Chapter 3
Dean drove as fast as he could, to his daughter's house. He had to get there, in time. He just had to. He knew something wasn't right. That dog was the one. There was, definitely, something up.
When he pulled up to the house, all the lights, downstairs were on. Sam and Mary jumped out, first. Dean lagged, behind, pulling out his phone and sent Hope, a message, one, to make sure she was alright, and two, to remove her hearing aids so she couldn't hear what was about to happen, downstairs.
Once Hope was taken care of, Dean followed after his mom and brother.
Sam and Mary had their backs, pinned against the wall, holding their guns, pointed towards the ground. Dean made his way, stealthy, over to the window, pinning himself to the wall, and snuck a peek, inside. He had to peer around the ugly brown and green curtains, that hung over the window.
The room looked empty, at first until he saw a foot that was wearing Clark's boot, lying on the floor. It wasn't moving.
While Dean was checking the window, Sam picked the lock on the front door. When he had it, unlocked, Dean and Mary went in, cautiously, before he followed. They split up, checking each room on the lower level of the house.
Dean checked the living room. The foot had, indeed, belonged to Clark, who laid on the floor, in a puddle of blood and his chest, ripped, open. He dropped his head, closing his eyes, in grief. If only Dean could have done something, before. He still did not understand why someone would take in a stray, so easily, when attacks were happening. But, like his mother had said. No one would suspect a gentle-looking dog. This guy, or whoever it was, was good.
Dean moved on, towards the kitchen, stopping at the large archway. He pinned his back to the wall and looked around the frame. Lying there, on the old, tiled floor, that had a floral design, was Rachel. Dean rushed to her side.
"Dean?" she was still alive, but, barely. "How did…?"
He lifted Rachel, up, in his arms. "Hope messaged me." Dean looked her, over. Rachel was covered in blood and her hands were covering her side, as blood oozed through her fingers.
"I tried to save my dad, but…It attacked me…"
"We'll get ya some help. Everything will be okay, Rach," he assured her.
Rachel shook her head. "There's too much damage and I… lost…too…much…blood."
"I'm sure we can stitch you, back up. Sam and I've done it, loads of time. You won't die. You won't," he shook his head, "I won't let that happen. Hope needs you."
"Hope…" Rachel stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes, closed, in shame. "I should have listened to you, Dean. It's all my fault. I should of…"
"It looked gentle. Anyone could have been fooled by its cute act."
She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Dean. I want you…. Please take good care of Hope. I mean…I have a little brother, over in Austin. But…he just got married. They said, they weren't ready for kids. Too much college debt, still."
"Don't worry, Rach. Hope will be, well, taken care of. She has me, an uncle, and a grandma. She'll be surrounded by love."
Rachel smiled, at that. "Thank…" a pain shot through her side, causing Rachel to clutch her side, tighter as she groaned.
"Rachel?" Dean perked up, in alarm.
She opened her eyes, halfway. That was all she could muster. "Please…can…a favor?"
"What is it?" he urged her, gently.
"My…bro…ther…. His…num…ber…on fridge. Let him…know…he…could claim…house…farm.
"I will." As soon as Dean replied, Rachel closed her eyes. She managed to utter one last thing.
"Tell H-Hope…I…love…her." With her last breath, Rachel's head fell to the side.
Dean shook her, a little. "Rach? Rach?" Nothing. "Rachel."
Following her death, a gunshot sounded, echoing throughout the house, followed by a dog's whine.
Mary came into the kitchen, looking for her boys. Sam must have done the deed. "Dean?" she asked when Mary saw her firstborn, knelt there, on the floor. She walked over, to kneel beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dean was staring at nothing, in particular, lost in thought as he held Rachel. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
Dean didn't answer. Not at first. Finally, he said, "I couldn't save her."
"You tried, sweetheart. That's what matters."
He shook his head. "I shouldn't have left them alone. I should of done something."
"What could you have done?" Mary asked.
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Something. This shouldn't have happened. I was there. I should of fought harder. Rachel would be alive and Hope…" His voice trailed off. Hope. His little girl just lost her mom, just as he had. What was he supposed to tell her? Hope didn't even know people died.
"It was their decision to ask you to leave."
Dean finally looked at his mom. "Yeah, but, they didn't know. They didn't know that dog was…"
Sam walked in. "It was a skinwalker. A Grizzly Adams fellow. Guy looked like he could be on that Duck Dynasty show."
Dean and Mary had looked over at the tallest member of the family when he spoke.
Mary suggested Dean, go check on Hope while her and Sam cleaned up. Dean tried to object, that he wasn't about to let his mom, help carry a body. His mom stood her ground and told her son, to march up there, that instant. There was no arguing with her.
So, while Sam and Mary cleaned up, Dean headed upstairs, to Hope's room. He, carefully, opened the door and turned on the light.
There was a lump under The Little Mermaid comforter.
Dean made his way over and, gently, pulled, back the covers. Hope was still awake. When she saw him, Hope placed her hearing aids, on her ears and held out her arms.
Dean grabbed Hope in his arms and squeezed his daughter, in a tight embrace, thankful she was alright. She pushed away and held up her pointer finger, to move her hand, from side to side, and then, pointed her thumb to her chin, holding out all five of her fingers, asking where her mom was. Dean learned enough sign language to understand what she was asking.
He dropped his head, shutting his eyes. Dean hated, having to break the news to his daughter. A small hand cupped his cheek, affectionately, which made him, open them.
Lifting Hope, up, a little, Dean set her on his right leg. She wasn't wearing her leg braces at the moment. Rachel had mentioned, Hope really didn't need to wear them to bed, as the braces could get, very uncomfortable for her. Unlike casts, leg braces could be removed.
"Hope," he tried to began. The words didn't come easy. Dean signed the word, mommy, back at her, "Mommy…" he swallowed. "Mommy," he signed, again, "got hurt by the dog."
Hope signed, Mommy okay?
Dean shook his head. He paused, looking up towards the ceiling, trying to remember the words Dean had learned, already. For the next sentence, he stopped and just said, "Mommy was trying to protect you, Hope, but, I think it's time to tell you."
What? Hope ran her finger, down her palm.
He took in a hard breath before Dean answered. "Sometimes, bad things happen and we get hurt. Sometimes, we get, badly, hurt, that we…" he tried to think of a way to put death, for a five-year-old to understand. "We go to sleep, and…sometimes, we don't wake up. It's called, dying."
Hope stared up at Dean, her eyebrows, scrunching, together. Eventually, she signed, Mommy got hurt and went to forever sleep?
Dean looked around for the Kindle and handed it to Hope, to type out, what she said, which played back to them. "I'm afraid so, squirt. Mommy's up in heaven, now, along with your grandpa. He got, badly, hurt, too. I'm so sorry." He signed the last part.
Hope typed more. Mommy and Grandpa are gone?
"I'm sorry, baby girl," Dean gave his daughter, a remorseless look. Tears appeared in her eyes and Hope dropped against his chest, crying into it. He held her, close, holding a hand to the back of her head and his chin on top. Dean moved it, to hold a kiss on it.
Dean held his daughter for a long time until he finally spoke, again. "Mommy and I wanted to tell you, something, but, we were waiting for you and I to get to know each other before we told you." He was staring at nothing as Dean continued to hold her.
Hope pushed away, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand and arm. She signed, What?
Dean signed the first thing he made sure, to memorize. "I'm your dad."
Her eyes grew wide, at that and pointed her thumb to her forehead, signing dad.
He nodded.
Hope reached over to grab the Kindle, from the bed, beside where Dean sat and typed, daddy.
Dean lifted his little girl, up and hugged her. He felt Hope, squeeze his neck.
Mary and Sam had finished disposing of the mess, and came upstairs, to find daddy and daughter, locked in a tight embrace. They stopped in the doorway. When Dean noticed his mom and brother were there, he stood up and carried Hope over, to meet them.
"Hope, I'd like ya to meet your other grandma," he smiled for her.
Hope looked over at Mary, her arms still wrapped around his neck.
Mary waved at her granddaughter. "Hi, sweetheart," she greeted. "It's great to meet you."
Dean turned his body, to fully face Sam. "And, this is your Uncle Sammy."
Hope looked over at her uncle.
Sam gave a small smile, "Hey there, Hope." He still wasn't sure about all this. Don't get him, wrong. It was nice to know, he was an uncle and Hope was an adorable, little girl, to him. It was, just. The life they lived. What if something bad happened to her?
"So, I guess this means, Hope's coming home with us," said Mary.
Sam let out a sigh. "Guess so."
"Rachel asked me, to call her brother, so he could get the house and everything, taken care of. Plus, her mom lives nearby, in a nursing home." Dean headed back over to the bed and set Hope, down. Looking around for her braces, he grabbed them, to put them on her legs and helped Hope, down.
Dean helped Hope, walk over to her dresser and grab the clothes she wanted to pack. Once her favorite clothes and toys were packed, including some of her books, the Winchesters left the house and went out to the Impala.
On the way, back to the motel, Hope watched an episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Since Dean pulled into the motel, before the episode ended, he let her finish in bed. He had been sleeping on the pull-out bed, which he let Hope, sleep with him.
The next day, Dean contacted Rachel's brother and, sort of, explained what happened. After breakfast, the Winchesters packed up and headed out of town. On the way, Dean stopped by the nursing home so Hope could say good-bye to her grandmother. The whole time, she kept mistaking Dean for her nephew, asking when he was going to settle with a nice young lady.
By noon, the Impala was soaring down the highway.
Hope sat in her booster seat, in the backseat, with Mary. At first, she watched Zootopia. It was her favorite movie, at the moment, as Dean had counted twelve times she had watched it, in the last few days.
"So, do you know what happened?" Sam asked of his brother, after a while.
Dean glanced between his brother and the road. "With what?"
"With Hope. Was she born, deaf and unable to use her legs, or was she in an accident?"
"She was born with weak muscles and bone structure in her legs," Dean explained what Rachel had told him. "Before all the surgeries, Hope couldn't use her legs, at all."
"How many surgeries has she had?" asked Mary.
"About three. The first one was when she was one and a half when she should have been starting to walk. Then, another one, a year, later. Her last was when Hope was three. Since then, she started walking, using her walker. Every year, Hope has to get her braces, replaced, for a bigger size."
"Will she ever be able to walk on her own, without help from others or a walker?"
"Probably not. Her muscles and bones just ain't strong enough."
"And, what about her hearing? Can she hear, at all, without those things in her ears?" Sam asked.
Dean shook his head, once, looking straight ahead, "Nope, not really. Which was why I had her remove them while we took care of the dog. I mean, she can hear, a little, but not well."
"But, she can hear, with them," he nodded.
"Yup. Just look, directly at her, and clear, and Hope'll hear and understand ya. I've been working on that sign language stuff with her. It's amazing how smart she is," Dean chuckled.
"Teach us some," Sam suggested.
Dean looked over at his brother. "Really?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I want to be able to communicate with my niece."
Looking back at the road, Dean got a devilish idea in his head. "Here, do this to her," he pointed to himself, then, stuck his thumb into the pinkie side of his fist, pulling it out, putting all five fingers inside the thumb side of his fist, and finally finished with hovering his hands above his thighs, moving them up as he closed his fingers, together.
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.
"It means, I love you." Dean was trying to keep a straight face, but, on the inside, he was laughing his butt off.
So, the younger brother turned around in his seat and got Hope's attention, signing what Dean had taught him. Hope's left eyebrow arched, in pure confusion as she stared at her uncle. Which, by this point, Dean was now laughing out loud. It, then, dawned on Sam.
Ignoring his brother, Sam asked, "Hope, what did I say?"
Hope closed out of Netflix and went into her communicator app, to tell her uncle, You pooped in your pants.
Now, Dean was laughing even harder, as Sam glared over at his brother.
Mary reached over and smacked her firstborn, upside the head.
"Ow!" Dean grabbed the back of his head, rubbing where it, now, hurt. "Mom! What was that for?"
"That was for picking on your brother, Dean Alexander Winchester," she scolded him. "Leave Sammy alone."
He pouted as Dean continued to drive. "Not my fault, he's easy to pick on," he mumbled to himself, under his breath.
Hope typed a message for her grandmother, that time. No hitting.
"That's true, sweetie, we shouldn't hit others," Mary told the little girl. "But, it's okay for Mommies to hit their grown up sons, when they're being a doofus."
What is a doofus?
"A doofus is someone who acts like they don't have any sense and picks on their younger brother," she glanced over at the back of Dean's head, when Mary mentioned the last part.
Hope looks over at her dad, before typing some more. Daddy, stop being a doofus.
"We'll see, Squirt," Dean told her, in the rearview mirror, with a smirk.
Sam finally spoke up, again. He had, secretly, been laughing when his mom had smacked his brother, upside the head. Turning back to his niece, Sam asked, "So, how do you really say, I love you, in sign language, Hope?"
Hope set her Kindle on her lap and showed her uncle. She held her pinky up, holding her hand to her chest, then, crossed her arms like an X, over it, and pointed at him.
"That's I love you?"
She nodded.
"Well then," Sam repeated what Hope had taught him, to her, "I love you, too." It put a smile on her face that she did it, a second time, adding another word, putting her fingertips, together. "What's this?" he mimicked the gesture.
Hope answered him from her Kindle. More.
Sam couldn't help, smile. "You love me?" He didn't think his niece would warm up to him, that quickly.
I love everyone.
The adults were impressed by the little girl's statement.
"Why is that, Hope?"
Love is better than hating someone. Hating people makes my heart hurt. Loving them makes it, better.
They couldn't help smile.
"That's a very good reason, sweetheart," Mary smiled at her granddaughter, moving her face, in, towards hers, as she touched her forehead to Hope's. It made Hope giggle, which caught Sam's hearing.
"Did…? Did she just make a sound?" he asked, confused. "Hope can make sounds?"
"Yeah," Dean nodded. "The kid's got a voice box. Rachel said, her pediatrician didn't think she did, since it's been a year since Hope had those things. I think she can, eventually, learn to speak her own words."
"Well then, I guess you'll still have the chance to hear her first word, Dean," Mary told him.
Dean was trying, so hard, to hide the excitement he felt upon hearing that, out loud.
Sam caught it, though and grinned.
He asked, "What?" of him.
"You want it to be, dad or daddy, don't you?"
Dean shook his head, away from Sam, towards the road. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sam. I'll be proud, no matter what word it is. Even if it's a cuss word."
Sam knew his brother was lying. He shared a knowing look, with his mom, twisting around, in his seat, who also grinned.
Hope's alligator was on the seat, between the girls.
Mary picked the toy up, after a while and asked if it had a name. Hope had started playing Minecraft, engrossing herself into the game, as Mary tried to get her attention.
Finally, Dean reached a hand, back, glancing behind him, to hold it, in front of her face, to grab her attention. Hope looked up at him. "Grandma's asking a question," he told her.
The little girl looked over at her grandmother, who repeated her question.
Hope switched back to her communication app and typed, Sammy, and added, not like Uncle Sam, though.
"Sammy's a cutie," Mary said.
Sam had turned on his laptop. Both him and Hope were using the wifi from his phone. Like his niece, he, too, had engrossed himself to it, only catching what Mary had said, about Sammy being a cutie. "What?" Sam looked over his shoulder, confused.
"Not you, Sammy. Lil' Sammy, here," his mom held up the alligator. "Apparently, you both have the same name."
"He's named after an alligator from an aquarium Hope went to, with her other uncle," Dean explained what Hope had told him, once. He smiled at her, up in the mirror, "right, Squirt?"
Hope nodded.
"Hope loves sea life and reptiles. Says, she wants to work at a zoo or aquarium when she grows up."
"Is that so?" Sam looked at his niece, glad she has a dream career, already. "Why don't we find one, on the way back to the bunker, to take Hope to? I can search around, online."
"That sounds fun," Mary agreed.
Dean ran it by his daughter. "What do you think, Squirt? Wanna go see some critters, on the way, home?"
She nodded, excitedly, lighting up like a Christmas tree.
So, Sam opened a web browser and searched for any zoos or aquariums, as close to their route, as possible, so they didn't have to venture far. Thankfully, one was coming up, in twelve miles and gave the directions to Dean.
Eventually, Dean got off at the exit, not having to drive that much further. The place was right off the highway. It was a zoo and aquarium, too. When he was parked, Dean applied sunscreen to Hope, first. She had her mom's skin, that burned, easily, so Rachel had told Dean, the morning he took Hope, to the park, while she lathered her, up.
"Wanna bring your walker or wheelchair?" he asked as Dean finished, rubbing the sunscreen into her upper cheeks. "If you bring your chair, you can use me, to walk."
She nodded in his hands.
"You want to bring your chair?"
She nodded, again.
Dean asked Sam if he could get Hope's wheelchair from the trunk. It had been in a corner of her room, for a while, only used on trips like the zoo or a fair, something along those lines. Most of the time, Hope just used her walker.
After catching the keys from his brother, Sam walked over to the trunk and got out her wheelchair, unfolding it. Hope slid out, herself, stumbling, until Dean caught her and held onto her hands, to guide her into her wheelchair. It was her size, made for a kid, which Hope could control, herself.
Dean ducked inside the car, to grab her Kindle, handing it, to her. "You want Sammy, Squirt?"
She nodded.
He grabbed the alligator, before standing up and shutting the door, before passing it to her. While they crossed the parking lot, Dean pushed her wheelchair until they were on the sidewalk and out of the way of traffic.
While Sam headed over to pay the admission, Mary knelt beside her granddaughter.
"Are you excited, sweetheart?"
Hope nodded, smiling, brightly. Her Kindle was on her lap, while Sammy was between her and the side of the wheelchair.
Sam returned with four yellow, paper wristbands, passing them out, before kneeling in front of his niece, to put hers on, for her, making sure it wasn't too tight, before sealing it. He had also gotten a map of the whole place.
"Looks like the reptile house is closet to the entrance," he stated, looking the map over as the Winchesters made their way into the zoo. "Should we head there, first?"
"Sure," Dean replied, and leaned over to check with Hope, who nodded, of course.
So, they headed for the reptile house, first. On the way, they stopped to see a couple of gorillas, who were picking bugs off of each other.
Dean held Hope, on his side, so she could see over the wall, better. "Hey, Sam. Found you, a girlfriend," he nodded at the female gorilla, after Sam finished reading the sign about them, to Hope.
Sam gave his brother, a hard glare. "Ha ha, very funny," he told Dean, who laughed. It was, then, Sam noticed the female gorilla blowing kissing. But, not at him. She was looking at Dean. "I think she wants to be your girlfriend, Dean." He smirked.
"Girl's got good taste," Dean just grinned.
"All right, boys," Mary stepped in. "Let's go."
Dean set Hope, back in her chair, before moving on. A family of jaguars were next. Several cubs were nursing as the mother dozed in the shade, with the father, pacing around the cage. Sam read the sign about the jaguars, to Hope, as well. Basically, turning the trip into an education experience, as well.
The four of them finally arrived at the reptile house, which Dean wanted to wait outside instead of going in. That snake that had slithered over him, still haunted him, to this day.
So, Sam and Mary just took Hope in, alone. In fact, Dean watched her chair and had Sam carry her, so she'd have a better view. Hope took her Kindle in, and was naming every reptile before Sam and Mary said anything.
"What a smartie you are," Mary complimented, amazed how knowledgeable her granddaughter was, of reptiles.
A zoo keeper was walking through, carrying a small, thin snake, around her lower arms. She stopped to ask Hope if she would like to pet her, assuring the little girl, she was very friendly.
Hope, bravely, reached out and touched the snake with her fingers, carefully.
"Do you know what kind of snake, that is, Hope?" Sam asked, curiously.
The zoo keeper had overheard Hope, naming the critters, so she didn't answer for her, as Hope typed the answer.
Corn snake.
"That's correct, kiddo," the zoo keeper said. "This, here, is a corn snake. They don't have venom, and are very reluctant to bite. In fact, these snakes are beneficial to people, since they eat small rodents. Would you like to see Eve, here, eat a mouse?"
Hope nodded, happily.
Sam wasn't too thrilled. "Um, the mouse won't be alive, will it?"
"Oh, no," she shook her head. "We're not cruel. Just the critters are." The young woman gave the tall guy, a wink and led them over to Eve's tank, where she disappeared through an employee's only door, and appeared on the other side of the tank. The zoo keeper placed Eve, inside, latching her door.
She left to grab a dead mouse, returning to toss it, in. Eve slithered over to it, widening her mouth over the thing. Sam and Mary had to look away, but, Hope watched, eagerly.
"I thought Dean said, her mom hadn't introduced Hope to death. Hope seems unaffected by this," Mary told Sam, softly, during the process.
"Not to mention, Hope just lost her mom and grandfather, too," he pointed out. "Then, again, she's been to one of these, before. Maybe, she only experienced dead animals like this."
The mouse, now a lump, inside the snake, was making its way towards the stomach, where Mary caught a glimpse of the snake, crushing it. Even growing up a hunter, herself, the sight of a snake eating a mouse, made her, shudder. Hope enjoyed it.
Once they finished inside the reptile house, they met Dean at the exit, where Sam passed Hope to him.
"Did you like it?" he asked.
Hope nodded, excitedly and responded with her Kindle. I touched a corn snake and saw it eat a mouse! It was cool!
"Oh," Dean forced a smile, unsure about hearing his little girl touched a snake and watched it, eat a mouse. "That's…awesome, I guess."
She grinned, showing her teeth.
The Winchesters continued, seeing the rest of the animals, seeing lions, tigers, and bears, along with others. There was even a petting zoo, which Mary took Hope, into, that time. The girls petted goats, baby llamas, pigs, miniature donkeys, and sheep, feeding them, pellets.
Dean stood at the fence that kept the animals in, snapping a picture or two of his mom and daughter.
"You know, Dean," Sam spoke, as his brother put his phone away and just watched.
"Yeah?"
"I'm still unsure about having Hope around our life and all. But, watching her and Mom, I think this may be the best thing. For Mom, anyway." He looked over at Dean, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket.
Dean looked up at the giant, one eye closed from the brightness of the sun, above them. "I think you're right," he replied, looking back at the girls. "Mom lost out on our childhood. At least, she has some kind of chance, with Hope, at least.
"I'm sure Mom will want to be the one to stay, back, with Hope, while we take jobs."
He nodded. "We're probably gonna have to sign up for health care the way Dad did, since Hope's gonna need a lot of special care."
Sam laughed, remembering the same John had used. "Did you know Dad used the name, Elroy McGillicuddy?"
"Well, judging by the fact, I saw Mom watching I Love Lucy reruns, the other day. It's a safe bet, she made Dad watch it, with her."
He gave Dean, an amusing look. "Dad must have, secretly, liked it, if he used the name," he scoffed.
The brothers let the girls take their sweet time, watching them, interact with the animals. It was the best sight the boys had ever witnessed in their entire lives. Or, at least, one of.
