Rating: PG-16 (Adult situations, subject matter & some language)

They were camped out in Joshua’s study/game room. It was a large office that also had a secondary area for video games. Yea, Joshua was just a big boy with his toys. Sam had the desktop; Joshua was on his laptop sitting on the office floor while Dean had the other laptop in the game room on the floor. There were just too many things about witches needed to learn for one night. Joshua rubbed his eyes as Sam yawned and Dean nodded off. They had been at it for five hours with barely a break. When Sharon asked them what they were up to they had informed her they were researching. She shook her head at Joshua and walked away. He had begun to think that morning romp in the sack had never happened though he hadn’t really had a chance to talk to her all day.

Sam’s phone rang and he jumped; he could see it was Missy.
“Awww that’s sweet, late night booty call,” Dean laughed.
A minute later Sam’s face went pale as he handed Dean the phone.
“Hello?” Dean said uncertainly.
“Cassie is in the hospital,” Missy said.
“Give me the phone,” Cassie demanded in the background.
“Dean, I told her not to call, I’m going to be fine,” she said into the phone now.
“What happened? Just tell me, okay,” he said running his hand through his hair as he watched Sam tell Joshua.
“I was attacked but I’ll be fine,” she said quietly.
“Someone will pay for this, I’m coming home I’m leaving now okay.”
His brothers where watching him.
“Please don’t come.”
“Why not you’re hurt I’m coming don’t argue with me on this,” he said loosing it and for once just going with it. Sam couldn’t watch he stood near the door as his brother’s tears flowed freely. After a deep breath Dean wiped the tears away with his hand.
Cassie was quiet.
“Cas?”
“Because you’ll just leave again,” she said trying not to cry.
“We’ll discuss it when I get there, you can’t stop me from coming. I love you,” he said hanging up.

Sam looked at Dean with a frown on his face. He told him that Cassie had been in surgery. Dean didn’t respond he only clinched his fist as he nodded.
“You have to go, but you need to rest a few hours first.” Joshua said solemnly.
He showed Dean to the guestroom so he could sleep a while. Dean’s mind was wide awake and full of questions but he had to relax. She’s okay, she’s in the hospital. His eyes welled up with tears again. Attacked? Surgery? She must be pretty bad but she still argued with me. He smiled to himself then took a deep breath. I have to sleep he said a few more times before he finally did. He woke up at seven a.m. and was mad that they let him sleep so long.
“Guys I have to go.”
“Drive careful and don’t worry we will take care of this situation,” Joshua said as he eyed since Sharon was in the room with them as he gave Dean a hug something Joshua seemed comfortable with but Dean rolled his eyes at Sam behind Joshua’s back.
“Yes, you just take care of Cassie,” Sam grinned as he patted Dean on the back. Before he went out the door Sharon told him she was sorry about what happened to his wife; he nodded to let her know he heard her but didn’t turn around. His new mission was to take care of his wife and daughter. He finally left after giving Sam the supplies from the trunk.

He drove fast but tried to be careful and arrived safely in under twelve hours. He went straight to the hospital. He saw Missy in the waiting room with Jessica first thing. She got up to give him the baby and a hug.
“How is she?” Dean asked as he kissed Jessica before putting her on his shoulder.
“You know Cassie she’s resilient. She asked you not to come because she misses you so much when you’re gone. I know I miss Sam like crazy.”
Dean nodded, “I know I always hate to leave her but I couldn’t let her do this alone.”
He sat down for a moment as it hit him again; Cassie and Jessica could have been killed while he was off worrying about the past though he was glad that his father was in a place to get well.
“Mary Ann is with her now you may want to go get some coffee; it looks like she’s coming out.”
Mary Ann still hated Dean for his lack of attention to his young family, so he decided the coffee sounded good as he left the area.

He and Jessica went in to see Cassie about a half hour later. Dean wasn’t sure what to expect but was glad to see her outer damage included only a butterfly bandage on her forehead plus a few bruises on her arms. Of course what he couldn’t see was what worried him.
“Such a stubborn ass,” she said with a smile when she saw him. He was wearing his favorite worn jeans, boots and the Metallica t-shirt she bought him for their last anniversary. His hair was slightly long and he needed a shave, damn, he looked good. She felt like she hadn’t seen him in weeks when it had only been five days.
“Such sweet words from such a sweet mouth,” he said as he pushed his lips to hers and left them there while he sighed before he began to suck her top lip. She pushed him away to look in his eyes.
“I’m not supposed to get excited,” she grinned.
“Oh, so that was working. You know how I like to be thorough,” he teased as he reached to kiss her cheek this time.
He could be such an adorable pain in the butt sometimes but she loved him. She didn’t blame him for what happened to her but she knew he would feel responsible. Jessica was just as happy to see him as she had been. She seemed so content just sitting in his lap doing nothing.

Dean watched Cassie he could tell she was pain though she tried to hide it. When she told him she had shot one of the guys in the leg Dean wasn’t that surprised he was upset to found out she had a miscarriage because of what happened to her.
“Did you know we were pregnant?”
She couldn’t help but smile at the use of the word WE. “No, but I tried to tell you it’s easier to get that way right after you have a baby,” she said looking at him sadly.
“I’m sorry,” he said taking a deep breath to keep his emotions under wraps.
“Now when they get this guy it may or may not be considered murder. The law about a fetus being a human is pretty iffy at best, but I wasn’t very far along,” she frowned.
She was quiet a minute.
“I had to have surgery to repair some damage but they say I will be fine and able conceive in the future,” she added staring at him.
He looked in her eyes as Jessica cooed against his chest. She loved her daddy’s voice.

“You fought them didn’t you? That’s how you got the bruises?”
She nodded with tears running down her face, “The police were able to get the DNA for them from under my finger nails. I scratched and kicked them they won’t be able to forget me. All I could think about was they couldn’t find Jessica,” she stated as she looked in his hazel eyes.
“I would expect nothing less from you,” he said kissing Cassie’s cheek again as Jessica looked up at them. “The house is a mess they wrote racial slurs on our walls, tore up everything they could find if I hadn’t broken free to lock myself in the bedroom just long enough to get the gun... I can’t even think about it.”
He couldn’t sit on the bed because he didn’t want to jostle her so he pulled the chair up as close as he could.
“Let’s not talk about it now, okay,” he said as he fought his tears this time.

The nurse came in to check Cassie and suggested she should rest a bit so Dean took Jessica out to talk to Missy who was working on a paper in the waiting room.
“You’re still here?”
“Actually I’m leaving shortly to go clean up your house with some friends after the cops are done there.”
“I should do that.”
“No Dean you take care of Jessica and Cassie. We want to do this for you guys.”
“I’m going to buy us a house I decided,” Dean announced.
Missy agreed that was a good idea, the area nearest to the college wasn’t the greatest.
“Maybe Jessica might even like a puppy,” Missy said as she watched the quiet baby.
Missy left a little bit later after insisting he could stay at her house while theirs was being repaired. She really didn’t want him to see all the blood knowing Cassie probably hadn’t gotten around to telling him all the gory details in her state of mind.

Dean went to the nurse’s station to find out where he could warm the babies milk since they didn’t use microwaves and Cassie couldn’t feed her because of the medication.
The nurse led him to their break room were he could use a pan to warm the milk.
“Thank you,” he said as she held Jessica while he did the warming, just enough so that it wasn’t cold.
“Such a little cutie,” the nurse said as she gave Jessica back to Dean.
“She is isn’t she?” he said as he thanked her again. He was in the waiting area feeding Jessica when Sam phoned.
“What’s up?” he said as he pried the bottle out of her hungry mouth.
He was surprised she didn’t complain.
“How are things going there?” Sam asked.
“As well as can be expected I still don’t know the whole story just enough to realize I am not leaving here for a while.”
“That’s as it should be man she needs you’re sorry ass there with her,” Sam teased.
“I love you too man,” Dean said as he watched Jessica sucking her hand patiently.
“Call me back next time with an update not just to harass me okay. I have to finish feeding Jessica,” Dean said with a smile in his voice.
“Alright Mr. Mom, tell Cassie we’re praying for her. Hold on a sec.”
“Hey Dean, you did the right thing man. I’ll see you again soon,” Joshua said before they hung up.

Sam stayed the next night at Joshua’s house since he didn’t want to go back to the hotel alone. Sharon made an attempt at being nice, half hearted as it was Sam appreciated it. He phoned Missy once he was settled in for the night.
“How are you doing?” as he lay on the queen sized bed. The room was a nice sized with a full restroom and a patio.
“I’m okay I have two minds about what happen to Cassie, I wish I had been there to help but the same thing could have happened to me,” she said with concern.
“I know you two are like sisters. Do you know if they have a lead on the guys?”
“Cassie told them what she could; she believes that one of them was the brother of a guy that used to bother her a few years back when she was in college.”

Sam was quiet.
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt but sad for Dean and Cassie, you know.”
Missy sighed. “Sam, you should have seen the place there was so much blood I almost threw up when I walked in the door.
Cassie fainted before they could get her on the stretcher.”
“But its good you made it in time to get Jessica, I’m sure Cassie was glad to see you,” he said sad for all that had happened.
“I love you Sam,” Missy said trying to break the wave of sadness that seemed to over take them both despite the distance.
“I love you too, I wish I was there I know this affected you…” his voice broke as he wiped his tears away.
“I wish you were here too but things happen for a reason, not that I would want my best friend ever hurt. Maybe Dean needed to come home for another reason we don’t see yet.
Did you know he is thinking of buying a house now?”
“What?”
Missy told him what Dean said earlier, Sam was surprised but happy that it could mean Dean was finally beginning to take his marriage seriously. Sam had been concerned since they were on the road a lot that Dean hadn’t quite gotten in his head that marriage was more than spending a few days a month with your family, something that bothered Sam from the beginning.

Sharon was in the shower the next night when Joshua got in the bed he could hear her singing and it got on his nerves. She had been hot and cold the last couple days and he knew they needed to talk but when she came out of the bathroom with a smile on her face he did the unthinkable. He read her mind, but regretted it immediately. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket off the bed as he went to sleep on the couch leaving Sharon to stare after him. He knew it was a bad idea but he never expected to find out his wife was having an affair. He felt as sad as when he picked up the phone when he was eight to hear Missouri and his Dad talking about his Mom being a witch. Until his brothers came along he always thought his gift just didn’t fit in his boring life but now hopefully he would be able to use it for good. He decided to let Sharon think she was getting away with it a while longer after a few minutes of considering the knowledge he thought he could work the situation to his advantage.

Joshua had plenty of vacation time saved up he was working for the same company that he was employed by in Chicago but in a different position. The next morning he left for work after letting Sam know he was taking a few weeks off so he could help him find the cure for the curse.
“That’s great,” Sam said with a grin at his older brother who was dressed in slacks with a polo shirt.
He wore Italian leather loafers as casually as he had his sneakers the night before. His look complemented his suntanned skin; he looked like a GQ model. “How bout I pick you up for lunch so we can visit Dad before we go over some things?” Joshua asked as he headed for the door.
Sam nodded, still happy to be able to spend some time with his elder brother family. All those years he and Dean thought they were the only Winchester boys. Bethany came in the room to see who was in the kitchen with her sitter, Vonnie, a twenty something Spanish woman, following behind her.
“Hi Uncle Sam,” Bethany said as Vonnie, put her in the high chair.
“Good morning,” Sam said as he ruffled her hair.
He and Bethany had a good morning of coloring and watching educational television. Sam loved the company but he noticed her creations today were strictly two year old versions. He was happy she did have a normal life most of the time.

They decided to keep Cassie a couple more days just to be on the safe side but Dean figured they knew it would be easier for her to relax at the hospital. She, on the other hand was ready to leave.
“It’s best for you to stay here and rest,” Dean said as he played with Jessica in his lap.
“The nurse said I could stay the night and there is a portable crib for Jessica, so we aren’t leaving you tonight, Baby.”
“Thanks for coming Dean,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Dean picked up the baby so they could stand by the bed.
“I’m here because you have my heart and this is where I belong,” he said as he attempted to kiss her but Jessica grabbed her hair and Dean had to gently pry her little hands open to get Cassie’s hair out. “It’s okay she does that all the time,” Cassie grinned while Dean moved Jessica to the other shoulder so he could successfully get a kiss.

Joshua had called in someone to keep a watch on John at the hospital, an ex-military friend of his stood on guard outside the door; every now and then he would ask John if he needed anything. Joshua had hoped that would give his father some peace of mind. He also updated him on the situation with Dean and Cassie. John felt sad for his son. He of all people knew how it was to see someone you love in pain. Oh Dean I tried to stop you but you wouldn’t listen; though I can see how falling in love could be appealing. Maybe not all of us are destined to be happy in love. Is it better to love in pain than to not love but live without experiencing that high? Poor Dean, such a hard life but Cassie has brought you a little bit of joy and it may be the only glimpse of heaven you ever see.