AN: First off... sorry it's taking so long at the moment. Needed to figure out Henry and John and there's a lot to do at home.
GUEST - right, big sister. My bad, I changed it. Thank you!
A big thank you also to all recent reviewers, namely lady beach lover, gallifreyan-halliwell, spnfanforlife, Skylinemaster, Guest, NerdAngel, LilyBolt and deadone1013. Loved your feedback!
Now let's see how the story progresses.
***sn***
John Winchester sat at the table, staring at his first born son as if he'd grown a second head. The still half full bottle of beer his fingers curled around was long forgotten.
"So you see, Dad, you might as well blame Sam and myself for your dad not returning home that night. Or ever." Dean concluded the tale of Henry Winchester, Man of Letters, as fast as he could, explaining what he knew about the organisation his grandfather had been part of along the way. For a few moments neither Winchester said anything, John deep in thought and Dean not wanting to pry. Then John met Dean's eyes.
"He was a Man of Letters, eh?" Dean confirmed John's question with a nod. "Meaning I would have ended up doing what I am doing no matter what."
"Probably," Dean agreed. "But in a different manner, I suppose."
Just then the screech of the door on the upper level alerted the two that they weren't alone anymore. Dean glanced up, tense, but relaxed when he saw Cas appear on top of the stairs, closely followed by Sam. John gripped the bottle even tighter when he saw the third person appearing through the door.
His mouth dropped open and the air escaped him in an inaudible 'no' as the men walked down the stairs to their level. As if on auto pilot John rose from his seat and Dean followed suit. Sam and Cas came to stand next to the men while Henry Winchester remained on the last step, gaze fixed on John.
Henry took in the dark haired, bearded man from head to toe, his mouth dropping open and his eyes looking ready to bulge out of his head. Like in slow motion he took the last steps down and came to a halt in front of his son.
"Dad?" John whispered, eyes filling with unshed tears, a fact he would never admit to, as Dean and Sam knew. Henry nodded slowly, his lips trying to form words he didn't have.
"You look just like my father," Henry finally rasped when he'd found his voice. "I... I'm sorry, John. This... it's unreal."
Sam exchanged a glance with his brother, who nodded and tugged Cas' arm to make him follow.
"We'll give you a few moments to catch up, Dad, Henry," Sam spoke, already walking in the direction Dean and Cas left. "Holler if you need anything."
***sn***
Sam sat next to his brother on the bed while Cas stood just inside the room, his face void of any expression. He was studying the brothers like he used to do, which regularly freaked at least Dean out, even if he didn't always voice it.
"Do you think they'll still be alive when we get back inside?" Dean tried to joke but it fell on deaf ears. He fidgeted on the bed, earning himself an angry look from Sam. Dean shrugged in apology. "Just saying, when I told Dad what we know about Henry's story he didn't exactly look like he believed any of it."
"They'll work it out," Sam replied. "I mean, I can understand Dad's anger for thinking he'd been abandoned, but we know it wasn't like that. Even Dad will come to understand that."
"Wow, Sam. I never thought you'd give that type of credit to Dad," Dean joked. Sam glared, but then shrugged.
"Just wondering how it's going."
"They're talking," Cas piped up.
"That's good," Sam nodded and then frowned.
"What?" Dean raised an eyebrow.
"Just wondering how things will go when Dad sees Mom again... especially...," he trailed off. "Which year are we going to fetch Mom? Just before... the fire?"
"No," Dean replied more forcefully than he intended. "No, she doesn't know us, me, as a grown man. 1978-Mom does. She knows us both. I'd say we fetch her after I told her we're her sons."
"That way she'd know about us and angels," Sam nodded. "Good thinking."
Dean grinned and the next moment froze as if he'd seen a ghost. A frown formed on Sam's face.
"Dean?"
***sn***
As Sam was talking to him, Dean's eyes caught another figure in the room. A figure that shouldn't be there, that shouldn't be able to get in the bunker to start with.
"Dean," she said. "I found you. Well, not you in person, but since I'm in Lebanon our connection is much stronger. I need to find you. You and your brother. I need to talk to you face to face. About my brother."
"Amara," Dean whispered, staring transfixed at the apparition before him. His muscles tensed, ready for fight or flight, but he couldn't move.
"Show yourself, meet me," she repeated. "And bring Sam."
With that her figure dissipated.
***sn***
"DEAN?" Sam nudged his brother who was staring wide eyed into nothing. He got no reaction.
"Cas?" One hand on his brother's shoulder Sam turned to the angel.
"She's talking to him," Cas stated and approached the brothers.
"She?"
"Amara," Dean whispered tonelessly, drawing Sam's attention back to him.
"Amara? Dean, what the hell..." Sam shook Dean's shoulder. "Snap out of it!"
Dean kept staring ahead wide eyed for another few moments before blinking and gasping as his world returned into focus.
"Sam?" Dean turned to the younger hunter. "Don't leave the bunker. She's after you. I can feel it."
***sn***
Henry shook his head. "It's still so surreal," he said, looking at the man who was his son, as tall as himself but somehow a few years older. "Three days ago I left you in your bed, going to that meeting and now I not only met my grandsons who are grown men and now my own son. It's been literally three days."
John nodded. "I know the feeling. I just don't know what's more mindblowing, seeing my sons ten years older than just an hour ago or seeing my father looking exactly like the day he disappeared."
"I still can't believe the Men Of Letters don't exist anymore," Henry said, looking around. "But it looks like being a Hunter isn't that bad. At least my grandsons turned out alright." He smirked and John snorted.
"What I think is unreal is the fact that I'd have ended up in the hunting business one way or another." John mused. "Wonder what Mary would have said if she'd learned I was a legacy."
"She knows all about hunters," a voice approaching the two men said. John and Henry looked up to see Dean with Sam and Castiel coming closer.
"She what?" John asked, frowning. What Dean had just said... he must have heard wrong.
"Mary grew up into the hunting life, much like Sam and myself. Her parents were hunters, she wanted out...," Dean tried to explain in a nutshell but John interrupted him.
"Her parents were what?"
"Hunters, Dad. The angels went through a lot of trouble apparently to arrange for you and Mom to meet and for us to be prepared for this life."
"You telling me they arranged for Mary to be killed by that yellow eyed demon?" John's fury was now directed as Castiel, who met his glowering stare evenly.
"No, we didn't," he explained in his low, emotionless voice. "We just didn't interfere. It was serving our purpose."
"Why you..." John growled, ready to launch himself at the angel, but both Sam and Dean placed themselves between the two.
"Cool it, Dad. Believe me, it's not their fault. At least not his," Sam explained.
"If you need to blame someone, blame God," Dean added.
"God?" John queried, still trying to kill Castiel with his eyes.
"Yes. Apparently he's been keeping his pawns, namely Sam and myself, on the chess board, but doesn't care enough to show his sorry self," Dean now growled, earning himself a warning look from Sam. He shrugged.
"I think it's better to talk you all through this once the last two members are here, too," Sam suggested. Then he looked at his father and grandfather. "Are you two good?"
The men exchanged a glance, and then John nodded. "Yeah," he said.
"We're good," Henry confirmed.
"Great," Sam smiled. "Then maybe Cas and Dean can get Mom."
"Wait," John hastily interjected. "Boys, just how many heart attacks are you going to give me today?"
Sam pulled his eyebrows up in a patented puppy eyes look. Dean rolled his eyes at his brother and then faced his father.
"Too fast?"
"Dean, within a few hour I went from hunting vampires to seeing my son's older self to angel travel through time and meeting my father who disappeared when I was a kid and now looks about ten years younger than me. Damn right too fast. At least tell me which year you're picking up my... Mary," John's exasperation dissolved at the thought of meeting the love of his life again.
"We're going to get her in 1978. From a point where you don't know it yet, but she's... pregnant. With me," Dean informed his father and felt a weird feeling running down his spine. "We met her - and you, then - she know's about angels and time travel, and she knows we're her sons. She was shocked to find out we were hunters... and she thought she had raised us in the life she tried to escape. I...," Dean took a deep breath. "I told her it wasn't her, but she wouldn't buy it. So I had to tell her."
"How she died?" John asked, voice quivering at the memory.
"No. Not how. Just that she died."
At Dean's words John nodded. "Okay." Then he looked up. "How come I don't remember having met you then?"
"Angel mojo," Sam explained. "They wiped your memory.
"Him?" John nodded at Castiel. Sam and Dean exchanged slightly panicked looks.
"No, not him. Another angel," Dean said. "Dad, she might not recognize you right away. But I will let her know as brief as I can what's going on, so she won't be all freaked out."
At John's confirming nod Dean walked over to Cas, signaling him he was ready to be zapped. Cas reached out two fingers, but Dean held up his hand, stalling the angel.
"Sam, do me a favor and stay put, okay?"
It was Sam's turn to roll his eyes. "Yes, Dean," he hissed in a manner that was telling Dean he was not a little kid. Dean smirked and then looked at Cas, who completed the move and the next second, the angel and the human had left the bunker.
***sn***
Amara was pacing in her quarters. It had been easy to find an abandoned shelter in Lebanon. She had to be patient. The Winchesters couldn't stay hidden forever. Sooner or later they were bound to surface.
When she had created the connection with Dean earlier, she had felt he was close. The connection was strong, so strong that Dean's feeble attempts to keep her out were fruitless. She had felt his agitation, his every emotion. But she had not been able to read his mind. Amara hummed as she strode through the hall like room.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."