"Dean, if you shoot him, I will shoot you."

"Quiet, Piper. This is a trap."

"What if it isn't?"

The waitress approached the table, her nametag read "Denise." Piper smiled warmly at her, while trying to take the gun from Dean's hand under the table.

"Hi. Welcome to Cousin Oliver's."

"Thanks," Sam said with a smile.

She responded the way women usually did. "Can I-"

"We're actually waiting on somebody," Dean snapped.

Denise, annoyed, slapped menus down in front of each of them.

Dean had arranged their chairs so that Adam could only choose one place to sit. He and Piper on one side, Sam on the other.

Piper picked up a menu, trying to ignore Dean as he picked up the glass of water in front of him and poured it into the potted plant next to him.

Sam glared. "What are you-"

Dean pulled out a flask and poured water from it into the glass instead.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Holy water."

Dean nodded, eyes never leaving the door of the diner. "Yup. One sip of Jesus juice, this evil bitch is gonna be in a world of hurt." He then took out a package and replaced the silverware that was set at the fourth place at the table with actual silver utensils.

Piper glared at him. "So, what? If he's not possessed, he's a shapeshifter?"

Dean glared back. "This is a trap, woman. Look, either way, this thing is gonna bleed. I mean, using Dad as bait? That's the last mistake of its short, pitiful life."

Sam looked at Dean for a long moment. Dean turned his glare to his brother. "What?"

"Dean… Listen. There's an entry in Dad's journal." He flipped the journal open. "From January of nineteen ninety, saying he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case. That's roughly, uh, about nine months before the kid was born."

Dean shrugged. "Coincidence."

Piper huffed and Sam's eyebrows raised. "Coincidence. Next two pages of the journal? Torn out."

"You're not actually buying this, are you?"

Sam shrugged. "Look, man, I don't want to believe it either, I'm just saying it's possible. I mean, Dad would be gone for weeks at a time, and he wasn't exactly a monk. I mean, a hunter rolls into town, kills a monster, saves the girl… Sometimes the girl's grateful."

Piper chuckled when Dean made a face. "Well, now I'm thinking about Dad sex. Stop talking."

Sam winked at Piper. "Maybe he slipped one past the goalie." Piper laughed out loud.

The door chimed, and a tall, thin young man walked in. Piper examined him with interest. He looked very young, relaxed. He was looking for them, and she raised her hand. "Adam?"

He approached the table. "You're, uh, Piper?"

She smiled. "Yep! This is Sam, and this is Dean."

He set his backpack on the floor next to him and took the empty chair. "So, um, how did you know my dad?"

"We, uh, we worked together." Sam said easily.

Sam examined the two men, then his eyes fell to Piper. "How did he die?"

"On the job," Sam said slowly, examining the man next to him.

"He was a mechanic, right?"

"A car fell on him," Dean said shortly. Piper kicked him under the table.

The waitress came back. "Hey, Adam, you doing?"

She set a water on the table. Piper could have strangled Dean when he took it. "I'll take that," he said cheerfully. "I am very thirsty."

The waitress eyed Dean, then turned back to Adam. "So, the usual, Adam?"

He was also eyeing Dean. "Uh, yeah. Thanks, Denise."

Adam took a sip of the holy water in front of him, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. So, terrible manners run in the family, Piper thought ruefully.

"So," Sam said, trying to break the awkward silence. "When's the last time you saw John?"

Adam shook his head. "I don't even know. It's… A couple years."

"Why did you decide to call him now?" Sam asked.

"I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got. My mom's missing."

Piper inhaled sharply. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Adam. For how long?"

"Tragic, really," Dean snapped, giving Piper the side eye. "But if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?"

"Dean," Piper hissed, horrified.

"'Cause John and me didn't really know each other. Not until a few years ago, anyway." Adam answered warily.

Sam looked at the younger man. "What do you mean?"

Adam shrugged. "My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Dean asked, practically snarling. Piper kicked him again.

"My mom's a nurse, and Dad came into the ER, pretty torn up. Hunting accident or something. And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."

Sam smiled. "Yeah, well, who is these days?"

"So when did you, uh, finally meet him?" Dean asked.

"When I was twelve. My mom had one of his old numbers, and after I begged her, God, twenty-four-seven, she finally called him. God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night."

"Well, that's heartwarming." Dean sneered.

Denise came and dropped a plate of food in front of Adam. When she had gone, he gestured to the plate. "You mind?"

Dean shrugged. "Please, dig in."

The three of them watched as he picked up the knife and fork, and nothing happened. Okay, no demon, no shapeshifter, just John's long lost son, Piper thought to herself.

"He would swing by once a year or so," Adam continued, cutting into his food. "You know, called when he could. But still… He taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was fifteen. And, uh… He showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful 'sixty-seven Impala-"

"Oh, this is crap," Dean interrupted. "You know what, you're lying."

"Oh for God's sake," Piper muttered.

Adam stopped, taken aback. "No, I'm not."

"Uh, yeah, you are."

Adam put his utensils down. "I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?"

"We're John Winchester's sons, that's who." He indicated himself and Sam. "We are his sons."

Adam frowned, then looked at Piper. "Are you his daughter?"

She chuckled. "No, I'm dating Dean."

Adam went back to staring at Sam and Dean. "I've got brothers?"

"No, you don't have brothers," Dean snarled. "Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here."

Adam blinked. "I have never been hunting in my life."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever, we're out of here. Sam, Pipes."

He stood up to leave. Piper gave Adam an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Adam, he's just-"

"I can prove it."

xxxxx

"Okay, so… Basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?"

Dean shrugged. "Godzilla's just a movie."

"We hunt them," Piper said, shooting Dean a look. "So did your father."

Adam nodded. "Okay."

Dean glared at him. "'Okay?' That's it?"

Adam looked back at him, confused. "What am I supposed to say?"

Dean threw his hands in the air. "That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says 'okay.'"

Adam shrugged. "Well, you're my brothers. And my brother's girlfriend. You're telling me the truth, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?"

Sam shook his head. "We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what."

"There's a pretty long list of monsters that fit the bill," Piper said gently. Poor kid, he just lost his mom, and now his whole world had been turned upside down. She took a moment to reflect that he was doing remarkably well with the knowledge.

"You think maybe she's still alive?" Adam asked hopefully.

Piper winced, and Dean and Sam looked down, avoiding his gaze.

"Oh." Adam straightened a little. "How can I help?"

Dean's head snapped up. "You can't."

Adam glared at him, and Piper saw some good old fashioned Winchester stubbornness in it. "This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in."

Dean shook his head. "No."

PIper smacked him on the arm. "Dean, he lost his mother, and he wants to find the thing that took her. Maybe you guys understand that?" She looked between Sam and Dean.

"Why do you think Dad never told us about him, Piper?" Dean asked, glaring down at her. She refused to be intimidated, and stared right back at him. "Why do you think he ripped the pages out of his journal?

"Because he was protecting him," she snapped back, stepping forward until they were almost nose to nose. "Fat lot of good it did him."

"That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are going to respect his wishes."

"Screw that, Dean, no. If Adam wants to hunt, I'm going to teach him. I don't need you or your permission."

"Do I get a say in this?" Adam asked hesitantly.

"No!" Dean shouted.

"Of course," Piper said, shooting a glare at Dean. When he opened his mouth, she shook her head. "Take a walk, Dean, there is not an argument to be had here."

Dean huffed and grabbed his jacket, slamming his door on the way out. Piper ran a frustrated hand through her hair, resisting the urge to run after him.

Adam looked at Sam. "Are they always like this?"

Sam chuckled. "Pretty much. Welcome to the family."

xxxxx

Piper was watching Adam disassemble a pistol, quietly giving direction when needed, when he asked. "Sam… How did Dad really die?"

Sam didn't look up from the shotgun he was cleaning. "Demon."

Adam stopped and looked between Piper and Sam. "You hunted it down? Got revenge?"

"Dean killed it," Sam said shortly.

"So it's over for you."

Piper shook her head. "It's never over, Adam."

The lights suddenly went out, and there was a rattling noise from the other end of the room.

"What the-" Adam started. Piper shushed him, taking the handgun and quickly reassembling it.

"Stay here," she said shortly. She went to the door, looking around. There was a sound behind her. She turned, gun pointed, but there was still nothing. She looked up and spotted the vent near the ceiling. "Sam, it's in the vents! Go!"

They ran to the parking lot, Adam following behind.

"Where's your car?" Sam asked.

Adam pointed. "Over here."

"All right, keys."

Adam tossed him the keys as they ran through the parking lot. Piper joined Adam at the passenger side, keeping her back to his and making sure they weren't followed.

A soft grunt from the other side alerted her that Sam was in trouble.

"Sam!" Adam cried out.

Piper ran to the other side of Adam's truck as the Impala pulled up. She saw Sam clinging to the truck, resisting whatever was trying to pull him under. "Dean!" she shouted, grabbing Sam's arm and pulling as hard as she could.

Adam joined her. As they were pulling, Dean pulled a gun from his waistband and fired off a shot. There was a screech as whatever was holding Sam let go. Piper fell backwards, and Adam did the same.

"What the hell?" she asked softly, accepting Dean's outstretched hand to help her up.

xxxxx

Piper was in Adam's house with him, pouring salt lines along the doors and windows. She was mulling over the heated conversation she'd overheard between Sam and Dean. Sam had insisted that Adam would have to cut all ties to his life, and Dean had disagreed. Dean wanted Adam to have a normal, happy life. Sam had insisted that it was never going to happen now.

Piper assumed that there were plenty people who came in contact with things that go bump in the night, then went back to their normal lives. They should, they should be happy. Her normal life, her entire normal life, had been ripped away from her, so she had chosen to fight the darkness. It was a decision Adam would have to make for himself, but neither of the Winchester brothers seemed to be willing to let him do that.

"Idiots," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Adam asked curiously.

She smiled at him. "Nothing, Adam. We've closed off every other way into the house, so if it's coming, it's going to come through the vent in your mom's bedroom floor."

They went to make their way to the bedroom, but there was a creak behind them. Piper whirled around.

"You were saying?" Adam asked warily.

A woman came in, her eyes lighting up when she saw Adam. "Adam! Oh, God, Adam!"

"Mom?"

Piper picked up her shotgun and pointed at the woman. "No."

"Mom!" Adam cried.

"Adam!" Piper snapped. "Adam, wait."

Adam approached his mom. "Mom."

"It took me, but I got away," the woman said breathlessly. The two embraced.

PIper kept the shotgun aimed at her. "Adam, step away from her."

He turned to see the gun. "Piper, what the hell?!"

"She's not your mother, Adam! There was too much blood. Your mother's dead. There was too much blood in the vents!"

Piper reached forward and yanked Adam away from the woman. He grabbed the shotgun out of her hands. "Adam!" the woman cried.

"Adam, you have to shoot it," Piper said softly. "It's not human."

Adam pointed the shotgun at Piper, who felt the blood drain from her face. "I know," he said, smirking, then hit her hard with the shotgun, and darkness descended.

xxxxx

Piper came to slowly, her head pounding. She tried to move, but was tied down at the wrists and ankles. There was also duct tape across her waist. She groaned. "Should have known. You're not shapeshifters, you're ghouls."

"You know," said the thing impersonating Kate Mulligan. "I find that term racist."

The woman leaned forward and nibbled on Piper's ear. Piper growled, trying to restrain the nausea rolling her stomach.

"Mmm," the thing said. "Fresh meat. So much better than what we're used to."

"It was the fresh kills that threw me," PIper said conversationally. "You guys don't usually go after the living. Filthy scavengers most of the time."

The thing that called itself Adam came into the room, smirking. "Well, you are what you eat."

"You're monsters," Piper spat.

'Kate' drew the knife across Piper's arm. Piper hissed in pain, then in nausea as 'Kate' leaned down to lick at the wound.

"You know, you guys use that word a lot, Piper." 'Adam' said thoughtfully. "But I don't think you know what it means. Our father was a monster? Why? Because of what he ate? He never hurt anyone, Pipes. Living, anyway."

'Kate' was going to town on Piper's arm, and Piper was pretty sure she was about to vomit. Then the thing leaned up and grinned at Piper. "No. He was no monster. But the thing that killed him was. A monster named John Winchester."

'Adam,' using the distraction of John's name, stabbed Piper in the side. She screamed, pain exploding through her.

He set the knife to the side, the dug a finger into the wound. Piper screamed again, trying to writhe.

"Thanks to your daddy-in-law, my brother and I grew up on our own. At least we had each other."

'Adam' had pulled his finger out of Piper's side, and she was panting, trying not to pass out. She watched in disgust as he licked his finger. "Not quite like you and Dean, of course, but we were inseparable."

"Actually, it was very hard to get one of you on your own."

'Adam' grinned down at her. "You know, it's like Sam said. The only thing you can count on is family."

xxxxx

Dean came into the room slowly, intending to sneak up on them. The sight of Piper tied to the table, deep gashes in her arms, threw that plan out the window. "Hey!"

He shot the thing that called itself Adam in the chest, and it hit the wall.

"Dean, they're ghouls!" Piper cried from the table.

Dean fired at 'Kate,' hitting her in the head. He then turned to 'Adam,' but was too late to prevent him from tackling Dean onto the ground. They grappled, and Dean finally gained the upper hand. He grabbed a metal bar from the ground and beat the damn thing's head in.

"Dean," Piper said weakly, and Dean's heart stopped.

He grabbed some towels from the kitchen and ran in to her, cutting the ropes and duct tape. He pressed the towels onto her arms and helped her sit up. "Come on, kitten, you're gonna be all right. Come on, let's go," he murmured, trying to make sure she could stand.

"Thanks, baby," she said softly, pressing onto her arms and wincing.

"That's what I'm here for, kitten. Let's get the hell out of here."

xxxxx

Dean had booked them a separate motel room after they had given Adam a hunter's funeral. He was still mulling over the way Sam had handled this case, and he was worried about it. Sam was changing. He wasn't the kid Dean had taken from Stanford, and now he was starting to regret doing that. He loved his brother, he loved hunting with his brother, but this… This was different. Something felt bad about this.

But for now, he put all of those things aside to take care of Piper. She was pale, weak, and upset. He carried her in and set their bags down before gently placing her on the bed. Once he had her situated, he sat down next to her, running a hand up and down her thigh. "How you feeling, kitten?"

She made a face. "Like a ghoul stuck her tongue in me." She sighed, and smiled to take the bite out of her words. "I'm okay, baby, just tired."

He brushed the hair off of her forehead. "Want me to call Cas? See if he'll do you another favor?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll be all right. Just come lay down next to me, okay?"

It was his turn to shake his head. He tensed for the fight he knew was about to happen. "No, Pipes, I'm sleeping in the other room with Sammy. You need to rest."

She blinked. "Why would you sleep in the other room?"

Suddenly her eyes narrowed, and Dean swore the temperature dropped at least ten degrees. "Dean Winchester," she said softly. "Why would you sleep in another room?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You know why, Pipes."

She sat up quickly, and he frowned. "Take it easy, Piper, come on-"

"No," she said simply. "No, no to this whole conversation. This whole conversation again. You're not sleeping in another room, you're not 'protecting' me from yourself, you're not treating me like a child anymore. Just no, Dean."

"Piper, come on. Baby, you've got to get some rest, and how can you do that if-" He swallowed hard. "How can you do that if I might have another nightmare and hit you again?"

She leaned forward to press her forehead against his. "How many times do I have to say I love you before you believe it?" she asked quietly.

He frowned, but didn't move away from her. "What?"

She leaned back and met his eyes. "Dean, I love you. All of you, dummy. I love the way you hunt, I love the way you make love to me, I love the way you always make sure Sammy is okay. I love the good things about you."

"And the bad. I love you when you're drinking too much, I love you when you're reckless, I love you when you ogle other women. And I love you when you have nightmares, and I love you when you accidentally hit me in the night." She smiled at him gently. "It doesn't matter to me, Dean. If you really want to go, you can, but I wish you'd stay."

He stared at her hard. She was too pale, her hair was limp in it's braid. There were dark circles under her eyes. Even though she was the most beautiful sight on Earth, she kind of looked like shit.

What didn't look like shit was the love shining through her eyes. She loves me, he thought with wonder, not for the first time. He didn't understand it. He didn't deserve it. He had tortured souls, been the best of the best at it. And she was right, he drank too much, drove too fast, and looked at other women when he thought she wasn't looking. She was too good for him, by far.

"Are you sure?" he asked raggedly, unsure if he was talking about her loving him or him sleeping in her bed.

She smiled. "I always am, baby."

xxxxx

Hi everyone! Here's my notes:

I own only Piper Finley, the original character. I don't own Supernatural or the characters. (heartbroken)

Reviews, comments, and kudos give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.

If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.