After that first night, John begins the long drive to Bobby's. But his intentions for visiting may not be good...

Dean - 15; Sam - 11; Casey - 6;

The next morning, after a fast food breakfast, the Winchesters were on the road once more.

When Casey asked Dean where they were going, he told her that they were going to meet a man named Bobby and that he was very nice. Casey was still very unsure about this whole situation, but if Dean said that Bobby was nice, then maybe, just maybe, she might be able to trust him. Eventually.

It was a long drive; Casey couldn't remember ever being in a car this long. John didn't stop until they got to Sioux Falls. By the time they arrived, Casey wasn't very hungry (she was used to going without) but she definitely needed to use the bathroom.

John pulled in front of an older house with a sign that said "Singer Auto Salvage" in front. He put the car in park and turned around.

"You two, stay in the car," he said, addressing the boys. "You, come with me." He pointed at Casey.

Her eyes widened and she immediately shook her head vigorously. His eyes narrowed.

Dean put an arm around Casey protectively, his face showing clear defiance. He was not one to defy his father's orders at all, but he wasn't letting Casey go that easily.

John sighed. "Fine. Everybody out. Let's go."

Casey slid out of the car, still holding tightly to Dean's hand. He reached down and picked her up, holding her close. He knew what his father was planning to do, and he was going to do everything in his power to keep it from happening.

Bobby answered the door almost immediately. "Hey John," he greeted.

"Hey Bobby," he said gruffly. "I need a favor."

Bobby raised an eyebrow but turned to let them in nonetheless.

"Hi Bobby," Sam said.

Bobby cracked a bit of a smile. "Hey boys. Come on in."

He caught sight of Casey. "Well hi there," he said cheerfully. "Who might you be?"

Casey hid her face in Dean's shirt.

"This is Casey," Dean answered. "We picked her up yesterday."

"Picked her up? From where?"

Casey whispered something in Dean's ear. He nodded and set her down.

"It's right through that door," he said, pointing.

She nodded and ran inside, locking the door behind her.

"She was at the library trying to figure out how to get rid of ghosts. We just happened to be there at the same time. She took us to her house and we ended up running out of the house with her when her dad came home. He was abusing her pretty badly. We kept driving until we reached South Dakota, stopped for the night, and continued driving until we got here," Dean explained as Bobby led them into the library.

"She doesn't really trust anyone except Dean," Sam added. "I told her I wouldn't let anything hurt her, but she still doesn't trust me."

"From what you've said, it sounds like she's been through an awful lot," Bobby replied thoughtfully. "She probably sees Dean as someone who can protect her and keep her safe. You're a pretty tough kid Sam, but through a child's eyes, you don't look like you could keep someone safe. And if her Dad has been hurting her, she probably isn't gonna trust John for a long, long time. What are you guys gonna do with her?"

"That's what we're here to discuss," John answered. "I want to leave her here with you."

Casey had finished her business in the bathroom and was heading back to the room where the others were when she heard that. She stopped still and moved closer to the wall to listen a bit more carefully.

"I'm not so sure that that's a good idea," Bobby said, his voice laced with uncertainty.

"Well, she's not staying with us. She's a nuisance. She'll only get in the way," John stated.

"No, she won't," Dean spoke up.

"Are you disagreeing with me?" John asked, eyes narrowing once more.

"No sir," Dean replied, looking down. "I just think, maybe, she ought to stay with someone she trusts?"

"She'll grow to trust Bobby. It will be fine," John said, waving off Dean's concerns.

Dean then noticed a pair of eyes watching him fearfully from the doorway.

He stood. "I'll be right back."

He walked toward Casey and gestured for her to follow him. She grabbed his shirt sleeve and followed him outside to the front porch, where he sat down and leaned against the house. He beckoned her to come and sit.

She crawled onto his lap and he held her close.

"Are you guys gonna leave me here?" she asked softly.

Dean shook his head. "I promised I wasn't ever going to leave you, didn't I? If he tries to leave you here, I'll stay with you. Sam too."

They were silent for a while, listening to the cicadas buzzing around the house in the late summer heat.

"I don't like your daddy very much," she said softly. "He yells a whole lot and it scares me."

Dean sighed. "Yeah. Sometimes it scares me too."

Neither of them saw Bobby watching them through one of the front room windows.

"Does your daddy ever hurt you like my daddy hurts me?" she asked.

Dean shook his head. "No. He does yell a lot, and he's threatened me, but he's never actually hurt me. If he ever goes after you or Sammy, though, he's gonna have another thing comin'. Neither of you is getting hurt on my watch."

Bobby had seen and heard enough. He went back into the library to talk to John.

Sam came out a few minutes later with some sandwiches that he'd made for the three of them. He sat next to Dean and handed him one.

"Dean, I don't want Dad to make Casey stay here," he admitted.

Dean handed his sandwich to Casey and took another off the plate for himself. "Casey's not staying here. At least, not by herself. If Dad tries to leave her behind, I'm staying behind with her."

Sam nodded definitively. "Me too."

The three of them sat in silence after that, munching on their sandwiches.

Casey made a face before reaching down and pulling her shoes off her feet.

"My feet hurt," she announced.

Sam looked at her shoes. "These are way too small for your feet."

Dean slid his shoes off. "Try these ones on for size," he said, grinning.

Casey giggled before stepping into Dean's much-too-big shoes. She stomped around on the front porch, laughing out loud. Sam and Dean were laughing too.

From the front doorway, Bobby snapped a picture of the three of them. This was something he definitely wanted to remember. He put the camera inside before walking back out where they could see him.

Casey immediately stepped out of the too-big shoes and went back over to Dean.

"I told John that it's all or none," he told the trio. "All of you stay or none of you stay."

"And?" Dean asked, shifting Casey to a more comfortable position on his lap.

Bobby sighed. "He ain't too happy about it. He's out back ranting to himself about finding some other place to take Little Miss over here."

Bobby lowered himself to the floor of the porch, groaning a little, and sat back against the wall a few feet away from Dean. Casey was eyeing him warily.

He smiled a little. "We haven't been properly introduced, now, have we? My name's Bobby. And yours is Casey from what I've heard. Is that right?"

She nodded.

"It's nice to meet you. How old are you?"

She held up 6 fingers.

"Six? That's pretty big. Suppose I should be calling you Miss Casey, seeing as you're so grown up."

She didn't say anything. One of her hands found its way to Dean's shirt, holding it tight.

"Do you like ice cream, Miss Casey? I've got some in the freezer."

She shrugged.

"Have you ever had ice cream before?" Dean asked.

She shook her head.

"That's almost as bad as never eating a burger! Bobby, we need to fix this."

Bobby nodded. "I'll go dig it out. Do you boys want any?"

Sam and Dean both nodded.

Bobby stood up off the porch. "I'll be right back."

Silence overtook the trio once more. Dean heard footsteps coming from around the house and saw his father a little ways off, talking to someone on the phone. He didn't look happy.

Bobby came back with three bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream and handed them out.

Casey stared quizzically at her bowl.

"Is it supposed to be green?" she asked Dean.

He nodded, his mouth already too full of ice cream to respond.

She took a small spoonful and licked it. She was evidently surprised by the taste, if her face indicated anything.

"Do you like it?" Sam asked.

"I think so," she replied, putting the spoon in her mouth. She didn't expect it to taste so sweet. She wasn't used to sweet things. But the mint seemed to balance it out a little.

John walked back toward the porch, grumbling.

"I've called everyone I can think of. Caleb can't take her and neither can Pastor Jim. You're sure she can't stay with you?"

Bobby nodded definitively.

John groaned. He went over to Casey, towering over her at his full height.

"Alright, listen up. If you're gonna stay with us then you're gonna do everything I say, no ifs, ands, or buts. You don't listen, I drop you at the nearest CPS office. You understand?"

Her eyes were wide. She nodded violently.

"Good." He stomped back inside the house, mumbling something about needing a beer.

"Hey," Dean said softly. "You don't need to worry about that. I won't let him drop you off anywhere. I promise."

She nodded, but the fear never left her eyes. She knew that John was serious, and that terrified her. She resolved to do whatever he said. She didn't want to jeopardize anything. She finally felt safe. Well, somewhat safe.

"Dean," Bobby said in a low voice once John had gone inside. "If he ever lays a finger on any of you I want you to give me a call. If he ever threatens you, give me a call. And don't let Casey out of your sight. I've got a feeling he's not done trying to get rid of her yet."

Dean nodded solemnly.

Casey decided that Bobby was nice like Dean said, but she still didn't trust him. At the very least, she trusted him more than John. She also decided that Sam was nice as well, and that she could probably trust him. Probably.

"Hey Little Miss," Bobby said. "I know you don't know me very well and you don't trust me at all, but I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything that bothers you or makes you feel unsafe. Anytime at all, day or night, ask Dean for his phone and you can call me. You understand?"

She nodded. "Thank you for the ice cream," she said quietly.

He smiled. "You're very welcome."

"Hey Casey," Sam said. "You wanna go and play in the scrap lot? It's lots of fun!"

"What's the scrap lot?" she asked curiously.

"Cmon, I'll show you!" He stood and jumped off the porch, beckoning for her to follow.

She looked at Dean. "Will you come too?"

He nodded, lifting her off his lap and standing up. "The scrap lot's out back. There's dozens of cars and stuff to play around in."

He followed behind Sam and Casey as they ran off toward the back of the house.

Bobby watched them walk off. That girl was not going to have a normal childhood, he reckoned. But with those two around, she'd definitely have an interesting one. And maybe, just maybe, she'd turn out alright. Maybe.

A/N: So I decided that I really liked the last chapter I wrote and I wanted to continue it, so I did. If you guys really like this story, I have another story with Casey up called Silence in the Forest. It was too long to post as a one-shot here so I made it into a story of its own. It's a bit darker than this one, but I mean hey. You watch Supernatural. You can handle it.