Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter Two

Dean drove to Bobby's house, taking the highway. He tried to wrap his head around what had just happened in the last hour. Finding out you were a father was never easy for a man no matter who they were. It meant responsibilities and knowing what to do in an emergency situation. Oh, who was he kidding? Dean had all that now. The only different was a seven-year-old girl who acted and dressed like a boy. It would be like taking care of Sam all over again.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Sarah hanging her SpongeBob sunshade on the window. "Take it down," he told her, his attention on the road ahead.

"But it keeps the sun away," she told him.

"One, the sun's not even out and two, what are you, a baby? 'Cause last I checked, that what's they are for. Now take it off my window." His voice was raising a tad bit, some irritation apparent.

"Why can't it stay up?" she asked.

"Dude, I'm not going to ask you again. Take it down or so help me, I will pull this car over."

"You asked again," she pointed out, testing his limits. "You said you wouldn't ask again but you just did."

Dean wiped his left hand down his face, his elbow resting on the door. Now he knew how his own father felt when he and Sam were kids. Dean's patients were running thin and it hadn't been two hours yet. "Sarah, I'm gonna give you one last warning to remove the stupid shade thing from my window or I will pull over and put you across my knee." He really didn't want to be the tough dad so soon, that wasn't how he wanted Sarah to know him as. However, if it came down to it, Dean would.

Sarah ripped her sunshade off the window and tossed it over her shoulder, into the back seat. "Happy?" she sulked in her seat, folding her arms tightly across her chest, staring out the window.

"Lose the attitude, kid."

"Why don't you lose yours?"

Dean shifted in his seat, annoyed. "You defiantly are just like your uncle Sammy," he mumbled to himself.

After a while, Sarah unfolded her arms and took a PSP from her black sweatshirt pocket, turning it on. She went into her music and soon, one of Dean's favorite songs started playing as Sarah sang along.

Dean glanced over at his daughter. "You like this music?"

She nodded, looking out the window again. "Mom hated it."

He laughed and started singing, too.

Sarah looked over at him. "You like it, too?" she asked.

"Of course," he smiled at her and soon they were both singing together, off key. When the song was over, they both laughed. "Man, never thought my kid would be into the same music as me."

"I didn't think my dad would be into the same music either," Sarah replied.

Dean looked at his daughter, "You're okay, kid."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ready to start your training soon?"

Sarah nodded.

Ninety minutes went by as Dean pulled into the salvage yard and turned off the engine. Both of them stepped out. Sarah followed her father up to the house, looking over at a dog lazily lying on a hood of a blue truck.

"Is that dog friendly, Dad?" she asked Dean.

Dean looked over at the dog. "Yeah, but he's never been around kids so don't go running over to him," he explained.

"What's his name?"

"Rumsfeld."

"Rumsfeld? What kind of name is that for a dog?" Sarah questioned.

"I don't know but you better not give Bobby any attitude like you did earlier. Understand?" Dean warned his daughter.

"Yes, Dad," Sarah replied.

Bobby came out right as they were nearing the front door. "Son of a gun, you weren't kidding, were you, Dean?" the older hunter said when he got a good look at Sarah coming towards him.

"I know. The whole thing surprised the hell out of me, I'm still coming out of shock," Dean said.

When Sarah caught sight of Bobby, she stopped in her tracks. "No way," she said, softly though Dean still heard her.

"What?" he asked her.

Sarah shook her head, trying to clear it before she said, "Nothing…just nothing." She and Dean followed Bobby inside. Sarah went over and sat down on the couch, setting her duffel bag beside her.

Bobby pulled Dean aside. "Are you sure you want to drag your daughter into this, Dean? She's only, what, five years old."

"She's seven, and what choice do I have?" said Dean.

"Lots of choices, Dean. She's just a kid. Do I have to give ya the same talk I had with your old man?" The men kept their voices down so Sarah couldn't hear. She was playing a game on her PSP anyway so even if they were to talk louder, Sarah wouldn't hear.

"Look Bobby, I don't like it any more than you do, but the kid is already halfway into it, may as well finish what's started."

"So, you're gonna leave her back in motel rooms while you go off for a week, hunting?"

"No, I'm not. I'm going to train Sarah and have her hunt by my side," Dean told the older hunter.

Bobby could not believe what he had just heard Dean say. "Have you lost your mind, boy?"

"I was around her age when Dad started training me and if it weren't for Sam, he would have probably done the same."

"Dean, you're gonna take away that girl's childhood, not to mention her innocence," Bobby spat at him, still keeping his voice down.

"Again, I don't like it, Bobby but Sarah needs to learn to protect herself. She knows already, anyway. Sarah has read about almost every folk tale and urban legend known to man. She already knows about ghosts, and werewolves, and even vampires. I didn't even know they had a second set of teeth they can turn on and off."

Bobby was surprised to hear that, jerking his head back. "How'd ya manage to skip that?"

"I don't know. Pure luck, I guess," Dean answered. "Anyway, like I was saying, I figured I'd teach her to hunt what she already knows. Besides, lots of dads take their kids hunting, don't they?"

"Yeah, when it's a deer," said Bobby. "Not to hunt a werewolf or a shifter."

Dean shrugged, "It has to be done."

For the rest of the day, Dean took Sarah outside and had her shoot at tin cans and bags of sand for target practice that hung from tree branches. First few times, Sarah missed. Once she got the hang of it, it was as if she had been shooting for years. Sarah made every shot, impressing Dean. His daughter was a natural.

Practice lasted for a few hours and continued the next day before Bobby came out, announcing there was a murder in Cleveland, Minnesota.

"Are you sure it's one of our jobs?" Dean asked the older hunter.

"Family gets a new dog, suddenly husband turns up dead with his heart ripped out. Sound familiar?"

"Skinwalker?"

He shrugged, "I would bet on it."

"Skinwalker?" Sarah spoke up. "That's someone who can turn into a dog, right?"

Dean turned to look at her. "That's right. They prefer…"

"The heart," Sarah finished her father's sentence.

"Yes and when we kill it, you can't wimp out on me just because you think it's cute. Understand?"

Sarah nodded at her father. Soon, they were back on the road, heading for Cleveland, Minnesota. On the drive there, Sarah played her PSP.

Dean focused on the road. The car ride was quiet except for the car's engine and Sarah's game. He kept glancing over at the small screen as Sarah fought what looked like oversized bugs that left yellow gems behind after they were killed. He watched as she smashed the buttons, fighting through the game. Soon, a cutscene took over and an even larger bug appeared onscreen that Sarah had to kill.

"So, you like video games?" Dean tried making small talk.

"Yeah," was all she said as she fought what was the first boss of the video game.

Dean stayed silent for a while, listening to the sound effects as he drove. Eventually he asked, "How come you don't play with dolls and dress in pink stuff?"

"I've been like this as long as I can remember. I'm more comfortable this way."

"How did your mom feel about that?"

Sarah's eyes never left the screen. "She didn't like it. Mom told me I need to stop acting this way and act like a girl. She always said, boys are boys and girls are girls. Boys aren't girls and girls aren't boys."

"Wow, can you hear me way back in the fifties?" he said, sarcastically. "You can be anything you want to be. If that's how you feel comfortable than who am I to stop ya?"

Sarah paused her game to look at her father. "You mean that? No more nagging?"

He smirked, "Oh, I'm sure I can find something to nag you about."

Sarah smiled in return. Maybe this whole father thing wasn't so bad after all. They seemed to be getting along now. It just takes a little time. Plus, the kid was growing on him with every pressing moment. Dean didn't care what it took now. He vowed to be the best father a kid could ever ask for.