Sam and Dean left me at the motel room and Dean didn't come back until way after dark. He'd set down a bag of food in front of me, "Bon apetite," Dean had said before grabbing Sam's laptop to research on. I had been trying to wait until Dean went to bed, but I gave up and picked up my bag. He picked up his phone after a few hours and put it to his ear, "Let me guess. You're lurkin' outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?" Dean asked, Blue and I gave him a confused look, which he ignored. "You've got a funny way of showin' your affection...Sorry, man, she checks out. There is a Meg Masters in the Andover phonebook. I even pulled up her high school photo. Now, look, why don't you go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is you do, huh?" Dean informed while typing on the computer. "Yeah, that I did have some luck with. It's, uh-turns out it's Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It's a sigil for a Daeva." Dean read from the paper in front of him. "It translates to "demon of darkness". Zoroastrian demons, and they're savage, animalistic, you know, nasty attitudes-kind of like, uh, demonic pit bulls... Give me some credit, man. You don't have a corner on paper chasin' around here," Dean sounded offended. "No, I called Dad's friend, Caleb. He told me, all right?" Dean gave in a few seconds later, I went into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Dean's conversation went mute as I did so, Blue could have fun eavesdropping on Dean. After I'd changed, I came back out to see Dean pinching the bridge of his nose. I padded over to him and hugged his neck, "Night D," I told him before I yawned. Dean yawned after I did and stood up, "Night kiddo," before he started digging in his duffle. I crawled under the blankets and it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

Dean woke me up the next morning, "Hey, I need to go down to the police station and get some info, I got you some waffles on the counter if you're hungry," Dean said. I sat up, causing him to laugh, "You really need to start going to sleep with your hair in a braid or something Chris, it's a rats nest," he commented as he stood up and pulled his jacket back on. I rolled my eyes and laid back down as he walked out the door. I was going to go back to bed, but Blue decided that it was time to get up. "Christina! There are waffles and Dean left the laptop unlocked and there's TV and cards! Let's play somethinggg," he complained, jumping on the bed. I groaned again, but got up nonetheless.

Dean came back about an hour later looking troubled. He went to the table and looked back over his papers, eyebrows furrowed. He stayed there for a few minutes before he went to the bathroom. That was when Sam ran into the room and looked around until his eyes landed on me, "Where's Dean?" he asked. I pointed to the bathroom. Dean came out as soon as Sam walked up to the door, "Dude, I gotta talk to you," the two said in sync. I refrained from rolling my eyes in favor of continuing to watch TV. The two were talking quietly by the bathroom so I wouldn't hear anything, but Dean eventually went to a normal tone, "So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" he scoffed. "Looks like she was using that black altar to control the thing," Sam confirmed with a nod of his head. "So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl," Dean laughed before continuing, "And what's the deal with that bowl again?" Sam rolled his eyes, "She was talking into it. The way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with someone," he concluded. If I was a witch, I'd use a crystal ball. Animal entrails sounded messy. "With who? With the Daeva?" Dean was confused. "No, you said those things were savages. No, this was someone different. Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's comin' to that warehouse," Sam said quickly. There was a moment of silence and the flipping of papers before Dean muttered, "Holy crap." I heard Sam move to stand beside him, "What?" I heard more flipping of papers, "What I was gonna tell you earlier-I pulled a favor with my-" Dean took a moment to clear his throat, "friend, Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victims-we missed something the first time." Dean informed. "What?" I heard Sam take the paper from Dean, "The first victim, the old man-he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look where he was born." There was silence before Sam muttered, "Lawrence, Kansas." Dean hummed in confirmation and picked up another file, "Meredith, second victim-turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from. I heard a chair scrape on the floor, "Holy crap," Sam muttered. "Yeah," Dean agreed. "I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom. That's where everything started. So, you think Meg's tied up with the demon?" Sam asked, he sounded as incredulous as I felt. "I think it's a definite possibility," Dean told him. So he didn't know either. "But I don't understand. What's the significance of Lawrence? And how do these Daeva things fit in?" Sam questioned. "Beats me. But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation." Dean suggested, I could feel someone looking at me. "No, we can't. We shouldn't tip her off. We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We've gotta see who, or what, is showin' up to meet her," Sam suggested. "I'll tell you one thing. I don't think we should do this alone," Dean told him. I guess we were going to be calling Dad then...

I sat on the bed and watched Dean leave Dad a voicemail almost five minutes after dark, "We think we've got a serious lead on the thing that killed Mom. So, uh, this warehouse-it's 1435 West Erie. Dad, if you get this, get to Chicago as soon as you can," Dean said before he hung up. "Voicemail?" Sam questioned as he reentered the room, "Yeah," was all Dean said until he noticed the bags, "Jesus, what'd you get?" Sam chuckled, "I ransacked that trunk. Holy water, every weapon that I could think of, exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything." Dean nodded his head and grabbed a gun, loading it silently. "Big night," Dean commented lightly. "Yeah. You nervous?" Sam asked, looking up from his gun. I got off of the bed and moved to the one they were on, sitting in between them. "No. Why, are you?" Dean asked as he wrapped an arm around me. Sam shook his head, "No. No way," there was silence for a few more moments. "God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing? That demon?" Sam imagined, staring down at the gun. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?" Dean had an eyebrow raised at Sam. "I know. I'm just sayin', what if we did? What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month. Go back to school-be a person again," that took me aback. "You wanna go back to school?" Dean sounded like he felt the same way I did. "Yeah, once we're done huntin' the thing," and Sam was oblivous. "Huh," Dean had stopped loading the gun. "Why, is there somethin' wrong with that?" Sam defended. "No. No, it's, uh, great. Good for you," Dean covered up. "I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?" Sam had relaxed a bit. "It's never gonna be over. There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be somethin' to hunt," Dean muttered that last part. I grabbed onto his forearm, which was still wrapped around me. "But there's got to be somethin' that you want for yourself-" Dean cut him off, "Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam." Dean snapped, getting up and walking over to the dresser, putting his hands against its surface. "Dude, what's your problem?" Sam asked, as if he didn't know. There was silence before Dean answered, "Why do you think I drag you everywhere? Huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?" Dean snapped again. "'Cause Dad was in trouble. 'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom," it sounded like Sam had recited it before. "Yes, that, but it's more than that, man," Dean went back to the dresser. He was quiet for a while before he turned back, "You and Chris and me and Dad-I mean, I want us....I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again." Sam stared for a few moments, "Dean, we are a family. I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before," the look on Dean's face made my chest ache again. I felt my shoulders slump a bit, "Could be," Dean's voice sounded small. "I don't want them to be. I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way." I felt a hand on my shoulder, judging by how pale the fingers were, it was Blue.

The two left not long after that. Dean had picked me up and given me his phone, "Call Pastor Jim if we aren't back by morning, got it?" he sounded serious. nodded my head and glanced at Sam, who was already walking out the door. I went to the window and watched the two leave. I felt Blue's wing wrap around my shoulders as soon as the car had left the parking lot. "They'll be back," he promised. I nodded my head, "I know," was all I said, voice sounding as small as I felt. The pressure of Blue's wing herded me to the bed, I crawled on top of it and buried my face into the pillow.

I wasn't sure how long I'd laid there, but I was almost asleep when I heard the door open. I sat up, Sam and Dean couldn't be back already... I rolled over to look at the doorway, there was only one silouette, and it most certainly wasn't Sam or Dean. I reached for the nightstand and grabbed the pocket knife Dean had given me before turning on the lamp. The figure recoiled, "Chris?" it asked, I dropped the knife, but Blue was still tense. "Daddy?" The lights flicked on, it was! I all but jumped off of the bed and hugged his legs, he picked me up, "I missed you," I told him, burying my face in his neck. He pat my back, "I missed you too," he walked back over to the bed, "Why don't you get some more sleep?" he suggested as he put me back in bed. "I don't want you to go," I sat back up. He put a hand on my head, "I'll be around for a bit Chris," he promised, "Get some sleep." He turned off the lamp before moving back to turn off the lights. His silouette reappeared at the window a few moments later. I rolled onto my side and stayed awake, watching him. He was really here! That was when Sam and Dean got back, "Hey!" Dean yelled as San turned on the light. "Dad?" Dean was shocked. "Hey, boys," Dad and Dean hugged, but Sam and Dad didn't. It made me sad. "Hi, Sam," Dad's voice was soft. "Hey, Dad," Sam used the same tone as he dropped the duffle of weapons onto the floor. "Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know, I'm sorry," Dean started, but Dad interrupted, "It's all right. I thought it might've been." Dean raised his head a bit, "Were you there?" he questioned. Dad nodded, "Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?" he had a grin on his face at the end of the sentence. "Yes, sir," Sam and Dean chimed in sync. "Good. Well, it doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before," Dad informed us, looking a bit grim-faced. "The demon has?" Sam asked, I pulled the blanket back and pulled my legs closer to me to sit criss-cross. "It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell-actually kill it," Dad informed, Sam and Dean both looked confused. "How?" another smile came across Dad's face, "I'm workin' on that." Sam took a step forward, "Let us come with you. We'll help." Dean gave him a look, "No, Sam. Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in a crossfire. I don't want you hurt," Dad's tone was serious. "Dad, you don't have to worry about us," Sam was now starting an argument, great... "Of course I do. I'm your father," Dad took a moment to sigh, "Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight." was all Dad had to say before Sam sighed, "Yes, sir." Another smile came across Dad's face, "It's good to see you again. It's been a long time." Dad took a step forward. "Too long," Sam agreed before hugging Dad. I moved my legs to the edge of the bed and got up, that was just before Dad was thrown across the room and into the cabinets. A few seconds later, Sam was on the floor and Dean was too with a cry of, "No!" That was all it took for Blue to jump in front of me, wings flared as he pushed me against the wall. He blocked my view, but I could still hear the three crying out in pain. "Shut your eyes! These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!" A few moments later the room was filled with a bright light, "Dad!" I heard Dean call out. "Over here!" was the reply. "Chris?!" Dad called, I gave a small, "Here!" before someone picked me up. I buried my face in whoever's neck it was, the light hurt even with my eyes closed. I didn't move my head until I heard the familiar sound of a car door opening. "All right, come on. We don't have much time. As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back." Sam informed, so it was he who picked me up. "Wait, wait, wait! Sam, wait. Dad, you can't come with us," Dean said as Sam put me down, I was trying to blink spots out of my eyes. "What? What are you talkin' about?" Sam sent Dean a look. "You boys-you're beat to hell," Dad seemed to be on Sam's side. "We'll be all right," Dean told him, we had been through worse than this... "Dean, we should stick together. We'll go after those demons-" Dean cut Sam off, "Sam! Listen to me! We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He-he's stronger without us around," it seemed to upset Dean to say it, it upset me to hear him say it. "Dad--no," Sam put a hand on Dad's shoulder, "After everything-- after all the time we spent lookin' for you-please. I gotta be a part of this fight." Sam pleaded. "Sammy, this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you've got to trust me, son," Sam shook his head, "Okay, you've gotta let me go." Dad told him. There was silence as Sam gave Dad a pat on the shoulder, I ran from Dean's side to hug Dad's legs again. Dad crouched in front of me, "You gotta be brave for me okay Chris?" Dad told me quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded slightly with a sniffle, "C'mere," was all he said as he pulled me to his chest. I clung to his neck until he let me go, "Be careful, boys." was the last thing Dad said before he got into his truck and drove off. We watched Dad's big truck start up, "Come on." Dean called to us as he headed to the car. I was the last one in, having watched Dad's truck until it had disappeared from view.