(Sam and Jess)
Jess got up when the kids got up. She and Sam sat them down to explain what was going to happen. "You'll get to go to Marie's house today. Well, you'll stay in a hotel at least once but she and her husband will pick you up today."
Caroline looked panicked. "Why can't we stay here?"
"It can get boring here and Sam and I have to go to school," Jess said, rubbing Caroline's back.
"I'm a little jealous that I can't go with you. Their house is awesome." Sam added.
Caitlyn hid her worries. If Sam and Jess trusted these people, they must be good people.
"They will be here in just a little bit and you will get to meet them first," Jess said, gently.
Ben was too young to understand and spent the morning wreaking havoc in every way that he could.
Juggling kids was something that Marie did well. They needed to pick up the little ones but also get Charlie back. That was an easy fix. Charlie wouldn't mind staying at Bobby's. The drive to California was not a short drive. The kids would be scared and uncomfortable. She had plans in place to help with that.
Rod did most of the driving and made it to Sam and Jess's apartment right after breakfast.
Sam answered the door and welcomed Rod and Marie into their apartment. He hugged Marie and shook Rod's hand.
Marie waved to the kids and introduced herself.
Caitlyn pointed out that she was Caitlyn and introduced Ben and Caroline.
Marie sat down beside Jess. She pulled some photos out of her bag. "I know that meeting new people can be scary. Especially, if you're expected to go with them. I brought some photos of things around our house."
The girls looked at the photos. "You have horses?" Caroline asked.
"We have a lot of horses. We have big ones and small ones." Marie said.
Caitlyn held up a picture of three dogs.
"We have a lot of dogs too," Marie said with a smile. "Jonah is a man that lives on our land. He lived with us when he was younger. Now that he is grown, he has kids of his own and his daughter is so excited to meet you." She sighed. "The poor girl has five brothers and was delighted to know that there would be a couple of girls around."
Caitlyn's mouth dropped open. "Five?"
"Yes," Marie said. "That is a photo of her and four of her brothers. The newest one is only a few weeks old."
"What is her name?" Caroline asked.
"Chloe," Marie replied.
Sam turned around. "Oh, that is going to be confusing. Too many 'C' names."
Caitlyn scoffed. "They aren't even said the same."
Sam shrugged. "My dad mixed Sam and Dean up. Can you imagine how many names I get called now that the younger two got added to the family?"
"Oh, my dad does that too," Caitlyn said. She kept looking at photos and settled on a playhouse. "You have this?"
"Yes. The kids built it long ago but we try to keep it spruced up." Rod said.
The girls felt better about going to the house since they saw that it looked like a nice place to be.
Marie stayed with the girls while Sam and Jess spoke to Rod in the kitchen. She thought the girls were lovely and Ben was a well of energy. She left Jordan's wife at the house, putting up things to keep Ben from getting into things that would harm him. She got Ben's attention and shook his little hand.
Ben touched her purse and looked at her with the brightest eyes.
"Do you want something?" Marie asked. She opened her purse and showed Ben what was inside.
"Candy," Ben said.
Marie unwrapped a piece for him. She, unlike Sam, knew to keep treats sugar-free.
Ben ran to the spare room to get his stuffed animal. He brought it back to Marie and showed her.
"Oh, isn't he lovely? What is his name?" Marie asked.
Ben talked around the piece of candy in his mouth. "Am."
"Sam?" Marie asked with a smile.
Ben nodded. He bobbed the stuffed moose up and down like it was walking across Marie's leg. He made his best moose sound, although he didn't know what a moose sounded like.
Marie patted his hand and asked the girls what they liked to eat and do for fun.
Caitlyn excused herself to go to the restroom. She did and then walked back quietly so that she could hear what Sam and Jess were telling Rod. She heard pieces of the conversation and sat down on the floor to think about what she heard.
Sam heard a sound against the wall and walked around the other side. He crouched down. "Eavesdropping?"
Caitlyn stammered.
Sam took her hand and helped her stand up. He walked her to the table and had her sit down in a chair. "We are talking about boring adult things."
"You were talking about my dad not coming back," Caitlyn said.
Sam shook his head. "It is like with those papers. I was talking about if he doesn't come back as soon as we want him to. You will need to go back to school or go back to a homeschool program. That way, you don't fall behind."
"Well, I don't want to do that. He will be back." Caitlyn said.
Jess sat down too. "He will. School for Sam and I starts Monday. We want to figure out when you are supposed to start school. Wouldn't it make sense to start at the right time and then when your parents are back, you just continue doing what you are doing?"
Caitlyn frowned.
"Where we live, there is a program that allows you to attend in person or from home. You can go to school two days a week and stay home the others. What I was speaking to Sam about was enrolling you into that program. If you are with us for a week, you will be able to play with other kids. Then, you can take your work on the road with you." Rod said.
Caitlyn wasn't convinced. She didn't like when adults made decisions without caring what a kid thought.
Sam knew that from his own experience. "We were just talking. Once we had a few options, we were going to talk to you and Caroline."
"You were?" Caitlyn asked.
"Yes. You don't need to sneak around and listen to conversations or open sealed documents. I was raised by a hunter so I know it sucks being left out of the loop." Sam said.
"Are you going to tell my dad about that?"
Sam sighed. "You should. Once he is back, we need a better plan. I'm sure that will come up."
"I was hoping it wouldn't," Caitlyn said.
Sam gave her a smile. "You are a whole lot like my sister, Katelyn. I can tell you, that sneaking around doesn't give you all of the information. You'll be involved, you just have to give us a chance to bring you in."
"I'm just not used to this."
"I know," Jess said. "We all know. That is why Marie brought photos. That is why we are explaining everything. We want you to feel comfortable."
"You can go back to the living room. I'm just going to find some information and then talk to you and Caroline." Sam said.
Caitlyn slowly got up and went back to the other room. She felt a little silly.
"I was just talking to Caroline about places that we could stop on our way to our house," Marie said. "There is a zoo. There is also a nice hotel that has a water park attached to it."
"We could go there?" Caitlyn asked.
"Yes, although I don't think you have swimsuits. That is an easy problem to fix." Marie answered.
Caitlyn was starting to think that things wouldn't be so bad. Of course, she couldn't let her guard down but she could let herself have fun.
"You might want to have your Katelyn talk to this Caitlyn," Rod said.
Sam rubbed his face. "I was thinking about that. She is just scared."
"We will make sure she is safe," Rod said. "Tell me about Ben."
(Dean and the kids)
"Up and at 'em," Dean said as he banged on each door.
Kate rolled off her bed and opened the door. "I'm ready."
"Well look at that," Dean said. "Taylor! Charlie!"
Kate walked back into her room to grab her bag. "Don't yell at Charlie."
"I'm not," Dean said.
"She is not like the rest of us. You have to be gentle." Kate said.
Charlie opened her door.
"Are you traumatized?" Dean asked.
Charlie shook her head, rubbing her eyes.
"See, she's fine," Dean said. He opened Taylor's door. "Get a move on."
Taylor got up and quickly sat back down. His legs were on fire. He rubbed his shins and groaned.
"What's wrong with you?" Dean asked.
"Shin splints? I don't know." Taylor said.
"Hobble to the kitchen and have dad look at you," Dean said.
Taylor did just that after he shoved the rest of his stuff into his duffle.
John told him to sit down. He determined that nothing was structurally wrong with his legs. "It could just be growing pains."
Dean brought his mug down on the counter. "It better not be."
Charlie jumped.
Taylor stood up to stretch his aching legs. "They've met older me. Dean's a shrimp and he's getting pissed off ahead of time."
"For every inch that you grow taller than me, I'm kicking your ass," Dean said.
Taylor stretched. "I can't help it."
Dean scoffed. "Here drink some coffee."
Taylor shoved the cup away from his face. "You can't stunt my growth at this point. Although, I could eat healthier and maybe grow a little taller."
"No," Dean said.
Charlie sipped the coffee that Taylor didn't want. "So you met... future Taylor?"
"They've shown up at random times. I've met older Kate. Sam met older Taylor."
"How?" Charlie asked.
"Time travel," Dean said.
Charlie perked up. "So it works!"
"One day it works. Today isn't that day." John said.
"There is a time stream. I told you about that when I was explaining how Karen came back. It is a place that exists outside of time and space so we can go there. There are orbs that we think our memories. So I guess that place is how we go back and forth through time."
"Oh, can I go there?" Charlie asked.
Kate looked over Charlie's head and saw John's face. She winked at Charlie. "We will have to wait until they leave." She slumped forward. "I was only kidding."
"I know you were," John said, a slight hint of a warning in his words.
"I may come up with theories but I will not mess with the laws of time and space without adult supervision," Kate said, holding up three fingers. "Scouts honor."
"Hey, that could be something to keep you busy. You could be a girl scout." Dean said.
Kate huffed. "You just want the cookies."
"You should choose something to spend your time on that isn't related to any of this. Taylor is doing football." John said.
"He's the brawns. I'm the brains. I can work at the lab." Kate said.
Taylor washed his glass in the sink. "Hey, I'm the brains too."
"You may enjoy track or basketball," John said.
"Running isn't fun," Kate said.
"Running and getting trophies for it is fun," Dean said.
Kate did think about doing something school-related. "I'll ask Hannah what she is doing so we can be on the same team." She smirked. "Dean, you have the same reaction to her name that demons have to the word Christo."
"You just keep yourself out of trouble," Dean said. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you two."
"Well, that was all because my dad sold his soul. Do you plan on doing that any time soon? No? Then why would I need to come up with a plan behind your back?" Kate asked.
"You are constantly coming up with plans behind our backs." Dean reminded her. He ruffled her hair. "I know she isn't a bad person. I do want you to be safe though."
"Says the dweeb who is about to hunt down a fire creature," Kate said.
"Enough arguing. Everyone to the car." Dean said.
Charlie followed Kate down the long hallways. She had walked that path enough that she didn't think she'd get lost if she did it by herself. The rest of the bunker was a maze. She turned around as if to say goodbye to the bunker and took a deep breath. She'd totally be back.
(Hours later, Sam and Jess)
Jess looked around the living room. She sighed and sat down on the sofa, placing a pillow on her lap.
"They will be okay," Sam said.
"I know. I really enjoyed having them here." Jess said.
"They are cool kids," Sam said, sitting beside her.
"We should adopt," Jess said, suddenly.
"Uh."
"No, not now. I mean, one day." Jess said. She leaned her head on him. "I want at least one baby Sam."
"What about a baby Jess?" Sam asked. He shifted so she would lay her head down on his leg.
Jess scooted down and curled up beside him. "You were a cute kid with your chubby cheeks and curly hair."
"My cheeks were not chubby," Sam said with a laugh.
"They were when you were very little. Then, you were lanky." Jess said with a smile.
"What am I now?" Sam asked.
Jess ran her hand up his arm. "Hot. Really really hot."
"At least someone thinks so," Sam said.
Jess sat up quickly. She giggled. "Caitlyn and Caroline think you are cute."
Sam's mouth dropped open. "What?"
"They asked if you had brothers," Jess said through another giggle.
Sam's face turned red. "Oh, no."
"You are pretty cute. Look at those dimples." She poked his cheek.
Sam wrapped his arms around her. "I think you're pretty cute too."
(Andy)
Andy woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He didn't sleep well because he was worried about Jimmy. He got up a few times to look outside just to make sure the other boy wasn't doing anything to the house. Then, when he did fall asleep, Ian woke up and wanted to play with toys. He placed a pillow over his head and tried to sleep through the rustling. That didn't work so he snapped at Ian and made him lay back down.
Ian put up a fight but stopped when Caleb entered the room to check on them.
"Is everything okay?"
Andy huffed. "Ian won't go to bed."
Caleb tucked Ian into bed and read another story. He kissed both of their heads and went back to bed as well.
When Andy woke up for the day, Caleb was already gone. "He didn't wake me up!"
"No, he didn't. He had to leave a little earlier today. He will get off a little earlier as well." April said.
Andy groaned and turned on the tv, saying he wasn't hungry.
"Karen is going to pick us up in a little while." April reminded him.
He groaned again and focused on the tv.
Ian brought a few toys into the living room and tried to hand one to Andy. He frowned when Andy didn't take it. He put it on Andy's leg and dropped the others onto the couch.
Andy put the toy back on the couch and turned the volume of the tv up. He ignored Ian until he got hit by one of the cars. "Mom!"
April walked around the corner.
"Ian hit me!" Andy said.
April took the car away from Ian and sat him on a small chair that had been placed in the kitchen as a time-out spot.
Ian served his time with a few tears and a reminder to stay in the chair until he was told to get up.
Andy left the living room for his room. He wanted to be left alone.
April let Ian up and walked him to the bedroom. "Andy, Ian has something he wants to say."
Ian mimicked April signing the word 'sorry'. He rubbed his fist in a circle on his chest and did his best to vocalize the word as well.
Andy sighed. "It's fine." He pulled his blanket over his head and turned his back to the door.
April had Ian leave the room with her. She hoped the day got better. Andy was cranky and Ian could get cranky at the drop of a hat.
Karen got to the house and helped get Ian's shoes on. "Where is Andy?"
April called Andy from his room. "We are ready to go."
Andy put his own shoes on and waited by the door.
Karen noticed Andy's mood and tried to make him feel a little better. "Maybe we could get a treat after shopping."
Andy shrugged.
April cleared her throat.
Andy sighed dramatically. "A treat would be nice. When can I play with Owen?"
"Maybe this afternoon," April said.
Andy looked out the window and didn't talk the entire way to the mall. He was annoyed with Ian who never seemed to shut up.
April tried to make the shopping trip somewhat fun for Andy. That is why she asked Karen to go with them. She didn't want to juggle both boys. "Your list is right here. You can pick out a backpack, lunch box, and folders."
Andy found a backpack with Transformers on it and that lifted his spirits. To make it even better, there was a matching lunchbox and some folders that also had Transformers on them. Andy put the backpack over one of his shoulders to test it out before putting it into the cart.
Ian wanted to see the backpack because the robots moved when the bag was tilted to the side. He grabbed one of the straps and yanked it, causing Andy to drop the bag.
Andy pulled the strap out of Ian's hand and snapped at him.
April turned around. "Hey, what happened?"
"I was trying to put it on my back and he pulled it so hard I dropped it," Andy said.
April sighed. "Ian, be gentle." She found a smaller backpack with construction trucks on it and offered it to Ian. "Jody said there was a nursery program he could go to. It is two days a week for a few hours."
"I bet he would have fun. You could get a break too." Karen said.
Andy saw Ian start to walk away from them and grabbed the top handle of the backpack and pulled him back.
Ian sat down on the floor and let Andy pull him by his backpack. He giggled and fell back on the floor.
April picked him up and dusted his shorts off. "They should pay you two for sweeping the floor. It doesn't look like anyone else has." She took Ian's backpack and dropped it into the cart alongside Andy's. "Now you need shoes."
"I've got shoes," Andy said.
"I know but you need new tennis shoes. Most of your stuff we can get from Elsie's store but shoes are a little different." April said.
Andy found a pair of red shoes and tried them on. "Now we can go."
"Ian needs shoes too," April said.
Ian pointed to the red shoes that Andy got.
April looked for his size.
"I don't want to match him!" Andy announced.
"Lower your voice," April warned. "He likes red too. You are in different sizes. He is in toddler sizes and you are in big kid sizes. They won't have the exact same shoes in both sizes."
Andy waited until Ian got his own pair of shoes, although it took forever. "Now can we go?"
"We aren't done. We have a few more things to get." April said.
Andy groaned and thought about stomping his foot but decided not to.
"You should be happy that you get to pick things out," Karen said. She gently patted Andy's back and took Ian's hand to keep him from running off.
Andy wanted to go home. He wanted to play with Owen and climb trees. Ian was still on his nerves as he whined and tried to walk away at every given chance. When they finally went to leave the mall, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"We will get lunch and then go to Elsie's store," April said.
Andy whirled around. "What? You said we were done!"
"Do not yell at me. I told you that we were done with the mall. You can play with toys at the store while you wait." April said.
"I don't want to wait. I want to go home. How am I going to play with Owen if I'm stuck in town the whole day?" Andy whined.
Karen started loading bags into the car while April talked to Andy.
Ian took the opportunity to bail out of the cart and run over to a big truck that was parked across the aisle from Karen's car.
April gasped and ran after him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to the car.
Ian went limp and tried to pull away from her to go back to the truck.
April got a better grip on him as a car went by and turned him around to swat him three times.
Andy jumped. He felt his stomach drop and wanted to hug Ian.
"You do not run in the street." April scolded. She picked Ian up and put him in his car seat. She saw Andy's face and took a deep breath. "Do not start. He has been trying to run off this entire time. It is incredibly dangerous since there are cars out here."
Andy got into the car and slammed the door. "He wouldn't run off if you were watching him instead of talking."
April closed her eyes and counted to ten. She walked around to Andy's side of the car and opened the door. "You are being disrespectful. You and I are going to talk when we get home."
Andy crossed his eyes and looked away from her.
April got into the front seat and rubbed her face.
Karen gently touched her arm. "We could skip lunch and go to my house. Then, you could go to Elsie's by yourself."
April just nodded. She blinked away tears and steadied her breath.
Bobby wasn't expecting them back so soon. Well, he wasn't expecting April and the boys. He opened the door and let the cats outside to run around.
Karen got Ian out and carried him inside, although he protested about wanting to stay outside.
April told Andy to get out and go into the house.
Andy rolled his eyes.
April unbuckled him and grabbed his wrist, helping him exit the vehicle. "We will just have that talk here."
Andy pulled his arm back. "You don't have to break my arm!"
"I'm barely holding your arm. Inside, now." April said as she swatted him.
Andy glared at her. "No."
Karen had given Bobby the run down as she brought Ian inside.
Bobby cleared his throat loudly. "Boy if you don't get yourself inside this house right now, I'll wear your little butt out, you'll still get the spanking your mom plans on giving you and you can bet your dad will have something to say since I had to get onto you, not to mention you are being rude to your mom."
Andy's eyes flew open. He darted by April and ran by Bobby.
April gave Bobby a weak smile. "Thanks."
Bobby nodded he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and shut the door behind them once everyone was inside.
Andy wasn't worried about his mom but didn't want Bobby and his dad to be mad too. He was starting to forget why he was grumpy at all. Oh, it was because shopping had taken all day. He was tired and the adults didn't even care.
April talked to Bobby for a moment before going to the kitchen, grabbing something, and returning to where Andy was staying. "Upstairs."
One look at Bobby's face sent Andy running up the steps to Kate and Taylor's room.
April sat down. "What has gotten into you?"
"I'm tired and shopping is stupid," Andy said.
"I took you so that you had a choice as to what you got. You are being ungrateful and rude." April said.
"You get rude when you are tired." Andy shot back.
April pulled him to her and shifted so that he was bent over one of her legs, making sure he wasn't pressing on her stomach.
Andy lost his confidence when a wooden spoon connected with his backside. No big deal, she'd swat him a few times and then let him go. He quickly realized she wasn't going to stop at a few times and his heart sunk. "I'm sorry mom."
"You have no respect for me at all. That is going to change." April said.
Andy knew how Caleb reacted to things like that but maybe his mom was easier to sway. He tried to cooperate so that she would feel bad and stop.
April hated what was happening but didn't want to rely on Caleb every time that Andy copped an attitude. She readjusted him and worked down to his sit spots. That got a heartbreaking reaction.
Andy started seeing his mom in a new light. A few swats with a spoon hurt but were survivable, not this. "I'm really sorry. I woke up grumpy. I'm sorry."
April stopped. "We all have bad days but you cannot be disrespectful and yell at me."
Andy nodded.
"So, what is up with you today?" April asked again.
"Ian kept me up for hours last night and I got bored at the store. I wanted to play with Owen." Andy sniffled.
"Why didn't you tell us that Ian was up?" April asked. She patted the back of Andy's leg and let him stand up, surprised that he wrapped his arms around her neck.
"I didn't want him to get in trouble," Andy said.
"We talked about this," April said.
"I know." Andy hiccuped. "I will tell you next time. I'm sorry I yelled at you."
April kissed his forehead. "I forgive you. I don't want to have to do this again."
Andy let go of her to rub his seat. "Am I going to get one from dad too?"
"No," April said. "As long as your behavior improves. He will probably talk to you though."
Andy hugged her again. "I didn't know you were gonna use that."
"I think your head is a little too hard for my hand to do much good," April said, wiping a stray tear from his eye.
Andy gave her a confused look. "It wasn't my head I was worried about mom."
April smiled. "It is just a saying. Are we on the same page?"
"Yeah. I won't be rude again." Andy said.
"You are going to stay here while I finish shopping. I don't think today is a good day to play with Owen. We can try again tomorrow after you've had a full night's sleep." She tilted Andy's chin so that he would look at her. "I know you've been trying to keep Ian out of trouble and that he gets on your nerves. If you can behave for the rest of the day, Karen can keep Ian while we look at the van. Then, you can go with me and your dad for dinner."
Andy's eyes brightened. "Just me and you guys?"
"Yes," April said. She rubbed his back. "I think now would be a great time for a nap."
Andy yawned. "What are you going to get at Ms. Elsie's store?"
"Clothes," April said.
Andy stretched. "Can you not get me anything lame?"
April smiled. "I'll do my best." She grabbed an extra blanket and let Andy lay down on Taylor's bed. "I love you."
Andy curled into a ball. "I love you too."
April went back down to the kitchen and dropped the spoon into its normal spot. She turned and took a shaky breath, swallowing hard.
Karen pulled her into a hug.
April let a few tears fall. Her mama's heart was torn to shreds.
Karen let her calm down and offered words of reassurance.
April pulled herself together.
Karen let her step back. "He will be okay."
April gave her a sad smile. "Maybe but I won't."
Karen handed her a tissue. "Having grown up with brothers, I can tell you, boys will run you ragged."
Ian reached for April and rubbed his face on her when she picked him up.
"You need a nap too." April said.
Karen patted Ian's back. "Come on, let's go nap."
Ian let go of April for Karen and rested his head on her shoulder.
"Go do what you need to do. Get yourself some coffee and enjoy yourself." Karen said.
April leaned over to kiss Ian's cheek. "Thank you, Karen."
"Don't mention it. I love having the boys around." Karen said with a smile.
Bobby offered April a small smile as she got ready to leave. "We've got them. You just take some time for yourself."
April slumped. "Yeah, now that I've done the hard spot, you'll barely need to watch them."
Bobby chuckled. "That is the purpose of an aunt and uncle, right?"
April jingled Karen's keys. "Just don't feed them any sugar."
Bobby scoffed. "We will save that for right before we send them home."
April groaned. "If you do that, they are spending the night."
Bobby looked at the time. "I've got to meet Dean to pick up the kids. If the boys are up all night, Kate and Taylor can stay up with them."
She gave Bobby a brighter smile and walked outside. She couldn't imagine navigating those waters by herself. She did have support from Caleb and the others. She rubbed her lower back as it had already started to ache from the added weight of pregnancy. She was going to need all the help she could get.
(Dean and the kids)
"Dad said you had to let me drive so I learn," Kate said.
"No the hell he didn't," Dean said.
"Yeah, he did. He let Taylor drive his truck and said I could practice once we got to the back roads." Kate said.
Dean looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Not that I'd ever disregard an order but over my dead body."
Taylor turned the music down. "Not even then. You would haunt your own body just so she couldn't drive the car."
"Damn straight," Dean said.
"I could compel you," Kate said.
Dean whipped his head around. "Charlie, slap her."
Charlie looked up from a book. "I don't partake in violence."
Dean tossed an empty water bottle back to hit Kate with it. "There are things you don't joke about, Katelyn."
Kate laughed. "I wasn't joking."
Dean raised an eyebrow as he looked at her through the mirror.
"Well, dad didn't say you had to let me drive but I could really compel you," Kate said.
"You're annoying but not evil," Dean said.
"Geeze, Dean. Calling me names now?"
Dean snorted. "You're not driving the car."
"I guess when you get hurt one day and I have to get you to a hospital, I may have to drive the car for you but won't know how so I'll just wreck it," Kate said.
"You can teleport," Dean said.
"Oh, that is an ability that I do not have full control over." Kate said.
Dean cracked up. "One day I'll teach you how to drive. Not today. Your feet have to reach the pedals"
"My feet reach," Taylor said.
Dean shoved his shoulder. "Shut up." He met eyes with Charlie.
"I'm staying out of it. I know I need to learn to drive but I care about the environment and this thing burns gas like crazy. I'd feel more responsible driving something else."
Dean's mouth fell open.
Kate fist-bumped Charlie.
Dean shook his head. "I'm about to dump all three of you beside the road."
(Later)
With all three kids left with Bobby and not beside the road, Dean turned the car around to meet John again. He blared the music and didn't stop until a lack of fuel made him. He got himself a snack and a coffee. When he got back outside, a woman was leaning on the car. He groaned. "I just got rid of you."
Older Kate crossed her arms. "Rude much?"
"Why are you here?" Dean asked.
"Why so prickly?"
Dean opened the car door. "Your younger self is a pain in the ass."
Older Kate shrugged. "I came to talk."
Dean motioned for her to get into the passenger seat. "Is this a talk we can have as I drive?"
Older Kate slipped her shoes off and put her feet on the dashboard. "Yep."
Dean swatted her feet away. "You've got to know I'd never let you put your feet there."
Older Kate dropped her feet. "Are you done?"
Dean turned the car on. "What brings you back to 2002?"
"I've come with information and riddles."
"Oh, my favorite," Dean said, popping part of a chocolate bar in his mouth.
"You are headed back to meet dad right?" Kate asked.
"Yes," Dean said.
"Cool, cool."
"Do you want to share what this creature is?" Dean asked.
"That isn't what I came for," Kate said.
"You know, two birds with one stone." Dean countered.
"There isn't a name for it," Kate said. "I can't explain, you know, laws of time and stuff. What I did come for was this." She opened the glove box and pulled out an empty vial.
"Where did that come from?"
Kate looked from the glove box to Dean and reenacted opening the glove box to get the vial out.
"Smartass," Dean grumbled.
"If you want to keep something safe, sometimes the best place to hide it is when, not where," Kate explained.
"An empty tube?"
"This isn't empty," Kate said, shaking the vial.
Dean eyed her for a moment. "Is this one of the riddles?"
Kate grinned. "Uh-huh." Kate tried to explain the vial but it was all over his head. "I'll be back. I can't tell you everything." She waved her hand and the radio turned on.
Dean blinked as she was gone. He started to turn the music off but paused. He recognized the song playing "Don't Fear the Reaper. Seriously? Dammit Kate, is this a riddle?" He blew air through his nose. He shrugged and turned the music up, riddle or not, it was a good song.