SIX YEARS LATER
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Sara spoke into her phone, a maroon flip phone that she had superglued black flowers onto. "Bobby-- I-- No, you know what? You can shove it up your ass. No. Bobby, do you want my help or not? Yeah, that's what I thought. Uh-huh. Right. Okay, Gotta go, bye." She snapped the phone shut, fuming at the way that man spoke to her. She started when she saw Joey standing in the doorway of her room.
"Jo-- Oh, my god, JJ. You scared the crap out of me."
"Who are you telling to shove it up their ass?"
She gaped at him. "Joseph Garfield. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm twelve, you said bad words when you were twelve."
"Excuse me, big man. You are eleven. You still got two big ol' weeks til you're twelve. Besides, how do you know I said bad words when I was twelve? You couldn't even talk."
He shrugged. "Sam."
She put a hand to her forehead, squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and pointer finger. "Dammit, Sammy."
"Who were you talking to, anyways?"
"Uncle Bobby," she paused, looking at her younger brother with a glint in her eye. "Hey, don't you have a project to be working on?"
Joey groaned. "It's just a stupid book report. We didn't even get to pick our books."
"Well, did you read it?"
"...No."
Sara shook her head, walking to her bed and patting it for Joey to sit down. "Okay, bud. What book is it?"
"Lord of the Flies." He looked glumly at Sara, as if it were the most horrible assignment in the world.
"Wait, that one's actually pretty good. Did you even give it a chance?"
"Why would I want to read about some weird fly hierarchy?"
Sara chuckled, looking down at her bedsheets. "I'll tell you what, I'll help you with the report tonight if you promise to at least give the book a try. I really think you'd like it, and I promise it's not about flies."
Joey seemed to weigh his options for a moment, and a grin came to his face. "Deal, but I don't have to start it til after my birthday."
"Yeah, obviously. You can take your time to read it, too. Just as long as I see your nose in that book, you're golden. And you have to promise me fifty pages until you decide you don't like it."
"Okay."
"Okay," she said, punching his arm lightly. "Did you call Aunt Ellen and thank her for your birthday gift yet?"
"No, I need to see what's inside first."
Sara laughed. "Yeah, fair enough. Could you take Juno for a walk for me?" Joey nodded, pushing himself off his sister's bed. She stood and walked behind him. He turned, looking at her questioningly as she followed him into the kitchen of their apartment. "Hey," she finally said. "Be careful. You wearing your necklace?"
Joey rolled his eyes, pulling a pendant out from under his shirt. "Yeah, like always."
"Okay, good. Don't take it off, please. It's really important to me. Dad said it keeps us safe and brings luck, so don't lose it. It was mine and I gave it to you for a reason."
"I know, I know. You really get worked up over the weirdest stuff sometimes, Sar." He grabbed the leash, and Juno the Irish wolfhound came bounding over, tail whipping back and forth.
"I love you. Be safe."
"I will. Love you too, weirdo."
She watched as he latched the leash onto their dog's collar, and walked out the door. She took a deep breath, unable to shake the worry she felt every time that boy crossed over her doorstep. Once he was gone, she lifted the rug to make sure that the devil's trap hadn't been smudged. Satisfied, she went back to her room and began to dig up lore on Bobby's latest mystery.
It had been years of the same. Once her father died, Sara dropped out of school and began working full time at some job or another to keep her and her brother afloat. By her eighteenth birthday, she'd managed to scrounge up enough money to put a deposit down on an apartment in Rockaway, New Jersey. That's where she and Joey lived for the last five years, with Joey going to school Sara had plenty of time to work for money, and work for the hunters. She almost never went out into the field, terrified that something could take her away from her brother and he'd be all by himself.
She did her best, everyone who knew her knew that. Anyone you'd ask would tell you that she worked her ass off. Fifty to sixty hour work weeks between jobs, plus the never ending cycle of hunters needing her expertise to track down monsters. Even then, she'd managed to keep her brother away from the dark and dangerous. She took all the precautions she needed to, relinquishing some boundaries as he got older so he wouldn't be trapped like she was. She would be the first one to admit that she'd made mistakes, but she did her best to do well by her parents.
She didn't work for a long time before a knock came at her door. She was startled by this, not expecting anyone but her brother who had a key. She stayed in one place, trying to decide whether or not to pretend like no one was home.
The thought of a potential threat coming back later when her brother was home was what pushed her to grab the gun in her bedside drawer. She padded over to the door as another knock sounded from the other side of the door. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she stood on her tiptoes to look through the peephole. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who it was.
She unlocked the door, peeking around with her gun still at the ready. It dropped as soon as she saw his face.
"Dean," she whispered, brows still furrowed. She didn't know what to think. "I haven't seen you in--"
"Two years. I know, I'm sorry." She looked down, trying to collect her thoughts. The last time they spoke, Sam had just left and Dean snapped harshly at Sara when she tried to console him. He told her to leave, and she did. Though every fiber of her being begged her to stay, she returned to the apartment after picking Joey up from Bobby's. She was broken up for weeks, months even. She'd finally begun to feel okay, like she was getting control of her life.
"Why... Why are you here?"
A flash of hurt flickered across Dean's face, though she didn't intend her words to hurt him.
"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--"
"No, Dean. I thought you hated me. You told me to leave, and that was the last thing I ever heard from you. I guess I kinda just assumed..."
Dean blinked, shocked from her thought processes. He took a moment to study her face, the scar from the night her dad died still prominent on her skin. It looked like she had given up trying to cover it with makeup, to his relief. Her eyes were as bright as ever, changed since that night. One green, one gray. The one that was scarred never quite regained its green color, much to Sara's dismay. Dean found it endearing, though Sara never believed him. Her dark brown hair was longer, hanging in soft waves over her shoulders. She wore an oversized Heart band tee, with baggy sweats and the jacket he lent her all those years ago. He was taken aback when he noticed this detail, flattered and saddened all at the same time.
"Dean?" He started slightly, coming back to the present from his thoughts.
"S-sorry. Sara, I never hated you. I'm sorry you thought that all this..." He looked away, glancing around the small apartment. He took a breath, then continued. "Dad's missing."
Sara's eyes widened for a moment. "What? But... He's probably just on a hunt, right? How long has he been gone?"
"A week. I haven't heard anything for a week. The man disappears but not for this long with no contact. I really think something's wrong." Sara suddenly seemed to realize that they're still standing in the middle of the doorway. She grabbed Dean's sleeve, just like she used to, and pulled him into the living room to sit. They sat on opposite ends of the couch, unlike they used to.
"What do you want to do?" Sara looked at him intently, the empathy he both envied and despised burning in her gaze.
"I need your help. And Sammy's, too. He's my next stop."
"Wait, wait, wait. You're going to Stanford? Like now?"
"Well, in a little bit. Kinda had a long drive already." He smiled cheekily, grabbing one of the throw pillows and squishing it in his hands.
"Dude, that's in California. You know, like a multiple day road trip one way?"
"Sound fun?" He looked from the pillow back to her, hope in his eyes.
"I-- Dean. I can't just... Drop everything and come with you across the country."
"Why not?"
Her eyes looked around the room exasperatedly. "For one thing, Joey."
"We can drop him off at Bobby's."
"No-- Dean. I have jobs. I have to... do other stuff. And most importantly, I need Joey to have stability."
"Other stuff?" Dean wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Sara scoffed.
"Research stuff, Dean. I can't just dip out like that."
"Research? Sara, I thought you were done with hunting stuff."
"I-- I am. I don't do field work anymore, barely. I just help Bobby out when I can."
"You're talking like you do this once every blue moon. You know you have under eye circles the size of planets, right?"
Sara self consciously pressed a hand to her face, but glared up at Dean.
"How would you even know? You never call, you never text. The only reason I even knew you were alive was because of Bobby and Sam."
Dean looked guilty. "I... I know. I'm sorry. I just-- Sara, please. I really need your help."
Just then, the lock clicked and the two of them looked toward the door. A sweatier looking Joey opened the door, unclipping the leash from Juno. He hung it in its spot, stopping in his tracks when he spotted the unexpected guest sitting on his couch.
"Dean?"
Dean smiled awkwardly. "Hey, Joe. How's it goin'?"
"Um, good. Did I interrupt...?"
"No."
"Yeah," Dean and Sara spoke at the same time, Dean looking over to Sara at her answer. "Yeah, kid, actually, me and your sister are thinking of taking a road trip. For old time's sake. You in?"
Joey's eyebrows raised as he looked over to his sister, who had an annoyed expression on her face.
"Um, yeah I'm in! Where are we going?"
"Well, you're going to Uncle Bobby's, me and Sara got some business to take care of."
"What about my birthday?" Dean sighed, having forgotten that detail.
"We're having your birthday. Here. Sorry bud, Dean's just pulling plans out of his ass. It's not actually happening," Sara said, glaring over at the man.
Joey looked between them, seeming to think about something.
"Is it important?" Joey directed his words at Dean, who looked back at him.
"Dean..." Sara said warningly.
"I'm asking him, Sar. Is it important, Dean?"
"I... Yeah, Joe. It's real important."
"Okay then, I'll pack. We're bringing Juno, right?"
"Wait, wh--"
Sara cut across Dean's objection. "Yes. But JJ, are you--"
"It's important Sar, I don't know what it is and I know you're not gonna tell me, but it's okay. Besides, I like hanging at Uncle Bobby's."
"Please, you just want out of school."
"That too." Joey strode over to his room, shutting the door as he readied his stuff for the trip. Dean looked at Sara victoriously, and she batted his arm with the back of her hand.
"Ow!"
"You'd better hope we're done in time for his birthday, dick."