Dean

The further east they went, the more Anna seemed to relax. Dean drove steadily through the night, through Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois. By the time they crossed into Indiana, the sky was bleeding reds and orange, day growing brighter and brighter by the minute.

They made it over three quarters of the way there before Anna started to grow agitated again. From the second they hit New York, she started whispering to herself, rocking slightly as she watched the sky bleed into day. She twisted around to watch the dark horizon behind them through the back window staring up at something only she knew about.

He had no idea what she was whispering, but the melodic murmuring was almost soothing. Once it was past six in the morning, and there was nothing left of the night sky she had turned around again and calmed. But she didn't stop her anxious mutterings, watching the roads carefully while wringing her hands. Occasionally she groped the seat, or her sides like she was looking for a weapon. He wished he could make it better, do something to help her. But there was little he could; not when they were on a hunt that Anna had insisted they head towards.

Dean carefully avoided New York City, driving along the northernmost edge of the state.

He and Sammy had kept an eye on Nico the last few years, and the gothic teenager had grown up a lot. They'd gotten him to finish high school, and now he was going to college with his boyfriend of nearly five years. After Anna had fallen three years ago, he and Sam had made a point of visiting every couple of months. Nico is a good kid, a little dark and a lot sad, but a good kid. His boyfriend Will is much the same way. They both knew about what went bump at night, and weren't afraid of it. Both teenagers had helped him and Sam out of a tight spot more than once. Plus Will sewed the neatest stitches Dean's ever had in his life, and he's faster than anyone who has ever patched up before too.

But Dean also remembered how the kid had reacted the last time Anna had come back to life. And Anna isn't stable enough for that. Nico and Will hadn't moved from New York to San Francisco. He didn't want to risk running into them. They had enough problems as it is.

He would call the kid after this case, after Anna was someplace stable. Once she was safe. Then he'd call Nico, let the kid alert whoever needed to be alerted. But the kid's lived without her for three years, he could wait a few more days.

He turned into the town, watching the roads carefully as he drove down the half familiar neighborhood roads. He and Sam had loved staying with Donna when they were kids, and some of his favorite memories from being a kid had taken place in the Mayflower Motel and in her small apartment. Dean spotted a white two story Victorian house at the address she'd given him, and pulled carefully into the gravel driveway. Donna stood next to the open door, a half smile quirked across her face and soft blonde curls arranged neatly around her face. She looked almost like how Dean remembered, except she had a few more smile lines around her eyes.

He and Sam got out of the car. Dean went around to the back of the car, where Anna sat curled up in the back seat.

"Hey Anna, we'll be really quick ok?" He told her quietly. Sam's boots crunched up the path, heading off Donna before she came down the steps of the porch. She looks at him, her head bobbing softly to music only she can hear.

"If you want, you can come inside." Before he even finished his sentence Anna had flinched back, drawing back as far away from Dean as she could get, scrabbling into the far corner of the car. Her hands clawed at her sides, flexing tightly, as she searched for weapons he and Sam had confiscated from her this exact reason.

"Hey, hey. Anna. Don't, do- no you don't have to. You can stay in the car ok?" He reached towards her, but she flinched away, eyes wide open like he was going to drag her out of the backseat. She nodded slowly, uncurling herself. Dean patted her uneasily on the shoulder, squeezing it once tightly.

"We're just going to be inside. We'll be right back Anna." He whispered. Closing the door, he turned around, brushing gravel off of his knees as he walked up to the house.

"Is she-"

"She's fine." Dean cut off the question, and even though she hesitated, Donna led them inside the house without another comment. He and Sam carefully wiped their shoes by the door and sat down in the two overstuffed chairs in the living room.

A teenage girl with shoulder length brown hair sat wrapped in a blanket, her arms folded carefully over her stomach. Donna set down a plate of cookies, glancing out the window towards the Impala before getting down to business.

Dean saw Anna's head leaning against the window of the car, but she was too far away for him to really see anything else. He tore his gaze away from the hunter sitting in his car and back to the conversation at hand.

"Dean and Sammy Winchester. So, how long has it been?" She asked with a smile, and Dean felt a rush of affection for a woman he'd hardly thought about in the last ten years.

"Summer before sixth grade." Sam answered promptly, a grin ghosting on his face. Dean couldn't quite pull up the same enthusiasm as him brother. He glanced out the window again, making sure Anna was ok. He knew she couldn't really come inside, not with blood still dried all across her face, teeth and hands. But he didn't like that they'd left her alone in the car either.

"Mmm, I remember. You assigned yourself your own reading list." Dean laughed at the sudden memory. Sam had even stuck to it, completing each fake assignment on time. His brother really is a geek. Always has been.

"That's right. I forgot about that." Dean joked, leaning out of his chair to poke Sam. His brother shoved him off, grinning back.

"Your mom happens to be the best babysitter we ever had." Sam changed the subject, looking at the girl. She hadn't really even looked up at them since they'd come into the room, but she glanced up when Sammy started talking to her.

"Well, when I was a maid at the Mayflower, out on the interstate - long before you were even an idea - their daddy used to pass through town and leave the boys with me while… he went off to… work." She explained, her face changing quickly from nostalgic to disturbed. Something clenched inside him at the reminder of how much the supernatural screws with people's lives.

"One time he was gone for two weeks."

"Two weeks?" The girl was incredulous. Donna hummed in affirmation as she poured lemonade for both Dean and Sam.

"Oh, he always came limping back. He loved you boys." Donna smiled warmly at them, even as she looked back out her window again.

"That girl, are you sure she won't come in?" Donna asked, her gaze fixed firmly on the parked Impala. She looked less than two seconds away from going outside to bring Anna inside herself. Dean shook his head, even as he checked on Anna again. She still hasn't moved. He supposed that was a good thing. Maybe she was finally sleeping. She needs to sleep desperately. Anna was worse than Sam after Jess died and he first started getting visions.

"Anna, she's… she's had a rough time recently. Not really a people person at the moment. Coming inside would be too stressful for her right now." Sam said quietly. Donna's whole face crumpled, and she shifted to stand. Somehow Sam had said the exact wrong thing to get Donna to back down.

"The poor dear… you helped her? Like your daddy did?" She asked. He exchanged a loaded look with Sam.

"You could put it that way. We owe her, and even if we didn't, Anna's our friend. Don't worry about her too much Donna. There isn't anything you can do for her right now. Besides, you called us."

"Yes, I did." Donna said quietly, looking at her daughter again.

"Did you know what he did all that time?" Katie asked, catching the silent agreement to change the subject. Dean flashed her a quick smile. Kid caught on quick.

"Little Sammy kept trying to tell me. Course I didn't believe him. Not at first anyways." Sam sighed, and Dean nearly flinched. Dad is still a hard topic; especially the way he had raised them. Dean didn't think their dad was wrong, but he sure as hell didn't think it was right either. But Sammy… he hated Dad for how they grew up.

"Katie our dad, umm… happened to be an expert at getting rid of ghosts. And now… so are we." Sam rushed the explanation, as if telling her faster was like ripping off the band aid. Donna's husband walked into the room, carrying several suitcases.

"That's why I called them sweetie. They can help us." Donna assured Katie, who seemed both like she wanted nothing more than to ask a thousand questions, but also to melt into the couch cushions. Dean counted it a win that the girl hadn't run screaming from the room yet. Learning that things really do go bump at night is a hard thing to learn. He refocused himself to the matter at hand, ganking the thing that was messing with Donna and her family.

"Sounds like you guys have got yourselves a poltergeist." He'd known, even before they'd gotten into Housatonic. And everything they had added just now only confirmed his own suspicions.

"Yeah, it started a month or two after we moved in." Donna's husband said, his forehead drawn down into a single line. Donna took over the explanation, gripping her daughter's hand tightly into her own.

"At first i-it was, uh, just bumps and knocks and uh… scratches on the wall. And then it started breaking things…" She trailed off uncertainly. Donna believed, ever since a revenant attacked them while he and Sam had been staying with her, but it seemed like she still held onto a few reservations. Ghosts are a hard thing to admit, when you don't want to sound crazy. But Dean and Sam lived crazy. He ad Sam exchanged glances before continuing the interview.

"And then it attacked Katie?" Sam pressed her gently, leaning forward. Her husband answered gruffly.

"That was two nights ago. That's when Donna called you two." The man was clearly shaken, his leg bouncing in place. He was clearly ready to hightail it out of the house, taking his family with him. Whatever the poltergeist did to Katie scared him; scared him into believing.

Dean glanced out the window again. Anna is still visible in the car. He fought the urge to go back outside to check on her. Donna turned to Katie.

"Can you show them honey?" Katie didn't even hesitate as she sat up, unwrapping the blankets from her legs. Slowly standing up, she raised her loose t shirt over her stomach carefully. Bloody words were choppily carved into the tan flesh. Katie kept her eyes trained completely on the floor while she showed them.

"Murdered Chylde?" Sam read softly. Katie quickly tugged her shirt down and melted back into the couch, the brightly colored blanket wrapping tightly back around her like a soft shell. Dean felt the beginning of rage bubble up inside of him. Kids are off limits. He rocked forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he fixed his gaze on the teenager.

"Katie, everything is going to be fine. I promise. Why don't you guys take yourselves a little vacation, and uh, we'll take care of it." And he meant every word. Hell or high water; or rather, apocalypse or not, they'd gank this poltergeist for hurting this kid. Extra crispy. That was a Winchester promise.

"Thank you." The gratitude on Donna's face sent a knife through him. He hadn't done anything to deserve that. As far as he was concerned, Dean owed the world. It's his goddamn fault, he broke the first seal, He should have been more careful with Sam, kept a better eye on him. Dean looked outside at Anna again. He hasn't done anything worth her thanks. Or anyone else's. Not lately.

He and Sam followed Donna and her family out the door. She paused on the porch, while her husband loaded the bags and Katie curled up in the backseat.

"Dean, that girl. She's more than just your friend, isn't she?" Donna asked quietly. Sam seemed to melt into thin air, reappearing next to the car. The backdoor of the car opened and his gigantor brother crawled into the back bench with Anna. She didn't seem to react, just stared at her hands while Sam talked to her quietly rather than face the questions Donna is asking.

Coward.

"Something like that." He admitted quietly, not looking at his former babysitter. Donna patted his arm gently.

"Well, you were a good boy. And I have a good feeling that you became a good man. You take care of that girl Dean." He nodded sharply, a small smile twitching on his face. Her approval made something warm bloom in his chest.

"Yes ma'am." She smiled and patted his cheek. Without another word she descended down the steps and got into the car. With one last wave, the small family left. He took a shaky breath before heading to the car.

"Food Sammy?" He asked, the door slamming as he slid into the driver's seat. Sam nodded, carefully climbing his way over the seat into the front. He looked back at Anna, repeating the question not really expecting her to answer.

She nodded her agreement.

Dean's hands stilled on the key, only half turned in the ignition as he looked at Anna. She tilted her head to the side and watched him steadily. Sam nudged him and Dean forced himself to turn back around, starting up the engine properly.

"Food it is." He agreed. Dean looked at Anna again, gunmetal grey eyes meeting his through the rearview mirror. "But first, we gotta get you cleaned up Carrie." Anna huffed and it was almost like a laugh. Dean counted it as a victory as he pulled onto the street.

Anna is still in there. All he has to do is find her.