There was a little toe headed girl, no older than three, sitting on the floor next to a coffee table playing with a toy car. Dean sat on an old, well-loved, gray couch watching and sipping coffee, his feet up on the table made out of a piece of plywood screwed to two four by sixes in front of him. The little girl laughed to herself, much the way he remembered his brother doing when he was that little, her head tipping back in a full bodied laugh as she rolled the car along the table, bumping it into Dean's boot a couple times.
"Yous gotta move your foots," the little girl giggled. "I gots to drive my cah 'cross the table."
Dean moved his feet so the little girl could run the car along the table, scooting along on her knees behind it.
"I's going on a 'venture," The little girl nodded as she made the car fly and land on the floor, pushing it around the living room. Dean couldn't help but smile as she pushed past a part of legs and into the living room.
Dean looked up the pair of long legs to find Olivia walking toward him with her own cup of coffee.
"No work today?" she asked sitting down next to him.
Dean shook his head. "No, got today and Wednesday off this week, but I have to work next weekend. Traded with Phil. He has his kids, so I said I would take his weekend if I could have his Tuesday Wednesday. Works out for everyone."
"I don't gotta be at the bookstore 'til four," Olivia said. "Wanna take her and go to the park or something, then go out to lunch?"
"Yeah," Dean smiled. "I think she'd like that."
"Go get her?" Olivia said, pecking him on the mouth. "She likes you better."
"Cuz I give her cookies," Dean smirked pushing himself off the couch.
"Wrapped around her finger," Olivia giggled, holding her pinkie up in front of her face. "Daddy's little girl."
Dean rolled his eyes.
"Vroom!" the little girl rolled the car around the kitchen floor and over Dean's shoes.
"You wanna go to the park, Samantha?" Dean asked.
She looked up at him with very familiar big green eyes and pressed her lips together in thought.
"I think so Daddy," she nodded after a minute of contemplation. "I like the swings."
"Let's get you dressed then," Dean said, leaning down to pick her up.
"I can do it," Samantha nodded as they walked into her small room. "l good at clothes Daddy. I wear my pink shirt and pink tights." Dean placed her on her bed and pulled one of many pink shirts and tights out of her dresser.
"What skirt to you want to wear?" Dean asked.
"The blue one," Samantha nodded sliding off her bed. "I do it!" She grabbed the clothes out of Dean's hand and pushed him toward the door. "I do it all by myself."
"Alright," Dean laughed stepping outside her bedroom. "Let me know if you need help, Sammy."
"Go away," Samantha said, closing the door. "I do it."
Dean leaned against the wall next between the refrigerator and Samantha's room waiting for her to come out. Olivia entered the room to drop off her coffee cup and gave him a quizzical look.
"She can do it herself," Dean announced. "Doesn't need help."
"She's gonna end up in a horrible unmatched random outfit," Olivia sighed. "And I'm gonna hafta take her out in it and everyone's gonna stare and think I'm a bad mom."
"Tell 'em Daddy dressed her," Dean smirked walking to stand behind her while she rinsed her cup off in the sink. "She matches, I approved the clothes before she put them on."
"All done!" Samantha declared stepping of her room. "I need shoes. I don't tie them, need help."
"Beauty and the Beast shoes?" Dean asked.
"Those my favorite," Samantha smiled running over.
Dean and Samantha walked hand and hand out of the tiny house and down the street to the little park. There were a couple of families with small children running around, neighbors that Samantha was in daycare with when both her parents were working. Samantha pulled Dean toward the empty swings, while Olivia went to talk to the other moms sitting on the park bench watching their children play.
"Push me high!" Samantha demanded as Dean helped her up onto the swing. "I want to kick the sky."
Dean remembered Sam making that same demand whenever they went to the park near Bobby's or lived in a motel with a playground when they were kids. He always wanted to kick the sky, but the only way he could it was if Dean pushed him.
"Too high Daddy!" Samantha squealed. "I gonna go over the bar!"
Dean grabbed the chains to slow her down until Samantha stopped on her own. She hopped off and ran toward the other kid and the jungle gym. Dean went over to sit with Olivia. He could see the little girl from the bench. She climbed up the slide waving and smiling calling to Dean and Olivia to watch her.
"She grew up too fast," Olivia sighed placing her head on his shoulder. "Doesn't need us anymore."
"She's three," Dean chuckled. "She still needs us. She can't tie her shoes yet. Too young to get a job, so she needs us to pay for things. I gotta cut up her food. She can't reach the sink by herself. She can't read yet. She'll need us for a couple more years. My brother would still crawl into bed with me until he was nine when he was scared. We'll get a few more years."
"What would you think of having another one?" Olivia whispered sweetly into his ear. "Starting all over again?"
Dean looked over at her sideways. "Really?" Olivia nodded. "You sure?"
"Mmhmm," She hummed. "Had a doctor's appointment yesterday while you were at work, ran some standard blood tests like they always do when I go in, came back positive."
"Can we afford it?" Dean asked.
"We get by now," Olivia answered. "We're doing fine. We can figure it out. We always do."
She kissed him hard on the cheek as Samantha called again from the top of the slide.
When they walked home, Samantha clutching Dean's hand with one of hers the other holding a strawberry shake. They waved goodbye to Olivia as she heading in the other direction toward her job at the book store.
"You ready for a nap kiddo?" Dean asked as they climbed the rickety stairs to their front door.
"I very tired," Samantha nodded. "You read me a story? You read me the elephant books?"
"I'll read you some elephant books," Dean nodded as he opened the door.
Samantha ran to her room and grabbed her favorite bedtime story and brought it to the couch where Dean sat, squirming up onto his lap. He read the story until she fell sleep, then turned on the TV, watching the five o'clock news until he fell asleep too.
When he woke up, he couldn't breathe. He started to panic, reaching for something, someone to help him.
"Dean!" his brother yelled. Dean looked around trying to find where Sam's voice was coming from. "Don't move, alright, just don't move. Don't try to talk. I'm gonna get a nurse."
Dean tried to even out his breathing, he observed the room slowly, white walls, blue curtains, his leg suspended from the ceiling encased in a white plaster cast, tubes coming out of his arms and mouth. The nurse appeared next to him, flicking a light into his eyes.
"Okay, I'm gonna take the feeding tube out, alright?" she said. Dean nodded a little bit, and she set off to work.
He couldn't stop coughing as she checked his vital signs and charts, mad e him follow her finger with his eyes, poked him in the abdomen a few times. She smiled and left the room telling them that the doctor would be in shortly.
"Why aren't you at school?" Dean coughed. "Where's dad?"
"It's vacation, you've been out of a while," Sam answered. He uncapped bottled water and handed it to Dean. "Dad's chasing down a lead on something. He's in Maryland I think."
"He left you here alone?" Dean scoffed. Then slowly drank. It felt like he'd eaten a desert and a bunch of razor blades.
"Bobby's here," Sam replied.
"That's a two day drive," Dean shook his head. "How long was I out?"
Sam fidgeted, but didn't answer.
"Sammy?" Dean pressed. Sam refused to look at him. "How long was I unconscious?"
"A while?" Sam's voice raised to make it a question.
"Sam," Dean said sternly then started coughing so hard it hurt his ribs. "What day is it."
"Wednesday," Sam answered.
"Did Olivia call?" Dean asked slightly panicked.
"She left a message for you to call her back," Sam nodded. "I went to her house and told her you were in a car wreck, which is what Dad told everyone."
"And?" Dean pressed. "Did she tell you anything?"
Sam shook his head.
"I gotta call her," Dean tried to push himself up and reach for the phone
"That's not a good idea," Sam said quickly.
"Why?" Dean demanded, trying to sound like his father, but he voice was too hoarse to sound overpowering.
"It's April," Sam mumbled.
"What?" Dean shook his head. "You said it was vacation week."
"It is," Sam nodded. "Spring break."
"I've been out for two months?"
Sam nodded staring at the floor.
"Bullshit," Dean scoffed. "Not funny Sammy."
The doctor came in to check Dean over; he couldn't look away from his brother whose eyes were glued to the floor.
"You were a bit touch and go for a while there Mr. Winchester," the doctor said when he'd finished poking and checking Dean over. "Glad I finally get to meet you."
"When can I leave?" Dean asked irritably.
"Not for a few days at least," the doctor smiled. "We're going to take you for some x-rays of your leg. It should be fine, all healed up. And I want to do a brain scan make sure all the swelling is actually gone. I'm afraid it'll be a while yet before we can discharge you."
"Who's paying for all this?" Dean demanded.
"Dad," Sam said softly. "Dad took care of it. I'm gonna go call Bobby while you get the rest of your tests. Alright? He'll be here when you get back."
Dean fell back to sleep while getting his MRI. He woke up to Bobby playing his toes through is hospital blanket.
"Don't," Dean whined pulling his foot away.
"Hey, kiddo," Bobby smiled. "How ya feeling?"
"Tired," Dean yawned.
"You slept for two months," Sam rolled his eyes. "How can you be tired?"
"Shut up," Dean sighed. "It's really April?"
"Almost May," Bobby nodded. "What happened in the building? Your Daddy said he found you on a landing with a gash in your head."
"I don't really know," Dean answered. "I was doing what Dad said, then all this shit started flying at me and a board can at me. I guess I didn't duck."
"You went over a railing," Bobby answered. "You're lucky you woke up. Very lucky. Lucky you don't have a broken neck. You got someone watching over ya."
"Is Dad mad?" Dean mumbled. He hadn't finished the job; he'd failed another mission his father had sent him on. That was probably why he wasn't there. He couldn't bear to see his little fuck up.
"Dad's a jerk," Sam answered. "He was more worried about cleansing that stupid building than taking you to the hospital. When he dragged you out I thought you were dead. Dad ran back in to finish up. Left you crumpled in the back seat then he bitched about having to fake a friggin car accident to cover it up. You were barely breathing."
"Sammy," Bobby said sternly. "Don't, not right now." Then he turned to Dean. "He'll be happy to hear you're awake."
"How long did he wait before leaving?" Dean asked.
"Two weeks," Bobby replied, he looked sideways at Sam, as if warning him to keep his mouth closed. "He couldn't sit around and listen to your monitors beep. I sent him away. He was pacing and antsy."
"When can I get out of here?" Dean continued. "I don't want to be in here."
"Let them keep you overnight," Bobby said, squeezing Dean's calf. "You were in a coma, kiddo, just listen to the medical staff. They know what they're doing here. I'll get you out when I can."
Dean tried to call Olivia, left her messages on her parents answering machine every day for a week. He finally broke down and wrote her a letter, sent Sam to her house to deliver it. He told her he was sorry, but you can't really predict car accidents. He explained that he was moving to South Dakota to be with family, it was easier with his injuries and his dad's job, and gave her Bobby's home number and address if she wanted to get in touch with him. He asked her to please let him know what was going on. He needed to know.
He didn't hear back from her.
In Sioux Falls, Bobby made Dean go to a rehab clinic, so he could relearn how to walk after spending so much time not moving. Bobby liked the kid, but he wasn't pushing him around in a wheelchair for any longer than was necessary, and according to Bobby, the entrance of the hospital to the car was too long.
John met them after they'd been living at Bobby's for three weeks. He couldn't even look at Dean. Dean knew it was because he failed; ruined a fairly easy hunt. He hated that look in his father's eyes, that disappointment.
It took months to get back into hunting shape. Months of running PT drills three times a day against the advice of the people at the rehab facility and Bobby. He wanted to make up for his failings. He was going to make John proud of him. When he got back into shape, he was bigger, stronger, better than he was when entered the abandoned building in Amherst. He wasn't going to be that disappointment anymore.
An: I know this chapter was a little weird. There are a few reasons why I made the choices I did in this section, if you want to know, message me and I'll be glad to explain them. Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it.