DISCLAIMER: I do not own Supernatural or its characters. I only own Brinley!
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Brinley woke before Sam and Dean later that afternoon. She rolled her eyes as they both snored in unison with their mouths gaped open. She was surprised she had been able to sleep through the noise. She made her way to the table where Dean had set down the Walmart bags. A carton of croissants caught her, and her stomach growled with approval. She quietly opened the carton and pulled out two croissants. She took a seat at the table and rummaged through the newspapers that had been left there. Moments later Dean's cell phone began to ring.
"Dean," grumbled Sam. Dean didn't wake up so Sam answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Sam, is that you?" questioned the voice on the other end.
"Dad? Are you hurt?" Sam asked. Brinley shot up in her chair and focused her attention on Sam.
"My Dad?" she questioned quietly. Sam looked at her quickly, and then focused back on the phone call.
"I'm fine," John replied.
"We've been looking for you everywhere. We didn't know where you were, if you were okay," Sam replied.
"Sammy, I'm all right. What about you and Dean?" John asked.
"We're fine Dad, but we have news for you…where are you?" Sam asked. Dean finally woke and sat up in his bed.
"Sorry, kiddo, I can't tell you that," John replied, "What do you need to tell me?"
"Is that Dad?" Dean interrupted.
"You have a daughter, her name is Brinley, she's here with us," Sam stated.
"I know Sammy," John replied, "Please take care of her until I can be with all of you." Sam was caught off guard by his Dad's response.
"You know?" he questioned with frustration, "And why can't you tell us where you are?"
"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand. You're just gonna have to trust me on this," John replied.
"You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Mom," Sam replied. Brinley listened intently.
"Yeah. It's a demon, Sam," John replied.
"A demon? You know for sure?" Sam asked.
"A demon? What's he saying?" Dean questioned.
"A demon?" Brinley wondered to herself.
"I do. Listen, Sammy, I, uh…I also know what happened to your girlfriend. I'm so sorry. I would've done anything to protect you from that," John said.
"You know where it is?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it," John replied.
"Let us help," Sam urged.
"You can't. You can't be any part of it," John replied, "And you need to keep that little girl far away from all of this. This demon would hurt her for sure, and you."
"Why?" Sam demanded.
"Give me the phone," Dean ordered.
"Listen, Sammy, that's why I'm calling. You and your brother, you gotta stop looking for me. Alright, now, I need you to write down these names," John said.
"Names? What names, Dad—talk to me, tell me what's going on," Sam demanded.
"Look, we don't have time for this. This is bigger than you think, they're everywhere. Even us talking right now, it's not safe," John replied worriedly.
"No. Alright? No way," Sam snapped.
"Give me the phone," Dean ordered again.
"I have given you an order. Now, you stop following me, and you do your job. You understand me? Now, take down these names," John ordered. Meanwhile, Dean grabbed the phone from Sam's hands.
"Dad, it's me. Where are you? (…) Yes, sir. (…) Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?" Dean asked. Dean scribbled them down, and within seconds John hung up the phone. Sam glared at his older brother. He was frustrated that Dean always did what he was told when it came to their Dad.
"Is he coming for me?" Brinley immediately asked when Dean placed the phone back on the charger.
"No kid, sorry," Dean replied. "Soon though."
"What? Where is he? Doesn't he want to meet me?" Brinley questioned as she jumped up from the chair.
"He's too busy for us," Sam snapped, and then headed into the bathroom.
"Listen kid….I know he wants to meet you, but he can't leave work right now, he has a deadline to meet and it's important for the family business," Dean lied. Brinley eyed him suspiciously.
"I call bullshit," she snapped. Dean's eyes widened with surprise. "You guys are drug dealers or weapon smugglers, or something bad…I just know it. Demon must be your code for whatever illegal thing you're in to. Tell me what's going on or I'll call the police!" Dean sighed with frustration.
"Watch the mouth…and actually kid, we're the good guys, we're the ones who keep people safe from the scary creatures you've only seen in the movies," Dean stated. "You know….werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and other things that go bump in the night. Saving people, hunting things, that's the family business." Meanwhile, Sam came out of the bathroom. Brinley looked at him for reassurance and he nodded his head in agreement.
"You want me to believe that you kill vampires?" she questioned.
"Believe what you want, but it's the truth," Dean replied with all seriousness. Brinley was speechless as she processed what he had just told her. As crazy as it seemed, she found herself believing him. "We should hit the road soon. Dad wants us to check something out."
Within a couple of hours, and after a Walmart stop for clothes and supplies, they were on the road again. Brinley was surprised to see Sam driving. "Alright, so, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?" Sam questioned.
"Three different couples. All went missing," Dean replied.
"And they're all from different towns? Different states?" Sam questioned.
"That's right. You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again," Dean replied.
"What happened to them?" Brinley questioned curiously.
"Well, it's a big country. They could've disappeared anywhere," Sam replied.
"Yeah, could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another," Dean explained. Brinley was immediately interested in their conversation. She always loved mysteries.
"This is the second week of April," Sam said.
"Yep," Dean replied.
"So, Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" Sam questioned.
"Yahtzee. Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master," Dean replied. Sam was annoyed, and pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car.
"What are you doing?' Dean asked.
"We're not going to Indiana," Sam stated.
"We're not?" Dean questioned.
"No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone. Sacramento area code," Sam said.
"Sam," Dean sighed.
"I want to meet my Dad too, but this sounds like a cool adventure," Brinley piped up from the back. Sam turned and looked at Brinley quickly, and then shook his head.
"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we've gotta be there. We've gotta help. Besides, do you really want to bring a kid to god knows where?"
"Dad doesn't want our help," Dean replied, "And she can stay in the car if things get bad. We can handle a kid Sam."
"I don't care," Sam sighed. "And bringing her is just asking for trouble. You think she's going to listen to us?"
"Hey!" Brinley interjected.
"He's given us an order," Dean stated firmly. "And she's coming, we have no choice. And yes, she had better listen to us."
"I don't care. We don't always have to do what he says," Sam replied with frustration. "And what the hell Dean, he knows about Brinley and he's not coming? He's leaving his responsibility up to us…once again."
"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important," Dean replied. "Besides, we grew up with this kind of life and so will she." Sam shook his head with frustration. He hated growing up the way he did, and he didn't want to see Brinley go through it too.
"No offense, but aren't you guys adults, can't you do whatever you want?" Brinley questioned.
"When you meet your Dad, you'll know why," Dean replied. Brinley was suddenly worried. Maybe she didn't want to meet her Dad? She thought he sounded like a bully. "Alright Sam, I understand, believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge," Dean replied. "Alright, look, I know how you feel."
"Do you?" Sam demanded. Dean's eyes widened with surprise at Sam's tone. "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?"
"Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us. I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away," Dean stated firmly.
"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him," Sam commented.
"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" Dean ground out. Sam angrily got out of the car with Dean close behind. Sam went to the trunk and began unloading his things. Dean followed after him, and Brinley listened intently from the back seat. "You're a selfish bastard, you know that? You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks," Dean said accusingly.
"That's what you really think?" Sam questioned.
"Yes, it is," Dean snapped.
"Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California," Sam replied as he swung his backpack onto his back. He started to walk away.
"Come on, you're not serious," Dean sighed, "And you can't leave this kid with me!"
"I am serious," Sam announced. "Deal with it."
"Hey, I'm taking off, I will leave your ass, you hear me?" Dean questioned with worry to his voice. Sam stopped and turned to face him.
"That's what I want you to do," Sam replied. They stared at each other for a few moments, each waiting for the other to say something.
"Goodbye, Sam," Dean finally replied as he closed his trunk, and then got in his car with Sam watching.
"Good going," Brinley commented to her big brother. Dean glared back at her through the rearview mirror. "Now what?" she questioned. Dean sighed with frustration. He couldn't believe he was stuck with an 11-year-old kid.
"We go to Indiana," he replied worriedly. He had no idea what he was getting himself in to, and neither did Brinley.
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A/N: Thank you for your comments! I appreciate them very much!