Mom?

Ben opened his eyes to see Jesse fast asleep curled up over his legs at the end of the bed. Odd. He could've sworn they fell asleep cuddling together. Jesse must've moved in his sleep. Maybe he'd had trouble sleeping. They were going into a pretty dangerous situation in a few hours, so it only made sense that he'd be a bit restless.

A soft snore caught Ben's attention. He turned his head and immediately regretted the decision. His neck was terribly stiff. He must have done something to it. Dean sat in a chair next to the bed, sleeping soundly. What the hell was Dean doing there? Had the guy never heard of privacy? Strangely, Ben wasn't upset by Dean sitting there. He wasn't mad at Dean hardly at all.

Looking at him, Ben started to remember fire. Dean had been thrown through a wall of fire.

Ben gingerly turned his head and stared up at the ceiling.

Fire.

Jesse had been fighting someone. Jack.

Ben remembered flying through the fire into a tight grip. He remembered scared faces.

One blue eye and one black.

Adam.

Ben's hand flew to his neck only to make him groan in pain. It wasn't just his neck that was stiff. Every part of him felt tight and painful.

At his groan, Jesse stirred. "Ben?" he asked quietly.

Ben sighed. "What the hell happened?"

"Ben!" Jesse shouted, waking up Dean.

Dean said a shocked, "Ben!"

Jesse got on his knees quickly and pulled Ben into a hug. Ben hissed in pain from the movement.

Jesse pulled away and asked, "You're in pain? What hurts?"

"Everything," Ben groaned, laying back down as gingerly as he could.

Jesse put a hand on Ben's chest, sending a pulse of warm energy radiating through him.

Dean got up from his chair. "Thank God you're awake. You scared me half to death," he said.

"How do you feel now?" Jesse asked.

Ben experimentally tried to sit up. He felt completely fine. "A lot better," he said.

Dean pulled Ben into a tight embrace. "I thought we lost you, kid," he said over Ben's shoulder.

Ben asked, "What happened?"

Dean released Ben and sat back in his chair looking at him confused like he couldn't find the words for what he wanted to say. Jesse faced Ben with a similar expression. He opened his mouth like he was going to talk, but he quickly closed it.

Krissy scrambled to her feet and rushed over to Ben. Ben hadn't even known she was on the floor. She hugged Ben tightly. "Don't you ever do that to me again," she said.

Claire got up from where Krissy had been and stood over by Dean's chair. She said, "I'm glad you're okay."

Ben patted Krissy on the back, prompting her to let go of him. Ben looked around at his family, who all seemed immeasurably happy to see him awake, and knew something really bad must've happened to him.

"Somebody better tell me what happened, or I'm gonna start freaking out," Ben said.

Dean asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Ben said, "Adam snapped my neck."

Dean winced and asked, "You remember that?"

Ben nodded. "What happened?" he asked, "How did I survive that?"

"You didn't," Claire said when no one else spoke, "Adam killed you."

Ben looked around at the others. He started breathing faster as the weight of those words hit him. He asked, "Is that true? I died? Then, how-" Ben looked at Jesse.

Jesse dropped his gaze. He said, "I, umm-"

"Jesse saved you," Dean said, "He called Death and got her to bring you back."

"What?" Ben asked.

Jesse said, "I had to. I tried to revive you on my own, I fixed your neck, I did everything I could, but you were gone. So, I used the world tree to send a message. And Death heard it. She brought you back."

Ben couldn't quite remember how to breath. He died. He had actually died. He tried to remember anything after Adam killing him, but it was blank. The next thing he really remembered was waking up in bed.

But there was something. Something between then and now. Something warm and familiar. A peaceful spring day. A soft smile. It wasn't a memory so much as a feeling.

Ben closed his eyes and shook his head. No matter what he remembered or didn't remember, he was glad he wasn't dead. He wasn't ready to die. Ben looked at Jesse. "Thank you," he said.

Jesse smiled at him.

Ben turned to Dean. "Can we talk?" he asked.

Dean nodded and said, "Yeah, 'course we can."

Jesse got up from the bed. Claire headed for the door. Krissy met Ben's eyes quickly before putting an arm around Jesse. "C'mon, let's see what kind of stuff these guys keep in their kitchen. I'm starving," she said. They left Dean and Ben alone quickly.

Once the door closed, Ben said, "Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean's eyebrows shot up, surprised. He asked, "You're sorry? What are you talking about? If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me."

"I'm sorry for getting so mad and for taking it out on you," Ben said, "Crowley killed Mom, not you. Even if you hadn't wiped our memories, it probably wouldn't have changed anything. It's not like you meant for any of that to happen. You didn't know."

"I'm sorry for putting you in such a dangerous situation with my murderous demonic half-brother," Dean said.

Ben said, "You didn't know what we were going up against."

"Exactly," Dean said, "I shouldn't have let you go on a mission completely blind. What kind of father am I?"

"You and I both know I wasn't staying behind," Ben said, "And after Michigan, I definitely wouldn't have listened to you even if I wanted to."

Dean said, "Yeah, Michigan. Jesus. That's still on me. If I hadn't met your mom-"

"Then, I wouldn't exist," Ben said, "And you would've absolutely lost it after Sam went to Hell."

Dean sat back and regarded Ben for a minute. "You sure you're not Sam's kid?" he asked, "He's always making good points like that."

Ben grinned.

Dean asked, "You know I would've killed Crowley the first chance I got if I knew what he did, right?"

Ben nodded. He said, "Yeah, I know you would've."

"So, we're okay?" Dean asked, "Just like that?"

Ben said, "Yeah, just like that."

Dean gave Ben a relieved smile, and Ben immediately felt a thousand times better. Something still bothered him a bit, though.

"Can I ask you something?" Ben asked.

Dean looked at Ben expectantly.

"How did Crowley die?"

"You wanna know how Crowley died?" Dean asked, confused.

Ben nodded. "Well, if I can't kill him, I wanna know who did," he said.

Dean said, "You're not gonna like it. He killed himself."

"What? Why?" Ben asked.

Dean said, "It was kind of weird situation. Basically, he sacrificed himself to help us trap Lucifer in an alternate dimension."

"I don't get it," Ben said, "Crowley was evil. He killed my mom just to hurt you. He was a demon. But he helped you go up against Lucifer?"

"Twice," Dean said, "Crowley was a complicated person. He did a lot of bad, twisted, evil shit, but he also did help us a lot. He wanted power, but once he got it, it wasn't what he really wanted. After Sam and I tried turning him human, he was all over the place. In the end, he made the sacrifice play. I gotta respect that, but that makes it really hard to reconcile with what he did to your mom."

Ben sighed and said, "You're right. I don't like it. I'd feel a lot better if he were just plain evil and someone had taken his head off."

"I know what you mean," Dean said. There was something about that warm, peaceful feeling he had from when he'd been dead that helped take the edge off of not being able to kill Crowley. He clung onto it.

"Hey, speaking of people who switch alliances, I have to tell you something," Dean said.

Ben did not like the sounds of that. He braced himself.

"Jack is back on our side," he said.

Ben stood up quickly. "What?!" he shouted.

Dean got to his feet and moved in front of Ben. "It's okay," he said, "Jack doesn't always have the best judgment, but-"

"How is it okay? He attacked Jesse and tried to kill me," Ben said angrily. He moved around Dean and headed for the door.

The moment he opened the door, Ben saw Jack standing in the hallway.

Ben shoved Jack into the wall and said, "Give me one good reason not to end you right now."

"Just one? You have no weapon, you couldn't hurt me anyway, and I am not posing a threat to you," Jack said.

Something about his matter of fact tone reminded him of Jesse. Ben released Jack and took a couple steps back.

"You wanna tell me what you're doing here?" Ben asked.

Jack looked directly into Ben's eyes. "I heard Dean tell you about me, and when you reacted like I thought you would, I felt it would be best if I explained myself to you," he said.

Ben folded his arms across his chest. "Start talking."

"I'm the son of Lucifer and a beautiful woman named Kelly, but the Winchesters raised me. I used to live here, actually," Jack said. He looked at Dean for a moment, but he returned his unwavering stare to Ben. "I left them. I traveled around for a long time. When I met Adam, he talked me into siding with him. I realize now that this was a mistake. He lied to me. He told me no one would die. When he told me about Jesse, I had to see him for myself. I never meant to cause either of you harm."

"You tried to crush me to death," Ben said flatly.

"I swear I just did that to coax Jesse to use the rest of his powers. He was holding back. I never wanted to hurt you. Any harm that I did, I fully intended to fix. Adam got to you before I could-I'm sorry," Jack said.

Ben frowned. "What's your deal with Jesse?" he asked.

Jack said, "It's complicated."

"Explain it to me."

"I'm a nephilim," Jack said, "There have been others over time, but none of them had the powers that I do. There's never been anyone who can do the things I do. Except Jesse. I needed to see his abilities. I needed to see that someone like me didn't have to be evil."

"So, you sided with Adam and Kali. Makes perfect sense," Ben said.

"Like I said, I know now that that was a mistake," Jack said.

Ben said, "Hell of a mistake."

"Ben, the kid's five years old," Dean said, "Like I said, his judgment isn't the best."

Ben stared at Dean. Was he nuts? He pointed at Jack. "This guy is not five years old," he said.

Dean said, "When he was born, he aged rapidly. He's five. Most of the time, he acts older, but there a lot of common sense stuff that isn't quite where you'd expect it to be. No offense, Jack."

"None taken," Jack said quietly.

Ben looked back at Jack. He said, "I don't know how to react to this. Thanks for not being evil right now, I guess?"

"You're welcome," Jack said. He sounded like he was being sincere. This was insane.

"Jack helped save your life, too," Dean said softly.

Ben turned to his father, clearly waiting for him to explain.

Dean said, "I don't really know how it worked, but Jesse stuck his fingers in Jack's chest. It made Jesse's eyes turn black, so I think it gave him a power boost or something."

"The energy in my blood was able to feed his power," Jack said, "I helped him boost his power so that he could access all of the realms at once. That's what got Death's attention. I helped Jesse, but I wouldn't necessarily count it as helping to save Ben, though I am glad that he is okay."

Ben ran a hand over his face. Jesse's eyes went black? What the hell?

Sam walked out of a room down the hall and headed away from them.

Dean patted Ben on the shoulder and said, "As long as you two aren't going to kill each other, I've got a bone to pick with my brother."

Dean walked down the hall after Sam.

Jesse appeared a moment later. Ben jumped at his sudden arrival.

"I see you've met Jack," Jesse said.

Ben nodded. "Did you know he's apparently only five years old?" he asked.

Jesse looked at Jack. "No, I didn't. That's really impressive," he said.

Jack smiled.

Ben shook his head. Too much weird. He needed food.

"Did you guys find anything good in the kitchen?" Ben asked Jesse.

Jesse shrugged. "They have a few things, but-"

Dean's voice drifted loudly down the hall. "He's not even human!" he said.

"Seriously?" Sam said, "Neither is Cas."

Dean said, "Well, Cas didn't try to kill us."

"Yes, he did," Sam said, "Multiple times."

"And how many times did Gabriel kill me in one day?" Dean countered.

"Dean, he was trying to make a point to me, and that was a long time ago. He's different now," Sam said.

"And that just makes everything okay?" Dean asked.

Sam said, "You don't have to like him, Dean. You just need to accept that he's here, and he needs our help."

"That's not what I have a problem with, Sam!"

"Dean, I'm not apologizing for loving him. You need to get used to it."

Ben cleared his throat. "Kitchen?" he asked.

A scream rang out through the bunker. The three of them ran down the hall towards it.

Ben skidded to halt in front of the room Sam had come out of. Someone was thrashing around in the bed. Between the harsh movements, he saw that it was Gabriel.

Sam rushed passed them and ran over to Gabriel, grabbing the archangel's hands.

"Gabe, look at me," Sam said, "I'm right here. You're okay."

Gabriel struggled against him for a moment, arms stiff.

"Gabe, it's okay. I'm here, you're safe," Sam said.

Gabriel stilled and looked up at Sam. He burst into tears, hugging Sam tightly. Sam looked over his shoulder at Dean.

Dean put one hand on Ben's shoulder and the other on Jack's, steering them and Jesse away from the room.

Jesse asked, "Is he okay?"

Dean said, "Doesn't look like Gabriel's doing too hot, but it's none of our business."

Krissy and Claire came running around the corner with knives in hand.

Dean sighed. "Everything's fine," he said, "You guys eat yet?"

The girls looked at Dean, confused.

"We heard a scream," Krissy said.

Dean said, "I know. It's Gabriel. None of our business. Food?"

Krissy said, "No, we didn't eat yet."

"Great," Dean said, "I'll make burgers. You guys head to the kitchen. I'm gonna see if Cas is up yet." He ducked into a bedroom on their right.

As they rounded the corner, Jesse asked, "Do you think Dean will get mad if I make the burgers?"

"Yes," Ben and Claire said in unison.

Jesse sighed. "Fine, but I guarantee it's a lot faster if I do it," he said.

Ben said, "I know, but Dean would throw a bitch fit. How do you make stuff appear like that anyway? Are you creating it out of thin air or something?"

Jesse said, "I don't create matter. I can manipulate air molecules to take whatever form I want. Or in the case of the pancakes this morning, there is a very confused IHOP cook who has no idea where his pancakes went."

Ben laughed. He stole fucking pancakes from IHOP. Of course he did. There was seemingly no limit to Jesse's gifts, including Ben's own life.

When they got to the kitchen, Ben turned to Jesse. "Hey, can we talk for a sec?" he asked.

Krissy shot Ben a concerned look.

"We'll be right back," Ben said.

Jesse took his hand, and they were immediately outside the bunker. The sun was starting to set. He must've been out for a while.

Jesse studied Ben's face. "What do you need to talk to me about?" he asked.

Ben said, "I want to know exactly what happened when I died."

"We already told you-"

"I know, but Dean said your eyes went black, and I'm sure Death didn't bring me back out of the goodness of her heart. I want to know what happened. All of it," Ben said.

Jesse looked into Ben's eyes, and he told him everything. He told him about using Jack's blood, killing Adam and Michael, using the world tree, all of it.

Jesse finished by saying, "Death offered an easy deal and restored your soul. After that, you were alive but unconscious for nine hours until you woke up this evening."

"What was the deal?" Ben asked urgently.

"Nothing bad, just acknowledgement that this was our one free pass. If anybody else dies, we can't reverse it. She wanted us to respect that death happens," Jesse said, "It makes complete sense to me. Death is a part of life. It happens to everything."

"But you still tried to save me," Ben said.

Jesse looked at his feet, kicking the dirt a little. "I wasn't ready to lose you," he said.

Ben smiled and said, "You know, that's kind of a lot considering you've only known me for a few days."

"Six days," Jesse said, "And it'll be a week in a few hours."

Ben grinned. "Still," he said.

Jesse took Ben's hands in his. "I manipulated Jack's will even though using that ability is the worst thing I could possibly do. My eyes turned black twice, because I was using my demonic powers to such an incredible extent. I fueled my own energy by literally tapping into the blood of Lucifer. I offered to trade Death my powers, my life, and my soul to get you back," he said, "I did it, all of it, for you. I don't care that I've only known you for six days. I know how I feel."

Ben stared at Jesse with wide eyes. If he had any sense, he'd be freaked out. But he wasn't.

Ben pulled Jesse in closer and crushed his lips against his boyfriend's. He wrapped his arms around Jesse and felt Jesse's fingers curl in his hair.

When they broke apart, Ben met Jesse's gaze with a wide smile. "I love you," he said.

"You love me? Now, that's too much. We haven't even known each other a week yet," Jesse said with a teasing smile.

Ben grinned. "Oh, really?"

Jesse said, "I love you, too." He kissed Ben softly just to emphasize the point.

Ben released Jesse and said, "We should probably get back."

Jesse said, "I have to do something really quick. I'll send you back to the kitchen, and I'll be there in a bit, okay?"

"What are you going to do?" Ben asked.

"Just a small errand. Shouldn't take more than a couple minutes," Jesse said.

Jesse ran a hand along Ben's arm, and Ben found himself standing in the kitchen in the bunker.

Krissy and Claire sat alone at the kitchen table kissing. They broke apart the moment they noticed Ben.

"Ben!" Krissy said, "You gave me a damn heart attack. Where's Jesse?"

"He had to go do something. When did-how did-you and Claire?" Ben tried to ask.

Krissy looked at Ben with a flat stare. "It's not like you didn't know," she said.

Ben said, "Well, yeah, I had my suspicions, but I still didn't think-"

"I know you of all people aren't about to judge me," Krissy said.

Ben said quickly, "No, I'm not judging. I'm just shocked. You never hook up with people! You never even talk to other people unless it's for a case."

"That's one of the things we have in common actually," Claire said.

Ben asked, "So, is this going to be a thing now? Are you guys dating?"

Claire looked at Krissy and said, "Well, we haven't been on a date unless you count breakfast this morning."

"I count it," Krissy said. She looked at Ben and asked, "Do you have a problem with this?"

Ben tried to ignore the challenge in her voice. "No, I don't have a problem," he said.

"Then, what's with the third degree?" Krissy asked.

"Is it me?" Claire asked.

Ben really and truly regretted having said anything. He raised his hands innocently. "I'm just curious and shocked, I swear" he said, looking at Claire, "You're awesome. Plus, we're kind of like weird step-siblings now. The fact that Krissy interacts with you at all is enough for me to get behind this."

Claire chuckled. "Yeah, you, me, and Jack are weird step-siblings now. I like it."

Ben sat down at the table. "Okay, I don't follow. Why Jack? And where is Jack, anyway?" he asked.

Claire said, "Jack went to use the bathroom. He's part of the family, because Cas was chosen by Jack's mom to be his guardian, and the Winchesters all helped raise him till he split."

That honestly just left Ben with more questions, but at that moment, the dads in question entered the kitchen.

Dean headed towards the stove, and Cas walked over to the refrigerator with swift purpose.

Cas retrieved a package of ground beef from the fridge and tossed it to Dean who caught it without so much as a single glance.

Cas went about grabbing different spices while Dean focused on getting the meat into a mixing bowl.

Watching them prepare the burgers was like watching a dance. Krissy and Ben watched them move around each other, Cas adding ingredients while Dean threw the meat on the skillet in workable patties. Claire looked at them with an amused smile.

The delicious smell of the burgers cooking lured Sam and Gabriel into the kitchen before too long. Gabriel was up on his feet and looked much better since the first time Ben had seen him. Sam helped Gabriel take a seat at the table and sat down next to him.

"The burgers smell fantastic," Gabriel said.

Ben saw Dean roll his eyes, but the others didn't seem to notice or care.

"Everyone want cheese on their burgers?" Cas asked.

Without waiting for an answer, Cas pulled out slices of cheese from the refrigerator and laid them on the burgers that Dean had finished flipping. Dean flipped the last of the burgers and caught Cas in a quick kiss. Cas smiled while putting the finishing touches on the food.

As everyone sat down around the table with their dinner, Jesse appeared over Gabriel's shoulder, making everyone but the archangel jump in surprise.

"I have good news," Jesse said, "Ragnarok is no longer an immediate threat."

Dean said, "Yeah, kinda got that." He nodded towards Gabriel.

"Yes, but no one told the Norse gods that we rescued him. I took care of it," Jesse said, "Odin just wants proof, so we'll be right back."

Jesse put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder, and the two of them vanished.

Sam stood up quickly, visibly troubled and looking at the spot where Gabriel had been. "We need to go after them," he said.

Jack chose that moment to walk into the kitchen.

Krissy asked, "Jack can you track Jesse?"

"Yes," Jack said, "Do I need to?"

"Yes," Sam said.

Ben sighed. He knew Sam would want to go with because of Gabriel. Dean would want to go to make sure Sam was safe. Cas would go to protect Dean. Ben obviously needed to have a few words with Jesse about his communication and how to work as a team. At that rate, Krissy and Claire would not be satisfied waiting in the bunker to see what happened.

Luckily, Jack seemed to know this, too. They all found themselves a few yards away from Jesse and Gabriel in a small clearing in the middle of a quiet forest.

A raven flew overhead.

Jesse turned around and said, "I said we'd be right back. Why-"

Sam rushed over to Gabriel. He said, "The last time Odin and Gabriel saw each other, he found out that Gabe was actually an archangel. We have no way of knowing how Odin will react to-"

"Loki," came a low voice. Everyone froze. A tall man in a fur-lined coat stepped forward from the trees. The braids in his white hair and beard and the eye patch he wore made it obvious who the man was.

Odin approached Gabriel. He looked at Jesse and said, "I thought you said you'd come alone."

"That was the plan," Jesse said, looking at Ben and Jack, "They followed us here. They won't do anything."

Odin said, "I know they won't." He looked at Gabriel, putting a hand on his shoulder. "How are you, my boy?" he asked.

Gabriel's face betrayed his confusion. "I'm alive," he said evenly.

"I see that," Odin said, "The others will rejoice when they hear it as well."

"I doubt that," Gabriel said.

Odin's brow furrowed. "Loki," he said.

"I'm not Loki," Gabriel snapped, "I'm not one of you. I'm not your son. You know that."

Sam grabbed Gabriel's hand. It was a small, reassuring gesture, but it seemed to help.

Odin looked between Sam and Gabriel for a moment. "I know that you are not like us. I know you are an archangel. I've known it as long as I've known you. As you may recall, I know a great many things," Odin said. He gestured to Sam and the others. "If this is your chosen family, I'm happy for you. I'm glad that you're safe and that you're loved. Do not forget that we are your family as well. Loki, Gabriel, whatever you want to be called, you have always been and will always be my son."

Odin pulled Gabriel into a tight embrace.

Ben looked over at Jesse. Maybe they should've waited at the bunker like Jesse had intended. Ben definitely felt like he was intruding.

Odin released his son, and Gabriel nearly lost his balance. Sam caught him with an arm around his waist.

"I'll inform the others that you are safe," Odin said, "It was good to see you. Heal well, my boy." With that, Odin disappeared.

Gabriel stared at the empty space for a moment before slapping on a grin and saying, "Well, that was fun, but I'm starved, and there's a bunker full of burgers just waiting for us."

Jesse closed his eyes and brought them all back to the Men of Letter's kitchen.

Dean looked at the burgers on the table and sighed. "Alright, line up to use the microwave," he said.

Jesse said, "No need." He snapped his fingers, and steam rose from the burgers.

Gabriel sat down with a smile. "I like this kid," he said. He took a bite of his burger and moaned.

Cas smiled. "I'm glad you like it," he said. Ben took a bite of his, and yes, the burger was fucking delicious.

Jack looked at Gabriel and said, "I don't understand. Are you really Gabriel or Loki? Were you always Loki? How did Odin know you were an archangel? Why did he leave so quickly?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Food first, questions later."

Dinner wound up being awesome. The food was amazing. Jesse made a few bags of potato chips appear on the table for everyone. Laughter broke out when Dean started telling the story of the first time he made cheeseburgers with Cas. It was a great time, and it felt so good to be surrounded by family. It reminded Ben of that warm feeling from when he'd died.

"Hey, Cas," Ben said when the talking hit a lull.

Cas turned to look at Ben. "Yes?" he asked.

"What's Heaven like?" Ben asked.

If the conversation at the table hadn't already died down, it would certainly have died then.

"Heaven?" Cas asked, "For humans or for angels?"

"For humans," Ben said.

Cas said, "It's peaceful. Typically, human souls live in a moment of their life that they want to live over, some special memory. It's paradise."

Ben nodded. "That would explain it," he said, "I don't remember anything from being dead, but I have a really warm, peaceful feeling about it."

Cas smiled. "I'm sure your Heaven was a good one. If you want to remember it, I'm sure Jesse would be able to unearth those memories for you. The effect of leaving Heaven is the same as the memory wipe I used on you before," he said.

Ben didn't want to remember. He was pretty sure he saw his mom when he'd died. If the memories were good enough, he might want to die again just to see her. And he didn't want that. He liked being alive.

Jesse took Ben's hand under the table and gave him a reassuring smile. Ben didn't know if Jesse had read his mind or if his face had shown his feelings about it, but either way, Jesse seemed to understand.

Sam looked at Dean and asked, "You remember the time we went to Heaven?"

"Which time?" Dean asked.

Sam said, "The time they let us remember when you got all pissed at me for my various Heavens."

"Yeah, I remember that. Lots of driving. But we got to see Ash and Pamela, so that was kinda nice. Your Heavens were bullshit, though."

Sam rolled his eyes.

They continued eating dinner while sharing stories, and it felt so right.

After dinner, Krissy's phone rang. She excused herself from the table.

Gabriel continued the story he was telling. "Sam didn't even try to speak Japanese, and he took the ball to the nuts. It was hilarious," he said.

Sam sighed and said, "I thought you were pissed at me, but sure, you found it funny."

Dean asked, "Wait, you guys were together in TV land? Seriously, how long has this been going on?"

"It's a long story," Sam said quickly.

"I guess you could say it's been going on since the Mystery Spot," Gabriel said.

Dean shouted, "What?!"

Krissy walked back into the kitchen and said, "That was Lucas. There's a case in east Texas."

"Who's Lucas?" Sam asked, pointedly turning away from Dean.

Krissy said, "He's a friend. You guys actually saved his life once."

That got Dean's attention. He looked at Krissy, waiting for her to continue.

"From what he's told me, a ghost drowned his dad when he was a kid. Drowned his grandpa, too. You guys saved him and his mom from the same thing," Krissy said.

Dean looked at Sam.

Sam's eyebrows came together.

"Wait, that little kid from Lake Manitoc?" Dean asked.

Krissy nodded. "He lives in Ohio now, but yeah, that's the one."

Sam's eyes widened. "That was nearly twenty years ago. How the hell do you remember that?" he asked. He turned to Krissy. "More importantly, how do you know him?"

Krissy said, "Lucas is sensitive to the supernatural. We ran into each other on a case. The really important thing is there's a case in east Texas. I've gotta go."

Claire got up from the table. "I'm up for a case," she said, "Let me just call Jody first so she doesn't think I'm dead or something. Last thing I need is Patience telling her what happened before I do."

Claire left the room.

Krissy looked at Ben. "Are you coming?" she asked.

It hit Ben like a ton of bricks that she was genuinely asking. He looked at Dean for a second.

"Of course I'm coming," Ben said, "Lucas say what the case is?"

"Sounds like a poltergeist to me," Krissy said with an excited smile.

"If it's okay," Jack said, "I'd like to go with you. I do still want to see what all Jesse can do, and I could help, too."

Ben said, "It's fine, Jack. You can come with."

Jack grinned widely.

Dean stood up from the table and walked over to Ben. "You sure you've got everything. Salt rounds? Something iron? A shovel?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, we're good," he said.

Dean gave him a wistful smile. "Stay safe, kid," he said, pulling Ben into a hug.

Ben returned the hug.

When Dean let go, he said, "I meant what I said before. You've always got a home here if you want it."

Ben smiled. "You sound like you're saying goodbye. We're going on a poltergeist hunt with the son of Lucifer and an overpowered half-demon. We'll probably have the case solved and be right back here in five minutes flat," he said.

Krissy said, "Uh uh. No. The case might be stupid easy with them on board, but we're driving. I did not put my heart and soul into that truck just so we can teleport everywhere. We'll be back tomorrow."

Jesse sighed.

Krissy ignored him and headed out to the garage.

Jack said, "But driving is going to take so much longer."

Jesse said, "I know, Jack. I know."

Ben smiled. He turned to Dean, Sam, Cas, and Gabriel. "See you tomorrow," he said.

The next thing he knew, they were standing in the garage.

Jesse said, "If I can't just get us to Texas, I had to at least shorten the trip to the truck."

Ben laughed and said, "You and I can take my bike if you want."

Jesse seemed much more amenable to this option.

Ben pulled his bike off the truck bed as Jack hopped in the truck with Krissy and Claire. Once on the motorcycle, Jesse wrapped his arms around Ben.

They drove out of the garage and away from the bunker.

Ben had expected it to feel like an ending when they saved Gabriel. An end to the craziness, an end to a case. Instead, it felt like a beginning.

The wind blew through Ben's hair as he sped down the highway. Krissy drove beside them, windows down, blasting classic rock. Feeling Jesse's arms around him, seeing Krissy and Claire laughing next to them, knowing that a new friend sat in the backseat and only a few miles away was a place he could call home, Ben knew there was nowhere else he'd rather be.