AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this was a really rough chapter for me to write, especially because my purpose here was to give a little insight on Michael's and his brothers' stories, as well as stir up some drama for Cas and Naomi. I'm honestly really liking that their relationship is building, and it also kind of tests Dean's strength.

I wanted to really touch base on the fact that Walter is a true monster, because the way I plan to portray him in the upcoming chapters is probably going to be atrocious. I think it will help Dean and Cas really get past this, as well as Naomi... so I hope you guys like where this chapter is going!

Sorry it seems so scattered and/or dark-ish. I do have a reason for that, but you won't find out until the later chapters! Thank you all for reading. I'm sorry I'm a slow poster for chapters, but I work on these chapters as much as I can with what little time I have!

Knock, knock.

Green eyes peered out at the blank ceiling, circling in the motion the fan made as it spun. A frustrated huff escaped the teen's mouth as he slowly turned his attention towards the door that was being pounded on. Dean licked his dry lips as he continued to stare plainly at the the door, unsure if he should respond to the knocking or not. He had been in his room for three days, refusing to come out unless it was to either go to the bathroom or sneak down into the kitchen late at night for a snack when no one was around to give him trouble.

He had kept himself locked in the room for three days with little to no communication with even his roommate. After his spat with Walter, Dean felt it would be best to stay out of the man's way for a while. At least it gave him time to contemplate his escape from this place, and to work on a master plan to get him and the other kids to be either taken away from the Taylors, or find a way to kill them. Either way, something had to be done.

For almost five minutes, the knocking continued, and the only thing he could hear on the other side of the door was Walter's sour voice creeping through like a poison trying to set into the air. It was thick, and loud, and raspy, and rude - everything Dean despised in a man. And it's not like it was that much different from his own father's, either. John was the alpha type, the commander in the squad, and what ever he asked of Dean, the wish got fulfilled because Dean was always the perfect little soldier. However, it didn't come naturally for Dean to listen to other people as well as his father, and perhaps that came as a fault of family values. As much as Dean loved his father, he knew he was emotionally abused in some way, but it kept Sam safe, so that was the important thing.

The same aspect tied into this new household, as well. Dean was Walter's primary target, when he wasn't picking on Naomi, and Dean preferred that simply because he could handle it - or so he thought - and he would rather deal with Walter himself than allow the stifling old man to harm one of the younger kids. After all, Dean was the big brother, and with that title came a serious responsibility.

"Come out of there, or I'll break the door down!" Walter shouted from outside the room door. Dean just rolled his eyes at the man's words, and turned over to face the other side of the room. His view was nothing special - just a couple separation sheets hung up to help Cas keep some privacy, and some other miscellanious items on the shared shelves lined up against the wall. Needless to say, the room was boring.

"OPEN UP," came another shout, as the knocking became pounding and the walls began to vibrate. It was actually a little comical to see Walter putting forth such an outstanding effort to lure Dean out of the room, especially since he knew that Walter wouldn't break the door down. If he broke the door, that would mean it had to be replaced, and that would mean work that Walter didn't want to do.

"Give it a rest, Walt, and leave the boy alone. Don'tcha think you've done enough?" Bonnie barked, her voice low and serious - a rare case, even for a heavy situation. The past few days have given her all the reason in the world to be upset with her husband, and she was quickly growing tired of his antics. Everyone in the house had tension with Walter, and it was becoming obvious that he was the main issue here. If he wasn't the primary income provider, Bonnie swears she would have rid herself of him sooner.

No doubt, she loved him, but since the younger boys and girls came along, her relationship with Walter was nothing but arguments and chore exchanges. Their sex life had died a long time ago, so the only romance they really had was a small dinner to themselves and sometimes a night out away from the commotion. Now, those nights came few and far between, if even at all during the months, because of their overwhelming responsibility to the kids.

It was early in the morning and the kids were just starting to wake up. One by one, they slowly rose and hogged the bathroom down the hall from their rooms, each one spouting off some smart comment to the most recent user. However, one member in particular preferred to wait until the bathroom commotion was dimmed down and the hot water had a chance to ante back up.

Michael was, by far, the smartest of the brothers since he worked as hard as he could not to get in Walter's way, and he also helped Naomi with anything she asked. It's almost like he had a crush on her, but not quite. He saw her mainly as an older sister who would do anything for him and the rest of the kids here. He admired her bravery and even tried to adopt some of her headstrong traits. Unlike his brothers, Michael was very timid. His brothers were usually the first to jump head first into any situation, but Michael saw the world in a different light. Along with his timid nature, the eldest brother was more laid back and relaxed, and was known to keep to himself. That, he was thankful for, mainly because it meant little to no trouble for him, especially from Walter.

Along with his admiration for Naomi, Michael took a strong liking to Dean's personality and his overall rough demeanor. In a way, he looked up to Dean and saw him as a role model for how he should act around his own brothers. One thing was for certain - Michael was thankful to have such a compatible and outstanding team of two to look up to for his own sake. Dean and Naomi made the perfect defense pair, and Michael was basically taking notes for when he would have to deal with Walter when Dean and Naomi left the house.

Unfortunately, however, this wasn't the first time that the eldest brother had dealt with bad people in bad situations. When they were brought here, Michael was more than certain they would be spending the rest of their lives here, whereas his brothers always had hopes that someone would adopt them and provide for them a better home than their parents ever could. It was depressing, especially to Michael, since he had been raised in a mostly poor home. He knew that his parents tried their hardest to provide for the boys, but they seemed to cause more harm than anything. It was a wonder how him and his brothers survived his father's shortcomings, especially after his father decided it would be a good idea to piss off a crook who was a little too sideways for his own good. It was that very thing that landed the four boys in this mess in the first place, and the government wasn't necessarily favoring the parents this time around.

Thinking about all of this had Michael's head spinning. It was the first time in over a month he allowed these negative thoughts to cross over the barrier in his mind, and he was instantly regretting it. Sighing, he sat up in his bed, and gazed out into the still room, listening to his brothers and Charlie and Anna fighting over who gets to go next in the bathroom and who should give who privacy.

Michael drew in a deep breath and cleared his throat before he decided it was a good time to start preparing his clothes for the day and grab a towel for a shower. He slipped the covers down his legs, hopped off the mattress, and proceeded to make the bed. Satisfied with the messy job, the young teen turned around to the main dresser, but was caught off guard by a spying Naomi standing in the doorway.

"What'cha doin', punk?" Naomi teased, squeezing the towel ontop of her head in an attempt to dry her hair a little more.

"Grabbing some clothes for the wash...laundry day." Michael responded, keeping his answers short.

"Sounds fair," Naomi paused, idly watching him for a brief moment while she collected her thoughts. "Hey, listen..um..."

"Hm?" Michael listened on, sifting through the dresser for something light and casual.

"Look, me and Cas are going to go for a walk later. Figured you could use the time away from your brothers..What do you say?" Naomi asked, her voice a little shaky as her offer came forth.

"Well-" Michael started, but was cut off by another voice.

"Hey, I'm ready. You're coming right?" Cas interrupted as he peered into the room over Naomi's shoulder.

"I don't really want to go with you guys..." Michael said, his response seeming somewhat reserved.

"Why not? We've never hung out and it would be cool to get to know you. Plus, we're going to get ice cream. Found a $5 bill downstairs in the kitchen. It's probably Walter's, but hey, finder's keepers." Castiel rambled, waving the lucky bill around like it was a trophy.

Michael shook his head at the two invading his space and pursed his lips in annoyance. He pulled out a baby blue shirt and searched it for stains, making sure that it was good to go. Nodding at it for a moment, he folded it over his arm and turned to face Naomi and Cas directly. "I said I don't want to go. Now, move?" Michael said, keeping his head down as he attempted to push past the two.

"What's your problem?" Naomi asked, true concern coating her tone.

"You're in my way, and I want to take a shower before the water gets cold again." At this point, annoyance was growing deep in Michael's tone. He wasn't as fond of Cas as Naomi and Dean were, and he honestly couldn't see the attraction the two had for Cas.

"Let's just go," Cas tugged Naomi along as he stepped towards the staircase. He exchanged glares with Michael as Michael shoved him out of the way with his shoulder, and finally pushed past Naomi.

Astounded, Naomi furrowed her brows and turned towards Cas. Confusion was plastered on her face as she scoffed in disgust at her foster brother's actions. "I have no idea what's gotten into him." Naomi sighed, shaking her head at the ordeal. Cas pursed his lips, unsure of how to respond, so he just tugged her along more and the two of them made their way downstairs.

"Where is that five?" Walter husked, digging through his old jeans pockets. "Bonnie! Where's my wallet?"

"Don't you ever stop yelling?" The older woman stepped out from behind the closet door with a hamper of laundry and Walter's wallet sitting on top.

"If you'd answer me, I wouldn't have'ta yell." Walter snapped, spotting his wallet and snatching it from atop the pile of clothes.

"Why don't you use that bike we got? Get outside and ride around. Might challenge your mind a little more than the television." Bonnie's tone was mostly snide, but she meant well with her suggestion. She had always encouraged her husband to engage in constructive activites, and often wondered why he rarely took her advice. Possibly, it could be because he was getting older, but Bonnie felt it was mainly because he was just too lazy and had no drive.

"I just wanted 'ma wallet. I got it, and now I'm content." Walter spat out with a slight twang in his words. He was tired, mostly, so his words were somewhat slurred. He had had an exhausting morning pounding on Dean's door to really feel like today was something worth exercising over.

Bonnie pursed her lips at her husband's attitude, and shook her head as she turned and made her way down the stairs towards the laundry room.

On the other side of the house, Charlie and Anna had already gone outside and started their day. Bonnie watched them through the small window of the laundry room, and smiled some as she admired their youth and their energy as they roughed around in the backyard with their dolls. A sigh escaped her lips as she reminisced about her own youthful days for a moment, but then was quickly snapped out of the daze when she heard a familiar voice approaching from behind.

"Dean, what are you doing downstairs?" She asked as she broke from her chore and turned her head halfway to glance at him from the corner of her eyes.

Timidly, Dean shrugged and stared at the floor a moment before responding. "Tired of being cooped up, and I needed a drink." He started, but then was caught by his own coughing fit.

Bonnie turned all the way around to face him and slowly approached, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dean lifted his head to look her in the face and he pouted his lips some, his slight suffering showing evident in his expression.

"Honey, I think you'd be better off in there today. Better not let Walt catch you down here." She advised, and patted the side of his cheek softly. Dean leaned into it somewhat, but then pulled away to slide behind the laundry room door as he heard Walter stomping down the stairs in a hustle.

"I'm goin' out," Walter announced as he reached the bottom of the staircase. "Bonnie! Where are-" he paused as he turned his head to notice her doing some work in the laundry room. He let out a heavy sigh and walked over to the laundry room and stood in the doorway to stare at her for a brief moment. "What the hell are they doing?!" Walter shouted, and slammed his hand into the laundry room door, pushing it against the wall and evidently smashing Dean behind it.

A small grunt came from behind the door as Dean was caught between the wall and the door, but luckily it was so faint that Walter didn't hear him. Dean let out a soft breath of relief, and relaxed against the wall as the door's pressure against him was let loose.

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie nagged him, annoyance showing apparent in her voice.

"They're diggin' up the yard!" The husky man roused, and turned around to stomp out of the laundry room.

"They're not-" Bonnie started, but stopped herself from continuing her thought as Walter walked away without even bothering to listen to her. She rolled her eyes at his accusations of the girls' actions outside, and turned back around to tend to the laundry once more.

"You can come out now, Dean." Bonnie hummed.

Slowly, Dean pushed the door away from the wall and peaked around the slim structure to check and make sure it was clear for him to step out from behind the door. He pursed his lips and sighed softly, secretly wishing that his father would just come and pick him up already. He turned his head to glance out the window to see Walter yelling at the two girls outside, who seemed to just be making some kind of swimming pool for their dolls. Dean shook his head at the man's outburst of anger and turned around to walk out of the laundry room.

He made his way towards the kitchen to make himself something to eat and get a drink as well. As he reached the messy room, he took a look around and eyed the area with disappointment. He knew that Bonnie never went to sleep when the house was messy, considering she was pretty much a neat freak, but he had to really wonder what was going on with the kitchen. According to the talk he picked up on between the other foster kids, Bonnie hadn't been cleaning like she used to. She seemed to have taken a break ever since the recent scuffle with himself and Walter.

It was disappointing, really, to know that something so small could send the woman into a cleaning depression, but he did understand it some. She was stressed, and stress makes you unwilling to do things you had the greatest passion for. He understood that stress, mostly because he felt it every day. Although, he had wanted to get out this house for so long, the stress mainly kept his mindset gloom, and that caused his activity to lessen a little more every day since he got here.

Dean managed to make himself a quick ham and cheese sandwich and snag a glass of water before he made his way back upstairs. He wasn't exactly sure when he would feel ready to come out of his room, but he anticipated it being some time this week. The feeling of being in one enclosed space for so long was creeping into his overall depressive attitude of being left here with basically no communication with his family, and it was honestly bogging him down.

He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to deal with Walter until he, or Naomi, finally snapped, but he wanted at least to make a difference with dealing with the brute when the right time came around to do so.

As he reached the top of the staircase, Dean turned his head to notice one of the four brothers humming about in the shared room. Curiosity instantly striking, Dean sauntered over to see what was going on with the boy, and poked his head in the doorway. "Hey," Dean said quietly, hoping to gain the boy's attention without startling him.

The younger dark-haired boy turned around to greet the tired Dean Winchester, and offered a small smile to the shadowed face standing in his doorway. "Hey," Michael replied back simply before turning back around to his bed where his blue shirt was splayed atop it, waiting to be worn.

"You uh.. Doin' okay in here?" Dean's tone was mostly endearing, but the raspiness of it definitely showed there was something wrong with his demeanor.

"I'm alright. How's life in the chicken coop?" Michael said back, pulling the blue shirt over his head after putting on his pants. He turned to Dean for a moment and pursed his lips, studying the tired face.

"So that's what they're calling it? Heh." Dean dropped his eyes to the floor for a moment in short thought and then returned his focus to Michael. "It's lonely."

"I stole this for you and Cas if you ever want to play it." Michael stated calmly, approaching Dean with his hand held out. Dean arched a brow and leaned over the item some, reading the name at the top of the slim case. "I don't play shooters, though..." Dean said with a somewhat disappointed tone, feeling as though he was about to let the young boy down.

"Cas does. He can show you. Here, I'll watch you guys when you play it." Michael responded, tucking the game in between Dean's arm and his side, and then patting his arm as he pushed past him to hang his towel up in the bathroom.

Dean had no choice but to accept it, seeing as how the kid seemed really enthusiastic about wanting him to have it. He shrugged his shoulders some and followed the boy halfway down the hall. "Has Walter said anything, Michael?"

"About you?"

"Yeah."

"Other than 'I'm going to beat him senseless' at the dinner table last night, no. I don't think Walter really likes you..." The ending sentence lingered in Dean's mind for a moment, as well as the sadness of the tone that it came out Michael's mouth with.

"Yeah, I see that."

"I think he just doesn't like your dad, so he hates you too."

"What?" Utter surprised smacked Dean in the face at Michael's comment, and it nearly caused Dean to drop everything he had in his hand. Instead, he gripped everything tighter and turned around to follow Michael back to the bedroom.

"He always talks bad about your dad and how he knows you have a cell phone. Naomi doesn't even know you have cell phone, Dean, why does Walter know?"

"That son of a bitch is going through my shit?!" Dean yelled, this time his voice was uncontrollably loud, and instant regret rushed through his heart. Shit.

In that moment, everything seemed to freeze. The front door was slammed with a rushed force that nearly shook the house. Dean could feel his heart drop to his stomach, and he slowly turned away from the group bedroom to make his way towards his own. As he heard stamping up the rickety steps, Dean practically ran into his bedroom and slammed the door behind him, locking it with the two free fingers he had.

He rushed over to his bed and sat the sandwich down on it as well as the game case, and then set the water down on his side table. Frantically, he pulled open the drawer to his side table and relief set in as he noticed his cell phone sitting in there, untouched. He sighed softly and picked it up, softly running his thumb over the slick plastic on the outside of it. He shook his head and turned his head to the door as he heard banging on it. He could instantly feel a lump of nervousness forming in his throat, but he elected to remain silent.

"DEAN!" The person on the other side of the door shouted, pounding on it as hard as he could.

Dean drew in a deep breath and stomped over to the door, unlocking it, and whisking it open to find Cas, who seemed desperate to get his attention. "You scared the hell out of me!" Dean whispered loudly, almost as if he was yelling softly.

"I need your help," Cas panted.

"What happened?"

"It's Naomi. We went out for a walk and we were racing to the store and it just happened so fast, and I don't really know how to tell you, but she got hit."

Everything froze again. It was almost as if nothing made sense at that moment, and the world that was spinning so crazily was just non-existent anymore. She got hit, that's what Cas said. Dean felt his entire stomach start to churn at the thought of Naomi being hurt, and he wasn't sure exactly how to take this. His heart sunk all the way to the pit of his stomach, and it took him a moment to snap out of it.

"DEAN!" Cas shouted again, but this time he had his hands on Dean's shoulders and was shaking him to bring him back to reality. "I. Need. Your. Help."

"Did you fucking call 9-11?" Dean forced out.

"Yeah, but I had to come back here, I need you. I need your help."

"It's okay, Cas. It's gonna be okay." Dean patted Cas' shoulder and swallowed the lump in his throat, attempting to gain some strength back that he lost in his legs when the news set in. "It's okay."

The two of them set out together down the stairs and ran for the door, but were stopped when they were greeted with the grungy face of Walter Taylor. Holding back no trace of fear, Dean stared blankly into Walter's eyes. Every single ounce of rage was building in him now, and the only thing he had on his mind was Naomi and her well-being.

"Where the hell are you two going?" Walter snapped, plowing into the boys like they were cattle and forcing them back into the house.