Author's Note:
1983Sarah: No need to apologize for being busy! Trust me, I know the feeling. And who knows, maybe John will come around.
Nina Ferraro: I plan on continuing it! Don't worry!
Babyreaper: Crowley will make Meg and Ruby pay, just not this chapter. John's not very trusting of Dean, but he may start seeing more and more of Mary in him!
Sonicblue99: Thank you! It means a lot you enjoy it so much(: Don't worry, I'll continue it and Cas will come in as well!
Angellec: Thanks so much! I was really worried when I was uploading it.
DaughteroNeptune313: I WILL CONTINUE. And sorry, cliffhangers are kinda a must with writers, it brings us joy to drive you guys crazy(;
Paranoid-mandroid: Thanks! I am, don't you worry!
LeeMarieJack: I will keep going. And, you'll just have to keep reading to find out(;
Ncsupnatfan: GREAT IDEA I LOVE YOU.
Souless666: All questions will be answered (hopefully) And, I really didn't like John in the show so I try to write him somewhat tolerable but not too OOC.
CHAPTER NINE: To Stay Or Not To Stay?
"Can I ask you somethin'?" Dean forced out, his words stricken with pain as he hobbled next to Jo out of the building. At the moment, he had an arm around her shoulder and her warm hand was wrapped around his waist.
If Dean was being honest with himself, he liked it. But instead, he shook his head as he concentrated on healing his wounds while remaining upright.
"Shoot." Jo answered, trying to balance his weight equally while opening up the door.
Dean grunted with pain, the healing process taking longer than he would hope. "You saved me, why?"
Jo shrugged the best she could under his weight as she dodged small pits that would randomly appear in the gravel they were trying to walk on. "I guess I believe in you."
Dean practically cringed at the sentence, trying to expel the memory that demanded to be remembered.
"Dean! Come on, you're going to be late!" Mary shook her head as she opened up the fridge door, wondering what could possibly be keeping her eldest son.
"But moooom." Dean lazily made his way down the steps, purposely drawing out the word 'mom' for as long as he could. "What do I need school for anyways?" He groaned.
Mary rolled her eyes as she watched her energetic eight year old make his way over to the kitchen table, smiling slightly to herself as he plopped down in the chair rather ungracefully.
"You need to have a normal life, Dean. And I sure as hell am I going to make sure you get one."
Now it was Dean's turn to roll his eyes as he waited for his mother to pour the milk into his cereal bowl, eyeing the Special K distastefully. "Can I at least have some Lucky Charms?" Mary ruffled his hair, ignoring the question he had probably asked her once every day. Dean sighed softly, his mood dropping. "I'm not good at this school stuff."
Mary walked over to her son and kissed his forehead before lifting his chin so he was forced to meet her gaze. "You are Dean. I believe in you."
The eldest demon mentally shook himself, trying to banish the past back to where he had buried it before he returned his attention back to the blonde. "The fuck that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, his brow furrowed.
Jo sighed dramatically as they rounded the corner towards the front of the building. "I just think there's more to you than black eyes, that's all."
"You're just saying that because you have a massive crush on me." Dean teased before a moan of pain escaped him.
Jo slapped his chest with her free hand only to wince at the sound of distress that came from the demon. "You wish." She said, although her tone was light.
Dean motioned for her to stop so he could rest as he slid down the wall, all his energy draining away since he was trying to heal himself and walk all at the same time. "Nothing to be ashamed of. I am pretty handsome, it's only natural."
Jo rolled her eyes as she stood in front of him with her arms crossed. She glanced from side to side, making sure someone hadn't followed them. "You think they all got out?" She asked, a hint of concern for her mother evident in her voice.
"I'm sure Sam got em all out of there. He's probably about to come back to get us." Dean reassured her as he gripped his right thigh where the worst of the burns were.
The blonde looked unconvinced. She walked to the edge of the building and peaked around the corner, hoping to see some sign of the youngest Winchester.
Sam appeared behind her, poking his head right next to hers, "What are we looking for?" Jo jumped what Sam swore was ten feet in the air before she turned and punched him square in the jaw.
The youngest demon rubbed at his jaw with a look of astonishment. The hunter sent him an apologetic look before clearing her throat awkwardly. "I was lookin' for you. Dean and I thought you forgot about us."
"You," The eldest demon started, ", you thought. I knew he'd come." Dean clarified from his position leaning against the wall on the ground.
Jo shot him a death glare before walking over to him, helping him up. "Let's just get you back to Bobby's."
The eldest demon shoved her away, narrowing his eyes in confusion at the blonde. "Woah there sweetheart, we're not going back." Dean objected, looking at the hunter as if she had lost it.
Jo raised an eyebrow, bewilderment in her gaze. "What do you mean? Of course you're going back."
Sam raised his hand a bit, pulling the blonde's attention to him. "Um, Jo we're really not."
"What about your father?" Jo demanded, anger edging into her tone. Dean looked into her eyes and saw pain, regret, and rage in them that he wondered how it got there and he made a mental note to ask her about it later. That is, assuming there'd be a later.
Dean scoffed. "Our 'father'," Dean did air quotes with his hands as he said the word 'father', "didn't give a rat's ass about us when we were growing up. I don't care what he has to say now. So," He paused, pointing a figure at Jo. "Sam here is going to drop your ass back off at Bobby's and then him and I are gonna take off."
"The hell you are." Jo said as she dug a finger into his chest, forcing him back up against the wall. "Listen to me, Dean Winchester. I would do anything to have my father back. I'm not about to let you throw away the relationship you can have with your father whose actually here because of your stubbornness!" Unshed emotion shown in the hunter's eyes, causing Dean to squirm uncomfortably under her dark gaze.
"Fine!" He relented, throwing up his hands in frustration. "Fuckin' hate hunters." He muttered after sending Jo a scowl. Looking satisfied with herself, Jo took a step back as she placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Let's go."
…
"Jo! Thank God!" Ellen breathed as she embraced her daughter, the blonde hunter patting her mother's back reassuringly.
The brother's stood awkwardly behind the pair, Dean rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly before he met Bobby's shocked gaze.
"What?" Dean snapped, as he plopped down on Bobby's couch, his wounds still not fully healed.
The old hunter adjusted his cap, chuckling slightly. "Just didn't expect you boys back is all." He admitted with a shrug.
"Neither did we." Sam mumbled, obviously just as pissed about the situation as Dean was. That and the fact that they had listened to Jo.
John took a step forward, beer in hand as his gaze settled on Sam. "What's your plan, boys?"
The brother's lifted a casual shoulder in unison, Sam the only one willing to actually answer their father. "Depends. You still wanting to kill us?" Malice laced his words as Sam met his father's cold gaze.
John's eyes flicked to Dean and Sam could see distrust in the hunter's eyes.
As John considered his options, he couldn't help the images of a three year old Dean, running around the yard chasing butterflies of all things that flashed across his vision. The old hunter sighed, not really wanting to jeopardize his relationship with Sam just because he didn't have faith in Dean's humanity.
"Wouldn't dream of it." John answered simply, his eyes locking with Sam's. The youngest demon nodded, although John could see a hint of doubt in the kid's posture.
Dean scoffed but quickly covered it up with a cough as Ellen took a step forward and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.
"Thanks for bringin' her back boy." She said with nothing but a mother's love showing in her eyes. For the most part, Ellen and Jo had accepted Sam and Dean as a part of their team, it was just John and a little bit of Bobby who were the skeptical ones.
"How you feelin' son?" Bobby asked, immediately regretting the use of the endearment when he was shot a glare from Dean.
The eldest demon stood up from the inviting couch and stretched his arms over his head to show he was indeed fine. Bobby nodded in response, not too sure what they were supposed to do.
"You think Crowley will come after you again?" Jo asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wooden desk.
Sam looked slightly worried, remembering the past 24 hours. "I wouldn't doubt it. I can guarantee we haven't seen the last of him as well as Meg and Ruby." The taller demon ran a wary hand through his long hair, not thrilled about the idea of seeing the fearsome threesome anytime soon.
Jo pursed her lips as she watched Dean's features twist into one of vengeance, his eyes becoming the daunting black orbs. "I swear, next time-"
John cut him off with a hand gesture. "If you boys plan on staying, you'll need to keep that anger under wraps."
It looked as if Dean was about to protest before Sam knocked him upside the head. "No problem. Right, Dean?" He asked, his light tone forced as he eyed his brother with a look saying he better give the right answer.
The eldest demon mumbled what could be interpreted as a 'no problem' before he stalked upstairs, the faint slam of a door being heard by the group in the living room.
"He's just not used to censoring himself. Get that fucking look off your face." Sam snapped, pointing an accusing finger at their father's distrusting scowl.
"Well he better learn." John retorted, taking a threatening step forward. Before Sam could retaliate, which Bobby assumed he would, the baseball capped hunter stepped between them, placing a firm hand on each of their chests.
"Alright, time out, both of you."
….
"Did you get sent to your room?" Dean asked, not hiding his amusement as Sam came in what was designated as their room with a frown.
"Yeah, after I defended your ungrateful ass." He hissed, sitting down heavily on the twin bed next to the identical one Dean had occupied.
The eldest Winchester held up his hands in mock surrender, his lips still tilting up slightly. His tone growing suddenly serious, Dean clasped his hands in front of him as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Sammy, we can't stay."
Sam's eyes widened in surprise, not sure he heard his brother right. "What do you mean? You told Jo we would."
"Forget what I told her! We can't stay. Demons and humans, especially hunters, aren't supposed to live in peace or whatever. It's just not right." He shook his head sadly.
Sam's voice dropped a few octaves, sorrow lacing his words as he spoke. "Mom made it work, Dean. We can too. Let's give dad a chance-"
"Why does he deserve one?" Dean interrupted, not caring about the bitch-face Sam gave him or the fact that his brother had actually referred to John as dad. "He barely trusts you, Sam and sure as hell doesn't trust me! I don't want anything to do with that fucking hunter." The demon was fuming. He had stood up in the middle of his tangent and was now facing his brother directly who had followed him.
"I'm not going anywhere Dean." Sam said simply, giving no room for argument. "You can go if you want, but I'm staying."
Dean scoffed, not believing what he was hearing. "We've been together our whole lives, Sammy. We ain't separating now."
The youngest Winchester smiled, a hint of pride in his tone as he patted Dean on the shoulder. "Then I guess you really don't have a choice do you?"
…
TBC
Please continue to read and review! It means a lot. Hopefully I made up for the later than usual update with this extra long chapter. I'm most likely going to be continuing this with the story line of the show (although it'll obviously be different because we have two demons as the main characters) and I'll probably skip some stuff. Yes, Cas will show up eventually. Not as late as he did in the show, but not right away. Thanks for the support!
~Lindsay