As Adam woke, details paraded through his mind in slow motion, like a horrible movie. Needing assurance, he cracked open one eye, and found himself surprised at a few things.

He wasn't in any pain. In fact, he felt pretty good.

He wasn't coughing. The burn in his chest and the nagging tickle in his throat was gone.

He was currently a little spoon.

...Huh.

It took all of a second to recognize that waking up a little spoon in a warm bed was infinitely better than waking up sick on the cold, wet ground waiting to be taunted by a shifter who looked like you.

The memory evoked a tremor, expanding into a whole round of shivering that couldn't be brought under control no matter how hard he tried. The big spoon responded immediately, pulling him close, offering body heat, comfort and support that instantly quelled the anxiety.

Adam knew Kate was that spoon, keeping him safe, making sure he was okay.

He wasn't okay, but he was certainly better than before.

Adam remembered being rescued, how hysterically she babbled about getting to a boat and that she didn't know where to go, her voice full of panic and desperation. He tried to console her, that he was okay, but all he could do was cough endlessly while submitting to his father's scrutiny.

A shift in position, brought her arm around him, and he caught a glimpse of the underside as it moved. That scar...the six inch jagged one...faced him. Above it was a second mark, recent, not as long, but just as ugly. Curious, Adam scooched her arm, so he could examine them more closely.

The older mark rose a good quarter inch off her skin, hideous and crooked. Swallowing, he realized he never stopped to look at it, to really think about what it meant...what it symbolized. His eyes traveled up and down its length, taking in every detail, from its shiny pink hue to the smooth texture. He lightly traced the raised skin, marveling at what she did.

"Hard to believe you fit in there," she murmured, angling her arm for an even better view. "You're such a big boy now."

Adam snorted, tears prickling. "I can't even...I mean, I don't know how…you...it's...it's so...fucking…" He took a deep breath. "...crooked. Worst cutting I've ever seen. Next time, use a ruler or...something."

Kate smothered soft laughter into his hair. "I was in a bit of a hurry. Function beat form on this one."

"Yeah, well."

"Well."

Adam ghosted his fingers over the second cut. With an odd detachment, he noted that it should've been doused with something antibacterial and wrapped. "And this?"

Kate swallowed hard. "I did it to find you."

Adam sighed. "Kate…"

She tightened her hold on him. "Shut up."

Tears filled his eyes, and Adam hugged her back.

xxxxx

Kate…

I bit my lip when Adam gripped my arm. He was hugging...I knew he was hugging...but holyfuck did it hurt.

"Shit...sorry! I...shit…"

Excellent, he figured it out. "It's okay, Adam." That's what I said, but in truth the cut seared. "But if you could find a different spot to grab…"

Swearing again, Adam released me, at least enough to conduct another examination. "Seriously, Kate, tell me what happened."

Because I am a Winchester, I deflected. "What do you remember?"

Huffing, Adam swallowed, sorting through what to say, his fingers lightly tracing my scar. "I remember...I remember someone who looked like me doing a lot of kicking and hitting. I remember being cold and wet, probably developing an awesome case of pneumonia. I remember hearing a dog howling. I remember…" He took a breath. "I remember you, holding me up, talking about a boat. Then Dad was checking me over and we were in the car coming home."

He tried to shrug nonchalantly, like this was no big deal, but I knew better. The whole-body tremor hadn't really stopped, and I didn't think he realized he was pressing against me, like he needed proof I was really there.

Smoothing down his hair, I pulled him close, planting a kiss above his ear. "Hey, hey...it's okay. You're home, you're safe. They - " I almost said they can't hurt you anymore, but who was I kidding? It never occurred to me he'd be taken in the first place, so I had no idea what they would do. Instead, I finished with, "The shifter's dead. I promise. "

There. That was...totally not much better, but at least I didn't lie.

Mental note to help patch the kitchen wall.

Adam sighed, long and slow, melting against the pillow, sinking into me. "They were after you, weren't they?"

Well, shit. I didn't want to discuss this with him, especially since I hadn't run my theory of an angel being responsible by Dad yet.

"Kate?"

Double fuck.

"I dunno, Adam. Really, I don't. What matters is that you're safe, so I'm focusing on that."

He sighed again, and we stayed in bed, holding each other.

xxxxx

Not Kate…

Sam paced the kitchen, one eye on the doorway, one ear locked on the stairs, waiting for the footsteps of a younger sibling. Either younger sibling. He wasn't feeling picky.

"Sit down, Sam. You're makin' me crazy." Bobby punctuated the request by kicking a chair away from the table so Sam could sit.

Before Sam spouted off a reason why pacing was a better option than chewing on fingernails while seated, Adam hesitantly walked in, eyes darting everywhere, arms hugging himself.

"Heyyyy...how're you feeling?" Sam reached out to help...help Adam walk? He didn't know. He just needed to do something.

Adam hesitantly smiled, running a hand through his hair. "Good, actually. I guess Castiel healed me while I was sleeping."

Bobby raised an eyebrow, standing up to get a closer look. "Yeah? No more cough?" He felt Adam's neck, checked over his arms where some cuts and bruises were discovered the night before. "Huh...angel healing comes in handy, I guess. Where's Kate?"

Adam thumbed over his shoulder. "Shower."

"Good," was all Bobby said, but the way he said it sparked Adam's curiosity.

"Why? She didn't stink or anything…"

Bobby's eyes flickered to Sam before flapping a hand at Adam. "Nothing, son. She just...it's good that she's takin' care of herself." He poured fresh coffee into his mug. "You want some?"

"Uh...yeah, actually. Thanks. I, um, was hoping someone would...what the hell happened here?" He pointed, open-mouthed, at a hole in the wall.

Sam stammered, "Oh, uh, it was...a...Bobby?"

"A Bobby?" Adam drawled.

Bobby rolled his eyes at Sam. Chickenshit - he's not a baby. "The shifter came here, pretending to be you. Kate got a little...pissed at it."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"She pinned it to the wall with a knife through its arm," Sam blurted in a rush. Chickenshit his ass.

The other eyebrow rose, as Adam took a closer look. "Are you serious? That's...I mean, that doesn't sound like her…"

"We know, son." Bobby poured another mug of coffee, gesturing for Adam to sit.

Sensing an opportunity, Adam sat in his chair and began the questions. "What happened, exactly? I mean, last thing I remember was saying goodbye to the guys. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground freezing my ass off being picked on by…" He lost steam here, tucking into his coffee to hide his discomfort and unease.

Sam sat next to him. "It's okay, Adam. We're...we're not exactly sure how they got you or why." His eyes flickered to Bobby. "Whoever or whatever did this had access to Kate's memories of going to Hell to rescue you in that alternate reality. We think it had more to do with that than anything."

A chill shot down Adam's spine, making him shiver. She never said anything about that. He whispered, "What do you mean?"

Bobby cleared his throat. "It seems we were thrown into an illusion, making Kate go through all the motions of entering the Cage to find you. She had to cast a locating spell - "

"That's how she got that second cut?"

Bobby nodded. "And she tracked you. We don't know whether the spell actually worked, or if that was part of the illusion. Either way, she led us to you."

Adam processed this. "That explains why she acted the way she did. She kept saying something about a boat…?"

Sam sighed. "Yeah, Charon's boat was the one that took her through Hell. She kept thinking she was really back there. Judging from her reaction, your other you was really messed up when she found him. She was definitely...confused."

Well, that was a conversation stopper.

"You sure you're okay?" Adam looked up at Bobby. He saw the hopeful gleam in the old hunter's eyes, but they both knew the truth. No, he wasn't okay. As an added bonus, Adam was now more worried about Kate.

Embracing the number one family trait, he dodged the question, curling and uncurling his fingers around the coffee mug. "Where's Dean and Dad?"

"Garage. They're working on your car." Bobby shrugged, coffee mug on his lips. "Coping mechanism."

Adam opened his mouth in an Ahhh shape.

Under the table, Sam's leg bounced impatiently, his eyes darting to the stairway every few seconds. Adam knew Sam was desperate to check in with their sister, and although he really wanted to go back to the cocoon of safe she offered earlier, he also knew it'd be good for her to be with Sam. So he did the next best thing.

"You said Dean's in the garage?"

xxxxx

When Adam stepped outside, Dad's truck was turning onto the road, dust from the driveway gravel still hovering in thick clouds. With a shiver, he pulled his hoodie tight, folded his arms, and entered the garage, relaxing instantly at the familiar clanging of tools and barrage of bitching.

"Fuckin' thing...I told Dad this was a piece of shit. Get a Chevy, I said. This model will have problems, I said. Did he listen? Nooooooooope. Because what the fuck do I know?" His car sat with its hood up, a Winchester's ass muttering from the right side.

A wrench was casually tossed into a standing toolbox, accented with a grunt from Dean when it hit the others.

"Hiya," Adam said hesitantly. When Dean looked up, Adam offered a timid wave, stepping closer to see what was broken. Gesturing feebly, he asked, "What's wrong with her, now?"

Embarrassed, Dean stood up, reaching into his back pocket for a bandana. "Uh...nothing, actually." He wiped his hands, leaning against the frame, jaw cinched to the side.

"Then…?"

Dean shoved the cloth in his pocket with a huff. "We're just...tinkering. Damn thing's running fine. Dad needed something to do, so we're replacing shit that don't need replacing." He half shrugged, eyes flickering to Adam before refocusing on the car. "How're you feeling?"

Adam smiled. "You don't wanna examine me yourself?" He could see the battle on his brother's face as he picked up another tool and began randomly fiddling.

Another shrug. "Figured you already went through that with Kate and Bobby. If something was wrong, they'd have said something." He gave Adam a closer look. "Cas healed you?"

Adam nodded, swallowing.

Dean nodded back. "That shit comes in handy."

"Yeah…"

Adam moved until he was standing next to Dean, watching the piddling. Deft hands moved from part to part, wrenching, uncapping, checking, wiping...doing nothing, really. When Dean draped an arm (casually) across Adam's shoulders, Adam realized how closely they stood, how comforting it was.

Dean gave the shoulder a quick squeeze before reaching out with his foot to drag over a rolling board. He plopped down and disappeared under the car. "You know, after I got taken by the Djinn, it took a while before I felt like I could hunt. Hand me that half-inch socket, will ya?"

Adam passed the tool into the outstretched arm, resting against the car, hanging onto every word. "But you did hunt right away...and didn't you try to leave alone for a pretend hunt?"

He heard a muffled grunt and a soft curse. "Yeah, but I didn't feel like I could. I had a...real strong need to run. Fuck...three-eighths socket…" A greasy hand poked out with the half-inch part, only to disappear again, clutching the new prize. "It sucked - getting taken, feeling powerless, needing that rescue, knowing that my job is to fuckin' hunt monsters, but I didn't even want to go get gas by myself." Not knowing if I could look you in the eyes ever again.

Adam swallowed, his throat tightening. Forcing calm, he asked, "So, what'd you do?"

The puttering noises stopped. "I kept going. I trusted you guys. Killed a Black Dog with this sweet shot and I realized...shit's gonna happen. Can't stop it. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna just piss and moan about it. Sam killed the fucker for me. I'm gonna get the next one."

The noises continued, giving Adam a moment to think, a second to wipe his eyes. He peered through the window at Bobby's house...their house. Kate killed the fucker for him. He'd help them get the next one. The real one behind it all.

He scuffed his shoe on the floor. "Soooo...how do you kill a Black Dog?"

Dean wheeled out, a huge grin on his face. "C'mon. I'll show you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

One more Snippets chapter to go, with Sam. Then it's on to the (real) sequel.

Also...I realize fans want to see certain interactions play out between characters. As a writer, if those interactions aren't authentic, I can't write them. Dean cuddling wasn't gonna happen, no matter how pretty the picture. I know that bugs some, but it has to feel real (ugh, rhyme) to make it in the story.

Those who wanted more Adam whumping, I have 2 on deck for the H/C series, so stay tuned. Time to write is just not as plentiful as it used to be, but I didn't forget. :)