Title: Collision
Chapter: Seven
Summary: AU: After the birth of Dean and Jo's daughter, the present Winchester family baby sit some strangely familiar teens while their future counterparts endure a rather unorthodox family visit. Part of the "Lost and Found" series.
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Supernatural was created by Eric Kripke. No disrespect is intended with this work of fan fiction.
Notes: Thank you for reading!

In the Future:

"So, we're on our knees, desperately trying to get the carpet put back in place after painting devil's traps in front of each possible entrance to Sean's room before Gwen and Jo get back with the kids, and who should walk in, but Gwen and Jo." Dean gestured at them. They hadn't planned that day, but Sam had been having nightmares about something coming for Sean.

Sam chuckled. "Gwen, arms full of squirming child, looks at me and says 'wouldn't this have been easier to do before he was born?' and Dean replied -"

"When have you known us to ever do things the easy way? They were a little early getting back."

"Only a couple hours," Jo said. "But I tell you, if we'd ever had either business go bad, Dean and Sam could have made a living installing wall-to-wall carpet. You can't even tell they'd taken it up."

Gwen cleared her throat. "Hey guys? Where's Aaron?"

Bill looked around. "He was here."

Jo sat up and sniffed. "Um…dad…did Aaron…" She made the universal gesture for smoking pot.

"Not that I know of and somehow I doubt he showed up here with any on him."

"Then what's that smell?"

Sam sniffed and got to his feet. "That's coming from downstairs."

Gwen had already disappeared through the kitchen door.

Was there any way this wasn't the trouble he knew they'd all been expecting? Dean was the last one downstairs.

Their supply cabinet was open and Aaron was standing over a small symbol he'd painted on the floor. He had a knife and was crouched with hand over the symbol, knife ready to slice. Herbs and other ingredients were in a small bowl, a thin stream of smoke drifting up from them. Aaron glanced up as they approached. "Hi."

Dean took a step towards him, and another, until he was at the front of the group. "What are you doing?" It was getting to where they needed to repaint that particular spot on the floor about weekly now.

"Me? I'm not leaving. I'm going to stick around awhile. I reworked the spell that brought us here, made a few more changes."

"Why?" He knew the answer to that, but wanted Aaron to say it and think through it, a thing he was obviously bad at doing. Maybe time would run out before he could finish the spell, though Dean didn't expect that t happen. Not with their usual luck.

"Because I'm not ready to go." Aaron lowered the knife and stood in a smooth movement. "I wasn't ready then and I'm not ready now. I'm sure John and Bill would like more time, too, maybe actually meet the grandkids. I know I'd like to."

Bill stepped up beside Dean. His voice was cautious and careful. "This isn't our time, man. We got out a long time ago and, honestly, I'm fine with that. I can wait to meet everyone in the great beyond."

"Me, too." John moved up on Dean's other side. "It's nice seeing our kids, but I don't want to do this job again and you know if we stay, we will. We'll all get sucked back in."

"Seeing our kids," Aaron repeated. "Nice for you and Bill, John. You've had a good visit. You got to have those last conversations no one ever really gets to have. Me? Mine thinks I'm bad and evil. Tainted maybe. Won't even talk to me. Barely looks at me and I need time to prove to her that I'm none of those things. I need to prove to her that it's okay to, I don't know, to like me a little. I don't expect her to love me like your kids love you because I wasn't the father who raised her, but I'd like to at least talk to her. I'm a man who did what he had to do and maybe things didn't turn out perfect." He shrugged. "You think I didn't know about the consequences for some of those things I did?"

He was talking to Gwen now, attention shifting to her, and Dean winced a little to see tears on the man's face.

"That creature, the soul stealer, it killed Bill's parents. I wanted it to pay for that. I wanted it to be so bound that it couldn't ever get free again. Could you have anticipated a bomb in the building next door, Gwen? Or would you have thought all those layers of protections would hold for a very long time?"

"You used demonic blood magic," she replied. "That's a line you shouldn't have crossed."

"You've never done anything questionable?"

She didn't reply, looking down at the ground.

Dean knew she had to be thinking of a dozen times at least where she'd done questionable things. They all had and some even recently.

Aaron licked his lips. "I'll admit I was wrong to use it. I never used demonic blood magic in anything else ever again. And using the trickster was an act of desperation. Can you understand that? You have a child. Would you have done something similar if you thought you could save him? Have you done something similar, because, this life, I know how it is. The Campbells, they were always moving around to try to stay ahead of things. There's always something coming at you. At least it's not your husband."

Gwen looked back up.

"I had one thought in my mind, Gwen, and that was saving your life and getting you to safety. I'd thought the box would help, but there wasn't time to flip it open. She just…." He swallowed hard. "Why do you hate me? Why…." He gave another shrug, this one helpless. "I can't go back if this is it. Whatever you may think of me, I'm proud of the woman you've become and the life you have. If I'd done anything less than I did at any time, you may not have even existed at all. I can't regret the path that led, eventually, to you. I can't and I, at least, am glad I got meet you. I'm glad I got to see that you lived and have a good life." Now, he sighed. "But I'm not going back until we talk."

With a tiny sigh of her own, Gwen gave a shrug that was as helpless in nature as his had been. "I don't hate you. I don't. I actually see a lot of Sam in you. It's…interesting for me to notice that because you didn't raise me. I didn't know you. I didn't have your example to weigh men against, not like Jo, who chose Dean who is pretty much like her dad. I would've thought I'd choose someone like Neal, but I didn't. I found a man like you."

Dean glanced at Bill and found him looking right back at him, as confused by the comparison as he was. "We're nothing alike. What are you talking about?"

Jo patted his arm. "Let me list the ways…. Later."

Sam's voice came from directly behind Dean. "You're not the only one who's done some questionable things, Aaron. You should hear some of the things I've done in the past."

"Me, too." John put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "You want to talk doing something questionable to save your kid? I think all of us in this room know what that's like."

"We do." Gwen uncrossed put her hands in her pockets. "Aaron…dad…I don't hate you. I don't. For a very long time, you were a name and a picture, and then you were actually here. How do I deal with that? How do I see a father in a man I don't know and don't remember? You remember me, but I don't know you."

"You talk to him," Aaron said, knife lowering further. "That's how you deal. You don't ignore him. You ask him everything you want to know. We've wasted all these hours."

"Okay. Let's go talk now."

He shook his head. "Let me just finish this first and then we'll have hours and hours. Days, actually. Maybe even a few weeks. I'm not entirely sure of the timeframe."

"Oh, for crying out loud." Jo pushed in front of them all. "Do you have any idea what completing this spell would do?"

"Besides give us more time to get acquainted?"

"Yeah. Besides."

"Not one idea. Why?" He didn't even appear concerned by that and Dean blinked at the stupidity of that. Aaron may be a smart man in many ways, but on this he was spectacularly dumb.

"Doesn't that seem reckless? Dumb, even?" Jo gave voice to Dean's own thoughts and snorted. "You're a smart guy, Aaron. Think about it. If you do this, you upset balances and we personally know someone who won't be too happy about that. In fact, he gets rather pissy about the so-called delicate balance of the earth."

"She's right," Dean informed him. "You don't want Death coming down here, especially after what we all went through to correct that balance."

"I'm already dead. What's Death going to do to me?" Aaron brought the knife up and, before anyone could do a thing, ran the blade across his palm and dribbled blood on the symbol.

Dean waited for anything that'd indicate the spell had worked.

Aaron frowned and knelt, squeezing his fist so a tiny bit more blood dropped on the symbol. "That's weird. We should have felt it. It should have worked. Why didn't it?"

"Because I slightly changed three of the symbols when your back was turned, completely changing the use of the spell. All you did was change the temperature in here by one-sixteenth of a degree." Castiel appeared, leaning against Dean's workbench, his arms and ankles crossed. "I'm sorry. You couldn't be allowed to complete the spell, Aaron. That whole balance thing they mentioned." His bright blue gaze slid to Gwen. "Gwen, you've been ridiculous on this matter. Speak with him or you'll regret it. You all have approximately half an hour left. The children will be returned once the spell is finished. I suggest you say whatever you have left to say and make your goodbyes."

Gwen and Aaron went up first, followed by Sam and Bill, then Jo and John.

Dean was the last to start up the stairs, pausing a moment to look back at Castiel. "Cas saves the day."

"I've had some practice over the years."

"You're getting better at that."

"You've been a good teacher." He pushed off from the workbench. "I've got angels standing by the follow their souls back to heaven. We'll know where they're all located, Dean. Even Aaron. When it's time, you'll all be able to see them easily."

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Dean."

"You headed off to collect everyone?"

"I am. This time, will you please not turn your back on him?"

"The man moves like a wraith."

Castiel chuckled. "Watch him," he cautioned and disappeared with the fluttering of wings.

Dean gave the symbols on the floor a long glance, murmuring, "One sixteenth of a degree. Cas, you're awesome," before going upstairs for half an hour of fast talking and goodbyes.

In the Present and then the Future:

Castiel thought to himself that he was going to need to go to Jo first and explain both the need and plan to wipe their memories of the visit. He explained it to his past self and knew he was clear in that, for his past self nodded.

"I understand."

"Jack as well."

"I know. I understand the necessity."

"Not Ellen."

"Why not?"

"Let's just say that she can keep it to herself better than anyone else."

He'd be returning approximately a few seconds before Abby brought the children back and readied himself for the jump forward.

"The future," his past self began, then shrugged.

"As it should be."

"Abby mentioned that the children were lying and she wasn't certain they were doing a good enough job of it on some matters."

He almost smiled. They'd done a perfect job of it, confusing the truth enough that whatever happened would be a surprise one way or another for all of the Winchesters. "They lied and lied about their lies and have confused everything. All is well. The incidents are over."

"With no further problems arising?" His past self seemed doubtful of that, as he should be. Further problems developing were normal and expected.

"None that weren't expected."

His past self put his hands in his coat pockets. "Does it ever get easier?"

"What do you think," he returned and scored a small smile.

"I think no. I think very little is easy with this family."

"Goodbye…self."

"Keep out of trouble."

"As much as I always do."

His past self snorted and walked towards the house.

Castiel slipped forward in time and, as he touched down back in his own time, he knew he'd ignored his own orders.

His past self had not deviated from the somewhat thorny path of leaving those memories intact.

He'd known it was necessary, yet when he'd gone to Jo as he'd intended, she'd been waiting for him in Allie's room, rocking the infant gently. She'd been crying, face wet with tears, and looked up at him, a single word on her lips: "Please."

In that word, he'd heard her desperation to hang on to the memory of their children mostly grown. He'd understood that he couldn't follow his own order to wipe their memories. They'd all needed that hope to hold on to.

He'd made an executive decision and apologized to, at the time, his future self. He'd bent, kissed Jo's forehead, and whispered, "Merry Christmas," leaving the adults with their memories.

That little thing didn't do much really. By the time Oberon decided to be a pest, all but Dean had forgotten about the time travel incident, that particular Christmas Eve not even being one of their strangest so far.

He materialized in the future beside Abby, out of sight of the family.

"They've all been scolded and Allie begged to open presents since it's just after midnight," she explained. "You know, we should have taken all of Aaron's journals away back then."

"Hindsight."

"Perhaps we should take them now."

"I'll discuss it with them later. It should be their decision." He crossed his arms. "You know, this could have been worse."

"That's not supposed to be our mantra, Castiel."

"No, but it's true."

She smiled and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

Across the room, Dean looked up and around. "You back, Cas? Present time." He held up a package. "Come on out if you're back."

"I should join them," he told Abigael.

"Go on. You've earned a rest."

He materialized and moved towards the family, sitting on the couch and accepting the present Dean held out. Castiel reflected for a moment just how much he loved this family. He couldn't wait to see what the new year held for all of them.

In the Present:

Dean was up late, having a last drink before bed. Jack was asleep against him, and Jo had already gone up to bed. In the baby monitor, he could hear Allie stirring in her crib. He also heard the faint sounds of Gwen and Sam talking in their room.

Reaching over, he turned out the lamp so that the room was only lit by the lights from the tabletop tree. He sipped his drink, waiting for Castiel to join him. It wasn't long, Cas pouring himself a drink and sitting beside him on the couch.

"Helluva Christmas," Dean commented, glancing askance at him.

"It was eventful."

"Understatement, Cas." He swirled the liquid in the glass. "How long do I have to remember my kids as teenagers?"

"How long do you want to have?"

He adjusted the blanket on Jack. "I'd like to think about it right up to those days, try to figure out what they were lying about."

Castiel slid down a little on the couch cushion, leaning his head back against it. "Everything, Dean. They lied about everything, or so my future self assured me. Then they lied about their lies until you have no way of knowing what the truth of it is or what the future actually holds except them alive and well."

"I figured that. Isn't it against the angel rules to let us keep the memories?"

"Not technically. Since you have no way of knowing the truth, you have no reason to change anything in the way you'll raise them."

Good. He wanted to remember Jack looking so adult and yet young and vulnerable at the same time. And Allie, sulking in her seat with Jo's annoyed expression. "How's the party upstairs going?"

After a long drink, Castiel said, "I owe Uzziel a favor."

"Uh-oh."

"That is certainly an 'uh-oh'. I think next year we'll have a quiet celebration."

"Good luck on that. That's like us saying we're going to have an uneventful vacation."

They clinked glasses. Dean drained his and set it aside. "I'd better get Jack put to bed." Carefully, he gathered the boy up into his arms and stood. "Be here for presents in the morning?" He was sort of excited for Castiel to open his. They'd gotten together as a family and decided he needed another option in outerwear. They'd splurged and bought him a really nice lined leather jacket. Dean thought he was going to like it. It had enough pockets for whatever he needed to carry around with him, from his angel blade to whatever book he was reading these days.

"Should I be?"

"You're family. What do you think?"

"Then…of course. I'll be here. Good night, Dean."

"See you in the morning." He tucked Jack in bed and went to bed himself. For once, his dreams were good ones. He dreamed of the future, and of this life he'd once thought he'd never have.