"Daddy!" came the loud, small voice along with tiny feet pounding up the stairs as fast as tiny feet can manage.

Lizzy gets rocked out of her dead sleep by the sounds and it puts her on immediate edge.

Dean wakes very differently at her side. In the middle of the night they had separated, Dean no longer curled up against his wife. He's on his side of the bed and he smiles when he hears the sound of his boy calling to him.

However, when Dean looks to Lizzy he's instantly concerned. She's there but her back is pressed to the corner of the wall that the bed is against and her eyes are wider than he's ever seen them, searching shiftily and jerkily. She looks like a cornered, frightened animal… one ready to attack if provoked.

"L," Dean says in a quiet, even voice. "You're alright."

Her focus darts over to him and narrows on her husband instead of the hurricane coming up the stairs. She can read the calm he has in the situation and it all starts to come back to her.

She's home. Purgatory is done. Dean's here and he'd never put her in danger.

"Daddy!" the voice repeats and the hurricane hits the room. Sammy bursts in, sprinting for Dean and climbing up the bed as quickly as he can… without actually being able to. Dean gives him a boost. He reaches down and hoists the child up onto the mattress, both dad and son smiling wide as if this is their absolute norm.

"Hey, kid!" Dean says happily, pulling him in tight in his lap and kissing the side of Sammy's head. "Morning."

"Mornin'," Sammy replies as he looks to Lizzy in the corner of the bed. She starts relaxing, it being easier when she gets her eyes on her boy. Her little reason to live and live well. Her reason to get past all this left over crap. She just needs to get back into the good graces of her Sammy so they can be a family again.

"Morning, sweetie," Lizzy tentatively smiles as she sits back down on the mattress, seeing the hesitation back in Sammy' form. Hell, even she's back to being more cautious around him after a night of sleep.

"Mornin'," Sammy answers back, looking shyly at her.

"I'm gonna ask a pretty stupid question here but… you hungry, dude?" Dean asks Sammy, messing with the boy's bed head as he tries to reshape it a little. It did not get past Lizzy that he's kept Sammy's hair short and very much styled like his own. She always knew no son of Dean's would have long hair.

"Yeah," Sammy smiles up at him.

"I figured. But you know what?" Dean gets inspired. "I need to take a shower."

"You stinky!" Sammy laughs at his dad, pointing at his face and giggling.

"Do I stink?" Dean asks and smells his under arm. He makes a face. "Okay, you might have something there. So Sammy, can you do me a favor?"

Sammy just looks at him and waits for the directions.

"Can you bring mommy with you to the kitchen and show her where everything is?" Dean suggests. "That way you guys can start breakfast and we can eat when I'm done cleaning up."

Looking at Lizzy with questioning eyes, Sammy doesn't answer at first.

Lizzy glances at Dean, knowing this might not have been a good idea. He just nods and assures her it is.

"Sammy?" Lizzy says his name to grab his attention. "Can you help me out in the kitchen, please? Sounds like you know where all the good stuff is." She grins warmly and hopes he'll respond.

"Okay, mommy," Sammy says and climbs off of Dean's lap, looking to get down and get to work.

Dean helps him. "What're you gonna make?"

"Pancakes!" Sammy nearly shouts with way too much enthusiasm. He turns around and looks at Lizzy, waiting.

"You know where everything is still, right?" Dean asks Lizzy quietly, making sure.

"Organized it myself," Lizzy reminds. When they first came to Rufus' cabin for the first time it was Lizzy that set everything up. She knows where everything is.

"If he's good… chocolate chips are hidden behind the cereal boxes," Dean winks at her and gets up from the bed.

"Alright," Lizzy smiles and then looks at Sammy, bouncing on his heels with excitement. "Let's make some unhealthy breakfast!"

"Come on, mommy!" Sammy says as he walks for the stairs, taking them slowly one at a time. She watches as she pulls on a sweatshirt in the drafty cabin. So, maybe it was a rough start coming out of sleep in a scary, startling way. At least once she's awake everything is alright… right?

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The second Dean shuts the bathroom door his smile fades completely. He kept it on for his son and for his newly returned wife but his concerns are too high to ever try and fool himself.

She's a mess.

Lizzy hides things about as well as Sammy hides himself during a game of hide and seek. Often he finds the kid standing behind some furniture, half his body completely visible as he presses his palms over his eyes. If he can't see Dean then Dean can't see him, right?

Well, Lizzy's the same. She somehow seems to believe that Dean can't see the truth. She's plastering on a grin that occasionally goes bright and real when her son makes her so happy it's unavoidable, but past that she's a disaster. Her whole life she's worn her heart firmly on her sleeve and given away every single emotion she's felt the moment she feels it.

Right now, she's feeling all kinds of scared, uncomfortable, and a whole bunch of other things he hasn't been able to figure out yet. And that's not at all comfortable for Dean. He can read her like a book. To him, she's wide open and so easy to see through, but after a full year and then some he's rusty. They're rusty. He can't exactly see it all so easily now.

Turning on the shower water so that Lizzy doesn't think he's puttering around the bathroom over-thinking things exactly like he is, Dean starts to strip down. Maybe a hot shower will relax him enough about all this. Honestly, did he expect her to come back and be normal? How could she be?

Then he catches a reflection of himself in the mirror. His upper arms have fingertip sized bruises where she gripped too tightly, the color now deep brown. And as he turns to check his back he can see the red streaks scratched into his skin. She went wild last night, a side she's never really shown him before. And he has the injuries to prove just how not-Lizzy she is right now.

Sighing with concern, Dean steps under the water and lets at least a little bit of the worry wash away. She'll be alright. They're all alright in the end every time, somehow overcoming massive odds and figuring out how to live even when they should have cracked and crumbled under it all.

Lizzy's tough. His wife is tougher than anyone else he knows, even himself. He'll help and they'll get her back through time.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Smells awesome in here," Dean comments as he makes his way to the kitchen. He could smell the pancakes the second he left the bathroom freshly dressed in clean clothes.

"Daddy, like Mickey!" Sammy bounces on the chair he's standing on next to Lizzy by the stove, Lizzy with spatula in hand.

"Whoa! Hold up!" Lizzy warns and grabs his shoulder lightly. "No jumping on the chair. I don't want you falling."

"Okay," Sammy says and stops jumping up and down, his body still alit with energy. "Look, daddy! Mommy made Mickey!"

"Oh yeah?" Dean smiles wide, watching Lizzy smile and work on their breakfast. He gives her a quick once over. Her fresh clothing, her clean look, her smile, her all-one-color hair… that's his girl. Maybe he was too worried.

Dean walks over and gives the frying pan a look. Just like Sammy said, there's a massive pancake in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head in the pan, his mouth and eyes made of chocolate chips.

"Creative… why are they pink?" Dean wonders as he studies the food.

"You had strawberry jam in the fridge," Lizzy shrugs. "So… strawberry pancakes."

The way she grins, all teeth and domestic happiness, Dean's chest constricts. No, his girl is still in there. She's still Lizzy.

"Good thinking." Dean leans into her and kisses her cheek before grabbing Sammy under his arm, the boy's limbs hanging down as he giggles. "Alright, we men set the table."

"We men?" Sammy laughs out as Dean walks with him suspended to the cupboard.

"Well, I am. You're working on it," Dean jokes as he grabs plates with one hand. When they get to the table he puts Sammy down. "You're on syrup duty."

"Okay," Sammy happily answers, heading for the refrigerator.

Dean silently sets the table, grabbing utensils, glasses, and napkins, when his phone rings in his back pocket.

Lizzy watches him check the screen, read the caller I.D., and then ignore the call, placing the phone back into his pocket. She knows something's up. "Who was it?" she casually asks as she looks back into the pan.

"Uh, random number."

He's lying and she knows it. "You don't answer random numbers anymore?"

"Not a hunter anymore," he simply answers, concentrating on the display on the table.

Lizzy nods, letting it go for now. "Fair enough." She's still dying to find out the details of what exactly is their lives these days.

They hear some struggling grunts coming from the refrigerator and Dean takes the opportunity to distract her.

"You got it, big guy?" he asks Sammy that's trying so hard to get the door open.

"I do it, daddy," he says with a taxed voice.

"You don't need any help, huh?" Dean questions knowingly, leaning against the side of the refrigerator and watching on.

"No. I big," he tells his dad and keeps trying. Luckily he doesn't see his dad grab the top of the door and help a little, the door popping open suddenly.

"Nice work," Dean jokes and looks into the fridge. "You get the syrup and I'll get the butter."

"Okay," Sammy answers, grabs the bottle, and heads for the table. He places the syrup onto his appointed chair before climbing up onto with much difficulty. It takes a moment but he gets there. He then places the bottle on the table just in time for Lizzy to be walking over to him with the frying pan.

"Hope you're a hungry guy," Lizzy jokes lightly as she plates the big pancake onto his plate.

"That's not a worry," Dean jokes and grabs the syrup, coating Sammy's pancake. "You want me to cut it up."

"Yeah," Sammy answers.

"Try that again?" Dean says and looks at him in warning.

"Yes, please?" Sammy corrects and Dean smiles as he gets to work, cutting up the pancake into child-sized bites, as Lizzy makes more pancakes for the adults in the room.

"Alright, sweetie," Lizzy starts as she stands in front of the bakery case. She picks up Sammy and settles him on her hip, looking over the massive variety of cupcakes in front of them. "Which one do you want?"

"Don't know," Sammy claims, eyes wide as he scans the colors of frosting, all the cupcake flavors decorated differently.

"Yeah you do," Dean laughs a little, spotting the red frosted Elmo cupcake.

"No don't," Sammy fights back, leaning into his mom a little as he keeps looking.

"You're gonna tell me that you don't want the Elmo looking cupcake?" Dean challenges his son.

Sammy stays quiet, not answering either way.

"Baby, do you know which one you want? Doesn't have to be Elmo," Lizzy smiles warmly, adjusting Sammy's jacket as she does.

"What one you get, mommy?" Sammy asks her, looking up with his bright green eyes. She grins back, so beyond excited that her little man could warm up to her so quickly in just a day.

"Well," she starts, looking through the case and crouching down a little. "The Elmo one does look pretty good… but I think I'm getting the mocha chocolate one."

"I too!" Sammy brightens up, wanting to get whatever it is that his mother does. He wants to be the same.

"Oh, Sammy… I don't think you'll like that one, kiddo. It tastes like coffee," Lizzy tries to explain.

"Daddy drink coffee."

"I know. He drinks a lot," Lizzy smirks, winking at Dean. "But you're a kid. Kids don't like coffee."

"I want what mommy get!" Sammy gets a little loud when he thinks he's not going to get what he wants.

"Hey!" Dean starts to intervene as is his default these days but Lizzy holds her hand out, stopping him.

She knows she can handle this one. "How about this? How about I get the mocha one and you get the Elmo one. Then I can take a bite of yours and you can take a bite of mine. We can share!" She smiles brightly at the idea.

"We share!?" Sammy asks with excitement.

"Absolutely, cupcake!" she calls him, kissing his cheek. She then turns to the woman behind the case.

"Already heard you," the woman grins, white pastry box already open as she plucks the cupcakes from the case for them.

"And could you add a slice of strawberry rhubarb in there too?" Dean interjects with his usual flattering grin that gets him what he wants.

"Will do," the woman answers and gets to work.

As they head for the register, Dean nudges Lizzy's shoulder. "Not bad, momma."

"Thanks, daddy," she smiles knowingly.

"No, I mean it," Dean tells her. "You haven't lost a step."

Lizzy's face softens. "He's my son. It's easy."

"Guess so," Dean laughs as the woman behind the counter comes back. Dean pays for their treats, adding in a milk for Sammy and a couple coffees for the adults.

Dean then leads them to a table by the big picture window that looks out over the main street in town. They settle, getting Sammy set up first before digging into their desserts.

"Mommy, I try," Sammy says and points to Lizzy's cupcake that she's sure he won't like.

Lizzy breaks him off a piece. "Here, try this little bite first. If you like it I can share more."

He tries to hand it over but instead Sammy leans over to her hand and takes it mouth first. She smiles at the move as she watches Sammy's face. He starts alright but quickly it scrunches up with dislike.

"What? You don't like it?" Lizzy asks with faux surprise.

"I no like it, mommy," Sammy tells her.

"Take a sip of milk and get rid of it then," she laughs as she slides his drink closer to him. He listens to her, gulping milk through a straw from the small carton. "Maybe I'll just eat my cupcake on my own then."

"Okay, mommy," Sammy says to her as he watches her pull the wrapper off of his Elmo cupcake. "You wanna bite Elmo?"

"No thank you, sweetie," Lizzy tells him, her fingers brushing through his hair. "You're a very nice boy, Sammy. You know that?"

Sammy just shrugs and picks up his cupcake, taking a massive bite and getting red frosting everywhere.

Lizzy and Dean both laugh at him for that.

"Just like you," Lizzy grins a little at Dean and takes a second to appreciate her husband. The midday sun comes through the big picture window and hits him just right. The way his eyes light up, his face in a slight smile like she isn't used to... he just looks stunning in the moment.

"Yeah, he might have picked up on the less, uh, polite things I do," Dean jokes as he forks a piece of pie that's far too big and shoves the whole bite into his mouth. Lizzy huffs a laugh at him and reaches over, swiping a glob of filling from the corner of his mouth. She licks her thumb and grins.

"Not bad," she thinks before taking a bite of her own food. She hums with sheer delight. "Holy… crap," she last minute amends her language. "Oh my god. Food. So good."

She hums some more with enjoyment as Dean's brain starts turning a bit. "Hey, uh… what did you eat for a year while you were… at work."

"Nothing," Lizzy tells him, not looking at him as she takes another bite.

"Nothing!?" Dean asks. "You didn't eat for a year?" He glances at Sammy and thankfully sees that he's not listening.

"Nope."…

"How did you survive?"

"I don't know," Lizzy shakes her head, sipping her coffee. "Rules are different there. No one… or no thing, really… had to eat. It was just… every man for themselves for the most part."

"So… it was you and Cass versus the whole of Purgatory?" Dean asks in a hushed voice, not to alarm either Sammy or the other patrons around.

"No," Lizzy answers quickly. "Not the whole time, at least."

"What does that mean?" Dean asks.

She sighs, the memories coming back way too easily….

"You want out then you do it my way," Lizzy tells him for the hundredth time as they stomp through the endless woods, eyes darting about as always for threats. "We aren't having this discussion again!"

"I just don't get it," the man following her tells her, wiping his brow as he grows more and more frustrated with her as the days wear on. "We gotta git, darlin'. The longer we stay the bigger the chances are we don't even make it to the portal alive."

"You seem to be convinced that I don't get that," she turns around and stops, ready to have this fight yet again with her Purgatory companion. "But trust me. I fucking get it."

"Do you?" he challenges once more, stepping up to her and using his height to intimidate her.

"Back the fuck off, Benny," Lizzy rolls her eyes and looks away from him. He seems to hate how not in control he is with everything.

"When you tell me why finding your friend, the one that ditched your fine ass the moment you arrived here, is so damn important… I'll happily back off," he tries yet again.

"Benny, seriously, get off me," Lizzy says defiantly, not at all afraid of him even as his teeth descend with his anger. "Put those away!" Lizzy's had it. She shoves him away from her just to put distance between them. "You think that scares me? I used to eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast!"

Benny pauses at that, his nose wrinkling up with disgust before wondering, "Ya'll ate pieces of shit for breakfast?"

Lizzy relaxes at that, her face in a tiny smile. "The fact that you're never seen Happy Gilmore just made that really funny."

"Seen what?" Benny asks, confused.

"Never mind," Lizzy shakes her head. "Look, I just need you to trust me here, Benny. Please. I know I'm asking a lot."

"You are… and the fact that Lou's your sister doesn't cover everything," Benny tells her. "I trust you. You're family in my eyes. But… what the hell is so important about this friend even after he ran away from you and left you high and dry?"

She's avoided telling him the truth all along. She doesn't know how he'll respond of if he'll be pissed/motivated to do something irrational or terrible… but after months Benny's earned her trust.

"Alright, look," Lizzy starts, her shoulders dropping. "Cass is like family to me too."

"Family don't leave ya shanghai'd in Purgatory, dear," Benny points out, trying to prove to her why he's so concerned about this rescue mission that's severely delaying their return to the real world.

"I have to believe he has his reasons for that."

"Like?"

Lizzy folds. "Cass isn't like everything else here. And he isn't human either."

Benny eyes her oddly. "Then what is he?"

"An angel," Lizzy blurts it out, watching Benny's face morph into something very serious. "My angel, actually."

"The hell you goin' on about?" Benny wonders, narrowed eyes as he takes a step closer to her.

"He's an angel of the Lord," Lizzy spells it out. "Wings and all. Before we got sent here he was… broken. I'm fairly sure he's all but fallen, actually. And I think he needs help."

"Angels… ain't real, darlin'," Benny huffs a disbelieving laugh.

"They are," she tells him with certainty. "And you know I'm not about to lie to you after all this time. He's real and he's been there for me my entire life. He's saved me and my family so many times… and I finally get to pay him back. I need to find him. He's leaving with us… even if he ditched me."

With that Lizzy turns back around and starts walking once more, determined as ever to reunite with her guardian angel.

And Benny watches as she walks, quickly falling into step with her. He shakes his head and she just catches him muttering, "Well, ain't that a son of a bitch…."

"Do we need to do this right now?" Lizzy wonders, hating Dean's timing with bringing up Purgatory. Instead of talking about the shittiest parts of her last year she should be paying attention to her son and getting to know her family again. And talking about everything that happened, and knowing how much he's going to hate some of what she did there, she's not ready to deal with it. "Focusing on that stuff, I don't wanna do that right now."

"Sorry," Dean shakes his head at his lack of decorum. "I didn't mean to…."

"I know," Lizzy assures him. "Just, not now."

Dean nods at her, agreeing.

"What I would like to know is what you two have been up to for a year," Lizzy asks with a lighter tone. "I know you have a home but that's about it."

Dean huffs a small laugh. There's so much to say. So much to go over. Pieces at a time.

"Well, when you left, things weren't good…."

"Dean?"

It's a quiet question, not just asking for his attention but asking if he's going to be able to handle talking right now. Dean doesn't move. He stays sitting on the edge of the bed the used to share with Lizzy every time they came to Rufus' cabin as he watches Sammy sleeping in his crib.

"Dean, we need to talk," Sam tries again, taking a step forward into the room that Dean has barely left for the past three weeks. Anytime Sammy's asleep he's here, mourning alone.

Dean still won't answer. He instead takes a large pull from his bottle of beer he had clamped between his hands, his elbows leaning onto his knees.

Sam cautiously takes a seat next to Dean, leaving enough distance between them. "Lou and I have been talking about it."

"'Bout what?" Dean quietly asks, never looking at Sam. His hollow eyes remain on his son, the feelings of hopelessness and fear and pure loneliness pummeling him constantly.

"About getting out of here because we can't just stay here forever," Sam explains, keeping his tone low and cautious, as if Dean could blow up any minute. "We had an idea."

Dean waits for Sam to continue, not looking at him still.

"We were thinking we should move to Kansas," Sam tells him. "Get a place, settle in, and figure it all out from there."

"Figure what out?" Dean asks, finally looking to Sam.

It breaks his heart to see Dean like this. Dark circles under his eyes, his face pale and torn with grief, Sam's seen a lot of bad from his brother but this wins out as the worst. "Figure out what we do now."

Dean hangs his head. The very thought of a future without his wife in it seems like an impossible thing. Life can't exist without her, can it? He always thought he'd die first and he welcomed the idea. He always knew he couldn't live without her. Now he has to figure out how to move on?

What do they do now? Dean knows what they do now. Nothing. No single next step makes sense.

"I know this… I know it doesn't even makes sense right now," Sam says in his still quiet tone, looking at Sammy also. His heart breaks for these two as much as he holds out hope that this isn't permanent. "But we need to do something. You know Lizzy would want us to do the right thing here."

"And what's the right thing here, Sam?" Dean challenges in his same, shattered voice he's had ever since he finished breaking everything he could in the cabin with the news of Lizzy's death.

"Get out," Sam says easily, hands clasped in front of him.

"Out?" Dean disbelieves.

"Yeah. Lizzy always said when the Leviathan were gone then you guys were getting out of the life. You were going to get a home for Sammy and stop all the dangerous shit. Now's the time. Honor that. Make her proud."

"She's not proud, Sam… she's dead," Dean bitterly reminds.

"You know what I mean," Sam amends. "Lou and I found a small town in Kansas. We'll keep ourselves in the middle of the country. If anything goes wrong we can go in any direction. And I had an idea for Lou once we arrive to give her purpose… and we can keep Sammy away from all this."

"This what?" Dean wonders.

"This," Sam says, pulling a shotgun out from under the bed they're sitting on and showing to Dean. "The spells and weapons and monsters… he doesn't need to know about any of it. Sammy can get the redo we never got now that the Leviathan are gone."

Dean hangs his head, the beautiful idea too much for him to take. This was supposed to be Lizzy's doing, getting out and giving Sammy that warm, loving home his own mother once tried to create for him.

"Dean… I know this feels wrong but… this is about Sammy," Sam very cautiously says. "Everything is about Sammy."

"You don't think I know that?" Dean asks sharply, a fire behind his empty eyes when he peers at his brother off to the side.

"I know you know that," Sam corrects him. "And I know, deep down, you feel the same as we do. We gotta ditch here and try to make a real life. Let's make this work. Let's give him every damn thing we never got."

Dean nods slowly as the idea slips into his mind. That hole is his chest grows and by the time Dean looks over at Sam there's already a tear trail down his cheek. "We didn't have a mom."

And what the hell can Sam even say to that?

"But unlike us… he's gonna have a dad that doesn't shove a shotgun in his hands at the age of eight and that doesn't drink himself stupid through his toddler years," Sam reminds. "He'll have a home not on four wheels. He'll go to one school, have one teacher a year… we can do this, Dean. We can make this work out."

All the things Sam says, all those pipedreams that Lizzy once held for her son, Sam's telling him it can happen. As another tear rolls silently, Dean comes to terms with it. This is life. They'll live it well, make sure Sammy has every advantage he deserves… and even if Lizzy isn't there for it he'll make sure her dreams won't go unrealized.

"Yeah, okay," Dean relents, washing a hand down his face to clear the tears and try to sack up about this. "We should go."

Sam smiles very small and claps a hand down onto Dean's shoulder, gripping tightly to show his support before he leaves the room and gives his brother time with his thoughts.

"A week later we were holed up in some motel in Kansas as Sam finagled some things with Charlie," Dean explains.

"The, uh, techie you met at Roman's headquarters?" Lizzy tries to keep straight.

"Good memory," Dean awes a little. "Yeah, she's incredibly good at what she does. She figured out how to mess with our socials and get us new, clean numbers that are registered on the federal level. She even wired money from god knows where into accounts she set up at local banks for us. Next thing we know we're moving into a small home with three bedrooms and Lou's opening a bar in town."

"Louie owns a bar?" Lizzy's eyes widen, not ever having been ready to hear that Lou is living normal with a normal job. After Purgatory she was a gung-ho mess of hunting need. Lizzy, having just been there, now gets that need. But a job? A business-owning job?

"Yeah. Called it the Roadhouse," Dean says with a little pride. He does see the merit of what Lou's been up to and he appreciates that she's been really helpful to the community, like a new mom for the wayward people that hunt. "Even has a picture of Ellen and Jo by the door along with Bobby and Annie Hathaway… Rufus… the whole gang. You're up there but I guess we can take that down now." He smiles warmly.

Lizzy grins sadly back to know they're honored even in such a small way. So many hunters die in the name of saving others and not one single civilian with ever praise their work or honor their memory. It's so sad.

"That mean she's made herself a hunter's gathering spot?"

"Oh yeah," Dean nods. "She serves beer and monster info to hunters. And some locals drink there… they don't get the whole monster part. Just the beer."

"So… Lou is the new Ellen?" Lizzy assumes.

"And just as hard assed," Dean adds in. "She rules that place with an iron fist."

"Damn," Lizzy says with surprise. "That's awesome." Dean nods, clearly still impressed by Lou's work, as he takes another bite of his now nearly gone pie. "What about Sam?"

"Sam's, uh… he's kinda floating, actually," Dean admits, his face screwed up in slight confusion with the very idea to this day.

"Floating?" Lizzy doesn't understand, continuing to eat her cupcake.

"Yup. He never really landed on anything, you know? Mostly he balances the Roadhouse books and repairs the bar and house… and helps Lou with lore. He stays busy but he never got a real job."

"That's really surprising," Lizzy comments.

"I know," Dean nods once. "But hey, when all he has is an unused pre-law degree that's almost a decade old, what job could Sam get that would be worth his time?"

"Makes sense," Lizzy admits, sipping her coffee and suppressing the groan she wants to let out over the warm, rich flavor. She missed coffee.

"But… I might have heard Lou and him talking the other day," Dean brings up the eavesdropping. "Lou's pushing him to apply for grad school."

Lizzy's eyes are wider than wide. "Would he do that?"

"Sounded like he wasn't sure, even if Lou was," Dean says and follows that up with a laugh to himself. "Never thought I'd ever say this, but I'm glad he married her. As much of a pain in the ass as she is… she's pretty good for him. She pushes him in a way only she could. I mean, not even I can get through to him like that half the time."

When Dean looks at her, Lizzy's face is frozen in shock.

"What'd I say?" he wonders, thinking he went too far with something. He just doesn't know what.

"They're… married?"

Shit. He didn't want to tell her that yet. "Uh, yeah. They got hitched out of nowhere, actually."

Lizzy's face falls. "Oh god, I missed it." She hangs her head. "I missed so much…."

"And Lou missed ours," Dean shrugs.

"So what?" Lizzy challenges. "I should have been there."

"You were busy," Dean reminds. "And plus… I wasn't even there. Don't feel so left out."

"What!?" Lizzy asks with more shock at this.

"They disappeared one afternoon and came back hitched. Did a quickie at town hall. They said they didn't want me upset since it was only a couple months after you, uh, left and inviting me felt like rubbing it in my face."

"So they left you out!? That's screwed up!" Lizzy gets upset.

"Nah. I think it was best they did it that way," he confesses. "Those first months weren't pretty. No one would want me at their wedding back then, trust me."

And there it is. That heavy weight in her chest that makes her mourn for the lost year of their lives and the burden and pain this inflicted on Dean. Quietly she places a hand on top of his that's resting by his discarded fork. He looks at their hands and grips hers tight, appreciating that she gets it, even if her own dealt hand was much worse.

"What about you?" Lizzy lightens up, leaving the newly discovered bombshell for another time.

"What do you think I did?" Dean questions, assuming she'd know.

"My guess? You worked at a garage."

"Bingo," Dean responds. "Worked three days a week to pay some bills and Sam watched Sammy for me. Other than that… it was all about me and my shadow."

They both look to Sammy as he pokes his fingers through the pile of frosting and crumbs left behind, his face a mess of red.

"Wow!" Lizzy lets out a big laugh at him. "You're a mess!"

"It good, mommy," Sammy tells her, crumbs in his tiny white teeth as he shows her a frosting smeared hand.

"I can tell it was good," she continues to laugh and grabs a wad of napkins from the dispenser on the table. She then tries to wipe his face down but she squirms away from her.

"Sammy," Dean says in a warning tone. "Hold still. You gotta clean up."

"I no like it," Sammy whines as Lizzy continues.

"Too bad," Dean tells him. "You look like a crazy person. Let mommy help."

Sammy still moves about to avoid Lizzy's attempts, but eventually she gets him mostly cleaned up. It's good enough for now. "You gonna finish your milk before we go?"

"Yes," Sammy says and reaches out when Lizzy hands it to him.

"Both hands," she reminds him and he clutched tight to the carton as he drinks the rest down. "You wanna take a walk to the playground around the corner when you're done?"

Sammy nods his head enthusiastically as he drinks a little faster.

"You sure you wanna stay out that long?" Dean checks in on her. When they first arrived in town, walking down the main drag, all the noise and movement made her seem unsettled. He just needs to check on her.

"Yeah, I think it's good for me," Lizzy tells him.

"You sure?" Dean eyes her.

She grins. "I know I was a little weird when we first got into town but I'm… just adjusting. And being around people is good. I think I need this."

Dean nods his agreement. "Then let's get to that playground. Just, you know, tell if you need to leave."

"Promise," she smiles back, loving this new Dean she's seeing. Patient, understanding, less temperamental, kind… he's damn near perfect these days.

Flashbacks, Benny... it's all here. Hope you liked it!

Recently I decided to do something here on Fanfic. After speaking to a couple members of the Supernatural Fan Fiction Monthly Awards, I made the decision to enter one of the stories in my series into the monthly competition. It's been almost five years for me writing this series and it's about time I try and spread the word. I've chosen The Definition of Family as my entry story. It's in the beginning so the story line isn't too complicated to just jump into. Also, I'm revamping the entire thing so that it makes sense on its own and so that it's just plain better. I hope it gets me some more readers as that's the basic reason I've chosen to do this. When the story is reposted and all shiny and new I'll let you all know, in case you'd like to read the newer version. Wish me luck! ;)