Reunion

By

Ava Brett

Disclaimer

Sam and Dean Winchester do not belong to me in any shape or form. They belong to the creator as do some of the dialogue used in the below chapter

Tansy and James Winchester do however belong to me so please don't use them without first asking permission from me.

Author Note

So here is the next chapter as promised.

It makes me feel brilliant to know that so many of you don't want Jess to die now because you find yourselves liking what I've done with her character. That's like the ultimate compliment especially when it came to Jess because I always felt she was so 2D in the series, I would watch that first episode and find myself wondering why Sam was actually with her, it made no sense to me so I expanded her. I didn't actually expect anyone to like what I did to her so it's a relief you all do.

It's amazing as well that you all seem to like Tansy and James as well.

I know a lot of people are against OC and I've been the same it the past. Hell if this wasn't a challenge then I wouldn't have even started this story but I did and I soon grew to love the pair of them so it's nice that you guys do as well and have been willing to give Tansy and James a try. I've tried to make Tansy realistic in the way I wanted her to be a good match for Dean and what he needed but still be her own person. She's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and she messes up like everyone else but yep… she loves Dean, what more could anyone ask.

Sam is acting like a douche now but he will improve. I'm not anti Sam in any way, it just seems to me that when something goes wrong he tends to blame others for his mistakes and decisions and deflects with bitchiness sometimes… not that Dean is a saint or anything but yep, this is kinda how I think Sam would react in this situation.

I don't think there's much more to say accept I had to put some protective Dean in and that I am a complete and utter sucker for Daddy Dean!

Overall Summary

A/U – When Sam left for Stanford it never occurred to him that life would go on without him, now his brother is back, needing his help in locating their father but he isn't alone. Sam need to figure out where he stands now and decide once and for all whether he is a Winchester or not.

Chapter Summary

Sam and Dean have a talk at the gas station…

Overall Romance

Dean Winchester / Tansy Winchester (OFC), Sam Winchester / Jessica Moore

Chapter Romances

Dean Winchester / Tansy Winchester (OFC)


Chapter nine

1st November 2005

09.33 AM

Summers Gas station

Highway SR19

California


Dean Winchester's point of view


"Either of you have any objections if I pull over at the next gas station for a bit?" Dean asked, taking his hand off of the steering wheel and rubbing at his tired, dry eyes.

"You need a break?" Sam asked, turning away from the window so he could look at Dean's face, a look of concern growing in his eyes. Dean had missed seeing that look from Sam directed at him. He nodded his head, dropping his hand back to the steering wheel surprised that Sam had spoken.

His brother had fallen silent within minutes of leaving Jess and their apartment behind him. Taking the time to either sleep, stare out at the passing scenery or to read Dean's case file from cover to cover all the while shooting small impressed looks at Dean as though he couldn't believe what he was reading. Dean wasn't sure whether he should be proud of insulted by it.

He had hoped that they might all talk and catch up a bit on what had been happening in their lives since they had last seen each other but Sam was clearly in no sharing mood at the moment so instead the journey had passed in near silence. It didn't help that his wife and brother hadn't hit it off straight away. The pair of them had barely spoken a word to each other instead focusing their comments to Dean when they had something to share. God only knew why though, it wasn't as though they could have developed an actual dislike towards each other in such a short space of time.

"I need another hit of coffee and something sugary to eat like a chocolate bar or maybe some donuts if they have them, you know the good kind that are full of jam" Dean remarked in answer to Sam's question. "Driving for hours on end when you've barely slept a wink isn't exactly a good time Sam" he sighed rolling his shoulders trying to ease the tension in them. He kept his eyes on the road, moving them to the side so he could spot the first place to stop.

"A stop sounds a pretty good idea to me Dean" Tansy said from the backseat. "Jago is beginning to get cranky so I think its time he had a nappy change and a chance to stretch his legs. Hopefully he will tire himself out enough that he'll go to sleep for most of the journey. He didn't get to sleep until later then normal last night."

Dean nodded his head, glancing at the back seat of the car via his mirrors, a small smile coming to his face when he caught the grumpy pout on his son's face.

"He's learnt that look from you" Dean teased, grinning when she lightly smacked him on the back of the head.

"You're lucky I'm not a cruel woman or I'd make you change his nappy for that comment" she threatened, grinning when Dean shuddered at the though. Dean liked to think he was a brave man but some of the things his son had produced in his nappy would have caused a much braver man to buckle.

"No I'm ok here thanks" he answered "Have we got enough food for him Tans? I'm guessing he's had his mid morning snack right?" risking a quick glance at them both over his shoulder before he looked back towards the road.

"He demolished it so quickly that he almost took my hand off with it. I think it's safe to say he takes after you when it comes to food Dean" she teased causing him to laugh.

"Well he is my boy after all" he remarked aware of Sam watching him with a curious look. Dean ignored him making a sound of satisfaction instead when he saw a garage coming up on the side of the road. "This looks good enough for me" he commented, hitting his indicator and pulling off the highway allowing the other cars to pass him. He pulled up by the gasp pump and killed the engine, glancing out of his window at the old wooden structure with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust you to find the one place that time forgot" Tansy remarked in amusement. "I'm surprised they even know what a car looks like"

Dean grinned looking at the shop. It certainly looked ancient as though it was about the crumble any moment. Still as long as they did coffee then Dean was willing to over look the way it looked.

He twisted round in his seat, looking back at his wife and child, his grin growing when he saw the excited smile that came to James's face when he noticed his father looking at him. The small boy reached out for him, chubby little fingers clutching at the air. Dean reached back and grasped the small dimpled hand lightly, shaking it up and down before letting it go and turning back to the front of the car.

"This is the last stop I'm making" he announced "So now might be the time to get out and stretch" he glanced towards Sam who simply shrugged at him.

"Well we're definitely getting out aren't we Jago" she said, Dean grinned when James responded.

"Yes Mummy!"

"Saying that though" Tansy went on, looking away from James to peer at the building. "Maybe I should see whether the toilets here are actually suitable for human use. If we aren't back in five minutes it could mean the fumes have gotten to us in which case we'll be expecting you to come and rescue us Dean right Jago?"

"Daddy to the rescue Mummy" the small boy said excited.

"Always little man" Dean responded.

"I'm good here Dean" Sam said as Tansy flung open her door and climbed out. "If you could get me a coffee though then that would be awesome. I could use the pick me up" Dean nodded turning and staring carefully at Sam's pale face, taking in the bags under his eyes and the general look of tiredness he had before he suddenly grinned.

"Well, well, well Sammy boy if I didn't know better I'd say you were suffering from the mother of all hangovers. Heavy night before I arrived?" he teased. Sam flashed him his bitch face.

"Just for that you're paying for my coffee and I'll be nicking half your donuts if you get them."

"You better be quick then Sammy. Me and Tansy take no prisoners when it comes to food"

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Sam asked with a slight smile before he bent over slightly and reached under his seat, groping around until he found the cardboard box filled with Dean's taped which he kept under the seat out of the way.

Dean shook his head, glancing at the petrol gauge before he undid his seatbelt, pushing the door open and climbing out into the fresh air with a sigh of relief. He lifted his arms to the sky, interlocking his fingers together as he stretched his cramped muscles, giving another sigh of relief when he heard his back give a large satisfying crunch.

He glanced round when he heard Sam open his door wondering whether his brother had changed his mind but instead Sam merely shoved his stupidly long legs out of the car. Dean bent down glancing through the window and rolling his eyes when he saw that Sam was still rummaging through the box on his lap.

"He'll regret that" Dean said quietly to himself.

"You know Dean, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness" Tansy said softly, brushing her hand across his back "Take Jago please" he twisted his head meeting her eyes as he reached out automatically to take James away from Tansy.

"Must be a result of being married to you" he teased, softening the words with a quick kiss before he buried his nose in his son's soft black hair and sniffed, the smell of mint and baby shampoo soothing him. He moved his head round, resting his cheek against the top of James's head as he watched Tansy duck into the driver's seat and take the keys from the ignition. She smiled at him as she went to the back of the car and unlocked the trunk, fishing out the dark blue baby bag which they kept with them at all times. James was nearly potty trained but nether Dean nor Tansy wanted to risk him wetting himself on a long car journey so they tended to keep him in nappies for them.

"Anything you want from inside Tans? Sam's already demanded a coffee" Dean asked as she adjusted the strap of the bag before putting it over her shoulder.

"I've doubt they've got flavoured coffee here so just get me some water and some mints please Dean. I finished my last packet of them ten minutes ago."

Dean nodded his head, dropping a kiss on James's head before he passed him back over to his mother. They shared a quick smile before Dean looked away, turning his attention to filling his second baby up with petrol while Tansy lowered James to the floor and swiftly walked after him as the small boy ran away as fast as his little legs could carry him, shrieking with laughter as he went.

Dean smiled to himself at the sound glancing up in time to see the pair of them disappear around the side of the shop.

He tapped the petrol pump lightly against the side before he pulled it out, placing it back on the stand it had been. It only came to twenty dollars which was better then he had expected it to be. As much as Dean loved and worshipped his car she didn't half guzzle through petrol like there was no tomorrow.

Dean entered the small store looking around him with watchful eyes as he scoped the place out for anything which might have been harmful for his family. It wouldn't have been the first time he had been attacked by Demons while paying for petrol and with the way his luck tended to go he highly doubted whether it would be the last time either.

The place however appeared normal, quiet except for the sound of the fan blowing hot air around the store and the muted sound of some television quiz show. A middle aged man with greying black hair and dark eyes sat on a stool behind the counter, his eyes glued on the screen as he took a sip of coke from the can he was currently cradling in his hand.

The man glanced away from the television screen when Dean entered, looking him up and down carefully before he nodded once to him and turned his attention away, clearly satisfied that Dean wasn't any sort of threat towards him. The thought that someone assumed that Dean was harmless was enough to bring a small grim smile to his face. He wondered how the man would have reacted if he had known that Dean would have been able to kill him in at least a hundred ways and not even break a sweat while doing it. Yet there had been something about him which placed the man at ease enough that he didn't even feel the need to watch it. He found the whole thing bizarre.

Dean shook his head, walking around the store picking up random food before putting them back down. They were roughly two hours away from Jericho so he doubted they needed any major supplies. They could eat in the local diner once they were there.

He bit the inside of his mouth before he shrugged and grabbed a chocolate bar and two large bags of crisps. He took care of Tansy's stuff next before he walked up to the counter and dumped the lot onto the surface. Whistling softly to himself Dean grabbed two clean empty coffee cups from the small tower next to the machine and filled them both up with coffee. He left his black while pouring two creams and one sugar into Sam's cup.

"That everything for ya?" the man drawled in a thick accent, his attention now firmly fixed on Dean as Dean placed the two cups next to his small pile. He glanced down at them before he nodded.

"Just these and the petrol" Dean responded. The man glanced out of the window.

"Black impala yours is it?" the man asked, a look of interest coming to his face as his eyes traced the impala's sleek black body work. Dean followed his gaze, a proud smile coming to his face when he saw how good his baby looked gleaming in the sunlight.

"She's mine alright. Rebuilt her by hand myself" the man nodded his head slowly.

"She's a beaut" he announced sounding impressed "You must be quite the talent boy." The dark eyes flickered over his car again before the man sighed and fished out a calculator from behind the counter, using it to tally the prices up. He glanced at a screen at the side before adding twenty dollars on to the total. He rang it up on the till and looked at Dean. "That's thirty dollars and forty five cents please" he stated.

Dean nodded his head, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket and opened it, a pleased smile coming to his face when he saw that he had the correct change for once. He handed it over to the man who nodded at him.

"Thanks" the man said, passing a brown paper bag to Dean before turning his attention back to the show he was watching, the conversation clearly over in his mind.

Dean rolled his eyes, stuffing the food and Tansy's water into the bag, before he slid the handles over his arms so he could grab the two coffees. He heading out into the sunlight wishing he had remembered to bring his sunglasses as he moved around the car, his attention fixed on his brother.

"Hey" he called out, watching as Sam leaned out of the passenger seat and shot him a questioning look. "You want breakfast to go with your coffee?"

"No thanks Dean, the coffee will do" Sam replied looking away at him. Dean rolled his eyes, glancing back at the area that Tansy and James had gone and wondering whether they would be much longer. "So anyway how exactly did you pay for all this stuff" Sam continued to say, his voice muffled as he withdrew his head back into the car. Dean looked back with a frown. "I mean are you and Dad still running credit card scams or is it now you and your wife who do them together? Must be easier because you can get all those couple cards and stuff"

Dean closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to count to ten as he reminded himself that Sam had the tendency of turning into a little bitch when he found himself faced with something he didn't understand or wasn't quite comfortable with. Clearly Sam had decided to punish Dean for getting on with his life by making sarcastic comments directed at him and his wife. It was typical of Sam to try and shift the blame onto others for his own mistakes.

"Yeah well hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career is it Sam" Dean pointed out once he was sure his voice was steady enough not to reveal his anger. He placed the two coffee cups on the petrol pump before he opened the trunk in and threw the bag of food into it. He fished out Tansy's stuff and a chocolate bar for himself before he slammed the lid down, adjusting everything so he could pick the coffees up. He walked around the car knocking on the window and waited impatiently for Sam to lean across the seat and open the driver's door for him.

Dean got in, passing the coffee to Sam who took it from him, immediately taking a sip and shooting Dean a surprised look; clearly he hadn't expected Dean to remember the way he took his coffee.

"Thanks for this Dean" the younger boy remarked settling back in his chair with a sigh as his eyes drifted shut. Dean glanced over at him.

"Just so you know Sam" he remarked coldly attracting Sam's attention. "If you ever speak about my wife that way again I'll knock you the fuck out brother or no brother understood?"

Sam blinked at him.

"Dean I-"he began but Dean interrupted him.

"I get you're pissed off because you weren't at the wedding but the only person you have to blame for that is your self. It's not my fault and it certainly isn't Tansy's so I don't want to hear any of your bitchy bullshit directed at her understood because you have no idea what you're even talking about. I paid for all of this is cash because shocking as it might be for you to believe me and Tansy don't do credit card fraud together because breaking the law isn't exactly what we do for foreplay. So next time you open your mouth to make a comment perhaps you should just think and shut it."

There was a moment's silence in the car before his brother spoke again.

"You and Dad still do it though" Sam pressed. Dean shrugged his shoulder throwing the mint and water on the back seat before he took a sip of his coffee making a hum on appreciation in the back of his throat. The guy inside might have been an idiot but at least he provided decent coffee.

"Only for when we're hunting otherwise we tend to earn money the old fashioned way"

"Wait you're telling me that you actually have some sort of job?" Sam asked a look of sheer disbelief crossing his face.

"Don't sound so surprised Sam" Dean replied shortly. "There's a lot about me you don't know anymore, you didn't think you were the only one who grew up and changed in the time we were apart did you?" he asked shaking his head. "Besides, all we do is apply for the things, its not out fault if they send out the cards without doing the proper checks first"

"Right" Sam said slowly "And tell me Dean, what names did you out on your latest application form?" Dean watched from the corner of his eyes as Sam pulled his legs back into the car, closing the door behind him before he slid his seatbelt into place making it clear that he was ready to hit the road again.

"Err" Dean said, frowning slightly as he tried to remember. He fished out his wallet and opened it, pulling out his latest credit card "I'm Hector Aframian and Dad is now known as Burt Aframian in case you wanted to know" he said with a grin, this was definitely the last time that Dean was going allow his Dad to pick the names they used.

"And what about that one?" Sam asked reaching over and tapping his finger against the other credit card in Dean's wallet. Dean glanced down at it.

"That one says Dean Adams" he replied, closing his wallet and stuffing it back into his coat pocket "Adams was Tansy's last name before she married me so we each have one with that name which we used when it come to James. Winchester isn't exactly safe to use when it comes to this sort of thing" Dean remarked.

"So your son is called James Adams?" Sam asked. Dean glared at him.

"He's a Winchester and so is Tansy" he snapped "Adams is just used on the credit card Sam"

Sam stared at him for a moment before he shrugged turning his attention back to the box he was still holding in his lap.

"I swear to god man you have got to update your tape collection" he said changing the subject.

"Why?" Dean asked in confusion, dropping his gaze down to the tapes, they all looked fine to him and last time he had checked they all still worked.

"Well for one Dean they're cassette tapes and two" Sam held up some of the tape in his hand "Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Metallica. It's the greatest hits of mullet rock all in one little box"

Dean reached across and snatched one of the tapes from his brother, a smile coming to his face when he noticed that Tansy was heading back to the car with James in her arms. A smile on her face as she listened to whatever it was James was saying to her. He waited until she had thrown the baby bag back into the trunk and got into the back seat, strapping James into her seat.

She glanced up at them shooting them a questioning look.

"Have I missed something?" she asked curiously, picking up her bottle and unscrewing the top, her eyes fixed on Dean. Dean grinned at her.

"You're just in time Tans to hear me explain to Sammy boy here was the Winchester house rules are" he stated as he pushed the tape in his hand into the tape player.

"He insulted your music didn't he?" she asked shaking her head as she handed the keys over to Dean. "You never insult the music" Sam glanced back at her before he looked at Dean.

"I'm sorry, the Winchester house rules, I don't remember any house rules"

"That's because Sammy you weren't around. These are the Dean Winchester branch of the family rules"

"He means our rules" Tansy remarked "Him, me and little man here"

"Exactly the Dean Winchester branch" Dean said "And rule number one is that the driver picks the music and shotgun shuts his cake hole"

Dean shot Sam a pointed smile before he dropped the empty cassette holder back into the box. He started the engine grinning widely at the way his baby purred.

"You know Sammy is a chubby twelve years old" Sam said sullenly over the roar of the engine. "It's just Sam now okay?" he stated. Dean hit the volume button for the music; glancing back at James to make sure the music wasn't too loud for him. He grinned when he noticed that his son had automatically started to head bop to the music.

"Sorry I can't hear you, the music is too loud Sammy" he answered with a laugh as he took another sip of coffee before driving away from the gas station.

Jericho here they came.


Author Note

So here's the next chapter!

I'll be updating next weekend. I'm exhausted after all the stories I've updated this weekend, I think I'm gonna need a week off to recover from it all!

Thanks for taking the time to read!