Disclaimer: I do not own these characters- they belong to Eric Kripke and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Summary: Dean tries to break the news to his father that Sammy isn't interested in carrying on the family business. John handles it like an ex-Marine would, and Dean storms off to the shores to cool down after the heated debate. There, he is entranced by a water succubus. Will his father realize what happened before it's too late?

Tag to "After School Special." Dean is 17 and Sam is 13.

"Listen, Dean… We've gotta talk."

Dean chose to play dumb, staring into his mug and clenching his hands around it to stop them from trembling. "'bout what?"

"You know what, son."

Dean sighed, looking up at his father. "Can we just not do this right now? I'm not really up for…"

"I wish I could give you all the time in the world, kiddo, but I can't. We need to know if she's still out there, if she's stronger now cause she fed, and if that's the case, then we need to figure out how to gank her."

Dean glanced from anxious face to anxious face. He felt claustrophobic and like he was an animal on display at a zoo. He wasn't ready to deal with reality just yet. He wasn't ready to relive his recent nightmare. He just wanted them all to go away and give him some time alone to cope. But he knew his father was right. He couldn't be selfish now, not if more innocent people could be getting hurt.

"What do you remember, Dean?" John pushed gently.

Images began flooding through Dean's mind once again as he was forced to consider the question.

"I… It's all just a scrambled mess. I'm not sure what happened, okay? It was all so damn fast…" He was starting to get worked up, half of him wanting to help his father get the details for the hunt, and half of him wanting to bury the images as deeply as he could and leave them there forever.

"Think, Dean. Just try to put the puzzle back together."

Dean's head was starting to throb. He unconsciously brought a hand up to massage his temples, grimacing as bits and pieces of the night before flashed in front of his eyes. He didn't even notice, but he had started shaking again and it was getting harder to breathe.

"Dean?"

Bobby took a step forward, but John beat him to it. He pulled the mug from Dean's tight grasp and placed it on the bedside table, then reached a hand out, taking hold of his son's upper arm to try and steady him. This was going south, fast. "Dean! Come back to me, son!" He shook Dean's arm, hoping to pull him from the nightmarish loop he had fallen into.

Suddenly, Dean's eyes sprung open and he gasped, latching onto his father's upper left arm with bruising strength as a cold sweat spread over his body. "Dad, she's alive! She's still out there!"

John frowned in concern. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. I… I think I remember everythin' now."

John sat down on the edge of the bed to be closer to his son. "Good. That's good, Dean. Now… Walk me through it, one step at a time."

Dean shook his head looking terrified at the prospect. "Dad, I… I…" He looked like he was struggling for air.

"It's okay, bud. I'm not gonna let anythin' happen to you, understand? 'm right here. Just take a deep breath…"

Dean tried to do as he was told, drawing in a quick, shaky breath as his heart pounded in his chest. He blinked hard a few times, trying to clear his vision which was quickly clouding. He gasped, scrabbling his fingers against John's arm, trying to get purchase and alert his father to his plight.

"I… I can't!... Dad, I can't… breathe!... Dad, please… It hurts…!"

"Hey hey hey… Dean, I need you to focus, bud. Forget about last night. Just breathe…"

"Drownin'… again…" Dean's eyes went vacant as the excruciating memory of what it felt like to have his lungs flood with water came back to him, making his chest tighten and ache.

"You're not drowning, son. You're in the motel room. Breathe, buddy…" John placed his hand on Dean's chest, feeling the pounding heartbeat beneath his palm and the sharp gasps of air Dean was trying to pull in. John tapped the side of Dean's cheek, trying to snap him back to the present.

Sam looked just as panicked as his brother. "Dad? What's happening?! What did you do?!"

John forced himself to remain calm. "Bobby, can you take Sammy and go get us some brunch?" We need some time alone here…

Bobby glanced from Dean to John, wondering if this was really a good idea or not. Sam responded before he could decide.

"What? No! I'm not goin' anywhere! He's not ready to talk! Just leave him alone!"

"Sam, we don't have time for this!" John barked back. "Both of you, just clear out for a bit. He's havin' a panic attack and it ain't helpin' havin' so many people here watchin'!"

"Then you go!" Sam challenged back. "Haven't you done enough damage already?!"

"Sam…" Bobby warned, placing a restricting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"No, Bobby! Did you forget what happened last time we left them alone together?! I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice!"

"Me either, Sam!" John challenged back. "I know we've got a lot to work out, but now really isn't the time!"

"Let's go, Sam," Bobby stated softly. "John's right. There're too many people in here right now and this little screamin' match ain't makin' things any easier. John, you calm him down before he passes out. If he's not ready to talk, then you better give him some time or I'll drag you down to the water and drown you myself, understand? Put your boy before the damn hunt for once. Come on, kid."

Bobby gently pulled Sam from the bed. "Put your shoes on."

"But, Bobby… I can help calm him down!"

"John can handle it just fine. Shoes, now. Or you're goin' in socks."

Sam glared but did as he was told, knowing Bobby would stay true to his threat if necessary.

"Fix this, John. We'll be back in about an hour. Call if you need help." Bobby marched Sam out the door with a heavy hand clamped to the boy's shoulder. John was finally able to turn his full attention to his eldest now.

Dean didn't seem to register any of what had just happened. His hand was still clamped to John's bicep and his eyes were locked straight ahead, wide with fear. He was panting heavily as though he had run twenty miles.

John slid closer, putting both of his hands on Dean's shoulders. "Dean, can you hear me?" He gently shook the boy again, then tilted his chin up, trying to force eye contact. "Look at me, son."

Not even a twitch or a glint of recognition. John wrapped a strong hand around the back of Dean's neck and pulled him into his chest, cradling him like he had done just last night on the beach. He rocked him gently with his other arm locked across the boy's back. Occasionally, he ran his thumb over Dean's cheek, hoping it would help sooth him.

"It's okay, Dean. It's okay…"

After a minute or two of this, he felt Dean's left arm slowly move up to return the embrace. He grabbed a fistful of John's shirt and held on for dear life. And if the frequent hitches of his son's shoulders and the soft sniffles were anything to go by, Dean was also crying.

"Ah, hell, bud… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I know this ain't an easy topic, especially since it only just happened last night. Listen, if you're not up to this, we can wait a few more days…"

After a few seconds, Dean stiffened in his father's arms, collecting himself and preparing to soldier on like he knew John would want him to. He released his father's shirt and pulled back far enough to wipe his face dry with the backs of his hands.

"You know we can't wait, dad. Just ask your questions." His voice was passive, sounding dejected.

John felt like the biggest asshole on the planet, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. "Alright. After I took my shot and she pulled you under the water, what happened?" He was careful this time to watch Dean's eyes, looking for any signs that he might start panicking again.

"Uh…" Dean closed his eyes tightly, trying to control the images this time around. "I went into shock. The water… It was so damn cold… I couldn't move… Couldn't get back to the surface… Then she grabbed me again and pulled me in deeper."

"Good, Dean. You're doing good…" John began rubbing up and down Dean's arm in comfort as well as to help stem the shivers coursing along the boy's spine and covering his body in goosebumps. "Then what happened?"

"I… I tried to break free." Dean's eyes opened to meet his father's. "I struggled, dad, I swear I did."

"I believe you, Dean. It's alright. Keep goin'…"

Dean took a deeper breath and let his eyes fall closed again. "Then she pulled me closer to her and… and she tried to feed."

John took his own steadying breath, not sure he wanted to continue either. But there was no stopping now. "Did she succeed, Dean?"

"No."

"You're positive?" He really didn't want to push Dean more than he had to, but he needed to make sure. "When we found you, your jeans were… They were undone, kiddo."

"I know. She tried, but I didn't let her. I kept pushing her away from me. It was so hard. My hands weren't cooperating anymore. I felt incredibly weak, but she was completely unaffected by the cold."

"I'm sure she's used to the freezing temperatures. She spends most of her time in the water."

"Yeah… I kept her off of me until she punched me in the stomach. I didn't have any air left. All my muscles were burnin'. It hurt so bad… I just wanted to give up. When I could focus again, her hands were back on my jeans. She… She said, 'Stop squirming, Dean. Just relax…'"

John felt like he was going to throw up as he remembered saying something very similar to that when he was trying to care for Dean and the boy had responded with unadulterated fear.

"I blacked out after that, but I could still hear her talkin'. She kissed me on the lips and said, "Say hi to daddy for me, handsome,' and then she pushed me towards the surface. I remember the feeling as I started risin' upwards and then… that's all." He opened his eyes again, looking to John for approval.

John smiled back. "Thank you, Dean. That's all I needed to know. You did good, buddy."

Dean beamed at his father's words, unconsciously pulling the sheets up higher on his body. It was just habit now. He hated feeling exposed.

"So now what?" he asked John.

"Now? We kill the bitch."

"How?"

"Don't you worry about it. Bobby and I'll come up with a plan." John didn't have the heart to tell his boy that they already had one.

But apparently, he didn't need to. "You need me for bait, don't you." It wasn't even a question.

John sighed. "Dean, I'm not gonna make you go…"

"I'll do it."

John stuttered to a halt. "Wh-what?"

"I'm not gonna let her get away, dad. Next time, she could go after Sammy. This ends now, with me."

TBC

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