Hey everyone this is my first time including Claire and giving a mention to Jody Mills yay! New fanfic milestone ;) Please feel free to review and I hope you enjoy it xxx

I found her backpack and its contents before I actually found Claire herself. There was a half-eaten white roll with a slither of butter running through the middle wrapped in crinkled foil, two; would have been heavy but as they were empty, large bottles of water and a cracked silver mobile phone, that you had to flip up to open (in other words it wasn't touchscreen).

Not exactly the most resourceful provisions but they told the classic tale of an adolescent runaway. She was attempting to be smart; a survivalist, but she was only placing herself in danger.

Claire was hidden under a bunch of golden leaves with a bruised forehead and a jagged claw mark across her swollen left cheek. Before I could reach her I heard a snarl and her gasp of fear. Looking up I saw a wendigo making its way slowly towards us.

"Hey arsebutt," I yelled as it returned to all fours so it could charge at me.

Without hesitation I whipped out the flare gun I had hidden in the back of my jeggings and fired in front of its forelegs. Skidding to a halt it turned around and whimpered as it retreated. Judging by its diminutive size it was only a youngster and it broke my heart to realise the soul must have been of a desperate child, starving during a harsh winter on the ruthless prairie, forced to become a cannibal in order to survive all those years ago.

Offering a hand to Claire I rolled my eyes as she batted it away.

"No need to be ashamed Claire. Everyone needs help once in a while," I tried to reason as she shakily stood up.

"Whatever. I'm doing fine by myself thanks," she retorted as she leant against the bark of a flaky tree, her breathing heavy.

"You're right. You are the poster teen for camping in the wilderness. Oh, what is it you Americans call it, girl scouts?" I pointed out sarcastically as her eyes locked onto mine.

"Look I can take care of myself all right. Thanks for getting rid of that mangy mutt, thing, but I can take it from here," Claire said with a slight edge to her voice as she hastily swung her backpack onto her curved back; clearly she was winded as I saw the pain shoot across her face.

"Wendigo and I've said those exact same words before and they're a load of bull. Besides I thought you liked living with Jody? If you didn't like living with her you could have called us," I questioned as she sighed holding her broken phone, surveying it as if it could be repaired.

"I do, I did. Jody was never the problem like Sam said she's good people. It's her freaky daughter that bugs me," Claire confessed as she brushed some of the dirt from the screen.

"You mean Alex?" I frowned not understanding why Claire wouldn't get on with her, truth being that I didn't know her personally but she sounded like a troublemaker so I assumed they would have gotten on smashingly. And yes she was a vampire but that's minor details.

"Yes. She is the most miserable person I've ever met. All she does is mope around and I tried to make conversation and she would just turn her back to me," Claire practically spat the words.

"Maybe she was jealous? Maybe she felt you were becoming close with Jody?" I mused as Claire shrugged and held her phone out to me.

"Fix this for me will ya? I don't want to have to shoplift another one. Too much hassle."

Sighing I used my powers to transform it back, contacts all preserved and for good measure, much to her protest, I quickly pressed my fingers to her forehead and healed her injuries too.

"Now you shouldn't feel so dizzy. Claire I would prefer if you came back with me. At least to let my uncle know that you are alright. Look I won't force you, after all it is your life and your decision," I raised my hands as her expression became tense.

"I appreciate that your uncle cares about me but it is so awkward. It will always be awkward because he is basically riding the dead corpse of my dad. And I'm better off on my own," I went to protest but she interrupted, "no seriously I am. I need to head out, the shelters aren't open all hours of the night, and daylight is fading fast."

Glancing up I greeted a peach sky and realised Claire was right. As she started to walk away with her eyes glued to the ground I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. She reminded me of myself back when I was living in the woods all alone with no one to rely on. And I knew as much as she put on a convincing brave face and attitude that resembled stone, I acknowledged that everyone needs someone, at least one person they can rely on no matter what.

"Hey Claire," I called and was grateful when she stopped and turned to face me.

"Yeah?"

"I just want to let you know that if you ever land yourself in a situation and your phone gets busted. Or anytime you need some form of assistance. I want you to remember that all you have to do is pray and I'll be there, alright? If not me then one of us will," I promised solemnly.

Satisfied with her nod I decided to head back to the bunker to inform Cas that I had found Claire as I had promised I would. He meant well by her but he couldn't comprehend why it was so painful for Claire to open up to him. To be perfectly honest I think the stress of looking out for all three of us (me, Ofi and Claire) would have been too much for him to handle, what with Gabriel being… not around. Also, I needed to call Jody to let her know that Claire was safe and inevitably get my ear chewed off as I hadn't dragged her arse back to her place. What I didn't let on to Claire was that Jody had sent a frantic call to us saying that she was missing, which at the time didn't surprise me. I must have been pretty relaxed because uncle Cas nearly threw me against the bookshelf to spur me into action. Only then did the gravity of the situation hit me; she wasn't just an adolescent like me, who countless of times had done these little escapades, she was human and therefore vulnerable.

Still, I could only reassure him and tell him what I had told Claire. Then it was all up to her whether or not there would come a time when she would pray to us for help. And if I was completely truthful I prayed that that day would never ever arise.