiel. He looked around. “Where are your two buddies? You guys always travel in packs nowadays.”
“I am alone,” Castiel said, softly. “You cannot save her.”
“I’ll do whatever I can.”
“You would expend precious time when you know how it will end?”
Dean snorted. “Yeah, it’s called doing the right thing even when everything’s fucked and gone straight to hell. That’s what makes us human beings. Look, are you going to stop me or what?”
“What will do you with the demon child when he is born?”
“I’m going to kill him.” Dean said, moving around to the driver’s side and getting in the car. He tucked the shotgun away on the floor of the car and started the engine.
Castiel gave him a long look and then nodded. “We will not meet again after this. You will be beyond my reach.”
Dean frowned at him, wondering what he meant. He gunned the engine and shook his head at the Angel. Dean loved Castiel like a brother; and understood that it was out of love that Castiel was letting them go. “It’s been real, Cas.”
He drove away quickly and glanced into his rearview mirror to see Castiel standing there, watching him drive away.
***