The Walk Out

With Sam's help, Ashley started the long walk up the driveway while Dean carried Tara and the car seat into the house. Mary was right behind her kids along with Bobby, Justin, and Ben. Once Ashley was settled on the couch and had her baby girl in her arms, Dean went to go get Max, taking Justin along to ensure he kept a level head.

"Yeah?" Max asked as he opened the wood door to see Dean standing there.

"She's home, when you gonna tell her?" he growled at the younger, broader man. Dean reached down to hold Justin's shoulder to calm the boiling rage in his stomach. Dean's muscles began to twitch as soon as the door opened, now it was almost impossible to restrain himself.

"Soon, I should go see her" he answered meekly. Of all the Winchesters, Dean scared Max the most. He was the relentless one of the family and would stop at nothing to make sure his younger siblings were more than alright.

Dean quickly turned his back on the new father and gently pushed Justin back towards the house. He couldn't believe this wimp was going to back out on Ashley again. She just endured nine months, brought his daughter into the world, and was going to leave her alone? No doubt in Dean's mind Ashley was going to pound Max to a pulp no matter how she was feeling right now, but she was also going to break again.

"De?" Ashley's small voice interrupted.

"Yeah Killer, what's wrong?" Ashley was sitting on the couch alone while everyone else got the house baby-proofed and the guest room made up for Ashley and Tara.

"Nothing, come sit with me?" She sounded so fragile and innocent right now, Max was going to break her heart again and Dean was sure she would be devastated to the point of depression again. "You got something on your mind, De?" she whispered as she put Tara down in the portable crib Justin had used next to her and relaxed against Dean's side.

"Huh? Oh, naah. Just thinking" he shrugged as he wrapped his arm around Ashley.

"What about?" she pressed.

Dean was saved by the sound of the front door opening and Max stepping inside of the living rooms he was camping out in currently "Hey Ash. How uh, h-how are you feeling?"

"Like I just gave birth, everything below my waist is killing me or numb" she chuckled as she accepted Max's careful hug. "Where did you go? Didn't see you when I woke up."

Max looked apologetically over at Ashley then back down at the small baby girl sleeping in the pink blanket. "She looks just like you" he sighed.

"Max, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"Ash, I uh, I need to tell you something."

"Sure, Dean can you-"

"No, no. He should stay for this" Max interrupted.

Dean was right, Ashley did beat Max most way to a pulp. Despite being sore and almost immobile, it still took both Sam and Dean to pull her off the now battered and bruised Max. "You son of a bitch!" she screamed over Dean's shoulder "I can't believe you're going to walk out on me on our baby!"

"I'm sorry, Ash. I'm just not ready for this. Being a father is a big deal."

Bobby had stepped right to Max's face once he let those words come out of his mouth. "You're damn right you weren't ready! No man is when his littlen just comes home, when he's forced to be a father! But the bastard sticks around when he gets a girl knocked up because he can't put a condom on right! You're a damn fool!"

"Look, Ash- please hear me out?" he begged around the suddenly scary old man in his face.

"No Max, get the hell out of my house!" she spat before collapsing into sobs in Dean's arms with Sam behind her.

"Sammy," Dean barked once he scooped the crying Ashley up bridal style to bring upstairs "make sure he gets out of town tonight."

"With a couple more bruises" Bobby threw in as he picked up a screaming Tara to follow her mother.

The next couple weeks, Ashley would only leave the daybed for doctor's appointments or the occasional bath. Mary decided to rent the house in Lawrence for some extra income and live in the free one across the street so she could help out. Hunters were still coming around to see the legendary Winchester family. Some would drop off a bottle of Fireball, while others begged to team up with their operation and fight anything that was not fully human or animal. One night while Dean laid next to Ashley on the daybed, he noticed the files she had started to put together of demonic omens coming towards San Diego. "Maybe we should pick up a few extra hands" he whispered over to his dozing sister.

"No, this is my family Dean. It's my fault we are in danger; it's my job to fix this" she muttered around the drowsiness filling her whole body.

"Like Hell it is! Garth can be down here in a flash and Cas even faster. This is gonna be war Ash; you're no good to Tara dead."

Ashley knew deep down Dean was right, but she had to clean up this mess mostly by herself to prove she still had it in her. "You got two months tops to fix me up" she sighed as she pulled herself up off the day bed. "Better make sure I'm ready" she ordered as he made her way towards the shared room.

Dean was close behind with the baby monitor and lowered himself onto the bed next to Ashley.

"Gotta get the gut off first, we start tomorrow" he chuckled as he closed the bedroom door to everyone else outside.

AN: What do you all think? Please please tell me! Hope you enjoyed!~ Ash