Chapter 6

Alison waited patiently. For 3 whole minutes.

"You want me to trust you, right?" It was a rhetorical question but the brothers still nodded, looking suitably chastised.

Dean sighed, frustrated at his lack of control in the situation. He looked at Sam who just looked worriedly at Alison, which reminded Dean that she had been crying and he should probably check if she was alright.

"Let's go inside first, you're not even wearing shoes," Dean said lightly, trying to subtly get Alison out of the cold. She eyed him suspiciously but agreed to go inside. Her feet were cold but Dean didn't have to know that. The door closed behind them as they made their way inside.

"You doing okay?" Dean not-so-subtly tried to change the subject, but Alison was just not having it. She merely looked at the hunter and raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response to her previous inquiry.

He looked frustratedly at his brother and sharply exhaled, feeling the exhaustion catch up to him.

"Our friend thinks you might be in danger," Dean started slowly. "He isn't convinced that you being here on the same hunt as us is a coincidence. Which, you know, I can't really blame him. Coincidences aren't too common in our line of work. Even more so if we're to believe the whole paternity… aspect of the situation – yes, I know nothing is confirmed yet," he interrupted before she could protest. She glared at the wall angrily.

"Look, we have to work under the assumption that it is true for the moment, at least until we know more. It's better to play it safe instead of having a false sense of security. Now, you being related to us makes you a target, so we need to keep you safe. So, you need to decide now – you wanna come with us or are we putting extra security measures at Jody's?"

"Who's this friend of yours? And how do you even plan on 'knowing more'? Last I checked, you were still legally dead!" she burst out. "And just to remind you, I'm not some helpless child. I've survived on my own for years, I don't need your protection." She knew she was being spiteful, but she pushed down the pang of guilt that was creeping in.

Sam waited for Dean to explode. He knew his brother very well and Dean didn't do the 'talking reasonably' thing for too long. He was actually proud of Dean for keeping his composure for so long. He knew that if it was him who was in danger, Dean would have knocked him out and dragged him to the bunker if necessary. He could just imagine how well that approach would work with Alison. So, Sam waited to see how his brother would react, prepared to jump in and salvage the situation if needed. But again, Dean surprised him.

He walked up to where she was sitting on Sam's bed and knelt in front of her, forcing her to look at him instead of the wall. "I know you're good at taking care of yourself, alright? You wanna cut out the bullshit and get real with me for a second? You're strong and resourceful, yes – but kid, this is a different ball game we play here. Hunters who have had years and years of experience don't survive long in our world. I just want to keep you safe, that's all. Just… work with me here Alison."

"We promise we will figure everything out. Just come with us, please," Sam chimed in, puppy dog eyes in full effect.

Alison's nails dug into her palms as she tried to process everything. She felt Dean's hands take her own, rubbing over the crescent shaped indents she created.

"As for your other questions – Our friend is Cas, or Castiel. He's an angel, and I believe he can help with the whole getting answers thing. He can explain how later, if you agree to come back home with us. What do you say, kiddo? We taking a road trip home to Kansas or am I ringing up Jody about setting up a guest room? It's your choice, but I for one need to know if I should be summoning Sandra's ghost and yelling at her for not telling me about my daughter."

Dean's voice was gruff with emotion and Sam almost felt like he was intruding a private moment, but then Alison looked at him – with Dean's eyes, he realized – and he felt the familiar protective instinct flare up, only a thousand times worse. He'd always been the little brother, the one who needed to be protected, and while he felt protective over his big brother, he also knew Dean could take care of himself. So, this new dynamic was something of an adjustment, and he wondered if Dean had felt like this his entire life. He couldn't imagine how he hid it so well.

"Fine," the soft voice broke the tense silence in the room. Alison refused to make eye contact, even with Dean kneeling in front of her. His knees had started to hurt but he didn't care. He was close to a breakthrough and he could feel it. The words registered with the brothers and Dean's hands tightened over Alison's as they waited for her to continue.

"I'll go with you… but only for now. I don't promise anything. I can't. And, if it isn't working, I'm out. Those are my conditions," she somehow got the words out, hands shaking even in Dean's grip.

Dean wasn't happy with it, but as he looked at Sam, he knew this was the best he was gonna get for now. He opened his mouth to agree with her, even if it was just to get her to the damn bunker and to safety, when she continued.

"And can we press pause on the family talk? I need to talk to your friend first before I make a decision on that subject," her voice was barely there, but she ignored Dean's clenched jaw in favour of getting the words out. She needed his reassurance that he wouldn't pressure her to take whatever angelic DNA test he had in mind. Maybe she would feel better after talking to the angel, which – she couldn't believe she was gonna meet an actual angel – but until then, she didn't want to hear about it. She needed to process the information first.

"Please," she said before Dean could interrupt. Even Sam looked bummed at her request but her at least understood where she was coming from. He had, after all, seen her epic break down earlier. She forced herself to ignore the hurt look in Dean's eyes and tried to remind herself that – no, she didn't care about these guys more than any other tentative friends, but it was hard. The hurt vanished and hid behind the classic Dean mask, as he tried to smile back at her, and she felt even worse if that was possible.

"Well, we have a long drive ahead of us so let me know if you change your mind," he cleared his throat as he stood up and walked to the fridge in search of another beer.

"We'll head out in the morning after breakfast. That reminds me, you hungry Alison? None of us technically had dinner. I can run out and grab us something," Sam tried to diffuse the tension in the room.

Alison was hungry. They had split up during the day and she had been running low on cash the past couple of days, making her skip lunch that afternoon. So, the last thing she had eaten was the breakfast the Winchesters had provided for her. She usually had a better control of her hunger – life on the streets wasn't the best for a young girl – but the boys had been feeding her regularly during their time together, barring that afternoon, so her body had grown accustomed to the food. Which was why, as soon as she was reminded of it, her stomach grumbled loudly, making Sam smile as her face grew red with embarrassment. She didn't want to take advantage of their generosity, so she just told Sam to get whatever he wanted to eat. She would be grateful for any food they provided for her.

"Get extra food today, Sammy. I worked up an appetite earlier." Dean had found it odd that Alison never asked for anything but now it made sense. He knew that the kid wouldn't let them know if she wanted more food, he recognized that particular trait from his own childhood – which made him want to throttle Sandra. The Sandy he knew was cold and calculating, but she also had a good heart. He couldn't figure out why she would raise a kid in the hunting life, and if she was alive, he would have been tempted to knock some sense into her. It didn't seem like she was the most affectionate mother either, if Alison's reactions were anything to go by. He didn't miss the flinch when he grabbed her hands earlier, and the thought of her hurt made him see red.

Sam merely nodded at his brother's request, seeing through the thin excuse. He looked at Alison and decided to forgo his normal healthy food in favour of some greasy goodness instead. The kid deserved a treat. Grabbing the keys for the Impala, he walked out and the door shut behind him, leaving Alison and Dean awkwardly standing around in the room.

"How did you know her?" Alison's voice seemed to echo in the room. Dean instantly knew who she was talking about.

"I met her when I was seventeen. She saved my ass actually. I was on a hunt with my Dad and it was just us that day. It was ghouls, I think. Dad was knocked out and I was outnumbered but then she came in and kicked their asses. She was a brilliant hunter you know," Dean smiled softly at the memory.

"Anyway, we got to talking and realized that we had a lot in common. So, we kept in touch. We would get together when we were in the same town but both of us knew we didn't want anything serious. Honestly, I never pictured her having kids. She didn't seem to want any at that time but I guess people change."

"No, they don't," she replied as a tear slid down her cheek. She had cried more that day than she had in the past four years and it frustrated her to no end. Normally, she knew how to numb herself, but something about the Winchesters made her want to tell them everything and she hated it, hated feeling so weak. If this was what living with them was going to be like, she wanted out already.

Dean's heart dropped at Alison's words. He hated that she grew up feeling so alone and he promised himself that he would give that kid a home, regardless of whether she was his.

They sat in silence after that, but surprisingly it wasn't uncomfortable. Alison was almost dozing off again when Sam returned with the food. The heavenly smell of burgers jerked her wide awake and Dean tried to hide his grin at her reaction.

She waited until Sam and Dean had taken their fill before moving to take a small portion of fries with her burger, making the boys look at each other worriedly. Clearly, things were worse than they had imagined. They had a long road ahead of them.

After dinner, it was decided that they would move out first thing in the morning and Dean proposed getting some shut eye. Neither of them wanted to let Alison out of their sight but one raised eyebrow from her had them surrendering and she went back to her own room to sleep. If the brothers got up periodically to check on her throughout the night, she didn't have to know that.

The next morning, she nervously picked at her duffle bag as the brothers handled the check out. This was it, her last chance at backing out. She could make a run for it and they wouldn't know until it was too late, but her feet remained planted to the ground. Sam walked out first, Dean following closely. No backing out now. Dean opened the trunk and threw their stuff in, and they all shuffled into the car – Dean in the driver's seat, Sam beside him and Alison sat stiffly in the back seat.

Sam turned around to look at her, silently asking if she was alright. She nodded slightly but continued to fidget in her seat. Dean caught her eye in the rear-view mirror and held her gaze for a minute before he started the car. Over the loud rumble of the engine he said, "Let's go home, kiddo."