Ketch Me as I Fall

Fuck, I wanted a damn beer. I don't think I have ever wanted a beer so fucking badly. And not having one right about now was going to drive me insane. Maybe I had become an alcoholic. And perhaps I had taken after Dean a little more than I thought. But not being able to indulge in my vices, was becoming to shorten my fuse by a large margin.

"How are you getting worse." I groaned, leaning my chin against the back of the chair I straddled. 

"I just…need a break," Ally said, lowering the gun in her hands.

In the short few days since my…diagnosis, I had convinced Cael to search for the 'Protector's Manuscript', so it was my turn to train Ally while he was gone. And so far, she seemed almost completely incapable of doing anything good with a gun. It was nearly hopeless. 

"How the fuck did you get everything from your mom except her god-like abilities with a gun?" I got up from the seat and shifted uncomfortably on my slightly swollen feet. I took a few steps to where she still stood and looked her over. "Try again. I want to see something." Ally rolled her eyes, pushed her bangs out of her eyes, and took her stance before aiming at the target down range. It was already scattered with holes, none of the kill shots. "You line up the three dots on the sight."

"I know," Ally grumbled. 

She inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled, holding her breath for a second as she pulled the trigger. The gun went off loudly, her wrist jerking just enough to mar the bullet's trajectory and change a good shot into a poor one. Her jaw clenched tightly in frustration.

"You're anticipating the recoil still." I sighed. "You're scared of the gun."

"Of course, I'm scared of the fucking gun." She was getting too worked up. "Why can't I just snap like Jack or my dad? They always seem to be able to make everything work for them with magic. And 'you' just have to wave your hand."

"We've been over this, kid." I leaned against one of the empty stalls and folded my arms over my chest. "You're burning through your grace too quickly. Until we can find a way to stop it, you shouldn't be using your abilities."

"That's so unfair!" Ally groaned. "I finally get something cool in my life that makes me special and I can't even use it!"

"You don't need to have powers to be special."

"Ya, right." She grumbled, rubbing at the back of her neck.

"I think Cael would think otherwise." I watched the blush creep across her cheeks and down her neck just like Elly's did. "I bet you could shoot better if he was here too."

"Shut up." Ally hissed out. "Just show me how to fix the problem."

I chuckled softly and walked closer to her. "Relax more. And stop leaning away from the gun. It's ok to be afraid of it, but only if it's aimed at you. Right now, it's going to protect you." I gently took the barrel of the gun and pulled on it, dragging her arms up with it until she was aimed down range again. "Just breathe. If you keep missing I'm going to make you dry shoot until you get used to the gun."

"Dry shoot?" She asked. 

"No bullets in the chamber," I explained. "Try again. Legs shoulder width apart," I tapped her shoes with mine until her feet were in better spots. "Lean into the shot and be confident in your abilities."

Ally nodded, staring down the barrel of the pistol again. It was silent for a few seconds as she took a few deep breaths. A loud crack broke through the air once she pulled the trigger again, and I sighed. It was better but still wasn't going to kill anything. This was going to take a while.

"Alright." I extended my hand. "Hand it over."

The young girl grumbled as she handed the gun to me. I quickly and smoothly unloaded it, putting the clip in my pocket before handing the now-empty gun back to her. Then I walked back to the seat behind her. God my feet hurt.

I sighed as I sat down again, and waited for a few minutes for her to resume practice. When she didn't, I studied her again. She was looking over the gun in her hands, slowly turning it over and examining the smooth metal of it. Then she gently placed it on the counter of her lane and sunk to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Why haven't you told my parents?" Ally asked quietly, pulling her hair out of the ponytail it had been in. It fell into her face, covering those beautifully intense blue eyes.

"They don't need ot worry about you right now. It's important for you to know because it's your body." I spoke carefully, there was no reason to set her off by accident. "Besides, your dad already wants to kill me for taking your soul to begin with. Could you imagine what would happen if I told him you were burning through your human soul? He would have my head on a stick faster than I could say 'Look, Lu..'"

She scoffed. "He's just scared. He lashes out when he's scared."

I rolled my eyes. "Violently."

"He wasn't violent until we came here. I think you upset him." She accused, though the smile on her face was teasing. "I know that doesn't excuse anything, but you could stop antagonizing him too, ya know." I nodded, that was a fair point. I was part of the problem there. "What are you going to name him?"

"Him?" I asked, confused by her change of topic.

"Ya." She pointed low at me. "Mom told me. But you can kinda tell now too."

I puckered my lips and made a soft clicking sound. "I haven't thought about it much. How do you know what it is?"

Ally shrugged and tipped her head to the side to rest it on her knees. "I can't really tell. Just kinda the vibe I was getting. But you're still in denial huh?"

"As much in denial as you are about liking Cael." I shot at her.

I didn't want to think about it all now. It had only been a few days since I had found out. But I already felt wider, as if now that it had made its presence known, it would start to grow faster. And I didn't need to worry about bursting at the seems right now. I already had panic attacks every time I thought about the results.

"So what if I like him?" Ally brought me back to reality. "He would never think the same way. He doesn't think of anything the same way I do. Maybe that's why I like him. He's…different. Mature."

"Millions of years old." I joked.

"So is my dad." Ally shrugged, shifting to sit cross-legged on the floor and playing with her hair.

"Where are your parents anyway?" I asked.

"I think they went out to see a movie. Some sort of date night, I try not to intrude. I don't care what they do as long as I don't have to hear it." She grimaced slightly and I laughed. "Why did you make Cael look for that book? Why aren't you looking for it?"

"It's good to get him out of the bunker every once in a while." I shrugged. "I also thought it would be nice to just give him a break. Why?" I smirked. "Do you miss him?"

She looked away from me, her neck growing more pink. "Dad said he and mom met in jail." Nice subject change. "But I don't believe that anymore. How did they meet?"

I smiled, of course he said that. "He technically didn't lie. As far as I know, they met in Hell. They were locked up in cages next to each other. Your mom got them out. And then they…uh…" I trailed off, motioning at the air with my hands. Ally scrunched her nose in disgust. "When I went to go rescue her, I tried to kill him and she stepped in front of the gun. Your dad saved her life, and they've been inseparable since."

"And…"

Ally broke off as the red warning light of the bunker began to flash. A low siren filled the room. That wasn't good. It usually meant something bad was coming. I got to my feet quickly.

"Stay here, kid. Load the gun. Lock the door. Don't come out until we come to get you." I stated, not giving her other options before starting for the door.

"I can help." She argued.

"Your parents would never forgive me if you got hurt. Stay here." It came out as an order this time.

I ran from the room without hearing if she protested again. I pulled my pistol free from its holster as I ran up the hall. I was so focused on getting to the front room that I nearly barrelled over Dean as he came around a corner. He looked pissed.

"Is it what I think it is?" I asked him as we started walking together down the halls. 

Dean nodded, dark anger swimming through his green eyes. Sam was already there at the map table with Ketch, using one of its newest features, thank you Mrs. Butters, to pinpoint what exactly was going on outside. 

"It's either him or someone who works for him," Ketch announced before stepping over to me and wrapping a gentle arm around my waist. He leaned closer to my ear and lowered his voice. "You shouldn't be out here."

"I can take care of myself," I grumbled, pushing away from him.

And I could. I might have been pregnant, but that did not mean I couldn't take care of myself and fight with him. I sure as fuck wasn't going to let my brothers fight a war they didn't even need to be involved with in the first place alone. This was Ketch' battle, which meant it was also mine. 

"Can you see anything on the cameras, Sam?" He'd had one pulled up on the table's glass surface. I turned to our older brother before he could answer. "Can you go check on the generators? I don't want to be out of power again because of these fuckers." Dean nodded and disappeared. I turned back to Sam. "Anything?"

"Not yet. They're going around the permitor with small explosives, trying to find a weak spot while staying out of camera range."

"Great…" I grumbled. "Can you try to get ahold of Elly and Lucifer? Ally said that went out."

"Of course," Sam said without looking up from the table.

I went back to Ketch then, once both brothers were sufficiently distracted and glared at him. "You may have started this, but I am going to help fix it. I will protect my family, and that includes you now. But do not mention this around them, not yet."

The man had enough sense to give a slight nod. "Are you sure…"

"I am not dying today, Ketch."

He opened his mouth again to speak but stopped when a phone rang out above the bassey thrum of the alarm. It took us a moment to realize it was mine, and when I pulled it from my pocket, I could only scoff at the screen. Private number. I answered it and put it against my ear.

"Alexandria." A sweet voice drawled on the other end. He already sounded cocky.

"It's Alex." I corrected with a growl. It was getting sad to be so used to this. This negotiating that came with the threats and blackmail. It was a weird normal. "What do you want, Ernest."

"Oh?" He sounded ever so slightly surprised. "You Winchesters really must be smarter than we give you credit for."

"Use a burner phone the next time if you don't want to be found." My grip on my phone tightened slightly.

"You think I didn't want to be found?" The man laughed, a sick, dark sound as it bubbled through the receiver. "I can stay hidden if I want to, darling."

"It's Alex." I corrected it again.

"How's the baby bump?"

Was there anyone that didn't know I was pregnant? I sighed, irritated. "I don't have time for your games asshole. How many do you have out there? Because I doubt you're here in person."

"Good girl, straight to the good part." I could hear the sick smirk on his face. "There's a dozen, maybe two. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over."

"What do you want?" I hissed out.

"My my, trying to get this over with, aren't you?" His tone teased, and I knew he enjoyed every scrap of my agitation. 'You send the dog back to me and I will call off my men."

"No," I said firmly, catching those silver eyes as I said it.

Ernest clicked his tongue as if he was scolding me. "He did say he was done with my services, but that's not how this works. I own him. So return him to me and I'll let you have your little family. How about that?"

"I don't think you understand who you're dealing with," I growled again.

Sam looked up now, 'We're surrounded' he mouthed to me.

"And they cut the power. Generators are running." Dean added as he came back from the basement.

I nodded as the alarm fell silent around us and the lights ceased blinking. Dean must have turned the warning off as well. Good, it was getting annoying.

"There will be more to come if you do not return my pet to me. And if you do make it out of this, darling, I do hope to speak to you again." The line went dead after that.

I sighed. "Normal 'Give me my toy back or you all die' bullshit. So let's get this over with." I cracked my neck and handed Sam my phone. "He'll call again. When he does, can you track it?"

"We'll worry about it later." Sam nodded. "They got in through the garage."

As if to announce themselves, there was a banging noise that came from the metal door that led out to the garage. A dent appeared in it. My eyebrows furrowed, what were they using to push in the door? It was solid steel.

I took a step towards it, but Ketch' hand caught my shoulder and held me still. I looked back at him, but his eyes were on the door as another loud bang sounded through the room. The door whined as it caved a little more. His grip tightened, turning protective.

A final loud clang had the door bending almost in half in the middle, groaning as it split from several of the hinges. A few, small, silver canisters were thrown into the room then, clinking off the floor. Ketch dragged me down to the floor in the same instant, immediately recognizing the flash bangs for what they were.

"Get down!" His warning was barely ahead of the explosions.

He covered my body with his as the things went off, sending shockwaves similar to that of a large firecracker through the air and making my ears ring. I was mostly shielded from the blinding white light that followed after them. It filled the room, radiating off of everything as if the sun itself had been let into the room. There was no room for a single shadow to hide as the flash bangs kept coming. And even with Ketch' arms around me to keep me from most of the blows, I could still feel every one of them in my gut.

I coughed once they were over, trying to breathe through the smoke left behind as it obscured my view of the room. The light danced in front of my eyes, bright and patchy as my ears continued to ring. I barely made out the shuffling sound of shoes across the floor before Ketch' weight above me was ripped away.

I tried to spin on them, tried to see through the dancing white lights, and could only make out enough of the room to know that the hands that reached for me now, weren't friendly. I fought against them as they grabbed for me, but this pair was stronger than me, and there was more of them. There was another pair that took hold of my ankles as the first grabbed at my wrists. I tried to kick them away, but that had no effect on them and I was lifted like a rag doll.

I struggled against their hold, fighting to gain some sort of hold on the dark power that lurked low under my skin, but it felt so far away now. It was like it had started to go dormant, only enough to keep me semi-immortal. But then I hit the ground hard, and there was a muffled scream that sounded above the ringing in my ears. I tried to squint through my temporarily blinded eyes as more screams sounded, and more bodies hit the floor.

And when it was over, and my vision had started to return, I could make out only three other bodies crumpled on the ground like I was, but alive. But the rest, were all still and lifeless. I winced as another bright light filled my vision, though I knew this one now. It was one I was all too familiar with.

"Everything's alright now," Cael said, close to my ear, his voice clear. "I've taken care of them."

I blinked a few more times before the picture of the room was clear again, taking in the bodies of our attackers. There looked to be twelve of them, just as Ernest had said there would be. And Cael had made quick work of all of them. 

His hands took hold of my arm, almost ironically like he had when he'd pulled me from hell, and hulled me to my feet. My eyes met his, there was still a blue glow to them.

"Are you alright?" Ally's voice startled me from behind. I turned to her, seeing her eyes dart low to my stomach before going quickly back up to my face. 

I nodded and licked my lips before looking around the room. Each man was wearing black clothing, guns, and other weapons attached to them in several spots. They were prepared to take us with them. Though not prepared enough for an angel. They must have counted on him being out.

My attention caught as Dean stood up to my right, wincing as he put pressure on his left leg. He had some bruised and bleeding knuckles, and some of his fingers seemed to be swollen. That seemed pretty on par for him. I focused behind him as Sam sat up beyond Dean, using the back of his hand to wipe blood from his split lip. One of his eyes looked like it was going to turn black and there was another cut above his eyebrow. I turned back the other way, finding Ketch already on his feet as well, his nose was bleeding and it looked as though they had tried to drag him out by his hair. It was out of the usual slicked-back style he wore, and now was dishevled and in his eyes.

Cael released his hold on my arm once he seemed to think I wasn't going to fall over again and took a step toward Ketch. He placed a gentle finger on his forehead and I watched as a beautiful blue glow filled his eyes as he healed. I heard Ally talking to Sam as she went to heal him, then Dean. We were all ok.

"You know you're not supposed to be using your grace." I scolded Ally. "Stop being so irresponsible. I told you not to leave that room."

"You're welcome." Ally rolled her eyes, her arms folding over her chest. "I called him. And only came out when I didn't hear anything anymore."

"Alex!" Elly's worried voice came from the space behind the damaged door.

I watched as her head poked around the broken door before she pushed it open the rest of the way, all of us wincing as it screeched open. But then she was there, her hands smooth and caring against my face as she looked me over quickly. I nodded and my eyes shifted to behind her as she left me to see her daughter. Lucifer stood in the doorway, studying the bodies.

"Are you ok?" I heard Elly ask Ally.

"I'm fine Mom," Ally said.

"You're all alright?" Elly asked, looking around the room at us before resting on me again.

"We're ok," I assured. This would be a fight to have with Ally later. There wasn't time for them to know yet, not when we still didn't know how to fix it. If we could fix it. 

"I promise I'm ok, Mom," Ally said as Elly fused over her more.

"She's a hell of a kid," Ketch said, loosening the tie around his neck. "Not sure what we would've done if she hadn't called for Cael."

I could see the look of dislike in Lucifer's eyes from here, but the devil said nothing. He was handling this better than I thought he would.

"I'll help fix the door." Lucifer offered. "Sorry to break it."

"It was already pretty broken." Dean sighed,

"But we appreciate it," Sam added, groaning as he got from the floor.

"Let's get this cleaned up," Elly suggested. She kissed her daughter's forehead before walking away from her. "Then we can start dinner."

"That's a pretty fucked up sentence." Ally laughed a little, stopping when Elly shot her a warning look.

We all began to work after that, dragging bodies from the room and down into the basement where the incinerator was. Light chatter filled the room as we worked, though Elly seemed to be oddly quiet now. I stood beside her as she tried to grab a body, but was brushed off as Lucifer took it instead, smiling kindly at her as if to say she doesn't need to do anything.

"You alright?" I whispered to her.

Elly took a deep breath before nodding. "Just a lot of emotions. I feel guilty for not telling her sooner. But then I also feel like a horrible mother for turning her into a murderer."

"I wouldn't count killing monsters as a murderer," I commented.

"She's not going to want to give up hunting once we get back. I know her too well." Elly sighed. "This was never the life I wanted for her."

"That's just how it works though, isn't it? Sam, Dean, Joe, Claire, you, me…this life was never what any of us wanted. But it's who we are. We can't change that." I folded my arms over my chest and shrugged. "She's strong though. You should be proud of her."

"I am proud of her. I just…she deserves more than sleazy motels, fast food, one-night stands, and death." Elly sighed again. "She deserves a good education, a good job, and a partner and family."

"Partner, huh?" I teased, elbowing her lightly.

"As long as she's happy, I'm happy." That was the answer I got. "And it's not like I have any room to talk. You know Charlie and I went out once or twice. And there might have been a few sleepovers that were more than just sleepovers. And some threesomes here and there."

"Oh really?" I asked sarcastically, though I was a tad shocked. Elly shrugged at me and shot me a smile. We both started to laugh and I pulled her into a hug. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime. Because I distinctly remember you being a virgin until Sin City."

"I'm going to get dinner started. Everyone should be back tonight, right?" I smirked but nodded as she dodged the conversation. She stepped back from me and headed for the kitchen. "Dean, how do you feel about grilling out?"

Dean followed her to the kitchen, grinning the whole way. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked and talked together. I smiled lightly, letting the expression fall again as Lucifer came back into the room. He looked into the kitchen as he passed it, and sighed, but said nothing.

"You're being awfully good, lover boy," I commented.

He rolled his eyes. "She wouldn't do anything like that to me. But that doesn't stop me from being jealous." Lucifer grabbed the last body under the arms and started to pull it away as if it weighed nothing. The man's head lolled to the side, showing off his burned-out eyes. "She's the only human I've ever loved and the only one who will probably ever love me."

Yup. That made my chest feel right again.

"We're eating outside tonight," Dean announced as he poked his head out of the kitchen. "Sam and I have to figure out how the power was cut so the generators can be shut off. So until then, everyone out!"

It was so surreal, like something you only saw in a cheesy wholesome family movie where they got the happy ending every time. Something I couldn't ever remember having, even when it was just Dad and I. He hadn't cooked much, and Mary couldn't cook at all. But those memories, the ones of him standing over the stove trying not to burn anything, or making smores over a fire in the backyard as he told stories, they made me smile now as I looked out over my new family. 

Dean had no choice but to learn how to cook to take care of Sam. And he stood at the grill now, cooking away like this was just another family gathering. Cas stood beside him, handing Dean whatever he asked for. Sam and Elly were sitting at the small plastic folding table we'd found, deep in conversation over one of Sam's law books. It seemed like she was trying to help him find some loophole for a case he was working on. Lucifer, Ally, and Jack were a bit further down, a football being passed between them, smiles across all their faces. Though it did look like Ally and Lucifer were trying to teach Jack how to catch and throw, more than it was just a fun thing to do. Sports had never mixed well with Jack, and it was a little funny to watch him attempt to throw it back to Lucifer or Ally when the two of them clearly had more experience.

"How are you feeling, love?" Ketch asked as he came up behind me. He slid a cold can of pop into one of my hands, holding a clear glass of scotch in the other. 

"Jealous that I can't drink that," I said, frowning as he lifted the glass to his lips, smirking. I opened the can with a 'Siiii-pop!'

Ketch snaked his arm around my waist. "I can stop drinking if you want…"

"You're fine, Ketch." I smiled at him.

"Good, I didn't really want to." He pulled me closer as I laughed a little. "Have you told them yet?"

I shook my head as I took a sip, "No. But if neither of them have noticed yet, then they're not as smart as I think they are."

"Are you going to tell Mary?" That was a question I hadn't thought about much.

"That I'm pregnant and the father is the man who tried to kill her and my brothers? Oh, and it's going to be whatever a Cambion is?" I snorted and took another drink. "Not a chance in Hell. She can meet them whenever she decides we're family enough to reach out first."

Ketch took another sip, thoughtful for a moment. "And have you thought any more about what comes after?"

I paused for a moment, looking for an answer to the question I knew he was asking. I had never felt like there was a point to anything official, but now that we have the possibility of a normal life, maybe I should think about it.

"I haven't had much time to look at flowy white dresses if that's what you're after." I settled on.

Ketch chuckled. "There's no reason for anything big, love."

At least he knew that much about me. I hated weddings, even being invited to them. All of it just seemed so stuffy and cramped. The invitations, decorations, colors…why the fuck did you need specific colors? And the dresses above all else.

"I don't even remember the last time I wore a dress." I looked down at the grass. "It was probably when I was five or something." I wondered briefly if there were any old pictures in the boxes I'd managed to save from the old house.

"You don't have to wear one. You don't have to wear anything if you don't want to."

I elbowed him in the side playfully but laughed. "Shut up."

Ketch kissed the top of my head softly, a rumble of a laugh deep in his chest. "That is not a football." He commented as he looked back towards everyone else. "I don't understand the sport you Americans insist is football, but it is not that."

I smiled a little. "Homesick?"

He shrugged. "I am sometimes. But I would never think of leaving you behind."

I smiled softly. "I haven't heard from Cael since he left again. Have you?" He had left shortly after the clean-up was done, saying he had a decent lead on the book and hadn't wanted to lose it.

Ketch shook his head, his hair still loose from the earlier scuffle. He was cute like this, and I was glad he hadn't fixed it up again. "I haven't. You know, you and I can always go looking for it too. We can start with Bishop's grave and work back from there. Maybe call Rowena in for a tracking spell."

"I've already asked her for too much. I can't ask her to do more." I sighed. "But we can go look at the grave. That's a good idea. Do you want to leave tomorrow?"

"You sure you don't want more rest?" 

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine. I am pregnant not…"

"I didn't mean to rest because of that. I meant you'll want to rest after I'm done with you tonight." He winked at me.

I opened my mouth to retort when Dean called out, "Dinner's ready!"

I narrowed my eyes at Ketch as he continued to smirk at me before pulling from his grip, snaking my hand together with his before walking over to where the others now gathered.

The smile returned to my face as I watched Lucifer ruffle Jack's hair. They were such a mismatched family, so fucked up in some places, but held together by sheer will in others. And they all seemed so happy. They were almost the ideal family. It even looked like Elly was starting to get to know Jack better. I could only imagine Kelly would be overjoyed to know her son was being taken care of so well by so many who loved him.

I sat beside Elly, who was still in deep conversation with Sam about some insanity plea. Something about how there was no premeditation if the guy had been under a witch's hex. But Sam made a point about how he could prove that without spilling that the supernatural was real, and the pair fell silent again as they continued to look over the book. A soft wind blew across the table then, pulling our gazes up as wing beats came with it.

"Cael." Ally greeted warmly, scooting over to make room for the angel.

I looked over the worn-out angel. He was breathing heavily, his clothes looking wind-blown and disheveled, almost like he had been running from something.

"I haven't found it yet." He explained with a huff. He leaned down, steadying himself with his hands on his knees as he breathed. Whatever happened must have been a lot, it was easy to tire out an angel.

"That's fine," I said softly. "We'll worry about it later. Thank you for trying to help. Come join us for now."

Cael looked apprehensive at first, but his gaze softened as it fell over Ally. He had never understood what it was like to have a proper family, seeing as angels usually followed the motto of throwing each other to the wolves at the first sign of emotion, but I hoped he was getting used to being part of ours. I could remember how hard it was when I had moved in with Sam, Dean, and John.

We were all silent as Cael stood in the space Ally had created for him for a moment. But conversation slowly began to pick up again as he finally settled on sitting next to her.

"You look tired," I said across the table, cutting into a piece of steak as Dean handed me a plate. I closed my eyes briefly as the taste of it hit my tongue. I had forgotten how good this could be.

"You don't eat," Cael muttered softly. "Why are you eating?"

"To fit in." I shrugged. I knew he would see the lie as clear as day, but I could explain it to him when there weren't so many people around who didn't know yet. 

"Others are looking for the book." He continued, pushing past the last topic.

I nodded. I figured there would be others. "How many others?"

"Let's keep it a surprise." The angel said.

"So you don't know."

"No, I don't know."

"Ketch and I are going on a hunt. We should be back in a few days." I announced over breakfast the next day.

Everyone muttered words of agreement or acknowledgment. I reached over Dean's shoulder and grabbed a piece of toast from his plate, He swatted at my hand, but I still pulled away victorious.

"He's waiting for me in the car. I'll call when we get there." I crunched on the toast as I adjusted the pack on my shoulders. I started towards the map room and the stairs but stopped when I heard footsteps following me. I turned to find Elly. "We won't be gone long. It's not even a real hunt. We're just looking for something to help with the book." I explained through another mouthful of crisp bread.

"That's not it." Elly muttered softly. She took my arm then and pulled me behind the staircase, out of view. "I…I…" She trailed off.

"Elly, you can tag along if you want to. I'm sure Ketch wouldn't mind…"

"It's not that." She picked at her nails, looking only at her hands now.

I looked over her curiously. She hadn't been this nervous since she had first come to this world. Almost six years ago. It took me looking over her twice before I noticed what was different about her. And there it was. Something so glaringly new, yet so right it felt like it had been there all along. It was a thin, gold band that held several small diamonds shaped into stars. It was simple, and beautiful, just like her. 

"About damn time." I smiled, pulling her into a quick hug. "How did he do it? Was it cute? You gotta tell me now. It had to have been better than my panic attack shower proposal."

"I did tell you that the only way he would marry me is if the world was ending right? Is it ending?" Elly questioned, her unjeweled hand running through her hair.

I laughed a little, thinking over the memory of when we'd had that conversation. We had been in her bedroom, heads hanging off the edge of the bed so the world was as upside down as everything else. "I'm glad you didn't dye your hair. I'm not sure you could pull off anything else."

Elly laughed at the memory. "Ya, I did try red for a bit. But Luci was less than impressed."

"Why are you so nervous about this?" I asked.

"I just never imagined that it would happen." She shook her head. "It was cute, I guess. I've never really pictured the way I would be proposed to outside of middle school."

"How did he do it?" I asked again, smirking as her cheeks grew pink.

"You don't want to know." She answered softly, turning her face from me.

I gently pulled it back to me. "I do now. What did he do?"

"Well…" Elly licked her lips and shrugged. "After you all went inside, we stayed out, right?"

"Ya." I nodded, trying not to laugh as her face and neck grew more blushed.

"Well, he had set up like this…for thing. A blanket and some pillows. Some candles and a few drinks. And…and…umm…" She smiled, lost in thought. "He made a meteor shower for me."

I was blown away. "I didn't know he could still do that."

"Neither did I." Her eyes shown with the fascination of it. "But he did, and then he pulled out the ring and we might have done it in your backyard."

I snorted a laugh, the smile starting to hurt my cheeks. "That sounds like a good night, Elly. Not gonna lie, I'm a bit jealous though. Ketch isn't as romantic as that."

"You wouldn't know what to do if Ketch did do something like that." She pointed out.

I tipped my head to the side. "I suppose that's true." I hugged her again. "I'm happy for you Elly."

"I want you to marry us."

My smile fell away and I pushed her back. "You want me…'me'…to marry you?" I asked in absolute shock. Why me? Lucifer didn't even like me most of the time. We were like a bad explosion waiting to happen. He was the match to my gasoline. "I'm sure someone else would be better."

"Nope," Elly said. She had already made up her mind. "I want it to be you. And you can do one of the stupid online certificate things. But you also have to help me with everything."

I suddenly felt like I was drowning. What the fuck did that entail? "Everything else?"

"I mean. It doesn't have to be anything super fancy, but I would like to have a dress and tuxedoes and maybe a few flowers here and there, but that's it. And I want everyone to be here. Jody and Donna too. Just a fun, all-around hunter wedding." Elly paused and seemed to be thinking over everything she had just said. "Ok maybe not everyone. I have no idea what they would all do when they find out I'm marrying the literal devil."

That brought a smile back to my face. "Anything for you, hun. Just leave it to me and Ally. We'll have some ramshackle thing pulled together before you know it. It won't be the prettiest, but we can get plastered after so no one will remember how bad it may look."

Elly smacked my shoulder playfully. "Thank you, Alex. I love you."

"I love you too." I pulled her into one last hug. I cleared my throat when we released each other and rubbed at the back of my neck. "Can you do me a favor while I'm gone?"

"Of course."

"Keep the whole baby thing hidden from anyone who doesn't know," I said, my turn to have a blush. "I would be shocked if at least Sam doesn't already suspect something, but they haven't mentioned anything yet and I want to keep it that way until I absolutely can't anymore."

"My lips are sealed," Elly said, though her grin was wide on her face.

"Right. I'll be back in a few days and then we can start looking at things." I said before I walked from under the stairs and finally up them.

I wasn't even sure how the hell I was supposed to help plan a wedding. How was I supposed to conduct it? I didn't want it to be something that looked like a cliche, but those were the only ones I had ever seen. I had usually only made it to the hunter parties that followed, and mostly just for the free food and drinks.

"You look happy and scared all at once," Ketch said as I slid into the passenger seat.

I tossed my bag into the back seat. "Elly is finally going to marry the dickhead." I announced.

"That sounds fantastic," Ketch said as he started the car. "Why would that scare you?"

"She wants me to officiate it." 

Ketch laughed loudly as we pulled out of the garage.