Hello, so it's been decided that Mary will go to school and so she does. This is a little thing that happened one day when she got invited to her first ever birthday party. It's a little less Mary and a little more Dean in the chapter because if anybody has read my works before would notice that I have some trouble handling more than two characters in one scene. God knows how I became a scriptwriter.

Dean finishes dressing Mary up for her party. She is dressed in a little lilac dress that Sam had given her for her last birthday. It is a rare piece of vanity the Winchesters could afford to give her and it is the only dress she owns. With their lifestyle, even a toddler has to be dressed in practical clothes like shirts and jeans. She has a skirt or two that Dean bought for her in department stores but not much else. No pink fluffy tutus, no fairy wings.

Dean has finally perfected the art of braiding hair and expertly ties two small plaits from her hairline to the centre of the back of her head, leaving the rest of her long, blond curls free to dance in the spring breeze. This is Mary's first birthday party and she's excited to play with her new friends from preschool without a teacher watching over them.

They arrive at the house, already decked out in colourful balloons and streamers. Kiddy songs play from the speakers placed all over the backyard and travel to the front door. Dean wonders if the doorbell can be heard as Sam pushes the button for the third time. The mother answers the door and Dean's breath is taken. It isn't taken by her beauty, well there's that, but mainly because of familiarity. The mother's long, dark hair veils her face from Dean as she bends to greet Mary and to take the large wrapped gift from her small arms.

She stands up and looks at Sam and Dean with a small frown when she sees Dean before regaining her smile. "You look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?" She asks.

Sam clears his throat and Dean wakes up from his trance. He shakes his head and clears his throat, "Um, no I don't think so. Maybe you saw me during pick up time."

"Oh," the lady says, sounding a little bit disappointed. "Well, I'm Lisa, thank you so much for coming for little Jean's birthday party. Come in, there's food for the adults too."

The Winchesters file in, taking up the hallway with their large builds. Mary is already lost among the crowd of children out in the backyard. Lisa shows them to the large living room and tells them to make themselves at home. She offers to get them some beer and goes off.

Sam looks at Dean, "Did you know that she lives here?"

Dean shakes his head. "No, no I don't. I didn't of her and Ben since that night."

"She hasn't aged one bit, has she?" Sam says in a low voice.

Dean's jaw hardens, "Shut your trap, Sammy."

Sam obeys and Lisa returns with two bottles of beer for them. A tall boy with an expressionless face trails behind her. He leans against the wall and sticks his hands in his jean's pockets. He wears clothing similar to Sam and Dean's, layers of t-shirts and plaid with faded boot cut jeans. He cocks his head when he sees the Winchesters, also trying to remember why they look familiar. Dean couldn't help but stare at the boy so grown up and different. Could it be?

"Here," Lisa hands them the cold beers. "Uh, this is my son, Ben," she introduces before looking at Ben. "Ben, please take care of our guests. I have to look after your sister's party." With that she disappears again.

Ben awkwardly asks, "Uh do you guys want any food?"

Both Sam and Dean shake their heads, saying that they're good. Ben nods his head and sits down in the seat opposite them. He makes no effort to talk to the two men or even the other parents sitting there. He just fishes out his phone and taps on it screen.

Sam and Dean look at each other, feeling very out of place. They never really fit into parties very well. They see the other parents talking and gossiping among each other. Most of them are mothers, and the few men are grouped together laughing away at something unknown. One of the men sees them and excuses himself from the group to greet them.

"Hi, I'm Fred. Nice to meet you," he says, holding his hand out for Dean then Sam. He sees Ben typing on his phone. "I see you've met my son."

Ben looks up and says sternly, "You're not my Dad." He looks back at his phone and adds, "I don't have a dad."

Fred pulls a face, "Well, stepson. I married Lisa a few years back then we had our little daughter, Jean. Can you believe she's already 5? Children grow up so fast."

Sam and Dean nod in agreement, they themselves can still remember when Mary could barely walk or talk, now she's running all over the place and chattering away non-stop. "Yeah they grow up so fast," Dean says.

Fred looks at Ben and asks, "Benjamin, please put down your phone." He looks at Sam and Dean and shakes his head sadly before returning to his group of friends.

"You don't like Fred very much, do you?" Dean asks Ben. "Or are you like this all the time?"

Ben looks at Dean with a glare so fierce, Dean gets a little startled. "Fred is annoying," he replies. He studies Dean a little while longer before saying, "I know who you are."

"What?" Dean asks, shocked. Sam holds his breath as well.

"You were that man who hit us years ago," Ben says. "I remember now. You told me to take care of my mom and then you took off. It was so long ago."

"Ah, yes," Dean replies. He hears Sam breathe a sigh a relief beside him and both men relax, knowing that Cas's powers have not failed yet. "I'm so sorry about that. I didn't think you'd remember. I remember you were a lot… shorter back then." Dean falters when Ben looks at him with an odd expression. He stutters, "I mean, you- you've grown."

Sam stifles a chuckle and Dean jabs him with his elbow.

"So, how's your mother?" Dean asks.

"She's okay," Ben shrugs. "I mean, she's got Fred and everything. I just pretend to like him in front of her."

"Why do you hate him so much?" Sam inquires.

"I don't know," Ben shrugs again. "It just doesn't feel right. We don't mix. He can't stand my clothes or my music and I can't stand his. I mean, who can hate Freddie Mercury? He's like the best singer in the world and the Queen is legendary. After ACDC, of course, I love ACDC. They're my favourite band. "

Dean smiles, "Really? You like the classic rock pieces, huh? Not for nothing, but I listen to that growing up and riding in the car with my Dad."

Ben lets a half smile. "It's cool," he shrugs.

"Oh, hey. How old are you?" Dean asks. Sam sits back and lets Dean reunite with the glimpse of a normal life he once had.

"I'm nineteen," Ben replies. "I'm leaving for Uni soon. I'm sure gonna miss Mum and Jean, though. Don't get me wrong, I don't really like Fred but Jean's my little sister too, even though we have different fathers. I love the little girl. She's the only thing I like coming from Fred."

Sam joins the other men who are clearly nearing their alcohol limits, leaving Dean to talk to Ben alone. Ben may not have a single happy memory of Dean but Dean remembers him and Sam can see the old wound opening up inside him.

"I don't think Fred deserves to be my Dad," Ben speaks up after a comfortable silence feel between them. "I always wanted a father who would be a hero, strong and brave. I wanted a Dad who I can rely on. I always thought Dads were supposed to teach you things and show you cool stuff. Fred just goes to his 9 to 5 office job and comes back for dinner and watches the news. He lets me do whatever I want because he wants to gain Mom's favour and make me like him. Sometimes I abuse it for fun. The only thing he ever goes against is my music taste."

"You shouldn't do that," Dean frowns. "You may not like the man, but face it, he's gonna be here for some time. You might as well get used to it. And don't get mixed up in bad things, you hear me? You're gonna go down a road that you can't turn back on."

"Geez," Ben scoffs. "You're not my dad."

"I mean it, boy," Dean says sternly.

Ben sees Dean's scary expression and gulps, nodding his head. It takes him a while before he could open his mouth again. "I remember Mom had another boyfriend once," Ben says. "I don't remember his name or even his face but I liked him and I remember that I didn't want him to go but he did anyway. We were family, him, Mom, and I. The best thing I have ever had for a father." Ben chuckles, "I remember he came to my eighth birthday and taught me to kick some bullies' asses. He was cool and I could've called him Dad if he stayed longer."

Dean looks at him stunned, "Does your mother talk about him?"

"Well she has Fred so obviously not. But even before that, she told me that she didn't have a boyfriend and that I was just imagining things. I think she just wants to forget him," Ben replies. "I never raised the topic since that time she screamed at me to stop asking her about him."

The party has ended, Mary comes to Dean with a paper bag of goodies in hand and her hair all messed up from all the playing and running around. She waves goodbye to all the other children leaving hand in hand with their parents.

"So did you have fun?" Dean asks her.

Mary nods, "I had so much fun. I like parties and I like Jean. Can I stay a while longer?"

Dean laughs, "I think Jean has a lot to clean up after the party and I don't think you'll be much help."

"Aww," Mary whines. "I can help her clean up. Please let me stay longer," she begs.

"I'd love to, honey," Dean replies. "But Uncle Sam is feeling a bit tired from all this fun, he wants to go home," Dean fibs. "Right, Sammy?" He looks at Sam, begging him to go with the flow. Although it's nice to see Lisa and Ben again, the longer he stays, the harder it is to say goodbye.

Sam understands and nods his head, "Yeah, I'm so tired. I could sleep for a hundred years."

Mary resigns and says, "Okay."

"Good girl," Dean kisses her on the cheek. He gets up and says, "Let's go."

Lisa, Fred and Ben see them to the door. "Thanks for coming over," Lisa says again. "I'm so sorry I could not talk to you today, it's been pretty hectic."

"It's fine, really," Sam dismisses. "Um, have a good day," he shakes Fred's hand and Dean follows suit.

When they get into the car and Mary dozes off from exhaustion, Dean mutters to Sam, "When we get back to the motel, pack your bags. We're leaving town."

Sam doesn't resist, seeing the hard line on Dean's jaw. He remembers that last time Dean looked like that. He told Sam to never talk about Lisa and Ben ever again. He hadn't but the past does have its way of catching up.

Yeah, there is literally no Sam or Mary in this. I just wanted a reunion for Dean, even though it probably hurts him like hell. I don't know... As a writer, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoy writing the deaths of a character. Mainly because there is simply nothing else you can do once they're dead and you wouldn't have things like this popping up as you go along. Also, most of the main characters are a little piece of me, and I like having Dean's (or any other of my favourite characters) love and attention. Who wouldn't? Maybe it's also nice to make up somebody crying over losing you, because you'll never know if anybody would cry for you in real life because you're dead, to be put frankly. Enough of the emo stuff, I hope you have a nice day and you keep those suggestions coming. :) JC