Piecing it together…

Finally the time for questions and answers had come.

What had happened after we left the Morgan's sixteen years ago?

Jack started to change the night after we left. It had been easy to hide the first time it happened. He'd just locked his bedroom door and pretended to be sleeping. The next night…well, it had been impossible to hide anymore.

The change was complete. He was a werewolf, and when the change came over him all traces of his human side disappeared. It left him purely animal. He didn't even recognize his own family.

Somehow Peter had found a way to unlock Jack's bedroom door. He didn't make it past the doorway. The beast that Jack had become sank its hungry teeth in and shook. Peter was gone before his body made it back to the carpeted floor. Mrs. Morgan came running up the stairs when she heard the howl. She didn't have a chance either, although Jack left her lying in the hallway barely alive. Annie had been next. Jack only had the chance to maul her when his father came charging out of nowhere, loaded rifle in hand. Two shots hit dead on into Jack's chest. Still he managed to pounce on his father and sink his teeth in. Mr. Morgan knew what had to be done. One bullet, straight to the heart. Jack went down and didn't move again.

Somehow Mr. Morgan managed to haul himself to his feet to see to his family. Peter was dead, that was plainly obvious. Not wanting to take the chance that his youngest son may suffer the same fate as Jack, he reloaded and put a bullet into the boy's heart too. A heart wrenching moment of goodbyes with his wife, and he did the same for her. Annie didn't seem to be breathing. Four deep gashes cut straight across her chest, bleeding out and everywhere around her. Mr. Morgan couldn't even look at her as he pulled the trigger. It's what she would later find out saved her life. He missed her heart completely. The bullet went straight through her shoulder instead.

Jack woke to the sound of his father's suicide. He was once again in human form. It took a few minutes for him to understand what he saw. Surrounded by his entire family and lying in their blood…it hit him hard that he had been the cause of this. Unable to contain the disgust he felt for himself he let out a howl of grief.

Unable to do anything but crawl, painfully pulling his body along the carpeted floor, he forced himself to go to each one of them. He had to know if there was any hope. He had to know if any of them were alive. One by one he felt for a pulse, for breath… anything that would tell him that someone had survived. Finally he crawled over to Annie. With her he found his miracle. Her pulse was weak and she'd lost the hell of a lot of blood but she was alive… if barely. With the last of his strength he pulled himself across the hall and back into his room to dial 9-1-1. "9-1-1 Emergency" a woman said on the other end of the line. "Help me. Everyone's dead, but my sister…help her please…" and then he passed out for the final time. He didn't come to until a full twenty-four hours later when he found himself buck naked in the county morgue.

Annie had survived, but when Jack's body went missing the police decided it was safest for her if they reported to the press that the whole family had died. Obviously whoever had done this was still out there and very, very sick. They stole a body right out of the morgue. No telling what they would do to an eight year old girl.

It took Annie months to recover. The gashes in her chest took forever to heal up, and the gun shot wound was another thing entirely. Through it all Jack watched over her without her even knowing it. When he was human he called the hospital to check on her progress. He had been the one to deal with the insurance company and the lawyers for her inheritance. When he assumed werewolf form he stayed as far away from her as possible, knowing he wasn't in control of himself. Knowing that if he did stay near her, HE would go after her himself. HE wanted a piece of Dean Winchester, the boy who had practically torn him to pieces and his father who had nearly finished him off. If HE knew Annie was still alive then she would be his bait. She wouldn't get out of it alive this time. Jack had to protect them, the Winchesters and Annie. HE must never know there was any connection.

Once the story was told, and Annie backed up the parts she knew to be true about her recovery it was decided that Jack could be trusted. At least when he was human. He would change again, and soon. Dusk was only hours away and there was a lot to do before then.

Annie didn't like it but she agreed to leave until it was all over. Jack didn't want her there when he died again, and Dean didn't want to see her risk her life. She could argue one or the other into submission, but not both so she did what she had to and agreed to leave at first light. Jack didn't want to know where they would send her. It would be safer for her that way if something should go wrong. He was just thankful to have this last little bit of time with her.

So with Dean's plan, and Jack's help they set to work on destroying the pack once and for all.

Later, when it was time for Jack to go Annie broke down. My Annie's a tough one but she's human and she's a girl. Tears were coming, it was just a matter of when. I could tell she had hoped not to cry until he was gone. There was frustration under the sadness in her eyes. When he told her how proud he was of her and the woman she had become though, there was just no holding them back. They were a sight, holding each other tight in the middle of the driveway like that, his tawny mane leaning against her golden one. Both of them trying to squeeze in all the words and emotions that had been denied over the last sixteen years.

Finally Jack knew he could wait no more. The change was coming and he wouldn't risk hurting any of us. So with a wave of his hand he called me over and suddenly she was in my arms, burying her face in my neck and soaking my shirt with tears. I heard him share a few words with Sam before leaving. I'll never forget the sight of him leaving. He turned on his heel and started running straight down the drive, down the street and out of sight. His long, lean legs pumping gracefully beneath him and taking him effortlessly away from us. I would have waved my own goodbye but he never looked back.