Author's Chapter Notes:
Dean meets his mistakes.
They drove straight through until they arrived in Tampa, Florida. Dean felt sick. The last thing he wanted to do was see her again. After everything that happened… He knew he was being a coward, but that girl aggravated the hell out of him. She was always nervous. She picked at her nails. She compulsively cleaned at all hours. She just could not sit still. It annoyed him. She irritated him. Maybe that is why he constantly degraded her to other hunters; he could not forget the waking nightmare.
He parked in an empty lot across from the deserted diner. It was midnight, two hours until closing. They sat and watched the servers clean.
"Can't hide forever boy." Bobby gave him a shove.
Dean slowly walked across the street. He had not seen her yet. The four waitresses he saw were pretty and pale. One had red hair, another was blonde, and there were two brunets. They all were sexy as hell. He remembered the women who worked at the diner five years before were also exceptionally attractive. Rebecca was brown and average. Average looks, average intelligence, and horrible in bed. There was not anything extraordinary about her. Well, she was extraordinarily scary. He shivered.
The bell tinkled when he walked in.
"Hey sexy, have a seat." The leggy blonde-haired woman led him to a corner booth.
"Actually I'm looking for someone." He took the water she offered and drained the glass. Her red shirt was really, low. Dean got a good glimpse of her perky breast when she leaned into him.
"Wow, if that isn't dread I don't know what is. I won't bite sweetie, unless you ask me too." She giggled. "Who are you looking for sugar?"
"Rebecca." She frowned.
"Are you sure? Because no one comes looking for Becca. Even her babies' daddy went running for the hills." He heard the other women laughing in the background.
"Is she here?" He tried to control his irritation. Did he have the right to be angry? He had said worse about her.
"No, but she's probably home with that Angel of hers. Gosh, that is such a cute baby. He looks nothing like his mother." Another round of giggles erupted.
He swallowed a smart reply. "Do you know where she lives? This is really important."
"Across the street, apartment number 415 C." She turned away. "Be careful sweetie. She's not as innocent as some people think that girl has claws."
"Thanks." He crossed the street even angrier then when he entered the restaurant. He looked at the car and pointed to the old brick building before rushing in. It was nice enough. White walls with dark wooden wainscoting. The lights were too dim. They created too many shadows. He liked her other place better.
There was no elevator in the entrance. He could not imagine walking up four flights of stairs with D.J. in his arms. Her unit was at the end of the dark hallway. Dean took a few deep breaths before knocking. There was no answer. He waited a few seconds then knocked again.
"God, do you know what time it is?" She screamed before she had even opened the door. She gasped when she saw his face. The face she tried to forget for nearly five years.
She was dreaming. It had to be a dream. Why was he back? What did he want? Was he going to try to take her son? She deleted the message he left and took a few days off from the diner. She asked the girls not to tell anyone where she lived. That worked well.
She looked the same, tall, slim, straight black hair, big brown eyes and like the time they spent together, she wore a long t-shirt with bunny slippers. He guessed to most people she would be pretty, but after Cassie Rebecca just seemed plain.
"Do we have a son?" His voice was harsher than he wanted. It was not how he had planned on asking her. He did not want a fight. He wanted to be smooth but his heart was pounding in his chest. He suddenly very angry.
"I have a son." She tried to close the door on him, but after years of dodging demons, he was very agile. He slipped past her easily. "Get out. Samuel."
"His not safe here." Dean looked around the gaudy apartment. It looked like a clown's paradise. The walls were a pale yellow with an assortment of circus animals painted on them. The furniture was the same dark brown he remembered. Children's books littered the space. Cassie would not have gone to bed with this mess. Of course, Rebecca would wake up at three in the morning to clean it all up. "There are things…"
"I know. That girl Bella told me. A least she gave me a heads up before she laughed at me." She gestured to the salt around the windows and charms that hung on the doors. "I can pick them can't I? Not only do I get an ass that sneaks out when I go get the breakfast he begged for, he lies about his name, job, oh, and he's being chased by monsters."
"I can keep him safe." He whispered shame washed over him.
"He was safe. No one knew who his father was." She shouted.
"He needs to be with me."
"What? You and Suzy Homemaker take my kid and she can pretend to be his mother. She said you have a family. You're not taking my son. Fuck you." Rebecca went to slap him, but he caught her hand.
He took a breath. "I want to protect you both."
"Why?" He looked confused. "Why me? Why out of every woman in that restaurant why did you choose me?"
"People in your building were dying. I knew it wasn't natural. I needed a way in that didn't look suspicious." He shrugged as he pushed the guilt away.
"Of course, Why else?"
"Look! We don't have time for this. Hate me if you want to but you and Mason are in danger. We need to leave." He dragged her to the window. "That's my car. My dad, brother, and uncle are waiting for us. When the demons find out about Mason they are going to slaughter you to get to him. Then they will skin him to get revenge. I swear I won't let that happen, but we need to leave now."
She opened her mouth to answer, but something caught her attention. The four waitresses from the restaurant were running across the street.
"That can't be good. Get Mason." He shoved her towards the only other door he saw. "Do you have a bag?"
"The black one in the hall closet." She came running out of the room with the sleeping child wrapped in a quilt.
Dean lifted the large bag. It was heavy. "Shoes?"
"In the bag." She adjusted the boy.
"Is there a back way out of here?" He opened the door and peeked out.
"The freight elevator." She grabbed a set of keys off the counter.
"Let's go." She led him around the corner to the elevator. Using her keys the heavy metal doors opened. Dean shoved her in and pressed the button for the lobby floor.
"No." She inserted another key. The lobby light went off. She pressed the basement button. "You need a set of keys to access the basement. Mrs. Drawer is out of town so she gave them to me. There's a set of stairs that leads out of the building near your car."
He nodded. The boy shifted in her arms. Dean resisted the urge to take the cover off his head and peek at his son. The elevator stopped with a jolt. He held out his hand signaling for her to wait. After checking the area, he pulled her out. She signaled for him to turn right. It only took seconds to find the outside door. Dean carefully opened it. When he was certain it was clear he pulled them through and rushed to the waiting car. He opened the driver's door to the Impala she slid in next to Sam. Dean tossed the large duffle bag through the back window.
"Didn't anyone notice the horde of demons racing for the apartment?" Dean screamed putting the car in drive and speeding off. The sudden loud noise woke Mason. His ear piercing shriek filled the car.
"Hey baby," Rebecca tucked the blanket around him. He pushed away from her and looked around confused, not breaking the screech. "Mason, look at mommy. See everything is fine. We're going for a ride. See the pretty car."
She stroked the dash. The sleepy three year-old mimicked her motions.
"Car mommy." He smiled tears still filled his chocolate eyes. "Vroom, vroom."
"Yes, sweet man." She kissed his black hair. He looked like her father. The child's wavy, pitch black hair hug past his shoulders, fair skin and brown eyes that dominated his face. He was beautiful. She loved him despite who his father was.
Dean clenched the steering wheel. He was angry. She shivered at the tension in the car. All the men were on edge and it created a precarious vibe around them.
Mason yawned. She pulled him back against her chest.
"Sleepy mommy." He rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, sweet pea." She continued to stroke his hair. "Go back to sleep baby."
"I'm sorry." Dean said. Rebecca was quiet. "We'll get a little further away then stop for the night."
The pair stared straight ahead neither was willing to speak.
After ten minutes, Dean broke the uncomfortable silence. "That's my brother Sam next to you. My dad, John, is behind me, and my Uncle Bobby. This is Rebecca and Mason."
"What's your real name?" Her tone was harsh. She was picking at her finger nails again. He gritted his teeth.
"Dean. Dean Winchester." He felt a rush of shame. "When did Bella contact you?"
"A month ago." Mason squirmed. "She came into the diner asking a lot of questions about that weekend. The girls were willing to tell her everything they knew, which was what they heard from their predecessors. The next day I spotted her outside my apartment talking to Mrs. Gamely, she watches Mason while I work. That night she came up with a case full of stuff. She told me about you and your family. The hunting, the women, your wife and children, and then she let it slip that not only am I the worst sex you've ever had, but I'm referred to as the waitress from Tampa…with a shudder."
"Rebecca…" He did not know what to say.
"Hey, it doesn't matter. I have Mason. For me the complete and abject humiliation was worth it." She picked at her finger nails. It annoyed him. She had all these habits that drove him crazy. Dean would have taken off after that first night, after he found the serial murder, but he caught a whiff of the thing he was hunting. A demon was possessing one of the tenants. It took him a few days but as soon as he ganked him he snuck out of the building never wanting to see that mistake again. Great story to tell your kid, 'I used your mother to kill a demon and made you, but I did not know it until nearly five years later because I lied about my identity. Oh, and half of the hunting world is laughing at that chick from Tampa. Just so you know."
"Dean, take the next left, there's a safe house fifteen minutes away." He silently followed his dad's instructions.
A hunter, Rufus Turner, got tired of other hunter's showing up at his door begging for a place to stay, so he offered up his old farm house for anyone who wanted to stay. There were just two rules, clean up after yourselves and pay the bills. It took off from there. In every state, there were at least three safe houses. It saved hunter's cash and helped the owners out with the utilities.
They pulled into the gravel drive. The place was small. It looked like it could barely hold all of them.
"Stay here, we'll check it out." They silently watched as the elder hunters swept the place. When John gave the all clear, Dean pulled the Impala into the narrow garage. Rebecca followed Sam into the house leaving Dean to get her bag.
"There's a room in the back. You can sleep there. I changed the linens." Bobby told her.
"Thanks." She moved down the narrow hall, Dean was behind her with the bag. A queen sized bed dominated the far wall. A pallet of blankets lay under the window.
"I can't be sure that something won't attack." She nodded. She expertly laid the boy on the bed and stretch out beside him. Dean kicked off his boots and hung his jacket on the back of the door. He could not fix this.
Chapter End Notes:
We learn a little more about Rebecca and Dean.