A/N: Sorry for the wait between updates again, my new job is kicking my butt. I'm hoping y'all can forgive me and still give me my wonderful reviews. : )
Ellie woke up the next morning to a silent bunker. She opened her eyes slowly and stretched her arms above her head, her face scrunched up in confusion. Every year her father and uncles had woken her up on her birthday with breakfast in bed and a loud commotion. She rolled over and grabbed her phone off of its charger, sighing when she realized it was almost ten o'clock in the morning.
"They must be letting me sleep in for once," she muttered as she yanked her covers off of her body and slid off of her bed. She stepped into the hallway and looked either way, her nose scrunching up when she still didn't see or hear anyone.
She ventured towards the kitchen, expecting to hear the banging of pots and pans but instead hearing complete silence. She popped her head in, her brow furrowed together as she began to get worried.
"Dad?" she called, walking the short distance to the library, "Uncle Dean? Uncle Cass?"
She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself as she walked into the library, looking up and down the room. Her eyes caught a bent piece of paper on one of the tables, and she rushed over to read it.
Ellie,
We figured you might like the place to yourself.
We'll be back around one.
You can do whatever you want.
Happy birthday, baby.
Love,
Dad
P.S. Dean left you breakfast in the freezer.
Ellie smiled as she read it, then looked up from the note and nodded. For the first time in her entire life, she was completely alone in the bunker. Where she was originally worried, she now felt enthralled as she ran over to Dean's record player and plopped in her favorite album, turning the volume dial all the way up. As 'Thunderstruck' began playing on the surround sound system, Ellie bounced around the room, banging her head to the beat of the music. She then ran down the hall towards the kitchen, eager to see what Dean had left for her to eat.
She opened the fridge first and saw that there was nothing special, then remembered that the note said it was in the freezer. She opened the door and grinned when she saw another note for her, this time in her uncle's handwriting.
Squirt,
Everyone deserves to have ice cream for breakfast on their birthday.
Got you your favorites.
There's also a new pack of Oreos in the cupboard.
Happy birthday sweetheart.
Love ya,
Uncle D
P.S. Cass wants you to look under your bed next.
Ellie moved the note aside and licked her lips when she saw a pint of cookies and cream ice cream next to a pint of mint chocolate chip. She pulled them out and set them on the counter to thaw a little before she dug in. She then ran back into the hallway, dancing to the music as she went back to her bedroom. She slid in her socks to a stop right outside the door and almost fell as she scrambled to look under her bed. She tilted her head to the side when she saw a plain white envelope with her name on the front, the 'i' dotted with a sun.
Dearest Sunny,
I got jealous that Sam and Dean left you notes.
Happy birthday, beautiful soul.
I love you,
Uncle Cass
Ellie shook her head with a smile and stood up, listening to AC/DC as it rumbled through the bunker. She put her hands on her hips and tried to think about what she wanted to do first, then remembered she had ice cream waiting for her in the kitchen and ran out into the hallway.
As Sam, Dean, and Cass walked into the bunker at around quarter to one, they all laughed when they heard 'Highway to Hell' blaring through the speakers. When they entered the library, they watched as Ellie danced around in sweatpants and that damn barely still together t-shirt, empty cartons of ice cream on the table and an oreo in each of her hands. She didn't notice them come in, and continued jumping around until Dean walked over and lowered the volume suddenly.
Ellie spun around instantly and jumped until she realized who it was, then she ran over and threw her arms around Sam's neck.
"Hey," he coughed as she almost knocked the wind out of him, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist, "Happy birthday."
"Thank you," she closed her eyes and gave him another tight squeeze before pulling back, her messy bun falling to the side from her enthusiastic dancing.
"So you liked having the place to yourself, huh?" Dean chuckled before Ellie walked over to him and gave him a big hug as well.
"Yeah, it was great," she giggled as Dean's fingers wiggled in her ribs, making her push him away quickly.
"You aren't sad that we're not having a party, right?" Cass asked sheepishly, his hands clenching shut at his side. Ellie tilted her head at him and smiled as she walked over, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not a kid anymore, Uncle Cass," she chuckled, "I'm legally an adult now. I don't need a birthday party."
"You're not technically an adult for another six hours thirty seven minutes and twelve seconds," Cass muttered as she wrapped him up in a hug.
Ellie rolled her eyes, "Okay, creepy angel stalker."
"Since you didn't want a party," Sam interrupted, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "You probably don't want the gifts we bought you, right?"
"I don't think she does, Sammy," Dean shrugged, his hands in his pockets.
"Oh shut it, both of you," Ellie shook her head and glared at both of them, "I don't care how old I am, I'll always say yes to presents."
"Fine," Sam smiled and pushed away from her, holding up a finger, "I'll go grab them, you wait here."
"Oh, Garrett is on his way, can we wait until he gets here?" Ellie looked up at her father with big eyes.
"It's your day, baby," Sam leaned down and kissed her nose, "We can do whatever you want."
Ellie smiled and nodded, "Okay, but you can go grab them so I can at least look at them."
"Okay," Sam shook his head with his eyes closed, "Goof."
It was only about twenty minutes later that the five of them were all sitting at one of the library tables, the few gifts spread out in front of Ellie, who had changed into skinny jeans and a tank top. Garrett sat next to her, staring at her with a spaced out expression as she tried to decide whose to open first.
"You okay there, buddy?" Dean walked behind him and clapped a hard hand on his shoulder.
"What?" Garrett sat up abruptly, shaking his head, "Oh, yeah. I just didn't get much sleep last night."
Ellie turned and looked at him, her face pulled down in concern, "Why not? Did something happen?"
"No," he waved her off, smiling, "Just a lot on my mind, that's all."
"Okay," she replied slowly before turning back to the table, "I think I'll open Uncle Dean's first, since he forgot about my birthday to begin with."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dean mumbled as he plopped down into a chair next to Cass. Ellie raised her eyebrows at him and narrowed her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest before Dean quietly responded, "It's the one wrapped in newspaper."
"I figured," she chuckled, shaking her head as she peeled the old paper off of the large box. Dean had of course taped every edge, and Ellie grunted before grabbing her switch blade out of her pocket and slicing open the sides. When she lifted the top her eyes lit up, and she looked over to her uncle.
"You like 'em?" he pulled the side of his lips up into a half smile.
"I love them," Ellie dug through the box, looking at the multitude of different band t-shirts. It was stuffed full, she estimated there were at least fifteen new shirts. At the very bottom she grinned as she pulled out a shirt that was identical to the one she was wearing earlier, the one that she had been given her first night in the bunker.
"Hot Topic, man," Dean shrugged.
"Thank you, Uncle Dean," Ellie smiled and blew him a quick kiss.
"The yellow one is from me," Cass spoke up, his arms resting on the table as he fidgeted with his fingers, "Although you already know what it is."
Ellie smiled as she opened the small box, pulling out the demon knife and carefully examining it. On the side of the wooden handle was a beautiful carving of the word 'Sunny', and she tilted her head to the side and looked at Cass with a sappy smile.
"Did you carve that yourself?" she sighed.
"Yes, it's not easy to carve something into such a small surface," Cass mumbled, his mouth turning into a grimace. "I was grateful for my healing powers while I did it, I cut myself multiple times."
This made everyone laugh, and Ellie put the blade back into the box with a smile, "Well thank you Uncle Cass, it's beautiful."
"This one's from Rowena," Sam pushed forward a large flat box with a red bow on top. Ellie grabbed the note that was taped to it and read it aloud.
"'Dearest Eleanor, I know you're too old for a birthday party, but you'll never be too old for your Auntie Rowena to buy you a beautiful dress. P.S. Your father may not like this one very much, but it's for you to go out with young Garrett and feel special.'," Ellie finished, then turned and raised an eyebrow at Sam.
"Wait, Rowena knew about you two?" Dean pointed between Ellie and Garrett.
Ellie bit her lip and nodded, hoping that her uncle would just move on and not dwell on it. "Yeah, she figured it out."
"And she didn't tell us?" Dean spun to face Sam, his hands thrown out to the side.
Ellie shook her head with her eyes closed, "I begged her not to, okay?"
"Hmph," Dean crossed his arms, "I think I'm going to be having a chat with a certain redhead."
Ellie rolled her eyes and went back to concentrating on opening the box, pulling away the tissue paper once she lifted the top off. There was a pair of stunning strappy silver high heels and a clear drawstring bag with a delicate silver necklace in it all on top of a deep burgundy material. Ellie's jaw dropped and she pushed her chair backwards to stand, grabbing the top of the dress and pulling it out of the box as she moved back. It was made of a silky material, and floor length. The front of it was cut down pretty low, with the waist band tight but the breast area very loose. The thin straps went around the back and crossed before tying low on the almost completely bare back. There was a slit on the side of the dress that Ellie guessed would come only a few inches below her hip.
"I don't like it," Dean's voice brought Ellie out of her daydream as she held the dress up to her body.
"I don't think I do either," Cass added, his arms crossed.
"I think that's the point," Ellie narrowed her eyes at both of them before turning to look at her father, who had his brow furrowed and his mouth tightened. "Dad?"
"I'm…" he trailed off before shaking his head, "I'm sure you'll look beautiful."
Ellie smiled immediately and nodded, taking one last look down at the material before carefully putting it back into the box.
"Okay," Sam cleared his throat, "Do you want mine or Garrett's next?"
"Yours is fine," Ellie sat back down in her chair, turning to whisper to her boyfriend, who was currently leaning forward pretty far in his chair, "Are you okay?"
"Um," Garrett swallowed, leaning closer to her ear so none of her relatives could hear him, "That dress is, uh…yeah."
"Really?" she snorted, pulling back to look at his face, "You haven't even seen me in it yet and you're already all hot and bothered?"
"Shush," he hissed, reaching out and squeezing her thigh, "Will you wear it to dinner tonight?"
"Sure," she rolled her eyes and turned back to the table where her uncles were currently giving her the stink eye, "Oh stop."
"Here you go," Sam pushed the heavy box over to her.
Ellie went to lift it and was surprised by its weight, her eyebrow raising as she looked over to her father. Sam shrugged and smiled as she pulled off the wrapping paper, her nose scrunching up when she realized it was a brief case of some kind with a numeral lock.
"What's the combination?" she turned and looked at Sam.
"9619," Sam replied, laughing when she looked at him strangely, trying to figure out what those numbers corresponded with, "It's the day I met you."
Ellie instantly smiled and looked back at the box, turning the small numbers and inhaling sharply when it clicked into place and she was able to pull the top back. Her jaw fell dramatically when she realized what was inside, and her head snapped over to stare at her father.
"You like it?" he asked before she lunged out of her chair and onto his lap, grabbing his face and kissing his cheek repeatedly, "Okay, I guess you like it."
"I love it," she squealed before falling back onto her feet and looking back into the case. She pulled out the gorgeous Colt hand gun, similar to Dean's in that the metal on the side was carved, but instead of the off white pearl that the oldest Winchester's handle was, hers was a light cedar color. She held it in her hand and pointed the barrel at the floor, looking it over.
"Look at the back, below the hammer," Sam said quietly.
Ellie turned the gun in her hand and smiled when she saw that engraved vertically in the metal was 'Winchester'. She looked back up at her father with tears in her eyes, and sighed. She sniffed once before lowering the gun to the table and pulling her hands up to her face, covering it as she began to cry. Sam immediately jumped up and rushed to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"Hey hey, what's wrong?" he whispered, looking around at the other three men who were all equally concerned, "I thought you liked it?"
"I do," she sniffled, one of her hands gripping the front of Sam's shirt like she used to when she was a little girl, "But I don't deserve it, I've been really awful to you the last couple years and—"
"Stop," Sam shook his head and grabbed the sides of her face, pulling her head away from his chest, "All kids fight with their parents. You and I are no different."
"But—"
"Let me finish," he tilted his head towards hers, their foreheads almost touching, "While we had plenty of fights over the last few years, you've been a great daughter. You could've been going out and doing drugs or getting pregnant or hell, stealing shit and murdering innocent people. But you didn't. You listened to me when it mattered. For that, you deserve this gift."
"Okay," Ellie whispered, nodding slowly as Sam leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She sniffed a few more times before turning back and sitting in her chair, placing the gun back into the case and locking it.
"There's silver bullets, witch-killing bullets, and devil's trap bullets in there too," Sam added as he sat down.
"Cool," Ellie nodded with a smile, then sighed when she realized that was her last gift. "Well thanks everybody, it's been a great birthda—"
"Wait," Garrett stood up, looking down at her, "I have your present still."
"Oh yeah," Ellie chuckled and turned in her chair, looking up at him, "Where is it?"
"Um," Garrett looked past her to Sam, who nodded slightly. He reached into the front pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small black box with a nervous smile on his face. "It's in here."
A/N: Cliffhanger, hee hee.