Sam didn't know what to think of Dean grabbing him in the middle of the night and taking them to a bar. He knew that there was something weird about his brother, but Dean had always done everything in his power to insure that he was never exposed to hunting and keep him safe, so he didn't think about it. Dean loved him too much to want to hurt him.

After all, if he wanted Sam dead, he could have let one of the many monsters that their dad hunted in to do it a long time ago. And he put up with Sam's weird quirks without a hint of protest.

So no, Sam wasn't afraid of his brother.

The woman who owned the place, Ellen, had seemed unsurprised when she found out who they were. Apparently Bobby had warned her they might show up without their dad sometime in the near future.

Still, it was weird actually staying put in a single area for more than a month. At least Jo was nice to him.

Ellen didn't know why Dean had brought Sam to the Roadhouse, but considering the talk with Bobby two weeks prior, she had fair guess. And after what happened when her husband went with John on a hunt, she wasn't very inclined to tell him where his sons had vanished off to.

Some might call it petty revenge for getting her husband killed, but she preferred to think of it as giving Jo two brothers.

Dean turned out to be a surprisingly good helper, busting tables and cleaning dishes without complaint. Which was odd, considering most boys his age would bitch and moan about having to do chores. Jo certainly didn't like it.

Still... Ellen had been very worried when Dean showed genuine surprise at being allowed to go see a movie with some of the other teenagers he had become acquaintances with at the high school Ellen had enrolled him in. They weren't friends, mostly because Dean was way too guarded for that thanks to John's insistence he keep his distance, but he did occasionally talk to them at lunch.

Because of what happened to her husband, John never went near the Roadhouse if he could help it. And Bobby was keeping his mouth shut as to where the boys were.

Dean was a stubborn kid, but he wouldn't have left if he didn't have a damn good reason to. And John wasn't talking about why there had always been such weird tension between him and his sons.

So the two settled down with Ellen and Jo, and for once in their life got to enjoy a semblance of normalcy that they had lost.

That is, until one day John Winchester stopped by to get information on a hunt...and saw Dean.

John stopped and stared.

"Dean?"

The sixteen-year-old froze in his tracks, before he turned his green eyes on his father in shock.

Ellen came out with more beer, and nearly dropped it when she saw the situation.

"Dean, go outside for a minute while I talk to him," she said.

He didn't say a word, but ran out the door. He had to make sure Sam wasn't found as well. There was no way they were going back to living with a drunk like John was when he was on a hunt.

"Why is my son here?!" hissed John.

"I think you know the reason why, Winchester. Dean's sharper than you think and when I asked him if he wanted to go back to you he damn near bolted out the door. What in the hell did you do to your sons that they would treat you like some sort of demon that they needed to run from?" countered Ellen.

John was silent. How could he tell her about Dean's odd powers? About his fear that Sam had been tainted by the demon during the fire?

"Why did your son run away from you Winchester? And don't lie. I saw actual fear in Dean's eyes the minute he even heard you were in the same state as him and Sam," warned Ellen.

Whenever he knew John was in the state, he would always go into survival mode until he was sure that their father was gone. That alone had told Ellen something was seriously wrong... either with the brothers or with their father.

Bobby and Ellen were leaning more towards it being John rather than the boys.

Seeing that she wasn't going to let him near his sons without an explanation, John told her about Dean.

He wasn't expecting the punch to the face once he did.

"You god damn idiot. No wonder he ran and took his brother with him!"

John stared at her in surprise.

"You mean to tell me you've been a hunter for god knows how long and haven't run into a natural witch yet? They're impossible to miss!"

"What do you mean natural witch?" he said baffled. He only knew of the demon-dealing kind.

"I can't believe that this whole mess was because you were too idiotic to ask Bobby about Dean," she said exasperated.

"What do you mean, natural witch?!"

"There's a rather large group of people who are born with natural magical ability. They made an agreement with hunters long before this country was even formed to leave us alone so long as we ignore the fact they exist. There's even schools where hunters are banned from going anywhere near because of the treaty. Most hunters run into at least one after they've been around for five years or more. The demon-deal kind are considered a joke by them," explained Ellen.

Hell, some of them came into her bar a few times. She had the place warded years ago in exchange for her place being accorded neutral territory.

No wonder Bobby had sent Dean and Sam her way.

"So Dean isn't a monster," said John, sagging into relief on the bar stool.

"If what you've said is true, he's a first gen at least. I'm surprised they haven't picked him up already, though that might be because of your reputation," said Ellen.

John didn't know what to say about that. Finding out Dean wasn't a demon-dealing witch was a relief, though now he was having trouble with the fact that Dean had felt threatened enough to subtly ask Bobby for help in running away with his brother...and successfully managing to hide for over a year. He had thought they were dead or worse, captive!

Dean was hyperventilating, and Sam was bewildered. His brother had come in looking rather upset and he refused to tell Sam anything. So they had gone into town (armed with all the usual gear that they could reasonably get away with, which meant no guns) in the hopes that Ellen could come and get them later.

Though from the way Dean was acting, Sam was silently betting he was more likely to call Bobby and ask for a ride someplace else. He was that freaked out.

"Come on Dean, what's going on? It's not like he showed up after all this time right? I mean Mom (Sam had called Ellen Mom once by mistake, and she hadn't bothered to correct him so it stuck) threatened to shoot him if he came anywhere near the Roadhouse," said Sam.

Dean said nothing and averted his eyes. Sam, being the bright kid he was, put two and two together to get four. Suddenly Dean's behavior made a hell of a lot more sense.

"He's here?" said Sam.

Sam remembered their dad. He was actually happy when Dean had grabbed him in the middle of the night after John had been on one of his binges and fled with him. John had been a total asshole.

Plus Sam had slowly been wearing Ellen down (with copious help from Jo and Dean both, funnily enough) for a dog. He could live with an older one, but he had always wanted a dog to play with.

Dean had said that if Ellen wouldn't get one, he would sneak into town to find one and hide it until she gave in. Jo had grinned evilly and said she would help when he came up with that plan.

"We are not going back with him. If the cops come and ask, we don't know him," said Dean.

Sam nodded in agreement. If anyone asked who their father was, they would immediately mention Bobby. Ellen had pretty much claimed them as her sons within the first three months, and having a stable home had become very important to the both of them.

Living at the Roadhouse allowed them to have a real home and still become hunters later if they wanted, and Ellen was far more reasonable than John ever was.

John found himself stuck at the Roadhouse while Bobby drove there. Dean and Sam refused to even look at him, let alone speak to him. They made a point to keep him two tables away from them while they debated on what to watch next weekend with Jo, Ellen's daughter.

Their treatment of him very clear, John felt like it was a real slap to the face. It was a very strong message of how badly he had screwed up in his pursuit of Mary's killer.

Bobby arrived a few hours later, looking rather irritated with John.

John winced when he saw how warmly the boys greeted him, treating the man more like their father than they ever had with him.

Once he had settled into his chair, he grabbed a cup of coffee and looked John Winchester in the eye.

"I screwed up. I know it," he said miserably.

"Damn right you screwed up. If you hadn't been such a stubborn idjit then the boys might not have bolted once I left them a place to run to," said Bobby gruffly.

"How was I supposed to know Dean was a natural-born?" said John.

"If you had just asked, I would have told you. Hell, we took him for an exam of his magic core and he's one of the strongest first generations in years! He was absolutely terrified of you finding him when he found out he had magic!" said Bobby.

John didn't say a word, but it was clear from the looks he shot Dean he wasn't sure how to handle this information. How was a hunter supposed to react to his child having something as unnatural as magic?

Ellen slapped John on the head. She wasn't letting him hurt the boys more than he already had.

"There's nothing wrong with Dean. Or Sam for that matter. Just because one of you had the gene and passed it on to the boys does not excuse you for treating them like monsters," she said irritably.

"They both have it?!" said John alarmed.

"Sam's a Seer. Means he can see things before they happen. He's not as strong as Dean, but he's getting there. What do you know of Mary's family?" asked Bobby.

"Not much. They died right before we married," admitted John.

"What about her maiden name?"

"Campbell, I think. She never talked about her parents after they were killed," said John.

"Campbell?" said the two in shock.

John looked at them.

"What?"

"That explains a lot... like why those two are so quick to learn new ways to hunt," said Bobby.

"This makes them half-bloods, you realize," said Ellen cryptically.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Campbell. One of the first magical families to come to America when it was colonized by the Europeans. They're one of the oldest hunter families in North America... I heard the line died out, but I guess Mary chose to hide instead," said Ellen.

John blinked. Mary had been a hunter?

"This explains why the goblins already had a vault for them," said Bobby.

"Goblins?"

"First things first Winchester. Neither one of the boys are going near you until you read up on natural witches. The last thing we want is for one of them to come back to the salvage yard or the Roadhouse saying you nearly shot them because they did something you weren't expecting," said Bobby.

"Until then Dean and Sam are staying here. Something you've seem to have forgotten is that growing children need stability just as much as they do safety. All that moving around really did a number on them," said Ellen.

John could see neither of them would budge on this. At least he knew they were safe with Ellen...and if they really were evil then there would be plenty of hunters ready to stop them.

It was him again. The weird pale man who had helped him before. Dean felt like he should know him, but he didn't know his name.

However Dean did know one thing. This man would never hurt him like so many other supernatural creatures that his family went after.

Well, at least that confrontation is finally over with.

Dean had learned months ago that the man could hear his thoughts, so he didn't verbally reply.

Yeah, but I would have preferred never to have to deal with him until I was old enough to throw him out of our lives permanently. Why couldn't he have waited another two years?

Oh hush you. When you asked me for help, I told you that you would have a father and brother who loved you. Instead your natural charisma from your old self managed to rope in a mother and sister as well. Besides, now that he knows it's not the result of those idiot demons, maybe now the two of your can at least be in the same room without trying to kill each other.

We are not going back to that life. I like being able to sleep in a bed I know isn't full of questionable substances!

I never said that you had to like each other. I said that at least now you can tolerate being around each other long enough to hunt again,said the man irritated.

Dean rolled his eyes.

You never used to be this snarky before. I suppose some bleed through was inevitable, especially the closer you get to the age you were before you had enough, sighed the man.

Bleed through?

You were twenty-six when you finally said enough was enough and asked me if reincarnation was possible. I gave you the choice, remain the same man you were, or be reborn in a new body and with your memories sealed. You chose to be reincarnated as Dean.

Dean looked at him oddly. There were very few things that could reincarnate souls. Let alone be invisible to the average human... the only one who was ever able to see this man was him. Originally he had thought he was going crazy, but the goblins said that he had an unusual aura that allowed him to see things others couldn't. Like reapers, for some reason.

The man gave him an amused look.

It seems you're starting to get it. It won't be soon now before you remember who I am. When that time comes, I might answer your questions. Might.

And with that, he left.