Oscar blinked up at the human, wondering if he intended to be 'it' now or if someone else would be picked for it. He hoped it wasn't him again; after all, he'd only just barely gotten Sam when Dean decided to change things around on them. Oscar was already breathing hard from the workout!

"Are you gonna be it, Dean?" Oscar asked, glancing at the hand he'd landed next to. He knew from experience that if Dean decided to pin them under it again in a playful addition to the game, it would be pretty hard to get out from under it. They'd have to do their best to avoid it. "But you're so fast. How'll we get very far?"

"Nah," Dean said dismissively. "I think it's time to take a break." Before Sam could open his mouth to complain about him 'ruining their fun,' Dean went on. "It's time for some dinner, anyway."

That got Sam to quiet down. The smaller brother looked at his stomach, flushing a bit red when it grumbled at the reminder. Dean gave him a knowing smirk, a matching emptiness in his own stomach.

He held the hand with Sam in it down by Oscar to offer him a lift. "I've got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," he informed them. They wouldn't be able to order out every night, after all. Their dad had given them a card with a limit.

Dean really had to learn how he got those cards.

"Besides," he said. "I think we'll have to find a game I can play with ya sometime, right?" As cute as it was to watch them play tag, he wouldn't mind having a turn.

Oscar almost climbed onto Dean's hand, but jolted when he remembered his bag. He ran over to pick it up and ran back while throwing the overladen cloth container over his shoulder. He clambered onto Dean's hand before it could move out of the way again, settling himself on Dean's palm. It only caught up to him after the fact that he'd done so without any hesitation at all.

"I dunno many games but I bet we could think of something you could play," he mused, shifting his bag onto his lap. Standing up was doable, but he didn't see any reason to risk toppling right over. In the meantime, his thoughts went to the food Dean suggested they have.

"I heard about peanut butter an' jelly sandwiches," he said, a hopeful smile growing on his face. He was trying so many new things in just the last couple of days. He was excited to try another new food.

"They're good!" Sam promised.

Dean lifted the kids off the bed and stood. "One of Sam's favorites," he told Oscar with a grin. "Right up there with… macaroni and cheese." He tucked his hand against his chest to hold them steady. After the month with Sam he'd adjusted to giving his brother a hand everywhere, but for some reason having an even younger and smaller kid in his hand really drove it home. How fragile they were without him. How easy it would be to make a mistake.

When he reached the table he let them off near the center and went over to the mini-fridge in the room. It was stocked with essentials, including bread, grape jelly, and peanut butter. A knife was easy enough to scrounge up and in short order he had two sandwiches made up.

Dean brought his paper plate over to the table and stuck a napkin next to it. "Two pint-sized sandwiches, coming right up," he said with a smirk, cutting two corners off of his food. He tried to squish them down small enough for the others to eat, then stuck them on the napkin next to the bottlecaps.

Sometimes, he thought about how really weird his life had become. Then he'd remember he'd been on the road since he was a kid while his dad hunted down supernatural killers and just decided to take it as it came.

Oscar could hardly believe the turns his own life had taken. When he first realized his mom wouldn't be coming back, he had thought for sure he wouldn't last. But he did. And, even if he hadn't managed to keep up the strict rules about being caught by a human, even that was going better than he ever could have imagined. Instead of trapping him, Dean had become his friend. For people like Oscar, friends were rare; but he'd managed to end up with two.

He walked onto the napkin with a curious smile and picked up one of the sandwiches that Dean prepared for them. Even the bread was soft; he was so used to stale breadcrumbs that he forgot that it was actually supposed to be softer. And the sandwich smelled amazing, too, with the thick layers of stuff between the pieces of bread Dean managed to squish down.

It was a lot of food, but he was willing to predict that he'd finish the whole thing. His stomach finally made a noise as if to agree with him, or demand that he eat already. He took a small bite, nibbling at it and doing his best to keep the jelly and peanut butter from falling out.

"This is good," he agreed. "I wish more people would leave stuff like this layin' around."

"Mmm," Sam responded around his own sandwich. He managed to swallow after taking too big of a bite. "It's even better when we get peanut butter and fluff! It's like eating liquid marshmallows, you can't beat it."

"Maybe if you eat all your vegetables, I'll pick some up," Dean said teasingly.

He got a flat look from Sam. "Because you totally get vegetables with all your meals," Sam said dryly.

"Hey, there were tomatoes on the pizza the other night," Dean defended himself. "Plus we had rice." He nodded sharply, satisfied with that.

Oscar watched the two in silence for a moment, simply working on his food. He wasn't sure what marshmallows were, having never seen one before (even the word almost didn't sound real), but he took Sam's word for it. Then again, he wouldn't have too much trouble finishing any vegetables put in front of him either. As long as it was food, Oscar probably liked it. After all, his belly always felt much better after he ate, though in the last couple days he hadn't felt the usual desperate hunger he was used to.

"The rice was good," he chimed in, agreeing wholeheartedly. Even as a mild option, it had plenty of flavor to it. Not to mention the grains were easy to eat. " 'S why I put a bunch in my bag to save," he continued, not even realizing how odd that might sound to them. Stashing food aside was practically an instinct all by itself for him. He always did his best to save off a little bit, even if he could only store a bite. It was better than nothing.

Dean's brow furrowed at that as he slowly ate, trying to absorb everything Oscar was telling them. It sounded like he had it worse than they ever had. Even when there wasn't enough food for them both, Dean had been able to make sure that Sam got enough to eat. Oscar was clearly underfed, and a lot skinnier than Sam. He couldn't see his features as clearly as he should because of the size, but Dean would be willing to bet that Oscar was looking better after the last two days with them than when he'd first gotten caught.

Finished with his bite, Dean leaned forward. "Oz, you can take home as much food as you can carry. In fact…" Dean caught Sam's eye and quirked a smile at him. "Sam can help carry some extra if you want. The bread will probably last longer for you, but we've always got other things…"

"Like peanuts!" Sam chirped helpfully.

Oscar paused in the middle of taking a bite of his sandwich, his eyes wide with awe and gratitude. He'd snuck a lot of the Chinese food the night before as an automatic action. He couldn't help it. But he was once again blown away by how much food Sam and Dean were willing to just give to him. It was so generous of them, and he quickly took his bite and finished it off so he could thank them faster.

"Th-that'd be really nice, if you really wanna share," he told them, unable to withhold a grin. He'd probably picked the best people to be friends with. They kept on giving him more and more food; at this rate he'd fill up his pantry in just a week or two.

A thought struck him and he perked up immediately, excited and relieved that it had occurred to him. "An' I have somethin' in my house that you can have, Sam! I'll show you if you come visit."

Sam bounced in his seat. "Really?!" he exclaimed, his hazel eyes big. "Of course I'll come visit! That way, I can help you carry some food." He and Dean exchanged a look, on the same page with getting the younger kid some meals in his home.

Dean was even starting to mellow on the idea of letting Sam go off on his own, if his idea for Sam to help take the food was any indication. The path had to be safe if a kid that was two inches tall took it every day.

Of course, it didn't mean he wouldn't fret the entire time they were gone. If Sam left with Oscar, it would be the first time since finding the downsized child on the ground after the witch's curse took effect that the brothers would be separated, and Dean wouldn't actually know where Sam was. He'd have no way to help Sam if he needed it.

Dean steeled himself. You have to trust Sam will be fine. Oscar wouldn't get him into trouble and he's traveled that path before. You can't keep Sam locked up like dad wants to. He deserves better. "Just make sure to be home by curfew if you go," was what Dean ended up saying out loud to the others. "Otherwise I'd have to come getcha." His joke was a little flat from worry at his decision, knowing how angry John would be if he discovered the 2.6 inch tall Sammy was going out on his own and Dean wasletting him.

Oscar snickered, barely avoiding taking the last bite of food before Dean spoke. Once the giggling was over, he ate the last of his sandwich, shaking his head with bemusement. The thought of Dean trying to crawl his way into the vents had gotten into his head, and it was stuck now.

Of course, the actual concern was worth some attention, too. Once his mouth was no longer full, Oscar answered with an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Dean. It'll be okay. I know the way by heart and it's not very far at all."

He twisted where he sat, facing where his vent was set into the wall. His finger absently traced an invisible pathway and his lips moved as he counted imaginary steps. "I only gotta walk about five or ten minutes from there before I get to my house." He couldn't even imagine the route being much more walking distance than Dean was tall. Short legs walking for ten minutes didn't mean that much to a human.

He looked down at his hands then, rubbing his thumb over a speck of peanut butter on his palm. "I-it really is helpful that you guys keep giving me food," he pointed out.

"That's not far at all," Sam commented, craning his neck to peer at the vent with Oscar. Dean could cover that ground in no time at all, based on how short Sam and Oscar's legs were comparatively, so he probably lived in the walls very close to their room. It was lucky they'd received this room; any other room and they might never have seen him around.

Dean waved off Oscar's thanks. "Don't worry about it," he said to the kid. "You're helping out Sammy plenty, it's the least we can do." Especially since he doesn't exactly eat that much, he thought to himself. Not enough to make a huge difference in our food supply, just like Sam.

"You'll just have to stick around to show Sam the ropes while we're here."

Oscar perked up, his face practically beaming. "Of course," he assured Dean with a nod, happy that he really did have something to offer in return. Oscar knew all about how to survive at his size. Sam could benefit just knowing some of the same things, and Dean could benefit knowing his little brother could take care of himself. And Oscar got food; everybody won something.

"I'll do my best. I never thought I'd get to teach someone how to do it." After learning from his mother, Oscar had assumed he'd get a lot more practice in with her around to give him pointers. Without that, he had no idea if he was becoming the "expert" as quickly as most children his size. But he at least had enough skill in him to help Sam.

The others across the motel could have taught Oscar more, if they'd found out sooner that he was on his own. By the time they figured it out, he had been getting by for months. Oscar was tougher than his timid nature might indicate. Sam was already far more confident; he'd be able to learn as quickly as Oscar had to if not faster, with his determination and Dean's help.

"And we can still have fun, right Dean?" Sam asked plaintively as he finished off his sandwich. He brushed his own hands off in turn, hoping Dean wasn't going to keep them from horsing around. It wouldn't be fun to only learn to climb and anything else Oscar could think of. It would be more like John's lessons.

Dean let out a small laugh. "Hey, I still need to best you two at a game sometime," he said dryly. "I'm not missing my chance to win, kiddo."

A/N

Gotta have a snack after all that running around! Kiddos need their energy to get up to more mischief, keeping Dean on his toes.

Next: January 27th