John actually shaved and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. "This is insane." He said looking over at Mutt. "I should just call Dean and make an excuse not to go." He told his dog. "The last thing I need to be thinking about is a woman right now. "
He grumbled as he finished putting on his suit, purposefully forgetting the tie. He hated the damned things. Always felt like a hangman's noose.
Mutt tilted his head first to one side then the other. Not sure what to think of John's nervousness.
"Yeah I know. Coward's way out." He said and sighed. "Okay. Let's get you outside before I take off." He said and took the dog out side one last time before locking him inside the apartment and heading to the restaurant to meet his sons.
Connie had come under duress. And a pile of big favors Harry said he'd owe her. But she showed up with Harry and sat down at the table with Dean and Sam.
"You two are insane." She said.
"Yeah. We know." Dean said with a grin and waved his father over as he saw John enter. "Come on, I just got out of the hospital w here they were feeding me baby food---"
"That you couldn't keep down." Harry remarked.
"Anyway..." Dean said, ignoring Harry. "I thought a dinner out, where I'm not being coddled and hovered over would be good. That's all."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, he thinks he's not being hovered over... right... you keep thinking that."
John approached the table and cleared his throat before taking a seat. "Did I miss anything?"
"Just Sam being mean to me." Dean said with a grin at his brother. "But he did promise that you were all done hovering. Because that's annoying."
"I don't recall giving Sam permission to make promises for me." John said with a frown, even though his eyes were twinkling. "I don't know... I think I still need to hover. Have a few years to make up for."
Dean groaned as Connie laughed. "Uh oh, you screwed the pooch on that one, Winchester." She said to Dean. "I think it's fitting myself, he needs a babysitter and someone to hand out the time outs big time." She said to John.
"Dean never needed time outs when he was little. Sam on the other hand, was a handful" John said with a smile. " Of course that was because his brother spoiled him too much."
"See... it was all your fault." Sam told his brother with a grin. "I told you I was the good son."
"No, Dad clearly said I didn't need time outs and you did. Which makes me the good son." Dean shot back.
"You're going to regret opening that one up." Connie remarked, even if they'd battle only playfully.
"Nope." Said John. "I'm going to sit back and watch." He smiled. "After all, they chose a restaurant that had me getting into a suit to get through the door. Thought for a minute there I was going to have to wear the tie after all."
"Ooh a tie." Connie said. "When you were pantyhose, heels, and a dress...then we'll talk about how much dress codes suck."
Dean chuckled into his napkin. "Dude, I think they're flirting. Kinda. Dad's kinda rusty." He whispered to Sam.
"He's not the only one." Sam whispered back.
"When I wear pantyhose, heels and a dress, someone call an exorcist." John said with a chuckle. The imagery it called to mind was frightening at best. "But you on the other hand, on you it looks good."
"Was that a compliment, or a silent plea to keep my underwear draw far away from you?" She asked with a grin.
"Dude, she's blushing. Harry, Murph's blushing." Dean whispered. Nice, quiet conversation so as not to distract from the main show.
"It was a compliment. No designs on your underwear drawer. Don't think we wear the same size." John said with a wink. "Although I bet the gun I would find there is probably a good one."
She grinned at him, and Connie had a powerful grin when she turned it on. "First time for everything. Never had a guy want to check out my gun rack before."
"I think that a man would have to be very careful how he checked out anything with you." John said as he looked at her. "Could be very dangerous territory." Any sane man with all his equipment and absolutely no knowledge of show tunes or women's shoes would be checking out Murphy in his opinion.
"Dangerous has it's good side." She responded. "Besides, guys that shy away from danger, really, they should stay at home with their mothers and don't even bother."
John smiled at that. "There is a difference between being careful how you handle a dangerous situation, and shying away from it." He pointed out. "Makes the difference between success and sudden, ugly death."
Connie laughed. "So that's the new lingo for getting shot down, huh?" She said with a grin. "Don't worry, I left my good gun in my other purse. Sudden ugly death and this dress don't go together."
John chuckled. "Lady, the last time I was shot down was the first time I met their mother. And believe me... that's not bragging." He said with a grin. "So new lingo is a total loss on me. " He was so far out of circulation with real live dating and dealing with women that it was bordering on pathetic. "But it's good to know the good gun is still in the underwear drawer."
"Your wife shot you down?" Connie said and laughed. "Good to know you're persistent then."
"What? You think we came upon stubbornness in a game of chance?" Dean said with a grin.
"You get it as much from your mother as from me, believe me. " John grinned. " That is as much a Morningway trait as it is a Winchester or Dresden one." Considering there wasn't a man at that table that didn't have more than their fair share of concrete lining their skull. Or steel in their spine. "Yeah she shot me down hard core. When she finally stopped shooting me down, I was sure your grandfather was going to shoot me down for real. Although he wasn't aiming a shot gun my way."
Dean laughed. "Okay, next time a father threatens to shoot me, I can console myself that it's a family trait!" He said. He'd had his fair share of fathers reaching for their guns because of him.
Connie shook her head. "Sometimes you have to worry about the mothers, Dean." She said with a grin.
Harry laughed. "That I can attest to." He said. "And grandmas are known to be the worst although they tend to just beat you about the head and shoulders with whatever is handy."
"I've got Sammy for that." Dean teased his brother. "He's such a girl you know."
"It's the hair." John agreed with a nod as the waiter brought their bread.
"There is nothing wrong with my hair." Sam objected. "I'm not a marine. I don't need my hair off of my ears."
Harry chuckled. "You know I saw this really cute clerk the other day with that hair style. She was a redhead. Suited her somehow."
"Ooh, hear that, Sammy? Soon you're going to be hit on by dirty old men like Harry." Dean said with a laugh.
"If your only clue that someone is a man or a woman is their hair... you seriously have a problem." Sam pointed out.
"I'm not the one that hit on the redhead with your hair cut." Dean replied with a laugh.
"I really feel for whatever girl you three end up with." Connie said with a laugh. "I really do."
Sam and Dean exchanged a look, but Harry covered for them. "I can only hope that there is more than one girl between the three of us. That could cause some ... interesting problems."
"That it would." Connie said with a laugh. She was talking hypothetically of course, and realized belatedly she couldn't do that with Dean and Sam. When it came to their personal lives they were very much concrete thinkers.
Sam grinned. "Yeah. But we don't have to worry about Dean, he already has two girlfriends. Both of which are extremely jealous." He teased, letting the mood pass, because he wanted to. He could deal with the past later, when he was alone.
"Think I'm down to one." Dean said, going with it. "Think I got dumped for two guys."
"So you did get the puppies." Harry said with a laugh. "Good for you. About time Max let you off your leash."
"Nah she didn't dump you. She is just playing mommy to your daddy with those pups." Sam said.
"Puppies?" John asked, this was news to him.
"Sam got pugs for me. To keep me out of trouble. But shhh, he doesn't know that I know that." Dean said with a grin. "Two little boy puppies, he's gonna take one because he's been bitten by the insane pet owner bug according to him."
"I have pets and I'm not insane." Harry said.
"That's debatable." Connie said with a laugh. "But you don't have pets. You have very furry roommates who don't pay rent and eat all your food."
"There is a difference." John said. "Not sure Mutt counts as a pet either... more like a partner."
"We're all insane in one way or another." Sam said. "Or we wouldn't willingly deal with the things we deal with on a daily basis. The pet thing just exacerbates it. "
"Dude, Max is, like, the one normal part of my life. I'd say the car, but you swear she's possessed." Dean said.
"You have any idea how scary that is? But then again... she really is a normal dog... well... a normal pug anyway. Pugs are not normal dogs." Sam pointed out.
"Nope. They're exceptional dogs." Dean said. "And you were the one who ordered my dog to babysit me."
"Hey she was willing to do it. She was seriously mourning you until we got a lead. I have never heard a dog scream like that before. "
"My dog loves me." Dean said with a grin. "And if you hadn't found me, she would have made your life a living hell, trust me. I'd say she's attached. Which is good, I'm attached too."
"She's in good shape too. She might be one of those dogs that makes it to 20. I've heard of it happening." Sam said.
"I hope so." Dean said. He was attached to his dog. He'd admit it. And Max was already getting up there for a dog, though she didn't act it, she was elderly for a pug. Which was why the vet was seeing a lot of Max and Dean lately.
It was also half of the reason Sam got the pups. Figured it would be at least a little easier when she went if Dean wasn't suddenly dogless. He figured if he was, Dean would treat it the same way he did the Melissa situation and swear off dogs along with relationships.
"I have no idea how old Mouse is." Harry said. "I figure it's his business."
Dean pointed at Harry. "See! He talks to animals like they were people too!" He said triumphantly to his younger brother. John and Connie weren't even really listening to the boys argue over if pets were people any longer, talking amongst themselves instead.
"Harry wouldn't go into fits of depression if Mouse moved on either." Sam pointed out. "He doesn't need his doggie with him in the hospital, or to fill in for a teddy bear."
"Dude, I'm not a depressive person." Dean said with a scowl. "And Max was there as much for her sake as mine. She's not that heavy, and I didn't see you able to drag her away either."
"I didn't really try either." Sam pointed out.
John glanced up at the waitress and indicated she should take Murphy's order first. He glanced over at the boys and smiled a little. He could remember similar scenes when they were little, only those arguments would usually end with Sam in tears and Dean trying to make him smile some how.
"Yeah, cause you knew better." Dean said with a grin. "I couldn't get all the brains in the family after all, there were a few left over for you."
"Dean, you barely graduated high school. Your tutors were convinced you were demon spawn... including Bob." Sam pointed out. Even though he knew his brother was brilliant in his own way.
"Yeah well how about the Winchester brain trust orders their food so the nice lady can get on with her job?" John said giving his boys a look.
"Yes, Sir."
"Sorry, sir." Dean said and ordered quickly after Sam, giving the waitress his best smile so they wouldn't get shitty service. He figured it worked when she blushed before moving away to head to the kitchen. "And I didn't like high school. That was my problem."
Harry raised an eyebrow at the quick response from the brothers. He had never seen either of them yield so quickly to authority, real or imagined. Although it amused him, that it didn't seem to stop the argument.
"Dean... you don't like anything that doesn't involve pugs, loose women or guns... oh... and cars. Can't forget cars."
"Dude, so wrong." Dean said. "I like...horror movies. And comedies. And...running, as long as it's not for my life. And lots of other things I can't think of right now. Could be worse. I could have a porn addiction like a certain little brother I know."
Connie laughed and looked at John. "How did you do that?" She asked. Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.
"Train them when they are young." He said with a shrug. "Respect is the key. Lose that and the battle is over." They were the same boys. Just older... with more ammunition to throw.
"Once... you caught me looking at it once. That doesn't make it an addiction."
"Hey... there's a lady present." John said, noticing the direction the conversation was headed.
"You were watching. Watching is not looking." Dean said, but shut his mouth and glanced at Murphy. "Sorry." He said.
"Accepted." Connie said with a nod. "Besides, brings up imagery I'd rather not have."
"You and me both." Said John with a faint chuckle. "Anyway... how are things going back at the mansion other than new puppies that I am going to have to come and see. When ever it is we are supposed to be talking again."
"We can start talking now." Dean said. "The pain meds the nurse keeps giving me that I cheek then flush can make me a very malleable target after all, right?"
John chuckled and Harry nearly choked. "You are the least malleable target I know." Harry said. "Especially when you are on medication."
Dean laughed. "Okay, maybe. But it's as good a story as any." He said with a grin.
"So should I mention on how it's probably counter productive NOT to take your medication?" Connie asked dryly.
"See." Sam said.
"She has a point." said Harry.
"Is the pain unbearable?" John asked. "If not, it's not a big deal. Antibiotics are something different entirely."
"Dean doesn't process pain the way normal people do." Harry said with a chuckle. "Normal people say ow. Dean says is that all ya got?"
"He's a Winchester." John said with a smile.
"I still say ow." Sam said pointedly. "It's not a Winchester thing. I think it's a stubborn thing."
"There's a difference?" Harry asked.
"You only say ow when I hit you." Dean said with a laugh. "And that's only if there's someone around who will fall for the puppy dog eyes. Don't start, Sam."
"I don't have puppy dog eyes." Sam said and looked up as their meals were delivered. "Thank you." He told the waitress as she set his plate before him.
"Yeah, you do." Dean said as he thanked the waitress as well. "This might be the best meal I've had." He said. Because it was 'forbidden' and he had been eating hospital jello.
"No... I don't." Sam said as he spread his napkin over his lap.
"Were they like this when they were little too?" Harry asked.
"Worse." John said simply.
"Want me to cut your meat up for you too, Sammy?" Dean teased. Connie started laughing, covering it up as best she could with her napkin.
"Let me guess, you exiled them to the back seat and turned the music up?" Connie asked John through her laughter.
"Oh yeah." John said with a nod. "Lots of heavy metal... was the only thing that would drown them out."
"Still works too!" Dean said with a grin. "Even Sammy can't talk over Metallica. Good stuff."
"Wanna bet?" Sam said, returning his brother's grin.
"You didn't know there was going to be a floor show with dinner, did you?" John asked Connie. He wondered where the boys found the energy to just keep at each other this way.
"They remind me of Abbott and Costello." Connie said with a chuckle. "Do they ever tire out or do they do this in their sleep?"
"They didn't used to. Dean used to make sure Sam was asleep before he would even lay down. No matter what I tried to get him to do. Especially when Sam was a baby. "
Connie could see it. There was still a great deal of the caretaking older brother in Dean, even if it was tempered by an equally caretaking younger brother. "Well, now they're older and their bedtimes were pushed back even later." She said with a laugh.
"They keep this up, I'm going to limit their sugar and caffeine and send them to bed at 8 like good little boys." John said with a grin. He knew that would never happen. They were being playful. It was good to see. Not so annoying when it wasn't going on for mile after mile with an emotional Sam and no place to escape it for a moment or two. And there was only so much advil a man could take.
"Ooh, those might be fighting words. Really want them to join forces and start Act Two with you as the target?" Connie teased.
"They would have to notice first. Right now they are only hearing and seeing each other for the most part." John said, still somewhat in awe that their bond had remained so strong through the years, with a so called normal life, and college, and lost loves.
"I think it's great." Connie said. She'd been there for the Melissa meltdown, on the peripheral of course. And the Jessica tragedy. Both hit both boys so hard, they were probably still here only because of each other.
"Yeah... I think it's probably best for them both." He knew that in the beginning it had only been the boys that had kept him from eating a bullet after Mary's death. When they had been taken from him, it had turned into a hunt to find them. After that, he had been living from kill to kill and a little more heavily in the bottle than he would like to admit. It was probably for the best that they still had that tight a connection. Would keep them going no matter what hit them in life.
Connie picked at her food a bit and looked at John. "Think they'll notice if we left and grabbed a burger?"
John grinned at her. "Let's find out." He said as he got up from his seat and pulled her chair out for her. He liked that idea a lot. This wasn't his sort of place and besides, the boys (all three of them) had set this dinner up as a blind date. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Better to do that in territory where they both felt comfortable.
Connie grinned and got up. "Hey, where are you crazy kids off to?" Dean asked.
"Off to cause some trouble." She said with a laugh.
"I'm sure you three will be fine unsupervised through dinner." John said with a grin. He resisted the urge to tell Sam not to wait up for him.
Dean sat back as they left. "Well, that worked out better than I thought it would." He said with a grin.
"No kidding." Sam said as he buttered his roll. "I think they are really into each other... I think I am crashing at your place tonight, Harry. I don't want to know how late he is getting home tonight. Want my psyche unmarred by that sort of things. Parental units being you know... not that sort of people."
"I can't believe I agreed to hook my best friend up with your father." Harry said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
"Dude, you completely pimped her out." Dean said, laughing. "I have never see Murph in a dress before."
"They seemed keen on the idea. Or at least the appearance of it." Sam said. "For all we know, they are heading out of here and going seperate ways but that wasn't the vibe I was getting."
Dean laughed. "Dude, this is great. Now I have Dad completely distracted from me!" He said, in regards to his 'recovery.'
"I wouldn't count on that. It might turn out that you have John and Murph both interested in your well being if this works out between them." Harry pointed out with a grin.
"Crap. Come on, Sam, let's go break them up or something." He joked. "Really, I'm fine. You all worry way too much."
"No, we're just making up for all the worrying you don't do" Sam said. And then sighed. "I met with Merlin and Ancient Mei today."
"Yeah, how'd that go?" Dean said as he ate. Finally something more than soup or jello. Not that it had been long since Sam brought him the sub, but still.
"Yeah, it went okay. They are testing me, I think. Not sure I am going to pass the test. But it doesn't matter in the end. I am now fully sworn in as a member of the council and they thought to send me on a suicide mission I think." He laughed not meaning suicide literally. "Wanted me to renegotiate with Bianca. Want to turn the treaty into a partnership but don't want to give me details of what that means. So I said I would let her know they had made the offer but that was about it."
Dean laughed. "They probably think Bianca will eat you whole and spit you out." Not that she wasn't capable of it. Just that there was an arrangement between the Winchester/Dresden side of things, and Bianca personally. "I can just imagine what kind of partnership they want. I offered a partnership to a company once, as soon as the forms were signed, I took over and ousted their board."
"Which I am pretty sure is what they have in mind. It would seriously boost the council's power base to have the Red Court completely under their thumb. I am sure Bianca isn't going to go any where near a deal like that."
"Yeah, Bianca under someone's thumb. I'd love to see that." Dean said with a snicker.
"I wouldn't. That could only end in a blood bath." Harry said.
"It troubles me that the council is so blind to what the world is like. I mean, I know that we have a unique perspective, coming from a mixed back ground ... but they really do think wizards and the rest of the populace live in different worlds."
"Well, we kinda do." Harry said. "Even hunters and the normal people are seperate. The guy at the table over there, sees a tornado warning somewhere in the state. Thinks, well, it's not the season, just one of those things. Your brother jumps to his computer to put together another pattern, knowing it's not one of those things. Me? I see if its magical in any origin, and possibly harmful. But that guy, it's just a tornado."
"That's just perspective." Dean said.
"Maybe. Perspective, knowledge, power, ability, training, it does separate us." Harry said.
"But to use a hackneyed phrase... with power and knowledge comes responsibility. It's wrong to think that the... degrees of separation means that we get to just ignore what goes on around us." Sam said.
"I knew my brother was a geek! Geek during the day, superhero at night." Dean said, referencing Spider-man.
"Watch it, the geek ended up with the supermodel, remember? Gotta give Peter Parker some props." Harry said with a laugh. "The council has blinders. It's always had blinders. It's how it survives, and how the magical community survives. It's horrible to say, I don't like it, but that's the truth about any controlling infrastructure."
"Yeah well, they are gonna seriously get tired of my throwing in my two cents worth then." Sam said. "Had my blinders removed a long time ago. That is if any of them are still left alive after the box situation is dealt with. Summoning demons is an instant death sentence for a wizard. Council or not."
"Well, they'll probably just change the laws then." Dean said with a chuckle. "No one except the Council can summon and control demons. Cause then they'll be above the law."
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Sam would stand firm on that one no matter what it cost him. "I don't know what to think of Mei.. but I don't get that sort of vibe off of Merlin."
"Because you don't get that vibe off Merlin or because you can't read him?" Harry asked. He'd met the Merlin on a few occasions.
"I don't know if I can read him clearly or not... but I get the feeling he is about as by the book as you can get." Sam said honestly. "Now what book he is reading from... that's the question."
"Actually that's a very good question." Harry said with a sigh. "There are all sorts of books they could reference. Some heading into the black area, but just white enough to pass, that he could read from and justify everything in." Magic was a practice as old as man after all.
"Yeah, look at Justin." Sam said with a scowl. "He has some damned justification for everything he has done, and how it was all for unselfish reasons."
"Oh of course. And he knew it would all work out for the best, so it's all right." Dean said, with his own scowl. "I don't know that he's in as complete control as he likes to pretend he is."
"You thinking good ole Uncle Justin has slipped a cog somewhere?" Harry asked, taking a drink of his coffee. He wouldn't doubt it. Wouldn't doubt it at all.
"Oh, nice." Dean said, shaking his head. "That would be just perfect. If he has, then he might know we're all plotting against him."
Sam laughed a little then. "Would be just our luck his derangement is paranoia."
"No." Said Harry. "I'm thnking more megalomania."
"Great." Dean said. "Well, we'll deal with that if it comes up. He probably thinks we're just misguided anyway, and with time we'll come around."
"That's his usual song and dance yeah." Harry said. "But hey, we didn't come here to talk about Justin. I, for one, want to enjoy my dinner. I don't get out like this often."
"Okay." Dean said. "So the hospital made me meet with an addictions counselor. She was cute. Wonder if I should fake a crisis of sobreity to get a hook up?"
"Dude that is seriously low." Sam said, shaking his head. "You sure that just, you know... asking her out wouldn't work? Or does she think you are addicted to drugs or something?"
"Of course she thinks I'm addicted to drugs. Those people are really hard to convince once they get their minds stuck on something." Dean said. "They were told I was, and there's no telling them that I'm not. I don't know, people are crazier than I thought. Or just more gullible."
"Well if they told her you were addicted to vampire saliva... they would probably lock up the doc and you for the information." Harry said. He knew there was no point in asking Dean how he was doing with that. More to the point, Dean wouldn't really know until he came in contact with a vampire. "Maybe you should find a nice lady hunter to hook up with somewhere."
Dean laughed. "Yeah, and we'll find a nice gypsy psychic working out of a kiosk for you." He said with a grin. "Dude, a lot of the female hunters out there...they're either Dad's age, already married, or damn...not really flowing with the estrogen."
Sam started laughing at that description. "There's always Jo." He said, his eyes twinkling.
"Well, yeah, sure. If I wasn't afraid of her mother!" Dean said with a laugh. "And is she out of high school yet?" He asked, knowing full well she'd dropped out of college.
"Ellen's a pussy cat, what are you scared of?" Sam asked, teasingly. Ellen liked him just fine. Then again her daughter wasn't interested in Sam, which might have had more to do with it than one might think.
"Uh...her shot gun? Her rifle? Her hand gun? The fact she could poison my drink?" Dean said with a laugh. "Where to start?"
"How do you meet these people?" Harry said with a laugh. Not that his connections were any less colorful.
"It's okay. you and Jo would kill each other in a week anyway. She wants a lap dog and you are definitely a terrier." Pit bull terrier, Sam thought, but he didn't say that. Let Dean have visions of Jack Russell or Rat Terriers.
Dean laughed. "Dude, you wouldn't believe the people we've met." Dean said. "About the same as I look at you in total shock at some of the people you know. Comes with the life I guess. It's all right. I like them all a lot better than the boardroom types. Even the ones I hate."
"Yet there you sit, CEO of a powerful corporation." Harry shook his head. "Wouldn't even occur to you to sell the company and live off the profits for the rest of your life. "
"Why would it?" Dean asked as he grabbed another piece of bread from the bread basket. "I completely get off the look of shock from just about everyone just about every time. It's fun. In a really demented, power trippy sort of way."
Sam and Harry shook their heads. "You are an executive... for the shock value." Sam said. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
Dean laughed. "We're a varied family." He said with a grin. "Harry's an advertised wizard who refuses to make balloon animals. Talk about a let down."
"It's the whole surrounded by 30 screaming kids thing. You know they all start screaming when the balloon dog starts barking and wagging his tail."
"Likely story." Dean said with a laugh. "I bet you don't even know how. Even I know how." He said with a grin. "Maybe even Sammy knows how."
"No... I hate that squeaky sound the latex makes when you twist it. It's like nails on a chalk board. Besides ... Bob used to get upset when I would let go of the balloon without tying it and it went right through him. " Sam said laughing a little at the old memory.
Dean laughed. "Yeah he did. It was pretty funny. Maybe we should try that again. Cause now that we're all grown up and everything, he wouldn't be expecting it." Dean said with a grin. "It never gets old, playing pranks on a ghost."
Harry chuckled. "Now I know why he was so willing to come live with me after Justin died." He smiled none the less. He hadn't had a brother growing up, Bob was who he had bonded with when he was living at the mansion early on.
"I thought it was because he figured you still needed a babysitter." Dean teased. It was Bob who would suggest from time to time, maybe you should get some real food. Maybe you should go out.
Harry chuckled. "He probably just wanted out of that class room."
"You know, I could buy that." Sam said. "Ever consider taking the man to the theatre or something? Yeah, you would have to buy two tickets but the man deserves a little entertainment now and again."
"I'll spring for Bob's ticket." Dean offered. Harry refused the family money, and his earning were based on how much work he could get at one time, even with the commission from the police department. "But you know Bob wants porn, so maybe Sam should take him."
"Dude... I do not have a porn addiction." Sam pointed out. "But you know... maybe you should take him to mud wrestling or something. Didn't you go out with one of those a time or two?"
"Hey, you're right. I think he'd enjoy that too." Dean said with a laugh. "So should I pick Bob up, Friday at nine?" Dean asked with a grin.
Harry chuckled. "Be my guest. I will let him know. Should be interesting to say the least." He said.
"Hey, he might be dead and all ghost and all, but a guy's got needs you know." Dean said with a laugh. "It'll be good for him."
"Or it could start a whole new fixation but what the hell. He deserves it. Gave up a physical body to save me after all."
"Dude, I have a physical body, and I have a fixation." Dean said with a laugh. "I'm worried about you two because you don't!"
"I have one... I just keep it in between me and the current object of my fixation." Harry said. Most often the waitress from his favorite cafe.
"I'm not ready yet is all." Sam said.
"Who said anything about ready?" Dean said. "It's just the appreciation of the aesthetic. I'll take one for the team and take them home, it's all right."
"This from the man who holds one moment of watching porn against me." Sam said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah!" Dean said with a laugh. "Because whenever I mention it, you get a priceless look on your face. I'll find something to use against Harry, don't worry."
"Yeah, you keep thinking that if it makes you feel better." Harry said as he finished his meal. "This was good, thank you."
"Completely worth it. I got to see Murph in a dress, and became the favorite son for getting Dad all hooked up." Dean said with a grin.
"Sure until she pulls a gun on him like all of Dad's other friends do. Then you won't be the favorite anymore." Sam teased.
"They try to shoot him and he still calls them friends?" Harry asked.
Dean laughed. "I tried to beat the shit out of him and I call him Dad." Dean pointed out. "Dad...he just has an awfully special way with people."
"You know... that you tried scares the hell out of me. " Harry said. "How often to you use that phrase ... usually there is no try, there is only do."
"Yeah, I know." Dean said with a laugh. "So does this mean you're not gonna pick a fight with him? I don't know, that could be interesting."
"I don't know, I'm not one for physical violence." Harry said with a grin. "Unless it involves hockey sticks." Which could be taken to several places, all of which would be accurate.
Dean laughed at that as he settled the check. "Yeah, I can just imagine." He said, still chuckling. "Sometimes I think I was adopted, or switched at birth or something."
"No you just take after Dad's side of the family is all... even if you look more like Mom." Sam said with a grin. "It's probably why he is so against long hair. It gets long enough to really touch his ears and he is the one that looks like a girl."
"Yeah, that's it. Has nothing to do with the whole Marine thing at all." Dean said with a laugh. "Or the fact that you do like Samantha from a distance with the hair. He's got a point."
"Anyone who mistakes someone my height, with my shoulders for a girl... needs glasses. I don't care how long my hair is at the time." Sam pointed out.
"Or you could be one of those people who used to be a guy, and now they're a girl." Dean said with a nod. "City's full of them."
"They usually dress more girly than the girls do." Sam pointed out.
"He's got a point there." Harry said.
"I think you just have an unhealthy fixation on having a little sister instead of a brother." Sam teased.
"And you have an unhealthy fixation with porn." Dean said with a smirk. "Guess we're even then."
"No... you have an unhealthy fixation with me having watched porn. There is a difference."
"Dude, I don't care if you watch porn. I care if you're watching it knowing I could walk in at any time! There are a lot of parts of you I don't want to see, and a lot of things you do that I shouldn't be subjected to!" Dean protested as Harry laughed.
"I turned it off when you came in." Sam said giving him a look. "And who is the one subjecting whom to what? Please... what about your little vibrating bed habit?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Vibrating bed habit?"
"Dude, I was on house arrest for the most part." Dean explained. He had to lay low from the cops once in a while, aliases or not. "What was I supposed to do? Plugged in my I-Pod and got a massage for a quarter at a time. Perfectly normal!"
"It isn't normal when I come in and you are begging for more quarters. You must have slammed at least 50 bucks into that thing a quarter at a time. That is seriously not normal."
"I wasn't begging. I just asked." Dean said. "He's completely nuts, Harry."
"Yeah... well... appears to be a Winchester trait. " Harry said with a chuckle. He figured they were all nuts in their own way but he wasn't about to list himself with the others. That was just asking for Dean to open up on him after all, and Harry, well... Harry didn't play fair.
"We should spy on Dad and Murph." Dean said. "I mean, they should be chaperoned, right? Crazy kids like them."
"Now I know you're nuts. You do realize she is always packing right?" Harry said. "And stands a good chance against you in hand to hand combat? I recommend getting home to your girlfriend and the kiddies before Max decides you're a dead beat dad."
Dean laughed. "Got a point there. But I always pack too." He pointed out. "Fine, come on Sam. Let's go check on the puppies before you go back to Harry's then decide to call me in the middle of the night."
"Is that your way of telling me it's my responsibility to wake you up for the late night feedings? I bet Maxie will wake you up all on her own."
"It's my way of telling you no calling at odd hours because you realized you don't know how your puppy is doing at any given time." Dean said with a laugh. "Don't give me a look, you already admitted you were becoming an insane pet owner."
"Yeah okay. " Sam said with a laugh. "Guess if you can raise me, you can figure out what to do with a puppy. Especially with Maxie there to tell you what needs doing."
"Dude, I hand raised Max." Dean said. Max hadn't gone to obedience school, there had been no dog trainer in the house, no doggy day schools, just her and Dean. "I think I've got a handle on it."
"Okay, so I can sleep just fine." He said with a grin although the pup would be a good excuse to move back in, except he was enjoying getting to know their father more.
"At least one of us can. I have this odd feeling I'm going to get kicked out of my own bed by a bunch of dogs." Dean said with a shake of his head.
"Dad managed to sleep with you and me in a queen sized bed on more than one occasion. I think we were much bigger than a pug." Sam pointed out.
"Yeah, but we weren't Maxie." Dean said with a chuckle. "So if I'm all stiff...and not in a good way...tomorrow, you all will know why!"
"If you are all stiff in a good way... you need help." Sam pointed out as he got to his feet.
TMATMATMATMATMA
John came back to their table with a pitcher of beer and two glasses. "This is much better. Thanks for suggesting it." John said as he took his seat and filled the glasses.
Connie laughed. "For someone who hated school, Dean gets off on being a scientist. Pluck us out of our environment, then study us and look for behavioral changes." She said with a grin.
"That, coupled with Sam's strangely romantic nature, made for an interesting experiment. Fortunately neither of us are Pavlov's dog." John said. "And managed to find our own way."
"Oh, cheers to that!" Connie said as she picked up her beer."They really should have known better though."
"Yeah. Who would think my boys would be comfortable in a 5 star restaurant? You know... I think Harry looked at ease as well. I figured him for a cheap diner kinda guy." Some of John's favorite restaurants along the back roads were cheap diners. They had some of the best food anywhere.
"Give them a little credit." Connie said with a grin. "Wasn't chosen for the food, they'll eat anything. Just in case, you know, things came up, we were guaranteed privacy without having to hedge our words." She pointed out.
"There is that." He said. "Although sometimes it would be nice not to have things come up." He smiled a little sadly. "Unfortunately none of us are in the line of work that gives us much chance of things not coming up. " Even Dean. He was a CEO to pay for his hunting expeditions.
"Yeah, but I'm the only one that truly gets paid for this line of work." She pointed out with a grin. "Even Harry doesn't get paid for everything he does."
"Yeah... you also get to hang it up when you walk through the door at night along side your weapons and badge. I envy you that." John said.
"You think so?" Connie said. "I get home, and I just think about what's out there that I'm not catching because I'm home. Human monsters and all the other kinds."
"Now that's rough. How do you deal with that with your daughter?" John asked. "I never seemed to manage with the boys, I was too afraid it would come for Sam again. "
"Guess that's the secret." Connie said. "Nothing's after my daughter. That helps a lot, believe me, when it comes to dealing."
"Gotta keep it that way Connie... what ever it takes. Sam... even far away from me... growing up as normal as it could be for him... it still hunted him down. "
"John, it's not your fault that whatever is after Sam, is after him." Connie said.
"I know... doesn't change the fact that I couldn't protect him." He said and sighed. "And we didn't come here so that I could bitch moan and groan about the past." He chuckled softly. "Sorry about that."
She waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it. That was the free pass though. Next time I'll just smack you upside the head or something." She said with a grin.
John raised both eyebrows briefly and grinned at her. "I'd better behave." He looked up as the waitress brought over their hamburgers. He thanked her and looked back at Murphy. "So what made you want to be a cop?" He said, with genuine interest. Not the usual tone of why on earth would a woman want such a thing?
"My dad was a cop. I grew up in stations and around cops." She said. "I don't know, I guess it's kind of in my blood you could say. He was a detective, and it was just one of those things I always knew I was going to do."
"I got drafted... in both cases." John said with a faint laugh. "My dad was a mechanic, so I was working on cars from the moment I was old enough to stand. So when the war ended..." It was a war. John didn't care what they called it. He had spent three years over there, he knew what it was like, politicians didn't have a clue about much of anything as far as he was concerned. "That's what I did. When Mary died... and I figured out what it was out there... and that it was after my boy... there was nothing else to do but stay on the move and fight. Never really stopped moving and fighting after they were taken. "
"Well, explains Dean's fascination with cars." Connie said. The Morningway estate hadn't had a mechanic since Dean turned fifteen, she remembered Harry telling her that. Probably one of the reasons why the Blue Beetle was still running.
John laughed a little. "Yeah he was always out there wanting to help when I was working on the Impala. I was under the hood, and there was Dean handing me tools at 4. That was before the world went up in flames. Afterwards, Dean would bring Sammy's carrier out and park it beside us on the grass and stand there handing me tools until he was old enough to do some of it himself. " John smiled. "And he was always asking, every time. 'am I big enough yet, Daddy?'"
Connie smiled. "I can see that." She said with a laugh. "It's good that he has ways to keep himself occupied though." She knew a Bored Dean was a Dangerous Dean, even if he was more dangerous to himself than anyone else.
"Dean always found ways to entertain himself. Some of them less appealing than others. What about your daughter? Tell me about her?" John said, not wanting to spend the entire time talking about himself, even though it was rare that he felt comfortable in doing so.
Connie laughed. "Poor Anna, she's a linebacker trapped in a ballerina's body." She said and went on a fifteen minute long monologue abouther daughter before she laughed again. "Yeah, I could easily put someone to sleep once you get me on that subject."
John laughed. "Not at all. I like hearing about her. You let me go on and on about the boys." He said, refilling their glasses. "Sounds like you have your hands full and are loving every minute of it."
"Absolutely." Connie said with a laugh. "It's the trademark of a parent. Admit it, there are things that Dean and Sam did that had you seeing red, but now...it's hilarious."
"Oh yeah. Just the nature of kids. It's funny what seems so important in the moment, but really isn't in the grand scheme of things." He shared some of Dean and Sam's more interesting antics from when they were little.
Connie told John what Anna had managed to put her through so far until she looked at her watch. "Speaking of the rugrat, I have to go relieve the babysitter." She said with laugh. "Before she charges me triple."
John picked up the tab, and rose to go pull out her chair. Location didn't make him any less a gentleman. "I'm glad we ditched the boys. I had a good time tonight."
"You know, so did I." Connie said with a grin. "Much better than the hospital."
"Certainly a lot fewer threats of violence." He added with a chuckle. "So, would it be alright to call you ... maybe do this again?"
"It would be all right." She said as she wrote her number on a matchbook and handed it to him.
John smiled. "Great." He said and wrote his number down as well. The cell phone just in case he was working "So, let's get you back to your car." He said as he gave her the number.
She slipped the number into her purse and grinned. "Yeah, we should." She said. "I suprisingly had a good time. Once we got out of that restaurant anyway."
"Me too. 4 star restaurants and I just don't agree with one another." He said as he escorted her to the truck. "Dean, I think, wanted to make sure I made a good impression. "
Connie laughed. "You got pimped out by your sons." She said with a grin. "How's it feel?"
John laughed. "Well since it worked out so well, I won't ground them for it." He said, returning the grin.
"So that's the secret to staying out of trouble. Hook you up on blind dates." She said with a chuckle. "They do that a lot?"
"Nope. This is a first. " He said as he started the truck. "It's definitely different dealing with adult sons than children. "
"I can imagine." Connie said. "Most of all remembering that they're grown men, no matter how they act in public."
"That's the hard one. I still want to step in and tell them how to do things and no he can't just walk out of the hospital like an idiot."
"Good luck on that one." Connie said with a laugh. "It's all the way around. Sam doesn't like hospitals, Harry doesn't like hospitals...I don't know, is it a manly thing or something?"
"Most men don't like feeling helpless. Doesn't get much more helpless than a hospital bed." John explained. "Harry and Sam, I think, have even more worries since they short out electrical equipment."
"Yeah, poor guys. But at least we don't have to worry about losing them to the cyber world or video games."
"There is that." John said. "We didn't have those things when the boys were little, anyway. Just the TV in the motel room and they seem to be okay around televisions so long as they don't mess with them too much."
"A man who can't channel surf. It's a wonder they haven't offed themselves out of despair yet." She said with a laugh.
John laughed. "It's a miracle no one has scooped Harry up and made him take that ever growing back payment Dean keeps trying to force on him."
"Harry keeps a low profile." Connie said. "Not many people know he's technically as loaded as he is. That's his secret."
"More like his shame the way he goes about it." John said. "I don't know... can't say I blame him. Mary wanted none of the Morningway money or stigma... but now that the old boy is back amongst the theoretically living... hell... now would be a good time to take Dean up on the offer. Give it to charity... something Justin despises or something. "
Connie laughed. "That would stick it to Justin I'm sure." She said. "I don't know, I think Dean feels a little hurt. He figures now it's his money, seeing as he's the one earning it right now."
"You're probably right. Something Harry might want to consider. But he seems like he's set in his ways and all. Not that I have any room to talk." He said with a chuckle.
Connie chuckled. Oh it was going to be interesting. Dean was generous to a fault with people he cared about. With everything. His attention, his concern, his time, and his money. "I think we're all set in our ways a bit."
John nodded as he pulled into the other restaurants parking lot. "That we are. Hoping to change some of mine ... spend more time locally."
"That's good to hear." Connie said. "Because, you know, Dean and Sam would really like that." She quickly covered.
"Yeah, there are people here I would definitely like to get to know better." John said as he turned off the engine.
She smiled at him for that. "Good." She said. "I'd hate to have to tell your sons I ran you out of town or something."
He laughed softly. "No... no worries about that." He said, gently. He wondered if it was still considered forward to kiss on the first date. It had been a very long time since he had actually dated. He had spent time with other women over the years, but that was by no stretch of the imagination dating.
"You know, it's been a while since I've actually been out with a guy I didn't threaten to arrest." She said with a chuckle. "And now I feel like I'm fifteen again."
"You're not the only one. It's been a long time since I have ... been on real date." He said. "A little rusty on how this whole saying good night thing goes... at least on a first date."
It was definitely strange, at her age, to be so awkward at the end of the date. They'd exchanged phone numbers already. Agreed to see each other again. So that was taken care of. It had gone well, even if they had been thrown together.
The whole dating etiquette had passed over her head, if she'd ever been taught it. So she leaned over in the seat and kissed his cheek. "Call me." She said as she exited he truck to her own car. Because no one had ever described Connie Murphy as easy, in any definition of the word.
John Winchester smiled boyishly as he put the truck in gear and pulled away from the parking lot.
tmatmatma
Maxie nudged Dean, her curly tail pressed tightly against her even as it was wagging madly, looking like some strange mutant cinnamon roll trying to demand civil rights. It was time to take care of the puppies, which she was ill equipped to do on her own.
Dean groaned and pulled his blankets over his head. Which just made Max burrow over them, she was going to wake the human up, whether he liked it or not. So finally, with a groan and a yawn, he sat up, rubbing at his eyes as she bounced about the bed. "Damn things eat more than I do." He grumbled as he went for the formula, shuffling his feet tiredly as he found it and loaded it up into bottles. "Next time, I'm calling Sam."
Justin saw Dean's light on and rapped lightly on the door before pushing it open a little "You're up late." He said as he looked inside. "What's this? Puppies?"
"Sam decided to blackmail me emotionally to take it easy." Dean said. Justin had been right, even if Dean had really been mad at Sam, even if it hadn't been an act, it still wouldn't have lasted long. "Once they're weaned and training is started, he's taking one of them. What are you doing up?"
"Insomnia. Haven't slept well since well.. .coming back. It will pass, I am sure. How are you feeling?" He asked. "Is it working? These puppies?" He stepped in closer to look at the little new born pugs. "They are much smaller than Max was when I brought her home."
"Yeah, Max was six weeks old when I got her." Dean said. "These puppies are about a week old, their mother was abandoned and she died. So they need intensive attention, which was Sam's whole plan I'm sure. He's a sneaky guy."
"That he is. I was informed that he has formally taken my seat with the council. I think they will find they are in over their head with him." Justin said with a smile.
"They probably think he's in over his head. So it should be interesting." Dean said with a chuckle. "I get to watch it from the outside, of course. They don't like to deal with me. Normal people aren't supposed to know what I know after all."
"You would have been an exception no matter what. You were born into a magical family, and your father is a hunter. They can't keep everything secret, no matter how much they would like to."
"Yeah, well, I'm supposed to tow the line, remember?" Dean said. He tried not to tow any line, he preferred to cross them actually. "But guess they'll be in for a surprise with Sam. He's not exactly the tow the line type either, deep down. So if Sam has your seat, what does this mean for you?"
"I suppose that all depends on how badly they want to keep me off of the council... and how badly Harry wants to get back at me. He has had the option of his mother's seat. If he doesn't take it, then I will put in a bid for it."
"You know, now is not the time for you and Harry to start playing push and shove." Dean said as he went to feed the other puppy, as Max curled around the one who had just eaten.
"I've never had any desire to play push and shove with Harry. He can't forgive me for his father and I understand that. But I still care deeply for him . I raised him as I raised you. "
"I don't know. I like to think I waded out of Lake Michigan fully formed and everything." Dean said with a grin. "I know it's incredibly unrealistic of me, but sometimes I just wish we were one big happy family."
"I do as well." Justin said. "It will just take time for everyone to find their place again, to have time to heal and forgive."
Forgive? He obviously didn't know John Winchester. Which was why Dean kept his own secret so tightly guarded. He wasn't sure there was forgiveness left in John, any potential for that burned with his mother. "We haven't named them yet." Dean said instead, in regards to the puppies.
"Which one are you keeping?" Justin asked as he let Dean change the subject. "For that matter, which one does Max want to keep?" He knew who wore the pants in Dean's little family, and it was the dog.
"She hasn't decided yet." Dean said with a laugh. "I guess when the time comes, whichever one she doesn't snap at Sam for getting near is the one that Sam gets to have. I almost feel bad about getting her fixed way back when."
"Yes, but there wouldn't have been any little boy pugs around to get her pregnant anyway. So you did her a favor really. Besides, she is getting to be mommy now. "
"Please, she's my dog. If she wanted some, she woulda found a way." Dean said with a laugh. "So how long are you guys gonna watch me like a hawk?" He asked. "I mean, I can't exactly avoid vampires in my line of work."
"Till you have recovered fully. Now don't give me that look. You aren't at the top of your game right now. When you are... without hurting yourself in the process, I'm sure we can all back off. "
"Yeah, well, who gets to make that decision? All the wheels are in motion, now is not the time for me to be benched." Dean pointed out.
"You aren't benched, and the wheels aren't moving that quickly. Especially with one of the sepulchers secreted away. We have time for you to fully recover. In fact, it's important that you recover fully."
"You know, it's like making the bed." Dean said. "Why bother when you're just going to unmake it at the end of the day?"
"Except that any minor injury weakens you. It's a flaw that can be targeted and preyed upon by others, and if you think the Wardens won't target them, you are wrong. They are warrior wizards, trained as you are, with Sam's magic and the heart of a hunter like your father. Without the compassion. " He had to grant that there was compassion in the man. He wouldn't have been as easy to break if there hadn't been.
Dean shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I won't have much compassion for them either." It was scary sometimes, but he could turn it on and off like a light switch, due to his training, and everything else. Sometimes he wondered if that made him damaged or sick, but most of the time he shrugged it off.
"Of course I am going to worry about you." Justin said "You are not expendable. I never taught you that you were, Dean. If I had thought you were, I never would have given you the additional name of Octavius. Names mean something."
Dean sighed. "I know. I just have cabin fever. And I'm playing along as best I can. Really. Though I called Bianca and I set up a meeting with her. She won't feed off me, so she's safe. But I gotta know how I'm going to react."
"That's wise." Justin said. "I understand Samuel is supposed to meet with her as well. I don't think he should go alone, not with them sending him to request a ... partnership."
"Yeah, cause that's going to go over so well. And it's not suspicious either, I'd demand to go anyway. Because that's a dangerous thing to suggest to someone as...tempermental...as Bianca."
"Yes. I think they are testing Sam, and it's a dangerous test. I didn't expect that out of Merlin. Mei likes to chum the waters with the newbies. Merlin is usually much more sensible. He must have angered them."
"Dude, he's a Winchester. And a Morningway. Smart mouth comes standard." Dean said with a laugh. "As does arrogance, so yeah, I bet he pissed them off."
"Sam has always had a secret loathing for authority." Justin said with a chuckle. "And if they mentioned you and your father breaking treaties I think it would have made his resentment a little less secret."
"I can't break treaties I didn't sign." Dean pointed out. Again. It was an old point. "So Dad and I are in the clear. We're not magical, we're not members of the council, we're not bound by them."
"Never said that you were, but since you are related to Sam, they are going to put pressure on him to get you two to lay off... or more likely take contracts from them if I know them right."
"They can try. Sam's a lot smarter than they think he his. Which is good for us." Dean said.
"I would agree. He also seems to have a way of spotting manipulation from a mile away." Justin said.
"Yeah, he does." Dean said, looking Justin over carefully. "He's definitely our ace in the hole in that regard."
"I would have to agree." He said with a nod. "It's a good trait to have, although sometimes I wonder if that isn't because he suspects manipulation a little too often. "
"Suspects?" Dean said. "More often than not we're being manipulated in one way or another, even if the excuse is it's for our own good or something assinine like that."
"Well, that could be because you boys won't do things for your own good unless you are manipulated into do so."
"Just remember what they said about the road to hell." Dean said as he returned the other puppy to Max. "I can't take much more of this hovering and Deansitting though."
"Not so much hovering as just visiting I thought. " Justin said as he rose. "You will be fine, just give yourself a little time. I should think Sam was right. By the time the puppies no longer need undivided attention, you should be ready to start training again."
Dean felt bad, he was talking generally. "I didn't mean 'now.'" Dean said. "I meant generally. You know, Sam walked me back to my room to make sure I went there. He probably had to force himself NOT to tuck me in. I'm twenty six years old."
"And your brother feels responsible for not preventing your abduction in the first place. The first time the mission really came first for him and you and your father paid the price in his view. It isn't really hard to figure out why... he is very much like you that way."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Well, he has to stop. Cause I was me first, and I called it first."
Justin laughed then. "Thus sayeth the twenty six year old." In some ways they really were still boys. "I think you need to cut your brother a little slack. "
"I think I've cut him enough slack. Easiest way for me to prove this whole house arrest thing is unnecessary is for me to beat the crap out of him." Dean said with a grin.
"Or Sam could prove his point by not being so easily beaten and then you have embarassment on top of injuring yourself again to deal with. Let's pass on that option." Justin teased.
"Talk about kicking a man when he's down." Dean said with a laugh. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I have to behave for a little while longer. Just tell the nurse to stop drugging my food. I might eat what she wants me to if she stopped slipping pills into it."
"I will tell her." He said. "So long as you actually continue to rest, your food will be sedative free."
"I'm resting." He said. Kinda. He wasn't how he usually was, mostly in part to the Deansit surrounding him, but that had to count. "Besides, if she keeps trying to sedate me, who's going to feed the puppies?"
"There is that." Justin said "But as Max seems to have the puppies under control at the moment, I should let you get some rest." He said. "Don't worry... this will pass soon enough. " He told his nephew as he rested his hand on his shoulder.
Dean sighed. "Yeah, I know." He said. At least he was out of the hospital, and the nurse wasn't picking his door lock to take his vital signs in the middle of the night. Or trying to tell him when he couldn't have company. Especially the over night kind.
"I'll see you in the morning. Get some sleep while the little ones will let you." He said going toward the door.
"Night Uncle Justin." Dean said as he settled down in bed, Maxie moving the pups to where she thought they should go. He knew better than to argue with her.
Max settled the pups near to Dean and curled around them to keep them warm on the other side, then licked at Dean's hand, wagging her tail for a moment before resting her head down on the bed.
Dean settled down, and once he settled down, he had no problems going to sleep. It was the getting up and moving that he had problems with, though he'd deny it if it ever came up. So when he woke up the next morning, it took serious initiative to get up and moving, but he did. Got the dogs settled and headed over to his dad's.
"Dad? You home? Come home at a decent hour?" He said in a teasing tone as he let himself in and made coffee.
John stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "You're up early. " He said with a smile.
"Well, I didn't have much of a reason to stay up." Dean said and tried to check around for signs of someone else as subtly as he could. Which was a whole lot less subtle than he thought.
John simply chuckled softly and ignored what his son was doing. It was amusing. "You had breakfast yet?" He asked as he grabbed his bathrobe off the near by chair and pulled it on.
"No, I've been up for a while. House was still quiet when I left." Dogs had to do their business, and they didn't look at the clock. "So thought I'd come see how you were, since you ditched us last night for a girl and all." He teased.
"A girl you set me up with I might add." John said as he went to break out the pancake mix, and pull the sausage links from the fridge. "We went someplace a little more suited to our personalities."
"Oh, nice." Dean said. "So you're happy that we set you up? My idea you know."
"Yeah, I had a good time. Got a phone number out of it. Good start." He knew Dean would progress much faster with women. God knew John did out on the road but this was different.
Dean chuckled and poured the coffee for them once it was made. "That's progress. Good job." He said. "So you going to call her? You should call her."
"Yes, but I figured I would do that when she isn't at work." He added with a laugh. "So how hungry are you?"
"I don't know, got a horse in there?" Dean said with a laugh as he slid his father's coffee to him. "Sure, when she's off work sounds good. Sam and I got a date with a vampire anyway. Might bring Harry along. I think he slept with her once, she's hot."
"You sure that's a good idea?" John asked worriedly as he put in most of the package of sausages, and started the first round of pancakes. He knew that one of them had saved his son, but he didn't know how even her presence would affect Dean.
"It's a great idea." Dean said. "Because she's nice, neutral territory. She might think I'm a snack, but she doesn't say it out loud." He said with a shrug. "Can't avoid vamps forever. Not in my line of work, or Sam and Harry's. So...I want to figure out how this works with someone like her."
John nodded even if he didn't like the idea at all. "Fine but you definitely need to take the other boys with you. I'd go but most vamps don't like the idea of a hunter in their midst. "
"I'm definitely taking them with me. That's the plan." Dean said. "Give me a little credit, sure I'm reckless and impulsive, but I don't have a true death wish."
"That's good. From what I understand Sam and Harry were concerned about that for a while." He said flipping the pancakes. "Glad to see that isn't the case."
"Yeah, well, they worry too much." Dean said. "They tend to question the motivation behind each and everything I do, say or think. Gets annoying after a while." He said with a shrug.
"They just love you, that's all. You're like me. You don't like to appear weak, or need help. So you try and hide how bad it is. So they pry. You used to come over when you thought I was sleeping and check me over for injuries. Even after I told you I was alright."
"You weren't sleeping?" Dean asked with a chuckle. "Thought I got pretty good at spiking your beer so you would. You hardly ever slept."
"Sleep was highly over rated. " He said then sighed looking at his son. "Nightmares." He admitted. "Could face the minions of hell, but a nightmare was just too much to ask."
"I know." Dean said. "You used to twitch." He said. He'd spent his childhood watching his father and his brother sleep.
"And now Sam is staying awake nights watching you twitch." John pointed out as he dished up two plates piled with pancakes and sausages.
"No he's not." Dean said. "I have a lock on my door." But he wasn't denying that he might 'twitch.' He had enough memory to constitute a whole chockload of horrifying nightmares.
John laughed as he sat down at the table. "Well, okay, maybe not literally but he is still hovering " He grabbed the butter and syrup and took a seat. "This whole having an apartment thing is taking some getting used to."
"Believe me, I know he's hovering. So's Harry. So are you for that matter." Dean said with a chuckle as he covered his pancakes and his sausage with maple syrup. "Don't worry, I have faith that all of you will discover life beyond me."
John shook his head. "So how are things going over at the mansion?" He asked, still not liking his boy there alone with the likes of Justin Morningway.
"They're fine." Dean said. "Using the opportunity to catch up on the paying job,what with me being grounded and all. Not exactly sure what Justin is up to, but haven't seen anything too off."
"You won't either. He is a lot of things, but a fool isn't one of them. " John said, he frowned. "I know.. he raised you, and you love him. I suppose I would be disappointed in you if you didn't under the circumstances but, You gotta understand that there is no way I can accept him after he took you two from me. Would you really want me to let it all go that easily?"
Dean sighed and shrugged. "I know, I get it. I do." Dean said. "I'm just a...fixer...I guess. Or something like that. I'll deal."
"I know. I don't want you to hate him, even though it might feel a little less like failure on my part if you did. " He smiled a little. "I worry about Sam though. Is he getting in over his head with this council thing?"
"Not happy about that." Dean said. "I don't know. I hope not. Only so much I can do." As much as it pained him, physically, to admit that. But he was not allowed in the council chambers.
"We'll need to keep our eyes on him. Harry at least knows what he is looking for when it comes to magical interference. I wouldn't have the first clue about most of it. The way your mother talked about it..." He frowned again and took a long drink of his coffee.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked. He was missing a whole chunk of his mother's life. From when she left Chicago until she died. He had a few brief memories of his own he clung to, but that was about it. The rest was mainly stories from Justin.
"Your mother hated this life, Dean. It's why you never knew that side of your family. Not even before your mother's death. She blamed the council for her sister's death... " It was still hard to talk about Mary. Even after all these years.
"So does Justin." Dean said with a shrug as he ate. "I think that's half the reason for his little take over the council idea."
"I'd like to find out more information on that... " In part because if the council were trafficking with demons, then it was possible that they had something to do with what happened to Mary and Sam, and eventually Jessica. In part because now his son was directly involved with them.
"Hopefully Sam can find something out about that." Dean said. "It's a sore subject with Harry, and Justin too for that matter." Dean believed that Justin really did adore his two sisters.
John nodded. "Yeah. Might shed some light on things for Harry as well, although my concern is more that this Morningway fixation they have will extend to Winchesters." Or that it already had.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Dean said. "And then of course proceed to completely torch the hell out of the thing."
John smiled a little at that. "That we will." He would talk to Sam about it later, although he would leave out his suspicions about Mary and Jess and the council's involvement in their deaths. Sam was able to keep his world something resembling normal right then. He didn't want to upset that apple cart and send his son down the same path he himself had gone on.
"All right." Dean said. "Sam's doing okay. Think it helps him to be 'productive' or whatever. And people say I can't sit still."
"You never could." John said. "You were squirming around from about three months into the pregnancy. Your mother thought for sure you were twins."
Dean laughed. "Could you imagine two of me?" He said with a grin. "That would have been...hey, I could have had an evil twin. Or maybe I'd be the evil twin."
"You both would have been evil and ganged up on Sam mercilessly." John said with a faint chuckle.
"And driven you gray. Coulda been fun." Dean said with a smile. "Oh well, the world's probably better off with just one of me come to think of it. So what was Sam like?"
"The pregnancy was harder. Your mother was going into the doctor's office every couple weeks. Always on some medicine or supplement. We were so relieved when he was born and everything turned out to be normal."
"So do you think you two would have had more?" Dean asked, ever curious about his mother. "Even with Mom having a hard time with Sam? Or was two what you decided on in the first place?"
"We would have tried again. Wanted to try for a daughter." He said with a faint smile. "Your mother... she loved being a mother... loved you boys so much."
"I know, I remember that part." Dean said. "Dad...I kn ow it's hard, and you've never talked about her before...but Sam and I? We don't have your memories. Sam doesn't have any. We've picked Uncle Justin's brain a lot. We're going to pick yours." It was even more poignant, Dean was nearly the age Mary was when she died.
John nodded. "It's a little easier than it used to be." He admitted. "When your mother died, so did I. Figuratively anyway. I kept wondering what I had missed, how I could have been sleeping in front of the tv while it was happening and not hear a thing? I couldn't help but feel that I should have done something or known something... "
As much as Dean wanted to know about his mother, the last thing he wanted to delve into was THAT NIGHT. A flash of pain and guilt ran across his own face, the guilt lingering in his green eyes. "Wasn't your fault, Dad." Dean said. "It really wasn't. You can't blame yourself."
"No one else to blame, Son. At least not until I find out who and why. Demons don't just materialize in nurseries and kill people with out a plan. Or a reason. "
"Dad..." Dean said and nearly spilled. For the first time (sober). Then chickened out. "Still some coffee left?"
"Yeah, bring the pot over, why don't you?" He suggested, looking at his half empty cup as well.
"Sure." Dean said as he brought the pot over and warmed up both their cups. "So Justin isn't being helpful. He's stonewalling me with my 'recovery' and such."
"Or he is having to rethink what to do. Before he was planning to use the sepulcher as leverage I am sure. Now he doesn't have it and doesn't know where it is."
"And that's not changing." Dean said. "He won't know where it is until it comes time to destroy them all. So any news on the yellow eyed demon front?"
"Nothing since Jessica's death." John said. "A couple ideas on how to track it but, it always puts me two steps behind instead of a step in front."
"Well, two steps behind gives us a chance to see a pattern to get in front of it." Dean pointed out. "This demon can't be stupid, not if it's been around for so long."
John nodded and began to detail the patterns he had found, the storms, the fires, centering around children on their six month birthdays.
"Okay, so we've got the storms, the fires...let's look at the storms. If we map them out maybe, then I can have someone in my tech division hack into the vital statistics, narrow down those with six month birthdays..." Dean suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." He said with a nod. "Certainly beats the hell out of hanging out in the hall of records after the fact."
"Welcome to the 21st century, Dad." Dean said with a smirk. "It's really not that bad a place to be."
"Yeah well the 21st century and I are on passing terms since I live on the road and hunt things down that people haven't believed in since the 19th century."
"And the internet is a wonderful tool. If it's out there, you can find info on it with a click of a button. Contact your sources all at once...I'm telling you, it's the wave of the future. And you still get to get your hands really grimy dirty too." Dean said. Made his life easier, computers and internet and such.
John laughed a little. "We'll see. Can't justify ripping someone off for the price of a lap top to take with me these days." The apartment was Sam's, really, but he knew that the kid had bought it for him. He wasn't sure how to deal with that yet. So he still called it Sam's place.
"If you want a lap top, I can get you a lap top." Dean said. "Two weeks ago, I sharked some idiot for three grand at poker. That's a nice lap top."
"Why the hell are you sharking poker? It's not like you need the money." John said, shaking his head. "You do know you get a huge paycheck being CEO, right?"
"It's not about the money. It's about the fun, and the adrenaline rush." Dean said with a shrug. "That's why I shark pool and darts too. It's fun. You've never gotten a thrill out of it? Not once?"
John laughed. "Not in a number of years. That's just money. For me anyway. I get enough excitement doing the job. At my age you don't want too much excitement."
Dean grinned. "I suppose there's that." Dean said. "Luckily for me, I'm good to go in that department. More excitement the better."
John shook his head. "Excitement can seriously be overrated, be careful which kind you go after."