"So, are we doing the mother-daughter special today?" The lady holding my hand looked at me and then at Aunt Michelle, who was sitting at the table next to me.

"Um, no, do you have an aunt and niece special? We're having some 'girl bonding time'!" Aunt Michelle said brightly, but it was in a fake way.

The lady began to rub my nails with a little white block. "No, I'm afraid we don't have an specials for aunts and nieces." She said with a smile.

My Aunt had come to the hotel room this morning to take me out and spend time with me today, promising a whirlwind of fun activities. Our first stop was a salon for manicures.

"Have you had a manicure before?" the woman glanced at me, picking up a nail file.

I shook my head. "Nope. But my Mom and I used to paint each other's nails."

"Used to? Why don't you any more?"

"Uh...she, uh, she had cancer." I bit the inside of my cheek so that I wouldn't cry.

The woman stopped what she was doing and looked up at me. "Did she- did she pass away?"

I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. She reached out and cupped the side of my head.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry!" she said sympathetically. "Recently?"

I nodded again, blinking my eyes rapidly so that the tears wouldn't fall.

"Ooh, honey..." she said, standing up. "Can I get you a drink?"

"A Diet Coke would be nice." Aunt Michelle said crisply.

The lady looked at her. "Fine," she said cooly. "What about you, sweetie?"

I cleared my throat. "Can I have a Coke please?"

"Sure, I'll be right back." She left the nail area and went into a back room. On the way back to us, she stopped at a chair and talked to a woman who was cutting someone's hair. They nodded, and she came back over to us.

"My name is Marie, if you need anything else you just ask, all right?" she said to me, handing me the can.

"Thank you." I said.

"Can I get a straw?" Aunt Michelle asked.

"I'm afraid we don't have any." Marie told her stiffly.

She picked up the file and started to work on my nails again. She asked me about school, what I liked to do, and if I had any brothers or sisters.

"Nope, just a Dad and a Uncle." I said. "And a Grandfather."

She laughed. "You say that like's a new thing!"

"It is. I didn't know my Dad before, uh...before. Mom wanted me to meet him so that he could take care of me...after."

"I see. And how is that going? That must be an adjustment, living with a bunch of men!" She rolled her eyes. "I love men, but they can be hard to live with sometimes, am I right?" She looked over at the lady who was doing Aunt Michelle's nails, and they both chuckled.

I noticed that Aunt Michelle was sitting up straight and watching me closely.

"It's fine." I said. "They have lots of rules."

"They do?" Aunt Michelle leaned forward a little bit, and her face looked hungry, like a hawk.

"Yeah, uh, I'm just not used to it...'cause Mom didn't have any, you know, she was so sick I kinda did my own thing..." I felt uncomfortable, and like I was telling her too much.

Marie patted my hand. "It was just the two of you?"

"Yeah. I took care of her a lot 'cause she was too sick to do stuff."

"Well bless your heart! I'm glad you've got your father to take care of you now." She smiled at me kindly.

"What kind of rules?" Aunt Michelle asked abruptly.

"Umm...don't leave the hotel room by myself, always stay with a grown up, hold hands in the parking lot..."

"Aww, it sounds like they just want to keep you safe." Marie said with another smile.

Just then a woman walked over to us. Marie nodded at her. "This is Brandi, she's going to style your hair, Charlie, if that's okay?"

I looked at Marie and then at Aunt Michelle.

"Do I have to pay for this?" Aunt Michelle asked, raising her eyebrow.

"No, it's on the house. Both Brandi and I have lost family to cancer, so when we find out about a customer losing someone to cancer, we do something nice for them." Marie told her.

"Oh."

Brandi leaned over. "How about two fancy braids?" she asked me. "And I've got these barrettes. I noticed your purse." She showed me two fancy barrettes, a bow with little ribbons hanging off of them, and a Hello Kitty button in the middle of the bow.

"Wow, awesome! Thanks!" I smiled up at her. Brandi began to brush my hair.

Aunt Michelle's phone rang and she talked for a couple of minutes about "Making an offer" and "Closing the deal". After she hung up she looked at the woman who was doing her nails. "I'm a real estate agent, and I'm buying another property." she told her. "Not sure if I want to keep it, or flip it."

The woman looked at her. "Oh, do you watch that show about the brothes who flip houses?"

Aunt Michelle rolled her eyes. "It's ridiculous, the repairs that they do are so shoddy, and the materials are cheap! In the real world, they would be out of business in a heartbeat!"

"Oh," the woman said. "I like shows like that."

"Well, if you knew the business like I do, you'd think it was awful." Aunt Michelle said.

Brandi brought over a large hand mirror and held it up in front of me. "There you go, sweetie. This is called a fishtail braid." she said. She had pulled my hair back from my face with the barrettes, and then done a fishtail braid on each side.

"Thank you, I love it!" I smiled up at her, and she patted my shoulder.

"You're welcome. You stay strong now, hear?" She walked back over to her chair.

Aunt Michelle leaned over to the woman painting her nails. "I know I don't have to pay for that, but do I still have to tip her?" She asked in a loud whisper, looking over her shoulder.

The woman and Marie glanced at each other. "Whatever you want to do, miss." she said stiffly.

"All right." said Marie. "This just needs to dry, and you are good to go! What do you think?"

I had chosen a pink polish with a sparkly top coat.

"It looks pretty!" I said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, sweetie," she smiled at me.

I followed Aunt Michelle outside after she had paid. As we stepped off the curb, I tried to take her hand. She jerked her hand away. "What are you doing?" She looked down at me.

"Always hold hands in the parking lot." I told her.

"You almost broke my nail, Charlotte!" she admonished.

"Sorry." I said. "But I have to hold hands to be safe!"

"You'll be fine as long as you stay next to me!" she snapped.

We got into the car and drove to one of the fancy department stores in the mall. As we were walking through, she stopped at the section with purses.

"I need a new clutch," she said, looking at some small purses on a shelf.

I followed her around, but I was a little bored. The purses were mostly boring grown-up styles, made of leather, and expensive. Then I saw some backpacks, and there was one with pink sequins all over it.

"Wow, this is pretty!" I said.

She glanced down at me. "Get it." she said.

"I—I can?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Sure, why not? Shopping's a part of bonding, right?" She smiled at me, but again it felt fake. I didn't feel any sort of connection with her.

"Thank you!" I walked over to her and hugged her, and I felt her stiffen for a moment. She didn't hug me back.

After she picked out a purse, we walked to a counter and she paid for the purse and the backpack. She handed me the bag to carry. I followed her around again as she went to four different makeup counters.

She kept muttering about "finding the perfect shade of lipstick." At each counter, she talked to the makeup person and had them put something on her face- eyeliner, shadow, blush. I sighed and looked around me, watching people walk by. I was bored! I turned towards Aunt Michelle, wanting to say something, and I saw her take a sample lipstick and tuck it into her hand. Then she slipped her hand into her pocket. She had just stolen something! I looked away quickly as she turned her head towards me. What if she got in trouble- would she get put in jail? Would I have to go to jail with her? How would I get back to Dean and Uncle Sam if we were in jail?

"Uh, I'm hungry." I said to her. "Can we go eat lunch?"

"In a little bit," she said. After the woman had let her try on three different lipsticks, we left the store and went into the mall. We went onto a fancy shoe store and Aunt Michelle tried on two pairs of high heels.

"You said we would go eat in a little bit!" I complained.

"All right, all right, geez. Come on." She stood up and slammed the shoes back in their box. She walked over to a pretzel stand and bought me a soft pretzel and a lemonade.

"I thought we were going to eat lunch!" I said.

"Stop whining!" she snapped. "I don't eat lunch."

We went to another shoe store and I had to sit on a bench outside the store because they told me no food or drink was allowed. I felt a little nervous because I was breaking one of Dean's rules- always stay with a grown-up- but I guessed that Aunt Michelle wouldn't tell him, because it seemed like she didn't care.

She tried on a few pairs of shoes and bought three pairs. Then we went to a coffee shop, and she got herself a fancy coffee.

"Can I get one?" I asked.

"No, kids shouldn't drink coffee." she said.

"But Mom and I always got coffee together! She would get me decaf!" I protested.

She gave me a look. "Yeah, your mom was such a great parent," she said sarcastically. That hurt my feelings, and tears came to my eyes. I turned away from her and bit my lip so that I wouldn't cry.

She grabbed my shoulder and turned me around abruptly. "Don't you turn your back on me when I'm talking to you!" she snapped. I gulped nervously, not sure why she was so cranky.

She led me over to a table and sat down. "I need to make some phone calls," she said. I sat quietly while she talked for several minutes, drinking her coffee.

"All right, let's go." She said finally, standing up.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"I need to look at getting a new suit." she said.

"Aww, more shopping?" I complained. "This is boring, following you around!"

"Well, I really need to find one." she said. "You can learn a little patience, you know."

I huffed at her and she ignored me.

As we walked through the mall, we passed by an indoor play area that had all kinds of climbing equipment in it. Kids of all ages were running around and climbing.

"Can we go in there so I can play?" I pulled on her arm. "Pleeease?"

She yanked her arm away from me. "No!"

"I want to run around for just a little bit, can I?"

"I said no!" she snapped. He phone rang and she stopped walking to take the call.

I noticed a woman in a wheelchair sitting near the entrance to the play area. She was very thin, and very pale, and she was wearing the same kind of head scarf that my mom had worn when she lost her hair. The place where she had her treatments gave one to all the women that went there. My mom had picked a dark blue one. This womas was wearing a pink one.

A little boy called over, "Watch me, mommy!"

"I see you, honey!" the woman called, and her voice sounded weak. She smiled at him and waved. It made me think of my mom, and I started crying.

"What- what is wrong with you?" Aunt Michelle looked down at me. "Stop it."

"My—my mom-" I sobbed.

"You need to let it go. Now just stop it."

"I want to go back to the hotel." I said. "I want to be with Dean."

"Don't you want to go and have a fancy dinner later? We'll get shrimp cocktail!" Her voice had a false brightness to it.

"Shrimp is gross." I told her. "I want to go now, please."

She sighed and looked at me. "Really? Really, kid?" Her voice was hard.

"I want my Dad!" I wiped my eyes and sniffled. "And my Uncle Sam! Please!"

"Fine." she said in a clipped voice. She walked very fast out to the car and I had to almost run to keep up with her.

We got out of the car and she handed me the bag with the backpack in it.

John opened the door when she knocked, and stepped back to let us in.

Dean was across the room, sitting on the sofa, talking on his phone. Uncle Sam was just coming out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" John asked, looking at me and then at Aunt Michelle. "Has she been crying?"

"And who are you?" She asked coolly.

"I'm her grandfather." John said, pulling me next to his side and putting his arm around my shoulders.

"She just started crying in the mall for no reason and she wanted to come back. She's too focused on the death of her mother. She needs to get over it."

"It's only been about a week." John said. "It can take a lot longer than that."

"Well, she needs to learn to not cry in public." She looked down at me. "I guess I'll see you later."

She spun on her heel and walked out the door, closing it hard.

I started to cry again.

John bent down to me. "What happened?" he asked, his dark eyes searching my face.

"She dragged me around everywhere shopping and she stole some makeup and I told her I was hungry but she said she didn't eat lunch, and then I wanted to go to the play area and she said no, and I saw a lady in a wheelchair who had the same headscarf that my mommy had, I could tell she had cancer too-" My breath hitched and I was unable to talk any more.

"Oh, darlin', come here." John put his arms around me and picked me up. I felt a little uncomfortable, but then I noticed that his flannel shirt smelled like camp fire smoke, and it made me feel comforted. I buried my head in his shoulder and he rubbed my back.

"Wait, you said she...stole something?" Uncle Sam asked.

I turned my head. "Yeah, we went to a couple of different makeup counters and I saw her sneak something off of the counter into her pocket!"

He looked at Uncle Bobby. "That's...interesting." he said.

Dean came over, hanging up his phone.

"What happened, sweetheart?" he asked. "Tell us all about it."

I leaned over to him and he took me out of John's arms and hugged me. Then he sat down on the end of the bed with me in his Sam sat next to us. I told them everything that had happened that day.

"Your hair looks very pretty in those braids." Uncle Sam said, touching the end of one of the braids. "That was nice of them to do that for you."

"Man, why does she have to be such a bitch?" Dean asked. "To a kid, I mean."

Uncle Sam shrugged. "Some people are just that way."

Dean pulled out his phone. "Well, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind." He stood up and looked at his phone.

"What do you mean?" John asked him.

Dean looked at his Dad. "I mean I'm going to call her and ask her just who the hell does she think she is, treating Charlie like that! She has no kindness or compassion, and she has no right to even think that she should try and get custody!" Dean's voice was an angry shout by the time he was finished talking.

It scared me a little, and I scooted next to Uncle Sam on the bed. He put his arm around me.

"Dean, is that such a smart idea?" Uncle Sam asked him. "I mean, think about it. Is is wise to antagonize her?"

"I don't give a shit if it's wise, Sam, I'm too pissed off right now! Nobody treats my daughter like that!" Dean was still fiddling with his phone. "Dammit, I can't find her number!"

"Son, put the phone down and step back a moment." John said. "You just said you don't give a shit, but because you're too pissed off is why you should give a shit. Sammy's right, you don't want to antagonize her."

"Dad, I don't need a lecture from you-"

"Stand down, Dean." John said firmly. "Take a few minutes to collect yourself."

Dean sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. "All right. I won't call her right now. But I'm still thinking about it!"

"Let the people that we've found do their job, Dean." Uncle Bobby said. "Don't give her any ammunition, and she'll sink herself soon enough."

I looked up at Dean. "Do I have to go with her again? I don't like her, and I don't think she likes me either! I don't want to live with her! Please don't let her take me! I want to be with you!" I started crying again.

Dean sat down and hugged me tightly for a long moment, shushing me. Then he pulled back and took my face in his hands. "Look at me, Charlie." he said. "Look at me." His eyes were looking into mine intently. "I promise you that you're not going anywhere, all right? We're working on that, and she is not going to end up with you."

I nodded, sniffling, and he kissed my forehead. Uncle Sam got up for a minute and then came back over to us and handed Dean a tissue box. He gave me some tissues and I blew my nose and wiped my face.

"You said you didn't eat lunch." Uncle Sam said. "Are you hungry? We can go get an early dinner if you want."

"Okay." I agreed. "Can we get pizza?"

"Sure we can." Dean smiled at me.

We got to the restaurant before the dinner rush, so we were able to get seated right away. I was still feeling sad about my Mom and uncertain about the day. I didn't understand why my aunt had acted the way that she did, and why she wanted me to live with her since she didn't even seem to really like me or know anything about kids. And that worried me too. I didn't talk much while we ate, or even eat much. John and Uncle Bobby were telling funny stories about a guy they all knew named Ash, and all four of them were laughing a lot.

The parking lot was crowded with cars when we walked out of the restaurant. I followed behind Dean as we wove our way between the rows.

"Watch here, these cars are awfully close together." Dean said over his shoulder as we started to walk between two cars.

Suddenly there was loud barking right next to my head, and a long, loud growl.

I panicked, thinking that the creature that had been at the campsite was there. I screamed at the top of my lungs. "IT'S HERE, DADDY, HELP!" I shrieked, and grabbed at Dean, who turned around and picked me up. I gripped his shirt, shaking, as tears poured down my face. Dean walked forward a couple of steps.

"It's just a dog, in someone's car." Uncle Sam said. He was standing right next to us.

Dean turned. "Look, Charlie, it's a big dog-"

"NONONO!" I screamed, burying my head in his chest.

"All right." Dean said in a soothing voice. "It's all right, you're safe, baby girl, I've got you." he murmured as we walked over to the car. "You're okay, you're safe."

Dean tried to shift me in his arms and get his keys out of his pocket, but I was holding on to him tightly.

"Charlie, let go a little." he said. I loosened my grip and he moved me onto his hip and handed Uncle Sam the keys. Uncle Sam unlocked the doors and then opened the back door.

"She gonna be okay?" I heard John ask.

"Le'ts just get back to the hotel." Dean said. He got into the back of the car with me.

"No, Daddy, don't let go." I sobbed, as he tried to put me down.

"I've got to put you on the seat so we can get you buckled, sweetheart." he said. "I'm right here."

After he put the seat belt on me, he put his arms around me again. I couldn't stop crying.

I had stopped sobbing hard by the time Uncle Sam parked the car. Tears leaked out of my eyes every once in a while and my chest hitched every so often. Dean undid my seat belt and got out of the car, and I reached up to him. He picked me up and carried me into the room.

I turned my head into Dean's chest. "I want to stay with you."

Dean sat down on the sofa with me and I held on to him tightly.

There was a knock on the door, and I flinched and cried out, because it startled me. Dean looked down at me, and put his hand on the back of my head for a moment.

Uncle Sam walked over to the door and let Uncle Bobby and John come in the room.

"How's she doing?" John asked.

"Still pretty shaken up." Uncle Sam said.

"Why did she have to leave?" I asked.

"What do you mean, honey?" Uncle Sam looked at me.

"Why did my Mommy have to leave the tent? We heard the noises and knew something bad was happening, but I wanted her to stay with me 'cause I was scared. I didn't want to be left alone!"

"Well, actually, it's a good thing that she left." Dean said.

I looked at him. "Why?"

"If you both had been in the tent, the creature might have gotten both of you...so really, she saved your life by leaving the tent. It...it got her, and for whatever reason, ran away after that, and you were safe."

I started crying harder, overcome with sadness. The idea that she had saved me was too much to handle, and I started to choke on my sobs.

"Charlie, calm down." Dean said. He rubbed my back. "Come on baby girl, take a deep breath. You're going to throw up if you keep this up. Deep breath."

I tried to breathe, but my chest was still heaving. Then I hiccuped, and gagged, and I felt stuff coming up my throat from my stomach. I threw up down the front of Dean's shirt, and then more came up as I ducked my head, and it went all over my shirt.

"I'm sorry Daddy!" I wailed, afraid he was going to be mad at me.

"It's okay." he said, sitting forward and trying to put me on the sofa.

I clutched at him. "No! Don't leave me!"

"I've got to change, and so do you. And we don't want any puke to get on the sofa." he said. "Let go, sweetheart."

Uncle Sam took my arm. He was holding my nightgown.

"Stand up and let's get you changed, and then you can sit with me while your Dad is getting changed, all right?" he smiled at me.

I stood up next to the sofa and Uncle Sam helped me take my shirt off carefully so I didn't get anything on my face or hair. I pulled my shorts off as John came over with a damp washcloth and handed it to Uncle Sam.

"In case she got any on her neck." he said.

"Thanks, Dad." Uncle Sam said. He wiped my face and neck off with the washcloth, and then slipped my nightgown over my head. He picked me up and sat down, settling me in his lap.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled.

"It's all right." Uncle Sam said, pulling me into his chest. "Relax and breathe, honey."

I heard a phone ring, and then Uncle Bobby talking for a couple of minutes.

Then I heard him say, "Dean-"

I looked across the room. Dean and Uncle Bobby and John were standing near the table, talking with serious looks on their faces.

"I want Daddy," I whimpered to Uncle Sam.

"I think Uncle Bobby needs to talk to him for a minute." Uncle Sam said. "Dean, she wants you, when you're done." he called across the room. After a few minutes, Uncle Bobby left the room.

As Dean walked across the room to me, I said, "I need MaryBear."

Dean searched around in the covers of my bed and then brought her over to me. He sat down and I crawled onto his lap and he handed the bear to me. I put my arm around her and snuggled into his chest.

"Does that bear have wings?" I heard John ask. He had come over to the sofa, and he handed Dean an open bottle of beer.

"Thanks." Dean took a drink of beer and leaned forward to set the beer on the table.

"Yeah, it does, and actually..." he glanced at Uncle Sam. "Uh, Charlie said she used to, uh, see a blonde woman when she was little, who would talk to her when she was scared. Charlie thought she was an angel, and her Mom got her this bear, so she named it MaryBear, because the woman ...told her that her name was Mary."

"What?!" John sounded shocked.

I looked up- Dean and Uncle Sam were looking up at John, who was pale. His eyes looked like they had tears in them.

"Do you remember anything she said to you, Charlie?" he asked, and his voice cracked.

"Uh, that angels were watching over me, and that she was watching over me, so I figured she must be a angel."

"Oh my God." John whispered.

I looked at Dean. "What? What is it?"

John put his hand up to his eyes and then turned abruptly and walked out of the room.

Uncle Sam got up and followed him out.

"Did I do something bad?" I cried out. "Are they mad at me?"

"No, Charlie." Dean soothed. "It's...well..."

In a few minutes, the door opened, and Uncle Sam and John came back in. As they walked over to us, John took his wallet out of his back pocket. He opened it and thumbed through some papers, and then pulled something out and handed it to Dean. I sat up and Dean showed it to me. It was an old photo, of a dark haired man and a blonde woman, leaning their heads on each other and smiling.

"That- that's her!" I said, stunned. I looked at Dean and then at John, whose face was now red.

"How do you have a picture of her?" I asked.

"That's my Mom." Dean told me. "She... passed away when I was 4 years old. She used to tell me...she used to say that angels were watching over me."

John put his hand up to his face again and wiped his eyes.

"Wait, you mean, you think that- that the Mary that used to talk to me is- is your Mom?" I stared up at Dean.

He nodded, tears in his eyes. "Your grandmother." he said.

I started to cry again. He hugged me to his chest for a long moment.

Uncle Sam walked over to John and they hugged.

"Charlie, when you're feeling up to it, I'd like to ask you more about when she used to talk to you, if that's all right with you." John said after a few minutes. It seemed like everyone was crying a little bit.

"Okay." I said quietly. I felt very tired, and closed my eyes, leaning on Dean's chest.

I woke up three times that night, dreaming different things- that a wolf-creature came into the tent and attacked me and my mother; that when I got out of the tent, Uncle Sam and Dean were there and the wolf-creature attacked them; and that I was hiding in the bushes and the wolf-creature was coming after me as I crawled through miles and miles of branches and leaves. Each time I woke up screaming, "Mommy! Daddy!" and it took me a long time to calm down and fall into a restless sleep.