Thanks again for reviewing, guys. It helps give me the strength to keep doing what I love. I should probably tell you that this is the next-to-last chapter in the story and series, so enjoy it and thanks for reading!
"You are such a bitch!" Jaydin shouted as she followed her mother through the slightly wooded area that hid the cabin and to the spot where the Impala had been parked. "He just sacrificed himself for you- for us- and you're just gonna walk away again? I don't even know why I deal with you. You know what? I'm tired of being nice. What you did in there is just plain wrong. He's never done anything to you. You're the one who keeps hurting him."

Ellen turned quickly, stopping so suddenly that Jaye stumbled backward to avoid hitting her. "Are you done?"

"No, I am not done! What's wrong with you?"

"I kind of need you to shut your yap so I can concentrate," the older woman explained.

"On what?" Jaye spat, "leaving him again? Building his hopes up and then stomping all over them? Making-"

"On picking the lock on the trunk of the car."

Jaye blinked. "What?"

Ellen started heading back out to the Impala, her daughter tagging along behind. "We need guns."

"Why?"

They reached the car and the older hunter knelt down to inspect the lock on the trunk. "So we can run back in there, catch Gordon off-guard, and bust a cap in his psychotic ass before he shoots your father."

"Huh?"

Ellen sighed and turned to look up at her daughter. "You're right. I've been a bitch in the past, and I understand where you're coming from, but your dad's gonna be expecting a rescue."

"But you said…"

"People lie, Jaye," she said, turning back to the lock.

"Does he know?"

"Not yet." Ellen pulled a bobby pin out of her pocket and started to work on the lock.

Jaydin snorted. "Who carries around bobby pins anymore?"

o0o0o0o0o0o

"I really do wish your daughter was here to see this," Gordon said, looking at Dean and grinning, "it's a character builder, you know? Besides, this psychic thing probably runs in the family," he glanced at Sam before turning to gaze at Jo, "we should have kept her here, just to be safe."

"She's a fifteen year old girl," Jo reminded him.

"Still, with her genes, the circumstances of her birth, the fact that she was kidnapped by the same psychic-producing demon twice… it makes me wonder."

"She's normal," Dean said forcefully.

"Of course you would say that," Gordon hissed, turning back to Dean, "freaks are normal in your family. Fortunately for you, you aren't one of them. You know what that means?"

Dean glanced at his brother, who was glaring at Gordon with determination on his face, his chin stuck out, eyes blazing. "No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

"It means you'll be the second to die. Sammy here's the first." He grinned wickedly, obviously pleased at the look of pain in Dean's eyes. "I know you've lost a lot," he cooed, "your parents, the only woman willing to put up with you for more than a few hours at a time, and now your brother, too. At least you won't have to live with the pain."

"So it's a mercy killing?" Sam asked, truly speaking up for the first time since being bound.

Gordon nodded. "Now you're getting it. Marcy, necessity, and vengeance. He had me locked up."

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Dean cut him off. "He's got a point, Sammy. I called the cops on him as soon as we left that run-down house. They responded pretty fast, huh?"

Sammy stared at him, realizing suddenly that his brother wanted to die. He'd lost everything he'd worked for, lost his family to a raving psychopath and his overly-jealous girlfriend. It was over. "What about Jaye?" he whispered, "what's gonna happen to her?"

Dean looked at his brother as if seeing him for the first time, his eyes wide. "What?"

"If you die, what'll happen to her?"

The older man stared at him, blinking slowly. Swallowing hard, he turned to Gordon. "I lied. Sam called the cops. I didn't even know about it. Dude, I was on your side. I was even cool about the vampire thing. I would have killed you in Indiana. I wouldn't have locked you up. That's torture to someone who's gotta be free. I would have ended the misery. Come on, you know me."

Gordon grinned. "I'm not stupid. I'm not letting you go, not now. Not when I'm so close. You can't change your story to save yourself for your pretty little girl. It's too late." He brandished the same gun he'd pointed at Jaye earlier that night, now aiming it at Sam, who closed his eyes.

For the second time that day, the door to the cabin burst open, revealing Ellen and Jaydin, both training their pistols at their former captors. "Drop it, Gordon," Ellen warned.

Smirking, the hunter spun around, grabbing Jaye by the wrist and twisting her hand around with a snap. The girl cried out as her wrist broke and the gun fell from her hands. Dean pushed himself up, barely able to keep his balance, intent on causing as much harm as possible to the man who'd just hurt his daughter. He stopped his feeble attempt, however, when he saw that Gordon had his gun pressed up against the side of Jaye's head.

"Anybody make a move," Gordon said, his voice soft and dangerous, his eyes sparkling with malice, "and she never makes it to her sweet sixteen."

Dean dropped back down to the floor, glaring at the older hunter. "You don't want to do that," he said, pleading with his eyes, "we've been over this. It's not her fault."

"It's in the genes," Gordon hissed, "she's a freak."

"No, she's not," Sam said slowly, "she's just like everybody else. She's normal. The demon was only after her because it was after me. There's nothing wrong with her."

"I don't believe it." The hunter caught a quick movement out of the corner of his eye and grinned. "You pull that trigger, lady," he said, turning toward Ellen, "and Jo is gonna be an only child again. Don't even twitch."

Slowly, Ellen released her finger from the trigger, never taking her eyes off the man, hoping that he didn't count that as a threatening move. Apparently, a twitch in any direction was bad, and a gunshot rang through the small building.

For a moment, it seemed like the world had stopped. Everything was still and silent, everyone too shocked to speak. It was Dean's anguished cry that drew everyone out of the collective stupor, the speed with which cruel reality had hit him, the strength of the sobs that wracked his body.

For a moment, that was the only sound. The cries of a broken man. Then the body hit the floor and Jaye ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the pain in her wrist in a desperate attempt to comfort him.

For a moment, Sam and Ellen just stared at them, unable to comprehend what had happened. Slowly, they both turned wide eyes to Jo, who was standing over Gordon's lifeless body, still pointing Jaydin's dropped weapon at his back. "Nobody hurts my sister, you pervert," she whispered, shooting him once more for good measure.