John stood itching at the collar and tie that Mary had made him wear for the press conference Daniel had called, he hated wearing a shirt and tie at the best of times but today it felt like his air supply was being cut off. Dean was being exceptionally clingy and John put it down to all the strangers that were snapping pictures and talking excitedly. There was a small stage that was covered in a deep blue carpet and a small podium with the Campbell family crest on it,

" Thinks he's the God damn President " John snorted " Ass hole " he felt Deans small hand tighten in his and he smiled down at the little boy, Deans face was looking up at him a look of shock on his face

" Sorry champ, your grandfather brings out the rude words in me " he gave the small boy a wink and looked to Mary, he cringed at the awful outfit that poor Sammy had been made to wear, it was a sailor outfit that Mary had thought was the cutest, Dean was in a shirt and tie like his father and had shown his disgust by keep pulling off the clip on tie and throwing it on the floor, in the end Mary had placed the tie in her purse, making the small boy smile in triumph earning a smirk from his father which was quickly wiped away as Mary glared at him.

Johns eyes kept scanning the crowd, he couldn't shake the feeling in his gut that something was coming, so he looked to the crowd for anything out of place. Only problem was he was at a press conference so to him everything was out of place, he sighed

" Mary ? " he whispered " How much longer is this going to take ? "

" I don't know, dad said it should be over quickly enough a few quick questions and answers and we'll be on our way "

" Why the hell do we have to be here for it ? " he asked frustrated

" I guess he just wants a little support is all, it's the least we can do after he helped us get the boys, just be patient " John scowled, he was being patient for crying out loud but there was only so much smiling a man could do before his damn cheeks fell off,

" I am being patient " he said petulantly, Mary rolled her eyes

" Sure you are " Johns scowl deepened. Dean tugging on his arm brought him from his thoughts of melting his wife's brain with his glare,

" What is it champ ? " John asked as he crouched by Dean

" Daddy, I gotta go " he said slightly hopping on the spot

" Come on then, lets go find a bathroom huh ? Mary I'm just taking Dean to the bathroom, don't start the fun without me okay ? " he said sarcastically, he received a glare and smirked as he led his son away..

They entered the bathroom and John led Dean into a cubicle,

" Think you can handle this on your own kiddo ? I gotta go myself "

" Yeah daddy, I'm a big boy now " John smiled proudly at his son

" I know you are kid " he swatted him gently on the behind and made his way to the urinal, someone entered the toilets but as John was a guy you don't tend to look round in a bathroom when you're taking a leak, just in case they thought you were coming onto them and you got your ass kicked, or as had happened more in Johns case got chatted up. He grinned and shook his head, then he felt the barrel of a gun in the small of his back.

"Where's the boy ? " a voice hissed in his ear

" Don't know what you're talking about buddy " John replied calmly " Its just me and little John in here "

" You're a funny guy, I know you came in here with a kid, now where is he ? " the gun was thrust further into his spine, John heard someone else enter the bathroom and breathed out a relieved breath

" Oh they aint here to help you, woman find the brat I'll take care of daddy here " he spat out the word daddy as if it was the most disgusting word in the English language,

" Who the hell are you ? " John asked

" Me " the voice was by his ear he could feel the mans stale breath on his cheek " I'm Deano's real daddy" John went to spin round but was knocked to the floor with the butt of the gun, he heard Deans terrified yells,

" DADDY, DADDY !! " John looked through his hazy vision to see a man and woman man handling his boy from the bathroom, pulling his reserves together John climbed to his unsteady feet, managed to fasten his pants and stumbled from the bathroom. He could see the couple struggling with Dean away from the press conference, black dots danced in his vision, it cleared in time to see the man, Joe Bennett punch his four year old son and knock him out. A red haze descended on John, it cleared his vision he would never know how he crossed the distance to the couple who had traumatised his son, who had brutalised him, starved him and his brother, before he knew it he had the man by the throat and pinned against the wall,

" Please tell me you did not just punch my son ? " he hissed out, behind him he felt more than saw Mabel reaching into her purse " If you want two working arms lady I would forget whatever you're about to do ", the woman halted in her actions and looked to John with wide eyes,

" What are you going to do ? " she asked " You going to go to the cops ? " she sneered " We'll be out before you know it, the little shit will never be safe from us "

" Sh-shut up you stupid bitch " Joe struggled out, John was slowly choking him, he turned his dark eyes to her, Mabel took a terrified step back, she had never seen such anger before

" You know you're right " he said calmly " So I guess I'm going to have to deal with this myself, and by the time I'm finished with you both " he knocked Joe unconscious and took a step towards the now quaking woman " You'll be begging that I'd taken you to the cops " before she could comment he had her in a choke hold and she slipped into the same sleeping state as her partner. Quickly shifting the unconscious bodies into a cupboard he picked Dean up and ran back to the pressroom, Mary was just coming out,

" Where ha………John what happened is he okay ? "

" No he isn't that bastard so called father of his nearly took him from us " Mary's hand flew to her mouth

" Is he okay ? "

" No, take him to the hospital they knocked him out, he needs help, call an ambulance there's something here I need to deal with "

" Like what John? You got that look, don't do anything stupid "

" Mary " John growled out " Just do as I ask ", She nodded and took the unresponsive child from John she ran into the pressroom asking for help.

John turned back to the cupboard, a calm controlled grin on his face, they where going to pay for what they'd done, at first John had thought of going to the police but after hearing what Mabel had said he wasn't willing to put either of his sons at risk.

Getting the knocked out pair into the trunk of the impala had been surprisingly easy, with the commotion at the front. John drove to the outskirts of Kansas, he could hear thumping from the trunk, had been able to for a couple of hours now, he levelled his gaze on the pistol beside of him that he'd taken from Joe, now he had to decide if slow and painful was the way or quick so he could get back to his son.

Arriving at his destination he cut the engine and climbed out of the car, opening the trunk he levelled the gun on the couple and in a cold voice ordered,

" Out, now. And keep your hands where I can see um " the pair climbed hesitantly out of the trunk Mabel was crying, it infuriated John further, how many times had Dean or Sammy shed tears only to be laughed at, or starved, and in Deans case hurt, beaten ?

No injuries had been found on Sammy, John surmised that was because Dean had made sure he took all the punishments keeping his brother safe.

" Shut the fuck up " he whispered, John was close to loosing it could feel the red haze descending into his thoughts,

" Look man, just let us go. We won't come near you or the kids again " Joe said, John cocked a brow at that,

" Oh yeah ? That's not what this bitch said " he said inclining his head to the sobbing woman, Joe gave a nervous smile, and licked his dry lips

" She's always running her mouth off like that, needs to be kept on a short leash. I, we won't even step foot back into Kansas again, you got my word man "

" Your word means exactly shit to me, you sick fuck " he cocked the gun

" Please, I…I'm pregnant " Mabel stuttered, Joe gave her a strange look

" Then I'll be doing the kid a favour " John said coldly, although now he had doubts, could he really kill this woman who was carrying a child ?

" I swear man we won't come near you or the bra…..Dean again. Just let us go ". John closed his eyes and saw a little face with bright green eyes staring up at him, eyes so full of sadness, hurt. Had they lost him when they'd only just found him ? Would Dean become the silent traumatised child he had been when they'd first met him? Then the image of the small boy bruised and unconscious came to Johns mind.

Two shots rang out into the darkened night

" I can't take that chance " John said quietly as the bodies fell lifelessly to the floor. John had killed before, when he was in Vietnam, he'd never taken pleasure in it, not like the hippies and war protesters had claimed he had when they'd spat on him in the street. They'd called him a baby killer he guessed now he was one. He placed a hand on Mabel's flat stomach

" I'm sorry kid, I really am " John sighed and pulled a shovel from the back seat, he had a lot of work to do and he wanted to be back with his family before morning. Squaring his shoulders John set to work, burying the past that had just threatened his boys.

Mary paced the hospital corridor the doctors where concerned as Dean had still to regain consciousness, the boy had a large bruise on his cheek and a large egg shaped lump at the back of his head. She was worried sick, she'd told the doctors what had happened they surmised that he had probably hit his head and where just running tests to find out what damage had been caused and if that damage was the reason the four year old hadn't awoken.

Mary was beyond annoyed with John he'd left her to handle this alone, she didn't think she could forgive him for this, and was equally terrified as to what her husband had done to the couple that had threatened to take the boy away. He'd had a cold distant look in his dark eyes, it was beyond anything she had seen there before and it had scared her.

She sat down in one of the plastic chairs and sighed heavily, Sammy was fast asleep oblivious to all going on around him sucking away at his thumb contentedly. She stroked the chestnut brown hair softly, would they even get Dean back after this ? How would he react if John wasn't there when he did wake up ?

She put her head in her hands,

" Mrs Winchester ? " Mary looked up, red rimmed eyes taking in the doctor before her

" Is he okay ? Is he awake? " the doctor held up a hand to halt further questions, he took a seat beside her

" I'm Doctor Turner I'll be Deans doctor, we've run some tests and I'm pleased to say we've found no permanent damage. Your son has a severe concussion and the reason why he won't wake up could simply be his body's way of dealing with the shock "

" Could be? Is there something you're not telling me ? " she asked her voice shaking, Doctor Turner sighed,

" Its possible that he was hit that hard that he could have slipped into a coma "

" Oh my God " Mary gasped out " Please no, when….when will you know for sure ? "

" We're running some more tests, and being patient. We'll leave it another few hours before we know for sure. You can go and sit with him now, keep talking to him he can hear you " he smiled gently as he stood

" Thank you " Mary watched the doctor leave " Oh God John where are you ? " she breathed out, she stood and went into the little boys room.

As if he knew he was being summoned John walked down the corridor and into the room where Mary and his sons where.

" Mary ? " Mary span round in her seat, all previous thoughts of never forgiving John fled from her mind as she ran into his arms,

" Oh God John, they think he maybe in a coma, they say he's got a severe concussion and we have to wait. He hasn't even moved yet. They've run so many tests, John what if we loose him ? " she cried into his chest, he circled his arms around her tighter

" That's not going to happen. He's a lot stronger than he looks, his body's just trying to heal I'll bet, I'm no doctor but I would think they'd know for sure if it was a coma, they're just covering all the bases "

" You think so ? " she said softly

" I'm sure of it. Come on lets go sit with our boy huh ? " he led her over to Deans bedside, he looked so tiny in the large bed, so vulnerable, he ran his large hand gently over his bruised cheek,

" Damn son , I'm sorry I couldn't stop that but they won't hurt you again. Ever. I promise "

" John ? " Mary asked tentatively " What did you do to them ? " John looked to his wife, he wanted to lie, say he'd driven them far out and left them there to make there way back. That he'd scared them shitless, but he never could lie to Mary, he looked to his hands,

" I protected my family "

" How exactly ? "

" Mary ? " Johns tone was pleading, 'please don't ask' 'please don't make me reveal just what a monster I truly am' a warm hand on his arm and he was looking in his wife's bright green eyes and damn it he never could ignore those eyes, he swallowed the lump in his throat

" I…….I…….I killed them " he said quietly, Mary had to strain to hear it but she had heard him

" John!! Why ? Why would you do that ? "

" Are you freaking kidding me ? Look at what they did " he said gesturing to the pale figure before them " They weren't going to let him go Mare, and next time I might not have been there to stop it, next time they might have killed him, or Sammy, what did you want me to do ? "

" Call the police Or I don't know anything but this "

" The police ? " he snorted " They did such a great job of protecting them last time didn't they ? "

" I….I. John this is serious what if someone saw you ? "

" No one saw, trust me " Mary sank back into her chair,

" It scares me sometimes " she said hesitantly

" What does ? "

" What you'll do to protect us "

" It does me to babe, it does me to " the Winchesters sat huddled together keeping watch over the children who where now in their care, just willing for Dean to wake up, neither of them saw Daniel Campbell stood in the doorway, a sly grin on his face. With the knowledge he had now maybe he could get John Winchester out of his daughters life forever, it was time to call in some favours.

A/N; I was kinda in two minds as to just what John would do to the people who had hurt the boys so much, but felt that after what he knew from Dean telling him and the anger he'd feel he'd take this course of action, what do you guys think ? Was it the right way to go or do you think it was overkill ? As always reviews are gladly received. Thanks xxxx