A/N:

Thanks to Christine and stargazer100 for the great reviews!

The trip back to the motel was uneventful. Oscar relaxed in his corner of the pocket as soon as Dean left the diner. He trusted his friends to look out for him, but a lifetime of instinct couldn't be denied, and being around so many humans unsettled him. With the sway of Dean's steps and the food filling Oscar's belly, he nearly dozed off where he sat.

The sound of another door opening brought him back to awareness, and Oscar stretched his arms over his head in their small space. "Back home," he muttered, glancing up.

A thought struck him and he smirked at Sam. "Isn't it crazy that you guys checked into the same room you had way back when you were here? What are the odds?"

Sam looked rueful. "Probably pretty shitty, based on our normal run of luck," he admitted. Him getting cursed, finding Oscar that first time only to lose their chance to help him the same way he'd helped them…

Dean reaching into the pocket cut off the gloomy thoughts, and both of the smaller guys let themselves be gathered up by the hunter. Sam made the action seem far more run-of-the-mill than Oscar could, after half a lifetime of living with a giant older brother.

They were let down on the cover of one of the expansive beds in the room. The surface of the bed was soft to land on as Dean darted off, grabbing some clothes from one of the chairs. "We should head out in a few!" he called over his shoulder as he went into the bathroom. "Got an appointment with the coroner!"

Sam waved him off and turned to check on Oscar. "Guess that's our cue," he said dryly. "You… gonna be okay on your own today?"

Oscar grinned. "I'm sure I'll find something to do," he replied, waving a hand dismissively. He'd already stashed away food in his bag for the day, so he thought he might be able to skip making rounds of the rooms. "There's always something."

He paused to look up and gaze around the room. Everything loomed so far away, and the open space felt like a physical thing that tried to impress upon him how out of place he was. Oscar sighed quietly. "I'll probably head back into the walls once you guys take off. You can come find me, if you want. Before you go fight your werewolf or whatever."

"Just don't go vanishing on us, or we'll have to track you down," Sam warned with a grin. "And I'm not talking me. I'm sure Dean will come searching for you if he has to. He's as determined as they come." He grew quiet, thinking about the life Oscar lead at the motel. "And be careful, okay? I know how dangerous it is around here for you." He hated thinking about the risks Oscar had to take just to get something as simple as some food.

This time we're not going to just abandon him. We'll find a way.

Dean came out of the bathroom in a suit, trying to straighten his collar. "Ready to go, pint-size?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's Sam," he said pointedly as he took a step towards the edge of the bed nearest Dean.

"Whatever, pipsqueak."

Sam's annoyed glance was lost on the older hunter as he held a hand out. Sam climbed on and flashed Oscar a confident grin. "See you around."

"Don't forget we've got a date with dinosaurs, Oz," Dean chimed in as he straightened. "You better not try standing us up."

Oscar shrugged in mock exasperation. "I'll set an alarm," he quipped, his head tilted back to keep Dean's face in his sight. He looked especially different in the suit. If Oscar caught a glimpse of him from the floor without seeing his face, he might not think it was the same human.

"You know where to find me," Oscar added, even as the brothers were turning away from the bed to make their way out of the room. He didn't wait for them to leave before walking briskly towards the edge so he could climb down. He didn't want to be all alone out in the open if he didn't need to be.

In the end, they were gone before he could even make it to the floor. Oscar treated it like another supply run after that, hiding under cover when he could and darting across the floor when he had to. He only let himself sigh and relax when he was back in the vents and on the way home.

He thought heavily of the events of the morning, and remembered with a frown that all of his things were stacked up high. Right. Found what I'll do first, he thought ruefully.

Breakfast sat comfortably in his belly, the first breakfast he'd had in a long while. Oscar's indulgence in a morning meal was exceedingly rare. Most of the time, he couldn't afford an extra meal a day, and he hated trying to sleep hungry. Ever since he was a little kid, he hated the feeling.

When he got back home, he fell with a huff into the ringbox that he used as a comfortable chair, and let his bag slide to the floor. Oscar was already tired, and his pensive mood left him lethargic.

He peered around the tiny hovel of a home. The curtains in front of the pantry were the same ones that Sam had seen when they were kids, and it showed in how worn out and threadbare they were. Dust was kept off most surfaces, but occasionally a vibration from one of the rooms nearby would shake more down. All of the cobbled together furniture was old and well worn. The spools Oscar used as chairs were still nearly too tall for him.

There was a morning like this one a long time ago that he thought he wouldn't come back here. Oscar had hoped to leave with Sam and Dean then, no matter how scary their dad turned out to be. He'd closed the door thinking it was the last time.

But it wasn't, and now here he was. Oscar clenched his jaw and thought that he simply couldn't afford to get his hopes up like that again. This was his home, and it was destined to always be. He wouldn't come back to it downtrodden and forgotten again after thinking he'd leave. He couldn't take that again.

With a sigh, Oscar picked up a half-done swatch of cloth that he had begun to weave. With dexterous fingers that were long since used to the activity, he set to work making cloth that he could use to make new clothes.

Feeling daring, Sam caught the edge of the pocket, stretching overhead.

Dean was chatting with the town coroner, trying to find out everything he could about the dead bodies that had been found without putting up any red flags about the legality of his own badge for the FBI.

Not easy, considering the questions he shot at the coroner.

"Were all the bodies found like that?" came the rumbling voice overhead. Sam saw Dean's arm moving out of the corner of his eye, and ducked further down into the pocket before he realized Dean was just going to lift up the cover on the body.

Dead bodies, missing organs. Just another day in the life of a Winchester.

Sam wasn't even squeamish about the smell. It was pungent, and he could swear that a cloud of it billowed out to hit him in the pocket. The humans above weren't as affected, and didn't respond to the stench at all.

The coroner confirmed Dean's question. "We think it's an animal attack. See the teeth marks here." A hand moved into sight to point out the edges of the hole in the chest.

Sam watched with wide eyes.

The hole was practically the size of Oscar's home.

"...And here," the coroner finished.

"Seems a little odd, though, don't it? Finding a body with just a heart missing? Wouldn't an animal go for more?"

There was a sound of agreement from the other man, but Sam didn't stay up on the pocket to listen anymore. He released the edge, falling down to the bottom and sliding into the lower corner. A tingle had run up his neck, which meant someone else was coming and might see him.

Dean took his leave moments after that as one of the police officers on the case came in to fill out paperwork. In fact, the officer that had discovered the body in a parking lot. The lot had been completely empty past the victim's car, left well after the lot was closed to the public, which was what lead to the discovery of the body.

Sam closed his eyes, mulling over the details as Dean followed their planned course of attack and started his journey to the family of the victim.

Three long and unrevealing conversations later, the brothers stopped to grab a bite to eat. Dean finally got a chance to switch into his regular clothes, foregoing the stiff suit in lieu of a comfortable flannel shirt and jacket.

All in all, Sam considered it a successful day as he found himself in hiding with a cell phone by his side.

It was early in the night, with the light from the sunset just starting to fade. There had been no time to stop back and check on Oscar once they matched up the area all the attacks had happened.

This was Sam's first time hiding under a car, though.

The parking lot was the area the creature was stalking. It was out of the way, and from six at night to six in the morning, the security guard was gone and the cameras for the area were limited, with huge areas that were never seen. It needed an upgrade, that was for sure.

Lying on the asphalt, Sam couldn't feel the vibration from Dean's feet as the hunter stalked away. Long, ominous shadows stretched over Sam's head from the powerful muscle car he hid under. The sight of the secret entrance Dean had constructed into the Impala's underbody was a reassurance. Sam might be out in the open here, but he had a way to safety if he needed it.

Dean had his phone in his pocket, set to vibrate. It was a simple system compared to their normal. Sam would call his older brother the second he saw anything lurking out there, causing the phone to vibrate and Dean to react instantly.

As far as anyone else was concerned, Dean was some random drunk on his own in a parking lot, much like the others that were killed. The perfect bait.

A shadow detached from a tree that lay out of the circle of light the sole lamppost gave off.

Sam's keen eyes saw what Dean's missed, and the creature that was heading for his older brother never had a chance.

Punching the call button, Sam put out the notice to Dean that he was being stalked. Dean tensed, but didn't react otherwise. From what the creature could see, the man was just reacting to an unwanted phone call. The purring vibration of the phone was an excess noise that meant nothing to it.

But everything to Dean.

As the werewolf lunged, eyes glittering in the dark and fangs out, Dean switched from his drunken posture, whipping around. He had his gun in hand and pointed at its chest. A squeeze of the trigger and the werewolf's dark eyes widened.

A concussive sound blew outwards from the gun.

Sam flinched, belatedly covering his ears. Turns out being twenty feet away from the source of the sound did nothing to prevent his ears from feeling like they were bleeding. Once he'd lost hearing for hours because he was in Dean's pocket when the guy went off.

Blood spread outwards on the clothing the creature was wearing. A pale blue shirt was drenched in red in seconds.

The werewolf fell over, and Dean darted towards the person.

"What do you know," Sam could hear Dean murmur to himself. The elegant, engraved colt was tucked into the back of his pants as he gingerly rolled the body over. Dean glanced over at Sam, who watched from the shadow of the Impala.

It wasn't safe for Sam to be out in the open at night. Owls flew on silent wings, stalking the night sky. Predators could be lurking on the ground as well, never setting off Sam's ability. It only worked on humans. Not people his own size, not animals of any type.

His fallback shelter in the Impala was close by if any animals ventured near. The panic room Dean had constructed for him was easily reached with his hook. A ledge lay overhead, and all he had to do was toss his hook up and it would catch on a notch Dean had made for just such an occasion.

They always had a backup plan.

"It's the security guard," Dean called out as he stood and walked over to the car. "Now we know why there's so many areas the cameras don't reach." They'd parked the Impala in one such spot, keeping her out of the police limelight. If anyone noticed the security guard missing, they would need to keep their heads down so Dean didn't take the blame for the murders. That was the last thing the brothers needed to deal with.

"Got a plan for the body?" Sam asked as he stepped onto Dean's hand- and back into safety.

Dean nodded. "Don't I always?"

The motel room was welcoming by the time they returned and Dean tossed his bloodied jacket onto his duffel bag with a sigh. "What a night." It wasn't even ten yet, and they'd fought a werewolf and buried the body in a deep thicket in the hopes it would be overlooked long enough for them to skip town.

Which wasn't going to happen just yet.

Sam slipped back into the vents and followed the familiar path to Oscar's house. Now that the case was over, they could actually take some time to celebrate.

Dean had a cooler full of beers for a reason, after all.

A/N:

Hiatus over, things are calm around here. Got a little deep in drama over the weekend with my family, but what can ya do.

The hunt at last! Admittedly, not one of their harder hunts. But that's good! More time for them to work their magic on Oscar while they're in the hotel.

Only four chapters left after this one. We'll start voting for the next story next week- Keep an eye out for the poll on the story tumblr!

Next: August 27th 2017 at 9pm est

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