"What did I tell you?" Sam growled, his hands running his hair back. "Can't hear your head rattle, Jen." I stared at my feet. I really needed new shoes. "Hey!" Sam jerked my chin up and glared.
"You said not to say anything." I whispered. "Sam, I got really sick and Wes read my thoughts. He told Sam about it. I'm sorry."
"I need you to be smart. I need your help and to do that, you need to keep them out of the way. Understood?"
"Yes sir." I gave my best puppy dogface and Sam straightened up and leaned forward.
"I invented that look." He rolled his eyes, and took me by the arm. We started walking down the same alley. There was a figure in the alley that I couldn't quite make out but he seemed to be human.
"Who is that, Sam?" I asked, my voice almost too quiet for him to hear. He didn't answer, instead just guided me closer. It was a man with light brown hair, in a trench coat a few shades lighter than his hair. He didn't wear an expression on his face; he stood straight and was quite intimidating.
"Castiel." Sam greeted.
"Is this her?" Castiel asked, staring down at me.
"Yes. This is Jen."
"Good. We have lots of work to cover."
"Sam, who is he?" I whimpered, looking up at the man who was quite frightening.
"This is Castiel. He's going to help train you." Sam smiled encouragingly, putting a hand on the back of my neck. Come on, we're almost there.
I trudged along the alley, resulting in scowls from Sam for me to hurry. Finally we came to a stop and Castiel turned to me. "We are here." He took my hand and he knocked on the wall three times. It opened and the three of us walked in. Inside was a garden of immense beauty. I held my breath, taking in the sight before me. "This is the garden."
"The garden?" I asked.
"Yes. We are in Heaven." Castiel looked down at me again and held up his other hand to quiet me. "You are not dead."
"Jen, please sit down." Castiel sat Indian-style on the grass, motioning for me to do the same. "You are to fight me mentally."
"From wha—" An agonizing pain shot through my spine; my skull felt as if it was going to shatter from the pressure. I couldn't stand the pain and I started to cry, tears streaming down my face. "STOP!" I cried, "Please Castiel." The pain stopped, but the disappointment on Sam's face made me feel worthless.
"You need to stay strong, Jen." Sam scolded. "You can do this. Just be stubborn and don't let him do this. I know you can do this."
"Okay. I'm ready Cas—" I cried out as the pain came rushing back. I stopped and took a breath and glared at Castiel. 'You can't do this to me.' I thought, imagining him cringing in the same pain he pushed on me. The pain disappeared and Castiel nodded approvingly.
"Much better."
I smiled and looked over at Sam, warmth went through me as I noticed his pleased expression.
"That wasn't so bad!" I grinned.
"I held back much of my strength, child. We have plenty of work to do." Castiel looked up to the skies and sighed. "Unfortunately, we must end this lesson."
"Remember what I said, Jen." Sam added. Castiel put his fingers on my head and everything went black.
I opened my eyes, and glanced over Dean's shoulder at the clock. 5:45 AM. I groaned, realizing I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. Dean rolled over, his face almost touching mine. I held my breath as I slowly peeled the covers off and maneuvered my way out of bed, carefully trying to not wake Dean up.
"Hey." I looked up at Dad sitting at the table drinking coffee. "Let's go for a walk." He stuck his hand out and I took it. Even though I was in sweats and one of Dad's marine shirts, I didn't care. I quickly slid my shoes on before we headed out the door. "We have to leave soon, so we can pick up breakfast." Dad smiled as he shut the door behind us.
My stomach cringed as the memory of yesterday flooded back. The disappointment on his face, the anger on Dean's when he found out I lied. I shuddered, but it didn't go unnoticed. "The only reason I spanked you after I said Dean was punishing you is because you really scared me. You have to learn that hunting is dangerous. I made that mistake with Dean and Sammy. I'm not going to let you or your brother go down that road too."
"I'm sorry, Daddy." I could feel the tears start up again and I silently cursed myself for being weak.
"I love you sweetheart." He stopped long enough to kiss the top of my forehead. We didn't say anymore as we headed in the diner.
A few hours had passed. We packed the impala and Dad's truck up and got on the road. Wes and I got in the backseat of the impala and Dean and Sam rode in the front. Dean's Led Zeppelin CD blared through the speakers as we drove down the lonely road. I glanced over at Wes silently working through his homework and rolled my eyes.
You're such a nerd, I smiled.
Wes scowled; At least I'll be sitting down at dinner tonight.
I can go a day without getting in trouble.
Really? Wes smirked, before getting back to his homework.
"Jen, I want you to get some reading done before we make it to the diner for dinner." Sam said as he turned down the radio, much to Dean's disapproval.
I groaned, but at Sam's raised eyebrow I quickly responded, "Yes sir."
A book in the corner of my eye caught my attention and I smiled. It was one of the books Daddy was researching yesterday for the case. I grabbed the book and shoved it in my spiral notebook. I admired its torn edges and the leather it was bounded in. I opened the first page and it read, I went to Missouri and learned the truth. I closed the book and noticed the initials JW written in the bottom right corner. I shrugged and continued to read.
"Yeah." Dean answered. "Got it." I heard Dean click his phone shut. "Sammy, grab Dad's journal from the back. He said he forgot it."
Sam turned around and reached in the seats, but instead grabbed my English book. I looked up, my eyes widen as I realized that Sam was about to catch me red-handed and it was too late for me to do anything. I gulped, my betrayal screaming at him as I watched him connect the dots. "What are you reading?" His voice grave and dark.
"Are you reading Dad's journal?!" Dean bellowed from the front seat, glaring at me from the rearview mirror.
"Uh—it was in the…um…you said I needed to read! You didn't say what!" I quickly yelled, fear suddenly taking over my thoughts.
One day. You can't go one day. I reached over and punched Wes in the arm. "Shut up!" I yelled, giving my best Dean glare face.
"Hey, don't make me pull the car over Jen." Dean warned.
I threw my hands down and muttered, "Pull the car over, I don't give a fuck."
Dean slammed on the brakes, pulling over onto the side of the road. He reached behind the seats and grabbed me out of the car. "Dean, I'm sorry. Please, I won't ever disrespect you again, please I'm so sorry." I begged with everything I had. Dean started to bend me over the impala hood, until Dad pulled in behind us in the truck and he was next to us.
"What's going on?" Dad asked, confused.
"Do you want to tell him, or should I?" Dean crossed his arms, waiting for me to respond. Finally, bravery overcame me and I stuck my jaw out glaring at Dean.
"You can tell him."
"Jennifer. What did you do?" Dad growled, completely vanquishing any amount of confidence I had two seconds ago. Instead of answering him, I reached in the backseat and took Dad's journal and for a moment, Sam and Wes both shot me a sympathetic look. Great. I'm going to die.
I sighed and handed over the journal to Dad. I flinched when he went straight from tired to completely pissed off. "You read my journal?" He whispered. "ANSWER ME!" He grabbed my arm and jerked me forward.
"Yes sir. I was also very disrespectful towards Dean."
"How much did you read?"
I dropped my gaze down to the floor. "I was almost done before they caught me." I whispered.
I blanched when Dad threw his journal in Dean's arm, undid his belt and he grabbed my arm before Dean threw himself between us. "Back off."
"You don't tell me what to do. Get out of my way, Dean." Dad warned angrily.
Dean took a deep breath and stood strong. "You're pissed. You don't want to do something you'll regret. Wait until we get to a motel tonight."
"Fine." Dad let go of my arm and rethreaded his belt. "YOU." Dad pointed hard in my direction. "Disrespect your brother and he has my permission to beat your ass out on the side of the road before I deal with you. I promise you, I am going wear you out and you're going to behave if it's the last thing I do. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
"Yes sir."
Dad glared in the backseat at Wes, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "That goes for you too."
"Yes sir." Wes replied softly. I could see he wanted to defend himself, but any kid within reach of John Winchester would be an idiot to be in any shape disrespectful.
"Get your ass in the car." I quickly jumped over the seat into the back before he could change his mind about punishing me right then. "Dean, if they decide to bury themselves, you better just let them."
"Yes sir."
Dean got back in the car and glared at me in the rearview mirror. I smiled sheepishly, hoping to waver some of Dean's anger away. "Alright. We need a few ground rules. One—no being disrespectful. Two—keep the language clean. Three—anything to do with hunting or supernatural, don't do it unless I specifically order you to. Four—do what you're told, when you're told, without arguments. Five—don't piss Dad off. Are we clear?"
"Yes Dean." Wes and I grumbled.
"Sam?"
"What?"
"Is Dad going to kill me?"
When Sam didn't answer, Dean spoke up. "Dad's not going to kill you. I can't speak from experience." Dean looked over at Sam, and his blushing did not go unnoticed.
"You read Dad's journal?!" Wes exclaimed. "You're still alive?"
"Well, it was the worst I was ever punished, and I did stupid things growing up." Sam admitted.
"Like the time you ran away to Flagstaff?" Sam froze, turning around to face me.
"How do you know about that?"
"It was in his journal." I sighed, knowing the journal was going to cause lots of problems for me.
"Well, he definitely kicked my ass."
I sighed, staring out the window. Dean blared the radio again, speeding down the highway.
Hours passed and it was finally dark out. "Ugh…I'm tired of being in the car. Can we stop for the night?" Wes whined. I nodded my head in agreement.
Dean smiled and he pulled into the next motel. I heard the rumbling of the truck next to us and I panicked.
"No, wait! Let's keep going!" For a moment, I had forgotten the promised ass beating of my life, shaking the back of Dean's seat. "Please, Dean?"
"Sorry squirt. Time to face the music." He turned around and kissed my forehead, rubbing my hair.
"Jennifer." I looked up and Dad stood in the doorway of the motel. I got out of the impala, and noticed that Sam had slid over to the driver's side. "Boys, go grab some dinner. Dean, you can go too."
"Absolutely not. I don't care if I'm not in the room, but I'm not leaving sir." Dean took my hand and led me into the motel room. Dad shut the door behind us.
"Fine. Jen, sit down." I sat on the bed and took a deep breath. "I want to know how far you read."
I bit my lip, trying to decide if I should lie or just tell him the truth. Judging by Dad's face, I knew what I had to do. "I know about the fire, about how you met my mom. I know that you found out that something is wrong about Wes and I. You had some theories about whether we were human. I know about the demons you hunted. I was reading the part about the night that Sam went to Stanford, how they thought you had disappeared. I learned that you made a deal with yellow-eyed demon to save Dean, and you crawled out of hell. That was when Sam caught me."
Dean looked completely shocked, and Dad just determined. "Dean, go to a different room, or stay out of the way. Stand up." He ordered.
I stood up and he sat in my place. He pulled me to his side with his fingers in my jeans. He kept muttering angrily about girl jeans as he fumbled with the button. "Daddy, I can undo them—" He looked up angrily. "You've done enough, don't you think?" Finally, he managed to pull my jeans down and he flipped me over his knees, pulling my underwear down afterwards.
SMACK. I cried out after the first swat, again with the second one. This was definitely going to suck, especially since the spanking from yesterday made it extra sensitive. "Daddy—please." I sobbed, as he continued to spank. He used force and speed, not stopping. He started at the top and worked his way down, and I just cried, the guilt pouring out as I realized he must really hate me right now. I screamed when he started on my upper thighs. He then started working his way to the top again. Finally, he yanked my underwear back up and stood me up.
"I specifically warned you and Wes about reading my journal. I know I did, because I engraved it in your head since you were old enough to read. Am I wrong?"
"No sir," I sniffled.
"Why are you in trouble?"
"For reading your journal, and being disrespectful to Dean.
"What did I say would happen if you disobeyed a direct order?"
"Daddy, it wasn't a direct order!" I whined, crying again.
"It was a direct order. I know because I TOLD YOU MYSELF!" Dad boomed, his voice echoing in the motel room. "Answer the question."
"I don't remember." I whispered, hoping he had forgotten the answer.
"Clearly, you don't take my orders seriously. I guess we'll have to rectify that right now. Bend over the bed." He glared at me, daring for me to disobey him. I bent over the bed, choking as a sob as I felt him pull my panties down again. I heard the swish of the belt. I felt him holding my back down as the first stripe came down. I heard it before I felt it. I didn't actually feel the burn until he laid in the second one. I screamed loudly as it felt worse than what Castiel had done in my dream. "I promise I won't ever read again. I won't even look at a book anymore. Pleaseeeeee. " I sobbed. I tried to move out from under the belt, and he finally stopped after the fifth one.
"Jennifer Winchester," I head him growl low. "If you don't stop kicking and squirming, I'm starting over." Those were the magic words needed for me to bury my face in the sheets and stay still with everything inside. I grunted when he quickly brought down the belt again and I jumped up. "Daddy, I can't take anymore…" I sobbed planting my face in his side. He sighed, hugging me before he flipped me over his knee. "I'm sorry, but you're not done yet kiddo." With even heavier force than before, he brought down the belt five more times before he threw it down. I lay limp over his lap and sobbed uncontrollably as pulled my underwear up and he rubbed circles in my back.
After a few minutes, he lifted me up onto his lap-careful to sit me gently, and he let me cry into his chest as he rocked back and forth. "Now that I have your attention, you better not ever try that again. Okay?"
"'m sorry."
"I forgive you. I love you sweetheart. Let's talk about it again, to make sure we're on the same page though. What was the spanking for?"
"I disobeyed an order, read something I wasn't supposed to, and was disrespectful to Dean." I could feel the tears coming back as I thought about Dean and how he must be upset with me too.
"Go see your brother." At the request, the tears started to fall but I didn't disobey again. I saw Dean in the kitchen working on his laptop. He shut it and let me on his lap, careful to not sit me directly on his knee.
"Hi kid."
"Hi." I responded meekly.
"I don't need to beat your ass, do I?" Dean smirked, ruffling my hair.
"Please don't." I laid my head against his shoulder, fingering his necklace.
"I won't. However, tomorrow you're doing lines for me when you're done with your homework. You're going to write: I will never disrespect or curse at my really cool awesome big brother." Dean winked. "I guess I have to get something out of it too."
"I'm sorry."
"After the ass-whooping Dad just dished out, I'll be surprised if you don't apologize for the weather being crappy." He teased. I groaned, burying my face into his shoulder blade. "I love you, squirt."
"I love you too, Dean." I mumbled, my eyelids getting heavier. Dean started to rock back and forth, cradling me like a toddler. He started humming 'Stairway to Heaven', and even though normally I would fight that I wasn't a kid, I didn't budge. I gently closed my eyes, humming along the vibrations from Dean's chest, finally drifting off into sleep.
Author Note:
Thank you for being patient! It has been a crazy month, plus I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go with this—but now I do! Also, to spare confusion it follows the storyline up until the end of season two when John Winchester crawls out of hell. Instead of going to heaven, he is made human again. I am creating my own new story, but there will be some content from the show that will remain pertinent.
Stay tuned and I'll try not to take so long with the next updates!
Thanks, Spades