I don't own Supernatural or any of it's characters. I only own Isabeau and my own original characters.
Isabeau stops the impala out front of her cottage home. The three took a couple of days to head back to her home all the way in Bakersfield, California. Dean let her drive all the way home, the two brothers switching back and forth for the passenger seat.
Isabeau made the suggestion that they both just sit up front, but they immediately said no, not wanting to be squished together. The only way the three of them could be up front is if Isabeau sat in the middle.
She turns off the engine, and takes a breath, "Home sweet home." Isabeau gets out of the driver's seat as Sam gets out from the passenger seat and Dean from the back.
"Man, the memories." Sam comments with a fond smile, looking at the house.
Isabeau laughs, "I'm sure we have some photos stashed somewhere to go along with those." Isabeau recalls that she has an entire photo book for all the times Dean and Sam were over. It was somewhere on her bookcase in her room.
She tosses the keys to the impala to Dean as the three walk up the steps and to the front door.
"Did you let them know you were coming home?" Dean asks, shoving his keys in his pockets.
Isabeau shakes her head, taking her keys out and unlocking the door, "Nope, wanted it to be a surprise."
They walk into the house, they could hear music from the living room and commotion in the kitchen. "Okay," She closes the door behind them quietly and whispers. "You two stay here, I'm gonna make myself known."
Sam and Dean smile with a nod. Isabeau smiles, stepping quietly into the kitchen.
Her mother, Yvette has her back turned, along with her three little brothers, and all of them were prepping for breakfast.
"Need a helping hand?" Isabeau asks. Yvette turns with a jump and smiles, putting her knife down and embracing Isabeau in a tight hug.
"Isabeau! You're home!"
Isabeau laughs as her mother squeezes her. "Hi to you too, mom. You're squeezing the air out of my lungs."
The two pull away and Yvette cups her daughter's cheek with a soft smile, "I missed you."
Isabeau matches her mother's smile, "I missed you too." Her voice slightly breaks near the end.
"Izzy!" Her three little brothers scream her nickname in chorus, running to their big sister. Dion jumps into Isabeau's arms, and Alphonse and Eugene each hugging both sides of her.
Isabeau laughs, kissing Dion's forehead, "I hope you three haven't been causing any trouble?"
The three shake their heads frantically with wide smiles. She gives her mom a look who just smiles at her children, it's only been 5 months, but she missed all of her children being home.
"Well, I know I'm a couple days late, but I couldn't miss out on your birthday." Isabeau tells Dion.
Dion hugs Isabeau, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, "It's okay. I didn't want to celebrate it without you."
Isabeau's smile drops. Yvette gives her a sad smile. With Isabeau gone, Dion didn't want to fully celebrate his birthday without his big sister. He acknowledged it, but they didn't do cake and presents, and none of their traditional celebrations as well. Dion refused to do any of it until Isabeau got home.
Isabeau takes a deep breath, "Well, I'm here now. So I say we celebrate. Mom? Think we can do that?"
Yvette gives a chuckle, "I don't see why not. We have the entire day after all."
"Did someone say celebration?" Bartholmieu comes out from the basement door that was just off from the kitchen. He smiles seeing Isabeau. He walks over and places a light kiss on her forehead. "It's good to see you home."
Isabeau chuckles, "Hi Dad. Oh! And to start off the celebration. I bring home a little gift for everyone." Isabeau turns her head toward the kitchen entrance, "You guys can come out now!"
She hears Dean chuckle, and him and Sam walk into the kitchen with smiles.
"Sam!"
"Dean!"
Eugene runs to Dean as Alphonse runs to Sam, both of them hugging the two hunters. "Heya, kiddos." Dean ruffles Eugene's hair.
Sam smiles down at Alphonse, returning the hug, "You guys keeping out of trouble?" Sam asks.
Alphonse nods his head, "Nothing broke and Eugene hasn't burned anything since the chicken a month ago."
"Hey! It was an accident!"
The two stick their tongues out at each other playfully and laughing.
Isabeau smiles at them. Sam and Dean were always good with her brothers. She noticed at one point, Eugene always gravitated towards Dean and Alphonse towards Sam. She never knew why, but it felt right.
Bartholmieu walks over to the two brothers, giving each of them a hug, "Good to see you again, boys."
Yvette walks over and does the same, "Welcome home, boys."
Sam and Dean felt their chests tighten. Home. They never had one and that's what Yvette and Bartholmieu gave them. A home to call their own. It was the only place that they actually celebrated their birthdays and holidays. A place where they felt at peace with the world around them. They became a family; a strange family, but one that was full of love and support.
"Since all of you are here early…" Yvette comes over and grabs Dion from Isabeau's arms and holds him in her own, "Let's finish breakfast together to start off Dion's birthday."
Isabeau grins, "Oh, this is gonna be fun."
As Isabeau said, the entire day was fun. The morning started off with all of them having a hand in making breakfast. She went to her usual job of making her signature waffles with the help of Dion throwing chocolate chips in at his request.
Sam and Bartholmieu took care of cutting up all the fresh fruit from their garden, along with Alphonse who made homemade orange juice and the three all took part in making home-fries.
At the same time, Dean, Yvette and Eugene made scrambled eggs, biscuits with gravy and bacon; which Dean teached Eugene how to cook properly.
Morning turned into the afternoon, and everyone made their way outside to enjoy the spring air. Sam and Dean also got to take part in helping Bartholmieu, Isabeau, Alphonse and Dion create their altar outside for Ostara. Even though the Spring Equinox passed, the family still did the ritual.
They even stayed outside for their lunch and had a picnic out on the grass. At some point Sam, Isabeau and Dean broke away from her family to lay out on the hill. They could still hear the laughter from Isabeau's family a distance away, but it was soon drowned out by their own.
There was a moment when Sam and Dean stared fondly at Isabeau helping Dion make flower crowns with one already placed on her head. Soon, Dion went around placing flower crowns on everyone's head. Dean at first was against wearing it, but with the combined puppy dog eyes of Sam and Dion, he gave in with a hint of a smile.
And as time went by, the afternoon turned into the evening; which is where we are now.
Isabeau takes a sip of her drink from one of the side chairs in the living room. The sun had set a couple of hours ago and everyone migrated to the living room to wrap up the night.
Sam and Dean have taken their seats on one of the couches while Yvette, Eugene and Dion took the matching one parallel to it. Batholmieu and Alphonse were seated at the piano just behind Yvette and her two brothers.
Batholmieu and Alphonse both play the piano at the same time, their duet echoing throughout the house.
Dion was flipping through his new cook books that Isabeau, Sam and Dean all got him for his birthday. Eugene was looking through them as well, pointing certain recipes out to his younger brother that he wanted to try with him.
"Shapeshifter? Really? Been years since I came across one of those." Yvette comments as Isabeau, Sam and Dean share the details of their hunts.
Isabeau chuckles, "Aside from Skylar."
"Skylar is different, sweety. Have you met the others?" Yvette asks.
Sam shakes his head, "Only Olivia and Skylar so far."
Yvette nods and looks over to Isabeau, "Do they know about… you know?"
Isabeau chokes on her drink in laughter at her mother's implication. "Yes, they know." Her mother and father knew about the relationship she had with her friends. They never talked about it in front of her brothers and they weren't going to until they were old enough to fully understand the concept of 'friends with benefits'.
"Actually. Give me two seconds." Isabeau places her drink down on the table and runs to the stairs.
"1... 2… That's more than two sweetheart." Dean starts counting as Isabeau runs up the stairs.
"Screw you, Winchester!" Isabeau yells down with a laugh.
Dean was about to make a comment, but when he sees the look that Yvette was giving him, he takes a sip of drip, and avoids her eye contact. Sam snorts at Dean being silently scolded by Yvette.
A few minutes later, Isabeau comes running down the stairs with a large photo book in her hands. She sits down in between Sam and Dean, opens the book and flips through to find the photos she was looking for.
As she flips through it, Sam and Dean look over, noticing photos that were taken since the time they were babies, up to the point they were teenagers.
"Ah! Here it is!" She pulls out one photo from it's sleeve. It was a picture of Isabeau from when she was 18 and with fifteen other girls. All of them were sitting or standing on top of a huge Volkswagen camper, all with smiles and Isabeau directly in the middle of all of them. They were all wearing their summer clothes and it looked like they were camped out somewhere in the woods.
"We all took a camping trip for a couple weeks at Yosemite National Park the summer we graduated high school. So this is…" Isabeau points to all the girls and says their names. Sam and Dean listen with interest. These girls were another part of Isabeau's life that they didn't know about.
The three flip around in the photo book, Isabeau shows them pictures of her and the other girls during their time in high school and college. Some photos were taken at parties, some on trips that they would all take, and there was a handful that were even taken at Isabeau's house.
"Never thought I would see you in a dress." Dean comments, pulling out a picture of her. It was one of her many senior prom photos. Isabeau was wearing a beautiful strapless sheer gown that changed from a gray-blue to white and had a layer of gold embroidery over the top. Her hair was styled half up-half down and was curled. She wore a thin gold choker necklace and a couple of rings to match. At that time as well, Isabeau only had half of her tattoo sleeve done.
Dean looks over and smiles at Isabeau, "You look beautiful." Isabeau knew that he was talking about the prom photo, but she couldn't help but become a little flustered at Dean calling her outright beautiful.
Isabeau smiles shyly as Sam takes the photo. He smiles fondly at it, "Gorgeous."
"Flirts." Isabeau whispers under her breath and Sam and Dean chuckle.
"Do you have your junior prom photos in there too?" Bartholmieu asks, coming to sit on the couch next to Yvette as Alphonse continues playing the piano.
Isabeau shakes her head, "I don't think so. I put those in the other one cause I couldn't fit anymore in this one." She gives her dad a knowing look. That was a photobook filled with pictures of family members that Sam and Dean never met. One's of her and her Uncle C and other ones with her and her Nanna. She kept those under wraps.
"Do you still have the dresses?" Sam asks, putting the photo back in the book, him and Dean looking at the rest of her prom senior prom photos.
Isabeau smiles, "Of course. I might not be a dress or skirt girl, but those dresses are the exception. I think they still fit?" She questioned herself. She hasn't worn them in five-to-six years. Then again she hasn't really changed sizes since the butt end of high school.
A yawn from Dion brought Isabeau out of her thoughts. His eyes were struggling to stay open and his head kept falling forward. "I think someone is ready for bed." Isabeau says, closing the photo book and placing it on the table.
She gets up and takes Dion's book away from him, "Tired big guy?" Dion nods, rubbing his eye and reaches out for Isabeau to pick him up. Isabeau smiles, picking up Dion, his arms wrap around her neck and his head lays on her shoulder.
"Bedtime boys." Yvette says, getting up from her spot, walking over to Alphonse to stop him from playing piano.
"5 more minutes, mom. Please." Alphonse begs.
Yvette shakes her head, "Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow we can stay up a little bit later. Your brother is tired, Alphonse and I can see that you are as well."
Eugene runs over to his older brother and whispers something in his ear. The two smile at each other and turn to Isabeau, "Can you sing to us, Izzy?" Eugene asks hopefully.
Isabeau smiles, "Only if you two get your butts upstairs to your room right now."
Alphonse and Eugene scramble to the stairs, running up to get ready for bed and to wait for Isabeau.
"Izzy?" Dion whispers out. He wanted to know if he was going to get sung to tonight by his big sister.
Isabeau kisses the top of his head, "Birthday boy always gets sung to. Let's get you to bed."
Isabeau leaves with Dion in her arms and climbs up the stairs to her brother's rooms, leaving Sam, Dean, Yvette and Bartholmieu in the living room.
Bartholomew sighs, "I see things between the three of you haven't changed. Still attached at the hips as usual."
Sam and Dean smile. "Having Isabeau in our lives again. It makes things seem a little easier." Sam says to Bartholmieu.
Bartholmieu nods, "In what way? The hunt? Or just the drive to keep going?"
Dean blinks, "Well, um…" Bartholmieu gives Dean a look. Dean sighs, "The drive."
Yvette smirks to herself, "You boys are taking your time with our daughter. I would've thought something would've been acknowledged by this point."
Sam and Dean look at Isabeau's parents in shock. "How did you?" Dean stutters out, confused.
Bartholmieu chuckles, "We've known since you all three of you were kids. We saw your love for each other before you three could even figure it out for yourselves." He looks at Sam, "And I also know that you still need time after Jessica. Don't rush it, when the time is right, you'll know."
"And Dean…" Yvette turns to him, "I know you're ready. Well, almost ready. You're giving your brother time and not jumping into it. I'm proud of you."
Dean felt his breath hitch at those words. Not once was he told that someone was proud of him. It broke his heart, but made him happy at the same time.
"You're both okay with us, both being in love with her. Wanting to one day be with her?" Sam asks.
Bartholmieu and Yvette smile softly at the two. They could tell that the brothers were nervous about hearing what they thought about the situation. Yvette speaks first, "Boys, we think of you as our own. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about the two of you. We will love and support you on any decision that you make."
Bartholmieu chuckles, "So believe us when we say that you have our blessing to be with Isabeau. Love is something that nobody can prevent. And who are we to take away any ounce of happiness that you have with our daughter?"
Dean and Sam could feel the tears well up in their eyes. Not once have they felt this sort of love from a parent before. John was always tough on them, acting more like a drill sergeant than a father most of the time. Dean knew that their father loved them, but he never showed it. Having Bartholmieu and Yvette in their lives, it gave them a chance to experience the love of a father and mother.
"Well, since we have all of that sorted. Why don't you two boys head up? We'll clean up everything down here and call it a night." Yvette says.
Dean shakes his head, "Please, Yvette let us help-"
"Boys." Bartholmieu interrupts Dean. "We've all had a long day. Better to rest."
Sam and Dean nod. If there was one thing that the family all had scarily in common is that when they set their mind on something, there was no changing it.
"Plus, you can hear the tail end of Isabeau's performance." Yvette says, grabbing multiple empty cups and bringing them into the kitchen.
The two smile, heading up the stairs and into one of the hallways where all the boys rooms are. Two out of the three doors were closed; Alphonse and Eugene's bedrooms. While the third bedroom door was still open, light seeping into the hallway.
Sam and Dean walk up to the door, and lean in. Dion was laying under the covers as Isabeau sat beside him, leaning back against his headboard, her fingers combing through his hair. "What song are we requesting tonight?" She asks.
Dion thinks for a moment before looking at her with a smile, "'Send Me A Peach'?"
Isabeau smiles to herself and nods, "'Send Me A Peach' it is then." She clears her throat and with a breath, she begins to sing.
"I never dreamed that there'd come a day
When I'd find myself far from your arms
Now that I am, I can hardly stand
Not to be near your sweet Southern charms"
Sam and Dean's eyes widen as Isabeau sings softly to Dion. Her voice was soft, but had an underlying power to it. It was calming.
"Send me a peach from old Georgia
Down where the Savannah flows
If I could have one bite of Georgia
I would feel right here at home"
Isabeau continued brushing Dion's hair, trying to lull him to sleep.
"I miss the shady old lanes there
Walking with you by my side
Just send me one peach from Georgia
Just so I know you'll be mine"
Dion's eyes began to flutter close, but Isabeau knew that he wouldn't fully fall asleep until the song was done.
"I hope that you won't forget me
Before my road leads back to you
Though the winter may bring
The whole world to it's knees
The Spring shall return with its fruit"
Isabeau looks up and smiles softly at Sam and Dean, who return the gesture as she sings the final verse of the song.
"The wind here is ready for winter
It seems to turn everything blue
So just send me one little peach
Just a sweet sunny piece of you"
She leans down, placing a light kiss on Dion's head and very carefully climbs out of his bed to not wake him. She waves Sam and Dean out with a smile and turns off Dion's light, closing the door softly.
The three walk out of the hallway and head to the other side of the house where Isabeau's bedroom resides. "I never heard that song before." Sam says, bringing up what Isabeau sang to Dion.
Isabeau shrugs bashfully, "Just a little something that Dad and I came up with. All of them have their own little songs that we wrote for them. I used to sing all the time to them when they were younger. It soon became a couple times a month."
Isabeau opens her bedroom door, letting Dean and Sam inside and closing it behind them. Isabeau's room was the second biggest in the house. Her california king bed, that she splurged on one year, was set in the far corner of the room. Her desk, bookshelves, altar and art supplies took up the rest of the walls. Pictures and artwork that was unframed were stuck to the wall with tacks. Flowers and herbs hung across her windows. Other plants were scattered around the room, with some even hanging from the ceiling along with multicolored glass lanterns.
"It hasn't changed a bit." Dean says, walking over to the photos she had on the wall. He smiles seeing one of the three of them. It was taken a few months before Sam set off for college. They were standing by the shore of the lake in Isabeau's backyard, none of them had their shoes on, their pants were rolled up and they were soaking wet from the head down. Dean's hair was sticking up everywhere, Sam's hair had plastered back from being wet, Isabeau had an arm around each of their shoulders and all of them had bright grins on their faces.
Sam sees that both his and Dean's bags were set on the end of Isabeau's bed. "Are we sleeping in here?"
Isabeau shrugs, "If both of you are okay with that?"
Sam and Dean look at each other and have silent conversation. Sam turns to Isabeau with a smile, "I think it's more than okay."
Isabeau smiles, "Good." She takes off her shoes and her socks, throwing them aside. "Remember where the bathroom is?" She asks the two of them.
Sam nods, grabbing his bag, "Just one door over right?" Isabeau nods and Sam exits the bedroom, closing the door behind him and heads to the bathroom to change.
"Don't mind if I get changed in front of you, sweetheart?" Dean asks, opening up his bag, pulling out a new t-shirt.
Isabeau chuckles, pulling her shirt off, "Dean, you and Sam see me in my underwear and bra every night. I think by this point you would've realized that I really don't give a shit. You two could be wearing nothing but your boxers and I wouldn't give a damn."
Dean changes his shirt and steps out of his pants, leaving him in his sleep shirt and boxers, and throws his shoes and socks to the side as well.
"Is that a request?"
"Oh, you wish." Isabeau takes her pants off and throws her dirty clothes into her hamper. "I mean, if I had it my way, I'd sleep naked every night."
"Can I request that?"
Isabeau chucks one of her many pillows at Dean's head, "Be lucky with what you have now."
Sam comes back in the room in a new t-shirt and pajama pants and is barefoot, "What should Dean be lucky for?" He closes the door and sets his stuff down on the floor at the foot of the bed.
"Isabeau was just telling me that she would rather sleep naked. She's saying I should be lucky for what I get." Dean says, climbing into the far left side of the bed and under the covers.
Sam lets out a flustered chuckle, "Naked? Really?" He asks her.
Isabeau shrugs, reaching up to open a couple of her hanging lanterns. A small flame ignites on her pointer finger and she lights the candle in them. "When it's just me, yeah. It's just… freeing. It's especially nice during the summer."
She closes the lanterns and turns off her overhead light. The lanterns creating soft, warm glows around the room. Isabeau climbs into the middle of the bed and Sam slides in on the right side of the bed. The three fall back into their old position from when they were younger.
Sam's body presses up against Isabeau's back, his arms wrap around her torso, and places his head on top of hers. Dean tucks his head underneath Isabeau's chin, his arms going around Isabeau's hips and entangling their legs together. One of Isabeau's hands lays on top of Sam's and runs her fingers through Dean's hair with the other.
All three close their eyes and fall instantly asleep in each other's warmth.
Isabeau, Sam and Dean stayed at Isabeau's home for the rest of the week. It took a little work from Isabeau, but she was able to convince Sam and Dean to take a small break from the search for John. Isabeau knew that they needed some time in a home that loved them and gave them a small amount of normal in their crazy lives as hunters.
The week was filled with meals being made with a helping hand from everybody, a few family outings into town, game nights and even a dip in the lake.
Without missing a beat, every night Isabeau would sing her brothers their designated songs, and Sam and Dean would curl up against Isabeau to end their day.
During that time, there was a moment where Sam and Dean forgot their entire search for their father. Being with Isabeau's family brought a smile to their faces everyday. They were able to let go of their worries and enjoy their time away from the hunt.
That of course came crashing down when the week ended.
Isabeau hugs her father tightly, "I love you… I'm gonna miss you."
Bartholmieu squeezes back, "Love you too. Don't forget to call." They pull away.
"I won't. Besides, Alphonse will probably call me in the next few hours, begging me to come back home." Isabeau says.
She gives her mother a hug, "Love you, mom."
Yvette smiles, "Love you too, sweety."
Isabeau walks over to her little brothers, giving each one of them a hug, "Be good. Don't blow up anything."
"That was one time, Izzy!" Eugene exclaims.
Isabeau chuckles, ruffling his head, "Yeah, I know. Oh, and I got one more thing for you guys before I leave."
Isabeau pulls out a pile of postcards that were tied together by a piece of twine, "Little something from every town we've been to." On the back of them were little notes that she wrote to her brothers while being away from them. She would grab one in every town they stopped in.
Alphonse takes it happily, "We'll put them with the others." They had a box full of postcards that Isabeau collected over the years in one of their rooms.
Sam and Dean walk down the stairs with their own bags in their hands and say goodbye to Isabeau's parents and her brothers.
"You kids got our numbers right?" Dean asks, ruffling the top of Dion's head.
Dion nods, "Yep!"
Dean smiles, "Good." Dean and Sam turn to Isabeau, "You all set?" Sam asks.
"Ready when you are." Isabeau slings her bag over her shoulder, waves her family goodbye and walks out the door and towards the impala.
"Thank you again for having us." Sam thanks Bartholmieu and Yvette.
Bartholmieu waves him off, "It's wonderful having you two here. Don't be strangers."
Dean gives them one last smile, "We won't. Thank you."
Sam and Dean walk out the door and close it behind them. They walk up to Isabeau who has the trunk open with her own bag already inside.
"Any idea where to go next?" Isabeau asks as the two throw their own bags in the trunk.
Dean shuts the trunk with a shrug, "Keep driving, see if anything pops up along the way."
Isabeau nods, "Sounds good to me. We haven't got a lead on John so that's our best option at this point."
Isabeau slides into the backseat as Sam goes into the passenger and Dean takes his place in the driver's seat. As Dean starts the engine and rolls out of the driveway, Isabeau pulls out a handful of photos from her pocket that she developed the day before.
They were all captured moments from the past week. She flips through all of them with a smile and stops at a certain photo. The photo was of her, Sam and Dean sitting down on a blanket in Isabeau's backyard, they were barefoot with their pants legs rolled up from taking a dip in the lake prior. They all had smiles on their faces as Isabeau held her ukulele in her arms. The sun was just setting over the horizon and she saw the lanterns on her porch in the background were lit.
When it came down to it, the hunter life was worth it, because it made moments like these even more special and unforgettable.
Just a little small chapter to give you guys until I finish up a couple of the episodes for this weekend. I hope you guys enjoyed it and let me know if you want other little in between chapter like this. Also the song "Send Me A Peach" is from the the soundtrack for Over the Garden Wall.