Author's note: First off, I'm soooooo sorry it's been so long! RL has been crazy – in a good way, but crazy all the same. I am back on track now.

Secondly, just a reminder that this is mostly AU for season 5. The first few episodes happened as they did in the show but after that I am only using little bits and pieces of Kripke's masterful plotline so basically it's almost total AU.

So here's a summary to refresh your memory on where I left off:

Previously: The brothers dropped Cassie off with Ellen and Jo in Tennessee so they could go off and search for Lucifer to get Little Sammy back. They followed a lead of a suspected demon stealing some chemicals in Texas. After teasing Cas about not being very good at pulling off the Fed gig, they ended up having the angel zap them into the jail cell of Garth Dolemire, who had been possessed by a demon when he had stolen the chemicals. Garth told them the demons were planning on making a weapon to kill all humans and said he had dropped off the stolen chemicals at a house in nearby Greenville.

~0~0~0~0~0~

CHAPTER 10 - The Beginning of the End

Dean drove in silence while Sam checked out Google Earth on his laptop. They were looking for the place where Garth had dropped off the stolen chemical truck but the man had been so scared inside his possessed body that he hadn't taken note of a street address, just a description of the house and the general vicinity.

"I don't see a small wooded lot or a big house with faded blue siding," the younger Winchester griped. "It's a rural area; there aren't street views available yet on this site."

Dean twisted to glance at the angel sitting in the back seat. "You able to help us out on this, Cas?" he asked hopefully.

"Are you saying you need my help again?" Cas asked in a challenging tone, getting an amused chuckle out of Sam and a roll of the eyes from Dean. The angel did, however, disappear for six seconds before reappearing with a smugly satisfied look that didn't go unnoticed by the two humans in the front of the Impala.

"Nineteen seventy-six Route thirty-two," he announced. "Four kilometers west of Greenville. It fits the description Garth gave us."

"Nice job, Cas," Sam acknowledged, his way of apologizing for their earlier teasing. He punched the address into his laptop and instructed Dean to take the next turnoff.

"The demons are all gone," Cas informed them evenly. "The house is empty. It's a dead end."

Both Winchesters groaned in disappointment at the news but Dean took the next turnoff anyway. "We got no other leads to chase down," he shrugged.

The house certainly did match Garth's description, right down to the empty chemical truck parked in the secluded back yard. The hunters armed up with shotguns and salt rounds and went inside but just as Cas had told them, the property was empty.

"We're wasting time here," the angel said impatiently as Sam and Dean wandered through the sparse rooms looking around for a clue as to where the demons had gone or what their plan was. "We need a demon to question."

"Not so fast," Sam told him, grinning triumphantly as he managed to piece together unburned fragments of paper from the ashes in the fireplace. "171 Main Street," he read aloud before his face pulled into a disappointed scowl. "Can't read what city," he groused. "And practically every city on the map has a Main Street."

"Well I say we start with Austin, Texas," Dean said, holding up the cordless phone.

"Last eight numbers dialed in or out are all 512 area code."

"Which is mostly Austin," Sam finished unnecessarily.

"With their mobility being far more restricted than that of angels," Cas commented, "The demons are known to use certain urban locations to congregate and use as bases of operations. With any luck, this address will be one of those places." He looked back and forth between both brothers. "Those were very astute observations," he said with grudged admiration.

Dean snorted. "What, your know-it-all angel senses couldn't have figured that one out?" he teased.

The angel's brow furrowed. "I have told you many times," he said seriously, "Angels are not omnipotent."

A short laugh escaped the elder Winchester. "Woah Cas," he said, holding a hand in the air. "I really don't need to hear about your bedroom shenanigans."

Now it was Sam's turn to snort. "Dude, he said omnipotent, not impotent. It means all-knowing, all-powerful."

"Hmph. Well that's too bad," Dean shrugged as they headed back out towards the Impala. "Coz we could really use some all-knowing right now."

"I know we are going to get your son back," Cas offered seriously, earning himself a grateful nod of genuine appreciation from his friend.

~0~0~0~0~0~

It was dark by the time they reached Austin and discovered that the address was actually a self-storage facility with about four hundred units. The hunters immediately made the rounds, looking for any signs of demons. Sam found traces of sulfur at the door of one of the largest units and made quick work of the lock. Dean hoisted the garage door upwards and any doubts that this unit had been used by demons vanished the instant their flashlights fell on the altar and the demonic symbols painted on the floor.

All three men moved to step inside but Cas grunted and stopped when he reached the threshold.

"What?" Dean asked sharply, still very aware Sam was playing the game injured. He had been hoping to avoid a confrontation if possible.

"I can't enter," Cas explained. "There are Enokian sigils on all the walls preventing me from coming inside."

"Okay just stay outside then," Dean told him with a shrug, looking inside but not seeing any markings on the walls at all. "Keep a lookout."

He and Sam pressed forward and started searching the boxes and crates stacked up against the far wall. They found what looked like spare parts for some sort of industrial equipment.

"What the hell do demons want with this stuff?" Sam wondered out loud. "It doesn't seem very supernatural. I mean, what kind of weapon are they making?"

He didn't get a reply from Dean for at that very instant, a woman's sharp cry rang out from somewhere outside. He ran towards the door to look outside, just a step behind his big brother. There was a flash of light off to the side and he turned to see Cas standing over a woman on her knees, the angel's hand planted firmly on her screaming face as orange light flickered beneath her skin.

There were four men – or more accurately, demons – approaching Cas from behind and Sam instinctively lunged forward, his hand reaching for Ruby's blade that was tucked in the back of his jeans. He found himself blocked by his brother's arm, outstretched in front of him and pushing him roughly backwards.

"No, Sam, stay back," Dean ordered, turning just long enough to pull Ruby's knife from the taller hunter's grasp. "You're injured."

"I'm fine," Sam snapped indignantly, shoving Dean's hand out of the way but giving up his grip on the knife. It wasn't the whole truth but there was no way he was being sidelined in this fight, not with these stakes.

Dean didn't back down. He fisted Sam's shirt and yanked him forcefully backwards. "We need a devil's trap," he hissed urgently, locking his eyes on Sam's to get his point across. "To keep one alive!"

With that, Dean lunged forward, swinging Ruby's knife at the closest demon just as Cas threw a powerful angel-punch at another that sent the guy hurtling across the gravel parking lot. Sam wanted to jump in the fray but realized Dean was right. With nothing handy to contain a demon, they would have to kill them all to survive and if they were to find Lucifer and eventually Little Sammy, they needed one for questioning. He raced back inside and grabbed one of the spray cans the demons had used on their altar and started spraying in an empty area of the floor.

Meanwhile, Cas and Dean were doing well despite being outnumbered. Dean finally managed to sink Ruby's knife into the stocky one he had been sparring with and looked up just in time to see Cas use his quickly-draining angel-mojo on his fourth demon, this time simply wrapping his hand around the demon's neck and holding him in place.

The angel threw a quick, questioning look at Dean, who felt a fleeting flood of gratitude that they had one of Heaven's soldiers on their side even if he was an outcast. He didn't have long to spare to the thought, however, before he felt himself being flung through the air by an invisible force. He collided heavily with the wall of the building and slumped to the ground with a groan.

Pulling himself up stiffly, he refocused his eyes to see the tables had turned. Cas was now on the ground being pummeled by a newcomer, a sixth and clearly far more powerful demon. "Cas!" he rasped, pushing himself off the wall and lunging for the demon.

He was intercepted by the one Cas had been intending to capture, a sizable demon that had apparently been freed from the angel's grasp when the newcomer attacked. Dean was still clutching the demon-killing knife and made quick work of him, fueled by both worry for his friend and the prospect of getting his hands on this new higher-ranking demon for questioning.

He tossed aside the illuminated, dying body on the end of his knife and strode towards the ongoing fight - not that it was much of a fight; Cas was basically getting his ass handed to him.

He barely got two steps closer before he was flying through the air again, the demon twisting around towards him with an outstretched hand. His painful second trip into the wall did, however, provide Cas with a small reprieve from the steady stream of blows that were being rained on him – a break just long enough for the angel to muster the strength to shove the demon backwards and send him sprawling on the ground in front of the storage unit doorway. The possessed man was on his feet again in a flash, scowling angrily at the hunter and the angel, both of whom were still on the ground and at his mercy. He took a step towards Dean first, the word "Winchester" dripping off his tongue like it was poison.

"Right here," Sam quipped as he grabbed the man from behind, wrapping a strong, fast forearm around the demon's shoulders and yanking him backwards, tumbling him into the freshly painted devil's trap.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Another scream filled the storage room as Dean drew Ruby's knife slowly across the tied-up demon's collarbone. "Just tell us where Lucifer is and this'll all end," he offered for the umpteenth time, his voice cold and merciless. "Don't make me drag out the holy water again."

When the demon had been successfully trapped, the brothers had dragged all the bodies inside, closed the garage door, and gone right to work on the interrogation. Cas had recovered quickly and was now standing guard outside in case more demons showed up. Sam felt uneasy watching his brother inflict such agonizing pain without even flinching, even if it was to a demon. He knew what he was seeing was but a shadow of what Dean had become in the pit, just a glimpse of how close the hunter had come to losing his soul altogether. If Cas hadn't pulled him out …

The younger man shuddered at the thought. He too had crossed that line. He too had lost his perception of right and wrong and his conscience had faded into the background for a time. He remembered torturing a vampire last year in an effort to find a missing Tasha and couldn't recall a single flicker of remorse or even displeasure while doing it. Of course, his undoing had been demon blood and the overwhelming thirst and need for its power running through him where as Dean's had been decades of undeserved pain and unjust torture. Dean held no blame in his lapse – unlike Sam. He knew Dean didn't share his opinion on the matter, but Sam saw no reason Dean should feel the need for atonement or absolution for anything he had done downstairs. Sam, on the other hand, had unleashed the Devil on the world and he had done it of his own free will. The pain and suffering his arrogance and stupidity had yet to inflict on mankind was almost unfathomable. His mistake was unforgivable yet somehow, beyond all reason, it seemed Dean was finding his way to forgiving him

But right now all he could focus on was rescuing his nephew. That single mission, that single purpose, had become the foundation of his redemption. He'd save the world if he could, but he would save Little Sammy at all costs - and he'd do it for Dean.

Another piercing scream rang out and Sam couldn't help but wince at the sharp pain it brought to his ears.

"Whatever you do to me," the demon panted, his narrowed eyes shooting pure hatred at Dean, "Won't make me betray my Father."

There was a soft knock on the garage door and both brothers immediately tensed.

"Dean? Sam?" came Cas's soft, deep voice.

Sam moved to open the door.

"Feel up for a little angel juice then?" Dean taunted the demon.

He got an unimpressed snort for an answer. "He doesn't scare me." The demon locked eyes with Cas as the trench-coated figure was silhouetted in the doorway.

"Scratch one of the symbols from the wall," Cas instructed Sam, returning the demon's hard stare from where he stood.

"Uh … I can't see them," Sam pointed out sheepishly. The symbold were invisible to mere humans.

"There is one three feet above the ground right behind you," Cas replied. "Disfigure it and I will be able to enter."

The demon laughed. "Ooooh, I'm shaking in my boots now!"

"You should be," Sam snapped in the angel's defense. "Trust me, I know first hand how much angel mojo can hurt a demon in a meatsuit."

Cas gave the young hunter a quick, apologetic glance and Sam instantly regretted bringing that incident up. When the demon bitch that had taken Little Sammy had possessed him in an attempt to get her hands on Cassie also, it had been Cas that had stepped in and questioned her before killing her. Sam hadn't been sure if Cas was aware that he had felt every ounce of pain the angel had inflicted on the demon inside him, but the look of guilt made it clear he had. Nevertheless, Sam believed wholeheartedly there was no blame to be laid – Cas had done what was necessary for Little Sammy's sake.

"This isn't an angel," the demon sneered. "This is a traitorous fuck who turned his back on his own kind to help a pathetic, dying race of weaklings. Word is his angel buddies cut him off. He can't get it up anymore. Didn't work on me outside, did it, Castiel?"

Dean sliced the prisoner across the cheek with the knife, an angry scowl on his face. Sam was scraping away at what looked like a blank wall when Cas stepped casually forward, closing the door behind him.

"Why not just tell these two what they want to know?" he suggested calmly.

Sam and Dean couldn't help but notice he looked almost bored as he spoke. Why didn't he try the deep voice thing or flashing his impressively sized wings behind him? Dean had to admit, those things were at least a little bit intimidating.

"I'm not exactly shaking in my boots here, Twinkletoes," the demon laughed.

"You would actually be doing your boss a favor by telling them," Cas continued evenly.

"Huh?" the demon snorted. "How so?"

"You'd be delivering the thing he wants most right to his doorstep."

Sam, Dean, and the demon all gave the angel the same look of confusion.

"I am referring to his vessel," Cas explained, gesturing towards the younger Winchester. "Sam Winchester. Lucifer would no doubt reward you highly if you were to send Sam right to him. Even better, you'd be sending him Michael's vessel also, allowing him to destroy Dean and giving him a huge advantage in the final battle."

Okay, Cas totally had a point there, both Winchesters realized. For a moment, the demon looked like he was starting to see the light also but then he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Why are you saying this? What's your catch?"

Cas shrugged tiredly. "No catch. You're right. I betrayed my kind and now I'm stuck with these two as my only allies. I have tried to tell them this is a foolish move and that they will never be able to retrieve the child from Lucifer but …" he looked over at the brothers with a disapproving frown. "But they are stubborn and foolhardy and insist on risking everything for the sake of one child."

The demon's shoulders started to shake with barely suppressed laughter. "You obviously haven't spent much time around humans you feathered moron." He looked back and forth between the Winchesters. "They're not the sharpest tools in the shed. Their feelings make them weak. That's why we will rid the planet of them once and for all. That's why our Father will win. He sees humans for what they really are. He took God's so-called 'greatest creation' and made it better. He created us. Demons."

"Cut the rhetoric, asshole, and just tell us where Lucifer is," Sam snapped impatiently.

"You really think you can take out Lucifer?" the demon challenged the young hunter. "Your son's gonna tip the scales in our direction and then our Father's gonna rip him to shreds just for being human."

Dean couldn't help himself; he punched the demon in the face. "You're wrong you son of a bitch," he seethed.

"Am I? You're not even a real contender for the win in this war, Winchester. On your side you've got the ex-blood junkie who let Lucifer out if the cage in the first place and a pathetic excuse for an angel who knows you've already lost. Your own team's betting against you."

Dean sliced him on the neck with Ruby's knife, running dangerously close to killing him. He writhed in his bonds and made sickening chortling noises of pain before refocusing his eyes on Dean.

"Maybe I should give you what you want," he panted. "Let Lucifer flay you alive."

"I gotta find him first for him to flay me, asswipe." Dean drew the knife in a slow line across the demon's chest.

"Uggh…hnnn…aghh," the demon screwed up his face in obvious agony. "He's in Louisiana! Somewhere in Louisiana!" he finally blurted. "That's all I know."

Dean's eyes widened and he turned to give Cas and Sam a questioning look, both of whom simply shrugged at him in response.

"Where in Louisiana?" Dean pressed.

"I don't know," the demon answered with a shake of the head. "He moves around a lot. We each get a job to do and that's all we're told. Only a few of the VIP's actually get face time with him."

"And lemme guess," Dean said snidely. "You're not that important."

The demon shrugged unapologetically. "I fly coach," he admitted.

"I'm afraid you're flying days are over," the hunter said coldly, raising Ruby's knife.

"Then I'll see you in hell, Dean," the demon spat, the rumble of an oncoming laugh echoing from his gut.

"I don't think so," Dean replied, plunging the blade hilt-deep into his prisoner's stomach. "Been there; done that."

He straightened up and wiped the blood off the blade with the dead man's shirt before handing it back to Sam. "Let's go," he said, pulling the garage door open and stepping outside.

Sam and Cas nodded and followed him wordlessly, pausing as he closed the garage behind them to hide the six dead bodies. It occurred to all three of them that some wild headlines would be made when the corpses started to stink.

But they were all wrong about that. By the time the bodies were found, nobody would care.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The Impala purred her way towards Louisiana, chewing up the tarmac at a rate well above the limit as if determined to do her own part in retrieving the missing member of her family. The men in the car rode in silence for almost half an hour before Sam finally spoke up.

"So Cas," he addressed the figure in the back seat. "What you said back there – did you really mean all that? Do you think we have no chance?"

Cas gave him a solemn look. "It goes without saying the odds are against us."

"Do you feel like you're stuck with us then?" Dean asked, figuring he may as well voice what had been going through his mind since Sam had already started the girly talk.

"Of course not," Cas said sincerely. "I believe you are in the right. Lucifer would see the earth destroyed and Michael is not acting under our Father's orders." He shook his head and gazed out the window at the night countryside. "I do not regret my choice to disobey my superiors."

"So you were just bluffing back there?" Dean couldn't hide the relief from his voice.

"Yes."

Dean grinned, catching the angel's blue eyes in the rear view mirror. "Well, I gotta tell ya Cas, you've gotten a lot better at that."

"I have been cut off from Heaven for five years now," Cas shrugged.

"That's right," Dean exhaled, nodding his head in realization. "I keep forgetting that." He turned to glance over his shoulder, raising a curious eyebrow at his friend. "So, you get laid yet?"

~0~0~0~0~0~

April 1968…

Cas spent a great deal more time than before at Dorothy's house in Philadelphia during the months after the children were born. Tasha seemed to have dropped whatever remnants of resentment she had still been carrying over the angel's supposed neglect of Dean's emotional suffering in the past year and didn't seem to blame him anymore for the circumstances keeping her apart from the hunter. In fact, Cas admitted, she had become quite friendly towards him and genuinely seemed to enjoy his presence. He was growing increasingly fond of her in return and found her ability to enjoy long, comfortable silences together quite endearing. He had found it difficult to spend any great lengths of time with most humans because they inevitably felt a need to fill any silences with idle chatter or useless conversation, preventing the angel from enjoying time of inward reflection. In her youth, Tasha had spent much time in solitude and with Dorothy and the babies always present, it seemed she was now grateful for rare moments of peace and quiet.

The young brunette was an inexperienced mother and although he didn't ever doubt her love and devotion to the children, Cas was glad for Dorothy's help. The older woman gave Tasha endless advice on how to properly care for the twins; how to nurse, how to bathe them, what creams and powders to apply to their skin, when to use a bottle, how to get them to sleep when restless… The angel had mostly stayed out of the day-to-day tending of the infants' physical needs but Tasha, in one of her impatient and frustrated moods one day, had called him into the nursery and demanded he zap "the freaking disgusting orange poop" out of the diaper and into the toilet. Not wanting her mood to worsen, he had quickly obliged. Her face lit up with awe and realization and ever since, he had been delegated all 'diaper duty'.

He found himself popping into the nursery most nights to stand silently for hours, lost in his own thoughts as he watched the babies sleep. He was surprised at the extent to which he was drawn to them and how protective he felt over them. He would lay a finger on their foreheads and gently lull them back to sleep if they awoke on those nights when he could see their young mother needed some rest. Even he could see that caring for two babies could be exhausting for a human.

When the babies were four months old, Tasha finally brought up the subject of returning to her own time.

"When we go back, will they be in danger?" she asked suddenly one evening as she sat on the couch watching Adam West and Burt Ward duke it out with the Joker on the black and white television.

"Of course," he replied honestly from where he sat on the chair. "Lucifer and his demons will want to kill them both and Michael will try to take them to keep that from happening."

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back. "They're so helpless, Cas," she breathed. "I just couldn't take it if something happened to them. I know we have to go back and I know Dean should be with his own kids but…" She let the sentence trail off.

"The children are safer here," Cas said truthfully. "Keeping them safe in 2009 will not be easy."

"Maybe we could wait just a little longer," she said, avoiding eye contact with him. Cas could only guess this was out of guilt for suggesting they keep Dean's children from him.

"I think that would be wise," he told her with a nod. "Though I must resume my search for God. I have a much better chance of finding him here in this time than in the future and I have been lax in my efforts since the twins were born." He gave her a steady look, noting the conflicted emotions on her face. "Dean would want what is safest for his children," he said evenly.

"Children need their father, Cas," she told him with a guilty look. "But I just can't stomach the thought of putting them in danger. I just can't make myself take them back there, even though I want to go back more than anything." She ran her hand down over her face. "Fuck, now I get what my dad went through," she breathed. "I used to feel guilty that he lived the way he did just to protect me, that he spent his life running when it wasn't him Diego was after. I always thought he could have just walked away. Now I understand how he felt. Walking away was never an option."

There was a sudden knock at the door and the brunette tensed as she sprang to her feet. Cas furrowed his brow and flashed his way into a standing position between Tasha and the door. "It is Maureen Bolder," he informed her.

"The woman from down the block who totally has the hots for you?" Tasha questioned, raising a curious eyebrow. When he didn't make any move towards the door she rolled her eyes. "Well, go see what she wants." She gave him a shove towards the door.

"She does not want anything from me," Cas answered, not quite sure what Tasha meant by 'got the hots'. "She caught me outside yesterday and told me she was having a party tonight and that we should go. I declined."

Tasha snorted. "Well, she's persistent; I'll give her that. I've seen the way she looks at you. Listen Cas," she grinned. "You're a ... reasonably good-looking guy with needs. I'm not gonna hold it against you if you wanna get some."

Cas frowned, realizing what she was referring to. "She has a husband," he pointed out.

"That creep?" she refuted with a sneer. "He bangs anything with breasts."

"I don't need to 'get some'," he insisted, feeling slightly flushed.

"Trust me," she laughed. "You do." She strode over towards the door. "We're going to her party," she told him firmly. "Dorothy can look after the babies for a couple of hours." She paused and turned to face him. "Just do me a favor and be subtle about it, kay?" she added quietly. "We are supposedly married and I do have some pride."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Present ...

They moved around Louisiana for the next week, following every lead or even hint of a lead that the brothers, Cas, or Bobby could dig up in hopes that it would somehow point to Lucifer.

No luck.

Sam was aware of the hope fading in his brother with every passing day and could see the heartache and pain taking a hold of him. The dark circles Dean's his eyes grew darker and his restless attempts at sleep were soon forsaken altogether. It was heartbreaking to watch and the feeling of complete helplessness and inability to bring any relief to Dean was tearing Sam apart inside.

On the outside, however, he managed to stay strong for his bother. He was determined to be there for Dean in any way that he could, in part to make up for all he had done wrong last year but in part because Dean had always been there for him. Sam was going to get Little Sammy back. Dean was going to live a peaceful life raising his two wonderful kids. This was going to be over soon.

Cas was off doing his own thing and the brothers were on the way to check out a lead in Baton Rouge. Sam was behind the wheel this time and Dean sat in the passenger side getting the scoop from Bobby on the phone. Apparently ten bodies had been found in a clearing in the woods with supposed satanic symbols burned into the nearby tree trunks. In hunts from their younger days, the 'satanic' connection had almost always been a hoax or a misunderstood witch thing but these days, since they were indeed searching for Satan himself, it was a promising-sounding lead even without the significant body count.

Dean had the older hunter on speakerphone and Bobby was explaining that he had moved his operations back into his house, insisting he had stepped up the demon-proofing and angel-proofing on his property. "They don't want me anyhow," he argued against Dean's voiced disapproval of the decision. "I'm just a useless old fart in a wheelchair now."

"You're not old," Sam teased, trying unsuccessfully to get half a smile out of his brother.

"I'm young enough to beat a side of respect outta you yet boy and don't you go forgetting it," Bobby fired back, his gruff smile at the banter somehow apparent right through the phone. "So how you boys holding up anyways?" he asked, his tone softening.

"We're fine," Dean said quickly. Too quickly.

"You been getting any sleep?"

Dean fired an annoyed look of betrayal at Sam, the obvious blabbermouth.

"Yeah, I'm good," Dean lied. "Just woke up half an hour ago, in fact. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed so you and Sam can stop your mothering."

"Don't you piss on my leg and tell me it's rainin'," Bobby groused, clearly not convinced. "Just take care of yerselves okay? Yer no good to yer boy if you drop dead from exhaustion."

"I'll take a nap when I find him," Dean said quietly.

"Well, you'll be happy to hear I had a long conversation with the other of yer offspring this mornin'."

"Cassie?" Dean's face brightened slightly. He hadn't been able to bring himself to call his daughter since he had left her with Ellen and Jo, determined to find Sammy first so he could give her good news. "What was she saying?"

"She's a chatty lil gal, that's fer sure," Bobby commented. "She sure does think the sun shines outta your ass, Dean. Told me her daddy was off saving the world. Then she kept going on about Ellen's Star Trek phone." The older man chuckled into the receiver at the other end of the line. "I remember the sixties," he laughed. "I woulda thought a cell phone was pretty groovy too."

Sam was heartened to see a small smile reach Dean's face as Bobby continued to recount his earlier conversation with the feisty four year old. Bobby must have known the effect it would have on the near-broken young father because he relayed every detail of the conversation in great length, referring to himself as Grandpa Bobby every chance he got. Sam's lips curled into a smile also as he listened to the gruff South Dakota drawl and he couldn't help but sigh with gratitude they had Bobby in their lives.

"Then she tells me that the lady next door says… what in the … well I'll be damned ... that can't be good…"

"What?" both brothers demanded, not liking the tone of Bobby's voice when he had veered off his story.

"Bobby, what's going on?" Dean added, his voice worried.

"Oh Balls."

They heard a gasp and a few coughs and a strangled wheeze of pain before there was an ominous thud followed by silence.

"Bobby?" Dean shouted into the phone. There was no response. "Bobby? Bobby! BOBBY!"

He looked over at Sam, his eyes wide with fear. "Oh shit," he wheezed. "What happened to him?"

Sam's heart was beating wildly with dread. "I don't know," he stammered. "Call Cas."

Dean nodded at the suggestion and dialed the number of the cell phone he had given the angel. "Straight to friggin' voicemail," he groused. "Damn nerd needs to learn how to charge a battery!"

"Call that hunter who lives in Rapid City," Sam proposed anxiously.

"That's four hours away!" Dean exclaimed, his voice sharpening with near panic.

"Shit," Sam's head was spinning. "Okay, call the police. The police in Sioux Falls." Both brothers knew Bobby would likely kill them himself for calling the cops to his house if this was a false alarm but fear for the older man was currently trumping fear of him right now.

Dean dialed the operator and asked to be put through to emergency services in Sioux Falls. He kept getting a busy signal and was shouting into the phone at the local operator when Sam raised his voice to shush him, reaching for the Impala's radio dial and turning it up so the news broadcast was blaring through the speakers. The reporter's voice was bordering on panic.

"…we don't have any idea exactly what is happening or what the casualties could number at this moment. Reports are coming in from all over the country. All we know is that a thick dark cloud has suddenly appeared over parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. My God, I can't believe this is happening! Witnesses anywhere the cloud has appeared have described people dropping to the ground, dead within seconds. None of these reports can be confirmed because the witnesses themselves seem to be dying as they're speaking. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I don't ... It seems pretty likely at this point that this is a terrorist attack and that it will make September eleventh pale in comparison. We don't know if the cloud is moving or spreading or what's happening. Things are … are … I don't even know what to say here. We're under attack and it seems we may have as many as three States wiped out. Gone. Millions of people … dead."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Author's note: Yes, so sorry, but I'm going to leave you there. I promise promise promise it won't be for long this time. Please leave a review to tell me what you're thinking - good or bad, it'll help me get back in the swing of things! :-) Hugs to you all who are still reading.