Chapter 2

Dean stood stock still for almost a full minute, just staring at the child in the vampire's arms.

"Dean," Mary's calm, quiet voice penetrated the fog in his mind, "Breathe. Breathe!"

Dean sucked in a lung full of air; he hadn't even realised that he'd stopped. He moved slowly towards Benny who met him halfway. He smiled warmly at Dean, carefully holding onto the bundle that was now squirming in his arms.

"Take her," Benny said, adjusting his hold to make it easier for his friend.

Dean shook his head, and the vampire chuckled mildly.

"Come on, brother, you're not tellin' me that the great Dean Winchester's afraid of a baby girl, are ya?" Benny taunted lightly, "You're her Daddy. It'll just come ta ya, natural like."

Dean closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment. Nope, they were both still there when he opened them again, so this wasn't a dream. He looked down at the child. His daughter. Carefully, he reached out and took her from Benny holding her awkwardly in his arms.

"Support her head," Benny and Mary said simultaneously.

Dean glanced between them alarmed, but adjusted his arms accordingly. His body was out of practice but quickly recalling his days taking care of Sam. The little girl had stopped squirming as soon as he'd held her and now, she was staring up at his face, her little mouth open as if in wonder. He stared back at her, memories flooding back from the last time he'd seen her.

She'd come to see him, pretending that she'd run away from her mother Lydia and the rest of the Amazons. She'd asked for help with starting a new life and he'd almost been taken in by the plea. That immediate draw of the responsibility of caring for a child, his child, had hit him like a ton of bricks. A life, a real future away from hunting suddenly seemed like a viable option. He closed his eyes against the memory of watching the girl's lifeless body falling to the floor, Sam behind her with the gun still aloft. His brother had done what he would never have had the strength to do.

Dean came back to the present when he heard his mother softly calling his name.

He turned to her; she'd moved closer and was peering down at his daughter who was contentedly making babbling noises and holding onto one of his shirt buttons.

"What's happening, Dean?"

He was quiet for a moment, seeing the looks she was giving Benny who, in turn, was eyeing her cautiously.

"Mom," he said, placing himself between them, "Could you give us a minute…"

"No! Dean, I don't want to leave you here with….."

"Please? It's okay, Mom, I swear. Just gimme a minute. Please just go and make sure that Castiel isn't grooming himself all over the Library. Those feathers are a bitch to sweep up. Okay Mom? Just a minute…."

He backed his mother out of the room as he silently begged for her understanding with his eyes. When she found herself back out in the hall, he stood in front of her blocking her view of the creature in the room. Decision made, she gave him a single nod of acquiescence, though the look she left him with promised that they would be having a very frank discussion about this situation very soon. He watched her retreating figure for a few seconds more and then turned back and closed the door behind him.

"Did you say that was your Momma?" Benny asked, incredulously.

"Yeah," Dean sighed, already overwhelmed, "Guess this is the day for miracle resurrections. How did you get here, Benny? Who's he?"

"There was this fella, Dean, a man named Chuck, He appeared outta nowhere and saved me from some of fellow vampires that were none too happy when I didn't want to join their nest. Chuck told me that he was a friend of yours and in return for helping me, he needed a favour. Told me to meet him at the exit portal and then just vanished. It didn't take me much time to get there but he was already waiting for me. He just handed me your baby girl, brother, told me her name was Emma and that he'd finally tracked her down. Wanted to give you both a second chance."

"Chuck," Dean said, distractedly, looking down at the baby, who had all but fallen asleep. She yawned and he placed his thumb in one of her hands. He smiled down at her, impressed by how strong she was as she clamped onto it seemingly for dear life. She was definitely a Winchester.

"What was your baby daughter doin' in Purgatory?" Benny asked, bemused, "and better yet, why didn't you tell me 'bout her while we were there?"

"She….she wasn't a baby the last time I saw her, Benny," Dean paused, not really wanting to say the words out loud, "I knocked up an Amazon and Emma was the result. They…uh..grow up really fast. I knew her as a teenager hell bent on killing me and I…I watched her die…..Look, it was a long time ago and I never really looked for her in Purgatory…..cause I didn't want to have to see that again….ever."

"I get it, brother. My goin' home put Elizabeth in danger. I don't know what I'd have done if I'd actually had to watch her die," Benny clapped Dean on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Yeah, but at least she wasn't hoping to eat you after she maimed and killed you."

"Yeah, there is that, I guess," Benny chuckled mildly, "It's so good to see you, Dean. How's Sam? Are you two okay?"

"We're….really good, man, really good. I'm so grateful for all you did for us back then, and for bringing Emma back to me now. You've always been a true friend."

Dean didn't want to bring up the current crisis involving his missing brother. He was sure that there was some condition to Benny's being back topside and he was waiting for the vampire to fill him in. He didn't have to wait long.

"Look Dean, I don't know who this Chuck guy was or how you know him, but I felt his power and I was pretty sure I'd have done whatever he'd told me to do no matter what. He gave me 12 hours- time enough to bring you Emma and to go check on my Elizabeth. I'd really love to stay, maybe have a few beers but I got to get to Carencro and…"

"I get it, Benny. You go see Elizabeth and get your peace of mind," Dean said quietly, "I appreciate your doing this more than you'll ever know."

"What're you gonna do? What if your girl…is more Amazon than Winchester?"

Dean looked down at his sleeping daughter and in that moment, studying her impossibly long lashes, button nose and perfect mouth he knew there was only ever going to be one answer to that question.

"She's a Winchester. She's always been a Winchester. I won't let anyone or anything ever hurt her, not even me."

Dean looked up and smiled at his friend who clapped him on the shoulder again, a look of understanding in his eyes.

"Be well, brother," Benny said, and then to Emma he whispered, "Don't eat your daddy, baby warrior, he's tough like an old shoe and probably tastes just as dusty…."

"Didn't you have somewhere you needed to be?" Dean glared good-naturedly at the vampire who grinned back.

With another pat to Dean's back, Benny walked to the door stopping before he actually opened it.

"By the way. Your friend Chuck, who is he?" he asked.

Dean paused for a second then replied simply, "He's a great writer."

Benny knew there was more to it but Dean clearly didn't want to share and he respected the decision. He gave his friend a nod and opened the door, walking into a blinding light and disappearing from Dean's life again, forever.

The notification beep on Dean's phone went off a moment later, flustering him for a second as he tried to work out how to hold Emma while fishing it out of his jeans. He managed to do so without waking her up and grinned inwardly thinking that this parenting thing was going to be a snap.

It was a voicemail from Chuck. Dean huffed out an incredulous laugh then quieted immediately quickly peering down at Emma's little face. Thanking God…well, Chuck, that she hadn't woken up. He teed up the message and put the phone to his ear.

"Hi Dean! Bet you didn't think you'd be hearing from me so soon?" Chuck muttered like he was trying not to be overheard, "Sorry about doing this over the phone, but Amara and I promised each other that we wouldn't let anything distract us while we're…away and it hasn't even been 24 hours and I'm already sneaking away from the family vacation to leave this voicemail. So, here goes. By now, Benny should be on his way to Louisiana and you're in shock over, well, everything. Amara wanted to give you…and Sam, the chance at the family you've always wanted. You've both been wrongly blaming yourselves for Mary's death even though you know your family's history; that you've been protectors of the world in a never-ending war between Heaven and Hell your whole lives. No matter how inevitable the outcomes have seemed, you've always managed to find it within yourselves to do the right thing… well, with a few missteps along the way. I know you Dean, I've watched you for a very long time and I know that you still sometimes dream of the life you could've had with Ben and Lisa. I know the sacrifices you made when you gave them up and that you feel like you'll never have that chance again. Emma, Dean. Emma is the future you've always wanted and no matter the circumstances of her birth, she's yours. Dean…..you deserve your happy ending too. Okay, I've gotta go. Oh, one more thing. Yes, Emma is still an Amazon with all the difficulties that entails but I've changed a few things I hope will give you two a leg up as your relationship develops. Besides, you'll have Sam, Castiel and Mary to help you overcome them. You can do this, Dean….. Thank you for giving Amara and me our second chance. Make the most of yours. Until we meet again…."

Dean stared at his phone for a few seconds, trying to absorb everything he'd just heard. Okay, he was a little weirded out that God was keeping up with his dreams but decided to leave that disturbing fact on the back burner while he dealt with the rest. Dean's new reality included a 'back from the dead' mother, an Amazonian, likely patricidal daughter and a missing little brother. He smiled down at his little girl. Looked like it was going to be business as usual.

He re-emerged to find Castiel and Mary huddled over his laptop, clearly absorbed in what they were watching.

"Hey!" he called to get their attention.

Mary and Castiel jumped, turning around quickly to look at him.

"I was trying to teach your mother some of the things I've learned about computers," Castiel explained, rising from the table and approaching Dean with a curious look on his face, "We were both amazed by how extensive and well organised your porn collection is. So many categories and sub-ca…"

"Castiel, this is my daughter Emma," Dean interrupted, his face turning red as his eyes darted frantically to his mother. He was going to pretend none of last ten seconds had ever happened.

Mary walked to her son, her eyes bright with amusement and fascination. She wasn't sure what had happened in that room, but she'd known that this was her grand-daughter from the moment she'd seen her little face; her son's nose and cheeks and his amazing hazel eyes were all represented in her features.

Something wasn't right, of course; the strange creature who'd delivered the girl was proof enough of that but right now, seeing the joy and pride in her son's whole demeanour, was more than enough to make her delay her quest for answers. They'd have more than enough time to talk as a family when they brought Sam home.

Castiel lightly touched Emma on the forehead and looked up at Dean in surprise. The new father shook his head slightly at the angel, Dean's eyes warning him against voicing what he'd discovered. There was no doubt that Castiel knew exactly the kind of child Emma was and Dean really didn't want to get into the inevitable argument right now.

"I promise you both we'll talk about everything later," he said quietly, the girl moving to suck her thumb in her sleep.

Mary stepped forward and pulled the little hand away. "We need to get her a pacifier and maybe a few of the other basics….She's beautiful, Dean."

Dean smiled at her, happy with that Mary was willing to let things go for now. Emma…Em was going to need all the badass family support she could get.

"We're going to have to figure this out quick. We need to find Sam and we can't take Em with us. Cass, could you check in on Jody and see if she or the girls might babysit for us for a few days. Maybe Mom can write down a few essentials and you can pick them up before you come back; make it easier for them to help us out?" Dean looked to his friend expectantly.

Castiel was silent for a moment but then nodded. He disappeared immediately in a flutter of wings, startling Mary and Emma who fussed and squirmed in her father's arms. Mary smiled softly as she watched her son try to settle the girl, his face uncertain yet determined to work out a way to comfort her. Em was starting to get more upset, the nap clearly over in her mind and Dean was beginning to get flustered that nothing he was trying was working.

"Dean, let me," Mary said, holding her arms out, "I'm pretty good…I used to be good at this."

Dean nodded in understanding and transferred Em to her grandmother's arms. Mary began gently rocking Emma, the words flowing from her mouth like it was only yesterday when she'd held Sammy in her arms.

Dean closed his eyes as the melodious words of "Hey Jude" in his mother's beautiful voice echoed around the library. Memories, both painful and comforting simultaneously flooded his mind; tears coming unbidden to his eyes. He didn't have long to reflect though because Castiel suddenly reappeared in front of them with an arm full of shopping bags and Claire.

"Jody and Alex were busy but Claire volunteered to help. We went shopping," Cass placed the bags on the table, "Mary's list wasn't very detailed so I brought a few different brands of everything. Hopefully I got everything."

"I'm sure you did fine, Cass," Dean turned to Claire, "Hey Elizabeth, thanks for coming."

Claire glared at Dean for a second before she smirked, "Is that another one of your old-timey movie references, old man?"

"Adventures in Babysitting, you millennial," he replied, amused as always by their little game, "Watch it on Netflix while we're gone, but don't get any ideas."

"I'll have you know that I'm an awesome babysitter, Dean, and I'm cheaper than most."

"Oh yeah?" Dean crossed his arms over his chest and braced himself for the other shoe.

"Don't worry, Winchester, I'm not charging a fee. I only have one condition which we can talk about when you get back," Claire announced walking over and introducing herself to Mary.

She smiled down at Emma who, though settled again, was now awake and curiously looking up at the two women above her.

"I'm not just going to agree to…." Dean scoffed, looking over at Castiel whose eyes had narrowed on Claire.

"Calm down, Dean. I swear it's nothing bad, okay, so both of you relax," Claire didn't really have to look up to know the looks she was getting from the two men, "Now, don't you have somewhere to be?"

Dean stared at her for a second and then nodded, "Okay, we'll talk later. Thanks for coming, Claire, we'll explain everything when we get back."

"Castiel filled me in on a few details," she replied, taking Em from Mary, "but yeah, when you get back."

Dean came over to them and kissed Emma's forehead. He ran a finger down her cheek and smiled when she stared up at him with that look she seemed to have reserved only for him. He said a soft goodbye to Claire and then he, Mary and Castiel headed to the garage.

Sam felt like a trussed up turkey that'd been shot for Thanksgiving Dinner as he lay in the back of the S.U.V. They'd been travelling all night as far as he could tell. His captors hadn't really said much on the journey but he'd gotten the basic gist of their grievances back at the Bunker when the blonde woman had blasted Cass away and introduced herself as Toni Bevell of the London Chapterhouse of the Men of Letters. Apparently their British brethren weren't exactly fans of Winchester methodology of dealing with the myriad of monsters they'd encountered over the years. Sam wasn't so obtuse that he couldn't understand how some of he and his brother's decisions would look to outsiders, but he sure wasn't about to let himself be judged by them, especially after the Winchesters had had the fate of the world entrusted to them by God himself.

Sam winced at the spasms of pain that ran down his right leg where Bevell had shot him. A hastily tied tourniquet was all that was preventing him from bleeding out at this point. He really couldn't believe that after so many years of facing the worst of the Supernatural- spells, demon blood, hexes, the Darkness infection and Death himself, that he'd be felled by a single .38 calibre bullet. Dean was never going to let him live this down.

He caught his breath at his brother's name. Dean was gone. Once again his brother had committed the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that the world kept spinning. Sam could have easily slipped into melancholy if he allowed himself to keep thinking about his brother. Right now, he needed to find a way out of this situation and fast.

His time of reflection was cut short when the back of the S.U.V. was opened and he stared up at Toni and the…veterinarian. Apparently, a bag full of cash was all the man needed to do an illegal backroom operation in his clinic. The shot of morphine and local anaesthetic had been much appreciated but, when his pleading stare failed to mobilise the doctor into doing the right thing and calling for help, Sam wasn't surprised when he found that a sudden prick to his neck was actually due to the administration of a sedative.

"What….what'd…you..give me?" he accused, as his head bobbed and he fought to stay awake.

"Don't worry, Sam," Toni smiled at him as his eyes fluttered, "We're going to have a lot of time to discuss all your failings once we move you to somewhere more comfortable. Until then you…"

Sam's world faded to black.