Child Hood Memories

1993

The fourteen year old boy closed the door of his dads Impala, sliding his bag further up his shoulder and grabbing his little brothers hand. Sam looked up at Dean, gripping his hand tightly.

"It's okay, Sammy." Dean sighed, "Pastor Jim always takes care of us. And remember, Ella is here. You like Elle." They knocked on the door of the church and a nine year old girl opened the door, fear pulsing through her veins until she saw Sam and Dean Winchester. She swung the door open, spraying them with holy water and poking them with a silver spoon. "Elle!" Dean shouted, "Elle, we're clean!"

"Sorry." She opened the door further, tripping over her own feet, "It's just dad says you usually call."

"This was urgent, apparently." Sam grumbles.

"Well, dad is out hunting anyways and I wasn't supposed to let anyone in." Elle scrunched his nose, "Dad's going to kill me." Dean slung his arms around the children as thunder rolled over the church.

"Don't worry. I'm batman so I can protect you." He teases.

"Dean, I'm too old for that batman stuff." Sam pushes his brother away but Elle stays under his arm, shivering and pulling her short sleeved shirt tighter around her. Dean had sympathy for the kid. At least he had Sammy to keep him company all the time. They sit on the benches in silence, flinching every time wind shook the door and constantly looking over their shoulders.

Ella starts to cough violently and Dean stares down at her, wearing butterfly flip-flops and jeans from the boys aisle of the store. He stands, grabbing his back pack and pulling out one of Sam's many sweaters, pulling it over the kid. He ruffles her sandy hair when she grins and pops up from her seat, suddenly full of energy.

"Dad only left food for me, but I'll let you two have it. I mean, it's not much. Just a ham and cheese sandwich, but we can cut it in half and you two can eat. I'm not really hungry. I also have three juice boxes." She turns around, grinning, "I like the fruit punch ones, but there's only one. I know Sammy likes the fruit punch, so he can have that one."

"What are you going to eat?" Dean and Sam stand, slightly worried about Ella not eating.

"Weren't you guys listening?" Ella blinks, "I'm not hungry."

"Right." Dean laughs, still not happy with this plan. She leads them to the back of the church, showing them a small room with a mini fridge. It has two blankets and a pillow. Pastor Jim wasn't going to be home by tonight an he knew it, but Dean didn't want to worry the kids as they talked about kid stuff.

"I hate coloring." Sam shrugged, munching away at his sandwich, "But dinosaurs are cool."

"Dinosaurs are too... mean. I like dragons more." Ella hands Dean the other half of the sandwich and a strawberry kiwi juice box, still talking. "I mean, dragons save the princess from her mean dad that wanted her to grow up as royalty."

"No! The dragons are kidnapping the princess!" Sam objects.

"That's not how I see it." Ella caught again, "To me, the princess is obviously tired of being bossed around by the king, being stuck in the castle to be protected. More like kept to the castle so she can't have adventures." Dean checked the time in his watch, sighing deeply.

"Bed time, guys." He smiles kindly at the two, taking two very large chairs in the room and putting them together, making a small best for the kids. He lifts each of them turns off the light and gets in with him, letting the children snuggle into him to keep warm in the unheated church. The rain gets harder, putting the children to sleep.

Dean wakes up to the sound of yelling.

"I thought I told you not let anyone in!" Pastor Jim is yelling a room over.

"I used your anti bad guy juice and poked them with a shiny spoon! They were safe, daddy!" Elle whines.

"You're too old and too tough to be calling me daddy, Ella. Grow up. You should have left them out in the cold!" You could hear the sound if skin snaking against skin and a small whimper. Ella sulks in the room, holding back tears. "You better not be crying!" Pastor Jim shouts. Dean silently pushes Sammy out of the way and stands up.

"You okay?" Dean whispers, staring at a red spot on Ella's cheek.

"Of course." She lies, wiping away a tear, "I'm always okay." She shrugs him off and crawls into the small nest, shaking Sammy awake. The boy opens his eyes, sitting up and giving Ella a goofy grin, which she fake smiles at. "My father is taking us to the motel while he works." She informs, "We'll have the whole place to ourself and heat!"

"Why weren't you there last night?" Dean asks.

"Dad took longer than he expected." Elle shrugs, "It's not his fault." She starts to fold the blankets, which he left so she could sleep.

"Good morning." Pastor Jim waltzes in, grinning and sounding nothing like he did with Ella, who flinches at the sight of him.

"Morning, sir." Dean greets, his back straightening.

"See, Ella, this is who you should be more like. Dean Winchester. Poster boy for good son." Jim grins, wishing he could have a son.

"But, daddy- dad, I'm not a boy." Ella mutters.

"I'll be waiting in the car." Ella's father glares down at her, even though she was only four two and had short little arms.

"Does he always treat you like that?" Sam asks.

"That's how children are supposed to be treated. Like adults." Ella grins.

"That-" Dean has to stop himself before her says anything more, "Never mind, let's go." He picks Sam up and puts him on his shoulders. Elle refuses to be picked up while they walk to the car. Dean grabs his bag on the way out and they hop in the car

"I have serious rules." Pastor Jim says once to the motel, "Don't let anyone in, don't talk to anyone unless necessary, you can only leave the room for food, and don't pick up the room phone."

"Why can't we go home?" Ella takes a risk.

"Are you talking back to me?" Pastor Jim growls, "Get out of the car, Ella." The nine year old obey, walking into the room and collapsing on to the floor, staring blankly at the wall, the boys following right behind.

"Hey, Ella, you're dad is a jerk." Dean finally says, "He can't treat you like that."

"Isn't this how you get treated? Isn't this how everyone gets treated?" Ella blinks, confused. Deans heart falls. He shakes his head, throwing on a smile for the kid and flinging her ire his shoulder. Ella giggled. "What- what are you doing? Dean?" Elle flailed helplessly in the boys arms as Sam watched, laughing. Dean sucks in a breath before grabbing Sam's hand and them all crawling on to one of the beds.

"Oh no!" Dean shouts, "The floor is lava!"

"How are you supposed to move anywhere?" Ella's big green eyes reflect worry.

"Don't worry, Elle, Dean will find a way." Sam chuckles, wanting to amuse her even more. She sighs, pointing to the TV remote on the other side of the room.

"And how are we supposed to watch TV if it's all the way across the lava?" Ella wiggles her eyebrows choppily, "Wait!" She stands up, carefully placing her foot on a chair in the corner, balancing perfectly until she has to stand on the wooden, broken table. She doesn't even breath until the table stops wiggling. she plops down and reaches out towards the TV, her fingers barely brushing the remote.

"Be careful." Dean warned, hopinh she wouldn't fall, "Sometimes we have to make sacrifces, like watching TV, so we don't fall into lava and die."

"Got it!" Ella makes her way back, almost slipping on the jump from the chair to the bed." She clicks on the TV and hands Dean the remote, "I can't read very well, so you're going to have to choose what we watch." She blushes furiously.

"Fine." Dean smirks, ruffeling the kids hair, "And how about after this movie we all go out and get dinner?"

"Okay!" Sam and Ella grin, knowing Dean would probably buy them pizza and pie for dinner.