Disclaimer- I unfortunately do not own Dean or Sam... I wish I did though...

Many thanks to my totally awesome beta, Abby =]

I'm just a step away
I'm just a breath away
Losing my faith today
Falling off the edge today

I am just a man
Not superhuman
I'm not superhuman
Someone save me from the hate

It's just another war
Just another family torn
Falling from my faith today
Just a step from the edge
Just another day in the world we live

I need a hero to save me now
I need a hero, save me now
I need a hero to save my life
A hero will save me just in time

-Hero, Skillet

Dean stared at the little girl. The little girl stared right back from her seat on the hood of the Impala. Her large blue eyes watched his every move as he paced back and forth in front of the vehicle. While her crying had been reduced to a small sniffle now and again, she still had a scared look in her eye, like she was still trying to figure out if she could trust him or not. It wasn't a look he was unused to; he got it frequently from other hunters, but it looked out of place on the face of a toddler.

This was an improvement, however, from the shaking and crying that had started when he first tried to pick her up off the cold, muddy floor of the ally. She had shrunken away from him when he had bent over to lift her into his arms, but it was November and the fall night air was chilly enough as it was, and the ratty Barbie nightgown she was wearing was thin. Part of him wanted to put her back down, in fear of scaring her more, but he had no doubt the freezing cold of the concrete would give her pneumonia if she sat on it for much longer.

So he wrapped her small body in his jacket best he could and walked back towards the bar.

Only there was one problem. The owner had apparently figured he was getting no more customers after Dean left and had closed up and departed for the night. And nothing else was open. Nor were there any cars, or any form of intelligent life that he could see.

It was just him, and the small scared child in his arms. So he placed her on the hood of his car as he debated what to do.

They had been that way ever since.

Sammy had called a few times, no doubt flipping a shit in their hotel room.

But Dean hadn't answered, knowing exactly what his little brother would tell him to do.

He should take her to a police station, or a hospital and hand her over to the people who were qualified to deal with the situation.

But for some reason, that solution didn't sit well in his gut. Call it hunter's instinct, but there was more to the situation then what met the eye. Something about this girl told him she needed help. His kind of help.

On the other hand, Dean was quite aware that it could be weeks, months even, before he could figure out what connected the small girl to the world of the supernatural. Hunting with a baby was difficult under the best of circumstances. But hunting with an emotionally and physically abused three-year-old? Well, Dean guessed that was near impossible.

Besides, Sam would throw a hissy fit.

But its not like he could just leave her.

Sighing, he knelt down before her. She looked at him cautiously, but didn't shy away. He took that as a good sign. "Hey, Princess!" He said with a smile. "My name's Dean, what's yours?"

She stared at him for a long time. He began to wonder if she wasn't going to answer his question. He was about to give up hope when he heard her whisper softly. So softly, he almost didn't catch what she said.

"Isabelle?" He repeated. She nodded her blonde head. "Ok, Isabelle. I need you to listen to me ok?" Another nod. "Its getting really late, and I'm getting sleepy, so I'm gonna take you with me, but I don't want you to be scared, ok? Cause I'm not going to hurt you, alright?"

Isabelle nodded slowly, and only flinched slightly this time when Dean lifted her to him.

He buckled her into the backseat, silently praying that he wouldn't get stopped by a cop. The last thing he needed was to get a ticket for driving a baby without a carseat. So, for probably the first time in his life, Dean Winchester abided by the speed limit all the way back to the hotel.

Isabelle had fallen asleep about halfway back. Dean had to admit, it had been absolutely adorable to watch her in the rearview mirror. She had fought against the tiredness valiantly. But in the end, her little eyes finally closed and her breathing slowed.

Dean got out of the car as quietly as he could, before opening the back door and lifting her gently into his arms. She tensed slightly, and he sighed. Even in her unconscious state, she was still distrustful of others. He rubbed her back soothingly and rocked her back and forth gently until she relaxed against him and wrapped her little arms around his neck.

He stood there for a moment, slightly surprised at the warm feeling he got in the pit of his stomach. It was kind of like the feeling he got when he looked at Sam, a mixture of protectiveness and pride and something he was unable to identify.

It kind of made him uncomfortable.

Shaking it off, he opened the hotel door.

"Where the HELL have you been, Dean!" He cursed inwardly when he heard his brother's angry shout. He felt Isabelle jump as she woke with a start. She watched his brother with wide, fear-filled blue eyes, as she held onto Dean tightly.

Sam, oblivious, ranted on. "You call me telling me you're on your way home, and then I hear a yell and then you say you'll call me back and you never did, and I'm stuck here without a car, and god-knows-what could have been happening to you and- is that a kid?" He stopped yelling abruptly, finally noticing the terrified child in his elder brother's arms.

"Yea, Sam, it is, and if she wasn't traumatized enough, I'm pretty sure you just scared her even more!" He responded in a gruff voice, pushing past the younger man.

"Its ok, Princess," He said to her softly as he placed her on the bed. "Sammy is just being silly, He's not going to hurt you either, ok?" The child nodded but refused to let go of the front of his shirt, her wide eyes still focused on the younger Winchester.

Dean glared at his little brother. "Nice going, Mary Poppins!" He told him smartly. "I finally got her to calm down a bit, and then you had to go scare her again!" Sam at least had the common sense to look a bit guilty.

"Where did she come from?" He asked softly as Dean turned back to tend to the little girl.

"The alley beside the bar." He answered vaguely, hoping Sam would get the hint and drop the subject, at least till she was sleeping.

He didn't.

"What? You just found her? You can't just take her, Dean! We have to take her to the cops!"

"Shut up, Sam!" Dean growled. The entire time his brother had been talking, Isabelle's grip on Dean had gotten tighter and tighter. "We will talk about it later!"

"For now," He said, his voice getting softer as he addressed the tiny person before him. "How about we get you cleaned up? What do you think, sweetie? And then you can go back to sleep, ok?"

Isabelle nodded again, her blue eyes watching Sam warily as Dean carried her to the small bathroom.

He started to run the water for a bath but when he saw exactly how dirty she was, he changed to a shower. She was covered, from head to toe, in dirt. Her feet were caked with mud, and her hair was so oily it looked like it belonged in the fifty's. He washed her hair twice with shampoo and then moved on to help her wash her body.

He was washing her back when he saw them. At first, he thought it was some stubborn dirt that wouldn't wash off, but then he took a closer look.

"Oh my god."

They were bruises. They were all over her. On her back, her stomach, on her arms and her legs. And on her right arm there were a few small round scars that looked eerily like cigarette burns.

Dean felt his stomach roll as his anger level skyrocketed. What kind of parent could do that to her? What kind of person could do something like that to any child? Isabelle watched him with curious eyes as he tried to even his breathing. She was such a beautiful child. With her deep blue eyes and her banana curls. She was obviously smart and very observant. She had a smile that lit up her whole face, and made her eyes twinkle, and the worlds most adorable giggle, both which he discovered while washing the bottom of her feet where she was apparently very ticklish. Despite her original nervousness, she seemed to understand now that he was not going to hurt her. And now, since her eyes were no longer filled with fear, they held this innocence that was unlike anything he had ever seen. Why would someone want to destroy that?

He took a few deep breaths and went back to the task at hand, trying to force a smile onto his face.

He was pleasantly surprised at the end of her shower when, after he turned off the water, she actually smiled up at him and reached for him to lift her out of the tub. While she no longer flinched at his touch, she had yet to initiate it either. He took this as a sign of improvement. At the same time it worried him. It made him wonder if he was the first person to show her any amount of kindness if her three short years. That thought alone made him hold her closer as he wrapped her tightly in a towel and dried her off.

He was sitting on the toilet seat, drying her hair when something else caught his eye. It was a small red birthmark located on the back of her neck. Whilst that seems quite ordinary, the shape of the mark made it very clear this was no ordinary blemish. The shape was distinct and very recognizable.

It was a cross.

A/N: I'll give you a cookie if you write a review!

Seriously!

Chocolate Chip!

=]