ChildofInnocenceBook3Part12M J/L,D/L SPN/R 5/10 COMPLETE

[DMartinez]

Chapter 11

Sam didn’t bother asking Dean what was wrong during the hunt. There was no doubt about it. Dean was cold and efficient and eerily like their father through the hunt. There was no sitting around to have a beer. No watching of TV. No resting until morning. They were back to Harvelle’s in four days.

Danny abandoned his babysitter and ran straight out the door. Dean scooped him up and breathed in the scent of a dirty little boy. Dean kissed his head then transferred his necklace from his neck to his boy’s. “I’m back. What’s going on, bud?”

Then he started chattering and Dean found that he was starting to understand some of it. He sat Danny on the toilet in the bathroom while he washed up a bit, then tackled getting some of the dirt off his boy. Then he gave up and ran the boy a bath. When he was done, he wrapped the boy in a towel and found Liz laying down in her room. She sat up when they walked in. “Oh my God, how long have you been back?”

“A while.” Dean set Danny on the bed and pointed to the dresser for his clothes. She nodded and began using the towel sop some of the water out of Danny’s hair. “Who was on Danny duty?”

“Ash.” She nodded to his disgusted face. “I had a headache.” She found the necklace around his neck. “I thought I told him to give this back to you.”

“He did. I just gave it to him again.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know. Sometime he entitles himself to other people’s stuff. I know how much it means to you.”

“That’s why I want him to have it.” Dean had the boy dressed in a few minutes, amulet resting on his stomach because the leather was so long. Then Danny grabbed his jacket from the corner and held it up to Dean. Dean put it on him. “Looking sharp, dude.” He hefted him onto his shoulder. “We’re going into town for dinner. Bring you something?”

“Sure.” She nodded and lay back down. “Whatever, I don’t care.” She stopped him at the door. “The carseat’s in Ellen’s truck.”

“Gotcha. Come on. Let’s get some grub.” Dean grinned at his son.

--

Liz was manning the bar when they came back. She took her dinner at the bar. It was slow. Jo and Sam were going over a catalog at a back table. Ash was shooting pool with a couple of regulars and Ellen was looking over a newspaper. Danny sat with his mom while she ate, so Dean took his beer over to Ellen. She circled something and showed it to him. He read it. “That’s a prank.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Dean snorted. “Chupacabras aren’t real.”

“Your daddy did teach you something, look at that.” Ellen went back to her paper. “I charge rent if you take one of my rooms for more than a month.”

“Noted.”

“You swindle Ash, I put it on your tab. You swindle me, I put your ass under my truck.”

“Got it.”

“I don’t know what you and Liz got worked out but you take girls to your room, it better not affect my waitstaff.”

“Got it.” Dean nodded. “Look, I got this job but it’s only like… three days a week. You need help here. I’ll pitch in.”

“Good to know.” She nodded and circled a few more items. “I find hunts sometimes, pass ‘em on to hunters. I might pass a few on to you… on the condition that my daughter does not go along for the ride.”

Dean looked up and met her eyes. “Her dad died on the hunt.”

“Got it in one, Dean. Good to know you’re just as sharp as the old man. That girl goes with you, you don’t bother coming back. I don’t care what blood you got under this roof. If she takes off after you…”

“I’ll hog tie her and throw her in the trunk.”

“That’s what I want to hear.” Ellen went back to her paper. “The hunting life makes it a short one. You got a boy to look after, get your priorities straight or you won’t be leaving a young man behind, he’ll only be a boy without a father to show him how it’s really done.” She leaned on the bar, head bowed. “Jesus, John was still young. Fifty-three.” She took a breath and laughed. “I know there’s bad blood between you and your daddy but… I gotta tell you… Even through everything that he done to me and mine, I always had a soft spot in my heart for him.”

“Ellen…”

“Just listen to me, Dean. I’m getting older. My friends keep dying on me and so I gotta make younger friends. Your daddy used to swing in here, babe on hip, toddler in tow and the hunters in here used to shoot daggers at him. Eye you boys like the plague. He’d cut ‘em to the quick with a look. He’d swagger right up to this bar and say “Hey beautiful, can I buy you a beer or you still with that ugly cuss at the end of the bar?” Then Bill would look up and smile. My man would just laugh and tell John “stop hitting on my woman. You’ll give her ideas.” You’d take Sam and sit under the table while they drank and told lies on each other. I’d get down there to offer something to eat or to drink but your backpack was like magic. Always had a juice box and always had a donut or a cupcake. John never wondered where you were cause you was always with one hand on his leg and the other on your brother.” Her smile faded. “Bill always wanted another one so Jo would have someone to do that with.”

“How’d he die?”

Ellen stiffened up a bit but blew out a breath. “He went hunting with your daddy and he ain’t come back… neither of ‘em. Well, not John for a long time. He came and I think he was waiting on me to kill him but I never could. I knew it was gonna happen. If it weren’t your daddy, it would’ve been some other hunter.” She met Dean’s gaze once more. “I liked your daddy. Better it was John than some other asshole I didn’t like so much.”

“I wasn’t ever mad at him.” Dean muttered as he took a drink from the bottle in front of him. “I was jealous.”

“As I understand it, you got the girl.”

“Sure but I had to fight for it. It was easy for him.”

“Knowing your daddy… I’m sure it wasn’t easy, Dean.”

Dean stared at her for along moment but nodded to her wisdom. “Probably not.”

--

Dean woke up with Danny in his bed and Liz sitting in the doorway with a book. “No thunderstorms last night.”

“Don’t think it’s about being scared anymore.” She answered without looking up. “I think he knows who you are.” She yawned and turned a page. “You got him? I’ve been up a while.”

“Why do you sit there if you know where he is?” Dean sat up to look at her.

“Cause I don’t want him to fall off the bed.” She closed her book and tilted her head at him. “I’m gonna grab a shower and get some breakfast started. I think Ellen wants to put your muscles to work so… I’ll let you know when I gotta take him back.”

“Got it.”

Dean had Sam sit while he had his shower. Then they both got Danny dressed when he finally woke up. The kid was even nice to Sam for once. They ate breakfast. Ellen sent Ash, Dean and Sam into town to pick up a couple of replacement tables and three sets of chairs. Then Dean and Danny rolled a ball around the bar until Ellen shooed them out to make room for paying customers.

Then Dean had taken Danny out to the Impala for a nap. The music on low, the car humming and Dean telling Danny stories about his grandfather. Danny had fallen asleep draped across the front seat, his hand fisted in Dean’s jacket. Liz had walked up to the car, head tilted and pointed to the bar. Dean shook his head and switched the car off. He rolled the window down and she leaned in over him to stroke her son’s head. “We should take him inside.”

“Give us a minute. It’s loud in there.” Dean nodded when she straightened.

“Don’t spoil him too much, Dean. I’ve worked really hard to maintain some sort of normalcy for him.”

“Got it.” He nodded. He watched her walk away. She always made him wonder… would she always be walking away from him.

--

Liz woke when Dean set Danny down in his crib. “What happened?”

“He climbed out again.” Dean kissed his head and backed away.

“You didn’t have to bring him back in here.”

“Didn’t want you to panic.”

She sat up so he sat on the end of her bed. “Okay… thanks for bringing him back.”

“Yeah, well…”

“He adores you, Dean… I don’t mind if you want to come in and take him to do something…”

“You were saying earlier…”

“I know but really… just love him and don’t be afraid to be his dad. He’s not always happy with me but… that’s part of the job.” She touched his arm. “That’s really what I meant.”

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Liz.”

“Neither do I. Being a mother isn’t something that just is… I have to work at it, too. I… didn’t have any memories of a mother or a father. I had Pastor Jim for a while…”

“How did he react when you found out you were pregnant?”

It was difficult to see his face in the dark but she scooted closer and found his hand. “He was shocked. He went into his room to pray for two days. I thought he was mad at me.” He squeezed her hand back. “I’d only been in his house for a month or so. I didn’t know him well yet… Then he came out and told me not to worry about a thing that I would be taken care of and my child would be… a blessing.” She choked up at the end. “And he was right. I was floundering and after I started taking care of myself for him… I had a purpose and I didn’t focus on what I didn’t know.”

“I think my dad knew… but he never told me…”

“Yeah… I think so, too. I don’t know what Jim and John thought they were doing.” She took a breath. “I was so lost and confused, Dean. I had no one to teach me… and I was working when I went into labor and the doctors were afraid that I was too small to deliver naturally and I was so scared…” She smiled and turned her face to their son. “But then they put him in my arms and he was so quiet. He didn’t cry at first… I fell in love, Dean. The bottom of my world fell out and he was the only thing that mattered.”

He fixed his eyes on her face in the dark. Could see her smile and for the very first time he was glad to have given her something. He was starting to feel like he was somewhat responsible for Danny. Right now, the boy was just this little person… and he’d been growing on Dean in serious leaps and bounds. The idea was becoming reality, quickly. And Dean kind of liked the feeling he got when he woke to find Danny had stolen into his bed. He had held on to the boy for about twenty minutes before making the decision to take him back to his bed.

“I didn’t ask a whole lot of questions.” Liz revealed. “Pastor Jim made me feel safe and I trusted that he knew better than I did about what had happened to me. When he died… I started asking the questions but there was no one to answer them… I waited around a while… to see who showed up to the funeral. John didn’t come. Some of Jim’s friends pointed me this way. Said John had stopped by a long time ago. He was the only person that I knew knew something… and so… I packed Danny up and came this way.”

“What if Danny wasn’t mine?”

“Would I still feel the way I do? Maybe… I knew it when I saw him last, Dean… he wasn’t the one.”

“How do I know that…”

“You don’t.” She leaned forward to cup his face. “I’m not even sure myself… but I know who it’s not. It’s not Max and it’s not John… and Good Lord is it not Ash.” She took a breath and took a chance. “I don’t know if I want to do this again, Dean. We got so much history and none of it good.”

“Well, maybe we do nothing but I’m still going to come back for him.”

“Maybe you give me some time? Maybe I want it? I want you… but it’s all happening really fast and… I don’t know how to do this…” She pulled him close. “Dean, I don’t even understand how I’m here, now. You guys stuck me in this body, in this life but how do I know that I get to keep it?”

“Fight for it.”

“How?”

Dean turned to look at his son. Sleeping. “I don’t know how not to fight for it. Cause… he’s… mine. And I’ve had demons and spirits and monsters after me and they’re not going to get to him.”

“Stay here… with us, tonight?”

TBC

[DMartinez]

Chapter 12

Sam looked at his brother as they pulled in. Watched the grin light his face when he caught sight of the family on the front porch. 5 year old Danny and his mother carving out a pumpkin. Dean climbed out and didn’t have time to straighten before he was tackled with pumpkin guts and all. “Whoa, there, Champ.”

“Dad, come look.”

“I’m coming.” Dean followed him up to the porch. Liz transferred the amulet from sticky boy to returning hunter. Kissed his mouth softly. “Hey beautiful.”

“Shameless charmer.” She set down the knife and turned the pumpkin to face him.

“Uncle Sam! Come look!” Dan put the candle in the pumpkin. Liz lit a match and carefully set the pumpkin aglow.

“Nice job.” Dean nodded to the wicked smile on the jack o’ lantern.

--

Liz sat next to him while he wrote in his journal. “I still hear them… its getting stronger.”

“Cut one with some of your blood… did nothing.” Dean paused but kept writing.

“You want to try his?”

“No.”

“You don’t want to know?”

“I’d rather not, thanks.” He finished his entry and closed the journal.

“Did you say my prayers?”

“Sammy did, nothing happened.” Dean polished off his beer. “He asleep?”

“Yeah. You tire him out.” She smiled at him.

“I tire him out?” Dean snorted. “I’m exhausted. I keep thinking about my dad… Shit, when I was five, Sammy was one and I know… I don’t know how he kept up with us both… and on the road…”

“Love. He loved you boys…”

“Must be it.” He closed his hand over hers. “Sammy still up?”

“Yeah. His light’s on. He have a final?”

“Midterms in a week.” Dean yawned and stretched. “Let’s hit it, yeah?”

“You getting old?”

“God, yes.” He muttered and tucked his journal into his bag before wandering down the hallway of the little house. He checked the window in Danny’s room, kissed the boy’s head and joined Liz in the master. Stripping down, he fell onto the bed. “So, what’d I miss?”

“Just two weeks of Halloween wind-up.”

“So… the wolfman wasn’t his first choice costume?”

“No, his first choice was Frankenstein’s monster, then it was Dracula and then finally the Wolfman versus Swamp Thing.” She slid in next to him, tucked her pillow beneath her chin. “How’d the hunt go?”

“Same old, same old. Lingering spirits… poltergeists.” He reached up and flicked the light off. “Glad to be home.”

“Home?” She ran a hand up his arm.

“Yeah.”

“First time you called it that.”

“Shouldn’t have been.”

--

“This is Duke.” Danny showed his father. “And this is Cobra Commander… and this is Scarlett O’Hara… and this is the Baroness. She looks like a geek but she’s a bad guy.”

“And what’s this war about?” Dean studied the men on both sides of the fence.

“Cobra Commander is using genetic-enhanced soldiers to take down the U.S.” Danny informed his father. “This cannot come to pass, sir!” He saluted. “The forces of Cobra will not prevail, sir!”

“Stand down, soldier.” Dean tried not to laugh too hard. “And, hey… Granddad was a Marine, this Army Ranger phase better not stick.”

“Was you a Marine, too?”

“Nah… too busy helping Granddad fight terror inside the homeland.”

“Aunt Ellen says Granddad was a badass.”

“Yeah, he was.”

“Jo says that Grandad was a hottie.”

“Ew.” Dean shook his head. “No more hanging around Jo.”

“What’s a hottie?”

“Never mind what a hottie is.” Dean swore under his breath.

“Come on… Tell me.” Danny begged, abandoning his G.I. Joes to scramble onto his father’s lap.

“Okay. Let me lay this out for you. Listen carefully… Mom… super-hottie. Jo… super-snottie.” Danny giggled and bounced with glee.

“What about Aunt Ellen?”

“Ooh… that’s getting into some uncharted territory. Aunt Ellen is what I call a Mama-Hottie… but she owns guns…” Dean clucked his tongue. “So… we’ll call her a smokin’ hottie.”

Danny fell silent, his eyes on the amulet around his father’s neck. He twirled it around between his fingers. “Safe.” He stared at it. “How come you leave it with me if you’re gonna be gone?”

“Cause the stuff I do is dangerous… but someone’s gotta do it.”

“Did Grandad go to heaven?”

“I hope so.”

“And Grandmom?”

“Yeah.”

“Mom doesn’t talk about her mom and dad.”

“Mom doesn’t remember a lot about them.” Dean ruffled his hair. “Go play. Stop being so serious.”

He leapt down and resumed his battle against Cobra Command. Liz was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. “What?”

“He’s a lot younger than you were at the same age. Don’t go filling his head with goblins and monsters.” She warned him. Then she took Danny’s place on Dean’s lap. “Or with hotties and snotties.”

“You heard that, huh?”

“Yeah. I heard that.” Liz picked up the amulet and yanked his face to hers. “Sam’s got a girlfriend. Six weeks. You didn’t hear it from me.”

“What?”

“They broke up. Don’t give him shit.”

“Wait, he got a girl and lost her in six weeks and I didn’t know?” Dean blinked at her. “What the hell?”

“You didn’t think he was acting funny the last two weeks?”

“He’s Sam. He always acts funny.” He shrugged.

--

Dean tossed the ball. Danny missed. “That’s okay. Toss it back, we’ll try it again.”

Danny picked up the ball and tossed it back, Dean had to lurch forward to catch it. “I suck.”

“Not gonna happen. You got the blood of hunters and warriors in your veins. Just need some practice. We’ll get you T later.” Dean tossed it again. Danny made contact but the swing was weak and the ball only made a couple of feet.

“Dad… what’s gonna happen when Uncle Sam finishes school?”

Had to cover the distance to get the ball. “Dunno. He’ll get a job.”

“Isn’t he old for school?”

“Says the kindergartner.” Dean backed up to get the right distance for the pitch.

“School’s a tough job.”

“That it is, my boy.” Another swing, a tap.

“Dad… am I gonna get a brother like you did?”

“Dunno, kiddo…” Dean rescued the ball and thought about the last pregnancy test that Liz had taken. There was no room for planning in their lives but it was always a possibility. “We’ll see what the future brings us.”

“Hey Dad?” He swung and managed to hit the ball a good ten feet. Dean nodded his approval. “Did you ever do this with your dad?”

“Yeah… I did.”

“The talking stuff, too?”

“Yeah, we hit the ball around and talked some.”

“What about?”

“You know… boring stuff. Girls. Goblins. Cootie shots.”

“What’s a cootie shot?”

The End