SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL FAERIE TALE

A QAF/SUPERNATURAL CROSSOVER

CHAPTER 1 HALLOWEEN NIGHT

             "Hi Daddy! Hi Poppa!"

             "Hi Sonny Boy! Hi JR!"

             "Hi Unca Justin. Hi Unca Brian." Came the more subdued greeting. "Where's my daddy? And daddy Ben?"

             "They asked us to pick you up, sweetheart. We're all going to your house for the evening for Halloween, remember?" said Justin.

             "Oh yeah."

             "Did you like our school play Unca Brian? ‘Member, I was Gretel and Gus was Hansel! And now we get to trick or treat with our costumes!"

             "They're great costumes, sweetheart. But I had to work, remember? I'm going to watch the video that Justin filmed when you guys are out trick or treating. I'm sure you guys did great."

             The car moved into traffic and they were off to Stepford-Suburbia.

THEN

             After Babylon exploded and their aborted marriage, Justin moved to New York and Melanie and Lindsay fled to Canada with their children to escape the dreaded Prop 14. 

             Justin spent a total of 5 years in New York but after the first 6 months of it he knew he was not over Brian. In the meantime, Brian continued with Kinnetic and built it up even bigger and better than before. He bought and rebuilt Babylon, hoping it would rekindle the memories of being a club boy and let him forget about Justin. It didn't. Every time he went there, everywhere he turned, he saw a blond twink beckoning, beckoning but it was never the right one. So finally, he stopped tricking altogether and sold Babylon.

             It was shortly after that when Justin called. Brian took the red-eye to New York and showed up at Justin's door. Their reunion was explosive.  Justin locked the door and they fucked constantly in his little apartment for 2 days straight. They emerged exhausted and famished. After a nice dinner, they went home again and Brian again fucked Justin into the mattress.

             The next morning, Brian had to go home but from that day on they were never out of contact again.  They kept in constant communication by phone and an open skype webcam link. Both of them were alone but they were never lonely for each other again. Occasionally, Brian would visit for another rousing fuck-a-thon.

             Justin was in New York for 2 years when Brian proposed again. Justin said yes and they were blissfully and frequently physically happy about it.

             In the meantime, with Justin's urging, but also because Brian was increasingly changing and missing him, he started to keep in better touch with Gus. They also had frequent calls and a constantly available webcam line where Gus could call at any time. Brian, Gus and Justin all grew closer and closer.

             Three years later, after 5 years in New York, Justin became so well established and had so many shows that he became independently wealthy enough to move back to Pittsburgh. This time, he and Brian WERE married in the presence of all their friends and in Justin's case, family. (well, not Craig.) Fortunately, Prop 14 did NOT go through, and everything went as planned.

             After they were married, Brian and Justin decided they missed Gus too much to be remote dads anymore. They decided to petition for part-time custody and were awarded 6 month in three month increments at a time.  After a year they petitioned for a year at a time for more time and to cut down on the travel time. They were awarded. Their two and a half men family grew in love.

             Ben and Mikey also grew in love and wealth. They adopted Hunter. Happy and secure at last, Hunter gave up hustling forever, and grew up strong and handsome. He was able to explore his straight orientation fully now and dated several times before he found a truly sweet girl who was able to handle his positive status. He married when he was 23 years old. Now five years later he was happily married with a baby boy of his own. Ben and Michael were ecstatic to be grandpas!

             Mikey`s business prospered and he was able to expand to 3 comic stores. Two were managed but he still enjoyed running and managing his original shop. Ben was able to keep teaching but simply because he enjoyed it, not because he needed to be a breadwinner. This let them relax a great deal in all aspects of their life.

             After Mel and Linds moved, Michael never stopped missing JR. He and Ben also called and webcammed JR as much as possible and eventually petitioned for part custody as well. Ben and Mike were awarded 6 months at a time.

             Meanwhile, Mel and Linds prospered in Canada but realized they were no better off there than they were in Pittsburgh.  Prop 14 was gone and they soon found out that homophobia was universal.  This was most evident when they watched in horror one year at a Pride parade as someone dropped a grocery cart down onto the parade from a 25 story apartment balcony. But it was too late, they had committed themselves to the move and their jobs there in Canada and they couldn`t go back. However they also saw how the fathers missed and wanted to be with their children. They were also impressed at how they had finally matured enough to get over their commitment-phobia and so they agreed to the custody arrangements. Eventually, things got so good for Linds, managing her art gallery, that she was offered a job in France. Mel, who was working in a very large firm by this time, managed to get transferred to the Paris office. However, it was decided that since these new jobs would leave them so busy and rather than have two young children immersed and forced to learn a foreign language and culture; they would go and stay with their fathers in Pittsburgh for good. The two mothers would miss the kids terribly but after all, there was always skype... Meanwhile, this left the now mature four fathers ecstatic with joy. Their children would be theirs permanently!

NOW

            Justin reached for his coat and gloves.

            "All right, kids! Who's ready to go trick or treating!?"

            Gus and JR came running but as soon as Gus saw his father his little face scrunched up in disgust.

            "Awwww, No way, Daddy Justin! Come on! I'm 12! I wanna go out by myself! This is practically my last year before I'm too old to go out anymore..."

            "There's no practically about it!" yelled Brian from the kitchen.

            "Charming..." said Gus drily, in a perfect imitation of his biological father, "My point being, I'm old enough to go around without some parent mooching about."

            "And what about your sister? She's not old enough."

            "I'll take her around. I'm old enough! Let me show you. I look after her practically all the time anyway."

            Justin looked down and saw that they were looking at a serious mutiny here. He went to talk it over with the three other fathers.

            Michael was mother hen and was strenuously against it. But he also didn't want to go out in the cold night. He was counting on Justin going with them. Justin was against it but at the same time he didn't want then walking around making him feel as if he were their prison guard. Brian was characteristically for it, and Ben surprisingly was as well, as long as Gus was careful and took a cell phone. He felt he was of the age where he needed to shoulder some responsibility.

            They wanted to discuss it more but the kids started to whine and they realized, of course, they were on the clock here. So at last, they decided for it, stood  "Hansel and Gretel" up in front of the door and lectured Gus mercilessly. Stay on the streets that we talked about. Don`t eat packaged candy. Don`t eat apples. Wait until they got home. Don't let your sister out of your sight. Don't accept rides from strangers. Look both ways when...

            Blah! Blah! Blah! Gus let it all wash over him like warm water from a bath. He knew ALL this stuff already. Back in Toronto, when he and JR lived together, he did all this stuff and more and looked after his sister all the time. He knew what to do.

            "Daddy Justin! Uncle Michael! I know! I KNOW!" he cried finally.

            Finally, somehow, someway, he got himself and JR out of the house away from the smothering adults with trick or treat bags intact and a cell phone in his old world short pants pocket. Man! Were parents ever uptight sometimes!

            He took his sister by the hand, smiled sweetly, and took off. As soon as they were away from the house and he could see the 4 men duck inside the house, he dropped his hand.  "Just stay close," he instructed his sister.

            "I know, I know!" replied Gretel. (JR) Inwardly, she felt glad that Gus didn't want to hold her hand ALL the time, that felt weird, but she was glad he was close by. The night was dark and getting darker, cold and getting colder and she needed somebody to be the leader.

            For the next while, everything was normal and they had a lot of fun. They were a big hit with the old grannies and they often got ooohed and aaahed over and were asked to wait while they got their pictures took. Their old world costumes and JR's dark pigtails and kerchief were a big hit.

            Eventually, it got so cold they could not ignore it any longer. They had brought along cloaks made from a wool/silk blend that they had used in the play as well. Gus helped JR with her clasp and they pulled up the hoods. It was remarkable how warm they were when they wrapped themselves up in the depths. After that they only unwrapped to show off their costumes underneath when they were at the door of somebody's. Still, it worked marvellously with their costumes.

            Finally, fairly late turned into VERY late. Nearly 9 o'clock! Time to go home.

            They were at the end of a long cul-de-sac. Gus told JR they could do one more house and then they had to go straight home. JR whined a bit at first but Gus just saw this as tiredness and became resolute.

            "Look Gus! Let's do that one!" JR cried, pointing.

            Gus looked over at a driveway he hadn't really noticed before. It was gravel and overgrown and twisted off to the right shortly after entering into a wooded area. The house was not visible. It was the scariest thing he'd ever seen. And yet... there was something...something about it. Gus took a step toward it without even thinking about it.

            "What!? You gotta be kidding me! Besides, the daddies said we can't go onto streets that aren't approved! And that is DEFINITELY not an approved street!"

            "That's not a street. It's a driveway." JR argued reasonably. "As long as we don't go off into the woods, we won't be breaking any rules. Not really, anyway. Come on, Gus. I can smell something down there."

            Gus inhaled. It was faint but he could smell something too. Cookies and fresh bread, and...was that chocolate cake? Could this be the trick or treat mother lode?

            "All right," he decided, "But this is our very last house. We stay together and we stay on the driveway, no matter what."

            "No matter what," agreed JR.

            They started the gravel path and the forest closed in around them quickly. There were tall pines and spruce but also many deciduous trees having lost most of their leaves. Their branches reached up toward the sky like many thin and sharp talons waiting for unsuspecting victims to grab and slash. Gus quickly grew uneasy and remembered his role in the play earlier that day. He decided to do the same thing and as they went along he dropped a piece of his candy along the one lane roadway. He wasn't sure if it was entirely needful but it made him feel better.

            The driveway curved right, then left, then right again. It was very dark by now. There was a straight bit. And then they could see lights ahead. At last. The smells became stronger.

            "Come on Gus! Come on!  We're almost there!" JR jumped up and down and rushed forward. And she disappeared.

            Gus was frightened. This had suddenly gone from weird and adventurous to downright scary. Where was JR? She had just been right there. She couldn't have gone into the forest. She had to be there. He HAD to find her. He couldn't go home without her.

            He dropped a piece of candy and stepped forward. There was a strange rippling, a feeling as if he'd stepped through Jell-o and there was JR again. They seemed a lot closer to the end of the path than they should have been. And now the smells were stronger than ever.

            "Where did you go? I told you to stay with me!" Gus said gruffly.

            "I'm right here."

            "Didn't you feel that shimmering?"

            JR looked at him like he was nuts. "What are you talking about!? Come on Gus! I can almost taste that gingerbread!"

            And she ran forward again and Gus had no choice but to follow or lose her entirely.

            When they reached the house, they stopped dead in astonishment. It was impossible.

            The smells were not coming from the house. The smells were the house. The house was gingerbread. The windows were spun sugar and there were gumdrops decorating it everywhere. The eaves were made out of icing.  The doorknob was a large chocolate chip cookie.

            "Oh, Gus! Have ya ever seen anything so beautiful!? Have ya!?"

            "It's something all right! But...but it can't be real."

            "Of course it's real! It's right there! Oh, I have to have some! The smell is driving me crazy!" JR rushed forward.

            "No, JR! We promised the daddies we wouldn't eat any treats until we got home!"

            "But they meant apples an' packages candies that meanies would want to put bad things in. This stuff is fresh. So fresh. And I'm soooo hungry! Can't we have a little, Gus? Pleeeeease?"

            Gus began to weaken. The smells were making him hungry too. And technically, JR was right. The daddies did mean packaged stuff and fruit.

            "OK. But stick to the gingerbread and maybe the doorknob."

            They ran over to the house and broke off a few pieces of the overhanging roof and bit into the wall. It was delicious. Then, all of a sudden they heard a faint chuckle. It was coming from inside the house. The next moment the gingerbread door with the chocolate chip cookie doorknob opened and a kindly old man in a robe carrying an oaken staff with carvings all over it came out. He squinted out through a large monocle. He had a large beak nose with a wart on the end of it and wispy white hair.

            "Well, well, well! What have we here? Two little waifs lost in the woods? Munching on my little house for a snack perhaps?"

            Gus gathered JR to himself protectively and said, "We're sorry, sir. You must admit this is a most unusual house you have here. We couldn't resist. But we're hardly lost. We just came down your driveway from the street.  We just came to trick or treat."

            "He! He! He! You're most welcome to my house! It's easily replaceable. In fact, I have many more goodies inside. Cookies, and pies and tarts galore! My name's Craig. But I'm afraid I don't understand. I know not what this "trick or treat" is. I live here deep within these woods. There are no streets for miles around. See for yourself."

            Gus looked around in the direction of which they had come. In shock, he realized it was true. There was just a thin trail leading away from the house. There was no driveway. They were in the middle of a strange and dark forest.

            "Come inside and have something to eat. Then I can put you to bed. You'll have your own room with soft, warm beds and we'll figure out where you little urchins belong in the morning."

            Well, they couldn't stay out in the dark forest all night. With no real choice, Gus and JR followed Craig into the house, sticking close together.

@@@@@@@@@@@

            At about 10 pm the daddies started to get seriously worried.

            Justin was pacing. "They should have been back hours ago!"

            "AN hour ago, Sunshine. Hardly a reason to call out the troops," said Brian, "And will you sit the fuck down? You're making me dizzy!"

            Justin sat.

            "They have the cell phone," Ben said reasonably, "If they were really in trouble, Gus would call. He's responsible. He's a good boy."

            Michael was passed out in the living room. He'd had a serious queen-out at the 9 o'clock mark, so they'd slipped a valium in his tea. He'd be out until morning.

            Justin jumped up again. "Unless he dropped it. Or he's being forcibly confined! Halloween is such a weird time of year! Oh God! Why did I let them go alone! Why!?" He started pacing again.

             "Because he threatened to have a bigger queen out than Guinevere over there if we didn't," Brian said reasonably, jerking a thumb over at Michael. "Look, why don't we go out and cruise around in the ‘Vette to look for them. Ben, you stay here and wait by the phone in case they call."

             "OK Bri. That sounds good," said Ben.

             Justin just looked at Brian with shining eyes. Then he ran for the hall and before Brian made it to the doorway of the kitchen, he was dressed in coat, hat and gloves.

             "Come on Brian! What are you waiting for!?"

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, back at the gingerbread house, Gus and JR were amazed and delighted to find a wonderful spread laid out, a large roast turkey dinner, stuffings, gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie, cookies, pecan tarts, chocolates. Everything looked marvellous.

             "Dig in, my darlings, dig in," said Craig, "You must be hungry after your journey."

             "Well, it wasn't that far, really," Gus said, his mouth already full.

             "Oh, I see. And what are your names, my dears?"

             A kind of warning flag went up in Gus' mind and he shot a warning glance at his sister. It was hardly necessary; she was also stuffing her face as if she hadn't eaten in a week.

             "Uh, my name's Hansel. And this is my sister, Gretel," he said, watching the old man for a reaction.

             There was none. JR (or Gretel as she now was) looked a bit surprised at her brother but he looked at her meaningfully and nodded quickly once. Fortunately, she got it and kept her mouth shut and went back to stuffing it.

             "Well, it's nice to meet you, Hansel. Please enjoy as much as you'd like and then I'll show you up to your room where there are two beds all ready and waiting for two young travelers such as yourselves."

             "All right. Thank you sir."

             And in what seemed like no time at all, they had polished off a plate of food each and were feeling very drowsy from all that turkey and pumpkin pie. Craig led them up some stairs to a bedroom where two small beds awaited with clean, white sheets and thick, soft pillows. Craig leaned heavily on his stick, which was carved and had a large red jewel in the top of it.

            Gus and JR lay down and went right to sleep. Craig backed out of the room, a cruel, cunning smile upon his lips.

            Did I say both of them went right to sleep. Oooops! As soon as Hansel saw that Craig was gone, he reached for his pants, now hanging on the chair and tried to call home. But the phone wouldn't even turn on. It was dead.

            Strange. Gus also reflected on the fact that Craig had not reacted to their storybook names. EVERYBODY had heard of Hansel and Gretel. Gus/Hansel knew he'd have to be very wary of Craig in the days to come. And he knew, somehow, that this was not just an overnight adventure. Something very strange was going on here.

            Then, exhausted, Gus fell asleep.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

            Brian and Justin cruised around in the ‘Vette until midnight. They checked all the streets that they had approved the kids to go on and then a few of the adjoining ones. Nothing.

            They went back and knocked on doors, showing the kids pictures to the adults inside. They managed to track the kid's progress up to a certain point and then...nothing. They had gone no further.  They decided to re-group at the house and see if they had called. They went home. They hadn't. Ben was also starting to get sick with worry. He was also anxious about how Michael would react when he woke up to find them still gone not to mention the fact that they had slipped him a mickey.

            As always, Brian was or at least seemed to be the voice of reason and calmness. His confidence grounded Justin.

            "OK! OK! There's no reason to go running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. There's nothing more we can do right now. We'll go to the police in the morning. We'll find them!"

            "And if we can't!?!?" Justin was starting to sound rather panicked himself.

            "We'll find them. I promise you, Justin. We'll find them." Justin found his lips mashed to Brian's in a hot and frenetic kiss. And Big Ben was grabbed and together the 3 men held each other in an unashamed group hug.

TBC

SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL QAF FAERIE TALE

CHAPTER 2 THE NEXT DAY

         The next morning was a very rude awakening for Gus and JR. (or Hansel and Gretel, I suppose we must call them from now on)

         It was very early when Craig snuck into the children's bedroom and grabbed Hansel by the scruff on the neck of his nightshirt and dragged him out of the warm bed and down the stairs.

         Hansel tried to fight back but he was hardly awake when it happened and by the time he got his wits fully back to himself, they were halfway down the stairs. Once he did, he fought with everything his little twelve-year-old self could. He kicked. He scratched and tried to punch and bite but it was no use. Craig just laughed and held him at arm's length as he dragged him along.

         Craig dragged him toward the back of the house and into a large, weird kitchen. There was a small sort of door in the wall. Behind this door was a space in the wall about the size for a grown man to lie down in. For Hansel it was big enough to sit it and move around a little but not by much. Craig opened the door to this little room and flung Hansel/Gus inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it.

         Hansel was furious. He shook the door, which had a small barred window on it and yelled, "Lemme outta here you freak! You better leave my sister alone, you nasty perv!" (Growing up with 4 daddies had given him a colorful language. But not from them.)

         Craig just laughed nastily and disappeared back into the rest of the house.

         There was straw on the floor and that small window for air but other than that, there was nothing. There was barely any room to move around. Hansel didn't even want to think about what was supposed to happen if he had to go to the bathroom.

         Meanwhile, Craig went back upstairs and kicked Gretel out of bed.

         "WAKE UP! Get downstairs and sweep the floor! After that we're going to make something nice to eat for your brother, who's going to get nice and fat on it!"

         JR/Gretel just stared at him. She was still half asleep and completely befuddled by the old man's bipolar change in personality.

         "MOVE!! I'm taking your brother his clothes and coming back for you! If you're not dressed by then, I'll drag you downstairs in whatever state you are in and you can do chores whatever you look like. It won't make any difference to me! MOVE!" he screamed again.

         Gretel moved.

         Craig clumped downstairs with Hansel's clothes and shoved them through the barred window. "Dress, or stay in that nightshirt for all I care! Your only meaning in life now is to eat and grow plump and fat for me! And fat you will grow! AHHH HE! HE! HE! HE!!!!" he cackled nastily.

         Hansel took his clothes in a surly manner and demanded, "Where's my sister? What have you done with her?"

         "She's upstairs getting dressed. You're my prisoner. She's my slave. She'll spend her time making the food YOU'LL eat! Or else!"

         At that moment, Gretel came into the kitchen dressed in her old world day clothes.

         "OK, you big meanie! I'm here! Now before I sweep anythin', I wanna know where my brother is!"

         "He's right there!" Craig said, pointing, "But that won't make any difference to you in a few seconds!" He pointed his wooden staff with the red jewel in it at her and intoned, "Elsanachh! Now behave! Be my slave! Elsanachh! Now behave! Be my slave!" The red jewel began to flash.

         "Gretel! Run! Don't worry about me! Just run!"

         But it was too late. Gretel was fixed in place and her eyes were fixed on the jewel. They lost all animation and on the third intonation her arms fell limp to her sides.

         "Now sweep the floor!" Craig snarled.

         "Yes sir," Gretel said in a horrible, flat voice and went to the corner where the broom stood.

         Hansel gave a wordless cry of pure rage and rattled the door or his cage. Craig cackled in evil triumph.

666

         Brian awoke on his back on a too soft mattress and his head kinked and sore and an odd angle. There was a heavy weight on him pressing him deeper into the odd mattress. He opened his eyes and then closed them briefly again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

         He was on Ben and Michael's couch. The weight on him was Justin. The blond lay on his side, somehow perfectly molding himself against Brian's larger frame. His silky, blond hair feathered out across one large pec and a hand had snaked itself possessively around Brian's neck.

         But that wasn't why Brian had groaned. Justin could drape himself over him on a 24/7 basis if he wanted and Brian would never get tired of it. No, he groaned because it was morning. It was morning and he was in this too quiet house, in this too quiet world and the kids were still missing and not making the noise.

         Brian poked Justin and Justin awoke. Slowly, he came to the realization that Brian did. Some of the light went out of his blue, blue eyes. Brian kissed his nose. Even at 30, Justin was incredibly youthful and somehow, Brian could never picture him past 21 anyway.

         "We'll find them, Sunshine. I promise, somehow we'll get them back."

         Justin just nodded miserably and got up. He made coffee while Brian stretched his kinks out. Even though he still worked out tirelessly and was in very good shape, he could feel that it was having less and less effect on him as he entered his 40's.

         "Gotta watch those carbs..." he mumbled, as he stretched out a particularly painful kink and heard an alarmingly loud ‘click' as something snapped back into place.

         Justin heard him and rolled his eyes.

         "What's the plan, Carb Queen?" he asked.

         "Two of us should go to the police. The other two, I guess should continue going door to door. Maybe someone's found them. Maybe they got a bed for the night. Maybe somebody saw them. Maybe...maybe they...."

         And then Justin was there filling up his too empty arms in a now too empty world. "Shhh, Brian. It's OK. Everything will be OK."

         Justin made breakfast along with the coffee and soon the morning smells brought forth Ben and Michael.

         As expected, Michael was surly and as bitter as the coffee about being drugged but you could tell Ben had placed him under a strict gag order. He had been ordered not to talk about the children unless it was in a constructive way. Since he was so sick with worry, he didn't really know how to do this, so he rarely spoke.

         "I take it this hasn't been poisoned as well," he snarked, taking a mug of coffee.

         "Yes your welcome, Michael," Justin replied. Michael ignored him.

         Ben covered for Michael's bad manners by asking what they were going to do. Justin outlined the plan for today. He and Brian would go to the police and Ben and Michael could go door to door and keep asking about the kids armed with pictures of them.

         "Oh!" Justin had a thought. "Are there any wells or cisterns or anything like that in the neighborhood. Caves? Anywhere they could have fallen in or gotten lost?"

         "No, thank God!" Ben replied." And no caves. A few wooded areas but nothing they could get lost in. We're in a pretty large suburban area. That's what makes all of this so mysterious. There's nowhere they could have gone except a house. And if they did, why didn't that person call...unless..."

         Nobody finished the obvious thought.

         They finished off their breakfast quickly. Michael did the dishes as he felt he needed to do something with his hands and couldn't think of anything good to say. He kept his mind focused on his task and a picture of his baby in his head but unnoticed by everyone an eye had begun to twitch. A terrible rage began to build within him. He was inordinately glad when Brian and Justin finally left.

At the local police station...

         Going to the police station turned out to be a huge waste of time.

         The sergeant at the front desk took one look at them and waved them over to a waiting area. They waited there for over an hour with Brian coming back every fifteen minutes ranting about how this was not a lost football, these were children for chrissakes! And could they PLEASE talk to an officer.

         Finally, another officer heard him and yelled over, "Oh for God's sake, Steve, stop being an asshole and let them through! You know there‘s no reason to make them wait!"

         Brian's face grew red and murderous.

         "Oh, fine! Ruin my fun! Fine! You take care of these queers then!"

         "You - homophobic - prick!" Brian ground out, leaning in close. "I am taking note of the time. If I find out one of my children was murdered or hurt in any way in the hour that you kept us needlessly waiting, I will hunt you down, whatever the cost, however long it takes, and this queer will make you pay!"

         "Are you threatening a police officer?" blustered Steve imperiously.

         Quick as a light switch, Brian straightened up and switched to a normal voice, "Of course not officer. That would be wrong." He walked on by. Justin followed. "Just like obstructing justice," he threw back as a parting shot.

         The officer who saw them was Constable Frank. However, it turned out he was no better help. It turned out there was nothing they could do for 48 hours. Not to mention there were questions like : "Are you sure they didn't run away?" and: "Is there a history of abuse in your family?" Is there any reason your children might have wanted to get away from any unhealthy practices in your home?"

         Brian grew angrier and angrier and his face grew redder and redder and soon Justin knew he had to get Brian out of there. NOW, or they would both land behind bars.

         "I can assure you, officer, we have an extremely loving home life," he kept assuring the policeman, "In fact we've invested a lot of time in making that a reality."

         "Then why do you think they ran away?" asked the police officer stupidly, trying to trip them up. Justin swore he saw steam come out of Brian's ears. He dropped his forehead into his hands. Here it came.

         "Now you listen to me, you pencil pushing, doughnut munching, coffee swilling, bastard of a pig of a cop! You think just because we are two fathers, we are abusing child molesters!? Well, let me tell you something! There IS a history of abuse in my family! I was abused by my parents who were the WASP-y-ist, churchgoing-ist, straightest, people on my block! And I made it my goal in life to be as UN-like them as humanly possible! Which means I might be gay but I have made it my aim to be the most loving and non-abusive father I know how to be. I love my Sonny-boy and my Sonny-boy loves me! He would NOT have run away! Now in the name of YOUR FUCKING GOD...get off your ass and find our children!"

         Officer Frank was red-faced and furious as well. "I'm sorry sir! There's nothing we can do," he said in this tight-assed, butt-plugged, tone of voice, "Your children aren't missing unless they've been gone for at least 48 hours. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

         Brian was incoherent with rage. Justin took this opportunity to grab Brian's arm and somehow, with superhuman strength, to pull him from his seat and slowly drag him toward the exit.

         "That's just what we'll do. We'll be back tomorrow. Count on it, Officer Frank, badge #686761," Justin said meaningfully.

         He continued to drag Brian away who was now ranting indiscriminately. "You - you homophobic pricks! Homophobic BASTARD pigs! Bastards!"

         "Get him outta NOW, before I put you both in cuffs!"

         Desperately, Justin pulled, pulled, pulled and somehow he got Brian out of there.

         "BASTARDS!" Brian yelled once more before the front door closed. Then they were outside and they were alone on a crowded street, pressed up against the cold brick side of the police station away from the door. Brian still heaved a snorted, breathing like a Brahma bull. Justin pressed up against him, leaning his head against a strong pec, feeling the huge breaths get slower and softer as he acted as a grounding device to Brian's rage.

         "There you go. Calm and slow. There we go. I love you. I love you my darling. Everything's all right." Justin continued soothing patter until he felt Brian's arms go around him too.

         "Those bastards! How could they accuse...How dare...I'll sue...Oh, my God, what are Gus and JR supposed to do for another day if they're lost! They'll be so cold!"

         "They'll be all right!" Justin said soothingly.

         "You don't know that! They'll be cold! They'll be hungry!" Brian started to shake Justin. "It's too cold! They'll be cold! They'll get hungry!" he repeated. "And what if they're kidnapped! What if someone has my son?! What if someone has our babies?!"

         Suddenly Brian realized what he was doing and stopped shaking Justin like a rag doll. Instead, Justin found himself crushed inside a huge overpowering bear hug. They clung to each other and suddenly they're lips were mashed together in a hot and hungry way, magnetized together, fused. The kiss was passion and panic. It was doom and destiny.

         As Justin continued to hold him, Brian's shoulders began to shake. But strangely, his eyes were dry.

         "Oh Justin!" he gasped, "Where's my little boy? Where the hell is my little boy!?"

666

         Brian's little boy (going by the alias of Hansel at the moment) was currently in solitary confinement in a literal hole in the wall. He watched in horror as Craig wielded some sort of mind control over his sister and made her do all sorts of chores as Craig cooked up as storm.

         JR(Gretel) swept the floor, washed the dishes, mopped the floor, fetched water, peeled potatoes, carrots, and apples, cut onions, cracked eggs and shelled nuts.  On and on it went and she ignored Hansel completely, as if he wasn't even there, even though Hansel tried many times to snap her out of it. But it was no use.

         Craig turned out to be an evil warlock, who liked nothing better than to cook up and devour little children, hence the strange, magical gingerbread house. It turned out Halloween was his favorite time of year as his powers became strongest to pull in a few rosy cheeked children, always who were a couple or a group of siblings.

         The kitchen where they were now prisoners was strange and medieval. The floor was cobblestoned and the middle was taken up with a large island type countertop. It was on this counter that Craig made the roast chicken with stuffing and pumpkin pie and apple pie and cookies. Set in the wall was a huge kiln type oven that was heated by actual fire. Along the wall there was a shelf with spices but below that another shelf with strange powders and potions that were steeped in magic. The whole place smelled of cinnamon and sugar but underneath that there was another smell, a dead, rotten smell, as if a rat had died in the walls and had been left there. There was a door to the back yard, a door to the front room and a third door that Craig went into at night. Hansel presumed it was his bedroom.

         Eventually, the roast chicken dinner was ready. Craig shoved in plate after plate of chicken, roast vegetables and stuffing and drenched everything in gravy. Then he'd watch to make sure Hansel ate every bite and gave him all the bones back. Then he passed in the pumpkin pie and forced him to eat the entire thing.

         "Enough!" I can't take anymore in!" gasped Hansel finally. "Let me at least digest all this until tonight! If I eat anymore, I'll puke!"

         "Well..." Craig pretended to consider it. "I guess it won't do to have all my hard work undone. OK that's enough for now!"

         And how about some water to wash all this down!?" Hansel demanded.

         "Excuse ME?!" the  warlock demanded.
         Hansel rolled his eyes. "Pleeease," he amended.

         "That's better," said Craig, "Little boys mustn't forget their manners."

         Hansel ignored him.

         Craig went to the sink and filled a large glass of water. As his back was turned, Hansel took a bone from his last plate and hid it under the straw. If this ass thought he was going to fatten him up he had another thing coming. He already had a plan but he had to reach his sister. He was going to need her help.

         "What about Gretel?" he asked Craig, "She's worked her tail off and you've given her nothing! She'll collapse soon! What are you going to give her to eat?"

         Craig glided across the room as if with one step with his water. His once kindly face was cold and cruel as he smiled a horrible smile that was all fangs in the firelight. His breath was disgusting enough to rot fresh fruit. "Maybe I'll feed her some nice flies!"

         "Flies? What are you talking about?"

         "When I turn her into a TOAD!" Craig cackled horribly. Then he turned serious again. If you want her to eat, then YOU'LL EAT!!" he roared.

         "But I ate all I could," Hansel whined, "You've got to give her something!"

         Hansel was again propelled into murderous rage a short time later. He again shrieked in impotent fury and rattled the bars of his little door. Craig indeed gave Gretel something to eat but even so it wasn't a lot. In her tranced state she was helpless to resist. He fed her raw eggs and a disgusting soup made from the chicken bones Hansel had just finished with and all the peelings and cast offs from the vegetables.

         It was then that Gus/Hansel figured that he could use some real help.

666

         In a remote section of a dark forest in the dead of night, two men locked themselves away in their cheap, Bates-esque motel room. They poured a line of salt on the windowsills and in front of the door and chanted certain incantations before they felt safe. The deadbolt meant nothing to them. They knew there were far worse things in this world and the next than mere mortal intruders. And most of them were on their tail.

         The two men were brothers.  They had driven all night as much as they could, as if the hounds of hell were after them. Maybe a few were. A chill ran down their spines as they had driven past a sign written in medieval font:

         WELCOME TO PENNSYLVANIA

         Even though they knew better, it made them think of vampires and blood and werewolves and other things that went bump in the night. Especially since this was the night after Halloween night and the full moon rode over the spooky forested highway. They wished they could just drive all the way through, all night.

          But they knew they needed to rest and regroup. One man set up a laptop and found the motel's remote linkup to the Internet. It wasn't the best but it was better than nothing. He began to check their e-mails and the usual news sites and then the more weird ones run by paranormal fans and nut jobs. The other man flopped down on one of the beds. He zipped open a duffel bag and began to polish the guns.

         "Anything?" asked the man on the bed curtly.

         "Nothing yet.  An E-mail from Bobby. Wants us to check in so he knows our throats haven't been slashed." The other man said, tapping out a terse reply and hitting send.

         "Hmm. Not yet anyway," said the man on the bed gruffly. He put the gun down beside him on the bed and picked up a Bowie knife.

         "Hey, we got away from that troll free and clear," said his brother defensively.

         "Only because the sun rose and turned him to stone. Why didn't the water affect him anyway?"

         I dunno. It should have. My supplier told me it was holy water. But it only made him mad. It must have only been holier than thou water. That won't do anything to anything."

         "Dammit!" the young man swore casually. He picked up a rifle. "How much of our supplies are affected?"

         "All of them of course. We'll have to find a church soon."

         "Sonofabitch!" the polisher said casually...and grumpily again. "Dammit, Sammy, how could you let this happen!?"

         "Hey, I can't help it if someone lies to me! Don't blame me! All we can do is pick up and move on."

         As Sam continued to peruse the websites, he heard his brother pick up another weapon and continue to mutter grumpily with an occasional ‘Sonofabitch' thrown in. "Poor Dean," thought Sam with an internal chuckle, "He's never happy unless he's grumpy."

         Then his sharp eye picked something out. He sat up straight and tapped a few keys and guided the finger pad to enhance.

         Dean read his brother's body language with lightning reflexes. "What is it, Sammy?" He was over to the desk in a single move.

         "What it always is, Dean. A fat load of trouble," replied Sam.

SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL QAF FAERIE TALE

Chapter 3

Piercing the Veil

Nov.2...Morning...

          At precisely 9 am the doorbell of the Bruckner-Novotney household rang.

          Ben answered it. His face immediately clouded into a mask of hostility when he saw two cops standing on his doorstep.

          "Yes? How can we help you, officers?" Ben said, polite but nothing else.

          "Good morning sir. My name is Officer Sam Winchester and this is my partner, Officer Dean Winchester." They flashed their official looking badges and then flipped them quickly closed."

          "You're both named Winchester?" Ben asked.

          "We're brothers," Sam explained.

          "Going into the force...it's kinda a family tradition," explained Dean.

          "I...see," Ben said, thinking this was getting weirder by the second, "And what was it you wanted?"

          "We are looking to speak with Brian Kinney or a Justin Taylor about a missing person report they attempted to fill out yesterday. This was the address they attempted to give as a contact. Are they in?" This was technically true. Brian DID attempt to give the police Ben's address before they blew him off. However, Sam had learned Ben's address through a combination of searching for siblings missing or kidnapped on Halloween, a weird website devoted to strange injustices, a cop's You tube video of Brian ranting, and hacking into the police station's surveillance system to watch everything in more detail, where Justin and Brian had desperately tried to fill out a report.

          "I'm afraid not. They don't live here. I'm Ben Bruckner and I live here with my partner Michael. He gave this address because this is the last place we saw Gus before he disappeared. He went trick-or treating with his foster sister, our daughter and never returned.

          "I see, I see..." Dean said, taking notes on a small pad.

          "I'm sorry, why are you here?" Ben asked, "Brian came back yesterday and told us of how shamefully you treated him and his partner and that there was nothing you could do for 48 hours."

          "Not to mention that you thought us fags were unnatural child abusers," Michael said bitterly, coming up behind Ben.

          "Michael! You aren't helping!" Ben hissed.

          "Somebody had to say it," Michael said unrepentantly.

          "Actually, that's another reason we're here," said Sam, "We saw everything from a distance but we couldn't do anything for fear of losing our jobs."

          "But we felt terrible about it," Dean continued, "So we made a note of the address and decided to grab the case before you guys could file a "real" report only to have those assholes bury it. We want you to know we don't share those views."

          "I see. Well, what are your views? Ben asked, still high on the defensive.

          "Well, I'll be straight with you dude," Dean said, "No pun intended. I still don't get the whole gay angle, myself but whatever you guys do in your own home...and bedroom...is your own business. Our business will be focussed on finding your kids."

          Ben and Michael looked at each other. "Well, I guess we can live with that," they decided.

          "Please come in," Ben said at last. "I'll phone Brian and Justin so they can come over and take part in this." And he proceeded to do so.

          Fifteen minutes later, Brian and Justin sped up the street in the ‘Vette and screeched to a stop in front of Ben and Michael's house. The top was down and Justin jumped out of the car even before it had stopped. Brian was not far behind.

          Both Sam and Dean were relieved. Now they could get started. They had run out of cop questions and were being shown a photo album full of Jenny Rebecca and Michael was getting kind of weepy.

          Sam and Dean apologized to Brian and Justin. Then they asked all the routine questions again: What was Gus and JR wearing, what did they look like, did they have any other pertinent information. Brian showed Sam and Dean Gus' picture and showed him the video of the play to show what they were wearing. They told him they had also been going door to door with the kids' pictures.

          "Any results?" Dean asked.

          "Not really," Brian said, "No-one had them. There was a point where lots of people saw them and then there was just ....nothing. It was like they'd just vanished off the face of the Earth."

          "Well, that must be it then! That must be the point where they were taken!" Dean cried.

          "At any rate, it's a good point to start looking," Sam said, "Mr. Kinney, can you tell us where this place was."

          "Please, call me Brian. And I'll go you one better. We'll show you where it is. If there's a chance we can find our kids, I want to be on hand to do so. Not to mention, squeeze the kidnapping fucker's neck if we find him."

          Dean took one look at Brian`s determined face and agreed. He could tell Brian was another alpha male here and as much as he loved a pissing contest, he was also eager to find the kids and the monster behind the scenes who had taken them.

          And so, that was how Sam and Dean found themselves pulling to a stop halfway down a Cul De Sac after following Brian and Justin in the ‘Vette for about 10 minutes.

          "This is where it cut off," said Brian, "Right between this house and this house."

          "What about here?" asked Dean, pointing.

          "Where? That footpath?"

          "No. That driveway. It's a bit wild but it's definitely a wide driveway, big enough for a car." Dean said.

          Brian and Justin were a bit confused. They saw nothing but a measly trail and said so.

          Sam and Dean exchanged a knowing smile. "Ah ha! Thought so!" said Dean.

          "Yeah, I definitely feel a pull down there," said Sam.

          Brian and Justin exchanged looks. "What are you two talking about?" they asked together.

          Dean pulled out a strange gold amulet from under his shirt and pulled it off. There was a round, flat golden disc on the end of it with a ruby encrusted in the center. Dean dangled it motionless in the air. His hard eyes squinted harder as he concentrated.

          "What is that? What are you doing?" asked Justin, stepping forward.

          "If you want to find your kids, you'll SHUT UP and leave me alone for five minutes!" growled out Dean harshly.

          Brian and Justin were both shocked into silence.

          Dean concentrated again. He started walking up the street and then back toward the trail. The amulet began to swing, first back and forth, then around in a circle. Dean wasn't moving his hand to help it though. The circles grew wider and wider. Suddenly, the amulet stopped and pointed, hanging horizontally in the air. It pointed directly at the trail.

          "Gotcha!" ground out Dean triumphantly.

          "OK, who the FUCK are you, because you sure as HELL aren't cops!" demanded Brian harshly.

          Sam sighed. He'd hoped that they would have more time before they reached this stage of the case but no such luck.

          "You're right. We're not cops," he admitted in what he hoped was a non-threatening voice. "We're hunters."

          Every defensive instinct Brian had in him rose up in a flash and went on red alert. His chest puffed out. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. He grabbed Justin and positioned him behind him and placed himself between Justin and the Winchesters.

          "Hunters!? Is that what you bashers are calling yourselves now? Look, I don't know what kind of sick, breeder, fucked up game you're playing but I will fight you both to my last breath before I let you touch a HAIR on Justin's head! Not again! NEVER AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME! NEVER AGAIN!!!" Brian backed up step by step toward the ‘Vette, with Justin still behind him, forcing him back with him. "Keep going!" he stage whispered to Justin, "There's a bat in the trunk."

          "Brian, wait! We're not bashers!" Sam hurried to explain in a soothing voice, "We ARE hunters. Hunters of supernatural entities. And we believe that one of these entities has stolen your children. Down there." He pointed down the ragged trail.

          "But that's just a scrubby little trail. Why would our kids have gone down there?" Brian remained on high alert.

          "I don't know what you see. But both Dean and I see a wide, white gravel driveway."

          "Yeah. Not to mention this!" Dean indicated the amulet, which was still hanging flat in the air. "AND this..." he strode down the driveway/trail where he had easily spotted a lollipop lying on the gravel. "THIS seems to indicate a child was here."

          Slowly, Brian's breathing started to slow and he came nearer to Dean and the precious candy. Both he and Justin started down the trail. They had got maybe six steps when the illusion melted away and they saw the gravel driveway as it really was curving away into the woods.

          "HOLY SHIT!" Brian breathed in disbelief. Both he and Justin could not believe their eyes and were more than a little creeped out.

          Brian and Justin took a few moments to absorb this new information. Then Justin cried, "Who? If what you say is true, who has our kids?"

          Sam replied, "We think it is a witch. And not just any witch. The witch from the Hansel and Gretel legend. She re-incarnates every Halloween when the powers are strongest and draws in a pair or group of siblings. She feeds and goes into a state of dormancy until the next year."

          "This is ridiculous," said Brian, "Hansel and Gretel is just a fairy tale."

          "No," said Sam, "It's a story based on fact. We believe that somehow the original Hansel and Gretel managed to beat the odds and escape somehow to live and tell the tale. But the Grimm brothers changed the ending about the witch getting thrown in the oven. She survived and has continued her reign of terror until this day. Our goal...our primary goal...is to find her and stop her once and for all before she succeeds again and eats your kids."

          "This is crazy! Impossible!" Brian sputtered.

          "Welcome to OUR world," Dean said darkly, "However, this candy is a good clue. Your boy's 12, right? I'd say a smart little boy felt real uneasy about this path but couldn't resist the pull."

          "The pull?"

          "When the time is right, the witch, releases a spell that calls to the children. Music. Smells. A beckoning light. Anything and everything that is attractive to a child to pull them in. I can feel it still working in my bones right now. Sam, can you feel anything?"

          "Yes. A strange....attraction...a beckoning...but I can't think what it is."

          "Why don't we feel anything?" Justin asked. The four men began to follow the trail of candy down the driveway. Justin picked up every precious piece.

          "We believe it is because we are related. The spell is working on us...or trying to...because we are siblings," said Sam.

          "Which means we're the only ones who are going to be able to enter her domain," said Dean.

          "Her domain?" asked Justin.

          The words were no sooner out of his mouth when they reached the end of Gus' candy trail. Dean reached forward and his arm stuck through an invisible barrier. His arm vanished through it. There was a rippling in the air, the way a pond ripples when you throw a pebble into the water. Dean pulled his arm out with a wet sucking noise.

          "Weird," he said, "It's like trying to push your way through a Jell-o mold."

          Brian and Justin hurried forward but passed by. There was no barrier for them.

          "Thought so," Dean said, a trifle smugly, "It's only the two of us from here on out."

          "Well, what are we supposed to do?" Brian said angrily, "Wait here and wring our hands? Watch the grass grow? And, Oh Hell, what are we supposed to tell Ben and Michael? Mikey's never going to believe this!"

          "You'll have to make him believe it!" Sam said, "Make him believe what you've seen. Bye for now. I don't know how long this'll take, but I promise, we won't come back out without your kids."

          And with that, Sam and Dean stepped forward. There was a rather large rippling in the air, a disgusting, wet, sucking noise and they vanished as if they had stepped through a door and out of this world.

          A spooky silence settled over the woods once they were gone. Justin had the sensation that he had just woken from a dream as if Sam and Dean had never been. But if that was the case where did all this candy come from?

          Justin took Brian by the hand and together they began to leisurely stroll back to the road.

          "So Stud...You got kind of...intense back there," said Justin.

          "Oh? Did I? I didn't notice," said Brian, with his tongue wedged into his cheek.

          "Yeah. You did. What`s up with that?" Justin asked in his gentle but relentless way.

          "Nothing." Brian was shutting down tighter than a clam.

          "Something, I think." Justin pressed. Silence. "Brian? I thought you were over the bashing." He stroked the inside of Brian's palm with his thumb, feeling the bigger man shudder in response.

          "I was. I am. Mostly."

          "What does that mean?"

          "Oh Justin, leave it alone..." Justin was startled at the tortured moaning tone in Brian's voice.

          Justin grabbed Brian by the arms and roughly turned him toward him. "Never! And I'll never leave YOU alone! You're stuck with me you big dolt! Now tell me what's going on! I thought we were past this!"

          "Silly twat!" Brian said with affection, stroking his cheek, "Don't you get it? I'll never get over it! NEVER!" He roughly pushed Justin up against a tree. "And if I'm confronted with bashers, you're damn right I'll protect you with every ounce of strength I have!"

          "Brian! I didn't know you still felt that way! It's been such a long time!"

          "I still get nightmares. Not that often..." he hurried on, reading Justin's face, "Just every now and then. But they're horrible. So vivid and full of blood and when I wake up for a few seconds my heart's racing and I think you're dead. Till I reach over and feel you there. I usually don't get back to sleep after that."

          Justin was livid. "You told the therapist that they'd stopped!"

          "I just told her that so I could stop going," Brian said a trifle smugly. At Justin's outraged face, he continued, "Oh, Justin, don't you see? They'd diminished but I knew they'd never stop entirely. And I knew I didn't deserve to have them to. Oh, God, if I hadn't been such an arrogant, proud, piece of shit and showed up at your prom. I should have left you with Daphne. I should have... but no, I had to make a grand, conceited entrance! I should have..."

          "Now you listen to me, Brian Kinney!" Justin grabbed Brian's chin and forced him to look into his blue eyes. Brian gulped. "My prom night was the BEST night of my life up to that point. THE BEST. You made it that way. Period. Second, you are not to blame for Chris Hobbs. You didn't give him a hand job in the sports equipment closet. I DID! Even if you hadn't shown up, he would have eventually stalked me and bashed me anyway. Only then, you wouldn't have been there to call 911. You saved my life Brian. You are my life! You're my hero. You're my man, and I won't have you beating yourself up and feeling guilty about that anymore! Do you unders..."

          And then there was nothing as Brian mashed his lips down onto his, pressing him into the tree, framing his face in his hands. His tongue plundered Justin's mouth. Justin's whole body flew up in flames as he was turned on like a light switch. He pushed back against Brian's mouth and heard him groan in pleasure. Justin felt himself being picked up by his ass. He wrapped his legs around Brian's waist.

          Brian ran off the path and a short ways into the forest until he found the spot he was looking for. It was fairly secluded with a large growth of thick, green moss. He proceeded to lay Justin down on the mossy mattress and with a frenetic, urgent need, ripped his lover's clothes off.

          Brian pulled out a condom from his back pocket. He threw it up in the air, caught it in his teeth and ripped it open. Justin watched with awe each and every time he did this. He was always transported back to his first time whenever Brian did this and Brian knew it.

          Justin had managed to get Brian's pants open. Brian had been hard as a rock ever since Justin had called him his hero. He sheathed himself in one smooth motion and again plundered Justin's mouth. Then he traced a warm wet path down his chest to his cock and began to suck Justin like he was his own personal Halloween lollipop treat. His ministrations left Justin sobbing with desire. He rimmed him. Justin's eyes rolled back in his head.
          And then, right there in the open, Brian fucked Justin senseless like a rabid werewolf with a wild, urgent, all consuming need. Justin was in seventh heaven. Nature sex was the best.

          Brian pressed Justin to him and with every stroke they whispered in each other's ears: You're mine! You`re mine! You`re mine!

          And they each knew they were, till the day they died.

                 MORE TO CUM....

SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL QAF FAERIE TALE

CHAPTER 4

BEYONDTHE VEIL

          Nov 1...Evening...

          Gus/Hansel sat in his little prison cell waiting and watching. But it was no use. Craig didn't let up or let them be for even a second. His sister was kept working from dawn until far into the night. And at dinner time another forced feeding commenced with Craig watching over him to eat every bite. He stood there hunched over, like a vulture watching over its intended victim, squinting through that hated monocle.

          "You know, that's really not necessary," Hansel said for the hundredth time, "I like to eat. You don't need to watch me."

          "I know."

          "Look, why don't you take some ME time. Read a magic book. Brush your teeth. Please. Take a bubble bath."

          "Do I look like the kind of guy who takes a bubble bath!!?" Craig yelled.

          "Nope. And you sure don't smell like one too." Hansel said.

          "Why, you little...-" Craig surged forward, his hands outstretched into claws.

          "Ah - ah - ah..." Hansel held up his plate. He took a bite of food, "Eating..." he said, his mouth full.

          "GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!" growled Craig, in impotent rage. But he dared not touch the boy. He could smell the innocent baby fat forming with every bite the boy took. He knew it was only a matter of time before the boy-flesh was reading for roasting and then... And then, HE would feast. But ohhhhhh!!!! What an insufferable little brat he was being in the meantime!

          "Well, how bout this," suggested Hansel, "Why don't you take a few steps back. You're making me nervous, looking over my shoulder like that."

          Craig shuffled back a few steps but he didn't go away.

          Finally, he felt Hansel had eaten enough and it was very late. He made Gretel lie in a corner of the kitchen where she went promptly to sleep and he went out through the extra door, slamming it behind him.

          Hansel waited about a half an hour during which time he lay down in his little space and did regular sets of bicycle pumping of about 60 each.

          He may have been 12 but he wasn't stupid.

          Then he called to his sister. "JR! Gretel! JR! Wake up! Wake up! Come here!"

          There was no response. Poor girl. She must be so tired.

          But Gus had to break her out of her bondage. "JR! JR! Wake up!" he hissed as loud as he could.

          Nothing.

          Gus wondered what to do. Then he thought of a plan so vile, it made his skin crawl. But he had no choice.

          He cleared his throat a bit and then called out, "Girl! Girl! WAKE UP! I need you!" in a voice as close to Craig's raspy, snotty, wheezy voice as he could. "GIRL! WAKE UP!"

          And it worked! JR/Gretel opened her eyes and sat up. "Yes sir," she said dully.

          "Bring me a glass of water," Hansel rasped.

          "Yes sir," Gretel said, in her monotone and got up. She got a glass and filled it and looked around. "Where are you?" she asked dully.

          "Over here. By the boy's cage. That's the way. Open the little window...That's right!" Hansel rasped.

          Gretel handed the water glass to Hansel and Hansel took it. Then, quick as a striking snake, he reached out and grabbed her hand, between the thumb and forefinger and pinched. He pinched her hard and shook her.

          "JR! JR! Wake up! WAKE UP!" Hansel pinched and wouldn't let go.

          "OWWW!! OWWWW!! Gus! Gus! Stop it! Owww! What's wrong with you? Wait! Where ARE we?"

          Oh thank heavens and all the gods if there were any! It worked. Gus released JR from his pain grip but kept his hand in easy reach. JR grabbed it and held on in fear. "Gussy! What's going on? Why am I so tired? And where are we? I wanna go home!"

          "I do too JR! I do too! But before we do we have to stay here for awhile. We're havin...a sort of adventure, OK? And I need you to be brave for me OK? I need you to be brave while I'm stuck in here."

          "OK," JR sniffled, "But Gus, what's happening? Where are we?"

          "We're still in the gingerbread house. A mean man who knows magic is holding us here...he's kinda like a witch only a dude...anyway he...."

          Gus proceeded to recount the day to JR/Gretel. He told her that she'd been working all day and that she had been controlled. She didn't believe him at first. But after pointing out how tired she was and the fact she couldn't remember anything, she reconsidered. She began to cry.

          "Oh Gus! I don't wanna be controlled!" she sobbed out.

          "Well be quiet and you won't be. I just snapped you out of it, didn't I? And if it happens again, I'll give you a good pinch as soon as I can! But you can't let on! You have to make out like you're still enchanted and do everything he says until I can get us out of here. Like this." He showed her. "Now, you." She practiced. "Good. Now, tomorrow, here's what I want you to do. It's very important..."

666

Next morning...

          The nightmare continued.

          Craig got up and kicked Gretel awake. There was a moment where she showed that she was awake and her eyes went wide with fear at the sight of the fearsome warlock. Then Hansel cleared his throat noisily and she remembered. She schooled her features into a blank stare.

          "And what's wrong with YOU??" Craig whirled around on him.

          "I'm just choking on a bone from all the slop you shoved down my throat last night," said Hansel.

          "Shut your mouth or I'll cut out your tongue!" snarled Craig, "I'll be doing that anyway but I think I'm beginning to think I'd like to hear you scream while I do it."

          Hansel gulped. But he looked over at Gretel. It had been worth it. She had schooled her features into a blank stare.

          "What are YOU waiting for?" Craig turned on her. "Go draw the water for the coffee and then make the eggs."

          "Yes sir," she said dully, and went out.

          "None for me thanks, it'll stunt my growth," said Hansel with his tongue in cheek.

          "No indeed. And we can't have THAT!" Craig cackled with evil glee. "No it's pancakes and syrup and eggs and bacon and tarts and sugar and more sugar for you this morning. Ohh, what a wonderful chubby, fat morsel you are going to become!" He laughed again in terrible evilness.

          "Oh, not those dreadful walnut tarts again!" complained Hansel, "There was barely any nuts in the last batch at all."

          "What!? You ungrateful whelp! There were plenty of nuts! My walnut tarts have been the favourite of little boys and girls for 16 generations!"

          "I don't know what to tell you," Hansel said. He pointed to his mouth. "More nuts. As my daddy used to say, "You can never have too many nuts in your mouth."

          "Somehow I don't think he was talking about tarts," Craig quipped.

          "Huh?"

          "Never mind. Fine. You want nuts, I'll shove you so full of nuts, you'll think you are a squirrel!"

          When Gretel came back with the water, Craig took a big burlap sack full of walnuts and set her to shelling them. Gretel didn't like the way he was talking to her but she didn't want to be controlled again either so she started cracking nuts. Craig set about making dough. Hansel just waited. For a while there was blessed silence.

          Soon Gretel had a big pile of shelled nuts in front of her.

          "That enough, Your Majesty? Or do I need to keep your sister working?" Craig said in a cruel tone.

          "Those look good," Hansel decided.

          Craig got a wooden cutting board and a wooden mallet. He put some of the nuts on there and set Gretel to crushing the nuts.

          "I don't understand, sir."

          "What do you mean? Hit them with the mallet and crush them. An infant would understand!"

          "My daddies never let me use a hammer before. I don't get it. Would you show me sir?" Gretel continued in her dull voice.

          "OHHH!" growled Craig in frustration, "You kids have to be the most spoiled pair I've seen in 5 generations! Like this!"

          He picked up the mallet and started hitting some nuts with it. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! "There! You see! Like that!" He pounded again. "Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!  "Like that!" He pounded again.Crunch!...

          Quick as a blink, Gretel grabbed the monocle that was hanging by Craig's waist and put it on the cutting board along with the nuts.

          ...Crunch! Smash! Tinkle, tinkle!"

          "AHHHHHH!!! What have you done!?" You stupid girl! I needed that to see properly! You...you...!!!" Craig was incoherent with rage.

          Gretel looked over at Hansel. Hansel gave her a big smile and a thumbs up. Phase 2 complete.

          "My daddies never let me hold a hammer before because they were afraid I was going to do this!" Gretel grabbed the mallet from Craig and smashed it down on his foot.

          "OOOWWWWW!" Craig howled.

          "RUN, Gretel , RUN!" Hansel yelled.

          Gretel didn't have to be told twice. She kicked the warlock in the other leg and ran for it. In seconds she had wrested the door open and was out of there!

          "Fools! There's nowhere to go! You're attempt at freedom was pointless! And when she gets back I'm going to..."

          But Hansel never found out what he was going to do. Still massaging his leg, Craig raised his beak nose into the air. He sniffed.

          "Mmmmmmm!!! What is that? I can't see them but I can smell them!" He sniffed. "Ahhhh yes! Two boys! Big boys! I think this will call for a more powerful spell! This is going to be most fun! BWA HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!!!!!

666

          The first thing Sam and Dean noticed after they stepped through the portal was that their clothes had changed.

          "Sonofabitch!" swore Dean, catching site of Sam.

          "Oh HELL no!" swore Sam at the same time, catching site of Dean.

          Both of their uniforms had vanished away. In their place, both men now wore black leather, buckled shoes, lederhosen, short pants down to just past their knees, pristine white linen shirts with bright green suspenders with a horizontal strap connecting the two vertical ones across the chest.

          After the initial shock though, Sam could see the humor in it that Dean could never appreciate.

          "Hi Hansel," he said cheekily.

          "Shut UP!" ground out Dean, "If I'm Hansel, then I guess that makes you...." he left the statement open ended. "Besides, you haven't checked out your head yet!"

          Sam did so and was horrified to find a peaked cap with a long, bright red feather sticking out of it. He swore again, but then put it on again. What the hell? Why not?

          They walked down the short path to the yard of the gingerbread house. It smelled delicious but they were able to resist it because they were adults.

          At that moment, a little girl ran around the side of the house. She caught sight of them and ran over to them.

          "HELP! HELP! You gotta help me and my brother! He's still inside! The mean man's after me! You gotta..."

          Sam bent down and stretched out his arms to the little girl. She flew into them.

          "It's all right sweetheart. We're here to help. I'm Sam. What's your name?"

          "There's no time! We've gotta run! He's got my brother in a cage! If he catches us again, we won't be able t'save him! Come on!" She tried to pull them.

          "Wait! Where's your brother?" Sam asked. But JR was incoherent with fear.

          Dean watched the child with some apprehension. He'd never admit it but he was glad Sam was here to deal with the child. He was no good with that touchy-feely crap and he'd most likely end up trying to interrogate her like some murder suspect.

          And then it was too late.

          "HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!!!!" The laugh echoed around them at once both in the distance and yet was all around them.

Tongue of Dog, Fetid Flowers

Bat's blood boil! Rat's milk sour!

Elder Brother, Younger Brother

Helsech El Sidenth!!!

Make the former my prisoner, put the latter in my power!

AHHH HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

          A fearsome column of red light shot up into the air from the house and then vanished. And then there was a short silence.

          "It'll take a more than a few pretty words to get the best of us! Right Sammy!" Dean yelled in euphoria. THIS is what he was good at. Hunting down and getting in the face of supernatural psychos and taking them down! "Right Sammy...Right!?"

          He turned around to find the overgrown little Dutch boy standing there with a glazed look on his face.

          "Take him! Bring him around the back!" came the voice.

          Sam advanced on Dean and began trying to punch him in the face. Dean easily blocked these.

          Sammy! Sammy stop it! Sammy, SNAP OUT OF IT!"

          But Sammy didn't stop it. He kept punching and started to throw in a few high kickboxing moves as well. Dean found himself working a bit harder to fend his brother off. However, this did not work out in his favour when it turned out Sam had just been playing him all along. Without warning, Sam kicked Dean brutally in the balls. And that was it. Game over.

          As Dean lay writhing on the ground, he felt himself being placed within a full nelson. He was pulled to his feet and carried, then dragged, then led around the back of the house.

          Gretel, also caught within the radius of the spell was re-entranced. Woodenly, she followed Sam back to the house as he led his captive brother to the back door where Craig was waiting for all of them.

666

          Gus had never felt such overwhelming disappointment in his young life when two men and his sister trooped back into the house, seemingly under their own power. (Well, one was one captured.) He had so hoped this was the help he had prayed for. But it was not to be.

          Using his magic, Craig conjured up a strong length of chain that was attached to an iron ring on the wall. At the end of the chain was a thick, black leather collar. The collar was studded with big sharp spikes. It looked like a collar that belonged on a big bulldog named Rex.

          "No way! There's no way you are putting that thing on me! Dean growled, struggling mightily.

          "I'm afraid I must," Craig said reasonably, "You're too big to fit in one of my cells." He approached Dean slowly. "Hold him steady," he told Sam.

          Sam complied, tightening his grip painfully. Dean was held immobile.

          "No! Nooooo! NO! Stay away from me, you sonofabitch! SAM! SNAP OUT OF IT! NOOO!!!"

          "He can't hear you. He listens only to me now." Craig said evilly and relentlessly. He fastened the collar snugly but not overly tightly around Dean's neck and again spoke a magic word. A padlock appeared in his hand and he fastened it to the collar, locking it on.

          You can let go now," he told Sam, "He is no longer a threat."

          "Yes sir." Sam said in a wooden voice that gave Dean the willies. He let go of Dean and went to stand beside Craig. Dean lunged at the warlock but the chain didn't allow much leeway. There was about enough room for him to sit down but that was about it.

          Craig laughed evilly and drew a line on the floor with chalk to show the barrier of how far Dean could reach. "Be careful not to go beyond this point," he warned the other two.

          "Yes sir," they said in unison.

          "Well, well! Two sets of children! I haven't had two sets for 10 generations. And I haven't had a set of such big boys in...well...any generation actually."

          "I can't imagine why," Dean said sarcastically.

          "Normally, I don't like older boys. The meat becomes too tough. But I'm sure with a bit of tenderizer, more cooking, you'll be fine."

          "Imagine my joy," declared Dean dryly.

          "Now, since you've smashed my glass, I'm afraid I'm going to need even more help around the kitchen. Fortunately, we have...what's your name, my boy?" asked Craig.

          "My name is Sam Winchester, sir," answered Sam in monotone.

          "Excellent. Well, Sam, I'm going to need a lot of big boy help around the house now that I can't see that well. Are you up for it?"

          "Yes sir."

          "Excellent! Now then, Gretel, you can return to crushing those nuts. Just the nuts."

          "Yes sir," And she returned to doing just that."

          "Sam, go around to the side of the house and get some more wood for the fire."

          "Yes sir," Sam went out.

          Dean lunged again, his hands outstretched and clawed for strangling. He yanked against the iron ring again and again. But it was no use. Craig stayed easily out of the way.

          "You bastard! Nobody bosses around my brother! That's MY job! When I get loose, I am going to break..."

          "Ah...ah...ah..." Craig waggled a finger. "Little pitchers have big ears. Besides, when and if are two entirely different things."

          "What are you talking about? She's not listening to anything we say."

          "She...isn't. But he is." Craig pointed.

          "I think he means me, mister," Gus/Hansel gave his cage door a little rattle. "It's me, Hansel. That's Hansel," he added meaningfully, hoping Dean would get it.

          Dean got it. "Good to meet you Hansel. You doin' OK in there?"

          "I'm OK," said a subdued little voice in the wall.

          Dean turned back to Craig, "You sadistic SHIT! Let him out of there! He's just a little boy!"

          Craig put his hand to his heart in mock horror. "I can't do that! He might run around and get some....exercise!" Craig shuddered. " Then he'd lose all that yummy, mouthwatering,, wonderful fat he's putting on. Just like you'll be putting on as well, my boy."

          Dean's face contorted in rage. Very clearly, he mimed, "I'm going to BREAK YOUR FACE!"

                 But Craig just laughed and laughed in evil triumph. Hansel slumped down in his little cell in total defeat.

                 The warlock had won.

TBC

SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL QAF FAERIE TALE

CHAPTER 5

ASLEEP OR AWAKE?

A week later...

     “Well this won’t do! This won’t do at all!” Craig said. “You...just seem to be growing more and more sinew and tough hard muscle.” His hands roamed over Dean’s 8 pack abs and huge biceps.

     “Enjoying the freeshow?” Dean growled, flexing one said bicep under Craig’s fingers. Craig snatched his hands away.

     “And you... you aren’t growing at all! I just don’t understand this at all! What is going on here?”

     Hansel and Dean smirked and smothered their laughter from their respective prisons.

A week ago...Nov 2...evening...

     It was late. Two corners of the kitchen were now occupied by two hard working and weary souls. A third held Dean held in place by his chain and collar. He sat cross-legged, meditating, digesting, trying not to puke, literally, and with rage.

     Both he and Hansel had spent the entire evening, literally hours and hours eating. At first, he had refused, but then that asshole Craig had called in his brother who was chopping wood and stood there behind him, holding a knife and stroking Sam`s white throat lovingly. Dean hated the way Sam just stood there with a dopey, blank look on his face and just let him. Just LET him! GRRRR!!! That warlock was gonna pay! But he had to get Sam loose of the bastard`s clutches before then, so Dean had dug in.

     Finally, it was late, Craig had gone to bed, and Dean sat plotting to escape. He sensed rather than heard movement from the cell that held his fellow inmate.

     “Hey, little dude! How’re you doing in there?” D’uh! Stupid question!

     “Fine, just fine!” came the short and rather breathy reply, “How’s the collar?”

     “Point taken,” said Dean shortly. “Say, what are you doing in there?”

     “Bicyclin,” came the reply, “And if you’re smart, you’d do the same.” Suddenly, his little face pressed itself up against his little window. “What? You didn’t really think I’d let that ass fatten me up did you? That’s why I had Gretel break out his seeing glass today. Now that he can’t see as well I can do this during the day when he s not paying attention to me as well.”

     “I thought she was just making a break for it,” Dean said.

     “Let’s hope that’s just what HE thought as well,” said Hansel.

     “Hey! She wasn’t under his mind control then! That means there is a way to break them out of it!”

     “Yes. But not now. There’s no point in waking her…them…up now and the less of this she has to remember later. Poor girl…She’s only seven!”

     “Whereas you’re a whole…”

     “Twelve years old!” Gus/Hansel boasted proudly. Seeing Dean’s patronizing smile, he said, “All right, I may be young, but at least I have a plan!”

     “And what’s that?”

     “Surely, you must know where we are!” Dean did, but he said nothing. He didn’t want to deprive the little dude of his triumph.

     Hansel huffed in frustration, “Gingerbread house! Older brother in cage! Younger sister put to work. Evil witch! Well, warlock,” he amended, “I don’t know how but we’re in the story of Hansel and Gretel. Only it’s real!”

     “You’re a smart little dude,” Dean said, “So what do we do about it?”

     “We have to follow the story. Stay thin and aware. And when the time is right, do what Hansel and Gretel did and shove him in the oven!”

     “Sorry little dude, but the whole reason we’re here, is because Hansel and Gretel never killed the witch. The Grimms just made that part up. I figure they just knocked her out and ran for it. They are the only ones who’ve ever escaped.”

     “How do you know this?” Hansel asked. Dean told him who he was and what he did, along with his brother.

     For a long time, Hansel sat there, digesting this new information, kicking himself for being a sucker to the fake ending, mourning the loss of countless children.

     “Well then,” he said at last, “Where they failed, WE must succeed!”

666

     And so, all through that week, Dean and Gus would exercise whenever the warlock’s back was turned. Sometimes they would bait the warlock, attracting his attention while the other one did a frantic set of jumping jacks, or push ups, or bicycling. They would do leg lifts and lunges and twists and reverse sit ups and many other isometric exercises that Dean could think up.

     “Why are you a warlock this time?” asked Dean once, giving Gus a chance to do some bicycle pumping.

     “I just automatically take on the form of the relative who hates the family of the children I capture the most. Since it’s usually a mother in law, or great grandmother or whatnot, it’s usually a woman. And since the children have never seen that relation and I age my form greatly, they never recognize me. I’m quite surprised to find myself a man this time actually.”

     “You must be my grandfather then. My daddies say he`s a homogenized baguette,” Gus volunteered.

     “I think you must mean a homophobic bigot,” Dean said, “And it wouldn’t surprise me in the least!” he finished viciously to the warlock.

     The two men stared daggers at each other.

      And of course they did at least 5 sets of all the exercises they could think of before catching a little shut eye. And they watched. And waited.

     As much as they hated watching Craig order about and slave around their siblings, Gus and Dean left them in their mind controlled state. Gus wanted to spare JR as much trauma as possible and besides, trying to constantly pretend they were hypnotized and servants to boot would have been too much of a strain.

     Following the story, every day, Craig would go over to Gus’ cage and tell him to stick out his finger. Gus would take the chicken leg bone he had saved that first day and poke it out of the cage door. Then he’d go over and check Dean. Since Dean had a wider range of motion than Gus and a manly supply of testosterone, he was putting on muscle quickly. Fat did not enter the equation at all. Both Dean and Gus became overwhelmed with silent hysterics at Craig’s growing consternation and frustration.

     At last Craig grew desperate.” Well, fat or no fat, I can’t wait any longer. I must feed. Tomorrow is roasting day for sure!”

     And with that, he flounced out of the room.

666

     An hour later, after their many exercises were done, and they were sure that the warlock was fast asleep, Dean whispered, “OK Hansel, how do we wake up the sibs?”

     Even though by this time, Dean knew the kids’ real names, He had honored Gus’ wish to be called Hansel especially around the warlock so the psycho wouldn’t know his real identity. And now he was just used to it.

     Hansel whispered, “Follow my lead,” and then whispered in Craig’s voice,” GIRL! GIRL! Wake up! Wake up! I need you!”

     Gretel sat up. “Yes sir,” she said.

     “Cool,” Dean whispered. Then he rasped, “SAM! SAMMY! Wake up boy! I need you!”

     “Yes sir,” Sam said dully, sitting up.

     “Bring me a glass of water, girl,” rasped Hansel.

     “Sam, your brother needs a drink. Bring him some water,” rasped Dean.

     “Yes sir,” they both said, and rose to comply.

     Both prisoners waited tensely as their counterparts woodenly…and slowly…got them their water and shuffled over.

     Hansel quickly took the water from Gretel and grabbed her hand again. “Grab him quick!” he told Dean hurriedly. Dean grabbed Sam by the shoulder and held on. Sam began to struggle but was held in place by the beefier brother.

     “Now give him a pinch! A good one and he’ll wake up!” Hansel cried, demonstrating. Gretel again cried out and woke up.

     “Oh, I’ve got something a little more in mind than a pinch! I owe you something, Sammy and it’s payback time!” Dean growled. He pulled his brother into a fraternal embrace and kneed him hard in the balls.

     Sam crumpled to the floor. He groaned and squeaked out, “Dean, what the Hell!?”

     Dean felt a stab of guilt. It wasn’t Sammy’s fault he’d kicked him in the balls earlier. He’d been controlled and not in his right mind.

     Then he shoved it away quickly. Fact was, he had been…well, kicked…and someone had to pay. Plus, he needed Sammy with it right now and time was of the essence.

     “Look, sorry,” he said shortly, “Come on, Sammy, shake it off! Shake it off and wake up! Things are getting serious and we need your help now! Wake up, DAMMIT!”

     “I’m awake! I’m awake! I’m awake, and been kicked in the nads! Gimme a minute…or sixty…” He groaned in pain. He rolled over and looked up. His eyes widened. “Geez! Dean! Is that a collar?”

     “Yeah, it’s a collar! And a chain!” he said, indicating it. “Now get it off, will you?”

     Sam rose to his knees with difficulty. He reached out and tried to grab the padlock locking on the collar. A strange electrical energy zapped out and shocked Sam as he got within an inch of it. He could not touch it.

     “OOOOWWWW!!! Sorry, Dean! It’s protected somehow. I can’t take it off. Looks like you’re stuck here a little longer. Say, where is here, anyway? And what happened to you?” he asked, his eyes wide again.

     Dean grew annoyed. He knew he must look a sight. He had been allowed to crap and been hosed off a few times but he’d been given no other clothes and since he’d grown significantly, his muscles had ripped out his shirt in his arms around his biceps in a few places and his shirt wouldn’t button up at the chest anymore. “Never mind that, willya? Listen up and keep your mouth shut. The witch from Hansel and Gretel. It’s here. The kids we were sent to find. They’re over there. But we’re trapped. The witch captured us shortly after we…”

     As Dean outlined more and more of the situation, Sam grew more and more wide-eyed. A week gone. Mind control. Hard labor. It was almost too much to bear.

     By the time Dean had finished outlining the situation, the four of them were sitting as close together as they could. They were two families but they were united in their two goals: To get theHELL out of there and kill the warlock!

     “I have a plan,” Hansel said, “But it can’t work without your help! This is what I want you to do…

     Suddenly there was a noise and a shuffling from the other room. All four froze. Four pairs of eyes swung around to look at the closed door, willing it to stay shut…

666

The next morning…

     The warlock kicked Gretel awake.

     “Get up! Fetch water! Sam! Get wood and light a fire in the stove!” It’s Baking Day!” He cackled maniacally.

     Sam and Gretel got up. “Yes sir!” they both said in a dull voice.

666

     Meanwhile, back in the real world, things were not going well. The daddies were a wreck. They were grieving. They couldn’t eat. They couldn’t work. Three couldn’t sleep. Michael had gone the other route and his depression made him so tired that he slept nearly all the time and with a scary hibernation/comatose intensity.

     As Brian had expected, Michael had not believed a word of their story, any more than if they had brought home a handful of magic beans. He yelled at them for being taken in by a couple of obvious con artists. He yelled at them for taking whatever Anita had sold them while their babies were missing. He yelled at them to go file a real police report. He yelled some more, blaming Justin, his hatred toward the blond man rising to the surface and bubbling to a rolling boil. At that point his voice started to give out and since he couldn’t yell anymore just broke down sobbing instead. Ben sighed and shuffled sadly off to the kitchen to make him some lemon and honey tea. And a valium.

     Afterward, with Michael safely passed out, the other three men were able to discuss it more rationally. Zen Ben, being a believer in metaphysical things, was more inclined to believe their story after swearing them to truthfulness. Brian and Justin even offered and willingly swore on the Bible. Well, Justin did, coming from a WASP-type upbringing. Brian looked at the thing like it was a cobra, its venomous fangs dripping poison, ready to strike.

     “This goes against everything I believe in, you realize that right?” he asked the other two.

     “I know, baby,” Justin said, batting his baby blues, “Come on, I know you can do it.”

     “Geez, Saint Joan must be rolling in her grave laughing her head off,” Brian murmured.

     “I thought she was still alive,” Justin said.

     “My point exactly,” Brian replied irrationally. He touched the offending book with the tip of the tip of his finger and said quickly, “I-swear.” He yanked his hand back and waited for lightning to strike him dead. Nothing happened.

     “I love you,” Justin said, pulling him close.

     “Twat,” Brian said grumpily, but he enfolded Justin in a bear hug and pulled him on his lap and wouldn’t let go for a long time.

     “Well then, if Sam and Dean have crossed over into this…other place…we have to trust them they will keep the children safe. They will bring them back.” Ben rationalized. “All we can do is wait.”

     But as the days passed, even Brian and Justin started to lose hope. Something must have happened. Sam and Dean weren’t coming back. Something must have gone terribly wrong. Perhaps even fatally so. And if that was so, and since they had received no ransom note, all the daddies started to fear the worst.

     Worst yet was telling the mommies. Stuck in France they were overwhelmed with grief…them anger….then vengeance…then grief again. Mel got litigious. She swore if they ever got the kids back she was having all their negligent asses’ custody revoked forever. This made all the daddies even more depressed. The world that was their existence lost all color and cohesion. It became harder and harder to wake Michael up. Things looked extremely grim.

     After a week, the daddies were just going through the motions. The world was as grey as the starting scenes of The Wizard of OZ. Brian had Cynthia and Ted practically running Kinnetic and when he did have to come in or meet with a client, he stretched his face into an appropriate smile that he practiced in front of a mirror. He kept a small one with him to make sure it looked OK because no matter what he saw in the glass it always felt as stretched as a caricature and as fake as a latex mask.

     Justin couldn’t paint.

     Ben used substitutes or taped his lectures so he wouldn’t have to come in. He had to spend more and more time looking after Michael. After a while he started to feel more like his caretaker rather than his lover.

      Michael continued to sleep about 16 hours a day. The rest of the time, he’d shuffle around the house aimlessly. He was always half asleep. He’d take a shower. He’d eat but whatever he did tasted like cardboard with a side of Styrofoam. He started to hallucinate. He’d see Jenny R on the couch, brushing her teeth, eating breakfast. Sometimes it was just a glimpse, like a gremlin running out of the corner of his eye but sometimes it was very clear. It was only during these times did he actually smile but whenever he drew near, she would vanish away and he’d remember. After a short time he’d get muddled and half asleep again and eventually drop off again. He never dreamed.

     Finally, there came a day where Brian and Justin showed up to see how they were and to check if Sam and Dean had called Ben’s number.

     They hadn’t. Ben answered the door and invited the other two men in for coffee. The embraced closely, united in grief.

     “How is he?” Brian asked.

     “Not good. He’s just getting worse. I – I don’t know what to do. I think we may have to start considering a psychiatrist. He’s beginning to lose touch with reality.”

     “Reality! Ha!” scoffed Brian, “Dimension portals. Wicked witches! What is real anymore?”

     “Nevertheless, Michael’s worse than all of that! When he’s not sleeping, he’s half asleep and seeing JR everywhere in the house. He hasn’t left the house in days and his moods are erratic. I guess I took for granted what a nurturing influence he’d become in JR’s life. He needed that. And now that she’s gone…”

     As if on cue, Michael yelled from the kitchen, “Ben! JR’s hungry! Where’s the applesauce!”

     “Top shelf in the fridge!” Ben yelled back.

     “You humor him? Is that wise?” Justin asked.

     “It just saves time. Wait for it…” Ben replied, counting off on his fingers. 3…2…1…

     A moan of supreme disappointment and grief filled the air.

     “Michael shuffled into view. He was unshaven. He was dressed but his clothes were rumpled and it was obvious he didn’t care what he had on.

     “Man, that was a clear one. I saw her at the…What are they doing here?” he bristled hostilely, as he caught sight of them.

     “Michael, Brian and Justin came to visit. They wanted to see how you were doing and see if Sam and Dean had called,” Ben explained gently, in his deep timbre. “They’re our friends, remember?”

     “I’m missing one little girl. That’s how I am.”

     “We know Michael. We’re missing a little boy, remember? We’re all grieving. Why can’t you join us? Why are you cutting yourself off from us? Can’t you let us help you? Let us love you.” Justin stood.

     Michael’s eyes grew wide and he seemed to wake for the first time in ages. “YOU! Love you!? You little shit! It was your fault! This is all your fault!” He grabbed Justin by the front of his shirt and shook him like a rag doll.

     “I remember now! I remember! It was YOU! You were supposed to go with them! You were supposed to go with them! Why didn’t you GO! WHY DIDN’T YOU GO!? ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS GO, AND THEY’D BE HERE! YOU BASTARD!” Michael drew a fist and punched Justin to the ground. “All you had to do was go and she’d be alive! OH GOD! She`s dead! My baby`s dead! My little girl`s dead! And he broke down at last and fell to his knees and sobbed and sobbed as if he`d never stop.

     Ben helped Justin up. “I’m so sorry, Justin. I should have warned you not to...to...oh I don’t even know what anymore!” He sobbed. “I’m just so sorry!”

     “It’s all right, Ben,” Justin said, “It’s not your fault. It’s nobody here’s fault.” His eye was already turning an interesting shade of purple. “But this cannot continue! I refuse! I’m going to find whois responsible and MAKE THEM PAY!”

     And with that, he turned and ran out of the house.

     Brian didn’t know what to say. He just looked helplessly at Ben and shrugged. Ben waved, Go, Go! and turned to Michael to enfold him in his beefy embrace.

     Brian ran after Justin who was already a long half block away. Brian started chasing. “Justin! Justin! Stop!”

     But Justin didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He heard Brian calling him but he didn’t care. He just kept running. He didn’t know where he was going. What did that matter? He didn’t know where his kids were. Maybe if he ran fast enough and far enough, he’d fall through the hole in the universe that had swallowed them up and find them.

     Brian had to chase him two blocks before he was able to catch him and pull him into his arms.

     “Dont!! Let me go! Let me go! Don’t! Let me go!” Justin struggled and attempted to run but Brian just enfolded his tighter.

     “What was that? Don’t let you go? You got it sweetness!”

     Justin laughed then cried, then beat on Brian’s chest. “Damn you!” he sobbed but there was no malice in his voice.

     “Come on back, Justin. There’s nothing you can do by just aimlessly running around.”

     “I don’t care. I’m not going back in there!  You can go back if you want but I’m not going back to that house or even home until I find my children!!”

     “But what can we do? You remember that portal! We couldn’t pass through.”

     “I don’t care,” Justin said rebelliously, “I’ll get Molly! I’ll get her to help me!” He pulled away to run again.

     Brian held onto his arm and pulled him back into a tight embrace. They kissed passionately and while they did, a bit of color seemed to seep back into the world. Brian framed Justin’s face with his palms and kissed him again softly.

     “Whatever you want. Wherever you go, I’m coming with you. I’ll help you. I’m with you...always.

     “I love you, Brian.”

     “I love you too Sunshine.”

     Justin started to move off but Brian held fast.

     “One question. Can we go back for the car first though?”

     “Yes. I think that would be acceptable.”

     They laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever. They wrapped themselves up in each other and went back for the car.

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     In the gingerbread house, a merry fire was blazing in the kiln type stove.

     Gretel sat on her knees with the task of blowing into it with a pair of bellows. Sam stood to one side with a long, curved, wicked looking carving knife in his hand and a blank look on his face.

     The warlock rubbed in hands together eagerly. His licked his lips in a disgusting display of perverse anticipation.

     The two captives were paralyzed with terror.

     “SO! Who wants to go first!!?”

            And he cackled, long and horribly.

TBC

SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL QAF FAERIE TALE

CHAPTER 6

IMPLOSION

              "SO! Who wants to go first!!?"

          Craig cackled maniacally.

          Everything was going as planned. Soon he could feed and go back to sleep for another year. He could hear his nest calling but he couldn't answer just yet until he had filled his belly with the flesh of the innocents. And two not so innocent, he thought perversely.

          "NOW, SAMMY, NOW!" yelled Dean.

          "NOW, GRETEL NOW!" yelled Hansel.

          In a sudden motion, Sam raised his long, curved knife and then plunged it into a burlap sack on the table. He slit it from top to bottom and the entire quantity of walnuts poured out and rained down on the floor.

          At the same time, Gretel pulled the bellows out from the stove and rammed the end of it hard onto Craig's foot, right where the foot meets the ankle and starts to curve upward. The end was red-hot and the effect was immediate.

          "YOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!" Craig yelled, grabbing his foot in pain and hopping up and down. Only now, with all the walnuts on the floor there was no solid ground to land on. He slid and rolled and flailed around comically for balance. As he tried to use his staff to brace himself, he felt another vicious jab in his foot and suddenly, it was gone. Sam had grabbed it.

          "OWWWWW! You wretched brats! What do you think you're doing!?"

          Sam didn't answer. He could feel the power of the staff coursing through his veins, aligning with his thoughts and feelings. The effect was intoxicating.

          "It's called a breakout, you sonofabitch!" yelled Dean, "Right Sammy?"

          But Sam still didn't answer. The staff and he were still merging. His thoughts and feeling coalesced into one. Rage. Pure, white-hot rage.

          "You'll never escape me!! Craig yelled insanely. He was still pinwheeling for balance, rolling on the walnuts. "When I get out of this, I'll cut out your eyes while you're still alive!"

          Sam straightened, his eyes blazing. "You....Will...Never...Touch... Another... Child.... EVER AGAIN!!" Somehow he released his rage and a white energy beam shot out of the staff's crystal and hit Craig square in the chest. Craig was propelled backward and he rolled back on the walnut floor right in front of the oven door!

          "NO! NO!" screamed Craig. He teetered back and forth, struggling for balance. But he couldn't find it because of the nuts. All he needed was tiny push one way or the other...

          And that's just what JR gave him!

          "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" screamed Craig, as he fell into the fire. JR and Sam shoved him and the rack all the way in. Each grabbed one of the wide doors and slammed them shut!

          "We did it! We did it!" JR squealed, jumping up and down. He and Sam hugged each other in glee.

          "RAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!" The oven door slammed open and Craig popped out like an evil jack in the box. His clothes were on fire and his face was half melted off!! He grabbed JR by the collar and tried to drag her into the oven with him. Gus screamed.

          "IF I'M GOING DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!!!!!!!!" he roared in a liquid, gutteral voice.

          "The HELL you are!" Sam yelled. He punched Craig...one-two...in the face forcing him back into the oven. It was like punching into raw hamburger. At the same time, he grabbed the front of JR and pulled her out of Craig's clutches. Then he shot him with another white energy beam. With a wail, Craig was thrown back into the oven again. Sam slammed the doors and held them shut.

          "JR! You OK, hon!?"

          JR nodded, She was crying with shock and fear but she was getting better.

          "Good! I need your help! Get me that broomstick over there! Hurry!"

          JR ran and got it.

              Sam grabbed the broomstick and shoved it through the handles, barring the doors shut just in time.

          Hands banged on the door from the inside and Craig's horrible yells for help disintegrated into one long wail of anguish. It was music to their ears. And then there was nothing.

          The red crystal in the staff turned into a pure white of a diamond.

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          Somewhere, in a building in Pittsburgh, Craig Taylor was in a conference meeting.

          In the middle of a sentence, in the middle of a word, and without any warning, Craig Taylor spontaneously combusted. When all was said and done, all that was left was a small pile of black ash.

*see endnote

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          JR whooped and ran and shot back the bolt of Gus' little cage. BAM! The door was slammed open and out flew Gus like a bird flies out of a cage. He grabbed JR and swung her around and around in a circle. He was in a rapture of joy. JR squealed with peals of joyful laughter.

          Sam strode over to Dean. He concentrated and a white beam shot his chain. It glowed and vanished. Another beam shot the padlock.

          "You should be able to deal with it now," Sam smirked.

          Dean looked at it and realized it was just a fake lock made out of papier mache or cardboard or something. It looked like one of those stupid props you'd find on an hour-long TV adventure show. Dean squeezed it with one hand and ground it to sawdust. Then he unstrapped that hated thing and threw it away and off him forever.

          "Good work, Sammy. So...Are you the new witch on the block?" Dean asked with some trepidation. Had they vanquished one foe only to gain another? Power corrupts, isn't that what they say?

          "Don't worry, Dean. It's the staff that's magic, not me. It aligns itself with your thoughts and feelings. I can feel its power humming through me like electricity. But I can also feel that it's a force of good now, not evil. It's not a threat anymore and don't worry, Dean. Neither am I."

          As if on cue, the ground began to quake.

          "Sammy! What the hell!?" Dean yelled.

          "THIS ISN'T ME!" yelled back Sammy. A wall collapsed and a door cracked in half and fell apart.

          JR screamed and pointed. The oven was belching out hot flames all the way around the edge of the doors. The doors themselves were beginning to bend inwards straining and bending the broomstick with it.

          "I think this would be a good time to GET OUT OF HERE!!!" yelled Gus.

          Dean agreed by ripping the back door off of its hinges.

          Together, they all ran out of the house and into the yard.

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          Together, Brian and Justin raced to Molly's house. The ‘Vette screeched to a stop at the curb in front of the driveway and once more, Justin was up and out of the car before it had stopped moving.

          "Sunshine, I swear if you do that again, I'm going to crazy glue you to the seat one of these days!" Brian yelled.

          Justin didn't even hear him. He was halfway up the driveway. Molly finally came to the door. She really didn't have much choice as Justin was banging on her door like a Gestapo. Justin wasn't sure if she would help him or not; she had been raised by Craig. He wasn't sure how much of his homophobia had rubbed off on her.

          "Hi Justin," she said, "Come on in. I was just finishing up the breakfast dishes." She caught sight of Brian. "Oh. I didn't know he was here. What do you guys want?"

          "Look Molly, this is important! It has nothing to do with us. You probably remember that our kids have been kidnapped. Well, we know where they are! But I need your help getting them back!"

          "Why me?"

          Justin took one of her hands in his and looked imploringly into her eyes. "Because you're my sister," he answered, "And their aunt. And they need your help. Look, whatever Dad had taught you to think about me, just squash it right now and come with me! Do it for the children. Please. Just do it for the children. Just come. I'll explain everything on the way."

          Molly stood there genuinely thinking about it. Suddenly, she got a strange glazed look on her face for a few seconds. When she snapped out of it her eyes were clear and sparkling. She looked as if she had just awoken from a long sleep. "You know, dad's told me a lot of stuff about you, but you know, I think you're right. He was trying to tell me what to think. I won't lie to you, Justin. I still don't understand your relationship and not sure if I approve but I'll help you for the sake of the kids. What do you need me to do?"

          "Just come with us. Right now." Justin took her hand and pulled her toward the car.

          Molly smiled, nodded and followed.

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          Fifteen minutes later, when they screeched to a halt near the footpath in the cul-de-sac, Molly was not smiling so much.

          "Another dimension? Magic? The witch from Hansel and Gretel? Justin, I can't believe you let me suck me into this! Are you insane?"

          "Look, I know it sounds crazy. But everything will become clear very soon. You'll see that we're telling you the truth. For one thing, there's Sam and Dean's Impala. (Wow, I can't believe that didn't get towed) 

          However, the Impala was not enough of proof to get Molly's attention but she was suitably impressed when the simple trail transformed into the wide driveway before her very eyes. Now all on the same page, they ran down the roadway together.

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          Meanwhile, the four captives made free ran around the house to the front and toward the trail that led into the forest. It was slow going because the earth was still heavily quaking. The kids couldn't keep their balance and they kept falling.

          Finally, a hunter just scooped up a child each and ran for it. They reached the forest's edge when the house collapsed. They all turned to watch.

          The spun sugar windows blew into smithereens. The walls smashed and crumbled into cookie crumbs. The house flattened. There was a huge pillar of fire and it subsided and turned into a spiral of fire. The fire turned inward toward a white hot spot and vanished into the whiteness. Then the cookie pieces and crumbs were pulled into the whiteness, like they were sucked into a vacuum cleaner.

          "Where's the house going?" asked JR.

          Wherever the house went the fence followed. The picket fence made out of bars of fudge were ripped out of the ground and pulled into what was now a scary looking white vortex that was growing bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger as it sucked it more and more. The grass was now bending toward it as if in a high wind.

          "Ohhhh dear," said Sam.

          "What? What is it?" yelled Dean. He was hanging onto Gus' hand with increasing difficulty.

          "I didn't see this coming. With the witch destroyed, her world doesn't need to exist either. It's systematically destroying itself, condensing down into a single point of elemental energy. Look up there."

          They all looked up and screamed in shock. The forest surrounding them was blurring and becoming fragmented as it was pulled into the vortex.  A blackbird flew by, was pulled around and around twice and "schlllluuump" was sucked in.

          They turned around to go and ventured forward into the forest until they found the barrier. But it didn't open this time, just pushed forward and back a little as if they were pushing on a large tent surface. A surface that was slowly restricting, pushing them farther back the way they had come.

          "Get behind me!" Sam said authoritatively. They did. "OPEN!" he said in a loud, projected voice. A VERY strong white beam shot out from the staff and hit the barrier. A whirling, purple portal opened. Sam moved toward the barrier but it was like moving against a high-powered gale by now. He was holding on to JR's hand but the wind was so strong she was lifted off her feet. And as Sam poked his head through the barrier and came face to face with a blond woman in her early twenties, JR lost her grip and went flying backwards straight toward the white hot vortex!

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          "Wait Molly, stop! It should be right around here! Let me feel around for it. You don't want to get sucked it accidentally."

          "Oh what?  The interdimensional portal?" Molly scorned, rolling her eyes.

          Suddenly, a purple, interdimensional portal opened up right in front of her face. "EEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!" she screamed and jumped backward, falling on her pert little butt.

          A cute twenty something year old man's face popped out of it. "Oh, hello! I'm Sam. I - ooops! Be right back! Here's my brother Dean." POP! He disappeared back inside. Another, twenty something, even cuter, rugged, strong man appeared. At least his face and one arm appeared. Then it was as if he couldn't move ahead any further.

          "Well! Aren't you tardy to the party! Come on then! Give us a hand!"

          "Us tardy! That's a laugh! Where've you been?" demanded Brian.

          "Never mind that now! I'll explain later! You have to help me!!" he yelled, "You have to pull me through! HEEEELLLP!!!" And he began to unwillingly get sucked back through the portal.

          Justin ran forward and grabbed his hand just as it was about to disappear altogether. Molly grabbed Justin around the waist. Brian grabbed Molly's waist. They all began to pull.

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          Inside, JR flew through the air but managed to snag a tree branch.

          "HELP!!!" she screamed.

          Sam ran toward her. The vacuum was now so strong that his last step carried him about eight feet along.

          The white vortex was now a black but white in color hole about 5 feet in diameter. The forest around them was dematerializing into weird pixel-like fragments and getting sucked into the vortex. The green grass was totally gone.

          JR had a good grip on her branch. But she was being pulled strongly into the vacuum. Her body was flat out, straight, like a banner in the wind.  She could feel her shoulders hurting. She didn't know it but they were starting to separate.

          Then under her fingers she felt her branch turn gritty and then to what felt like sand. NO! That wasn't fair! She had such a good grip and everything! "Sammy!! Help me!!!" Her branch disintegrated entirely and she flew through the air, again straight toward the vortex of doom!

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          Justin, Molly, and Brian all pulled Dean slowly through the portal but it was like they were having a tug of war. Something on the other side was pulling back and didn't want them to succeed.

          They slowly pulled him slow step by step to his neck. Then his shoulders. Then his torso appeared. And around his neck two little hands were clinched on with a death grip. Gus' little face appeared.

          "Sonny boy!" Brian cried out in joy.

          "Hi Daddy! Hi Poppa!" cried a little voice that broke their hearts.

          The suction grew stronger. They began to lose ground. Dean began to be sucked backwards, inch by inch. Justin pulled as hard as he could but he felt his feet start to lose traction and slide forward along the gravel.

          "Pull harder! Pull harder Poppa!" cried Gus. "Don't let go..." With a wet sucking noise, Gus was pulled back into the portal.

          "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" screamed Justin.

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          JR flew about half a foot when a hand came out of nowhere and caught her wrist. It was Sam.

          "Sammy! Help! Help!" she screamed in panic.

          With his bigger frame, Sam could stand up in the powerful wind but only just. He pulled her back and had her wrap her arms around his neck.

          "Hang on!" he screamed but couldn't tell if she had said anything back because by now the wind was so loud. He took huge, staggering steps back toward Dean who was halfway through the portal. Dean's feet left the ground.

          Sam who was having trouble as well was taking one step forward, then two back. He grabbed a tree and rested. He bent flat out against the wind and managed to take one more step. He grabbed Dean's ankle. It was just in time. As soon as he did, his own feet rose off the ground.

          Worse yet, with the increasing wind, and the added weight, whoever was helping Dean on the other side of the portal began to lose ground. They all began to move slowly backwards. JR, Sam and Gus looked back. They all screamed.

          The vortex was huge but now they could also see that it was not a space or a portal to a space beyond but rather a round, three dimensional ball of white, glowing energy. Everything that was sucked into/on it became a part of this ball. It looked like an oversized eyeball now, an eyeball that was as big as the house had been.

          The forest was gone. The grass was gone. The sky was indistinct. The world in which they struggled to leave seemed to have made up of light blue walls that curved downward, as if they were in a giant snow globe. Even as they watched, the walls collapsed in closer and closer.

          And it was taking them with it.

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          Justin, Molly, and Brian continued to pull with all their strength. But Justin could see it was not enough. He dug in his heels and managed to stop the slide.  But there was no way he could move.  If he lifted his foot he'd just be propelled forward some more.

          Molly and Brian had also dug in their heels. They also managed to stop their slide. Justin held onto Dean's hand desperately. Dean's face and his arm up to his elbow stuck out of the portal.

          Justin was filled with a profound despair. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I don't know what else to do."

          "It's all right," Dean said, "Just don't let go. Don't let go until the end, OK?"

          "I promise."

          His foot cut through the soil and moved forward a bit. Then a bit more. Dean's face disappeared.  Then his forearm. There was nothing but his wrist and hand left. All seemed lost.

          At that moment, Brian felt a burly pair of arms encircle his waist and begin to tug. Brian was so surprised he nearly let go of everything and everyone. Almost. Instead he tightened his grip on Molly. Molly tightened her grip on Justin. And at last they began to move backwards. Dean's arm began to reappear. Then his face. Then his head.

          As the danger passed, turned his head slightly to see who their savior was. His eyes widened in surprise.

          It was Ben.

          "What are YOU doing here?" he asked.

          "I followed you to Molly's and then here. Michael went back to sleep and I stayed in the background because I wasn't sure how friendly you'd be towards me after what Michael..."

          "JUST PULL!!!" they all screamed.

          Ben shut up and pulled.

           With that wet, disgusting sucking, slurping noise, Dean and Gus and then Sam and JR were finally slllloooooowwwwwllllyy pulled out of the portal They all remained completely airborne till Sam's tiptoe was at last pulled from the purple portal. Then the four of them fell heavily to the ground.

          The four of them sat there for a moment, extraordinarily dirty and disheveled. Sam and Dean were back in their police uniforms, or at least what remained of them. They were ripped and ragged, especially Dean's who had outgrown everything, especially where he was busting out of his shirt. Their shoes were falling apart and falling off. All four had hair that was indescribably dirty and matted and their faces were streaked with dirt and filth.

          Sam pointed at the portal. "CLOSE!" The white beam shot out and the portal vanished.

          "What in God's name happened to you?" cried Molly.

          "Lady, God had nothing to do with it! But the main thing is we got the son of a bitch!" yelled Dean.

          "However, we hit a little snag, when the universe imploded in on itself," continued Sam. His eyes widened. "Which means we're still in terrible danger! RUN! There's a bomb the size of a house about to go off! RUN!"
          Gus was the first out of the starting gate. After a week in a cage doing stationary exercises, it felt wonderful to actually run again. His legs pumped and moved up and down so fast they were a blur.

          "That's my Sonny Boy!" whooped Brian, as he took off after his little boy. Justin was next and Molly and then Ben and the Winchester Boys.

          To the right, left, right, straight on to the morning. Well, the morning light of the open air of the street anyway. They were almost there. Almost.

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          The universe closed in around the white hot vortex. And then there was nothing but. The white ball glowed with a terrible white light. It began shooting out random pulses of erratic energy. It glowed brighter. And then it exploded, with a deafening noise and an all consuming, ever expanding firestorm.

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          They felt the first explosion before they heard it. And when the sound it come it was deafening.

          Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

          There was a massive shockwave that overtook them, hit them. All of them were lifted off their feet and propelled 50 feet. Screaming, they were all propelled the rest of the way out of the forest. Dean and Sammy were the only ones who knew how to tuck and roll properly. Ben landed heavily and rolled till he came to a stop of the other side of the street. Gus landed with a few bruises but was otherwise OK. Brian managed to grab onto JR in midair and shield her with his own body but it meant landing on his shoulder heavy and hearing a strange CRACK! Molly landed right on her ass by the roadside and got the wind knocked out of her.

          Justin got the worst of it. He landed with his foot twisted and there was a rather loud CRACK! as his ankle broke. He sat there, looked at his foot, bent at a strange angle and the bone protruding from his leg. "How strange," he thought calmly. A wave of nausea overtook him and he bent to the side and threw up. Then the pain overtook him and he passed out.

          "SUNSHINE!" Brian screamed, thinking the worst. After checking to make sure JR was fine, he shuffled over with his arm dangling limply. It felt like a piece of glass was being jabbed in his arm whenever he moved it but he shuffled over to Justin like Quasi Modo anyway.

          BOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!! Another explosion rocked them to their core and Molly turned and screamed.

          A huge firestorm was radiating outward, consuming the entire forest area. They all cowered in fear as the flames rolled outward, closer and closer.

          The flames rolled up right to the edge of the road. For a few moments, they swore they could see thousands of little faces in the flames, made of flames, screaming in torment, the children of Halloweens Past.

          Then they coalesced into one, monstrous troll face with horns and pointy ears and pointy eyes and fangs. It roared in anger and vengeance. They all screamed in fear.

          Then the face changed into an expression of extreme pain and terror and melted back into the flames. The flames themselves began to recede. They rolled back toward the center of the glade where there was an EXTREMELY loud:

          KABLAAAAAMMMMMOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And another explosion rocked their world and a 100 foot fiery mushroom cloud exploded up and into the air. The flames disipitated and then there was silence. Blessed silence.

          "I think it's over!" Sam said, "It's finally over!"

          They all cheered, although softly, out of respect for Brian who was holding Justin who was still passed out.

          "Please!" Brian cried out, his voice in anguish but his eyes dry, "I think he needs a hospital! Somebody help us!"

          Dean lumbered over and took a look. "Yup. I'm no doctor but by that bone out there, that is definitely broke! OK, I'll take these two and their family to the hospital and Sammy, you take Ben and JR home."

          "Wait, Dean! I don't think that'll be necessary," came Sam's gentle voice. He lifted the staff.

          Sammy, I'm not so sure how good I feel with you getting so...chummy with that thing," Dean protested.

          "Don't worry, Dean! I'm not getting chummy with this thing. Its life is nearing its end. I promise."

          "As long as you promise we're not going to have to put you into another kind of demon blood quarantine or anything," Dean growled.

          "Absolutely not! I promise! This is completely different." Sam said. They both caught the inquisitive stares of the others. "Long story!" they said in unison.

          "All right. Brian get as close to Justin as you can....that's the way."

          "No problem there," Brian leered, arranging Justin into his lap, while carefully making sure he didn't move his ankle. Molly got uncomfortable watching and crossed her arms and took a little walk. The sight of two men being intimate still made her feel uncomfortable but at least she wasn't filled with hate or anger anymore and she felt genuine love for her brother in what seemed like forever.

          Sam closed his eyes and filled his mind and feelings with love and compassion thoughts of health and well-being. Then he released.

          A blue beam shot out of the crystal and enveloped Brian and Justin in a blue spotlight of their own. Brian felt his arm shiver and vibrate and SNAP! With an intense flash of pain his shoulder socket snapped back into place. At the same time, Justin's ankle twisted back and snapped back into place. The bone disappeared back inside. The blue beam continued for a few more seconds and then faded away.

          "Now to make an end," said Sam. He wrenched the huge diamond from where in was encrusted onto the staff and pulled it out. He threw the wooden part of the staff onto the roadway and before he could completely lose the feeling of what to do, aimed the diamond at it. The diamond glowed ethereally in his hand and the white beam shot out and lit the staff on fire. The staff burned quickly and soon burned away to a blackened stick. It looked like a large burned out matchstick.

          The diamond's glow faded. It was huge and faceted and sparkled brilliantly in the sunny day but it was just a normal diamond now.

          Justin's eyes fluttered and he awoke. He saw where he was and flashed Brian a million watt smile.

          "Mmmmmm.... This continues to be my absolute favorite position. But, isn't it a little too crowded...too open...too..."

          Brian smiled wolfishly and shut him up with a kiss. "Tonight...!" he growled.

          After they had finished....kissing... and stood up, Sam came over and handed Brian the enormous diamond.

          "Here. I want you guys to have this. Call it spoils from the enemy. Find a high end buyer and use the money for the children's college money or something. Don't worry. The crystal and the staff were connected. Now that the staff is destroyed, it's just an ordinary diamond. Huge... but ordinary."

          Brian was overwhelmed. It was amazing. Pear shaped and flawless, with dozens of facets, and large enough to fill his entire large hand, it must be worth a fortune. Several fortunes. "Thank-you, Sam. We'll do that. For both of them."

          Then without further ado, Brian, Justin and Gus, climbed into the ‘Vette, Ben, Molly and JR got into Ben's car and Sam and Dean jumped into their Impala and they all headed to Ben's house and got the hell out of that accursed place, forever.

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          Michael was dying.

          Well, he wanted to anyway. That's why he was sleeping so much. Eventually, he figured if he slept long enough, deep enough, he just wouldn't wake up the next time. He never dreamed except for his little girl. But she was dead. He had been denying it a long time, living in a strange kind of twilight place, where hope and despair both dwelled but ever since his breakdown with Justin, the hope had vanished. His little girl, the light of his world was gone. Brian would hate him for what he did to Justin and not return.  Now there was only darkness. Eternal darkness.

          He rolled over and dreamed of JR. She was lying on the bed with him in a pink, frilly dress and clean, soft hair and a pink bow in her hair.

          She smiled her gap toothed smile and said: "Hi Daddy!"

          Oh! How he loved these dreams! They were so clear and his girl was so beautiful! "Hi angel," he said, willing her not to go away again.

          "I'm back Daddy! I'm back! Come play with me! Come play!"

          "I wish I could darlin' Wish I could." Michael didn't move, didn't reach out because he knew if he did she'd vanish into the ether and he wanted to hang onto this as long as possible. "Wow, this is the best dream I've ever had. You're so clear. So clear."

          He closed his eyes and started to slip asleep again. That one was wonderful. So clear. But just a dream. Just a dream.

          JR jumped up and down on her knees on the bed. "Silly daddy! I'm not a dream! I was just away. I was havin' an a'venture with Gus. Wake up, daddy! Play with me!"

          Michael opened his eyes in his dream again. She was still there, so clear. It was torture, but he reached out anyway and waited for her to dissolve so he could return to his despair.

          So when he ran his fingers through silky hair and down her back he was so startled, his eyes flew open and he jackknifed up into a sitting position. He framed her face and kissed her. She giggled and launched herself at him, her most favorite man in the whole wide world.

          Michael crushed her to him, wide awake and sure he was not dreaming at last. Sobs wracked his body as he hugged his child to him, knowing he had to let her go in just a minute but not wanting to. He crushed her to him and peppered her head and face with kisses.

          Finally, he let her go and just looked at her. "Give daddy a little while and I'll come play chutes and ladders with you, OK?

          "Yaaayyyyyy!!!! OK, Daddy!"

          And she rushed off.

          Michael got up and went into the bathroom to shave and shower. His little girl was waiting for him.

666

          After that, it seemed like everything else just fell into place.

          Sam and Dean stayed around for a day or two to rest and recharge and e-mail Bobby that they were all right and no...their throats had not been cut yet. Brian bought them a few new changes of clothing and even several new realistic police uniforms of various jurisdictions from a high end costume shop. The Impala was fully gassed up and given a once over by a mechanic who pronounced it in perfect health even after a long week of letting the grass grow under its wheels.  Finally though, they were ready to go and a new assignment of a zombie infestation was found for them.

          "I don't want you to go!" cried JR.

          "Take us with you!" cried Gus.

          "We can't," said Sam gently, "Our place is out there, taking care of those zombies, and keeping them in line. Your job is to stay here with your dads and keep them in line."

          "Hmmm. Practically a full time job!" said Gus drily.

          "But will we ever see you again?" sobbed JR.

          "Well...probably not for a long time," Sam said uncomfortably, "But if you just remember our adventure, we'll always be with you."

          "I'll never forget you," declared JR.

          "Me neither!" said Gus staunchly.

          Sam and Dean looked at these little ones with so much love. But it was time to go. Together, they got into the Impala and zoomed off. Brian, Justin, Michael and Ben and the kids all waved till the car was out of sight.

          Michael recovered but it was slow. For a long time, he needed JR in his line of sight or in physical contact. He carried her around on his back, played toys and games with her often or found reasons to be near her, to hold her hand, of scoop her up into bear hugs. Eventually, he knew he had to lessen his behavior as it was smothering, but he never took his child or his nephew for granted again.

          Mel and Linds were video called as soon as possible and they were overjoyed to see the children back. Mel still wanted to get legal about things until Brian showed them the huge diamond and explained what it was for. After both women had put their eyes back into their heads and when they were further apprised of Michael's fragile mental health and the anguish he had gone through, they reconsidered and dropped the idea of contesting custody.

          Brian and Justin took the diamond to a dealer in New York. As Brian had thought, they sold the diamond for many millions of dollars. They split the money into two college funds and the surplus of the money into a trust fund for each child which would earn interest and then be available to them when they turned 21. The sum of which, even now, would set them up in good living conditions for the rest of their lives.

          Brian, Justin and Gus went back to live at the loft, of course, but they visited Ben and Michael and JR, and Debbie and all their friends often. All their friends visited them. Their lives continued to intertwine and grow.

          They all lived together in great joy.

THE      END

Endnote: You may think that that was unnecessary and overkill to kill Craig twice. Well, you're right. But that just came to me in a flash and I couldn't resist. And really, if you think about it can you really kill Craig too many times? I can't! (winks impishly)