Prologue:

My mom had a bad sickness. It was something that had gotten into her bones and organs, and she had to take lots of medicines and go to a doctor's office and get treatments that lasted all day. The treatments made her really tired, and she would come home and sleep a lot. She had lost a lot of weight, and then lost her hair, and not been able to eat.

At first, people from her work, and some people from a local church, had come around and brought us food and stuff. A couple of times people came in and cleaned our apartment, and they took her to her appointments a lot, but it had been months and months now and I guess people were tired of dealing with it. A couple people from Mom's work still came by every once in a while. Mom was a little better, but she still got tired easily, and still needed to rest a lot.

But she had gone back to the doctor last week for a check up and then told me that the treatments weren't working any more. The doctors wanted to try a different treatment, but it would be harder on her body. She said the sickness was back, and they needed to get things under control. Sometimes when she was really sick, I would stay with a friend of the family, who I called my aunt, although she really wasn't. Mom had told me that there was someone she wanted me to meet before we decided on where I was going to go.

My mom stood at the door of the play area. "Charlotte," she called. "Come here, there's someone I want you to meet."

"Aw, do I have to?" I complained. I was running around the top part of the play area of the McDonald's with a couple other kids.

"Yes." she said. "You can come back and play in a few minutes." I looked at her and saw the dark circles under her eyes and how tired she looked, and felt guilty for complaining. I grabbed my shoes and followed her out.

There was a man sitting at the table, in the spot where I had been sitting, across from my mom. She sat down and I stood awkwardly next to her. I leaned over and put one of my shoes on.

"Charlotte, this is Dean Winchester. He's your father."

I had been focused on pushing the heel of my shoe up over my sock, but at the word father, I stood up straight and looked over at him. My father?

"Hi Charlotte." he said in a deep voice. He had short light brown hair and green eyes and a little bit of stubble on his chin. He was wearing a dark brown leather jacket with a red plaid shirt.

"Hi." I said, suddenly feeling shy.

"Sit down for a minute." Mom scooted her chair in. I walked around her and sat down next to her, putting my shoe on the table.

"Don't do that." she said, and picked my shoe up.

I took it from her, leaned over, and slid it onto my foot.

"I wanted you to meet your father, because you're going to stay with him from time to time now, once I start this next round of treatments."

I looked at her in surprise. "I am? But- but I want to stay with you!"

"I know, but I don't think that's going to be feasible. I'm – I'm going to need a lot more rest." She looked uncomfortable.

"Can't I stay with Aunt Janice again?"

Mom shook her head. "No, I want you to stay with your father. You need to get to know him."

I sighed. "O-kay." I leaned across the table, picked up my cup from where it was sitting in front of Dean Winchester, and took a drink. "Can I go play now?"

"No, Charlotte, I want you to stay and talk to your father. Tell him about yourself."

I frowned. "Why?"

"I'd like to get to know you a little bit, Charlotte." Dean Winchester said, looking at me. I noticed that his eyes were very green.

"Okay." I said. " My name is Charlotte Winchester, I'm eight years old, I like music and to read and draw, I love the Harry Potter books and movies, and I'm going into third grade. Now can I go play?"

He laughed. "Well, that was concise."

"Lottie, don't be rude." Mom admonished.

"I'm not!" I protested. "What else do you want me to say?"

"Let her go, Liz." Dean Winchester said. "There will be time to talk later."

"Fine." Mom said. She rubbed her forehead. "We're not going to be staying for too much longer, all right? I need to go home and rest." She said to me.

"Okay." I said, and I got up and ran back into the play area.

All too soon, Mom appeared at the door. "Charlotte, let's go." she called. I was on the top of the play area again and I pretended I didn't hear her. She walked into the room.

"Charlotte, I said let's go." she called louder. After a minute, I went down the slide. "Did you hear me?" she asked, and she was irritated.

"I couldn't hear you!" I protested. "It's too loud in here!"

She looked at me, and then I saw that Dean Winchester was behind her. Wow, was he tall! He was looking at me too, and I could tell by the look on his face that he could tell I was lying.

I blushed, embarrassed. I put my shoes back on and we left. He walked us over to the car.

"You take care of your mom, okay?" he said.

"I already do." I retorted. What did he know? He didn't know how I brought her ginger ale and crackers, and held the trash can when she threw up, or how I made myself soup in the microwave when she was too tired to cook.

"Charlotte." Mom said. "Don't be rude."

He looked down at me. "Nice to meet you, kiddo." he said.

"Oh." I said, remembering my manners. "Nice to meet you too. Dad." Saying the word 'Dad' like that was like tasting something new, I had never said it to anyone before. I had always said, "I don't have a dad".

He blinked, taken aback, and then chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I am." he said, and smiled. I opened the back door and got into the back seat, and Mom opened her door. I reached out to grab the handle and he started to close the door for me.

"I got it." I said. He just looked at me for a moment, and then let me shut my door.

He put his hand on Mom's door and leaned down a little bit. "Call me about which day is best for you." he said. "I'll be in touch."

"All right. Thanks, Dean." she said, and her voice sounded grateful. She looked up at him, and he smiled at her. Then he stood up and closed her door. She started the car and he stepped back as she backed out of the parking space. He stood there, watching us leave, and raised his hand as the car pulled away.

I wondered for a moment what she had meant, but she then turned the radio on and one of my favorite songs came on, so I started singing along.

Chapter 1

Mom scooted down into her sleeping bag. She looked over at me. Her bald head gleamed in the low light of the flashlight. "Are you having fun?" she asked.

"Yeah!" I said. "I love s'mores, I wish I could've had more!"

She laughed softly. "They are good."

"Can I have some for breakfast tomorrow?" I asked.

She laughed again. "No, Rick is going to cook breakfast in the morning- just wait. You'll love how bacon tastes when it's been cooked over a campfire- it's great!"

"Yum!" I said.

She reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. "Whatever happens, know that I love you, Lottie." she said.

"I love you too, Mommy. Thanks for bringing me with you." I smiled at her.

"I'm going to turn the flashlight off." I heard it click, and the tent became dark, except for the glowsticks that we had hung up in the corners of the tent. I had a big one in my sleeping bag next to me.

Mom's co-workers had invited us on a campout this weekend. Mom said it was her "Last Hurrah" before her new treatments started. I was the only kid that was there, and I got a little bored from time to time, but a couple people had showed me how to do different things, like whittle a piece of wood with a knife, and how to build and start a fire. Mom wouldn't let me touch a knife though. Rick had said that he would take me over to the lake tomorrow and show me how to fish. I was excited about that, because I had never been fishing before.

I laid there listening to the crackling of the fire outside the tent. A couple people were still awake and sitting around the campfire. I drowsed, listening to them talking quietly.

Then I started to hear growling. Someone said, "Oh my God!" In a loud voice. Mom sat up suddenly.

"Mom, what's-" I started.

"SHH!" She put her hand out to shush me.

We heard more growling, and a weird barking sound. Then someone screamed. There was the sound of fabric tearing, and the sound of something crunching, and a sound like something crashing through the woods. The growling and barking moved away for a moment, then came back.

"Oh God AAAAHHHH!" someone shouted.

"JEEESUS!" another voice yelled.

I started to cry. "Mommy, what is it?" I whispered.

A woman screamed, and Mom said, "That's Janice. I've got to-" She started to get up.

"Mom, no! " I whined. "Don't go, please!"

She turned back to me. "I'll be right back, sweetie. You stay here."

"But Mom-"

"Stay." She said, and she got up and left the tent, zipping it closed behind her.

I sat there, wiping my tears away and trying not to cry. My heart was pounding. I heard more sounds like branches cracking, and then a roar and a howl that make the hair on my arms stand up. That was not a normal animal howl. Then there was more growling and sounds of something heavy being thrown.

"Jan?" I heard my mother say. "Jan? Oh- OH NO!"

And then there was loud growling and more crunching and garbled sounding noises.

"Mom!" I called out. Had something happened to her?

I got up and unzipped the tent and stepped out slowly. My legs were shaking so badly I thought I was gonna fall over. The campfire was dying, but I could see the shapes of people on the other side of it, laying down. I could see shiny liquid darkness around them on the ground, and what looked like part of a bone sticking out of someone's jacket sleeve.

I swallowed thickly, and heard a noise in the treeline across from the campsite. I snuck around the tent and started to run across the clearing through the tall grass, towards the trees. There were some huge bushes there, and I crawled into them and crouched down, breathing hard. I was terrified. What was making the growling? Was it a mountain lion or a bear? What if it came back? Had it hurt everyone there? Had it hurt my mom? What if it came for me?

I sat there, crouching in the bushes, for what seemed like hours. My legs were cramping, but I was too afraid to move.

I could hear voices talking.

"Well, this one's a goner." said a voice.

"I don't think there's any survivors." said a second voice. "We're gonna need to track this thing and gank it before it hits any more campsites."

"Wait." said the first voice. I heard footsteps, and then saw a flashlight bobbing towards me. I curled up even further, feeling more scared.

A man stood there in front of me, and he moved the branches of the bush apart. He squatted down and looked in at me, shining the light on me. I could barely see him, just his outline.

"Hi there." he said gently. "Is that your campsite?" He pointed behind him.

I nodded, tears running down my face.

"Did you...see anything that happened?"

I shook my head no, not trusting myself to speak. I was afraid I would start screaming and not be able to stop.

"I'm here to help you. Want to come out of there?"

I shook my head vehemently.

He chuckled slightly. "I'll make sure you're safe." He held his hand out to me and beckoned me.

"What's your name?" he asked me.

"Charlotte." I whispered.

"Hi Charlotte, my name is Sam. Come on with me, okay?"

I tried to stand up, but my legs felt like they were stuck in that position. I whimpered as I tried to move forward.

"Are you hurt?" His face was immediately concerned.

"No, I just...been sitting for a long time." I said. I crept forward and he reached out and put his hands around my waist, pulling me out of the bushes. I stumbled and almost fell, and he leaned down and picked me up easily, holding me on his hip like I was a little kid.

"There you go, I've got you, honey." he said comfortingly. He straightened up and I gasped a little- he was so tall! I grabbed onto his jacket and his arm.

He looked down at me and picked a leaf out of my hair. "Are your parents here?" he asked.

"Just...just my mom." I told him. "Is she okay?"

He got an uneasy look on his face, and didn't say anything. "Come on." he said, and walked us back over to the edge of the campsite.

"I found someone." he called.

Another man walked over to us and shined his flashlight at us. I couldn't see him at all.

"This is Charlotte." Sam said. "She's here with her mom."

"Oh my God." said the man.

"What, Dean?" Sam looked confused.

"Holy crap, dude- that's- she's my daughter!"

"What?" Sam looked down at me. "Are you sure?" He looked back at the man. "You- you have a kid?" He shifted me on his hip slightly.

"Yeah, remember last week when I left for a few hours? I was, uh, meeting with her mother."

"And you were going to tell me about this when?" Sam asked sternly, raising his eyebrow.

"I was getting around to it, there were some...things to take care of first!" Dean retorted. He stepped close to us. I could see his face now.

"Charlotte, you remember meeting me?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said.

He exhaled."Good."

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked. "Were you coming on the camping trip with us?" I looked at Dean.

"Uh, no-" Dean started, and then we heard rustling in the woods. They both turned quickly.

"All right, let's get her to the car." Dean said.

"Which tent is yours?" Sam asked me.

I pointed. "That blue and green one."

He turned and started walking away.

"Hey!" I said, trying to get down out of his arms. "I need my stuff!"

"We'll get it for you." Sam told me, shifting me again and holding me tighter as he walked. "We're taking you to our car, and you need to stay there, all right? It's safe in there, just keep the doors locked."

We walked until we got to a shiny black car. Dean unlocked it and Sam put me in the back seat.

"Stay here, we're going to go look for your mom." Dean said.

"We'll get your things." Sam told me.

"Wait!" I said. "Don't leave me...I'm scared!"

"We'll be back in a few minutes." Sam said. "It's all right."

"Shouldn't we call the police? And an ambulance?" I asked.

"We will." said Dean reassuringly. "You stay put, all right? We'll be back. Lock up."

I sat. And sat. I looked around. The parking lot was dark except for one dim light on the other side. I looked around, out the windows, trying to see if I could see any movements. I thought I heard an owl hooting. I was starting to calm down, and I felt a little tired. My heart had stopped pounding finally. I sat back on the seat and looked around. There was a little green plastic army man stuck in the ashtray on the back door. I tried to get it out, but it was stuck in there really good.

All of a sudden, the light across the parking lot went out. The only light that was out there was now the moon, which was one day past full. I started to get really scared! How long had I been here? Had they called for help yet? What if the bear had gotten them too? Would it come for me next? Where was my mom? What if she was bleeding somewhere? I had heard that people could bleed to death. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of my mother, laying on the ground in the woods, bleeding.

I opened the back door and got out slowly, then started to run across the parking lot. I had made it to the other side and was walking onto a path when I heard voices again.

"Shit! Where is she?"

"Charlotte!" someone called.

I turned. It was Sam and Dean. I could see their flashlights moving.

"Is that her?" They started to jog over to me.

"What the hell, kid, we told you to stay in the car!" Dean said angrily.

"You were gone a long time!" I exclaimed. "I didn't know where you went! Why didn't you call an ambulance! Where's my mom! She could be bleeding to death, ya know!"

I saw them look at each other.

Sam bent down to me. "I'm sorry, honey, but...your mother is gone."

I looked at him, then up at Dean. "What do you mean, gone? Did a bear take her? We have to go find her!"

"No, Charlotte." Dean said heavily. "She's...passed away."

"What?" I looked at them both again. Sam had a pitying look on his face.

I backed up from him. "No! No, I don't believe you! I'm gonna go find her!" I turned and started to run, but then someone caught me around the waist and lifted me in the air.

It was Sam again. "Nope, not safe for you to go running off." he said. "We're going to take you back to our hotel, okay?"

"No!" I said, struggling against him. "It's not okay! I want to stay here! I want my mommy! I need my stuff!"

"We've got your stuff." Dean said. "Come on, kid, it's late. There's nothing more we can do here."

"I don't want to go with you, I want her!" I said, as Sam began to carry me back to the car.

Dean walked ahead of us. I saw my backpack and sleeping bag on the ground next to the car. Dean picked them up and carried them around to the trunk.

Sam put me down in the back seat of the car. He started to stand up and I got out of the car. He grabbed me again and leaned down, holding my shoulders. "No, Charlotte." he said firmly, looking into my eyes. "We have to go now."

"I don't want to leave her!" I said, and burst into tears. I felt him gathering me into his arms and picking me up, then he got into the back seat with me. He put me on the seat and I felt him pull the seat belt over my lap and buckle it. Then he put his arms around me again and pulled me into his chest. I grabbed ahold of his jacket and just kept crying. I heard the car door close and then the rumble of the engine, and felt the car moving. I cried and cried, and fell asleep with my face buried in Sam's jacket, feeling his hand holding my shoulder.