Pulling up to the Little Apple Motel while sitting in the passenger seat with the local classic rock station blasting (not much has changed over time), Sam feels his heart race a little when they park in front of one of the rooms.
"You wanna come in or is that too weird?" John asks his adult son with an awkward smile.
"I don't know, honestly," Sam answers, confused as to which way he should go about this situation. Seeing his own young self and eleven year old brother was one thing, but interacting with them?
"I can guarantee Dean will be so busy watching TV and Sammy will be so hard into a book that they won't even notice you."
Sam inhales deeply and nods his agreement. "Yeah, alright." He looks over to his dad with a hesitant smile which is returned to him.
Once out of the car and in front of the door, John and Sam both hear the shouting from inside the room. John sighs heavily while unlocking the door and quickly heading in.
"Hey!" John shouts to the two boys interlocked on the dingy carpeted floor. "Knock it off!" Dean has Sammy in a head lock and Sammy is throwing his fists while shouting out for his older brother to get off of him. John rushes over to pry the two apart, grabbing each one by the collar of their t-shirts and holding them out to his sides so they can't reach each other. "The hell's going on here?"
"Dean's being a jerk!" Sammy shouts out, trying to push his older brother again but gets stopped by John's grip on him.
"No I'm not!" Dean yells back. "Dad, he gets to pick the show every time. It was my turn and I wanted to watch Unsolved Mysteries!"
"That show's stupid!" Sammy rebuts.
"No, you're stupid!" Dean returns while once again trying to get at his little brother once more.
"I think you two have been cooped up together for too long," John explains away. "Sammy, sit on the couch. Dean, bed."
The two huff angrily but do as their told. They each plop heavily down into their respective places, Sammy with his arms crossed over his chest and Dean with his fists balled in his lap.
Sam stands by the door looking over the scene with fondness. He and Dean fought like that a lot when they'd been forced together in tight quarters for a while without their dad around to keep the peace. It was always something menial they fought over, too, like the prize at the bottom of the cereal box or what they'd eat for dinner (usually Spaghettios or Mac and Cheese). It wasn't fun at the time, but now it' almost endearing.
"You both lose," John declares after thinking it over for a minute and stealing the channel changer. "The news it is." He flips to the local news feed before searching through the mini refrigerator and both Sammy and Dean say nothing. They know better than to argue with their father, especially when he found them literally fighting like that. Dean sits and stews while Sammy takes up his nearby Ghost Files book and dives in. "Doesn't look like you guys ate dinner yet."
"Didn't want any of the food in there," Dean tells him with an attitude.
"Why don't I go pick something up then?" Sam finally pipes in from his still standing place by the door. He would love nothing more than to make his former self and young version of his brother happy. Plus, in the craziness of finding his dad talking with Lizzy when he got back, they never ended up eating the food Dean and he picked up. He was hungry. "I didn't eat yet either."
"Who are you?" Dean suspiciously asks.
"That's Tom," John lies. "I'm working with him a little bit while we're here."
Sam just smiles as he watches Dean eye him carefully, always being the weary one when new people came around his family.
"I could go pick up a pizza maybe," Sam offers again, Dean's formerly stern look softening with the word pizza. Sam learned last night that pizza is a hell of a way to get kids on his side and he's seeing just how right that little bit of information is. Peering over at his dad, Dean waits for a verdict while silently praying for a yes.
"You don't have to do that," John tells him. "We have stuff for sandwiches."
"That we always eat," Dean grumbles. "Like every night."
"Don't push it, kid," John warns to his mouthy son.
"I know I don't have to, but I want to," Sam smiles.
"Alright, but he's your problem now," John answers back while nodding to Dean. "You've just earned yourself a new best friend." Sam laughs as John reaches for his back pocket and then tosses his wallet to Sam followed by the keys to the car. "It's on me though."
"Yes sir," Sam answers automatically, his former discipline coming right back in the presence of his father.
"Can I go with you?" Dean asks hopefully up to the much taller, and now totally cool in his eyes, man.
"Like I said…" John mutters, earning a grin from Sammy from the couch as his father makes fun of his older brother.
"Uh, ok," Sam hesitantly answers, not exactly sure if this was a good idea or not.
"Dean, leave the guy alone, huh?" John says to his overly enthusiastic son after catching Sam's unsure tone. "He's already doing something nice for you."
"I gotta get outta here, dad," Dean complains. "Been stuck with mopey butt over there the whole God damned day."
"Language!" John shouts out.
"You're no fun either, Dean," Sammy tells him without looking up from his book. "You're always being annoying."
"Dean, it's cool. You can come with me," Sam announces, seeing that the poor kid just needed some time away. "You can help me pick out the pizza."
"Awesome!" Dean shouts, jumping off the bed and dashing for his jacket.
"Great," Sammy complains. "Pepperoni and sausage. Gross."
Sam leans down to Sammy and quietly whispers, "I'll get a cheese too." He winks at his former self and watches as his own face beams with joy. He wonders when the last time was that he himself smiled like that. "Let's go," Sam goes to say to Dean but when he turns he finds the door already open. Peering out he sees Dean sitting in the car already.
"At least some things never, ever change," Sam says to John before heading out the door. Once in the car he sees Dean rifling through the shoebox of cassettes, picking out the Metallica one, and popping it in.
"You know any pizza places around?" Sam asks, hoping they've been in town long enough to know. 1990 doesn't come with 3G service so as of right now, Sam doesn't know where to go.
"Head that way," Dean answers, pointing up the street. Sam pulls out onto the road in the direction he was told to go in. An awkward silence sets in as Sam peers over at the former version of his older brother while he nods his head along to 'Battery'. He has no idea what to say to him.
"So you're gonna help dad hunt that werewolf?" Dean asks Sam in a quite even and nonchalant tone.
"Ah, yeah," Sam responds with surprise. "Didn't know you knew about werewolves."
"I know about a lot of things," Dean answers quietly while looking out the passenger window. "Like I know you're a hunter."
"That I am," Sam states, impressed with Dean's ability to read people so easily at a young age.
"And I know your name is probably not Tom," Dean keeps revealing. Sam looks at him with wide eyes and Dean just huffs. "Chill, you don't have to tell me your real name. I can just tell when Dad's lying."
"So why did he lie if you can tell?" Sam asks.
"For Sammy," Dean answers back flatly. "He wants to protect him from that kinda shit."
"Watch your mouth, dude," Sam warns him before he could stop himself.
"You're not my dad," Dean rebuts.
Sam grows quiet for a minute, unsure of what to say next, but luckily his chatty older brother makes his life easier on him.
"You have any brothers?"
"Sure do," Sam smiles brightly with the question. "An older one."
"Mines a pain in the ass," Dean grumbles. "I always have to watch him and all he ever does is complain or read. He doesn't like cars, or good music, or good TV shows… nothing."
"I doubt he's all bad though," Sam tries to fight back. "I bet you have fun now and then."
"Yeah, just not lately," Dean says. "Been just the two of us for too long."
"I hear that," Sam says under his breath. If only this Dean knew how similar life will be in a few decades. "But you know he looks up to you, right?"
"I guess," Dean incredulously says.
"He does," Sam assures him. "Why do you think he's reading that ghost book you gave him?"
"Because it's awesome," Dean explains away.
"No. It's because you told him to. He wants to be like you."
Dean gives Sam a look of complete disbelief.
"It's totally true," Sam confirms. "He gets a good grade and you tell him you're proud of him. He hits a bull's-eye in target practice, you high-five him and he smiles for days. That crap means the world to him."
"Huh," Dean nods and accepts what Sam tells him and Sam feels happy he could get his older brother to understand how important he is, no matter what Sammy did to make him nuts.
"Right there!" Dean shouts suddenly when he catches sight of the pizza place he knew of. Sam pulls into a parking space out front and Dean's already out of the car before the Impala is even turned off.
"Never fucking changed a bit," Sam mutters to himself while trying to catch up with the very excited and very hungry kid.
Following Cathy and Brian from their houses to a local diner, Dean parks their stolen car in the lot out back and they wait a few minutes before heading in. Dean knows at this point he should be mentioning the paperwork from her house and his and Sam's suspicions, but he doesn't have it in his heart to tell her. It would hurt so damn much and the look on her face would be more than he could handle. Plus, they still didn't have solid proof. Basically, he's fully aware of how much of a chicken shit he's being.
"You're gonna be ok," Dean reminds quietly, squeezing her shaking hand a little tighter, as they walk across the small restaurant and find a booth right next to where Cathy and Brian are seated. Lizzy nods as they get closer and does what she can to not stare down the two people as they pass. She keeps her focus up on Dean in order to hide her face from them, knowing the resemblance would give her up.
Sliding into the booth, Lizzy with her back to Brian and Dean across from her, getting a clear view over Lizzy's shoulder at Cathy, they settle in and try their best to not look too suspicious.
"What can I get you two today?" a middle-aged waitress asks loudly the second they sit.
"Um, beer please," Lizzy orders, not really paying attention to the server as she strains her ears to hear the conversation behind her. A beer sounds pretty damn good right about now. She might need the liquid assistance.
"Beer, and a cheeseburger," Dean answer when his turn is up. Lizzy gives him a surprised look at his food order. "What? We never ate the food Sam and I got. You should probably get something too."
"I'll steal from your plate," Lizzy tells him without looking at him as she just can't find it in her to be hungry right now.
"Great…" Dean mumbles, not wanting to share his food.
"That all?" The server asks while looking between the two of them.
"All set for now, sweetheart. Thanks," Dean grins out and they're left alone. He watches as Lizzy turns her head slightly to the side, her face concentrated on the two people talking at her back. The waitress drops off their drinks and they listen as the pair talk about work, Brian's upcoming family vacation, Cathy's classroom, and many other random topics until the conversation takes a certain turn.
"So, how's she doing?" Brian asks while bringing his coffee to his lips.
"Great, actually," Cathy answers. "Grades are really good, she in the highest reading group with Lou, her teacher says she's really motivated and working hard. Couldn't ask for anything more."
"Good," Brian answers back. "That's good to hear."
"Though Sandy also said she's been talking too much in class. Wonder where she gets that, huh?"
Brian laughs at the statement.
Lizzy slightly smiles along. Her mother was a big talker and so was Lizzy. Add it onto the massive list of things she gets from her mom.
"Well I'm sure the person she's talking to is my other daughter as per usual," Brian remarks, making both laugh. "I doubt she's working alone on that one."
As Lizzy's face scrunches in confusion, Dean can feel his stomach knot with the comment. Brian's other daughter. Shit. Sam was right. He should have warned her. Now it's too late. She's going to lose it.
"Other daughter?" Lizzy mouths to Dean, earning her a shoulder shrug when Dean pretends to not know anything. To Lizzy, Brian has a daughter and a son. The end. What the hell is he talking about?
"She still loving dance?" Brian questions.
"Love is not a good enough word," Cathy laughs. "Obsessed is more like it. It's all she talks about. It's all she does all over the house."
"Think I should pop Lou into classes?" Brian suggests. "Might be something fun for the both of them."
"Like they don't hang out enough much as it is," Cathy returns. "They're attached at the hip."
"Just like sisters," Brian brightly comments. "Just like it should be."
"Thanks," Dean says to the waitress when she drops off their never looks up at her though. His eyes are trained on Lizzy's through their eavesdropping. She wears her hearts on her sleeve always and he can see the utter confusion. He knows it's only a matter of time before the bomb drops completely and he reaches across the table to grab her hand in anticipation. Physical contact always makes everything better and much more manageable for Lizzy so he does what he can.
"Sure, she might like it," Cathy answers. "We could carpool and make my life a little easier."
Brian laughs. "I'll talk to Jane when I get back."
"I have to say, the move has worked out really nicely. Don't you think?" Cathy tells Brian.
"Yes and thank you again for doing that," Brian sincerely says. "When the Smiths put that house up for sale six months ago, it really was the perfect opportunity. I can't ever repay you for giving me the chance to be so close to her."
"What the fuck?" Lizzy whispers to herself, the conversation getting more and more cryptic.
"Brian, I never wanted you out of her life," Cathy explains. "You know that."
"I do," Brian says back. "And I know you couldn't ever tell Paul. I couldn't live with crushing him like that. And with Jane finding out she was pregnant a few weeks earlier… this was the best way to go about this situation."
"Absolutely," Cathy agrees. "And now, the kids get to know each other like family, you can see Lizzy much more often, it's really the best we can do."
"Shit," Lizzy mutters, eyes blown wide as she looks over to Dean with utter panic.
"You're ok," he calmly and very quietly reminders her, gripping tighter onto her hand and doing his best to reign her in and curb the pending meltdown she'll hopefully have later. He doesn't want her losing it now, in public, in front of her mother, and paternal father, from 1990. "Look at me. You're fine. You can do this."
"Cathy, I really owe you for this," Brian huffs.
"Trust me, it's the least I could do," Cathy returns. "Without you, there'd be no daughter in either my or Paul's lives. You've given us the world."
Lizzy's face drops completely before becoming an ever changing mess of emotions. Dean watches as he sees fear, anger, sadness, betrayal, everything. So much to process. Too much to think about. She clamps her other hand down onto his wrist as her eyes plead to him for… anything.
"Well here's to the magic of alcohol then, huh?" Brain jokes, eliciting a laugh from Cathy.
"Don't remind me," she lightly remarks in a joking tone.
"It's getting late, Cath," Brian says. "Should probably get home before Lou passes out. She's dying to read more James and the Giant Peach."
"Good!" Cathy responds. "That's a great book, I'm glad she likes it. Her reading level is really high and that'll keep her on her toes."
"You want to send Lizzy over for breakfast tomorrow?" Brian asks. "Making chocolate chip pancakes."
"Oh, she'll love you!" Cathy laughs as she stands up.
"Wouldn't be the same without her there to eat them with us!" Brain laughs.
Lizzy bows her head, not able to focus any longer on anything. Brian always made chocolate chip pancakes, Lizzy's favorite, whenever she'd eat breakfast with them. Lou told her he never did it unless Lizzy was over and she never knew why until now. Her real father just wanted to make her happy. A single tear drops down from her closed lids and lands onto her lap.
Cathy and Brian head out the door as Dean watches them leave. That couldn't have gone any worse. He waits, giving her the time to process everything. He's shocked when after only a few seconds she lifts her head, face now serious and set.
"Let's go," she says, pushing out of the booth.
"L…"
"Dean, let's go," she determinedly and angrily says, already a few steps closer to the doorway. He knows what he's looking at immediately. Lizzy's taking the anger road. Fucking great. He quickly pays for the meal he didn't eat with what he has left in his wallet and walks quickly out the door behind her.
Pizza crusts and paper plates littering the motel room, Sammy and Dean are now sitting quietly on the couch, enthralled by the Ghostbusters rerun. Dean quotes nearly the whole thing earning annoyed looks from Sammy as he hates when Dean talks over the movie. Sam and John have settled into the table, John's research splayed out across the surface as they quietly chat, keeping their words out of ear shot of the kids.
"I was hoping this bastard would show two nights ago on the full moon, but nothing," John explains. "No vics with missing hearts anywhere in a hundred mile radius."
"Hmm," Sam hums while reading over the police report from the first victim. "Usually a werewolf doesn't stray too far from its home."
"Exactly why I'm fresh outta explanations for this one," John complains.
"At least you know it probably hasn't turned anyone else since there've been no more attacks," Sam comments heavily. This case is bringing up a lot of difficult memories for Sam.
"God, I hope not," John huffs. "Don't want to have to go tracking down the wolf that turned the other wolf that turned the last wolf... well, you get what I'm saying."
"Yeah, it doesn't actually work that way," Sam lets him know. "You can't return a person back to being human after it's gone werewolf, not even by killing the wolf that turned that person. That's just an old rumor."
"Really?" John says with surprise.
"Unfortunately, yeah," Sam returns sadly.
"Sounds like you know from experience," John pries while grabbing his journal.
"I do," Sam quietly confirms, the pain of losing Madison still hitting him hard to this day.
"So you two are a working together, huh?" John asks as he opens his much thinner journal to the werewolf entry in order to add the newly confirmed information. "The Winchester boys taking care of business?"
"Yeah, we are. We make a pretty decent team, actually."
"Makes me happy to hear," John tells Sam with a smile. "I'm glad you boys are working together. You can trust each other, you're blood. It's perfect."
"It can be. I mean, don't get me wrong. Having my brother as backup it great. But Dean's still a huge pain in the ass and we still have our moments," Sam lets John know.
"I can assume," John smirks after the fight they walked into earlier.
"But Lizzy's around and she helps to curb that when she can. She's made living with Dean a lot easier."
"She seems pretty important to you two," John observes. "They been together a while?" He's curious about the girl his son is very clearly in love with.
"Yeah, it's been a bit," Sam answer. "But it feels like it's been forever… which is a good thing, I think."
"And they're, ah, good?" John implores with total concern and curiosity.
"They're ridiculous," Sam admits. "She's perfect for him. She eats too much, drinks too much, has way too much…" Sam pauses, reminding himself that he's talking with his father and should leave his eldest son's sex life out of this conversation. "…Love for music. And whatever Dean's lacking in, she helps him with. And vice versa. It's a pretty solid thing they got going."
"If you ask me, she seems like she'd eat him alive," John remarks while pointing to his face, having already seen the strength and power that is Lizzy. "She's a tough one."
"Let's just say she keeps him well in check," Sam huffs. "Lizzy's good to have around."
John looks down at his journal and smiles something proud. Sam can tell he's happy that there is hope for his kids in hunting. It may be minimal hope, but it's hope all the same.
"And for what it's worth, I like her a lot," Sam reassures as he praises Lizzy. "She's not only there for Dean at the drop of a hat, she's there for me too. Lizzy's caring and strong and she holds us together. Hell, she's become my go to as much as she's Dean's."
"Guess she wasn't lying then," John remarks while writing.
"About what?" Sam implores.
"She told me you were like her brother," John tells him, peering up at Sam. "That she's become family."
"Definitely," Sam grins, knowing how true that was.
"Well, she must have earned that then," John remarks. "We Winchesters don't let people in very easily."
"No we don't, and trust me. She's earned it."
"To get me to give up Mary's bracelet for her to have, she damn well must have." John laughs as Sam does what he can to force a completely insincere smile.
"Hell, she's a Winchester in all but name at this point," Sam admits, knowing he's repeating exactly what his brother has said in the past.
John nods, accepting that their family has grown in the future. He likes the idea of that.
"So what do you think?" John nods to the research once he's done writing. He's looking for Sam's well versed insight.
"Um, I think there's no werewolf, honestly," Sam tells his father. "One random kill that has wolf written all over it and then nothing? Sounds like a copycat."
"What do you think did it then?" John wonders, never having seen a creature copy another creature's kill.
"We ran into a shifter pretty recently that did this kinda thing," Sam says, remembering the severely damaged shapeshifter that mimicked monsters from movies. "But I doubt that's it. There would be a clear motive around the murder if it was."
"Yeah, there's definitely no clear motive on this one," John returns. "Damn it, there's no hunt here, is there?"
"Whatever was here is definitely gone now. I'd say no," Sam sadly answers, looking over at Sammy and Dean on the couch. No hunt means moving on and moving on means a new school. "Hey, um, dad?"
John looks over to Sam with the hint of a smile, liking the way dad sounded coming out of his much older son's mouth.
"You think you could hang out for a little bit maybe?" Sam asks of him. "Stick around here. Let them stay in one place for a just a little while?"
Furrowing his brow, John just stares back, making Sam think he's made a mistake.
"Sorry, I know I shouldn't say stuff like that…"
"Yes you should," John interjects. "You're talking about your own life. Look, I know I'm not dad of the year. I know I've given the two of you a difficult life to live, but there are reasons for that."
"Believe me, I know that," Sam quickly tells him. "I know all about that. And you picked the right path for us. We needed to grow up this way. You know what's coming for me, what happened to me and what's gonna happen. I know you do."
Nodding slowly while looking sadly over at little Sammy, John confirms Sam's suspicions.
"And because of you and how you raised us, Dean and I were ready to fight when the time came. We were never going to outrun what life had, and still has, in store for us. The only reason we're around right now, alive and still fighting, is because of you."
"Well I'll be damned," John grins softly. "You know every day I wake up and second guess myself. Wonder if this is right, wonder if I'm choosing the right thing for you boys. This… hearing you say that…." He sighs and washes his hand down his face, the relief spreading through him as he looks over at his two sons that he loves more than anything. He clears his throat suddenly and changes the subject, an old Winchester trick for when emotions threaten to take over. "You've been here awhile. Think I should drive you back over? Check on your brother and the girl?"
"Crap, yeah. Probably a good idea," Sam answers.
"You two wanna go for a spin?" John calls over to his sons on the couch.
"Where to?" Dean asks immediately.
"Gonna drop Tom off at his house," John explains, standing and grabbing his jacket. "It'll get you guys outta the motel for a while."
"Ok," Sammy responds while getting up. Dean follow suit and all four pile into the Impala together.