Good Day, my darling SPN Family!
Apologies that it's taken me so long to update. I'm involved in a personal project that is currently consuming my life, but I hope to be back in the game soon. Thank you so much for all of the reviews, requests, follows and favorites. I really can't do this without you guys. Special thanks to the best beta in the world, Jenmm31. If you haven't checked out her stuff yet, go do it. She just published a chapter that will make your heart shatter with its brilliance.
This is a request from my dear guest Kim, who wanted to see Natalie on her first date :) Thank you Kim, big hugs to you my dear. I have another one shot right on the heels of this one- a request from delacre, so look for it soon!
Always Keep Fighting. Love you guys.
A/N- in this story, Natalie is 15. Please see profile page for disclaimers.
The warm glow of the lamps spilled out over the rustic, gently worn sheen of the oak table. The only sound that could be heard was the clicking of the laptop keyboard, or the occasional "clink" of a beer bottle being set down. Dean couldn't remember the last time the bunker had been so quiet. It was soothing. For about twelve seconds. Then it was unsettling.
He shoved his chair away from his makeshift workstation. The scraping noise along the polished wood floor broke the serenity. It startled Sam, who quickly looked up from the glow of his own laptop. Sam gazed across the table as his brother stood up, started to walk one way, then about three steps later, changed his mind and walked the other way. Sam suppressed his smile as Dean whipped around, back towards him.
"Hey- you want a beer?" Dean asked, a little too loudly. Sam responded by holding up his still half-full bottle. "Ah," Dean said, nodding. He picked up his own half-full bottle, and in one mighty chug, emptied it. "I'm gettin' more," he announced as he turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen.
"She'll be back soon," Sam murmured. Dean stopped in his tracks and whipped back around.
"What?" he said, pretending not to have heard.
Sam looked up from his laptop again. "I said, she'll be back soon," he repeated in a soothing tone. Dean immediately slapped on his casual devil-may-care grin.
"I know that. She's fine. It's not even curfew yet. I'm not worried about her. Why, are you worried?" he said in a rush. Sam couldn't help but smile at Dean's nerves.
"Dude, you've got to calm down."
"I AM CALM!"
"Take it down a few notches, Dean," Sam said gently. Dean rolled his eyes, but didn't turn away. "You know where she's at, you know who she's with, and she's never missed a curfew yet. Why are you all up in arms all of the sudden?"
At that question, Dean did turn away and started stalking towards the kitchen. He wasn't ready to have this conversation. Not right now.
His fifteen-year-old daughter, Natalie, was out with some friends of hers in town. She usually went out with them once or twice when they were actually home in the bunker, but this was the third time she'd been out since they'd gotten home five days ago. And Dean thought he knew the reason why.
On their last hunting trip, the Winchesters had teamed up with another hunting family they had met who was working the same case they were. The father/son duo of Mitch and Tyler Dakari had proven themselves most effective in helping the Winchesters wipe out the psychotic Wendigo who had been terrorizing campers in the woods of Kentucky. After they had dispatched the monster, the men of the group all discovered over beers just how similar their backstories were. Tyler's mom had been lost to a demon possession, driving both father and son into the hunting world. Tyler and Natalie were about the same age, and had gotten along well- once Tyler had stopped trying to one-up her when it came to hunting. He had apparently felt he had something to prove, but since Natalie had bested him in- well, just about everything- he manfully conceded, and they started becoming friends.
The Dakaris decided to hang with the Winchesters for a while, learning from them and just for the companionship of having fellow hunters around. The boys offered the bunker to crash in, but Mitch had insisted on staying in town, eyeing his son up and down after Dean had offered. Dean hadn't understood it at the time- until he looked at his own daughter. Watching Tyler, she had lit up like the Fourth of July. He had never seen her that taken with a boy like that before. And so began Dean's active campaign to hate Tyler Dakari.
To be fair, he wasn't entirely sure that Natalie had invited Tyler to hang out with her and her friends for the last three nights. But then again, he thought savagely as he yanked another beer from the fridge in the kitchen, that was exactly the kind of sweet thing Natalie would do. She was so loving and eager to make everyone feel happy and comfortable. He'd have to put a stop to that at once.
He stalked grumpily back towards the study, losing all his cool along the way, back into the room where Sam was still typing away. Dean pinched his lips in displeasure at Sam's cavalier attitude. Didn't he realize that his niece might possibly be out- WITH A BOY? What the hell was wrong with him?!
Before Dean could open his mouth to start screaming undeservedly at his brother, they both heard the lock turn in the door upstairs. Natalie breezed through the heavy wooden door.
"Honey, I'm hooooooooome," she called out in a singsong voice. Sam's eyes flicked up to Dean; the smarmy look on his face clearly saying I told you so. Dean's gaze swung back to his daughter, dancing down the stairs. "So. What did I miss while I was out being awesome?" she said with a smirk, slightly winded from taking the stairs so fast.
"You're gonna break your ankle one of these days doing that, you know," Sam said by way of a greeting, gesturing to her flight down the metal staircase. She rolled her green eyes. Damn Dean for teaching her that, Sam thought.
"You sound just like Pops," she teased back, before making a gruff face. " 'You quit runnin' down those stairs, or I'm gonna turn you inside out'," she said, doing her best Bobby impression. Sam just shook his head and grinned, which made Natalie smile, satisfied. "Have you talked to Pops lately?" she asked, now that Bobby was on the brain.
"Yeah, I called him when we got home," Dean answered quickly. He had more pressing matters to discuss. "So. Did you have fun tonight?" he said, trying to keep his voice light hearted. Natalie appeared not to notice.
"Yup. We all just hung out downtown."
"Did you all go to the café? Get milkshakes, play the jukebox, that kinda crap?" Dean pressed, needing to know if she had been with that little shit or not. Natalie turned all her attention to him then, with a very perplexed look on her face.
"Yeah. We did. And then we got back into the Delorean and time traveled out of the 1950s and back to the present," she quipped sarcastically.
"You're a laugh a minute, kid. Who was there?" Dean said, not giving a damn that he was giving her the third degree for no reason. Natalie, however, was too used to her father's overprotective side. She smiled gently and walked back to Dean.
"Okay, okay. So…..you should probably sit down," she said, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Sit down? Sit down why?"
"Because I want to tell you and Uncle Sam something."
"I don't need to sit down for you to talk."
"I know. But it would be better if you did sit."
"No way. Can't reach my gun as fast."
"And that's why I want you to sit."
"Dude- just sit down," Sam said loudly, gesturing to a chair. Dean huffed over to the spot he had vacated a moment ago, twisted the top off his beer, and started drinking. Sam looked at Natalie with a face that said that's probably about the best you're going to get. Natalie took a deep breath, then sat down, right next to her father- mostly so she could observe him.
"So I was out tonight with Maya and Sarah…..and Tyler," she said, watching Dean nervously. Dean just kept drinking, so she plowed on. "We were hanging out downtown, just walking around. We got French fries at the café, posted weird stuff on Instagram, you know." The bottle didn't move from Dean's lips. Natalie inhaled again, knowing she couldn't stall much longer. "And the Maya and Sarah left, so Tyler walked me home."
The bottle hit the table with an empty clank. Dean turned his full-fledged Eye towards his daughter. "And?" he growled. Natalie pressed her lips together. So typical of her dad to overreact- it was almost funny.
"And- we….kinda held hands….and he kinda…asked me to be his girlfrie-"
"You're grounded," Dean spat out before she could even finish the word. Natalie just rolled her eyes and sighed with an exasperated smile.
"Dad, nothing happened, I swear," she said consolingly.
"Doesn't matter. You're still grounded."
"For what?"
"I'll think of something."
Sam cleared his throat loudly. "So he asked you to be his girlfriend, huh?" he said, a calm smile on his face, letting his niece know he was firmly on her side. She grinned and blushed.
"Yeah, he did," she said, shyly ducking her head a bit. Sam thought it was adorable. Dean wanted to kill something.
"And what did you say?" Sam prompted. Before Dean could spit anything out about Tyler being a degenerate or the scum of the earth, Natalie quickly answered.
"I said that I liked the idea, but we haven't really gotten to know each other enough yet," she said, her eyes darting back and forth between Sam and Dean. Dean nodded savagely.
"Good. So you can let him down gently. And on an unrelated note, we're moving tomorrow," he said in a voice that was loud enough to carry to the next state.
Natalie continued as if he hadn't spoken. "So we decided to go on a date tomorrow- if that's okay with you guys," she said, finally dropping the last card hesitantly.
"Absolutely not," Dean said, violently shaking his head.
"Of course you can," Sam said at the same moment. Dean whipped around.
"Judas," he growled at his brother. Sam rolled his eyes at Dean's dramatics, but Dean narrowed his eyes at his daughter. "You know you're not allowed to date until you're sixteen," he said triumphantly, thinking that he had her cornered. Much to his surprise, Natalie nodded.
"I know. And that's what I told Tyler," she explained patiently. Dean nodded again, glad that this mess was behind them. But Natalie wasn't done. "But I thought that maybe, since you guys already know him, and if we hang out in a public place…that we could go on a chaperoned date?" she asked sweetly, her eyes dancing back and forth again.
"Absolutely not," said Dean.
"Of course you can," said Sam.
Dean shot Sam a look that could have melted iron. "I'M her father, I'LL be making those calls!" Dean shouted. Natalie placed a gentle hand on Dean's arm.
"Aw, c'mon Daddy," she cooed.
"Don't even try it, Natalie."
"Look- I know you said I can't date till I'm sixteen, which is why I told Tyler no."
"Damn straight. Now go to bed."
"But what if he and I just went to a coffee shop and just talked while you and Uncle Sam and Mitch were there too? I mean, not like right next to us or anything, but on the other side of the room where you could totally see us?" Natalie explained, wanting to be very clear about the boundaries she had in mind. It was clear she had given this a lot of thought. Dean shrugged her hand off his arm, but she wasn't taking no for an answer. She jumped up and sat on his lap, just like she used to do when she was six and wanted his undivided attention. "Please? I'll buy you a pie to eat while we're there."
"Don't try to bribe me."
"Two pies."
Dean gritted his teeth. He thought of filling Tyler with lead, tying cement shoes to the kid, figuring out a way to sell the kid's soul to Crowley. But Natalie's big, green, pleading eyes were right in front of his face, and no matter how hard he tried, her determination to break his will was taking no prisoners. Just to ensure her the win, she laid her head down on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Pleeeeeeeease?" she begged.
Dean's stoic veneer didn't crack, but through pinched lips he begrudgingly muttered. "Let me think about it."
Natalie immediately bounced up and planted a big kiss on his cheek. "Yes! Thank you, Dad, you're the best!" she squealed, slipping off his lap and skipping down the hallway to her bedroom.
"That wasn't a yes!" Dean roared after her. She only giggled in response. She knew by the time Sam got done with him, it would be. The boys heard her door close. Dean turned to Sam, who was doing a very bad job of hiding his amusement.
"That wasn't a yes," Dean said again loudly, just to emphasize it. Sam tilted his head, a knowing smirk on his face.
"Dude, come on. It's just coffee."
"She hates coffee."
"Okay. Well, coffee really isn't the point anyways."
"Exactly. That little shit head wants a piece of my Baby Girl? I don't think so."
"Dean, they're just hanging out, not getting married."
"Sam, do you remember being a boy his age? He's- what- sixteen?"
"Seventeen."
"Even worse. Do you remember what YOU were like at that age, let alone ME?"
"We're both going to be right there, and it sounds like Mitch will be, too. Tyler will have no choice but to be on his best behavior."
"Stop calling him Tyler."
"What?"
"You should be calling him a Steaming Bag of Crap. That's more appropriate."
"Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"
"No, Sam, I don't. My daughter isn't going out with some punk ass kid at the age of fifteen."
Sam sighed. "Dean, Natalie is being completely above board with this. When YOU were fifteen, you were skipping class and breaking into the janitor's closet so you could make out with random cheerleaders."
"That was different."
"How?"
Pause. "It just was."
"She's going to be in complete view of three of us, which isn't exactly going to be her ideal first date, and you know that. She'd probably much rather us be in the bunker and far away from her."
"Well, if she doesn't want us there, then why is she even going through this nonsense?!"
"Because she's trying to show you that she's mature and responsible enough to handle this."
"Yeah? Well, I know that I wasn't 'mature and responsible' when I was her age. Why should she be any different? She's my kid."
"But she's not you." That finally made Dean shut up. Sam was right. Natalie wasn't him. She was so much smarter, so much kinder, and so much better than he could ever hope to be. But he hated this. The idea that his little girl wasn't a little girl anymore tore at the heartstrings he sometimes pretended not to have. Milestones had always been tough for him when it came to Natalie. But hey- she hadn't gone anywhere. She still wanted him around. And the truth of Sam's words finally rang clear. She was doing this- because she wanted him to approve. She was still looking for his approval.
When you put it like that, it became just a bit easier to take.
*SPN SPN SPN*
The next evening, Natalie was fidgeting with her hair and had changed clothes at least five times. Her room was littered with what looked like the fall line from Hot Topic. Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror.
"Get a grip, moron," she said to her image, and looked down at her outfit. It was fine. It was perfectly fine. Cute top. Great shoes. Jeans that showed off her butt. It was great. She stared at it for another moment. It was all wrong.
She discarded it, wondering how on earth she had never noticed that she didn't have anything to wear up until this point in her life, when she heard the buzzer blasting at the front door to the bunker. Her heart stopped for a beat. She quickly snatched the first and original outfit and yanked it on- a cute, purple dress with a scoop neckline. She took a fast moment to appreciate the way it made her green eyes pop. She tried to smooth out the wrinkles quickly as she shoved her feet in her black flats. She HAD to make it to the door before Dean did.
She tore out of the room, but heard her father's and uncle's voices mixing with Mr. Dakari's. Dammit. She walked into the room, trying to look cool as a cucumber. As she entered, all four heads swung around to look at her. She blushed and wanted to die of embarrassment, but Tyler cleared his throat. When she looked at him, her blood rushed a little through her veins in a very pleasant way. He really looked handsome in a red button down shirt.
"Wow- you look great," he said, eyeing her outfit and her long, black hair that he had never seen down before. Natalie smiled, but then noticed the vein in Dean's neck about to pop.
"Thank you. So do you! Well- we should get going, huh? Hi Mr. Dakari!" she said brightly, hoping to distract her father from putting the kibosh on the whole thing.
Mitch smiled back at her enthusiastic nature. "Hey Natalie. Sure thing- we'll wait upstairs." He motioned for Sam to follow him. With a nod and a wink at his niece, Sam followed, making small talk with Mitch as they ascended the metal staircase.
Natalie looked nervously between Dean and Tyler. "I need to get my purse- I'll be right back," she said. Tyler just nodded and smiled. It was clear Dean had no intention of leaving the boy by himself in the room. Natalie quickly shot Dean a pleading look that said please don't ruin this for me before she exited the room, practically running from the nerves and the threat of an overprotective father left alone with her first date ever.
Tyler turned and was walking towards the stairs, but Dean had other ideas. "Hey- Tyler. Wait up," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. Tyler turned to him.
"Yes, Mr. Winchester?" he said innocently. Dean gritted his teeth. So what if he was old enough to be the father of a teenager? He wasn't no "Mr. Winchester". However, he tried to recognize that the kid was being polite. He tried to recognize that that was something that should make him happy. He recognized that he didn't give a flying fuck about either fact.
He sauntered over towards the nervous boy. "Just so you know," he said casually, in his deadly calm voice that fooled no one. "That's my little girl you're about to take on a date. And also, just FYI," he said, shrugging nonchalantly and reaching into the small of his back. "I will have this trained on you for the duration of said date." He pulled his favorite silver .45 out, holding it out to the side so the kid didn't feel like Dean was going to shoot him- not yet, anyways. "So if you make one wrong move- and buddy, you best be believing I'll be watching you like a hawk- I'll light you up faster than a salt-and-burn. We understand each other?" Dean finished firmly, yet with a pleasant smile.
Poor Tyler was sweating bullets at this point, and could do nothing more than stammer. "Y-yes sir. I understand perfectly." Dean nodded, once.
"Good," he said, quickly tucking the gun into the small of his back. Just then, Natalie came tearing around the corner, clutching her purse, the panicked look still on her face. Dean smiled hugely at her.
"Let's go!" he said, chipper as a squirrel in spring.
*SPN SPN SPN*
When they got to the coffee shop, and the kids had ordered, with Tyler paying for Natalie, the men sat on the other side of the room in order to give their kids their privacy. Tyler and Natalie talked and laughed, trading hunting stories alongside typical teenage woes.
At one point, Natalie's hand was casually resting on the table. Tyler felt the urge to reach out and take it. He suddenly remembered Dean's words. He surreptitiously glanced over at the table of their fathers. Mitch and Sam were animatedly discussing something. It was obvious that both Mitch and Sam were perfectly content to let the two of them be, but Dean was staring straight at him. With a pleasant nod and a bob of his eyebrow, Dean made sure Tyler understood that he hadn't so much as blinked all night. He saw the tiniest glint of silver under the table.
Tyler quickly withdrew his hand.
*SPN SPN SPN*
Later that night, after the Dakaris had dropped the Winchesters back off at the bunker, Natalie practically skipped down the stairs, so on cloud nine was she.
"So I take it that meant you had a good time?" Sam said in a teasing voice as he shrugged off his jacket.
"You were there to watch the whole thing- what do you think?" she answered playfully. Sam chuckled at the barely-contained giddiness. He loved seeing her this happy. "Good night, Uncle Sam. Thank you- you're the best," she gushed. With a squeeze goodnight to his niece and a smile on his face, Sam headed off towards his room.
Natalie turned to Dean. "So- thanks for being so cool back there," she said, tilting her head to the side in that way that he couldn't resist. He smiled.
"S'what I do," he said, shrugging it off nonchalantly. Natalie blurted a laugh.
"Yeah. Yesterday you were ready to chain me to the wall for even thinking about a boy. What changed?"
"I just realized that Tyler was a smart kid who knew better than to mess with something he couldn't handle."
Natalie tried to puzzle that one out, before giving up in order to continue basking in her post-sort-of-first-date bliss. She turned on her heel and started prancing towards the kitchen. Confused, Dean called out after her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I said I'd get you two pies if you let me go out with Tyler. Gotta keep my end of the bargain," came the answer from down the hall, followed by a giggle.
Dean trotted down the hall after his Baby Girl. Hell, if letting her go out with boys got him pie, maybe he'd let her do it again. Next decade. He could use the target practice.
