Twelve Years later,
{Flashback a week before}
Sam’s job as the local asst. district attorney kept him busy so he rarely saw Lydia or their children.  It had been two weeks since they had made love and Lydia wasn’t the only one going crazy from want.  They set up a plan for that afternoon while the kids were away, but the plan didn’t work out quite like they hoped.
---
     Sam stepped into the laundry room from the garage to find Lydia waiting. She wore a black bustier and lace stockings with stilettos and nothing else.  She had a smile on her face when he saw her.  His heart went into overdrive on the spot, she was as lovely to him as they day he met her at the diner so many years ago.  Her long slender legs and svelte body called out to him.
“I thought you would never make it,” she said as she bit her lip and her hazel eyes lit up.
“Oh believe me, I got here as fast as the traffic would allow,” he said as he dropped his briefcase, jacket and slipped off his shoes all at once.  
She put her arms around his neck to receive his kiss while she worked on the buttons of his white dress shirt.  Sam worked his magic on her tongue as she moaned with him.  He moved his lips to her long neck a minute later as she reached for his zipper and slipped her hand inside his briefs to feel his hardness.  She grinned at the thought that he must have had an uncomfortable ride in the car if he was hard most of the way home.  She bit her lip again as the thought of him inside of her only made her wetter and ready for him.
“We have an hour until MacKenzie gets here or a little more.  Logan is gone til later,” she said a bit breathless as Sam’s eyes glazed over at the thought of her soft skin against his cemented in his mind.
---
The kids had begun to complain about the loud lovemaking a while before and they had felt a bit shy about doing it since that time.  Of course, being tired had also been a factor. When his pants hit the floor and he stepped out of the them he lifted her up as he leaned down a bit while she wrapped her legs around his waist.  He moved his large hands across her ass before he slid easily inside her.  He raised up again so that she sat on the edge of the washer while he began to make love to her slowly against the appliance.
“Oh, Sam, you feel so good,” she whispered against his neck as she wound her legs tighter around his back.
“And you,” he said inaudibly as he found her lips again.
They were lost in the rhythm of their hearts and bodies when there was a shreek from behind Sam.
“Dad?” MacKenzie said as she turned to face the door when she saw what her parents were doing.
The action stopped immediately as the couple realized they had been caught.  Lydia sighed as she leaned up.
“MacKenzie go inside,” she said just above a whisper.
“Ewww,” the girl said as she ran by them into the kitchen and shut the door firmly behind her, with a shout, “ That was so gross.”
Sam could only smile as he looked down at his wife.
“She has such great timing,” he said as Lydia shook her head.
At least Sam had had his butt to the door there were other ways they could have been interrupted that might not have seemed so innocent, Lydia thought.
“Yeah, she does,” she said as they disentangled themselves before they dressed again.
“We can try it again upstairs,” Sam suggested, “ After we have a talk with our daughter about how us having sex is not a bad thing.”
Lydia laughed as she reached for a towel to cover herself.
“A good idea,” she conceded as she leaned up for a last kiss from his soft lips.
{End Flashback}
---
    “Mom,” MacKenzie said as she watched her mother look out the window for the third time in the last hour.
Lydia didn’t hear her because her mind was far away, as she waited for Sam to return from his hunting trip with Logan and Dean.  The Winchester men had gotten a lead on the demon again and taken off a week before.  Sam’s vacation time had been a godsend for the occasion, generally they did weekend hunting trips but so far had yet to get the thing that killed Sam’s mother almost thirty years before.  Lydia often wondered if both Winchester’s getting married had been a flaw in the plan to get the revenge they had so eagerly sought in their earlier years of hunting.  Sam had confessed that after their father had died their desire to stop the demon had deteriorated to a bit more than a hobby.  When Dean left to hook up with Cassie and Sam met Lydia things had shifted in their world.  Cassie and Dean also had two children, Alyssa was almost twelve while little Cory was nine.  
---
    “Mom?” MacKenzie said again, this time she touched her mother on the shoulder.
“Huh? I’m sorry what did you say?”
“Aunt Cassie phoned they are on the way over,” the teenager said with concern in her face.
“Oh that’s fine, did you get the cookies out of the oven?”
“Yep, everything is ready for our girls night.”
Lydia smiled at her daughter, with her auburn curls and eyes that matched her own.  They had decided to have a get together for the girls in the family while the boys were gone.  Cory was to stay with a neighbor of Cassie and Dean’s since he had been declared to young to hunt but he hadn’t minded since he was more academic like his uncle, Dean insisted.  Though, secretly Dean hoped to change the young man’s mind, in the future.
---
    A half hour later, Cassie arrived with Allyson, Alli, the young girls dark pony tail hung half way down her back but her she wore her father’s favorite Ozzy tee shirt and short jean shorts to show she was cool.  Lydia smiled when she saw them, she was always a bit surprised to see Cassie who seemed to never age.  She shook her head at her sister-in-law.
“How are things without Dean around?” she asked after Alli nodded a hello to her than took off with MacKenzie to go to her room.
“You know the same as with you, I miss him but he drives me nuts when he is home,” Cassie said with a smile as she sat down at the kitchen table before she grabbed a warm cookie.  Dean had been a good, though stubborn man all of his life but she loved him like no one else. There were times however that she wanted to throw him out a window but the next minute she wanted very much for him to push her against a wall and have his wicked way with her.  She sighed.  
“Yeah, I guess it’s just the curse of being a wife,” Lydia said before she sat down across from Cassie to grab a warm cookie for herself.
They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, each with their on thoughts.  
----
    Out on the hunt, Dean stood at the edge of the clearing with a salt gun in his hand as he peered through the trees.  They had only begun to pack so the could leave early the next morning when he had heard a strange noise outside almost like a thunderstorm in the distance.  He told Sam and Logan he would be right back so they had stayed behind.  Once he was outside and saw that dusk had come early he wished they had come with him, not because of fear though it had begun to wind itself up his back, but for sheer safety that numbers provided.  He looked to his left then his right swiftly and thought he saw a shadow.  He wasn’t stupid he decided to go back for reinforcement so he turned to go the way he came only to be hit in the face.  He went with the punch in order to save his nose at the same time he reached to grab whatever it was in the side to fling it from him.  When he opened his eyes he found himself looking down the barrel of a gun, then realized he was on the ground though he could not remember the fall.
---
    Two blue eyes stared at him from the face of what he believed to be a young man though it could have been a lanky short haired girl.  The person didn’t blink, they didn’t seem to have any fear either which worried Dean right away.  Then he saw another movement off to the left and he could tell by the height it was Sam.  He looked back at the blue eyed person again to give Sam the upper hand.
“Hey, um I mean you know harm.  I heard a noise and came to check it out,” he stuttered.
The person who he had decided was a girl, a little over average height but rail thin and dressed in boys pants and torn tee shirt still did nothing.
“You speak English?” Dean asked in exasperation, he had decided that since he was still alive despite the gun in his face he may as well figure out the mystery.  
    A second later, Sam had her on the ground as the gun flew out of her hand.  She did not scream only gave in to the tall figure who was Sam.  Sam helped her up but she backed as way as though she did not want him to touch her.  Dean had a bad feeling about that action as he reached to get the rock salt gun before he noticed Logan walk toward them.
“Hey what’s going on?” the young man asked.
“We don’t know she has said nothing, only pointed a gun at me,” Dean said into the girls face though she seemed more frightened than anything now.
Sam stepped closer to her.
“We don’t want to hurt you, where do you live?” he asked as he looked in her face with his kind puppy dog eyes.
She shook her head, like she either couldn’t talk or she was afraid to.  Dean wondered why she didn’t just run away.  Why stay in the clearing if she was afraid?
“Look we can help you if you need help, but I did hear something and we should maybe get back inside.”
She shook her head before she grabbed Sam’s hand.
---  
    Dean didn’t like it as she lead them farther from the hotel.  The walked about a fourth of a mile before they saw something that would haunt them for the rest of  their lives.  It was a baby wrapped in a tattered blanket lying on a make shift cot in a cold cave.  The baby sneezed when they walked inside the cool opening and the blue eyed girl picked up the baby to hold her to her chest.
“Is she yours?” Sam asked.
The girl did not answer, Sam assumed she might have been frightened that they would take the child from her.  But why was she out their alone with a baby, then they heard the noise Dean had heard earlier, but this time he figured out it was a distant rumble of actual thunder but the little girl looked terrified.  Then the sound went away.  
---
    Sam and Dean looked at one another as Logan looked over the baby.  Except for having an obvious cold the baby looked healthy.  
“This isn’t our area of …expertise,” Dean said as they watched the girl, the baby and Logan from a few feet away.”
“Well our hunt was a bust we may as well help her if we can,”  Sam said.
“If she will let us though the sound seems to come from all around which by the way is creepy even for us,” Dean insisted.
Sam pulled out a quarter and threw it in the air, the game they now played to avoid paper, rock, scissors.
“Call it,” he said.
“Tails,” Dean said.
“Darn it I get to decide,” Sam said with a frown before they turned around to find that the young girl had disappeared and only Logan stood at the cave with the baby.
---
    Back at the hotel the boys did what they could after Sam went to buy baby cold medicine because Dean was in shock the first half hour after the mother vanished.  It seemed the little one was a girl and though she was curious took to the men easily.  She looked to be close to six months old and Sam could not imagine who would leave a child to the elements, she looked so sweet with her similar to the girl who had led them to her.   Sam smiled as she squeezed his finger, as he tried not to lose it.  The whole thing situation was heart wrenching.  He truly doubted he would find parents that they were fit to raise her which saddened him more.  Logan insisted that the older girl turned to mist in front of him and had not been able to get their attention.
“So we didn’t imagine her?”
Logan shook his head, he was too young to be senile, but even he had a hard time believing what he had seen.  Sam found a legend about the area that he thought would account for what happened.  It seemed that many people had reported seeing a young girl who would lead them to safety but each time the description of her changed as well as the way she behaved.  The common factor was that she never spoke she only vanished when they were found.  
---
    “Okay so she is like some freaking angel?”
“Sounds like it uncle Dean, but what are we going to do with a baby?” Logan said as she looked at his father.
A smile spread across Sam’s face as he pulled out his cell phone.  Dean shook his head he thought his brother must be nuts if he thought he could just show up with a baby at his house.  
“Hey,” Sam said as he walked out to sit on the Impala.
“Hey,” Lydia said as she took the phone out of earshot of the other scrabble players.
Cassie shook her head, as the girls laughed a her expression.
“Those two crazy kids,” MacKenzie said with a smirk not unlike her uncle’s.
---
    “What’s up?” Lydia asked with the hope that he wasn’t calling to say he would be getting back later than expected.
“Um we have a situation,” Sam began.
Several minutes later, Lydia breathed a sigh of relief the situation could have been worse though she had no idea how they would explain a baby to the neighbors they couldn’t let they baby go to social services either.  Sam insisted he would use all his sources to find the rightful parents discreetly but if nothing came up or if what he found was a bad situation, they would make up a cover story about a lost relative or something and raise her themselves.  Lydia agreed she loved Sam for his soft heart as she hung up the phone and tried to put the rest of his body parts that excited her out of her lustful heart.  She sighed as she went back in the room to continue the “ladies night.”

TBC

Alli found Dean in front of the television in the living room later that evening. He sat with his feet up on the coffee table and a beer by his hand. He didn’t look happy but she hoped it was because of the news not her. Except for his facial expression he seemed relaxed.
“Daddy, can I talk to you a minute?” she asked as she stood shyly in front of him with her long hair in a ponytail. 
Dean could only smile at her. He wasn’t angry he was disappointed. If she needed to talk then he wanted to be there for her. 
“Sure, have a seat,” he said as she sat down on the sofa a distance away from him. 
Dean frowned before he indicated for her to come closer. She complied easily as he put his arm around her with a grin.
“What’s up?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
He wanted her to be his baby girl again, the one who always ran to him with her oopsie’s because he always had known how to make things better.
“I’m sorry about what I did. I didn’t like lying to you, Daddy it gave me stomachaches,” she confessed.
“That was guilt you know,” he said as she leaned her head on his chest.

“I didn’t like the way it felt. I wasn’t happy with myself but I do want to be able to make some decisions on my own,” she said as the defiance returned. 
“I get that Alli, but there are limits to what you can do at your age. Some things come when you are older.”
“Like boyfriends?”
“Especially boyfriends,” Dean said with a heavy sigh.
“Dad, I really really like Aaron, but….”
“What?”
“He doesn’t know my real age, and he is um….”
“Spill it.”
“Fifteen almost sixteen,” she said as she bit her lip and looked up at him.
Dean groaned, “Alli, you knew what you were doing was wrong, I hope you have learned your lesson.”

Cassie listened from behind the door. She grimaced when she heard Alli proclaim how old the boy was that Dean found her kissing. It was a good thing Dean hadn’t known at the time, he would have been violent she was certain. She shook her head, how were they going to survive raising a girl? Not just any girl a young stubborn Winchester. She was about to go back upstairs when she heard something that made her stay still.
“Daddy, I think I should ask Mom about birth control pills.”
Dean spit out a mouthful of beer that landed just short of Alli’s hair on his shirt. Alli jumped up with her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Dad you okay?”
“Um no, um, yes. Birth control pills? No way, not til your thirty,” he insisted as Alli frowned.
She figured he was exaggerating but the anger that sprang up in his face was a different matter. 
“We should finish this discussion tomorrow when your mother can join us.”
Cassie tiptoed upstairs when she heard the last sentence. Dean was going to be upset, angry, concerned, but mostly restless, she could predict that quite clearly. She would prepare to divert his attention and energies.

When Dean came in the room he found Cassie on the bed naked, after he stopped off to tell Cory good night and apologize for his over reacting. She sat up in the bed reading a book with her glasses on but nothing else. Dean sighed, he knew immediately that she had heard them. He smiled to himself, his wife tried so hard to help him deal with Alyssa, and her growing up. 
“She is going to come out of this fine, Dean,” she said as she lowered the book she had been pretending to read. 

He could only grin when she pushed off the glasses, move the book to the bedside table and crawled on all fours to meet him at the end of the bed. 
“Who?” he asked with a smirk as she reached for the zipper on his jeans. 
He took off his shirt while he waited for her to be finished, but instead of allowing the jeans to fall to the floor she moved her hand inside his boxers. 
“You feel so warm,” she said a she caressed his ready erection with a wink at him. 
Dean could only stand stock still as her touch had its effect on him. He put his hand over hers before he leaned over for a slow lingering kiss. Her roaming hand moved slowly up and down over the softest part of him. 

When she moved back on the bed after releasing her grip on his aching manhood he was almost disappointed until he looked up to see the smile on her face before the jeans finally fell and he joined her on the bed. She opened up for him like a flower to a honey bee with no hesitation. They had never been shy with one another and this night was no different as he moved inside of her and she tried hard not to moan. It wouldn’t do for the kids to hear them though the visual that Dean got from Cassie was enough to edge him on.

Her eyes were closed as she moved against him in time. When he moved deeper, harder, faster, she allowed it as she accepted what he gave with a willingness in her hips. Her hands traced his spine, his back, his ass as she tried to touch him all over at once. A peeping tom would assume they were new at the explorations they performed on one another but the assumption would be far from true. Dean loved to touch her curves, to feel parts of her no other man had rights to. She was his to explore and please and he loved that. Cassie felt the same she had not shared her body with anyone before Dean nor had she any desire to be with another man. She was satisfied despite the headaches of being with an adorable, irritating, sometime onery, always horny but definitely loving Dean. 

When he whispered her name in her ear she grinned, it was the cue that he was almost ready to come. His hand went between them as he gingerly rubbed her nub to help her on the road to orgasm and his timing was perfect because she began to shake a second after he began. Wave after wave of pleasure engulfed her preceding his coming which was unceremonious compared to hers. Though there was no doubt his release was gratifying before he moved to lie beside her.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“Why?”
“I didn’t give you a warm up. No sucking, no licking just sex.”
“Do you hear me complaining, don’t you know I can’t get enough of you?” she asked with a smile.
She raised up only to lean over his lips to lick and suck them. Dean moved his hands to her hair and they began all over again, foreplay included. That went well I won’t worry about Alli for now.

***
Sam watched Marianne sleep as he contemplated the mystery of her life, them finding her and the meaning behind her mother wanting him to raise her. He bit his lip as he recalled the condition she had been in the cold cave where she had been hidden. He sighed, he felt like with all his experience he should have more of an idea of what had gone on before with the little girl. 

She looked so sweet almost angelic but he knew for a fact she was a real baby. She had shown her moods, she smiled when she was happy, frowned when she needed to be held, all signs pointed to a human child, the only thing unusual about the little girl was how she had come to them. 

Lydia came up behind Sam and touched his shoulder.
“Hey, you okay?” she asked in a whisper.
He turned to pull her into his arms, “Just wondering how we got so lucky as to have this little one in our lives.”
“I know she is a sweetheart, and the teenagers like her too,” she said with a grin.
“Yeah that helps. I was afraid Mackey might be a bit jealous with another girl child in the house.”
“No, she has her friends and her life but I know you miss when she hung on your every word and couldn’t wait for you to come home from work so she could tell you all things despite the fact that I was home when she arrived,” Lydia teased him.
“Well I wasn’t as bad as Dean,” he pouted.
Lydia raised an eyebrow, “Not sure how you are measuring that, you two were neck and neck with spoiling your girls.”
Sam chuckled softly, yeah but it was a good thing.

***
Joanna Wilson was no angel she was an angry spirit. The spirit of a young abused girl who had been killed by violence. Before she died she had been carrying the one good thing in her life. The unborn baby of her previous boyfriend, a gentle young man she had loved most of her life. As a victim of incest she had spent her younger years feeling worthless until she met, Matthew. He was in her English class in her freshman year. He had befriended her when she was a quiet seemingly unstable girl who everyone made fun of. But, Matthew never made fun he only talked to her and allowed her to blossom under his care. Sometimes Joanna daydreamed that Matthew was angel, because he was so sweet, then he died and she found out she was pregnant. She was happy to have proof of Matthew’s love for her living inside but she was ashamed because when her family found out they called her a slut. She had moved away after that to live with a friend so she could stay in school. 

Her friend, Natalie, knew all about Matthew and Joanna. She told Joanna that Matthew was a good person and she should never feel bad for having his baby. Natalie encouraged Joanna to date the new guy at school. Since Matthew had helped Joanna with her self-esteem she was able to fall for the new guy unfortunately he was a lot like her father who had hurt her. Joanna felt ashamed and couldn’t tell anyone even Natalie and because of her fear she had died. Now she had been able to get her little girl that she had given birth to before her death a good home. 

Matthew had known a circle of friends who were involved in a group that researched the supernatural, they had heard of Sam and Dean Winchester. She could not have been happier if she was alive but for them to find her baby girl and decide to raise her it was a miracle. She had finally begun to believe in angels and God again. She hoped she would be able to lead them to avenge her death though, because she hadn’t planned on her anger making her earthbound. It was a glitch that happened because the last thought at seeing her killer was one of pure hate.

Sometimes Joanna would go to her parents home to move things around to make them frightened. She would scream and cause them fear when she recalled all the heartache she endured under their care. Then she would leave to go watch the, Winchesters who were going under the name Reese, she would smile if Sam realized she was present. He had such a gentle spirit. She also liked his teenagers that seemed easy going and loved the new little girl in their lives. 

She would sigh and feel free and alive inside despite the deep seated anger she felt most of the time. At least her daughter would be well cared for, maybe it was all a mother could want for her child. She often wondered why her mother had allowed her to be mistreated but then she would try not to go to that place if she was watching her little girl. She wanted only happy thoughts to surround Marianne. She found the name they had chosen for her daughter to be quite sweet. 

After a while she began to whisper hints of what needed to be done to Sam as he slept. She waited because she wanted him to be invested in the little girl. She knew the longer Marianne stayed with them the more likely they would truly feel that she was their child and be more apt to want to have things right in her world. 

***
Cassie spoke with Alyssa the next morning at breakfast after Dean had gone off to work.
“Your father told me that you asked about birth control pills,” Cassie said as she sat down with her cereal at the table across from her daughter who had her hair in her eyes so she could not see her mother’s expression.
“He did? He said we would all talk about it together.”
“We talked and the answer is no though I realize you can get them from the school nurse. I would advise against going that route.”
“Why?”
“Because then you would end up grounded for like two years instead of two months.”
“Seriously?”
“Have you met your father?”
Alyssa changed her tactics.
“Mom it’s not like I want to have sex, it’s just in case.”
“No, Alyssa, it is not happening…okay let me tell you a little story.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes but Cassie continued anyway.
“I was a virgin when I met your father but when I was a young girl I was raped…”
“What?” Allysa said as she finally raised her eyes to her mother’s
“It was someone in my family and I was shy for a long time afterward….”
“Mom, I’m so sorry,,,” she said as she got up to go around to hug Cassie who was trying to take deep breaths.

She had never told anyone for many years of what happened to her. Dean was her husband and he had no idea. They held one another for a few moments before Cory came in to get his bowl from the rack. 
“Hey what’s going on, is Mom sick?” he asked with concern in his young voice.
Alyssa moved back from her mother with a sad expression on her face, she believed her mother’s revelation had hit the spot. She was surprised to hear that her mother had waited to have sex, but also that he had been violated at an early age, she understood that at times you could control what happened sexually but at other times you could not. That was the point she took from her mother’s words. 
“No she is good, just a mother and daughter moment,” Alyssa supplied before she went back to her chair.
“I’m fine Cory, but thanks for asking,” Cassie said as the young boy came over to give her a hug.

Her kids were not bad, they were just kids trying their best to grow up in a confusing world. She was uncertain if she wanted to tell Alyssa the rest of the story but decided to play it by ear. She could tell the words, I was raped, had an effect on her daughter though she had only brought up to warn her to be careful the way she handled herself and sometimes it was not your fault if you were a victim.

TBC

Sam stood by the window in his office. His head was down and his face was lightly pressed against the cool pane. He had taken off his suit coat and tie as he felt more relaxed then earlier in the court room. He wanted to smile, he wanted to cry but he didn’t know which to do. He had won the case for the mother of the baby that died while in her mother’s care. He wanted to be happy that his defense had saved the woman. So now why did he feel like he had made a mistake? Not that it mattered since his office defended those who couldn’t afford to pay for a lawyer. That was the curse of his position. His goal was to some day to have a law office of his own. He wanted a private practice where he could pick and choose the cases he would work. He wanted to help people in dire need and those who had been wronged, it was what he had been taught to do. He sighed before he heard someone come in the room. He turned to see that Lydia had arrived.

“Congrats,” she said as she went into his open arms.
She wore a light blue striped pantsuit and her long auburn hair hung in waves around her shoulders. Sam smiled when he saw her. She made everything okay again in his world. She had not come to court at his request since he was nervous about being first string in the case. As the assistant district attorney, he rarely had to speak in court, most often he was in charge of the paralegals and other office staff, but this time he had been given the opportunity to strut his stuff. He had to admit it had felt good.
“Thanks,” he whispered into her hair.

Lydia knew he had begun to doubt the mothers’ story near the end. He didn’t know why his feelings had changed maybe he had started to be more skeptical because his client seemed to be a bit arrogant after the statistics had been reviewed in court.
“You did your best and it turned out fine,” Lydia said as she looked in his eyes.
“You’re right, now I can focus on the mystery of Marianne for a while. The next few cases I have I am only helping with the research. I get a bit of a break.”
“I love the sound of that,” she said as she followed him before he cut off the light then shut the door.

That night Sam was thrashing in his sleep as the images came to him. He was running from someone or something. He held a bundle in his arms that seemed to be moving against his chest. His breathing was labored. He couldn’t catch his breath, and he struggled against the bundled as he feel to his knees. Someone was calling to him but it wasn’t his name that was being called, it was Joanna’s. He ran faster though it seemed he went in circles for quite a while until he didn’t feel as though he was being followed any longer. Up ahead he saw an opening and he headed toward it just before he felt pain his chest then his lungs seems to be giving out. He entered the dark cave slowly but with the intent to go in and hide.

Sam woke up with a start. He was covered in sweat as he looked questioningly around the room. He was the only one in the bed and he did not hear Marianne’s breathing as he usually did. He got up slowly, unsure of what to expect. He padded across the room in his bare feet to find the little girl missing. He bit his lip as he pondered where she could be. Then he sighed as he assumed Lydia must have her. He went into the shower to clean up, he figured he must smell awful.

He went into the large bathroom and removed his pajamas before he climbed into the stall after he moved back the glass shower door. At first he leaned against the wall as he tried to remember the dream or vision he wasn’t sure which it had been. “Joanna why don’t you just tell me what happening?” he said aloud, “I only want to help your child.”
After he felt refreshed he finally went downstairs to find Lydia after he checked in on his teenagers. They were both sound asleep in their beds, all is well with them.

Once he was in the kitchen, he found Lydia smiling as she talked to Marianne. The little girl was in her high chair jabbering away as though she understood. Sam smiled when he saw them.
“Hey, everything okay in here?”
“Oh we are fine. Marianne woke up and I didn’t want her to awaken you so we came down for a snack.”
“Well, it looks like you all are having fun.”
***

Across town Alyssa was dreaming of a little girl left alone in a cave. The little girl was the child soon to be called Marianne. Her mother died not long after her mother took her deep inside the dark cave while she was running from her murderer, her future husband. The ghosts in the cave saw the little one. The cave held the bodies of many that had been sacrificed. It was a haven of rest for those women, they had the power to protect the living at least in that place. More than once they had saved others though they never had the chance to save themselves. The Legend of the Cave had grown but no one had discovered it’s source. Alyssa screamed out in her sleep as she saw the ghost as they looked after the baby.

Dean stood at the door for a second, before he went in to gently shake his daughter.
“Alli, wake up.”
Alyssa woke up to see her father stood over her.
“Daddy?”
“Hey you having bad dreams in here?”
She only looked at him as she sat up in the bed, a he pushed her hair behind her ear.
“Go ahead you can tell me, tell me anything.”
“It was about Marianne and the cave.”

Dean encouraged her to tell him all she could remember even though she seemed a bit upset but intrigued.
“This time, Daddy, I felt more like I was watching and less like I was the one watching the dream.”
“Well that means something……I’m sure,” he said hesitantly.
He felt out of his area with Alyssa, he really needed to talk to his brother about the dream which may have been a vision from Joanna.

At times, he wished they had never found Marianne but most often he was glad for his brother and the little girl that they had found one another, no matter how. Alyssa seemed to be sleepy again after she finished talking. Dean moved off the bed where he had sat, kissed her check and said good night again.
“Daddy, can you stay til I go back to sleep?”
“Sure,” he said as she moved over and he lay down again on top of the covers before she lay her head on his shoulder.
Maybe all of this would renew their close relationship, Dean certainly hoped so.

***


The next night the two families met for dinner at Cassie and Dean’s house. Sam was glad he had a chance to get together with Dean and his family for a change. It had been a while and he missed the normalcy of it when he was unavailable, though his family frequently had meals with them.

After dinner, all the adults gathered in the living room to chat about Sam and Alyssa's most recent dreams.
“Maybe we should have a séance,” Dean said with a smile.
Everyone glared at him and he shrugged as his smile turned into a frown.

“I don’t want the kids to get it in their heads that is how we solve things,” Cassie insisted.
“I agree,” Lydia said her Christian upbringing was at the forefront of her mind on the matter despite her hunting past.
With the exception of practical ways to kill evil she stayed away from the occult.
“We won’t,” Sam said as he rubbed his wife’s leg.
He realized she was sensitive about some things and it was only one of the many reasons that he loved her so very much.
“Just kidding.”

Between the two dreams, they determined that Joanna had been murdered by her boyfriend, sometime recently because the baby couldn’t have been left for very long since she was in good condition when the found except for a cold. The ghosts in the cave had saved the baby, which connected up with the rumors about the area they had run across.
“I think that there is some type of sacrificial ceremonies taking place in that area. Why else would there be so many missing women and children. Now with the new information about the spirits helping it only makes sense,” Sam said.
They all agreed.

{In the Invisible Realm}
Joanna was ecstatic, she was glad Sam loved Marianne. She was glad that she had heard enough about him to know he would a good father for her precious baby. She only wished she had lived though her life was in shambles when she died. Maybe it was always someone’s plan that she die to give her daughter a better life. She had to believe that. She sighed as she hovered in the room.

She wasn’t surprised when Mary showed up a few minutes later. The older woman talked with her frequently about her boys. Mary was proud that they had taken time off to have families though she still hoped to be avenged. She couldn’t be angry that they had children of their own despite the fact that she did worry about that scenario at times.

“You know they will do what they can for Marianne.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I think that they have enough information to maybe figure out the mystery now.”
“Well most of it,” Joanna said as she bit her lip.
“Joanna?” Mary said with a raised eyebrow.
“I don’t want to overwhelm them and besides the longer she is with them the more they will love her,” she said as she dared not meet the older woman’s eyes.
Mary smiled, maybe Joanna had a point.

{Back to the Visible Realm}
Sam arrived home to find the kitchen wrecked. There was what looked like vomit on the floor by the table, on the counter set an open loaf of bread , a skillet sat cooling on the stove with food still inside, the table was set with a dish but it looked as though it had not been eaten from, he sighed. What the hell happened here?

For a moment he hesitated to go further into the house. But he took a deep breath as he yelled for Lydia. He walked slowly as he looked from left to right though he did not have a weapon he still had a few spidey senses. The rest of the house seemed neat and tidy which made him more concerned. He stood in his bedroom as he tried to remember if there was an appointment that Lydia had mentioned, but his memory came up empty.

He reached for his cell phone only to find out that it was turned off. Then he recalled that he had pushed it off to save time from fumbling through the device to put it on vibrate on the way to a meeting that morning. The musicals sounds of the cell phone reviving filled the room just before Sam saw how many message had come for him. Their were six marked urgent.

He held the phone to his ear to listen to the most recent one.
“Sam we are at the hospital, Marianne is really sick, please come as soon as you get this.” The message was four hours old. He left the house immediately and phoned Lydia on the way.
“Sorry, I just got the message” he explained.
“Oh Sam, she wouldn’t stop crying after she threw up, it broke my heart I had to get her to a doctor,” Lydia said, as Sam could tell she was almost in tears.
“How is she doing now?” he asked as he got in his car.
“They ran tests on her and think she should be fine. I’m sorry about the kitchen I didn’t want to waste any time.”
“No, you did the right thing, I’m on my way, see you in a minute,” Sam said as he put away the phone before he drove out of the drive way.

Cassie asked if Sam was on the way as Lydia returned to the waiting area with a small smile.
“He is, you know I feel like a new mother it has been so long since I had a little on in the house.”
Cassie smiled, she knew Lydia was a good mother.
“You did the right thing, it was not a time for guessing.”
“The way she was screaming I was afraid of her hurting something, though I believe when she threw up she frightened herself.”
“She scared you too,” Cassie said as Lydia sat down beside her.

Sam walked in about fifteen minutes later. He still wore his suit from work, a dark blue pin stripe and he had on his tie. Lydia smiled with relief as she saw her handsome husband walk in the room as though he owned. His heart beat strong in his chest a the sight of her. At the house for a moment he thought there had been some sort of tragedy and had cursed his busyness for not taking care of his phone properly.

“Hey you two,” he said to the ladies.
“Hi,” Lydia said as she went into his strong arms.
She felt better, immediately. She felt safe and warm as she realized now that Sam had arrived things would be alright.
“Hi Cassie,” he said when Lydia released him so they could have a seat as they waited.
“Hi Sam, hey I’m going to go get the kids from the neighbors now that Sam is here,” she told Lydia as she picked up her purse to leave.
“Thanks for coming,” Sam said with a smile for his sister in law.
“No problem, that is what family is all about,” Cassie replied as she smiled at the couple before she walked away.

Lydia explained how she had prepared food for Marianne and the little girl had been fine then she suddenly spit her food up all over the floor before she began to wail.
“Sam I don’t know why it was just peas and carrots. They didn’t find anything lodged in her throat.”
Sam put his arm around her shoulders.
“Just a fluke thing probably. It is a good thing that you were quick to bring her in.”
“I felt so strange when I came in with her she was still crying and her face was red peopled turned to stare, I felt like I had done something.”
Sam frowned it wasn’t like Lydia to be so sensitive to what others thought around her. She was a confident woman that took care of things with care and thought she normally would not have mentioned this type of incident.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he looked in her eyes.
“Yeah I will be fine I guess part of me was concerned that someone would question why I was carrying a little Blonde baby,” she said sheepishly.
“Well you have every right she is ours for all intent and purposes. Are you sure there isn’t something else going on here?” he asked.
Lydia hesitated.
“Go ahead spill it you will tell me anyway,” he said as he raised her chin to look into her hazel eyes.

“I had a visitor today someone who said they had the wrong house but the guy made me nervous.”
“What do you mean?”
“He looked a bit unsavory, I don’t know like a drug addict or a con. He apologized and left but he seemed familiar like I had seen him around before.”
“Really? What did he look like?”
“Um, tall brunette, he wore a hat, jeans, a tee shirt and sneakers, nothing that would stand out except in our neighborhood he was out of place.”
“Promise you will be careful,” he hesitated to say it could be someone who had been convicted with his help. It was one of things he didn’t like about being a lawyer.
“Yeah, I called you about him but you didn’t get back to me.”
Sam told her about the cell phone issue. She understood that things happened it wasn’t his fault she insisted.

It was almost an hour before they were able to take Marianne home. No problems were found she was perfectly okay. Sam carried the little girl to the car for Lydia and buckled her in the car seat.
“Meet you back at home, okay.”
She nodded with a smile for him, “Okay.”

That night on the computer Sam checked to see if anyone had been released from jail since he began work. He found about five people that were on parole but none fit the description that Lydia had given. Most were of average height and had been put away for drug related crimes. Not the type of criminals that looked to retaliate on lawyers.

He scratched his head before he went in to research Joanna’s ex. It had been a few weeks since he dared to search for the guy. The last few times he had come empty since the young man had told his story of Joanna’s death. Either had moved on with his life or he was a sneaky one.

Sam came across a story about the man, Evan that showed he was engaged which he had not seen before. The picture of the woman looked uncannily like Joanna. She had brown hair and blue eyes plus she was straight out of high school. He bit his lip as he wondered why women got into bad relationships so young.

He really wanted to get the guy. He was the type of guy that gave men a bad name. On closer examination of the picture Sam noticed the girl was pregnant. Was Evan getting this girls to sacrifice their children? It was something that had bothered him about the dream of Joanna before. He reached for the phone to call Dean.

Cassie answered on the first ring.
“Hey Cas, is Dean there?”
“Yeah, Sam hold on.”
Lydia came in the room as he waited to talk to his brother. He pointed to the picture on the screen to show Lydia. She nodded as she read the small article and looked at the picture. Sam whispered the answer to her whispered question as he waited on the line.
“Yes, that is Joanna’s ex.”
She nodded, as she bit on her lip before she moved Sam’s chair so she could sit in his lap.

“Hey Dean, we need to go on a hunt.” Sam said into the mouthpiece.
Lydia could hear Dean’s laugh.
“No I’m serious,” Sam insisted, “This time for human prey.”
“Hey if it is a weekend I am in,” Dean said this time serious.
Sam explained the situation then hung up to pull Lydia close for a kiss, she wound her arms around his neck as he moaned. With the languish use of his tongue he explored her mouth and a moment later she led him away from the computer to the bed room.
He would worry about the mystery in the morning.

TBC

Logan and Dean got out to the car to take certain the lady was okay.  She looked at them with terrified eyes but followed them to get in the vehicle. Logan opened the door to let her in then went around to the other side while Dean hoped back in the front seat.

“You okay Miss?” Sam asked as he watched her look out the window. 

She turned to face him with fresh tears running down her face, “I think my boyfriend was going to kill me, can we go please?”

Sam nodded and moved the car back into drive.  Logan gave her a half smile while the other two allowed her a moment to gather her thoughts.

“I'm Logan,” he said as she looked at him.

She nodded, “I'm Angela, sorry for running in front of your car,” she said softly towards the front seat where Sam concentrated on driving.

“Um don't worry about it.  Is there any where you want us to take you?” Sam asked as he stalled.  He had no idea how to tell her she was who they were looking for in that town.

She shook her head as the tears fell again.  She was speechless, she couldn't go back to her family they wouldn't believe her accusations besides it was only a feeling that something was very wrong.  She took a deep breath, she didn't' want to stress out because it would hurt the baby. 

“I really don't know where to go, maybe a hotel outside of town I have some cash.  I want to think.   I believe I am in danger but that isn't your problem.”

Dean sighed loudly before Sam rolled his eyes at him.  They both knew the explanations were going to need to come really soon.

“Sounds good, hey we were going to eat maybe we can do that real quickly and get back on the road to find you a place to stay.  We can do that outside of town.”

Angela nodded her agreement as she relaxed against the seat.   

--Back at Cassie and Dean’s place Cassie took care of Marianne for Lydia.  The other woman had gone to a Brunch for the Junior mothers at Logan’s school.  Lydia had promised to attend the function weeks before.  She could only sigh as she got out of her vehicle. She pushed her navy blue dress down over her thighs.  It wouldn’t do for her show off anything she liked to be anonymous as possible.  She didn’t mind school activities she usually enjoyed them but more so with Sam or one of the kids in tow.  Oh well, this is a ladies outing I will enjoy my time amongst the fairer sex, she thought.

She stopped short of closing the door as she looked in the side mirror to check her lipstick.  She noticed a movement behind her.  She turned quickly with all her hunters training in mind.  Her heart raced in her chest and she laughed when she saw it was a raccoon with two babies going slowly toward the bushes.  Lydia bit her lip before she stood back and took another quick look around the area.  She was satisfied before she shut and locked the door.  She hadn’t been on edge lately but she figured her husband being out of town added to any lingering unrest she had experienced previously.

 ---

Cassie smiled down at the little girl as she played with her on the bed.  Cassie didn’t fell well at all.  Her stomach had been hurting off and on all day.  She had only just found out she was pregnant again.  She hadn’t quite felt ready to tell anyone because of fear of something going wrong.  Self fulfilling prophecy she thought.  She would be positive and when Dean returned she would tell him she determined. 

She wondered if had been a good idea to agree to keep the baby alone.  Alli and Mackey were both at a mutual friend’s house for a few hours.  Marianne watched Cassie closely; she began to make noises again after a few minutes of quiet.  Cassie reached for the toddlers hands and kissed them.  She couldn’t swear it but she felt better almost instantly. 

“You are a special child aren’t you?” she said to the baby.

Marianne smiled before she picked her up.  Cassie didn’t have any more pains that night but she wondered why if Marianne had made her better why hadn’t it happened earlier.  It didn’t really matter but she had made a decision in her heart she felt now all would be well with her and her family. 

---
 

After they had been in the hotel about an hour; Sam and Dean decided they better have a talk with Angela about the possible supernatural aspect of the case they were on.

They approached the room with trepidation in their hearts as they knocked on the door.  She opened it with a smile for them.  She seemed to have relaxed quite a bit since they settled arrived at the hotel. 

“We need to talk,” Sam said as the two of them stood awkwardly in her room. 

“Sure,” she said as she moved from the door way to the chair.  She crossed her legs nervously but listened intently as Sam explained.

It only took a few minutes to tell the entire story.  Sam knew he had taken a chance by telling Angela about Marianne because they could easily lose the little girl if he expressed himself wrongly.  He had wanted to be honest but he refused to be stupid. 

--Angela stood to pace the room.  She sighed, “I believe you; I mean many times I thought it was my fault the way he behaved but in my heart,” she steadied herself, she couldn't cry in front of strangers, “I know it’s not just me he is evil.”

“Our research has shown that it’s some type of coven where they sacrifice infants,” Sam said as he looked over at Angela.

He hated the mere thought of such cruelty. 

“We are afraid that even now he will find someone else to take your place, another woman that is,” Dean said as she looked up at the woman.  “I don’t know how to say but someone who is not immune to his charms.”

He has kind eyes, Angela thought of Dean. 

“It’s okay I know I was stupid.  There are thousands of times I told myself he loved me even when it was bad.  I can’t think on that now, I don't know if I can go back though……”

“No,” Sam said before he sat on the end of the bed.  He didn‘t want his height to be overwhelming, “we wouldn't suggest that at all.  You could do everything anonymously once you are far away.  We will work on it also, I'm a lawyer.”

Angela nodded.  She would feel so much better after she was far away from her old life. She only wished she had planned better.  She had some money in checking account under a different name.  She also had another apartment but it was on the other side of the country and she had never seen it; not that it would matter at this point. All of her inner instincts had seemed to protect for this day and time. 

 She took a deep breath she didn't want to have her baby here.  It would be in news and that was not needed at all.  She would relax and trust the kindness of strangers just like her horoscope had suggested that morning.

Another hour passed while they made plans to take her to meet a friend not far away.  It was to avoid her having to board any public transportation that could easily track her.  At the hotel they had signed in with adjoining rooms that were Dean and Sam's while Angela had gone to the coffee shop with Logan. 

The only record they were together would be in the parking lot.  Sam took care of that on their way out with a fifty dollar bill to the attendant who would get rid of the tape of their arrival and seemed sympathetic to the cause. 

--They had only rested at the hotel until it was late.  After they dropped Angela with her friend they headed toward home.  Logan and Dean could tell that Sam had been quiet for an unreasonable amount of time had something dangerous on his mind.  It was the set of his pensive shoulders and tight jaw that tipped them off. 

 They both knew what he was thinking.  Dean approached his brother with reason or he tried to.

“Sam I know how you feel about this but we are not in the business of revenge these days.  We helped Angela and her baby and with the magic of the internet and your law degree that Bastard will be punished.”

Sam was still quiet as Logan looked over at his uncle who seemed to be at a loss for words. 

“We’ve done what we can do for now Dad, right? Consider Marianne, she loves you and its eagerly looking for her favorite daddy and brother to come home to her,” Logan half teased.

Sam spoke finally, “You’re right Logan and Dean.  I don’t want to do endanger our custody of the precious little girl.  I couldn’t deal with that.  I am not shy about how much I love that child as much as I do my own.  You both know I want to hunt down that crazy bastard and pummel him to death that is just the facts of it.”

The car went quiet before Dean thought he better say something, “We know and he would deserve it but really we need to go after the entire group if we are to make a real change.  You with your awesome research skills can do that also.”

Logan laughed, “Go Dad, go Dad, go Dad,” he said it with a hip hop beat attached.  It wasn’t something that was expected from Logan was very much a nerd in his attitude.

Sam and Dean laughed heartily at that little ditty from Logan.  The heaviness of the ride back home had been broken.

---Joanna was relieved to hear what Sam had to say about her daughter.  He had successfully fallen for her little angel.  She couldn’t have been happier.  She had witnessed Sam changing from a man who did what he had to do for his job into a main who cared enough to challenge the norm.  Her little treasured child had been given a new chance because of her death. 

---

Sam and Logan dropped Dean off at the house around three in the morning. He went in to find that Cassie was waiting for him.  She smiled and hugged him after she got up off the sofa.

“So how did it go?”

“It’s a long story and I’m tired but things went well,” Dean said from the comfort of her arms. She moved away from him with a slight smile on her face.

“What’s up?” he asked before he took her hand to lead her up to the bedroom.

“We are going to have another baby,” she said before the stepped into the room.

Dean stopped; he thought his heart had also stopped for a moment.  It had been years since there was a new child for them.  Dean thought they couldn’t get pregnant anymore. It wasn’t that they had really tried they had actually been fairly careful about the issue.

Cassie stopped just inside the room because Dean was quiet.  She had expected him to be cautiously excited.

“You aren’t happy?”

“No, yes, I am happy but mostly surprised,” he answered as he pulled her toward the bed.

“Yeah?”

“Uh huh,” he said, before he pulled her into his lap.  “Another baby sound great Sweetie.  I just didn’t know we were trying.”

She snuggled her head into his neck. He moved his hands over her back.

“It just happened, Dean.  I am only a few weeks along but I feel it’s going to be fine.”

Dean kissed her then, all of his feelings were on display in that one exchange. “This is a good thing for us.  I love you so much, Baby.”

“I love you too.”

--At Lydia and Sam’s house Logan went up to his room while Sam spoke with Lydia who also had waited up.

“How did the luncheon go?” he asked before she pulled him close to her. Her hands went up around his neck and into his silky long hair.

“It went fine; I missed you though.  I was concerned after you called last night.”

Sam leaned down to kiss his wife.  He enjoyed his life with her and the kids more than he thought he ever could.

They didn’t speak of the reason he had been gone until they were in the room with the door closed.

“So?”

“Everything is going to work out with us and Marianne. I will make sure the man is punished and the hammer comes down on the coven.”

Lydia smiled she knew that Sam had it in him to protect the innocent and get revenge on the wicked.  It was what he had been doing his whole life.

“That’s good to hear.  I know you love that little girl like one of your own.”

Sam blushed.  Marianne made a noise from across the room where he went to pick her up.

“Yes, she is special to me and as I can tell all of us.  We will do anything to keep her safe.”

Marianne seemed to agree as Sam swore she smiled brightly at him.

That is how it should be, Lydia thought as she looked on at the two of them.   

The End.