It was there when she woke up, that empty numbness that comes from being sad, even if there's no reason to be.

Charlie had had many of these days, when she just didn't want to go through a full day and her mom wasn't there and the damn toaster wouldn't work; when things were just a bit not okay. The days when she didn't want to do this anymore.

She wasn't a depressive person usually, but when things got too much, the thoughts piling up in her head, it was easier to give in.

Light was pouring through the window into her room, lighting up the bunker though she didn't see because she'd pulled the duvet over her head with a groan, deciding she wasn't going to leave the room under any circumstances. Unfortunately for her –as soon as she'd gotten comfy as well –someone started knocking on her door and a loud, annoying voice called out.

"Charlie! Wake up sleepyhead, breakfast's ready!"

"Charlie's not available today." She muttered into her pillow, hoping that Dean would get the message and go away. He didn't, she heard the door open and his heavy footsteps walking towards her.

"Kid? You awake?" Dean sounded concerned, probably because she was usually up way before any of them, scoffing pancakes and flipping through whatever book she was reading. She felt his hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly and turned round to face him with a sigh. He got the message as soon as he saw her eyes –how lost they looked.

"Alright, budge over." He pushed her to the over side of the bed and climbed in beside her, wrapping his arms around her so that she was pulled into his side. Dean was still in the clothes that he'd slept him so that when she buried her nose into his shoulder, she could smell his comforting scent.

"Hey Charlie?" Dean whispered after laying there a while, "you wanna talk about it?"

Charlie hesitated then shook her head; there wasn't anything to talk about. She was thankful when Dean didn't push and simply held her tighter, reaching a hand up to brush her hair with his fingers. They lay like this for what seemed like hours until Charlie opened one eye in confusion, wondering why Dean wasn't going anywhere.

"Don't you have a hunt or anything today?"

Dean smiled and shook his head, "not today kid, hunts are officially off the menu. Today is Dean and Charlie day." His goofy grin made her smile, laugh and then suddenly crack, causing tears to fall unexpectedly down her face. Dean let her cry, rocked her whilst she sobbed into his shoulder and whispered soothing words into her ear when she tried to pull away.

"Hey, you can be sad if you want to be, but not alone okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Dean kept talking all the way through, telling her stories about hunts and pranking Sam and all their adventures. Eventually the tears stopped and she felt a lot better, even laughing along with Dean when he told her about his and Sam's prank wars. They were even joined by Sam himself, who'd wondered where they'd got to. When he saw Dean and Charlie curled up in bed he nodded in understanding and wandered over.

"Any room in there?"

Charlie shuffled into the middle with a grin, pulling the covers up so that Sam could climb in the other side.

"I feel like I'm in a sandwich." She giggled, squished in the small bed that really wasn't meant for three people, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. Her family was with her and that was all she wanted.

They stayed there all day, as promised. They got up occasionally for food and bathroom breaks, but always came back to the room, bringing DVD's or extra blankets and cushions so that soon Charlie's room had turned into a den, the three of them huddled together with bowls of chips on their laps watching the TV. When the sky began to darken outside, Charlie expected the brothers to move to their own rooms and was surprised when they came back in clean clothes and smelling of toothpaste. Moving the empty bowls and plates onto her bedside table, they once again climbed in beside her and snuggled up, wishing her a goodnight. Charlie fell asleep almost instantly, wrapped up in her brothers arms with a smile on her face. The numbness had gone now, replaced with a sense of security and assurance.

They weren't going anywhere, just like Dean had said. She wasn't alone anymore.