We park the impala a couple miles down the road from the bunker. I don't see how we could get any farther into the middler of nowhere, but there's still three miles to walk. Dean carries my bag, which I really appreciate. I don't want to admit it, but I hate walking long distances. Sam and Dean are both six feet tall, and they can walk really fast. I practically have to run to keep up with them.
About half an hour later, we are at the entrance to what looks like a bomb shelter in the middle of the woods. Dean opens the door and says, "Welcome to your new home."
I walk in and take a look around. Well, one thing's for sure, it's a lot bigger than it looks on the outside. I look around, and I can see halls leading to endless rooms. Dean hands me my bag. "There are a few bedrooms. Pick one you like," he says.
I wander around the bunker, which seems more like a smaller version of the Institute from The Mortal Instruments series crammed into the back of the woods. It's huge, that's for sure. I peer into a few bedrooms; two of them are taken. I eventually decide on the one right next to the one that later turns out to be Dean's. I put the duffel bag down on my bed, which has simple grey bedding. There is a small closet, and a large wooden wardrobe. Connecting to my small bedroom, there is a bathroom, with a nice looking shower.
I start putting my brother's clothes into the wardrobe and closet. I fold the two pairs of jeans that I brought and put them in one drawer. It feels so empty, so I add my five t-shirts to another drawer. I hang my jacket in the closet. I realize that those are my only possessions, and that's what breaks me. Not the news story, not getting a tattoo (god, I had a tattoo), but realizing how little I had.
I start off with a few tears trickling down my face, and that soon turns into a flood of water coming down my face, and that soon turns into sobbing. I lie on my bed and start sobbing into the thin pillow. The image of my parents dying, and my brothers screams play over and over again in my head. The men with the black eyes and how soulless they were.
I realize something, too. My brother gave up his life so that they might not find me. The black eyed men heard me sob, and knew immediately that someone else was there. My brother knew that I would die if they didn't find someone to kill. So he gave himself up and bought me a little extra time, which saved my life. That makes me feel so touched, but it makes me mourn my selfless brother even more.
I don't notice it, but Dean stands at the doorway. He's debating whether or not to come in. He heard me crying from his bedroom, and doesn't know what to do. He decides to try and be there for me, and comes in the door. I feel the bed go down underneath his weight. "Skylar," he starts to say, but he doesn't really know how to continue. I don't turn around, and keep crying into my pillow. "Listen, I know I'm just a stranger to you right now, and that I have no clue what your family was like, and that I'll never ever be anything close to what they were to you, but I want you to know that I'm here for you," he says.
I look up and see Dean's concerned face. I can tell from the look he's giving me that he truly understands loss. "My brother gave up himself so I could have more time. He sacrificed himself so I could have a shot," I say, my lower lip trembling.
"Your brother sounds really great," Dean says, still unsure what to say. Before I know what I'm doing, I wrap my arms around Dean and start crying on his chest. Dean is surprised at first, and so am I, but he's all I have. He puts his arms around me and starts murmuring comforting words to me, although he's not even sure what he's saying.
About an hour later, Skylar's all cried out, and my shirt is soaked in her tears. I put her to bed, which is something I haven't done since Ben. I make sure she's fast asleep before I leave, and I can actually tell, unlike Sam. I knew that I needed to make sure she was alright before I left.
I close the door quietly as I leave the room. Sam is standing outside the door when I come out. I put my fingers to my lips for him to be quiet. We walk to one of the many rooms, and Sam starts talking. "I told you she'd have a breaking point," he says.
"I know," I say, shrugging. I sit down on the red leather couch. "I told you I'd be there for her when she hit it," I say.
Sam seems dazzled. (love that word. it makes Sam sound like a fairy princess) "You really did take care of that well, I'll admit. She definitely trusts you already, which is pretty impressive," he says.
"She needs someone right now. I think that she realized that I would be there for her, which is why she trusts me so much." Sam doesn't seem to think it makes much sense, but I can't care less right now. I feel so bad for that little girl who chose me to be her friend when her world came crumbling down. "Sammy, go a little easier on her. She's scared, and she could use all the help she can get," I say.
Sam looks at me, objecting. "I haven't done anything, Dean! I mean, I'm not exactly trying to be her best friend or anything, like you, but I haven't done anything," he says.
"No, you've been rude to her since the second we saved her and realized she has nothing." Sam rolls his eyes. "No, I'm serious, Sammy! She's just a scared little girl, man. She has no family, and if she did, they would all most likely be dead within the next few days. We can't just treat her like any other victim of a demon killing. She's our responsibility now and the least you can do is be a little nicer to her."
"I'm not taking care of her. It was your dumb idea to bring her here in the first place," Sam warns me.
I scoff. "Sam, where else would she go? She has no family, and demons are probably after her right now. We can't exactly leave her in an orphanage to rot," I say.
"Dean, we killed the demons that were after her. She would be perfectly safe in an orphanage, much safer than she is here. Everyone who we take in ends up dead, and you don't want to have Skylar die, do you?" Sam asks me.
"That's not going to happen, not to her. I'm going to protect her to the ends of the earth if I have to. She's going to be safe here, Sam. And, there's never just a couple demons who are after a family the size of hers. They slaughtered every living relative. There has to be a reason."
Sam doesn't deny the last part, and ignores it for the most part. "Why do you care so much about her? Does she remind you of Ben or something?" Sam asks.
He crossed a line. But, I keep myself calm. I can't get angry about that. It's been a long time since the whole thing with Ben, and I have to let it go. "Of course not. But she's our chance to have a family, Sam. You and I both have always wanted kids, and now we have one."
"She's not ours, Dean. You really think she's going to love us even close to how much she loved her real parents? Do you think we can love her the way we'd love a child who's our own?" Sam asks, and I can't deny he has one good point.
"Honestly, I think that if we try, we can love her just as much as any child. I know that she's not going to love us as much as her real parents, but if we're there for her when she needs us, she'll start. That's all we can ask for," I say.
"Dean, you think she's going to ever call you Dad? You're not her father, you're just some guy who saved her life and offered her a home after she saw her family slaughtered."
"At least I'm a hell of a lot nicer to her than you are. The only way we're going to get her to trust us is by making sure we're not complete dick bags to her. So far you haven't done anything to help your case," I say to him.
"I'm not going to be able to love her like my own child, Dean. If you can, then great. But she's not mine, and she's practically grown up already," Sam says.
I sigh. "I'm not asking you to love her like she's your daughter. Hell, you don't even have to love her like a niece if you don't want to. JUST BE FUCKING NICE TO HER." I scare him a little, which is kind of the point. As soon as I realize I yelled, I feel really bad. Not because I yelled at Sam, but because there is a chance I woke up Skylar. "Damn it," I murmur. I listen in her direction, and realize that I didn't wake her up. I calm down, and turn to Sammy.
"I'm gonna to go to bed," Sam says and leaves the room before I have time to say anything. I am left to my thoughts, and I think about how stupid I've been. I don't know how to take care of a girl, especially one who is going to be a teenager very soon. What am I thinking? It's not like she's going to love me the way she loved her father. I know that I never can never match her old family, especially when I have Sam acting like an asshole.
Still, I have a little glimmer of hope that somehow, this little girl will become my family. It's so stupid for me to think that, but I can't stop myself from hoping. I mean, I'm going to be living with her for the rest of my life, unless she runs away or something. There is one thing I am sure of-I am not going to let her end up like the rest of the people I've loved. She is going to be safe-I don't care if I have to go to the ends of the earth to make sure that happens. I owe it to her, and to her brother.