Four Years Later, in a motel-
"Okay Dean, here's money for the week, watch out for your brother and sister." John tells Dean after he hands him a large wad of cash as he puts on a scarf to deal with the cold outside while he looks for clues for his latest hunt.
"I will Dad." Dean says.
"I shouldn't be gone too long."
"Daddy?" In the doorway leading to the small bedroom stood a four year old Caroline, with her big brown eyes and long blond curls. She was in her pajamas and rubbing her eye while clutching the dollar store stuffed elephant. "Where are you going?"
"Out, I'll be back later, Dean will watch out for you and your brother." John said as he zipped up his coat.
"Be careful Daddy, there's bad things out there." She said as she rubbed her cheek against the lime green elephant. He furrowed his brow at her.
"What do you mean Carrie?" He asked as he put his gloves on. She wiggled around, looking uncomfortable.
"I felt it as we were driving through here; it feels dark, bad, so be careful." She said with a frown.
"I will."
"I love you Daddy." She said as he put his hand on the doorknob, he looked back and saw the wary desperate look on her face, he knew she was still fearful of him going out.
"I love you too Caroline, watch out for your brothers, make sure they don't do anything crazy."
He said with a smile, she smiled back at him and nodded. He nodded to Dean. "Bye you two." He left then and locked the door. Dean checked the salt line and then turned and saw his little sister still standing in the doorway.
"Go back to bed sis." He said before turning on the TV. She shook her head, her blond curls flying as she did.
"Not till you come too, you'll be tired tomorrow if you don't." Dean rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the TV. "And besides…" She said trailing off as she kicked at the floor, looking a little embarrassed. "I feel safer with you in the room." Dean smiled at her and turned off the TV.
"Come on munchkin." He said as he walked towards her. She smiled bright and turned and walked back into the little room with the two beds. She climbed into the one bed where Sam slept. They always said they felt better with the other one near. She pushed Sam who had taken up most of the bed and he let out a small grunt and rolled over. She looked over at Dean as he climbed into this bed.
"Goodnight Dean, I love you." She said with a smile. He smiled at her
"Love you too Carrie, now go to sleep." She smiled and lay down. Dean smiled to himself as he lay down. His sister could be so weird at times, but he couldn't imagine his life or their family without her.
One year later -
"Daddy?" Caroline called out as she walked through the creepy apartment they were staying at. She didn't know it was a hunt, and she didn't know that the ghost targeted older women, so John thought they'd be safe. "Where are you Daddy?" All she knew was that this place scared her, and she felt weird there, like there was someone watching her. She heard something behind her and she whirled around only to see nothing. "Dean? This isn't funny!" She called out as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was trying to find her elephant which had disappeared, she wished she knew where her brothers or here Dad were. She sighed shakily and headed back to their room. As she was headed up the stairwell she could feel something behind her and she could hear the soft footfalls of someone else on the wooden stairs. She swallowed nervously and turned her head to look behind her where she was met with the piercing glare of a man in his early thirties with gray skin and what looked like a butcher knife sticking out of his chest. He wheezed in a loud sigh and straightened up to reveal he was much taller then her meager stature.
"What are you doing in my building?" He said, venom dripping from her words. She opened her mouth but could only make a strange gargled sound as her vocal cords constricted in terror. He grimaced cruelly and reached for her. She bolted up the stairs and slammed open the door to their apartment and ran into her bedroom and hid in the closet. She could hear the voices of her two brothers that she had sprinted past outside the closet. She heard footsteps outside the closet and shrank in on herself as tears streaked down her face. The door opened to reveal her brother Sam.
"Carrie? What happened?" He asked as he dropped to his knees and shuffled forward to place his hand on her arm which she had wrapped around her folded up knees. She let out a sob and Sam shuffled forward more to wrap her in a hug. "What's wrong?"
"I saw something, on the stairs. It was a man, he looked dead." She said as she hiccupped softly.
"What do you mean he looked dead?" Sam asked just as Dean came over to the closet.
"Why were you freaking out Carrie?" Dean asked as he knelt down.
"She said she saw some dead guy on the stairs." Sam said as he held his sister close. She rubbed her eyes and shuddered.
Two days later-
Caroline walked out the apartment quietly and silently locked the door behind her. She had decided to confront her fears about the stairwell. She sighed and walked over to the stairs and gripped the rail as she sat on the stairs. Her father was out; she didn't know he was in the town cemetery about to burn the ghost's bones. She looked around and then saw the ghost staring at her.
"Why are you still here?" She asked him, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. He smirked at her, looking all the more evil.
"I could ask you the same thing." He said chuckling, seeming creepier then ever. "I'm here because I'm not done, I have to destroy them." He said looking around, he seemed distracted.
"Destroy who? Who's them?" She asked. He opened his mouth to answer then he gasped and seemed to catch fire. Caroline felt frozen with fear, what did that to him? Was it still here? She couldn't move so she just clung to the railing and shut her eyes tight. A while later John came up the stairs and discovered Caroline on the floor at the top of them asleep, still clutching the railing. He picked her up and she let out a small sigh before blinking sleepily up at her Dad as he made his way to the room. "Daddy?" She said quietly.
"Hey little girl, what were you doing out there?" He asked his sleepy child. She shrugged, one shoulder lifting up and down faster then the other making a very funny picture, but her words made his blood run cold.
"I was out here talking to the ghost before he caught fire and burned up; I was too scared to go back inside." She said before yawning loudly. John swallowed hard then smiled down at her.
"Hey look what I got from the lost and found." He said before pulling out of his pocket the lime green elephant. She got an excited happy look on her face.
"Mr. Lime." She said as she took it from him and clutched it to her chest as she rubbed her cheek against it. He carried her into the apartment and went into the room that had three small beds in it and placed her into her bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead. "Goodnight Daddy, I love you." She said.
"I love you too Carrie, goodnight." He said before she turned to her side and snuggled into the bed.
"Dad?" He heard behind him, he turned and saw Dean sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily. John jutted his head in the direction of the doorway to the living room. Dean got the hint and followed his Dad as he stood in front of the couch and rubbed his chin. "What is it Dad?"
"I just found your sister on the stairs." He deadpanned. Dean's mouth dropped open. Then he gapped like a fish.
"I was asleep, how did she even…?" He trailed off as he waved in the direction of the door. John held up a hand and stopped him.
"I'm not saying it was your fault Dean, I'm just letting you know, and you're gonna have to watch out for your sister."
"Of course I will Dad, her and Sammy both." He said, confused.
"I mean more then that, your sister's… special." Dean looked confused.
"You mean like not smart special?"
"No, just special, she just needs more protecting then most." He said then sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look, just go to back to bed, I'll figure it out."
"Okay, goodnight Dad." Dean said before going back to bed, still worried. He walked over to his sister's bed and brushed her hair back. "Don't worry baby sister; I won't let anything happen to you." In the living room John sighed and walked to his bedroom and sat on his bed before picking up the phone on the nightstand beside his bed and dialing.
"Hey, it's me. She saw a ghost today, a ghost that doesn't appear to little kids usually. I think you were right; my little girl's a psychic. What do I do now?" He said, holding his head in his hand, afraid of what they would say.
Two weeks later-
"Dance with me Sam!" Caroline called out as she bounced around and shook her arms, 'dancing' to the music on the radio. It was only a few days after the twins sixth birthday and they were staying in a motel room. Sam smiled and shook his head at his sister.
"Nah, you look silly." Caroline scowled at him.
"I do not!" Dean chuckled from his place at the small table as he cleaned guns.
"She's right Sam, she doesn't look silly, and she's just dancing enough for the both of you." He said, smiling at his little sister who suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled.
"Dance with me Dean, please?" She asked, giving him big puppy dog eyes and a pouting lip. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Okay fine." He said, standing up and holding her hands they clumsily danced around the room as Caroline giggled and beamed. Soon the song was over and she let Dean's hands go and curtsied to him.
"Thank you Dean, you're so nice to me, unlike someone!" She yelled out as she turned to look at Sam as he watched TV. Sam just rolled his eyes and Caroline jumped onto the couch beside him and sat back, watching TV with him.
"You're welcome Carrie." He said as he sat back down at the table. The door opened and in walked John. "Hi Dad." Dean said, not looking up.
"Hi Dad!" Sam and Caroline chorused from the couch. John smiled at them.
"Caroline I need to talk to you, come with me." He said before opening the door. Caroline looked confused for a second before getting off the couch.
"Bye guys." She said with a small wave at her brothers.
"See ya later Carrie." Dean said before focusing on the guns.
"Bye sis." Sam said before once more becoming glued to the TV. Carrie skipped outside to the impala and got in the back.
"Today you get to sit in front seat Carrie." Caroline grinned and shot out of the car and into the front passenger seat where she never got to sit before. "Here, I got this for you." He said as he handed her the small chocolate milkshake he had in the cup holder after she put on the seatbelt. She squealed and grabs it and began drinking it as he started driving.
"Where are we going Daddy?" She asked. John swallowed and blinked hard, fighting back tears.
"It's a surprise." He said, glad his voice didn't quiver. Caroline merely nodded as she sucked on the milkshake while staring out the window.
Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of a government building. Caroline had long since finished her milkshake. John got out and she followed him, confused.
"Where are we Daddy?" She asked as she put her small hand into his outstretched one.
"You'll see Caroline; don't forget that I love you very much." He said, looking down at her, wanting her to understand.
"I won't Daddy, I love you too." She said, still confused. They walked inside the building.
"I'm here to see Ms. Fieldings." John said to the receptionist. She directed them to room 138. They walked to the room where there was a small desk and a woman with her black hair in a tight bun. She looked up and nodded to John and smiled at Caroline.
"Hello Mr. Winchester, is this Caroline?" She asked. Caroline was confused. John almost never gave his real name to government people.
"This is Caroline." Then he knelt next to Caroline and held both her hands. "Carrie, this is Ms. Fieldings, she's a social worker, and she's going to find a nice family that can take good care of you." Caroline's eyes filled with tears.
"But Daddy, you take good care of me!" She cried out as her grip on her father's hands tightened.
"You need a need a mother Carrie. You need more then I can give you, I'm sorry." He said before pulling his hands from hers and standing up. He signed some papers the social worker held out as Caroline sputtered and looked around confused, convinced this was just a bad dream. "I have her stuff in the trunk of my car if you can send someone out for it." He said to the social worker. That's when Carrie realized this wasn't a dream. In the motel she had been wondering where all her stuff went. Her eyes flew to her father as he was about to step out of the room.
"NO!" She screamed as she latched onto his leg. "Please don't leave me Daddy please!" She cried out. "I'll be good I swear don't go!"
"It's already done, I have to go." He said as the tears welled up in his eyes.
"No! Don't leave me! Please Daddy no!" She cried out as he got free and started walking quickly out of the building. Ms. Fieldings held onto her as she tried to run after him. "Daddy! Come back! Oh please come back I love you please! Please please please please come back!" She screamed as he disappeared from sight. She cried and sobbed unabashedly, her cheeks, chin, and even her neck soaked with her tears five minutes later as she sat in the social workers office as she clutched at the fabric of her jeans as they brought in the suitcase with her clothes and the few toys in it. She dropped to the floor and ripped it open pulling out the lime green elephant and holding it close as she sobbed. She rubbed her cheek against the course fur which always reminded her of her fathers stubble.
Two miles away on a deserted street John sat in his impala parked on the side of the road as he sobbed into his folded arms. If he had kept her she would have been a big blinking target to any nasties he might encounter, there was a laundry list of horrible things that could've happened to her. He believed that this way there was more of a chance she would have a normal apple pie life. He wiped off his face and drove back to the motel. He got out of the car and walked into the room. Dean and Sam looked up from what they were doing. Dean was the first to say anything.
"Dad? Where's Caroline?" He asked, only mildly distressed.
"She's going to another family." Was all he said.
"What do you mean? Where is she?" Dean said, becoming more distressed.
"I meant what I said I don't want to hear anymore questions." He said gruffly as he walked past Dean who was shocked into silence, his little heart crushed. Sam was panicking.
"Where is she? Bring her back!" He demanded, scrambling off the couch and running up to his father.
"No, they'll be able to take better care of her." He said, trying to get past Sam and to his room before he broke down again.
"I don't care! She's my sister I want her! Where's my Caroline!" He cried out as he latched onto his fathers leg. John looked down at his scowling son as tears formed in his little eyes and he was so reminded of Caroline and his heart cried out. He grabbed Sam's arms and held him away from him.
"I said she's gone! We're not going to discuss this anymore!" He let him go and stormed to his room where he shut and locked the door and turned the radio in the room up high before sitting on his bed and crying into his hands. Because just like his sons he wanted his little girl back more then anything, but he had convinced himself her life would be far better this way. Outside his room Sam sat back down on the couch and unsuccessfully tried not to cry as he wished he had danced with his sister, and Dean had gone back to cleaning guns, convinced that if he had only looked out for her more she would be with them right now. And more then a few miles away in a group home for children Caroline lay in bed crying loudly for her Daddy to come back. One of the older girls huffed in anger and got out of her bed and sat down on Caroline's and grabbed her shoulder and lifted her up so she would look at her.
"Hey brat, you're Daddy's not coming to get you, he didn't want you, you were defective that's why you're here. Now shut up so we all can get some sleep." Then she dropped her and went back to her own bed. Caroline rolled over, her tear filled eyes wide with fear as she clutched her toy and she learned how to cry quietly.
