Welcome back for part two! I loved writing this chapter so much, and I'm so excited to get the second part out for you all. This part picks up three years after the first part, and jumps forward in time several times. It is also my headcanon (that I refuse to see as not being canon) that Sam marries Eileen, and it is with her that they have a son named Dean (who we see in the finale). All three are mentioned in this chapter, so I wanted to make that clear for anyone who would be confused.
I hope you all enjoy!
And quick shoutout to Jenmm31 for encouraging me to write and post this chapter, I couldn't have done it without her!
Ages:
Carter: 30+
Warnings: cursing
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural!
It had been three months since Dean died. Three long, painful months. And this time, he really wasn't coming back. Sam and Carter did their best to stay afloat, but living in the bunker was a constant reminder of who they lost. Eventually, they made the decision to move out. Sam wanted to meet up with Eileen, and Carter, well, she didn't know what she wanted to do. Despite not having talked to Jackson in three years, she felt the pull to go back to his town, to Pinella Pass. It was the only place she had called home besides the bunker, and it was all she had left.
Sam drove her back there, asking every couple of hours if this was what she really wanted to do, and telling her she could just stay with him. She denied his invitation, and briefly regretted the decision, but ultimately, it wasn't what she wanted. It would've been the easy road staying with Sam, not having to deal with the consequences of the actions she made three years ago, but Winchesters didn't do easy.
She got a motel room and got her old job back at the bar. She started right away, and before she knew it she was there two weeks already. In that time, she dreaded every single time the door opened, fearing it would be Jackson walking in. Jackson lived across town, and this bar wasn't usually his first choice, but it was still a choice he made sometimes.
Carter couldn't explain why, but she both wanted to see Jackson again, and didn't want to see him again. What she did to him was terrible, she knew that. She wasn't making excuses for her actions, she accepted them as they were. But what Carter had come to realize was that she missed him. Thinking about him every night, wondering what he was doing, picturing him by her side, missed him. At the end of the day, she loved him. Loved him more than she ever thought she could love someone, and that scared her. She would do anything to get that love back, even if it meant giving up hunting for the rest of her life.
It was late at night when Jackson finally chose that bar. Carter was wiping down the counter after spilling nacho cheese everywhere, and the place had a good amount of people in it. It was a Saturday night after all. When the front door chimed, Carter glanced up and a few familiar faces walked in. Her stomach sank as she saw them, and her face nearly paled when she saw who the last person in the group was. Jackson. He and three of his closest buddies had smiles on their faces and scanned the bar. Each one, in their own time, locked eyes with Carter behind the bar, before they turned back to look at Jackson with worry.
Carter swallowed roughly as finally Jackson's eyes landed on her. He froze, and an unreadable expression moved over him. Carter made a small, embarrassed-and-nervous wave before Jackson's friends pushed him to a booth at the back. Finished with the cheese, she took a few deep breaths before stowing away in the kitchen.
Slumping down on a stool, she closed her eyes.
"Didn't you just take your break?" The cook, Reggie, asked as he stood at the grill flipping meat. Reggie and Carter knew each other from the first time she worked there, and she would often find herself bugging him whenever she was bored.
"Shut up," she moaned and rubbed her forehead. "My ex just walked in."
A giddy look sprouted on his face. "Ooo, drama." He tiptoed to the window overlooking the bar and peered out. Reggie, despite his appearances, was one for the theatrics. He loved every bit of juicy drama Carter presented him, and lived for the nightly recaps she gave him chronicling what happened with the patrons.
"Hey, don't make it obvious!" She groaned, but a smile came out instead. Reggie always knew how to make her bad nights more bearable.
With too many people in the bar, he couldn't see where Jackson had gone, so he wandered back to his station. "You gonna stick him with Cara?" Cara was the bartender who couldn't care less about the drama. She stuck to her duties, and that was that. But she was at the bar all night, and didn't mind taking orders or delivering them, so it was a good idea.
Carter just shrugged.
Reggie plated a pile of nachos and slid them on the counter towards Carter. "Well, time to buck up and get back out there, heartbreaker." He smiled something fierce, holding back a laugh as Carter rolled her eyes.
"I'll remember this later, Reggie," she replied as she grabbed the nachos to bring back out front.
"I'll be waiting for your report later!" He called and laughed as the kitchen door slammed behind her.
Carter spent the next hour strategically ignoring Jackson's table. Whenever she had to walk by them, she took the long way around, even if it meant squeezing past the groping drunks. She could feel the eyes of Jackson and his friends on her back, and she could practically taste the hot breath of their whispers, but she pushed on.
But finally, she could evade him no longer. Carter was back behind the bar, cleaning up some spilled french fries and peanut shells when he darkened the space in front of her. She froze and her heart quickened.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," she returned. The silence stretched between before she got the courage to spit out, "Look, I just want to say that I'm so sorry for never calling you back. That was shitty of me and I'm so sorry."
Jackson shoved his hands into his pockets as his face hardened. "Why didn't you?" The question had been boring into his tongue for years.
She balanced the five fries and wet washcloth in her hands as she fumbled her thoughts. "I don't know. I guess I just … didn't know what to say?"
"How about 'no'? 'No, I don't want to marry you.' At least have the balls to say that much."
"I know, I-" Carter began, but something behind Jackson caught her eye. An older guy sat alone at a booth by the door, and he was staring straight at her. And, maybe it was the light, but she swore for a second his eyes turned black.
No, they definitely turned black.
"You, what?" Jackson asked, not liking that her attention was no longer on the conversation. Carter watched as the demon chugged the rest of his drink. "You just wanted to hurt me? Is that it?" The demon stared pointedly at Carter before walking out the front door. "You lead me on all these years and then just dump me, just like that?"
His words catching her, she furrowed her brow and tried to form a new plan. "What? No, it wasn't like that- look, I'm so sorry but I have to be right back, I'll be right back, okay?" Not waiting for a response, she chucked the washcloth and spare fries onto the counter and walked as quickly as she could through the kitchen.
"Seriously?!" Jackson threw his arms up in frustration.
Jackson watched from the window as she shouted, "I'm taking the trash out, Reggie." She grabbed a near empty bag and bolted out the back door.
"Unbelievable," he muttered, before making the rash decision to follow behind her.
On her way out, she pulled the demon knife out of her boot and made her way to the dumpster. She scanned the area but couldn't see the demon. She knew for sure that he was there to see her, but where the hell was he?
She tossed the small bag into the dumpster and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. He was behind her now, that was for sure. Quickly, she adjusted the knife in her hand and swung around, the knife arching toward the demon's stomach, but her body froze. The demon tossed her the small distance back to the dumpster and held her there. Before she could question him, he twisted his hand and the air slowly left her throat.
Panicking, Carter attempted to suck any and all air in, but her body refused.
"Where's your back up?" The demon asked with a smile as he moved closer. "Oh that's right, ding dong the dick is dead. I heard about Dean finally kicking the bucket, and I just have to say, it was the best news I'd heard all week! I just had to come see the baby Winchester. You know, pay my respects."
Carter gasped, the last amount of air leaving her lungs and growing stars on her vision. Just as she feared she would black out, the back door of the bar slammed open and a familiar figure walked out. The demon whipped his head towards the door and scowled, loosening the grip on her windpipe.
"Carter?" Jackson spotted her and confusion spread across his face. Carter sucked in as much air as she could and regained her bearings.
"Oh, what do we have here?" The demon's eyes turned black as he locked onto Jackson, making Jackson freeze as he attempted to comprehend what was happening. This second lapse in judgment was just what Carter needed to regain control of her arm. She quickly reached up and sunk the knife, hilt deep, in the demon's abdomen.
Jackson started running, shouting, "Carter!" as the demon's face lit up with red sparks. His grip completely loosened and he fell to the ground as she pulled the knife out. Jackson stopped a couple feet away and muttered, "What the hell?"
"Look, I can explain."
"Did you just kill him?" he asked before she could continue.
"No, uh kinda-, but I can explain-"
"What the hell was that? His eyes, they-"
"It was a demon," she sputtered out, glad the secret was finally free, but she worried knowing the consequences would soon follow.
"Excuse me?"
A group of rowdy drunks clambered out of the front of the bar, their voices carrying throughout the town. It was just the snap Carter needed to get back on track. She had a dead body in front of her that she had to take care of asap. Bending down, she wiped the blood off the blade onto the body before stashing the blade back into her boot. (In that moment, she mentally thanked Sam for giving her the demon blade, because otherwise she'd have been screwed.) Then, she grabbed the arms of the demon and dragged it over to her car, which was parked barely twenty feet away.
"What the hell are you doing?" Jackson choked out. "What the hell is going on?" Carter popped the trunk and began shoving the body in the back, but limbs were going everywhere and she was distracted.
"Look, I can explain everything, but just not right now," she huffed and crumpled the limbs up as much as she could before slamming the door closed.
"What are you doing with the body? Shouldn't I be calling the police right now?"
Carter brushed stray hair out of her face and tried to figure out how best to continue. "I know this looks crazy and you think I'm nuts, but I promise you I'm not. I had hoped you'd never find out this way, or ever found out at all, but I guess that boat set sail." She took a deep breath. "I can explain more later, but the short of it all is that that was a demon. Like, a demon from hell and all that crap. And my family hunts them."
He took a moment to process her words, but he felt even more confused. "You're a demon killer?"
"Well, I-" she stuttered as his words caught her off guard, "Uh, no, but kinda? It's not just demons, it's all kinds of monsters. Ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, vampires, the like."
His mind was going a million miles an hour and the only thing he could spit out was, "Monsters are real?"
Carter, quite frankly, didn't have time for twenty questions. "Look, I really have to get back to work before I get fired. But after my shift, I swear I'll tell you everything okay?" She waited until he finally nodded his head in agreement. "Good." She started walking towards the door, but paused with her hand on the handle. "You're not going to call the police when I walk inside, are you?"
Jackson hesitated. "You'll tell me everything?"
She didn't even flinch. "Everything."
"Then no." He turned to face her. "But I think I'm going to need a drink." As Carter opened the door, he walked in and headed right back into the bar, sparing not a single glance back at her.
"I think that's a good idea," she muttered.
That night, true to her word, she told him everything. Safe in her motel room, they stayed up all night discussing every aspect of Carter's life that she had kept from him (or lied to him about). She told him about Mary's death, how it sparked John to seek out hunting, and how that started the Winchesters on their path. She told him about the real reason she learned to shoot a gun so young, and why she was so comfortable around weapons. She told him about Sam and Jessica, and the real reason John died. She told him about the yellow eyed demon, the angels, Lucifer and Michael, Dean and Sam's trips to hell, the many many apocalypses. She told him about the bunker and Chuck and apocalypse world, and Jack and Mary and the Men of Letters.
And she told him about Dean. How Dean finally got the happy hunting life he always wanted, and how it killed him.
At the end, Jackson seemed to take it pretty well. Much better than some other people she had told throughout the years, which was great. He admitted that he knew something was going on, considering all the cuts and bruises and scars on her body, and the military-like form she embodied. But he never could have foreseen the truth, and now everything clicked.
By the time morning had rolled around, they were exhausted and hungry. They decided to go for breakfast at their favorite diner, because it seemed neither one wanted to say goodbye. It was over breakfast that Carter admitted that she still loved him, had never stopped loving him. And after a moment, Jackson smiled and admitted the same.
Jackson had tried dating again after Carter left, but with every girl he was with, he couldn't help but see how they didn't measure up to Carter. His thoughts always led back to her, despite how bad she hurt him. And Carter, well, she was never able to move on, either. Sure, there had been some hookups in that time, but her thoughts always came back to Jackson.
Just like their first time together, they left the diner thinking it would be the last time seeing each other. They thought, maybe there was just too much baggage on the table, and it was best to just not go there. But a couple days later, Jackson happened to walk into the bar where Carter worked, and he happened to pick a seat at the bar where Carter just so happened to deal with all the checks. Okay, so maybe it wasn't just a coincidence. The whole night, Jackson smiled at Carter while he drank his beer and ate his nachos and watched her work, and she smiled right back at him.
It definitely wasn't a coincidence that they started dating again a few weeks later. This time on better terms, with the new rule of "no lying about anything" being instilled. It was like the proposal and three years of radio silence had never happened. They picked right back up, and loved each other so tightly they couldn't breathe.
After two years of relationship repair, the topic of marriage came back up. It was a sore subject still, but one they were looking to surpass. It was Carter this time who brought it up, and a mutual decision was made before any ring was brought out and the question was asked. This time, Jackson didn't go all out. Their engagement was quiet, small, and very casual. He had bought flowers and surprised her one Sunday morning. As she walked into the kitchen first thing, the flowers were laid at her seat and a ring sat next to them. She made sure to say "yes" a million times, absolutely sure of her answer this time.
Their wedding took place over a year later. Carter tried to think of every person she could invite from her side, but it didn't even make a dent in Jackson's side. Sam and Eileen were there, along with Jody, Donna, Claire, Alex, and Patience. Reggie, from the bar, was also there, and a couple hunter friends she had made over the years, like Garth and his wife Bess.
The ceremony was short, but the reception was long. Jackson and his friends knew how to drink, and they fit right in with all the hunters. They partied all night, and before they knew it they were starting their married lives together.
With marriage came the desire for more new starts. Along with working at the bar, Carter also went back to school. Not to teach, but to learn more herself. She worked her way up until she qualified for a professor position at the college less than an hour away from their house. It was the best position she could have hoped for, and she loved teaching mythology to the next generation.
Once she was married, she officially retired from hunting. While they were dating, Jackson had begged to go on a couple hunts, to at least see what it was like, but they both agreed that that would stop when they got married. With her professor position, she was able to help with the research side of hunting instead, as a source for all things lore for any hunter who needed it. Every now and then, she'd even get a new hunter showing up in her office, not knowing who she was, pretending to be FBI to get information about a local case. These visits were her favorite.
When Carter and Jackson were comfortable, a new surprise knocked on their door. Carter found out she was pregnant late one night at work after feeling sick for weeks. Jackson was ecstatic; after being an uncle to all his nieces and nephews, he was ready to be a parent. Carter was nervous, of course, but she knew she was in a good enough place to handle it.
They welcomed their baby girl, Adeline Anne, after what seemed like an eternity of labor. She was the most perfect little girl, full of energy and love for the world. In the coming years, they'd realize she was Carter's little mini-me, and that they were in for a rough ride. She played tough, and gave her older cousin Dean (Sam and Eileen's son) a run for his money.
A couple years after Addy, Carter gave birth for the last time to a baby boy, Oliver James. Ollie was a much more subdued boy. He didn't care to fight like his sister, he just wanted to read and play with his toys and do his own thing. He was very much a reflection of his Uncle Sam, and they got along famously because of it.
Carter and Jackson had come to the mutual decision to stop the Winchester generational curse of hunting with their kids. Their kids wouldn't know of the existence of monsters, wouldn't have the stress of hunting them down and saving people. They would grow up in a normal life, and that would be that.
Retirement followed many years later. Jackson and Carter were both tired of working and knew they could survive on what they had saved. For the first few years, they took to the roads. Carter showed him all the places she had been to as a child, and they went to all the places she had wanted to go to. There were many many visits to see Sam and Eileen, and even a couple of trips they all took together. Then, they went international. Carter had always wanted to travel outside of the states, and that was her opportunity. But after a while, they decided to return home to spoil grandchildren and grandnieces and -nephews.
Carter's last day on earth was a good one.
Her children and grandchildren were in town, along with nieces and nephews from both sides, and they were celebrating with a picnic. Carter and Jackson sat next to each other throughout the long, summer afternoon on their back deck as they watched the children run around and giggle. A smile never seemed to leave Carter's face as she watched their little legs go. Throughout the day, the adults milled around, coming to sit with Carter to talk about their lives and reminisce over family pictures.
At one point, Addy had found old family pictures tucked away in the attic and brought them to show Carter. The first picture in the box was one Carter had coveted all her life. It was of a young Dean holding a baby Carter in his arms. Sam sat at his side, staring down at his sister as she yawned wide. John took that picture a few days after he brought her home to his family.
That picture didn't leave her lap for the rest of the night. Every couple of minutes she would look down at it and a sense of want would course through her. She loved the family she had made, she would do anything for them, but she so deeply missed the family she was given. She knew Sam and Dean were partying it up in heaven, and she longed to be there with them.
As the day wore on, Carter became more and more tired. She hadn't eaten much the past week and it was weighing on her. Not to mention that every so often, her grandkids would run up to her wanting her to play, or to tell her a new crazy story, and then the adults would shoo them away and talk to her themselves about different things. Carter was grateful for it all, really and truly she was, but she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. Several times, actually, she was able to doze off in her chair, but it never failed that someone would come over and wake her up.
When the sun set and lightning bugs came out, people started to leave. The yard was cleaned up of toys, leftover food put into the fridge, and the garbage taken out. Addy and Ollie helped get her into bed and then they left, too. They left with promises of coming back in a couple days, and that they would call more often than that, but it didn't matter.
In the middle of the night, Carter passed on. Jackson held her hand but he would be none the wiser until the morning.
One moment, Carter was in a dream, and the next she's standing on a road in heaven. Her body was young again, and the wind was blowing her hair. In the distance, she heard the ever familiar purr of the Impala coming toward her. It slowed when it saw her, and tears sprang to her eyes when she saw Sam and Dean climbing out of the front seats. She hugged Dean first, and never wanted to let him go. He was just as she remembered him, and that made her want to sob.
"Welcome home, kiddo," Dean said as he kissed the top of her head. Sam walked over and joined in on the hug, seeing as she wouldn't be letting go anytime soon.
The Winchesters were together again, just as they were meant to be.
I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews, favorites, and follows make my day and encourage me to keep posting!
