It's in the Genes

Author: Cheryl W.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or any rights to Dark Angel or Supernatural, nor am I making any profit from this story.

Summary: Crossover with DA and Supernatural -AU– It's the Winchesters who break Alec from jail in Hello/Goodbye and then they start road tripping together. No slash.

Author's note: Thanks so much for all the encouragement you all gave me to continue this story for a few more chapters!

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Chapter 22

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Though his eyes were closed, Dean could still detect the sunlight's presence, could feel the warmth on his skin. He let himself revel in that blessing before he tried to figure out where he was, how he had gotten there, what day it was. He had tried to store it up the past year: the sunlight, the sight of the sky and the clouds, every experience he had, every second he got to spend with Sam, the unexpected honor of getting Alec in his life. He had clung to all of it, knowing…expecting it to all be taken away from him…forever. To be in Hell now where there was no sun, no sky, no Alec and no Sam. Ever again. Was only unimaginable pain and the desecration of every part of his soul that had ever resonated with goodness.

It was still a shock to have been spared that, to have woken up to see Sam there, waiting for him. To see, in the haunted look in Sam and Alec and even Bobby's eyes, evidence that a ruthless battle had been waged for his survival, that they had fought it when he no longer could. Had not the strength or heart left to fight it. Truly, he had only fought it in the first place because Sam asked him to, Alec expected him to. But the deciding bout, it had definitely been fought for him, maybe even over him, good versus evil, victory over defeat, family against all comers. Made him realize just how stupid he had been the past year…maybe his whole life, thinking his bond with Sam was stronger than Sam's bond with him, for doubting that Sam's love was any less tenacious than his own. Just another thing he had gotten wrong in life.

Tentatively stretching, he winced as it awakened his numerous points of pain on his body. Cracking open his eyes, he blinked in the sunlight. Visually sweeping the room and determining it was definitely not a motel room, he struggled to put the pieces together of the other night. Remembered still practically being carried to the back seat of the Impala by Alec and Sam, (though he was now allowed to manage a few stumbling steps under their supervision), the reassuring rumble of the car under him, a conversation about some place to hole up for a few weeks and Bobby's name and then it all went blank. Until now.

The room was decorated in woodsy overtones with fishing pictures and mountain landscape paintings that reminded him of that joint he and Sam stayed at on the Max Miller case. Turning his head, he saw the open window which was the conduit for the sunlight, felt the light breeze waft through the room and the scent of pine trees. Though he had been quoted as hating camping, this level of comfort hardly qualified as roughing it. He strained his hearing but couldn't detect movement in the cabin, which left him wondering where his two nursemaids were lurking. Sam and Alec had barely left him out of their sight the past week, he highly doubted they would have left him on his own in an unknown environment.

Deciding to take advantage of being unobserved, Dean used his left hand to fling the covers off. Having learned the hard way that trying to go from flat on his back to sitting upright was near impossible, especially if he didn't want to black out, he rolled right. He grimaced as his shoulder wound throbbed as well as the healing slices on his chest. Gritting his teeth, he slid his legs off the bed, purposefully moved his injured leg slower. Then, with a hand propped on the bed, he levered himself into a seated position, his triumph dampened by the head rush that ensued.

Closing his eyes tightly, he gripped the edge of the bed with his hands, sat there marshalling his strength, threatening his own body, telling himself he could work through the pain and the aches and the lightheadedness and the queasy stomach in just a moment. It was a surprise he didn't jump at Sam's soft voice, didn't maybe because, on some level, he had sensed his brother's presence hovering nearby.

"You want some help?" Sam offered, hoped his tone came out casually helpful and not nervous and concerned even as he itched to fly to Dean's side, to ensure Dean didn't pitch off the bed.

Opening his eyes and seeing Sam standing in the doorway, hands on his hips, trying so hard to look nonchalant, Dean smirked and put his talents to use cajoling a confession out of his brother. "You've been hovering outside the door since I woke up, haven't you?"

"What? No," Sam denied quickly, voice squeaking, shuffling on his feet as he rambled on, "I was just walking by..saw you up and thought…" But he huffed out a breath as his brother's smirk turned into a smug smile. "Whatever. You want help or not?"

"No," Dean growled back, smile morphing into a scowl as he hung his head, didn't have to see his brother to know Sam hadn't moved. "Where are we?" he asked, lifting his head to refocus on Sam, all the while praying he would get the energy to do more than simply crawl back into bed and call it a day.

Taking Dean's question as an invitation into the room, Sam crossed over the threshold, sank into a chair beside the bed. A chair he had visited for a few hours the previous night, needing to reassure himself after a too realistic dream that Dean wasn't dead. "Cabin that belongs to one of Bobby's contacts. No neighbors around except for Yogi the Bear for at least five miles."

Dean's eyebrows rose in surprise and respect. "One of Bobby's contacts, huh? We should have him book us places more often."

"Tell me about it!" Sam agreed with enthusiasm and a laugh. "Wait until you see the rest of the house. And the lake, it's just down a short path from the house."

Dean's eyes lit up at the prospect of the outdoors, at actually being allowed to venture more than two steps from a bed. But Alec's voice cut that fantasy off at the knees.

"Yeah, I'll take a picture of it so you can see it," Alec drawled with a smile, as he came to lean in the bedroom doorway. He waited until Dean's face clouded with indignation and his brother opened his mouth to chew him out before he tossed the coat in his hand across the room. Dean easily caught the coat one handedly, felt like more than his head was shifting when he looked up at Alec in confusion.

"Or, you could get your carcass out of bed and see it live and in person," Alec said, enjoyed the spark of life that he saw in Dean's eyes, couldn't help smirking conspiringly with Sam. "Come on, day light's burning," he goaded as he clapped his hands together, gave an exaggerated jump of his eyebrows and walked away. His voice wafting back, "I'll make breakfast."

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"I can't see the lake from here," Dean grumbled from his position on a chair on the front porch of the cabin, a chair Alec had manhandled him into when he had sought to walk down the stairs.

Alec crouched by his side and contradicted, "Sure you can. You can see the glimmer of the water right through the trees there," he said, pointing to a gap in the trees.

"I saw more water from one of the pictures hanging in there," Dean retorting, jerking his hand toward the house behind him.

"If you want to go back in…" Alec threatened, reaching for Dean's arm but Dean knocked his hand off his shoulder and gave him a death glare which only made him laugh. Sinking to sit Indian style at Dean's side, he took in a deep inhale of the woods, felt contentment settle over him the likes he had never felt before. It felt like they were on a family vacation, that this wasn't about hiding from all comers, getting Dean healed up, was just about them, about spending time with each other.

Surprised that Alec claimed a seat on the porch at his side like a loyal pet instead of one of the other chairs, he gave his brother an assessing look, wondered what was going through Alec's head. "Chairs are more comfortable, you know. It's why the cave men invented them."

But Alec reply was a light denial, "Nah, I'm good where I am," 'beside you.'

For awhile companionable silence fell between the brothers even as nature around them conducted their own version of conversations. When Dean spoke, his tone had a tentative element, "Talk to Max?"

Dean purposefully focused on the trees that surrounded the cabin instead of Alec, honestly didn't want to see the look on Alec's face. Didn't want to know how badly his brother was missing Max and Joshua and the rest of the TC community. Wanted Alec to soothe the insecurities that were churning in his gut, not confirm them.

"Yeah," Alec answered with a smile, looked to Dean's profile, watched as his brother nodded his head in acknowledgement of his answer. "Talked to her yesterday," he clarified as his conversation with Max began replaying in his head.

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A hopeful "Yeah," reached Alec through the phone lines.

With warmth threading through him at Max's voice, Alec initiated, "Hey, Max."

"Alec," Max had instantly returned, relief and love mingled in her tone. "You alright? Your brothers alright?"

"We're alive," he deflected, forced a light laugh into the declaration, but knew it hadn't fooled Max, that she had come to know him too well…just like Dean and Sam had.

"That close, huh?" and there was deep sympathy in her question.

His throat tightened up then and he couldn't say a word. Close…didn't begin to cover it, would never encompass how he felt about losing Dean, about almost losing Sam to grief.

Max spoke into his silence. "You would be proud of us. We've pulled off three more Good Samaritan operations and even got a favorable letter to the editor in the Seattle times."

But that only added more guilt to Alec's decision, knowing that he had started that plan of action and had bailed on it, bailed on Mac…didn't intent to race back to either right then. Couldn't. His heart wouldn't let him. "Max…about that. I know I kicked all that off but…"

"No one's asking you to be the front runner on it, Alec. We put it to the vote. We all decided it was the right thing to do," her tone not conveying one drop of condemnation, her words instead were designed to let him off the hook. Then she snorted and it was so wrong he found the sound sexy. "Trust me when I say there's been no clamoring for a general to rise up…or even a leader most days."

But his guilt wasn't so easily eased, especially at the notion that Max was having trouble, might personally need his support. "I should be there to help you…" his voice a mixture of determination and regret, apology because his decision was made, had been made after he got Dean's phone call, when he left TC to go and try to save his brother's life. Because, if fate was merciful and he got to keep his brothers, he wasn't going to throw the gift away, wasn't going to take it for granted, take them for granted.

Max's sharp retort cut across his words, "What?! To do your duty? Alec, you're out of Manticore, White's gone, you can put yourself first, you know." For a moment silence fell and when Max spoke again her words were soft, gentle, sincere. "I know what your brothers mean to you…even if you don't want to admit it. They are the prime examples of why I wanted Manticore to go down, so we all could have lives…would be able to drop our guards, let ourselves love someone without worrying we would get them killed. And that's what we're all fighting for, right? The right to love, to have a family. You got yours, Alec. Don't throw it away, not for some misguided duty to other transgenics. Or to me," she tacked on quietly, because she could do this for Alec, could be selfless in the face of her love for him, could give instead of take.

"Max," Alec began but Max talked over his protest.

"Like I said before, I'm tenacious. I waited ten years to regroup with my Manticore family. I think I can give you a few months with your brothers before I track you down, go all needy girl on you," Max prayed her words came out light, like she intended them to.

"Max, I can't ask that of you…for you to wait.." because honestly, it didn't feel like a few months was going to be enough time spent with his brothers. It felt like a full lifetime wouldn't be long enough. That all the time in the world was going to fall too short to make up for the time lost, for the things he and his brothers had to do, for the things he wanted to tell them…to prove to them.

"So who's asking? I'm telling you I'm waiting," Max shot back, wanted Alec to know that he wasn't ditching her that easily, wasn't ditching her at all if she had anything to say about it. Because the Alec that had left Seattle and the Alec that had walked back into her life at TC weren't the same person, were different. And it was unsettling to know she loved this new Alec more, the Alec that wasn't broken, was a little brother. An Alec that laughed more, smiled more, was happier when his brothers were at his side. Remembered back at TC, Alec sliding an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, the way Alec smiled at Joshua as Sam and Dean recounted one of the three brothers' adventures with relish. Even to her it felt like they were family, all of them, more than TC's bloodlines could ever reproduce. It was what she had wanted her whole life without knowing it, without ever daring she could have it. And it had hurt when Sam and Dean had walked out of TC without promises to return, had killed her to see the agony and loneliness and fear that rampaged through Alec as he stayed behind in TC, with her, with Joshua. Knew then what her heart had told her the whole time: she couldn't complete Alec, no matter how much she loved him. But his brothers could. Could heal the new fractures in Alec's soul, could even give Alec the courage to love her, to give a piece of himself to her. Knew that together, Alec, his brothers, Joshua, they could be family. A real family. So for that, yeah she could cool her heels at TC, could pine away for the man she loved without going all dark poems and drinking binges. "I will be here when you three get around to Seattle again," she promised, meant it and all its connotations.

And it was overwhelming, what Max was offering. Not only her love but her acceptance that he was a package deal from here on out. Was awed and blessed by Max's insight into what he was now, had become: a brother, a little brother who wouldn't feel complete if his big brothers weren't around. "Max, I do love you, you know that right?" he declared, voice husky, emotions unchecked, real.

"Knew you would come around to my way of thinking," Max gloated in her saucy girl tone, causing Alec to laugh with joy. "Kiss your brothers for me."

"Not in a million years," Alec readily returned with a laugh. "Keep yourself safe Max," he solemnly commanded, found he couldn't say goodbye, not to Max. Never could.

"I will if you will," she counter ordered, like the soldier she couldn't help being.

Then the connection faded but Alec was wearing a smile so wide that it almost hurt. Almost.

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Hearing the affection in Alec's tone at even the mention of his Manticore family, Dean had to clear the emotions in his throat before he could speak, could find a way to force himself to ask Alec if that meant he was going back to TC soon, was leaving him. Them.

But Sam exited the house at that moment said to Alec what he had moments before, "Chairs are more comfortable, you know." Proving that, he and Sam, they might not always think the same way…but sometimes they did. And that was all Dean needed to know.

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Books sprawled across the table and the lap top open, Dean declared, "We can easily handle this, especially with Alec's night vision," his eyes cutting across the living room to the cabin's only other occupant.

Not bothering to lower the book he was reading, Sam refuted with zero room for argument, "No. No hunts until you're 100%, Dean." To which, of course, Dean argued.

"Come on, I'll be research guy. Alec can watch your back," Dean cajoled, wanting something to do, anything to do that would break up the boredom of his brothers enforced "recovery" time.

And it was the opening Sam needed…and didn't want to take. Closing his book, he shifted to the end of the lounge chair and met his brother's look across the living room, forced himself to make his next words gentle because he knew they would hurt Dean, knew it because they hurt him. "Alec will probably be heading back home soon."

"Home?" Dean echoed, his tone forlorn, because he had thought they were Alec's home, him and Sam. Instantly bitterness flared in him for Max, for Josh, for the whole TC community and he wished he had never allowed Alec to return there in the first place. That he had never seen that news coverage about transgenics…that Alec had never felt compelled to lend a hand to the fight.

The hurt in Dean's voice, the loss, it wounded Sam where he was already vulnerable. But he forced himself to press on, to face the inevitable, to get Dean to see that life…it changed, whether you wanted it to or not. "He has a life there, Dean. With Max and Josh…the other transgenics," he gently pointed out.

"Sure but he's going to stay with us for awhile, right?" Dean asked, striving to be hopeful, to let confidence carry in his tone. But Sam's silence, the pensive look his brother wore was denial enough, had him choking out, "He told you he's leaving?"

"No but…he will leave soon. When he knows you're OK."

Not good at letting people go, Dean clung to hope, to family even when it was illogical. "Maybe he's decided to stay with us." Because Alec had admitted that he talked to Max and he hadn't packed his bags that night, had stayed.

Sam uttered his brother's name in gentle protest. "Dean.." hating that he had to crush his brother's false hope, watched as Dean's eyes dropped from him, focused on the table top, a grim set to his jaw. Found himself growing angry, angry that Dean couldn't see this on his own, that Dean clung to people so hard, people that ended up hurting him, leaving him. 'Like Dad and me and Alec.' "There's more to life than hunting," he bluntly said, like he had that first year they were hunting together after Stanford. And it came out like an accusation, like something Dean should know and not have to be told, time and time again. Despising himself for his words, Sam found he hated something worse: the way Dean's head snapped up, the hurt, the betrayal that blazed in his brother's eyes as they seared into his.

"Alec is not like you, Sam!" Dean shouted back, refusing to believe that Alec was capable of turning his back on his family, of doing what Sam had done when he went to college. He couldn't believe that Alec would cut him off.

Alec froze on the porch, the raised voices, the inclusion of his name in the conversation, the accusation, Dean's anger, all of it stolehis breath away. Turned him into a statue that couldn't move, but he could hear, goodness help him but he could hear every word his brothers spoke.

Sam's reply radiated with the same accusation, the same level of anger that Dean's had. "And maybe he's not like you! Maybe he's not like either one of us, Dean. He's different," Sam heatedly pointed out coming to his feet, even as Dean did the same. He was proud of Alec for not being like them. Prayed his little brother wasn't open to hurt like they were, that he never developed the ability to hurt the ones he loved like he did, didn't make a lifetime habit out of making reckless sacrifices like Dean did for the sake of love, of honor, of family.

"He doesn't have to be," Dean countered, and there it was again, that forlorn hope, that hurt tone that tore Sam apart, piece by piece.

"You can't change him!" Sam thundered back, hating that Alec was yet another way the world had found to hurt Dean, that he couldn't ever seem to protect Dean against this, against people leaving him.

"So you think he should leave?!" Dean thundered, knew he honestly shouldn't have been surprised that in a battle between family business versus freedom of normalcy, Sam would vote 100% for the freedom ballot. That no matter all that they had been through, Sam still valued freedom over family.

The question hung in the air, choking Sam and Dean both as they stood toe to toe. "Yes…" Sam breathed out but faltered as he saw his brother's barriers crumble at the one word. It caused his next words to be a litany of unvoiced curses because this wasn't what he wanted, to hurt Dean, to rub it in his brother's face that they were going to have to let Alec go. That Dean was going to have to let go of another member of his family, that he was again going to lose what he valued most in the world.

At his brother's exchange of words, Alec stumbled, felt his knees nearly go out on him…like his heart already had. "He's different" "You can't change him" "You think he should leave…yes." He was going to be sick…or worse, was going to crumble to his knees and cry, beg for forgiveness for being different, vow that he could change, plead with Sam to let him stay, convince them that whatever was wrong with him, he would fix, they could fix. Together. On shaking legs he nearly tripped down the porch stairs, was blinded by unshed tears and broken by grief but this was something he knew how to do, was good at: leaving.

At Dean's shake of his head and quiet desolate, "No, Sam," Sam continued, took on the role of strength this time, like Dean had back in Chicago when they had to let their father go to keep him safe. Knew that, in its own way, this decision was like that one, was about letting go of the person they loved to spare them pain, because it was best for them…was best for Alec. "Yes, if it's what he wants."

Instead of remorse, Dean burned with anger, with righteous indignation because he had been through this before, had thought he had protected himself against the notion of it happening again…with Sam. But not with Alec, hadn't constructed those walls like he should have. "And who cares what I want? What you want? I'm supposed to let him walk away like I let you go? I'm supposed to just forget I have a brother, write him off. To not call him, to never see him, to pretend I died…or he did."

"No!" Sam fervently denied, hating Dean's choice of words. "No that's not what I'm saying! And for the record, Dean, that wasn't what I meant when I said, 'I'm pissed at Dad and you defending him isn't going to change that.' Or 'I have mid terms so don't call me for awhile.' It never meant change your cell phone number on me, drop off the face of the earth! Make me call Bobby to make sure you're not dead!" Old hurts, old fears came rising to the surface now that the lid was off of his control, that Dean's words had reopened old wounds.

Dean flinched, quietly said, "You called Bobby?" a hint of surprise, of disbelief in his tone.

"Yeah," Sam mumbled, felt uncomfortable with the confession before it morphed to indignation. "I had to when I couldn't reach you for a week straight." But his admission, it was worth it when it garnered a softening in Dean's eyes, when he could see the pieces coming together for his brother, the realization that things weren't like he thought they were. That he wasn't the only brother who needed family, needed his brother. Told Dean he needed him, wanted Dean in his life, even when he was off pursuing "normal" with a vengeance.

Sam pulled on a smirk. "You do that to Alec, cut him off and go disappearing on him, he'll be even more pissed at you than I was. I guarantee you that he will give you a greeting a whole lot colder than the one I gave you back at Jess and my apartment when you finally resurfaced, you coming in there playing it off like it was nothing, breaking in, pretending we had just talked the week before when you hadn't called me in two years.'

"So what, I should have interpreted your "don't call me" as "send me a Christmas card?!" That I should send Alec a 'Happy Transgenic Day' card once a year?!" Dean shot back because it was how he dealt with uncomfortable emotions, with mistakes he couldn't undo, with things that were happening that were out of his control and against his wishes.

"Yeah, send him a card, call him, drop in for a visit, do something that tells him you're not dead, that you're still brothers." And Sam knew his words weren't about Alec anymore, were about him, were about him and Dean, about being so lonely for his brother for two years that the hurt was just now fading after three years of being together, 24/7, through all fate had thrown at them.

"We'll always be brothers," Dean vowed with warm affection glistening in his eyes as they held Sam's, the declaration about him and Sam, and him and Alec and Sam. Was something that was non-negotiable, just was and no one was going to take it away from him, ever.

Sam shuffled as Dean's declaration sent a wave of joy through this heart. "Well, sometimes a guy needs proof of that."

"Proof?!" Dean scoffed. "What?! Flowers? Chocolate?"

"Just the sound of your voice, Dean," Sam pointed out, knew that, all the time at college, he hadn't been able to ever drown out the hope that one day it would be his brother on the other end of the phone line. "Or a chance to ride shotgun on one of your many searches for good diner food, or hitting the bars for a drink. Even when Alec heads back to TC, he'll need that from you, Dean. Want it from you."

"And he'll want that from you too, Sam," Dean assured before he qualified with a teasing light in his eyes, "Well, not the drinking part because you're a lightweight." The comment earned him a punch in his uninjured arm from Sam but brought a smile to both of their faces. Yeah, Alec might call his homebase somewhere other than the Impala but there was no way the kid was getting rid of them. Ever.

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TBC

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Sorry to slip into angst this time but I promise the brothers are going to get things straightened out between them in the next chapter!

Have a great day!

Cheryl W.