Roswell Fanatics

barbara87413: Definitely a storm brewing.. Family Dean is my favorite. His fierce loyalty to family is one of the things I love about his character.
HypnotiqBlueEyes: ah yes the arrogant and narcissistic Khivar. The Granolith rejected him so in his mind if he controls the keeper then he controls the granolith without needing its approval. When Tess came back with baby Zan she told the rest that Khivar had rejected him because he was completely human so he feels he has no use for a powerless human. The FBI going after Zan has crossed the groups mind but more along the lines of either Nicholas isn't telling Khivar everything or he just wanted the heir out of the way. The demon spoke about Zan's powers that gave the guys pause in their Aliens and Demons working together theory. Lots of good questions!
AvalonRose: Hit the nail on the head, power of the Granolith. The beloved thing.. well it worked with Vilandra. Whether he actually loves Liz or not.




Chapter 62

The next morning Dean woke up alone in bed. A quick glance to the crib let him know that he was alone in the room as well. He wondered if Jude had been put back in his crib at all during the night but knew it was more likely that Sam had put him in the small bassinet that he and Serena kept in their room. He dragged himself out of the bed, threw on a pair of sweats and followed the invisible line to Liz that led him into the kitchen. The normal early morning smell of coffee filled the air and he smiled when he saw Zan sitting at the table talking energetically with Liz and making faces for Jude. He couldn’t help the smile that bloomed at the sight of Liz and Jude laughing at Zan’s antics. Sam was standing at the stove with Serena cooking up something that smelled delicious but he wasn’t really hungry. His stomach grumbled but his eyes went to Liz once he knew she was aware he was in the room because the connection flickered. Food had to wait because he wasn’t going to let Liz push him away anymore. There was something she wasn’t telling him and he wasn’t going to let her go on like this.

Liz turned to him with a smile, “good morning.”

He raised his eyebrow then kissed her. His hand gently smoothed over of Jude’s soft head as he took a seat next to his high chair. He nodded at Zan, “everyone still asleep over there?”

Zan shrugged, “they were earlier. I think my mom and Max were up late talking. Ava had started coffee but I’m pretty picky about my coffee. I figured someone would be awake over here with the baby and all so I took the chance.”

Dean chuckled, “you drink coffee?”

Sam sat down next to Zan while sending an amused smirk to his brother, “because we weren’t drinking coffee at eight?”

Zan smiled at Sam before connecting with Dean’s gaze. “I don’t always but when I did, it was the good stuff. My dad was into gourmet coffee.”

Dean held up his hands with a small grin, “hey I’m not arguing. We all know Liz makes the best coffee, they’ve been sneaking over here for it since we moved in.” Dean caught the quick side glances Liz was sending him and he couldn’t miss his brother’s gaze bouncing back and forth between them. He briefly wondered if Sam wanted to know what last night was all about or if Sam thought he knew. He didn’t have time for that, what he really wanted to know was if Liz really thought he was just going to let her brush this off again. Her emotions were muffled and he tried not to get upset. He caught Liz’s gaze and knew she was struggling with the idea. He gave a subtle shake of his head, knowing she’d get the idea that he was not going to let it go. He wanted to know what happened last night and he wasn’t going to let her pretend to shake it off this time.

After breakfast, Dean asked Sam to take Jude and he led Liz out the back door. They walked quietly together through the yard and then Liz sat on her rock with her head down. Her mind traveling back to the last time they were both here. It had only been a few days since she hid the full truth from him in this very spot and she didn’t have a good feeling about how this was going to go. She knew it was all her fault. She nervously waited for him to sit feeling the contained but growing anger but also exhaustion. When he didn’t sit, she raised her face to find him standing in front of her with the take-no-crap set to his jaw. Damn the man was so sexy when he was pissed, especially with the growing scuff around said jaw.

His words broke her from her musing. “I just need to know if you’re actually going to tell me what’s going on.”

She watched him for a moment. She knew he was determined, she could feel as much along with his confusion and fear that swirled so closely to the surface. She knew he wasn’t going to walk away without knowing everything but he was trying his best to not come off too pushy. She wanted to laugh but knew she had done this. She had made him feel like she would only push him away if he came on too strong. She sighed and glanced down at the open space of the rock next to her, “sit down.”

He sat down facing her to keep her attention. “What is it about the dreams that have you so terrified? What made you fall apart last night?”

She took his hands and tried to keep herself together, “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you everything. I just was trying to figure it out for myself before I just spilled out theories and worried everyone.” She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, her exhaustion betraying the strong front she was trying to keep in place. “Evelyn had told me pieces of how they had died on Antar, about how Khivar had done it. Seeing it happen is a whole new level of.. Seeing for myself how the man that wants me so badly killed my friends, it’s terrifying the kind of power he has. The things he could make even you do. I think that’s what he wants.. whoever is sending me the dreams.” She stopped him from interrupting with a soft hand over his mouth, “yes I know they are not my dreams, that someone is sending them to me. They want me off my game, to scare me enough to leave everyone, to get me alone. It’s the only thing that makes any sense. The best way to get me is to get me away from you.”

She saw the struggle on his face, felt his battling emotions of fear, anger, confusion, and grief. She knew he was pissed that she hadn’t told him before but didn’t want to make the situation worse. He was probably searching her story for holes or how this could possibly be something else or maybe if there was some way these dreams could be hurting her. His anger wasn’t completely unfounded, nor his fear, but she just wanted him to understand that she was trying to keep everything from getting away from them. She didn’t need them freaking out and going off on something that was most likely constructed for that very reason. Michael was better than before but anything that involved her and aliens could send Max off the deep end and Dean was likely to do the same. She gazed into his eyes and was surprised when she saw them soften.

He pulled her hand slowly away from his mouth while trying to keep himself from blowing up. “You could have told me. Being left out of what is going on with you. Leaving us out and having us worry about you isn’t much different. We're not exactly on our games if all eyes are on you wondering what the hell is going on.” She felt his spike of fear and anger although it didn’t really show except for the tension in his jaw. “Damnit Liz, remember when we said no more secrets? Someone sending you dreams is a pretty big one.”

She looked at him curiously, seeing the battle he was trying not to show on his face even though he knew she could feel what was going on in his head. “But that's it. It's just dreams, Isabel can dreamwalk that doesn't tell her where they are or anything important, the person has to show her that. If this is Nicholas, he wants everyone to worry. He wants me to freak out and run but that's not happening.”

“No the rest of us are just worrying because you're not sleeping and we see how it's affecting you.” He paused for a second, “what was different about last night?”

She looked down at his hands quickly making a decision as her eyes came back up to his. “The other dreams were leading up to their death. I saw him kill them last night. I saw him use Vilan.. Isabel to kill Max. It's something I've known since Evelyn told me but.. Seeing it..” Her eyes fell from his as she shivered slightly.

His hand gently raised her chin, his eyes imploring. “That's it?”

Once again she watched him quietly for a moment taking comfort in the warmth of his hand that had come to rest on her cheek. His tired, worried eyes made her want to keep it to herself but she knew he’d know. She’d let it go far enough. She sighed and her voice came soft. "There was a voice. A voice that told me I needed to take my place.” She rubbed her thumb against the skin on the back of his hand. “That I needed to see so that I would take my place with Khivar.”

Dean’s brow scrunched as his eyes scanned her face. The words seemed to fully sink in as he stood abruptly and started pacing in front of the rock.

She rushed on, “it's no different from what Nicholas said before. They want me to find the granolith for Khivar. To keep it under his control.”

“Liz, to take your place.. to keep it under his control means..” He stopped and stared at her, doing his best to keep his anger from exploding. He took a few deep breathes thinking of Kyle’s meditation relax crap that in that moment he was thankful he listened with half an ear. When he spoke, his voice was level but the hint of fear and anger was still there. “He wants you. This is more than just needing you and Michael to find and activate it or whatever. He wants you to stay with him, to be HIS keeper.”

She nodded sadly. The fear flooding her that he’d do something drastic and get himself killed. The fire filled her eyes as she caught his gaze. “But that's never going to happen. We're not going to let it happen. I'm not even sure the granolith would allow it because it rejected Khivar before, it wouldn't allow him control because it knows the dangers. Like Evelyn said the granolith will move the keeper and itself to keep them safe. Whatever Khivar is thinking, it's not possible.”

“But he doesn't know that.”

Liz shook her head, “either he doesn't know it or he refuses to believe it.”

“Shit Liz.” He ran his hands through his hair and sat heavily next to her on the rock as the fight drained out of him.

She turned to him and placed her hand on his arm, needing him to clearly feel her confidence. “Nothing's changed. We're still on defense until we have anything that can end it.”

He looked at her and she was struck with his feeling of helplessness. “Which we still don't have, how the hell do you kill an alien on another planet?”

“We don't have to kill him to get rid of the skin threat. Nicholas is his man here. We take him out we should be okay.”

He scoffed, “yeah, the guy who's got his hand in the special unit and sending other psychos at us.”

A small smile played at the corner of her mouth. “Well, having it easy isn’t exactly our thing.”

Dean’s gaze met Liz’s just as a small voice came from behind them. “Liz?”

Dean and Liz turned to see Zan standing a few feet away. She stood and walked to him, “what is it?”

His eyes searched her face hesitantly. “At breakfast.. when you passed me the syrup. You’re hand brushed mine and I saw your dream.. I saw.”

Liz grabbed his hand and shook her head, "it's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

She heard his voice in her head, I saw him Liz.. I saw what he did to you. What he said to you.

Liz replied quickly, please don't say anything. Dean and Max.. They could get killed if they do something without thinking.

Dean walked over and knelt in front of him with a smirk that hid the fear that shimmered just moments ago, "it's okay. We're used to this kind of stuff. We're not going to let anyone get hurt."

Zan's eyes moved to Dean and he nodded as Zan’s whisper came clear in Liz's head, I want to help.
~~

Later that night, Liz finally got Jude to sleep but didn’t want to put him down so she continued to hum as she rocked slowly in her chair. Her gaze fell on Dean who was fighting against heavy eyes to keep an eye on her.

"It's okay," she whispered. "Go to sleep. I just want to hold him."

A tired smile softened his features, "you sure?"

She nodded as she continued her humming watching Dean finally lose his battle. She watched the slow rise and fall of his chest as she felt the same but quicker movement against her hand on Jude's small back. Everything had been so crazy and confusing the last couple of weeks that she missed these quiet moments with her son. Every time she spent with him she tried so hard to stay awake and just cherish the time but worries would ultimately creep their way into her mind, exhaustion would seep its way into her eyes and her time soaking up her son would be cut short by either or both.

She looked down at his sweet face so calm in sleep. The smell of his clean sleeper along with his lavender lotion and diaper that lead to that pure baby smell invaded her senses. Jude was a very quiet baby even when he did cry, it wasn't that loud unless they left him alone for too long but for the most part he was a happy baby. He was very observant of his environment, quietly studying everything he could get his eyes on. She smiled thinking of how his mouth would open wide with a toothless grin whenever she or dean came close accompanied by his soft giggle or coo. He responded similarly with some of the others but he seemed to have a special response saved just for them. It never ceased to warm her even when she was stressed, exhausted, or worried. As she continued to rock, she felt her own eyes start to droop but took a deep breath and opened her eyes wider, not wanting this quiet time with him to end. Her eyes fell again and she moved him to the nearby crib with a kiss to his soft temple, "goodnight my love."

She climbed into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She felt herself fall into a deep sleep then slowly come to on a dream plane. The sensation was one she couldn’t quite forget anymore but this one was distinctly different than the other one she had visited in recent weeks. Looking around she found herself in the backyard in between the two houses. She automatically thought of Ava and wondered why she brought her there. She heard a bark and turned to see Zan with a chocolate lab. She smiled as she walked over to them and knelt down in front of the dog, "what's his name?"

Zan looked confused for a second before responding, "I forgot you didn't get to meet him. This is Zeus."

Liz looked up at him and suddenly remembered the dog from her premonition. A dog that they obviously didn't save. "I'm sorry Zan."

Zan watched her curiously, "it's okay. It's only temporary. When we know where we're going to settle when this is all over, he'll live with us again. He's staying with my grandparents."

Liz smiled as she scratched the dog behind his ears. "You probably wouldn't have liked being coped up here anyway Zeus."

"Hey what's going on out here?"

Liz turned her head to see Ava walking from their house, "Hey you’re the one that brought us here. I figured you’d know."

Ava quirked her eyebrow, "right because I thought it'd be fun to try to pull the two of you into a dream." She looked around, "in our backyard."

Liz looked confused for a second until she caught the guilty look on Zan's face. "Zan it's okay. Did you do this?"

Ava's brow jumped up as she looked at the boy. He nodded, "I know you and Ava could help me. With my powers I mean."

Liz asked Ava. "Can we work on them in dreams?"

Ava glanced between them, "yeah. It's not the best but it’s a start. Why don't you want to do it.. while we’re awake?"

His eyes fell to the ground at his feet. "I don't want to be screwing up anywhere my mom could see." His gaze came up and caught their matched looks of sympathy. He quickly continued, "I know she loves me and it’s not that she's scared of me but she's scared for me. She'd rather I not use them at all so nothing can happen to me but I want to help you Liz. I don't want him to get his hands on you like in that dream."

Liz's eyes went wide and Ava's head snapped to Liz, "what is he talking about?"

Zan looked guilty and Liz shook her head, "it's okay, it's not your fault."

All of a sudden the hidden part of her last dream played out behind her like a movie in the sky and Ava's mouth gaped open. "Holy shit."

Liz shot her an admonishing glance and Zan chuckled.

Ava stared at the garden that surrounded Liz in awe and then tensed as Khivar's hand cupped Liz's cheek. His last words seem to hang in the air as Ava's eyes sought out Liz. "I don't remember that part being in the little meeting." Her arms crossed over her chest.

Liz’s eyes darted away from her gaze and she shrugged. "That's because there was no reason to utter them again. Everyone got the drift with the whole take your place crap."

Ava rolled her eyes, "are you kidding me? ‘I'll have to try harder’ is a bit more than take your place Liz!"

Zan took a hesitant step forward, "it's probably for the best. I may not know everyone all that well but Max seemed tense with the information that she did give. Michael hides it well but he was worried, more than normal. It radiated off him pretty strongly."

Ava glanced at Zan, "Michael might have figured there was more to the dream. He thinks like Liz so he probably had an idea that she was holding something back. And Max gets tense any time his family is in the line of fire with his enemy." Her eyes went back to Liz, "did you at least tell Dean?"

At her guilty expression Ava huffed and dropped herself to the ground. Her head was cradled in her hands as she muttered something.

Liz straightened her back, "him freaking out right now is not what I need. What any of us need. What is he gonna do with that one line? Obsess and freak out and we have no idea what Khivar could mean by that! The best we can do now is prepare and that's what we’re doing."

Zan spoke softly, "I'd like to help but I need.. some guidance to do that."

Ava looked up at the boy who acted a whole lot older than his young age and sighed. Another casualty of this whole mess. "Do you know what you can do?"

He shook his head, "not everything. I can picture things and make them appear, that’s the new one and I've been doing that for about a year. Little things I've been able to do since I was little like sense things about people, change colors on some things, make things hotter or colder to my liking. Stuff like that."

Ava watched him impressed, "and some sort of dreamwalking ability as well.” She turned to Liz, “and Tess thought he was human?"

Liz nodded, "she said Khivar rejected him because he was completely human. When you think about it, it could be an evolutionary thing. The Antarian scientists probably knew their hybrids would be detectable but when they reproduced covering those tracks would be imperative for survival."

Ava shrugged, "makes sense. I guess. Anything else mentally? It seems like that is where your strength lies. I mean I'm strong mentally and I don't know if I could have pulled the two of you to my dream plane."

Liz glanced at him, "he can talk to me, telepathically. We have to be touching though."

Ava's brow shot up, "I'm sorry what?"

Zan nodded, "when we first met she was holding my hand and heard me. She spoke back and I heard her clearly.”

Ava glanced between the two of them, "I've never heard of it outside of the bond. I mean Kyle can hear me but can't return words. But then you’re obviously both strong mentally. Can dean hear you?"

Liz frowned, "I never tried sending words. He's just always been able to feel my emotions and that kind of thing."

Ava thought about it quickly, "you should try and see if he can talk back. Just to test it out if nothing else. See if the ability is yours or combined between you and Zan." Ava saw the light in Liz’s eyes.

“We could try too. I mean going along with your mental powers idea. Isabel, you.. maybe even Serena.”

Ava smirked as she watched Liz, knowing her scientific mind was probably calculating probabilities or whatever it was she did when she went off like that. Ava turned to Zan, "let’s see what you can do and figure out what we should work on."

Liz smiled at the excitement that had Zan bouncing in place before he shook himself and tried to play it cool. A smirk that rivaled Dean came to his face as he spoke, "this is gonna be awesome."

barbara87413: a shared burden with a stubborn fighter. Good thing Ava is just as stubborn.
AvalonRose : Liz is creating science experiments so to speak.. based upon Ava's guesses about the telepathic conversations.


Chapter 63

Everyone had gone on high alert after finding out about Liz’s dream but they also breathed a sigh of relief seeing Liz lose the bags under her eyes. As the days passed, she got her color back and disappeared less often. The Liz they knew had returned to them which helped calm some tensions when they still had nothing on Nicholas who had been keeping his head down and off the grid since his failed plan of kidnapping Liz as a trap for Michael. If it wasn’t for the fact that Henriksen was still with the special unit to give them updates that they were chasing false leads left and right, they’d have absolutely nothing.

As the weeks passed, Liz and Ava continued to quietly work with Zan on the dream plane then built up his confidence to work just beyond the backyard in the real world. After a few pranks on Dean and Kyle to test his ability, Zan struck a deal with them in exchange for no more pranks on them. He wanted to learn how to shoot a gun but since neither Dean nor Kyle would touch that idea with a ten foot pole, he settled on hand to hand combat. Dean and Kyle sweetened the deal with getting to work with him on pulling pranks on a few choice people in the group. With a grin, Zan had agreed. With the stress level heightened after a month of silence, the pranks had actually helped despite the amount of halfhearted complaining from Michael and Sam. They saw how their antics helped distract and give a small amount of much needed relief from the building tension.

Presently, the guys along with Maria, Serena, and Rachel were playing football in the backyard with Zan. Kyle had surprised him that day with a football he bought in town and everyone joined them outside as they tossed the ball back and forth until Serena and Michael got into who could beat who in a game. Liz sat with Jude in her arms on a blanket spread out on the grass with Ava sitting by her side laughing at some of the boys’ ridiculous hyped up game play. Ava glanced at Liz again as the two teams lined up facing one another waiting for the snap of the ball. “Liz, you know if you were right and Nicholas was trying to draw you out. What's his next move when he finds out that didn't work?”

Liz shook the small toy in her hand for Jude before letting him grab it with a small giggle. “I don't know. It's one of the things I can't get out of my head either.”

Ava smirked, “so this is what it's like to be you.”

Liz smiled and rolled her eyes as she placed Jude in a seated position on the blanket with her hand on his back, “you’re telling me you've never had your mind so occupied that you couldn't turn it off?”

Jude turned to Ava smacking his rattle against her knee. She smiled down at his giggling face as she tickled his belly. “Nope. I'm the easy going one remember? Just ask Serena.”

They laughed softly then their eyes were drawn back to the football game by Kyle and Dean’s loud cheers to see the two men lifting Zan into the air on their shoulders. The cheering and celebrating couldn’t distract Ava enough as the question that had been burning the midnight oil in her mind surfaced once again. Ava touched Liz’s leg gingerly, what about what K said Liz? About trying. Ava felt Liz's hand grab her arm and she froze mid-thought. Her gaze met Liz's wide brown eyes. Fear and worry flitted across her face before she could tamp it down.

Liz’s voice whispered in her mind, I don't think about it. I can't. I just have to stay alert.

Ava nodded catching the desperation in her gaze and placed her hand back to her own lap without another word, knowing it would be pointless. Their eyes went back to the boys as Ava’s mind continued to spin its silent storm. They can't watch everyone at all times. Who knows who he'd actually go after if that was the route he decided to take. Jude and Dean would be the obvious choices but maybe too obvious. Sam would be a big one too. Any of the hybrids might be too difficult either from the point that they could put up more of a fight power wise or that they could get and send information to the others. Nicholas didn’t want to take on all of them. He knew better and was too much of a coward to really try. Khivar was still a bit of a mystery to her even with the small amount of memories she had from Antar. Kyle threw a concerned glance her way and she waved him off with a smile.

Going after Liz seemed to be the best angle from their side. They don't really know about her powers and she is exactly what Khivar wants. Would Liz give her life if it meant Dean and Jude could live? That the rest of them could live? Ava knew she would fight to the death for it so how different would it be if Khivar gave her an ultimatum, their lives for hers. She didn’t know what she would do. Well no, she knew exactly what she would do if it came down to an energy filled hand to their head. Maybe that's what scared her the most. What if he somehow made her think that's the leverage he had and she just walked out one night. She needed to talk to Serena. She needed someone else watching Liz. She needed to talk to Isabel, maybe she could pop in her dreams every now and then and maybe catch Khivar. She needed more eyes on Liz without tipping her hand, without betraying Liz’s trust. She also had that nagging feeling that made her wonder if keeping her secret was really worth her life. If anything happened to her.. No. She wouldn’t allow it to get that far. She won’t keep silent if things go too far. Right now Serena and Isabel were good enough. The heightened sense of tension from everyone was enough. For now.

An hour later, the girls headed inside with Zan with the promise of making snacks and drinks for everyone as Michael, Kyle, and Dean stood in the makeshift football field joking about who had used powers to help their team in the game. Dean watched from the corner of his eye, waiting for the rest to be out of ear shot before speaking. “The kid’s getting stronger.”

Michael nodded and both of them looked at Kyle, who raised his hands, “what?”

“You know anything?” Michael replied.

Kyle eyed Dean, “her sleep patterns feel any different?”

Dean rolled his eyes, “she’s sleeping again. I haven’t really looked into it too much further.”

Kyle glanced between the two, “I’ve noticed a difference in Ava’s but when I asked her about it she skirted the question. I think she’s working with him at night.”

Michael raised his brows seeming almost impressed while Dean just looked confused. “At night? I’ve seen Liz and Ava with him in the woods beyond the yard during the day.”

Kyle nodded, “yeah but the dreams must have started before. I don’t know what they’re up to but he’s definitely gotten better with his control. His little pranks have shown that much.”

Michael smirked as he looked at Dean, “who knew seeing your kid fly would freak you out so much.”

“Hey, I hate flying in planes. You think seeing your kid up in the air would be any better? Besides I recall you were the one freaking out right next to me, chuckles.”

Kyle broke the two from their memory, “you think they know something we don’t?”

Their gazes darkened as they looked towards the house seeing the group through the kitchen window. Michael’s gaze went to Kyle before settling on Dean’s. “I don’t know. Liz likes to be prepared for anything and Ava’s ability is closer to Zan’s. I’ve gotta admit his ability is a pretty great asset to have.”

Dean’s gaze didn’t move from the kitchen window, “but why not let everyone know? I mean Kyle and I have been working with Zan with some hand to hand defensive stuff.”

Michael added, “Max and I have tried teaching him how to create a shield. He doesn’t have much of one but he can project multiple versions of himself. I don’t know if Max or his mom will ever want him in a position to actually have to use it but I for one felt better with him knowing just in case. I think we all did really as the days have gone by with all the damn radio silence.”

Kyle and Dean nodded as Dean said, “nobody likes it. Feels like a storm’s brewing but you don’t know which way it’s rolling in from.” Dean’s eyes darkened as the words fell from his mouth reminding him of Liz’s use of them weeks before.

Michael nodded as he saw Max and Sam walking out the back door with beers in their hands and a couple in their arms held against their chests.

Kyle glanced between Michael and the men coming towards them, “you say anything to Max about your suspicions that maybe they know more than they’re telling? Liz and Ava I mean.”

Michael nodded at the approaching two while lowering his voice for the men next to him, “Max doesn’t need anything else to worry about. We watch Liz and Ava, give them the space to work with Zan. If he’s more comfortable working on certain powers with them, let him. We don’t need max freaking out. The stress level is too high for my taste as it is.”

Sam’s eyes flicked between the three friends as he and Max reached them, handing out beers before his eyes settled on his brother. A look with a simple nod was all he needed to know his brother would fill him in later. Sam threw a glance at Max and received another subtle nod from his brother. He wasn’t sure how wise it was to keep certain things away from the stressed hybrid but knew from flashes he’d seen from Serena that sometimes it was better to go along with those who knew the quiet alien better. He understood Max’s anxiousness though. He hated to sit and wait but there wasn’t much they could do when there was no lead to follow. It was like being dead in the water and just waiting for the sharks circling underneath them to show themselves.

AvalonRose: All work and no play makes crazy boys.. LOL The storm is definitely coming in.. although it seems to be bringing more questions than answers.
barbara87413: I always felt that the group would get tighter as they worked together and grew together, I'm glad that comes out well in the story.
HypnotiqBlueEyes: *maybe just a hint of evil laughter..* here's what happens next!

Chapter 64

Liz swayed around the nursery with Jude in her arms softly humming to him. She couldn’t believe it had only been three months since he made his early appearance. Her mind skimmed quickly over all the changes that came in those short three months that felt more like six months. From Jude to Zan and his mother, to working with his powers and all the tension that rose from everyone’s worries boiling over creating a tense mass group effect. The guys had been doing their best recently to alleviate it but something being tense kept everyone alert. Although she was starting to think with all the silence they might end up tiring themselves out before anything actually happened.

She turned and tensed slightly, surprised by Dean leaning against the door frame watching her. She gave him a soft smile and looked down to see Jude's eyes closed. She whispered as she moved slowly towards him still with a slight rock for Jude, "that was fast. I thought you were going to lock up?"

He grinned, "Sam's doing it."

Jude started whining and squirming in Liz's arms so she started to sway in full and hum again. Dean came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and started swaying along with her. He whispered in her ear, "you’re amazing, you know that?"

She smiled and leaned her head back against his chest. He brought his head down pressing his lips against hers. Liz felt Jude jerk with a cry as the dark void flashed behind her eyes. She jumped out of Dean's arms, watching him with narrowed eyes as she backed away. She hummed louder to calm Jude and tried to think quickly as the fake Dean stared at her, a thin smile spreading across his face. She almost let out a cry of her own at how grotesque it looked on him. "Who..?" She whispered. Cursing herself internally for not realizing sooner.

"I'm hurt that you don't remember me."

He took a step towards her and she threw up her right hand. "Stay back." She whispered with venom while holding Jude tightly to her with her left arm.

His smile stretched yet again, "that's very cute Liz."

She watched him quietly as she felt along her connections for Dean and Sam. They were both still in the house along with Serena. What the hell were they doing? She focused on the connection with Dean and prayed this worked, please hear me. I need you!

The Dean standing in front of her raised his hand and Jude let out a loud wail. Liz kept her hand steady in front of her, turning her focus to creating a shield or anything that would keep this thing from getting closer. Jude's wail kept getting louder, messing with her forced calm. She glared at the shapeshifter, "stop or I swear to God you will regret it."

He took another step forward with a sneer and she took two steps back. "Still a silly little human thinking that you can stop me but you have a habit of ruining things, don’t you? Lilith was my ticket out from under Nicholas and an easy way to disappear but you just had to interfere. Destroying everything I worked so hard for. Again."

Her eyes went wide as her arm tightened on Jude. "You.. It was you. You told her.."

He took another step towards her, "like I told her any big secrets but believe me I will not disappear so quietly this time."

Liz heard the rushed footsteps in the hallway and felt relief rush through her at the sight of Dean and Sam appearing in the doorway. Dean looked at his own figure throwing a glance back at him then focusing back on Liz. A low growl came from her Dean, "get away from her."

Serena appeared behind Sam rubbing her eyes, "Sam?" She got one good look into the room and pulled both brothers behind her as she threw her right hand towards the imposter. All appearances of sleep gone from her angry gaze. Dean tried to protest but Serena waved her left hand at them and pushed them further back into the hallway. "This isn't your kind of shapeshifter."

The shapeshifter turned to Serena. "Ah how predictable. The advisor's daughter watching over the keeper. How is your mother, Serena?"

Serena kept her gaze level, "who the hell are you?"

He smirked, "Liz and I go way back." His gaze shifted to Dean, "you know she kissed me first. Before she ever knew you existed." Then laughed as Dean started towards him with a growl but Serena once again held him back.

"Nasedo?" Liz whispered with shock and confusion.

He turned back to her, "it’s about time you figured it out, although my real name is Telvan." He leered back at Serena missing the color that drained from Liz’s face at the mention of his true name. “Your mother and I go way back too.”

Serena took a step forward as he turned his full attention back on Liz. "You're a little out-numbered to be so cocky."

He didn't bother to turn away from Liz, "I'm not afraid of a half breed and a couple of humans." He took another step towards Liz and her hand started to glow as she realized she had backed herself against the wall.

His eyebrows rose as he glanced between her hand and eyes, "I see Nicky has been holding back some information."

Liz's face turned hard, "you come near my child and I’ll show you exactly what he’s hiding, you hear me?"

He sneered as his voice dripping with malice, "you forget I'm the one with the real powers girl and the only thing that would make me happy is to take away the one thing Nicholas wants above all else." He strode towards her and grabbed her by the arms, her hand slamming into his chest. Her energy sparked against his body and he cringed. Staring into her eyes he smiled through the pain, "you're not going to ruin anymore of my plans.."

She felt his hands start to heat up on her arms as Jude’s fussy wails had turned into terrified screams. She noticed Serena’s movement behind Nasedo but the heat spread too quickly. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed, "CAS!"

The blue eyed angel appeared next to her, his hand going straight for Dean's head. He looked confused when nothing happened.

Serena yelled as she continued to try pushing her way into the room that seemed to be blocked by some kind of invisible barrier. "Alien not demon!"

Castiel glanced at her and spotted Dean and Sam behind her then looked back at the face of his friend with a scowl, "hands off dickbag."

Liz felt the heat diminish as the green eyes staring back at her changed to old grey familiar ones that had placed fear in her so many years ago. The man’s arms fell heavily then the rest of his body crumbled to the floor. Serena dropped her hands in relief as Liz wrapped both arms around Jude taking deep breathes to calm herself. Dean and Sam ran into the room, Dean went straight to Liz while Sam knelt down and touched the neck of the alien on the floor.

Sam glanced up at Serena who finally walked into the room and stopped by his side, "do these things have a pulse?"

Serena nodded and knelt next to him, "but they can go into a coma like sleep that makes their pulse barely detectable sometimes not at all." She looked up at Castiel who stood next to Liz watching her silently as Dean checked her over. "Cas, what did you do?"

The angel turned to her, "I turned the power he was using on Liz back on himself."

She watched him hoping he'd elaborate but he turned back to Liz and touched her arm healing the burn marks on both arms. Serena realized he tried to burn her up from the inside, one of the shapeshifters’ darker abilities. She didn't think he'd really hurt her if he was working with Nicholas and if he wasn't then what the hell was he doing here? She looked at Sam's concerned gaze, "I can't be sure."

Dean walked to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer, reached his hand in and yanked the gun out that was taped to the inside. He walked over to Nasedo and shot off four quick rounds, twice in the head and twice in the heart. He wasn't sure what exactly he was expecting but nothing happened. He glanced at Serena and she shrugged. He handed the gun to Sam then walked to Liz and pulled her out of the room.

Serena stood and looked at Cas, "thank you. I didn't think he'd actually hurt her. I thought I had it under control, that Liz and I both could control the situation."

Cas nodded as he tore his gaze away from the doorway to Serena, "she did as well until she felt the heat in his hands, that's why she called me. If I'm not here, any one of you can call me."

Sam's brow scrunched together, "where were you?"

"I’m still trying to keep things in check in heaven."

Sam’s eyes widened then he nodded, "the ones that were helping the demons?"

"Yes. So far they have been standing down but I'm afraid they aren't as truthful with me."

Serena felt for him, "it's hard to trust someone who hurt you so badly."

Cas' attention seemed to be only partially with them. "I'm going to check the area. Make sure he didn't have friends with him." He disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

Sam looked down at the body lying on the floor, "what was with the Telvan thing? I saw you tense up.”
Serena’s eyes rose from the body at her feet, “Telvan was one of Zan’s private guards. He was my grandfather’s partner on Antar.”

Sam watched Serena, “so your mom and Kal..”

Serena glanced down at the shapeshifter in disgust, “knew him well. The one thing I don’t get is if he was working with Nicholas then why the sudden one eighty? Why turn against him now?”

Sam looked back to the once upon a time protector, “maybe something happened on Nicholas’ end or maybe he just didn’t like the deal anymore. He switched from your side so he’s not exactly the loyal type.”

Serena’s eyes didn’t move away from the shifter as she wondered if Kal knew about him working with Nicholas. He said the only way Nicholas could know about Liz’s seal would be if they had one of their own to see the seal.

Sam watched her for a few moments then quietly asked, “so what do we do with him?"
~~

Once Dean had Liz in the bedroom he wrapped his arms around her and Jude. Breathing in her vanilla lotion and Jude's sweet baby smell then he kissed the top of her head.

"We're okay." Liz whispered into his chest as she looked down at Jude who smiled sweetly up at her. She pulled back and let Jude look up at his father.

Dean grinned with tears in his eyes as his son smiled and reached up for him. He lifted him up to his face, "you tried to protect your mom by yelling for me huh?"

Liz fondly watched Dean’s interaction, “you’re more right than you know. He knew before me. I thought it was you in the doorway but he started fussing and I just thought.."

Dean looked her in the eye as he settled Jude against his chest. "You’re still pretty sleep deprived and I was in the house. You had no way of knowing but you figured it out before he tried anything. What did he say?"

She shrugged, "he just acted like you. He didn't get the chance to do anything because I saw him when he kissed me." She caught his cringe, "it's okay, I'm fine."

He shook his head, "no it's not okay! It's not okay for anyone to think they can come at you to take either of you away from me. It’s not okay that they keep doing this.."

She pressed her body against his and placed one hand on Jude's back and one hand on his cheek waiting for his gaze to meet hers again. "It's not okay but that's why we're going to end it and we will."

He leaned down and kissed her, partly out of desperation and partly out of reassurance. She melted into him just before Jude laughed and patted dean's shoulder and face. Liz chuckled softly hearing the gentle smacks on Dean's cheek. "Let's get this one to sleep.” All thoughts of moving him into his own room fleeing her mind, “he can sleep with us."

"Hell yes he is." He walked over to the bed with Jude.

Liz smacked his arm. "Watch your mouth."

Once they were settled in bed Dean’s eyes fell on Liz, “do you think that was what your dreams were about?”

Liz glanced at him with a sigh, “I don’t know. They didn’t make any sense and they seemed to be about the past, remember?” She softly brushed the small amount of hair on Jude’s head with her fingers. An action she’d found calming for them both.

He watched Jude’s eyes slowly close under her hand almost as if she were casting a spell over him. It reminded him of times he had done the same to her. “No, I mean the ones about the faceless person taking him.”

She paused, her eyes glancing up from Jude. “Maybe.” As she thought about the faceless part it seemed to ring true because Nasedo was a shifter who could look like anyone but then those nightmares didn’t feel like premonitions, just regular dreams playing on her fears. Was she really so exhausted and overwhelmed that she couldn’t tell the difference between premonition and dream anymore?

“You should get some sleep.” Her eyes came back up to his and he smiled slightly, “I’m going to take first watch okay? I won’t leave.”

She nodded and closed her eyes but she didn’t think she’d be able to get to sleep anytime soon.

I'm back!! Thanks for the wonderful as always feedback AvalonRose, barbara87413, HypnotiqBlueEyes!! A quick shout out to all the readers as well! Wanted to drop this off before the extended weekend! Happy Memorial day! I wrote the original rough draft of this chapter back in September and have been waiting for the day I'd get to post it.. Still excited and a little nervous but I love it. We're probably getting out of town for the weekend so I'll be back Monday with an update? Sound good? Hmm... maybe I should ask that at the end of this chapter.. but I'll probably be in hiding. Can't wait to see what you all think! Deep breath..


Chapter 65
*Lyrics in italics are Seven Devils by Florence and The Machine.*

Liz woke slowly hearing a crackling static noise on the baby monitor and then the soft cries from Jude. She sleepily rolled out of bed and wandered into the nursery, “hey J what are you doing awake?”
She glanced up to find Jude in the arms of a man and automatically threw her hand up. She was startled by a hand closing tightly around her arm and a voice in her ear, “no no my dear, we have plans for you.” In a flash almost like lightning, the room that once held four occupants was now empty.

Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in my house
See they were there when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done

Dean had felt Liz get up from the bed and rolled over on her spot so he would know when she came back. Hearing her voice come through the monitor like a lullaby he felt himself being dragged back into sleep until her gasp sent a jab of fear through him that forced his eyes open. A man’s voice sucked the rest of his sleep induced fog from him. His arm swung under the bed, grabbed the gun taped to the bottom of the mattress and bolted off the bed. His legs carried him swiftly to the nursery only to find it empty. A desperate scream erupted from his throat and drew an alert Sam and Serena to the room. They found Dean kneeling on the floor in the middle of the room. Sam moved slowly towards him and touched his brother’s shoulder gently. It wasn’t what his brother did but what he himself saw in his brother’s hands that brought him to his knees. Serena walked over and stilled when her eyes fell on Jude’s baby blue blanket in Dean’s hands. The bright red smear stabbed her with grief that had her stumbling back towards the door before gaining her stable legs again and moving quickly out of the room.

Holy water cannot help you now
See I've come to burn your kingdom down
And no rivers and no lakes, can put the fire out
I'm gonna raise the stakes; I'm gonna smoke you out

Liz woke up in the desert. She felt the dryness in the air and the cool chill of night that made her shiver in her small sleep shorts and Dean’s worn thin AC/DC tee shirt she had worn to bed. She looked up and saw the remains of the pod chamber and realized she was just outside of Roswell. She was alone in the desert in the middle of the night. Where was Jude? She closed her eyes and reached out for any of her connections but felt nothing. It felt almost as if she was hitting a wall or somehow her connections were blocked. A grief stricken sob fell from her mouth as she tried to stop the rising panic from the cold settling around her. She briefly wondered what she was doing there until it all came crashing in. She glanced around as her heart rate started to race uncontrollably. “Cas, please tell me you hear me.” Another sob broke through her lips and she screamed, “TELL ME JUDE’S ALIVE! THAT MY BABY IS SAFE!”

The image of the red eyed demon holding Jude to his chest, dripping blood from a cut in his arm onto Jude’s lips flashed across her vision. Something she had only seen in Dean’s nightmares. She fell to the desert floor and pounded the ground as a primal scream ripped from her throat. Castiel appeared behind her and pulled her up from the desert floor gripping her to his chest as she continued to sob. He whispered into her ear, “close your eyes.” She squeezed her eyes tighter and held on as the despair tried to rip her apart from the inside.

After feeling the shift of the ground she opened her eyes and found herself in Maria and Michael’s living room in Albuquerque, of all places. She turned her head up to the angel’s face, “where is he? Where’s Dean? Why can’t I feel him?”

Castiel’s face scrunched in a deep frown, “we’ve been looking for you for twenty two hours. He’s gone after the people you call the skins. He swore they were the ones that took you.”

Liz shook her head as tears pricked at her eyes. “No, no, it was demons. It had to be! I saw his red eyes putting blood in my son’s mouth!”

The angel’s eyes went wide, “what?”

Liz took a deep breath, trying to gain control of herself. “Where are the others?”

“They split up. Sam, Kyle, Ava, and Serena went with Dean after Nicholas. Max, Isabel, Michael and Maria went to another location, I’m not exactly sure where. All I know is that they didn’t agree on who took you or where to look for you. Sam found Sulfur and said demon but he wouldn’t let Dean go by himself. I believe Max and Michael were talking about a safe house that was relatively close to your current one.”

Liz wrapped her arms around him again, closing her eyes. “I know the location, take me there.”

She opened her eyes to a dark and empty room in the safe house that definitely had seen activity recently. Cups and papers filled with data littered the table. Liz walked over gently touching the table and received a flash of Isabel telling them she saw Jude with a red eyed demon and a skin. Isabel’s devastated voice rang in her head, “they’re working together. We need to tell the others, they wanted us separated. It was all a damn set up!”

Liz pushed papers around the table until she found the one Isabel was holding when she told them what she saw. “We need to go to this location. Jude is my top priority. No Alien or Demon is going to have my son.”

Castiel touched the paper with one hand and then touched Liz’s forehead with his other. The image Isabel had seen and then pointed out on a map flashed in his mind. He looked at Liz, “are you ready?”

She nodded and closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him. “Let’s go get my son.”

Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See I was dead when I woke up this morning,
And I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done

Liz opened her eyes and found herself in front of a quaint looking house. Castiel’s voice was quiet, “there’s demons everywhere.”

Liz practically growled, “nothing is going to stop me from getting my son Cas and if he’s in there or the others are in there, I’m getting them back.” She turned to face him, “we fight our way in. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

“Not at all.” They both looked at the house and started to walk up the path waiting for the demons to come to them. They reached the front door without incident and stepped inside. Cas looked around, “something is off here. Something I’ve never felt before.”

A man walked into the room just as Castiel finished his sentence. Liz felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. “Where’s my son?”

Without looking towards them, he continued across the room and he simply said, “it’s about time.”

Cas looked towards him curiously, “that is no demon. I don’t know what..”

The man reached his destination in front of a side window and glanced towards them, “your service is no longer needed Castiel.” He pulled the curtain aside revealing a sigil in blood and he slapped his hand against it. A bright white light flashed throughout the room forcing Liz to close her eyes.

When Liz squinted her eyes open, Cas was gone. Knowing the man had just used an angel banishing sigil, she turned to face the non-descript man. “What the fuck? Where did you learn that?”

His voice dripped with that sickening false sweetness she remembered from so many evil bastards she had come across. Was that a course in evil villain school? “Don’t worry darling he just went home. Your enemies know more about your strengths and secret weapons than you think.”

She bristled, “where’s my son?”

“Ah yes, the hybrid child. You certainly choose the best candidates, don’t you? One a fallen king and one a very fine bloodline on this planet. I expect nothing less from a keeper.” His smile was scathing and royally pissed her off.

Liz raised her brow and went to ask who he was but was beaten to the punch by another voice. “That’s enough Salar. The poor child has been through a lot today.”

Liz watched another man walk into the room and felt the bile rise in her throat. His face was the perfect combination of Max and Dean, small complimentary features that somehow were put together seamlessly. It only made her gag. “Who the hell?”

“It’s very nice to finally meet you in person, Elizabeth.” The way he said her name immediately made her blood run cold. “I thought you would enjoy this. It was difficult but very much worth the time my scientists put into it.” He tugged the bottom of the leather jacket and swiped his hands down the sleeves. “I wanted to have a pleasing appearance for you since I still have a very big offer.” He stepped towards her and she stumbled a few steps back.

She cursed her show of weakness and straightened her back, steeling herself. “Where is my son?”

“Oh Elizabeth, I was hoping it wouldn’t be like this.”

The anger that bubbled up shook her very core. “BE LIKE WHAT? YOU TOOK MY SON!”

“Elizabeth, there is no reason to raise your voice.” He walked confidently towards her complete with Dean’s bow legged stride and she felt her feet stick to the ground, just like in the dream she was frozen in place. “You, my dear, are very important to me.” He stopped in front of her and smiled as he ran his hand down her face, his thumb brushing reverently over her lips. “I’m sorry your son had a different destiny and unfortunately was the only way to secure your position with me. Since you seemed so.. against the idea, I had no other choice but to take another’s deal. I told you I would try harder.”

Liz stared into the eyes of her husband and felt the bile rise again. She doubled over and threw up at his feet. She felt his hand come under her chin at the same time she saw his other hand wave away the contents of her stomach on the floor making them disappear. The hand under her chin lifted her face and forced her to straighten. “Khivar?” Her voice sounded so small, she hated herself for sounding so weak. His smile returned. It was Max’s smile. “What did you do to them?” She knew he was somehow involved in it all. He had to be.

“I did nothing I’m afraid. Nicholas, yes you’ve seen his new appearance. He was actually my scientist’s first break through with this cloning technology. Brilliant, isn’t it? I thought you might be intrigued by it. Anyway, he met some of your lover’s friends in his agency and they made a deal. The child for you and Michael. I’m afraid many of them didn’t survive.”

Liz blanched, “what are you talking about?”

“Your lover and friends that went after Nicholas, of course. Although I was very surprised about how many they took out, even Nicholas himself but I’m afraid your lover perished while doing it. He actually did me a favor since I’ve been told how rough Nicholas was with you.” His hand caressed her face as the image of Nicholas punching the same area flashed in her mind. “I would have preferred he suffered more but to die by your lover’s hand seems more.. appropriate. Don’t you think?”

“You’re lying.” She felt for Dean’s connection but once again felt like she hit a wall.

His smile grew slowly, “I couldn’t have you falling apart and going to the wrong location. You needed to come to me. I may have lost you because of the angel’s interference but I made sure you would come to me by blocking your connections and then leaving the breadcrumbs. There was a reason my man grabbed your arm.” His hand passed over her arm and a symbol appeared, “I couldn’t chance you going off script.”

Liz stared at him unbelieving, there was no way it was all true. She watched his hand come up to her face, caress her cheek and then cup it softly. The tears rolled silently when she felt Dean’s caress and her stomach turned again. She felt his other hand pass over the area of her arm with the symbol. She felt the wall inside her mind crumble and the pressure in her head lift. She clenched her eyes shut and felt Khivar touch her forehead and then images flashed quickly in her mind. Dean fighting Nicholas, Nicholas sneering and saying he killed Liz with his bare hands just for the pleasure of it then Dean snapped. He ran at him as he pulled a gun from his waist and shot Nicholas in the throat just as Nicholas’ hand went to Dean’s head. The blast blew through Dean’s skull just before Nicholas’ body crumbled to the ground. Liz fell to the floor heaving as the cold emptiness in her mind and soul crushed her.

Khivar turned and started walking to the other side of the room. “Pity. Nicholas’ cloned body obviously had some defects.” He threw a quick glance back at her shuttering form, “I’m sorry for your loss. That’s the phrase here right? But that also means you’re free and can take your rightful place by my side. It is after all your destiny as the keeper and my queen.”

Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house

Liz lifted her head slightly to see him standing in front of a table facing away from her. She felt the rage grow from the pit of her stomach and the warmth in her veins as it spread the blood throughout her body. Then she felt a connection open like a door in her mind. She felt a distinct coldness from the heightened severed connections to her friends.. her family. She stood slowly as the energy coursed to every inch of her skin giving it a slight glow. She walked to Khivar, just before she reached him he turned with a glass of liquid in his hand. His eyes grew when he saw her and the glass in his hand dropped to the floor smashing to pieces.

See I was dead when I woke up this morning
I’ll be dead before the day is done

“You have ruined too many of my lifetimes Khivar and this one.. this one will be your last.” Liz stared hard into his eyes, “this is for Dean and Jude you son of a bitch!” Her hand went to his chest as his hand hit hers, she felt the energy build and then release from her hand seeping into his body. She flew backwards from the burst of energy released from Khivar’s hand and felt her body slam into the wall then crash to the floor. She kept her tired eyes on him as her green energy filled his body and started to boil and expand. The sound of agony that came from his mouth was the only thing that made her close her eyes. She heard a gross sounding pop and opened her eyes to see the green streaked red flames engulfing the space where Khivar once stood. She wanted to feel satisfaction, expected to feel it but all she felt was a burning sensation in her lungs and tried to take a breath but nothing happened. She looked down and saw the burn that covered her chest and stomach. She opened her mouth to scream but there was only silence.

Before the day is done.

barbara87413, HypnotiqBlueEyes, roswellian love: I'm BACK!



Chapter 66

Kyle, Michael, Dean, and Sam sat silently around the kitchen table, their heads down staring into the coffee mugs wrapped in their hands except for Sam. His head was bowed like the men around him but his eyes were not on the dregs of coffee at the bottom of his cup but an open notebook that he was furiously writing in. He was creating a rough timeline of events that he knew about, from Liz talking to Crowley to the most recent visit by an old protector/enemy of the pod squad.

Kyle brought his head up slowly, his eyes narrowed at the shaggy head across from him. "What the hell are you scribbling?"

Dean responded not looking up from his thoughts swirling in his cup, "it's just how he deals."

Kyle glanced at Dean, “he wouldn’t have to deal if we weren’t just sitting on our asses.”

Michael looked up at Kyle, “you know we can’t go after the skins on virtually no intel. Henriksen hasn’t been able to get us anything on Nicholas, he doesn’t even know Nicholas’ involvement in the special unit and that means he’s either not directly involved or he’s keeping his distance. That gives us nothing.”

Dean added, “Liz wouldn’t be any safer if we were running down a rabbit hole..”

Kyle interrupted him, “I know, I know. I just hate feeling like we’re doing nothing while it seems they’re doing whatever they want to Liz.”

Dean and Michael shared a glance then Dean said, “you’re not the only one.”

Dean watched Kyle wondering what had gotten into his usually zen friend. Ava was pretty close with Liz maybe her worry was spilling over into Kyle and he was having a hard time dealing with both but it wouldn’t be the first time. What could possibly be stressing him out? Kyle’s eyes went back to Sam with a raised eyebrow. The younger Winchester’s pen still scratching away at the paper. Dean threw a glance towards Michael and caught his eye again. At least he could always count on Michael to keep a cool head, thank god for that. Michael raised his brow obviously Kyle wasn’t the only one interested in what Sam had been focused on for the last hour.

The pen suddenly stopped and Sam's whisper grabbed the men's attention. "Something's going to happen. Something big."

"How the hell could you possibly know that?" Dean’s tone betrayed the words he spoke.

Michael shook his head, “we’ve known that for a while. We’ve been waiting for them to make their move.”

Sam's eyes came up from the notebook as he spoke, his gaze connecting with each man around the table. “Nasedo hit us after a month of silence from both ends. He was mad at Nicholas, something changed and he didn’t like his deal or whatever it was that Nicholas was promising him. It was the only thing we could get out of what happened with him. He wanted to strike before they set their plan in motion. A month of silence from both aliens and demons, it's just naive to think that's a coincidence. Lillith spoke about you guys, she knew things about aliens, and Liz talked to Crowley. The only thing I can’t get is how they connected, who could have brought them together? But they're gearing up for something whether together or not and Nasedo wanted to derail it. They’ve got to be, it just doesn’t make any sense any other way. Something's.."

A high pitched, blood curdling scream rocked the house as all four guys jumped from the table, chairs clattering to the floor in their haste. They rushed up the stairs and towards the back bedroom where Liz thrashed around on her bed. Dean got through the bedroom door first racing to the bed. He grabbed Liz's shoulders confused and scared that her eyes were clenched shut but at least the screaming had stopped. He tried shaking her awake and called her name but she still seemed trapped. He wrapped his arms around her tightly holding her to his chest as his fear skyrocketed. “Please Liz, come on wake up.” Feeling nothing but fear, pain, and desperation from her end, he screamed her name hoping he could reach her through whatever seemed to be blocking him from reaching her. “LIZ!”

Liz felt her black world shake violently and then heard the screaming wind whipping around the room. The wind torturously sounding like her name falling from his lips, it was just too much. The pain was too much. She just wanted it to end. Why couldn’t it just let her go? She just wanted the pain to be over.

“LIZ!”

The scream seemed closer, more defined this time. Could it really be him? Liz’s eyes snapped open to Dean’s blurry yet distinctly worried face but her lungs still burned. Was she still dreaming? Was his face just a memory haunting her? Why did she think that? She looked at him in confusion when she saw his lips move then heard his muffled shout follow a few seconds later, “BREATHE LIZ!”

She took a long, deep breath and felt the pain in her chest start to subside as her ears began to ring. She looked at Dean with her brow still pressed together, “what happened?”

He watched her quietly taking in her confusion, the hoarseness of her voice, the heat of her skin under his hands. “I think you were having a nightmare. I’ve been trying to wake you for five minutes.”

“I..” She glanced around the room almost as if she was trying to remember something when she noticed Michael and Kyle’s defensive stances and the look of scared confusion on Sam’s face. A look he quickly dropped when he realized she was looking at him. Her own worried gaze met Dean’s once again. He shivered at her quiet words, “I don’t remember.”

“Liz you need to be honest with me.. the dreams got better last time when you told me.”

A tear slowly made its way down her cheek, “it was bad.” Her voice was so broken Dean felt his breath catch in his throat. “I can feel it but I can’t remember dean.. I can’t.”

He pulled her against his chest again, “it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. It was just a dream.” He held her against him and kissed the top of her head. He saw the look on Kyle’s face when their eyes connected then Kyle looked away. Dean was sure he was sharing that look with Michael and Sam who most likely matched the worry and simmering anger. He heard Kyle’s earlier statement ringing in his head. Their enemies seemed to be doing whatever they wanted while they all sat on their asses with no leads to follow but what if this wasn’t their enemies this time?

Her heated skin almost burned his chest but he ignored it. Her warm tears were soaking into his shirt actually providing a bit of cool relief as he tried to make her feel better with calming words and soothing motions but he knew that it didn’t feel like just a dream. Even during her worst nightmares, she was never dug in so deep. He wanted to forget the scream that put a fear in him he’d never felt before but the memory itself wasn’t allowing him to push it from his mind. He tried to focus on why and what could possibly cause the deep dream like state that took him so long to pull her out. The only thing he could think of was premonition but the only other time she forgot a premonition, it wasn’t a good one. It was Lilith. He briefly wondered if Sam was thinking the same when his brother walked further into the room. The look on his face told him all he needed to know. He was thinking the same thing and he didn’t like it at all. No one did and when the others found out, it was very likely that all hell would break loose.
~~

That afternoon Liz finally appeared downstairs in the kitchen. Michael was at the stove cooking burgers talking with Sam when Sam cut off mid-sentence and looked towards the doorway. Michael turned seeing Liz with her tired smile and heard Sam’s soft concerned voice directed at her, “hey you hungry? We’re making hamburgers.”

Michael smirked, “your favorite. My recipe.” The genuine smile that graced her face made him feel good. This was his Liz, she didn’t need babying just some good food with a good kick.

Liz took a seat at the table and glanced between Sam and Michael, “so what were you guys talking about?”

Sam threw a glance at Michael and wondered how they should either broach the topic with her or skirt around it. Michael looked straight at Liz, “your dream. Just wondering if it was really a piece to the puzzle or you know.. a stressed out mom dream.”

Sam glared at Michael then heard his phone chirp as Liz replied to Michael with a simple, “oh.”

Sam pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen showing a text from a blocked number before flipping it open. The text was one word and nothing else. Kansas.

Liz watched the confusion cross Sam’s face as Michael placed a burger in front of her. “What is it Sam?”

Sam glanced up from the phone, “must be a misdial because it’s a blocked number and doesn’t make any sense.”

Her interest peaked, “what does it say?”

He turned the phone to show her, “Kansas, that’s it.”

Liz’s eyes widened and she snatched the phone from his hand, “shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.”

Sam came to her side his eyes jumping between her and his phone. “What? What does it mean?”

“It’s an emergency code from Henriksen. We agreed if anything got weird or went wrong he’d text that to the securest number within the group.” She went quiet as she tapped her fingers nervously on the table, “okay everyone needs to ditch their phones. We all need new ones.” She stood from the table, “we need to find him. I need to make sure he’s alright.”

She moved towards the door but Michael stepped into her path and grabbed her arms gently. “You don’t even know where he is.” Liz’s eyes connected with his and he could see her already taking responsibility for whatever was happening to him and they didn’t even know if there was anything even happening to him. “Listen to me that emergency code was for you. If he was compromised do you really think he’d have time to send that?”

Liz just stared at him, her face blank. “He’s there because of me Michael.”

Sam interrupted, “he went in because of you but he stayed because he wanted to help you. He could have gotten out at any time. He even told me and Dean that he had a chance to leave but he didn’t. He wanted to help you. He wanted to help all of us. I think he partly felt guilty for hunting Dean and I for so long without knowing the real story and a part of it was guilt for working with people that did what they did to you. So you can tell yourself that he’s there because of you but the truth is, he’s there because of what was done to you by people he worked with and because of the time he spent hunting the wrong side.”

Serena and Dean walked into the room, “hey what’s with the group meet..” Her voice dropped off when she saw Liz’s face. Dean’s gaze went straight to Michael then Sam.

Michael spoke first, “something’s happened in the special unit. Henriksen sent the ‘shit hit the fan’ code.”

Dean quickly replied, “the what?”

Liz turned to Dean who had moved next to Michael. “I set up an emergency code with him. He sent it to Sam’s phone which means our lines were not secure. We all need new phones.”

Dean nodded. “Do we need to leave?”

Liz shook her head, “no that would have said Roswell. Kansas is his code. Something happened on his end. I still think after Nasedo..”

Dean’s gaze flicked to Michael then back to Liz, “we already talked about the Nasedo thing and you agreed if Nicholas knew he would have come for you at the same time. Nasedo probably kept his own secrets so back to the matter at hand, what was Henriksen’s plan if something should go wrong. I know you didn’t just give him a text message to send. What’s the next step?”

Liz’s eyes went wide and she flew into Dean’s arms. He stared down at her confused as she squeezed him. She looked up into his eyes, “I love you.” She grabbed his face kissing him hard on the lips.

The other occupants of the room stood staring at the couple with matching looks of bewilderment. Liz pulled slightly away from Dean catching his forehead still scrunched together and smiled, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

With a small smirk, he shrugged his shoulders and Sam coughed. Dean looked at him, “what?”

Michael rolled his eyes, “what does that mean?”

Liz blushed, “oh sorry. He should get a hold of me in twenty four hours if he can get away to a safer location. He’ll send a message through Valenti’s radio. To let me know he’s safe and then Valenti will give him a way to contact me after that.”

“Good. No reason to put you on suicide watch then.” Michael went back to the stove checking on the remaining burgers, thankful he had turned the stove’s heat to low.

Dean glared at Sam, “suicide? What is he talking about?”

HypnotiqBlueEyes,AvalonRose:
barbara87413: The suicide watch was a way for Michael to drive his point home that if she tried going after the special unit to find Henriksen it would be a suicide mission and she knows it. He just wanted to remind her of that.


Chapter 67

Liz rolled to her side once again, knowing she wasn’t going to be getting to sleep any time soon. She had finally given up the idea of being able to calm her mind long enough for it to shut off when she closed her eyes instead of revving up again. She had already burned through her mediation techniques and tried running through a few plain old sleep inducing techniques to no avail. Nothing was working because part of her mind was spinning through the ideas that everyone had about what her dream could have been about and what their next move should be while another part of her mind seemed to be trying to figure out what Isabel knew.

The tall blonde had called earlier in the evening to tell them she had bought a ticket for the next plane out of Albuquerque and would be there in the middle of the night. She wouldn’t say what had prompted the last minute trip but Liz had felt uneasy. A few moments away from the group with Ava gave her the only clue she had, that Isabel had been dropping in on her dreams to see if she could recognize Khivar or sense anyone trying to mess with her dreams. Liz wondered if she had seen part of the dream that she couldn’t remember or if she actually sensed someone messing with her. She didn’t think the latter had much to it since Ava had done a lot of work with her since she was the best with mind powers and she couldn’t get in if Liz didn’t want her to but something definitely had Isabel in a hurry.

Liz rolled over again coming face to face with her sleeping husband. Dean had fallen into a fitful sleep that creased his forehead and brought random spasms of tension to his muscles. She passed her hand over his forehead gently, introducing an easy dream that should help calm him as she said a silent thanks to Ava for teaching her the trick. She smiled as she watched his forehead smooth out and his easy, even breathing resume. She rested her hand on his chest directly above his heart, watching the rise and fall while feeling the constant beat of his heart under her palm. It was a soothing ritual, something that used to be enough to lull her to sleep on nights like tonight where she couldn’t shut off her mind.

A small smile bloomed when she thought of times she wanted more than just her hand against him and even in sleep he would hold her if she asked. She’d close her eyes and focus on keeping up with the rise of his chest against her back, his strong arm wrapped around her, the feel of his pulse surrounding her. Something about it was so.. soothing. She knew it was an effect of the bond. When they were this close their heart beats would synchronize and with her effort to match his breathing, it became more like they were one being instead of two people trying to crawl inside the other. With the bond it was hard to feel alone but when it was heightened to this degree it was impossible.

A small jerk in his arm reminded her of the only downside to this connection. Her overactive mind could also throw him off and wake him up when she couldn’t control it. She pulled her hand away slowly, he had a hard enough time falling into his fitful sleep and she didn’t want to mess with the calming dream she gave him. She didn’t think their bond could squelch the growing sense of something that she couldn’t put her finger on. This strange itch that was intensifying just at the edge of her awareness, she couldn’t quite reach it or stop it. It was getting to the point that her blood pressure was starting to rise almost as if any second adrenaline was going to be pumped into her veins triggering her fight or flight response. That thought alone made her sit up straight and look around the room.

She slid carefully off the bed and looked through the newly made hole in the wall where dean had knocked down the wall in between Jude’s nursery and their room. Dean had called it an arch way that connected Jude’s nursery with their room but she still called it what it was, a huge hole in the wall. Not seeing anything she tiptoed into the nursery then froze halfway to the crib. She felt the ominous threat pricking her skin that made the air around her thick and heavy. She moved quickly to the window checking the salt line then breathed hot air on the window pane revealing the still intact symbols.

Jude’s soft whimpers had her moving swiftly back to the crib. “Hey J, what are you doing awake?” She picked him up easily patting his back as he rested against her chest, his little fists grabbing onto her shirt tightly. She whispered, “you feel it too, don’t you?” She felt her skin begin to crawl and the air felt like it was being sucked out of the room. She looked around as she made her way back into her bedroom. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here.” She rubbed his back as she stepped back into her bedroom where it felt like she had just stepped out of an oven. Everything felt normal as if an invisible wall was erected between the two rooms. Her eyes sought out Dean who was still sleeping peacefully and she walked up his side of the bed.

“It’s time, Liz.” The voice didn’t scare her but caused her to spin quickly. Castiel stood in the doorway to the hall.

She glanced back at Dean. “Why can’t he come?”

“You know the answer to that.”

She watched his eyes move rapidly under his eyelids and suspected her soothing dream hadn’t lasted or he was tapping into her scattered thoughts and uneasy feelings. “It’s going to kill him.”

“You know your soul, Liz. This will only make him fight harder.”

“He shouldn’t have to do this alone.” She wanted so badly to wake him but knew it wasn’t the wisest choice.

“He won’t be alone. We need to go.”

As if the veil had finally been lifted the itch that had stayed just out of reach revealed itself. “I know. I feel it clearer now, the Granolith’s pulling me.” She turned her head to look at her friend. “How did you know?”

“I’ve been staying a lot closer and checking in on you more often since..” His eyes flicked towards Jude’s room then met her gaze. “I felt you’re anxiety. When I got here I could feel the pull and I can see it on you. The way it connects with you is fascinating.”

She smiled sadly. Once again there was something about him that reminded her so much of Alex. “Are you coming with me?”

He gave her a simple nod. “Yes.”

She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Dean’s forehead and then ran her hand lightly over the same spot this time leaving him a message instead of creating a dream.

“Okay.” She stood and walked to Castiel. With one arm around Jude and her other around Cas, she gave him a simple nod to say she was ready. She looked at Dean and then in the blink of an eye they were gone.

Dean was jerked from his sleep by an angry scream that seemed to reverberate around the room. He jumped from his bed with a gun in his hand and ran through the archway into the nursery. Sam ran into the room from the doorway to the hall mere seconds after him. They both stared at a black figure standing in front of the crib.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean raised his gun at the figure but was thrown hard against the wall and crashed to the floor.

Sam ran at the figure then crumbled to the floor grabbing his head with the vision of his mother against the ceiling engulfed in fire. Jess’ face seemed to flicker over his mother’s and then morphed into Serena as pain racked his mind.

Serena stormed into the room with Sam’s shotgun raised, “get the hell out of here now!”

“I’ve come for what is mine.” The voice was deep and shaking with rage. The figure dropped the shadow surrounding him and blood red eyes glared at Dean.

“Not in this lifetime.” Serena pumped the gun, “ever hear of holy water soaked rock salt? I hear it stings like a bitch.” Serena fired and the figure screeched before disappearing. “Damn they’re fast.”

Serena ran to the crib and looked in to find it empty. She glanced over at Dean catching his gaze, by the look on his face he already knew what she found. She moved to Sam and knelt down in front of his crouched form in the middle of the room. She touched his shoulder lightly and he looked up at the ceiling then his tortured eyes connected with her concerned ones. Dean jumped up from the floor, pushing off the wall and ran back into his room screaming Liz’s name. Serena helped Sam up as he stared at her in question hearing Dean yelling all around the house. She shook her head and started to lead him carefully from the room. When she finally got him into the hallway, Dean was stalking towards them.

“Did you know? Either of you?” Dean’s eyes flicked back and forth between them, looking for anything that told him they were keeping something from him.

Serena shook her head and Sam glanced at her still looking lost to what was going on around him. Finally Sam’s mind seemed to catch up with the occupants of the room and he stared wide eyed at Dean, “you don’t think?”

Dean noticed the way Sam was leaning heavily against Serena. “No. No, she knew it was coming. She left. Are you okay?”

Sam nodded and Dean walked back to his bedroom. He sat heavily on the bed, dropping his head in his hands. He was frustrated that she left without him, that she didn’t let him know where she would go. He scrubbed his face and thought of the events of last night. He let out a harsh whisper, “son of a bitch.” He should have known. He thought about her sweet smile that had a small hint of sadness as she told him goodnight and the long lingering kiss then he felt something odd. His mind moved to a memory that he didn’t really remember but it was Liz standing in front of the bed holding Jude whispering, “we’re okay. We love you.” Then he saw her journal and the last place she hid it.

He glanced back at the dresser and briefly wondered if he was going crazy. He immediately frowned, “crazy people wouldn’t even believe my story.” He stood from the bed and walked over to the dresser. He opened the bottom drawer, pulled all the clothes out, and saw the small edge for the false bottom. He lifted the sheet of thin wood, pulled the journal from its hiding place, and walked back to the bed. He sat down and took a deep breath then opened the journal. He flipped through the pages until he got to blank ones and turned back a few skimming over the words. He realized the last few pages were her musings on what her premonition could’ve been or feelings really. In her quick scrawl were words like nauseas, extreme anger, extreme loneliness. All with question marks after them. She had theories underneath every feeling of what could make her feel those things but all of them were also scratched out and practically illegible.

He got to the last page with writing and stopped. In case I’m gone was written in the header in her perfected handwriting that he knew she had worked on for months in middle school to impress Max. Even though she had told Maria it was so her handwriting would be perfect and professionally legible for when she wrote notes and even published in medical journals because she believed that the written notes would be more personable than a typed manuscript. He was sure Maria didn’t believe her. Hell, he didn’t understand it since being published they’d type it out anyway but then what did he know about medical journals and all that scholarly science crap? The thought made him smile and he continued to read.

If you're reading this right now then I’m probably gone. I wasn't positive how it would work but had a feeling the warning Evelyn gave me so long ago would happen soon. I know this may be hard for you to handle right now but please know this is the only way. You of all people understand what people like us do for family, for the people that mean everything to us. No matter who agrees or disagrees you know what we will do and right now that means Jude and I have to hide in the only safe place for us. Well, I’m expecting Jude to be with me because I believe the Granolith will know he needs me. Anyway, everyone will be safer this way. I know you're probably saying to yourself that we’re stronger together and in most cases that is true but not this case. I need you to understand that I have to do this or Jude and I will be lost to you forever, this is the only way that gives us a chance. I'm sorry I didn't have time to say this to you in person but I’ll make sure I have enough time to tell you where this is. I love you and I need you to take care of yourself and know that we are safe. Watch out for everyone. Don't let them fall apart or fight each other, everyone will still need to be united.
Lao Tzu wrote, “being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” You give me both and I hope that I do the same for you. I love you. Jude loves you. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.

Of course he should have known. If they were gone there was only one place they would be, the Granolith. That damn thing better keep his wife and baby safe because he really didn’t like the idea of her throwing around the word courage in this type of situation. He looked down at the book in his hands, “please don’t let her do something crazy.” He looked up praying that Castiel or whoever was watching Liz was listening. “Please keep her safe. That’s all I ask. Please God.. just keep her safe.”

Thanks for being patient with me I know I was a little late with this chapter and as always thanks for your feedback!
barbara87413
AvalonRose



CHAPTER 68

Ava sat quietly in the front room of their house looking out the large window at the only view that mattered, the house that held her friends or more specifically her friend that had her keeping secrets. She had a partial view of the side of the house and the front porch which only helped if someone came or left from the front door and in her experience that’s not the entry point or exit for sneaky situations. She knew Liz’s bedroom was at the back of the house and Jude’s window was on the other side of the house, their windows would be the best points, basically giving her no chance of seeing anything useful but still she sat unable to pull her eyes away.

The small cup of tea on the side table next to the chair she had pulled over to the window had long since gone cold. Ava sipped from the cup periodically more out of something to do with her hands than actually needing the fluid, her mind too occupied to take notice of the cooling temperature. She couldn’t shake the feeling of heightened anticipation for days and the fear had seeped its way in since Liz had the premonition she couldn’t remember a damn thing about.

Ava had talked to Isabel and knew that what the other alien had gotten from it wasn't good, she couldn't get into the dream but the emotions that hit her were devastating. Ava knew when the sun came up she had to come clean whether Liz liked it or not. She knew Kyle had a feeling she wasn't telling the complete truth and it burdened him more than she thought it would. He trusted her so he didn't push for what it was and that killed her. She should have said something when she talked with Liz yesterday but she was so afraid especially after the premonition that they would only put them in more danger but really telling them Khivar was behind the dreams didn’t change anything. She knew it was his last words that truly terrified her and Liz could see that. Her mind probably churning over the possibilities of how her less easy going friends would handle the Khivar factor when her most laid back friend wasn’t exactly calm about it.
Why did she let Liz talk her into this being a good idea? How had she really let her do that? She trusted Liz’s judgment but really she was right in the middle of this and was more than too close to be trusting her intuition. They knew it couldn’t be trusted in that kind of situation, there was too much going on with her. She felt a cold shiver run up her spine and heard rushed footsteps into the room. She turned, saw Zan's expression, and felt the world tilt on its axis with his words.

"You felt it, didn't you?" His small face wore an expression he was too young to have, pure all-consuming fear.

Her legs were moving before she had even realized it. The door whipped open as they both headed outside and across the lawn. The only sound besides his light footfalls right next to her was the blood pounding in her ears and the desperate cries in her head, she’s safe, she has to be safe. I will never forgive myself. Ava burst through the front door of the other house and both she and Zan skidded to a stop in the living room. Serena and Sam stood together quietly talking, their heads snapping up at the intrusion.

Ava’s eyes fell on the shotgun in Serena’s hands before moving up to her face. Serena’s face fell, “she’s gone. Liz is gone.”

After Serena told them what they saw, Zan ran up the stairs before they could stop him and Serena followed slowly after to give him time to see for himself. Ava called Kyle and let him know where she and Zan were and what happened then told him to inform Max and Rachel. A few minutes later Kyle, Max, and Rachel came through the front door at the same time Serena was walking down the stairs behind a crestfallen Zan. Ava briefly wondered what he thought he would find then Dean walked down the stairs scanning the room, “where’s Michael and Maria?”

Serena looked up at him, "they went to pick up Isabel from the airport. She bought a plane ticket yesterday remember?"

Dean nodded, "right." He knew Isabel had called Liz about jumping on a plane arriving sometime in the middle of the night, he just didn't realize how late it really was. Didn’t he just go to sleep with his wife safe by his side? He noticed the rigid set to Max’s jaw and felt his exhaustion double. He sat heavily next to Sam on the couch with only a quick look and his brother knew. Sam glanced in Max's direction and nodded.

The turning doorknob caught everyone's attention. The door opened revealing Michael who froze. Isabel and Maria walked around him muttering under their breath until they realized why he had stopped. Both women’s eyes quickly searched the room then came to rest on Dean. A cry escaped Maria's mouth before Michael pulled her against his chest, his eyes still on Dean in question. Dean shook his head, "she's okay Maria. She took Jude to the Granolith or the Granolith took them, I don't really know."

Dean's gaze moved to Isabel, "what happened that made you jump on that plane?"

Isabel’s face dropped, "Liz didn't tell you." At the rise of his brow, she sighed. She took a deep breath and tried to keep herself from looking at Ava. "I've been dropping in on Liz every now and then in her dreams. I saw some confusing things recently and then I felt something I couldn't ignore so I bought the ticket and called Liz. I told her she needed to tell you. The dreams she's been having, I think Khivar was controlling them."

She winced at the collective groan around the room, completely missing Michael's look at Ava and Ava turning away, unable to meet his eyes.

Isabel’s gaze was still on Dean, "I felt something like it on the plane too."

Dean's muffled curse sounded loud in the now quiet room, "son of a bitch." He stood from the couch and stormed towards the front door moving easily around the three still in front of the open doorway then slammed it behind him.

Isabel started to follow him when Michael grabbed her arm gently, "let him cool off Iz." Isabel wanted to challenge him but the look in his eyes squelched her fire. He knew him better, she would go along with him for now.

She heard Maria asking questions and Serena filling her in on what really happened. Maria wasn't the only one who was worried that maybe Liz wasn't with the Granolith but from what happened it definitely sounded like Liz screwed up someone's plans and really pissed them off. That was the only good thing she'd heard so far. Rachel and Zan were the first to leave with Max trailing behind them most likely out of a need to keep them safe than anything else. Ava and Kyle filtered out shortly after with very noticeable looks, at least to Isabel, making her wonder just how few of her family were in on this small secret. Maria had moved to the kitchen and Michael had spoken quietly with Serena before following his better half. Isabel walked over to Sam who still sat on the couch staring at his hands. Isabel's soft voice made him jump from whatever thoughts were haunting him, "where would he go?"

Sam’s eyes meet hers and even though he seemed a million miles away only seconds ago, he knew exactly who she was talking about. "Not far. Just in case she came back."

Isabel nodded and headed out the front door, carefully closing it quietly behind her. She looked around and knew he wouldn't have gone towards the main road then walked around the house towards the back. She stood in the backyard seeing nothing in the darkness. The light of the moon was no help to her with all the trees and brush in the unfamiliar area. She closed her eyes and listened. She thought about how she could find Liz by the feel of her essence or whatever it was that drew her to her family and the individual feeling each member had. She thought of Liz and felt her although it wasn't exactly right. She smiled knowing she was feeling the part of her friend that was bonded with Dean and moved towards it. She found him sitting on a boulder just beyond the back yard, the light of the moon casting his silhouette on the ground in front of him with her growing one beside it.
He made no move to acknowledge her but she knew he saw her shadow. "The only reason I knew is because Khivar did the same thing to me years ago and Liz called asking about it after one of them. She didn't give me much but it's the only reason I knew.” She sat down next to him. “She probably didn’t want any of us to worry when we had enough to deal with and honestly the dreams don't tell you much. Just want he wants you to see."

Dean barely moved as he replied, “I'm supposed to be the one protecting her, protecting my son! How can I do that when she won't tell me what’s really going on? Just telling me partial truths or keeping one big secret. How can I protect her when I don't even know where she is? Not really anyway.”

Isabel could see him trying to control his anger at the situation. She looked at him sadly, “did you ever think she's protecting you and Jude? You two are a lot alike. Everyone else comes before you. Khivar is an alien, Dean. From what we're told a very powerful one, what would you be able to do? Rocksalt and holy water won't kill this enemy.. Silver bullets won't even reach him. You can protect her from your demons but not hers. She's doing what's best for her family. I know because I would do the same thing.”

His shoulders slumped and he sighed, "I know. I just hate feeling helpless. I hate knowing they're out there.."

"They're not just out there though. Take the small amount of relief in the fact that the one place they are hiding, Khivar can't get into. He can’t even find."

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps saying."

"I know. I'm not entirely happy with it either. She's my family too. Everyone in that house right now is part of her family. We're going to do whatever it takes. Without Liz.. I don't know how we would have made it through high school."

"Maybe I would have stayed in school if I went to Roswell." Isabel raised her eyebrows and Dean quirked the corner of his mouth, "yeah probably not. I probably would have been caught making out with you in a closet or something."

Isabel laughed, "Liz didn't tell you much about how I was in high school, did she? I rarely went on more than one date and they never got to touch."

He grinned, "she did and that's why I'd go after you. I liked a challenge. Until I knew for sure I wasn’t going to get any."

Isabel smirked, "it probably would have been more likely for your brother to get Liz in high school." At the tight set of dean’s jawline she laughed, "we were different people back then. A lot has changed."

"A lot hasn’t. At least from what Michael told me."

"Is he still complaining about the future max thing?"

"He wasn’t complaining. He was just trying to make sure this didn’t happen again. He wanted me to get through to her."

"Dean," she touched his arm gently, “I know this doesn’t make sense right now but the one thing I know Liz has learned is that a plan without everyone involved never works out for us. She just needs to buy us time to figure that plan out. Liz Parker always has a plan. You know that."

"Yeah well, Winchester’s don’t have the best luck with making plans."

"No offense but the last name doesn’t carry the bad luck. You just never had an ‘other worldly’ option to go to." Isabel smiled.

After a short time sitting in comfortable silence, Isabel headed back inside to try to get some sleep. Dean sat quietly thinking about what she had said when a loud pop brought him out of his thoughts and he scanned the area around him listening intently. Another pop went off in the woods behind the other house about as far out as he was. He jumped up from the rock and moved slowly over towards the area, his gun drawn. As he got closer he heard another pop followed by a curse. He glanced around his last form of coverage that was a large tree and saw a bright light then heard the popping sound again. The light illuminated the face as he cursed again. Dean called out so he wouldn't get hit, "Max?"

He heard a shuffling in the leaves and looked around the tree again. Max held his hand up emitting a blue glow. Dean tucked the gun back into his belt and walked out from behind the tree. He moved slowly towards Max, "what the hell are you doing?"

Max slurred as he stumbled into the tree next to him. "Nothin'."

"Are you drunk?"

"Maybe."

"That's a yes."

Max tried to steady himself then he looked at Dean throwing his arms out to the sides, "just shoot me. Get it over with."

Dean moved slowly towards the other man and grabbed his arms to steady him, "what the hell are you talking about? Sit down man." Dean grabbed his hand that was still emitting a glow and used it to find a good spot to sit him.

Dean pushed him down as Max protested lazily. "Like you don know, don blame me. This is all my fault."

Dean leaned against a tree a few feet in front of him as the glow faded to a dull light that cast an eerie blue upon Max's face. "I'm pretty sure the fault lies with the asshole who killed you."

Max looked up at Dean then grabbed his head as it swam. Dean lowered himself to the ground and leaned his back against the tree. He noticed the small twitching of Max’s face. "If I were in your position I probably would have killed me the first chance I got. Everythin I did to Liz and now my enemy is after her cuz of somethin I gave her. I failed so many people but she was the one that hurt the most.. I failed her the hardest."

Dean watched him quietly. He was reminded of Sammy, how his puppy dog eyes would appear when he poured out his fears. How he always had to smack Sammy out of his deep pits before they swallowed him whole. But part of him was a little pissed he had to deal with this at all. "Seriously that's what this is all about? You think you're the first person in history to fail someone? Join the fucking club! Everyone let’s someone down at some point, it's unavoidable. It's like a damn rite of passage to adulthood. The only thing you can do is learn from it or some just try to make up for it but there's no way to erase it. You sack up, put it behind you and become more diligent, more alert, and do your best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Stop blaming yourself every single time it’s a damn alien thing. You see me losing my shit every time there's demon involvement? Damn man! You got a kid in there who looks up to you so get your shit together. You need to let off some steam? Do it, blow shit up but don't come to me asking me to end it. You need some help? Ask and we'll straighten it out."

Max stared wide eyed at the man sitting across from him. He wasn't sure what he expected but that wasn't it at all. Maybe he was looking for a fight, something to help him get all the pent up energy out but that just sucked everything out of him. He didn't even feel that drunk anymore although there were still two deans swaying in front of him. "I just needed.."

"I don't care what you needed, you never ask someone to take your life because some people might take you up on the offer, believe me. You got a kid in there who already lost the father he knew and you’re the man that has helped him with his fears since he realized he was different. Not many kids get the chance to have another father enter their lives so nut up. You’ll never replace his dad but you’re still a father to him and that kid needs you more than he will probably ever admit to you."

Max's eyes fell to the ground, “Zan would rather be around you or Michael. Hell even Kyle instead of me.”

“We’re the friends, not the father figure.”

The sounds of the night took over as they fell silent. Dean leaned his head back against the tree looking up at the crooked circle of night sky created by the edges of the treetops. How many times had he sat with Sam just watching the stars? The one beautiful thing in the night full of monsters but now even those stars held monsters. Monsters that wanted everything that was important to him either dead or taken away. "It's cold out here, we should probably get inside."

Max glanced up at him from the remains of what looked like parts of a tree he must have taken a chunk out of. Remains that just reminded him that he was no role model for anyone. All he had behind him were the shattered pieces from bad decisions and he was still trying to fix some of the relationships he destroyed. He held his hand out toward the pile and fire sparked catching the dry pieces of wood. Even when he tried to fix things it just burned him and usually everyone else. Dean seemed to be the one good thing that came from the shit storm he made burn out of control, of course he didn't think that in the beginning. Just another bad decision to add to the pile. His eyes came up to one of the Deans with a shaky nod that both Deans returned. "Thanks. Michael probably would have smacked me around."

Dean nodded, "yea Mike's told me before how you like to take the blame for absolutely everything. But I can't smack you around while you’re drunk, it's like hitting a child."

Max chuckled at that as they both gazed into the fire. "I'm sorry Liz and Jude are gone."

Dean nodded. Words weren't needed. They were all worried about her and in turn about him. It was still a little odd having so many people worry about him, care about whether he was okay or not. It's wasn't all bad, it made him feel more optimistic about the outcome of this whole mess. If this many people cared about her, there was a higher chance of her making it out of this alive.

barbara87413,AvalonRose:




Chapter 69

It had been almost two days and Liz felt like she was going to explode. She paced just outside of the Granolith’s inner chamber as Castiel watched her quietly. Liz Parker didn't usually lose her cool. She was the calm, task oriented, clear headed one who got shit done. That's who she was, that's who she had to be since she was sixteen and thrown head first into a world where those who were supposed to protect people did the exact opposite. When she learned what the world was really like, full of things that weren’t always what they seemed. Now she had an angel of the lord watching her as she stalked around in a cavern created by an alien protector, next to an alien artifact that expected her to do something crazy to keep it from falling in the wrong hands and had yet to tell her what exactly that was. Not that it even seemed possible from all the stories but who knew what parts of those stories were fact and what parts were fiction. At least Dean’s world of crazy came with a set of rules.

“I don't understand. I just thought I'd get some clarity when we were here but I still don't know what to do next and.. you staring at me isn’t helping. I'm having a hard enough time thinking clearly when my head is so friggin torn..”

Cas interrupted, “between your heart and soul.”

Liz stopped, her head snapping in his direction. “What?”

“You’re torn between your heart and soul because only one is truly safe right now and really a heart without a soul is never complete.”

Liz's face twisted in confusion. Cas could say things differently but she always understood to a varying degree. Right now she was completely lost.

Cas tilted his head a bit. "Well.. Dean got under your skin but it took time for him to dig so deep he got into the core of your being. You're connected to a point that isn't completely normal on this planet but none the less still the same. Where Jude.. he had your heart the minute you felt him growing inside you."

Liz sat down trying to finish the puzzle.

“Dean is your soul and Jude is your heart. Knowing that only one is completely safe is throwing you off so to speak. You need to relax but understandably it's hard to do when you feel his worry compounding yours.”

“Cas, phrases like they are my heart and soul.. or that's where I left my heart and soul. It's a figure of speech.” Cas eyed her and once again she felt like he could literally see right into her inner thoughts and know that what he said was more than just a phrase, that for her, he hit the nail directly in the center of the head. She sighed, "I know. I'm just trying not to think about that."

Castiel walked to her and sat Indian style next to her. Whenever he tried to mimic her or any human mannerisms she always thought he looked like a giant child, his face softened making him look even more childlike. "Maybe instead of ignoring it, you should face it. Talk to him, clear at least some of your demons before trying to take out the biggest. I think that’s advice you would give your friends."

She smiled. Maybe childlike was the way to go. “Thanks for being my friend.”
~~

Liz walked into the inner chamber smiling as her eyes fell on Jude sleeping on the bed she had placed against the wall. She laid down next to her baby boy, closed her eyes, and thought of Dean. She felt the buzz in the back of her mind and followed the invisible line that linked her to him. She opened her eyes and found Dean sitting down on their bed putting on his boots. She whispered, “hey.”

He jumped at the sound of her voice then his eyes widened seeing her only slightly translucent standing in their bedroom. “Liz?”

She nodded and walked to him. He tried to wrap his arms around her but his arms went through her like going through mist. She smiled sadly, “I’m sorry. This is just a projection.”

He nodded and felt the part of him he was trying to push down so hard rise quickly, “why do we have to deal with this?”

She placed her hands on his cheeks feeling his frustration flow through her as he felt the warmth flow through his body. He closed his eyes savoring the feeling that usually only happened with the bond when she was in the room. Her voice was quiet and mixed with her emotions that resonated through the bond. “You know just as well as I do that bad things happen to good people.. but this is going to change that. We're going to make this right. I know that we need to do this.. I don't know why right now but you know this. Our intuition is usually right.”

His eyes opened slowly, “have you remembered anything from that dream?”

“What dream?”

“The one..” He tried reading her eyes, “the one that terrifies me that you can't remember. The one you obviously still don't remember.”

“No but it could have just been a nightmare. After Nasedo along with all the stress..”

“Liz this is me. The last vision you had that you couldn't remember was Lilith and we all know how that would've ended.”

“But I got there in time. I knew Lilith would be there to collect. I did what I had to do to save you whether I knew what that premonition was about or not.”

“It's not like we have a set of rules with this. We don't even know exactly what's going on.” He felt a flare of guilt flash quickly from her side before it was replaced with a forced calm. He watched her closely but couldn’t read anything out of place. “I have a feeling that someone’s put a price on us since we’ve had a ridiculous amount of strange crap around us the past two days. It’s not even normal for monsters or demons to be this close together and there’s no way I’m going to believe it’s a coincidence that all these cases seem to be popping up out of normal and circling our town.”

“I know there’s no rulebook with this but I know what I feel. I know that the granolith is guiding me.. Bolstering my abilities. It's the best protection we could have. I know this separation is hard but hopefully it won't be for much longer.” She paused, “if you want I can ask Cas to look into those demon signs.”

He wanted to touch her but knew it wasn’t possible. He shook his head, “I already talked to Cas. I can deal with separation. What I can't deal with is the fact that you’re in danger and I'm not there to protect you or Jude.”

“We're safe here you know that.”

“I'm not the logical one Liz. You can say that all day and it doesn't help.”

“I know.. I know but we’re going to fix this. We're going to make sure that this isn't how it ends. This isn't how we’re going to end it.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah but you and I both know that bad things happen to good people.”

A small smile bloomed on her face, “just look at you. You've been living in a house, living as a family, a huge family, something you always wanted but never thought you could actually pull off let alone have a stable relationship. You're not going to die dean, neither is Jude. You’re going to be just fine.”

He looked into the translucent vision of his wife, "why are you saying this?" Reading something in her eyes that made his stomach sink. "Wait, what about you?”

A sad smile graced her face just before she flickered out. He heard her voice clear in his head, I love you.

He looked around the room, “Liz?” He jumped up from the bed calling her a little louder, “Liz?” He moved around the room hoping to feel her somewhere, hoping that maybe she just lost too much energy to show herself. “LIZ?!” He felt nothing but that constant buzz in the back of his mind, a buzz that no longer had warmth to it. She was just too far and who knew what she was thinking. “Shit!”

~~

Ava walked into the kitchen and found Michael and Max sitting at the table. She didn’t miss how they stopped talking the moment she stepped into the room. “No need to stop on my account.”

They gestured to the seat next to them at the table, “we were just talking about Dean.”

She knew exactly what they were getting at. Everyone had noticed how he’d been that day. She grabbed a Snapple from the fridge then sat. “It’s Liz.”

Max nodded, “yeah but she wouldn't do anything stupid. He’s got to know that.”

Ava lifted her brow, “think about it. Khivar wants her and he knows what Nicholas knows. Liz will do anything for her family, any of us would. If Khivar gave you an ultimatum, your family's life for yours, your family's safety if you go quietly with him, what would you do?” Both men’s gaze dropped down to the table and she recalled something Liz had said about how they both had distinctive brooding statures. “Exactly.”

Michael was the first to speak, “do you think he has or are you just guessing?”

“He’s already been in her dreams, controlling them. If someone came to grab her and Jude and it didn’t work like they planned, I would bet money that he’s already reached out for what he wants and he knows her weak spot.”

Max’s conflicted gaze came up to hers, “but the granolith wouldn't allow him to have any control over it.”

Ava shrugged, “maybe that's her last resort. That it would take her away or maybe destroy him when he tried to take control. But there’s the possibility it might destroy them both.”

Michael didn’t want to think about it but he knew what Liz would do because he would do it too. He was the one that had brought up the fact that maybe the only reason the Granolith took the other keepers out of danger was because they were just looking out for number one, only looking out for their own survival. But if it’s got the juice to transfer why not use that energy to destroy the son of a bitch that's threatening it and millions more? He knew exactly what he would do but with that much power who knows what would happen to someone standing too close. Would the Granolith consider the keeper allowing him to even try to take control as a betrayal? Had Liz thought about this? Maybe come up with a plan to keep herself safe? Or had she somehow said goodbye to Dean and that was why the man was practically catatonic all day. He needed to talk to Isabel, they needed to talk to Liz. He wasn’t going to let her run off with her own save the world plan. He was not letting that happen again.

barbara87413: Thank you! That's definitely what I'm going for. These guys have been through a lot together so they would be more than just a well oiled machine.

Chapter 70

Liz laughed as the sun shined down on the group as they joked around in the back yard. For the first time in a long time there were no signs of fatigue or worry on any of her friend’s faces as they really enjoyed the warm day. Right now that enjoyment seemed focused on what was happening only a few feet in front of her. Zan held Jude’s hands and tried to help him walk across the grass while Sam smiled a few steps ahead holding out his hands encouraging Jude to come towards him. There may have been a few bets thrown out here and there on how soon her son would walk but old habits die hard. She wasn't really one to complain besides she was pretty confident he'd walk by six months. He was already ahead in his other milestones.

She felt Dean’s arms wrap around her and his lips press gently against the side of her neck. His whispered words causing her skin to heat up, “so we have baby sitters..” She giggled as his hands played at the top edge of her shorts ignoring the accompanying snickers and cat calls she could hear from the others.

“Well well, isn’t this a cute little world, very well constructed.” The voice promptly freezing the warm scene around her.

Liz turned toward the voice and scowled at the man from her controlled dreams, “what the hell are you doing here?”

Khivar walked out of the shadows strolling easily towards her as if this were a consensual meeting. “You know you can still have all this. Just a tiny bit differently.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” She held out her palm, willing him to stop and he paused a few steps away. There was a quick look that flashed across his face that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

He grinned, “getting right to business then. I like it. I want to offer you a deal.” She quirked her eyebrow and he continued. “All of this can go away. We can end it, no more fighting, no more cat and mouse if you give me one thing. You. Come quietly and no one has to die or get hurt. Your family can live peacefully. I’ll even strip their memories so they don’t have to miss you or your son if you choose to bring him along which I hope you will. I can wipe your memories..”

She interrupted him whispering vehemently, “no.”

He bristled, “you do realize by not taking this deal I will still come for you and whoever dies in the crossfire will be on you. Think carefully because this will be the last time I offer anything. If you say no to this I will have no way of keeping your precious love slave out of this, there will be no keeping him safe.”

She growled, “the only person that’s going to die is you. I will see to it before you can lay a hand on my family.”

She watched the rage flare in his eyes, the first time she had ever seen the unfiltered anger directed at her. He let it simmer as he stared down into her eyes. “As you wish Elizabeth. Never say I didn’t give you the option, just remember that when you’re mourning their loss. I will see you soon.” His gaze passed over the faces behind her then landed on one that seemed to infuriate him more than the rest. At first she thought it must be Max but when she turned to follow his gaze only Dean stood in the way. She turned back, her mouth opening to say wait but he was gone. The scene around her still stood frozen then she felt something warm under her feet. Her eyes slowly lowered and saw nothing but a river of blood. A river flowing from behind her, from where she knew her family still stood in some kind of freeze frame. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip as hard as she could hoping it would jolt her awake because no amount of force could make her turn around.
~~

Liz lay quietly on the small bed she had situated inside the Granolith chamber with Jude sleeping soundly next to her. She watched as his tiny chest rose and fell with each deep breathe, the movement under his eyelids making her wonder if he dreamed and what his dreams would consist of. A giggle burst from his small mouth and she smiled. She couldn't help thinking of Dean, she knew he wasn't happy about the arrangement but the knowledge that they were safer there kept him from fighting it.

She knew that they would do anything for this small being. Their whole group would which was overwhelming when she thought about it. Any one of them would do whatever it took to keep him safe. If only she knew what it was they needed to do. What was the point of a stupid premonition if you couldn't remember it? Her thoughts once again returned to that sneaking suspicion that maybe it wasn't just something that clouded her thoughts but someone. Could it be possible? Could he really be that strong?

Her mind returned to that dark place, that terrifying mindset of his dream plane with all that hatred and vengeance that boiled just underneath his calm, charming exterior. The chill ran up her spine, if only she knew what they wanted with her son. What would he want with Jude? He said that her family could live yet Nasedo came after her. She didn’t believe for a second that Nasedo came after her as a way to shoot Nicholas in the foot. No, Nasedo was always looking out for himself and if his original deal was for the royal four and the heir, would the keeper and her heir be the new exchange? Khivar said she could bring Jude with her but that could have just been a manipulation like everything else. Maybe they believed that the keeper’s duties could be passed down in a bloodline. Maybe that’s how it had been for years on Antar or was she overthinking this? Maybe Nasedo was simply trying to use her to get what he wanted like Evelyn had told her Khivar would do.

Her anxiety caused these sleepless nights, made her fear the dreams or more likely nightmares that came in sleep. Nightmares that she believed Khivar had his hand in, at least with some of them. But fear, something so deep it seeps into your bones, is the one thing that can save you. Fear releases chemicals in the body, triggers the fight or flight response and Liz knew she was not the flight type of person. She looked down at Jude and knew fear can be used as a weapon to control people but it can also backfire and inspire people. How many revolutions did she have to read about in school by people who would no longer be ruled by fear? Something was nagging at the back of her mind with that thought but she couldn’t get a handle on it. Something she somehow knew but couldn’t quite put her finger on and the harder she pushed, the more unclear it would become. She didn’t want to get frustrated so she switched gears going back to what she needed to be ready to do.

The thought that not every story could have a happy ending crossed her mind but anything that gave her child a chance at a real life, she was willing to die for. The one thing she was sure of was the fact that she would do anything for her child. She would give everything to make sure Khivar didn't get his hands on him and he would die just for trying. No matter the cost.

Her heavy eyes finally fell and she found herself pulled into a dream. She looked around immediately recognizing the room. Jude’s nursery. She heard a noise and turned to find someone leaning over the crib. She walked over slowly, wondering who’s dream she had stumbled into and hoped it wasn’t something built by Khivar again. She got to the crib and realized it wasn’t Dean leaning over the edge then she heard the pump action of a shotgun.

“Get the hell away from my son you.. Liz?”

She spun around with her hands up, “it’s me.”

The man standing next to her froze and Dean dropped the shot gun as he moved to her quickly, crushing her in his arms. “You had me so worried.”

“What are you talking about?”

Dean pulled back, “you.. you disappeared and I didn’t know what to do.. with Jude.”

She looked up at him confused, “Jude’s with me.” He looked in the crib and found it empty. His face dropped. “Dean, you’re dreaming. I’m in your dream.” She looked at the man who stood frozen in front of the crib. She noticed the yellow eyes, “why does it always go back to yellow eyes? You killed him.”

Dean looked closer at the man and the yellow eyed demon dissolved. “I..” He turned back to Liz, “I’m dreaming?”

“Yes. I must have walked into your dream. I must have been thinking about you before I fell asleep. Being in the granolith chamber seems to enhance my powers.. a lot. Like being plugged in. Dean, you killed Azazel. He’s never coming back.”

“I know.. I just.” Liz started to look fuzzy. He blinked and could only see the outline of her face. He reached out where her arms just were and hit something solid, grabbing on tightly. He tried to force her to stay then with a blink of his eyes she was whole again. As if the strange experience jolted a part of his consciousness awake he blurted out the first pressing thought. “Listen to me, I don't know what you've got simmering in that head of yours but if it’s some suicide plan you better shove it out right now. You hear me? You’re the only real thing I have Liz. Without you none of this is mine, just a part of you. If you go off and get yourself killed you’re killing me too.”

Liz shook off her shock and her face crumbled, “Dean.. That's not true at all. In the beginning I may have pulled you in but it's lasted because of you. You made this your home, you made these people your family. I didn't do that. You could have pushed them all away but you didn't.”

His jaw tightened and his eyes started to shine. “Don't you dare tell me that I can do fine without you because you know it's a lie. You saw cas' time or whatever. You saw how screwed up I was, how lost I became. That’s because I didn’t have you.”

Tears came to her eyes and her voice came out shaky. “Dean..”

His eyes locked on hers. “Don't Liz. Please don't.. Don't leave me.”

She shook her head. “I'm not. I'm not just going to give him what he wants. I know we both would do anything for Jude but I promise I won't do that to you. I’ll find a way around it.”

“He's asked you, hasn't he?”

“What?”

"Ava thinks Khivar would proposition you. Our safety for you." He caught the tightening of her jaw. "He did. You told him to fuck off right?"

She nodded, "yes. He told me it could all end if I go away with him. He said he could erase your memory and I told him no. That I’d see him die before making a deal with him."

“You know he wouldn't hold up his end of the bargain.”

She nodded and placed her hand softly on his cheek. “I know. He's too arrogant and if he's offering a deal he's scared. That's a good sign.” He closed his eyes and held her hand against his cheek.

“Dean!” Her voice sounded far away and he tried to open his eyes but couldn’t. “Dean!” The faraway voice yelled again then seemed to change in timbre. “Dean!”

Dean sucked in a deep breath as he shot up in bed. Sam and Ava were standing beside the bed sharing looks of concern.

“We’ve got a problem.” Ava watched his face as his eyes jumped between the two of them then focused on Sam. “Dean, what is it?”

Dean looked over at Ava, “nothing.. just a dream. What’s going on?”

Sam watched his brother carefully and knew he wasn’t saying everything but pushed it aside for now. “It’s definitely more than a coincidence and now we’ve got proof.” Dean glanced at Sam waiting for him to go on. “They’re looking for us. They’re either trying to draw us out or trying to find out where we are.” At Dean’s furrowed brow, Sam continued a little bit more concerned about his brother’s seemingly disintegrating frame of mind. “The demons.. circling this town and some of the others where we have safe houses?”

Dean nodded looking at his brother catching the look that crossed his face, “what? Can’t a guy wake up a little before being one hundred percent? Damn. I’ll meet you guys down stairs let me splash some water on my face or something.”

Ava nodded pulling a stubborn Sam out of the room and down the hallway. “Give him a break. Your brother is holding it together more than I would at this point.”

“Ava we have a demon tied up in the basement..”

She interrupted him, “yeah and she’s not going anywhere. Is she?” Sam shook his head but threw a glance back towards the bathroom. “He’ll be fine Sam. I think he was dreaming about her maybe even visiting her.”

Sam’s eyes came to Ava’s, “what?”

Ava shrugged, “did you see his face? I’ve only seen that type of reaction from him with Liz. If she can astral project then dream walking should be cake in the Granolith.”
~~

Liz's eyes shot open to the ceiling of the Granolith's inner chamber. Soft lights were playing around the room almost as if it were trying to calm her. She heard soft whimpers next to her and carefully turned, automatically placing a soothing hand on Jude's stomach quietly singing in his ear until his whimpers changed to his normal breathing rhythm of deep sleep. She felt the lump in her throat that had developed while she tried her best not to panic, not to cry as she focused on soothing her son.

Worried she'd wake him again knowing it was her own racing thoughts and heartbeat that disturbed his sleep, she carefully slid off the bed and ran out of the chamber feeling the silent sobs shake her body. She kept moving further into the cavern before the lump in her throat was too much and she released the tight hold she had on her turbulent emotions as she fell to the floor. She felt a hand on her back but not the hand she truly wanted. Her watering eyes turned to her friend kneeling in the dirt next to her, "I can't do this Cas. I can't."

His face twisted in emotion she knew most angels didn't understand but the sympathy on his face only made her chest burn more. "I can't do it to him. You didn't see his face.. hear his voice."

"Liz.. You said this had to be done, that this was the only way that everyone would be safe. You have to find that again. You can't let these emotions cloud your judgment. Things are only going to get harder from here. You said that before we left. That once you changed things your enemies would scramble to get what they want. You can't let your emotions put everything you've put into motion at risk."

Liz turned her face away feeling the tears making their way down her face against her will, "I’m only human.. everything is affected by our emotions."

"I don't think you want to hear this but I think he's counting on that. You said he'd use your family against you, using your emotions is the same thing. He may not know you have a plan but he knows you're ruining his. You said yourself that he thinks you're weak but only you can prove him wrong." She turned back to her friend and threw her arms around him. It took him a moment but his arms slowly wrapped around her holding her while she worked through her fears. He patted her back softly unsure of what to say as she cried. He thought of Dean and how uncomfortable he would get around crying females. "I think Dean would tell you it's going to be okay. I think if you keep your mind on what’s important then we can get through this. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. You are strong Liz, stronger than anyone really knows." Castiel grew quiet, giving her time to work through the chaotic emotions and fears running rampant in her mind.

AvalonRose : Yup two fast posts! I have the next two chapters mostly written just need to edit and post so I should be able to keep up this every three days posting or earlier.


Chapter 71

Dean walked down the hallway passing by the open doorway to Jude’s empty nursery without a glance as he continued towards the stairs and heard Michael’s voice traveling up the stairs. “So the demon Serena shot didn’t go back. They really don’t know where we are?”

Sam responded, “demons lie. It’s kind of hard to really judge if that’s what they want us to think or if that’s what this demon really knows.” Dean could hear a hint of anger in his voice and wondered if Sam was thinking of Ruby with that statement. He definitely had firsthand experience with that kind of demon play. He started down the stairs and heard Serena speak up.

“Maybe they’re just terrified to come after us after I shot that guy. If the demon did go back to them, I’m sure he’d spill about the safeguards he had to get by. Which still leaves the question of how the hell he got by them. The line of salt was gone from the window sill and obviously the salt water solution on the window did nothing.”

Michael responded. “I’m not that good with that power but even I can change the molecules, turn it into something else pretty easily.”

Serena said, “so alien involvement?”

Dean hit the bottom of the stairs and saw the three of them in the hallway to his right, making their heads turn as he answered her question. “Sam already figured it was more than just a slight possibility.” He took the few remaining steps to them and asked, “so where is this proof?”

Michael opened the door to the basement, “right down here. She’s not saying much even though we know she was looking for you and your brother.”

Dean started down the stairs, “oh she’ll talk. Just keep Zan and Rachel away, Maria too if you think she’d object to doing whatever we need to.”

Michael followed down behind him, “don’t worry. Maria is all for doing whatever to save Liz but they’re staying next door with Zan anyway. They trust us to get this taken care of.”

Sam and Serena followed, shutting the door behind them. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Dean froze staring at the demon strapped to the chair in the middle of the devil’s trap. The three others glanced back and forth until Sam’s quiet curse drew their attention. “Shit. How did we not see this?”

Dean shook himself and ignored the others as he walked towards the wall behind the demon where a table sat filled with items from the impala’s trunk. Michael and Serena stood still, staring at Sam in question but Sam’s eyes were stuck on his brother’s back. Michael and Serena moved in front of his vision and waited for the explanation for what they couldn’t see. Sam kept his voice low, “look at the demon and think about who that could look like?” They turned slightly, checking out the demon from the corner of their eyes. Sam added, “dark hair, brown eyes..” He saw the recognition in Serena’s eyes first then Michael’s. “I didn’t see it at first either. It was Dean’s reaction that tipped me off.”

Michael grimaced, “son of a bitch.”

Serena glanced towards Dean, “if this isn’t a glaring confirmation that this demon was definitely meant to throw you two off.”

Sam watched Dean pick up the jug of holy water and the can of salt. “Whoever sent her knew Dean would be the most likely to push the limits to help Liz so they wanted to make it as hard for him as they could.”

Michael quickly answered, “yeah well Dean’s not the only one and he obviously isn’t going to have a problem and if he does I’ll finish it.” Michael walked over to Dean and picked up the demon blade from the table giving Dean a slight nod.

Serena turned back to Sam, “you think this demon will really have any useful information or is someone just playing us?”

Sam’s gaze didn’t move from Dean. “I don’t know but I hope this demon has something just so this won’t be a waste of time.”

Serena followed his gaze to Dean and Michael who stood in front of the Demon as it played the part of a terrified girl to perfection until Dean splashed holy water on her face and it howled in pain revealing its pitch black eyes. “Maybe that’s the whole point.” Sam’s eyes finally met hers for a few seconds before moving back to the interrogation in front of them.

Forty five minutes later, they had all that they thought they would get from the demon and Sam was just starting the exorcism chant. Michael and Dean stood in the back corner of the room just in case the she devil decided to spill anymore secrets thinking it would get a free pass out of her ride to hell. Michael whispered to Dean, “so you think it was just a plant to mess with us or was the info legit?”

Dean watched the demon in the girl’s skin scream and plead for Sam to stop. “I don’t know. It doesn’t give us much, some location that may or may not be real and that she was just part of a small group of demons to draw us out. It seems like she’s alluding to a bigger plan with the ‘I only know my part’ crap but she could just be messing with us.”

“Seems like more questions than answers.”

The demon yelled, “Stop! Please I’ll tell you about the deal.”

Sam glanced back at Dean who was already moving towards them. Sam turned back to the demon, “talk or I’ll finish it.”

Her gaze bounced between the two brothers then she smirked at Dean, “I may have overheard..” Sam started in with the latin of the exorcism again and the demon sneered as she yelled, “okay fine! I overheard my leader talking with Crowley. He’s got a deal with some guy named Nicholas. You two idiots go to him and the other guy gets the girl and him.” Her eyes slid to Michael admiring for a few seconds before settling back on Dean. “You let me go and I’ll tell you the rest.”

Dean’s anger caused some of his facial muscles to twitch, “not happening bitch.” He nodded to Sam to continue.

She yelled over Sam’s words, “there’s a plan in motion to draw her out.”

Sam stopped and eyed her, “what are you talking about?”

“The keeper, you dipshit. We were only a small part of the larger picture. Crowley will get what he wants and that bitch will get what she deserves.”

Dean moved quickly backhanding the girl’s face hard, “too bad you won’t get to see Crowley’s disappointed face when he loses because you’ll be burning in hell.”

She spit blood out of her mouth then smiled up at Dean, “your slut will be Nicholas’ bitch and your little bouncing bundle of piss will be all ours, just like your brother here used to be.”

Dean turned to Sam, “finish it Sam. She’s told us enough.”

“It’s only a matter of time before Crowley has what he wants and you two shits will be burning with me. I’ll be waiting for you Dean!”

Dean sneered, “you keep telling yourself that hellbitch.” He moved towards the back of the room knowing Michael would follow him. When he turned Michael was only a few steps behind and he couldn’t help the small smirk that came to his face.

“You two are good, I never would have thought she’d spill more info this way.”

“In the beginning they actually think you might spare them because they have info they think you need but then they get all high and mighty and throw things in your face like they’re getting the last laugh. Gotta love a pissed off demon with a one way ticket to the pit.”

Michael pulled out his phone and started up the stairs. “We need to get the rest of them over here. We know they’re working together now and we know what they want.”

Dean grinned but it didn’t reach his eyes that still held a haunted look as he watched Sam finish the exorcism. “We finally have the upper hand.” The black smoke shot out of the girl’s mouth and seeped into the devil’s trap on the ground. Serena moved over to the girl checking her vitals then smiled to Sam. Now all they had to do was heal the damage and make her forget. Hopefully this girl wouldn’t be scarred for life like other victims of demon possession. This poor girl did nothing wrong but look a little like someone he cared for. The bastards were going to pay for that.
~~

The group stood around the dining room, some standing and some sitting at the table. Rachel sat with Zan not really sure why they were there but had a feeling it was more of a proximity thing for protection rather than anyone looking at them for their opinion. Maria, Serena, Isabel, and Ava sat across from them whispering back and forth amongst themselves. While the guys all stood around the table arguing over the best strategy except for Kyle who sat next to Zan playing with a gameboy.

Max slapped his hand on the table, “we need to take out the demons they’ll be easier to deal with first. If Nicholas doesn’t have all these other lackeys he’ll be easier to take down.”

Sam looked at Max like he’d turned green and sprouted another head. “Demons are easier? You do know what the meaning of Legion is right? If we take out Nicholas, Liz won’t have to hide anymore.”

Michael and Dean talked quietly hashing out their own ideas before Max looked to Michael, “Michael tell them, we take out the demons and then go after Nicholas.”

Michael and Dean looked across the room to Max. Every other head in the room turned in their direction. Michael and Dean had both worried how this would play out and if they’d be able to agree on a way to handle the situation without it falling apart. Dean had told Michael that Liz had warned him that they needed to be unified but did they have to be all together to take them out or did they just have to be unified in their plan to each deal with a part of this whole mess? Liz was better at making the plans if the past was any indication, his plans never ended as cleanly as Liz’s.

Michael caught the look on Max’s face. He wanted him to agree with him, tensions were high even though they finally had caught a break. He looked around the room and could see the indecision on the anxious faces around the table. They wanted to take action but were afraid if they made the wrong moves they’d put Liz in more danger. If any one of them were caught they’d be used as bait and they all knew it. It wasn’t exactly the highest of stakes game but could easily turn into one. How do they keep this from turning from an advantage to a disadvantage? Michael looked to Isabel, “have you been able to get in?”

She shook her head, “I can't. I've tried but it’s like hitting a wall. She's got her defenses up and I can't get in.”

Serena added, “she's in the granolith Michael that could be blocking or amping up her defenses.”

Michael tried to keep his cool. “Then how the hell is Khivar getting in?”

“What?” Michael heard multiple voices but he ignored them as his eyes had zeroed in on Ava.

Ava shrugged, “Michael I don't know for sure. I was only thinking out loud.. it made the most sense. Especially now with the demons making noise around us, why wouldn't Khivar do the same with her?”
Max looked between the two, “but there's no way he'd get past the Granolith. If that’s what’s blocking Isabel..”

Dean’s voice was quiet but it grabbed everyone’s attention. “He has. He offered her a deal.”

Loud voices broke out around room, some in shock at the fact that either Khivar broke through or Liz let him through and some arguing which one of those options was the truth, others argued on what they needed to do next. Michael caught Dean’s gaze and they both felt responsible for the craziness that ripped apart the somewhat calm they had only moments ago. A voice from behind them was a welcome intrusion, “I think I may be of some assistance.”

They turned their attention to the dark haired, blue eyed angel standing just outside the dining room. Zan stood from his chair, “is Liz okay? Jude?”

Castiel smiled at the second smallest member of their group, “yes. Hopefully we can keep it that way.”