Day of the Dead

Chapter Two: Believe

Dean wrapped his arm a little tighter around Dalia when he woke up the next morning. He still felt bad for what he'd said about his dad being right. John was right, everyone that ever got involved with a Winchester ended up dead or hurt. She and Elena were living proof of that. He smiled and nuzzled her neck when she laced her fingers with his. "We have to go hunting today," she muttered.

He hummed in agreement and kissed her shoulder. "Think you and Dad can manage to get along?"

"Hey, I'm easy, but I'm not going to put up with his holier-than-thou attitude. We're not soldiers baby. We're hunters."

He really couldn't argue with her. He sighed and rolled onto his back staring up at the ceiling. He knew Sam and Elena were worried. John had been dead for years, and then all of a sudden, on Sam's wedding day he's back? It didn't make sense to Dean either but they dealt with the weird on a daily basis. As far as he was concerned they were given a gift and he wasn't about to look for a horse. He got up and went to the dresser, pulling out clean jeans. "Hey." He reached for his shirt that Dalia stole.

"Nope, I'm wearing this one today." It was one of his red flannels. She winked and pulled it on over her bra, tying a knot in the back to it didn't hang too much. She pulled on her jeans and boots, watching Dean look for a different shirt. "Wear the blue one," she said.

"Why?" He pulled it out and slipped it over his shoulders.

"Because the blue brings out your eyes." She smiled and got up. "And I love those eyes." She kissed his cheek and grabbed her bag, stuffing clothes in it.

He smirked and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her ass against him. "Yeah? Well I love this ass." He grabbed a handful in his hand and smirked.

She moaned lightly and continued packing. "Too bad your daddy is in the house." She pushed her hips back and zipped her bag. "And we've got work to do."

Dean rolled his eyes and gave her a playful smack before packing up his bag. In ten minutes they were walking out of the room and down the hall to the library. They were halfway there when they heard Sam and John already going at it at six in the morning. "Like hell she's staying here," Sam said, dropping his bag on the table. "She's a good hunter. She's going with."

"It's not a good idea, Sam. You get too many people on a hunt and you blow the cover. Whatever it is runs and we're stuck grasping at straws while more people die." John had his arms crossed and he was giving Sam that military look Dean had come to fear as a kid.

"I really don't give a shit." Sam looked over at Dean and Dalia. "Back me up here."

Dalia shrugged her shoulders. "He has a point, Sam." She held her hand up so Sam wouldn't interrupt her. "But if John thinks that Dean is going on a hunt without me, he's got another things coming. I don't expect you to leave your wife at home either." She pegged John with a look. "This ain't the 1970s anymore John, women hunt."

Dean smirked a bit. He found it a major turn on when Dalia stood up to his dad like that. He put his arm around her and looked at John. "She's right Dad, if we're going, they're going."

John threw his arms in the air and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but if this gets us killed or we lose the damn thing, it's on you two." He glared at the girls before grabbing his bag and walking up to the garage.

"This is going to be so much fun," Elena muttered, grabbing her own bag.

Since John knew where they were going, Dean let him drive and sat in the front beside him. Dalia opted for the backseat, Sam between her and Elena. "You want to share with the class, John?" Dalia asked after half an hour had passed. They still had no idea why they were going on the hunt, just that John had found one.

He sighed and leaned back in the seat a little. "There's a small town, not too far from here, about a day's drive. Six people have been killed so far. Not many witnesses, but the ones there are have been claiming fairy tale creatures are behind it."

Dean glanced back at Sam. They'd dealt with something like this before. "What kind of fairy tale creatures?"

"One woman claims that a giant ate her husband. Another says that an evil witch poisoned her daughter with an apple." He looked at Dean. "There are a few others."

"Any connection between the victims?" Sam asked.

"None that I can see right now. They were all liked, that's about it."

The car fell into silence again as everyone mulled the case over. It didn't sound exactly the same as the case Sam and Dean had worked, but it was similar, that was for damn sure. Dalia watched from the back as Sam and Elena asked a few more questions. She noticed the way that John only seemed to address Dean, even if Dean hadn't asked the question. No wonder Sam and he fought so much. She shook her head. This was going to be a long, painful hunt.

xXx

By the time they pulled up to the motel it was too late to really do anything. They all climbed out of the Impala, stretching their cramped limbs from the long drive. John looked across the hood of the car at Dean. "Why don't you grab the bags, I'll get the rooms."

"Rooms?" Elena asked. "Since when do we need more than one?"

"Since there are five of us. We'll run research out of our room, you and Dalia will just sleep somewhere else."

Elena's jaw unhinged. He couldn't be serious. He really expected her and Dalia to sleep in a different room? She was about to go off on him again, but she was too damn tired to argue. "Whatever." She grabbed her bag out of the trunk when Dean unlocked it. She might be his daughter-in-law, but if he kept this shit up, she was going to punch him.

"Are you really okay with this?" Sam asked.

She shook her head. "No, Sam, I'm not. But I'm not going to argue with him tonight." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Just, do what he says for now, we'll deal with it in the morning."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm still sleeping with you," he whispered into her hair. She had to admit, that made her feel a little better. They followed John to the rooms. He handed a key to Elena and unlocked his own room.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll meet at six." He walked inside.

Dalia huffed and looked at Dean as Sam and Elena walked into the room. "Where are you bunking?" she asked. He was torn. He didn't want to upset Dalia again. But on the other hand, he didn't want to piss off his dad. He looked between her and the room. "Never mind." She walked into the other room and slammed the door shut.

"Damn it." Dean sighed and walked into the room he'd be sharing with his dad, alone, and closed the door. It was going to be a long hunt.

xXx

The next morning Dalia walked into the room and Dean didn't miss the way she ignored him and sat in a chair at the table, kicking her feet up on the table. She crossed her arms and tipped her head back, closing her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept at all. He felt like shit. He walked over and kissed her cheek. "Morning baby." She hummed and didn't open her eyes.

He sighed and sat in a chair as Sam and Elena walked in. John came from the bathroom and got right to work. "Okay, Dean, I want you and Sam to take the morgue, go look at the bodies. Girls, can you handle talking to some witnesses?"

"I'll try really hard to mind my p's and q's," Dalia muttered without opening her eyes. Dean rubbed his eyes. This wasn't going well. "What is our fearless leader going to do?"

John glared at her. "I'll talk to the cops." He got up and grabbed his coat. "Get a move on. I want reports every two hours."

Dalia rolled her eyes as she got up. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the room with Elena right behind her. Sam looked at Dean. "Don't start." Dean grabbed his jacket and walked out to the Impala climbing in. He'd planned on offering the girls a ride but they were already out of the parking lot. He climbed in and drove off once Sam was buckled in next to him. "How mad is she?" he blurted out.

Sam sighed and glanced at him. "She's not happy, and honestly, I don't blame her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dean, even you have to admit that Dad's been an even bigger dick than usual since he got back."

Dean rubbed his eyes as he pulled up to the morgue. "No, I don't have to admit that." He climbed out and slammed the door. He didn't want to get into this. He never should have asked the damn question to start with.

The medical examiner was a bust. As far as Dean could tell the girl had been poisoned, another looked like he'd been gnawed on by a wolf. They looked like normal killings, but they fit the fairy tale stories. He rubbed his eyes as he and Sam walked back to the car. "This is weird," he said looking over at Sam. He did a double take and stopped dead in his tracks. "Son of a bitch…" In the middle of the road was a big, black, wolf. It bared its teeth, growling at Sam and Dean. "Is that…?" he asked.

"The big bad wolf? Yeah I think so." Dean pulled his gun and aimed it. Before he could take a shot a large ax was buried into the wolf's neck. They looked over. John was standing there. He looked different, but Dean couldn't place it. Not at first. John walked over and pulled out the ax. He was wearing different clothes than he had been earlier. "What's going on?"

"It was the wolf." John walked over, holding the ax. "What happened to your clothes?" he asked.

Sam and Dean looked at themselves. Dean was wearing more leather than he had been earlier, and a deep red vest. Sam's suit had changed colors and was a little tighter, fitted better. "What the hell is going on?" Dean asked.

John swore. "I was afraid of this." He looked at his boys. "We're becoming the stories."

"No, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"Get in the car, we need to find the girls."

They climbed in and Dean called Dalia. "Please tell me you're normal," she hissed into the phone.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"You mean other than the fact that my hair is about a foot longer and Elena's humming and twirling around in a dress? Nothing, we're peachy."

"Damn it." Dean rubbed his eyes. "We're turning into fairy tale characters," he told her. "I'm thinking Dad is the huntsman who kills the big bad wolf." He glanced at Sam. "No clue who me and Sam are supposed to be yet."

"I've got an idea on Sam. I'm pretty freaking sure Elena's turning into Cinderella."

"What makes you say that?"

"She's asking the damn mice where our killer is."

"Where are you?"

"The square in the middle of tow—son of a bitch!"

"Dalia? Dalia!" He could hear scuffling on the other end.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "I tripped on my damn hair."

"We're on our way."

xXx

Dean could see Dalia sitting on the ledge of the fountain, letting Elena braid her hair that had grown outrageously long. "I'm guessing Rapunzel?" Dean asked, crossing his arms.

She shot him a dirty look. "The second I end up in a dress I'm shooting someone." She winced when Elena pulled a little roughly on her hair. "Son of a bitch." She looked Dean over, noticing the leather. "Who are you supposed to be exactly?" she asked.

"Captain hook." Sam smirked and showed her the hand Dean had been trying to hide. It was gone, in its place was a shiny silver hook.

"Yeah, well Sammy here is Prince freaking Charming." He pulled his hand away and looked at Elena. "You done singing princess?"

She glared at Dean. "After Dalia all but slapped me stupid? Yeah." She finished braiding Dalia's hair. "There. Stop bitching."

"You know what, you have hair that drags two feet behind you on the ground, then we'll talk." She pulled the braid over her shoulder and stood up. It's still touched her knees. "I'm getting a headache."

"What the hell is going on?" Elena demanded. "Why are we turning into fairy tale characters?"

"Dad thinks it's the spell. Whoever is controlling it obviously doesn't want us to find them." Dean sat down awkwardly putting his hook hand on his leg. He still didn't know how to move with the damn thing. They needed to reverse this because he was so not looking forward to eating.

"Do we have any leads?" Dalia asked.

"Just one." Sam pulled out a paper and handed it to her. The cover story was about a kid who looked like he was captain of the mathletes had saved the head cheerleader from a dragon.

"Seriously?" She looked up at Sam. "This is our lead? Geek boy saves the girl?"

"It makes sense. He could be working the spell to get the girl, better his life. It wouldn't be the first time."

She rubbed her temples. "Do we know where to find our knight in shining armor?"

"Yeah, we do." John pulled out his gun. "He's giving a speech at the mayor's office."

xXx

By the time they actually made it to the mayor's office, they'd completely changed. Dean was dressed in full pirate attire from the long leather coat to the boots on his feet. Sam was dressed like a prince, regal suit and shiny black shoes and a sword at his waist. John hadn't changed too much, just more leather and less plaid. Elena was wearing a full ball gown, complete with glass slippers. Dalia was grinding her teeth. She'd ended up in a pink dress. And if walking was hard in the dress, the heels made it twice as difficult. Her hair had grown another foot, the braid trailing behind her on the ground. She was gripping her gun. "I'm going to shoot someone," she growled.

Dean smirked and looked her over. "I don't know, I kind of like this look."

"Say that again and I'll shoot you." They walked into the mayor's office and looked around. The kid they were after was pacing in front of the mayor's office, muttering his speech to himself. "Hey," she snapped.

His head shot up and he looked over. "Who are you?"

"We're the people who are going to stop you." Dean pointed his gun at him. "Stop the spell."

The kid laughed and shook his head. "You really think that's going to work on me?" he asked. He pulled an old leather book from his bag and flipped it open. He started to read. "Captain Hook, keeping to true pirate fashion, turned on his comrades." Dean's body moved without his consent, aiming the gun straight at Dalia's chest.

"What the hell?" He tried to move but his body wouldn't listen.

"It's the book," John stated. He took a step forward.

"The huntsman, with his noble heart, stepped in to fight the pirate to the death." John turned and punched Dean. The gun scattered across the floor. The others watched while Dean and John exchanged punches and kicks. Dalia winced when John threw Dean into the wall, cracking the plaster. "You can't beat me."

She turned her eyes on the kid. "We'll see about that." She pulled her gun and aimed for his hand. He dropped the book. Sam pounced on it while Dalia kept her gun trained on the witch.

"You can't do that! Guns are against the rules!"

"This isn't a game," she snapped. "People are dying."

"Only the assholes. Only the people who think they're better than me just because they're attractive." He crossed his arms and glared at them. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" He pulled a sword out of his bag and swung it at Sam.

Sam pulled his own sword, blocking the witch and tossed the book to Elena. She caught it, stumbling on her heels. Dalia glanced at John and Dean. They were both sporting black eyes and cuts on their faces. She pulled her lighter out of her bag. She and Elena went to the nearest fireplace and tossed the book inside. "I hope this works." Dalia knelt in front of the fireplace and set the book on fire. She heard the kid scream as the pages went up in smoke.

Her hair shrank and the dress disappeared. Elena's clothes went back to normal. The swords turned into sticks, and Dean's hand came back. "Oh thank god." They turned and looked at the kid. "What should we do with him?"

John pointed his gun at him. "We do what we do with all monsters."

"You can't kill him." Elena stepped in front of the kid. He was curled into the fetal position on the floor, crying at the loss of his book. "The book is gone, he can't hurt people anymore. I'm not going to let you kill a kid."

John glared at her. "Elena. Move."

"Make me." She crossed her arms.

"Dad, she's right," Sam said. "He can't hurt anyone again."

John swore and turned on his heels, walking out of the building. Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. They quietly followed him out and got back into the car. The silence back to the motel was painful.

Dalia, Elena, and Sam went to the room they'd stayed in to pack up. "Sam, I know he's your dad…but we need to do something about him," Dalia said quietly. She really didn't want to piss either of the boys off. But something about John wasn't right. It was like he had no soul, but Castiel had assured him that it was intact.

"I know…" He zipped up his bag and sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around Elena when she came to stand in front of him. "We'll look some more when we get back to the bunker. If there's anything on this anywhere, the Men of Letters had it."

"And then what?" They looked over at Dean. He was standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. "No, seriously, what then?" he asked again. "Are you going to kill him?"

"Dean."

"No, Sam." He shook his head. "Damn it, look, yes he's a little high strung, he's been dead for years. What do you expect? Can't we just call it a day?"

"Dean, something's not right. You're just too blinded by your love for him to see it."

He glared at Dalia. "You know, I expected this from Sam and Elena, but not you. After everything I've done for you, everything we've been through, I honestly thought you would have my back on this."

She glared at him. That was a low fucking blow and from the way he wouldn't meet her eyes he knew it too. "Fuck you, Winchester." She grabbed her bag and walked out, throwing it into the trunk and climbing into the back seat. John laid on the horn when the others didn't follow.

Sam sighed and got up, grabbing his and Elena's bags. They walked out to the car. Dean climbed into the front with John and Sam let Elena sit by Dalia for the ride back to the bunker. Dalia was right. Something needed to be done about John. If Dean couldn't see it that was his problem. They just had to make it through the next eight hours.