"What are you doing?" Dean yelled.

"Shooting," Sam replied, confused. What was wrong?

"Watch out for Sam."

Sam was confused a moment until he realized that he meant the baby. It was a lot easier to hunt things when you weren't worried about collateral damage. And he wasn't. It didn't matter, though. The shifter was fast and he was gone.

Sam and Dean spent the next two hours scouring the neighborhood, but couldn't find any trace.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Dean yelled. "You don't shoot at someone who's holding a baby."

"Doesn't matter. I didn't hit anything," Sam pointed out. No harm , no foul.

"So, it's a shifter, how do we find it?" Dean asked as they came near to Dean's house. The driveway was full of cop cars.

"Someone called the cops," Sam stated, unnecessarily.

"Dean!" Lisa came running out of the house.

"We lost him," Dean said.

A police officer appeared in the doorway. "What happened tonight, sir?"

"I heard a noise and got up to find someone leaving with our baby. I chased after him, but I lost him."

"The neighbors said they heard a gunshot."

"He shot at us while we were chasing him," Sam put in.

"And who are you?" the cop asked.

"This is my brother. He was visiting us for a couple of days," Dean answered. He said the words, but Sam didn't feel like his brother.

"Did either of you see what the guy looked like?"

Yeah, me. That answer would go over real well, Dean thought. "No, it was too dark."

"OK, well, is there any reason you know of that someone would kidnap your child?"

"No," that was true at least. Dean had no idea what was going on.

The officer asked a few other questions and then took his leave promising to do everything he could and keep them informed.

SSS

Dean was comforting Lisa in the kitchen when Sam came in. "Dean, I need to talk to you."

"You can say whatever you have to say in front of Lisa," Dean decided.

Sam shrugged. "I just got off the phone with Samuel. He investigated the last baby's disappearance. The parents had split up, so he went to interview the dad. Turns out the woman claimed that the baby was his, but they hadn't had sex in months. She claimed they had sex while he claims he was out of town on business. I think the shifter is the father. Any chance that could have happened here?" Sam asked.

"I don't see how. We conceived the first week he came to me after you…," she trailed off. "Anyway, he was here every night."

"No, I wasn't. After that first night, I went off on a bender, I didn't come home for three days. I thought it was weird that you never said anything, but I thought you were just giving me my space," Dean said.

"OK, that settles it. The shifter is the father. When we find the baby we'll have to kill it."

"What?" Dean and Lisa both said.

"It's a monster, Dean. It's what we do. If it's supernatural we kill it. That's our job, end of story."

"No, that is not our job. We fight evil. Little Sam isn't evil." Why did this argument sound familiar. Then, Dean remembered. That vamp hunt when they had met Gordon. Only the positions were reversed.

"You're too close to this," Sam said. "Don't worry, Samuel and I will take care of it." He didn't say anything, but inside he was sickened by Dean's weakness.

"Sam, you're not going to kill a bunch of babies," Dean protested. Sam had already started to leave, so Dean followed him out.

"Dean, they're going to be monsters. Do you really want a whole new generation of shapeshifters. You hate shapeshifters. Remember?"

Dean sighed. Sam was right. He did hate shapeshifters. But, he loved his son.

"Maybe the shifter's wrong. Lisa and I made love that first night. Maybe the kid is mine. How would the shifter know for sure?" Dean asked, grasping at straws.

"We can't take that chance," Sam said.

"Can't take that chance? Sam, this is your nephew. What's wrong with you?"

Sam was wondering that himself. He knew that he wouldn't have acted like this before he had gone to Hell. He was only in Hell five years hell time, but maybe that was enough to change a person. He hadn't enjoyed the experience. He knew that much for sure. He didn't answer the question. He got in the car and drove off.

Dean ran to his truck and followed Sam.

SSS

A couple of hours later, Sam pulled up outside a warehouse next to Samuel's car. "What's going on?" he asked. He had noticed Dean following him, but didn't really think it mattered.

"The shifter is inside with about ten babies," Samuel said. This whole thing made him sick. He could imagine hurting a baby. It wasn't their fault who their father was.

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asked. He heard Dean's truck behind him and the door opened.

"Is my son in there?" Dean asked.

"It's not your son," Samuel said, as gently as he could. Dean was his grandson. He didn't really know him, but he couldn't imagine the kind of pain this was causing.

"Yes, he is. Even if he's the shifter's, I've raised him for the last six months. He is my son." Dean's tone left no room for argument.

"Aw. Isn't that sweet?"

The three hunters turned to look at the newcomer. "Crowley?" Dean asked. He hadn't seen him since the Death hunt.

"Yes. Your brother and grandfather have been working for me, getting me monsters. I'm here to collect the latest batch."

"What do you want monsters for?" Dean asked.

"None of your business."

He walked into the warehouse. Dean ran in after him. As soon as Dean got into the door, Crowley, the shifter and all the babies disappeared before his very eyes.

"Where did he go?" he yelled at Sam when he went back out.

"No idea. He just comes and takes them and that's it. We never hear about them again. Look, Dean, it really is for the best. You don't want to raise a monster, do you?"

"I think I already did," Dean said, before he could stop himself.

"Dean, take it easy," Samuel said.

"Why are you guys handing monsters over to a demon instead of just killing them anyway?" Dean asked.

"He said he would bring Mary back," Samuel answered.

"Bad idea," Dean said.

Sam was doing it for an entirely different reason, but he wasn't going to let Dean know what it was. Not even Samuel knew. It was completely between him and Crowley. He had missed his opportunity a few years ago, but now Crowley would raise him a demon army. He would be strong and in control. He had been weak before, but no more.

"Why don't you just go home to Lisa?" he said to Dean. Dean would only get in the way of his plans. Samuel would probably have to be taken care of soon. He was beginning to get suspicious.

"Yeah, OK. But, I better never see either of you again. If I do, it will be the last time," Dean threatened. He didn't really mean it, though. He couldn't kill Sam. He had proven that to himself over and over. And he might not know Samuel, but he was his grandfather. Family was family. He turned his back on them and left.

Samuel was sad. He had liked Dean when he had met him before his death. He was a lot like Mary. Sam was cold as ice.

Sam was glad to be rid of Dean. Dean was always trying to keep him down, talk him out of things. Not this time. He had been drinking demon blood since he'd been back up and nobody was going to stop him this time. Not even the old man.

The End