A/N: I've mentioned Autumn and Athena's work, the legal way they make money, and I've been trying to work it in here and there. But I had to write this chapter!
Chapter Two
"Autumn wants you." Sam whispered in his ear. Dean smirked at his baby brother.
"Of course she does, who wouldn't want all of this?" Sam rolled his eyes at his brother.
"Dean, she sent me after you, would you just go see what she wants?" Dean sighed.
"Well, gentlemen my lady awaits." he put his cards down, scooting back. "Where is she?"
"The cabin, and you better move." Sam warned.
Autumn was standing in the bathroom glaring at herself in the mirror, her hair piled on top of her head in curlers, and a towel barely wrapped around her body. Dean leaned against the door's frame, and watched the red head apply mascara.
"Where you going, gorgeous?"
"Crazy, and you're coming with me." she answered looking at him through the glass.
"I've been crazy before, you don't need to dress for it."
"Yea, well, my crazy must be a little different. I laid your suit out, get a shower and get dressed."
"Why?" she brushed past him headed for her bedroom.
"Because in order to master my double life I need a date to a business meeting tonight." she answered entering her room. "And unless you want me to get one of the grubby little men from the bar to come with me, you'll get your pretty ass in the shower." she continued coming back to the bathroom with her sandwich bag of jewelry.
"Athena isn't going?"
"Not with her bum leg. Now, shower." she ordered. He hesitated a moment and she stopped her mad rush to turn to him wrapping her arms around his neck. "Please, Dork. I wouldn't ask if I thought I could make in through the night without you."
"How am I supposed to turn down a girl wearing nothing but a towel?" she pulled herself up and stole his lips.
"I owe you one."
"I'll make you work it off later." he promised. She widened her eyes and smirked.
"Whatever will I do?"
Dean came into Autumn's room, where she was sitting half in her red satin dress on her bed, sifting through a mound of stockings. Dean stopped at a small mirror hanging between the two beds in a final attempt at tying his tie. Autumn laughed at him as he got his fingers caught up in the knot.
"Dork, you zip me in my dress, and I'll take care of your tie." she slid off her bed pulling up her dress and stuffing her arms into the sleeves. Autumn gave him her back, he ran a finger up her spine smiling at the way she moved into his touch, as if he were stroking a cat. "Zip the dress." she whispered, unsure of her own voice. Dean zipped her in to the dress, stepping back to look her over, it fit like a glove, whatever business she had to take care of she didn't look like a hunter to do it. "What?" she asked suddenly when she saw him staring.
"Nothing." he answered just as quickly. She eyed him a minute before she took hold of his tie. She made quick work of tying it and getting it perfectly straight. "How'd you learn to do that?"
"We wore dresses and suits to church every Sunday," she shrugged. "I must have fixed, the guys ties a million times." Autumn stepped back to admire her work. "You clean up pretty good, Winchester."
"What do you have left?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and sat back on the bed.
"Finding a pair of hose without a runner and fixing my hair." Dean joined her on the bed to help, he'd seen plenty of nylons but never had to actually check for runs.
"Autumn?" he held up a pair of fishnet stockings and she blushed. "Why do you have these?"
"Long story." He looked at her willing her to continue. "There was a possession and the only way to get to him was to join his little following. They happened to be a little dark."
"That's not long."
"This pair is good. I never realized how many of these things I go through." she pulled up the dress tugging on the stockings.
Autumn disappeared back into the bathroom then, unraveling her hair from the curlers as she went. Dean found a spot on the couch, and waited. Before her return Sam and Athena came in, Athena collapsed into the nearest chair letting her crutches crash to the ground before she registered Dean's dress.
"What are you up to Romeo?" she asked propping her leg up on the coffee table.
"He and your sister are going to talk with a publisher." Sam answered picking up her crutches and leaning them against the table where Athena could reach them when she was ready to stand.
"I thought that was next weekend." Athena said playing with the top of her cast.
"Teenie, if you keep that up you'll pick that thing to pieces before you heal." Sam scolded. Athena stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm going to get a sitter for you two if you can't behave." Autumn said coming out for all to see. They stared at her for a moment, she rarely wore anything other than worn out blue jeans and t-shirts, now her hair had been pinned into a bun, a long curl trailing down her neck, a red satin dress with a slit in the side up four inches above her knee, she wore make-up, chandelier earrings, and a simple silver cross necklace. "You know staring doesn't help my nerves."
"You clean up good, Daemon." Dean smirked.
Sam dumped the puzzle onto the table and propped the lid up. Athena sat across from him, humoring him by agreeing to work a puzzle. Jen had hundreds of them that had obviously been worked and reworked. He'd chosen a new picture of two wolves howling to a full moon. Athena began immediately flipping each piece heads up and isolating the edge pieces.
"Autumn said they might not come back tonight." Athena told him ignoring the flutter in her chest at being alone with Sam. It was something she was used to ignoring, every time their eyes met, or the most innocent touch she had to force down the butterflies.
"Why do you need a new publisher?" Sam asked joining her in sorting out the pieces.
"Autumn refuses to write children's books where the bad guys are fixed with love and understanding, she'd rather have the little hero children blow the monsters to hell with a shotgun filled with rock salt. So, our publisher dropped us after the last threat of a lawsuit."
"She won't bend?"
"Nope. I've tried to talk her into Care Bear-ing it but she won't do it." Athena settled into her chair.
"Do you ever do any of the writing?" he asked. They'd never really discussed the Daemon's career in depth, just covered it in a brief just the facts manner.
"I proof read, and we bounce idea's off each other, but I don't write. She doesn't draw, we both have our jobs."
"Do you have a piece of blue-black cloud?" Athena passed over four or five pieces that might be cloud.
"We have pennames, and don't put pictures of us in the books, that way no one recognizes us. When we did the book tour we'd wear wigs, contacts, and glasses to change us enough not to be noticed."
"Did you like that, the normal life?" he slid a string of pieces together and watched her nimble fingers move over the edges trying to find he exact piece she needed.
"I didn't ever think about it. I never had a choice in what I did, it was whatever this social worker said I had to do to stay with Autumn, or what the Morton's said I had to do, then Autumn and Billy-Jack ended things and she was leaving. So I either A: stay with Josh and Kit and work a farm, B: go to a college, or C: Follow Autumn, taking her ready made career, and training under your dad whenever possible. Option C let me do what I loved, and help people on the side. A meant I would see a lot of the bastard that ruined my sister and B wasn't for me. I don't really like the being tied to a school."
"So had there been an option with out hunting would you have rather done that?"
"Autty says that even when she got sick Mom was always doing things to help everyone else. I don't remember our mom, at least not until she was really sick." she stopped talking and just worked the puzzle, after a few minutes Sam decided to prod her a little.
"That doesn't answer the question."
"No, I love the hunts." She looked up and grinned from ear to ear. "Maybe not the hunts but that feeling when you waste one of those things, and know that it's never going to hurt anyone else. I just hope I live long enough to waste Billy-Jack when he refuses the light."
"Peterson." Autumn smiled at the waiter who quickly scanned the reservations book to find the name.
"I'll go see if your table is ready." he disappeared and Autumn turned to readjust Dean's tie. She'd spent the entire drive explaining who they were meeting, why they were meeting, and how they'd met, which was only a slight lie. She claimed that his father had taught her to research the legends and myths, that John had taken Autumn and Athena under his wing. Then after bumping into each other, researching the same thing, in a bar they just didn't separate.
"Aut, you're choking me." she smoothed her dress again.
"Sorry."
"You'll be fine, babe. Just pretend, like we do on hunts. If you can smooth talk a chief of police why not a publisher?"
"Auts! You look amazing!" a short round woman with dyke short brunet hair waddled up arms out stretched to embrace Autumn.
"Emma Doyle, this is Dean Winston, Dean this is Emma Doyle, my rock." Autumn introduced.
"It's just great to finally meet you." Emma took his hand pumping it up and down. "Absolutely fantastic. She doesn't do you justice, Mr. Winston." Dean glanced at Autumn hoping for help. She laced her arm through his.
"Easy on him, Emz. I'd like to keep him in one piece, at least until I've finished with him." Emma laughed, a shocking sound like someone had kicked a chicken.
"She's a joker this one." Emma poked Autumn in the gut making her cheeks poof with air. "I love your hair Auts, you belong on the cover a book, sweetie. I wish you'd let us put your story together. It's really appealing to the females, teens and young women. Some small town girl, with an abusive boyfriend, escapes all her torture and becomes a big shot children's author."
"Emma, I've told you before, my story belongs to me. I'm not selling it to some moneybags to make a little change." Autumn said firmly. Emma looked crestfallen for all of two seconds.
"I know you, Auts, eventually you always give in." the waiter returned and led them to their table. Emma made a show of ordering the most expensive wine on the menu and several appetizers Dean couldn't dream of pronouncing. "So, please tell me you two are serious. Nothing is better for your career, than settling down with a nice good looking guy, like this one, and popping out a couple of kids. Parents love mothers."
"Then I'm sorry to disappoint you, we've only been together two months."
"Two and a half." Dean corrected, he was rather proud of this, having never been with anyone this long.
"I knew I would be marrying my husband after three dates." Emma told them.
"That's because he was your best friend, long before hand." Autumn reminded her.
"Misses, sir, Mr. Peterson is here." the waiter who'd sat them returned and Dean suddenly found himself the only one sitting. Emma ran over the introductions quickly, and they returned to their seats. Mr. Peterson looked like a walrus, that was the only way Dean could think to describe the man.
"Mr. Winston, I may be employing you to bend our little ladies ear for me. She's proving to be a very stubborn girl." Dean nodded.
"No one bends her ear, sir." Autumn found his hand under the table giving it a squeeze, he could feel her tremble, she was so nervous she was shaking. He squeezed back, are you okay? She gave him a slight twitch of her lips, I'm fine.
"I've noticed that. I've been trying to snag this girl, almost since she hit the press." Mr. Peterson reached over patting Autumn's arm. "I would always defend you, you're series is too good to let a couple of busy bodies ruin it."
"Thank you, Mr. Peterson."
"I say we put ourselves to work. Autumn and Dean need to get home to Athena." Emma said as the appetizers appeared.
"Doyle we've been over this before, working before eating isn't right."
"Yes, Peterson, but my girl has a injured sister to tend." Emma played the sympathy card.
"I heard, I'm so sorry." Peterson said to Autumn.
"She'll be fine, just a broken leg. Emma don't rush the man. I left my sister in good hands, didn't we Dean-o?"
"She's with my brother." Dean volunteered. Both the publisher and agent smiled as like they'd never heard anything cuter. Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Emma is right, however. Autumn, I've seen the copy of your last contract and I'm willing to more than sweeten the pot."
"Give it your best shot, big boy." Autumn challenged.
Dean was left to watch as the table's other three members discussed contracts. Autumn would pull him into the conversation whenever possible, usually when telling about a new story she was planning. She'd have him throw in details on the creatures. They'd drifted into normal small talk when food would arrive but it didn't last long. Emma and Peterson did most the talking, Autumn would have to force herself in. Objecting to something or other.
"I'd like to meet you again." Peterson said as they stood in the lobby saying their good-byes.
"Mr. Peterson, Emma will be in contact with you. If there is a need for us to talk again, we'll do so." Autumn answered him curtly shaking his hand. Mr. Peterson nodded his understanding.
"You've got a pistol, kid. Watch her." the man pointed a finger in Dean's face.
"I know." Peterson clapped him on the shoulder.
"Take care."
Sam hoisted Athena into his arms, she'd been drifting in and out for a while. She wouldn't go to bed. He tried to convince her to hit the hay for half an hour before her head thudded with the table. She jerked back up, her eyes darting around the room. The sparkling blue-green pools landed on him and she smiled, before folding her arms on the table and nestling her head down into them. Sam had let her sleep there while he worked on the puzzle a little longer, it was getting close to midnight, and no call from Autumn or Dean, not that he really expected one. Finally, he couldn't stare at the little broken picture any longer, or the fallen angel sitting across from him. So, Sam hoisted Athena into his arms and took her back to her bed.
"Sammy?" Athena asked.
"Yea?" Sam pulled her shoe off tossing it on the floor.
"Stay?"
"You'll be okay in here by yourself, Teenie." he started to tuck her in.
"Please," she didn't have to say the part about being afraid of being alone.
"Yea, I'll stay." Sam said.
"It's going to be two before we get home." Dean said opening the car door for Autumn.
"No, it'll be a little later than that." Conspiracy glittered in her eyes.
"What'd you have in mind?"
"I've got a bag packed in the trunk, and we're not going back to the Resort, tonight."
After their first night alone, without a little sister in the hospital, since Vegas Dean and Autumn returned to the Resort, slipping into the silent cabin. They found a half done puzzle on the kitchen table, surrounded by empty pop cans and a bowl of popcorn kernels. The couple split to their bedrooms, the boy's room was empty. Autumn, called Dean into her room. The beds had been pushed together and still sleeping, at noon, were Athena and Sam a good foot between them where the dog had crawled in.
"We should have told Emma we already have two kids and a dog." Autumn leaned back into Dean.
"Yea, we got married in Vegas and united two broken families." Dean mused. Autumn rolled her eyes yawning.
"Wanna grab a nap?"
A/N: Alright, we'll be back on track in the next chapter.