Chapter 14:
After my little incident-well, it was more like a huge incident-with the shotgun, I had made sure to be on my best behavior. I knew that Dean was serious about sending me to Bobby's if I caused anymore trouble, and I really didn't want to go. I wrote my lines, biting back the complaints I wanted to voice every now and then. I pretty much spent all day long writing lines, and it got to the point where I was dreaming of writing lines. Though, it was better dreaming of lines than having those dreams about Dad.
We still hadn't found any good leads on where Dad was. The longer it took to find him though, the more Dean's bruises started to fade, and the less likely it would be that Dad found out about me shooting Dean. He wouldn't be happy to hear about that. Though, I knew he wouldn't spank me for it. He said he would never spank me for the same thing Dean already spanked me for, but that didn't mean he couldn't find something different to spank me for. . . like not following through on my deal to behave for Dean when he was away.
I looked up from my notebook, where I was supposed to be doing my math homework, but had spaced out. We were driving along a road and next to me in the distance were huge mountains capped with snow.
"Whoa!" I breathed, putting my hand against the window and leaning closer to it. "Dean, look! It's so beautiful!"
Dean turned his head to look towards the mountains, and the corner of his mouth pulled back in a smirk.
"You like that?"
"I love it." They were so tall, almost up in the clouds. I bet it would take days to climb to the top of the tallest one. "Can we go hiking someday?"
"Hiking?" Dean repeated. "Why would we go hiking?"
"Because it's nature, and it's beautiful! Don't you ever just want to get away from life and get lost in nature?" I was still staring mesmerized at the mountains. "It would be so fun to go camping, just the four of us." We never did anything normal like that. Sometimes I just wanted to do normal things like that. If we ever found Dad, maybe he would bring us someday.
"Maybe someday." Dean shrugged. I bet he was just saying that to make me happy. Dean wasn't really into camping. Sam didn't mind, and I knew that Dad liked it.
"Where are we going, again?" I asked, pulling my gaze away from the window as a group of trees began flying by, blocking my view.
"We're going up this mountain, straight ahead."
I leaned over in the seat to look past Dean's head. Sure enough, there was a small mountain looming in front of us. It was just as beautiful as the ones that were hiding behind the trees beside me, but it was much smaller, nearly half their size.
"We're looking for a man named Daniel Elkins."
I hadn't heard anything about where we were going or why we were going there. Dean woke me up from my sleep in the morning and told me that we had to go, and that I could fall back asleep in the car. I gathered my things in a sleepy state, then once I got in the car, passed right out again.
"Is he important?"
"Yeah. We think so." Dean replied. "How's your homework coming?"
"Uh, good." I said, looking down at my barely completed math problems. Sam glanced over the back of the seat at me, and I attempted to cover up my notebook without be obvious. He raised an eye brow at me and I bit my bottom lip sheepishly. "It's a work in progress."
"As long as it's done by tonight. You've only got two more hours left."
Dean realized a while ago that if they told me to 'get it done by tonight' I would 'assume' that meant I had until midnight, which would keep me up later. So before I could pull that move more than once, he set a limit. I had until seven o'clock every night to finish all my work for the day. If it wasn't finished at seven, then instead of going to bed at nine, I would have to go to bed then. I only did that once before I realized how bad that sucked.
They were really trying hard to keep me on a schedule. Awake by nine at the latest in the morning (if we weren't leaving to go somewhere) and asleep by nine at night.
"Okay." I bent down over my book and got to work. I didn't want to go to bed early tonight. Especially not since I was actually in the car with them as they went to investigate someone. It wasn't that often any more I was allowed to be in the car with them. Dean was starting to get more strict about me going with them.
Since I went behind his back and tried to teach myself how to hunt, he's been keeping me away from anything supernatural.
~ . ~
We pulled up to a log cabin an hour later and dark had fallen. There was snow falling gently from the trees where Dean parked the car. I had recently finished my last math problem, and Sam was checking over my work in the front seat. He always checked it over right away to make sure I did it right.
"Wow. These problems are all right." Sam said, closing the note book and handing it back to me. "You see what happens when you put your mind to something? Your homework has been much better lately."
It wasn't really like I had a choice, I wanted to say back, but bit my lip, taking the notebook back and putting it in my back pack.
"So does that mean I can come with you?" I chanced asking.
"No. You're going to stay out here." Dean stated firmly. I stuck my bottom lip out but didn't argue. "Lock the doors and don't make a scene. If there's anyone or anything out there, I don't want attention drawn to you. If you see anything, anything at all, you get down and you call me. Got it?"
"Yes, Dean."
"Good."
Him and Sam slid out of the car and I reached into the front seat and locked the doors. I took my phone out of my pocket and began to play tetris. That helped keep me busy until Sam and Dean were tapping on the windows again.
"Did you find anything?" I asked once I unlocked the doors and they slid in.
"Yeah. A post office box location and combination." Dean answered.
"Are we going there?"
"Yes."
"What do you think is there?"
"I'm not sure."
"Do you think it's something important?"
"I Would think so."
"So-"
"Anna." Dean cut me off, turning around to look at me. "Please, stop with the twenty questions."
I sucked in my bottom lip and looked up at him through my lashes.
"Sorry."
He turned back around and started the car. As he backed up and began driving back down the drive, I did a double take into the woods, thinking that I saw the shadow of someone moving, but couldn't quite tell. It looked like a person almost, but it I wasn't sure at all whether or not I really saw it.
We drove into the nearest town and Dean stopped in front of a post office. He went inside while I stayed in the car with Sam. He was gone for a few minutes, before he returned, carrying one envelope. He opened the door and slid in. I had moved up front with Sam, so now I was between the two of them.
Dean held the envelope out so that Sam could see what was written on it. We looked at it.
J.W. was written on the front. I looked up to Sam, who was looking at Dean.
"J.W? You think. . .? Could it be?" He asked, and I looked over to Dean, then back to Sam.
"I don't know." Dean replied. "Should we open it."
A loud rapping noise sounded on the window and I screamed. Dean jumped and turned, raising his arm reflexively with his fist clenched, and Sam's arm went around me pulling me into him protectively. I could see the shape of a person in the window, and as I focused in on it, Dean said
"Dad?"
My heart jumped in my chest as the backdoor opened and Dad climbed into the car. Tears sprang to my eyes when I saw the smile on his face, the one I knew formed from watching us all jump.
"Dad!" I breathed, my voice croaking with emotion. I threw myself over the seat into his lap, hugging him around the neck. "Daddy?"
"Hey, baby." He said gently into my hair, resting one hand on my back and the other on my head.
I couldn't believe it. Out of no where, with no warning or sign, Dad showed up like he knew we would be here the entire time.
"Dad what are you doing here? Are you alright?" Sam voiced my thoughts out loud.
"Yeah, I'm ok. I read the news about Daniel, I got here as fast as I could. I saw you two at his place." Dad began carding his hand through my hair as he answered Sam's question.
"You came for a dead friend but you haven't even bothered to text me or call me back?" I wailed indignantly.
"Anna," I could tell by his tone he was going to start with some explanation that I didn't want to hear.
"I've missed you so much!" I whimpered, pulling back to look him in the eyes. He looked back at me with a sorrow that was forcibly held back. "I dreamed about you almost every night. I thought something was wrong. I thought you might be in danger."
"We're always in danger." He reminded me gently.
"Especially when you leave us without telling us where you're going or when we'll see you again!"
"I don't expect you to understand why I did what I did," he said to me. "Not right now, anyway."
I leaned forward again, burying my face back in his warm neck. It felt so good to be in his arms again. Tears were still gently falling from my eyes, as I gripped tightly to him.
"You came all the way here for some Elkin's guy?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. He was...he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting"
"Well you never mentioned him to us." Sam replied.
"We had a...we had kind of a falling out. I hadn't seen him in years." The hand on my back was lifted, and then the one on my head was too, and the sound of ripping paper sounded by my head. "If you're reading this, I'm already dead'...that son of a bitch."
"What is it?" Dean asked, and I could hear him shuffling in the front seat.
"He had it the whole time."
"Had what?" Sam asked.
I closed my eyes, tuning Sam, and Dean, and even Dad out. I rested my head on his chest, right under his neck where his heart was beating strongly in my ear. When he spoke it vibrated against my head. It had been a long time since I had felt the beat of his heart against my head. The warmth that always seemed to radiate off his body, and his strong calloused hands rubbing gently circles on my back.
It was still early in the evening, but a sudden wave of exhaustion came over me. I was so comfortable that all I wanted to do was sleep now. Safe and warm in his arms.
"Anna."
I was shifted from his lap onto the seat and my eyes flew open immediately, my arms reaching out to grab him, afraid he was disappearing from me.
"Dad!" I gasped, grasping at him.
"Calm down," he soothed, putting a hand on my face as I focused on him and became more aware of what was going on. "We're going to find a motel and meet up there-"
"I want to go with you!" I said immediately, inching towards him. I wasn't going to let him get away again. If he was going to leave, I was going with him.
"Alright." He said, sliding out of the car. I followed him, grabbing for his hand as soon as I was out. I couldn't have him near me and not be touching. I missed him too much. "I'll follow you two." Dad said to Sam and Dean, who nodded and rolled his window up.
Dad's truck wasn't parked too far away. It was just as big as ever. When Dad gave Dean the Impala a few years ago, Dad got his truck. When he first got it, I was too small to get in it on my own. But now I was able to climb up into it without any trouble. I slid right over to the middle seat so when Dad slid in I was right next to him. He looked down and smiled at me, turning the truck on.
"I missed you." he said as he pulled away from the curb and up behind Dean, flashing his lights to let him know he was ready. Dean pulled away and Dad began following him. I leaned in against him and he put an arm around my shoulder.
"I missed you more." I replied, my tone a sounding whiney, even though I didn't really mean for it too, but I couldn't help it.
"Have you been good for your brothers?"
"Y-yeah." I stammered, thrown off guard. I should have known he was going to ask me that question.
"That doesn't sound to reassuring."
"I-I mean, I've been pretty good." I shrugged. Dad grunted, but gave me a little squeeze.
"We'll talk about it later, then." he assured me. I didn't argue. I leaned my head against him and just basked in the moment of being next to him. I didn't know how long I would be next to him before he went away again. Right now, this was all I wanted.