Mary could hear her boys outside arguing and she knew it was her fault. She knew not to disturb the symbols on the outside of the doorframe, but one of them looked so familiar to her that she couldn't help but reach and touch it. She had been certain that she hadn't disturbed it, but now she knew that she must have smudged it just enough to let whatever evil creature had possessed her walk right in and play havoc with her family.

Sighing, she looked at Caleb then at Bobby before she looked at John. "I think you'd better get out there before they have the whole block convinced that we're out of our minds." She said gently, trying to spur him on. Watching him walk out the door, she turned to the two remaining men. "Alright, one of you had better tell me what's really going on. I don't know a lot about this stuff, but I do know that if a person's possessed it's not usually out of curiosity. What did it want, and how are we going to keep it from getting it?"

Bobby looked at Caleb and saw the same thought goings across his face… now they knew where Johnny got it from.

Caleb really didn't want to have to explain the differences between spirits, demons, the different levels of hell, but somehow he had a feeling that he wasn't going to have to go that in depth with it. "Several years ago, Cade's dad got an idea and tattooed Johnny's wrists with devil traps. It's supposed to be an added protection to what Bobby did when your son was a baby." Looking at Bobby, he could tell that the older man was cringing inside, but they didn't have a lot of time. "Bobby basically branded him with a protection sigil on his foot. Not many people notice it since it looks more like a birthmark than anything else."

"Mary, that night that I took your son, a demon was after him. We know that he's been trying to get an army together for quite awhile and he usually tries to bring special children to his side. I know for a fact that he hadn't done anything to Johnny that night, because I was there first. Unfortunately, there are too many people who believe what they want to believe instead of what's right there in front of them." Bobby said gruffly.

"The tattooing was a way to assure the more zealous hunters that he isn't going to be a willing participant; that he's going to do everything he can not to go to this demon. I know this is a lot to take in, but you need to realize…"

"What I realize is that my baby boy was taken from me… from his father and brother; that he was passed around like he didn't matter all because of a 'what could happen' scenario. I doubt I will ever understand why you didn't bring him back to us, but I will tell you this… leave my husband out of the hunt; at least until we know exactly what we're dealing with. I won't have him doubting himself and what he knows… he's been doing that for the last sixteen years." Mary said firmly, listening for signs that her family was coming back in. "Do we understand each other?"

Not bothering to answer, they knew what the message really was and they both silently agreed with it.

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John, as well as half the neighborhood, knew what the argument was about so he didn't pretend to not understand what the shocked look on Johnny's face was about. However he couldn't help but wonder about the triumphant look on Dean's face, he knew that his eldest had already gotten it into his head that he needed to protect his little brother, but he was starting to think this was something more.

"So you three are getting an apartment together?" he asked casually, not wanting to sound disappointed, but feeling as if he was losing his children all over again.

Johnny turned and looked at John, and seeing not a man or his boss, but the person who was really his father and he wasn't sure what to do about that. "Uh, I guess so. Dean's insisting on it, but he has no idea what a handful we can really be." He said, hoping to sound lighthearted, but in all actuality he was worried. They hadn't seen the real devastation that he could cause, it was one of the many reasons he had stayed on the move instead of staying with Cade and Ellie.

Dean smirked, "Oh yeah, you two are real party animals. Trust me; I think I can handle the two of you as room mates." Looking between his dad and brother he had to wonder though about the decision that he needed to make in the next… ten minutes.

"Dean, you need to hurry up or you're going to be late." Johnny said, realizing what time it was. "You've already used up two of your three days and there's no way you need to be late on top of it."

Looking at Johnny he understood something, he didn't care. As long as his little brother and Ellie were safe, then nothing else mattered. He was just about to share that with his family when Johnny interrupted his train of thought.

"Look, I get that you're worried, but really… we'll be ok while you're at the academy. Get going, you're not going to be able to help us later if you get kicked out of there now."

Puzzled, both Dean and John looked at Johnny and wondered the same thing – what did he know that they didn't?

Seeing the determined look on Johnny's face, Dean nodded. "Alright, you win… this time, but if you think that excuse is going to work later you have another thing coming." Turning around and picking Ellie up, he led the way back into the house. Looking around he asked Bobby, "Where'd Mom go?"

Both Bobby and Caleb looked at the men who just walked in the door and hesitantly answered "She said something about a phone call."

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"Brian, you need to tell me the truth. What the hell is going on?" Mary demanded over the phone, trying to keep an eye on her family at the same time.

"Mary, I can't tell you more than I already have. Let it go, sis."

"I can't let it go! Something possessed me just to 'check on things' and you're telling me that you can't tell me anything. Damn it Brian, I know you, and you're hiding something."

There was a moment of complete silence and Mary thought that her brother had hung up. "Mary, you know that we've always tried to keep you out of this as much as possible. I'm sorry, I really am, but we need to make sure that…"

"That what? My son is sacrificed to some demon? Or how about the fact that there are people out there trying to hunt him down because of it? Is this the reason why you insisted that I move out as soon as I could, so I wouldn't stumble on more than what I already had?"

"Damn it Mary, listen closely. Sammy is special; we all knew it before he was born. You're right, we wanted you out of harms way, but we didn't know what was going to happen; you have to believe that."

Mary sighed, she did know it, deep down she knew that her brother and uncles had spent her life trying to make sure she was never afraid of what was out there. That didn't help her at the moment though. "Brian, if you don't tell me right now what I need to know, then you can forget that I ever existed, because I sure as hell will forget about you!"

"I understand Mary, good-bye."

The silence on the other end followed by the dial tone hurt her more than she wanted to admit. Her brother had always been there for her when she was growing up, and now she wished she knew what was going on. It wasn't like Brian to just walk away from her like that; of course she couldn't really say that. They hadn't really been close since she married John, but she had always known that if she needed something he was just a phone call away. Now though, he was willing to give her up completely to keep whatever secret he had; and to make it worse, his secret had hurt her son.

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Johnny hated to admit his need for a pain pill, but with everything that had been going on, he understood that no one was going to begrudge him one now; in fact they were looking at him as if to say 'it's about time' which made him wonder if he'd been acting like an ass most of the day. Sighing, he thought about the things he and Ellie had done, and wondered about the sad smile that Mary gave them. He knew that she wouldn't be happy with them moving out, but he sensed it had to do with something else.

"So, you think that you three will be happy with the three bedroom you saw today?" John asked, hoping to get some sort of conversation going, he really hated oppressive silence.

Shocked out of his thoughts, it took Johnny a moment to realize what the conversation was about. "Uh, yeah, I guess. It's just a waste." He said, not really pulling his thoughts together well. Seeing their concerned looks he explained. "Ellie still sleeps with me, and I have no idea how long that will last. It could be a couple days, or years; I'm not going to push it. I don't know how long we'll have the apartment. I mean Dean could get tired of us a week after we all move in or everything could work out great and we'll stick together until he finds someone and moves out. I think that a three bedroom could really be just a waste of space, not to mention money."

Mary and John looked at each concerned. They had talked to each other about the situation, but understood quickly that they had failed to talk to him. "Johnny, you do realize that you'll get a check every week while you're laid up, right. It won't be as much as you were getting, but it should pay for your portion of the rent, and of course we'll…"

"Wait… what?" Johnny asked, he of course heard the words, but couldn't seem to make sense of them. "I'm not working, and the money I do have saved up along with the checks I hadn't cashed yet would get us by for the next couple of months, so where would…" he knew that the meds were affecting his brain, and he hated them for that as much as he loved not feeling as if his arm was being crushed all over again.

Concerned, John looked at Mary before answering, "Johnny, we have worker's comp insurance. You were hurt on the job, and it's going to cover your medical bills along with part of your living expenses until you're able to work again."

Shaking his head, Johnny was sure that he misheard what John had just said. "Right, like I'm going to get paid for not working. Look, nice try, but even I know that doesn't happen legally."

John laughed, and then understood where his son was coming from. Sitting down next to Johnny, he smiled, "I promise you, it's legal. In fact, I arranged an attorney for you to make sure that everything happens like it's supposed to. There's even a possibility that they'll pay for school if they find out you're not able to be a mechanic anymore."

Johnny shook his head, "That's not necessary; I've got my GED so I don't have to…"

"No Johnny," Mary interrupted, "not high school… college, or even a trade school if you wanted."

Confused he looked between John and Mary before leaning back against the couch. He could hear Ellie coloring on the floor next to him, heard Bobby and Caleb talking softly in the kitchen, and even heard the neighbor across the street Mr. Freemantle mowing his lawn; but for the life of him he couldn't hear his own thoughts. It was as if everything had been either sucked out of his brains, or he had become deaf to them. Finally, he was able to form a thought, but not stop it from leaving his mouth. "I'm not school material."

John and Mary both looked shocked at that statement and had to wonder about it, but were stopped by Bobby's voice at the doorway. "The hell you aren't boy! I've never seen anyone take to learning something the way you do." Turning to the older Winchester's he shook his head, "This kid could find out something faster than anyone I know, and it didn't even have to be a subject that he was familiar with. I've never met anyone who could root out an answer to a question like he can. So kid, if you have the chance to go to school… take it! God knows we need more intelligent people on this planet instead of some of the morons who insist they are."

Mary nodded at Bobby in agreement, she had seen too many people act as if they knew everything but were still too ignorant of the world around them. "Johnny, at least think about it. Even if the tuition isn't paid for from the workman's comp claim, think about going to better yourself and to give Ellie something better." She had meant it as encouragement, but as soon as those last words left her mouth she knew she said the wrong thing.

"Look, everything I do is for Ellie whether you want to believe that or not. If you don't think it's good enough; say so and you won't have to worry about us being underfoot anymore." Johnny said tersely, getting up from the couch. "Come on princess, I think we need to go upstairs for awhile."

They watched him take Ellie by the hand and walk up the stairs, none of them knowing what to say or do. Mary looked at John who seemed as worried as she was and finally asked, "Have we made a mistake in keeping them here?"

John knew what his wife was really asking, it was more of a 'should we have given them more room' or 'have we been pushing too hard' type question, and he didn't have an answer. He only hoped that they could help Johnny see that they needed him as much as he needed them; the problem was the boy was as stubborn as his mother.