Resolution

So how did Jack survive? How did the alpha wolf survive? Well the popular theory is that the wolf changed back to its human form and had his injuries treated in hospital. Jack most likely wasn't quite dead when we left. Dad had been so concerned with getting me away from there that he wasn't as thorough as usual. He always takes the time to check, to be sure he finished the job. Every time except this one. The Morgan family deaths caused such a sensation back then that one man with strange injuries and practically on his deathbed arriving in hospital would easily have been overlooked by the media.

At this point it really doesn't matter much how it survived. His days are numbered. He won't see the next full moon.

There is also Annie. I don't want her to have any part of this. The look on her face when the sight of the empty casket hit home…She knew, as soon as I had it open she knew that she'd be burying him again soon. The misery was enough to break my heart all over again. I want to lock her away somewhere far away from all this until its over, somewhere she'll be safe from these things.

Of course, Annie being Annie would never let me do it. I couldn't even convince her to stay home while we went out to pick up their trail. Sammy sure found it entertaining. I told her Sammy and I were heading up to the Franconia Notch flumes to see what we could find. I wanted her to stay at the house and lock herself in, just in case Jack came back to the house. She wouldn't have any of it. Danger or no she was going to Franconia.

"Fine then, I guess there's just one thing to do then. No sense in my staying home while you guys are off doing something productive. I'll just head up to Franconia Notch myself. I should be able to pick up their trail as well as you boys can." It was exactly the type of bold defiance I should have expected. "Excuse me? You're going to what exactly?" I asked, more than a little agitated. "You heard me. I'm not just going to sit around the house when I could be doing something about this." "No, no I don't think I did hear you. Not properly anyway, because I could've sworn I heard you say you were going up to Franconia Notch all by yourself to track down a pack of bloodthirsty werewolves." My voice was dangerously low. No WAY was I going to let her risk facing those bastards alone. She jingled her car keys "Watch me" and started walking towards her car. I didn't have a choice. Taking her with us was the lesser of two evils.

I ran around the Impala and cut her off midway to her own car. She just stopped, crossed her arms and waited. "Alright. Fine. Come along. Just get in the damned car." All patience gone, I just wanted to stop her from doing something ultimately stupid. She smiled angelically. I hate that smile. It always means trouble.

"What if I don't want to come along anymore? Seems to me we'd make better progress if we split up and tackled different areas." What? And let her out of my sight? I don't think so. "Annie, sweetheart. I'm going to say this once and once only and I mean it in the nicest possible way. Get in the damned car now or so help me I will toss you over my shoulder, haul you over there kicking and screaming and strap you in there myself." "Hey Sammy! Question: when did Dean become such a caveman?" Oh, she was doing it just to get to me. I knew it. I knew it and still I reacted. She loves it when I react. I swear it's enough to drive me insane…and Sam just fueled the fire. "Right about when he hit puberty actually." He answered, not missing out on the chance of a lifetime to pick on me and get away with it. "Oh, real funny Sam. Nice. Real nice." I shot him an evil warning glare. It said shut up about it and help me out with this or else. Fortunately for him he's my little brother and as per the job description he reserves the right to ignore anything I say or do whenever he wants to.

"I swear Annie. He hit thirteen, he discovered girls and that was it for him. Might as well hand him a club and call it a day." Great, just great. I pointed at him menacingly. "Sam, shut your pie hole." And then turned to Annie. "You are a bad influence." I told her and then moved forward to follow through on my threat. In true Annie fashion, all mischief, she dodged so I'd miss her and stuck out her tongue at me. Then she sashayed her pretty little behind all the way to the Impala where Sammy (ever the gentleman) opened the passenger door and gave her first choice of seats. She couldn't resist one last little jab.

"Hey Dean…" she was the picture of innocence. I didn't trust it one bit, apparently with good reason. "…Can I drive?"

I swear she was trying to make up for sixteen years of lost time. Drive my car? She really was crazy. I just rolled my eyes and revved the engine. I could use another coffee and the morning wasn't even over yet… heck at this point I could probably use a good stiff drink…Instead I cranked up the stereo and Highway to Hell blasted loudly enough to rock the car. Fitting, the song, if those two kept it up.

Sixteen years and she still knows the buttons to push… and now she had Sammy doing it too. What the heck am I going to do with her?

An unexpected ally

We got quite a few strange looks when we got there. Eyes followed us from the parking lot all the way up the trail and back. Let's face it, we definitely didn't look like locals or tourists. The good news was that it didn't take us long to pick up the trail. It was laid out as clearly as it had been sixteen years earlier. Footprints turned into pawprints, larger than any dog or wolf I've ever seen. We veered off the trail once we got up to the top of the flume in order to follow them and ended up staring at the mouth of a cave. Footprints and paw prints led in, out and all around the entrance. There were bits and pieces of animal carcasses scattered here and there…everything from rabbits and squirrels to larger farm animals. I half expected to see the remains of a cow somewhere among along the way.

The werewolves themselves were nowhere to be seen, which was not surprising. In the legends and my own past history with them it was pretty clear that they were nocturnal. Most likely they were hiding out in the cave until nightfall. That suited me just fine, more time for us to plan our attack. Not to mention, I liked the possibility of being able to set up some kind of trap right at their front door while they slept, a little extra precaution could only help our cause.

We didn't stick around long once we found the place. I did make sure we measured the distance between the cave and the clearing where the fight had taken place originally. I knew that terrain better than the cave. Like I said, I'm not taking any chances on this one. The more advantages we had working for us the better.

Annie had this crazy-ass idea that she broke to me on the way to the car. She wanted to act as bait to lure them out to familiar ground. What's more: she wanted to be the one to 'take care' of Jack. The last part I could understand… but that meant bringing her along for the final battle. Something I was definitely not going to agree to. As for bait…the idea was just plain crazy and I didn't hesitate to let her know it was either. Sammy practically ran to the car when the shit hit the fan. We were yelling at each other the whole way. This time she refused to get in the car until I agreed to let her do it. "Not a chance sweetheart. Not a freaking chance. I just found out that all these years you've been alive. I am not loosing you again. Period." "Come on Dean. I can take care of myself. I did it when I was eight, and I've been doing it ever since. Not only that, but you and Sam will be there. You guys do this kind of thing all the time. You said yourself: you're not going to let anything happen to me." "Do this kind of… all the time?" I managed to snort out. Oh that was a good one! "Honey, I most certainly don't make a habit of using live 'bait'. I'm not about to start the habit now either. Now get in the car and let's go. We have to find you someplace safe where you can lie low for the next couple of days while Sam and I finish this." "I am not going anywhere until you change your mind about this." She dug her heels in and wouldn't budge. "My mind is not changing on this one Annie. As far as I'm concerned the decision has been made." Then I showed her exactly how much the caveman I really am.

I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder, fully intending to toss her in the car and drive her far away. I didn't know where I'd take her yet, but I did know I'd make her stay there if I had to tie her down and leave Sammy to make sure she didn't follow me back. I wondered if I could get Dad down here to help me out with the pack…

"Dude, you're braver than I thought. Last guy to try something like that almost lost his family jewels." The voice wasn't Sam's, but I recognized it and almost dropped Annie when I heard it. Instead I gently put her back on her feet and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it hard as we turned to face it's owner. There before us was a huge, hairy man with blue-gray eyes and Annie's angelic smile. "Jack?" It came out a question, but it was one I already knew the answer to. "Dean. It's been a really long time." He looked really happy to see me. I wasn't sure I felt the same.

Sam was behind him, ready to shoot if Jack made a move toward any of us. It was an unnecessary precaution. Jack was here to talk, not to eat. Still, I placed myself between him and Annie. "What do you want Jack?" He laughed. "You always were such a direct kid. I'm glad to see you haven't lost that." I just raised a questioning brow. What exactly was he here for? "Can we go somewhere to talk? I know why you're here. I want to help you finish this." "How do we know we can trust you? You're one of them now." "It's been a long sixteen years Dean, and they haven't been happy. I just want it to be over. It's time." I heard Annie's breath catch behind me and I knew… we would sit and talk with him. Jack wanted it over, Annie wanted to help him move on. I just wanted to finish it and see Annie safe and happy again.