There is a continuation to "Family Reunion" in the works but I had this short story ready, so I decided to post it. It might be canon in my Shay 'verse, but I dunno just yet. This is a coda to 5x13 "The Song Remains the Same" taking place after they return to present time.

Also, there's a very light allusion to Destiel, but it could also be taken as friendship esque behavior. Make of it what you will. Dean's nickname for his twin sister is Bug. Don't ask. Enjoy the read.

Dean splashed cold water on his face one last time before turning the water off and reaching for one of the scratchy hand towels hanging from a nearby rack. The hunter dried his face roughly, leaving light red patches on his cheeks and forehead. His gaze met with the tired green eyes reflecting back at him, and, in the back of his mind, a cool, inflectionless voice whispered almost mockingly…

"Of course," Michael, in their father's younger body, drawled, "if I can't get you to be agreeable, there's always the spare." His eyes flicked to her, and Dean could practically see her skin crawling under the winged dick's close scrutiny.

The eldest Winchester had been less than pleased to find out that his twin sister was a back-up angel condom, susceptible to either archangel if he or Sam didn't cooperate with their desires. He'd be damned if he'd let them start playing mind games with her, not if he could help it.

The hunter stepped away from the bathroom sink and opened the door a bit to check on Shay. The younger Winchester twin was perched on the corner of the bed furthest from the door, face drawn and pensive. Cas was still out cold on the same bed, and Dean was surprised to feel a continuous flutter of worry for the little nerdy guy in his chest. However, at present, his sister was the priority.

Hopefully he could get her to talk without starting up a chick flick moment. Sam was out on a food run, so he couldn't count on him to break the ice for him. Bearing that in mind, Dean made his careful approach.

Shay was confused by her discomfort at being referred to as a spare in this whole apocalyptic mess. Why did it bother her so much that she, in a sense, had been included in the prophecy? Maybe because it was easier to stomach when it seemed like, for all intents and purposes, her brothers were the only ones capable of being worn to the prom by Michael and Lucifer. She was stupid for believing that, seeing as she shared the same parents and, therefore, the same bloodline as them.

"Hey," Dean dropped to a knee in front of Shay, pulling her from her thoughts, "you doin' okay?"

"I dunno, if I tell you how I'm doing will you tell me to shove it down and forget about it like you did Sam when you worked that case with the wraith?" Shay responded bitterly, "and shouldn't Sammy be the one asking me if I'm alright?"

"He told you about that, huh?" Dean looked down at the dingy carpet floor, chagrined, "you know we can't afford to dwell on the bad shit right now, Bug, we're in too deep."

"Yep, I know," Shay murmured, "but he's not like you, De, he can't stow away shit the way you can, not for long."

"Stop trying to change the subject," the elder Winchester twin squeezed one of her knees, "something's eatin' at you. You've been quiet since that Michael dick sent us back to the future." She tensed up at the mention of Michael's name, and Dean's eyes filled with realization.

"You know I'm not gonna let them start in on you, right?" The hunter whispered, reaching up to run a hand through her blonde curls, "they can do whatever they want to me to try and get me to say yes, but they're not gonna make you take my place or Sam's."

"Dean, we couldn't do a damn thing to stop either of them if they decided they wanted to sway me into being a vessel, other than not saying yes," Shay responded softly, "maybe it'd be better that way, it'd take some of the load off of you—"

"No," Dean shook his head sharply, "I'm not… It's my job to take care of both of you. I can't do much to help Sam with Lucifer, but you… no one's comin' to you in your dreams yet, you're still in the clear. Let's just keep it that way."

"Dean…"

"I said no, Shailene." At the mention of her full name, Shay knew that he meant business and that this discussion was over, but she wasn't about to let him have the last word, "y'know, contrary to the bullshit Dad put in your head, it wouldn't kill you to let someone else take care of you for once."

Dean's face closed off entirely, stony mask back in its proper place on his face, and he stood up and walked across the room to the motel door, "'m going out. Don't wait up."

"Kay." Shay didn't push the issue any further, knowing when enough was enough. He wasn't going to be the only one imbibing tonight, though. Some hard liquor seemed like the perfect method to wipe the image of an almighty archangel with her father's young face sizing her up like she was a suit on a rack out of her mind.

"Free will is nothing but an illusion…"

Yep, she was definitely getting shitfaced tonight.

It's not a continuation of my previous piece, but it's something that came to me while I was working on a Shay coda to 5x22 "Swan Song". That coda should be finished sometime today, if I don't have something more important to do. And, while I'm thinking about it, how was my Dean?

Oh, and I'm on Tumblr with the same username I use on here if you're interested in getting in touch.

*~*CloudSpires1295*~*