"Well, Jordan… welcome to the family." Dean and I sat on the bed for a couple of seconds before Dean got up and walked over to Sam. They were making their way to the door. I couldn't let them leave.
"Wait!" My voice cracked. "You guys are family. I just can't let you leave." I shuffled through several papers that were on the table near the door. "There's a case here in town. You guys can take the beds, I'll take the couch, and you can have the car back." I took the keys from my pocket and tossed them to my dad.
"Why are you doing this?" Sam asked.
"Because I haven't had a family, anyone to care about, in four months." I explained. I have never felt so desperate in my life.
I looked at Sam, his eyes full of grief and intelligence. Then I looked at my father, his eyes full of anger and sadness. Both of them shared something in common, just by looking at them: they had lost too much, and they could barely stand to see someone else go.
Dean twiddled the keys in his fingers and looked at the pile of evidence I had on the table. He then looked up at me. "How long have you been here?"
"Since three this afternoon," I mumbled. I never really looked at the clock until now.
3:42 am
"How the hell did you get all of this information so quickly?" Sam asked from the right of Dean. He looked confused, astonished, and impressed all at the same time.
"Sammy, can I talk to you?" Dean whispered.
They both walked outside and started talking right outside of the motel window. I pressed my ear against the cold glass and heard the whole spiel.
"Sam, she is highly capable of being in the Men of Letters."
"Dean, she's only a kid. She's your kid. Don't you want her to be safe?"
"This is as safe as she can get at this point!" At this I listened more eagerly. "Things in our world will hear the name 'Jordan Winchester' and fight to see who can kill her first."
"Dean, I don't think you understand. She's smart, but she's not trained. Do you know if she can protect herself? Do you know if she knows what we know?"
There was a long pause before I heard Dean's response. "Don't get all technical with me, Sam! I think she is capable of doing this."
"Well," Sam had given up, I could hear it in his voice, "then we can both start training her tomorrow."
I had lost it. I walked out of the door and faced the two men.
"It already is tomorrow!" I shouted. "I have no desire to watch you guys from the sidelines now that you're here. I want to help." I had no idea where this was going, but apparently it wasn't going anywhere. Dean picked me up by the waist and carried me into the room. I didn't pitch a fit. I knew nothing would happen if I did.
Once inside I was plopped on the couch. Dean took a chair from the table and sat across from me. "So, do you have a protection tattoo?"
I tugged the collar of my shirt to show the tattoo over my heart. I then covered back up and reached in my weapons bag. I pulled out a knife with strange markings on it. "Have you ever seen something like this?"
He looked at me in shock and pulled the exact same knife out.
"Demon blade." A rugged voice called from next to me. He was wearing a black suit with a tie underneath a long trench coat. "It is used to kill Demons."
"Jordan, this is Castiel. Castiel, this is my daughter Jordan." Dean said.
"I am an angel of the Lord. I am also…" he looked up at the ceiling, trying to find an appropriate word. "…a family friend."
"Come on, Cas, you're a lot more than a family friend." Sam said as he walked through the door with two duffels. "He's family."
"Family." I whispered to myself. "I have a family."