Chapter 2

Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires.

- Marcelene Cox

Getting home was always the least favorite part of Juliet's day. Not that she wasn't happy to see her family, or enjoy the respite the farm offered, it was the unpacking of her SUV that killed her-especially on grocery day. At any given time there were at least three to four able bodied boys waiting for snacks or dinner, but not one ever seemed to be around when she needed a hand with rudimentary labor.

"I should have taken in miniature pack mules or llamas instead of you two." Juliet blew her hair out of her face and tried to manage one more bag from the back while stepping around the Golden Retriever and Grey Hound circling her legs. She could have at least rescued a St. Bernard or Burmese Mountain Dog, maybe some Siberians she could have hooked to a sled and taught to lug packages in the house on command.

Aramis whined, rubbing his slim head against her hip as she stumbled towards the front door. Her cell phone was ringing somewhere in the bottom of her purse, the dulcet tones of Aretha Franklin alerting it was her mother, who never failed in her uncanny knack to call Juliet at the least convenient time possible. To top it all off, the door was locked.

"James! Girls!" Juliet yelled at the closed door. She resorted to using her foot to bang at the bottom of the screen when no one came to her aide. James's car was the only one in the drive. Max and JT had not made it in from the airport. Their flights weren't due until four, and considering Friday traffic in Louisville she was not surprised. She could hear only snorting and sniffling coming from the other side of the door, which meant Porthos was the only one waiting to greet her. It also meant she was going to have to put down her load, and start the needle in a haystack search for her keys. Hadn't Carolyn given her that magnetic key ring thing for a reason? "JAMES!"

Athos barked, eliciting a reply from Porthos inside, prompting Aramis to wrap his long gangly body between her feet where he promptly began to shiver. Juliet resolved herself to dropping the shopping bags on the porch to take up the quest for her keys. She sat her purse down on a planter, stroking Aramis's head with one hand while she searched with the other. The ring of twenty plus keys rested at the very bottom, the butterfly attachment Carolyn swore would prevent such instances tangled in the strap of her cosmetic bag. "Shit."

It took a moment, but she managed to free the keys, opening the door to an agitated Porthos. She dragged the bags across the threshold, nearly stampeded by Athos who ran in, nose to the floor as he circled the table, which she noted was a disaster. Instead of the lasagna she had instructed James to put in the oven and have on the table by six, Juliet found party supplies and teen magazines. The girls had promised to make a salad and some lemonade.

"Mary? Josie?" Juliet piled her things on top of the mess. Porthos yipped, standing on hind legs to get her attention. She ignored the dog, moving into the living room where more evidence of James's disregard for her instructions was evident. Half-empty glasses and plates were strewn about on the floor in telling pattern around the television and gaming controls. She imagined the barn stalls had gone untouched, as well as the other list of chores she had left. "James Murphy Winchester !"

"Your boy is in so much trouble," she grumbled to Porthos, starting for the stairs that would take her to James's room. Juliet diverted her route when she heard voices from the hallway. They were muffled, but the closer she got to the library the stronger they became. It sounded as if the girls were either in a rare shouting match or belting out the lyrics from one of their current favorite boy bands.

"Mary?" Juliet stopped inside the library, her brain trying to assimilate the scene before her. Porthos darted ahead pacing back and forth in front of the wall that provided camouflage for The Tomb. Aramis hung back at her side, while Athos patrolled the perimeter. He let out a low growl that was unusual for the young dog. The girls weren't anywhere in sight, their voices stronger now, but still distorted. Porthos used his single front paw to scratch at the wood paneling.

"Tell me he did not do what I think he did." Juliet brought her hands to her face with a groan. She could practically feel more of her hair turning gray. Aramis let out a commiserative fretful whine as she made her way to the painting that hid the key pad for access. This was one step too far even for James. Juliet knew the code for emergency reasons, but doubted her son locking his charges in The Tomb so he could go do God only knows was what Dean had in mind when he had her memorize the release date for Lynyrd Skynyrd's first album.

The door slid away, Mary and Josie's shouts echoing loudly now off the steel vaulted walls. All three dogs ran in, circling the struggling girls as Juliet moved into the room. She was not sure what she had expected to find-maybe the girls sequestered with a load of junk food, some movies and their i-Pods. Finding them distraught, handcuffed back to back around the cement pole in The Tomb was most definitely not a blip on the radar of her mother's intuition. Juliet's stomach knotted, anger and disbelief warring for dominance.

"Girls! Are you alright?" She rushed to their sides. Both of them were frantic, in tears. She laid a hand on Josie's shoulder, smoothing hair away from Mary's damp cheeks. If James thought this was going to be brushed aside as one of his pranks, he was in for a huge shock. Dean would kill him. Forget Columbia, community college was still an option, or maybe military school wasn't completely out of the picture. James wouldn't be eighteen until September.

"You have to hurry!" Mary sobbed.

"Someone took James!" Josie shrieked.

"It's okay," Juliet soothed, touching the metal cuffs around their arms. She could imagine countless people who might have taken James, including anyone from his soccer team or Cara, the latest in a long parade of girls her son had been dating. "Let's get you out of here. Did James leave the keys? I could use wire cutters..."

"No!" Josie shouted when Juliet turned to scan the room for anything that might be of use. "You need to call my father!"

"Call Uncle Dean," Mary corrected. "And my dad!"

Juliet looked at them, not surprised they were out for blood. Pre-teen girls could be dramatic and vicious, but she was right on board with them this time. It was tempting to bring in The Triad, but she could handle her son until his father got home. "Let me take care of you two and then I'll deal with James."

"No. You don't understand," Josie pleaded. "James didn't do this."

"A man came," Mary picked up where her best friend left off. "He took Jimmy."

"What?" The words started to catch up with the sinking feeling Juliet had gotten as soon as she realized where the girls were. It was not completely out of left field that James might pull such a thing, especially in light of recent events at school, but her son had never been cruel. He might like to play at cavalier, but a mother new her child's heart. The only person that usually ended up hurt by James's rule-breaking and reckless behavior was James. Juliet knelt in front of Mary, grasping both her shoulders gently. "Where's your cousin? What do you mean someone took him?"

Mary took a deep breath, her eyes filling again as she stared at Juliet. "A hunter came to the door. Jimmy let him in..."

"He knew the passwords," Josie amended. "He wore a ring."

"He had a gun." Mary blinked, a few tears escaping her lashes. She bit her lip, continuing. "He said he would shoot James if he didn't do exactly as he said."

Josie squirmed and twisted around so she could see Juliet. "James told him he was a dead man, but he wouldn't listen."

"Oh God." Juliet's legs weakened, her heart pounded against her chest. She brought her hand to the silver cross at her neck, glancing to the dogs. It explained their behavior, Athos on guard, Aramis more distraught and clingy than usual.

"A hunter did this? You're sure?" In all the years she had lived at the farm, the worst thing that had come to their door was a vacuum cleaner salesman, which D'artagnan promptly scared away. Hunters might have passed through, but they were respectful, rarely even addressing her or the boys unless they were close friends, like Ethan and Eli, or Riley and Bradley. "But the wards…"

"He had a hex bag," Josie explained.

"He looked human," Mary added.

Juliet didn't understand how the protections at the farm worked, nor had she ever cared to. The Brotherhood was a world in and of itself, one she only skirted the perimeter of and only then for her family's sake. It was easier not to try and grasp it, sort of like Newton's Law of Relativity. She loved Dean, had not looked back since the night she'd returned to the farm with peach pie from The Dinner Bell and a bottle of wine in hand. Since then she'd tried to view The Brotherhood as any other dangerous line of work.

Only after JT was born did she question Dean about their safety. He had assured her that the boys would be protected; the farm was hallowed ground, his position as The Guardian ensuring nothing supernatural would threaten them. That promise had held true until now. Juliet had made peace with the fact the boys wanted to be hunters. They could be hurt while in the field. She had experienced that hand-wringing sensation. But this was the farm-this was their home.

"Aunt Juliet?" Mary's voice broke through the numbing shock. "Are you going to call?"

"Our phones are on the table," Josie said. "So is James's."

"Yes." Juliet scrambled to her feet, desperate to get to the one link she had to Dean. "Dean will fix this. He'll know what to do." She grabbed James's cell, ignoring the pang of guilt that raced through her. She had been furious with her son only moments before, gleefully running possible punishment scenarios through her head; completely unaware his life was in danger. What kind of horrible mother was she?

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." Juliet held the phone to her ear as she scanned the room for anything that she might use to remove the cuffs. A broad sword was not her first choice, which meant she'd have to raid the tool shed.

Dean's voicemail had tears stinging her eyes, the back of her throat burning. She waited for the beep. "Dean. It's Juliet. Call me, please."

It sounded ridiculous as if their son being kidnapped fell on the same scale as 'hey, honey, I need you to pick up a loaf of bread on your way home'. She knew the very fact she had called while he was on a hunt would alert Dean to trouble. She felt the first tendrils of panic take hold when Caleb's number also elicited an unhelpful message. It reminded her of the night James was born, nearly a month before he was due. The events of his birth were only a prelude to the excitement her youngest son would bring into their lives. Knight and Guardian had been on a hunt then, too-out of reach. Sam had found them in the nick of time. She prayed he wouldn't disappoint her this time either. The Scholar didn't let her down, answering on the second ring.

"James? What's up, buddy?"

"Thank God, Sam." Juliet felt the first tear fall, turning her back on the girls. She pressed the phone closer to her ear.

"Juliet? What's wrong?"

"Someone took James," her voice cracked. She could feel the girls watching her. "Dean and Caleb aren't answering. You have to get them. You have to find James. God, Sam, he has to be alright."

"Wait, wait,"

Sam's voice was calm. Juliet could imagine him excusing himself from whatever breakout session he was in, finding a more private place. When he started again, his voice was softer, more urgent.

"What do you mean someone took James? Where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm at the farm. I'm fine. It's James. James is gone." Juliet turned towards Mary and Josie again. "The girls said it was a hunter. Sam, a hunter came into our home with a gun and took my son. How the hell is that possible?"

"The girls were there when it happened? Are they okay?"

"Mary and Josie are fine." Juliet swallowed hard, hating that she hadn't clarified that right away. "Can you feel him? Do you know if he's alright?"

There was a deep sigh on the other end. Juliet could hear rustling, then the distinct sound of an elevator ding and doors opening.

"My abilities don't work that way, not at this distance."

"But with Dean and Caleb…"

"Dean and Caleb are my Triad."

"James is your nephew!" She knew shouting at Sam wouldn't help her son, but it made her feel better to yell at someone. The Triad was a mystery, the connections Dean, Caleb and Sam shared hard to define or grasp, but so was the link between mother and child. She wanted her baby back, so she could ground him for life.

"Juliet, calm down. Tell me what happened."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Juliet squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the panic that filled her heart. Sam was right; she needed to get a grip. She was a doctor for God's sake. She had survived medical school and lived through raising three teenage boys. Where were her nerves of steel when she needed them? "I told you. A man came to the farm and…" The dogs started barking, saving her from saying the unimaginable out loud once more. Porthos and Athos tore out of the Tomb, Aramis affixing himself to her thigh with a throaty whine. "Someone's here."

"Where are you? Where are the girls?"

Sam's voice was tense, losing the assuring and confident quality it usually held. She found herself whispering as if she were in New Haven's public library. "In the Tomb."

"Good. You know how to access the weapons. You can lock yourselves in from the inside."

"Yes, but…"

"Juliet. Find a gun ."

"A gun?" Juliet moved to the bookshelf, looking for the leather bound copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. Touching the book would engage a print recognition scan, opening the safe where the guns were.

"Aunt Juliet?" Mary's voice was frightened, strengthening Juliet's resolve. She hated guns, but knew how to load and shoot one. The idea of taking a life horrified her, but protecting the girls was second nature. She found the false tome, placed forefinger and thumb on the spine. The safe opened. "I've got it."

"You're doing great." Sam's tone was authoritative once more, his lecture voice, Dean called it. "I'm going to stay on the phone with you."

"Mom? James?"

"Oh thank God." Juliet let the breath rush from her lungs at the sound of her oldest son's voice. She quickly put the small caliber gun she had chosen back into the safe, and crushed the phone to her ear. "It's JT. Max and JT are here."

"We're in here!" Mary yelled.

"Max!" Josie joined her, "JT!"

She could barely hear Sam over the girls' shouting. "Juliet, put Max on the phone."

"Josie! Mary! What the hell?" Max entered The Tomb first, his gaze going from his sister to Mary to Juliet. "What happened?" He touched Juliet's shoulder on his way to where the girls were. She could read the worry in his blue gaze, the determined set of his jaw so reminiscent of Caleb.

"Mom?" JT came in behind him with the dogs on his heels. He was taller than Dean now. She hadn't seen him since spring training began, swore he'd grown another couple of inches. It always caught her off guard when he entered a room, as if she expected her little boy to come running up to her instead of the grown man who crossed to her side now. "What's going on? Your hatch was open, groceries everywhere…" He trailed off midsentence, concern shadowing his green gaze. "Are you crying?"

"A man took James," Josie said what Juliet couldn't. They all looked at her. "A hunter. He had a gun and made James tie us up. They took a journal and a knife from The Tomb." She rattled off the same story she and Mary had dropped on Juliet.

"I don't know how long ago." Juliet found her voice, her eyes going to JT's as she tried to keep the fear and frustration from overwhelming her. She used her free hand to grip her son's wrist. "I just got here and found the girls. Your brother…Jimmy was gone."

"What?" JT gestured to the phone. "Are you talking to Dad?"

"No." Juliet realized Sam was still on the line, had been speaking to her this entire time. "It's your Uncle Sam." She dragged in another breath. "Shit, Sam. I'm sorry."

"Put JT on the phone."

She offered the cell phone to her son, who surprised her by stepping out of her reach with his hands raised. "No. I can't."

"What?" She looked from JT to Max, who was busy picking the locks on the girl's cuffs. Had they not understood what she and the girls had just said? James was in danger. "Max?"

"Sorry, Juliet. I'm with JT." He glanced at his best friend before releasing the first set of cuffs.

"Tell one of them to take the goddamn phone."

Juliet flinched at the voice on the line. "Sam, they're not listening."

"Are you sure it was a hunter?" JT moved to help Mary and Josie up now that they were free from the pole. The dogs gathered around, excited by all the activity. JT ordered them to sit as Max worked on the last set of cuffs that still bound the girls' wrists together. "How do you know?"

"He had a ring and the passwords," Mary explained once she was on her feet. "He knew the Triad was out of town and that there was no security detail."

Max made quick work of getting rid of the other shackles, which he tossed to the side of the room. "Did you catch a name?" he asked his sister.

"Gentry," Josie replied, rubbing her red, chaffed wrists. "Hank Gentry."

"Sounds familiar." Max looked at JT. "You know him?"

"No." JT shook his head. "I've been out of the loop."

"We'll call Ben, then Mac. Between the two of them, they'll know something," Max said, looking about the room to see if there was some clue available.

"Riley, too." JT put a hand on Mary's head. "What else? Anything might help."

Mary licked her lips, looking to Josie before she spoke. "He said he had a timeframe, a window he had to meet. He needed James alive for his plan to work."

"When did this happen? How long ago since they left?"

"It was before lunch." Mary looked at Josie then down to the colorful Hello Kitty plastic watchband on her arm. "Around six hours."

"What weapon did he take?" Max asked.

"And whose journal?" JT prompted.

"Something called Echnon's Blade," Mary replied.

"It was Duran Hughes's journal that he wanted," Josie supplied. "James seemed to know who that was. It upset him."

"Hughes was a medium, right?" Max was looking at JT for confirmation. "Black-balled from The Brotherhood the hard way."

"Yeah." JT nodded. "His journal and that blade equal bad news."

"This Duran Hughes was a medium like your brother?" Juliet was having a hard time keeping up with the volleyed conversation with the boys and Sam's incessant demands she make one of them take the phone. "Do you think that was why he was taken?"

"I don't know, Mom." JT glanced at Max. "Start gathering what we'll need."

"What are you going to do?" She didn't like the silent communication that passed between them. Juliet had been in too many similar situations with Dean and Sam, Caleb and Sam, Dean and Caleb. The boys had started it at a young age. She sometimes wished she were psychic just to be privy to all the inner dialogue exchanged with just a glance.

"We're going after Jimmy."

Gauging from Sam's reaction, he must have heard her son's declaration. "NO! Absolutely not. Put JT on the phone. NOW!"

Juliet shoved herself in between the boys, grabbing Max's arm to hold him in place. She was not deterred that both of them towered over her. She had changed their diapers, bandaged their scraped knees and wiped their snotty noses. That earned her some respect. They were going to listen to her one way or the other. "The Scholar is ordering one of you to talk to him. You need to listen to your uncle."

"Sorry, Juliet, it doesn't work that way." Max gently removed her grip, turning his back on her, and the phone she was holding up to him as he moved to the safe where he started pulling out various guns and ammunition.

"Jonathan Thomas Winchester!" She thrust the phone at her son.

"Sorry, Mom. Second hand orders are mere hearsay. I don't want to talk to The Scholar, because I don't want to break chain of command. I'm going after Jimmy one way or the other."

"Hearsay?" She bit her lip, watching as JT grabbed a duffel from a stack near the door and moved to Max's side. Sam was still bellowing across the line, demanding to be heard and obeyed. She watched as the boys moved in tandem, perfect sync. It reminded her of her team in surgery suite. Juliet had watched Dean and Caleb prepare for a hunt with similar efficiency. It took a crisis, the threat of harm to James, to do what going off to college, starting lives of their own had not done. Juliet realized JT and Max were no longer children.

"Put me on speaker phone," Sam was shouting.

"I'm going to put him on speaker phone." Even as she threatened it, Juliet knew she wouldn't do it. The boys were instilled not to disobey a direct order. Sam would order them to stand down to wait for help before going after James. Joshua was in Nashville. Sam was in Florida. Even with the Ames's jet, they were both hours away. Dean and Caleb had not called her back. James might not have hours. She calculated the risks against what might be gained by letting the boys do things their way. "Sam, I'm going to call you back."

"Juliet…"

She cut the connection, putting the phone in her pocket. "Girls, is there anything else you remember that might help JT and Max?" She was sounding more like the doctor she was, dealing with a hysterical family of beloved pets that had been injured. Only this time she was the frantic family member.

"My crystal," Josie took her hand and squeezed it. "I gave James my crystal."

Mary reached up to remove the silver chain around her neck. She held it up for Juliet to see, the light catching the jagged edges of amethyst. "My crystal is the sister to it. They were taken from the same rough stone, so they're connected."

"What does that mean?" Juliet knew the necklaces were a gift from Esme on the girl's tenth birthdays, presented to them at a coven ceremony Juliet had found both beautiful and completely mystifying. The coven was another part of their lives she chose not to study too closely, preferring to take in small glances out of the corner of her eye.

"It means I can scry for the missing crystal, which will act like a tracking beacon on James." Max took the necklace from Mary. He ruffled Josie's hair. "Nice thinking, Sis."

Josie shot a heated look his way as she smoothed a hand over her dark head. "Do you even remember how to cast that spell, Maxim? I've never seen you practice it."

"I think I can handle it." Max pocketed the necklace, taking several maps from the rolls on the wall. "We need to move, J."

Juliet felt a sudden surge of remorse as she watched JT gather his things. Maybe she should have let Sam order the boys to stand down. What if she was risking one child for the sake of another? "JT…"

"It's okay, Mom." JT pulled the duffel over his shoulder, crossing to stand in front of her once more. He gripped her shoulders, bending to plant a quick kiss on her forehead. "We'll bring him home. I promise."

"He graduates on Saturday." Juliet felt her eyes start to burn again. She quickly brushed a hand over her face. "He has a speech to give, that incredibly insane party he thinks we know nothing about to throw. I can't lose him. Your father will…" Dean would be devastated, blaming himself for whatever happened.

"Dad will be here soon." JT told her what she needed to hear. "Uncle Sam will reach him and Uncle Caleb. Max and I will leave a trail they can follow."

"Call my mom and have her send Micah here. He's only about an hour out and will bring men that we can trust." Max pointed to the safe. "Keep a gun with you, lock all the doors and don't let anyone in until Micah shows."

"We'll be fine." Juliet tossed her arms around the girls' shoulders, hugging them close to her sides. "You two be careful. Promise me."

JT held up three fingers. "Scout's Honor, Mom."

"I'm not a scout, but I promise we'll both be fine." Max flashed her his crooked grin. "Jimmy, too."

"Good, because your Uncle Sam is going to want you all healthy when he kills you for indirectly disobeying an order." Juliet forced a smile. "And if I didn't say it, I'm glad you boys are home."

"Not exactly the homecoming we had planned," Max put a hand to his stomach. "I was really looking forward to your lasagna."

JT snorted at his friend's kissing up. "Leave it to Jimmy to keep things interesting."

Juliet watched them go, placing her chin atop Mary's head, as she gave Josie an extra squeeze. Aramis leaned against them, nudging his head against her. "Just once I'd like this family to embrace dull."

SPN*thebrotherhood*SPN

James's eyes snapped open with the rocking of the car, the crunch of gravel under tires as it travelled off paved road. He hadn't slept on the long ride, making sure to take in all the surroundings as they drove. Prospect of eminent death erased any hopes of a cat nap. James did manage to give himself one massive headache by trying to reach out psychically to his uncles. His abilities didn't work like theirs, but he hoped he'd manage some kind of Bat Signal by sheer force of will and desperation.

The last dregs of the trek held nothing but monotonous twisting roads with little scenery. He'd rested his eyes out of sheer boredom, hoping to keep his nausea at bay and stop his racing thoughts. He tried to catch Gentry's eye in the mirror, doing what he did best when he was nervous. "I hope wherever we're going has indoor plumbing, Hank. I really hate roughing it."

The man driving ignored him, which had been the case the entire leg. James shifted in the seat trying to find relief for his bladder as he scanned the open fields around them. "Ohio is flatter than I imagined. What's with all the wind turbines?"

It was unsettling that Gentry didn't feel the need to cover his trail, taking I-75, a straight shot to Ohio towards Dayton without stopping. As it was, Josie's crystal hidden in his pocket wouldn't be needed for his family to find him. Hank sure as hell wasn't offering any insight or responding to the snide commentary James kept up most of the trip. He hoped to rattle the hunter, or at the least annoy the shit out of him. Uncle Caleb said smart ass rhetoric was a useful talent, one James embraced wholeheartedly. It had the side benefit of keeping him alert, preventing his mind from traveling to unpleasant endings.

He estimated they had been on the road for at least five hours as the sun was now nearing the horizon. Gentry left James locked in the car each time he'd stopped at out of the way stations to relieve himself. As it was James's bladder was screaming in protest, keeping him from thinking too much on his rumbling stomach and aching wrists cuffed tightly to the rig in the backseat of the police car.

"I guess there's not a lot of crime out here, huh, Officer? Too much free time to drum up asinine kidnapping plots for some much needed excitement, new inventive ways to cross over the thin blue line?" James had been surprised to find the patrol vehicle waiting for them in the drive when Gentry forced him out of the farmhouse at gunpoint. He'd had a fleeting hope that New Haven's finest had gotten a whiff of his graduation party plans and had sent one of the deputies out to say 'DON'T!' His hopes were dashed as he got a closer look at the older model white sedan complete with traditional strobes on top. The markings were different from New Haven's, alerting citizens they were dealing with the Sheriff of Bowling Green, Ohio.

At first James reasoned Gentry might have stolen the vehicle, either making a terrible mistake in getaway vehicles or a ballsy brilliant move in his dastardly plan, whatever the plan might be. The shield hanging from the rearview mirror nixed that idea, adding yet another twist to the already vexing morning. Gentry stood out in relief against the shiny silver badge emblazoned with thick block letters. "So, you're not only a rogue hunter, but a dirty cop, too? What are the good citizens of Bowling Green going to think? You're off your fucking rocker."

They turned onto another side road, purposively hitting a couple of potholes that had James hissing as his arms were wrenched behind him, his head banging against the passenger window. They went only a short distance before coming to a stop near a small ranch. The drive was paved, a basketball goal with its net half hanging sat alongside a two-car garage and an overgrown lawn. "Did you kidnap me to do yard work for you?"

James felt a wave of panic as the car came to a complete stop and Gentry punched the remote to open the garage doors. The sheer unknown variables of what was about to happen as they pulled into the darkened space made him lightheaded. He was torn between the equally embarrassing prospects of vomiting or pissing his pants. The motion lights came on revealing bicycles, a sled, and scattered hockey sticks. It was the sight of the other vehicle in the garage and not the typical middle class family junk that claimed James's attention. Momentary astonishment was the only thing that saved Sheriff Gentry's upholstery.

"Ben." James swallowed hard; blinking to make sure the shiny Chevrolet wasn't a mirage. The 1976 El Camino, practically a family member herself, had been given to his oldest brother by their father on Ben's sixteenth birthday. Their Dad and Ben uncovered the relic at Uncle Bobby's place, rebuilt and customized the junk heap together. James was barely four when Ben packed his things in the Chevy and left for school, but he could recall the day vividly, the rumble of the engine, the sun reflecting off the gun metal gray as the car disappeared down their driveway. Since then James had always identified the sight and sound of the El Camino with his brother returning home; but now instead of a sense of safety and security, the classic one of kind sitting in Hank Gentry's drive elicited alarm and an underlying wave of fury. For the first time his death was not prominent in his mind.

"What the hell did you do to my brother, you sonofabitch!" James lifted his feet, and kicked the Plexiglas plate separating him from Gentry. He felt the shock of connection echo through his bones, but no sense of satisfaction when the partition remained intact.

Hank killed the engine and turned to look at him. "Take it easy, hot shot. Unlike you, your brother came here of his own free will. I haven't hurt Ben."

James yanked against the cuffs, casting another quick glance to Ben's car. "Why the hell should I believe you? Why would he come here?"

"Because your father asked him." James watched Gentry get out; bringing his gun and the bag he'd taken from the farm with him. He moved to James's door and opened it. James scrambled to remember the exact reason Gentry's name seemed familiar, the connection he held to Ben. "And besides being one of the best up and coming surgical oncologists in the northeast, he seems to be an honorable man."

"Like a traitor and a thief would know anything about honor." It was starting to return to him. His brother was involved with Gentry because someone in the man's family had cancer. Ben had chosen oncology as his specialty from the onset of his medical career, was in the middle of his fellowship at Harvard. To him, demons and spirits were run of the mill bad ass. Cancer was the great evil.

"I'm not a traitor." Gentry pulled a silencer from the bag at his feet and attached it to his gun. The officer didn't want any nosy neighbors ruining his fun. "I know you don't understand that now, but I have spent my life loyal to The Brotherhood and the law."

"Heartfelt testimony won't impress my dad. This little plan of yours is going to cost you more than your badge and your ring."

"Knowing your father, I'm sure that's true."

James watched Gentry hit the release on the bar that held him to the seat. His countenance never wavered as he stepped back, pointing the gun at James, motioning him out of the car. The man was resigned to his fate, prepared to die, and that made him dangerous.

"I want to see Ben." James winced as the pressure on his wrists lessoned. His arms were still cuffed behind him, but he could move . It took him a moment to get his legs cooperating. "Now."

"Still trying to give me orders?" Gentry snorted, pointing his gun toward a door to the main house. "I thought you wanted to piss, smartass?"

"After I know my brother is alright."

"Got to admire that about you Winchesters." Hank shoved him from behind. "Hell or high water, family comes first."

James stumbled, shooting a glare over his shoulder. "It's our motto. We have team shirts. You should have really considered that fact before you decided to kidnap one of us."

"Believe me, Kid, I considered it." Gentry stopped at the door, using a set of keys to unlock the elaborate set of deadbolts, entering a code on the keypad.

"Paranoid much?" James rolled his eyes as the door opened into a small kitchen. "That won't keep The Triad out."

"By the time The Triad gets here, I'll have what I want." Gentry gave him another push, closing the door behind them. "You and your brother will be free to go."

James looked around the room. It was bright and clean, almost cheery with its blue checkered tile floor and yellow walls. His stomach rumbled as the aroma of pot roast and baking bread wafted to him from the direction of the oven. The room smelled like his Grandmother Esme had been cooking. James was hit with a sudden pang of guilt. He'd skipped his last visit to New York in lieu of a date with Cara. Her parents had been out of town. The prospect of having a house to themselves overshadowed a weekend of visiting the Met and National History Museum with Grandpa Mac.

"Helen? Rodney?"

Gentry's booming call had James flinching. He whipped his head towards the hallway when a female voice responded. "Honey, we're all in Cy's room."

"I'll wash up and be right in." Gentry responded as if he had returned home from a typical day at work.

James was expecting a lair of evil hunters, not middle class suburbia. "Who the hell is Cy?"

"My son." Gentry moved in behind him, clamping one of his meaty hands around James's biceps with enough force to bruise. He guided them towards a room off to the right, opening the door and flipping on the light. The silencer of Gentry's gun dug into James's ribs, the sheriff's stale coffee breath hot against James's cheek. "He means everything to me. All of this is for him. I won't have Cy or my wife put in danger or upset by any of your half-cocked, seat of the pants ideas, boy."

"Again, you really should have thought of that before you brought me home to meet the family, asshole."

The cuff to the back of his head had James seeing stars. It most definitely was not affectionately delivered like the taps he occasionally received from his dad and Uncle Caleb.

"Do you understand me?" Gentry growled.

James clenched his jaw when the muzzle of the gun was jabbed harder into his side. "I get it. I'll be a well-mannered hostage."

"You better." Gentry released his arm. A second later one of the handcuffs was released. "Your brother will be the one to pay the price if you don't." Hank pushed him into the bathroom. "Do your business and wash your hands. Cy's room needs to stay sterile."

"Does Ben know I'm joining you for dinner?" James brought his arms in front of him with a wince. He'd felt his brother's presence when he entered the house. Ben was calm, relaxed. There was no sense of urgency or fear. "How about your wife? Are all your houseguests brought in with handcuffs?"

"You really are a smartass." Gentry rubbed a hand over his beard. "Ben thinks he's here for Cy's last hours, offering to come himself instead of sending more hospice workers. Decent of him, considering he was headed home for his little brother's graduation when I called."

"Ben hates surprises." James rubbed his bruised wrists, anger replacing his earlier fear. "He may play a mild-mannered doctor on T.V., but he's a chip off the old block, if you get my drift." Ben might have chosen to devote the majority of his energy battling medical monsters, saving more lives than he had ever taken, but he was a hunter, deadly in his own right. Dangerous was written in the Winchester DNA.

"He might not like it, but he won't risk you." Gentry leaned against the door, unwilling to offer James any privacy. "I've listened to the stories he told Cy about your family these last few months, seen the way his face changes when he talks about you and your brother."

James shrugged off Gentry's comment, ignoring the way his chest tightened at the implications. James didn't incur Ben's wrath very often, even in light of all the stunts James had pulled over the last year, Ben was willing to hear his side of things when the shit hit the fan, usually reframing matters in a way James didn't always deserve. He focused on more pressing issues, thankful he had never been shy considering Hank was intent to hold the gun on him as he relieved his bladder.

"I won't hurt him if I don't have to."

The soft promise had James glancing up in the mirror as he washed his hands. He glared at Hank, not caring that the man's icy eyes held more emotion than he'd witnessed from him thus far. "You hurt Ben and my dad won't have to kill you." It wasn't an empty threat. A werewolf was the closest thing to a human that James had killed, but he knew he wouldn't have a problem pulling the trigger if it came down to it. Of the three of Dean Winchester's sons, James knew with certainty he was the one most like their father in some regards. Uncle Caleb told him the cold blooded, ruthless side would pay off in the boardroom, but made James promise to use his power for good in all other areas of his life. The Knight was only half-joking.

"Let's go." Gentry's face hardened, stepping back so that James would move out of the bathroom and into the kitchen once more. "The clock is ticking."