ST LOUIS, MO

Dean poked his brother awake and then snickered as Sam rubbed his eyes, grumbled, swearing. "What the hell, Dean?"

"We're stopping to grab something to eat. See if anything new's turned up on the shifter." Dean stated simply as he got out of the Impala, stretched his legs and arms, looking at the small retro themed diner.

So far, in all of the towns they'd ever been in, Dean could admit that there was a diner like this in every single town they'd been in.

Sam eyed the small building, his hand in his hair. In his mind, he went back to the first time he'd come to St. Louis with their father and Dean for a case. It'd been his senior year in high school. The place they stood in the parking lot of now had been pretty damn special to him.

"You alright, Sammy?" his brother asked in concern. Sam hadn't too long ago just came out of yet another close call. If Dean hadn't been able to get inside his baby brother's mind and coax him out again.. Sammy would have given up. It still pissed Dean off.

"Yeah.. I was just, umm.. I was just thinking. So, what's the name of that girl that Garth gave us to call? The white magic witch? The one who helps hunters?" Sam asked, mostly changing the subject, tension evident in his voice.
Dean looked at his hand and said "Brianne."

The name sounded familiar, but Sam said nothing. They pushed open the door to the diner and slid into a booth, looking around the place.

The shifter's last two victims had been waitresses here, and the shifter seemed for the most part to have a predetermined typeset when it came to said victims.

Most of them were single, lived alone, worked the night shift so they were the last ones out.. And the ones they didn't find partially eaten weren't seen or heard from again, which lead the brothers to believe that the shifter might be trying to start a 'pack' by keeping the girls he managed to get pregnant hidden until the babies were born, and then disposing of the mothers after the fact.

Dean studied his brother as Sam slid out the laptop and turned it on, waiting, drumming his fingers impatiently against the table. "Are you okay, Sam?"

"Yeah. Just glad to be up, out of the bed."

"I could still kick your ass, Sammy. You almost gave up."

"I know, Dean, and I said I was sorry, damn it. Can we get past that alr.."

His voice trailed off as the petite and curvy dirty blonde walked in, carrying a 5 year old girl with the longest light brown hair he'd probably ever known a little girl to have.

"Sorry I'm late Gus. Fuckin car.." Brianne admitted as she called out, "Had to bring baby girl with me."

"It's fine, Bri. Just sit her down over there, the coloring books and stuff are in the back." Gus said as she sighed and raked her hand through her hair, looking around the diner.. She'd seen a black Impala outside, but there wasn't any way that Sam was back.. Was there?

She grabbed an apron and tied it on, then sat Samantha down at the table in the back, getting out the coloring books, the crayons and her word list for school. "Read those, baby girl.. We're gonna go over 'em when Mommy has a break again.. And you need to know 'em all."

The quiet 5 year old nodded as she studied the two men at a nearby booth carefully, while flipping through her coloring book, trying to find a picture to color.

She scowled a little as she turned her attention back to her coloring book, unaware of either of the two men currently staring a hole through the table she sat at.

Sam choked as he got a good look at the little girl. And Dean wasn't too far behind, as he nudged Sam and asked, "Sammy.. There something you ain't telling me?"

"Not that I know of, no." Sam said as he bit his lower lip.. Even as he said it, he wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't true. But when he got a really good look at the little girl's mom, he choked again and then said quietly, "Uh oh."

"As in good uh oh or oh shit uh oh, Sammy?" Dean asked, as he looked at his brother for a moment, then back at the blonde waiting the other tables, then back at the little girl as everything slowly clicked into place.. Dean palmed his face.. He'd had his own close call with Ben, when he'd first met the kid, he'd have sworn that Ben WAS his son.

"I'm not entirely sure yet.." Sam muttered as he stood and stretched, walked over to the counter closest to the table the little girl sat coloring at, or rather, chewing the tip of her colored pencil, scowling at the coloring book page, which appeared to be a scene from the Tim Burton version of Alice In Wonderland.

He grabbed a hand full of ketchup though he didn't need it, and the look he got at the blonde girl who might have been just a little younger than him confirmed it.

That was his former girlfriend.. If you could really call her that, they'd never really stuck to one place too long, so naturally, he hadn't gotten to spend long with her, and she'd been the biggest reason he actually left and went to college, or tried to.

To stop moving around so much. Because leaving town that year killed him.

Brianne stepped from behind the counter, and smacked straight into a grown up and god only knew twice as handsome Sam Winchester and gasped before biting her lower lip.

"S-sam?"

"Bri?"

"What brings you back to town?"

"Work, actually.. Do you actually still live here?"

"Mhmm.. Me and my baby girl."

He looked at the little girl who chose that moment to really look up.. And it was almost like he was looking right into his own eyes. He clearly saw now what had his brother gaping at the little girl earlier.

She walked over, quietly, thumb in her mouth, a floppy black knit hat on her hair as she tugged on her mom's skirt.

"Mama.."

"What is it, baby girl?"

"I wanna listens to the music box. Can I? Please?" she asked quietly, as Sam knelt down to her level and smiling asked, "What's your name?"

Samantha hid her face and looked at him between her fingers for a moment before saying quietly, "S-samantha."

"She's real shy." Brianne admitted, adding mentally, 'Just like her daddy used to be.' as she dug into pockets on the apron and fished out a dollar or two, put them in her daughter's small hands as she leaned down and then said quietly, "It's okay, Sam. You can talk to him if you wanna."

Her daughter looked up at her as if she were making absolutely sure it was okay to talk to the man her mommy was talking to and giving him the same slightly lopsided grin that he saw every time he looked in a mirror.

He coughed and then said quietly, "So.. You're probably married now.."

"Actually, I'm not." Brianne admitted as she looked at him and asked, "You?"

"Nope. Work.. It gets in the way."

Dean cleared his throat, but Sam waved him off.

Dean sat watching the two of them talking and he snuck another look at the little girl.. "If that kid's not Sam's kid. It's a damn freaky coincidence how much she does resemble Sammy at that age."

He of course, decided to walk over to the little girl, having had a little more experience with kids than his brother..

Samantha looked up as the chair in front of hers slid out and a guy flopped down. "You smooshed Hammy." she stated calmly as Dean raised a brow and she said again, "In my bag. My stuffed toy." while biting her lower lip.

Dean raised up and got the bag out from beneath him, holding it out.

She took it and pulled out a hot pink and lime green sock monkey as she said "This Hammy." while looking at him in curiousity, her little head cocked slightly to one side, thumb near her mouth.

"I'm Dean."

"My mommy has a picture of that other person. He wif her."

"Yeah, kid, I think they were friends when they were in school."

"Eww. Boys are gross."

Brianne studied Sam a moment, her eyes landing on a long gash across his forehead as she gaped at it. "What the hell?" she blurted, her hand reaching up, brushing the shaggier hair out of his forehead, looking up at him.. Should she tell him about Samantha now?

" I, umm.. had an accident " Sam blurted, wondering if he should ask her about Samantha.

"And your wife.. She wasn't bitching you out? Christ, Sam, that's one hell of a gash.. Did you even get it stitched?" she asked, congratulating herself mentally for slipping in the question she was dying to ask.. Because if he wasn't married, and he was back here, damn it.. She was finally going to tell him about Samantha.

He had a right to know.

"No wife, Bri." Sam muttered as he looked at Dean and Samantha, then asked, "What's her name?"

"Samantha."

Sam coughed for a moment and Brianne said quietly, "I'm gonna go grab my cigarettes, take a smoke break.. You need to come out with me.. There's something.."

He nodded, let her dig around in the pocket of a hip length leather jacket as she fished out a pack of Marlboro Reds and a silver lighter, turned to walk out the door.

"Be right back, Dean." he mouthed as Dean gave him a thumbs up and then asked the little girl, "So.. Are you an only child?"

"Mhmm. It just me and mama." she said as she shoved a worksheet at him and said proudly, "Ask me word."

"Hmm... Pinata."

"P-I-N-A-T-A." she spelled out the word as she watched her mom and the taller man carefully from the window, obviously worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Makin sure my mama don't get hurted."

Dean chuckled as he said "That's good.. But I don't think that guy's gonna hurt her."

Outside the diner, Brianne paced the parking lot in front of Sam, kicking at rocks. This hadn't been anything like how she'd been planning on telling him. She'd often dreamt of seeing him again, telling her and everything going smoothly. After all, sometimes you just don't get over your first love.

And she hadn't.

"Sam... She's your.." She started as Sam stopped her pacing and asked, "She's my daughter?" blinking in shock. Brianne nodded as she said quietly, "I tried to find you, especially when I found out your dad was a hunter an my grandma helped him.. But it's like you dropped off the Earth."

He nodded, angry at himself, at the fact that he was a hunter, that his dad even made him leave back then. He hadn't wanted to, naturally, but they'd had to.

Then he went off to college and he really wanted to kick himself, but every time he thought about finding Brianne... He'd sort of backed out, afraid she'd forgoten him, or she was happy with someone else.

He raked his hands through his hair and took a few deep breaths as he said quietly, "Wow.."

"I'm not mad, Sam. I know why you guys left now."

"What do you mean?"

"My grandma.. She sort of sat me down and talked to me after you guys left in such a hurry.. Turns out, your dad had been getting her help on a case.. The shifter thing."

"So your grandma was the witch?"

"Yeah. We're white magic though.. Mostly protection spells, amulets, one exorcism... Stuff like that." Brianne admitted as she asked Sam, "So.. Do you want to see her?"

"Yeah..I do." Sam said as he walked into the diner with Brianne, then over to the table where Samantha sat, his heart racing, his legs felt like rubber..

So many different and conflicting emotions going through his mind.. He took a deep breath and the little girl looked up, mid giggle at something Dean was telling her.

The chubby fingers went over her eyes and she peeked at him, giggling. "Hi."

"Hey." Sam said as he sat down, looked at the worksheet in front of where Dean had been sitting, then said with a grin, "Spelling words."

"Which she got all of right, except Wednesday." Dean mused as Sam nodded. "We can't even spell the same word correctly." he joked as Dean raised a brow, watched his brother with the little girl before saying "I'll go check out the newspaper."

"Actually, Dean.. I'm the contact Garth gave you two.. So if you wanna know anything, ask away." Brianne said, giving Sam a little time with their daughter, smiling to herself.

It also gave her the perfect chance to chew Dean's ass for letting Sam get hurt.

Which she did, the second they sat down.

Sam looked at the little girl and smiled. She scooted out of her chair and walked around the table, scooted onto his lap. "Wanna color?" she asked as she held out a crayon. He took the crayon and they started coloring, laughing as she said "He supposed to be dark purple."

"But he's a cat."

"He's not A cat.. He the Cheshire Cat. From the movie." Samantha said as Sam smiled and then said "Alice in Wonderland, huh?"

"Mhmm. I wants a cat like him, but mama.. She don't like kitties."

"Actually, Samantha, I think Mom's afraid of kitties. Or allergic." Sam blurted, surprised he remembered that.

"You taked my mama dancin before.. Didn't you?" Samantha asked in curiousity, Sam's face coloring. She had the picture of them from Prom, still?

Sure he hadn't been able to actually go.. But he'd snuck in for a little while for her, because he promised.

"Yeah." he coughed.. That was the night before he left, the night that they'd actually made the little girl sitting in his lap right now.

"Don't choke, silly." Samantha giggled as she looked up and slid her soda to him, smiling.. The eyes and the grin.. How in the hell was he just going to leave town when the case was over?

He bit his lower lip as he looked over at Brianne and had the fleeting thought that since the biggest of the danger had been taken care of, thanks to their stopping Angels and Demons from taking over, that maybe... But he didn't want either of them in danger.

But now that he knew he had a daughter, and now that he'd seen Brianne again.. He wasn't too entirely sure he wanted to leave them behind, either.

The man walked in, looking at Brianne for a long period of time and the hairs on the back of Sam's neck and on his arms raised as he said quietly, "Hey Samantha?"

"Hmm, sir?"

"Dad's gonna.. Ermm, I mean let's go sit with Mom, okay?" Sam said casually as he picked her up and carried her back over to the booth where Brianne and Dean sat going over newspaper clippings, completely unaware that the man came in, or even that the man was watching Brianne intently..

"Do you know that guy?" sam asked as he sat down next to Brianne, sliding his arm over the back of the booth, moving Samantha to sit between them as she looked up and over, then shook her head and said "Gus thinks he's a drifter or somethin, guy comes in every damn night almost."

Dean got a bad feeling and then asked, "Does he stay a long time?" as he gave Sam a warning look, mouthed, "She might be coming to the hotel with us, Sammy."

Sam nodded and then spoke up to say "You're not living in your grandma's house still.. Right?"

"Yeah, why?" Brianne asked as she looked from Sam to Dean, then back at the guy who sat reading a menu.

"It might not be a good idea to go home, Bri." Sam insisted as Brianne said "Or.. I go home and you two don't stay in the damn hotel. I mean now that you know.."

"Good point." Dean pointed out as he looked at Sam, barely hiding a smug smirk as Sam bit his lower lip and gave Dean a dirty look.

Samantha looked up at the man and then leaned up, whispered quietly, "Are YOU my daddy?"

Sam coughed and then smiling said quietly, "Yeah."

" I knew it." the little girl smiled brightly as she covered her mouth, giggling.

And already, he wasn't entirely sure he could just walk away, when they'd finished off the shifter.. In fact, he was almost pretty damn certain he WAS NOT walking away again. Everything he felt for Brianne was coming back to the surface in a surprising and short space of time and he wasn't going to be the in and out father.. He wasn't gonna do to Samantha what their dad did to Adam.. Because in the end, that'd hurt Adam more than he'd have been hurt if Adam knew the truth and saw their father all the time.

Now he just had to figure out how to make it all work for them.