Dean and Kat knew that they couldn't stay at her grandmother's house. It pained her horribly, but she knew that it was necessary. They found a new place in record time, and Kat made sure to bring her whole pantry with her. Before they left, she put every type of ward around the house she could think of, and a few she pulled from what memories of Sara she had. Enochian wards went a long way. She didn't want anything coming in that house without her permission or her knowledge. Dean didn't give her any crap for it, even helped with what he knew about wards.

One day, Dean's cell phone rang. He was in the shower, so Kat picked it up. She took a breath when she saw Sam's name and phone number pop up. With a sigh, she answered.

"Dean?" Sam's voice said on the other end of the line.

"It's Kat," she answered.

"Just as good. I need your help, now," he said.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm working this job," he began.

"Sam," Kat warned.

"Look, I need both of you with me...even just you if you want Dean to stay out of it," he pleaded.

"You and I both know how unlikely that is. If Dean stays out, I stay out," she said.

"Make an exception," Sam begged.

"For what?" Kat was starting to get angry.

"Look, I'm thirty minutes out and I will drive to your door if you guys won't meet me."

"What the hell is so crazy that you'd drive by?" she snapped. When Sam explained, she nearly dropped the phone.

"DEAN!"

XXXX

They met Sam that night. When they pulled up in Dean's truck, he was waiting in his Charger.

"Where is it?" Dean asked as they walked up.

"Strapped down in the back seat," Sam said. Dean and Kat looked in the backseat and saw, still a little surprisingly, a baby strapped in the backseat. "Welcome to the party." They ran back to the house, grabbed go bags that were packed out of habit, activated wards that they had put into place the day they moved in, and jumped in with Sam. Dean sat up front while Kat was in the back with the baby, who was sleeping.

"Feel free to speak up if you know anything," Dean said to the baby.

"So what was this thing that went after the kid?" Kat asked.

"Not sure. It freaked out when I cut it with silver," Sam answered.

"That narrows it down to about a dozen things," Kat said with a groan.

"None of them do the whole babynapping thing, though...normally," Dean said.

"Exactly," Sam said. The baby suddenly fussed and gave a very loud fart.

"Well, whatever is going on, we need to stop and get supplies," Kat said.

"I've got an arsenal in the trunk," Sam said.

"Not that kind," Kat pointed out as a very recognizable smell started filling up the car.

They found a grocery store, brought the baby inside in the car seat, and started shopping for baby items.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure there's some kind of paste or jelly you're supposed to put on their butt," Dean said, looking around. Sam reached up and grabbed a box of butt paste.

"Like that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kat said. Dean grabbed a box of diapers and added it to the cart.

"How do you two know all this? Something I don't know?" Sam asked as they continued their shop.

"I'm still in contact with some of my family," Kat said. "Distant cousin just had a baby not too long ago." The baby started fussing, making Dean start to hustle.

"Alright, we gotta get moving," he said. "We've got the waterworks in, like, T-minus ten." They finished up shopping as fast as they could and headed to the register. By the time they got up there, the baby was having a full cry session. They were getting disapproving stares from other customers as Sam loaded the groceries on the counter. Kat kept trying to calm the baby down, but it wasn't working.

"Make it stop," Sam said. "Everyone's looking at us like we're child abusers!" He had eaten, and the diaper was clean. Dean started trying to mimic the baby to distract him, but it wasn't working. Then, they were approached by an old woman.

"All, what's the matter?" she cooed at the baby. "What's his name?"

"Bobby," Dean said.

"John," Sam said at the same time. They looked at each other and Kat rolled her eyes.

"Bobby John," she said, going with it.

"Hi, Bobby John," the woman cooed again. "Aren't you handsome? May I?" Before Kat could say anything, the woman had taken the baby and cradled him. He settled almost immediately. "I see now, Bobby John's a little wet." She then looked at Dean and Kat, her eyes flicking to the rings on their fingers. "No offense, you two look exhausted. I don't mind. Lord knows I've changed a million diapers." Kat opened her mouth to say something when Dean nudged her, looking at the view of the security cameras. She looked up and saw the woman had reflective eyes, marking her as a shapeshifter. Kat put on her best smile.

"That's a really nice offer, thank you, but I think we've got it," she said.

"Oh, it's nothing. Happy to help," the shapeshifter said, starting to back away. Dean moved over to Kat.

"Give me the baby before I stab you in the neck," he said.

"Dean!" Sam said, shocked. Dean pointed at the screen. The shapeshifter turned and ran. Sam and Dean ran after her, trying to grab her. Kat followed, ready to do what she had to do. Sam had managed to grab the baby while Dean was being forced away from the woman by a store associate. The three of them ran for the car, jumped in, and floored it out of there. Kat wrestled the baby into the seat while Sam drove.

"What the hell does a shifter want with a baby, anyway?" Dean said.

"You tell me," Sam muttered.

"And how the hell did it find us?" Kat added.

"You know, it could have been following me this whole time," Sam mused. "Since the baby's house."

"We gotta get off the road," Dean said. "Get Bobby John here someplace safe. Figure this thing out." Kat gently shushed the baby as they drove off. They got to a motel after getting some more supplies, and she set about changing the diaper. Once she was done, Dean started distracting him.

"You're both...not awful at that," Sam commented.

"Dude, I'm barely keeping that thing alive," Dean said.

"No, seriously," Sam insisted. "You guys have a whole Huxtable vibe going. You're like...parent material." Kat and Dean looked at each other, Kat blushing a little bit. "You guys ever thought about it?"

"I mean...not really," Dean said.

"It's probably not a good idea," Kat agreed, but something in her voice made Dean give her a funny look.

"Staying on lockdown, though? I mean, I'm glad you two want to stay safe, but is this any different than how we grew up?" Sam continued.

"Sam, it's okay," Dean insisted. "This is just temporary."

"Dad always said it was temporary, Dean," Sam pointed out. "He said it for 22 years. Look, I get it, but how do you guys not turn into Dad?" They had no answers. Then, Sam made a noise. "I can't believe I missed this."

"What?" Kat asked.

"This house on Elm," Sam said, pointing at the papers on the table. "The mother was killed, baby was grabbed, but daddy wasn't living in the house at the time so he's still alive. What do you say we go and have a chat?" The three agreed, but then looked at the baby lying in the crib.

"You go," Dean said to Sam. "We'll stay here."

"You sure?"

"Unless you've got a badge for Bobby John, yeah, I'm sure," Dean insisted. Sam nodded and headed out. As he left, the baby started to cry. Dean got some whiskey on his finger and rubbed it on the baby's gums, who was instantly quiet. "Good isn't it?"

"Dean," Kat chided.

"So hey...why haven't we talked about it at all?" Dean asked, looking at his wife.

"Kids? I don't know," Kat answered, moving to the other side of the room. Dean got up and followed her, concerned.

"Kat," Dean said quietly.

"Dean, what the hell kind of life is this for a kid? Even when things were normal, they weren't. You and I were both looking over our shoulders, constantly worried. I mean, how many wards did I put around that house on top of the ones that were already there?" Kat said. "You and Sam were raised in it, I know, and I've got the whole magick thing going. But...I…."

"Hey hey hey hey," Dean said, pulling her close as she started to get a little frantic. "It's okay, babe, it's okay. You're right, we're a little too paranoid for kids right now." He held her shoulders and looked at her, a kind smile on his face. "It was just a thought."

"You seemed pretty jazzed up by it though," Kat said quietly. "You're great with kids."

"I'm not going to push you into anything you're not ready for," Dean said. "That's a promise. Let's look at this as a trial run. If we can take care of this little guy, maybe we're ready?" Kat looked into her husband's green eyes, full of light and warmth, and grinned.

"Okay," she finally said. "We'll give it a try." Dean smiled and hugged her.

"I love you," he said. "You know that, right?"

"I know," she replied. "I love you, too." They talked for a while longer, then Dean decided to turn on the massage feature on the bed. Suddenly, the baby started crying, and there was a squelching noise. They both bolted upright as Dean's phone rang. He answered while Kat went to the baby.

"I talked to the father," Sam said on the other end of the line. "He checks out, but the baby...I think the shapeshifter is his dad." Kat picked Bobby John up and looked at Dean.

"You think?" Dean asked as he looked at the baby in Kat's hands.

Bobby John was now black, an exact look alike of the little baby on the diaper box.

XXXX

The first shift must have been painful, because the baby was crying horribly now. No matter what anyone did, they weren't able to calm him down. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Manager! Everything okay in there?" a voice called.

"Yeah, we're fine," Dean called. "Thank you. Good night."

"There's been complaints," the manager said. "Mind opening the door, sir?"

"It's not a good time," Kat called. "We just got out of the shower." The doorknob began to rattle. Kat tried to get out of the way as Dean went to the door. The door unlocked and the shifter was standing there, this time disguised as a police officer. Dean fought with him for a few minutes as Kat held the baby close.

"Get out of the way," the shifter said as he managed to force Dean away from him.

"Not gonna happen," Kat snapped.

"That child should be with his father," the shifter growled.

"Gotta be honest," Dean smirked. "I'm not really seeing the family resemblance."

"I'm not talking about me," the shifter scoffed. "I'm talking about our father." He went to attack Dean again, who got him across the face with a silver knife. They scuffled for a minute more when Sam showed up and shot the shifter in the heart, killing him. Looking around at the damage, Dean gave a snort.

"Well, there goes our deposit."

XXXXXX

"You know, it's pretty smart, actually," Sam was saying as they drove off. "Shifter poses as a guard for the security company to get near the house, then it scopes out the fam."

"Yeah, and then daddy takes off, and shifter becomes daddy. Few glasses of wine, shakes momma's tess, comes back in nine months to collect its prize," Dean continued.

"I didn't even know they had babies," Sam commented. "I thought they were just freaks of nature, like X-Men style."

"Learn something new every day," Kat said.

"I've never seen a baby monster before," Sam said.

"Of course, it's not really a monster," Dean pointed out. "I mean, it's still just a baby. It's not its fault it's dad's a shifter."

"But it's a shifter, too," Sam said.

"Still doesn't change the fact that we've got to look after him," Kat said. "I mean, what the hell are we going to do with it? We can't actually drop it off at an orphanage. That first shift is going to scare everyone there."

"Samuel," Sam said after a minute.

"What?" Dean asked, looking at him.

"Samuel. He'll know what to do."

"You want to bring it to a bunch of hunters?" Dean asked.

"Not just hunters, Dean," Sam insisted. "They're our family."

"We don't know them," Kat said.

"I do," Sam snapped. "Not every hunter is a head case. I mean, Samuel is actually a lot like Dean."

"I'm a freaking head case," Dean cried.

"Well, pitch a better idea then!" Sam exclaimed. Dean didn't say anything, neither did Kat. "Great! Samuel, it is."

XXXXX

When they got to the Campbell compound and explained everything, everyone was very interested in the baby in Dean's arms.

"Well aren't you just the best disguise a monster ever wore?" Gwen cooed. Dean pulled back a little bit, and Gwen chuckled. "I'm kidding, Dean. Relax." Mark walked over to look at the baby, and Dean got even touchier.

"What, you got something to say?" he growled. "No? Alright, well, you stand there and think at me." Mark gave him a look as Sam and Samuel came in.

"What's our next move?" Sam asked as they walked in.

"I got a couple of ideas," Samuel said. "Dean, let me see the little guy." Dean pulled away from his grandfather slightly.

"That's alright, I got him," he said.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Samuel asked, a little put off.

"You really don't want me to answer that question," Dean smirked.

"Well I'm curious," Christian laughed. "Who exactly do you think we are?"

"Hunters," Kat said, going to stand next to him.

"Funny," Christian said. "Here I've been thinking we're family."

"Hey, let's not get worked up," Sam said, stepping between everyone.

"Yeah, let's not," Christian scoffed.

"Dean, it's fine," Sam said. "Let me take him. It's okay." Dean was hesitant, but he did as Sam asked. Sam handed the baby over to Samuel, who changed almost instantly into a very warm grandfatherly figure.

"Hey there," he cooed. "You're a big fella, aren't ya? I haven't held one of these in a long time. Your mom was the tiniest. She was bald as a cue ball." Everyone smiled a little at that.

"Alright, so what the hell are we going to do with him?" Dean asked.

"Raise him," Samuel said.

"Raise him?" Kat repeated.

"What, you've got another suggestion?" Samuel asked her. "It's dangerous out there for him."

"And what about in here?" Dean snapped. "What are we gonna - study him? Poke at him?"

"Your mind goes straight to torture," Christian snipped. "Don't assume that for everyone."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Dean growled.

"Sorry, I heard about what you majored in down in the Pit," Christian said, squaring up to Dean. Kat bristled and got ready to help out in the seemingly inevitable fight.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" Dean yelled.

"You're starting to become a pain in my ass," Christian fired back.

"Christian, take it easy," Sam said, trying to get between them. "He's my brother."

"We all done bristling up here, or what?" Samuel shouted. "Nobody's doing anything to him, Dean. When he's old enough, we throw it to him. He wants to volunteer to help out, that's fine."

"Could be great," Mark piped up.

"How?" Dean asked.

"Think of the kind of hunter he'll grow up to be," Mark said.

"You all are joking, right?" Kat asked. "I mean come on. You can't 'Angelina Jolie' a shapeshifter." She turned to Samuel. "Give me the baby." He was looking at her strangely, like he was seeing something that she wasn't.

"You remind me of Mary," he said quietly. "She'd be more concerned about the baby, too. At any rate, why can't either of you give me an inch of trust?"

"Maybe because you two are suddenly back from the dead, and I seem to be the only one who wants to know what the hell happened," Dean said, looking between Sam and Samuel.

"You're not the only one who wants to know," Sam said.

"There's just a little too much mystery with this family for me to get comfy," Dean said.

"Then don't!" Samuel said. "But don't put it on us. All we're trying to do is invite you two in. Christian?"

"Yeah?"

"You and Arlene, still no luck on the baby front?" Christian looked a little uncomfortable.

"Not yet, no."

"But you want one?"

"Yeah, we do." Samuel turned to his great nephew.

"Hold on," Dean said, moving to grab the baby.

"It's okay, Dean," Samuel said. "It's alright." He handed Bobby John to Christian, who took him with a very wry smile on his face. "Congrats. It's a boy...sometimes."

"The crap I do for this family," Christian laughed.

"You're kidding me, right?" Dean cried.

"Go to hell, Dean," Christian snapped.

"Well you have no business raising everything," Dean retorted.

"Why, Dean? Because he's a hunter?" Sam asked. Everyone went quiet when dogs outside started barking.

"Check the back door," Samuel ordered. Kat eventually got passed the baby. "Downstairs. Panic room. He'll be safe there." Dean looked towards the rest of his family as they geared up. "Go. Forget it, go! Now!" Samuel ordered. Dean and Kat went downstairs and headed to the panic room. While waiting, Kat did everything she could think to try and keep him quiet, but he kept crying.

"Come on, Bobby John," she whispered. "You have got to keep quiet." Suddenly, they saw Sam in the window. Dean pulled out a silver knife as Sam pulled the panic room door off of its hinges. It threw Dean against the wall and turned to Kat, turning into Dean without shedding its skin. Kat held the baby tighter.

"Give me the baby," the shifter ordered.

"No way in hell," Kat snarled. The shifter grabbed her by the throat and slid her up the wall, taking the baby from her before letting her fall to the floor. Kat gasped and coughed, trying to catch her breath. "Dammit," she gasped, going over to Dean to see if he was okay.

XXXX

Cleanup wasn't much of a chore with everyone helping.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a myth, no," Samuel commented.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"What the hell was that thing?" Kat asked, her throat still a little sore.

"We think it may have been an Alpha," Samuel explained.

"An alpha? Like…" Dean asked.

"Like all monsters come from somewhere, right?" Samuel said.

"And you think that this one was -" Kat said.

"The king shapeshifter," Samuel finished. "First one who spawned all the others. There's tons of lore about it."

"The first one?" Dean repeated.

"That's why it was so strong," Sam said. "And why nothing we had stopped it."

"And he said that he could sense the baby anywhere. That he could feel it, like there's a connection. That's in the lore, too."

"What does it want with babies?" Kat wondered out loud.

"A softball team?" Samuel said sarcastically. "I got no clue."

"So how do we kill it," Dean asked.

"I don't know if we can," Samuel admitted.

After helping with cleanup, Sam walked Dean and Kat out of the compound.

"You know, it's funny," Dean said as they walked.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"You know, just before you ganked that shifter in the motel, he mentioned a father, which makes sense now because he meant the Alpha," Dean answered.

"Yeah, I guess so," Sam said. Kat looked at her brother in law, noticing how nonchalant he was being.

"Did you hear him say that?" she asked.

"Uh, I don't know," Sam said, stammering a little. "Kind of a hot moment, you know? Why?"

"Because if you heard him, then you knew the Alpha was out there," Dean said, now becoming curious as well.

"Okay."

"And if you knew the Alpha was out there, then you knew he might come after the baby," Dean continued.

"In which case, you were using the baby as bait," Kat finished. They waited for Sam's reply. When it didn't come, they both got angry.

"So was that the plan?" Kat challenged him. "To use the baby as bait?"

"Of course not, Kat," Sam said. "I just thought that Samuel's was the safest place. That's all."

"Right, of course," Dean said, though the two of them were skeptical. Sam took the two of them back to their house and went back to the compound. After clearing everything, they sat at the dining room table.

"Did that all seem really weird to you?" Kat asked after a few minutes, handing Dean a beer and taking one herself.

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "Look…"

"Sammy's back in, and something's wrong here," Kat said, finishing Dean's thoughts. "I know you wanted to stay out...but we can't. Not when Sam's in danger. Pack up. I'll work on a new arsenal. You fix up everything else. We'll leave as soon as everything's set." Dean smiled, stood up, and planted a firm kiss on Kat's mouth.

"God, I love you," he said.

By daylight, Baby was fired up and they were gone.