John hung up the phone. He was not very happy with his sons right now. Although as Sam had gotten older, he'd become occasionally defiant and moody, he could usually count on Dean to be reliable and follow orders. John wasn't sure what to think. His first instinct was that his eldest had been tempted by a shrewd young woman, looking for a good time or an easy mark. But Sam had confirmed that his brother was not having sex with this girl. So maybe she wasn't the conniving tramp John had originally suspected her to be. Either way, the girl had both his boys firmly under her spell. And that was an actual concern. This girl could be a witch or a shapeshifter or even a bloody demon and have some kind of supernatural hold on his sons. He shook off those dark thoughts. If the point was to hurt them, or use them as bait to get to him, then she likely would have done so over the past weeks.

It was possible that the girl was as his boys had described her, a lost soul in need of help. Not that the Winchester family could afford to get attached. He realized that he had been so angry at being disobeyed that he hadn't really given the boys a chance to tell the whole story of the girl. Picking up the phone again, he dialed Jim Murphy's number. Apparently his sons had told their Pastor friend everything. John felt a pang of sorrow that his children hadn't turned to him for help first. It reflected something that he knew was missing in his relationship with Sam and Dean. He knew that he wasn't the father they deserved, but he didn't know how to be just a Dad anymore. With a click, Jim picked up.

"Hi Jim, it's John Winchester," he explained.

"Of course John, I figured you'd be calling tonight. I assume you've talked to Dean?," Jim's patient and calm voice irritated John slightly.

"Yeah, he told me that they'd both been lying to me for weeks. And apparently you are now going to help that girl they've been palling around with." He didn't try and hide the irritation in his voice. He appreciated Jim, and the man was a one of the few people he felt he could trust in the hunter community. But he didn't like the Pastor stepping between him and his sons.

"John," Jim sighed, "did they explain to you what Angela has been going through?"

"Dean said that the girl's dad is abusive. She's not the first kid who had a tough time at home, they can't get involved with every stray and runaway. It's not safe. What if CPS caught wind of the girl? Dean and Sam could easily be taken away from me." John choked a little on the last part. Losing his kids was the worst thing he could ever imagine. When Mary died, the boys were the only thing he had left that mattered. Jim kindly ignored the moment of weakness.

"I don't think she's a typical runaway, John. She is running to save her daughter's life. Her father has been molesting her for years." John felt a little sick at that. "The baby she has with her, is the product of that incest. Apparently her father killed the first child he got her pregnant with, at least that's what she confessed to Dean and Sam. The girl is extremely isolated, her mother and brother disappeared mysteriously and, according to Dean, she has a large amount of cash - likely stolen from her father. If even half of this is true, then the girl is in grave danger if her father should find her."

John let the words sink in. He knew that the worst monsters were human. That was one more thing he lost sleep worrying about when it came to his kids, especially Sammy. But what this girl had experienced was horrifying. Grudgingly John realized that maybe he had misjudged the girl. He saw her only as a threat to his sons, but she was just a year or so older than Dean, frightened and desperate and doing anything to save her child. Jim cleared his throat, drawing John's attention back to the phone.

"So what's your plan, Jim?," he asked, finally on board with trying to help.

"I'm going to talk to Angela tomorrow night, get a feel for the girl and talk through my suggestions. If everything goes well, I was hoping you and the boys could bring her her to Blue Earth. One of my parishioners is a therapist who has agreed to see her pro-bono. I'm also lining up some medical visits and a safe place for them to stay. One of my hunter contacts is going to set her up with a new identity until we're sure she's safe."

"Alright, I can bring her to you. I've got wind of a cursed object I need to track down, so I wasn't planning on making it back to the boys until Sunday. Sammy's birthday is Monday. The drive from Butler will be about 14-15 hours, so we can be there by dinner on Wednesday. Does that work?" John wasn't sure how he was going to handle four kids in the car, but he'd figure something out.

"That sounds great John, thank you." Jim's voice radiated a warmth that John found oddly comforting. "Give me a call tomorrow and I'll fill you in on my impressions of Angela. You know Dean is an excellent judge of character, so I'm sure that she'll check out." John was going to say his goodbyes and wrap up the call, when Jim spoke again. "John, you should be proud of your boys. They shouldn't have lied, but they were doing the very thing you've taught them...saving people." And with that, Jim said goodnight and John hung up the phone.

John shrugged out of his coat and poured himself a cup of coffee. He was tired, but he had research to do on the potential cursed objects from a local estate sale. As he dug out the materials he'd gathered, he thought about what Jim had said. Dean and Sam were good kids, and he'd have to remember to tell them that more often.

xxxxxxxx

Dean handed Sam a pile of freshly cleaned t-shirts. "Here, fold these." Sam was moody tonight. He had wanted to stay with Angela, but not only did they need to get some laundry done, Dean felt that Angela needed some privacy for her talk with Pastor Jim. They were almost done, so Dean decided to tell Sam that he had picked up the photos that his brother had taken the other day. Hopefully it would improve Sam's sour mood.

"So, you never did tell me what your plan was for Angela's birthday present? I got the photos back if you want to see them?" Dean patted his jacket pocket. Sam perked up immediately from where he was slouched against the washing machine.

"Really, lemme see!" Dean dodged out of the way of Sam's hands.

"Oh no, not until we get back to the room squirt!" Dean continued to bob and weave as Sam tried to dig into his jacket. Both boys were laughing and Dean snaked his arms around Sammy from behind, pinning the younger boy tight to his chest. Sam pushed back with his feet, trying to knock Dean off balance. It was a good move, one Dean had taught the kid himself, but he was still too small to do more than move his older brother a step or two.

"Deaaannnn," Sam whined. Not wanting to frustrate Sam too much, Dean let go with one hand so that he could tickle Sam with the other. With a giggled shriek, Sam lunged away to get beyond tickle range. Dean let him go and turned back to switch the last wet load into the dryer. Then, putting an exaggerated predatory look on his face, Dean turned to stalk Sam, fingers wiggling with the threat of more tickles.

As the dryer tumbled, Dean and Sam chased each other around the appliances until, worn out, Sammy flopped down on the wooden bench, the only seating in the room. Panting a little to catch his breath, Dean sat beside the smaller boy. They watched the mesmerizing spin of their clothes in the dryer for a while until Sam spoke.

"What do you think Dad is going to do on Sunday about Angela? Do you think he'll help us get her to Pastor Jim?" Dean thought about it. He figured Dad would have spoken with Jim by now and since he hadn't rushed back to get them yet, or called to set new orders, Dean assumed that Jim and Dad had come to some kind of agreement.

"Yeah, I do. I'm sure everything will work out," said Dean confidently.

"It's been nice," Sam said wistfully and nestled in closer to Dean's side. "I'm going to miss them." The brothers resumed watching the dryer and Dean put his arm around his kid. He knew what Sammy was talking about. Beyond having grown to care about the girls, losing the sense of normal that spending the time with Angela and Penny had created was going sting.

"Hey, they're not gone yet. We're going to see them for two more days. And we're going to celebrate Angela's birthday on Saturday, right?" It always killed him to see his little brother sad. He could feel Sam nod halfheartedly against his side. Dean wanted to cheer Sam up. "Did you want to see those pictures now?," he said, hoping to coax some enthusiasm out of his brother.

"Yes," said Sam, slightly suspicious. Dean dug the packet of photos out of his jacket pocket and handed them to Sammy. The youngster flipped open the packet and pulled out a stack of glossy pictures. Holding them where Dean could see them too, he began to look through them.

The first bunch were from when Bobby had originally given Dean the camera. There were a couple of Bobby himself that Dean had taken at the salvage yard. There were four candid shots of Sam. Dean had caught a nice one of Sammy sitting the in sunshine. His brother hadn't noticed Dean, so Dean was able to catch him laughing at something Bobby's dog had been doing. Dean was surprised to see a couple of himself that Dad had taken. Dean thought that he looked stupid, with a big grin on his face. Those two he might get rid of.

A few more pictures were blurry shots of unrecognizable things Dean had tried to photograph through the window of the car. Finally the last of the old shots were two that Dean had forgotten. In the first he and Sam were sitting at Bobby's table, both of them were smiling at each other, although Dean had no idea over what. The second was one that Bobby had taken of him, Sam and Dad standing next to the impala. He remembered that one, but until he saw the photo, he had forgotten how Dad had put his arm around Dean's shoulder, his other hand resting on the top of Sam's head. Dean really liked this shot of their little family. Perhaps this was one he'd show to his Dad.

The photographs of Angela and Penny were pretty good. Dean was taken with one shot where Penny was on Angela's lap. The older girl was smiling at the baby, even though her face was partially hidden by her curtain of hair. It reminded Dean of a painting in Pastor Jim's church. There was another one he liked. It was of Penny. She was sleeping, her tiny mouth in a cute pucker. Dean had been holding her against his chest and Sam had caught part of his face in the photo too. Critical of himself, Dean thought he looked a little sappy, but he remembered the surge of affection he'd had for the little girl in his arms at the time. Sam had caught at least some of that on Dean's face.

The rest were more of the same, mostly with just Angela and Penny, a few that included Sam that Dean had taken,and the one of him and Sam with Penny that Angela had insisted on taking.

"What are you going to do with them Sam?," Dean asked. He knew his brother had something in mind.

"Oh, I made a picture frame at school last week and I thought I would put one of the photos in it and give it to her. She doesn't have anything from her home, not even a picture of her mother." Sam ducked his head, avoiding Dean's eyes.

"That's nice Sam, I'm sure she'll love it." Sometimes Dean forgot that Sam was still a little kid. One who might make a photo frame out of popsicle sticks and foam and need reassurance that his gift would be appreciated. Sam seemed a lot more mature than the other kids in his class. Perhaps it was because his brother was so smart. The kid was always curious about things most children his age didn't even know existed.

With a final moan, the dryer spun to a stop. Dean pulled the clothes out and began to fold, tucking everything neatly into a duffle. Sam was still flicking through the photos, but he followed Dean back to their room.