Author's Notes: A special thanks to Ballius and doylescordy for your reviews! :) Here is the next chapter everyone, so I hope you enjoy!

~ Chapter Two: Nebraska ~

Ben was awake early the next morning, not only as a result of nightmares about his mother's black eyes and leaking blood, but also because he was paranoid that Dean and Sam would sneak out in the middle of the night and leave him there. Ben dressed in a rush and pulled his door wide open. He halted as he entered the living room and exhaled with relief when he saw Sam sitting at Bobby's desk, flipping through some papers with little interest.

'Hey.' Sam greeted him. 'I didn't realise you were an early-riser.'

'I'm usually not.' Ben replied. Sam seemed to understand as he nodded and fell silent, returning his gaze to the papers.

'There's orange juice in the fridge. I'm sure you can find some bread, and a toaster...if you're hungry.' Sam added. 'Dean probably won't be up for another hour at least.'

Ben didn't feel hungry, yet he walked to the kitchen anyway, unaware of Sam watching him oddly when he balanced a loaf of bread between his cheek and right shoulder. Sam frowned at the mannerism, as he was so used to seeing Dean do the same thing, yet how much could a kid pick up on such traits in only a year? He supposed it was possible, yet watching Ben for a moment felt like Sam was seven-year-old again, waiting for his big brother to make him breakfast. Shaking off those thoughts, he looked back down at his research and sighed, wondering how he was going to keep Ben busy for the next hour or so.

'Do you want some?'

Sam glanced at Ben again and was surprised by the question. He knew Ben had likely only asked because it was the polite thing to do, since the boy looked so confused and a bit awkward as he stood there beside the barley-working toaster.

'I've already eaten, thanks.' Sam answered.

Ben exhaled with relief and jumped as the toast popped. Taking it out, he buttered it and smeared the surface with some jam he'd found. Exhaling, he dropped the two pieces onto a plate and carried it into the room. Ben hoped he was allowed to eat in the main room because he was already sitting at a table and carefully pushing some books away to make room for his meal and glass of orange juice.

That was how Bobby found the pair a couple minutes later, as he walked into the room looking as though he had been awake almost as long as Sam had. Glancing once at Ben, Bobby checked on Sam's progress and exhaled with dread.

'Nothing?' Bobby guessed.

'Not really.' Sam frowned. 'Just a bunch of "ifs" and "maybes", mostly.'

Ben watched them from where he chewed his toast nearby, wondering what they were talking about yet did not want to intrude. He preferred for them to forget he was there, so he could eavesdrop and maybe learn something.

'What about you?' Sam asked Bobby expectantly.

'Yeah.' Bobby exhaled as he dropped a newspaper in front of Sam, showing an article with a bespectacled man on the front. The title read: "Man Dies in Mysterious Murder".

'Okay...what's so mysterious about it?' Sam wondered, not being in the mood to read the entire article.

'The usual.' Bobby shrugged. 'Locked doors, bloody mess, and no clues.'

'Great.' Sam muttered sarcastically. 'Well, it's in Nebraska, which is only a few of hours from here. Think Dean will take it?'

'Only one way to find out.' Bobby grunted.

'Can I see?' Ben asked as he rose from his eat, his empty plate and glass discarded in front of him. Seeing the suspicious glances aimed his way, he shrugged his shoulders and tried to appear casual. 'I can't read the paper?'

'Sure.' Sam sighed and tossed it over to Ben. 'Go ahead.'

Ben unfolded and pressed it out, his gaze scanning the picture of the victim and the title of the article. He wondered how they knew it could be a Supernatural thing from seemingly such little detail, unless Bobby had bothered to read it. Sinking back into his seat, Ben lowered his gaze to carefully read the article. When he was done, Dean had just walked into the room in mid-yawn.

'I feel like I just slept through a really boring party.' Dean glanced around. 'Why didn't anyone wake me?' He frowned and got a drink from the kitchen. 'Hey, Ben. You gonna leave that mess there for Bobby to clean up?'

'Huh?' Ben glanced over quickly. 'Oh.' He left the newspaper to carry his plate and glass back to the kitchen, frowning slightly at Dean as he did so.

'Well, while you were off getting your beauty sleep, I found a job.' Bobby said, which Ben snorted at with amusement.

'Where?' Dean asked tiredly as he rubbed his face with one hand.

'Nebraska.' Bobby said, glancing once at Sam as they both wondered if Dean was going to pack up and leave for a job, either taking Ben with him or not.

'What is it?' Dean questioned while Ben watched him from nearby, anxious about the same curiosity Bobby and Sam had.

'What, you want me to do all the work for you?' Bobby frowned. 'I don't know. Why don't you go check it out? That's still your job, right?'

'Fine. Grumpy.' Dean rolled his eyes as his cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he seemed confused as he slowly raised the phone to answer, stepping away from the group as he listened. Pausing, with his face away from the others, he concealed his troubled expression and turned to Ben.

'Pack enough crap for a couple of days. The rest can stay here.' Dean allowed. 'No more, no less.'

'I can go?' Ben asked eagerly. 'For real?'

'Yeah, yeah...' Dean turned away when Ben rushed past him to the stairs, heading to pack his suitcase for the trip.

Sam and Bobby watched as Dean spoke in lowered tones on the phone, stepping further way so he wasn't easily overheard. Once he snapped his phone shut, Ben had emerged with his suitcase being dragged behind him. Dean glanced at the boy and hesitated, then turned to Sam with a heavy sigh.

'Ben, go with Sam.' Dean said. 'I'll catch up, probably by tomorrow morning.'

'Dean?' Sam asked. 'What's going on? Who was on the phone?'

'Cass.' Dean answered. 'It's nothing, really. A minor technicality, or whatever. Go; talk to people, find out what we're dealing with, but don't – and I mean it - don't do anything until I get there, okay?'

'What?' Sam was confused, though he understood the instructions he was being given. 'Are you sure? Can't Cass just shown up wherever we are?' He and Bobby were really surprised, given the recent heated discussions about Ben and the hunting life, that Dean would sent Ben away with Sam on a hunting trip for a whole day. Almost as though he wanted them out of the way so he could do something further reckless.

'No.' Sam said. 'We're not going anywhere until you tell me what this is about.'

'I don't know, Sam.' Dean growled. 'Okay? It's important and Cass said he only wants to talk me, here, tonight. I don't know what it's about, but if Cass was so specific than something's up, right?' He said. 'Look, I get it...it's out-of-the-blue and smells fishy. But it's about me. So, whatever it is, it's my problem. Just go already, I'll see you tomorrow. Or call, whatever.' He waved a dismissive hand.

'Are you sure?' Sam still hadn't moved.

Bobby and Ben remained the silent observers, wondering what was going on and yet realising it wasn't their place to say anything or ask a dozen questions at the moment.

'Would you just go?' Dean said. 'Before I change my mind.' He muttered under his breath, heard only by Sam and Bobby.

'Fine.' Sam huffed. 'But you call right after talking to Cass, okay? We'll see you tomorrow.' He sighed and shook his head with mild annoyance, turning to leave, yet paused at the doorway.

'Ben?' Dean spoke, making the boy freeze as he had been about to follow Sam. 'No matter what happens, you do exactly what Sam tells you to, you understand me? You are there to learn, but not act. Only in a dire emergency are you to even touch a weapon.'

'Sure, Dean.' Ben nodded and tried to withhold his frown of disagreement, if only because he was convinced Dean wouldn't let him go otherwise.

'I'm serious, Ben.' Dean warned. 'If you disobey Sam...this will be your last hunting trip for a very long time.'

'I get it.' Ben rolled his eyes. 'I'll do whatever Sam says. Can I go now?'

'Yeah.' Dean gave Sam a stern gaze, which his younger brother knew meant Ben was indeed not to do any physical hunting such as firing a weapon or even acting as back-up. If anything was to happen, they had to call Dean rather than face it themselves. Dean didn't say any of that, yet with one gaze, Sam knew.

'Sam?' Dean spoke and held up a reluctant hand, showing the keys to the Impala. 'Take her.'

Sam was surprised, yet said nothing, as he accepted the offer and slung a bag over his shoulder in which he had just gathered from nearby. With a nod of promise to Dean, Sam turned and gave Ben a nudge.

Dean stood there, still holding his closed phone, as he watched his brother and the boy he considered his sort-of son, walk out the door. A silence followed until the sound of the Impala's engine was heard, followed by the crunching of tyre against gravel. Once they had left, Bobby turned to Dean with a serious expression.

'What's this really about?' Bobby asked Dean, who refused to look at him as he went to get a beer from the fridge.

'The night Lisa died...' Dean sighed and lowered his gaze to the floor. 'Cass told me we'd have to talk. I don't know what about, but...well, given the circumstances, I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted Ben to overhear. I asked Cass what it was about; what was so damn important...'

'What'd he say?'

'It wasn't the right time.' Dean shook his head in irritation, sipping his beer once before he continued. 'Cass said I couldn't tell me until the time was right. And I'm guessing that's tonight. Whatever, it gives me a day to absorb whatever it is, which better be damn important. Besides, how far could they get on a case in a single day?'

The drive from South Dakota to Nebraska started out awkwardly quiet as Sam drove and Ben stared dully out the window beside him. After an hour, Ben could not stand the boredom any further and hesitantly glanced at Sam.

'What are we hunting?'

Sam hid a smile as he stared directly ahead at the road. 'We are not hunting anything. Dean and I, however...we're not sure yet.'

'Whatever.' Ben rolled his eyes as he had been doing a lot of recently. 'And you don't know? It could be nothing?'

'Yeah.' Sam shrugged. 'It could be nothing, or it could be something...that's what we're driving nearly 300 miles to find out.'

'How do you get used to this?' Ben complained. 'Sitting in car all day or what might be nothing? Don't you get sick of it?'

'Not really.' Sam said. 'It has it's moments, sure, but I dunno...I think it's when it's not nothing and we save a few people, well...it's usually worth it. I take it you don't like cars much, huh?'

'I do.' Ben said. 'Just not sitting in one for hours with nothing to do. Why don't you just fly a plane or something, wouldn't that be quicker?'

'Maybe.' Sam chuckled. 'Dean doesn't like to fly. Besides, it's hard to get weapons through customs, you know?'

'Yeah, I guess it would.' Ben fell silent again, wishing he could come up with something for a longer conversation.

Ben was still in a bit of shock that he was currently on his way to a town for a hunting trip. This is what he'd wanted, to not only learn to hunt, but at least see what exactly Dean and Sam did. Sure, they hunted evil things, but Ben only had their word to go by and a few brief stories. The closest he'd come to it, besides the changeling thing years ago, was seeing his mother's eyes turn black and the events that led to her death. Shuddering at the memory, Ben turned back to the window and fought for another distraction.

Sam glanced at the boy and frowned, making a quick decision even if he wasn't sure if it entirely complied to Dean's request. 'Hey, Ben?' He got the kid's attention. 'You still got a copy of the article with you?'

Ben looked over and was confused for a moment, then realised what Sam was talking about. He grabbed the newspaper article and flattened it to read the title again.

'Man Dies in Mysterious Murder.' Ben read it aloud.

'Alright.' Sam nodded. 'What's it say?'

'I've already read it twice.' Ben revealed. 'This guy with the glasses, the one who was killed, he's Alan Brass.' He said, seeing the brief raise of Sam's eyebrows to show surprise. Determined to impress the other hunter, Ben continued as he did his best to remember the main details. 'He was killed in his apartment. The doors were locked and there was a lot of blood.' Ben tried not to picture the scene. 'It said the police found no clues and no signs of a break-in.'

'So basically they've got nothing other than a dead body and a lot of questions.' Sam sighed with a nod of his head. 'Good job. Alright, so since there's no sign of a break-in yet the man is brutally dead, it could be a Supernatural thing.' Sam checked he had taken the right turn in the direction of Nebraska before he continued, even if he too had already read the article and knew the details.

'How do you find out what it is?' Ben wondered, his attention resting solely on Sam.

'There's a number of ways, depending on what it is. For this guy, we'd talk to the cops and see the body. We'd go from there, either looking up local legends or histories of the victim, the place they were killed and so on. Once we know that, then we can start to work out what might have killed him.'

'And the cops just tell you stuff when you ask them?' Ben couldn't believe it was so easy. 'Or let you see the body?' He pulled a face at the idea of looking at a dead guy at all.

'Er...not exactly.' Sam hesitated. 'We sort of have to...lie. They'll only really talk to another cop, so we sort of need to be cops.'

'But you're not a cop, are you?' Ben was a bit lost and didn't like the idea of so much lying.

'Have a look.' Sam indicated nearby. Ben lifted the tin container and looked inside, seeing badges and fake ID's for FBI agents, Federal Marshals, reporters...and others, but Ben hadn't seen them all because he'd slammed the container shut, giving Sam a displeased look.

'You pretend to be cops and lie, just to ask questions?' Ben asked. 'Did Dean lie to my mum? Did he tell her a bunch of crap too, to find the Changeling? Don't you ever get caught...I mean, are people really that stupid to believe you?'

Sam, having not unexpected Ben's reaction, paused before he answered and wondered if it was really about the lying or only to his mother. 'We only lie when there's no other way. You have to understand, Ben...lying comes with the job. The police won't tell just anyone and what we find out...most of the time it helps us stop whatever is killing people. Sometimes a little lie can save lives too. That doesn't make it right, I know. If there was another way, we'd use it, but there isn't.'

'Did Dean lie to my mum?' Ben repeated.

'I wasn't there.' Sam said honestly. 'I don't know. If he did, it was probably for a good reason. If we tell people we hunt monsters, they either laugh or think we're crazy. Sometimes, we also lie to keep them safe. Like I said, we don't lie if we really don't have to, but we have a job to do. A lie hardly compares to life or death.'

Ben fell quiet as he considered what Sam had said. Turning away, he looked back out the window and shoved his earpieces into his ears, not caring that his battery was almost dead or how he had to spend nearly a whole day with Sam. For now, he wasn't talking and just wanted to get the car ride over with. Sam said nothing either, leaving the boy to his music and pondering, as he tried to work out what was so important about what Cass might be telling Dean later that night.

~ B ~

The five-hour drive to Hastings, Nebraska concluded mostly as it had begun.

Sam parked the Impala outside the Rodeway inn, which was a little nicer than the motels he and Dean were accustomed to. Sighing, he got out and watched as Ben waited for an instruction to either wait or follow. Sam gestured for the latter.

'Is this where we'll be staying?' Ben looked around, thinking it wasn't too bad. 'Now long does this usually take?'

'Depends on the information and what we're hunting.' Sam replied as he looked around and then headed for the office with Ben following behind him. 'We usually stay in the cheapest motel available, but this will do.' He shrugged.

'Can I help you?' An aging man at the counter asked, looking from Sam to Ben with a confused expression. 'You and your son need a room?'

'Oh, he's not...' Sam went to correct the man, yet paused, knowing it would look suspicious otherwise if he didn't have a relation to the boy. 'Nephew.' He said quickly. 'Uh, a room please?' He got out a credit card and placed it on the counter while Ben stepped closer, paying rapt attention and seeming interested in being referred to as a nephew.

Ben considered Dean his father-figure, yet only now realised that in a way, it did make Sam his sort-of uncle.

'Two queens.' Sam requested. 'With an extra bed.'

'Alrighty.' The man nodded. 'Here's your key. Enjoy your stay.'

'Thanks.' Sam nodded and led the way back to the Impala.

'I saw the name on the card.' Ben accused as he grabbed his suitcase from the trunk. 'It's fake too.'

'Well, we don't exactly get paid for what we do.' Sam sighed, thinking it was going to be a long day and wished Dean was there to answer the boy instead. He pushed open the door to their room and gave it a quick glance before he turned to Ben, who was looking around with judging interest. The extra bed was already there, they noticed.

'Alright, listen up.' Sam exhaled. 'I'm gonna go talk to the cops. You need to stay here. It'll look suspicious if I bring you along, okay? If you become a hunter or not, you still need to be prepared. Dean lived with you for a year, right? So, you must have picked up on a few things about salt?'

'Yeah.' Ben said, even if didn't like being left behind. 'Salt and lock the doors and windows.'

'Right.' Sam nodded. 'Also, don't answer the phone, open the door to anyone, make any calls, or leave this room.'

'What am I supposed to do?' Ben complained.

'Watch TV.' Sam suggested. 'Read a book, listen to music...I don't care. Just trust me, okay?' He knew the boy remembered Dean saying Ben had to do what he was told, yet knew for a boy Ben's age...it was all good in theory.

'How long will it take?' Ben asked, his shoulders slouching in defeat.

'Not long.' Sam answered as he dropped his bag on the nearest bed. 'There's salt in the bag. Don't touch anything else. I'll be back soon.' He turned and left, remaining still outside as he waited for the click of the lock. Sam didn't really trust Ben with his assigned instructions and yet saw no other option for the moment. As he walked to the Impala and picked out an FBI ID, Sam knew this trip would be a whole lot easier for him if Dean had come along from the beginning.

Inside the room, Ben stood by the window and watched Sam drive away, through the section of the curtain he had pulled aside. Groaning with complaint, he stepped back and unzipped the bag Sam had left behind. Staring for a moment at the guns and various items, Ben reached for the salt, yet paused. He saw a book, or rather some sort of journal, sitting under a bottle of water. Looking to the window, as though expecting Sam or Dean to be standing there with disapproval, Ben hesitated. He snatched the salt bag and went about his task on the door and windows just as Dean had taught him. Once done, Ben returned to the journal and carefully lifted it out of the bag.

Wondering who John Winchester was, though he guessed it was Sam and Dean's father, Ben slid onto the bed and flipped open the book to read.

His eyes wide at the contents, he could not believe the goldmine of knowledge he had stumbled upon. Dropping it, Ben rushed to his suitcase and pulled out a spare piece of paper and a pen he always had at the bottom of his luggage for no apparent reason. Deciding that Sam's departure was an opportunity, Ben hastily started taking notes.

~ B ~

It was well after lunch when Sam returned, though he hadn't been gone for very long. He came back with some sandwiches and a bottle of coke for Ben. The boy seemed to be in a better and further compliant mood, yet Sam thought nothing of it as he mentally sorted through the facts he'd learned and eliminated possible monsters or beings that could have killed Alan Brass.

'You talked to the cops?' Ben guessed. 'Which ID did you use?'

'Yeah, as an FBI agent.' Sam nodded. 'I also talked to Alan's sister Stacy, who lived nearby. They don't know much.' He didn't say anything else, his mind on the case and Dean's future talk with Cass.

Looking over at Ben, Sam now felt a little uncomfortable to spend a day with the boy, since he knew so little about Ben and had never been one to babysit. What were they supposed to talk about, if not just the case? What was an appropriate bedtime for an eleven-year-old? What was he supposed to do if Ben didn't listen to him? Sam vaguely wondered how much sleep he was going to get that night.

For now, he had to teach Ben some of the basics, so their conversation went straight to the case.

'So, the cops think Alan knew his attacker, because the doors were locked and there was no forced entry. That's not an uncommon conclusion for them, since it makes sense when they don't know the stuff we do. However, I saw the apartment and the body, so I think we can rule out a werewolf or vampire, since they tend to leave more mess or obvious signs...well, obvious if you know what to look for.' Sam frowned.

'Like, bite marks on the neck?' Ben rolled his eyes.

'Uh, no. That's a myth.' Sam corrected. 'Anyway, with the firmly locked door and lack of destruction, I would say we can rule out a lot of monsters, leading to the high possibility of a ghost or demon.'

'How can you tell the difference between them if they can both appear or whatever without unlocking doors?' Ben said too quickly, causing Sam to look at him with an expression that clearly suggested the hunter was considering how much information he should be sharing. 'What, I can't ask questions?' Ben retaliated, as he would have if Dean had been the one to give him the same look. 'I want to know this stuff, even if I can't use it.' He almost added the "yet", which had been on the end of his sentence when he'd thought it.

'Right.' Sam looked away. 'Sulfur; it's a substance left behind by demons and usually smells like rotten eggs. I didn't find any, so I used the EMF, which is-'

'Yeah, I know.' Ben interrupted. 'And?'

'I didn't find any sulfur, but the EMF indicated there might be something. I dunno, there's still not a lot to go on yet.' Sam said, ignoring the interruption.

'So...what now?'

'Now...' Sam reached for his laptop and placed it on a nearby table, looking over at Ben with a small smile. 'Research.'

'Can I do it?' Ben asked, once again surprising Sam. Since Ben was such a mini-Dean most of the time, Sam expected the boy to reject the idea of research as well, though he remembered seeing Ben reading a novel earlier.

'Sure.' Sam nodded and proceeded to explain what to look for.

As the afternoon concluded with a red-orange sunset, Sam and Ben shared a pizza as their research continued. It took longer than usual, since Sam was instructing as well, yet after a few hours he no longer minded as much and it began to feel a little less awkward to be around the boy.

Meanwhile, back in South Dakota, Dean was far more anxious. He paced the room until Bobby threatened to kick him out of it. With Bobby checking some books upstairs, Dean then drank while staring angrily at his phone or a nearby clock, until finally it was almost 8pm. Castiel appeared behind him, which started Dean even if he had expected the punctual presence of the angel.

'Hello, Dean.'

'Cass.' Dean exhaled. 'What's going on?'

'Nothing of importance. At least, not to you.' Castiel replied. 'I arranged this meeting because I need to tell you something.'

Despite the obvious being pointed out, Dean said nothing as he gulped the last of his whiskey and prepared himself for what was coming.

'Okay. Lay it on me.' Dean winced, not noticing the confused look on the angel's face, because he had closed his eyes. 'What do you need to tell me? Is it demons? Angels?' He opened one eye to peek at his company. 'Evil little clown midgets?'

'No.' Castiel told him simply. 'You and Sam stopped the Apocalypse. I have come to tell you that you will be rewarded.'

'Rewarded?' Dean frowned, his entire attention on the angel. 'For what? I thought God or whoever wanted the apocalypse to happen? Besides, Sam's back and the world isn't in complete ruin...isn't that reward enough?'

'Perhaps.' Castiel replied. 'We are in a position to give you more. I don't know why, but those are my orders.'

'Oh, so you're getting orders again?' Dean questioned. 'I thought God had left the building? Now you're back to being a good little solider?'

'Hardly.' Castiel did not give further details and merely continued with his message. 'Someone will...Someone you care about will be returned to you. A person who has done great service. I will find you and tell you more, when the time is right.'

'Who-what?' Dean was stunned, yet as he looked at Castiel to demand answers...the angel was gone. 'Friggin' Angels.' He grumbled. Shaking his head, Dean ignored Bobby, who had rejoined him with a curious expression, and got out his phone to call Sam. He was hardly surprised when his brother answered after mere seconds.

'Well?' Was Sam's greeting. 'How'd it go? What did Cass want?'

'You know Cass – I got a pile of angel mumbo-jumbo about someone being returned to me, or us. And apparently he's following orders again.'

'But...I thought God was gone, or on Earth?' Sam sounded confused. 'And what do you mean "someone being returned", or whatever? Are they bringing someone back? Who?'

'I haven't a got clue, dude.' Dean sighed and sat in the nearest chair. 'It can't be good, right? I quote, "Someone you care about will be returned. A person who did great service". Then a bunch of crap about the "right time", which is just plain useless and downright annoying.' He complained.

There was a pause in the conversation as Sam thought about what Dean had said. He was distracted as he glanced over at where Ben was lying on his stomach and listening to music, while using Sam's laptop to research.

'What time should I tell Ben to go to bed?' Sam asked Dean.

'What?' Dean sounded further annoyed and a bit lost. 'Did you not just hear what I said?'

'Yeah, I hear you, Dean.' Sam sighed. 'But it's Cass. And there's nothing we can really do about it right now, not until he gives us more info. I am really uncomfortable here, okay? I mean, Ben...he's a great kid and all, but I am not cut out for this. What if he misbehaves? When should he be asleep by? I don't know what to do. Can you just...get here, soon?'

'That's adorable.' Dean mocked with amusement. 'What, big tough Sammy can't handle an eleven-year-old for one whole day?'

'Shut up.' Sam frowned with embarrassment. 'Just...what time does he have to go to bed?'

'Well, Lis...' Dean paused and swallowed, looking at the floor with an emotional expression. 'Lisa usually sent him to bed by nine. So, nine at the latest, I guess.'

'Alright.' Sam felt a bit bad for making Dean think of Lisa again. 'Thanks.'

'How's the case going?' Dean wondered, assuming that the subject of Castiel's visit was being ignored for now.

'Slow.' Sam exhaled. 'There's not a lot to go on. I've got Ben looking up local lore, history of the victim...the usual. So far, nothing. Alan Brass seems like a decent enough guy who just happened to be killed by a spirit, or demon...or about half a dozen other things. It's hard, you know? I mean, if this were any other case, I wouldn't care about leaving the room for so long to get the info, but with Ben...'

'You don't think you can trust him to stay put?' Dean guessed. 'Yeah, wise move. Well, I'm heading out now so I should be there in a couple of hours. Think you can handle it until then?' His last words were added with further tease and Sam's response was to hang up on him.

'You mind explaining a few things first?' Bobby asked sternly when Dean put on his jacket and was been about to leave. Pausing, Dean opened his mouth to give an excuse when he caught Bobby's look, and slumped back in his seat to update the older man.

Sam fidgeted in his chair as he tried not to feel nervous. He glanced at Ben and then his own watch, which indicated it was almost 9pm. Exhaling slowly, Sam stood and tried to appear to be in control.

'Ben?' He got the boy's attention by waved an arm.

'Yeah?' Ben pulled out his earpieces and looked over at his tall sort-of uncle-figure.

'I think we'll call it a night. Time for bed.' Sam said.

'But it's only nearly nine.' Ben complained. 'I sat in the car all day. Besides, I'm normally allowed stay up until ten!'

'Nice try, kiddo.' Sam said smugly.

'Fine.' Ben scowled and shut the laptop. 'I didn't find anything bad about Alan, anyway. Why do you think he did something wrong? I thought ghosts and demons went after innocent people?'

'Sometimes.' Sam shrugged. 'Not always. Ghosts usually have a very specific target, like someone who cheated on their wife or lives in the place where the spirit was murdered. We have so few leads, but a vengeful spirits is our best guess right now.'

'And-'

'No more questions tonight.' Sam interrupted. 'Time for bed. Dean's on his way, so he'll be here when you wake up.'

Ben, seeing no other choice, grabbed his pyjamas from his suitcase and headed for a quick shower. While he did that, Sam retrieved his laptop and glared at the web page the boy had been browsing, which detailed a rating chart for rock music from the 70's. Seeing Ben's login name as "highvoltage73", Sam could only roll his eyes. He may not prefer Dean's music taste, but Sam had grown up around it enough to know the username was a reference to AC/DC.

'Sometimes I swear that kid could be Dean's son.' Sam muttered to himself a few minutes later, with an amused smile.

'I could be.' Ben replied, having overheard just as he stepped out of the bathroom. 'I mean, mum didn't know.'

'What?' Sam stared at Ben, having thought Dean was completely certain sure the boy wasn't related.

'Nothing.' Ben said quickly, wishing he hadn't said anything. 'Er, goodnight.' He said and dove into bed, pulling the covers up to his neck as he closed his eyes and feigned sleep. He shouldn't have said it, yet it was frequently on his mind, so it had slipped out. Some of this mother's last words...that there was a chance of Dean being his real father.

Sam stared at Ben for a moment, before moving to switch off one of the main lights to make it easier for the boy to sleep. All thoughts on the case gone, Sam considered what Ben had said about Dean possibly being his father. Annoyed at his brother, Sam turned towards the door and proceeded to wait for Dean to show up. He sent Dean a message earlier to let him know which room they were staying in and that Ben was in bed.

~ B ~

So when Dean knocked on the door hours later, Sam rose to open it and glared as his big brother passed by the drop a bag on the middle bed, looking tired and bored.

'We have to talk.' Sam stated.

'Already?' Dean groaned. 'I've used up my quota of talking for today.' He complained as he sat on the end of the bed and looked over at Sam. Seeing the expression on his younger brother's face, Dean paused and wondered what was going on. He glanced once at Ben, but the boy was clearly fast asleep.

'Did you know?' Sam asked. 'That Lisa never confirmed who Ben's father was?'

'Whoa, what?' Dean stared. 'We're talking about that? Sam, she told me Ben isn't mine. It was some trucker dude, or whatever. She had a blood test done or something.'

'So she knew who Ben's father is?' Sam faltered a little. 'What's his name?'

'I don't know!' Dean retaliated. 'He's not me.'

'How can you be so sure?'

'Dude, what the hell?' Dean stood. 'Where is this coming from? Did Ben say something to you? Well, it's not me! Lisa said so.'

'And you just believed her?' Sam continued. 'Ben thinks you might be. Apparently, Lisa didn't know who his father is.'

'Yes, I believe-what?' Dean was confused, annoyed, and tired. He did not want to be having this conversation, not now...not after Lisa was gone. 'I am not...who cares? What difference does it make?'

'You really don't know if he's yours.' Sam realised, shocked and in brief disbelief. 'I thought...Dean, have you looked at the kid? I mean, really? He is so much like you! The same music, the same style, the mannerisms...hell, he even looks like you.'

'Shut up.' Dean groaned and wiped his face with his hand in stress. 'We are not discussing this. Period.'

'Dean, he-'

'I know!' Dean said only just loudly enough to be shouting yet not quite with the volume to wake Ben. 'Just drop it, Sam. He's not my kid.'

'And yet, he is...biological or not.' Sam said, ignoring his brother's request not to talk about it. 'Don't you want know the truth?'

'No. I don't.' Dean said firmly. 'If Ben is mine, really mine, then fine. But if he's not? We'd be ruining his life for nothing. If he's not a Winchester then he's not cursed, and the best thing for him is to be as far away from us as possible. So no, I don't want to know the truth.'

'You don't want to lose him.' Sam noticed with a little sadness.

He said nothing else, mostly because Dean had stormed off to the shower. Sam looked over at the still-sleeping Ben and wondered if the boy could truly be his nephew. He knew, that if they found out the truth than there was no going back. It would be an alternative life far away or a hunter's life with them. Right now, they were in the middle and Sam understood that it was exactly where Dean wanted things to stay.

Most of the next day passed by without much interest for Ben.

Dean and Sam took turns staying at the inn with him while the other went out to talk to more cops, neighbours and anyone who either knew the case or Alan Brass. Dean often quizzed Ben about rock music, whereas Sam made sure he had been paying attention in regards to the case. Ben spent most of the time on Sam's laptop, except when either of the adults needed it. He wished he'd brought more than a single book with him, though Ben had not expected to just sit around most of the time while on a hunt, even if he wasn't actively participating.

Shutting his book with annoyance towards his boredom, Ben glanced over to see Dean and Sam talking quietly at the doorway. They seemed unsure about something and kept glancing at Ben, so the boy knew it had to be about him.

'What's going on?' Ben asked.

'Stay put.' Dean said. 'Sam and I have to check something else. We should be back in a couple of hours. Do not leave this room. Lock the door when we leave and don't forget the salt.'

Ben nodded and watched the pair as the door closed. Growling with irritation, Ben marched to the window and watched the Impala drive off for what must have been the tenth time that day. He didn't know if it was good or bad, yet the frequent question-asking and trips to the library made hunting much less heroic than he had expected. But not any more, because Ben was tired of waiting around and doing nothing.

Grabbing his jacket, Ben pocketed the keys to the room and quickly salted the door. He grabbed a pocket knife from his suitcase and a few scraps of paper. Stepping over the ring of salt, Ben glanced around the area once before he locked the door and headed across the street from the Rodeway inn. Anxious, Ben continuously looked around in case the Impala wasn't far away, as he strolled towards a nearby shopping center he had looked up the location for on Sam's laptop earlier.

Stepping inside the air-conditioned building, Ben approached a store and bought a chocolate bar with some money he had left over from a birthday. He felt a bit bad about using it, since it was from his mum, but he didn't care too strongly at that moment. Feeling free, Ben exhaled and continued walking past stores and people. His sights were set on a book store, something he was sure Dean would find amusing. Ben located the two books he wanted and bought them quickly, not wanting to be away for long, even if Sam and Dean were meant to be gone for hours.

'That stupid room.' Ben complained to himself. 'I didn't sign up to be a prisoner.' He said, turning quickly and bumping into someone. 'Sorry!' He apologised quickly.

'Watch where you're going, lad.' The man with a beard and greying hair frowned. 'These are dangerous times. Where's your parents?'

'Oh er, my dad's waiting outside. And my uncle's in there.' Ben pointed randomly to the nearest store, which sold groceries. The lie had slid off his tongue so easily that Ben realised he owed Sam an apology. Lies were easy and sometimes necessary, Ben knew, as the stranger nodded and seemed to believe him.

'Well, just be careful. You don't want to end up like Lonnie.' He muttered and turned to leave.

'Who's Lonnie?' Ben asked.

'You don't know the legend?' The stranger seemed surprised, considering the recent report of a similar death in the newspaper yesterday. 'You're not from around here, are you?'

'I'm passing through.' Ben replied. 'I've researched tons of stories here though. But nothing about someone called Lonnie.'

'Well, that's because we don't publicise it.'

'Oh.' Ben realised he may have stumbled upon something useful. 'Could you tell me?'

~ B ~

Over an hour later, Ben slipped back into the room and glanced around in mild panic. Sam and Dean weren't there, as evidenced by the missing Impala, and Ben felt relieved. He had been worried the man wouldn't stop talking. He learned about Lonnie and so many other things involving Hastings, Nebraska. There were over 25, 000 people in the city. It was located in Adams County and had two airports. It boasts of the largest whooping crane display in the country, and the lake is ideal for a variety of activities. Ben cared for none of that.

His mind was only occupied with Lonnie Carlson.

He saw Sam's laptop on the nearby table and paused, wondering how he was going to explain this to Sam and Dean. His heart pounding in his chest as he frantically tried to work out what to do and recover from running the entire way back to the inn, Ben dumped his purchases in his suitcase and stood over it, contemplating his discovery.

The door opened suddenly and Ben was profoundly startled, causing odd looks to be aimed his way by Dean and Sam.

'Ben?' Dean frowned as he looked around the room for a threat. 'Everything okay?'

'Yeah!' Ben nodded quickly. 'Sure. Fine.'

'Okay, spill.' Dean narrowed his eyes. 'What's going on?'

'Nothing!' Ben insisted, feeling trapped and fearful of getting in trouble. 'I was...'

'Yeah, don't bother with the excuse.' Dean sighed. 'Out with it. Did you leave the room?'

'No.' Ben lied weakly and knew he was caught. 'Okay...I did, but it was just for a second!'

'Ben!' Dean growled.

'Where did you go?' Sam jumped in, leaving Dean to pace and mutter cusses to himself for a moment in the process of cooling down.

'Just down the street.' Ben gulped. 'I'm sorry! It was boring here and you wouldn't let me do anything. I just wanted a new book to read and some fresh air, that's all.'

'You could have asked.' Sam reasoned. 'You have to trust us when we tell you to stay here.'

'You snuck out for a book?' Dean realised. 'That so is not worth the risk, Ben! You were told to stay here or else you're going back to Bobby's and staying there for a long time.'

'No!' Ben pleaded. 'Please, don't...I found out something. There was a man...'

'Talking to strangers too? That's just...Damnit!' Dean grumbled again.

Ben froze and realised a number of things at once in the space of a few seconds that felt much longer. He hardly knew Sam and he hadn't seen Dean this angry except once or twice, therefore Ben knew he was in a lot of trouble right now. He also realised how badly his break for freedom could have gone, all for a book and some chocolate. Ben had promised to do what he was told and in less than a few days, he had already proven to be untrustworthy and disobedient. Lowering his gaze, Ben wondered if what he wanted to say and how he felt was going to make any difference to the situation.

With nothing left to lose, he decided to take the chance.

'I can't sit around in this stupid room when I know something killed a man and it's getting away. I have this feeling, this instinct I can't control...I know something bad is going on and I don't want it kill again.' Ben said boldly. 'I researched and found nothing. You're asking questions and checking on things, but you're like experts on the Supernatural so why don't you have any idea of what's going on?'

'It's not always that easy.' Sam replied. 'These things can take time, Ben. There are too many variables at this point. We have to be sure.'

'And you know what doesn't help?' Dean said in a raised tone. 'When you don't do what you're told. If we had come back to find you gone, what then? No really, tell me...how did you think this was going to work?'

'I thought I'd be doing more!' Ben retorted angrily. 'There is a monster or-or a ghost out there and I'm sitting here reading a book. I know what's going on! I could help you.' Frustration deflated, Ben exhaled and sat on his bed, looking away for a moment as he lifted some papers from his pocket.

'Since you probably hate me and are going to send me back to Bobby for eternity, here.' Ben sighed. 'There's a legend being covered up because no one writes about it or anything. It's about a girl, Lonnie Carlson. She was murdered twenty years ago. I looked up where she was buried and it's sort of in three places. Her bones are at the graveyard where she was killed, but her skull is somewhere else. Her hair was donated to her mother for a doll, so I guess if you fine those...the usual salt and burn would get rid of her, right?' Ben looked over at them as Sam accepted the notes.

'Wow.' Sam raised his eyebrows, despite the trouble the boy was in and the important rule he broke to get the information. 'I'm impressed.'

'Don't encourage it.' Dean said to Sam as he turned to glare at Ben. 'You got all this from one guy?'

'And a local lady at the bread store.' Ben added. 'I also used the computers at the shopping center, so I'm broke.' He looked downwards at the floor.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other, not entirely sure what to do, yet neither could deny that Ben's reckless actions had given them a huge lead on their case, right when they'd been about to call Bobby for help. It wasn't a particularly hard case, just so few clues and too many usual possible causes to be certain.

'We'll talk about this later.' Dean told Ben. 'For now, we burn some bones.'

'Can I come?' Ben jumped up eagerly. 'Please? I'll dig the hole, or anything...even just hold the flashlight. Please, Dean?'

After a long moment, in which Sam and Ben wait anxiously for Dean's reply, they where finally granted the answer they had not been expecting.

'Fine.' Dean nodded. 'This one time. Then you do what you're told or I will seriously drive you to Bobby and you'll be staying there - I don't care for how long.'

Ben stepped back at the caution and felt nervous when he knew how serious Dean really was about his threat. Regretting, though only partially, his venture outside earlier, Ben ducked his head with shame and nodded in agreement. The eleven-year-old attempted to remain regrettable and miserable, even as his heart quickened at the idea of finally going on an actual hunt, even if it was only to burn a pile of bones.

As he thought upon the pending event, Sam and Dean glanced at each other and wondered how Ben knew so much about the process of getting rid of a spirit since they were sure neither of them had told him the fine details about things like locks of hair and the involvement of salt.

~ B ~

Meanwhile, many hundreds of miles away in another state, Castiel and two other angels stood in an empty, blackened field.

They each looked down at a body resting on a small patch of green grass, in which was very alive, though unconscious. It was not normal for this particular person, considering that only hours earlier...John Winchester had been deceased and long-ago cremated.

'It is time.' Castiel said and turned to the angel at his side with a tone of instruction and importance. 'Wake him.'

Author's Notes: John won't actually be properly brought into the story until chapter 4, just to let you know, as there's a few things that need to happen first. Anyway, thank you for reading and could you please take a moment to send me a review? I would really like to hear your thoughts about this fic so far. Anything at all you'd like to comment on, I'd like to hear it.