Dean didn't even bother to open his eyes for a moment. Instead he just breathed, inhaling the scents that he had missed so much. How strong they all were: he had never realised that before. The poor other Dean must have felt suffocated by them.

But to him, they were perfect.

With a sigh he opened his eyes to see the faces of everyone that he already knew was around him. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." And Sam, his Sam, was smiling at him.

He was sitting on the ground, holding Dean tightly on his lap just as he had the other Dean over a month ago. And they just had time for one quick kiss before Dean was getting mobbed by his two youngest children. "Mom!"

And Mary-Anne and Johnny were all over him, sobbing with joy. And sadness. Real sorrow.

Dean could smell their misery. "What's this?"

But neither of them answered him, and now he was becoming aware of something else. Something that immediately made him nervous, and shift his position in Sam's arms ready to run and hide behind the trusted strength of his mate: the scent of an unmated Alpha in close proximity to him. Especially when he was so close to coming into heat!

But the scent… it was… it… he knew it. "Samuel? You've presented?"

"Hi, mom." But he wasn't happy. In fact his scent was sadder than his other two siblings. And it was flat somehow; lifeless.

Dean was out of Sam's arms and on his feet reaching for his eldest son before he had even thought about the danger he might be in by approaching him. "What is it? Samuel? What is it?"

But the young Alpha turned away from him, blinking back tears. And then Sam was also standing to put his arms around Dean from behind, pulling him back tightly against his chest with a heartfelt sigh. "The other Dean was Sammy's soulmate. He turned, Dean. While he was here, somehow he turned. And because he knew he had to leave… when Samuel presented he wouldn't accept him. He thought he was being kind: he was worried about them never being able to find each other again and Samuel being alone for the rest of his life."

"He rejected him?" Dean was stunned. "But…the urge…the desire to be with… how could he have…? And…once the soulmate is found, no one else will ever do! The scent wants what it wants."

"I know." Sam sighed. "But Dean didn't realise. And…everything he's been through, everything he's done. It wasn't fair to tell him."

"We had to let him go, mom." Johnny suddenly informed the newly returned omega with tremendous sorrow in his voice. "I've missed you so much…we've missed you so much. But we all loved the other Dean as well. We wanted him to stay.

And we miss him."

Dean stared down at the upset little boy: "He must have made some impression!"

"Not just on us, Dean." Sam informed him. "At the moment, the whole world knows his name… your name. I've so much to tell you. But first… we need to think of some way of getting you a fake pink plaster cast!"

"A what?"

"He broke his arm defending us against the Alphas who broke into the house! They destroyed it! And they stabbed him: they stabbed Dee!" Mary-Anne had a hint of hysteria amidst her tears. "But he wouldn't let them take us: he wouldn't! He fought them all, mom! And then he told them all off, on the cameras! He told everyone what he thinks of them!"

Dean stared at her. Then he turned to stare with his eyebrows raised at Sam.

Who shrugged helplessly and chewed at his lip. "As I said, I've got so much to tell you. But I've already contacted a company to clean the house, Dean." He hurried to try and put his mate's mind at rest. "They'll get the bloodstains out! And I know now… about everything. I'll do so much better in protecting you, I promise! And Dean's given us an incredible chance to change things! And I've missed you so much…"

"Alphas broke into the house? Into our house, Sam? And the children were there?"

"We're who they were after, mom! And Dean of course…well they thought he was you. But he stopped them!" Johnny stood tall as he spoke up, facing his mom with sudden pride in his voice. "He's an omega as well now, like I'm going to be. I'm going to learn to fight like him…" his face crumpled suddenly and tears welled in his eyes… "If he can find his way back and teach me."

"He will." Mary-Anne reassured him. "He promised he'll try, and he will!" And she was crying as well.

Dean stood and stared at them each in turn. Then at Samuel who had his head bowed, but his mom could still see the moisture trickling down his cheeks and dripping from his chin. And the sadness in all their scents was overwhelming.

Finally he looked round at Sam with a stern expression on his face, his mate nervous about meeting his eye. "I think… you better tell me exactly what's been going on while I've been away. And I mean everything.

And then…" Dean glanced down at the half of the stone that he still held in his hand, "… we can start figuring out how to put it right."

And as if it had heard him, the surface of the stone was suddenly lit by a momentary but approving flash of pale blue.