someone to stay, supernatural [ 1 ]

029. the roadhouse

"Need anything else, then?" Sam asks and Dean comes out from under the car and stands up.

"Stop it, Sam." Dean says.

"Stop what?" Sam asks.

"Stop asking if I need anything, stop asking if I'm okay. I'm okay. Really. I promise." Dean says.

"All right, Dean, it's just... we've been at Bobby's for over a week now and you haven't brought up dad once."

"You know what? You're right. Come here. I'm gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug, and maybe even slow dance."

"Don't patronize me, Dean, dad is dead. The colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all of this, and you're acting like nothing happened."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Say something, all right? Hell, say anything! Aren't you angry? Don't you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day long buried underneath this damn car."

"Revenge, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds good. You got any leads on where the demon is? Making heads or tails of any of dad's research? Because I sure ain't. But you know, if we do finally find it -- oh. No, wait, like you said. The colt's gone. But I'm sure you've figured out another way to kill it. We've got nothing, Sam. Nothing, okay? So you know the only thing I can do? Is I can work on the car."

"You know you could also spend time with your daughter." Sam says as Dean crouches by the car, starting to work on it again. "She misses you."

"I'm right here." Dean scoffs.

"Yeah, you're out, not with her. I-- she wants you, Dean. Hell, she needs you. The only time you really see her is when you tell her goodnight. And you don't even do that every night. You don't pay her any attention."

"Well, maybe I'm just not in the mood, okay?" Dean says.

"This about the psychic thing?" Sam asks. Dean freezes for a second before resuming what he was doing. Sam sighs. "Dean, you're gonna have to talk to her about it eventually."

"Yeah -- eventually. Which means not today." Dean says.

"Dean, the longer you avoid her, the more she's gonna think you hate her." Sam says.

"I don't hate her."

"So tell her that. Show her that. Powers are a freaky thing, Dean. She's six and she's a psychic and she's probably scared. I mean, I know she's really smart, but that doesn't mean she knows how to handle everything, especially her emotions."

"Are you done?" Dean asks. He ignores the guilt clawing at his heart for avoiding his daughter.

"Look, we've got something, all right?" Sam says, pulling out a cell phone. "It's what I came by here to tell you. This is one of dad's old phones. Took me a while, but I cracked his voicemail code. Listen to this."

Sam gives the phone to his brother and Dean takes it.

"John, it's Ellen. Again. Look, don't be stubborn, you know I can help you. Call me." A woman's voice comes in over the phone.

"That message is four months old." Sam says.

"Dad saved that chick's message for four months?" Dean asks.

"Yeah." Sam nods.

"Well, who's Ellen? Any mention of her in dad's journal?" Dean asks.

"No. But I ran a trace on her phone number and I got an address." Sam says.