It took Dean a moment to realize what his Dad had said, 'Johnny and Ellie are gone', and another moment to understand what that meant before he was racing upstairs to see for himself. As he flung open the door, he saw that the bed had only been half slept in which meant that Johnny had spent another sleepless night watching over Ellie, and off to the side he saw the presents were opened and the boxes were empty. Walking further into the room, he checked the closet and found all Ellie's suitcases lined up neatly at the bottom of the closet, with her clothes still hanging from the tiny hangers that his mom had insisted on putting them on. It took him a moment to find Johnny's bag stuffed underneath the bed, but for all intents and purposes, everything seemed to be in order. Rushing back down the stairs, he could hear his parents in the kitchen.

"John, you don't think that Johnny…"

"What! No Mary, I don't. I'm more worried about where they are at the moment and why someone would only look at the personnel files and leave everything else alone. My God, we have thousands of dollars in tools just lying around and they only go for information? I don't know Sweetheart; it looks more like our boy is in some sort of trouble."

Dean couldn't help but agree and didn't take him long to voice his opinion as soon as he joined them. "Everything's still there. The only thing out of place is Ellie's presents were opened." At their shocked looks he shrugged, "I had to make sure didn't I? Jeez, you make it sound like I was snooping!"

John would have thought it funny if the situation wasn't so serious. They had no idea how long the other two had been gone, or if they had even gone voluntarily. Looking at the clock he saw that it was now eight in the morning, and the sun was shining full in the kitchen. He had already talked to Mike, and he was going to talk to his nephew to see if Johnny had mentioned anything strange going on. The police wouldn't do anything unless they could show that there was evidence of kidnapping, or forty-eight hours, they could possibly make an exception with Ellie's condition, but only if there was sign that Johnny didn't have her with him anymore. Mary was about to call the police again anyway when they heard someone talking outside while walking up the driveway.

"That officer thought you were the prettiest girl in the whole parade, I'm going to have to keep my eye on the two of you aren't I? I tell you what, later we'll see if we can find him again and maybe this time you'll feel up to sitting on his horse with him, what do you think about that?"

Looking at each other, none of the Winchester's could believe what they were hearing, until the door opened and in walked Johnny carrying Ellie who was dressed as a ballerina princess, complete with pink tutu, ballet slippers, and a tiara.

"Oh my God, Johnny! Do you have any idea how worried we've been?" Mary exclaimed, looking shocked at both of them. "Where on Earth were you?"

Not sure what was going on, Johnny looked at the other three people in the kitchen cautiously before answering, "Uh, Ellie woke early, so I let here open her presents and I took her out to breakfast before the café's got crowded. We would have been back sooner like the note said, but she saw the police horses getting ready for the parade and we went to see them."

Confused, John asked what they all were wondering, "Note? What note?"

"The note we left on the table." Johnny said as he motioned to the small kitchen table that was bare. "I left a note, and even let Ellie color on it a little. I left it right there."

"Johnny, its ok, it probably just blew off; we'll find it later." Dean said, trying hard not to get even more weirded out then he was already. First the garage gets vandalized, then a missing note. It didn't seem like much separately, but together he worried that it could mean trouble for his little brother.

Mary had been so worried that she had forgotten about the special day. "Ellie, how about you and I start icing some cupcakes while Johnny talks with the guys in the other room?"

Taking the hint, Johnny gave Ellie a hug and a kiss before setting her down in a chair and followed John and Dean into the living room. Not sure what was going on, he looked between both men wondering who was going to tell him what had happened while they were gone.

John knew that he needed to get to the point, but he was more worried about Johnny's reaction and hesitated. Finally he felt he waited long enough, "Johnny, someone broke into the garage and went through the files. Nothing was stolen, but we're not sure what they were looking at."

"So, either you think I did it for some odd reason that would make sense only to me, or they were after my information that would lead them back to you." Johnny said, keeping his voice even and calm even though inside his heart was racing. "Alright, no problem, we'll make sure we have another place to stay by the end of the day, that should ensure that no one comes here to bother you and…"

"Wait! That's not what we're saying! Johnny, if someone's after you, we're here to help. No one thinks that you had anything to do with it, we're just concerned, that's all." John said desperately, hoping that they could convince him not to leave. "You promised that you'd stay until we found you a decent place to move in. I'm holding you to that."

Dean looked at his Dad in shock; he'd never known the man to go so far so fast before. It was more than a little disconcerting, but then again, he understood how his dad felt; he wouldn't do well losing Johnny either.

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Somehow Mary had convinced him that Ellie wanted a small picnic in the backyard just for them, and he didn't have the heart to say no; not after the apparent scare that he had put them all through earlier. Now looking at Ellie, he could tell that he made the right decision. Of course it helped that she was having a really good day, so he was trying to stay optimistic that maybe she wouldn't go back into her shell until after the fireworks tonight. Johnny knew he was expecting too much, but he missed seeing her smile and her giggles used to keep him and Cade rolling for hours. Now though she was trapped in her own mind, lost in her own world, and most of the time he could deal with it, but today was her birthday and he couldn't help but feel the loss.

Now though as he watched Ellie and Mary play on a blanket in the backyard, and watch John and Dean grill hot dogs and hamburgers in the driveway, he realized that he was a definite mismatch. Not that it was a new revelation, he had never fit in no matter where he was, but now it was more obvious. He knew that he didn't have the talent that John and Dean did with cars, and he didn't have the everlasting patience and all around goodness that Mary had – no matter how he was around Ellie. He was able to do what needed to get done, but that seemed to be about it. Working the last three weeks at the garage had been the longest he'd stayed at one job in his life, and he couldn't help the itchy feet he was feeling to get going and find someplace new. However he knew that he couldn't break a promise no matter how much he wanted to, he could only hope that he didn't hurt these people worse in the end.

"Hey Johnny! How about helping us with this stuff, Dean here is trying to do strange things with it."

"What strange things? I only said that I wished we had those dogs with the cheese inside, what's strange about that?"

Johnny laughed at the absurdity of the argument, but had to agree; hot dogs with cheese inside just didn't sound appetizing.

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Mary had known that they wouldn't be able to get Johnny to agree to go to the fireworks display with them, but she had enjoyed the day she had with him and Ellie anyway. Now though, as she thought about them being upstairs still asleep, she checked on them before starting the coffee, she had to admit that she felt as if she finally had her family together.

Reaching for a cup, she was already pouring coffee for her husband when he walked into the kitchen. They both knew that Dean would be up pretty soon, and they all were hoping that Ellie would let Johnny sleep for a little while longer. Although he was asleep now, they knew that he had spent most of the night watching over Ellie again. It was making them all concerned about what he thought she needed protecting from.

"Morning Sweetheart, I was wondering if you got that catalogue for me?" John asked, already knowing the answer.

Smiling, she pulled out a couple of booklet from a drawer, "Mrs. Johnson's granddaughter was more than happy to bring these over. Apparently she has quite a crush on Dean and was hoping to get a peek at him."

John groaned at hearing that, the last thing they needed was more love sick girls following their son around like lost puppies. "Ah well, as long as this works, then I guess we can deal with someone else popping in every once in awhile. How do you think that Johnny's going to take seeing this stuff?"

"I can tell you how he's going to take it, crappy." Dean said as soon as he saw the KU brochures and catalogues on the counter. "Look, you two need to give him some time. He still hasn't figured out he's Sammy yet, and you're already hinting college?"

Both John and Mary looked at each other then back at Dean. "Yeah, so?" they asked, making Dean want to bash his head in the wall until his ears bleed.

"Give him some time, that's all I ask. Ok? Just chill with the whole 'you're better than this' speech and let him figure out what he wants to do." Dean told them, knowing that they'd do what they want anyway. "I have to go. Apparently someone failed the quiz on Monday so everyone has to do double PT this morning."

Not sure how one had to do with the other, they watched their oldest run out the door leaving them to ponder what he said.

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Johnny felt like he could sleep for a week, in fact he had found himself trying that during lunch, but then the phone rang disrupting his peace and quiet. Sighing, he found himself staring at the same engine block that he had been staring at for the last half hour reminding himself yet again what it was that he was supposed to be doing. It was bad enough that he overslept, but Ellie had gone from an exceptionally good day to an equally horrendous day in the time that it took her to go to sleep and wake up again. Groaning, he knew that the house was going to be a mess when he walked in the door, and he knew that it was unfair to Mary to have left Ellie at all today, but John had mentioned that one of the used car lots was bringing in twenty cars in addition to what they already had to do, so he knew that he was needed at the shop too.

Finally finishing the alternator belt, Johnny was ready for the day to end when John walked up to him with the news that he knew was going to hurt a lot of people. 'Johnny, Mary called, the results are in. They're expecting us after we get done here.' Now he couldn't control the irrational thoughts running through his head, and the urge to find more things to do to drag the day out further. Seeing that they had done everything scheduled for the day, he cleaned up and helped John close the shop feeling as if this would be the last time and not knowing how he felt about that.

Mary and Dean were already waiting with Ellie when they pulled up. Mary was excited and kept looking back towards Johnny, while John was starting to feel a little nervous about the whole situation. Dean watched as Johnny talked to Ellie even as the little girl completely ignored him, and he had to wonder about the patience it took for someone to repeatedly be snubbed like that but still come back for more. Then the answer hit him and he couldn't believe that he had been so stupid, it wasn't patience, it was love. Johnny loved Ellie like she was his own daughter, that's why he would so everything for her, but so little for himself. Putting it in that aspect, he couldn't help but admire Johnny even more.

Fighting the city traffic wasn't something that any of them relished doing, but they all knew that it was necessary. Finally parking in the hospital parking garage, it took several attempts before Ellie climbed out of the car and walked with them into the building. Meeting the doctor in his spacious office had made the most sense, and it was obvious that it was the best thing when Ellie sat quietly on the leather couch and rubbed her hands over it repeatedly. It took a couple of minutes, but the doctor walked in looking puzzled.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, I'm sorry that all of you were kept waiting so long. We could have had this issue taken care of a couple of weeks ago." When he saw their confusion, he went on to explain, "The first test that was couriered to us and were lost, it seems that the results were just misfiled. I have them and the new results as well. Now are there any questions about how the tests were run, or any accuracy concerns?" he asked, knowing that most people are curious at least a little bit on how accurate the test actually is.

"Doc, no offense, but my family has been waiting for a month. So how about filling us in on what you found out?" Dean said, watching his parents grow concerned, and Johnny look as if he was ready to walk away and never turn back.

"Oh, of course. In the test that we did of both of your samples compared to Mr. Doe's, the results of both tests confirm that you are his biological parents."

Dean was already up out of his chair cheering while John and Mary hugged each other. When they turned to Johnny however, they found him losing his lunch in the nearest wastebasket and by the sounds of it, he wasn't going to be able to stop anytime soon.

AN: hmmmm... what could be wrong? Yeah, I'm evil... I know! ;) Let me know how you liked it though!