Chapter 1

Dean Winchester HATED flights. Period.

Everyone in his regiment knew it. But this flight was especially difficult. Even during immigration, his comrades could see that his strong and cocky facade was slipping momentarily. The enigma that was Dean Winchester however, was as close to being revealed as it had been years ago, when their batch started training together.

His rise to his current position had been nothing short of miraculous, but that had been expected out of him, having graduated the academy with the highest marks in the last half century or so.

As he settled into his seat, his thoughts wandered towards his family. His family, who he hadn't seen in the last 4 years, nor had he spoken to them. His family, who had absolutely no idea that he was coming home for Christmas, and for good.

He had handed in his papers 3 hours before leaving his base in Afghanistan, and had received his honourable discharge papers hand to hand. His friends, after initial shouts of outrage had all but melted at his cocky smirk. They were reduced to simply demanding a farewell, that Dean assured they'd get a chance for, once they were back on US soils. Enough about his friends, his thoughts drifted again towards the family he had left behind.

His parents, John and Mary Winchester were hunters of the supernatural. Hisfather was a member of the elite group, Men of Letters, and Dean himself was a legacy, as was his younger brother Sam. They lived in a super-secret, tech-savvy bunker in Lawrence, Kansas,along with two other families. Bobby also lived in the bunker with his son Adam, who was a younger brother to Dean. After Bobby had to kill his wife (who had been possessed by a demon), Adam grew much more closer to Mary and the boys. Bill and Ellen also lived in the bunker, with their twins, Ash and Jo. When Bill had died on a hunt, Ellen had moved out for a while but she realised that the Winchesters were ultimately her family and had returned.

Dean, being the eldest of them all, had grown up with a responsibility from a very young age. He had 4 kids to take care of when the elders were away hunting. He was often on edge, and the phrase, "pulling out my own hair", was like second nature while growing up. He had always been a loving kid, always giving, never asking for anything in return. It was only when he grew up and went to school that he realised that his parents had often manipulated his loving nature, not that he would ever call them out on it.

Once Dean started schooling, his teachers were amazed. He aced all his exams all the way till senior year without even having to work especially hard. While his family, and extended family gushed over the fact that he was valedictorian, he brushed it off without a second thought. It came as no surprise to anyone that he received a full ride to MIT, one of the most prestigious institutes in the country for his course of automobile engineering.

The twist however came after that, when he enlisted for the army straight out of college, much to his family's surprise. The Elders, or the furious four, as Dean liked to call them had been enraged. This was the only time when Dean had done something Dean wanted to, and he would've been damned had he backed down. Instead, he packed his backs, hugged all 4 of his siblings and went out the door, straight to Coronado. It had been a delight for him when Sam and Ash had both made it to Stanford, reducing their physical distance drastically.

His graduation from Coronado had been magical, for the lack of a better word. The Secretary of Defense had himself given away Dean his graduation certificate, and was full of praises for him. His family (Singers and Harvelles included), had all been there, and even the Elders had been filled with pride at Dean's achievements.

After he was whisked away from the stage itself, Dean catched up with his family later and told them that he was being deployed overseas, to Afghanistan within 36 hours.

To say that everyone was aghast was an understatement. At the airport, he gave Jo a tearful goodbye and told Ash, Adam and Sam to keep studying and pursue their dreams. John and Bobby had clapped him on the back and told him to keep his nose straight, as had Mary and Ellen.

But that day at the airport, he had introduced his family to someone very important, his journalist girlfriend, Cassie Robinson. It just took his family 30 seconds to realise that Dean was completely smitten by the girl. Even in his outposts in rural Afghanistan, when Dean was feeling particularly low, he would remember distinctly the smell of vanilla that enveloped her shoulder blades, and how beautiful her dark brown eyes looked in the sunlight. He could almost feel how her curls felt against his fingers as they made love, and how her chocolate-like skin felt against his own. Cassie had also told him on the day of his graduation that she was pregnant. Dean had been shocked, but had refused to decline the deployment.

He had told Cassie to tell his family and move in with them, after telling her about his family's occupation. To her credit, Cassie took everything in her stride and as soon as Dean had started walking towards his platoon, he could hear Cassie telling his family about her pregnancy and the shriek of happiness Jo had let out. That was the last time he had seen them, and even though he promised to write, he had sent 2 postcards in 4 years and never opened any package he had received.

With a content sigh, Dean opened his eyes. They were almost about to land and Dean could feel the tension in his bones. He had decided that he would be surprising his family on their annual Christmas dinner, which was tomorrow. Till then, he decided to go over to Jo's place. She had come out to her family and was now in a happy relationship with Dean's childhood best friend, Charlie. They now lived together in a small apartment above the cybercafe they jointly owned. Charlie also knew about their "family business" and had been more than receptive of their lifestyle.

While the pilot gave instructions for a touchdown, Dean suddenly remembered his hunter friend Garth, who owned a pub in Lawrence, called the Roadhouse. Apart from being a cool hangout spot for the locals, it was also a centre for hunters, who stopped by everytime they were in town. Dean was excited to see the whole gang for Christmas, but mostly, it was Cassie and his kid, whose gender was also unknown to Dean.

As the plane landed, a sharp pain drove up Dean's left arm, which was in a cast. He bit down his lip as he stood up and hanged his backpack over his comparatively good shoulder. Pushing thoughts of his injuries to the back of his mind, he made his way to the luggage belt along with his fellow army-men. Dean tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible but when someone at his position leaves, it IS a big deal. Soldiers came up to him every 3 seconds and while thanking him for his services, told him that they had been honoured to serve with him.

As a Sergeant helped him load his belongings in the back of a taxi, he thanked him profusely before getting in the car, slamming the door shut and heaving a sigh of relief.