"This place is a dump," I said as we walked into Santa's Village. The paint was chipping on most of the buildings and signs and the employees looked unhappy and bored. "Holiday cheer much?"

"Yeah, you'd think they could have coughed up some cash for some paint," Sam said.

"I think they're giving out candy over there," I said, noticing some raggedy elves next to a bowl of candy. "Can I go get some?"

"Knock yourself out," Dean said. I left them to their own devices and wandered over to the elves.

"Can I have a candy cane?" I asked.

"Sure, kid," the elf said. "Fifty cents."

"For a candy cane?" I asked, appalled. "I can buy one cheaper at a gas station."

"Then what are you doing here?" the elf asked. "You want one or not?"

"No," I said. I looked around. "Isn't there anything free here?"

"Playground on the other side of Santa's house," the elf said, pointing. "Now get out of here. You're holding up the line."

I wandered over to the playground to find a crappy metal slide, a merry-go-round, wooden swings on chains, and three see-saws. I shook my head. Half of the equipment wasn't allowed on playgrounds any longer for safety reasons. Cheap and unsafe, what a great combination.

There were several kids playing on the playground, but the swing at the end was free. I climbed onto it and started swinging.

"Hey, that was my swing," said a boy's voice behind me.

"You weren't on it," I said, not turning around. I kicked my legs up and aimed for the clouds above me.

"I was in the bathroom. Everyone knew it was my swing; that's why no one was on it," the kid said. He came around to stand next to me, just on the other side of the swing set poles. He looked a little older than me, bulkier, with thick curly brown hair.

"I don't care," I said. "Go away." I tried to ignore him as I soared past him.

"Bitch," the kid said. He hurled himself at the swing, grabbing the chain as I soared past and set us into a wild spinning swing that only barely missed the kid on the swing to my left. She shrieked as she came back towards me. I kicked at the boy and fell out of the swing, landing hard on my butt on the mulch beneath the swing set. The boy started to climb into the swing.

"Oh, no you don't, you little fucker," I said. Pressure flared at the back of my skull and in my temples. I fought it. I grabbed his leg and yanked on him, pulling him down to the mulch. The girl on the swing next to me jumped out of the swing when she got close enough to the ground, trying to get away from us. I aimed a punch at the boy's head, but he dodged and kicked at me.

Everything was a blur as we struggled against each other. He elbowed me in the face and I smooshed his nose with my palm. He kicked me in the leg; I punched his stomach. I held onto him when he tried to get up and run, pulling him back down to the ground. He pushed me, and I banged my head against the wood of the swing.

Dazed, I let go of him, and he jumped on me. I rolled over and struggled to get away, but couldn't get out from under him. He grabbed me around the neck. I couldn't breathe. The pressure in my head released. Someone screamed. I tossed my head backwards and was rewarded with a shout as he let go of my neck. I rolled back over and climbed on top of him. His nose was spouting blood from the contact with my skull. I cocked my fist back.

Someone pulled me off of him before I had a chance to punch him. I struggled against whoever it was, but couldn't get free. "Jessie, hold still," Sam said. I stopped struggling, whirled around, and buried myself against him, holding onto him for dear life and sobbing.

"Breathe, honey," he said. "You're glowing. Get a lock on your fire. Pull the fire you started back in."

I struggled to lock up my fire, breathing into his shirt while I clutched at him. I looked around and saw a flame at the edge of the playground. People were kicking dirt onto it, but it continued to burn. I connected to it and pulled it into me.

"You need to get control of your daughter," a woman demanded. I craned my neck to see her grab her son from Dean and shove him behind her.

"You need to get control of your son," Dean said angrily. "She didn't start this."

"My son has a bloody nose and a black eye," the woman shrieked. "Someone is going to pay for this."

"Looks like my daughter already has," Dean said.

Sam unwound my arms from his waist and crouched down in front of me. "What happened, honey?"

"The swing was empty and I got on it and he said that it was his and he pushed me off it," I said.

"And then you grabbed me off of it and started punching me!" the kid yelled, pushing past his mother and coming towards me with fists clenched.

I spun around, my anger flaring. "You little asshole! You started the whole thing. You don't own the fucking playground!"

His mother was shocked. She grabbed the boy to her and covered his ears. "That hellion needs to learn to watch her language."

"Lady, I'm sure he's heard worse," Dean said. "Come on, Jessie. Let's go home." He held his hand out to me. I took it and grabbed Sam's hand with my other hand, feeling shaken and scared by the whole experience.

The woman screamed after us as they led me out to the car, but didn't follow. Once at the car, Sam opened the back door and had me sit on the seat while he checked me over. Dean got the first aid kit out of the trunk and handed Sam antiseptic wipes as Sam cleaned off my face and looked for damage.

"You ok?" Dean asked.

"He jumped on me. I wasn't doing anything," I said.

"I know, sweetheart. Are you ok?"

I nodded and then looked up at him from under my bangs. "Am I in trouble?" I asked.

"Of course not," Dean said. "All you did was protect yourself."

Sam dabbed at a cut above my eye and said, "Next time, though, you might want to just let him have the swing and come get us. You could avoid getting hurt that way."

"Screw that," Dean said. "I say teach the bully a lesson. You really popped him a good one. Did you see his nose?"

Sam looked at him. "We shouldn't encourage her to get into fights, Dean."

"She didn't start it, Sammy," Dean said. "She only reacted to what he did."

"He started it. He jumped on me," I said. "I didn't do anything."

Sam sighed. "I know, honey. You didn't do anything wrong this time. I just want to make sure you understand that you shouldn't get into fights unnecessarily. You should avoid them unless you have to fight, to protect yourself or to protect someone else. Ok?" He gathered up the antiseptic wipes and handed Dean the anti-bacteria cream and Band-Aids to put back in the first aid kit.

"Yeah," I said. I looked down at my hands and picked at my nails, uncomfortable. It was like I'd almost done something wrong, but not quite.

"With your abilities, you have to be careful. You lost control of your fire. You could have unintentionally hurt someone. And once we start teaching you how to fight, you're going to have to be extra careful because you can really hurt someone once you know what you're doing. You can't just wade in because you're mad." Sam said. He tilted my chin up so I would meet his eyes.

"Ok," I said. I looked passed him at Dean, who rolled his eyes. "Don't fight unless I'm protecting myself or someone else, and be careful so I don't really hurt someone?"

"It'll make more sense once we start that part of your training. I promise," Sam said. "Let's get back to the motel now. We've got a stake-out to get ready for."

We stopped to eat on the way back. Once we were back in the room, I realized that if I didn't get the bracelets started soon, I wouldn't have enough time to finish them before Christmas. "Can I stay here?" I asked.

Dean looked at me suspiciously. "You want to stay here?" I nodded. "Are you up to something?"

"No," I said. "I'm tired and sore from the fight. I just want to stay here."

Dean regarded me, trying to read my face. Finally, he said, "All right. You can stay. Let's get your excess burned off before we go, though."

He took me outside and I burned up some charcoal, still trying unsuccessfully to hit smaller, more controlled areas. He took me back into the room. "We'll be back later. Be good. Go to bed at nine. Text me when you do, ok? Don't leave the room."

"Yes, Dean," I said. I listened until the Impala drove off and pulled out the cords, starting on Sam's bracelet first, still unsure if I was going to use the dad bead and wanting to delay the decision as long as possible.

I was tying the last knot in Sam's bracelet when my phone rang. I flipped the phone open without looking at it and stuck it between my ear and my shoulder. "Hello?" I asked.

"You in bed?" Dean asked.

I blinked and looked at the clock on the nightstand. 9:30. "Oh… Uh, no."

"What'd I tell you?" he asked.

"In bed by 9. Sorry."

"Get in bed. Call me when you're there, and it better not take more than fifteen minutes."

"Yes, Dean," I said. We both hung up, and I hurried to put away my stuff. I took the fastest shower in history, skipping my hair, and brushed my teeth. I pulled on my PJs, checked the salt lines around the door and window, made sure they were locked, and climbed in the bed with my phone next to me.

It was 9:44 when I called Dean. "I'm in bed now. How's the stake out going?"

"Slowly. Santa's holed up in his trailer and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. What kept you from going to bed?"

Even over the phone, I flushed guiltily at the lie I was about to tell. "I was reading and lost track of the time."

"Uh huh, ok. Get some sleep. We'll be back later. Call if you need us."

"Good night," I said.

"Good night, sweetheart. Sam says good night, too."

My dad was pushing me on a swing. The sky got closer and then farther away. I turned to see the Impala drive up and park next to the swing set. Dean got out. "How's my little girl?" he asked, holding his arms out.

"Dean!" I said. "Daddy, let me down!"

"She's my little girl," my dad said, turning away from the swing. He cocked his fist back and tried to punch Dean. Dean backed up, avoiding his fist.

"No, don't fight!" I shrieked. I got closer and farther away from them, the swing slowing in its arc. I jumped off and ran to them as my dad swung at Dean and Dean continued to duck and move, but never took a single action against my dad. "Please! Don't fight!"

"I won't, sweetheart," Dean said, ducking another swing by my dad.

My dad was crying as he continued to advance on Dean. "You're taking away my daughter!"

"I'm not," Dean objected. "I'm really not."

"Stop fighting!" I shrieked. I dug deep inside me and aimed fire between my dad and Dean, but it missed and my dad was suddenly on fire, burning before me. "Dad!" I screamed. "Dad, no!"

I sat up, breathing hard. Pressure pounded at my temples and the back of my head. I burst into tears and buried my head in my pillow. "Jessie?" Dean asked, putting his hand on my back and sitting down on the bed. I threw my arms around his neck. "Ok, sweetheart. Ok. I've got you." He pulled me into his lap and rocked me there.

"I had a nightmare," I whispered.

"Yeah, sounds like it was a doozy," he said. He held me until I stopped crying and shifted me so I could see the room. Sam brought me a glass of water and sat next to Dean to look at me.

"What did you dream about?" Sam asked me.

"Dad and Dean fighting," I said, covering my face with my hands. "Only Dean wasn't really fighting. My dad was trying to hit him because Dean was taking me away from him. Dean was just trying not to get hit."

Sam said. "Normally, dreams are your mind's way of working through the things that are bothering you. Do you really think your dad would be upset that Dean is taking care of you now that he's gone?" I opened my mouth to answer, and Sam said, "No, don't answer right away. Think about it."

I leaned my head against Dean's shoulder and thought about it. My dad really loved me, and he always wanted what was best for me. He'd shown me how to ride a bike, and he'd talked my mom into letting me go to my first slumber party and night away from home. He'd helped me when I needed it and let me go when I needed it. If my dad didn't hate me for burning him to death, he'd be glad I was with someone who could take such good care of me. He'd be happy I found Dean and Sam, who were able to get me the help I needed to control my abilities and who wanted to keep me safe and out of harm's way.

"He'd be glad," I whispered, relief spreading through me. "He'd be happy I had you both."

Sam kissed my forehead. "Then you just need to let that sink in," he said.

Dean rubbed my back. "You think you can go back to sleep now, sweetheart?"

I nodded. Dean set me on my feet and stood up. Sam pulled back the covers and they both tucked me into my bed. "Dean?" I asked as he turned away. "What happened with the Santa?"

"Turned out to be a bust. Just an old guy who likes to make kids happy," he said.

"Good," I said. I rolled over and went to sleep.