Three Weeks Later
Saigon
John Winchester sat in a rickshaw quietly as the driver steered him carefully through traffic. The war was going to end in less than a week and John was going to be on one of the last helicopters out of the country. He was thrilled to be going home alive, although he was still in shock over the deaths of his men. John knew that he was going to have to overcome his shock if he was going to be prepared for the battle to come. After the massacre at Xuan-Loc, John returned to camp and was sent to Saigon to give his statement about what happened. John expected to be court martialed and imprisoned. Instead, he was honorably discharged. Although he protested, it was made clear to him that no one wanted to hear his story.
Perhaps the worst evil of all, John thought, was ignoring that evil existed.
The rickshaw came to a halt in front of an apartment building that looked like it was falling down. Paying the driver, John jumped out of the rickshaw and stood in front of the building. Looking back at his address, John bit his lip and nearly considered climbing back on the rickshaw, but he owed this much to Dean.
Walking into the building, John climbed the stairs to the apartment. The apartment building smelled as though everything was rotting and John cringed at the idea that anyone actually lived here. Walking down the hall, John held his breath to deal with the stench of urine and cooking oil. He arrived in front of the door to the apartment and stood still. John hesitated to knock. He could not help but feel uncomfortable. Unbeknownst to him, Dean had a secret life that included a girlfriend and newborn baby. John was still in shock about that.
John found out about Dean's family when he asked his commanding officer in Saigon about taking back Dean's body to Kansas. Unlike John, Dean didn't have any family, so John took it upon himself to provide his best friend with a proper burial. The commanding officer took John aside and told him about Dean's Vietnamese girlfriend and baby. Hearing that story actually explained a lot about Dean's behavior prior to Xuan-Loc. At camp, Dean spent a great deal of time trying to learn Vietnamese and asked Vietnamese allies helping US soldiers to transcribe letters for him. When John asked what Dean was doing, Dean was purposely evasive.
Then one night, after mail call, John found Dean sitting in shock with a half-empty bottle of tequila. When John asked Dean what was wrong, Dean didn't respond, but spent the night reading a letter written in Vietnamese. John suspected that Dean had a Vietnamese lover, most servicemen did. These women did more than provide companionship; for many servicemen, these women eventually became mothers and wives to soldiers who failed to find love at home or who were looking for gentle submissive wives. John knew that Dean was not looking for either and had hoped to find some beautiful blond girl at home. The commanding officer in Saigon gave John a copy of Dean's letter translated into English. The letter was from Dean's girlfriend, and apparently, Dean was going to become a father.
Christ, John remembered thinking, no wonder Dean was so upset that night. Dean has suffered through a rough childhood with a demanding and somewhat abusive father. As a result, Dean never thought of having children himself. The idea, Dean told John, absolutely terrified him. Still, the commanding officer told John that Dean had requested to bring his girlfriend and their child to the states. Dean's death had put a halt to that and the girl and baby had ended up outcasts regulated to the edges of Vietnamese society. John begged for the girl's address and went to see her. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could do for the girl or the baby, but he was determined to try.
John finally summoned up the courage and knocked on the door. All that responded was silence and for a moment, he thought he had missed her. Then, John heard a soft shuffling and a crack of the opened door revealed one brown eye staring at him. For a moment, John was taken aback. He did not know how to respond to this girl and did not think to bring an interpreter. Still, the girl continued to stare at him, so John knew that he needed to say something.
"Hi," began John awkwardly, "I'm a friend of Dean's."
With that, the door opened and the girl stood there staring at John. Very softly and with accented English, she spoke. "You're John?"
Again, John was surprised. The girl noticed and smiled. "Dean talked about you a lot." With that, she gestured for John to go inside. Walking into the apartment, John felt immediately depressed. The apartment was dark with barely any light filtering through it. The furniture was old and looked as though it could barely support anything. Listening, he could hear the sound of the baby gurgling. John gritted his teeth. Dean would have hated this. John needed to get Dean's family out of here.
"You came here to help us?" asked the girl. John swung around and looked at her. Even in the dim light, he could see why Dean was so smitten. She was beautiful in an angelic way with dark eyes that were olive-shaped and plump full lips. She was looking at John with a face, which was tinged with sadness.
"How is your English so good?" he asked.
She looked embarrassed. "I studied English for Dean."
For a moment, the two looked at each other uncomfortably dancing around the issue of why John was there. John knew he was there more to satisfy his curiosity since the likelihood he could offer any real help to this woman was slim. The girl knew that John could not help her, but was curious to meet some of Dean's friends.
It was awkward.
Finally, John broke the silence by asking "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
The girl wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head. "No, the army is leaving." She looked at John with tears forming in her eyes. "There is nothing you can do for me."
John felt helpless. Again, he was letting Dean down and Dean's girl and baby were going to suffer for it. John moved to hug the girl, but she backed away. The two of them stared at each other until John broke the silence.
"Can I see the baby?" he asked.
The girl seemed relieved by his question and gestured toward the bedroom where the baby was lying in the crib. John was happy to see that this room had more light and a fan that was circulating a small breeze lifting the smells that permeated the rest of the apartment. Walking into the room, John went over to the crib and stared down at the baby. It was a girl with dark hair and Dean's green eyes. She was going to grow into a beauty like her mother. John felt tears sting his eyes. Dean would never know his daughter and John was sure that Dean would have fallen in love with her. Suddenly, John smiled through his tears. It was pretty ironic, he thought, that Dean would have a daughter. Dean the womanizer, thought John, who would have to protect his little girl from guys just like him. Life, thought John, had a way of coming full circle.
Turning, he saw that Dean's girl was standing there watching him. He smiled at her and said. "Your daughter is beautiful." "Dean would have been proud of her."
It was the girl's turn to cry. "I know." she responded.
"Please," pleaded John. "There has to be something I can do right now to help you."
Again, the girl shook her head at him. "No," she said softly coming over to the crib where he still stood. "I know there is nothing you can do." "Besides," she added. "I have help."
John looked surprised. Considering the conditions of the apartment, he wondered what help she was receiving. At that moment, John heard a movement behind him and turned. What he saw made him physically ill. It was the little girl he saw at Xuan-Loc. Looking at Dean's girl, he asked hoarsely, "How do you know her?"
The girl smiled. "After Dean died, my family threw me and the baby out." She nodded toward the little girl, who was staring at John with a smirk on her face, "She found me in an alley and brought me here."
Grabbing the girl's arm, John pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "That girl is a demon." Before he could say anything else, he found himself thrown back against the wall. The girl screamed in horror and grabbed the baby from the crib. The baby, who had been happily gurgling, was now screaming along with her mother. While John watched, the little girl balled up her fist and Dean's girl and baby both began choking. John tried to cry out and tried to move, but a force was holding him to the wall. Finally, Dean's girl and the baby collapsed on the floor and stop moving. The little girl walked over to their bodies and kicked both to make sure that they were not really moving. Then she walked over to John who was still held on the wall. As she approached John, her eyes moved from black to yellow.
"Son-of-a-bitch." said John out loud.
The girl grinned again and in perfect English said, "You really are the perfect adversary, John."
"For what!" John screamed. "What do you want from me?"
The girl cackled. "You're smart, resourceful and tough." "You're sons will be too."
That stopped John. Hathaway had mentioned John's sons. "What do my sons have to do with this?"
"Everything." the girl whispered. "Your son will lead an army of demons to destroy mankind."
John again tried to move, but was still frozen to the wall. Glaring at the girl, he snapped. "My son will never be a part of your army."
The girl laughed again. "He will." said the girl. "You will have no other choice but to kill him."
With that, the girl vanished. John collapsed to the floor and for a moment, he remained immobile. He had failed again. He had failed to save Dean and his men. He had failed to save Dean's girl and baby and for some reason, he inwardly knew that he would be unable to protect Mary and his kids from whatever was to come. Still, thought John as he forced himself up, he had to try and if nothing else, he could teach his boys to keep on fighting the battle after he was gone.
Walking over, he checked on the girl and the baby. They were dead. John let tears slip out. Gently, he shut their eyes. Getting up, John left the apartment. Surprisingly, no one came out into the hallway to see what was going on. Then John realized that the war had caused people to turn away from their neighbors. Besides, he thought angrily, who would care about a poor girl and her baby, especially since that baby was the product of a US serviceman. Still, John left the area as fast as he could and three days later he was on a plane to Kansas.