Sorry it's a bit late, but here's the next installment!
The following morning, Deanna woke to find that Dean was in the kitchenette attempting to cook pancakes. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't going too well. He had a streak of batter on his face and his face looked very dishevelled. Deanna let out a small giggle and Dean turned to face her with a mock scowl.
"Yeah yeah, you laugh kiddo. Let's see if you're still laughing after these things poison you because you didn't help me" he teased.
Deanna snorted and rolled her eyes before dragging herself out of bed and moving sluggishly over to her brother's side and retrieving the spatula from his hands. She still felt upset over the events from the day before, but in typical Winchester fashion, she just kept it locked inside of her and pushed herself to continue on as if nothing had happened. She wiped her eyes and continued making the pancakes, sending Dean a silent thank you as he disappeared out of the room to give her space. Once the pancakes were complete, she called to let Dean know breakfast was ready and he responded by bouncing into the room with a wide smile. He gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek before grabbing his plate from her hand and dropping onto the sofa with a goofy grin on his face the whole time. Deanna rolled her eyes and moved over to the empty seat on the sofa with a lot less energy than her older brother and as he scoffed his food down at an unbelievable speed, she ate with much less vigour. By the time Dean finished, Deanna had only eaten half a pancake and ended up giving the rest to him as she just couldn't face eating at that moment.
John entered the room as Deanna was in the middle of washing the dishes. Nobody spoke to each other, Dean nodded his head in welcome and Deanna simply smiled and jabbed a soaking wet knife towards the leftover pancakes. John smiled back in return and headed over to them, placing them in the microwave for a minute to heat through. He turned so that he was leaning up against the counter and watched his daughter as she cleaned with a worried frown. He could see the sadness in her eyes and decided to speak up about it.
"Deanna, why do you look so upset?"
Deanna didn't look at him, just continued to wash. She heard John move and thought he was taking the pancakes out of the microwave, but suddenly, his hand was placed on hers and he pushed it down making her put the dish she was holding back into the sink. She turned her gaze up to him and seeing the gentle expression on his face broke her down into sobs. John pulled her into his chest and as she cried, Dean told him what happened. Both Dean and Deanna expected John to fly into a rage, so it was to their immense surprise when he simply sighed and held her tighter. When they pulled apart, John gave her a kiss on the cheek before taking his pancakes out of the microwave and tucking in with a satisfied sigh.
"So, do we have our next hunt yet?" Dean asked.
John nodded and Deanna actually felt a sense of relief. She wanted to get away from California and away from Sam. John finished his mouthful of pancakes before continuing.
"I'm taking Deanna to Jericho to investigate some disturbances there. Dean, you'll be going to New Orleans; apparently there are a lot of people that seem to be going crazy from some sort of illness. I have a feeling that it's voodoo but you should investigate it."
Both Dean and Deanna looked up at him in shock.
"We're separating?" Deanna asked.
"You're letting me go alone?" Dean asked.
John chuckled and nodded.
"Yes to both questions. Dean, I know you're more than capable of handling it alone. Deanna, I'd rather let your brother go alone this time so you'll be with me. That okay baby girl?"
Deanna shrugged.
"It's not like I have a choice" she said, but the smile on her face as she said it told John she was just joking.
"Okay it's settled. Deanna and I will leave in a couple of hours. Dean, you can leave whenever."
"Okay dad" they answered in unison.
Dean ended up leaving the same time as his dad and sister. Deanna felt saddened that he was leaving, but she knew he was going to come back so she didn't let her thoughts stay saddened for very long. It didn't take long for them to reach Jericho, and John was quick to settle in and get started on the case. Looking at the pile of evidence in front of her, Deanna let out a sigh, knowing it was going to be a long hunt.
...
Dean groaned as his cell's ringtone woke him from his amazing dream; one where he was actually seeing more action than he had been doing recently. He flipped it open without bothering to check the caller display.
"What" he snapped tiredly.
"Dean" came a small shaking voice.
This caught Dean's attention and he sat up, pressing the cell closer to his ear.
"Deanna? What's wrong?"
"Dad. He vanished. He went out about two weeks ago and hasn't been back yet." She responded.
"What! Why the hell didn't you call me sooner?" Dean snapped.
"Dad told me not to! You know just as well as I do that when he vanishes we have to give it two weeks before acting!" Deanna yelled.
Dean could tell by the way she spoke that she was probably trying to keep herself together and instantly his big brother instincts kicked in. Staying on the cell, he got up and started dressing.
"I hate to say it Dee, but we're going to need Sammy's help on this one."
The line went silent and Dean began to think that his sister had cut him off. However, just as he was about to ask if she was still there, Deanna spoke again.
"Okay. I need to apologise for the other week anyway. How about I meet you at his? I can get there in the morning and stay with him if he'll put up with me that is."
"I'm sure he will. Knowing him, he's forgiven you. He always does."
Deanna let out a small chuckle.
"I guess so. I'll call him in the morning."
"Okay, sure. Well, I'll be there in a few days. You sure you're gonna be okay sis?"
"Yeah. I'm a big girl Deanie"
"Stop calling me that"
Deanna giggled and said goodbye to Dean before cutting the call. She flopped down onto her bed and as she thought of her family she felt more tears well up. Sammy was at college, Dean was in New Orleans and her dad was who-knows-where. At that moment, Deanna felt completely alone and found herself once again wishing that her mother was still alive. At least then they would have just been an average family with none of these problems. She stood up and began to pack her things, mumbling to herself when she initially couldn't find her second favourite jacket and then remembered that she had left it in her dads room, which was locked and she wasn't in the mood to break in. She hadn't stepped foot in his room since he left, deciding it would probably be best is she left it for Dean to handle.
The following morning, Deanna checked out of the motel and spent the morning between trains and buses, the whole time trying to call Sam, who didn't answer a single call. When she reached his apartment and the blonde woman from before answered the door, informing her that Sam was in lectures, she breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he wasn't just ignoring her calls.
"I'm really sorry about before."
The blonde smiled warmly.
"It's no problem. Come on in, I'm sure Sam will be happy to see you"
Deanna thanked her and walked into the apartment, actually looking around this time and taking in the neat and well kept place, so typically Sam.
"I'm Jessica by the way. We didn't get the chance to introduce ourselves last time."
Deanna gave her an apologetic smile that Jessica returned with another of her warm smiles. Deanna decided that she could accept her. It was clear she loved Sam and was taking care of him and Deanna couldn't have asked for much better. At least Sam was happy. As she thought of Sam, the front door opened and she heard someone come in.
"Hey Je..argh! what the hell!"
Deanna jumped up and rushed out into the hallway, closely followed by Jess to discover Sam sprawled out on the floor after tripping over Deanna's bag that she had left by the door. Jess sarted laughing and Deanna smiled before moving over to him and holding her hand out to him.
"Need some help there gigantor?"
Sam's head snapped up and he looked at Deanna in confusion. Deanna just shrugged and laughed.
"Clearly you don't check your voicemail. I left you about ten telling you I was coming to see you. I partly wanted to apologise and also dad gave me a free weekend so I decided to stay with you if that's okay?"
Sam grabbed her hand and let her help him up. The second he was back on his feet, he pulled Deanna into a bear hug, which she returned with just as much enthusiasm.
"You're always welcome here Deanna. I couldn't turn you away."
Deanna smiled and buried her face in her brother's chest, inhaling his scent. To her, he always smelt of cinnamon and books, and she found it just as comforting as Dean and John's scents too.
"Wait...gigantor?" Sam asked.
"Sammy, have you seen yourself? You're HUGE!"
Sam ruffled her hair and suddenly tackled her to the floor, tickling her sides. Deanna squealed and tried to get out of his grips with no success. Jess watched the pair of them with a smile before going into the kitchen to prepare dinner for them all.
