Mary was almost proving to be more trouble than she was worth. Still, the Alpha had hope that she would fall in line. He knew the Winchesters were tracking him with a spell, but he hoped that soon, that wouldn't be a problem. Lousiana was full of hoodoo practitioners. As soon as he found one, a simple hex bag would make him and his spawn invisible to the hunters.

"It's a shame we have to ditch this car," the shifter sighed. "Love me a classic. Still, it's too much heat, too recognizable. I should have switched it out two states ago."

He opened the trunk and pulled Mary out. Her legs were duct-taped together, her arms taped to her body, and a strip of tape wrapped around her head. It plopped her into the backseat of a gray nissan and pulled out a knife.

"Sweetie-pie, I hate keeping you like this," the shifter sighed. "If I take some of this tape off, do you promise to be good?"

Slowly, Mary nodded.

"No more jumping out of windows or strangling me from behind?"

Mary shook her head.

"Ok. One last chance. Don't make me regret it," the shifter chuckled. He would have loved Mary's unbreakable spirit if it wasn't turning out to be such a pain in his ass. He cut the tape off her face and arms, but left her legs bound. "There we go. That's a lot better, isn't it? Now, if you're really good, we can stop somewhere nice for dinner. Maybe hit a playground.. heck, after I take care of a little business with a witch, we could even make a run to Disneyland. You ever wanted to go to Disneyland, Mary?"

"I want to go home."

The shifter sighed and got in the driver's seat. Eventually, she would realize home was with him. With her kind. Not with a family of hunters forcing her to be something she wasn't. Forcing her to play the part of a human.

"Ok. Well if you decide you want to go anywhere else, be sure to let me know."

They started driving, and Mary busied herself removing the tape from her legs. It was layered thick and she grunted with exertion as she tore through strip after strip of the sticky stuff. The shifter focused on the road, unbothered by her efforts.

Mary got down to the last layer of tape before Castiel joined her in the backseat of the car. She whipped around to look at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, but he put a finger to his lips, urging her to remain silent. She glanced back to the Alpha and nodded to show she understood. Castiel held his hand out and she took it. With breathtaking suddenness, she found herself standing on the side of the road, still holding Castiel's hand. The Alpha shifter kept driving, unaware that he had lost his prize. Mary thumbed her nose at the car and blew a raspberry.

"Cassie!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the angel's waist. "Cassie, what took you so long?!"

"Your Father's paranoia and spite, mostly," Castiel said. He patted Mary on the head, extricating himself from her enthusiastic embrace. "Mary, where is your Father's car? As happy as he will be when I deliver you to him, he will still be extremely irate if I return without that car."

"It's that way," Mary said, pointing down the road. "Not far. Maybe five minutes."

"Good, good."

Castiel took Mary's hand again.

"Hey, can I drive us home, Cassie?" Mary asked, flashing her rescuer her most charming smile and batting her little eyelashes like a pro.

"No, your Father would murder us both were he to find out."

"Aw."

It turned out that despite having hardly eaten for nearly three weeks, food was just barely the highest priority on Alice's list.

"Sam, grab me some smokes?" Alice managed through a mouthful of pancakes and sausage.

The request threw Dean for a loop on the other side of the booth.

"Smokes?" he echoed.

"You still didn't pay me back for the last cigarette run I made for you," Sam grumbled.

"Hey, you blew out of town too damn fast for me to pay you back! You know I'm good for it," Alice protested. "Hell, I wouldn't even ask, but those damn shifters took all my crap. I don't have a penny to my name."

"Yeah, yeah. You still smoke reds?"

"Dude, I haven't had a cigarette in three weeks. You trying to kill me? Get me a pack of girly smokes. And some nicotine gum. And a patch if you see some."

Dean was speechless as Sam left and Alice was too busy chowing down to notice his disbelief.

"Since when do you smoke?" he finally managed.

"Since when? Since a long fucking time," Alice scowled, taking a break from her food to nurse a glass of orange juice. She took a moment to trip down memory lane, struggling to remember the source of her nicotine addiction. "I don't know, let me see... Oh yeah, I remember. I started way back when Danny was pregnant."

She chuckled a little, smiling wryly.

"Hey, remember Danny? Good times. Sometimes."

"How could I forget Danny?" Dean rolled his eyes. Something Alice kept doing was bugging him. "Funny way to put it."

"Put what?"

"'Back when Danny was pregnant'," Dean clarified. "So what, you just take no responsibility for Mary whatsoever?"

Alice took a long time to chew her next bite, trying to buy herself time while she thought her answer through very, very carefully. The issue wasn't exactly simple. The easy answer would have been yes, but Alice didn't want to sound like a jerk-off deadbeat parent. Sure, seven years ago all she'd been able to think about was how she didn't want a kid clinging to her figurative skirts, getting in her way at every turn. But as time went on, she'd never been able to fully ignore the ever present option of playing some role, even a minor one, in the kid's life. Admittedly, there had been times when she had been tempted to try inserting herself into the narrative.

Alice finished chewing and still needed more time. She stole Sam's untouched coffee and took a very, very slow sip. She thought about using the Smiths as an excuse. For a long time, it was true that she'd stayed out of contact with Allison, Dean and Mary because she knew her estranged extended family were waiting with bated breath for her to make an appearance. Kaydie Smith was still out for her blood, along with the rest of their brood. If Alice was being honest with herself though, she was never truly afraid of her cousins. There was a deeper terror that kept her from reaching out to Dean. A pain that even now, she hated to acknowledge, even to herself.

Alice was haunted by the memory of what she'd seen in Dean's head all those years ago when she'd tried to pull him from his self-induced coma. The perfect life he constructed for himself, the apple pie american dream complete with a white picket fence and an idyllic little family... the family where there was no room for Alice.

That was the night Alice realized there was no place in Dean's life for her. In an imaginary world where he was perfectly happy, absolutely content, there was no trace of her presence. It hurt, but Alice took the hint to heart. Thinking about it stabbed her through with pain. She cursed herself. How could she still be bleeding from such an old wound?

"It's not about that. It's not as simple as not wanting responsibility," Alice finally said, setting the coffee down after nearly a full minute of sipping. She shoved the pain away, even as she realized her refusal to face it was the reason it still felt so fresh. How could a wound heal if it was never treated?

"So what is it about?" Dean pressed, oblivious to Alice's internal struggles.

"It's complicated."

"Uncomplicate it then."

"Why do you care anyway?"

It was a good question. Truthfully, Dean didn't know the answer. Part of him just liked antagonizing her. Part of him genuinely wanted to know why he and Allison had been forced to raise Mary alone.

Another part, one he buried and ignored but could never completely kill, couldn't help but hope Alice actually had a good reason. Even after her betrayal, after so long out of contact, there was a small part of Dean that still wanted to believe in Alice. Despite her long career of screwing him over and pulling dick moves, part of him still hoped that maybe she'd turned over a new leaf. Maybe she was better.

That part of him was always disappointed and after so many let downs, Dean locked it up and threw away the key. Now, it rattled the bars of its cage, begging for freedom, demanding Dean's attention.

"I don't," Dean lied.

"Ok then, I'll take the fifth. You wanna talk about killing this Alpha, or what?"

"Sure. So, silver's out. What does that leave us with?"

"I have a couple of ideas. Some of them are actually pretty creative, but... we're working with limited time now," Alice pondered. "I'm thinking the fastest way to kill this sucker is gonna be Samuel Colt's gun."

Dean frowned deeply.

"I haven't seen that thing since... damn, before hell. Not since Bela Talbot made off with it. There's no way we'll be able to find it in time."

"Not true. I know where it is. Or at least, I'm pretty sure I know."

"What? How? Where?"

"The Smiths have it. Or, I assume they have it."

"Again, how could you know that?"

"Sam didn't tell you about the whole contract-kill-for-my-soul business?"

"No."

"Wow. What, you never cared enough to ask?" Alice scoffed.

"Sorry, I was a little busy raising the daughter you abandoned," Dean shot back.

"Oh, will you let that go already?! Mr. 'get the hell away from me, stay away from my family or else'!" Alice mocked Dean's deep voice. "What do you want from me, Dean? You want an apology?"

"I want an explanation!"

"I thought you didn't care!" Alice spat. She knew Dean well enough to know that he had lied.

"That doesn't mean I don't deserve to know!"

Alice took a deep breath, managing with great effort to moderate her tone. When she spoke, Dean could hear her ire simmering behind her words, and pain she couldn't completely mask with sardonism.

"You are so full of shit, you know that? You act like I was the one who walked away, but be honest, Dean, even if I wanted anything to do with that kid, there's no way in hell you would have let me be in her life. Not after everything that happened between us. You want the truth? There it is. I stayed away because I knew that was what you wanted, ok? You made it perfectly clear that you didn't want anything to do with me, and that's fine. After what I did, I don't blame you. But for you to sit there and act like I'm some kind of villain for respecting your wishes? Come on, Dean, that's a whole new level of hypocritical and you know it."

Dean was silent for a long moment. Of all the reasons he thought he might hear from Alice, all the excuses, this wasn't one he'd prepared for. Her answer was so unexpected that it took him a few minutes to gather his thoughts and feelings up and put them into words.

"Well you could have called and said all that seven years ago," Dean pointed out. "You missed a hell of a good thing, never getting to know Mary. And Allison... she died waiting for you to reach out. I get you thinking you burned your bridges with me, but them? There's no excuse for you never letting your sister know if you were dead or alive."

Alice lowered her head. Dean waited for her to snap at him, waited for her to fight back, but she never did.

"Yeah. You're right."

Dean couldn't believe his ears. He struggled to remember if she'd ever admitted that he was right, but couldn't think of a single instance.

"Between you and me? I'll probably regret waiting so long to make a stupid phone call for the rest of my life," Alice sighed. "Just another drop in the bucket, right? Another broken bond I'm too late to fix."

Dean was struck by the sudden, intense urge to comfort her. It left him dazed, at a loss for words. Alice glanced up and frowned at the bewildered expression on his face.

"What, did I shift up a third eye?" she asked, probing her forehead like it was something that had happened to her before.

"No, I just... you're so... different."

"Different how? Good different, bad different?"

"I don't know yet."

Dean knew Alice had always tried hard to hide her true feelings, present a cool, calm exterior. He'd always been able to see through her, but now he found he couldn't. He wondered if he'd spoken too soon. Maybe Alice hadn't actually changed at all. Maybe they had just been apart for so long that he'd lost the ability to read her.

He searched her eyes one more time and decided that wasn't it, not all of it at least. He looked for the fire he was so used to seeing behind her eyes. The wild, unpredictable light, the intangible, burning essence that made Alice who she was.

"Yeah, well... that's time for you," Alice sighed. "I'm sure you're different too... somehow. You just haven't shown me how yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just..."

Alice almost held her silence, almost told him to forget it, but she couldn't bring herself to miss the opportunity to get closure.

"All these years, and you're still holding onto... everything. What happened between us... I let it go a long time ago, but you still hold all my mistakes against me. I don't know, I guess I thought you would have calmed down by now."

"Well, you only tried to sell me out to hell to save your own skin," Dean said, rolling his eyes dismissively in a poor attempt to hide the depth of his hurt. "You tell me, if our places were reversed, would you ever forgive me for pulling a move like that?"

Alice surprised him with a light laugh.

"You? Please. I'd forgive you for anything. Hell, you pulled your fair share of dick moves too, Dean. Or did you forget? I get it though. I'm not asking that from you."

"So what are you asking?"

"Nothing."

"Come on. You always want something."

"Well... maybe one thing."

"I'm waiting."

"You don't have to forgive me. You don't have to trust me again, but... if we're gonna be working together, can you let our past go? Or at least just... stop throwing it in my face every time I turn around. Please?"

Dean set his jaw. Alice's eyes were plaintive, pleading with him to grant her this concession. All she had been doing since they met up was conceding. Dean figured he owed her at least one request.

"Fine. I can do that."

"Thank you."

Alice's head ached and her fingers itched. Nicotine wasn't the only fix she was missing after so long in captivity.

"One more thing... you got any holy water on you?"

"Of course."

"Can I have it?"

The request puzzled Dean a little. He hadn't had any trouble with demons since he stopped hunting to raise Mary. He still carried a flask with him out of habit and an abundance of caution, but the water inside had been there for years. He pulled it out now and handed it to Alice.

"What for?"

"Mm."

In answer, Alice uncapped the flask and took a long swig. Dean's brow knit with bewilderment and a little indignation.

"Hey! You could have just flagged down a waiter," he grumbled.

"What's taking Sam so long with those smokes?" Alice grumbled, handing Dean back the empty flask.

"You got weird, Alice," Dean sighed, shaking his head as he tucked the flask away.

"Oh, and I wasn't weird before?"

"This is a whole new level of weird. What's the deal, you trying to stop a demon from jumping you?"

"It's complicated."

"Why do you even bother saying that? Everything's always complicated with you."

"And your life is simple?"

"These days? Yeah."

"Huh. Well, good for you."

Her words were completely sincere, no mocking edge or sarcastic tone. Dean still wasn't used to hearing Alice so earnest.

"You wanna tell me a little about it?" she asked.

"About what?"

"Your life these days."

"You're just trying to change the subject."

"You got me. Come on though, Dean, all parents ever want to do is talk about their kids. Tell me something about Mary."

"You're kidding me, right? Please don't use my kid that way. She's a whole person, not a convenient topic for you to bring up when you don't want to tell me what your deal is."

"I know that. What makes you think that's the only reason I bring her up?"

"What, are you trying to tell me you're actually interested in knowing anything about her?" Dean scoffed, complete disbelief written in his expression.

"Wow, is that... is that really so hard for you to swallow?"

"Yeah!"

"Kill me for being curious, why don't you. Never mind," Alice said with a slight scowl. She quickly righted her features and poked her remaining eggs, desperate for any excuse to look away from Dean.

"I mean-"

"It's fine, Dean, forget it."

"If you-"

"I said it's fine!"

Awkward tense silence fell over the table. Dean wanted to take his reaction back, but it was too late. He never imagined Alice had an genuine interest in Mary, and now he couldn't help feeling a little bad about the turn the conversation had taken. He was about to speak up, about to apologize for his assumptions, but the soft flutter of wings tore the air apart. Castiel's sudden appearance made Dean jump back, startled Alice into knocking her drink over. They both cursed and Dean turned on Castiel angrily.

"What did we talk about, Cas, you can't just-"

Mary stepped out from behind Castiel, stopping Dean cold.

"Daddy!" she shrieked. She threw herself into the booth with him, wrapping her little body around him.

"Mary!"

The shock of seeing his daughter left Dean speechless. He held her close and gaped at Castiel, silently demanding answers.

"The shapeshifter switched cars," Cas informed him. "I was finally able to locate her. I took the liberty of having Mary break the warding you put on the car. I didn't think you would take issue, after all that has transpired."

"Daddy, it was so scary!" Mary piped up, pulling just far enough away from her father to meet his eyes while she talked as fast as she could. "The monster took me, and he said I was never going to see you or Auntie Ally ever again, and I tried to get away, and I shot it a lot but that didn't work, and I jumped out of the car just like you told me, and I tried to run away, and the monster followed me and caught me and threw me in the trunk, and I tried to stab it but that didn't work either, and I tried to..."

Mary ran out of breath and took a break, panting as she geared up to start again. Dean hugged her tight again, burying his face in her hair as reality set in. He had her back. His baby was safe.

"I'm so sorry, Mary!" he told her, words quiet but fervent. "We were looking for you the whole time, honey! We were following you the whole time, trying to catch up, and we couldn't- Mary, I'm so so sorry. I should have been faster, I should never have let that thing take you!"

Alice watched the reunion silently, watched the way Dean was with the child. She clearly meant the world to him. Suddenly, Alice was filled with relief. A weight slid off her shoulders as she realized she'd truly done the best thing for their family by staying away. This kid didn't need her around. She would never be able to love it the way Dean did. All she would have done was get in the way, complicate things.

Mary peeked out from between Dean's arms, locking eyes with Alice for the first time. As the two shifters recognized each other, unstoppable instinct caused both of their eyes to flash pale silver. Alice shuddered under the intensity of the child's scrutiny, shaking her head a little as she forced her retinas back to normal. All it took was an effortless blink for Mary to hide the flare. She pushed her way up past her father's smothering embrace, craning her neck as she looked Alice over.

"Uh... hi there," Alice said, waving a little. She crossed her arms over her chest, struck through with sudden terror, overwhelming anxiety as she found herself face to face with the baby she'd cut out of herself once upon a time. When she left it for dead, she never imagined that she might one day have to answer for her actions. At the time, she'd only been thinking of her mission, of how strategically inconvenient it was that the baby her host carried prevented them from changing shapes.

I didn't mean anything by it. I just had a job to get done.

Still, Alice barely believed herself. She remembered a moment of hesitation after the self-surgery, remembered a second spent staring at the tiny life she was leaving on the floor in a puddle of slime and blood. She'd had a thought of remorse then, a flicker of long-buried conscience that made her flag down a nurse on her way out of the hospital, made her point them to the supply closet where she'd left her unwanted spawn.

Alice had spent Mary's entire life telling herself she had no relation to the child. That physically, the baby was Dean's and Danny's. She was just a hitchhiker, a loose spirit hijacking the shifter's body. She told herself over and over that she was just a guest in the equation. Now, she found that comforting narrative harder to believe than ever. Despite the intangible nature of their relationship, Alice couldn't help but notice the striking similarities between her and Mary. She was looking at Dean's eyes set in a tiny face that could have been hers at that age.

"Are you the real Alice?" Mary asked, head cocked to the side curiously.

"Yeah. And you're the real Mary?"

"Mm-hmm."

Mary buried her head in Dean's jacket again, filling Alice with relief as she was freed from the intense spotlight of the child's attention. Mary spoke, words muffled against Dean's chest as he stroked her hair and clutched her like he expected someone to come and try to pry her from his arms.

"Daddy, are we going home now?"

Dean opened his mouth to say yes, but was stopped by a dread realization that punched the bottom out of his stomach. The shifter knew where they lived. If it came for Mary again, they would be sitting ducks.

Alice had the same thought, but unlike Dean, she didn't know how to talk around a child.

"Dean, you can't take her home yet," Alice said. Dean made a slicing motion at his throat urgently, shaking his head in an attempt to get her to shut up.

"What?" Mary asked, sitting up straight, alarmed by Alice's words.

"I mean..."

Alice trailed off, confused. Dean's hands flew quickly behind Mary's back, and it took Alice a minute to realize he was signing at her.

Not in front of Mary.

Alice sat agog, unable to believe her eyes. Since when did Dean know ASL? It only took her a moment to remember the staggering length of time that had passed since they last saw each other. And if Dean had been living with Allison the whole time...

"Not yet, honey," Dean said quickly, racing to run damage control after Alice's blunder. "First... I told Uncle Bobby we would swing by his place as soon as we found you. He's been real worried, you know? He wants to see you."

"Oh. Ok. Daddy, where's Auntie Ally? Is she coming to Uncle Bobby's too?"

Dean froze. This was a conversation he'd been dreading all week. Despite trying to prepare for it, he still didn't know what he was going to say. Across the booth, Alice bit her lip. She didn't envy Dean's responsibility.

She spotted Sam coming back, and got up to meet him.

"I'll give you two some privacy," she told Dean, leaving him alone to explain to his daughter that Auntie Ally wouldn't be going with them to Uncle Bobby's. Or anywhere else, not ever again.

Alice intercepted Sam just outside the restaurant.

"Give it a minute before you go in there," she said, gratefully accepting a gas station bag from him. "Your brother's pet angel just showed up with your little niece in tow."

"Mary's in there?!"

"Like I said, give it a minute. Dean's having a tough conversation with her," Alice said, lighting a cigarette and inhaling the fumes. Her eyes slid shut and she leaned against the wall of the restaurant, basking in the burning glow that spread out through her body, soothing nerves that had been fraying for the past three weeks.

"About Allison," Sam realized. He joined Alice against the wall to wait. "She's gonna be devastated. Allison was like a mother to her."

His words bothered Alice a little, but not because she envied Allison's role in Mary's life.

"Sam, you never told me Dean learned ASL," she said, trying to sound casual. She rooted through the bag and tore open a patch, rolling up her sleeve to slap it onto her arm.

"I mean... you never asked," Sam shrugged.

"Allison teach him?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Huh. She, uh... she teach him anything else?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Anything else that might jump up and surprise me."

With a frown, Sam finally caught on.

"Alice, are you trying to ask me if Dean and Allison..." he trailed off, saying the rest with his eyebrows.

"No! Of course not! That wouldn't be any of my business."

Alice choked on smoke and had a little coughing fit while Sam regarded her with a hint of amusement.

"It's just... you know, seven years is a long time to live with someone," Alice finally managed, clearing her throat and examining her cigarette closely as she avoided Sam's eyes. "Close quarters, raising a kid together..."

Alice's resolve broke. Subtlety was never her strong suit and she couldn't stand the feelings of suspicion and betrayal that were creeping under her skin as she considered the facts of the matter for the first time. Granted, she had no right to feel betrayed. Still, her sister and her ex...

"Did they?" she demanded, finally meeting Sam's eyes so she could search them for any trace of deception.

"Not that I know of," Sam shrugged. "Knowing them? I kind of doubt it. Half the time they couldn't stand each other, and the other half they were busy with Mary."

"Uh-huh."

Hearing that Dean couldn't stand Allison did little to comfort Alice. She remembered the fights they used to have, remembered that Dean was a sucker for conflict. He'd deny it all day, but tension excited him. Alice knew him well enough to know that it was a big part of the reason they used to be so good together. 'Good' being a relative term, of course.

Passion without stability wasn't a stellar recipe for success.

Alice couldn't help wondering if her sister had been able to give Dean everything he wanted? Enough stability to keep him grounded, enough conflict to keep him from getting bored.

So what if she did? I wasn't there. It was never my business.

Reason didn't help. Jealousy spread like poison through Alice and she was powerless to stop it. She didn't want to think ill of her sister, didn't want to dishonor her memory, but Alice harbored a devil-may-care darkness that even after years of practice, she couldn't completely contain. It reared its ugly head now, whispering conspiracy and feeding her natural, deep-seated paranoia. Alice beat it back down. She crushed her cigarette out on the sidewalk with her heel and popped a square of gum into her mouth. She chewed it, almost angrily as she fought her dark impulses, struggled to maintain her discipline.

Forget it. It doesn't matter. Just let it go.

Alice itched with the urge to pursue the suspicion. She wanted to go straight to the source, ask Dean, find out...

No. She vowed silently to leave it alone. She refused to let her grief for her older sister be undercut by something so petty.

"You know this hunt isn't over," she announced, as much to distract herself from her own demons as to let Sam know the facts of the matter. "The alpha isn't going to stop coming after Mary. Not 'til he's dead."

"Yeah. I know. But... Now that Mary's safe, I have to go, Alice."

"Excuse me?"

"I was in the middle of a hunt when Dean called," Sam explained. "Chasing something big, Alice. You, Dean and Cas are more than enough to handle this shifter, right?"

"Depends. How good of a hunter is this Cas fellow?"

"Hard to say. He's got a lot of juice, though. I've just never seen him in the field. Dean hasn't been out on a hunt in... it has to have been like, five years by now."

"This isn't going to be an easy hunt," Alice said grimly. "I gotta say, we could really use you, Sam. Especially if Dean's rusty."

"I know, Alice, but... I can't let this trail go cold," Sam said.

"What are you chasing that's so dangerous?" Alice asked.

"It's not that it's dangerous, it's just... ok, have you ever heard of the Keys of Apep?"

"No, but... Apep... tell me why that name rings a bell?"

"Apep is an ancient demon. The egyptians used to regard him as being a demigod. You might know him by another name... well, it's really more of a mistranslation. Apophis?"

"Right. An incarnation of chaos, right? He's real?"

"Hard to say. If he is, he's been exorcised for thousands of years."

"So these keys you're trying to find?"

Sam's eyes lit up with excitement, with a vigor that made Alice want to know more about the case.

"Legend has it, he forged a set of keys meant to be able to open up doorways to hell."

"Ugh," Alice shuddered. "Nasty. So what, you want to find them, destroy them before we have another rash of devil's gates on our hands?"

"Not quite. See, there's another side to the myth. According to some sources, the keys also have the power to close all the gates of hell. Forever."

Author's note: Just tuning in? Lacking backstory? This is the third part of a series. If the whole series is a little too long for light reading, here are a few chapters that will provide key context with minimum reading required :)

Three Knives - Chapter 11: Her Mark | Chapter 12: Lost Soul, Linger | Chapter 30: The End

Three Deaths - Chapter 10: Trickster's Touch | Chapter 20: The Cowards Are Onto Something | Chapter 26: Her Body, Her Choice