Since you SR fans are so awesome, I thought I'd go ahead and post the next chapter. Don't get too used to these quick updates, though!

Chapter Two
On The Road Again

"Sam?" Dean's voice invaded Sam's attempt to bury himself in pancakes this morning. "I asked you a question. Did you figure out why Bobby called last night?"

Sam shrugged, shoveling more food in his mouth. He motioned with his fork to his full mouth. Dean sighed, rested his own fork on his plate to wait patiently for Sam to finish chewing. Sam knew his diversion was not going to work now, but he could be just as stubborn as his brother. Sam chewed slowly, making a production out of this bite while he composed the least risky way of telling Dean the truth. Or he could lie. Yeah, he could do that.

"He's going on a hunt," Sam said simply, opting for the bare minimum truth. Dean would probably kill him if he lied and his brother found out the truth later. Besides, they had a nice trust thing going on right now; Sam didn't really want to screw that up. Last night he had been trusted with Rae for four whole hours. That was a first. Okay, Sam was not anxious to do it at bedtime again real soon, but he did hope Dean would continue to trust him like that. He shoved another large forkful in his mouth, obstructing immediate conversation.

Dean reached across the table to snag his plate. Sam reached for it, but his brother was pretty quick. Dean slid the plate to the far side of the table. It wasn't quite out of Sam's reach, thanks to his long arms, but he was pretty sure Dean was not above making a huge display right out here in public. Knowing his brother, it could be excessively embarrassing. And considering how much Rae was imitating Dean, she would probably help Dean out. He had been waiting for her to start calling him 'mom' instead of 'uncle,' it was only a matter of time.

When the food in his mouth was the consistency of a milkshake, Sam had no choice but to swallow.

"What kind of hunt, Sam?" Dean asked, smiling pleasantly.

Sam eyed his plate across the table. When he reached out for it, Dean swatted his hand away. "Not sure," he admitted. "People are drowning in one of the lakes out there."

"Where?" Dean's smile broadened. Oh yeah, his brother had something planned if Sam did not cooperate. He noticed Dean nudge Rae under the table. Great, they were both in on it.

"Minnesota?" Sam motioned for his plate.

"You don't sound too sure of that, Sammy," Dean replied with that mischievous spark in his eye.

"Bobby said he was in Minnesota," Sam sighed, snaking his hand across the table.

Dean pushed the plate further away. "Doing what?"

"He didn't say," Sam insisted, motioning to Rae. Maybe she would… push his plate further away. "Thanks, Sunshine."

She beamed at him. "No problem, Uncle Sam."

"He might not have said but I have a pretty good idea that you figured it out." Dean tapped his fingers on the table, staring at Sam. "I take it that I won't like it?"

Sam shrugged, folding his arms over his chest. Maybe he could just order more food? He turned his head to search for their server.

"Sam!" And a slap on the table guaranteed Dean had his full attention. "What is it?" Dean's eye's widened. "Not another Wendigo?"

Sam shook his head emphatically. "No, Dean. Nothing like that. It's all just drownings and maybe a couple of disappearances."

"Maybe?" Dean leaned on his forearms across the table. "How do the disappearances fit in?"

Sam shrugged. "Bobby will probably let us know when he finds out." Part of him wanted to tell Dean. His brother's mind worked in strange and mysterious ways, sometimes drawing correlations that he couldn't, and Dean was right more often than Sam liked. "Can I have my food now?"

Dean shook his head. "Not until you tell me what you're hiding."

"That's it," Sam motioned for his plate again. "Come on, it's getting cold."

Dean nodded at Rae, who shoved Sam's plate closer. With a breath of relief, Sam pulled his food in and sliced off another chunk of pancake.

Sam was nearly finished when Dean asked, "So what makes you think those disappearances weren't just drownings?"

Sam swallowed his last bite down in a lump. After chasing it with a heavy dose of milk, he shrugged again. "Doesn't fit the pattern. All the drownings are of the parents."

He pushed his empty plate toward the center of the table. Dean's face clouded over, eyes boring into Sam. Oh, now what?

"So the disappearances are kids?" Dean asked, his voice hard.

Well, he gave that up entirely too easily, didn't he? What was wrong with him? There was a day when Sam could keep things entirely to himself, completely excluding Dean, for months, even years. What happened to that? What happened to him?

"I didn't say that," Sam replied evenly, trying to pull back his mistake. From the storm on his brother's face, he knew it was too late. The damage was done. They were going to Minnesota. "I don't think that's a good idea," Sam said, reading their future in the hard lines around Dean's eyes.

"What?" Dean demanded, throwing some bills on the table to cover their meal. He motioned to Rae, who scrambled after him out of the booth.

"Going to Minnesota," Sam argued, following on his brother's heels. "That's why Bobby called, he doesn't want us there. Well, he doesn't want you and Rae there." That much was pretty obvious.

"Right," Dean replied, sounding entirely too calm for Sam's tastes. "So we should go," he turned around, shielding his eyes from the sun, "south?"

Stunned, Sam stared. "Seriously? We're not going?"

Dean shot him a hard look. "If Bobby doesn't want us there, Sam, it's for a good reason. So? South? I'm ready to hit the road." He looked down at Rae. "How about you, kiddo?"

Rae beamed up at Dean. "Whatever you say, Daddy."

Dean grinned at her, running a hand over her head, as Sam watched in disbelief. They were actually walking away from a hunt? Not that he wasn't relieved, of course, but it seemed out of character.

They made good time that day, blasting music Rae could sing along to on the radio. When what Dean called 'cartoon music' wasn't playing, Sam and Rae played math games. Sam would call out a math problem, like two plus three, and Rae had to see how fast she could answer. Sometimes Dean would chime in with a wrong answer that she had to correct, delighting both of them. Despite the fact there was no genetic link between them, Dean and Rae were far more alike than they should be. It actually disturbed Sam on some level, because if that was true then it meant that Dean suffered from a tragedy just as severe as Rae's. Sure Dean lost Mom, but could that really equal Rae watching her parents eaten? Did that mean those years between their mother's death and when Sam learned the truth were even harder on Dean than he suspected? When they were kids Dean knew monsters were real, kept a handgun under his pillow to protect them, and was even being secretly trained by Dad. That could seriously fuck with a person's psyche.

"Sammy?" Dean's voice pierced his inner thoughts.

Sam turned his head slowly to regard his brother. Dean looked the same as always, but scars on the soul were never visible. "Sorry, you say something?"

"Yeah, I asked if you were ready to stop for the night. Dude, where were you?" Dean gave him a concerned look.

Sam glanced down at Rae, who was sound asleep leaning against his side. "Just thinking," he replied. "Things have really changed, haven't they?"

Dean did not answer right away. Then his brother cleared his throat. "Yeah, about that." Dean cleared his throat again. "Look, I know I didn't exactly… I mean, we never discussed, well, we did discuss it but it was more along the lines of 'Dean you're insane' and not 'Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.'" Dean shifted in his seat as he turned off the main road toward a town. "I was just wondering if…you know…you're okay with it now?"

Do what? Sam studied his brother's profile until Dean started giving him worried looks. "If I'm okay with what?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"C'mon, Sam," Dean groaned, "you're not the dense one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maybe if Sam hadn't been so lost in thought he could figure out what the hell his brother was talking about. As it was, he was seriously confused.

Dean pulled up to a motel. He shut off the engine as he gave Sam the strangest look. "Fine. All you had to do was say you're not okay with it. I'll figure something out." He reached for the door but his hand froze on the door handle. "I don't know, Sam. I can't choose."

"Dean?" Sam wished he could see inside his brother's head. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dean met his gaze, forehead creased in the way that only happened when his brother was really, really worried. Dean's eyes dropped to Rae before returning to Sam. "What the hell do you think?"

Sam watched Rae until the pieces of their conversation finally clicked into place. "You're wrong, Dean," he said heavily after it hit him, "I am the dense one." He shook his head at his brother, unable to believe how this conversation went so bad so fast. "If you think you're going to take off on me with Rae, you'd better think again. I'll track your ass down."

The worried face was replaced by puzzlement. "Huh?"

"Dean." Sam rested a hand on Rae's side. If nothing else, at least it would prevent Dean from taking her and disappearing. "I like being an uncle, okay? I didn't get what you were asking because…" Sam shrugged. Why was it so hard to say that he couldn't imagine Rae not being around? "I like being an uncle."

A slow smile spread on Dean's face. He reached out and tousled Sam's hair. "Guess that means I can trust you to wait in the car." Before Sam could think of a good comeback, Dean was out of the car and headed for the office.

Rae made a funny sound, drawing Sam's attention. He hoped it was not a nightmare. She usually didn't get those in the car.

"Rae? Sunshine?" Sam rubbed his hand over her back. "We're here."

She lifted her head, bleary eyes not focusing on him. "Huh?"

Sam grinned at her. "I said we're here."

Rae's head turned slowly, but he suspected that she was still not fully awake. "Where's here?"

"No idea," Sam admitted. "I think Dean just picked a highway that he liked the looks of."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Sounds like Dad."

"Hey, Rae?" Sam wondered if Dean's insecurities were shared by Rae. "You do know you're my favorite niece?"

She gave him the strangest look. "I thought I was your only niece."

Sam grinned at her. God, she was sharp. "Doesn't matter. You're still my favorite. And I'm sorry for not doing the voices."

Rae shrugged, looking out the window. "I just wanted Dad to read to me."

"Do you think, maybe, that I could read to you sometime?" Sam asked, wanting her to understand that he wanted her to be a part of this family as much as Dean did.

She gave him that strange look again. "You do school. Dad does stories." Rae held up both hands, balancing invisible weights in them. "It's fair."

Sam frowned at her. "I think Dean has the easier job." Then he thought to all the nights filled with screaming. "On second thought, I think I like my job. Forget it. He can do the stories."

Rae took two long blinks before shaking her head, brown locks whipping across her face. "O-kay." She looked out the window again. "What the hell is taking Dad so long?"

Sam considered fussing at her for saying 'hell' but he decided against it. That seemed more like Dean's job than his. He could be the bad influence. Yeah, actually that sounded like fun, and it would reflect on his brother, not on him. This uncle thing just sounded better and better.

"Rae? Want to hear a good joke?"