Dean woke up the next morning and groaned as he sat up, bending to try and stretch his muscles. The hunt he had been on was really taking its toll on his aging body. He yawned, tilting his head side to side as he stood up. He padded down the hallway and decided to see if Ellie was awake yet. He walked by her open door and smiled when he saw her curled up in a ball, her blankets tucked under her chin. He slowly walked to her bed, looking down at her. He loved when she was asleep, ever since she was little. It was the only time she was silent, and she looked so peaceful. Dean looked at his watch, and frowned when he realized she had been sleeping for almost eleven hours. Just as he turned to leave, she began to moan and wiggle against her sheets.
"Mornin' squirt," he mumbled, giving her a half smile when she forced an eye open to look up at him. "You've been sleeping for a long time, you feel okay?"
"Yeah," she mumbled, rolling onto her back and rubbing her eyes, "Just been a long week I guess. Have you heard from Dad?"
Dean shook his head, pulling out his phone to make sure he hadn't missed any texts or calls. His phone was empty, and he sighed as he put it back into the pocket of his pajama pants. Ellie closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
"I'm trying not to be worried about him," she whispered, squeezing her eyes closed tighter.
"Now you know how he feels," Dean chuckled and pushed her shoulder, "Come on, let's go get breakfast."
"Fine," she sighed, throwing her covers off of herself before slowly sitting up. Dean walked into the hallway, letting her get herself up and around for the day. He walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow when he saw Garrett at the coffee maker.
"You drink coffee?"
Garrett spun around, surprised by the hunter's presence, "Um, no. I was...I was making a pot for you."
Dean tried to hide his surprise, but his jaw still fell open just a little. Garrett smiled briefly and shrugged, then turned back to the press.
"Oh, uh, thanks," Dean mumbled, walking over to the table and sitting down. Ellie walked in, and Dean shook his head when he realized she was wearing one of Sam's plaid button ups over a tank top. She slid onto the chair opposite him and gave him a look when she realized he was staring at her.
"What?"
"Isn't that the shirt your dad was wearing before he left?"
"Yeah, so?" she pulled it tighter to her body.
"Never mind," he shook his head. Garrett walked over and placed a cup of coffee in front of the hunter, a small smile on his face. "Thanks kid."
"Welcome," he shrugged, walking over to the fridge and opening it. He peeked his head around the door and yelled to Ellie, "I'm making eggs, you want some?"
"Sure," she turned and shot him a smile.
Dean raised an eyebrow, "You our new chef or something?"
Garrett shrugged as he pulled the carton of eggs from the fridge, "I like cooking."
"Works for me," Dean scoffed, "Hey listen, I'm working with Cass at the shooting range this afternoon, so you need to figure out something to occupy yourself for a couple hours."
"You do realize that means Garrett will have to be with me, right?" Ellie cocked an eyebrow.
"Yes, but Gar and I have an understanding, don't we?" Dean shouted.
"Yes sir," Garrett responded quietly from the stove.
"See?" Dean threw his hands out, "I have nothing to worry about."
A few hours later Ellie and Garrett were sitting in what they were now referring to as the den rather than the 'tv room'. They had already played a few rounds of no betting pool, and were currently sitting on the couch trying to decide on a movie.
"Not a chick flick," Garrett groaned as Ellie landed on '50 First Dates'.
"It's not a chick flick," Ellie countered, "Adam Sandler is in it."
"So?" Garrett scoffed, "Most of his movies are, in fact, chick flicks."
"Whatever, it's funny," Ellie pulled her legs up onto the couch, this time away from Garrett rather than towards him. It caused her to be leaning just a little bit onto his side of the couch. Garrett bit his lip as he glanced over at her, then closed his eyes and remembered what Dean had told him. He leaned back and put both arms over the back of the couch, letting out a slow breath as the movie began.
"Dean, I don't understand why you're upset."
"Because, Cass. Using your mojo to make your bullets hit the target is cheating."
"But I am an angel!"
"The whole point of you practicing with a gun is in case you ever lose your grace again, idiot," Dean shoved Cass as they walked down the hall.
"Well I'm not counting on that happening again," Cass shrugged. They were walking by the open door to the den as Cass froze mid step, causing Dean to double back.
"What?" He followed the angel's gaze and instantly his face hardened.
Garrett was laying diagonally along almost the entire length of the couch, his feet propped on the coffee table and his head resting on the arm rest. None of that bothered the men, though. What infuriated them was the fact that Ellie was laying next to him, with her head on his chest and her hand on his stomach, her mouth dropped open slightly.
"Goddamn it," Dean cursed, shoving past Cass to enter the room. They both walked up in front of the couch, crossing their arms. Dean glared at the sleeping forms for a moment before he loudly and sarcastically cleared his throat.
Ellie was the first to wake, her head jerking and her mouth clamping shut. She lifted her head briefly before turning to look at where the noise came from. When she saw Dean and Cass looking down at her with angry expressions, she was confused until Garrett groaned. Her eyes got big as her gaze shot over to where she was still resting on his chest, then she hurriedly sat up as straight as she could. Garrett's eyes slowly opened and he looked over to her with a smile before he realized the two men were in the room, and his smile quickly disappeared.
"Okay listen," he began, dropping his feet to the floor and sitting up next to Ellie.
"We just fell asleep watching a movie," Ellie added, standing up and holding out her hands, "See, look at the TV."
Both men continued glaring between Ellie and Garrett, obviously not caring about the situation that put them in the position they were in.
"Nothing happened, I swear," Garrett stood up, rubbing his hands on his thighs to try and remove some of the sweat that was accumulating there.
"You're goddamn right nothing happened," Dean snorted, "Because if something had happened, you wouldn't be standing here to tell me about it."
Ellie rolled her eyes, tilting her head to glare at her uncle, "Stop it, we just fell asleep."
"Mhmm," Cass murmured from where he was still narrowing his eyes at Garrett.
Ellie closed her eyes and shook her head, chuckling before she walked around them to the hallway, "Hey Uncle Dean, have you heard anything from my dad? I texted him earlier but he hasn't responded yet."
As if on cue, as they all walked into the kitchen, Dean's phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled, turning the device to show Ellie that it was Sam calling. She perked up immediately and tried to grab it out of his hand, only to have him pull it back and hold up a finger.
"Hey Sammy," he answered the call, his face hardening almost instantly when he realized the voice on the other end of the phone was not his brother.
"Dean, it's me," Jody's voice was shaking, and Dean could hear a lot of commotion in the background.
"Joey?" he said quietly, his eyes snapping over to where Ellie's face had fallen and her eyes were huge with worry. "What's going on? Why do you have Sam's phone?"
"Listen Dean, we're about five minutes from the bunker," Jody began, "I need you to keep Ellie in her room."
"What?" he continued staring at Ellie, who had now wrapped her arms around herself and was breathing heavily.
"Dean, he...Sam got bit."
In that moment, Dean ran to the hallway, stopping next to Cass and grabbing the angel's shoulder roughly.
"Do not let her follow me," he whispered. Cass nodded and turned to face Ellie, who was already rushing across the room. He grabbed her shoulders and ignored her pleas, looking up to the ceiling as he struggled to contain her.
Dean walked as fast as he could down the hallway, trying to give himself enough space so Ellie wouldn't hear the conversation.
"What do you mean he got bit?" Dean hissed.
"We finally got a location on Luca," Jody began, "Sam was closest, I told him not to go in there alone, but..."
"Okay," Dean sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Just get him here. And please tell me you got some blood from the vamp that turned him."
"Of course I did," Jody hissed, "We'll be there in five. Actually, Claire's driving, so we'll be there in two."
Dean pulled the phone from his ear and ended the call roughly, running a hand through his hair. He drew a shaky breath and then let it out slowly, mentally preparing himself for going back to the kitchen. As he got closer he could hear Ellie yelling at Cass.
"Let me go, something's wrong!"
"Ellie just calm down!"
"No, I have to go—"
She stopped when she saw Dean coming in through the doorway, a solemn look on his face. She stop fighting Cass and dropped her arms, taking a sharp breath.
"Is he dead?"
"No," Dean responded, holding a hand up, "Listen, they're almost here, but you need to go to your room and—"
"No, tell me what's going on," she crossed her arms and glared up at her uncle as he stepped closer to her.
"Ellie, I'm—"
"No! Tell me—"
"Cass," Dean turned to look at the angel, and cocked his head to the side. Cass nodded and bent over, scooping Ellie up over her shoulder and walking out of the kitchen. Dean closed his eyes as he listened to her yell the entire way to her room.
"What's going on?" Garrett asked, his hands in his pockets.
"Listen, kid," Dean shook his head, "Shit's about to get real hairy. It'd probably be best if you waited with Ellie."
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Yes," Dean turned and placed a hand on Garrett's shoulder, looking him in the eye, "Go take over for Cass, I'm gonna need him. Then, do not, I repeat do not let Ellie out of her bedroom."
"Yes sir," Garrett nodded before turning and running out of the room. Dean rushed out of the other door, heading for the war room when he heard the bunker door slam open.
"Dean," a frantic voice rang out just as Dean was jogging into the war room. He looked up at the top of the steps and saw Jody and Claire looking down at him, while Mike was standing behind them with Sam's hands bound behind his back.
"Get him to the infirmary," Dean growled as they all walked down the steps to him.
"What? Don't you mean the dungeon?" Jody shouted, throwing a hand out to show Dean Sam's snarling teeth and sunken eyes.
"It won't take long to make the cure," Dean responded, trying to look away from his brother.
Cass came running into the war room, sighing when he saw the state that Sam was in, "We can keep him tied up in the infirmary just as much as the dungeon."
As they walked around the back of the stairs to the door, Dean reached out and grabbed Claire's arm, holding her back for a brief moment when he saw a bruise around her neck.
"Did he..."
"He's not Sam right now," Claire said quietly, pulling the collar of her shirt up to try and hide the bruises. "It took a while for us to get him subdued."
Dean took a slow breath before he entered the room, watching as Mike and Cass struggled to tie Sam to the bed.
"Cass," Dean gestured with his head for the angel to come closer after they had successfully managed Sam.
"I'll gather the ingredients," Cass replied, knowing what Dean needed without him needing to say it out loud.
Garrett stood directly inside Ellie's closed door, listening to her yell at him with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.
"Damn it Garrett, let me out! That is my father, and no one will tell me what is going on!"
"I can't let you out," Garrett sighed, finally opening his eyes. What he saw when he did almost broke his heart. Ellie had tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips a deep pink from yelling. The wetness in her eyes made her eyes look even more beautiful than normal, the gold surrounding her pupils shining in the light.
"Garrett," she choked out, stepping forward so they were toe to toe, "Please. Please."
Garrett opened his arms just in time for Ellie to fall forward into them, her face smashing into his chest as she began to sob. Even though he could easily hold her weight up, he still allowed them to fall to the ground, wrapping his arms around her back and rubbing softly.
"It's gonna be okay," he whispered, hoping desperately that he wasn't lying.
A/N: Ooh, a little angst. Dun dun dunnnnn. Just kidding, you all know I'm a fluff master. : ) Thanks for the comments, y'all!