Chapter 8

Instead of a Lullaby

It took several days for Sam and Dean to get custody of Alex, mostly because of the tests that had to be run to confirm Dean's paternity and the paperwork that followed. By the time all was settled and Alex was cleared to go with her father and uncle, it was late in the day and they had a long drive back home. Deciding not to push through the night, they stopped in at a motel. While they were unpacking their things from the Impala, a storm was rolling in….

Sam was jolted awake by the clap of a nearby thunderbolt. He wouldn't have remained conscious for more than the second it took to acknowledge that lightning had struck had he not heard the thudding of small feet travel from the couch to between the beds.

"Dad!" he heard Alex whisper.

"Mmph," Dean grunted.

"Dad!" Alex was more urgent.

At last Dean seemed to awake and whispered back, "What's the matter, baby girl?"

"The thunder," Alex replied.

"What, is it scaring you?"

"Yeah."

Another thunderclap rattled the building. Alex squeaked.

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," said Dean.

There was the rustle of bed sheets as Dean moved over to make room for his frightened daughter to climb onto the mattress. A flash of lightning lit up beyond Sam's eyelids, and shortly after the room was rocked once more. Alex squeaked again, this one becoming muffled, as if she had ducked under the covers.

"All right, all right, settle down," said Dean groggily. "It's just a little storm is all, nothing to be afraid of. How about we try and get your mind off it, 'kay? Let's see if you remember this one…."

Softly, and quite surprisingly to Sam, he heard his brother's low, sonorous voice begin to sing in a half whisper.

Hey, Jude.

Don't make it bad.

Take a sad song

And make it better.

With soured joy, Sam was immediately taken back. Way back….

The entire house was engulfed in flame.

Sam stood out front, searching the charred skeleton of the building as timbers snapped like gunshots and the flames roared like a train speeding past. His heart raced with adrenaline and debilitating fear as he stood, bound to the spot, because he clutched his wailing 5-month-old niece in his arms.

"Dean!" Sam howled at the burning structure. "DEAN!"

The fire must have broken through to the gas lines, because at that moment there came an explosion from within the house, powerful and destructive.

"NO!" Sam screamed.

He waited. He waited…. He wanted to run into the inferno and find his brother, carry his body out if he had to. But he couldn't, because he would never risk his brother's child, even for the brother himself.

At last, a figure came around the side of the house, heavy in movement, perhaps from physical exhaustion, perhaps emotional.

"Dean!" Sam called to him, taking a few steps forward, but not daring another. "Are you all right?"

Dean waved a half-hearted hand, but didn't speak.

"Ben?" Sam asked. No response. "Lisa?"

Dean shook his head without making eye contact.

"Oh, god…," Sam had known they were too far gone to the monsters they had become, but it still hurt.

Alex cried harder. As Dean came closer, he finally looked up and locked onto her, almost as if she were a life preserver, a safety line. He continued his progress directly towards Alex and Sam. Without a word, he reached out and took his daughter into his arms. He hugged her close to his body, cupping her head with one large hand, and continued past his brother.

"Come on, Sam," he said weakly, and Sam backed away from the blaze. "Sshh, baby girl, try and calm down a bit. I'm still here. It'll be okay. I'm still here…."

They retreated down the front lawn and across the street to where the Impala was parked. There they took a moment to gaze upon the spectacle of a bonfire that was once a home. Dean barely seemed to acknowledge the disaster, instead concentrating on rocking Alex. Understandable, as she was now all he had left, the rest now lost to the hungry flames. But his generic method yielded no results. In a last ditch effort, he sang. Sam was surprised to hear the sound, but was comforted by it; suddenly a small bubble of calm enveloped them in the midst of the hot, burning storm that swirled all about them.

Hey, Jude.

Don't make it bad….

Remember to let her under your skin.

Then you'll begin

To make it better.

"Better, baby girl?" Sam heard Dean whisper over the muffled pounding of the rain.

Alex didn't respond. She had fallen soundly asleep.

A/N: Here ends the body of the story, that which has a specific storyline and progression of events resulting in the ultimate resolution.

However, I shall continue with a number of Appendices that will sort of be one-offs based on this story (Although some will contain multiple chapters). If you have any ideas for an appendix, please let me know! I'm sure you'll have some great ideas I never would have thought of. I might be unable to take some of them if they conflict with pre-existing writings, but I'll do my best. Please understand that it might take a while for me to write them as I am now back in school and have a fairly tight schedule. There are also some appendices I just need to edit, so those will likely be published first. If I can get a suggestion done in between some of my pre-written appendices, then I will post that first, but that may be difficult.

Also, the same goes for all updates; I'll try and get one chapter out a week, but that may be difficult. We'll just have to see how much time I can devote to writing.

Many thanks! I appreciate your reading, hope you've enjoyed it and will enjoy the one-offs to come!