CHAPTER 2
Dean laid in bed for a few hours before grabbing some clothes from his bag and headed into the bathroom. He took a quick shower trying not to make so much noise than got dressed and did his usual morning routine. It was earlier than he usually did everything, but he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep. He left the bathroom and grabbed his wallet shoving it in his pants pocket and put on his watch, taking note of the time. Six A.M. An ungodly time to be up. Dean sat down on the bed and pulled on his socks and boots just as his Dad stirred. "I'm going for breakfast."
John nodded and threw his legs over the side of the rollaway. "I have some things I have to do so let Sam sleep in. I'll leave a note for him and join you after I get ready. We can bring him back something." He headed into the bathroom.
Dean pulled on his leather jacket than grabbed his cell phone and the keys to the Impala. He was almost out the door when he remembered to grab his room key off the bedside table. With that now in his jacket pocket he left the motel room. He passed a teenage girl and her mom entering the room next door and flashed them a smile. "Morning, ladies." He continued to the driver's door of the Impala, which was parked directly in front of their room.
When he climbed in he saw the teenage girl smile at him like he knew she would, but was surprised when her mother flashed him one too and licked her lips as her daughter entered the room. Dean just smirked at the older woman and started the car. He saw the predatory look in her eyes and mentally decided he would wait for her to enter he room next time before exiting his. Or maybe set her up with his Dad. God only knew the last time he'd gotten laid. The Impala left the parking lot and Dean drove towards the diner they had eaten at yesterday. Parctus was a small town and most of it was still asleep, but surprisingly the early birds actually waved at him as he passed. Dean raised an eyebrow at that because most small towns they've been too the people weren't too friendly to strange guys driving a muscle car. After the third person waving Dean did a slight wave back each time. He felt like being on the look out for Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Fife. The town was one of those small towns where nothing happened except pranks from bored teens. Dean knew from experience that very few small towns never had anything ever happen. There was always something either someone was hiding or just called it a story. Parctus was no exception. His family hadn't just been passing through. There was a job here.
Two families on the out skirts of town both vanished within a week of each other. They had already considered the possibilities that the families had just run off or the second one having to do with the disappearance of the first family, but that had been ruled out when there didn't seem to be any connection between the two. The first family had been new to town and the other a triving farm. Still it may be nothing paranormal. They would find out later after doing some detective work. With the reaction his Dad had last night he figured his Dad planned on staying at least a week even if nothing panned out. He didn't realize his Dad would want to ever see the child he had with his old friend.
Dean remembered the disappointment his Dad expressed when they learned Faith was pregnant. Dean himself had been more scared more than he had ever been before. They were just thirteen and had screwed up. They both knew it and being thirteen they let their parents decide what to do about it. Abortion was out of the question for Faith's parents. Adoption was considered, but his Dad had taken him and Sam out of Salem before he learned what had happened. Over the years he came up with several possibilities. What happened last night wasn't one of them. He never thought Faith would be the one who found him. With how much his family moved around and covered their tracks he knew their child wouldn't have even been able to find him if it had wanted to. Now him finding them sure, but Faith finding him by chance had been a long shot. One that had actually happened.
Dean pulled in a parking space in front of the diner and was glade to see it open. With how quiet the town was he hadn't been so sure. Dean climbed out of the Impala and entered the restaurant. The tables and booths were all empty, but three elderly men sat at the counter drinking coffee and talking. Dean took a seat in the last booth where he could see both the door and the rest of the diner. As soon as the eight-teen year old man sat down a middle-aged waitress with dark hair came from behind the counter and placed a menu on the table in front of him.
"Morning, Hun. Know what you want or do you need me to come back?"
"I'll just have coffee right now. I'm waiting for my Dad before I order."
The woman looked at the young man at the booth. "You don't look old enough to be drinking coffee."
"Claire, let the boy have coffee if he wants coffee." One of the men at the counter said looking at them. "When I was his age I had already had my first beer."
"I'm eight-teen. Its fine." Dean couldn't believe he didn't sound agitated. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the diner?
Claire smiled at him than headed behind the counter. "You are not suggesting I serve that boy a beer are you?"
"Don't be turning my words around on me." The man said. "The point was it was just coffee. Last I checked there wasn't a legal age for it." The man looked at Dean. "Son, since you're just having coffee why don't you join us up here at the counter?"
"That's alright...thanks. I'm fine right here."
The man patted the stole next to him. "It's alright. We don't bite."
Claire returned to the booth with Dean's coffee. "Only when they don't have their dentures in." One of the men made a biting sound at her.
Dean actually smirked at that. He got up and took his coffee up to the counter where he sat down next to the man who had spoke. He took a drink of the coffee and found it better than most places.
The man looked at Dean. "You a Wolverines fan?"
It took Dean a minute to realize just what he was talking about. "The football team?" The man nodded. "I've moved around so much I've never really gotten into sports."
The man dismissed his comment. "That's alright. We'll convert you. Just try to keep up." He looked at his friends. "Yes I know they've had a slow season, but if they get their act together they could make it to one of the final games."
"Football again? We need to find you guys a hobby." A teenage girl with dark hair and brown eyes walked out of the kitchen as she put her hair in a ponytail. She wasn't wearing a waitress's uniform, but instead had on an apron over jeans and a black blouse. "Don't you guys ever watch anything other than football?"
"TV Land." Answered the man next to Dean.
The girl rolled her eyes. "Not what I was talking about ED. I meant newer stuff."
"Faith," Dean choked on his coffee when the man next to ED spoke her name which got him a weird look from all of them. Dean kept his eyes down. The man continued. "What is it you watch that's in with the kids?"
"Good point, Ralph. I'm lucky if I watch anything that isn't Sesame street or horror movies." Faith hadn't really paid much attention to Dean when she entered. Raising a kid had matured her past the check out every hot guy in her immediate radius stage. Two women entered and Faith headed over to the table they sat down at.
ED looked at Dean. "Faith doesn't get out much. She's a beautiful young woman who needs a good man to take care of her." He looked Dean up and down. "You look like a hard worker. Got a girlfriend?"
Dean so wanted to crawl under his stole right now. "Uh no I don't, but I wont be in town long."
Claire rolled her eyes. "Leave the boy alone, ED. Our Faith does fine on her own. It's hard being a single mother." She watched the girl talk to the two women. "I'm just glade she has her Aunt and Uncle to help. I would love to find the boy who knocked her up though and give him a piece of my mind. I don't care how young they were. That little girl is half his responsibility."
Faith looked up from pouring the two women their coffee. "I can hear…" Her eyes spotted the Impala parked out front and she slowly turned towards the counter to look at Dean's back.
Claire looked at Faith than Dean.
Dean turned slightly on the stole and looked at Faith. All Faith had to see was those green eyes. The same eyes her daughter had. She had seen the Impala there last night, but didn't see Dean himself. Now she suddenly realized she couldn't deal with this as well as she thought she could. The pot slipped from her hands. Dean was off the stole quickly and caught it, one hand on the handle and one hand under the hot bottom to keep it from crashing to the floor. He quickly pulled his hand away from the bottom and stood back up. "I knew this would be awkward…If I had known you worked here I wouldn't have come here."
"Excuse me." Faith left him with the coffeepot and walked back into the kitchen.
Dean wanted to follow her, but decided against it. He didn't know what else to do so he finished pouring the two women their coffee than returned to the counter and handed Claire the coffeepot. "I need to get the check for my coffee. I better go."
Claire wasn't sure what was going on and wasn't going to be letting him out of her place without finding out. "Son, you better be telling me why my best worker just ran out of here."
What the hell. He might as well tell her. Dean smirked. "I'm the guy you want to give a piece of your mind to."
"I'm glade I stopped in here this morning." The third guy who he didn't know a name for yet spoke.
A scream sounded from behind the building. Dean almost reacted, but than heard the back door slam open and a few seconds later Faith returned to the front of the diner. She walked around the counter to where Dean stood. She hugged him. "Its great seeing you again, Dean."
"Yeah you too…Faith, can you let me go?"
She tightened the hug. "Remember the scene from Pet Sematary where Louis is waiting in his kitchen for Rachel to return from the dead and when she does he hugs her."
"Actually they were kissing and she had a knife in her hand. Are you planning on stabbing me in the back, Faith?"
She patted his back. "I would, but there would be too much blood to clean up and I have to be to school soon." She laid her head on his shoulder. Dean put his arms around her and held her. Faith suddenly remembered she was at work. "Oh uh I need to get back to work." She stepped back and saw the grin Claire and the guys were giving her. She headed back into the kitchen.
Dean sat back down on the stole. "Still planning on yelling at me?"
Claire shook her head. "Nah." She leaned on the counter and looked at him as the door to the diner opened again. "Just tell me this. You're a man now. What are you planning on doing now that you've just found the woman whose birthed your child?"
John stopped behind Dean and cleared his throat, hearing the question. "Dean, let's sit at a booth."
Dean grabbed his coffee and got off the stole. He stopped and looked at Claire. "It's not just my decision. Faith has a mind of her own. She's raised our daughter for the past four years, so she has more right to her than I do. When we decide she'll tell you if she wants to." Dean sat down in the booth his Dad picked. It was the same one he had been sitting in earlier. "Faith, works here."
Faith walked out of the kitchen with the two women's food than walked back behind the counter. She grabbed the coffeepot and two menus before walking over to Dean and John. "Hello, Mr. Winchester." Her tone was icy. She put the menus down on the table than poured him a cup of coffee. "Know what you want or do you need time?"
John went first, barely glancing at the menu. "Two eggs over easy and sausage. For Dean you might want to get another pad."
Dean shot him a look. "Same except I also want hash browns and bacon."
"With an appetite like that he's a keeper!" Claire yelled from behind the counter. John just shook his head.
Faith looked at Dean. "She's trying to marry us isn't she?"
He nodded. "I think she's already picking out dates in her head."
Faith groaned and turned around. "Claire, trust me. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" She headed into the kitchen.
John nodded towards the window and Dean saw two cars pull up. One a station wagon and one a sheriff cruiser. A woman got a little girl with blonde hair out of the station wagon and a man got out of the sheriff cruiser and walked towards them. Dean watched the little girl than looked at his Dad. "I think we better leave."
John placed a hand on Dean's arm. "Play it cool. It might not be her."
The Sheriff, Woman, and little girl entered the diner. "Hello, everyone." The Sheriff said in a greeting and the group sat in the booth behind Dean. The girl sat down next to the Sheriff, but leaned over the side of the booth and looked at Dean and John with stunning green eyes. She smiled at Dean than returned back to her own booth.
John chuckled. "You are so screwed."
Dean groaned. "I should have tried sleeping harder."
Claire went into the kitchen than came back out with a glass of chocolate milk and an iced tea on a trey. She grabbed the coffeepot as she walked. As she got to the table she suddenly realized this was not going to work. "Be a dear and put the glasses on the table." She said to Dean.
Dean froze, looking at his Dad than got up and took the glasses from the trey. He sat the iced tea down in front of the woman and the chocolate milk down in front of the little girl. The little girl gave him another questioning look and he returned to his seat.
"Thanks so much." Claire said, smirking as she poured the sheriff his coffee.
"Not a problem." Dean muttered quietly.
"We had some excitement here this…"
ED had seen Dean's discomfort and cleared his throat loudly. He elbowed Ralph next to him and Ralph seeing what was up started coughing. The third guy started patting Ralph on the back. "Good lord, Claire." He said playing along. "What on earth did you put in this coffee this morning?"
She looked at the three of them. "Just a little extra rat poison since the normal amount doesn't seem to be working."
The Sheriff smiled. "What excitement, Claire?"
"Bob here just got himself some viagra!" ED suddenly answered. "Yep he's one happy camper. Couldn't wait to tell us."
John shook his head and whispered across the table to Dean. "Made friends already I see."
"Apparently so."
Faith returned from the kitchen with their food. She paused as she saw the group at the booth behind Dean.
"Mommy!" The little girl jumped out of the booth and ran to Faith, hugging her legs.
"Mommy's going to drop the trey." Faith caught Dean's eyes and he watched the two of them. "You need to let go."
"Don't let go, runt. I got it." Dean got out of the booth and took the trey from her. He put the food down on the table than put the trey on the counter. He caught the Sheriff watching him as he returned to the booth with his Dad.
The girl grabbed Faith's hand and led her over to the table with her Aunt and Uncle. Faith mouthed at Dean a thank you. He nodded. Claire took down the order at the Sheriff's table and took it into the back.
The diner door opened and Sam entered. He looked around until he found Dean and his father. "You two could have waited for me." Dean refused to move over, so Sam slide in next to his father.
"And miss all this? I don't think so." John said after swallowing some egg.
Sam gave him an odd look. "Miss what? Dean, what is he talking about?"
"Just shut up, Sam. Please." Dean felt a slight shift in the weight of his seat and he looked down to his right to see Faith's daugh…His daughter sitting next to him. "Can I help you?"
She looked up at him with her green eyes. "What's that?" She pointed at his necklace.
"It's a symbol of the bull-man. It's a protection amulet."
He swore her eyes were looking right through him as she looked at him unblinking. It was eerie. "Why would you need protection?" Her eyes widened. "Are you a super hero?"
"Don't bother the customers, hunny." Faith said, pulling her daughter out of the booth. "Pancakes and orange juice, Sam?" She asked not realizing she called him by name.
Sam gave her an odd look. "Yeah…"
Faith headed into the kitchen.
The Sheriff looked down at his four-year-old niece as she squirmed in her seat trying to look at the two men and teenager in the booth behind him. Faith had known one of their names yet he didn't recognize them or the Impala or the truck that was parked out front. Sam and…Dean. The younger one called the young man Dean. Dean and Sam. Where had he heard those names? He removed a pad of paper from his pocket and a pen and wrote something on it. He showed the question to his wife.
"Um if I remember correctly I think his name was...Dean Winchester I think." She suddenly leaned across the table and whispered. "The kid behind you?"
The sheriff shrugged.
The little girl was peering over into the Winchester's booth. "Which one are you?"
"Which one em I what?"
The girl rolled her eyes at Dean like it should be obvious. "Which Super Hero. Are you Wolverine?"
Sam burst out laughing. "Is she serious?"
Dean looked at her. "Do I look like Wolverine?"
She seemed to really study Dean. "No…You're too young." She turned back around in the booth.
"At least she didn't think you were a Power Ranger." Sam offered as he grabbed a piece of bacon off Dean's plate.
Dean glared at him and took a drink of coffee. On the other side of where he was sitting the Sheriff whispered a question to the little girl and she leaned over again. "Are you Dean Winchester?"
At that moment Faith walked out of the kitchen with Sam's food and drink. She heard the question and caught Dean's eyes as she put the items on the table. She places a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Yeah. He is."
At that moment Claire came out with the food for the Sheriff's table and put it down. "Well now that that's out of the way…"
The Sheriff stood up and Faith pulled her daughter out of the booth as her Uncle exited it. "Not here." She hissed at him with pleading eyes. "Not now."
The Sheriff turned to the Winchester's table. "Dean, I want to talk to you later."
"I don't think…" John started, but Dean cut him off.
"After breakfast?"
The Sheriff nodded. "That will be fine." He got back into his own booth.
The four-year-old grabbed her food and put it on the table next to Dean's. She climbed into the booth and started eating. "If you're not Wolverine than which one are you?"
Dean thought about it as he ate some hash browns. After he swallowed he answered her question. "Ghost Rider."
