It's funny how little people appreciate things until they're gone. Dean sighed internally, he would give anything to have a babysitter right now but Bobby wasn't about to sit out of this fight after what happened with Rufus, and he didn't have Lisa around anymore to watch Penny while he was gone. He couldn't leave her alone either though, so he would just have to take her along too. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Dean felt a slight pang of guilt when he realized that he was a little upset that Penny was no longer under the protection of her guardian angel. Ferrah was demented, but she kept his little girl safe. "Won't you pleeeeease, please help me?" she was using her limited powers to communicate with him to beg for his help and as much as he wanted to brush it off and keep moving, after he saw what happened yesterday between Cas and Phoebe, he couldn't in good conscience pretend that this thing with Ferrah wasn't happening. He would tackle that one right after Eve. Dean picked up Penny's book bag and dropped it on her bed to pack, when he unzipped it, the clothes that were left inside were no longer in neatly folded clothes in two perfect piles. All of the clothes had been stuffed in unceremoniously and disheveled carelessly like someone was just plucking things out of it to wear and throwing it back in afterwards. Dean started picking through the items he knew for sure were worn and dropping them on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Penny asked as she ran into the room and hopped up on the bed next to the bag

"I'm taking your dirty clothes out of your bag"

"Uncle Bobby went to the store. Are you going to do the laundry?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Because you don't know how" She giggled

"Says who?" Dean smiled, "I've been doing laundry since I was a kid. I'm awesome at laundry. Do you know what my nickname used to be?"

"What?"

"Laundry man"

Penny laughed, "No it wasn't Daddy"

"Was too" he smirked "And I'll tell you what else, you think Uncle Bobby's good at washing clothes? Where do you think he learned it from?" Dean pointed to himself and mouthed "me"

"No Daddy, you're silly!"

"Okay, don't believe me? I'll show you. First tell me, is this clean or dirty?" He asked holding up one of her shirts

"Dirty"

"And this one?"

"Dirty"

"Are any of these clean?"

Penny shook her head no. Dean emptied the rest of the bag on the floor "Okay, grab an armful. I'll show you how it's done" he winked. Penny jumped off of the bed into Dean's arms and he guided her safely to the ground. She dove into the clothes and overflowed her arms with everything she could carry and more. She didn't stop until every last article was off of the floor and in her arms. The pile was taller than she was.

Dean laughed "Let me help you with some of those"

"No I got it" Penny muffled in protest through the mound

"You sure?"

"Yup!" Or at least he thought she said "yup" her words were too hard to make out

"Okay then, let's go"

Penny took one step forward and stopped "Daddy, I can shvie!"

"You what?" He knelt down

"I can shee!"

"You can't see?"

"Yeah!"

Dean smiled "Okay, up we go" He scooped her up into his arms "Hang on to the clothes"

He carried her to the laundry closet, sat her down on the drier, took the clothes and dropped them into the empty basket next to him. He was going to separate the whites from the colors first but then he realized that all of her clothes were some shade of pink or lavender. He made a mental note to expand her wardrobe as soon as possible. Dean turned a knob and water began filling the bottom of the washing machine. Penny stuck her hand under the running water and shivered.

"It's cold"

"How am I doing so far?"

"Good" She gave him an enthusiastic wet thumbs up

"Alright" He lifted the basket against the drier and she helped him toss her clothes in.

"Now we need soap." She announced

Dean grabbed the detergent from the shelf, opened it, and filled the cap with light purple liquid.

"Can I pour it?" Penny asked and he handed the cap over

"Be careful"

Penny moved the cap over the clothes gingerly and dumped all of its contents on one of her shirts in a sloppy purple puddle.

"That good?"

"Yup" He took the cap and closed the detergent again. Penny shut the lid of the washer. Dean turned the last knob for the timer and helped her back down to the ground.

"We did it!"

Dean lowered his hand for a low five, which she returned excitedly. He ignored the image of Phoebe high fiving him with the same enthusiasm and led Penny downstairs for lunch. He finished the laundry alone after that and packed her suitcase.

"I can't go without Kitty." She whimpered

"Why not?"

"Because he protects us"

"Sweetheart, that's what I'm here for. It's my job to protect you, not Kitty's. That's what Daddies do."

"But who will protect you?"

"Your Uncle Sam and Uncle Bobby always look out for me, and I look out for them. We all protect each other. Do you trust me?"

She nodded quietly and he smiled at her, secretly wishing that she did have her toy with her just in case, but she didn't. There was nothing supernatural protecting her now, just him for the very first time.

"I'll look after you" He pet her head and handed gave her the book bag. "Ready?"

"Ready"

She thumped her bag loudly down the steps until he picked it up for her and carried it the rest of the way down. Sam, Bobby, and Cas were already waiting.

"Where is she going?" Cas asked

"She's coming with us"

"Dean-"

"Where I go, she goes" He said firmly and lifted her up in his arms "Close your eyes and don't be scared. When you open them again, we'll be somewhere else"

"Is he a wizard?" She whispered

"Something like that. Hang on"

Dean had braced himself for the worst but this place looked like something out of a television show from the fifties. It was a suburb; there were nice houses with perfectly green cut grass, freshly paved roads, and children playing outside. Dean tried to loosen the noose like grip Penny had from around his neck but she wouldn't give.

"Baby, it's alright, we're here"

She lifted her head from his neck and looked around, her arms remained locked around him.

"Well, I was expecting more Zombieland, less Pleasantville"

"Just because it looks quiet, don't mean it is, especially if she's got a clue we're coming" Bobby said

"Yeah, well if she is here I'm glad we've got Psycho McCrazyton on our squad." He said with a nod in Cas's direction "Alright, where do we start?"

Bobby placed his hands thoughtfully on his hips "I'm going to need a computer"

They set up Bobby with an iPad courtesy of Sam in a diner. Penny was "so hungry she could eat a whole lobster". Unfortunately, lobster wasn't on the menu at Ervin's Diner, so she settled for a sandwich instead.

"Alright. I finally got the police database, no thanks to this" Bobby grunted at the iPad "I asked for a computer."

"It is a computer." Sam said through a mouthful of salad

"No, a computer has buttons."

The portly waitress came back to refill their glasses and gawk at Penny as she stripped the crust off of her sandwich with her fingers.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"No, we're good thanks." Dean said taking the plate from Penny and cutting the crust off with his knife

"Anything?" Sam asked once she had shuffled away again

"Oh, nickel and dime stuff, nothing weird. Basically dead end; you think the girl was lying?"

"I'll search the town. Give me a moment" Cas said and shut his eyes. Nothing happened

"Cas, we can still see you" Dean said sliding the sandwich back to Penny

"Yeah, I'm still here" He confirmed with a quick survey of his surroundings

"Okay, well you don't have to wait on us, you –"

Cas closed his eyes harder and his whole face constricted.

"Well now it just looks like you're pooping."

Penny giggled and separated the top layer of bread from the melted cheese

"Something's wrong." Cas said opening his eyes

"What, are you stuck?"

"I'm blocked. I'm powerless."

"You're joking" Dean stared incredulously

" Something in this town, is, uh, it's affecting me. I assume it's Eve." Cas said dejectedly

"So wait, Mom's making you limp?" This couldn't be happening

"Figuratively, yes"

"How?"

"I don't know, but she is"

"Well, that's great, because without your power, you're basically just a baby in a trench coat" Dean complained bitterly realizing that he had been somewhat counting on Cas to be able to protect Penny as well in case something went wrong. Crap. Cas looked out of the window in helpless frustration

"I think you hurt his feelings." Sam said quietly

"I got something here, maybe. Had to go federal go to get it. Call went out from the local office to the CDC last night." Bobby said

About what?"

"A Dr. Silver called in an illness he couldn't identify. Patient's a 25 year old, African-American, name - Ed Bright"

"Well that's not much to go on" Dean cocked his head

"Well its only lead, so –"

"So beggars can't be choosers, right? I get it. You all done with your sandwich?" He asked Penny who shook her head no

"Hey sweetheart?" He called to the waitress "Can we get a doggie bag over here?"

Her stomach was growling, she left her sandwich in the car by accident; it was going to be yucky and cold when got back to the car. Maybe Daddy would buy her some chicken nuggets instead. He was walking really fast; she had to skip every now and then to keep up with him. Daddy's friend was walking on his other side, if he was next to her, she would hold his hand too. She wondered if anyone ever held his hand. If Mommy was here, she could take her other hand and lift her up in the air and she and Daddy could swing her. She saw that in a movie once, the boy's mommy and daddy held his hands up high and swung him. He looked so happy. Daddy can't swing her with just one arm but maybe Uncle Sam could. Uncle Sam was as big as a tree. Daddy leads her up a walkway to a building. There's an old lady coming out of the front door. Daddy goes to talk to her. You shouldn't talk to strangers.

"Excuse me. Hi, uh, i-is Dr. Silver here today?" He asks her. Daddy's a grownup. Grownups can talk to strangers. "My friend is very sick" Dean says and points to his friend. Maybe that's why he won't hold her hand. He's feeling sick.

"I have a, uh, painful burning sensation" Daddy's friend Cas says

Burns hurt. You shouldn't touch a stove because they burn. Grandma burned the macaroni on the stove. Mommy burned her finger. Fire is dangerous.

"Oh, well, he's out. Sorry" The old lady says. Her hair is grey like her suit. Mommy wears lots of suits but they were black and brown. Grandma likes pink. She says pink is for princesses. Mommy doesn't think so.

"Do you happen to know where he is?" Daddy asks her

"He hasn't called in" She says and looks at Daddy's friend Cas "You might want to find yourself some ointment" Then she walks away. Pigs says oink. Penny saw a pig at the petting zoo; it was a baby. Grandma doesn't like the pig and they can't take him home. Penny liked the elephant. He had a funny long nose and big ears. Elephants are scared of mice. Kitty isn't. Daddy is saying things she doesn't understand; he's saying a lot of letters. Sometimes grownups spell things so little kids don't understand. Penny is a big girl. She can spell cat, C-A-T and dog, D-O-G, and her whole name P-E-N-E-L-O-P-E A-M-A-N-D-L-A R-O-B-I-N-S-O-N. Daddy's last name is Winchester, she doesn't know how to spell it yet, it's a long name. Daddy lets go of her hand and starts bending down in front of the door of the office.

"Is this gonna take a long time?" Daddy's friend Cas asks.

"You shouldn't touch a stove." Penny tells him. Daddy looks back at her with his eyebrows up and starts to look away when he suddenly stops.

"What is it?" Cas asks

Daddy stands up and looks at his friend, he looks like he wants to say something but he doesn't. He bends down to talk to her.

"You know how we say earmuffs and you cover your ears?"

She nods.

"Well, when I say the word 'blindfolds' I want you to cover your eyes, no peeking okay?"

"Okay Daddy"

"Alright, let's try it now. Blindfolds"

Penny covered her eyes with a smack. Ow. She could see tiny yellow stars dancing around in the darkness of her lids and then they disappeared. When she draws pictures of the nighttime she makes yellow stars. The sun is a really big star but it doesn't come out at night. It's a daystar. The lady says that the sun is millions of miles away. Penny wanted to touch it, the lady told her that she couldn't reach it from here; she would have to go into outer space. Penny wants to float in space. The lady says that's what astronauts do. Penny wants to be an astronaut so she can touch the sun.

When Daddy says it's okay, she puts her hands back down; Daddy takes one of them in his. There's a fire behind him.

"Daddy! Daddy! Fire!"

"It's okay, lets get out of here"

Penny keeps a close eye on Daddy's friend Cas; fire is dangerous, she doesn't want him to get burned.

In the car Penny picked at her sandwich, she was right, it was cold and yucky and the bread is too soft. Daddy says to wait in the car and he stands outside of it with Uncle Bobby, Uncle Sam, and Daddy's friend Cas. The windows are open; she could listen if she wanted. Listening to grownups talking is bad but they talk really loud.

"I'm fairly unpracticed with firearms" Daddy's friend says

"You know who whines? Babies" Daddy says. Penny's not baby. Penny's a big girl. Daddy and Uncle Sam go inside of a house. She wants to go too.

"Uncle Bobby, where did Daddy go?" She squeaks frightfully out of the window

"Uh, your Daddy just wants to ask someone a few questions Penny, he'll be out soon"

"There was a fire!"

Uncle Bobby picks up his head and looks around "Where?"

"She's talking about earlier" Daddy's friend Cas says "Dean had to set a body on fi-"

"Okay, I get you" Uncle Bobby says to him "Don't worry Penny, there won't be anymore fires… I hope"

Penny pulls her head from the window and sits back down. Fires are dangerous. She wishes Kitty was here. Kitty doesn't like fires either. He would save Daddy and Uncle Sam.

Daddy comes out of the house with Uncle Sam a long yucky sandwich later.

"I don't get it." He says "What, a bunch of regular Joes wake up shifters? What the hell?"

"Shifters usually run in families. This looks like an infection. Nobody touched nothing?" Uncle Bobby says

"Well I am bathing in Purell tonight" Daddy says

Uncle Sammy moves his hands around and says "So, he said they met a girl"

"It's got to be Eve."

Eve is from the bible. She ate an apple and God got mad. Barney Thomson hates apples too. If he eats one, he'll turn into a big red itchy balloon. Balloons are pretty, especially the red ones, but not when they are itchy.

"But why would she do this?" Daddy's friend Cas asks

"Mommy monster - make more" Uncle Bobby says

" No, no, no, no. Cas has got a good point. I mean if she's gonna make a shifter army, why make one that's sick, gooey and dying?"

Daddy's busy; he doesn't look at her when he talks. Penny wishes she was a grownup like Daddy

"Add that to the pile of crap that don't make sense"

Penny's bored. She puts her sandwich bag on her head and balances it. Grandma says that princesses have good posture. Posture is when you stand up straight. Penny's a princess; she can stand up straighter than anyone she knows; even straighter than Rachel Paddox and Lilah Torusso. The Lady would clap if she could see her now with this bag on her head. The Lady is proud of her. Penny misses her.

The radio is on, she didn't notice it before but she hears it now because it said her name.

"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, Wet beneath the blue suburban skies"

The radio is playing quietly. Daddy has the car keys. Grandma says you need the keys to play the radio. The song changes

"When nighttime comes, and you're in your bed.

Don't shed a tear just smile instead.

Because Grandma will always be here with you

Inside of your dreams and your heart too

When things are scary, when you feel alone.

Just close your eyes and you'll be back home.

Inside my arms, I'll hold you tight.

Let Grandma help, you through the night.

So don't be sad and don't be afraid.

Remember the song that Grandma made

For her little Princess Penelope

Because I'll love you all eternity"

Penny leans forward "Grandma? Is that you?"

"No, no, no, no, baby"

"Is this the lady?"

"Just call my naaaaaame, and I'll be there"

"Yay!" She began to yell but clapped her hands over her mouth. "I have to tell Daddy, I promised"

"Is your heart still mine? I want to cry sometimes, I miss you"

"I miss you too! But I promised Daddy. I have to tell him that you're here"

"I don't wanna leave, but I gotta go right now"

"No don't leave!" Penny cried out

"Penny?" Daddy leaned over to the window

"Just call my name, and I'll be there"

"Daddy the radio is on"

"Baby, I have the keys." He says holding them up for her to see

The radio was quiet again.

"I think The Lady was on the radio"

"What did she say?"

"She said she misses me"

"Alright. Good girl." Daddy gets back into the car and so does Uncle Sammy, Uncle Bobby, and Daddy's friend Cas.

"She can still communicate through airwaves" Daddy's friend says

"Yeah" Daddy says to him

"How long have you known?"

"We'll talk about it later okay?" Daddy says. It sounds like Daddy's friend is in trouble. Penny wonders if Daddy's friend is still hurt from the burning. He looks sad. Penny puts a hand on his and he looks down at her. He's making a funny face and his body is really straight. He could be a princess too.