Chapter 7

Sam woke up early the next morning, and after writing a quick note to Dean explaining where he was, left the room to get breakfast. When he had left, Noah was sound asleep, still in Nathan's arms. He didn't know what to do about the boys; the subject kept him awake for most of the night. Him and Dean couldn't just let other people care for the boys; they'd most likely be split up and placed in foster care, and with all they knew about the supernatural world, how would that affect their life? The best bet would be to take the boys with them, although it would be more complicated hunting with two young boys.

Maybe the boys would be good for them, maybe it would force them to slow down and live for something other than just each other. Nathan and Noah were good boys, and Dean liked them a lot. He'd be a great surrogate father for them; he was always good with children, and it would be good for him. Every since the whole Hell situation, he'd been more distant and even more introverted with his emotions. Pushing these thoughts behind him, Sam turned the Impala onto the main road of down and promised he'd have a talk with Dean about the boys as soon as they figured out what to do about Matt Carmichael.

***

Dean woke shortly after Sam left. He read the note his brother left him and quietly got up from his bed, hoping not to wake Nathan and Noah who definitely needed their sleep after the stressful evening the night before. Dean flipped the covers from off him, stood up, and walked to the bathroom. After cleaning up a little, Dean went back to the main room and after pacing the room, trying t o find something to occupy his time, he sat in a chair and just watched the two boys sleep.

What now? He felt a pull to those boys and he had no idea why. Maybe it was because they were so broken and lost and that was Dean's job, to protect people who couldn't protect themselves. Maybe it was because they were innocent boys who were thrust in the unforgiving and terrifying world of hunting. Maybe it was because a part of him knew he wanted to be a father and he already felt a fatherly connection towards the two boys.

Sam's abrupt arrival tore Dean from his thoughts. "Hey," Sam said while closing the door and placing a bag and two coffees on the table. "They still sleeping?" he said with a nod at the bed where Nathan and Noah were still asleep.

"Yeah, they're still out," Dean replied taking a sip of coffee from the cup.

"So, have you thought at all about what we're gonna do with Matt?"

"No, I've been thinking about some other stuff."

The two men sat in silence for a while until Sam spoke, "Well, I think I'll go check on the asshole," standing up, Sam went to put his coat back on. He could tell Dean was too wrapped up in his own emotions and thoughts to have a serious conversation right now, "When they wake up, there are bagels and donuts in the bag."

Sam left the room and Dean went back to reflecting on the situation, but his thoughts were once again interrupted by a stirring in the still occupied bed. Dean tried to look like he was doing something to make the moment a little less awkward, but was unsuccessful. He saw Nathan push himself up, trying his hardest not to jar any of his injuries. He looked up to see Dean staring at him, and after a few seconds of silence, Dean asked, "Do you want any breakfast?"

Dean could see Nathan trying to conquer his fear and approach him. He was biting his lip and looking down into his lap until finally getting up from the bed. He reached over and tucked the blankets more securely around Noah's small body before walking over to the table with Dean, who could see a change in the boy even though he only knew him for a short while. He seemed a lot more tense and afraid, and although he constantly attempted to come off as strong and courageous for his brother, the barrier was a lot weaker. The incident with his dad the night before had taken its toll on him.

Nathan walked over to the table and sat down across from the oldest Winchester while Dean laid out the food Sam bought. "So, eat anything you want," but the conversation was suddenly interrupted by the motel door slamming into the wall. Sam rushed in, completely ignored Nathan's presence and directed at Dean, "He's gone!"

Noah woke up at Sam's arrival and fearfully looked around for his brother. Cringing at Sam's tone, Nathan rushed over to his brother, ignoring the searing pains in his side, and swept the boy to him. "What do you mean he's gone?" Dean said standing up from his chair. Noah's face was now hidden in Nathan's neck at the rising volume of the Winchesters' conversation, while Nathan was glancing wide-eyed at the two men.

"I mean he's gone, Dean," Sam took off his coat and threw at one of the wooden chairs surrounding the table. "He must have got out of his bounds and he left during the night."

"Dad's gone?" Nathan finally caught on to the conversation, "What are we going to do? What are you going to do with us?" he was quickly panicking. At least while their father was there they always had someone to turn to, even if he was abusive, but with the Winchesters, they wouldn't want to minors with them at all times, right?

"Hey, Nathan, don't freak out, you're scaring your brother." Dean said as he approached the boys. Nathan flinched when Dean tried to place a tender hand on his shoulder. "Let's all just have breakfast and we'll figure this out, alright. Just calm down." Sam noticed that although Dean spoke these words and his outward appearance was calm, he knew that inside, his brother was furious. Sam knew Dean wanted another go with the sadistic man.

Nathan tried to control his breathing as he allowed Dean to gently lead them over to the table and the two sat down, and although Noah was no longer hiding his face, he was still unwilling to let go of his brother.

"Hey, Noah, how about you sit on another chair. I'm sure Nathan's not feeling too hot right now," Sam suggested.

"I'm fine," Nathan replied, holding Noah tighter to him. Sam let it rest for now, he was sure the brothers were frightened and only force would keep them a part, and Sam wasn't about to do that, even if Nathan was seriously hurt.

"Here," Dean said handing Nathan two pills from a bottle sitting on the table, "it'll help with the pain. Now, Sam and I are gonna go talk outside. Why don't you two eat up and we can talk when we come back."

Dean got up and followed Sam out the door and Nathan began making a bagel for Noah who was now resting his head on Nathan's shoulder. He swallowed the two pills and handed Noah part of the bagel while he picked up the other half for himself. Nathan tried not to think too much about what the Winchesters were talking about outside, no matter what happened he would be fine as long as his brother was with him.

Shutting the door behind him, Dean turned to face Sam who had his hands on his hips.

"What are we going to do?" Sam came right out and asked.

Dean sighed and looked over at the Impala and after a few moments asked, "Do you think we should just keep them with us? And what the hell are we going to do about Matt? We can't just let the bastard go."

Sam thought about what his brother just said and carefully chose his next words, "I think we should just try to forget about him. I know you want to hunt Matt down and kill him, but again, for their sake," he said nodding towards the door, "I think it would be best to just let it go. We can protect those kids, and I think they should stay with us. I mean they already know about the supernatural world and I know how hard it is to hunt with kids, but I think that would be the best thing to do in the long run."

"Yeah, I can't imagine putting them in the damned system; God knows what would happen to them in there, and anyways, I like them…they're cool kids."

"I think it'd be worth it, I mean I know you already have a connection with them Dean. Let's just take them with us."

"I don't have a connection with them," Dean immaturely denied, "Nathan will barely let me touch his shoulder," he let out a sigh, "Well, where do we go from here? Are we going to drag them around with us hunting?" Dean questioned.

"They like you Dean, they're just nervous, and I know you like them. How about we just go to Bobby's and let Nathan get better and we can figure out what to do from there," Sam suggested.

"Okay," Dean agreed, "we should check Noah too, I'm sure he's got a few cuts and bruises."

"Good idea. So, ready to go back in?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, let's just tell them we're going to take them to a friend's house of ours so they can get better. I don't want to tell them they're staying with us until they trust us more."

"Yeah, that's probably best," Sam said, and together he and Dean walked back into the room and informed the boys of their upcoming trip to Bobby Singer's house. Dean really hoped the boys would start to trust him and Sam or the next few weeks were going to be really awkward.

Sooooo….do you guys hate me or what? I bet you didn't expect Matt to get away? Well, there I think there's only going to be one or two more chapters, and I'll write a sequel if you guys want it, so let me know. And please review! I love reviews so so so so much! Btw, the next chapter might take a little longer to write since I am back at school and have to finish the work that I didn't do over spring break…so yeah, but I will try my hardest to review as soon as possible.