Dean leaned back against the seat. Part of him wanted to sink down against the upholstery, shut his eyes, and sleep and sleep and then sleep some more. But he couldn't do that yet. Not until he knew he and Sam were safe. He couldn't let himself relax. There was too much at stake right now. He glanced out the window and watched the run-down buildings give way to the wider roads of the nicer part of town.

"Are you sure you're both alright." Mary said for the third time.

"We're fine." Dean said. He glanced at John. His wide shoulders were tense and his muscles looked tight enough to snap. And he was driving fast. Dean felt a pang of apprehension – the same deep-seated worry that had subtly been replacing the hope he'd felt when he'd realized that John and Mary were his folks. He shook it off and centered himself.

This was best for his brother. It was definitely better than freezing and starving in a rusted out Ford. And John said he'd enroll them in school. Which kinda sucked. But also meant he planned on keeping them. His insides flip-flopped again. Of course, John had no idea what a pain in the ass they could be. He might still change his mind.

Dean sucked in a breath. But John and Mary were their parents. Dean was sure of it. And, okay, they weren't quite like he remembered them. The dad he remembered had been a lot gentler and the mom he knew seemed to like him as much as she liked Sammy. He looked at Mary's concerned face again. But she was their mom. And John was their dad.

He shuddered again with pangs of worry. Just because they were related didn't necessary mean that John and Mary were safe. He'd meant plenty of kids whose parents were anything but. Hell, John and Mary had lost them for ten years. Ten damn years. And they hadn't even found them. Or recognized them. Or anything. That'd all been on Dean. How did he know they even really wanted them back? Maybe they just felt guilty. Maybe they'd lose them again. Maybe they'd send them back into the system the first chance they got.

Mary reached back across the seat and put her palm to Sam's forehead. His brother must have felt worse then he'd let on because it took Sam almost five seconds to bat her away. Dean sank further against the door and watched. She certainly seemed to care. Well. About Sam anyway.

"You still have a fever." She said, brow crinkling in concern. "Why don't you rest, Sam. It'll be a few hours before it's safe to stop."

Dean straightened up in the seat, tensing so fast the wound on his leg pulled painfully. A few hours? Where the hell were they going, South America? He rubbed at the torn denim to ease the ache. He'd thought they were just going to rocket over to the suburbs for a heart to heart and a better motel room.

"I'm thinking maybe San Antonio or one of the border towns." John's deep voice rang out from the front.

Mary pulled her eyes off Sam to consider it. "There's a cabin in New Mexico. Just outside of Carlsbad. It's protected." She said. "We could hold up there for a few days."

Dean didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean New Mex-" He started, but neither of them seemed to be listening to him.

"West then." John said, cutting him off and maneuvering the car to the highway.

"No." Dean said. They didn't get to waltz in after all these years and suddenly drag them across the country. "Wait a damn minute." He said garnering both their attentions.

Mary turned back and John's eyes watched him heavily in the mirror.

Dean smiled and tried to pull his tone back to calm, respectful, and reasonable. "I get leaving the shady, monster-infested part of town, I do, but you wanna leave the state?" Dean said. "You didn't say that."

Mary frowned at him. "It's dangerous here. We need to get as far away as possible." She handed him John's jacket. "You can use it as a blanket." Dean swatted it away and the leather fell to the floorboard in a heap. Mary reached over the seat towards him. Dean shifted away. She pulled back and contemplated him like he was some sort of cornered wild thing.

"Sweetie, why don't you get some rest?" She said finally. Her gaze fell to Sam. "You too, Sam. You can stretch out on the seat."

Dean crossed his arms. "Sammy and me didn't sign up for a family road trip just yet." He said, wincing at his biting tone. He continued, trying to put calm back into his voice. "Why don't we just get a room outside of town?" He wanted them to like him. Hell, who was he kidding, he wanted them to keep him. But he didn't want them moving him and Sam to some cabin out in the middle of nowhere. They could still be freaks. Dean had been wrong about people before.

"Um…" Sam sat up, responding to the words with alarm. He eyed Mary carefully. "We're going to New Mexico now? Why?" He lifted an eyebrow and caught his brother's eyes.

"We need to get out of town." Mary said. "It's not-"

Dean snorted and the effort he was putting into being a good, respectful kid crumbled. "It was plenty safe until two days ago." He said. "Nothing bothered us here until you showed up." It came out loud and mean. "Sam and I aren't going with you to friggin' New Mexico." His glanced down to the door handle. John would have to slow down sooner or later and then he and his brother could just jump out until John and Mary agreed to go somewhere closer.

Mary gazed at him for a moment. "Honey, listen-"

That was about all Dean could take. "That's not my name!"

"Dean!" John glanced back. "That's enough. Now stop." He turned back towards the front.

Dean glared at the back of his head. This was bullshit. Bullshit. "Seriously? What're you gonna do?" Dean said. "Turn the car around? 'Cause I'm starting to think I got no problem with that." He put as much disrespect and anger as he could into his next word. "Sir." He said.

John's shoulders tightened further. "Your brother's sick, Dean. And you're not much better." John said. "You're coming to New Mexico and that's that."

"Like hell I'm going to New Mexico." Dean told him low and angry. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Mary, Sam and I are going to New Mexico, Dean." John said and whoa did he sound pissed. "You wanna stay with this family, you're coming too."

"So now we're family?"

"You've been trying to convince me of that since we met, kid." John growled out. "So what the hell is your problem?"

"New Mexico is my problem. Sir." He said, smiling when he heard John's exasperated huff from the front. John could be a pretty scary S.O.B. And he was a freakin' giant. But Dean was too angry to care about upsetting him. "And Sam's my only family."

The exchange served to wake Sam further from his daze. He rubbed his eyes and shifted his gaze between the front seat and Dean.

"John, calm down." Mary said. But she frowned at Dean like she was speaking to him instead.

"No." John said. "I want to know what's got the boy all riled up. 'Cause I'm not putting up with his attitude much longer."

Sam's eyes widened. "I'm staying with my brother." Sam said in a quiet but firm tone. Dean heard the underlying fear in his words. "I'm staying with my brother." He repeated. "You're not separating us."

"No one's being separated." Mary cleared her throat and caught Dean's eyes. "What's the problem, Dean?"

"You're the problem." Dean said, low and mean and intended to hurt. "You didn't recognize me. You didn't ever look for us, did you?"

Mary paled. "Dean, you know we didn't know-"

"You should have."

"Dean…" John warned from the front.

Dean knew he was pushing too far. John had a temper. That much was obvious. Well screw him. If things were going to get rough, he wanted to find out now, not weeks down the road after he and Sammy thought they could trust him.

"You cut me with the knife." And for some reason that suddenly hurt him deep inside, much worse than the actual wound. Dean's mind wandered back to when they'd met. "And you pushed me against that wall." He felt his cheeks heating. In the back of his mind, he told himself to shut up already. He wanted to stay with them, he really did, but he couldn't get his mouth to get on board with that. "The only reason you care at all is because now you're starting to believe I'm your kid. If I wasn't, you'd have left me on the street."

"With this attitude, I might just throw you back there anyway." John snapped.

"Enough!" Mary held up her palms. "Stop the car."

John slowed the car down and pulled towards the shoulder. Dean's hand began shaking. He tucked it under his arm so no one would notice. Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. They were going to leave him on the side of the road. Dean hugged his arms tight to his chest. It was either alone on the streets or with them in some secluded cabin. The cabin didn't sound that bad. Not really. And New Mexico was probably nice this time of year.

"Fine." Dean heard his voice crack. His stomach churned. "Fine. We'll go with you to New Mexico." He looked down at the floorboard and wished he'd taken the jacket. It looked warm, especially if they were throwing him out. "I got nowhere better to be. So." He shifted in the seat, feeling Mary's contemplative eyes watching him. The car slowed further bumping on the rough asphalt. Dean inhaled through his nose and looked at her. "I'm sorry, okay. I'll go with you. I wanna go, alright." He caught John's eyes. "I'm sorry." Dean wished he couldn't hear the desperation in his voice. "I'll go with you. Please. Okay."

John stopped the car and turned around. "You're damned right you're going with us."

"And I'm going wherever my brother goes." Sam said whispered voice.

Dean glanced at Sam. His brother's fevered eyes were taking in every detail now. And Dean knew Sam was thinking about the two times they'd tried to put them in separate homes. Sam had been so afraid then and Dean saw the same fear rushing under his quiet words now.

Dean pulled out a last shred of bravery. "And Sam and I stay together. No matter what." Dean said and Sam calmed down a fraction. But as Dean said it, he guiltily wondered if Sam would be better off with John and Mary, even if they decided to ditch Dean along the way.

Mary rubbed her temple like her head pounded. "You're both coming with us. We have to protect you." Mary said sounding desperate. "You have to stay with us now. It's not safe out there. For either of you."

She opened the door, stepped outside, and walked back to his door and opened it. Her blond hair fell in front of her as she stared down at him. And even though they'd both said they were taking him with them, Dean wondered if he'd blown it, if she was going to pull him out of the car and jump inside so they could zoom away before Sammy could get out too. People were tricky like that sometimes. He kept his eyes down. He shouldn't have said anything. He should've kept his big mouth closed and no one would be upset.

Mary put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, baby." She leaned over him. "I'm going to ride in the back with you two." She kept her hand on his shoulder as she squeezed between him and Sam on the seat. She reached across, pulled the door shut, and locked it. Dean kept quiet.

***

Mary put one arm around Sam and one arm around Dean. Sam fidgeted and Mary had the distinct impression he'd prefer to sit beside his brother.

"We good?" John asked, twisting around and watching them.

Now that she had her arm around him, she could feel Dean trembling. She glanced at Dean and then to John and shook her head in a subtle no. "Let's go." She said.

John looked like he wanted to climb into the backseat too. But he nodded and started the engine.

"Dean, it's alright. You need to relax now." She said.

He didn't say anything. If anything, he seemed to become more anxious. Sam leaned across her and glanced worriedly at Dean. Mary closed her eyes and took in a calming breath. Both the boys needed rest. She looked up. John kept glancing at them in the rearview mirror.

"Dean?" She said making sure to use his name as much as possible. "We're not leaving you." She pulled at his shoulder so she could see his face. "Do you understand?"

He nodded, but wouldn't meet her gaze. "Yes ma'am." He said not sounding convinced at all.

"You and Sam should both rest, okay?" She said. "We'll wake you when we stop."

"Yes ma'am." He said again. He leaned away from her against the window, muscles still stressed, shoulders still shaking.

She kept her arm around his shoulder, but it was awkward with him leaning the other way. "You too, Sam." She said in her gentlest tone.

Sam looked at his brother and his smooth brow furrowed in concern. He jerked away from her, shuffled toward the other window and slumped against it. She felt thoroughly rejected. For many long minutes she sat there in the middle, not knowing what to do, wondering if she should have stayed in the passenger seat.

Dean fought sleep for awhile, but he was too wiped out to win. She felt his thin frame finally relax into an uneasy slumber beside her. And Sam was too sick to stay awake very long. He succumbed with his head uncomfortably pressed against the door and his mouth hanging wide open. After a few more miles, Sam shifted in his sleep until his head was on her lap and his feet were curled up on the bench. His shirt fell open and she saw he had his hand protectively clutched around a leather binder. She pulled the shirt back down over it.

Dean was still plastered against the door, as far from her as possible. She wanted to have them close. Both of them. Mary used the arm she had around him to pull him slowly back to her until he was resting against her shoulder. There. Much better.

"Don't wake them." John said quietly and disapprovingly from the front. "They need to rest, Mary."

Mary narrowed her eyes at him and didn't respond. She looked down at Dean's leg. The rip in his jeans was fraying more. "You need to check his leg when we stop." She sighed. "If he'll let you."

"Oh he'll let me." John said.

"Don't force him, John." She looked down, making sure he was asleep. "If they're our kids, they need to know they can trust us." She pushed Sam's damp hair off his forehead. "Even if they're not." She cut off that thought. She needed to believe they were hers. But she and John would help them either way. She wouldn't abandon them. She promised.

"My number one priority is his health and safety. His feelings are a distant number two. I'm checking the leg. And the rest of him." He was quiet for a moment as they zoomed around a semi. He caught her eyes. "I made some calls." He said.

Mary arched her brows. "When?"

"When I went for dinner while the two of them were zonked out in the motel."

Mary's breath caught. "And?"

"I didn't find out much." He said. "But a couple, Frank and Beatrice Reynolds, put in applications adopt a 'Sam Winchester' and a 'Dean Winchester' six weeks ago."

Mary let the information settle. "You think they're our kids too." She said.

John spoke evenly. "Seems more and more likely. My source is credible. He's searching for more info on the boys." He glanced in the mirror at her again. "They still asleep?"

Mary hugged Dean tighter and rested her palm against Sam's cheek. "I'm not sure I could wake them if I tried." Images of family dinners and birthdays and Christmases started to dance through her head. She smiled, but it waned as she glanced down at Dean's ripped jeans. They were worn. And filthy. "Do they have any other clothes?" She said. Neither of them had changed since they'd met.

"I didn't have to load any luggage in the trunk, if that's what you're asking."

Sam's jeans were thin too. And neither of the kids looked that clean. Mary realized she was a terrible mother. The kind that couldn't even keep her boys bathed. "We need to get them some clothes. And a shower. And we need to think about settling-"

"They're dead." John said.

"What?"

"The couple." John said. "They're dead. We need to find out what the boys know. Especially-" He took a breath. "Especially with the demonic signs at the motel room. They're in danger, Mary."

Mary pulled them closer. "We'll protect them."

"We need to know what they know."

Mary laid her head against Dean's spiky hair. "I suppose so." She relented. "Just ask them nicely, John. Don't bully them. They're scared."

"I'm always nice." He said. "But if it comes down to me scaring them or me keeping them safe, like I said, I'm always going to choose to keep them safe."

TBC