Note: Hey, my loves <3 I'm alive.

I know it's once again been forever, and I'm sorry I can't give you more than this.

Every time I think things are starting to get better, I get hit in the neck with a curveball. I have some medical stuff going on now on top of the mental health stuff I've been dealing with. And I'm meant to start school soon. It's just really hard to get anything written right now, even with the hundred million ideas floating around in my brain. 

That being said, I miss this story as much as you do. I'm gonna write all your requests in due time, I swear. For now, all I can give you is the little stories my brain is willing to produce. This one at least turned out less depressing than the last one :) I'm calling that a win. I'd call anything a win right now.

Thank you x1000000000 for all the support. You're all kinder than I deserve, and I love you for it. I hope you enjoy this one shot, and I hope I don't have to go missing for so long again... but who knows.

In this one, Anna is ten.

Ten and Two

Fog clung to the treetops, but through its thinner patches, the sky's gray-blue could be seen. Anna leaned back against the door to the Impala and craned her neck so she was looking straight up. She could feel the water droplets that were stuck to the car being absorbed into her clothes, making them stick to her back. It was chilly outside already, and the water gave the cold access to her spine so that she shivered. But while she did feel cold, Anna wasn't feeling bothered.

The world was a strange kind of pretty today. She always liked mornings like this-- when the sky didn't look too blue, the fog drowned out all the brighter colors, and the trees' branches hung heavy under the weight of their wet leaves. It was easy to feel calm when the world was so at ease.

Hearing a door on the other side of the car creak open, Anna turned her head, stepping away from the car to see who it was. Dean stepped out of the driver's door, and Anna watched him stretch a few kinks out of his back before closing his door. She looked back at the sloppy line of tree tops stretching into the cushion of foggy sky. Then she walked around the car and ducked in under Dean's arm just as he was finishing stretching his shoulders.

"Hey, kiddo," he murmured against her hair. Even if she hadn't seen him asleep on the seat when she'd gotten out of the car a few minutes ago, Anna would have known just by his voice that he'd just woken up. It was quieter, a little lower in tone, and rough from lack of use. He kissed the side of her head and rubbed her arm for a minute before letting her go. "Sleep alright?"

"Yeah," Anna told him. "I just woke up," she added. She'd been having nightmares a lot more than usual for the past month or so, and often that meant waking up in the middle of the night and taking a while to go back to sleep. Other times it meant waking up for good at 3am. She didn't want Dean to think it had been one of those nights for her.

"Any dreams?" he asked.

The answer was yes, but Anna just shrugged. She tucked herself back under his arm, though, seeking body heat. Dean's arms went around her in response, hugging her warmly against his chest. The warmth was enough to make Anna feel drowsy again despite the fact that she'd just woken up.

"You're cold," Dean grumbled. He let her cling to him for another couple seconds, the two of them and the whole world at ease. Then he pulled back again and opened the driver's door. "You get shotgun, Rugrat."

Anna's face split into a tired grin. It was so so rare that she got to ride in the passenger seat. Sam had let her ride in it on her tenth birthday, but he normally was adamant that she was still too young. Dean didn't care so much about her being only ten and too young. He just normally told her it was a perk of being older that you got dibs on the front seat. Mostly, she just accepted that. But on the rare occasion she got to ride shotgun, Anna was always thrilled.

The morning was quiet, the road empty. For the first ten minutes of their drive, they saw nothing but trees and paintless road, and they heard nothing but the whirr of the Impala's wheels and purr of her engine. Anna curled up against the passenger door and gazed out the window, watching the fog and the treetops hang steady. She knew the fog would dissipate with the appearance of the sun. One minute it would be there, and then no longer.

"Quit thinkin' so hard, kid. You're startin' to look like Sam over there."

Anna grinned and wrinkled her nose, curling her hands into claws to try. "It's the curse of the passenger seat," she said in her best spooky voice and got onto her knees on the seat.

Dean looked sideways at her with a faint smile. "Rugrat, if any part of my car is cursed, we're gonna have problems."

Anna let her hands fall to her sides, but her grin stayed firmly in place as she looked at her brother. "Maybe it's just me and Sam that's cursed then," she said to console him. It was only a joke, but she watched as Dean's expression took on a strange quality.

"Then we're gonna have some real problems," he said, his voice dropping a little lower. Snapping out of it, he turned toward her just long enough to tweak her nose and say, "Sit down."

Anna's smile faded as she plopped down to sit on the seat as she was told. They rode quietly for a couple more minutes before Dean spoke.

"You can keep a secret, can't you, Rugrat?"

Anna's eyes widened in excitement and she twisted to look at her brother. "Yeah," she promised eagerly.

Dean eased the car to a slow stop, not bothering to pull over since the road was empty. "C'mere," he said, gesturing for her to sit in his lap. Anna climbed to sit between his legs facing the steering wheel, and he gently took her arms. She instantly understood what he had in mind and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. "Ten and two, kiddo," Dean said, his voice still quiet because Sam was asleep and because it was still so early in the morning. He shook her wrists gently until she let go of the wheel and then guided her hands to the right places. "Like on the clock."

"Ten and two," Anna repeated, mimicking his quiet speech. She wrinkled her nose and leaned in like she was playing a game in an arcade.

Dean smiled softly, looking over her head at the road. He gently pressed on the gas and, keeping his hands over hers, started to drive. Anna's hands tightened on the wheel as the car started moving, but she quickly relaxed into it. After a minute or so, she could see a turn coming up in the road. "Take the turn," Dean encouraged, removing his hands from over hers.

Anna frowned at first, feeling a little panicked. Her hands tightened on the wheel, missing the security of Dean's hold.

"I won't let you crash, Munchkin," he told her gently. Anna believed him. "Take the turn."

When they got there, Anna started to turn the wheel. It was hard to pull, like a heavy door, and she wrinkled her nose as she tugged it to the right.

"Slower," Dean coached, his hands hovering closely over hers, but not touching. He was letting her maintain control, but he was there if she needed the help. It was exactly what Anna needed. She took the advice, turning the wheel more slowly, and as soon as she finished making the turn, Dean's hands were back over hers, lifting them off the wheel so it could roll back into place, just grazing the pads of her fingers. "See, you don't even have to turn it back. My Baby knows what she's doin'."

"Both of 'em," Anna beamed, because she wasn't sure if he meant her or his car.

Dean's voice sounded warm when he agreed with her, "Both of 'em." He gave her a kiss on the back of her head. "Don't tell Sam."

"Never," Anna said. "Pinky swear."

Dean hooked his pinky under hers on the steering wheel. "Good girl," he said, leaning his head next to hers. "I'm holdin' you to that."

Anna dropped her head back against Dean's shoulder, his hands still holding hers over the wheel. "They should make the driving age lower," she said. "I'm good at this."

Dean snorted. "Hate to break it to you, Sweetheart, but turning the steering wheel ain't the only thing you gotta do to drive the car. For starters," he shrugged her head off his shoulders, "you gotta look at the road."

Anna wrinkled her nose. "Well, yeah, but you got it for now."

"For now?" Dean repeated with an incredulous smirk. He glanced at the side mirror then looked back at the road. "Rugrat, my foot's been on the pedals this whole time."

"I can do that," Anna said, stretching her foot out. It was hard to reach since her hands were held fast to the steering wheel by Dean's.

"Uh-uh." One of Dean's hands came off of hers and he pulled her back up straight in the seat with an arm around her waist. "You just worry about steering, kiddo. I got the rest."

"When I'm older can I do the pedals?"

"Sure."

"How old? Eleven?"

Dean snorted, hugging her closer with the arm he had around her waist. "Little older."

Anna let her head fall back against her brother's shoulder again. "Twelve?"

"Sixteen."

"I won't fit in your lap anymore," Anna said sadly.

Dean moved his arm from around her to ruffle her hair. "I guess it's not the passenger seat makin' you think too hard. It's that big brain of yours."

"At least it means I'm not cursed."

"I told you so."

Anna wrinkled her nose, trying to fight her smile at Dean's childish retort. "No, you didn't," she giggled.

"Yes, I did."

"You did not."

"Did so."

"Did not."

"Did so," Dean said, then quickly covered her mouth with his hand. Anna squealed and giggled, the sound muffled under his hand, and she shook her head, trying to get him to let go. But she had a big grin on her face. Finally Dean let her go. "You're not cursed."

"I am too," Anna argued. "Cursed with a big Sam brain."

Dean started laughing so hard at that that he had to ease his foot up off the gas. "I'll get you ice cream for breakfast if you say that to his face."

Anna grinned wide. "Deal," she agreed.

"Big Sam brain," Dean repeated under his breath, still chuckling. "That's awesome."

Anna felt his hands settle back comfortably over hers on the steering wheel, and she tried to straighten up so she could see the road over the dash, but it was hard. "Hey, Dean," she queried.

"Yeah?"

"They'd have to make littler cars."

Dean frowned down at her. "What?"

"If they made the driving age lower, they'd have to make littler cars for all the kids. So we could see."

Dean slowly started to smile at the image of a bunch of miniature trucks and cars covering the roadways. Suddenly all he could picture was those little shopping carts with cars on the front that grocery stores kept for little kids. "Rugrat, you're not gettin' a car til you're older either, alright?" He ruffled her hair again.

"How older?"

"How much older?"

"Yeah. Eleven?"

"Guess again," Dean encouraged.

Anna pouted. "Sixteen?"

"Eighteen. If you're really lucky."

Anna's pout went full force. "I'm gonna be a grownup then."

Dean laughed. "That's kinda the point, Rugrat. Kids don't drive."

Anna wrinkled her nose, thinking, then twisted so she could see up into Dean's face. He flicked the blinker and she heard it's rhythmic clicking start up before she asked, "What kind of car do you think I'll have?"

"Sweetheart, I'll get you whatever car you want if I have to build it with my bare hands."

Anna smiled. "Really?"

"Pinky swear," he said, hooking his pinky under hers again.

Anna snuggled back against his chest, letting her arms go lax, her hands held to the wheel only by his grip. "Will it be as good as the Impala?"

"Now you're just askin' for the impossible."

"Deeeaaaan."

"I promise, Rugrat, you'll have the second best car in the whole world. That's the most I can give you."

"I'll take it," Anna said decidedly.

"When you're older."

"Eleven."

"Anna."

"Eighteen."

"Maybe."

Rolling her head to the side, Anna gazed out the driver's window. The fog was already starting to thin. Pretty soon there would be nothing left of it. The morning would be gone, replaced by the day and its demands. The trees would keep stretching toward the sky, never to reach it, but their journey would be bared by the sunlight.

Anna rolled her head back so she could look out the windshield, straight ahead. She couldn't wait to turn eighteen.

La Fin