When the Cradle Falls

by Rheme

The hunting life was never easy, but it was for Dean. Never had he thought he'd get a slice of that white-picket fence, apple pie life. Not until a high school fling with Alice Mercer grew into something more than that: a family. Follows the Winchesters, with a few new additions, including Alice, and Alice and Dean's children, Cara and Noah. Currently in Season 3.

33. Keep It in the Family

When the Cradle Falls

---

Chapter Thirty-Three: Keep It in the Family

---

A wheezing wood-paneled minivan shuddered to a stop. When the engine was finally shut off, the dying vehicle shook as if a hypodermic victim. Nearly tripping out of the car, Dean vigorously slammed the driver's door shut. "This is humiliating. I feel like a freaking soccer mom!" He yelled out into the open air.

The backdoor of the van slid open and Cara hopped out. "Sorry to break it to you Dad, but it's a little late for that."

"It was the only car Bobby had running," Sam responded flippantly, glancing around.

A few paces away from the car was a dilapidated looking clapboard building with a faded sign reading "Harvelle's Roadhouse".

Turning, Sam caught Cara sliding the door of the van shut.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, hands rising to his hips.

Confused, Cara glanced around. "What?"

Sam pointed to the suspicious building, like it wasn't obvious. "You're not coming in there with us. You're waiting in the car."

Dean scoffed. "Ignore him. Let's go Cara." He held out an extended hand, and Cara reached forward, grabbing it. Looking back over her shoulder, she gave her uncle a smug, mischievous smile.

With an eye roll, Sam managed to keep his mouth shut. Dean had always been an overprotective father, but now all of a sudden, here he was, dragging Cara along somewhere that was no place for a child. Dean had been acting ridiculous for a long time, but now he was putting Sam's niece in the crossfire.

Still, Sam grudgingly followed his brother's lead. Dean had Cara's hand in one, and with the other, pushed open the door to the Roadhouse. Like a piece of paper fluttering in the wind, it knocked back against the wall, weighing nothing.

Dean surveyed the joint. It was dimly lit from a few grimy windows. There was a bar in the far corner of the room, and several pool tables closer to the door. On on of the nearby tables was a snoring man, passed out.

"Hey buddy?" Sam asked, towards the man. He wrinkled his nose. "I'll take it that's not Ellen." He moved further into the building, and then slipped into a door that was situated behind the bar.

Glancing around the room, Dean motioned Cara to stand against the wall, which she did without question. She didn't even seem that surprised when he pulled out a gun he had at the small of his back, and began to peruse the rest of the building.

It was hardly the worst she'd seen after all.

As Dean slowly moved forward, Cara stared down at her gym shoes for a moment, realizing one of them was untied. Quickly bending down, she began to tie it, when she heard her father speak.

"Oh God, please let that be a rifle."

There was the sound of a gun cocking, and then a female voice. "No, I'm just real glad to see you. Don't move."

Head snapping up, Cara abandoned her untied shoe, and crawled forward, so she was crouched behind one of the pool tables. She wanted to gasp at what she saw. A blonde lady in a black tank top was holding a gun to her dad's back.

"Not moving. Copy that. You know something, Miss…." Dean began nonchalantly. It amazed Cara that he wasn't even fazed with a gun to his back. "When you put a rifle to someone, you really shouldn't put it right against their back. Because it makes it real easy to do this." Fluidly, Dean turned around and snatched the gun from the blonde woman. He cocked it shut. Cara felt herself sighing, but immediately recoiled when she watched the woman punch Dean square in the face, snatching the weapon back from him.

Blinded by the punch, Dean covered his face, calling for his brother's help. Cara covered her mouth, holding back a gasp, watching her uncle be marched out from behind the bar, his hands laced behind his head. An older lady with brown hair held a gun to the back of his head. "Sorry Dean. I'm a little tied up right now," Sam said in a pinched voiced.

As the older woman turned in her direction, Cara ducked down underneath the pool table so she wouldn't catch sight of her. Curled up against one of the legs of the table, Cara wondered if she should've done something. But then again, she didn't really know what she could've done. She didn't have a weapon, and even if she did, she didn't know how to use it.

The woman, with a gun to Sam's head, frowned for a minute, looking between the two boys. "Sam? Dean? As in Winchester?"

"Yeah," the brothers said at the same time, not knowing if it was going to get them blown away or not.

"Son of a bitch," the woman commented in an amazed voice.

"Mom, you know these guys?" The blonde asked warily.

"Yeah. I think they're John Winchester's boys. Hey, I'm Ellen," she said with a laugh. The gun held at Sam's held lowered to her side. "This is my daughter Jo."

"Hey," Jo said carefully, slowly lowering in own weapon.

"You're not gonna hit me again, are you?" Dean asked, slightly wary of Jo.

With a slight laugh, Ellen tossed him a towel. Dean pressed it to his nose. It felt like it was broken.

While his brother was busy mopping up the blood from his face, Sam scanned the establishment, and panicked momentarily when he didn't see Cara leaned up against the wall. A bit urgently, he turned. "Dean, where's-"

"Cara?" Dean asked, finishing Sam's thought.

There was no response.

"Cara? It's okay to come out now," Dean tried again.

A few hesitant seconds later, Cara's head popped out as she crawled from underneath the pool table. She stepped away from her hiding spot and moved a few unsure paces to her father.

Seeing her hesitation, Dean walked up to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay," he said reassuringly, as he ushered her back to the group.

Sure it was, Cara thought, seeing the towel pressed to his face.

Suddenly seeing there was a child there, Ellen's mouth dropped open a little bit. Chucking her chin at Jo, the blonde understood the motion. Placing the rifle on the pool table behind her, Jo wiped her gun powder-covered hands on her apron and tried to smile at the child.

Feeling her motherly instincts kick in, Ellen felt herself gravitated to the small girl. Moving forward, and crouching down so she was at eye level, Ellen didn't even have to try to smile. "Hello, what's your name?"

"It's Cara." Cara reached up and grabbed the edge of her father's shirt, clutching it in her hand. He smiled lightly at that. She had never been good with strangers, even now.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ellen." The brunette woman held out her hand to the child.

Cara studied the woman for a moment. Even though she had held a gun to her uncle's head, Cara couldn't help but feel at ease around Ellen. Cautiously, the girl held out her hand, so she was shaking Ellen's. "Nice to meet you," Cara replied, politely.

"This is my daughter," Dean supplied simply, as Ellen stood back up.

"It's nice to meet her," Ellen responded.

"Thanks. You called our father. Said you could help. Help with what?"

Ellen glanced at Cara hesitantly.

Dean caught the look. "It's okay. She knows," he said. Cara felt his arm unconsciously tighten around her. "So, what were you going to help him with?" He asked again. Sam glared at his brother, but Dean didn't catch the look.

Sighing, Ellen rubbed her face. "Well, the demon of course. I heard he was closing in on it."

Almost insulted, Dean couldn't keep the sarcastic smirk off his face. "What, was there some article in the Demons Hunters Quarterly I missed? I mean, who are you...how do you know all of this?" He tried to keep the bite out of his tone. John was hesitant to tell his own sons but some random hunter lady was apparently all up to date.

Ellen held up her hands. "Hey, I just run a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad a long time ago. You know, John was like family once."

Dean didn't know why it bothered him that Ellen was using his father's name like they were on a first name basis. Inherently, it made Dean angry at all the secrets John had kept from him. But, once Dean stepped back, he realized he had no right to get upset about being angry, as he had kept some pretty monumental secrets, too.

"How come he never mentioned you before?" Dean asked, with a little less gusto.

Ellen shrugged. "Dunno. You'd have to ask him yourself."

Dean bristled slightly. Cara felt slightly jarred as he shifted. "So...why exactly do we need your help?" He asked.

"Hey, don't do me any favors. Look, if you don't want my help that's fine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out." She paused for a moment, realizing something. "But John wouldn't send you if…" Ellen's expression shifted. "He didn't send you. He's alright, isn't he?"

There was a swell in the silence, that burst when Sam spoke. "No, no he isn't. It was the demon, we think. Umm...we think it got him before he could get it."

Cara sucked in her lips. Things were making sense. She'd heard about THE DEMON, vaguely. She knew it was a particular one that went after their family, and that her grandfather had went after it, and then died under strange circumstances. But, she hadn't known that had been the thing that killed her grandfather.

No one seemed to notice Cara's sudden revelation and the small intake of breath. The demon had been going after their family for decades.

Cara zoned out as the adults continued to talk, while she tried to make sense of the pieces that she had, and tried to figure out the ones she didn't. It was obvious everyone held a few different puzzle pieces, and Cara wondered if she held any without realizing it.

Suddenly nudged by her father, Cara pulled out of her reverie and climbed up next to him, on a bar stool. Ellen placed three glasses of water in front of the family.

"So, look, if you could help, we could use all the help we could get," Sam said, taking a sip of the drink.

"Well, we can't. But Ash will," Ellen said, with a bit of a smirk.

"Who's Ash?"

In response, Ellen yelled at the figure, passed out on the pool table.

Coming to life, the man shot up, nearly falling off the edge. "What? It closing time?"

"That's Ash?" Sam asked a bit incredulously. Cara couldn't help but be fascinated by the man's oddities.

"Mhm. He's a genius," Jo added.

Dean scoffed. "You've gotta be kidding me. This guy's no genius, he's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie.

"I like you," Ash declared, flipping off the pool table, joining the others around the bar.

"Uh...thanks."

"Just give him a chance," Jo suggested.

Contemplating that for a moment, Dean silently agreed and opened a folder he had brought in. "Alright. This stuff is about a year's worth of our dad's work. Let's see what you make of it," he said, almost as a challenge.

Barely a few seconds into shuffling through the folder, Ash was already leaning back, shaking his head. "This crap ain't real. There ain't nobody that can track a demon like this."

"Our dad could," Sam said.

Ash was shaking his head again. "These are nonparametrics, statistical overviews, prospects and correlations. I mean, damn! They're signs. Omens? If you can track them, you can track this demon. Like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightning? It ain't fun."

"Can you track it or not?" Sam asked, impatiently.

Ash scratched his head. "Yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time. Uh...give me fifty-one hours." Both brothers raised their eyebrows at the oddly specific time, impressed. Ash nodded, and grabbed the file, turning to leave.

"Hey man?" Dean called, after Ash's retreating form. "I um...I dig the haircut, man."

Please to hear this, Ash threw his mullet back over his shoulder. "Business in the front, party in the back," he responded, disappearing down a hallway after that.

For a fleeting moment, Dean wished his hair was that cool. But between growing up with a marine/hunter for a father, and a scarred church-girl for a co-parent, Dean knew there was no way in hell he would've been able to swing the mullet. Too bad though, he could've rocked it. Glancing over at his daughter, who was slowly sipping her water, he thought about picking her and her brother up from the bus stop, a full on mullet, embarrassing the absolute hell out of his kids. Oh, he could already imagine how glorious it would be.

While Dean was off thinking about a hairstyle he always wanted, Sam noticed a folder pinned to a wall behind the bar.

Removing the file from the wall, Ellen slid it towards Sam. "I was gonna give this to a friend of mine, but take a look it you want."

Glancing back at Cara, Sam moved over to one of the pool tables, calling over his brother to pore over the file with him.

Left alone at the bar with just Jo, Cara watched as she polished the counter. "Is your mom a hunter?" The girl asked.

Jo glanced back at Sam and Dean, but ultimately shrugged. "I don't really know. She got into it from my dad." The kid seemed to know what was going on, Jo thought.

"Does he work here too?" Cara asked.

Jo's gaze flickered down to the table. "He passed away when I was a little girl."

Immediately hitting herself, Cara averted her gaze too. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago. I was just a kid. I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather."

Cara nodded numbly. "It's okay. I only met him once."

"Oh." That was all Jo could say.

"Are you a hunter?" Cara asked.

Looking back at her mother, Jo thought about all the hunts she had researched and wanted to go on but never had been able to because of her mother. "Kinda."

"Did you hunt when you were my age?" Cara asked.

Jo's frown deepened. "How old are you?"

"Almost eleven," Cara replied.

The blonde almost balked at that. "No." Jo, herself had only been on a few hunts-and only in the past couple years, under the close supervision of her mother.

"Oh," Cara uttered. Maybe that would've been a sign to her, but she was so hellbent on knowing the world her father had kept secret for all of her life. Thinking about that made her wonder what her mother was doing right now. Cara always insisted she didn't need anyone. But right now, she wouldn't mind talking to her mother, who was off trying to find Aunt Jan's long-lost children.

A few silent moments later, Cara away from Jo, towards her dad and uncle, who were both wrapping up whatever they were looking at.

And before Cara could even say goodbye to Ellen and Jo, she was whisked out the door, by Sam and Dean, a manilla folder clenched in their fists and a new mission in sight.

---

Centralia, Kansas

---

"Really? This is it?"

"I'm afraid so."

Alice and Seth stood next to each other, arms crossed, staring at the shabbiest motel either of them had ever seen.

The Royal Inn Motel was definitely anything but royal.

It was a pay-by-the-hour joint and Seth had already figured out which one of the aliases they were under.

"They're in room 3E," Seth mentioned.

Shaking her head, Alice cleared her mind. "Alrighty. It's your sister. Lead the way."

Seth took a deep, steadying breath. He wished he didn't have to do this. Right now, he wished he was taking a hit off a blunt, strumming a few notes on a guitar, and staring at a pretty woman while he did.

But instead, it looked like he was having a family reunion.

"Fuck," Seth muttered in his breath, so low not even his cousin could hear. Giving himself a shake, he pretended everything was fine. "Just follow my lead," he muttered, moving towards the door.

As he knocked on the door, there was a voice. "Come in," it said, silkily.

Both of their insides turning, Seth wanted to stab himself in the eye when he pulled open the door. The first thing he saw was a female, on the far queen bed from the door. She was suggestively sliding a lacy, pantyhose stocking up her leg. "I didn't think you were ever going to show up," she said in a controlled voice, staring down at the patent leather heel she wore, not seeing the company she had.

"What the hell?!" That was all Seth could yell. Without explanation, he ripped the comforter off the nearest bed and threw it at the person, as she was busy rolling up her stockings.

Hand covering his eyes, Seth stalked past and slammed the bathroom door behind himself.

In the silence, Alice slowly shut the door behind herself, barely recognizing the female in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked, even though she had no right to ask that. But she was too appalled to think about what was within her rights of ways to react in this situation.

Huffing, the person on the bed dropped the leg of the stocking she was pulling off. She kicked the heels off her shoes and wrapped the comforter around herself. "Nothing," she said petulantly.

"Really?"

The female didn't respond, but stared at the comforter.

Alice stared at the person sitting on the bed. Alice couldn't even consider her a woman, barely even a young woman, nothing but a child. But here she was, a teenage girl, with smoky eyes, wearing lacy lingerie, hair messed up. Even worse, was the implication of what that all meant.

"Merrill, where's your mother?"

Eyes flicking up to Alice, Merrill glared. "Who are you? Are you some friend of Uncle Seth's or something? And what is he doing here?"

"I'm Alice Mercer."

Merrill's eyebrows raised a bit, trying to recall that name. "Oh. You're Mom's cousin, aren't you?"

Alice nodded. "Yeah I am. You probably don't remember me; the last time I saw you you were about three or four."

"Nope. Don't remember." Standing up from the bed, Merrill moved towards a nearby drawer and pulled out an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. She threw them on and went and pounded on the bathroom door. "Are you just gonna stay in there forever?" She called.

"Are you decent?" Seth yelled back.

Merrill rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Yes. You can come out now."

Slowly, the door opened, as if Seth didn't believe her. He slowly reemerged into the room, only looking at his niece from the corner of his eyes.

Taking a seat in the spot where Alice and Seth had found her, she reached over and tossed a glimmering machete onto the floor. It landed with a thunk.

Seth's eyes grew wide at the weapon. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Merrill?"

"Working a case," she said, plainly.

"Dressed like that? I don't know what kind of crap you're trying to pull here-"

Up on her feet, Merrill strode over to her uncle. "Like what, Seth? Just because you see me a few times a year doesn't mean you can come down here like my father, telling me what to do!"

Something in the words caused Seth to stand down. Alice didn't know which part, but he took a steadying breath, and tried to remain calm. "Where's your mom?"

"Out."

"Where?"

"Why do you care? How'd you even find us anyways?"

"Your mom talked to me last week on the phone. Mentioned you were doing a hunt in Kansas. Wasn't too hard to track down where after that."

Merrill smirked at that. "See? You've still got it."

"I'm not a hunter anymore," Seth shot back.

Merrill shrugged. "Sure. Whatever you say. But that still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

"I really need to talk to your mom about something."

"Both of you?" Merrill asked.

"Yes."

"About what?"

"I should really talk to her first."

Merrill scoffed and leaned back. "Then call her, since apparently you two talk all the time."

"It's something I need to tell her in person."

"Well, you're gonna be waiting for awhile. Unless...maybe if you tell me, I'd be willing to let you know where she is."

"It's your call," Alice said lowly. She was just the messenger, but it was Seth's mother.

Rubbing his face, Seth pulled back the chair that was shoved into the desk, and dropped down into it. This wasn't how he thought his week was going to go. Not even a day ago he found out his mother was dead, killed by the shit that had killed his father. It was the mess he tried to avoid, but one his sister and niece had decided to plunge headfirst into.

"Okay. Merrill, I don't really know how to say this but...Grandma Jan is dead."

There was silence in the room, so quiet that they could hear the distant highway traffic.

"Look, I know it's a lot to process-" Alice began.

"No. Not really," Merrill said, seemingly unaffected. "That's what you needed to tell Mom?"

"Well considering she was killed by demons, I'd say yeah," Seth said, growing angry.

"Please. You two haven't even talked to her in...how long has it been?" Merrill tapped her chin in mock contemplation.

"Excuse me, but I would think you'd be a little more upset by that," Alice said, talking in the tone she reserved for Cara and Noah when they were in trouble. "She was your grandmother after all."

The teenager raised a challenging eyebrow. "One that I barely remember. And who the hell are you to come and tell me how I should feel? As far as I'm concerned, you're not even family."

"Merrill, that's enough," Seth growled.

"Fine. Go cry about it with my mom then. She's at the Whitetooth by the way," Merrill said. Stubbornly, she marched into the room and slammed the door loudly behind herself.

When the cousins were left alone, Alice watched as Seth exhaled slowly. He had been worried about feeling sad, but he should've known he'd be left wanting to punch something.

"Seth? You alright?" Alice asked.

"Yeah just...fucking teenagers."

Alice tried to sympathize with Merrill. She knew how hard it was being a teenager, but she also knew how terrible teens could be. "Well I'm glad I've got that to look forward to," Alice intoned. She couldn't even imagine Cara and Noah as teenagers and frankly didn't want to. Part of her wished they stayed young forever.

Seth sighed. "Well, let's just hope Piper's more excited to see us."

---

The town was overwhelmingly small, and not even two blocks away, Alice and Seth found the Whitetooth, a dive bar that matched the rest of the shabby, little town.

They pushed through the doors into the surprisingly busy establishment. People were packed in like sardines, bumping elbows while reaching for drinks, and accidentally poking someone with a pool stick when going to take a shot.

"Well this shouldn't be too hard," Seth muttered ironically, really not wanting to sift through what seemed like half of the town's population.

"You want a beer?" Alice asked.

Seth nodded and waved his hand, indicating he was going to try and find the needle in a drunk haystack.

After several unsuccessful minutes of moving his way through the bar, Seth finally saw there was a patio in the back. The outdoor section seemed to be a bit nicer. There was an attempt at having lights strung above, creating a makeshift starry canopy. There were few tables out here and everyone stood in close proximity to one another.

He thought he was going to waste more time finding her, but between a break in the crowd, he caught sight at a familiar face.

Immediately locking onto it, Seth politely began to shove his way through the crowd, to the very back, where a woman stood by herself, a mixed drink in one hand and a cigarette in another.

"Piper!" Seth called, grabbing onto the woman's elbow to get her attention.

Staring at the hand around her arm, she followed the stranger's arm up to the face, frowning when she finally figured out who it was. She glanced into her drink. "How drunk am I?"

"Piper, it's me!" Seth called.

Blinking rapidly, Piper's mind seemed to clear as she realized who it was. "Seth? Oh my God, what are you doing here?" She threw her arms around him, careful to hold her drink away and the hot end of the cigarette as well.

"It's good to see you, Pipe," Seth responded.

"I haven't seen you in...I can't even remember the last time! Come on, let's go somewhere quiet so we can talk!"

Seth reluctantly nodded and not-so-eagerly followed his sister out of the bar. As much as he hadn't wanted to stay in there, at least he was cushioned from having to tell her that their mother was dead. That must've been how Alice felt when she was knocking on his door.

Alice, who was finally walking away from the bar with two beers, noticed as Seth threw her a look indicating they were going to talk outside.

Feeling the anxiety in her chest begin to build, Alice took a long swig from her drink. As she moved towards the door, she shoved the beer for Seth into the hands of the person with no drink.

Ahead, Piper and Seth stopped at the end of the block the Whitetooth resided on. The older woman leaned against a light pole and took another hit off her cigarette. "If you wanted in on the hunt, you could've just told me," Piper suggested. She knew it was well within Seth's capabilities to track her down-but she knew he had no desire to hunt, she just liked to yank his chain.

"You look good, Pipe," Seth said. Her hair was freshly dyed a dirty blonde. Her hair was normally a chocolate brown, but she'd been dying it since she was a teenager.

She scoffed. "Yeah right. I feel like a downright mess though."

It hurt to swallow, hearing Piper say that. "Really? You can't be that bad, right?" He asked.

She scoffed. "Oh try me. Merrill has just been...it's been kinda hard, you know?" Piper scoffed. "It's like as soon things are settling down and I finally hit a sweet spot with her, she pulls the rug out from underneath my feet.

"And I can't say I entirely blame her. What Cliff did to us...Merrill's a completely different person. And hell, I can understand why.

"But I'm hurting too, Seth. She lost a father, but I lost a husband, what I thought was the love of my life. And now, for her sake, I have to pretend like everything is fine even when I feel like falling apart."

He hadn't realized how intoxicated Piper was until now. She would never talk about, Cliff, her ex and Merrill's father unless someone pried it out of her.

With a heavy sigh, Piper stooped down and sat on the curb. She put the cigarette out into the grass and set the drink beside her foot.

The world spun around him as Seth took a seat beside his sister. He felt like he was in a dream, and would just pitch sideways, back into reality, awake, in a world where his parents were still alive, family was in tact, but isolated from one another

He didn't notice Piper studying his profile. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Huh? Nothing," Seth responded quickly.

Piper scoffed. "Look, I may have had a few too many drinks, but I can still tell when something is bothering you. So what is it?"

"I really didn't want to have to tell you like this."

"Well spit it out."

"Piper, I'm here to tell you something."

"Great. Then tell me."

"It's pretty bad news."

"What?" Piper leaned forward to catch a glimpse at his face. "God Seth, what?"

"It's Mom," he said quietly, looking down at his shoes. His voice cracked.

There was a laugh. "Mom? What about her? Seth…?" The hesitant smile on her face slowly turned upside down, into a concerned frown. As if realizing what he was talking about, Piper found herself suddenly up on her feet.

"She's dead. Isn't she?" There wasn't any other reason her little brother would show up unannounced like this.

Standing, Seth grabbed onto Piper's arms. He didn't even have to say anything. "Oh God," Piper muttered quietly, allowing Seth to wrap his arms around her. It felt strange to be comforted by her younger brother. Growing up, it had always been the other way around. And considering everything, Seth was surprised at how well he was holding himself together.

"How? When?" Piper asked into his shoulder.

"It's uh...been a few weeks, I guess. But it was a demon."

Piper pulled away. "What? What was Mom doing with a demon? I-I-I thought she was done with all of that?"

That was as much as Seth could explain. He looked past Piper, towards Alice, who stood a few feet away, giving the grieving siblings the space they needed.

Tracking Seth's faraway gaze, Piper followed it until it landed on a woman a little ways away, obviously watching and listening to what they were saying. Looking back, Piper frowned at Seth.

"It's Alice. Our cousin?" Seth offered, a bit lamely.

"Alice?" Piper demanded, with a great amount of vigor in her voice. Turning back towards the other woman, she began to stride forward, purposefully.

Seeing the threatening gait, Alice held up her hands. "Piper I'm so sorry about-"

The wind was knocked out of Alice as Piper's arms wrapped around her, constricting her into a tight hug.

Expecting to have been knocked flat on her ass from her cousin's reaction, it took a while for her brain to process the hug.

"Damn, Allie, look at you," Piper commented, pulling away.

"It's good to see you, given the circumstances," Alice said. "I'm really sorry about your mom."

Piper nodded. "But what, what happened? Seth said it was a demon?"

Alice hung her head. "It was. Two. They-they were possessing my kids and they got Jan right before she exorcised them."

"They were in your kids?" Piper's voice showed an inkling of disgust as she landed on those words.

Alice nodded.

"Are they okay?"

"They're alive...they'll be okay...eventually." At least, that was what she hoped.

"Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry," Piper crooned, pulling her cousin into a hug again. Alice didn't if it was the alcohol or the similar maternal instincts, but she distinctly recalled Piper had never been much of a touchy-feely hugger.

But who knew? Maybe things had changed in the past decade.

"Pipe, Mom wanted all of us there when we sprinkled her ashes in Lake Michigan," Seth said.

She sniffled. "Just like Dad, huh?" There was a tone of bitterness in her voice.

"Piper…"

"Hey, I didn't say I wouldn't go, okay? Despite everything...I'll be there."

"And...what if Olivia shows up?" Seth asked carefully. There were times in the past where even mentioning their other sister's name caused Piper to shut down.

Piper licked her lips, and looked in the opposite direction, contemplating the question. "Hey, I won't stop her. It's her mother, too. Just don't expect me to welcome her with open arms."

Seth raised an impressed eyebrow. The fact that Piper even said that...he remembered the last time his sisters saw each other. There were a lot of tears...and a few fists being thrown. It had been a pretty ugly sight.

Alice desperately wanted to ask what had happened between her two cousins, but the vibes that rolled off Piper made if very clear she didn't wish to elaborate further.

"Well…" Piper rubbed her hand together like she was creating fire. "I guess I should tell Merrill."

Seth shuffled his feet, no doubt trying to banish the image of seeing his niece dressed like a prostitute. "She uh...already knows. She told us where you were."

"Oh, I see."

"What were you hunting, exactly?"

"A nest of vamps."

"You scouting out some information tonight?" Seth asked, trying to think about anything except his family.

Piper eyed him, knowing it had been more than awhile since he'd hunted. "No. Just blowing off some steam. Merrill kept trying to pick a fight with me and I figured giving her some space was the best thing to do."

He found himself frowning. "You find anything else about the vamps?"

Piper shrugged. "There's six of them. They seem to go after people no one will miss. You know, drug addicts, homeless people, hookers."

Alice's eyes widened at that. She looked over at Seth who seemed to realize the same thing.

"Hookers?" Seth demanded.

"Prostitutes?" Piper corrected herself, not understanding why Seth was reacting this way.

"Oh my God…" Seth ran a hand through his hair. The outfit Merrill was wearing...the machete...how she said she was working a case. And the fact she seemed to want her mother out of the motel room this particular night.

"Merrill," Alice found herself whispering, understanding Seth's dawning realization.

"We have to go!" Breaking into a full out sprint, Seth began towards the motel room. Caught off guard, Alice and Piper trailed behind him, neither having a chance to say anything.

It was only when Piper saw her motel room door kicked in that she began to panic. Pushing past Seth into the room, she looked around.

The place was a mess. A mattress was thrown against a wall, dresser thrown on it's side. Clothes were strewn about everywhere, and there was a red-tinted machete, on the blood-soaked carpet.

"Merrill?" Piper ran to the bathroom only to find it was in as much disarray as the rest of the space. "MERRILL!" She screamed, coming back into the main room.

Out of breath from racing to the room, Alice found herself holding onto the door frame for dear life. She watched as everything moved in muted slow motion. Seth grabbed onto Piper's shoulders and began screaming at her, over her trying to call for her daughter.

"She's gone," Alice found herself whispering, unable to formulate any other words. "She's gone."

---

Noah tried hard to keep focused.

But he was just so bored.

Bobby had tried to devote even more time to trying to teach Noah the ins and outs of hunting. They had moved onto the topic of different kinds of weapons, and Noah wished he had one to poke his own eye out with.

"And what would you use this for?" Bobby prompted. From the couch, Noah rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe Bobby had a projector, let alone a million overhead sheets of pictures of knives.

"That? You want me to tell you what that's for?"

"Yep," Bobby replied.

"That? That's a cheese cutter."

The older man smirked. "So you have been paying attention. What's-"

"It's a scimitar," Noah said, about a second after the slide appeared.

"And this-"

"That's a machete. You can use it to decapitate a vampire."

"And this one."

"A long sword? It's pretty impractical, unless you were fighting off some guy in a suit of armor, or wanna poke a hole in some monster. But that's pretty useless if you have to carry that around. Can we move onto guns now?"

Bobby removed the slide from the projector, so there was just a square of light up against the wall. The entire time he was talking about the history of the weapons and what they were used for, it looked like Noah wasn't paying attention half the time. He switched between doodling in his notebook and staring at the ceiling.

"What was the thirteenth weapon I showed you?" Bobby queried casually. He shuffled through the slides and found the answer.

Noah huffed and glanced at his cast for a moment. "It was a...Bowie knife."

"How do you kill a vengeful spirit?"

"Either salt and burn the bones, or salt and burn the object the spirit is attached to. Iron doesn't hurt either."

"Can you recite an exorcism?"

"Dunno."

"How about you just draw me a devil's trap symbol, then."

As if he was asked to do the most tedious task in the world, Noah petulantly grabbed a notebook nearby, flipped to a clean page, and began to scribble the symbol, unceremoniously.

When he was done, about fifteen seconds later, he tossed the notebook towards Bobby. "There you go."

Bobby picked up the paper and stared at it, incredulously. "Noah, do you like school?"

The boy shrugged. "Yeah, I actually do."

"What do you like about it?"

"Well, I get to hang out with my friends all day…"

"What about the subjects?"

"I mean, they're pretty boring."

"But do you find them challenging? Do you think school is hard, Noah?"

"I mean it's annoying...am I supposed to think it's hard? I thought school was supposed to be easy?"

Bobby felt himself smiling. "Do you pay attention a lot in class?"

Noah shrugged again, feeling like he was under interrogation, on the verge of being in trouble. "I mean...I don't know. I try, but it's so slow. They just keep repeating the same thing over and over again and I get it but they keep talking about it, so I just zone out."

"Am I going too slow in what I'm teaching you, Noah?"

Noah shrugged, but tried to make it look like Bobby wasn't.

"You can be honest," Bobby said.

With that allowance, Noah let his head flop against the back of the couch. "Yes."

Feeling a bit proud, Bobby stepped away from the projector, flipping it off. "How about we take a break for awhile, huh?"

Noah reached nearby for his crutches. "Can I go outside for awhile?"

Bobby nodded. "Sure, just don't go too far."

Noah looked down at what held him up. "I don't think that'll be a problem."

"Maybe not," Bobby said. As he watched Noah go out through the back door, he felt his entire view of the young boy change. Maybe everything he knew about the child was right, but his perception of it was wrong.

---

"You sure you're okay to go in there right now?"

The sound of a hunting knife being pulled out of a sheath, was all the answer Piper offered, as she slammed the car door shut behind her.

"This is bad. This is very bad," Seth growled as he followed Piper towards the dilapidated house. Not only was his teenage niece kidnapped by vampires, but her intoxicated mother was on the warpath to save her. And Seth-who hadn't hunted in years-yielded the machete like a toddler holding a butter knife. On top of that, he was stuck with Alice, who was so shaky with a gun loaded with dead man's blood, that he could see her entire outline throbbing from the fear and anxiety.

Yep, he decided. They were the hunter dream team.

As they reached the front door, Seth glanced back over his shoulder. "Hey, how about you hang back and cover us?" He asked in a calm voice.

Looking as if someone had just asked her to explain the entirety of Einstein's theories, Alice paled noticeably. "Um…"

Seeing her begin to panic, Seth retracted his words. "Okay, just hang back then. Alright?" He didn't even wait for her response, because the sound of the front door being knocked down swivelled his attention back to Piper, who had gone in, her figurative guns blazing.

"Goddamnit Piper!" Seth yelled, charging in after her, as she yelled incoherently at the top of her lungs for the vampires to show themselves.

Getting her wish, a male vampire that looked like a California surfer, appeared in an open doorway. "You hunters just get dumber and stupider don't you?"

Clearly not thinking, Piper swung her weapon at the vamp's neck. He blocked it easily and twisted her arm, so she ended up on her knees.

Seth took the opportunity and swung his own weapon towards the distracted monster. There was a pause, and then the decapitated head rolled away from the body. Kicking the corpse away from herself and standing, Piper thanked her brother and charged at two more vampires that appeared.

A third one came out of nowhere and tackled Seth around his midsection. "Alice!" He called, breathlessly.

She shifted at the mention of her name, hidden behind a couch, only peeking out from the top. She watched as her two cousins were outnumbered and beat up by vampires. And she knew that if she didn't do anything, they were going to die or be turned. So, shakily, she she shot blindly, letting several bullets ricochet around the room.

Luckily, one of the bullets hit one of the vampires that was double-teaming Piper. Using the leverage of the dead weight, she kicked it into the other vamp and rolled back up onto her feet, taking the advantage to slice at the other vamp. The creature cried out in pain as the weapon sliced her arm clean off, right above the elbow. Taking the moment, Alice aimed the gun at the vampire and shot again, a bullet landing in the shoulder.

A few seconds later, the one-armed vampire dropped, and Piper quickly finished it off. She went to assist her brother, and together they took down the remaining two.

When the vamps were scattered across the floor, Seth wiped a splatter of blood away from his eyes. Breathing heavily, he glanced at Alice, who appeared shaken up. "Good job," he offered.

"Thanks," she replied.

"And you." Seth turned towards his sister. "What the hell were you thinking? Charging into a nest of vamps like that?! You could've gotten yourself and us killed-"

"We don't have time for this right now, Seth! There's still two more and Merrill's gotta be in here somewhere!"

Realizing that although she was stupid and impulsive, Piper was right. Seth reluctantly agreed and flanked Piper as she checked the rest of the first floor, only to find the rest of the level empty. There was a set of rickety, narrow stairs in the back of the house that led up to a single, dark room.

At the top of the steps, Piper fumbled along for the wall, and flipped on a light switch.

A sickly, pale light invaded the space, not doing much except pushing the shadows further up the wall. There was a broken chair in one corner of the room, where the wall began slant into the roof.

A pathetic lump of a figure was huddled underneath the window. Recognizing the light brown mess of hair, Piper lurched forward and hovered over the still individual, dropping her knife to the ground. "Merrill?" She whispered carefully, moving aside a lock of hair.

Seth cleared the rest of the room. In the opposite corner, there was a body with a decapitated head laid carefully on the chest. Near the broken chair was a seemingly knocked out vamp with it's mouth slightly open, teeth descended. Seth made quick work to slaughter the remaining one.

"There were just six, right?" He checked.

"Yeah. Yeah. Merrill?" Piper slapped her daughter's cheek slightly. Her hands clenched around her daughter's shoulders and shook her lightly.

Watching Piper beg her daughter to wake up pulled Alice back in time. In a dingy garage, she had watched as black smoke poured out of her children's mouths. She remembered watching their pale, still bodies, flopping to the ground, and Dean dragging them closer to himself. She remembered believing their souls were extinct.

A soft sound escaped from the teenager's throat. It was like a valve releasing a ton of pent up pressure. And when the valve was devoid of air, Merrill took in a deep, gusting breath and opened her green eyes, staring straight up at the slanted ceiling, her first thought, am I a vampire or am I dead?

However, Merrill quickly learned neither were true when her mother swooped her up into her arms and alternated between yelling at her for being bait for vampires and saying how glad she was that she was okay.

When Piper was satisfied Merrill wasn't hurt too bad, she pulled the two of them up and then lost it. "What the hell were you thinking, Merrill?"

The teenager's defensive spikes immediately rose again. "What? I was just working the case."

"Sure as hell sounds like it." Piper pointed back at her brother and cousin. "They told me you were trying to bait the vamps."

To Merrill, the three adults looked like they were butchers. It was evident they had killed the remaining monsters.

It was also evident Seth and Alice had ratted her out to Piper.

"You know, I had it handled before you two butted in," Merrill retorted.

"You fucking serious?" Seth asked. He was close to spitting nails.

"You blew my cover. I bet as soon as the vamps saw you guys come to the room, they knew we were hunters."

"And I would've found you dead if they hadn't showed up!" Piper yelled, her voice one notch louder than Merrill's.

Merrill swiped at her face and stared out the small, dingy window. "Did you know I managed to take down two vamps? I killed one and shot the other one with dead man's blood."

"It doesn't matter because there were still four more to jump you!" The alcohol was quickly wearing off, and Piper was alternating between wanting to strangle her daughter and have another cigarette.

"But Mom I-"

"That's not the point, Merrill! I know you're a damn good hunter, but not even someone who's been hunting for decades would expose themselves like that when hunting down a nest!" Piper wouldn't deny that Merrill had the skills, but she was still just a teenager and made reckless, stupid mistakes.

Piper sighed when Merrill just glared at her from underneath her eyelashes. "Merrill, you don't have to prove anything. I've treated you as an adult so long as you can act like one.

"So what's going on?" Piper asked.

Merrill bit her lip and inwardly chastised herself. Of course her mother could look past all the bullshit. They spent all their time together and knew each other like the back of their hands.

There was a noticeable shift in Merrill's demeanor. Her shoulders slumped and she expelled a troubled sigh. "Dad called me today."

There was a hush of silence in the air. Piper wanted to drop her mouth open in shock, but didn't.

"What'd he want?" She asked evenly.

Merrill fidgeted. "He just wanted to talk."

She continued before her mother could interject, growing angrier that more she thought and talked about it. "He's got some nerve. Just calls me and tries to act like he has any right to know what's going on with my life or tell me what to do. And what he did to you-and still he thinks he's allowed to even mention your name.

"I hate him. I hate him so much." Suddenly, Merrill was bent forward, her arms wrapped around her stomach, like she was in pain.

Piper rushed forward and wrapped an around around her daughter. She glanced back at her brother and cousin. "Could you give us a few minutes?"

"We'll be outside," Seth responded, feeling sick to his stomach. He motioned for Alice to follow him down the stairs and out the front door. He took a seat on one of the steps and Alice sat beside him.

She so desperately wanted to ask him about Merrill's father and Piper's ex-what the man had done that left such a gaping hole in their lives. But, she could tell how raw and exposed the emotions were that she refrained from asking.

Glancing over at Seth, she noted he was covered in dried blood from his hair to shoes. She undoubtedly looked the same way and wished she could take a shower and wash away the residue. As a nurse, she had never shied away from blood, but this was different.

"Seth?" Alice asked, quietly.

At first, Seth didn't seem to hear what she said. In reality, he was thinking about how he didn't want to have to explain Piper and Merrill's situation, that one of them should. Eventually, he responded. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I ran you out of your own house."

He frowned. "Huh?"

Alice clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry if I'm the reason you no longer felt welcome in your own home. I didn't mean to shove you to the side. I just couldn't live with my parents anymore."

That floored Seth. It was something he tried not to think about. He tried to block out Chicago and anything to do with it in general. But now, he couldn't any longer. "You didn't run me out of my house, Alice."

It didn't seem to do much to reassure her. Perhaps she thought he was just trying to appease her, make her feel better.

"It wasn't your fault," he reiterated. "I was looking for a reason to leave for a long time before that, I think. I guess you showing up was just a convenient excuse. I know you had nowhere else to go."

"Still though…" Alice was a bit unsure, still.

"Can I be honest with you?" Seth asked, staring out at the pothole-riddled road.

"Of course…"

"I always felt like Mom liked you better than us. Maybe she saw you as the version of her sister she wished she had. Or maybe she saw you as a daughter that hadn't been corrupted by hunting. Cause lemme tell you having Piper and Olivia as older sisters was terrible. Can only imagine what raising them was like. And maybe she wanted a daughter that didn't make her pull her hair out day in and day out

"Or maybe she saw what she had done to her own kids and realized you were what we should've been."

Alice felt herself scoffing. "Yeah, right. Pregnant at seventeen and then again and nineteen. I'm sure I'm the gold standard."

"To her you were."

Biting her knuckle, Alice tried to keep the tears at bay. The fact that Jan had thought so dearly of her made her want to weep. But also, the fact Jan's own children felt so alienated from their mother made her want to shudder as well, because she could understand feeling like that.

"God," Alice lamented.

"She was a complicated woman," Seth offered. "And even after everything, I still loved her. You know, there were so many times I thought about picking up the phone and just calling her."

"Why didn't you?" Alice asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Guess my pride or something stupid like that."

"Well aren't we just the poster-children for parent issues?" Alice offered with a watery laugh.

Seth scoffed. "Yeah...but who isn't?"

---

In the pouring rain, Dean was pressing his foot down on the pedal of the decrepit minivan, urging it to go faster. They had left the Roadhouse with a new casefile, and an interesting one at that.

Sam, who had been researching the file, fed the information to Dean while he drove.

"You've gotta be kidding me. A killer clown?"

Sam glanced at the backseat, seeing Cara's eyes closed and her head resting against the seat.

"Yeah. He left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents. Actually, he ripped them to pieces."

"And the family was at some carnival. Right?"

Sam nodded, shuffling through the papers. "Yeah. The Cooper Carnivals."

"And how do you know this isn't just some psycho carnie in a clown suit?"

"Well..the cops have no viable leads. And all the employees were tearing down shop when it happened, so they had alibis all around. Plus this little girl said the clown vanished into thin air. But you know, cops are saying trauma."

Dean felt himself chuckling slightly. "Well, I know what you're thinking, Sam. Why did it have to be clowns?"

Immediately returning to his default bitch face-at least according to Dean-he scoffed. "Oh please. Gimme a break."

The two went on to taunt each other about their fears and Sam brought up the fact Dean was deathly afraid of airplanes.

Coughing, Dean quickly changed the subject. "So these types of murders. They ever happen before?"

Explaining the history of the place, Sam mentioned how the killings began over twenty years ago and repeated three different times after that.

"But it's weird, right? I mean, a spirit is usually bound to a specific locale."

"So how's it moving from city to city, carnival to carnival?" Sam asked.

"Cursed object? Maybe."

Sam scoffed and slammed the folder shut. "Great. A paranormal scavenger hunt."

"Well...I mean this case was your idea. By the way, why is that? You were awfully quick to jump on that job," Dean noted.

Sam wanted to tell him he was the one to thrust his child into potential danger. "So?" Sam finally settled for, as a pathetic, lackluster response.

"It's just not like you. That's all. I just thought you were hellbent on finding the demon."

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I just think that this is a job. It's what Dad would've wanted us to do."

Dean frowned. "What would have Dad wanted?" He asked, as if Sam somehow had some secret knowledge-Dean did in fact have some secret knowledge from John and it was tearing him up inside.

Sensing a certain level of combativeness in his brother's voice, Sam shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"Nothing," Dean responded.

"So, we should probably swing by Bobby's," Sam suggested.

"What for?"

Sam glanced in the back where Cara was sleeping. "To drop her off."

"Come on Sam, that's in the complete opposite direction."

The younger brother felt himself laughing in disbelief. "Well what? You just gonna hand her a shotgun and let her track down a killer clown with us?"

Dean's silence caused Sam's jaw to drop open. "You can't be serious."

"I don't know. Maybe I am," Dean offered quietly, defensively.

"She's ten, Dean," Sam exclaimed.

"And what were we doing when we were her age, Sam?" Dean shot back.

"You can't…"

"Oh I can't? You're not her father, Sam."

"Look, maybe it was one thing to track down some random woman, but now you're willingly and knowingly okay with throwing her into a dangerous situation-"

"You said the clown doesn't go after that kids. She'll be fine."

"She doesn't have any training, Dean! She's probably never even held a gun-"

"Well, what am I supposed to do?!" Dean suddenly exploded. He glanced in the rearview mirror and held his breath when Cara stirred but didn't wake.

"What am I supposed to do?" Dean asked, more levelly. "Do you expect them to just going back to being kids after what happened to them? They were possessed, Sam; neither of us even know what that feels like.

"Look, I tried for over a decade to keep them as far away from hunting as I could. And you know what it did? It just caused this giant rift in their lives. And even after doing everything I could, they still got pulled in.

"I know you know what that feels like. You tried so hard to shield Jessica from all of this-"

"Don't," Sam warned.

"All I'm saying is don't accuse me of not doing what's best for them. I tried to act like not teaching them how to hunt was the way to go. But apparently no one cared. Even Bobby went behind my back and started teaching them stuff. So maybe actually teaching them how to defend themselves is the best way to go."

After all, Dean knew that his protection basically meant nothing at this point. He had already let the worst thing happen to his children and as much as he wanted to deny the fact, his kids were right.

"But shouldn't they start to walk before they run?" Sam asked, a bit subdued. It was the most Dean had talked to him about he was feeling since their father had died.

"I'm not gonna give her a grenade launcher and send her off on her merry way. I've always had her and Noah's best interests in mind, don't think I don't Sam." There was a warning edge in his voice.

"Alright, alright; I get it...but what about Alice?"

Dean sighed. Honestly? He had been putting off talking to her. He knew she was busy, but talking about letting their kids hunt or at least train to defend themselves was a conversation he really didn't want to have. "It's something I have to tell her in person," Dean offered.

"Well-" Sam slammed the file shut. "-I guess in that case, let's go find a killer clown."

---

Early the next morning, the brothers and Cara pulled up to Cooper's Carnival. It was a dusty, sad looking place, with an unsettling vibe, and Cara didn't know why any kid in their right mind would find a place like this fun.

"Hey, check it out, five-oh," Sam indicted toward a couple suits talking to some carnies. As he said that, a woman dressed up as a clown slowly walked in front of the trio, and stared Sam down.

Cara looked up at her uncle he didn't break gaze with the woman as she passed. It was only that the clown turned and started walking in the other direction that Sam let out a breath.

"Should've gotten her number," Dean egged.

"That's not funny, Dean," Sam mumbled.

"She was shorter than me," Cara added with a chuckle.

Sam gaped at his niece in disbelief while Dean let out a proud laugh.

"So more murders?"

Still laughing, Dean began to fill Sam in. "Two more last night. Apparently there were ripped to shreds. And they had a little boy with them."

"Who fingered a clown," Sam said.

Dean gave his brother a strange look.

"What?"

Shaking his head, Dean trucked past the awkward phrasing. "Yeah, a clown who apparently vanished into thin air."

"Dean, you know looking for a cursed object is like finding a needle in a stack of needles?"

"Well it's bound to give off EMF."

"That's electromagnetic frequency, right?" Cara questioned.

"Electromagnetic field," Sam corrected.

"But ghosts give it off, right? It's like energy?" Cara asked.

"That's right. I guess we'll just have to scan everything," Dean said.

"Oh good. Nice and inconspicuous," Sam groaned.

"I guess we'll just have to blend in."

"That's easier said than-" Looking up, Sam followed where Dean was pointing, to a help wanted sign.

"Awesome."

---

"A killer clown?" Noah asked into the phone.

Cara, using her dad's phone, was talking to her brother while Sam and Dean scoured the carnival for EMF. The only stipulation was to not call her mother. Agreeing, Cara spent some time playing Brick Breaker, but even that got boring after awhile. She was sitting on a bench near one of the rides bored out of her mind, bored enough that she actually was willing to talk to her brother. Perhaps now she knew how he felt sitting on the couch all day.

"Yeah it's already killed four people."

"That's so cool. And you get to spend the entire day at a carnival."

Cara looked around distastefully. All the rides looked like death traps. "Yeah, it's great. Have you heard from Mom?"

"Nope. You?"

"No. Nothing. Where do you think she is?"

"Don't know. She went to Wisconsin to find Seth, but who knows now...I miss her."

"Yeah," Cara commiserated. "And I kinda wish we could just go home."

"Yeah. At least I can play my Xbox there."

Cara scoffed. "How have you survived that long without it?" She asked mockingly.

As Noah responded, Cara saw Sam and Dean approaching, wearing red jackets that was the uniform of the carnival employees. "Hey, I've gotta go. Dad and Sam are coming back."

"Okay I-" Cara pulled the phone away from her ear and hung it up, finally glad to have something to do.

"What'd you find?" Cara asked.

As she said that, there was another little girl that said. "Mommy, look! A clown!"

The Winchesters turned to look at where the girl was pointing.

Immediately, Cara saw what she was talking about.

Normally, she didn't think clowns were scary-she thought they were stupid.

But this one? There seemed to be something sinister about it.

And then, just like that, it was gone.

It was obvious Sam and Dean didn't see it, as they looked between each other in confusion, before glancing back at Cara.

She had been sitting on the bench but was now standing and had taken a few steps back. Her eyes were still fixed on the spot where the clown had been.

"Cara?" Dean asked, concerned at how wide her eyes had gotten.

"I saw it," she said in a quiet voice.

"You did?" Sam asked.

She nodded, eyes still fixated on the spot where the clown had been.

"Well...at least we know who they're going after, next," Dean said.

---

That night, Cara was waiting in the car while Sam and Dean had snuck into the house of the little girl who had seen the clown. It had been what felt like hours since they had been gone, but she knew it had only been about twenty minutes. She was laid across the back seat, dozing in and out of consciousness, the creepy clown still on her mind.

Just as she was toeing the edge of dreamland, there was a light tapping at the window.

Blinking her eyes, Cara turned her head to the source of the sound. It was dark outside, but she was still immediately able to make out the figure of a clown, standing on the outside of the car, tapping on the back window with one finger.

She hadn't seen him close up before, only a faraway glimpse. But only separated by thin pane of glass, her blood began to run cold. His face was painted white, the skin underneath flaky and dry, creating an uneven distribution. Bells on his costume jingled every time he moved.

But by far, the creepiest part was the painted smile he wore, stretched wide and menacing.

After a moment, tapping became more insistent, until the clown was pounding his fist against the window, demandingly.

Reacting, Cara pushed herself back against the opposite side of the van, onto the floor, trying to put as much space between herself and clown as she could. Blindly fumbling around in the backseat, she tried to find anything she could use to defend herself.

From inside the house, Sam and Dean were racing out of it, after shooting the clown. All that was on their mind was to book it to the car before the cops got there or the family could identify them.

But as they flew from the house, Dean nearly froze on the lawn. The clown-that they had just shot-was pounding against the backdoor of the car, where his child was.

"HEY!" Dean yelled gruffly, hoping to get the clown's attention. He drew his gun and aimed it at the monster. "Cara, duck!" He yelled, not knowing if she would hear him or not. But all he could think about was getting the thing away from her.

Finally, the monster turned just as Dean pulled the trigger. But the creature had learned fast, because as soon as the bullet was free from the chamber, the monster vanished.

With nothing to hit, the bullet slammed into the window the clown had been tapping on.

There was the sound of glass shattering and a scream.

"Cara!" Dean yelled.

"Dean, we have to go!" Sam demanded, pulling his brother towards the car. The father of the child who had seen the clown was running towards them, a bat raised over his head. Sirens blared in the distance.

Listening to his brother, Dean threw himself into the driver's side and began to pull away, just as Sam was slamming the passenger door shut.

"Cara? Cara are you okay? Sam, check her," Dean requested, worriedly. He was trying to glance back, but also had to focus on getting them the hell away from a potential crime scene.

"On it, Dean."

Leaning back, Sam noted the shower of glass across the back seat. There was a small lump behind his seat, crowded on the floor of the van. Feeling through the dark with his hand, Sam found Cara's back. Brushing the glass off of her, Sam tried to coax her to come out of her position.

"Hey, Cara, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sam asked calmly, trying to keep his voice calm.

"No," she muttered into the floor. Still, she didn't move from the position.

"Everything's okay, the clown's gone," Sam soothed. She nodded but didn't respond, still wound in her little ball in the back seat.

Dean drove like a bat out of hell for a good thirty minutes, trying to lose the trail the cops might've had. Eventually, he pulled over to the side of the road, and pulled the keys from the ignition. "We need to ditch this ride," Dean said.

Sam frowned. "You think they saw the plates?"

"I don't wanna take the chance. Besides, I hate this freaking thing anyway." Dean quickly removed the plates from the car and shoved them into his bag.

Next, he walked to the back of the car and slid open the door closest to Cara.

Kneeling down outside the car, Dean placed a hand on her head. "Cara?" He asked softly. "Shh. It's okay. It's okay."

Hearing her father's voice, Cara allowed herself to poke her head up from where it was buried in her hands. More glass fell from her hair and she sat up.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry," Dean intoned, brushing some flakes from her hairline. "You're not hurt, are you?" He asked, checking her other for injuries.

"No."

She seemed fairly uninjured, besides for the trauma. Stonily glancing down at the carpeted van floor, Cara reached forward and pulled out an object. It was a tiny, metal bullet, the one that had shattered the window and scared the absolute crap out of her.

Laying the offensive object beside herself on the floor, Cara didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say or how she was supposed to feel.

Reaching forward, Dean pulled her forward into a tight hug, apologizing under his breath for scaring her. He rubbed his hand across her back, soothingly. She numbly returned the hug, no longer shaking.

"Dad?" Cara asked. Her voice sounded faraway.

"Yeah?"

"I'm tired," Cara said.

Dean sighed and pulled away, glancing around the deserted, dark road. "That's okay, Cara...okay, here, hop on." He bent down in front of her and Cara carefully wrapped her arms around his neck. He was beginning to think ditching the car with a tired and traumatized ten-year-old wasn't the best choice, but his burning hatred for that hunk of metal outweighed the other considerations.

Once Cara's arms were secured, Dean reached down and grabbed his and her bags. He nodded to his brother. "Let's get outta here."

With his daughter's head rested on his shoulder, Dean and his brother got the hell out of there, gladly leaving the dying minivan behind like a mosquito trapped in amber.

---

Alice found herself back at the Whitetooth. The place was noticeably less crowded and she was able to procure a high-top table with Piper and Seth. Merrill had passed out back at the motel room.

However, it didn't take long for Seth to catch the attention of a young woman, one with flaming red hair done in two plaits and freckled skin. He was currently teaching her how to play darts.

Piper glanced back at him, as he was guiding the woman's arm on how to line up a shot. She turned with snort. "Glad to see he's still quite the ladies' man."

Alice nodded along absent mindedly. She had washed the blood off, but still felt like everyone was staring at her, like she was a leper spotted in a monster's insides.

"My God this has been a crazy night. And the adrenaline is still flowing, am I right? I feel like I could run a marathon. But actually...I could use a cigarette." Reaching into her pocket, Piper grabbed a square and glanced at Alice. "You mind?"

Alice waved her hand. Normally, she would've minded having someone blow smoke into her face, but she was so wrapped up in everything that happened that she didn't even seem to notice.

"So how are you, Alice? Seth said this was the first hunt for you?"

"Second."

Piper nodded. "It's wild, isn't it?" The thrill of killing the vampires seemed to tamp down the fact her daughter had almost been killed. However, Alice wondered if that was a coverup to the conversation the mother and daughter had had afterwards.

"It's…" Alice didn't know how to describe her feelings to being on a hunt. The first one had broken her heart. And this one still left her shaken.

Piper blew out another puff of smoke, observing her cousin through the haze. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah I'm-"

"Okay just wondering, because you look like Bambi after he just watched his mother get shot," Piper offered bluntly.

"It that obvious?"

She gave an apologetic smile. "Afraid so. But don't worry: it takes anyone a while to find their sea legs."

Alice opened her mouth to tell Piper she had no more intentions of going on anymore hunts, but she stopped herself. "What was it like? Growing up hunting?"

Piper chewed on her lip for a moment, contemplating what she was going to say. "To me, it was completely normal. I can't remember a time when I didn't know about monsters. It was so embedded in my childhood. But I guess it kind of felt like being the Jewish kid in class during Christmas, you know? I knew Santa wasn't real but I couldn't tell any of the other kids about it. It was the same with hunting.

"That was the number one rule in my house: don't tell anyone about what Mommy and Daddy actually do." There was a mix of fondness and bitterness in her voice. It was apparent both Seth and Piper had mixed feelings about their childhood. Again, Alice had no trouble empathizing with them.

"And Merrill?"

Piper shrugged. "The same way, I guess. It's always been a part of her life." Leaning back in the chair, Piper aimed the next exhale of smoke towards the ceiling. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly relaxed.

"What's it like...hunting with your kid?" Alice asked carefully.

Eyes flicking back towards Seth, Piper watched as the red-haired girl was leading him out of the bar. She thought about what to say. It wasn't really something someone that wasn't a hunter had ever asked her, especially someone who was so new to the supernatural world, and actually had kids. "Well...you know this job ages the hell outta you. And same with kids-you have two, so I know you can relate. So combine hunting and parenting into one. Basically, I'm due to die from old age in week."

"So then why do you do it?" Alice asked.

"Never said I didn't like it. I tried the whole housewife thing. Apparently I wasn't very good at it."

"Piper...what happened with Cliff?" Alice had been wondering about the man both Piper and Merrill scorned with all their might. Vaguely, Alice remembered briefly meeting Cliff. He had seemed like a fairly innocuous guy, maybe just a little too square for Piper.

The way her lips curled in distaste was obvious. And Alice was already trying to walk back her question. "No. No. It's fine. I'll tell you."

"My ex thought hunting was...distasteful. You know, he was a pastor, thought it was a sin. So I left the life for him. Everything I had ever known because I really loved him, thought he was a good man. I became a stay at home mother, a preacher's wife. But…" Piper was picking at the hem of her shirt, as if she didn't want to look at Alice when she told her.

"See...according to Pastor Clifford Skozen, hunting was a sin. But apparently cheating on your wife with your sister-in-law isn't."

The drink was halfway to Alice's mouth. The glass nearly slipped from her hand, clattering to the table loudly.

From her side, Piper agitatedly crossed on leg over the other. The cigarette was clamped tightly between two fingers. It was apparent the conversation still wound her up.

"Piper. I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"Well...now you do. I know you were curious. But now, l'd like to talk about something else."

There was silence for awhile, and then the two found a common ground: motherhood.

However, Alice's questions unconsciously steered the conversation back to what it was like to hunt with Merrill.

"I worry about her. Of course I do. How could a mother not? And others may think I'm absolutely crazy for allowing my teenage daughter to hunt with me, but I know her and she knows me. I trust her more than any Joe Hunter I've ever worked with. She's even better than a couple of them.

"What we have is reliable. I know her strengths and weaknesses and it's someone I can count on...even if she drives me up the wall.

"But I'd much rather have her learn from me. And it lets me keep my eye on her.

"It's the family business," Piper said, leaning back into her chair. "And one day, when we're dead and gone, our kids are gonna carry the torch of our legacy, whether we or they like it or not."

Piper noted Alice seemed to be absorbing everything like a sponge, taking mental notes in her mind, as if cataloging the information. Piper thought her cousin was always very systematic like that, logical and rational. Every decision she made was weighed carefully and was always pondered for awhile.

"What are you thinking about, Alice?"

Chewing on her nail, Alice felt herself shrugging. "I don't know. I'm just...thinking."

---

The sun was low in the sky as the trio walked back towards a motel-any motel, anywhere to sleep. Cara was now awake, and walking a few paces back from her father.

Sam who had just gotten off the phone with Ellen, returned. "Rakshasa."

"What's that?" Dean asked, frowning.

Sam shrugged. "Ellen's best guess. Apparently it's a race of ancient Hindu creatures. They appear in human form, feeding on human flesh. They can make themselves invisible, but can't enter a home without being invited in.

Although it wasn't a home, Cara wondered if that was why the monster hadn't just broken into the van.

"So they dress up like clowns and then children invite 'em in."

"I don't know any kid that would invite a creepy clown into their house," Cara retorted. Dean smirked slightly.

"And why they don't just munch on the kids instead? If we're so willing to let them in?" Cara asked skeptically. She couldn't imagine the idea of letting a creepy carnie into her house in the middle of the night. But apparently those kids who did sounded like easy prey.

Sam grimaced. "No idea. Maybe not even meat on their bones?"

Dean shuddered.

"Gross," Cara agreed.

"What else did you find out?"

"Well. apparently they live in squalor. They sleep on a bed of dead insects."

"Nice," Dean said, while Cara made a retching sound at the same time.

"Are all monsters this gross?" Cara asked.

"Most of 'em," Dean said fondly, ruffling her hair. It was amazing how easily she had inserted herself into the hunt, and how naturally the three were discussing the hunt.

God, Alice was going to kill him.

"Yeah and get this: they have to feed a few times every twenty or thirty years. Slow metabolism, I guess."

Dean nodded. "Well, that makes sense. I mean, the carnival today, and then again back in eighty-one."

"Right, and probably more before that."

A light bulb flashed in Dean's brain. "Hey Sam, who do we know that worked both shows?"

"Cooper?" Sam asked, naming the man whose family had owned the carnival. "You know, that picture of his father? It looked just like him."

"You think maybe it was him?"

"Well, who knows how old he is?"

Cara silently watched the exchange, feeling the situation get more and more trippy.

"Ellen say how to gank him?"

Sam nodded. "Legend goes, a dagger made of pure brass'll do the trick."

Contemplating it, Dean felt himself smiling. "I think I know where we can get one of those."

---

"Come on boy, I don't got all day," Bobby yelled gruffly, over his shoulder.

Noah huffed as he hobbled after Bobby. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've only got one working leg here."

Turning, Bobby raised a warning eyebrow at the boy. "I see your mouth is still running just fine."

"Sorry," Noah muttered, picking up the pace.

They walked a little further and came to a cleared out area of the salvage yard. A few yards away was a bull's eye target propped up on what looked like an easel. There was a chair next to a small covered table, nearby.

"Take a seat," Bobby said, pointing to the chair.

"Uncle Bobby, what are we doing out here?"

"I'll show ya." In a swift motion, Bobby pulled the sheet off the table, revealing a collection of shiny knives.

Eyes widening, Noah's hand unconsciously reached for one, until Bobby slapped his hand away. "No touching until I tell you it's okay. Okay?"

Noah nodded, transfixed by the gleaming metal.

"Alright boy, I'm gonna teach you the in's and out's of handling, cleaning, and using a couple kinds of knives, since you seem to be a little expert on all the book stuff."

Noah sat up a little straighter. "Does that mean I get to use a jagdkommando?"

"We're working with some of the more practical, less pointy ones, today."

Noah nodded, a bit disappointed.

"Alright. Let's get started. Pay attention, because I may even let you try some of them out today," Bobby said. As he turned towards the collection of knives, he realized how ironic everything was. More than twenty years ago, when the boys were at his house, their father on a hunt, John always insisted Bobby keep the boys practicing throwing knives and shooting guns. Instead, Bobby always switched the weapons for actual fun. And a generation later, he was still teaching kids, but the roles had reversed. Instead of throwing around a football, Bobby was actually teaching about hunting.

Shaking his head, Bobby couldn't help but think that he had gone against John's wishes and now that smug bastard was getting his just desserts in some twisted way, by his grandson completing the tasks his son's didn't.

"You bastard," Bobby muttered to himself, seeing the ironic symmetry of it all.

Life was cyclical, and karma was certainly a bastard.

---

"Shit," Dean hissed, as he dove the ground, covering his head with both arms as several knives embedded themselves into the wall. When the brothers had split up at the park-Cara with Sam-Dean had gone to check on the blind guy they'd run into. Dean had initially been asking questions, but after digging through the man's trunk, Dean almost fell over when he found a familiar looking clown costume tucked among the fabrics.

Where he was collapsed against the wall, Dean watched as the blind man's eyes cleared, and his face morph into a horrific smile, before he vanished, the evil grin lingering, like the Cheshire Cat.

Swearing under his breath, Dean tumbled out of the trailer, and landed in the dust. He heard footsteps running towards him and looked up to see his brother and daughter.

"Hey!" Sam yelled.

"Hey," Dean grunted, standing and brushing himself off.

"So...Cooper thinks I'm a peeping Tom but it's not him."

"Yeah. So I gathered. It's the blind guy. He's around here somewhere."

"Well did you get the-"

"The brass blades. No. No man, it's just been one of those days," Dean shot back, sarcastically.

Sam suddenly stood up little straighter. "I've got an idea. Come on!" Turning on his heel, Sam briskly began to walk to the funhouse, situated nearby.

Grabbing Cara's hand without thinking, Dean dragged her with him, trying to keep up with his brother.

They busted through the swinging doors of the funhouse, Cara's feet sliding across the slick floor as she tried to keep up with her father.

All around them, were wonky mirrors that made Cara viscerally sick as they flashed by them. The mirrors distorted and bended reality, making everything turn on it's side.

As Sam was leading the group deeper into the maze, a heavy door suddenly slammed shut behind him, causing Dean and Cara to splat like bugs on a windshield into the sudden barrier.

A rush of air escaped from Cara's lungs and the only thing keeping her from falling on her ass was the grip Dean had around her wrist. "Sam!" Dean yelled, pounding on the door with one hand.

"Dean! Dean, find your way through the maze, okay?" Sam's footsteps were hearing moving around the from the door before Dean could respond.

Huffing stressfully, Dean glanced around and turned a corner. "Keep your eyes sharp, Cara. And don't let go of my hand," Dean told her as he rounded another turn.

"Okay," she responded, out of breath and a bit fearful. She really didn't want to come face to face with the creepy clown again. But it seemed like that's what they were doing.

Cara lost track of the amount of turns they took, but eventually the twisting corridor opened up into a larger area, filled with even more mirrors, and strange artifacts that were hung in shadow boxes built into the wall.

"Hey!" Dean yelled, spotting his brother. Sam was busy trying to break off what looked like a steaming pipe from what looked like a melting organ without the actual piano part.

Who the heck comes here for fun? Cara thought in her head, slightly confused as to what was going on. She felt like she was in some Alice in Wonderland level nightmare right now.

"Hey! Where is it?" Sam asked, shaking his previously recoiled hand from the hot metal.

"I don't know. I mean, shouldn't we see it's clothes walking around?"

In response to that, there was a whistling through the air, and a knife appeared from the darkness. It flew towards the Winchesters before any of them could react. The knife embedded itself into the wall, pinning Dean's sleeve, right near the wrist, the same hand that had been holding onto Cara.

The young girl jumped back at the knife that had been precisely thrown. Because if it had been a few inches to the side, it would've gone straight through her hand.

"Cara, get back!" Dean yelled as another knife sailed over her head and pinned him by the shoulder.

Moving, Cara went to hide in the corner, partially hidden the smoking columns.

"Sam!" Dean yelled.

"Dean, where is he?" Sam yelled. Thinking quickly, he kicked one of the pipes and dislodged it.

Reaching with his unrestrained arm, Dean reached forward and pulled a lever on the pipes, flooding the room with smoke. In the haze, he could see the faint outline of the monster.

"Sam, behind you!" Dean yelled uselessly, pulling the knife by the handle out of the wall.

Without even turning, Sam trusted Dean's instructions and stabbed the pipe behind himself. He felt the makeshift weapon land into something that felt solid.

Letting go of the pipe, Sam spun around and watched eyes bulge out of the invisible figure. A scream, similar to a train whistle came from the mass. Blood formed around where the pipe hit the monster. There was a flash and the figure dissipated into the floor, leaving behind nothing but a clown's costume and an inoffensive brass pipe.

"That's what you get for nearly scalping my daughter, you son of a bitch," Dean hissed, as he pulled out the last knife holding him to the wall. He backtracked into the room where Cara was hiding. Without warning, he found where she was hidden and scooped her up into a tight hug. "You alright?"

"I hate funhouses," she muttered into his shoulder.

---

"Kid, don't you think that's enough for one day?" Bobby asked, as he picked up another knife from off the ground.

"No. Not until I get it," Noah huffed. He was sweating, his leg was itchy under the cast, and he was royally pissed off. He had spent most of the afternoon throwing knives, trying to hit the target. There had been a few times where he'd gotten the edge of the easel, hadn't actually hit the marked target yet.

"You're not gonna become a master knife thrower in one try," Bobby said. He admired the boy's persistence, but he had spent the past few hours wiping his face into his flannel in the summer heat. He just wanted a cold shower and an even colder beer. "How long did it take you to learn how to throw a football, Bobby asked?"

Stopping for a moment, Noah realized the man was right. It had taken him years to learn to throw that perfect spiral. "Fine. You're right. I'm done for today."

Thank God, Bobby thought as he began to collect the knives. He could tell from the way Noah moved, the boy was disappointed in himself. Noah didn't seem to realize that his ability to learn information so quickly was by and large and impressive skill, and that his inability to perfect knife throwing in a day was more in the norm.

"You did good today," Bobby said gruffly, as he slowly walked back to the house with Noah. The boy was trying not to wince, but it was obvious his arm hurt from throwing for so long, and now it had to prop up the crutch that propped up his weight.

He was a tough kid.

"Really?" Noah asked.

Bobby nodded as the house came into sight. "Damn straight. And look, I know you're all twisted up your mom is off finding her cousins, and that your dad took your sister with him, and that you were left here with me, but I promise there'll be a time when you get to show what you're made of."

Noah let out a very quiet sigh. He glanced down at the cast that encased his leg. If felt heavy, like an anchor dragging him to the bottom of the ocean. He knew that Cara thought about being possessed as much as he did, but she no longer had a physical, visible reminder of what happened. And every time Noah saw it and remembered he couldn't walk without assistance-God knows how long it would be until he could ever run again-he wanted to do something about it.

And he'd been bitter. He had blamed Cara for opening the door, and then his parents for keeping him in the dark, and them himself for that unsettling feeling he had ahead of time but did nothing about. Maybe it was everyone's fault and no one's, but at this moment, the only thing Noah could do was hobble along until he could stand on two feet.

Looking up at his surrogate uncle, Noah nodded. "I know. I know my time's gonna come. And it'll be here sooner than later."

---

A Few Days Later

Lynch, Kentucky

---

This is the last one, Alice thought as she let out a deep breath.

She stood in front of a tiny yellow church, that had a red roof and matching trim. There was a sad, nearby sign that said Mt Sinai Greater Baptist Church.

Shaking herself out as she reached for the door, Alice always wondered if she was going to burst into flames every time she was about to step into a church-which happened more often than she thought; because even though she wasn't sure what she believed, she made damn sure both of her kids had been baptized and gotten their first communion-even if she did it more out of fear than tradition.

But at least her hand didn't burn when it turned the rusted knob.

Tentatively, she pushed the door open and took a step onto the creaky wood floor. Banners with bible quotes hung from the rafters and flapped from the ceiling fan that spun like crazy over the altar.

When she was halfway up the aisle, a blonde main with a beard-wearing all black with a white collar-appeared from the wings on one side of the altar.

Alice immediately stopped when he put on a pair of wire glasses than had been worn around a chain on his neck, to get a better look at the visitor.

She remembered him. She'd met him once. He was young and blonde-looked like an athlete with the alleged heart of a saint. Piper-who was reckless and wild-had been tamed by the quiet man. Alice thought they were an odd pairing, but after all, opposites attracted, right?

But upon hearing how Cliff Skozen had left one sister for another, Alice couldn't help but see him as a hypocrite. He claimed to be a man of God but partook in the condemned acts of the flesh.

She wondered how everyone in his congregation would feel if they knew what their dear pastor had done.

And Alice wanted to say some sins were forgivable, but she saw the shiny wedding band around his left ring finger he wore proudly.

There was no forgiveness there, not when a woman and a child were left grieving their previous lives and trying to cope by drinking, smoking, and killing monsters.

Cliff squinted at his guest and gave a small smile. "How can I help you?"

Trying to regain composure, Alice glanced around. "I'm...looking for someone." She wondered if he thought she was referring to God.

The pastor nodded. It didn't seem that he had recognized her yet.

And she hoped he wouldn't.

He glanced around the church. "Anyone I could help you find?"

"Your wife? I knew her when we were younger...and there's something I needed to talk to her about."

Cliff seemed surprised at that. And why wouldn't he be? He was the pastor. Anyone coming into a church was either looking for God or a holy man to talk to, not the wife of one.

"Hmm," Cliff began. He sounded slightly disappointed-but maybe Alice was misreading things, as he didn't pry any further. "Yes. She's at the house. It's just down the road. It's the white ranch with the wrap around porch."

"Thanks," Alice whispered, as if the breath had been knocked out of her. She turned to leave.

"Wait, I never got your name?" The pastor asked.

Alice felt her stomach curl. "It's Francis," she lied, using her middle name. He hadn't recognized her at this point, but she didn't want to give her real name and trigger his memory.

Cliff nodded. "Alright Francis. It's a small town, so hopefully I'll see you around. God bless you."

---

The red painted door swung open and a blonde haired woman with wearing a modest sundress smiled brightly at the figure, without even seeing who it was.

However, upon actually registering who was there, the woman felt the smile become more uneasy. "Yes?" She asked. Reaching to the side, she pulled a pashmina out from where it hung near the door and wrapped it around herself, protectively.

"Olivia?" The woman on the other side of the door asked.

"Yes?" The blonde asked quietly.

"It's me. Alice?"

The blonde frowned, puzzled.

"Your cousin? I lived with your mother after I got-"

"Oh, Alice!" Olivia suddenly responded in a high pitched shrill. "It's so good to see you! It's been too long!"

"I agree," Alice said numbly. Based on what she remembered, she and Olivia had been as close as their parents allowed. Alice always thought Olivia was sweet and kind; the two of them had always gotten along the best. Maybe it was because Piper was busy being too cool to hang out with them and a young Seth was in the backyard eating dirt and frying ants under a magnifying glass. But after hearing what both Olivia's siblings had to say about her, Alice didn't feel the same closeness she'd had before.

"I'd invite you in, but it's such a mess! Why don't we walk around the garden instead?" Olivia suggested in a tone that said I'd never invite you into my house but you can walk around my yard instead. Of course, it was possible Alice was making all of it up.

"Umm..actually, I don't think this'll take long," Alice admitted. Of her three cousins so far, she had wanted to get out of the Kentucky mountains faster than some Wisconsin apartment or Kansas motel.

In a strange mix of hurt and relief, Olivia demurely sat down on a porch swing, patting the space beside her, as she was pushed over as far as she could go. "Please, then. I don't want to keep you if you have to go."

"Right." Alice rigidly sank down onto the seat. Both of their feet were planted firmly on the ground, preventing the swing from moving.

"So?" Olivia prompted. She was busy tying the pashmina in the front so it wouldn't come undone.

"Umm...I've already been to see your brother and sister-"

"Mhm?"

"Uh...yeah. It was a matter of geography. See...I live in northern Illinois. Seth was in southern Wisconsin...Piper was in eastern Kansas…"

"I see."

Alice had to stop herself from sneering. It seemed like Olivia wanted her to leave, but at the same time was offended that she was the last one Alice came to see. It had to be a strange head butt between what Alice knew from Piper and Seth and what Alice remembered from her childhood. But, the more she thought about it, maybe it made sense. Olivia was the one Sherry and Jim Mercer most adored. Maybe how Seth said Alice was the kind of daughter Jan wanted; Olivia was the kind of daughter Sherry wanted. If they had just lived opposite lives maybe everything would've ended up okay.

"Olivia, I have to tell you something. And...it's gonna be hard to hear, but you have to know."

"Okay?"

"So you know I've been living with your mother for awhile? I've been there with my two kids-"

"Oh you had twins?" It was common knowledge within the family the first time Alice had been pregnant out of wedlock, as a teenager-it had been quite a scandal.

"Um. No. About a year and a half apart."

"Oh." There was an obviously judgmental air in Olivia's tone.

Alice felt her fists clenching. How dare you judge me for getting pregnant twice with the same guy that ended in two beauitful children you fucking cheating hypo-just remember, Alice, I'm about to tell her she lost her mother-her estranged mother but still her mother.

Internally waging war with herself in her head, Alice had to compose herself before she dropped the bomb. So far, Seth had reacted terribly, having a panic attack and leaving Alice worried, while Piper was numb for a minute but had too many other things going on to even focus on that.

"Anyways...what I came here to tell you. See…I know several people in your family have been retired from hunting-" Olivia did the sign of the cross. "-but something came up."

Olivia was silent.

"I know you haven't talked to anyone in your family much lately-"

"No wait; that's a lie. I've been talking to Aunt Sherry."

Quickly, shutting her mouth that dropped open, Alice couldn't help but wish she was here less and less. Upon hearing what her cousin had said, her heart had dropped, almost as much as hearing that Piper's husband had cheated on her and then married her sister.

This family was so messed up.

"Oh. Um...great." It was Alice's turn to be insincere. "As I was saying-look Olivia, I don't want to sugarcoat it. This is the third time I've told someone this." Every time she had to retell what Jan had done, it was another wound on her heart. "And I just want to say your mother is a hero. I don't care how you see her, but she saved me and my kids from demons. In the end though, she saved the day and lost her life, all the same.

"But look, I have her ashes and we were going to scatter them in Lake Michigan. Piper and Seth already agreed to go. I know things with your family aren't exactly the best but, I just wanted to extend an invitation." Alice wished she could defy Jan's last requests-for a daughter that didn't deserve to be there-but she just couldn't.

Olivia met her with concerned frown. Alice couldn't tell if it was from being superficial or actual shock.

"Your mom is dead, Olivia," Alice said. A burden escaped from Alice and floated into the air when she said that. She had told all the people Jan had wanted.

It was almost done.

As she pondered Olivia's quickly shifting face, Alice figured the blunt, quick truth was the best way to go.

A few moments later, Olivia seemed to absorb the information, and arranged her features into a carefully arranged, tentative-and only slightly disturbed face. Although Alice didn't exactly know what the look meant, it seemed very inorganic.

"I-I don't think I'll be able to make when you scatter her ashes," Olivia finally said.

Even though Alice hadn't wanted Olivia there the more she knew, it was a still an insult to Jan that the young blonde woman was so quick to decline the invitation.

"Look, if it's because of Piper-"

"Please, Alice. It doesn't matter why. All that concerns you is that I won't be there," she said in a clipped tone.

"Olivia...I know you didn't have the best relationship-"

"We didn't have any relationship. She's a stranger to me."

"Come on. She's your mother-and her last wish was for you to be there."

Olivia pulled the shawl tighter around herself, clutching the edges in her fists. "If your mother, Alice, died suddenly, would you go see her? Someone you haven't spoken to in over a decade?"

"That's different," Alice said lamely, caught off guard by Olivia's question.

"Of course it is, isn't it?" Olivia shot back, the nastiest she'd sounded throughout the entire conversation. "How is it any different?"

"It just is."

Olivia sucked in air through her teeth and glanced out. The house had an incredible view. Nothing but green hills and mountains as far as the horizon went. If Alice lived in a place like this, she could see herself just gazing out into the endless world for hours on end.

Alice could see her life like this. Living in the middle of nowhere-somewhere the world could just suck her up and keep her hidden and safe. Maybe Olivia'd had the same idea. Only Olivia was hiding the wrath of her family and sitting on a destructive secret. In this town, people probably knew her as the soft-spoken, pious wife of a pastor. Little did anyone know she had wrenched that title away from her own sister. Olivia had stolen away a child's father.

Alice found herself staring at the thin golden band on Olivia's hand. It was small and simple.

Noticing Alice's stare, Oliva closed her fist and started rubbing her left hand with the other.

"How could you?" Alice felt herself asking. Never had Alice been so direct with her thoughts, but she couldn't shake the sick feeling in her stomach, perpetuated by her seemingly perfect cousin sitting here beside her. And perhaps Alice had no right to come into Olivia's home and criticize her, but that sure didn't stop her.

"Excuse me?"

"What you did to your sister. He had a child, Olivia, your niece." Alice was surprised by how impassioned her voice was for a kid she had only met twice. But it was one so obviously incensed and hurt by what the adults in her life had done to her, that it pushed her to near suicidally stupid extremes.

Abruptly standing up, the swing jerked back violently. Taking a view jerky steps away, Alice watched Olivia stop right before the porch steps. Olivia held herself rigidly, like a statue. Her shoulders didn't even move and Alice wondered if she had stopped breathing.

And maybe Alice should've stopped talking, hoping that Olivia was going to turn around and throw her out of her home.

"Your husband called Merrill the other day. Did you know that? But it's his daughter, right? Still, I bet you have no idea what that did to her. Merrill was so angry she used herself as bait against a nest of six vampires. It's a miracle she's still alive."

The blonde's shoulders tensed slightly, but she remained unmoving. "Only God can judge me for my sins."

Standing, Alice heavily shouldered past Olivia. "There's no God that would forgive you for what you've done to your own family." Reaching in front of Olivia, Alice slammed down the letter from Jan onto the railing beside her. "That's from your mother," Alice said. "I did everything I was supposed to do. I found you three and gave all of you your letters. And now, I don't give a damn what you do or what you do with the letter.

"My job is done.

"And I'm done with you."

Alice didn't look back as she walked away. She didn't know if Olivia remained standing, frozen. She didn't hear anything from behind her. And frankly, she didn't care. It had taken so little for Alice to turn on her own cousin, who had initially torn her family apart and then turned on them.

The were wounds were so deep that even Alice was left feeling the hollow, residual pain they left behind.

There were a few angry tears that were escaping from her eyes as she finally slid behind the wheel of the car. For what Olivia had done, and the fact she was using God as an excuse to keep on doing whatever the hell she pleased. It reminded Alice of her mother. Sherry had so many vices and used the excuse of her religion, but then turned around and didn't show her daughter any of the supposed compassion her God had.

Starting the engine, Alice reversed down the winding, dirt driveway, putting more distance between herself and Olivia. While she did, she felt the ever-growing desire to see her kids. It had been the longest she had ever been away from them, and had been guilty for leaving them behind so close to the trauma they had gone through.

So she was driving back to Sioux Falls to get them and bring them home. Seth, Piper, and Merrill had made their way back to Chicago already and were going to meet Alice there once she returned.

Alice also had the strong need to see Dean right then. He was always the one to make her feel better. Just by being around him, she felt safe and secure.

She missed that.

A lot of her drive from Kansas and leaving Kentucky was spent on thinking about Piper and Seth. Both had been raised hunting. It had worked, it sounded like. And then Piper had carried that tradition down to her daughter. The idea of allowing children to hunt had originally sounded monumentally stupid and dangerous. But the more Alice thought and heard about it, she found her view of the whole thing quickly shifting.

And was it possible, maybe-just maybe-hunting with Dean and her kids could work?

Alice gasped when she finally thought of it so clearly. The idea had remained unnamed in the back of her mind. But, after acknowledging it, the thought wouldn't go away.

More and more, she was making up her mind about something she couldn't believe. And she didn't know what was going to happen.

All she knew was that the dynamic of her family was about to change drastically.

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Hope everyone enjoyed! We've finally got to meet all of Jan's kids, and let me know what you think of them! As you can see, some big changes are happening in the Winchester-Mercer family. I appreciate everyone who has read, liked, reviewed, etc. It really means a lot to me people are interested in the story.

Hope to see all of you in the next chapter.

V.