Summary: Danielle is suffering with dreams of the fire that killed her mother 22 years ago, as well as the tension brewing between her reunited brothers along with the disappearance of her father. Please R&R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters. I only own Danielle Alice Winchester. I don't own some of the lines used either.
A/N: Replacing the Bloodlines series. Danielle and Blaire from my other sister!fic series are very different, and their destinies are different too. This starts right from the very beginning. Also, Danielle has many nicknames, and one in particular comes from a friend at college.
Hope you enjoy! xxxxx
To Be A Winchester Chapter One: It's a Hard Life
The smoke is thick and the room is hot, and little Danielle can't go any further. She just wants to go to sleep and she finds her almost three-year-old body curling up on the floor at the top of the stairs. But just as she's about to go to sleep, she feels two strong arms around her.
"Danielle? It's Daddy..." A familiar voice says, "I gotcha, baby."
"Daddy?"
"It's okay, baby girl."
Danielle shot up in bed, her breaths leaving her lips in soft pants as she adjusted to the motel room she and her older brother Dean were sharing. He was fast asleep, thank God, not awake to hear her nightmares. She'd been having them for a while now, headaches accompanying them afterward normally, which concerned her somewhat. She wiped the sweat from her brow, trying to control her shaking hands as she covered her face with them.
"Fuck..."
She climbed out of bed, taking in the light of the morning as it shone through a gap in the motel curtains, her tank top clinging to her body as sweat ran down her neck and shoulders, soaking into her dark brown hair and it's auburn highlights, making the thick curls damp. Grabbing her clothes, she headed to the bathroom, checking on Dean as she passed his bed. He rolled over, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he did. It was a relief that he was sleeping so soundly. He hadn't been, not since their father had gone missing.
Entering the bathroom, she closed the door, locking it and switching on the light before placing her clothes on the toilet lid. She looked in the mirror, seeing a cross between Dean and her mother gazing back at her. She had Sam's thick hair and her father's hair colour, her curls hanging over her shoulders and brushing against the top of her breasts. Hazel eyes met her own, full lips pouted slightly as she examined the split in the lower lip which was healing nicely. The bruising on her neck was healing too, but remained ugly and purple. The bruising above her left eye and the soft bruising around the cut on her right cheek were healing too.
Stepping under the spray, Danielle thought about the past two years without Sam, her baby brother. She missed him, but she didn't hate him for leaving. Damn, it was a good thing he left! If anyone had the right to a decent future, a good normal life, it was him, because she and Dean certainly didn't have the chance for that. She'd been using a gun since she was seven, and as soon as her father had placed that .45 in her hand, she knew her life wasn't ever going to be the same.
She wondered how on Earth Sam would take to seeing her and Dean after all this time, in particular, her bruising and marking. Her body was covered in bruising too, not just her face. She had them everywhere, goddamn ghosts.
She left the bathroom ten minutes later, being met with the familiar cheeky grin of her older brother Dean who was sat on the edge of his bed, stretching as he smiled at her.
"Hey, short ass," he said with a chuckle, "How're those bruises?"
"Sore as hell," Danielle replied, "My ribs and stomach got it the worst, though."
"Let me see..."
Dean moved towards her and she lifted her shirt up to the bottom of her grey bra, Dean touching the marks gently. There was a sharp intake of breath and pained sound from his sister at the touch and he winced at the noise. Damn ghosts.
"Yeah, you'll survive." He said, "Let me get showered and we'll head to Stanford, okay?"
"Got it, jerk."
"Zit!"
Danielle's nose hurt like a bitch. She knew it wasn't bleeding, which was a good thing, and she'd had worse too. Sam had elbowed her in it, causing the pain, but right now, Dean had the jolly green giant on the floor on his back.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He laughed, "Easy, tiger!"
"Dean?" panted Sam, staring up at his brother who chuckled, "You scared the crap outta me!"
"That's because you're outta practice." Dean replied, suddenly being flipped over by Sam, "Or not...get off me."
Sam pulled Dean to his feet, not noticing Danielle who was standing behind him against the wall.
"Dean, what the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked.
"Well, Dean replied, "I was looking for a beer."
"What the hell," Sam asked, slower this time, "Are you doing here?"
"Okay, alright..." Dean said, "We gotta talk."
"Uh..." Sam began, "The phone?"
"If I'd called, would you have picked up?"
Suddenly, the lights came on, revealing a blonde girl in a t-shirt and hotpants standing in the doorway.
"Sam?" She asked, jumping as she spotted Danielle.
Sam and Dean turned to look at her, Dean checking her out while Sam turned to see his sister, hair a different colour...partially and bruising covering a lot of her face and neck.
"Dan the Man..." He breathed, Danielle grinning at the nickname, "My God..."
Danielle chuckled, remembering how that name came about. She'd saved Sam from being taken by a ghost when she was only ten, and since then John had called her Dan the Man, a name which had been used continuously as they'd all grown.
"Hey, Sam." She replied, "Look at you, huh?"
"What...what happened to your face?" The youngest Winchester asked, shocked at the markings that were over his sister's face and neck, even some on her chest.
"Fight in a parking lot," Danielle replied, "Fubar."
Fubar...fucked up beyond all recognition, or in Danielle's words, bad hunt.
"Sam?" The girl asked again, snapping Sam and Danielle out of their reunion.
"Jess...hey..." Sam breathed.
Great, how was he gonna explain this one?
"Dean...Danielle...this is my girlfriend, Jessica." Sam said.
"Wait..." Jess replied, "Your siblings, Dean and Danielle?"
"I love the Smurfs." Dean said, looking at Jessica's t-shirt.
Danielled tutted and scrubbed a hand over her face. Her brother had known this poor girl for two minutes and he was already flirting with her.
"You know, I gotta tell you," Dean continued, "You are completely out of my brother's league."
"Dean!" Danielle snapped, looking at Jessica apologetically.
Although...she was rather pretty...for Sam.
"Just let me put something on." Jessica said, looking at Sam before Dean interrupted.
"No, no, no." He protested, "I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously."
"Zip it, jerk!" Danielle called from the other side of the room before smiling at Jessica, "We gotta borrow your boyfriend."
Jessica looked at her, somewhat puzzled.
"Talk about some private family business," Danielle continued, "Nice meeting you."
"No." Sam said, "No. Whatever you wanna say, you can say it in front of her."
"Christ on a bike with a stick up his ass." Danielle muttered, scratching her neck and looking at Dean.
"Just do as she asks, please..." Dean replied, "Monthly Pain Parade over here..."
"No." Sam said again, Dean sighing and watching as his sister limped over to him.
"Okay," She sighed, "Dad hasn't been home in a few days."
"So, he's working overtime on a Miller-time shift." Sam said, "He'll stumble back sooner or later."
Dean nodded, looking to the ground and back up at his brother.
"Dad's on a hunting trip." He said, stressing the point again, "And he hasn't been home in a few days."
Then the realisation hit Sam like a brick wall that this was serious, and he noticed the stress and concern in his siblings' eyes, especially Danielle's. She was always the biggest worrier about John. He licked his lips and took in a quick breath.
"Jess, excuse us." He said, "We have to go outside."
-TBC-
Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading so far! Chapter two is written and ready to type up and publish!
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