The story takes place right after the season 10 finale, after Dean killed Death, the Mark of Cain was removed and Darkness was released into the world. I mentioned before, new characters will be added and thrown in the story and I will bring back several former characters from the show in the upcoming future.
Chapter 109 A Gathering and a Farewell
Some time had passed in the bunker as the new guests continued to be entertained. Dean, Sam and along with Charlie told Adam and the others interesting stories about the some of the adventures they had together and Charlie's amazing computer hacking talents. Then they all went into the billiard room where the Winchesters along with Charlie showed off their pool gaming talents. Ava of course also had a turn at the pool table as she was a skilled player, while Gwen who had learned a little how to play pool also demonstrated some of her limited talent without Sam's help this time.
Afterwards, the gang all went to the shooting range although Adam had already showed the women the range the day before they decided to go there again where Dean and Sam allowed the women again to have their turn showing off their shooting talents. Ava did really well of course and Charlie who wasn't experienced with a firearm also showed off some of her shooting skills. Sam helped Gwen showing her how to shoot a gun as she was quite nervous since she never fired a gun before. With Sam's guidance she eventually got the hang of it and even started to enjoy it a bit although she and Madame Bess don't like guns. Madame Bess didn't partake in the shooting lessons as she stood firm in her dislike of such activities.
Then the gang all returned to the library where Madame Bess helped herself looking at some of the books that perched her curiosity. As it was getting close to five o clock, they decided it was time to get dinner, so they sent Castiel to go out and get some pizza giving him enough cash and within seconds he teleported. Then around ten minutes later he returned with a large box of pepperoni pizza and six pack of coca cola soda. They then prepared for their meal with Adam getting the plates and glasses. afterwards, they all helped themselves with their pizza, with Dean, Sam, Adam, and Ava drinking a bottle of beer they still had in the fridge while the others drank the soda and Castiel didn't eat or drink anything being an angel but just sat around with them.
After dinner, Madame Bess and Gwen offered to help them clean up but Dean and Sam turned them down insisting they will clean it up later.
Then Ava went over to Dean and whispered, "We need to talk Dean alone right now".
Dean nodded, "I know, come on" he told her.
Soon he led Ava away and turned to the others. "Excuse us guys, me and Ava need to talk alone we will be right back" he told them.
Then he and Ava headed out and went to another room of the bunker for privacy.
Once they were gone, Gwen leaned over to Sam. "Sam, I also think we need to talk alone too" she told him.
"Gwen?" replied Madame Bess who had an idea what she wanted to discuss with Sam. Gwen turned to her grandmother quickly.
"It would only be for a few minutes grandmom" she told her.
"Gwen is right we do need to talk for alone for a while if you excuse us everybody" Sam said even though he was uneasy about facing Gwen alone, he knew this couldn't be delayed any longer.
Sam too led Gwen out of the room and into another one and they leaving Adam, Castiel, Charlie and Madame Bess alone who just looked on in curiosity.
"Well, didn't know this get together would turn into some kind of soap opera drama" said Adam who wanted to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, that was interesting" replied Charlie.
Madame Bess just got up and grabbed the plates. "Okay everybody, help me clean up, that's the least we can do while they have their little chat" she told them even though they didn't feel like doing but got up and helped her anyway.
Dean and Ava were in a private room in the bunker they rarely go into facing each other as Ava started the conversation. "You know Dean, we can't ignore what happened between us in the Underworld" she told him.
"I wasn't trying to ignore it just delay it for a while at least" Dean said half joking.
"Come on, Dean, we got the face this, something very special happened between us and it was more than just some romantic tryst" said Ava.
"Look Ava, I will never forget what happened with us back there, I will always remember it but we got to face facts, we're back in our world now and it's no point acting like we can just pick up where we left off there" he told her.
"Why can't we?" she asked.
"Come on Ava, look at us, we're hunters who live our own lives, there's me, Sam and Adam in this batcave when we're not hunting monsters and you all over the country hunting monsters too when you're not staying with your folks in Colorado. I mean it's not like we can just become two happy lovebirds who goes out on a date every Saturday night" Dean told her.
"I know but that doesn't mean it has to end for us either just because what we have is unconventional" said Ava.
"What would you suggest, us getting together when we occasionally find ourselves working a case together that might not happen too often?" Dean asked.
Ava shook her head a bit.
"No not exactly, I mean I don't see if there is anything wrong with us occasionally dropping in on each other, I could sometimes visit at the bunker, you can sometimes visit me when we're not hunting and just do normal stuff like normal two people who enjoy each other's company" said Ava.
Dean looked touched by her suggestion and was almost willing to consider it but then he felt he had to be the rational one here.
"That sounds nice like in a Hallmark channel movie, but how long do you think that will last? There will come a time that one of us or both of us will want more than just getting together once in a while" he told her.
"We can figure that out once we get there" said Ava.
"Ava, you got to understand …" said Dean but Ava cut him off as she drew closer to him her hands touching his arms.
"I understand that for a long time, I've closed myself off thinking I would never find happiness with a man while I'm traveling around the country hunting monsters and ghosts. That changed ever since I met you, when we were trapped in that alternate world then in the Underworld, I realized how much feelings I have for you more than just some brief fling but real strong feelings. And what we had was far different than I ever had with Jack where my feelings for him were more than his for me because I know you feel the same way. I felt that every day we spent together in that place. I know you to have closed yourself off only allowing room for Sam and Adam but think that's because you didn't believe you could find a relationship that special because of your lifestyle but we found each other. Please Dean , you can't deny our feelings for each other" said Ava with passion in her voice as she kept holding on to Dean's arms.
Dean paused a bit as he felt a lump in his throat listening to Ava as all these feelings were coming over him. He really wanted to just take Ava in his arms right there and then and not let go but he felt he had to be reasonable here which surprised him a bit since Sam usually was the reasonable one. Finally, he just decided to just say what he felt was right.
"I admit Ava, I do have feelings for you, real strong feelings, and I'm not sure what they are yet but I really do care about you and it's been a long while that I had those feelings with anybody. But, I have to be honest with you, with our lives as hunters, a relationship wouldn't work. It's not just the distance between us with me living here and you all over the country, but the fact both our lives are filled with danger. It's dangerous enough for us apart but together we can bring even more danger in one another's lives. I mean face it, me and Sam's track record of having anybody close to us die is quite huge and there's the fact that you could loose me just like your friend Jack, I wouldn't want to risk putting you through that again or maybe not risk putting myself through that again" he explained.
Ava let go his arms trying to understand where he was coming from, but she wouldn't just give up yet.
"Hey, Dean this is the life we chosen that will always involve danger and taking risks. But I think that makes us more perfect for each other. We understand the life as hunters, the danger, the thrill of another adventure of stopping evil in the world and saving the lives of many. We both really get it and I think it's bonded us in many ways. We click Dean and it's a shame to give that up, what we have between us before it even has a chance to really get started over fears" she said.
Dean paused a bit again just glaring at her with longing in his eyes.
"Ava" he finally said but she cut him off again.
"No, you look Dean, I understand you had a lot of loss over the years, I haven't forgotten what you confided in me and I think that's it is making you scared right now. You fear losing more people in your life. But there will always be risk, I mean there's Sam and Adam, you can even risk losing them but that doesn't cause you to shut them out and I know they're family and everything but I think that's the reason why they're only ones you allow in your lives and your angel friend Castiel. But it doesn't have to be that way. You said it yourself that you and Sam always managed to beat the odds at any obstacle, you both even died and came back from heaven and hell. I think that is part of what makes you two so glued to each other, everything you been through. What makes you think it can't be the same for us, that we together can survive anything. We survived the underworld together for heaven's sake, I think we're stronger together and make a good team maybe not like you and Sam but in our own unique way. Don't shut me out simply out of fear, that's not living. Sometimes it's good to take chances despite losses. I mean I've had losses too, but I don't want to let them stop me from finding happiness ever" Ava explained.
Dean continued to feel touched by Ava's words and but still insisted that he had to remain strong no matter how painful.
"Ava, I don't know what to tell you, I can't promise you some happily ever after" he told her.
Ava just reached out and placed her left hand on his face slightly caressing it.
"Just don't tell me it's over already please, Dean just give us a chance" she pleaded with so much longing in her eyes.
Dean didn't say anything this time but just placed his hand on hers as he kept glaring at her back with the same longing to just take her in his arms as they just kept staring at each other in silence.
Somewhere in the other part of the bunker in another room, Sam and Gwen were having a conversation of their own. Sam had Gwen's hand in his as he was facing her with a sad and longing look on his face.
"Gwen, you got to understand that with both our lives the way it is, we just don't fit, there just isn't room for us to be anything more than it was when we first met" he told her trying to let her down gently as much as it was aching him.
"Sam, I don't accept that, and neither should you" Gwen said.
"But what choice do we have, as much as I can't deny my feelings for you, I just don't think I can give you what you want, what you need" Sam told her.
Gwen removed her hands from his but still kept facing him.
"I don't believe that's true Sam. I meant what I said when I told you I was willing to do anything even move down here in this small town to be near you if that is what it took for us to be together if it comes to that point, as I wouldn't expect you to leave your home base" she told him.
"But Gwen, I told you before, I wouldn't want you to do that, leave your grandmother, the only family you have left behind just to be with me, especially since my life as a hunter involves a lot of danger and chaos, I wouldn't expect you to make such a sacrifice and what about your grandmother, what would she think of all of this" Sam told her.
"Grandmom would want me to be happy, I told you before she never expected me to just live with her forever. She always prepared for the day I will meet a man that I want to be with and spend my life with that I would move out even if it means leaving Saint Paul. She would never stand in my way. Besides, it wouldn't be like I'm cutting her out of my life, I would still have contact with her and visit whenever possible and if she needed my help, I'd be there no matter what. But Sam, I know what my feelings are, I think I'm falling in love with you. I never felt this way with anyone like I do with you, and I know in my heart you feel the same way. I think fear of losing me like you lost your first love is what is holding you back" she told him.
Sam just had an awkward look on his face giving away what she was saying was true. He has lost so many people he loved in the past, Jessica, his mother, his father, Bobby, Kevin, Charlie although they got her back now. Then there was Sarah. People tend who get too close to the Winchesters tend end up dead. Sam had made it decision long ago after his relationship with Amelia ended that there just wasn't any room for him for a relationship with his life as a hunter. Perhaps, he and Dean are just doomed from having such a normal thing, he even considered it a sacrifice to be made choosing his hunting life over a normal one. But here is Gwen, who is the first woman in a long time he's falling for hard and really cares about her and she's making it hard for him to try to be practical even though a part of him wants to believe what she says but he feels he has to stay strong on this.
Before Sam had a chance to speak again Gwen spoke up after a brief pause.
"Sam, as afraid you are of giving you heart to someone after what you've been through, I stand by what I said before, that you are not doomed to have a chance of love in are relationship, I don't believe anybody really is. I believe if you are willing to give it another chance you will find the right person and overcome any fears and obstacles coming at you. I also believe in fate and I've more than convinced ever since I had those visions of you and your brother in my dreams about Darkness being released into this world from the day we first met that we were fated to be together.
I mean I even had visions of you killing that demon girl Lillith and falling down into the big hole into hell even though I didn't see a clear look of your face, I think it's more than a coincidence that we winded up in each other's lives someday. That must tell you something. I think it was fate that brought us together then it could also be fate that we belong together, and we could overcome anything just like we did when we were in that other world or trapped in my grandmom's painting. Don't you see Sam, I don't think fate wants us to be apart especially since we keep ending up finding our way back in each other's lives" Gwen finished as she now stood close to Sam and placed her hands on his arm looking longingly in his eyes.
Sam didn't say anything this time but just stared back at Gwen with so much longing in his eyes the only thing he wanted to do right there and then was take her in his arms and kiss her and tell her that it was going to be alright but he didn't do that either.
Time passed as Adam, Madame Bess, and Castiel were waiting in the library area after Madame Bess had them put all the plates and cups in the dishwater and she washed them all while she instructed Adam and Charlie to dry them and put them away. Castiel didn't take part but just waited for them to finish. Now they were all waiting for the Winchester brothers and the women to come out.
"Boy, it feels like forever since they all went off, can't imagine what they're discussing" said Charlie trying to keep from being bored by starting up more conversation.
"Or what they're doing" replied Adam snarkily as Charlie gave him an annoyed look glancing over at Madame Bess who looked a bit uncomfortable over his remark.
Adam realizing this just coughed a bit and said,"Oh sorry ma'am I'm sure they're just having a long talk and all" as he looked awkward.
"That's quite okay, young man, I may be old but I'm not entirely out of the loop as you say" she replied back.
"I'm sure Dean and Sam will be out with the women shortly and I will say they are not doing anything with them that is dishonorable" replied Castiel feeling a need to had his two cents in.
"I'm sure too" replied Madame Bess with a serious look.
Finally, Dean and Ava came back out with calm looks on their faces.
"Gee it's about time, you were in there forever" said Adam.
"Hey, didn't mean to keep you all waiting there" replied Dean.
"Not to worry my dear, now you two are out just have wait on your brother and my granddaughter" said Madame Bess.
"Well, you don't have to wait any longer" said Sam and they all turned to see Sam and Gwen come back in as well.
"Well, I hope you two got whatever you needed all settled" said Madame Bess.
"As much as we could" answered Sam.
"Yeah, we had a lot to talk over" said Gwen as she and Sam briefly glared at each other.
"Same here with us too" replied Dean as he and Ava also glared at each other.
"Well, hate to be a party pooper but it's time for me and Gwen to be going" replied Madame Bess.
"Yeah, same with me, I have to head out next morning back to Colorado to see my folks. They were so worried when I called them, haven't heard from me in days and are dying for me to come over and I promised I would" said Ava.
"Well, we don't want to take up anymore of your time" said Sam.
"Nonsense, we very much enjoyed our visit here and you've all been great hosts" said Madame Bess as she got up. "But now, we must return to our home" she finished.
Adam and Charlie all got up too.
"Well, it was nice meeting all of you" Charlie said.
"Same here" Adam replied.
"It was nice meeting the two of you, well we already met before under unusual circumstances" said Madame Bess looking at Charlie.
"Yeah, but it was nice seeing you again not under Rowena's spell" Charlie replied awkwardly.
"I quite agree, it seems the one thing we have a common is the boys here and I feel almost as close to you both as I do them and hope to see you all again sometime" she told them.
"That will be great ma'am" said Sam.
"I mean it boys, I feel like a we are all team, and if you boys are ever require a psychic or two, just call us up, okay" she said.
"You got it, ma'am" said Dean.
Then she walked over and gave Dean a little motherly hug and then turned gave one to Sam.
Even Adam, Charlie and Castiel got one. Then Ava walked over to Dean.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now" she said in a sad tone.
"Yeah, looks like it" said Dean who was also starting to feel sad.
"Be sure to give me a call especially if you need an extra hunter or just give me a call anytime" said Ava.
"Will do" said Dean and soft sad tone.
Then Ava just went up to Dean and gave him a nice passionate kiss on the lips wrapping her around his shoulders as Dean kissed her back with his arms around her too. Afterwards, the two hugged for a few seconds and let go both still looking sad like two lovers who are being separated.
"Goodbye" Ava just murmured.
"Take care" said Dean. "Oh, by the way, you'll find your keys on your bedroom dresser, thanks for loaning us the van" he went on.
"Anytime" said Ava who walked over to where Madame Bess and Castiel were standing.
Then Gwen turned to Sam. "I guess this is goodbye for us for now too" she told him.
"I'm afraid so, Gwen" said Sam.
"Just remember what I told you" she said.
"I will Gwen, I promise" said Sam.
Then Gwen and Sam soon were locked in a nice lingering passionate kiss and afterwards held each other looking quite sad to part ways. Gwen murmured something in Sam's ear, and he just nodded. The whole time Adam and Charlie just looked in awe at what they witnessed not saying a word while Madame Bess just watched her granddaughter and Sam with a calm look on her face although there was still a feeling of discomfort, but she didn't express it.
"Come on Gwen, it's time to get going" she told her, and Gwen went over to her grandmother.
Dean and Sam walked over to them too and turned to Castiel.
"Castiel, it's time" said Dean. Castiel nodded said "Goodbye guys at least for now glad you all back".
"Same here, Cas" said Dean.
Castiel just smiled and then the three women each grabbed a hold of his arm or shoulder.
"Goodbye all" said Madame Bess one last time.
"You too" said Dean.
Then within seconds the Castiel and the women were gone.
"Woah, you guys get all the luck, you go missing for days and then get to make out with two hot babes" said Adam sarcastically.
"Yeah, we definitely need to give us the lowdown on that" said Charlie like a curious gossipy teenager.
But Dean and Sam didn't really pay attention to what they were saying. The only thing they were thinking about was that two beautiful women they come to really care about are now gone, out of their lives once again at least for now and it felt like the light had all gone out all around them again.
I will try to post future chapters every three weeks whenever possible rather than monthly. Hope you enjoy the story so far and please post reviews. Thank you.