I wanted to thank CeCe Away, , timetowaste247, and Live love and laugh, who have left me reviews.
Also thanks to everyone who has put this story on alert or favourited it. It really helps to know that people are reading, I just hope that you guys are enjoying it as well.
I think there will only be two more chapters and maybe an epilogue before this story is finsihed. I hope that you all will stick with me until then.
Thanks again,
jem.
It took Samantha the better part of an hour to convince Castiel to bring her to Lawrence. Even then he only did so under the agreement that Samantha was not going to go with Dean to help Sam, but simply wanted to be near when her father brought her injured uncle home.
Like hell I'm going to do that, Samantha thought as the angel grumbled something about the importance of keeping the angelic weapons out of demonic hands. For an angel he sure does whine a lot, she thought as Cas reached, Samantha braced herself for the jolt.
It had taken Dean all of ten minutes to calm down enough to realize that he shouldn't have left Samantha behind. Dean had known that she hadn't meant what she said, she was just acting out of fear, but he had been so angry that he had just left. Now, he would be much happier to have his little girl safe beside him instead of holed up miles away. Dean chuckled to himself quietly, she really couldn't be called little anymore and would have rolled her eyes at him for it.
He wasn't sure how it happened but Samantha had grown up to be a mixture of Sam and Dean. Every once and a while he saw flashes of Susan in her, but that girl was a Winchester. She had the same stubbornness and will, fiercely loyal to those she called family. He had often thought that his Dad would have loved her had he been around. Dean was sure that Sam would have thought the world of her, they were alike in so many ways. Without ever meeting him, Samantha had taken after her namesake, with a healthy dose of her dad as Bobby used to tell him.
Dean knew that it was too late to go back for Samantha, time wasn't on his side and he needed to get to Sam. In truth it would be a good thing to know that she was out of the crossfire so he could focus on getting to Sam.
When he was about 10 minutes outside of Lawrence, Dean felt the cell in his pocket start to vibrate. He flipped it open and was not surprised to see Samantha's caller id. She must be worried already, he thought as he answered the phone.
"Hey Dad, I'm in Lawrence can you pick me up?" It took Dean a few seconds to process her request.
"Lawrence? How did you get here before me?" He asked, on some levels worried about the answer.
"I took Angel Air." She said with a small laugh, then not sensing any lightness from her father, she explained. "I talked Cas into zapping me here."
Dean felt the wave of uneasiness at Samantha being alone in the same town as the demon who had Sam. "Okay, where are you?" Dean asked.
Five minutes later Dean felt much calmer as Samantha settled into her usual place in the passenger seat of the Impala. Neither had given a verbal apology, both felt the silent one which passed between them was enough to repair any damage. Dean knew Samantha better then anyone else and he knew that her coming to help was her way of asking for forgiveness.
They found the warehouse surprisingly easily, it was boarded up and looked as if no one had graced the property in many years, but looks could always be deceiving.
After a brief argument Samantha crept up to the decrepit building, moving from shadow to shadow to remain out of sight. Dean had wanted to be the one to scout out the location, mainly to keep his daughter out of harms way, but Samantha's smaller and slighter frame would be more likely to go unnoticed. True to her word, within minutes Dean lost sight of her despite the fact that she had been his complete focus. I guess I taught her well.
Still, it took all of his stubborn will to remain quietly inside the impala.
Ten minutes passed without any change to the deserted yard, then a movement near the chain link fence caught his eye. He could tell that the figure was female but Dean still allowed his hand to tense around his gun. Near the opening of the fence the figure was forced to move completely into the light of a street lamp to reach the exit. Dean's grip relaxed as his daughter squeezed quietly out of the hole in the fence.
He only allowed the sigh of relief when she climbed into the passenger seat, careful not to slam the door for fear of someone hearing. Samantha settled herself into the passenger seat in her usual way. Her knees pressed up against the dash, back turned slightly to press against the door.
"So, what did you find?" he asked in a surprisingly unsteady voice, unsure if his nerves were because he was so close to Sam or because Samantha was so close to danger.
"I found Sam." Samantha answered not attempting to dodge the most important detail or soften the blow it was to her father. It was time to think like a hunter and not like his family was on the line. "They are holding him in a room around the back. He's placed in the centre of the room, still strapped into that chair. There seems to be an entrance from a door off to the side, but there is a goon watching it."
Dean nodded his head, picturing the scene in his head and running through possible scenarios. Samantha did not say anything, he knew that she was doing the same thing. Really it was quite simple, they had to find a way to distract the goon long enough to sneak in and get Sam out of there. The trouble was finding a way to do this without alerting everyone of there presence or throwing one of them to the demons.
All he wanted to do was burst in there and take out as many demons as he could while Samantha sneaked in unnoticed to free Sam, but he knew that he would be the only one happy with that plan. Samantha had been right in the hotel about one thing, Dean was the only person she had at this moment and if he felt the icy grip of fear at the thought of what she may do if she lost her father.
Dean had known long ago that he was the most important person in Samantha's life. She had always been able to make friends, but their nomadic lifestyle had made it hard for her to ever be close to them. It had never seemed to bother her, not as long as she had her father and Bobby near she was happy. In this he had to admit that she was truly his daughter.
"Okay, I might have a idea." Samantha's voice broke into Dean's thoughts. "What if one of us bless the water in the main tank that's attached to the fire extinguishers. Then light the far side of the building away from Sam on fire." Samantha ran her hand threw her blond curls distractedly, a tell for those that knew her that she was nervous or uncertain. She's afraid to disappoint me after our fight? Dean thought as the corner's of his mouth crept downward. Once Sam is safe, I will make sure I tell her that she didn't do anything wrong.
Dean smiled reassuringly. "That might just work Sammy girl, and we could cook some demons well done while we are at it." Dean's smile widened as Samantha coloured with happiness that her father's praise.
After working out the logistics of the plan, the Winchesters moved to the trunk to collect their weapons. Dean took his favourite gun, Ruby's knife and a rosary, because he had decided to bless the water supply in order to keep Samantha out of the line of fire. He made sure that his zippo was in his coat pocket, then looked up to see Samantha place the Colt in her waist band. For a moment Dean felt panic surge through him, how could a father put his child in danger?
Samantha lifted her head to meet his eyes, determination clearly shining out of her green eyes. He knew that she would do whatever it took to put their family back together and it warmed Dean's heart as well as terrified him all at once. Dean knew just how far the Winchesters could be forced to go for those they loved.
"You get in and get Sam out Samantha, understand? Don't wait for me inside for any reason." Dean said watching his daughter intently. Neither broke their gaze until Samantha nodded a little resignedly to her father's order.
With that Dean stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful." his voice sounded surprisingly quiet.
"You too." Samantha's answer was frightened and made her seem so much younger.
Dean moved forward and pressed a quick kiss into her hairline above her forehead. He felt her lean into his touch, his little girl always finding comfort in her father's presence, as if he could fix everything.
Dean pulled away and forced his face into his trade mark smirk. He noted that Samantha reflected the same expression back at him. They were ready to battle for their family.
Samantha pressed her back against the damp bricks of the old warehouse, her entire figure molding into the shadows so that only someone looking directly at her would notice the difference. Her father had said to wait 5 minutes after she was in position before entering the building. Three minutes had already passed and she had not heard any kind of disturbance yet.
Shortly there was a yell of surprised pain that was muffled by the heavy door as an alarm began to howl. Samantha shrank back as the door burst open and Sam's guard bolted out the door, the sizzling of his skin filling the night air.
After a moment of pained panting the demon took off in the direction Dean had disappeared, obviously setting out to find the arsonist.
Samantha waited three heart beats before she moved towards the door. She had to pull on it with her whole weight to get the metal door to budge, but she was able to enter the room pretty quietly.
There across the room from her was her uncle Sam, looking back at her intently. She suddenly found that she could not move forward. After years of imagining this moment, after witnessing how much Sam cared about her, she found that she was afraid to be found unworthy.
Sam squinted at her, as if he could not trust his eye sight. His eyes widened as he recognized the form of his niece. Quickly he shot his head around to check for any immediate danger then in a hoarse whisper said, "Samantha."
That was all she needed to snap out of it and move determinedly towards the bound man. With each step forward, Samantha felt her usual confident act returning to her. By the time she had stepped up to Sam she had a cocky smile on her face, all insecurity pushed so far down that she could have imagined that it had never been there in the first place.
"Hi Uncle Sammy," she said as she pulled her knife out of her boot to free him from his bounds. "It's really great to see you and all, but let's hold off the whole 'nice to meet yous' until we get you out of here, huh?"
Sam was watching her steadily, his eyebrow rose at her words. Samantha wondered if he was seeing his brother in her or if she was just shocking him in general.
He seemed to decide to ignore her words. "You have to to get out of here. It's not safe for you to be around demon's because..." Sam broke off suddenly unsure of how to tell his niece his worse fear for her.
Samantha had broken through the ropes around her uncles hands and had moved to his feet. She paused a moment in her work to raise her head and met Sam's worried face steadily.
"Uncle Sammy, I know.." She faltered unsure of how to explain exactly what she was saying. She knew what she was, what the demons wanted with her or what Sam had done for her. Looking into Sam's eyes she felt certain that he understood her without more explanation, so she settled to simply nod her head. "I know." Samantha repeated.
Sam sighed heavily, as if a huge weight was forcing it's way out of his lungs. "Does Dean know?" He asked after a moment of heavy silence, Samantha's focus returned to freeing her uncle.
Samantha knew that this was the most important answer to Sam. He had worked for hard to protect his brother and his family, given so much for them. Without raising her head she spoke, forcing her voice to remain light. "No I just found out today, I wasn't going to tell him. I wanted to make sure that you had the honour, because my dad sometimes has the tendency to shoot the messengers."
Samantha smiled to herself, as she heard a small chuckle break from her uncle. "You know me for two minutes and you are already putting me in front of the firing squad?"
Samantha pulled back, having finally freed Sam. She grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet, his muscles tensing from having been unable to move for so long he leaned heavily into her.
"That's what family's for uncle Sammy, to put each other in their place." She said as they began to shuffle towards the door. "After the 22 year stunt you pulled, you deserve whatever Dad has planned for you. So you better just take it."
"Gladly." Sam answered and Samantha knew that as long as he could see his brother Sam would take whatever flak that came his way.
The pair fell into silence as they reached the door, both knowing from years of hunting that silence was key to going unnoticed. Sam took one of Samantha's guns leaning against the frame of the door, while Samantha moved into position on the opposite side. Their eyes met across the door and silently both counted to three before Samantha threw her shoulder into the door and it opened with a loud creak.
Samantha froze in the doorway for a moment, all her senses focused to alert her of any oncoming attacks. The stillness of the yard continued and Samantha turned to help Sam make his way out the door.
The journey wasn't long but Sam's injuries and his bulk made the going slow. They both were thoroughly out of breath when they collapsed beside the impala. Samantha helped Sam lean against the cool metal on the side opposite the warehouse so that they were hidden by the car.
Sam absently patted the side of the car, a spread across his face. Samantha rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're as bad as Dad. It's a car guys."
Sam chuckled. "I have a lot of memories with the impala. This car helped me get through the worst moment of my life."
After studying his face for a moment, Samantha nodded in understanding. She glanced over the roof, searching for any sign of her father returning. The yard was empty.
Samantha crunched back down with a huff of annoyance. Maybe she should take Sam and get him to a hotel to take care of his wounds, but she just couldn't bare to leave her father behind. He could yell at her all he wanted later as long as he came back in one piece.
"We should wait for Dean." Sam's voice broke into her musing. His face was expressionless but Samantha somehow knew that he was taking the blame from her, that he could not stand the thought of leaving without Dean either.
"So, how long did you find out?" Sam did not need to explain to what he was referring, it must have been on his mind since she had attempted to knowing about being an angel reliquary.
She answered avoiding Sam's eyes. "Castiel showed me so that I wouldn't come here to save you."
She sneaked a glimpse of Sam through her cover of hair, but he did not seem surprised by Castiel's betrayal. "We decided that if ever you were getting too close to the demon who attacked you back when you were six we would find a way to stop you." Sam said matter of factually. An amused look crossed his face. "I guess Cas' method didn't really work, since you're here anyway."
Samantha shrugged with an apologetic smile. "It kind of made me want to come even more," she admitted.
Sam rested his head back against the side of the car. Perhaps it was the colourful array of bruises across his face and neck, but for a moment Samantha thought that he looked defeated. She moved forward so that she was sitting directly in front of him as she tried to organize her feelings.
"Sam," she started uncertain of how to exactly explain her reasons. "I saw what you did for Dad and me. You have been my hero since as long as I can remember. I always dreamed of getting to know my uncle who saved the whole world, just so that he could save my dad. When I saw that you gave up your happiness just because you wanted to keep me safe.." she trailed off, turning away to wiping the tears that had begun to silently slide down her face. "How could I give up on you when you never gave up on me?"
Samantha lifted her eyes to met those of her uncle and was surprised to see matching tears creeping their way down his cheek. Sam with his face open showing how much the years without family had cost him, reached out one arm to Samantha and found herself falling into his arms.
Sam leaned his face into his niece's hair and wrapped his arms tightly around her, part of him afraid that she could be taken away after so many years apart. She buried her face in his shoulder, careful not to upset any of his injuries, Samantha felt safe and happy. For the first time since the email, Samantha had a sense that everything would be alright.
A rustle of gravel made Samantha pull away, all her senses suddenly alert. Someone was just on the opposite side of the impala. They would be on them in a second. She grabbed the Colt. With a glance at Sam who had tensed even from his position slumped on the ground, Samantha leaned over the front of the car levelling her gun on the oncoming attacker.