Oh, wow I can't believe how close I am to finishing this story. I am humbled at all the feedback I've received on this story. Thank you to everyone! Angels-heart1, Leann Nickerson and Blondie 20000 thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through this who thing.
I hope people like my take on Inherit the Earth. Thank you again to Supernatural Wiki transcripts!
Quick note - the parts in italic are flashbacks.
Author's Note at the end.
Thank you and enjoy,
Val
Chapter 40
Dean looked down at his wife as she stared at the space where the portal was. "Jo?" He said softly, he frowned when she didn't respond and called out her name a little louder and more forcefully, "Jo!"
Jo jumped slightly before shaking her head as if to clear her vision. "I'm okay."
"Ami?" Dean asked.
Jo finally looked at her daughter and realized the little girl was in desperate need of a diaper change. "She's wet and probably hungry too. It's been about four hours since she ate." She admitted.
"Right let's…" Dean stopped talking when his phone began ringing. Vaguely he remembered his and Jo's phone ringing several times before but both that been in a state of shock and didn't even think to answer them.
Quickly he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and sighed in relief when he saw his brother's name and clicked on the accepted button. "Sammy?"
Jo took a deep breath as her husband spoke to the other man, frowning as she listened to the one-sided conversation.
"Everyone…okay…you and Jack are alright…Billie's gone…yeah…no…cus…right we're heading out as soon as we can get Ami ready…meet you…okay…yeah you too." Dean said as he hung up.
"Dean?"
"Chuck took everyone," he explained.
"You mean all the refugees?" Jo asked.
Dean closed his eyes as he sighed as he shook his head, "no I mean everyone. Jo…Donna and Lorna are gone too. Jack said he thinks everyone is gone."
Jo gaped at her husband and she repeated, "everyone?"
"Look we need to go meet up with Sam and Jack. See what we're really dealing with. You change and feed Ami, I'll get her overnight stuff ready." He told her.
"Why is he doing this? All those innocent people," Jo cried in horror.
"Jo…Sweetheart, I know this is overwhelming but we're it. Sam, Jack, you, Ami, and me." He told her.
"Right," Jo said as she chewed on her lower lip as she nodded her head in understanding, "you're right. I'll take care of Ami and we'll meet you in the library."
"Okay," Dean said as he and Jo made there way back to the main living space of the bunker to prepare to meet up with Sam and Jack.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean cut Baby's engine as he pulled up next to Lorna's car. He looked over at Jo who took a deep breath before reaching down to open the passenger door as he opened the driver door and got out.
Jack and Sam turned towards the newcomers and Jo opened her arms as Jack rushed over to her. Sam quickly made his way over to his brother and hugged him.
"Everyone's gone." Sam said as they pulled apart and he turned and hugged his sister before asking, "did you see anybody on the way here?"
"No," Dean told him before going over to pull Ami out of her car seat.
A sad smile graced the younger brother's face when he saw his sleepy niece. "I couldn't save anybody. Billie..." he murmured as he reached out and stroked his hand over the baby's head.
"It wasn't Billie. It was Chuck." Dean explained.
"What?" Sam said in shock.
"It's true," Jo told him.
Jack looked over Dean's shoulder and realized a member of their family was missing, "where's Cas?"
Sam saw the pained look pass between his brother and Jo and asked, "Dean?"
"He saved us. Billie was coming after us, and Cas summoned the Empty. It took her and it took him. Cas is gone." He told them solemnly.
"This can't be happening," Sam argued in disbelief…denial.
"It is, Sam. I think everyone's gone," Dean said as he watched the other man pull out his phone and try calling Jody.
Jo sighed as turned her attention towards Jack, "how are you holding up?"
Jack lip quivered as he looked at Jo and went to her when she murmured, "come here Sweetie."
Dean listen as he heard Sam's next call go to voicemail before stepping over to his wife and placed a hand on the younger man's back and said, "Jack I'm sorry."
Dean grimaced at his wife as he gently bounced his daughter who had begun to fuss as Sam tried another phone number.
"Sam, we should go," Dean urged as he went over and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder.
The younger hunter looked down at his phone in disbelief before following his brother back to the Impala. He watched as Jo rubbed her hands up and down Jack's arms as she spoke to him softly while Dean strapped Ami back into her car seat. One thought kept going through his mind, 'is this how it's gonna end?'
SPNSPNSPN
Sam, Dean, Jo, and Ami walked into the deserted diner they found in the town they had stopped in. Everything was spinning out of control but a certain little girl still needed to be taken care of.
The three looked around the restaurant as they took in the sight in front of them. Jo took a deep breath when she saw the table next to them with the abandoned crayons and coloring mats partially done.
Dean saw where Jo was staring and said, "come on. There's a couple of empty tables over there."
"Jack?" Sam asked questioningly.
"He just needs a few moments Sam. He'll come in when he's ready," Jo told him as she placed Ami's carrier on one of the tables Dean pointed to.
"I'll go to get her some milk if you want to give her a something. I packed a few jars of food for her," Dean said as he pulled out a bottle and several jars of baby food.
Jo picked a jar of chicken and gravy and a jar of sweet potato before settling down to feed her daughter. "Give him a few seconds to catch his breath," Jo said to Sam when she caught him glancing over to the door as if he was getting ready to go search for the younger man.
Sam nodded his head, "how are you holding up?" he finally asked. He and Dean knew all too well what it was like to have their each of their parents come back into their lives to be ripped away again.
Jo looked up as she finished putting a bib on Ami as she shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I'm numb. I don't know how to process everything...I just know I have to push past it and take care of Ami."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." He murmured. They book looked towards the door as Jack joined them.
"Jack, sweetie. Would you mind feeding Ami for me?" Jo asked as she saw the despair in the Nephilim's eyes as he joined them and knew he needed as much of a distraction as anyone.
Jack looked down at Ami and couldn't help smiling as she reached up towards him with a grin on her face. "Sure," he said as he accepted the jar of food Jo handed him.
Dean came back into the dining room and saw Jack feeding Ami while Jo and Sam quietly spoke to him. "Hey Jack, here's Ami's bottle."
"Thanks," he said as Dean placed the bottle next to him before sitting down at the table with them.
Sam looked at his brother, "Dean, do you think we're it? All that's left?"
"Yeah. You, me, Jo, Jack and Ami." He agreed.
Jack looked up from Ami and asked, "so, what now? What do we do?"
Sam hung his head slightly as he said, "I did this. We could have just given Chuck what he wanted, you know, his grand finale. But I resisted. I pulled the thread. I thought we could beat this game, do it better. We tried to rewrite him, and the whole world paid the price. Has been paying the price for over ten years." He finished as he shared a poignant look with Jo. She and Ellen were the first of their friends to truly die trying to rewrite Chuck's story.
"Sam that's bullshit," Jo told him. "You and Dean aren't responsible for Chuck being a jerk. He's nothing more than a spiteful toddler having a temper tantrum."
"Jo's right," Dean said as he gave his wife an appreciative smile for saying what Sam needed to hear before saying. "Look Sam, we can..."
"We can what?" Sam cried in frustration. "There's nothing left, Dean. No one left to save. Everybody's gone."
"You can't just give up," Jack argued.
"What other choice do we have?" Sam asked them in defeat.
Dean looked over at his daughter. He knew they didn't have a choice and he would do what he had to for her. He saw the same determination in Sam's eyes as he looked at Ami. Both men making a silent agreement, now was the time to put the youngest Winchester first.
Jo saw the silent exchanged and hopped up from the table and walked into the back of the diner. Dean closed his eyes as he heard the sound of a glass shattering. He shot a look at both Sam and Jack before standing and following Jo.
"Jack, why don't we go outside and you can finish feeding Ami on the bench out in front." Sam suggested. He couldn't do much but he could give his brother and Jo as much privacy as possible.
SPNSPNSPN
"Feel better?" Dean asked as Jo shattered another plate.
"Not really," she cried as she turned and allowed him to pull her in and hugged her.
"Jo we have to do this," he murmured as he kissed the top of her head.
"There has to be another way than you and Sam sacrificing yourselves," she said.
"You know there isn't," he told her as he held her hands in his.
"I don't think I can do this without you," she confessed.
"You'll do it because our daughter needs you," he urged.
"She needs both of us," Jo argued no longer trying to stop her tears.
Dean pulled Jo back into his arms. "I'm so sorry Jo," he murmured. He looked up when Sam walked into the lounge area.
"Umm Dean…sorry…but…you know," Sam stuttered as he looked at Jo sadly.
Jo took a deep breath as she pulled back from Dean and looked over to Sam. "I'm okay," she reassured her husband and brother. Knowing she needed to be strong for them, Ami, and Jack."
SPNSPNSPN
Jo sat on a fallen tree next to Jack. She wrapped the baby blanket more securely around her sleeping daughter.
Dean confessed he couldn't go through with what Chuck wanted if her and Ami were there so the three of them were a half a mile from where Dean and Sam waited to surrender to Chuck.
She had promised she would give them an hour before heading to the clearing they chose. She looked over and saw the way Jack was staring at his hands. "How're you holding up?"
"I'm sorry Jo...I'm sorry I couldn't stop this and now Cas died because of my failure," he told her.
"Hey that is not true," Jo told him firmly. "You are not to blame for what Chuck does. This is all him and his childish temper tantrum."
Jack sniffled as he nodded his head before turning to Jo and asking, "what if he doesn't hold up his end of the deal? What if Dean and Sam do this but Chuck just abandons us?"
Jo gazed down the road where Dean and Sam were waiting to make the ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity and answered, "I don't know Jack. I honestly don't know."
SPNSPNSPN
Sam stood next to his brother and asked, "think he'll show?"
"He better," Dean said since they were out of options.
They both swallowed when Chuck suddenly appeared before them and quipped, "hey, guys. Enjoying a little alone time?"
Dean stood straighter as he hissed, "alright, Chuck. You win."
Chuck snorted in amusement, "well sure. I always do. Me being me. Is that it or...?"
"We'll give you what you want," Sam told him, smirking slightly when Chuck looked at them slightly in disbelief before adding, "that's right."
"The whole Cain-and-Abel thing," Dean said. "Us dead. Whatever. I'll kill Sam. Sam will kill me. We'll kill each other. Okay? You pick. But, first, you got to put everything back the way it was. The people, the birds, Cas and Gabriel. You got to bring everyone back."
Sam closed his eyes slightly as he said, "we're surrendering. We're giving up."
Chuck shrugged his shoulders and said, "yeah, no. I mean, I appreciate the white flag, but, frankly, it's too little, too late. I'm kind of enjoying this story now."
"You can't!" Dean argued.
Chuck snorted in amusement, "oh, no, see, I'm the almighty. I really can. I mean, picture it. The two of you, Jo...Amelia, and your little lapdog Jack. The five of you rotting on a lifeless planet, knowing it's this way because you wouldn't take a knee. Eternal shame, suffering, and loneliness. Whew! That's deep. That's sophisticated. That's a page-turner. Who knows maybe you, Sam, and Jo can finally start having those three ways fans use to write. Jack and Amelia can get their 'Flowers in the Attic' groove going. Maybe I should speed that up...fast forward her into a hot young thing for Jack? What do you think?"
Dean stepped forward but stopped short when Chuck vanished and growled, "SON OF A BITCH!"
SPNSPNSPN
Sam walked into the library to see Dean passed out with numerous beer bottles surrounding him. He went over to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Dean?" He pulled his hand back when the older man awoke with a jolt. "Hey. Look out. You okay? Where's Jo?" Sam asked.
Dean grimaced at Sam, "oh yeah. I feel terrific. Jo's just staring at our daughter terrified she's gonna become an adult before her eyes."
"I'm sorry," Sam murmured as he sat down. Both men looked up when the woman and child in question joined them.
Dean looked at the shadows under his wife's eyes and sighed, "Sweetheart, you should try to get some sleep."
"Yeah, I know." She told him as she sat down next to him, wrinkling her nose at the smell of stale beer. "You know I wouldn't mind if you took a shower...brush your teeth."
Sam snickered as Dean lifted his arm and sniffed, turning his head at the odor from his own body and said, "yeah...that might be a good idea."
Jo rolled her eyes before wincing slightly and ask Sam, "would you mind taking her for me?"
"Sure, are you okay?" Sam asked as he took his niece.
"Yeah…just a headache."
They all looked up as Jack walked into the library and announced, "guys, I'm... feeling something weird."
"Yup join the club pal. We need aspirin," Dean said as Jo nodded her head in agreement.
The Nephilim shook his head. "No I'm sensing a presence. There's something out there... besides us. Can't you feel it Jo?" Jack asked.
"I suddenly got a headache…you think that might be why?"
Sam's eyes widened as he looked at Jack and asked, "something like people?"
"I don't know," admitted Jack.
"How are you sensing anything? I thought you were all powered down," Dean said as he sat up a little straighter.
"I'm not sure. But I feel it." Jack said.
Dean looked at his wife and brother and said, "I guess we're going on a road trip."
"I guess we are," Jo agreed before looking at her husband, wrinkling her nose and adding, "after you take that shower we discussed."
SPNSPNSPN
Jo stretched as Sam grabbed the gas pump nozzle to fill Baby's tank while Dean went to use the bathroom.
They had been driving for hours without any signs of life. She looked over as Jack climbed out of the back and looked around.
"It feels a little stronger than before." He said to Jo.
The blonde opened her mouth to respond but quickly snapped it shut as she was hit with a wave a nausea and her head began to spin. She vaguely heard Jack call out her name before she felt herself falling and barely registered that Sam had caught her before she landed on the ground.
Jack rushed around the car as Sam held a dazed Jo up. "Jo…Jo?" Jack called frantically.
"I'm okay," she reassured them as she heard Sam command Jack to go grab a few waters as he guided her to the car and opened the front door so that she could sit down.
"Are you really alright?" Sam asked once Jack was out of earshot.
Jo chewed on her lower lip, "I don't know. It just happened so fast."
Sam turned when her heard his brother come around the corner. His eyes flew to the bundle in his arms. "You found a dog?"
Dean grinned at his brother. "Yeah. I guess Chuck didn't get everyone. I mean, maybe there's people he missed, you know? Look, either way, this guy's coming home with us."
Sam squinted at the other man and asked, "you're gonna let a dog sit in the Impala?"
Dean rolled his eyes at the younger hunter, "relax, I'm not giving him shotgun." Dean let his eyes fall on the spot in question and finally saw Jo sitting there looking pale, "Jo…Sweetheart…what's wrong?"
"I'm fine…got a little lightheaded but now I think I know why," she said as she smiled at the dog in her husband's arms. "I just realized that both time Jack had felt something, I felt sick."
"Fun side effect," Dean murmured as he opened the back door of the Impala and smiled at his daughter. "Look Ami…Daddy found you a new friend." He cooed as he placed the dog on the seat next to Ami. "Now Miracle…"
"Miracle?" Sam asked in amusement before looking over his shoulder and Jack came out of the gas station carrying several bags with water, soda, and snacks. "Hey I was just gonna check on you."
"I wanted to make sure I left enough money," the younger man explained as he handed Jo a water and saw their new companion in the backseat. "A dog!"
"Yup," Dean told him.
"Can he sleep in my room?" he asked as he slipped into the back with the dog and Ami.
Dean chuckled, "I don't see why not."
The three adults laughed for the first time in days as the dog name Miracle sat up and gave Jack a sloppy kiss while Ami clapped her hands together.
Their smiles quickly faltered when Miracle disappeared in front of their eyes. Dean looked up and gulped when he saw Chuck watching them.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean looked in the rear view mirror to see Jack and Ami asleep in the backseat as Jo was reading something on her phone.
"Unbelievable. Can't even save a friggin' dog," Dean hissed in annoyance.
"Yeah, maybe that's the point. No one left to help. No one but us," Sam said sadly.
Jo looked and let out a slow breath that causing both men to look over their shoulders in concern. "Jo?" Dean called out.
"Jack will be waking soon," she told them as she took the bottle of ginger ale that Sam held out for her.
Dean nodded his head as he turned his attention back to the road in front of them wondering what they were about to face.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean pulled up in front of the church Jack directed him to. He cut the engine before turning to look at the Nephilim.
"You sure about this, Jack? Whatever you're picking up on is in there?" Sam asked.
Jack shot a quick glance at Jo who gave him a reassuring smile before he said, "in there or very nearby. Guys, I have no idea what we're walking into."
Jo reached over and began to release the straps of the car seat. "I think we're going to stay out here. I'm going to change her and give her a bottle."
Dean nodded his head in silent agreement as he made a point of leaving the keys in the ignition so that if things went sideways that Jo could hightail it out of there.
"Okay, let's do this," Dean said as he opened the driver's side door and stepped outside.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean, Sam, and Jack walked together down the center isle of the church towards the one being they really weren't expecting to be standing on the alter waiting on them.
"So... you survived," Michael said as they stopped before him.
"And this is where you came to ride this out," Sam said as he stood next to his brother.
The archangel looked around his surroundings as he explained, "when the rapture first began, I took refuge here. It is St. Michael's; you may have noticed."
Dean snorted, "so what, you're hiding out from your dad?"
"I'm sure he's aware I took your side against him. I've avoided using any powers that might attract his attention." Michael admitted.
"And Adam?" Sam asked as he looked at the angel using a brother he really never got to know as his vessel.
"Gone. I'm sorry to say. Exterminated by my father, like everyone else."
Dean swallowed the lump in his throat as he said, "poor bastard never caught a break."
"How did the five of you manage?" Michael asked as he looked past the men towards the door and added, "Jo and Amelia are safe in here. I will not harm them."
"Yeah that's a hard no," Dean told him before explaining, "apparently, your old man has a sense of humor. He thought it would be hilarious to watch the five of us on an empty planet."
Sam looked down where Michael was standing and notice an open bible, "what, are you, uh... doing some reading?"
Michael cocked his head as he studied the younger Winchester, "I never spent much time on Earth. I was... curious about the perception of God and Heaven."
"And?" Dean asked cautiously.
Michael shrugged his shoulders, "amazingly, the believers loved him. They have for thousands of years. I guess my efforts were more effective than I'd hoped."
"Your efforts?" Sam questioned.
"When God left Heaven, I was certain of his return. So I made sure all of the angels and prophets burnished his image on Earth. The all-knowing, all-seeing, all-caring God."
Dean snorted in disgust, "Daddy's boy."
"And now? After seeing what Chuck's done?" Jack asked.
Michael looked up as the other three men turned as Jo and Ami entered the church. Jo stared at the angel and slowly walked down the isle to stand by her husband.
"If we expect you to help and trust us then we should show that we trust you." Jo told him.
"We reached out to you. You ignored us." Dean told him as he reached down and took his wife's hand in his.
Michael watched the way his true sword took the woman's hand and sighed. "That was then. This is now. Tell me what you need me to do."
SPNSPNSPN
Sam held the book Billie had left behind, "alright, Michael. Here's the book we've been telling you about."
Michael looked at the book slightly in shock, "that's one of Death's books."
"Yeah, but this one is about God. And how to kill him." Dean told him.
Sam eyed the archangel, "as far as we know, only Death can open it. But, um... we're hoping, uh... maybe you can, too."
Michael took the book and tried to open it but sighed in frustration as he realized he couldn't and passed it back to Sam and said, "I'm sorry."
Sam looked over at his brother who shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'are we actually surprised by this' before saying they would keep looking to the archangel.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean and Sam walked into the kitchen where Jo and Jack were making sandwiches for everyone. "So?" Jo asked.
"He couldn't open it," Dean told her as he went over and checked on his daughter who was playing in her playpen.
"Yeah but where does this leave us? We need that book open, and we're out of options. So where does this leave us?" Sam asked as he opened the beer he took out of the fridge.
Dean placed his hands on the top of the pen and gave his daughter a smile when she turned her attention towards him and grinned. "Screwed. I'm sure Chuck's ready to make a move." He told him. He blinked when suddenly his cell phone began to ring and he pulled it out as Jo, Jack and Sam crowded around him all looking down at the caller ID in utter shock as Dean answered the phone, "Cas?"
SPNSPNSPN
Jack watched as Dean and Sam rushed out to get their friend. He frowned as he looked over at Jo and asked, "Jo, you don't have a headache?"
Jo looked over at Jack, realizing what he was saying and shook her head, "no...nothing."
Jack went to the door of the kitchen and made sure they were alone before turning back to Jo and saying, "turn the lights off using your powers."
Jo closed her eyes and imagined her hand flicking the light switch off. When she opened her eyes to see the look of shock on Jack's face and the lights still on. "Jack?"
"Jo...I think the other Michael's grace has been taken from you."
"By whom? Chuck?" She asked.
"I don't know Jo…I don't know."
SPNSPNSPN
Sam and Dean stared in horror as Lucifer stood before them after materializing before their very eyes.
"Wow! Way to treat a pal," he taunted.
"You are not our pal," Sam hissed.
Lucifer smirked at the brothers, "oh like you would have let me in if I said it was really me? So what's the plan buddies?"
SPNSPNSPN
"Lucifer...is here?" Jo said in shock as Dean walked her and Ami down to the angel proof room.
"Yeah...look I don't know what his game is but you and Ami should be safe here until we figure this out," he said as he stopped in front of the door to said room.
Jo walked into the room and settle Ami down on the bed, propping the pillows to prevent the sleeping infant from rolling off the bed while Dean put down the cooler and baby carrier he brought with him as Jo slipped the baby backpack bag down.
She watched as Dean went over to their daughter and leaned down to kiss the baby on her forehead. She gave him a smile as he turned towards her. "Hey you," she murmured as she stepped forward and sighed as Dean wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"Hey you," he whispered back before pulling back enough so that he could kiss her before matting his forehead to hers.
Jo sighed before pulling back slightly so that she could look up into her husband's eyes. "Dean, I need to tell you something."
Dean frowned as he saw the wariness in her eyes and took her hands in his. "Okay."
"I don't have any powers Dean. They're gone." She told him.
Dean's eyes widened, "gone? Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure," she told him.
"How?" He asked.
Jo shot a look over at Ami before looking up at Dean and saying, "I think I know how and I think I know who it was too."
SPNSPNSPN
Jo looked up from the car seat carrier that Ami was sitting in watching her uncle rushing around the room as Sam pulled several bowls and numerous ingredients from the supply shelves and asked. "Do you really think this is going to work?"
"It's all we have left Jo...it has to work."
"And Michael really killed Lucifer...again?"
Sam nodded his head, "it was a double cross. Not that it was that big of a surprise but still Chuck has showed us his hand."
"Michael's the wild card; he doesn't trust him." Jo reasoned.
"And he sent Lucifer to spy on Michael and us. Threw in the new Death to read his book for him while he was at it." Sam told her.
"Are Dean and Jack really okay being alone with Michael?" Jo asked.
Sam smiled at his sister, "more than okay. He needs us to get to Chuck...he's not going to do anything to jeopardize getting to his old man."
Jo returned Sam's smile as she said, "then let's finish grabbing the ingredients for this spell."
SPNSPNSPN
Dean grabbed a beer from the fridge before going over and sitting down across from Michael. "How you doing? You okay?"
"Yeah, a bit winded. I haven't been in a battle like that for several centuries," he explained.
Dean nodded his head as he said, "yeah well... glad you were here. Chuck's getting desperate. He knows something's up. Wouldn't take the chance of showing up himself if he wasn't."
Michael frowned slightly as he agreed, "yes, He sent Lucifer. Brought him back from the dead. He didn't even reach out to me."
Dean took a pull from his beer before asking, "did you want him to? Of course not. I mean, he clearly knows the God Book could be lethal to him. But it's actually fairly useless without Death to read it."
Michael swallowed as he listened to his vessel and murmured, "yes the book that he trusted Lucifer to retrieve."
"Yeah, well... at least it's open," Dean reasoned; watching Michael's reaction as he continued. "Sam thought that he recognized some of the symbols in the writing, thought they might be some form of Enochian. So he's gonna use the Book of the Damned, see if he can't figure out the end. And by that, I mean... the end."
Michael nodded his head and said, "yes the end...the end of God."
SPNSPNSPN
Michael walked into the library where Dean and Jack were going through a pile of ancient texts. "So, how is Sam doing? Any progress?"
Dean looked up at the archangel, "I hope so. He's been in there a long time."
Michael frowned when he saw Ami sitting in her swing set up by her father. "Where is Jo?"
"Helping Sam," Jack said as he closed the book he was reading.
Dean turned towards the door when he heard Sam and Jo walking into the library. "Speaking of my brother and my wife. Why don't you ask him yourself how it's going?"
"Sorry. It's slow going. But I think I was able to piece it together." Sam told them as Jo took the seat on the other side of Ami.
"It?" Michael asked.
"A spell," Jo told him as Sam sat down next to Jack.
Sam nodded his head as he looked up at Michael and explained, "there's a spell and it has to be done at a particular place...at an exact angle from the sun. But it will release an unstoppable force that will find Chuck... and finish him."
Dean sat back and grinned at his brother. "Well then why don't we get a good night sleep and head out in the morning to finish this."
SPNSPNSPN
The next morning Jo and Ami walked the others down to the garage. "I should be there," she argued as Dean kissed their daughter on her forehead before handing the baby to Sam and Jack to say goodbye.
"If this doesn't work then you're all that Ami has Jo. I need to know you both are safe." Dean told her as he caught Michael watching them.
"This spell has to work," she told him as she wrapped her arms around Dean's neck as he pulled her in for a kiss.
Michael watched as the men said goodbye to Jo and the little girl. He could see clearly how much family meant to the five of them. Yes family…they would understand why he had to do what he had to do.
SPNSPNSPN
The four stood in a circle as Sam prepared the ingredients for the spell into the three bowls he had brought with them. The younger Winchester caught the way Jack took a deep breath and then at Michael who was staring at the bowls before he looked over at his brother and gave him as slight nod.
Dean looked over at Jack and then over at Michael saying to Sam, "Okay, let's light it up."
Sam quickly ignited the ingredients and stood back as light shot out and up into the sky. Sam shoulders dropped in defeat as Dean looked around and asked, "wait. What happened? What's wrong?"
Sam didn't have a chance to respond when suddenly Chuck stood before them and flicked his wrist, tossing Sam, Dean, and Jack back as they crashed against the Impala.
They blinked as they watched Michael walk towards Chuck, "Father."
Chuck smiled slightly as he placed his hand on Michael's shoulder and said, "son. I appreciate the heads-up about all this but where are Jo and the baby?"
"It's always been my destiny to serve you Father." Michael told him earnestly before explaining, "they left the woman and child at the bunker."
Chuck cocked his head slightly as he pretended to weight his options, "well that is a little unfinished business but I'll take care of her and the child once I'm done here. Speaking of unfinished business...the thing is, it's kind of late in the game for you to join my team Michael. You did side with the Winchesters and I can't forgive that."
Michael quickly shook his head as he cried, "Father, no! That was a lapse of judgment, I admit, but I swear I..."
"Save it!" Chuck shouted as he held his hand up and the others watched as Michael was engulfed in a white light from within before his vessel collapsed in a heap at his father's feet.
Chuck turned towards the other three and gloated, "so now where were we?"
SPNSPNSPN
Jo took a deep breath as she parked the car at the other entrance to the lake. Looking over her shoulder she saw Ami watching her from her car seat. "I'm sorry to leave you like this baby but Mommy has to go and help Daddy, Uncle Sammy and Jack but trust me I will come back as soon as possible."
Getting out of the car she went around to the back seat to make sure Ami was all set and opening the window slightly before giving her a kiss on the forehead and told her to be a big girl for Mommy.
Jo sighed as she slipped out of the car and locked the door. Her heart broke as she knew this could be the last time she would see her precious little girl but knew it was the only chance to give her a real life and not roaming on a stagnant planet alone.
Slowly she made her way down towards the rear of the lake and crouch down as she listened to Chuck.
"And you two." Chuck ranted. "You know, eternal suffering sounds good on paper, but as a viewing experience, it's just kind of... eh. So we're done. I'm canceling your show."
Sam cut the distance between him and Chuck. Pulling back Sam punched Chuck in the eye as he quipped, "alright then….one for the road."
Chuck reached up and slapped his hand over the eye Sam had hit. Slowly he let his hand drop as he glared at Sam and Dean as they stood side by side.
"Cute," Chuck taunted as he used his power to toss the brothers to the ground.
Dean and Sam helped each other stand up and the older Winchester snorted, "that all you've got because I can do this all day."
Chuck looked at the brothers and went to snap his fingers to continue to hurt the men but stopped and shrugged his shoulders and said, "what the heck. I can get my hands dirty."
Chuck tapped into his superior strength as he beat Dean and Sam. He looked at the bloodied and broken men and said, "fellas, give it up now."
Dean and Sam coughed as they crawl towards each other and stood together, arms wrapped around each other as they stared down Chuck, fueling his anger as he began to beat each of them again.
The vicious cycle continued as Chuck imparted damaging blow after blow to each man. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of heavy fists making contact over and over.
Chuck shook his head as the Winchester brothers managed to rise again to stand before him. He stared at them in disbelief as they looked up at him and laughed.
"Why are you smiling?" Chuck asked in confusion, not understanding why they wouldn't just give in.
"Because you lose," Sam told him as he gestured over Chuck's shoulder.
Chuck turned to see Jack and Jo standing together, their hands entwined. "Well…well…well…hello Jo…Jack."
Jack turned and gave Jo a knowing smile as Chuck raised his hand and snapped his fingers. He frowned when nothing happened and snapped his fingers again.
He continued to snapped his fingers in anger and confusion as Jack and Jo walked over to him.
"What's happening…what are you doing?" Chuck cried as they stood before him and he realized he couldn't move.
Jo swallowed as she looked at her beaten husband and brother before turning and hugged Jack. "It's up to you now," she whispered before she turned to Chuck and said, "this is for my mom…for Ash…for Rufus…for Bobby…for everyone you decided was nothing more than a 'minor character' who you forced Dean and Sam watch suffer and die to make them feel guilty about for nothing more than your sick amusement."
Chuck glared at Jo as he said, "don't blame me that the fans didn't warm up to you enough to keep you around."
Jo leaned forward and hissed, "you are nothing," She smirked at the look of anger on Chuck's face before turning to look over her shoulder at Jack and saying, "do it."
Chuck struggled to move as Jack walked up to him and placed his hands on either side of his grandfather's head. After several seconds Jack dropped his hands and looked past Chuck to his family.
Lifting his hand Jack snapped his fingers and now not only were Dean and Sam completely healed but Jo found herself holding her daughter. "Ami should be with us," he said as he stepped past Chuck and released the bindings that had held him in place.
"What did you do?" Chuck cried.
"We won," Dean said as he reached over and took Ami from Jo and hugged his daughter close.
"So this is how it ends? My book?"
Sam pulled the book out from his pocket and tossed it at the other man and said, "see for yourself."
Chuck caught the book and flipped through the pages, seeing that they were all blank and looked over at the others in confusion and said, "but there's nothing there."
"Oh, there is. But only Death can read it," Sam told him.
Dean let Sam take Ami before he draped his arm around Jo's shoulders and said, "that's right. So we had to come up with a plan 'B' and that wasn't too hard once we realized that Michael really was a daddy's boy."
"What…how?" Chuck asked thinking that he had managed to fool them.
"It was pretty obvious that he didn't take it too well when he found out that you asked Lucifer for help. Oh, he was desperate to be the favorite again," Dean told him.
Sam kissed a smiling Ami on the forehead before settling her on his hip and explaining, "since we couldn't read the book, we had to come up with a story about finding the spell, which we knew Michael would feed straight to you."
Dean looked over and smiled at Jack, "seems all that prep work we did to turn Jack here into a cosmic bomb? Well, it turned him into sort of a power vacuum. He's been sucking up bits of power all over the place."
Jo smiled as she taunted, "maybe you should have paid more attention to your side characters."
Jo sighed before pulling back slightly so that she could look up into her husband's eyes. "Dean, I need to tell you something."
Dean frowned as he saw the wariness in her eyes and took her hands in his. "Okay."
"I don't have any powers Dean. They're gone." She told him.
Dean's eyes widened, "gone? Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure," she told him.
"How?" He asked.
Jo shot a look over at Ami before looking up at Dean and saying, "I think I know how and I think I know who it was too."
"Who?"
"Jack…I think he absorbed it."
Dean frowned, "on purpose?"
Jo shook her head, "no I don't think he knows."
"But why do you think it was him?" Dean asked.
"I think whatever he did to become that cosmic bomb had a side effect that nobody including Billie or Chuck knew about. He's become some kind of cosmic vacuum cleaner. I think Jack hasn't just absorbed the grace that Michael had fed me but the grace I passed to Ami too."
"So you think he can absorb the other's grace too?"
Jo chewed on her lower lip, "not just grace Dean. I think he's absorbing some of the remaining life forces that Chuck left on the planet. That's how I realized it was him. You know that aero garden that Lorna has in the kitchen. It was thriving with lettuce and cherry tomatoes this morning. Jack walked past it a little while ago and suddenly all the plants wilted and died."
Dean grinned at his wife, "so if he can absorb yours and Ami's grace and plant base life forces without realizing…imagine what he could do if he was focusing."
"I think he could easily absorb a couple of archangels' grace and Chuck's powers…we just need them to power up as much juice as possible so that he can absorb it all," Jo told him.
"I think I know how," Dean told her as he reached out and took her hand in his. "We just need to fill in Sam and Jack."
"How?"
"By using Chuck's biggest weakness…ignoring the side characters so that you can fill them in while I distract Michael."
Dean smirked as he looked at Chuck and gloated, "so when the two heavyweights...your boys...duked it out as expected..."
"Jack, I know this is hard for you to believe but I really do believe you are the one who absorbed the grace from me and Ami."
"But I don't feel any different?" Jack argued.
Jo cupped Jack's cheek, "I swear Sweetie it's true. We believe in you Jack...we need you to believe in yourself."
Jack took a deep breath as he looked at the plants Jo had shown him and nodded his head. "What's the plan then?"
Dean nodded his head towards Jack, "and that charged him right up."
Sam cocked his head slightly as he explained, "see we knew Michael would warn you and you'd show up here and you did and you killed your own son."
"And that you would beat the crap out of us. Releasing all kinds of power. God power. Jack absorbed it all. It made him..." Dean said as he looked down at Jo.
"Unstoppable," Jo said. "It made him unstoppable."
Chuck raised his hands and clapped, "this...this is why you're my favorites. You know, for the first time, I have no idea what happens next. Is this where you kill me? I mean, I could never think of an ending where I lose. But this, after everything that I've done to you... to die at the hands of Sam Winchester or better yet at the hands of Dean Winchester, the ultimate killer...it's kind of glorious.
"Sorry, Chuck but that isn't gonna happen." Dean told him as the five stood together.
"What?" Chuck cried.
"See that's not who I am...that's not who we are," Dean said.
"What kind of an ending is this?" Chuck huffed.
Sam rolled his eyes before turning to Jack and asked, "his power. You sure it won't come back?"
"It's not his power anymore," Jack said as he looked into his grandfather's eyes.
"Then I think it's the ending where you're just like us and like all the other humans you forgot about," Sam said.
Dean snorted, "it's the ending where you grow old, you get sick, and you just die."
"And no one cares...no one remembers you. You're just forgotten...just like you forgot the rest of us because you decided that the only story we were worth telling was to make us suffer for a little extra drama." Jo gloated.
"Guys...wait…please!" Chuck begged as the five climbed into the Impala and left him screaming.
SPNSPNSPN
Dean, Sam, Jo, and Jack stood in the middle of the empty town. Jack licked his lips as he looked around. They had made their way back to Hastings so that they could be reunited with Lorna.
"Alright, kid, you really think you can pull this off?" Dean asked as he bounced Ami slightly on his hip.
Jack took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He smiled when he heard all the voices of the people who suddenly reappeared.
Jo laughed as she rushed forward and threw her arms around Jack and cried, "I knew you could do it!"
Dean looked around in wonderment as he said, "way to go."
Sam turned when he heard Lorna shout, "SAM!"
"Lorna," he cried as she ran towards him, leaping into his arms as she wrapper her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Jo laughed as Dean teased the other couple and told them to get a room. "Leave them alone," she said as they pulled apart and Lorna gave each of her friends a hug.
"How?" Lorna asked.
"It was all Jack," Dean told her.
Jo looked around and took a deep breath dreading asking her next question, "the others? The refugees...Ellen...Bill...Ash?"
"They're all home Jo. I set their worlds back to how they should be before Chuck began playing with them for his entertainment. There never should have been a war between the archangels on the apocalypse world. I set their worlds right so that they could return to where they belong."
Jo nodded her head in understanding, she already missed Bill, Ellen and Ash but knew they didn't truly belong here. "Their memories?"
Jack ducked his head, "I'm sorry Jo...it would only confuse them."
"I understand," Jo murmured.
Sam hugged Lorna from behind as he looked at Jack and asked, "so...that does mean you're the new... I mean..how do we call you?" Sam asked
"Who cares what we call him? Look, all that matters is he got us back online," Dean told his brother.
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother before inquiring, "hey…what happened to Amara when Chuck...?"
"She's with me. We're in harmony," Jack told him.
"Castiel...Gabriel?" Jo asked hopefully.
"They're home...in Heaven where they belong," Jack told them.
Dean nodded his head, "good...that's good."
Lorna smiled at Jack, "are you going come back with us?"
Jo reached up and carded her fingers through Jack's hair and said, "of course he will. We can finally make the plans to move into the new house."
"Exactly," Dean agreed as he said. "He's the man with the plan. He's top dog. He can do whatever he wants now. Come on...you know what? You, me, and Jo can go and you can pick out the furniture for your new room in the house. We'll get you one of those big-screen TVs too."
Jack smiled at the couple, "Dean...Jo...I'm not coming back home." He looked around and sighed as he explained, "in a way I'm already home."
"What?" Jo cried as she shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous…of course you're coming with us. We're a family."
"Jo…" Jack said.
"No…no…you can't. You belong with us," She argued.
Jack cocked his head slightly as he reached out and took Jo's hands in his. "Jo...I love you so much. You and Ami...all of you. We are a family...we will always be a family. More than that...you, Ami and I will always have a bond...a connection because of Michael's grace flowing through us. It's why I needed you to stand with me, to help me keep my balance while I absorbed Chuck's power."
Dean frowned in confusion, "wait I thought you absorbed Michael's grace from Jo an Ami?"
"I absorbed some of the powers that Michael's grace gave to Jo and Ami...but our connection...that is as strong as ever. If either ever need me, I'll know."
"Of course we need you," Jo cried. Her shoulders sagged as she realized this was Jack's journey now and she had to let him go. She squeezed his hands as she told him. "I love you Jack...I couldn't love you more if I gave birth to you...I need you to know that...to understand what you mean to me..."
Jack smiled as he kissed the top of Jo's head, "I know...and my mother...Kelly...she's grateful that I found you...that I found a Mom here that loves me unconditionally like she does."
Dean sighed as he watched his wife and Jack. He shot a look at his brother and saw the sadness in the younger Winchester's eyes before asking Jack, "where? Where will you go?"
Jack pulled away from Jo and looked over to the others and smiled. "Everywhere."
"So you are Him," Sam said.
"I'm still me but I know what you mean," he reassured him.
"What if we want to see you? You know...or want to get together to have a beer or whatever?" Sam asked as Jo reached up to wipe away her tears.
"I'll be around. I'll be in every drop of falling rain, every speck of dust that the wind blows, and in the sand, in the rocks, and the sea," He explained as he held his arms out.
"Yeah but now's not the time to bail. You've got a lot of people counting on you, people with questions. They're gonna need answers," Dean argued.
Jack smiled, he knew that Jo and Dean were going to be the ones to have the hardest time with his leaving...that when each of them love somebody it was with their whole body and soul. It was why they were perfect for each other.
"I know and those answers will be in each of them. Maybe not today, but... someday. People don't need to pray to me or to sacrifice to me. They just need to know that I'm already a part of them and to trust in that. I won't be hands on. Chuck put himself in the story. That was his mistake. But I learned from my mother, from Castiel, from all of you that when people have to be their best... they can be. And that's what to believe in."
Jack crossed over to Dean and leaned forward to kiss Ami on her forehead and whispered, "I will miss you so much my baby sister." He pulled back and gave everyone a serene smile, "I will miss you all. I love you all and will carry you all as close as this." He swore as he placed his hand over his heart and said, "goodbye."
The others watched as he turned and began to walk away before disappearing before their very eyes.
"Goodbye Jack," Sam murmured.
Jo wiped at her tears as Dean joined and wrapped his free arm around her waist, "he'll be alright," he reassured her as he kissed her temple.
Jo nodded her head not trusting herself to speak. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Dean laugh and say, 'son of a bitch…Miracle.'
SPNSPNSPN
Sam walked into the library to find Dean grabbing a beer out of the mini fridge. He smiled when his brother automatically grabbed a second one for him.
"It's pretty quiet," Sam said as he looked around.
"How's Lorna?" Dean asked as he handed Sam his beer and they both sat on the edge of the table.
Sam smiled, "okay...resting. How about Jo?"
Dean nodded his head, "she's a strong woman. She's in a lot of pain right now but give her time. She knows that this is what Jack has always been meant for."
Sam blinked at his brother's words, "wow...that's a little existential for you."
"Hey I can be deep man," Dean teased.
Sam laughed, "I guess you can but do you really believe that this was always supposed to be Jack's purpose?
Dean sighed, "yeah I do. Look Gabriel told us about that one tablet that Chuck destroyed completely...that prophecy about Jack and Ami. Well it didn't come true the way he saw it but it still happened in a way and that connection between not only Jack and Ami but with Jack, Ami and Jo was his downfall."
Sam nodded his head in agreement, "like Jo said he ignored everyone that Chuck thought as nothing more than side characters to use against us. He never thought about how they fit into our lives beyond pain and guilt."
"Yeah, he thought that losing Mom and having Dad raise us the way he did but he never thought about the other people in our lives...the ones who left their marks on our lives." Dean agreed.
"Like Bobby and Pastor Jim when we were kids," Sam reasoned.
"Don't forget Caleb...Martin," Dean agreed before laughing, "and we can't forget Fred Jones."
Sam laughed, "yeah...we've had a lot of good people in our lives."
Dean smiled sadly as he lifted his beer bottle and toasted, "to everyone that we lost along the way."
Sam raised his bottle and the brother's clanged long necks before each took a long pull from their beers. Sam sighed, "you know with Chuck not writing our story anymore that we get to write our own. You know, just you, me, Jo, and Lorna going wherever the story takes us. Just us...just our family."
Dean took a deep breath as he placed his free hand on the back of his brother's neck and said, "free. We are finally really free."
TBC
Author's Note - Okay I know I took Jo and Ami mojo away but if Jack became a vacuum, it made sense to me that he would suck up their powers too. I also liked that bond between Jack and Jo. That she helped him focus as he absorbed Chucks powers and that even though she doesn't have the powers that Michael's grace originally gave her but that the three of them are still connect by the grace they all share.
Anyway, I hope people enjoyed this and thank you again!
Val