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"Come on, Mads. We have to go,” Dean said with his arms crossed, tapping his foot by the door.

"Ugh. I'm trying to hurry,” I said while throwing my things into my duffel bag, "Isn't it kind of weird to show up at Sam's in the middle of the night with no warning?" I asked, annoyed, as I quickly zipped up my bag.

Dean came over, grabbed my duffel bag, and swung his arm around my shoulders, "It's not weird at all. It's perfect, because then he doesn't have time to ignore us,” He said with a smirk and a wink.

I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled and reluctantly followed him to the Impala.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As we drove, we listened to some of Dean's beloved classic rock music. Normally, I would be singing along with him, but I was lost in my thoughts. I stared out of my window, thinking about how bad it was the last time I saw Sam.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt Dean ruffle my hair, "Ya all right kiddo? You've been really quiet."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just tired,” I faked a yawn and stretched so Dean wouldn't ask me any more questions. I gave him a small smile before I went back to staring out of my window.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We finally arrived. I felt my chest pounding with excitement knowing I was about to see my brother after what seemed like forever.

When Dean turned the engine off, he looked at me, "All right, I know you're going to be mad, but I need you to stay in the car, Maddi."

"What? Why?! This isn't fair! Why can't I go with you?" I asked angrily.

"I think it's just better if I go in by myself. We don't want to startle him too much,” Dean said.

"Well, then you should send me in while you wait in the car. Sammy likes me more anyway,” I said with a smirk.

Dean laughed, "All right, I'll tell you what. If I need back up, I will come out and get you. How's that sound?"

I reluctantly nodded my head in agreement and sat there with my arms crossed.

"Okay, kiddo. I'm locking the doors. Don't talk to strangers and don't let anyone in,” He raised an eyebrow at me until I gave him confirmation that I wouldn't break his rules.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After what felt like hours, even though it was really only twenty minutes, Sam and Dean came walking out of the apartment. I couldn't wait any longer; I felt a lump in my throat when I saw Sam's face. I jumped out of the car and ran to him as fast as I could. When I reached him, I jumped on him like a monkey and shoved my face into the crook of his neck.
Sam jumped back, startled, and then laughed when he realized what was happening, "Hey, Maddison,” He returned my hug and rubbed my back.

When I finally felt like I had hugged my long-lost brother for long enough, I relieved him of my hug and jumped back down to the ground. I quickly wiped the few tears that had escaped my eyes before I looked up at him with a big smile. Sam smiled back and ruffled my hair before Dean jumped back in to finish the conversation they were having before I ran over.

"So, what are you gonna do? You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?" Dean asked, clearly annoyed with Sam.

Sam shook his head, "No. Not normal... Safe."

Dean scoffed, "And that's why you ran away,” He looked away, frustrated with the conversation and the memories.

I felt incredibly uncomfortable about what was happening, so I decided to sit in the car. I wasn't really interested in reliving everything that had happened the night Sam left, but I could still hear the conversation.

"I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing,” Sam said.

"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already. I can feel it,” Dean said.

Sam was just silent after Dean's statement. I knew that even though Sam was mad at Dad, he didn't want to see him end up dead.

"I can't do this alone. I mean, I have Maddison, but she's just a little kid. I don't need her getting hurt too,” Dean said.

I sighed, ashamed that I couldn't do more to help my family.

"Yes, you can. And Maddi is smart. She knows when she should stay out of trouble,” Sam said.

"Yeah, well, she is trying to get more involved when it comes to going on hunts with us. Most of the time she gets out of the car to come 'help.' Sometimes we have to leave her at the motel rooms because she won't listen, but we have a hard time leaving her alone, so far away,” Dean said.

I felt guilty about that, but I wanted to be a part of what they were doing. I was tired of being left behind. I wanted to help, and I wanted to learn to hunt.

Sam sighed, "What was he hunting?"

They walked around to the back of the Impala and opened the trunk. I could hear them rummaging around, but I couldn't see what they were doing.

"All right, let's see, where the hell did I put that thing?" Dean said.

"So, when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked.

"I was working my own gig. This, uh, voodoo thing, down in New Orleans. Maddison came with me because Dad was so focused on his case,” Dean explained.

"Dad let you take Maddison on a hunting trip by yourself?" Sam asked, shocked.

"I'm twenty-six, dude,” Dean snapped.

I could hear the shuffling of papers.

"All right, here we go. So, Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy. They found his car, but he vanished. Completely MIA,” Dean explained.

Sam sounded unconvinced, "So, maybe he was kidnapped."

"Yeah. Well, here's another one in April. Another one in December '04, '03, '98, '92, ten of them over the past twenty years,” Dean shuffled through more papers, "All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road."

Dean pulled more items out of the trunk, "It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough... Then I get this voicemail yesterday."

"Dean... something big is starting to happen... I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... Be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger." It was my Dad's voice, but he sounded worried, the recording was mostly static and kept breaking.

"You know there's EVP on that?" Sam asked.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?" Dean joked.

Sam was silent.

"All right. I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got,” Dean said.

The recording started again, but this time it sounded like a woman's voice, "I can never go home..."

"Never go home," Sam said.

Dean slammed the trunk, and I felt his weight rock the car slightly as he leaned on it, "You know, in almost two years we've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing."

"All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him. But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here,” Sam said.

Sam started to walk back toward his apartment, probably to get his things.

"What's first thing Monday?" Dean asked.

Sam stopped and turned around, "I have this...I have an interview."

"What, a job interview? Skip it,” Dean said.

"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate," Sam said.

Sam didn't want anything to do with us or the life he grew up knowing. I couldn't imagine having or wanting a normal life after knowing everything I know about what really goes bump in the night. Even if I tried, I would always be looking over my shoulder, thinking something was about to kill me.

"Law school?" Dean scoffed.

"So, we got a deal or not?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't say anything.

I watched as Sam walked into his apartment. I didn't notice Dean open his door and get in the car until he spoke, "Why are you sitting back there kiddo?"

"I figured if Sam were coming with us he would want to sit up front with you. Plus, I have the whole back seat to myself,” I giggled as I stretched out.

Dean laughed, "Yeah, maybe you can catch up on some Z's."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I woke up to Dean yelling, "Hey! You want breakfast?" I stretched and looked out of the window. I realized we were parked at an old gas station.

Sam was looking through a box of cassette tapes, "No, thanks. So, how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?"

Dean finished filling the gas tank and pulled the nozzle out, "Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro-ball career. Besides, all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards."

"Yeah? And what names did you write on the application this time?" Sam asked.

"Uh, Burt Aframian. And his son Hector. Scored two cards out of the deal,” Dean smirked.
Dean got in the car and set his goodies down. He looked back at me, "Good morning. Do you want breakfast?"

"Yes please,” I smiled.

He tossed me a cheese Danish and a bottle of peach tea and winked, "I got your favorites."

I leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek, "Thanks. You're the best."

He gave me a big cheesy smile as if he were thanking me.

"I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection," Sam said.

"Why?" Dean and I asked in unison.

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two...Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" Sam listed.

Dean grabbed the Metallica cassette out of Sam's hand.

"It's the greatest hits of mullet rock," Sam said sarcastically.

"Well, Maddison and I like it,” Dean winked at me in the rear-view mirror, "And besides, house rules, Sammy,” He popped the tape into the player, "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole."

Sam rolled his eyes, "You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old. It's Sam, okay?"

"Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud," Dean said as he turned up the radio and pointed to his ears.

I laughed and sang along with the music while eating my breakfast as Dean drove off.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While we were driving, Sam called the local hospital and morgue to make sure Dad hadn't wound up in either of those places. Sam hung up the phone, "All right. So, there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So, that's something, I guess."

Down the road, I could see a bridge with two police cars and several officers.

"Hey, guys look,” I pointed ahead.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, check it out."

Sam leaned forward for a closer look.

Dean pulled over. We all stared for a moment as we tried to figure out what was going on, before Dean turned off the engine. He reached over, opened the glove compartment, and pulled out a box full of ID cards with his and Dad's faces. A lot of them were FBI and DEA badges. He picked two out and grinned at Sam.

"Let's go,” He turned to me, "Maddison stay here, I mean it this time,” He gave me a stern look.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it,” I sat back and pouted with my arms crossed.

Dean smiled and got out of the car. Sam gave me an "I'm sorry" look and quickly followed after Dean. All I could do was sit there and watch my brothers talk to the police. If I were old enough, I wouldn't just have to sit around and wait. However, I could only imagine the looks I would get if I claimed that I was an eleven-year-old police officer or FBI agent.

On their way back to the Impala, I noticed the boys looked extremely annoyed. I could tell that it was because they were mad at each other when Dean smacked Sam across the back of his head. They stopped and got into a little argument before leaving the bridge. I watched as two FBI agents and a sheriff walked up to them and asked the boys a couple of questions. They quickly ended their conversation and finished walking back to the car.
I sat forward, excited, "So what did you guys find out? Anything?"

"We got jack. Only thing we found out was that there was another disappearance,” Dean said, annoyed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When we made it into town, Sam and Dean let me go with them. I knew it was just because they didn't know how long they would be gone, so they didn't want to leave me alone, but I didn't care. I felt excited that I would at least know what was going on with the case. I just wanted to know where Dad was and if he was okay.

Dean put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to look into my eyes, "All right Mads, stay close you got it?"

I nodded.

Dean ruffled my hair and smiled at me before he turned to walk off. Before Sam got too far ahead, I grabbed his hand. He looked down at me, not expecting that, but he smiled and kept my hand in his as we walked down the street and came across a woman putting flyers up in front of a movie theater. The flyers were for a missing man named Troy.
Dean turned to Sam, "I'll bet you that's her."

"Yeah,” Sam agreed.

I had no idea what they were talking about.

Dean walked up to her, "You must be Amy."

The girl looked up at Dean, "Yeah."

"Yeah, Troy told us about you. We're his uncles and cousin. I'm Dean, this is Sammy, and this is Maddi,” Dean nodded to Sam and then put his hand on my shoulder.

"He never mentioned you to me,” Amy started to walk away, and we followed.
Dean laughed, "Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much. We're up in Modesto."

Sam joined in, "So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around."
Another woman came up and put her hand on Amy's arm, "Hey, are you okay?"

Amy looked at her, "Yeah."

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" Sam asked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We sat and talked with the girls in a diner. We got a booth, and I sat between Sam and Dean. The girls sat across from us. I saw them better now, they both wore heavy black eyeliner, one had dark lipstick on, and the other had an eyebrow piercing.

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and..." Amy sighed, "He never did."

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked.
Amy shook her head, “No. Nothing I can remember."

"I like your necklace," I said smiling.

Amy held up the necklace and looked down at it. It was a pentagram.

"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents..." Amy laughed, "...with all that devil stuff."

"Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful,” Sam laughed and shrugged off his statement, "I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

"Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries,” Dean said sarcastically. He took his arm off of the back of the seat behind Sam and me, and leaned forward onto the table, "Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So, if you've heard anything..."

The girls gave each other a look.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

Amy's friend, Rachel, leaned forward, "Well, it's just... I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk."

"What do they talk about?" Sam and Dean asked in unison.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago,” Rachel explained, "Well, supposedly she's still out there."

Sam nodded.

"She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever,” Rachel said.

Sam and Dean gave each other a look. They finally had the lead they were looking for.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When we made it back to the car, Sam and Dean decided we needed to go to the library to do some research.

Before we drove off Dean turned to me, "Maddi, promise when you get older you aren't going to wear makeup and get piercings like that."

"I'm not going to promise that Dean," I said with sass.

"Makeup I guess I can deal with, but piercings,” Dean shook his head, "That's never going to happen."

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. Dean looked at Sam as if he was asking for assistance, but Sam just shrugged and laughed. He turned around, sighed, and started the car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the library, Dean typed "Female Murder Hitchhiking" into the search box at the open computer we found. After Dean hit the "GO" button a screen popped up saying, "(0) Results for Search". Dean decided to replace "Hitchhiking" with "Centennial Highway" and got the same result.

Sam got frustrated, "Let me try,” As he reached over to the keyboard to start typing Dean smacked his hand away.

I poked Dean in the back, "Dean you asked for his help. Let him help."

Dean looked at me and frowned. Sam shoved Dean's chair out of the way and took over. Dean almost fell out of his chair. I giggled at them. I had missed their stupid bickering.

"Dude!" Dean hit Sam in the shoulder, "You're such a control freak."

"So, angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" Sam said.

"Yeah,” Dean nodded.

"Well, maybe it's not murder," Sam suggested.

Sam replaced "Murder" with "Suicide" in the search box and found an article entitled "Suicide on Centennial." Dean and I glanced over at Sam. He opened the article, dated April 25, 1981.

Sam read, "This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four-years-old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river."

"Does it say why she did it?" I asked.

"Yeah,” Sam nodded.

"What?" Dean asked.

Sam read, "An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently, her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Hmm."

Sam read on, "'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband, Joseph Welch."

The article had a picture of Joseph next to Sylvania Bridge.

"The bridge look familiar to you?" Dean asked, eyeing Sam.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When night fell, Sam and Dean decided to go back to the bridge we were at earlier in the day. They let me walk around with them, they always felt better when I wasn't alone in the motel room. We walked along the bridge, then stopped to look over the railing to look down at the river.

"So, this is where Constance took the swan dive," Dean said.

I looked up at him, frowned, and rolled my eyes. He looked at me with a "what?" face and shrugged.

"So, you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked.

Dean looked over at Sam, "Well, he's chasing the same story, and we're chasing him."

Dean turned and continued walking, Sam, and I followed.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asked.

"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while,” Dean said.

Sam stopped walking, "Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday..."
Dean turned around and cut Sam off, "Monday... Right. The interview."

"Yeah,” Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" Dean asked, frustrated.

Sam shrugged, "Maybe. Why not?"

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" Dean asked.

Sam was starting to get angry and took a step closer to Dean, "No, and she's not ever going to know."

I just stood there awkwardly, looking down at my shoes, waiting for them to finish arguing.

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to fess up to who you really are,” Dean replied sarcastically.

Dean started walking again, so Sam and I followed.

"And who's that?" Sam asked, getting angrier.

"You're one of us,” Dean nudged my shoulder and winked.

I uncomfortably smiled up at him, not really wanting to be involved.

Sam hurried and stepped in front of Dean to stop him from walking, "No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life."

"You have a responsibility to..." Dean said.

Sam cut him off, "To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what Mom looked like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back."

Dean moved forward, grabbed Sam by the collar and shoved him up against the railing of the bridge. All I could do was stand there and watch.

"Don't talk about her like that," Dean growled, then he released Sam and walked away.

I turned away and looked down the bridge. It looked like a woman was standing on the railing ready to jump off. She was wearing a white dress and slowly turned her head to look at me.

"Sam... Dean..." I said as I slowly raised my hand, pointing at the woman.

Sam and Dean came up on both sides of me. The woman looked at us one last time before she stepped forward off the edge. Sam and Dean ran to the railing and looked over. I turned when I heard the Impala's engine start and then it's headlights turned on behind us. The car jerked into motion, and it was headed straight toward us.

"Maddison! Run! Go! Go!" Sam yelled.

I started running and screamed when I was grabbed and suddenly flung over the railing. My heart was pounding, and I slowly opened my eyes to realize I was dangling by the hood of my jacket. Sam had one hand on the railing of the bridge and one hand holding me above the river. I whimpered and closed my eyes.

"Maddi, everything is going to be fine. Just grab onto my leg and hang on tight for a second,” Sam instructed, calmly.

I did what he told me and clung to his leg, completely terrified. When I felt the pressure release after Sam let go of my hood, my heart pounded harder. He eventually pulled himself up, so he had his footing. He reached down and pulled me up, so I was in the same position.
Sam looked down searching for Dean, "Dean? Dean!"

"Sam look,” I pointed below to a filthy and annoyed Dean. He was crawling out of the water and onto the mud.

"Hey! Are you all right?!" Sam yelled.

Dean held up an A-OK sign, "I'm super."

Sam and I laughed, relieved. He climbed over the railing. Then he picked me up and placed me down on the ground next to him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When we got back to the Impala, Dean checked it to make sure everything was all right with it. When he finished, he shut the hood of the car and leaned against it.

"Your car all right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" Dean said, angrily.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So, where's the job go from here, genius?" Sam asked as he settled onto the hood next to Dean.

Dean flicked mud off of his hands. Sam and I sniffed, then frowned at him.

"You smell like a toilet," Sam smirked.

I giggled and nodded in agreement.

Dean looked down at me, "Think that's funny, huh?" He reached out and forced me into a very unwanted hug.

"Great, now I smell like one too,” I crossed my arms and gave him a dirty look.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After we drove to a motel Sam had found, Dean put a VersaBank MasterCard in the name of Hector Aframian on the counter.

"One room, please," Dean said.

The motel clerk picked up the card and looked at it. He gave Dean a look of confusion, "You guys having a reunion or something?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month,” The clerk said.

Dean looked back at Sam.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We found the room our Dad had been staying in, and Sam picked the lock while Dean kept an eye out. The motel door swung open. Sam walked in and looked around the room and then signaled us to go in. He looked back at Dean and realized he wasn't coming. So, he grabbed Dean's shoulder and yanked him into the room, then he closed the door behind us.

Every single wall had papers pinned to it; maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, notes. There were books on the desk and an assortment of junk on the floor and bed, including something with a hazardous-materials symbol.

"Whoa,” Sam looked around in disbelief.

Dean turned on a light by the bed and picked up a half-eaten hamburger sitting there. He sniffed the burger and jumped back in disgust, "I don't think he's been here for a couple days, at least."

Sam stepped over a white, powdery line on the floor. He crouched down and picked up some of it, "Salt, cats-eye shells... he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in."

Dean walked over and started reading some of the papers covering the walls.

"What have you got here?" Sam questioned as he walked over to Dean.

"Centennial Highway victims," Dean responded.

Sam nodded.

I sat on the bed and read the papers all over the walls. The victims on the walls included Mark somebody, William Durrell, Scott Nifong who disappeared in 1987 at age 25, and somebody Parks.

"I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs... ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?" Dean asked.

Sam looked at the papers stuck to the other walls.

There was something about the Bell Witch, two people being burned alive, a skeletal person blowing a horn at several scared people with the note, "MORTIS DANSE", a column about "Devils and Demons", another about "Sirens, Witches, the Possessed", a wooden pentacle, and a note that said, "Woman in White" above a printout of the Jericho Herald article on Constance's suicide.

Sam turned on another lamp, "Dad figured it out."

Dean turned to look, "What do you mean?"

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white,” Sam explained.

"You sly dog...” Dean smiled, proudly, “All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness," Sam said.

"Well, Dad would want to make sure,” Dean walked over to Sam, "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad though, I'd go ask her husband,” Sam tapped the picture of Joseph Welch.

The caption said he was 30, but the article was dated 1981 so he would be about 60 now.

"If he's still alive," Sam said as he went to look at something else.

"All right. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up, ”Dean started to walk away.

"Hurry up. I have to get cleaned up too... Thanks to you,” I said, frustrated.

Dean put his hands up pretending to be scared, "I'll hurry,” He smirked at me before trying to walk off again.

This time his exit was interrupted by Sam, "Hey, Dean?"

Dean stopped again and turned to face Sam.

"What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry," Sam said, sincerely.
Dean held up a hand to stop Sam from going on, "No chick-flick moments."
Sam laughed and nodded, "All right. Jerk."

"Bitch,” Dean smirked and then started to walk away again, but then looked back quickly,
"Are you guys good now or are you going to stop me again?"

Sam and I looked at each other and laughed before giving Dean a thumbs up. After Dean disappeared into the bathroom. Sam noticed a rosary hanging in front of a large mirror, and a photo of the four of us sitting on the hood of the Impala. I watched as Sam took the picture off the mirror and put it in his pocket. He sighed loudly and walked over to me. "So, Maddi..." He said as he sat down next to me on the bed, "How is your reading coming along?"

I looked down at the floor sheepishly, "Uh, well Dad and Dean don't really have time to do that with me. I try to do it on my own when I can, but it isn't as fun without you,” I glanced up at him and smiled sadly.

"You know if you come live with me. I could do that with you all the time. You could also go to a real school and have friends your age,” Sam smiled at me.

I looked down quickly. I never expected him to suggest that I live with him. Sam chose to leave us, but I could never do that. I'd miss Dad and Dean too much.

Sam nudged my arm, "You don't have to. I just wanted to give you the option. I miss you, you know,” He smiled at me sweetly.

"Well, you could always come back," I suggested, but his smile faded.

He leaned over to hug me and kissed my forehead. We were silent after that, and a few minutes later, Dean walked out of the bathroom.

After that, I walked into the bathroom to clean myself off. I didn't know why Sam would ask me to go with him. He seemed so happy with his own life. Maybe he didn't want me to live the life of a hunter either. I brushed off my thoughts and jumped into the shower.

When I got out, I just pulled on an old flannel and a pair of jeans. Then I pulled my long curly hair up into a ponytail. It felt good to take a shower. I mean, I wasn't deprived of them, but when you are always traveling, you never know when you'll get the chance to take another one. Before I left the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was small for my age, which made me look younger than I was. However, because I was basically born into the lifestyle of a hunter, I was pretty mature for my age. The things you see on the road can definitely age you. I shrugged at myself in the mirror and then walked out of the bathroom to join my brothers.

Dean looked at me and smiled. He hugged me and rubbed my arm, "Ah, see? All better,” He let go of me, "I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. You guys want anything?"

"Yes, I'm starving too. Maybe we can get pie,” I gave Dean my puppy dog eyes even though I already knew his answer.

Dean laughed, "Of course, kiddo. I would never pass up pie."

Sam shook his head, "No thanks."

"Aframian's buying,” Dean joked.

Sam still declined, but I was excited to go. I was starving, and I loved diner food, but that was also pretty much all I ever ate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I was daydreaming about the cheeseburgers and pie we were going to be eating when Dean grabbed my shoulder and suddenly turned us away from the direction we were headed. I had no idea what was going on until I looked over my shoulder and saw the police officers from the day before. They were questioning the motel clerk. I looked up at Dean waiting for him to tell me what to do as the officers approached us in their car.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Sam, "Dude, five-0, take off."

I tugged Dean's jacket and whispered under my breath, "They're coming."

"Uh, they kinda spotted us. Go find Dad,” Dean instructed, then hung up the phone and looked down at me, "Just follow my lead. It'll be fine,” He smiled and winked at me before we turned around to face the officers as they got out of their car and approached us.

I noticed the names on their badges and out of the corner of my eye I saw Dean grinning at them.

"Problem, officers?" Dean asked.

"Where's your partner?" Officer Jaffe asked.

"Partner? What... what partner?" Dean stuttered.

Officer Jaffe glanced over his shoulder and jerked his thumb toward the motel room. Officer Hein started walking over to our room. Dean began fidgeting a little. I felt my heart beat faster. I was ready to run if Dean gave me the signal. I watched as Officer Hein walked up to our room and I could see the curtains move slightly. I assumed Sam had been watching and bolted.

My attention was drawn back to Officer Jaffe, "So, fake U.S. Marshal. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?"

"My boobs," Dean smirked.

Officer Hein caught Dean's sarcasm and slammed him over the hood of the police car. I jumped back not knowing what to do.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Officer Jaffe, "It's all right, but you're coming with us too, young lady,” He looked back to Dean, but held his grip on me as he started to list off Dean's rights, "You have the right to remain silent..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When we arrived at the station, Officer Hein pulled Dean out of the car and pushed him toward the entrance. Officer Jaffe helped me out of the car, but when I saw Dean getting shoved away and realized I didn't know when I would see any of my family, I yelled for him, "Dean!" Officer Jaffe grabbed me around the waist as I tried to run for him.

Dean looked back at me, "It's all right Maddi. These nice officers and I are going to get everything sorted out, and I will see you soon,” He winked at me.

I felt a little better knowing my brother wasn't taking this situation that seriously. I relaxed and willingly walked with Officer Jaffe into the building. He brought me into a small white room with chairs along the walls. When I turned around to ask him what was going to happen with Dean, he had already closed the door and left. I grabbed the handle and jiggled it, but it was locked, so I decided to sit down and wait.

A few minutes later, I got up and started pacing. After what felt like forever, the door finally opened, and Dean popped his head in. I stopped pacing, and he came into the room.

"How did you..." I started but, Dean stuck his finger up to his mouth signaling me to be quiet.

He opened the door and looked out quickly, making sure the coast was clear before turning to me and signaling me to follow him. We did that throughout the entire station until we were finally outside. It was night; I hadn't even realized how many hours had passed. We ran off into the dark until we found a phone booth and called Sam.

"Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal,” Dean smiled, (...) "Listen, we gotta talk,” (...) "Sammy, would you shut up for a second?" (...) "Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho,” (...) "I've got his journal."

How did Dean get Dad's journal? He doesn't go anywhere without that thing. That thought made me worry more about what could have happened to him. I looked at the ground kicking rocks waiting for Dean to get off the phone.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean yelled into the phone.

I ran over to Dean, my heart pounding.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I don't know how we got to Sam so quickly. It was all a blur. I snapped out of it when Dean started shooting into the Impala at a ghostly skeletal woman who had her hand stuck into Sam's chest. He got her to vanish long enough for Sam to start the car.

"I'm taking you home," Sam said and then drove the car straight into the broken-down house that stood before us.

Dean and I ran to the car.

"Sam! Sam! You okay?" Dean yelled.

"I think..." Sam groaned.

"Can you move?" Dean asked.

"Yeah,” Sam nodded, "Help me."

Dean leaned through the window to give Sam a hand.

I watched as Constance appeared and picked up a large framed photograph of her and what must've been her children. She stared down at it with a sad expression on her face. Constance glared up at us and threw the picture down. A bureau suddenly moved toward us, but Dean shoved me out of the way before I got hit. I fell to the ground and looked up at my brothers who were now pinned against the Impala unable to move the bureau.

The lights started to flicker, and a terrified expression crossed Constance's face as she looked around the house. Water began to pour down the staircase. At the top stood the boy and girl from the photograph. They were holding hands and spoke in unison, "You've come home to us, Mommy."

Constance looked up at them, clearly distraught. Suddenly, they appeared beside her. As they embraced her, she screamed, and her ghost started to flicker. In a massive surge of energy, still screaming, Constance and her children melted into a puddle on the floor. Sam and Dean were finally able to shove the bureau over, and I stood up. We all walked over and looked down at the puddle.

Dean looked around the house, "So, this is where she drowned her kids."

Sam nodded, "That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them."

"You found her weak spot. Nice work Sammy,” Dean slapped Sam's open wound on his chest and walked away.

Sam laughed through the pain, "Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey. Saved your ass,” Dean leaned over to look at the car, "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car?" He turned around to look at Sam, "I'll kill you."
Sam laughed.

Dean wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "You all right kid?"

I smiled at him, "It was nothing I couldn't handle."

He laughed and gave me a noogie. I frowned and looked up at him while fixing my hair. Dean laughed again, then he kicked the rubble out of the way and opened the car door for me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As we drove, Sam looked through Dad's journal. All I could see was "DEAN 35-111" reflected on my window. If we ever got separated, Dad would leave us coordinates. He did it that way because he felt like it was the safest way to communicate.

"Okay, here's where Dad went... It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado,” Sam pointed to the location on the map he was using.

Dean nodded, "Sounds charming. How far?"

"About 600-miles," Sam said.

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning," Dean said.

Sam looked over at him, "Dean, I, um..."

Dean nodded, "You're not going."

"The interview's in like, ten hours. I gotta be there," Sam said.

Dean nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, whatever,” He glanced over at Sam, "I'll take you home."

Sam turned his flashlight off. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy once the car darkened.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I woke up to Sam ruffling my hair. We were already back at his apartment. I stretched and sat up.

Sam got out of the car and leaned down to look through the window, "Call me if you find him?"

Dean nodded.

"And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?" Sam said.

Dean seemed to lighten up a little bit, "Yeah, all right."

Sam looked at me, "Bye Maddi,” He smiled and then patted the car door twice and turned to walk away.

Dean leaned toward the passenger door, one arm hanging over the back of the seat, "Sam?"

Sam turned back.

"You know, we made a hell of a team back there," Dean said.

"Yeah,” Sam smiled.

I watched Sam turn away again, and before it was too late, I got out of the car and ran to him.

"Hey, where are you..." Dean's voice trailed off behind me.

"Sam, wait,” He turned to me, and I ran up and hugged him as hard as I could.

Sam hugged me back, "Don't forget what I said, okay?"

I loosened my hug and looked up at him. A tear rolled down my cheek as I nodded.

Sam put his hand on my cheek and wiped my tear away with his thumb, "I love you, Maddi,” He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head.

I looked up at him sadly, "I love you too, Sammy."

We looked at each other one last time and then I ran back to Dean.

When I hopped into the front seat, Dean gave me a concerned look, "You all right Mads?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just happy we got to see Sammy,” I smiled at him with tears in my eyes.

Dean rubbed my shoulder, "Yeah me too,” He smiled at me and then drove off into the night.

I turned to watch Sam walk into his building as we drove away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We were driving for a few minutes before I felt something in the pit of my stomach, "Dean something doesn't feel right."

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I... I'm not sure,” I said.

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean,” Dean nodded and quickly turned the Impala around.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When we drove up to Sam's building, we could see fire coming from within the building.

I was about to get out when Dean locked the doors, "No way. You're staying here,” He looked at me sternly.

I didn't say anything, and I just turned back to watch the scene unfold. There was no point in arguing if it meant stalling Dean from getting to Sam.

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Dean said.

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promise,” He said and then got out.

I watched as Dean ran into the building. I nervously twitched around, waiting for my brothers to come out. They eventually came running out, and I felt instant relief. Sam looked extremely upset, and he was crying. I decided it was probably best if I stayed out of the way, so I hopped over the seat into the back of the car.

I watched as people ran out of the burning building. After a few minutes, I heard sirens. Firefighters were running in and out of the building, making sure everyone was out. Then they proceeded to put the fire out.

I didn't notice that Dean had walked over to watch the scene with the rest of the crowd until I saw him walking back toward the car. Sam must've been who I had heard digging through the trunk.

Dean looked in the car, to make sure I was still there and all right. Then he walked toward the back to Sam.

"We got work to do," Sam said, and then slammed the trunk.