When the Cradle Falls

Chapter Nineteen: Screaming Angels

2003

Things had grown stale. Dean's life became a monotonous loop, something easily predicted. Not even hunting could quite take the numbness away.

And even now, as he sat at the dinner table after being away for a few months, Dean couldn't think of anything to say to Alice or the kids. There was an awkward silence that blanketed over the table, masked only by the clinks of silverware against plates.

Alice was careful to not glance in his direction. Ever since he had gotten there, her excitement had quickly been deflated when it seemed like Dean hadn't wanted to even visit. Cara and Noah could also sense something was off with their father, but they chose to ignore it. They acted like nothing was wrong.

"How's everything been?" Alice asked, focusing on her plate.

"It's been. How bout you Alice, kids?"

"Fine," Cara said.

"Good," Noah responded.

"Great," Alice muttered behind a chew of food.

"What?"

She turned to look at Dean. "Nothing."

He held her gaze for a minute, before looking back down at his own space. "That's good."

"Isn't it," she commented to herself. She couldn't help but feel some bitter resentment bubbling up, a quite ugly feeling. She only got to see the man she loved a few times a year, and it pissed her off he didn't seem to even want to be here. Sure, Alice would give him the benefit of the doubt for whatever he did when he was with his father. She knew it wasn't easy and he got injured quite a bit, but she couldn't help to think that at least seeing the kids would make Dean happy.

She just wished he would've been happy to see her.

After nine years of knowing her, was Dean finally growing tired of her? Had he finally realized she was the duddy plain-jane from high school? Had he realized that even after two kids, she wasn't exactly what he wanted? Alice knew she was boring by all definitions of the word.

But it wouldn't be Dean's fault.

It couldn't be his fault.

Alice sat there quietly while the deafening, inordinate sounds of chewing and clinking cushioned and filled the room, pressing against her ear drums. The metallic clatter of silverware infinitely multiplied until there was a constant tinny in her ears. The fork and knife in her hands suddenly started to feel slippery, as her palms began to sweat. The pounding of her heart replaced the ringing in her ears. She swore she could see the blood rushing through her veins, behind her eyes, which sounded like rushing water.

A sudden, single ring of the doorbell punctured her reverie like the skin of a drum bursting. Jumping up faster than Dean could even tense, Alice dropped her silverware and pushed back from the chair, like a racehorse out of the gate.

She yanked the door open with such fervor, she pitched forward, nearly knocking into the surprised guest.

"You alright?" The guest asked, grabbing Alice by the shoulders.

Leveling out, Alice took a deep breath. "Aunt Jan...what are you doing here?"

The older woman smiled. "What? I can't make a surprise visit once in awhile?"

Alice shrugged. "It's just that you're not the only one here right now."

Jan patted her niece's shoulder and slid into the house. "Oh I know. I saw that gawky car from a mile away."

"No one talks about Baby that way," Dean said, appearing around the corner. "Good to see you, Jan."

"You too, kid. You've been good to Allie and the kids?"

Dean's lips pursed into a thin line. "The best I can, m'am."

Jan dropped the serious glare and guffawed. She wrapped Dean in a hug. "I'm just messing with you!" She said loudly. "I need to talk to you later," she whispered into his ear, before pulling away. "Where are my great niece and nephew?" Jan announced loudly, moving further into the house, emerging into the dining room, to Cara and Noah still sitting in their seats.

When they saw their great aunt there was a mixture of confusion and a bit of regret.

Jan laughed at the horrified looks on their faces. "I'll never know why they're never excited to see me!" she announced to Alice, who woodenly moved back into the room, glad there was something to quell the awkward silence that had previously encumbered the meal.

"Cara, Noah, don't be rude. Say hi to Aunt Jan."

Chastened, the kids sullenly climbed down from their chairs and gave Jan a reluctant, short hug. Afterwards, they disappeared into the kitchen before Alice could tell them to sit back down.

"Sorry about them. They're-"

"I know how they are, Alice. Guess kids don't like me for some reason."

Alice felt a pang of sadness. "I liked you."

"That's cause you were raised by the devil herself," Jan responded. "And you were barely a kid when you moved in with me. Really, Alice. It's not a big deal. Don't worry, I don't really care what a couple of kids think about me. My ego isn't that fragile."

"So...what are you doing here?"

"I'm just here to visit, Allie. If that's okay."

"Yeah great. I'll go make you some coffee. You still like it black?"

"You know I do."

When Alice was gone, Jan waited a couple minutes before reaching into her purse and pulled out a manila envelope. She handed it do Dean.

"What is this?" He stared at the unopened folder in his hand. In angry black permanent marker, SCREAMING ANGELS was scratched across the cover.

Jan gave him a look like he was an imbecile. "It's not gonna sing to you. Open it, Winchester."

He flipped it open and found a collection of newspaper articles, interview transcripts, maps, and photographs, some that looked like normal portraits. The most jarring things were the crime scene photos. In the black and white pictures, Dean could make out several bodies spread eagled on the ground, mouth dark with blood, like it had been torn and ripped and sliced open.

The most horrific part of the photos was that the victims were children.

Dean slammed it shut. He didn't think anything had the ability to turn his stomach, but those pictures sure did the trick.

"Is this a case?"

Jan nodded. "Yep. Nine kids have been found like that. They call them screaming angels because when they're found, their bodies are placed like they're making snow angels in winter."

"And the screaming part."

"Yeah. Also that," she said solemnly.

"The newspapers think it's a serial killer?"

Jan nodded.

"What makes you think it's anything other than a serial killer?"

She gave a disapproving shake of her head. "I know you don't really think that. But if you do, you're a whole lot dumber than I thought you were."

"I was just asking."

"Well, hypothetically, if you really wanted to know, I have it on good authority that it's supernatural. Want proof? Look at the picture in the very back."

Dean shuffled through the folder until he reached the back. It was a photograph. This one was colorized. It was grainy, as is stolen from a traffic camera. But in the picture, there were three distinguishable figures. One taller, and two shorter.

The two ones stood out to Dean immediately.

"Is that…"

"Those two blondes look a lot like the deceased Tyler and Jason Hanratty. Don't they?"

He nodded, unable to speak.

"That photograph was taken in Dekalb. A couple hours later, two kids were found murdered in their backyard."

Jan took the folder from Dean and began to explain the pieces of information. "Dekalb, Illinois. Brother and sister Kyle and Tawny, aged eleven and thirteen found dead in backyard. No witnesses. No DNA.

"One in Sterling, Illinois. Another three in Moline, Iowa. Walnut and Atlantic, two more cities in Iowa. One in Broken Bow, Nebraska."

"Broken Bow?"

"That's right."

Janet produced a map with a thick red marks where the murders took place. Through the marks was a blue line, following the path of the killer.

The first mark was placed on Broken Bow.

Dean followed the line and where it ended.

It ended in Batavia, Illinois.

"You're leaving?"

Dean set his duffle bag on the bed, hating every minute of this.

"You're leaving?" Alice repeated. She had been in the middle of folding a shirt. It was clenched tightly in her hands, wrinkling.

"Yes."

"But you've only been here for a day. You normally try to stay for at least a couple days."

"I'm sorry. But something came up."

Alice felt tears prick her eyes, wondering what that something could be, whether it was a job with his father, or a leggy blonde waitress in a bar somewhere. She tried to remind herself not to get jealous. She and Dean had never talked about remaining monogamous. She had wanted to, but had no idea if he did or not. She didn't really want to know. The idea of Dean being with someone else made her feel sick, even though she had no right to feel that way, since they had never defined themselves as anything other than coparents. They had been high school lovers, and Alice knew Dean loved her, but someone could love more than one person at a time. And you didn't need to have to be in love with someone to sleep with them.

"I see."

"Everyone would be better off if I left."

"Who would be better off?"

"Allie…"

"Who? The kids? You? Me?" She felt her voice breaking at the very last inquiry, as if it were a joke that she would be better off without him.

"No of course not. I don't want to leave."

"Then don't."

"I have to. Please don't ask why."

Alice scoffed, dropping the shirt. She turned around and brought both hands to her forehead. She took a deep breath and then turned back around. "I wasn't gonna ask why. I don't wanna know why."

She figured the truth would just break her heart even more.

"Okay."

"Maybe you just never should've came in the first place."

Dean felt like he'd been stung. "What?"

"You're leaving after spending one night here. And even when you got here, it was like you didn't want to be here. I'm not saying I want you to be jumping for joy whenever you stop by, but maybe only show up when you actually want to see us. I hate it when you act like this is some chore for you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't insult my intelligence, Dean Winchester! Even the kids can tell you don't want to be here!"

"Look, Allie! I do, I really do want to be here, but life's been hard lately. Everything's just been the same."

"Oh I'm sorry visiting us is boring for you! You think your life's been the same? At least you get to move around the country. I'm stuck in this damn house and the same damn job doing the same damn thing every fucking damn day." Through the hysteria, all she could think about was how excited she had been to Dean coming. She had spent the past several days cleaning the house, making sure everything was spotless. She had taken off work for two days and had felt herself feeling more bubbly than usual, all in anticipation for this man who now stood in front of her, saying he wanted to leave.

"Allie, I'm sorry. I love visiting you and the kids more than anything else. You have to know that."

She ignored him. "I really don't ask for much from you, Dean. Do I? All I ask is when-if-you come, that you're here, that you're engaged with the kids and wanna spend time with them.

"Look, you can't break my heart, but you're gonna break theirs." She pointed towards the door, tears freely falling down her face.

It was a lie.

Alice had always claimed that he had never broken her heart, but he did once.

Once when they were teenagers in a crappy diner right after Alice had found out he was leaving and that she was pregnant.

And now here, nearly a decade later, where they were in their twenties and had two kids in elementary school.

And it didn't hurt and less.

Hell, it hurt even more than the first time.

"Allie, I swear I have a good reason."

She gave a watery laugh. "I'm sure you do. That's why this hurts."

"I don't wanna hurt you. That's the last thing I wanna do."

"Well, then it's the last thing you're doing."

Just done, Alice grabbed Dean's duffle bag and walked out of the room. She tromped down the stairs with it and swung the front door open.

Dean followed closely behind as he watched Alice open the back door of the Impala and throw the bag harshly into the backseat. She slammed the door as he winced and crossed her arms, facing him.

"Go ahead. There's nothing stopping you now."

"Allie…"

"Will you stop calling me that?"

They were quiet for a moment. "No. Never."

She felt her heart cracking even further. "I don't want to prolong this anymore. Just leave. I'll tell the kids I made you leave."

Dean wanted to rush forward and sweep the woman in front of him up in his arms. Even when she was so angry with him, she was still putting his needs above her own.

"I'm not gonna let you do that."

"Let me?"

"Allie-"

"I told you not to call me-"

"Mom?"

"Cara, go inside. I'll be in in a minute."

The eight year old disregarded her mother and stepped out of the house onto the driveway. Her glasses-only a few weeks old-were crooked on her face. Dean wanted to reach out and fix them. "What's going on?"

"Cara-"

"It's fine, Alice. Cara, I've gotta go." Making his voice softer, Dean came over and squatted in front of Cara. "I have to leave."

She frowned. "But you just got here."

"I know, sweetheart, but there's something important that I have to do."

"Oh. What do you have to do?"

"Cara," Alice snapped.

"I was just wondering, Mom." Cara glanced at her mother again. "Why are you crying?"

Alice wiped her eyes. "God, please. Cara, would you just go inside?" She couldn't bear to even look at the little girl, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold the tears back.

"Why are you sad? Why is Daddy leaving?"

Overwhelmed by the questions, Alice nearly exploded at her daughter. She wanted to tell her everything, tell her every accusation she had against Dean, every bad thought. "He just has so go."

Stubbornly, Cara crossed her arms. "But why? Is it cause I'm not mature enough?"

"I can't say why," Dean said. "Not even Mom knows why."

"Okay…" Cara looked at her mother and started to feel sad. It was always scary to see your parents upset. That was a sign something was really wrong.

Having reached an impasse, Dean stared at the two in front of him. Cara looked like a mini version of Alice, sans the glasses. Alice was doing all she could to cover up the tears.

Dean reached out and pulled Cara into a hug. "I'm sorry that I have to go. I love you, sweetheart. Okay?" He straightened up.

"Wait." Cara grabbed his hand. "Just stay for one more day."

"No, Cara. I can't. I have to go." He removed his hand from her grasp.

"Well, when are you gonna come back?"

"I don't know."

"Can I go with you?"

"No. You have to stay here with your mother."

"But I wanna go with you!" Her voice started to take on a whinier quality.

"Cara Clementine, you're not going with him."

"Why not?"

Alice raised her eyebrows and motioned to Dean. "Go ahead. Tell your daughter why she can't go with you."

"It's dangerous."

"It's because I'm a kid! Isn't it? I'm eight, I'm not a baby."

Dean glanced over at Alice questioningly. He didn't know when Cara became so obsessed with age, but it obviously happened since the last time he'd visited.

"Yes it's because you're a child," Dean said. "You can't come with me."

Shocked, Cara crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. Then leave."

With that, she spun around and slammed the front door behind herself.

Resonating with Cara, Alice took a deep breath. "You really should go."

Dean nodded, still shocked by Cara's reaction. His daughter had always been excited to see him whenever he visited. His little princess. But, we was beginning to see leaving was the best for everyone. "What about Noah?"

Alice scoffed. "That kid worships you. His reaction is gonna be twice as bad as Cara's. Just go."

Keys hung loosely in one hand, Dean stared at the shut front door. Somewhere in that house was a broken hearted girl, broken because of him. It wasn't the first time he had broken a girl's heart, but besides Alice, Dean had never felt such a resounding pain in his gut.

And it was different, even from Alice, because Alice, the first time, could have been counted as another pretty girl in a small town that Dean ruled for a few weeks. But Cara was part of him, something he had helped bring into this world.

It was an entirely different kind of situation.

"I'm sorry, Allie. I really wish I could stay."

Dean waited for a response, but when he didn't get one, he let out a final sigh and slowly moved towards the Impala. His hand hovered over the handle, and then he slowly lowered himself into the car.

"I love you," Dean said, window rolled down.

Alice heard the sound of rushing water in her ears. She stared at Dean, eyes shiny, even from where he sat in the Impala.

The first time the two parted ways, all Dean had seen was the hem of Alice's dress rising up as she stomped away from him. He hadn't seen how her face was hollowed out in complete shock, and how she turned down an alleyway to cry because she didn't want to walk all over Broken Bow wailing.

This time, he got to see her face in the rearview mirror as he drove down the damn tree-lined road.

Alice's hair was pulled back in a low pony tail. The color seemed to have lightened over the years, a light caramel color. In the low pony, her wavy hair now reached halfway down her back. She wore a blue and red flannel and a pair of light wash jeans. She was barefoot.

Her face was pale, like she was a ghost. There were no crinkles in her face, the skin was smooth and porcelain. The only indication she was sad were the shimmering trails of tears running down her cheeks.

She stared right at him until he turned the corner.

After all the terrible things he had seen, he reckoned it was an image that would never leave him.

"Sweet ride," Jan commented as she climbed into the passenger side of the car.

Dean rolled his eyes, glaring out the window from where he was parked at a gas station.

"You know, that corn dog will kill you faster than any demon," Jan admonished, noticing the snack in his hand. He took an angry bite of the corndog he had gotten from the Gas 'n Go.

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm a hundred," Dean snapped back.

That surprised Jan. The boy had always been perfectly respectful to her. A little too respectful in her opinion.

She actually prefered this. "Please. In your line of work, you'd be lucky to make it over the hills."

"Good to know," Dean grumpily replied. Polishing off the corn dog, he threw the stick it had been on out the window.

"Someone better tell the doctor to rebalance their Prozac doses," she muttered out of the corner of her house, noticing some legos shoved into the air vent.

"Is this funny to you?" Dean suddenly demanded, turning to face the older woman.

Jan smirked at him. "From the things I've seen and lived through, everything is funny."

"Really? You think Alice crying at me to get out of her house is funny? You gonna laugh that I made my eight year old daughter cry?"

"If it means Alice, Cara, and Noah stay alive and safe, then yes. You know better than anyone the costs of this life. It's tough, thankless work."

Dean wanted to tell Jan she didn't know what she was talking about, but the woman had lost her husband, and had obviously seen more than she was ever going to share.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Nothing to be sorry about."

"Yeah there is. I screwed up Alice's life."

Jan pursed her lips and thought about that. If Dean had never wasted his time with Alice, the girl would probably have a pretentious degree, married to a pretentious man, in a pretentious house, with a pretentious baby.

"You made her happy."

"Really? Cause I'm pretty sure I just broke her heart."

"The girl'll come around. Give her time."

"I don't deserve her."

"No, you don't. No one does."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Okay, at the expense of my bleeding heart, let's go find and kill this bastard."

"Sounds good." Dean tried to drum up some enthusiasm, but he felt hopeless.

"Now I remember why I never wear these monkey suits." Jan pulled at the starched white collar of the button up she wore. Over that, she wore a navy blue blazer and a matching pencil skirt. She also wore black patent leather pumps, hair pulled back in an intricate coif.

"Shh," Dean cut across from her as the two strode through the doors of the Dekalb Police Department.

"You try walking in these," she muttered back.

Dean was beginning to wonder if Jan had gotten rusty when it came to hunting, as she couldn't seem to stay focused.

"Can I help you two?" A young-and much to Dean's chagrin-male secretary asked as the two walked up to the front desk.

"We were hoping to talk to Detective Hoss," Dean supplied.

The male secretary squinted his eyes suspiciously. "And you are?"

Jan's shiny FBI badge was suddenly slapped down the the counter the man sat behind. He stared at up her in shock.

"Well, I'm sure you can read. Go ahead. Who does it say I am?"

"Special Agent Gertrude Kreiner?"

Jan gave a condescending smirk and snatched the badge back. "Good job."

In awe, Dean quickly recovered and pulled out his own badge.

The secretary squinted his eyes again. "Special Agent Miriam Touleaux?"

Dean grinned, trying hard not to grimace. "It's a family name. Would you believe I'm Miriam Touleaux the Third? Of course, I was named after my mother and grandmother but hey...Detective Hoss?" Dean asked, feeling his voice raising in pitch.

"Uhh, just go through those doors. Someone will help you." The secretary pointed to a glass door, as if he just wanted to get rid of the fake agents.

"Miriam? Really? Miriam? What? Touleaux wasn't bad enough for you?" Dean hissed when they were down the hallway towards the offices. That was the last time he ever let Jan make the fake badges.

"Could've looked at it after I gave it to you. Better than those rock aliases you use."

"How do you-"

"Please. You don't think there's ever been an Agent Jimi Nicks or Joan Joplin? Don't act like you have anything to teach me."

Knocked off his feet with the sudden respect that grew for the woman, Dean was silent as the two were directed to the Detective's office.

Detective Hoss was a sleazy looking man. He had black slicked back hair and a a weasley face. But it was very apparent this man who had a connish appearance had a heart of gold.

"Is there anything I can get for you two? Coffee? We have donuts…"

"No, please, Detective Hoss…"

"Please, Adrian. Call me Adrian."

"Right. I'm Trudie. This is my partner. Miriam."

Detective Hoss paused and glanced at Dean, unsure. "Miriam? Just…"

"Yes sir, just Miriam." Dean smiled through gritted teeth.

"It's a family name," Jan smirked. "It's French."

"Right." At a loss for words, Hoss quickly and helpfully began to fill the two in on the situation. "Due to the crimes occurring in such quick succession, we're wondering if it's more than one killer. And due to how recent they are, word hasn't spread. You can imagine parents would be horrified.

"No doubt. I can only imagine. Miriam over here can tell you."

Hoss seemed to gain some sympathy, even more than the name garnered. "You have kids?"

"Sure. He's got a little Miriam at home too," Jan answered for him.

Dean smiled weakly. "Gotta carry on the legacy name."

"Yeah, you should see little Miriam. She's an absolute doll," Jan chortled.

"Anyways, back to the case, Detective," Dean said, voice raising in volume.

"Right right, well anything you two need, you can take and look at anything in the station. I'll make sure all the officers are extra helpful. Anything to catch these psychopaths."

"Thank you very much, Adrian. I think we'll find everything we need here," Jan assured, shaking the man's hand.

After speaking to David Newsenhousen, the widowed father of the children Tawny and Kyle, both Dean and Jan were almost entirely sure it was demonic.

"That poor man," Jan intoned solemnly as the two left. David had lost his wife to cancer a few years earlier, and was now on suicide watch, after finding his children's bodies. They had visited him in the locked psych ward of the hospital.

Dean nodded his head, but remained silent. He didn't want to even fantasize what that man was going through.

"Those SOBs are going to pay for tearing apart so many families."

"Yes they are," Dean agreed.

He would drag them down to Hell himself, if he had to.

Jan took a sip of her coffee and pushed the sunglasses further up the bridge of her nose. At the park bench she sat on, she felt like a spy. At this point, it had been a solid fifteen years since she had been on a hunt, and even longer since she'd worked a case with someone else. For all intents and purposes, she had been virtually retired.

However, there was one thing that would always catapult her out of retirement. And that was demons. She couldn't stand the smug, slimy, destructive bastards, especially when they overtook some poor young girl from a superstitious family. She thought briefly of Nina, and wondered how the girl was doing. She should call her soon.

Now, even Jan could muster up some sympathy for other monsters. Ghosts could be vengeful spirits or tortured souls that couldn't move on. Werewolves could be vicious pack leaders or unassuming victims of a bite they could never get rid of. Each situation was different, but regardless of the situation, Jan would never give a demon even a mustard seed of empathy.

Yawning, Jan turned her head to the side and glanced in the direction of a woman sitting a few benches away, down the trail. She was nondescript. Dishwater blonde hair, mom jeans, and an old high school tshirt. She looked relaxed, a magazine in one hand.

It was undoubtedly the woman that had appeared in the photo with Jason and Tyler Hanratty. Jan didn't know if she was possessed or not, but was betting good money on it. And she looked like she could have been their mother. She drew less attention to them. Two little boys by themselves would catch some eyes especially when there was an alleged child serial killer on the loose.

While she tailed the woman, Dean was busy trying to find any leads on the possessed brothers.

Focusing intently on the woman, Jan jumped when her cell phone began to ring. Muttering to herself, she frantically searched her pockets while the irritating song played incessantly. "Goddamn cell phones. Yeah, Miriam?"

"Funny. Yeah, but I have sights on the Shining twins."

"Okay."

"Fifty Three West Elm."

"Ten-four."

Hanging up the phone, Jan stuffed it back into her pocket and picked up the coffee cup. She looked down at her wrist, pretending to check the time.

"Excuse me? Do you have the time?"

Ready with holy water up her sleeve, Jan spun around and showered the blonde woman in it.

There was no reaction.

The woman smirked. "Sorry to disappoint."

While Jan was recovering from shock, the blonde woman blew some colored dust into Jan's face and whispered an incantation. Jan fell to the ground, unconscious.

Jan gasped awake when a bucket of cold water was splashed over her. Trying to edge away from the shivering, she realized she was tied to a wooden chair in a dark, windowless basement. She tested the ropes.

They were strong.

"Looks like someone got the knot-tying badge from Boy Scouts."

A hand smacked her across the face. "I've been waiting a long time for this, bitch."

Still out of it, she felt her eyes refocusing, as she surveyed the figure in front of her. A small boy with blonde hair, a striped t-shirt, and converse.

"Tyler?"

The boy blinked, showing black eyes. "Nope. This is Jason. But it doesn't matter. They're both downstairs. I'm the only thing keeping this sweet little body from rotting like an apple core."

Jan sneered at the demon in disgust. "Omnipotens qui fugabunt-"

The demon punched her across the face this time. "Not even gonna buy me dinner first. I see what you really think of me. Jacie, get me that rag."

The blonde woman who sat quietly in the corner retrieved the cloth and handed it to the demon.

"Oh Sonja, you'll regret-" The demon shoved the rag in Jan's mouth and tied it tightly around the back of her head.

"Not Sonja," the demon said, making a point. "I'm Nero. When she's done collecting Winchester she'll be back. And you'll be wishing she wasn't."

Jan rolled her eyes. She sent the bitch back once, she would do it again.

Nero chuckled. "See, I don't have as much of a talent as climbing out of Hell like Sonja does. I don't know how she does it. But lemme tell you, that hellfire has made me vengeful." He paused a minute. "Jacie, go find out where she is."

Jacie nodded and quietly left.

"Just some low level witch whore. She says she wants to be a demon, but who knows nowadays? Everyone changes their minds all the time. There's no loyalty or commitment. This world I crawled back into is shameful."

Jan snorted.

Nero suddenly leaned forward, bracing himself on the arms of the chair. Jan leaned back. The demon surely gained a dramatic effect by wearing a kid. "You're not much better, Mrs. Janet Sutton."

Filled with righteous anger, Jan headbutted the demon as hard as she could. She immediately regretted the decision, black spots blossoming over her vision. But the hit was hard enough that the demon had been knocked back a few steps.

"Bitch! Wait till I-"

"Nero! She's mine!"

The door to the basement slammed open and several thudding footsteps rumbled to where Jan and Nero resided.

The other boy, Tyler, being worn by Sonja, had a grip on Dean, whose hand were tied tightly behind his back. Coming down the stairs after them, Jacie stopped halfway and waved her hand. The door shut loudly.

"No one will hear us," she said, to the demons.

Sonja shoved Dean forward and smirked. "Well, in that case." Moving with lightning speed, she launched forward and twisted Jacie's neck, the woman's limp body falling to the floor.

"Tying up loose ends."

Nero shrugged. "Eh. She got what she wanted."

Sonja smirked. "What can I say? I'm a giver."

"You fucking bitch. I swear-" There was a grunt as Sonja positioned herself behind a kneeling Dean and kicked his back. He fell forward, face slamming onto the concrete ground. There was a crunching sound and a waterfall of blood began to pour out of Dean's nose.

"Good to see you again Dean. Haven't seen you since you were a teen. You're all grown up and all handsome-well, that's debatable now." She grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hauled him back up to his knees.

"But I have to say, compared to your dad, you're underwhelming. At least he put up a fight." She turned to Nero.

"Here." Nero held out a cloth for Sonja to gag Dean with.

She scoffed. "Please. You think a grunt like him has an exorcism memorized. Besides, before I get to the bitch who crossed me, I want to have some fun with him. Get to know him. Stand him up."

Dean grunted as Nero grabbed him by the arms and held him up, bracing him.

Spitting out blood from his mouth, Dean felt double the amount of anger he would've felt. Yes, there was a demon in front of him, but seeing the face of one of the boys who tried to drown his kids caused sharp knives rage to travel through his body.

"Full circle, aren't we, Dean?"

He sneered at her, but didn't say anything.

Sonja chuckled in a way that was much to feminine and mature for the vessel she was riding. Not that Dean had any sympathy for him. "If you don't recognize me, I was the demon that possessed Sam's nerdy crush, Penny. Your father and I? We go way back.

"But anyways, I swear to you I had nothing to do with these two prodigy's' plans to drown your kids. It was pure fate that I found them when I did. Of course, their twisted little souls are downstairs, but I can feel their desires. They're so strong, that the essence of them still lingers, even after a year.

"The things they wanted to do to your pretty little girl, Dean. What's her name? Cara? Your little Cara Mia."

Dean had no control as he tried to launch himself forward. "If you touch her, I will kill you."

Sonja kneed him in the gut. "What a weak threat. You know, I remember watching a little Cara through the window of this bitch's house. Too bad I never got a chance to nab her. She's gonna be a beauty."

"I will slice you apart until your bones are white."

Sonja smirked and brought a finger to her chin. "Better. Still…" she punched him across the face.

Nero kept Dean from falling.

"But let's not forget. You have a son, too. Noah. When I came around the first time, he was nothing more than a couple of cells in Alice's growing stomach. Never had the chance to meet him. Can't wait."

"Bitch, I'm gonna make Hell look like Heaven when I'm done with you."

"So cute. You know, Dean, I had an issue with your father. But lucky for you, my anger has shifted to another. Look, depending on how this goes, Alice and those kiddos could remain unharmed. They're not the ones I'm after.

"I'm not even after you.

"It's her I want." Sonja pointed a finger to Jan. "All this work to lure you out. You have no idea how bloody my hands got. Literally. Do you see what you made me do? What it took to lure you out of your little shack in Chicago? Would you have let your niece and little grand niece and nephew die because you were a hermit?

"I do believe you are that selfish. It wouldn't be the first time you'd let a loved one die."

Jan screamed from behind the gag and reacted so harshly, the chair screeched a couple inches forward.

"Family. That's the vein with this one," Nero observed.

"More like failure to protect her family," Sonja corrected, smirking at Jan's hateful glare.

"Bitch, you're not even gonna be crawling when we're done with you."

Sonja yawned. "Never realized how boring you were, Dean. I forgot you were here."

"And I can't forget you're here because you keep gabbing. What is it about demons feeling the need to monologue? What are you? A poorly written movie villain?"

Unamused, Sonja backhanded him. "At least I have a story to tell, boy."

Dean spit out more blood. He could tell his nose was broken and that his face would be severely bruised. Sonja waited for a moment, but was satisfied when she thought Dean would be quiet for a few minutes.

"Okay and now-"

"Sonja!" Nero yelled.

As Sonja turned, she watched Jan suddenly standing from the chair, a silver knife in one hand. She spit the gag out with one hand and dumped holy water at Sonja.

"No!" The demon screamed in petulant anger.

Shoving Dean to the side, Nero charged at Jan. Hands up like a boxer, Jan dodged a punch and landed one across Nero's jaw. It was actually more difficult to fight him since he was so small. He grabbed her around the stomach and tackled her to the ground. "Omnipotens, qui fugabunt maligni spiritus invoco-"

Screaming, Nero let go of Jan, rolling over in pain. Using the advantage, the woman popped back up and continued chanting. "Quia pius es, hunc peccatorem-"

Frightened, Sonja was backing away from Jan. Looking around frantically, Sonja was quickly realizing there wasn't much she could do now. "No bitch!"

Nearly halfway through the exorcism, Sonja was now locked in the vessel, too weak to escape the body. Feeling anger and fear alike, Sonja spat at Jan's feet, who continued to confidently recite the Latin. Sonja looked towards Nero, who was motionless on the ground.

"The third time you cross me, Janet Sutton, I'll kill you," Sonja vowed.

"Then I guess I'll drag you back down to Hell with me and make sure you stay there this time for good. Amen, bitch."

Simultaneously, smoke erupted from the mouths of the Hanratty brothers and dissipated into the floor. The bodies shuddered a few times, but then became still.

Breathing heavily, Jan walked over and cut the rope that still secured his wrists. "You need to learn how to untie a knot, kid."

Standing, Dean stared at Jan, impressed. "That was…"

Jan waved him off. "It was nothing. Look, right now we have to cover our tracks so there's no connection between you and these boys."

Dean glanced down at the dead bodies of the boys that had almost drowned his kids. Although it was more than two years ago, he could still vividly picture the malicious smiles on their faces, hear the screams of Cara and Noah.

He nodded and clenched his jaw. "Yeah."

"You deal with the witch I'll deal with the little devils?"

Dean nodded numbly, unable to look away from the boys. "Sounds good."

After an anonymous phone call was made to the house, the bodies of Tyler and Jason Hanratty were found, along with Jacelyn Quorson, who was believed to be the serial killer. The police made some convoluted connection between Jacie and the Hanratty boys.

Dean had dropped Jan off at her house. Parked in front of the brick brownstone, Jan continued to sit in the car.

"You forgetting something?" Dean asked, hands on the steering wheel, like he was about to zoom away.

"You know nothing will happen to Alice and the kids."

"I know that."

"I know this was a hard case for you, Dean."

He shrugged. "It is what it is."

Jan waited for him to elaborate, but decided he wasn't going to. She sighed and reached for the handle of the door.

"I keep picturing Cara and Noah as those kids."

She let go of the handle. "What?"

"All I can see in my head is Cara and Noah with their arms out wide, mouths open, blood everywhere…it was too close for comfort that was almost them."

Jan nodded, but remained silent. "But they're fine. Because of you."

But Dean was already shaking his head. "No. Not because of me. I put them in danger."

"Don't blame yourself. Those demons were after me. It was nothing to do with you."

"My dad was the one who got them on my tail. And I led them straight to you."

"That was more than eight years ago. You think I'm still bitter. That I was ever bitter about that?"

"It doesn't matter. Because no matter what, they'll never be safe."

"What are you saying, Dean?"

Blinking rapidly, he stared at the road in front of him. In the stationary car, he felt the urge to drive fast and far away from this place as possible. "I'm saying they're better off without me."

"Dean-"

"All I can see is what could've happened, Jan. I can't let it happen again. I know Alice may hate me, but she's better off without me." She had already told him to leave, so all Dean had to do was stay away.

"I don't think-"

"Jan, please. I put them in danger. I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted."

Silent, Jan nodded once. "Okay. Take the time you need. We'll be here. Thanks for the ride."

Once Jan was out of the car, Dean quickly zoomed down the street, away from Jan, even further away from Alice and his kids.

But things were better this way. By Dean staying far away, he could make sure Cara and Noah never turned into screaming angels.

Hope you enjoyed!