*in a Monty Python voice* I'm not dead yet!

Sorry about the delay in posting. Things have been beyond crazy right now. Thank you for sticking with me.

So to temper any future disappointments- this story isn't gonna go where you think it will and you might not like it. But it's important in the overall plot, so here you go and I hope you'll at least chuckle a time or two. Part 1 of a three part story. In this story, Natalie is four.

Special thanks to Jenmm31 who keeps believing in me when I don't believe in myself. Thanks, Sammy.

Part 1

Not under the bed.

Not in the closet.

Not in the kitchen pantry, in the study, behind the couch, under the desk, behind the bookcase, in the storage cupboard, or any one of the other million places in the damn house.

"Natalie!" Dean roared, truly fed up this time. "I ain't playin'! Get out here and take your bath NOW!" When he was met with utter silence, he ground his teeth together. His bellowing hadn't worked the last ten times, why the hell had he expected to work this time? He stomped his way down to the study, where Sam was reading one of his never ending supply of dork books.

"Alright, Sam, I'm done. I am over this," he said by way of a greeting. Sam didn't even do him the courtesy of looking up from his book this time. "Where is she? I ain't playing no more. Tell me where she is."

"Dude, like I already told you, I don't know where she's hiding."

"You've got some clue. Some hint as to where she's at. I know it. I KNOW, Sam. Now tell me where the hell she is!"

Sam sighed in annoyance, looking up. "Dean, I told you the last six times you asked. I really don't know where she is. Honestly. Not a clue. You're the one who was playing with her for the past hour, why don't you know where she is?"

"Because it was freaking Hide and Seek, man! She HIDES! That's literally the point of the game!"

"So if you were playing with her for the last hour while I was sitting here, NOT playing- just reading- why the hell are you so convinced that I have some secret knowledge of the whereabouts of a four year old who clearly doesn't think the game is over? The game that YOU'VE been playing with her for the last hour?"

That made too much sense for Dean to deal with, so he turned away with a grunt and stomped back up the stairs, cursing his annoying little brother under his breath. Alright. Think. He'd checked all Natalie's usual places and all the new ones that she'd found today. He was out of solid options to try, but his gut told him she was upstairs somewhere. She was so wound up from the game she thought they were still playing that she wasn't gonna come out unless he broke out the big guns. And as much as he really didn't want to play this ace, he knew it was his last option.

"Natalie. Get out here right now or you're going to bed early for a week," he bellowed from the top floor.

Scuffle. Thud. CRASH. Pat pat pat pat pat pat pat. The door to Natalie's bedroom suddenly flung open, and the four-year-old finally appeared, her hair a mess and dust bunnies stuck on her sweaty little face. "I don't wanna go to bed early! That's not fair!" she exclaimed, horrified.

Both relieved and annoyed, Dean made a beeline straight for her, snatching her up before she could disappear again. "There you are," he growled as he hauled her up in his arms. "I told you that we were done playing and that it was bath time ten minutes ago," he said in a stern voice, giving her The Eye.

Still looking troubled at the idea of an early bedtime, she grabbed onto his flannel for support. "But that's not fair! I thought you said that just so you could win the game," she said, pouting.

"Well, I didn't," he replied firmly. "It's bath time and we are done playing. Got it?" Without waiting for her answer, he marched straight into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door before he released his grip on her, sliding her down to the ground. "Let's go," he said, indicating her clothing as he turned to start the water. Natalie plopped down on the floor, disgruntled, and started peeling off her socks. This wasn't fair. She was having the best time of her life like two seconds ago and now she was in trouble? She didn't even really get what she'd done to earn an early bedtime, unless it was winning way more than Dean was. She peeked up at Dean now as he tested the water and plugged up the tub, wondering if the lecture was going to continue.

She didn't have to wonder long. "Little girl, when I tell you to do something, you know damn well that you are supposed to do it. Like when I tell you play time is over and that you need to get your scrawny little butt in the bath. You know I don't like it when you don't listen," Dean scolded, looking back at her over his shoulder to make sure she was obeying him now.

"But I thought you were still playing, Daddy!" she protested as she scrambled to her feet, proceeding to get out of her dirty, dusty clothes. "I didn't mean to not listen!"

"Why did you think we were still playing when I specifically told you that we were done playing?"

"Cause you did that yesterday and it was a fake out so you could cheat and win the game!"

That brought Dean up short. Ah, crap. She was right, he'd forgotten about that. They'd been playing tag yesterday in the junkyard and he'd tried to fool her by saying that they were done, when he was really just trying to sneak in closer. Normally, he had a never-ending supply of energy when playing with her, but tonight he was tired. He had been tired of her little four-year-old legs being so much faster than his long, bowlegged ones yesterday too. Dammit. This parenting thing was hard. He sighed heavily, the anger draining away.

"Alright, good point," he grumbled. "That one's on me."

"So I don't gotta go to bed early then?" she asked, looking at his cautiously over the top of her sweaty, dirty shirt before pulling it off.

"No, you don't gotta go to bed early. And I won't try to fool you any more like that, alright? But from here on out, you do what I say, when I say it. Kapeesh?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"Good. Get in the bath. You stink."

"YOU stink!"

*SPN SPN SPN*

An hour later, Bobby came wheeling into the study. "Just got off the phone with Jody," he said casually to Sam, who was still enjoying this rare chance to read something other than lore.

"Is she okay?" Sam asked, immediately abandoning his book and looking up, worried.

"She's fine, but she got word through the grapevine that there's a town a couple hours away that ain't."

"What's going on?"

"Missing people. Apparently, four over the last ten days."

"God, that's terrible."

"Yup. No traces of anything, either. Just go to sleep in their own houses and bam, gone by the time the rest of the family wakes up. Cops can't find any evidence of foul play. They can't even find anything to indicate that the victims did anything other than up and vanish from their beds."

"Who tipped her off?"

"Sheriff in another town. He knew Jody through one of those stupid cop conference things she has to go to. Asked for Jody's help specifically- he said it was a 'specialty of hers', didn't go into much more detail than that. But she's tied up in some hunk of red tape and needs to testify in court and all that. So she called me."

"A 'specialty' of hers? Does this other sheriff know that she's a hunter?"

"Well, that's the bizarre part. She said that she didn't think he did. But he obviously knows something since he called her."

"That is weird. It's not like her to have loose lips about hunting. Or for anyone in this area to not keep their traps shut for that matter."

"Tell me about it. She's jumpy now. That's why she was hoping that you boys could go look into it- she don't wanna risk her hunting life getting out and maybe compromising her court case."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. We can leave first thing tomorrow. I think Dean finally got Natalie in bed, and he would be pissed as hell if he has to get her up again."

"Any clue where the rugrat was hiding this last time?"

"Don't know. He's been dealing with her upstairs ever since he found her."

Right on cue, Dean entered the study, looking exhausted and disheveled. If he hadn't been so concerned about waking the four-year-old firecracker back up and going through all that crap to get her to sleep all over again, he would have fallen face first onto the couch with a very loud groan. "I need a beer," he grumbled instead, then turned on his heel and exited towards the kitchen. Sam and Bobby both shook their heads and followed him to fill him in on their new case.

*SPN SPN SPN*

The next morning, the Winchesters were about an hour outside of Sioux Falls when Natalie abandoned her crayons to tell Dean her brilliant idea.

"Hey Daddy, when we get to the motel, can we play Hide-and-Seek?"

"We'll see."

"Does that mean yes?"

"It means we'll see."

"But does THAT mean yes?"

Chuckling at his niece's determination to get an answer, Sam turned around in his seat. "Bug, what is with your obsession with this game recently? Don't you want to play anything else?"

"Nope!" Natalie said cheerfully, slamming her back violently against the car seat and giggling at the way it made her voice sound weird. "I like it because I am the best at it!"

"Can't argue there. Your dad never did actually find you last night, did he?"

"No-o-o-o-o!" she trilled, bouncing herself backwards and then laughing uproariously.

"Hey," Dean said sharply. He looked at his bouncing daughter in the rearview mirror. "Knock it off before you knock yourself out." With a loud, theatrical groan, Natalie slumped against the side of her car seat. "That's better," Dean said stoically. Natalie crossed her arms defiantly. "How'd you get those car seat straps so loose?" Dean asked, his tone a mix of pride and annoyance. That made Sam turn around immediately. Ignoring his niece's whining, he immediately tightened up the straps again, making her pout even more.

"You're just still mad because I'm the BEST at Hide and Seek," Natalie threw at Dean, now mad about the straps.

"Yeah, well, we'll get to the motel and I'll prove you wrong," he responded with a grin.

"I bet you a MILLION and TEN dollars that I will be better than you!" she squealed with joy, her tantrum forgotten.

"You're on, Squirt."

*SPN SPN SPN*

A couple hours later, Dean wished he would be able to cash in on that bet. He could use a cool million and ten right now.

Natalie, in her four-year-old exuberance, had forgotten just how few places there were in a motel room for her to truly hide to the point where Dean couldn't find her. And after last night's debacle and his wounded pride, he was out for blood. But it didn't deter the little girl. She kept insisting on round after round after round after round.

Dean was finally back to enjoying the playtime after a good night's sleep, especially since he was clearly winning. In the back of his mind he knew it was petty to feel good for besting a four-year-old, but screw it, the way he saw it, he was leveling the overall score. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. It taught her the important things. Life lessons, he justified in his own mind. And she was having a ball, so score one for Dad.

Since they had only arrived, they decided that Sam would go do a little reconnaissance first while Dean stayed with Natalie. Once Sam had assessed the situation, then they could determine whether or not they needed a daytime babysitter as well as the night time one if they were both needed at the same time.

Suddenly, the sound of Baby's screeching tires made Dean sit up straight. What the hell? Sam knew better than to scratch his car like that. He was gonna kill his little brother. Wait. Sam DID know better. The only reason that he'd do that…was if something was wrong.

Just as that icy feeling started to creep over Dean's skin, Sam burst through the doorway, slamming it shut behind him. "Natalie," Dean called out sharply. She knew that tone, especially when they were on a hunt. She came racing out of the mini closet and ran straight to Dean. Dean snatched her up, holding her tight in his arms. Only once she was completely safe in his grasp, did Dean start the questions.

"Sammy, what's the matter? What the hell was that about?"

Sam had busied himself with pouring a thick line of salt at the doorjamb, then striding quickly to the windows to double check the line they'd already laid down. "Dean, we've got a big problem," he said curtly, tossing the salt on the table and heading straight for the weapons duffle.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Dean said, his eyes narrowing as the panic grew. "Wanna tell me what it is?"

"All the victims, they're…" Sam suddenly cut off. He swallowed hard and looked up at Dean. "The…the people who have disappeared…they're…" he tried again, but it was like the words were stuck in his throat.

"They're what, Sam?!" Dean yelled. Sam huffed in annoyance, then looked Dean straight in the eye. Once he was satisfied that Dean was giving him his full attention, he looked deliberately at Natalie, then back at his brother. Dean understood the silent communication in an instant, why Sam didn't want to say it out loud, and his grip automatically tightened.

All the people who had disappeared were kids.

"Fuck," Dean breathed out, the ice in his veins freezing his heart. Kids- freaking KIDS- were disappearing at random in this town. They had brought a kid- HIS kid- straight into the mouth of Hell. Before he could even move, Sam was digging back in the duffle.

"I'm willing to bet THAT'S what the other sheriff meant when he said that this was Jody's specialty…because of her son, not because of anything supernatural," Sam spat, anger at the faceless sheriff boiling the blood in his veins for being so cruel. "Jody never would have sent us if she'd known what this was actually about." Sam finally located the goofer dust, and began adding lines next to the salt. Dean reached under his pillow and tucked his trusty pearl handled .45 into the back of his jeans.

Natalie, however, was clueless that she might possibly be in danger. "Is that goofer dust, Unca Sam?" she asked excitedly. "Are there hellhound doggies here?"

The cuteness in her mixed-up words only made the panicked tightness in Sam's chest that much more painful. He hurried to complete the lines, then tried to throw a gentle smile her way to distract her. "No, Bug, no hellhounds. But good job remembering what goofer dust is used for."

"How's come you're using it if there are no doggies here?"

"Because I'm taking a precaution."

"What's precaution?"

"Nat, hold on the questions for a minute," Dean said, finally getting his feet to move. He suddenly stopped and made a face at the child in his arms. "And stop calling hellhounds 'doggies'," he said sternly. Natalie rolled her eyes theatrically, but huffed to indicate she'd heard him. Nodding at his success, Dean walked over to the weapons duffle himself. He pulled out some chalk and began drawing warding on the walls. Natalie watched, completely absorbed, as Dean traced pictures all over the walls, holding on to her as tight as he could with one arm. She was fascinated. Every time she tried to draw on the walls at home, she got in big trouble with Pops. But this stuff apparently gave you a free pass. She totally needed to get some of this.

"What else did you find out?" Dean asked curtly, continuing his warding as Sam snatched the ice bucket and headed towards the sink.

"I got the addresses of the houses. One is pretty close to here, but I didn't go look. I had to get here to tell you so we could…" he trailed off again, not wanting to say the words out loud and potentially scare the little girl. "So we could take care of the room," he said carefully. Dean's eyes met his for a moment, and he nodded in thanks at Sam's discretion. Sam continued. "There's no sign of death- not yet. No bodies, no blood. They've just…disappeared."

"From their beds, right?" Dean asked, his mind racing through what Bobby and Jody had told them.

"Yeah, that's right," Sam said. "Seems to be happening at night- there have been no day time disappearances. And it's not changelings- there's nothing left in their place. No doubles." Both boys worked in silence while their minds raced through the catalogue of supernatural creatures that preyed on children. Since there was no evidence of anything other than disappearing kids, nothing was fitting the profile.

After muttering the blessing and dropping the rosary into the water in the bucket, Sam turned to Dean, a loaded sigh on his lips. "If you want to leave, we go now, no questions asked," he said quietly. One look into his hazel eyes and Dean knew Sam was deadly serious.

Dean felt torn a million ways. This was his worst nightmare staring him right in the face on a late Thursday afternoon. He wanted Natalie out of there, right now. If he could, he'd call Castiel to zap her straight back to Bobby's, but Cas had made it clear that he was out of commission for a while and wouldn't be answering any summons, no matter who they came from. Every fiber of his being wanted to pack his daughter and his brother back into the car and get the hell out of dodge.

Every fiber but one.

The idea that right now in this town, there were other parents devastated and hurting over the loss of their children, and that splintered his mind. If he'd been one of those parents, wild with grief over Natalie disappearing, and someone rolled into town who could find her and end this madness but chose to leave without helping, made his blood boil so hot it threatened to burst out of his veins. He couldn't leave. He couldn't stay. What was he supposed to do?

Sitting down heavily on the couch, he pulled Natalie in tightly. She didn't mind at all- she loved cuddles, snuggling into him. The feeling that something was very, very wrong was starting to reach her, but as long as she had Daddy right here, she knew she was safe.

Dean chewed his lip a minute, thinking. He finally looked up at Sam, fierce determination in his eyes. "Get on the horn," he ordered. "Find another hunter who's close enough to take over. In the meantime, you get as much info as you can during the day so we can at least help whoever is gonna take this case over. But until they get here, at night, you and I are here, warded and armed to hell against anyone who tries us. And we obliterate them."

*SPN SPN SPN*

Around one o'clock in the morning, the plan was going strong. The Winchester Brothers had created a veritable fortress in the run-down motel room, Garth was on his way, and Natalie was safe and happy. She was starting to get a little sleepy, but she rubbed her knuckles into her eyes, determined to stay up for as long as Dean would let her. Both boys were pounding coffee like nobody's business in an effort to stay awake and alert. There had been no signs of…well, anything at all.

Sam was sitting at the table by the boarded-up window, watching around the cracks. Dean was sitting cross legged on the floor with Natalie in his lap. The boys weren't sure if there was something about beds that was creating a portal through dreams or something, so they were staying away from any soft, sleep inducing surfaces. They'd been reading one of her favorite Berenstein Bear books. She'd wanted Sam to read to her- he was better at the voices- but Dean wouldn't let her out of his grasp, so she was trying to follow the words on the page with his voice, making them match up.

She suddenly sneezed, making Dean chuckle. As she looked up, wiping her nose with her hand, she noticed the gold dust in the air. Before she could comment on how pretty it was, Sam and Dean suddenly slumped over. Sam stayed in his chair, but Dean hit the floor, hard. They both started instantly snoring, the heavy, deep snores of someone who was far into the sleep cycle. Natalie tumbled off Dean's lap, surprised.

"Daddy?" she whispered. When he didn't answer, she bit her lip and tried shaking his shoulder a little. It was never a good idea to try to wake up Dean Winchester, but this was weird. She shook a little harder. He continued sleeping. She sat back, wondering what to do.

"Wanna play?"

Natalie whipped around, not seeing the source of the sound. She pushed herself up off the floor and ran to the table, snatching a tiny mint tin full of salt and a silver dollar. She tried poking Sam's leg, but he too was completely out for the count. The gold dust in the room seemed to get thicker, but it didn't bother her. She didn't know what it was…but it didn't feel evil.

"Let's play Hide and Seek!" the childlike voice trilled.

Okay, now THAT was intriguing. Natalie perked up a bit, her head starting to feel floaty and excited. "Are you hiding first?" she said without thinking.

"Yup! Come and get me!" followed by a series of sweet giggles.

Natalie looked all around- she'd been playing Hide and Seek for hours this afternoon, she knew what was up with this room. She couldn't see anyone or find any clues as to where this thing was hiding. Until she saw two bright purple globes glowing at her from underneath the bed. When she tilted her head a bit, they almost looked like eyes.

Without another moment's thought, Natalie dropped to the floor and wiggled underneath the bed. As she got to the center, she pressed down on the floor and felt it slowly move away from her. It opened up to a brightly lit staircase flooded with purple lights. She crept carefully down the stairs, looking all around her like Sam and Dean had taught her to do. The staircase looked funny, like it was made out of purple glass and glowed every time you stepped on it. That made her giggle, and before she knew it, she was scampering down the stairs, laughing.

She saw the ground and jumped the last three steps like she always did on staircases. The ground was soft and bouncy and didn't hurt at all. This was awesome! When she looked up, she saw a person standing in front of her with a long gold cape, bright blue short spiked hair, and glowing, purple eyes.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully.