Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Autumn was certain the doctor was taking forever on her papers on purpose. When the Winchesters had all disperse leaving Athena and Autumn alone, the younger woman reached for the phone. The phone conversation with Billy-Jack left her shaken and feeling more vulnerable than she'd ever felt. He was so hurt and lost in his grief she didn't know what to say to him. Her lack of direction made her break down in tears and the two blubbered on the phone. Finally he asked if he could bring the girls by and she nearly begged him to.
As if to confirm her theory about the doctor's not so clever plan to keep her in the hospital a nurse came and moved her to a new floor. Athena followed like a puppy, eager to please it's master. She knew her sister was trying to be strong enough for both of them but Autumn didn't want pity. She wanted to be back behind the wheel of her mustang the cold metal of a gun pressing against her thigh through one of the holes in her favorite jeans. A hole she'd worn there, and was proud to have earned. She wanted to be where she was in control. Autumn didn't want her sister to fake strength. She'd need the real thing soon.
Dean settled into the spare bed in Autumn's new room. Autumn had sent them all home for the night but he lingered. They both knew he had plans to stay the night but neither addressed it. Her fingers worked her call light switch. She knotted and unknotted the cord that held it to the wall. Every once in a while she'd pull it and the alarm would go off. At which point she'd spring out of bed shut it off then lean into the wall and curse. He could see tears brewing each time but they never fell. There was a new respect for her building with in him and he wanted so badly to douse it. Something about it led him to say stupid things and linger in a hospital room he despised. Again the alarm went off and she leapt from her bed.
"Aren't you taking those pills the nurse brought?" he asked as she pushed herself into the wall and bit her lip. When the pain subsided she looked up at him.
"No." she eased herself back into bed and wrapped the cord back around the railing of her bed, the way the nurse had, had it.
"Why?" he wondered.
"Why should I take meds that are going to make me think Trix and Lucky are about to show up and steal me lucky charms and take away my trix yogurt cup?"
"Yogurt makes you vomit." he reminded her. She tossed him a gentle smile.
"That's not the point. Last time I was on pain meds I shot holes in a motel wall. Because I thought the energizer bunny was going to kill me. I see things on medications." Dean shook his head.
"You've been on them all week."
"I've also only been conscious how much of that time? Dean I dreamed I was a fly going into a bug zapper that isn't normal." she ran her heeled fingers through her short cropped hair.
"I like your hair." she cocked her brow at him a cruel grin played at her lips and for a moment he thought she'd tease him. Instead the grin faded taking the glitter in her eyes with it.
"I hate it. I haven't had my hair this short since I was seven and Athena stuck an entire pack of Winterfresh in my hair." he saw her trying to catch her reflection in the window.
"It looks fine." he assured her.
"I look like a freak don't I?" since she'd poured beer in his lap at the bar all those weeks ago he hadn't heard such uncertainty in her voice.
"No, Autty. You look just fine. You are barely scarring at all. Just a little pinker than normal in most places."
"You're just saying that." she dismissed his words.
"Why do you ask my opinion if you're not going to take it?"
"This is pure hell." she groaned. Dean sighed and got up to scoot his bed closer to hers. "What on earth do you think you're doing Winchester?"
"Here." he climbed back in bed then held out his hand. "Hold this and go to sleep. Or at least stop your bitching." she was hesitant but she flicked out the light above her bed, curled on her side, and took his hand. Dean's light had never been on so he just relaxed back into his pillows and closed his eyes. He'd nearly reached dreamland when a soft voice called him back.
"Dean?"
"hmmmn" he grunted.
"Thanks." Autumn gave his hand a squeeze. "You're too good."
"You can pay me back later." he returned the squeeze and was soon rewarded with her gentle snoring. He fished his phone out of his pocket and found the record feature.
"I do not snore!" the nurses all flinched.
Billy-Jack pulled his girls closer to him. Their eyes were red and puffy, clutched in their tiny arms were the dolls they'd received a few days ago. It all seemed like a life time ago. Billy-Jack struggled to remember the good times. Times when his daughters wore smiles and sang stupid little songs about sunshine and lollypops. He woke up several times a night to a cold spot in bed next to him. He's run his fingers over the cool sheets before pushing himself out of bed. Nick wasn't around anymore so he'd check on the girls when he realized he wasn't going to find his son or wife.
"You do snore listen to this." Billy-Jack held his girls to him as they stood in the doorway. Dean was sprawled out on the foot of Autumn's bed. Sam and Athena had taken up the other one and a big burly man was tucked into a chair by the window watching the other four as if they could suddenly disappear and never come back.
"Autumn, I love you. But baby you snore." Athena said. She was trying to do Jacob's Ladder on Sam's fingers but she never had perfected the art and was just knotting the two together.
"Whatever." Autumn folded her arms across her chest and stuck out her lower lip. "You're all a bunch of ass holes."
"We might be ass holes but you love us." Athena countered.
"Red, I think you've got visitors." the big guy said nodding toward the door. Billy-Jack released his daughters who ran into the room and tackled Dean.
"UNCLE DEAN!" they screamed. Dean's arms flew up around the girls purely instinct.
"Hey! How's my girls?" he asked. Kayla hugged his neck then crawled up the bed to sit next to Autumn while Kelly settled into his lap and Kendra jumped to the next bed to sit in Sam's lap and correct her aunt's Ladder.
"Is you okay?" Kayla asked Autumn her fingers delicately playing across Autumn's bandaged arms.
"I'll be fine. Might look a little funny, but I'll make it." Autumn gave the girl a one armed hug and Billy-Jack knew it hurt her because he saw the lightening flash in her eyes. Eyes that were locked on him like a target missile. "How are you B.J.?" He screwed up his nose.
"You've not called me B.J. since we were…. In a long time." she smirked at him.
"How are you?" she repeated. The air was hostile. He could feel most of this hostility coming off Dean like stink waves in a cartoon.
"I'm managing." he lied. He never knew what he was about to do. At first he thought he could drowned it all out by drinking but his mom refused to by more beer after he went through a six-pack in a hour. Now he just watched his daughters. He didn't know how to comfort them but he could watch them. At first sign of danger he could tuck them around him and get them to safety.
"Good." she offered a weak smile.
"How 'bout you?" he watched her tentatively stretch her arms and flex her fingers.
"I'm stiff, and my heart feels like its been through a paper shredder. I haven't been able to swallow anything solid without it feeling like a bunch of razors since I woke up and Dean says I snore."
"You do snore. Used to wake me up." Billy-Jack wanted to tease her but couldn't find the umph so it ended up sounding like he was just stating the facts.
"You hear them Kayla? They're being mean to me."
"Ooo poor Aunty Autty." Kayla reached up and started running her little fingers through Autumn's hair.
"Uncle Dean, you have to be nice." Kelly said giving Dean's leg a swat.
"That's my uncle Dean." Kendra warned her sister.
"What am I chopped liver?" Sam whined teasingly.
"No, you're a hunter-man silly." Kendra patted Sam's hand.
"Teenie, who is he?" Kayla asked pointing towards the big man in the corner.
"That's Sam and Dean's dad, John." Athena said her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"So that's Grandpa John?" Kelly asked.
"Sure." John said. "And who are you little princesses?"
"I'm Kayla."
"Kelly."
"and I'm Kendra." the girls introduced themselves. "And that's our daddy, Billy-Jack." As soon as he'd heard the name Billy-Jack knew the man. John's eyes rolled over him, sizing him up, and decided how exactly to kill him.
"I know your dad." John acknowledged.
"Did you know Mommy?" John nodded.
"Yes, I knew Martha. But she was about your age last time I saw her."
"Grandma Bitch says she went far far a way." Kelly said nestling deeper into Dean's lap.
"KELLY! We don't call Grandma a bitch." her father scolded.
"Athena does." Athena blushed and bowed her head.
"Autumn, where did Mommy and Nick go?" Kayla asked. Autumn took a deep breath before she answered and everyone knew she was trying to think up what she'd been told when her own mother had died.
"Mommy and Nick went to live with God."
"At church?" Kendra asked.
"No, in heaven. But she can still see you, and is still with you." her eyes fell on each of the girls a loving gaze caressing each child. "She'll always be with you."
"How?" Kelly asked.
"Because you love her and she loves you. When we love someone they can never really leave us. If we're lucky the don't become ghosts they go off to live with God and watch over us like guardian angels. But even then if you ever need them all you have to do is close your eyes and listen to that little voice inside and you'll hear them. Sometimes it's really hard but they're always there, in your heart." Autumn's voice was quaking and she had to pause to get a hold of herself.
"Are they okay?" Kayla asked. Autumn smiled and nodded.
"You know, what? I bet they're sitting up there just fine, but they're a little sad. Do you know why?" each of the girls shook their heads. "No? Well, they're sad because you're sad. They don't want you to be sad. Because they're still with you even though you can't see them. They don't want you to be sad because they're in a good place now. A place where no one can ever hurt them again. Any problem they ever have will be solved in a half hour every week, and nothing bad really does happen." the girls seemed to like this idea.
"What does heaven look like?" Kendra asked.
"I bet it has pretty gardens like Mommy always wanted." Kelly said.
"And a humongous play room for Nick." Kayla added excitedly.
"No one knows what it really looks like. But I think it looks different for everyone. I think Mommy has huge beautiful gardens to get lost in and little Nick has all the toys and little kids he could ever want to play with. When I leave to go live there do you know what my heaven looks like?"
"What?" Kelly questioned Autumn.
"Mine looks like a big ole farm, with bunches of horsies, and moo-cows. There are rabbits that run wild and several big dogs. The house is planted in the woods and every morning if you get up just a sunrise you can see the deer drinking from the stream in the front yard." the girls giggled.
"Can I come live with you there?" Kendra asked.
"Nope, but you can come visit sometimes. But I don't want to go there for a very long time and you girls aren't going to be there for a very long time after I leave." Billy-Jack was glad to see Autumn loved the girls so much. There was something important he had to talk to her about. Something that was going to affect his life and his girls beyond words.
"Okay. Aunt Teenie, will you tell us about the Hunter King again?" Kayla asked.
"Yea, how about we go get ice cream in the cafeteria and I'll tell you girls and Dean and Sam the story too." Kayla slivered out of the bed and went to John and grabbed his hand.
"You need to come too Grandpa John." John grabbed the girl up tossing her playfully in the air.
"Then lets go. I want to hear this story." he said settling the girl into his arms. Kayla giggled gleefully, all her worries seemed forgotten.
"Will you be okay?" Dean asked hesitating before following Athena, Sam, John, and the girls out.
"Dean, go. I'm a big girl." Autumn shooed him away. He glared at Billy-Jack before he left. "Spill it. You've been watching me. So what's up?"
"They read Martha's will yesterday." Autumn nodded. "You signed papers saying if anything ever happened to Martha that you and Athena would take custody of all of Martha's children."
"Billy-Jack, you're not capable of raising kids. Martha was scared you'd just beat the shit out of her and she wanted to make sure the kids got out of that sort of environment if she died."
"So are you taking my kids away?" Autumn folded her legs under her and patted the bed. Billy-Jack took over Dean's vacated seat.
"I can't take them right now. I want to, but I can't. So, let's make a deal."
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I want you to stop drinking. A beer every now and then fine, but not the way you normally drink. I want you to go to anger management classes and to for you and the girls to go to family counseling. I'd really like Mom to get help too but I know how she is. Bjers, I love those girls and I don't want anything to happen to them. If I was able to stop what I was doing and settle down to do the mommy thing I would, but I can't."
"Is there anything else?" he asked watching her try and grub up more conditions.
"You move out of your parent's house. You still have my farm, so build a new house further away, or get a house in town. But you only need to see your folks once a week. Maybe do Sunday dinners or something, but not over there everyday. Josh and Kit would love more time with them have them go there after school. They need to see their uncles too. I'll send you the insurance money when it comes in." Autumn took his hand in hers. "If anything happens, the girls get sick or you need a shoulder to cry on, call me. You're still my family. You're an ass and what you did is going to take a long time before we can even be friends but if you need me just call."
"Kendra butt on the seat." Athena told the girl. "Okay, thank you."
"Story time?" Kayla asked snuggled close to John. Athena had to hold back a laugh seeing John so close to something so small and innocent, it wasn't a fitting picture.
"Yea, okay. Once long ago there lived a handsome man. He had a beautiful wife and two wonderful sons. They had a perfect life. The man worked hard everyday and his wife took care of their sons. The older one loved to play tee-ball and had many friends, and the younger one was just a baby but it was already clear that he was bound for better things, that he was a smart boy. But one night as the wife and sons were sleeping and the man was watching TV a stranger showed up in the baby's room."
"What were they're names?" Kendra interrupted. Athena looked at the Winchesters, no point in stopping now.
"The handsome man's name was John, and his beautiful wife was Mary. The oldest son was Dean and his little brother was Sammy." Athena told the girls. "Now, the stranger showed up in Sammy's room and little Sammy started crying. Quickly Mary ran to comfort her son but the stranger killed her and burned down the whole house. John just managed to get his sons out and to safety. John swore he'd find the stranger and kill him for what he'd done. So John started in mission bringing his boys with him. He trained the young boys to be good hunters. Their prey was stronger and smarter than any deer or wild turkey, their prey was ghosts, and demon, ghouls and goblins, the scary creatures of the night. John quickly became the best hunter around and was dubbed King Hunter. His sons were given the title of princes. They wander the earth now searching for the thing that killed Mary and one day they'll kill it. But until then they hunt lesser evils."
"Where are they now?" Kelly asked.
"Did they ever meet any beautiful princesses?" Kendra wondered.
"Sammy did. He met a wonderful beautiful princess, but the stranger saw that Sam was happy and had abandoned the life the stranger wanted him to have so he went after Sammy's princess and he killed Princess Jessica." Athena felt Sam go stiff next to her.
"What about Dean did he ever find a princess?"
"I know this story." Dean cut Athena off before she could answer. "Dean met several amazing women but none of them were just right. But one day he met two huntresses. They were powerful, strong willed women that could easily have any man they wanted but neither of the huntresses wanted a man. Instead they wanted Prince Dean and Prince Sammy to come home and meet these three princesses."
"What were their names?"
"Kendra, Kelly, and the shy little Kayla. But they were very young. So Prince Dean and Prince Sam swore that they would protect the young princesses. Until one day they were ready to go off and find princes there own age."