Dean had no idea what to expect, but he knew that if Ellie was calling out to his brother then the situation had to be bad. He didn't remember running through the dining room, or overturning a chair in the process. He wouldn't be able to recall later how he took the stairs three at a time in hopes of getting to Sammy quicker. All that he would have burned into his brain for the rest of his life was the sight of his little brother passed out on the floor with the phone still clutch in his hand like a lifeline.
"Ellie, Ellie sweetie, go find Grandma. Go on baby." He said with as much calm as he could gather as he rushed to Sammy's side looking for any signs as to what could have caused this. Feeling the pulse beneath his fingers, Dean felt a sudden sense of relief even thought the beating was faster than what he normally was comfortable with; right now he was just happy to know his brother was still with him. Picking up the receiver, he listened but didn't hear anything which clued him in that someone was still on the other end. "Who the hell is this?" he bellowed over the phone line, demanding to know who dared to cause this situation in the first place. When he heard the click and dial tone he knew that he wasn't going to get an answer that way so turned his attention back to the one person who might be able to fill him in. "Sammy, hey buddy I need you wake up now."
Sam had no idea what was going on. He had thought he heard Ellie call out to him which caused a bolt of panic to shoot through him but for some reason he wasn't able to pull himself out of the darkness that he felt immersed in. He felt a slight trembling under him and wondered about it until he heard a familiar voice and knew it was Dean and he had ran up the stairs, still though he couldn't seem to pull himself together even after feeling his brother's fingers on his throat. It wasn't until Dean started to shake him that he felt the hold over him slip away slightly, enough for him to claw his way back to whatever place he was supposed to be. It took a few more moments than he liked, but he was finally able to crack open his eyes and look around.
"What happened?" he asked, noting his brother's worried look as well as his father's defensive stance.
"What happened… what happened? We were sort of hoping you could tell us! We were talking in the kitchen and the phone rang then we heard your very ungraceful swan dive!" Dean said with as much sarcasm as he could pull together through the fear that had hold of him like a vice.
Looking around, Sam had no idea what Dean was talking about… well, not really anyway, because if he started thinking about it too much he'd have to admit that he had completely lost his mind and that was something he just couldn't deal with… at least not right now. "Uh… wrong number I think." He stated as he managed to pull himself off the floor. He knew it sounded lame, but he needed some time to pull himself together; just some time to come to terms with what obviously must be happening and what it would mean for Ellie and his family. If he really was out of his head then he didn't want to be a burden to anyone, or a danger to Ellie. If he…
"Wrong number? Damn Sammy, if you're going to lie to us at least come up with something good!" Dean exclaimed as he stalked back towards the stairs leaving his dad and brother alone.
John knew that something was going on, and whatever it was was scaring his youngest boy to death. He watched as Sammy turned towards him with confusing marking every part of his face and mannerisms. "Son?"
Pulled out of his daze, Sam wasn't sure how to answer, so gave what he could. "It had to have been a wrong number… there's no way…"
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Mary had settled Ellie at the breakfast bar and watched as the little girl ate some cereal. She knew that John and Dean would take care of everything but that didn't keep her from wondering what was going on. She didn't have to wait too long for her to hear the front door open and slam shut, giving her the sense that Dean was upset and since he wasn't yelling for 911, then she knew it wasn't a matter of life or death.
Watching Ellie eat, she forced herself not to look towards the door, knowing that would drive both of them bonkers in no time. She instead busied herself with making a list of items that she knew the little girl in front of her liked and read them to her to see what her reaction would be. Satisfied that she had Ellie's attention, she smiled. "Hey sweetheart, how about you and me play hooky and go to the zoo today?" she asked, hoping that Ellie was in one of her good days and was more than willing to do something different, just the two of them.
Ellie paused with her spoon half way between the bowl and her mouth, and then with a moment of looking straight at Mary, she nodded before resuming her breakfast.
With that settled, Mary felt confident that the rest of the day would go a lot smoother. Hearing John's heavier footsteps followed by Sam's much lighter ones, she knew that she'd have to clear it with her son first, but then again she also knew that she had him wrapped around her finger so she wasn't worried about being turned down.
When the pair of Winchester men walked back into the kitchen she could tell that something was going on but one wasn't talking and the other was completely oblivious as to what to do about it. She knew she would be able to find out what happened upstairs from John, but for right now she needed a different type of answer.
"Sammy, I was hoping that Ellie could spend the day with me today." Mary started, gauging her son's reaction in case he started to protest. When all she got was a blank stare she started to worry and was just about to ask him if he was ok when he answered.
Sam had followed his dad through the house totally oblivious to everything around him. It wasn't until he got into the kitchen that he felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. There they were his mom and his little girl sharing a moment with each other just like so many other people did everyday and it hit him that his days with his family just like this could very well be numbered. Hearing his mom's question, he didn't have the heart to argue over school, or schedules, he just wanted them to get as many moments together as they could because he was worried that either Ellie would be taken away… or he would.
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He knew he was over reacting but then again who wouldn't under these circumstances. It hadn't been that long since his little brother had been kidnapped and almost murdered, so when someone calls and causes the kid to pass out… well, he has a tendency to take it a little personally.
Although at the moment he was pretty upset with his little brother too, after all he hadn't called to tell him what was going on; this was important damnit! So yeah, he felt his anger was more than a little justified. Then again, the confused look on Sammy's face when he woke really made him wonder what could have been so bad to have put that unbelievably lost look on his face.
Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair and knew what he had to do. He needed to put everything to the side and get back in there and do what he did best… look after his family. Sammy may be more than competent in taking care of himself and Ellie, but he had a feeling that the kid was in way over his head and was going to need everyone on the same to get through this. Which meant that big brother needed to pull his head out of his derriere, as his mom would occasionally say, and get back in the game.
Rushing back inside, he missed the white convertible that was slowly making its way through the neighborhood and slowed down even more in front of the house before taking off down the street.
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With the wonderful weather, Mary and Ellie were able to see all of the outer exhibits and they were taking full advantage of it; well, Mary was at least. Ellie's attention would grab hold of one animal for a few moments before she'd start humming to herself and looking around as if she knew everyone could hear the music she heard in her head. All in all they both were having a wonderful time and Mary had even successfully gotten Ellie to eat an ice cream cone, making that an even bigger highlight of the day than anything else they could think of.
As Mary was taking a moment to finish wiping off Ellie's hands of the stick concoction, she was so engrossed in conversation with the little girl she failed to notice the shadow that fell across her until a woman spoke from right next to her.
"Oh my goodness, isn't she just a doll!"
Startled, Mary whipped around and brought herself to her full height. She wasn't sure what was going on, but something about this young woman actually set her defenses on high alert. Looking over the woman, Mary noticed that she looked familiar somehow but couldn't place a name to the face.
"Is she yours?" the woman said enthusiastically while looking over Ellie with what could only be described as greedy eyes.
"My Granddaughter actually. Have we met?" Mary asked, taking Ellie's hand and holding her tightly to her side.
The young woman smiled and shook her head. "Oh I don't think so. I just noticed what a beautiful girl you have. She seems so shy, is she ok?"
"I assure you there's nothing wrong with her. Now if you'll excuse me Miss…"
The woman smiled and walked off with a wave as if they were friends who had just bumped into them.
Shaking her head, Mary wasn't sure what to think about the blonde haired blue eyed young lady. Knowing that Ellie had to be getting tired, Mary silently agreed that they had enough for the day and more than willingly led her little princess towards the car so they could go home. It wasn't until they were halfway to the car that Mary stopped suddenly and looked at the little girl whose hand she clutched tightly. Suddenly she knew who the young lady reminded her of; suddenly she understood that she had just met Brittany.
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Sam was sitting at the dining room table with a pile of papers scattered all over the place and a beer in his hand. He had already gone over everything with Dean and was now waiting to hear what his brother had to say about this whole mess. The whole house was quiet except for the occasional rustling of a page being turned or a scratching of pencil on paper where one of them would make a note.
Their dad had decided to go check on the shop then grab some lunch on the way back, borrowing Dean's car in the process. The subject of Sammy's truck had been a strained issue, one that the youngest Winchester avoided, making the others wonder what the real issue was but knew to wait for the answer.
"Ok, so she's coming out of the woodwork now for what reason?" Dean asked, trying hard to figure out someone's reasoning for just appearing out of the clear blue sky.
Not knowing what to say, Sam stayed quiet and watched as his brother tried to piece together the puzzle that was turning his life into a living nightmare. Taking another drink of his beer it was easy to pretend he was otherwise occupied, anything other than fill Dean on the rest of the bad news. Taking a deep breath, he pushed that thought out of his mind and concentrated on what was right there in front of them, what they could change as long as the law was on there side.
Knowing his little brother was nervous, Dean tried to find a way to ease the tension but fell short when his mind suddenly drew a blank. This wasn't anything to joke about. From what he had read already, this whole situation was a mess. At the very best the case would be dragged through the courts for several years costing tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and disrupting Ellie's life on a continual basis, and the very worst was similar except they wouldn't have Ellie at the end of it all. As he looked across the table he could see his brother's eyes and knew the weight that lay on his shoulders. Determined to ease the burden, Dean vowed to do whatever he had to, to make sure the later didn't happen.
The sound of the door being flung open pulled both boys out of their thoughts, but it was the terrified voice of their mother that made them both jump up and run into the kitchen where they were met with her tear stained face and Ellie clinging to her like a koala bear.
"Oh my God! She's here, she's here and she was so close… I'm so sorry Sammy, I didn't know." Mary cried out, terrified of what could have happened while thankful that it hadn't. "Brittany's here, she saw us at the zoo and I didn't know who she was! She knows Sammy; she knows who Ellie is now!"
