Chapter 5: Redefining
Dipper ran his finger over the ridges in the vinyl seat again as he looked out the window. So, this is my life now. Running away from foster care with two guys I barely know who are professional supernatural investigators. Definitely never thought this is how I'd start my teenage years. He looked over at Mabel; she had fallen asleep shortly after crossing the line into Nevada. It was almost 9:00 and the Impala was finally pulling off the highway and into a miniscule town. Dipper caught the name as they drove past, Wayward. Weird name, but we are a way from anything else. After a three minute drive through the entire main street, they stopped in the parking lot of the only motel, a short stucco building with terra cotta style shingles and a small pool out front.
Dean turned off the engine, then looked into the back. His lip twinged slightly as a smile briefly flitted across his face, "Hey, I'm gonna check us in, you guys grab your bags."
Dipper nodded, Dean reciprocated then left the car. Turning toward the left side of the car, Dipper nudged his sister. "Get up, we're at the motel."
Mabel muttered as she stretched slightly, "No, but I want to go to the penguin parade." Dipper nudged her again, waking her fully. She leaned against the door as she rubbed her eyes. "Did we stop?"
Dipper smiled and sighed, "Yeah, we're at the motel. Come on, let's grab our bags."
She sleepily nodded. A moment later the two were outside in the cool night air. Sam had already opened the trunk. The younger brother had taken the liberty of pulling most of the bags from the trunk and laying them out. "Here, I think this is all yours, right?" Sam asked, handing Dipper his backpack and duffel.
"Yeah, thanks." Dipper shouldered his backpack. He looked around at the empty night desert surrounding the motel on three sides, it seemed to stretch forever. In the sky he saw pinpricks of stars. It's a lot different here than home.
"And this is yours, I think." Sam handed Mabel her suitcase.
"Thanks…" She yawned. She picked at her sweater sleeve. It was a pink sweater with a sun halfway over the horizon. When she made it she wasn't sure if it was a rising or setting sun, but for some reason she'd felt it was right to wear when they'd left.
As the two idly gazed around Sam grabbed his laptop bag and duffel. A moment later Dean had returned with the key, which he passed to Sam. The older Winchester rounded the car and quickly grabbed his bag. A moment later he pressed a hidden button and the trunk floor popped up. Dipper wasn't at a good angle to see, with Sam standing in the way, all he saw was Dean grabbing a few things before closing the trunk. Sam moved out of the way and motioned for the twins to follow him. They did, and soon he unlocked room 6 at the Cactus Inn. After flicking on the light it was clear that, much like Grunkle Stan's, the motel had at one point been pretty decent, but had definitely not been kept up to its initial standard of mediocrity. The paint was faded and the carpet was worn, the bed sheets were thin-but appeared clean, and the television still had rabbit ears on top.
Dipper shrugged, the Pines had taken family vacations before and stayed in places similar enough to this motel. Besides, nothing will beat that place in Florida where mom found a lizard in the bathtub. Mabel similarly was nonplussed; This place isn't too bad. She thought as she dropped her suitcase by the foot of one of the beds, I wonder if the pool's open tomorrow? I think I have my swimsuit... Before the two could do much else Dean sat down at the small table by the door and started unpacking a black duffel.
"Okay, before we do anything we're going to go over some of the basics with you two. If you're going to be around us you need to be safe, and as part of that we're going to give you a crash course in hunting." Dean said, placing a canister on the table.
"Is that salt?" Mabel asked, glancing at the dark blue can with a little girl holding an umbrella.
Dipper squinted as he tried to remember something from the journals, "Hmm…I think I read that salt repels some stuff, right?"
"That's right." Dean nodded. "Salt every entrance to your room before you go to sleep, it'll help keep most of the bastards out."
Sam quickly gave Dean bitchface 9, Not in front of kids. "More specifically, most ghosts and demons can't cross it. Though the more powerful ones can."
"Yeah, will Bill-that dream demon guy we told you about-we had to use unicorn hair to protect the Mystery Shack." Mabel commented.
"Unicorn hair?" Dean asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, Grenda made sure we got plenty." Mabel paused, "And a bit of unicorn blood too…"
"Grenda's one of Mabel's friends from Gravity Falls. There's a colony of unicorns in the woods near there." Dipper explained.
Sam grinned as he looked at Dean. Without saying a word Dean scowled and pulled a twenty out of his wallet, handing it to Sam. "Why don't you two put down salt lines by the door and window?" The taller Winchester asked, handing each of them a can. "They don't need to be super thick, just thick enough to make a line across the opening."
Dipper grabbed a canister, as did Mabel. After a minute there were two white lines along the window and doorway.
"Good. You can also make a salt circle to protect yourselves if there's something nearby that you don't want to get you." Dean said, demonstrating as he mimed pouring a circle around himself with salt. "It's not a permanent fix, but it works in emergencies."
"So we'll carry around salt with us when we're investigating with you guys?" Dipper asked.
"No." Dean replied.
"No?" Dipper tilted his head in confusion, "Why not?"
"Because you two aren't hunting." Dean stated firmly.
"Why do we keep talking about hunting?" Mabel asked. "I thought you guys were like Dipper, just without all the…" She gestured at her brother's noodly appearance and short pants, "You know."
Dipper huffed, but before he could retort Sam spoke, "Investigating the supernatural isn't just documentation. We seek out the stuff that's hurting and killing people and get rid of it. We hunt down monsters all over the country to help people stay safe."
"So, if we aren't hunting, what are we doing?" Dipper asked.
Dean thought a moment before he replied, "For now we'll teach you about what's out there-because while your journals have some stuff, there are plenty of other nasties that you probably don't have in there. We'll make sure you can keep yourselves safe."
"So, you're training us?" Mabel asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Basically."
"And when we're ready, then can we hunt?" Dipper asked, trying to understand exactly when he'd be allowed to investigate in person.
Dean exhaled, "Maybe."
"Most hunters end up quitting or dying because of how dangerous it is." Sam stated, "And most of the time, kids don't hunt because of the risks." He paused, looking over at Dean, "There are some exceptions, but that's not important right now. You two were extremely lucky to have survived this summer, given everything you described." I mean, fuck, a dream demon? Dad didn't even know what demons were, and once he figured it out he made sure we were good and fucking ready before we went after one. "We don't want you getting hurt, so we need to make sure you could handle a fight before we even consider letting you anywhere near a hunt."
Dipper paused, "Okay, I guess that makes sense."
"Good. Let's get some rest; we're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Dean stated, glad that the conversation hadn't boiled over into an argument.
"Where do we sleep?" There are only two beds." Mabel asked.
Sam and Dean glanced at the room. Normally it had only been the two of them, and if Cas ever was with them he just zoned out for the night in a chair or standing. It hadn't occurred to Dean that they had twice as many people as usual. There was one obvious option: Sam and Dean could share a bed and Dipper and Mabel would share the other. However, given that neither brother was particularly fond of shared sleeping arrangements (having been forced into it on occasion when motels only had single rooms left) or the prospect of having teenage siblings of opposite genders sharing a bed…
"I'll see if I can get a cot." Dean replied, heading back to the office.
***GF-SPN***
In the end the brothers were forced to share a bed, Dipper had the second, and Mabel had the hotel's sole cot. The twins had decided to rotate, with Dipper winning rock-paper-scissors for the first night. By the time the two woke up in the morning, both brothers had already been up for a few hours. Sam was typing at his laptop and Dean had a stack of papers in front of him.
Dipper blearily rubbed his eyes, stretching his arms out as he blinked. Mabel was still asleep on the cot, her arm dangling off the side to rest on the pile of blankets she'd thrown around throughout the night.
"Oh, you're up. Good timing." Dean said, looking up from his papers. "Would you mind waking up your sister? We have to talk about a few things."
Dipper nodded. He turned and dropped to the floor, his socks impacting with a dull thud on the faded maroon carpet. He shuffled over to Mabel and tapped her on the shoulder, trying to wake her up. She continued dozing, a small snort the only sign of his attempt having any sort of impact. He shook her slightly, "Mabel, come on, time to get up."
She slowly opened her eyes, sighing that she was now awake. "I'm up, issokay." She slurred slightly. Mabel sat up and kicked her blankets off before rolling off the cot.
Sam smiled at the sight of someone with almost as bad bed-head as he normally sported, "I got breakfast earlier. I'm not really sure what you two like, so I got some pancakes, eggs, and some hash-browns. Because someone forgets to eat when he's wrapped up in his work I'm usually on breakfast duty. " Sam thumbed at Dean, who reflexively returned it by flipping him off. The elder Winchester quickly remembered the twins and withdrew the gesture sheepishly. Sam scoffed slightly before he motioned to a few Styrofoam containers on the table. "There's also some bacon, but I didn't know if you guys were, kosher or anything, so I had them put it in a different container."
Dipper walked over and opened the first container, revealing a pile of pancakes. "Thanks. No, we're not kosher. My mom loves seafood too much for that to have been an option." He paused, frowning a moment, "Well, she did love seafood too much…" He cleared his throat, trying to clear the thoughts.
Dean frowned slightly, looking up from his papers on the table and at the boy standing opposite him, "Hey, it's okay." He paused; I gotta say something, even if it is totally a chick-flick thing to do. "Um, look, I get it. It's tough to lose someone. I lost my mom when I was little and it sucked, and when my dad died, that really sucked. But it'll be okay, time'll make it seem smaller, I guess. You won't forget them or anything, but it won't feel…" He waggled his fingers trying to find the right words, Come on brain, be fucking articulate! "..y'know as big. Other shit, I mean, stuff 'll happen and you'll still have the memories, but it won't be as bad a feeling."
Dipper smiled, "Thanks Dean." He paused, "You know, you don't have to stop cursing just because we're around. We're not little kids."
"Yeah! Grunkle Stan did all the time when we were at his house." Mabel added. "He even taught me some new ones-"
Before Mabel could begin Dipper slapped his hand over her mouth. "Why don't we eat?"
***GF-SPN***
After breakfast Dean had completed nearly all his paperwork. "Alright, before I get this stuff finished up I need to talk with you two."
"What are you working on?" Mabel asked, glancing at the pile of paper.
"I'm getting you two new identities."
"Because otherwise you'd be arrested for kidnapping, gotcha." Mabel nodded.
"Uh, yeah…" Dean said, the gravity of his most recent potentially criminal act settling in.
Dipper glanced at the papers, "The cards look way more real this time."
"They basically are. Our friend Bobby gets blank ones and has a few connections to register them with real socials, they function just like real ones-only with whatever alias you choose." Sam noted.
"Well, the one thing I know is that I don't want matching names again." Dipper stated.
"Definitely!" Mable agreed. "I get that mom and dad probably thought it was cute to give us names that start with the same first few letters, but, like, I'm not just your twin sister. I do have my own life."
"It's a bit cliché, honestly." Dipper concluded.
"So, any ideas what you guys want before Dean fills them out?" Sam asked. "This is what you'll be called in public from now on, so make sure you think-"
"Tyrone." Dipper quickly stated, cutting off Sam.
"Tyrone?"
"Not again!" Mabel huffed.
"Again?" Sam asked.
"There was a magic photocopier that let me make a few clones of myself. I may have gone a little crazy trying to impress this girl I liked-"
"And had no chance of ever dating."
"Quiet Mabel-and I named the first copy Tyrone."
"Maybe try something else." Sam suggested.
"Um, okay… not that I didn't love being Dipper, but everyone calling me something just because of some stupid birthmark…" Dipper paused, "Maybe Apollo? It's still related to space, and like, my birthmark; but its way cooler."
"Okay, Apollo what?" Dean asked.
"I guess I can keep my middle name, right?"
"We do sometimes, it makes it easier." Sam commented.
"Okay, so, Apollo Steven something…" Dipper paused, "What's the last name you guys usually use, so we can claim to be your niece and nephew?"
"Honestly it varies a lot." Sam replied, "We rotate frequently to make sure we aren't traced in the event something we do is illegal."
"So can we pick whatever last name we want?" Mabel asked.
"I don't see why not."
The twins glanced at each other.
"Something easy would be best, probably." Dipper replied.
"Dippington?"
"That isn't a real name, what about Smith?"
"No, too boring." Mabel shook her head. "Radman?"
"That isn't a real name."
"It's Xyler's last name!"
"Dream Boy High isn't real, Mabel."
"Fine." Mabel conceded. "What about Henderson? It's a boring old real name."
Dipper thought a moment, "Works for me."
"Okay, so just to make sure before I write this all down, Apollo Steven Henderson?" Dean clarified.
Dipper nodded.
"Okay, good. What about you?"
Mabel scrunched up her face a moment as she thought. "It has to be a real name?"
"Yes." Dipper chastised.
"So Lady Mabelton?"
"No."
"Fine." Mabel scrunched her face slightly harder, "How about Lilith?"
Sam and Dean simultaneously blurted, "No!"
"Why not?"
"Look, it's a long story-" Dean stated, "But no. Where'd you even hear of that name, anyway?"
"It's in one of those giant books that Grunkle Ford had in the basement."
"You read the books in the basement?" Dipper blinked.
"Not really, it's also where he kept his paracord-I needed something to knit my tactical turtleneck. It was open on his desk next to it."
"You have a tactical turtleneck knit out of paracord?" Sam asked.
"Yeah! And I put a smiling cloud on it!" Mabel replied, rooting though her bag, eventually producing a black sweater with a white cloud on it.
"Huh." Dean said, "So, how about Lily, it's close to Lilith?"
"That's fine." Mabel stated, "Lily Theresa Henderson."
"Okay, awesome." Dean stated, completing the second form. Bobby'll have this done by the afternoon, then we can register you two at the school here.
"So we're living here now on?" Mabel asked.
"No, we'll be here for a bit, there's a hunt around here. Maybe after that we'll find another close to the area, then when the quarter's over we'll move and transfer you to the school where we go." Sam stated.
"Wouldn't it be easier just to put us in cyberschool? That way we won't have to re-enroll all the time and we'll still have the same classes." Dipper suggested.
"That's a good idea." Dean remarked, "I wish they would've had that when we were kids. Would've made it a lot easier not going to 30 schools by senior year."
"You guys moved around a lot as kids?" Mabel asked, gears clicking into place. "If hunters move around a lot to find the monsters… You said a lot of times kids don't hunt, but sometimes they do. Did you guys hunt as kids?"
Wow, these kids are perceptive. "Yeah, our dad took us hunting, and we were always moving around as a result…" Sam replied.
"So what was it like?" Dipper asked.
"What was your first monster?" Mabel added.
"How'd you get started hunting?"
"Are angels real, if demons are?"
Dean waved his hands to stop the barrage of questions. "I guess it's fair that we give you kids a bit of an explanation, given that you're going to be with us now." Dean commented, "It all started with a fire…"
***GF-SPN***
Two hours and a few dozen questions later the conversation had concluded and Mabel had convinced the others to use the pool. Sam had agreed with the idea of doing something lighter, given the incredibly heavy conversation they'd just concluded. After all, explaining that we've both died and been resurrected multiple times isn't the kind of thing that normal people talk about on vacation.
They used the bathroom to quickly change, Mabel going first followed by Dipper. The two sat on the bed nearest the door as Dean stepped out of the bathroom. While the elder Winchester rarely swam, he did normally keep a swimsuit handy-One time I get crotch rot in the fucking Louisiana Bayou, never making that mistake again. As he entered the common room in the blue trunks the twins glanced his way.
"Cool tattoo!" Mabel said, pointing at the symbol on Dean's chest.
"Thanks, it's an anti-possession tattoo." Dean said.
"So that keeps demons out?" Dipper asked.
"Yup."
Mabel looked at the design for a minute before she spoke, "So, when do we get one?"