Harry can't decide if he preferred it when his sister didn't like their brothers. On the one hand, Lea tiptoed around the other occupants of the house and argued with Dean most of the time. On the other, she didn't know how to handle a gun before the siblings had called a truce.
" YOU SHOT ME !" Honestly, Harry is surprised he's still conscious, though the black spots in his field of vision make him think that that won't last long.
"You told me to!" His twin crouches over him, prying his hands away from his bloody calf. "Fuck, Har', why the bloody hell did you think being a human target was a good idea?"
Through his pain, Harry registers how pale his sister suddenly is. She tugs her wand from where it has been stuck in her ponytail for the last few hours. Watching closely, Harry follows her wand movements as she waves it over his throbbing leg, murmuring latin chants under her breath.
"Your spells usually miss me!" He's screaming through gritted teeth, fingernails scrabbling at the dirt and gravel underneath him. His scream grows louder when his vision whites out with pain.
"Got it." As his gaze clears, Harry notices the blood covered bullet now hovering over his leg. His arms collapse from where he had been holding himself up, causing him to lay flat on the dirt and blink up at the blue sky.
"What the fuck is going on?"
The pain is his leg leaves as if it was never there at all, leaving Harry able to sit up once more. He looks up into the eyes of his tallest brother. Sam flicks his eyes between the twins before his gaze settles on the bloody hole in the leg of Harry's jeans.
"What-"
"Nothing!"
The twins cut their brother off in tandem, Lea flicking her wand. The blood stain disappears and the hole sews itself together.
"When the hell did you take my gun?" Dean stands a few meters behind Sam, holding up the offending pistol with a scowl.
"What gun?"
Harry slaps a hand to his forehead. No wonder Lea's not a Slytherin, she possesses no cunning whatsoever. Both Winchesters stare at their sister with an unimpressed expression. "Dumbarse."
Apparently he wasn't quiet enough in his mutterings. Lea jerks her head around to glare at him. "And you're such a Ravenclaw? Mr. 'Let's-Play-Human-Target?'"
He has enough sense to look ashamed. Though, really, he never actually expected Lea to shoot him. He's always been quick enough to dodge her curses. He's not Malfoy . The thought of the blond wanker is enough to make him grimace.
"Back up. Why the hell would either of you be the damn target?"
Harry glances at Dean as Lea shrugs. He takes a moment to clamber to his feet, dusting himself off before answering his brother. "The tires got boring."
"He was supposed to dodge." His sister rolls her eyes as she sticks her wand back in her hair. "But, all's well that ends well."
"Shooting each other is not well." Sam stresses the words, looking exasperated.
"I'm not going to shoot him again!" Lea holds up her hands. "Not now that I know he can't dodge."
Harry shoves her shoulder. "Have you not seen me dodge bludgers?"
"Seems like bullets are your weakness." She sticks her tongue out at him before stepping out of the way of another shove.
"Cool it, brats." Dean sighs, tucking the gun into the waistband of his jeans. "Let's just say that neither of you have unsupervised gun privileges."
Lea scowls. "Then you don't get wand privileges."
"He's a muggle, Azalea."
His twin blanches before scowling once more with a huff. She toes the ground with her ratty trainer. "Whatever."
Harry holds in a laugh as Dean rolls his eyes and Sam shoves a hand through his hair. It's much funnier to watch Lea rile up a brother that isn't him.
"Let's go inside before Bobby decides to not give us the burgers he's cooked." Sam leads the group of them back toward the house. Harry's stomach rumbles at the thought of food.
Bobby had taken the news of Harry and Lea's powers much better than expected. He had eyed them suspiciously after Dean explained the situation but took the books detailing the last few years of the twins' lives with him upstairs. He had been in the kitchen first the next morning, already frying up bacon by the time Lea dragged Harry out of bed. Not much had been said until they had sat down for breakfast, upon which time the man had looked at the two and said, "I knew something was off with you two. You always tense up when you come in the house. Least your daddy didn't go off and have kids with a demon. Witch has to be better than that at least."
That had been as close to him outright saying he accepted the situation as they were going to get. Honestly, Harry thought that might just be the way Bobby is. Rough around the edges so he has to rough up his words too. Image to uphold and all that rubbish. Either way, they had been able to settle back into their routine and even show the three men some of their magic. Even Bobby looked appreciative when Lea had made the dishes wash themselves after each meal.
As the siblings enter the house, they claim chairs around the kitchen table. Lea beats him to the one that faces the doorway, a perpetual competition between them since they settled in the house. His twin smirks at him victoriously, causing Harry to roll his eyes. Instead, he turns his attention to Bobby, helping the older man set out the burgers. Once everyone is sitting and eating, Bobby sets a stack of papers in front of Dean.
"I've got a case for you four." He says, gesturing to the pages as he takes a bite out of his burger.
Dean frowns, snatching up the papers. Lea straightens in her seat, leaning forward. "Harry and I get to go?"
"No."
"Yes."
Dean and Bobby speak at the same time, causing their older brother to scowl at the man.
"They're kids ."
"Well, I have my own case to do and they don't need to be left here unattended with their magic sticks."
"Magic sticks?" Harry grumbles, shoving a crisp in his mouth. Lea shushes him, pushing her plate aside as she focuses on the conversation.
"He does make a point, Dean."
Dean turns his glare on Sam. "Then, we don't take the case."
"You're going to leave a monster hurting people?"
Harry almost chokes on his food at the sight of his sister attempting puppy eyes. Lea kicks him under the table. Dean gives her an unimpressed look.
"No, they're taking the case." Bobby speaks as if his decision is final. Dean glares at him once more. "Dean, they're older than you were on your first hunt. It's just a salt and burn, anyway."
"See, Dean, it'll be easy. Remember how well Harry did with the vampires?" Sam's praise makes Harry want to preen, but he's not a blond git so he resists the urge.
Since the Winchesters had found out about their past, it seems that the brothers had traded opinions on how much Harry and Lea should know about hunting. Dean has become tightlipped on all things supernatural, while Sam seems to be encouraging the twins to learn more and practice different hunting skills. His encouragement is probably what led them to sneaking off with Dean's gun this morning.
"They're not going, end of discussion."
Dean takes a rather aggressive bite of his burger, glaring down at his plate. Lea slouches in her chair, picking at her food with a pout. Harry feels disappointed as well, though he tries not to show it. It's when Sam catches his eye and throws him a wink that he feel hope spark in his chest once more.
-
"That was awesome !" Lea practically vibrates with excess adrenaline in the backseat of her brother's car, wand still sparking in her hand.
" That was an easy case." Dean grumbles from the driver's seat in front of her, fiddling with the radio as they pull out of the small Illinois. "We got lucky that the spirit wasn't more violent."
Harry yawns in the seat next to her, stretching out. "You got lucky that Lea and I can levitate dirt."
Sam snorts from the passenger seat, batting a stray strand of hair out of his face. "What you two did was definitely quicker than using shovels."
Lea smiles widely. "See, we were useful."
"We were lucky." Dean repeats, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "Lay back kid, it'll be a long drive."
For once, she doesn't argue with her oldest brother. This is mostly due to the yawn that escapes her before she can speak. Using magic to dig and refill a grave took more out of her than she thought it would. She shimmies down in her seat, laying her head against the car window. The sound of the motor and the low radio seem to lull her to sleep in no time.
She awakes to a cell phone ringing.
Blinking sleep from her eyes, Lea stretches out as far as she can. A grunt makes her realize that she's hit her twin's face in the process. Harry sits up beside her, adjusting his glasses. He rubs his temple as Lea gives him an apologetic look. Before he can say anything, Dean's conversation outside of the car catches both of their attention.
"-John died more than two years ago."
The twins share a glance before each slide out of the car. Seeing Sam finishing brushing his teeth at the edge of the lake they're parked in front of, Lea snatches her backpack out of the backseat so she can do the same.
"Who is this?"
She's unable to hear the person on the other end of the line. She doesn't even attempt to figure out who it may be, focusing on digging through her pack for her toothbrush and paste.
The snap of the mobile snapping shut startles her. She looks up from where she's using the hood of the Impala as a table, watching Dean stare at the phone with a conflicted expression.
"Who was that, Dean?" Sam speaks up, reaching through the rolled down driver window to stick his toothbrush back in his bag. Lea begins to brush her own teeth as she glances between her brothers. Harry stands at the water's edge, kicking rocks into the lake.
"Some kid claiming to be dad's son." He spares a glance for Lea and Harry before focusing back on Sam, who's brows have started climbing his forehead.
"What?"
"Yeah. Adam Milligan."
"How many women did your dad shag?"
The question is out of Lea's mouth before the thought fully forms in her head. All three brothers turn their attention to her with varying expressions. Eventually, Harry shrugs.
"Actually, fair question."
Lea looks at Dean once more. "Do you hang up on all of your possible siblings when they contact you?" She can't help the teasing tone in her voice, thinking back on the first conversation she had with Dean.
Dean huffs but isn't able to retort before Sam snatches the cell from his hands and walks off, presumably to call the Adam kid back. The three watch him walk down the shore for a moment, then Dean stares at the twins.
"Brush your damn teeth." He sighs, scrubbing a hand down his face. Lea can't decide on a response before he's walking off as well.
"Well, a third mystery brother was definitely not what I expected when you drug us to the States." Harry tosses another stone into the water. Lea rolls her eyes, spitting out some toothpaste.
"Hilarious, Harry."
The twins are absolutely bewildered by their older brother's behavior, watching in concern as he switches out the silverware of the fifth place setting at their table.
"Did you do this to us?" Harry is the one to speak up, glancing nervously at Lea. Lea can't help gripping her wand tightly under the table.
"What?" Dean looks up from what he's doing. "Oh, yeah, 'course I did. How else could I have been sure you weren't demon out to get us."
It looks as if Harry is working himself into a temper when Lea cuts across. "I get it."
Harry throws her a confused look. "What?"
"Dean checks for demons like we would check for deatheaters. You think I'd let us go around with anyone when I haven't seen their left arm."
Her twin considers her words before giving a begrudging nod. "I suppose."
The diner door opens behind the twins and their brother's look up.
"Adam?" Sam raises a hand. A moment later, a blond boy, a few years older than Lea and Harry, is standing at the end of their table.
"You Sam?"
"Yeah. Uh, this is Dean." Sam gestures to their older brother before nodding to the twins. "Harry and Lea."
The boy shifts uncomfortably for a moment before nodding and sets his backpack on the ground. He takes the remaining empty seat at the head of the table, between Dean and Harry. "Hey."
"So, um… how did you know my dad?"
Sam seems to be the only one willing to lead the conversation. Dean watches Adam suspiciously while Harry tears apart a napkin. Lea can't decide if she agrees more with Sam or Dan on the mystery sibling issue, especially since she and Harry were in a similar position not long ago. "Uh, we worked together."
His answer obviously confuses Adam as he throws a narrowed eye glance at Harry and Lea. "How did he die?"
"On the job."
"He was a mechanic, right?"
Dean finally decides to speak, though Lea wishes he hadn't as she almost chokes on the water she's sipping. "A car fell on him."
The waitress from earlier appears at their table once again, giving Adam a friendly smile. "Hey, Adam. How ya doing?"
She sets a glass of water down in front of the blond that Dean is quick to snatch up. "Oh, I'll take that. I'm very thirsty."
The waitress tosses their brother a glare before looking back at Adam. "The usual, Adam?"
"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Denise."
As Denise walks off, Adam grabs the remaining glass of water on the table. It seems that Dean and Lea both tense up in anticipation, watching him closely. Both slouch slightly as the boy sips the water and shows no reaction. Not a demon, then.
Sam clears his throat. "So, uh, when's the last time you saw John?"
"I don't even know. It's… a couple years."
Dean shifts oddly across the table, Lea flicks her eyes between him and Adam several times before focusing back on the conversation.
"Why did you decide to call him now?"
Adam shrugs, sighing. "I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got." There's silence at the table for a moment. "My mom's missing."
Sam leans forward. "Really? I'm sorry. For how long?"
Dean cuts in again, causing Sam to roll his eyes. "It's tragic, really. But if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?"
"'Cause John and me didn't really know each other. Not until a few years ago, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Sam tilts his head.
"My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" Dean still can't seem to remove the scowl from his face. Honestly, even Lea is more subtle when interrogating. She would cut in, but the agreement of her and Harry tagging alongside inside the diner depended on them keeping their mouths shut.
"My mom's a nurse, and Dad came into the ER, pretty torn up. Hunting accident or something. And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."
Sam waves a hand. "Yeah, well, who is these days?"
Dean leans forward. "So, when did you, uh, when did you finally meet him?"
"When I was twelve. My mom had one of his old numbers, and-and after I begged her-God, twenty-four-seven-she finally called him. God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night." If anything, Dean's expression grows even tighter with the boy's words.
Before one of their brothers can continue with the question, the waitress is back. She slides a plate onto the table in front of Adam. "There you go."
"Thanks."
Lea nudges Harry under the table as Dean speaks. "Well, that's heartwarming."
"You mind?" Adam gestures at the food. Harry throws Lea an annoyed look as he pauses in his destruction of a second napkin.
Dean looks smug as he nods. "Please, dig in."
Lea gives a subtle nod to the silverware Dean had placed on the table. Harry turns his attention to the pieces of silver as well. All four siblings watch intently as Adam first takes the napkin and places it on his lap and then picks up the knife and fork as he continues speaking.
"He would swing by once a year or so." Dean shifts in his seat again, frowning as Adam explains. "You know, called when he could. But still… He taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was fifteen. And, uh...he showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful 'sixty-seven Impala-"
"Oh, this is crap. You know what, you're lying." Dean glares at the blond.
Adam seems taken aback, still clutching his utensils. "No, I'm not."
"Uh, yeah, you are."
"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?"
"We're John Winchester's kids, that's who." Dean indicates first himself, then Sam, then Harry and Lea. " We are his kids."
Adam just stares in shock for a moment, then, " I've got siblings?"
Dean scoffs. " No , you don't have siblings." Lea is shocked by this. Even before Dean knew for sure that John was the twins' father too, he was never down right mean to them. "Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here."
"I have never been hunting in my life."
"Whatever. I'm out of here. Come on, Sam." Dean shoves his chair back, getting to his feet. He gestures for Lea and Harry to follow him. Harry stands while Lea plants herself in the chair.
"I can prove it."
Dean freezes from his spot by the door as all four Winchester siblings turn their eyes back to Adam.
Lea speaks for the first time since Adam sat down. "Let him prove it."
That evening, after the visit to Adam's house, Lea sits at the small table in their motel rooms across from Sam. Her brother is scrolling on his laptop while she reads a book on Extinct Magical Creatures that she forgot to return to the Hogwarts Library before term ended. On one bed, Dean sits cleaning a shotgun, while Harry lays back on the other, continually tossing a practice quaffle up in the air. Harry and Lea's trunks sit at the foot of the bed, retrieved from their backpacks and unshrunk. The quiet of the motel room is broken by a loud knock at the door.
The siblings glance between each other before Sam sighs and stands to answer it. Before he is even able to open the door fully, Adam barges in. Dean tosses a cloth over his gun, Harry sits up and drops his quaffle in his trunk before shutting his and Lea's, Lea closes Sam's laptop before setting it on top of her book.
"Who the hell are you?" Their new brother glares around the room.
Sam shuts the door, clicking the lock into place. "Adam, hey. Take it easy."
"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay? My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you two-well, you tell me to call the cops, but you got to bail before they show? So, who are you really?"
Silence descends upon the room, everyone sharing nervous looks. Adam continues.
"Cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you talking earlier- something about grave robberies." It's at this point that the blond's eye catches on Dean's shotgun poking out from beneath the cleaning cloth. "You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on." No one speaks. "Please."
"We're hunters."
"Sammy!"
"He deserves to know, Dean."
Lea looks at Harry who shrugs, turning his attention back to the argument.
"What do you mean, 'hunters'?"
It's almost an hour later when the full explanation of the Winchester's hunting and the Potter's magic has been completed.
"Okay, so...basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?"
"Godzilla's just a movie." Lea kicks Dean under the table from where he's now sat across from her. He grunts, shooting her a glare.
"We hunt them. So did Dad." Adam nods at Sam's answer.
"Okay."
Dean's jaw drops. "'Okay'? That's it?"
"What am I supposed to say?"
"That we're liars, that we're crazy . Nobody just says 'okay'."
"Well, you're my siblings. You're telling me the truth, right?"
"Yes." Lea and Harry speak at the same time, cutting off Dean. Harry shifts his weight to the opposite foot as he leans against the hotel door, arms crossed. Adam nods, looking back at Sam, who is sitting on the bed opposite him.
"Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?"
Sam scratches the back of his neck. "We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead, but we don't know what."
"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill."
Harry makes a noise of agreement, staring blankly at the floor. Lea grimaces, knowing where his thoughts must have gone. Harry witnessed a grave robbing first hand back in the beginning of June.
"You think maybe she might still be alive?" No one is able to meet Adam's gaze, especially with the note of hope in his voice. "Oh. How can I help?"
"You can't." Dean shakes his head.
"This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in." Adam's hope is quickly replaced by anger.
"No."
Sam turns from his spot on the bed. "Dean, look, maybe—"
"Maybe what?"
"He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like."
"Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"
"Because-"
"Because he was protecting him!"
"Dad's dead, Dean."
"That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we are gonna respect his wishes."
Lea, Harry, and Adam flick their heads back and forth as they watch the argument. The blond finally decides to interrupt.
"Do I get a say in this?"
"No!"
"No."
The older Winchesters glare at one another before Dean gets to his feet and heads for the door. Harry is quick to move out of his way. "Babysit the kids."
Sam sighs in exasperation as Dean grabs his jacket. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going out!" The door slams behind their eldest brother. Sam lets out another sigh, burying his face in his hands.
"Is he always like that?" Adam's question causes Sam to let out a chuckle.
"Pretty much." Harry shrugs, Lea nodding in agreement.
"Welcome to the family." Sam lets out another laugh, the stress obvious in his tone. Adam glances away, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. This seems to be a gesture that all four of Lea's brothers share.
"Here." Sam pulls his gun out, ejecting the clip. "I'm gonna teach you a few things."
"Uh, Dean said-"
"I know what Dean said." He holds the gun out, handle first. "And I know what it's like to want revenge."
It's quiet for a moment before Adam takes the gun. Lea stands, moving quickly across the motel room to sit beside Sam.
"Harry and I get lessons too." It's not a question.
Her brother huffs a laugh, glancing over to where Harry is taking a seat beside Adam.
"Fine. Let's get started."
-
Dean feels as though he might scream. But if he starts, he's not sure he'll ever stop.
He left them alone for an hour. One hour. And Sammy almost dies.
On top of that, he went from being a big brother to one reckless Winchester to four in barely a month. If nothing else, that might make him lose his mind. He just got used to the twins being around and now there's another new sibling? What's next, Dad comes back from the dead to tell him he fathered a whole circus?
He sighs as he opens the door to Adam's house, gesturing toward the stairs. "Grab your stuff. We'll hit the road."
Adam turns on the lights and jogs up the stairs. Sam moves through the house until he's sitting at the kitchen table. Harry and Lea look at him. Both kids seem a little shaken after watching Sammy be dragged under the truck. He points to the couch in the living room, trying not to let his frustration show as much. As annoying as the brats can be, they're still kids and still his responsibility.
"Go sit."
Azalea nods, taking Harry's hand. Her twin leads her to the sofa where they sit and huddle together.
"We shouldn't leave."
He turns his attention back to Sam, watching as he thumps his injured ankle on a chair. "Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked. Good one."
"I'm serious."
He barely resists the urge to groan. "No, Sam, we're gonna take the kids, we're gonna drop them off at Bobby's, and then you and me are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started."
Sam stops moving, an ace bandage in one hand. "How? We got no leads, no witnesses. We do have what this thing wants."
"You want to use the kid as bait? That's why you want to stay here?" He knows Sammy is new to the whole big brother thing, but this is not how he's supposed to do it. Dean would never put Sam in a position to be intentionally hurt. Sam better not do it to Harry or Lea. Or Adam either, now.
"Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam- get him ready."
He does groan this time. "He could die, Sam."
"We could all die, Dean. Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us. What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?"
Sam unrolls the ace bandage and starts wrapping his ankle. Adam returns, backpack over one shoulder.
"I'll do it. Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I want to do it."
Dean rolls his eyes. For once, could he be blessed with a sibling who is not an absolute idiot?
Dean watches as Sam and Adam sit at the table pouring over books. Adam almost looks at Sammy with something akin to hero worship in his eyes.
"That is some job you got, man."
Sam's smile drops as he takes on a serious expression. "Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam. It's life. You're pre-med. You got a girlfriend, friends?"
Adam nods in answer. Dean straightens from where he stands across the kitchen. He looks to where Harry and Azalea are pretending not to listen in the living room. The twins have been quieter since the attack yesterday. Harry hasn't strayed far from Sam, partaking in the target practice Sam and Adam had earlier. Lea, surprisingly, has clung to Dean. She had stayed near him the entire practice, twirling her wand between her fingers as she stared off into the woods in thought.
"Not anymore you don't. If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections, ever . They're weaknesses. You'll just put those people in danger, get them killed."
Dean looks away from Sam again, gritting his teeth. The words are familiar, but not because Sam has said them before. No. Sam had outright rejected such sentiments at one time. He notices Harry watching Sam intently.
"That's the price we pay. You cut 'em out, and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on. Family."
"Sam." It's time for him to interrupt. His brother looks over. "Can I talk to you?"
He leads Sam out of the kitchen and up the stairs, stopping on the landing. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" Sammy has the audacity to act confused.
"'Hunting is life. You can't have connections.' Dad gave you that exact Same speech, remember? It was just before you ditched us for Stanford. You hated Dad for saying that stuff, and now you're quoting him?"
Sam rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, turns out Dad was right."
"Since when?"
"Since always. Dean, when I look at Adam, you know what I see?"
"A normal kid." Dean scoffs. Adam's studying to be a doctor. He didn't have any knowledge of anything close to supernatural before yesterday. The twins at least knew what hunters were when they met.
"No. Meat . Because the demons and monsters out there, that's all he is. I hated Dad for a long time. I did. But now I think I understand. So we didn't have a dog and a white picket fence. So what? Dad did right by us. He taught us how to protect ourselves. Adam deserves the same. Harry and Lea deserve the same."
"Listen to yourself, man." He can't stop himself from shoving Sam's shoulder.
"You think I'm wrong?"
"I think it's too late for us. This is our life. This is who we are, okay? And it's fine. I accept that. But with Adam, he's still got a chance, man. He can go to school. He could be a doctor."
"What makes Adam so special?"
"What, are you jealous of the kid?"
"Are you?"
The question makes Dean pause. Of course he's jealous. Adam grew up with a mom. Dad took him to fucking baseball games. He didn't know ghosts were real until yesterday.
"Dean… all this… it's not real. The dad Adam knew- he wasn't real. The things out there in the shadows- they are real. The world is coming to an end. That's real. Everything else is just part of the crap people tell themselves to get through the day."
Dean takes a breath. "Dad didn't have a choice with us, okay? But with Adam, he did. Adam doesn't have to be cursed."
"He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."
As true as that statement may be, Dean still can't accept it. "No. No, whatever's hunting Adam, I'm gonna find it."
"You already looked everywhere, Dean."
"Well, then I'll look again."
The two stare at each other for a moment longer before Dean turns and stomps back down the stairs. Lea stands as he marches across the room.
"De-" The door slams behind her before he's able to hear what his sister has to say.
-
Sam is upstairs with Adam, both of them looking down at the one entrance left open to the house. They had put lines of salt along each windowsill and exterior door, and nailed all the vents closed. If something tried to get in, it would have to come through the vent in Adam's mom's room.
"All right. We've closed off every other way into the house. If this thing's coming, it's coming through here."
As soon as Sam finishes speaking a creak sounds through the house, as if a door had opened. He really hopes it's just one of the twins moving around downstairs.
"You were saying?" Adam raises a brow at him.
"Adam! Adam!" A woman's voice yells from downstairs, cutting off Sam's answer. Adam's eyes widen.
"Mom?
"No." Sam tries to grab his younger brother's arm but Adam moves faster, already running from the bedroom.
"Mom!"
"Adam!" Loading his shotgun, Sam takes off after him.
"Mom." When they reach the kitchen, Adam stands before a bleeding woman. Sam instantly recognizes her from photos placed around the house.
"Adam, wait!"
"It took me, but I got away." The woman pants, gripping her side. Adam reaches toward her.
"It's okay."
"I got away." She sounds breathless. Adam pulls her into a hug. It feels as if lead has settled in Sam's gut, he lifts his gun.
"Adam, step away from her."
"Sam, what the hell?!"
"She's not your mother!"
"Adam, who- what is going on?" The woman looks around confused.
"Get away from him!" Sam gestures with the shotgun for her to move away.
"What is going on?"
"You listen to me-"
"It's really her, okay?" Adam cuts him off, pleading.
"There was too much blood. Your mother's dead. There was too much blood in the vents!" Sam lunges forward, shoving his brother away from the not-woman. Adam tugs the gun right out of Sam's hands.
"Adam!"
"Shoot it!" San and the creature shout at the same time.
"He's crazy! Honey, it's me!"
Adam looks between the two, a stricken expression on his face. He points the gun at the thing pretending to be his mother.
"Look- Adam!"
"Honey, it's me!" She begins shouting over Sam again.
"Look, that's not your mother!"
"Baby, please!"
"Shoot it! It's not human!"
Sam watches Adam level the gun at the thing before he glances back at Sam. The boy's fear morphs into confusion as he looks over Sam's shoulder.
"What are you wait-" Sam is cut off again as pain explodes in the back of his head. His vision goes black as he crumples to the floor.
He comes back to consciousness slowly. The first thing he becomes aware of is the sound of a woman humming. The second is the fact that he is tied spread eagle to the kitchen table. Out of instinct, he immediately begins struggling, lifting his head to look around. Adam's not-mother stands beside his head, using the tip of a blade to clean her fingernails.
"Silver. No wonder none of the tests worked. You're not shapeshifters. You're ghouls."
"You know, I find that term racist." The creature waves the knife around before smirking down at him. She leans down. Starting at his hand and ending at his neck, She inhales deeply. Sam shudders in disgust as she tugs on his ear with her teeth.
"Mmm. Fresh meat. So much better than what we're used to."
"I should have known. It was the fresh kills that threw me. Ghouls don't usually go after the living. See, you're just filthy scavengers, feeding off the dead-taking the form of the last corpse you choke down."
"And their thoughts. And their memories." Sam turns his head, watching as a man walks in. Another ghoul, this one in the skin of the missing bartender.
"Well, we are what we eat."
"You're monsters." Sam spits. The ghoul that looks like Adam's mother glares before lowering her knife to his arm. Trailing it along his forearm, she begins to draw blood. Sam holds in a hiss.
"You know, you use that word a lot, Sam." The ghoul grins at him before drinking his blood. The bartending ghoul stabs the knife into the table beside his head.
"But I don't think you know what it means." The ghoul looks at him over the glasses he wears. Before he can continue, the one drinking Sam's blood looks up.
"His blood, it tastes different."
The other ghoul keeps speaking as if he didn't hear her words. "Our father was a monster? Why? Because of what he ate? He never hurt anyone, Sam. Living, anyway."
The knife is yanked out of the table as the not-woman speaks. "No. He was no monster. But the thing that killed him was. A monster named John Winchester."
Without warning, she stabs the knife into Sam's side. He gasps, his entire body tensing. Laughing, she withdraws the blade, though it is immediately replaced by the other ghoul's finger digging into the wound.
"Thanks to your daddy, my brother and I grew up on our own. At least we had each other." She looks across the table as the not-man withdraws his hand, licking the blood from his finger.
"Like you and your siblings. Inseparable."
"Actually, it was very hard to get you on your own." The female ghoul waves the knife around again. We had to wait until you left those two kids alone and vulnerable." Sam jerks against his restraints.
"If you laid a hand on Lea or Harry-"
"Then, once we knocked you out we had to deal with Adam." Sam bares his teeth at them, straining against the ropes. Harry and Lea are just kids, Adam barely more than that. If anything happened to them on his watch…
"Like you said, Sam, the only thing you can count on is family." Like he said? The ghouls have been watching them the entire time. The male ghoul stands back, letting his sister drink Sam's blood again. When she straightens again, she licks her fingers and smiles with bloody teeth.
"And for twenty years, we lived like rats."
"Graveyard after graveyard, all that stinking flesh."
"Then we thought, 'hey, why not move up to fresher game?'"
"And we knew just where to start." The one wearing the bartender digs the knife into his arm. Sam screams through clenched teeth. "Revenge-it's never over, is it, Sam?"
"First, it was John's cop friend, and then his slut, and now his kids."
"Then Adam calls John, but the son of a bitch was already dead."
"So I guess you and Dean and the kids will have to do it instead."
"Dean won't interrupt us this time. We're gonna feed on you nice and slow-like we did with Kate."
As her brother speaks, not-Kate smiles down at Sam. "After you, I think we'll move on to Adam. Then those two little magic Winchesters. Finally, we'll get to Dean."
Sam struggles harder than ever before, wishing he could rip through the rope through pure will.
Without another word, each ghoul takes a knife to one of his arms, slicing gashes into his skin. Blood runs over his skin, dripping down into bowls under him.
"Sam, the more you struggle, the faster you're gonna bleed out. So you might as well lie back and relax."
Before he's able to come up with a response, there's a shuffle at the doorway to the living room.
"Hey!"
Sam lifts his head up slightly and is met with the sight of his older brother aiming a shotgun at the bartender. A shot rings throughout the house and the ghoul flies back into the wall, hole now gaping in his shoulder.
"Dean, they're ghouls!"
His words give Dean pause, then he's firing off at the other one. Her head launches straight off of her body before she collapses to the floor.
"Which means head-shot." The words are barely out of Dean's mouth before the first ghoul is slamming into him. Sam can't see the struggle from this angle but he can hear it. It does not sound pretty. After a few moments, silence falls.
"Dean!" His voice is weaker than he'd like, but it gets his brother's attention.
Dean comes over and cuts through the ropes and duct tape, grabbing a couple towels on the way. He helps Sam sit up and uses the towels as pressure bandages, murmuring the whole time.
"Come on. Come on. Come on. Hang on. All right, here we go. Here we go. Hang on, buddy. All right."
"Thank you." Sam's voice is almost a whisper.
"That's what family's for, right? Keep pressure on that."
-
Adam stands stock still as his siblings gather around him. None of this feels real. His mom is gone. Really gone. Forever.
And he has siblings. Brothers. A sister. And they seem pretty set on keeping him around.
"You sure we should do this?"
Adam glances over at the question, seeing Sam looking at him with a sympathetic expression. He looks back at the pyre built in front of them. A sheet wrapped body lays on top of it. Mom. He gives a small nod.
Dean opens a bottle of lighter fluid. Opens a bottle of lighter fluid, stepping forward and drizzling over the pyre. "Kate loved Dad. She died like a hunter. She deserves to go out like one."
A smaller hand slips into Adam's. He looks down, finding Lea beside him. She looks up at him, expression blank. They stare at one another for a few moments. His little sister nods and squeezes his hand before they both turn forward once more.
Dean lights a match and tosses it on the pyre. His mom's body goes up in flames. Another hand takes his free one. A glance down shows Harry clutching his hand tightly as his green eyes focus on the growing fire.
Even as he focuses on the flames, he can't help but hear the whispered conversation between his older brother's behind him. "You know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person."
There's a pause before Dean speaks again.
"I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You take it any way you want."
This has for sure been the most insane week of Adam's entire life, but even in his grief he can find a silver lining. He started the week with no family. Possibly dead mom, for sure dead dad. Now, he's ending it with more family than he's ever had. He'll be damned if he lets anybody take his siblings away from him.
