Hey guys! This chapter is a tad longer and briefly covers the time period and events of 11x08. Seeing the cliffhanger we were left on in 11x09, I'm going to write in some weeks between episode eight and episode nine so I can get some plot developed and not sacrifice the show's overall storyline. As usual, send me reviews and Chuck will shower blessings upon you, and thank you, Mayremmy for the lovely review. (also as an aside, Wolfie was my imaginary friend when I was little and I still think about him sometimes :] )

Chapter 8

Unbeknownst to Lily, despite their stern reprimands and promises of things to come, Sam and Dean had no idea how to punish her.

"I don't know, Dean! What did dad used to do?" Dean raised a single eyebrow and Sam shook his head.

"Absolutely not. She's not actually related to us and she's a teenager."

"I wasn't suggesting anything."

"What did they do in school when you acted up?" Dean smirked at Sam's hidden implication, remembering fondly his vagrant high-school days.

"Nothing, I just skipped."

"We could make her write lines or give her detention…"

"I know one thing. I'm taking that damn doorknob."

"She's a teenager, not a wayward five year old, Dean, and she's a girl. She needs her own space."

"Well when she stops acting like a five year old and learns not to slam doors and lock us out, she can have it back." And so, the first stage of her punishment was to have her doorknob swapped out with one that didn't lock, and being grounded from Netflix "until your behavior improves.". She also had to run laps with Sam, despite his mutterings that this was not a sport's team

On top of that, Lily's schoolwork began full force, and Sam laid on extra right off the bat, justifying it with; "You want to go to school don't you? You earned the extra work with your bad behavior, and it will only help you get in faster."

Not that Lily minded that much. After the school fit she threw, she was tripping over herself to please the brothers. She baked every day, anything they needed during research she would try to get, although Dean seemed wary of letting her touch the monster and magic books, and she would watch their drinks like a hawk and scurry off to have another cold one in their hand as they took the last sip of their beers. She even got up extra early to bring Sam and Dean their coffee and breakfast in bed, the way they each took it, but Dean put an end to that after the rainbow man showed up.

The morning the rainbow man arrived, Lily wandered into the kitchen, and switched the lights on as usual, but was greeted with a very unusual sight. There was the largest assortment of candy and cakes she had ever laid eyes on in every color imaginable spread out on the kitchen table. She was inexorably drawn to it and stared down at the feast in awe. After so many years without sugar, she had developed quite the sweet-tooth, helped along by Castiel's childish gifts and Dean's similar taste in food. She finally couldn't help herself and reached down to touch the food, when there was suddenly a stinging pain in her hand, as if she had been slapped. She tried again with the same result. As she went to try a third time, suddenly a short man with a large belly framed by rainbow suspenders materialized in front of her.

"No no don't scream! My name is Sully. I'm a friend of Sam's. What's your name?" Lily couldn't respond because the man's soft hand was clapped over her mouth and she simply regarded the rainbow man with wide eyes. "If I take my hand away, will you be quiet?"

Lily nodded and Sully released her. He crouched down to her eye level and whispered, "Can you keep a secret?"

Lily nodded again, still a little apprehensive but immediately liking everything about this Sully character.

"I'm Sam's bestest friend from when he was little, and I want to surprise him, like a reunion." Lily broke into a smile. Sam didn't eat candy, but surely he would be happy to see Sully after all this time.

"He should be awake soon" she whispered back.

"Awesome! You are the best…?"

"Lily" she answered, blushing.

"No, it can't be. Not Lily! Do you remember Wolfie?"

Lily stopped stock still. How did this strange man know about her imaginary friend? Wolfie the Good Wolf had been her protector and confidant when she was first in Rowena's care. He had to leave because Mother had caught her talking to herself one time too many and the beatings were too much. "How..How do you know about him?"

Sully didn't get to answer because Sam's alarm echoed in the hallway. Sully looked back at her, "Shut off the lights!"

And then he disappeared.

Lily ran to the switch and shut it, before running off to hide behind the other doorway. Soon after, Sam came stumbling into the kitchen, a little disoriented since Lily often brought him coffee in bed. Lily peeked around the doorjamb of the kitchen, watching as he turned on the light, saw the table, and took in its contents with the same mystified expression she had. But then he spun and punched the air, shouting. Lily frowned. She couldn't see Sully, but he had appeared in front of her so she assumed he could show himself as he pleased; that wasn't what was confusing her. Sully had said he and Sam were best friends, but Sam seemed not to remember him at all. She poked her head out farther, and watched Dean enter sleepily, still in his robe and slippers. Lily winced. Sully had distracted her and she hadn't made either of them breakfast or coffee. Dean was not a morning person, and she wanted to warn Sully not to engage until he had eaten and woken up a bit more but it was too late. Suddenly Sully was standing there in all his rainbow-brite glory.

"I'm gonna go get my gun."

Lily's eyes widened. Dean wouldn't really shoot him would he? Sully had been so nice, and promised Lily that she could have some candy after he had talked to Sam. She almost darted from her hiding place to save him, but thought better of it. Dean was still there, albeit looking grumpier and grumpier.

"You. Me. Library. Now." Lily knew that tone, and turned to leave the scene of her eavesdropping crime before she got caught when Sam ran smack into her, knocking her on her butt.

"Um..good morning?" Lily smiled sheepishly up at Sam, who just shook his head and pinched his nose. Dean rounded the corner soon after with an angry scowl that only deepened when he took in Lily looking incredibly guilty on the floor.

"Both of you. Let's go."

Dean marched them both to the entrance of the library, but paused before entering and started in on Lily first, his expression thunderous and his tone brooking no leeway. "What were you doing."

"Um..I always get up to make your coffee?"

"Don't play cute with me princess. I mean hovering in the doorway."

"I…uh…wanted to see Sully surprise Sam."

Sam turned to her, incredulous. "How do you know his name?"

Lily felt herself getting into deep water and tread carefully. "I met him. When I went in to make coffee I saw the candy and…well.." she glanced sidelong at Sam, "..I thought it was from Cas so I went to have some and then he..appeared."

"So you're telling me Happy the Dwarf pops up in front of you and… and your first thought isn't to run and get me or Sam, it's to stay and have a conversation?" Dean was livid. Lily avoided eye contact, trying to salvage the situation.

"He said he was Sam's best friend! I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"Dean in her defense-"

"I'll get to YOU in a minute. Lily, you are in the DEEPEST shit right now, but I need to have a private conversation with Sam. Go straight to your room and so help me if I don't find you there when I am done…" Lily got the point and scurried, shame-faced, out of the room.

She took a detour in the kitchen to make coffee and to look for Sully.

"Hey there Lily!"

"Uh, hi. Sorry about Sam and Dean. He…uh Dean is just…grumpy in the mornings."

"Oh, that's ok!"

Lily couldn't think of anything else to say and so set about making a quick scrambled egg and bacon breakfast with toast, making a green smoothie for Sam, and a pot of coffee. She lay everything out on the table and took one backwards glance at Sully before she ran to her room.

She got to her door at the same time Dean did. This was not turning out to be her day. Dean was dressed, but his mood had not improved and he glared down at her as she ran up. She didn't give him a chance to start. Seeing the scolding forming behind his stormy eyes she breathlessly blurted out. "Please don't be mad at me Dean I was making breakfast and coffee…to say sorry for not telling you about Sully."

Dean came up short a bit when she spoke, and some of the anger in his face softened, but he still addressed her sternly. "I thought I told you to go straight to your room."

"Yea but-"

"But nothing. When we let you stay here we agreed you would listen to us no questions asked. What if Sully was a monster? What if he was someone who wanted to kill Sam?"

"But he wasn't" Lily protested.

"You had no way of knowing that!" Dean's frustration got the better of him and he stopped himself. "You went back to the kitchen when I told you not to. Went back alone to a room with a strange creature in it. Ever think that Sully could have hurt you? He didn't this time but what about next time?"

Lily felt tears rise unbidden. She knew he was right. Sully was a stranger and could have hurt her or killed Sam or worse. "I was just trying to…make you happy. I'm sorry"

"I know you were Lily and you aren't going to be punished. But I want you to remember this. Everything I ask you to do is for a reason, ok?" Lily nodded, head hung. Dean tilted her chin up and swiped at a stray tear with his thumb, giving her a small, half-grin, which was the closest she ever saw him come to a smile, before continuing.

"Sam and I are heading out unexpectedly. Cas is gonna watch you. Get your schoolwork done and clean the kitchen. No Netflix…you're still in trouble for before. Got it?"

Lily's heart fell when she heard they were leaving but she nodded again. "Yes sir."

Dean turned and left, too quick to hear Lily's quiet, whispered parting comment; "Do you forgive me?"

The next few days were exceedingly boring, but she was on her best behavior, determined to make it up to Dean. She resolved to be the best behaved…whatever she was…that they had ever seen. She didn't even sneak TV.

The boys were back a few days later, looking worse for the wear. "How was she Cas?"

"Fully satisfactory."

"That's my girl." Dean ruffled her hair tiredly as he passed, dropping his bags in the war room. Sam followed suite, patting her head silently and dropping his bags, before they both stumbled, exhausted, into their respective rooms. Cas muttered something about prison girls and wandered off as well.

Lily was left standing alone in the great room. Her heart felt empty. She tried to tell herself that the boys were tired, but it wasn't enough to stave off the wave of loneliness that came crashing over her.

She wandered around the bunker, trying to find a way to occupy herself when an idea struck. She would clean Dean's car! She had recently learned the midnight beast of a thing Dean drove around was named Baby, and was very much a unique member of the family. She would surprise him when he got up and everything would be better and they could maybe even go out for dinner, as a family. Her imagination took off and filled her with hope. She rarely left the bunker and her interactions with the brothers, while pleasant, were not numerous. Dean only seemed to talk to her at all when she was in trouble or to give her instructions. Her plan would change all that. After all, what could go wrong?