So sorry about the week late update, I'll be back to normal this coming week! With school starting and an AP English class, I needed more time to prepare essays and such. That said, we're moving this story right along, so thanks for sticking along for the ride ;) *reviews are always appreciated if anyone has a minute*. I've had some people ask about if we'll get a prequel of sorts-yes, there will be a few flashbacks in this story to the nasty werewolf hunt, so stay tuned!
Still don't own Supernatural
Truth be told, Dean grumbled most of the way through the airport. He'd never admit it to Sam, of course, but there was nothing fun about taking off his shoes and and all the metal on him and standing and waiting in lines…it seemed to go on and on. Then he had to sit down with his bag and re-lace his boots, which was just another annoyance to add to the list. He finally made his way over to the terminal, and with two hours to spare, grabbed an overpriced coffee from the shop inside and picked out a seat by the window of his terminal.
The rain hadn't let up any, but it was New York, and pretty much always rained, at least Dean thought so anyways. It had been years since he'd been to the big city itself and not any of the smaller provinces inside the state for a case. Surprise, surprise, werewolf packs tended to stay away from high rises and bustling cities if they could help it.
Dean sat in the terminal for a solid hour and drank his coffee, which didn't help with the jitteriness, and his leg was practically vibrating as he bounced it up and down. "Come on," he muttered and looked at his watch before he leaned his head back and sighed. Half an hour. Could time possibly move any slower?
Dean eventually decided that his coffee cup needed throwing away, which gave him something to do, and he stole a glance at the board listing all his flights. "You have got to be freaking kidding me," he muttered, shoulders physically crumpling a bit at the sight.
Next to the listing for flight 523 was a red notice 'delayed one hour' spread out on the board, as was the same with many of the other flights. Dean set his jaw and shook his head before he made his way back over to the window and plopped into his seat. He got busy calling Sam before he could think any more on the matter.
"Dean," Sam greeted after a few rings. He still sounded a bit winded, but there was a some of relief in his voice. "What's up? Getting ready to board?"
"Opposite actually," Dean muttered and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "They've got the flight and a whole bunch of hours delayed for an hour, probably because of weather or something, but I'm stuck here."
"Weather?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, it's raining pretty good. But it is New York after all, right?"
"I…I guess. But man, flights get delayed all the time for weather, it's no big deal." There was no hint of mocking in the tone, it was simply an assurance from a thousand or so miles away.
Because Dean didn't like flying, period. He had no control, it was simple. In the car, he always had some form of control over what was happening. Usually in hunts, the same was true. With flying, every single aspect of the trip was up to someone else besides himself.
So yeah, a simple hour delay due to weather was enough to set his leg bouncing up and down to no avail.
"I know, I know," Dean grumbled, but quirked a small smirk at the masked assurance. "Just calling to let you know. We should get up on time, hopefully. I'll text you from the air. But if they try keeping me in the airport overnight, I'm hauling ass back to Kansas," he threatened the airport itself.
Sam chuckled a bit on the other end of the line, which turned into some light coughing and had Dean's smirk fading from his face. "How about you? Cas isn't working you too hard, I hope."
"He went out to pick up some food, actually. We forgot to do a run before we left, he should be back soon," Sam said simply.
"And?" Dean prompted.
"And what? That's a collective we, Dean, we forgot to get food, it's on both of us."
"You know what I mean," Dean muttered back and shook his head.
Sam took another moment to reply, but Dean could basically hear him vaguely nodding along. "Yeah, I'm fine. Not exactly all peachy, but managing. Meds are working, you know how it goes."
And damn right Dean knew, knew all too well in fact. "Alright, keep me posted, I should get going before people worry I've got a hot girlfriend on the other end of the line," he joked lightly, just happy to hear that Sam was okay for the time being, plane delay or not.
"Whatever," Sam muttered back, but Dean could hear the smile in it.
"I mean, you've got the hair for it, just get a pink scrunchy and-"
"Alright, alright, I get the picture!" Sam protested, making Dean chuckle and shake his head in response. "Have a safe flight, text when you get up."
"Sure honey, will do," Dean continued, picturing the bitchface on the other end of the line. "Tell Cas I said hey, you two stay out of trouble."
"Will do," Sam promised. The two of them waited another moment before disconnecting the phone, leaving Dean once again alone in the airport, surrounded by rain and the noise of tens of other people, all waiting for their late plane to arrive.
November 11, 7:12pm
The plane finally pulled into the terminal, making Dean and the rest of the passengers sigh a bit with relief and annoyance. It took them another fifteen minutes to get everything re-set up and soon enough Dean was handing his ticket over, getting it scanned, and listening to his footsteps as they echoed along the metal walkway.
"17D," the cheery flight attendant directed, and pointed down a few rows. "Window seat, lucky you," she sent him a smirk, which Dean returned and carried onto his seat.
He hadn't even realized he'd even gotten a window seat, he'd been too tired and annoyed. He kept his phone and headphones in his pocket and tossed the bag into the overhead compartment, only a little annoyed that he wouldn't be able to get it quickly if needed. Annoying seemed to be the one word so far that was summing up his trip.
It took another few minutes for the plane to fill up and things to be stowed away. A pretty blonde woman was in the seat next to him, and the two exchanged smiles before a man sat down next to her and the two of them began talking.
Talking, right, there was a meeting coming up. Dean would have to talk at that meeting, about what he wasn't quite sure. He should probably text Sam to see if he had any information, and his fingers hovered over the phone before a notification came over the loudspeakers.
"We're experiencing a bit of engine difficulty right now," which elicited an immediate groan from the passengers, "but they're bringing the part to the tarmac and we should be up within half an hour. We will keep you posted, thank you for your cooperation," and the voice faded out with a click.
So, engine problems and rain? Oh yeah, this was a great trip so far. Could he still get out and hightail it back to the bunker? The meeting wasn't that important, but Sam getting better was. Then again, the fate of the entire North American hunter…group could be hanging in the balance…
Dean shifted in his seat and pulled out his headphones and set the music to shuffle.
But what would he say? He was just one guy in a room full of suits that probably wanted to completely take control of their operations in the states, which would never fly. Had the Brits ever stopped an apocalypse, let alone two? Dean smirked a bit, doubting the fact that they had even though he had no real idea.
'Hey, thanks for the help. We could use some organization, sure, maybe some common phone lines, but nobody to take charge. Why? None of us care for that too much.' It could be put simply enough, but Dean knew it wouldn't get the point across.
Sam would definitely have been helpful on the trip. He was better at the whole…organizational stuff, thinking things out with a point and backing it up with evidence. The kid had been going to law school for a reason, after all. He could always text Sam.
Dean flicked the phone on and saw the time, 7:57 reflected on the screen along with his music choice and no new messages. He eventually decided against it, since they'd be in the air soon and he could ask from there, he only talked to Sam a few hours ago.
"Thank you for your patience, we'll be leaving the terminal in a few minutes. We can expect a bit of turbulence given the weather, but it is nothing to worry about, and if you could all fasten your seat belts, we'll get going."
Dean was all too happy to fasten his seatbelt, but was a bit annoyed when the attendant told him to turn off his phone until they were in the air. AC/DC faded as Dean turned down the volume and looped the headphones around the device and shoved it in his pocket. He turned to the window, fist to his lips as he looked out.
It was dark now and drops of rain covered the small window. It didn't take more than a few minutes for the plane to taxi back, turn, and begin the twisting journey down the runway. Dean just wished they'd freaking get on with it already, the sooner they were up in the air the sooner he could get to London and the sooner he could get back to the Bunker.
Eventually the plane did reach the runway, where they practically waited in a line, which Dean would have normally found a bit funny. But soon enough they were off, the engines revving as the wheels began to go forward. Dean's grip on the armrests tightened as he watched the airport begin to pass by faster.
The plane shuddered a few times and he closed his eyes for a moment, but after that, there was a feeling of weightlessness as the plane left the ground and began to climb.
Dean didn't release his grip on the armrests for a solid few minutes after that, until they had somewhat stabilized, but were still climbing in altitude. It was still raining as they were going up, and they were advised that the turbulence they were facing was a bit heavy, but not more than the captains could capably handle.
Sure, that did wonders for the 'what if' part of Dean's brain that had become increasingly annoying over the years. Just like what if the last hunt had gone differently? Good or bad, but after so many years of being on the job, the bad side tended to want to show itself more. What if they hadn't gotten to the Impala in time…? What if-
And just like that, flight attendant or not, Dean was shoving the headphones back in his ears to turn the music back on, because anything was better than sitting in a pressurized, flying capsule during a storm and thinking about what he would have done if his brother had died…again.
Three songs cycled over and he was tempted to hum along, but something told him that the lady in the next seat over may not appreciate it all that much. The fourth song was starting, and he was still staring out the window before said woman gently tapped him on the shoulder.
Dean turned, confused, and she motioned for him to pull his headphones off. He did, and in the absence of music, he could again hear the captain's voice.
"-unprecedented winds coinciding with the storm are not faring well with our engine fix. I am sorry to say but for everyone's safety, we've been advised to return to the terminal and wait for it to clear up. Please keep your seat belts on and phones off."
The voice clicked off again and there was an eerie silence on the plane before the seatbelt light came on again. Dean, of course, hadn't taken his off.
"So, there's no problem, right, just precaution?" he asked the woman, who seemed a bit confused and worried about the announcement as well.
"I guess. I mean, hopefully, we've only been fifteen minutes. We'll probably have to find a hotel though, if there won't be any more flights out," the woman replied with a slight nod before she turned to the man sitting next to her.
The plane continued to shake as rain pelted the windows and they gradually began to turn back to land. Dean checked the time to see just how long they had been up, 8:22pm.
As his phone screen once again faded to black, the lights in the plane began to falter. Something about the situation made Dean wary that the cause was a ghost, and as the plane began to descend at a steeper rate, it almost made him with the cause was one.