To Hell and Back Again

by mrsemmettcullen12

Sequel to At Hell's Gates.

This is my second "Supernatural" story and I am so very excited to be writing a second story about Sam, Dean, and Alex! The first story is titled "At Hell's Gates" if you haven't had a chance to read that one. I hope to hear from you all!

I do not own any part of Supernatural nor do I own any storylines from the show. Any non-recognizable characters (Alex, Kellan, etc.) I have created.

Chapter 1

Dean's eyes popped open at exactly 6:59 AM. He blinked a few times to remove the sleep from his eyes and then his alarm clock began blaring. Dean reached over and stopped the alarm, but the radio began playing as well. Dean ran a hand over his face as Lisa turned over to face him. She placed a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder and Dean grabbed a hold of her soft hand, holding it within his own large palm.

"You alright?" asked Lisa.

"Yeah, I'm good," replied Dean.

Lisa smiled and kissed Dean's knuckles before she flung the covers off of her frame and climbed out of their king-sized bed. Dean listened to the radio play as he heard Lisa turn on their shower. Dean stared up at the ceiling.

Alex woke up first and she grinned as she rolled over to face Kellan. She placed her head on his muscular chest and Kellan smiled as he felt her moving around. He placed a hand on her hair and he gently began stroking her long, blonde locks.

"I love you," whispered Alex.

She placed a gentle kiss onto Kellan's shirtless chest and Kellan looked down at her.

"I love you, too."

Alex's grin grew even brighter and she leaned forward to share a gentle kiss with Kellan.

"I'm going to take a shower. And then I'll make your breakfast," said Alex.

Kellan nodded, smiling warmly over at Alex. She stood up and headed for the bathroom, leaving the door wide open as she started up the shower and then climbed inside.

As Alex was cooking breakfast, she grabbed her cellphone from off of the marble kitchen counter. She scrolled down to her older brother's number and pressed the call button. She held her cell phone up to her ear with her free hand as she flipped the eggs in the frying pan directly in front of her with her other free hand.

"Hello?" answered Dean's rough, gravelly voice on the other end of the call.

"Hey, big brother," replied Alex.

Kellan walked into the kitchen then and he kissed Alex's cheek lovingly. Alex smiled over at him as Kellan pulled a small plate out of the cabinet, sitting down at the table.

"Hey, little sister. How's the domestic life?"

Alex smiled to herself as she walked over to the table and slid the eggs off of the frying pan and onto Kellan's plate. He began eating as Alex walked over and placed the dirty frying pan into the kitchen sink.

"The domestic life's treating me well. Kellan says hello. How are Lisa and Ben?"

"Good, good. Here, Ben wants to say hi."

Alex heard the phone being exchanged and then she heard a different voice on the other end of the call.

"Hi, Aunt Alex!"

"Hey, kiddo! How are you?"

"Great! We just had breakfast and Mom's about to take me to school. How's Uncle Kellan?"

"Oh, he's great, Ben. Hopefully we'll see you all soon, alright?"

"Okay! Bye!"

Alex heard the phone being handed back over to Dean. She watched as Kellan stood up from his chair, placed his dishes into the sink next to the frying pan, and then she raised her eyebrows at him as he stood next to her, leaning against their marble countertop.

"Hey, I've got to go, big brother. Can I call you back?" asked Alex, her attention flicking back to her phone.

As her eyes drifted away from Kellan's, Kellan moved forward and stepped directly behind Alex. He trapped her against the counter, his chest to her back. Alex pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she felt Kellan's breath on her neck.

"Lex, you still there?" asked Dean.

Alex's eyes closed as Kellan bent forward slightly and began kissing her neck, sweeping her long blonde hair over to the other side of her neck.

"Y-yes, sorry," stammered Alex.

Kellan grinned into her neck and chuckled against her neck as Alex gripped her phone tighter.

"So, are you two pregnant yet?" asked Dean.

Alex sighed sadly into the phone. Kellan worked his way up to her ear.

"No, but we're certainly working on it," whispered Kellan, licking the shell of Alex's ear.

Alex let out a low groan.

"Dean, I've got to call you back. Bye, love you."

Alex swiftly hung up her cell phone and whirled around, looking up at Kellan. He smirked down at her.

"Kellan, what the hell?"

Kellan simply shrugged.

"Baby, you're wearing my t-shirt. You know what that does to me."

Alex looked down at the old gray t-shirt that she was wearing. She smirked as she looked back up at Kellan. Kellan grinned right back and then he grabbed Alex by her hips, placing her back down to sit directly on their marble countertop. He went straight for her neck, Alex's eyes closing as Kellan licked and sucked at her pulse point.

"Oh, God, Kellan."

Alex's hands ran through Kellan's hair roughly. Kellan's hands slid up her thighs and he groaned as he felt her bare skin. Alex grinned and she reached down, pulling Kellan's t-shirt completely off of her form. Kellan grinned as he saw that Alex was completely naked underneath his t-shirt.

"How long do we have before you have to leave for work?" asked Alex.

"Long enough," replied Kellan.

Alex giggled as Kellan quickly removed his boxers. Once he was free of his boxers, he leaned forward and captured Alex's mouth in a searing kiss. Without any sort of warning, Kellan buried himself into Alex's heat, Alex moaning out loud at the feeling.

"God, you feel so damn good, baby," groaned Kellan.

"Oh, God," cried out Alex, closing her eyes from the sheer pleasure.

Kellan continued thrusting in and out of her as Alex ran her hands through Kellan's hair. She nibbled on his earlobe gently.

"I fucking love you, Kellan."

Kellan cried out as his release came suddenly, Alex following directly behind him. His head fell forward onto Alex's shoulder as they both attempted to catch their breath. Kellan placed a gentle kiss onto Alex's bare shoulder before looking up at her face and into her eyes. He gently kissed her lips before pulling out of her and putting his boxers back on.

"I love you, Alex."

Alex grinned and blew Kellan a kiss as he headed up the stairs to take a shower. She grabbed her discarded t-shirt and threw it back on over her head. She threw her hair up into a slightly messy ponytail and then she sat down at their kitchen table, her cell phone sitting in the middle of the table. She picked it up and re-dialed Dean's cell phone number, holding it up to her ear and listening to it ring.

"What's up, little sis?" answered Dean on the third ring.

"Hey, big brother. I was just calling you back from earlier," replied Alex.

"Yeah, I figured. So, I'll ask you again. Are you and Kellan pregnant yet?"

Alex placed a hand on her forehead, sighing into her cell phone before actually answering.

"We were kind of waiting for…"

She trailed off and Dean nodded into his cell phone silently. Alex glanced over at her favorite picture of her family that was hanging on their fridge. It was only Sam, Alex, and Dean, but Alex was being given a piggyback ride from Sam while Dean stood directly beside his twin siblings. They were all laughing hysterically at something, Alex's feet dangling off to Sam's sides.

"Yeah, I know," replied Dean after a brief pause.

"But it's been one whole year, Dean. I think that it's time we all moved on. I think that I'm going to talk to Kellan tonight. And then maybe we'll actually start trying for a little baby."

Dean paused for a short while.

"Dean?" pressed Alex, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm here, sorry. But that sounds great, Lex. I'm really happy for you, Alex. You and Kellan. You know that I'm always proud of you, little sister."

"I'm always proud of you, too. Look, I'm going to go ahead and get my day started, but call me later, alright?"

"Will do."

Alex ended the call with her oldest brother, placing her cell phone back down onto her kitchen counter once she was done with it. She sighed as she stood in the middle of her kitchen.

"Hey, man, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright. Bye, Doug," said Dean.

He shook Doug's hand as they stood out front of a local bar and grill. Doug headed off down the street as Dean walked across the street to his beige truck. As he pulled out his keys and took one step closer to his car, he heard a far-off screaming. His head shot up and he glanced around the street, but saw absolutely no one around. He quickly unlocked his car, pulled open his driver's side door, grabbed a rather large flashlight and a handgun, and then he shut his car door once more. He quickly walked across the street to a building that was currently under construction and stepped slowly inside. He looked up at the staircase in front of him, clicked on his flashlight, and headed slowly up the stairs. Once Dean had reached the landing, he heard a slight rustling from off to his left. He whirled around and began heading to the left. A large plastic tarp was blocking his way halfway down the left hallway, so Dean reached forward and pulled the tarp away. Nothing lurked behind it, so Dean continued slowly walking forward down the hallway. He continuously heard noises as he walked slowly forward and as he reached another tarp, he pulled it back. A white pigeon flew out from behind the plastic tarp, startling Dean. After the pigeon was gone, Dean shook his head and stood in the hallway for a moment. As he looked down at the floor for only a split second, his eyes widened slightly. He stepped forward and around the corner and saw what looked like five long scratch marks. He stepped forward even farther and spotted a bloody, smeared handprint on the white wall. Dean looked down the hallway, but he saw absolutely nothing and no one.

"And no one at all has called about a missing person?"

Dean sat at his desk and scrolled through recent 911 calls that were displayed on his computer screen as he waited for the person on the other end of his call to reply.

"No one at all?" he asked again.

As he sat on the phone, he noticed Lisa walking into their home office then. She was wearing a light blue robe and a nightgown as she strolled into the office.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later. Bye, man," said Dean.

He hung up and then he closed out of all of his Internet tabs.

"Hey," he said, looking over at Lisa.

"Who was that?"

Lisa nodded her chin towards the now hung-up telephone.

"Doug. We were just, um, settin' up a poker game."

"But it's 11:30."

"Is it really?"

Dean glanced down at the clock on his computer and then he looked back over towards Lisa, grinning.

"Well, I guess that explains why he was asleep when I called."

Lisa gave him a sad smile back, but she nodded.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to bed. Will you be up soon?"

Dean nodded and Lisa smiled back at him. She turned on her heel and headed back up the stairs.

As Dean drove to work the next morning, he was stopped at a stoplight. He glanced over to his left and saw scratch marks embedded into a wooden telephone pole. He made a quick left turn and then he pulled his car over onto the side of the road. He got out quickly, grabbing a gun and hiding it discreetly within his waistband. He then walked over to the wooden pole, inspecting the scratch marks. As he walked behind the pole, he spotted rows of hanging laundry out front in someone's yard. He saw more scratches through a clean white sheet. He also saw hanging t-shirts and collared shirts. As he pushed away the white sheet that was currently blowing in the breeze, he spotted a small shed behind all of the laundry. He walked towards it and as he approached, he began hearing noises. He pulled out his silver gun and then he took slower, more cautious steps toward the small shed. Once he was close enough, he reached out and pulled open the door using the handle. A small Yorkie dog was sitting inside of the shed. The dog whimpered and scampered out of the small shed once the door was pulled open. As Dean watched the dog run away from him, he sighed. He glanced back towards the shed and then he crouched down.

"Oh, hell," whispered Dean.

He placed a fingertip into a dusty, chalk-like yellow substance that was resting in the corner of the shed's one and only door.

"Sulfur."

Dean quickly stood up and he rushed out from the front yard that he had been snooping around in. He climbed back into his truck and he headed straight for his own house.

Once he was back at his own house, Dean parked his car in the driveway and headed for the garage. He grabbed a navy blue duffel bag off of a shelf and then he headed for his beloved Impala. He pulled off the brown tarp that was currently covering his old car and then he opened the trunk. He propped the trunk open using a shotgun and then Dean began placing all kinds of weapons into the duffel bag. He threw in a few shotguns, he grabbed a couple of knives, and he even dropped a container of holy water and salt into his duffel bag. As he was zipping up the duffel bag, he heard a door slam in the driveway. He threw the duffel bag onto the cold hard ground and then he quickly slammed the trunk closed, throwing the tarp back over his Impala and reaching inside of his red toolbox just as Lisa stepped into the garage doorway.

"Hey. I was just getting my hammer," said Dean, holding it up for Lisa to see.

Lisa gave him a very critical look.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Well, how come I don't believe you?"

Dean sighed, exhaling a large breath.

"I've just got this, um, sixth sense or something."

Lisa nodded curtly.

"Are you hunting something?"

Dean's eyebrows rose as he walked towards her.

"Honestly? I thought that I was at first, but I'm pretty sure that it's nothing. It happens."

"Are you sure?" asked Lisa, her eyes watchful and concerned.

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you and Ben go to the movies and since I'm super OCD about these kinds of things, I'll do one last sweep just to make sure."

Lisa looked over at Dean for a long while. She finally nodded.

"Alright. Just, please. Be careful."

Dean rolled his eyes and Lisa grinned. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Dean watched her go, his smile fading altogether once she was completely out of sight. Once Lisa was gone, Dean crouched down and pulled out a small black chest. He opened it and pulled out his old, worn leather jacket and his father's favorite journal. As he flipped through the pages of his father's journal, a noise sounded from inside the garage. Dean grabbed a shotgun from out of the navy blue duffel bag directly beside him and slowly he whirled around. He saw nothing and no one, but a soccer ball rolled out from behind the Impala. Dean slowly walked forward, but once he had reached the end of the Impala, no one was there. He sighed and lowered his weapon, turning around. Once he was fully turned around, he came face-to-face with the yellow-eyed demon, Azazel.

"Hey there, Dean. Look what the apocalypse dragged in!"

The yellow-eyed demon grinned and cackled as Dean's face hardened, turning into a glare full of complete hatred for the yellow-eyed demon.

"Did you have lots of fun following my pathetic trail? Because I sure had lots of fun swinging you around!"

"You can't be," growled out Dean, backing up from the demon.

"Oh, sure I can."

Dean shook his head once.

"Yeah, kiddo. The big daddy brought your boy Cas back, right? So, why not me?"

Dean raised his shotgun and fired, but the yellow-eyed demon was completely unharmed. Smoke poured out from a hole in his body, but he was still standing.

"Really?"

Dean's eyes widened as the yellow-eyed demon rushed forward, grabbing Dean by the throat and hoisting him up into the air.

"You know, you've got yourself a real nice life here. A beautiful woman and one hell of a child. But did you really think that you would always get to keep all of this? You had to know that we were coming for you and Alex sometime, pal."

The yellow-eyed demon slammed Dean down onto his Impala hard and Dean cringed.

"You can't outrun your past."

The yellow-eyed demon grinned and laughed manically as Dean's eyes began rolling back into his head. Suddenly, the grip on Dean's throat was gone and Dean gasped for breath as he fell unconscious, a very tall figure now standing behind the demon.

Dean's eyes slowly flickered open and his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room that he was currently in. He was lying down and as his eyes opened even wider, he saw a figure sitting directly across from him. Dean sat up quickly as he realized that this figure was actually his own little brother, Sam. Sam smiled warmly over at his older brother.

"Hey, Dean."

Dean looked over at him strangely and Sam smirked, letting out a slight scoff. He stood up slowly.

"I was expecting a… I don't know. A hug, maybe some holy water directly in my face."

Dean stared over at his little brother.

"So, I'm dead?" he asked him.

Sam chuckled.

"This is Heaven? Yellow eyes killed me-"

"Yellow eyes? That's what you saw?" interrupted Sam.

"Saw?" asked Dean slowly.

"You were poisoned. So, whatever kind of crazy bullshit that you think you've been seeing, it's not real," explained Sam.

Dean quickly flashed back to all that he had been seeing. He then looked back over at Sam.

"So, then, are you… real? Or am I still…?

"I'm real."

Dean looked very confused, so Sam slightly rolled his eyes.

"Here. Let me save you the trouble."

Sam pulled out a rather large pocketknife and then he sliced a small cut into his forearm. Dean's eyebrows rose, but Sam simply rolled his sleeve back down to cover up his new wound. Sam then walked over to the wooden table behind him and he poured a small amount of salt into a large jug of water. Sam then drank half of the water jug, cringing as he set it back down.

"See? It's all me. And that's nasty."

Sam pointed over to the water that was now full of salt. Dean slowly stood up and looked over at his brother.

"Sammy."

Sam nodded. He slightly threw out his hands in a 'finally' gesture.

"Yes. It's really me."

Dean slowly walked over to him and stood in front of him for a few minutes. He then grabbed Sam and pulled him in close for a very tight hug. After only a few seconds, Dean stepped back.

"Wait a minute, you were gone, man. That was it! How in the hell are you…?"

"I don't know," answered Sam.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I truly don't know. I was just… back."

"Well, was it God? Or Cas, does Cas even know anything about all of this?"

"I have no idea. I've been trying to call him, but Cas hasn't answered any of my prayers. I have no clue where he even is. I mean, I was… down there and then the next minute, it was raining and I'm lying in that field, all alone."

Dean's eyebrows were still raised.

"I mean, it's kind of hard to go looking for what saved you when you've got absolutely no leads at all. But I tried looking. Believe me, I've looked everywhere. For weeks."

Sam placed his hands on his hips as Dean stared off into the distance. However, his head shot back up and he looked over at Sam, his expression very confused.

"Wait, for weeks? How long have you been back?"

Sam's face fell as he looked over at his brother sadly.

"How long have you been back, Sam?"

"About a year."

"About a year?" repeated Dean, his voice rising angrily.

"Dean," warned Sam, but Dean's tirade cut him off.

"You've been back practically this whole time. What, did you just simply lose the ability to send a freakin' text message?"

"You finally had what you've always wanted, Dean."

"I wanted my brother, alive!"

"No, you wanted a family. You have for a very long time, maybe even the whole time. I know you. And you only gave it all up because of the way we lived. But you had something and you were finally building something! Had I shown up, Dean, you would've just run off."

Dean turned away from his brother then, placing a palm over his mouth as he was turned away from him.

"Look, I'm really sorry. But I felt like, after everything we've all been through, you and Alex deserved some fucking regular lives."

Dean's eyes went wide then and he finally turned back around to face Sam.

"Where's Alex? Sammy, is Alex alright?"

"She should be fine. I haven't checked on her in a little while," answered Sam.

"Damn it, Sam. Look what happened to me! We have to go and find her, right now."

Sam nodded and he led the way out of the room that they were currently holed up in.

Alex was loading the dishwasher in her kitchen when she heard a slight creak from somewhere upstairs. Her senses were on overdrive as she slowly crept out from her kitchen and headed for her front living room. As she walked across her front foyer, she spotted a chalky yellow substance on her front door. Her eyes grew wide.

"Hell," she whispered to herself.

As she reached her living room, she was suddenly grabbed from behind before she could reach the chest where she kept all of her old weapons, a palm slapping over her mouth. Alex kicked and yelled, but the arms felt familiar. The hand was removed from her mouth and then Alex was whirled around to come face-to-face with a possessed Kellan, his eyes as black as the darkest night.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no," pleaded Alex.

The demon Kellan grinned evilly.

"Oh, yes, baby doll. Your poor, precious Kellan is all evil. He says hello, by the way."

Alex gasped, but she quickly composed herself and then she punched Kellan straight in the face. He groaned with pain and she took the time to run around the living room couch, crouching down behind it.

"You can run, honey, but you can't hide."

Alex yelled as Kellan quickly found her hiding behind their couch. As she tried to make a run for it, Kellan quickly grabbed her ankle, pulling her down onto the floor. Alex tried to scramble away, but Kellan's grip on her ankle was too tight. Kellan pulled her back into his chest.

"Please, leave him alone," pleaded Alex.

The demon Kellan smirked and just as he leaned forward, the front door was kicked in. Both Alex and the demon Kellan looked over and Alex's face filled with confusion as she saw not only Dean, but Sam as well.

"Get away from her!" yelled Sam.

"Sam?" asked Alex quietly.

No one responded as both Dean and Sam rushed over to her and the demon Kellan. However, Kellan quickly slammed his forehead into her own, head-butting Alex. Alex groaned with pain and she began to fall unconscious just as Sam injected the demon Kellan with some sort of syringe.

Alex awoke suddenly, gasping for breath as she quickly sat up. She felt a presence directly next to her and she looked over to see Dean sitting beside her on the bed that she had been sleeping on.

"Dean? Where are we?" whispered Alex.

She flinched as she felt a throbbing in her forehead. She held a hand up to her forehead, but there was no bump or soreness to be found. Alex frowned.

"Alex, this is going to sound really crazy, alright?"

"But Dean, we have to save Kellan! Please, he was possessed and I can't lose him, I won't lose him! Dean, please-"

"Alex, Kellan's just fine," replied another voice from across the room.

Alex's head whirled towards the other side of the room and she saw her twin brother standing a few feet away from her. Her eyes widened as she shook her head.

"No, that's not possible. You fell into that hole, you were the devil."

Alex looked over at Dean then, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Dean?" she asked him.

"Alex, it's truly Sam. Sammy's back," replied Dean.

Alex's eyes turned back to look at her much taller twin brother. She looked him over before she stood up, walking over to him. Sam met her halfway.

"Sam, is Kellan alright?"

"He's perfectly fine. Listen to me, Alex. You and Dean were both poisoned. Everything that you thought you've been seeing was a lie. But I'm real. I don't know how or why, but I am completely real. It's really me. Sam."

Alex nodded and then she threw her arms around Sam's middle. She buried her head directly into his chest and Sam stroked her hair as she hugged him close. Alex closed her eyes and breathed in her twin brother's clean scent as Dean simply looked on happily. When Sam and Alex separated, Alex's eyes were full of unshed happy tears and Sam reverently kissed the top of her head before fully letting her go.

"Sammy, how long have you been back?" asked Alex, looking up into her twin brother's familiar face.

Sam and Dean quickly exchanged a knowing glance. Alex looked confused as Sam sighed and hung his head slightly.

"Um, I've been back for roughly about a year," he whispered.

Alex scoffed and took a step back from him.

"A freakin' year you've been back and you didn't tell us?"

Sam looked remorseful and sighed once more.

"What have you been doing?" asked Dean.

Sam's lips curled up into a small half-smile.

"Hunting."

"You left us alone and you've been flying solo?"

Sam shook his head slightly.

"Not solo."

"What?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"I hooked up with some other people."

"You've been working with strangers?" asked Alex.

"They're more like family. And they're here, in town. Let me take you to them. Please," said Sam.

Sam looked between his siblings. Alex looked over at her oldest brother and shrugged. Dean nodded imperceptibly and Sam led the way out of Alex's residence.

Sam pulled open a set of double doors and led his siblings into a large living room area. The place was old and rundown, covered in dust and cobwebs, but a dark-haired woman looked up as the three Winchester siblings walked into the room. She stood up straight and looked over at all three of the siblings.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," replied Dean looking utterly confused.

The woman stared straight into Dean's chiseled features and smirked.

"My God, you have extremely delicate features for a hunter," she whispered.

Sam and Alex chuckled while Dean cocked his head to the side with confusion.

"Excuse me?"

Sam cleared his throat and took one step forward, pointing to the woman now.

"Dean, Alex, this is Gwen Campbell."

"Nice to finally meet y'all, Sam's droned on and on," said Gwen.

Dean and Alex nodded and followed Sam's finger as he pointed out the other occupants of the room.

"This is Christian…"

A man in a black denim jacket acknowledged the siblings.

"And Mark," finished Sam, pointing over to the other man seated on an old black couch, cleaning his silver gun.

"Hi," said Alex, reaching forward to shake Christian's extended hand.

"Cam-Campbell? Like-"

"Like your mom," finished Christian, nodding and smiling gently.

Alex and Dean's eyes widened.

"These are our cousins. They grew up in this life, like us and like Mom," said Sam.

"Wait, how come we didn't know about any single one of you? We thought all of Mom's relatives were gone," said Alex.

"Because they didn't know about any one of you," answered a deeper voice from the shadows.

Dean and Alex turned to see who the voice belonged to and saw that it was their maternal grandfather, Samuel. He smiled gently at them.

"At least, they didn't know about you until I brought you all together."

"Samuel," said Dean, the shock evident on his face.

Samuel walked forward and grabbed Dean, holding him close as he hugged him. As they hugged, Dean saw flashbacks of the times he had seen Samuel: seeing him as his grandfather and seeing him possessed by the yellow-eyed demon back when he had been sent back in time. Samuel finally let go of Dean and the two men stared at one another, Dean's eyes wide.

"Guys, can you give me a second with my grandchildren here, please?"

The three Campbell cousins nodded and removed themselves from the room. Samuel sighed.

"There's been a lot of resurrections in your face today, so take a minute," said Samuel.

"Yeah, it's gonna take a lot longer than a minute. What the hell? How did this happen?" asked Dean.

Samuel exchanged a look with Sam.

"Well, our guess is that whatever pulled Sam up also brought me down."

"So, whatever this is, we're both a part of it," explained Sam, motioning between himself and his grandfather.

"But you have no clue what that is," stated Dean.

Sam and Samuel simply nodded.

"And you have nothing, no leads?" chimed in Alex, sitting herself in a chair surrounding the long table in the middle of the room.

Samuel and Sam shook their heads, Samuel keeping his gaze on her.

"You look exactly like your mother," he whispered, his voice shaking.

Alex smiled gently.

"Wait, there are no more supposedly dead people walking around, are there?" asked Dean.

"As far as we know, it's just the two of us," answered Sam.

"Am I the only one who thinks that this can't all just be fine?" asked Dean.

Samuel shook his head.

"No, you're not. Look, Sam was adamant about keeping you two out of this, so we did. Until this. You two getting poisoned and seeing shit that isn't there at all."

"Sam, how'd you end up in my garage then?" asked Dean, facing his little brother.

"I got hit a few days before you guys did."

"By who?" asked Alex.

"Some djinn."

"Djinn? Aren't they supposed to be, like, hermits?"

"Apparently not, not these guys, at least. These djinn can blend in and look like regular people. One touch is all it takes to kill you," explained Sam.

"Then how are you breathing?" asked Dean.

"Samuel had a cure."

"You've got a cure for djinn poison?" asked Dean, looking over at his grandfather incredulously.

Samuel cracked a smile.

"Oh, I know a few things."

Dean shook his head.

"So why are these things after us? We haven't done any hunting in over a year," said Alex.

"Well, Dean staked that one a while back, remember? So, after they came for me, we were fairly certain they were going after you guys next," explained Sam.

Alex's eyes widened with fear at the same time that Dean's did as well.

"Kellan's at our house right now," she whispered.

"Lisa and Ben are at our house," said Dean.

"It's alright, it's alright, I've sent someone to look after both of your residences," said Samuel.

Dean pointed over to his brother.

"Take me home right now," he demanded.

Sam and Dean pulled into Dean's driveway quickly, Sam throwing the car into park as Dean rushed to get inside his house. The front door was already wide open.

"Lisa? Ben?" called out Dean as he ran inside.

On the front lawn outside, Sam saw that the hunter assigned to watch over Lisa and Ben was no dead inside his own car. Sam's eyes widened and he rushed inside the house.

"Ben!" yelled Dean.

He shook his head as he exchanged a glance with Sam. Dean ran into his dark kitchen and grabbed their home phone, dealing Lisa's cell phone number. As it rang and rang, Dean glanced at all of the pictures hung up on the corkboard facing him. Pictures of Lisa and Ben laughing, pictures of Dean and Ben smiling, all three of them together. He slammed his fist into the cabinet door located above him. As he listened to the line ring once more, he suddenly heard laughter. He whirled around and saw Lisa and Ben behind him. He immediately hung up the phone and quickly walked over to Lisa, pulling her into him.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked her.

"We were at the movies. You knew that," replied Lisa.

Dean grabbed Ben as well and pulled him into the hug.

"Dean, ow," said Lisa, pulling away as Dean's grip became just a little too tight on her.

"Go upstairs and pack a bag, both of you," demanded Dean.

"Where are we going?" asked Ben.

"I'm taking us to a friend's house. Please go."

Lisa smiled down at her son and nodded towards the stairs.

"It's alright, I'll be there in a sec. Go on."

Ben nodded and stepped away, heading for the kitchen entryway but stopped as Sam stepped into view.

"Um…"

Lisa and Dean looked over and Lisa gasped.

"Oh, my God."

"Lisa, Ben, I don't know if you guys remember-"

"Sam," finished Lisa.

Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she took in Sam. She then looked back at Dean, who simply shrugged.

Bobby Singer opened his front door and saw Dean, Alex, Lisa, Ben, and Kellan all standing on his front door step.

"Damn it," he said, taking them all in.

"Good to see you too, Bobby. It's been a while," remarked Dean.

Bobby shook his head.

"If you're here, something's wrong."

"Bobby, this is Lisa and Ben."

Lisa and Ben waved at Bobby.

"It's nice to finally meet you two. Hello, Kellan."

Bobby nodded towards Kellan in acknowledgement and Kellan nodded back. Bobby stepped aside and the five of them all walked inside Bobby's old house.

"The TV's broken, but there's plenty to read around here. You can all just head on upstairs," said Bobby.

Lisa and Ben nodded and headed up the stairs while Kellan gave Alex a quick kiss and then followed after them. The front door was still wide open and as Bobby turned to fully face Dean and Alex, Sam slowly sauntered around the corner, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, Bobby."

Bobby nodded.

"Sam."

Dean and Alex both looked thoroughly confused as they looked between the two men.

"You knew?"

Bobby was sitting down in a chair in his living room area, Sam and Alex sitting on the small loveseat beside him. Dean was pacing the floor angrily.

"You knew Sam was alive?"

Bobby nodded sadly.

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Look-"

"How long?" demanded Dean.

Bobby sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"All damn year."

Dean looked over at Sam then, who looked guiltily at the floor.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'd do it again."

"Why?" yelled Dean.

"Because you got out, Dean! You and Alex walked away from this life! And I was so damn grateful for that, you have no clue!"

Dean stormed back over to face Bobby while Alex pulled at her hangnails on her fingers from nervousness, causing them to bleed.

"Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?"

Bobby nodded.

"Yep. A woman and her kid and not getting your guts ripped out by age thirty. That's what it meant!"

"I went to them because you asked me to!" yelled Dean, pointing his finger accusatorily at his silent brother.

"Good," said Bobby.

Dean turned his attention back to Bobby then.

"Good for who, huh? I showed up on their doorstep half out of my head with grief. They let me in by some miracle. I had nightmares! I looked fucking everywhere for you! Hundreds of books, anything to bust you out!"

"You promised you'd leave it alone," said Sam, very calmly.

"Well of course I didn't leave it alone!"

Alex's vision blurred as her tears finally spilled over. She watched as Dean turned his attention and wrath back over onto Bobby.

"A damn year? You couldn't even be bothered to put me out of my misery?"

"Look, I understand that it wasn't very easy, alright? But that's life! And you were as close to happiness as I've ever seen a hunter get," said Bobby.

Dean shook his head and Bobby's face softened.

"It isn't like I wanted to lie to you, son. But you were out, Dean."

Dean's eyebrows raised and he smirked sarcastically.

"Do I look out to you?"

Bobby looked down at the floor then and Dean looked over at Sam, who stared back at him very calmly. Dean scoffed and left the room then. Bobby looked over at Alex, reaching out and touching her knee gently. Alex looked up then, her face streaked with tears. Bobby sighed sadly.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Sam looked over at his twin sister then, his face one of utmost calm and composure. Alex stared back at him.

"I missed you, Sammy. Every single day. I cried myself to sleep every night for six months while Kellan held me because it felt like a part of me was missing. They say that's what happens when one twin dies and the other lives."

Alex stood up from her spot on the couch then, smiling sadly at both Sam and Bobby. She pulled a small black and white picture from her pocket and handed it over to Sam. He took it and looked at it and then he quickly looked up at his little sister.

"Alex, what is this?" he asked quietly.

"It's a sonogram. Kellan and I were pregnant again, about a month after you had been gone. I knew it was gonna be a boy and we were gonna name him Samuel, no doubt about it. But, um, I lost him only a little while later. Miscarriage. And I was absolutely devastated, but I told myself that if I could get through losing you and a second child, that I'd be able to be happy again. We were trying again, right before you got back."

She leaned down and kissed the top of Sam's head.

"I'm not angry, Sam. At you or Bobby. I just wish I would've known you were back. It would've helped me be happier or stronger. Maybe I should've felt it in my soul or something."

Alex left the living room, walking upstairs.

"What's the plan?" asked Dean, walking into the old abandoned house where the Campbells were cleaning their guns.

"Well, right now, we get set up and stock up," answered Samuel.

Sam and Alex looked at their older brother as he scoffed.

"So you're saying there is no plan."

Samuel smiled.

"We'll find 'em. We just gotta be patient."

"Yeah, okay, but here's an alternative. Why don't we go kill the sons of bitches who broke into my home?"

"Relax, Dean. We've got in handled," said Christian.

"Djinn are hard to draw out and now that you've been out of the game for a while, you should leave it to the professionals," remarked Mark.

He and Christian exchanged a sly smirk and then returned their attention to cleaning their guns.

"Yeah. Sure," whispered Dean, nodding his head.

Alex rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

"Djinn are easier to draw out when you've got bait. They want the three of us, they know where Dean lives. Now, even though Dean and I haven't been hunting in a long while, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that Dean's house is a pretty good place to go to find and kill these motherfuckers."

All of the Campbells stopped cleaning their weapons and stared over at the three Winchester siblings. Dean looked over at Mark in particular.

"See? It's almost like we're professionals."

Mark and the rest of the Campbells smirked.

As Sam, Alex, and the rest of the hunting group began setting up in Dean's living room, Dean splashed some cold water onto his face in his kitchen. As he stood up straight, Samuel walked into the room.

"You've got a nice place."

Dean turned around to face his grandfather.

"You know, I get it, Dean. You wanted a normal life. Your mom wanted a normal life, too."

Dean stopped wiping his hands with the towel he was holding, staring at his relative. Samuel nodded once.

"You remind me of her, actually. Your attitude, for one."

Dean scoffed and finished wiping his hands, throwing the towel down onto the counter behind him.

"Has your brother told you and Alex what we've been dealing with these past few months?"

"Nope, not really."

"I've never seen anything quite like it. I mean, we've been working around the clock. We don't know what's going on, but whatever this thing is, it's way more than a couple of djinn. I mean, it's got werewolves attacking during a half-moon, creatures that we've never even seen before."

"What's your theory?" asked Dean.

"You tell me. It's all hands on deck, that's how it is with Campbells."

Dean looked away then.

"We need you, Dean."

Dean shook his head. Samuel walked towards him then.

"You have no clue what you're a part of, Dean."

Samuel stopped directly in front of Dean, leaning against the counter behind him.

"You had ancestors who were killing vampires on the fucking Mayflower."

Dean's eyebrows furrowed together in shock as Samuel nodded slowly.

"All I'm saying is that hunting's in your blood. And we need your help because we're out there dying."

Samuel reached out and patted Dean's shoulder before walking out of the kitchen.

Dean walked back into his house after walking outside to scope out the djinn.

"There's three djinn just out there, watching us. Everyone's got to clear out," demanded Dean, pointing towards his front door.

"What?"

Samuel stood up straight.

"They're not gonna come in here until Sam, Alex, and I are alone."

"So, what, I'm supposed to leave you here with no backup?" asked Samuel, looking between the three siblings.

"Look, they're really smart. They're gonna wait until they're not outnumbered," explained Alex.

Samuel sighed deeply as he looked between his three grandchildren.

"Alright, we won't be far. You call us when they come."

Sam nodded.

"You bet."

Samuel nodded and walked towards the Campbells.

"Pack up, we're out of here."

The other hunters nodded and began loading up all of their weapons.

Sam looked at the corkboard full of pictures in Dean's kitchen. He smiled softly to himself as he saw Lisa, Ben, and Dean smiling and laughing. Alex swung her legs out in front of her as she sat on the kitchen counter. Dean looked out the kitchen window above the sink, staring off into the dark night.

"You alright?" asked Sam, straightening up and looking over at his older brother.

Dean chuckled darkly.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, Sam, this is crazy. I mean, you, our grandpa. Whoever brought you back…"

Dean trailed off.

"They don't want to be found," finished Sam, sitting his bottom half on the counter behind him.

"Yeah, I understand that. But who are they and what the hell do they want? Why?"

"That's a really good question," replied Sam.

Dean scoffed and looked down at the kitchen's tile floor.

"Do you remember it?" asked Alex, looking over at her twin brother.

Dean looked over at Sam then too.

"What?" asked Sam.

"The cage," said Alex.

Sam nodded once.

"Yeah."

"You want to…" trailed off Dean.

Sam smirked, chuckling.

"No."

"Well, if anyone can relate…"

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Guys, I really don't want to talk about it. I'm back and I get to breathe fresh air, have a few beers, hunt with my family, see you guys again. Why would I want to think about Hell?"

Alex rolled her eyes and Dean looked out the window to his right.

"You really think…"

He suddenly trailed off as he stepped closer to the window. Across the street, he saw three people in their living room, two of them choking to death as one stood and watched.

"Dean, what is it?" asked Alex.

She hopped down off of her perch on the counter as Dean rushed out of the room. She and Sam ran over to the window to see a man fall down onto the floor in his house across the street. They rushed into the living room to find Dean already grabbing two syringes full of a thick white liquid.

"Dean, they're already dead and you know it," said Sam.

"This is happening because of me!" yelled back Dean.

He pushed past Sam and ran out the front door of his house.

"Dean!" yelled Alex.

She groaned as Sam opened up his backpack, pulling out two more syringes full of the same liquid as Dean's. She grabbed two syringes from her own duffel bag and as she and Sam whirled around, they stopped. A bald young man was standing in front of them and they watched as dark tattoos began appearing all over his arms. He swung out at Sam, knocking the syringes out of Sam's hand. Alex's eyes grew wide as she watched the djinn fight Sam.

"Alex, go help Dean. Hurry!"

Alex quickly ran out the front door and across the street, jumping over a fence and landing gracefully on her feet. She ran into the house and into the living room, watching as a man held Dean's arms back and a woman stepped towards him. The woman stepped on Dean's dropped syringes, cracking them open and letting the liquid seep into the carpet.

"So, you made it through that last trip? How about a double dose?"

She grabbed Dean's chin and Dean's eyes widened as the tattoos on her arms began to grow rapidly.

"Bad news, it'll kill you. But good news, at least you'll go fast."

The woman djinn smirked and Alex ran forward then, grabbing her hand just as the dosage began to take effect. The djinns both smirked as Dean's eyes turned completely white and rolled back into his head. Dean fell to the floor and the man grabbed Alex then.

"That's for our father, you son of a bitch."

The woman smirked over at Alex then.

"Let's go find Sammy."

They marched Alex over to Dean's house, where Sam had just killed the third djinn. As soon as they were inside, the man let go of Alex's arms and threw her over to where Sam was standing. Alex stumbled into Sam's side as the djinns laughed at them. Sam held one of Dean's large metal golf clubs in his hands as a weapon. The djinns stepped closer to the two siblings. As the woman watched, the man swung his fist out at Sam. Sam swung the golf club, missing and hitting pictures and a lamp instead. The djinn grabbed the golf club from Sam and smirked triumphantly. Just as he stepped forward, his eyes suddenly grew wide and then he fell to the floor face first, revealing Samuel, who had just stabbed him in the back. The woman djinn's face fell.

"I got her, go get Dean," urged Samuel.

Sam nodded and grabbed Alex's hand, leading them out of the house and across the street.

The next morning, Dean, Alex, and Sam were walking through Dean's house. The damage was minimal, minus a few broken picture frames and a broken lamp. Dean picked up a picture of Lisa and placed it upright.

"So, Samuel and the cousins?" he asked.

Sam shrugged.

"No clue. They left in a hurry. I'm meeting them back at their place. You two comin' with me?" asked Sam.

"No. No. I'm going back for Lisa and Ben."

Sam looked confused.

"I thought you said-"

"I did. But I changed my mind."

Sam sighed deeply and Alex bit her lip nervously.

"Look, I practically shoved you at them," said Sam.

"Well that's a funny way of putting it, but okay."

"I'm just saying, I really wanted that for you. And when I told you to leave, I thought… I thought you could have it all, you know? But now, I'm not so sure. I mean, you'll be putting them in danger if you go back."

"So I should leave them alone, unprotected? Look, I did this to them. I made them vulnerable the very second I knocked on their door and there's no way for me to undo that."

Sam sighed.

"But what I can do is go for the best option," finished Dean.

Sam and Alex both nodded.

"I hear you," said Sam.

He moved past Dean, heading for the front door.

"I guess I, um, just wish you were coming, that's all," said Sam.

Alex scoffed.

"What, am I not good enough for you now? Kellan already took off on his own, he knew what I would do. So am I chopped liver to you?"

She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. Sam chuckled and pulled her into his side, hugging her gently.

"Why do you wish I was comin' along?" asked Dean.

"Don't be stupid," said Sam, chuckling.

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"No, I mean it. You know plenty of great hunters. I'm rusty. I almost got all three of us killed by going out there last night."

"And that's exactly why I want you," said Sam.

"What are you talking about?"

"You just went. You didn't hesitate and that's because you care, that's who you are as a person, as a hunter. Me?"

Sam scoffed.

"I wouldn't even think to try."

"Yes, you would," said Dean, looking thoroughly confused.

"No, Dean. I'm telling you, it's better when you're here, when you're around. That's all."

Alex nodded too and Dean stepped closer to his siblings. He pulled out his key ring and found the key he was looking for, holding it up.

"Listen. She should be hunting. Take her."

Sam looked at the key and then into Dean's face.

"Thanks. Really. But, um, I've already got my car all set up how I like her."

Dean nodded once, placing his key ring back into his jeans pocket.

"We should hit the road," whispered Alex.

Sam nodded.

"I'll walk you guys out," said Dean.

He followed Sam and Alex's lead out of the front door and down the front porch steps, heading out into the driveway.

"You two better keep in touch, you hear?"

Alex smiled gently.

"'Course."

They finally reached Sam's car and they all stopped, facing each other.

"It was really great to see you again, Dean," said Sam.

Dean nodded once and then Sam opened his car's driver's side door, climbing inside and starting the engine. Alex threw her arms around Dean's neck and Dean gently rubbed her back. Alex kissed Dean's cheek and smiled at him.

"I'm gonna miss you, big brother."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Lex. Keep Sammy safe and I'll, uh, keep an eye on Kellan over here, alright?"

Alex nodded, tears in her bright blue eyes. She kissed Dean's cheek one more time before climbing into the passenger side of Sam's car. Sam and Alex both waved as Sam pulled out of Dean's driveway. As they drove off, Dean stayed in his driveway, looking utterly conflicted.

Dean used his pocket knife to cut open a large cardboard box with the word "Kitchen" emblazoned on the side in black Sharpie marker. Ben sat at the kitchen table, his chin in his left hand, looking morose. Lisa sighed and walked over to her son.

"What's up?" she asked him, leaning down to look into his face.

Ben sighed.

"At least check out the place before you decide you hate it."

Lisa gave him a small smile and Ben gave her an equally small one back.

"Alright."

Lisa picked up a box and carried it over to the counter where Dean was working, beginning to unpack it. Ben stood up then, heading for the front entrance hallway.

"I'll be back," he said, grabbing the handles of his bike and beginning to wheel it towards the door.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" asked Dean, glancing over at Ben.

Ben stared at him.

"I'm just gonna go and check out the block."

Lisa looked from Ben to Dean, her eyes staying on Dean's face.

"And leave us to unpack the kitchen? C'mon," urged Dean.

Ben sighed, put the brake back down on his bike, and walked into the kitchen once more, grabbing some plates from a box.

"We'll go for lunch later and scope out the neighborhood. Right?"

Lisa looked over to Dean, her eyebrows raised.

Dean glanced at his family.

"Sounds like a plan."

Sam and Alex stood with the lead detective on the homicide case in Lansing, Michigan. The big beige house behind them was now crowded with detectives and crime scene investigators, yellow crime scene tape billowing in the wind around the entire wrap-around porch.

"And where did you find them?" asked Sam, his hand steady as he wrote down answers in his small spiral notebook.

"Upstairs bedroom. Pretty brutal."

"Break-in?" asked Sam.

The detective shook his head.

"The alarm never went off."

"Any sign of the baby?" chimed in Alex.

"None yet."

"So, do you think it's alive?"

The man glanced down at the missing poster that Alex held in her hands.

"I did yesterday," he answered.

Alex nodded once and handed the poster back to the detective.

"Thanks," said Sam, closing his notebook and putting it back into one of his pockets.

The detective took back the poster and Alex and Sam turned to head into the house, ducking under the yellow crime scene tape.

"No sulfur, no EMF. Maybe it's not our kind of thing," said Sam, his phone to his ear as he and Alex walked out of the crime scene.

"Four couples slaughtered on the same side of the state within four days of each other. Four babies taken from locked houses. Explain to me how any version of that is natural," shot back Samuel, their grandfather.

"Oh no, I agree. It's horrible. I'm just saying, this one might be on the police."

Alex stared off into the front yard of the house as Sam continued talking to Samuel. She tilted her head to the side as she noticed the sign for the alarm company outside of the house, staked in the small garden off to the left of the house. She nudged Sam using her elbow and he looked at her. She pointed to the sign and his eyebrows pulled together.

"Hey, the detective said that the alarm never went off. Can you check and see if anyone else had an alarm system from Harper Caine Security?" relayed Sam.

Samuel replied and Sam hung up his cell phone.

"You know, I think my favorite part of this whole thing is that I finally get my own bed all to myself!" said Alex, sitting with Sam at a picnic table within a local park.

Sam smirked at her comment as he looked over the case file for the most recent murder. His trash from lunch was pushed off to the left and Alex stood up to throw hers away just as Sam's cell phone began ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it in one smooth, swift motion as Alex grabbed his trash to throw away also.

"You were right. Every single family that was hit had Harper Caine Security. I pulled client files," said Samuel.

"Right. To check and see if any other families fit the profile," replied Sam.

"Yep. There is another couple, currently happy and alive. Six-month old baby, just like all of the others."

"What's the address?" asked Sam.

He stood up quickly and Alex followed right behind him.

Lisa walked into the garage, leaning against the doorframe and sticking her hands in her back pockets as she looked over at Dean. He looked up at her, taking her in.

"What happened? Ben's been locked in his room for hours. Says you yelled at him. What'd he do?"

Dean grabbed his toolbox and rolled his eyes all at once. He continued working as he talked to Lisa.

"Nothing," he replied.

"What did you do?"

Lisa's eyebrows raised as she stared at Dean. He set his large metal toolbox down and sighed deeply.

"He got into my tools. I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

Lisa nodded once, her look incredulous.

"Do you want to talk about this?"

"About?" clarified Dean, reaching for a cardboard box.

"Yelling at Ben? Keeping us in the house?"

Dean whirled around, forgetting the box for a moment.

"I'm trying to keep us all safe here."

"I'm not arguing. I'm just asking."

Dean leaned against his beige pick-up truck, not looking directly into Lisa's face. She stepped towards him carefully, her hands up in a placating manner, as if to calm a wild animal.

"Look, you said that you and your siblings killed whatever was after us. And then- and then we moved, just to be one hundred percent sure. So, what is it, Dean? A monster? Or monsters in general?"

"I don't know. Something might just come."

Dean shrugged.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I can't predict what's going to come after us."

Dean chuckled humorlessly.

"Well, I'm going to need some parameters. We have to live our lives here. I mean, at some point, I have to go back to work and Ben's going to have to start school!"

"But if something happens on my watch…"

Dean trailed off as Lisa looked away from him.

"I know that you're trying to protect us all. But you're also kind of scaring me a little."

She looked into his face, nodded once, and then headed back out of the garage, Dean staring after her.

Later that same night, Alex and Sam slowly rolled up to the address that Samuel had given to them. Sam parked the car across the street and turned it off, both of them climbing out while also scoping the neighborhood for any sign of danger. The shadows from the trees danced across both of their faces as they each selected a gun and a flashlight from the trunk of their car, Sam gently shutting the trunk once they were finished. The two siblings quietly and stealthily crossed the dark street, a dog barking in the near distance. Alex stood guard as Sam quickly and efficiently picked the lock on the front door, pushing it open slowly. He stepped inside first, glancing over to the right and immediately sighing.

"Fuck," whispered Alex, taking in the scene in front of them.

The couple was already dead, the dad still sitting upright in the armchair, bright red blood soaking his gray cotton sleep t-shirt from the slit in his neck. The mom was lying face up on the all-white rug, her throat also slit. A puddle of blood surrounded her and her blond hair was splayed out around her. The small living room TV was displaying nothing but static, but both Sam and Alex observed bloody boot prints leading out of the living room and into the dining room. Sam led the way, carefully stepping around the puddle of blood surrounding the mother, and heading for the kitchen. As Sam and Alex were halfway through the dining room and almost to the kitchen, the door swung open and a rather large man in an alarm system company uniform came barreling out, pushing Sam down and knocking Sam's gun away. As the man came for Sam once more, Alex aimed her gun to shoot, but Sam had already pulled out a knife, slashing out and nicking the man's wrist. The man cried out in pain, grabbing his wrist as blood began pouring out, but the wound also looked and sounded like it was steaming. Sam and Alex's eyes both widened with surprise and the man barreled past them, running out of the room. Alex reached out and helped Sam stand up straight. They slowly stepped forward into the kitchen, the hardwood floorboards creaking slightly as they walked forward. As Sam walked around one side of the island in the middle of the kitchen, a clattering came from the laundry room. The two of them slowly walked forward and heard more noise from underneath a folding table. Sam gently leaned forward and lifted up the blanket that was draped over the table.

"Oh, hell," whispered Alex.

Dean glanced down at his cell phone as it began ringing and immediately brought it up to his ear as he answered.

"Alex?"

"Dean, we need your help. Like, now."

"What's wrong?" asked Dean.

"We're working this job."

Alex heard Dean exhale and sigh through the phone.

"Lex."

"Look, we just really need you with us on this, alright?"

"I'm out. I'm staying out."

"Please make an exception."

Dean sighed again, putting the salt down that he had been using to salt the windows in his new home.

"For what?" he asked.

Alex glanced in the backseat of the car that Sam was driving before speaking once more.

"Look, we're only thirty minutes away and Sam has threatened to drive up to your door if you don't actually agree to meet us somewhere."

"What's so crazy that you have to threaten a freaking drive-by?"

Alex bit her lip nervously.

"We have a baby with us."

Dean's face suddenly became serious.

The next morning, Sam and Alex waited beside their black car as Dean pulled up in his tan pick-up truck. He pulled up on the other side of the gravel road from his siblings, parked, hopped out, and grabbed a large and full navy duffel bag out from the bed of his truck.

"Alright, so, what do we already know about this thing?" asked Dean as he threw his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Well, um, it was pretty fast, really, And it freaked when I cut it with some silver," replied Sam.

"Alright. So, that narrows it down to…?"

"A ghoul, a zombie, a shapeshifter. Or about a million other things," replied Alex, a sarcastic smile gracing her face.

Dean opened Sam's trunk and threw his duffel bag in, slamming it closed once he was done.

"I don't recall seeing babynapping in the profiles."

"Yeah. Exactly," said Sam.

He opened the driver's side door and Dean opened the passenger side, looking at his little sister beside him. She pouted at him and he chuckled, pushing the passenger seat forward so that Alex could climb into the backseat.

"Ugh, you're the worst!" she yelled, climbing in after giving him the finger.

Dean laughed and pushed the seat back before he climbed in after her. He glanced into the backseat to see Alex sitting next to the baby boy, the baby's grin wide as Alex babbled at him. Sam turned around then too and both men smiled as they watched their sister with the baby.

"We're gonna need supplies," she told them, not looking away from the baby.

"We have an arsenal in the trunk," answered Sam, his eyebrows furrowing together with confusion.

"Not those kinds of supplies," chuckled Dean, putting his seatbelt on.

Sam wheeled the cart around the corner, entering the baby aisle with Dean, the baby sitting in the front of the grocery cart. Alex was in a different aisle, looking for food for the baby.

"Alright. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of jelly that you're supposed to put on their butt," said Dean, glancing over the shelves.

Sam's lip curled up as he looked for the diaper rash ointment. He saw a package that had the words "Butt Paste" emblazoned on the front so he grabbed it and threw it into the cart. Sam pushed the cart forward as the baby babbled and Dean threw things into the cart.

"So, how do you know all of this stuff?" asked Sam, watching Dean throw a box of diapers into the cart.

"Uh, Lisa's got a baby niece."

Dean continued searching the shelves as Sam chuckled. Alex rounded the corner with bottles and formula in her arms and she dumped it all into the cart.

"Let's head for the checkout, boys!" she exclaimed.

Sam and Dean followed her as she led the way.

As they were checking out, the baby began crying, not even stopping as Alex took him out of his seat to hold him.

"Everyone's looking at us like we're child abusers. Do something," whispered Sam, gritting his teeth as he threw their items onto the checkout line.

"I'm trying," shot back Alex.

Just as she turned around to head for the entrance, an older woman approached the three of them, smiling down at the baby in Alex's arms.

"Oh my, what a precious little angel you have here."

Alex smiled politely at the woman.

"Can I hold him?"

Alex looked at the woman and handed the baby over to her. He instantly stopped crying and was now only slightly whimpering.

"He needs his diaper changed. What's his name?" asked the woman.

"Um, Bobby John," replied Alex.

The woman nodded and smiled down at the baby.

"I don't mind changing him. No offense, honey, but you look exhausted."

Alex gently laughed and her eyes fell on the small CCTV monitors next to her. Her smile faded as she saw that the woman's eyes were glowing on the TV screen.

"You know, that's a really nice offer, thank you, but I think I should probably handle it."

Dean and Sam stared at Alex, confused. The woman shrugged.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm very happy to help."

Alex stared the woman down intently.

"Give me back the baby before I stab you in your fucking neck, lady."

The woman's slight smile fell and Sam and Dean stared at Alex, shocked.

"Alex," warned Sam.

Alex glanced at her brothers and used her thumb to point to the CCTV monitors next to them. Sam and Dean both turned to look and saw that the woman's eyes were glowing. All three of the Winchester siblings turned back around and the woman instantly took off running, Dean chasing after her one way while Sam went around to cut her off.

"Alex!" yelled Sam as he began running.

Alex looked up and reached out just as the keys to Sam's car landed in her open palms. She quickly ran out of the nearest side door and headed for the car. Dean reached the woman first and grabbed her elbow only to have the skin peel off in his hands. He threw it down onto the ground of the grocery store as onlookers gasped, the baby crying profusely through it all. As the woman rounded the corner, Sam ran right into her, grabbing the baby from her hands and running out the entrance. Dean tackled the woman and had her pinned on the ground as he pulled out his small pocketknife, ready to stab her. The woman cried out as Dean got closer to stabbing her and a grocery clerk pulled Dean off of her.

"Okay, alright, alright," said Dean, putting his pocket knife back into his pocket.

He stood up slowly and then took off running out the entrance and into the parking lot. Alex had the car already pulled up to the entrance and waiting so Dean quickly ran out and hopped in the backseat behind Alex, who put her foot down on the gas before Dean's door was even all the way closed.

"Go, go, go!" yelled Sam, also in the backseat with the baby.

Alex peeled out from the parking lot and burned rubber on the way, just as the woman came out and saw them driving away, memorizing their license plate number.

"What the hell does a shifter want with babies, anyway?" asked Dean, looking over the baby in the backseat as Alex continued driving.

Sam shook his head.

"You tell me."

"How the hell did it find us?" chimed in Alex.

"It could've been following us this whole time. Since the baby's house, even," answered Sam, shaking his head.

"Alright, we've got to get off of this road. Get, um, little Bobby John here someplace safe and figure this whole thing out."

The baby started crying and Dean gently held his little hand with one finger, letting him play with it.

Alex smiled as she felt Bobby John begin to fall asleep on her shoulder. She was pacing around their motel room while Sam and Dean pored over the previous case files, looking for any clues. Both men looked up as Alex gently leaned over the crib that the motel had provided for them, slowly placing Bobby John into it. He remained asleep and Alex smiled in triumph. She gently caressed one of the baby's cheeks with one of her fingers, feeling his warm, soft skin. Dean smiled at her sadly. Sam let out a deep sigh.

"Crap. I can't believe I missed this," he said.

"What?" asked Alex, turning away from the baby to look at her twin brother.

"This house on Elm. The mother was killed, the baby was grabbed, but Daddy wasn't living at the house at the time, so he's still alive. What do you say we go and have a chat?"

"I say let's," answered Dean.

As both men stood up, Bobby John rolled over, letting out a sweet little sigh. Alex smiled at her brothers.

"You guys go. Three of us would be too suspicious, anyway."

Sam and Dean nodded and both brothers began getting ready while Alex sat down at the edge of one of the beds.

The mechanic wiped his hands off with a towel as he stood in front of Sam and Dean, shaking his head sadly.

"It's so horrible. I mean, it's one thing to die like that, but that poor baby… just into thin air. No thanks to you all," he added in, looking over at the brothers.

Sam nodded.

"Well, that's why we're here."

The man sighed and placed his hands on his hips, looking down at the ground.

"Now, you had filed for divorce?" asked Sam.

The man looked up at him, his face incredulous.

"It's important. I'm sorry," offered Sam.

"She, um, she cheated on me. And, well, um, I caught her."

Sam's eyebrows raised slightly. Dean cleared his throat.

"Did you know the other man?" asked Dean.

"No. I mean, I didn't catch her, catch her. But she lied to me."

"Okay," stated Sam, in a clear tone so that the man would elaborate.

"We hadn't… you know…"

"Ah," said Dean.

"In a long time. And then all of a sudden she's pregnant."

"So, what did she say?"

"She said it was mine."

Both Sam and Dean's eyebrows raised.

"I know. And I said that was impossible and I asked her what the hell she was talking about. And she says, 'Don't you remember when you went out of town and you came back early and we…'"

The man stopped and sighed once more.

"But you didn't," stated Sam.

"No. I was at a damn softball tournament. Whoever he was, he's the father."

Alex was lying down on one of the beds in the motel room, her eyes slowly drifting closed, when all of a sudden a ripping noise sounded throughout the room. Alex shot straight up in the bed, looking over at the crib. Above the crib were spots of blood and skin. Alex slowly stood up and walked over to the crib just as her cell phone rang. She quickly hit the green 'Accept' button.

"Hello?"

"We talked to the father. He checks out," relayed Sam.

"And the baby?" asked Alex, almost to the crib now.

"I think that the shapeshifter is his dad," said Sam.

Alex reached down into the crib and picked up Bobby John, who was now African-American instead of Caucasian. He was crying and bits of old skin were covering his little body.

"Oh, you think?" replied Alex.

Bobby John was still crying as Alex wiped him down with a dry towel after his bath. Just as she finished drying him, there was a knock on the door.

"Manager. Is everything alright in there?" called the voice through the door.

"Yes, everything's fine," replied Alex, picking Bobby John up and cradling him.

"There have been complaints. Would you mind please opening the door?"

"Now's not really a good time. Just got out of the shower."

The doorknob began jingling and Alex knew something was wrong. She quickly cradled Bobby John, who had finally calmed down, and laid him down in his crib. She rushed over to stand to the left of the door and just when it opened and a man walked in, she attacked, a silver knife in one of her hands. She went for his gun, pushing his hands against the wall, but he kicked her backwards. Alex quickly found her balance and stood in front of the crib.

"Get out of the way," threatened the shifter.

"Not going to happen," shot back Alex.

"A child should be with his father."

"You know, I'm not really seeing the family resemblance."

The shapeshifter gave Alex a creepy smile and stepped forward, but Alex swung her hand forward, slashing him across the face with her silver knife. The shapeshifter paused for just a split second as the new cut across his cheek began to bleed. He stepped forward once more and slapped Alex before kicking her backwards into the wall. Just as she looked on helplessly, Sam and Dean rushed through the door, Sam shooting the shapeshifter in the back. The shapeshifter fell to the floor, dead. Bobby John began crying once more.

"Well, there goes our deposit," remarked Alex.

"You know, it's actually really smart," said Sam.

He was driving as Dean sat in the passenger seat and Alex was in the back once more with Bobby John.

"Pose as a guard for the alarm company, then it scopes out the family."

"Yeah, and then when Daddy leaves, the shapeshifter becomes Daddy. A few glasses of wine, shakes mama's trees, and comes back in nine months to collect its prize," finished Dean, glancing towards the backseat and the baby.

"I didn't even know they had children," remarked Alex.

"I guess you learn something new every single day, huh?" quipped Dean, looking out his window now at all of the passing scenery.

"I've never seen a baby monster before," said Sam, looking through his rearview mirror to look at the baby shapeshifter.

Dean scoffed.

"Yeah. But it's not really a monster, it's still just a baby. It's not its fault that its dad is a shapeshifter."

"Right, but it's a shapeshifter, too," reasoned Sam.

"Still doesn't change the fact that we've got to look after him." chimed in Alex.

"What are we gonna do with it?" asked Dean.

"Samuel. He'll know what to do with it," answered Sam.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"You want to bring it to a bunch of hunters?"

"They're our family."

"Yeah, but we don't know them, actually," said Alex.

"I do. Samuel is actually a lot like you, Dean."

Dean scoffed.

"Pitch a better idea then," said Sam.

Neither Dean nor Alex said anything so Sam nodded once.

"Great. Samuel it is, then."

A few hours later, Alex was holding the baby shapeshifter as he slept, all of the hunters staring at her every time that they passed by. Dean was standing beside her, glaring at all of them. Samuel and Sam came walking up to them then, looking chummy and smiling.

"Alex. Let me hold the little guy," asked Samuel.

"I'm gonna hold onto him, Thanks, though."

She gave Samuel a quick grin and then turned her attention back to the baby in her arms. Samuel smirked.

"What do you think I'm gonna do?"

Alex looked up at him.

"I don't think that you really want me answering that question."

Samuel's grin faded as he stared at his granddaughter.

"Well, I'm curious."

All eyes turned to face one of the hunters in the corner, who was sitting on one of the couches. He scoffed.

"What exactly do you think we are?"

He held out his arms in a 'c'mon' gesture. Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Hunters," Dean answered.

The man's arms fell back down to his lap.

"Funny. Here I was thinking we were family."

"Let's not get all worked up," said Sam, trying to break some of the tension in the room.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's not," agreed the man.

He shook his head, gave one last look over at Alex and the baby, and then returned to the work he was doing. Sam looked at his twin sister.

"Alex, here. C'mon," he urged her.

He stepped towards her, holding out his arms to take the baby from her. She looked into his face and reluctantly handed the small sleeping child over to him. As soon as Sam had him in his arms, he turned and handed the baby over to Samuel. Samuel began moving in a rocking motion as he stared down at the child.

"Hey there, little guy."

Samuel smiled down at the child.

"I haven't held one of these in a really long time. Your mom was the tiniest. And she was bald as a cue ball."

He looked between the three siblings as he reminisced.

"So, what the hell are we going to do with him?" asked Dean.

"Raise him," replied Samuel, staring down at the baby in his arms.

"Raise him?"

"You have another suggestion?"

"But-"

"It's dangerous out there for him," argued Samuel.

"Well, what about in here? What are we gonna do, poke him, study him?" asked Dean.

"Your mind always goes to torture. Don't assume that for everyone," argued one of the other hunters.

Dean glared over at the man.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

The man chuckled sarcastically.

"Sorry. I heard about what you majored in, down in the pit."

"What the hell is your problem, man?"

Dean took a slight step forward as the man stood up slowly.

"You're starting to become a real pain in my ass."

Just as the man stepped forward, Sam slid in front of him, placing a palm on his chest.

"Take it easy, man. He's my brother."

The man stared at Sam for a while before finally relenting and sitting down once more.

"He could be a great hunter someday, you know," chimed in one of the other hunters from his spot across the room.

Dean scoffed.

"You all are joking, right?"

He looked at every face in the room, all of them serious.

"Give me the baby," said Dean, holding his arms out to Samuel.

Samuel looked at him.

"Why can't you or Alex give me an inch of trust?"

"Maybe because you and Sam are suddenly back from the dead and we seem to be the only ones wondering how the hell that happened!" yelled Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"You're not the only one who wants to know."

"There is too much mystery in this family for me to get comfortable."

"Then don't. But don't put it all on us. We're simply trying to invite you in," shot back Samuel.

He stared at Dean and then looked over at the hunter next to Sam.

"Christian? You and Arlene still haven't had any luck on the baby front?"

"Not yet, no," he answered.

"But you want one?"

Christian chuckled nervously as he glanced at all of the faces of the Winchester siblings.

"Yeah, we do."

Samuel nodded once and stepped forward, sliding the baby slowly and gently into Christian's arms. The baby was now wide awake and looking around the room, Samuel and Christian smiling down at him.

"Well, congratulations. It's a boy. Sometimes."

"The things I do for this family," said Christian, staring down at the adorable baby in his arms.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"Go to hell, Dean," shot back Christian, a smile still on his face as he spoke.

"He has no business raising anything."

"Why, Dean? Because he's a hunter?" replied Sam.

As Dean mulled over Sam's reply, the dogs outside began barking loudly. Christian quickly gave the baby back to Samuel, who gave him to Dean.

"Downstairs, panic room. He'll be safe down there."

The Winchester siblings stared at him.

"Now, go! We've got this!"

Sam, Dean, and Alex quickly headed down the stairs to the basement panic room, Sam flinging the door shut behind them as the Campbell family began grabbing weapons and gearing up.

Downstairs in the panic room, all three of the Winchester siblings were pacing the room, Dean attempting to calm Bobby John down as he cried.

"C'mon, Bobby John. You've got to keep quiet," whispered Dean, trying to rock him back to sleep.

A loud crash sounded from upstairs and they all looked up towards the ceiling.

"That does not sound good up there," whispered Alex, biting her lip nervously.

Bobby John had finally calmed down and Dean was patting his back gently. Sam's eyebrows pulled together with worry as he stared at the panic room door. He sighed.

"Alright. I'm going up. You guys, stay with the baby."

He headed for the door and just as he reached it, the shapeshifter's face appeared in the circular window in the door, causing Sam to trip backwards. The shapeshifter had shifted into Sam and pulled the panic room door clean off of its hinges. He threw the door off to the side and stormed into the panic room. Sam ran forward and tried to stab the shapeshifter with a silver knife, but the grabbed his arm and pulled Sam close to make them face to face. They stared at each other for a split second before the shapeshifter threw Sam off to the side. He smirked and stalked towards Dean and Alex, Dean holding the baby while also standing in front of Alex. The shapeshifter stopped and his body shook as he shifted into Dean.

"What the fuck?" whispered Alex, her eyes wide.

"Give me the baby," said the shapeshifter, his voice sounding exactly like Dean's.

"No way in hell," shot back Dean, holding the baby even closer.

The shapeshifter's eyes narrowed in anger and he walked forward angrily. He reached out and grabbed Dean by the throat with one hand, slowly lifting him up against the wall as Dean struggled for air. Alex grabbed the shapeshifter's free arm, but he easily shoved her away, her head hitting the hard concrete floor once she fell. The shapeshifter used his free hand to grab the baby from Dean. Once he had the baby, he let Dean go and Dean fell to the floor, gasping for air. He watched as the shapeshifter walked out of the room, his baby in one hand as he walked out of the panic room and back upstairs.

Back upstairs, the hunters, Samuel, and the Winchester siblings were surveying the damage that the shapeshifter had wrought. One hunter, Mark, was dead, his neck broken.

"I'm pretty sure it's not a myth now," Samuel told Sam.

Sam nodded.

"What the hell was that thing?" demanded Dean, striding over to Sam and Samuel.

Samuel looked at Sam, who nodded once. Samuel turned to face Dean then, Alex joining him at his side.

"We think it may have been an Alpha," he told them.

"An Alpha? Like-"

"All monsters come from somewhere, right? So…"

"You think this was the-"

"King shapeshifter. The first one who spawned all of the others. There's tons of lore all about it."

"The first one?" asked Alex.

"That's why it was so incredibly strong. And why nothing we had stopped it," said Sam.

"He said he could feel the baby anywhere, that's why he could find it. Like there's a connection. That's in all of the lore, too," said Samuel.

"What the hell does it want with babies, anyway?" asked Dean.

"I don't know. A softball team? I got no clue," said Samuel.

"How do we kill it?" asked Dean.

Samuel and Sam exchanged another look, Sam stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"I'm not sure if we can," answered Samuel.

Alex, Sam, and Dean walked out of the large building together a few minutes later. Alex was walking in between her two brothers.

"You know, right before Sam killed that shapeshifter in the motel, he mentioned a father, which makes sense now because he meant the Alpha," she stated, looking down at her feet as she walked.

"Huh. I guess so," said Sam.

"Did you guys hear him say that?"

Dean nodded while Sam looked as if he was thinking.

"I don't know, it was kind of a hot moment. Why?" asked Sam.

They were now stopped in front of their car, staring at each other.

"Well, if you heard him, then you knew the Alpha was out there."

"Okay…"

Sam trailed off, unsure of where his sister was heading.

"If you knew the Alpha was out there, then you knew that he might come after the baby. In which case, you were using the baby as bait. So, was that the plan? To use that little innocent child as bait?" asked Alex, staring into her twin brother's face.

Dean stared into Sam's face as well.

"Of course not."

Sam scoffed and a grin appeared on his face.

"I just thought that Samuel's was the safest place. That's all."

Sam looked confused at her questioning, but he smiled anyway and pulled open the driver's side door, folding his lithe body inside. Dean looked at Alex, his face just as serious as hers. He gave her a gentle smile and opened the door for her, letting her climb into the backseat before he climbed into the passenger seat.

Dean shut the front door of his house closed and he walked straight back into the kitchen. Lisa was washing the dishes, but she stopped and turned off the sink as she saw him walk in. She gave him a huge smile.

"Hi."

"Where's Ben?" asked Dean.

Lisa's smile faded.

"Bike ride."

Dean looked out the window and sighed. He leaned against the counter as he looked over at Lisa.

"I don't know what to do here, Lis. The safest thing to do. Stay here or leave. And I know what I've been doing here, with the yelling. That's like a prison guard and it's not me."

Dean sighed deeply and rubbed a hand across his forehead.

"You tell yourself you're not going to be something, you know? My dad was exactly like this, all the time…"

He trailed off as he shook his head, reminiscing.

"It's scaring the hell out of me."

Lisa sighed and patted the counter, walking around it to stand beside Dean.

"Dean. Can I be honest?""

Dean never answered, but he turned his body to face her.

"Maybe we're safer with you here. Maybe gone. I have no clue. The one thing that I do know is that you're not a construction worker. You're a hunter. And now that you know that your siblings are out there, things are different. You don't want to be here, Dean."

Dean looked into Lisa's face, his eyes filled with despair.

"Yes, I do."

Lisa nodded once.

"Okay."

She smiled sadly.

"Okay, but you also want to be there. And I understand. But you're white-knuckling it, living like this. Like what you are is some horrible thing. But you're not."

Lisa stepped closer, looking down at the kitchen floor.

"But I'm not going to have this discussion every single time that you leave. And this is- This is just going to keep happening. So, I need you to go."

"I can't just lose you and Ben."

"That's not what I'm saying."

"You're saying hit the road."

"If there's some rule that says this all has to be either-or… how about we break it?"

Lisa gave Dean a tentative smile.

"Ben and I will be here and you can just come home whenever you can. Just… just please come back home all in one piece, alright?"

"You really think that we could pull something like that off?" questioned Dean.

Lisa simply shrugged.

"It's worth a shot, right?"

Lisa smiled up at Dean, who finally smiled back at her.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the sequel! Please review and let me know what you thought- I love hearing from you!