Chapter Two: Offspring Who?
Dean Winchester downed the rest of his beer as he stood. He had yet to forgive Sammy for moving back to Lawrence, Kansas, even more for him setting up shop in their old house, and finally for getting engaged to the hellion that was Slayer Faith Lehane. Not that Dean could blame his brother. The woman added a new level of heat to the she's-so-hot-scale, and from what Dean remembered she was an animal in the sack. It probably had something to do with those Primordial Slayer urges. She had stamina, fire, passion, and she wasn't for him. Dean wiped his hands on his jeans as he tossed a billfold of cash onto the bar. Once had been enough. Faith was nice, enthusiastic, fun, but she wasn't really his flavor of whisky. Frankly, spending any length of time on Demon hunting missions with Faith had only proven to him that they were in fact too much alike. And any extra hours spent together involves either grinding on the dance floor or me getting ready to blow her brains out. That's why he was here, in the only bar Lawrence Kansas offered and not pulling to a stop in front of his old house or congratulating his brother posthumously on his engagement. Dean wasn't going to stand in Sam's way if he wanted to get married, but Dean did have the right to question Sam's choice. Faith Lehane had a criminal record that was almost as extensive as his own. And it's worse because she actually committed the crime. Sam might believe that Faith's stint in prison had made her a productive member of society, but Dean was still wary. She did after all break out of prison three years ago. He understood that it was to save the world, and that Faith had since received a new identity, making her virtually untrackable by the Feds. Still. She's friends with bitchy Buffy Summers. She was a Slayer, and that meant she was a super powered girl destined to kill demons for the rest of her life. Like Buffy.
Dean was not a fan. He hadn't been, not since he'd made the mistake of sleeping with her after they'd killed the Mohra demon. Buffy had impressed him by stabbing it with a sword through its forehead, and passion had spiraled out from there. We fucked on the floor next to it's dead body. It had freaked him out a little, so afterwards he'd taken off. No explanation, no phone calls, he'd been dodging her ever since. Not that she'd been pursuing him. Not that he'd expected her to. And she's coming for Christmas. Dean swallowed. Buffy Summers was a competent slayer with a tight ass, and an even tighter nature. She got the job done, always with minimal to no casualties, and saved the world. On a freakishly regular basis too and he'd made the mistake of sleeping with her. Then made the problem worse by doing the cowardly thing and running away. He's had a fucking superhero beneath him on the concrete floor, and then he hadn't only let her get away, he'd fled. He wasn't proud of it, and his guilt was made worse, no compounded by his need to sleep with her again. Not that she would have him. On a few occasions over the past three months, when sleeping with the random woman wouldn't satisfy, something that was increasing with frightening regularity, he'd try to give her a call. And at the sound of her voice I hang up. As if he wasn't embarrassed enough by his emotions telling him to crawl back to her on hand and knee. Dean shook his head, turned, and headed for the exit. After all, he'd promised Sammy he'd show. Before Christmas Eve. Especially since he hadn't even gone shopping from the betrothed pair yet. Too bad we couldn't get Bobby to come. But the older hunter was off on some demon chase, and he couldn't be reached. Could of used the support. That or Bobby would've taken the opportunity to shoot his ego full of proverbial holes. Both.
"Merry Christmas!" The barman called. Dean turned around, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. It was two days 'till the fateful day, and Dean didn't know why everyone felt like reminding him that he would once again be vacationing in hell.
"Yeah." Dean said. He didn't bother to wave. His mood didn't leave a lot of room for politeness but he resisted the urge to flick the bartender off. Instead, he turned back around and walked through the exit. The bell rang as he banged the old cracked oak door open, and out into the frigid parking lot. "There's gotta be some law stating it has to be below freezing on Christmas." He muttered. He hadn't been in Lawrence since the last time their old house went haywire, and he'd never had the intention of being around again. "Humbug." He grumbled as he slid across an ice patch, and walked around the front of his 1967 shining black Chevy Impala. It had snowed again, recently, and the windshield was covered in frozen white powder. If he had his way it would just be him and Sam in an old motel exchanging crappy gifts they'd bought from a local gas station. That was the perfect way to spend the holidays. Dean pulled his hand out of his pocket and began wiping off the snow. His fingers freezing and expanding to the size of sausages as he cut through the icy water. Dean swore, and tucking his hands into his jeans jacket and the flannel cuffs of his shirt, continued to wipe the snow away, until the car was completely clean. Then he climbed in and started the engine. "Come on baby." He muttered as she sputtered, frozen by the cold. It was a common occurrence in old cars, but still it bugged the hell out of him. Finally, the Chevy Impala roared to life. Dean backed it out of the parking spot, careful of the snow on the ground, as he looked up at the florescent sign of Hardy's Bar and a cowboy dancing with a scantily clad girl next to the swirled lettering. This image was compounded by a light up Santa Claus with his reindeer and slay full of packages taking off on the apex of the roof. "Damn." Dean grumbled. "I thought we adults were over the whole Santa thing." Apparently he was wrong. Especially when a crummy bar is celebrating the Christmas miracle. Dean supposed he should just be thankful that they hadn't pulled out baby Jesus and the manger. He shook his head, then looking back over his shoulder, turned the wheel and sped out into the street. Even after all these years he still knew the way home.
000
The 2008 Volvo sedan pulled up next to house 1908 on Maple Drive, in Lawrence Kentucky. Dawn peered through the backseat window to see an undecorated Christmas tree through the curtains of the houses first window. She hid a smile, a little touched by the fact that Faith had waited for them before starting the decorations. Dawn's favorite part of the holiday after presents had always been the Christmas tree. She loved deciding between the star or the angel, and stringing the popcorn, twinkle lights, and tinsel around the bristly boughs. She loved the fresh scent it gave the house, and she even loved getting her hands sticky with sap when she touched the trunk after missing a branch. Christmas always made her feel like a little kid, in fact, she wanted to feel like a little kid. It was important. A door slammed. Dawn jumped. She turned around to see Buffy and Xander already out of the car and making their way around to the trunk.
"Hurry up Dawn." Buffy called. Dawn opened her own door and began to gather up the bags of presents, as she stepped out. Her front foot slipped as she stepped out onto the sidewalk, and she fell backwards, hitting the side of the Volvo.
"Ow." Dawn whimpered. Clutching her side, she tried to right herself, but stepped out wrong again, and hit the ground.
"Dawn!" Buffy exclaimed. Handing off one of the suitcases to Xander she rushed around the side of the car. Dawn had always been the most important thing in the world to her, even more so now that she knew she was her daughter, and Buffy would give her life to protect her. As she turned the side to see Dawn sitting on her ass and pouting in the middle of the snow coated pavement, Buffy couldn't help but smile.
"I'm such a spaz!" Dawn yelled. Buffy watched as her daughter turned her light brown head up to look up at her with eyes that were nearly exact copies of Buffy's own. "Why am I such a spaz?" She complained, as she watched her twenty four year old mother walk towards her.
"Part of the Summers condition." Buffy told her. Dawn was about to complain how Buffy had grace and poise, and never did something this silly with her Slayer skills, when she watched Buffy's heeled foot hit a hidden patch of ice wrong, and saw her sister/mother go down. There was a crack as Buffy's behind slammed into the ice, and then there was silence, as Buffy's hazel green eyes met Dawn's with a mixture of stunned surprise and embarrassment. There was a long pause. Then it was interrupted by laughter coming from the porch.
"You never change B." Faith called, from where she leaned on the railing. Her dark brunette hair cascading over her shoulders, and only partially covering the red sweater with the Santa head ironed over her bust. "You either little sis." She paused. Her lips pursing as she considered a new nickname. "Guess it's little Buffy now isn't it?"
Dawn glowered at Faith, but to her surprise Buffy broke out laughing. The Dark Slayer hopped the railing gracefully, and made her way carefully out to where Buffy sat on the cold sidewalk. Dawn watched, surprised as Faith offered Buffy a cautious hand, and was even more surprised when Buffy took it. What happened between them? Buffy always had a natural distrust of Faith, and yet here she was accepting Faith's hand like it was nothing, and letting Faith pull her to her feet. "As nicknames go that's pretty unoriginal." Buffy said, as she wiped off her pants. "You can do better than that Faith."
"Not known for my brains, B." Faith joked. Dawn watched as a small smile found it's way onto Faith's lips, and her suspicions grew.
"True." Buffy said. "Work on brain expansion is a must." Faith laughed. Dawn was so enthralled by the peaceful aura between the two rival Slayers that she didn't hear the car pulling up next to them, or the strange man stepping out onto the sidewalk, she even missed Xander coming up behind her.
"Upsy daisy, Dawnster." He said. His hands came underneath her arms and he lifted her to her feet. Dawn smiled at him, as Xander patted her on the shoulder. She brushed her hair back, and tried to find even footing.
"Thanks Xander." She said.
"No worries." The older man shrugged, and he winked at her with his one good eye. "Everyone slips on the ice. Even I've been known to do it, unbelievable as that is." He nudged Dawn.
Buffy looked back at them, a smile on her lips. "A big hunk of manly love like you Xander?" She asked. Her voice playful as her eyes twinkled. Still, Dawn noticed there was a sadness there. Probably what's been making her sigh all the way here. "Fall? Never."
"Of course, Buffy." Xander bowed. "I must have been mistaken."
"And how many times is that?" Dawn asked. "How many times did you slip on Sunnydale's winter ice?"
"Oh, you mean the ice of the nonexistent?" Xander asked. "Ten maybe twenty times." Dawn giggled. She looked over at her sister, but Buffy's face had frozen, and the smile that had been so ready on her lips was now reduced to grimace. Faith's eyes went to Buffy's face, and then back to the black Chevy Impala that had pulled up behind Xander's car.
"Dean." Faith called. Dean Winchester straightened, and shut his door with a clang, as he turned. He sucked in his breath as his eyes traveled over the two Slayers. Buffy looked even better than he remembered in her cream turtleneck, long black coat, tight fitting jeans and stylish black boots. "You're late." Dawn whirled around, her eyes on the scruffy man who made up half of her genetic material, hoping that she could see a resemblance between them. Dawn's eyes made their way over his tall form, he stood six feet tall, which was average height for a man in the United States. Maybe he was five foot ten, was she making him taller? Dawn shook her head. He's so hot! She thought. I'm so going to hell. He was older than Buffy, and anyone older than Buffy was categorized into the realm of the undateable. Plus he's my dad. Or at least, half of him was her, whether or not an emotional connection was there. She stared at his handsome blue eyes, and then it occurred to her. He was staring at her sister funny, like someone had just dropped a brick on his head. Then Dawn turned her gaze back to her sister, Buffy was watching him with a mixture between excitement and startled terror. Dawn quickly recognized that expression as her "need-to-flee-painful-meeting-with-ex-boyfriends" one.
"Thought Buffy didn't know him." Xander muttered, his fingers tightening on Dawn's shoulder.
"Guess she forgot to mention it." Dawn muttered. Hurt cut into her heart. All those times she'd pestered Buffy with questions about her father, and she'd never opened up once. Did he hurt her or something? That was likely given the expression on her face.
"Hey Faith." Dean Winchester said. He started up the path. His eyes flicking to the teenager and the one eyed man standing beside a pretty silver Volvo. Buffy brought a date? Was she trying to screw with his head? "Where's Sam?"
"Inside." Faith said. "Usual place." Her hand tightened on Buffy's shoulder. Something was wrong. She could tell. She'd seen Buffy pissed off enough to know the signs. What had happened between the two of them? Dean probably pulled a Dean, slept with Buffy and took off. That fit the bill. Except… it didn't explain why Buffy was being skittish. Unless she's nervous about Dean's reaction to Dawn being his spawn. No, that wasn't it either. She felt Buffy's left hand ball into a fist.
"Thanks." Dean said, and he walked forward, things were awkward enough without him sticking around much longer. Buffy's sharp green eyes were taking on the death glare, and Dean had no wish to find himself on the wrong side of a stake, crossbow, sword, or whatever else was packed away into the back of that Volvo. He paused. "You got cable?" He asked, as he made his way up to Faith.
"And pay per view." Faith winked. "Couldn't live without it."
"Get the rough and tumble in when little Sammy's not in the mood?" Dean grinned.
"More like gettin' ideas to expand on the bullwhips and naughty nurses." Faith said. "Takin' out all the anxiety over not killin' on your brother."
"Too much information." Dean said. He put his hands up in front of him and shook his head. "Don't need to know what dirty things you and Sammy get up to in the dead of night."
"You know you're a little curious." Faith laughed. Her arm still around Buffy's shoulders as she looked at him, and Dean met her eyes. Then he glanced at Buffy. She probably already hated him, but there was no reason to raise her ire. His eyes darted to her balled fist. Nevermind, already there.
"How are you princess?" Dean asked. He crossed his arms. Buffy bit her lip, and Dean swallowed, it was wrong that he found it sexy. "Killed anything big and ugly lately?" Buffy blinked. He was talking to her. Why was he talking to her?
"Not lately." She smiled sweetly. "But you're certainly on the list." She glanced at Faith. "What you think Faith? Does Mr. Dean Winchester here count as big and ugly?" Faith nodded.
"Think you'd have to throw dumb into that too, B." Faith said.
"Certainly works in the equation." Buffy said. Dean smirked. So things were back to normal after all. "I think that works out to him being a chauvinistic asshole without a prayer for kisses under mistletoe." She glanced at Faith. "Don't you think?"
"Couldn't agree more." Faith said. She winked at Dean. "Looks like you're out of ladies to sleep with Dean-o. It's gonna be a cold and lonely Christmas."
Dean paused. He hated letting anyone have their way, especially when it came to Buffy. He couldn't allow her to have the upper hand against him. His gaze snapped over the snow to where the one-eyed man was standing with the teenager. He could only assume she was the little sister Buffy always talked about. "Not completely out of ladies." He grinned at Dawn and winked. "How are you sweetheart?"
"Wouldn't go there if I were you." Faith cautioned.
"Eww!" Dawn complained. "So gross! Buffy!" Buffy smirked at Dean and shook her head.
"You are a bad dirty man." Xander laughed as Dean recoiled. "Though I approve of your guts and gusto. It's an interesting way to take a chance, though inbreeding will certainly result. Not to mention a few broken state regulations and a felony."
"Inbreeding?" Dean asked. He glanced around the group looking for his brother. Sam was usual available to explain the things he'd missed. Not Buffy's little sister? But I don't have any other relatives… "Somebody explain."
"You mean you don't know big bad hunter-man?" Xander asked.
"Don't tease Xander." Buffy quipped. "Apparently Sam hasn't had the chance to explain it to him." She glanced Faith. "I thought he was going to tell him?"
"Must've chickened out." Faith replied. "Not surprising, considering that he wanted him to show up for the holidays." She smirked. "We have a surprise present for you Dean-o."
"Call it family extension." Xander said.
"Xander." Buffy said.
"Man's gotta find out sometime Buff."
Buffy shook her head. "Buffy?" Dean asked. "The hell is going on?"
"I'm your daughter!" Dawn blurted. That was the point Sam walked out onto the porch, and was met with stunned silence.
A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! I'm trying to not make this story too long, and yet I'm still incapable of writing anything short.
Leave me reviews, tell me what you think, reviews make me write faster. I love to get them and read them. ^_^
