So, I suck at this every week thing. I blame the holidays. Things are slowing WAY down here, no more extra curricular activities for the big kid, and the baby is becoming more independent, so hopefully I can keep up with some semblance of a posting schedule. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Hermione woke up and noticed that the bed was empty next to her. She tried to determine what time it was, impossible to tell, since she was in a freakin' bunker, and pulled her wand. She cursed. It was nearly one in the afternoon. She jumped out of bed, pulled her hair into a pony tail and exited the room.

It didn't take long for her to figure out where everyone was. She followed the voices back into the large atrium they had entered through the previous night. Sitting at the large map table were her kids, Sam, Dean, Cas and another young man she didn't recognize.

She walked over to the table and smiled at Dean as he made eye contact with her. Last night, as they lay in bed together with her kids, he told her he loved her for the first time. And she said it back. Which surprised the hell out of her. It was too soon to be feeling this way and saying those words, right? They had been together for less than a month. She was never this impulsive, especially when it came to her kids. But for some reason she found herself half a country away from home, with a man whom she apparently loved, and who loved her back. Was she going through some mid-life crisis?

She thought back to the night before and her encounter with Dean and Sam's mom and she felt a little sick. That was not the first impression she had hoped to have with Dean's mom. It definitely put a wrench in her watching the kids while she attempted to rip Michael from Dean's brain. There was no way the kids were going to want to spend any time with her now. Talk about opening old wounds.

She smiled at the sight of her kids with Dean and his family. They were so at ease. She didn't think they would want to leave her side this morning. Not after seeing her that way last night. But there they were. Happily sitting between Dean and Sam, playing a card game.

"Good morning," she said, announcing her presence.

Everyone turned toward her and greeted her with big smiles.

"Mummy!" Rose exclaimed, leaping up from her place and running over to give her a big hug.

"Good morning, love."

"We're playing Go Fish!" Rose said excitedly.

"You are?" Hermione said, smiling down at her daughter. "Who's winning?"

"Hugo," she said. "But I think Uncle Sam is helping him cheat," she said looking over her shoulder giving Sam and Hugo a dirty look.

Hermione looked up and Sam just shrugged. "I plead the fifth."

Hermione shook her head. "You should have woken me."

Dean shook his head. "We felt you would benefit from the extra sleep, especially with what we're planning to do later. You could use the rest and the extra strength. So," Dean said, standing up, grabbing something off of the table and bringing it to her. "Eat up. We saved you some breakfast. It's a little cold, but I figure you can do your little," he waved his hand over the food, and gave her a big grin.

She shook her head. "Thank you." She did pull out her wand and waved it over the food, making it steam again.

Dean bent down and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before putting his arm around Rose and guiding her back toward the table. "Let's let mom eat and go back and try and beat Hugo and Sam, okay?"

Rose nodded enthusiastically and ran back to the table. Dean turned back to her.

"Take your time, Glinda," he said. "When you're done eating we'll show you where the box is, and where we'll be keeping the kids."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you," she said. "Not just for this, but for last night. Just, thank you."

Dean gave her his crooked smile. The one she loved the most. "Of course."

He gave her one more quick kiss and then moved back to his spot next to Rose, picking up his cards. She moved over to join them at the table, taking the empty seat next to Cas.

She smiled at him as she sat down. "Good morning, Cas. It's been a while."

"Good morning," he answered. "This is Jack," he said, gesturing to the young man next to him.

"Hello, Jack."

"Hello," Jack greeted, a wide smile on his face. "I like your kids. They're really nice. I've never met another kid before."

Hermione looked at him, her smile dropping as she tried to figure out what he meant by that statement.

"Jack is the child of a human and an angel. He's a nephilim. When he was born two years ago, he came out looking like, this," Cas explained. "So while he looks like a young man in his twenties, he is, in reality, the same age as your son."

Hermione slowly nodded her head. "You're the same age as Hugo, but you look like you're an adult. How confusing that must be."

Jack just shrugged. "It's getting better. Dean, Sam and Cas have been really good at raising me. They're my dads. Well, my adoptive dads. My real dad is Lucifer."

"Lucifer? Like the Devil? The Devil is your father?"

"Yep!" Jack confirmed enthusiastically. "But don't worry, everyone says I take after my mother."

Hermione just nodded as she took a bite of her breakfast.

"Don't worry, Hermione," Cas said from next to her. "He's really harmless. Enthusiastic, but harmless. He used to be able to do angel type magic, but Lucifer stole his grace a few months ago, so now he's human, just like you. So he truly is harmless."

"Oh, Jack," she said, sympathetically. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Jack said. "I've adjusted pretty well to being human, other than almost dying."

"Jack," Cas warned.

Jack looked chastened, before turning back to Hermione. "Can I stay in the room with Sam and your children when you're doing your spell? Dean said I needed to ask you first."

Hermione smiled. "Sure. I think you would have fun, and it'll give the kids someone else to play with."

Jack gave her the biggest smile that took over his entire face, his eyes lighting up in excitement. You would think that she had told him he won the lottery. And who knew, maybe the prospect of spending time with people his age was like winning the lottery for him. She didn't know, she had never met a nephilim before.

Excitement erupted on the other end of the table.

"I won!" Rose squealed jumping up from her seat.

"Not fair!" Hugo yelled.

"We can play again," Sam reassured the upset little boy.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, as he gathered all the cards together. "We can definitely play again."

"I on Daddy's team now," Hugo declared. "You on Unca Sam's, Rosie."

Silence fell over the adults in the room. Hermione felt her heart constrict in her chest.

"Yeah," Dean said, emotion lacing his voice sounding tight. He coughed. "Yeah, why don't you and Rose switch spots, we'll switch teams this time around, buddy."

Hermione could feel tears in her eyes as she watched her kids switch spots and settle in to play another round. She set her fork down on the table, and stood up. "Will you excuse me?" she said to Cas and Jack before she walked away from the table and moved back down the hallway.

She had barely made it down the hall before she had to stop. She felt her heart contracting in her chest as she she put her back against the wall, and she couldn't hold the sobs in anymore. She slid to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest, burying her face in them.

"Hermione?" she heard a voice from above her. "I just wanted to apologize for last night. I truly am sorry. I'm just overly cautious and protective of my boys, and…" she heard Mary trail off. "Are you okay?"

Hermione brought her head up from her knees and looked at Mary, her face stained with tears, her eyes probably red and puffy. "I can't lose him."

Mary's face fell as she gave the girl a look of sympathy. She moved until she was next to Hermione and sat down next to her.

"You're not going to lose him. I know my son, and he loves you. And those children. I was out there with them earlier. He adores them, and those kids adore him, too. What makes you think you're going to lose him?"

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but failing. "If I can't get Michael out of his head, that's it. That's the last shot we have. After this, if I fail, he's going to lock himself in that blasted box and have us drop him to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. And that's it. How do I explain to my kids the man they have started to call Daddy is gone forever, just as they have grown attached to him?"

Mary put her arm around Hermione's shoulder and pulled her into her body. "You're not going to fail. I talked to Dean this morning, and he's feeling very confident that you know what you're doing. He's not worried, so you shouldn't be either. And if this doesn't work, it is not the last shot. We're Winchesters. We don't give up. We'll just find another way. I will not let Dean lock himself in that box. Not when he has a family who cares about him. I won't let him sacrifice himself and break your heart and destroy those children. I won't."

Hermione turned her head and looked at Mary. She was fierce, and you could really see that she loved her kids. And that when she made a promise, she would keep it.

"Thank you," Hermione said wiping her eyes. "And I forgive you for last night. I understand being vigilant. I was taught when I was younger to always be vigilant. I was actually kicking myself for not being vigilant last night. I've grown too comfortable with my surroundings."

Mary smiled at her. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, and I am really kicking myself for scaring the kids. I hope to get back in their good graces after this is all over."

Hermione returned her smile. "I'm sure we can get there. Especially once we explain everything to them. My daughter, Rose, has had a rough beginning, but she's pretty easy to forgive."

"I'm glad."

The two women sat in silence in the hallway, listening to the game going on in the atrium.

"I love him," Hermione said, quietly. "I love him, my children are starting to think of him as a father, and we have only known him less than a month. Are we crazy? We're moving too fast, aren't we?"

"It's not too fast when it's right. I fell in love with Sam and Dean's father just as quickly as you and Dean have fallen. When it's right, it's right. And when you're in the line of work we are, you tend to either hold fast to the good, or push it away. And I'm thrilled that Dean has chosen the former. He has been through a lot, and he deserves to be happy. When I married John, I gave up hunting and tried to live a normal life. I think Dean has more than earned his retirement."

Hermione shook her head. "I could never ask him to give up hunting. I know what it's like to be told what to do, to be controlled, I could never do that to him."

"Your ex? The father of your children?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes."

Mary nodded. "I could tell after your daughter's freak out last night that your previous experience was not a good one. But I want you to know, if Dean chooses to retire from this life, he won't be doing anything he doesn't want to do already. He's been in the life since he was four, essentially. He'll be more than ready to settle down. And now, with the hunters from the other world here, we have consolidated man power, and he can just walk away and live happily ever after. A fate he has more than earned."

"Do you think we'll be able to get Michael out of him and into the box?"

Mary shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But we'll try and if it doesn't work, we'll lock Dean in a room with the kids so he can remember why he shouldn't martyr himself for once, and we'll figure out our next step."

Hermione nodded. "Good, because I just found him, and he's made me the happiest I've been in a long, long time. I'm not ready to give him up."

"You won't need to. I promise."

SPNHP

Jack closed his eyes from where he was standing with his back against the wall. He was just at the entrance to the hallway. He had gotten up to follow Hermione to make sure she was okay. She had gotten up so quickly from the table, he didn't know what to do. He had followed her to make sure she was okay. She was so nice to him, even after learning who he really was. She didn't recoil or anything. And Dean seemed to really care for her. But she seemed genuinely upset when she heard her son call him dad. Did she not want her son to think of Dean as a dad? He didn't know why she wouldn't want Dean to be her kids' dad. He was a great dad.

Once he was in the hallway he overheard her talking to Mary and it all started to make sense. She wasn't upset that her son called Dean dad, she was upset because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to get Michael out of Dean's head and she wouldn't be able to keep him around. That he would sacrifice himself to keep the world safe. Which, he knew Dean, and he would totally do that. Totally sacrifice himself for the greater good.

He thought about how Sam, Dean and Cas had saved him this year. How they had brought him literally back from the dead. He knew he wasn't supposed to use his powers, that using them would burn the rest of his soul. But if push came to shove, he knew his powers were the one thing that could take down Michael. And saving Dean from having to spend the rest of eternity at the bottom of the ocean because Michael was anchored to him was worth sacrificing his soul for, wasn't it?

He heard Mary and Hermione stand up and start making their way back into the atrium, and he quickly moved away from the wall and headed back to the table. He took his seat and watched as Dean helped the little boy in his lap play the card game. He looked so happy. The kids looked happy. And that's when he decided that, yes, this was a cause worth sacrificing his soul for. Absolutely.