Chapter 1

Serra

It had been four weeks since we lost Faith.

Grace struggled to make it through every day life and I did my best to help her through the regular stuff when she just couldn't go on. Dean…well, my brother-in-law was there physically, but mentally, he was somewhere else all together and nothing I said made the situation any better.

Jody and Emery were on call every day, all day, standing guard over the kids when Sam and I were forced to go back to work. Dean went through the motions and continued to run the auto-body and mechanic's shop they owned, but it was only enough effort to not lose the shop entirely.

Lucia, the only other angel we trusted besides Cas, was there as well, listening to the rest of the angels for signs of Ouriel or his followers. So far, there had been nothing.

Everett had his first major tantrum three days after Ouriel attacked us in the tiny hotel room on the other side of the world. It was enough to blow out two windows in the living room of Grace and Dean's house and we watched in terror as Lucia bent around him, absorbing the impact of his rage. She did her best to shield the rest of the kids and saved Glory's life, I was sure of it. Since the tantrum, Lucia held Everett in a state of semi-consciousness, allowing him to wake only enough to eat. I wasn't sure how healthy it was for him, but I also knew we couldn't run the risk of him melting down when there was no one to absorb the power he held.

Levi had started at the daycare of the hospital on Monday and I had enrolled Liberty in preschool to try and alleviate some of the burden on Grace, Jody and Emery. I had switched around my hours a bit as well, going in at seven-thirty each morning and coming home around four, picking up Levi and Liberty on the way home each day. It was routine that we were all still getting used to, but I felt it was best for Lib to be surrounded by other children her own age and away from the abyss that seemed to surround Grace.

I would wake up in a panic often these days, as I did this morning, reliving the scenes that we faced with Ouriel and the aftermath of what he did a month ago. I closed my eyes, trying not to picture it again, but there it was, sitting right behind my subconscious.

Sam had awoken me, pulling me physically from the floor and as I came to in the tiny hotel room, and I could hear Dean screaming to Grace, trying to wake her. She bled from a hole in her side, the blood pooling next to her. All of the kids were crying, making it hard to focus on my sister. I crawled to her and felt for her pulse, fighting the urge to panic. Tears flooded my eyes and I turned her to her back and pressed my hand to the side of her belly, trying to stop the bleeding, already knowing what must have happened. Castiel was standing near us, as emotional as an angel could be, worry etched through the lines of his face and redness in his blue eyes.

"Dean," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "Take off your flannel. Put it right here. Press hard." I moved towards her face and pulled her eyelids open, checking to see if she had a concussion or worse. Aside from the gaping stab wound on her side, she seemed okay. I turned back to her nineteen-week-pregnant belly and felt gently, then pressed hard, trying to get the baby to move. I made the mistake of locking eyes with Dean and lost control, a sob coming through my throat. "I don't know…" I gasped, "I can't—"

Sam turned towards Cas and wiped his own face. He took a ragged breath and said, "Get the kids home. Panic room."

Castiel nodded, having a job to do and grabbed Liberty and Levi. He disappeared on the spot as Lucia picked up Glory and an inconsolable Everett. She disappeared as well, leaving us in the middle of the floor, still putting pressure on Grace's side.

Our angel was back almost immediately and stared at me, waiting for orders. "Heal her!" I shouted, and Cas immediately leaned forward, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. The angel blade had done its work. A blue glow emanated from Cas' hands through my sister's body, but she remained still. "We need to get her to a hospital," I continued, wiping my face, smearing my sister's blood over my cheek. "Maybe there's a chance…" I couldn't bring myself to say the rest of the sentence and before I knew it, Grace, Dean, Sam, and I were in the emergency room of the hospital where I worked.

Sam looked around and shook his head saying, "Cas, take me home. Someone has to help Lucia with the kids." He nodded and immediately he and Sam were gone.

Turning, I screamed at one of the orderlies and my medical training kicked in. "Hey!" I yelled, "Mugging victim, stab wound, right, lateral abdomen on the transverse plane, nineteen weeks pregnant," I rattled off, bringing over a gurney as Dean held her up. "We need to get her prepped for surgery now," I demanded, staring him down. "And get Alana down here," I added, almost under my breath. He was on his walkie-talkie immediately, rattling off demands, telling the other nurses to come and help. He knew who I was and for that I was grateful. Dean placed Grace gently on the gurney and allowed the emergency room staff to wheel her away. I shot him a look and nodded, trying my best to be reassuring. Dean collapsed in a chair in the waiting room, staring at Grace's blood smeared all over his hands, as I disappeared down the hall after my sister.

Surgery hadn't gone well. Grace was losing too much blood from the wound on her side that refused to close and we had a hard time keeping up. The surgeons had no idea about my sister's status as an angel hybrid, but Alana, the gynecologist that had delivered my nieces and nephew did. She was hooking Grace up to machine after machine, glancing at me occasionally as the doctors attempted to save my sister's life.

Alana pressed her hands against Grace's rounded belly and felt around; listening for the baby through the stethoscope she wore and finally stared at me, her eyes filling with tears. She shook her head once and I knew it was already too late. We had lost Faith.

I closed my eyes, forcing the memories away once again and stared over at Sam, who was still sleeping restlessly. I shut my eyes and shook my head, forcing myself to get up and moving, away from the images that haunted my dreams. Walking to the other end of the room, I stared out into the field in between our house and the Big House where Grace and Dean lived and waited for the sun to rise.