Chapter 7

"If you're out there and need help, please seek it. Be proud of your valiant day-to-day struggle. There is no shame in needing support"- Jared Padalecki

The following day, Dean, Sam and Jamie were in the Impala, and were on their way to Stillwater, Minnesota, to reach the closest magical district in the USA. John, Jamie's father, had decided to stay with Bobby and talk over how things were going to work out with the older three Winchesters only hunting when Jamie was not home, so that they would not put Jamie at risk. Dean was driving, and Sam was in the passenger seat, while Jamie was sitting in the back watching the scenery. It shocked Jamie how much the different areas of the country were so different. They passed through mountains, and forests, and Jamie was amazed by how different the landscape of the United States is. Dean had put on what Jamie thought might have been a band called 'Metallica', at least that is what he thought his older brother was listening to. Sam was complaining about Dean's taste in music.

Dean checked on his kid brother through the rearview mirror. He saw Jamie looking out the window, he seemed to be intrigued by the diversity of the scenery. On the seat next to Jamie, there was the green cooler that he and Sam used for beer when they were on the road, but now it had some beer, some soda, and a couple of bottles of water. "Hey, Jamie, will you please pass me a soda?" Sam asked Jamie, who nodded and got out a soda for his older brother. Jamie also grabbed a soda for himself and one for Dean. He handed the two for his brothers to Sam, who opened his, and also opened Dean's. "Thank you, Jamie."

"You're welcome," Jamie responded, and sipped his soda as he continued to gaze out the window. Jamie thought about the past couple of days. Dean had taken up the responsibility to teach Jamie about pop culture, so he had spent time showing Jamie the Star Wars movies, and Jamie had found out that his favorite book series, Sherlock Holmes, had movies based on them. Once Dean introduced Jamie to TV, Jamie was content to watch movies with Dean, Sam sitting on the couch on the other side of Jamie, with a book in his hands, as he had already seen all the movies that Dean was showing to Jamie.

Jamie was excited, but also nervous for the day, because he was going to show his brothers his world. Jamie was nervous when his big brothers saw the magical world that coexisted with their own world. His brothers were trained to hunt down anything even remotely supernatural, or out of the ordinary. The Magical community is not exactly the most normal place in the world. Owls fly around, speaking of which, Jamie wondered where Hedwig was. He let her go at the beginning of the summer, so Vernon didn't hurt her.

Dean pulled into a fill up station, and started to put gas in the Impala, when a beautiful, white, snowy owl landed gracefully on the trunk of Dean's Baby. The owl stared at Dean with large, round, yellow eyes, and it looked reproachful, almost like Dean had stolen its hunt. Dean let out a call of surprise, and Jamie was the first one out of the car, quickly followed by Sam.

"Hedwig!" Jamie exclaimed, happily, and rushed over to the owl, who flew up, and landed on his shoulder.

"Jamie, this owl is yours?" Sam asked, as Dean looked to make sure the owl had not done any damage to the car.

"Yes, in my world, owls are kept as pets, and can take mail to anyone in the world," Jamie replied, slowly stroking his owl, as she groomed his hair.

"She won't hurt us, will she?" Sam asked, reaching to stroke the feathers on Hedwig's back, carefully.

"Not unless you plan on hurting me, she is very protective," Jamie responded. Sam smiled, so the Winchesters have something in common with an owl, that was a new one, even for them.

"I don't allow animals in my Baby, so can she follow us?" Dean asked, as he finished filling up the tank.

"Yeah, Hedwig, meet us at the magical district of Stillwater, Minnesota," Jamie told his beloved owl, who lightly nipped his ear affectionately, and flew off Jamie's shoulder, and took to the skys.

"That is an incredibly intelligent owl," Sam stated, butting his hand on his little brother's back.

"Yeah, did you know that she was my first birthday present that I ever really received?" Jamie asked, even though the question was rhetorical.

"When did you get her?" Dean asked as he motioned for everyone to get back in the Impala.

"Oh, I got her on my eleventh birthday, July 31st," Jamie responded, going back to staring out the window, and watching the world pass and Sam looked at eachother, and Sam made the mental note to let their dad know about this little fact. Dean made a note to get Jamie a lot for his birthday this year, afterall, for a Winchester, birthdays were a pretty big deal.

Slowly, the purr of the engine, and the smoothing rising and falling feeling lulled Jamie to sleep and Sam and Dean were free to talk as freely as they wanted, so long as they kept their voices low, because Jamie needed all the rest he could get.

"So, he has only ever gotten one birthday present?" San asked Dean.

"That is what it sounds like. I mean I am already pretty happy that he came to us, but if I wasn't so sure about it before, I definitely am now. What kind of S-O-B doesn't give birthday presents to kids that they are in charge of taking care of?" Dean rants.

"I don't know, I mean for all our family faults, at least Dad made sure we got something every year, doesn't matter if it was a gift, or a day with us," Sam stated, and the older brothers went back to sitting in silence, the occasional sound of Dean munching on skittles, or Sam turning a page in the book he was reading, or Jamie's deep, and even breaths were to only sounds that could be heard, besides the deep mechanical purr of the 1967 Chevy Impala.