Author's notes: Thanks 'sammyluvr83' for your review. And thanks 'IheartJA' for your awesome and very helpful review! I see your point about Sam completly and I agree. So yeah, guess I'll get to work on that! :) And yeah, we are starting to get into some much bigger plots and events. Some being more emotional and plunging everyone back on that bumpy "rollarcoaster" The events near the end of this chapter were originally planned for a bit later but I was unsure as to how I was going to add it in...so I decided to add it now since I thought it fit well. Thanks so much for your thoughts and ideas, it's really helpful and motivating!
Chapter Seven: Having Doubts
'So you really can get all the stuff we need?' Rachel asked Bela. 'I mean: it's expensive stuff'
'I'm aware' Bela sighed. 'Shouldn't be a problem. Now why do I get a feeling we're not sitting in some coffee shop for the coffee?'
Rachel sighed and hung her head. 'Because there is an ingredient that is very important, but not on the list' she shrugged. 'One I can't get'
'Which is…?'
'I need ashes of bone…from Dean's father' Rachel explained. 'And from what Dean has told me…he's dead, torched'
'That does complicate things' Bela said. 'And the ritual won't work without it?'
'Nope, I don't think so. But we can't take any chances. There is one other alternative though and that's if I use a different part of the ritual. I mean, there are two different ways to do it and one way is with John's bone ashes…the other is with…well, something else. They call it the blood stone, or something?'
Bela caught onto what she was saying and she was familiar with the "stone".
'You know, Dean Winchester isn't exactly that impressive…why the need to save him?' she wondered.
'You met Aiden right?' Rachel asked; she knew that without Bela's help…saving Dean was a losing battle. Because to go through the pain required to save him also included another item from Bela.
'Yes' Bela nodded. 'He's your son?' she guessed.
'He looks a lot like Dean, doesn't he?' she asked. 'You know what they say: like father, like son'
'Are you suggesting that Aiden is Dean's…?' Bela was shocked, she had not seen this one coming, nor had she heard anything about it from her reliable sources.
'It's not a suggestion' Rachel sighed. 'Look, will you help…or not?'
'I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement' Bela nodded, smirking a little.
The three boys glanced up as the girls came back into the motel room about another hour or so later. Bela and Rachel were laughing loudly about something but once they saw the shocked looks they were getting, they stopped.
'Ah…we're back' Rachel said and Sam nodded, turning back to the research nervously.
'Dean?' she asked as he had a look of pure shock and disbelief on his face.
'Rachel' Sam spoke and gave her a gesture to come over.
'Hm?' she asked and went over to where he was sitting at the table.
'What?' Bela asked as she shut the door and Dean was still giving her an odd look.
'Nothing' Dean lied at turned to Aiden, whom was watching Bela closely, gripping the shogun.
'We have a-' Sam went to explain the "Blood of the son, bone of the father" situation, but Rachel cut in.
'Yeah, I know' Rachel nodded casually. 'There are two ways to do the ritual and that is just one way, don't worry. Bela and I have discussed the other way and all is going to go to plan'
'Speaking of which, I must be going' Bela said, glancing down at her watch. 'I'll be in touch, ciao'
'I'm bored' Aiden complained, now that Bela was gone and he didn't need the gun anymore.
'Ah yeah, there's something I need to tell you Aiden' Rachel sighed. 'Dean and I have to go take a short trip…to get one of the ingredients, but you need to stay here with Sam'
'Why?' Aiden asked.
'Just trust me okay?' Rachel told him firmly.
'Okay' he sighed.
'Where are we going?' Dean asked and started packing his things away, sensing the urgency of the situation.
Rachel didn't answer him but went over to Sam.
'I need some of these' she said, grabbing a few papers but Sam was the only one that noticed her slipping a note into his jacket pocket. 'Aiden should be in bed by 8:30 and pizza should fill him up fine'
'Wait, you're going to be gone all night?' Sam frowned. 'What-'
'Yes, just…thanks' she gave Sam a quick kiss on the cheek and then hugged Aiden tightly. 'Be good' she told him firmly, kissing his forehead. 'We'll be back as soon as possible'
'Okay' he nodded and then glanced at Dean, a bit sadly.
Rachel nudged Dean and he went over to Aiden.
'If you ever need us, just call okay?' he asked.
'I will' Aiden nodded, sitting there awkwardly.
'Good boy' Dean smiled; placing a hand on his son's head before turning to leave.
Sam looked over as Aiden watched his parents leaving and just looked very sad. He bit his lip and his shoulders shook slightly, which Sam knew meant he was trying not to cry.
'Hey, how about you come help me sort some of this stuff out?' Sam offered. 'I need someone smart, and about this tall' he held his hand up to where Aiden's height reached.
Aiden looked up and smirked a little. 'I'm smart, and that tall' he got up, coming over.
'Really, think you can handle it?' Sam challenged a bit playfully.
'Yeah!' Aiden said louder, smiling. 'I'm awesome' he joked.
'Well in that case, you better get to work kiddo' Sam smirked as well and pointed to the chair opposite him.
Dean turned the steering wheel again on Rachel's command and sighed. They had been driving for over and hour but she still hadn't said where exactly they were going.
'Rachel…where-'
'There!' she yelled a bit and he screeched to a halt. Dean sighed and looked out his window, seeing a large museum in front of them, which was close to closing time by the looks of it.
'A museum?' Dean raised an eyebrow at her. 'What? Are we breaking in…?'
'Are you nuts?' she frowned, getting out of the car.
'Not as much as you' he muttered and rushed to catch up with her.
'Mr Hawkins?' Rachel asked the security guard at the front. He looked at her suspiciously but didn't reply, so Rachel presumed he was the guy she was looking for.
'I spoke to your daughter Angelina Ferris the other day and she said that the deal was good and I am here to pick up the delivery' Rachel spoke in a very authority tone, which made Dean straighten up a bit and look official as well.
'Ah…I, yeah…sure' the man nodded. 'Follow me' he said and the couple followed him into the museum and through many corridors before they reached the alien exhibit.
Dean did his best to look as though he knew exactly what was going on and what they were here for, even when it was the complete opposite.
'Oh, the tip!' Rachel said; acting as though that's the only reason the security guard was still with them. Dean could tell that she was trying to act naive, but he knew her enough to say that was far from true.
Rachel reached into her pocket and pulled out a teaser gun…
The security guard fell to the floor.
'There, see?' Rachel smirked at Dean. 'Why break in when we can sneak in?' she grabbed his hand and led him down another hallway until they reached another section, much darker to the rest and it had stuffed bats sitting in high places.
'What could we possible need from here?' Dean pulled a face.
'Blood stone…only it's not really a stone' Rachel explained. 'They say it was formed from vampire bat…well, my brother thinks so anyway' she sighed. 'Come on'
Sam glanced over at Aiden while he lay awake in Dean's bed. It was almost nine and he still hadn't managed to fall asleep.
'You okay Aiden?' Sam asked and went over, looking down at his nephew.
'I'm okay' Aiden replied, but Sam wasn't fooled. Aiden looked up and him and saw the disbelieving expression. 'I just…I'm worry about mum' he admitted and sat up while Sam sat on the edge of his bed. 'What if dad leaves again?' Aiden asked. 'My was so hurt last time, I don't want it to happed again'
'I don't think you should worry about that' Sam assured him. 'I know my brother, and I haven't seen him look at anyone the way he looks at your mum'
'But he hurt her' Aiden frowned. 'If he loves my mum, why did he hurt her?'
'He didn't mean to' Sam replied, which he was sure of. 'He thought he couldn't get out of his deal and didn't want you two to get too close since it would be harder for you both…but we have an answer now, so he's not going anywhere' Sam wasn't too sure how to convince a ten-year-old that things were different now, that Dean wasn't going to leave this time…not even if someone tried to make him.
'You need to get some sleep' Sam told him.
'Okay' Aiden nodded and bit his lip for a moment. He then launched at Sam, hugging him tightly.
Sam took a second to register what happened and then he hugged his nephew back, but it felt almost sad. It made Sam wonder if he would ever get the chance to be a dad someday. Sam had always thought that He would get married before Dean, that he would have kids before Dean…it just seemed that if Dean already had half of that, what chance did Sam have now? And Dean had Rachel, something else Sam thought he would have before Dean…true love. Those two obviously cared very deeply for each other, and the closest Sam had to that was Jessica. Sure, he'd then had Madison and all…but it wasn't the same. It made him wonder if any one girl he fell in love with was just temporary, that if he loves someone, she was probably going to die.
'Are you okay Uncle Sam?' Aiden asked, having parted from Sam and seen the sad look on his face.
'Yeah' Sam nodded, pulling himself from his thoughts. 'Just tired' he smiled a little and helped Aiden get comfortable again. 'Goodnight' he said.
'Night Sam' Aiden yawned and rolled over, almost asleep already.
Dean and Rachel were on their way back, well so Rachel thought. Dean glanced to his left and then slowed down, driving into a motel car park.
'What are you doing?' Rachel asked, following him out of the car. 'We're staying here?' she guessed.
'Yeah, I'm tired' Dean lied and smiled at the woman behind the reception counter. 'One double, overnight' Dean requested and handed over a credit card, which Rachel noticed wasn't exactly his, judging by the name.
'Sure' the lady said sleepishly and handed over a key.
'What about Aiden?' Rachel asked, now a bit concerned and nervous, which Dean picked up on.
'He'll be fine, he's in good hands' Dean replied and paused outside the room, turning to face her. 'Unless you're uncomfortable with this?'
'I'm okay' she said and took the keys from him, unlocking the door. 'Go get your car' she said and went inside.
Dean nodded and as he walked back to the Impala he pulled out his cell phone and called Sam.
'Yeah?' Sam replied.
'Sammy how's Aiden?' Dean wondered.
'Asleep, he's a bit worried about Rachel though' Sam felt the need to tell Dean. 'He's scared you're still going to leave, to hurt her again'
'I know' Dean replied honestly. 'I can see by the way he watches me' he sighed. 'I don't know what to do about that right now…but I need a favor' Dean glanced towards the motel room a bit nervously. 'Can you find out who Rachel's brother is? She never mentioned him when we were going out…and um, please?'
'You want to go behind her back?' Sam asked and was now almost as concerned as Aiden…what if things really didn't turn out?
'Sam please, I know how it sounds…but trust okay?' Dean sighed and got into his car. 'I need to know'
'Can't you just ask her?' Sam frowned.
Dean shook his head and just hung up on Sam. He drove his car around to where their motel room was and got out. He locked up the Impala after bringing their bags inside and the first thing he noticed was that Rachel was sitting on he bed crying.
'What's wrong?' he asked and was instantly by her side.
'Dean I…I don't know' she sniffed and wiped her face. 'We were perfect once, but that was ten years ago! We've changed, we've grown older…I just, I don't want to go through what I went through last time'
'It doesn't feel like ten years' Dean said and sat right beside her on the bed, taking her hand in his as an offer of comfort. 'I know what you're saying, but I want you to listen to me' he said and she looked at him, biting her lip as she did so.
'You're right…things are different now' he admitted. 'Because last time I had to leave, last time I didn't know I could have a future with someone' he said and hung his head. 'And for ten years, that was true' he looked at her again. 'Because I…I dunno…I guess that the day I walked away from you…was the day I walked away from a future' he shrugged. 'I'm not going to make that mistake twice'
Rachel sniffed again, this time with happiness. 'That was so sweet' she whispered. She saw the love he had for her, while he wasn't the best with being able to say that…it showed in his eyes, in his smile. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, inhaling his scent and just allowing him to hold her close.
'I love you too Dean' she said but then looked up at him. 'Are you sure? You're never going to leave again?'
'Not unless you want me to' Dean shrugged.
'I would never want that' Rachel said. 'But if you're going to stay…have a future…you need to tell Aiden. He needs to know his dad won't be leaving him again, that you're proud to be his dad…you are, aren't; you?'
'Yes' Dean replied honestly. 'But he doesn't call me dad'
'Because he doesn't know he can' Rachel leaned against him again.
Dean smiled and lay down, bringing Rachel with him. They lay in the bed and just embraced. Rachel was asleep in a few minutes but Dean lay awake, thinking about what he'd just admitted. It felt weird to say what he meant and then the guilt he felt when Rachel said Aiden didn't know he could call Dean his dad. He was still in disbelief that this was even real…that he really did have a chance at a future with someone. The last time he had seen Rachel; he had been about nineteen and to find someone so perfect at that age was a gift. But he hadn't seen it for what it was; he hadn't understood that she was in some sense…his only true hope for a future. Dean hadn't wanted to leave her back then but his family did need him. Sam was only fifteen and Dean couldn't just leave him or their dad back then. It was strange how things turned out, that after ten years, Rachel had found him again and then it was like Dean had gotten a wake up call. He was a father of a ten-year-old boy and the woman he'd left, the woman that he didn't wanted to leave…she still loved him. Dean saw this as a second chance, as if someone was trying to tell him that he didn't have to be alone, he didn't have to sacrifice everything to hunting because hunting was how he'd met Rachel. Had he of not came up with that hunt, finding clues in the very town she had lived in, then he wouldn't have convinced his dad to check it out. He wouldn't have met Rachel and Aiden wouldn't exist. If anything, Dean really believed that things happened for a reason.
He looked down at Rachel's sleeping form and smiled. He felt like things were prefect again, but like always…nothing ever was black and white. His cell phone rang so he quickly slid from Rachel's grasp, not wanting to wake her. He went outside and answered his cell.
'Yeah?' he asked, keeping his voice low.
'Dean' Sam's voice replied. 'I looked up Rachel's' family history' he sighed; his voice didn't sound too happy.
'And?' Dean pressed.
'I want to know why you're so interested in her brother' Sam stated, not willing to give up the answers just yet.
'Because he was a well known hunter yet we've never heard of him…and she has never told me about even though we told me about everyone else in her family' Dean explained. 'What did you find?'
'More like what I didn't find' Sam sighed. 'Dean, Rachel…she doesn't have a brother'
'What?' Dean couldn't believe his ears. 'Are you sure?'
'Yeah' Sam replied. 'I searched everywhere…she does not have a brother…or any other siblings for that matter. But get this: her last name isn't even Barring…its Taylor…Rachel Taylor. I'd give anything not to tell you this, Dean…but Barring came from her Husband, she's married' Sam said sadly. 'She married Brady Barring ten years ago…'
Author's notes: there ya go! Now please let me know what you think and any other ideas/advice you'd like to offer. This fic i smoving along faster and more effectively because of the reviews I have recieved. The more you put in the review, the more help it is. Thanks you all for ready and please review!! Because I wasnt to know what you think, what you felt...speculations, ideas...advice etc! anything! Also, since I am going to give Sam some lovin as well...anything you'd like to see/hear in that area or some ideas on how to go about it...what she's like etc. Please review cuz I need a bit of help and inspiration here! :P
