December 13th at 11:45am

The gun shot was loud in the quiet alley and there were no screams but for the sirens fast approaching.

It didn't matter to Dean though, his gun was smoking and Paul was dead. For the briefest moment the bastard had taken his eyes off Dean, he had been distracted. And that second was all Dean had needed to get a shot off. He had seen his opportunity and taken it.

For a moment no one moved. Don could hear the harsh breathing from his teammates. Everyone's adrenaline had reached its max. It was over, everything was over now. Don dropped his gun to his side, closely followed by Colby and David, and rushed to Charlie. He grabbed Charlie's head in his hands, looked his brother in the eyes and then hugged him. There had been maybe ever three times where Don had actually, truly hugged his brother, now Don wished there had been more. He had come so close to losing Charlie so many times but now they were safe, everyone was safe.

"Don." Charlie said after a few seconds, his brother was smothering him and it was kind of awkward being hugged by Don in front of the rest of the FBI team, not to mention two fugitives. But despite not being able to breathe and being slightly embarrassed there was only relief that it was all over and disbelief that this had happened in his voice. It was over, he was safe now, Don was here. Everything was going to be okay.

Dean was the last one to drop his gun. He had kept it aimed at Paul, almost afraid he would get up. After more than twenty seconds he finally lowered the gun and raised his eyes to meet Sam's. They didn't hug, Winchester men never hugged but there was more emotion and love through that look than most families gave in a week. They stared at each for a while and then turned to Nick lying on the ground. Neither of them could believe it, he was dead, their worries were gone.

"It's a good thing you guys took me hostage, Don, David, and Megan couldn't do anything about it. Besides, you promised to drop me off a couple blocks up the street." All eyes turned to Colby and he just grinned. He walked toward Dean and dropped his gun on the floor of the U-haul van. "We better get out of here, out that side, the police aren't far behind."

"Let's go then." Dean said, raising his gun mock-threateningly towards Colby but lowered it seconds later. "Sam." Dean pointed toward a piece of junk that had been parked in the alley. He turned to follow Sam and their willing hostage to the car but stopped half way there. "There could have been something special, if only you hadn't been a fed." He gave Don the biggest shit eating grin he could muster and headed toward the car Sam already had started.

Don watched Dean and Sam head off. He wasn't worried, Colby would be fine with them and he knew that the young FBI agent would be dropped off just a short ways from here. Don wanted to say something back but he couldn't think of anything. Dean Winchester had been an enigma before all this started and nothing had changed about that. The only thing Don had learned from this was that the Winchester brothers were not guilty of everything they were accused of. He suspected the credit card fraud was real enough and alright, maybe some of the breaking and entering as well. But Don knew there was no truth in the murder charges. While he wasn't quite ready to believe in the unbelievable he had a gut feeling telling him that it was better the Winchesters were on the streets then in some jail.

"Don," Megan started, watching two felons walk off and steal a car right in front of them.

"They're not guilty. I don't know what it is but I know they aren't. They're good people." With that Don saw the car round the corner and Dean drove out of sight.

December 13th at 12:55pm

"Where the hell are they?!" Hendrickson yelled as he slammed the door to the SUV closed. He stormed over to the ambulance where Eppes and his FBI team were gathered.

Don started to roll his eyes and groan when he heard the agent's voice but forced himself to stop. He had actually forgotten about Hendrickson for a while. It had been nice. "Who?"

"What happened?" There wasn't any yelling this time but he almost drew blood digging his fingers into his palm to keep from punching Don.

"When David and Colby found me with Dean Winchester we promptly arrested him."

It took all over Colby's willpower not to snort at this.

Don almost shot the young agent a look, knowing that he would be finding it hard not to laugh. "But Dean came up with a good plan. He figured if the men in those body bags believed they could get away then we could get Megan and Charlie back."

"Why would he come up with a plan to help you?"

"He didn't. He wanted to get Sam back and this was the only way he could see to do it. He needed our help as much as we needed his."

"And you agreed to let him go in return?"

Don chose not to answer directly. "We played along, it was the only plan anyone had. Dean pretended to shoot at us and handcuffed our hands but cut the plastic ties so we could break them easily. We put guns within our reach but out of sight. The opportunity came when the guys wanted to switch from the ambulance to the U-Haul van. We called on them to surrender but they refused forcing us to kill them all. Then Dean managed to grab a hold of Colby before we could stop him. They got away and dropped Colby off a few blocks away from here."

"They headed west." Colby lied.

"Don't expect to walk away from this Eppes."

"Oh I do. I already talked to the Merrick. I thought he would want to know what was going on. He thought our plan was a pretty good one. It seems the Director agrees that getting five wanted felons was better than two."

There was something going on here. Hendrickson knew it. They trained you to follow solid leads and clues in Quantico but any agent who has been in the field for more than five years knows that his gut intuition is better. Unfortunately a feeling couldn't get you anywhere. Hendrickson glared at the team one last time and left.

Megan walked back to Charlie, Colby, David, and Don. She waited until the EMT left the area before she hissed through her teeth. "Don what the hell are we doing?"

"We're going to a hotel. I'm exhausted and I have a feeling we're going to be here a few days."

Just like Don, she thought. But that was it, nothing about this was Don. If she knew one thing about Don he was very black and white. There were very few shades of gray in Don's world. Megan would have never imagined Don letting two known felons go. And whatever seemed to be affecting her boss and also had its hold on Colby and David. She knew Colby was friends with the Winchesters but David wasn't. David was also a by-the-book agent, if not more so than Don. But none of them seemed bothered by the fact that they had just broken the law themselves and could be charged with aiding and abetting the escape of two dangerous felons.

When she thought about it the fact that Sam and Dean got away wasn't really important. If Don trusted them then that would have to be enough for her for now. What really mattered was that everyone was okay. Everyone had gotten out alive mostly unscathed. Megan shook her head and followed behind the boys, her boys.

December 15th at 2:30pm

(California Time)

Don looked over toward his dad and Charlie. They were sitting a couple feet away from him, focused on the football game. Normally they watched baseball or the news but it was their first day back, baseball wasn't on and their minds were too drained to concentrate on anything that required thinking. He smiled to himself before turning back to the game but not completely focusing on it. One thing that he could not get out of his head was Charlie's actions.

While Charlie had his strengths Don never assumed one of them was handling intense situations. In fact, he knew that Charlie couldn't deal when things got complicated. His brother had always retreated into the math. When their mother had died, when he had been shot and numerous other times. But by all accounts Charlie had been a major contributor to their release. Perhaps the only person that helped more was Seeth. Don was proud of Charlie, of course, he always had been. But this time was different. Maybe it was because Charlie had performed on Don's level. It wasn't some mumbo jumbo that Don couldn't understand and was blown away because of the complexity. It was because Charlie had literally save hundreds of lives in a matter of minutes by doing something that Don would not have expected out of him. He might have expected it of himself but not that level of bravery out of Charlie. Never again would he be able to look at his brother in the same way.

Don's thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. "I'll get it." He said toward as he got up, his brother and dad just gave him nods. "Don Eppes?" Don answered the phone.

"This is Agent Hendrickson, is Don Eppes there."

Don had to bite back a groan when he heard who was on the other end. He had dealt with the man and then quickly booked it back to L.A. Hendrickson had been given control of the case, something Don was all too happy to hand over. It had been a fool's hope but Don was praying that he wouldn't have to deal with the insufferable agent again. "This is he."

"I just wanted to let you know that I found Nick Colbert's son. He was the one that we found in Paul's basement, pretty banged up. We ran his fingerprints through the system and got a match. I got word from the hospital that he woke up a little while ago. I'm going down there this evening to question him."

In all the excitement and confusion Don had forgotten about fingerprinting. He had forgotten that Seeth's prints were in the system. Dean and Sam Winchester had no hope of getting to him now. Don wished he could do something but knew he couldn't. He had already risked too much and there was no plausible excuse, explanation or plan he could come up with. "Okay."

"And…" It killed Hendrickson to say this. "Dean and Sam Winchester broke into the impound and got their car back."

At that Don had to stifle a laugh. He could just picture Hendrickson's face while he was saying this. "You didn't have guards posted?" Don asked when he could open his mouth without laughing.

"They knocked the guards unconscious. I'll keep you updated. Good bye."

Before Don had a chance to say anything else Hendrickson hung up. When he walked back into the living room and Charlie asked who was on the phone Don doubled over with laughter.

December 15th at 7:00pm

(Georgia Time)

"I'm Agent Hendrickson, I'm with the FBI. I have some questions for you son."

Seeth was staring out the window at the stars in the sky. They were bright. The hospital was located in a small town, apparently right outside of Brent. There wasn't enough smog or artificial lights to cover up the shining dots hanging in the black velvet sky and Seeth liked it. It was an unknown phenomenon but the supernatural baddies always liked to hang out in small towns. Seeth never got tired of it, he loved the wide open spaces and the way you could see for miles. But the stars were his favorite, he didn't know why but they had always been.

"Can you hear me?"

The nurse had told him that an agent would be coming to speak with him. Seeth had woken up a few hours ago, the older lady had said he had been out for two days. No visitors. That's what the nurse had said. Most of the slaves had called their families and were home. A few were hurt more seriously and were still here but their families were with them. The ones that had no families had been sent to a homeless shelter, they were going to be given help in finding jobs and low-cost housing. Seeth shifted his gaze from the window the wall straight ahead.

"Is your name Seeth Colbert?"

They knew who he was. That would explain the restraints. His feet were free while his hands were tied down to the bed with cloth restraints. He had risked his life to free people who wouldn't come see him and in return he was going to jail

"What did your father want with Charles Eppes?"

His father, he didn't have a father. He didn't have a family. No one cared for him. No one told him anything. Why would he know what was going on?

"If you give me the information I need then I can make sure you don't stay in prison until you're eighty."

Why would he care? At least in there he would have three square meals a day, a roof over his head, a bed to sleep in. Right now he didn't have anywhere to go. His dad may be an ass but he knew what he was talking about. Dean and Sam didn't care for him.

Hendrickson sighed and slapped his thighs with his hands. He wasn't going to get anywhere with this guy. And the truth was Seeth Colbert would probably only spend five to ten years in prison. Other than the slave ring his fingerprints had only been found at one other crime scene, a simple robbery where there were no weapons used or people killed. And any lawyer could easily spin his involvement in the whole slave trafficking. Truth was even he didn't know if Seeth had been a perpetrator or a victim. According to the nurse Seeth had more injuries than any other person pulled out. There were whip lacerations all down his back, two gun shot wounds in the leg, bruises of every color, and some very old injuries. The doctor said it was akin to those one would see on abuse cases. And Hendrickson had to admit the Colbert kid had shut down just like other abused children. So he took one last look at the young man and left.

December 16th at 4:30pm

"God Bobby, am I glad to see you."

"You boys alright?"

Dean nodded, looking over at Sam who was sleeping on the bed furthest from the door. Sam's back had been infected but they had done a good job at keeping it clean. At first Sam had tried to keep Dean from seeing the wounds but Dean was a big brother and he knew how to get what he wanted. Tiredness and hunger seemed to be the only side effect for Sam now. Other than two small flesh wounds from where the prongs had touched his skin Dean was alright physically. The branding mark seemed to be healing just fine, surprisingly. Dean figured he could use it to his advantage, chicks love scars. He had also been a little unfed but after that first big meal there was no noticeable increase in his appetite. Dean told himself he was still a growing boy and needed his food.

"I see you got the Impala, how'd you manage that?" Bobby had been surprised to see the classic car sitting outside the motel. But he knew that next to Sam and Seeth there was nothing Dean cared about more so he couldn't be truly shocked that Dean had somehow gotten it back.

"I have my ways. What about you, no lasting damage?"

"Nah. They wanted to hunt me but I guess December is out of season. I'll be fine."

"Good." Dean said. He had been worried about the older hunter. It was his fault Bobby had gotten in the mess to begin with. When they had taken him away Dean hadn't known what to do. He was thrilled though when he had been able to get a hold of Bobby early this morning at his house. The man had taken the first flight back out to Georgia.

"So, have you heard anything at all about Seeth?" Bobby asked, eager to find out about the youngest Winchester.

"Yeah, we called today posing as reporters, they said he's awake. It isn't going to be easy getting in."

"Since when has that ever stopped you?" John Winchester had been full of piss and vinegar and his boys weren't any different.

Dean smiled at that but pretended to think long and hard. "I had a taxi drive me by the hospital today. The feds are finally gone. But since they know who Seeth is I'm guessing they have at least one guard standing outside his room. We should probably wait until it's dark, sneak in, take out the guard and get Seeth out. Unless of course you have any better ideas."

"Well, how about this? I pose as a fed…"

"No offense Bobby but you aren't exactly fed looking so unless you're willing to shave…"

"You're right." Bobby said quickly when heard what Dean said. He looked around and thought about Sam. "If Sam were to get fancy, put on some shades, he could pass. We'll go at five am, the guard won't care and the nurses will be just about done with their shift, too tired to do anything but agree."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll call them, pretending to be the reporter again and see if I can get an estimated time of release."

Alright guys, sorry for the delay. School has started again so my free time is essentially gone. Good news, and bad news, is there is only one more chapter left. So I will get that up as soon as possible.

I want to thank ALEO for betaing, hurray she's back! And she did the last chapter as well so I want to thank her for that one too.