June 15th, 1987

3rd Person POV

The hot sun caused the motel room to heat up like no tomorrow. Dean tried to get more ice that the motel provided, but the machine was broken.

That plus having a 4 year old kid brother who constantly complained about said heat was enough to drive anyone insane. However, that was the least of 8 year old Dean's problems.

His father was bringing some "friends" over, and those friends had a daughter who was 2 years old. Guess who was in charge of the young girl while the "friends" went out hunting?

Dean didn't know the first thing about girls, let alone one that was barely potty trained. Would it be any different than when he cared for Sam at that age?

Either way, Dean was not looking forward to watching another child, considering he was still one himself.

The door to the motel room suddenly opened and Dean got up from the couch, preparing to face whatever pest he had to watch over.

His father stood there along with a man and a woman. Behind the woman was a little girl, looking down at the floor and rocking back and forth with her feet. The little girl looked up and saw that Dean was looking at her. Her face became a bright red as she hid more behind the woman, clutching on her legs.

"Mama," she said, looking back at Dean.

The woman looked back at the little girl and smiled. She scooped the girl up and held her close. "It's okay, little one," she said, "This is the boy we told you about earlier."

Dean couldn't help but feel a little envious watching the little girl be held in her mother's arms. It made him think of his mother and how much he missed her. The memory of loosing her was still fresh in his mind.

"You must be Dean," the little girl's father said, "Your father has talked non stop about you."

"Yes, sir," Dean said.

"I'm Malcom," the man said, holding his hand out for Dean to shake.

He took it reluctantly and Malcom stepped back to the woman. "This is Elizabeth, and this," Malcom took the little girl out of her mother's arms and put it in his, "is Sarah."

The little girl looked at Dean and gave him a little wave, giving him a small smile.

He couldn't help but smile back at her, which completely threw him off guard. Normally, Dean would be more closed off with a new person, but for some reason, Sarah had a different affect on him.

"Is Sam asleep?" John asked, interrupting Dean's train of thought.

"Oh um...yeah," Dean said, "He passed out a while ago."

John nodded and looked over at Sarah. "Guess you'll be meeting my youngest a little later."

Both Elizabeth and Malcom showed Dean Sarah's favorite toys that they bring whenever they travel and instructed him on what TV shows she can and can't watch, her favorite foods and what music to put on to help her go to sleep (her favorite being "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel).

Once all of that was cleared up, Dean and Sarah said goodbye to their parents. Well, Dean's only goodbye was a pat on the head from his father. Sarah was pulled into a group hug with both of her parents, telling her that they'll be home as soon as possible.

"You'll be a good girl for Dean, right?" Elizabeth asked.

Sarah just nodded her head in response, trying to smile a bit.

Both of her parents then turned to Dean. Malcom pat Dean on the shoulder while Elizabeth hugged him, catching Dean completely off guard.

"Thank you for looking after our little girl," she said.

Soon, the grownups left. Dean was left with little Sarah and his kid brother who was asleep in one of the motel bedrooms.

"I hungry," she said, looking over at Dean.

He nodded and immediately went to the fridge to grab her some cereal. Thankfully, they had her favorite, which was Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Dean poured the cereal and the milk in a bowl as he knew that if she did it herself there would be a huge mess. Once he set it in front of her, she immediately began to eat.

At least he didn't have to help feed her.

While she scarfed down her cereal, Dean turned off the TV as what he was watching...it wasn't appropriate for a 2 year old.

Since when did he care about what was on TV? There were plenty of movies and shows that him and Sam would watch that he was pretty sure his parents would object to if they lived a more normal life.

Sarah may be able to walk and talk a bit, but she wouldn't be able to comprehend on what's going on the TV, right?

"Dean," she said.

He snapped out of his little trance and ran over to see what she wanted. Her bowl was completely empty but he saw that she left some splashes of milk on the table.

"Gotta be careful on eating," he said, "We don't want to make a huge mess."

"I was hungry," she responded.

He grabbed the bowl and put it in the sink, reminding himself to do the dishes later on. He turned around to find that Sarah has been watching him with curiousity, her head tilted a bit.

Dean couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. Even he had to admit that she was pretty cute.

"So...what do you want to do?" he asked.

Sarah got out of her seat and ran over to Dean, stopping right in front of him. She rocked back and forth with her feet, pondering on what she wanted to do next. Suddenly, her eyes caught the G.I. Joe figures on the coffee table and her face immediately lit up.

"Soldiers!" she said.

Before Dean could stop her, she ran over to the figures and began to play with them. He's never seen a girl play with "boy" toys before so this completely threw him off guard. "You...you like G.I. Joe's?" he said.

She looked at him and nodded excitedly.

*Present Day*

2 PM

Sarah's POV

I woke up to find the motel room completely empty. I figured Dean went out to do some day drinking at a bar to relieve himself of the stress we faced. Sam, however, was with me last night after everything was taken care of. I turned to my bedside table to find a note. Picking it up, I noted that it was from Sam:

Sarah,

First of all, happy birthday. Normally, we are running around nonstop so birthdays tend to get overlooked, but considering you are turning 21 today, I wanted to do something for once.

I'm getting some things together for your surprise, so Dean is going to be with you the first half of the day before I have you all to myself later on. You two better behave yourselves.

Love,

Sam

I mean, I can behave myself. Dean...not so sure about.

Soon, our motel room door opened and Dean walked in carrying two bags.

"Oh, good, you're awake," he said with a smile, "I didn't feature getting you up only to get kicked in the nuts later about it."

I shook my head and chuckled. "I just read Sam's note. He told the both of us to 'behave ourselves.' Really not sure why he thinks I won't be the good one here."

"We all know you tend to get into a little trouble when you're alone with me," Dean said with a wink.

"That's not something to be proud of," I said, rolling my eyes, "It means you're a bad influence."

Dean just chuckled and got out two boxes. One contained a slice of pie and the other was a chocolate cake.

"No candles?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Didn't think you would want it," he said.

"I don't. Not because it's cliché, but because I remember you and Sam trying something similar and the motel rug catching on fire."

Dean chuckled at that memory. "Yeah...your parents were pissed..."

"Which surprised me so much because they rarely got mad at you. You know...they loved you and Sam like their own children."

Dean looked at me with surprise. "Really?"

"Of course. I actually remember a time when my dad got into a fight with your dad about a case. John wanted to recruit my parents but they said no because they really wanted to balance time spent hunting to being a family. I don't know what John said to set off my father, but I remember his response being, 'The least you can do is be there for your sons' and the fact that he even felt guilty leaving me alone with you because he didn't want you to think that you were just a free babysitter."

"I think I remember that fight as well," Dean said as he took a bite of his pie, "At least from my dad's side. Some time during the call, he asked me if watching you and Sammy all the time was such a burden. I said no, mainly because I didn't want to start shit between me and Dad, but I think I made it worse..."

"What were you supposed to say? 'Hey pops, I really don't to watch two children because I'm still a child myself?' Yeah, that wouldn't have gone over well."

Dean just nodded and continued with his pie while I started on my cake.

"That's at least what my dad said," I continued, "He knew you were saying no because you didn't want to start trouble. You just started trouble in other ways."

"Me? Trouble?" Dean said with sarcastic surprise.

"Yes. You. Trouble," I said with a chuckle.

"I'm surprised after all the shit, your father and mother still trusted me," he said.

"He felt safer leaving me with you, especially after seeing you care for Sam."

Dean smiled a bit, looking down at his pie. "Wish I could've said hi to your folks before...you know."

"I know. They did miss you two, a lot. Both of them felt horrible about taking me into hiding as they thought you both were the only sense of normalcy in my life. However, they knew that helping contain my powers was not only for my protection, but for yours as well."

Dean just nodded before going back to the rest of his pie. Once he finished and I finished my cake, he took me out to the Impala, saying it was "my time to get a drink at an American bar."

*January 4th, 1996*

3rd Person POV

"Why is there a cat in this room!!!" the motel manager roared.

The trio (17, 13 and 11) were huddled in the main room, heads down as Sarah cuddled the baby kitten she found outside huddled in the snow.

"Do you children know that no pets are allowed?" the motel manager scolded.

"The cat was freezing..." Sam said quietly.

"Young man, you only speak when spoken to," the manager said.

Dean was about to say something when all of the sudden, he heard Sarah. "Shut the hell up."

Both boys looked at her wide eyed, wondering if she suddenly had a death wish. However, she stared right into the manager's eyes, fury in her eyes.

This wasn't going to go well.

"What did you say young lady?" the manager said through gritted teeth.

Sarah handed Sam the cat and strutted to the manager, never taking his eyes off him. "I said, shut up," she said, "You have no right to talk to my friend like that."

The manager got in her face, his eyes going dark. This would scare any normal 11 year old, but it certainly wasn't scaring Sarah as she continued to stare at him.

"Listen here you little brat," he said through gritted teeth, "You are to respect an adult who is talking and you are to never speak to me like that."

It then happened so quickly.

Sarah's balled up fists hit the manager right in the goods. He yelped in surprise and toppled over, yelling in pain and saying every curse word in the book.

She rolled her eyes and kicked him again where it hurt, causing both Sam and Dean to flinch.

The manager stayed down, probably in shock that someone so much smaller than him was able to take him down like that.

Sarah continued to look at him with rage before finally speaking.

"I respect adults who respect me, something that you have not done. You got up in my personal space and yelled at my best friend. We are helping a kitty who was in the snow that could've died if it wasn't for us. Take your 'no pets rule' and shove it right up your ass, you heartless bitch."

Dean could not believe what he was hearing. Sarah was known to have a bit of a temper, but this was the first time he ever heard her curse like this. He didn't know whether to pat her on the back or scold her later on.

The manager looked up at her with anger and pain in his eyes. "You little..." he said.

Dean finally stepped up, not wanting her to get into anymore trouble than she already was in. "Look, punk," he said as he walked up next to Sarah, "You got close to my little sis's face, and if she didn't kick you where it hurt, I would've not hesitated to kick your ass. As she said, take your no pets rule and shove it. We're not letting the kitten out in the snow again."

The manager got up in defeat. Sarah fake lunged at him which caused him to flinch. Dean couldn't help but hide his laughter.

This manager was literally afraid of an 11 year old who probably hasn't had her first period yet.

He quickly scurried out the door and Sarah took the kitten out of Sam's arms, holding it close to her.

"Sarah, I told you," Dean said, "You can't keep bringing animals in the motel rooms. The last thing the three of us need to get kicked out before our dad and your parents come back for us."

She just rolled her eyes as she always done, but there was a hint of guilt in there as well. She knew that it won't be good if the three of them were thrown out of the motel, but her maternal instincts kicked in any time she said an animal or a person in danger.

"I know, Dean. I just couldn't let this one be out in the snow, though. Plus...helping these animals...it's the one thing that makes me feel normal."

He knew what she meant by that. Sarah was pulled into this just like him and Sam. The only difference is she was never kept in the dark about it like Sam was for a while. She knew about the monsters since day one as they could come for her or her parents any day now. One of her few sources of comfort were animals, and Dean wasn't sure if it was part of a phase tween girls went through, but he didn't want to take it away from her.

"I know...just...we need to be more careful," Dean said.

Sarah nodded as she put the cat down. Sam went up to her with a little smile on his face. "Though...you took out that manager quite nicely," he said.

She smiled back and blushed a little bit while Dean chuckled. "Yeah...remind me to never get on your bad side, kid."

*Present Day*

Sarah's POV

The dive bar was small, but there was a pool table along with what looked to be Pac-Man in the corner. That was occupied by some 40 year old man, mumbling curse words to himself as he put in another quarter.

Dean and I took a seat next to each other at the bar and I could feel myelf getting nervous. The last time I was at a bar, I got really drunk and texted one of my ex flings as I was going through yet another "break up" with a fling who turned out to be married. Alcohol was never the problem for me. It was always the idea of going home to no one that I hated at the time.

"I've been instructed to only give you one drink," Dean said, "Not sure what Sam has planned later on, but he was firm about it."

"I think I got an idea," I said.

"Well, either way I don't wanna know," Dean said as he called the bartender over, ordering us both beers.

"So...how does it feel to finally be able to drink in America?"

"To be honest, strange," I said, "It's not like I'm much of a drinker but the option in Europe was always...there, if that makes sense. Here, it's like go screw yourself if you're not 21."

The bartender came back with two bottles and set them in front of Dean and myself. He gave her a wink while she gave a flirty smirk. I rolled my eyes as I opened up my beer.

"To still being alive," I said, holding my beer bottle up, "Despite making every single reckless decision on the planet."

Dean chuckled and we clinked our beers. "Damn right. I'll drink to that."

We took a swing of our beers and we both just sat there in a bit of silence.

I looked around and a lot of the emotions of the bar patrons were starting to reach me. I did my best to turn off my abilities for the night but some of the moods shifted on to me.

"You okay, kid?" Dean said.

"Yeah um...I did forget to shut my mind off a bit before we came here. I keep forgetting that when it comes to drunk people, they can be a bit...overwhelming."

"Drunk man words are a sober man's thoughts," Dean said, taking another swing of beer, "At least, that's how I think the saying goes."

I chuckled. "Sounds about right.

"You did seem to tense up when we came in, though," he said, "Is there something else going on?"

"Surprised you caught that..."

"You're like my little sis. Of course I'm going to pick up on it."

I chuckled. "Yeah, well...I guess I'm still reliving moments that I wish I forgot...and going to bars to pick up someone for the evening is sometimes one of them."

"Why? There's nothing wrong with it. I mean...who do you think you're talking to?"

I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help the smile that came across my face. "I know there's nothing wrong with it. I just...I feel like I could've gotten past the grief of my parents in a...different way. Plus, none of the people I had flings with were really interested in me that way. I was either someone to explore their sexuality with or just someone to get over their ex with."

Dean sighed and looked at his bottle, pondering on what else to say. "How many...if I may ask?" he said.

I looked over at him. "Counting Sam or not counting Sam?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "If we're going to get into specifics...not counting Sammy."

"Six."

Dean's eyes began to widen in surprise but a little grin came across his face.

"Well count me impressed," he said.

I rolled my eyes and let out a little giggle before I drank a bit more of the beer.

"So...what made you stop?" he said, "Did...did something happen..."

I nodded. "The sixth person I had a fling with was a woman. She told me she was single and kept her family out of the loop because they wouldn't accept the fact that she was a lesbian. I believed her because...well you don't really question things like that. Anyways, we began hooking up for possibly three months before I found out that she was keeping me a secret not because she was afraid of the disapproval from family, but because she was married to a man and, get this, had a 4 year old."

"Oh shit," Dean said.

"Yeah...so anyways, I got the hell out of the house after her husband...he pretty much caught us in bed together. I then got drunk that evening at a bar as I was so upset, which lead me to calling up an old fling I had, trying to seduce him. Instead, he picked me up and took me to his place and let me rest up. The next day, he told me what happened and I felt rather embarrassed because well...I did leave him because I was..."

"Getting feelings..."

"Bingo. I wounded up apologizing to him for everything...then he asked me something that just stuck with me, and that's when I knew I had to change a few things."

"What did he say?" Dean asked.

I put my beer down before tapping on the bottle with my fingernails, reminiscing about what he said to me before I left.

"He asked me...'Sarah, why are you putting yourself through this?'" I said.

"Oof," Dean said, "That's a...loaded question."

"It was, but it got me thinking 'that's a really good question. Why am I putting myself through this?' Eventually I packed up my things and moved to the countryside of England. That's when I decided that I need to stop running from everything, including my grief. So, I thought maybe I could find more information about my family, where I came from...I figured it was a more healthy coping mechanism but after the demons got to a majority of psychics and mediums...I felt I owed it to my parents to preserve the history of us in case something happens..."

I took more of a swing of my beer, surprised by how much was still in there. Then again, I was spending my time rambling about some details I haven't talked about in a while.

"Does Sammy know about this?" Dean asked.

"Yes," I said, "We never really got to sit and really talk too much about it because of...well, might I remind you what we do?"

"True," Dean said as he took another drink of his beer.

"Plus...he said it doesn't really bother him on what I did in the past."

We sat there again in silence, but it wasn't awkward at all. It was one of those comfortable silences, like we were figuring out what to say next.

"You know...I never told you this but...you remember when you used to pick me up from the schools with Sam...while our parents were out hunting?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he said.

"Well...I remember so many of the girls who was a little older than me would just...stare at you and it was like they first saw a boy for the first time. One school in particular, a girl was jealous of me..."

Dean just scoffed and smiled. "What, was she like a 6th grader or something like that?" he said.

"8th grader. She would pick on me because she thought you and I were...she found out we weren't blood related siblings despite you calling me ''lil sis' in front of everyone a few times."

"Jesus Christ," Dean said, "You were like 11 and I was like...17? That's...creepy."

"Doesn't matter to girls that age. But, she did try to corner me in the bathroom and well...I punched her in the nose before she could try anything with me."

"Please tell me you used your fist correctly," he said.

"Pretty sure I remember bones cracking."

Dean chuckled. "Still...she really thought an 11 year old and a 17..." He shuddered before he could continue on.

"I know," I said, "But...I guess I bring this up because...I've wanted to ask...is the reason you never really pursued me like you have with other women is because you still see me as that little girl that hid behind her mother when we first met?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, that's part of it, I'm not going to lie. But I think it's that and well...you and I can be too much alike. While I enjoy the battle of the wits, I think at the end of the day one of us will just kill the other if we got that far."

I chuckled. "Can't argue with that. Though I think the "murdering each other" part is a bit...overkill."

Dean groaned and hid his face in his hands while I bursted out laughing.

"I swear," he said, "You just...never fail."

"Aw come on. You've got your fair share of dad jokes as well that's enough to make the whole world groan," I said.

"At least mine are good," he protested.

"Keep telling yourself that, big brother."

He looked up at me, rolling his eyes before grinning.

"So...you really don't mind it...Sam and I?" I asked.

Dean looked at me with confusion. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, from what we just discussed it reminded me...that I never really asked..."

"You and Sammy don't need my 'permission' or 'blessing' or whatever you want to call it," Dean said, "But...I think you both are good for each other. I'm just grateful that you two don't make out in the back seat of the Impala or do...whatever I don't want to think about when we're all in one room."

"Why do you think I ask for privacy once in a while?" I said with a smirk.

"And for that, I count my blessings that you do everything you can to not scar me for life," he said.

I laughed a little bit, but a sense of relief also came over me. Since Sam and I got together, I felt a little guilty because I felt like I was pushing Dean into "third wheel" territory. However, I could tell how sincere he was under all those jokes.

We returned to our beers and started to talk for a few more minutes when Dean's phone began to notify him of a text message.

Looking through it, Dean got up and put on his jacket. "It's Sammy," he said, "He texted me the address of the place you're meeting up, saying he's ready."

"Okay," I said as I got up as well.

"Though...he wants us to make a quick pit stop," he said, "He says 'Tell her to put on the dress. She'll know which one I'm talking about.'"

I felt myself blush a bit. Of course Sam wants me to wear that dress.