AUTHOR'S NOTE: Grab your tissue box again, this chapter has more feels as well as some fluff and humor! Thank you for all the reviews, I'm glad everyone is happy with John's willingness to change! Beta-ed by Edge_of_Clairvoyance.

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Dean hugged me. "That's awesome, Aly!"

"Where's Dad and Sam? Hey, Dad!" I called. "Sam!"

"They're in the study working on a counter spell, lemme grab 'em." Dean stood up and left the room. In a moment he was back with Dad and Sam in tow, Calvin right behind them.

"Dad, my voice is back!" I said.

"You're talking!" Dad was smiling. "What happened?"

"I don't know, I just started singing along to Kiss From a Rose!" I said excitedly.

Dad came over and leaned down to hug me. "It's so good to hear your voice!"

"Did you feel anything in your throat right before? Any odd feelings in your body?" Calvin asked.

I thought about it, then shook my head. "No, I didn't. I kinda started humming before I realized what I was doing, I could feel the vibration in my throat, and then I realized I was humming and I started to sing!"

Sam came over to hug me too, and then stood next to Dad. "That's so great!" He had a big smile on his face as well.

Dad looked at Calvin. "Do you think that the spell wore off?"

Calvin nodded. "You said that Jervis said it was temporary. A long-acting spell would've taken more time and it would need to be re-done every so often."

"What if-what if the witch tries to do another spell to take away my voice?" I asked worriedly.

"Well, for one thing, if she did try it, nothing would get through because this place is warded against spells." Calvin explained. "For another thing, she'd need to have something of yours in her possession to be able to make the spell work, like hair or nail clippings or blood. Did she take anything like that from you?"

"No, she didn't."

Calvin smiled. "Then you're safe. The spell's wore off now."

I sighed with relief, tears coming to my eyes.

Dad sat down next to me and squeezed my shoulder. "I'm so happy for you." He shifted so he was facing me. "How would you feel about talking about...your experiences?"

"Um, you mean, about the kidnapping?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I guess." I shrugged, frowning as I wondered why he wanted to talk about it now.

"We usually talk about what happened on the hunt right afterwards and then write it all down." Dad explained. "It's best to talk about it or write it all down as soon after the fact as possible so you don't forget anything."

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Well, if you can take us through what happened, that would be good." Dean said, coming over to sit on the other end of the sofa.

"Let me go grab my laptop." Sam left the room.

"Bring my journal too, please." Dad called to him.

Sam came back quickly and sat down in the armchair, turning on his laptop to take notes. He handed Dad his journal, and Dad opened it. Calvin sat down in a chair across from us.

"You said the last thing you remembered at the Gas-n-Sip was being grabbed and then everything going dark." Sam said. "What happened when you woke up?"

"I woke up tied to a big chair. I tried to get out of the ropes but I didn't know how and I couldn't remember exactly what Dad said about that. I looked around the room to try and figure out where I was, because Dad always said to notice details of everywhere you go. It kinda made me think of a room in a hunter's cabin because they had maps and stuff on the walls and jars of herbs on the table. I-I tried calling out to all of you in my mind, I got really scared, I know that Dad always says to be calm, but I couldn't help it." I glanced at Dad.

He smiled and patted my arm. "You did good, sweetheart. Anyone would be scared in that situation."

"Jervis and Dipper came in, Dipper had a bucket of chicken and was eating his way through it. He'd just drop the bones on the floor when he was done with a piece."

Dean snapped his fingers. "So those bones weren't from a spell, they were just from food!" He rolled his eyes. "Since that room was where the spell was performed we thought that those bones on the floor might've been used in another ritual."

"What happened next?" Dad asked.

"I asked them who they were and what they wanted. I said you guys would pay them." I felt my face get warm with embarrassment. "I know that's stupid but when people get kidnapped on TV shows it's usually for ransom."

Dad shook his head. "It's not stupid, Aly."

"Jervis said they wanted revenge, not money, because you guys had hurt one of his friends. He made his eyes turn black. I said I was sorry he was hurt, that I didn't know about his friend. He said that there was no way that John Winchester's daughter didn't know what her father did. He looked into my eyes-it felt like-like he was looking into my soul." I looked down at my hands, shifting uncomfortably as I remembered how it felt, like he was rifling through my mind. "It felt weird. Then he laughed and was surprised that I didn't know." I squirmed a little as I remembered what Jervis had said about me. "Jervis said, talk about Daddy issues, this one's got subscriptions."I kept my eyes down, feeling my face get hot.

Dad made a sound in the back of his throat.

"They started to argue about food then, Dipper said last time he was topside there was a famine and he had to eat rats."I made a face.

Dean said, "Yeah, he told me about some of that-apparently the crops all had a blight and the stored food went rotten and the king sent his soldiers to take all the edible food from the village, so everyone was starving."

"Dipper took a swing at me and said Jervis's name and Jervis got mad at him and said his name so I knew their names. They got in a fight because Jervis said taunting me was fun but Dipper was too dumb to keep up. Dipper said he just wanted to hurt me. They beat on each other until Jervis said we're supposed to be working together. Dipper grabbed his food and left and left the room. Jervis slapped me across the face and left. I started calling out to you guys in my head again."

"I'm sorry, Aly." Dad said sympathetically.

I nodded. I didn't want to tell them about that horrible dream I'd had, I didn't want to relive those feelings.

"Are you okay to keep going?" Sam asked.

I nodded and took a deep breath. "I had a bad dream and when I woke up I thought I heard a car drive by. I started yelling real loud, and they came running into the room. Jervis was mad at me for yelling. I started saying the Exorcism prayer and Dipper acted like it hurt his head.

Jervis punched me in the face but I kept saying it. Dipper got mad and started hitting me-all over- and Jervis pulled him away."

Dean made a growling sound in his throat. "Dipper and I had quite a discussion about him beating a defenseless girl." He leaned forward, looking me in the eyes. "You don't have to be scared of him anymore, Aly. We sent his ass back to hell where he belongs."

"You did?"

Dean nodded. "Both of them."

"Is that what happens in an exorcism? What's it like?"

Dad said, "We...can talk about that another time. Right now I'd like to keep focusing on your experiences, all right?"

"Okay. Well, Jervis put his hand up and did something so that I couldn't breathe, like he took all the air out of my lungs. He asked if I was going to keep quiet and I nodded so he stopped, and I could breathe again. Then Dipper put duct tape over my mouth. Jervis took Dipper out of the room because he was so upset. I was crying and calling out to you guys in my head, that's when I felt-" I glanced over at Sam. "-the connection with Sam. I said 'Sammy, please help me' and it was like I could feel him with me. He saw me and said 'Aly oh God what happened.' It was like I was him sitting in the front of the Impala and Dean looked over and said 'what is it Sammy?' I said 'I'm here Sam' in my head and I felt a sharp pain in my head and my nose started to bleed and then everything went dark." My voice had gotten hoarse. I looked over at Calvin. "Could I have some water, please?"

He stood up. "Sure thing." He left the room.

"Jesus, that's exactly how it happened." Dean muttered. "We were on our way back from looking through the woods, it was late, and Sam had started dozing a little. He woke up suddenly, gasping, and I looked over at him, and his nose was bleeding." He looked at me. " He told me that he heard you in his head calling out to him. I asked him if he was having a migraine." He shook his head, looking chagrined. "He said his head did hurt, but this wasn't a migraine, it felt different. He said he'd- made a connection with you and he knew it was real. I blew him off but he kept insisting what he felt was a real connection." Dean shook his head again and shifted his gaze to Sam. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Sam. Thanks for being strong enough to stand your ground against us two stubborn bozos." He pointed at Dad and himself.

Sam looked up from his laptop as he typed. "I'm stubborn, too."

Dad chuckled. "That you are."

Calvin came back into the room with a pitcher of ice water and a stack of glasses. He set the pitcher down and poured me a glass. I took a couple of swallows and held on to the glass.

Dad poured himself a glass and took a sip, then put the glass on the table. "What happened after that?"

"I don't know if I fainted or if I fell asleep or how long I was out." I said. "I woke up when they came back into the room. Dipper had a barbecue sandwich he was eating, I could see the Bully's BBQ wrapper. Jervis had this tool kit that he unrolled and he brought over a pair of tongs and said he had gotten toys to play with, for me. They got into another argument because Jervis said that tongs were good for taking out eyeballs and Dipper corrected him and said that a pick was better." I shuddered. "While they were arguing I felt the duct tape over my mouth start to loosen and I realized I could still talk. So I started saying the Exorcism prayer loudly. They both acted like it hurt their head and Dipper came over and did something to make my heart speed up. My chest was hurting and I could barely catch my breath. Jervis made him stop, and Dipper wanted to cut my tongue out. Jervis said they couldn't do any permanent damage. My heart was still pounding and my vision was starting to go black again, and Jervis said he had an idea, and they left. I guess I fainted again." I took a drink of water. When I looked up, Sam was looking at me with tears in his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"You just-you went through so much, I saw you with the duct tape over your mouth, your eye was swollen almost all the way closed and you had bruises all over, you-you looked so scared and beat down-and when you were calling out to me you sounded terrified." His voice cracked and a tear slipped out of the side of his eye. "I-I felt so helpless, I was so scared for you-" He covered his eyes for a moment and then took a deep breath. He swiped his hand over his eyes and cleared his throat. "I didn't know what to do at first, I was just in a panic, so I-I made myself think about it like it was a hunt. And that's when I started looking up the food wrappers."

"Thank God for your research skills, Sammy." Dad said gratefully. "I'm so glad you didn't let it go."

Seeing Sam get upset like that brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that he'd been scared too, and worried that they wouldn't be able to find me was like a vindication of everything Jervis had said to me. Tears filled my eyes and slipped down my face.

Sam was still looking at me. "Why are you crying, Aly?" He asked.

"J-just-knowing that you saw me, you were scared too, it's upsetting. And I-I was-I didn't know what was going to happen, and Jervis-he kept saying-he kept telling me that you weren't going to rescue me, that you didn't care enough about me to come f-find m-me-" Remembering how hurt I felt when he would bring that up made me start to cry. I lowered my head and closed my eyes, feeling unable to look at them.

I felt someone take the glass out of my hands and then Dad said, "Come here," and I felt his arms around me. He pulled me into his chest. "Demons do get into your head, and they can use your fears against you." He said gently.

"How could you think that, Aly? That we didn't care enough to rescue you?" Dean asked.

I opened my eyes and looked at his face, blurry through all my tears. "All I do is get into trouble. I keep m-messing up everything, you can't t-trust me, and I-" I started crying harder.

Dad tightened his arms around me. "Shh." He said. "You've been through a rough patch lately but that doesn't mean we don't care about you. Of course we were going to do everything in our power to rescue you. Don't ever doubt that, sweetheart."

I curled into his chest, grabbing his flannel as I sobbed. "All right, I think we should take a break." Dad said.

"I should get lunch started." I heard Calvin say. "I'll set out some lunch meat for sandwiches."

"I'll help you." Dean said.

Dad stroked the hair on the back of my head. "I wish I could take your pain away." He said. "I wish you hadn't gone through that horrible experience."

"I-I didn't know-Dipper kept wanting to hurt me all the time, and I was scared of him, I d-didn't know what was gonna happen next-" I had never been around someone who just wanted to hurt me like Dipper had, someone who had no problem hitting me and hurting me over and over.

"I'm sure that was awful. Demons are sadistic and they enjoy hurting people and keeping them off balance. Once you've recovered some, I want to teach you how to guard your thoughts and give you some more information about demons so that if you ever come up against them again you'll have some tools to use." He kissed the side of my head. "I'm so proud of you."

I sniffled. "Y-you are? Why?"

"Jervis said that you talked back to him-he seemed surprised, actually, given that you don't know very much about the supernatural. I think he was expecting that you would be completely blown away by everything that was going on and just-fold, not fight back." He tightened his arms around me. "You managed to hold your own against two demons, not everyone can say that. You're a strong person and I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, Dad." I hugged him back.

He let me go and we both sat up. He handed me a tissue box and I blew my nose and dried my face.

"You want to go eat some lunch?" Dad asked, standing up.

I nodded, and he brought over the wheelchair. He helped me stand up and Sam came over to me. He hugged me. "I'm proud of you too, Aly, you did amazing."

I hugged him back. "Thanks, Sam."

He helped me sit down in the chair and Dad wheeled me into the kitchen.

Calvin had an array of lunch meats, breads, and toppings laid out on the counter. Dad pushed me over and I told him what kind of sandwich I wanted. He fixed me a plate and handed it to me.

He pushed me right up to the table and I set my plate down. Dean was already sitting down eating. He glanced at me. "I'm sorry I said that, Aly."

"Said what?" I frowned.

"The thing about 'how could you think that'. I wasn't trying to put you down. Those bastards know how to twist what's in your head to screw with you."

"I didn't think you were." I said. "It's okay."

Dad's phone rang and he left the kitchen as he answered it. Sam and Calvin brought over their plates and sat down to eat.

"I'll need to go out and get some supplies later." Calvin said. "I'll get a plastic sleeve to put over your cast, Aly, so you can take a shower."

"Thanks." I said gratefully.

Dad came back into the room, pocketing his cell phone. "They're done at the cabin, so they'll be here tonight."

"That's good." Dean said.

"Who's done?" I asked.

"Bobby and Will-Will Sexton, he's the one I met at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago. They've been cleaning up and setting things to rights there." Dad explained.

"Why are Uncle Bobby and the other guy coming here?"

"Because they were involved in the exorcisms and we all want to debrief."

"Then I guess I better make a stop at the grocery store as well." Calvin said with a grin. "Anyone want to join me?"

"I'll go with you." Dad said.

"Is it okay for you to leave?" I asked worriedly. "That other demon is still out there, isn't he? What if-what if he comes after you?"

"We can handle it, Aly." Dad said confidently. "Try not to worry."

I couldn't help but worry, though- talking about the kidnapping had brought back the fear I had felt, and the underlying hopelessness that I had tried not to feel. Jervis's taunts about my family not coming to rescue me had gotten under my skin more than I realized.

Dean got up to make himself another sandwich. "You know what I could go for? Some of Aly's meatloaf." He said as he brought his plate back over and sat down. "Think you're up to doing some cooking? I mean, obviously you can't stand at the stove for long, but you can tell one of us what to do."

"Yeah, I can try." I said.

Calvin pulled out his phone. "I've already got a list going, what would you like to make?"

We talked about meals and what ingredients I would need. I promised Dean that I would try to make a chicken pot pie, too.

Everyone finished eating and began to clear their places. I pushed the wheelchair back from the table as Dad carried his plate to the sink. "Dad, I-I don't want you to go." I said. I felt like I had when I was little and I knew he was leaving on a hunt. When I had first learned about what he did I had always gotten scared whenever he left.

He came over to me and crouched down in front of me. "It's okay, Aly." He assured me. "I'm not going on a hunt, it'll be safe." He smiled at me.

"We'll both have weapons on us, and not only is the house warded, but the property is warded as well, so demons can't just walk up to the front door." Calvin said confidently. "We'll be back in no time."

"You promise?" I asked.

Dad took my hand and squeezed it. "I promise." He let go and stood up, then leaned down to hug me and drop a kiss on the top of my head.

"Hey, how about we teach Aly how to play Poker?" Sam said. "That'll pass the time."

"Sounds good. I'll go grab the cards and stuff out of the car." Dean left the room.

Sam started to load the dishwasher as Calvin and Dad prepared to leave. "We'll see you soon." Dad said as they left the kitchen.

Dean came back into the room carrying a small leather case. He set it on the table and opened it up- I could see a couple decks of cards and a box of poker chips. He removed a cloth change purse, a small leather bag, and an old mint tin.

"What's in those?" I asked.

"Well, since you're a newbie, we won't use the poker chips right now. These are our pennies, we use them when we're just playing for fun." Dean picked up the leather bag and opened it. He removed a handful of pennies and set them in front of me. "These can be yours."

Sam came over and sat down, and Dean handed him the tin. Sam removed a deck of cards and began to shuffle them.

"All right, so, there's several different winning hands, One Pair, Two Pair, Three of a Kind,

A Straight, which is five sequential cards that are not of the same suit, a Flush, which is five cards that are of the same suit, a Full House, which is three of a kind and a pair, Four of a Kind, a Straight Flush, which is five sequential cards that are of the same suit, and lastly, the big one, a Royal Flush, which is 10 through Ace of the same suit." Dean explained.

"There is no way I'm going to be able to remember all that!" I complained.

"We'll help you." Sam began to deal the cards. "We're going to do Five Card Draw. Once I deal the cards we place bets." He handed out five cards to each of us.

"Put a penny in the pot." Dean told me. We each put a penny in the middle of the table.

Dean played his hand and looked at my hand and gave me advice. Sam won the first round.

"Sammy's better at this than I am, usually." Dean said.

Sam huffed. "Usually? Try all the time."

Dean sat back. "Uh, wrong, buddy-I've won my fair share of games!"

"Yeah, when it's you and a drunk waitress playing strip poker." Sam smirked.

"Hey, I won a nice chunk of change when we were at that roadhouse in Montana!" Dean protested.

Sam shuffled the cards. "You did, but then we had to haul ass outta there because the other guys said you were cheating and wanted to beat us up."

Dean colored. "They were just sore losers."

Sam raised his eyebrow.

"What, I don't cheat!" Dean objected, "Just because I'm a quick study of human behavior and I figured out all their tells, and kept the alcohol flowing, doesn't make me a cheater!"

"What's a tell?" I asked.

"It's a little change in a player's face or mood when they have a winning hand. One guy I played would always rub the bridge of his nose when he thought he would win." Sam explained. He started dealing out cards.

"It can be an even smaller gesture than that, like a slight eyebrow raise for just a second." Dean chimed in. "You have to be really observant. And a lot of people have tells in real life, too, like when they're hiding something or lying." He looked at me. "You have a tell when you're not telling the truth."

"I do? What is it?" I grabbed my cards.

Dean picked up his hand. "I'm not telling you." He fanned the cards out and moved one of them.

"Aww, c'mon, tell me!" I leaned over and gave him puppy dog eyes.

He shook his head. "Nope."

I appealed to Sam. "Saaaam, make him tell me!"

"No can do. Place your bets." Sam put a penny on the small pile.

"You guys are mean!" I threw my cards on the table and pouted exaggeratedly.

Dean looked at Sam, raising his eyebrows. "Can you believe this?" He said in a mock-serious voice. He put his cards down. "You know what the cure for a pout is…" He stood up and came over to me, leaning down and tickling my stomach.

I started laughing and wriggling. "Aaah, Dean, cut it out!"

"What, I gotta make sure that pout is all gone!" Dean's hands moved up to my ribcage.

His fingers dug into a sensitive spot that I didn't know was still there, and I cried out, "Ouch!"

He pulled his hands back. "Oh geez, I'm sorry!" His face looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess my ribs are still a little sore." I said.

"Geez, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He said with chagrin.

"It's okay." I smiled at him.

He exhaled. "All right." He leaned down to kiss my forehead and then sat down. For the rest of the time we played he was gentle and attentive to me. I eventually got tired and said I wanted to nap, so Dean wheeled me to the bedroom and said he would stay with me while I slept. He helped me get in bed with my foot propped up and sat next to me, reading quietly.