WAITING
Dean rushed Jo and Nathan in front of him into the house. As their feet pounded down the stairs, he could hear voices in the panic room Bobby had build. Seeing Sam, Jane, Tanner, and Missy in the panic room waiting for them was a relief. He saw Jane holding a scared looking Missy, and Tanner was in the corner with a girl he didn't recognize. Sam stood towards the entrance and sighed in relief as Dean, Jo, and Nathan entered the room. The two brothers locked the door behind them and made eye contact. Having a silent conversation, the Winchester brothers agreed that their first priority was to keep everyone safe. Suddenly, a knock sounded outside the door.
"Dean?" Balthazar's voice called. It was muffled, but Dean could tell that the angel sounded worried.
"We're all here," he called back.
"I'll come back when it's safe," Balthazar instructed before leaving. Dean turned around and once again saw the new girl next to Tanner. She had short black hair and looked terrified. Tanner noticed Dean's gaze and spoke up.
"This is Sarah," Tanner introduced.
"Hi," she said, her voice quivering. She reminded Dean of a frightened mouse backed into a corner.
"That's Dean and over there's Jo and Nathan," Tanner explained, obviously trying to distract Sarah. Jo managed a short nod and forced smile. Thunder could be heard from up above ground, and Dean thought about the people in the town that had just started to rebuild.
"There's still the emergency food and supplies," Sam said, gesturing towards the shelf that was full of survival food and carious items. The feeling of being stuck in the bunker reminded Dean an awful lot of their time at Camp Chitaqua. He then thought of Eliza, Rosa, Chuck, Eric, and everyone else from camp. He wondered if they were okay, or if the apparent 'swarm' was just in their area.
"Right. What time is it?" was Dean's first question.
"Four pm," Jane answered, looking down at her watch.
"Shit," Dean hissed and made eye contact with Jo. She knew that he was thinking about Nathan's formula and her medication. "We better not be down here for more than a few hours then," he reasoned. Jo had never missed a dose of her pain pills or her shots. If they were stuck down in the musty bunker for too long, who knew what could happen.
Sarah had never seen or met any of these people before except for Jane. She would occasionally have a conversation with her when Tanner would come into town with her. She was relatively new to town, and finding someone alive that was her own age was a rarity. Her family was lost to the virus, and she sought refuge at a small cabin community in the northern part of South Dakota. Once the virus began to clear up, she left the community and ventured out on her own. It just so happened that she found herself settling in the same town as Tanner, and she was grateful to have found someone. Even though they hadn't labeled themselves as being in a relationship, they were still very close and cared for one another. When a fierce looking man appeared out of nowhere and ordered Tanner to return home, she didn't know what to do. They had been talking outside of the only working gas station in town, enjoying each other's company. However, when Tanner told her to come with him, she didn't hesitate.
Now she was stuck in a creepy looking panic room with people she didn't know. Missy and Jane seemed harmless, and Sam reminded her of her older brother who was now dead. Jo seemed nice, but she was pretty occupied with a baby in her arms. The only person she was wary of was Dean. His features were so focused, that he frightened her. He had a commanding voice with no humor present. His attitude was that of an army commander. She didn't think he was mean, but she definitely didn't want to strike up conversation with the man.
"All we can really do is wait," Sam said, looking at everyone huddled in the bunker. The sad truth was that there was only one cot and nine people if you included Nathan.
"What's going on?" Missy asked and looked over at Jo and Nathan.
"I'm not sure. But the angels keep up safe, remember?" Jo tried to assure the young girl who was sitting in Jane's lap.
"Wait, angels?" Sarah asked in disbelief.
"I'm not playing catch-up," Dean deadpanned. His comment irritated Sarah, but she brushed it off.
"Just…go along with it," Tanner whispered in her ears. She nodded, and scooted closer to him. The action didn't go unnoticed by Sam, and he smirked at the young couple. Dean motioned for Jo to sit next to him, and he brought her into his arms. With a determined expression on his face, he was preparing himself for what was to come. They didn't know how long they were going to be stuck in the bunker, or what was really happening outside. But they did know to listen to Balthazar or Castiel. If it was bad enough for the angels to send them to the panic room, then something was definitely up.
"I want to go home," Missy said, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
"We will go home later. We're going to stay here for a little bit," Sam tried to explain as he sat down next to Jane and looked down at the little girl. She had become really close to him and Jane, and even called her 'mommy' that morning. Looking across the circular room, he saw Dean holding Jo and Nathan. The sight of his brother with his family made Sam realize that he now had his own family as well. Even though it was slightly different than his brother's, he still had a loving girlfriend and two kids who they took care of. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for Sam. He was just happy that they made it out of the Camp alive. Except, now they had a new problem.
Nathan started to fuss, and Dean figured that he was probably just upset from all the excitement. Jo rocked him back and forth, and Dean stared down at his unhappy son.
"We're going to be fine," he said to Jo and Nathan. He wasn't sure if it was to reassure them, or himself. Jo leaned back into him further, butting her head in the crook of his neck. She started to hum a simple tune, which thankfully calmed Nathan down enough so that he fell asleep.
The thunder continued and they could faintly hear wind threatening to blow the house over above. Missy became more scared and turned her head into Jane's shoulder, trying to hide. Rubbing calming circles on her back, Jane prayed that they would survive whatever war was brewing up above.
