Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dark Angel or Supernatural characters. For this fic I changed the DA time line. The pulse has already hit and Alec is out of Manticore in 2009. The characters of Lexi, Jake and Jackie are from a Supernatural AU Verse that I write. This is my first DA fic so please be kind. I hope you like it. Thanks to everyone that has been reading this story. Reviews would be great.

I.

Bobby ran his hand through Jake's spiky blonde hair before reaching down and picking him up. "You're growing like a weed. What's your idjit father feeding you?" Jake didn't miss a beat. He giggled and simply said 'Pie'. The older man eyed Dean wearily muttering, "Figures."

Ben and Alec are both jumpy and ready to bolt if need be. Ben, at the moment, is hiding behind Dean while he tries to assess his new surroundings. Alec on the other hand, is peering around Dean to get a good look at this Bobby guy. Dean gets a hand on each of them and pushes Alec and Ben forward as he introduces them to Bobby. The older man looks from Alec to Ben and back to Dean snorting, "So these are the enhanced killing machines? Ya think they would've cloned your daddy if they wanted killing machines but I guess they wanted to make 'em pretty."

"HEY!" The three of them shout in unison, all wearing the same offended expression.

"Well are ya gonna stand out here all night or are you gonna get your butts inside? You're letting all my heat out."

Alec followed the group absentmindedly into the kitchen. He was more interested in investigating the contents that cluttered the house. There appeared to be endless stacks and stacks of books. Most were old looking and covered in a thick layer of dust. Then there were the weapons. Guns, knives, cross bows, you name it. All Alec wanted to do was to run his hands over the cool metal of the guns and to take an inventory of the artillery. Alec stopped just inside the archway of the kitchen torn between eating something warm and going off to explore. He felt Sam's overly large hand nudge him forward as he stated seriously, "We have to hurry up and get something to eat Alec before Dean eats it all."

Dean was already shoveling spoonfuls of chili into his mouth when he heard Sam's snarky remark. He glared at his younger brother saying around a mouthful of chili, "Ya know the rules Sammy. Ya snooze ya loose."

"It's SAM."

"Uh huh, whatever you say SAMMY."

Sam rolled his eyes and ignored his brother. He really wasn't in the mood for what Dean thought was playful banter. Sam was tired and all he wanted to do was eat some of Bobby's chili, take a shower and get some sleep. He filled a bowl and sat across from Dean who was now polishing off Lexi's half eaten bowl of chili. Bobby seemed to take notice of this as well. The older hunter raised an eyebrow and really didn't think much of it. The girl always ate like a bird but taking a second look at her she did look sorta green. He asked her if she was feeling alright but before she could answer Jake spoke for her. He gazed up at Bobby his little face serious and said matter of fact, "I'm gonna be a big brother."

"Oh really?" Bobby asked turning his attention to Dean. Dean ducked his head to avoid Bobby's stare, giving a small shrug of his shoulders as he continued to eat. Jake nodded and rambled on that his birthday was tomorrow. He held up three fingers, counted, then proclaimed that he was going to be three. Bobby reached over ruffling Jake's hair affectionately, "Guess that means we're having a birthday party for ya little man."

Ben swallowed his chili and then put his spoon down. He considered Bobby intently, quirking his eyebrow while wondering why they were going to have a party. Ben had never been to a birthday party or any kind of party. Of course, he was well aware of what a birthday was but he was still confused on why it would be cause for celebration. He didn't even know when his birthday was. Birthdays, like names, were something that Manticore didn't provide their soldiers with. "Why are we having a party for Jake's birthday?"

Five pair of adult eyes turned in his direction causing Ben to squirm a little in his chair. He wasn't used to drawing attention to himself like this. It was usually Ben's younger twin that did that. Alec was always a magnet for trouble, something that Ben assumed he got from their donor. The adults shared what Ben realized were looks of concern and he wondered if he what he had asked was somehow bad.

Lexi was the one that answered him. "Well, it's a tradition Ben. A very old Pagan tradition. The Pagans were very superstitious. They thought that evil spirits lurked on the days of a major change. Like on the date of your birth for example. The whole birthday candle thing was in response to those evil spirits; a light, in the darkness. Even the ancient Greeks have lore on birthdays. They believed that every person had a spirit that was at their birth. These spirits kept watch over you." Ben considered what she had told him and nodded as he turned back to his dinner. He understood what traditions encompassed even if they no longer made any sense.

Dean smirked snapping his fingers, "See this is what I love about her. I don't have to open up one of your old dusty books Bobby. I got my very own walking Time Life "Mysteries Of The Unknown" right here." Lexi turned slightly pink now that everyone's eyes were on her. She lightly smacked Dean's shoulder telling him to hush. "You see the abuse I get? Here I am praising her and I'm getting hit."

"I thought you liked the abuse." Jackie said her face lit up mischievously, "At least you used to. Or has all that changed now that you're an old married man with kids?"

"Hey, I'm only two months older than you Jackie. So, if I'm old, you're old."

"Yeah, but you're still OLDER than me. And you're way older than your child bride."

Dean pulled a face mocking her. He wasn't old. He was only thirty for Christ's sake. Hell, Lexi was not that much younger than him either. She was twenty five, going to be twenty six in a month's time. He couldn't help it if she looked young. "She's four years younger than me, Same as you and Sam."

"Hmmm, hmmm. Why do you feel the need to defend yourself to me, Ace?"

"Cuz you're always making me out to be the bad guy."

"Ya know I'm just playing, Ace. I love your ass."

"So obsessed with my ass Jackie." Dean snickered lopping a biscuit at Jackie. She caught the biscuit laughing and shaking her head. She missed this stuff. She missed being able to sit around a table and joke with her family. The pulse screwed everything up. People were desperate now, which made them dangerous. It was exhausting having to have your guard up twenty four, seven. The only good thing about the damn pulse was that it also wiped out Dean and Sam's police records.

Later that night

Everyone had a place to sleep except for Ben and Alec. Bobby, of course, had his room. Dean, Lexi and Jake were in the first bedroom at the top of the stairs, which left Sam and Jackie in the middle bedroom. Sam kept complaining that he had to share a wall with Dean and would appreciate it if Dean would keep the noise to a minimum. Dean wagged his finger at Sam reminding him he wouldn't even have a bed to sleep in if it wasn't for him ripping off that moving van so they could get their stuff to Bobby's in the first place. Neither boy wanted to admit it but all this talk about beds and bedrooms made them nervous. What if they suddenly decided they didn't want to keep them or worse what if they handed them back to Manticore.

Lexi noticed that both boys seemed anxious and upset. She nudged Dean gesturing to the boys. He noticed and immediately asked them what was wrong. Ben wouldn't meet Dean's eyes. He shifted from foot to foot saying, "There's no..." Alec stood up interrupting Ben and boldly said what his twin couldn't, "There's no place for us to sleep. Where are you putting us?"

"For a few nights you two are gonna sleep down here. Then, you guys are going to have the attic."

Alec and Ben both raised their eyebrows at Dean mouthing the word attic. "No, it's gonna be cool. You guys are gonna have a huge space all to yourselves. It's nothing to be afraid of, it has heat and electric. Me and Sammy used to play up there. We just gotta clean it out and get you some beds."

The boys finally agreed. Once they thought about it they got excited. They never had a room to themselves before. After Dean stated that they'd only be downstairs for a couple of nights, they made him promise that they could start cleaning out the attic tomorrow morning. Alec even trying to get him to promise them a TV. Alec just shrugged when both Dean and Lexi said no. He had to give it a shot, besides he at least had tonight and tomorrow night in front of the TV when they were asleep.

Dean couldn't remember the last time he made a tent fort. Hell, it had to be when Sam was about ten years old. He was fourteen then and thought he was too cool to be building forts with his little brother. Sam, though, brought out his puppy eyes and he gave in. Dean stood back admiring his handiwork with Alec and Ben. There was only one word for it, awesome. "Well, whatta think boys?"

They both stared at the sheets and back to Dean with confused looks on their faces. "What is it?"

"What is it? WHAT is it? You don't know what this is? Dude! It's a tent fort. Oh, I have so much to teach you boys."

II.

Dean was awakened the following morning by excited voices and two sets of tiny hands grabbing at him. He batted the offending hands away only to have them to increase their assault on him. He groaned when he felt something boy shaped land on him. "Dude, get off me."

"You said we could clean out the attic this morning."

Dean groaned running a hand down his face, "What time is it?"

"4:30."

"In the morning?" Dean sighed his eyes darting to the alarm clock. Was it so much to ask to be able to sleep in for once?He wasn't asking for much, just sleeping to 8 am would make him happy. "Go back to bed. When I said morning I meant 9 or 10.

"But we're not tired. We only need four hours of sleep a night."

Dean pulled the pillow over his head hoping that if he ignored Alec and Ben they would just go away. He didn't have the kind of luck though. Whatever boy that was on top of him, he assumed it was Alec, began tugging at the comforter in an effort to get him out of bed. Dean sat up causing the boy to fall on the floor with a thud, "If you're not tired go watch TV then. I'll be down in a few hours."

"All your clothes are on the floor. Why are you naked?"

"Cuz I was hot."

"Why are you and Lexi BOTH naked? All her clothes are on the floor too. Was she hot too?"

"GET OUT. I SWEAR TO GOD ALEC."

"How do you KNOW I'm Alec? I could just as easily be Ben."

Dean's hand shot out and grabbed him the boy by his shirt. He tugged the boy closer to the bed to get a better look at him and sneered, "A few reasons. One, you're wearing a Superman t shirt. Two, you don't know when to keep your mouth shut and three, you just gave yourself away by saying you could be Ben. Now go downstairs before you really piss me off."

After breakfast, just as Dean had promised, they cleaned out the attic. To say Bobby was a hoarder didn't even cover it. Dean swore he had found shit in that attic that had been there since the house was built. Between the seven of them though, they got the job done. The attic was now free of it's clutter expect for a handful of boxes of Dean and Sam's old clothes and toys. It also smelled of lemons thanks to the good scrubbing they gave it.

Lexi and Jackie were busy measuring the windows for blinds and curtains while Sam and Bobby brought the last of the boxes down. Dean loomed over Ben and Alec preparing to dole out some punishment for waking him up before the crack of dawn. Alec huffed while shifting from foot to foot. He couldn't believe the injustice he was being put through. He was going to die without fresh air and TV. How could Dean be so cruel? He wanted to say as much but with the look Dean was giving him at the moment Alec didn't want to push his luck. "Why do we have to stay here?"

Alec knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment Dean's jaw twitched. Dean glared down at him making Alec squirm just a little. "Because I said so that's why."

"That's not an answer to my question."

Dean turned meeting Lexi's eyes who shrugged in response. He then gave Alec his full attention with his eyebrow raised. "You sure you wanna go down this road kid? I'll tell you one thing you should quit while you're ahead."

"It's NOT fair. We didn't do anything except interrupt your sleep."

"Oh ho oh. 'It's NOT fair.' Newsflash kid, life ain't fair. Sooner you understand that the better you'll be. You're being punished because you don't go barging into people's rooms and for your smart mouth. Now you're staying here with Jackie while we go to the store. You give her any problems and me and you'll have a problem. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

Alec sat on the ratty couch his arms crossed with his bottom lip stuck out. Having to sit inside this dusty house without the TV to entertain him sucked. What Alec couldn't grasp was how his brother didn't seem upset about the situation at all. Ben was sitting on the floor with Jake, a crayon in his hand, while listening to the little boy telling him what to do. Alec's interest was peaked. He slipped off the couch and joined his twin on the floor. "What are you two doing?" Jake looked up at Alec his eyebrow quirked as he simply said, 'Coloring.' He pushed a coloring book and a crayon towards Alec before going back to his own book. Alec picked up the offered crayon out of curiosity. He began to copy Jake's movements as he colored. He looked down at the half colored drawing smiling and thinking to himself, 'This isn't half bad.' The three boys didn't look up from their coloring until Jackie sat on the couch and asked them if they wanted lunch yet. All three nodded their blonde heads yes with Ben promptly asking for grilled cheese. He noticed the book in her hands and asked, "What's that?"

Jackie turned the book towards the boys, "I was sketching the three of you."

"Cool."

Alec pushed his coloring to the side studying Jackie while he blurted out, "How'd you meet Sam?"

"Through Lexi. We shared an apartment in New Orleans when we were in college. Dean lived there for four years too but he won't admit it even though he had all his stuff there."

"Why not?"

"Because he's weird like that but trust me he LIVED there. When ever he wasn't on a hunt he was in New Orleans with Lexi."

"You're all hunters tho right?"

"Well, of course, Dean and Sam grew up in it. I was a tattoo artist before I started a couple of years ago. Lexi's biological mom came from an old hunting family and you know she's a doctor. So, yeah, now we all hunt together."

An hour later

Dean came in the house huffing and puffing carrying a large, thin cardboard box. Sam was right behind him carrying an identical box that he dropped unceremoniously in the hall. Dean grunted asking Bobby for some help. The older man raised his eyebrow while growling out, "I helped you clean out that attic all morning and now you idjits want me to lug furniture up two flights of stairs? I'm an old man for Christ's sake."

"You're not that old." Dean huffed. Bobby shrugged and got to his feet anyway. He agreed to help them get the two sets of box springs and mattresses into the house but after that it was up to them. Alec and Ben also got up and inspected the boxes. The boys looked at each other and nodded. They each grabbed an end of one box and made their way up the stairs.

By the time Dean and Sam got one set of the box spring and mattresses into the hall the boys had brought both boxes up to the attic. Sam and Dean exchanged glances before asking Jackie what happened to the bed frames. She shrugged with a slight smirk on her face, "The wonder twins took them up to the attic. Those kids are wicked strong man." Dean shook his head as he spat out 'Excuse me?' and Sam let out a huff. Jackie put down her sketch book, this time with a huge smile on her face, "You heard me. Those two kids carried the bed frames up two flights. The very same ones that had you two oafs huffing and puffing." Dean rubbed his face letting out a long sigh. If this was any indication for things to come, well, that only meant one thing, he was in deep shit.

Dean and Sam made their way up to the attic to check on the boys. They stood in the doorway for a moment as they watched them lay out the pieces of one of the bed frames in neat piles. Dean cleared his throat causing the boys to jump and look in his direction. "You two carried these up here yourselves?"

Ben smiled proudly nodding his head. Alec, on the other hand, rolled his eyes, "You forget we're enhanced killing machines. Did you think they didn't make us strong?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go downstairs and see if your mo...I mean Lexi. See if Lexi needs your help with the cake. If not go outside and play. Me and Sammy will take care of this."

Once the boys were out of ear shot, Sam stared at Dean as if waiting for answer. Dean pretended that Sam wasn't giving him his 'What the hell was that?' face and instead grabbed the instructions. Sam strode over to where his older brother was snatching the instructions right out of his hand, "What was that Dean? You referred to Lexi as their mom."

"Just slipped out man."

"No. You're getting attached to them way too fast."

"Drop it Sammy."

"NO."

"I said drop it." Dean snapped as he snatched the instructions back from Sam and began looking for some tools, "I got two beds to put together."

Alec and Ben each had a beater in their hands full of dripping chocolate cake batter. Not to be left out, Lexi had given Jake the spatula she had used to scrap the bowl with. All three boys were now covered in chocolate making happy noises as they ate the cake batter. Chocolate was the best thing Alec and Ben had ever tasted. It was, well there were no words they could think of to describe how good it was. Sure, it was delicious, amazing even. Those words didn't come close to describing what they were tasting. One thing was for sure, this topped grilled cheese. Lexi had promised them they could help her frost Jake's birthday cake once it was cooled. Now, they couldn't wait to taste the chocolate frosting that was sitting on the counter.

After dinner that night Ben and Alec got to experience their first birthday party. They sang 'Happy Birthday' to Jake with the others before he blew out the four candles on his chocolate cake. While they were eating cake and ice cream they both asked why there were four candles on his cake instead of three. The explanation of one to grow on still didn't make much sense to them but they weren't going to argue as they shoveled another helping of ice cream into their mouths. They watched with wide eyes as Jake, with Lexi's help, tore open the three brightly wrapped presents he had received. He got a hot wheels race track from Dean and Lexi, a tonka toy truck from Bobby and a firetruck from Sam and Jackie that had a ladder that went up with flashing lights and sirens. Both Alec and Ben couldn't wait for their birthdays but they had no idea when they were. Lexi turned her attention to the boys smiling slightly. "Don't worry about that. We're giving you a birthday. We have to if we're getting you birth certificates. I was thinking May 15th."

A Few Days Larter

Colonel Lydecker stood in front of the map studying the blue and red push pins. The blue pins represented sightings of Manticore soldiers, while the red pins represented where the recaptured Manticore soldiers were found. He didn't like the way the blue pins were now out numbering the red ones. The Committee was not going to be happy when he gave his next report if this trend kept up. As he stared at the map, a clear pattern could be seen. The majority of the pins were in Wyoming, Idaho Montana, Oregon and Washington. There was also a handful in Utah and Arizona. From the looks of this map it appeared to him that the kids were attempting to cross into Canada and Mexico.

"Colonel Lydecker, we got something."

"What is it?"

"A possible sighting of X5- 493 and X5-494."

"Where?"

"A diner in Idaho."