It was just a normal day; he and Alec were taking a walk through the woods, the same walk they took on most days, with Alec's hand held in his, and Mushu's leash held in his other hand. But there were about one million things he should have done. Just doing one thing differently could have changed everything.

"Alec!" Dean yelled, desperate to find his son. It was pouring, the rain freezing his skin and the water rising around him. He was barely staying afloat, clinging to a piece of driftwood while searching the water. The rain had started, the water had risen, Mushu had gotten scared and run off, Alec had chased after him, and then disappeared over the side of the bank. He'd sprinting after his little boy, only to fall in after him.

"Ale-" He choked as water plunged into his mouth. He coughed, trying to get his lungs to cooperate. He had to find Alec; he had to get to him and take him home. He couldn't lose Alec. This couldn't be how this ended. He wouldn't be able to function without Alec.

His head dropped below the water again, but he managed to surface after a moment and breathe again. He prayed Alec wasn't in this. He prayed Alec had made it to the bank and was safe. He knew he'd be scared, but he would find him as soon as he could get out of the water.

But that was easier said than done. He had tried to get to the bank a few times, but the current was too strong. His arms and legs were weak from treading water for so long, and every so often water would slap him in the face and he'd choke, causing another coughing fit. He just needed to find Alec.

He grunted in pain as something heavy suddenly plowed into him. His head dropped below the water again, and he struggled to force his way back to the surface. But the tree limb that had hit him was keeping him down. His lungs begged him for air; his breath had been knocked out of him before he'd gone underwater, and now he didn't have anything left.

But he had to fight. He had to get out of here so he could find Alec. He had to.

He stopped fighting the current and let it pull him further downstream, away from the limb. He kicked for the surface, gasping in a huge breath as soon as his head broke the surface. He had to keep fighting. He had to find his little boy.

"Sam, you need to calm down," Bobby said. "Dean's not gonna let anything happen to Alec. They're probably on their way back right now."

"Bobby, it's freezing rain. They should've been back hours ago!" Sam yelled. It was March now; it was warm enough to take a walk, but not warm enough to stay out in the rain. He knew there was a storm coming; he shouldn't have let them take a walk. He should've mentioned something else that they could do. He was freaking out; his brother and his baby nephew were out in this weather when they should be home safe.

"Well, you ain't helpin' him by wearin' a hole in my carpet," Bobby grumbled.

"Have you looked outside?! Neither of them should be out in this! Alec's two! He should be tucked in right now!" Sam shouted, unwilling to let this go. He just wanted his brother and nephew back home, safe from this storm.

"So, what d'you wanna do?" Bobby asked sarcastically. "Grab some flashlights, head into the woods, walk around, gettin' soaked, maybe even get lost ourselves?" His eyes widened in panic; Bobby thought Dean and Alec were lost. "I'm not sayin' that," Bobby said, guessing at his rising panic. "They're probably on their way back right now."

"Alec hates thunderstorms," Sam said, ignoring Bobby's reasoning. "He's probably scared to death right now. And Dean's probably freaking out because Alec's out in this. They're both going to get sick!"

Bobby suddenly stood up and walked out of the room, only to come back a few seconds later carrying two coats and two flashlights. Bobby tossed his coat to him and said, "C'mon, if they're gonna get sick, then we should all get sick together."

He couldn't help his smile, he was going to go find Dean and Alec.

He collapsed once he was finally back on solid ground. He was bruised and battered, but he didn't know where his little boy was. It was still pouring, the freezing rain pelted his face and chilled him to the bone. He just wanted to find his little boy and go home.

He pushed himself up. He had to get moving; Alec had been out here for way too long. His little boy was going to be scared and freezing when he found him. He was going to find him, that much was certain. He was going to find him and he was going to be fine. He had to be fine.

Lightning lit up the sky again, and he quickly scanned the area to see if he could catch any sight of Alec. But he didn't see anything that could help him. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should continue downstream to look for Alec or head upstream and hope he made it out of the water already.

"Alec!" Dean yelled. "Alec!"

He felt tears prick his eyes and his throat closed as despair washed over him. He didn't know where to look. He'd lost Alec. He'd lost his boy, his baby boy, who counted on him to keep him safe, who he protected with everything he had. This was all his fault. He should've checked the weather before they left, he should've turned around as soon as the first raindrop hit, he should've done something different to keep his baby safe.

"C'mon Dean," he chastised himself. "Pull yourself together. You aren't helping Alec by fallin' to pieces."

He turned to look both directions to decide which way to go, but a glimpse of red hair made him freeze. There was someone downstream, a woman, with long red hair, and pale features. He took off without even having to think about it. Maybe she'd seen Alec, maybe Alec was with her. He wiped the water from his eyes, but when he looked back, the woman had disappeared.

He spun in a circle, trying to find her again, and breathed out in relief when he saw her further downstream. He started running again. He had to get to her. Alec's life depended on it.

"Dean!" Sam yelled. He could hardly see anything, even with the flashlight, but he wasn't going to give up. He had to find Dean and Alec.

"Dean!" Bobby yelled beside him.

They were both soaked, freezing, but determined to find Dean and Alec. He knew where Dean usually walked with Alec, but in this storm, his brother could have easily gotten turned around. He could hardly breathe; the panic was making it impossible for him to get a steadying breath, but he couldn't live without his brother or his nephew.

He couldn't even think about if something happened to Alec. His nephew was the best thing that had ever happened to them, and if he'd gotten hurt in this, got sick, or really any number of things…he couldn't imagine what that would do to them. They needed Alec, he was their baby, and they took care of him. If something happened to him, then none of them would ever get over it, especially not Dean. This would destroy his brother.

"Dean!" Sam yelled. He didn't know what else to do. He would just keep yelling and searching until they found them.

"Sam, maybe we should regroup," Bobby suggested. "We're both freezin' and Dean's not answerin'."

"I'm not giving up on them," Sam growled. "I'm staying out here until I find them."

"Let's at least call Jody," Bobby said. "Maybe she could get a search party goin', then we wouldn't have to do this by ourselves."

"You call, I'm going to keep looking," Sam said.

"Sam, we can barely see anything," Bobby tried to reason. "Maybe Dean circled back and made it to the house while we were out here. You know if he's at the house, then he's freaking out 'cause we aren't there."

"Call Jody, go back to the house, I don't care! I'm staying out here until I find them," Sam shouted. He couldn't believe Bobby wanted to give up on them. He wasn't leaving his brother and nephew out here, he wouldn't do it.

"Sam-"

"Wait, do you hear that?" Sam asked. He heard something jingle, but he couldn't see what was making that noise.

"Dean!" Bobby yelled.

"Dean!" Sam yelled too, praying that his brother would just appear out of nowhere, holding Alec in his arms. But his brother didn't appear out of thin air, Mushu did. He crouched down, and the little dog immediately ran up to him. "Hey boy, where's Dean and Alec?"

Mushu just whined and shook the water from his fur. Sam flinched away as the water from Mushu's fur hit him. Bobby crouched down too and picked up Mushu's leash. "Sam…"

"I know," Sam said, already knowing what Bobby was getting at. Mushu was alone, Dean wasn't with him, and neither was Alec. His nephew loved his dog so much, and he would never let him run away. Something was terribly wrong. "Call Jody."

He pushed himself up for the sixth time. His legs would barely hold him, he kept tripping over sticks and rocks, and he couldn't keep up with the woman with red hair. Part of him thought she was just a hallucination, but the other part of him hoped she would lead him to Alec.

He couldn't keep up though. His body was too weak, too cold to function like he should. He couldn't even imagine how Alec was doing. Alec was so little, he knew he wouldn't be able to survive out here for much longer, but he couldn't give up hope.

"Stop…" He begged. He needed to be able to keep up, but he wasn't sure she was even real. He didn't know why he thought she would bring him to his boy, but he couldn't stop thinking she was the answer to everything.

He collapsed again, but this time his arms weren't strong enough to push himself up again. Tears leaked down his cheeks; he'd failed Alec. His little boy was going to die because of him. Alec couldn't die; Alec was the best thing that had ever happened to him, that had happened to a lot of people. Alec had to be ok. And he was going to find him. He had to find him. He was Alec's only hope of getting out of here alive. He was the only one that knew what was going on.

He pushed himself up again, and this time he managed to get to his feet. He leaned against a tree to keep himself up, and searched the area again for the woman.

Spotting a flash of red hair again, he pushed off from the tree and took off again.

"Spread out," Jody instructed the group of volunteers. "They might or might not be able to answer, but Alec's two, and if he was separated from Dean, then he's probably scared out of his mind. We have paramedics on stand-by, so call them if you find either of them."

Sam felt his patience wearing thin as Jody told the group what to do. He knew he should be thankful for the help, but he just wanted to find his brother and nephew.

Everyone started to spread out and search the woods, but Jody walked over to him and Bobby. "We'll find them," Jody reassured. "It'll take a little time, but I know we'll find them."

"Thanks Jody," Bobby said. "Thanks for puttin' this all together and for comin' out here…"

"I'm happy to do it, Bobby," Jody said, patting his arm.

"C'mon Sam, let's get a move on," Bobby urged.

He nodded, too numb to think. He gently tugged on Mushu's leash to get him moving too. They were all freezing and soaked through, but he still wouldn't give up. Bobby patted his back before they spread apart just a little bit. He swept his flashlight back and forth, scanning the ground as he went. His hope of finding his brother and nephew both alive, and unharmed, was dwindling. There was no way they were both ok, not after all this time, not in this rain. He had to prepare himself for the worst, but he couldn't. He couldn't live without his family. For a long time he thought he could, but now he knew he couldn't.

"Sam, we can't give up," Bobby said. "We'll find them."

"Alive?" Sam asked, his voice rough.

"Sam, you listen here," Bobby said, grabbing his jacket and jerking him to a stop. "We're gonna find them, and they're gonna be fine. I'm not lettin' you give up, ya hear?"

"Yeah…" Sam muttered.

"We'll find them," Bobby said again.

He nodded and kept up a steady pace for the next couple hours. The rain let up finally, but he was still soaked and freezing, and it was still dark out. A shiver raced up his spine, but he tried his best to ignore it. If he started thinking about how cold he was, then he would think about how cold Dean and Alec must be.

He kicked a rock as he walked by the stream, its water still racing by even though the rain had stopped. He prayed Dean and Alec hadn't made it this far, this would be a dangerous place to be during a storm, but it was pretty far from where Dean and Alec normally walked. He kicked another rock, but then froze when he caught sight of something silver in the mud.

He knelt down and picked up the pocket knife that his brother always had.

His heart pounded as he realized his brother had been here. Dean had been here at some point… "Bobby!" Sam yelled, standing up again and searching for the older man.

"Yeah?" Bobby asked, slowly walking over to him. He held out his brother's pocket knife for him to see, which Bobby took. "Dean's been here…" Bobby scanned the ground and pointed to a footprint a few feet away. "And looks like he went that way."

Sam was running before he even knew what he was doing. Every so often he would see another footprint, and would know he was on the right track. He was concerned to see areas where it looked like someone had fallen, but he tried to put that at the back of his mind. He would deal with whatever injuries Dean and Alec had as soon as he found them.

"Dean!" Sam yelled.

Distantly, he could hear someone yell his name. He felt like he needed to respond to the urgency, the concern, he could hear in the voice, but he didn't have any strength left. He was past the point of being cold and was now just tired. He couldn't even lift his head…

"Dean, c'mon man, you gotta wake up," Sam begged. Sam, that's who was talking to him. He recognized his little brother's voice, and he knew he needed to answer him. "Dean, please." He forced his eyes open, and he immediately saw the relief in his brother's eyes. "Dean, thank God," Sam breathed. "The paramedics are on their way. Just hang in there, ok?"

"Sam…"

"Yeah Dean, I'm right here," Sam reassured. A violent shiver shot through him, and Sam immediately rubbed his shoulders. He just then realized he was more on his little brother than on the ground. He would be embarrassed except Sam's body heat was helping him focus. He still had to get to Alec.

"Alec…gotta find Alec," Dean mumbled.

"We'll find him," Sam said. "But you've gotta go to the hospital, ok? You've got hypothermia, three broken ribs, and a concussion. Me and Bobby will find Alec."

"I'm not goin' anywhere without him," Dean whispered.

"Dean…"

"Please Sam, I have to find him," Dean begged.

Sam looked like he wasn't going to agree, but then he was moving, helping him stand when his legs wouldn't hold him. Sam pulled his arm over his shoulders, and then asked, "Which way?"

"I've been heading downstream," Dean mumbled. He didn't want to mention the lady he'd been following for most of the night. He could chalk it up to his injuries, but he didn't think he should mention her to Sam right now.

"Dean, are you sure you won't just go to the hospital? I'm going to keep looking, ok? And I'll bring him to the hospital as soon as I find him," Sam said.

"No Sam, I have to find him," Dean said. "Where'd Bobby go?" He needed to keep himself distracted so he could keep moving. It was better now that he had Sam to lean against, but he was still barely moving. He knew he needed to go to the hospital, but he wouldn't leave his boy out here all alone. But he knew Alec would be in worse shape than he was. Alec was so little, he wouldn't be able to handle the freezing water or being out here all night. He had to be there when they found Alec.

"He went to find Jody. She needs to know that we found you," Sam said. "There's a whole search party out here."

"How'd you find me?" Dean asked.

"I found your pocket knife in the mud," Sam said. "And then we saw your footprints in the mud every so often."

"Any sign of Alec?" Dean asked, praying that Sam had some idea of where Alec was.

"Not so far," Sam admitted. "But Dean, I know we'll find him, ok? We found you, so I know we'll find him."

He nodded, but didn't know if he really believed his brother or not. He'd been searching for Alec all night, and there was still no sign of his little boy. He didn't know what he would do if they didn't find Alec, but he knew he would never forgive himself for failing his little boy.

He stopped short though when he saw the woman again. He hit Sam's chest and tried to pull away, but Sam's hold on him tightened. "Dean, what's wrong?" Sam asked in concern.

"She's back, Sam. We have to follow her! She knows where Alec is," Dean said, his voice urgent. He knew sounded insane, but he couldn't stop the feeling that she knew where Alec was.

He pushed Sam off of him and started running for her. He knew Sam was right behind him, but he didn't care. He had to get to Alec. He had to save his little boy.

The woman disappeared again, making him stop short. He looked around, but his legs were suddenly collapsing when he spotted something pale through the trees. His face-to-face with the ground was prevented as Sam caught him.

"I gotcha, Dean," Sam reassured. "I gotcha."

"Sam…"

"You've gotta go to the hospital, man, you can't take off like that again," Sam said. "You're hallucinating, ok? There was no one there."

"Sam…look," Dean said breathlessly. He pointed towards the trees, drawing Sam attention.

"Ok, c'mon," Sam whispered, helping him over to the trees. They both froze when they saw a man about 20-years-old lying face-down, unconscious, naked, with a barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. "Holy shit…" Sam breathed out.

"Alec?" Dean asked, unable to believe his eyes. His 2-year-old baby was back to being his 20-year-old brother.

More soon...