Chapter Five

Adventures in Babysitting

Dean

Two days ago

The mansion loomed under a dark, threatening sky. Thunder boomed in the distance making the whole thing real fuckin dramatic. "Why is it always stormy when we are about to do something dangerous?"

"We live in the Midwest, man." Sam said with a laugh. "Crazy weather is just kinda a given."

I shrugged. "Yeah, you got a point." I rubbed my hands together before pulling out my gun. "Alright what's the game plan? Go in guns blazin?"

"Maybe I should go in and see if I can find it myself." Castiel said quietly.

I eyed him. "Why do you get to have all the fun?"

"Because I am an angel of the lord."

"Of Chuck come on, Cas. Enough. We go in as a family or not at all."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay, You take the back entrance, Cas and I will get the perimeter. But, listen man, don't make me have to go home and tell your daughter that you bit the dust."

I groaned. "Fine, fine. I'll be careful. Look, got my gun." I waved it. "My holy water is in my pocket, silver blade in my boot, I even got some sweet iron knuckles... I'm ready for anything. Let's get it."

We nodded, and I slowly crept my way around the mansion. I kept my eyes peeled for movement, but honestly it was all pretty quiet. The only sound was the wind whistling.

I climbed the stone steps to the back door, and tentatively reached for the brass knob. It turned easily.

"Dean Winchester! Let me out! You really think this is going to work? You're a hairless monkey. Nothing more than Gods mistake."

It was endless screaming inside my head. Michael, in my own fucking voice. He strangely sounded like my father.

He was so distracting. The screaming. The banging. The scratching against the door. It was so distracting that I wasn't concerned that the big house that supposedly had an Arsenal kept the back door unlocked. I was so distracted that I didn't hear the creak of the wood behind me. I didn't hear the step. There was just a swift pain, and then blackness.

Ella

We stopped to fill up the bike. I bent down on a stretch to touch my toes. My back cracked in response. "God that feels good."

"You look really sexy doing that." Claire said.

I eyed her from between my legs. "Take a picture, it lasts longer."

"You got it, sweet cheeks." She grinned, before turning back to the pump.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Dad again. The rings echoed in my bad like a bad pop song that was played way too damn much. You've reached Dean. You know what to do. Beep.

"Hey Dad. It's me. I haven't heard from you in a few days, so I'm coming after you. I know you're gonna be pissed, but guess what? I'm pissed too. This is what family does. We come after each other. So I'll see you soon, and I hope you're okay." Click.

"We will find them, Ellie." Jack said, taking off his helmet. His hair was sticking up all crazy, and I leaned in to tussle it back.

"I know we will."

Jack frowned, like he was annoyed with my hands in his hair and he batted me away. "The Winchesters are the strongest men I know, they will be okay."

"They're going to be mad that we came, if they're okay." I said crossing my arms.

"They will." Jack agreed before unexpectedly pulling me into a hug. "But they will be happy to see you. They always are. You make things better, Ellie. There's no sense in being scared or worried when you're around. You're like sunshine."

"He's right, ya know." Claire said with a smile. "Now what do you think, Winchester's? Ready to roll."

"Yup." Jack and I agreed together before sliding our helmets back on.

I'm coming, Dad. Hold on tight. Don't give up just yet. I'm coming.

Dean

"Dean, wake up."

Her hands were on my cheeks, soft, and gentle, just like I remembered.

"Baby, open your eyes. Oh my god, Sam! He isn't waking up, can I get some help over here?"

My eyes fluttered open, I'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Ave?"

"Hey, hi... yes it's me." She breathed, holding my face in her hands "Hi."

"Hi back." I whispered before frowning. "You can't be here." I could hear Sam's words echoing in my head Poughkeepsie.

"I am here."

"You can't be. You died.. I held you when you died."

"You've been poisoned, Dean."

"What?"

"Djinn poison." She said, standing on her tip toes to break me free from the restraints that had me hanging from the ceiling. "It took you. Think you were having a bad trip."

"What?"

"We really need to get you to the hospital." She said before unlatching my restraints. I fell to my knees with a loud thump. "Can you stand?" She crouched in front of me.

I looked at my hands. There was no age in them. I flexed my fingers. They didn't ache. What the fuck?

"Hey! Earth to Winchester!" Ava said, alarmed. "Come on, before it comes back."

I met her blue eyes. If it was real, we couldn't just run. "We need to take it down, Ave."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, stubborn ass. Stop arguing. Sam's got it."

I gripped her shoulders, stopping her from turning away from me. "Ava, I want this to be real. I do, but you died. Djinn don't give out bad acid trips. They want you to stick around inside your head while they suck you dry, so why would I want to stay in a world without you?"

She smiled back at me gently, one I'd seen a hundred times before. The blue of her eyes seemed to almost change color in front of me. They softened and she smiled a bit. "Dean, for you, you'd always question something good. I think they gave you something bad because it was more believable." She said quietly. "But can we talk about this when we are no longer in mortal danger?"

"Ava, did you get him? We've got company!"

"Yeah, I got him!" She yelled back to Sam before meeting my eyes. "I do have you, right? You're here? You're okay."

I looked myself over. I felt like shit and my muscles were sore from being strung up, but yeah. "Yeah. I'm here. Let's go."

I let her swing my arm over her shoulder and we went out to the car. She leaned me against it and patted down my pockets, looking for the keys.

"Woah, Sweetheart, now maybe isn't the right time." I grinned lamely, still feeling the weight of her death as if it were real.

She rolled her eyes again with a gentle laugh. "I need the keys, Dean Winchester. We can do some of that later." She slid her hand into my pocket, and a little too close to the inside of my thigh before she pulled out the keys. "Bingo."

"Tease."

"Shut up." She countered before putting me into the passenger seat. "Sams got his own car. I'm taking you to the ER."

"Come on, Ave. I just need a beer, and I'll be good." I said, resting my hand on her thigh as she started the car.

"Respectfully, it isn't up to you." She said, eyeing her thigh before she pulled out of the parking lot. "So," she said quietly, glancing at me. "What'd you see?"

"Other than you dying?" I laughed weakly. "Sixteen fucking years without you."

"Wow, really? That's a long time, Dean." Her eyebrows came together. "You sure you still like me, after all of that?"

"Yeah!" I said a little too quickly. "Of course I do. What kind of question is that?"

She shrugged, idling at an intersection. "Anything weird happen in that sixteen years?"

"Well," I laughed. "Nel was dating Biker Barbie."

"Who?"

"Claire? Oh shit, um.. in my head she was Castiel's vessel's daughter."

Ava raised an eyebrow. "And who is the other person?"

"What?"

"You said that Nel is dating Biker Barbie... who is Nel?"

My blood ran cold, and suddenly my mouth felt really fucking dry. I stared at Ava. Really looked at her, from the top of her head, down her long curls, her arms, and down to the tips of her fingers. There was no wedding ring.

"Dean, you good?" She asked, her eyes wide. We were still stopped at the light despite the green signal to go.

"Uh... yeah. Shit. Sorry. What month is it?"

"March." She laughed, raising her eyebrow. "You sure you're okay? You're kind of freaking me out."

"I don't know." I admitted, feeling a hole in my stomach. She couldn't be in my imagination. I held her in my arms. I watched her grow up.

"So, who is Nel?"

We never broke up. She never got an anti possession tattoo. We never risked it. She never got pregnant. She never died. I never went to Hell.

My head was spinning.

"In my Djinn dream... she was... she was our daughter." I said, looking at my lap. It was too fucking early to tell her that. To tell her that I married her. That she fucked Sam. That she died not once, but twice in my arms. That I couldn't save her.

"We had a daughter?"

"Yeah."

I jumped when she busted up into laughter. "I'm sorry, but that's insane. Right?"

"Is it?"

"We're hunters, Dean. From what I can tell they aren't exactly the parenting type."

No kidding. I sighed. "Dunno, it ended up working out okay. She had a good life."

"You're not like, asking me to bare your children, are you?" She asked, alarmed, as we pulled into the hospital.

"No." I said quickly. "You're right. I've seen it play out." There was blood in our baby's mouth. I could stop that future from happening. I could stop Ava from dying. If she was never with Lacey and the baby she wouldn't have died in that church. My heart squeezed at the thought. "No kids in the cards for us."

"Okay, good." She said, sounding relieved. "We are just.. this is good. What we have." She reached out and touched my cheek with her open palm. "I'm not ready to share you. Sharing you with Sam is bad enough." She smiled widely.

I know the feeling. I sighed. "Let's get me checked out so I can have a fucking beer. I'm exhausted."

Ella

It was storming when we arrived at the large mansion. "So this is it, huh?" I asked, swinging my legs over the side of the bike.

"Looks like it." Claire said, gesturing to the Impala that was parked outside of the gate.

"No one bothered to even move it." I said quietly, my stomach clenching. That wasn't a good sign.

"Here." Claire said, handing me a weapon.

"What's the plan?" Jack asked, staring at Claire and I, as if we would have all the answers.

I had none. I had expected him to call by now. At this point I just hoped he was alive.

"I think we should check out the perimeter, and then see the best way in. If he's as dangerous as Cas said, then he may have traps." Claire said, her eyes already scanning the property.

"Do you think we should split up?"

Claire pressed her lips together in a tight line. "Honestly, El... I don't think you two should go at all, but we are kind of low on back up right now."

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I'll be careful." I promised. "But you can't bench me on this, he's my Dad. He's all I've got left."

She reached up, taking my face in her hands. "And you're all I've got. So don't go getting hurt, or I'll kill you."

"Got it." I said, pressing my lips to hers. It was a promise. I couldn't let anything happen to me, because I knew what it felt like to lose someone, and I loved Claire. I couldn't do that to her, not again.

I turned to Jack. "You be careful, too, little brother. We have a kitten to get home, too. We would both miss you if something happened."

He nodded vigilantly. "I will stay alive."

"Good." I smiled, and with one more look, the three of us dissipated.

I watched Claire creep around the side of the house, and I made my way to the back. The wet soil squished under my boots. My weapon felt heavy in my hands. I could feel the weight of all of it. Of the possibilities of what I would find inside.

I closed my eyes. Come on, Dad. Where are you?

My eyes shot open, and I examined the windows on the side of the house. What are the chances? I asked myself, as I slid my finger under the window. I pushed up slowly and it creaked open. I grinned widely, and grabbed either side of the screen, popping it out of place. Idiots always leave their windows unlocked.

I slid my leg into the window and ducked inside, closing the window behind me. I didn't need to let anyone know that there was something off. The house felt eerily quiet, and my stomach dropped. I moved through the house with quiet feet on the plush carpet, unknowingly leaving wet footprints in my wake.

If I was a creepy collector, where would I keep my possessions? My eyes scanned the living room filled with old, dusty furniture. There were large bookshelves covering the walls that reminded me of the ones in the bunker. I ran my fingers along the spines. The whole house felt a little too put together, despite the layer of dust that settled on every free surface.

Every free surface but one.

I ran my fingers along the coffee table, pulling them back to find not a speck of dust on my pale pink skin. "Bingo." I said quietly, pushing the table out of the way. I got down on my knees, shoving my gun in the back of my pants. I rolled the area rug away, to expose an old wooden trap door. So fucking predictable bad guy behavior. I rolled my eyes and slowly opened the heavy trap door.

I squinted down into the hole. There were old wooden stairs leading down into absolute blackness. What we do for family. I shook my head, getting out my gun and flashlight. My right hand rested on my left as my flashlight lit my way down the stairs, my gun pointed ahead of me.

In, out, in, out, in, out.

I tried to breathe, my finger resting on the trigger. I didn't want to scare and accidentally shoot someone, or something I shouldn't. My foot rested on the stone floor at the bottom of the long staircase, exposing a strangely high ceiling, and a large echoing room. I squinted in the darkness and let my flashlight scan the room. It looked void of people, and there was a pull string in the center of the ceiling that I assumed was connected to a hanging light bulb.

I reached forward and tugged gently. The lights flickered on to expose an open room. I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the artificial light. "Holy shit." I whispered. There were dozens of shelves covered in magical items, and weapons. I walked along the edge of the room, wondering how they were organized. We thought the bunker had a lot, but this was a gold mine.

The pearl.

I perked up almost immediately, and I quickly scanned the room looking for anything that could fit that description. There were spell books, knives, body parts in jars, but I didn't see any pearls.

My eyes landed on a glass case in the corner. I caught the gleam off a hanging necklace, and I immediately ran to it. There were enchanted earrings, rings, necklaces, and in the center was a perfectly round white pearl resting on a palm sided satin pillow.

My fingers curled around the knob on the door just to find it locked. I glanced around again, just to make sure I wasn't being watched, and I shrugged out of my leather coat. I wrapped it around my arm, to keep myself from being cut and to muffle the sound, and jabbed my elbow through the glass. I reached in, wrapping it in a tissue from my jacket, and pocketed the pearl. He will not have come here for nothing.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply a few times. Come on, Dad.

"Doc gave you a clear bill of health."

"Thank god. I need a beer."

"You and me both, babe."

My eyes shot open. Dad?

Dean

"Dad?"

I looked around, my arm swung over Ava's shoulder as we walked out of the hospital.

"Sam said he will meet us at the bar. Djinn is taken care of." Ava said, glancing at her phone.

"Huh? Oh. Right."

"You sure you're good?"

I looked down at Ava. Her big blue eyes reflected the full moon. I tapped under her chin with my index finger. "Yeah, I'm good." I smiled. "How far is the bar? Let's walk."

She grinned widely. "You want to walk? You have brain damage for sure, Winchester."

"That's rude, Langston." I said bumping her with my hip. It felt weird not calling her Winchester. Felt weird that she wasn't my wife, even though I guess she never was.

"I'm a rude person, what can I say?" She wrapped her arms around me and reached up to kiss me.

I leaned down to meet her halfway. I forgot, in my time under, how short she really was. I ran my thumb across her jaw.

"Dad? Can you hear me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear something?"

"No." Ava laughed, reaching up to touch my forehead. "Don't make me put you on bed rest."

"Will you be there?" I grinned at her. "Because if so... I definitely need some medical attention." I wiggled my eyebrows at her and she hit my chest playfully.

"Dad you have to listen to me!"

I turned behind me and squinted. A vague shape stood under the streetlight, but as I tried to make it out the light blinked out. "That's... uh.."

"What?" Ava turned.

"Sorry." I mumbled. "I think I'm seein shit. You may be right, maybe I've still got some Djinn juice in my system. Maybe we should skip the beer."

"You got it big guy." She rested her hand on my chest, directly over my heart.

"Dad! Ugh! Dean Winchester!"

"Okay I really heard it this time."

"Heard what?"

"My name." I squinted into the darkness, and like a fucking truck hit me I felt it. Hands on my shoulders from in front of me. A gentle shake. I looked down and saw nothing. "The fuck..."

"Listen to me! God you can't be dead.. come on.. I can hear you!"

I frowned. The voice sounded familiar, I just couldn't quite grasp it. "Who's there?"

"Dean? You're freaking me out..." Ava reached for my hand, but I ignored her stepping toward the street light. I glanced up and almost as if I willed it, the light flickered on, exposing a short girl in a leather jacket.

Her hair was mine. Her lips. The terror painted on her young face. Her name danced to my lips before I could even wonder who she was. "Eleanor?"

"You're safe." She said breathlessly before running and jumping directly into my arms.

"Hey.. how are you...?"

I blinked a few times.

It was a lie. It was all a lie. I buried my face in her hair, unsure of which reality was going to slip through my fingers at any given moment. Unsure of which one I wanted to.