The next day, Jody had rallied every hunter she knew and instructed them to go to the bunker to receive their instructions from Sam and Dean. The Winchesters also called in every favor they had owed to them, which meant that their library was currently full of a wide variety of hunter; men, women, anyone who wanted to help.
After talking with Sam, they all decided that two of them would stay at the bunker with Ellie at all times, and the third would be out hunting with another group. While Sam wanted to be the first to get out and hunt some vampires, Dean was able to convince him to stay behind without telling him what Ellie had mentioned.
Ellie was told to stay in her room until the massive group of hunters were done discussing the plan, but she couldn't stay put any longer and carefully snuck to the back hallway so she could listen in. As she neared closer and peeked around the corner, she saw the back of her father's head standing in the doorway of the war room with his hands on his hips. She grinned, knowing he wouldn't be able to see her, and slowly walked along the wall of the war room to be able to see more of the library full of hunters.
"So everyone get into groups of three, and we'll decide who is going where," Sam finished his speech, nodding. All of the hunters began loudly conversing and Sam looked over to where Dean had an eyebrow raised and was pointing to a spot behind his little brother. Sam closed his eyes, already knowing what Dean was pointing to. He stayed in his position and cleared his throat.
"Get in here, Ellie."
She froze for a moment, cursing inwardly that she had allowed herself to be spotted, then slowly walked up the steps behind her father. Sam turned his head to look down at her and she smiled sweetly up at him.
"I was just...coming to get a drink of water?"
"In the library?" Ellie turned when she heard the voice, and instantly grinned.
"Claire!" She ran forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde.
Claire chuckled and gave her a quick squeeze before pulling her away and grabbing her shoulders. "Kid, how the heck did you manage to get a whole nest of vamps after you?"
"It's Dad's fault, not mine," Ellie shrugged, crossing her arms. Sam rolled his eyes and walked away, deciding to go make conversation with the other hunters.
"Where's Alex?" Ellie looked around the room.
Claire waved a hand, "She's at her house with Annie."
Ellie squealed, bouncing on her heels. "Do you have any new pictures of her?"
Claire pulled out her phone with a smile, showing Ellie a picture of the dark haired two year old sitting in her lap. "What kind of an aunt would I be if I didn't have a thousand pictures of my niece?"
"She's so cute," Ellie moaned, running her thumb over the screen.
"Mike is here though," Claire pointed across the room to Alex's husband, who was in the middle of discussing something with Jody. Ellie shot him a quick wave, which he returned with a smile.
"It's weird that Alex ended up marrying a hunter," Ellie shook her head. "She always said she wouldn't."
Claire shrugged, "Yeah, well. Things change. Your dad didn't ever want to have kids, and look at you."
Ellie's smile fell, although she tried to hide it. Claire realized what she said and immediately apologized, putting her hand on Ellie's shoulder.
"Hey, that's not what I meant, I just—"
"I know, it's fine," Ellie forced a smile before faking a yawn. "I'm still a little tired, I'm going to go lay down."
"Okay," Claire was beating herself up on the inside, shaking her head as Ellie quickly walked away.
"Hey Ellie!"
She stopped in the doorway to the war room, sighing deeply before turning around to see who was calling her name.
"Hey Uncle Garth," she smiled, reaching her arms up for him to give her a hug. He picked her up, making her squeal and giggle.
"You're getting so tall," he ruffled the top of her hair once he put her down. "Last time I saw you, you were barely knee high to a grasshopper."
Ellie chuckled and rolled her eyes, playfully pushing on his chest. "Okay Uncle Garth."
"Hey, there's someone I want you to meet," Garth suddenly reached over to the corner of the room where Ellie didn't realize someone was standing and pulled the body close to him. "This is my nephew—"
"Garrett?" Ellie squeaked, trying to clear her throat.
"You're a hunter?" They both said loudly, earning the attention of a few people in the room.
"Wait, this is the girl we're here for?" Garrett turned and looked at his uncle.
"You two know each other?" Garth's eyes flicked back and forth between the two young people.
"Kind of," Ellie wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly very self conscious of the fact that she was wearing an old Metallica shirt of Dean's and a pair of jean shorts with holes in them.
"Just through social media," Garrett said quietly, watching as Ellie looked around on the floor.
"Well shoot," Garth chuckled, slapping his hand on his nephew's back. "Isn't that perfect? You know Ellie, he's named after me. Well, technically after me and my brother Rhett, get it? Garth, Rhett, Garrett?"
"Uncle Garth," Garrett hissed, nudging the werewolf in the ribs.
"Any way," Garth sighed, realizing he was embarrassing his nephew. "I brought him here to keep you company, since you can't leave and all and—"
"Wait what?" Ellie's eyes snapped up at that just as Sam walked up behind her.
"Hey Garth, you're going to—Wait, Garrett?"
"You know him too?" Garth guffawed, slapping his knee, "Well hot dog. Here I thought I was gonna have to convince you to let him stay here."
"Wait what?" Sam shook his head.
"Y'all were telling me how isolated poor Ellie was, so I figured I'd do what I could to remedy the situation," Garth smiled, holding his hands out.
Ellie felt a blush creeping up her neck, and turned to glare at her father before she hurried to the hallway and down to her bedroom. Sam closed his eyes as she left, and dragged his hand down his face.
"Garrett, could you give me a minute with Garth?" He tried to sound nice, he really did, but it must have came out a little harsh because the boy's eyes got big and he rushed away, his head bowed down.
"What's up, Sam?" Garth clapped a hand to the taller man's shoulder.
"Listen, these two have a small history," Sam moaned, "I don't think Ellie is going to want him around here."
"What? He's a fine young man," Garth said defensively, crossing his arms.
"He..." Sam trailed off, turning to make sure the boy was out of earshot, "He was acting like he liked Ellie, but he has a girlfriend."
Garth scrunched his face up in confusion, shaking his head, "No, he doesn't have a girlfriend."
"Yes he does," Sam nodded, "He posted a picture of him with his arm around a girl."
"That was his cousin Sierra, my niece," Garth chuckled, waving a palm at Sam. "She was visiting from California."
Sam sighed, grateful that he wasn't going to have to murder the kid after all. "But still, do you really think Ellie is going to want to hang out with him here until this mess is cleared up?"
Garth pursed his lips in thought, nodding slowly. "Well even if they can't be friends, he can help you boys keep her safe. He's real good with a blade."
Sam scoffed, turning to look at Garrett, "He's what, thirteen?"
"Just turned fourteen actually."
"Still," Sam turned back to Garth, his lips tightened together. He narrowed his eyes at his friend, tilting his head slightly, "He's not a..."
"A lycanthrope?" Garth finished for him, "Nope. He's just a regular ole human hunter's kid. Just like Ellie."
Sam shook his head, looking down at the ground. "She's not gonna like this."
"I'm sure they'll end up being good friends," Garth smiled, patting Sam's shoulder.
Sam turned and made eye contact with Garrett, gesturing with his head for the boy to return to the conversation. Garrett nodded and quickly walked back over, looking at Garth first and then over to Sam.
"So, you want to stay here and help protect Ellie?" Sam crossed his arms. The kid was actually pretty tall, which wasn't surprising given Garth's stature, but Sam still felt the need to make him feel as small as possible.
"Um, I guess?" Garrett looked over to Garth, who gave him a hardened look, "Uh, I mean yes sir."
Sam narrowed his eyes down at the boy, tightening his jaw. He stayed like that for a moment, trying to use every intimidation tactic he had ever learned. Garrett swallowed loudly, then cleared his throat as he shifted back and forth on his feet. Sam let out a long breath and looked over to Garth, who had an expectant smile on his face.
"Fine," Sam muttered.
"Well there ya go," Garth laughed, wrapping his arm around Garrett's shoulders. "I guess you should go get your stuff out of my truck so I can get to killing some vamps."
Sam walked over to Dean and Cass, glancing back to where Garth and Garrett were walking out of the bunker. Cass scrunched his face up when he saw the young man for the first time.
"Isn't that—"
"Yup," Sam sighed. "Get this; he's Garth's nephew."
"Seriously?" Dean raised his eyebrows, "Whoa. Why is he here though? He looks a little too young to be hunting."
"He's uh," Sam paused, running a hand through his hair, "He's gonna he staying with us."
"What?" Dean hissed, "why?"
"He can hang out with Ellie, keep her out of trouble," Sam shrugged, shaking his head.
"But he made her upset," Cass growled, his eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, turns out he doesn't have a girlfriend," Sam moaned, "That picture was his cousin."
"Well now I really don't want him staying here," Dean grumbled, "He's a teenager. A teenage boy. We all know what's going through his mind, and it ain't protecting Ellie."
"We'll just have to keep an eye on him," Sam sighed, "Garth says he's a good kid. I trust him."
"Garth I trust," Cass mumbled, "The boy, on the other hand."
Sam groaned and bit his lips, turning as he heard Garrett walking back down the steps with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
"Just," Sam paused, shaking his head. "Just watch him."
Dean waited until Sam wandered over to another hunter before he turned to Cass and made intense eye contact.
"Don't let him out of your sight."
Cass nodded, his eyes narrowed as he glared across the room. Garrett walked towards them, a small smile on his face.
"Um hi," he waved a hand, "Could either of you show me where I can put my stuff?"
Dean stared hard at the kid, his arms crossed. Cass mimicked his stance and they continued glaring at him for an entire minute before Sam saw what was happening and walked over, rolling his eyes.
"Dean, show him where the guest room is."
"He's not staying in the guest room," Dean mumbled, still staring at Garrett.
"What?" Sam asked incredulously.
"It's too close to Ellie's room," Cass growled, understanding Dean's thinking. "We'll find him a different room."
Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath before shaking his head and throwing his hands up, walking away. Dean took two steps towards Garrett, his face coming dangerously close to the kid's. Garrett looked at the hunter, who was almost the same height as him, with a slightly terrified look on his face.
"Listen here, Garrett," Dean began, his voice hissing quietly, "You do anything, and I do mean anything to hurt my niece, I will cut your dick off and feed it to you. Do you understand?"
Garrett swallowed loudly and nodded quickly, his legs instinctively drawing closer together. "Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes sir."