A/N I added a few things since posting this. A flashback from the Pilot.

Dean let two things stay in him from all those years of hunting. One was the instincts. Two was the training. Having a soon to be three year old child demanded attention even when you weren't looking.

It was morning, a few rays of the early sun breaking true the window. Leaning back on the stove, a mug of so string coffee most people wouldn't be able to even swallow one gulp. The clock on the wall - above the damn hole - was showing 6:23.

When was the last time he seeped in?

Samantha smiled as she entered the kitchen, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Dean didn't even take notice of the smelly breath from sleep that came out of her mouth.

"Morning"

The mug was elegantly taken from his grip as Samantha moved to jump up the counter separating the kitchen and dinning room.

"Mary has a dentist appointment"

Dean nodded, filling another cup...only to find it empty" 9.30. Crap" he raised the coffee bag up, hoping" Please...please. Just a drop"

Samantha nodded, pushing down a laugh...but the smile on her lips still broke out" Don't be late"

Dean pushed the empty bag into the small trash can in the corner" Depends on the traffic in Starbucks"

Samantha glared at his back" I'd think you were joking...accept I have been with you for three years"

Dean smiled, spun around, his arms going around her, taking a deep breath of her and leaning in for a lazy kiss. Samantha laughed, the sound going straight into his heart. Happiness he never felt until three years ago filling him.

She playfully pushed him away, wiggling her finger at him "Not so fast mister!" she gave him the last sip of the half cold liquid.

"Wake up Mary, let's leave home once on time and you just might get lucky tonight"

His lips twitched upwards. A quick kiss on her coffee taste mouth.

"Mary! Wake up!"

Samantha heard him on the steeps calling out Mary and chuckled watching fondly in the direction he vanished in.

"Men"

Sam Winchester was wet, dirty, tired and above all...pissed as hell at the person known as his father.

In the three years of Dean's absence the father-son bond between John and him went from better to worse. They actually got along for a few days, but when it became clear Dean wasn't about to just show up on their door steep it all went down hill from there. The only thing that kept them together - the last two Winchesters - was hunting. And searching for Dean.

The name alone was enough to make the guilt in Sam almost overwhelming.

Strange how you start to admire someone when you lose him.

Dean groaned at his daughter. He loved her with all his heart...but at the moment irritation was winning over.

His little girl - 3 years old tomorrow - was stubbornly standing in front of him, refusing to move.

"I want Milly"

Milly was a damn cow he bought her when she was little and Milly used be in one peace. That's until Mary got a bright idea to chuck her into wet cement. Milly was now a small statue in the living room, a ugly thing that his wife enjoyed using to joke with guests.

He waved the white sweater.

"Mary don't do this, not now"

She raised her right leg and slammed it back against the ground.

"I want MILLY!"

Sometimes he really missed hunting. It was easier.

If there was a ghost you exercise it, stop it, vanquish it...Milly on the other hand... She was something that if there was a God would be forgotten.

And possibly soon before Dean had a anxiety breakdown.

John Winchester grumbled all the way up the cemetery's hill.

He cursed the rain, the damn ghost, Sam and most of all he cured Dean for leaving them.

And when the sun hit on the face on the top of the hill; he cursed Earth for choosing this moment for morning.

Michael Tanner leaned back on his black pick up truck, sipping his coffee slowly.

He didn't have to glance at his watch to know they were running late.

The front doors of the two story building opened and as usual out came Samantha.

"Morning Michael!" her blue Aygo slipped out the lawn and on the street.

Next came Mary.

Running across the street - looking right and left - screaming" Uncle Mike" and jumping into his arms.

"Morning Mary" he turned back to the house, the little girl in his arms" Daddy running late?"

The doors slammed shut, Michael caught sight of a worn out looking Dean" Run along to the car" the girl, strangely obedient at the moment - Dean probably promised something - and smiled at his friend" Rough night?"

Dean grumbled...cursed and moved to the passenger seat" Shut the fuck up and let's move it"

Michael laughed.

"Now there's the Dean I know and stand"

His only answer was the hard shutting of the doors, another laugh escaped him and he opened his own doors still amused. Dean stubbornly stared out the window.

"You good for nothing son of a bitch!"

Sam groaned, sealed his eyes shut and covered his face with a pillow.

And yet the sounds of the couple next door were still loud as hell.

He wanted...needed sleep.

And even more importantly; where the fuck was John Winchester?

As usual it took 20 minutes to get Mary into the building. The dentist was one of her worst nightmares.

Dean could relate...in a way. It didn't help much that the woman was new.

"It's going to be painless" and then she touched Mary.

When Dean finally opened up to Samantha he did it with one request. That she and later Mary learn the basics of self protection. Samantha over the three years fell in love with martial arts and those hard training hours became Samantha/Dean time. He even started teaching her things about hunting. Mary on the other hand had only started her lessons. It was little things. Unlike his dad he held back, determined to be a father teaching his child and not a commanding officer training his soldier.

He didn't realize just how much Mary Rose is a Winchester until the moment the woman who surprised her ended up on her stomach, arm twisted behind her back.

"Mary! Let go of her!"

Michael glanced at him, smirking" well at least you'll never have to worry about bully's"

Dean stared angrily at him and went to get his daughter off the woman.

Another empty glass joined the rest on the cold surface.

He reached for the new glass, proud on how well he trained the bartender.

It's nothing to be proud of you stupid fuck. You and you're training are the reason you're drinking in 9 in he morning.

Michael was still laughing as they sat in the McDonald's.

Dean was still glaring at him while Mary was playing with the Happy Meal toy she was legally allowed to enjoy.

"You are NOT helping"

Michael waved his hand vaguely and lowered the laugh a notch. He was holding in a laugh so hard that his face looked like a grimace of pain. Dean sighted, shock his head and gave in.

"Go on"

Michael cracked a smile - still holding back - and leaned on the table.

"Mary a three year old kid just kicked the s-h-i-t out of her dentist" pause" Face it. It's funny"

Dean glanced at the little girl. She looked so little, so innocent and still...

She flipped a grown woman like a Barbie doll.

He turned back to his best friend, his eyes shining" Yes" the laugh surfaced in him, Michael joined in" It is"

It was late evening when he stopped drinking.

John staged back to the motel room only for his legs give out and before he can reach out an arm to catch himself, the floor is rushing up to meet his face. John crawls to the bed, his head already throbbing and his body tired.

For a moment he openness them and glances at the other bed.

Brown eyes filled with disgust stare back at him just before Sam roll's over, his back now facing John.

The oldest Winchester alive stared at the ceiling.

That's what you get when you become a ignorant, single minded idiot.

The worst part?

The voice in his head was right.

The music was soft and slow, the woman's voice sultry and smooth. Dean looked around the room in surprise as he took in the candles and darkened lights. Frowning, he asked, "Mantha? You here?"

"Well I certainly hope you weren't expecting Tess," Samantha teased from the corner. As she stood, her eyes widened dramatically and Samantha exclaimed, "Or...no...Dean! Please tell me it's not...Rachel!"

Snorting, Dean observed in a true Winchester style "You're not quite right sometimes, Mantha."

With a grin, Samantha replied, "Like husband, like wife."

"I object to that comparison," Dean stated, reaching for his wife.

Samantha took Dean's hands and put them on her waist, sidling closer as she said, "Speaking of which. Mary is sleeping over with Tess tonight and you, my dear husband, are on a medical leave for the next twenty hours."

"Oh, is that so," Dean asked, amusement dripping from his voice .

"That's so. Doctor's orders."

"Are you saying I'm not fit, doctor?"

Eyes glittering in the candle-light, Samantha smiled" I think an examination is definitely called for."

Dean swayed to the music, drawing Samantha more firmly into his arms. "Exam away. I could actually get used to this kind of check-up."

"Me, too," Samantha breathed, laying her head on Dean's shoulder.

They slow danced for a good long while. Dean enjoyed the feel of Samantha in his arms, the strong and still soft body tucked against his own, lips nuzzling his throat, every so often. Samantha's arms surrounded his waist, her soft hands lightly gripping his belt. It was nice. Soothing. No pressures, no demands, not even any real need. Just the two of them, together, taking the time to savor what it was that kept them together.

"Ah. You know, I've discovered something about you that I don't think anyone, knows."

Dean smirked a bit and asked, "What's that?"

Samantha nipped at Dean's chin before teasing, "You're a softie."

"Don't be spreading that around now," Dean ordered, spinning them suddenly and dipping Samantha, who gasped in surprise and clutched to him. A smile curved his lips as he continued softly, "Don't worry, I've got you."

An echoing smile blossomed "I know."

Dean pulled her upright and captured soft, willing lips for a slow kiss. He loved this: kissing and playing with the her in his arms. Pulling back, he observed the flushed face and asked, "Have I mentioned lately how much I am so totally in love with you?"

The flush deepened and Samantha's eyes seemed to glow as she answered, "Not in the last day or so."

"Well, shame on me then. Because I am so totally in love with you"

Samantha kissed him, long, soft and sweet" Love you too"

Sam stared at the wall next to the bathroom. He was hurt. He was angry.

But not even the pure anger was enough to stop the tears from falling free.

"How is you're father? Brother?"

Dean sighed as Samantha's arms slid around his chest and pulled him close, the hands settling at his waist, and leaned back against him. "Samantha"

"The left another message" a silent pause "I erased them"

He felt his wife frown.

"What about you?"

Dean almost smiled at the careful tone, even as he appreciated it. There was no judgment either way. Samantha would accept his decision. The decision he couldn't seem to make, no matter that he'd been agonizing over it since that first voice message he refused to even listen.

"If this is what you want to do, I'm with you. Is this what you want to do?"

Sighing, Dean kissed the dark brown hair under his chin.

The silence was broken by a whispered" Yes"

She moved over him to the always on turned on cell he never dared to turn off in the three years. She raised it up, brown meet...held green and she pressed the off key. Turning around the small device she opened and removed the battery and eased out the small card. There was a small glass of water for them - always is - and with another silent beat she dropped the small chip into the liquid.

Brown meet green again.

"You're free now"

FLASHBACK

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?"

Sam: stared at him, determined. And just a bit guilty" No and she's not ever going to know."

Dean moved down the bridge.

" Well that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."

Sam felt the anger swell in him. Dean could always piss him off with only a few words " Who is that?"

Dean turned to him.

One of us."

END

Dean gazed at the chip in the glass, floating. Slowly a smile blossomed on his face, he turned to her, leaned in closer kissing her.

He stared deep into her eyes, his soul soaring at the love and trust there.

"Yes...I am"

Forever.

But in the shadows across the street stood a figure hidden by the night.

Waiting for it's chance to attack.

A chance that would come very very soon.

It smiled at the award it would get.

The death of the entire Winchester family.