A half hour later and the very random crew is huddled around the kitchen table, the kids on one side and adults on the other, eating dinner. Sam checked on Derek like he had to and built a few things out of Legos with the young kid. He found himself really enjoying his time with the quiet child who happens to be quite smart. Derek had a huge falling out with Lou over her decision to hunt later in life and didn't even attend their burial for her when she died. Sam could never understand how a sibling could be so disconnected with another and he still holds a grudge against Derek, a big one, but at the age of four it's hard to stay angry with the little guy when he hadn't done anything wrong yet.

Elizabeth laughs at the little girls as they awkwardly attempt to eat their slices with wet nails, fingers sticking out every which way as they hold their pizza. She wasn't able to get anything new out of them while they played beauty parlor, but she found herself having fun anyways. It felt good to have these carefree times back, even for just a little bit. Plus, just like her mother, she always had an easy way with kids and found them to be fun. They make her forget about adulthood temporarily and she welcomes that opportunity.

"Hey, Sam. Hit me," Dean requests of his brother while holding out his plate. Sam drops a new slice on it and Dean takes it back happily.

"We met a Sam today," Lizzy tells the group after hearing the name. "Except he goes by Sammy. He's a new kid. He's in second grade."

"Was he a nerd?" Dean asks with a mouthful of pizza, earning him a patented bitch-face from his brother.

"No," Lou says defensively to him with a narrow-eyed glare. "He was nice."

"Was he cute?" Elizabeth pushes with a grin.

"No!" Lou shouts, her cheeks growing rosy.

"Lou likes him," Lizzy casually admits while concentrating on her food, making her friend turn full-blown red.

"No I don't!" Lou shouts, whipping her head in Lizzy direction with an angered face.

"Yes you do!" Lizzy calls her out. "You told me at lunch you like him."

Under the table, Elizabeth grabs Sam's hand briefly, looking to him and hoping he's taking this moment for all that it is. The sad grin let her know he is. Sam's heart fills with the idea that Lou was talking about him way back when, already liking him.

"He was just nice to us," Lou tries to explain away. "That's all."

"Whatever Louie," Lizzy groans, knowing her friend is lying.

"And you're the one who keeps talking about his brother," Lou accuses. Dean's eyes grow wide as he looks happily and cockily over at Elizabeth.

"Yeah 'cause I think what he did at recess was cool, but I don't like him," Lizzy honestly answers as Elizabeth fights not to laugh.

"What?" Dean loudly asks her. "Why not?"

"He's too old."

She couldn't hold it back any longer. Elizabeth busts out laughing as Dean gives her the evil eye. Every now and then she picks on him for being over four years older than her and Lizzy's words resonate way too much with their relationship.

"What's funny?" Derek asks as he brings his oversized-for-him slice to him mouth.

"Nothing, never mind. So, I was thinking I wanna draw," Elizabeth announces to the group as her laughter subsides. "Anyone wanna draw with me after dinner?"

"I do!" Lizzy shouts excitedly.

"Me too," Derek says muffled by food.

"Nice," Elizabeth cheers. She's just found a way to possibly get into her former self's head a little more. Perfect.

"I'm gonna read," Lou informs them and Lizzy rolls her eyes.

"We get a cool babysitter and you want to read?" Lizzy complains to her friend while fixing the falling shoulder of her princess dress. "You're weird, Louie."

"What are you reading?" Sam questions the little girl.

"I'm reading an American Girl book," she informs him. "But with my dad I just started James and the Giant Peach."

"I love that book," Sam tells her in all honesty. He fondly remembers reading a lot of the twisted works of Roald Dahl when he was younger, James and the Giant Peach being one of his favorites. "I'll read some of it with you if your dad won't mind."

"You will!" Lou asks, eye wide and lit up with a hopeful and adorable grin. She must get whatever she wants all the time, Sam thinks. How would anyone say no to that? He never would be able to.

"Sure," Sam happily agrees.

"Once you're ready for bed first," Elizabeth adds in, remembering that as soon as Lou got to reading at night, she was bound to pass out. Unless coffee was involved, she'd need waking up during research before hunts now and then.

"Ok," Lou agrees with a shoulder shrug and goes back to eating pizza.

"How come you don't go by Lizzy?" Lizzy asks Elizabeth suddenly and without transition.

"Uh, I used to until very recently," she admits with absolute honesty. "But my best friend in the whole world called me Lizard."

"Lizard!" Lizzy shouts with a laugh. "That's funny! Louie!"

"I'm right here," Lou complains with sheer annoyance and a hand over her ear after her friend practically shouts into it.

"Call me Lizard from now on," Lizzy asks of her. "But only you, because you're my best friend."

"Ok," Lou once again easily agrees.

"Alright you three," Elizabeth announces once it appears the three are done eating. "Go get ready for bed. Pajamas and brush your teeth."

The table clears out and Elizabeth looks over to her men. "Not so bad, right?"

"No," Sam grins a little, finding the night easier than he thought it'd be.

"You get anything from them?" Dean asks as he takes one last bit from what's left of his slice.

"Not yet, but I have a plan."

"And that is?" Dean wonders.

"Kids draw everything in their lives," she explains. "And they draw everything exactly how they see it. If I can get me talking and then drawing, hopefully I can get something out of this."

"Good luck with that," Dean quips, assuming it'll be a tough task.

"So who's on toothbrush duty?" Elizabeth asks, looking between the two of them.

"Do they really need help with that?" Sam wonders aloud.

"Dude, Derek is only four. Of course he does," she explains. "And the girls need to be watched so that they actually do it at all. We used to skip brushing our teeth all the time."

"I'm on clean up," Sam claims a job quickly, looking to avoid any responsibility like the one Elizabeth is suggesting.

"Me too," Elizabeth calls out almost too fast to understand. She them looks over at Dean with wide eyes, mouth dropped open, and pointing as him with sheer elation.

"No fucking way," Dean refuses.

"Watch your language!" Elizabeth hisses for his swearing while the kids are around. "And you lost fair and square. Now get up there before things get too crazy."

As if on cue, Lizzy and Lou start giggling uncontrollably… and quite suspiciously.

"This is bullshit," Dean grumbles lowly as he shuffles his feet up the stairs. As Sam starts cleaning the kitchen Elizabeth slinks silently to the bottom of the staircase, standing there to listen. Her curiosity is absolutely killing her. She has to see how he handles this one.

"Alright you two," Dean says in his most intimidating voice when he gets to the bathroom door to see the girls laughing together. He stands tall with his hands on his hips. "Just brush your teeth and get it over with."

"We already did," Lizzy says back, guilt written all over her face.

"Why do I feel like that's a load of… crap?" Dean says, censoring himself quickly while lifting an eyebrow in skepticism.

"It's not, we swear!" Lou pleads with him, her body language stiff and unnatural.

"Then let me feel your toothbrushes," Dean demands of them, hand held out expectantly.

"What?" Lou asks, the worry in her voice clear as day.

"Why do you need feel our toothbrushes?" Lizzy questions with very clear alarm.

"Because, if you actually brushed your teeth, they'd still be wet. So lemme have 'em ladies." Dean shakes this held out hand and waits.

The pause in the conversation as Elizabeth listens in has her covering her mouth and trying everything she can not to laugh. He's got their numbers. He's pretty damn good.

"Fine," Lizzy gives in with an eye roll. "We'll brush our teeth."

"That's what I thought," Dean clearly grins out as he watches them prep their brushes. He then realizes that he is one person short. "Derek!"

Silence. Shit. Dean leaves the girls for a moment and walks to Derek's room, which is covered in scattered Legos. He finds Derek with his head through the short sleeve of his pajama t-shirt and struggling to get the item on.

"Dude, what did you do?" Dean questions as he moves to help the poor kid out. He pulls the shirt off his head and looks at the boy. "This right here," he points to the arm sleeve, "Is not for you head." He helps Derek into his shirt the right way. The little boy stops once his shirt is on correctly and smiles up at him

"Thanks," his little voice says up to Dean before running off to the bathroom. Dean stands there by himself for a second with his hands on his hips.

"Well that was just God damned adorable," he comments with a very straight face while following the little guy.

After the struggle for the brushed teeth had ended, Lizzy and Lou came flying down the stairs. Lizzy jumped into a chair at the table where Elizabeth had set out crayons and paper and Lou ran right for Sam, book in hand.

"Ready!" Lou smiles with her head angled straight up at him, holding out James and the Giant Peach for him to see. Sam grins and reaches down to her, picking up the small child and resting her on his hip.

"So am I," he tells her as they walk to the next room, nearly bumping into Dean on the way that has Derek over his shoulder, his bottom facing Sam as the kid laughs loudly behind Dean's back. The brothers share a tired and somewhat awkward grin before walking past each other.

Sam heads with Lou to the quiet, nicer living room on the other side of the house as Dean plops Derek into a chair at the table where the Lizzys are already drawing. Elizabeth grins to him like an idiot, loving seeing Dean like this. She always knew he'd be damn good with kids and seeing it first hand is great and oddly comforting.

"What are we drawing?" Dean asks the group as he sits next to Elizabeth.

"I'm drawing my family," Lizzy explains without looking up.

"Me too," Elizabeth tells Dean while nudging him with her shoulder.

"Done!" Lizzy announces and hands Elizabeth her picture. Elizabeth swaps their drawings and they each look them over.

"This is your family?" Lizzy incredulously asks Elizabeth when she gets a chance to look at her picture.

"Sure is," Elizabeth says, pointing at the people in it. "That's Sam, and me in the middle, and that's Jack."

"Where's your mom?" Lizzy wonders.

"She's not alive, honey," she explains. "Neither is my dad."

"That's sad," Lizzy tells her, handing the picture back. "I don't want my mom and dad to ever die."

"I know you don't," Elizabeth answers back with a shaky voice, running a hand through Lizzy's hair. "But sometimes things happen that you can't help. Sometimes they're bad things and other times they're good things."

"Like when we went to Disney?" Lizzy asks, giving an example of a good thing.

"Exactly," Elizabeth answers. "But I still have a family. Sam and Jack are my best friends in the whole world."

"Louie's my best friend!" Lizzy loudly exclaims.

"And she's close to you, just like family, right?" Elizabeth asks.

"Yup," Lizzy answers, already working more on her picture that she took back.

"Then she's family too," Elizabeth tells her younger self as Dean slides a folded piece of paper in front of her. She gives him a questioning look and Dean just nods at it in return, wanting her to look at it. Elizabeth unfolds the paper and reads.

Will you go out with me?

Circle one

Yes

No

Maybe

Elizabeth grins like a lovesick teen before shooting Dean a look that says how lame he is. She picks up a crayon, marks the paper, refolds it and passes it back.

Dean unfolds his note and takes a look. She's added a fourth option.

Definitely… but only if you'll make out with me.

"Done," Dean jokes as he pockets the note before looking over to Derek's handiwork. "What're you drawing over there, dude?"

"Dinosaur," Derek explains as he scribbles a green blob in the center of the page.

"Nice," Dean answers, pulling over a new piece of paper. "I'm gonna draw a monster."

"Try not to make a real one, huh?" Elizabeth requests of him in whisper.

"Relax," Dean explains. "They don't know that wendigos are real."

"The two women and the small boy stood absolutely still on the grass underneath the tree, gazing up at this extraordinary fruit. James's little face was glowing with excitement, his eyes were as big and bright as two stars," Sam reads to Lou while on the couch. Once Sam had sat down, Lou climbed right onto him like she always did with her dad. For her it was no big deal, but it was awkward for Sam at first. He wonders if the little girl sitting in a stranger's lap like this is a bad or inappropriate thing, but once she was there he couldn't find a solid reason to move her. Sam lays his legs across the couch, his back against the arm, and Lou tucked into him, her back against his stomach. They both look at the pages of the book Sam holds out front of them.

"He could see the peach swelling larger and larger as clearly as if it were a balloon being blown up. In half a minute, it was the size of a melon! In another half-minute, it was twice as big again!"

"Dad says that I grow like that," Lou comments, her voice quiet. "He says me and Derek grow fast like weeds."

"You do," Sam agrees.

"But I feel like I'm gonna be little forever," she exasperatedly tells him and Sam can't stop the grin from coming.

"You might be right," Sam remarks, knowing she only made it to about five feet even.

"I like the way you read, Sam," Lou tells him.

"Oh yeah?" Sam huffs as he cranes his neck to see her face. "Why's that?"

"I don't know," Lou says, her small fingers running across the lines on the book's pages as if she's actually reading ahead. "You're just good at it." She looks up at him through her free-falling blond hair, her eyes hopeful and happy… and so small.

"Well, thank you," Sam grins back as he brushes some of her hair out of her face.

"You're welcome," she answers back, once more looking at the book in front of her and leaning a little more into Sam. His heart once more fills with love for this girl. He misses her terribly, the adult her, but the kid her has so much in common with the version he knows. She's questioning, smart, happy at times and tough at others, and she loves fiercely. Her best friend is her first priority even back then.

"I like you the best," Lou randomly tells Sam. "You're the nicest. And you like to read."

"That's very nice of you to say," Sam returns with sheer fondness. "And I promise not to tell Elizabeth and Jack you said that."

"Ok," Lou says back, pulling one of his hands off of the book with her two tiny ones. She makes him point a finger to the page and she drops her hand over his, pointing right along with him. "My dad reads like this with me so I can read along and get better."

"You can read some of this?" Sam incredulously asks the first grader. "Some of the words are kinda big."

"I know," Lou simply answers, ready to read along and learn, as Sam sighs with contentment before continuing.

"You're pretty smart, Lou" Sam tells her. "That's very impressive."

"Thank you," she says nonchalantly. "Can you read now?"

"I'd love to," Sam tells her, moving his finger along the page just as Lou asked him to. "'Just look at it growing!' Aunt Spiker cried. 'Will it ever stop!' Aunt Sponge shouted, waiving her fat arms and starting to dance around in circles…"

An hour later and Elizabeth and Dean have a nice pile of mementos to take home. Dean was given three monster pictures from Derek and a picture of a car from Lizzy that she made him when he mentioned he liked cars. He even has one from Elizabeth of the two of them holding hands surrounded by a heart. Lame, yes, but it was cute, even if Dean would never admit it. Elizabeth has a stack of drawings, all from Lizzy, that she now goes through.

"Who's that for?" Dean asks Lizzy when he notices a picture that she set off to the side.

"It's for the nice boy at school," Lizzy explains. "He helped me a recess today so I made him a thank you card."

"Dean?" Elizabeth asks.

"Yup."

"That's very nice of you," Elizabeth says before pointing to the drawing of a yellow dog she just finished. "Who's this?"

"That's Boggs," Lizzy tells her. "It's the dog I want for Christmas."

"Sox fan even then?" Dean quietly asks Elizabeth.

"It's a local sickness," she tells him before returning her attention to the pages she's been given. "You're asking for a dog?"

"Yup," Lizzy answers. "It's all I want."

"Do your parents want a dog?" Elizabeth questions. She remembers this fight well. For years she'd ask for a dog for every birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, whatever she could, and for years she never got one.

"No," Lizzy whines. "Dad says he's allergic."

"That sucks," Dean says to her as an elbow pokes him in the ribs. "I mean, that stinks."

"Yeah it does," Lizzy returns. "I want a dog so bad."

Elizabeth ends the conversation there. She knows how the story goes so she just drops it. She still at her age never had a dog, one of her many regrets in life. Flipping to the next page she sees a dancer in pink. The next is her teacher at school. The page after that gives Elizabeth pause, her stomach dropping into her shoes when she sees it.

"What's this?" Elizabeth asks with a concerned look as she slides the page between the two of them. Lizzy looks up for a quick second and answers quite calmly.

"That's Cassie," she tells her before diving back into her current work of art. With the sound of the name, Dean's head shoots up and looks over to Elizabeth. Their hearts pounding faster, Elizabeth turns away from Dean and back to her younger self.

"Tell me about him." Elizabeth listens as she and Dean look over the page, a shadowy figure of a man with obvious large black wings.

"He comes to say hi at night sometimes, when I'm sleeping," Lizzy explains.

"Does he scare you?" Dean wonders.

"Nope," Lizzy lightly responds, still working on her current picture.

"No?" Dean says surprised. "In this picture he looks a little scary."

"Yeah, but he's really nice," Lizzy assures them. "He makes me feel good to be around. He just checks in on me and makes sure I'm ok. Said I'm of import."

Elizabeth closes her eyes tightly with what Lizzy says. There's only one person, or being, that would say that. Castiel's been checking on her. As a kid. Her personal guardian angel. What the holy fuck?

"Do you even know what that means?" Dean asks her.

"Nope," Lizzy answers again. "Cassie just wants to make sure I'm happy."

"Happy?" Elizabeth asks. "Why?"

"He says I deserve it, like a reward."

Dean grabs Elizabeth's hand tightly, trying to convey so much to her silently; his support, understanding, sympathy, everything. That and he wants to keep her there, with him and not locked in her own mind that's speeding a mile a minute.

"Do you know why he's checking on you, kiddo?" Elizabeth questions, needing to find out all she can.

"He said I'm gonna grow up to be really strong and help out the world." Lizzy looks up from her page. "And I'm special and he's always gonna look after me."

"Ok," Dean nods his head slowly, Elizabeth's grip on him tightening. "And this is what he looks like? With big wings?"

"Yup," Lizzy responds before holding up her next picture. "Look, I made you another one!" She hands the picture to Dean who takes it with a shaky hand.

"A cheeseburger?" he questions her.

"Yeah, you like them don't you?" Lizzy asks in an already knowing tone.

"Love 'em," Dean answers flatly, his heart skipping a beat. "But how did you know I liked cheeseburgers?"

"I don't know," Lizzy says to him with a shrug. "Just did."

Dean gets an unnerved feeling and looks back to the first picture she made him of a car. It's black. It's big. It has four doors and a driver that vaguely looks like him through first-grade crayon scribbles with a passenger that has longer brown hair. He barely looked at it before when she gave it to him as he'd already been given many other pictures. Now he's highly alarmed.

"Why did you make me a black car?" Dean asks her, Elizabeth's eyes glazing over when she looks at the picture of the Impala.

"It's your car," Lizzy brushes off.

"And who's in the car?" Elizabeth wonders.

"That's Jack," she points to the driver before pointing to the passenger. "And that's Sam."

"Why did you put the two of us in the car together?" Dean wonders.

"Because you drive together all the time, silly," Lizzy says with obviousness as she slaps a hand to her forehead.

"How did you know that?" Elizabeth questions, horror taking hold of her.

"Just did," Lizzy casually says.

Sitting quietly for a quick second, Elizabeth's brain starts turning. "Draw something for Sam."

"Why?" Lizzy questions.

"Because he'll feel left out if you didn't," Dean explains, knowing what Elizabeth is up to. Lizzy easily tapped into Dean's head and she wants to see if she can do the same with others.

"Ok," Lizzy says, and grabs a new page. She sits for a beat and looks back to Dean. "What should I draw him?"

"You don't know?" Dean questions.

"Does he like cars too?" Lizzy asks, clearly not able to tap into Sam as she just did with Dean.

"Not really," Elizabeth informs her as she stands up. "Ok you two, I think it's time for bed."

The collective groan of disappointment from the two children is heard and Elizabeth shakes her head. She needs them to go to sleep and now. She's discovered enough and she needs to leave as soon as she can.

"No way is that gonna work," she tells the kids. "Come on, Dean will clean up while I get you two and Lou upstairs."

The children get down from their seats and start to follow Elizabeth but Lizzy stops suddenly. She turns back around and runs over to Dean. She jumps into his lap and gives him a big, tight hug around his neck. Shocked by this, Dean sits still for a beat before returning the embrace, his much larger arms wrapping around her small frame. It's weird to say the least, but he can't quite find it in him to pry her off. It was his Lizzy after all.

"Goodnight Dean," Lizzy whispers to him.

"You mean Jack," Dean corrects her, having given her a fake name after she already met a new Dean earlier that day.

"Sorry," Lizzy smiles. "Goodnight Jack."

She jumps off of his lap and runs up the stairs. His eyes meet Elizabeth's and sees the fright she has while she shakes her head with the shock of how connected they already are. Dean leans across the table and takes up the picture Lizzy made for the boy at school. The picture on it is of three people. The one in the middle is much taller than the other two with dark hair. Above him it says dad and the man is holding the hands of two boys, one with blond hair and a smile labeled 'Deen' and a shorter boy on the other side with longer blown hair and a straight line for a mouth labeled 'Sam'. Eyes meeting with sheer concern and terror, Elizabeth turns sharply away. The sooner she gets them all off to bed the sooner she can leave this mind-fuck.

"Alright Louie, bedtime," Elizabeth announces as she turns the corner into the living room. She stops herself in the doorway when she sees them.

Sam and Lou both fell asleep. Lou is curled up sideways against Sam's chest and Sam has an arm around her, the other still clutching the book they'd been reading. The peaceful scene is too much for her to see. Covering her hand over her heart with the pain she feels in it, her eyes overflow silently. The tears are unstoppable at this point. Everything becomes too overwhelming to bear any longer.

"Dean," she calls out just loud enough for him to hear. He immediately joins her.

"Hey," he softly calls to her as he sees her crying. He hugs her in. "You were doing so good. What happened?"

Elizabeth silently points over to Sam and Lou on the couch and Dean sees them for the first time. His expression changes from concern to defeat. This trip can't possibly get any harder than it already has been on them.

"You go clean up the kitchen. I'll tuck the brats in. Then we'll leave," Dean tells her. He lifts her face to look at him by the chin. "Ok?"

Elizabeth nods and Dean gives her a quick kiss on the lips before running up the stairs to get the kids to bed as fast as possible. He has to get her out of there before she loses it again.