-November 28, 2016-

-Chapter 1: Part 1-

The echoes reverberated against the bunker's walls. It was almost seven AM, an annoying time in general for most, but for the Winchesters it was already mid-morning. Both were awake and clothed by six on an average day. Although Dean had been demon free for over a year, the brothers were still struggling to unite back into their familiar roles.

Dean running off with Crowley for a year had damaged their relationship almost passed repair. Sam searched everywhere twice for his brother and found an unrepentant demon. Had it not been for a divine miracle, Dean would have stayed a demon forever and left Sam to travel alone. Sam naively expected that Dean would regret leaving him behind, but Dean stood by his decision. This attitude added a rift between the two even after Dean agreed to return to the bunker.

It was only recently, that they had begun returning to their old routine of early mornings and perpetual hunting. Sam was considering taking on a possible Wendigo case in Michigan, when Dean's other other cellphone rang.

"This is Dean... Uh-huh... East 84th? 211? Yep, got it... We'll check it out..." Dean stood up and started shuffling to check for his car keys, "Yeah, we should be there by seven... Watch out for yourself, Garth."

Dean closed his phone and nodded towards Sammy, "Saddle up, Sammy, we've got a case."

"Where at?" Sam asked, as he shoved his laptop into it's case.

Dean grabbed his pre-packed duffel and dug in his leather jacket for Baby's keys. "Chicago, few people've gone missing."

"You sure this is our kind of thing?"

"Garth's not sure. There's a group from Florida heading there, but he wants us to take a look first."

"Why's he want us there, if people are already on it?"

Dean shrugged as he opened the bunker's door. "Don't know, but Garth sounded adamant and we owe him one for helping us on that case last month. Besides it'll be good for Baby to get some mileage on her. The cases have been pretty local lately."

Sam nodded, accepting the answer and followed Dean out the door, before sliding into the old Impala. "Garth say where we should start there?"

"An apartment complex on East 84th Street. A kid's mom went missing a week ago. Garth said the kid's a friend of a friend."

"Think he saw anything?"

"Only one way to find out." And with a turn of his wrist, the Impala's engine gave out a hearty growl and sparked to life. Mindlessly, Dean reached down and popped in a mixed tape. Lisa gave him the tape for his 31st birthday. Both listened in silence as the music played, as the Chevy pulled away from the bunker.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home, Dad
I don't know when, but we'll get together then...

-Chapter 1: part 2-

It was almost six and the Sun had already set, by the time Dean pulled Baby onto the curb adjacent to the old apartment complex. Traffic had been moderate, so they had made decent time, stopping only twice for food and gas.

The street howled as a gust drove through the various houses and complexes and spread a light dusting of ice and snow along the ground. Sam clutched his jacket and gave a slight shiver, as he retreated from the temperate vehicle. He glanced at the building, before joining Dean inside. It was small for a three-story apartment complex and the years had worn the bricks. The overgrown bushes blocked the first story's windows and almost brushed the second's. Judging by the lack of noise and the various rent signs, it was assumable that the complex was not home to many people. The steps were old and creaked as the pair trekked the second floor.

Half of the rentals either had their numbers lost or had their doors ajar. Dean ran back the address in his head and gave a hearty knock to room 211. There was an audible eep that came from the apartment, followed by a small crash and the hurried shuffling of feet.

Dean started to reach for his pocket, ready to go in guns blazing, when a little voice called out, "Wh-Who's dere?"

Dean lowered his guard by a smidgin, and gave a quick reply, "We're Garth's pals, Sam and Dean Winchester. Garth said you might need some help. Think you could open the door for us?"

"Um, yeah I can, but, um... You're nodda mons'der righ?"

"Nope, we just fight'em. We can help if you let us in."

"Promise you're nodda mons'der?"

"Cross my heart, and hope to die."

"...Kay." The sounds of locks and chains echoed through the hall, before the door flew open and the brothers were face to face with a little boy. He stood atop a step-ladder, armed with a spray bottle and a dull butter knife. Spotting their faces, he sprayed both of their faces and took shelter beneath the ladder to examined them.

"Jesus kid!" Sam shouted as he rubbed the cold substance out of his eyes and looked at his hands, "What is this? Is that glitter?"

"Is mons'der spray wif holy wa'der! Ben maded id for me!" The little one announced, tightening his grip on the dull blade and glaring at Sammy.

Dean held up his hands, glanced down, and stepped down into the apartment, careful not to touch to the crude salt line. "Well nothings burning, so I guess we aren't monsters." Dean crouched down in front of the step-ladder, "Why don't you come out from under there, so we can talk?"

The boy shook his head. Now insides, Dean had a better view of the child. His eyes were swollen, his lip was quivering, his shoulders were shaking, and his hand glowed red from gripping the knife. He was miserable and petrified. And as Sam's boot tromped next to the ladder, the skittish boy lunged towards the edge of the ladder trying to cut Sam's ankle.

Dean caught the boy's wrist and removed the blade from his hand, "Woah! Don't get trigger happy on us kiddo, we're not the bad guys."

Once Dean had the boy disarmed, Sam closed the door and joined Dean in his crouched position, "What's your name, lil' guy?"

The boy drew his knees into his chest and sniffled with tears threatening to fall, "O-Oswald Jen-Jennings."

"Oswald? Well my name is Sam, and this is my brother Dean. We're hunters, we hunt monsters, and we just want to help." Oswald only nodded in response and kept his body contorted.

"You had your guns blazing a second ago little man, why don't you come out and talk with us?" Dean prompted.

Oswald shook his head and tried to push himself further back, "Don' wanna."

Dean leaned back to sit, "Why not?"

"Sca'ded."

"Why's that?"

Tears started flowing and Oswald let out a sharp whine, "I wan' my mooooomma! She didn' come back and she always does! An, an, she always calls, but she didn! An mons'ders prob'ly godded her! An, I'm 'lone an I can'd walk cross da road alone, so I'm gonna run out of food, an, an, I'm gonna die, an mons'ders are gonna eat me!" Oswald lapsed into bawling and started rubbing at his face.

"Shh, shh, shh, calm down, buddy, we'll find your mom," Sam coaxed, as Dean lifted the step-ladder off the boy.

Sam reached out to stoke the hair out of his face, but inconsolable Oswald pushed the hand away. "Is been a week dough! An, an Ben says if is more than two days, dey prob'ly dead!" Oswald bawled and rolled onto the floor.

"Yep, she might be-"

"Dean!"

"Can it Sammy," Dean snapped, before placing a comforting hand on the child's back. "Listen kid, I can't promise your mom's alive, but I can promise I'll find out where she's been and if she's alive, I'll bring her back to you. And if she is dead, I'll gank the son of a bitch, who killed her. But I'm gonna need some help here. You gotta tell me everything you know, so I can find her. Crying ain't gonna bring your mom back."

-Chapter 1: part 3-

It took a few minutes, but finally, Oswald was able to calm himself enough to speak coherently. He pushed himself upright and looked up at two. "Whad, ya needa know?"

"What's your mom's name and where does she work?" Dean asked.

Oswald sniffled and rubbed at his eyes, before replying, "Momma's name is Sparrow, like da' birdie... An she workes ad Leona's."

"Did she have any enemies?"

"No... Momma is nice to ev'body."

"Did she mention anyone acting strange? Did she act strange before she left?" Sam interjected.

"No, she said she'd be home ad five... An she'd wa'ch Ponyo wif me. An, an Momma always calls ev'y couple hours an afore she leaves work! An she calleded a' four last Sunday an said she migh' be a liddle lade a'cause Judy was lade, bu she didn' come home..." Oswald sniffled again and squeezed his legs against his chest. He silently wished that he had thought to grab his stuffed monster Diniel, before letting these strangers in.

Noticing the shift of emotion from Oswald, Sam backed off from questioning. Sam had spent very little time around children. He always saw them as strange, frail little things. They were small humans and Sam thought that if he said one wrong thing, it would mess them up forever. Dean had helped raise Sam and had a year of being a father. And after seeing Oswald's sad tiny face, Sam was more than willing to take the backseat with questioning.

After taking a few mental notes, Dean gently asked, "Do you remember seeing or hearing anything odd since your mom went missing?"

Oswald gave a sullen nod and held up two fingers, "Dis many nighs ago...I heard Mr. Hank shoudin ou'side... An so I looked odda window an he was gone."

"Who's Mr. Hank?"

"He lives ad da end of da hall. He use ta be married to Mrs. Cassidy, but a shif'er godded her," he replied, nibbling on his lip to calm himself.

"A shifter, huh? Those can be pretty scary. Do you know how long ago it got Mrs. Cassidy, lil dude?"

"Uhhh, I dunno, id was long dime ago." Oswald shrugged and rested his chin between his knees. "Mrs. Cassidy ussa wa'ch me, while Momma was ad work... An den, one day she was jus, jus being weird an I sawed her eyes through Momma's web cam. An Ben came in an saved me."

"Thanks little man, you did a real good job telling me what was up. You don't have to worry anymore, okay? Me and my brother are gonna take care of whatever is happening around here."

"Kay..." he softly replied.

Dean nodded and stood up, placing his hand in his pockets and trying to conjure up a few theories. His mind first went to shifters. They had a history at this apartment complex. Hell there was an entire family of them in the city. But disappearing people wasn't typical shifter behavior. One or two maybe, but a quick internet search on the way up suggested that at least five people on 84th street had gone missing in the last month. Sighing, he took a seat on the worn couch across the room.

While Dean focused on theories, Sam turned his attention to Oswald. The boy was scrawny with a tall thin frame and a rounded face. Sam took note that the boy's brown hair was quite greasy and messy. His clothes also didn't seem to fit quite right and his skin was pale. Something about this boy didn't feel right. Taking a tiny step closer to the boy, Sam asked, "Who's been looking out for you the past week?"

"No one, is jus been me," Oswald replied as he fiddled with his hands and avoided eye contact.

Struggling to place an age with the boy, he asked, "How old are you?"

"Five an a half."

"You're five and you've been home alone for a week? Hasn't anyone noticed? Didn't your school call."

"No, acause I'm nodda loudda leave da 'parmen wiff'ou' Momma. An school didn' call, acause we're on break 'til Wensday."

Flabbergasted, Sam pushed his hair back and huffed. Looking at Oswald again, he wasn't so bad-looking for a child that had been alone for a week. No obvious cuts or bruises, not too many food stains on his clothes, overall this kid had done well to keep himself alive. Glancing at the studio apartment, Sam noted that it wasn't in too bad of shape either. There were a few VHS tapes laying out and a couple of stains on the couch, but only books cluttered the floor and counters.

Noticing Sam's surveying and happy to have attention away from him, Oswald scurried across the room. All he wanted was for his mother to come home and cuddle. Diniel, would have to be enough for now though. Oswald climbed onto the queen bed and snuggled Diniel against his chest, wishing he could wake up from this nightmare.

His moment of peaceful solitude was short lived as Dean addressed him, "Hey, kid, did your mom leave you any emergency numbers? Maybe we could call your dad or a family friend or a nearby distant relative?"

Oswald shook his head, "No, Momma doesn' have a family anymore an she doesn' know where my poppa is. Momma says he was a FBI guy with an angry brudder who godded ab-duck-ded by aliens."

A few wheels started turning in Sammy's head, as pieces fell together and his reality came crashing down. Feeling anxious, he rubbed at his temple praying to any god that would listen that he was wrong.

"Shit," Dean cursed, interrupting Sam's thought process, "Sammy, you watch the kid, I'm gonna go check out Leona's."

"What? Dean you're not going alone."

"Uh, yeah, I am. Look, if anything goes wrong, or if I spot anything, I'll call you, alright?"

"Dean, we don't even know what this thing is-"

"That's why I'm going to look into it."

"Dean," Sammy gave a quick glance towards Oswald, "Can we, can we talk outside for a minute?"

"Fine," Dean cast a look at Oswald, "Sammy'll be back in a minute lil' dude." Oswald nodded and held his monster tight.

Dean motioned to Sam and both walked out. "Okay, so what didn't you wanna say in front of the kid?"

"Dean, I just, uh," Sam dug his hand in his pockets, "Dean, I think that kid might be mine."

"Are you serious? You, a dad? Sam you practically gave me a save sex talk when you were sixteen."

"Dean, I'm being serious! Remember that fairy case in Elwood six years back?"

"When you were robosam? Yeah, I remember it, thanks again for looking so hard for me."

Sam rolled his eyes, "I said I was sorry about that, but the woman I slept with was Sparrow Jennings. I don't know about you, but I don't think there are too many Sparrow Jen-"

"Okay, just hold it... You're being serious? You really think you have some long lost kid?"

"I mean, the last name, the time line, and that little story about the uncle being abducted. All of that points to me."

"...Well I'd be lying if seeing that kid didn't take me back. He looks like you did as a kid Sammy, a lot," Dean opened the passenger door of the Impala and handed Sam his laptop. "We can worry about this later though, right now you need to keep your head in the game and do some of your brainiac research stuff on the web."

"Dean-!" Sam called as Dean climbed into the driver's seat.

"Later Sammy!"

"Damn it!" Sam shouted as he kicked a rock into the street. He looked up at the building and saw Oswald looking down at him with familiar green eyes.