Author's Note: So this chapter got super long, but I think it's pretty good so I'm okay with that. Obviously the names I used for this original Winchester case are borrowed from some of the actors. I was having trouble coming up with names, so I thought, Eh, what the heck?

I've also wanted for awhile to play with the idea of Jack possibly hooking up with or having a crush on Krissy, so that played out here as well. Review, review, review!

After next weeks' update, which may be a bit late, I'll be going on a hiatus for the summer until the episodes come out on Netflix and I can crank out some Season 13 stories. I'm so upset that they didn't pick up Wayward Sisters, which is bullshit, but oh well. Meanwhile check out my story Angels Will Fall, from Castiel's point of view!

Last but not least, I don't own Supernatural. If I could I would prevent Gabriel's death. All of them. I mean, even Cas is allowed to die, but not Gabriel.

Ever.

***Ember POV***

STILL UNKNOWN

It might have been days, and it might have been hours. Ember was holding hands with Castiel as they plodded through the dark nothingness. She felt as though his hand kept her real, and strong.

They could feel that someone was following them. They hadn't discussed it, but both of them kept looking backward and around, as though someone would suddenly materialize.

Finally, Castiel said, "I know you're there. I can feel you."

Slowly, a being materialized behind them. He had taken on Castiel's form, but he was grinning too widely, and smiling too creepily. He reminded Ember of Lucifer, and she squeezed Castiel's hand. "Hello," he said.

"What are you?" said Castiel.

"Oh, I'm just your friendly neighborhood cosmic entity," the other man said in a nasally voice.

"Why do you look like me?" asked Castiel.

"Oh, yes," said the entity. "Yes, yes. Well, I show up in my real form, and you freak out, rip out your own eyes, et cetera. That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? For both of us."

Ember swallowed hard. She tried out her force powers, just slightly, attempting to clandestinely move the entity's trench coat. He looked toward her immediately, and his eyes bored into hers. "That won't work on me, demon girl," he said mockingly.

"What is this place?" asked Castiel, squeezing Ember's hand.

"Oh, yes. Excellent question," said the entity. "You see, before God and Amara, creation, destruction, Heaven, Hell, your precious little Earth, what was there?"

"Nothing," Castiel answered.

"Yes. That's right. Nothing. Nothing but Empty. And you are soaking in it. Angels and demons, you all come here when you die."

"Every angel that ever died is here?" asked Castiel.

"Yes, sleeping an endless peaceful sleep," said the entity, jeering at him. "You know I… I was sleeping, too. Hey, uh, since we're pals, there's something I've gotta know. I've just gotta ask. Hmm."

Here the entity took on his most jeering look yet, and its eyes seemed suddenly painful to look at. "Why are you awake? 'Cause fun fact—in all of forever, nothing ever wakes up here. I mean, ever. Ever. And second fun fact—when you woke up, I woke up, and I don't like being awake. So…what's up, smart guy?"

"I don't know," said Castiel honestly.

"Well, think!" yelled the entity.

"The Winchesters. Sam and Dean, they must've made a deal."

"No. No, no, no. Not with me, and I'm—I'm the only one that has any pull here. Not Heaven, not Hell, not G-O-D himself. So think harder." He pushed Castiel. "Rack that perky little brain of yours."

Ember moved to get in front of Castiel, but the entity poked her as well, and she flew backward.

"Stay away from me," snapped Castiel.

"Okay, fine. I'll rack it for you," said the entity.

Then the entity's hands were on Castiel's and Ember's heads, and Ember felt only pain. She could hear herself screaming, and Castiel as well. It was pain like she'd never known before.

Then, finally, it stopped.

"What did… What did you do to me?" asked Castiel, recovering his breath before Ember.

"I—I read your mind, such as it is."

"What do you want?" snapped Ember finally.

"What do I want? I want you to shut up. I want—hmm. Having you awake, it's like a gnat flew right up here and it's trapped and it's buzzing."

"Having me awake causes you pain," Castiel said, and Ember felt a flare of hope. She could tell where this was going. Jack. I want to see him again.

"If you can't sleep, I can't sleep. Yeah?" jeered the entity. "And I like sleep. I need sleep."

"Then get rid of me," dared Castiel.

"Oh, I should, should I?"

"Send us back to Earth."

"Or I throw you so deep into the Empty that you can't bother me anymore, hmm?" challenged the entity.

"Except you know that won't work, or you would've done it already," snapped Castiel, squeezing Ember's hand again. She could tell he was bluffing. He wasn't really sure how this would end, but he wanted the same thing as she did. Send us back.

"Pretty smart," said the entity. "Pretty smart, dummy."

"Send… Us… Back."

"That's not part of the deal. No, no. Besides, you don't want to go back," said the entity.

"I thought you read our minds," snapped Ember.

"Oh, save it," said the entity. "I know what you hate. I know who you love… what you fear. There is nothing for you back there. No. Here. Let me show you."

Once again, the entity's hand was on her head. She could see every bad thing that had ever happened to her. Everything that had happened when she was a teenager, and all the things she never wanted to think about again. Dean sleeping with Anna. Carl's death. Her break-up with Dean. Bobby's death. Being stabbed. Her break-up with Castiel. Becoming a demon. Lucifer.

She could hear herself screaming. Then, suddenly, it stopped. "Come on!" said the entity. "Let it end!"

The entity kicked Castiel. "Just let's lay down. Let's just try and sleep. Hmm? Think about it. Infinite peace, yes? No regrets. No pain. Kiddo, save yourself."

"I'm already saved," said Castiel.

The entity kicked Ember, who went sprawling across the black nothingness. Castiel moved toward it, but the entity kicked him again.

Castiel stood up slowly, and Ember got up too, following him to confront the entity. Jack.

Castiel took her hand again, squeezing it. "You can prance and you can preen and you can scream and yell and remind me of my failings but somehow, I'm awake. And I will stay awake and I will keep you awake until we both go insane."

The entity punched Castiel, but he didn't let go of Ember's hand. They both flew backward. He looked at her, just briefly, a fierce look in his eyes, and she nodded. "We will fight you," Castiel said. "Fight you and fight you for…ever. For eternity."

"No. No," said the entity.

Castiel and Ember approached the entity, staring it in the face, though Ember felt as though her eyes were burning. "Release us," Castiel commanded. "Release… us."

***Jack POV***

March 22

TWO WEEKS LATER

"A milk run," Sam had said. "In Vegas! It'll be perfect, Dean, for their Spring Break! Kris can research, we'll hit Vegas, and then we'll all team up when we check out the haunting."

"Well, I can't say no to Vegas," Dean had said flatly. He had walked away, leaving Sam looking disappointed but resigned.

Still, by Tuesday of Krissy's Spring Break, the four of them, plus Eileen, had piled into the Impala and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada. "Can't you make me a fake ID?" Krissy had begged Dean on the way there. "C'mon, you know I'm good at pool by now, you taught me yourself! I could run hustles with you!"

"Um… no," snapped Dean. "You want to be a hunter, I get it. But let's keep you on the good side of the law as long as possible."

"You have no business doing that," Eileen spoke up. "You're being taken along to research and work a case under our supervision, not to drink and gamble and pool hustle."

"And you have a job, Kris, and plenty of money, thanks to Ember," Sam pointed out. "It's not like you need to hustle pool, anyway."

Jack didn't know what most of this meant, though he knew a little about the money. Sam had informed him that when his mother had died, she had left him and her three other children a bunch of money. "I don't know how long she must've been hitting AT – I mean, stashing away money - before she died," Dean had said. "But it must've been awhile, to have stashed that amount."

"I don't need money," Jack had said. "Do I?" He'd thought about it. "Um… maybe I do."

"Well, for now, it's best if you stay here with us," Sam had said, "And we'll provide everything you need. Ember also left a good deal of money in a separate account to Castiel to take care of you, and since he's gone as well it went to us. So we'll wait until you have a little more experience with dealing with money, and then we'll decide what to do."

That had been a month ago, and by now Sam had taught Jack how to exchange money, and even how to budget and save. More recently, Jack had gotten something called a "Debit Card" so that he could spend the money in his account, in addition to Sam.

Then, yesterday, Sam had approached him. "Jack, I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Yeah?"

"There's a case in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was hoping that you and Krissy would want to go with Dean and I since it's her Spring Break."

"Sure!" Jack had agreed enthusiastically. He liked spending time with Dean, and with Krissy, because she was nice. He liked learning new things about the world.

"Well…" Sam had continued. "Las Vegas is kind of expensive. It's… well, a lot of people go there to have fun… like a vacation."

"Like the beach?" Jack asked.

"Like a beach for adults," Sam had said, obviously trying to explain something that Jack wasn't quite understanding. "There's gambling, and… um, lots of things that Dean likes to do, that Eileen and I aren't that keen on, but they'll make Dean happy."

"Okay," Jack said, still waiting on Sam to get to the point.

"Well, Vegas is kind of expensive. So I was wondering if we could dip into the money Ember left us to be your caretaker."

"Why are you asking me?" Jack asked. "She left it to you."

Sam shrugged. "Well, whatever we didn't spend was supposed to be turned over to you when you were legally an adult," he explained. "But it didn't quite work like that, because there are still things that we need to teach you…" Sam shook his head. "The point is, she left us an awful lot of money… even a trip to Vegas will barely make a dent. And I think it would be good for Dean to do something… fun."

"It will make Dean happy?" Jack had asked. "Let's do it."

When Jack had done more research into Las Vegas, however, he really couldn't understand what could possibly make Dean happy. "I don't get understand," he said, interrupting Dean and Krissy's argument about a fake ID. "I read online that most people who go to Vegas spend an average of $578 gambling and lose most of it. That doesn't sound very smart from a budgeting standpoint. Why do people go on vacation to lose money?"

This was obviously the wrong thing to say. All heads in the car turned toward Jack except for Dean, who was driving, and Eileen, who couldn't hear. Everyone was wearing pitying expressions.

Finally, Krissy said, "It's not the gambling itself that's the fun part. First of all, Vegas is the perfect place to run pool hustles."

"Pool hustles?" Jack asked, and Eileen, who by then had turned in her seat to see what everyone was looking at, shot a very mean look at Krissy.

"Vegas is a place where people bring plenty of money to spend on games," said Sam. "And Dean is really good at a game called pool that you find in a bar sometimes. And if he doesn't let other people know how good he is, he can win a bunch of money."

"But isn't that illegal?" Jack asked.

"Nope," said Dean. "Not at all. It's not my fault I'm better at pool than everybody else."

"But you said you won't let Krissy join you because it's illegal," Jack protested.

Eileen shook her head. "Pool hustling isn't illegal. But it is illegal for you young adults to be in a place where pool is being played – a bar, or a casino – until you're 21."

"That's why she wants a fake ID," Sam explained.

"Oh," Jack said. "So really… really you're making money on this trip."

"I'd better," said Dean. "Plus, what happens in Vegas… stays in Vegas."

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

The group arrived in Vegas late that night, then slept in late. As a group, they headed to the McGowan house, the haunted house that had led them to Vegas in the first place.

"EMF is lighting up like a Christmas tree," Krissy said. "But I'm not seeing any spirits."

"Why wouldn't they be here?" Jack asked Dean after another half hour.

Dean shrugged. "Sometimes they're more active at night, or during certain phases of the moon, or… I don't know, when some witch and some angel collide in mid-air and do some magic hoo-doo. Who knows? That's your job to find out." And he grinned evilly. "Either way, you're right, this is a bust. Sammy, Eileen, and I are gonna hit the casinos, and you two hit the books. We'll be back in a few hours, and you can tell us what you've learned."

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

"Okay," Krissy said several hours later, checking her phone. "Sam just texted me that they're on the way back. Let's review what we've found out."

"The house was built in the 1960's," Jack started. He had been in charge of gathering previous information about the home and its owners. "The first owner was called Sebastian DeLong, and he only lived there for 10 years before selling the house, moving out, and living a normal life. Then Dmitri McGowan moved in in 1977.

"McGowan was killed by his new wife in 1978," he added. "She dropped a bowling ball on his head. We can be pretty sure that's the ghost, because the girl that saw it back in 1983 described a guy whose head had been smashed in. All charges against the wife were dropped because she had been beaten to a pulp, and it was obvious that she had attacked him in self-defense… Krissy?"

Krissy shifted uncomfortably, tucking her brown hair behind her ear. Jack felt an uncomfortable swooping sensation in his stomach, and wondered once again if Krissy was secretly a witch. "Obviously Mrs. McGowan – or Mrs. Rose, as she is now – wasn't too keen on seeing me, so I told her I was the step-sister of the little boys who died, and gave her $200 of my Vegas money."

Jack thought for a moment. "I can repay you," he said, fishing money out of his pocket.

"Anyway, Mrs. Rose told me Dmitri McGowan was abusive, and would beat her when he would drink. It only ever happened at night, which might explain why the ghost is only ever seen at night… maybe. I don't know. That night he went absolutely crazy. She'd been out to see a friend, and he had been sure she was with another man. He'd promised he would haunt her forever, and never leave.

"She said that about a week after his death, she was packing up the last of the boxes when his ghost came after her. She hit it with an iron skillet and ran out of the house, and never came back. She told me she left all of his stuff there and everything."

"Which makes sense," Jack put in, "Because he was cremated. So his ghost must be tied to something in the house."

"Mrs. Rose said the most important thing to him was his wedding ring, and hers, which she left behind. So if the spirit is tied to anything, it'll be those."

"Okay," said Jack. "So skip ahead to 1983, a nice family of four moves in, the Glasco's. Within a week of closing they've moved out, said they don't want the house anymore. They wouldn't say why, but the paper mentioned the little girl was crying that she saw a ghost with a bashed-in head. Kris, did you get to talk to that family?"

Krissy shook her head. "The last known address for them puts them in Oak Lawn, Illinois, and none of them are picking up their phones.

"Okay," said Jack. "So, putting the other pieces together, only three families have moved into that house since 1983: the Collins family in 1991, a young couple with two children, the Ackles family in 1999, another young couple with a tiny baby, and most recently the Padalecki family, a young couple with two young boys. All of them were killed, or disappeared, within the first week, but the bodies of the Ackles family were the only ones recovered. So the bodies of the Collins family and the Padalecki family are still in there… somewhere." This whole thing was a potent mixture of fascinating and disgusting.

"Sounds like," Krissy said. "The question is why."

"When I was reading about the Ackles family, it said the bodies were found just inside the door by a family friend who was visiting the next day," said Jack. "They put the time of death as maybe 4AM."

Krissy thought for a moment. "Maybe… they had almost gotten out when the ghost killed them. And then the ghost didn't have enough strength before daylight to move them… wherever he moved the other bodies… so he just left them there and they were found the next day?" She shrugged. "It's as good a theory as any."

Suddenly Jack heard Dean coming down the hallway. "I mean, I don't want to leave you guys out there all by yourselves. But Asian twins, Sammy, Asian twins, and they're both models!"

"I'm sure five of us is enough to handle one pissed off ghost," Sam's voice said.

"I mean, do you know how long I've waited for this moment?" asked Dean.

"Since five minutes ago when you found them in the lobby and they invited you up to their room?" Eileen said sarcastically.

"Hey, maybe we ought to cool it a little bit," Sam said. "I mean, Jack has really good hearing…"

"Nah," said Dean. Jack could hear the door begin to open. "Even with his angel hearing, the only way he'd be able to hear us through these walls if he was sitting just inside the … door." Dean and Jack came eye to eye.

"What's so great about Asian twins who are models?" Jack asked curiously. "And why are you going to their room? I thought you were coming with us."

Sam cuffed Dean over the head, and Eileen threw him a very dirty look. Krissy buried her face in her hands.

Finally, Eileen said, "Krissy, do you want to… I don't know, be… literally anywhere but here?"

"Very much," said Krissy. On the way out of the room, she punched Dean hard on the arm. "Aren't you supposed to be some sort of surrogate father, Dean?" she snapped, and Dean looked mortified.

Once the girls had left, Dean turned to Jack.

"Okay, now, we need to have an understanding," said Dean, looking squarely at Jack. "You're helpful on hunts, and you're not as evil as I originally thought you were. But you can't be using your freaky angel hearing to call me on my night moves in front of my children, especially Kris."

"I… I'm sorry," said Jack, though he wasn't entirely sure what he had done wrong.

Regardless, Dean smiled. He turned to Sam. "Call me if you need anything, man."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Have fun, jerk."

When Dean had left, Sam turned to Jack. "Look, Jack, it's not your fault. Dean is right, though, when you hear something you're not supposed to, just ask me in private, okay?"

Jack nodded. "How do I know when I hear something I'm not supposed to hear?"

Sam shook his head, then smiled. "You'll… you'll get better at this with time. Anyway, I'm gonna call Eileen," he added. "I want to hear what you three have found out."

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

The hunt went south almost as soon as they walked in the door of the McGowan house. They were met immediately by the ghost of a small boy. "I'm Tom," he said. "Have you come to save me from the mean people?"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and the ghost of Tom disappeared with a small whoosh. In his place stood no less than six ghosts. They'd counted on Mr. McGowan, who was every bit as gruesome as Jack had imagined. His right eye was bugged out, as though it had been just on the verge of popping when he had died. The entire left side of his face was mangled, as though… well, as though it had been squashed by a bowling ball.

What they hadn't counted on were the other five ghosts – a man with dark hair, a woman, a young boy and girl, and a teenager with longer blond hair.

Pandemonium broke out as the ghosts rushed them. The four of them used each other for cover, banding into a tight circle. "Try the door!" yelled Sam, who had gone in first and was the furthest inside.

"It's locked," said Krissy, who was back-to-back with Jack and closest to the door. "I can't break it!"

"We'll have to move forward!" yelled Sam again, blasting back a small girl with rock salt and ducking as the dark-haired man swung at him.

Suddenly Krissy yelled, "This way!" and Jack felt a tug as the group moved in her direction.

By the time they were across the foyer and moving into the living room, everything had fallen silent. The ghosts were no longer rushing them. Jack knew that it took some ghosts more time than others after they were shot by rock salt, and he hoped that at least some of these ghosts would be down for hours at a time.

"Where are we going?" asked Sam as they made their way into the living room.

Crack. "McGowan," Eileen said, cocking her shotgun.

"Following Tom Padalecki," said Krissy. "The little boy. I think he knows where the bodies are. At least, I hope he does."

"Sam, what's going on?" Eileen said. "I thought there was only one ghost…"

"McGowan must've trapped the other souls here, and spelled them to fight for him somehow," said Sam. Eileen was right next to Jack, and out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Sam's hand on Eileen's arm, signing to her as best he could.

Crack! "I got the Collins boy, I think," said Krissy.

Crack! Crack! "McGowan," said Sam. "He didn't go down on the first one."

Then the dark-haired man – Mr. Collins – appeared in front of Jack, who swung the iron bar he had been given. "Uh, Mr. Collins," he said, by way of explanation, since that appeared to be what the others were doing.

Finally, just as they headed into a bedroom, Krissy said, "Got it!" Jack caught just the smallest glint of gold, and he heard flames. A fire!

Eileen turned him around to see just as McGowan began to burn, flames tickling his skin as he screamed.

Just as he began to disappear, however, McGowan rushed at Krissy, who was closest to him. She shot him with rock salt, but the kickback of the gun and the force of her scramble sideways sent her toppling through the wall, and into what Jack now realized was a hidden closet.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, helping Krissy stand.

"Yeah," she said, standing up gingerly with a hiss.

"Look!" Eileen exclaimed, and the other four of them turned around to look back into the living room. In the living room stood nine ghosts. Jack recognized all four of the Collinses, gathered together in one corner, but they were no longer attacking, just smiling. Nearby them was the blond teenager, who had a relieved look on his face. In another corner of the living room was Tom Padalecki, along with his mother, father, and younger brother. "Thank you for freeing us," said Tom, smiling at the group of them and holding on to his mother's dress. Then, in a burst of white light, all nine ghosts had disappeared.

"Are they gone?" asked Eileen.

"I think so," said Sam, his hand still in Eileen's.

"Found the bodies," said Krissy through clenched teeth. Krissy was now farthest into the bedroom, and they followed her gaze down into the hidden closet.

Jack wanted to throw up. There in the closet were the remains of what totaled at 9 bodies. The Padaleckis were on top, still visible and not yet decayed. Tom was almost pristine, aside from the smell. There were also 5 other skeletons, two tiny ones and three bigger ones. Jack recognized the blond-haired teenager from the shirt the ghost had been wearing, depicting a band called the Beatles. The brown-haired man's tie belied his body, though it had been half-eaten by maggots.

"Krissy, you're hurt," said Sam, and Jack finally looked away from the gruesome sight in front of him.

"It's nothing," said Krissy. "I just sliced myself on a jagged piece of wall when I fell."

But Jack could see that it wasn't "nothing." The gash in Krissy's leg was more than six inches long, and bleeding all over her jeans. Honestly, he was surprised the girl was still standing upright. Just as he thought that, she collapsed, falling into Sam's arms.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

On the way back to the motel, Jack felt helpless. He couldn't heal Krissy. He should be able to heal Krissy… he was half-angel, after all.

Nobody had asked him to heal Krissy, but he still felt as though somehow he had failed. Sam had shot a couple of significant looks at him, but other than that, the group left him to his own devices.

Sam carried Krissy into the motel, lying her down gingerly on the bed. Eileen grabbed bandages and alcohol, and began cleaning Krissy's wound with it.

Krissy began to wince, clearly trying not to scream.

Finally, Jack felt it, in spite of himself. The power flowed through him. Without stopping to think, he put his hand on Krissy's arm. In front of his eyes, her leg healed, the deep red gash closing and leaving new, pristine skin.

There was silence for a moment. Then Krissy whispered, "Thanks, Jack!'

"That was great, Jack," said Sam, putting his hand on Jack's shoulder. Eileen gave him a reassuring smile, and Jack felt a swoop of pride.

After that, everyone stayed up for awhile to talk. Sam allowed each of the children one celebratory beer. Jack thought it was disgusting.

"Your mother thought so, too," he said, smiling gently.

Eventually, Sam and Eileen retired to their room across the hall. "Dean should be back in a few," Sam added. "Shouldn't be too much longer."

Jack had never been alone with Krissy before for more than a few seconds at a time. He looked curiously at her, and found, to his surprise that she was staring back. As he watched, her cheeks began to grow red.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. He became aware, suddenly, that they were both sitting on the same bed. It hadn't seemed like a big deal a few minutes ago. There was very little room in the motel room, and the five of them had been sitting in a semi-circle talking. Now, however, it seemed as though she was uncomfortably close. Jack wondered if he should move, but it was his bed, after all.

"Nothing," she said, looking away from him. "Just, um… thanks for healing me." She looked at him stubbornly, turning her nose in the air. "You didn't have to, you know."

"I don't like to see people in pain," Jack said slowly.

Krissy smiled, her face suddenly becoming somehow softer. "I know, Jack." She sighed. "People underestimate you, you know? They think, without Ember and Castiel, and given that you're at least part demon…" She shook her head. "You're a good person, Jack."

He smiled back. Suddenly, he realized that her hand was covering his. A jolt of electricity went through him, and he looked back at her, stunned. He felt as though he was under her spell, but somehow, innately, he knew that this was not a spell. He was struck immediately by how beautiful she was – stubborn, but persistent, and tough, and gorgeous.

"You're staring at me," she said accusatorily, but Jack noticed that there was a hitch in her breath.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking away just for a second. Then, because it seemed the right thing to say, he said, "You're beautiful."

Jack noticed, briefly, that her face was slowly coming toward his. Time seemed to stop. He brought his face closer to hers as well, just a fraction of an inch, and then they were kissing.

Jack had seen kissing in the movies, but he had never imagined it could be like this. He was flying, and electricity was running through his entire body.

Suddenly the door opened with a crash, and they heard Dean's voice. "Well, kids, it's time to – what the fuck."

Suddenly Jack felt himself lifted off of the floor and tossed aside. He hit the wall, crashing into it and sliding to the bottom. Then he was being picked up again, and he felt something hard collide with his jaw. He tried to summon his powers, but things were confused, and he wasn't very good at it yet.

What sort of monster was this?

Krissy was screaming. "Jesus, Dean, we were just kissing, it wasn't-…"

Dean? Dean had thrown him across the room? For kissing Krissy? He didn't want to believe it, but Dean's face towered over him, still screaming, though at least he had stopped hurting him. "We take you into our home, we feed you our food, and we didn't want to – I didn't want to, especially. I told Sammy you were a mistake, and here's the proof. How dare you kiss her! You know what will happen, and still you-…"

But Dean was forcibly turned around by Krissy, who was in tears. "Fuck you, Dean Winchester! I see you! I see why she left you now! You're so full of shit! You leave us, when we come to Vegas for you, to go fuck a couple of stupid Asian twins, and after I get hurt and he heals me, you beat him up for just kissing me? You're pathetic, Dean Winchester! You're a pathetic, hypocritical excuse for a human being, much less a father!"

The words rang out through the room, loud and clear. Sam and Eileen had fled into the room, Sam still shirtless and Eileen finishing pulling on a robe. Dean was terrifying when he was angry, but he was nothing to Krissy.

Without another word, Dean made a beeline for the door, slamming it on his way out.

"Aaaaaarrrrgggg!" Krissy screamed, and made to follow him, but Eileen jumped forward. "More girl talk?" she asked the younger girl.

Krissy glared daggers at her, but said, "Fine. Then at least I won't risk running into him." Without another word, she followed Eileen into the other hotel room.

Sam sighed wearily, as though he was still trying to wrap his head around everything. Finally, after several moments of silence, he asked, "So… what happened?" Jack thought he looked like someone who desperately didn't want to have a discussion, but had resigned himself to it.

Jack thought a moment. "We… kissed," he said. "And Dean… went… crazy." He touched his jaw, but it wasn't even tender – it had already healed.

Sam looked minutely angry for a second, then rearranged his features again into kind tiredness. "Did she kiss you, or did you kiss her?"

"Um…" Jack tried to remember. It had all been a haze of wonderful. Her face coming closer… "She kissed me, I think. Or maybe we both kissed each other."

Sam smiled slightly. "Jack, you have to understand that when you're on a hunt, it brings out emotions in people that ordinarily are held in check. Sometimes you do things that you wouldn't ordinarily-…"

"But I liked it," Jack said. "She's – she's beautiful. I think – I think I love her. Is that what I've been feeling all these months? When I asked you if she was a witch? It was because I – I love her."

Sam's face went through several different expressions at once. First surprise, then anger, then amusement, and finally, fatigue.

Very slowly, the younger Winchester brother sighed, sitting down on Jack's bed. "OK, Jack, look," he said. "We've been kind of avoiding – um, the subject of sex, because… well, it's…"

"Uncomfortable?" Jack asked, noting Sam's downcast eyes. He rather thought that this conversation was uncomfortable only because Sam chose to make it so, but it was still becoming more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Yeah," Sam said. "And… you know, this was always sort of your mother's thing… but... see, sometimes kissing can lead to sex."

Finally, he met Jack's eyes, just in time for Jack to look down at his lap. He had seen porn once, on the computer. He didn't want that with Krissy. It was too rough. Did Krissy want that when she kissed him? Would he want that someday?

Sam started to speak again. "Even though you look like you're 18 or 19, there are things about the world you still don't understand. And one of those things that you might not understand is that sometimes sex leads to… babies."

Jack felt another shock go through his system. He didn't want a child! "But Dean doesn't have a child," he protested. "Or you and Eileen."

Sam rolled his eyes, turning slightly red, and repositioned himself on the bed. He still wasn't looking at Jack. "Jack, when two people want to have sex, but not have children, there are, um, things they can do to make sure they don't get pregnant."

"Like spells?"

"Sometimes, but more like… well, anyway. The point is, nothing is foolproof. There are a thousand different ways that people use to have sex without having children, but none of them are 100%. Sometimes people have… accidents.

"But you…" he looked at Jack sharply. "You can't have an accident… you can't have a child at all. You're half-angel. If you have an accident… it'll be like it was… with your mother."

Jack didn't understand, though a horrible notion was swimming in his head.

"A human body can't tolerate the birth of a half-angel," Sam explained. "Castiel was supposed to help heal your mother so that she wouldn't die, but when Cas died..." Sam sighed. "None of that was your fault, okay? You didn't know. You were… you were just born. But you can't… you can't let it happen again. Not to someone Dean cares about, especially."

And suddenly it clunked into place. Krissy would die. "Sam…" he said, his eyes wide. "Sam, I'm so sorry… I didn't know. I just didn't know. Don't worry. I'll never kiss anyone again, ever. I'll never-…"

"No, wait," he said, sighing again. "No, that's not right either. Look, Jack. Maybe when you're a little older, with a little more experience… and after the whole Asmodeus, and Lucifer thing figures itself out… maybe you'll find a nice girl that you like, that you want to settle down with. One that doesn't want kids of her own, because that's important. Like Eileen and I. And someone – probably Dean, when he gets past being mad – will teach you how to use enough methods to prevent pregnancy so that it shouldn't be an issue. And it'll be fine. But not – not Krissy, not ever. Do you understand? Because she's Dean's daughter. And Dean… he's seen too much. He's scared for her, that's all. You know how Dean is, usually, and even when he thought you were evil he still didn't hurt you. Only fear can make Dean act like that."

Slowly, Jack nodded. "I'm sorry, Sam," he said.

"It's okay," Sam said. "Don't worry… we'll get all this straightened out."

But Jack wasn't so sure.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

The ride from Las Vegas to the bunker was quiet. Krissy was sniffling in the corner and refusing to look at everyone, except to glare at Dean. Dean was glaring at Jack when he was sure no one else was looking. Sam occasionally attempted conversation, but since no one but Eileen would participate, he eventually allowed Dean to turn on the radio and he and Eileen fell asleep.

Finally, at a gas station, Jack took his opportunity to talk to Dean alone. "What do you want?" Dean snapped as he turned around after paying for gas and was met with Jack's hopeful face.

"Dean, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know kissing can lead to sex and sex can lead to babies, and I don't want Krissy to die like Mom did. I just didn't know. Nobody told me, and I'll never touch her again, okay? I swear it."

Dean's face, like Sam's the day before, went through a myriad of emotions very fast: first anger, then shock, then grief, then amusement, and finally, his typical gruff exterior. "Well, see that you don't!" he said. "If you ever lay a finger on her again, I'll give you an injury you can't heal from. Now get back in the damn car, there's this diner in Colorado I want to get to before it closes."

Jack understood that to mean that Dean had forgiven him, at least for the moment. He was lucky.

Now, finally, all of the pieces seemed to be in place. This, then, was why Dean had blamed Ember's death on him. "Castiel was supposed to help heal her so that she wouldn't die, but when Cas died... None of that was your fault, okay? You didn't know. You were… you were just born. But you can't… you can't let it happen again. Not to someone Dean cares about, especially."

Things were going to be okay again. Now he just had to avoid Krissy… probably forever.