We Owned The Night
(Based upon We Owned The Night by Lady Antebellum. I own nothing.)
(However, I would appreciate some input! Or suggestions! Or whatever!)
The bar was darker and mustier than Dean would have hoped, and the only girls here where either taken or not in Dean's particular tastes. His chest hurt, lonely and aching from Sam's newest lies. Why couldn't his brother see that Dean needed him there? Needed him to be loyal to him and only him, if just for a little while. He swallowed the whisky, motioning for another while taking large gulps from his beer. The bartender looked at him sadly, filling his glass fuller than it needed to be.
The door opened, and the bartender looked up, a kind smile lifting his lips and brightened his eyes. Dean followed his gaze to see a girl stand just in front of the door, grinning at everyone in the bar, her green eyes sparkling. Dean found himself smiling back a little; not just his usual smirk, but a real smile, small though it was. Her petite frame was covered with jeans and cowboy boots, a light blue T-shirt with the Superman sign across her chest. Her brown hair swooped in waves past her shoulders to the small of her back.
"Katie." The man smiled, welcoming her warmly as one would family. Like Dean wanted Sam to. Perhaps Katie was the bartender's daughter. She was pretty, with no make up and full lips, paired with beautiful eyes that sparkled with kindness and mischief.
"Jackie. How are you?" She smiled, walking to greet the man as he came from behind the bar. She gave him a big hug, like she hadn't seen him in years.
The girl pulled back, smiling. Dean watched her, finishing his whisky and sipping his beer. She walked around the patrons of the bar, ten of them or so, and gave each one a hug in turn. Just like they where all old friends of hers. As she turned around, Dean saw the printing on the back of her shirt. 'Free Hugs.' Dean chuckled. What a strange girl. When she walked over to him and gave him a hug, just as warm and loving as the other patrons, Dean was surprised. First because she hugged him, and second because he found himself hugging back. After a few moments, she pulled back, giving him a sweet smile.
The atmosphere in the bar had lightened considerably, and the men and scattered women, previously depressed, bitter, and broken hearted, now smiled warmly at the girl and knowingly at each other. Dean was amazed. In all of his years of seeing so much evil, of expecting to have to draw his gun around every corner, he had never seen anything so sweet and beautiful. Something so purely kind as this girl Katie. She sat at the largest table, next to an older man. She began talking to him about her day, about his day, about the weather, anything simple that came to mind. Before long, the rest of the bar where sitting there too, smiling and chuckling at an anecdote she had shared from work. Dean pulled up a chair was well, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He wasn't the only one.
Hours later, he knew allot about the people here, and why they had gathered here at the bar, seeking …something… in the bottom of an alcohol bottle. Jack, the bartender, worked here to put his granddaughter through college, since 'her mama passed during birth, and that good-for-nothing sonofabitch!' had ran when he found the pregnancy tests.
Susan's husband had just passed from cancer. Maryanne was having terrible nightmares after her fiancé left her. George, the elderly man she had sat by originally, was about to be evicted from the only home he had ever known. Each had their own story, and Katie had something comforting and helpful to add to each. They looked at her like she was a godsend, an angel sent to heal their aching wounds. She was warm and friendly, nice and loving to everybody, which was a rarity on it's own; but to have her act like that to complete strangers was a miracle of the likes Dean had never seen before.
So when it came to be Dean's turn for Share and Care, he barely hesitated, mulling over the thousands of lies he could toss out without question. Instead, he went for the simple, boiled down truth.
"My dad raised me and my brother on the road, after our mom died. It was rough on him, and he never stayed in one place for longer than a month. My dad worked odd jobs constantly, so taking care of Sammie was kind of my job. You know, we grew up close…" Dean paused. "And then, uh, he went to college. I mean, good for him, ya know? But uh, I don't know. I hadn't seen him for years after that. Then suddenly he was back, on the road with me after dad was pretty much out of the picture. It's good to have Sam back, but, uh, he's just not the same kid I practically raised, ya know? He's hiding things, lying to me. And after everything we've been though, we still end up screaming and yelling." Dean saw something flicker behind Katie's eyes, so fast he thought he missed it. Not a color-changing demon give-away flicker, but an emotional flicker, like something just clicked into place and the metaphorical light bulb had been switched on.
"And you feel rejected. It's almost like you doubt that he even cares about you, after he's hurt you so much. You devoted your whole life to him, would die for him, and it seems as if he doesn't care." Katie finished for him, looking him dead in the eye. How did she know that?
Dean nodded hesitantly. The girl smiled.
"I grew up the same as you. Taking care of my baby sister Kodee, moving from town to town so fast would make your head spin. Kodee was the same way, always looking for something that was never there. Hell, she didn't even know what she wanted, but it wasn't me because I was option A and she wanted option M, the farthest away she could get without making the full circle…She's, uh, she's gone now though. There was a bad accident, a fluke, and suddenly she was gone. Don't make my mistake and hold it against him. If Sam wants something else, then it's a damn shame. But you're his big brother, and you need to support him and be there to catch him when he falls."
There where several agreements, and only a few that made disgruntled noises, but didn't press the issue into an argument. They liked Katie, and the fact that she would care so much about people she couldn't possibly know. Dean was one of the many who agreed. The rest of the next hour pass quickly, like the many jokes and conversations about good/bad movies and happy stories. Around one AM, Katie says goodbye to everyone, giving her cell phone number to Dean, assuring him that if he needs to, he can her at even the most ungodly hours of the morning, or night. And just like that, leaving everybody healed and happy, she was gone.