Hello Son

There he was. Looking a little worse for ware but Sam was alive. Mary and Cas thanked God in their heads and their mouths hung sightly open in disbelief. Jack hadn't even passed the first stage of grief when seeing Sam standing there blasted the rest away. There was no need to accept this death because, like Lazarus from the tomb there he was, alive. Gabriel didn't know what to say and he couldn't believe how wonderful relief could feel.

But Dean, Dean blinked his sweat and tear filled eyes. Maybe he was more dehydrated than he thought. His little brother was standing there. Dry blood stained his neck and he looked like he could use a three day nap. Dean took a half a step and mumbled.

"Sammy?" No one heard him, it was barely audible.

Lucifer sauntered around the corner making his appearance and spoke the words he had been dreaming of. "Hello, son."

It was obvious by the look on Sam's guilty face that Lucifer had been the one to bring back Sam from the land of the dead but per their contract Sam was then forced to explain.

"Well, go ahead Sammy! Tell 'em! Tell 'em how I saved the day and dragged you back up, saved you from the horde and brought you to safety." Lucy gruffly placed an arm around Sam that made him flinch a little.

"YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Dean finally snapped out of it. This was real.

Simultaneously, Jack yelled too. "Stop it!!"

"Whaaat?" Lucifer teased. "Why would I hurt Sam? I just brought him back from the dead! Calm down! You can trust me! I'm your bro now!"

"SHUT UP!" Jack yelled even louder. With true anger in his voice. He glanced to Cas and Gabe who understood right away what he was thinking.

"Son, I just wanna talk." Lucifer tried to explain. "It's not like you or anyone else here can actually do anything about me. None of you are strong enough!"

"Not alone we're not." Cas replied confidently and placed a strong supporting hand upon Jack's shoulder. Gabe stood on his nephew's other side and laid a hand on his shoulder too. The three pairs of angelic eyes glowed fiercely. Than Jack raised his hand that was teeming with energy and pointed it directly at his biological father.

Jack took a deep breath and spoke. "You think that one good deed can erase all your sins? If you truly sought forgiveness then maybe, but you brought Sam back for your is selfish needs. You are nothing but an egotistical, lazy and a completely malicious waste of space that all the worlds in the cosmos could do without."

Lucifer replied. "Okay, okay I get it. Not a fan of your old pop. These guys have been filling you in and poisoned you against me. Even your mother was-"

"SHUT UP!" Jack screamed and his hand glowed brighter. "Get away from Sam!" He ordered.

"Jack, son…"

"NOW!" He demanded again and his voice was barely his own.

"Okay, alright. No problem." He let go and took a few steps sideways away from the Winchester. Sam too, stepped away. Still no time for a reunion though.

Before Lucifer could speak another single lie Jack finally was able to do what he had wanted since his birth. Doing this for his mother was more than enough reason but now he was doing it for all of humanity that Dean and Sam showed him how to love and care for. Jack squinted his glowing eyes and began his work with the help of his uncles' grace. The ground around Lucifer began to shake and crack. Particles from the ground started to raise and like magnets stuck themselves to the devil. The cracks became deeper and the heat of red hot lava threatened to come up to the surface. Pieces of red hot stone and chunks metal began to magnetically apply themselves to Lucifer. Each one landing a decisive blow. Soon his feet were bound to the ground. While more and more Earth and lava covered him he screamed out his son's name. He begged for him to stop but Jack's rage wasn't going to falter for a single moment. As the molten material cooled from the ground up Enochian signs and symbols covered the rock seemingly carved. Then the last of the molten material covered up Lucifer's face stopping him mid scream. At that Jack lowered his hand and the three were able to relax and they smiled together.

"Well done, Jack." Cas looked at his nephew. "I couldn't be more proud."

"Good job, kiddo!" Gabe slapped him on the back.

Then the focus was on a beautiful family reunion.

"Dean? Mom?" Sam started walking to them.

"Sam…" Dean dropped his bag and ran falling straight into his brother's arms and strongly gripped him tight. Mary came next and Sam brought her into the hug, kissing her in her head through her hair. Next, Jack and Cas jogged over and they were quickly pulled into the embrace too. Dean was crying and it was obvious to everyone around them. Dean's knees gave way and since he was in the middle of the bunch everyone felt him lose his balance. In a matter of seconds they were all kneeling alongside one another letting tears of happiness run down there smiling faces. Dean started laughing and everyone beamed wordless smiles at one another.

"I don't deserve this." Dean said through tears and laughter.

"What, honey?" Mary asked.

"Yes we do, Dean." Sam understood.

Then Cas spoke with meaning. "This family, more than anyone else, deserves this happiness. We've all given so much to so many and you especially Dean," they made eye contact with each other. "...you deserve to be surrounded by the ones you love."

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" Dean smiled so widely and they all reciprocated.

Jack spoke up. "I...I love you all so much." He started to choke-up and cry a little harder but then his eyes closed slowly and his limp body feel forward into Mary's lap.

"Jack!" Cas called out before he felt the weight of his own unconsciousness bearing down on him as well. He tipped over but Dean caught him and took him into his arms.

"Cas!" Dean's face wasn't smiling anymore.

"It's alright fellas!" Gabe spoke from his place a few yards away from the family reunion. "They're just beat from taking down Lucifer. No worries! Even I'm kinda sleepy…" His words trailed off and he face planted into the ground.

"Gabriel!" Sam yelled and quickly ran over to the fallen archangel turning him into his back and brushing the dried leaves off his face and hair.

"We better get them inside." Mary spoke calmly and the two worried boys looked up from their angels and agreed silently.

Dean lifted Cas up no problem picking up his legs into his crook of one arm and cradling his head against his chest with the other. Mary lifted up Jack's arm over her head and her other hand around his thin waist. Sam simply bought one of Gabriel's arms across his wide shoulders and pulled him into his back. Gabe's arms fell limp over Sam's chest and Sam leaned forward to keep him from falling off his broad back. They were led through the camp and stared at by grateful survivors. There were small huts all around the encampment. Some half dug into the ground and covered with foliage. Others used a still growing tree as the central support like that of teepee. If they looked up they would have noticed the tree houses and hanging ladders in the treetops. Pots of stew, made of game and what little vegetation they could grow or gather, were hung atop small fires waiting to be shared. Rain collectors scattered the area. The people huddled together not only for comfort but for hope as they watched their saviors' walkthrough. The medical hut was rather long compared to the others. Piles of loosely woven pine needle mats laid along each long wall. Most of the 'beds' were empty minus one occupied by a young, very pregnant woman and another by a sleeping old man.

"What happened? Mary? What happened to Jack?" A woman ran over and helped Mary ease Jack down gently while Dean and Sam found nearby beds for their angels.

"It's alright, Jane." Mary consoled her. "They just need to rest. They just defeated an archangel together."

"Who are they?"

"These are my Sons, Sam, Dean and Castiel, he's an angel on our side too. And…" Mary didn't know how to continue so Sam filled them in.

"Gabriel."

"The...Archangel?" Jane couldn't believe it

"Yeah, he's also the good kind. Don't worry." Sam explained cheerfully.

The woman sighed. "Well, I trust you know what's best for them then. I don't know anything about treating their kind. But any friend of Mary's is welcome here." She smiled and returned to the side of the pregnant woman to comfort her.

"Why don't you two go get some rest." Dean said calmly. "I'll stay here with 'em."

"Are you sure Dean? You look pretty beat yourself." Sam stood up.

"Nah, I'm totally fine. Really. You just go rest, it was only a few hours ago you were still dead."

"Dean, I can stay." Mary stood up too. "You've come all this way and you thought you lost Sam. I'm sure you're tired."

"I want to stay with them. Please, mom?"

Mary chuckled at the way he begged like the child she remembered. She took Sam's arm and led him out of the hut. Dean got comfortable and leaned against the wall made of sticks and dry mud. He looked across the isle of the dimly lit room at Gabriel peacefully sleeping. Dean looked to one mat over at Jack sleeping with his hands resting on his chest and stomach. Then he looked down at Cas who had a small furrow in his brow and his fists were clenched tight. Cas' mouth was open sightly and his breathing was labored. Dean looked on concerned. Why wasn't Cas as peaceful as the others?

Dean heard movement from Gabriel's direction.

"Gabriel?" Dean got up and crouched next to him. Once his eyes were open he asked. "You okay? What's going on with you guys?"

"Hey, Deano." It was painful for him to be awake but he persisted. "Has the kid or my brother woken up yet?" His voice was strained.

"No, but it hasn't been very long though."

"Keep an eye on them for me will ya?"

"Yeah, of course." Dean replied quickly.

"It's important Dean. They're very weak from that dealing. If Michael were to attack now, hell any angel, he could easily kill them both with a simple angel blade. Listen, if there is any sign of Michael or his goons I want you to wake me up. Comprendo?"

"Okay. Got it." It was obvious that Dean understood the seriousness of the situation. He wasn't going to lose any one else in his family on this trip. He was done with that.

With a nod Gabe leaned back and fell asleep immediately.

"No...no…. Shut up….stop." Jack mumbled in his sleep and Dean shuffled over to his side. He took one of his hands into his own, squeezed and placed the other on the kids forehead under his hair.

"Shhhh. It's alright kiddo. I got you. You're safe." Dean whispered gently. He had done the same thing for Sam growing up through the years. It worked like a charm and Jack smiled back into his peaceful sleep. Dean moved back next to Cas and settled in. He took one more long look at Castiel's pained face before he felt the glare of the pregnant woman from the far side of the hut.

"Hiya." Dean broke the ice.

"Are you an angel too?" The young girl asked.

"Me? No no. I'm Dean, Mary Campbell's son." Dean said proudly.

"Am I'm supposed to know who that is? I just got here yesterday. I walked here from Cleveland."

"On your own?" Dean was impressed.

"No. With my husband, Perry. He was killed…by the angels. He sacrificed himself for our baby." Her voice was more angry than sorrowful. "A scout from this camp found me a half a day ago a brought me here. So I don't know anyone."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That's awful, but we'll keep you and your baby safe here. Don't worry ma'am." Dean tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry? Jane just told me you were angels, the "good kind", like I believe that's possible."

"Hang on a second-"

"No! After everything that's happened you expect me to be okay with lying here with them in the same place? You people are crazy!" She started to yell which brought Jane running back into the hut.

"Hey! What's going on here?" She looked at Dean like he had done something wrong.

"I refuse to be here with those despicable creatures!" She yelled again.

"Honey, they're heroes. They've already protected us from danger. Especially Jack there, he-"

"I don't care!" She screamed.

"Okay, alright, fine. I'll move you somewhere else." She left the hut to get help.

The pregnant woman glared at Dean again. "Don't you dare come near me or my baby."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Dean replied. At that the girl yelled out in pain and Jane ran back inside with to others.

"The contractions are starting. We have to move her NOW!" She ordered.

A few moments later Dean could still hear the girl screaming but it was much more muffled and in the distance. He rested against the wall once more crossing his arms against himself.

Without even realizing he had fallen asleep Dean woke up with a start. He quickly looked around the hut and saw that nothing had changed. Gabe and Jack were still sound asleep. He looked down at Cas. He still had that furrow in his brow and now there was a sheen of sweat on his face. Dean leaned in and pressed a hand to the angel's face.

"Dammit, Cas." Dean mumbled. He looked up at the others who didn't look pale or feverish and then back to Cas. Dean got up and left the tent to go grab some water for a cloth to put on Cas' face to keep the fever down but that was a mistake.

It was late at night, or maybe early in the morning and the camp in the middle of the woods was peacefully quiet. No more girl screaming in the distance, no bustling of survivors. Just the simple crackle of cooling fire coals and crickets. Dean dipped his water bottle into the basin and turned back to the hut. He passed what appeared to be an armed guard and they nodded at one another as they passed.

"No!" Someone yelled from inside the medical hut. Dean dropped the bottle and bolted inside.

The pregnant girl, face red from crying, was kneeling next to Cas with a knife raised above her head, that was already dropping with blood. Jack had woken up and was desperately holding her wrists, keeping her from her death blow. He was obviously struggling however, still very weak himself. Cas lay unconscious through it all and Gabriel wasn't stirred either. Dean dove in easily separating the two and gripped the girl's wrists till she dropped the knife between them and wept loudly.

"He's dead! My baby is dead! The angels... it's all the angel's fault! They did this! They kill everything! My husband! My baby! They're all dead because of them!" She was frantic and obviously had just given birth to a stillborn child. Jane rushed in and took her from Dean and led her outside while speaking to her calmly. Dean sighed and couldn't bring himself to blame her but Jack got his attention.

"Dean!" He yelled. "Dean, help!"

Dean turned around and saw the blood on Castiel's lower stomach. She had managed to stab him once before Jack woke up to stop her.

Dean fell to his knees beside him. "No no no please no." He quickly started taking off his coat and button up shirt. He placed his balled up shirt on the wound and pressed down using the weight of his upper body.

"Wake up, Gabe!" He ordered Jack.

Jack scrambled over on his hands and knees and began shaking his uncle's shoulders roughly. "Gabriel! Wake up! Wake up! It's Cas! Please!"

"Five more minutes." He mumbled.

"Gabriel. NOW!" Dean barked over to him which made him sit up immediately. Jack swiftly helped him to his feet over to Cas' side.

"What happened?" Gabe said very seriously. "What the hell happened to my little brother, Dean!? I told you to watch over him!"

"I was! Listen, I'm sorry. Can you help or not? It's a belly wound. Normal knife. Not even an angel blade." Dean informed while keeping pressure.

"Raspberries!" He was so done with humans at this point. "Okay, let me see what I got." Gabe touched Castiel's forehead and closed his eyes. "He's so weak… He's weaker than me. Fever...umm...Okay, I got this." Light came out from underneath where Dean's hands were pushing and Gabe nearly blacked out falling into Jack who could barely keep him up. Gabe whispered weakly. "I healed the internal damage. You can do the rest, right Deano?"

"Yeah, sure. I can handle it. But, he's gonna be okay?"

"You better take care of him better than last time." Gabriel warned as he drifted back to sleep. Jack laid him down on his own mat right there.

"Dean… are you alright?" Jack couldn't help but notice the tension in the hunter's body language as he tried to catch his own breath. Dean had sauntered over to the desk at the far end of the hut to find bandages, thread, antiseptic and a needle. When he came back he worked on the broken angel while carrying on conversation with Jack.

"You know what kiddo? No. No I'm totally not okay. First we thought we'd lost you and Mom. Then we get this one tiny chance that's basically blown up in our faces. See, we had your old man keeping the line open on the other end, but he decided to hitchhike over here. So that screwed everything up. Not to mention that I just spent the better part of today thinking Sam was dead. Dead dead. Not coming back this time, dead. And that…"

"That was hard for you." Jack surprisingly empathized easily.

"Yeah, you could say that. The only reason I kept moving forward was to save you and Mom, I thought that's what Sammy died for so I needed to finish the job." He took a breath. "Now I almost lost Cas to some crazy bitch…he's hurt and it's all my damn fault! Dammit!" Dean's fingers couldn't focus on the fine work needed to stitch up the wound any longer. He was shaking too much. Frustrated, he dropped the tools on Castiel's bare lower abdomen.

"Here, I can do it." Jack spoke calmly and carefully.

"You… You can?" Dean rubbed his hands together in circles.

"Yes, I've learned how."

"Have at it." Dean gestured to Cas' torso. He watched the young man cautiously pick up the tools and work slowly to close up the wound. "That's pretty good kiddo. Color me impressed."

"Please, finish your thought process. You stopped at your feeling of guilt for Castiel being injured."

"Oh, yeah, well… It's just that in the last 24hrs I've nearly lost everyone that's important to me. I've failed everyone. And I just...I just can't take it anymore."

"Even me?" Jack looked up from cutting off the extra thread.

"Of course you, Jack. Listen, you're part of the family now. Like it or not I'm always gonna come for you. No matter what. Got it?"

Jack smiled to himself. "Yes, I do. I got…it."

"D-Dean?" Cas started to come around for the first time since their initial reunion.

Dean's spirits noticeably lifted as he leaned in closer. "Cas! Hey buddy! Take it easy! Alright?" He placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

Cas couldn't see well yet and he suddenly recalled what had happened. "Jack. Is Jack alright?!"

"He's fine." Dean cooed.

"I'm right here, Castiel!" Jack smiled like a kid who had just come home from school with an A test in his hands, hoping his dad would be proud.

"Jack." Cas smiled and reached his hand up to touch Jack's face. "Jack, I'm so incredibly proud of you. You did so well against Lucifer. And I'm just so glad that you are safe." Cas' words were weakly spoken yet strongly profound.

"I am. I'm fine Castiel. You need to rest." Jack couldn't keep from smiling from what Cas had said to him. He struggled to keep back tears of joy. Cas noticed his eyes becoming glossy.

"Hey, you're a Winchester now. There's a rule you need to know about; No chick flick moments." He smiled up at Dean who also had a hidden tear behind his eye.

Dean smiled. "Shut up, Cas."