Chapter 57
I stopped dead in my tracks while Missouri kept talking to him. Sam and Dean had been looking for dad for months and there he was sitting right in front of me. I was still staring at him when Missouri pushed me sideways and told me to say something to him. A million things popped into my head, but I stayed quiet.
It was dad asking me if I was ok that finally snapped me out of it. I told him I was fine and then asked him if the boys knew he was in town. I knew as soon as I asked that it was a stupid question. If Sam and Dean had known they would have been standing right there with me. Dad answered anyway and added that he didn't want them to know either.
A wave of anger washed over me and I started yelling at him. I wanted him to know everything he had put my brothers through over the last 5 months. Missouri said something about not speaking to my father like that, but I just ignored her and kept going. I was in the middle of my tirade towards dad when my cell phone rang.
All I heard were the words "Sam's in trouble." and I was out the door. I didn't even bother to tell dad and Missouri. I told Dean I was on my way as I ran out of Missouri's. It took me a minute to realize I hadn't even asked him where, but I just knew it had something to do with the old house so that's where I went.
Dean had just broken through the front door with an axe when I pulled up. I grabbed my shotgun and ran into the house right behind him. We found Sam in the kitchen pinned to a wall. There was a person on fire walking toward him. Dean and I stood on either side and in front of him and then took aim at the thing walking toward us.
We were about to fire when Sam told us to stop. Dean and I glanced at each other for a second, but we didn't fire. Sam had said he knew who the fire person was. I watched for a second and then realized the same thing that Sam had.
There was a sudden gust of wind that blew the fire out and there was mom standing right in front of us. She looked exactly the same as she did the night she died. I couldn't fully believe what I was seeing. From the corner of my eye I saw Dean lower is gun, so I followed his example. I heard Dean say "Mom" and knew then that it was really her.
She walked closer to us. She stopped by Dean and then said his name. I caught my brothers eyes as she walked toward me and I could see the utter shock and flood of emotions on his face. When she stopped in front of me she placed her hand on my cheek. I leaned into the touch and was surprised at how warm it was. I could even smell the vanilla lotion she always used.
She looked at me for a second and then walked past me and toward Sam. She said she was sorry, but didn't answer him when he asked her what she was apologizing for. A moment later she turned around, looking at the ceiling. She must have been talking to the poltergeist. She told it to get out of her house and to let go of Sam.
A second later the wind picked up again and mom had turned into a ball of fire again. She floated up to the ceiling and disappeared. Dean and I looked at each other for a second and then back to Sam. Our little brother was no longer pinned to the wall. Sam said that it was over now.
We stayed at Jenny's that night. Dean and I boarded up the door and patched up a few other things as best as we could. Sam called Missouri and asked her if she could come over in the morning to make sure everything was ok. She told him she'd be there first thing.
I never told the boys that dad was in town. Dad had said that night in the hospital that he was working on something really dangerous and was afraid for our safety. I knew that meant the situation was a hundred times worse than dad would let on. It was a family trait that we under exaggerate things. I knew that if they went with dad, it would get them killed.
Missouri came over to Jenny's alone the next morning and did her "Zelda Rumestien thing" as Dean put it. While she was doing that, Jenny had given Dean a box with pictures of our family in it from before the fire. Dean and I were looking through it while we were waiting. It was the first time in years I had seen pictures of the 6 of us together.
I had decided at that moment that I was going with dad to try and keep him safe. I knew Dean would never forgive himself if anything happened to the old man, especially if he wasn't there to try and stop it. I had already told Caleb once that sometimes taking care of Dean meant making sure dad was safe. I think it was more true then because my big brother really had no clue where our dad was.
It was kinda hard to tell Dean I wasn't going hunting with him and Sam. The disappointment on his face almost made me change my mind. I told him that Caleb wanted me back to work. He knew I felt I owed Caleb a lot, so he ultimately understood. I hated lying to him like that.
Dean called out to Sam that it was time to go. I gave my big brother a quick hug and then walked over to where Missouri was standing. Sam patted me on my head like he used to do when we were at Stanford. I watched my brothers drive away and then told Missouri I'd meet her back at her house.
I went to go stock up a few things and call Caleb. I told Caleb that I had found my dad and was going out on the road with him. Caleb asked about the boys and I told him they didn't know where dad was and it needed to stay that way. I also made him promise me that he wouldn't tell the boys that I was with dad and to come get my Jeep from Missouri's as soon as he could.. I told him the story I had told Dean and Caleb said he'd cover for me.
I got back to Missouri's after grabbing a few supplies and then unloaded most of the stuff from my Jeep into dad's truck. I had just finished when dad and Missouri came out. Dad said he was leaving and would appreciate it if I gave him a small head start before I called the boys and told them he'd been in town. I told him I wasn't going to do any such thing cause I was going with him.
He tried to protest, but I told him the same thing I had told Caleb 4 years earlier. I said it was my job to take care of Dean because no one else did and sometimes that meant taking care of the old man. Dad kinda smiled at that, but still tried to tell me I wasn't going. I told dad he had 2 choices, either he could take me with him or I could track him and then he'd have to deal with all 3 of his kids. He stood there looking at me for a second and then decided he wanted me along.