Chapter Thirty- Seven

The Winchester brothers and Whitman sisters pulled up in the Impala to the address that Lana and Hayley's grandparents had given them. The two-story house was in the normal style New Orleans' home- the traditional shotgun. The white paint looked new, although the house was easily over a hundred years old.

Lana and Hayley both noticed the smell of fresh growing lavender, sage, and other herbal necessities once they stepped out of the car. Lana took Hayley's hand in hers as she turned to look at Dean. Lana hadn't wanted to bring Dean or Sam, but her grandmother insisted. Lana gave her grandmother the bare minimum of the relationship that they shared with the brothers. Her grandmother already knew about Hayley's kin to John Winchester. Lana felt no need to disclose any other relationship she may have with Dean.

Sam cleared his throat. "Want us to wait outside?"

"No," Hayley said. "They'll think it's rude."

"Looks, this isn't some big deal, okay?" Lana said. "We'll just get in, ask some questions for Hayley's sake, and get out.

Hayley nodded in agreement. "Exactly. And if Bunica made some Potato goulash with smoked meat, we'll eat that too."

"Bunica?" Dean asked Sam as they followed the girls up the driveway.

"That's Romanian for grandmother."

"Ah," Dean nodded.

Lana knocked on the front door, noticing the symbols along the flowerpots that lined the steps to the door. Her Bunica was still as she remembered; making sure that their culture lived on.

The door opened and a man and a woman in their early sixties stood on the inside. Both had a darker complexion than Lana, but the woman sported the same penetrating eyes as did her granddaughters. "Nepoatele mele," their grandmother smiled. My granddaughters

"Bunica, Bunic," Hayley greeted, hugging both of them. "Buna dimineata." Good morning

"Come in," their grandmother insisted.

Hayley walked in, their grandfather leading her into the sitting room. He had his arm around her, smiling down at her.

Their grandmother stepped in front of Lana. "Ileana."

"Hello, Bunica. It's good to see you again." She turned to the side so that Dean and Sam were more visible to her. "These are John's sons, Dean

and Sam."

She pursed her lips together as if studying the brothers. "I'm Anca."

"It's good to meet you," Sam said first and offered his hand to Anca.

Lana casually pushed Sam's hand down, indicating that that was not an appropriate greeting when meeting a Romanian woman.

Luckily Anca hadn't seen because her husband was calling for her in the next room.

"My grandfather probably wouldn't want you to bed his wife," Lana said softly to Sam, letting him know why shaking hands with a woman was so inappropriate.

Dean grinned ear to ear as he followed Lana inside.

Anca closed the door but stood in front of Dean and Lana. "Something wrong, Bunica?" Lana asked.

Anca answered Lana by slapping her across the face. Lana let out a small whimper due to the shock, not necessarily because of the sting of the skin-to-skin contact.

"Wow," Dean said quickly.

Lana put her palm on Dean's chest and lightly nudged him back. She looked at her grandmother, her eyes narrowed.

"Curva," she spat. Whore "Both of you," she said looking at Dean.

"I don't know what she said," Dean said in a low voice.

"Whore," Anca repeated.

Dean nodded, not going to argue.

"He's all over you," Anca said.

Dean put his hands up in the air. "I haven't touched her since we got here."

"No. Your auras. They're merged."

"Allowing a man to penetrate you is allowing him to interlock your aura with his on a forever plane. Receiving and absorbing his physical bodily fluids fills your aura with the entire blueprint of all of his memories, this life time as well as past life times," Anca continued.

"I know, Bunica," Lana said, her tone both annoyed and embarrassed.

"Can she see all the auras that I've interlocked with?" Dean asked Sam, feeling only slightly embarrassed.

"You're not helping," Sam said sternly.

"You love her?" Anca asked, finally.

"Bunica!" Lana interjected.

"It's okay," Dean said as he stepped forward. "I do love her."

Anca was not happy with this news. She sighed and looked away. Her gaze found a picture of her daughter, Lana's mother, on the wall. "You are so much like my fiică, Ileana. Both of you share a weakness for the Winchester men," she looked at Lana. "Do not let it become your downfall like it did your mother." Anca looked at the brothers. "You protect them. Hayley is stronger than she looks but this one… she isn't as strong as she thinks." Anca held Lana's face in her hands. "Sufletul meu este bucuros să vadă ta." My soul is happy to see yours

Lana smiled for the first time since arriving. "Eu, bunica." Me too

"Now come," Anca said. "We have pumpkin slices and tea."

The next couple hours, Anca and Marius, the girls' grandfather, played catch up with Lana and Hayley while getting to know Dean and Sam. It was as normal afternoon of an afternoon as it could have been until Anca asked Lana when was the last time she visited her mother's grave.

Lana shifted in her seat. "I haven't." She stood up. "Can you please just give Hayley the herbs she needs and call it a day?"

Anca and Marius exchanged a look, but Anca nodded. "We need to do a ritual. We can do it tomorrow night."

Lana was already grabbing her bag. "We'll see you then," she said before leaning over and kissing both Anca and Marius on their cheeks.

"Marius, will you give them the left overs?" Anca asked.

"Of course," he said leading the group back into the kitchen.

"Dean," Anca said quietly.

He turned back to Anca.

"Ileana… do you know where her name originated?"

He shook his head.

"It is the name of a princess kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a heroic knight." She paused to let that sink in. "Ileana was suppose to carry on our family traditions. She was the first born, she was meant to carry the burden of our magic. It was her form of rebelling when she refused it. Instead, she gets kidnapped by monsters and rescued by a knight. Waiting for a knight is what killed my fiică. I can't live through that again."

Dean nodded, remaining silent.

"Ready?" Lana called.

Dean looked at Lana and nodded. "Right behind you." He turned to look at Anca. "I really do love her."

"That's what your father said about my fiică."

Dean grabbed his jacket and followed Lana out the front door.

"Sorry about that," Lana said as she closed the door to the Impala.

Dean shrugged. "Wasn't the most awkward experience I've had with parents," he said with a smile as he cranked the car.

"Could you imagine," Hayley began. "If we weren't all orphans but you guys still meant and dated."

Sam laughed. "What would dad say?"

Dean shook his head, but also chuckled.

The four of them sat in silence, first pondering how different life would be if they weren't all in fact orphans. Then, wondering how miserable life would be if they hadn't crossed paths.