Sorry I wasn't as fast as usual, kind of hit a block.

Hopefully I can move past it...

- Sam's POV -

"I'm gonna kill her!" Dean growled as we peered through the window of Lisa's house.

I sighed. "Why?"

"She made me freak out and haul ass back here for nothing! They're fine!" He ground his teeth as he watched Lisa bend over the dining room table to help Ben with some homework.

"Dean, you're the one who took it to mean something." He shot me a dark glare. "Look, I'm not blaming you for caring and taking it as a serious threat, that was very wise on your part. But you have to remember, Cas never said anything about Diana being a psychic. There was never a guarantee that what she saw was true. I mean, she said that she'd seen a lot of things. I know Bobby gave her some of Chuck's books. Maybe she just read about them and had nightmares."

Dean ignored me, his jaw locked, glaring through the window at Ben and Lisa. I sighed and tentatively approached his sore spot.

"Dean, are you angry that you were misled or are you frustrated that you can't go in there?"

Rolling his eyes, he turned his back on me and started to walk back towards the car. I glanced back at the source of his heartache, then followed him out of the yard and across the street.

"Dean," I called, stopping him before he got in the car. He turned to me, annoyed.

"What?"

"Why won't you talk to me, man? I know that you miss them. I know that you're hurting. I'm your brother. You can confide in me."

He nearly blew a gasket. "How many times do we have to go through this? I don't wanna talk!" He threw open the door, fell into the driver's seat and slammed it shut again.

I wiped my hands over my face, exasperated. I desperately wanted to help him, to let him know that I was here for him, but he wouldn't let me. I didn't know what more to do. For a moment, I felt the desire to be able to just go to a home and curl up in bed and decide that I would approach it again tomorrow because I would have no reason to believe there wouldn't be a tomorrow. I gave him another minute to cool down before getting in the car again. When I closed the door, he didn't move.

I looked up and, in the fading twilight, I could see tears pricking the corners of my big brother's eyes.

"You're right," he sniffed, trying to hold back the tears and prevent his voice from wavering. "I miss them... God, Sammy, I miss them so much."

He placed the heels of his hands over his eyes, pressing down. When he removed his hands again, he inhaled deeply and blinked out the windshield at the house he used to share with Lisa and Ben. We sat in silence for a moment, before he spoke again.

"I get it, you know," he glanced at me, "how much you want a normal life? I get it... I had it, for a little while. And it was great." The next pause dragged on as memories made his eyes misty again. "But when I tried, they came back for me. The monsters and demons. And I got dragged back into it, kicking and screaming... And Lisa told me she couldn't just sit home and wait for me, worrying that I might not come back this time... And she was right... That's no life... So I left... And merely because I cared for them, their lives were put in jeopardy. Again... And now they don't even remember me..." He turned his gaze away from the house, wincing, then brought his eyes back up to me. "This is it for me, Sammy... I'm a shell of a man... And all I have left is hunting..."

"Dean, that's not all-"

He held up a hand, stopping me. "Yes. It is. Because I'm not gonna let this ruin your chance at the life you want. Soon as we get our shit together with this dumbass war between heaven and hell bleeding into our world, you are done. You're going to go get a house and a dog and a girl and you're gonna be happy. Got it? I'm talking kids and Little League and so many Christmas dinners and quiet nights with beer, you're going to get fat and old and all that mane of yours is gonna fall out and you're gonna have grandkids and great grandkids and still be having old people sex with your perfect wife because you deserve it, Sammy! And if it's the last thing I do, you're gonna get it!"

I just blinked at him, speechless. He knew I would never leave him, but he wanted so much for me to be happy, he let go of that grudge he'd held since I left for college and had begun to force the picket fence life I wanted, but knew I could never have. There was just no way. But I didn't want to argue anymore, so I just nodded and let him have his way.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "Garth," he barked into the receiver. "Hey, how are you?... Fine... Listen, I need a favor. There's this single mom and her kid that might be in danger and I need you to post someone here to watch them for us while we go deal with something else..." He gave garth the address and thanked him, then hung up and began to head back to the lair.

As we drove down the highway, headlights winking out as people went home to their families, I wondered if Dean would ever get his spirit back. I didn't believe he was a shell of a man. A broken man, sure, but not a shell. I just hoped that someday, something would happen to remind him of who he was and reignite that spark in his eyes that I used to admire and aspire to have when I was a kid. I made a vow to myself, just the latest in probably a thousand like it, to never leave the life unless he came with me. We were all each other had and he wasn't getting rid of me. We'd both made a lot of mistakes and I had let him down, I knew, but he still loved me, and I him. We were family. I would never leave him alone. Ever.

We finally got back late two nights later. Dean seemed pretty normal again, talking about how hungry he was when we pulled up. We stumbled down into the main room and found Charlie sitting alone at the table, hands folded, a smile plastered on her face, and two large plates of food in front of her, waiting for us. We both dove for the food and moaned softly when we took our first bites. After a few moments, Charlie still hadn't said anything.

"You okay, Charlie?" I asked around my mouthful of food. She nodded with that smile still glued to her face. Dean and I exchanged glances, then shrugged and continued eating. When we were finished, we pushed the plates away and sighed, contentedly. Charlie blinked up at us impassively.

"How are you both feeling?" she asked pleasantly.

"Well, I just had some awesome food, so I'm pretty good," Dean smiled. "You make that?"

Charlie shook her head, then moved her gaze to me.

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm okay... What's up with you?"

"Well, I have something to tell you."

"Okay..." Dean and I said in unison, leaning forward suspiciously.

"Diana's gone."

We blinked at her. "She's what?"

"Gone."

"That's what I thought you said." Dean threw his hands up in the air. "What is it with this chick? C'mon, Charlie! You were supposed to be watching her!"

"I was!" she protested, the pleasant facade evaporating from her face. "I've been watching her the whole time! But I'm not a creep, okay? I wasn't following her to the bathroom or anything!"

I exhaled, pinching the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. "What happened?"

"Well I left the room to go to the bathroom and as I was leaving, I heard her answer her phone. Then when-"

"Her what?" Dean demanded.

"Her cell phone, Dean," I sighed. "She would obviously have one and why would we take it from her?"

"Anyway," Charlie continued, "when I came out of the bathroom, I heard a car. I race outside and she's gone and so is my car."

"When was this?" I groaned, making a mental note to throw Diana in the dungeon. An unwelcome mental image of her in chains and nothing else entered my head and I had to shake it away quickly, lest it continue.

"Yesterday morning."

"Shit," Dean growled. "Do you have any idea where she went?"

Charlie looked offended. "Of course I do! I know how to track a damn cell phone! God!"

"You got an address?" I asked. She nodded. "All right, let's go."

- Diana's POV -

(The previous morning)

I was in the library, surrounded by books, laptop open, researching more folk lore, mythology, anything I could find that might help me figure more out about what I was, where I came from, and, most importantly, how to control my power. Thinking back on the bits and pieces I could remember of my black outs and the terrifying experience with Crowley, I figured that intense concentration was key. I was focused on nothing more than channelling and manipulating what was being used against me.

I was concentrating so hard, racking my brain for any specific feelings, other than pain, that I could associate with the reflection thing, I didn't even notice Charlie leave the room. I jumped when something on my thigh buzzed. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I answered without even thinking.

"Hello?"

"Diana? Oh thank god! It's Kara."

I sat up straighter, shocked at hearing from her, concerned as to why. "Kara? Are you all right? You sound upset."

"Diana, I need your help! I've messed up real bad and I have no one to turn to!" she sniffled. "You were alway so good to me. Please, I need you."

"I'm on my way."

I hung up and, without thinking, grabbed the keys on the table and ran.

When I finally reached the address Kara had texted me, I had to take some deep breaths in the car to calm myself down before going in. Inside, I expected my friend sobbing on a second or third-hand couch, buried in a pile of tissues and candy wrappers, possibly physically hurt, possibly pregnant, possibly mentally unstable, definitely a mess. What I found was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

"Surprise!" rang out several voices when I walked through the door, making my breath stop and my heart race. My eyes wide, I realized that I was surrounded by my foster kids.

"What's going on?" I gasped, still taken aback. Kara giggled and jumped up and down, clapping.

"It's a reunion and an early birthday party!" she squealed, running to squeeze the life out of me.

"You-you guys all came here? For my birthday? Which isn't for another three months?" They all nodded with wide grins. With everything that had happened to me in the last few weeks, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and love for them at that moment. These misfits who were at the foster home with me and helped me when I was at my darkest were coming back again when I was in another scary place, even though they had no clue how much I needed them. My eyes began to fill with tears as the closest thing I had to family enveloped me in a tight group hug and, for a moment, I felt like I had a home again.

For the next 24 hours, I was able to completely forget about the Winchesters, monsters, demons, angels, or ancient powers created by gods. I just spent time with my family. We played games and talked for hours, each of my kiddos sharing their story about how they grew up, whether or not they got adopted before graduating, and where they were now. Even a couple of the babies came, eight and ten when I left them, now thirteen and fifteen. We all dissolved into tears several times and laughed so hard, our abdomens were sore, and everything was wonderful, until they found me.

The door was kicked in with a loud bang. Everyone screamed, several of us jumping to our feet, as Dean, Sam, and Charlie barged in, guns drawn. They froze when they saw us and glanced at each other, confused. Charlie tucked her gun away, pulling out a bottle of holy water and throwing it on all of us. The others yelled again, shocked.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

"What are you doing here?" Dean snapped.

"Diana, you know these people?" one of the guys around my age, Jake, asked, moving in front of some of the others, sneering at the Winchesters.

"Yes, they're my friends," I told him. I glared at the boys. "Put the guns away! They're clean!" The guys slowly, cautiously tucked their guns away.

"Who are they?" Sam asked softly, appraising them all.

"Sam, Dean, Charlie, this is... Well... This is my family..."

What do you think? How are the Winchesters and foster kids gonna take to each other?

Let me know your thoughts...