TW: Pregnancy loss in a gruesome way. If this subject is triggering, you should skip this chapter!

September 23, 2002

Phoenix, Arizona

Scarlett sipped on the coffee that occupied her mug and watched the sun that had begun to filter through the blinds of the quaint kitchen of the flat.

Footsteps treaded from the bedroom and immediately captured her attention. A warm smile spread across her face as Dean joined her. "Good morning," she greeted him. She pushed off of the counter she'd been leaning on and met him halfway.

"It is now," he grinned, pulling her into a kiss. He only pulled away to place his hand on her slowly expanding belly. "How are my girls?" He referred to Scarlett and their unborn daughter.

"Hungry," Scarlett admitted. She started to lean in again, but she there was a look on his face that she knew all too well. "You're going on a hunt, aren't you," she frowned.

Dean mirrored her expression. "Tiny vamp nest. Dad's coming with—I'll be in and out in twenty minutes, tops."

"Why can't I just sit in the car," she whined. Truthfully, she missed hunting. She wasn't crazy enough to hunt while she was as pregnant as she was, but that didn't make the craving to gank something diminish.

Dean walked past her and over to the cupboard to find something to cook for breakfast. "It's too dangerous, SJ. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you, or the baby." He cleared his through, shaking the image out of his head. "I don't even want to think about it."

Scarlett walked behind him and snaked her arms around his torso. "I know. I'm sorry," she murmured. "Promise me you'll be safe?"

"Always."

Scarlett helped him get his weapons ready for the hunt. There was a sinking feeling in her gut that she forced down. It never got easier watching him go on a hunt alone.

John showed up just as they finished getting his things together. "How you feeling, Scar?" He greeted her with one of his few and far between smiles.

"I'm making it," she chuckled dryly. There was something gnawing at her, but she couldn't figure out what it was. "Please make sure your son makes it home in one piece." Her tone was as serious as it could be.

Dean planted a kiss on her cheek, before crouching to plant one on her belly. "I'll see you in a few hours," he promised her. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She forced a weak smile.

The door closed behind the Winchester men and Scarlett stood there staring for what felt like ages. Finally, she pushed down whatever inhibitions trying to surface and sat on the couch. In an attempt to focus on anything other than Dean being gone, she turned a movie on and kept her mind channeled in on it. The thing that bothered her most is that she'd never had that feelings she was having then.

The distraction played its part so well, that the pit in her stomach was starting to diminish. So much so, that the movie was nearly over and she hadn't realized. That was, until she heard some rattling in the bedroom that was set to be the nursery.

The sinking feeling was back. "Dean?" She called into the void, as she pushed her blanket off of her legs. There was no answer. Her phone rang from the coffee table, nearly making her jump out of her skin. Her heart sank when it was Dean's contact. "Hello?" She answered, keeping her eyes planted in the direction of the room.

"Sorry it took so long, nest was a lot bigger than expected. One got away, so we've been trying to find him."

Scarlett swallowed the lump in her throat, as she inched towards the room. "Any luck?" Her voice quaked slightly.

"Are you okay? Why are you talking so quiet?"

"Did you find the damn vamp, Dean?"

"No...Scar, what's wrong?" Scarlett didn't answer, as she made a detour into the kitchen to grab the sharpest knife she could find. "Scarlett."

"I think someone is here," she said softly. "Or something."

There was some rustling on the other end of the phone, accompanied by indistinguishable urgent speaking. Dean came back to the phone. "We're five minutes away. I need you to hide. Don't be a hero. Don't try to fight this thing. Just wait until I get there. Please."

Scarlett ended the call and set her phone on the counter. The room was quiet, so maybe it was just noise from their upstairs neighbor. She heard Dean's voice yelling in the back of her head repeatedly, as she slowly continued on her investigation. When she stepped into the room, it was empty, aside from the crib and the array of stuffed animals Dean had acquired. One of them was faced down on the floor, which Scarlett assumed to be the noise she'd heard.

She relaxed her defensive stature, as she turned to walk out of the room, but just as quickly as she did so, she was pinned against the wall with the breath knocked out of her. The knife pinged against the wooden floor as it flew from her grip.

Reflexes took over, though, as she slid her leg under the intruder's, sending him slamming into the floor. Only when he bared his teeth, was he identified as the vampire that Dean had been referring to.

She turned to pick up the knife, but he was too quick on his recovery. Still on the ground, he gripped her ankle and made her fall short of the knife. She kicked him in the face, making him retaliate, mildly. By nothing short of a miracle, she managed to grip the knife. "Why are you here." Her tone was more a command than a question.

Then, something happened that she never expected. The vampire began to...cry. "He took my family," he choked out. "I have nothing. Kill me. Please."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, but before she could open her mouth, the door swung open and John and Dean were standing there. The vampire bared his teeth in the same fashion as before, as he gripped the knife that the unsuspecting Scarlett had been holding and plunged it into her abdomen.

"No!" Dean yelled, but Scarlett could barely hear him. The sound of glass shattering next to her, as well as blood pulsing through her ears made nearly everything else inaudible.

Reflexively, she removed the knife and dropped it to the floor. She would be lying if she said she could feel it. She looked up at Dean, who was frozen in horror, and tears started to pool in her eyes. Her knees buckled below her as the dizziness started to kick in.

It wasn't Dean that picked her up from the ground, but instead, John. "Dean, get it together!" He yelled. "She needs you!" Again, she could hardly hear. Her throat grew hot and she could feel her throat beginning to fill with blood.

She wanted to cry, or scream. Something inside of her was screaming. She was dying. She managed to raise her hand just high enough to look at the sticky red substance that covered them, but that was the last thing she remembered before the darkness took over.

When she woke next, there was harsh beeping that filled her ears. She blinked her eyes rapidly, adjusting to the light that was shining in the corner. Dean was staring off into the distance, not aware she'd woken. He looked like he hadn't slept, and Scarlett could just barely make out the red rim around his eyes.

"Dean?" Her voice cracked. It sounded foreign, coming out of her mouth.

His head snapped her way. He wore a blended look of regret and relief. "Let me get the doctor," was all he could muster out, before he left the room.

Moments later, he returned with a salt and pepper haired man wearing a lab coat. "Miss Rivers, great to see you awake," he smiled gently. He was wearing a similar look of regret.

"How is she?" Scarlett choked out, fearful of the answer. The doctor looked between the couple, tapping the back of the clipboard.

"I'm very sorry—,"

"No!" She cut him off, sitting up straight. Her eyes darted between the men wildly. "No!" She screeched again. "You're lying. You're lying, dammit!" Dean sat on the edge of the bed and gripped her tight. "He's lying, p-p-please tell me he's lying!" She was sobbing uncontrollably.

Dean looked down to her incision site, before his eyes darted back to the doctor. "Sh-she's bleeding." He looked back at Scarlett, unable to restrain the tears that fell from his eyes. "SJ, sweetheart, y-you've got to calm down." His plea came to no avail, as she continued to sob.

A nurse came in and pushed something into Scarlett's IV that made her sobbing slow to a halt, as the darkness overtook her.

When they returned to the apartment, Scarlett went directly into their bedroom, leaving Dean standing in the living room, alone. She stared up at the ceiling, unable to cry, or scream, despite the emotions that stirred within her. She was prescribed pain medication, sleep-aides, anti-depressants and anti-anxieties. What a joke. She thought to herself. She was numb. She felt, relatively, nothing. She supposed she had the pain medication to thank for that one.

Just as the sleep aid began to kick in, she could just barely hear Dean's shuffling amidst the room, but she didn't think much of it. He kissed her forehead and she dozed off to sleep.

When she woke up, the numb feeling was still thudding, but emotions were beginning to well inside of her. She noticed Dean's side of the bed was empty, causing her to frown. Perhaps he needed a sleep aid, too.

She threw her legs over the bed, wincing in pain as she put her weight on them, feeling all of the rawness of it. Slowly, she managed to make her way into the kitchen, where she expected to find Dean. She didn't. She wandered further into the apartment, still not finding him. Against her better judgment, she went into the bedroom that held the events from the night before. It was empty. The blood had been cleaned and the window replaced. When that happened was beyond her. However, that caught the least of her attention. The room that had once been littered with stuffed animals, and girl clothes and a crib, was completely gutted. Nothing left in sight. It made it all much more real.

Dean's absence didn't raise much suspicion, until he was gone for the night, then the days following, then the weeks, then the month.

It was surreal to Scarlett, that she was meeting her potential new roommate. It was even more so, that she ever had to submit an advert in the first place, but she couldn't afford it on her own.

A knock came in the door and Scarlett jumped a bit. In her heart, she hoped it was Dean, but a much bigger piece of her knew he was never coming back.

When she opened the door, a bright-eyed brunette woman with a flashing white grin was standing there. "Hi, I'm Emily, it's so great to meet you."