When Cassie opened her eyes, she felt nothing. Not warm, not cold, no pain, no hunger or thirst. All she could see was blue skies above her. No clouds, no planes. No sounds reached her ears. She couldn't move. Not even wriggle her toes.

The last thing she remembered before this was driving in her car, mind on getting home to her daughter as quick as possible, with the disappearances accumilating. Last thing she wanted was Cadie to be alone any longer than neccessary. Out of the blue a smothering shadow had blocked he sun from her view. Instinct told her to hit the brakes, but all she remembered now was a deafening screeching, like fingernails on a black board and then... nothing.

Cassie blinked sluggishly, but her view didn't change. She tried turning her head, but her body felt like floating in cotton wool and she wasn't sure she succeeded because the blue of the sky never changed. All of a sudden, regret washed through her body. When the first person in her village had disappeared, she'd thought the circumstances were strange. Winchester strange only popped in her mind when a few days later, another person disappeared in the same manner. Number three had her think about calling Dean for the first time, but she didn't. Because somehow calling that man would be admitting she thought this was an unnatural occurance.

Then the fourth person was gone, like swallowed from the face of the earth, and Cassie realized the police had no clue what they were dealing with. She had been thinking out loud, saying she'd probably better call Dean, unawares that Cadie was in the room and heard her. She didn't want to scare her girl.

"You never call Dean," Cadie had said, jolting Cassie into realizing she had company and been speaking out loud. "You always say you will but you never do. So what difference would he make?"

"Baby, you weren't supposed to hear that, but believe me, he would make a difference," Cassie had told her daughter. "He's a good man. Him and his brother."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"He's a free spirit, Cadie. What he does helps people. In cases where police could never help."

"Even more so, why isn't he here?"

"Baby, not many people work in that line. And sadly, most people think what he does is crazy. He's crazy. I know he isn't. I've seen for myself."

Cadie had studied her mother for a moment. "You should call him," she had said and turned to leave the room. Cassie had nodded. But she hadn't picked up the phone. She didn't even know why she hadn't. And right now, she wished she had.

***spn***

Dean parked his Baby on the furthest edge of the lot belonging to the Museum of Ancient Egypt. For once luck had been on their side. Since it was tuesday, the one day the museum was closed, they didn't have to wait for closing hours for their mission. Sam had found out that the security system was as ancient as the exhibits, so getting in and locating the spear should be a piece of cake.

Walking around the length of the black Impala, Dean popped open the trunk to gear up as Sam and Mary stretched their legs.

"Son of a... what are you doing here?" Dean exclaimed, eyes fixed on the person unfolding from the trunk. Sam and Mary quickly joined Dean to see Cadie climbing out of the car. "How did you get in there?"

Instead of an answer Cadie reluctantly held up a lock pick, before stuffing it in her pocket. Dean's eyes widened and he hastened to close the trunk to inspect the lock for damage.

"I swear to you if you scratched up my Baby...," Dean growled, scrutinizing the lock and the paint around it. Cadie huffed offended.

"I'm not an idiot, Dean. Go get a magnifier, you still won't find a scratch," Cadie snapped. Sam couldn't help himself and started laughing as Dean lovingly ran his fingers over the car's lock, earning himself a glare from his brother.

"Question remains, what are you doing here?" Dean persisted, features softening slightly as indeed he didn't find the slightest scratch on his Baby. "And where would you get a lock pick let alone know how to use it? Last time I checked your mom wasn't into anything non law abiding."

Cadie glared at Dean. "Mothers don't have to know everything," she said pointedly.

"Yeah I'm sure she'll be thrilled to learn that her daughter knows how to pick a lock - expertly. Again, why are you here?"

"You wanna get back my mom. So do I. And I wanna help. Gotta see if she's right," Cadie explained.

"Right about what?" Dean frowned.

Cadie sighed. "She once said with what you do, people would say you're crazy. But she says you're not."

"She's talking about me?" Dean raised an eyebrow, making Sam smile and shake his head whereas Mary looked confused.

"Yeah, well... she told me about what happened to grandpa. And to be honest, that story is quite fantastic. As in unreal." Cadie looked at Sam and Mary as if to dare them to say something. Dean nodded.

"Yes, it is. But it's still true."

"Now, what are we going to do here?" Cadie looked around.

"We?" Dean echoed, glancing at his brother. "Sam, Mary and I will get a weapon we need to free your mom. You, however, will stay in the car until we get back." Cadie narrowed her eyes, but Dean didn't blink.

"Fine," she finally snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest, a defiant look on her face. She strolled around the black car and opened the passenger door.

"I'll stay with her," Mary declared. "You boys get the toothpick for that bird. Unless you need Cadie to pick that lock for you to get in." The female Winchester smirked when Dean opened his mouth, but then kept quiet.

"We'll manage, Mary," Sam replied and popped the trunk open again to grab some things. Dean followed suit and the boys headed towards the back entrance of the old building. Cadie watched as they disappeared inside after a short moment of tinkering with the door.

"So, now... you gonna babysit me?" Cadie asked Mary, annoyance clear in her voice. Mary smiled.

"Well, my girl, this was going to go only two ways. Either you tagged along, and we both know Dean would never do that because your mom would give him hell if she found out," Mary explained.

"Or?"

"Or they would leave you in the car and Dean would start worrying the moment he passed that door over there, that you might hotwire his Baby. So, to ensure that we get what we need to get your mom back without world war III breaking loose, I thought it was the most sensible thing I could do... waiting here with you." Mary finished and squeezed in next to Cadie. The girl looked at her hands for a bit and then nodded.

"Dean must trust you a lot," she said.

"I guess he does. Now why would you say that?"

"My mom told me a bit about him. I know they hooked up a few times. I think my mom regrets not sticking with him, though."

"What makes you think that?" Mary's soft voice enticed the girl to proceed.

"Well, she talks about him as often as my friend Reese talks about her puppy dog. And she always gets that look in her face." Cadie tried to give Mary a good impression of that look. Mary chuckled. "I feel like I've known Dean all my life instead of just having met him. And hearing the stories over and over, there was always this black car. Dean obviously loves this car. Now, I know he doesn't trust me, but I figure he trusts you."

"Dean doesn't know you. And you're a child. Don't forget that Dean was a child once, too. And from what I've heard, he grew up in the car. So, yes, he loves the car. So much that he rarely even lets Sam drive it. He's built her up from scratch a few times over. So don't hold it against him. He's a good man."

"Yeah, I know," Cadie nodded. "I just wish..."

"You just wish what, sweety?" Mary gently prodded when Cadie didn't continue.

"Nothing," she mumbled. "Nevermind."

Mary studied the dark haired girl for a moment. Then she wrapped her arm around her and pulled her close.

"We'll get your mom back safe and sound, you'll see. Dean will make it happen."

***spn***

Sam and Dean strolled through the dark corridors of the museum, their flashlights fluttering along the walls, checking each exhibit in every corner. They had already searched the ground floor and were now starting to explore the upper level. Sam hoped they wouldn't have to go to the basement scratching through the boxes with items currently not on display.

"You know, Sam, I wonder how much Cassie knows about what her daughter is up to," Dean started, letting his light linger on a pharao's death mask, before moving on.

"What do you mean? Because she knows how to pick a lock?" Sam grinned. "You knew how to do that at her age. Hell, you taught me how to do that when I was five."

"That's different, Sammy. We had to know to keep us alive. Cadie's supposed to have a safe home."

"Well, maybe she's just curious. Or into detective stories and she's trying to be as cool as the heroes," Sam suggested.

"Nah, Sam," Dean laughed. "She's an expert. Damn, if I asked you to pick Baby's lock - and no, you don't get a try - you'd have a hard time not leaving any scratches. There was nothing on the lock or the paint, Sam. Nothing!"

"Could've been luck," Sam shrugged. "Or maybe the trunk was open and she's just pulling our leg."

"If you're insinuating that I forgot to close the trunk right before driving here from the diner, Sam..." Dean growled. Sam held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, I know. I'm just saying."

"I got it."

"Never said you didn't, Dean."

"No, no," Dean quickly picked up. "I got it. I got the spear."

Sam's eyes now followed the beam of Dean's light and rested on a brightly golden shimmering spear, placed in a pharao statue's hand, positioned ready to be thrown.

"Wow," Sam replied, stepping closer and taking in the intricate hieroglyph inscription. Carefully he traced his fingers over them, before wrapping them around it to extract the weapon from the statue's grip.

Merely a few minutes later, the two Winchesters left the museum through the same door they had entered and swiftly walked to the waiting Impala. Sam deposited the spear in the trunk while Dean slipped into the driver's seat.

"You two done some bonding?" He asked, winking at Cadie.

"As a matter of fact, we have," Cadie replied, a cocky grin on her face. "Mary is way cool."

"Great," Dean smiled extra wide. "Then you two can relocate your butts to the backseat. Sasquatch here needs to stretch his legs and i need his Google Maps mode up front with me."

Cadie giggled as Sam slammed the trunk a bit harder than neccessary at Dean's words, but didn't protest his orders. The girls got comfortable in the back seat and Sam climbed in at shotgun, throwing his brother a dirty look.

"Right, ladies, let's get this show on the road," Dean announced as he let the Chevy's engine roar to life.

TBC... don't forget the reviews. They feed the muse... and the moose ;)