"Dude, I'm telling you, it's creepy!"

"Hey, look, I'm not arguing with you on that," Sam said.

He and Dean breezed down the freeway. Behind them, Castiel sat silent and stoic as usual. His presence in the car was a first. Sam had finally become aware of him after watching Dean go through a series of increasingly extreme measures that had, at first, completely baffled Sam. With hindsight, Sam realized Dean had been trying to trap or ditch the angel for months. Castiel had only become visible to Sam after Dean performed a ritual to reveal his presence, finally fed up with Sam accusing him of losing his marbles.

After week of bickering with Dean on the subject, Sam had finally gone around his brother and invited the angel into the car.

"I'm just saying it feels rude to leave him riding on top of the car. I mean he's been up there for what, at least 6 months now? I can't believe you didn't tell me about him sooner," Sam said with an exhausted roll of his eyes.

He glanced in the rear view mirror, looking for any reactions from their new passenger, but Castiel's expression was completely blank and devoid of all emotion.

"Rude!? If anything he's the rude one! He's got no business following us all over god's green earth! I don't know about you, but I didn't give him an invitation! Did you invite him, Sammy?!"

"Oh come on, Dean! You can't seriously be mad about a literal guardian angel watching over you!" Sam snapped. He rolled his eyes again, hard enough that he was starting to get a headache from rolling them so much.

"Well, I can be mad about some creep in a trench coat stalking me," Dean growled, shooting Castiel a dirty look in the mirror. "He looks like a damn serial killer! And he's not with the Smiths, I checked! I don't buy that he's an angel either!"

"Well what do you think he is then?" Sam asked indulgently. "He's not a demon, Dean! Holy water did nothing, that devil's trap you pushed him into was a bust, no flinching at the name of God... What else could be following us so close for so long? And another thing, why the hell would he be doing it if not to protect us?"

"Just Dean," Castiel finally cut in.

"What?"

"I am only here to protect your brother," he explained.

"Dude, you're not helping your case," Sam said, shaking his head. "Dean's gonna kick you back out of the car if I can't talk him out of it. How about you give me a little help here?"

"You know, I don't get why you want him in the car so damn bad anyway," Dean said suspiciously.

"I- I just-"

"Yes Sam, I too must confess that I harbor much confusion regarding your apparent investment in my comfort," Castiel said, cocking his head to the side inquisitively.

"I... I..."

Truth be told, Sam thought Castiel's presence in their lives was just about the coolest thing since sliced bread, but he didn't want to come out and say it.

"I just... it's like I said, I don't want to be rude," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Since when are you Ms. Hospitality?" Dean scoffed.

"It's just good manners, Dean, that's all!"

"Right, because our hitch-hiker back there has the best manners around. Like how he totally asked us if we wanted him following us around everywhere... oh wait, I forgot, he didn't ask!"

"Well you know, Dean, out of fairness to him, it doesn't exactly seem like you would have said yes!" Sam shot back.

"Ok, so you're saying he knew from the get-go I didn't want him around and he stuck to us like gum on a shoe anyway? Wow, Sam, you're making him out to be more likable by the minute!"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Oh really? Please enlighten me, Sam, what did you mean?"

"You're being a dick about this!"

"Because I don't want a babysitter?!"

"Dude, this isn't a babysitter!" Sam yelled. "This is literally divine intervention to keep us safe from the demons out for blood after all the trouble we caused them!"

Castiel leaned forward.

"Again, I feel the need to stress that my mission-"

"Just Dean, you're only protecting Dean, I got it!" Sam snapped.

"Sam, even you can't stand the guy," Dean said, shaking his head. "He's been in the damn car for ten minutes tops and we're both already down to our last nerve."

"You're the one wearing on my nerves!" Sam insisted.

"Right, and-"

Dean was interrupted by Sam's ringtone.

"You gonna get that?" he asked.

Sam pulled his phone out with a long, weary sigh. He straightened when he saw who was calling. He picked up the phone, his reaction piquing Dean's interest as well.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Hello?" Sam said, ignoring his brother.

"Hi, Sam? It's Allison."

"Allison?! You're, uh... you made it!"

"Yeah, I pulled through."

"That's great! It's good to hear from you!"

"It is. Look, Sam, this isn't a social call. I need you to meet up with me."

"Why? You on a hunt or something?" Sam asked.

"Something like that. I can't talk about it over the phone."

"Gotcha. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll come to you. It's very important you don't break routine, ok? Just keep doing what you're doing and don't talk about us meeting."

"Why the secrecy?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"I'm being followed. Smiths. I'd be shocked if they don't have eyes on you too. Ears too, probably. Look, just tell me where you're gonna be and let me worry about the rest."

"Uh, yeah sure. We're about three hours out from Detroit."

"You stopping there a while?"

"Yeah, looking at some suicides."

"Perfect. I'll text you a meet-up sometime tonight."

"Got it. Til then."

"Til then."

She hung up and Sam put his phone away with a smile.

"Seriously?" Dean demanded.

"What?" Sam asked, puzzled by the animosity in Dean's voice.

"I thought we were done with all this crap."

"'All this crap' being...?"

"Ruby, Alice, witchy Allison?" Dean demanded. "Sam, every time we tangle with them we get burned. You're not seriously gonna meet up with her?"

"Dean, Allison's a friend," Sam said with a terse frown. "She helped rescue you, she-"

"It's a bad idea," Dean cut him off sharply. The rage coming off of Dean caught Sam a little off guard. Dean's knuckles whitened as he squeezed the steering wheel hard and the muscles at the hinge of his jaw twitched in agitation. "You should have told her to buzz off."

"Dean, she just woke up from a coma," Sam said. "A coma she wouldn't have been in if she hadn't been in that basement trying to save your skin. I at least owe her a meeting."

"You don't owe her anything," Dean said firmly. "I never met a Smith who wasn't bad news. You're not meeting up with her."

"Excuse me?" Sam demanded, taken aback by Dean's bossiness.

"I mean it, Sam."

"Dude, you can't stop me from meeting with her," Sam said, matching the authority in his brother's words. "Allison's good people. Just 'cause you can't get over your drama with Alice-"

"Drama?! Don't you think that's putting it a little lightly?!"

"Whatever! I'm going, Dean! I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you about it either!" Sam insisted. Castiel watched them, completely forgotten in the back seat.

Dean narrowed his eyes at his little brother, but he knew from experience that Sam wasn't going to back down.

"Damn it, Sam," he growled. "Fine. But you're not going alone."

"Dean-"

"We'll go together. And we're both loading up on witch-killing bullets."

"Dean, we're not shooting Allison," Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as his headache flared.

"Sure, not if she behaves," Dean replied.

"God, I need some aspirin," Sam sighed. He was grateful to have his brother back, that much was never in doubt. He also couldn't help but remember that he hadn't had nearly as many migraines when Dean was dead. He chuckled wryly at the thought, unable to help himself.

"What's funny?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing," Sam sighed. "Nothing at all."

Allison had to work hard to ditch the Smith glued to her tail, but she eventually managed it.

"Stubborn son of a b..."

Allison caught herself, glancing into the rear view mirror at the car seat.

"B... b... bad auntie Allison needs to watch her big fat mouth, doesn't she boo-boo?" she cooed, unable to stop herself from smiling. She couldn't see the baby, but even the thought of her little niece reduced her to a quivering pile of goo. Allison knew she had no biological connection to the child, but she chose to ignore that fact. She felt a sense of family with the little creature that transcended the convoluted technicalities of its parentage. From the first time she'd realized the baby was alive, she knew that she needed to find her sister. She was nervous about it because she had a pretty good idea of how it was going to go. Alice had abandoned the baby. Allison didn't know any of the details beyond her sister's attitude about her while she was in utero. The details weren't important. Allison was sure Alice wanted nothing to do with the kid.

She had to be certain. If it was true, if Alice didn't want the baby, Allison was going to keep it. She hadn't known until she saw her niece, but as soon as she did, she knew there was no way she could let her go. All the plans Allison had before she laid eyes on the baby vanished like so much smoke in the wind when Allison looked into her niece's intelligent little eyes. Dreams of Hollywood that Allison now felt were terribly silly... none of it measured up to the satisfaction and fulfillment that settled in her when she imagined holding that baby. Caring for her. Protecting her.

Without meaning to, Allison started to dread what might happen when she finally did find Alice. Strangely, she no longer dreaded that her sister might not want the child. Instead, her worst fear became that Alice would somehow have changed her mind. That when she saw the daughter she claimed no relation to, her heart would melt just as Allison's had. That despite herself, she would want the baby after all.

Allison shook her head to clear it of the what-ifs while she waited for Sam at the edge of the woods. All she could do was her best. She had to find her sister. After that, she would work with the cards that she was dealt. No use trying to count cards before the deck was shuffled.

Right on time, headlights approached Allison's car, cutting through the black night and blinding her for a moment. She shielded her eyes as the car rolled to a stop alongside hers. The headlights cut off and both Winchesters stepped out. Allison stood to meet them with a smile.

"Sam!"

"Hey! It's good to see you up and about," Sam said, returning her smile and holding his arms open wide. Allison stepped into his embrace, a little puzzled by his affection, but not unpleasantly so. Beside them, Dean scoffed. Allison realized he wasn't as stoked to see her as was Sam.

"You wanna tell us what was so important you had to drag us out here in the dead of night?" Dean demanded, skipping all the niceties.

"Not yet," Allison said, glancing around. She didn't see any Smiths, but then, they were too good to let themselves be seen. "Let's take a walk."

"Oh yeah, a nice moonlight walk with a witch from the single most back-stabbing family on the face of the planet," Dean griped sarcastically. Allison ignored him, opening the back door of her car and pulling out the entire car seat. "That doesn't sound at all like... some kind... of set up..."

Dean trailed off when he saw the car seat, bewildered at Allison waved at them to follow her.

"Come on. We're not going far," she assured them.

"What... is that...?"

"It's either a baby or a pipe bomb," Sam grinned. He couldn't help finding Dean's expression funny.

"Definitely a pipe bomb," Dean said, shaking his head. He followed Sam and Allison anyway.

"Hate to rain on your parade, but explosives aren't really my style," Allison informed him.

"So what's in there?" Dean asked, getting closer, unable to help his curiosity.

"The Mona Lisa," Allison cracked, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously."

Allison detected movement behind them, well hidden, nigh unnoticeable, but enough to tip her off to their pursuer's location.

"Here, see for yourself," she told him, handing him the car seat. He took it uncomfortably, inspecting the pink embroidered blanket draped over the top of it like he expected something to jump out and bite him. "Hold my flower. Sam, you too."

She made sure she caught Sam's attention before she started signing.

Be right back. Gotta ditch our company, her hands told him. Sam nodded in understanding. He walked up to Dean while Allison melted into the shadows, circling back to stalk whoever was stalking them.

"If there's a baby in here, I'll eat my hat," Dean said, preparing to lift the blanket. He was too busy to notice that Allison was gone.

"Dean, you don't own any hats," Sam reminded him with a chortle.

"Well if there's a baby in here, I'll buy a hat just so I can eat it," Dean shot back. Slowly, tentatively, he pulled back the blanket. The air was thick and heavy with anticipation, both Winchesters itching to know what they were holding. Truth be told, Sam had a hard time believing Allison was hauling a baby around with her, but he also couldn't help recalling the inhuman child he and Dean had chosen to leave behind at a Minnesota hospital six months back.

"Dean, it's your kid though!"

"Even if it is, it's better off without me," Dean insisted.

"Don't say that, man."

"Look, I don't mean it like... what am I gonna do with a kid, Sam? I'm a hunter, not a father."

Sam rolled his eyes at the memory of Dean's chosen words, an echo of Alice's. Between the two of them, they shared more issues than most people contended with over the course of five lifetimes.

"Whoa," Dean breathed when he pulled the blanket aside, revealing the tiny, swaddled little girl inside.

"So, you thinking of picking up a stetson?" Sam asked jokingly. "Or maybe something lighter? Ballcap, maybe?"

"I'll be damned... This is... No. Can't be."

"There's only one reason Allison would have a baby with her," Sam said, his hunch confirmed. Everything made sense now. He understood the need for secrecy, all the lengths to which Allison had gone to make sure the Smiths couldn't eavesdrop on them. Somewhere behind him, he heard a dull thump, a groan, and the sound of someone dropping heavily to the ground.

"It is, Dean," Sam assured him.

Dean wanted to argue with Sam, but he couldn't take his eyes off the sleeping baby in the car seat. Long eyelashes caressed soft pink cheeks, rosy, miniature lips parted while she breathed. Wispy blonde hair poked out from under the pink cap Allison had pulled onto her tiny, tiny head. Dean had never seen anything cuter in his entire life.

"Ok, we can talk now," Allison said, emerging from the bushes behind them. "I'm sure you guys already know why I'm here."

"Let me guess," Sam hazarded, "You're looking for Alice."

"I am."

"So this... is this...?" Dean trailed off, unable to tear his eyes away from the baby long enough to get his question out.

"Alice's baby," Allison confirmed. "I know she didn't want her, but I don't know what else to do. I thought maybe... maybe she would change her mind."

"Alice won't change her mind," Sam said confidently. "Not after the way she left her."

"No chance at all?" Allison pressed.

"Not in the world."

Allison breathed a sigh that was as much relief as it was disappointment.

"I want to find her anyway," Allison said. "Even if she does't want the baby, she's still my sister. We belong together."

"I'm sorry," Sam said, shaking his head. "We haven't heard anything from her since the hospital."

"Oh god. Nothing at all?"

"No. My guess is she knows the Smiths are looking for her, knows they're waiting for her to contact us," Sam went on.

"Hey, Allison," Dean cut in. "She, uh... what's... I mean, what did you name her?"

It took Allison a minute to realize Dean was talking about the baby, not Alice.

"Oh... I haven't yet," she said. "I was waiting for Alice. I've just been... you know, calling her sweetheart, boo-boo, cutie-pie."

"You can't wait for Alice to name her," Dean said, shaking his head in disapproval. "Poor thing won't have a name 'til she's ten."

"Alice won't stay gone that long," Allison said. "She'll reach out to me now that I'm awake, I know she will."

She examined the expression on Dean's face as she spoke, recognizing the adoration in his features. He barely spared her a glance. He had eyes only for the baby whose car seat he cradled close like he'd found a treasure by the side of the road.

"But, I mean... you're right," Allison said quickly, realizing Dean wasn't actually trying to disparage Alice. "She should have a name."

"Yeah," Dean said absently, rocking the baby gently as she stirred a little. "Shh, shh. Shh, little angel. Sleep, sweetie."

Sam and Allison both raised their eyebrows at Dean's crooning. Their eyes met and Sam shrugged.

"Do you... have any ideas?" Allison asked, directing the question at Dean. It took him a minute to catch on, caught up in rocking the baby as he was.

"Who, me?" he asked. "Oh! No! I, uh... no, nothing comes to... I mean, it's none of my business, so-"

"Dude!" Sam said, rolling his eyes so hard he had to rub them afterwards to keep them from popping clean out of their sockets.

"What?"

"Dean..."

"What?!" Dean demanded. He cleared his throat and managed to snap out of the trance the baby had drawn him into. He forced himself to hand the car seat back to Allison. "Seriously, Sam, what?"

Sam shook his head and put his hands up in surrender.

"Nothing."

"Damn right, nothing," Dean said. "Look, Allison, I'm sorry we can't help you, but... we haven't heard anything from your sister, and I doubt that's gonna change anytime soon."

"No, I got it. It's fine," Allison sighed.

"So... now what are you gonna do?" Sam asked. They started slowly back to their cars. Allison led them past the body of an unconscious man and they all stepped around him.

"I'm gonna look for my sister," Allison replied without a seconds thought.

"That could be dangerous," Dean pointed out. "You're, uh... you're gonna have her with you for that?"

He nodded at the car seat.

"Well I'm all she's got, so..."

"Yeah. You're right, I guess."

"She's safe with me," Allison assured Dean, reading the concern in his expression.

"Sure. Whatever you say. Not my business," Dean grumbled, forging ahead of her and Sam. They watched him go and Sam shook his head while Allison laughed a little.

"Wow, that was..."

"Yeah."

"He's still a piece of work," Allison noted.

"Wouldn't be Dean otherwise."

"Look, if he ever gets his issues under control..."

"Yeah, maybe if pigs start flying," Sam scoffed.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm just a phone call away," Allison said. "And so is she."

Sam nodded, eyeing the car seat containing his sleeping niece.

"Not gonna lie, she's awfully cute," he admitted. "A lot cuter than she was when... well. Last time I saw her, she was kind of... I guess she looked like a weird bald mole rat baby or something."

"Wow, Sam. Never, ever tell her that," Allison snickered.

"No, of course not! Like I said, she's cute now," he said defensively as they neared the cars.

"Yeah, it's a defense mechanism," Allison sighed. "Babies are a pain in the ass. Humans would have died out as a species a long time ago if our brains didn't flood us with happy chemicals every time we look at them. It's powerful stuff, I gotta say."

"You're telling me."

"Like I said, I'm just a call away," Allison said as she set the seat down in the back of her car.

Dean was already in the impala waiting for Sam to finish saying good-bye to Allison. As she drove away, he rolled his window down to hurry Sam along.

"You two done hugging it out?" he demanded.

"Come on, Dean," Sam chided. "What'd I tell you? Good people."

"I guess, for a witch."

"She's not Ruby, ok?"

"I know that. Doesn't mean I have to like her. You know what I don't get is why you're so keen on being all buddy-buddy with a woman who zombified you and used you to beat me up," Dean said sharply.

"Whatever, Dean. She's family now."

"What? Is not!"

"Is too!"

"How?!"

"That baby, stupid!" Sam said.

Dean started to shake his head, but Sam didn't let him get a word out.

"Come on, Dean, I saw the way you looked at her!" he pointed out.

"I barely saw her."

"You are so full of shit, man!"

"Sam!"

"'Sweet little angel,'" Sam said, making fun of Dean's voice.

"Alright, knock it off! No one can resist a baby, ok? It's like... puppies and kittens, you can't not think they're cute, ok? Get off my case," Dean grumbled.

"Fine. Whatever."

Sam grabbed Dean's phone and started punching in a number.

"Hey! Hands off! What are you-"

"Relax, man, I'm just putting Allison's number in your contacts," Sam said, swatting Dean's hands away and finishing the job.

"I'll never use it."

"Whatever, just hang on to it. Just in case."

"In case of what?"

"Anything."

Dean let it go. Truth be told, meeting his daughter had rattled him.

Daughter.

The word startled him as it popped into his head unbidden. A nameless little girl that he might have been able to go his entire life without giving a second thought to if Allison hadn't dragged her back into his life. Now he was helpless to the connection he felt with her. Part of him wanted to lie, wanted to use the many excuses available to him, wanted to pretend that she somehow wasn't his.

Dean couldn't bring himself to do it. She looked too much like him in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on.

The night wore on and Dean tossed and turned in his motel bed. Sam didn't even bother trying to sleep. He stayed up on his laptop, while Dean struggled to get his four hours in.

"Sam, can't you do that in the morning?" he snapped grouchily, flipping in his bed for the hundredth time.

"I can't sleep, so I'm working," Sam said shortly. "If you can't sleep, go take a walk or get a drink or something, but don't take it out on me. And don't try to act like I'm the reason you can't sleep either. We both know that's bull."

Dean groaned, grumbled and rolled around for a few more minutes, before giving up. Sam was right. He had too much on his mind for sleep.

He grabbed his jacket and left, ignoring Castiel as he trailed him through the streets. He was almost used to the angel's presence. Castiel had become more familiar to him than his own shadow. That fact made him more uncomfortable than anything else.

Dean caught himself looking at his phone, eyeing Allison's number longingly. Still, he didn't know what he would say to her if he called, so he resisted the urge and kept walking.

Finally, he got down to the meat of what was bothering him. He sat on a park bench and called Allison, half-hoping she wouldn't pick up.

"Hello?"

"Allison. It's Dean."

"Hey. Everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I just... well, I, uh..."

Dean struggled to find the words. He didn't want to tell her he was having trouble sleeping. He didn't want to tell her he kind of wanted to see the baby again. He didn't want to talk about what was slowly knawing him.

"That's a real cute little girl you've got there," he finally settled on.

"Yeah. Yeah, she's gorgeous," Allison sighed.

"You know, about her name. I was wondering, did you have anything in mind?"

"A few things. Family names, but... I don't know. None of them really feel right, you know?"

"Not really."

"Well I thought about naming her Grace, after me and Alice's grandma... actually, I'm thinking if I name her Grace Alice might warm to her better if I ever find her," Allison admitted. "But honestly, Grace was... well, me and her never really got along. I wouldn't describe her as sweet. I kind of want a nicer name for this kid, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Hey, you know, I was thinking... I mean, if you can't think of anything better... Mary's a nice name for a girl," Dean said.

"Mary, huh?"

"Yeah. I mean, just to toss my two cents in the ring," Dean said quickly. "Just a suggestion."

"Mary."

Allison was silent for a moment, chewing the name over.

"It does sound sweet," she admitted. "I'll put it up for consideration."

"Ok. Yeah, that's... good. Good."

"Thanks, Dean."

"No problem."

"Hey, don't be a stranger, ok?" Allison said, sensing that the conversation was over. "I know the life keeps you busy, but if you're ever free... chances are we won't be far."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dean said. "Thanks, Allison."

"Take care, Dean."

"You too. Both of you."