First things first, I obviously don't own Supernatural, but I do own this story.

Second of all, this is a sequel. There are certain things you will need to know before reading this. So before you proceed, you should read "Resurrection." It's on my profile page, and if you've already done that, then by all means, please, Read.

Third. There are timeline issues that will settle themselves after the first few parts, but this first part takes place just after the last story. As it clearly states right off the bat.

Lastly, if you do read, I really hope you enjoy this. Even though Supernatural is in its Sixth Season, I've decided not to make any references to it. Strange I know. But this story follows directly after the last one which was written before Season Six started. It's a completely alternate universe story now. You've been warned.

I'm also going to be re-editing Resurrection, as there are a lot of typos and such that need to be addressed, so if you read, please be aware of that.

Go on, now! Read!

Intro

Things Past

Three days later . . .

Adam stood in front of the lone mirror in the bathroom perplexed by the scar over the left side of his abdomen. It wasn't just any scar, and even though he was the only one who knew that, the fact that it was there confused him. He figured it was because it had to be there, but then why let him live? Why had he survived with nothing but a scar to show for all his troubles if he was just going to be brought back in the first place? He knew it was because of Mary. He knew Michael was more interested in her than the Archangel had let on, and that's why he was standing here staring at a scar the length of his pinky as it marred his lower abdomen. Like a memento. Some memento.

The stitches that had succeeded in holding his guts in had already dissolved thanks to whatever Michael had left inside him, but the scar remained. It was a blatant reminder of the power that had once been housed inside him, and every time he saw it, he remembered exactly how close he'd come to dying. And Michael had apparently gone against orders from someone by saving him. Adam didn't really like being indebted to an Angel, but since it was that very thing that had allowed him to survive surgery and the few days since then, he couldn't bring himself to think anything bad had been done on his behalf. No deals. No payback. No retribution. He still couldn't believe it.

From his back pocket, the letter Dean had left him now felt like it was burning a hole through his jeans. He still hadn't told Mary about the letter, only that Dean and Sam had left and probably wouldn't be back. He didn't tell her they were on their own and definitely would be for the rest of their lives. And after traveling on two buses to get where they were now, she was sleeping on the bed from the night before. She hadn't cried or yelled or complained. She hadn't asked what they were going to do now that they were alone. He didn't know if she was hiding it or not, but she hadn't really been like this since he met her, and he didn't know how to explain that everything was going to be okay. She actually hadn't really talked since then either. And it was getting kind of nerve wracking.

At a pause in his thoughts, Adam heard the bed creak, and within a half minute, Mary was behind him. She put her tiny arms around his waist, and Adam extended his arm to hold onto her as she laid her head over the middle of his back. He knew she was scared, and it was up to him to get her through this. He was scared, and it didn't matter how much he told himself that he could handle anything that happened. Without Dean or Sam around, he was starting to feel a very heavy weight settle on his shoulders. He wasn't ready for it, but he knew he would do anything he could to make this better.

Slowly, Mary lifted her hand to his stomach, gently laying her fingers over his scar and then leaning back to lift her eyes to his.

"Are you going to take care of me now?" she asked softly.

Adam sighed heavily, stepping back and leaning over to be level-eyed with her. "It looks that way, kiddo," he confirmed. "But everything's going to be okay. I might not know what's going to happen tomorrow or any day after that, but I promise I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're all right. Okay?"

She stepped forward then, moving her arms around his neck, and he reciprocated easily, wrapping his arms around her and then lifting her in his arms to hold her against him. He stood there several minutes holding her, setting her down on the floor and then stepping back. "Brush your teeth, and then we'll go get breakfast okay?"

She nodded silently, and he stepped around her, moving into the room and closing the door. He looked up with the intention of picking up their room only to discover Michael there at the door.

For a second, he jumped, grasping onto the doorknob and thinking something was wrong, but then Michael smiled, and Adam knew why he was there.

"She's not ready," he told Michael, attempting desperately to sound much more resolute than he actually felt.

"Ready for what, do you think?" the Archangel asked. "I'm just checking in. I am invested in your well-being as much as I am hers, you know."

"Whatever you're here for, she's not ready for it. She just started talking again, and she needs time to get used to this."

Michael smiled knowingly, and Adam thought for a second the angel was still trying to toy with him like he'd done before. He thought Michael knew exactly what was happening and what would happen and only wanted to test Adam's resolve to see it through. He absently noted that Michael looked exactly the way he'd looked in their "meeting." He was even wearing the same shirt. Adam tried not to let that bother him, but he failed, allowing his worry and fear seep through the façade he was hoping no other supernatural thing would be able to see through.

"Take it easy, champ," Michael soothed, and Adam couldn't help but feel at ease despite his previous concerns. "I just came to tell you I'll be watching you. And I wanted you to know that I'll be intervening when things get a little complicated for the two of you. Because if Sam didn't tell you a year ago, he should have. You'll need to go deep — deeper than you ever thought possible, and you won't be able to make contact with your brothers for a very long time."

"Why?" Adam asked, his voice coming out of a whisper as he opened his mouth. "What's happening?"

"I wasn't able to dispose of all Mary's siblings," Michael explained, stepping a little closer to Adam despite already being within arm's reach. "They'll be following her."

"But we killed Lilith. For good this time. How can they still want Mary?"

"Lilith's offspring serve a purpose, Adam," he revealed. "Even without her to guide them, they're still going to fulfill their purpose. My main purpose will be to keep the two of you hidden from them. But I can't do it alone. I'll need your help. And when any of them get too close to you, I'll have to go against my Father's will to prevent them from fulfilling their purpose."

"What is their purpose?" Adam asked softly, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand on end suddenly.

Inside the bathroom, the water shut off, signaling Mary finishing with her teeth, and Adam glanced behind him to see the door coming open slowly. He looked in front of him, but Michael was gone. Adam exhaled the breath he'd taken in upon seeing the Archangel for the first time since almost dying, clenching and unclenching his fists for several seconds as Mary stepped into the room quietly.

"Can I have pancakes?" she asked softly.

Adam looked at her, thinking absently about how much money they had left, and he reached into his pocket where he usually kept his phone. For the few seconds he stood there, he honestly thought about calling Dean. If Michael was going to be hanging around, then it meant they weren't really safe no matter what had already happened. And if Dean knew that, then he should've told Adam somehow. Shouldn't he?

But then he looked at Mary, slipping his phone back into his pocket and taking her hand to pull her to the door so they could get some breakfast while he looked for a place to settle. Whether it was ideal or not, Mary needed structure and stability, and she wasn't going to get it moving from one town to another and gambling her way from one bar to another one. He'd pick up a map on the way, and maybe even a paper. They needed to find a place as far away from civilization as possible. And he would need to get some supplies.

Michael stepped out from the shadows of the bathroom the minute the door was closed, and he leaned against the bathroom door perplexed. He'd spent the better part of a week doing everything in his power to get Adam to trust him, and the kid was still on edge in his presence. He was still defiant and stubborn. But that was to be expected, Michael supposed. Dean had been the same way. The difference now was that it served an entirely different purpose altogether, and Michael decided he would just have to get used to having that effect on people.

In the three days since Adam's release from the hospital, he'd been able to divert two separate planned attacks by Mary's siblings, and he knew another one would be coming. It was just a matter of being prepared. He would have to sway a few of the people Adam and Mary would come into contact to for the next several days while they traveled to where they were going to be settling. If it helped, he would make sure they were well-hidden and protected from every supernatural thing that could possibly cross their path, but the Lilin were a separate story all by themselves. They had special abilities that made tracking their own as easy as breathing. The more Mary was out in the open, the easier it would be for them to find her. In three days, Michael had decided to be very selfish where she was concerned.

"Do you really think you'll be able to save her?" he heard and turned to see Eleanor there alone. She moved closer to him, and he smirked slightly.

"This doesn't concern you," he informed her. "The Lilin are my responsibility. Shouldn't you be off doing something right about now?"

She reached for his face, prompting him to look into her clear green eyes that no longer held any malice or deviousness. "Well, I was one of them. And I do know how they think. And you know they'll continue to look for her no matter what you do. It's only a matter of time before they get to her, and when they do, we both know they'll do everything in their power to twist and coerce her into becoming their leader. And by then, there'll be no turning back for her."

Michael took Eleanor's wrist, holding her hand away from him. "Well, until that day, I'm going to do everything in my power to protect her. It doesn't matter how difficult it is. If she falls to them, that's it. There'll be no more. And with your new perspective, you'd think it'd be in your best interest to help me. Even Castiel knows how important it is to keep her safe."

Eleanor smiled, leaning closer to Michael until her face was only a few centimeters from his. "Then by all means, consider me your consort, and do with me what you will."

She pressed the front of her body to his, attempting to entice him the way any of the Lilin would if he were a Human man. But Michael didn't say no, and he didn't say yes, sensing Mary's location despite the sigils meant to keep her hidden and then following her with Eleanor in tow. If she was volunteering, he wasn't about to refuse her help. He knew she felt connected to Mary, and he could use that to his advantage.

Dean took one last swig of his beer before he and Sam were supposed to hit the road after stopping at Bobby's for a few days. He didn't think about the fact that he didn't know where Mary and Adam were. He didn't think about the fact that he hadn't talked to his youngest brother in three days, and he tried real hard to remind himself that it was for the best. Now that he and Sam had another job to do, they were going to be moving out and driving in the opposite direction of where Mary and Adam had been left.

"Not thinkin' about taking one for the team, are ya?" he heard, turning to see Bobby there alone. Dean sighed softly.

"Meaning?" he countered, holding Bobby's gaze for a few seconds as he leaned back against the driver's side of the Impala.

Bobby huffed, his eyebrow raised as he responded. "Meaning you're thinkin' about gettin' in this car and makin' a break for the Sunshine State," he accused.

Dean didn't say anything for another few seconds, looking around the salvage yard and thinking of the last time Mary had been here. He forced that thought away, throwing away his beer. "I'm not thinkin' about going to Florida," he assured Bobby. "Besides, I left them in Georgia. Going to Florida would be pointless."

Bobby scoffed, leaning into the car. "You know what I mean. You also know it would be a big mistake for you to do what we both know you're thinkin' about doin'."

Dean folded his arms over his chest, deciding not to respond.

"You did the right thing," Bobby told him, to which he scoffed himself, unconsciously grinning at the ridiculousness of this whole thing. "You did your best, but this life ain't safe for everybody. Adam will know how to keep her safe."

To that, Dean spoke. "You know, I keep telling myself that. I keep thinkin' it was for her own good. Because the truth is, I could only do so much, and it was the same with Sam. We taught her everything we could, but there were things we probably really shoulda never taught her. And now she's gonna know that stuff out there is real. I really wish I could change that. I wish I could take all of it back so she didn't have to know ghosts and vampires and werewolves are real and they could kill her."

"But ya can't take it back, son," Bobby reminded him. "Ya know, sometimes, pulling the wool off someone's eyes is the only way to keep 'em safe. Knowin' what's out there and how to kill it can sometimes comfort a person. And now that she knows, she'll have that knowledge, and it'll keep her sharp. It'll keep her from screwin' up. And so will Adam."

Dean breathed deep, feeling his chest a little tighter than he had since leaving Mary and Adam. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Sam as he came closer carrying his bag.

"Hey," he said, looking at Bobby and then Dean. "We're ready to go. I got all the information there is about our next job. That poltergeist in Bensonhurst won't know what hit it."

"Good," Dean said, rising slowly and stepping back to open the door. "Let's move."

Sam stepped around to Bobby's side, embracing him easily and thanking him silently before he moved around to the passenger door to get into the car.

Dean didn't say anything to Bobby, only lifting his eyes to the man who was like a second father to him and then turning on the engine to put the car in gear so he and Sam could get on the road. Bobby didn't say anything either. There wasn't anything left to say.

I know it's been a very long time, but I promise I've been working on this the whole time. I wanted it perfect, even though I know that's nearly impossible. I've got the story pretty well mapped out, so it shouldn't be too long before I update again.

See you on the next run!