Melody could see her brother was struggling, struggling to accept this man as a parent when both children had relied on their mom for so long. Melody had no memories of her father, but she imagined Mason had a few. He had to have at least one from when he was younger. Melody itched to ask her brother but knew she should keep quiet.

Mason, Sam and Dean had sat back down at the war table, but Melody chose to stay standing, wanting the freedom to explore the bunker and the various differences in her home and her dad and uncle's. She noted Castiel had disappeared from the room.

She listened in as Mason began to explain the situation in 2040, "Mom didn't want to tell us much, but like Lee said, after we found the, uh, journal or whatever, she had to spill," Mason sighed, dragging a hand across his face as he looked anywhere but at the two men across from him, "Sometime this year you meet my mom, and a couple of years later you have me by accident. I do know Mom and you never really wanted to raise kids in this shit. Then Melody came three years later, and I'm not so sure she wasn't an accident, too. Things don't really start to go downhill until she is born; there's no correlation as far as I know," Mason laughed to himself at his sister's disgruntled sound of protest to his suggestion.

"I guess it all started with this demon, uh, Crowley, he promised you some help with killing a different demon way back when, and you got this mark—"

"The Mark of Cain," Melody interrupted, holding a long sword in her hand that she doubted was even sharp—okay, never mind, definitely sharpened.

Mason shot her a look, and she promptly mimed locking her lips after placing the sword back where it belonged. He continued, "Yeah, that. You get the Mark of Cain and go all crazy and shit. When you meet Mom, she helps Unc—er, Sam cure you, I guess. She never went into depth about how with me."

Melody was running her fingers across a row of books, murmuring the titles to herself and feeling the binding. Mason rolled his eyes, knowing how big of a book junkie his sister is, "Anyways, they cured you, and then they had to get the First Blade back from Crowley to get the Mark off of you, but the thing didn't want to give it up. He figured if he gave it up, you guys would kill him off. He found a way to open Purgatory, which I hear you guys have dealt with some things from there before, but this time, a lot more than freaks afraid of dish cleaner came out."

Both brothers sucked in harsh breaths, Dean grumbling, "Crowley."

"What he didn't anticipate was the things not wanting to follow orders, or maybe he knew exactly what was going to happen. I don't know. That's when the shit storm really started, though. They tore into demons, angels, people. Anything they could get their claws, fangs, whatever into. And they had a huge hit out on the famous Winchester Brothers," Mason said this with more than a little indignation in his voice. "Mom didn't talk about Sam's death; she didn't really talk about yours either, I guess.

"They found out where we were hiding; we had just lost touch with our last Hunter-contacts. This place is real sturdy against demons, angels, werewolves and vampires, even leviathans with the right amount of cleaning, but it can't protect us from the creepy shit that came out of there. They were…they were breaking in when Mom sent us here," Mason was picking at his nails; Melody had stopped her discovering.

"So you don't know how we die?" Dean asked.

Mason kept quiet, deep in thought about his mother still, so Melody ventured over and answered softly, "I know Sam is first, and I think Mom said it was the Mark that actually did you in, Dean, not a monster."

It was the first time Sam spoke when he said, "It's the Mark?"

"Yeah," Melody nodded. "It does a lot more than just make you bloody-thirsty and a kick ass fighter. It sucks out your life force and does crazy damage to your soul. That's why Mom has to cure you—"

Dean barked out a laugh, "You guys keep talking about her "curing" me. Curing me of what?"

"You turned into a demon," Melody supplied, "Full fledged, black eyed, soul-hungry demon. But she helped cure you; it almost killed her. I guess you guys bonded, or something."

"How did I just turn into a demon?" Dean demanded.

Melody shrugged and Mason shook his head, "I don't know either, honestly. It has to do with that mark, though."

"Living, breathing people don't just turn into demons!" Dean denied.

Melody shrugged once more, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder, "If you didn't turn into a demon, and the world wasn't going to end, why would our mom send us back here?"

"Maybe she got something wrong," Dean offered, shoving away from the table.

"Well, she lived through it. I'm sure that kind of thing isn't something you just confuse," Mason was angry, eyes lit up and ready for an argument, much like how Dean was poised. "Especially not when it almost kills you!"

Melody took her hand from her brother's shoulder, taking a step back. She watched as Mason hopped up from his chair, "Do you think we want to be here? We don't even know you!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask for this," Dean muttered, raking harsh eyes over the two. "I didn't ask for kids, let alone some chick to shove them into my life like this."

Melody was chewing on her lip, stepping farther back. Sam moved towards his brother, starting, "Dean, this is hard on everyone—"

"Shut it, Sam," Dean snapped, gaze never wavering from Mason. "What are you going to do, kid? You gonna hit me? Do it!"

Mason had rounded the table; he stood in front of his father. This was the first time Dean had an opportunity to take in the kid…his kid. Mason was tall like Sam but bulky like his father. He had sandy blonde hair that he was attuned to running his hand through. His clenched hands hung idly by his side, and it was then that Dean noticed how alike Mason was dressed to himself.

It was true; Mason had picked up his clothing style from his father. As he grew older, Dean's old clothes were all he could fit in. His mom offered to buy him new clothes, but he knew that wasn't really an option. Hunting doesn't pay in anything Walmart accepts for currency.

"Mason," Melody spoke up, and when he didn't move at her voice, she moved up behind him quickly, pressing her thumb into his wrist. It was something she had done since she was little to let him know she was behind him – she had always been light on her feet.

Mason's hands unclenched, and he abruptly turned from Dean, storming off to the room that will be his, slamming the door. Dean grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and pounded up the stairs to the front door, slamming it as well. Melody looked to Sam, sighing.

Sam rolled his eyes, flopping in his chair, "It's like having two Deans."

"Well, knowing Mase, he's going to sit in his room, and be pissed, and then he'll be out here just fine. I suggest we wait until he calms down, before we try to talk to him about any plans," Melody offered, breaking the growing silence.

"Dean's the same; when he gets back from the bar, I'm sure he'll be willing to cooperate. Until then, I'm going to get back to researching where Metatron is. We've been looking for him for awhile, so we can get Cas in control of the reins up there," Sam explained, reaching for his laptop.

Melody stared at Sam, taking a slow blink before saying, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Your mom never told you about Metatron? Or how he wants to take over Heaven? I feel like that would be an important part of history, right?"

Melody shrugged, "It never came up. I guess the whole running for our lives every day and avoiding monsters that want to eat our faces and souls kind of took precedent over some back story. I imagine there is a lot I don't know."

"I imagine there is, Melody," Sam agreed.

"Call me Lee," she began, taking the seat next to him. "That's what my family calls me."

Sam had a glimmer of a smile on his lips as he said, "Alright, Lee."

There was a pause in the conversation before Sam mumbled, "Twenty."

"Hmm?" Melody looked over at him.

"You're twenty," he repeated.

"Yeah, Mase is twenty-three," Melody scratched at the wooden table.

"Do you, uh, remember anything about me or Dean?" Sam asked, nonchalantly opening his laptop and shaking his mouse to wake his computer.

Melody slowly shook her head, "No. I'm willing to bet Mase does, though. He was five when Dean died. I think you were gone before I was born."

Sam nodded solemnly, so Melody said, "But, if it's any constellation, I talked to you a lot. Mom and Dean buried you behind the bunker. I would go out there and talk to you about what was going on with the family, the monsters. I kept you updated. Mase always thought it was weird that I went out there and sat by your headstone; he didn't know I was talking to you."

Melody could see Sam's eyes were wet; she pretended not to notice as she hopped up and went back to the large bookshelf. She resumed reading the titles and searching for something. Sam watched her for a few moments, wondering about this Claire and if it was possible that his brother would turn into a demon.


It was at least an hour before Mason finally left "his" room. Melody has found the book she had been searching for. It was the same book she had used for her research in 2040. It was an encyclopedia of Purgatory creatures but in Latin. Before she was old enough to enroll in school, the education system fell. With no one really telling her not to, she decided Latin was as good as any language to learn. By the time she was five or six she was fluent in ASL, and when she turned 16, she was translating the Men of Letters' oldest texts.

Her favorite had been the one about the Purgatory creatures; it came in handy when a new species would poke its head out into the world.

Melody was flipping through the pages, pointing out creatures to Sam, when Mason poked his head back in the room. Melody had her finger on a picture of a troglodyte, saying, "See, they're these lizard things. They can't be in light very long because most of their eye is pupil, so they're really sensitive."

"Really dumb, too," Mason added, taking a seat at the table.

"Yeah, the last one I saw fell right into an uncovered hole in the woods. It was crazy," Melody agreed, closing the book.

There was a few moments of silence before Mason asked, "Have you, uh, heard from Dean?"

"Nope," Melody sighed, tilting back in her chair.

"You're gonna fall," Mason said.

"No, I'm not," she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," he huffed. "What have you two been doing? And, uh, where's the other guy? Cas?"

"Sam has been researching Metatron's whereabouts; he thinks he has a lead. Cas disappeared during your little spat with Dean," Melody grabbed the edge of the table to pull her chair upright.

"What's a metatron?"

Sam snickered, shaking his head, "I still can't believe your mom didn't mention Metatron; it's just so…bizarre!"

"What is it?" Mason repeated, intrigued.

"It's some angel that wants to take over Heaven, because God has gone AWOL. Sam and Dean want to make Cas President of the Cherub Club. I guess Metatron has something to do with the Crowley and Mark of Cain business."

Before Mason could answer with an equally witty response, the front door to the bunker slammed open. Dean pounded down the stairs, shouting, "Sam, a little help here!"

Sam shoved his chair back, quickly racing to the entryway to see his brother carrying a passed out woman in his arms. He followed Dean into one of the spare bedrooms and watched him slowly lower her onto the bed. Sam looked between the unconscious woman and Dean and exclaimed, "Dean, what happened!"

"I don't know!" Dean admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I was at the bar nearby, and I met her, and we left together. I-I was just going to give her a ride home, I swear! She got in the car, and she just started shaking. Sam, I have no idea what happened."

Dean looked like he was nearly in tears. Sam nodded to himself, "Alright, okay. But why didn't you take her to a hospital, Dean?"

"C'mon, dude, you know the closest hospital is at least 45 minutes out! I figured—I hoped Cas would be here to help. He has to…" Dean trailed off.

"I'll call Cas; you stay with her in case she wakes up," Sam instructed, walking out of the room, almost bumping into Melody and Mason who stood next to the room.

"What happened?" Melody asked as Mason questioned, "Who is that?"

"I don't know," Sam confessed. "Just-just stay out of the room. She needs space. Have either of you seen my cell phone?"

"If a cell phone is that black thing that beeped at us earlier, it's on your dresser in your room," Mason supplied, receiving a weirded-out look from Sam.

As soon as Sam disappeared, Melody popped her head inside the room. She couldn't see much except for Dean on his knees beside a woman in the bed. She frowned, glancing back to say something to Mason only to find his face right next to hers. She jumped, but repressed the gasp on the edge of her lips Mason held a finger up to his lips, pulling her back away from the doorway.

"Do you think...?" Mason whispered

"Do I think he killed her?" Melody quirked an eyebrow. At Mason's nod, Melody shrugged, "Maybe she's a demon or something."

Sam was rounding the corner again, phone against his ear, "Alright, Cas, see you soo—"

Before he could finish, Castiel was standing in the hallway. He barely looked at the two kids before he marched into the bedroom and asked, "What happened?"

Dean just shook his head, "Can you help her?"

Castiel pressed his two fingers to her forehead, closing his eyes, "She has a tumor; a rather large one, at that. I will try to heal her, but I am not sure my powers are well enough to mend this kind of damage."

"Just try, Cas," Dean urged.

Castiel stood there for a few seconds, his fingers emitting a strong, golden light. Melody and Mason stood just outside of the doorway, still not able to see the woman. It wasn't long before the woman gasped, shooting forward in the bed, demanding, "What's going on?"

Before Sam or Dean could say anything, Mason and Melody gasped in unison, "Mom?"


I'm sorry for the incredibly long wait. I had kind of given up on this story, but the message I received from chillywinterbreeze gave me the inspiration I needed to continue. Thanks for sticking around.