"Dad? What's that Dad?" Sammy walked beside his Dad. Asking a question every other step.

"Bird." John answered them all with as few words as possible.

"What kind?"

Dean pulled the strap from his backpack tighter on his shoulder and shook his head. His brother asked question about all Dad's answers. Dean never asked, only answered.

"There are too kinds of bird kiddo. Loud and..."

"Tasty" Dean laughed with his father.

Sammy smiled. He was looking forward to this. His friend David, from school, had gone camping with the Scouts. There had been singing and a camp fire and they had stayed up all night telling stories. David had said it was lame. Sammy knew it wouldn't be like that tonight, but he could pretend for a little bit.

"What's that Dad?" Sammy pointed.

They stopped about two hours later. John had waited until the burn in his bad leg was verging on pain. "Not too close to the trees." He dropped his pack. "The weather being this dry, whole damn lot could catch light" he wiped his arm over his forehead.

"Yes Sir" Sammy had the cooking equipment, Dean had one of the tents.

Dean took a look round the area and choose a spot for the other tent. They had brought the Morgan's tent. The other family would join them later, probably after dark.

"Dean, you help me with this tent. Sammy, firewood." John started to unpack his tent. Sammy headed off, not quite out of sight.

Dean stretched his back. "Ow! Son of a bitch" he slapped his arm. "Damn bugs".

It was going to be a long day.

Motel / Camp site

"Dexter, Debby" Harry called them to the kitchen table, where Doris sat. / "Dean, Sammy" John called.

"You have to know something" Harry looked strained / Picking the words was hard, "Mrs Morgan is going to die" John let it out quickly.

"No." Debby knew deep down, something was wrong / Dean nodded, "How?", he put a hand on his brothers shoulder.

Doris held a hand each of Debby and Dexter "The treatments aren't working. I'm not going to get better" / "Cancer" John answered.

Dexter took his hand from his mothers and folded his arms around his body. Debby held her mother's hand tighter. Trying to stop her from falling / Sammy wiped at his eye and took a deep breath.

"You just need to take another medicine." Debby begged. / "Is there a spell? Or a wish that can ….?" Sammy pleaded, stopping before finishing the sentence.

"We can't fight this" Harry put his arm round his wife. / "No. We can't." John shook his head.

"We have time to say goodbye" Doris smiled weakly at her children and leaned into her husband. "It's more than others get" / "How long?" Dean asked.

The Morgan's took just under three hours to reach the campsite. Dex and Harry were a little ways ahead. Debby hadn't left her mother's side the whole walk. Numb from the news. She walked without asking questions or taking an interest in her surroundings.

"Why is Debs so quiet?" Dex asked

"People deal with bad news in different ways" Harry sped up a little. Not sure he had answers that would make sense. The boy was already motherless once. Twice was just too much. Harry stopped. He was in cop mode. Distancing himself from the pain."I'm going to need you to be strong. Help me look after Mom and Debs"

Dex let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I'll try"

"Thank you son" Harry ruffled Dex's hair. "We're nearly there"

"How do you know?"

"Look up"

Smoke drifted through the tops of the trees in the dwindling day. It would be dark soon.

Sitting in a semi circle, John, Harry, Doris, Debs, Sammy, Dean and Dex, watched as Sammy cooked up the last batch of bacon and eggs. He tipped it onto Dean's plate. His second helping. Everyone else was still picking and their first. Debby hadn't eaten anything and from what Dean was pretending not to notice, Mrs Morgan couldn't eat.

"Thanks dude" Dean shovelled up the scrambled egg, from plate to fork to mouth.

Sammy shook his head. He leaned over to Debs "My brother is a pig"

Debs looked up and looked down at her food again. She both turned their food on the plate anti-clockwise.

"Debby. Try to eat something Sweetheart" Doris worried over her daughter.

"Not hungry"

"John. You have a budding chef in the family!" Harry set his half finished food at his feet. Shuffling it behind the folding chair he sat on. His jolly tone didn't match his face.

"Good job kiddo" John favoured his son with a smile. He used a slice of buttered bread to mop up the last of the egg. "Put the pans over there" John pointed.

Sammy nodded at Dean, who gathered the pans from around the fire. He picked up a toasting fork and handed it to Dex with bread. "Stick this near the fire." Dean said. "When it goes black, swear, don't make eye contact and start another" he picked up what he could and followed his brother to the outskirts of the camp.

Dex stabbed the slice of bread onto the fork. Held it over the flames, turning it a few times.

The toast caught light at the end of the fork. Dexter shook it off and swore under his breath. He reached over for another slice. He watched it more carefully this time. Looking towards his sister he saw a edge of a smile. When the toast turned the right shade of brown, he held it up for Dean to see.

Dean turned them so Doris couldn't see him talking, whispering he said "For your Mom, idjit." He rolled his eyes. "Here is the plan, swap it for her plate. Sit next to Debs and nudge her, gently. She'll eat, then you eat"

Dex nodded.

"Any questions?" Dean asked, as Dex started to ask the many questions he had, Dean held his hand up. "Later"

Dex sat between his Mom and sister, taking the plate and fork from her. He handed her the toast. "Can I have your Mom? I'm starving."

"Of course Honey." She smiled and bit into the toast.

"Wheres mine?" Debby asked.

"In the fire" He pushed all the bacon to his sisters plate and took all the eggs on his. Debs looked up "But you hate eggs"

"You like bacon" Dex started to eat.