He clenches his hands while looking at the floor. He feels his dad towering over him in a fit of rage.

"What were you thinking boy? Do you know what could have happened?"

"Yes."

"Good. Where were you even?"

"In a gaming hall, sir. I was bored."

"And that's a reason to abandon your brother?"

"I didn't. Sammy was asleep and nothing dangerous was around, at least as far as I knew, Besides, I wasn't gone for long or too far away."

"You clearly were too far away. The Shtriga nearly killed your brother when you were responsible for his safety. If I hadn't come…"

He knows. He knows he failed. He knows he didn't react quickly enough. Dad doesn't have to point it out. Dad glares at him. He feels his heart beating loudly in his chest while he waits for his father to respond. The silence stretches between them. It becomes more uncomfortable the longer it lasts. It is only broken by the sound of breathing. He shuffles his feet and glances up.

He frowns. This can't be right. His dad doesn't look angry. Sure he seems disappointed but there's something else too. Something he can't place. He doesn't remember ever seeing it before. He opens his mouth only for his father to cut him off.

"Get out of my sight boy. We'll talk more tomorrow and I expect you can explain things better then."

Dean nods. He wants to speak up but the words lodge in his throat. And dad's look tells him he's better off not speaking. So he runs out of the room towards the bedroom and slams the door close. He drops head-first on his bed and presses his head into the pillow. He knows he failed. He knows. He hates disappointing his dad. He hates it. He's got to regain his dad's trust. But how?

His mind moves to all the ways he can do this. By sticking to plans. By following his orders exactly. By not leaving Sammy alone for too long. And never in the evening. He turns over and wipes the tears from his eyes. He doesn't know if it'll be enough. It needs to be enough. It needs to be. The door opens. Dean turns to his side and ignores whoever enters. He's got no time for this.

"Dean? You're alright? I heard dad yelling at you. What was it about?"

He presses his hands over his ears and clenches his eyes shut. He's not in the mood to talk right now. Sammy shakes his shoulders. First gently but then roughly. Or as rough as Sammy's able to. He throws the arms off.

"Dean, why are you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying! Come on, what's wrong? Has it got to do with dad yelling at you?"

"Just leave it, Sammy."

"Why? It tells me I'm right. What was dad upset about?"

"Some mistake I made. Don't worry about it."

He doesn't see Sammy's response. All he hears is Sammy sighing and slipping into bed with him. His body presses against him but thankfully Sammy stays silent. It allows him to go over the solutions once more.

December 1991

Keyes, Oklahoma

Dean walks behind his father and a bit to the side. His eyes go over the area as he looks for threats. He knows why they're here; there are some werewolves to be taken care of. They've been harming people so they need to be dealt with and he already knows how; dad's been preparing a trap. It's his job to ensure these monsters walk right into it. And he'll succeed. He'll prove he knows how to hunt these monsters on his own.

Dad turns to him and gives him a look. He nods, knowing what it means. Dad walks away while he keeps an eye out for the monsters. After a short time, he sees a few walking around. It looks like they're hunting or play hunting. He's not sure. He keeps an eye on them because of their suspicious behavior. All he sees is even more suspicious behavior.

Suddenly, he slips behind a tree and holds his breath. They were looking back. They didn't see him, right? He holds his breath and waits until he hears them walking away. Only then does he slip out behind the tree and stalk them again. As he stalks them, he carefully and subtly directs them toward the trap. Dad will have had more than enough time to finish setting it up so he's able to ensure they walk right into it.

He makes a few more pushes against the monsters without being seen when they try to slip away. They growl each time. He doesn't let it scare him. Before long, they are just where they need to be. Now, it's just waiting to see when the trap's sprung. Dean keeps an eye on them as he feels along his side for his blades and bullets. They're where they should be but then his eyes widen as feels further. His gun isn't where it should be. He searches along his pockets without losing sight of them. After a few seconds - which feel like minutes - of frantic searching, he finds his gun. He bites back a sign of relief.

His eyes turn back to the monsters. What he sees has him biting back another sigh. They're still where they should be. A bright flash binds his eyes. He hears them howling and knows instantly what's happening.

It's time.

He keeps his hand over his gun as he pulls out the blade. He jumps into the fight as he hears gunshots going off around him. He evades claws and teeth as he slashes at werewolves who try to escape. And once they're far enough away from him, he pulls out his gun and begins shooting. A few times, he's got to fall back on his blades when a few get too close for him to use his blade.

Suddenly he has to duck. His gun is slammed out of his hand. He tries to get up only for one of the werewolves to jump on him. The werewolf tries to bite him. He struggles around. The werewolf fails to bite him. After a long time of struggling, he manages to get his fingers on his blade. He immediately slashes at the werewolf. It howls. Dean quickly crawls over the floor. A claw closes around his ankle. He hisses and reaches out with his hand. The gun is just out of his reach. He stretches a bit more. Finally, his fingers touch the gun only to slip away when the monster pulls on his leg. He turns around and slashes again. This releases his ankle and he finally gets his hand on his gun. He turns around and shoots.

Moments later, the floor is littered with dead monsters as Dean pants loudly. His lungs and muscles feel as if they're on fire. His gun hangs loosely in his hands. He looks around searching for his father. At first, he doesn't find him but then he sees his father not too far away. Their eyes meet.

"Dean, come over here. How are you?"

"Alright, sir."

"No wounds?"

"Don't believe so."

"Mhh."

Dad grabs his arms and pushes his sleeves up. He stays silent as his dad looks them over for injuries. He bites his lips hoping he hasn't screwed up. His heart skips a beat when dad lifts the pipes of his trousers and checks his legs over. The seconds tick by ever so slowly. He shuffles as he waits for his father's verdict.

"It seems you've come out of it alright. Make sure not to let them get that close to you again and then you won't need to be checked over."

"Yes sir."

"Good, now help me clean up here. I want to make sure we haven't missed anyone."

Dean nods and dutifully follows his dad as they inspect the area. Much to his relief, they don't find anyone.

April 1996

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Noah POV

"So that's how my life has been ever since my mom died."

"Well, those were some of your more defining memories, right."

"If you want to call it that, Noah."

"You know what it tells me?"

"No, please explain."

"You lost your mother at a young age which had a profound impact on your life. It is most likely the reason why your father entered into hunting if he wasn't involved earlier. His actions caused you to gain a lot of experience with hunting though not like the way you're learning here."

"True. And it has been said before that I have a lot of experience."

"Yes, yes, but you have also had large responsibilities for your age. Like caring for your brother. It obviously doesn't bother you but others will not see it like that."

"And what will they see?"

Dean narrows his eyes as if he's challenging him. Noah can imagine why all too easily. It tells him his next words won't be appreciated. However, he has to say them.

"They'll see a neglectful parent who gave a child too many responsibilities for their age."

"My dad did the best he could."

"Hey, I didn't say he didn't; I just said what I know others will see once - and if - you tell me. I could tell your dad did the best he could. Maybe, he pushed too many responsibilities on you but it would only have been a problem if you didn't like it. Which obviously isn't the case."

"Glad you realize that."

Dean glares at him. He shrugs. There's little else he can do at this time.

"Yeah, I know you've had a hard life but you've made the best of it. Just as I suspect you're doing right now."

"Right, so what's your opinion? You haven't explained it to me yet."

"Mine? I say you made the best of a bad situation."

"Bad? It wasn't bad. We had what we needed."

"Except for a real home. But then that's not something you would have noticed because you didn't know anything else."

"And that's so bad?"

"For me, it would be but I'm not you. We've been raised differently after all and our opinions of a good life are based on our past."

"True, so what's your upbringing been like?"

"Mine? Why?

Noah frowns not understanding where this came from. They've only been talking about Dean's life. And now, they're talking about his? It makes no sense. Dean looks at him confused before speaking up.

"Because I've told you about mine. It's only right for you to return the favor."

"Well, it's been decent in my opinion. I've always been close with my father and grandfather. I've not been close with my mother but I do respect her. As for my siblings, it depends on the person. With some I'm close and with some, I'm not."

"Yeah, yeah. But for real, you haven't answered my question yet."

"Well, let me think, my parents have always been absorbed in their job of running the institute. It left Issy and me to guide our siblings. Everyone here helped out but it's not the same as having parents."

"So for you, it's been just like for me."

"In a sense. Where do you think I got the idea from? But the difference between us is that I've never been left to care for my siblings completely alone. My grandfather and the others have always been there. It just never was what we wanted or needed."

"You needed your parents but they had their duties to attend to."

Noah hears someone sneaking around. Loudly this time. He's been hearing it for minutes now and has always been ignoring it. If someone wants to eavesdrop on them then they should just show themselves. He sees Dean looking around with a frown on his face. As if he's seen someone who he wants to find again. Or knows where the person is. Who, he's got no idea. Only one way to find out.

"Dean, who are you looking for?"

"No one, I just thought I saw some familiar face."

"Familiar?"

He frowns as he's unable to understand what he means. Just when Dean opens his mouth a voice interrupts them.

"There you are Noah, what do you think you're doing?"

He nearly groans. He recognizes this voice before he even turns around and sees the person. How many times has had to deal with him? He lost count a long time ago.

"Kyle…what do you want this time?"

"Oh, I was wondering what you're up to. Some new scheme, trying to interrogate Dean, or are you looking for some new book? That's all you've ever been interested in, books. Though it looks nothing like you're looking for a book."

"And Kyle, what's that about?"

"You know, Dean, I'm wondering how he ever managed to pass the tests. He should just stay right here in the library where he belongs."

Noah clenches his fists. The familiar spiel again. He clenches his fists tightly. His nails dig painfully into his hands. How many times more will he hear it?

"Who says it's where he belongs, Kyle? You? The library is as good a place as any to study and I know he passed his courses with high marks. Maybe even better than you. I clearly remember you complaining about bad grades. So Noah's clearly able to operate in the field."

"I beg to differ."

"Ever went out with him?"

"No, but you have. And we all know how that ended; with him nearly abandoning you. He practically tried to kill you."

"Ah, don't make it bigger than it actually was. He didn't abandon me; he was just moving too quickly causing us to be separated. We wouldn't have survived the ambush if we hadn't had each other."

Kyle huffs. Noah waits anxiously for him to leave. At the same time, a strange feeling fills him. His heart beats rapidly and his fists begin to sweat. It also feels as if his face is as red as a tomato. He doesn't know what this is. Kyle thankfully leaves a few seconds later though it feels like minutes. He watches Kyle leave just to be sure it's no trick. Only once he's certain, he turns to Dean who looks at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I'm just surprised you defended me…so umh…thank you."

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm merely returning the favor. But why are you surprised? Did you think I wouldn't stop someone from being so mean?"

"Kinda, considering how I've treated you before. I learned my prejudice against you wasn't true. And your experiences also allowed me to better understand you. But that only speaks about me and not you. So I couldn't be sure. Right now, I just hope we won't revert back to our previous way of interacting."

"I doubt it. Shall we say we will defend each other?"

"I give you my word. We shall defend each other at all times."

"To that, I agree."

They shake hands and leave the library together.