Hello SPN Family! I'm going to make this short and sweet- thank you all for the follows and reviews. You guys rock so hard. Please let me know what you think of these stories! I'm always interested in requests!

Major shout out and love to Jenmm31- the Sam to my Dean! Thank you girl! Go check out her fabulous sis fic stories- you can find them under my Favorites!

Read, Review, but above all ENJOY!

A/N- If you haven't, please go back and read the previous chapter- this is a three part story, with this chapter being part 2. It will make a lot more sense if you've read the previous chapter :)

The Winchesters pulled up to the picture perfect subdivision, parking their car along the curb. Other than the few cop cars, everything seemed perfectly normal- nothing to suggest the evil that had befallen the neighborhood the night before. Sam, Dean, and Natalie had gone back to the Mom and Pop Stop for breakfast, only to find it closed. Luckily, there was another restaurant right across the road. The food wasn't nearly as good, but the waiter there certainly liked to talk. He told them (without any prompting) that a child had been abducted last night. The waiter told them all about the crazy stories- that the neighbors saw a flash of light that seemed to come from inside the house, and that they were all now convinced that it was either a gas explosion or an alien abduction. The waiter didn't mention the connection with other teen's disappearance from three days ago. As the waiter gabbed on, Sam and Dean exchanged a look, knowing that this needed to be checked out, now. They finally managed to get the address of the missing kid's place out of the guy. They knew where they were all heading next.

Dean and Sam, already wearing their black Fed suits, began walking towards the house. Natalie rolled down the window in the backseat. There wasn't much that she could do here- she was much too young to pretend to be working for FBI, but she could observe what was happening around the crime scenes from the car. If anyone asked who she was, she could usually get away with the whole Take-Your-Daughter-To-Work-Day excuse. She snorted to herself- man, people were dumb enough to believe anything. She watched her dad and her uncle talk to the cops that were on the front lawn of the two story house for a moment, then they went inside. As Dean was going through the front door, he turned his head to make sure she was still in the car. Upon catching his eye, she nodded. He nodded once back at her, then disappeared inside the house.

She started scanning the surrounding areas, looking for anything strange or unusual. The search didn't take very long- there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all. It was obvious that this neighborhood was extremely well taken care of. There didn't even seem to be any lawn clippings on the sidewalks. Natalie scanned the almost-too-perfect lot once again. What was with this place? Her eyes landed on a shorter middle aged woman, who looked familiar. She thought for a moment, and when it came to her, she didn't even hesitate to climb out of the car and make her way towards the lady.

"Matilda?" she called out, gently. The lady turned around at the sound of her name. Natalie had been right- it was the waitress from the diner last night.

"Oh, hey, honey," Matilda greeted her, but the usual vim and verve were gone from her voice. "You were at the diner last night, weren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am, that was me," Natalie said, grateful that she recognized her.

"What are you doing here? Are your daddies around?"

Natalie nodded, remembering to keep up the little lie she'd told, and expounded on it. "Yes ma'am. They're actually investigating right now- they work for the FBI."

"Aren't you all supposed to be on a weekend vacation?" Matilda asked with an attempt at a smile.

Natalie shrugged, and returned the smile full force. "They can't stay away from work, it seems." She took a step closer towards the matronly lady. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

Matilda's wrinkled brown eyes filled with tears. "My grandson went missing last night." Natalie gasped, and reached out a hand to touch the older woman's arm.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice full of sorrow. She hated this part of the job. "Do the police have any leads?"

Matilda just shook her head. "None at all. I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse. They've got literally nothing to work with. All my son said was that his wife saw a flash of light coming from Aiden's bedroom, around 11 o clock last night. She went in and turned the light on, but Aiden was just...gone." A couple tears slipped down the lady's weathered cheeks. She seemed to start for a moment, then looked at Natalie.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling this kind of thing to a little girl- it'll give you nightmares," she said, concern etched in her face. Natalie smiled back gently.

"My dads work for the FBI- believe me, I've heard it all. It's okay," she said, comforting the grieving grandmother. Matilda just nodded, seemingly grateful for the support, even if it was from a young girl. She reached across herself and took Natalie's hand, which was still on her arm. The moment that her hand touched Natalie's, a warm sensation spread through Natalie- a wave of...something...she wasn't sure what it was. All she knew was that it felt safe and inviting. She looked at Matilda, only to find Matilda looking at her, curiosity in both sets of their eyes. Matilda began speaking, pouring her heart out, like she just couldn't help herself.

"Trevor and Amy- my son and my daughter-in-law- are just beyond grieved. Amy isn't able to have children anymore, and they're both so terrified that they will never see their only son again. Aiden was so difficult to come by. They tried IVF four times before she finally got pregnant. It's put them in such a financial bind, you wouldn't believe it. Each treatment alone can cost upwards of twelve thousand dollars. I tried to help them out, but Trevor won't hear of it. He says they need to get through this on their own. They've been fighting more and more lately. I actually picked up Aiden last week and he spent 3 nights with me while they screamed at each other. They didn't use to be like this. They used to be madly in love, never fought, not even once, but between their debt and their lousy jobs and the stress of raising a child, they've just been jumping down each other's throats recently." Matilda withdrew her hand from Natalie's, and seemed to come out of her trance. Her face registered shock as she realized just how much she'd split to a stranger. Not only that, but to a child. She stammered for a moment.

"Honey, please don't repeat any of that," she babbled. "I don't know what made me say it, but I don't want the cops thinking that Trevor and Amy had anything to do with this. They love that boy with all their hearts," she said, pleading.

Natalie just blinked for a moment- the strange incident hadn't fully settled in her mind following the onslaught of information. She shook out of her own trance, and hurried to reassure the older woman.

"No, no, of course not. I...I wouldn't dream of it," Natalie stammered, still as thrown as Matilda. She desperately wanted to ask her if she felt the same warm wave that she had felt when their hands touched, but Matilda was far too upset about what she had just spilled that it didn't seem appropriate to pry further. She wanted to reach out and touch her again, just to comfort her, but then got too self conscious.

"Again, I'm so sorry, and I really hope they find Aiden," Natalie said, attempting to back away gracefully. Matilda's face smoothed back out into a gentle, yet sad smile.

"Thank you sweetheart," she said, before turning and walking back towards the house. Natalie walked back to the Impala as fast as she could without running. What the hell had just happened? Just then, she saw Dean and Sam exiting the house. Dean's eyes narrowed a bit when he saw her outside of the car, but he knew she probably had a good reason for not staying inside like he told her to. Well, she better have a good reason, he thought to himself.

They reached the car about the same time as Natalie. "You okay?" Dean asked, a slight undercurrent to his voice. Natalie nodded.

"Yeah," she said. She shook her head, and then looked at her dad. Both he and her uncle were staring at her.

"Yes. Yes sir," she said, adding the last part on quickly. "It's just...I saw Matilda, you know, from the diner last night..."

Sam nodded grimly. "Yeah, we figured out that she was part of the family when we interviewed the parents. Did she say anything interesting?" he asked.

Natalie shrugged. "Stuff that they probably told you already. The mom and dad have been fighting a lot lately. Matilda actually took Aiden for a couple days last week because they were fighting so much. The parents are in a ton of debt..." she trailed off as she saw the surprised looks on both of their faces. "What? Didn't they tell you any of this?"

Dean shook his head. "No, they didn't mention that they had been fighting. But they were completely on the same side when it came to the kid."

Natalie nodded. "Yeah, Matilda said that too. Said they wouldn't do anything to hurt him."

"Well, I for one agree with her- I don't think the parents are involved," Sam said.

"So what is it we're dealing with then? Random guys of all different ages just start disappearing, flashes of blinding light, but no signs of a struggle..." Dean said. He thought as hard as he could, going through all the demons and spirits and supernatural creatures he knew of in his head, but coming up with nothing. He shook his head, frustrated. "Guess we're off to the library," he said grimly.

"Yeah, about that. Apparently, there's no library in this town," Sam said, clearly annoyed at the fact. Dean started.

"What do you mean there's no library? This is like freaking Stepford Wives here- they've got to have a library."

"Well, they don't, alright? I asked for directions, and apparently, they just don't have one."

"What about a bookstore? Do they have one of those here?" Natalie asked. Sam turned to her with a smile.

"My next question exactly. Yes, there is a bookstore in the downtown area."

"Alright then. That's our next stop," Dean said, climbing into the car.

*SPN SPN SPN*

They pulled up to the bookstore, which looked like a gingerbread house right out of an enchanted forest. There was even a small display in the front window of a happy family of dolls, reading over a collection of children's books. Meant to be endearing, the whole display came across as rather creepy. Dean stared through the window.

"Man, what is with this place? It's like everybody's the perfect friggin' family, with all the picket fence and apple pie crap that only exists in Disney movies," he grumbled.

The three of them walked into the bookstore. Natalie took off, looking for a section on ancient creatures and lore. Sam was going to try to find a spiritual section, and see if there were any books there that may help them. Dean decided to just wander aimlessly down the small aisles, pulling books off the shelf at random. After a few minutes, he found himself in the adult section. His eyes scanned the shelves, and landed on a book that he'd heard about, but never read. Intrigued at last, he pulled the book off the shelf, and began thumbing through it. It didn't take him too long to become completely engrossed in the whole thing.

Sam, having had no luck in the spiritual section, began looking for him. When he finally found Dean, poring over a book, he stopped. He had never seen Dean so into a book that wasn't lore. He walked up to him.

"What in the world are you looking at?" he asked his brother.

Dean held it up so Sam could read the title- 'The Joy of Sex'. Sam rolled his eyes. Dean was lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Dude," Dean said, looking at Sam excitedly. "That whole reading thing that you like to do? Yeah, I totally get it now."

"From 'The Joy of Sex'?" Sam asked condescendingly. Dean nodded enthusiastically.

"I didn't even know that some of this was possible!" he said. He turned away from Sam, and continued flipping through the pages.

"How is this helping the case, Dean?" Sam asked, exasperated.

Dean looked up, smiled his lopsided grin, and shrugged. "Well, Sammy, it's not hurting it," he countered, and dove back into the book. Sam just sighed. He spotted a saleslady at the end of the row.

"Excuse me, miss?" he called out. She stopped, and began walking towards him.

"Yes sir? Can I help you?" she said in a pleasantly perky voice.

"Yes please. I'm looking for books on Greek mythology? Can you point me in the right direction?" Since he was coming up empty handed with things to do with the case, he might as well pick up a new book to start teaching Natalie. They were right in the middle of Greek literature, and it would be worth it to study the gods and goddesses further, not just for her school education, but for her hunter's education as well.

"Sure thing! You're almost there- just one aisle over," she said, pointing Sam in the right direction. Sam thanked her, and the lady moved on. He turned around to see if Dean was still reading his new found treasure. Dean had the book flipped upside down, intently studying a picture that Sam didn't even want to think about. He shook his head, and began walking towards the Greek literature section.

A few minutes later, Natalie came around the corner, looking for Dean. When she saw him, she called out. "Hey Dad!" She began walking quickly down the aisle towards him. Her voice shook him out of his catalogue of karma sutra. He quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it back onto the shelf. He cleared his throat, and began walking towards her, not wanting her to see what section he was just in.

"So, uh, did you find anything?" he asked gruffly, trying to sound like he had been doing nothing but the research they came in here for. Natalie shook her head, annoyed.

"Nada. What were you reading?" she asked curiously. Dean just laughed awkwardly and shook his head.

"It was nothing. Let's go find your uncle." He took her by the arm, and led her further away from the section he was just in. They got into the next aisle, when he noticed her feet were dragging a bit.

"What's up, kid? You okay?" he asked, looking down at her.

She shrugged despondently. "Not really. I just...I can't stop thinking about Matilda and Aiden," she said, her voice catching. Dean sighed. This was always the worst part of the job. It was even worse watching his daughter have to deal with it.

"Yeah, I know, squirt," he said. "But hey. We'll find Aiden. That's what we do. And we don't give up until he's safe, right?"

She smiled and looked up at him. "Right."

He smiled back. "That's my girl."

After they paid for their purchases, they made their way back out into the sunshine. Immediately, their noses were assaulted by the most incredible combination of chocolate, caramel, and cookies.

Natalie inhaled deeply. "Oh, man, do you guys smell that?"

"How could you not?" Dean groaned. "It's like dessert heaven calling to me."

Sam pointed to the store on the corner. "It's coming from there," he said. Natalie looked up at the cotton candy colored sign that read "The Candy Man".

"I wonder if that's the new candy store that the desk clerk was telling us about," Sam said, looking curiously at the establishment. Dean rubbed his hands together.

"Only one way to find out, right? C'mon." He took off down the block, Natalie and Sam trailing behind.

When Dean opened the door for them, the amazing smell got even stronger. Natalie felt like she was floating on a cloud of caramel, wrapped in a chocolate chip sea. All in all, not the worst feeling in the world. She looked all around her at the brightly colored shelves stacked with boxes of all kinds of sugary goodness. Cakes, candies, cupcakes- they were all there, beautifully displayed.

"Wow," she said, "It's the world's Most Beautiful Diabetic Coma." Dean snorted at her joke, which made her smile. She loved being able to make him laugh.

"Can I help you?" came a pleasant voice from behind the counter. Natalie peeked around the display. A tall man stood, in a blue and white striped shirt, with a flour-covered pink apron on. He was holding a tray of what looked like fresh caramel clusters.

"Oh, come now, don't be shy! Step right up to the Candy Man!" the gentleman said, chuckling. Natalie walked over slowly towards him, Dean staying right behind her. Sam walked up to the counter with them, but stayed a step behind, continuing to look all around him.

"What brings you folks in today?" the man asked. Before they could answer, he spoke again. "Let me guess- the smell." Both father and daughter laughed, and nodded. The man closed his eyes for a moment, then puffed out his chest proudly.

"Well, that's what we're going for! My name is Rett, but you can call me 'The Candy Man'!" Rett said with importance.

"The Candy Man," Dean commented. "So is that like a family name, or...?"

"Ah, this one," Rett said, pointing at Dean. "You are clever, sir, very clever."

"Well, thank you," Dean said jauntingly. Natalie giggled. Rett's eyes turned to her.

"And you have a beautiful smile, my dear," he said, staring at her. Natalie's eyes shifted to her dad- how often had she heard that in the last two days? Apparently, Dean didn't think there was anything weird about hearing it again- she did have a beautiful smile, after all.

"Thank you," she said politely.

"You're welcome," Rett said, still staring at her. He stared so long she got a bit uncomfortable. She finally cleared her throat, which seemed to snap him out of his trance. He shook his head, and then just seemed to notice the tray there.

"You'll have to forgive me for standing here in my baking apron- normally we have everything squared away by the time we open."

"Oh, no worries, we don't want to disturb you," Sam said kindly. Rett nodded.

"We've fallen behind a bit. Unfortunately, one of our employees went missing a couple of days ago," Rett said sadly.

"Missing?" Dean asked, stepping in a bit closer.

"Yes, one of my best employees. He just stopped coming to work. And it's a shame- he really was a wonderful boy."

"What was his name?" Sam asked nonchalantly.

"Jonathan," Rett said. Sam and Dean exchanged a quick look- same name as the missing teenager. "Jonathan Deards. Did you fellas know him?"

"Ah, no, we're just in town, visiting," Sam said quickly.

Rett nodded wisely, and continued with his story. "So until he shows back up, right now, it's just me and Anthony."

"Is Anthony another one of your employees?" Dean asked. Rett nodded. Just then, a tall, awkward teenage boy appeared from the back room. He was slouching, apparently completely uncomfortable in his over sized hands and feet. Rett nodded to the boy.

"Anthony- why don't you show this...lovely young lady...the new collection of Jaw Breakers?" Rett smiled once again at Natalie. "They come in flavors that you wouldn't even begin to dream of!"

Natalie smiled again- she was still weired out by the way Rett was looking at her, but tried to move past it. "Um, okay," she said. "Hey Anthony," she called to the teen. "Lead the way!" she said, her smile coming back. Anthony began trudging off, and she hurried to catch up with him.

"And there's that smile again! Absolutely beautiful!" Rett sighed. Natalie nodded her head politely, but as soon as her back was to him, she smothered the smile. Weirdo City, she thought. She followed Anthony towards the side of the store.

"So are you and Jonathan the only employees here?" Natalie asked, making what looked like to anyone else, small talk.

Anthony nodded. When he opened his mouth to speak, Natalie saw that he had extreme amounts of dental work in place. "Yeah. He was a pretty cool dude. He was supposed to work a shift yesterday, but I guess he just forgot. Or was hung-over or something." Natalie's eyebrows reached her hairline. Usually people didn't just immediately volunteer this kind of information to a twelve-year-old, but Anthony didn't seem to give a rat's ass who she was.

"Oh really?" she said, praying that all the acting skills her father and uncle possessed would somehow make their presence known in her DNA at this moment. "Big party guy, huh?"

Anthony shrugged, like he just didn't really care. "Yeah. His parents are always leaving him home alone. They go off cruising and stuff. It's like they've totally forgotten that he exists. But then he gets the whole house to himself, and gets to do whatever he wants, you know? Like, he totally wins all the way around."

"Wow," Natalie said, struck at the thought. Man, her father and her uncle only left her alone if they were on a hunt at night, and only then, they had strict rules about staying inside the motel with all the doors locked and the shades drawn. She wondered what that kind of lack of supervision felt like. She loved being on the road, and she loved being able to hunt (well, as much as Sam and Dean would actually let her do), but she was starting to wonder what would happen if she tried hunting on her own. She never brought it up- she knew her dad would have a coronary if she mentioned it- but it was on the back burner of her mind.

Anthony was nodding in response to her. "Hey-"' he said suddenly. "How old are you?"

Natalie grinned her smarmy grin. "Sorry, I think I'm too young for you, Tex."

Anthony just gave her a sarcastic snort in response. "Ha ha. No, I'm asking because...well, here." He looked around covertly, and shoved a small bag into her hands. Natalie examined it closely. It was a small cellophane bag with some kind of round, red candy in it.

"What are they?" she asked.

"Super Atomic Fire Balls," Anthony said with a smug look. "These things will blow your face off. Take 'em." He looked at her approvingly. "We're not supposed to sell them to minors."

"They're that bad?" Natalie said, her eyes growing wide as her Winchester Prank Brain switched into high gear.

"Uh huh. But I think that's dumb. And you look like you would know how to use them well."

Natalie turned to Anthony with a superior smile. "My friend, you have made a superior assessment."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Never mind. Thanks for the candy," she said, pocketing it.

"Here's a tip- tell people they're Sweet Cherry Drops. They fall for it every time."

"Will do!"

He just nodded, and slouched away. Natalie stared at him for a minute. Guy just dumps information, hands her candy, and walks away without another word? This whole place was weird, and starting to give her the creeps. Something just wasn't right about all this pleasantness. She made her way back to the front counter where the boys and Rett were still talking.

"...and so we opened up this place not too long after we moved here!" Rett was saying. He caught Natalie's eye as she walked back up.

"Well well! What did you think of our new Jawbreakers?" he asked in a fatherly voice.

Natalie started for a moment, then the fake I'm totally pulling this out of my ass smile took over. "Very...colorful," she said. Rett clapped his hands, like she had said the perfect thing.

"Wonderful, wonderful! Was Anthony very helpful to you?"

"Um, yes. Yes sir."

Rett nodded. "Good. He can be such a lazy boy sometimes. Not like Jonathan. Jonathan was so polite and so good with the kids that came in." Rett looked at boys. "The kids that come in here are just the sweetest, kindest things on the planet." He looked at Natalie again. "You fit right in here, dear! Which one of you two does she belong to?"

Dean raised his hand. "Guilty," he said with a grin. Rett beamed down at them.

"Children are a gift, you know. My wife and I have two of our own, and we're trying for a third."

"Best of luck to you," Dean said. He put a hand on top of Natalie's head. "This one is about all I can keep up with these days." Natalie shrugged his hand off playfully. He just grinned at her.

"Well, then, why don't you all take some of our famous caramels with you? To keep up your energy! On the house!" Rett said, proffering the tray.

"Don't mind if I do," Dean said, reaching for one. He popped it into his mouth, and chewed. "Oh. Wow. These are just as good as everyone says."

"Well thank you! If you don't mind my asking, who gave us such a good review?" Rett offered the tray to Natalie, who picked one up, bit it in half, and melted at the taste.

"The desk clerk over at the motel. Said we shouldn't miss coming here, and boy, was he right," Dean said, popping another candy into his mouth.

"You'll have to come back some time and try our chocolates! One bite and you'll be hooked for life!" Rett said proudly. Dean just nodded awkwardly.

"Ah. Well, thank you so much for your time," he said. "Come on, guys." Dean headed towards the front door.

Rett gave them a pleasant wave back. "It was my pleasure! You all be sure to come back at any time!" His eyes lingered on Natalie for another second. Natalie instinctively reached for Dean's hand as they were going through the door.

Dean felt her slip her tiny hand into his large one, and was surprised. Natalie hadn't held his hand in public since she was ten. He looked down at her. "What's going on with you?" he asked.

Natalie, realizing that she was holding her father's hand, dropped it suddenly. "Um...nothing, I'm fine. It's just...did anyone else get creeped out back there?" she asked hesitantly.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Sam answered. "I know what you mean. There was something weird about Rett- he almost looked familiar. Did you guys catch it?" he asked. Dean and Natalie just shook their heads. Sam continued. "This place is just too..." he halted, trying to find the right words.

"Sugary," Dean interjected. "Say what you will, those candies were delicious."

Sam snorted. "You know that too much candy isn't good for you, right?"

Dean shrugged. "Hey. Chocolate comes from beans, which come from a plant. So chocolate is salad."

"Yeah, it doesn't really work that way, Dean. And besides, those were caramels."

"Same food group. Totally counts."

Natalie giggled. Dean just smirked. He loved making his daughter laugh.

*SPN SPN SPN*

Later on that night, the three Winchesters were sitting in the motel room. Sam and Natalie were at the small table, going over school work. Dean was sprawled out on his bed, trying to figure out how he could order 'The Joy of Sex' off of his phone. Sam had the new Greek mythology book he bought open and in front of him, testing Natalie.

"Alright, so who are considered to be the King and Queen of Mount Olympus?" he asked.

"Zeus and Hera," she answered promptly.

"And their Roman names?"

"Juno and...Jupiter?"

"Perfect," Sam said, smiling. "Now tell me about them."

Natalie took a deep breath. "Okay. Zeus is the thunder god..."

"Like Thor?" came from Dean's bed. Natalie grinned.

"Not really. He had a master bolt, not a gigantic hammer. He's extremely jealous and powerful. No one really wanted to challenge him, so by default, he kind of became the ruler of the gods."

"Very good," Sam complimented. "Now Hera."

"She's Zeus's wife. And also, his sister."

"Dude- are you saying that Mount Olympus is in Kentucky?" Dean said. Natalie giggled, and Sam rolled his eyes. They were too used to Dean's running commentary on their lessons to let it throw them.

"She's the Queen of Olympus, or sometimes she's called the Queen of Heaven. She is the goddess of marriage, and she's obsessed with the perfect beautiful family, even going so far as to throw her own son out of Olympus because she thought he was too ugly."

"Damn, Sammy," Dean yelled over. "You should be grateful that Mom and Dad weren't Greek gods."

"Shuddup, you jerk!" Sam yelled back.

"Bitch!"

"That's enough quizzing for tonight," Sam declared loudly, shutting the book and effectively putting an end to the conversation. "Hey- while we're gone, I want you to read up on the minor gods and goddesses. Be ready to answer questions on them tomorrow."

"Got it," Natalie said, grabbing the book and heading for her couch. She had wanted to come with them to explore Jonathan's house tonight, but they never took her on night jobs. And no amount of pleading or cajoling or even blackmail on her part had gotten them to change their minds. She watched as her father and uncle loaded their pockets with guns, salt, and all other various hunting tools. She was careful to observe how exactly Dean did everything- she wanted to be just like him when she got old enough to go on these nighttime excursions.

"Alright, kiddo," Dean was saying as he checked the rounds in his gun. "You know the drill."

Natalie nodded. "Salt and lock the doors after you leave, don't open them for anyone except you, and only if you've got the password."

"Which is?"

"Zeppelin Rules."

"Keep going."

"In case of emergency, call you first, then call 911, but only if necessary. And most importantly- shoot first, ask questions later." She had this down pat by now.

"Good girl," Dean said, clicking the chamber back in his gun, then tucking it into the small of his back. "Bed by eleven."

Natalie put on her best puppy dog eyes. "Twelve?" she asked innocently. Dean smirked at her.

"Eleven thirty."

"Done," she said, holding out her hand. He snorted a laugh and shook it. "Hey," she said, and stopped.

Dean smiled. "I know. You too."

She gave her best Han Solo grin-and-shrug combo. "I know."

Sam put the container of salt on the table, and pulled his jacket on. "Salt's on the table, Bug."

Natalie nodded. "Thanks Uncle Sam. Be careful."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a grin. She laughed. They went out the door, and Natalie shut it behind them. When she clicked the deadbolt into place, she then heard her father's boots continue walking towards the Impala. She giggled to herself. Dean always stayed listening at the door until he heard all the locks click into place. She shook her head, and reached for the salt, pouring it into a line right behind the door. When she was done, she catapulted back onto her pull out sofa bed, and thumbed through her Greek Mythology book, looking for the minor god section. She spent the next half hour reading about all of these gods who were apparently not very popular, but still, extremely powerful. Natalie shuddered at some of the havoc these "minor" gods could wreak. When she felt she had read enough to answer all of Sam's questions tomorrow, she tossed the book aside, and went straight for the remote, clicking it on to some late night show.

Around 11:30, she started debating with herself. Could she sneak some more TV in? Her dad was still out on the job, he'd never know. Finally, with a sigh, she clicked the TV off. Who was she kidding? He always knew. She got up, flipped the room lights to "off", and jumped back into her bed, snuggling down in the soft blankets.

The motel was surprisingly quiet. Natalie could hear the wind blowing through the trees outside. It sounds like a storm was coming in. She burrowed deeper, and was almost asleep, when she heard a soft click behind her.

Her eyes opened.

*SPN SPN SPN*

About one o clock in the morning, Sam and Dean were almost back to the motel. They had checked out Jonathan's house, and then decided to swing past Aiden's. Trevor and Amy had mentioned staying with Matilda for a couple days while the police were searching for their little boy, so the brothers decided to take advantage of the empty house, looking for clues. They had traced both houses for EMF, for any sign of supernatural activity, but there was just nothing.

"Okay, so we know that it's targeting males," Sam said, rehashing the details of the case again. "All three missing people are dudes."

"And there's no sign of foul play at all," Dean said."No readings, no sulfur, no ectoplasm, nothing."

"Maybe a woman in white?" Sam suggested. Dean shook his head.

"Fits the male pattern, but doesn't fit the flashing light," he mused.

"And we're sure it's not angels?" Sam asked for the fifteenth time. "I mean, Angels are kind of...dicks."

Dean nodded knowingly, but then shot that theory down again. "Fits the light, but not the pattern. Sammy, I don't know on this one."

They pulled into the quiet parking lot. All the room lights in all rooms were off. Even the overhang lights in front of each door were off. Dean pulled towards a spot that was relatively close to their room. The closer he got, though, the more he stared at their room door.

"Sam," he said, his voice tight. Sam looked at him. Dean pointed to their room. The door was ajar.

Dean threw the car in park, and raced out of the Impala. Sam tore his seat belt off, and was right behind his brother. Dean pulled his gun, and kicked at the open door. It swung back to reveal their room in shambles. He immediately began scanning the room for any signs of movement, his gun instantly at the ready. He began pushing his way through the tumbled over furniture, desperately searching for his daughter. When he saw no movement, he raced towards the bathroom, throwing the door open. It was empty. He pushed back into the room. His eyes caught Sam's, who had his own gun pulled, performing the same scan he was doing.

"Natalie?" Dean called out, in a voice that was both intimidating and scared. Sam reached over and flipped on the room lights. The whole place was in disarray. The table was overturned, the chairs strewn about. The blankets on their beds were intact, but hers were crumpled up in a pile on the ground. Dean looked down- Tufty, her toy puppy, was laying sideways in the blankets. In horror, he looked at the walls. There was a dark, runny substance on them.

"Natalie!" Dean shouted again, his voice growing more and more panicked. He began tearing through the blankets as if he expected her to somehow be there.

Sam was checking the small alcoves, wondering if she was hunkered down in one of them, hiding. "Natalie?" he hollered.

Dean kept tearing through the room, pushing over and aside anything that may be possibly a hiding spot, finding nothing. "Natalie Grace, get your ass out here right now!" Dean yelled in desperation. Sam looked at him, the terror plainly etched on his face.

"Dean. She's not here."