We walked into the motel room, and Daddy pointed. "Go stand in the corner."

"But Daddy-"

He smacked my butt again. "Charlie, I am tired of you thinking you can go where ever you want, when ever you want. You are going to learn that you have to follow the rules, once and for all!" His voice was loud and angry.

Tears came to my eyes as I backed away from him. Uncle Sam came to the open door between his room and our room. "What's up?" he asked.

"I was on the phone with Lisa making plans to go to a pumpkin patch this weekend and went to check with Charlie...come to find out she just up and left, went over to the playground on her own!" Daddy pulled his phone out.

"Daddy, I didn't-"

"BE QUIET!" Daddy yelled at me. I jumped, and hurried over to the corner, starting to cry.

"I've got to call her and let her know I found Charlie, she was worried. And I need a few minutes to calm down before I deal with her," Daddy said, nodding his head at me.

I walked to the corner and wiped my face as tears dripped down my cheeks. Daddy was so angry with me, but I hadn't done anything wrong. How was I going to tell him what had happened and convince him that I was telling the truth?

"Hey, Lisa, it's me. I found her—what?" he paused, "Your friend De—are you okay?" Daddy's voice got deeper like when he was very serious, "Lisa, hang on, don't say or do anything suspicious, got it? I'll be right over," I heard his phone beep, and then he called, "Sam? SAM! Come on, we've got to go!"

I turned from where I was standing in the corner. Daddy had gone into our bedroom, and when he came back out he had his gun in his hands.

Uncle Sam came into the room, followed by Grandpa John. "What's going on, Dean?"

"I just called Lisa...and she said, 'I can't talk right now, my friend Dean just walked in,'" Daddy gave Uncle Sam a look and they did their 'talking without words' thing.

"Grab your gun and let's go," Daddy said.

"It's in the car," Uncle Sam replied.

"Do you have holy water, just in case?" Grandpa John asked.

"Yeah, we do," Daddy's voice was abrupt, "We'll be back."

He and Uncle Sam left the room, and Grandpa John walked over and turned the dead bolt on the door.

I turned all the way around, starting to cry harder. "Grandpa John, what's going on? What did Lisa mean?"

"Come here, darlin'," Grandpa John opened his arms to me. I ran to him and he picked me up and held me, "It's all right," he soothed.

"No it's not! Something weird is happening! Daddy took me to the park earlier, but then he said he didn't! He- he was wearing different clothes!"

Grandpa John walked over to the sofa and sat down, putting me in his lap.

"Tell me exactly what happened," he said. He had a serious look on his face as I talked.

"Daddy came into the room and asked me if I wanted to go to the playground. We walked there, and he didn't- he didn't want to hold my hand at first. And I noticed- he was wearing a different shirt! I asked him about it and he said that he had gone shopping recently, but I know he hasn't."

"How was he acting? Did he sound different?"

"He was acting...not like himself. I asked him to push me on the swings and he said no. He was standing by himself, looking around. It was like he was looking for someone. Oh, and he called me 'girlie'. He's never called me that before!"

Grandpa John looked at me. "Did he talk to anyone, or did anyone else show up?"

I shook my head. "Just some kids and their moms, and I played with them. Daddy stood by himself the whole time. Oh, and he was wearing tan pants too. And then he was gone, and I saw him walking up the sidewalk, and he had on the shirt that he had on earlier! And he yelled at me about coming to the park by myself!" Tears filled my eyes again, "I didn't, though! He took me there!"

I looked up at Grandpa John. "Do you believe me?"

He rubbed my back. "Yes, I do," he said.

"What's happening?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Well... I'm not sure, so I don't want to say anything yet. It will be okay."

"Is there—is there a monster that can look like other people? Is that who went over to Lisa's, a supernatural creature who looks just like Daddy?" A thought occurred to me, and I got scared, "Was that- was that who took me to the park?" I looked up at Grandpa John again. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

"It was, wasn't it!" I started to cry harder, "What is it? Is it gonna hurt Lisa and Ben?"

"Shhh, Charlie," Grandpa John hugged me, rocking me back and forth.

We sat together until I had calmed down, and then he pulled back and looked at me. "Are you hungry? It's past dinnertime."

"Yeah." I got off of his lap.

We went over to the kitchen and he made grilled cheese sandwiches and scrambled eggs for dinner. Afterwards, we sat and watched cooking shows on t.v.

"It's time for you to get ready for bed," Grandpa John said eventually.

"Can we call Daddy so I can say good-night to him?"

"No, that's not a good idea, I don't want to interrupt him if he's in the middle of something."

I sighed and got up. When I had changed into my pjs and done my nightly routine, I came back over to Grandpa John. "I don't want to go to bed yet, I don't want to lay in bed by myself. I'll just worry the whole time. Can I stay here with you? Please?" I leaned on his leg.

"All right, you can sit with me for a while, but I want you to close your eyes."

I sat down next to him. We watched another cooking contest, and then he patted my shoulder.

"Lay down, and close your eyes now."

I laid down and put my head on his thigh, and he began to rub my back and hum quietly. I was tired, and I felt myself starting to fall asleep.

I woke up in bed, hearing Grandpa John talking in the living room. "-scanner just reported another 24 hour pharmacy was held up, on the corner of Washington Avenue and Littleton Street. Yeah, over near the hospital. He's moving south. Just watch yourself, you don't want to get caught by the cops. Do what you need to and get the hell out of there. All right, I will. Bye."

I heard him moving around, and got out of bed to stand at the door. "Grandpa John, what's happening?"

He turned and looked at me. "We're going to have to leave, darlin'," he said, "I've got to get everything packed up."

"Wh-why do we have to leave?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"I'll explain later. Right now, you need to either go back to bed, or pack your things." His voice was no-nonsense.

"I'm already all packed," I said, "Daddy says to always be packed up."

"Good. Back to bed for now," He went into the room he and Uncle Sam were sharing. I sighed and went back to my bed, getting under the covers and laying down. I was worried about Daddy and Uncle Sam, and Lisa and Ben.

"Charlie, wake up," Grandpa John shook my shoulder, "Come on, wake up."

I rolled over and looked at him, "Is Daddy home yet?"

"No, he's not," he pulled on my arm, "Come on, we need to go."

I sat up. "Where are we going?"

"We need to leave now," Grandpa John stood up, "You don't have to get dressed, you can go back to sleep in the truck if you want to."

"But what about Daddy? And Uncle Sam? Are they coming too?" I asked worriedly.

"We'll meet them later. Your Dad...has some things to take care of."

"What things?" I looked up at Grandpa John, but he wouldn't meet my eyes, "How will they know where we're going? How will they know where to meet us?"

"I'll be in touch. Your Dad and Sam will let me know when they've finished what they're doing."

"But what are they doing? Is it the monster that looked like Daddy? Are they going after it?"

"Charlie-"

"How come nobody ever tells me anything!" I said frustratedly, folding my arms.

"Because you don't need to know everything, little girl. And there are some things that you are safer not knowing about."

"Safer? What do you me-"

"I'm not discussing it any further. Get up and get ready to go. Use the restroom and get your shoes on," Grandpa John's voice was no-nonsense again.

I sighed and got out of bed. He picked up my Hello Kitty pillows and blanket. "I'll take these out to my truck," he told me.

After I was done in the bathroom, I picked up my bag with my drawing stuff and my backpack with my toys, and carried them out to the living room. There was a box that looked kinda like a radio that's in a car, sitting on the coffee table. It made a static buzzing noise, and then I heard a voice speak, "Lost sight of suspect. Searching blocks between Eighth Street and Union."

There was a crackling sound, and a buzz, and another voice said, "Vehicle has been located, blood spatter noted on the front driver's seat and dashboard. Forensic unit en route."

The door opened and Grandpa John came in. I looked up at him. "That radio thing said that there was blood in a car. Is it Daddy's car? What is that about?"

Grandpa John grimaced. "It's a police scanner. What did you hear them say?"

"Uh, lost sight of, um...suspect? That they were searching some streets? And then another person said they found a vehicle and there was blood on the driver's seat, and that forensic unit was on its way? What's that?" I frowned.

Grandpa John stepped over and turned the scanner off. "Don't worry about it, Charlie."

"Stop saying that!" I stomped my foot, "Were they talking about Daddy? Why was there blood? What's Daddy doing? I want to know!" I burst into tears and sank down on the sofa. "I—just—want-my-Daddy!" I wailed.

Grandpa John came over to me and picked me up. "Shh, sweetheart. They weren't talking about your Dad, all right? I know that for a fact. He's all right, and he's safe."

"I wanna talk to him!" I sobbed.

"Well...you can't right now, he's busy. I promise you, next time he calls, I'll let you talk, all right?" He wiped my face with the tail of his flannel.

"Okay," I sniffled, "Promise?"

"Yes," he said, "did you use the rest room? We ready?"

"Yeah."

He set me down on the floor, and then walked to the door of the bedroom I had shared with Daddy. After glancing around, he nodded, and then came back over to me.

"Let's go," he said. I followed him out to his giant truck and he lifted me into the passenger seat. It was dark outside, and seemed like it was the middle of the night.

I woke up hearing his phone ring. I sat up, blinking my eyes. I had fallen asleep leaning against the door, and my neck was sore. Sunlight was streaming in on my side, and I was hot too. I rubbed my face and pushed my fleece blanket down.

"Yeah? How did it go? You took care of...it was? All right. Yeah, we're almost out of Ohio," Grandpa John was saying. He glanced at me, "Yeah, she's awake. Want to talk to her?"

I leaned over and held my hand out. Grandpa John put the phone into my hand. "Daddy?" I said.

"Hi, Charlie," he said, and I burst into tears again.

"Daddy where are you? Are you okay? What happened? Were you chasing a monster? Are Lisa and Ben okay?" I babbled.

"Shh, baby, shh," Daddy said soothingly, "slow down. I'm fine. We're on our way, about three or four hours behind you. All right?" His voice sounded hoarse.

"What were you and Uncle Sam doing?" I sniffed.

"I'll tell you all about it when we get there," he said, "Be good for Grandpa John, okay?"

"I will. You're okay, you didn't get hurt? Or Uncle Sam?"

He chuckled. "We're both fine. We'll see you soon, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy," I said, handing the phone back to Grandpa John.

He put the phone back to his ear. "I don't know if we're going to stop for the night or not, depends how far we get, it's only about 12 hours. All right, I'll keep that in mind. Yeah, I'll call you later. All right, bye." He disconnected and put his phone in his shirt pocket.

"He reminded me that you're not used to being in the car for long stretches of time, like he was," Grandpa John chuckled, "How are you doing, do you need a rest room break?"

"Yeah, and I'm hungry," I said, "what time is it?"

"It's about 2 o'clock," he told me, "I don't want to stop for a sit down meal, I want to stay on the road for now. We can stop tonight."

"Where are we going?"

"Upstate New York, I have a friend who has a cabin there," Grandpa John said.

"Why are we going there?"

"For...a little vacation," Grandpa John said, "There's an exit coming up with restaurants, what do you want to eat?"

We stopped at a McDonald's to use the rest room and get food. After I was finished eating I got out my 3Ds and played until the power was low. We stopped again for a bathroom break and for Grandpa John to get coffee. I got out my Language Arts textbook and read some more of the stories that were in it.

By the time Grandpa John said we were stopping for the night, it was dark. We went through another drive-through for dinner, and then Grandpa John found a motel. He rented a room that had two big beds in it and a sofa-bed. We brought our duffles into the room, and he dropped his and went into the bathroom. I walked over to look at the t.v.

I heard the rumbly sound of a car engine in the parking lot, and ran to the door, turning the dead bolt and throwing open the door. I sounded just like Daddy's car! I heard the bathroom door open behind me.

"Daddy!" I said excitedly, stepping out of the room.

"Charlotte Anne Winchester!" Grandpa John's voice was loud. I felt his hand on the back of my neck, and he jerked me back into the room by the shirt collar. The door slammed closed, and he grabbed my arm and turned me, landing a couple of hard swats on my rear.

"Do NOT open the door like that ever again, little girl!" his voice was deep and loud like Uncle Sam's.

I hadn't expected him to grab me like that or swat me, and all I wanted to for Daddy to come back. I burst into tears. "M' sorry!" I wailed, "I thought it was D-daddy!"

"You're not supposed to open the door, though, are you, you have a rule about that?"

I nodded, sniffling, "M'sorry," I repeated, reaching back to rub out the sting.

Grandpa John sighed, and then he picked me up and held me. "I know you're worried about your Dad, he'll be here soon," he took my chin and made me raise my head and look at him, "But don't you ever open the door and run out like that again, or you'll be in trouble, is that clear?"

I swallowed nervously. "Yes, Grandpa John," I said.

"Good," he nodded, and let go of my chin. I rested my head on his shoulder, and he carried me over to the sofa and sat down with me. I tried to stop crying but my eyes kept filling with tears. I curled up in Grandpa John's lap and he held me until I fell asleep, my chest hitching every so often.

I woke up when I heard the door close. I sat up- I was tucked in bed- and saw Daddy and Uncle Sam standing by the door.

"Daddy!" I launched myself off the bed. He dropped his duffle and came towards me, catching me in his arms and hugging me tightly. I wrapped my arms around him and started crying again. "Daddy I missed you! I was so scared for you and Uncle Sam! Are you okay?"

I felt him stroking the back of my head, and he said, "We're fine, we're okay now."

Uncle Sam came over to us and leaned over to hug me. I let go of Daddy with one arm and hugged Uncle Sam, and he kissed my cheek.

I pulled back to look at them. "What happened? Who was at Lisa's? Was it someone who looked like you?"

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow," Daddy said, "Let's get some sleep, I'm exhausted."

Daddy did look tired, he had stubble on his face and dark circles under his eyes.

He carried me over to the bed and started to put me down, and I clung to him. "Lay with me, Daddy, I want to be with you!"

He sighed, and sat down, leaning against the headboard. I curled up against him, sliding my arm around his chest, and fell asleep again. I felt better now that he and Uncle Sam were with us.

In the morning, Grandpa John and I went out to get breakfast and brought it back to the room. Daddy and Uncle Sam slept until mid-morning. When they woke up, they ate, and then took showers.

I sat with Daddy while Uncle Sam was in the bathroom.

"Will you tell me what happened yesterday?" I asked, looking up at him.

He looked over at Grandpa John, who gave a little nod.

"All right, Charlie," Daddy said, "There's a type of supernatural creature called a shape-shifter. They can change their body to look like someone else. That's what—what was at Lisa's house."

"Why do they do that?"

"Well, uh, to try and take over the person's life sometimes."

"Why?"

"Uh, I don't know, Charlie, we don't often know why a creature does what it does."

"Daddy, I think it was the person who took me to the park yesterday." I felt scared, that he wouldn't believe me, and also that I had possibly been in contact with it.

Daddy got a worried look on his face. "Yes, Charlie, the shifter came...to our motel, and took you to the park. I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, and that I got mad and yelled at you," he hugged me for a moment, "When you- disappear, my first thought is—fear, and worry, and I deal with that by getting angry. I'm sorry I didn't stop and think, sweetheart."

I felt even more scared as I said, "Why did he take me there? What was he going to do? He was acting like he was looking for someone, was there someone else?"

Daddy looked uncomfortable now. "I don't know, Charlie, he may have just been trying to mess with me, and scare me. Which he succeeded at."

"Why did we have to leave? Why were the police chasing someone? They found a car with blood in it!"

Grandpa John spoke up. "Charlie overheard some action on the police scanner," he told Daddy.

Daddy grimaced. "Well, Uncle Sam and I went after the shifter, to confront it...and he started to rob some stores. The police were after him...we got to him first."

A look passed between Grandpa John and Daddy. "We had to leave because the police think it was me doing the robberies, and they were looking for me." Daddy said.

"But...can't you tell them it wasn't you?"

He shook his head. "No, they wouldn't believe me."

"What happened to it? Did it get caught by the police?"

Daddy sighed. "No, we...Uncle Sam and I...took care of it."

"What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly, "Did you...kill it?"

Daddy closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, we did, Charlie. If we hadn't, it would have gone on to someone else and tried to ruin their life. It wasn't good, and it needed to be stopped."

"But why did it do that?"

"I don't know. Some creatures are like that, just like some people are not nice, and they're mean all the time."

I hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're okay, and Uncle Sam is too," I thought of something, and pulled back to look at him again, "What about Lisa, and Ben? Did it hurt them? Are they okay? Does Lisa know what happened?"

Daddy looked even more uncomfortable. "They're okay. I told Lisa what happened. She...knows we had to leave."

"But- what happens now? Can we go back? I thought we were gonna have Thanksgiving with them!" We had talked about having Thanksgiving dinner at Lisa's house, and she was going to show Daddy and Uncle Sam how to cook a turkey with all the trimmings, and we were going to make Christmas cookies.

"Well, we can't go back there right now, because the police are still looking for me. We're going to spend some time at a log cabin that a friend of the family has, it's in the woods, and it's really neat," Daddy said, "There's deer that come into the front yard and eat the bushes every morning, and a stream near the house that has fish and all kinds of critters living in it."

Uncle Sam had come out of the bathroom and was listening to Daddy. "We should go out and get some supplies."

"We will," Grandpa John said.

"But what about Thanksgiving? Ben and me were gonna do crafts and stuff when we were there!" I said.

"We can figure something out," Uncle Sam walked over to his duffle and pulled a flannel on over his t-shirt, "When do you want to leave?"

"After we go to the store," Grandpa John said.

"How long will it take to get there? I'm tired of being in the car!" I complained.

"I saw a park with a playground not too far from here, why don't I take you while they're shopping?" Daddy rubbed my back.

"Yeah!" I said happily. I got up and went to get dressed. Daddy and I drove in his car to the park- it had a walking path with lots of trees that were changing colors, and a huge playground. There was a smalled playground off to the side for babies and toddlers. It was busy, and there were lots of people and kids roaming around. Daddy pushed me on the swings for a while, and then he went to sit on a bench. I climbed on the monkey bars two times, and then I got a prickly sensation on the back of my neck.

I turned and saw the man in the tan rain coat that I had seen before. He was standing near Daddy, looking at him. I started to walk over to them.

"Dean Winchester," the man said in a gravelly voice, "Where is your progeny?"

Daddy frowned, standing up. "My what? Who the hell are you?"

I walked over to Daddy's side, and he put his arm around me and pulled me against him, holding on tightly to my shoulder.

"My name is Castiel, and I am an angel of the Lord," the man said, "I have come to tell you that there are demons searching for you. They are searching for the child, because of her abilities-"

Daddy stepped towards Castiel, "Keep your voice down, for crap's sake!" he hissed, glancing around.

Castiel looked around too, the same way Daddy had, "Why do I need to keep my voice down?" he hissed, mimicking Daddy's voice.

"Talking about demons and—psychic abilites on a playground full of kids isn't exactly a good idea!" Daddy snapped.

"Is there somewhere we can go to talk?" Castiel asked. He looked around again, and said, "Of course, humans prefer privacy."

And then all of a sudden, we were sitting in the Impala! All three of us were crammed in the front seat together, Castiel between me and Daddy.

"What the hell?" Daddy yelled, "How did you do that?"

"I told you, Dean Winchester, I am an angel of the Lord. I have powers," Castiel said calmly, "You must stop teaching your progeny how to use and strengthen her abilities, because it has brought her to the attention of certain demons, and they will be-"

"Demons?" I asked, feeling scared, "You mean like devils from h-e-double hockey sticks?"

Castiel turned his head to look at me. "Not devils, no. Demons are a lower class of-"

Daddy interrupted him. "Okay, we don't need a class on the differences between spiritual beings, can we not have this discussion right now?"

Castiel turned back to Daddy, "You need to know about this, because the danger is growing-"

"I'm in danger?" I asked, getting panicked.

"Dude! What did I just say?" Daddy yelled, "Talking about this in front of her is not a good idea!"

Castiel reached towards me, two fingers extended. "Would you like for me to remove your abili-"

"Don't touch her, man!" Daddy slapped Castiel's hand away from me.

"I am only attempting to help-"

Daddy glowered at him. "First off, I don't even know who you are, I've never met an angel before, and I've never heard of one called- Cas-"

"Castiel."

"Castiel, and I don't even know if that's what you really are, so if you'd get the hell out of here and away from us I'd appreciate it."

Suddenly I reached out and took Castiel's hand. I looked at him and I saw his wings unfurling behind him, and they were huge and white and glorious, and then my mind was filled with a glowing rainbow, but it was like when you look through a prism and can see all the colors separate from each other. My head buzzed with energy.

"What the hell?" I felt Daddy's hand grabbing my hand away from Castiel's. "Don't ever do that again, you hear me?" he yelled at me.

"You must not touch me like that without warning, Dean's progeny," Castiel said to me, "If you looked on my true face it would blind you or further injure you."

"I-I'm sorry," I said timidly. I looked over at Daddy. "He's telling the truth, he is a angel."

"What?!" Daddy gaped at me, "Holy- what th-" he raked his hands through his hair. "All right, let's think about this," he muttered, looking down for a moment. He looked at Castiel. "I need to talk to some people first, and find out about you—and angels-"

Castiel cocked his head slightly. "What would you like to know? I can give you information-"

"I still don't trust you, all right?" Daddy interrupted, "It's great that you're an angel and all, but I've never met one before, and as far as I know, no other hunter ever has either, so I'm in a little bit of shock here."

"I told you, it's because of your-"

"I know what you told me—and I want to talk to some people first," Daddy leaned forward and looked at me, "Go ahead and get in the back, Charlie, we're going to go back to the room and talk to Grandpa John, and maybe call Bobby and Missouri too."

"Okay, Daddy," I started to open the door.

Castiel looked at me. "Why does the child have to sit in the back?"

"Safety regulations," Daddy said, "It's safer for kids to ride in the back seat of cars—man, why do you even care?"

"I have been charged with watching over you, Dean Winchester, and since she is your child, I am charged with watching over her too."

"So you're like my guardian angel?" I asked him, getting out and opening the back door. He slid over and got out of the car too, and then got into the back seat next to me.

"Yes, I am," he told me simply.

"What are you- I guess you're coming with us," Daddy said, "Well, buckle up," he told Castiel.

I buckled my seat belt, with Castiel watching. He glanced around, looking for his seat belt, and then tried to put it on, fumbling with the clasp. I reached over and buckled his seat belt on, and he watched me.

"I believe it is customary to say thank you," he said, looking at my face, "Thank you."

I laughed. "You're funny," I said, "You're welcome."

I turned to look out the window. When I looked over again he was still looking at me, as if he was studying me.

"What?" I asked.

"Uh, Mr. Angel, it's uh, not polite to stare," Daddy said to him.

"It is interesting," Castiel tilted his head slightly, "Your DNA is exactly like the Winchester's on your father's side, but on your mother's there is a mutation on the fourth strand-"

"We don't need a biology lesson here-" Daddy started.

"A mutation?" I asked, "What kind? How?"

"It started a couple of generations ago, your ancestor was exposed to chemicals during a war, I believe? He was also given more chemicals under the guise of treating a war-time illness, and that caused the mutation. In your mother's DNA, it changed her ability. Every generation in your family has some sort of extrasensory ability, but in your mother's, the mutation caused her to develop cancer instead of an ability, and your aunt developed lycanthropy instead."

I was shocked. "My- my mommy was s'posed to have abilities like me?" I asked, feeling tears come to my eyes, "Does that mean I'm gonna get cancer too? Or ly—lycan- what'd you say?"

"Lycanthropy. No, you do not have any mutations that will cause cancer or any other abilities. Yours are already established, and you must take caution in exercising-"

"Dude, what did I say before?" Daddy snapped.

"It needs to be discussed, Dean Winchester," Castiel said firmly.

"And it will be, just not in front of her," Daddy jerked his head at me.

Castiel looked at me again. I looked back at him. "Why do you wear that raincoat, even when it's not raining?"

He glanced down. "This is my vessel's outfit," he said, "I do not—notice it. Is it not correct? I thought that human men wore suits and ties-"

"Well, sometimes, just not all the time. And a guy on a playground wearing a long raincoat, yeah, he kinda tends to stand out," Daddy said.

"Oh," Castiel appeared confused, "Should I change my vessels' attire?"

"You could," Daddy said.

"Why do you say your vessel?" I asked him.

He looked at me again. "This is not my true form, as you know. I am using this human as a vessel to be able to communicate with other humans."

"You are? How? Did he- did he let you?"

"Yes, he did."

"How?" I asked.

"He invited me in," Castiel said.

"People can do that? Invite a angel into their body?" I was curious.

"Yes, if your faith is strong enough, you can-"

"Uh-uh," Daddy interrupted, "Charlie, you don't need to know about that. Look, dude, I appreciate that you want to—share all this information with us, but can you just keep your mouth shut for now? There's a lot of things that Charlie doesn't need to know yet, and I don't want you telling her those things."

"All right, I will keep my mouth shut," Castiel said. He continued to look at me, and I noticed that he wasn't blinking.

"Why don't you blink?" I asked.

Castiel didn't answer me for a long moment. He looked up front at Daddy and nodded his head towards him.

"Oh," I said, "Daddy, tell him he can talk again!"

Daddy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh my God, do we have an angel that's a kid here? You can talk, just not about- about supernatural stuff or spiritual stuff or-or DNA!"

"I do not need to blink," Castiel said to me.

"But people blink," I told him, "It might make your eyes feel funny if you don't blink."

"I will take that under advisement, Dean's progeny," he said.

"Uh, her name is Charlie," Daddy glanced back at us, "Not 'Dean's progeny'."

"Her name is Charlotte Anne Winchester," Castiel said, "Why do you call her Charlie? That is not her name."

"It's a nickname," Daddy explained.

"Lots of people have nicknames," I told the angel.

"What is the point of a nickname if you already have a name?" Castiel's brow furrowed in a frown.

" 'Cause I don't like Charlotte."

"Why do you not like the name Charlotte?"

"Cause the kids in my first grade class called me 'Charlotte Spider' after we read Charlotte's Web."

"You—read- a spider's web? How fascinating."

"No, silly, it's a book about a spider named Charlotte!"

"Oh. I still do not understand why this caused you to not like the name Charlotte."

" 'Cause they were- they were teasing me!"

"And teasing- is a bad thing?" Castiel's frown deepened.

"Yes!"

"So this—teasing-caused you to feel negatively about the name that your mother gave you when you were born."

"Yeah."

"I do not understand humans," he muttered, turning his head to look out the window.