Author's Note: Hey everyone. Apologies first: I am so sorry that a) This post is a day late and b) that I didn't get a chance to respond to any review. I've been dealing with medical issues and haven't been up to being on the computer. But I did read them all this morning and I greatly appreciate them. Which brings me to this: Many thanks to The Magnetic Witch, Nyx Ro, FireChildSlytherin5, LilyBolt, Invader Kiwi, Genessis Mendez, roy23, androidtracker, savannaharaiza5, BigTimeGleekBTR, london'slonelyhearts, BranchSuper, Eliza Ghost, Stone120, jazzy2may, Gustin azza, GhibliGirl91, Wunjo, RoseDragon666, and MyHairHurts for their awesome reviews.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Last Minute Preparations

Thursday:

Dean looked around the rather large backyard of 72 Pershing rd in Huron, South Dakota. He and Cas were there to look around and draw out a map of the area so that they could best determine where to begin digging when they all came out to the house after his dad got home tomorrow.

They had all talked it over and decided that even with them all digging, they wouldn't have enough time after it got dark on Saturday to check the entire yard. So, they'd start Friday night and just call Bobby before heading there. The older hunter wouldn't be pleased with it, but waiting a day meant that it was possible that they wouldn't get a chance to salt and burn the body that weekend. John had suggested doing it on a weeknight, but he needed to get up early for work, so it was best to leave the grave digging for Fridays and Saturdays when possible. And despite the fact that there was no one living there at the moment, Dean wanted the ghost gone ASAP. After all, if one teen had already been stupid enough to go inside on a dare, more idiots would follow eventually. Dean knew he'd feel awful if someone else got killed because he'd waited to do the salt and burn when it could've been finished this weekend.

His mom had wanted to accompany him to the house to map out the backyard, but Dean had convinced her to stay home. Cas would be all the backup he'd need in the unlikely event that something went wrong and would be able to get them out of a bad situation with merely a thought. He'd also realized that while they had only been gone a few hours each day, Sammy hadn't had an entire day with his mommy all week long. Dean was determined that Sam would not grow up being left behind without his parents this time. With their mom alive and Cas in the picture as well, they would all be able to plan things out so that his brother would never have to feel abandoned. Hell, Dean himself was enjoying the constant companionship that he'd missed out on the first time around.

"Boy, this needs some TLC." Dean commented, looking at the overgrown mess that the once well-manicured yard had become. "No wonder the house won't sell. This looks like something out of a Stephan King novel. And I'm talking about his straight up horror stuff, not that douchey crap like 'From a Buick 8'."

"I haven't read any of his work."

"Big surprise there. But hey, you've got plenty of time to read 'em now. And he hasn't even written that god-awful waste of paper yet. Hey, maybe I could contact him and warn him off from it." At Cas' look, the boy shrugged. "Kidding. Mostly."

Dean pulled his sketch pad out of his backpack and started to draw the yard. He added in the fruit trees, bushes, trellises that were once covered in roses, and the fenced in area that was probably a vegetable garden once upon a time. He drew carefully, keeping everything to scale and in the right place. It wasn't easy though. His hands were too small and a bit more uncoordinated than he was used to. Sure he'd been adjusting to his body's new limitations, but things seemed to keep popping up just to frustrate him. He knew that he was going to have to keep practicing and training to get himself to where he wanted to be physically.

"Do you see any place that you would consider to be a likely burial spot?"

"Well, if I was gonna bury someone, I wouldn't pick my own backyard in the first place. I mean seriously, Cas, aside from the whole fact that it'd be easier to trace back to the person who killed the dude, now the killer's gotta worry 'bout being haunted. If I killed someone, I would just salt and burn the body right then and save myself a lot of time and trouble." He paused for a moment. "Not that I've put a lot of thought into the idea of murder or anything."

"In other words, you have no idea where the body is likely buried."

"None." Dean admitted. "But don't worry. We'll figure it out and salt and burn this bitch. Send his ugly ass straight to the pit." Then he thought about it for a moment. "Hey, Cas?"

"Yes?"

"Ghosts… we didn't see 'em when we were in purgatory."

"They are disembodied souls, not monsters, Dean. They wouldn't be there."

"Right. So, what happens to them when we salt and burn 'em? Do they just… disperse forever? Or do they go on to a final destination?"

"Why are you asking now?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I thought a lot about it after Bobby... Not that I'm gonna let that happen again. No way in hell. But I just… I don't know…"

"If it comforts you to know, souls cannot be destroyed by destroying their bodies."

"So, they move on." Dean nodded. Then he thought of something else. "Can a ghost get into Heaven? I mean, even if the person did some questionable things after their death?"

"You've said yourself that spirits are driven mad and that leads them to become violent. I do not believe that my Father would punish someone for circumstances out of their control."

"Oh, okay. Cool." Dean smiled. "But this guy we're hunting now was a total ass even before the whole ghost thing, so one way ticket to Hell for him."

Dean wasn't sure why he felt better knowing that in his original timeline Bobby had most likely ended up in Heaven. As he'd told Cas, he wasn't about to let that happen to his friend again. But still, knowing that the man who'd been almost like a father to him didn't end up in Hell or just ceasing to exist made Dean feel immense relief.

He was just taking on final look around to make sure that he hadn't missed anything when something caught his eye.

"We're not alone." Dean pointed up to the second story window to show Cas what he'd seen.

A man was looking down at them. He was bald and looked like his face was etched in a permanent sneer. Oh, and his left eye was stitched shut. Even for a ghost, he was fugly. And he was glaring right at the two of them.

"I think we should go." Dean suggested as he reached into his pocket, resting his hand on the small container of salt he'd put there just in case.

"I agree." Cas stepped up behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

Then the ghost flickered and disappeared. Only to reappear not three feet away. Dean pulled the salt container from his pocket and flung it in front of himself.

The salt fell all over the Winchesters' living room floor. Dean looked around the room before letting out a sigh.

"Nice timing, Cas."

"Thank you."

"What happened? And why is there salt all over the floor that I just vacuumed?"

Dean turned to see his mom standing in the doorway.

"Cyclops showed up and just as I was about to disperse his ass, Cas got us outta there."

"Are you alright?"

"I just said that angel-boy here got us out quick." Dean reminded her.

"Just making sure. You have to admit, it does seem like the two of you are trouble magnets."

"I inherited that trait from my parents." Dean shot back with a grin. The boy unzipped his coat and let it drop to the floor. Then he removed his hat and shoes.

"You better not leave those there." His mom warned. "And someone needs to clean up that salt."

"Too small to use the vacuum." The young hunter commented, deciding to take advantage of his new size.

"But the perfect size to hold the dust pan while Castiel sweeps it up." His mom pointed out.

That night, the Winchesters went over the drawn out map and came up with a plan. The vegetable garden hadn't been featured in the magazine article and was probably added afterwards, so that was off the digging list. They also decided that the areas that had been left as just grass were unlikely. So, they'd start with the rose garden and the decorative trees. Luckily the trees were the type that stayed pretty small, so it wouldn't be too bad if they had to dig them up. But it was December and even though it had been unseasonably warm, the ground was still partially frozen and would be a bitch to get a shovel into. So, Dean's parents and Cas would do the digging while Dean kept a lookout. With Trenton Craig's spirit making an appearance in broad daylight while they had only been looking around, it was a foregone conclusion that he'd show up once they started digging around. But the Winchesters would be ready.

Friday:

Dean went through the check list of supplies. Salt? Check. Gasoline? Check. Matches and lighter? Check. Three shovels? Check. Shotguns with salt rounds? Check. Iron bar? Check. And finally, a small airgun with homemade salt bbs? Check. They were ready.

Dean hefted the airgun up and held it at the ready. It felt good. It was great that he'd have a weapon for when things heated up. He'd be a rather pathetic backup if he couldn't even defend himself and his family. But his dad had gone out to a sports store and found something that he'd felt would work for the small hunter. And when he'd tried it out, it had been almost perfect. The kickback was a bit hard for him to compensate for, especially with his left arm still in a cast, but he'd done exceedingly well at the target practice.

The boy packed everything up and put the stuff next to Sammy's already packed diaper bag. There was more than enough diapers, formula, food, and teethers in there to last an entire weekend, let alone the few hours that they'd be gone. And boy wasn't Bobby going to be thrilled with suddenly becoming a babysitter. Of course, he'd probably take it a lot better than he had the first time around, when their dad had just up and left early in the morning, leaving behind two small children and hadn't returned for over two weeks.

"Dean, come back to the table and finish your dinner!"

"Not hungry, Mom!"

"Dean, get your little butt to the table and do as your mom asks!"

"Not hungry, Dad!"

"Dean…" There was an underlying threat in the tone that the boy easily recognized from his first childhood years before.

Dean rolled his eyes. He was thirty-freakin' years old and didn't need anyone telling him when it was time to eat. Sure they were his parents but it wasn't like they could actually ground him or anything. But he decided that it was best to do as asked for the moment. No need to go into their first hunt with anyone annoyed at him.

"Coming."

Dean hopped back up into his chair and stared at his half eaten fish and his untouched rice and broccoli. He pushed it around his plate for a moment before sighing and taking another bite.

"Are you feeling okay?" His mom asked.

"Yeah." Dean replied. Truthfully though, his stomach felt a little queasy. He knew that it was from nerves but wasn't about to admit that to his parents. He'd had less control over his emotions since he'd became four again, and couldn't completely squash the fear that the kid portion of his brain was unsuccessfully trying to deal with. The adult Dean was ready to go, even a bit excited about the upcoming hunt, but child Dean was scared. And apparently the result of that mix was an upset stomach. Dean was glad for once not to be eating anything heavy or greasy.

"If you're full, that's okay."

Dean shot a grateful look to his mom. He knew that she knew the real problem and was offering him a way out. He took it thankfully.

"Yeah, I guess I ate too much at lunch."

They all knew it was a lie.

His dad stood up from the table. "Well, I'm done too. So if we're all set?"

"We're all set." Dean confirmed.

After they all got dressed for the cold weather, the Winchesters gathered in the living room with their supplies. Dean went over, picked up the phone, and dialed a number that he knew by heart.

"Who's this?"

"Hey, Bobby, it's Dean. We're all about to appear in your living room so please don't shoot us. Thanks. See ya."

Dean ran to his family and smiled.

"Let's do this!"

Author's Note Part Two: I hope you all enjoyed. And I want to apologize to anyone who may have actually liked the book 'From a Buick 8', but you have to admit that Dean would probably not be impressed with it. Up next... The Hunt! Please leave a review to let me know what you thought. Thanks.