The Guard Changed at Dawn

Chapter 27

The banquet was a small and intimate affair, with Chief Adcox mindful to keep the momentous occasion quiet because of the children. Invited were Dean's team, the Council and the Tribal elders. Later, once news broke and the towns around the reservation were abuzz with media, then the tribe would celebrate openly.

Before the festivities commenced, however, Onida and Sam had forced Dean to take a much needed rest. He refused to go all the way back to the motel, so they'd tucked him onto a couch in the corner of the banquet room and left him there. Within minutes he was out for the count. The rest of them took the time between their meeting with Chief Adcox and the banquet to relax and unwind. James and Ryker went down to the records room to see if they'd missed any information about the boy who'd escaped the witches in nineteen-eighteen. Max and JT took some relaxation time on the couches, while Caleb and Onida walked out in the sunshine, talking and enjoying the quiet.

Sam went to the Chief's office to print Alison's current list of missing children and have a quick conference call with her to let her know how the morning had gone. He also asked that she arrange for the clean up team, stressing the time crunch before the media found out.

"The clean up team is already assembled and at the airport," Alison interrupted. "The trunks and supplies were shipped yesterday and should be waiting for the team when they land at Yakima's McAllister Field Airport tomorrow. I've already arranged for car rentals and for their accommodations at the Takawáakusn Inn. This was a complicated case, and I knew they'd be needed. You can thank me when you return."

Sam chuckled. "I'll make sure Caleb thanks you."

"That will be acceptable," Alison said, and she hung up.

Sam shook his head as he cut the connection. Alison could be tough, but she was thorough, anticipatory and organized. He was thankful Caleb dealt with her most often. The Knight enjoyed the verbal sparring, and Sam thought Alison did as well. Looking back to his phone, he put a note on his calendar to remind Caleb to get her something expensive.

Joshua had gone back to the clinic to work with Odette and Adam for a couple of hours, trying to make some headway in treating the children, especially the older ones. Adam was working at his station with two little boys clinging to his legs. As he told Joshua, they just wouldn't let him out of their sight, and he'd finally given in and brought them with him to the lab.

Odette and Joseph were completely focused on the research Sam, James and Adam had collected on the escapee from the Tah-tah-kle'-ah; however, every once in a while Odette would glance down at the two small boys clinging to Adam's pant legs and something almost like a smile would cross her lips.

It was close to seven in the evening when everyone gathered back in the Yakama Records Hall for the banquet. Joshua had managed to convince Odette to attend the feast, so the only one not going was Adam. Margaret had flown in to Yakima City late that afternoon and she was with Adam at the clinic.

Samuel and Joseph were in rare form, introducing the tribal elders and the council to Dean, Sam, Caleb, Joshua and the rest of the team. Mary was speaking excitedly with Sam and James about the research they'd done. The elders were thrilled with the success of the hunt, and wanted to know details about how the witches were defeated. Dean had ordered everyone to keep the silver out of the conversations, and so the group highlighted the pyrite bullets, the grenades and Joshua and Joseph's potion bags. Many of the elders were concerned for the children, and the topic was dissected and mulled over by most everyone.

It was close to ten when Dean made his excuses to Samuel and walked out the front of the Records Hall. Standing under the star-lit night sky, he took a deep breath and pulled out his phone.

"Hey, stranger," Juliet said, and Dean could hear the smile in her voice. "When am I going to see my man?"

Dean grinned. He couldn't help it. "We're almost finished. Evil has been defeated and we were triumphant."

Juliet laughed. "My hero."

Dean's grinned widened. "The Chief of the Yakama asked if we could stay on a couple more days to help with the cleanup. You okay with that?"

"Well," Juliet said, giving a melodramatic sigh. "It's going to be tough, but I think I can manage."

"How's Carolyn?"

"She's good. We went to a one-day spa a couple days ago, and she said it was good to get away from her mother."

Dean chuckled. "You talk to Ben?"

"Yes. He wants to bring the kids over when your home. We'll have a barbeque, do some relaxing. Before that happens, however, you and I have a rendezvous between the sheets."

"Don't tease me," Dean chuckled. "I'll see you in a couple days."

"I love you," Juliet said, then hung up.

"I love you too," Dean murmured as he closed his cell. Slipping the phone back into his pocket, he walked leisurely over to one of the benches that lined the entry way to the building and sat down. It was a beautiful night, even more so since he knew he wasn't going to be attacked.

"Want some company?"

Dean glanced over at Caleb and nodded.

Caleb sat down and stretched his arms out along the bench back. "What a hunt, huh?"

"One for the record books," Dean said.

"You ready to head back to the motel?"

"Yeah, but I'll wait for Sam and Josh. Joshua wants to go back to the clinic, and I imagine Odette does too. I'll drop them off then head back."

"I'm taking the canvas back to Onida's. She's going to lay it to rest."

Dean's interest was kindled. "How?"

Caleb shrugged. "I don't know. But she wanted me there, so I will be."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, before Dean asked, "You bringing her back home?"

"I hope so," Caleb said slowly. After a lengthy pause, he continued, "I've never met anyone I thought I could live my life with."

"And she knows about the supernatural," Dean offered. "Bonus."

Caleb nodded. "There's that. I've been attracted to a lot of women through the years. But none I wanted to share everything with. Plus, the other thing."

Dean nodded. Caleb wouldn't ever have risked passing on his genes to a child. He glanced over. "That scary?"

Caleb gave a small, self-deprecating laugh. "Very. But while I'm the cliché; scared of commitment, I'm also excited about sharing my life with someone." He looked over at his best friend and confessed, "I want what you have with Juliet."

"I was scared too," Dean shared. "With the life we lead? I never thought I'd have a relationship with anyone. Then I met Juliet. I was afraid she'd find out, then I was afraid that she wouldn't. When she did and left…" he swallowed, "I was resigned to her never coming back. When she did, I was sacred all over again."

Caleb chuckled. "Scared about defines it."

Dean shared the humor. "But it's worth it, man. Worth the fears and worth the risk." After another few minutes enjoying the cool evening, he asked, "Is Onida coming when we fly back?"

"Probably, though we'll need to return here in a couple of weeks," Caleb said. "There are things to sort out. Now that there's a young guardian, she'll want to help. She'll want to consult with Joseph and Samuel about Jacy and whether they should go forward and train him. Then there's her home; she's lived there her entire adult life." He sighed. "I guess I wonder whether she wants to leave the Reservation."

"Yes, she does," Dean said firmly.

Caleb looked at his best friend. "How do you know?"

Dean didn't look over, but there was no hesitation in his voice when he said, "Because she'll go where you are, and your home is in Kentucky."

It was almost midnight when Caleb walked up the steps to Onida's house, carrying the canvas. It was very heavy, and he couldn't figure out how she had managed to get it down the steps in the first place, though he figured going down was easier than climbing up. Onida opened the front door, then hurried back down to shoulder some of the burden.

"I can't believe," she panted, "that my job has ended."

"You mean you're retiring?" Caleb asked humorously. "I think you're too young for that."

Onida huffed out a laugh as they reached the landing. Lowering the canvas to the ground, she swiped her hair off her face and said, "No, not retiring. Moving on to another job."

Caleb smiled. After catching his breath, he hoisted up the canvas and carried it through the open door and onto the balcony. He shifted the decoy picture off the easel and shoved it into a corner near the glider. Then together, he and Onida placed the original canvas onto the ancient easel and stepped back.

Breaking the silence of the last couple minutes, Onida said, "I'll never work this canvas again. I thought I'd feel more relief right now."

"What are you feeling?" Caleb asked gently, his eyes on her.

"I'm not sure," Onida said, frowning. Finally, she pulled her gaze from the canvas and walked back inside the house. Going to her favorite place on the couch, she dropped down.

Caleb followed and sat in the arm chair opposite and waited.

"I guess I feel … lost," Onida finally said. "Since I was three years old I prepared to be the guardian of the Yakama people. I took over that position when I was twenty four and have done it ever since. Now, I'm done."

She sounded so helpless, Caleb didn't know what to say. He also been in a job he'd trained for since he was thirteen. He knew that one day soon he would step down and let Max take over. He supposed Onida was feeling now what he would feel soon.

"I know that at some point I would have retired after I'd trained my replacement, but I never stopped long enough to think about what I'd do when I was no longer Yaotlapializtli." Smiling, Onida said, "I guess I have to think about it now."

"It's something I'll need to think about soon as well," Caleb said. "Soon enough it will be time for my Triad to step down and JT's to take over. I can still train new members of the Brotherhood, but I won't be in charge. Max will be the Knight of the Brotherhood." He sighed. "Like you, I've trained my whole life for the position. I can't imagine not being the Knight."

Onida nodded. "Maybe this is a journey we need to take together."

"Fumbling all the way?" Caleb chuckled.

Laughing softly, Onida said, "Maybe."

They sat in companionable silence for several more minutes before Caleb asked, "How long are you going to put off disengaging from the canvas?"

Onida chuckled. "You can see right through me."

Standing, Caleb held out his hand and said, "Come on. Let's put you out of your misery."

Onida clasped his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Not misery," she objected. "Fear, maybe."

Walking back to the balcony, Caleb smiled. "I can understand that fear. Let's pull the band aide off the wound."

Standing side by side, Onida mixed her potions and murmured the enchantment she'd long known she would one day say; withdrawal. Scooping the paste onto her palm, she rubbed both hands together, closed her eyes and focused. Pulling blue energy into her hands, she stepped up to the canvas, hesitated only a moment before placing her palms on the heavily coated surface.

Caleb watched as blue and white energy rippled down Onida's arms and into the canvas. Gradually the flow diminished, slowed to a trickle then stopped. Hesitatingly, Onida pulled her hands away from the canvas and took a step back.

"Onida?" Caleb said softly.

Onida turned. "The canvas is closed for business," she whispered.

"Congratulations," Caleb murmured, and pulled her into his arms. "Time for something new."

Dean rolled over onto his side and stretched long and hard. The deep breathing in the room indicated that Sam was still asleep. Groaning, he blinked at the clock. It was after eight in the morning. They had agreed last night that this morning was for sleeping and relaxing. Turning onto his back, he lay wondering if he could get back to sleep. A few minutes of lying there passed before he admitted defeat and pushed himself up, yawning.

After he dressed and wrote Sam a note, he walked across the street to the Edge of Town Diner. Just as he sat at the counter, Judy walked over.

"Welcome back, stranger," Judy said with a big smile. "Been working hard?"

"Chief Adcox is a tough task master," Dean said with a smile.

"Ain't he just," Judy laughed. "Can I get you the breakfast special?"

"Sign me up."

"Make that two," JT said as he sat down next to his father.

"Will do," Judy said, and she walked off.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Dean asked.

"Got a good eight hours," JT said. "Wasn't feeling the sleep-in today."

Judy brought over two mugs of hot coffee and set down two plates of toast before retreating to the kitchens.

Dean hadn't said it yet, so he did now. "I'm sorry about Sarah."

JT sighed and nodded. "It's just … I wanted her to have a life, you know? She'd probably been kidnapped when she was three or four years old, and grew up in those terrible conditions. But even after all those years, she still remembered that someone – her mother or her father – called her Sarah."

Dean nodded.

"I don't know why, but that just got to me more than any of the other children." JT looked at his father. "She remembered her name."

"Some hunts stick with you," Dean said softly. "Some get under your skin like others don't. This one may stick with you awhile, but you'll move on. And we know one thing for sure…"

JT looked over. His eyes, like his father's, were mirrors of his emotions. "Yeah…?"

"She's in a better place."

JT nodded. "Yeah."

"You gents ready to dig into some buttermilk pancakes, house-made sausage and diced potatoes with ham?" Judy placed two heaping plates down on the counter.

"Wow," Dean said, his eyes gleaming.

"This looks amazing," JT agreed, picking up his fork.

"Enjoy," Judy said with a smile as she walked down the counter to serve other customers.

Talk was abandoned as both men fell to eating their delicious breakfast.

When they got down to the plate, JT asked, "What are your plans for today?"

Dean laid down his utensils. "Chief Adcox wants me to meet with the Council this afternoon at two. This morning I thought I'd go over to the clinic, see if I can help with the kids."

"I'll go with you."

"Go where?"

Dean and JT turned around to see Sam walking up behind them. He sat down on Dean's other side.

"You really don't understand how to sleep in, do you?" Dean asked with a smile.

"Nope," Ryker said, as he sat down beside Sam. "I was up at oh-seven-hundred and went for a run."

"So, where are you going?" Sam asked, nodding at Judy as she placed a mug of hot coffee in front of him.

"You gents want the breakfast special?" Judy asked.

Sam nodded. "Sign us up."

Judy nodded and walked away.

Sam looked over at Dean.

"To the clinic," Dean continued. "I want to check in on the kids, see what we can do to help."

"Can we stop by the Records Hall first?" Sam asked, biting into his toast and taking it for granted Dean would wait for him and Ryker to finish. Swallowing, he said, "This morning Alison sent over another amended list with more names."

"That woman never sleeps," Dean remarked. "She and her team are really turning out the work."

"While she would have done it anyway, she expects a big bonus," Sam stated humorously.

Dean and JT waited, casually conversing while Sam and Ryker finished their meals. Then Ryker went off to meet up with Max and James while JT went with Dean and Sam to the Yakama Records Hall. Samuel Adcox pulled up next to them as they were exiting their SUV.

"Morning," Samuel greeted. "After yesterday, I would have thought you gentlemen would be taking a much needed sleep in."

"Some things aren't meant to be," Dean said with a smile. They walked to the entrance and Samuel let them inside.

"Mind if I use your office?" Sam asked. "I have another list of names."

Samuel nodded, leading the way. "You're research staff is second to none. I admire their tenacity."

"Hopefully all the children will have names soon," Sam said.

After the Chief opened his office door, he said to Dean, "I'm preparing for the Council meeting this morning. I'll look forward to seeing you this afternoon."

Dean nodded.

After Samuel had gone, Sam sat behind the desk and booted up the computer. "Why does Samuel want to meet with you this afternoon?"

"Not Samuel; the Council," Dean shrugged. "I suppose they have questions he wasn't able to answer."

Sam nodded thoughtfully as he pulled up his email. He clicked on Alison's latest communiqué and opened the zip file. "Wow," he murmured. "The team has gotten through the last eight years. They're working from Bobby's list now to update the family and address information and do age progressions."

"They sticking to Bobby's list, or throwing the net wider?" Dean asked.

"Alison has most of the team working to update Bobby's list of names, but she put one of her top researchers on reviewing the years Bobby covered to make sure no one got missed."

JT leaned over Sam's shoulder and eyed the list of names Alison had collected. "That's amazing."

Suddenly Sam's eyes brightened and he murmured, "I wonder…" and he began scrolling through the files.

"What?" Dean asked.

After a minute, Sam leaned back and smiled. "Nicholas Stien. The boy Joshua is helping at the hospital. His name is Nicholas Stien, and he's seven years old. His birthday is October twelfth, two-thousand, thirty-three."

"He's tall for his age," Dean said. "I thought he was closer to eight."

"What else does it say?" JT asked curiously. "Anything about his parents?"

"Yeah, it's… Oh." Sam looked up. "His childhood wasn't good. Apparently it was suspected he might have been abused. A couple of trips to the hospital for a broken arm and bruises on his back. The investigation stopped when he disappeared. Apparently the parents were on a reconciliation vacation when the boy went missing. There was a lot of media speculation that the parents had killed him, and the police were pretty dogged in their suspicions. The dad finally overdosed on meth, and the mom died in a car accident a couple years ago."

"Wow," JT murmured.

"Family?" Dean asked.

Sam looked back at the overview. "Not much information right now: two second cousins; one living in New York, the other in St Augustine, FL. He also has an eighty-nine year old great grandmother living in Hazelwood, Missouri." He looked up. "There's probably more, but Alison will get more details after all the kids are named."

Dean sighed and rose. "I want to get to the clinic. You need to print that up?"

Sam nodded and hit the print button.

.

When they stepped inside the reservation clinic, there was no one at the reception area. Dean supposed that was expected, as most of the staff had been given paid leave. Moving to the locked door, he made short work of picking it and they walked down the corridor. While he could break through the key lock, instead he rapped on the window.

A woman they didn't know opened the door, frowning. "How did you get in here?"

"Walked," Dean state baldly. "How is the boy?"

The woman didn't open the door further until a voice behind her said, "Let them in, Joyce," and Doctor Etsitty walked over, smiling.

"How are you, Maska," Dean said softly.

"Good. Why are you here? I thought you gentlemen were taking the morning off?"

"Maybe we should have slept in longer," JT whispered.

"Got more names," Sam said, holding up a sheath of papers.

"Excellent," Maska exclaimed softly.

JT said, "I'm going to check on the kids." Turning, he walked back out the door and disappeared down the hallway.

"Then I'll give you two an update. We were able to do a cursory examination of the kidnapped children, and quite frankly, they're in decent shape. Most are malnourished, a couple are jaundiced, and a few of the older ones are exhibiting physical changes. Many seem fragile, with slight bone structures." Maska looked to Sam and said, "Your research speculated the witches were kidnapping children and possibly feeding off their energy. While that remains speculative, we can confirm they didn't get enough calcium as they grew. Joseph, Joshua and I surmise that the children may have some form of bone damage. But we can treat that in the youngest with bone growth hormones and calcium. The older kids may need some treatments for brittle bones. We'll be doing more in-depth examinations of the children in groups so they won't be frightened. But for the most part, we're pretty lucky."

"Has there been any development on why their changing?" Sam asked.

"Possibly, but the research was halted by the rescue yesterday," Maska said. "Joseph, Odette, Adam and Joshua did some work yesterday afternoon, and they've been back on it this morning. That Odette," shaking her head. "She's amazing; smart, intuitive, quick as a whip. I wouldn't mind having her on my staff. Between them all I think we'll have news very soon."

Dean nodded and looked to the bed. The boy was asleep on his side, clutching both of his teddies. "How's he doing?"

"Good. I finally persuaded Joshua to lie down in the doctor's lounge. There's a bed in there. He didn't want to leave the child alone."

Dean wanted to tell her the boy's name, but thought Joshua should know first. "Where's the lounge?"

Dean and Sam walked down the hallway to the Doctor's lounge. When they entered, Dean spied Joshua on a small daybed in the corner. Gently he shook the older man's shoulder.

Joshua woke up instantly. "Is he all right?"

"He's fine," Dean assured him. "And he's got a name."

Joshua sat up.

"Nicholas Stien," Sam said.

Joshua smiled. "Nicholas. What about his family?"

Sam filled him in on the sad news. "We'll have Alison look for more information. He probably has more family than she could discover in her cursory search."

"No," Joshua said resolutely.

Dean frowned. "We need to get him to his family."

"His family is dead," Joshua stated.

"Yes, his mother and father are dead, but he still has relatives," Sam said gently.

"An eighty-nine year old great grandmother and two cousins he's never seen," Joshua argued. "She can't take care of him, and from my experience, second and third cousins don't want to."

Dean ran a hand across his face. The circumstances were unusual. He wouldn't expect an elderly woman to take on the responsibility of a traumatized child, nor would the cousins, he suspected. "How about this," he offered. "We see if there are aunts and uncles in the mix who were closer to the parents. If there aren't, then we look at alternative options."

"No," Joshua stated firmly. "We look to me."

"Joshua, are you sure you want to take on the responsibility of caring for a traumatized child?" Sam asked. That Joshua was well past his prime at seventy-four years of age was left unspoken.

"This kid will take a lot of care," Dean said, "and have you even talked to Carolyn?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Joshua stated, clearly offended. "Of course I spoke with my wife. She's flying out here today."

Dean smiled and raised his hands. "Sorry." Rising, he said, "I'm going to check in on the kids; see where I can help."

"I'll call Alison," Sam said. "Maybe she can expedite the search on Nicholas' family."

"Thank you," Joshua said. "I'm heading to the lab, continue the research on reversing the spell used on the older children."

That got Dean's attention. "You think it was a spell?"

Joshua nodded. "I'm sure of it. Anomalous cell functions account for many bodily deformities. However, these kids weren't born with deformities. The only way to explain the mutations we're seeing is a spell that's warping the cells. If we can stop the warp and reverse it, the mutations should reverse as well."

"Excellent!" Sam stated. "Can I help?"

"You already did," Joshua smiled as he climbed up off the daybed. "It was your research into the earlier boy that escaped that led us in this direction."

"Oh, then you're welcome," Sam said with a short laugh.

When they got to the hall, Joshua peeled off to the right, and Dean and Sam went left. They'd only gone a few yards when they heard some chatter from the cafeteria area. Opening the door, they saw several children sitting on the floor eating pancakes. Syrup was everywhere. But Dean could tell by the laughter and bright eyes of the nurses and Yakama youth, that the joy in the children's eyes was worth the mess.

Stepping inside, Dean saw JT seated near the wall surrounded by five kids, handing out pancakes to eat with their fingers. Raising a hand, he called out, "Hey, Dad!"

Dean grinned. Plowing right in, he sat next to two girls about seven years old who had a pancake gripped tightly in each hand. Dean snagged a pancake from the plate on the floor, picked up the syrup and doused his cake. The girls' eyes were wide as they watched. Dean took a long lick of the syrup and said, "Ummmmm." Both girls immediately held out their pancakes, and Dean poured liberal amounts of syrup on theirs as well. Both girls licked and gave out soft giggles. Dean smiled and poured more on his and licked again, then held up the bottle. The girls held up their cakes again and he doused them a second time.

Sam shook his head and muttered, "Just a big kid."

"I heard that," Dean stated. "Get your butt down here. We got incoming." And indeed, more children had been watching, and were now crawling over to have their pancakes liberally soaked in maple syrup.

"Fine," Sam muttered. Conceding defeat, he got down on the floor and held up a maple syrup bottle. "Ready?" he asked, and several small hands holding pancakes were stretched in his direction.

When Joshua got to the lab, Odette and Joseph were inside working. Adam was sitting at the microscope, staring through the lens, frowning. In a chair right by his legs were his two charges.

"You got something?" Joshua asked.

Adam looked up and smiled. "Yes. Come look."

Joshua leaned down and looked through the scope. Frowning, he said, "Those are white blood cells. But they look egg shaped instead of round."

Adam nodded. "We think that's where the warping is happening. You see the color is a reddish white. Look when we do this…" He lowered a dropper into a nearby mixture, then squeezed a drop onto the slide. After murmuring a few words, he touched the slide with his wand and stuck it back under the scope.

Joshua leaned back down and looked, then he gasped. "The cell is normal!"

Adam grinned and nodded. "Odette found the anomaly last night, and she and Joseph were working on it well into the early morning hours."

"You helped as well," Joseph stated with a smile.

"Some," Adam admitted. "And Sam and James' research was very helpful in pointing us in the right direction. We're going to see if we can mix the potion into a drink form and give it to the young guardian child. Hopefully it will start working to reverse the cell damage."

"What can I do to help?" Joshua asked.

"Come right this way," Joseph said, and he took Joshua to another area where he could work.

Dean and Sam played with the children until Dean needed to go and get changed before heading to the Yakama Records Building. JT, James, Max and Ryker were all in with the children, playing with them, holding them, just being with them. Lunch had been a mix of more laughter than the previous day, and another gigantic mess, as the staff had served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the kids. After cleaning them up and taking them back to the physical therapy room for an afternoon nap, the boys had helped clean up the mess in the cafeteria.

Sam was working with Caleb and Onida to help put names to all the children, placing a sticky-backed nametag on the children whose names they already knew. When other children looked sad for not having a nametag, Onida wrote Beautiful on one, and they kept on till every child had either a name tag or one saying they were bright, smart and so on.

Dean took a shower at the hotel and changed, then headed over to the Yakama Building. When he arrived, Samuel was pacing outside in the lobby.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked.

Samuel sighed. "They want to know what you used to kill the witches."

"We told them last night," Dean stated.

"And they know something was left out. I tried to tell them the witches were dead, and that the methods used to kill them were a mixture of ancient and current Yakama medicines and techniques, as well as Joshua's magic. But they want to know about your contribution, about your taking over the canvas and how you did that."

Dean hadn't even told Samuel how he became the guardian of the canvas or about the silver, and Onida was sworn to silence. "I'll deal with that. Did you talk about the plan for the children?"

Samuel's shoulders relaxed some. "They agree with what we talked about yesterday. And they appreciate your research into who the children are. We're bringing in Erik Olsen tomorrow. I don't know how much longer we can keep this silent."

"I don't want the Yakama People taking the heat for withholding information on kidnapped children, so bringing in local law enforcement is necessary. If Sheriff Olsen can keep this silent till it breaks naturally, that would be better."

"I think the many obstacles that our hypothetical virus poses as well as the promise of an FBI presence will encourage Erik to keep silent a little while longer. He's smart; he'll know when it's time to call the local FBI office."

"All right." Dean looked in the direction of the conference room. "Shall we?"

When they walked into the conference room, there were two men sitting near the head of the table, and five others along the sides. Samuel introduced each member of the Elder Council, then sat down at the head of the table. Dean sat at the base.

"We want to thank you gentlemen for lifting this burden from the Yakama people," said a kindly older man who sat on Chief Adcox's right.

Dean nodded. "It's our job."

Another member asked, "How did you do it?"

"We defeated the witches using a combination of incendiary minerals in larger quantities such as pyrite with gunpowder in the bullets, and tektite, galena and other ingredients for some truly impressive grenades. We used them combined with materials that weren't available when you're warrior ancestors fought against the witches. Joshua Sawyer is also a talented crafter, and we used his magics to take down the witches in combination with the weapons and grenades we created." Dean was detailed and direct in his recitation. "The results were successful."

The elder to Samuel's left said, "We understand you took over the guardianship of the canvas for a time."

Dean nodded. "It was the most direct way to take out the witches."

"How was that accomplished?" a fourth elder asked.

"Carefully," Dean answered.

The elders looked at one another. "Can you elaborate?"

Dean was silent for a moment, then said, "When Onida's teacher…" he paused and looked to Samuel.

"Álxayx," Samuel supplied.

Dean nodded his thanks. "When she taught Onida how to use the canvas, how to manipulate her energies to watch out for the Yakama people, am I to assume you were all there for those lessons?"

A couple of the elders looked startled, while a few others were looking disgruntled.

"No," Samuel interjected. "We were not at those lessons."

Dean eyed each member. "Onida took over as guardian when her predecessor passed away. I assume there were no objections?"

"There were not," Samuel said, trying to keep the smile from his face.

"You accepted that she would be the best person to protect the Yakama people from the witches. I assure you that I and my team were the best option to rid you of the witches forever." Rising, Dean placed his hands flat on the table, leaned forward slightly and said, "The witches are gone. But if you ever need our help again, if anything ever menaces the Yakama people, I am a phone call away. I will come." Taking a step back, he smiled his most charming smile. "I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for helping these children. They are our main focus now that the threat has been eliminated. They've had a very rough time, but I know with care and love, they will recover." He met many of the elder member's eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there are some kids who are going to need help discovering the wonders of a hamburger." Nodding, he turned and walked out of the conference room.

Onida sat across from the young Yaotlapializtli and showed her how to make a ball of threaded energy and light. The girl was a quick learner and copied Onida's example to the letter. When she'd been able to conjure a ball of energy with blue, yellow, red and white threads, she grinned at Onida, who clapped her hands and nodded.

"Well done," Onida said. "Here," she put down some blocks and showed the young girl how to build energy on top of them. When the child was busy working, Onida walked over to Caleb.

"She's talented, isn't she?" Caleb asked.

Onida nodded. "She is; she's very strong. She either has a lot of natural instincts, or the witches were good teachers."

"And the other one?" Caleb asked. A second child, a small boy of four, had also shown signs of being able to manipulate magnetics and energies. Cheyton had been the first to notice the minute sparks coming from the child's tiny fingertips yesterday when they were coaxing the children from the wagon. He'd dismissed the phenomenon as his imagination until he saw it again later when the boy had woken suddenly from a nightmare.

"Jacy Anders. I haven't worked with him yet," Onida said. "Right now he's too stressed and wary, like a lot of them. When he's calmed down, when he knows he's not going back to the caves, we might start working on his gifts."

"These kids; they were taken to fight you," Caleb stated.

"Likely. If the witches wanted to get out, finding a weapon to use against their captor would be the goal." A few minutes went by as they watched the young girl swirl energy in neat columns atop the blocks before Onida said, "I think I know who she is."

Caleb looked over. "Really?"

Onida watched the girl. "You can tell from her coloring and features that she's Yakama. I'm thinking old line. Jacy is mixed heritage, with the dark blue eyes and brunette hair. When he's older his features will be more defined, but I'm betting he isn't full-blood Yakama. For her; see the sharp cheekbones, wide mouth, black hair and eyes? Children with a high concentration of those traits are usually from old families, ones who chose not to mingle with the Páshtinin." She looked over at Caleb and smiled. "The white man. Through the decades, those features are softened in most of the Yakama. Like my own family, parents intermingled with those in the surrounding towns. There are some families who didn't. The Ayala family was one. We'll have to wait for the age progression pictures, but I'd bet almost anything that this girl is an Ayala."

"They had a child taken?"

"I think so," Onida frowned. "Over the years there have been a lot of children taken. While I used to be more involved in the community, during the last several years I haven't mixed much with the tribe. Especially not in the last five to eight years when I was looking for someone to help." She leaned into Caleb and said, "Namely you. I know there was a sickness that ran through the reservation about ten years ago, and a few children died. So maybe that's what happened to the Ayala's. But this girl," she shook her head. "I know she's Yakama. We'll have wait and see who."

Onida got back up and showed the younger girl how to change the colors in the energy columns while Caleb sat and watched. When she returned to her seat, he said softly, "You want to be her teacher; their teacher."

Onida looked up. "Yes, I suppose I do. I've been waiting to teach someone for years."

"There are no more witches; there's no need for a guardian any longer."

"No, there isn't. But she's been taught to use her skills, at least partially. I can't just leave her with rudimentary skills and no control. She could hurt someone if she's aggravated or afraid. She needs to know her gift can be amazing and beneficial to the Yakama as a healer and a protector. As for the boy, I suppose I'll discuss him with Chief Adcox. Do I teach him more about his gifts, or do we let him grow out of them."

"He can grow out of them?"

"In a way, yes. He'll always have the ability inside, but if he isn't trained, then he won't develop the skills to use them. It might be best, though I'd hate for such an extraordinary gift to go dormant. I suppose we'll have to see to what extent the witches have already trained him."

Caleb watched Onida for a few moments, then said in as neutral a tone as he could manage, "You want to stay here."

Onida whipped around to Caleb and said, "No, that's not what I'm saying. Yes, I'll need to come back here to teach her. But I don't need to be here all the time. She doesn't need to be taught like I was; everyday. We can come back here a couple times a month so I can give her lessons. She can use the time in between to practice under Joseph's supervision. And if we decide to teach the boy, he'll be included in those lessons."

Caleb sighed in relief. "That sounds like a plan."

One of the blocks the young girl was working on caught fire. The girl jerked back and looked to Onida, her eyes wide with panic. Onida reached out and doused the flame with her energy, and went over to help and to sooth.

"Yeah, that could work," Caleb murmured, then he too went to sooth the frightened child.

Joseph said, "Take a look at this."

Adam and Odette walked over and Adam leaned over the microscope. After a moment, he grinned and stepped back, saying to Odette, "Take a look."

Odette leaned over and scrutinized the slide. Standing up, she gave one of her trademark half smiles and said, "Excellent."

Joseph nodded. "Using a mix of cleansing herbs with this healing mixture," he pointed to a bowl of liquid, "add the spell you and Joshua wrote, and all the anomalies in the children's blood should be normalized."

"How long?" Adam asked.

"I don't know for sure. I'd say a few months."

"Months?"

The doors to the lab opened and Joshua walked in with Carolyn.

Adam walked over, smiling. "Carolyn," he said, giving her a brief hug. "Welcome to Washington."

"Thank you," Carolyn said. "You gentlemen have been busy."

Adam chuckled. "It's been interesting."

Joshua led Carolyn over to Joseph and said, "This is Joseph Whitetail. He's the Medicine Man of the Yakama People. He's been helping us on the hunt from the beginning, and has been working alongside us to figure out how to help the children."

Carolyn took Joseph's hand in hers and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And, of course, you remember Odette," Joshua said.

Carolyn smiled at the dour woman. "Odette, a pleasure as always."

Odette nodded and bent back over her telescope.

"Are you here to see the children?" Adam asked.

"Yes. There's so many that need some attention."

"I'm going to take her over to meet Nicholas, then we'll go see the other children," Joshua said.

"Margaret and Joseph's wife Mary are already inside the physical therapy room," Adam said. "But before you go, take a look." Excitement threaded his voice.

Joshua stepped forward and looked through the scope at a very healthy white blood cell. Glancing up quickly, he said, "That was a cell…"

"From one of the older girls," Joseph said, grinning. "Completely healed."

"Excellent!" Joshua exclaimed. "How many treatments did it take?"

"Twenty," Odette said. She looked to Joseph.

"That's twenty for a culture sample," Joseph said. "For a person we're probably looking at six months, seven months of daily treatments so the blood cells can stabilize and multiple, gradually overtaking and eliminating the abnormal cells. Used in combination with the cleansing and purifying treatment and an occasional course of antibiotics, there's a real pathway to health for the older children."

"The younger children should take less time, as they haven't been exposed for as long," Adam said.

"Great news." Joshua squeezed Carolyn's hand. "I can't wait to tell the others."

"Since they're probably in with kids, you can tell them when you take Carolyn over," Adam said.

"When do you plan of starting treatments?" Joshua asked as he walked to the door.

"I'd like a little more testing to be safe," Adam said. "I don't want to take chances with these kids. Plus, we need to find a way for these children to take the serum."

"Marshmallows," Odette said.

Adam nodded with a wry smile. "Like maybe marshmallows, though we'll have to discuss how to do that."

"We'll probably be ready to start day after tomorrow," Joseph said with a smile. He walked over to Odette and said, "Marshmallows?"

"Polio," Odette said.

"Ah, yes," Joseph nodded. The oral polio vaccine was first used in the United States in the 1960's. Recipient doses were dropped onto a sugar cube. The vaccine was later administered by injection. Marshmallows were a good substitute for the sugar cube.

Joshua smiled and said, "I'll be back shortly."

After guiding Carolyn down a few corridors, he opened the door to the physical therapy room. Inside children were playing with stuffed animals and dolls, some had balloons and were batting them into the air to watch them float down. While most were silent, some were giggling as they tossed around balloons or nerf balls.

William, Hinto, Poloma and a couple other Yakama youth were inside playing with the kids. JT, James, Max and Ryker had joined in and were either helping children build block castles, chase balloons or roll balls back and forth.

Carolyn spotted Margaret, Adam's wife sitting near an older woman. They had toddlers around them crawling and knocking nerf balls back and forth. A few were leaning on the older woman, hugging teddies and other stuffed animals.

Margaret saw Carolyn and raised her hand in greeting.

Carolyn returned the gesture while saying, "There are so many."

Joshua nodded. "We couldn't believe it when we found them in the forest. Then we went into the caves." He watched the kids. "It's a blessing…"

"And a sorrow," Carolyn finished. "They've been ripped from their lives, tormented, and now they need to find their way back."

"We'll help them," Joshua said. "Come on. I have someone I want you to meet."

Joshua led Carolyn across the room to where JT was sitting beside a small boy. He was playing pickup sticks with the child, and the boy was winning.

"You're great," JT said, as the boy retrieved three more sticks.

"I agree," Joshua said.

The boy looked up and grinned. Getting to his feet, he leapt into Joshua's arms. "Back," he said.

"Back," Joshua echoed.

JT climbed to his feet. "Hi, Aunt Carolyn."

Carolyn smiled. "I thought the only people he would react to were Doctor Collins, Dean and Joshua."

JT grinned. "I suppose I look enough like dad to get a pass."

Joshua held the child on his hip and turned him to face Carolyn. "Carolyn" he pointed to his wife, "this is Nicholas."

The child looked from Carolyn to Joshua, his head tilted slightly.

Joshua pointed to the boy's chest and said, "Nicholas," then pointed to his wife and said, "Carolyn."

The child cocked his head, eyeing Carolyn.

"I'll leave you all to get acquainted," JT said, standing. "I'm heading into the cafeteria, see if I can help get dinner ready. I heard it's going to be burgers!"

Dinner was controlled chaos and hilarity, and Dean, Sam and all the rest had a wonderful time helping the kids prepare their burgers, piling ingredients atop one another and trying to get their small mouths around the results. Dean piled his so high he had the children around him giggling as they watched him try to get his mouth around the burger. Caleb was shaking with laughter and Sam tried to help by mashing the burger down to make it smaller.

JT and James were in hysterics, watching their father do his practiced big burger routine, one he'd done for them over and over when they were kids.

The children created their burgers in interesting configurations. Some had only meat between lettuce; others had buns and tomato but nothing else. It was a wonderful evening of mess and laughter.

After dinner, JT, James, Max and Ryker along with the Yakama youth walked the children out to get a shower to clean off the mess.

Dean grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the organic debris in the room.

"What did the Elders Council want," Sam asked.

Dean glanced up. "They wanted to know how I took over the canvas."

Caleb had a wet cloth and was wiping up the mats and stacking them in the corner. Looking around to make sure no one was listening, he said, "You mean they wanted to know about silver."

Sam sighed. "They've lived in fear for such a long time, they're afraid this is too good to be true."

Dean nodded. "So they want to hedge their bets."

"What did you say?" Caleb asked.

"If they ever needed help, if the Yakama people were ever threatened, we would come."

"That should do it," Caleb said.

Sam smiled. "We're they happy with that?"

"I didn't stick around long enough to find out," Dean said simply.

They worked in silence for a few minutes before Sam said, "Joshua said there's a breakthrough in finding out how to help the kids. They've got a treatment that reverses the cell degradation and warping completely."

Dean stood, his attention riveted. "How soon can they start treatment?"

"Soon, I think. They're making sure the formula works with no side effects. They relied a lot on the treatment entries from nineteen-eighteen."

"They're using purification rituals too," Caleb said. "Joshua said the treatment on the older children should take around six months, maybe more. Treatments will depend on age and exposure to the witches' magic."

"Joseph, Doctors Etsitty and Collins will oversee the treatments," Sam said. "They'll also look into fragile bones, as Doctor Etsitty and Joseph think the witches may have fed on the children's energy, and that probably stunted bone growth and density. At the very least they didn't get the calcium they needed as they grew. But they're aware of the problem and are looking for the best methods to treat it."

Dean shook his head. "Friggin' witches."

"I imagine Odette will stay a while longer too," Caleb added.

"Adam?" Dean asked.

Caleb shrugged. "You'd have to ask Josh about that."

Dean dumped the last of the food remains and crumbs into the garbage can and put the broom away. "Looks like we're almost done here."

Sam knew Dean wasn't only talking about cleaning up the cafeteria, but also with the hunt.

"When are we leaving?" Caleb asked. "I've got to make arrangements for the jet."

Dean looked over at his brother. "Sam?"

"Chief Adcox is meeting with Sheriff Olsen tomorrow."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I forgot about that. Let's stay one more day, leave in the morning day after tomorrow." Glancing at Caleb, he said, "You think Onida can pack enough clothes by then?"

Caleb grinned. "I think that can be arranged."

.

The enchanting lights were still twinkling in the former physical therapy room when Dean walked in. It was after nine, and children were piled around, sleeping. He could see several of the Yakama youths still there, and Carolyn and Margaret were bedded down near several children. His eyes swept the room and met Adam's, who was seated along the wall watching him. Adam raised a hand and Dean responded. Slowly he walked over, avoiding bodies of children and youth alike. When he got close, he squatted down and asked, "Are you all right?"

Adam blinked in surprise. It wasn't the question he was expecting, and just the type of question he was learning that Dean would ask first. "I'm fine. Worn out, emotionally; but fine." He ran a hand over the two dark-haired boys that had rarely left his side since they'd toddled into his arms the day before. "I don't know how I'm going to leave these little ones."

Dean lowered himself to the ground. "I know. But hopefully we'll find their families and they'll be loved to death by relieved parents."

Adam nodded, again letting his fingers run through the dark locks. "I remember when Ryker was this age. I loved reading to him in bed, loved how he'd fall asleep in my arms, one small hand gripping one of my fingers so tight." Smiling, he said, "I miss those days."

Dean nodded. "I remember JT and James climbing into bed with us early in the morning, digging in between me and Juliet." Chuckling, he said, "I used to grumble, don't you both have your own beds? They'd parrot out yes, and stay right where they were and fall back to sleep." Watching Adam run his fingers through the boys' hair, he said, "I miss those times too."

"I'll check with my wife Margaret, but if there are children who need homes, we'll take some."

Dean looked over. "No, not yet."

Adam blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Don't make that decision now." Dean looked around at all the children. "Right now, your heart is engaged. This is a traumatic experience, and you were on the front line finding these kids in really bad conditions." He swallowed his own emotions down. "Children should be protected, not hurt and kidnapped or trapped in cages. I know what it's like to find traumatized kids in this job. They'll be taken care of; Chief Adcox will make sure of that. From the research, most of these kids have families who will be thrilled they've been found." He looked Adam directly in the eye. "For those who don't; think hard before you take on that responsibility. Once you take them into your home, you can't give them back. It's for life."

Adam fought to suppress his indignation and anger that Dean was questioning his dedication to the children or worse, underestimating him. But he pushed through those emotions and was able to admit that his heart was engaged. Of course, he didn't think that was a bad thing. But he could admit that making life altering decisions at this time wasn't wise. Nodding, he said, "I agree that yesterday was traumatic, not only for them…" he jerked his chin at the room, "but for me. While I don't believe I'll change my mind, I won't make any concrete decisions until we figure out how this all plays out."

"That's all I ask. Now," Dean said, getting to his feet with a groan. "I think I'll get some sleep in a bed. I'd advice the same for you. Too many nights on the floor will have you walking funny."

Adam chuckled. "Then one more night won't hurt."

The next morning Dean and the rest of the team met with Doctor Etsitty and Chief Adcox at the clinic.

"The tests look good," Doctor Etsitty said. "We want to start the treatment on the two oldest children today."

"Are you sure the cure is safe?" Sam asked.

Doctor Etsitty nodded. "We know the ingredients are safe, and the purification rituals are time honored. The tests have been very positive. The science is sound and the magic has the best references in Odette, Adam and Joshua. Since we first found out about the children, we've spent nearly every waking hour working on this formula. To be safe and conscientious, we'll start with small doses and monitor the results as we go. If a week goes by and everything appears to be going well, we'll start giving the remedy to the rest of the older kids, then finally the middle age kids. We'll only administer to the toddlers if their blood cells don't normalize on their own."

"You think that's possible?" Ryker asked.

"A child's biology is an amazing thing. The three to five year olds haven't been exposed to the witches as long as the older children. We're hoping simple purification herbs and good food will eliminate any anomalies in their blood."

"How are you getting them to take the herbs?" James asked. "Herbs are not tasty."

Maska Etsitty smiled. "We flavored the herbs with strawberry and cherry juice and put three drops onto a marshmallow. Odette's suggestion. The kids are thrilled with the marshmallows."

"Aren't all kids?" Max grinned. "It's a childhood food staple."

"And for James, a food group," Ryker teased, even as James rolled his eyes.

"If there's a computer nearby, I've got another zip file with more names," Sam said.

"Are these the last of them?" Samuel asked.

"I don't know," Sam said. "I got the notification as we were leaving the motel this morning. I haven't had a chance to see how far Alison's team has gotten."

"Then let's check it out," Maska said excitedly.

"We're going to have breakfast with the kids," JT said, indicating him, James, Max and Ryker.

"Try not to be the kids," Caleb called out.

"No promises," James retorted as they walked out the door.

"Come on," Doctor Etsitty said to Sam. "I'll take you to a computer."

When they left the room, Samuel looked at Dean and said, "I wanted to apologize for the Elder Council yesterday."

Dean shrugged. "Not a problem. It's natural to want to know what happened."

"They insisted on meeting you. It wasn't until that morning that I discovered why." Chief Adcox shook his head. "As Chief, I tried to dissuade them, but the Elders have authority with the Yakama people. They wanted to ask their questions."

"How did the meeting go after Dean left?" Caleb asked, smiling.

"They were disgruntled you didn't answer their questions," Chief Adcox relayed, "and grateful you said you'd come if they called."

"I'd say that went well, then," Dean remarked.

The door opened and Sam rushed back in.

"From the grin on your face, I'd say you got the rest of the names?" Caleb asked.

"We did," Sam said, waving the pages. "Doctor Etsitty has a copy and she's taking them to Doctor Collins. She, along with Adam's wife Margaret and Carolyn, will change the names on the children's tags." Walking up to Caleb, he said, "Lomasi Ayala." He held up an age progressed picture of the guardian child. "That's the name of the next guardian of the Yakama, if a guardian is needed."

"Lomasi," Caleb repeated with a smile. "I'm going to call Onida," he said, and hurried from the room.

"And I need to speak with the Ayala's," Samuel said, heading for the door in Caleb's wake. "They should know their child is alive before all this news hits the media."

Turning back to Dean, Sam said, "I asked Alison yesterday to do some additional research on Nicholas Stien." The brothers sat down and Dean took the pages. "He has a grandmother in Seattle, on the father's side. She's divorced and lives alone. His maternal grandparents passed away a couple years after Nicholas disappeared. When Nicholas was small and abuse was suspected, Child Protective Services pulled the boy from the home during their investigation. They asked the paternal grandmother to take the child, and she refused."

"What?" Dean looked up, startled.

Sam nodded. "They asked her to take him for only a couple weeks, but she refused. They asked the mother's parents, but they refused as well; something about being in ill health. Considering they died a couple years later, maybe that was true. Anyway, he ended up in foster care for a few months before the parents went to court to get him back. We found nothing about siblings for the parents. There was mention of an uncle who also lives in Missouri." Sam watched as his brother digested the information. "We should tell the grandmother her grandson is safe."

Dean merely nodded, his eyes on the sheets of paper Sam had printed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sam asked, "Are we?"

Dean sighed. "I don't know. The correct thing would be to tell the grandmother and great grandmother their grandchild was safe. He's got cousins he might get to know. But is that the right thing?"

"It's the law," Sam said.

Dean eyed his brother. After another few minutes, he said, "We've got a child who was possibly abused by his parents, was unwanted by either set of grandparents, who was kidnapped when he was three and has lived for four years in a black cave being traumatized by witches. And this amazing little boy still has such a capacity for love and joy." Standing, he declared, "Nicholas is going to live with Joshua and Carolyn, he's going to come over to my house and play with Ben's children, Mac and Lisa Anne, and he's going to be loved."

Sam grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that. Let's go tell Joshua."

Sam was up on his feet and hurrying toward the door when Dean said, "You were just testing me, weren't you?"

Sam grinned. "I knew you wanted Nicholas to live with Joshua. I just needed you to say it."

Following in his brother's wake, Dean grumbled, "You could have said it's what you wanted too. We didn't need to go through all that."

"Come on," Sam urged, laughing.

Dean rolled his eyes and followed Sam out the door.

.

Joshua sat in the ward with Nicholas playing blocks in the play area. Carolyn sat opposite the two, helping. Every once in a while Nicholas would give her a shy smile and hold out a brightly colored block.

"Thank you," Carolyn smiled. Gently she placed the block on top of the stack.

Nicholas beamed at her.

"Is my teddy somewhere around here?"

Nicholas jerked around and grinned up at Dean. "Back!" he exclaimed. Grabbing the teddy sitting at his side, he held it up proudly.

Dean squatted down and took the bear. He gave it a good examination before he smiled at the child and said, "Well done." He opened his arms and Nicholas jumped into them, squeezing the older man hard. "You're such a good boy," Dean whispered.

"Back," Nicholas said in Dean's ear.

"Yes." Finally Dean broke away and said, "You playing?"

Nicholas nodded and he held up a block for Dean to take.

"Thank you," Dean said. Placing the block on top of the one Carolyn had placed. "You're going to have such a good time in Kentucky."

Joshua's head came up and he stared at Dean. "Are you saying..."

"The research says Nicholas Sawyer," Dean looked over to Carolyn, who had tears in her eyes, "would do well to go with his family; Joshua and Carolyn Sawyer. I'll have Alison complete the paperwork and place the correct files in the public records."

Joshua smiled. "Thank you. When can we take him home?"

"As soon as he's finished his treatments; or, considering you helped make the treatments, you can supervise them in Kentucky," Dean said. "Are you going to stay here until Doctor Etsitty releases him?"

"We are," Carolyn said. "We'll take him home together."

Dean got to his feet and handed Nicholas his teddy. Running his thumb over the boy's cheek, he said, "I'm going to go home soon."

Nicholas frowned.

"But very soon you're coming too. All right?"

The child's lips trembled slightly as he nodded.

Leaning over, Dean said, "I'll see you very soon."

"Back," Nicholas whispered.

Dean nodded. "This time, you'll be coming home."

Nicholas frowned slightly, then said slowly, "Home."

Joshua hugged the child from behind and whispered, "Yes, home." After a moment, he corrected that and said, "Back."

Nicholas smiled. "Back."

"Yes," Joshua said, kissing the boy on his head. "Back."

It was almost three in the afternoon when Dean walked out of the Edge of Town Diner, smiling.

"You're going to miss those cheeseburgers," Caleb said.

"You know it," Dean said, practically smacking his lips.

"I wonder if we can get the recipe," Sam said.

Dean shook his head. "No, the burger belongs here."

Sam stared at his brother. "You've been on the search for the most amazing cheeseburger and now that you've found it, you don't want the recipe?"

"I found it, and it's at the Edge of Town Diner in White Swan, Washington. When I want it again, I'll know where to come." Grinning, he walked around the SUV and climbed behind the wheel.

Sam looked over at Caleb, his mouth hanging open. "A forty-year quest."

"And he's satisfied," Caleb said with a shrug. "Sometimes you gotta move on." He climbed into the passenger seat, leaving the backseat for Sam.

"We could at least have found out what was in it," Sam grumbled, getting in the back.

Dean chuckled as he started the car and turned onto the road to the Records Hall.

"When is Chief Adcox expecting us?" Caleb asked.

"Three o'clock," Sam said. "In," he checked his watch, "fifteen minutes."

"After the meeting with Chief Adcox and Sheriff Olsen, you want to head back to the clinic?" Caleb asked.

"No," Dean said softly.

"Seriously?" Sam frowned. Dean truly enjoyed being with the children, playing with them and giving them love.

"These kids have families. They need to love them, not us. Right now, we're convenient. I don't want them getting attached to us, only for us to leave them." Dean swallowed the lump in his throat. "They've been left enough."

Caleb nodded slowly, his eyes on the passing road.

"What if there are children like Nicholas?" Sam asked.

"We'll stay in touch with Samuel and Maska. If there are children that need homes and no families on the reservation can take them, we reach out to the hunter community. If anyone knows how to love and protect children, it's us."

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "Like Jody, like Jackson, Steve and Mark."

"And like Adam," Caleb added.

"I'd like for the children to stay near one another," Dean said.

Sam nodded. "They've been through a traumatic experience together. Many have lived with the others for years and are protective of one another."

"Like Sarah," Caleb said.

Dean nodded. "The children will have homes; either in the surrounding towns or on the reservation." He pulled into the parking lot of the Yakama Tribal Hall and Records Building, and they sat in the car in front of the stately building.

"So much has happened here, I feel like we've been here for months," Sam said softly.

"Then let's get this done and get home," Dean said, opening the door.

The Next Morning

Sam relaxed back into the luxury seats of the Ames jet and sighed. "It's good to be going home."

"This was a long hunt," Dean agreed. Even though they were about to take off, he wasn't all that uptight. He was too tired. They'd been able to touch base with the clean up team as they arrived in White Swan, and to introduce the leader of the crew, Robert Crawford, to Chief Adcox. Since Alison had already given the crew a rundown of the hunt and the tight deadline before law enforcement and FBI involvement, Robert and his team were ready to hit the ground running.

"We were only gone nine days, but it feels like a month," Max said. "I need to get back to Sawyers."

"I want a week off," James stated.

"Don't you have an internship at Ames industries to get back to?" Max pointed out.

"Yeah, but a couple more days won't matter." Running a hand over his face in a patented Winchester gesture, he said, "This was a tough one."

"Yeah," JT said. "It was."

Caleb walked down the main aisle from the cockpit. "A little over three hours and we'll be back in Sioux Falls." Stopping near Dean, he said, "You sure you want to drive back to New Haven? I can have someone tow the car. On a truck bed, of course."

Dean shook his head. "No, I want to drive. I need…"

"The open road," Sam finished.

Dean nodded.

"I'm going with you, Dad," JT said.

"Me too," James added.

"I'm in," Sam said with a smile.

The engines rumbled and Caleb took his seat next to Onida. "Buckle up! We're ready for takeoff."

Despite his weariness, Dean's fingers clenched the arms of his seat and he gritted his teeth. He really did hate flying.

Onida leaned across the aisle and asked, "You want me to relax you?"

Dean threw her a disgruntled frown. "No, why would I want you to do that?"

Onida opened her mouth to respond, but Sam interrupted, saying, "Don't bother, Onida. He's not terrified. That's his relaxed face."

Dean gave Sam the finger while James and Max laughed.

"In just a few hours we'll be driving in the Impala, Dad," JT said. "Focus on that."

"I'm fine," Dean muttered, forcing his fingers to relax now that they were in the air. "And if we die, I told you so."

Joshua and Ryker left the airport and drove back to White Swan.

"You didn't need to stay," Joshua said.

"Mom and Dad are still here. I'm good with staying awhile longer." Ryker glanced over at Joshua. "You really going to take Nicholas with you?"

Joshua nodded. "When we gave Sheriff Olsen the list of children found, we left Nicholas's name out, with Chief Adcox, Doctor Etsitty and Doctor Collin's approval. Joseph also agreed Nicholas would be better off with Carolyn and I, especially after he saw his background information."

"Will you tell Nicholas about his family when he's older?"

Joshua nodded. "He needs to know about his grandmother. When he's eighteen, he might even want to meet her. Right now, he needs a stable home with people who love him."

"Dad says he wants to give a child a home as well," Ryker said. "There are a couple kids whose parents can't be found."

"One of the little boys?"

Ryker shook his head. "No. Their parents still live in Washington. From all accounts, they were wrecked by their children's disappearance. One family is still taking out ads and hanging posters, trying to fine their son."

"I'm glad, but sad for Adam. He loves those little boys."

They drove in silence for a while longer before Joshua let out a chuckle.

Ryker looked over. "You thinking about the rental agency?"

Joshua laughed out loud. "The looks on their faces when Caleb returned the SUV with holes burned all through the frame." They both laughed loudly. "At least he returned two in good shape."

"But he wrecked three," Ryker said, laughing. "Cheyton was right; he's never going to be able rent a vehicle in Yakima City again."

The Ames jet was closing in on Sioux Falls, and Caleb and Onida were getting their things down from the overhead compartments. Dean and Sam were talking quietly, their duffels already at their feet.

James left Max, who was pulling on his jacket, and walked to the rear of the cabin where JT was sitting, his head bent over a piece of paper. Dropping into the seat by his side, he asked, "What's that?"

JT looked up. "Grandpa's list of missing kids."

James scooted over closer and looked down. Most of the children on the list had missing by the names, but a few were highlighted in yellow. "Ones we found?"

"Yeah, Uncle Sam highlighted the names of the children we rescued." The majority of the list was not highlighted, but JT's finger had stopped at one name that was highlighted with an asterisk beside it. The name was Sarah Halse - Age: 4 years. HT: 38" WT: 31lbs Missing March 5, 2028. "She was thirteen years old. Only thirteen, but she knew who she was. She had such strength…" he shook his head.

James nodded silently, the weight of knowledge that so many children had died through the years hitting him with a solid punch.

"Grandpa," JT murmured softly, "we found thirteen of your missing children and we took them home."

"The witches are dead," James added.

JT slowly folded the list of names and tucked it in his pocket. "No more lost kids."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Then James leaned in close, his shoulder touching JT's, offering the comfort his knew his brother needed.

Dean's arm rested on the open window as he drove the Impala down US 30. Soon he would be heading south down US 61, then on to US 136 toward home. Sam was asleep with his head resting on the window, just like old times. If it weren't for the gray in his hair, Dean could imagine they were on the road thirty years ago, searching for hunts. Of course, all he needed to do was glance in the rearview mirror to see the dark and light heads of his sons to be reminded those days were long past.

"We going to stop soon?" James asked.

They only had another six hours before they got home, and Dean was tempted to push on through. He was eager to see Juliet and sleep in his own bed. But he could also admit it was almost midnight and they'd been traveling since this morning.

"Yeah. See if you can spot a road sign."

"There's a Hampton Inn and Suites in four miles," JT said.

His voice sounded tired, and Dean grimace internally. In his eagerness to get home, he'd been selfish and ignored the fact that his kids were tired. "Then let's get a room."

Thirty minutes later JT and James disappeared into their room, and Sam and Dean stepped into theirs next door.

Yawning, Sam dropped his duffle onto the bed and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Dean nodded and dropped onto the bed closest to the door. He was tempted to ignore the shower and go to sleep, but he knew he'd feel grungy if he did. Instead, he took out his phone and called Juliet.

"You on the road?" Juliet asked.

"No, JT and James were tired, so we're at the Hampton Inn and Suites."

"Coming up in the world," Juliet said approvingly.

"It was nearby and they were nagging."

Juliet laughed, knowing it wasn't true. "Then I guess I won't wait up. I'll see you in the morning, all right?"

"I miss you," Dean said.

"And I miss you. Take care of my man," Juliet said before hanging up.

Dean closed his cell with a sigh. He still wanted to get right back on the road, but instead he got up and banged lightly on the bathroom door. "Quit doing your hair and let me in," he called out.

The water turned off and Sam shouted back, "I've been in here for four minutes. Keep your shirt on!"

Dean chuckled, walked back to the bed and pulled open his duffle. There wasn't much clean inside, but he dug out a shirt and a pair of sweats that weren't too dirty. Five minutes later Sam walked out, a towel around his waist and another around his head.

"You have no patience, you know that?" Sam groused, disgruntled.

"If I didn't do that, you'd think something was wrong," Dean chided as he went into the bathroom.

"No I wouldn't," Sam muttered to himself. "I'd think you'd grown up."

"I heard that," Dean called from behind the closed bathroom door.

"No, you didn't," Sam said softly.

"Yes, I did."

Sam turned around and stared at the bathroom door. Then after a second, he muttered, "Naw," and climbed in bed.

.

Dean was surprised to find himself sitting at his kitchen table with a large plate of fried chicken in front of him, a basket of hot buttermilk biscuits, and a large glass of iced tea sweating by his plate. "What?" He knew he hadn't pushed on for home, that they'd stopped at a hotel.

"Well done," Pastor Jim said, grinning as he set a large bowl of southern green beans on the table and sat opposite Dean.

Dean grinned. "Pastor Jim!" Looking around again, he realized there were fewer current appliances on display than in Pastor Jim's time. Then he remembered the hunt and his face fell.

"What is it, my boy?" Pastor Jim asked, holding up his glass of tea and gesturing for Dean to do the same.

"I used the silver as a weapon," Dean admitted. "I know the purpose of the silver is to protect the members of the Brotherhood. I'm sorry if I dishonored you and the Brotherhood. I didn't know what else to do to kill the witches."

"The silver is yours to use as you need," Pastor Jim said. "You wouldn't have been chosen as Guardian if you couldn't be trusted to use the silver in the best way possible."

Dean frowned. "I don't remember reading of any other Guardians who used the silver as a weapon. I melted the witches with it."

"Could you have defeated them in any other way?"

"Not that I could see at the time," Dean said. "Maybe if we'd worked harder, looked more into the witches' weaknesses."

Pastor Jim nodded. "Didn't you do that?"

"I thought we did. We used minerals found in the region to make pyrite bullets, and…"

"Pyrite bullets?" Pastor Jim interrupted, his brows raised in surprise. "How did you do that?"

Dean explained how Ryker had taken apart the bullets and put the pyrite paste on the inside and how that resulted in tearing up the witches.

Pastor Jim's eyes twinkled. "How inventive! What else did you boys come up with?"

Dean told about the hunt, how they met up with the witches and about their regenerating, about Max and Ryker's grenades and the other weapons that could kill them. He told Jim how he'd been taken by a witch, and that he'd used the silver to create a place to hide. "And it looked just like leaves and branches!" Dean explained. He told of the witches leeching energy from him and JT, and about how, in the end, he'd used the silver to take down the alpha witches. And about how Triad power in the form of an energy barrier was used to trap the witches.

At the end, they sat in silence while each sipped Pastor Jim's special sweet tea.

Jim shook his head. "I am continually amazed at you and your Triad, my boy. You are inventive, original, novel and creative, much more so than I ever was." Lifting his glass, he said, "Well done. While I am excited to see what the next generation will achieve, I hope for at least a few more years of watching you and your Triad set the bar high for future generations." Giving Dean a wide smile, he said, "Now, how about we feast on some of this fine fried chicken before our guests arrive. I have apple pie waiting, and you know how greedy Gideon can be when it comes to apple pie."

Dean grinned and picked up his fork. "Can't we start with the pie?"

Jim laughed loudly. "Maybe we should."

.

Dean woke up suddenly in the dark hotel room, the echo of laughter and friendly voices in his ears, and he smiled. Shifting underneath the warm blankets, he closed his eyes again. Maybe retirement could wait a few more years.

TBC