"Hey!" Sam yells out the side door at his brother, still working out on his car at four at night. "Dean!"

"Yeah!?" Dean calls back, stumbling a little back from the Impala as he tries to look at Sam. The movement made him lose some of his balance.

"Dude! You've been out there all damn day," Sam reminds him, worried about the guy. "It's friggin' freezing. Come inside."

"Almost done," Dean waves his wrench in the air once and goes back to work, his gate slower than normal and giving him away.

Sam sighs with what's going on and when he spies the several empty bottles of beer on the ground at Dean's feet it becomes even clearer. He halfway to tanked by now.

Walking down the side steps, taking his time and being as nonthreatening as possible, Sam makes his way over to Dean. The man is a mess with this whole situation and Sam's well aware that there's nothing he can say to make it better. He can just be there for him.

"You got the door back on?"

"Ah… almost," Dean answers, taking a big swig from his current beer. "Just need to finish it up."

"Wanna finish it tomorrow?" Sam tries, knowing he's got about a fifty-fifty at making Dean do anything at this point. "Grab a beer with me instead?"

"Um…"

"Come on, man," Sam starts, opening the cooler and pulling out a beer for himself. As he uncaps it he leans against the Impala. "Just take a second. Relax."

Dean just shoots his brother one pissed off look, one that says no fucking way.

"Look, I know this bites," Sam tries to level with him now, taking a new approach. "I'm not asking you to talk or to, to do anything. I'm asking you to just… stop. Everything'll be fine so stop."

Dean closes his eyes for a second, knowing Sam wants his brother's mind to stop assaulting him. But if he doesn't drink and occupy his mind somehow then this whole situation keeps right on sucking ass. Busy is better.

"Hey, ah…" Sam says, sitting up on the hood of the Impala and settling in with his back against the windshield. "You remember that time back in, uh, I think it was Mud Lick…"

"Stupid name," Dean comments with the town they stayed in's ridiculous name.

"It was a stupid name," Sam says as he recalls the week they spent there. "You remember that girl there… I think her name was Rebecca…"

"Regina," Dean corrects, on Sam's wave of thought immediately.

"Right…"

"Mm. Man, she was hot," Dean admits, getting lost in the moment as he drops his wrench in favor of his beer and takes his place leaning up against the side of the car by Sam. "Long legs, long hair…"

"Long list of bad shit she's gotten into," Sam huffs a laugh. "I remember her little brother at school was my age and he kept telling me his sister was bad news."

"Bad news was my favorite kinda news back then," Dean comments, sipping his beer. At around age sixteen Dean was a walking hard on, looking for ass in every place he could… the bad girls being his favorite.

"No shit," Sam laughs. "And I tried to tell you… no, warn you about her but you didn't listen."

"Wasn't gonna listen to my virgin little brother about what chick not to get after."

"But you sure regretted it after," Sam laughs loudly. "You couldn't sit for, like, a day."

"Yeah, she was a little rougher than I was ready for," Dean calmly admits. "Felt like I'd screwed up dad's orders and he beat my ass good for it. And I'm not used to being on the receiving end of something like that."

"Ha!" Sam laughs loudly with the recollection. "God she ate you alive."

"Eh, it was a learning experience, I'll give you that," Dean says, a slight smile quirking up the corner of his mouth. "And I didn't even let her do everything she wanted to."

"Do I want to know?" Sam asks, already sure he doesn't.

"Yeah… no, you don't," Dean comments, taking a long pull on his beer and tossing the empty aside. That chick was nuts. He didn't want to say aloud what she wanted him to do even if Sam asked.

"Wouldn't be the only crazy chick we've met out there," Sam comments absently as he leans back, looking up at the wide open sky and the uncountable bright stars.

"Not by a fucking long shot," Dean returns with, opening the cooler for another beer. "Met some good ones too, though."

"Damn straight," Sam agrees, thinking back on the past. Sarah, Madison, Kara, Lou…. "Plenty of good ones out there for those good, normal guys."

"Yeah…"

"With the very rare exceptions, of course." Sam knows Dean gets what he's saying.

"Yeah," Dean repeats. "There's always a couple I guess."

"Yeah…" Sam echoes and moves on before this gets to Dean too much. "Wasn't there that psycho chick from Orlando that came after you or something?"

"Oh yeah!" Dean perks up with that memory. "Shit, she was fucking insane! What was her name again?"

"How would I know?" Sam laughs. "You're the one that fucked her."

"And too good apparently," Dean remarks quickly as he gulps some more beer. "She found our motel room and was banging down the door a few days later when I never called her."

"Why didn't you call her?"

"Did you see her?" Dean questions, shuddering with disgust. "What a mistake."

"If she was that ugly then why did you bother with her at all?" Sam questions with confusion.

"She was there… and I was drunk," Dean shrugs.

"That easy, huh?"

"That easy," Dean repeats in answer. "Or at least I used to be."

"I like this version of you better," Sam laughs a little with the change in his brother.

"Oh sure, 'cause I'm just a real peach now," Dean rebuts, raising his bottle of beer at the mention of his better ways nowadays.

"Present circumstances being the exception, yeah. You're way better than you used to be."

"If you say so."

"I do," Sam doesn't give up. "Doesn't mean the past isn't still really entertaining to me…"

"Shut up," Dean shakes his head and smirks just slightly.

"What about the girl in Arlington, when I was still in high school I think…."

"Arlington," Dean squeezes his eyes shut and thinks hard. "Oh, shit. The girl with the third nipple."

"She had a third nipple!?"

"Yup, right under her left boob." Dean nods sincerely, pointing to his own chest where it was.

"That have anything to do with her kicking you out of her apartment pants-less at three a.m. making me have to come and get you?"

"Yep," Dean huffs a quiet laugh at that particular memory. "She got pissed when I sucked on it."

"Dean! Jesus," Sam starts cracking up.

"It was just… there. Looking at me," Dean honestly gets a laugh out of this, his brother shockingly able to help out in this shitty situation. "A man sees a nipple on a woman and he's not supposed to go for it?"

"She didn't like that I take it?"

"She said some crap about being self-conscious about it or something. I don't know. I was kinda tipsy. She got crazy pissed when I ignored her and did it again. She then threw me out on my ass… without giving me my pants back. Claimed she was keeping them as reparations for emotional distress."

"At least you got your phone so you could call me."

"No shit, right?" Dean huffs another laugh before taking a swig as Sam gets a gut laugh from the situation.

"How the fuck did you manage to get yourself into so many fucked up situations in your life?"

"Living on the road and not giving a fuck, Sammy," Dean says, looking down at the dirt under his feet. "That's about all it takes."

"Gave me plenty to laugh about," Sam comments, sipping his beer and seeing how this is working, at least for the time being. As the sun sets and dusk covers the sky in deep hues of red and blue, he keeps him going. "Like poor Lilly Jackson…"

"She asked for it!" Dean turns to face Sam and give him a serious look.

"Nobody asks for that, Dean."

"She did," Dean swears to it. "And just 'cause she didn't like she decided to get all nuts on me…"

"Sure… sure, that's how it went."

"It's the truth!"

"I'm sure it is…"

"It is!"

"And I have no reason at all not to believe you," Sam laughs, reaching into the back of his brain for more fuel for the ridiculous conversation. This is working and for the first time since they got back Dean doesn't have that horrid scowl on his face, the one that makes him look old, depressed, and just pitiful. "Just sayin', you have a track record…"

"Yeah, an awesome one."

"If that's how you see it…"

I want to know what love is!

"What the hell?" Bobby asks to no one in particular as he sits across from Sam at his desk in the study. They both glance at one another before looking up the stairs at the racket coming from the next floor. "Is that for real?"

I want you to show me!

"Shit, he's tanked," Sam complains when he hears the terrible, way off key voice yell-singing the cheesy love ballad with a slight hint of a slur. He sits back in his wooden chair and sighs.

I want to feel what love is!

"As much as I can't blame him…" Bobby starts as he points up to the ceiling. "That's God awful."

I know you can show me!

"And he's a liar. He claims to hate late Foreigner," Sam huffs in a small laugh. "You wanna do the honors or should I?"

"Have at, Sam," Bobby answers over the karaoke party, not up for the drunken bullshit that Dean likes to put on when he can't handle the world. Dean used to do this all the damn time, especially the year his soul was on Hell's waiting list and he dropped Lizzy all together. Nah, his brother can deal with this one. Bobby has his sympathy for the man, sure, but he draws the line at whatever this clown show is he's putting on.

"Thanks," Sam answers back with pure sarcasm.

"Hey, you asked," Bobby reminds him, Sam flashing him a grin on his way out of the room.

Climbing the stairs, taking them in no particular rush as he knows it's never fun dealing with a wasted Dean, he mentally prepares. If he's mean-Dean then it'll be a fight. If it's sad-Dean he needs to be ready for the self-loathing mess he's sure to find. If it's hopeless-Dean… well, Sam just prays it isn't that version of his brother up there.

In my life… there's been heartache and pain. I don't know if I can face it again. I can't stop now, I've travelled so far… to change this lonely life.

"Now I just wish I had my lighter on me," Sam pokes fun from the doorway of the nursery as he looks in on Dean with arms crossed over his chest. Dean's lying on his back on the spare bed, whiskey bottle in one hand and a look of drunken stupor on his face.

"Sammy," Dean says with an odd amount of innocence buried in his intoxicated voice. "This song is great and you know it."

Dean keeps looking at the ceiling, taking another sip from the nearly empty Irish whiskey bottle.

"No, it's cheese for your ears. It's awful," Sam laughs a little as he walks into the room. "And you hate eighties Foreigner."

"Foreigner is good on occasion," Dean explains.

"I thought that was Bon Jovi?"

"What the fuck is the difference?"

"There's a very big difference," Sam assures him as he sits at the foot of the mattress and looks over his brother's form. His entire body is slack with booze, his eyes heavily lidded, and his eyes remain trained on the white, dingy ceiling. "What's this about?"

"S'bout getting drunk, man," Dean simply answers.

"Why did you have to get so drunk though?" Sam keeps prying. "This is high school shit, Dean. I can't even remember the last time you were able to get this shitfaced."

"Shut up…"

"Good one."

"You come here to spit in my whiskey or listen to good music?" Dean complains when his pity party is crashed. "I want to know what love is!" he keeps singing, despite his brother's intrusion. "I want you to show me! Show me love is real… yeah. I want to know what loves is…."

Dean finishes off the song, his tone falling from yelling out the lyrics to becoming something sorrowful and just too pitiful for words. Ok. Sad-Dean it is.

When the next song starts Sam cringes.

"Alright, enough music," he declares as he reaches for the IPod dock and pulls Lizzy's IPod from it.

"Dude!" Dean complains and for the first time pops his head up to look at his brother. "That was White Snake."

"I'm well aware," Sam smirks, never having seen Dean get so upset over shitty bands from the eighties being taken from him.

"I love that song," Dean says so quietly it sounds to Sam like it was only for himself as he drops his head back down on his pillow and closes his eyes once more.

"Since when are you a White Snake fan?" Sam asks with a small laugh.

"Since L danced to that song on my car a few years ago," he answers, his face smiling softly at the memory.

Sam's face scrunches up instantly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I don't wanna know about that…"

"It was so awesome," Dean recalls, his tone dreamy as he ignores his brother's dislike. "She stripped on my car, Sam. She fucking did it. I didn't think she would but she's got balls of steel. Even did the old school Tawny Kataen and did a full spilt on the Baby's hood with only her underwear on." Dean opens his eyes and peeks over to Sam. "Did you know she could do that?"

"Uh… no…" Sam answers, not wanting to know any more.

"Well she can," Dean says a slow smirk spreading across his mouth. "Mm, she definitely can."

"Dean, I really don't…"

"And then she even let me fuck her on the hood. Bent her right over the grill… she even asked me spank her…"

"Dean! Stop!" Sam just short of yells at his brother. "That's Lizzy. That's like my sister. I don't wanna hear that shit."

"Such a prude," Dean grumbles.

"Not a prude because I don't want to hear about how perverted Lizzy is."

"Lizzy's not perverted. She fucking sexy as hell," Dean scolds, sticking up for her instantly. "Fucking miss her…"

And this is where Sam's heart breaks a little for his brother.

"I know you do, man," Sam says with real sympathy. "But you got through today already. You're more than halfway there."

"Awesome," Dean says, his caustic attitude ever present, and takes down another gulp of far too cheap Irish whiskey, Lizzy's favorite kind of whiskey.

"Don't do this to yourself."

"Do what?"

"This," Sam gestures at Dean's current actions with his hand. "The whole wallowing in a drunken haze thing. You're better than this, or at least you have been for a while now."

"Because I had her," Dean says childlike and nearly silently.

"I kinda always assumed," his little brother adds on. "And she's still here. She's downstairs right now…"

"That's Cass."

"But it's still her too," Sam rebuts. "You can even talk to her if you want…"

"Through an angel," Dean says with anger. "I just… I'm not sure how much more… how much more shit is she supposed to deal with?"

Sam shoots Dean a funny look. "Lizzy's been dealing with this kinda crap for so long now…"

"Because of us," Dean interrupts before more quietly tacking on, "Because of me."

"Because of you?" Sam asks with surprise.

"Why else?"

"So… what you're saying is, and correct me if I'm wrong… Lizzy's life is what it is because of you?" Sam asks, going into persecuting lawyer mode instantly.

"Yep," Dean says, raising the bottle in his hand. "That's what I'm saying."

Before he can take another drink Sam snatches the bottle in his hand away.

"Hey!" Dean complains.

"You had plenty," Sam brushes off before quickly asking, "Answer this; did you kill Lizzy's parents?"

Dean looks over to Sam with a skeptical face.

"Did you?" Sam tries again.

"Well… no…"

"Did you turn Lou?"

"No."

"Did you help Lizzy decide to go into hunting, or did you put the angel blood in her system… or did you say yes to letting Cass take her over?"

"No…"

"Then shut up, Dean," Sam says with exasperated exhaustion. "You think every damn thing is always your fault but it's not. You couldn't help any of that stuff. Nothing Lizzy has ever gone through or is going through now is your fault."

"But she…" Dean starts to say, what he's not sure, but stops to actually think. Sam makes all valid points. "I left her. That was my fault."

Sam remember that disaster all too well. They were both horrible messes for almost a whole year without each other when Dean decided to dump her when his soul was on Hell's reserve list. "Yeah, ok, I'll let you feel the guilt for that… even if Lizzy's forgiven you for that one a long ass time ago."

"And I'm pretty sure that kid is my fault… or at least partially." Dean raises his eyebrows once in lewd jest and Sam groans.

"Even drunk and wallowing in your own self-hatred you're disgusting."

"What's disgusting about that!?" Dean asks with offence. "Sam, sex can be a very beautiful thing…"

"Not when you do it," Sam says knowingly as he stands up from the bed when he pats Dean on the knee. "Catch some shut eye, huh?"

"Don't tell me what to do," Dean complains, his eyes already closed again.

"And no more power ballads," Sam says over his shoulder on his way to the door. "Our ears are bleeding down there."

He flicks the light switch, the bedroom in darkness now, and turns to look at Dean as he's already basically out for the night.

The irony of it all hits Sam just then. All week, and for a good chunk of his life also, Dean's been taking care of his little brother. This time around Sam got to take of him for once.

Smiling his way down the stairs Sam lets the feeling of getting to pay his big brother back, even if in the most tiny of ways, wash over him. It feels pretty damn good.

"Dean."

It's his name he heard alright and with the sound of it he comes out of his thick, dreamless darkness and into the waking world once more. Damn it. The blackout was way more comfortable. This hangover that's coming with being awake is just fucking terrible.

"Mm?" Dean questions without real words and picks his head up from the pillow. He looks both ways before seeing Lizzy's form standing at the edge of the bed in the nursery.

"I'm better," Castiel tells him in Lizzy's voice. "Get up."

"Better?"

"Yes."

"So you're good to ditch L and fix her up?" he questions groggily and in the most basic way he can.

"Yes. I would like to get this done. I have work to attend to," Castiel explains and leaves the room.

"Where you wanna…?" Dean starts to ask.

"Panic room," Lizzy's serious voice answers before Cass is gone for good.

Dean sits up, feeling the effects of alcohol withdrawal all over his body, but it doesn't matter. He's on his feet in a flash, keeping his clothes from the day before on and yanking boots onto his feet. Running through the house he makes it in record time to the basement. He finds Lizzy's body standing over the lifeless form of Castiel's (well, really, Jimmy's) stretched across the cot in the middle of the room. They stowed him there for the time being as they didn't know what else to do. Sam is by his feet and Bobby is standing by his head already.

"Alright, let's do this," Dean says with too much excitement.

"I will need to ask her to reject me," Castiel begins to explain. "When she does I will return to my usual vessel. After that, once I am back, I will heal Elizabeth." He specifically turns Lizzy's eyes to look at Dean. "I may need a moment to readjust and recuperate before I can heal her. She might be in a fair amount pain in the meantime. Do not overreact. Have patience."

"How bad?" Dean questions with clear concern.

"Bad… but Elizabeth is strong. She has already assured me she can handle it."

Dean nods, understanding what the angel tells him. "I hear ya, Cass. Just do it. Bring L back. I trust you, man."

"Anything goes wrong, we're all here," Sam add sin to help. "We're all ready but you have this, Cass. You wouldn't let us down."

Castiel feels the tug at the corners of Lizzy mouth with what Sam and Dean say. Hearing that the men trust him again is just too good. He tried so hard to get back to this place and now that he's there again he's happy. And there's very few things that make the angel happy these days.

He nods at Dean once, silently reassuring him, before closing his eyes.

Elizabeth, I need to warn you once more to be sure. I have held off the effects of your ailment for as long as I can however if you reject me now it will hurt. Something is very wrong, much like you feared before I came to you, and I will need a little time before I can heal you. It may be unlike much else you have felt before…

I can handle anything for my son, Cass. Let's just fix this. Please.

Then all you need to do is reject me if you think you're ready.

Castiel… get the fuck outta me, huh?

Of course only my Elizabeth would reject me in such a way...

I love you too, Cassie. Now out.

When Castiel opens Lizzy's eyes they're a bright, vibrant glowing blue. The hunters all take a step back with the sight when her body starts to radiate a brilliant white. A second before he's forced to close his eyes with the sheer blinding force of Castiel's grace, Dean can just make out the dark outline of two huge, black wings extending from Lizzy's back.

Pressing Lizzy's palm onto the forehead of Jimmy Novak, the light explodes throughout the panic room harshly, the shockwave hitting everyone in it and making them stumble on their feet a bit. As soon as it's over the men open their eyes and look around, the room littered with broken glass light bulb pieces as it's now only lit by the sunlight seeping in through the ceiling vent.

Standing there looking down at Castiel's form is Lizzy. She takes a deep breath and her lungs expand when she tells them to.

"L?"

She looks up to Dean standing on the opposite side of the cot Castiel is still on and still unmoving.

"Yeah… yes…" she says and nods, so happy to hear her own voice when she tries to use it.

The way she smiles with genuine happiness and everything that is Lizzy, the room lets out a collective sigh of relief.

Dean doesn't need anything else. He rushes around the bed and immediately hugs her tight. Lizzy responds, her arms around him and clutching to him with content love.

"You ok?" Dean asks without letting go.

"I think so," she answers, getting a glimpse of Sam off to the side. She grins wide at him to see him back and himself, adult and all.

And Sam just nods back, letting them have their moment as much as he'd like to butt in. He wants to thank Lizzy for everything; for caring for him through all this, for putting herself and her son in danger to help him when he was hurt, and for being stronger than anyone could ever have been expected to be yet still getting through this with grace… especially since she's only gone through any of this because something came after him.

"You feel ok, hon?" Bobby wonders, knowing they were warned about her health for a reason.

"I'm ok," Lizzy shrugs, not feeling anything off.

"Are you sure?" Dean questions and ends the hug, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Because Cass said…"

"Oh!" Lizzy shouts sharply and grabs her stomach. "Shit! Oh, no!" Her face twisted in pain, she falls instantly to her knees on the floor. With her back hunched her entire body tenses up with the severe pain, her back and lower stomach nearly exploding with the severity.

"Lizzy!?" Sam shouts as Dean drops down next to her with panic.

Dean was somewhat prepared for this but he would never truly be prepared for any sort of pain Lizzy will ever be in. He'd rather take it himself and multiply it by ten than her ever have to feel an ounce of anything painful.

"L, what is it?" Dean asks as her hand slaps into his chest and grabs hard onto his shirt from where he kneels next to her, her hand shaking all the while.

"Hurts," she struggles out and holds her breath, her body rocking as it doesn't know what else to do. Her voice makes such pitiful sounds that the men around her start to realize Castiel wasn't joking in the least.

"Hey," Dean says, prying her hand off his shirt and grasping onto it with his own. With the strength she clamps down on it with he grows even more nervous. Dean looks to Bobby. "Get Cass up!"

Bobby dashes to the bed and shakes the unmoving form, calling the angel's name and doing his best to get their only hope back.

"Lizzy?" Sam calls to her as he joins them on the floor, sitting in front of her as Dean's to her side, one arm tightly around her back as he holds her into him. "Lizzy, you can do this. Hang on. Cass'll be here, he said he would."

"Where the fuck is he?" Dean asks out loud to his brother and Sam can see the true panic in his brother's eyes.

"Cass said to be patient," Sam reminds him but when Lizzy immediately screams out in pain, her back twitching with the agony, Dean's not hearing anything his brother says.

"Lizzy, listen to me," Dean says as quietly and as calmly as he can to her, ducking his head down to try and get a look at her now curled up form. "You listen to my voice." She can't even look up at him with the strength of the pain she's feeling. Dean pulls her in tighter, his hand to the side of her head. "You're the strongest person in this room right now. You can do this. Cass will be back."

"Soon… please…" she gasps and struggles out, her weight leaning into him and asking silently for more help. "Can't." She wasn't even aware that she was crying until the tears drips off her nose and onto the concrete floor below.

"He's coming, sweetheart. Hang on," Dean assures her, his heart ripping apart with this situation. "Just hold on for Sammy. You can do this."

"Oh God," she barely is able to say, her sobbing starting. "Please… so bad…"

His hand throbbing with her grip on it, Dean presses his cheek to the top of her head. He feels helpless, completely helpless, and he looks to Sam for what he doesn't know. This is just simply devastating him, watching what she has to endure for the sake of their family.

But Sam doesn't fall into the sadness of it all. That's not his style. Instead he gets angry.

On his feet quickly Sam turns and views the lifeless form of Castiel on the cot.

"Get up," Sam demands, his teeth clenched in anger. "Castiel, get the fuck up!"

He doesn't move and Bobby looks up at him as he silently tells him to stop. Sam's having none of it.

Leaning his tall frame down over the bed he grabs the tie around Jimmy's neck and pulls, making his head lift just a little. "Castiel, you get your ass back here," he said low and frighteningly serious as Lizzy yells out for help once more. "Get back here and help her right now!"

An eyelash flutter gives him hope.

"Cass!?" he says with hope, the angel's eyes opening and looking at Sam disoriented.

"I told you to be patient," the angle grumbles and shoves Sam's hand away in an unsteady motion. He's not all there but he's trying.

Sam takes a step back and give's Castiel room. The angel sits up, feet over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. He tries to stand but wavers side to side and sits back down.

"Cass… please. Man… you gotta help her," Dean asks quietly and with utter desperation.

Castiel leans forward and reaches for Lizzy's anguished form. He places his hand on the top of her head and closes his eyes.

Lizzy inhales hard when she can feel the change. The pain disappears in a flash, faster than she could have ever hoped for, and the second it's gone she feels as though it never happened. She's as good as new.

As Castiel's eyes roll back, he drops back onto the bed, completely drained, and Lizzy sits on the floor bonelessly as she puts her entire weight onto her husband and pants in recuperation.

As suddenly as the commotion in the room starts it's stopped. Silence takes over, only cut by Lizzy's harsh breathing.

"Lizzy?" Dean questions, not ready to accept anything until he hears it from her. "You alright?"

He feels her nod her head against his chest as she takes in air deeply while trying to mentally rebound as well as physically.

Dean lifts her chin up to look at him. "Everything is good in there too?" He looks down at her pregnant stomach.

"Yes," she answers, eyes heavily lidded.

He kisses her forehead and pulls her in tighter, letting his grip on her hand go to hug her close with a palm pressed firmly into her stomach.

"Shit," Bobby says as he checks on Castiel's still form, lifting a lifeless lid to take a peek. "He said he was ready, didn't he?"

"That's what he told us all," Sam answers, clearly seeing that he might have exaggerated.

"Me too. He lied," Lizzy suggests, eyes closing with her own exhaustion. "He felt like he needed to give me back to you. He saw what this did to you and just wanted it to end."

Dean keeps her in his arms, not ever wanting to let her go again after all this, and closes his eye. "Stupid bastard…"

"He saved our son. Don't call him that."

Dean agrees but doesn't says so. Instead he places a kiss in her hair and doesn't move. At least she back. As long as Lizzy is with him then the rest they can figure out.

"There you are," she can hear Bobby's voice say with levity despite some concern and she turns her head to look at him. She blinks the sleep out of her eyes and smiles when she can tell that she's in the living room on the couch and Bobby's there with her, sitting in his favorite chair as usual.

"I'm here," she answers quietly before being hit be a huge yawn.

"'Bout damn time too," Bobby says to her, closing his huge dusty volume and focusing only on her. "Thought that husband of yours was gonna give himself a heart attack waiting to see you up and ok."

"I'm sure he was," she laughs, knowing it's true. Dean was definitely scared and annoying while she was out and she didn't need to see it to know it's true. "Where is he?"

"I kicked him outta the house," the older man answers with a huff. "He was hovering and worrying… and pissing me off in the process. He's out back reattaching the door to the Impala."

"Oh shit," she says as she remembers, a hand pressed to her forehead. "I forgot that happened."

"You had enough on your mind," Bobby says knowingly and smirking.

"Yeah I did. That sucks though. He must be so pissed."

"It'll give him something to do and keep his stress level down," Bobby shrugs.

"There's always a silver lining," she grins with how Bobby chooses to look at things. Lizzy lets herself think through the past few days and realizes how much actually happened. "Lemme see if I have this right…" she starts while sitting up slowly, her size and exhaustion taking its toll on her. "Sam's back to his adult self and safe, that demon bitch is dead, or at least I hope so, I'm back to normal and so is my son… and my husband accidentally kissed my angel." She shares a huge, amused smile at her father figure and they both get a good laugh out of that one.

"I suggest you wait a few days before you give him a hard time on that one," Bobby tells her despite the giant grin on his face. "With everything that just happened he's still a little sore. He needs a minute."

"I can only imagine," Lizzy laughs a little more. She shakes her head and sighs now that it's all over with. "Seven months and I stayed away from everything. I kept my boy safe and far away from anything that could hurt him… and then poof, all that work down the drain."

"Liz, don't do that crap," Bobby warns. "Sammy's fine. Look at the positive."

"You know I try," Lizzy answers back, the fear of all that could go wrong now more real than ever and always knocking at the door. "I just worry about his guy's future." She holds her stomach. "I just don't want him knowing about anything. I want him to have a better life. I want it all away from him."

"We're all working hard to make that happen," Bobby lightens it up. "And we're heading out tomorrow to go to Samuel's stockpile at the compound. Sam thinks he can find the library he has hidden there and he's confident there's an answer to killing Eve in it somewhere."

"I bet there's even biblical text up the ass in there too," Lizzy's eyes light up as she thinks about how helpful the place might be to her son's future. "We should ransack the place!"

"That's the plan. We're gonna be a few days thought. We'll research what we can while there and take everything else that might be of use. We're not leaving until we find an answer though."

"So I'll come with!" Lizzy says with obviousness.

"Noooo…"

"I can't come and read a bunch of books in a warded, super safe from all evil room with three, count 'em, three hunters!? And the best three hunters on the planet, might I add?" Lizzy questions with surprise. "Another set of eyes will make it go that much faster and I can't stay locked up in here much longer before I go insane. I'm coming."

"Dean won't let you," Bobby says in warning.

"And since when was he my keeper?" she asks with anger.

"I'm just saying you know how he gets. He won't want you along."

"And I'd like to see him try and stop me," she smiles and takes her time getting up.

"You still feeling alright?"

"Yes," Lizzy laughs a little. "Just really tired still."

"Rest up, then. No need to wake up at all if you don't want to."

"I will. Just gotta go talk to pops first," she says to him and pats him on the shoulder before heading to grab her coat.

Coat and boots on, Lizzy opens the door. She gets hit right in the face by the biting cold air of mid-winter but it doesn't deter her. From the top of the short set of stairs she can see her husband working away, his face in a scowl but it's not the same scowl she's seen far too much of this past year. It's the scowl of concentration, not fear and sorrow. This one is ok, welcomed even if it means he's focused on his Baby and not the terrors of their usual daily issues.

"Hey!" she calls over to Dean and he looks up instantly. His face lightens to see her standing there and they both suddenly know that it's back to normal, or at least their normal, and that everything will be just fine for at least the time being.

Dean jogs over to her, dropping his work in favor of family. "You ok?"

"You ever gonna stop asking that?" Lizzy lifts an eyebrow at him and holds her arms out when he moves in to hug her.

"Never," Dean answers back, hugging her tight despite the large stomach between them.

"I'm good, Dean. Back to normal," she answers into his neck in the embrace. "Please don't make yourself a wreck any more than you have to."

"When I'm dead I'll try that," he says to her. "And Sammy's still fine?"

"He's dancing on my bladder as we speak so yeah, I'd say he's just as good as ever," Lizzy explains with a laugh.

Dean pulls away from her to place his hands on her stomach, feeling the proof that Sammy is in fact still doing his thing and healthy as ever.

"God, you scared the shit outta me, L," Dean shakes his head when he lets himself finally enjoy the little solace he can find these days. As long as she's alive, as long as Sammy's on his way… Dean can deal with the rest. "Thought I was gonna lose at least one of you."

"Fuck that," Lizzy says, a smirk playing on her lips as she rubs the stubble on his jawline with her hand. "You know me by now. When do I ever give up?"

"Never."

"Damn straight."

"Just… don't get yourself into shitty situations like that anymore."

"Yeah, I'll do what I can," she sarcastically responds, knowing she couldn't have helped that if she tried.

"L, it's freezing out here. Let's get you inside," Dean suggests, opening the door to the house and nearly pushing her back in.

"Oh man, you're gonna be on overprotective mode until the day this kid drops, aren't you?"

"You bet your ass," Dean tells her, pushing her with a hand cupping her ass cheek just to prove it. "Inside. Now."

"I'm going, I'm going," Lizzy says, walking in with him following after.

"Ah, wait a second," Dean changes his mind suddenly and makes Lizzy turn to face him. "Uh… I owe you."

"Owe me…?" she asks as she watches Dean rolls his neck out and hops around a little bit from foot to foot.

"Come on," he says, gesturing towards himself as he gets prepared. "Even it out."

"Dean," she complains and rolls her eyes. "That was days ago. You apologized…"

"And after you slug me it'll be even," he assumes. "Come on, pussy. You know you want to."

She scoffs at him. "You want your pregnant wife to give you a black eye to feel better about yourself?"

"Yes," Dean says with certainty.

"You're fucking crazy."

"I know," he smiles.

And as soon as his face turns up in a grin, a fist comes flying fast at his face and wipes it right off.

He doubles over holding his face in his hands, forgetting how strong Lizzy is for a second there, and blinks the stars out of his vision.

"Bet you'll never talk to the mother of your child like that again now, huh?" Lizzy laughs lightly as she watches him try to recuperate.

"God, never. Fuck," Dean complains and stands upright, widening his eyes. "That's gonna be a bad one."

Lizzy bites back her grin. "Good."

"Alright, now you go inside," he says and opens the door for her, his other hand still holding his eye socket. "And I get some ice."

"While you do," Lizzy starts as she passes him. "I gotta tell you about a little road trip we need to make. To a library…"

THE END