The long way back to Bobby's eventually brought them there. And despite Sam's endless bitching Dean managed not to slap him and dump him on the road. Even after almost eight years on the road his kid brother still managed to push all the right buttons. Their old friend had given up on actively hunting. Once in a while he could still be found in a cemetery at night digging up some spook's grave, but the active demon and monster hunting had slowly given way to a more research minded Bobby Singer. Sam and Dean had never really felt comfortable anywhere but at their old friend's house. Dean still felt the road pulling in him after too much time spent in one place, but the restlessness in him had also given way to something else. He longed for a real home. He loved Sam and Bobby who was like family, but he longed for something more. Something his own. Someone to pass what he knew on to. An heir. Someone other than Sam.

Bobby had attacked them with news of a new hunt the second they stepped through the door. And had then proceeded to grill them about taking so long to get back from their last hunt. That night was spent perusing through old books and fresh news rapports revolving anything supernatural. The dim light from the fireplace illuminated the room and bathed the three men in a soft glow. Across from Dean sat Sam. He's beginning to look more and more like dad. Dean thought with a shadow of melancholy hovering in his mind.

He was slowly beginning to regret never settling down with someone and raising a family. And even more so that Sam hadn't done so either.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x

Friday night found Ben in front of his computer. There was a big party tonight, but he didn't feel like celebrating. His thoughts still hovered around Jonesy's strange and untimely death. There were many things in his life Benjamin Braeden took for granted, but death wasn't one of them. It never was.

He had seen too much for a kid his age to ever be normal again. His deep brown eyes told of a boy who had been robbed of his innocence long ago. His friends saw it too. Most kids at school either looked up to him or avoided him completely. They saw something in him they didn't understand. Only the few kids who remembered having been locked in those cages and seeing the changelings burning could look at him like a friend.

Suddenly his e-mail inbox blinked as a new message popped up.

From Kate.

"Hey, found an article about Jonesy. Thought you might want to see it.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who doesn't think that Ryan Humphrey's parties are key events in your social lives. XD"

Ben couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. Trust Kate to only do what she wanted with no regards to what others thought. He grinned and sent back a short reply after reading through the article about Jonesy. It wasn't much more than a sensational driven obituary. Most of the stuff written about him was either a direct lie or crazy speculations about his supposed schizophrenia and how he deliberately electrocuted himself. Ben huffed and pushed away from the computer.

He knew something was wrong. He just knew it.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x

In the living room sat Lisa Braeden consumed by her own worries. Her world had done a complete 180 since the brothers' visit all those years ago. Since then Lisa had talked to Dean Winchester a couple of times, but had never really kept in contact. Now she sat in the living room with her cell phone in front of her. Her mind was a flurry of conflicting thoughts. She didn't really want the brothers here because that could only mean one thing. Trouble. She had called them a couple of times over the last years whenever she had concerns. Whenever I think I see a ghost, more accurately. Ever since their visit she had been more attentive to things around her. Partly for her own sake and for her son. She vowed that she would never let anything like what happened with the changelings happen to him again. And if she ever caught wind of anything potentially threatening she promised herself that she would swallow her own guilt and call Dean. The death at Ben's school had her more than a little concerned. She had noticed the somber mood her son had been in all week since the news of Jonsey's death. She knew they knew each other. Ben always liked the guy. Her son had always been a good judge of character. He didn't take bullshit and he wasn't afraid to be himself. Unlike so many teenagers she thought with a bittersweet smile.

It still happened every now and then that she regretted never telling him the truth. He was her son after all. He deserved to know.

But still, she was convinced that she had made the right choice back then.

And the choice she was about to make now wasn't going to easy to live with either, but she knew something was wrong. She just felt it.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x

Familiar tones from Deep Purple rang out in the silent room. The two brothers slept in blissful ignorance until the familiar song shook Dean from his slumber. Still lost in the remnants of a good dream he couldn't help the relaxed smile covering his face. His hair stuck out from his head like a halo as he grabbed the phone before his brother awoke. Sam hadn't been sleeping well the last couple of weeks. Dean noticed nightmares, but Sam being Sam refused to talk about them. Dean decided that it was better to play hard to get and let Sam come to him when he was ready to talk.

"Hello?" He said into the reciever as he ran a hand over his face?

"Were you sleeping?" Lisa Braeden's clear voice called out.

"Lisa?"

"Well who did you think it was?"

"Don't know…" Dean shrugged uncomfortably and then thought better about it and smiled. "Were your ears just ringing?"

"What?"

"I was just in the middle of the best dream. Lets see… You were there along with Pamela Anderson-"

"Dean."

"Yeah?"

"Please be serious."

"Why does everybody keep telling me that?" He wondered as he absently scrubbed his head and got to his feet. He scoured the room with a focused gaze. There's gotta be coffee somewhere.

"I have to ask you a favor."

He stilled and listened a little more intently as he noticed a slight tremor in her voice. "What is it?"

He heard her take a deep breath. "Something's happening at Ben's school."

"What?"

"I don't know, but it just feels….weird."

"You think something's wrong?" He had barely kept in contact with Lisa and even less with her son, but he knew worry when he heard it. And he knew better than to pass it off as paranoia.

"The janitor at Ben's school died about a week ago and something just feels…wrong."

"Yeah… OK. You want me and Sam to stop by?" His heart jumped once in his chest at the thought of seeing her and her son again.

"No!" She laughed at the slightly frantic decline."No. That's fine. I would actually prefer if Ben didn't know you were here."

Dean felt his heart drop in his chest. He frowned and held back the argument that he kinda' sorta'...ok really missed her and Ben. "Alright." He swallowed to get rid of the lump in his throat. "We can be there in a day or so."

"Great."

Dean nodded even though he knew the gesture was useless.

"Dean, I… I'm sorry. It's just easier-"

"Don't say another word. It's fine. I get it. We'll do some research and get in, do the job and get out."

He heard her sigh in relief across the line. "That would be really great, thanks. I owe you one."

"Well we take visa and MasterCard-" Dean added with a grin.

"Oh. Of course! Uhh… If you want to get paid we can arrange somethin-"

"Lisa. Lisa. It was a joke." He huffed out and offered a laugh to lighten the mood.

"Oh… right." He heard her huff back. The uncomfortable since stretched and made Dean fidgety. "So uhh…-"

"Yeah. I'm gonna…. go." Dean waved his arm even though he knew perfectly well she couldn't see.

"Right…-"

"We'll call you when the job's done."

"Sure."

"Great."

"Great…."

He sighed and frowned in thought of what to say. He absently picked at the tear in the wallpaper next to the front door.

"So uhh… bye."

He jumped. "Oh yeah. Bye." He hung up before another word was uttered and released a big sigh.

"I always figured goodbyes with the phone-sex ladies were awkward, but I never thought they were that bad." Sam laughed from the bed.

"Bite me, Barbie." Dean bit back as he stomped to the bathroom for some privacy.

The door slammed and left Sam to his own. "Who was it?" He yelled through the closed door.

"Lisa." Came the muffled reply from behind the door. Sam frowned in confusion.

"Lisa as in Lisa Braeden?" He sounded disbelieving.

The sound of water running emanated from the bathroom. "Yeah." Dean yelled back.

"Huh. What did she want?"

The water turned of and Dean stomped back out. "She's concerned about a death a Ben's school. Asked us to check it out." Dean shrugged. No big deal.

Yeeeeaaaahhh… keep telling yourself that, big boy.

"Oh. So are we going to see them?" Sam pretended to watch the TV instead of the close study of his brother. But it didn't really help with Dean's mood that his brother was always so concerned about his love life.

Dean paused in the movement of putting on a tee shirt. His back was turned, but Sam could almost imagine his brother's face falling. "No."

Why not? "Did she ask us not to come?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because I say so, Sammy."

"She did, didn't she?"

"Sam-"

"Unbelievable!"

"Just drop it."

"No!" Sam rushed of the bed and stomped around the room.

Dean sighed and leaned his head back. "Why not?" He whined out.

"She can't just do this to you, Dean."

Dean turned back to stare at his brother. "Uhh yes she can, Sam." He raised an eyebrow.

"You're just gonna accept this?"

"Accept what?" He frowned.

"That she won't even let you see Ben-"

"Ben is her son, not mine. It is perfectly within her power to forbid me to see him." Dean stated as if it didn't bother him one bit. He waved his arms to his sides and stood his ground. Sam lost a little of his fight and hunched back on the bed.

"Yeah… well it sucks." He pouted.

"Since when are you so gung ho about spending time with some kid?"

Sam looked at Dean with his big puppy eyes and Dean could almost feel his composure slipping. "He's not just a kid to either of us, is he?"

Dean cleared his throat uncomfortable with the subject and turned back to picking out some clothes that didn't smell too bad.

Sam sensing his brother's discomfort changed the subject the best he could. "So uhh… when are we leaving?" He deliberately lightened his voice and tried to act casually.

"Ten minutes. So quit wining, get up and get dressed. And for god's sake take a shower 'cause, dude, you reek." Dean accompanied the accusation with a judgmental finger.

"Whatever, jerk!" Sam flung a pillow at his big brother which he expertly dodged.

"Get moving, bitch."

Sam huffed and grinned, but he couldn't quite get past the unfairness of it all. Not that he would ever tell Dean just how much he really regretted that his brother never settled down. Not that he would ever tell Dean how much Sam thought about how much better their lives would be if they had a real home. Not that he ever would….well maybe some day.......