John's heart broke when Eric lost his fight with consciousness and fell to the ground next to Hayden. He'd been terrified when he first got to the scene. He was afraid he was too late. Hayden was on the ground, not moving, while Eric took on the last two guards.

He was impressed by Eric's ability to take out the guards, but he'd also been a little frightened. His 9 year old boy could take care of himself, but at that age he shouldn't have to know those things.

It was harder to convince Eric to trust him than he thought. But he should have been expecting that reaction considering what he knew about Manticore. His boys would've been taught to trust no one, but they had still found each other and it was obvious that they cared about each other.

John walked towards his injured boys, his brave boys. He carefully turned Eric over and checked his pulse. It was too fast, but with everything that was going on he thought it was ok. He frowned though when he saw the blood staining his boy's shirt.

He moved the coat to the side and found the source to be at Eric's right shoulder. He must've gotten this before John had gotten there. He dropped his duffle bag on the ground next to him and dug through it for a moment until he found some bandages and got them out. He wrapped Eric's shoulder as best as he could; he couldn't do much out in the woods, but at least this way his boy wouldn't bleed to death before he could get him back to the car.

He gently lowered Eric back to the ground and moved over to Hayden to check on him. His pulse was weak and slow, too slow. Hayden was in danger of hypothermia that much he knew for sure. He needed to get both of his boys out of here, but he had to make sure Hayden wasn't bleeding somewhere critical.

There was a deep gash at his right temple and his left wrist was painfully swollen, but other than that he seemed to be ok. He just needed to get his boy warmed up before it was too late.

He grabbed his duffle and slung it over his shoulder before he turned back to Hayden. He picked up his son and held him against his chest. His eyes filled with tears at finally being able to do this again. He put his hand on the back of Hayden's head and just held him. His boys, he finally had his boys again.

He shook himself after a minute and got moving again. He had to get them out of there before more Manticore guards showed up. He balanced Hayden while he scooped Eric up in his other arm. Neither of his boys roused with the manhandling, but they had been through so much he wasn't surprised.

He'd been in the woods for three days trying to find any sign of where Eric and Hayden could be. He just swept the woods and backtracked and tried to stay as close to the road as possible since he wanted to cover his bases and stay close to the car just in case he found them. He'd finally stumbled across the four guards yesterday and had followed them at a distance. They didn't seem to be in a hurry, but they might have a direction to go on while he didn't.

He'd fallen behind this morning, but it wasn't hard to follow the footprints. Unlike his boys, the guards weren't worried about anyone tracking them so they didn't do anything about their footprints.

It was a day's hike back to the car, but he hoped he could get there sooner. If one of his boys woke up and needed something then he wouldn't hesitate to stop. He would do anything for his sons and he needed to help them, but he also needed to find a way to gain their trust.

They were about halfway to the car when Eric started to stir. His arms were aching, but he kept going. Eric turned his head against his shoulder, and he glanced down to see his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. His eyes slowly opened and he looked up at him blearily. He looked like he wanted to fight to get away, but his body just didn't have the strength.

"Hey buddy," John whispered. "Do you remember me?"

Eric nodded and breathed out, "John."

"That's right," John said with a smile.

Eric's eyes slid from him over to Hayden. "My brother?" Eric asked, looking to him again for reassurance that Hayden was ok.

"He's hangin' in there," John reassured.

"I can walk," Eric muttered after a moment.

John tightened his hold on him, "I gotcha, you just rest, ok?"

"If I walk we can go faster," Eric pointed out.

"It's alright buddy. It won't take long before we get to the car," John said.

"Why are you helping us?" Eric asked, his voice small.

John's heart broke again for his boys. "It's really hard to explain, but once you're both safe I'll tell you everything ok? But I'm looking out for you boys." Eric didn't say anything, but he did rest his head against his shoulder again. "How's your arm?"

"It's manageable," Eric replied, his tone neutral.

"Do you want to stop?" John asked. "We can take a break for a few minutes and maybe I can get your brother to wake up. What d'you think?"

"Ok…" Eric whispered.

John found a good spot to sit down, and then slowly sat down with his boys in his lap. Eric shifted a little to get more comfortable and John grabbed Hayden's little feet to keep them out of the snow. He rubbed Hayden's back to try and get his blood flowing. His little boy was freezing, but that shouldn't be a surprise. They didn't have any shoes on and they had only recently gotten the coats they were wearing.

John rested Hayden against himself again, and then turned to Eric. "Can I look at your shoulder?" John asked.

Eric shook his head no, "We should keep going since he won't wake up."

"Alright buddy," John replied. He picked his boys up again and started walking.

Eric fell asleep again after a few hours and Hayden remained unconscious. He made it back to the car, and even though it wasn't the best idea, he put both boys in the front seat and buckled them in. They were so small he just wanted to hold them and keep them safe.

He cranked the heat on full blast hoping to warm his boys up. They were leaning against each other so hopefully that helped too.

John pulled his phone out after a few miles and dialed for Dean. His 16 year old son answered after the second ring with a cautious, "Hello?"

"Dean, it's me," John replied.

"Did you find 'em?" Dean asked slowly, unsure what the answer was going to be.

"I found 'em and I'm bringin' 'em back now," John said, and he couldn't quite keep the smile off of his face. He'd been looking for 9 years for his boys and now he finally had them back.

"They alright?" Dean asked.

"They're both hurt so I'll need your help bringin' 'em in," John said. "And we've gotta take it slow with 'em. That place was messed up, Dean. The boys aren't going to trust us for a while, but they need us."

"I know dad," Dean reassured softly.

"Alright, I'll be there soon," John said. "You boys doin' ok?"

"Yeah. Sammy's excited to meet his little brothers," Dean said, and John could hear the smile in his voice.

"He won't have to wait much longer," John said with a chuckle. He reached over and ran his hand over his boy's buzzed head. "You won't believe it, but they've got your eyes, kiddo."

"Really?" Dean asked surprised.

"Yep, bright green. And they've got freckles across their noses. Their like little copies of you," John said glancing over at his boys.

"Perfect!" Dean said. "That'll give me two more on my side when I fight with Sammy."

John threw his head back and laughed, but then he warned, "They might not both be on your side."

"We'll see," Dean said.

"Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes," John said. He rubbed both of their heads lovingly as he got closer to the motel.

It had been a good 40 minute drive, but neither boy had woken up. His worry had lessened some as he talked to Dean. His oldest son always had a way of easing his fears and knowing how to put a smile on his face. But he wasn't talking to Dean now and the reality of his boys being hurt and unconscious was hitting him again.

Eric had been shot and Hayden was hypothermic or severely concussed. His boy had been out for a long time and he just hoped it was that he was exhausted from running for four days straight. He was really impressed with how his boys had stuck together and made it as far as they did.

John pulled into the parking lot and parked in front of the room he had rented for his other two boys. Dean walked out of the room as soon as he pulled up and ran over to the passenger side door. John unbuckled their seatbelt, and then carefully slid his arms under Eric's shoulders and knees.

"Dean, that's Hayden. Take him inside and get him under as many blankets as you can. But be careful with his wrist. And-"

"Dad, I've got him, ok?" Dean said softly.

John nodded and watched as Dean gently picked Hayden up and walked inside with him. Hayden looked so small in Dean's arms and Dean was only 16. John followed after just a moment and took Eric inside.


Dad hadn't been kidding when he said his brothers looked like little copies of him. Their eyes were closed and their heads were shaved, but he could still see the resemblance.

He carried his little brother inside and took him to the furthest bed. Sammy instantly ran up to him as soon as he walked inside.

"Is that him? Which one is he? Is he hurt?" Sammy asked a million miles per hour.

"Yeah, Dad's got our other brother," Dean said. "He said this is Hayden and yes, he's hurt, but we're gonna help him." Dad walked in behind him carrying Eric. "Go see if Dad needs help, ok?"

"Ok," Sam quickly replied, and then he ran over to Dad to see what he could do.

Dean held Hayden with one arm and pulled back the covers. His little brother was so small; he already felt very protective over both of them and he hated to think what all had happened to them. He gently laid Hayden down, pulled the covers over him, and then turned to get the first aid kit. Sam was already there though, holding it at the ready for him.

"Dad said I should help you," Sam said.

Dean smiled and replied, "Alright, I need some antiseptic and some of the wipes to clean out this gash in his forehead."

Sam nodded and handed him what he asked for. Dean was thorough cleaning the cut at Hayden's temple. He turned Hayden's head to the side, but then frowned. "Sammy, I need some more light."

"On it," Sam quickly replied. He hopped off of the bed and got the lamp off of the side table. He plugged it in on the other side and turned it on to give him more light.

"Thanks Sammy," Dean said. He turned back to Hayden and carefully put in the stitches. It didn't take him long to finish, and then he taped a little piece of gauze on the cut.

"Dean, how can you tell them apart?" Sam asked.

"Dad told me this was Hayden," Dean replied. "I don't know how he knew, but it was probably something he noticed at Manticore."

"Like how they act?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Dean answered. "We'll probably be able to tell them apart once they wake up and start talking to us."

"I hope you're right," Sam muttered, and then asked, "Do you think they look like you?"

"Yeah, they do," Dean said.

Sam bit his lip in thought and he glanced over at Eric and dad at the other bed. Dad was cleaning out what looked like a bullet wound in his brother's shoulder. He felt anger rise up within him; those bastards had been shooting at children and they had hit his brother.

"Dean?" Sam asked quietly.

Dean made himself relax and reassured, "Everything's alright."

Sam nodded, and then looked back to Hayden. "His wrist looks pretty bad."

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "I'm going to check that next."


He was numb. He couldn't remember what exactly had happened, but it didn't really matter. He couldn't bring himself to care; he was just tired. He hoped Ben was ok, but his brother was probably freaking out. He hadn't really been able to wake up that morning and Ben had practically panicked then.

He knew he'd been out for a long time this time around. He was numb, but he felt sluggish, like he was swimming in molasses and couldn't break free.

At least that was how he felt until someone grabbed his broken wrist. That sent a jolt of pain through him that forced him back into consciousness.

He reacted without even having to think about it. He yanked his arm away from whoever was holding it, and then threw a hard punch at them. Whoever it was grunted with the hit and fell away from him. He was up in an instant, but he nearly collapsed again when he reached the new altitude.

He managed to stay conscious though, and he quickly took in his surroundings. He wasn't in the woods anymore, and that in itself was confusing, but there were other people in this room he was in and he didn't know them.

There was a boy sitting on the bed who looked a little older than him, but he had brown eyes and dark brown hair. Another boy, well closer to a man, maybe a teenager, was on the floor with a hand over his jaw. It must've been the one he'd hit a moment ago.

He looked to the other side of the room and he nearly lost it when he saw Ben. His brother was bleeding on the other bed and an older man was over him. He did lose it when he recognized the man as one of the guards at Manticore.

He growled low in his throat and started to leap into action. He had to get Ben out of here. He didn't remember what had put them in this situation, but he was going to get them out. Who knew what this Manticore goon was going to do to them.

Before he could get far though, an arm wrapped around his middle and pulled him back. He struggled to fight the older boy off, but he was embarrassed to find that his body was too weak to throw him off.

The guard noticed their struggle and slowly stood up and walked over to them.

"Hayden," the guard said softly. "I need you to calm down, ok?"

Alec frowned, was this guy talking to him?

"We're just trying to help you," the guard continued.

Alec didn't reply, but he did force himself to relax. He waited until the older boy loosened his grip before he made his move. He elbowed the boy hard in the gut and he heard a satisfying whoosh of air from the boy. He was released and he ran right at the guard.

He plowed into him since he didn't have many options and they both fell to the floor. The guard tried to grab him, but he was too quick. He was already up and next to Ben before the guard could even blink.

He looked for anything he could use as a weapon, but there was nothing. He would just have to improvise, but no matter what, he was protecting Ben. He stood in front of his brother and raised his fists, ready for the next attack.

"Hayden, we're not going to hurt you," the guard said.

"My name's not Hayden," Alec growled.

The guard's face fell slightly, but he quickly covered it up and asked, "What is your name?"

"Why would I tell you?"

The guard sighed, "You remember me from Manticore don't you?"

Alec nodded once, and then threatened, "We're not going back there. I might not look like much, but I'm gonna do what I have to, to protect my brother and get outta here."

"We just want to help you. Both of you," the guard said.

"We don't need help," Alec shot back.

"Your brother's hurt," the guard pointed out. "He's lost a lot of blood and I'm trying to patch him up."

Alec quickly glanced back at Ben and noticed his pale features. He could smell all of the blood and he could hear his rapid heartbeat.

"Give me your gun," Alec demanded. The guard scowled, but then took a deep breath and pulled out his gun. He took a slow step towards him, and then handed him the gun. Alec immediately pointed at the man; his wrist was still throbbing but his hands were steady. "One wrong move and you're dead," Alec threatened.

"I'm just trying to help," the guard promised.

The guard went back to his brother and finished cleaning out the wound. Alec's aim never wavered as the guard packed the wound, and then wrapped it with gauze.

The guard sat back once he was done and asked, "Will you tell me your name now?"

"No."

"My name's John," the guard said without missing a beat. "Those are my boys, Sam and Dean." John pointed behind him, but he refused to look.

"Why are you helping us?" Alec asked, his voice cold.

"It's a long story and I'd rather only tell it once. Can you wait until your brother wakes up?" John asked.

Alec didn't want to wait; he wanted to grab his brother and run. But he knew they wouldn't make it far. His adrenaline was running out and the past few days were catching up to him. He still couldn't remember what had happened to get them here, but he figured it had something to do with his head injury.

"Your brother lost a lot of blood. I need to give him a blood transfusion. Do you know his blood type?" John asked when he didn't say anything.

"He can't have ordinary blood," Alec replied, his voice clipped.

"Ok, whose blood can he have?" John asked patiently.

"Mine." John looked reluctant to allow that, but as a guard he should've already known this information. Alec sighed and explained like it was obvious. "He needs my blood because it's different from yours. Ordinary blood makes us sick."

John sighed too, "Alright, will you let me get this needle in your arm?"

"No," Alec stated. John was about to point out the obvious, but Alec stopped him. "Do one of them know how to do it?"

"You mean Sam or Dean?" John asked to clarify.

"Yeah."

"Dean," John said, nodding his head to come forward. The older boy walked past him and stood next to John.

Alec kept his gun on John and motioned for him to move, "I want you over by Sam and don't move."

"Ok," John agreed easily. He moved to stand next to Sam, and Alec finally decided it was ok to drop his gun just a little bit.

"K'mere," Dean said from the other side of the bed.

Alec slowly walked over but warned, "Don't try any funny business. It takes me less than a second to shoot and I don't miss."

"I believe you," Dean replied.

"Good," Alec said as he hopped onto the bed next to Ben. He let Dean put the needle in his arm with a small tube, and then he put the other end in Ben's arm. Alec's blood traveled through the small tube and into his brother.

"I can't let you sit here for very long," Dean said after a moment. "You need your blood too."

Alec shrugged, "I heal fast. It won't be a big deal."

"Will you let me look at your wrist while we wait?" Dean asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It needs to be rebroken because it healed wrong. If you rebreak it, I'm gonna pass out, and then I can't protect my brother."

"How 'bout an IV. You've been out there for a while right? You probably need some fluids. So, will you let us set up an IV for you?" Dean asked.

"No," Alec repeated. Dean took a deep breath, but Alec explained before he could ask. "If you make up an IV you could put God knows what in there and I could be out in seconds, and then wake up back at Manticore." He shot a dirty look over at John knowing he would be the reason he went back to Manticore.

"Look kid, my dad went out there to find you and we just want to help you. We can't do that if you won't let us," Dean said, his patience wearing.

Alec didn't reply; he didn't care what the guard did or didn't do. He was still a guard and he couldn't trust him.

"You don't make things easy, you know that?" Dean asked. Alec looked over at him and was surprised to see a smile was tugging at the older boy's lips.

"Why is that funny?" Alec asked curiously.

"It's one of those things that are hard to explain," Dean replied.

Alec frowned, wishing he understood what Dean meant. He didn't know why, but he actually kind of liked Dean and he felt bad for hitting him. "I'm sorry I hit you," Alec said before he could stop himself. Apologizing was a weakness; he wasn't allowed to do that.

Dean chuckled, "It's ok. You took me by surprise and you hit harder than I expected."

Alec smiled a little, "You're lucky I pulled back. If I would've punched you at full force then your jaw would be broken."

"Well thanks for pulling back," Dean said returning Alec's smile. "I'm kinda fond of talking and a broken jaw would've made that hard to do."

"I like talking too," Alec said. He couldn't help himself; this was only the third person he'd ever had a real conversation with and he liked it. "We weren't allowed to talk much at Manticore."

Dean suddenly became serious and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Dean seemed sincere even though Alec doubted the older boy knew much about Manticore. And if he did then he would only know it from his dad who would've painted a different picture than the one Alec had.

"Alec," he whispered.

"What?" Dean asked, confused having not heard what he had said.

"Alec. That's my name," he said a little louder. He shot a worried glance over at John to see if he had heard, but he was talking to the other boy, Sam. He didn't want the guard to know that they had given each other names and had stopped using their designations. "Don't tell your dad, ok?"

"Ok," Dean promised, and then asked, "Will you tell me your brother's name?"

"Ben," Alec replied.

Dean smiled and slowly reached over to rub his head affectionately. Alec had almost pulled away when he did that, afraid that Dean was going to hit him, but he kind of liked what Dean did. It was kind of nice; it was like he had another friend. He wasn't entirely sure he could trust Dean completely, but he seemed to be ok for now.

"Alright, it's time to take the needle out, ok?" Dean asked.

"Ok," Alec replied. He was so tired; his adrenaline rush was completely gone now and he was running on fumes. But he couldn't go to sleep. He needed to protect Ben and he couldn't trust these people enough to sleep. But his body was yelling at him to take a break.

He just then noticed how cold he was and he immediately started shivering. His head throbbed, his muscles ached, and his wrist hurt. He really didn't feel good and this whole situation was unfair. He'd been ready to die in those woods, but somehow he'd ended up here and now he had to keep fighting. He had hoped if he had died, Ben would've let him go and saved himself. He would've made better time alone and could've made it to the road. Now they were with strangers who he didn't know if they could trust or not. He only knew that he wasn't going back to Manticore; he'd rather die than go back there.

His eyes filled with tears without his permission. He blamed his stupid body for not listening to him and wished he was stronger. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake until Ben woke up so he had to try something else. He had to break his pride and beg this boy he'd just met to help him.

He looked up at Dean with shining eyes and pleaded, "Please don't let him take us back. I know he's your dad and all, but we can't go back." A tear slipped free and streaked down his cheek. "I'd rather die than go back there and I know Ben would too. Please."

Uh oh, the dam had burst and he was getting hysterical. But he was a kid for cryin' out loud. He knew he was supposed to be a soldier and that he needed to suck it up, but he was scared and he was hurt and he needed help.

Tears were falling freely now and he tried hard not to sob like a baby. "Please don't let him take us."

Dean moved closer to him, "K'mere Alec." Alec didn't know what Dean was going to do, but he suddenly wrapped his arms around him and held him close. He'd stiffened at first, unsure of what this was, but then he felt safe and he let himself cry against Dean. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe," Dean whispered to him. "I won't let anything happen to you, ok? Or your brother."

Alec nodded against Dean and let himself get it all out. All of the fear from the past few days, all of the pain, and all of the unknown. He cried until he didn't have any tears left, and then he drifted off against Dean's chest.


Dean held Alec until he fell asleep against him. His little brother was scared and had been trying his hardest to hide that. Dean rubbed Alec's little back, and then kissed the top of his head. It was obvious that Alec had never been comforted before; he'd started to pull away when Dean had rubbed his head and he had stiffened in his arms when he'd hugged him.

"I'm gonna take care of you," Dean whispered even though he knew Alec was asleep.

He picked up his little brother and started to head back to Alec's bed, but then he stopped. He looked back to Ben who was still out, and then to Alec. His brother's only concern had been to protect his brother and get him out of here. They had escaped together and survived together.

Dean turned around and tucked Alec in next to Ben. That way if one of them woke up they would at least have each other. That would be one less thing for them to worry about. Alec turned in his sleep and moved closer to Ben. He carefully curled himself around his brother; it was like even asleep he was conscious of his brother's injury.

"You did good, Dean," John said coming up beside him. He ran his hand down his face and said, "I wished over and over that he would wake up while we were out there. It's a good thing he didn't. He would've taken off at the first sight of me and we would've never seen him again."

Dean shook his head in disagreement, "No, he wouldn't've run. He would've wanted to, but he wouldn't leave his brother."

"Did he tell you their names?" John asked.

"Yeah…"

John waited a moment, and then prodded, "Well, what are they?"

"I can't tell you," Dean said. "I promised him I wouldn't."

John sighed, but then nodded his agreement. "You're right. He trusts you and it wouldn't do us any good for you to break that trust."

"He'll trust you, dad, they both will," Dean reassured. "It's just gonna take some time."

John nodded again before he started to turn away. "I'm gonna get cleaned up a bit. Keep an eye on 'em, alright?"

"I will," Dean promised, and John went into the bathroom.

Sam looked at him once their dad was gone and Dean knew he was shaken up from what had happened. Dean moved away from the twins' bed and sat on the vacant bed. He motioned for Sam to come over there and Sam didn't hesitate at all before he climbed onto the bed next to him and leaned against him.

"I thought he was going to shoot dad," Sam said in a small voice.

"Sam, he won't shoot dad," Dean reassured. "He's scared and he thinks dad's gonna take him back to Manticore."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Well, dad was a guard there and he must've seen him and recognized him," Dean said.

"How're we gonna get them to trust us?"

Dean pulled Sam closer to him and looked over at the sleeping twins. "We've gotta let them know that we just want to help them. They've been through a lot, but once they get to know us, they'll trust us."

"So, they're names aren't Eric and Hayden?" Sam asked. "What if they aren't really our brothers?"

Dean chuckled, "I think the resemblance is a pretty good clue that they're our brothers. But they probably didn't know their names back at Manticore and went by something else."

"Oh," Sam said simply. He snuggled closer to Dean and fell asleep after a few more minutes. Neither of them had been able to sleep very well while their dad was away. They knew what he was doing and it made them nervous not knowing exactly what was going on. He knew Sam was worn out from the stress, he was too, but he wouldn't break his promise to Alec.

If his brother woke up and he was asleep, Alec wouldn't trust him as easily. He needed to stay awake until the twins were more comfortable around them. He didn't want to lose them after just getting them back.

He'd never gotten to meet the twins when they were born. He'd been looking after Sammy while his parents were at the hospital. They'd come back the next day; neither of them willing to talk about what had happened. They were so sad and Dean knew it wasn't good. His dad had told him later that day that his brothers hadn't made it.

Dean had taken his word for it and had grieved for the two brothers that he would never get to meet. He was only six at the time, but he'd still understood what his parents were talking about. After his mom died, his dad had decided that the twins weren't actually dead. He had asked why he thought they weren't dead, but his dad hadn't been making much sense back then.

Dean had followed along though and had done everything his dad had asked of him as they searched for what had killed their mom and for the twins. He hadn't really believed that the boys were still alive, but now he had proof that dad had been right all along. And now he had the chance to know his brothers and to take care of them.

Dean smiled as he watched over his sleeping brothers. He now had three brothers and he really couldn't be happier.


More soon...