A/N: So, here we are. The third instalment in the Kiddy Corral series. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it. Any thoughts and comments are appreciated. Let's get Children's Playthings started shall we?

2010 – November

Sam stretched as he climbed out of his car, letting the door close soundly behind him. He glanced up at the small block of flats and couldn't help the small smile he let out as he headed towards the main door and started up to the third floor. He was already pulling his keys out of his pocket, a small hum in the back of his throat. The flat wasn't much, barely a living space with a tiny spare box bedroom that held a single bed. A kitchen that he and Natalie had to squeeze themselves into and a living room with a well used couch.

He closed the door behind him and couldn't help the small smile that grew on his face. It wasn't much, but for the last month it had been their home. It hadn't been their idea to rent the flat. Dean had pretty much pushed them both away:

"Devil's gone. May as well start living."

"Dean," Sam had tried.

Dean waved him off, "One of needs to be happy alright? So go, play happy families or whatever. Be happy."

"Sam?"

He blinked away the conversation from his mind and followed the sound of Natalie's voice into the cramped kitchen. "Hey."

She looked up from the hot drinks she had just finished making and smiled warmly at him. "Dean rang. He said he's going to stop by tonight, see how we're doing."

A slight frown creased Sam's brows as he took his offered cup from her, "How did he sound?"

Natalie sighed and shook her head with a shrug. "The same? Like his mind was preoccupied."

Sam's frown didn't budge and stared down at his feet as he leaned against the counter. It hadn't been easy for anyone moving on. He and Natalie had wanted to stick with Dean, keep him company and make sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid, but he'd pushed them away telling them they'd earned their right to a happy, hunt free life. Bobby had started to drink himself to sleep every night and, last time Sam had checked, it was only recently the older man had started to slow down with the drink. Jo had quietly sulked off to her own little corner of the states. "I've had enough excitement for now." And Dean… Dean was the worst. Sam didn't know if he would ever get over it. It took three weeks for him to finally say something to anyone, to finally start eating and drinking like his normal self. Then he'd thrown himself into hunt after hunt after hunt. Sam had tried to get Dean to slow down, just a little but he'd been brushed off with a shrug. Cas had made a brief appearance from trying to help Heaven right itself to tell Dean that he was being stupid but even that didn't work.

Natalie shoving his shoulder made Sam look up and he blinked at her smiling face. "He can take whatever monsters want to throw at him. He'll be fine. No archangels, no devils. He'll be fine."

"I know," Sam said with a wide smile, "I know, I just-"

"Worry?"

He let out a short laugh and nodded his head, "You could say that."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down to gently kiss his lips. "Sam Winchester, your big brother Dean is alive. He's going to be coming here to hang out, have a brotherly bonding session and dump his crap all over our spare room. He's going to be here in about two hours, and I haven't seen you all day."

Sam looked down at her with a growing smirk and grabbed Natalie's hips with a hum. "Miss me?"

She traced a finger down his chest stopped in the centre as she bit her lip, "A little."

He grinned and within the next instant had her over his shoulder and was walking to their bedroom. "Guess I better make up for lost time huh?"

Natalie laughed, lightly slapping Sam's back and trying to reach his ass. "You're too damn tall, Winchester!" Sam shook his ass a little to tease her and kicked the bedroom door shut behind him.

Natalie sung quietly along to the radio that played in the kitchen as she washed the pots and pans, giving the boys a little bit of space. Changing lives hadn't been easy and she was still adjusting to existing in the normal view of the world. She envied Sam for his ease to blend in with everyone else and his ability to hide himself. Natalie wished she could do the same and she stopped singing as the song finished, nothing but the sound of splashing water and murmurs of Sam and Dean to keep her company.

She wished they could go back. She always wished that they could go back. The four of them. Alive. Well. Happy. She was just getting by and she knew that Sam struggled to cope when the door to the outside world was closed. And Dean. Dean was on a downward path of self destruction, just waiting for something to take him out in a blaze of glory.

Natalie closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, letting her elbows rest on the edge of the sink and the warm water to wash over her arms. This life was nice with Sam, really nice. And normal. But it could be better. She slowly opened her eyes and couldn't help but to frown down at the water. Charlotte had always been telling her to make sure that she lived a life away from the monsters, away from hunting and now- She pulled her hand out of the water and banged a fist onto the side. "You're an idiot," she whispered to the empty kitchen. "You're the biggest idiot I know."

She screwed her eyes shut a moment to hold back the few tears that had started to build before she took a deep breath and opened her eyes to stare out of the kitchen window. The window looked directly over the street below and she peered down, looking at the passer bys innocently going about their lives without a single bit of knowledge that it had almost been wiped out from beneath them. Her eyes scanned up and down, lazily watching the people below. She'd scanned her eyes down the street and was working her way up when she stopped, gaze fixed on a shadow just behind a street light across the road. It didn't move, didn't budge, but something about that particular shadow drew Natalie in and she leaned towards the window, eyes narrowed, to get a better look. It felt as though something was staring back at her and her hunter instincts were telling her to grab a weapon and be ready.

Somebody laid a hand on her shoulder and Natalie jumped, twisting to put her hand underneath Dean's neck. A moment later she let out a deep breath and let go, shoving away his curiously amused face. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Were you spacing out there, Nat? I shouted you like five times to come watch this movie with us."

She nodded her head with another sigh, "Yeah, sorry, I just- was daydreaming."

"Must've been a pretty good daydream."

She rolled her eyes and turned to pull the plug and let the water out of the sink. There was a noise outside and she looked up to see a trash can tipped over, rubbish still landing on the pavement and she shook her head. Stop being so paranoid.

"You guys got any popcorn?" Dean asked as he opened their fridge, pulling out the bottle of wine and two beers.

"Sorry," Sam said, "all out. I'll make sure we have some next time."

"You guys suck."

Something was troubling her. She didn't know what, but something was keeping Natalie awake and she gave it until half one in the morning before she threw her legs over the side of the bed and pulled a pair of pyjama pants on. She grabbed one of Sam's jackets and slipped that on, zipping it up to her chin and quietly crept out of their bedroom. With a yawn she started to make her way to the kitchen, wondering if they had any chamomile tea left in, and she froze at the beam of light that protruded from the bottom of the door that led to the spare bedroom. She blinked twice and tiptoed around the floorboards that she knew squeaked and stopped outside of the room, listening carefully for anything.

"I'm busy. Leave a message and I might get back to you." There was the sound of somebody hanging up before she heard the notes dialling again. "I'm busy. Leave a message and I might get back to you." "I'm busy. Leave a message and I might get back to you." Now she felt guilty for intruding. That was Charlotte's voicemail. Natalie had done the same thing several times a day for the first few weeks. Every now and then she found herself dialling Charlotte's number just to remember what her voice sounded like and she wiped her face before the tears could start and took a step back.

"I miss you. I- you-" Dean's voice stopped her, his tone close to broken and her heart squeezed itself in her chest. Now she really was intruding. "Just- just come back," his voice cracked on the last word and Natalie just knew that he was gripping the phone as though his life depended on it. "Come back," he ground out, "so I can- I can- kick your ass myself."

Natalie bit down on her bottom lip to stop the snort from coming out. That was just them. After a few seconds of listening Dean crack some words out, trying to stop his voice from breaking, she took a few steps back and took another breath. She looked down and purposely looked for the spots that would creak and padded towards Dean's door, wanting it to sound as though she'd just gotten up. "Dean?" she whispered, gently knocking on the door.

There was a slight shuffling of fabric before the door opened and he stood there, his face clear of any evidence of the words he'd just been saying. "You alright?" he frowned slightly and glanced into the hallway, "Anything wrong? Did Sam kick you out?"

She let out a small laugh and shook her head, "No just trouble sleeping. Saw that the light was on and figured I'd keep you company. If- if that's alright?"

Dean beamed at her and opened the door, "I wasn't planning on sleeping anytime soon anyway."

"Good," she said, "because neither am I apparently."

SPNSPNSPNSPNSPNSPNS

Crowley let the doors open in front of him and strode into the room, admiring the number of eyes that looked up at him in fear. Since Lucifer's trip to the cage he'd worked hard to get where he was, at the very top. Being in control was his favourite place to be and he walked, hands behind his back and head held high towards the throne that sat at the head of the room.

"Crowley, Sir."

He barely passed the demon a glance, and had already forgotten his name. At least, he was sure the demon was a he. "Yes?"

"Well, it's just- you asked us to keep an eye on… her?"

He stopped, one brow drawn down into an interested yet bored expression and he turned his head to look at the demon. After a moment of silence he sighed and glared at the demon, "And?"

"And- and well, it's- she seems to have settled in. I don't know why we're watching her but-"

Crowley nodded his head and continued walking. "Good. Good. So everything's in order then?"

"Yes, Sir. Everything's going according to plan. But why-"

He smiled as he finally sat down in his throne and observed the room in front of him. "Keep me updated." Several pairs of eyes stared up at him and he rolled his eyes and waved his hand, "Go. Leave. Dismissed."

Crowley watched as everyone scurried out, a slight whisper among them. He propped his elbow on the chair arm and his chin on his fist with a grin. Everything was going perfectly.

A/N: So, what do you guys think for an opening? And yes, I'll be updating weekly now. Every Thursday again!