So here's the deal, guys - this is short because I've been out of town for the last several days. But I feel bad keeping you waiting any longer. The ending isn't a cliff hanger, but it's not a great ending either. However, I figured you would rather have something tonight rather than have to wait for another day or two. In exchange for the length, I'm going to wrap up this trip portion in the next chapter, so that should all be resolved. Hope you enjoy!
The sadness in the young aide's eyes was real, sincere, and neither Dean nor Sam had to hear her explanation in order to know what she was about to say.
"I'm so sorry, boys. You won't be able to talk with Mr. Angelli. I'm afraid he passed away a couple of months ago."
Sam felt his heart clench agonizingly tight in his chest. Nonono, I take it back. I want to meet him. I want to know him. His fear over meeting the old man disappeared instantaneously, only to be replaced with an impossibly painful feeling of loss and mourning. "He can't be dead," Sam blurted out before he realized he was even talking. He hadn't even realized that he had jumped in front of Dean in his haste to defame the announcement she had made. "We were sent here to talk to him."
A haze of confusion passed over the aide's face momentarily before she was back to her professional demeanor. "I wish the circumstances could be different, Mr..."
"Winchester," Sam supplied. "And this is my brother, Dean."
"Mr. Winchester," she continued. "Like I was saying; I really do wish things were different. We all loved Mr. Angelli. He was one of a kind."
Determined to press on with his challenge on the state of their grandfather, Sam opened his mouth once again to protest. But Dean was quicker, jumping into the conversation as the first bit of sound passed through Sam's throat.
"How did he die?" Dean asked, the strength in his voice much greater than he felt.
Looking at the two men skeptically, the blonde shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm only allowed to divulge that information to family. It's HIPPA policy - you understand." The plea in her eyes indicated that she truly hoped they did understand.
"We are family!" Sam shouted just a little too loud, too panicked, for the situation. She wasn't a hostile witness, just someone who was legally obligated to withhold private patient information. She had no reason to know the two young men in front of her were the long lost relatives her past patient likely never talked about.
Dean flinched at his brother's tone, but couldn't help but feel the need to do the same. He held his tone even though, willing to give her a second chance before losing his own temper. "Sam, chill out," he hissed, before turning on the young woman. Brushing off the now dusty Dean Winchester charm he flashed his best smile, a combination of 'Excuse him,' and 'you know you want to talk to me,' with just a little 'you know you want to sleep with me,' mixed in for good measure. It felt weird, trying to be cocky and self-assured when he still felt so much the opposite. But sometimes a Winchester had to do what a Winchester had to do.
"I'm sorry, miss, I didn't get you name." Another grin slipped out from force of habit, and Dean was just a little surprised to see the young woman actually melting at his dimpled gaze. So surprised, in fact, that he almost missed her reply.
"Heidi," the aide replied, suddenly shy.
Dean cocked his head, turning his ear toward her as if to ask - Please say again? I didn't hear you the first time.
And she repeated it a second time as Dean made a point to listen this time. "Heidi." Adding "McLanahan," as though giving the last name would make such a difference.
"Heidi." Dean rolled it around on his tongue for a minute as he reveled in the sudden increase of his confidence level. But he returned to the business at hand soon after, reminding himself that - even if he wasn't missing a leg that would undoubtedly be revealed during a quick romp - business came before pleasure. He launched into an explanation, staying as close to the truth as possible without divulging any supernatural elements. There was no telling what kind of information they already knew of the deceased man's history, and Dean couldn't take the chance that the stories would clash.
"Mr. Angelli - Anthony," he added as though to show he knew something of the man as well, " is our grandfather; our mother's father."
"I've never seen you around here before," Heidi accused with a hint of suspicion, although still maintaining a level of flirtation in her actions. She had a job to do, and she planned to do it, but she was still only human - and female at that.
"Well that's just it," Dean continued. "We never knew about him until just the other day. You see, our father died recently and we found information on our grandfather as we were going through Dad's things. I suppose they had had some type of a falling out or a misunderstanding years back, and Dad just never thought it important to mention him."
"Why didn't your mother say something?"
This interrogation was getting too intense, Sam realized. The gears in his brain were working overtime as he listened to the edge in the girl's voice. She knows something, he concluded. She knows something about an inheritance or whatever. That's why she's being so difficult. He couldn't stop himself. Dean's explanation was getting them nowhere.
"Look, our mother died years ago - when I was just a baby. And dad was so distraught he just took off with us - didn't want to have anything to do with the past. But when we found out we had a grandfather, we wanted to find out more about him. You know, get to know him. So can you help us out or not?" The first part was spoken in desperation, but the last line was snapped as Sam's patience lost significant ground. The more he watched Dean, most recently seeing his big brother interact with this woman, the more determined he was to get those legs for his brother. And death, as much as it pained him to think about their grandfather dying never having the chance to get to know him, death meant inheritance. Death meant money. This could work to their advantage.
Heidi blinked, uncertainty clouding her sparkling eyes. "I'm so sorry," she said again. She seemed to like that word - sorry. It rolled off her lips far too often. "That must have been awful for you." And she was back to looking at Dean, a hidden message being shot over to him that she would love to help him get over the pain of losing so many loved ones.
"We're just asking that you tell us some things about him," Dean broke in again. He shot daggers over to Sam, ordering his impulsive brother to shut up and let him handle this. He wasn't sure where the determination to step forth was coming from - it wasn't like he'd been so forthcoming with his body and his emotions lately - but as long as it was there, Dean planned to utilize it to every inch. "Please," he added for good measure.
Seeming to give that a thought, Heidi eyed Dean seriously as she chewed on a nail. "What did you say your names were again?"
"Dean and Sam Winchester," Dean answered, not sure what that had to do with anything, but willing to play along if it got him somewhere.
Holding up her right pointer finger for 'one minute' she nodded contemplatively and turned around. "Hold on, I'll be right back." She disappeared down the hall, leaving Sam and Dean to stare wordlessly after her in wonderment.
"Where do you think she's going?" Sam dared to ask.
"I don't know, Sam. Maybe they put Grandpa in a cryo- chamber and she's running down the hall to bring him to us. We could even take a family picture with the man."
Sam wasn't sure how to react to his brother's snark, and he finally chose not to say anything in reply as he turned his head to hide the smile that he was unable to suppress. Little by little, his brother was finally coming back. And finally, there was no mistaking the flashes of 'Deanisms' that shined through more and more each day as his confidence leaked back in. Sam was aware that the final destination was still a long way off, all to conscious of the fact that Dean may never return in full, but he could deal with what was returning. This was beyond great. Now if only they could make the leg work for them...
When Heidi returned a few minutes later she was carrying a small envelope in her hands, her smile glowing bright as she stared at the brothers. "Good news," she offered, continuing to talk only to Dean as she flirted. "Turns out Mr. Angelli had mentioned you two a couple of times. Many of us were privileged enough to sit in on his stories of his family, and there was a time or two that he mentioned his two grandsons that he never knew."
Both brothers breathed out a sigh of relief at knowing she was willing to believe them to be legitimate. Although the thought was somewhat bittersweet; in being mentioned, it indicated that the man cared about them. And yet, they had never gotten an opportunity to meet him.
Heidi continued on. "Why don't we go have a seat. I can tell you a little bit, but you should probably go talk with the estate lawyer, too. He would be able to give you some additional information."
They followed her to a lounge, sitting down in the offered chairs and listening intently to her recollections of the grandfather they had never known. She had pictures, relatively recent ones, of a wrinkled yet sturdy looking man taking part in some of the rowdier activities the nursing home provided: horseshoes, shuffleboard, croquet - which she explained was a part of their annual summer games tournament. He looked happy, and not anything like a man about to kick the bucket.
"What did you say he died of?" Sam demanded. "He looks totally healthy."
Heidi didn't seem fazed by Sam's bluntness, and finally gave him the answer he'd been seeking. "He was healthy," she assured him. "He was only living here because he was lonely and didn't want to be dealing with the house upkeep anymore - he stayed in our assisted living housing."
"So then what was it?" And what the hell is with people and their roundabout explanations. Just get to the damn explanation.
"An aneurism; brain aneurism. It came on so suddenly. One day he made some off hand remark about having a headache, and the next day..." she trailed off, feeling it unnecessary to clarify what the boys already knew. Even for her, the word was so harsh, so final.
"Oh," was all either Dean or Sam was able to utter for the longest time, as they went back to staring longingly at the pictures. They were too late, but only by a matter of a few months. How cruel was that.
"Like I said, though. You should really speak with his estate attorney. When I went to get these pictures, one of the nurses said she thought your names might have been mentioned in the will. Mr. Angelli - your grandfather - he didn't have a lot of family."
"And how to we find him?" Sam asked, just a bit too quickly, and Dean found it necessary to backhand him against his biceps to shut him up before he managed to scare away their only link to assistance.
"You'll have to excuse my brother," Dean apologized genuinely. "He's been a little too focused on finding out information on our grandfather ever since we found out about him. He really wanted to know more about our mother - you see, I at least got four years with her, but Sam here never knew her."
Heidi was instantly drawn back in, soaking up the sob story like a sponge. "That's horrible...to never know your mother; to have lost her at such a young age."
"Yeah, well, it's pretty much all we've known." Dean explained. "We've dealt with the sadness, but we would still love to know her; to know what she was like." His tone left no room for question that he wanted no sympathy, and that the conversation was over. They were ready to move on and finish their search, and Heidi's's small talk was no longer appreciated.
She seemed to get the point, and with a shift of her hip dropped the conversation. "So I guess you'll be wanting directions to the attorney's office," she offered with no further ado.
And just one final note: I know there was this big lead up to the grandfather, and now he's gone. My intention was never to create a new character, but rather to have a way for them to find some assistance. I feel as though I can do as much emotionally on th etopic of a grandfather without ever having him in the picture, but it stands to reason that he might have insisted they come be near him if he were alive, and I like the Bobby/ Missouri dynamic we've got going on. Hope that doesn't disappoint. And for those of you who figured out he was dead before - kudos. You all are too smart for your own good. Thanks for reading!