Lana slept soundly on the hotel bed, while Sam and Dean sat at the table and talked.

"OK, Dean... you're saying you want her to stay home with the kid?"

"Yup."

"How's that gonna work, exactly? I mean... We sometimes run low on money and have to squat somewhere."

"I have a plan."

"Well... this should be brilliant..."

"Why do you think we're in Cali, dude?" Dean said, as if it explained everything.

"To torture me? I don't know..." Sam muttered.

"No, Sammy... Bobby's friend, Rufus. He has a house here in Morgan Hill."

"Rufus is not gonna just give you his house, Dean." Sam snorted.

"No. But, he's the type to never welsh out on a bet. I am going to play him poker for it."

"Dean!" Sam said disapprovingly. "You can't do that..."

"Dude, I have no choice... besides, who cares? Bobby says he keeps it mostly for storage anyway. Stays in that RV of his."

"Well..." Sam relented slightly, biting his lower lip. "I guess a house that probably already had some markings up would be safer for them."

Dean nodded. "See? There ya go... And, I've been there once or twice with Dad. When we're there, you'll actually have your own room instead of a couch or a floor."

"Yeah? OK, that'd be nice. We're not giving up looking for Dad, are we?"

"No... promise. This is a side-trip. We're still going to look for him, but the two of us have other priorities now, too."

"Two of us?" Sam echoed with a raised brow.

"Well, yeah. The kid's gonna need his Dad andhis Uncle Sam... heh... Uncle Sam..." Dean smirked. "We should get you one of those hats..."

Sam rolled his eyes, but grinned.

"Also, we still have our responsibilities with hunting."

"Yeah, I know... but, we'll be here in between hunts, right?"

"Oh, totally. I want to be around a lot more than Dad was... when he pops out, she can start coming with us more."

"She could get asked." said a sleepy voice from the bed.

"Oh, sorry, Lana..." Dean winced. "You, ah, do want to, right?"

Lana nodded. "Yes... I guess so... you would want me to fight?"

"No, no... just to stay with us. That's all."

Lana nodded. "I think that could be good... I mean, sometimes, I might just want to relax and stay home, but, I'd probably go with you some, too. Maybe a half-and-half type thing?"

Dean nodded. "Sounds fair. We could start training you to protect yourself all the same, though, when he comes out. Fighting skills and all that."

Lana nodded.

"Well, why don't you get dressed, and I'm gonna get you a house." Dean grinned, kissing her on the temple...