Once Dean started talking, he pretty much never stopped. He'd sit on the floor with Sam rolling a ball back and forth talking baby babble. But he won't stop wearing his fire fighter helmet. Nor would he allow Sam to play with or come close to touching his truck, but he was getting better. It turned out the leaving Lawrence was one of the best decisions that he'd made. Dean liked seeing the country from the backseat of the Impala. For him every day became a new adventure in a new town. John was making contacts and allies, finding people he trusted with boys.

They were staying in a motel in Georgia the June after Sam turned two, John was sitting at the desk writing in his journal, Sam was jumping on the bed he shared with Dean and complaining that he couldn't go outside, and Dean was playing with army men in front of the television while half watching Spiderman cartoons.

"Sam how about you come here and play," Dean said leaning back to watch Sam jump. The never ending squeaking of the bed springs was starting to annoy him.

"Outside!" Sam whined and kept jumping. "No play inside, play outside."

"It's raining," Dean coaxed. "You'll get all wet."

"Outside!" Sam whined louder.

"Boys," John groaned. "Stop, just behave for five more minutes please."

"Then outside?" Sam asked.

"No," John said simply. "Not right now."

"But I wanna play outside," Sam yelled. "I can puddles. Inside is boring. Deans always hogs all the army mans."

"If you didn't get them stuck in the ash tray of the car," Dean answered. "Maybe I would let you play with them."

"I was gunnin' the man in the front seat," Sam said as he stopped jumping momentarily. "I didn't mean to breaked it."

"Well, ya did," Dean spat back.

"Boys," John breathed. "Calm down and behave for a half an hour and then we'll get some lunch. And if you're really good, maybe we'll get ice cream. How's that sound?"

"With sprinkles?" Sam asked. "The rainbow ones?"

"Only if you're quiet and on good behavior until I'm done with this, okay?"

Sam nodded and started to jump again. Dean started to tell him to stop, but decided it was for the best to just let Sam do what he wanted, it's not like he listened anyway, and turned back to the television.

The show had cut for commercials and Dean half watched as he made the army men drive his fire truck through a line of other army men, until he saw the car, the fire shooting off the back wheels as it disappeared. His eyes widened.

"Dad," He said, turning toward the table. "We have to go see that movie."

"Deans," Sam whined. "Now we get no ice cream!"

"What movie, Dean," John sighed looking up from his journal.

"The Time Machine," Dean nodded. "There is a movie about Time Machines. I need to see it. It's the most important thing in the world, ever."

"I'll think about it," John answered. "Now please just be quiet. Watch cartoons, play with your army men, get your brother to stop jumping on the squeaky bed."

Sam stopped and flopped down so he was sitting and looked between his dad and Dean.

"Can we still has ice cream?" He asked softly.

"I said maybe," John answered.

"Come over here, Sammy," Dean said. Sam jumped off the bed and waddled over, pressing himself into Dean's side. "You wanna play with the army men?"

"I play truck," Sam said reaching for Dean's fire truck.

"No," Dean laughed. "You play army men."

Sam shrugged and lined up the army men. "You is a toy hog."

Dean pressed his finger to Sam's lips to shush him and cocked his head toward their dad.

All Dean talked about for the next week was the movie preview he saw. He knew it didn't open for another week, but he wanted to make sure his dad didn't forget about it as they moved from Georgia to Ohio and then across the Midwest.

"Dad," Dean sighed with his face against the window. "After we go to the fireworks on the Fourth of July can we go see the movie?"

"I can only say 'maybe' so many times before I change my mind and start saying 'no'," John replied. "So stop asking."

"But I need to see it," Dean pleaded. "I need to. It's important."

"I said I'd think about it," John answered. "If I'm not on a job, I'll try to find some time to take you to the movies, if I can find someone to watch Sam for a couple hours. Is that a good enough answer?"

"Yes, Sir," Dean nodded face still against the window.

The guy John was doing a job for the first week of July had two bedroom beach house in Michigan on the shore of Lake Superior that he was more than happy to let John and his boys stay in while he got rid of the pest problem. He also had a sixteen year old daughter, Kimberly, who took and instant like to Sam, and constantly volunteered to baby sit. It seemed like the stars were aligning in Dean's world.

Kimberly ended up taking the boys to see the big Fourth of July fireworks display over the river while their Dad salt and burned something. Dean didn't know a lot of what his dad did for a living, but he knew enough to not ask too many question about why there were a whole bunch of guns in the trunk and to make sure Sam never found out.

Sam did not like the fireworks.

"This is too scary," Sam yelled pressing his face into Dean's back while they sat on a beach blanket, Kimberly laughed.

"It's not that bad," she smiled. "Look at the pretty colors."

"I will not," Sam said, voice muffled by Dean's shirt. "I want to go home now please."

"It's almost over," Dean said. "Stop being a baby and watch the fireworks."

Dean felt Sam's nose rub back and forth across his spine.

"Whatever," Dean shrugged, he leaned forward since he really didn't have choice as Sam leaned on him. "You're missing a good show."

"Too loud," Sam yelled into Dean's back. "Don't like it."

The next morning Dean sat on the sofa waiting for his dad to wake up to ask again if he would take him to the movies. He'd never seen a movie in the theater before; only on TV or sometimes when whoever was watching them had a VCR and put a tape in to keep the boys occupied for a couple hours while they made lunch or something. This was a big deal, to him at least.

When John finally stumbled into the kitchen around noon, Dean pounced.

"Daddy?" he said leaning on the counter while John tried to make himself some coffee. "Remember when you telled me that if there was someone who could babysit Sam and you wasn't working that after the fireworks you'd take me to see the time machine movie?"

"You remind me every day," John sighed. "How could I forget?"

"Well," Dean said. "Kimberly really likes Sam, and you sayed you finished your work last night. So…"

"Yeah," John nodded. "I'll take you to the movies, this afternoon, after I get some coffee in me."

"Yes, sir," Dean nodded excitedly. "I'll go get ready." Dean ran off to the room he was sharing with Sam. He was still in his pajamas but he really had no one to tell him to change, so why bother. His brother was sitting on his bed holding the book that Dean read to him before bed time upside down staring intently at it.

"What are you doing, Sammy?" Dean asked digging through his duffle bag.

"I reading," Sam answered. "I like this book has dragons."

"Oh, okay," Dean nodded as he started to change. "You know the book is upside down right?"

Sam shook his head. "I like it this way, it's better."

"Alright," Dean chuckled. "Have fun with that."

"I's hungry," Sam announced. "Is Daddy awake yet?"

"Yeah," Dean said buttoning his pants. "I'll let him know."

When Dean came out of his room, he stood at the arm of the couch and stared at John until his dad turned slowly to him.

"I'm ready," Dean said. "To do go the movies. Time Machine movie."

"Yes, Dean," John nodded. "I understand."

"Sam's hungry."

"Okay, I'll get on that," John said. "Can you breathe for a couple minutes? The movie doesn't even play until five. You don't need to get yourself worked up."

"I'm just excited," Dean said.

"I figured."

"That was the best movie of ever," Dean said as followed in John's wake back to the Impala clutching the popcorn and licorice he'd bugged his dad into buying at the concession stand. "I wanna time machine. Can we turn your car into a time machine?"

"No," John said, unlocking the door so Dean could climb inside.

"Why not?" Dean asked when John got into the driver's seat and placed the key in the ignition. "Your car is better than Marty's car. It would be the best time machine. We can go back in time together. And you can do your job where you save people. Even people you didn't save before. We can save everyone."

"It's not real, Dean," John said simply. "It's just a movie. You can't actually make a time machine."

"It looked real to me," Dean nodded as they backed out of the parking lot. "Time machines seem like a really, really good idea. We could use one."

"It's a good idea," John said quietly as they pulled out of the parking lot. "I'll give you that, but you can't turn my car into a time machine. It wasn't real, just movie magic."

Dean stared out the window as they drove back to the beach house. A time machine would be the best thing he could ever have, he could fix so much. He'd be able to go back and make sure nothing bad happened to his mom. He could keep his dad from being so grumpy all the time. He'd make sure that Sammy didn't ask what a mommy was. Yeah, a time machine would be a wonderful thing.

The next morning Dean spent playing with hot wheels with Sam on the coffee table while John prepared them for another move. They were leaving this place the next day, heading to South Dakota. Dad told them he had a friend that lived there, and that he had a dog they could play with, seemed like it would be a good time. Dean never stopped thinking about how cool it would be to turn the Impala into a time machine. Nobody would ever think it was a time machine because it looked like a regular car, not like the time machine in the movie. Everyone could tell that one was a time machine without being told, the Impala though, very inconspicuous.

"Dad, can I please turn the car into a time machine?" Dean asked again for about the five hundredth time in less than a day.

"No," John repeated. "You can't."

"Why not?" Dean huffed.

"I said so," John answered.

"But I only want one thing," Dean whined. "One thing in the world."

"No," John said, more forcefully this time.

"How come Sammy gets everything he wants?" Dean asked. "And I ask for one thing ever and I can't have it?"

"Sam's two," John answered. "When you were two, you know what you wanted more than anything?"

Dean shook his head.

"A little brother," John answered. "Like your little friend Jamie across the street."

"But now I want a time machine," Dean said.

"You only get one wish," John said. "And you got Sam."

"What if Sam wants a time machine?" Dean asked looking quickly to his brother.

"I want an ice cream sundae," Sam said. "But it breakfast time, and we can't have ice cream for breakfast. Right Daddy?"

"Right Sammy," John smiled.

Dean started to get incredibly angry. It wasn't fair. Nothing was far.

"It's not fair at all!" Dean yelled. "I only want one thing. It's not a big thing. Just one time machine!"

"Don't yell at me, Dean," John said patiently.

"You're the worst Dad ever," Dean continued to yell. "If… if… if I can't have a time machine I'm gonna run away."

"Fine," John said throwing his hands up. "Run away, Dean, cuz you're not getting a time machine."

Dean's fists curled against his sides as he stood up and ran into the other room, and slammed the door with his all his might. He took everything he owned, his toys, his clothes, most importantly his fire truck, and shoved it into his duffle bag; then pulled the sheets and pillows off his bed and shoved everything underneath it. He climbed into this blankets, as close to the wall as possible. He wasn't allowed to go outside by himself, so this was close enough to running away. His dad would never find him under there. Maybe when he left tomorrow he would forget Dean. That's what he deserved being so mean like that, he didn't want much, just one thing. He never asked for anything. He just did whatever his dad said, it wasn't fair.

A few hours later John opened the bedroom door and called in. "We're going to the store, Dean. You want to come with us?"

"I ran away!" Dean yelled.

"Yeah," John sighed. "Don't leave the house, I'll let ya know when you're back."

"Fine!" Dean huffed.

He must have fallen asleep under the bed because he awoke a while later when Sam started to poke him in the back.

"I seeked you!" Sam said excitedly. "I win!"

"What do you want?" Dean said grumpily.

"I getted you somethink at the store," Sam explained, trying to fit under the bed with Dean and all his worldly possessions. He pressed a plastic bag into Dean's face.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"A present!" Sam smiled. "I getted it for you."

Dean opened the bag and pulled out a digital alarm clock. "Why did you get this?"

"It's a time machine!" Sam said proudly. "Daddy sayed he needed the one in car, so I sayed that we get one that one, and Daddy sayed 'Okay Sammy' and then we gets it. You like it?"

"Yeah, Sam," Dean turned and smiled at his brother, fluffing his hair a little. "I like it, thank you."

"It has bigger numbers than the one in Daddy's car, so you can seed it better," Sam explained. "I fink it's a good time machine."

"It's the best Sam," Dean nodded. "Thanks."

"Daddy sayed that dinner is all ready," Sam said. "He getted pizza on the way home."

"I'll be out in a minute," Dean said starting to pull himself out from under the bed.

"Okay," Sam nodded before running out of the room.

Dean took pulled his sheets out from under the bed and tossed them back on the bed along with his pillows. He held the box with the clock that Sam gave him and chuckled. Sam didn't understand what a time machine was, but he tried. He shoved it into the duffle bag with the rest of his stuff. He was going to make sure he used it at every place they slept for really long time.