~*****~
Dean's POV

I gave a sharp intake of breath, my chest heaving violently as I come out of what felt like a never ending nightmare. It's dark around me, and I suck in sharp breaths as I pat my pockets down, searching for anything. The familiar chill of my lighter brushes against my finger, and I pop it open, gazing around at the container I'm in. "Help--" I manage to choke out. God, my throat felt like sandpaper. It's hard to breathe in here. I call out for help again.

My palm slaps against the wood, desperately shoving and pushing until it gives in, pouring dirt into the container. I claw, and scratch, until I feel the warm sun stinging at my skin as I tug myself out of the dirt with a harsh gasp. It's hard, God, it's hard to pull myself free. The only thing making it worth it was that sun.

When I get to my feet, I gaze around at the dense forestry that's been blow away-- like a bomb hit. I glance at the crappy cross before me, the odd trinkets attached to it shining in the sun as if time left it untouched. I grasp at the ring hanging from the cross and gaze at it, my gut turning painfully. I'd given Lottie this ring when my time was almost up. Christ, that look on her face made dying so much more peaceful. Some beautiful woman like her actually loving a man like me. God, I couldn't wait to get back to her, and our... our kid. I tugged off my flannel after shoving the ring into my pocket and started walking, to... I don't know. Anywhere.

My throat still felt like ash when I found an empty gas station. I swallowed thickly and pounded on the door. "Hello?" I called out, my voice still hoarse and strained. I grunted irritably before tugging my flannel from around my waist, wrapping my fist, and breaking in. My throat involuntarily convulsed at the sight of the cooler filled to the brim with ice cold water.

Cold water felt amazing going down my parched throat. God, did it feel good. I chugged the rest of the bottle and stepped towards the newspaper stand. I grabbed one of them and gazed at the date.  "September..." I hum softly.

I scrubbed at my face irritably before searching for the bathroom. I splashed my face with water, relishing in the cool water hitting my skin. I glanced up as I dab at my face with my shirt, gazing at my torso. Flashes of those hell hounds tearing into me kept burning through my mind.

I tugged my shirt up, gazing at the undamaged skin. I grunted irritably before tugging my sleeve up as a strong tingling sensation dug at my shoulders. Dark, vivid, blistered skin appeared underneath the sleeve. Like I'd been grabbed by a pair of hot iron gloves.

"First things first." I grumble to myself after tugging my flannel on. My growling stomach seemed to agree.

I hummed impishly as I lifted up a copy of Busty Asian Beauty's. "Nah, got a better girl at home." I mention to myself before going to raid the register. My skin flinched as the TV cut on, white noise echoing off of the walls for a second before I turned it off. The radio cut on, and then the TV again. I grabbed the salt and started lining the windows and doors frantically until the high-pitched buzzing got too much for me to handle. I barely registered the windows shattering from the intensity of it until the ringing dwindled down to a constant throbbing in my skull.

I grimaced and rubbed at my pounding head. I went back to the register and grabbed the change.

"We're sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected." The operator chirped when I put in Sam's number. I grumbled before trying Lottie's.

"Hello?" Her beautiful voice. God, how I missed it.

"Lottie, it's me." I say happily.

"Who the hell is me?" She snaps back.

"It's Dean." The call cuts out immediately and I grunt irritably before feeding in more change and trying again.

"Who is this?" She snarls this time.

"Lottie, it's me, Dean, I--"

"Listen to me, very carefully," She snaps threateningly. "If you call here again, there won't be a god to save you." The call cuts and I grin impishly before dialing up Bobby's number.

"Bobby?"

"Yeah." He grunts.

"It's me."

"Who's me?"

"Dean." Like Lottie, the call cuts, and I grimace again. I try again, but with receive another threat. "Great." I grumble. I shunt the phone back into the cradle and turn around, my gaze falling onto an old, beat-up car.

Getting old cars to start were a bitch in a half. But I wanted to see Lottie again. Hell, I had to see her again.

~*****~

I heaved a sigh of relief when I'd made it to Bobby's. I pounded on the door, waiting anxiously for him to answer. The door swung open, and I can't help but smile. "Surprise." I hum. Bobby looks pale under the look of shock. Hell, I didn't blame him.

"I don't..." Bobby murmurs after a moment of silence, backing away.

"Yeah, me neither." I say softly as I step inwards. "But here I am." I grunt loudly as I divert the knife Bobby aimed at me. "Bobby!" I bark. I grunt as his fist slams into my face. "Bobby, it's me!" I shout.

"My ass--" Bobby growls as he surges forward.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa--" I bark as I shove a chair between us. "Wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed. You're about the closest thing I have to a father!" I say wildly. "Bobby, it's me..." I urge. Bobby is hesitant as he grasps my shoulder, and I think he believes me, but I once again have to defend myself. "Whoa-- I am not a shape shifter!" I snap as I wrangle the knife from him.

"Then you're a revenant!" Bobby growls back.

"All right--" I snap as I hold one hand out and hold up the knife. "If I was either, would I do this with a silver knife?" I ask as I carefully draw the blade against my skin. Pain blooms across my forearm and I grimace.

I gaze back up at Bobby. "Dean?" He asks again, breathing heavily.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." I say tiredly.

Bobby curls his arms around me in such a tender embrace, tears begin burning in my eyes. And it's hard to pull them back. "It's-- It's good to see you, boy." Bobby says in a thick tone.

"Yeah, you too." I chuckle.

"But... How did you bust out?" Bobby asks.

I shrug. "I don't know. I just, uh... Just woke up in a pine bo--" My nose starts burning from the water gushing up it. I spit the water out and grunt. "I'm not a demon either, you know."

Bobby shrugs. "Sorry." He hums as he holds up the small flask of holy water. "Can't be too careful." He leads me into his study after I explain what happened when I came to again. "That don't make a lick of sense." Bobby says.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're preaching to the choir." I retort with as I dab at my face with a dish towel.

"Dean, your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop," Bobby says. "And you'd been buried four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meats--"

"I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject." I finish.

"What do you remember?" Bobby asks. My throat locks up at the thought. I still see flashes of it behind my eyes.

"Not much." I lie. "I remember I was a Hell Hound's chew toy... and then, lights out. Then I come to six feet under. That was it." Bobby sits down slowly. "Sam's number's not working." I mention. "He's uh, he's not--"

"Oh, he's alive, as far as Lottie will tell me." Bobby mentions, and I light up. "She gave him one hell of a chewing last time she saw him, and she says she hasn't seen him since."

"And where's Lottie?"

Bobby grunts. "Down the road, set up in a place I got a while back."

I rub at my fingertips. "Show me?"

Bobby smirks. "Might wanna wait till sundown. She's runnin' an auto shop of mine while she's recovering. That kid took a lot out of her."

"So... She had the baby?" I ask breathlessly. Bobby just smiles and leans against his fist.

"Yeah. Cutest damn thing in the world." Bobby says. I can't seem stop myself from smiling.

"Well, uh... Help me find a lead on Sammy, then we'll head over." I suggest. Bobby nods and tugs out his laptop. "So, why did you guys bury me?"

Bobby snorted. "Both Sam and Lottie said you'd need a body for when you got back." He explained.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, Sam didn't say much, but Lottie was hell bent on finding a Devil's Gate to bust you out herself. She just got back a couple of hours ago, last one I found was a bust." Bobby explains.

"And Sam?"

"He was quiet... Real quiet." Bobby shrugs. "Then, he just took after Lottie left him. Wouldn't return my calls. I tried to find him, but he don't want to be found."

"Oh, damn it, Sammy," I sigh.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"Oh, he got me home okay." I snorted. "But whatever he did, it is bad mojo."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You should have seen the grave site. It was like a nuke went off." I explain. "Then there was this force, this presence, that I don't know, it blew past me at a fill-up joint." I toss the rag down and shuffled off my flannel. "And then this." I show him the hand prints on my shoulders.

Bobby gets up immediately, a strange look on his face as he gazes at it closer. "What in the hell?"

"Yeah, it's like a demon just yanked me out or rode me out." I retort.

"But why?"

"To hold up their end of the bargain." I shrug.

"You think Sam made a deal?"

I remain silent for a moment. "It's what I would've done."

Bobby rubs at his face for a moment before tapping at my shoulder. "Lottie needs to see this."

"Why?"

Bobby grunts and crosses his arms. "Well, she said something strange. A man came to her, saying he was her protector, or something, and was there to make sure she gave birth." Bobby explains, and my stomach starts to sink. "Well, sure as shit, she went into labor that night. And he showed up again, helped her out, then left, saying he had something else to do."

"You think some sick fuck is yanking us around?" I ask.

Bobby shrugs. "Sit tight. Maybe get a shower. Ever since she had the kid, she don't even let me touch her unless I'm clean."

I sniffed at my shirt and grimaced. I gave him a swift nod and hurried upstairs.

~*****~

I can hear someone working on something in the garage when Bobby opened up the front door. The sound stops, and there's a subtle click on the door. I glance at Bobby as he moves around the counter cautiously, and tries the knob. "Lottie?" He calls out.

"What the hell are you doin' here so late, Bobby?" Lottie responds, although, it's almost too quiet to make out.

"Well, uh..." Bobby trails off as he gazes back at me. "I can't really explain it. Would you come out?" Bobby asks. My heart begins to pound as I hear the door unlock.

It's silent for a minute before I hear her again. "Open the door, slowly." She says in an even tone.

Bobby urges me to stay back and eases the door open. He steps in and holds up his hands before nodding his head. I step in, wincing at the harsh light. "Hey, baby." I say softly as I finally gaze at her shaken figure. She's holding a small bundle against her chest, wrapped up in a flannel, her gun pointed at me. Her gaze hardens, and she fires.

"Lottie!" I bark loudly, the deafening shriek of an infant shakes the garage. "It's me!"

"The hell it is!" She shouts back. "Bobby what the hell is going on?!"

"It's him, it's him, I swear--" Bobby urges loudly. "I didn't believe it myself, but it's him."

She shudders and adjusts the baby in her arms, and it quiets down against her skin, settling for soothed coos. "It-- It can't be--" She stammers.

"It is," I breathe softly, my palms spread out in defense. "Trust me, I'm as freaked out as you, but it is. I swear."

She doesn't move towards me. Instead, she drops her arm, the gun clattering to the ground, her eyes blown wide in shock. Bobby moves towards her, his hand curling around her head and kissing her cheek, as if he were trying to comfort her. "I'll give you guys a moment." Bobby says softly.

Lottie just stares at me, her figure trembling as I approach her. She different now-- fuller, more defined. Hell, it suited her. The small infant in her arms began to whimper again, and she tore her gaze from me, her hands trembling as she set the infant into the crib. "Baby." I try softly, my fingers brushing against her soft arm.

"I saw you..." Lottie murmured lightly, her gaze remaining on our child. "You were.... I couldn't even..."

"I know." I hum softly, my arms curling around her trembling frame. "I know, baby. I know." She stood still, muscles locked up for a few moments before she turned in my arms, curling herself into my chest, clutching at my clothes as if I would disappear if she didn't. The baby started whimpering again.

"I uh... I guess you should meet her, huh?" Lottie murmurs softly into my neck.

I suddenly felt antsy. The small infant just squirmed in the crib as Lottie lifted her up and held her out to me. "She's light," I mention as I adjust her a little to gaze at her small face. She was beautiful. Everything about her seemed so familiar.

"She looks like you," Lottie hums as she leans against my arms.

"And you... you named her after..." I trail off as I gaze down at my daughter. Lottie nods, her own hand curling over the thick black hair Mary had. "Mary, little Mary." I mutter.

"Well, Mary Sandra." Lottie retorts playfully. I tear my gaze from our kid and stare. She's still flushed, and her eyes are red from the tears, but she's smiling so brilliantly. As if the past few months I'd been gone never happened. Mary whimpers in my arms, and I reluctantly set her back down.

"I love you." I murmur softly to the infant before I turn to Lottie, who's already shaking with new tears. "C'mere, baby." I hum, and urge her into my arms.

"It's been..." She whimpers. "Hard... I was trying to get you out of hell.... I tried, so hard..." I shush her softly, my hands delving into her hair, scrubbing at her head silently as she sobbed.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here." I hum. "Have you heard from Sam?"

She grunts and gazes up at me, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously? You've only just come back, and you're asking about your idiot brother?" She asks irritably.

"I just... Bobby hasn't heard from him. And with me getting out of hell, I think Sam may have done something stupid."

Lottie rolls her eyes at me and pinches at my ear just to get my attention. "Yeah, I heard from him. He's in Pontiac." She says.

"Right where I popped up." I murmur.

Lottie hums. "Yeah... How long will you be gone?"

"You're not... coming with us?" I ask.

She stares at me and then gestures to the baby. "I'm putting her through another car ride like that. We just got back." She says softly.

I purse my lips for a moment before scratching at the back of my head. "But... I don't want to leave you two..."

Lottie smiles and kisses me. Suddenly, all those flashing images rolling through my mind settle, and all I can think about is how perfect she felt against me. "Go find Sam. And bring him back here." She says softly.

I can't think beyond her pressing soft kisses on my face. I nod slowly and bear down on her. "Oh, before I forget," I hum as I fish the ring out of my pocket. "This belongs to you."

Her teary gaze just flickered to the small band before sniffling and nodding. "Yeah... Couldn't bear to wear it if... If you weren't around..." She mentions as she slips it onto her hand. "Besides, not like it fit around my swollen fingers back then." I laugh at her statement before tucking her into my arms again.