"What do you think?" Dean asked.

Andy pulled his blanket over his shoulders. "Really big mad."

April sat down beside Andy. "Why did you go outside?"

Andy kept his eyes down.

"Andrew." April said.

"I was gonna find a bus." Andy said.

April furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

Andy took a deep breath. "You can't be happy with me."

April looked at Dean and then back at Andy. "What do you mean?"

"I can't go to Bobby's house because I get into stuff. I have to go to school. If you just had Ian, you could move wherever you want." Andy said sadly.

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "Were you listening to our conversation?"

April gasped in understanding.

"I just heard a little. I didn't mean to." Andy said.

"Yeah, buddy. I think you did mean to." Dean said.

April rubbed Andy's back. "I told them that I couldn't keep dragging you around. I was worried about you. We can move but I want to stay in one place for a while. I don't want to move every few months. I want to do better for you."

Andy blinked slowly. "Oh."

"We did say you get into stuff. You are a kid. Bobby's house is cramped. He has all kinds of breakable stuff. He was nervous about having Kate there when she was younger. We were talking about you having room to run around and be a kid. Then, we were talking about you getting into normal kid stuff like getting your clothes dirty or putting worms in your pockets. A kid your age shouldn't have to worry about getting their hands on a gun or being attacked by demons." Dean said.

Andy shrunk. "Oh." He searched for something to say. "I got mad about that 'cuz I was trying real hard to be good. I didn't touch stuff or run. I did one bad thing at the store and then I was good. I got mad that you didn't want me around 'cuz I get into things."

"That is the trouble with listening in on others' conversations. You miss the important stuff." Dean said.

Andy sipped his drink.

Kate tossed clothes into the washer. She heard a sound and looked through Andy's pockets. She found a charm and instantly understood why she couldn't track him. "Taylor."

Taylor looked at the charm. "Where was this?"

"In Andy's pocket." Kate said.

John overheard them. "Let me see that." He held the charm in his hand and squeezed it. He entered the kitchen and placed the charm on the table.

Andy looked at it and put his cup down.

"Why did you have that?" John asked.

Andy looked at April for help.

"Do you know what it is?" John asked.

Andy looked down at his mug.

April moved the mug away from him. "What is it?"

Andy sighed. "It makes people not track you."

"That is why Kate couldn't find you." John said.

"It prevents scrying." Dean clarified.

"I just was mad and wanted to go far away. Then you could just have Ian." Andy said.

April was stunned.

"We almost didn't find you at all." Dean said. "It was pouring rain so your tracks got washed away. Then, the truck didn't see you until it almost hit you."

April's eyes grew wide. "What?!"

In the commotion, they hadn't been able to tell April what happened.

"A log truck was coming down the road. Andy went to the road, I guess to find where he was at or hitch a ride. The rain was so thick that the driver didn't see him. Taylor got him out of the way." Dean said.

April was so much more upset knowing how bad the weather was and how close he had gotten to getting ran over. "Grabbing that symbol means you didn't just run out. You thought about it. How did you even get out?"

Andy frowned. "Taylor."

Taylor leaned against the door facing. "You moved the door stop so I'd get distracted and move it."

Andy nodded. "I didn't know it was so yucky outside."

"Honestly, you are lucky it was rain that got you and not a demon." Dean said.

Andy didn't like that. "I know how to fight them."

April didn't know what to do. She had been so scared when he was gone. He could have been hit by the truck and they wouldn't have known until one of them went to town. Police wouldn't have been able to alert them. He could have gotten picked up by some creep. "Go to the room."

Andy sniffled and gave her sad eyes. "I'm sorry mama."

April shook her head. "Now."

Taylor held his hand out. "I'll go with you."

Andy was sad. He made his mom mad. She didn't even want him beside her. He grabbed Taylor's hand and followed him.

April was still. She had so many thoughts rushing through her head yet didn't know which one to latch on to. She was angry that he left and sad that he felt that he wasn't wanted. Walking away in the store had spooked her and she dealt with it but he was in real danger outside. "Thank you for finding him."

Dean nodded. "You are welcome. The kid knows how to travel, I'll give him that."

"I can't believe he did that. I can't... he got.. he was almost hit by a truck." April stammered. She blinked away a few tears and turned her back to John and Dean.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Dean asked. He truly didn't want to but April was breaking down.

"I... he is mine.. he.." April couldn't focus.

Dean thought about it. "He could." He looked at John.

John snorted. "Why me?"

"Kate and Taylor have talked you up as the big bad. He is so worried about making me not like him. Also, I was outside when the rain hit and I am still cold. My disciplinary duties have been depleted after dealing with Kate." Dean sipped his coffee and looked at John. Of all the times John gave him the 'hard job' he thought that John could take one for the team.

Taylor smoothed Andy's hair down.

"You hit me out of the way?" Andy asked.

"I did. I was worried that I bumped you too hard." Taylor said.

Andy frowned. "I wish I could do that."

"Having abilities can get you into a lot of trouble." Taylor reminded him.

A knock on the door caused Andy to hide behind Taylor.

Taylor tilted his head at John. He was confused.

John told Taylor he could go.

Andy almost ran after Taylor. John was big and his arm would catch him. "Where is my mom?"

"Dean is making sure she is calm. You scared her." John said.

Andy looked around him. "I want my mom."

"You and I are going to have a talk." John said.

Andy scooted away from him. He knew what talks meant.

"You overheard us talking about you. Did you think we were going to toss you aside?" John asked.

Andy nodded.

"Sam got cured too. We aren't tossing him to the side." John added.

Andy nodded again.

"When the supernatural gets ahold of someone, they are marked in a way. Only someone else that has seen a demon could really know what you are going through." John said. "Bobby's house is kind of messy. He has books all over the place. It isn't somewhere you would want to live. You need a backyard."

"What's gonna happen to me?" Andy asked.

"Well, what we were talking about was having you go back to South Dakota with us. I'll hit the road but Kate and Taylor would be around. Dean too most of the time. If a demon tried to get to you again, you'd have them close by." John said.

Andy had misunderstood the conversation. "I didn't know that."

"You ran because you got mad." John said.

Andy frowned deeply.

"That took a lot of thinking."

"I thought fast." Andy tried.

"Sam ran a lot when he was a kid." John said.

Andy tilted his head. "He did?"

"Yep. When he was really little he would take off in the store or run outside." John said.

Andy looked down at his feet.

"Then he got a little older and started running farther away." John said.

"Did he come back?" Andy asked.

"Most of the time, Dean or I had to go find him. Then, we'd make him go back home. He always regretted running." John said.

Andy thought about it. Sam was cool. "Were you big mad at him too?"

John thought that Andy reminded him more of Dean at six than Sam. He was a good mix of the two. "Yes. He scared me and I couldn't keep him safe if he ran."

Andy twiddled his thumbs. "I can go see my mom?"

John shook his head. "Not until our talk is over."

"I want to talk to her though." Andy said. John was less scary than when they first met but Andy certainly didn't want swats from him.

John moved him to stand in front of him. "Dean ran once or twice. Sam ran a lot. Kate has run and even Taylor."

Andy chewed his lip.

"The reason I am in here is that I want to make sure you don't run again. You can't do that to your mom." John said.

Andy pulled away from him. "My mom can give me swats."

John told him to stop pulling. "No, I am. I have been through it with four kids before you. Five, if you want to count Caleb. I know how to get a kid to stop running. Your mom isn't a hunter. You are stuck with us though. So, you will get treated like all of the other kids."

Andy liked that he was grouped in with the others but could skip however John stopped kids from running. "I won't run again."

John tilted his chin. "That is a good promise to keep."

Andy's lip quivered. "I want to say sorry to my mom."

John put him over his lap. "You will as soon as we are done here."

Andy tried to get out of John's grasp but it was like an iron bar over his back. He remembered the swats he got from Dean and assumed it would be worse from John.

John swatted him. "No eavesdropping." He swatted him again. "No sneaking around."

Andy doubled his efforts to escape. He didn't know how Sam could have run more than once if his dad's swats hurt that much.

John smacked the back of his thigh. "Stop fighting. You did the crime so you have to accept the consequence."

Andy hoped that meant no more swats.

John resituated him and peppered his backside with swats. He felt like his point was made and paused. "Are you going to run again?"

Andy shook his head dramatically.

"Good." John said. He gave him one final smack and stood him up. He was a little surprised that Andy shoved his head into his chest. He rubbed Andy's back. They were so much more simple at that age.

Andy felt like part of the group in some weird way. Like being attacked by a demon, making John mad was something they all had in common.

John let Andy calm down. "Are you ready to apologize to your mom?"

Andy nodded.

John walked with him down the hallway. Andy didn't seem scared of him.

Andy let go of John's hand and ran to April. "I'm sorry!"

April soothed him. "I know. No more though."

Andy nodded. "I'm never ever ever ever running nowhere again."

Dean chuckled.

"I'm sorry you had to find me in the rain." He said to Dean.

"I'm just happy we did find you." Dean said. He reached over and ruffled Andy's hair.

"Are we moving?" Andy asked.

"I think so." April said. "Our house will be too cold this winter."

Andy laid his head on her shoulder. "Can I get a puppy?"

April patted his back. "Maybe one day."

### ###

Jody sat down at Bobby's table. The inside of the house was bizarre in a way. "So, what is really going on? Don't tell me drugs or sibling rivalries. I saw his eyes change. Something is wrong with that boy."

Bobby didn't want to tell her everything but the officer was persistent. "Demons."

Jody sat forward. "Demons?"

"He was possessed." Bobby said.

Jody scoffed.

"Hey, you wanted the truth." Bobby said.

"If he was possessed, then he is innocent." Jody said.

"No. He summoned the demon to possess him so that he could get his dad back and get to Taylor." Bobby said, flatly.

"What the- How do you know that?" Jody asked.

"Our angel told us after he read his mind." Bobby resituated his cap and rested an elbow on the table.

Jody chuckled. "I knew you had a drinking problem but are you on drugs?"

"The angel wears a trenchcoat," Bobby said.

Jody remembered him from the incident with Nate and Ellie. "So he really was into satanic stuff."

Bobby nodded.

"I don't know if I believe you." Jody said.

"Well, you asked for the truth. There it is."

"Why would demons want Taylor? Why does David hate him so much?" Jody asked.

"That is a long story. David has always hated Taylor. The kid has a few screws loose. Craig wasn't Taylor's real father."

"Is Taylor okay now? I'd like to set eyes on him and Kate too." Jody said.

"They should be headed back this way. While I have you here, they picked up a mom and her two kids." Bobby said. He pulled out a pad of paper with details. "The woman's ex is a real piece of work. She has been on the run from him."

Jody looked at the paper. "Of course. I will gather some numbers for her. How old are the kids?"

"The little one is a little over one. The older one is six." Bobby said.

Jody thought of her own son, Owen. "I'll talk to some people at the precinct and get back to you."

Bobby thanked her several times and sent her on her way. It was about time they had the law on their side. Most of the time, they operated right over the line between legal and illegal.

### ###

"I can go to your school?" Andy asked Taylor.

"Well, no. I am in middle school. You will be in elementary. They are close by though." Taylor said. "Next year I will be in high school."

Kate groaned. "Next year you are leaving me."

"Benefit of being older." Taylor teased. "I'll get my license first too."

"Not if I break your legs." Kate said. she kicked at the side of his knee and laughed when he jumped away.

Andy stayed right with one of them, if not an adult. After his 'talk' with John, he had no desire to break any rules. "You have a nana? I don't have one of those."

"I do. She is the best. She is kind of like Mary Poppins."

"She has an umbrella?" Andy asked.

Taylor laughed. "Mary Poppins without the magic."

Dean called Caleb. "We are in need of a strapping young man with the ability to lift boxes."

Caleb scoffed. "I don't know anyone like that."

"We are headed back to Bobby's. The kids and April are going to head that way too. April just needs some stuff from her old house." Dean said.

"I hunt things. I don't help people move." Caleb grumbled.

"What are you doing right now?"

Caleb sipped his gas station coffee. "I'm on a hunt."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Hunting what?"

"Vampires?" Caleb said.

"Where?"

"Alright, John Winchester jr. I'm not on a hunt. I'm in between hunts and holed up in a motel." Caleb said.

Dean smirked. "You can help move stuff so you don't get out of shape."

"Fine. I'm driving though. I think getting zapped around gives me heartburn." Caleb said.

"It is the greasy burgers and effects of aging," Kate said.

Caleb groaned. "Hi, Kate. I regret giving you meds."

Kate smiled. "You enjoy the banter."

Caleb did enjoy the banter. Hunting alone was lonely. Since his dad died, he had been floating around. The Winchesters took him in when he needed it and they were the closest thing he had to family. "Who is going to help me?"

Dean rested his elbow on Kate's head. "I will."

Caleb sighed and got up. "Where am I going first?"

"You might as well head to Bobby's." Dean said.

Caleb looked at the time. He was closer than they were. "I'll let him know I'm coming."

### ###

"Jess, what are you doing?" Sam asked. He had gotten out of the shower and Jess was standing on the bed.

Jess tiptoed to reach the ceiling. "Trying to put stars on the ceiling."

Sam chuckled. "Why?"

"You said you wanted them when you were a kid." Jess said.

Sam blushed. "I was a kid."

"So now you get to do all the things you wanted to do as a kid. I wanted stars too but my mom is so picky about design. Glow in the dark stars were not appropriate for a young lady." Jess mimicked her mom's voice.

Sam got on the bed too. He didn't really have to reach since he was nearly a foot taller.

Jess wrapped her arms around his middle. "Has anyone ever told you that you are tall?"

Sam stuck one of the stars to the ceiling. "I was small as a kid. It feels good to be taller than Dean and my dad."

Jess flopped down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. "You need more on the left side."

Sam nudged her. "I thought this was your job."

Jess smiled and put her arms behind her head. "You are so much better at it.

### ###

Jody played her part well. She got ahold of resources for April and the boys. She stopped by Bobby's house the day that everyone got there.

Taylor was happy to see Jody. He owed her a lot. "Thank you so much for helping us out."

Jody gave him a warm hug. "I am so happy that you are doing well. Hanging out with this bunch hasn't damaged you too much."

Taylor chuckled. If only she knew. "Where is David?"

"Juvenile lockup."

"Will he ever get out?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know. That is up to the judge and psychologists. I'd say it would be quite a while. I will keep an eye on the case and you will be the first to know if I find out he is going to be released." Jody said.

Taylor felt better after talking to Jody. He could put David behind him and move on.

Jody introduced herself to April and showed her the list of resources she had found. "There are a few places you can stay. I requested a private apartment."

April thanked her. "I don't even know where to begin."

"One thing at a time. My son, Owen, is about Andy's age. He wanted me to give him a toy. Is that okay?" Jody asked.

April smiled. "Yes."

Andy was unsure of the police officer. She seemed nice but he was weary.

Jody knelt down. "I have a little boy that is your size. His name is Owen. He wanted me to give you this." She pulled a toy from her jacket pocket and handed it to Andy.

Andy liked cars. "Thank you."

Jody held her hand out. "I'll show you something cool." She twisted it and it turned into a robot.

Andy's mouth dropped open. He stared at the toy and then at Jody.

"It is a transformer. Owen loves transformers." Jody said.

Andy watched her twist it back into a car. "Dean?"

Dean walked over. "What bud?"

"Did you know about transformers?"

Dean chuckled. "Yes."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about them?" Andy asked.

"It never came up. That is a cool one though. Did you tell her thank you?"

Andy grinned and hugged Jody. "Thank you." He sat down on Bobby's couch and played with the transformer. Of all the toys he ever had, that one was the coolest.

"I have to go to work, Bobby. Where are you putting all of these people tonight?" Jody asked.

Bobby rubbed his head. "I'll fit them somewhere."

"April and her boys are welcome to stay the night over at my place. Owen would love it." Jody said.

"I will talk to April about it." Bobby said. He thanked Jody again before seeing her off. Bobby had missed the company but it took him a bit to get used to bumping into people again. His house was small compared to the number of people

"You could build on to the house," Kate said.

"Or throw extra beds in the basement," Taylor said.

Bobby sighed. "The rest of the house is cramped. I'm not set up for little people." He patted Ian's head.

April and the boys did stay the night with Jody the first night. Her house was warm and calm. Andy and Owen became instant friends and April wondered how difficult it would be to get him out of Jody's house.

"I can put in a good word so that Andy and Owen are in the same class. Mrs. Morgan is the teacher. She is so patient and so kind." Jody said.

"I'm afraid he will be behind."

"Don't worry about that. He is smart. I can tell. The school will work with him to get him up to speed." Jody assured her.

Owen showed Andy his collection of transformers. "That one up there has too many steps. My dad can do it but he puts it up there because he says he gets gray hair when I undo it."

"My mom says stuff like that. I don't think it works though. I don't think she has gray hairs."

"My mom says all kinds of stuff. I have a ball. Do you want to play?"

### ###

(December 3, 2001)

"Andy, don't fret. We have two weeks of school then we get to be out for two weeks." Kate said.

Andy was nervous. "It is so big."

"I was scared at first too. You will make friends though. Owen will show you around." Kate comforted him.

"I like Owen."

April held Andy's hand and walked toward the elementary school. Jody had stopped by to help her get Andy settled. They had gotten their apartment and some type of a schedule. "I will pick you up as soon as school is over."

Andy nodded. "Okay."

April hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

Andy blushed. "Don't kiss me, mom."

April smiled. "Much too big for that." She gave him a wink. "Be good today."

Ellie tackle hugged Kate. "I missed you so much!"

Kate was a little shocked. She thought Ellie wouldn't remember who she was. "I missed you too."

Taylor had a similar exchange with Nate.

"How was witness protection?" Nate asked.

"Oh, uh.. good." Taylor said.

"You missed Oliver and Jacob's prank. They glued Mr. Abram's chair so when he sat down he got stuck." Nate said.

Taylor fell back into his old patterns. It was good being back. "Did they get suspended?"

Nate laughed. "Yeah. Totally worth it though."

Dean and Caleb got Details from April and headed back to Kansas to collect their stuff. It helped that they had a few hunts to knock out of the way.

Caleb was still spooked by dark places. He had gotten claustrophobic and nightmares plagued him. It threw him off his game and made him jumpy. "What did John say was out that way?"

"Vamps." Dean said.

Caleb nodded. "I can do vamps."

"Not up for any haunted houses?" Dean asked.

Caleb shook his head. "Hell no."

"I'm with you." Dean said. He was also spooked by closed in spaces but not nearly as bad.

Caleb didn't talk about what happened. He didn't want to think about it. He had dreams that he never healed. He'd wake up and his abdomen would be open. "Those kids give you a run for it but they are kind of amazing."

Dean looked out the window. "I know. Kate is quick. She comes up with these wild ideas and sometimes, they turn out. Other times she is impulsive. Taylor is still hurting."

"How do you do the whole parental thing?" Caleb asked.

"I wouldn't call it that. I helped Raise Sam. Those two aren't that different." He paused. "Okay, they are very different."

"Kids scare me." Caleb admitted.

"They can be creepy."

"No, being responsible for someone else and anything you do could fuck them up for life." Caleb said.

Dean thought about it. That was one of his big worries. He didn't want either of them to be stunted in any way. "We turned out fine."

Caleb chuckled. "Our dads were gone too much. We raised ourselves."

Dean nodded.

"Do you ever think about slowing down?" Caleb asked.

Dean shook his head. "I'm just getting started."

"Sam is in California and Jess is." He whistled and then clicked his tongue.

"Still don't know how he locked that down." Dean said.

"I'm still young. I just wonder sometimes." Caleb said. He rubbed his knee and cracked his knuckles.

"Retire or slow down." Dean said. "No one can look down on you for it. You have been drug through it lately."

"If it wasn't for Kate and Cas, I wouldn't be here." Caleb said.

"No, you wouldn't. Hell, I probably wouldn't. Take some time off." Dean said.

"Maybe I will."

### ###

Jo handed a beer to one of the Roadhouse's regulars. "Anything else I can get you?"

The man winked at her. "Not a thing."

Jo rolled her eyes. She turned and cleaned one of the other tables. She put the tip in her pocket and stacked plates. She overheard the mention of mutants and it piqued her interest.

Adams, the regular gulped is beer. "He said it looked like a shrunk windigo with knives."

Ross laughed. "There ain't no such thing."

"Maybe so but nobody has heard from him in days. Sounds like whatever it was may have got him." Adams said.

Jo tried to make herself look busy.

"I am headed out to search for him. I owe him for saving my hide a time or two. I'd like to see what it was he was seeing." Adams said.

Ross downed his drink. "Count me in."

Jo thought about what had attacked Caleb and Dean. Could it be the same thing? She called Dean.

Dean furrowed his brows. "Now why would Jo be calling me?" He answered the call. "Hello?"

"Adams, short guy who works out of Utah. You know him?" Jo asked.

Caleb nodded. He knew him.

"What about him?" Dean asked.

Jo looked around her. She slipped out the backdoor and stood by the wall. "He was talking about a buddy of his that he hasn't heard from. Sounds like a creature got him."

"That sucks." Dean said. That was part of the job, unfortunately.

"He described it as a shrunk wendigo with knives." Jo said.

Caleb stiffened.

"When was this?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. I didn't hear everything." Jo said.

Dean looked at Caleb. "I need to talk to Ellen."

Ellen put the phone on her shoulder. "Ellen here."

"I need to talk to a hunter." Dean said.

Ellen smirked. "Hi, Dean."

"Hi, Ellen. Jo may have heard someone talking about the kind of thing that attacked us." Dean said.

Ellen shot Jo a look. "She hears a lot of things."

"Well, if this is what attacked us, that hunter has no chance in hell of making it back from that hunt." Dean said.

Ellen slapped the bar towel down on the bar. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Ask them some questions. Tell them you have heard a few things and discourage them from going after it."

"You think a hunter is going to listen to me?" Ellen said.

"I think you are the one person a hunter might listen to." Dean said. "You got a way of scaring them straight."

Ellen grumbled something under her breath. "I'll see what I can do."

### ###

Cody looked out his window at April's house. "Dad, my friend is back."

Cody's dad looked out the window. He had never gotten a chance to apologize for his boys. "I don't think they are. Andy's dad is really mean, buddy. I think they are staying somewhere safe."

Cody frowned. He missed Andy. He ran upstairs to find Ezra, his brother. "I wanna see if Andy is home."

Ezra waved him off. He had gotten the brunt of his dad's frustration over the gun incident. "I'm doing homework, go away."

Cody went to his own room and watched Andy's house. He wished he could call him but he didn't know the number. He put his shoes on and grabbed his coat. He wanted to play.

Ezra heard Cody run down the stairs. He rolled his eyes. He knew they weren't home. There were newspapers outside the door. He raised his bedroom window so that he could yell at Cody. "They aren't home!"

Cody ignored Ezra and ran to Andy's door. He knocked on the door. He heard movement inside. He turned around and stuck his tongue out at Ezra. "Yes, they are!"

The door opened and a hand appeared. Ezra tried to yell for Cody but his voice caught in his throat. Cody was yanked into the house as the door slammed shut. Ezra blinked. "Dad!"