Chapter 14: Bad to the bone

"On the day I was bornThe nurses all gathered 'roundAnd they gazed in wide wonderAt the joy they had foundThe head nurse spoke upAnd she said leave this one aloneShe could tell right awayThat I was bad to the bone…"

- George Thorogood and the Destroyers - Bad to the Bone

Jack gasped as he felt himself being pulled through time and space and tried to hold on to the Empty and to Death, but it was of no use. No matter how much Billie and Meg's lookalike shouted and tried to pull him, to keep him in place, God's will was stronger and Jack just slipped out of their fingers.

How did he know? How did Chuck find out what they were planning, they were so careful. The sleeping angels in the Empty gave him strength and grace, and Billie procured the Occultum and he managed to earn his soul back. He was finally complete. He was going to fight Chuck and kill him and kill Amara too, because one couldn't exist without the other and the universe would collapse. He didn't like it, but it had to be done.

But none of that mattered now, because Chuck was on to him and he was pulling him towards himself through the fabric of time and space and any moment now, Jack would be facing him, his worst nightmare was coming true, he failed.

Something shifted, suddenly feeling different. It was still God, it was still his power, but it felt different. Softer. Warmer. Kinder. And then Jack was standing there, in the middle of the bunker, in front of a much younger version of Sam, and there was a younger Dean there too, a much less tired Cas and others too and he… He was freaking naked!!! Literally, his worst nightmare was coming true!

Ears burning red with embarrassment, he ducked his head, mortified and wished so badly he could be somewhere else. And then suddenly, he was.

He was in his room in the bunker, but it wasn't his room, not yet anyway. There wasn't any of his stuff there, because he technically wasn't born yet. He was in… about six or seven years before that. He could hear shouting coming from the war room, the frantic search for a person that just appeared before them all. He could almost taste their panic. Jack felt a chill and he opened the closet in the room, finding only an old robe, similar to the one Dean liked to wear around the bunker, so he put it on, snuggled it tightly around his body and hugged himself. This was wrong, this shouldn't be. Things weren't supposed to go like this.

But no matter how much he tried, Jack couldn't figure out what went wrong. For a moment, he had a fleeting thought that maybe, it wasn't even Chuck that brought him here, because it felt different, but also… Why would he bring him here? To this time, to this place?

What were Sam and Dean even doing seven years before he was born? They were supposed to be fighting an apocalypse, the very first one. Lucifer was released from his cage and they were trying to find a way to stop the battle between Heaven and Hell.

Jack paused. Even this didn't seem right, as if those memories were… false somehow. Maybe he was in another alternate reality? Only… No, he could feel the resonance of this world and it was his, the one he was born into, or will be eventually. Hopefully.

Oh, crud, what if he messed up the timeline? What if he is just like Ashton Cutcher in that movie, what's it called? The butterfly effect?

"Can't change who people are without destroying who they were…" the quote slipped out of Jack's mouth, it was one of his favourites from the movie. But Chuck was already destroying everything, so if he made some changes here and now, and if those changes saved the world, would it really matter?

There would be consequences, and there was a really good chance that he might never return to his time, to the people he considered friends and family, but it would be worth it.

Jack didn't even realize he was hyperventilating until his lungs started to hurt, so he forced his breath to be equal, measured, deep and calming. He could do this. Even if he had to do it alone.

"Hey, kid. I dunno if this works, hell, we never do, but even a shot in the dark hits something, so… Here goes nothing…" Dean? Dean was… Praying to him?

"I know you're scared. It must have been really terrifying to suddenly land in a room full of people like that, but I promise you, we don't mean any harm. We just want to talk to you… Okay, no, that's a lie, and I'm not gonna lie to you anymore. We need you. We need your help to stop someone and save, well, save the world. And yeah, I know it sounds like we want to use you, but you gotta believe me, Jack, we care about you too."

"I know it's hard to imagine that, because you don't even know us, but we know you, Jack. We are your family."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief mixed with a laugh, because yes, that right there was his family, that was what felt wrong. No way could Dean know to pray to him or even his name if it wasn't him, the older version, no matter how young he looked now. And if Dean was there, that might mean that so was Sam and maybe even Cas and Jack had no real reason to hide from them.

So, he slowly, carefully opened the door to his room and patted down the hall barefoot, then glanced around the corner to see Dean and Cas standing in the War room.

"Do you think it worked?" Dean asked, looking back at Cas.

"If he has his powers, he should be able to hear a prayer directed to him. You did good, Dean." Cas replied, setting a comforting hand on the hunter's shoulder and giving him a small smile. Gabriel entered the room, followed by Rowena.

"Anything?" The archangel asked.

"Not yet." Dean replied.

"Maybe we could attempt a scrying spell?" Rowena helpfully supplied, but Cas shook his head.

"It would probably not work. And if it did, I don't think cornering Jack right now would be a good thing. He is here, in this time, alive and that is all that matters. He will come to us eventually." Cas spoke, sounding so sure and Jack couldn't help but let out a small smile. The angel always had faith in him.

Jack stepped out.

He still felt embarrassed by his nudeness and even now by the fact that he only had a robe on, so his head was ducked and his cheeks felt like they were burning, but he stepped forward and into their line of sight.

First to see him were Gabriel and Rowena, and there was curiosity in their eyes, one that said they never met him before, but that was okay. Cas turned, and Dean did too and smiled and huffed in relief. They didn't move towards him, keeping their distance, probably not to spook him. They didn't know. Right, they didn't know he knew them already, they didn't know he had his memories.

He should tell them. He could just tell them. But something Dean said in his prayer echoed in his mind, about how it must have been scary for him to just have a room full of people cornering him, and if Dean thought this Jack was… Unaware… Well, then there was all the proof Jack needed to know this was Dean, his Dean.

The old one didn't react to him so well the first time around.

"Hey, kid. It's okay, we aren't gonna hurt you." Dean said, lifting his hands to show they were empty and Jack just… It would be something Dean would do, he would have a clever remark, be all cool, and Jack really wanted to be like him, he alway did. So he responded…

"Are you… Are you sure you won't shoot me this time around?" He paused, a smile tugging at his lips, but he tried to contain it. And then Dean frowned and no, Jack messed up, he didn't do it right and he…

Dean burst out laughing.

Shucks, even Cas cracked a smile, and that was a sight. Behind them Gabriel actually giggled and nodded, because yes, that would be something Dean would do - shoot first, ask questions later. But this Dean? This Dean approached him and hugged him and Jack could feel how much he cared about him. Even the warmth of Castiel's hug was more radiant than ever.

Sam rounded the corner just in time to see it all, and he must have understood what was happening, because he too spread his arms and Jack was just about to fall into that bear hug when he sensed it. Grace. Angelic grace. Within Sam.

He stopped, lifted a hand and set an open palm against Sam's chest, his wide eyes meeting the younger hunter's. Sam seemed confused for only a moment before some form of defeat flashed in his expression and Jack sucked in a breath. No, this couldn't be.

"Lucifer."

The name slipped out of Jack's mouth and then he was once again back in The Garden, where he found his soul. But this wasn't real,he could feel it, this was just an illusion.

He turned around, looking, searching, but there was no trace of him. No trace of Sam. He should be here. This is the only part of his mind that is concealed and locked, so it is only logical that Lucifer trapped Sam's mind in here while he did who-knows-what out there. But Jack will stop him.

"Sam! Saam!!!" He shouted and caught movement by the trunk of a big tree. There was someone there. The figure moved, rose from a sitting position and Jack knew it wasn't Sam. The hair was shorter and so was the man, it couldn't be Sam. Out of the shadow stepped a very familiar face.

"You! What did you do?!" Jack yelled, thrusting his hand towards Lucifer and letting his grace curl around the archangel's throat and lifting him off his feet. The small smile Lucifer had was replaced by surprise and then hurt and then… Sorrow. So much sorrow, it was suffocating to see. It confused Jack, this was never an emotion he expected to see in the devil's eyes. Confused, Jack allowed a seed of doubt to make him release Lucifer and the devil fell to his knees, gasping for air. Jack stared at him, watched him heave one breath after another and wondered why he even had to do it. Angels didn't need to breathe. After composing himself, Lucifer huffed a sigh and fell on his ass, then finally looked up.

"You must be Jack." He said and there was some amazement in his sad eyes, but Jack couldn't comprehend it, he couldn't… This wasn't him. This wasn't the Lucifer he knew.

Lucifer remained quiet and just observed as Jack connected all the dots as he looked around. The garden was Lucifer's fabrication, Jack could feel the archangel's grace painting the place with vibrant colours, but underneath it all… Jack had never seen the cage or been around it, but he just knew that is what it felt like. Cold, stone walls, grey and lifeless, they were hidden under all this beauty, but they were there nonetheless. Held together by the power of God.

That didn't make any sense. Did Chuck lock Lucifer up in a cage within Sam somehow? How could Sam hold him like that, that shouldn't be possible.

"I'm sorry." Lucifer said and Jack spun around to face him again. He was still down, sitting on his ass.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"For what the other me did to you." Lucifer replied, and that didn't make sense either.

"Why would you apologize for something you hadn't done yet?" Jack was curious, but not a fool, not so naïve anymore. He knew better than to trust Lucifer, any form of him. But Lucifer seemed only hurt by the words, as if he really was sorry for the things that hadn't happened yet, things that might not even come to be.

"That… Look in your eyes. I've seen it before. I've seen it in the mirror whenever I thought about my father. I felt that same anger, the one I sensed coming from you, and I… I didn't want to believe it, even if I knew Sam's memories were true, but I just… I couldn't believe I would do that. That I would treat you like my own father treated me, that I… That I was just as bad as him. Maybe even worse."

Lucifer took a deep breath and slowly got back up to his feet, then let out a shaky sigh and composed himself.

"Ever since he locked me up, all I ever wanted was an apology from him. But instead I offer you one. I know it's not the same, but I am sorry. I just wanted you to know that. I'm glad I got a chance to tell you."

"Where's Sam?" Jack deflected because he couldn't do this now, he couldn't deal with that, and he didn't want to. He came here looking for Sam, because he thought Lucifer was in control, since he could sense his grace within Sam, but the devil was obviously locked in tight. And Jack didn't want to be tricked by him again, didn't want to hear any more.of his lies, even if a part of him knew the words were true.

"He's out there." Lucifer simply replied, motioning for the sky. When Jack gave him a frown, he explained further. "The gun, the one that Dean held to your head. It was a special one, it takes both from the victim and the shooter. If Dean shot you and killed you, he would have been dead too."

"But it didn't matter to him, you and I both know that. You mattered more." Lucifer said with a soft smile. "He chose not to save his own life, but to spare yours, because soul or not, he still cared about you as he does now. They all do."

"But when Dad… When he killed you… Sam picked up the gun. He picked up the gun and shot God instead. If the gun wasn't made from the same light as God is, Sam would have killed him. But instead, he wounded him, and in the process wounded himself too. The injuries created a sort of connection between them and now Sam is symphoning God's power." Lucifer said as Jack listened, wide-eyed and shocked. Billie and Meg never told him this, why haven't they? They must have known.

"Jack…" Lucifer spoke, drawing Jack's attention back from his thoughts. "Sam is getting stronger by the minute, but… He is a vessel and with my grave strengthening him, he will last longer than a normal human would, but he wasn't built to be a god. You need to help him."

Jack took one long look at Lucifer. Even if he wasn't the Lucifer of Jack's time, he still didn't trust the devil, but he knew what he said was true. They needed to fix this somehow. But first Jack needed to find Sam.

Gasping for air, Jack found himself back in the bunker, with his hand still stretched out, on Sam's chest and holding the hunter at an arm's length. Sam's expression was one of confusion, but it changed when Jack let his hand drop and hugged the hunter instead. He could hear Sam's smile and feel the warmth of his embrace, the warmth of his palms pressing into Jack's back. Sam. This was Sam.

But for how long?

A bee farm somewhere in Missouri:

The beekeeper, after setting all the hives ready for the evening, went into his little workshop to remove his protective outfit, not that he really needed it. Still, putting it on felt good, felt like a way to keep the rest of the world outside his mind, so he kept wearing it. But he knew he couldn't stay hidden for long.

He always thought it would be demons that came a-knocking, perhaps even Lucifer himself. He never thought it would be the angels, they knew well to stay clear from him. But he never, not once in his million years did he think he would see God himself.

But there he was, just one little, weak guy, and Cain wasn't fooled by his outer appearance, he knew well who that was. His right arm twitches, his hand balling into a first as he felt the surge of anger so deep and raw, it made him fall to his knees.

"Hello Cain. I'd say it's nice to see you, but we both know I didn't come here for you."

"You're making a mistake." Cain said, but he could already feel the blood bubbling in the back of his throat, spilling out into his mouth and out, down his chin. It was too late already.

"I think I know a little bit better than you, don't you think?"

"No. You really don't." Cain said a mere moment before his whole body exploded, blood spraying, bits and pieces flying everywhere. Well, everywhere except on Chuck.

From every drop of blood and flesh, shadow arose, slowly, gracefully and traveled back to the spot Cain was mere seconds ago. The shadows merged together, forming a cloud of black smoke, a cloud of darkness that slowly started to take shape.

Chuck smiled and took a step closer.

"Hello, sister."

A/N: I had soooo much fun writing this chapter, but I gotta comment on it myself. First off, the title. I heard the song the other day and that first verse reminded me so much of Jack that there was no way I wouldn't incorporate it in the story. Do you like it? How about the Lucifer/Jack talk? This story isn't really a redemption for Lucifer, he is a slightly different character then the one God had originally written. They all are, to a degree, all who don't remember the original timeline. And what about that last part? Bet you didn't see that coming, lol. What do you think? Will Cain's warning come true? Was that warning even about the darkness, or something else? I am eager to hear your thoughts.