"Daddy, what about my ducky?" Alec asked, snuggling against his neck. His little boy didn't want to take a bath since he didn't think they had any of his toys.

"Uncle Sammy's looking for your ducky," Dean said.

"What about the bubbles?" Alec asked. "And my sailboat…And Daddy, and what about my batman towel?"

"Yeah baby, Uncle Sammy's looking for all of it," Dean reassured. He was sitting on the sofa, holding Alec as he waited for Sam to find all of Alec's bath toys. It was a good thing they brought all of Alec's toys; he didn't think he would miss them, but Alec knew when his toys were missing. He didn't have much, so he kept track of his toys.

"Daddy, can I play with Mole and Rocky and Maxie and Gem and Eve-"

"Alec," Dean cut off, knowing Alec was going to name every person he met that day. It was better to stop him before he could keep going. "We can do whatever you want tomorrow as long as you take a bath tonight."

"Ok Daddy," Alec said.

"Dean, I can't find the sailboat," Sam called out from the other room.

"Daddy," Alec whined in distress, pulling on his shirt.

"It's ok baby," Dean said before he yelled back, "Check Bobby's bag. He picked up any toys I missed."

"Daddy, I need my sailboat to take a bath," Alec said.

"I know," Dean said. "Uncle Sammy's gonna find it." He stood up with Alec in his arms and headed for the bathroom. "We're gonna start the bath while Uncle Sammy looks for it."

"Daddy, what about my toys?" Alec asked, twisting around to try to see where his toys were.

"Uncle Sammy's gonna bring them," Dean replied patiently. "We're just gonna get the water warm."

Alec threw his arms around his neck and snuggled against him again. He was being really stubborn tonight; he hadn't been this bad at the motels they stopped at, but he'd had a big day and he didn't want it to end. "Daddy…" Alec mumbled, tears in his voice.

"You're not gonna get me this time, kiddo," Dean said. "You're taking a bath even if Uncle Sammy can't find your sailboat."

"But Daddy…" Alec cried. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his shirt and let out some fake tears. Alec had tried this on him before, but he knew when his little boy's tears were fake.

Dean rubbed Alec's back as he started the water in the tub. He would just ignore the fake tears until Alec decided everything was ok.

"Found it," Sam said, running in with Alec's toys, his towel, and his PJs in his arms. Alec stopped crying, but he stayed snuggled against his neck. "Bobby ran to the store to get him some milk so he can still have his warm milk before bed."

"Ok, good," Dean said. He poured the bubbles in once the water was warm and put Alec's toys in the water. "Can you make sure his blankie and Teddy are on the sofa?"

"Yeah, and I'll find his sippy cup," Sam said, leaving again.

"Alright baby, arms up," Dean said as he set Alec on the floor. Alec looked over the edge of the tub and smiled when he saw his toys floating in the water. Alec put his arms up so he could get his shirt off, and then he wiggled out of his pants and pullups. Dean picked up his little boy and put him in the bubbly water.

Alec immediately giggled and hit at the bubbles. Dean quickly washed his little boy's hair while he was distracted. He'd given Alec enough baths now to know the bubbles only held his attention for so long. Eventually Alec would start splashing and wanting him to play too.

"Close your eyes," Dean said, filling a cup with water. Alec closed his eyes tight so he could pour the water over his head.

He cleaned Alec up while he played in the water, and then got him out and dried him off once the water got cold. He got Alec in his dinosaur PJs and carried him back to the living room. Sam gave him Alec's blankie so he could wrap him up, and Alec rested his head on his shoulder.

"And here's his Teddy and his sippy cup with warm milk," Sam said, passing those over too.

"Daddy…where are we sleeping?" Alec asked quietly.

"I'm gonna show him where everyone's sleepin' before we go to bed," Dean said. "He should know just in case he needs something."

"And it'll make him feel better knowing we're all in the same house," Sam said.

Dean nodded and carried Alec down the hall. "Here's our room. See, it's pretty much like our room back home," Dean said. "And here's Uncle Sammy's room."

"The bed is little," Alec whispered.

"Yeah, Uncle Sammy looks funny sleepin' in it," Dean said. "We'll try to wake up early so you can see him."

"Daddy, where's Grandpa sleeping?" Alec asked, his voice muffled against his shoulder.

"Right down here," Dean said, walking to the next room. His heart dropped when he opened the door to Alec's old room. His room didn't have much in it, but he hadn't really seen anything of Alec's from when he was older. He'd put away his few belongings once they were set up at Bobby's and he hadn't looked at them since. He didn't expect it to hurt so much to think about Alec when he was older. He loved having Alec as his little boy, but he missed having him as his little brother.

"Daddy?" Alec asked, tugging on his collar.

His heart leapt again; he would never get tired of hearing his little boy call him that. "Yeah baby?" Dean asked. He tightened his arms around Alec and kissed the top of his head.

"You look sad," Alec said.

"My little brother used to sleep here," Dean said.

"Uncle Sammy?" Alec asked, confused.

"No, I had another little brother," Dean explained. "Something happened to him and he's not here anymore."

"Did he die?" Alec asked softly.

"It's complicated," Dean said. "But he was a lot like you."

"Do you miss him?" Alec asked.

"Yeah baby, I miss him," Dean admitted.

Alec threw his arms around his neck and gave him a big kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry, Daddy. Don't be sad."

"Ok Alec, I won't be sad," Dean said. "Now, let's go tell Uncle Sammy good night, and then you can drink you're milk and we'll go to bed."

"Ok Daddy," Alec said.

Dean walked back to the living room and Sam smiled when he spotted them. He reached out for Alec and said, "K'mere buddy, give me a good night kiss."

Alec kissed Sam's cheek and said, "Good night Uncle Sammy."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Sam teased.

Alec giggled, "I won't!"

Sam kissed Alec good night before he passed him back over. "Alright, drink your milk so we can go to bed," Dean said, holding Alec again. Alec took his sippy cup and drank his warm milk while he held him. He walked over to the sofa and sat down with Alec in his lap. He wrapped Alec up in his blankie and gave him his Teddy so he'd have his favorite things when he fell asleep.

"You good?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded, "I'm gonna turn on the TV and he'll fall asleep in no time."

"Alright, wake me up if you need somethin'," Sam said.

Dean rubbed Alec's chest as he drank his milk. Alec's eyes were starting to droop as he turned on the TV. His little boy was easy to take care of when it was just the two of them. He missed having Alec as his little brother, but he couldn't imagine not having Alec as his little boy. Not only was Alec happier now, but he was happier now too. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he had been unhappy since Alec had been turn into a two-year-old.

Alec dropped his sippy cup and rubbed his eyes. "Ready for bed, baby?" Dean asked.

Alec nodded, so he turned off the TV and walked back to his room. He kicked off his boots and got under the covers while Alec snuggled against him.

He was asleep for maybe two hours before Alec started screaming. He immediately woke up, and he tried to wake Alec up, but he wouldn't.

"Alec, c'mon baby, you gotta wake up," Dean begged, gently tapping Alec's cheek. "You're havin' a bad dream." Alec weakly struggled against him and screamed again. He kicked his little legs and screamed as loudly as he could.

"What's going on?" Sam asked in panic as he ran in. "Is he ok?"

"I can't get him to wake up…he's having a bad dream," Dean said.

"Alec, c'mon buddy," Sam said, walking over and running his hand through Alec's hair.

Tears slowly started to leak out of Alec's eyes, so he quickly scooped him up and held him against his chest. "It's ok, Alec," Dean soothed. "Everything's ok."

"Daddy," Alec sobbed, fisting his hands in his shirt.

"It's ok, baby," Dean whispered. "It was just a bad dream." Alec sobbed against him, unable to hide how he was feeling. He held his little boy, and eventually he started to calm down. Sam left and came back with Alec's sippy cup and found his Teddy for him.

"Dean, try to get him to drink some juice. It might help," Sam said.

Dean nodded and took the sippy cup. "Alec, do you wanna drink some juice?" Alec shook his head no and refused to come out of his hiding spot.

"Daddy…the-the bad p-people were back," Alec whispered, his voice choked with tears.

"I know," Dean said, kissing the top of Alec's head. "But I'm not goin' anywhere and I won't let them get you, remember?" Alec nodded, but he still sniffled and cried against his chest. "Everything's ok."

"Do you think he can go back to sleep?" Sam asked.

"Maybe…" Dean said. "I'm gonna take him to the living room and turn on the TV again."

"If he can't fall asleep, come get me, ok?" Sam said. "Do not stay up all night with him again. We can take it in turns if we have to."

He rolled his eyes, but nodded as he stood up with Alec. He turned on the TV in the living room again and sat down, hoping Alec would fall asleep. His little boy did fall asleep after a while, and so did he, but it wasn't long before Alec was screaming in fear. Sam ran in, and so did Bobby this time, and the three of them tried to calm him down. It took even longer than the first time, but they managed to get him to relax again.

"Ok baby, let's try this again," Dean murmured, taking Alec to bed instead of staying in the living room. He didn't have much hope that Alec would actually sleep through the rest of the night, but he didn't know what else to do.

They'd been through this before with Alec. After he had been turned into a kid, he'd had terrible nightmares just like these. Once they got him settled at Bobby's the nightmares had mostly stopped, but they'd had to try a lot of different bedtime routines to get it just right. Even though they weren't at home, they had still gone through his routine of giving him a bath, giving him warm milk to drink, and watching TV before he fell asleep. It had worked when they had stayed at the motel, but their luck had run out.

"No bad dreams this time, ok?" Dean said, giving Alec a kiss. "Let's sleep the rest of the night."

"Ok Daddy…" Alec mumbled.

"We gotta do something different," Sam said as they walked. His brother sounded as exhausted as he felt. They had been at Freak Valley for a few days now, but Alec still hadn't slept through the night. They were all tired since they all woke up every time Alec had a bad dream. He was carrying his little boy right now, walking around the Valley so he could actually get some sleep. Alec slept better when he was being carried. This was really the only way he could get his little boy to sleep at all.

"I've tried everything to get him to sleep…this is the only thing that works," Dean said.

"We could take turns carrying him at night," Sam suggested. "That way we could all get at least a little sleep."

"Even like this he doesn't stay asleep for long," Dean said. "We gotta go home…"

"Max is gonna be pissed," Sam said.

"I gotta do what's best for him. He needs sleep, and for some reason he just can't sleep here," Dean said.

"Do you think he remembers things from when he was older?" Sam asked. "Maybe he recognizes people from back at Manticore, or maybe he even remembers the last time we were here…"

"He always just says that the bad people are back," Dean said. "But he might remember things from before…"

"How're we gonna break this to Max?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "She can visit us and maybe when he's older we can visit again. He wasn't ready for this. He's only ever lived at Bobby's and we just dropped him into this."

"Dean, we couldn't just keep him at Bobby's forever," Sam said.

"I know…" Dean grumbled. He rubbed Alec's back as Sam opened the door to Command. He was hoping to break the news to Max and be on the road right after lunch. He still wanted to swing by the ocean so Alec could see it, but they could do that another time. But he didn't think Max was going to cooperate with his plans.

"Finally," Mole growled when they walked in. "I didn't think you guys were ever going to get here." And he was almost sure Mole was going to stow away in the Impala when they left. "Let me see the little squirt," Mole said, reaching for Alec. Dean passed his little boy over and let Mole hold him. Alec didn't actually wake up, which was a sign of how tired he actually was. "Sleepy little guy, huh?" Mole said, holding Alec against himself.

"He's having trouble sleeping," Sam said. "He's having really bad nightmares…"

"That mean you're leavin' soon?" Mole reluctantly asked.

Dean nodded, "He sleeps better at home. He's gone three nights without sleep now."

"Guess you're going to go tell Max then?"

"Yeah, we figure we'll get a jump on getting back. Get most of the driving done today, and then finish it up tomorrow," Sam said.

"Can I watch him while you talk to her?" Mole asked, looking down at Alec.

Dean smiled, "You big softie…"

"Shut it, Winchester," Mole growled.

"You can watch him," Sam said before he could keep going with Mole.

He glared at his brother, but Sam rolled his eyes and pushed on his shoulder to get him moving. They walked down the hall to what was considered Max's office. Surprisingly, she was in her office, sitting at her desk looking over some papers. She looked up when they walked in, but she frowned when she didn't see Alec.

"Where's Alec?" Max asked.

"Mole kidnapped him," Dean quipped.

Max huffed, "Child hog…"

"I'm afraid he's going to stash him somewhere when we leave," Sam said under his breath.

Max gave them a sharp look when Sam said that and asked, "You're leaving? You just got here!"

"Alec's not sleepin' at night," Dean said. "He's exhausted and so are we."

"We've gotta get him back where he's comfortable, and then maybe when he's older we can try this again," Sam tried to soothe.

Max took a deep breath and thought it over for a minute before she finally asked, "Can I come visit him some time?"

Dean nodded, but then asked, "You ok with him stayin' a kid?"

"I miss my boyfriend," Max admitted. "But I think you know what's best for him and I just want him to be happy."

"He is happy," Sam reassured. "You should see him at home…I don't think I've ever seen him smile so much."

"Or laugh," Dean threw in. "When he really laughs…I don't know…It's the best thing in the whole world."

"I'll visit," Max said with a decisive nod.

"He'll like that," Dean said. "And we will too."

"Daddy, where are we going?" Alec asked as he buckled him into his car seat. He rubbed his eyes and looked at him sleepily; he was really glad he was taking his little boy home.

"We're goin' home baby," Dean said, rubbing Alec's head.

"Is Maxie coming too?" Alec asked.

"No, she's not coming with us," Dean answered. "But she said she'd visit us."

"What about Mole? Or Rocky?" Alec asked.

"It's just gonna be me, you, Uncle Sammy, and Grandpa Bobby," Dean said. "We'll come back and visit some time. I still have to take you to the ocean, remember?"

"Ok Daddy," Alec whispered.

Dean kissed the top of Alec's head and finished buckling him in. "You try to get some sleep, ok? We've got a long way to go before we get back to Grandpa's house."

Alec was asleep again in no time; he always slept better in the car, so maybe he'd finally get some real sleep. He drove fast and they made good time. He really wanted to get back home in one day, but it wasn't possible now that they had a two-year-old.

They made the trip back in two days, and Dean never thought it would feel so good to be home. Alec liked it too; he ran around the entire house and jumped on the sofa even when Sam told him not to. Dean would usually back Sam up, but he didn't this time.

"Daddy, catch me!" Alec yelled, launching off of the sofa and into his arms. He caught Alec and held him close, and even Sam smiled. Alec hadn't been this active since the first day at Freak Valley. It felt good to see him playing again. "I love you, Daddy," Alec said, giving him a big kiss.

"I love you too, Alec," Dean replied.

More soon...