Hey gang, sorry for the wait.
This chapter features a flashback with Millie and John. And just to warn you, a brief mention of infant death in said flashback.
The rest of the breakfast or whatever was pretty much silent, at least on Dean's part. Millie only said that while the pie was good, hers was better. She seemed nice enough, not really like other witches Dean had met but the jury was still out. It wasn't that Dean didn't trust Cas's word about her, it was just hard to go against so many years of believing one thing.
It helped, Dean supposed that Millie had the same eyes as Sam and the same color hair and she was even wearing plaid. It was pink plaid but plaid nonetheless. She wore a pentacle around her neck and had dirt under her fingernails, like someone who worked in a garden. And Dean was fairly certain he could smell booze coming from her coffee cup.
When they finished eating, Millie paid the bill and they went across the street to Dean and Sam's motel room. Now, what in the hell did Dean say? A memory suddenly surged forward, something Dad had said about his mother.
"Dad said you were never there for him."
Millie sighed and sank into a chair "I tried, I really did. And I was always there if he sought me out. But you have to understand, I was a single mother after Henry disappeared and when his money dried up, and my mother died I had to work two jobs. I had to keep a roof over our heads and sometimes we went without electricity so I could keep Johnny from starving and looking like a ragamuffin."
That did make sense but "Didn't you have any other family?"
"No. My father was killed when I was a girl, by a misunderstanding hunter, just by the way. And Henry's parents, his mother died giving birth to him and God only knows where his father disappeared to after our wedding. I never had any siblings and Henry's older brother died of pneumonia as a boy."
Dean was really starting to think this family was cursed. He sat down on his bed "That really sucks."
"Yeah, it kind of does. So where is your brother? I'd like to meet him too."
Oh no. Dean needed to find out way more before he let her meet Sammy. "Not important right now."
Millie raised an eyebrow "You still don't trust me. Okay, what do you wanna know?"
"Dean" Cas began, sitting next to Dean "I assure you that…"
"That's okay, Castiel" Millie said "I understand."
Cas nodded "Very well. Should I leave you two alone?" he asked Dean, looking concerned.
Dean moved closed to him and whispered "I'd rather you stay. Unless you got something more important to do." He really couldn't explain it but he just really needed Cas to be near him right now.
"Nothing is more important than you, Dean." He put a hand on Dean's thigh and kept it there. Normally, Dean would squirm at such displays in front of people, but he just didn't care right now.
Millie smiled at them "May I just say, that you two make a very handsome couple?"
"Thank you" Cas said.
Ah, shit. Were they actually a couple? Dean guessed they must be. They were having a baby together after all and they did have sex regularly. And Dean did miss Cas when he was gone so yeah, he figured that made them a couple. And if he allowed himself to think about it, Dean did have some strong feelings for the angel. And shit, they were really having a baby weren't they? Dean felt panic rising in his throat or was that bile? Okay both, he ran to the bathroom and barfed up his pie. God fucking dammit.
Cas came up behind him and steadied him "What can I do for you Dean?"
Dean moaned and wiped his mouth with toilet paper "Magically clean my mouth; don't have the energy to brush."
"Of course, love" instantly Dean's mouth was minty fresh and Cas helped him to his feet.
Dean leaned against him "I can't keep anything down, Cas. Even water makes me wanna puke."
"You've got a Winchester in there all right" Millie was standing just beyond door way. "I was like that in the early days of being pregnant with your father. Ginger tea helps and crackers. But you gotta keep up that water."
Dean allowed Castiel to guide him back to the bed and groaned "I don't even like water."
"Tough. You have got to stay hydrated. Oh and sniffing peppermint helps to ease the nausea as well."
"She's right" Cas said. "Peppermint is an ancient remedy."
Dean glared at him "I hate peppermint. And ginger, just by the way."
"Your toothpaste isn't peppermint?" Millie asked.
"It's fresh mint. There's a difference." Dean sighed and said to Millie "When you were pregnant with Dad, how long did the morning sickness last?"
"Oh, your father tortured me well into the second trimester."
Dean couldn't fight back a whimper and he buried his face in Cas's shoulder "I'm never letting you be on top again, you dick."
Cas's arm tightened around him "That's fair."
"Damn straight."
Millie giggled "Honestly, you two are so adorable. So, Dean, what do you wanna know before you let me meet Sam?"
Oh right. Throwing up had thrown him off his game. He needed to find out more about this chick. Cas had told him what went down with Millie and Dad back and the day, how she was afraid of Dad getting involved with the Campbells who were known for Samuel's ruthlessness, how Dad had refused her help after Mom died. But there had to be more. "Why didn't you want Dad to be with my mom? I mean, I know what Cas told me but it had to be more than being afraid the Campbells finding out you were a witch."
Millie shrugged and sighed "Not really. Samuel Campbell was a ruthless son of a bitch who killed first and rarely asked questions. I'd heard his wife and daughter were more understanding but still…I still planned on telling John about me and about his father but he moved to Kansas and completely ignored me when I told him I had reservations about the Campbells. Winchesters are notoriously stubborn. I guess Mary convinced him to invite me to their wedding." She dug in her bag "It never really registered with John that was I wasn't looking any older. Thing about kids, they always see their parents the same as their earliest memories. But Mary, oh I could tell she suspected something like a good little huntress. Well, I went to their wedding and" she sighed "oh, it was beautiful. I could tell how much they loved each other."
She opened up the album she'd dug out and passed it over to Dean. It was a picture of Mom and Dad, standing under an arch covered in roses. Dad was wearing a black suit and Mom was in a simple but elegant white dress and holding a bouquet of pink roses. Dean tried to ignore the tears in his eyes.
Millie continued "Mary pulled me aside, she'd figured me out. She, by the way, believed in white witches. She told me she didn't want to be a hunter anymore and she just wanted a normal life. I saw how happy she made John, how good they were for each other. So I decided not to tell John about magic and stuff."
Dean took a shaky breath "And then Mom died."
"Years later but yes." Millie sighed heavily, sadly "I didn't find out what happened till a month after. By then your father thought all magic was evil. You can imagine how our meeting went. He told me to stay away from him and his boys. That was the last time I saw him, well, the last time I let him see me, until…"
Dean finally tore his eyes away from his parents' wedding photo "Until what?"
…
2006
Millie was giving her cauldron a good cleansing when there was a knock on her door. She momentarily froze—the only people who could get passed her wards without setting off the alarm were blood kin.
Who the hell?
"Mom, I know you're in there!"
That was John, the last person she ever expected to see here.
"Mom, I haven't got all night!"
She took a fortifying breath, dried her hands and went to open the door. "John Eric Winchester, I know I taught you politeness. Is that how you knock on someone's door?"
John was more than twenty years older than when they last spoke, with graying in his hair and while still a healthy weight, he was chubby compared to what he was in his thirties.
He glared her "Can I come in?"
"I don't know, can you?"
He rolled his eyes and stepped over the threshold and through the devil's trap under the rug. "May I come in?"
"There's a good boy. You haven't figured out how to kill me have you?"
"That's not why I'm here."
"Then you may as well sit down" she gestured to the couch. "Want something to drink or anything?" at the look on his face, she added "I'm not gonna poison my own son, numbnuts. I have Corona, if you want."
He sat down and nodded "Sure, thanks."
She went back to the kitchen "You still allergic to limes?"
"Allergies don't tend to go away."
She got two bottles of Corona from the fridge and sat next to him on the couch "Sometimes they do." She handed him a bottle and he popped the cap off with what seemed to be his wedding ring. She smiled at him and held out hers.
He sighed and opened it for her "Don't you have a bottle opener?"
"Yeah but it's all the way back in the kitchen and you didn't ask, so…" she trailed off. "So, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, oh child of mine?"
John looked around the room "Why aren't you in the house in Normal? I checked, it's still in your name?"
"Do I look like a woman in her 80s to you? You can live there if you want. How'd you find this place anyway?"
"A psychic."
"I see. So, I take it this isn't a social call?"
John took a gulp of his beer and said "Do you know how to summon a demon?"
She stared at him, eyebrows raised "Beg pardon?"
"A demon killed Mary. I know its name but I don't know how to summon it."
"I don't deal with demons, Johnny."
"It's John and could you find out?"
Millie sighed "Of course I could find out. Why do…never mind, you want to ambush it don't you?"
John nodded.
"All right, we can look through my books. I'm not gonna try and talk you out of it. Mary was a good girl. She made you happy, after all."
John stared into his beer bottle like it was a black hole "Yeah" he said softly.
"Did you get the confirmation I sent, about her memorial stone?"
"Yeah."
"What did you tell the boys?"
"That an uncle set it up."
"Of course you did. They don't have any uncles."
"They almost did." He gave her a hard look.
"John, your brother died of SIDS. Don't look at me like that."
"SIDS?"
"That's what they call crib death these days." She stood up, not wanting to talk about this "So, you hungry? You still like peanut butter cookies with chocolate centers? I made some yesterday 'cos I was bored. You want one?"
"Mom."
She brought the cookie jar to him. It was clay, made in a high school art class "Remember the Mother's Day you gave this me? Why didn't you go into the arts, Johnny? You were so talented. Do you still sculpt?"
"No. Mom, I don't have a lot of time. I've gotta meet up with…"
"Meet up with? Who? The boys? Why don't you tell me how they're doing? They're all grown up now, aren't they?"
John took a breath "Mom."
"Fine." She set the jar on the coffee table "What's the demon's name?"
"Azazel."
…
Dean blinked till his eyes cleared "Dad got the summoning spell from you?"
"I thought he was just going to get his revenge. I didn't know he was gonna make a deal with the bastard."
"Why would you give your own kid something so dangerous?"
"I'm sure you're aware that talking your father out of something was like trying to pull teeth from a crocodile."
Dean had to concede that point. There was another thing he took away from that story and it was certainly more cheerful than the thing about Dad's brother. "Dad took art class?"
…
We'll check back in with Sam in the next chapter. I hope you liked this one, let me know if you did.
TTFN