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.

January 20th

11pm

Dean walked into Bobby's living room carrying the remainder of his and Sam's bags to find his brother and sister in law entangled like two horny teenagers on the couch. He cleared his throat dropping Sam's bag to the floor, "I'm gonna leave this here and um go upstairs and NOT have sex with my wife."

Sam chuckled while Jackie smirked up at Dean saying, "We'll try and keep the noise level down so you can sleep old man."

Dean paused at the door, his signature smirk on his face, "Oh, FYI, I banged Lexi on that very couch a little over a month ago." Sam stared at his older brother, his mouth hanging open which caused Dean to smile even wider, "Have fun Sammy."

Dean laughed to himself as he made his way up to his bedroom. He really loved getting under Sammy's skin, it was just too easy. He opened his bedroom door, tiptoed inside and flicked the light on. His eyes fell on the bed and the twin that was asleep on his side of the bed curled around Lexi. He pulled a face, he had a rule, no kids in the bed with them. Dean dropped his bag at the foot of the bed staring at the twin that was in his spot. He wasn't sure which boy it was but he knew he wasn't going to let him stay. He moved to the head of the bed pulling back the covers and was about to lift the boy out of bed when Lexi opened her eyes mumbling, "Dean?"

"Hey, Lex."

"Leave Ben here."

He opened his mouth to argue but honestly he was too bone tired to fight. Lexi watched as Dean kicked off his boots, peeled off his Henley and undershirt, then pulled off his jeans. He stood in front of her clad only in his boxer briefs, he smiled and wagged his eyebrows at her, "Enjoying the show?"

"Always."

Dean laughed as he gestured for her to move over. He climbed in next to her snaking his arms around her letting his hands rest on her stomach. He kissed her softly before whispering, "How's my girls doing?"

"Good. Glad to have you home in one piece."

"Why's Ben in our bed and not in his own?"

"He was worried about you, so I let him sleep here."

"Oh. Well, this is a one time only thing. You know the rule, Lex. You're too soft on the boys."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm the mom I'm supposed to be the nurturing one. Plus, he was worried sick about you and if he felt better by staying with me I wasn't about to kick him out."

"That's why you're an awesome mom."

The Next Morning

Dean was in the kitchen starting breakfast when he heard a strange grunting sound. He turned to see Alec standing just inside the kitchen and before he knew what was happening, the boy launched himself at him. Dean knelt down just in time to wrap his arms around Alec as he barreled into his chest. Alec buried his face in Dean's t shirt clutching at the worn material. It took Dean a minute to realize that the whip smart ten year old that always had a witty comeback was crying big blubbery tears into his chest. Dean tightened his grip around his young son as he got to his feet. He made a lap around the kitchen rubbing Alec's back and letting him cry before asking, "What's wrong kiddo?"

"You're late."

Those two words tugged at Dean's heartstrings making him feel guilty as hell. They twisted knots in his stomach making him feel like the world's worst father. He sighed remembering how he felt at Alec's age stuck in some shitty hotel room and counting down the days until his dad would return from his hunt. The times he didn't come back when he said he would, Dean would be sick with worry. He would be worried about the amount of food and money they had left and whether he could stretch it out. He would worry about what would happen to him and Sammy if his dad didn't make it back. Of course, he also worried about all these things, chewing his nails down to the quick until his old man walked through the door.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't do it again. Promise?"

"I promise."

Dean put Alec down carding his fingers through the kid's hair. He suddenly realized how different him and Ben really were. They might be twins but they weren't carbon copies. Even though Alec was the younger twin, he was the leader. Ben looked to him the way Sammy looked to Dean when they were kids. Dean figure that meant Alec had his game face on the entire time they were gone. He probably told Ben whatever he thought would make his brother feel better. Alec had sat around playing it cool while he was really freaking out. Dean sighed running his hands down his face. He really hoped him and Lexi could erase the damage that was done to these kids. He knew it wasn't going to happen over night but it sickened him to see Alec mirroring his own twisted actions. "Hey, how bout I make you some breakfast, uh? Anything you want."

"Anything?"

"Yup."

"Grilled cheese." Alec responded promptly his whole face lit up while he bounced on the balls of his batman slipper covered feet.

"Ok, one grilled cheese coming up."

Dean brought the grilled cheese over to Alec and sat across from him. He watched the boy eat quietly as Dean tried to figure out the best way to start the conversation he wanted to have with him. He decided the best thing to do was to just come out with it, no need to hem and haw over it. "Alec, I wanna talk to you."

"I wasn't bad I swear."

Dean chuckled shaking his head. He loved this kid, he really did. It was such an Alec response, hell it was something that Dean would've come out with himself at that age. This isn't about you being bad. You're not in trouble. Why were you so upset about me not coming back on time?"

Alec averted his gaze and spoke to his plate, "Cuz you said nothing bad would happen to me as long as you were still kicking. If something happens to you...I...what...Manticore and Lydecker...if they can get you...they can get us."

"Listen to me. That ain't ever gonna happen. Even if something happens to me your mom will not let anything bad happen to you. Trust me. You've never seen her angry or how she protects her family. She's a tough chick."

Alec cocked his head to the side not hiding the doubt on his face. He wrinkled up his nose not bothering to hide the disbelief in his voice, "Really? Mom? She's so...NICE."

"Yeah she is but there's stuff you don't know about her. She's different...kinda like how you and Ben are different."

"Like how different?"

"Ya know how she has all these powers now? Well, a few years ago she had them all the time. Long story short she let me bind her powers but the psychic thing comes from her mom's side. If anything happened to me...it's just a spell keeping her powers locked down. She could take Lydecker out and anyone else that comes after you without working up a sweat."

"Why'd you bind her powers?"

Dean sighed and shook his head. Now that he had started this conversation he wasn't so sure he should be telling it. After all, it was Lexi's story not his but he knew if he did stop Alec would badger him until he told him the whole story. He took a deep breath and blurted out, "Cuz they don't come from a good place and when she gave in to them...she wasn't Lexi anymore. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, like Jekyll and Hyde."

"Something like that."

The two sat in silence, Alec eating his grilled cheese and Dean sipping his black coffee, until Jake came tearing into the room. "Daddy!" he squealed climbing into his dad's lap, "I missed you!"

He was grateful for Jake breaking the awkward silence that had fell between him and Alec and turned his attention to the three year old that was now squirming in his lap. Dean squeezed Jake tight kissing the top of his head, the scent of baby shampoo still clinging to his blonde hair. He didn't realize how much he missed his boys until that moment,"I missed you too buddy. You hungry?"

"YES! I want dippy eggs."

"Ok, ok." Dean smirked putting Jake down on the floor, "One egg over easy and some toast coming right up."

Later that day

Dean walked into the library with Ben's coat, hats and gloves, he held them out towards the boy gesturing to follow him. The need to follow orders, verbal or nonverbal, were so deeply instilled in the boy that Ben immediately closed the book he was reading and put on the items Dean held before him. He followed his dad outside through the salvage yard and into one of the repair garages where the Impala was parked on one of the lifts. Ben raised his eyebrow slightly confused as to why he was out here with his father.

"She needs an oil change." Dean said simply nodding to the car, "I thought you might wanna learn how to do it."

Ben couldn't help the wide smile that broke out on his face. He loved cars, he especially loved his father's car. The sleek black lines and the purr of the engine was something that Ben just thought was better than anything he's ever seen or heard. The fact that his dad trusted him enough to touch his baby made Ben well with pride. "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

Ben watched avidly as Dean explained to him how they were going to change the oil and the car's air filter. Dean turned the lift on and stood under the car gesturing for Ben to stand next to him. He pointed all the parts out to his son and instructed him how to properly and safely drain the oil. As the oil drained out of the car, Dean turned to Ben clearing his throat, "Why were you so worried about me Ben?"

Ben blinked at his dad then averted his eyes, "It's stupid."

"Nah, don't say that. C'mon Benny, talk to me."

"It's just...Lydecker's a bad man."

"I know that. There's more to it than that. I know that's a fact cuz you're my clone. I know how that brain of yours works."

Ben sighed and met his dad's eyes, "You don't know how horrible the people at Manticore are, what they made us do. I know what they'd do to you if they caught you. Bad things, dad. I..."

Dean knelt down and wrapped his arms around Ben pulling him into a tight hug, "Benny, they aren't gonna get me. Trust me on that. I've been up against things that are a lot worse than Manticore and I'm still standing."

"Yeah, but..."

"No buts Benny. I know in your head Manticore is this huge monster. I get why, they did terrible things to you kids. They're just people, horrible and twisted but they're still just people. They bleed red just like we do, which means we can kill them."

Benny nodded as he stepped back from his dad, "But you were late. Missions go sideways. I was worried."

"I know I was and yeah things can always go sideways. I promise I won't be that late again if you promise not to worry so much anymore. Deal?" Dean held out his hand smiling. Ben eyed the hand in front of him then put his own smaller hand in his. Dean smiled wider as he shook his son's hand, "That's my boy."

January 24th

Dean woke up to the delicious smell of something baking. At first he thought he was dreaming until he reached over for Lexi only to find an empty bed. Dean growled as he threw back the covers, his wife was trying to send him to an early grave. Why she couldn't follow a simple instruction like stay off her feet he didn't understand. The doctor made it very clear at her appointment yesterday that even though her and the baby were doing good she still needed to remain on strict bed rest. What really pissed Dean off was that Lexi was a doctor herself, she knew the risks and should know better.

He marched down the stairs muttering to himself about his wife being buckets of crazy and trying to send him to an early grave, he dead stopped in the kitchen archway, the words dying on his lips. Lexi was seated at the kitchen table with Sam and Jackie while she supervised their three boys.

"What's going on here?" Dean barked to no one in particular as his eyes landed on the pecan pie that was cooling on the counter.

"Me and the boys made your favorite pie and now they're making you breakfast."

"Yeah," Alec interrupted, "we're making you chocolate chip pancakes. It was supposed to be a surprise for you birthday so you need to go back to bed."

"I..." Dean turned towards Lexi his eyebrow quirked, "You're not supposed to be on your feet, Lex."

"I haven't been. I've been sitting here the whole time supervising them. Ask Sam and Jackie."

"Yeah she has." Sam stated simply, "This was all the boy's idea. They wanted to do something special for your birthday."

Dean stared at them all not knowing what to say. He wasn't expecting much for his birthday. He suddenly felt embarrassed, he ducked his face to hide the red flush that was spreading across his cheeks and scratched the back of his head. "Um...I um..."

Dean never did get out what he was trying to say. Bobby had shoved a cup of coffee into his hand and directed him to sit next to wife. Moments later they all had plates piled high with misshapen chocolate chip pancakes on them. His three boys beamed with pride at the breakfast they had made for him which made Dean smile right back at them. Even though some pancakes were a little crispy or a little under done, they were still the best pancakes he had ever had. This was the best birthday present he could ever ask for, his whole family crowded around the kitchen table laughing. And all of them safe and happy, that's all he's ever wanted.