based off 12.23

all along the watchtower

~*~

Juno pulled back up to the small house by the edge of the lake, grabbing the grocery bags as she got out. She walked inside to see Castiel walking in from the back door.

"Hey," Juno smiled. "I got a few more of Kelly's requests."

"God!" Kelly yelled from upstairs. They looked at each other, Juno turning to the stairs and walking up first. Castiel was right on her trail, both of them entering the nursery to see Kelly on the floor with the instructions for the crib in her hand.

"Kelly. I told you I'd put this together," Cas said bending down and taking the instructions from her. "I'm very good at following instructions. And you need to rest."

"No, I don't," Kelly said trying to get up.

"Kelly..." Cas snapped. Juno sighed, helping Kelly up to her feet.

"No, Cas, I don't," Kelly snapped. "I can't. I don't know how long until... I don't know how long I have left. And I...I'm never gonna be able to teach him how to ride a bike or watch him get married or even look him in the eyes. But I can build him a stupid Swedish crib! I can do that."

"Kelly, I know how hard this is," Juno said taking a small step towards Kelly. The woman looked at Juno questionably, the red head sighing. "That's a lie. I have no idea how hard this is for you. But I promise you... I will do everything. I will give my life for your son. And I will raise him. And I will make him someone you will be proud of. I'll be the mother that you're not allowed to be."

"I know," Kelly said tearing up.

"We'll give you some time, and if you can't build this stupid Swedish crib, we'll help you later," Juno said with a small smile. Kelly nodded, Juno turning to Cas. The two walked out of the room, Juno leaving the door cracked. Castiel and Juno walked outside, Castiel glancing back up at the house. "She's okay, Cas."

"I know she is," he answered with a sigh. Juno grabbed Castiel's hand as she turned to face him.

"Who'd have thought we would be chosen to be parents to Lucifer's child?" Juno asked tilting her head at Cas.

"This isn't something I saw happening on our journey," Castiel answered truthfully.

"Children were out of the question in general," Juno said with a small scoff.

"Yes, it would've been forbidden and you would've died," Castiel told her.

"That's very reassuring, Cas. Thanks," Juno said laughing slightly. She leaned towards him, kissing him lightly. She pulled back slowly, lacing their fingers together. "I'm gonna go unpack the groceries." Juno walked back into the house, Cas watching with a light smile.

*****

Castiel pulled up to the house, him and Kelly getting out and walking to the trunk. Juno stepped out of the house, walking towards them swiftly.

"I'm just saying, the checkout guy looked at us like we were super weird," Kelly said out of breath.

"Ah, you'll get used to it," Juno reassured her.

"Okay, but...Cas, I mean, he went a little overboard," Kelly said looking at Juno.

"I disagree," Cas said. He pulled the tarp off to reveal many boxes of diapers, definitely more than they needed. "I have read 74 books on child rearing, and there is one thing that they all agree on– everybody poops."

"Well, you're not wrong," Kelly said with a slight laugh. She suddenly clutched her stomach, gripping the tailgate of the truck. Juno and Castiel looked at her worried. Cas set down the box in his hand, both of them stepping to Kelly as she grunted. "I'm fine. I'm... I'm fine."

"I'll get her inside, you unload your hundreds of diapers," Juno said nodding at Cas. He nodded to them, Juno helping Kelly inside. Cas followed shortly after, carrying a box of diapers. None of them even noticed the faint magic that rubbed off on the truck and began floating to the back of the house.

Kelly happily went back to painting the mural on the wall for her baby, Castiel and Juno moving the rest of the boxes into the nursery. The two walked down to the back, Juno pausing in front of Cas at the glowing yellow ripple floating in the middle of the yard.

"Stay here," Castiel said walking past Juno. She followed him slowly as he walked towards the ripple. He touched it, a small flash going off. Juno covered her eyes momentarily, then looked back to see Castiel gone.

"Cas?" she questioned stepping forward. She stopped in front of the ripple, then touched it. She suddenly found herself standing next to Castiel in the middle of no where. It seemed to be some type of battle field with spikes poking out of the ground.

"Where..." Cas trailed off. "How?" Something snarled, the two turning to see a horned looking creature standing in front of them. The monster hit Castiel across the face, Juno watching as he went down. She began backing up as the monster stepped to her. A gun went off, the monster sparking and falling to the ground. Juno turned to the person, beginning to put her hands up as he had his gun still pointed at her and Cas. "You?" Juno looked at Castiel.

"You know him?" Juno asked.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"Bobby, it's me. Castiel," Cas said standing up. "Angel of the Lord."

"You're a what?!" Bobby yelled.

"Okay! Okay! Probably shouldn't have lead with that," Juno said stepping in front of Cas so Bobby wouldn't shoot. "What is this place?"

"What do you mean? It's Earth. After Michael hit," Bobby scoffed.

"Michael?" Castiel asked standing up. "Michael's in the cage."

"Cas, I don't think this is... Our world," Juno said looking around. "This is some kind of Apocalypse World." The ripple bounced, Juno and Cas turning at it. "It's getting stronger, what does that mean?"

"It means the baby is coming," Castiel said.

"What are you two talking about?" Bobby asked.

"I'll go get Kelly, you talk to this very nice man who hopefully won't shoot you. Great," Juno said patting Castiel's shoulder. She approached the ripple, touching it and landing in the backyard again. "Freaky." She ran into the house only to hear Kelly.

"Cas? Juno?" Kelly called out. "Cas? Castiel?" Juno ran up the stairs, Kelly stopping.

"Kelly," Juno said with a small smile.

"Where were you? Where's Castiel?" Kelly asked.

"I, um... uh, out back. Um, is everything okay?" Juno asked nodding at Kelly's stomach.

"No. The baby, it's... I think it's time," Kelly said through labored breaths. She groaned at her contraction, the lights flickering and the rift flaring. "Oh, my God."

"Everything's gonna be fine," Juno said grabbing Kelly's arms. She helped her to a room, Castiel running up the stairs.

"What's happening?" Castiel asked.

"It's time," Juno told him. They moved Kelly into her bedroom, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. The two walked out, Juno running downstairs as Castiel followed slowly behind her. "What was that place?"

"I-I don't know," Castiel answered.

"We should probably figure it out fast because that power flicker I can assure you took out everything in the town, too. Someones going to be coming," Juno said. She walked to the kitchen, Castiel letting out a sigh. He walked back up the stairs to Kelly's room, sitting on the bed next to her.

"You're all right," Cas said, grabbing her hand in reassurance. "The pressure waves are still very far apart."

"'Pressure waves'?" Kelly asked him.

"It's what they– it's what they called contractions in my doula class," Castiel confessed. "I-I took it online. First-time mothers, labor can be twelve to eighteen hours, sometimes longer. It... Although, given this is the child of Lucifer and a quasi-celestial being..."

"They didn't cover that online?" Kelly questioned with a small smile.

"They did not," Castiel said smiling back at her. He stood, walking to the window and checking on the rift.

"Cas?" Kelly called, causing him to look at her. "Thank you. For everything."

"Of course," he told her. Kelly let out a small smile, then began stroking her belly again.

*****

Juno sat on Kelly's bed as she was going through another contraction. Kelly grabbed Juno's hand through her breathing, Juno scooting forward a bit.

"Kelly," Juno started.

"Tell me again. Tell me again what you saw," Kelly breathed out.

"Right, I saw– I saw..." Juno paused, gathering the words in her head. "I saw the future. I saw a world without pain or hunger or want. I saw the world that this child... that your child... will create." Kelly kept humming in response between Juno's words. "And it is a world without fear and without suffering and without hate." Juno paused as if she could see it. "I saw paradise." The sudden rumble of the Impala pulled up, Juno looking towards the window. "I'll be right back." Juno stood, walking downstairs to see Castiel standing in front of Sam, Dean, and Mary.

"Dean?" Castiel questioned.

"Cas, is this place warded?" Sam asked quickly.

"Yes, heavily" Castiel answered.

"Heavy enough to stop Lucifer?" Dean asked.

"Lucifer?" Juno questioned with wide eyes.

"He could be right behind us," Mary informed them.

"I don't... What are you doing here?" Castiel asked stepping forward.

"Saving your ass," Dean snapped.

"Taking off with Kelly was a stupid move. But there's no way we're letting Lucifer get his hands on that kid. It ain't happening," Sam said forcefully.

"Look, Sam's right, okay? We'll work through our crap. We always do. But right now, we are here to get you, get Kelly, and get gone," Dean said pointing over his shoulder.

"She can't be moved. She's having a–" Castiel stopped when they could suddenly hear Kelly groaning from upstairs.

"I'll check on her," Mary said walking upstairs.

"How much time do we have?" Juno asked looking at Dean.

"We don't know," Sam answered.

"Hey, if he shows, can you flame on again?" Dean asked Juno. She looked at him confused. "Can you torch Lucifer like you did Dagon?"

"I don't know. No, that wasn't me. That was the child. And in case you haven't noticed, he's a little busy," Juno said motioning upstairs. Dean gasped, leaning over and clutching his knee.

"Aah. Son of a bitch," Dean growled.

"Here, Dean," Cas said stepping forward, Dean humming in response. "Let me." Castiel tapped Dean's forehead, healing him.

"Thanks," Dean said bending his knee.

"All right, we should double-check the warding," Sam said beginning to walk to the back door.

"Wait," Castiel and Juno said following him.

"Right. So listen, if we, uh-" Sam cut himself off as he stepped outside, noticing the rift floating there. "Cas? What is that?"

"It's a tear in space and time," Castiel told him.

"Uh, and that means?" Dean asked walking down the stairs, following Castiel.

"It's a doorway to another world," Castiel said.

"Anoth– What, like Narnia?" Dean asked confused.

"No. No, through there it's Earth, but...but different. It's a– it's an alternate reality," Juno said as she approached the rift.

"So it's a Bizarro world? Or – or like the place we got zapped to where we were, uh, uh, actors on a TV show," Sam said turning to Dean.

"Oh, yeah. The supernatural wasn't real," Dean said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"And you were Polish," Dean continued.

"R-right," Sam stuttered. "Wait, Cas, how did this get here?"

"Well, the child being born, his power, it seems to be puncturing the fabric of our universe," Castiel explained.

"Awesome," Dean said sarcastically.

"Yeah. And what exactly is on the other side?" Sam asked.

"You don't wanna know," Juno sighed out.

"Probably," Dean agreed. "But we need to." Castiel sighed, reaching forward and touching the rift. They all appeared in Apocalypse World, Sam and Dean looking around frantically.

"Whoa. Cas, what is this?" Sam asked looking around.

"As I said, it's– it's Earth. But this Earth is locked in eternal war between Heaven and Hell. There are armies of angels fighting hoards of demons, and the few humans that remain are caught in between," Castiel explained sadly.

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"A friend told me," Castiel said.

"Oh, good. Now you're makin' friends? That's... All right, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is this?" Dean asked the lot.

"I don't know. I gotta say, a, uh, hole in reality to a bombed out Apocalypse world?" Sam questioned.

"I'm gonna go with 11," Juno said with a slight nod.

"Sounds right," Dean shrugged.

"You don't have to worry. The child, he opened this door. He'll close it," Castiel reassured them.

"You sure about that?" Dean asked.

"I have faith," Castiel said to him.

"Really? In your unborn baby-God?" Dean asked rather harshly.

"Yes," Castiel answered.

"Well, then, you're a dumbass," Dean snapped.

"Guys. Guys!" Sam yelled as a hooded figure was walking towards them.

"Hey! Hands in the air!" Dean yelled as he and Sam cocked their guns.

"No. Don't," Castiel said holding a hand out to Dean. The figure removed his mask, revealing it to be...

"Bobby?" Sam asked.

"Do I know you?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby... Sam. Dean. Cas," Sam said going down the line, skipping Juno as Bobby wouldn't know her.

"Uh-huh. You say that like it's supposed to mean something to me, but...naw," Bobby said shaking his head.

"Sam, this is Bobby, but it's not your B–"

"Bobby, it's us. Sam and Dean Winchester," Dean said cutting off Cas.

"The only Winchester I ever heard of was John," Bobby scoffed.

"Yeah. John Winchester, our father," Sam said like Bobby should've known.

"Doubt it. He's dead. Been dead over 40 years now. Only reason I know about him is this Hunter I ran with, Mary Campbell," Bobby told them. Sam and Dean looked at each other, then back to Bobby. "You get a few pints of shine into her, and she always told the same story about the man she loved– John Winchester. Azazel killed her about 10 years ago."

"Cas, what the hell is this?" Sam asked.

"This is a world where you were never born," Castiel said with a frown. "It's a world you never saved."

"I'm gonna go back and help Mary. Never know when Lucifer could show up," Juno said with a sigh.

"Right," Castiel nodded. Juno turned, walking back to the rift. She touched it, landing back in her own world. She walked into the house quickly, hearing Kelly screaming upstairs. She went up quickly, walking in to see Mary holding Kelly's hand.

"Okay. I think they're less than five minutes apart now. It's almost time. How you doin'?" Mary asked Kelly.

"I'm dying," Kelly said with a content smile.

"I know," Mary told her.

"But that's okay. 'Cause wouldn't you die for your sons?" Kelly asked Mary.

"Yeah," Mary nodded. Juno sat on Kelly's other side, Kelly taking Juno's hand.

"J-Juno, what did you see? What did Jack show you?" Kelly asked to reassure herself one more time.

"Kelly..." Juno trailed off.

"Please," Kelly begged. Juno nodded, taking a deep breath.

"He showed me the future. He showed me no agony, no pain. A world without suffering or death, everyone was happy," Juno said squeezing Kelly's hand. "He showed me what he can do."

"Right, right," Kelly said with a small nod. The contractions kept coming, Kelly only screaming in pain. She was shaking, trying to hold herself together.

"Okay, okay, you're okay," Juno reassured her with a smile. Kelly managed to calm down as the contraction ended, Mary and Juno rubbing the back of her hands soothingly. There was a knock on the door, the three women looking to see Castiel standing there.

"May I speak with these two?" Castiel asked looking at Mary.

"Sure," Mary answered beginning to get up.

"Mary," Kelly said grabbing her hands.

"I'll be back," Mary reassured her.

"Okay," Kelly nodded. Mary stood, walking out of the room. Juno looked over at Cas, noticing the sad look on his face. "Cas... what's wrong?" Castiel walked towards the bed, sitting next to Kelly. He went on to explain the rift and Lucifer, along with Crowley being there now, too. Kelly seemed panicked at what he told her.

"Don't worry. It will be fine," Castiel told her with a reassuring smile. He stood, turning to Kelly again. "Remember– paradise." Kelly nodded, watching as Juno stood as well. Mary walked back into the room, Juno and Cas walking downstairs.

"This gonna work?" Juno asked.

"Let's hope so," Castiel sighed. They walked outside with Sam and Dean right behind them as Lucifer walked up.

"Well... this is a fun surprise," Lucifer said rubbing his hands together. Castiel dropped his angel blade into his hand, Juno pulling hers out of her jacket. "I gotta hand it to you guys. You never give up, even when you should. Even when it would be so stupid not to."

"Look, whatever you're planning on doing, Chuck...God will stop you, just like he did last time," Sam said in an attempt to scare Lucifer.

"You're right. What should I do? Oh, God! Don't strike me dead!" Lucifer said pretending toe cower in fear. "Come on, Sam. You sound like a virgin in Jesus camp. 'We can't. God is watching.' No. Chuck 'walked.' He's gone."

"So you're just gonna smash his toys?" Dean asked him.

"Exactly. 'Cause every time I look at this sad trash fire of a world, you know what I keep thinking? I could do so much better," Lucifer said clenching his fist.

"So Apocalypse, take two. That's your plan?" Dean asked.

"When in doubt, go with the classics. That's what I always say," Lucifer smiled at them. "Well, boys... And Juno who keeps ruining dramatic moments by being a woman, enough with the foreplay. Let's do this."

"See you on the other side, boys," Juno said looking at them.

"See, that's not fair," Lucifer said. Castiel charged at him, Lucifer just throwing him aside. "Well, that worked." He giggled, the other three looking at each other. They turned, running towards the rift all together. "Mature. Real mature! You guys? I really want to enjoy this. Really wanna savor just ripping you apart, gettin' all up in there, and gettin' all gooey. But, you know, little slugger's almost here and, uh... Well, I'm on the clock." Lucifer rounded the corner to see the three stood at the rift. Dean touched it, the three appearing in Apocalypse World. Dean and Juno crept around a pillar, grabbing two machine guns full of angel bullets.

"Where's your big bro?" Lucifer asked Sam.