A/N: Part of my Found Family series, featuring Travis & Izzy McCormick.

So I personally hate getting sucked into a story only to find it's unfinished (usually because I'm reading them so long after they're written I'm pretty certain they'll never be updated). I actually filter what I read so only ones marked 'complete' come up. So it goes very much against the grain to mark this as incomplete, but there IS a plan. :) These will actually be one-shot stories - primarily conversations the boys have with Travis and Izzy, scattered in-between my other stories. Each one I post will be complete in itself. Ta-da! Hope you enjoy!

PS A reminder that up until after the events of Nightshifter (Ep 2.12) the McCormicks don't know about the supernatural.

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ONE

Set at the end of 2.06 No Exit.

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The car was painfully silent. Ellen's wrath was a tangible thing. Sam could picture it pressing on the windows and roof of the car, threatening to explode the vehicle from the inside out. He exchanged another glance with Jo, whose eyes conveyed both embarrassment and apology, and he gave her a half smile of encouragement before turning his attention back to watching road signs and wishing his brother would drive even a bit faster.

Dean glanced in his rear-view, catching the exchanged looks in back and then Sam's eyes as he turned back to the window. This sucks he could read in his brother's eyes, and he couldn't agree more. Yes, they had lied to Ellen. Yes, Jo had been taken…he resisted a shudder as he recalled the terror that caused…and then used as bait. But they had WON, none of them the worse for wear, so to be treated like disobedient children rankled. He glanced over at Ellen and felt a trickle of remorse. He knew fear was driving her anger, fear of losing her only child. He could understand that fear, even if he didn't appreciate being in the path of her ire.

Everyone in the car jumped as Dean's phone rang out in the silence. He quickly grabbed it and hit answer without even looking at the caller ID. Anything to break up the icy silence…"Hello?"

"Dean! How are you? How's Sam?" The enthusiastic voice of Izzy McCormick teased his ear and immediately he felt his tense muscles ease. Another glance in the rearview confirmed that Sam had noticed Dean's slight adjustment and even without knowing for sure who was calling he was starting to smile.

"Izzy!" Dean exclaimed, "It's good to hear your voice." He listened for a minute, then glanced over to see Ellen staring daggers at him. "Hey, Izzy? Um, this actually isn't the best time. No, no, we're both fine. Just…can I call you back tomorrow?... Yes, I promise… Yes, I'll make sure Sam can talk too… Ok, you too. Hi to Travis… Ok, bye."

Hanging up the call, Dean glanced over again at Ellen, but she had resumed trying to melt the windshield with her glare. A glance back at Jo, but she had her head back, eyes closed, although the tension radiating off her made it clear she was not actually sleeping. Finally he met his brother's eyes, he shrugged, and they exchanged a smile. This drive was pure torture, but now at least they had something to look forward to.

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"Hey Dean?" Sam finally broke the silence the brothers had been sitting in since leaving The Roadhouse. Dean had filled Sam in on what Jo had told him, and they both had been processing silently as the miles passed by.

It took a moment, but Dean finally glanced over at Sam, raising an eyebrow in response.

"You told Izzy we'd call back. Should we…" he waved his cell phone where Dean could see, and then started keying in the number when Dean sighed and nodded. Hitting the speaker button, they listened to it ring several times before Izzy answered, sounding out of breath.

"Hello? Hello, I'm here…"

"Izzy, it's Sam and Dean." Sam said, smiling at the sound of her voice.

"Sam! Dean! Oh good! Hang on…" they could hear crackling and muffled sounds and exchanged amused looks as they pictured her holding the phone to her chest and calling for Travis. The atmosphere in the car had already lightened…this couple had that effect on them, Sam noted to himself.

"Still there?" came Travis' voice, clearly smiling.

"Yep. Is this a bad time?" Dean replied.

"No, not at all. Izzy was just wrestling a chicken into a pot and I think the chicken was winning."

"I heard that!" came Izzy's voice, sounding farther away.

They laughed along with Travis, feeling their tension start to ease.

"Ok, I'm back." They heard a 'smack' and Travis' playful 'ow' and then "Izzy - one, chicken - dinner!"

Laughing, Sam said, "We never doubted you for a second!"

"Wise boys. How are you?"

They exchanged looks. What could they even say? The McCormicks didn't know about the supernatural, and they didn't really want to implode their world by opening that can of worms.

"You are ok?" Izzy added when the silence stretched on. They hastened to assure her they were.

"It sounded like you were busy with something last night?" Travis inquired curiously.

"Yeah. Um…" Dean thought for a minute, then decided they could give a watered-down version of their last hunt. "We were on a job, and ended up with a friend's daughter helping us. She is a grown, capable young woman, but she and her Mom disagree about what she should be doing with her life."

Sam chimed in to add "She sort of lied to her Mom about where she was going, and we might have backed that up."

"Oh, this can't be good…" Izzy said slowly.

"Yeah," Dean sighed, "She got into a spot of trouble, and it took some work to get her out of it. She's fine, but it was scary." The brothers exchanged a look, remembering just how worried they had been for Jo. "We wrapped up the job just as her Mom arrived. So we had the privilege of driving them both home…"

"I'm guessing the drive was less than enjoyable." Travis interpreted.

"Bingo." Dean agreed. "We thought we'd leave them to duke it out and let the air clear, but then Ellen - "

"That's the Mom." Sam interjected to explain.

"- told Jo - "

"The daughter." interrupted Sam again. Dean's glare had him holding his hands up in mock defense.

Dean sighed again, "She told Jo that her husband, Jo's Dad, had been killed because of a mistake our Dad made when they were…working together. Now they're both mad at us, I guess."

"I'm sorry boys. It sounds like you got on the wrong side of a Momma Bear." Travis commiserated. "I'm glad everyone is ok though and that's the worst that happened."

"We just don't have a lot of friends," said Sam softly, "so it's hard when we aren't sure if we've lost some."

"They'll come around sweetheart," Izzy soothed, "From everything you've told me, it sounds like you boys did nothing wrong, other than maybe siding with Jo's choices over Ellen's preferences. They will realize that when they've had time to cool down a bit."

Sam looked over at Dean, silently urging him to hear and accept Izzy's words. He looked briefly back at his brother, then refocused on the road.

"Tell us how you are, Izzy, Travis. How's the farm? The dogs?" Dean asked, ready for some good thoughts to replace the guilt and regret flooding his mind.

"Digger thought he caught a squirrel the other day…" Travis began, both boys beginning to smile as they were caught up in the stories of normal life at the McCormick farm.

The miles rolled away as laughter and warmth filled the car, easing heavy hearts and reminding the boys that they still had other people in their lives they could call 'family.'