"Daddy, Daddy," a small, panicked voice cut through Dean's sleep.

Immediately the man was wide awake, "What's wrong?" he asked, not missing a beat, looking into the terrified eyes of his little girl.

"There's a loud noise," she whispered, "Outside our room," she was instinctively holding onto him.

Dean slowly stood up, "You sure?" he asked, this wasn't the first time she had heard something in the bunker that had frightened her.

"Yeah," she whispered, "I was getting a cup of water and I heard the front door."

"Was it Sam?" Dean asked.

"No, Daddy," she kept her voice low.

"What did they look like?" but then he heard a loud booming noise and the bunker shook for a moment, "Son-of-a-bitch," he said, quickly darting over and grabbing his gun from his dresser, "Okay," he squatted down to her level, "I need you to climb out the window and go hide in your tree house. Don't come out until I come for you," he looked at her, "Understand?"

She nodded slowly, "You're not coming with me?"

"I will as soon as I can," then he walked over and opened the window, picking the small girl up and placing her through it, "Don't make a sound," he warned and then shut the window. He slipped on his shoes and had his gun ready before he opened the bedroom door. But there was nothing. No bunker. A swirling black hole. Quickly Dean ran back to the window and threw it open, now noticing that the same black hole had swallowed up the outside too. All that was left was the room he was standing in.

Then he heard Axel's very distinct screaming and he didn't hesitate before jumping through that window into the swirling black hole, "I'm coming baby!" he yelled, flying weightlessly until his body slammed hard against something invisible and he was just suspended in the black.

After what felt like forever a small light appeared and he could see Axel standing across from him.

"Baby," he called to her, "Are you okay?"

She lifted her head and looked straight at him. But she wasn't actually looking, because her eyeballs had been burned out of her skull.

"No!" he screamed and his body started to shake.

"Daddy, Daddy!" the same panicked voice as earlier cut through his haze of sleep.

Dean bolted straight up and took in the sight of Axel. Without a word he pulled her into his arms, "Are you okay?" he asked, holding her at arm's length and checking over her, making sure her eyes were still in their sockets.

"I'm fine," she narrowed her eyes at him, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Dean breathed, mopping the sweat from his forehead, "Did you hear a noise?" he asked, getting off of the bed.

"No," she was confused.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she looked at him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Dean cleared his throat, sitting back down on the edge of the bed, "Why'd you wake me?" he came off annoyed but in truth he was damn glad for the interruption.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said, "I came in here and you were yelling and thrashing about. I thought you were having a seizure or something."

"No," he shook his head, "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Bad dream?" she inquired.

"Uh," he scratched his head, "Yeah. Nothing big."

"What was it about?"

Dean shook his head, "What did you come in here to ask me?"

"I wanted to know if I could go into town with Azrael."

Slowly Dean blinked, trying to clear his head of the awful nightmare, "Into town?" he asked, "For what?"

She paused and chewed her lip, "I dunno. She just asked if I wanted to go."

"Who's taking you?" he asked, "Because you're too young to go by yourself."

"Uncle Sam," she stated.

He slowly stood up, "What time is it?"

"Noon."

"Noon?!" he exclaimed, "Why the hell didn't you wake me?"

She flinched, "I'm sorry Daddy. I just knew you didn't sleep much last night."

Dean shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to gripe at you," he walked out of the room with her at his heels, "Where's Sam?"

"He's mowing the yard."

Dean laughed softly, "Great," he said and turned to his daughter, "Did he tell you anything?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, well tomorrow the three of us are taking off."

She smiled, "We're going home?" she cheered.

His heart sank, "No baby girl. We're going to visit an old friend. Do you know where Alaska is?"

She nodded, "Yeah daddy, I'm eleven. Not four."

"Well, my friend lives up there. So it'll take us a while to drive there."

"Why?" the girl pouted, "I don't wanna go."

Dean frowned, "I know kiddo. But hopefully things will settle down once we meet up with her," he sighed as his daughter stomped back down the hallway.

Just then Sam was walking in the front door, dripping sweat, "He lives!" the man teased when he saw his brother.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "You're taking the kids into town?"

Sam nodded and mopped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, "Yeah, I always take Azzy out for ice cream when I'm in town. Thought Axel would want to go with us. Told her she had to ask you first."

Dean shot his brother a look, "Thought frozen yogurt was your thing with the ladies?"

Sam shook his head, "No, that was just with Axel."

"Started with Imogen."

"Yeah," he nodded, "Which is why I do it with Axel."

"I know," he nodded, "Just keep her safe, okay?"

"You know I will," he paused, "I'm gonna go shower first."

"Good idea," Dean nodded and headed back down the hall to found Axel who was face down on the guest bed, "Axe," he sighed, sitting down next to her and laying his hand on her back, "I am so sorry."

"No you're not," she mumbled into the pillow.

"Yeah, baby girl. I am. I never wanted this for you. I jumped around my whole childhood, it was all I knew. Hell, my only permanent home was the Impala. The second I held you in my arms I promised myself that you wouldn't live the same life. Not unless it was the only way to keep you safe."

"We weren't safe back home?" Axel asked, sitting up and meeting Dean's eyes.

"Honestly?" a small sigh escaped him, he didn't want to worry her but he didn't really have much of a choice, "I'm not sure. But I'm gonna make sure you're safe. No matter what."

"What is it?" Axel asked, "Is someone going to hurt us?"

"No one is going to hurt you," Dean assured her, "I'm going to make damn sure of that. You trust me, right?"

"Yeah Daddy," she paused, "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

Dean took her hand, "I will," he stated, "I will tell you when I can. But for now," he sighed, "You just gotta trust me, sweetheart. The less you know the safer you are."

Axel nodded slowly. He could tell that she was losing her patience, but she was doing her best to obey him. She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Axe," he kissed the top of her head, "You have no idea," he looked at her still in her pajamas, "You should get dressed if you're going out with Sam," he stood up and picked up the clothes bag and sat it next to her, "I'm gonna go find something to eat."

Axel sat in the same spot for a few moments after he father had left the room and shut the door behind him. Then she reached down into her shirt and pulled out the amulet that she had found in her dad's drawer before they had left the bunker. She still hadn't told him she had it, she was terrified he would want to take it. She wasn't completely sure what it was, but she knew that she wanted to keep it with her at all times. So she got dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and tucked the necklace back into her shirt.

As Axel had slid off of the bed she accidentally bumped into the bedside table causing Dean's wallet to fall down and the contents spilled out. Quickly she started to pick it up and put everything back inside. There were two pictures inside of it. One was Axel's most recent school photo and the other was of a young, smiling, blonde girl holding a small baby.

Her jaw dropped. That had to be her mother holding her. Why else would Dean have that picture in his wallet? She turned faded and creased photo over to check the back for any identifying information on it, but there was none.

Then came a sharp knock at the door followed by Dean letting himself in and seeing Axel on the floor with his wallet and the picture, "What the hell are you doing?" he barked angrily, ripping his belongings out of her hands as quickly as he could humanly manage, "What makes you think you can go through my things?" he demanded, "I don't go through your stuff," he jammed the picture back into his wallet.

"I-I-I," she swallowed hard, "I'm sorry Daddy. I was an accident. I bumped the table and-"

"I don't want to hear it!" he yelled at her.

"But Daddy-"

"No buts," he snapped, "I cannot believe you."

Slowly she got up and looked at him, her own frustrations starting to come back, "That's my mom, isn't it!?" she screamed at him, "That's me and my mom! Why are you keeping that from me? Why can't I even look at it? It's just a picture."

"Dammit Axel!" he barked, "That is NOT you and your mom. I didn't show it to you because it's none of your damn business!"

"It is too!" her voice cracked and she couldn't hold back the tears, "That's my mom and she misses me! You probably stole me from her! I bet she's looking for me!"

Dean couldn't hold back any longer, "Dammit Axel! Don't you get it? I didn't steal you. Your mom left because she was selfish. She had all of these fucking responsibilities and she just left me holding the bag. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be a single father. Hell, I didn't ask to be a father at all. But here I am. Cleaning up her messes yet again."

The girl trembled, "Where is she?" her voice was small.

"In Hell for all I know," he snapped back sarcastically, but there was a bit of truth to it.

"That's enough," Sam said from the doorway, standing shirtless and his hair dripping, "Dean, you need to chill out. You can't talk you your kid like that."

"Why not?" Axel bawled, "He never wanted me anyways," she said, roughly pushing past the men and running away.

Dean let out a groan, "Imogen, wait. That's not what I meant," he started to go after her but Sam stopped him.

"Her name's Axel," Sam stated, "Not Imogen. And give her some space."

"I'm a fucking dick," Dean said, collapsing onto the bed, "I can't believe I just said that to her."

"Me either," Sam agreed, "You're really on edge."

Dean shook his head, "I'm terrified of losing her," he admitted.

"Like her dying?" Sam questioned, pulling his shirt on over his head.

"Yeah," Dean said with a nod, "Dying or getting hurt," he sighed, "Or if we get Imogen back her wanting to be the mom. Or hell, Cas wanting to be a dad. I don't want to share her. And I damn sure I don't want to just be the guy who raised her for the first eleven years and then just disappear. I wish like hell I was her father."

"You are, Dean. Nothing's going to change that. You're absolutely all that she knows."

"I mean I wish she was my biological child. Not because I think it would make me love her more. But if she was I wouldn't have to worry about someone taking her from me."

"I get it," Sam nodded, "Look, I'm gonna take the girls out for some ice cream. You better be here thinking up a massive apology, because your kid deserves one."

"I know," Dean agreed, "You need the keys?"

Sam shook his head, "Nope. We're riding bikes."

Dean's eyes went wide, "You're riding bikes?" he asked, "What?"

"Yep," Sam said with a nod, "It's only like two miles."

"I don't think so, Sammy. That's too far on a bike. Besides, Axel can barely ride."

"I can ride just fine!" Axel had just emerged, "Thank you very much."

Dean just stood there looking at his very hurt and very lost daughter and realized this was not a battle he wanted to fight, "Fine," he relented, "Just be careful. And wear a helmet."

Sam nodded, "We'll be back soon. Azzy!" he called down the hall, "Are you coming or what?"

Azrael was down the hall in an instant and running outside to her bicycle. She was the first one riding down the dirt road. Her thick brown hair and hazel eyes reminded him of someone else at the house and he silently wondered to himself if Sam did more than just save this little girl's life.

"Call me when you get there?" he requested, "And again when you're headed back."

"All right," Sam smiled and patted his brother on the back, "See you soon."

Dean followed them out onto the porch and waved them off. Axel pretended that she didn't see him and road off so wobbly that Dean really thought she was going to fall. He had taught her how to ride a bike when she was younger, but she soon lost interest when she didn't have anywhere else to go.

Only when they were out of sight did Dean go back inside of the house and make his way into the kitchen where he dug around in the fridge and pulled out things to make himself a sandwich.

"Hello Dean," Olivia was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, "I see you're making yourself at home."

Dean jumped, not having heard her come in, "Oh, sorry. I thought you said-"

"It's fine," she smiled at him, "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh, no. I'm okay. Thanks," he started to spread some mayonnaise on bread, "So it must be tough, having lost your daughter and to be caring for a young child at your age."

"I'm not that old."

"No, no, no," he rushed out, "That's not what I mean-"

She held up a hand to stop him from going on, "I'm just teasing. Why don't you just get to the point?"

Dean frowned and didn't move, "What?"

She smiled at him, "You forget I can read minds."

"Shit," he whispered, looking down at his feet, "Oh, excuse my language."

"Just ask," she requested happily, "Go ahead."

A small sigh escaped the man, "Is Sam Azzy's father?"

"No," she shook her head, "He's not her father."

"Are you sure? Because she looks a hell of a lot like him."

"Yes, she does. And yes I'm sure," she paused, "Sam thinks he is though. I've assured him many times that he definitely is not, but he doesn't believe me."

"Why wouldn't he believe you?"

"His reasoning for my lying is I would be afraid he would take the child from me and that I would be alone."

"So by that logic you could be lying to me too, so that I won't tell him."

Olivia shook her head, "I'm not lying though. You are more than welcome to have her DNA tested though," she offered, "If that will put your mind at ease."

"So," he paused, "Sam was hooking up with a married lady?"

Now a groan escaped her, "I don't really prefer to speak about my daughter's sexual exploits, nor do I much like to think about them, but Sam periodically will think of them in my presence so I know much more than I would like."

"So?" Dean probed.

"Let's put it this way, it wasn't cheating since all three of them were sort of involved together."

Dean's eyes went wide, "So Sam-"

"Yes."

"And they were all-"

"Absolutely."

"All of them-?"

"Correct."

Dean shuddered, "Well, that's images of my brother that I never wanted floating around in my head. Thank you very much for that."

"They were more or less all a couple before they died… Or I suppose a more modern term would be a throuple."

"Gross," Dean nodded, "Well, I've lost my appetite," he put everything back where it was supposed to go, "Think I'm going to go lay down and vomit."

"Hold on, Dean," she gently grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving, "You should know the full story, though I'm sure Sam hasn't told you for a reason. But after my daughter got pregnant Sam was more or less phased out of the relationship. He took that pretty hard and I heard nothing more from him for four year until my daughter and her husband were in trouble. He came without hesitation. He tried everything he could, but they still died. And I've never seen that man more heartbroken. He got through by taking care of Azrael," she sighed softly, "Sam and my daughter's husband looked a lot alike. She had a type, you could say. So Azzy looks a lot like Sam, which is why he doesn't believe me about her not being his. And another part is because he desperately wants to hang on to the last thing he has left of the two people that he loved and couldn't save."

"So then how do you know that's not Sam's daughter?"

"Because I know," she smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"Why is it Sam never told me this?" Dean demanded, "I'm his brother."

"Maybe he was afraid you would be jealous or judge him. It's also my understanding that you had been going through a hard time with raising your own daughter when my daughter was pregnant. He probably didn't want to add anything else on top of that."

Dean sighed, "I get it, I guess. Just sucks he never told me."

"Don't hold it against him, Dean. I'm sure he was just doing the best that he could."

"All right," he nodded, "Don't suppose you can tell me how much shit I'm in with Axe?"

She patted his shoulder, "I could," she admitted, "But that would take the fun out of parenthood for you."

"No fair," Dean argued, "You get to read Azzy's mind."

She shook her head, "No, I don't. I can't. There's very few minds I can't access, but my blood is one of them. She's as much a mystery to me as I am to you, Dean."

"Great," the man groaned, "Just great."