Monstrous Revelations

Black asphalt and lifeless trees seemed to be the only attractions for miles and miles as the black Chevy Impala cruised down the eternal highway with its family of five trapped inside. Time seems to go by quickly when you spend it with people you love, and that was just the case for Dottie. She had now been living with the Winchester family for two years, and time moved as quickly as the tires on the dry level ground. The now eleven-year-old Dot sat with her knees pulled up to her abdomen in the back of the car. It had been a less than optimal day for the family, especially for the curly black-haired cousin. The gentle rock tunes of ZZ Top began to play through her old father's cassette player and into her earphones. Dean's sweatshirt, which Dottie was currently wearing, wrapped her into a fierce hug. Staring at nothing in particular out the window, she used the sleeve of the worn AC/DC hoodie to wipe a tear out of the corner of her eye.

Hearing a sniffle from behind him, Dean cautiously turned around, hoping not to draw any of John's attention, and eyed his cousin. He hated seeing her like this.

If only she hadn't opened the damned journal. Dean thought to himself. He felt her eyes slowly move away from the window and up into his own, and he gave her a sympathetic smile before turning back around. The boy didn't need to give his father another reason to be upset at her. Dean looked in the rearview mirror to check on his other two siblings, Sam and Eli. Sammy sat diagonally, resting his head upon the hand-me-down car seat Eli occupied. Both were fast asleep and lost in the fantasies of their minds. He released a small smile seeing how content these two were and how innocent they looked snuggled up next to each other in the back seat.

Eli was now two years old, making the black floppy-haired boy sitting next to her six. Both had grown up so much since they first met Dottie, but they were still young enough to be utterly naive about the world - in particular, the things that lingered in the dark long after they had gone to bed.

Dean released a quick exhale and a silent prayer that maybe they would never have to find out. But with a dad like John, he knew they'd both be hunting those evils in no time. He slowly looked back at Dottie once more, trying to see if he could do anything to help her handle the news she'd just heard today.

Suddenly he felt a flick to his ear and a gruff voice echo throughout the Impala. "Turn around, Dean." John never left any room for disobedience, so he obeyed and faced the front and soon enough began drifting into his dreams, ones without monsters or villains - only family.

Dottie, on her part, never could find any uninterrupted rest that night. How could she sleep?

Now that Dottie knew monsters were real.

She cautiously drifted her blue eyes away from the freedom of the outside window and into her adopted fathers. Feeling the gaze of someone, John propelled his own hazel brown eyes into the rearview mirror. For one of the first time's in his life, he didn't know if he should be upset or relieved. John scanned her eyes, again and again, searching frantically for something other than fear and guilt. When he could find nothing else, he focused his attention back on the two-lane road.

Another tear threatened to spill out of Dottie's eye, but she managed to catch it before its escape. As anxious as she was, Dottie closed her eyes, hoping to find at least a couple of minutes of sleep. But all Dot could think about was the day's events that played through her mind on a never-ending loop.

Earlier that Day

"Dad will be back from his trip in about five hours," Dean told his siblings as they sat around the motel kitchen table. "So, Dipin' Dots, will you make sure that Eli is in bed?"

She nodded her head while simultaneously shoving his shoulder and devouring another spoonful of fruit loops. "Don't call me that." She mumbled. Dean smiled and looked towards his younger brother, who was currently playing peek-a-boo with Eli.

"Sammy, do you think that you could handle the dishes before dad gets home?"

"Where's Eli?" Sammy's small voice questioned as he covered his face with his tiny hands, "peek-a-boo!" Sam said, excitedly moving his hands and revealing a toothy smile. A shrill laugh resounded through the small room as baby Eli clapped her food-covered hands together and then smacked them over her delicate face.

"Peeek-aboooo!" She said towards her brother while revealing her now very messy and milky face. All of the siblings let out a laugh, and Sammy moved to cover his face again but stopped once he heard Dean's voice.

"Sammy?"

"What?" Sam asked quickly.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Can you handle the dishes?"

He let out a long exhale, "Yeah, Dean-o."

Once more, Dean rolled his eyes at the nickname before turning back to finish his cereal.

"Dean-o?" The small voice of Eli questioned while looking at her big brother Dean. She smacked her messy hands over her eyes and then, with a loud voice, yelled, "Peeek-aboooo!" while removing her tiny chubby fingers from her face, causing Dean to grin.

"Dip Dot?" Eli asked, now turning her attention to Dottie, with her head slightly turned.

Dot scoffed and looked dead at Dean, "See, now she's calling me that too!" She exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Peeek-aboooo, Dot!" Eli's hands quickly drew away, revealing yet another messy, happy face.

"Come on, Dottie, you can't admit that it isn't just a little cute." Dean joked, reaching over to shove her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah." She responded, looking down and smiling.

He smirked at his cousin, and the whole table engaged in a game with the youngest of the Winchester siblings.

After they had all finished eating, Sam started on the dishes while Dottie got Eli and herself ready for bed. In less than an hour, Sam and Eli were cuddled up and fast asleep in the bed farther away from the door, per Dean's instructions. Dottie watched as Sam held his younger sister close in his arms and subconsciously seemed to protect her even while sleeping. She moved the blanket over the two of them, smiled, and then went to sit by Dean on the almost destroyed motel couch. Scooby-Doo was playing on the old television, and Dot moved closer to her brother as he wrapped her into his arms. After a couple of minutes of peace, Dottie felt compelled to tell him something and moved out of his grasp, turning to face him.

"Dean," she began nervously, "I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" He questioned while turning down the TV volume to hear her better. Dottie got up off the couch and went to the bed they shared. She lifted the edge of the mattress and pulled out a storied and patched brown journal belonging to none other than John Winchester. Dean immediately shot up from the couch, eyes wide.

"Dottie! Did you take that from dad? Are you insane?" He questioned loudly. Eli shifted in Sam's arms, putting her thumb into her mouth. Dean took a breath, trying not to let his yelling wake up his siblings. "Dottie," he continued a little quieter, "Dad's gonna kill you when he finds out that's missing."

Dottie looked towards the floor and clutched the journal tightly in her arms. "Dean, I need to know what happened to my parents." She started and looked up to notice that his face had softened. "I haven't really read it yet, but before John left, I saw that he had written down both of my parent's names inside of here," She motioned towards the stolen journal, "and, so I thought that maybe he knew what happened to them."

Dean took a deep breath, "Dottie..." He began.

"Look, Dean," She interrupted, "I know that their deaths were not an accident. Train conductors do not just randomly drive trains off of unfinished tracks. It's like he was possessed or something!" She took a second and continued, "Dean, I have read all of the articles from the accident, and no one can explain what happened. Well, screw that, I need to know!" Without wasting another second, she threw open the journal. Dean seemed to freeze unsure of what to do. He wanted to rip it out of her hands and protect her, but he also knew that she did have a right to know. After all, he would want to know. But before his brain had time to speak with his body, it was too late. The hand drawings of Wendigos and spells written in Latin flooded every view of her innocent eyes. Her vision got blurry as she saw her parent's names and an evil-looking man with yellow eyes drawn next to them. She could hear absolutely nothing. It was like her senses departed from her for a moment. Not but two minutes later, the journal was removed from her hands, only it was not Dean who took it out of her reach; it was someone much worse ... John Winchester.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing, Dottie Grayson!" John drill Sargent's voice resonated in the thick and motionless deadly air. Sam jumped out of bed as Eli's cries drew him out of sleep. Dean walked over to them and tried to hush them back to sleep, but it was of no use. He turned back around to Dottie with Eli in his arms and watched his father seem to be almost bursting with rage.

"I-I," Dottie began but was temporarily paralyzed, "What was that?" She asked nervously yet somehow also full of bitterness.

"It was me, coming home to see you reading my stolen journal." He ground out through gritted teeth. "What do you think you were doing, Dottie?!" He leaned down and grabbed her face pulling it up towards his own, and continued speaking in a deathly quiet tone, "I told you never to touch this. I needed this for my job, only to find it missing!"

Dottie struggled against his grip and yelled out, "You know what killed my parents, don't you?" She tried to release herself out of his grasp. In response, he wrapped both arms around her body, trying to get her to settle down. John looked over to Dean and saw him struggling to keep Sam and Eli asleep. So, in one swift motion, he threw Dottie over his shoulder and walked out of the door.

"Hey!" She yelled in protest.

As soon as her little feet made contact with the ground, he barked out an order that would make the ice melt in the dead of winter. "Stop, Dottie. Now."

Recognizing that particular tone of voice, she stood up straighter and faced her uncle. John rubbed a hand over his face to alleviate his anger while pacing in front of Dottie. He truly had not expected to come back to this of all things. After a moment or two, he turned and faced the young girl.

"First of all, you never speak to me that way." His gaze hardened, and he noticed her swallow. "I don't give a shit if you're angry or not, but I am an adult, your adult. Do you understand me?"

She looked down towards her socks, "Yes, sir."

"Eyes up, Dottie, you know better." He stated adamantly. Her eyes slowly made their way up to the tall figure. The chestnut brown eyes of John seemed to devour the ones of Dottie.

Without thinking thoroughly, she blurted out. "I just don't understand, you knew what happened to them, and you didn't tell me?" She started almost silently. "Why not? Am I not tough enough to handle it? Am I too weak?" With every question, her voice raised slightly, until finally, the tearful question came, "Why wouldn't you just trust me, dad!" She shouted while throwing her fists up into his leg.

Pulling the young girl up into his arms in an attempt to mitigate some of the punches, John couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

Did she just call me dad?

He silently thought to himself while holding the weeping young child in his embrace. He did his best to hush her cries while rubbing her back, but there wasn't very much he could do except wait for her to finish crying.

Tearfully Dottie pulled away from his chest and moved a hair away from his face. "I'm sorry I hit you, that was wrong." She ducked her head down into his shoulder.

John rubbed the back of her head. "I know, Dot. It's okay. Just breathe for me. In and out." The shallow breaths were eventually replaced with heavier ones. John set the child on the ground once he could tell she was feeling a little better. He brushed her hair away from her face, just like Dottie did for him, and leaned down close to her. "You were right, Dottie." He began, "I didn't trust you enough to tell you the truth. And not just the truth about your parents, but," he stuttered, "well everything." John paused, took a deep breath, and adjusted his stance, "I am not a businessman. I am a hunter."

She looked at him and tilted her head. "A what?"

"A hunter," He repeated with a grim look, "I hunt the things that very few people think exist."

"Everyone knows about bear and deer..." She mumbled to no one in particular.

"Monsters, Dot." He stated, waiting for the panicked reaction.

She stared at him aghast. "M-monsters...monsters? They're real?" She repeated.

John nodded his head, "The things that lurk in the dark, well, most of them are real. They hurt people and kids like you." he paused for a moment to let the information sink in. "And adults like your parents, and well, my...my wife, Mary."

Dottie's mouth dropped open, and she looked at him, with eyes as wide as the moon. "You're a superhero..." She stated seriously.

John smiled at the girl. "No Dot, I'm not and truthfully, I didn't even want to tell you." He proceeded, "It was hard enough telling Dean, and having Sam and Eli find out one day will be challenging too." John brushed his hand against her face. "This life," he motioned with his hand, "is the last thing your Pa would have ever wanted for you-"

"I'm in," Dottie stated without a moment of hesitation.

"Dottie," John sighed, "This isn't-"

Once more, he was cut off by the eleven-year-old. "I don't care. I'm going to find out what killed my parents." She said with quick resolution and a tone of retaliation far beyond her years. John looked at the child in front of him. In all of his years of living, he had only seen that much pain in one other person ... himself. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder that softened her face.

"That is partly up to me, Dot. I'm not going to let you turn into something your father wouldn't have wanted. Understand?" He said paternally.

Dottie's face seemed to soften more, and she ran into his legs, "Yes, dad." Came the muffled small response. John couldn't help but let out a small grin. Luke may always be her Pa, but John had just become her dad.

Unfortunately, the moment of nostalgia was over almost as soon as it had begun. "Don't think this means you're off the hook, though, young lady."

End Flashback

Dottie's eyes cracked open when she felt John's gaze on her once more. She noticed that his face seemed to lose its residual anger and relax more. Dot gave a small half-smile towards the head of the family, and his face softened a little in response.

A small snore came out of little Sam's mouth a moment later, and Dottie couldn't help but let out a muffled chuckle. She ran her hand through the sleek black hair of young Sam and watched him relax into her palm.

Almost as if a lightbulb went on over Dottie's head, she felt a startling realization. There was a new mission and a new calling in this young girl's life, one that she hadn't ever had before.

I must protect them. Dottie thought to herself.

The last thing she would ever want is to lose her family again, and Dottie would be damned sure to protect them - no matter the cost. Watching Sam and Eli's chests rise and fall, the movement of the Impala and the gently luring of the engine finally granted Dottie something she desperately needed ... rest.