Author's note: We don't own anything having to do with Supernatural only Jen and Cooper belong to wandertogondor and me.

Thank you doesn't even cover what I want to say to wandertogondor but I will say that I would be completely lost without her. So, don't go anywhere, ok? ;)

Chained to You

"You know," Sam spoke up as he traced a finger along the map that was open on his lap. "We're only about two hours from Jen's place. We should stop in and check on her…I mean after what happened to David." Sam let out a sigh and started folding the map back up.

Dean just nodded as if he didn't want to miss the best part of the song that was playing through the tinny radio but in reality he was just as worried about his sister who lost her husband a few months prior. Unlike the rest of the loss surrounding the Winchesters there was nothing supernatural to go hunt down this time. David died from a brain aneurism that doctors said he probably had his whole life and there was no telling when he would go. Her contact with them over the last couple of months had become more sporadic and nine times out of ten they had to call her.

The sound of a cell phone ringing suddenly filled the car and both brothers checked their phones.

"It's not me," Sam stuffed his phone back in his pocket and looked over to Dean who was doing the same.

"It's dad's," Dean motioned to the glove box.

Sam sat there for a second, "Dad's?"

"Yeah, I keep it charged in case any of his old contacts call, now answer it!" Dean hollered and watched as his little brother fumbled through the few phones that were in the glove box before finding the right one. With a groan he snatched it out of Sam's hand and flipped it open, "Yeah?" He was met with silence on the other end and quickly glanced down to the phone to see that the call was still connected. "Hello? Anyone there?"

There was a sniffle, "Uncle Dean?"

Dean's whole body went rigid in shock as he heard his nephew's voice on the other end. "Cooper?" Sam's head shot up and his eyebrows furrowed with confusion as Dean continued, slightly panicked into the phone. "What's going on?"

"The lights were blinking like someone was turning them on and off but it's not storming out," Cooper answered the best he could but the fear easily slipped through his voice. Dean instantly pressed harder on the gas, there was no way he'd wait two hours, he had to get there now. "Uncle Dean it got really cold in here."

"Put your mom on the phone," Dean tried to keep his calm but it wasn't working too well. "Cooper, I need you to put your mom on the phone. Right now."

The sniffles quickly turned to tears, "I can't."

"What happened? Where is she?...Cooper?"

Sam snatched the phone away and put it to his ear. With a calm voice he called his nephew again. "Cooper, buddy? It's Uncle Sam. Stay on the phone with me. I'm not going to put the phone down. Just keep talking to me."

"I'm scared, Uncle Sam," the six year old whimpered slightly on the other end. "I know you an' Uncle Dean say I shouldn't be scared but I am."

"It's ok to be scared, Cooper," Sam calmly replied, glancing uneasily at the way his brother was shifting agitatedly behind the wheel. "When Uncle Dean and I were little, you know what we'd do when we were scared?"

"What?" Cooper asked in his small voice, already distracted by his Uncle's soothing voice over the phone. It was like Uncle Sam was right there with him in the big, dark, cold house.

"We'd take deep breaths. Can you do that for me? Can you take a deep, big boy breath?"

"Like when I'm swimming in the pool?"

Sam smiled. "Yes, exactly. Just like when you're swimming in the pool and you want to stay underwater for a long time."

"Can you and Uncle Dean watch me swim when you come? Mommy taught me how to swim like a puppy."

"Anything you want, buddy," Sam put one had on the dashboard to brace himself as Dean took a turn without bothering to slow down. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm sitting in the closet," Cooper declared matter-of-factly. "It's not cold in here."

"Will you promise to stay on the phone with me until we get there?"

"You're coming?!" The young boy excitedly exclaimed, all worry and loneliness disappearing from his voice. "I can show you and Uncle Dean my new action figures! Mommy got me a new Wolverine one. I wanted to get Batman for Uncle Dean because he likes Batman but mommy said that Uncle Dean will get his own Batman action figure if he really wants one."

The drive that was supposed to take two hours was cut dramatically down to a short fifty minutes with Dean blowing through every red light and stop sign. Cooper and Sam were on the phone for the entire time, all the while Sam was half-concentrated on any other sounds that could be caught by the speaker but he didn't hear anything besides his nephew's voice.

When the Impala pulled up into the long driveway which led down to the small white house, Dean felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The two Winchester's quickly piled out and ran to the door.

"You get Cooper, I've got Jen," Dean whispered as he counted to three with his fingers before busting through her front door with gun aimed and ready.

They cleared the living room, dining room and kitchen where Sam had found Cooper curled up in one of the cabinets as Dean moved up the stairs to find his sister. He quickly checked his nephew's room and the bathroom leaving only her bedroom. With cautious, calculated steps he approached her door gun ready and after a deep breath pushed the door open.

"Jen!" Dean shouted feeling his heart in his throat as he saw her lying on the carpet that was stained red with blood. Dropping to his knees next to her he carefully rolled her over to see a large gash across her forehead. "Jen…c'mon Jenny," he coaxed her into consciousness as he held his over shirt against her wound.

Jen groaned and Dean helped her into a sitting position leaning most of her weight against him. "Oh God," she breathed out as the events of the night came crashing back to the front of her mind. "Cooper!"

"He's fine," Dean quickly assured as he peeled his shirt away from her head to check the bleeding but pressed it once again to its place. "Sam's got him downstairs."

She wrapped one arm around her torso, imaging the huge bruise that would be there the next day and used her free hand to take the shirt from Dean. "You're sure he's alright?"

"A little shaken up but knowing Sam he's teaching him the periodic table or something just as useless." He was trying to get her to at least crack a smile but there was something in her eyes that was offsetting to him. "Jen…what happened tonight?"

"David," she whispered and felt Dean move a little behind her. "Dean, it was David."

"David?" Dean furrowed his eyes. "As in your husband David?"

"Yes, my husband David, you idiot." Jen hurried into the bathroom to wash the blood off of her neck and change her shirt before she went down to see her son.

"I thought you had him cremated?" Her brother stood outside of the bathroom, listening intently for her answer. "Jen?"

Jen yanked open the door and slapped off the light switch as she stepped out of the bathroom, now clad in a black shirt. "I don't know, Dean. After what happened I got rid of all his clothes and everything that could have been a liability to Cooper's safety. Do you know how hard it was to not only explain to your child that his father was never coming back again, but that we also had to get rid of everything that we had left of him?"

Dean shifted his weight from one leg to another. "Why would it have been a liability?" Her face fell, and she threw her guilt-filled eyes down to the ground. "Jenny, what is going on here?"

"How about some pancakes," she suddenly changed the subject, her voice upbeat, and patted Dean on the stomach as she walked out of her room. "You two can always eat and I'm sure you're hungry."

Dean stood there for a minute shocked and confused about what was going on before he eventually followed her down the stairs. When he got to the kitchen she was pulling out a whole bunch of things from the cabinets and setting them on the counter. Sam sat with Cooper at the small table nodding along at the appropriate times but from the moment she whisked into the kitchen his eyes hadn't left his sister's form. A quick glance over to Dean and he knew his brother had just as many questions as he did.

"Alright, buddy, it's pretty late," Sam stood from the table giving Dean a pointed look to find out some answers. "Let's get you tucked in bed."

Cooper groaned and crossed his arms, throwing his glance at his other Uncle, "Aw…Uncle Dean, do I have to?

"Sorry, sport," Dean ruffled his nephew's hair fondly.

"Fine," he huffed and quickly hugged Jen's legs.

Jen stopped what she was doing to kiss him on top of the head, "Good night my sweet boy."

"Uncle Sam, did I tell you about the worm I tried to eat…" Cooper's voice trailed off as he and Sam climbed the stairs.

Dean leaned against the wall and watched Jen move around the kitchen almost as if she was working on autopilot.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I did everything I was supposed to so this wouldn't happen," she muttered mostly to herself as she mixed pancake batter, milk, and eggs in a large bowl. Her arm shook from the speed at which she mixed the wooden spoon around in the bowl, taking all of her frustrations out on the batter until a tear slipped down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away.

Dean walked over and took the bowl and spoon from her hands, "Hey, it's going to be alright we'll figure this out."

"Don't," Jen snapped and Dean recoiled a bit, genuinely surprised at her tone. "There's nothing to figure out, this is my fault…this is all my fault."

"What is?" Sam appeared in the doorway, letting the worry creep across his features now that his nephew wasn't in the room. "Jenny, what happened?"

Dean put a hand on her shoulder and guided her to one of the chairs, each taking a seat next to her as she wrung her hands with guilt.

"I…" she started then let out a long breath, "Things changed between us."

Sam shared a look with Dean still lost on what was happening but he kept his voice as gentle and calm as ever. "Us?"

When she didn't answer right away Dean pressed her a bit, "David? I thought you two were all love-sick-puppies. And if you burned all his stuff then why is he here?"

"He's here for me," she answered softly as her leg bounced with guilt and nerves. "I…I made a mistake. It was stupid and it only happened once but he never looked at me the same again. Wouldn't talk to me unless Cooper was around then two weeks later I find him laying in the driveway…he never forgave me. Not that I can blame him, I still haven't forgiven myself."

Sam placed a comforting hand on her knee still not fully understanding what was going on but hating how distraught she looked. Jen's eyes glazed over as if she was lost in a memory.

Jen had spent an extra few minutes in front of the mirror that night lining each eye with mascara and adding a touch of blush to each cheek. It was a simple girl's night out but she thought just maybe after a few drinks with her friends, Cooper would be in bed, and she'd be able to re-spark the flame in the bedroom.

She slipped her high heels on and made her way down the stairs where David and Cooper were sitting in the living room watching some animated movie.

"Alright, you two behave while I'm gone," she smirked leaning over to kiss Cooper on the forehead, the smile staying on her face as her eyes shifted to David sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand not bothering to take his gaze off the television.

The hope of re-sparking anything quickly died as David barely noticed her walking out the door or the fact that she had done herself up. She had been at the bar with Kate for two hours laughing and trading the horror stories of being moms to little boys when someone bumped into her.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized, "We normally don't let my brother out 'cause he doesn't know how to behave. Sorry I interrupted you two beautiful ladies."

Jen could feel a blush rising in her cheeks and didn't want to let the feeling go. "If you're really sorry you'll buy me a drink to apologize."

"I think I can do that," he winked and flagged the bartender down.

Jen was brought back to the present when Dean wiped a cotton ball soaked in peroxide along the gash in her forehead. It wasn't until she looked around that she realized they were all seated in the living room with Sam holding her hand.

"You back with us?" Dean asked tossing the dirty cotton ball into the waste paper basket. He squeezed a small amount of antibiotic cream on a Q-tip before gently running it over the gash. "Jen?"

"Huh?" she questioned glancing up at his concerned face. "Yeah…Yeah, I'm good. Where were we?"

"What didn't David forgive you for?" Sam pressed carefully, scared she might zone out again.

Jen's bottom lip trembled a little, "I was unfaithful."

Dean's hand froze as he was about to put square of gauze on her forehead. "Come again?"

"I cheated on David," she clarified swallowing the lump in her throat. "I didn't mean for it to happen I swear I didn't. I don't even know why it did. Things had been different between David and I…we fell into a routine of work, and taking care of Cooper, and just everyday things. We lost ourselves along the way; I don't know if he changed, or if I did, or if we just got married too young but it wasn't the same anymore. Kate called and asked if I wanted to go out with her for awhile to the local bar. He bumped into me accidentally and we started talking. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time, he complimented me, made me feel good about myself better than I could ever imagine…there was a lot of alcohol and then he kissed me…and I didn't stop him."

"We don't need a play by play of that," Dean spoke up as he shook his head, trying to erase that image from his brain.

"How did David find out?" Sam ran his thumb soothingly over her trembling hands. "Did you tell him?"

"I had to. David was still my husband and I loved him but I just wanted to feel. I wanted to feel something…anything. It was just the same shit but a different day, every day."

"Well, we're here to help you," Dean stated seriously, meaning every word. "We'll still love you even if you turned out to be a serial killer or something. We'd be bragging too, like, 'Excuse me, she only has seventeen known victims.'" He put heavy emphasis on the 'known' with a childish grin.

Jen cracked a smile, pulling her hand out of Sam's, then said in a calmer tone. "We should start salting the place up. Or you two should take Cooper and-" She was interrupted by the sound of running upstairs. Jen jumped to her feet and sprinted up the stairs, two steps at a time, her brothers following close at her heel. "Cooper!"

"Mommy," His little voice called from his bedroom. The three Winchester siblings crowded into the room only to see Cooper sitting up in his Star Wars bed sheets, rubbing his eyes. "I can't sleep. It's too cold, and I'm scared."

Jen sighed in relief, climbing onto the bed and wrapping her arm around her small son. "I'm here, honey. So are your Uncles. We won't let anything bad happen to you."

Cooper snuggled against his mother's warm body, shrinking into the warm blankets. "Daddy's here too, mom. He won't let anything bad happen to me."

"What?" Jen's body bent over rigidly to look at her son's face, concern etched in her face.

"You said angels would watch over me. Daddy's with the angels, right?" The innocence of question just about broke her heart and prayed she could keep him that way as long as possible.

"Yes," She let out a long breath again, kissing his forehead and thanking whatever higher power upstairs that Cooper hadn't seen his father's angry spirit. "He is with the angels, now you go to sleep, okay? Mommy'll hold you all night." Jen motioned with her head for her brother's to close the door so Cooper could sleep.

Dean ushered his brother out into the hallway, poking his head through the crack to say, "Love your bed sheets, buddy," before shutting the door gently and meeting Sam at the top of the stairs, catching the look on his little brother's face. "Everyone makes mistakes, Sammy. Jen, included."

"But cheating on David, Dean?" Sam kept his voice down so his sister couldn't hear. "That's a pretty big mistake."

"Stop," Dean snarled a bit too loudly; he lowered his voice and continued, "She didn't know he was going to kick the bucket. He didn't spruce things up, she has needs." After registering what he had said, he grimaced. "That sentence was unpleasantly true."

Sam scowled, implying that they had better things to talk about. "We should start salting the place up."

"You do that," Dean poked his brother's chest, moving toward the storage room, "While I go look around for any of David's old stuff."

"Jen said she threw it all away."

Dean shrugged. "Jen's been sloppy since we were little."

"Right," Sam smirked, "and you knew exactly where your homework was all the time."

"I knew where it was all the time, Sammy. Wanna know why? Because I never did it."

Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes at his brother's statement as he made his way back down the stairs. There was no doubt that Sam loved his sister and would do just about anything for her but there was a part of him that looked at her differently now. She'd gotten away from hunting, had the life he always wanted, and seemingly threw it all away. Jen's words filtered through his mind as he finished lining the windows and doors on the first floor before heading up to the second.

He found Dean in Jen's bedroom rustling through her drawers, "So far nothing I can see but there's got to be something." Sam huffed and went about pouring salt along the window sill. "What crawled up your ass? You can't be mad at Jen, are you?"

"You're not?!" Sam exclaimed not being able to keep it in anymore.

Dean shut the drawer and opened the closet, "No, Sam. We've been through this if David would of…"

"She cheated Dean," his little brother quickly cut him off. "You can't make excuses for her this time. She made a choice to go against her vows, vows that are supposed to mean something."

"So, what?" Dean snapped he pulled down another box of shoes, rummaged through it for a moment, before shoving it back into place. "She made a mistake and, what, you want her to pay for it? Are you listening to yourself right now? Wrong or right she is still our sister and that douche isn't going to lay another finger on her or get anywhere near Cooper."

"I never said that, Dean. Of course I don't want anything to happen to her or Cooper…" Sam was going to continue and say that how wrong it was for Jen to break her commitment to her husband but Dean wasn't hearing it, and Sam wasn't in the position of opposing any further.

"Good," Dean interrupted, taking the salt from his brother's hands. "I'll get Cooper's room."

In reality Dean was afraid that if Sam went in there a fight would start that none of them needed to hear at this time of night. Dean opened the door only wide enough for him to squeeze through before closing it again behind him. He stepped over a few toys that were scattered about, careful not to make any noise as he poured salt in a thick line along the window sill. He glanced over to the bed and saw Jen lying on her side with her back to him, her breathing slow and even.

Good, they need to sleep, Dean thought as he quietly shuffled through a few of the dresser drawers.

"What're you doing?" Cooper's tired voice froze his uncle in his spot for a minute not knowing that he was awake.

Jen, who had only been lightly sleeping, bounded off the bed ready to fight whoever Cooper was talking to and let out a long breath when she saw her eldest brother standing there with his hands up. Dean apologized and watched as Jen wrapped an arm around her torso again with a grimace on her face as she sat back down on the bed.

"Whatcha looking for?" Cooped scooted to the edge of the bed and put his chin over his mother's shoulder blade, leaning his head against hers.

Dean glanced over to his sister before crouching in front of Cooper. "Well, sport, I was just seeing if any of your dad's stuff was in here."

"Mommy made us get rid of all his things," Cooper replied softly his eyes beginning to swim with tears.

"Yeah I heard," Dean motioned to his sister to give him a few minutes alone with him. Jen agreed and placed a kissed on top of Cooper's head before walking out into the hallway. "Must've been hard to throw his stuff out, huh?"

Cooper nodded, "We burned it."

Out in the hall Jen wanted to listen in on their conversation but knew that Cooper was never safer than with one of her brothers. She slid herself down the wall and rubbed her tired eyes. It wasn't until she looked up she saw Sam leaning against the opposite wall that she opened her mouth to speak.

"It's okay to be mad at me," she commented, knowing exactly what was going through her brother's mind. "I'm mad at me too."

Sam wanted to stay angry, to give her a piece of his mind, but as he looked at Jen he could see the pure exhaustion behind her eyes. He wanted to be a comfort and take away the pain she was feeling but couldn't bring himself to say it so instead he sat down next to her with their shoulders touching.

"What's he doing in there?" Sam motioned to the closed door with a nod of his head.

Back in the room Cooper was at his breaking point tears flowing freely down his cheeks now, "Please, don't tell mommy. I don't want her to be sad anymore but I wanted it."

"Wanted what, kid?" Dean questioned and watched as his nephew crawled out of bed and rummaged through his toy box until he pulled out an old baseball glove. After giving it a hug he handed it over to his uncle, knowing what had to be done to the last remnant of his father. "This was your dad's?"

"He…he said I was going to make it to the big leagues and be famous one day…" Cooper choked back a couple of tears. "But he didn't get to show me."

Dean tucked his nephew back in bed and ruffled his hair. "Try and get some sleep, sport, I'll send Uncle Sam into stay with you, okay?"

"Uncle Dean," the little voice stopped the experienced hunter from opening the bedroom door. "I'm sorry I made mommy sad."

"Listen to me, Cooper," Dean leaned over to be at the same level as his nephew, his voice firm and his forest green eyes fixed. "You did not make your mother sad. She loves you more than anything in this world and you didn't make her sad one bit. This," he held up the glove for a moment. "This was just a little hiccup. Everything's going to be alright. I promise."

The young boy nodded.

"You're a tough cookie, Cooper. Just like your mother." Dean walked out in the hall with the baseball glove tucked under his arm. He held his hand out to help Jen off the ground while he motioned to the bedroom. "Kid's waiting for you." Jen started to head in until Dean caught her elbow, "Not you. Told him Sam would go sit with him."

Sam nodded and heading into the bedroom with his nephew closing the door behind him. Jen ran a hand through her hair, "He alright?"

"Might want to make some pancakes in the morning and add some chocolate chips," Dean smirked as he moved towards the master bedroom and pulled the trash can out of the bathroom. "Here," he handed the glove over. "You need to be the one to do it."

Jen swallowed hard, "It's like killing him all over again." She placed the glove in the bottom of the basket and sprinkled salt over top of it and then the lighter fluid. She took the lighter from Dean's hand and flicked it open. "For Cooper."

"No," Dean stopped her, "For you."

Jen closed her eyes and as she did so a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered as the lighter fell from her hands and into the trashcan. "I'm so very sorry."

X-X-X

The next morning Jen was in the kitchen making a fresh batch of pancakes while Sam and Cooper sat at the table coloring.

"Grumpy still sleeping?" Jen questioned slightly surprised the coffee she had brewing hadn't woken up her eldest brother.

Sam shook his head, "No, said he had some things to do this morning." When his sister raised an eyebrow Sam couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "My feelings exactly."

As if he knew they were talking about him Dean came strolling through the backdoor and Jen almost dropped the spatula that was in her hands. Dean was standing there in a baseball cap, a bag full of baseballs, a couple of gloves, some foam bases, and a wooden bat.

"Trying out for a P.E. teacher?" Jen teased.

Dean's smile never left his face as his eyes locked onto his nephew, "Didn't you hear? This kid's going to be famous."