The Guard Changed at Dawn

Chapter 28 - Epilogue

Two Weeks Later

Laughter echoed across the yard as JT, James, Ryker, Max and Ben played touch football. Mary and Josie were cheering from the sidelines. It didn't matter that the teams were uneven; all that mattered was a ball somewhere was going across a goal line.

Ben's son Mac was playing with Nicholas on the side lawn. While Nicholas didn't say much, he was immediately comfortable with Mac and Lisa Anne. Ben had told his son that the child had been through a horrible experience, and needed all their love and support. Marcus Dean Braeden Winchester was four years old, but patient beyond his years. Sam always said Mac had Dean's unending patience, especially with his younger sister Lisa Anne, who had just turned two. Every once in a while Nicholas would look up to watch the game being played on the farm's front lawn, then go back to playing blocks with Mac.

Inside, Juliet was having a wonderful time preparing lunch with Carolyn and Onida, as well as Margaret and Ben's wife Maya. For so many years her world had been very male oriented; now the place was filling up with women. She was enjoying the camaraderie immensely, especially getting to know Onida. Caleb had found someone, and she couldn't have been more pleased. Now, she planned on enlisting all of their help in getting Sam hooked up again.

For the first time, Adam and Margaret had come with Joshua and Carolyn to Dean's for a barbeque and day of relaxation. Margaret was enjoying the company, and Adam found himself having an unexpectedly good time. He'd been nervous about associating with Dean, Sam and Caleb after the hunt. But the men were casual and welcoming, and Adam found himself relaxing. The conversations were surprisingly agile and quick-witted, shifting between academia, hunting, community news and good-natured ribbing. Adam found himself joining in with gusto and genuine enjoyment. When he wandered off the front porch in search of a cup of coffee, he and Joshua made themselves comfortable in the living room, talking about the hunt and hunting in general.

Doctor Etsitty had called a couple days before and said there was a small five year old boy and a girl of seven that could use a home. After a brief discussion, Adam and Margaret had affirmed that the children would be welcome. Adam had decided he and Margaret were moving from Virginia to Kentucky. Margaret welcomed the idea of living near women familiar with the mystical and supernatural, women she didn't need to be on her guard around. And now that Adam had some up close and personal experience with hunting and the current Triad, he'd discovered there was much to be admired in the Brotherhood. With two new little ones coming into his family, moving to Kentucky allowed them to be closer to Joshua, Carolyn, Nicholas, and to Ryker. While his son spent a considerable amount of time in New York and North Carolina with the other members of his proposed Triad, he'd relocated to Louisville a few years after his honorable discharge to train with Joshua. Though Nadine wasn't happy a valued member of the coven was leaving, the move was good for his whole family. He and Margaret were flying back to Washington the next day to bring the two little ones home. With Nicholas there, they could all heal together.

In the front yard, Lisa Anne pushed herself up and started to toddle off toward the barn. Quickly Nicholas and Mac reached out and pulled her back onto the grass. Angry at having her adventure thwarted, she started to cry. Startled, Nicholas looked over at Dean, his lips turned downward. Immediately Dean hurried down the front steps to sooth him, while Ben jogged over to pick up the baby.

"Sad?" Nicholas asked, staring up at Dean, his eyes wide.

"No," Dean said, rubbing the child's back. "She's fine. See?" He pointed up at the baby in Ben's arms, who was no longer crying, but chewing on the hood tie to Ben's sweatshirt.

Nicholas smiled. Mac dumped a block in the boy's lap and he quickly picked it up and placed it on the tower the younger child was building.

"You good?" Dean asked, running his hand over the boy's blond head.

Nicholas nodded and returned to building what Dean thought looked like a castle.

Rising, he walked back to the porch where Caleb and Sam were sitting, bottles of chilled beer in their hands.

"Is he all right?" Joshua asked, opening the screen door and stepping out onto the front porch.

"Yeah. He was just startled by Lisa Anne's tantrum," Dean said, smiling. Picking up his beer, he said, "Once she calmed down, he did too."

Joshua nodded. "Good." He leaned against the door and watched Nicholas. It hadn't been as traumatic as he'd expected, bringing Nicholas home. The child was inquisitive and adaptive. He'd been worried about separating him from the other children held captive by the witches, but since Nicholas had been apart from them longer by virtue of being retrieved first, it hadn't been as tough as Joshua had feared. Onida suggested that Joshua and Nicholas accompany her to Yakima when she went back to work with Lomasi and Jacy every couple of weeks, and he thought that was a good idea. Chief Adcox was in the midst of arranging for the children who lived in the area to go to school on the reservation, if possible. The kids needed to be around one another where they could be taught, receive counseling and reintegrate into society together.

Every day he and Carolyn were teaching Nicholas to talk and communicate. Since he was in a new house, he was sleeping in their bedroom. But when he got a little older, they would show him his own room. It would take time, but they were both committed to giving this little boy a wonderful home.

"That was one of our most complicated hunts," Sam commented.

"After all the years of hunting," Caleb said, "I didn't think I could be surprised anymore."

Sam smiled. "I know. We encountered something new this time."

Dean took a long pull from his beer. "Maybe we should hang around a little while longer."

"You serious?" Caleb asked.

Dean shrugged. "Pastor Jim said he hoped for a few more years from us as the Triad." He looked over his shoulder at Joshua. Since Joshua was the oldest of them, he would take his cue from him.

Joshua gazed at each member of his Triad and felt grateful for the decades of friendship he'd had with these remarkable men. "There's something to be said for going out on a win," he said slowly. "But I don't believe adding a few more wins would be viewed as greedy."

Caleb laughed. "I could do this awhile longer."

Sam grinned. "We're too young to retire."

Dean reached down and picked up another beer. Twisting off the cap, he handed it to Joshua. Holding his own high, he looked at Caleb and drawled, "Well?"

Caleb grinned as their bottles met in the air. "All for one, and one for all."

The End

Author's Note:

Thank you all for joining me on this journey, and thank you for your kind comments. I appreciated all the reviews and encouraging words. I think I loved the Brotherhood AU more than the TV series, and wanted to revisit that world again in this story. Thank you, Ridley C James, for creating this AU world, and Tidia for all you did in crafting it alongside your cohort in spinning a yarn. Till the next adventure!