It was a gloomy day; it was never sunny on that side of the city. They had just killed one of those creatures who are nearly impossible to find, and Sam had decided to sleep 'till noon on that day.
Dean woke up and looked around him, feeling tired. He'd just waken up and yet he was tired, which was not unusual to him. Ever since he came back from hell every single dream he'd had was about that God forsaken place. He couldn't rest when his brain was in hell, so he'd always wake up as tired as he had gone to bed. He put on some clothes and checked the clock: 7am. Leaving his cellphone on the table, he closed the door behind him.
The city was already awake. People were going to work, children going to school, shops opening, nightclubs closing. As he walked through those streets he noticed how much of all that he'd missed all his life. He'd stayed somewhere for more than a few months a couple times in his life, but always worried about where his father was or if there was a demon on their backs. He was denied a normal life, and he's always seen that with terrifying clarity.
"Oh, I'm sorry." A little girl bumped into him when he turned right on a corner. She was crying.
"Hey." He smiled at her and looked around. Apparently, she was alone. "Are you alright?"
"No." She mumbled.
"Where's your mom?" He squatted and looked her in the eye.
"I don't know." She threw her arms around him and started to sob.
"Hey, hey." He caressed her back. "It's gonna be ok, we'll find her. Just please stop crying. What's your name?"
She stepped back and looked at him. "Sara."
"Ok then, Sara. My name's Dean. Now let's find your mother. How does she look like?"
Sara stared at him for a few seconds and then pointed at a billboard a few meters from them. "That's her."
Dean widened his eyes. "Is your mother a model?"
"She looks like that woman right there."
"Is that her or she looks like that?"
"I don't know."
He sighed. "This will be harder than I thought. Ok. Your mom's probably a brunette then."
The little girl's mother couldn't be too far, and was probably looking for her, so all he had to do was to find a pretty brunette looking desperate. But after almost an hour of walking around the streets asking for a pretty brunette holding Sara's hand, Dean sat on a bench near a small lake and looked at the tiny creature observing the ducks floating on the water. She had braids on her hair and was wearing a pink dress just as tiny as her.
"I'm hungry." She said.
"We have to find your mom."
"But I'm hungry."
"She can't be too far, can she?"
"Let's eat!"
"Maybe she took a bus. What if she ran away?"
"H-u-n-g-r-y."
"Alright then! You're an annoying little thing aren't you?"
They entered a dinner and got a table for two. Sara sat across him and ordered a burger with fries and a milkshake. Dean ordered a beer.
"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked him.
"I'm not hungry."
"Did you have breakfast?"
"No."
"So you should eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"Breakfast is the most important meal of all meals."
"That's why you're having a burger with fries and a milkshake?"
"Yes."
He chuckled. "Fine. Tell me something. When did you last see your mom?"
"Today."
"Right, but where?"
"She was walking me to school and we stopped to buy the newspaper."
"And then…"
"Then I saw a cute dog and I followed him, when I got back my mom was gone."
"Like that?"
Sara nodded. "I looked for her but I didn't find her and I cried and I found you."
The waitress came carrying their orders.
"Are you sure you'll let your daughter have a burger for breakfast, sir?" She asked Dean.
He looked at her, "Oh, she's not my…" That would only make things look weird. "Responsibility. I told her she could have whatever she wanted today. Right, Sara?"
"He's the best father in the world."
Dean was surprised that she'd gone along with it. The waitress shrugged and left the table.
"Well done!" He congratulated her and took a sip from his beer. "Now finish that and we'll keep looking for your mom."
Sara didn't think twice. After she'd almost finished her milkshake, she looked at Dean. "Are you alone?"
"What?"
"Where's your family? Don't you have any friends with you?"
"I have a brother. And a… friend." Saying that Cas was an angel wouldn't be of much use.
"Where are they?"
"My brother's at the motel."
"And your friend?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No."
She slurped the rest of the milkshake and leaned on the chair. "You don't have anyone else?"
"Do you ever get tired of asking questions?"
"No."
He rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go."
As they left the dinner, Sara held his hand again. He'd never get used to that, he thought. Those tiny fingers entwined with his, so fragile, so delicate.
"You didn't answer my question." She said after a while.
"What question?"
"Don't you have anyone else?"
Dean thought about that for a moment. "I have a crazy old man."
"Your dad?"
He looked down at her. "Yes, mydad." He was not lying, not at all. If Bobby wasn't his dad, what was he?
"Why is he crazy?"
"He likes to say bad words and drink a lot."
"Just like anyone on TV."
He laughed at her commentary. "Yes, just like anyone on TV."
"So it's just your brother, your dad and your friend?"
"Yes, that pretty much sums it up." They were crossing the street when Dean realized. "Oh! I can't believe it!"
Sara frowned and looked at him.
"Sara, what's your last name?"
"Why?"
"We can find your mom's last name on the phone list and call her!"
"It's Dillard!"
They both looked like excited children on Christmas morning. Dean ran to a newsstand and bought a list.
"Dantas, Delaware, Dillard!" Thankfully there were only two Dillards on the list.
"Is that my mom?" Sara asked, as she waited for Dean to finish the call on the payphone.
"Shush. Yes, is this Mr Dillard? Hi, sir. Uh… Well, I'd like to say that I found your daughter." He waited for a response. "Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry. I must have got the wrong number. Thank you." He looked at Sara. "That was not your mom. Or your dad."
"I don't have a dad." She replied.
"What?"
"I don't have a dad. He ran away when I was born. I don't have a dad."
"Oh." Dean didn't know what to say so he squatted and held one of her braids, playfully. "Why didn't you tell me, then?"
"I didn't know it was important."
"Fine. So the other number must be your mom's." He dialed the number and a woman picked up the phone. She was clearly crying. "Miss Dillard? Yes, yes. This is Dean. I found your daughter. Yes, yes, Sara. She's here. Ok. She wants to talk to you." And handed Sara the phone.
"Mom?" Sara asked, shyly. "Mom! Yes! I'm fine! Yes, I'm with Dean. It's ok!" She gave Dean the phone back.
"Hi. We're in front of Joe's bar. Alright, we'll wait. Ok. Bye." He hung up and turned around to face Sara. "See? It wasn't even that hard. Your mom said she'll be here in a minute."
She didn't look so happy, though.
"What's wrong?"
"What about you?" She finally asked.
"What about me?"
"Will you be all alone again?"
"Oh but I'm not all alone." He tried to sound reassuring. "I have my brother, my dad and my friend, remember?"
"You look alone. Your eyes are sad."
He smiled at the little girl and noticed that she had green eyes. "You're a clever little girl you know that?"
She smiled back at him.
"Sara!" They heard a woman's voice shouting. "Sara, my love!"
A pretty brunette came running on their direction, her eyes swollen and wet. "Oh, my God! Thank you so much!"
Sara hugged the woman. "Hi, mummy."
"Are you alright, my dear?"
"I'm ok. Dean took care of me." She turned to Dean and smiled again. Her smile warming him up inside.
"Thank you so much." The woman said. "I have no way to thank you enough."
"It's ok. She wasn't so bad herself."
Sara walked towards Dean and threw her arms around him once more. Much happier this time. He hugged her back.
"I hope we'll see each other again, Dean."
"I'm sure we will."
They split up but she kept holding his hand. "Say hello to your family for me."
"They'd have loved to meet you."
"Maybe another time, right sweetheart?" Sara's mom said. "You're already very late for school, don't you think?"
Sara nodded. "Bye, Dean."
"Bye, Sara. See you around."
"I hope you find more friends!" She said as her mother pushed her down the street.
He watched as she disappeared, still feeling her tiny fingers entwined with his. If he closed his eyes he could see her smile. Sara. So young, yet so wise.
