Sorry for the sporadic updates. Real life sucks sometimes. Hence we're here. Cathartic, isn't it? Reviews are even sweeter ... ;-)

Trudging through the fallen branches and ice-packed snow was slow-going. Sam picked his way through the wide-spaced forest trees and shivered as the wind picked up once more.

"It's not much farther." Lena offered, glancing back at him. "Just over that ridge."

Sam peered across to where she pointed and saw the forest floor dropping away. He hurried after her and took a deep breath. "So … Morgan's father …?"

Lena suddenly stopped walking and hung her head.

Sam frowned in concern and edged round to try and make out her face in the yellow light from his torch beam. He saw the withheld emotion on her pale face and closed his eyes, groaning softly. "I'm … I'm sorry." Stepping closer to her, Sam reached out a wary hand and touched her shoulder. "It's none of my business. I shouldn't have - "

"Cancer."

"What?"

Lena sighed out a cloud of breath and slowly lifted her head. "He died five months ago." She watched the sorrow that filled Sam's eyes and blinked away her own tears.

"I'm so sorry."

Lena nodded her thanks, "It was hard. I mean … he was ill for so long and we always knew that there was no hope but - " She looked back down and shrugged her heavy shoulders. "It was a relief at first."

Sam took a small step back from her, his heart hammering in his ears.

"No more chemo, no more suffering …" Lena gave a slight laugh and shook her head. "And now there's just this god-awful hole inside of me."

Sam closed his eyes and squeezed his hands into tight fists.

"Shit, I don't know why I'm telling you all of this." Lena observed suddenly, wiping her face and stepping past Sam. "Come on."

He could not stop the warning voices in his head, the almost constant ticking of an invisible clock that taunted him, reminding him that Dean's year was fast disappearing. His feet froze in place beneath him, his legs heavy with sudden weariness. "There's no way out of this one. Not this time." Her voice echoed through his mind and filled his throat with bile.

"Sam?"

It took a moment for him to acknowledge her return and he jumped slightly as she touched his arm.

"Sam?" Lena peered up into his face and shook her head slowly. "What is it?"

"Noth - " Sam cleared his tight throat and forced a thin smile to his lips. "Nothing, let's go." He urged himself forwards and moved past her. "Let's get this done. I'm freezin' my ass off out here."

She was smiling up at him as if nothing had changed. Her large eyes were once again blue and she watched him in interest, humming merrily.

"Morgan?" Dean husked, chancing taking a step closer and edging around the foot end of the bed. "Morgan, honey?"

"Yes?" Morgan nodded, her smile faltering a little and she stopped her steady rocking. "Where's my mommy?"

"Um …" Dean could feel his body trembling with adrenaline and his heart was dancing dizzily within him. "She's gone to get Mr Pickles. Remember?"

Morgan frowned momentarily and then gave a firm nod. "We left him in the car." She uncurled her legs and slowly got to her feet.

Dean held his breath and paused at the end of the bed, watching her warily.

"Cartoons finished?" Morgan asked quietly, climbing back up onto the bed.

Suddenly realizing his defensive pose and the strange fact that he was knife-ready before a five-year-old, Dean relaxed his stance slightly. He watched her looking up at him in interest and he saw something strange in her eyes, almost as if she was studying him. Her half-smile was too mature for her delicate features and the slight tilt of her head betrayed an intelligence that was uneasily familiar. He smiled suddenly and let out a weary sigh. "You've been here all along … haven't you."

"Yes."

Dean nodded slowly, "So why reveal yourself now?"

The smile on Morgan's face grew. "Better odds."

Dean's grip tightened on the hilt of his knife and he willed his smile to stay steady, his breathing calm. "So … who are you?"

"One of many."

"Oh, come on." Dean laughed dryly, "Don't give me that riddle-crap. Just tell me your name."

She shrugged merrily, "My name is Morgan."

"Fine." Dean grated, "Why are you doing this? Why the kids?"

Morgan's smile fell away and she shook her head slowly. With a quiet sob, she looked down at her hands and gave a small shrug. "I just wanted to play."

"What?"

She lifted her head back up and blinked away tears. "They wouldn't play."

Dean snorted a small chuckle and stepped back to rest against the cabinet behind him. "No offense, little sister, but you're kinda freaky."

Morgan frowned up at him. "That's not very nice."

"Truth hurts."

"Yeah …" Morgan nodded slightly, "They told me this is what you were like."

Dean's heart double-flipped and he stood up straight once more. "They?"

"The others." Morgan confirmed, "They said you're mean."

"What?" Dean could not help but laugh, "And this coming from a demon? Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

"Don't laugh at me." Morgan whined, her face tight with emotion.

Dean quickly raised his empty hand, giving a slight nod, "Sorry." He watched her in interest, renewed fear making his legs tremble beneath him. His head span groggily and he was torn; reassured by the small size of the child before him and yet all too familiar with the power contained within her.

"They left me alone out there."

Dean saw the fear and sorrow that filled Morgan's face and frowned in intrigue.

"They told me to wait." Morgan continued, blinking away tears. "But they never came." She gave a small hiccup of a sob and shook her head sadly. "They promised they would come."

"Who?" Dean urged, stepping forward.

"It's all your fault!"

She moved faster than he could have believed and he evaded too late. In a heartbeat she was on him, small hands grabbing at his throat and fingers tearing at the skin of his face. Dean instinctively fought back and managed to shove her clear, his head spinning as he watched her small form land awkwardly on the floor between the beds. For a moment he was stunned, unable to bring himself to defend against what every sense told him was nothing more than a child.

Morgan rolled over onto her hands and knees, panting hard. Her eyes were once again blacker than night and she glared up at Dean.

"Oh god." Dean husked, pulling his phone from his jeans pocket and keying in the speed dial code.

"It'syou!" Morgan growled. "I hate you."

"Tell me about it." Dean sighed. He pressed speaker on his phone and tossed the handset onto Sam's bed before turning his focus back to Morgan and watched her getting to her feet.

Dean lunged for the nearest bed and grabbed the top blanket, he saw Morgan leap for him in a blur of movement and then felt the impact of her small form against his middle. He groaned with the effort it took to simply stay upright and tried to gather the writhing child within the blanket.

"Dean?"

"Sammy!" Dean yelled towards the phone, grunting as a small fist slipped free from his makeshift net and slammed into his jaw.

"Dean!"

"Sammy! Hurry the hell back! It's here!" Dean shouted, struggling with his captive and suddenly losing his balance. "Sammy!"

The 4x4 was almost hidden under fresh snowfall, only it's rear fender and near-side tires visible amid the drift at the edge of the forest. Sam followed Lena down the bank on the opposite side of the road and skidded down the icy snow. He gasped as he watched Lena tumble before him and reached out to try and grab her.

"Shit!" Lena finally came to a stop at the edge of the road and rolled onto her knees.

"You okay?" Sam urged, sliding down towards her.

"Yeah." Lena got to her feet and brushed the snow from her trousers.

Sam scrambled across the shallowing drift and hurried to her side. "Lena?"

"I'm fine." Lena sighed, "Just not as agile as I usually am."

Sam saw her smiling up at him in slight embarrassment and he grinned merrily. "I dunno. I'd give that slalom a 5.9 at least."

"Shut up!" Lena gasped and thumped his arm.

Sam chuckled happily and headed out onto the dark road. "Come on. Let's find that bear."

Lena nodded and headed after him, rubbing at her aching hip and picking a careful way across the icy asphalt. She fumbled in her pocket for her car keys and pointed the remote towards the half buried jeep. The snow-covered vehicle bleeped in response and she met Sam beside the car.

Sam smiled and opened the rear passenger door. He reached inside and grabbed a bedraggled cloth bear from the back seat. "Mr Pickles, I presume?"

Lena glanced back at him from the front of the jeep and nodded in confirmation.

Sam tucked the bear inside his jacket and lifted a small pink rucksack from the floor. Guessing it would contain more of Morgan's valuables, he swung it over his shoulder and retreated from the car.

Lena leaned across the front seats and reached down to grab what remained of her scattered belongings from the foot-well. She then opened the glove-box and jumped slightly as a loud hissing greeted her.

"Lena? Lena, honey, please! Come in!"

Lena reached into the glove-box and grabbed the small radio handset. She hurriedly turned down the volume and glanced back to see Sam waiting patiently beside the rear end of the car..

"Lena, I know you're there. You always take this damned thing with you. Please. Pick up."

Listening to the static for a moment longer, Lena then closed her eyes and pressed the transmit button. "Jerry?" She answered quietly.

"Lena? Oh thank god!"

"Hey, Jerry."

'Lenny, where've you been? Where'd you go?"

"It's a long story." Lena replied quietly.

"It's the kids. Isn't it. You're running away because of the kids."

Lena swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat. "I'm sorry. I had to."

"Where are you, Lenny? Let me help you."

Closing her eyes and leaning back against the front seat, Lena heard the crunching of footsteps in snow and took a deep breath.

"Lena?"

Lena looked up through the open door and saw Sam watching her in confusion. She shrugged slightly and raised the handset to her mouth. "I'm okay, Jerry. I found help."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay … just … be careful, honey. Please."

"I will."

"Fine. I'll call off the search."

Lena laughed slightly, "Yeah, you best do that. Thanks."

"Keep in touch, Lena. Okay?"

"Yeah." Lena agreed and dropped the radio into her lap. She saw the questions in Sam's curious expression and gave another shrug. "Family, huh?"

Sam watched her in uncertainty, his mind racing.

"They insist on the two-way in case I'm out of cellphone range." Lena offered easily. She climbed down from the car, pocketing the radio and the other items she had gathered. She then stopped suddenly and pressed her hand into her side, hissing in pain.

"You okay?" Sam urged, moving towards her.

"Like I said." Lena smiled, steadying her breathing, "I'm not as agile as I once was."

Sam watched in concern as she made her way to the rear of the jeep and opened the back door. He saw her reach inside and hurried round to help her lift a bag down from the storage compartment.

"Thanks." Lena smiled up at him and closed the back door. "I've got all I need. Let's head back."

"Sure." Sam watched her lock up the car and frowned in thought. "It doesn't look too badly damaged." He nodded towards the front of the 4x4. "My brother could probably get it going."

"Yeah?"

Sam nodded, "He's a total grease-monkey."

"Cool." Lena nodded, "Maybe in the morning, huh?"

Watching her cross the road back towards the plowed channels in the bank on the other side, Sam swung her bag alongside Morgan's and hurried after her. He then heard a familiar high-pitched melody and delved into his jacket for his cellphone. "Dean?"

Lena paused at the side of the road and turned back, troubled by the sudden pallor on Sam's face.

"Dean!" Sam urged in a sudden panic.

"What is it?" Lena husked in dread, watching the horror that had filled Sam's eyes. "Sam, what's wrong?"

Sam's hand was shaking as he lowered the phone from his ear. "We have to hurry." He turned towards the forest and adjusted the weight of the bags on his shoulder, sighing in dismay. "Come on. We have tohurry!"

- tbc -