A/N: It's winter break, so I'm planning on doing a lot of writing! Thank you to those who have read and reviewed. I appreciate it. It's much more fun writing to an audience.

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"Dean, it's the red van!" Brinley exclaimed.

"Stay in the car and keep the doors locked unless you see me coming," Dean ordered as they pulled into the orchard alongside the red van. Darkness surrounded them and clouds covered most of the light from the full moon. Dean hopped out and ran to the trunk to gather his weapons. Brinley watched worriedly as he ran off into the woods with his gun.

"Who's there?" the man from the café questioned as the couple walked through the woods. They looked around frantically, and suddenly the scarecrow came out from behind the trees. It began walking towards them, and they started running away. They reached a clearing and the scarecrow was gaining ground on them. Dean jumped in front of them waving his shotgun.

"Get back to your car!" he ordered. The couple looked behind them and saw the scarecrow getting closer. "Go! Go!" Dean yelled. The couple ran away. Dean cocked his gun and shot the scarecrow, which stumbled but kept walking. Dean began running, cocked his gun again, and shot again. The scarecrow kept coming toward him.

Dean heard a scream from behind him and glanced quickly to find Brinley. "What the hell kid?!" he demanded, "Get back in the damn car!" Dean turned and shot at the scarecrow again but it kept moving toward them. He looked to find Brinley still standing behind him, frozen in fear. "Run dammit!" he ordered as he gave her a little shove. Brinley finally responded and started running with Dean close behind. "Go! Go!" he yelled. Finally, he and Brinley reached the cars to find the couple. Dean quickly shoved Brinley into the backseat of the Impala. "Stay!" he ordered. He cocked his gun and looked around, but the scarecrow had disappeared.

"What…..what the hell was that?" the man asked as he gasped for air.

"Don't ask," Dean sighed. Dean was furious with Brinley as he climbed into the car, but decided to wait before he addressed it with her. Meanwhile, in the backseat, Brinley fought hard to hold her tears back. She had faced some horrifying things, but nothing like that and it terrified her. However, it wasn't like her to cry, and she definitely wasn't going to show how scared she was and she didn't want Dean to think she was a baby. They drove the couple to a motel just outside of town where he figured he and Brinley could also spend the night.

What part of stay in the car didn't you understand?" Dean demanded once they were inside their room. Brinley threw her bag onto the bed and turned to face him. "I told you to stay in the car," he ground out.

"Chill Dean, you're going to give yourself an aneurysm," she commented with a small giggle.

"You find this amusing?" he demanded, "You could've gotten hurt, or worse yet, killed."

"I'm fine Dean," she sighed, "I don't get why you're so upset. Besides, that was the coolest experience I've had in a long time." She turned her back to him and unzippered her bag. Annoyed, Dean placed his hand on her shoulder and forced her to face him again.

"We're not done here," he stated firmly. Brinley rolled her eyes and sighed. Dean took a deep breath. The preteen attitude was getting to him. He could hear Sam whispering in his ear to calm down.

"When I give you an order, you follow it," he stated. "Understand?"

"This isn't the military Dean," she chuckled. "I'm just a kid. We do stupid things."

"There's no place for stupidity on my watch. Next time you decide to disobey an order, you'll see how serious I am," he warned. His words caught her off guard, and she wasn't sure what he meant. Dean wasn't really sure what he meant either, but he knew his Dad would never accept that kind of behavior from her and he knew he shouldn't either.

"What Dean? You'll throw me out onto the street like you did to Sam," she huffed as she shrugged his hand off of her shoulder. "It's ok, I know you don't want me here with you." She grabbed her pajamas from her bag and headed into the bathroom. Dean clenched his fists and took a deep breath. At that moment he was angry with Sam for leaving them, and angry with his Dad for leaving them with his kid. He had some time to collect himself while Brinley was in the bathroom. She finally emerged, and climbed into the bed next to him without saying a word. "Listen kid, it's not that I don't want you here," Dean explained. "I just…..," he sighed as he tried to put into words what he was thinking.

"It's ok Dean, I get it," Brinley mumbled from under her covers, "And I'm sorry I didn't stay in the car. I know you were just trying to keep me safe." Dean was surprised to get an apology from her, and decided it was best to end their conversation on a good note. That night, Dean woke to Brinley's screams. Started, he jumped out of bed, soon to realize she was having a nightmare.

"Don't hurt me!" she cried.

"Hey kid," he said quietly, "Wake up." He touched her hand, and she ripped it away fiercely with a scream. "Brinley," he said more forcefully. "Wake up. You're dreaming." Finally, her eyes opened and she looked up at Dean with confusion. "You were dreaming," he said. Brinley did all she could to hold back her tears. "Were you dreaming about the scarecrow?" he asked guiltily.

"No," she lied, "Someone was trying to rob me."

"Mmmhmm," Dean sighed. He admired the kid for trying to save face, but he wished she felt more comfortable telling him what was wrong.

~To Be Continued~