CHAPTER FORTY TWO:
MAN OR A MONSTER.

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THE AGONIZING NIGHTMARES had started to plague Birdie again. She wasn't exactly surprised as her nightmares had always loved to terrorize her when her waking life was almost just as frightening. They tended to vary from one fear to another, but for the last week it'd been the same nightmare over and over again, but the ending was always just as terrifying as it was the first time it came to her.

Sam felt terrible whenever he would awake, hearing Birdie sniffle or quietly whimper as her own mind tried to knock her down again and again. Dean could hear it from his bed on the other side of the room, always sitting up as he looked over in concern with a frown. Sam would softly speak to his "girlfriend", gently shaking Birdie's shoulders to try and wake her. It didn't always work and Birdie would have to endure the entire nightmare before her body jolted and her eyes snapped open once she woke up. Sam was always right there when it did, arms open and ready to hold her as she cried or tried to calm down. Dean never spoke during those times, but he would occasionally look over again just to check on Birdie and Sam. And, in the morning, Birdie would apologize to both of them though they kept assuring her that it was okay and they understood. Yet, she refused to tell them what her nightmares were about except that there was always death━━━too much death.

Birdie twisted and moved her head, hissing when it hit the door handle. She opened her eyes, partially lifting her head. The morning sun was hidden behind some clouds with the possibility of rain hovering over her and the boys' heads. An enormous lake was in front of the Impala, the dark water sloshing together when a boat drove down through the middle. Birdie blinked and sat up on her elbows, her eyes falling on Dean in front of her.

He was slouched in the passenger seat, long legs stretched across the entire seat. His head laid in the windowsill at an awkward angle, arms folded over his chest with his eyes shut as he slept. Sam wasn't in the car and Birdie glanced out of the window in confusion, spotting him leaning against the hood. She let out a quiet sigh and laid her head back down, running a hand over her face. An image of a hellhound tearing at her father's body made her flinch, shaking her head as she tried to rid the image from her mind. His desperate pleas and screams rang loud in Birdie's ears and she frowned, covering her ears with her hands.

She knew it didn't really happen, but the nightmare felt so real every single time.

When her father's screams finally subsided from her mind, she lowered her hands to rest on her chest with a shaky breath slipping past her lips. She could feel her heartbeat against her hands, thumping and thumping like a drum. She slowly blinked up at the ceiling, closing her eyes as she heard birds chirping in the distance.

She thought of Sam and his gentle whispers, assuring her that whatever she saw wasn't real and that she was okay, that she was safe. She thought of his warm smile, the way his eyes lit up at her in the other world. She shook her head and sat up, carefully opening the back door so she didn't wake up Dean. Sam glanced over his shoulder at the sound, offering Birdie a tired smile as she rounded the front of the Impala.

Sam cleared his throat, adjusting his stance. "Hey," he softly greeted Birdie.

"It's too early to be up at this godforsaken hour," Birdie grumbled, sitting beside Sam and lazily resting her head on his shoulder.

Sam just chuckled. "I thought you could use the extra space."

Birdie lifted her head, furrowing her brows together as she looked at him. "What?" she asked. "Wait, I didn't push or kick you, did I━━━"

"No, no, you didn't, Bird," Sam denied, shaking his head. "I. . .I couldn't really sleep, anyways. You needed it more than I did."

"Sam━━━"

"Birdie, it's okay," Sam said, softly smiling at Birdie when he saw the guilt on her face. "I don't mind."

Birdie quietly sighed, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She folded her arms over her chest and crossed her ankles as she leaned against the hood of Baby, her eyes scanning the lake in front of them. She twisted her lips, watching the murky water gently rock against rocks along the shore. She furrowed her brows together, snickering to herself. "Fuckin' lakes," she murmured, faintly shaking her head. "Why did we have to park in front of a fucking lake?"

Sam breathed out a laugh, turning his head towards her. "It was the closest place to pull over and sleep, otherwise we would've kept going."

"You would have?"

"Well, don't sound so surprised," Sam said, feigning offense as Birdie playfully rolled her eyes. "We were gonna keep going, but we're still hours from anywhere. It's the best we could do."

Birdie cooed, giggling when Sam rolled his eyes and scoffed. A smile was still on his lips, dimples poking out. "It's not too late for me to throw your ass in," he teased.

Birdie scoffed, rolling her eyes at Sam. "Then you'd just have to jump right in again to save me━━━again."

"Or. . .you could use it as a chance to learn how to swim." Birdie's smile immediately fell, staring at Sam with wide eyes. Sam nodded, his smile still on his lips. "I think it's time. Don't you?"

Birdie bit the inside of her cheek, stealing a glance at the lake. "No, I don't think so," she said.

"No time to die, Bird," Sam said.

Birdie gaped, scrunching up her face when Sam stood up straight. He walked towards the backseat and reached into his duffel bag, grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste. He was careful to not wake Dean either since he'd stayed up later than both Sam and Birdie. Birdie shook her head, keeping her expression hardened as Sam walked back over to her. "Some boyfriend you are," she said, cocking a brow at him.

Sam just laughed, putting some toothpaste on his toothbrush. "Couples support and help each other," he said. "That's what I'm trying to do so you don't almost drown again."

"There won't be an again," Birdie said, folding her arms over her chest as she slightly lifted his head.

Sam raised a brow, giving Birdie a pointed stare. "Yeah, okay."

"There won't."

Sam raised his brows more, but instead of responding, he just stuck his toothbrush in his mouth. Birdie pursed her lips together and leaned against the hood of the Impala, chuckling under her breath. She stole another glance at the lake, feeling an eerie tingle creep up her spine.

She frowned and turned her head, her eyes scanning the treeline across the street from them. She got the strange feeling that she was being watched, but she couldn't see anyone other than Sam. Sam furrowed his brows and followed Birdie's gaze. "What is it?" he asked around his toothbrush.

Birdie quietly sighed, shaking her head. "It's probably nothing," she said.

Sam's eyes lingered on Birdie for a few moments. Sam could see the bags under Birdie's eyes, noticing how they were only getting darker by the lack of sleep she'd been getting. It pained him to see her struggle, keeping it all bottled inside and hoping it wouldn't all burst out at once.

He wished she would talk to him.

Aside from the recurring nightmares and dealing with what happened when the Djinn got her, Sam knew there was something else bothering Birdie. He could see the bags under her eyes, only growing darker. She wasn't eating as much━━━something both Winchesters had noticed. For a few weeks she hadn't done much drawing, but her sketchbook hadn't even been touched despite Sam suggesting it might help distract her racing thoughts. If her guitar wasn't back at Bobby's again, she still most likely wouldn't have used it either.

Part of Sam wondered if maybe it was all an effect of Felicity still being gone or for being inside of Birdie for so long and her body was just trying to adjust, but he just wasn't sure. He almost found himself bringing it up to Dean a couple of times when Birdie was asleep or wasn't in the room, but he stopped every time. He didn't like keeping it from Dean, but it wasn't his secret to reveal. He let out a quiet sigh, continuing to scrub at his teeth as his mind wandered back to Felicity.

After Birdie told Sam about Felicity's sudden disappearance, he couldn't make any sense of it either. Birdie didn't know, or remember, anything that could've happened to cause Felicity to suddenly leave without warning, or maybe even worse. But if something worse had actually happened to Felicity, wouldn't it have affected Birdie somehow too?

Ruby didn't know where Felicity could've been, and she seemed quite pissed to find out she was gone. She agreed to keep an eye out for her and that she would call Sam and Birdie if she found out anything and Sam and Birdie said they would do the same.

One good thing about it, though, was that Birdie was doing okay━━━physically. Her health was just about the same and wasn't decreasing without Felicity's aid which was a good sign. Her mental health on the other hand was. . .it was rather questionable. That wasn't exactly anything new, however the circumstances were ones to keep in mind just in case things started to begin unraveling without warning. Birdie hardly focused on herself and instead tried to keep the focus on Sam and Dean, but there was still something on her mind.

There had to be a logical reason for Felicity to up and leave them without a warning, something that they missed.

Birdie intended to figure it out.

After about a couple of minutes, she took a few steps forward and raised her hands above her head, letting out a heavy sigh as she stretched her arms as high as she could. Then she dropped them down at her sides and turned on her heels to look at Sam. "When do you think Dean'll━━━"

Birdie's lips smacked shut as she saw Dean move, hearing him softly groan as he began to sit up. Sam turned, amusement spreading across his and Birdie's face when Dean nearly fell out of the car when he opened the door. Birdie slowly folded her arms over her chest, snickering as Dean twisted around in the passenger seat to climb out of the car.

"Hey," Sam said. "How'd you sleep?"

"How do you think?" Dean sarcastically replied, his voice still a little gruff. He leaned his hands on the side of Baby, squinting as he stood up straight. "I'm starving. Let's get breakfast."

"Where? We're like two hours from anything."

"But I'm hungry now," Dean said, taking a few steps towards Sam and Birdie.

"I am too," Birdie said. Now that she actually thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she ate anything.

"There's probably still a sandwich in the back seat you guys could split," Sam said, glancing between Dean and Birdie.

Birdie scrunched up her nose, catching his eye. "You know how old that thing probably is?"

Dean turned around, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face. He would take anything at this moment. He reached in through the open back window, pulling out a paper bag with a small smile appearing across his lips. He opened the bag and sniffed it as he stood up straight, leaning back against the Impala as he sucked in a sharp breath when the foul scent hit his nose. "It's fucking tuna, man."

Birdie chuckled under her breath, pushing some hair out of her face when a few pieces tickled her cheeks. A phone started to ring inside the car, causing her to frown. It wasn't her phone, and it didn't sound like Sam or Deans. Sam spit the last of his toothpaste out, turning around as Dean reached in through the passenger window to rummage in the glove compartment. Birdie stifled a laugh when Dean hit his head on the roof, hearing him swear under his breath as he took a step back.

"Isn't that Dad's phone?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded to Sam, flipping the phone open. He pressed one of the buttons and put it to his ear. "Hello?" he answered, leaning his back against the car.

"Who do you think it could be?" Birdie quietly asked Sam.

"I don't know," Sam answered, shaking his head.

"He can't come to the phone. Can I help you?" Birdie looked over at Dean again, twisting her lips. Dean was silent, listening to whatever the other person had to say. "Well, sorry to be the one to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago." Sam turned to look at Dean as well, sharing a silent glance with Birdie. "Who is this?"

"When was the last time someone called John's phone?" Birdie asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Everyone who would talk to him knows he's dead and to call us or Bobby."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Dean asked, quickly turning to look at Sam and Birdie. His eyes were wider now, a mix of anger and complete shock in his green eyes. Birdie's frown deepened, wishing that she could hear what the person on the other end was saying. It didn't seem like anything good from Dean's expression. "Okay, uh. . .know what? I. . .I might be able to help. Is there somewhere we could meet? Yeah, okay. Bye."

"Who the hell was that?" Sam and Birdie asked simultaneously.

Dean shook his head, slipping John's phone into the front pocket of his jacket. "Adam Milligan," he said, his eyes flickering over to Sam. "Our brother."

Birdie blinked a few times, holding her hand out. "I'm sorry, what?"

⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅

The idea of having a sibling used to sound nice to Birdie. She would have someone to stay with her when she was left alone at the motel, help do research, or just to talk with so she wasn't left in complete silence. She could have someone to bond with, to grow with━━━someone who could actually understand what her life was really like. But, then that would have meant they too would have had to feel Serena's hands against the skin. They would've had to hear her cruel and hateful words. They would have had to do everything they possibly could to please the woman, but nothing would've ever ended up being good enough for Serena. If they happened to be a half-sibling by some odd chance, she hoped Reese would be the parent they shared, but she highly doubted that that would've been the case. But, almost worst of all, that sibling could've turned out to be just as cruel and heartless as Serena.

It took Birdie to the age of eight before the thoughts of having a sibling turned sour, beginning to hope that she would be an only child so another one wouldn't have to deal with Serena's emotional and physical abuse.

Birdie wouldn't wish that on anyone.

She let out a quiet sigh, fiddling with her phone in her hands. She opened it and clicked on her text messages to see if she missed any. She twisted her lips, glancing at the most recent texts that she'd already replied to. They were from Hiro and Damien.

After the whole ordeal with getting taken and Damien being possessed by a demon, it took two days for Birdie to get a call from Damien. She was half-tempted to just ignore it, but she couldn't do that. He was a total asshole, but he still deserved answers after what he was forced to endure. She spoke to him alone as Sam and Dean had fallen asleep by the time Damien called, though Birdie thought that worked for the best.

She was expecting Damien to completely scream and shout at her, blame her for everything that happened to him and Kaiya as soon as she answered. . .but he thanked her.

He thanked her.

Birdie could still sense some resentment, a kind that couldn't be fixed with a flip of a switch though he now knew what she actually did for a living. She gave him the whole spiel about monsters and that the one that was inside of him had been a demon. He wasn't exactly following along at first, but it didn't take too long for him to begin wrapping his head around the idea of monsters being real; after all, he had seen and felt it himself. Birdie also told him that Hiro also knew the truth, and for a few moments, they just sat in silence as Birdie anxiously waited for Damien's response.

"Of course he does," Damien had said, breathing out a quiet laugh. "I should've known."

Birdie had forced a faint laugh, softly sighing. "Yeah. But, that's about it. . .and again, Damien, I-I know this probably doesn't mean much, but I'm really sorry━━━"

"Did Kaiya know?"

Birdie paused, twisting her lips. "Yeah, for a while."

"Do you think. . .do you think. . ."

"No," Birdie answered, already knowing what Damien was going to ask her. Did she think some monster killed Kaiya? She knew a monster did, but she wasn't going to tell Damien that. Hiro already knowing that truth was too much. She wouldn't bring yet another Hamed into that kind of life. She wouldn't. "That. . .it was just an accident."

"Okay. . .and Birdie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For. . .for everything," Damien replied, heavily sighing before he continued. "I-I know I could be quite harsh. . .I was a dick to you. And this entire time you. . .you were saving lives━━━hell, you and your boyfriends saved my life. . .even though I didn't deserve it."

Birdie had rolled her eyes, letting the boyfriend's comment slide; it wasn't the worst jab he'd said to her. She wasn't entirely sure where they stood with each other now, though she wasn't going to risk it by trying to correct him after he actually thanked her for something. Not much else was said after that aside from Birdie answering a few questions pertaining to monsters, and Birdie felt like there was now a mutual understanding between her and Damien. It was still very rocky, however there might be a chance that Damien wouldn't insult Birdie every chance he got, or at least as much as before. And, after their talk, Birdie had called Hiro and explained to him what happened incase Damien decided not to tell him.

She wasn't sure if Damien would be pleased his older brother knew what happened with the demon, nor did she think he would tell him. Birdie didn't want to risk hiding things from Hiro, considering it was a possibility the demon would come back for Damien or another Hamed. It was for their safety that Birdie wanted Hiro to be aware of the situation. When she spoke to Hiro, he could hardly believe what happened. But, the most surprising thing to him was that Damien had thanked Birdie. It was a rare occasion for Damien Hamed to thank anyone, but even his thank you's were subtle enough to miss. Birdie had been able to sense Hiro's concern through the phone, despite his attempts to hide it. But, Birdie could still tell. After their phone call, Birdie had fallen asleep next to Sam. And like most nights, it wasn't peaceful.

Birdie glanced out of the window, sitting up as they finally pulled into the parking lot of a small cafe━━━Cousin Oliver's Hilltop Cafe. They were now in Windom, Minnesota; which meant they were only a couple hours away from Bobby's who they were about due to visit soon.

For a majority of the car ride, Sam had searched through John's journal to see if there was any truth to "Adam Milligan". He also called Adam just a couple minutes after Dean talked to him just to try and get a little more information from him without making it seem like a type of interrogation, but it was all the same stuff he'd already told Dean. He kept up the ruse that they worked with John, mentioning that there would be a woman━━━Sam's girlfriend━━━with them who just happened to be with them. Adam did change the place where they would meet since the original place, a diner Dean had said, was temporarily closed for renovations. So, instead they were going to meet at a small cafe not too far from the Milligan house. After that, Sam continued to dig up as much as he could on Adam which only seemed to prove that Adam was real.

However, Birdie and the boys were still fairly certain that John didn't have another son━━━that Sam and Dean were John's only kids.

Adam Milligan might have been real, but that didn't mean there was any truth to him being John's son.

Dean put the Impala in park and then turned off the ignition, all three of them climbing out of the car. There was an overcast, not a signal ray of sunshine beaming down on them as the neverending clouds blocked the sun. It was rather chilly, causing Birdie to pull the sleeves of her jacket down past her wrists as a chill ran down her spin. Across the two lane street was a row of small apartments made out of brick, a few showing signs of wear and age on them. Some of them had wreaths hung on the doors with little signs by the small patio, other ones left plain and simple. Birdie shifted her feet, her eyes falling on Dean instead.

He made his way towards the trunk and Birdie followed with her brows slightly furrowed together. Sam held a file that contained Adam's basic information on him in his hand along with John's journal, his eyes already pinned on his big brother.

"Dean, look, best I can tell, Adam Milligan is real," Sam said, coming to stand next to Dean. Dean opened the trunk, lifting the cover to reveal their weapons. "Um, born September twenty-ninth, 1990 to Kate Milligan. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout." Dean rummaged through the assorted weapons as Sam spoke, pocketing Ruby's knife. "Graduated from high school with honors and currently goes to the University of Wisconsin━━━biology major, pre-med."

Dean pulled down the cover, not bothering to look at Sam.

"Dean?" Birdie asked, noticing his lack of attention in what Sam was saying.

Dean turned towards Sam and Birdie, closing the trunk with a loud thud. "This is a trap."

Sam sighed, closing the file as Dean walked past him and Birdie. He shared a silent look with Birdie, the two quickly following the oldest Winchester. While they were all in agreement that John only had two sons, Dean didn't believe that Adam Milligan was a real person, or if he was, he wasn't human anymore.

Birdie tucked her hands in the front pockets of her jacket, offering Sam a smile as he held the door open for her. She walked in after Dean, hearing a bell jingle above the door to signal there were new customers. There was an older man seated at the counter, a blonde waitress behind the counter as she grabbed a plate for one of the tables, and an elderly couple near the back. It was rather quiet aside from hushed chatter and the sizzle of food cooking in the kitchen.

They scanned opposite sides of the diner, looking for an empty table that was also a little away from everyone else. Dean spotted an table in the far corner with four chairs; it would work.

Sam started to follow but Birdie reached her hand out, causing him to pause. Sam frowned, turning around to fully face Birdie. "I'll meet you there in a sec," she said, nudging her head towards the hall with a restroom sign above it.

Sam's eyes flickered over and then he sighed, twisting his lips as he looked at Birdie. "She's not here, Bird," Sam said. "Trying to talk to her in the mirror won't be any different than━━━"

"No, I know," Birdie said. "It's not that." Sam tilted his head, giving Birdie a look that said he didn't believe her. Birdie sighed, glancing around to make sure no one was paying any attention to them. "I have to change my━━━"

"Oh, oh," Sam said, quickly nodding his head. Birdie snickered, shooting Sam a pointed look. "I'll meet you at the table then."

"That's what I thought," Birdie chuckled.

She walked around the counter, not sparing the boys a glance as she disappeared into the hallway. She slowed to a stop in front of the bathroom, slowly opening the door. There were three stalls, and all of them were empty. Birdie let out a sigh of relief and shut the door behind her.

She stepped in front of one of the sinks, biting the inside of her cheek as she stared at her reflection. Her brown eyes stared back, the scar above her eye looking the same as it had for the last few months. She folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head back slightly. "Felicity, please," she whispered. "If you're still there but not talking━━━for whatever reason━━━just give me a sign. Please."

Birdie waited for a few moments, examining her reflection for any subtle change. An eye twitch, a quick nose scrunch, a slight curl of her lips, but nothing.

She let out a heavy sigh and glanced down at the sink. Where could Felicity be?

She stepped out of the bathroom, quickly heading towards the table in the corner where Sam and Dean were seated. Dean was on the far side, able to fully scan the diner for when, or if, Adam showed up. Sam was on the opposite side, diagonal from Dean.

Birdie offered the boys a small smile when they noticed her approaching. She pushed her hair over her shoulders and went to sit next to Sam, but Dean shook his head at her and held his hand out to stop her. "Uh uh," he said, nudging his head towards the empty seat beside him instead. "This seat's yours."

Birdie furrowed her brows, breathing out a laugh as she glanced between the brothers. "Seriously?" she asked.

Dean looked up at her, firmly nodding with a stern expression. Birdie's face slowly fell, stealing a quick glance at Sam. He sighed, shaking his head like he'd already tried talking about it to Dean but he wouldn't change his mind.

Birdie pursed her lips together, silently glancing between the brothers when they exchanged looks. Birdie shifted, getting the feeling she might've missed something while she was in the bathroom. She let out a reluctant sigh, muttering under her breath as she walked around Dean's seat to sit beside him. Sam gave Birdie a forced smile once she was seated, glancing at Dean.

"What did I miss?" Birdie wondered, leaning her elbows on the table.

"Nothin'," Sam softly said.

Dean looked over at Sam, not missing the expression on his face when they locked eyes. "What?" Dean asked. Sam looked away, faintly shaking his head. "What?"

"Dean. . .listen. There's an entry in Dad's journal." Sam said, flipping through some of the pages as he pushed it more towards the middle of the table so they could all see it. Birdie scooted her chair closer and leaned forward, tilting her head to one side so she could read John's handwriting better. "From January of 1990, he says he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case. That's, roughly, oh, about nine months before the kid was born."

Dean nonchalantly shrugged. "Coincidence."

"Coincidence? Next two pages of the journal━━━torn out." Sam indicated to the remains of the pages where bits and pieces of writing could be seen, but not enough to know for sure what was really on them.

Maybe it was a coincidence, but Birdie was starting to feel like that might not have been the case.

Dean made a sour face at Sam. "You're not actually buying this, are you?"

"Look, I don't want to believe it either, I'm just saying it's possible." Sam closed the journal and picked it up. "I mean, Dad would be gone for weeks at a time, and he wasn't exactly a monk," he said, placing the journal in his lap so it was out of the way. "I mean, a hunter rolls into town, kills a monster, saves the girl. . .sometimes the girl's grateful."

Dean rolled his eyes, a fake smile appearing on his lips before it completely vanished. "Well, now I'm thinking about Dad sex," he scoffed in disgust. "Stop talking."

Birdie shook her head, picking up the glass of water in front of her. "Sam, please," she softly said, taking a sip. "Listen to Dean for once."

"Maybe he slipped one past the goalie."

"Dude!"

"Samuel!"

Birdie opened her lips to say something else, but she immediately stopped when the door chimed.

Sam curiously turned around in his seat, all three pairs of eyes falling on a young man. He had wispy, dirty blond hair, some bangs pushed to the right. He wore a tan jacket with a blue hoodie underneath, a backpack hanging over one of his shoulders. From his appearance, he didn't exactly look like John, or Sam and Dean.

He looked around, looking for the unfamiliar faces. "Adam?" Sam called out.

The man looked over at the sound of the name, his eyes falling on Sam. It was in fact Adam.

Sam raised his hand, giving the younger boy a brief smile. "You Sam?" he asked, walking over to the table. He stopped near the empty seat next to Sam, catching Dean and Birdie's eyes. Now that he was closer, Birdie saw he had blue eyes and his jaw was more narrow than Sam and Dean's. However, she thought there was the faintest hint of a resemblance between the boys. As soon as that thought popped into her head she pushed it away, hoping it was just psychological and there wasn't actually any similarity between the boys and Adam.

"Yeah. Uh, this is Dean," Sam said. Then he gestured towards Birdie. "And my girlfriend, Birdie."

"Hey," Adam softly said, nodding his head in greeting. He set his backpack on the floor next to the empty chair and sat down. The door chimed again, causing Dean to skeptically glance around. Birdie turned her head, furrowing her brows together when she saw Dean's eyes scanning the entire diner. She pursed her lips and shifted in her seat, focusing her attention back on Adam. "So, um. . .how did you know my dad?"

"Uh, we worked together," Sam answered.

"Oh," Adam said, his eyes flickering down at the table for a couple of seconds. "How did he die?"

"On the job."

Birdie briefly glanced at Sam, giving him a look. When Sam and Dean told anyone what they did or what John did, they always said mechanic. It was something John taught them to do. And, if she was right, then that was most likely what Adam had been told about John. And for Dean to say John died on the job, it might've sounded a little too━━━

"He was a mechanic, right?" Adam asked, turning his head towards Sam again.

"A car fell on him," Dean bluntly lied.

Birdie blinked, sharply turning her head towards Dean.

A young woman with curly hair in an apron came over to the table, softly smiling at Adam. Her name badge read Denise. "Hey, Adam. How you doing?" she asked, putting a glass of water in front of Adam. She must've known Adam.

Dean immediately leaned forward to take the water, causing Sam and Birdie to frown in sync. Adam knitted his brows together, sharing a glance with the waitress. "Oh, I'll take that," Dean said, flashing a forced smile at the waitress. "I am very thirsty."

Birdie rolled her eyes, offering the waitress an apologetic smile.

Denise eyed Dean, rolling her eyes before she looked at Adam again. "The usual, Adam?" she wondered.

"Uh, yeah," Adam softly answered with a small nod. "Thanks, Denise."

Denise turned and walked away and Birdie's frown deepened. She leaned towards Dean, nudging his arm with her elbow so he would look at her. "Did she take our order already?" she whispered.

"Uh, no," Dean answered.

Birdie's frown only became more prominent. "What? Why'd she only take Adams?"

Dean sighed, turning his head to look at Birdie. "I don't think she likes us."

Birdie let out a huff, shaking her head. She leaned her elbows on the table again, her eyes falling on Adam as he picked up one of the waters. Or, that was what Birdie thought it was until she noticed the way Sam and Dean were both eying it. Holy water was her guess. She rested her head on her hand, taking another look at the table. There were some napkins with silverware folded up inside, but the one in front of Adam was folded just a little bit differently. While she was in the bathroom, they must've put holy water in the cup and switched the silverware out for authentic silverware to see what kind of monster Adam was.

Birdie focused on Adam again, hearing him sigh as he finished his gulp of water. Nothing happened. So, he wasn't possessed at least. But there were plenty of other monsters he still could've been.

"So, uh, when's the last time you saw John?" Sam wondered.

"I don't even know," Adam answered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's. . .been a couple years."

Birdie shifted in her seat, glancing towards Dean when she saw his arm move. She felt a rush of panic when she saw him pulling his gun out of his jacket, easing it under the table with his eyes still focused on Adam. He wouldn't really shoot him in the middle of the diner, would he?

"Dean. . ."

"Why did you decide to call him now?"

"I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got." Sam blinked, his confusion appearing on his face for a few moments before it disappeared, but Adam saw it. "My mom's missing."

"Really? I'm sorry. Uh, for how long?"

"It's tragic, really. But if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?" Dean asked, eyes narrowed on Adam. Birdie noticed the lack of sympathy in his voice, causing her to quietly sigh. She understood his suspicion, but if he really was a monster, she didn't want it to be obvious that they were onto him.

"'Cause John and me didn't really know each other," Adam said. "Not until a few years ago, anyway."

Birdie furrowed her brows together, looking at Adam again. "What does that mean?" she questioned.

"My mom never talked about him," Adam said. "I knew some stuff."

Dean tilted his head. "What kind of stuff?"

Adam shifted, licking at his lips. "My mom's a nurse, and Dad came into the ER pretty torn up━━━hunting accident or something." Birdie's eyes flickered to Sam and then right back to Adam. "And I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."

"Yeah, well, who is these days?" Sam sadly smiled.

"So, when did you, uh, when did you finally meet him?" Dean wondered.

"When I was twelve. My mom had one of his old numbers, and after I begged her━━━god, twenty-four-seven━━━she finally called him," Adam said, a small smile displayed on his lips. Birdie twisted her lips, curious as to just how different Adam's memories of John were compared to Sam and Dean's. "God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night."

Denise returned to the table with a plate of food and set it down in front of Adam. "There you go." Birdie cocked a brow at the food. It was a cheeseburger and a side salad.

"Thanks," Adam softly said. Denise smiled at Adam and walked away again, not bothering to spare the others a glance. Birdie twisted her lips, leaning back in her seat with her arms folded over her chest.

"Well, that's heartwarming," Dean finally said, keeping the gun subtly trained on Adam under the table.

Adam indicated towards his food. "You mind?" he asked.

"Please, dig in," Dean said, falsely smiling. Birdie took a look at Sam, momentarily catching his eye. But, just as quickly their focus was back on Adam.

Adam picked up the napkin, letting the silverware slide off of it before he set it in his lap. Dean cocked the gun, clenching his jaw as he waited for Adam to pick up the silverware. "He would swing by once a year or so," Adam said, picking up the knife and fork; nothing happened again. So, Adam wasn't a shapeshifter, nor anything else that reacted negatively to silver. Dean glanced over at Birdie in defeat, breathing out a heavy sigh. "You know, called when he could. But still. . ." Adam said, taking a bite of his salad. Birdie saw Dean move out of the corner of her eye, feeling a hint of relief when she saw him put his gun away. Thankfully Adam didn't notice a thing. "He taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was fifteen." Birdie's eyes widened at that, and Sam and Dean had the same expression. Birdie vividly remembered a time when John came back to the motel a few days earlier and found an underage Dean with a beer in his hand. Boy, was John livid. "And, uh. . .he showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful 'sixty-seven Impala━━━"

"Oh, this is fucking bullshit," Dean interrupted, placing his elbows on the table as he leaned in close to Adam. Birdie blinked, quickly turning her head towards him. "You know what━━━you're fucking lying."

"No, I'm not," Adam said.

"Uh, yeah, you are."

"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?" Adam demanded to know, returning Dean's harsh glare.

"We're John Winchester's sons, that's who." Dean gestured towards himself and Sam. "We are his sons."

Adam stared at Dean, then at Sam, then at Dean. He briefly looked over at Birdie, but she quickly averted her eyes down at the table. He turned towards Sam and Sam sighed, his lack of response a sign that Dean was telling the truth.

Adam breathed out a surprised breath. "I've got brothers?" he asked.

"No, you don't have brothers," Dean sharply denied. "Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here."

"I have never been hunting in my life."

"Whatever. I'm out of here. Come on, Sam, Bird."

Dean stood up and started to walk away while Sam and Birdie remained seated at the table with Adam.

"I can prove it."

⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅

The Milligan house looked just like every other house on their street. It was a two story made up of dark browns and greens. There were some hanging plants on the front porch, some fallen leaves on the porch as a sign of not being watered in a few days. The front door led into the living room where there was a narrow hall that connected to the kitchen. To the right of the front door was a set of stairs that went up to the second floor where the bedrooms and another bathroom were. There were sliding doors behind the couch, cracked open enough for Birdie to partially see into the dining room.

Her eyes roamed the living room as Adam walked towards an end table by the loveseat, grabbing a framed photo. There were two couches that faced the fireplace, a small TV hung up above it. There were photos and trophies placed on the mantle, even more trophies on the large bookshelf by the bay window.

Adam walked back over and handed the photo to Dean. Dean suspiciously eyed the boy but took it as Sam and Birdie came up on both sides of him, peering down at the photograph.

Dean's face fell as he stared down at the photo. It was a framed picture of Adam and John at what appeared to be a baseball stadium. John brightly smiled as he wore a baseball cap next to a younger Adam, a crowd of people in matching jerseys surrounding them. Birdie tilted her head, letting out a shaky breath. She couldn't imagine John going to a baseball game when he was always so keen on stopping every monster that plagued the country.

"He took you to a baseball game?" Dean asked, slowly lifting his head in surprise. John never did anything like that with Sam or Dean. They did occasionally participate in sports, but those were only for a couple of weeks at most and John never went to any of the games; he didn't approve of doing sports when there were more important things to be doing. Birdie's eyes softened as she looked between Sam and Dean, sensing some jealousy.

"Yeah, when I turned fourteen," Adam smiled, the day briefly popping into his mind. Dean falsely smiled in return, looking down at the photo again. Birdie shook her head, still trying to wrap her head around John doing anything other than hunting. It felt so. . .it was wrong. That was the kind of father Sam and Dean deserved, not the one John was when he was around them. "Dad was around for a few of my birthdays."

Sam lifted up John's journal, reading from one of the pages that he'd bookmarked in the car. "September twenty-ninth, two thousand four. One word. 'Minnesota'," he said, looking from Dean and over to Birdie. Adam looked slightly confused as they all glanced at him, but he didn't say anything about it.

Dean continued to peer down at the photo, a mix of emotions on his face. "He took you to a freakin' baseball game?" he asked again, voice a little more sharp than the first time he'd asked.

"Yeah. Why? What'd Dad do with you on your birthday?" Adam asked, taking the picture back as his small smile remained on his lips.

"Oh. . ." Dean breathed out with a frown, making a face that Adam couldn't miss. Adam's smile faltered and he turned to the side, putting the picture back on the table.

Dean raised his brows, glancing at Sam. Birdie folded her arms over her chest, gaze falling on her feet. She couldn't imagine how Sam and Dean might've been feeling. Finding out that they had a younger half-brother━━━who didn't know what John was truly like━━━or was raised the same way that they were. They could still see a hint of innocence in Adam's eyes, something that diminished the second that the boys saw a monster in person. Neither of the boys said it, but she could tell they felt like they'd been replaced.

"Adam, you said you called Dad because your mom was missing," Sam said, trying to change the topic.

Adam bounced on the balls of his feet, pursing his lips as he nodded. "Yeah."

"How long has she been gone?"

"Three days."

Dean slightly nodded, looking like he didn't exactly want to help. "Who was the last person to see her?" he wondered, pushing down his festering resentment towards Adam.

"Mr. Abbinanti, our neighbor," Adam answered. "He saw her come home Tuesday night, but she never showed up to work on Wednesday."

Dean's eyes raked over the room, noticing another framed picture by the stairs. It was a picture of John and Adam's mother, Kate. John was hugging Kate from the side, both beaming at the camera. He didn't see Adam anywhere in the background, but he knew he was there, too. His eyes focused on Kate again, noticing how she reassembled his own mother. His brows furrowed together, shaking his head.

"Did you call the police?" Sam asked.

"Mom's supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could." Adam paused after he spoke, blinking a few times as he thought about his mother. "I should have been here."

"What'd the, uh, what'd the cops say?" Dean asked next, clearing his throat.

"That they, uh, they searched the house. They didn't find anything." Adam paused again, forcing a smile for a few seconds. He bounced on the balls of his feet again, blinking as he tried to keep himself from crying. Not knowing where his mother was. . .he hated it. He just wanted her back at home, safe and sound like always. "She wouldn't leave without telling anybody. It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?"

"We'll help you find her," Birdie said, offering Adam a small smile. Dean sharply turned his head towards her, but Birdie ignored it. Adam gave her a tiny, appreciative smile. Birdie took a couple of steps back, giving Sam a look when he turned his head towards her. "Sam, Dean."

Sam gave Adam a small smile, making his way to the door. "We'll be right back."

Adam nodded and sat down on one of the couches. Birdie slipped out after Sam, sighing when Dean shut the door behind him. "Why the hell did you tell him that?" Dean asked, his anger seeping into his words.

"We are gonna help, aren't we?" Birdie asked, brows slightly furrowed.

"His mom's probably dead," Dean said, tone just as sharp and harsh as before.

"Dean," Sam scoffed, shaking his head, "We can't just leave. If somethin' took his mom, we have to stop it."

Dean rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head as he glanced around the neighborhood. Sam was right and Dean knew it, too. "Fine," he said. "I'll. . .I'll take a look around the house. Why don't you two go to the station and see what you can find out?"

"Alright."

Dean reached into his pocket, swiftly tossing the keys to Sam. He caught them with ease and turned to Birdie. Birdie faced the stairs, but then she glanced over her shoulder at Dean. "Be careful, Dean," she said.

"Yeah, you too."

Then she headed down the steps with Sam, automatically walking towards the passenger seat. She and Sam clambered into the Impala, sparing Dean one last glance before Sam drove back down the street.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long for them to arrive at the police station. A row of police cruisers were lined in the parking lot, each one with a license plate that stated which number it was. Multiple flag poles were out in front with colorful flags hanging from each one, swaying as the wind swept past. A handful of other cars were scattered in the parking lot, each one empty.

"So, how do you wanna do this?" Birdie asked, glancing aside at Sam once he parked the car near the main entrance.

He turned his head, giving her a confused look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Birdie shrugged, holding her hands out. "Are we feds, reporters, good cop and bad cop━━━"

"'Good cop and bad cop?'" Sam repeated, his lips curling into an amused smile.

Birdie softly smiled, nodding her head. "Yeah. You got a better idea?"

Sam breathed out a laugh, nodding his head. "Yeah, I do." He reached over and opened the glove box, rifling through it until he grabbed two fake IDs. He flipped them open and then smiled again, handing one to Birdie. "There."

Birdie suspiciously eyed Sam, slowly looking down at the one Sam handed her. She scoffed, quickly turning her head towards Sam with an incredulous look. "You can't be serious," Birdie said.

"What? We've used them before," Sam nonchalantly shrugged.

"Yeah, and we were almost caught," Birdie said. Her expression unwavered as Sam matched her stare.

"It'll be fine, Bird," Sam said, offering Birdie a reassuring smile. "No one's gonna notice."

"Sure they won't," Birdie said, playfully rolling her eyes. "Just like no one's noticed that you and Dean constantly use the names of musicians."

Sam breathed out a scoff, raising a brow. "And you don't?"

Birdie gaped, tilting her head. "I. . .Occasionally I do. But, this isn't about me. This━━━"

"It'll be fine, Birdie. Just trust me," Sam said, grabbing the door handle. "And, if they realize we're lying, I'll give you a head start to the car."

Birdie snickered, shaking her head at Sam as she climbed out of the car. Sam chuckled and did the same, walking around the front of the Impala. Birdie stepped onto the sidewalk, meeting Sam by the hood. "Lead the way, padawan."

Sam playfully rolled his eyes, leading the way into the police station. Birdie was close behind him as they entered the warm building, stepping aside as another officer walked past them. There was a desk right in front of them with a middle aged man seated there. To the right was a wide hall that turned into two more that diverted in opposite directions. On their right was a glass wall with a door. They saw multiple desks spread out, a few occupied by officers. More officers were at the farther end, but those ones were enclosed with windows and blinds that didn't give much of a glimpse into them.

"Can I help you kids?"

Sam and Birdie turned their heads, locking eyes with the officer. He had a bored expression on his face, hand still on the computer mouse. "Uh, yeah," Sam said, clearing his throat as he walked towards the counter with Birdie. "We, uh, we're journalists with the paper and━━━"

"Oh, damn," the officer scoffed, shaking his head. "Not more of you."

"'More of us?'" Birdie asked, raising a brow at the older man.

The older man scoffed, rolling his eyes as he sharpened his eyes on Sam and Birdie. "You reporters are insistent, but you're not getting through," the man said. "The disappearances aren't━━━"

"Disappearances?" Sam asked, shifting his feet. "As in there's more than one?"

"Oh, hell," the man sighed, lowering his head as he momentarily closed his eyes. "I did it again."

Birdie and Sam shared a silent look, focusing their attention on the officer again. "Officer, please," Birdie said, giving him a small smile. "If you say they're not connected we believe you, but that doesn't mean other reporters will."

"And their articles will prove it," Sam added.

The officer lifted his head, suspiciously narrowing his eyes on Sam and Birdie. "What did you say your names were again? And what newspaper are you from?"

"We're with the Windom Gazette," Sam answered. "I'm Sam Solo and this is Birdie Organa. We're-we're interns."

The man tilted his head, focusing on Sam. "Solo and Organa? Like from Star Wars?"

Birdie pursed her lips together, turning her head towards Sam to give him a look that said 'I told you so'. Sam cleared his throat, forcing a smile onto his lips. "Sort of," Sam shrugged. "But we-it's actually our last names."

The officer just hummed, eyeing the two up and down. He leaned back in his seat, folding his large arms over his chest. "Alright, fine," he sighed, glancing around to make sure none of his fellow officers could hear him. Then he faced Sam and Birdie again. "Kate Milligan isn't missing. We checked the house and there was no sign of a break in. A table in her bedroom was knocked over, but that was it. She probably just skipped town for a few days."

"And the other disappearances?" Birdie wondered.

The officer breathed out a sigh and stood up from the desk, moving to the table behind him. He picked up a pile of papers and shuffled through them. He pulled one out and walked back to the desk, handing it over to Birdie. It was a picture of a bald man with glasses. He was standing in front of shelves of alcohol, an apron wrapped around his waist with a rag stuffed in the front pocket. It appeared he was a bartender. "Joe Barton. A local bartender. His wife says he wouldn't just disappear, but there wasn't any sign of a break in at their house either. He's just gone, him and Kate are."

"Is there any connection between them?"

"None," the officer shook his head, letting out a sigh. "Now are we done here? I got more important things to work on."

"Like Sudoku?" Birdie retorted.

The officer scoffed as Sam gave Birdie a sharp look. Birdie nudged her head towards a framed picture of the police chief and about a dozen officers. In the reflection of the picture, Birdie could see the officer's computer screen. He was playing online Sudoku. "Good day, Ms. Organa," the officer said, nudging his head towards the door. "I'm sure you and Mr. Solo can see yourselves out."

"Thank you for your time," Sam told the officer, gently touching Birdie's arm as an indication for her to move. She twisted her lips together as her eyes lingered on the officer, but then she turned towards the door. She walked out with Sam behind her, feeling his stare burning into her back.

"Would you stop?" Birdie asked as they neared the Impala. She turned around, raising her brows as Sam fished the keys out of his pocket. "I didn't do anything."

"He could've told us more," Sam said.

"No, he wouldn't," Birdie said, shaking her head to the side. "He told us everything he knew━━━which frankly, isn't much."

"He also doesn't think anythin' happened to Kate Milligan or Joe Barton."

Sam and Birdie straightened up when they heard a voice come from one of the police cruisers parked a few couple spots over. They didn't even notice the man sitting in the drivers seat with the window cracked as he smoked a cigarette. He placed the cigarette between his lips and opened the door, slamming it shut with his foot. Then he leaned against the cruiser, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

Sam looked the officer up and down, resting his arms on the roof of the Impala. Birdie turned around to face the man, crossing her arms over her chest. She carefully eyed the officer, noticing the tattoos that trailed up and down both arms. He was younger than the officer inside━━━late 30's most likely. He was tall, his boots giving him a little extra height. His weapons were on full display in his holsters, each one ready to be grabbed with a swift move of his hand. His eyes bored straight into Sam and Birdie, examining them just like they were doing to him.

"What do you think?" Sam wondered.

"I think weird shit is happening again," he said. He stepped away from his car again, putting his cigarette back in his mouth as he opened the door. He reached inside and pulled out a piece of paper, removing his cigarette from his lips. He walked towards Birdie and Sam stood up straight, walking around the car as the officer handed the paper to Birdie. It was the cover page of a newspaper article from 1990. The headline read 'Missing Bodies Found' with the subtitle 'Seventeen bodies recovered from abandoned shed'. "I figured you two were here about the disappearances, and based on how annoyed Officer Murphy looked, it confirmed my suspicions. That, and the fact I could hear what you two were talking about."

"Why are you telling us this?" Birdie wondered. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Maybe, but no one else believes me that something weird's goin' on," the officer said. He let out a sigh, nodding to the paper. "In 1990, there were a bunch of grave robberies, and seventeen of those bodies were recovered in an abandoned building a few blocks away from the cemetery."

Sam furrowed his brows together, looking up from the paper. "What does that have to do with the recent disappearances?"

"Last month, the grave robberies started up again. Three bodies so far."

Sam shifted his feet, sharing a subtle look with Birdie. "You think it's the same person?" he wondered.

The officer sighed, taking another drag of his cigarette. Birdie stiffened, scrunching up her nose as the foul scent wafted into her nose, but the officer didn't seem to notice. "I. . .I don't know," he sighed, shaking his head. "What I do know is people━━━alive and dead━━━are disappearing and nothing I'm doing seems to be doin' a damn thing. But, since you two are reporters, maybe you can spread the word. Maybe. . .maybe then the Chief will take me seriously."

Birdie softly smiled at the officer, nodding her head. "Sure thing Officer. . ."

"Officer Bennett," he said, returning Birdie's smile.

"Thank you, Officer Bennett," Sam said, briefly smiling at the man. Officer Bennett nodded and backed up to his cruiser, taking one last drag of his cigarette. He reached into his car and grabbed his phone, moving to the sidewalk.

"You two stay safe," Officer Bennett said, backing up towards the entrance of the station. "I don't know what exactly's goin' on, but it's nothing good. You just get the truth out there and then leave the criminal catching to us, alright?"

"Sure thing, officer," Birdie said, firmly nodding her head.

He returned the nod and turned on his heel, quickly entering the station. Sam let out a quiet sigh and turned his head towards Birdie as she looked over the piece of paper again. "You think this is connected?" Sam wondered.

Birdie slowly looked up at Sam, letting out a breath of disbelief. "I. . .maybe," she said, holding the paper up again and pointing to two figures that were in the background. Sam looked at it again, squinting as he got a better look. As his eyes widened, Birdie knew he saw it, too.

Sam stood up straight, a confused look on his face. "But the journal doesn't say anything about your dad being there, too," he said.

Birdie shrugged, folding up the paper. "Maybe there's a reason," she said. "Or maybe he was just mentioned on the pages that got torn out."

Sam slightly tilted his head in agreement. He sucked in a heavy breath, glancing around the parking lot. He squinted, a strange feeling tingling down his spine as if someone was watching him. Birdie furrowed her brows, going to speak when she felt it, too.

"You feel that, too?" Sam asked.

Birdie nodded. Her dark eyes scanned the empty parking lot, the shops and homes that were nearby, but there wasn't anyone that stood out to Sam or Birdie. Cars passed by every now and then, but no one spared the hunters a glance. The officer at the front desk was still focusing on his computer; no doubt he was still playing Sudoku.

After a few seconds, the sensation disappeared and Birdie turned towards Sam. "You think someone's watching us?"

"I don't know," Sam honestly answered. "It could be nothing, or. . ."

"Or it could be something," Birdie said, finishing Sam's sentence. "And it could be what's causing the people around here to disappear."

"Exactly. Let's go."

When Sam and Birdie returned to Adam's, they found Dean and Adam upstairs. They followed the sound of their voices, spotting them inside of Kate's bedroom.

Her room looked like an average bedroom. The walls were painted the same dark brown as the rest of the house, the curtains almost blending in with the walls. Her bed was by the far wall, two doors to the right of it which led into a small closet and a bathroom. A white dresser was by the door leading into the hall. There was a pink perfume bottle on it, some framed photos pushed behind it. There was a photo of Kate, John, and Adam on a fishing trip next to one of Kate feeding a bottle to Adam. Another photo of Kate and Adam was on the bedside table, some fake flowers in a round vase behind it. A framed drawing of a flower was hung up above the dresser, hints of dust coating the glass.

Sam and Birdie appeared at the door, capturing Dean and Adam's attention. Birdie gave them both a small smile as Sam held up a couple of papers as they focused their gaze on Dean.

Dean nodded in understanding and looked over at Adam. "Give us a minute," Dean said.

Adam stepped towards the bed, sighing to himself as Dean slipped out of the room. Sam and Birdie walked down the hall with Dean, trying to put some distance between them and Kate's room so hopefully Adam wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"You talk to the cops?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Like Adam said, no leads on his mom," Sam answered.

"Shocker there," Dean said.

Sam lifted his hand, raising his brows as he looked at Dean. "But we did find this." Sam flicked through the papers and handed Dean the copy of the Windom Gazette article. "Look. In nineteen ninety, there were seventeen grave robberies in Windom."

Dean's eyes skimmed over the article, catching glimpses of unfamiliar faces in the photo. "You think that's why Dad came through here?"

"I think you can see for yourself," Birdie said, pointing to the figures in the background of the photo. Dean held the article closer to his face, noticing not only his father, but Birdie's father as well.

Dean softly chuckled, faintly nodding his head. "All right, so they must've been hunting something. But what?"

"No idea━━━those were the pages Dad threw out of the journal," Sam answered. "But last month, the corpse snatching started up again. Uh, three bodies from the local cemetery."

"So whatever they were after, neither of them killed it. It's back," Dean said, glancing between Sam and Birdie.

"And what━━━it's stepped up its game to fresh meat? I mean, Kate's missing, and, uh━━━" Sam took the article out of Dean's hand and handed him a photo of Joe Barton they'd gotten from Officer Murphy. "So is a local bartender. A guy named Joe Barton."

Dean looked at the photo, glancing between Sam and Birdie. Then he turned on his heel, walking back into Kate's bedroom. Adam was seated on the edge of the bed, peering down at his hands as his mind came up with multiple scenarios of what could've happened to his mother. He looked up when he heard their footsteps and Dean held up Joe Barton's photo "Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?" he asked.

"Uh, I don't think so," Adam said. "Why?"

Dean glanced at Sam and Birdie who stood beside him, then at Adam. Sam heavily sighed, shrugging his shoulders. They were hoping that might've been a connection, but it was a dead end. Dean's gaze fell on the floor, suddenly noticing something by Adam's feet.

They were scratch marks.

Dean shifted, tilting his head as he walked closer. Sam and Birdie stepped into the room, watching Dean in confusion. Adam stood up, furrowing his brows together as he watched Dean's expression change. "What is it?" Adam wondered.

"Watch out," Dean said, nudging his head to the side as an indication for Adam to step aside. Once Adam stood up, Dean kneeled on the ground and leaned his head down, flipping up the edge of the comforter to look under the bed. He stood up a few seconds later, gesturing towards the bed. "Give me a hand with the mattress."

Dean tossed the pillows aside, and with Adam's help, they moved the mattress off the bed frame so it leaned against the wall. Birdie curiously walked closer, surprise appearing on her face when she saw a vent large enough for someone to fit through directly under the bed.

Sam came up beside her, letting out a shaky breath as he noticed it as well. Dean looked at Sam and then Birdie, a pointed look on his face. Sam and Dean lifted their fists, and Dean expectantly looked at Birdie. She made a sour face, but Dean gave her a stern look that told her she had to do it too. She dramatically rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath as she lifted her hand and made a fist. Then they each shook their fists, Sam and Birdie doing rock while Dean chose scissors yet again. Sam and Birdie shared a smirk, snickering as Dean waved his arms in frustration.

"Every fuckin' time," Dean grumbled, placing his hands on his hips.

Adam curiously glanced at Sam and he just smiled, faintly nodding his head.

Sam and Birdie helped to move the bed frame, making it easier for Dean to slip into the air duct. He dropped his flashlight and gun into it first, slowly wiggling his way into the air vent. He grunted as he scooted further into the unknown territory, finally fully inside the vent.

Birdie, Sam, and Adam could hear the thumps as Dean crawled through the vent, the sound growing more faint as he traveled further into the house. Birdie listened close, wanting to make sure that if Dean got hurt or something tried taking him, she would hear it. Sam and Adam were silent as well, most likely doing the same.

It felt like it forever had passed before Dean returned. However, he'd climbed out of the vent in the living room and walked up the stairs. Adam threw dozens of questions at Dean when he told Adam he needed to call the police and tell them he found something in the vents, but Dean wouldn't answer him as to what he saw. Birdie didn't know what Dean saw, but deep down she somehow knew.

Birdie felt guilty that Adam wasn't given answers, seeing the concern and fear that swirled in his dull, blue eyes. Since Dean wasn't telling Adam what he found in the vents, he had to be thinking the worst had happened to his mother. He didn't understand why Dean wasn't answering him, why Sam or Birdie weren't telling him anything or asking Dean what he found, or why they had to leave before the police showed up.

Adam frowned as he stood on the porch, watching them leave in the Impala. Dean did at least tell Adam they were gonna get a room nearby, but he'd skillfully avoided saying which place. They would find Adam. He didn't want Adam to find them. That was almost an hour ago and they had gotten a room at a cheap motel, the Kismet Motel, not too far away from Adam's house.

They still weren't too sure what they were dealing with, however Birdie and the boys were prepared for just about anything that might've come their way. Dean carefully cleaned a shotgun with a rag as he sat on the bed opposite of Sam and Birdie, eyes focused on the weapon. Birdie had her laptop open in her lap, trying to see if she could find any link between Joe Barton and Kate that Adam might not have known about. Sam was searching through John's journal once again, flipping through the pages as if the missing pages were somehow going to restore themselves so they could find out more about what John, and apparently Reese, might have been dealing with in 1990 and why they left before they killed it.

There was a sudden knock at the door, causing the three of them to look at it. Sam slowly stood up from the bed, looking around the door as he slightly opened it to see who it was.

Adam quickly walked through the door as Sam opened it, a stern look on his face that caused Birdie to raise her brows. "Who the hell are you guys?" he demanded to know.

"Adam, hey," Sam said, closing the door. Dean flipped a cloth over the shotgun to hide it, sharing a brief glance with Birdie. "Take it easy."

"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay?" he snapped, walking further into the room. He turned as he reached the middle of the room, glancing around at their weary faces. "My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you three━━━well, you tell me to call the cops, but you got to bail before they show? So, who are you really?" Birdie shifted on the bed, slowly closing her laptop. Sam and Dean remained silent, but Adam could sense they were hiding something from him. "Cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you guys talking earlier━━━something about grave robberies." Adam spotted the end of the shotgun poking out from under the cloth beside Dean and Birdie sighed, shaking her head. "You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on. Please."

Birdie stole a look at Sam, sitting up straight when she saw the look on his face. She'd seen that expression before. "We're hunters," Sam said.

"Sammy!" Dean sharply said.

"He deserves to know, Dean."

Adam furrowed his brows together in confusion. "What do you mean, 'hunters'?"

"Have you ever been told there were monsters under your bed, or something in your closet?" Sam asked. Adam shifted his feet, slowly nodding his head. "Well, sometimes there is."

"Sam. . ."

"Dean," Birdie sighed, tilting her head as she gave him a look. "He needs to know. It's too late to back out now."

Dean stood up and shook his head, moving towards the table by the kitchen area. He sat down in one of the chairs and Birdie motioned towards the spot at the end of bed for Adam. He took a step, gaze landing on Sam again as he took Dean's spot. "Vampires, ghosts, demons, werewolves━━━almost every monster you could possibly think of is real, and they usually go after humans."

Birdie looked over at Adam, expecting him to say Sam was lying, that they were all crazy━━━something that she'd seen a few times before when someone was told the truth. However, he appeared calm as he leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Okay, so. . .basically, you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had━━━that's all real?" Adam asked, voice soft and quiet unlike when he first walked into the room.

"Godzilla's just a movie," Dean said. Birdie breathed out a scoff, shooting him a glare from across the room.

Sam shifted on the bed, ignoring Dean's remark. "We hunt them," he said. "So did Dad."

Adam pursed his lips together, glancing away for a few moments. Dean turned his head, letting out a sigh. He was mentally preparing for Adam to call them nuts or say that they were lying. Birdie scooted on the bed, pressing her back against the wall. If Adam was going to have an outburst, he was certainly taking his time with it.

"Okay," Adam finally said.

"'Okay'? That's it?" Dean asked.

Adam nonchalantly shrugged. "What am I supposed to say?"

"That we're liars, that we're fuckin' crazy," Dean said, moving his hand as he spoke. "Nobody just says 'okay.'"

"Well, you're my brothers," Adam said, his eyes flickering between Sam and Dean. "You're telling me the truth, right?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"Then I believe you." Dean rolled his eyes, looking over at Birdie. She twisted her lips, slightly shrugging her shoulders as a hopeful expression glossed over her features. It wasn't the reaction she was expecting, but she would take it over being shouted at. Dean rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. After a couple of moments, Adam let out a shaky breath, looking at Sam again. "Now, what took my mom?"

"We're not sure," Sam truthfully answered. "Somethin's in town stealin' bodies━━━living and dead, but we don't know what."

"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill," Dean said.

"You think maybe she might still be alive?" Adam wondered, a very faint hint of a smile on his lips.

Dean looked down, choosing not to respond to that question. Adam looked at Sam, but he looked away too. Birdie twisted her lips, sighing when she felt Adam's gaze land on her. Adam slowly nodded, realization dawning on him. They didn't verbally answer, yet their silence did. "Oh," he whispered. "How can I help?"

"You can't," Dean said.

Adam looked up at that, knitting his brows together. "This thing killed my mom," he said. "If you're hunting it, I want in."

"No."

Sam partially turned his head to look at Dean. "Dean, look, maybe━━━"

"Maybe what?"

"He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like," Sam firmly replied.

Dean abruptly stood up from the table, walking closer. Birdie let out a quiet breath, rubbing her fingers along her forehead. "Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh?" Dean demanded, holding up John's journal as he harshly stared down at Sam. "Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"

"Because━━━"

"Because he was protecting him!"

"Dad's dead, Dean," Sam softly said, looking up at his big brother.

"That doesn't matter! He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay?" Dean snapped, gesturing towards Adam. "And for good reason."

"Do I get a say in this?" Adam asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"No!" Dean snapped at the same time Sam said no too, but in a less angry tone than Dean.

Dean scoffed, turning on his heel after he dropped John's journal on the bed beside Sam. "You two babysit the kid," he said, grabbing his jacket off the hook by the door.

Birdie stood up, holding her hands out at her sides. "Where are you going?" she demanded to know.

"I'm goin' out!"

"But Dean━━━"

Dean stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Birdie frowned, sinking back down on the bed. Sam sharply exhaled, rubbing his hands over his legs as an awkward silence filled the room. Birdie had been expecting an outburst to come from Adam out of everyone in the room, not Dean.

"Is he always like that?" Adam asked a couple of seconds later.

Sam forced out a laugh, nodding his head. "Welcome to the family."

Adam looked down, softly sighing to himself. Birdie shifted on the bed, pulling her knees into her chest as she leaned her back against the wall. She pushed her hair out of her face, stealing a look at Adam. His eyes were still looking down, hands folded in his lap. Sam's eyes were focused on Adam as well, trying to gauge what might've been going on inside his head.

Birdie's eyes flickered over to Sam, knitting her brows together when she saw him reach behind his back.

"Here," he told Adam, holding his gun out as he ejected the clip. "I'm gonna teach you a few things."

Adam stammered, noticing a similar look of confusion on Birdie's face. "Uh, Dean said━━━"

"I know what Dean said." Sam continued to hold the unloaded gun out to Adam, not caring what Dean said. It wasn't Dean up to Dean if Adam wanted to find whatever took his mother. That was Adam's choice. And, if he was gonna do it, Sam would prefer it would be with him so that he could teach Adam what to do. "And I know what it's like to want revenge."

⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅

It was nearing 10:00 P.M. and there was still no sign of Dean. Sam and Birdie's texts had gone ignored, not one single response from Dean just to let them know that he was at least still alive. During that time, both Sam and Birdie had been showing Adam how to use their weapons and which monsters that they would work the best on. Birdie still wasn't too sure about Adam, but he was picking it up pretty easily; perhaps he got that from John. He was quite surprised when he found out that Birdie's father was also a hunter and had been there with John in 1990, but he left for an unknown reason. He tried asking about Birdie's mother, but that topic was quickly changed thanks to Sam. After a while, though, Birdie decided to take a break and shower since it'd been a couple days; not to mention she figured Sam and Adam could use some time without Dean or her around. She could hear their muffled laughter every so often, causing a small smile to grace her lips as she stepped out of the shower.

She grabbed the towel she had hanging on the rack and wrapped it around her body. She quickly dried off, using the other side to try and dry her hair. Then she tossed it on the floor and grabbed some of her clothes she had sitting on the toilet lid. She slipped on a clean pair of underwear and then picked up a sports bra, pulling it on over her head. She huffed as it got bunched up by her shoulder blades, grunting as she reached behind her back and yanked it down. Then she bent down again and grabbed some black leggings, pulling them on over her legs. She scrunched up her nose when she felt some water trickle down her back, trying to wipe it off with the back of her hands. She muttered under her breath and stole a glance in the mirror, silently hoping to see a flicker of Felicity appear. But, just as soon as her eyes fell on her reflection, the lights suddenly flickered off.

"Son of a bitch━━━"

Birdie's lips smacked shut, deeply frowning when she heard something clutter just outside the bathroom. She narrowed her eyes, slowly creeping towards the door. She could no longer hear Sam or Adam's voice, causing a sudden rush of panic to flood her veins. "Birdie?" Sam whispered, Birdie just barely hearing it with how quiet he'd spoken. Birdie let out a quiet sigh of relief and went to open the door, but it suddenly slammed open. Birdie jumped with a shriek, gawking at Sam as he pointed a shotgun into the room.

"Sam what the fu━━━"

"Shh, come here," he interjected, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the bathroom. The clanking was louder, causing an unsettling feeling to wash over Birdie. It was a feeling she was well accustomed to from years of hunting, but that didn't make it any easier. Sam, Birdie, and Adam glanced around the motel room, trying to figure out where the peculiar sound was coming from. They heard it again a few seconds later, but this time it was above them. Sam and Birdie's eyes fell on the vent above them, sharing a quick look with another.

"It's in the vents," Sam said, looking over at Adam.

"Oh, fuck," Birdie said.

Sam turned to the side and nudged Birdie and Adam towards the door. Sam hurried forward and then turned around to face the vent. Birdie deeply frowned, eyes widening when Sam aimed the shotgun and fired. "Go!" Sam shouted.

Adam yanked the door open and rushed out, Sam and Birdie close behind. He bumped into the railing outside the door, but Birdie quickly ushered him down the stairs to the almost empty parking lot. For once, Birdie was thankful that they were at a motel where people didn't care what was going on outside their room.

"Where's your car?" Sam asked Adam, heading down the last stairs.

"Over here," Adam said, quickly slipping his jacket on.

"All right, keys," Sam said, holding his hand out.

Adam tossed Sam his keys. "Here."

"Bird!" Birdie turned her head, catching something Sam tossed at her as they hurried over to Adam's car. It was Sam's jacket. She flashed him a brief smile and slipped it on, holding it close to her body as the cold wind whipped at her exposed skin.

Adam headed for the passenger side of his truck while Sam and Birdie went for the driver's side, heavy breaths slipping past their lips. Sam fumbled with the keys, but suddenly something grabbed him by the ankles. It yanked him to the ground, pulling him under the truck. Sam grunted, grabbing the bottom of the truck to try and keep himself from going completely under.

"Sam!" Birdie screamed, immediately bending down to grab one of his arms.

"Sam!" Adam shouted, racing around the truck to help.

A familiar rumble came from behind them, and Birdie didn't need to turn around to know it was the Impala. Dean abruptly parked the car when he saw them, rushing out of his car to help.

"Dean, help!" Adam shouted, grabbing Sam's other arm. Sam gritted his teeth together, feeling something gripping both of his ankles as it tried to whisk him away. Dean rushed over and grabbed hold of Sam's arm too, helping Adam and Birdie to pull Sam free.

They got him out from under the truck and Dean quickly picked up the shotgun and fired it under the truck. Birdie flopped down on the ground, still holding Sam's arm as her wide eyes stared at the truck.

Dean turned his head to look at the others, panting as his eyes skimmed over them to make sure they were okay. Adam fell on the ground behind Sam, his chest quickly rising and falling from the adrenaline rush and fear.

Birdie gulped and turned her head, catching Sam's eye. "You okay?"

He tiredly nodded his head in response, letting it fall on the ground as he momentarily closed his eyes.

That was too fucking close.

Birdie adjusted Sam's coat she wore, thankful that it was keeping her warm as she only had a sports bra on under it. It certainly wasn't her preferred outfit to wear when running from a mysterious monster. Sam, Birdie, and Adam leaned against the hood of the Impala, the air so cold you could their breaths. Dean backed Adam's truck into a different spot, revealing a sewer grate that had been directly under the truck. Dean got out and walked closer to the grate which was half open, aiming the shotgun at it in case whatever grabbed Sam decided to pop back out. Birdie took a few steps closer as Dean crouched down, touching something wet on the edge of the grate.

"What is it?" Birdie wondered.

Dean stood up, walking over with the gun lowered in his hand. "I winged it," he said, letting out a sigh. "Did you see anything?"

Birdie turned her head as Dean walked towards the backseat to put the shotgun inside. "I didn't get a good look," Sam answered.

Dean stepped in front of them, taking another look at the manhole. "What the hell is this thing?" he asked.

"Why-who-should we go after it?" Adam wondered, glancing between Birdie and the Winchesters.

"No, no," Dean said, scrunching his brows together as he shook his head. He tucked his hands in the pockets of his coat, glancing at the sewer grate. "In that maze? That thing's long gone."

"All right, so, we don't know what it is, but we do know who it's going after," Sam said. "Joe Barton, Adam's mom━━━"

"And Adam," Dean said. "It was under his truck, just waitin' for him."

"It set a trap, and I walked right into it," Sam said, shaking his head at himself.

"Doesn't matter. You're right━━━there's a pattern," Dean said, looking at Sam. "Joe Barton was a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out Dad after Reese left. So we've got him, Dad's girl, and his son."

"All the people Dad knew in town."

"At least we know why it's back."

"It wants revenge," Adam said.

"Yeah, but it's not gonna get it," Dean said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "We're gonna stop it."

"But how?" Birdie asked. "We don't even know what it is."

"We'll figure it out," Dean said. "But first we're gonna go back to Adam's. We can pick our stuff up after we kill this thing."

Birdie stood up straight, letting out a sigh. Then she nodded, offering Sam a small smile as he pushed himself off of the hood. "You want your jacket back?" she asked.

Sam breathed out a laugh, shaking his head. "No, I'm alright," he said. "You need it more than I do."

Birdie chuckled, slipping her hands into the pockets. "Thank you, Sam. But, there's probably a shirt I can borrow somewhere in the Impala."

"I wouldn't count on it," Sam said. "I wouldn't wear anything that's been left in there until after it's been washed three times."

Birdie snickered, her laugh growing louder when she heard Dean grumble under his breath that his car was very clean. Adam's eyes closely watched Sam and Birdie, a tiny shimmer in his eyes. Birdie let out a sigh and turned on her heel, automatically moving towards the backseat.

"Let's go," Dean said, instructing Sam and Adam to get in as well.

They did as said, all climbing into the Impala. Quiet music filled the car━━━it was the mixtape Birdie had made Dean for Christmas. Dark houses whizzed by, not a single light on inside any of the homes they passed. Birdie had her head resting against the window, her eyes shut as she simply listened to the music. Adam was in the seat next to her, his eyes peering out of the opposite window.

When they finally made it to Adam's house, they all climbed out of the car. Sam quietly hissed when he put pressure on his ankle. They weren't broken, but they were sore from the monster's harsh grip and tugging. He shook his head when he saw the concern on Birdie's face, brushing it off. Adam led the way back into his house, noticing there was still some yellow police tape in front of the door. He ducked under the tape, stepping into the kitchen. Dean simply tore the tape down, the sound causing Adam to turn around in confusion.

"Grab your stuff," Dean said, not wanting to waste another second in the house when the monster could come back at any moment for Adam. "We'll hit the road."

Adam nodded and flipped on the lights, walking down the hall. Sam took a seat at the kitchen table, Dean's eyes watching Adam disappear up the stairs. Birdie stood next to Sam, her gaze falling on the small pictures that were pinned to the fridge by magnets. There was one of Adam and his mother at his high school graduation, and another of Kate, Adam, and John at what appeared to be a basketball game for Adam. Dean turned back towards Sam and Birdie and Sam heavily sighed.

"We shouldn't leave," Sam said. He shifted in the chair and pulled another one closer, propping his ankle on the seat. Birdie twisted her lips, noticing some bruising when Sam pushed his pant leg up to see his ankle.

"Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked," Dean sarcastically replied. "Good one."

"I'm serious."

"No, Sam, we're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then the three of us are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started." Dean moved further into the kitchen, stopping in front of the fridge. Birdie walked around the table, leaning her arms on the top of one of the chairs. Her gaze fell on Sam again, seeing him pull out a bandage from his bag he'd set on the table.

"How? We got no leads, no witnesses," Sam said, shrugging a couple of seconds later. "We do have what this thing wants."

Dean furrowed his brows together and turned his head, sharing a glance with Birdie who wore an identical expression. He took a step forward, stealing a look down the hall to make sure Adam was still upstairs. "You want to use the kid as bait?" Dean asked, looking at Sam again. "That's why you want to stay here?"

"Maybe this thing will come back," Sam said.

Birdie shook her head, catching his eye again. "Sam, you're joking. Earlier it was fine, but this is too much for him right now."

"We could train Adam," Sam said. "Get him ready."

Dean leaned his hands on the table, expression unwavering as he stared at his little brother. "He could die, Sam."

"We could all die, Dean," Sam retorted, turning to Dean to return his sharp stare. A hint of surprise appeared on Birdie's face, standing up straight as her eyes stayed glued to Sam. "Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge, on Dad, on us." He unrolled some of the bandage, but he stopped when it was yanked out of his hand. He peered up at Birdie in confusion, but then he quietly sighed as she crouched down by his ankle. She ignored his stare and started to undo the bandage, briefly looking between the brothers. Sam shook his head, turning his head towards Dean. "What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?"

"I'll do it." Birdie paused, spotting Adam walking into the room from the hall. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, looking between the three hunters with a serious expression. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I want to do it."

Birdie carefully wrapped the bandage around Sam's ankle, sighing to herself as she stood up. An hour ago she would've been more willing to consider it, but after the monster tried taking Sam when it thought it was Adam, that changed things. It was a good thing to know how to handle monsters, but they didn't even know what they were dealing with. It also was after Adam, and having him trying to help would've only made him more of a liability. However, Sam wasn't ready to back down, and neither was Adam.

In the morning, Dean drove into the woods where he found a spot far enough from civilization to train Adam. It was clear to Adam that Dean didn't want to do it, though he wasn't saying it out loud; not anymore that is. Birdie simply observed Sam training Adam as she stood beside Dean, both sitting with their arms over their chests while they leaned against the side of the Impala. For it being his first time, Adam was rather skilled at shooting.

They were out there for a couple of hours, practicing shooting with multiple guns. Back at Adam's house, Sam showed Adam some more guns and how to clean and load them. Birdie occasionally chimed in to add something, though it wasn't a lot. Dean was silent, choosing to go through the books to see if he could find out what they were dealing with. There were plenty of books spread out around them in the dining and living rooms, the sound of flipping pages and Sam and Adam's chatter enough to keep Birdie's mind from spiraling into thoughts about Felicity, or her nightmares. With everything going on, it'd been easier to keep her mind at bay, yet somehow she had a feeling that it would soon come crashing down. In the meantime, though, she was going to take the distractions.

"So, then we lit it on fire."

"With a homemade flamethrower?" Adam asked, a small smile on his lips as he looked at Sam. They were talking about the hunt with the rugaru━━━Jack Montgomery.

"Yeah. They're easy to build," Sam softly smiled. He still didn't like how that case turned out, but Adam didn't need to know that. "I'll show you."

"That is some job you got, man."

Sam licked his lips, repositioning his elbows on his knees. "Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam. It's life. You're pre-med. You got a girlfriend, friends?" Adam nodded, a brief smile spreading on his lips. "Not anymore you don't." Birdie raised a brow, looking across the table at Dean. "If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections━━━ever. They're distractions, weaknesses. You'll just put those people in danger━━━get them killed."

Birdie abruptly stood up, harshly blinking as Sam turned his head. He slightly tilted his head, giving her a look that was meant to say she was different because she was a hunter, too, but Birdie didn't see it as that. "Un-fucking-believable," she grumbled, shaking her head as she walked over to the stairs and headed to the second floor without sparing him another glance. Dean raised his brows in surprise, only briefly catching Sam's eye.

He'd certainly messed that one up.

Sam heavily sighed, looking at Adam again. "She's. . .different. She was born into this life. But most people aren't, and there's no time for relationships. That's the price we pay," he said. "You cut 'em out, and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on━━━family."

"Sam," Dean said. Sam looked over and Dean raised his brows. "Can I talk to you?"

Dean stood up from the table, moving into the hall with Sam close behind. Adam glanced over his shoulder at them, frowning as he was once again left out of the conversation.

When Sam and Dean were a good distance away, Dean turned around to face Sam, holding his hands out at his sides. "What the fuck was that?" he asked.

Sam just stared at Dean with his brows slightly raised. "What?"

"'Hunting is life. You can't have connections,'" Dean repeated, his face slightly scrunched. Sam sighed, rolling his eyes and placing his hands on his hips. "Dad gave you that exact same speech, remember? It was just before you ditched us for Stanford. You hated Dad for saying that stuff, and now you're quoting him?"

"Yeah, well. . .turns out Dad was right."

Dean furrowed his brows together in disbelief. "Since when?"

"Just this once."

Dean rolled his head, shaking his head. "And what about Birdie?"

"What about her?"

"'No time for relationships?'" Dean said. "We both know that's fuckin' bullshit, and so does Adam."

"Come on, Birdie's different," Sam sharply snapped. "She knows I didn't mean it like that."

Dean scoffed out a laugh. "You sure about that 'cause that's not what it looked like to me."

Sam twisted his lips, shaking his head as an uncomfortable silence lingered between the brothers. "Dean, when I look at Adam, you know what I see?" he asked.

"A normal kid."

Sam shook his head. "No. Meat. Because the demons and monsters out there, that's all he is. I hated Dad for a long time. I did. And hell. . .I still do, but now I think I understand." As Sam spoke, Dean felt himself grow more confused, shifting his feet as he looked at his little brother. He'd never heard Sam sound like their father as much as he did right now. "So we didn't have a dog and a white picket fence. So what? Dad taught us how to protect ourselves. Adam deserves the same."

"Listen to yourself, man," Dean said, faintly shaking his head.

"You think I'm wrong?"

"I think it's too late for us," Dean answered. "This is our life. This is who we are, okay? And it's fine. I accept that. But with Adam, he's still got a chance, man. He can go to school. He could be a doctor."

"What makes Adam so special?"

"What, are you jealous of the kid?"

"Are you?"

Birdie held her breath, suddenly getting the sensation that they realized she was sitting on the top of the stairs. She placed a hand over her mouth, hoping it would muffle any sound she might make.

"Dean. . .all this. . .it's not real." Birdie let out a shaky breath, realizing they didn't know she was right there. She bit the inside of her cheek, lowering her hand as she continued to eavesdrop. "The dad Adam knew━━━he wasn't real. The things out there in the shadows━━━they are real. The world is coming to an end. That's real. Everything else is just part of the bullshit people tell themselves to get through the day."

"Dad didn't have a choice with us, okay? But with Adam, he did. Adam doesn't have to be cursed."

"He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."

"No," Dean said, shaking his head. "No, whatever's hunting Adam, I'm gonna find it."

"You already looked everywhere, Dean."

"Well, then I'll look again."

Birdie stood up and jogged down the stairs. Sam and Dean turned their heads, briefly sharing a glance as they wondered how much she might've heard. Birdie stopped on the last step, resting her arms on the handrail.

"I'm going with you," she told Dean.

"No━━━"

"Birdie━━━"

"No," Dean said again, firmly shaking his head. "You need to━━━"

"I wasn't asking," Birdie said, walking down the last few steps and folding her arms over her chest. She stepped closer to the boys, glancing between them. "I'm going, too."

"Birdie, wait━━━"

"It's fine, Sam," Birdie said, faking a smile. "I don't want the distraction or weakness getting in your way."

Sam sighed, tilting his head as his eyes softened. Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed Birdie's arm. "Come on, we don't have time for this."

Sam held his hand out, going to speak, but nothing managed to come out. Birdie glanced over her shoulder, catching sight of the guilt. However, she just faced forward and walked out of the house, slamming it shut behind her.

Dean opened the doors to the tomb, Birdie right behind him. It was the same one he'd looked at before with one of the groundskeepers who explained that the bodies inside hadn't just been taken, they were opened, too. Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight, turning it on. He stepped forward and Birdie entered the tomb as well, sporting her own flashlight.

"So, what was all that back there?" Dean wondered, glancing over at Birdie. He'd fought the urge to ask her in the car, taking her silence and gazing out of the window as a sign she didn't feel like talking about it. And, seeing that they were currently hunting an unknown monster, Dean didn't see a better time to ask.

Birdie raised her flashlight, shining it on some of the broken coffins. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb with me," Dean said, giving her a pointed stare. Birdie paused, lowering her flashlight as she faced Dean. She furrowed her brows together, keeping her confusion still on her face. "With Sam."

Birdie scoffed out a laugh after a few seconds, shrugging her shoulders. "It was nothing, Dean."

"Sure didn't look like nothin'," he said, taking a few steps closer to one of the cracked coffins.

Birdie twisted her lips, moving forward with her flashlight lighting up broken pieces of the coffins and piles of dirt and rubble. "I just. . .I don't know, honestly," she sighed. "I thought. . .I thought maybe we were doing okay."

"Oh, come on," Dean softly chuckled, looking over at Birdie again. "I've never seen two people more in love than you two. It honestly makes me sick⎯⎯⎯literally." Birdie scoffed under her breath, playfully rolling her eyes. "I mean it, Bird. He thinks he knows everything there is to know, but I think he sometimes forgets to think before he speaks. He loves you, you know?"

Birdie bit back a smile, finally returning Dean's stare. "I love him, too."

Dean chuckled, nodding his head. "Gross."

Birdie laughed along, letting her eyes continue to roam around the dingy tomb. Dean cleared his throat after his laughter died down and walked to the end of the room, still not finding anything he might've missed. He heavily sighed, shaking his head as he dropped his hand down at his side. He turned to the side, furrowing his brows when his flashlight illuminated a loose stone. But, what really caught his attention was the spider web that was faintly swaying in front of it like there was a hole nearby. Birdie glanced over when she noticed, coming up beside Dean.

"Hold this," Dean said. He pushed his flashlight into Birdie's hand, not giving her a chance to respond as he jogged out to the Impala. Birdie deeply frowned, watching him open the trunk. He pulled out a crowbar and hurried back into the tomb, brushing past Birdie. "Shine it over here."

Birdie adjusted her grip on the flashlight and stepped closer, shining it on the spot Dean had been looking at. He bent down and used the crowbar to loosen the stone, grunting as he did so. The stone scraped against the rocks as it was loosened, slipping out of its spot. Dean panted and dropped the crowbar off to the side. He grabbed the loose corners and pulled, gritting his teeth together. He stood up and adjusted his grip, pulling the stone out and pushing it out of the way. Dean then held his hand out and Birdie handed him his flashlight, also shining her light down as she crouched beside him. She leaned forward to peer inside the hole, realizing it was a tunnel.

Dean heavily sighed, dropping his head down. Birdie breathed out a laugh, patting his shoulder. "Guess it's my turn now, huh?"

Dean sat up on his knees, looking up at Birdie in confusion. "What?"

"It's my turn, remember?" Birdie said. "You crawled in the vent at Adam's. Now. . .it's my turn to crawl in. . .whatever the hell this is."

Dean immediately shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"But you made me play rock━━━"

"I thought for sure Sam would lose━━━"

"Then here," Birdie interrupted, holding up her fist. Dean scoffed and Birdie just raised her brows, indicating she was being serious. Dean heavily sighed but reluctantly held up his free hand. A couple of seconds later, they both moved their fists up and down, stopping at the same moment. Dean looked at Birdie's hand and started to scoff, but then he realized what she picked.

She picked paper.

He chose scissors.

Birdie softly smiled, nudging Dean out of her way. "Ladies first, anyways."

Dean chuckled under his breath, shaking his head as he moved out of her way. Birdie laid down on the ground and suspiciously peered into the tunnel, letting out a reluctant sigh. Then she tightened her grip on her flashlight and began to crawl forward.

"I'm right behind you, Bird," Dean said, some scuffling coming from behind Birdie that told her he was.

"Alright, but if I gotta start backin' up, you better move fast," she said, softly chuckling under her breath.

Dean scoffed, continuing to crawl behind Birdie. "You haven't eaten any burritos today, have you?"

"No. Why?"

"I wanna make sure you're not gonna get gassy like Sam."

Birdie sarcastically laughed, shaking her head. She crawled forward, using her elbows to pull herself closer to the other exit. She slowed down when she started to near it, spotting what appeared to be another tomb.

"What? What is it?" Dean asked, lifting his head to try and peer around Birdie when she stopped.

"Hang on," Birdie said, moving closer to the edge.

She partially crawled out of the hole, realizing it was in fact another tomb. It looked similar to the one she and Dean had come from, but this one was darker as if all the windows were blocked off. She crawled out of the hole and onto a dusty coffin, turning around to slide off and land on the ground on her feet. Dean poked his head out of the hole and Birdie set her flashlight on the ground, looking up at Dean. She reached her hands out, grabbing Dean's hands to help him climb out.

He adjusted his legs and slid down onto the ground, panting as he stood up straight. "Home sweet home," he said, causing Birdie to snicker. Birdie brushed some dirt and dust off of her clothes and picked up her flashlight.

There were bones on the ground, all spread throughout the small tomb. Dean shined his flashlight around as well, peering around the dingy room. Birdie walked towards the coffins in front of her, noticing layers of dust coating them. It didn't appear like anyone had visited the tomb in a long time.

Dean stepped forward, immediately stopping when something squished under his shoe. Birdie sharply turned around, nose scrunched up as she walked over to see what it was. Dean bent down, spotting the pool of blood next to a severed arm and a pair of large, black glasses. Dean picked up the glasses, looking up at Birdie. "Sloppy Joe."

Birdie groaned, shaking her head. "Gross."

There was the sound of something in the tunnel and Dean grabbed Birdie's arm, yanking her to crouch beside him. They both reached for their guns, but Dean stood up first, shining his light into the tunnel. Someone, or something, was putting the stones back in order to cover up the tunnel. Dean's eyes widened and he fired multiple times, but suddenly dirt quickly began to fill the tunnel along with rocks.

Dean turned away, covering his face as bits of dirt speckled out towards them. Birdie winced and stood up, seeing their only way in or out of the tomb was now gone. "Oh, son of a bitch!" Dean groaned.

Birdie quickly moved around the room━━━being careful of where she stepped━━━in hopes of finding another way out. Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly clicking on Sam's name. He held it up to try and get some bars, but there was no signal. "Fuck."

Birdie hurried over to the doors, trying to tug on the handles, but they refused to budge. Dean came over and hit and kicked at the doors, but it still wouldn't budge. It was sealed for good; the groundskeepers were only concerned about keeping people from getting into the tomb, not getting out.

"There has to be another way out," Birdie sighed, wiping some sweat off her forehead.

"Has to be," Dean said.

They both continued to explore the tomb, pushing part of a skeleton out of the way with a foot. There was another skeleton with barely any hair left on it leaning against one of the walls, just a few pieces of tattered clothes left clinging to their bones. Dean looked at one of the coffins, slowing to a stop when he saw relatively fresh blood smeared on the outside.

"Bird," he said, nudging his head.

Birdie walked over with a small frown, sighing when she saw the blood. There were more body parts discarded to the left, but she did her best not to look at them.

"Give me a hand," Dean said, moving to the end of the coffin. Birdie stuffed her flashlight in her pocket and moved to the other end, lifting at the same time as Dean. They immediately coughed when a foul stench bombarded their noses. Dean held up his flashlight and shined it on the face of the body that was laid inside the coffin━━━it was Kate Milligan, Adam's mother. He shined the light further down her body and Birdie gagged, being able to see the woman's insides. Birdie took a step back, shaking her head as she held a hand over her mouth.

She didn't think they would find Kate alive, though she'd been hoping they would. Of course, she should have known better by now.

Birdie ran a hand through her hair, stopping when her eyes caught sight of more blood on the coffin below. "Dean." Dean followed Birdie's gaze and saw it too. They opened that coffin as well, and this time Birdie gasped at who was inside.

It was Adam, or parts of him, anyways. His eyes were wide open, lips slightly parted with some dried blood smudged on his crackly lips. His body was torn open just like his mothers, blood soaked into his clothes and the fabric of the coffin.

"Oh fuck. . ." Birdie whispered, slowly turning her head to meet Dean's gaze.

"We gotta go. Now."

Now aware that Sam was alone with a monster, Dean and Birdie became even more determined to escape the tomb. Dean kicked and hit the door again, but it still wasn't working. Birdie couldn't find any other loose stones that led them out, or even to another tomb.

Digging at the tunnel was simply hopeless━━━it would take them hours that they didn't have to finally manage to make a path.

Birdie desperately looked around, noticing a stained-glass window depicting an angel above them. "Dean," she said, causing him to follow her gaze.

Dean's eyes glanced around the tomb, stopping by the coffins. Birdie got the same idea and they hurried over, grabbing the one on the bottom and carrying it over to place it under the window. Birdie let out a heavy pant, but she didn't let her tiredness deter her. She and Dean then grabbed another coffin, stacking it on top of the other one as fast as they could. It wasn't the most steady way to climb up, but it would have to do.

Birdie carefully climbed on top, glancing over her shoulder when Dean didn't follow suit. He walked to the side of the coffin and broke a long piece of metal off of the coffins, momentarily leaning against it as he caught his breath. "Holy fuck," he said.

Birdie breathed out a forced laugh, holding her hand out to him. He set the bar on the coffin and then took her hand, pulling him onto the coffin. Birdie stood up straight and shrugged her jacket off, moving to stand directly in front of Dean. Dean furrowed his brows together, holding up a hand at her as his other one held the metal bar. "Woah, hey, you're with Sam━━━"

"Dean, shut up," Birdie said, rolling her eyes with a small smile. "I'm taking this off to hold it over us so we won't get glass on us."

"Oh."

Birdie raised her brows, humming in response.

Dean nodded and then lifted the bar, giving Birdie a look that told her to get ready. Birdie held up her jacket, quickly holding it over their heads after Dean smashed the bar through the window. He moved it around, wanting to make sure there was enough room for them to get out without getting scraped up too badly. Birdie clenched her eyes shut, hearing the pieces shatter even more as they hit the ground. When it finally stopped, she moved her jacket, shaking it off to the side to try and get all of the glass off of it. Then Dean placed the bar through the window, using it to pull himself out. Birdie put her jacket back on, offering Dean a small smile when he poked his head down. He held his hand out and Birdie quickly took his hand in hers, grunting as Dean pulled her up and out of the hole.

⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅

Birdie crept down the stairs, tightly gripping her shotgun. Dean was close behind, his own gun in his hand as they silently moved through the Milligan house. They could hear Adam and a female's voice, taunting Sam. It made Birdie clench her jaw, fingers wrapping around her gun more as she crouched down by the couch, narrowing her eyes on the back of Adam's head. She could now see Sam was tied to the dining table, rope bound to the legs of the table to keep him from getting free. There were bowls placed on the ground, collecting his blood that dribbled down from his wrists.

"Sam, the more you struggle, the faster you're gonna bleed out. So you might as well lie back and relax," Adam, or the monster pretending to be Adam, said.

Dean moved past the couch and Birdie stood up, hurrying after him. "Hey!" Dean shouted, coming into view with his shotgun in hand.

He shot at Adam, causing him to hit the wall behind him. Kate, no doubt another monster, gasped through her blood stained lips. Birdie went for her when she tried to run around the table, but Kate rushed forward and knocked Birdie on her back.

"They're ghouls!" Sam shouted.

Birdie attempted to reach for her gun, but Kate grabbed the collar of Birdie's jacket and slammed her onto the ground. Birdie hissed, narrowing her eyes on the woman. She lifted her hands and hit Kate's elbows, causing them to buckle. Birdie shoved the woman off of her and crawled towards her gun. "You fucking bitch!" Kate snarled, grabbing Birdie by her ankles. Birdie grunted, barely catching a glimpse of Adam knocking Dean into the living room. Dean quickly got up and grabbed Adam, slamming the monster into the coffee table.

Kate pulled Birdie closer, crawling on top of her. She grabbed Birdie's wrists, pinning them behind her head. She wiggled under the ghoul, gritting her teeth together. "I recognize you now. . ." Kate said, wickedly grinning down at Birdie. "Your dear old Daddy was here with John, but he had to leave. Something to do with. . .his daughter, was it? We couldn't kill him, so we guess you'll have to do."

"Motherf━━━"

Birdie shrieked when she felt teeth sink into her shoulder, whimpering at the pain that seared through her entire shoulder. She clenched her eyes shut and swung her head forward, colliding with Kate's. Kate hissed, sitting up as a hand cradled the side of her head. Birdie took that as her chance and used her free hand, hitting Kate in the head again before pushing her off of her. Kate fumbled onto her side, grunting as the pain radiated inside her head. Birdie clambered onto her feet, heavily panting as she lifted her fists up when Kate stood up as well. More blood was smeared around Kate's lips and she furrowed her brows together, smacking her lips together as the taste of Birdie's blood lingered on her tongue. "Your blood. . ." Kate said, suspiciously eying Birdie, "It tastes different. Both of yours do."

A hint of confusion appeared on Birdie's face as well as Sam's, but it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Birdie rushed at Kate, shoving the woman into a china cabinet. The glass inside clattered and clashed against the doors, a few pieces slipping out and shattering on the floor. Kate grabbed Birdie's arms, sinking her nails into her skin. Birdie gritted her teeth together and yanked Kate backwards, lifting her leg and kicking her into the living room.

Dean grabbed a metal lamp and tried to slam it into Adam's head, but Adam dodged it just in time. Adam swiftly punched Dean in the face, causing him to drop the lamp. Birdie bent down and grabbed her gun, smirking at Kate when she lifted her head. "Taste this, bitch," Birdie said. She fired the gun, shooting Kate's head clean off. Birdie looked across the room, blinking a few times as she witnessed Dean beat Adam with a fireplace poker until there was nothing left of his head.

"Dean! Birdie!"

Birdie dropped her gun and spun around, rushing over to help Sam with Dean. She felt a rush of panic when seeing all the blood he'd already lost and how tired he looked, his eyes fluttering as he fought to remain conscious. Birdie pulled out a pocket knife, frantically cutting the rope and tape that bound him to the table. Sam painfully groaned and moved his arms once they were freed, blood still trickling down his arms as blood oozed from the gnarly gashes.

Dean grabbed some cloths from the kitchen and hastily tossed one to Birdie. She swiftly caught it, helping Sam sit up along with Dean's help. "Come on. Come on. Come on," Dean whispered. Sam grunted, holding his arms out in front of him. Dean and Birdie placed the rags over Sam's wrists, firmly pressing to try and ease the bleeding for the time being. "Hang on. All right, here we go." Sam grunted at the immense pain, clenching his teeth together. Birdie winced along with him, her heart unable to stop racing as her eyes stayed glued to Sam. "Hang on, buddy. All right."

Sam panted, glancing between Dean and Birdie. "Thank you."

"That's what family's for, right?" Dean said, softly smiling. Dean looked at Birdie, silently speaking to her. She quickly nodded, adjusting Sam's wrists so they were closer together with her hands still keeping pressure on both of them now. Dean stepped out of the room and Sam sighed, trying to catch his breath.

"I thought I lost you," Birdie whispered, a frown apparent on her lips.

Sam forced out a laugh, turning his head to meet her gaze. "Not this time."

Birdie gave him a small smile, breathing out a faint laugh. Sam leaned his head on Birdie's shoulder, momentarily closing his eyes. Birdie fought the urge to let her smile widen, softly sighing as she laid her head on top of Sam's.

That was too close.

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here is the new chapter as promised for birdie's birthday!!!! 🥳 i know it doesn't have anything to do with her birthday, but i'm hoping to include their birthdays later on in the story at some point!

and omg y'all, there's only 3 more chapters until the end of this act hehe!! 🤭 then it's on to season five where lots and LOTS of things are gonna happen!!! 😈😅👀🥰

it might end up being a bit of a mess, but oh well, i can accept that. plus, that's kinda fitting for the show too lmao.

anyways, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and i hope y'all enjoyed!