AN: Sorry it's so short, it just seemed like a good place to stop...


Sam stared at his father in disbelief. It just figured that he'd spend years away from his family, and now after only a short time being in the same room together the man was already trying to control his life. "Look Dad, I get that you're determined to make sure I don't end up splattered on the sidewalk somewhere, but I'm not going to stand here and fall into line waiting for the next order."

Groaning, Dean rubbed his face knowing that right now was not the time to start arguing about who was in charge of what; they needed to get Sammy and Mary Jess out of there, not waste time rehashing old wounds. "Sammy, look… just grab the stuff, wake up your little girl and let's go. You know as well as I do that the more time we're here, the more time that crazy mother in law of yours has to get someone else to knock you off."

As soon as Dean's speech came to an end, Sam smirked before grinning, "Better knocked off than knocked up, right Dean?"

"Shuddup and get that pretty girl of yours."

John watched in amazement as Sam made his way to the bedroom and gently coaxed his baby girl awake. Normally he would have already picked up the kid and been out to the car, but if he was honest with himself even a tiny bit, he'd admit that he actually wanted to see his granddaughter while she was actually awake and aware. Although he and Dean hadn't been able to stay with Sam and his little girl while she was still recovering, they made sure they were close by, even going so far as 'checking in' with the doctor and sharing their concern about how tired the little girl seemed to be only to be assured that it was normal under the circumstances – whatever that meant.

"Hey Tiger lily, feel up to meeting a few people?" Sam soothed as he walked back into the living room. "This is your Grandpa, and this is your Uncle Dean."

The room was completely silent as both Dean and John stared at the tiny girl in front of them. Although obviously still tired, her pale green eyes sparkled with happiness, making everything else about her shine. While John couldn't swallow past the lump in his throat at the sight of the tiny version of Mary, Dean stood transfixed at the sight of what his baby brother helped create.

As Mary Jess rested on her daddy's shoulder, she looked between the two men in the room and smiled before putting her thumb in her mouth, closed her eyes and muttered "Da", content with where she was.

Sam smiled and gave his baby girl a gentle hug. Although his dad and brother had seen Mary Jess in the hospital, they hadn't actually had a chance to meet her since they had tried to stay away from prying eyes after dealing with the shtriga posing as a nurse's aide. Now though, his family was together in the same room and he actually felt whole again, something he hadn't felt since Jess died.

"Ok, I guess we need to get out of here. I've made her bottle so she should be happy for awhile." Sam said quietly, unsure about what to really do next. Normally he'd just head out the door and deal with whoever chased after them as soon as he could, as it was now though he really didn't want to walk away from the rest of his family – no matter how much they tried to annoy him.

Nodding, John tried to speak, but it took a few times to clear his throat, the sweet girl in front of him taking his attention. "Dean will ride with you. In fact, he'll drive – no arguments Sammy… you're still dead on your feet and if we get into a situation, he'll have a faster reaction time."

Dean wasn't sure exactly what it was that his dad thought he'd be able to do in that tin can his brother called a car, but he'd do his best – there was no way he was going to allow someone to hurt his little brother or niece.

With John taking the lead, they made their way out the door and into the fading the light. Maneuvering the weakened steps slowed them slightly, but they had made their way half-way down when the splinters flew off the side of the house next to Sam's head causing him to misstep and land wrong on the next step down hard making his left leg crash through – effectively making him a stationary target.

"DEAN, GRAB MARY JESS!" Sam yelled as he practically tossed his little girl to the one person he knew he could trust with anything or anyone. He didn't even pause to see if his brother caught his baby, he already knew the answer and spent his time instead trying to pull his leg free so he could get out of the line of fire.

John had been halfway between Sammy, Mary Jess and the bottom of the stairs when he heard the shot. Cursing his negligence, he was racing back up as he heard his youngest son's yell to his brother. Not bothering to see if Dean had hold of the baby, he covered Sammy in hopes of obscuring the shooter's view. Seeing the problem, he had just managed to help free his son's leg when he felt a burn in his shoulder and the sudden realization that Sammy wasn't the only target.

"Dean, get out of sight!" John yelled as he pulled Sammy back and over the railing, hoping he could at least soften the landing a little.

Sam had no idea what just happened. One moment he was feeling triumphant that he had managed to free his leg, even if it did have a chunk of wood embedded, then he heard the other shot right before feeling his dad's hands grab hold of his jacket and then becoming airborne.

As Dean held Mary Jess close just inside the door, he scoped out the possible areas the sniper could be hiding, discouraged when he didn't see it right away. Trying to calm his little niece while watching the building across the street for any movement, it took a moment but he finally saw a shadow and was about to call out a warning when he heard it; police sirens. Knowing that he didn't need to tell his dad that they needed to get moving, he watched the shadow move away from the open window and took it as a sign to get moving. By the time he finished racing down the steps, his dad and brother were already in motion and starting the Honda before he climbed in the back to fasten the little girl in his arms into her car seat.

"Sammy…" he began, wanting to remind his brother that he was supposed to drive when he had to quickly reach over and shut the door as they hit asphalt and wasn't slowing down. "Damn little brother." He said, not prepared for the consequences of his little outburst.

"Damn…damn…" Mary Jess chanted happily.

Groaning, Sam looked at his brother in the rear view mirror. "Thanks Dean, really." He said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.