Sam stepped into the small home, blinking in surprise as his eyes adjusted to having actual light around him once more. It was a good thing they'd come while there was day remaining outside. All of the light inside came from what managed to leak through the walls. Scattered beams of the sun lit up a set of shelves across from him.

He glanced every which way, wanting to see it all at once. "This is all yours?" Sam asked in hushed awe. The table was unique and created just for their size. The spools might not be the most comfortable seats compared to what he'd seen in the past but they were comparable to some of the wooden dining room sets in previous motels.

Sam grinned as he saw the silver foil of the Hershey Kiss sticking out from the fabric draping over the shelf that was set up in the room. He put down the bundle of peanuts on the same shelf, turning to look back at Oscar. "I can't believe it… it's all made for our size…" He trailed off, looking at the spools. His ears turned red. "Or at least works for our size," he amended.

Oscar began to unload the contents of his own bag onto the shelves, a little giddy just seeing how much food he had in his home all at once. It had been such a long time since he'd had that much stored, and he had a sneaking feeling he might end up with more if he kept hanging around Sam and Dean.

"Yeah, it works really well," he replied, smiling at Sam. His eyes drifted to his comfortable chair, which was an open ringbox with the foam base and silky covering over the bottom part. His latest weaving project was strewn across it, but Oscar left his bag to dart over and move that out of the way. The half-formed cloth formed a heap next to the blue velvety box.

"This is the best chair, but it's too short to reach the table," he explained, offering it for Sam to sit while he hopped up onto one of the spools. Oscar's feet didn't reach the floor from his seat, instead swinging back and forth. He was happy that Sam seemed to like his house. He never expected that level of awe over such a small place.

Sam took Oscar's offer and sat in the ringbox, surprised when he sank down into the cushion. "Oh!" he exclaimed in surprise. "That's nice." He let himself lean back, kicking his feet out in front of the ringbox to stretch out. The foam gave to even his small weight, making a divot for him to rest in. It was much better than sitting on the side of a book. The only place he might choose over sitting on it would be his brother's shoulder, and that was because it was a lot warmer to sit on Dean. The cold was more biting at this size. He gave a small shudder when he remembered that the winter wasn't far away.

He shifted in the seat, getting comfortable. "I don't think I've sat somewhere so comfortable since I shrank," he confided in the other kid. "I mean. The pillow is comfortable, but it's not really a seat. Plus Dean's bounced on the bed more than once when I was on it and almost sent me flying. Now he does it on purpose." He shook his head at the memory.

Oscar's eyes glazed over for a second as he imagined the scenario. Having been on a pillow just the night before, he could easily remember how cloud-like and soft it was. It was easy to fall asleep on it, but it was also very easy to lose his balance. He'd seen evidence of that when he fell on Dean's arm trying to walk off the gigantic cushion.

"Th-that sounds kinda scary," Oscar admitted with a sheepish chuckle. Oscar had never done anything remotely like that; if he was going to be moving through the air, he had a firm grip on his climbing thread the whole time.

"It's not that bad…" Sam replied thoughtfully as he remembered the last time it had happened. Dean always made sure he was okay, after all. It was a lot like being on a big fluffy trampoline.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Oscar blurted, hopping down from his spool. He darted to the side, past a small doorway into another room that might pass for a closet to a human. When he returned, he was clutching a cloth bag much like the one he had left over by his pantry. The one he held was made of sturdy grey fabric, and wasn't quite as worn as his own.

"You should keep this one," Oscar said, bringing it to Sam. "You never know what you'll need to carry!"

Sam reached out to take the bag. "Really?" he said, unable to believe his luck. And Oscar's generosity, for that matter. Here was a kid who'd grown up with less than Sam or Dean, and he was offering it freely to them. Sam held the bag close, examining the fabric. It was plenty big for his size. He slung it over his shoulder experimentally to see how it would feel to carry. It fit over one shoulder and Sam absently touched at the flap that would cover up his supplies and whatever else he could find to fit inside. "This is great! I always thought I'd end up with something from a dollhouse if I needed a bag…" He wrinkled his nose at the thought.

Oscar snickered and went back to his own bag to finish unloading its contents into his pantry. "That wouldn't work well at all." The cloth in the bag he used and the one he just gave Sam was not as thin as their clothes, but it was more pliant than the thick, cumbersome canvas Oscar had seen used for toys. Not to mention the buttons to clasp their bags shut were much more useful than cheap velcro.

"Doll things are real hard to find," he mused, closing up the pantry's shabby curtain and putting his bag back over his shoulder. It was surprisingly light after carrying it around full all day. "Humans that have 'em don't drop any of 'em very much. But I think one of my blankets is actually for a toy."

"Yeah, kids don't leave toys behind." Sam glanced around the room, noticing the other doors that must lead to the bedrooms. All the stuff around them that was small enough to get mistaken for 'toy-sized.' "Unless they get bored with them, that is." He shifted on his seat so he could see around the chair. His bag he held protectively against his chest, still absently clutching the strap.

"With my luck," Sam said thoughtfully, "if I ask Dean to get me anything from a doll set, he's gonna come home with the frilliest set he can find. All pink and flowers. He gets a kick out of jokes like that. I'd never hear the end of it."

Oscar smiled faintly, though he couldn't help but think of the one doll item he owned. The blanket he'd mentioned was layered somewhere between various other swatches of fabric, but it maintained its faded pink hue. It was too scratchy for him to use directly, but as insulation it was one of his better blankets. He'd probably not care if someone brought him more pink, if it meant things could be warmer in his house.

"Well now you don't havta worry about him giving you a frilly bag, at least," he said brightly. Indeed, the bag was as nondescript as it could be, since it needed to blend in as much as its wearer would under normal circumstances. Staying hidden might not be quite as high on Sam's list as on Oscar's, but at least his bag wouldn't give him away if it came to it.

Sam brushed his hand over the bag in question. "Definitely." The only thing worse than the threat of all pink dollhouse furniture would be the danger of waking up in a dress if Dean ever got the idea in his mind. He'd already proven himself capable of moving Sam in his sleep without waking him, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine he could slip Sam into a dress at the same time.

He fervently hoped the idea never occurred to his older brother.

"So how long have you been alone?" Sam asked, full of innocent curiosity as he took in the small, peaceful dwelling. "We lost our mom when I wasn't even a year old. I don't even remember her aside from the pictures Dean has."

Oscar flinched slightly, caught off guard. He tried to keep the smile on his face. He really tried. He was doing a lot better now than he'd done for a long time, and he didn't feel like he should be sad. The answer to Sam's question was a simple one. Long enough that he knew for sure that his mother wasn't coming back.

Instead, he swallowed the lump that tried to form in his throat at the thought. "I dunno exactly," he admitted. "Around a year, I think, but we don't have a calendar, so..." His voice trailed off and his shrugged. Oscar absently chewed his bottom lip and his hands clasped in front of himself of their own accord.

"I don't ... I don't really remember everything about my mom, but I remember most." Oscar couldn't quite recall what she'd smelled like anymore, or what her hair felt like when he ran his fingertips across it like a curtain. But he still remembered her face and the way it felt to have her arms around him. He remembered her voice.

I'll be back soon.

Oscar realized there were tears forming in his eyes and he tried to hastily wipe them away, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. More came to replace them and he sighed. "I miss her a lot and it's really hard to do this by myself sometimes but I'm getting better at it. She'd ... she'd probably be proud of me. At least I think so."

"Of course she'd be proud of you," Sam said softly. He thought about his mom every day, and even dreamed about her from time to time. He'd never know what she looked like in person or what it felt like to get a hug from her, but it felt like she was watching over him. "You made it all on your own and you didn't even have someone to watch out for you."

His own eyes were reflective. "It couldn't have been easy getting by without someone there to watch your back. Dean told me that he almost didn't see me after I got cursed… if he hadn't, he would have been pulled out of that room and I'd be all on my own. I don't think I'd be able to do what you did, surviving. The witch would have caught me, or I'd get stepped on… I don't even know how to hide like you do."

He put a hand on Oscar's knee, offering him support. "I've got Dean watching out for me, and now… you've got both of us to count on. Whatever comes. All you gotta do is ask."

Oscar brushed away the last of his tears, feeling the brief spell of melancholy dissipating with Sam's words, both the encouraging and the frightful musing on what he might have done without Dean. That human really was incredible. Without him, Sam could be lost and alone somewhere right now, if he was even alive. And Oscar would probably be curled up in his bed feeling miserable and hungry again.

"Th-thanks," he stammered out, his voice still tight from the recent swell of emotions that had come at him from nowhere. "I-it means a whole lot. I'm gonna do my best to teach you, Sam. So then you do know how to hide. Just i-in case you ever need to."

"And if there's anything you want us to show you, or teach you, just let me know," Sam said in return, making his own offer. "We'll make sure to watch after you since she can't. That way we're both ready when we grow up." He stared up at the crack that was letting light into the room. "It'll be good to know how to hide. That way I'm not stuck out in the open like when I got stranded on a desk."

Sam shuddered. He might never get over how exposed he'd felt, alone in that room with Dean not even in the house. "I was terrified of Dean when I first woke up," he confided in the other kid. It was the first time he'd let anyone know that. Dean had most likely figured it out from Sam's first reaction after waking, but they both ignored it as much as they could. "I was knocked out for a week after being cursed and he stayed by my side the entire time. When I woke up, he was sleeping at our friend Bobby's house. It was dark, nothing was familiar, even his voice was deeper… it didn't used to rumble before I got cursed. Then he turned on the light and he was so big… He'd put me on his chest so he could watch out for me at night. I…" Sam's lip trembled. "I tried to run away from my big brother," he said with tears of his own trying to escape.

Oscar listened in silence while Sam talked, but he chewed his lip nervously. He could relate to all of the things Sam talked about, just by pure instinct. The fears, fear of the loud voices of humans, of the lights coming on, of how big everything was ... those had all come gradually for Oscar. He grew up knowing those fears were what kept small folk like him alive year after year.

But Sam didn't have the benefit of someone telling him over and over that the humans were scary before he ever encountered one. Sam woke up and suddenly everything was different. Big, loud, bright, and scary. The world shook with the humans' movements, and Sam had a crash course in it.

Without even realizing it, Oscar slipped forward off his spool and knelt next to the ringbox-turned-chair so he could wrap his thin arms around Sam in a hug. The two of them had gone through some very different things, facing the big world with the changes thrust upon them unasked. Oscar, alone long before he ever should have been, and Sam, small when he should be nearing five feet tall.

Oscar was blinking fast. "I-it's okay, though," he muttered. "You didn't know what was going on a-and that's not your fault. Th-the world is really big and confusing and scary sometimes and that's not our fault at all."

Sam was caught off guard by the hug. While he was by no means a stranger to hugs it wasn't something he'd often got from his family. Usually he was the one to initiate a hug with his older brother, and something about the way John acted just rebuffed the idea from the start.

Then the dam broke and he found himself clutching at Oscar just as tight with tears pouring down his cheeks. "I j-just w-wish I wasn't afraid of my own family," he said, sobbing into the other kid's shoulder. "Dean just wants to help and I stick really close to him because it's scary if he doesn't know where I am and I really really hate that I just want things to go back to normal."

With all that out, he took a shuddering breath, hiccuping from the unexpected onslaught. The tears wouldn't stop coming, and he buried his head into Oscar to try and escape the emotions. "I just wish I could tell Dean how I feel sometimes but I'm afraid it'll hurt him," he mumbled with his eyes closed.

A/N

These kids both have a lot going on in their lives and they need all the support they can get! Send them hugs!

Remember, reviews are love!

Next: February 10th