Hey everyone, here's a fluffy little chapter before the big battle. This is my fun little version of About A Boy. Hope you all like it!

Chapter 42

2015

He walked around the bunker to try to find the boys. They weren't in their room or in the rec room. He was trying hard not to panic, but he was afraid the boys had disappeared again. Dean was back, but he'd been without the twins for so long, it was hard to not jump to the worst possible conclusion.

He went to Dean's room, ready and willing to have his brother call the boys just to find out where they were. He'd found a possible case anyway, so he needed to find them.

He knocked on Dean's door before he opened it. "Hey," he said as he walked in. He stopped in his tracks, and he wasn't sure if he was annoyed or relieved to see Alec and Ben lounging on Dean's bed, while his brother sat on the floor, reading a large book. Ben was reading comic books, while Alec flicked tiny pieces of paper at Ben and Dean, who were both expertly ignoring him.

"Hey," Dean replied.

"I've been looking for you two everywhere," he said, forgetting about the case for a moment.

"It's not like we're hiding," Alec mumbled as he flicked a tiny piece of paper at him. He glared at his nephew when the paper hit his nose. Alec just chuckled.

"Hey, be nice to your Uncle," Dean said.

"Wanna hang out, Uncle Sam?" Ben asked.

This all would have been really strange, but the boys had been clingy for weeks now. He should've figured out where they were because it was so obvious now. They hated letting Dean out of their sight ever since they got their Dad back. "Uh, actually, I think I caught a case," he said as he handed Dean the tablet he was carrying. "Apparently something is taking people and leaving their clothes."

Dean zoomed in on the missing guy. "Hmm…about time this gig got an 'R' rating." He rolled his eyes and didn't bother pointing out that Ben and Alec were in the room. "Alright, why don't you check it out? I'll hold down the fort," Dean said.

He sighed, "Dean, you haven't left the bunker in a week."

Dean tossed the tablet behind him, accidentally hitting Alec since he hadn't been looking at what he was doing. "Ow!" Alec complained.

"Shit, Alec, I'm sorry," Dean instantly apologized. "I forgot you were back there, kiddo."

"It's ok," Alec said as he rubbed his nose. Ben reached over to tilt Alec's chin, so he could get a look at his nose, but he wasn't bleeding or anything, so Ben decided his brother was ok. Dean turned around, and then checked Alec's nose just like Ben just had even though Alec was fine. Alec huffed in annoyance, but he didn't bat Dean's hands away.

"Dean," he said to get his brother back on track.

"What?" Dean grumbled, turning away from Alec again.

"You can't just live the rest of your life locked up in this room," he said.

"I don't know," Dean said with a shrug. "I got my boys, three hots and a cot. Could be worse."

"Look, I know you're worried about the mark," he said soothingly. He should've known Dean wouldn't have any of that.

"Yes, Sam, I am," Dean replied shortly. "Between what I did to Charlie-"

"Charlie forgave you. How about you forgive yourself?" he asked.

"Because I'm not exactly batting 1,000 here, y'know?" Dean said. He was a little surprised Dean had let the boys stay in here with him. The boys wouldn't have liked it, but Dean would want to keep his kids safe.

"Yeah, I do know that, but staying locked up in here, sitting on the ground reading the same books over and over again, it's not helping you," he said. "You need to get back in the game for your own good. You can beat this, Dean."

"One, I'm sitting on the floor because the boys are on the bed," Dean replied. "And two, I'm not reading the same books over and over again. I'm just making sure I didn't miss something."

"Except me and Ben also went through it," Alec muttered. "And we don't miss things." Dean gave Alec a look, but he just rolled his eyes.

"Dad, I think Uncle Sam makes a good point," Ben said.

"Really?" Dean asked. Ben didn't usually speak up unless he thought it was important. He'd gotten better at speaking up, but he and Dean were still trying to get him to speak up more. Alec was the best at getting Ben to talk.

Ben looked at the three of them when he realized they were all waiting to hear what he would say. "I mean…it might be good to check this out…it might not be anything though…" Ben quickly went back to his comic book, nervous since they were all paying attention to him.

He found it hard to believe sometimes that Ben was Dean's clone just like Alec was. But Alec was Dean. A miniature Dean, but still Dean, and he always had been. Ben had always been quiet. He watched more than he spoke. But he was just as eager to please as Dean had been when he was a kid. And he was just as protective as Dean was. Over the years, he'd started to think that Ben was more like Dean when he was younger. Before Mom died. What Dean could have been like if Mom had never died, or if Dad hadn't started hunting. Obviously, he didn't know that for a fact, but he knew Ben was Dean just as much as Alec was.

"Alright, let's check it out," Dean said with a nod.

"You might as well relax," Alec said. "They already told us we couldn't go over there even while they talk to the homeless guy."

"Shh," he shushed. They were sitting on the hood of the Impala, while Dad and Uncle Sam talked to a homeless guy to find out what happened. He couldn't hear what Dad and Uncle Sam were saying if Alec kept talking. Alec huffed and laid back on the Impala, pretending to be so bored that he was going to take a nap. He didn't believe him for a second. He knew his brother was paying attention to every word that was said.

"And then…then…then there was this bright light, and…Bam!... the dude's just gone," the homeless guy said. "Nothing left but, uh…"

"Cheap suit and a pair of florsheims?" Dad finished when the guy trailed off.

"Pretty much," the guy said.

"You see anyone else?" Uncle Sam asked.

"No, sir, officer," the man quickly said. He seemed nervous to be talking to the FBI. Fake FBI, but he didn't know that.

"And what about, uh, a chill? Or did you smell any rotten eggs?" Dad asked.

"What? No, man. Uh…I smelled flowers, though," the guy said.

"Weird," Alec muttered. He could just imagine Alec rolling his eyes. He didn't bother to look to see if he was right.

"You smelled flowers?" Uncle Sam asked. "What kind of flowers?"

"Flowerly flowers."

He and Alec both chuckled at that one. Alec even cracked his eyes open to see Uncle Sam's annoyed look. That would never get old.

"Flowerly flowers," Uncle Sam repeated. It was even funnier when their uncle said it.

The homeless guy sighed, "Look. We all know what's going on here, ok?"

Dad closed his eyes and shook his head, "Don't say it…"

"Aliens," the guy said.

"He said it," Dad muttered.

"Yeah, he did," Uncle Sam agreed. They were both done with this conversation. It was hilarious whenever someone thought it was aliens. Dad and Uncle Sam always got really annoyed when someone thought it was aliens.

"Dude was abducted. Believe me, I know," the man said before he looked up and pointed at the sky. "May 2003. Those suckers, they grabbed me, and they probed me everywhere."

"Ok," Dad said as he walked away.

"Thanks for your time," Uncle Sam said, following after Dad.

"I'm talking everywhere!" the man called out.

"Well, the wheels just came flying off the bus," Dad muttered.

"Yeah. No cold spots means it probably wasn't a ghost," Uncle Sam agreed. They were getting closer to the car, but they probably thought they were still far enough away that they couldn't hear them. Alec had told him years ago that he'd never told Dad how good his hearing was. He was pretty sure Dad knew anyway, but he never told him either.

"No sulfur means no demons, so that leaves us with what? Couple of little green dudes and a bucket of lube?" Dad asked sarcastically.

Uncle Sam glanced over at them to see if they were listening, ready with a warning for Dad about saying stuff like that in front of them, but he and Alec were good at pretending. Alec looked like he was napping, while he watched the homeless guy. He glanced over at Dad as saw him smirk just a tiny bit. He couldn't help his small smile since Dad knew they had heard that.

"Or fairies. Or…angels," Uncle Sam said, satisfied that they hadn't heard anything.

"Ugh, I'd rather have the little green dudes," Dad grumbled. He wondered if Dad was remembering his own close encounter. He laughed to himself remember the hunt with the fairies. He hadn't been allowed to do anything, and Uncle Sam had still been messed up, but looking back, it had been pretty funny.

"Alright, I'll go scope out J.P.'s place. You, uh…you ask around inside," Uncle Sam said. Dad just frowned and didn't say anything. He knew when Dad was nervous, and Dad was really nervous right now. Good thing he and Alec had already talked about this. They had a plan, and no matter what, they were going to follow through. "Or you know what? We don't have to split up."

"No, no, no. It's cool. I can handle a little 20 questions with the locals, ok?" Dad said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, hey, look, it's a dive bar. It's my comfort zone," Dad said. He looked over at him and Alec again, but then he held up the keys to the Impala to Uncle Sam.

Dad went into the bar, while Uncle Sam walked over to them. He was flipping the keys, stalling. "Don't worry, Uncle Sam," Alec said.

"Worry about what?" Uncle Sam asked suspiciously.

"You always make us split up on hunts," Alec said. "Mainly because you and Dad are worry warts, but me and Ben already decided that we're going to split up this time."

"Alec," Uncle Sam said with a sigh.

"It's not up for discussion, Uncle Sam," he said. His uncle looked at him in shock, which made him smile a little. It was nice to surprise his uncle sometimes. "I'm gonna stay here and Alec's going with you."

Uncle Sam looked at Alec in surprise, "Really? You're willingly coming with me?"

Alec rolled his eyes and slid off the hood, "I lost rock, paper, scissors."

He smiled as Alec bumped into him to get around to the passenger side of the Impala. Uncle Sam waited until Alec was in the car before he looked at him and said, "Be careful, ok? And if you need anything, call me."

"I'll be fine," he said. "And I'll make sure Dad's ok too."

"That's not supposed to be your job, buddy," Uncle Sam said.

"We're a family," he said. "And I'm not willing to lose Dad again."

Uncle Sam still hesitated to leave. "I don't like leaving you here alone…"

"I'll be fine," he repeated. "You better go before Alec hotwires the car."

Uncle Sam sighed before he gave him a hug, and then got in the Impala. He got a text from his brother a few minutes later, 'You better not get abducted.'

He smiled to himself and sent back, 'Enjoy searching the boring apartment.'

"What can I do you?" the bartender asked as he sat down.

He sighed, "Screw it. I'm gonna believe in myself." His boys were with Sam, and it would look weird if he didn't order anything.

"Attaboy."

"Give me something dark and strong," he said. The bartender grabbed a shot glass and started to pour in whiskey. "Hey, did you know that guy that went missing? J.P.?"

"Who's asking," the bartender said, sliding the shot to him.

"Just an old pal," he easily lied.

"Look, I'm sorry to hear about what happened, but…guy's a lowlife," the bartender said. "That night, I had to kick his ass out of here for stealing my tips. Whatever J.P. got…probably had it coming."

"Ouch," he muttered. He hesitated, but then tossed back the shot. He could do this. He could keep control of the mark. The bartender moved away, but a woman was looking at him now.

"J.P. wasn't that bad," she said.

"You knew him?"

"This isn't exactly 'Cheers', but yeah." He got up and walked over to sit by her. "And don't get me wrong, I would not buy a used car from the guy…but he was harmless."

"So, what was his problem?" he asked.

She chuckled, "What wasn't? You're in here getting stunned while the sun's still up. Your life's a regular Charlie Foxtrot. Trust me."

"I'm Dean."

"Tina."

He raised his hand up to signal the bartender for another round.

He checked his watch; Dad had been in the bar forever. He hadn't heard anything from Alec in a while either. He thought maybe he should go in the bar just to make sure Dad was still ok. Mainly, he was bored. He did better than Alec usually, but this was seriously boring.

He was relieved when he saw Alec calling him. "Finally," he muttered as a greeting.

"Bored?" Alec asked happily.

"Beyond bored," he said. "Dad's been in there forever."

"Then go in there and see what he found out," Alec said.

"That's what you would do if you were here, but I'm not you," he said. "What'd you find out at the apartment?"

"The guy was a loser who lived in a dump," Alec said. "He was about to be kicked out of said dump and probably had nowhere else to go because, seriously, this is the last place anyone would ever want to live."

"Ok…So, what?" he asked.

"So, Uncle Sam thinks it's nothing," Alec said. "Maybe Dad has something?"

"I don't know…" he hedged. "He might be onto something since he's been in there forever. Maybe he's getting more information."

"Or maybe he's flirting and drinking a lot," Alec said.

"Could be," he agreed. He perked up when he saw a woman leave the bar. Maybe Dad was about to leave too. "Hey, I gotta go," he said.

"Alright, well, we're on the way to pick you guys up anyway," Alec said. "Be there soon."

He hung up, but frowned when he saw a man walk out, following the woman. He looked a little sketchy…like he was really following her. And she didn't look like she expected anyone to follow her. He ran over when the guy started moving faster to catch up with the woman.

He got there just as the man grabbed the woman, but he fell back when a white light suddenly appeared. He quickly pushed himself up and grabbed the man to stop him from hurting the woman. He didn't know what that white light was, but he wasn't going to let this guy hurt her.

But then the white light flashed again, and he couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"How we looking?" he asked once he answered Sam's call. He'd really enjoyed talking to Tina.

"Not great," Sam said. "Turns out J.P. was about three days from getting evicted," Sam said. "His landlord said the guy blasted Neil Diamond 24/7." Sounded like a loser. He watched as Tina gave the bartender a hug before she left the bar. "And that his bathroom was, 'Like staring into the Devil's butt'."

"That's vivid," he muttered.

"And accurate. I saw it," Sam replied.

"You saw the John, or, uh-"

"Don't," Sam cut off. He chuckled to himself since that was funny. Too bad his boys hadn't heard that one. They would have enjoyed it. "So, you got anything?"

"Yeah. I got, uh, jack with two scoops of squat," he said. "I don't know, man. I think we ought to just call it a night and, uh-" He stopped when he saw the large man that had been sitting at the bar, get up and leave. Following after Tina. That didn't seem good.

"And what? Dean? Hello?"

"Sammy, I think I got something," he said.

He started to hang up, but then Sam said, "Dean, Ben's outside."

"What?"

"Alec and Ben wanted to split up, so Ben stayed there."

He hung up and ran.

He heard Tina scream, and his blood ran cold. He took off running towards the dumpster where he'd heard the scream. Then his heart nearly stopped when he heard his son cry out. He would know that sound anywhere. He looked around in panic when he didn't see his son. He turned when he felt someone behind him, and then everything went white.

"He's not answering," he said. He was starting to freak out. Ben wouldn't answer his stupid phone. Dad wasn't answering either, so, he was freaking out.

"We'll be there in just a few minutes," Uncle Sam said. "They're probably fine. Maybe Ben dropped his phone and maybe your Dad left his phone in the bar."

He just glared out the window. He didn't like this. They shouldn't have split up. He should've stayed with his brother. They hadn't even found anything useful at the apartment.

He was out of the car as soon as Uncle Sam started to slow down. He ignored his uncle yelling at him since he was only focused on finding his brother and his Dad. He had no idea where to even start looking. He had to force himself to slow down, so he wouldn't miss something. He needed to see everything. They were alive. He knew they were alive. But how long would they be alive for? He couldn't lose them.

"Alec…"

He frowned and looked around at the sound of his name. Uncle Sam was running up behind him, but the voice that had said his name was too high-pitched. It definitely hadn't been Uncle Sam. He looked back to the bar and froze.

There was a little kid hiding behind a dumpster, wearing a very large t-shirt and nothing else. "Holy shit," he breathed. "Ben?"

"Took you long enough!" Ben shouted. He quickly covered his mouth to stop himself from bursting out laughing. His brother…his twin brother, was maybe four years old, but he was glaring at him, and his squeaky, little-kid voice was seriously funny. "Don't you dare laugh at me!"

"How the hell did this happen?" he asked.

Uncle Sam finally made it over to them, but he stopped and stared when he spotted Ben. "What the fuck," Uncle Sam breathed. He lost it. He couldn't help but laugh now.

"Uncle Sam," Ben whined. He was still hiding behind the dumpster, and he finally figured out that he was refusing to move so his t-shirt wouldn't fall off. He walked over to his brother and gently picked him up, laughing more when Ben pushed against him with his tiny little fists. "Alec no!"

"You don't wanna walk around naked, do you?" he asked.

"No…" Ben said with a pout.

"Where's Dad?" he asked. Uncle Sam was still in shock, so he supposed that he would have to be the grown-up.

"I don't know," Ben said miserably. He couldn't get over how little Ben was. He was this little at one point, and they had both been at Manticore at this age. How had they survived Manticore when they were this little?

"Did you see what got you? What turned you into a baby?" he asked.

"I'm not a baby!" Ben said with a scowl, which was hilarious and adorable.

"Ben, focus," he said. "What was it?"

Ben shrugged, "It was just a dude. He grabbed some lady and she screamed and there was this white light, and then I grabbed him to try to make him stop, and then the light happened again and now I'm like this!"

"Ok, calm down," he said. "We'll figure this out. And we'll find Dad. Is he inside? We haven't even looked inside yet." He looked over at Uncle Sam, but he was still just staring at Ben. "Uncle Sam, you wanna check inside?"

"I think Dad came outside," Ben said, resting his head against his shoulder. "The big guy looked away, so I…I hid. I shouldn't have done it, but…"

"It's ok," he reassured.

"I don't want you to make fun of me…" Ben said.

"I'm not going to make fun of you," he said. Ben looked at him in disbelief. "Ok, so I laughed. Sue me. You're four years old, you're allowed to be scared. I won't make fun of you for hiding. In fact, I think I could hug you right now. Thank you for hiding and not getting kidnapped. We'll find Dad, ok?"

"You're already hugging me," Ben mumbled.

"I'm not hugging you. I just picked you up because your shirt will fall off if you move," he said.

"I think Uncle Sam's in shock," Ben said.

"Well, he has a right to be in shock," he replied. "I mean, you were turned into a baby."

"I'm not a baby!" Ben stressed.

"You totally are."

"Uncle Sam!" Ben whined.

"Uncle Sam, could you snap out of it? We've got a lot to deal with here," he said. Uncle Sam gave him a bitch-face, but at least he snapped out of it. "Do you think we should look around here more for Dad, or should we go back to the motel and put little Ben down for a nap?"

"I hate you," Ben grumbled.

"I'm just getting started little brother," he said. "What a perfect time to lose rock-paper-scissors."

He groaned as he woke up. He was in a dark room now, which had bars on the window. He looked down in confusion when he realized he wasn't wearing the suit from before. He was wearing a large hoodie and jeans now. "What the hell…" He pushed himself up and tried to open the door, but of course it was locked. He went to the window next and yanked on the bars, but they didn't budge. He frowned when he realized his hands looked different.

He walked around until he saw what looked like a dusty mirror. He wiped off the dust with his shirt, but then froze when he saw his reflection. He had a freakin' baby face! "Seriously?" he grumbled, looking at himself. It was like a blast from the past. He looked like he was maybe 14 years old. Oh…weird. He was younger than his sons now…If he was 14. Wait, how did this even happen?

"Hey," a girl said. He looked around again, but he didn't see where she could be. She sounded young, wherever she was. "What's your name?" Then he noticed the crack in one of the walls. He walked over and saw a young girl, probably around 14, with blonde hair.

"Dean," he said.

"Dean? It's me…Tina," she said.

"What?!" No way! This was too weird. They were both turn into 14-year-olds somehow. And where was Ben? Was he here too? He really hoped his son wasn't caught up in all this. Whatever this was.

"Please tell me you know what the hell is going on," Tina said.

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet," he admitted.

"Because I left the bar and then there was this…"

"A light? A bright light?" he asked.

"Yes, and then I was here, and I thought this was a nightmare, but…Oh, God, if you're here…It can't be real. This doesn't-"

"I know," he cut off when he realized the freak out wasn't going to stop. "Just try to stay calm, ok?"

"Stay calm?! I'm a freakin' tween, and you look like some One Direction reject," Tina said hysterically. "And we're in some freaky serial-killer basement. I can't-"

"Tina, just…I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, ok? Well, anything else happen to you," he said. "Did you by chance see a 15-year-old kid before you got zapped."

"No, I don't think so," she said.

"Well, that's something at least," he muttered. Maybe Ben was fine. None of this made sense, but Ben could be ok.

"This is crazy. How are you so calm?" Tina asked.

He chuckled, "Practice." He wasn't sure if this was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him or not. He looked back into Tina's cell and saw some other kid sitting on the cot in the room just staring at the floor. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm not sure," Tina said with a shrug. "He doesn't talk."

"J.P.?" he said, going off a hunch. The kid slowly looked up, and he smiled since he was totally right. He looked over when it sounded like a door was being opened. He could just barely see the big guy from the bar that had followed Tina out. He walked into Tina and J.P.'s cell, and then J. P. started to freak out as the guy walked towards him.

"No!" J.P. screamed when the guy grabbed him suddenly.

"Hey!" he yelled. He tried to break through the wall, but he couldn't get through.

"Don't!" Tina yelled, grabbing at the man. But he easily pushed her back, causing her to fall.

"This is freakin' America, man!" J.P. yelled. "You can't do this! No!" The door slammed shut behind them.

He followed Uncle Sam into the bar, still carrying Ben. Uncle Sam was still freaking out, but he'd finally decided that they should stay at the bar and look for a clue to find out where Dad was. Uncle Sam took out his phone and tried calling Dad.

Uncle Sam looked over at him, still holding his phone to his ear. "I can hear it," he said with a nod.

"Where?" Uncle Sam asked.

"Give me a second," he muttered. Jeez, it wasn't like his super-hearing came with GPS coordinates.

"The bar," Ben said. "It's coming from the bar."

He frowned when he saw the bartender walk over to a jacket behind the bar, and then Dad's phone stopped ringing.

"Hey buddy, where did that jacket come from?" Uncle Sam asked, walking up to the bar. He followed behind him, but he stayed back a bit since he needed to protect Ben.

"My Bar Mitzvah," the bartender replied. He scowled since he didn't like that answer, but he smiled a little when he heard Ben growl. "It was a magical night," the guy said as he walked around the bar. That was a mistake.

"Yeah, I bet," Uncle Sam said right before he smashed the guy's head into the counter.

"Alright Uncle Sam!" he said excitedly. Uncle Sam was such a badass.

"Why don't you try that again?" Uncle Sam growled.

"Dumpster. Found it by the dumpster," the bartender quickly replied.

"Alright," Uncle Sam said, satisfied with the answer. Except, that meant Dad really wasn't here.

"Give us his stuff," he said.

The bartender was quick to give him Dad's jacket and phone, probably afraid that Uncle Sam might hit him again. "C'mon," Uncle Sam said. "Let's go back to the motel and figure out what to do next."

"Ben's gonna need some clothes," he said.

"Alright…pit stop, and then motel," Uncle Sam said with a nod. Uncle Sam did better when they had a plan.

"Alec…"

"Yeah?" He looked down at Ben and saw that his brother looked really embarrassed.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Ben whispered.

"Ok, so bathroom, pit stop, and then motel," he listed. He shot a quick glare at the bartender just for good measure before he took his brother to the bathroom. This was a very strange day.

He met Uncle Sam outside after Ben was done. Uncle Sam was back at the dumpster, looking around.

"I'm sleepy," Ben mumbled.

"It's probably exhausting to be a tiny kid again," he said distractedly. Uncle Sam was looking under the dumpster now, but he wasn't sure what he was expecting to find.

"And I'm hungry," Ben complained.

"We'll get food in a minute," he said. "Once Uncle Sam gets done looking around…even though I thought pit stop was next on the list."

"You're a good brother," Ben said.

"I know," he muttered.

"I mean it," Ben stressed.

"Just wait, I'm gonna get back to teasing you in a few minutes," he warned with a smile.

Ben huffed and rested against his shoulder again. Uncle Sam finally got up, but he had Dad's shoe and his gun, which definitely wasn't good. Uncle Sam wiped something off the handle of Dad's gun, and then sniffed it. "Flowers…" Uncle Sam muttered. "I guess now we have a starting point for research."

"You don't think Ben getting zapped to a four-year-old is a starting point?" he asked.

Uncle Sam gave him a bitch-face before he started over to the car. "You're riding in the backseat with your brother," Uncle Sam said.

"Obviously," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like we have a car seat."

He was suspicious when a covered tray was pushed under his door. He waited to see if anything else would happen, but it didn't, so it was time to investigate. He lifted up the cover but was surprised to find cake sitting on the tray. Cake wasn't pie, but it was food, and he was starving.

It didn't bother him at all to eat the cake with his hands. It was some pretty delicious cake. "Mmm," he hummed in enjoyment.

"They probably poisoned it," Tina said.

He immediately stopped eating since she had a good point. "Right…" He still licked the frosting off his fingers because it was super good. "Obviously." He really wished she hadn't said anything.

"What do you think they're doing to J.P.?" Tina asked.

He sighed as he got up again to check the walls. He was going to find a way out of here. He wasn't just going to sit around and wait for that guy to come back. He would either find a way out or he would find a weapon he could use against the guy. "Nothing good," he muttered.

He started kicking at the bars on the bed, determined to get one of them off. "What are you doing?" Tina asked.

He smiled in victory when one of the bars came off. "Getting us out of here," he said. He pushed the bed up to the window since he was too short now to really reach the bars. He got up on the bed and started hitting the cement around the bars.

"You know, before…I thought you were just another drunk," Tina said.

He stopped hitting the cement to look over at Tina through the hole in the wall. "I prefer functional alcoholic," he said, then he went back to work.

"Seriously, who…what are you?" Tina asked.

He stopped again and sighed, "That…is a long-ass story." He went back to beating at the cement until finally he got one of the bars free. "Yahtzee." He froze when he heard a door creak open. Not good.

He looked over at Tina, who looked just as worried. "Get out," Tina said.

"What?" No way was he leaving her here.

He could hear the guy's footsteps now, getting closer. "Hurry. I'll keep him busy."

He jumped down from the bed and went over to the crack in the wall. "Screw that. You're coming with me," he stated.

"There's no time. Go. Get help," Tina stressed.

"Tina…" He started to say that he would come right back for her, but she nodded before he could say it and said, "I know you will."

He heard the guy start to unlock his door. If he was going to get out of here, then he needed to go. Tina started to scream as loud as she could to get the guy's attention. He didn't hesitate this time since he knew this was the only chance he would get. As much as he hated to do it, he left Tina there alone. He just hoped she would still be alive by the time he made it back. But first, he needed help.

He was still in shock and still freaking out, but surprisingly, Alec was handling this incredibly well. He was trying to do some research to figure out where Dean could be and really, how this had happened, but he kept getting distracted by Alec taking care of Ben. This was just too weird.

"Smaller bites, dude," Alec said, reaching over to tear up Ben's chicken nuggets.

"Alec…I can't reach," Ben complained.

"Yeah, pillows aren't the best booster seat," Alec mumbled. "Give me a minute." Alec kept tearing up the chicken nuggets until they were small enough for Ben to eat without choking. Ben reached again and nearly tumbled off the chair completely, but Alec caught him before he could fall. "Shoulda gotten you a bib at the store," Alec muttered as he sat down with Ben on his lap. "You're getting food everywhere."

"You got me finger-food," Ben said. "How am I supposed to stay clean with finger-food."

"I'd like to see you try to eat with a fork right about now," Alec said.

This wasn't happening. In what world could his 15-year-old nephew take care of a four-year-old? This was crazy. It didn't make any sense.

Their shopping trip had been Alec the entire time. He'd watched as Alec had carried Ben around, picking out clothes and debating on if they should get a car-seat or not. A car-seat! Alec wanted to make sure Ben was safe but wasn't sure if they should spend the money since they were going to get Ben fixed up in no time. Ben had started complaining since Alec was treating him like a baby again, but he had grudgingly admitted that it was nice.

His only contribution to the trip had been to pay for everything. And holy crap, kids were expensive. He didn't remember Alec costing this much when he'd showed up in their room. But Dean had gotten everything for Alec. He had to sneak in toys for Alec because Dean had tried his hardest to spoil him. Even with credit card fraud, he wasn't sure how Dean bought everything he did back in the day.

He looked up when he heard a knock on the door. He got his gun out as Alec slowly put Ben down and had him hide under the table. Alec got his own gun out but stayed near Ben to protect him just in case whoever this was had been the thing that had gotten Ben in the first place, coming back to collect.

He opened the door a crack, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw a kid identical to Alec.

"Hiya, Sammy," Dean said with a big smile. Apparently, this could get weirder.

"Dean," he said.

"Yeah," Dean replied, waltzing into the room, acting like this was no big deal. It was almost funny when Dean froze suddenly, obviously spotting Ben hiding under the table. Served him right. "Ben?" Dean asked.

"Dad?!" Ben asked in shock.

"Ok…this just got weird," Alec said.

"Are you serious? It just now got weird?" he asked in disbelief.

Dean walked over to Ben and hauled him up, looking elated, which was super inappropriate, all thing's considered. "Hey buddy," Dean said, holding Ben close. Ben looked equally happy, but he was always happy when Dean paid attention to him. Dean looked up at him and smiled, "Can you believe this? He's so tiny!"

"Dean, how did this happen?" he asked to try to get his brother back on track.

"No clue," Dean said, bouncing Ben slightly. "Next thing I know, I wake up looking like Bieber."

"Why would someone turn you into-"

"Don't know. Don't care," Dean cut off. Dean tickled Ben, and then asked, "Hey, we got any grenades?"

"You confiscated all the grenades," Alec said.

Dean walked over to Alec and messed up his hair on the way over to one of the beds.

"Dean, wait a second," he said. "Talk to me."

"Really, Sam? Now? I got no grass on the infield, and a girl's gonna die. Sorry if I'm not in a chatty mood," Dean said. "Look, you wanted me back in the game. I'm back in the damn game." Dean kissed Ben's cheek and smiled, "I can't get over how cute you are."

"Dad, how old are you?" Ben asked sweetly.

"I think I'm about 14," Dean said. "How old are you?"

"Alec keeps calling me a baby," Ben said.

"I think four," Alec said.

Dean kissed Ben's cheek again before he grabbed his bag and started for the door. "C'mon, we've got a lot to do," Dean said.

Alec walked over to Dean and took Ben back before the three identical Deans left the room. He realized a split-second later that he needed to follow them. He was the only one who could even drive. He walked out just in time to see a woman, who was juggling grocery bags, drop her keys.

"Ma'am, allow me," Dean said, walking over to pick up the keys. The woman smiled with delight.

"Your son is so polite," the woman said to him. His eyes widened in shock because that was just so wrong! He was fine with the lady thinking Alec and Ben were his kids, but not Dean! Dean was his older brother. "You sure have your hands full," the woman said, looking at Ben, Alec, and Dean.

"You're not wrong," he said with a tight smile. Dean started for the driver's side, but he grabbed the hood of his jacket and pulled him back. "Nuh-uh," he said. "I'm driving."

"Shotgun!" Alec yelled, making him jump.

"No, no way," Dean said. "If I'm not gonna drive, then I'm at least sitting shotgun."

"But I'm the oldest," Alec said with a smirk. Alec passed Ben over to Dean and said, "Here, you watch the baby for a while. He's your kid." Alec laughed to himself as he got into the car, while Dean just stared at him in shock.

Dean looked over at him, and then stated, "He is not the oldest. I'm the oldest. He is the youngest."

"Dean…"

"He is not the oldest," Dean said again.

"Bigger problems right now," he said.

"Right," Dean said with a nod before he finally started to get into the backseat.

"You're right, Daddy. He's not the oldest," Ben said.

This was going to be the longest hunt ever. He just prayed there was a way to get Dean and Ben back to normal. He could deal with Ben as a baby, but he couldn't deal with Dean as a 14-year-old.

Ok, so this situation was weird and it sucked…except…he'd never gotten to take care of his boys when they were really little. He didn't even know them until the were nine and ten. He freaking loved seeing Ben like this. Especially since his boys were growing up too fast. He wanted them to stay little forever, so he could take care of them and make everything better like he did in the past.

"Cake. Why would they give you cake?" Sam asked, glancing back at him in the rearview mirror. Again. Sam was seriously freaking out.

"Well, don't know," he said. He picked up Ben's tiny hand, finding it strange to see how small his own hand was. He blew a raspberry against Ben's neck, making him giggle. His cute little baby giggle was adorable. "It wasn't even good cake. Too dry."

"Cake," Alec said with a smirk, like that explained everything. It kind of did. Pie was far superior.

Sam looked at him again, which was getting a tad bit annoying. "What?"

"Nothing," Sam said, looking away again, but not for long. "Ok, not nothing. Look, this is bizarre. Even for us, Dean. This is insane."

"Uncle Sam's having a difficult time dealing with this," Alec told him as he turned around in the front to look back at him and Ben.

"You…you're like…14!" Sam said without missing a beat. "How does it even feel?"

He sighed, "Well, I'm me. I'm…I'm old me, but I'm a kid. It's freakin' weird, dude. And…"

"What?" Sam asked.

He sighed again, "There was a Taylor Swift song on the bus that I hopped to the motel, and, uh…I liked it…I liked it a lot." Alec cracked up laughing, and Ben was laughing too, which made him feel good. It always made him feel good to get his boys laughing. "My voice is weird, and I've got like nine zits!"

"Welcome to puberty," Alec teased. He flicked Alec's ear, but then Alec reached back and messed up his hair before he started laughing again.

"Well, listen, we checked out the alley where you and Ben got jumped, and I found yarrow," Sam said.

"Which means what?" he asked. Ben was getting heavy, which meant he was getting sleepy. It had been so long since his little boy had fallen asleep against him. He cuddled Ben close, savoring this. He knew he needed to get his little boy turned back to his teenage son, but he loved getting to hold Ben close again.

"Means we're probably dealing with a witch," Sam said. "Yarrow's a flower. They use it in a ton of spells."

Ugh. Of course it was a witch. He hated witches. "Ok. We still got some of that witch-killing crap in the trunk?" he asked.

"Hell yeah," Sam said.

"Language, Uncle Sam," Alec chastised, somehow managing to keep a straight face. Sam shot a glare over at Alec, but his son wasn't done yet. "Little ears, Uncle Sam. As the adults, we need to set a good example."

"Seriously?" Sam said. "Now you want to watch your language?" Alec gave Sam a shit-eating grin, loving this. Sam sighed, but then said, "So, we'll get you changed back, and then light…the witch up. Right?"

Now it was his turn to hesitate. "Uh, yeah…about that. It turns out, this whole freak show has an upside besides adorable babies…" He couldn't roll up his sleeve to prove it since Ben was definitely asleep now, but Sam would believe him. "The mark is gone."

"How?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Well, I figure if this hoodoo slammed me back into the body I had when I was 14…"

"You didn't have the mark then," Sam finished.

"Yeah, and if we reverse the spell…"

"Then it's gonna come back."

"That's what I'm thinking," he said. "So…maybe we don't."

"Wait a second. Are you saying you want to stay like this?" Sam asked.

"No!" he quickly refused, but then he sighed, "No, but…if it's between being a psycho rage monster, borderline demon or a teenager, well…"

"Do we get a vote?" Alec asked with a scowl. "Because I vote no. You can beat the mark, Dad. But it's freakin' weird to call you Dad when you look like this. You're younger than I am now. It's selfish, but I want my Dad and brother back."

"Alec, it's not selfish," he said.

"Ben could be raised right if we keep him like this," Alec said. "He could have a really awesome life if he got to start over. How is it not selfish to keep that from him?"

"There's no guarantee that we can get changed back, kiddo," he warned.

"I know, but if there's a chance, then I wanna take it," Alec said. "That's my vote." He nodded in understanding, trying not to think of bad ideas. Bad ideas being that maybe however he and Ben were changed…maybe Alec could get changed into a little kid too. Alec and Ben both deserved to start over. He reached over the seat and messed up Alec's hair.

"Some good news though…virgin liver," he said with a smile. "So, what do you say when we're done doing our hero thing, we take her for a test-drive?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean…you can drink again in, what, like seven years?" Sam said, sharing an amused smirk with Alec.

"That's not funny," he stated.

"That's kind of funny," Sam said.

"That's not funny."

"Oh, come on, man. It's kinda funny," Sam said.

"It's definitely funny," Alec said with a laugh.

He picked up his sleeping brother once they were at the witch's house, trying to decide what he was going to do. He needed to get Ben changed back, but he didn't want to bring his brother into the witch's house.

He walked back to the trunk where Dad and Uncle Sam were gearing up. Ben rubbed his little face against his shoulder as he carefully reached into the trunk to grab his extra clip. "Alec, where's my gun," Ben asked, still sounding sleepy.

"Babies don't get guns," he said.

"Babies don't get to go into creepy witch houses either," Dad said.

"How are we going to change him back if he's out here and the witch is in there?" he asked.

"We'll bring whatever cure back out to him," Dad tried.

"No." Dad raised his eyebrows in surprise when he refused. "I'm going to watch out for him, but we're going in there with you."

"Alec-"

"I won't let anything happen to him," he said. "If something tries to get us, I'll take 'em out. Or if something grabs you and Uncle Sam, I'll stash him somewhere to hide until I can get you out. But we're going in there."

Dad didn't look happy, but he didn't argue with him anymore.

"Alec…I'm gonna be a liability," Ben whispered.

"You've never been a liability in your life," he said. He moved away from Dad and Uncle Sam since he needed to talk to his brother alone for a minute. "You need to be honest with me for a second, ok? Do you wanna stay like this or do you wanna find a way to get back to your normal self?"

"Why would I wanna stay like this?" Ben asked. "I'm a freakin' baby!"

"You could have a better life. You could start over," he stressed. "I want you back, but I'll be ok if you wanna stay like this. I could be the older brother for a change."

"Can you put me down for a second? I can't talk to you like this," Ben said. He reluctantly put Ben down, and then crouched in front of him, so he wasn't towering over him. "I get it. I like being little and getting taken care of, but you're not my dad. You're my brother. You shouldn't have to take care of me like you've been doing since this all happened. I want my brother back."

"There's no guarantee that there's a cure," he said. "You might be stuck like this."

"Then I'm stuck like this," Ben said with a shrug of his tiny shoulders. "But if there's a cure, then I wanna take it."

He nodded once, trying to hide his relief. He picked Ben up again before he walked back over to Dad and Uncle Sam. They looked at them in confusion, and as much as he shared with Dad and Uncle Sam, he was keeping his talk with Ben to himself. Ben wanted to get changed back for him. He had the chance at a better life, but he wanted to still be his twin brother.

"I'm guessing you'd make the same choice if our roles were reversed," Ben whispered to him.

"No doubt about that," he said. "No way am I gonna go through puberty again."

"Alec, we're still going through puberty. We're only 15," Ben said.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not starting over," he said, which made Ben laugh.

"Little ears, remember?" Ben said, still laughing.

"That was pretty good, huh? It felt good getting to say that one," he said.

"Uncle Sam's face was hilarious," Ben said.

"You two done?" Uncle Sam asked, trying really hard to look annoyed.

"For now," he said with a shrug.

Dad walked over and reached out for Ben. "I want one more Ben cuddle before we get changed back." Dad held Ben close, and Ben snuggled against his neck. He felt a tiny bit jealous since they hadn't hugged Dad like that for a long time. And yeah, Dad was in a 14-year-old body right now, but it was still probably nice for Ben to get to hug Dad like that again.

He very briefly entertained the idea that he could somehow get changed to a little kid like Ben. Then they'd be the same age again and would still be twins. He'd to get really grow up with his brother for real this time. But he knew they couldn't do that. They didn't even know how Dad and Ben were changed in the first place. He just wished he and Ben had broken out of Manticore sooner, so they would've been with Dad longer. But wishing for it wasn't going to make it happen.

"Watch out for him, ok?" Dad said as he passed Ben back over to him.

He nodded, holding Ben close. He followed Dad to the witch's house, which had a light on in one of the windows.

"Looks like someone's home," Uncle Sam said.

"Ok, let's go in through the basement," Dad said. "Get Tina out first." Dad led the way to the basement, over to a small window. "Still open," Dad said as he lifted it open to look inside. "Tina?" He didn't hear anything inside, so he was guessing Tina wasn't in the basement anymore. "Alright, let's go," Dad said.

Dad started to move to get into the window, but Uncle Sam stopped him. "Dean, I'm way too big to fit in that."

Dad smirked, "First time you ever had to say that, huh?" He and Ben laughed at the joke and at the look on Uncle Sam's face.

"Big talk coming from the dude wearing underoos," Uncle Sam said.

"Ok…good one," Dad admitted. "Here, why don't you go around back for another way in?"

"Yeah," Uncle Sam agreed before he ran around the house.

Dad went in the rest of the way, and then turned around and held out his hands for Ben. He helped Ben crawl through the window, and Dad lifted him the rest of the way through. He was almost too big now to get through the small window, but he managed it, and then took his brother back.

He stayed back as Dad walked around the small cell with his gun at the ready. The door to the cell was open, so Dad went through, motioning for him to stay back. For once, he actually stayed back. He had Ben to protect, so he would wait until Dad told him it was clear. He didn't want Dad to be alone, but he refused to make this more dangerous for his brother.

But he had to set Ben down when he heard Dad struggle suddenly. He ran to the cell door to see a really big guy, who had Dad in a chokehold. It was so weird to see Dad struggling against this guy. Normally, Dad would've already kicked this guy's ass, but he was a lot smaller than usual. He shook himself and jumped to his Dad's aid. But the big guy easily shoved him back. He tripped over…oh gross…he'd tripped over a human skull, hitting the ground hard.

Thankfully, Uncle Sam finally made it, hitting the big guy over the head with his gun, making him release Dad. Uncle Sam shot a quick glance over at Dad to make sure he was ok, and then they both pointed their guns at the big guy. He forced himself up and went back to get his brother. Ben looked scared, so he smiled to try to reassure him. Ben put his arms up after a moment, so he picked him up again and walked back out to where Dad and Uncle Sam were.

"Where's the girl?" Dad asked.

"Upstairs. Alive," the man said. He had an accent, but he couldn't really tell where he was from.

"What did you do to us?" Dad demanded.

"Nothing. I'm not a witch. I just work for one," the man said. He really didn't like this guy.

"Crappy gig. Where is he?" Uncle Sam asked.

"She," the man corrected. "And she is the worst person in the world."

"Is that so?" Dad asked in disbelief.

"I've been with her for centuries," the man said. "Things I've seen her do. My sister and I…she made us hurt people, kill people, and when we tried to escape, she caught us and tortured me, and then she made me eat poor Gretel's heart." Ben gasped in dismay. He looked at his brother in confusion, but then something clicked. Ben used to tell him stories all the time when he was sick, and there had been a story about a witch and two kids named Hansel and Gretel.

"Wait. Witch? Gretel?" Uncle Sam asked, connecting the same dots. "What, are you saying that you're…"

"Hansel. My name is Hansel," the man said, confirming what they'd already guessed.

"Hansel? And…and Gretel," Uncle Sam said, still trying to come to grips with everything. This had been a very confusing hunt for his uncle. "Hansel and Gretel, like the…like the fable. Like Brothers Grimm?"

"It wasn't a fable. It was based on a true story," Hansel said. "They just gave it a happy ending."

He'd always liked that story since the kids had gotten to eat a ton of candy, and then they'd killed a witch. It was badass. He really didn't like the real version. "Alec…" Ben whispered in distress.

"It's ok," he soothed, rubbing Ben's back.

"Oh, ok," Dad said with a nod. "We get to barbecue a celebrity. Cool."

"You can't kill her. You're just men," Hansel stated.

"We're more than that," Uncle Sam said. He grabbed the Molotov cocktail he'd made with the witch-killing crap. "We're hunters."

"Ah. Then let me help," Hansel said.

"Help? What's in it for you?" Dad asked suspiciously.

"Because if you're going to fry that candy-coated bitch, I want in," Hansel said.

He quickly covered Ben's ear with one hand, making his brother scowl. "I take it back," Ben mumbled. "The little ears thing was so not funny."

"It was funny," he argued.

"You want to help? Tell me how to turn them back," Uncle Sam said, motioning to Dad and Ben.

"Sam, it can wait," Dad said.

"Tell me how!" Uncle Sam demanded, ignoring Dad.

"The hex bag that I'm wearing," Hansel said. He held up a small pouch that was tied around his neck. "It will reverse the spell. Squeeze it, and you'll return to your proper age." He was just about to blur to get that thing, but he forced himself to wait. "Look, we waste the witch, I give you the cure, deal?"

"Screw that!" he snapped. "Change them back now! We'll have a better chance at killing the witch if they're back to their proper age before we go up there."

"Alec," Dean said, motioning for him to calm down.

"At least change Ben," he said. "Then you still have a bargaining chip, and we can see that it actually works." Hansel hesitated, which was a serious mistake. He was ready to kill this guy to take the dumb hex bag and change his Dad and brother back himself. But Hansel must have realized that he was about to kill him since he finally nodded. He brought Ben over to Hansel, but then warned, "If this hurts him at all, you're dead."

Hansel held out the hex bag, and he expected Ben to reach out and take it, but his brother didn't move. Ben looked over at Dad instead.

"It's ok, buddy," Dad said with a nod.

He hugged Ben close, wishing things could've been different for both of them. Ben finally reached out and squeezed the hex bag. He had to let go of his brother as a white light flashed. And then his brother was there in his 15-year-old body again. Luckily, his clothes grew with him this time, otherwise, he would've been naked.

He threw his arms around his brother and hugged him. Yeah, it had been funny seeing Ben as a little kid, but he was so happy that he had his brother back.

"I'm ok," Ben reassured, returning his hug.

"How 'bout we go kill a witch," he said, quickly pulling back again. He needed to pull himself together. This wasn't the time for chick-flick moments.

It felt strange to be back in his own body again. He supposed the kid body had been his too, but he had all of his memories, so he'd felt like he was in a different body.

He was pretty sure if he and Alec had both been changed into little kids, he would have decided to take the second chance. Memories from Manticore would have faded, Dad would have probably given up hunting, and they could have gone to school and been a family. They were still a family, and he knew he could go to school if he wanted, but he doubted they would ever stop hunting. As long as his brother was hunting, then he would never stop.

But Alec looked so relieved to have him back. He'd only hesitated because he knew Dad secretly wanted him to stay a kid. "Guess I'm the oldest again, huh," he said when Alec pulled away from him. He knew his brother needed a minute, so he would give it to him.

"It was fun while it lasted," Alec said. It had been fun. He'd complained about Alec treating him like a baby, but…it had been kind of fun too. He wondered what they were going to do with all the baby stuff Alec had convinced Uncle Sam to buy.

Hansel led the way upstairs, and Dad and Uncle Sam followed, leaving him and Alec to bring up the rear. He hated hearing what had really happened to Gretel. He'd loved those stories…it figured that reality sucked.

He could hear the witch moving around upstairs, talking to someone, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. He glanced over at Alec, but he shook his head no, saying he couldn't understand her either. Then the basement door was opened, and a wave of heat rolled down the stairs. The witch was cooking something.

"Hansel," the witch greeted.

"And pals," Dad said as he walked into the kitchen with Uncle Sam. He and Alec stayed on the stairs, waiting as backup. They usually didn't like waiting as backup, but it was the smart move this time.

"Well, our lost lamb," the witch said. He was guessing that she was talking to Dad. "I thought we'd have to go looking for you. Maybe even abandon our home sweet home here. I never dreamt you'd be stupid enough to come back on your own." She laughed, sending chills down his spine. "Hansel, take care of them."

"Yeah, he's not exactly your biggest fan," Dad said.

"Maybe you shouldn't have made him chow down on his sister," Uncle Sam said.

"I never made Hansel do anything," the witch stated.

His eyes widened and he shared a look with his brother. This was so not good. He heard a struggle, and then what sounded like a body hitting the floor. Alec started to run up the stairs, but he held his brother back. They could still have the element of surprise. They didn't know who had hit the floor yet.

"Damn it!" Dad said with a grunt.

"There are two more in the basement. Young," Hansel said.

"Get them!" the witch commanded.

"Son of a bitch," Alec growled.

They both ran upstairs, but then he had to stop to take in what was going on. Uncle Sam was on the floor. Dad was trying to light the witch gunk on fire, but the lighter wasn't working. There was a girl tied to a chair. The witch was by a fire. And Hansel was coming toward them. Oh, and he didn't have his gun because 'babies weren't allowed to have guns'. He shot a look at Alec, who smirked like he knew what he was thinking.

The witch yelled some sort of spell, forcing the witch gunk out of Dad's hands. Alec moved in front of him, pointing his gun at Hansel, but he couldn't take the shot since Hansel had his gun pointed at Uncle Sam. Dad shot them a look, silently telling them to surrender. Dad dropped his gun and got down on his knees next to Uncle Sam. He followed Dad's lead since there wasn't much they could do right then. He grabbed Alec's sleeve and brought his brother down with him. Alec grumbled under his breath, but he did go with him, dropping his gun as he went.

"Now…who's hungry?" the witch asked with a laugh. She walked over to Dad and squeezed his arm before she tsked. "Oh, scrawny. We'll have to fatten you up. Good thing two more are here now, hmm?"

"Don't you fuckin' touch them," Dad growled.

"Oh, I'm going to do more than that," she said, shooting him and Alec a look as if trying to decide how to cook them. She grabbed Dad's jaw. "Children. Oh, they're so sweet and innocent." She let go of Dad and licked her fingers. "And delicious. You'll see."

"Well, he won't actually see since you'll be eating him," Alec quipped. He groaned to himself. "How's he gonna see if he's the main dish?"

"Alec, shut up," he hissed.

The witch glared at Alec, but then Uncle Sam said, "If you like kids so much, why not go after kids? What's with this whole fountain of youth?"

The witch turned away from them, "Hmm, in the olden days, if a child went missing, ah, the young died all the time." She had a really thick accent, like Hansel did. "Now, though, with all your AMBER Alerts and your milk cartons, a person fillets one rugrat, and people get so angry."

"Don't say anything," he muttered to Alec.

"I wasn't gonna," Alec complained.

"Yeah, sure," he said, rolling his eyes.

"So, I improvise," the witch said with a shrug, thankfully missing his conversation with Alec. "I take adults no one will miss and give them back their youth."

"And then Kentucky-fry 'em," Dad said. He shook his head; if it wasn't Alec saying something to set someone off, then Dad would pick up the slack.

"It's the only way I can eat in peace," she said.

"So, uh, is it worth it? I mean, word on the street is people kind of taste like chicken," Dad said. Alec snorted in amusement, but he wasn't sure why Dad was trying to distract the witch. It wasn't like they really had a plan coming into this. At least he wasn't a four-year-old anymore.

"A bit," the witch admitted. "European children are more, uh, free range, gamier. Americans…ooh, they are heaven." She laughed, "Fattier. The meat, so finely marbles, it's almost buttery. I just can't get enough."

"Mmm. Awesome," Dad grumbled.

"No! I am in awe!" the witch corrected. "This is my first visit to your country. And I have to say, God Bless the U.S.A."

"Oh, so, you're a tourist," Dad said. It was so weird to see Dad the same age as him and Alec. It hadn't been nearly as weird when he was four, but now it kept freaking him out. He shook his head to try to focus again. He couldn't get distracted right now.

"No, it's business, not pleasure," the witch corrected. "An old friend is causing trouble, and the Grand Coven asked me to take care of her. Poor, stupid Rowena."

He saw Alec tense, but he'd never gotten it out of his brother what had happened on that hunt where Rowena had gotten away. He wasn't sure if she'd done something to his brother or said something…Alec shot him a glance before he looked away again. Whatever had happened, Alec didn't want to talk about it, which was weird for his brother.

"Wait, Rowena?" Dad asked, surprised. "She got red hair, a thing for ritzy hotels?"

"How do you know that?" the witch asked.

Uncle Sam suddenly jumped up and punched Hansel, hard, knocking him to the ground. Dad ran at the witch but had to jump back when she swung a large knife at him. Uncle Sam started to run over to help Dad but then Hansel grabbed him and slammed him into the cabinets.

He and Alec ran at Hansel at the same time to try to tackle him, but he was a big guy. They struggle for a minute, but then there was a flash of white light. He felt a moment of panic, thinking he had been changed back to a kid, but he looked down and saw he was still in his own body.

"Fuck me!" Alec yelled in a high-pitched little kid voice. Now was really not the time to laugh, but he totally understood why Alec had laughed at him now. He grabbed his brother though and got him away from Hansel, trying not to laugh when Alec's pants fell off. "Get off me, gigantor!"

"You're too little to fight now," he said. Hansel grabbed Dad away from the witch and easily slammed him into the ground. Uncle Sam was still out against the cabinets, so he needed to get back into the fight. "Stay here but be ready," he said. Alec looked up at him with big green eyes, and part of him really wanted to keep his brother like this. It was selfish of him, but he wanted to give Alec the second chance. He loved his brother more than anyone else. It'd be weird and it would be a huge adjustment, but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if they screwed up and didn't get Alec changed back. But he didn't want to be selfish. He needed to do everything he could to get his brother back. "Stay here," he said again before he took off.

He jumped onto Hansel's back, getting him into a chokehold. Dad looked a little out of it now, and the witch was at the oven, opening it…getting ready to cook at least one of them.

He forced Hansel away from his Dad, giving him time to get up. The witch grabbed Dad, but he was aware enough to fight back, so she didn't just toss him in the oven.

He grabbed the string from around Hansel's neck, being careful not to squeeze the hex bag. "Alec!" he called out, hoping his little brother was where he'd left him. He tossed the hex bag, but then grunted as Hansel slammed him back against the wall. He let go and slumped to the floor, but then shielded his eyes when there was another flash of light.

"Dad!" Alec yelled. His brother was back…and he wasn't wearing pants. He couldn't help but laugh seeing Alec in his shirt, jacket, and boxers. At least his boxers hadn't come off with his pants. There was another flash of light as Dad caught the hex bag and squeezed it.

He jumped when there was a gunshot but breathed out in relief when Hansel fell to the ground. Alec had shot him. He looked over when the witch suddenly screamed, just in time to see Dad shove her into the oven and slam the door shut.

Alec walked over to him and helped him up. He was trying really hard not to smile, but then he busted out laughing when Alec grumbled to himself and snatched his pants from the ground. Dad ran over to them, still dressed in his hoodie from before, and pulled them both into a hug. Uncle Sam looked over at them and smiled as he untied the girl.

"'Fuck me?'" Dad whispered to Alec, trying to keep a straight face. "Really?" Alec gave Dad a sheepish smile. "That was hilarious." Dad messed up Alec's hair, and then messed up his hair too.

"I'm glad you're back, Dad," he said.

"Me too, buddy," Dad said.

They all went outside once the girl was untied. He figured out that this must have been Tina, the girl Dad was talking about. At least they'd saved her…even if the hex bag was gone now. She was stuck as a teenager.

"That was crazy," Tina said to Dad. "Like psycho crazy. And you do this all the time?"

"All the freakin' time," Dad said.

"Not all the time," Uncle Sam corrected, smiling when Alec laughed.

"So…can you turn me back?" Tina asked.

Alec shot him an 'oh-shit' look, which made him laugh. Which…was super inappropriate. He quickly stopped laughing when he realized how inappropriate it was to laugh right now, which made Alec laugh again.

"The hex bag went up in flames. I'm so sorry, Tina," Dad said to try to cover up him and Alec laughing.

"We may be able to reverse engineer the spell though," Uncle Sam said to try to give her a little hope.

Tina looked over at the house before she said, "Or maybe you don't."

"Come again?" Uncle Sam asked.

"I got three ex-husbands, 50 grand in debt, and not much else. I was…kind of a crappy adult. Maybe I'll do better this time around. Get out of town, get a fresh start. This is my second chance. Everybody wants a second chance, right?"

"That's the spirit," Alec said.

He quickly covered Alec's mouth and pulled him toward the car before Dad could tell them to stop.

"Sure you're gonna be alright?" Dad asked.

"Like I told you, I always am," Tina said.

"Can we at least give you a ride somewhere?" Uncle Sam asked.

Tina didn't say anything, so he looked back and saw her nod before she started toward the Impala. Dad held out his hand to Uncle Sam and said, "Give me the keys."

He laughed to himself and slung his arm over Alec's shoulders. "Thanks," he said.

"For what?" Alec asked in confusion.

"You know what," he said. "Don't make me go all chick-flick on you."

"I am a pretty awesome brother, huh?" Alec said with a smile.

"No doubt about that," he said.

He drove over to the bus station, grateful to be back in his own body again. And his boys were both ok, and in their bodies again too. He chuckled to himself just remembering seeing Alec as a little four-year-old, yelling 'fuck me' when he was turned. That was just too funny.

He felt bad that Tina was stuck like this, but he understood her wanting to take the second chance. He wished Alec and Ben could have that second chance, but Alec had said he wanted his brother back. And he could agree that it would be hard to start over. He just wished he could do more for his boys.

The boys waited by the car while he and Sam saw Tina off. "Alright, here you go," Sam said, giving Tina a wad of cash. "It's all the cash we got."

"Thanks for everything," Tina said.

"You stay safe out there, you hear?" he said.

"I will," Tina said before she gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. "And hey, we'll always have the Royale motel, right?" He smiled and nodded even as Sam frowned in confusion. Tina waved at them one more time as she got on the bus, and he just hoped the second time around would work out better for her.

"So…Grand Coven," he said as he and Sam started back to the car. His boys were playing some game involving throwing rocks at a cup, so he hoped they weren't paying attention to him or Sam. "Any ideas?"

"Doesn't sound good," Sam said.

"Well, sounds like an '80's hair-metal band," he said. "You know, lot of hair spray, lot of eye shadow, lot of keytar…" Sam just stared at him. "No? Nothing? Come on, man. I'm painting a word picture here."

"Is it back?" Sam asked.

He sighed as he pulled his sleeve up. The mark was back. "Look, I know what you're going to say, ok? But you were in deep." He'd been afraid that Hansel was going to kill his brother or his boys. He hadn't even realized that Alec had killed Hansel until after he'd shoved the witch into the oven.

"I know. I know," Sam said. "You saved me, and you saved Tina, and…pulled a Dean Winchester." He looked over at his brother in surprise, forgetting to correct his brother to tell him that the boys had done their own part in saving their asses. "Thank you," Sam said.

"Anytime," he said.

"Look, man…do I wish the mark was gone? Yes, of course. Absolutely, I do, but…I wanted you back. And now, here you are, and you didn't Hulk out, so…" Sam shrugged, "I'll take the win. As for the rest of it…the mark, everything else…we'll figure it out. We always do."

"Damn right," he said with a smile.

"Can you believe how great Alec was at taking care of Ben? I wasn't expecting that…" Sam said. He saw Alec hesitate in throwing his rock and knew his son was listening, but he didn't say anything since it would be good for Alec to hear this.

"Yeah?" he said. He'd noticed how Alec was with Ben when Ben was tiny, but he wanted Sam to say it while Alec was listening.

"I mean, he took care of everything. He took him to the bathroom, he cut up his food, he picked out all the clothes," Sam listed. "He asked me if we should buy a car seat."

"He's a good kid," he said proudly.

"They sure were cute though," Sam said.

"'Course they were. They're mine," he said like it was obvious.

"No joke there," Sam said, shaking his head in amusement before he whispered, "'Fuck me' though? He got onto me every time I cursed in front of Ben."

He chuckled, "That was hilarious and you know it."

"Ben was cracking up. Did you see that? Especially when Alec got turned back and stood there in his boxers," Sam said, laughing now too.

"C'mon," he finally said, still chuckling. "I'm guessing the boys are hungry."

Ben and Alec ran over to them. He pulled Ben close, while Sam grabbed Alec and messed up his hair. He was glad Sam had convinced him to leave the bunker.

More soon...