Anger's Outcome Ch. 14
Disclaimer: The Winchesters and everything related to them belongs to Kripke and the CW. I am not making a profit from this story.
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Previously: It took them most of the afternoon and part of the evening to clean the cabin enough where it was livable. Since it was getting late, John walked to the back of the cabin and fired up the old generator so they would at least have some lights and be able to take a hot shower. The cabin didn't have many of the modern necessities, but at least it had the basic ones they required.
As John stood in the hot shower, he felt his taut muscles starting to relax as the hot water sluiced down his body. He felt good about everything they had accomplished today. The broken window panes had been replaced which would keep out the night chill and the inside of the cabin had taken on a fresh, clean look and no longer held that odiferous musty smell that it had when they had first arrived. They boys had pitched in as best they could and cleared the dust and cobwebs from the living room and their sleeping quarters. The floors had also been swept clean of the rat droppings that littered parts of the floor when they had arrived.
Knowing that his boys needed to shower yet, John climbed from the shower making sure to leave some hot water. He quickly toweled off and pulled on a clean pair of boxers and some sweat pants. As he walked out into the living room to announce that the shower was free, he smiled as he saw both of his boys sleeping. Sammy was slumped back in a half seated position, his legs propped up on a foot stool out in front of him. His head rested on the back of the couch in an awkward angle and John wondered if he was resting comfortably in that position. Dean on the other hand was stretched out into a lying position across the couch with his feet resting in Sam's lap. John could hear the sounds of both boys lightly snoring which foretold exactly how tired his boys were.
Not wanting to wake them, John quickly walked over to the hall closet and pulled out a couple of blankets, draping one over each of his boys to keep them from getting cold during the night. "Sleep tight boys" he whispered before securing the cabin by placing salt lines at all of the windows and doors. Starting to feel exhausted himself, John walked into the bedroom that he would be using during their stay. He stripped off his sweatpants and climbed into the bed. He didn't feel the springs that poked through the old mattress since he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
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John awoke early the next morning to the sounds of birds chirping loudly outside his window. Groaning, he sat up and threw off the blanket as he rubbed a rough and calloused hand across his chin. He slid his long legs off the bed and stretched before pulling on pair of wrinkled jeans that he took from his duffle bag. Walking out of the bedroom, he was surprised to see that Sammy now slept on the floor right in front of Dean. He figured that Sam must have become uncomfortable sometime during the night and moved. Deciding to let the boys sleep a little while longer, John walked to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee to help wipe the cobwebs of sleep away from his mind.
As he sat drinking his first cup, John heard the sounds of movement and looked up to see Dean almost stumble over his baby brother as he got up off the couch. He breathed a sigh of relief when Dean immediately regained his balance and started towards the kitchen area. "How are you feeling champ?" he asked as Dean plopped down in a chair beside him at the wooden table.
""I'm good" Dean replied through a yawn as he ran his hands through sleep rustled hair. "How about getting me a cup of caffeine too?"
"What do I look like, a maid? Go get it yourself" John grumbled since he was still tired himself.
"Injured here, or did you forget?" Dean asked through a smirk knowing that the words would make his dad feel guilty enough to get him the coffee.
"Bitch" John mumbled as he stood up to get the requested cup of coffee. He knew Dean was playing on his sympathy but he didn't really care at the moment. As long as Dean was healing, he would gladly get him a lousy cup of coffee.
"So what are the plans for today?" Dean inquired as he took a sip of the steaming hot brew that his dad placed in front of him.
"You're going to go relax by the river and do some fishing while Sammy and I start repairing the roof" John stated in answer to Dean's questions.
'You've got to be freaking kidding me" Dean sputtered out as he almost choked on his coffee. "Haven't you noticed that Sammy still has a cast on his leg Dad? There is no way in hell I'm gonna let him get up on a roof. The kid worked hard enough last night. He needs a break whether you realize it or not."
"Okay, okay" John said as he held up his hands in surrender. "We'll all take the day off and go fishing" John said to appease his oldest son. He had seen the anger growing in Dean's face with each passing minute and didn't want to get in a fight already this morning.
"Sounds good, I'll go wake up Sammy" Dean said just before swallowing the last of his coffee. He hoped that this little vacation away from hunting would be a turning point for his dad and brother and that they could get through the coming days without his dad and Sammy getting into an argument. He hated the way he was forced to keep the peace between the two of them when tempers got too hot to handle.
While Dean when to wake up Sammy, John decided to gather the supplies they would need from the trunk of the Impala. He knew they had the gear they needed since they had stopped on their way to the cabin to buy some fishing rods, bait, and tackle after the doctor had told him to make sure that Dean took a few weeks to recuperate or risk a relapse.
Seeing his boys walking out of the cabin and over to the car approximately ten minutes later, John handed a fishing pole to each son while he grabbed the tackle box and the worms as well as a fishing pole for himself. He had to silently laugh at the look of shock on Sam's face. His youngest was obviously stunned by the turn of events. It was nice to know that he could still surprise the kid once in a while.
"Okay boys, let's go" John said as he led the way down the dirt path to the river. He was actually looking forward to doing a little fishing since he hadn't done it in years. He made sure to walk at a slow pace so that both boys would be able to keep up with him.
As Sam walked behind his dad and his brother, he still couldn't believe that they were actually going fishing. He couldn't remember the last time they took time out to just have fun and relax. Wondering if his dad was possibly possessed, he muttered a low "Christo" under his breath. When nothing happened, he felt elated knowing that it was really his dad that wanted to spend time with him and Dean.
Arriving at the river ten minutes later, John scanned the riverbank until he found what he thought would be the perfect spot to cast their lines into the water. "Have a seat boys" John said with anticipation in his voice. He was eager to reel in some big fish. Each of the Winchesters sat down on the grassy bank of the river and casted their lines out into the lake.
After passing half of the day fishing, the Winchesters had caught enough large trout to cook for supper and still have some left over for the following day. They gathered their things together and headed back to the cabin. While Dean and Sam took care of cleaning and cooking the fish, John worked on repairing the cabin roof. After a couple of hours of work, he sat down to a wonderful meal fully prepared by his boys.
The rest of their vacation time passed relatively the same way with the Winchesters taking time out to fish or do a little sight seeing and then working on the cabin in the afternoons. Dean noticed that John and Sam seemed to be getting along much better and the two hadn't had an argument in days. He hoped it meant that things were taking a turn for the better between the two and that they were finally accepting each other's quirks and issues.
Sam really enjoyed the few weeks away from hunting but realized that of course all good things must come to an end and he wasn't surprised when John decided it was time to return to hunting. Sam had gotten his cast off two days before at the local clinic and Dean was doing much better. As a matter of fact, he was back to almost one hundred percent. As Sam repacked his duffle bag, he thought back wistfully over the last few weeks. He couldn't remember having spent a better period of time in his life and was thankful for the short time of just being a normal family.
"Okay boys, let's hit the road" John said as he slung his duffle over his shoulder. Caleb had called about a hunt not too far away in Clearwater, Minnesota. Apparently a Kitsune had been prowling the area and killing unsuspecting men by luring them in with promises of love. The Kitsune were known to seduce men to feed off their life force until they had become so weak that they would leave them out in the woods to die.
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As John drove down Interstate 25 headed towards their newest destination, he thought about the things that they would need to do upon arrival. They needed to do some research into the timberwoods area and figure out where most of the attacks had occurred. They also needed to clean and service the weapons since they hadn't been used in a few weeks, he didn't want to chance one of the guns jamming or backfiring on them. But first and foremost, they needed to get some laundry done. Since there was no washing machine at the cabin, they were down to the last of their clean clothing. Wanting to get the hunt started as son as possible John decided that he would wash their clothes while he sent the boys out to do some research.
After pulling off the interstate, John stopped at the Clearwater Inn and rented a room using one of his many credit cards under an assumed name. The three hunters unloaded their gear and carried it inside their motel room. Dean flopped down onto the bed nearest the door and turned on the television while Sam flopped down on the other.
Entering the room to find Dean and Sam already stretched out on the bed, John shook his head and said "Not so fast boys, I want you and Sammy to go into town and do some research. I need you to talk to the locals and find out what they have to say about the deaths. See if you can find out an exact location of where the attacks occurred while you're at it.
"Yes Sir" Dean answered as he reached over to slap Sammy on the feet. "Come on dude, the sooner we get started, the sooner we'll finish" Dean said as he reached out to help pull Sammy to his feet.
John watched as his boys walked out the door and climbed into the Impala. He knew Dean would scout out the local bars and game rooms to gather as much information as they could before returning. After the Impala roared out of site, John gathered his and the boys duffle bags and dumped their contents out on the floor so that he could sort the clothing to get it washed. After dumping Sam's out, he was surprised to see a large yellow envelope fall out of Sammy's bag. "Wonder what this is about" John said as he reached down to pick the envelope up.
TBC