Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Cassie had a talk with Dean before they left the next morning. They sat out on the patio with coffees in hand.
“I know you said you didn’t want to hear that I was sorry again, Dean, but….”
He looked at her with her hair in a ponytail and her face devoid of makeup and he could still see the woman he loved years ago. He sighed against the brightness of the early sunrise.
“Yeah?”
“Now I guess I just wish you could have been there when she was born. It’s silly but she was beautiful and she reminded me so much of you. I should never have hesitated to give you a call about her. You deserved to know.”
“Well we are past that now. Um, promise you want forget the amulets and salt lines. You need to be careful with Megan and have someone you trust with her at all times,” Dean said as he looked over at Cassie, as she seemed suddenly uncomfortable.
“Of course, you know my mother keeps her during the day though until the accident she was in day care a couple days a week. Now I don’t think it’s a great idea, I’m trying to find an alternate idea. What do you think?” she said as she put her cup down on the table.
“I don’t know Cassie you know the people in your town who to trust and who not to,” Dean said brusquely.
He took a deep breathe, he so needed his daughter to be safe but what could he do. He couldn’t be everywhere at once. His heart hurt with the thought that Cassie may not take the possible danger seriously even though he had already let Diane, Cassie’s mother know he hoped they would be extremely careful. It wasn’t that he thought Cassie was flighty but after she had contacted him, he had told her plainly that acknowledging him, as Megan’s father may not have been the wisest plan considering his profession. If he had only known ahead of time, he may have been able to see his daughter secretly. He had no idea if the demon where aware of the change of events in his life. Sam’s lack of dreams about Megan was disheartening and encouraging at the same time.
“You are right I’ll figure it out,” she said confused at his attitude change.
---
Mary watched Megan as she began to wake up that morning. She stretched, yawned and then smiled. Mary smiled at her granddaughter, though she did not think the little girl saw her as some children did. When children are younger, she had been told that little ones could see beyond the veil between the seen and unseen world. Megan climbed out of the bed, dressed with some difficulty before she put on her sling for her arm then headed down the stairs.
Cassie and Dean saw her before they heard her as she ran barely contained out to the patio.
“Mommy?”
“Morning Sweetie,” Cassie said as Megan ran to Dean to sit in his lap.
“Hey Daddy,” she said as adjusted her sling properly on her arm before she smiled at him.
“Hey Baby Girl,” he said with a grin he knew she didn’t really like the nickname but it made her smile.
“Oh Daddy,” she laughed as she got up to pull him out the patio toward the kitchen.
Cassie laughed at the two of them as she followed and almost ran head on into Sam who had Amber in his arms. The little girl was laughing too. Girls, girls, girls.
--
The yellow-eyed demon stood outside the house, since he could not get in. He contemplated if the Winchester girl had any gifts. He would need an inside person for that job. He sighed as he faded away, what are the Winchesters up to?
A couple hours later, Sam and Amber waited in the car while Dean said his goodbye to Megan. Cassie stood in the kitchen to keep from interfering with what had to be hard for both Dean and his child. He held her gently in his arms as she looked innocently at him.
“Can I go Daddy?”
“I wish you could but we will see you soon when Missouri brings you to see your little brothers, okay?”
Megan nodded as she tried not to cry, she was a big girl she kept a smile on her face though her sad eyes told the true story.
“Okay,” she said finally as Dean kissed her nose.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear as though it was the biggest secret ever.
“I love you too,” she said as she squeezed her eyes shut as she used her free hand to put on his shoulder as she lay her head down for one more moment.
Dean sighed as he sat her down before he winked at her, waved to Cassie who was at the window then he walked to the Impala with heavy steps. He knew he had to be strong or he was going to come unglued.
Damn it, he thought. He had loved Cassie like no other woman before her and they had a child why couldn’t that be easy? But now he was in a completely different phase in his life and even that he could not enjoy because of the evil that haunted his every step. He hid in the shadows under assumed names, he couldn’t earn a living because there were people who wanted to put him away, he was going to be a father again, so many things that he never planned on. He got in the car and waved a last time to his sad little girl before he saw Cassie take her inside with her.
“I know that was hard,” Sam said as he looked over at his brother.
Dean didn’t answer as he backed up the car and noticed that Amber was already asleep under a blanket that covered her car seat. He had to smile at her and how she had become comfortable in the old car. He admitted to himself he didn’t regret all the new people he had come to love.
Ari was glad to hear that her husband was on the way back home. She sighed as she stood in the middle her room while she wondered what she could accomplish before he returned. She was never one who enjoyed being idle, she liked crafts such as needlepoint, a bit of painting, and had made a few ceramic pots since they made the move. She sat down on the bed when she felt a bit light headed, then decided a nap might be nice before she began a new project.
On their second rest stop, Dean offered to take Amber in to go to the little girl’s room. He carefully checked the women room for large insects, other ladies or hidden men. Then he allowed Amber to go in with a reminder about the use of toilet paper that Ari had given him, use lots of it on the seats, she had insisted. Amber nodded as he stood on the outside of the door to wait. He tapped his feet as he waited and hummed a song. Inside the little stall, Amber did her best to cover the seat with paper then she hoisted her self up to sit on it and held on to the sides so as not to fall in the large cavern of a toilet. When she was done and hopped down the paper fell everywhere. She simply grabbed more from the roll to wipe and left a big paper mess. But she felt she had done a good job.
“Amber you okay in there?” Dean asked after a few minutes.
“Okay Daddy,” she said as she tried to reach the sink to wash her hands not realizing she had paper hanging out of her panties.
“Almost done?”
“I need help washing my hands,” she said as she walked up beside him without his knowing.
“Gee you scared me,” he said with a smile as he picked her up to go back in the bathroom so he could hold her up to wash her hands in the sink, before he realized Sam’s wipes might be better.
Before the left they room he got rid of the paper from her shoe and other parts hanging from her. They laughed as the left the room only to run into a lady who stared at them suspiciously. Amber took Dean’s hand.
“Come on Daddy,” the little girl said as Dean smiled at the lady.
“What took you so long?” Sam asked as he yawned.
“All the paper,” Amber said.
“Yeah your niece made a mess,” Dean laughed.
“Mommy says don’t touch the potties so I had to cover everything,” she said with a giggle.
Laughter filled the car as they backed out of the parking space. Dean would have never imagined they would have a car seat in the Impala let alone a cute little girl that would make them laugh.
Early that afternoon, Jo was in the living room with the remote in hand when she heard a knock on the back door. She went down to see who it was after she grabbed the shotgun. She raised an eyebrow when she saw a tall blonde on the other side of the door.
“Hi?” she said as she leaned against the wooden door while the stranger stood on the outside of the screen door.
“Hey, you must be Jo. I am Erin, Dean and Sam’s sister.”
“Really?” Jo asked as she raised her eyebrows.
The girl was tall almost as tall as Dean with hazel/green-blue eyes and round face, but she was beautiful and Jo self-consciously pulled herself up to full height. Erin gave Jo a small smile as she waited to be allowed into the house. She knew they hadn’t expected her until the next month at least but she had become impatient since her correspondence with Sam. Though she would more than likely have to leave and return for her nephew’s birth.
“Stay here,” Jo said as she closed the door before she climbed the stairs to go back up to the kitchen.
She was about to pour holy water in to a glass when she saw Ari watched her from the hallway.
“What’s up?”
“Um there is someone who says she is Erin outside I just need to test her.”
Ari nodded as Jo took the water back down the stairs to the door. She opened and held the door open with her foot then noticed that Ari was beside her to hold the gun. Both ladies watched as Erin drank the water with no problem and handed back the glass with a smile. Jo was not quite satisfied as she eyed the blonde who seemed to maintain her calm even though neither of them had moved to let her in.
“CHRISTO,” Jo shouted.
Erin didn’t blink but only crossed her arms over her chest with a small smile.
“Okay Jo I think she is safe,” Ari conceded as they opened the door to let Erin in finally.
“I’m sorry,” Ari said as Erin followed her up the stairs.
“Don’t be it’s a good idea to test anyone who visits especially in your condition.
Jo followed the up to the kitchen and they all headed toward the living room to have a seat.
“Hey do you want a drink?” Ari asked after she realized her error in hospitality.
“Sure do you have any brews?” Erin asked as the all stopped in the hallway.
“Typical Winchester,” Jo said with a laugh as she went back to the kitchen to get them drinks.
A juice for Ari and beers for her and Erin.
After they were all situated; Erin on the sofa with Ari and Jo in a chair beside the coffee table.
“So Erin tell us all about yourself,” Jo said as she settled into her chair.
“Well, I’m sure the guys told you I grew up with our aunt and uncle. But they don’t exactly know how often I saw Dad yet because we haven’t had a chance to have a real chat. Sam and I shared a couple emails but so far that’s it.”
“You know about the supernatural?” Ari asked
Erin nodded,” I did a few hunts with dad the times he disappeared.” She cringed she enjoyed the times she had with her father even if it was mostly on hunts, but John Winchester was not a girly guy. He had tried to be nice but he had a natural hardness from his time in the marines. He would either treat her as a china doll or as one of his sons; there was rarely a middle ground. Though he was never abusive he was just Dad to her she was sure her brothers had the same experience, maybe more intense. Her father’s desire for revenge had consumed him at times even when he was with her. She often wondered if his hunting was guilt from not being able to save their mother of if there was something deeper.
“So Ari, has Dean taught you anything about what he does?” Erin asked.
“Well,” Ari said as she looked down at her stomach with a grin.
“Um, before you were pregnant?” Erin laughed.
“Yeah before this happened actually Jo taught me about machetes, guns, and we did some hand to hand training while Sam and Dean where away.”
“She was a fast learner too, it was kind of fun to train a girl,” Jo said with a smile after a sip of her brew.
“So what made you believe in the hype of the ghosts and demons?” Erin asked no one in particular?
Jo told about her family’s history and how her father had begun to hunt when he was young after his mother was killed mysteriously. Then her grandfather had killed himself and things went to hell according to her. Her father had actually met her mother, Ellen, on a hunt.
“I didn’t know that,” Ari said with an upraised eyebrow.
“Yeah, ghost hunting was our family business too,” she said.
“Sounds like we are from some really strange families. What about you Ari?”
Later that night after a time of bonding with one another Ari went off to bed while Jo and Erin tried to think up something they could do for the twins.
“Well we don’t have friends here except one another so whatever we do it has to be led by us or just us,” Jo said.
“I was thinking maybe we can go shopping for her, you said she only has a few outfits for the boys, right?”
“That’s an idea we could go in the morning, maybe get a few other things,” Jo said with a grin.
“And we can make it all a surprise,” Erin said as they cut out the lights for the night.
Jo agreed that they should leave early so they would not be tempted to tell Ari what they were up to, before she went up to her room and Erin went to the guestroom.
Dean called Ari when they stopped for the night.
“So Erin is there, already? Why?”
“Not sure she was anxious to see us all I guess. She has a month off because she has not taken a lot of her vacation since she had her job the last five years. I guess her time hunting was before she became editor of the magazine where she works.”
“Oh so she hunted with dad?” Dean asked as she stretched out on the bed and avoided Amber’s flying arm at the same time.
Dean swore she slept like Sam, he wondered how two unrelated people could be so much alike. Maybe they should have gotten separate rooms so he could have his own bed, though he planned to sleep on the sofa before she begged him to stay with her. Though he still thought it a better idea for him to move when she was settled better, so he had his own stretch out space.
“Oh, I thought you knew,” Ari said as she rubbed her stomach.
She felt uneasy but was unsure why, then she felt a pain. Just a dull ache in her lower stomach that came and went quickly.
“No, I only know what Sam learned from the emails. So what do you think of her?”
“She seems nice. Um, she is outgoing…”
“Something wrong you don’t seem that happy to have met her.”
Ari swallowed, then took a deep breath. She had a bad feeling her pain was going to get worse, but it wasn’t the time to tell Dean. He was too far away and she needed him to get back safely so she sucked it up and kept talking as though nothing was happening. In her heart she believed her labor pains had begun, early.
Ari slept about four hours that night, though the pain wasn’t bad only disturbing she called the doctor who insisted she was fine. He did tell her if she really wanted to come in then she should but she declined that night. When she woke up the next morning she felt fine and in her mind she wondered why the babies seems so quiet even though she knew they shouldn’t move around a lot because she was in her last trimester. She dressed and tried not to think of it but she was concerned and went to ask someone to take her to the doctor. She found a note on the kitchen table that let her know that Erin and Jo had gone out so she went in search of Chet.
She found him under the hood of the truck, tinkering.
“Hey Chet, good morning. Could you um take me to the clinic?” she asked him calmly.
She looked at her with a curious look on his face.
“Is it time? Should I call Dean?”
“Oh no don’t do that I just want to see the doctor about something and he suggested I come in,” she lied.
She really didn’t need anyone to panic especially herself. He agreed and she went to put her shoes on. She sighed as she checked her face and hair in the mirror, when did I become so vain?
When they arrived at the hospital Chet ran around to help Ari from the car; his face told the story that he didn’t believe that nothing was wrong.
“Chet, everything will be fine okay,” she assured him.
“Okay,” he said as he opened the door before he followed her inside the cool building.
The doctor came out to get her right away since she had called ahead and he checked her over and found the babies’ heart beats to be strong.
“See I told you not to worry. You are fine as well as the twins,” he said with a smile.
“Okay but I’m glad I came in to be certain.”
He nodded as he left the room for her to get dressed again and came back when she was done. He sent her home with a smile on his face. He let her know that even though the babies might be early everything was going along well.
TBC