Both brothers then got out of the car. There was no trace of the three strange men in front of the house but Dean noticed that the curtains of one of the windows in the top storey moved. It was probably Lucy or Lauren peering through to see what was going on outside. Then he saw that it was Lauren. He raised one hand and waved at her and Lauren waved back at him. Dean couldn't suppress a smile. He still thought about what Sam had said in that café. Lucy had done the same for Lauren as he had done for Sammy. She had tried everything she could to protect her little sister.

He turned back to Sam but he was not there anymore. Confused, he turned around and saw him already walking up the stairs towards the front door.

The door was opened from the inside and the smiling face of Lauren greeted them. Dean jogged the last few paces to join his brother.

"Didn't I tell you not to open the door unless we say so?" Dean tried to make his face look serious and stern but Lauren only grinned.

"Lauren!" That was Lucy's frightened voice coming from the kitchen.

"It's ok, it's us! Dean and Sam!" Sam shouted back and stepped in. Dean followed closely, shoving Lauren with him.

Lucy jumped across the corner, the rifle in her hand ready to shoot. Dean raised his hand as if in shock, then gave her a taunting look.

"I thought we were over this…" he joked and Lucy blushed.

"I'm sorry, guys! Old habits die hard, remember?"

"Just don't hurt anyone with this!" Sam said and walked over to her, taking the rifle from her.

"Your safety should be on all times…" Dean said in a patronizing way.

Lucy gave him the finger. "This is my safety…" She bent the finger twice. "Don't worry, I've used a gun before."

Dean opened his mouth again but Lucy raised her hand. "And I'm a good shot, too! Like I said, don't worry. It makes me crazy when you do that…" She grinned when he rolled his eyes. But even though she seemed quite relaxed, both Dean and Sam knew that she was just playing a role to make Lauren feel safe. Sam watched Dean and Lucy exchanging glances and looked away, jaw and fists clenches. He had to take in a deep breath.

"Sam, do you want some macaroni and cheese? I left some for you…" Lauren suddenly said and Lucy turned to her, her face clearly showing her happiness about the recent development of her sister. The little girl had grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him towards the kitchen without waiting for him to even answer her question.

"Yeah right, you saved some? You didn't let me eat my share!" Lucy joked. Dean and Lucy followed them and sat down at the big wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. Lauren paced through the room to get a plate, a fork and of course, the food and placed it all in front of Sam. The brown-haired man had to smile. Lucy had sat down next to him and watched her little sister suddenly being so lively and happy.

She leaned in to Sam and whispered into his ear: "What did you do with my little sister?" When she retreated, the smile that was on her face suddenly wiped all the negative thoughts and energy away from Sam's already troubled mind.

"I didn't do anything, I promise." Sam smiled. "But if you want some…" he pushed the plate in her direction but she declined with a smile.

"No thanks, but I'm not hungry."

Sam held her gaze for a moment. She sure looked like she was hungry and it was clearly visible that she hadn't eaten properly in a long time but Sam knew the feeling. He hadn't been able to eat properly after Jess' death and after he'd been on the road with Dean. He had grown thin, too, but with Lucy, it didn't look healthy anymore.

While Sam ate, Lucy made coffee for the three of them and a smoothie for Lauren which she gladly took. She began to dance through the house and whenever she whirled past the kitchen, Sam thought he saw tears in Lucy's smiling big green eyes.

For long minutes everyone was silent. After Sam had finished eating, he exchanged a long glance with his brother and Dean understood. He had been hoping to get some of the mac'n'cheese as well. He was hungry. He was always hungry.

"Lauren!" he said with a cheerful voice. "Why don't you show me your playground? We could play a little…what about Hide and Seek?"

Lauren's face lit up like a candle in the dark. She bounced up and down like a young puppy waiting for its owner to play with it. But she waited for her older sister to give her approval.

"So, Lucy, what do you say?" Dean asked, smiling.

With a beaming face, Lucy nodded but she couldn't take her eyes off of her sister. Dean still watched her and Lauren still waited for an answer.

"Yeah, sure! You two go outside and have a good time!" Lauren bolted out of the room when she heard it. "And you watch her, ok?" she said to Dean who nodded.

"Sure thing! I'm good at…that! Watching over kids…" Dean gave a short laugh and looked over to Sam.

His brother smiled back. "Yeah, you always took good care of me."

Lucy gave him a sideway glance and frowned. The smile Sam gave his brother was genuinely sincere but she felt that there was more, something she could not possibly even begin to understand. But she kept quiet and watched Dean leave the kitchen.