Axel was the first one awake in the morning. She stumbled sleepily into the bathroom to relieve herself and then looked out the window. The sun had just started to come up and she yawned then noticed a line something white and grainy in the window sill.

"What the-" she put her hand on it and picked up a pinch of it and pulled it closer to inspect, "Sugar?" she whispered, then put her tongue on it to taste it and made a face, "Salt," she dropped the rest of it on the ground and left the bathroom.

Her father and uncle were still asleep in the main room so Axel looked around for her backpack. Sam had bought her a book late yesterday at one of the gas stations they had stopped at and now she was bored and wanted to read it, when she couldn't find it in her backpack she figured it must still be in the Impala. She tiptoed to the door and silently opened it and slipped out of the room in search of the car, which was parked around the back of the building.

Less than a minute after Axel had left the room Dean had rolled over in the bed and realized he was alone in it. He slowly sat up and yawned, not thinking much of it since Axel tended to get up and go to the bathroom once or twice a night. But his gaze landed on the bathroom door that was open and the light was off. Quickly Dean got off the bed and went to inspect. He flipped the light on in the empty bathroom, and while he didn't find Axel he did notice that the salt line in the window was broken.

He couldn't breathe and he started to shake as he turned and dashed back to the bed to grab his shoes, "Sammy!" he barked loudly, "Get up, now."

Sam heard the panic in his brother's voice and bolted upright, "What's wrong?" he demanded, immediately pulling on his shoes as well.

"Axel's gone," Dean informed him, "Salt line in the bathroom is broken. I'll pull the car around, you get ready," Dean said, grabbing his keys off of the bedside table and bolting out the door and sprinting to the back parking lot where he had left the Impala the night before.

He stopped to catch his breath, his car in sight, and then saw one of the back doors open and Axel climbing out of the car. He breathed a sigh of relief and then he trotted over to her. She hadn't heard him approach and he grabbed her arm roughly and turned her around.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he yelled, breathing heavily.

Axel tensed up and dropped her book on the ground, her mouth hanging open, "I- just, I-" she stuttered, completely shocked by the anger coming off of her father.

"I told you NOT to leave the room," his voice got louder, "Do you have any idea how scared I was? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"

She couldn't speak.

"Come on," Dean grunted, slammed the car door, and without allowing her to retriever her book, roughly pulled her back to the room where Sam was standing at the entrance.

"You found her?" relief washed over Sam, "Thank God."

Dean drug her inside and pushed her to the bed, "You sit there and you don't get up, understand me?"

She just nodded, looking down at her lap, her whole body shaking.

"I cannot believe you would do that, Axel. I thought I could trust you."

"You can," her voice was barely audible.

"Obviously I can't!" he snapped at her, "Because you pull crap like this."

"Okay, that's enough," Sam grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him outside, shutting the door behind them, "You need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Dean was wide eyed, "I need to calm down? She could have gotten herself killed."

"But she didn't," Sam argued, "You said she's protected, so nobody knows that she's here."

Dean narrowed his eyes at his brother, "I'm not even talking about monsters and demons, Sammy. I'm talking about the creepy bastards that might have been at this motel. Some pedophile could have seen her and snatched her and done god knows what to her."

"Okay, you're right," Sam agreed, "But go easy on her. She doesn't know what's going on," he took a breath, "Look, you took her away from everything she knows. She's not used to living on the road with us. She doesn't know the rules."

Dean shook his head, "I'm just trying to keep her safe, Sam. That's all that I'm trying to do."

"I know. And you've done a damn good job because Axel doesn't see the danger and the evil in the world. She only sees the good, because you've protected her from all of it. She doesn't see all the threats because you shielded her from it," Sam sighed, "Do you get what I'm saying?"

Dean nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'm a pretty great dad," he joked.

"You should go inside and talk to her," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll go get some breakfast."

Dean nodded and tossed Sam the car keys before heading into the room. Axel was face down on the bed and was quietly crying into the pillow. Dean sat next to her and gently rubbed her back.

"Hey, Axe. Can you sit up and talk to me for a minute."

"No," her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Sweet heart," he looked down at her, "I'm sorry. I overreacted. You just… you don't know the things that are out there. Bad people. Bad things," he sighed, "I just don't know what I would do if I lost you. Baby girl, you're everything to me."

"I'm sorry," she replied, her face still in the pillow, "I thought it would be okay, I was just going to get my book."

"I know," he lay back on the bed next to her, "Things are gonna be different now. You can't go anywhere without me or Sam. We have to know where you are at all times."

Finally she looked up from the pillow, her face red from crying, "Why?" she asked, "Used to I could go on walks and stuff at home."

"We're not at home anymore," he said, locking eyes with her, "And we're not safe anymore."

"Is someone looking for us?"

Dean sighed, "I don't know."

"Is it the man in the trench coat? Is he bad? I though he was your friend."

"Axe, that man wasn't real," Dean insisted, "I told you that was a dream."

Axel lay her head down but still looked at her father, "When are we going home?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "Not any time soon."

"Are you gonna be working with Uncle Sam?" Axel asked, "Killing bugs?"

Dean sighed guiltily, he'd been lying to Axel for as long as he could remember. She didn't know it was monsters and not bugs that Sam killed, "Axel, I love you."

"I love you too," she replied.

"You should take a shower and get dressed. When Sam gets back we're going to hit the road."

Axel nodded and got off the bed and made her way back into the bathroom, she started to close the door when Dean stopped her.

"Hang on," he said, walking over to the window and fixing the broken salt line, "Don't mess with that, okay?"

"Why?" the young girl asked, "Why's there salt there?"

It would have been so much easier just to lie to her, but he couldn't do it anymore, "It's for protection," Dean stated.

"From what?"

"Axe, I'll tell you when you need to know. Until then just humor me. Please?"

Though she wanted to argue and get all of the answers, more than anything she just didn't want to fight with him so she nodded, "Okay, Daddy," and shut the bathroom door with him on the other side and went to take her shower. She was upset and confused just wanted to go home and for things to go back to the way they were. She wanted to go to school and see her friends, but she wasn't going to get that, not right now anyways.

While Axel was in the shower Dean started packing up what they had laying around the room and he put the bag on the chair so they could just grab it on the way out. A few minutes later Sam walked back in the room and tossed Dean a breakfast burrito.

Dean smiled as he unwrapped it and took a big bite, "You know just how to please me, Sammy Boy."

Sam rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed, "Axel's in the shower?" he questioned.

Dean nodded, "Yep," he answered, egg dropping out of his mouth.

"Check out's in like twenty minutes. She better hurry."

Dean laughed, "Yeah, try telling her that. Girl takes the longest showers."

Sam smirked, "Remind you of anyone?"

"Yeah… You when you were discovering your body."

Sam rolled his eyes, "No, Dean. I seem to remember many screaming fights between you and our sister about appropriate shower times."

Dean half smiled but then his face fell, "Yeah, I see a lot of Imogen in that girl," he admitted reluctantly, "I mean, hell I wish I didn't. I wish I didn't see her at all but I do."

"Well, if it makes you feel better Axel looks absolutely nothing like Imogen. Just acts a hell of a lot like her."

"That's true. She's like a much prettier twin of Cas," he sighed, "Axel's a lot like her mother, but the kid actually listens when I talk. Em, she did whatever the hell she wanted."

Sam chucked, "You raised Axe since she was a baby. You got to form her. Imogen came to us ornery as hell."

"You got that right," Dean sighed, "Sammy, what do I tell Axe? I mean, do I tell her about monsters and demons and stuff? Or do I just keep her in the dark?" he shook his head, "I wanna keep her safe, but is telling her more dangerous or what? I'm so conflicted."

Sam was silent for sever moments and he sighed, "I don't know, Dean. But," he sighed softly, "If you're going to be honest with her I think you've got to fully come clean. About her mother, everything."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, "She's too young for all of that. She won't understand."

"You give that girl far too little credit, Dean. She was reading at a fifth grade level when she was three."

"That's because you taught her," Dean took deep breath, "Maybe you should tell her. She'll take it better from you."

"Oh hell no," Sam shook his head, "You're her daddy. You get to do the hard stuff. I'm the cool uncle who gets to do the fun stuff."

Dean groaned and lay back on the bed, "It was real fucked up of our sister to leave me with this."

"Well, you made a choice. Now you've got to make another one."

"Yeah, well the choice to take care of that little baby was easy. I mean, actually doing it was a pain in the ass, but the choice was easy. This on the other hand," he sighed, "I don't know if I'm protecting her by lying to her or helping her."

"I don't know either," Sam agreed, "But whatever decision you make, I've got your back."

Dean nodded and sat back up, "I know you do Sammy."

"Just let me know what you do before you do it. Because if I have a crying and confused niece I need to console I've got to have chocolate ready for her."

The older brother rolled his eyes, "You're shameless," then he paused, "You know, I don't remember ever telling Imogen that monsters were real. I mean, I remember when we were kids and you figured it out," he shrugged, "But I don't remember telling our sister."

Sam thought about it for a minute, "I don't either," he shrugged, "I mean, she was so young when she came to live with us and we never hid it from her. She grew up hearing us talk about hunts and ganking monsters, it was just part of her life."

Dean chuckled, "I have a confession to make," he looked at his brother.

"What's that?"

"Since Axe was a little girl she's loved hearing bed time stories. And by the time she was two I was so sick of those stupid fairy tales. She'd want to hear them over and over again until she fell asleep, I had them all memorized, but damn it was annoying," he sighed, "So one night I said to hell with it and started telling her stories from our hunting days."

Sam's eyebrows came together in confusion, "You what?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "I just told her a bunch of stories. You know, I made them a little more kid friendly, but yeah. She loved it. She loved that you and I were the center of it."

"So then she knows?"

"Well, yeah but she thinks I made them all up, like other fairy tales," Dean shrugged, "One of her favorites is the one I told her about you getting married to Becky in Vegas."

"Dude, I was drugged!" Sam's face fell, "You told her about that?"

Dean nodded, "Oh yeah, I've told her lots of embarrassing stuff about you."

"You tell her it's fiction though, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded smugly, "But it's not."

Sam groaned, "Like, how did you even tell her that? Did you tell her about the Supernatural novels?"

Dean shook his head, "Nah, just that you had a stalker who put a spell on you. I, of course, saved the day."

"Yeah, I bet you save the day in a lot of your stories."

Dean nodded, "Most of them. Except of course the one where you stuffed the devil back in the cage."

"You told her that?"

"Yes sir," Dean smiled, "That one is her absolute favorite. She still asks me to tell it when she's sick or she can't sleep."

Sam smiled, "How come you never told me this?"

"Dunno," Dean said with a shrug, "Guess I didn't want you to tell me it was a bad idea."

"It was a bad idea," Sam acknowledged, "But I think it'll make telling her the truth a hell of a lot easier."

"Yeah," Dean sighed, "I think so too."

"Hey, Dean. I know that Cas said Axel was protected from demons and angels being able to locate her, but what's to stop a random demon who just happens upon her from cramming itself down her throat?"

Dean paused and scratched at the stubble on his chin, "That's a good question. Cas didn't say that she couldn't be possessed. Guess she needs some protection."

"Well, it's not like we can get her one of these," he patted his chest where his anti-possession tattoo was.

"True," Dean nodded, "Can't ink up an eleven-year-old. Though that would be the best way," he shook his head, "No, can't do that."

"What about mom's old charm bracelet?" he asked.

"I don't have that," Dean looked at his brother, "I never had that."

"I know," Sam nodded, "But there's got to be others out there like it. Let's find a hunters shop and buy something like it."

Dean nodded, "Sounds good. Maybe there will be someone there that can ink us up with the anti-angel stuff. You go make some calls, find out where the nearest place is, and I'll hurry Axel up before they charge us for another night."

Sam nodded and headed out of the room to make the calls.

Dean walked over to the bathroom door and gently knocked, "You okay in there, kiddo?"

"I'm fine," she said, shutting the water off, "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay, hurry up. We have to hit the road."

He grabbed up the bags and took them out to the Impala, which was now parked right in front of their room, and loaded them into the Impala.

"I talked to my friend Olivia. She's lives a couple hours from here so she knows the area. She's sending me an address of a hunter friendly store that's not far from her and there's also a tattoo shop nearby that's also run by a hunter. She says if we use her name they'll be friendly."

Dean smirked, "Olivia… She sounds hot."

"She's seventy-five."

The older brother narrowed his eyes, "Didn't know you were into cougars, Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes, "She's a psychic. I met her a few years back… and I was stuck on a case in town and hitting up any and all leads. There was a monster that was eating families and I saved her granddaughters life, didn't get to her daughter soon enough though. But ever since then if I need help with anything she lends a hand."

"So she's got a granddaughter," Dean smirked, "She sounds hot."

Sam groaned, "She's eight. Got anything else to say?"

Dean threw his head back and let out an annoyed yell, "Why don't you know any sexy people anymore Sammy?"

Sam just rolled his eyes and smiled when Axel came out of the room, "Thank God you're here," he groaned dramatically to the young girl, "Your dad was just about to drive me crazy. Let's get out of here."

Axel laughed and held her stuffed dog in her hand.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Dean asked, looking suspiciously at her.

"Yes," she replied, looking straight at him.

"Really?" the man smirked knowingly, "Because I'm pretty sure your toothbrush is," he reached into his bag and pulled out her toothbrush, "Right here."

Axel groaned loudly, "I hate brushing my teeth," she whined, snatching the toothbrush from him and stomping back into the room to do it.

"Yeah, you know what you'll hate more," he called to her, "All your teeth rotting out."

Sam chuckled softly so that the girl wouldn't hear, "You know, you're really not bad at the whole being a dad thing."

"You think?" Dean asked, "I'm pretty sure that kid would disagree," he stated, pointing in Axel's direction.

"Please," Sam chuckled, "She'll thank you one day. Remember how much I hated brushing my teeth? If it hadn't been for you it never would have gotten done and all my teeth would have fallen out. Imogen too. We were both bad about it."

Dean smirked, "Well, what can I say? I might be an asshole, but at least I'm a consistent asshole," he paused, "And hey, dental hygiene is important and dentists are expensive."

Sam just chuckled and got in the car ready to go.

Dean took this opportunity to go back inside and use the restroom. When he was done he walked back into the room where Axel was finishing up her teeth.

"You ready?" he asked.

She rinsed out her mouth and turned to him, "Daddy, I had a question for you last night. You said you were too tired and to ask you today."

Dean nodded, "Okay, what's up?"

"I head you and Uncle Sam in the car yesterday talking about someone named Imogen. Who's that?"

Dean found himself slowly sitting down on the bed. He had thought she had been asleep for that, "Oh," he scratched his head, the nervous energy was making him start to sweat, "Imogen was my sister," he finally stated.

"I have an aunt? How come I never met her?"

"She died," He admitted.

A look of sadness washed over the young girl, "How come you never told me?"

He shrugged, "She died before you had a chance to know her. Thought it would be pointless to make you sad over something you never had," he sighed, "Can we go? We're burning daylight."

Axel just nodded. She wanted to press for more details but her father's mood today let her know that probably wasn't the best idea right now. She would have to try again later.