Welcome back!

This story and idea has been stewing for years, and I finally got the motivation to finish it. I will be posting another chapter in a week that takes place a couple months after this one, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

The only things you need to know before going into this chapter is that this is the first encounter Carter and Dean have had since Dean died and became a demon. They have not even called each other; all contact went through Sam. I feel that Dean would be pretty upset that Carter left hunting to be a teacher during this time, which is what I portrayed in this chapter.

With that in mind, I hope you enjoy!

Ages:

Carter: 22

Dean: 35

Sam: 31

Takes place during season 10

Warnings: This chapter does have swearing, and so will many chapters going forward, as I feel that if it weren't for the restrictions tv shows have, Dean and Sam would be swearing up a storm (just see 3x13 "Ghostfacers" for proof).

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, I am just borrowing their characters

The soft ticking of Carter's watch filled the silence in the room. Phone in hand, she was still. Outside, a car passed the house, blaring music as it headed towards the cul-de-sac. The Lovejoy's dog across the street barked several times before quieting down. Flying over the street, a flock of geese chittered amongst themselves as they headed south.

Sighing, Carter closed her social media app and resisted the urge to click on Netflix. Instead, she set her phone down on the kitchen table and looked out at her array of school books and student papers. Sighing again, she picked up her beer instead of her pen. Carter took a long swig of it and attempted to forget for a moment how quiet it was.

It was always this quiet.

At least, for the past few months it had been. Living alone and without a tv, Carter had gotten a good taste of what quiet really meant. Growing up living in motels meant noisy rooms down the hall, busy roads outside, and magic fingers humming constantly. Even when she lived in the bunker, it had never been quiet. All the old equipment droned on, with even the light fixtures buzzing. Plus, Sam and Dean were always around somewhere, either working a case or messing around. She was always able to get up and talk to them if she needed.

Now they were hundreds of miles away, and their absence left silence.

Taking another chug of her beer, she washed away all feelings of loneliness. Picking up her pen, she went back to grading papers. It took awhile, but she got back into the groove of her work. She went through paper after paper, red pen marking all the wrong answers. Eyes glided back and forth between the tests and the answer sheet. Eventually, the lack of noise was forgotten on her and she was fully immersed in the world of mythology.

She was halfway through the stack of tests when the doorbell rang. At the sudden, unfamiliar noise, her hand jerked, making a dark red line down the paper. Immediately she froze. Adrenaline started kicking as she took in the unfamiliar sound. She had been living in this house for a couple months now but the sound of the doorbell was barely familiar. Since hardly anyone ever visited, she wasn't expecting anyone. The only ones that would stop by were the Lovejoys, but they were away for the weekend. Without making a noise, she made her way to a drawer in the kitchen and grabbed the pistol she had stashed in there.

Gripping it at her side, her hunter instincts started kicking in. Brushing off the cobwebs of her old ways, she made her way to the door. She laid her hand on the doorknob, gun slightly behind her, and opened it a crack as the doorbell rang again. Peering through the foot wide opening, she breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight in front of her. She opened the door the rest of the way and revealed the gun now slack at her side.

"You scared the shit out of me," She chuckled.

Dean raised his eyes at the sight of his sister and the gun. Ignoring the weapon, he looked past her into the house and frowned. "Good," he said as he sidepassed Carter and walked into the living room, "I'm keeping you on your toes."

As Dean brushed past her into the room, the ever familiar pungent smell of alcohol soaked behind him. Shutting the door, Carter sighed and took in the man she hadn't seen for months. He seemed different, if she was being honest. Almost like he had aged twenty years.

"Nice place," he muttered as he looked around at her lack of decor. In the middle of the floor she had a large, used couch facing away from the door. Around it she had various lore books and pieces of paper sprawled everywhere. In the corner of the room was a lone stand up lamp used for nighttime research. The rest of the house was just as empty. It wasn't much, but at the very least, it was livable.

No longer needing the gun, Carter stuffed it behind her waistband. "Thanks. For the price, I expected it to be a lot worse. I mean, it still has its problems, but it does the job."

Dean slowly nodded his head. As he spotted the kitchen in the distance, he began to step forward, but the motion sent him swaying. His hand gripped the back of the couch for a moment before righting himself. Clearing his throat and fixing his jacket, he continued heading towards the kitchen, acting as if nothing had happened. Watching his movements, Carter's eyebrow raised in interest. It had been awhile since she'd seen this happen.

As Dean disappeared into the kitchen, he called out, "Hell of a long way to go for a shitty house, don't ya think? Were you really that desperate to get away from us?" At his words, Carter's thin smile dripped off her face.

Damn.

The sound of the fridge door being opened stirred her from anger and plowed her forwards to the kitchen. "Excuse me?" Standing in the doorframe, eyebrows knitted in confusion, she stared at the man that was almost too drunk to function.

Dean ignored her remark and pulled out the first beer bottle his hand hit. With expert motions, he popped the cap off, flinging it through the air, and shut the fridge door behind him. At his actions, Carter stood akimbo and attempted to calm her heart.

She could count on one hand the amount of times she had seen Dean this drunk. The worst time was when Sam left for college. For three weeks straight, he was unbearable to be around. There was constant drinking, yelling, and swearing. He was unable to make or buy any meals, leaving nine year old Carter to fend for herself. Every day she would walk the mile to school alone, all the while just wishing she had enough money for lunch. And at home, she walked on eggshells, making her desperate to not make any splash near Dean. Even so much as a drop of milk spilled sent him off. But that was Dean; he never raised a hand to her. She didn't even want to remember the abuse John filed out during those weeks.

It was hell for everyone.

The fact that Dean was falling into this hole again scared the crap out of her.

"You're drunk off your ass, Dean," she spoke in a cautious tone. "You should slow down a little; eat something so you don't die." With her comment, Dean stepped forward until he was inches from her, all semblance of a friendly demeanor disappeared.

"Last time I checked, I didn't need Mommy's approval to drink as much as I wanted," his voice growled. As he walked through the doorway, he made sure to knock into her shoulder, setting her off balance. As Dean walked away, Carter allowed herself to sigh and rub her temples, wishing this whole situation was just a nightmare. Squeezing her eyes shut, she attempted to recollect herself for the fight that would no doubt begin.

"Why, Dean? What the hell is wrong with you?" She turned around to face him as he took a giant chug of his beer.

"Wrong with me? Sweetheart, I'm not the one that has a problem here." He leaned against the table as he began swaying, taking another drink of the dark liquid. "I'm not the one that gave up on family."

Carter locked her jaw as she took in his disappointed face. Tears pin pricked her eyes but she held them back. She could handle angry Dean. Let him throw a couple punches and he cools down. But disappointed Dean? That broke her every damn time. All her life, everything she ever did was in effort to make him proud. To see him otherwise tore her to pieces.

"Give up on you?" She asked, shaking her head. "Dean, I looked for you for months. For months. Your ass didn't want to be found. I did everything I could; Sam and I dropped everything." The silence stretched as both siblings stared at each other. "We tortured demons until there were no more demons left to torture. We researched until we read every damn book twice. We tracked down anyone who had any information and tortured them, too. So don't you dare say I gave up on you."

"And yet," he looked around the room, "you're here, hundreds of miles away from where you're supposed to be." Dean chugged the rest of the liquid, a good portion of it draining down his chin. Wiping it away, he stepped to pass Carter into the kitchen for another. But she put her arm out to block the entrance.

"I think you've had enough." Voice scratchy, she held the emotions down. "There's an extra bed upstairs if you want to crash."

Ignoring the invitation, Dean turned to face his sister. "You know what gets me through the day?" His eyes stared into her, freezing all actions. "The fact that I know no matter what, you'll come crawling back. Cause you see, kid, I know you better than you do; you've never been able to handle normal people. Like it or not, hunting is in your blood. And hunting destroys everything it touches. You stay here and there'll be nothing left behind."

"Shut up," she mumbled. "You don't know that."

Dean reached around Carter's arm and placed his empty bottle on the counter. "You wanna take that chance? Fine. Don't come crawling to me when your perfect little world shatters because of one monster." He took a step back. "You know what? So long as you stay here, lose my number. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore."

At his words, air caught in the back of her throat and made tears spring out of her eyes. "You don't mean that."

"You sure about that?" With one last look at his little sister, he turned and walked out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.

At the noise, Carter slid down the wall, sobs bursting through tears as Dean's words sunk in.

If she thought she was alone before, she was in for a hell of a surprise.

I hope you enjoyed! Reviews, favorites, and follows are greatly appreciated! Also, if you don't follow me, you may not have seen that I posted a part two to "Mixed in With Melancholy," my story about Carter and the tv show Bones. You can check my profile for the story if it interests you! Thank you again!