In the second week of school, Dean was sort of getting used to it. He'd settled into the routine, he liked that part. He liked knowing what was coming next. He'd sort of become friends with the boy that sat next to him, they would share crayons and stuff, but Dean still felt like he didn't belong there. He spent his recesses against the wall alone with his fire truck and ate alone at lunch time, away from all the other kids. He had gotten used to not staying in one place very long in his time on the road with his dad. Staying with Bobby while his dad was off doing whatever it was that he did to monster was very weird for him. He figured it was better to keep his distance from the other kids. Making friends wasn't important. Sam was his best friend, he didn't need anyone else.

Miss Sherry stood at the chalk board, writing that week's spelling words when the fire alarm went off. Most of the class looked around confused, waiting for Miss Sherry to tell them what to do.

"We need to get out!" Dean yelled standing up so fast his chair fell backward. "Miss Sherry we have to go outside right now before it gets us!"

"It's okay," Miss Sherry said holding up her arms to calm the class. "Dean's right, we have to go outside. So let's line up."

"No!" Dean said as everyone started to stand and make their way to the lineup station. "We gotta go before the fire monster gets us! We gotta go right now!"

The class looked back and forth between Dean and his frantic movements and Miss Sherry's calming demeanor. It took longer than it should have to get everyone in line and out the door with Dean freaking out.

"Okay everyone," Miss Sherry said herding the class down the hall and into the parking lot. "We're going to wait here until the Principal says we can go back inside."

"Where's the firemen?" Dean asked pulling at Miss Sherry's sleeve. "How come they aren't looking for the fire? How are we gonna knows it's safe it the firemen don't check? If they don't check the fire monster will get us. Miss Sherry, how did it find me at school? Daddy sayed that school was safe and there was no monsters. How come he lied to me?"

"Calm down, Dean" Miss Sherry said sweetly, looking curiously at the little boy. "What found you?"

"The fire monster!" Dean exclaimed. "It keeps finding me. What if it takes you away? I don't want you to go away. It tried to take Sammy two times, but I taked him into the hallway. It taked everyone. It can't take you too. "

"Dean, sweetie," Miss Sherry said, kneeling next to him. "It's not a real fire. It's just practice, nothing to be worried about, okay? I'm not going anywhere. No one's going anywhere."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked the panic never leaving his voice. "What if the fire monster is in there, but it's hiding? It did that one time when it almost got Sam. If I wasn't pay attention it would have gotten him and taked him away. What if it does that, sneaks up and just takes you away?"

"I'm sure," Miss Sherry answered. "There's no monster, Dean, I promise. Remember how I told you I wouldn't lie to you?" Dean nodded. "Everything's going to be okay. It's just practice. There's no fire monster."

Dean took a deep breath to calm himself down. Miss Sherry stood up and wiped off her knees, but Dean never let go of her hand. This was one very curious boy. She was definitely going to have her hands full with this one.

John wanted to take the boys with him on a weekend hunt of a vengeful spirit in Minnesota. He figured his boys had spent way too much time at Bobby's. They were his boys after all. They weren't Bobby's responsibility. It was nice that they had a place to sleep and could stay still for couple months, but he wasn't going to let a practical stranger he met hunting demons raise his boys. So he decided to pick up Dean at school and just take off; just for the weekend. He'd make sure Dean was back in school by Monday, if the hunt when according to plan. Miss Sherry and Dean met him in the lobby as she took the class to buses.

Sam ran up to Dean, jumping excitedly. "Is this where you school Deans?"

"No Sammy," Dean laughed. "My classroom is down the hall."

"Can I sees it?" Sam asked wide eyed. "Please?"

"We have to ask Dad, you know that." Dean looked around for his Dad, to see if they could for just a second.

"Pah-lease!" Sammy begged. "I want to see where you school!"

"Is this your brother, Dean?" Miss Sherry asked.

"I's Sam." Sam nodded. "I wanna see Dean's school. One time I tried to go in his back pack, but I was too big and Daddy said I was gonna breaked it. Who is you?"

"I'm Dean's teacher, Miss Sherry."

"Deans talks about you all the time," Sam said. "He thinks you is very pretty." Miss Sherry laughed.

"Sam," Dean hissed through his teeth, his face nearly as red as his fire helmet. "I don't know what he's talking about. He's a weird one. I never said that."

"Yeah-huh," Sam nodded. "I heared you telled Uncle Bobby that you thinked she was the prettiest girl in your whole school."

Dean glared at Sam, then turned to Miss Sherry and shook his head. "No I didn't," he laughed. Then hissed through his teeth at his brother: "That was a secret Sam. You don't tell secrets."

"But Deans, you said," Sam nodded.

"Alright boys, let's go," John said resting his hands on Dean's shoulders and turning his toward the door.

"Wait," Miss Sherry interjected. "Are you Mr. Winchester?"

John nodded and guided Dean toward the door.

"Can I borrow you for just a second?"

"What did he do?" John said, grip tightening against Dean's shoulders.

"It's nothing like that," Miss Sherry smiled. "I just have a concern."

"Do not move," John said. "And watch your brother. Don't let him wander off." He followed Miss Sherry to the edge of the lobby.

"Dean is a very bright little boy," Miss Sherry started. "It's just, he… well, he doesn't seem to connect with the other kids. He's just withdrawn. Is there something I should know about as his teacher? Something that could help me get him involved with the other students in the class? Is there anything he's said at home about school? I'm kind of concerned."

"He said that the other kids are mean to him," John shrugged. "He said someone was making fun of him about his Mom. I know he didn't really want go to school to start with so I figured he was just exaggeratin', tryin' to get out of comin' back."

"That hasn't happen since the first day," Miss Sherry said. "There was a little girl that wanted to know about heaven, wouldn't leave Dean alone. But still the only other student he talks to is the little boy that sits next to him. He isolates himself from everyone at lunch and recess."

"He likes to be by himself," John shrugged. "He hides under the dining room table to play with his fire truck so his brother doesn't touch it. Just how he is."

"I haven't been a teacher for a long time Mr. Winchester," Miss Sherry interjected "But I can tell when there's something wrong with one of my students. He seems upset and sad almost every day and I just want to make him comfortable here. "

"He's six," John said. "We've moved around a lot since his mom died. He's never really been around kids his own age. The only kid he's been around in years is Sam. Needs time to adjust, it's a big change for him. There's nothing wrong with my son. If you're sayin' something about my parenting skills I suggest you step off Miss. Anything else? "

"Yes, actually," Miss Sherry said aggravated by John's demeanor and dismissive attitude. "We had a fire drill today. I know Dean really likes firemen, I've had other kids who have worn the firemen helmet and coat before, but I've never had a student have quite the reaction Dean had today. He kept saying something about the fire monster getting him. He said that it was going to take me away from him. He was very upset that there weren't fire trucks at the school. He didn't want to go back into the building afterward."

"The fire monster," John sighed. "Has he told you what happened to him mother?"

"No," Miss Sherry answered. "He hasn't said anything about her since the first day of school when he said she was in heaven. It wasn't something I ever asked about. I figured if he wanted to talk about it he would."

"There was a house fire when he was four," John said quickly. "The fire monster is what Dean says took his mom away from him."

"Oh," Miss Sherry said, a bit taken aback. "He didn't say anything about that. Not that I pushed, he just said that she was in heaven. I honestly didn't think the two were connected. He just kept saying that the fire monster almost took his brother but he saved him."

"I burnt dinner a few months after the fire and he freaked out," John said now visually annoyed with the conversation. "That's when he started to talk about the monster. Now I have places to be if you don't mind." John turned to see Dean holding Sam at his knees while Sam tried to reach the ceiling. "Put Sam down. Let's go."

"Yes sir," Dean said, lowering Sam to the floor. "See you on Monday Miss Sherry!" He waved and grabbed Sam's hand following closely in his father's wake.

They boys ended up spending most of their weekend locked in a motel room outside St. Paul by themselves.

Their Dad only let them around town when they first got there, talking them from store to store downtown for supplies.

"I tired!" Sam whined pulling at Dean's coat sleeve. "I no walk no more."

"Come on Sammy," Dean encouraged. "We're almost done, I think just a few more stops, okay. I think Dad's gonna get us ice cream if we behave real good."

"Nooooo," Sam whined dramatically before laying down on the sidewalk. "I don't want ice cream. I take nap."

"Sam," Dean growled between gritted teeth. "Get up, Dad's gonna yell at us."

Sam fake snored loudly. "Can't hear you. I asleep."

"This isn't funny, Sammy," Dean said trying to pick his brother up off the ground. The kid only weighed twenty-five pounds Dean didn't understand why he seemed so heavy now. "Dad's gonna turn around and not see us and kill us."

"No," Sam said, face pressed into the concrete. "He knowed I tired. I telled him. It naps time for Sammy."

"Get up," Dean said in a voice as close to his father's as he could copy. People walking down the street were starting to stare at them. Dean looked around for their dad, but he didn't see him. He could run off and find him, but he knew he'd be in more trouble for leaving Sam laying in the sidewalk than staying with him and leaving his line of sight.

"I too tired." Sam moaned. "I wanna take a nap."

"You can take a nap when we get to the hotel," Dean said. "Right now you have to be a big boy and get up."

"I not a big boy," Sam said. "I a baby."

"Sam," Dean sighed. "Dad's gonna be really mad. Like madder than anything ever. You know how Dad is when he's mad. You want him to be mad at you Sammy?"

"No," Sam said in a small voice. "He's scary when he mad."

"Right," Dean said, crouching down next to his brother. "So can you get up now please?"

"Boys!" Came the booming voice of their father from in front a store a few store fronts down. "What's going on? What's wrong with Sam?"

"He's tired," Dean said rolling his eyes.

"So he laid down in the street?"

"I tired," Sam whined. "I take nap."

"You can take a nap at the motel," John said with little patience in his voice. "Get up off the ground Sam."

"Nuh-huh," Sam said. "Too tired."

"I'll give you a piggy back ride," Dean promised.

"Don't encourage him, Dean," John warned.

"Well, he'll never get up," Dean shrugged.

"I can has a piggy ride?" Sam said rolling on to his back.

"If you get up," Dean said nodding.

"Okay!" Sam said excitedly, pushing himself to his feet. "I has piggy ride." He held his arms up making grabby hands at his brother.

Dean stood up and turned around so Sam could climb on.

"You shouldn't encourage him to misbehave," John said leading the boys back to the car. "It's only going to make him misbehave more."

"He's my brother," Dean said. "I like to make him happy. That's what brother's do."

"Whatever," John said popping the back door open for the boys to climb in.

Sam was asleep about three seconds after Dean strapped him into his car seat, John had to carry him into motel. Dean tried but it was too awkward for him to pull his brother out of the car seat. He wasn't quite tall enough. John placed Sammy down on the bed he would share with Dean that first night. They'd get their own beds when Dad left in the morning, then Dean and John unloaded the bags from the back of the car.

"I wanna know what you were thinkin' pulling that stunt of yours downtown," John demanded.

"I didn't do nothing," Dean answered. "Sammy said he was tired then he just laid down."

"You couldn't get him up?" John said, angrily.

Dean shook his head. "No Daddy, but I tired. I really did. He wouldn't get up. I pulled him up, but he played dead. He wouldn't get up."

"You should have tried harder," John said. "What if something happened to him? You know what's out there. What if someone tried to take him."

"I stood there," Dean said. "Right next to him. Nothin' coulda taken him."

John breathed heavily out his nose. "I don't like excuses Dean, do better."

"I sorry," Dean pouted, trying his best not the cry, only babies cried, but he didn't like it when his dad was disappointed in him.

"Don't apologize," John repeated. "Do better."

"Yes sir," Dean said shakily. "I will."

"Good," John said. "Now help get dinner ready."

Dean nodded and ran to help unpack the bags they'd brought in from the car.

"Deans," Sam whispered later that night pulling at the sheets on Dean's bed in the middle of the night. "Deans."

"Go to sleep Sam," Dean answered.

"I can't," Sam whispered. "Too scared."

Dean sighed and rolled over making eye contact with Sam's terrified face.

"Of what Sammy?" Dean asked helping Sam up into his bed. "You know I can protect you from anything."

"I had a scary dream," Sam said pressing his head into Dean's side. "A dragon crawled in the window and taked you away to live with him forever."

"You know I'd never let that happen, Sammy," Dean said stroking his hair. "Nothing is ever gonna take me away from you. Never."

"It just comed in the window and scooped you up," Sam said. Dean could feel his little brother's tears through is pajamas. "Yous didn't even know. Yous was asleep. He just got you and taked you away."

Dean took a deep breath and tried to remember what his mom used to do when he had a bad dream. Mom used to sing to him, but Dean couldn't remember the words. So he pulled Sammy close, as tight to him as he could, kissed the top of his head and hummed a jerky off key version on something kind of like "Hey Jude," as close as he could remember until Sam fell asleep.

Sam seemed better in the morning. Dean had made sure he slept through the rest of the night; never took his eyes off him until after sunrise. There was no talk of monsters; Sam was his regular obnoxious self.

"I wanna play!" Sam said running between the bathroom door and the door to the outside over and over, while Dean struggled with his math homework on the bed nearest the door. "Go outside, Deans!"

"Not until Dad gets back," Dean said impatiently, because he'd said it about six hundred times since they'd woken up. "You know the rules. I've already told you. You want Dad to get mad at you again like yesterday?"

"OUTSIDE!" Sam yelled, climbing into the chair and jumping on the cushion.

"Get down, Sam," Dean sighed. "You're gonna get hurt and Dad's gonna be mad if you get hurt. And you know how Dad gets when he's mad."

"He yelled really loud." Sam said. "Like yesterday when he yelled at you."

"Yeah," Dean said seriously. "He did because you can't behave for three minutes."

"Oh, I sorry," Sam said as he started jumping again. "I want you to play with me!" Play. With. Me."

"Inna little bit," Dean said. "I gotta do my homework."

"For school?" Sam asked, curiously, climbing out of the chair. "Can you teached me school?"

"You can't even read Sammy," Dean said as Sam climbed into Dean's bed. "I can't teach you numbers."

"Numbers? I knows numbers," Sam said pointing at Dean's worksheet. "I knows all the numbers. All the way to ten."

"That's good, but there's number bigger than ten."

"Nu-huh," Sam said shaking his head. "I only has ten fingers."

"Yeah, but you also have ten toes," Dean explained. Sam sat cross legged and wide eyed taking in every word. "So ten plus ten." Dean pointed to the question on his paper.

"Two tens!" Sam said excitedly clapping. "Right? I do school?"

"Almost," Dean said, laughing. "Ten plus ten is twenty. How about an easier one?" Dean took Sam's hands and made one hand hold up three fingers and the other hold up two. "Three plus two. How many is that?"

Sam squished his face and counted his fingers. "Four. No Five?"

"Good job!" Dean smiled and ruffled Sam's hair.

"I do good?" Sam laughed. "I do school? Can I do more school? I can go to school with you now?"

"You're not old enough yet," Dean said, knowing that no matter how many times he told his brother that, he'd never stop asking. The kid had tried to zip himself into Dean's back pack at one point, until Dad yelled at him. "But you can help me with my homework."

Dean did the same thing for each of his remaining problems on his worksheet. Sam usually didn't get the answer right, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, anything that kept him from jumping off the walls.

"That's it Sammy, we finished it."

"No more school?" Sam said sadly. "I want more school. I's like school. Do more school, Deans."

"We did it all," Dean explained. "I don't have anymore. You wanna play a game now?"

Sam shrugged noncommittally, so Dean pounced, tickling Sam's sides. Sam squealed and kicked beneath him.

"No Deans!" Sam said breathlessly. "Not the tickle game."

"You don't like the tickle monster?" Dean smiled tickling Sam's ribs and blowing a loud raspberry on his belly. "You know how to fight the tickle monster. I taught you."

"Deans is the bestest brother," Sam said trying to squirm away.

"What else?" Dean pressed not letting up.

"Dean is the ruler of Sam, and I's has to do whatever he says!"

"Good boy," Dean smiled, sitting back on his feet. Sam moved quickly, getting away before Dean started to tickle again, in the scuffle of movement he managed to kick Dean in the face, right under his eye.

John didn't even notice when he came stumbling in smelling of bourbon later that night. John didn't notice the purpling bruise as they drove back to South Dakota the next day, he didn't notice until Bobby asked him about over dinner Sunday night.

"In that tiny little room you were rough housing?" John asked.

Dean nodded slowly. "Sam was climbing the walls!"

"Nuh-huh," Sam said. "I doin' you's homework when you tickle monstered me."

"You didn't see that shiner on the kid's face?" Bobby asked.

"No," John said simply. "But neither of you are watching TV for the next week. I told both of you not to rough house in the motel because you'd get hurt."

"But Sam was going crazy!" Dean whined. "It's Sam's fault. Why do I always get in trouble for what Sam does? It's not fair."

"You're older you should know better," John answered. "And unless you wanna make it two weeks I'd stop complaining."

Dean sighed into his mashed potatoes.

Dean was very excited to go back to school on Monday. As much as he loved Sammy, being stuck in a motel room and the back seat of the Impala with a two year old for two and half days was exhausting. He hung his fire helmet up on his hook on the entrance way then took his seat between Matthew and Kelley like always.

Miss Sherry came in a few minutes later carrying everyone's writing journals. "Good Monday, everyone." She scanned the class, eyes landing on the purple bruise under Dean's eye. "Hey, Dean, wanna help me hand out these journals?"

Dean jumped up help. Jason and Julie liked the call him a teacher's pet, but he liked to feel special, and Miss Sherry made Dean feel special every day.

"Can I ask you a question?" Miss Sherry whispered as she handed him a bunch of notebooks.

Dean nodded.

"What happened to your eye?" Miss Sherry couldn't help but remember her encounter with Dean's father on Friday. He seemed like the kind of guy could lose his temper pretty easily, and she knew all too well how much of a handful Dean could be.

"Oh," Dean sighed, "I was tickle monster-ing Sammy."

"Okay," Miss Sherry smiled. "How does that give you a black eye?"

"I'm a really good tickle monster, and Sammy's little, but he moves really fast. And after I won he was getting away and he kicked me in the face. My dad was not happy, and Sammy and I got in big trouble for rough housing. We're not allowed to watch TV after dinner all week. I telled him it was an accident, but he was still really mad. Are you mad at me, too? It wasn't on purpose."

"Oh no, of course not, I'm not mad, Dean" Miss Sherry said. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You know you can tell me if you're not alright, if anyone hurts you."

Dean looked at her confused, but nodded. "Just Sam. One time he bit me and I had a big Sam mark on arm for, like, ever. It was gross. But Uncle Bobby told Sammy it was bad to bite things that weren't food. And that I wasn't food. So he didn't bite me again. But sometimes he kicks, but not on purpose. He's little. Sometimes he doesn't knowed he not supposed to do things. But then I get in trouble because I'm the oldest and I'm supposed to knowed better. Even though it wasn't my fault."

"Okay," Miss Sherry smiled. "Let's hand these out to everyone, okay?"

Dean nodded enthusiastically, and then turned to hand out the notebooks to his classmates.

Miss Sherry decided she was going to watch Dean more carefully. He always seemed so out of his element in class. He wasn't slow; he was very smart, on par if not ahead of his classmates when it came to reading and comprehension but so far behind socially. He just wanted to spend all his time alone with his fire truck.