Epilogue
Apple Pie Life.
Reaching his hand out for the obnoxious alarm clock beside him, Dean clicked it off, reading the time. Seven am. He wished he could sleep in for just a few extra hours, but he had to get up and get ready. He kicked back the covers, brushing the sleep from his eyes, before he struggled to get up. He found his way to the bathroom first, checking the salt at the window, before he turned towards the mirror. He brushed his thumb across the stubble on his jaw line, looking at the black circles beneath his eyes and his pillow creased hair.
"I hate Monday's."
Dean took a quick shave, getting close enough to his skin to shred it with his busted old razor. He would buy a new one, but his money seemed to be going in all directions at the moment. He had bills to pay at the end of the week. A kid that needed new trainers. Food that didn't consist of greasy burgers or freshly baked pie and a frigging dog. Why he agreed to take that thing in, he had no idea.
The man jumped in the shower after brushing his teeth, barely having enough time to soap up, before his second alarm started beeping. He hated schedules, but he had to get a move on. He rushed to get dressed, stumbling right over the dog outside his bedroom door.
"You have a perfectly good bed downstairs." He shouted at the thing, rushing to the bedroom down the hall. He gave the door a quick tap with his knuckles, not surprised to see Madison still sleeping in. "C'mon, Madi." He swept the curtains open, flooding light into the room. "Wakey, wakey." He tapped the end of her bed, watching her rolling away from the light to try and get just a few more minutes. "Madi, we gotta get a move on. C'mon, it's Monday."
"Son of..." The child muttered, hiding her eyes from the light, not ready to face the world yet.
"Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. If you're not ready by then, it's going in the trash." Dean threatened her, tripping over some clothes left beside her bed. He sighed as he bent down to scoop them up, throwing them in the laundry hamper that was literally a step away from where she left them.
Hurrying down the stairs, Dean checked the lock on the front door, making sure his devil's traps beneath the carpets hadn't been disturbed, before he made his way through to the kitchen. He grabbed the dog's dish from the floor, taking a quick look through the tins of food, before he selected the grilled chicken in gravy.
"You better enjoy this. You eat better than I do." He set the bowl down, ruffling his hand through the dog's fur. "Lucky, son of a bitch." He turned towards the fridge, realising he hadn't shopped yet. At least three of the shelves were empty, besides the mouldy sandwich Madison had thrown in there a few weeks ago and the smallest amount of milk left in the bottle. "Madison!" He shouted, kicking the fridge door shut with his frustration. "Hurry up!" He made his way towards the stairs to see if she was up yet, but he couldn't hear any movement.
Just as he was about to storm up them to wake her up again, there was a knock at the door behind him.
"Great, that's all I need." Dean turned to open it.
Before he even got hold of the latch, the dog came barrelling out of the kitchen, giving out a territorial bark as he charged for the door. He had learned to trust the dog's instincts, so he grabbed for his stashed gun in the cabinet beside the door, making sure it was loaded, before he reached for the latch to open it.
"Dean... whoa," The woman jumped back as the dog lunged forwards. She was grateful for Dean's lightening reflexes, grabbing the collar of the dog before he even passed the threshold. "Well, someone's in a bad mood this morning. Hi, Lucky." She spoke to the dog, lifting her gaze to Dean's. "Car pool." She reminded him, seeing the confusion on his face. "It's your day to take the kids."
Dean peered around the woman, seeing the kids stood in his driveway. He removed the gun from behind the door, quickly tucking it into the waistband of his jeans. "Right, uh... give me a minute." He closed the door on her, leading the dog back to the kitchen. "Son of a bitch." He sighed, stashing the gun in the cutlery drawer. He made a quick sweep of the downstairs to make sure there weren't any other weapons out, before he pulled open the front door again.
"Are you feeling okay, Dean?" The woman in her late thirties gave him a suspicious look. She was the definition of a soccer Mom to him. She drove the car, had the flat tire around her stomach and always stuck her nose into everyone else's business.
"I'm fine." He nodded, ushering the kids inside. "You're picking them up, right?"
"Either me or my husband." She nodded, making her ridiculously large earrings jangle. "See yah, Dean. Bye, kids. Be good." She waved off her children, waddling across the street to her own car. She had three children of her own, making her insane in Dean's books. The youngest was nearly two, so she had to drive him off to day care first, leaving Dean with Trixie and Basil.
Not dogs, but they certainly sounded like dogs names when he was first introduced to them.
"Go in there." Dean motioned them through to the front room. He had a sofa and a coffee table, but other than that, the room was pretty empty. He put the only television set they owned in his room to help him sleep, so the kids just had to sit and wait. "I'll be right back." He left them alone a moment, taking the stairs two at a time back to Madison's bedroom. He gave the door another knock, finding her right where he left her. "Madison, c'mon. We have to get moving." He resorted to gently shaking her this time.
"I'm tired." She groaned, struggling to sit up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as Dean fetched her some clothes from her wardrobe, catching them as he threw them at her chest. "I don't like this skirt."
"Tough, you're wearing it." He threw a cardigan at her too, making his way to the door. "We don't have time for breakfast anymore. Thanks for reminding me I'm doing the car pool today." He remarked. "Get dressed. We're leaving in two minutes."
Madison muttered something under her breath as he left, quickly examining the clothes he had given her. She really didn't like the skirt, but she pulled it on anyway, along with the t-shirt and cardigan he had given her. She grabbed her toothbrush and school backpack on her way out the door, hurrying down the stairs after him, before he started shouting her name again.
When they parted ways with Sam a few months ago, Dean left his beloved Impala in his younger brother's hands, knowing her place was on the road hunting evil things. Unfortunately, that meant he had to find himself a new car. Instead of going the soccer Mom route, he picked a four wheel drive SUV truck. There was plenty of space for four people and he didn't feel like a total loser driving it around.
Dean assisted the neighbours kids into the back of the car first, grabbing his overalls he needed for work, along with the dog, before he lifted Madison into the front passenger seat. The school was only a few blocks away, but they arrived just after the bell rang.
Madison held her hand out to him before she got out, waiting expectantly for something. "Lunch money." She reminded him.
"Oh." Dean rifled through his pockets, finding his wallet. He gave the money grabber a few bills, giving her a quick hug. "Hey, Madi." He wound down the window as soon as she was out. "You got everything?"
Madison tapped her backpack, making sure she had her supplies. She gave the man a nod, before she hurried into the school building after the other kids.
Dean stayed to make sure she actually made it inside, before he drove off in the other direction for work. He let the dog out of the back, unlocking the garage door to his place of work. A mechanic. He was the only mechanic in their small town, so he got a lot of business. He liked working solo at the moment, but if business kept up like this, he'd have to hire someone to give him a hand.
Before he could get started on work, Dean had to inspect his safety measures. The salt lines weren't broken and the devils trap was undisturbed, but the back door was unlocked. He knew he locked it. He remembered doing it.
Dean pulled the gun from his waistband, pulling the door open slowly. He examined the lock, noticing distinct scratch marks around the keyhole, indicating that someone had picked their way inside. The place was empty, so he stepped outside into the back alley, smiling to himself as he saw a familiar object.
"Hey, baby." He ran his hand across it's smooth black surface, groaning as he noticed the damage to her door. "Oh baby, what's he done to you?" He knelt down, brushing his fingertips across the damage to her paintwork.
But that wasn't even the worst part.
Dean made his way round to the back, feeling his heart sinking as he saw how busted she was. It looked as though someone had purposely taken a tire iron to it or something. He clutched the handle of the gun, muttering a death threat to whoever did this to her, before his brother appeared, holding his ribs.
"Sammy." He breathed a sigh of relief. He moved straight in to hug his long lost brother, feeling him flinch and groan after a moment. "What the hell happened to you?" He pulled back to check on him. "I've got supplies inside."
"Thanks." Sam put his arm around his brother's shoulder, letting him lead him inside. "We thought it was a Wendigo."
"We?" Dean assisted him into a chair, quickly routing through his cupboards for his first aid kit. "You're hunting with someone?"
"Bobby." Sam nodded, pulling his shirt away from his chest. It stung like hell as the blood from his wound had stuck itself to his shirt while he was driving, but it didn't look as bad as it felt. "There were reports of multiple bear attacks out in Colorado. That's where you and I killed our first Wendigo, so we figured that it had to be another one. But it was worse."
"Did you gank it?" He coated the cloth in his hands with alcohol, before he started cleaning the wound on his brother's chest. "Sorry." He noticed him wince.
"Bobby figured out how to kill it. Silver knife through the heart. But then we found more." Sam gritted his teeth together, tilting his head back against the chair. He watched his brother expertly cleaning the wound, before he got out a thread and needle to sow him up. "It reproduces by biting people. Turns out that all the people that got bit, turned into one of them and started slaughtering their own families. It hatched right out of the hosts."
Dean immediately took a step back from him, looking a little worried.
"It's a scratch, Dean. From its claws. Only the bites turn people into them." He assured him, finally looking around the garage he was in. "Nice place. Is it all yours?"
"Yeah, the guy who owned it before retired. He gave me a good deal, but he comes by to check on me all the time. Don't change the subject." Dean realised what he did, making his first stitch. "One of these things scratched you. You killed the son of a bitch, right? Where's Bobby? Why didn't he fix you up?"
"Rufus called him. More of these things were popping up all over Kansas. I told him to go. One of these can turn into ten over night." Sam tried to remain as still as possible, but it was very hard to do with a needle being threaded through his skin. "I'm sorry, one of them got to your car."
"I noticed." Dean rolled his eyes, cutting off the last bit of thread. "That should hold." He grabbed some bandages, handing his brother the rest of the alcohol bottle to dull the pain a little. "So you managed to kill all these things here?"
"Yeah, we burnt their bodies out in the woods. No one else reported any bites and I knew you were nearby, so I figured I'd come here to find some supplies. I just got the lock open when I heard a car pull up. I didn't know if it was you at first." He glanced towards the dog sat in the doorway and the SUV parked on the road. "What the hell is that thing you're driving anyway?"
"It's better than a minivan." Dean secured the bandage into place, packing up his kit.
Sam quickly dropped his shirt into place, motioning his brother's attention towards the old man hobbling into the building.
"Fred." He called out the nosy old man's name, quickly hiding the blood soaked cloth under the work bench. He shoved the gun into the waistband of his jeans, quickly wiping his fingers down his shirt, going to greet the man. "Morning, Fred. Oh, this is my brother, Sam." He motioned towards the man on the chair. "He's just visiting from out of town. Sam, this is Fred, the guy who built this place up from the ground."
"Hello, sir." Sam struggled to sit up straight, hoping he wouldn't see the blood soaking through his shirt. With the thick framed glasses he had pressed against his face though, he was surprised he could see anything at all.
Sam sat patiently as his brother talked over the business with him, smiling to himself as he really was in his element in a place like this.
When the nosy old man finally decided to leave, Dean turned back to his brother, giving him a slight smile. "He still kinda owns the place."
"What was the good deal he gave you then?" Sam gave him a confused look.
"Working at this place and his son's old house. He's alright." Dean popped the hood of the nearest car, getting back to work before his boss docked his wages again. "His son was killed in a motorcycle accident three years ago. He was supposed to take on the business once Fred retired." He straightened up, looking at the expression on his brother's face. "His wife makes the most amazing pie I've ever tested. It is to die for."
Sam smirked, shaking his head at his brother. "You've really built a life for yourself here, Dean."
"It's alright." Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Madi likes it, I guess. She got into a few fights at school our first few weeks. But she seems alright now."
"So did we." His brother reminded him. "Remember what it was like, always having to start a new school being the outsider. The other kids always picked up on that. You bailed me out of more fights than I can remember."
"That's because I've always got your back, Sammy."
Sam smiled back at his brother, greeting the dog as he finally made his way over to him. He was surprised his brother would actually agree to having a dog, but at least it wasn't a little Jack Russell or something. He managed to convince Madison to go for something more ferocious looking at the shelter, getting away with an all black German Shepherd, rather than the golden retriever she had her eye on.
He still had to name it Lucky, but at least he got a guard dog out of the deal.
"Hey." Dean handed him a spare wrench. "Are you sticking around?" He motioned over his shoulder to the other cars that needed working on.
"What's in it for me?"
"Dinner." Dean suggested the first thing that came to his mind. "And I won't kill you for letting my baby get so messed up. We've got a spare room back at the house if you want somewhere to crash too. You'll need a few days to get back on your feet after something like that."
Sam looked at the wrench in his hands for moment, before he pushed himself to his feet. "Okay. I'll stay for a few days. At least to see how you and Madi are getting on." He agreed with him, getting to work on the other car. He wasn't quite as good as his brother, but their father had taught them both the basics, just in case anything ever happened to them on the road.
By the end of his usual shift, Dean and Sam had at least three of the four cars ready for the owners to pick up. He didn't want to leave his baby out in the alley all night, so he brought her into the shop, locking her up tight, before he covered her with a sheet of tarp.
Sam watched from the street as his brother tucked the car up for the night, smiling to himself as he hadn't changed a bit. He climbed into the passenger seat of Dean's SUV once he had locked the place up for the night, pushing back the dog as he tried to lean through the seats to lick him.
"Madi make that for you?" He noticed a multi coloured beaded bracelet dangling from the rear view mirror.
"Yeah. A Matching necklace too." Dean grinned at him, pulling his seatbelt on over his shoulder. He glanced at his younger brother, glaring at him until he did the same. "Did you get everything you need from the car?"
Sam pointed over his shoulder to his duffel on the back seat. He was interested to see where Dean had been living during these past few months away from him. He wasn't expecting the place to look so suburban, but it reminded him a little of the pictures he had seen of their real home back in Lawrence, Kansas.
It even had the large deciduous tree outside, sending a chill down his spine.
Sam waited for Dean to pull up in the driveway, before he attempted to get out. He was suddenly forced back by something, reminding himself that he had been forced to wear a seatbelt for the first time in... ever. He quickly unstrapped it, grabbing his bag from the back, while he looked up at the house.
"Lucky." Dean whistled, letting the dog out of the car. He made his way towards the front door, using his key to let Sam inside. "Make yourself at home. I'll be right back." He motioned across the street.
Sam gave him a nod, ushering the dog inside with him. He clicked the hallway light on, looking around at the empty hallway. There was a small coat hanging up beside the door. A pair of biker boots stood beneath it, but other than that, the hallway was pretty spotless.
He followed the dog into the front room, clicking the light on in there. The wallpaper was peeling a little around the edges and the only furniture inside was a coffee table and a torn up leather sofa. He turned on his heels, inspecting the kitchen next. There was a little more sign of life in there, but most of the cupboards were empty and the fridge didn't actually contain any edible food.
So far not impressed.
Sam turned towards the stairs, finding a bathroom equipped with all the basics, relieved that they at least had toilet paper. He found a room beside that, guessing that it was Madison's by the theme. Unlike the rest of the house, her room had been painted in a soft lilac colour. She had a wardrobe stocked full of clothes against the wall, a desk covered with beads, crayons and drawings. He noticed a photograph set on top of it, picking it up to take a closer look.
Madison was on the school soccer team. She was dressed in the school soccer uniform, with her left foot balancing on a soccer ball. Behind her was a proud looking father, only it was his brother. He didn't recognise him at first as he looked so plain and normal. He looked just like the average Joe kinda guy. The guy he had wanted to be his whole life.
Sam set down the photo, turning towards the other side of the room. Her bedside table was stacked with story books, making him wonder if his brother actually read to her at night. They were fairytales too, not the monster books or hunter diaries that they grew up reading.
"Sam!" He heard his brother's voice echoing through the house.
Sam took a quick peek at the other two rooms, guessing the biggest was Dean's. It wasn't as messy as he thought it would be, but he had a devil's trap on the floor, television set angled towards the bed and a knife under his pillow.
He hurried down the stairs before Dean came looking for him, smiling as he found the man knelt down at the foot of the stairs with the little girl. He unzipped the green jacket she was wearing, listening to her excitedly talking about her day, just like any normal kid after a day out.
"Sam!" She excitedly called out his name.
"Hey, Madi." He made it to the bottom of the stairs, before she jumped into his arms. "I've missed you too. You look taller."
"I'm nine next month." Madison proudly stated.
"Nine." Sam grinned widely, lowering her to the floor. "Wow, that's pretty cool. One step closer to ten. Are you doing anything for your birthday?"
"Dean said we can go rock climbing."
"Rock climbing." He glanced at his brother, smirking as he knew full well that his big brother was afraid of heights. "That should be fun."
"It's not what you think." Dean hung their jackets up. "It's one of those centres. It's all indoors and the walls don't go that high. She missed the school trip there, so I said that... maybe, we could do it for her birthday. Maybe." He repeated himself, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I'm gonna order dinner. Any preference?"
"Pizza!" Madison declared, taking hold of Sam's hand. "Can I show you my room, Sam?"
"Sure." Sam watched his brother going through the fast food menus tacked to the fridge, before he followed the child up the stairs to her room. She definitely seemed to be thriving a lot better in this environment away from the hunter business, but he was still worried that Dean wasn't cut out for this fatherhood gig.
He took a quick tour of Madison's bedroom with her, before she crashed against the bed to show him the new video game that Dean had bought for her.
"Hey." Sam made his way downstairs after an hour or so, finding his brother cutting up the pizza with a pair of scissors. "The place looks good, Dean."
"But?" Dean sensed it coming, ditching the scissors in the sink, before he grabbed them some plates. "C'mon Sammy, speak your mind. I sense a lecture coming anyway. It's written all over your face, so just get it over with, will yah?" He pulled open the cutlery drawer, grabbing them some knives and forks, rather than eating with their fingers like they were used to.
"This place looks great." Sam took a seat at the table in the middle of the kitchen. "But it's not exactly the apple pie life that you wanted. You're still eating pizza out of a box, Dean."
"It's not every night, Sam. You just caught us on an off day. I can cook and everything now." He glanced up as Madison came in the room. "Hey Madi, tell Sam I can cook."
"Not well." Madison took a seat beside, Sam with the handheld video game console in her hands.
Sam chuckled softly, grabbing the plate his brother was offering to him. "Thanks. And the business, are you gonna suck up to that old guy all your life?"
"He gave us the house, Sam." Dean set a plate down in front of Madison, snatching up the game console from her hands. She gave out a groan, reluctantly taking the cutlery off his hands. "We only have to pay half the utilities and his wife makes us free meals every weekend, you can't get better than that. If that means I have to put up with him stopping by to inspect my work every day, I don't care. Is that why you came here? To see how I was screwing this up." He set the pizza box in the middle of the table, finally taking his own seat.
"No." Sam assured him, letting Madison grab the first slice. "It's a good start."
"What are you social services or something?" Dean rolled his eyes, handing out the napkins, before he grabbed himself a slice of pizza. "She's got a bed to sleep in. Clean clothes, warm water, fresh towels and almost three meals a day. Today just happens to be an off day. Happy now?"
"If you two are gonna fight, can I eat in my room?" Madison asked.
"No." Dean barked with a mouthful of pizza. "Eat your pizza."
Madison sighed softly, resting her elbow against the table.
"I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry, Dean." Sam made the first move, lifting his pizza up by the crust. He caught Madison looking at him a moment, before she decided to do the same, slopping the pizza sauce down her chin. He chuckled softly, grabbing her napkin for her before a pepperoni slice landed in her lap.
"One day with her and you're teaching her bad manners." Dean rolled his eyes at him.
After dinner, Dean handled the dishes, while Sam crashed on the sofa with Madison, playing her game with her. The more time he spent with her, the more he realised how different she was to that child that they first discovered nearly a year ago. He never would have pictured this outcome when they first found her, but it was certainly better than the alternative.
"Madi's all tucked up for the night." Sam stepped off the stairs, joining his brother in the front room. "She said can you charge this for her." He handed over the handheld console to Dean.
"I can barely get her off that thing most nights." He smirked, plugging it in beside him. "You're not staying?" He noticed Sam's duffel out in the hall again, rather than upstairs in the spare room.
"I think I should head out." Sam nodded, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You have a good life here, Dean. I don't wonna ruin that by sticking around too long. Maybe when yellow eyes is gone, I'll join you. But I can't even think about all this with him still out there. And I'm not doing it for Dad or his mission..."
"Jess." Dean interrupted him, giving him an understanding nod. "I'll fix up the Impala for you. I'll let you know when she's ready. You can take my truck for now. I can get another one."
"Dean, just one piece of advice." Sam stepped closer to his brother. "Ease up a little. The devil's traps and the weapons all over, you're still on edge. You're safe here. You've got a good life, just try to live it. You deserve this apple pie life that you're always talking about, but you're never going to be able to appreciate it if you're always on edge."
Sam gave his brother a smile, turning for his bag in the hall. He grabbed the keys to Dean's truck, giving the house one last look, before he stepped out the door.
"Hey, Sam." Dean called after his brother, before he disappeared down the driveway and out of his life again. "Don't be a stranger. We're always here."
The End
Thank you for every single review, favourite, follow and private message to this story. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I currently have no future plans for more Supernatural stories. I first started this story back in November, 2014 so I hope it still made sense.
Reviews and PM's are always much appreciated.
Shout outs to EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester, seethemstars, zacharytack32, Hailstorm3, JackBoy15, Ellie Mae Winchester-Kirk, Mal42, NutellaLover13, SamA18, alltin, artemisz, goanago, krabbycow1110, Susiii, CJb, anamarie63, delacre, maryicka, newageofmusic101, Lindsey2801, malinmichelle, beautifulwhiterose, AshleyG firstcatfish, skylight12, .winchesterxox and various Guest readers/reviewers.
Thank you!
~ Holly