While Dean ordered himself General Tso's Chicken, egg rolls and a Pu Pu Platter, Sam picked himself up off the nightstand at last, shaking out his arms and legs after the arduous climb. "Does it get any easier?" he asked Oscar, talking about how hard it had been to get from the floor to the top. The table would be even more work for both of them, and Oscar had managed that one completely on his own.

Oscar nodded while he tucked his pin and thread away in his cloth bag, patting the worn out container once it was closed once more. It didn't have much in it, but on a normal day, when he'd only be in the room to collect dropped food, it was essential for holding all of his findings. For now, it only held his pin, a few very small crumbs, some scraps of cloth, his knife, and a piece of broken plastic he'd found the other day.

Maybe Sam and Dean would even let him bring some of the food home, if he worked up the courage to ask. His pantry could actually have some options in it for once. His mother had always been better at keeping it stocked, despite there being two people to feed. Oscar was still getting the hang of it.

"Just gotta get used to it. And remember to use your legs, too. It makes it easier on your arms." He stretched his own legs out in front of himself where he sat. "M-my arms used to get so sore before I got the hang of it." He remembered his first long climb his arms had been shaking nonstop. When his mom had pointed out how to transfer some of the strain to his core and his legs, things got a lot better, but even Oscar forgot sometimes.

He smiled faintly then, standing up and brushing himself off. "It helps that you really wanna learn ... that'll make it easier too."

"You bet," Sam said. "I don't wanna get stuck anywhere ever again. I already…" He trailed off for a second, glancing up at his looming brother. But Dean was intently giving out the address of their motel, and not paying any mind to the small kids on the nightstand. "I got stuck on a desk one day," he said in a lower voice to Oscar. "I couldn't do anything! And our dad was making Dean help with the cars outside, so I had no one I could get to help me anywhere close." He scrunched his eyes closed. "It was scary," he admitted.

Oscar frowned empathetically. Sam may be older than him and quite a bit taller besides, but he didn't have the skills Oscar had been building from so early on. He didn't have the option to hide himself anywhere in the room (or in the walls) like Oscar was so used to. Knowing how scary it was out in the rooms, Oscar couldn't fathom being unable to get to a safer spot.

"I understand," he said quietly. "Being out in the open is scary. E-even now I feel weird 'cause I'm not hiding behind anything. When I first saw you hanging around in here I wondered how you did it."

Sam paused, then went on, taking advantage of Dean's distraction. "I never thought I'd feel that way," he confided. "I mean, a room like this used to be normal, and now it's…" He tried to gesture widely to display the sheer openness that was around him. "But with Dean it's not so bad. I mean, he acts normal and doesn't talk down to me. When I first woke up like this…"

Sam froze mid-sentence as the giant sitting next to them shifted the phone. "Fifteen minutes?" Dean said. "Awesome." He reached over the other two to hang up the phone.

Sam sent Oscar a look. Later, it said. There were some things that he didn't want to share with Dean just yet. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the whole size thing and he had a feeling that until he came to terms with it on his own there were some things that he couldn't explain to Dean.

Oscar nodded to show he understood, both Sam's meaning and the words he had let fall from his lips just seconds ago. Oscar had lived with those thoughts his whole life; they were burned into him. And he'd never been outside to see how big the world really was, like Sam had been.

He glanced over at the phone after Dean replaced it in its cradle. Fifteen minutes, and the human at the other end of it would have food right at the door for them. Humans had so many things they could easily do. Oscar did find himself a little envious of the resources at times.

"Once I tried to pretend I was gonna call someone and have them bring food," he confessed with a sheepish grin. "Mom swore she once saw someone order a sandwich as long as the table." Oscar raised his eyebrows, impressed by the idea even if the story was just embellished by his mother to make him laugh.

Dean absently drummed his fingers on his knee at that. "That sounds good," he said, trying to think if there were any sub shops close by. He could always drop in on one on their way home from school one day. "We should get one."

He shot a look over his shoulder at the silent tv. "Let's give climbing lessons a rest for the night," he suggested, holding out his hands. "I'm sure there's something on right now."

Sam hopped right on, holding his pin at his side. "Dibs on the remote!" he declared.

Oscar took a few steps towards the offered hands before pausing to think about how strange it was that he was walking towards a pair of hands. And he'd only yesterday been trying desperately to push them away, to escape the dark cavern that they could form between them. He'd been terrified to the point of frantic tears, and now he was going to willingly step onto them.

He wondered what the others his size might say about it. Then again, they were far on the other side of the motel. They probably wouldn't find out. It had taken them months to even find out Oscar was living by himself, after all.

He glanced over the edge as he inched onto Dean's hands, making sure he was far enough away from the side so he didn't tumble off. At least these hands had turned out to be safe. In fact, Dean's hand being there had saved Oscar a broken bone or two. He was lucky.

He was kind of excited to try watching the TV. He'd never had a chance to do that, either. Hanging around these brothers was giving Oscar so many new experiences. He was glad they were going to be in the Knight's Inn for a month. "What do you watch?" he asked curiously.

While the hands lifted up into the air, Sam bounced forward a bit excitedly. "I like Sonic, but Dean always wants to watch X-Men," he proclaimed.

Dean snorted as he put them down at the foot of the bed so they'd be closer to the television. "I'm pretty sure we're both outta luck," he pointed out as they got off of his hand. The small footsteps were light against his skin, and the almost unnoticeable weight vanished as they both bounced onto the bed. "Those shows ended already."

"Aww!" Sam said, disappointed. He twisted around to see the alarm clock between the beds, and sure enough, it was after the time cartoons were on.

Dean dropped the controller next to the other two as he stretched out on the bed. His feet didn't quite reach the pillows from where he settled down. With his arms crossed in front of him, he relaxed to wait for the others to pick a show.

Sam bounced up and stepped down on the remote as forcefully as he could manage. The television flickered on. It wasn't the best tv to be found, but it had color and access to the majority of channels that they'd want. Of course, being a motel room tv it also had that annoying habit of going back to the start of the channels every time it was turned off, so Sam had to search out where they'd been the other day. His small boots pressed down on the thick rubber button repeatedly, determined to get there on his own. If he asked Dean for help, he might as well give up control of the remote completely.

Oscar wasn't sure where he should focus his attention at first. A human was lying just behind them, casually and calmly waiting for Sam to choose a show. Sam was diligently working a remote that outweighed the smaller children by several times, stomping on the buttons to get them to register his selection. And of course, the TV filled the room with more flickering light as the channels changed. Blips of sound escaped the speakers before they were changed again.

He ended up looking down, at the bedspread he stood on. It was springy and soft, and he still hadn't gotten over how comfortable it had to be. Even standing on it for a while yesterday, he'd felt more like he was on a cloud.

He sat down after a few seconds, his legs crossed and his hands in his lap while he watched the TV image change in time with a bright green number in the corner. He didn't know what Sam was looking to watch, if the shows he wanted to see were already over; Oscar didn't know anything about any shows. But he was almost positive he'd be fascinated with wherever they ended up.

A thought struck Oscar and he turned his head so he could address Sam and try to include Dean in what he was about to say, too. "Th-thanks for letting me stay out here even though lessons are done," he told them earnestly, eyes full of gratitude and wonder at all the new things he was getting to try. "I like the walls but there's not as much to do there."

Dean arched his eyebrows at the kid. "You can stay as long as you want, Oz."

"Yeah!" Sam paused in the middle of flipping through channels to agree with Dean. "We never get to hang out with anyone. Our dad never lets anyone come over, and almost never lets us go visit them."

Dean gave a half shrug from where he was laying on the bed. "You don't have to be teachin' Sam every second you're out here, anyway. Everyone needs to take a break once in awhile."

Sam went back to flipping channels. "Like you from homework?" he teased.

Dean froze for a second. "I'm not the only one that took a break," he said begrudgingly. Something on the screen caught his attention. "Star Trek!"

Sam took his foot off the remote. "Really?" he asked with a dubious glance towards Dean.

"There is nothing wrong with a little Star Trek from time to time," Dean said defensively. The channels flicked back to the channel with the movie on, and he grinned. "Star Trek IV. Perfect."

Oscar faced the screen with a smile lighting his face just as much as the TV did. He was entertained by the short argument between the brothers, something he never thought he'd see. A human listening to and bantering with someone the size of his fingers... like an equal. It was unlike any of the situations they always warned kids like Oscar about.

Humans weren't supposed to listen, because they were big and powerful and didn't have to. But Dean did anyway. He even listened to Oscar and made sure he was as secure as Sam when he carried them in his hands.

Oscar was also immensely glad that they told him he could be around more often. He could actually relax instead of fretting about where he'd get his next meal. This time, it would be on its way in a little over ten minutes. And he'd be able to eat plenty of it without worry. It was so generous of them to share their food with him like that.

One other factor kept the smile on his face. Oscar had never really had friends before, and he was excited to have made some. Even if they were about as strange as they could be for someone like him to befriend. He lifted the strap of his bag over his head, setting the all-important container next to himself; he could afford to relax a little here. He was among friends.

"So what is 'Star Trek?' " he asked after a few minutes of not knowing what was going on on the TV.

Dean rested his head on his arms. "Star Trek's great!" he said with a grin, knowing Sam would always choose Star Wars over it. "Here they're gonna get their ship, and it's barely hanging together with duct tape and hope, to travel back in time. There's no whales in their time, and they need to save them so they can tell the alien probe that it doesn't need to destroy the earth." He took a breath, ready to go on.

Sam managed to jump in before Dean got himself back on track and barreled over Oscar's confusion. "It's a story where people go up in space in these big starships," he tried to explain a little of the background. "They save the world and help people."

Oscar's head spun, and Sam's explanation didn't do much to slow it down. It helped a little, but he was still processing a lot of what Dean said, and trying to count up just how many of the words he just heard were in English. He watched the screen for a few seconds, his eyes wide with equal parts confusion and wonder. Apparently the people on that - "Starship," he muttered to himself - were about to go and save the entire world. He'd never realized people came up with such amazing stories.

"Up in space, that's," Oscar mused aloud, pointing upwards and trying to picture it. He'd only ever seen images of the sky on the TVs in the motel, and those views were brief and usually blocked by something. "That's a long way to go." And the world was big, Oscar knew, even if he had no concept for how big.

"How're they gonna save all the whales? What happened to 'em?" he asked, still not fully fathoming the scope of the plot but playing along anyway. There were a lot of things Oscar didn't know, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to enjoy it regardless.

Sam stretched out on the cover, lying on his stomach. "Well, in the future, there's no whales because some nasty people hunted them to extinction." He chewed his bottom lip as he thought it over. "That's why Captain Kirk and Spock gotta go back in time. They can get two whales and bring them to the future and help the whales survive."

Dean rested his head on his arms as Sam told Oscar the basics of Star Trek. He knew the food would be there soon and didn't want to get pulled too far into the story until it was at the door. It was fun listening to Sam talk about the movie. He always claimed he was more into Star Wars, but he still knew all the Star Trek facts and could list them off the top of his head. They sat around and watched television a lot when their dad was on hunts. There was plenty of downtime when they weren't doing homework or research.

Oscar listened to Sam's explanation with keen interest. He had to refrain from blurting out more questions after he was finished. It was likely they would only lead to even more questions and they'd spend all their time trying to catch him up. He really wanted to know how Kirk and Spock were going to travel through time, and he wanted to know if anyone actually did that in real life.

"Well, I hope they make it in time," he said earnestly, turning back to face the screen in time for the transporter pad to make someone disappear in a CGI trick. His questions could wait.

It wasn't like this knowledge was imperative for him to learn. He wouldn't be able to do anything with it in the long run. He'd still be at the motel, scraping out his small existence. At least he'd have some fun for a little while.

A/N

Oscar has friends he can count on for the first time ever, and they're really hoping he wants to stick around with them, crazy antics and all.

Sam? Dean? Slow down on the Star Trek explanations. He's never seen the show, goofs.

Next: December 30th