AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe! There is so much stress and negativity going around right now, make sure you're taking care of your mental health as well as your physical health. I'm glad to hear that so many of you are getting enjoyment from my fics and that they're helping you have a little "escape" from the real world!

Jenifer, Artemis1964, Myst1989, tamilyn313, Ponygirlrunner25, sjwmaw, MariaKata, AshtynnAlba, huhchuh, EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester, SevenRuby, Claire, TwightHeart, LexieLou, Stormysea-breaks, FandomCaptive, carlton1, min kone, bookwormbri02, and The Black Pearrl, Thank you for leaving comments, I love hearing everyone's thoughts and ideas about Charlie and the story! I'm happy that so many of you love Charlie's character, she's so fun to write!

Content Warning for angst and fluff. Sam and Dean argue and a punch is thrown.

~ ~ spn ~ ~ spn ~ ~

Imani came into the kitchen where we were all gathered, waiting. She was smiling broadly as she held up a small white plastic stick. "It's positive!"

Uncle Sam was right there, and he took it from her and looked at it, and then hugged her tightly. Uncle Bobby and Grandpa John and Daddy all clapped each other on the back, chuckling, and then everyone hugged.

"Can I see?" I asked.

Imani held the stick out to me. There was a small oval window on it with a blue plus sign in it.

"Is it going to be a boy?" I looked at her and Uncle Sam.

"We won't know that yet, this is just to verify that a person is pregnant. I'll have to go to the doctor and they'll help me figure out how far along I am and we'll decide if we want to know the sex of the baby." Imani explained.

Uncle Sam put his arm around her shoulders. "Do you want to know?"

She looked up at him, lacing her fingers into his. "Yes, I do."

"I think I do too." He leaned down and kissed her.

"Okay lovebirds." Daddy teased. "Let's call Missouri, she's waiting to find out how things went."

Uncle Sam let go of Imani and walked over to the counter, where his computer bag was sitting. He set his laptop up on the kitchen table and turned it on.

Daddy and I sat down next to him and Grandpa John and Uncle Bobby stood behind us.

Uncle Sam opened a browser window and a black box appeared, then it blinked and got lighter, and Missouri appeared in the window.

She was sitting at her kitchen table. "Well, hello, all! I'm glad to see everyone present and accounted for." She smiled.

"Hi Missouri!" I waved at her.

She focused on me. "Look at you, all proud of yourself! It must have gone well!"

"Uh-yeah." I felt embarrassed.

She smiled at me. "Don't be embarrassed, child, you don't need to hide your light under a bushel." She looked at Imani. "So the prayers worked as we thought they would?"

"Yes, they did." Imani replied. "Charlie's guardian angel showed up-Castiel? So that was interesting."

Missouri looked surprised. "Oh my lands, he is an odd duck, ain't he?" She chuckled. "I hope he was there to help!"

"He did. He said a prayer in Enochian, I think. I've only heard it spoken once before during a channeling, so I wasn't certain."

"I saw our auras!" I piped up. "Can you see people's auras?"

"No, that's not one of my gifts. I know of someone who could, she could tell if someone was sick in the body or soul depending on the color of their aura." Missouri took a sip from a flowered mug. "Everything went as expected?"

"I was concerned when Castiel showed up unannounced." Imani said. "And there was a brief upset before we left. Charlie- thought she heard her mother's voice, and she wanted to go to her."

Missouri looked serious. "Oh my...what did you do?"

I looked up at Imani. "What d'you mean, I thought I heard her voice? It was my mom! I'd know her voice anywhere!"

Imani looked uncomfortable. "It might not have been. There was no way to verify if it really was, other than letting Charlie go to her, and I wasn't going to let that happen."

"But-you said we were in the veil, which leads to heaven! How could my mommy not be there?" I was getting angry.

"Yes, Charlie, we were in the veil, but it can be permeated by other-spirits, and forces, if you will. Sometimes they might try to masquerade as a loved one, to lead newly deceased souls astray. That's why we anointed ourselves before we went, and why both Castiel and I said prayers of protection over you and over the ritual that we did."

"Then how did this-other spirit or whatever-find Charlie? How did it know what to say?" Daddy demanded.

Missouri leaned forward. "Charlie's got a bright spirit, I told you before, she's got strong powers, and that will attract spirits and supernatural forces."

I clenched my fists, not wanting to believe that it wasn't my mom. "It was her! I know it!" I said stubbornly. "You should've let me-say-goodbye!" I burst into tears, covering my face with my hands.

"All right, c'mere." I felt hands on my arms and Daddy was picking me up to sit in his lap. He put his arms around me. "Okay, shhh. It's all right." He soothed.

"I-I would know my m-mommy's voice anywhere-b-but what if- what if I-I can't remember? What if-what if I forget her?" I wailed.

"Oh, baby, it's okay." Daddy put his hand on the back of my head. "You won't forget her. She's a part of you."

Suddenly everything rose up like a wave- the times that I had seen Hazel's death, and felt it, and how alone and scared she had felt, and it reminded me of how I had often felt that way when taking care of my mom when she was sick. There had been no one to talk to about it, and no one to help me. And then the fear I had felt at the campsite when my mother had left the tent, wondering what had happened to her- I started crying harder. I clutched at Daddy's shirt and buried my face in his shoulder.

"C'mon," I felt Daddy standing up and carrying me, and we walked into a different room.

It felt like I cried and cried and couldn't stop. I realized I was babbling. "-was alone and scared, and I felt the same way when I was takin' care of my mom, I was by myself an' no one was there to help, an' it, it got to be too much sometimes but there wasn't anything I could do- just like she just-had-to- to let go, an' she died, an' it was so sad an' scary, like when I'd be worried about my mom, an' then when we were camping an she-she left the tent-"

"Okay, Charlie, okay-shh, take a breath for me-" Daddy murmured. We were walking back and forth and he was rubbing my back.

There was a knock on the door and he stopped walking and turned. "Come in."

I heard the squeak of the hinges and footsteps. "How's she doing?" It was Grandpa John's voice. He came over to us.

I turned my head to look at him, my chest still hitching.

"You're gonna be all right, darlin'." Grandpa John said gently to me."Best thing for you is a good night's sleep."

Daddy looked at me. "How about it? You feel like you're ready for bed?"

"I dunno. Will you stay with me?" I asked, leaning my head on his chest again.

"Sure." Daddy agreed.

Grandpa John cupped my cheek with his hand. "We're all here for you, little one."

I gave him a small smile. He patted my face and left the room, and Daddy carried me upstairs.

We had figured that we might be spending the night here, so we had packed a change of clothes. Daddy helped me change into my pajamas and then tucked me under the covers, then he sat down next to me. I snuggled up against him and he put his arm around me. I still felt sniffly and sad, and a tear would leak out of my eyes every once in a while.

Daddy played with my hair, running his fingers through it and then rubbing my scalp gently with his fingers, and it lulled me to sleep.

~ ~ spn ~ ~

It had been a busy few days. I had gotten behind in my schoolwork, so I was under orders to do more work than I was used to until I was caught up. Uncle Sam had gone to a doctor's appointment with Imani, and she was pregnant- she showed us the ultrasound photo of a little blob that she said was the baby. Ever since then, he'd been more distracted. I wasn't too happy about all the extra schoolwork, and so Uncle Sam and I weren't getting along the greatest.

I was excited today, though- we were at the mall to buy a new bead for my charm bracelet to replace the one that got destroyed, and he had bought me a heart shaped crystal bead and another Hello Kitty bead.

The mall was crowded with people because there was an 'Civil War Exhibition and Sale' going on- there was a big open area near the food court that had lots of booths and tables set up and people were displaying and selling all kinds of old stuff. We walked past lots of glass display cases full of old guns and uniforms.

"The pretzels are over there, Uncle Sam." I pointed.

He peered over a large group of old women. "There's a long line, you sure you want to get a pretzel?"

I grabbed his hand and tugged on it. "Yes! And a lemonade, too, they put real lemon slices in it! C'mon!"

"All right, all right." He led me through the crowd and we stood behind a woman who was pushing a stroller with a sleeping toddler in it.

The line was slow-moving, and I started to get bored. Uncle Sam's phone rang, and he answered it. "Hey, how are you? How's your stomach? Oh, good. You're on a break right now?"

Imani had just started taking a class for her job, so she was extra busy and hadn't been able to see Uncle Sam as much. He turned away from me. "I miss you too." He said quietly.

I shifted from one foot to the other, looking around.

A short distance away there was a table with mannequin heads wearing hats, and a big glass case with jewelry in it next to the hat display.

I wandered over to look at the hats. In the case next to them, there were a few glass pendants that had what looked like braids in them.

"Is that-is that hair?" I asked the man behind the counter.

"Yes, it's called mourning jewelry. People would cut the hair of a loved one when they died and have it woven into braids or shapes and put into a pendant or locket, since many people couldn't afford photographs."

"Eww." I shuddered, and he chuckled. He was holding a wooden pipe and rubbing it with a cloth.

An older man wearing an old fashioned uniform came over. "Well how are you, Fred?" He held his hand out, and the man behind the table shook his hand. "I have to show you what I bought, come down here!" The man said enthusiastically. He set the pipe and the cloth down and they walked down to the end of the table.

I looked at the jewelry and wondered if there were any spirits stuck in them. Since a spirit had been attracted to my bead, wouldn't it make sense that a spirit would stay with a locket that had their hair in it? I remembered Missouri telling me that sometimes a person's energy would stay with an object if it was something they used all the time. I wondered if I'd be able to feel someone's energy or spirit attached to something- maybe my abilities had gotten stronger since I had gone into the veil?

I picked up the pipe-it was made of a heavy white material that was carved into swirls and leaves, and the stem looked like dark wood.

I took a deep breath and stared at the pipe, turning it over and then holding it between my hands.

...His name was Charles Abernathy, and he worked at the First Mercantile Bank of Williamsport... Started out a lowly bank teller and worked his way up to the head manager...I saw the image of an older man with a gray handlebar mustache and bushy sideburns, wearing a rounded hat and a striped suit...He knew everyone that lived in the little town and all their money problems... He carried the pipe everywhere and set it on his desk at work, and he would fiddle with it while people were telling them their stories and asking for loans... He had a special dish made-

A hand closed around my hands. "Charlie?" Uncle Sam's voice was concerned.

He pulled the pipe out of my hands just as someone said, "Little girl, what are you doing there?"

Uncle Sam set the pipe on the table and nodded to the man who was hurrying over to us.

"Nothing...we were just leaving." Uncle Sam took my hand and began walking us away from the table, very fast.

I stumbled after him, my head spinning.

"Uncle Sam, slow down!" I whined, pulling on him. The dizziness was going away.

He stopped when we were across the room, and leaned down to me. "What happened? Are you okay?" His eyes flicked back and forth between mine.

My face got hot, and I dropped my eyes. "Uh, well-"

"Wait a second. Are you- what were you doing?"

I squirmed. "Um-"

He took my chin in his hand and raised my head. "Charlie, look at me." He was frowning, and his voice was stern now. "Were you trying to read an object?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Uncle Saaaammm-" I whined, trying to pull away from him.

He let go of my chin and sighed angrily. "What do you think you're doing?" He straightened up, taking my hand again. "Let's go."

"But-what about the pretzel?" I turned to look at the line, which was shorter now.

"We're leaving. Come on." He started walking quickly, and again, I had to struggle to keep up with his long strides.

We got to his car and he opened the back door so I could get in. I buckled my seatbelt as he climbed into the front seat.

He turned to look at me. "Charlie, what gave you the idea to do that?"

"Um...I just...wanted to try it."

"Why would you think that was okay? After what we just went through, and-what you've experienced before?"

I picked at the seam of my jeans. "I dunno."

"Well...we're going to see what your dad has to say about this." He faced forward and started the car.

I stared out the window during the drive home, the impressions of the man going around in my head. His bank job had been his life- he had never married or anything, and he wasn't happy, just satisfied, and that's what he would say when people asked how he was. "I'm satisfactory," he would tell them. He got lonely as he got older but then was able to move in with a relative that had a family. And he continued working at the bank until they forced him to retire.

Daddy's car was parked at the curb when we got home. I got out and followed Uncle Sam up the stairs.

When we went inside, we could hear talking from the kitchen.

Grandpa John was at the stove, holding a big plastic spoon. "There she is!" He smiled at me.

Daddy was standing at the counter next to the fridge. "Hey, kiddo." Daddy set his beer bottle down and held out his arm, and I went to him and hugged him.

"Dean, we need to talk." Uncle Sam said.

Daddy let go of me, and I stepped back, nearer to the table. He frowned, and looked at Uncle Sam. "What's up?"

"Charlie took it upon herself to wander away from me at the mall and try and read an object." Uncle Sam reported. "And from what I can tell, she did it of her own volition, and she didn't have any odd aftereffects like she had in the past."

Daddy looked down at me, raising his eyebrows. "Is this true, little girl?"

"Um...yeah."

Daddy crossed his arms. "What gave you the idea?"

I shifted. "Um, well, there was a bunch of tables of antique guns and stuff all over, it was some expo thingy today. And I saw these old fashioned hats and I went over to look at them, and there was this jewelry with hair in it. I wondered if spirits were in the jewelry, and the guy there left a pipe on the table, so I picked it up and held it."

"Wait, I thought you were with Sam."

"I was. We were in line to get pretzels and he got a phone call from Imani."

"Oh, I see." Daddy nodded, and then turned to Uncle Sam. "Dude, what the hell? You didn't even notice that Charlie had wandered away?"

Uncle Sam gave an angry huff. "Look, it was crowded, I turned away for what seemed like a second and all of a sudden she wasn't there-"

Daddy stepped across the room so he was closer to Uncle Sam. "It was more than a God-damned second if she had time to pick up a pipe and do a reading on it!" Daddy's voice was louder. "Look, man, your head has been in the clouds for days-"

"Well, I've got a lot on my mind right now, you know, my-my girlfriend is pregnant with my child!" Uncle Sam's voice got louder too. "And I've been taking care of your kid for a long time, ever since we picked her up as a matter of fact, with no thank you or anything from you! I've made sure she eats healthy, and I monitor what she watches and I put her to bed, and I-I took over her freaking schooling, and all I get from you is-is a load of crap when something happens and you have to step up and be a father! And to tell you the truth, I'm kinda tired of it, Dean! I get no thanks and no breaks from you, and I'd like to have a life, you know?"

Daddy's face got red, and a muscle jumped in his cheek. "Well, no-one's stopping you. Go right ahead." He pointed at Uncle Sam. "It's always about you, isn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Uncle Sam put his hands on his hips.

"I mean that this is, you know, family, we're all supposed to pitch in and take care of each other, but you've always been about what you want, not what's best for us." Daddy motioned to all of us.

Uncle Sam's mouth fell open. "How can you say that, when all I've been doing for the past several months is take care of Charlie? When we moved here, what happened? You went out and got a job, and I got to stay home and-and play teacher and house-husband! And no one ever bothered to ask me if that was what I wanted, the automatic assumption was that 'Sure, Sam'll go along with it' because that's what you and Dad have always done- you make all the decisions and I'm supposed to just sit down and shut up and do what you guys want. Well, I want something different now."

Daddy's eyes narrowed. "Well, it's nice to know that as soon as you get a girlfriend, you decide to ditch everything and everyone else. I guess she's all that matters to you?"

Uncle Sam's jaw ticced. "At least I have a steady relationship, I'm not following in your footsteps of- of 'screw 'em and leave 'em'-"

And then Daddy was swinging at Uncle Sam and punched his face. I screamed as Uncle Sam was thrown backwards against the counter. Grandpa John stepped between them, pushing Daddy away.

"HEY! That's ENOUGH!" Grandpa John bellowed, as Daddy clenched his fists.

Uncle Sam stood up, rubbing his jaw. He had a red mark on the side of his face. "Don't worry, Dad, I'm not gonna do anything. I'm outta here." He glared at Daddy, and then turned and walked out.

"Uncle Sam-" I hurried after him, but his long legs were across the room and out the door before I had barely walked out of the kitchen.

I turned around and went back in.

Grandpa John was facing Daddy, who still looked angry.

"Dean, what the hell was that?" Grandpa John growled. "Is now the time and place to be airing all that out?"

Daddy glared at him. "I don't know, Dad, I'm sorry that I'm not-I guess I can't do anything right!" He snapped, grabbing his keys off the counter.

"What are you doing"?" Grandpa John asked.

"I'm going out!"

"Dean, stop. Listen, I can't -if you decide to go drown your sorrows, I'm not going to be able to drive out later and pick you up." Grandpa John gestured at me. "What about her?"

Daddy huffed. "I'm just going out for a drive, gotta clear my head. She can stay with you." He turned and stomped out of the house.

Everything had happened so fast- I had stood there speechless throughout the whole thing. It felt like the anger was still hanging in the air.

Grandpa John looked at me, and I looked at him, and burst into tears.

"Oh, come here, darlin'." Grandpa John came over to me and picked me up, then sat down in a chair and set me on his lap.

"It-it's all my fault!" I wailed. "If I ha-hadn't gone over-I should've- it's because of me, if I wasn't here, they wouldn't've gotten in the fight, it's my fault!"

"No, shhh, it's not." Grandpa John hugged me.

"Y-yes, it is! I-if I hadn't m-met Daddy th-then they wouldn't be in this fight! It's all my f-fault, I'm bad!" I clenched my fist and pounded the side of my head. "It's these stupid abilities, all they've done is- is make people m-mad at me an' get me in tr-trouble!"

"Hey." Grandpa John said sternly, taking my hand and lowering it to my lap. "I'm not going to let you hurt yourself. You are not bad, you hear me?"

I lowered my head. "It's my fault." I whispered.

Grandpa John cupped my face with his hands and raised my head, making me look at him. His brown eyes were warm. "No, it's not. You are not bad, and your abilities don't make you bad. You're a sweet little girl, and you're very strong- a lot stronger than other kids your age. You've been through a lot and it could have made you angry or cynical, but it didn't, you're still a kind girl who cares a lot about others. You're very special, you hear me?"

Tears filled my eyes again, and I nodded. He let me go and hugged me again, and I cried into his flannel. After my tears slowed down, I pulled back. "Daddy and Uncle Sam got in a argument about me, though."

"No, Charlie, listen." Grandpa John tucked my hair behind my ear. "I think this has been brewing for a long time. Sam and I- we didn't always get along when he was younger, and there were times that things were-very tense between all of us. Your dad always tried to smooth things over, but-he had his own set of issues as well. And some things- we've never sat down and talked, because, well, we're- we just don't talk about those kinds of things." He said sheepishly. He pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry you had to get caught in the middle of all that."

"B-but it is my f-fault, U-uncle S-sam said-"

"Okay, look. You may have been the catalyst-the thing that started the argument-but it's not your fault. It brought a lot of-old feelings to the surface. Things may have come out at a later time. It is not your fault. Do you understand?"

"I guess."

He held me until I had calmed, and then he patted my back. "I need to finish dinner. Are you hungry?"

"I dunno." I said glumly. I got off of his lap and he stood up and walked back over to the stove.

"I want you to try and eat something, all right? I made pasta with meat sauce." He stirred the sauce in the pan, and then served the pasta and sauce onto a plate and set it in front of me.

He sat down with his own plate and began to eat.

I pushed the noodles around with my fork. "What's going to happen?" I asked worriedly. "Where did they go?"

"Your dad said he was going for a drive. That's probably what Sam did too. They should be back soon."

I felt too sad to eat. I took a couple bites of my food, and then pushed the plate away. "Can I be done?"

Grandpa John looked at me. "You sure?"

I nodded, feeling my eyes prickle with tears.

"All right. It'll be here if you're hungry later." He picked up our plates and carried them to the counter.

Grandpa John sat with me and we watched a couple of cooking contest shows. I kept glancing at the front door, hoping that Daddy and Uncle Sam would come through the door and everything would be okay.

When the second show ended, I looked at Grandpa John. "Where are they? Why aren't they back yet? Can you call them? Please?"

He pulled his cell phone out. "All right, I'll call them." He said sympathetically. He dialed a number and listened. "Hey, Sam, it's Dad. Just checking on you...let me know what's going on. Bye." He hung up and then dialed another number. "Hey, Dean, it's Dad. Calling to check on you-"

I leaned over and said loudly, "Please come home, Daddy! I miss you!" And then I started crying again.

Grandpa John finished the call and then pulled me onto his lap again. "Shhh, it's gonna be okay, darlin'." He soothed, hugging me to his chest.

"B-but-where are th-they?" I sobbed.

"Well...they're usually gone for at least a couple of hours after a big blow-up like this, they drive until they run out of steam and then end up at a bar licking their wounds for a while. Try not to worry." He shifted me. "It's getting late, you should go to bed."

"No, I don't want to! I want to wait for them-please? Please can I stay up?" I sniffled.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

I looked up at him. "Can I be down here with you and fall asleep on the couch?"

He wiped my cheek with his thumb. "Well...all right."

I hurried upstairs and got ready for bed, and then came down with my Hello Kitty blanket and the cat that Daddy had bought for me when we had gone to the hospital with Macy and Cara.

I laid down on the sofa with my head on Grandpa John's thigh, and he covered me with the blanket and stroked my hair until I fell asleep.