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This was a waste of time. He had 13 transgenic kids to track down; he did not have time to come back to base for an update. 13 transgenic kids had escaped on his watch and all he could think about was getting them back. And it wasn't just because this was his job. The X5's felt like his own kids and he needed to find them.
He knew each designation of the kids who escaped. They were all in the same unit except for 494. It took him longer than it should have to realize why 494 had escaped with them. 494 was headstrong and disobedient, sure, but he knew the transgenic would never attempt to escape. It was suicide, and he knew 494 valued his life and would fight to keep it. But 493 gave him a reason to. Somehow 493 and 494 had met each other, which meant he had 13 children to find instead of just 12.
"This had better be good," Lydecker growled as he walked into the room.
A young man jumped up from where he was sitting in front of a computer and stood at attention. "Sir, I have a lead."
"What is it?" Lydecker asked. He wouldn't get his hopes up, but it was a good sign that he was confident enough to call him in.
"One of them made it to South Dakota," the young man said. He was clearly trying to hide his excitement, but Lydecker could tell.
"How do you know?"
"I've been keeping tabs on all of the hospitals and watching for any red flags. Sioux Falls General Hospital in South Dakota just put up a giant red flag."
"Start talking."
"Two days ago someone ran a blood test with low levels of serotonin and something they couldn't identify. It was right in line with the X5's, but the only problem is, the blood was weak. The subject had more human DNA than what we have in our subjects so it might not be one of them..."
"Get me a list of patients," Lydecker ordered. He felt something tight in his chest at the thought of one of his kids going through the seizures. They should have never left. They didn't know how to take care of themselves and they would die because of it.
"I already did, sir, but how will you know which name the subject used? There are no John or Jane Doe's on the list."
"I already have a guess…" Lydecker muttered. He flipped through the list and looked for anything that popped out. The blood was the big clue. He only knew two transgenics who had blood with more human DNA than the others and they had escaped together. He just wasn't sure how 493 and 494 had made it all the way to South Dakota.
Until he saw the name 'Alec Winchester' printed in the middle of the page.
Alec was thankful that the seizures had stopped, but now he couldn't move without drawing someone's attention. If he wanted to get up and go to the bathroom, then Ben and Dean would reach out to see if he needed help. If he wanted something to eat, then Sam was there with the approved food that Sam deemed he should eat. If he wanted to go outside, then John or Dean was with him at all times. They were on seizure patrol and they were slowly driving him insane.
The only person who wasn't driving him crazy was Bobby. The older man was keeping an eye on him, but he was giving him some space. He found that he was seeking out Bobby's company since he would just leave him be. He liked being around people, but he couldn't take all of the concern.
Alec looked around the dark room and tried to plan his escape. Ben was asleep next to him, but he was pretty sure his brother would be instantly awake if he moved. If he could make it out of his room, then he'd have to sneak down the hall and past Sam's room, and then Dean's room. If by some miracle he made it down the stairs without alerting anyone, then he'd have to get by John who was asleep in the living room.
He didn't even know what he wanted to do; he just wanted to have the freedom to do something. And he thought it would be a little fun to try to make it past everyone without getting caught. It would be like at Manticore only the consequences of getting caught wouldn't be nearly as bad.
Alec slowly moved to get out of bed, but froze when Ben turned towards him. He waited until he thought Ben was asleep again before he got up. He was halfway across the room when Ben mumbled, "Alec, where're you going?"
He sighed and muttered, "Just downstairs…" Ben started to get up, but he quickly stopped him, "Ben, John's downstairs. I'll be fine."
"Mkay…but I'll be up in a few…" Ben slurred.
Alec rolled his eyes, but walked out of the room. He wanted to blur down the stairs to avoid Sam and Dean, but he was still taking it easy. He didn't want to waste too much energy because although he was feeling better, he really didn't want the seizures to come back. Everyone was watching out for his seizures to come back, but no one was watching more than he was.
He hated the seizures. They were scary and they hurt and it would be too soon if he never had another one. But he needed to figure out what his limitations were. He needed to know that he could still go outside and run around and could exercise and have fun without having a seizure every two seconds. He needed to know these things and he couldn't figure out his limitations if they wouldn't let him.
He made it down the stairs without alerting anyone, and luckily John was asleep in the recliner so he was free to do whatever he wanted.
He immediately started for the door. One of the things he loved most was being outside, and that's where he wanted to be. His hand was just about to touch the doorknob when someone stopped him.
"What d'you think you're doin'?" Bobby growled.
Alec looked over in shock, but then quickly tried to cover, "I just wanted to check on something."
Bobby huffed, "Not dressed like that you aren't." Alec frowned as Bobby walked over to him. "It's freezing out and you have a track record for hypothermia."
Alec deflated in defeat and hung his head, "I'm sorry…"
Bobby smiled at him though and nodded for him to come over to him. Alec took a few steps forward and waited for his punishment. Bobby knelt down though and said, "It's a lot."
"What?" Alec asked, confused.
"They're givin' you a lot of attention and it's a lot for you," Bobby said. "You've never had anyone lookin' out for you, and now you've got people watchin' out for you and makin' sure you're ok. It's a lot to get used to."
Alec nodded since he didn't know what to say.
"But they've got a good reason to worry," Bobby continued. "Since you don't got enough sense to even put on a coat before goin' outside when it's freezin'."
"I didn't think about it…"
"I know you didn't," Bobby said with a small smile. "Which is why we worry."
"We never wore coats at Manticore," Alec admitted.
"Well, it's time you start wearin' one," Bobby said. "C'mon, I've got one of Dean's old ones you can wear so you don't have to go back through the minefield." Alec smiled and followed Bobby to the kitchen. Bobby got him bundled up before he led him over to the door. "I know you don't want a chaperone, but I'm goin' out there with you. Your Daddy would kill me if I let you wander around by yourself."
Alec wanted to argue that John wasn't his Dad, but he let it go since he was getting to go outside. And Bobby was a good chaperone to have.
"What did you wanna do outside?" Bobby casually asked him, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Alec shrugged, "I don't know…I just wanted to go outside."
"Alright, well, lead the way," Bobby said, gesturing for the door.
Alec couldn't stop his smile as he walked outside. He still didn't know what to do, but it didn't matter. He could breathe when he was outside. He was free. And it was all thanks to Ben. He didn't want to leave, but Ben did and he was so thankful that he left with his brother.
He closed his eyes and breathed in the crisp air. The air hurt his lungs since it was so cold, but it also felt good. If he could, he would stay out here forever.
"What do you want to do?" Alec suddenly asked Bobby.
"Me? Well…" Bobby adjusted his hat, and then asked, "You wanna help me move some cars?"
Alec's eyes widened and he broke into a slow smile. "Yes!"
"Ok, you need one thing first," Bobby said, kneeling down next to him.
"What is it?" Alec asked. He wanted to be good at whatever they were going to do.
Bobby pulled off his hat and plopped it on his head. The hat was too big for him and almost covered his eyes, but he gave Bobby a wide smile. He really liked the hat!
Bobby chuckled, "You're a cute little kid." He adjusted the back of the hat so it fit better, and then said, "Now, let's go move some cars."
Ben woke up again and immediately panicked. Alec wasn't sleeping next to him; he didn't know where Alec was so he couldn't help his brother if he had a seizure. He had to find Alec.
He got up and ran to Dean's room. He jumped up on Dean's bed even though he was asleep and shook his shoulder. He had hoped that Alec would be in Dean's room, but he wasn't. So, he needed Dean to help him find Alec.
"Dean, wake up," Ben said. He really hoped he didn't get in trouble for this, but he was more worried about Alec. Dean didn't wake up though, so he tried again, "Dean, I don't know where Alec is…"
"Alright…I'm up," Dean mumbled.
"Dean, what if he's having another seizure," Ben said in a rush. "What if he fell and hit his head again? Or hurt his wrist? Or he probably went outside! What if he's outside?"
"Ben, calm down," Dean said, sitting up. "We'll find him, ok? He's probably just downstairs with Dad or Bobby."
"Oh…" Ben muttered. He hadn't thought about that. Alec could be just fine and watching TV or something, but the first thing he did was panic.
"C'mon, let's go look."
Dean got up and he quickly followed. He knew he shouldn't panic, but Alec was his brother and his best friend. He felt helpless because of the seizures, but the least he could do was be there for him.
He had just started to relax and think Alec was fine until they got downstairs. John was asleep in the recliner, the TV was off, and Alec was nowhere to be seen. Dean ran his hand through his hair as he started to panic again.
"Ben, it's ok," Dean reassured softly. "We can't freak out until we've looked everywhere. He's probably fine. Bobby could be with him and they could be in the kitchen or downstairs or outside…we'll find him, ok?"
Ben nodded and let Dean lead the way again. He didn't even know where they were going; he was only looking for Alec and nothing else mattered. He needed to know where his brother was. He remembered now that he had woken up when Alec had shifted the bed. He'd meant to get up just a few minutes later, but he'd fallen asleep again and had lost his brother.
Dean stopped and suddenly Ben just then realized they were outside. "What's wrong?" Ben asked.
Dean smiled and said, "I think I know where he is."
"Where? How do you know?" Ben asked. He should know where Alec was, he was his twin.
"There's somethin' Bobby would probably want to show him," Dean said. "C'mon, I think you'll like it too."
Dean started walking again, and he quickly trailed behind. He reached out and grabbed Dean's shirt just to make sure that he didn't disappear. Dean knew where his brother was, so he needed to keep track of Dean.
Dean looked over at him, and he thought he was going to tell him to let go of his shirt, but he didn't.
Dean stopped again and knelt down beside him. Ben looked at him in confusion, wondering where Alec was. "Look," Dean said, pointing over at something. Ben followed where Dean was pointing, and his mouth dropped open in shock.
He could see Alec, wearing what looked like Bobby's hat only backwards, sitting on Bobby's lap in a giant machine. The machine grabbed a car, picked it up, and then carefully set it on top of a stack of other cars. Alec's smile was huge and it looked like he was actually controlling the machine that was moving the cars. Bobby pointed and Alec steered the machine to pick up another car.
"Let's go see what they're doin'," Dean said.
Dean waved and Bobby and Alec looked their way. Alec quickly motioned for them to come over and opened the door to the machine. "Ben! Come here! You've gotta try this!"
Ben glanced over at Dean to make sure it was ok, and Dean nodded with encouragement. Ben took off once he got permission and climbed up to where his brother was. Alec scooted over to just one of Bobby's legs so he could sit on the other.
"We're moving cars," Alec said, focusing again on what he had been doing.
Ben wanted to chastise Alec for disappearing like that, but he could tell Alec was actually having fun. He settled in to let Alec do what he wanted.
Bobby picked Alec up once he finally fell asleep. They'd moved cars until it was dark and they could hardly see anything. It had been a day long activity that Alec never grew tired of. Dean had brought them something to eat two times during the day. John came out to sit with the boys so he could go to the bathroom and stretch. Alec refused to move until Sam forced him to take a break. Ben didn't even go back inside until a few hours ago. Who knew the kid would like moving cars so much?
Alec rested his head against his shoulder as he slowly walked back to the house. His hat nearly fell off, but somehow it stayed on. He knew he wouldn't be getting that hat back, but he was ok with it. Alec really was a cute kid, and so was Ben. He was already attached to the boys even though he'd only met them a few days ago.
"What happened? Is he ok?" John asked in a rush as soon as they walked in. He kept his voice down though because Ben was asleep next to him.
"He's fine," Bobby quickly reassured. "He just wore himself out. We moved every car in the yard." He was proud of Alec; the kid was actually really good at it. He'd been a little nervous to let Alec be the one to move the cars, but they were already broken so he couldn't do much more damage. But Alec didn't break anything.
Bobby sat down and shifted Alec so he was in his lap. It felt good to be holding a kid again. Dean hardly ever let him take care of him when he was little, and then Dean always took care of Sam. He always wanted kids, but Sam and Dean were like his own and now Alec and Ben were on that list too.
"Looks like you've lost a hat," John said. "I have a feeling Alec doesn't give things back once he thinks they're his."
"That's alright. I've got a bunch more that I can wear," Bobby said.
"Did he shake at all?" John asked. "Hands trembling? Or anything?"
"No, he's alright. He took his pills and he moved cars like a pro," Bobby said. "Look John, I know you're worried. Watchin' him have seizures is somethin' I never wanna see again, but you've gotta give him some space. He's not used to this."
John looked away from him. He was pushing it, but this was important. Alec needed time to get used to people watching out for him. He wasn't going to get used to it overnight, but hopefully he would get used to it eventually.
"We're gonna have to go soon," John said to change the subject. And Bobby thought to hurt him a little. He was getting too close to his boys and now he was going to take them away. "I can't risk Manticore finding them, and right now, staying in one spot for too long isn't a great idea."
Bobby held Alec a little closer, feeling the need to protect the kid. Instead, he asked, "You gonna teach 'em hunting?"
"Dean doesn't want me to, but eventually I'll teach 'em. They need to know what's out there and how to protect themselves," John said.
Bobby didn't say anything. He didn't agree with how John was raising his boys, but if he argued now, he'd never get to see the boys again. He couldn't accept that. He needed to be here for the boys.
He decided he would hold Alec until the kid woke up. He'd had a rough few days, he probably needed the comfort, and if he was going to be leaving soon, then he didn't want to miss his chance. He didn't know when John would bring the boys again, but he hoped it would be soon. He looked down at Alec wearing his hat that was too big and he smiled.
More soon...