AN: A big Thank You for all the reviews :) Glad y'all enjoyed the start. Hope I can keep you enjoying the story. Remember, reviews feed the moose... :D
***SPN***
Sam woke with a start, needing a moment to figure out where he was. Sleeping in the back seat of the Impala while Dean was driving was not what he usually did, but Mary had claimed shotgun and much to Sam's dismay, all Dean had done was laugh at him. With a frown, Sam realized it was the lack of movement that woke him. The calming purr of Baby's engine was missing. He sat up and squinted at the bright light of the sun.
"Time for breakfast?" Sam asked, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Later," Dean replied. "In case you hadn't noticed, Sleeping Beauty, we have arrived." A soft chuckle floated over from Mary to her son.
"You drove all night?" Sam frowned. "What time is it?"
"A little after 7am," Mary replied, looking fondly at her youngest.
"What? Dean! Did you fill the car with rocket fuel?"
"No," Dean and Mary replied in unison, and Mary added. "But he's got a lead foot that doesn't care much for speed limits."
"And you let him speed?" Sam had a hard time keeping the disbelief out of his voice. Mary shrugged.
"He's a safe driver. Why waste time?"
Dean laughed. "And that, Sammy, is why she gets to sit shotgun and you don't. She doesn't whine about speed limits."
Feeling in a childish mood, Sam stuck out his tongue at Dean behind his back and stretched. Then he looked around. Dean had parked Baby in front of a diner. Upon seeing the sign, Sam's stomach growled.
"Breakfast?" He said hopeful.
"Okay, okay. Go on ahead. You know what i like. I will call Cadie to let her know we arrived," Dean nodded, pulling his phone out, while Mary and Sam made their way out of the car and over to the diner. Once the door had closed behind them, Dean pulled up Cassie's number and pressed dial. After three rings, the call connected.
"Dean?" Cadie's voice sounded sleepy, but not like he had woken her. However, it made her sound younger. Yesterday, Dean hadn't been bothered wondering how old the girl was. He had thought her to be around nine years old. Right now, she sounded like six.
"Cadie, it's me, yes. Are you okay? Is there someone with you? Looking after you?" Concern colored Dean's low drawl.
"Yeah, fine. And I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby, you know," Cadie answered, fight creeping into her voice.
"Alright, chill out. Where's your dad, then?"
Silence met Dean's question and he was briefly pondering whether Cadie hadn't heard him or chose to ignore him. Then he heard her take a deep breath.
"He's not around. He doesn't live with us so leave him out of it."
"Right. Cadie, the reason I called is to tell you we're here," Dean changed the topic. Immediately, Cadie sounded more cheerful.
"You are? Wow, did you fly?"
"No," laughed Dean. "I just drove like a madman. Sam scolded me for it but my m..., but Mary backed me up."
"Sam is your brother, right? My mom mentioned you had a brother."
"Yeah, he is. He's a Sasquatch sized pain in the ass little brother," Dean grinned.
"Who's Mary?"
Dean was quiet. He couldn't exactly tell Cadie she was their mother when she looked their age or even younger. It would be too much to explain.
"That's my cousin. She kicks ass, like you."
" 'kay," Cadie yawned. "Where are you now? I can't see the black car."
"We're at a diner, starving. I drove all night... wait. How do you know my car?" There was a frown appearing on Dean's forehead.
"Mom," Cadie supplied curtly. "I think she digs that car." Dean snorted.
"Yeah, I bet. Look, Cadie, we're gonna grab a bite to eat and then pitch up on your doorstep. Should we bring you some breakfast? Ya know, as a bribe?" Soft laughter reached Dean's ear and he smiled.
"You bring some donuts and we're ace," Cadie said between giggles.
***spn***
Cadie was staring out of the window, overlooking the driveway, waiting for a black car to pull up. Her mother had mentioned this Dean and his brother once in a while, usually when there was something weird written in the papers. She knew who Dean was, and she knew her mom still loved that man. But she hadn't ever shown her a picture or anything, so the only thing Cadie knew was that he was driving a black 67 Impala. Cadie wasn't really into cars, but she had looked this one up on the internet and had fallen in love with it. She had no idea why. Now she was tapping her fingers, impatiently waiting for the black beauty to pull up.
A low rumble heralded their arrival and Cadie could feel her pulse quicken. As soon as the dark shade appeared at the gate, the girl abandoned her spot by the window and dashed down the stairs to open the door. It was one thing to see that car on the computer screen, but entirely another to see it in all its glory, big as life. Cadie gasped and her lips pulled into a grin she only dropped when the doors of the Chevy opened and three people emerged.
The driver - Dean, as Cadie assumed - unfolded his tall frame from the seat and Cadie gasped. She knew nothing about men really, but this one was good looking by her standarts. The other man - Sam - was even taller and not hard to look at either, but the long shaggy hair made her laugh. Behind him, the blonde woman - cousin Mary - who reminded her of her teacher, looked tiny, but as they approached, Cadie noticed she was easily as tall as her mother.
"Cadie?" Dean asked, an eyebrow cocked up slightly. He looked like he had been expecting someone else. Or maybe he was looking for her mom in her features. Cadie nodded.
"You must be Dean," she greeted, extending one hand. Dean stared a moment, them took her hand and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Sorry for staring, Cadie, but I was thinking you were a bit younger," Dean explained his puzzled gaze. He was obviously confused. Cadie laughed. She knew she was quite tall for her age and easily was mistaken for a teenager.
"I'm almost eleven," she readily provided, not missing the exchange of looks between Dean and his brother.
"Right," Dean smiled. "You're tall. What has your mother been feeding you?"
"Probably same thing he's eating," Cadie nodded at Sam, who laughed.
"Heya, Cadie, I'm Sam, Dean's brother," Sam introduced himself. "And that is..."
"Your cousin Mary, I know," Cadie cut in. "Nice to meet you all. Care to come in?" She stepped aside and then walked up ahead, leaving the Winchesters to follow.
***spn***
"So, all they found at the abandoned vehicles were giant feathers and deep gauges in the roof of the cars?" Sam repeated Cadie's words. Cadie nodded, chewing on a custard filled donut, icing sugar all over her face.
"Like some'ne used a giant knife on a tin," she managed to speak around the food.
"Have you seen those feathers, sweety?" Mary asked, gently putting a hand on Cadie's forearm.
"I wasn't supposed to, but I did. They were green and blue."
"Green and blue?" Dean repeated with a frown.
"Not an angel feather," Sam mused, earning himself an elbow to the ribs curtesy of Dean. Cadie laughed.
"Angel feather?" She stuffed the last bits of the donut in between her lips. "Don't tell me angels are real."
The three Winchesters exchanged meaningful looks. Then Sam shrugged.
"It's besides the point because your mom and those people weren't taken by an angel."
"But what happened to them?"
"We're working on that, Cadie," Sam replied calmly. "In the meanwhile, do you have a relative or a friend you can stay with?"
"I've been doing fine on my own, Hulk," Cadie retorted, slightly offended. "I ain't no baby."
"Sam didn't mean it like that, Cadie," Dean intervened.
"I know. I'm sorry. I... just want my mom back," Cadie seemed to deflate somewhat. "I guess I can go stay with my friend. Reese just lives down the street. I'm sure her parents won't mind."
***spn***
Sam was hacking away on his laptop, watched by the eagle eyes of Mary. It still boggled her mind how a device that small could hold so much information.
"I think it has to be some kind of bird," Sam thought out loud. "And a big one at that. Big enough to have claws sharp and strong enough to slice open a metal roof..." He trailed off, reading through some lore.
Dean was sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. He ignored his mother's disapproving glance and closed his eyes, forehead drawn in a frown. It was quiet. Only Sam's tapping and their breathing disrupting the silence. Sam sighed.
"Not a Harpie, not a Thunderbird... the color doesn't match. Not a Phoenix, not a..."
"It's a Griffin," Dean said, not moving.
"What?" Sam quickly typed in the word.
"A Griffin," Dean repeated, sitting up. He rested his head in his hands, lack of sleep from driving whole night catching up to him.
"He's right," Mary nodded. "Blue and green feathers, claws as sharp as a diamond razor... size fits."
Sam's fingers stilled as the lore about Griffins appeared on the screen of his laptop. His eyes flew over the text, taking in all the information like a sponge.
"Damn," he finally said. "Damn, damn, damn."
" 'ts wrong?" Dean mumbled.
"It's gonna take some serious tracking and climbing to find it's lair. Good news is, it keeps it's prey alive as long as possible. Bad news is... do we have a lance?"
"A lance?" Mary raised an eyebrow.
"A golden one, to be exact," Sam said pointedly.
"I might know where to find a golden spear," Mary piped up.
Sam and Dean both sat up, seemingly piercing Mary's skull for information. She looked from one son to the other and then chuckled nervously.
"There's this Egyptian Museum a few towns over. Been there with my father once some years, or maybe now decades, ago. Unless they've done some serious redecoration they have a golden spear," she explained.
Sam nodded. "Worth a try."
Dean sighed and picked himself up. "Let me get some more coffee and get geared up. Any idea where the lair might be?"
"The five people that disappeared had their cars all found just outside the east end of this town. There is one water tower, a radio tower and an abandoned sightseeing tower. That would be my guess," Sam provided the results of his research.
"When did you geek have time to check that? You only just heard what we're dealing with," Dean frowned. Sam chuckled.
"Well, the feathers kinda gave away it was a bird. Angel was never really an option, because of the claw marks. Birds usually nest high..."
"Alright, alright, Steve Irwin, you win. Let's get the spear and we hunt ourselves a Griffin. And just for you being a geek, mom gets shotgun again."
"Jerk," Sam muttered.
"Bitch!"
TBC... I love reviews... sooo much! ;)