It's late at night, the room is mostly dark save for a single light that illuminates the book on Jamie's lap. Her kids are long asleep as the clock starts striking 5am. She turns a page, leaning on one arm and yawning. Her phone starts to buzz on the table and she fumbles to pick it up. "Hello?" A beat passes. "Dean?"
"Is that Jamie? Can…Can I talk to her?"
Jamie almost drops the phone at the voice in the background. "Dean…is…is…" She leaps to her feet, the book, The gospel of St Michael, clatters to the floor.
A few hours later Jamie rushes into the bunker, her kids in tow. She's hurried them out so fast that they're all still in their pajamas. Jamie is wearing her old black canvas jacket, which has faded into a dark grey. Her hair, hastly pulled back into a messy bun behind her neck, is still dyed brown and she's wearing her charm bracelet, clunky around her wrist. "Dean? Sam?" She shoos Mark and Emma down the stairs, following after them carrying Noah. Dean and Sam duck into the map room.
"Hey Mark." Dean hugs his nephew, who is now almost chest height. Sam wraps his arms around Emma's shoulders, and she reaches up to hold his hands. Both brothers smile at their sister and then step aside. Their father walks into the light and Jamie bolts towards him. She hands Noah off to Dean and then throws her arms around John's neck.
"Daddy." She whispers into his shoulder, tears in her eyes.
"Hi baby." John kisses her hair, holding her tight. After a moment he pulls away. Mary walks into the room, smiling when she sees her grandchildren. John looks to Mark, Emma, and Noah in turn. "These must be our grandkids, Mary." John says softly.
Mary nods. "That's Mark and Noah…" When she says his name the youngest Winchester reaches out to her. She takes him from Dean, a smile on her face as she cradles Jamie's younger son. "Who is growing too fast." John smiles and then turns to Sam. "And this is Emma." Mary finishes.
Emma looks up at her grandfather, her green eyes wide and curious. "Hello."
John smiles. "You look like your dad." He says quietly. Jamie and Dean share a look. Dean wraps his arm around Mark's shoulders.
"Mark." Jamie says after a moment, "Take your brother and sister in there." She gestures toward the library.
"Sure mom." Mark takes Noah's hand and gestures for Emma to follow him. Jamie watches them go through, and then turns to her family. "So. What happened?"
Mary hands her daughter and then her husband steaming cups of coffee in turn as her sons continue to explain the events that lead to John's appearance. John is more interested in hearing about his children's exploits as he sits between his girls, one arm draped around Jamie's shoulders, the other hand reaching out now and then to hold Mary's hand. Jamie leans into the warmth of her father's embrace, her eyes occasionally finding Dean's, her smile mirroring Sam's as they recount the last 14 years of their lives. Much of it is mark with an aura of sadness as they remember lost friends. Jamie is the first to mention Adam and the uncomfortable silence that follows is broken with their mother's wise words. "We can't dwell on the things we wish we could take back."
Jamie nods agreement, her eyes drifting towards her children, asleep with an array of pillows and blankets from Dean and Sam's bedrooms on the floor a few feet away. She can't see Mark and Noah's wings, but she can sense them wrapped around each other and their sister. Her father doesn't need to ask, he's already familiar with the sigil stamped into her wrist. Once a vessel, always a vessel. His thumb brushes over it as he squeezes her hand.
"How'd it happen?" He asks her, bringing her closer so he can kiss her head. "And I don't mean this." He adds, brushing dark brown strains away.
"Do you hate it?" She asks quietly, blue eyes rolling up towards his.
"No. It's just…"
"It's not your mom's color." She echoes as though she's heard that before. "I haven't been a blonde in a while. Not since Noah was born, I think." She glances back to her children. "It was…goddamn…ten years ago now. When we went back in time to save you and Mom. She was pregnant with Dean." Mary smiles, glancing towards her eldest son. "And…Michael took possession of you." Jamie's eyes go misty thinking of her husband. "He…I mean he saved us. He saved Mom, he saved Sam. He sent Sam and Dean back to our time, and he and I…we just talked. I'm the…vox clamantis in deserto."
"The voice of one crying out in the desert." John translates. He wipes his eyes with his thumb. "You're Michael's prophetess."
"I was." She corrects. "Lucifer's dead and Michael…my husband…rots in the cage for all eternity, on God's orders."
"Because he's insane." Dean pointedly adds.
"Because he's the last." Jamie retorts. "My husband is not insane, he's weak! He's also the reason we're all still alive. Do not conflate the Michael in your head with the father of my sons. And if you had listened to me and said yes to my husband instead of the crazy alt version we wouldn't be in this mess." Dean's nose crinkles and his lip twitches as he looks at his sister. John quickly puts up his hand, sensing the bad blood.
"Alright, alright. Maybe we shouldn't talk about Michael."
"It's okay, Dad. You wanted to know." Jamie starts to say.
"And now you know." Dean finishes.
"Let's…Let's talk about dinner." Mary puts in.
"Yeah, dinner. That's what we were doing." Sam adds to try and squash the tension.
"Dean." Mary gets up and gestures for her son to follow her. Jamie gets up and heads in the opposite direction towards her kids.
John turns to Sam. "Are they really at odds with each other like that? Dean and Jamie…"
Sam sighs. "They'll come around. They always do with each other. It's hard for Jamie to see everything that Michael did and put Dean through, even though it's not her husband it's still a version of him. And Dean…Dean's never really accepted…but he loves those kids of hers like they're his own. And I mean technically Emma is…really his."
"Did I…I mean, whatever it is that your sister sees in that angel…is it because of me?"
Sam smirks. "No more than what Dean sees in his angel is because of you." John chuckles softly.
"Jamie?" She looks up from the book she's reading to see her father standing there. "What are you doing?"
"Sam called. There's uh…well he can tell you." She wipes away a few tears and hastly puts the book away.
"He called? I didn't hear your phone." Jamie taps her temple. "Ah. Really?"
Jamie laughs softly. "It's…more difficult than it sounds. Has been for the last couple years, ever since…uh…the angels fell I guess. But when God revived the prophets, I got most of my powers back, so we talk to each other without phones…sometimes."
John smiles. "I'm glad to see you two are still so close."
Jamie laughs. "We haven't always been. It took me a long time to forgive him for…"
"Lucifer?"
"Lucifer…among other things, yeah."
"And Dean?"
"Dean has never forgiven me for being with Michael, but more than that he's never forgiven me for disappearing in and out of his life, especially the last couple years."
"You've got three kids to think of."
"I've got two Nephilim and a psychic to think about. Crowley's dead, he was the one who safeguarded Mark and Noah from Hell…and Gabriel, whose dead too now. Everything Michael put in place to protect our sons is gone. Except Dean, who is ironically possessed by Michael's evil doppelganger." She tries to smile. John walks over and hugs her close. "Daddy…"
"Yeah sweetheart?"
"I just want you to know…I understand why you gave me up, and I forgive you. I just need you to understand why I came back, and forgive me for it."
"Oh god Jamie, I do. You're my daughter, and that means there's a helluva lot of things in your life that I couldn't stop, but I had to try." He gathers her close in his arms. "I had to try."
"I know." She mutters against him. "Thank you."
Dinner starts in silence. Jamie takes her place between Sam and Dean with Noah on her lap. Emma sits beside Dean and Mark moves in beside Sam. John looks around at his wife, his kids and his grandkids, all somber and finally breaks the silence. "Alright, near as I can tell we have two choices: we can think about what's comin, or we can be grateful for this time we have together. Now me…" He reaches over and kisses Mary's hand. "I choose grateful." He raises his glass. "So to whatever brought us together, we owe you one. Amen."
"Amen." Dean echoes immediately.
"Amen." Mary follows.
Sam and Jamie clear their throats and say "Amen." At the same time.
Mark and Emma look across their mother and uncles to each other and mutter "Amen."
"Amen." Noah squeaks and suddenly there is laughter as everyone raises their glasses and toasts the dinner.
"But here's the problem, who would that make us. Would we be better off? Well maybe." Jamie walks in to Dean and Sam doing the dishes and discussing their father's sendoff. "I don't know who that Dean Winchester is. And I am good with who I am." He looks straight past Sam to his sister when he says it. "I'm good with who you are, and who you are, Jamie. I mean that. Because our lives, they're ours. And maybe I'm just too damn old to wanna change that."
Sam nods. Jamie walks over and hugs her brothers. "We'll get through this. Like we always do. Together."
Out in the library Mary and John are tucking their grandkids back into their cocoons of blankets and pillows. "It's gonna seem like a dream to them." John tells their grandmother. "Maybe it's better that way."
"I hate this." Mary mutters, holding John's hand. He nods, and they look towards their grandkids.
"So do I." John echos, just as their kids come into the room. "Okay" He sighs, putting on his jacket. Jamie instantly pulls hers on, it's not missed that they look almost exactly the same. Dean's hand instantly snakes over to find his sister's. John takes a shaky breath and turns to Mary. "My girl." Mary starts to cry, as does her husband. "I miss you so damn much."
" Me too." Mary agrees, her voice breaking.
Jamie starts to cry as well, and Dean and Sam become misty eyed. Dean pulls Jamie to his chest and Sam rubs her back as their parents kiss and hug, squeezing their hands.
John turns to his sons and his daughter. "You three. You take care of each other."
Sam nods vigorously, tears coming. "We always do."
"You take care of my grandkids, Jace." John mutters towards his daughter. "Don't let them forget."
"Never." Jamie tells him.
"Good to see you Dad." Dean adds.
"Yeah." John smiles. "I am so proud of you kids." Sam smiles, Jamie wipes her eyes, Dean's lip trembles and Mary looks away just as John pulls his children into one last embrace. "I love you all so much.
"I love you too." Dean says through tears in his eyes.
"Okay." John pulls away. "I'm ready." He and Mary clasp hands again. Tears stream down Mary's face. "Sammy." He turns to his twins. "Jamie."
Sam and Jamie both move towards the table. "Ready?" Sam looks over at his twin. He picks up the pearl for a moment and then puts it down on the table.
Jamie points to a green plaster bowl across the room. It moves via her telekinesis to hover over the pearl. "Do it, girl." John encourages. Jamie lets out a sob and squeezes her eyes shut as she brings her hand down, causing the bowl to smash against the pearl, shattering it.
She opens her eyes to see her father cloaked in light before he disappears. Sam grabs unto her, as they all cry. Suddenly the door to the bunker creaks open. All four of them look over and walk out towards the steps. Castiel hurries forward to the railing. "Mary, Sam, Jamie, Dean." He takes note of the defensive positions Sam and Dean take. "What happened?"
Sam scoffs. He looks towards Cas and then at Dean. "What happened."
"Well, there's a story." Dean says solemnly, eyes on his angel.