Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty - The Messengers of God's Destruction

In the library, Eden was introduced to a short, grey-haired Caucasian woman named Merle; the Reaper.
She instructed the boys on how to do the warding spell, with Dean and Cas gathering the ingredients and Sam performing the chant. As soon as he was finished, white light protruded from the copper bowl the ingredients were in, along with a whispy white smoke. Everyone looked around to the walls as blue, glowing symbols lit up one by one.
Meanwhile, Merle had disappeared to go and fetch something. She returned with a large stone slab, with two symbols carved into it.
She placed it down on the library table as Sam, Dean, Jody, Willow and Dark Kaia prepared to leave.
"Hey." Jody smiled as Cas approached her. "Thanks for staying. Keeping an eye on the Reaper."
"Yeah." Cas replied. "I just want to make sure that the portal is safe, but more importantly, Jack, Eden and the baby are too. But, uh... Jody, I'd like to ask you to stay, as well."
Jody had been packing things into her duffel as he spoke, but stopped when she heard the request.
"What is that? Some kind of B.S male chivalry thing?" She narrowed her eyes, putting a hand on her hip.
"No. No, it's not." Cas sighed. "Jody, it's... Well, you know, I was never able to make things right with Claire... What I took from her, I mean... I'm never gunna be able to make that right. But, you and Claire found each other and she has you now. If something goes wrong with this rescue and Kaia isn't saved, Claire will be devastated, but she'll survive. She already has. But, if she loses you both..."
Jody saw what he was getting at.
"That'd kill her..." She uttered, looking down at the floor.
"Yeah..."
She looked to Cas with a small smile and a nod.
"Thank you." He said.
"Eden." Merle called as she walked into the room. "Ready when you are."
Eden nodded and approached Sam.
"Be safe, alright?" She told him, taking his hand as she looked over to Willow, who was slinging a backpack over her shoulder. "And look after our girl, alright?"
"I will. I promise." He replied softly, leaning down to kiss her. "I love you."
"I love you too." The Dark Angel nodded, stepping back towards the Reaper.
The group gathered around the table as Merle gave Eden a warning look.
"Now, you better hope that your power works the same as an Archangel's, because if it doesn't, I'm gunna have to use Castiel and I don't think he's got the juice to hide Jack's magic."
Eden nodded, taking a deep breath as the Reaper placed her hand on top of one of the symbols on the slab, nodding to the Dark Angel to do the same.
Under Merle's touch, the slab glowed an orange hue that was soon clouded over by the thick, black smoke of Eden's power. The symbols marking the walls of the Bunker glowed the same orange, with veins of black running through them before they quickly faded again.
"Alright, Jack. You're up." Dean nodded.
Jack outstretched his arm towards the archway between the library and the War room. His eyes turned their golden colour and the group watched as a rift opened up before them.
Kaia was the first to move towards it, looking back at the Winchesters before she stepped in. Sam was next, shortly followed by Willow and Dean.

Later on, Jody was pacing by the portal, panting with frustration.
"Jody, please... You're making me feel sick." Eden groaned.
"Sorry... They've just been gone for so long." The woman uttered, moving to the opposite side of the table to her. "Apart from that, how are you feeling?"
"Drained. But I can manage until they get back." She replied, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"We only need to keep this up until Jack can close the rift." Merle told her, earning a nod.
"And what if they don't get back?" Cas spoke up from behind them.
Merle looked between him, a curious looking Jack, an anticipating Jody and an exhausted Eden.
"Then... Jack's got to close the rift before Eden dies." 
"You said this was safe for her!" Jack raised his voice with a frown, walking over to his adopted mother to put his hands reassuringly on her upper arms from behind.
"It is." Merle shrugged. "Unless the Winchesters and your Vampire child take too long."
"That wasn't part of the deal." Cas growled, also stepping forward.
"But it's the best you got." The Reaper countered.

Thankfully less than an hour later, Sam, Dean, Willow and Kaia stumbled through the rift.
Eden was kneeling down on the floor. Her arm was raised to the table so that her hand was still on the slab, but she was incredibly weak. She was taking heavy breaths, struggling to keep her eyes open. Cas and Jack were kneeling next to her, each with a comforting hand on her arms, whispering words of encouragement to her.
"Kaia..." Jody opened her arms, moving straight over to hug the girl.
Jack stood up, closing the rift behind them.
"You can take your hand off now." Merle told the Dark Angel.
Eden's hand slipped off the slab and fell limp into her lap.
"Eden?" Dean frowned, arching his back to see her under the table.
Castiel gently laid her on her back on the floor as the brothers came to her aid.
"What happened?" Sam demanded, a face of rage staring up at the Reaper.
"She didn't tell us everything." Jack replied. "Eden's life was being drained every second her hand was on that rock."
Eden, who was now unconscious on the floor, looked grey. Her black make-up smeared eyes were sunken in and her unpainted lips were a faint shade of blue.
"What the Hell!" Dean yelled to Merle, who shrugged carelessly.
"What did you expect? We're battling God power, here."
"She's freakin' pregnant. You didn't think this spell draining her existence away wasn't an important thing to mention before we left?" The older brother grew more and more furious, his fists tightening around the shotgun he had.
"You got the girl back. Eden and the Dark Nephilim aren't dead. I'd call that a win. Get over it, cowboy." Merle retorted. "She'll be fine after some rest."