Elliots

By

Ava Brett

Disclaimer

None of the recognisable characters mentioned in the below story belong to me in any fashion. I am merely using them for my own personal entertainment. They clearly belong to Eric Kripke who was the genius who created Sam and Dean in the first place.

The character of Gladys Williams does belong to me and she will feature, mainly in passing conversation as she is deceased… and don't worry I'm not pulling out the usual Supernatural trick of bringing the dead back to life constantly. Gladys remains dead

Author Note

So I wrote a version of this chapter before but I don't think I've got it right the first time so here is my second attempt. I'm a great deal happier with this one even if it's a thousand words longer then it originally was.

I have several ideas for this story so I'm looking forward to working on it.

This story will have several magical elements and will contain pretty much all the characters within the supernatural story, I've taken some liberties with some of the characters perhaps changing them slightly but I haven't changed them so they are jarring in any way.

There will be romance and it will be slash so if that's not your cup of tea then you might want to skip some chapters. I'll give warning when you need to. Most other chapters will be completely fine to read.

There will also be several scenes full of family moments especially between Dean and Sam. For the first time though Mary and John are alive so none of the supernatural stuff has touched the Winchester family… at least not yet.

Anyway enjoy, I'm about to restart chapter two which shouldn't take too long since it is already written.

Overall Summary

Elliots magical bookshop is a place where dreams and nightmares come true in equal measure and lives are changed. Once you step foot inside you're forever changed. When Dean Winchester is left Elliots in a will he has no idea what he's getting himself into. Not only does he have to deal with a place which seems alive but also a stream of bizarre customers. Add on that Castiel, the tenant Dean can't thinking about and he's well over his head and Elliots has plans for Dean whether he wants it to or not.

Chapter Summary

Dean is handed the key to his future… shame it's by a complete and utter dickhead.

Overall Romance

Castiel Novak / Dean Winchester and Gabriel Novak / Sam Winchester

Chapter Romance

None so far…


Chapter One

Congratulations Mr Winchester you now own a bookshop


Day one


"Yeah I'm sorry, you mind stopping a moment and running that last part by me just one more time?" Dean Winchester demanded, his mouth parting slightly as his eyes widened in surprise, adrenaline flooding his body dispersing the lazy feeling he had been experiencing before.

He kept his eyes fixed on the lawyer in front of him. The man must have been in his fifties with cold grey eyes and sparse grey hair, the light from the window behind him making the bald patch on the top of his head gleam. He wore an expression on his face as though someone was waving something which smelt unpleasant beneath his nose and forcing him to endure it. He had introduced himself to Dean as Zachariah Moses before he had sat down in the large oversized leather chair on his side of the table and began reading from the will making it clear that he wanted this meeting concluded as soon as possible.

He stopped speaking; leaving a silence behind him as he stared hard at Dean as though he was an interesting species of insect which Zachariah wanted to exterminate. Dean met his eyes with a hard gaze of his own, waiting as the silence grew between them until it felt almost stifling. Dean would be damned if he broke eye contact with the jerk in front of him first.

Finally Zachariah looked away from him, his eyes flickering to the side of the room before they focused back on him this time accompanied by a forced smile which made Dean's skin crawl at the sight of it.

"Of course Mr Winchester, If you need me to repeat what I've just said to you then I am of course more then happy to do that for you" he replied stiffly before he made a show of placing the pile of papers he held in his hand into a near pile before rummaging through the discarded papers finally picking the one he wanted up. He looked back at Dean with a look of sheer disapproval before clearing his throat and speaking. Dean eyes narrowed, noticing that Zachariah had changed his way of reading, lingering over each word and over pronouncing them as though he considered that Dean needed it.

"I hereby leave Mr Dean Winchester the grand sum of ten thousand dollars to do with as he sees fit. I only ask that he spends some of it on himself giving himself something he really needs or desires. I am also leaving him my family own bookshop Elliots and the two flats which are above Elliots. The deed to the building will be passed over to him. He is however not allowed to sell the building for at least a year. I have some last words for Dean. I hope that Elliots brings you the same joy and pleasure that it brought me every day of my life. If there is anyone who deserves this chance then it's you Dean. Just let go and grasp it with both hands and remember that not only do good things happen to good people but also dreams can come true especially within the walls of Elliots. You have always been the grandson I longed for Dean, now my hopes and dreams lie on your shoulders, I know you will do me proud. I shall be waiting for you when you eventually join me. Live life to the fullest Dean, love and laugh and enjoy it because we only get the one life to cherish. I will miss you Dean."

Dean breathed out loudly through his nose, slumping back in his chair as his eyes prickled uncomfortably with the beginnings of tears. He coughed, lowering his gaze so Zachariah wouldn't see his moment of weakness. He had always known that Gladys Matthews cared for him but he never knew that she had viewed him as family. The thought made his heart clench as he realised how much he was going to miss her.

"Gladys what did you do?" He muttered to himself, reaching up and dragging his hand through his short dark blond hair.

"You clearly knew Mrs Williams well" Zachariah commented attracting Dean's attention. He looked up in time to catch the look of distaste on the older man's face as his eyes moved down Dean's body taking in the clothes Dean was wearing. Dean met his gaze with an unimpressed look of his own. He had come straight from work to this last minute meeting so what right did the man have to judge him.

"Obviously" Dean answered shortly, making it clear that he wasn't going to say anymore on the subject. Instead he allowed his mind to wander back to the past as Zachariah continued to read the will, his voice droning on and on.

Gladys had always been a character who lived on the same street as Dean's parents. He could remember staying with her during the years when his parents went out. He would sit for hours enthralled, listening to her stories while his brother Sam pottered around the place or read one of his many books. Dean didn't know why he had bothered when Gladys stories were so fascinated based on Elliots and the customers she served on a regular basis. Dean knew that she had exaggerated the stories but it hadn't mattered to him. When he had returned home from University he became her unofficial handy man fixing anything she needed and taking care of her garden still as enthralled by her stories as he had been as a child.

It had come as a shock to him when his mother rang him at work to tell her that Gladys had died in her sleep. She had always seemed so alive and full of energy that Dean had always assumed that Gladys would outlive them all.

He had never expected to be left anything so it had come a shock when Sam had contacted him to say that Gladys's lawyer had been in contact and had asked for Dean's presence so he could have the will read to him. Out of everything she could have left him Dean had never expected it to be Elliots, the bookshop which had, had such an important place in his childhood, a place which he had ironically never even visited before.

He realised that the room was silent so he spoke suddenly wanting to escape the stuffy office and get some fresh air to help clear his thoughts.

"Sam said there was something you needed me to sign before I left" he said

"I sent a copy of the paperwork to your lawyer, a Mr Sam Winchester, a relative I assume" Zachariah stated continuing without giving Dean a chance to answer him. "He insisted I sent over all the paperwork before you signed it. He returned it to me yesterday with a note stating he approved so all you need to do now Mr Winchester is sign here to state that I have read you the will and that you understand the contents of it. Once you sign that our business with each other will be concluded."

"Great" Dean said, taking the piece of paper which Zachariah had pushed across the table to him. He quickly skimmed read it, his eyes flickering to the post it note stuck on the page which was covered in Sam's writing telling Dean that the business was legit and he could sign it.

Shrugging, he picked up the pen and signed it with a flourish, dropping the pen to the gleaming surface of the desk before he pushed the paper back to the lawyer. He frowned when he noticed that Zachariah was staring at him with a strange look on his face. For a moment he thought the older man looked triumphant but it was gone before Dean could tell for certain instead leaving Zachariah looking faintly bored and annoyed.

Dean watched curiously as Zachariah suddenly pushed him self to his feet, ignoring Dean as he walked across the space of the room to one of the rammed book cases which lined the entire side of the room. He pulled the lid up on a simple wooden box and pulled out two identical keys before he lowered the lid and walked back over to where Dean sat a strange blank expression on his face.

He stood over Dean for a moment, waiting until Dean tilted his head back to meet his gaze before he spoke.

"These now belong to you Mr Winchester" he stated. He held up one of the keys. "This one will open the door to Elliots for you while this one will open both of the flats which you are now landlord to. Mrs Williams had one tenant who lived in the top flat. It is likely that he is unaware of what occurred due to the suddenness of Mrs Williams's demise. It will be up to your own lawyer to draw up the new tenant agreement for him to sign if you decide to allow him to stay in the flat. You might decide to move in there yourself."

He dropped both of the keys into Dean's outstretched hands before he walked back to his side of the table, dropping back into his chair, for an instant Dean wished the chair would break under the guy's weight simply because the older man was a dickhead but the chair remained solid even if it gave out a long protesting creak.

Zachariah straightened everything on his desk, slipping the will back into a folder before he looked back up and met Dean's eyes thoughtfully. "Good afternoon Mr Winchester, have a safe and pleasant trip" his eyes moved from Dean's face to the door before moving back again making it very clear that he was dismissing Dean from his presence.

Dean slowly wrapped his hand around the key, surprised to feel them suddenly become warm beneath his grip, dismissing the thought from his mind he came to his feet, nodded at Zachariah before he turning and walking to the door, breathing a sigh of relief as he left it. He flashed the blond haired receptionist a smile before he headed down the stairs and out into the cool fresh air.

He pulled his coat closer around his body before he pulled his mobile from his pocket, going to his contacts and scrolling through them until he came to his brother's number. He glanced at his watch before he pressed the call button bringing the phone to his ear and waited impatiently for his brother to stop whatever he was doing to pick up the phone. Sometimes Dean wondered why Sam even bothered to own a mobile when he did everything via his laptop.

Dean stopped glancing down the road which he knew would lead him to Elliots. He must have been about ten to fifteen minutes away from his new shop; he had nothing to do until seven that evening so he could easily go down there and check it out. Mind made up he began walking towards it, his thoughts skipping through the possibilities of what it could look like. Now that he was going to know what would look like he found himself strangely nervous and excited at the same time.

He was about to hang up the phone when his brother answered, sounding harassed and annoyed though he was clearly trying to hide that emotion.

"Hello Sam Winchester"

"Hey Sammy, bad time?" Dean asked curiously.

"No more then usual" Sam complained with a sigh. "Ruby just messed up the filing for a case so I need to try and figure out where exactly she's put the correct paperwork since she swears blind that she can't remember where she put it"

"I don't know why you don't just fire her ass and be done with it" Dean responded, "You're always saying that she's messing up so get rid of her and find someone who actually is competent. Hell I've a friend called Jess who would be perfect for the job, she crazy organised and shit, it's like she thrives on it" Dean commented, quickening his pace when a particularly cold blast of wind hit him directly in the face.

"Maybe, send me her details anyway. It can't help to look in case I do decide to fire Ruby" Sam said with a sigh before he spoke, his voice suddenly brightening. "So how did the meeting for with that Zachariah guy? Was he as big a douche as he sounded on the phone?"

"Oh yeah" Dean said fervently "Dude was a dickhead with a stick so shoved up his ass that I'm surprised he didn't impale his own brain on it when he sat down" Dean grinned when Sam laughed.

"If only" Sam replied "I've not dealt with him before but some of the other guys here have and they pretty much say the same thing only they use different analogies for it. Probably a stupid question but are you pleased with what Gladys left you?"

"Let me think about it for a moment Sammy. She's left me two flats, ten thousand dollars and a bookshop and you're actually asking me if I'm pleased. Dude my life rocks at the moment"

"Yeah well you deserve it" Sam said before quickly changing the subject before Dean could respond to Sam's chick flick comment. "Are you heading over there now to check it out or are you heading to Mum's? You remember its Wednesday right? The day we get summoned back home for a family dinner"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I remember, Mum rang me earlier asking me to pick up some pie for dessert because she didn't have time to make it or something."

"I can grab that on my way to you" Sam offered.

"Sounds good" Dean agreed turning into Leon Hill where Elliots was situated. He stopped for a moment, suddenly frozen to the spot as he forced himself to focus on his conversation with Sam to help calm his nerves. "You heading to Elliots to meet me?"

"Yeah" Sam said "I want to see it, Gladys always went on about it but I've never actually seen the thing. Every time I was going to go something would always come up and stop me"

"Yeah same here" Dean commented absently. "How long do you think it will take you to get here?" he asked.

"Give me an hour" Sam responded. "This case isn't being heard in court until early next week so as long as I find the paperwork tomorrow I'll be fine. I'll grab the pie, meet you there and then I'll drive us to Mum's, I'm assuming you didn't bring your baby?" Sam asked obviously looking through some papers if the sound of rustling was anything to go by.

"Didn't seem much point" Dean confessed. "The Lawyers was so close to work that it would have been a waste of petrol"

"Makes sense, you want anything else from the shop while I'm there?" Sam queried.

"Yeah maybe some coffee, I haven't had any since I left work. I'll leave the door unlocked for you Sam so just come straight in when you get here, its number eleven Leon Hill. See ya soon"

"Bye Dean" Sam responded before they both disconnected the call. Dean put the phone back into his pocket, taking a deep breath before he walked swiftly down the road, his head bent against the wind.

He stopped outside number eleven, standing on the sidewalk as he tilted his head back so he could stare at the building he now legally owned.

The first thing that struck him was how beautiful the building was especially compared to the other shops on the street. It was made from red brick making it almost glow in the light from the setting sun. A simple shop sign was above the doorway, a light board with Elliots written in what looked like fancy black calligraphy; large windows were at the front of the shop giving a glimpse at what lay inside. Dean stepped forward, pressing his hand against the cold glass as he peered through, his eyes widening as he saw the sheer amount of books, his heart sinking slightly as he realised that it would take him weeks to get things sorted out in there.

He stepped back looking at it one more time, surprised at the sense of relief and belonging which flooded him the more he stared up at it.

This was actually his; no one could take it from him.

A small smile graced his face as he took a step to the door, pulling out the key from his pocket. He looked at it for a moment before he inserted it into the lock and turned.


Author note

This is more like it

I hope you enjoy this version more then the initial version.

Thanks for taking the time to read the story.

Chapter Two will be up tomorrow ready for the fresh chapter update over the weekend.