I don't own Supernatural.

Hey, guys! I'm not new to FanFiction, but I am new to the Supernatural side of it... Anyway, this idea has been rolling around in my head for a while, and I think I finally like this rendition of it. Apologies if something like it already exists, but I hope I can do it well enough to distinguish myself. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think. Oh, and I'll be adding Cas in soon, don't worry. [Destiel survives].

The title is still...under construction, so it might change. We'll see. Enjoy!

~Nik

Dean is fourteen, about to start high school in the only place they've stayed for more than a month, when Dad suddenly announces that they're leaving this small town.

"But why?" Sam repeats, stuffing his backpack full of comic books.

Dean tosses his duffel at him. "It doesn't matter, Sam. We're leaving."

"We need to go talk to someone in Windom," their father says.

Dean scowls. "The last time you were in Windom, you got hurt and we had to stay longer while you were in the hospital."

John Winchester scowls then. "Move everything to the Impala, boys. I'm going to go pay."

"Yes, sir," they chorus.

Dean shoulders his backpack, picks up his duffel, and takes the food box. "Finish up, Sammy."

"Don't call me Sammy!" Sam yells after him.

Dean puts the stuff in the car, his backpack in the front seat for later. Then he returns and gets his father's duffel and the hunting duffel.

Sam follows him out this time, putting his things in the car and running back inside to fetch his coat and pillow. Sam always insists on lugging that damn pillow around.

Dean watches as his brother gets comfortable in the sigil-covered car and then goes back into the room to do a last sweep. It turns up empty, and Dean is suddenly glad none of them has much of anything.

Dean's father returns to the room then. "Empty?" he grunts.

Dean nods. "Everything is in the car. How long of a drive?"

"Better than usual," John replies, shrugging. "Eight, maybe nine hours. If we find anywhere deserted enough, I'll let you drive for a bit."

Dean and his father exchange a nod and get into the car. Sammy is already curled up, snoring lightly.

"Boy sleeps like a dog - anywhere and anytime," John grunts.

Dean nods and leans his head on the window. He kind of liked this little town in South Dakota. It's not far from Bobby in Sioux Falls, and the kids in Ideal see so many people in-and-out that they like Dean and Sam well enough.

John pulls out of the parking lot.

"I thought we were going to Windom," Dean says, turning the radio down.

"We are. I just need to talk to Bobby," John answers. He turns down the driveway and parks the car.

"Can Dean and I come in?" Sammy asks, rubbing his eyes.

"Sure," John answers. "I'm sure Karen has some food you two can devour."

The boys nod and climb out of the car. They run into the house and knock on the door. John follows, more slowly than the boys.

Bobby answers and, when he sees the boys, grins and boosts Sam up. Dean grins and hugs the older man.

"Bobby?" Karen calls. "Who's there?"

"Dean and Sam!" Bobby calls back.

Karen comes quickly to the door and hugs the boys, too. "Come on in and I'll feed y'all," she says, smiling.

They grin and follow her.

Bobby waits on the porch, leaning in the door. "Well, what do you need, John?"

"We need to talk," John says, voice dark. "It's about Karen."

Bobby stands from the door at that. "C'mon." He leads John to the barn and they sit on the workbench. "You'd better start talking."

Bobby sits back slightly. "You mean to tell me demons, and monsters, and gods, and angels are all real...and you drag your boys around to hunt them?"

"Well, I don't have many other options," John snaps. "But yes. A demon killed Mary, and - well -" He sighs. "When I was tracking down a demon a few hunts ago, it mentioned something that bothered me."

"What?"

"It said the name Karen."

"There are tons -"

"Of people named Karen, I know." John sighs again, more frustrated this time. "But there are rarely coincidences with demons, okay?"

Bobby frowns and rubs at his stubble. "Well, what do you recommend I do?"

"If the boys and I can stay here for a while, I can teach you everything you need to know to protect her, and I can have Dean salt and sigil the house." John crosses his arms and leans back.

"Where's the but? There's a catch."

"Four years ago I was in Windom," John says. "And I got hurt and was in the hospital. I met a nurse there, and we slept together."

"Please tell me -"

"And she has a kid now." John clears his throat. "My kid. But she's sick, so I need to go get him and raise him now."

"And?"

"Can I leave Dean and Sam with you for two or so days while I go find Adam and get all the paperwork done?"

Bobby stares at John. "You're a lucky son of a bitch," he says. "Sooner or later, one of your boys is going to do something stupid looking for your approval."

"I'm doing my best, Bobby!"

"Go get your kid," Bobby says. "Karen loves the boys." Then he gets up and goes back to the house.

John follows him, sighing. He gets the boys' stuff from the car and gives it to Bobby. "Thank you," he says.

"Go," Bobby replies, and he watches as John drives off. Then he walks into the kitchen, where Dean is halfway out of his chair. "Relax, Dean. He's coming back soon."

"He tricked us," Dean grumbles.

"He has to do this," Bobby says, ruffling Sam's hair. "How's about you and me go work on that Chevy you've been eyeing?"

"Yessir," Dean says, shoveling the last of his food into his mouth and following Bobby with a mumbled apology and thanks to Karen.

Karen smiles at Sam and clears his and Dean's plates. "Can you help me with my knitting?" she asks.

Sam gives her a suspicious look but then follows her to the den.

Dean ruffles Sam's hair and sits next to him at the table, hair wet and shirt tucked. Bobby had faced the same order to wash up and they had both sighed and gone to shower.

Now Sam smiles widely at Dean. "Karen taught me how to knit," he announces. "I started making a hat," he adds.

"That's great, Sammy," Dean says, looking longingly at the food on his plate.

"Wait for Bobby," Karen says, slapping his hand lightly.

Dean sighs and slumps back. "I'm hungry," he says. "Bobby and I spent all day working on the car."

"Well, in a few days, you won't have to worry about that - you'll be starting high school," Karen reminds him gently.

He scowls further. "When is Dad coming back?" he asks. "He's been gone for two days."

Karen sighs and shakes her head. "I don't know, Dean."

Dean sighs again. "I'm sorry," he says. "You and Bobby do so much -"

She leans over and kisses his head. "You're like our own, Dean," she says. "We love you and Sammy. And we'll love -"

Bobby clears his throat as he sits, having heard what Karen was going to say, and shakes his head.

"And we'll love your children," Karen finishes lamely. "You can eat now, Dean," she adds.

Karen and Bobby do the dishes after dinner, and Dean hears hushed voices. "Hey, Sam," he says softly, "why don't you go put some cartoons on? Bobby has Nickelodeon."

Sam's eyes light up, and he races to the living room.

Dean, on the other hand, sneaks closer to where water splashes and voices float.

"- didn't tell Dean and Sam?"

"He couldn't. Sam wouldn't understand, and Dean -" Bobby breaks off, and Dean can imagine him putting a hand to his forehead. "Look, we both know John can be a bit of an ass, okay? And he has that whole - thing with Mary. But he does love his boys, and he is trying his best." Bobby hesitates. "And he's going to help us with something important. To protect us."

"But he didn't tell his own sons that they have another brother," Karen protests, and there's the sound of a cupboard being shut, hard.

Bobby sighs. "John is a crazy son of a bitch," he says.

Dean sits back slightly. This is all news to him. A part of him wants to barge in there and proclaim his presence, his knowledge, but another part of him knows it might be wiser to wait to talk to Bobby.

He walks in and takes a cup from the cupboard, filling it with juice. "So Dad wants us to teach you about hunting?" he says.

Both of them whirl around. Dean never was good at doing the wise thing.

"How much of that did you hear, boy?" Bobby demands. "Idjit," he adds, frowning at the sponge.

"Enough," Dean says.

The adults exchange a glance. "Dean -"

"I'm not surprised," Dean says. "I know my father as well as you do." He scowls at his hands, already covered with scars. "And a demon killed my mother. You should want to protect what you have, Bobby."

Karen comes over to him and pulls him into a tight hug. "Everything will be okay, Dean," she says, kissing his forehead for the second time that night.

"I know," Dean says. "I've been burnt, hit, cut, cursed, chased, stalked, and stabbed. This year." He smiles. "But as long as Sam and I are alive and together, everything is okay." He shrugs. "And the new one can be a part of that, too."

Karen hugs him harder. "Good boy. Now go spend some time with Sammy and get yourselves to bed early. Tomorrow morning we can go to the store and get ingredients for apple pie."

Dean's face lights up and he leaves.

The rumble of the Impala has everyone on the porch in seconds. Sam grips Dean's hand, and Bobby's hand rests on Dean's shoulder.

John gets out, reaches over for a very stuffed duffel, closes the door, and opens the backseat door, helping a toddler out of the car. He leads the small one up the stairs and releases him at the top. "Dean, Sam, this is Adam. He's your brother."

Neither one moves. Adam looks from John to the boys and back to John.

The hand on Dean's shoulder suddenly shoves him forward, and he picks Adam up. "I'm Dean," he says quietly, "and that's my little brother Sammy."

Adam squirms slightly and stays silent. Dean carries the small boy into the house.

"Bobby, do you still have that crib of Sam's?" John asks, walking into the kitchen, now with two duffel bags. Sam has stayed close to Dean's hip, and Adam sits on Dean's other hip.

"It's in the attic," Bobby says. "You can go get it if you want."

Karen comes up to Sam and smooths his hair. "Sammy, do you want to help me get the spare room ready for you three boys?"

"Where will Dad sleep?" Sam asks.

"The porch," Bobby says, getting a laugh out of Dean as he follows John to the attic.

Karen chuckles, too. "Your dad will sleep on the couch when he's here," she says, shaking her head at Bobby.

Dean and Sam follow her to the room across from Bobby and Karen's. Karen opens the door and all three boys cough a little.

"It's a little dusty," she admits, shaking a pillow off and watching as a cloud of dust floats down. "Maybe Bobby and Dean can work on cleaning up his junk room for Dean to move into in a little while."

Dean sets Adam down and both of the boys cling to his hands. "Karen, how long will we be here?" He winces. "Not that we don't love you guys. It's just - Dad never stays put long."

"Maybe you boys can stay here while your dad is gone on his trips," Karen says. "Kids need stability, Dean."

He nods slowly. This is gonna be different, that's for sure.