I'm ashamed at how long this short chapter took me to get out there. I'm so sorry! I'm working on my time management and update more frequently. Until then, please enjoy what little I've managed to get done. And check the bottom of the chapter when you're done, please.

"Would someone please just tell me what happened to John?" Henry complains with pure impatience once the motel room a full state over is warded to the gills.

Lizzy, her heart broken for the man from the moment she figured out who he was, drops her salt canister and sits down on one of the two full sized beds. She pulls Sammy into her lap as he followed over, the commotion making him need all the contact and reassurance he can get. "Henry? Can you sit down? We'd love to catch you up while we wait for Dean and Sam to get here."

He nods and takes a seat at the table and two chairs by the big picture window, curtains closed to keep them hidden inside the room.

"So, you did a spell to reach your adult son in the future?" Lizzy asks. "It was specifically to find John?"

"Yes," Henry nods as he watches Lou and Derek sit in the second bed, everyone facing him. "I ran into a bit of trouble and had to make a quite dramatic escape. In such a rush my thought process was clouded, but my plan was to find John now and get help from him."

"Because he's a hunter?" Lizzy wonders.

Henry laughs at the thought. "Oh, no. John would not be a hunter."

"What's so bad about hunters?" Lou asks, trying to leave the bite out of her tone with how offensive this man is being.

"Well, hunters are apes. They're shoot first, don't bother to ask questions later mercenaries."

No one speaks at first but even Derek's eyebrows are at his hairline with the offensive words.

Lizzy silently pins her sister with a look that demands she either keep her trap shut or kind before saying, "Henry, I think you're generalizing when you speak about hunters."

"Not from what I've seen," he shakes his head. "We deal with a very select few when it comes to hunters and they are the most elite, highly trained, and incredibly intelligent for their kind. The average hunter is… base."

"Okay, but… do we look like apes?" Lizzy asks, once more schooling her voice to remain kind and without attack. He's pissing her off but if motherhood has taught her one thing it's that anger rarely makes tense situations better.

He looks between the adults in the room. "Not exactly. But… are you tell me you're really hunters?"

"I don't know how things were in your time, but in our time hunters are all this world's got. We don't shoot first. We're careful. We do our research meticulously. We let the innocent go. We are smart and well trained. So, for the rest of this conversation to go well... and for you meeting Dean and Sam to go well, I'm going to need you to cool off on the hunter bashing."

Henry nods apologetically the moment he hears her out. "I can already see the times have changed quite a lot. Forgive me for being, I guess, stuck in the past with my views."

"Considering the past was just an hour ago for you," Derek jokes as he makes a silly face at Sammy and gets the boy to laugh through the difficult day.

"Yes, I believe another hour or so the fully come to terms may be in order," Henry jests back.

"I think we can give you that," Lou smiles genuinely, feeling better about the man now.

Henry looks down at his hands for a moment. "Would someone now please explain how you know John and how it is he's dead?"

Lizzy nods and sighs. "John... he's been gone for a few years now. I never met him, unfortunately. Years back, before hunting, he had a really lovely life. He married the love of his life once he finished his stint in the Marines. They bought a house, had two boys... and then a demon killed his wife."

Henry's whole body reacts, his back ridged as his eyes deepen with sadness for his boy.

"After that, he... changed. He became a hunter because he knew what was out there. And because..."

"Revenge," Henry knowingly says.

"Can you blame him?" Lizzy asks while hugging her boy and pressing her cheek to his head.

"Not one bit," Henry admits. "But I don't get it. Why didn't he just report to the home office what happened?"

The room goes silent with that comment.

"Home office?" Lou asks with complete confusion.

"Absolutely. They would have directed him to the proper channels, sent experts... that should have been handled efficiently and professionally. He didn't need to be on his own. By then, my god... he should have been level ten or higher."

"Okay," Lizzy nods with a furrowed brow as she tried to sort out what he's trying to say to them. "Um, Henry... are you a hunter?"

"My no," he shakes his head with pride.

"Yet you know what we know about what's out there."

"And far more," he tells them with too much confidence. "For example, the demon that followed me here is no ordinary demon. She's a Knight of Hell, stronger than your average demon. She will barely flinch even if wounded by a demon-killing knife of the Kurds."

"Great," Lou gripes and pulls the demon killing knife she brought with her out of the back of her pants and tosses it on the bed. "This is worthless then."

Henry's face pales. "How did you procure that?"

Lou just grins.

"We've been doing this for a while," Lizzy smiles a bit. "We may only be hunters but we know what we are doing."

"Maybe you do," Henry concedes with the fact they even own such a revered and strong weapon.

"So, you're not a hunter," Lou wonders. "Then what the hell are you, dude?"

"I am a Man of Letters, as my son was meant to be. John was a legacy. I always just assumed..." And Henry pauses. He looks to Lizzy. "I am getting the feeling this situation doesn't end well for me.

Lizzy face wrinkles. "All I know is that John's father walked out on his wife and son. He never came back and John thought his father ditched when he was just a kid."

"I would never!" Henry says with devastation. "I loved my family. Everything I did was for them. I... I would never leave my family."

The room get uncomfortable quiet with this. Every single one of them knows what it all means. Henry never makes it home, at least not alive.

"Well, this has been highly and disturbingly informative," Henry comments as his grim reality hits him. "Just an hour ago I was to be sworn into a level of knowledge. And now... I'm not sure I even have another hour left to live..."

There's a knock in the door, interrupting the conversation.

"I'll get it," Lou says and gets up to let the boys in. Derek picks up the knife Lou left on the bed and packs it away, concerned for Sammy's safety, and Lizzy reaches out to Henry with a free hand. He hesitates before taking it.

"You're with us now," she says to him with true sincerity. "You're family and we will have your back all the way." She nods and he nods once in return.

Lou opens the door and stares up at Sam and Dean standing on the other side. "Hey guys," she says before splashing them both I the face with holy water from a silver flask.

"Never get used to that," Sam flatly says to her as Dean washes a big hand down his face.

"What are dealing with?" he asks as he walks past Lou into the room. He finds his whole family there, plus a guy holding Lizzy's hand that he's never seen before. "And who are you?"

Henry stands up, dropping Lizzy's comforting grip, and holds a hand out to Dean. "Henry Winchester," he greets. "It's nice to meet you."

Both brothers stand stock still and stare at the man, frozen.

"Guys," Lizzy tried to get their attention back. They look to her as she walks with Sammy on her hip to stand next to Henry. "This is Henry. He traveled back in time to find his son, John. Clearly, he couldn't find John... but instead he found what's left of his family. Could you be cool and shake hands with your grandfather? Please?"

Again, there's a hesitant pause before Dean talks specifically to his wife. "Our dad told us about our grandfather. He walked out on our dad when he was just a kid. He was a deadbeat."

"Or maybe he was a victim of unfortunate circumstances... possibly," Henry adds in. He takes a small, hesitant step forward. "I'm just now learning of my horrific, as you call it 'deadbeat', past. I'm as angry as you are, if not more so. I assure you."

Dean and Sam stand there in front of the closed motel door, unsure of what to say.

"So, basically... we have a demon on our asses because it followed Henry through his time portal," Lou explains. "And it's no ordinary demon. It's a Knight of Hell."

"Knight of Hell?" Sam questions, remaining strictly business despite dying to talk to Lou and see where her head is.

"Yes. She's old and very powerful. And currently residing in my partner Josie," Henry explains as his face falls. "She's a good woman and would be horrified by this turn of events. I'm sure she's absolute mad in there. Josie doesn't deserve this."

"Then we'll get her back," Dean says quickly, suddenly on board once he has a goal and a focus to save an innocent person.

"Abaddon is no slouch," Henry makes sure they understand. "I'm fairly certain that getting Josie back is a near impossibility. We must stop her before she can do irreversible damage. She has no qualms killing for sport or leisure. She's pure evil."

"You want us to just count Josie as a causality then?" Sam has to be sure.

"No! Never!" he gets scared all at once. Then he thinks a moment. "I just don't think we have a choice in this instance." Henry's face is sullen at best. "Josie would understand."

No one speaks for a moment as they can all sympathize with having to sacrifice for what is right and what needs to be done.

"Wait, why is she on our asses?" Sam suddenly shakes his head and returns to the issue at hand.

"Yeah," Lou nods, needing to know the answer herself. "Why you, Henry? What's special about you?"

Henry's hand goes to his pocket and he pulls out a small wooden box. "I have this."

"And what's so special about that?" Dean asks, the bite in his tone still there.

"I have no idea," he re-pockets it. "I was to find out during the initiation into the Men of Letters next level when Abaddon attacked and ended the ceremony early."

"I'm… what? Men of what?" Dean interrupts.

"The Men of Letters," Henry starts to explain. "It is the secret organization of men who know of and collect information on all that is unknown to the world. We chronicle all that which man does not understand."

"Meaning?" Sam asks.

"Meaning we are important. My grandfather joined first, my father following in his footsteps. John was to follow me when he of age and…."

"We were supposed to join, too," Sam says, interest fully peaked.

"Yes," Henry sadly answers. "But I don't understand what went wrong. The organization should have still accepted John after I… apparently disappeared."

"Well, we've never heard of the Men of Letters, Henry," Lizzy explains to him. "And we've been through… all of it. We know about as much as anyone alive does…."

"No you don't. You have no idea…" Henry starts to rebut but he stops. "I need you to take me to a certain location."

"For what?"

"I can iron this all out," Henry says with certainty as he writes down the address with a pen and paper from the motel nightstand. "I'll get in contact with the chapter house and figure this all out. Here," he hands Sam the paper. "Come with me to this building." He points at the address.

Sam glances at it before handing it to Dean. "Only a few towns over."

"Twenty minutes tops," Dean nods. "Alright, pops. Let's do it."

"Um…" Lizzy interjects, gesturing to Sammy in her lap. "What about us?"

"Stay put," Dean says. "You ward up right?"

"Best we can. But we don't know much about Knights of Hell."

Dean nods, looking at Henry. "Alright, oh wise one of the Men of whatevers. You got anything you can add to keep your great grandson safe?"

Henry's face softens instantly. He turns to the little blonde boy sitting with his mom. All this chaos, all this worry and fear… it made him neglect what this mistake was all about. He walks over to Sammy and kneels to the flood, holding his hand out formally. "I think I owe you an apology, son. In all this madness, I neglected you. My name is Henry."

Sammy reaches out and grabs the stranger's hand, shaking it. "I Sammy."

Henry grins wide. "I'm your great grandfather and I think you're the person my spell sent me to."

Sammy smiles right back. "Oh. Yeah," he agrees, not totally getting it but that doesn't matter. He's coming around to this Henry guy.

"Well, things may not exactly work out the way I had always planned for my life… but it doesn't seem that whatever sacrifice I make was in vain. You're here. That should count for something." Henry ruffles the boy's hair in a kind gesture.

"It does if you ask me," Lizzy smiles and hugs her boy a little tighter.

Henry sighs and clears his throat as he stands up. "You know, now that I take the time to see it… Sammy here looks a heck of a lot like John does. Or, um, did." Again, Henry clears his throat when the thought of never seeing his young son again hits hard. He then turns around to look at his two adult grandsons, peering back and forth. Dean. That has to be his father by looks alone. "Do you have cardamom, an angel feather, and some holy oil?"

"Yeah, sure," Dean nods and heads out the door to the car.

Henry turns back to little Sammy. "I know of a spell that could keep you protected and make Abaddon's power weaker in its presence. You still won't be able to stop her, but it will give you time if she shows up."

Lizzy smiles warmly. "Thank you, Henry."

"Just… please be prepared. My leaving is probably the safest thing as she wants me and what I have. But she will be ruthless."

"Wish I could say I don't read you loud and clear but I definitely do," Lizzy assures.

"And I'll stay with you guys," Lou promises.

"Yeah… but…" Lizzy starts and stops herself before she mentions why it is that Lou should really be careful and not consider herself a bodyguard right now.

The room goes quiet as everyone waits for Lizzy to finish her thought. She doesn't.

"But what?" Sam asks, confused.

"But… I figured she'd just… want to head out on the road with you guys," Lizzy makes up an answer. "Figured she'd need a little action right now… is all."

"Nah, Sammy comes first," Lou assures her and shoots her a look of warning.

"Got what you need," Dean answers as he rushes back into the room. "Do this quick so we can ditch. I don't want this Knight of Hell making it here."

Henry grabs the items and looks around the room. He picks up a coffee cup from the shelf in the kitchenette and puts everything on the counter. Mixing a small pour of holy oil with the cardamom, he stirs with the base of the angel feather while speaking in a language foreign to all others in the room. The contents glow briefly and Henry knows it's working.

Walking to Sammy, he kneels down once more and smiles comfortingly. "Hey, sport. Can I do something really quickly?"

"Kay," Sammy answers.

Henry dips an index finger into the mixture and presses it to Sammy's forehead. Then he waits. And waits.

"Uh…" Dean interrupts after it's been too long and he's exchanged a glance with his brother. "So, we good, or…?"

"It didn't work," Henry says, confused.

"How can you be sure?" Sam presses.

"I've done this before. Granted, it was only once, but the last time I know it worked. I saw it work… the solution is supposed to glow for a moment when it's applied."

"Maybe you nerds don't know everything after all, huh?" Dean bitterly jokes, receiving an elbow to the side from his younger brother for it.

"We do, actually. But this spell failing means only one thing," Henry informs the group, his expression now more concerned and fearful than warm. He stands up and faces Dean. "This spell only works on the weak… or, better spoken, the ones that are not as strong as the thing they are being protected from."

"What are you saying?" Dean questions his grandfather.

"I'm saying… this boy is no ordinary boy," Henry tells them. "He's… strong. Stronger than the Knight of Hell he's been in the presence of and he's not… is he human?" He looks to Lizzy frantically. "Are you human?"

"Yes," she assures him, heart beating wildly with yet another discovery about her son. "He does have an unusual amount of nephilim DNA in his though…."

"Nephilim?"

Lizzy nods. "It's a very long story."

"My god," Henry says, something clearly making sense to him. "The prophecy. It was our family all along. I had heard about this but it was always a rumor to the levels below clearance." He whips his head around to Dean. "We must go. This boy is too important to let Abaddon find. Let's leave now."

Henry darts out of the room without another second to spare.

"Dean?" Lizzy questions her husband, her face pale white with fright.

"I… I don't know," Dean answers, equally freaked out.

"Hey, we'll get it out of him on the way," Sam suggests. "But I think he's right. We gotta go before Abaddon catches up with us here. Come on." He starts to leave, pushing Dean a little towards the door. "We'll call you soon and explain what we know," Sam says over his should to Lizzy and then they're gone.

Pulling Sammy in tighter, Lizzy kisses his head and sighs with her eyes watering over. "What now?" she whispers to no one, truly concern for how much her heart can take when concerning her little boy.

All the while, Derek remains unmoving in the corner of the room. It's too much. Time travel, destinies, Knights of Hell… what has he gotten into? What is his own family a part of?

Thank you for reading. I hate to ask this at such a tough time of year budget wise, but could everyone please visit the funding page in my profile and give it a read. A long time reader/reviewer of mind, one that's been there from the story one when no one had found me and it felt pointless to write, has fallen on hard times. The SPNfamily is a strong one and we all have each others' backs so, if you have the ability, please give what you can. Even a couple dollars would be wonderful. Carol is a beautiful person and she's kept me writing through blocks and traffic droughts and everything. I would really appreciate the help on her behalf. Thank you, everyone!