Lawrence, Kansas
2005
Five days after Jessica Moore died
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5:23 AM
"Dean. Dean, wake up. Dean!"
"Shh!" Dean hissed quietly to his little brother, cracking his weary eyes open and looking from him to his daughter, who was sprawled out across his chest, fast asleep. "Will you shut up? She fell asleep at like two last night, I don't want to wake her." he murmured, rubbing at his eyes, his brow furrowing when he realized his brother was on the phone. "Who the hell are you talking to?"
"It's-It's Dad." Sam whispered, looking at his brother with wide eyes.
Dean's own eyes grew wide and his lips parted in surprise. He and Sam had both been trying to get in touch with their father since the minute they hit the road after Jessica died. Nothing. Bobby had even tired calling him multiple times and none of them had been having any luck. And now he suddenly calls them out of nowhere? And at the crack of dawn?
"Let me talk to him." he said, reaching a hand out for the phone.
Sam gladly handed it over, sitting on the edge of his brother's bed and being cautious not to wake his sleeping niece.
"Hello?" Dean said into the phone, slowly entering a sitting position and gently shifting his daughter so she was curled into his lap.
"Dean? Is that you?" John's gravelly voice came from the other end of the phone, and Dean let out a shuddering breath.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's me, Dad." Dean said, slowly entering a sitting position so his daughter was now curled into his shirt, the thick comforter wrapped around her small frame making her look like a little bundled up ball. "Dad, where the hell are you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Dean." John responded.
"Dad, we've been calling you all damn week. We didn't know where you were, if you were okay-"
"I'm okay, Dean, really." John answered, a slight chuckle in his voice. "What about you and Sam? Are you all right?"
"Yeah, we're fine. We're at Bobby's." Dean said, holding his breath for a brief minute when Natalie shifted slightly in his arms. He exhaled softly when she didn't wake, pressing his lips to her hair before putting his attention back on his conversation with his father. "Dad, where the hell are you?"
"Sorry, son, I can't tell you that." John said apologetically.
"What? Why not?" Dean asked, meeting Sam's eye.
"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand-"
"You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Mom?" Dean cut his father off, his brow furrowing.
"Yeah." John answered. "It's a demon, Dean."
"A demon?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows and meeting Sam's gaze once again, who was now looking at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." John said. "Listen to me, Dean. I need you to take down these names for me, okay?"
"What? Dad, no, Sammy and I - we can't work any jobs right now." Dean said, tightening his hold gently on his daughter. "Natalie's sick, I need to stay here."
"She has Bobby, doesn't she?"
You're kidding, right? Dean thought, growing angry. John wanted him to just leave his daughter while she needed him? No way in hell. After what Bobby said to him the other day, he realized he was right. His daughter needed him and he didn't intend to abandon her. "Dad, I'm not leaving Natalie here, alright? Not while she's sick."
"Dean, I gave you an order." John snapped.
Normally Dean would have backed down, knowing better than to talk back to his father. But to hell with it. He was a grown man, he didn't have to take this anymore. His little girl needed him.
"Yeah? Well, quite frankly, Dad, you can take your order and shove it up your-"
"Dean," Bobby said as he entered the bedroom, already dressed as he leaned against the doorframe. He offered the younger man an approving look. "Let me talk to him, boy."
Dean handed the phone over to his surrogate father, wrapping his arms tight around his daughter and pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.
Bobby walked into the hallway to talk to John and Sam's eyes landed on his big brother, a soft smile on his lips.
"Hey," he said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm proud of you. You did the right thing."
Dean sighed shakily, burying his nose into his daughter's blonde hair and taking in her scent, letting it calm him down. "Yeah. I know."
Natalie snuggled deeper into her father's shirt, her little fists grasping it gently. "Daddy?" she hummed sleepily.
"Shh, it's okay, baby girl." Dean hushed her gently, brushing his fingers through her hair. "I'm here. Go back to sleep."
Natalie wiggled around in her father's lap, yawning softly and reaching up to drape her small arm around his neck. "What time is it?" she asked softly, rubbing at her tired eyes with her small fist.
"It's only 5:30." Dean murmured, rocking her slowly from side to side. "Go back to sleep, bug."
Natalie curled around her father and snuggled into the comforter, resting her ear over his heartbeat and letting it lull her back to sleep.
Dean smiled adoringly down at her, brushing his fingers gently through her hair.
Sam smiled at them, raising his eyebrows. "Told you."
Dean rolled his eyes fondly at his little brother, cradling his daughter's head gently and pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Yeah, yeah." he murmured. He sighed. "Dad's gonna be friggin' pissed."
Sam scoffed. "Dad's an ass." he said, shaking his head. "He should know better than to ask you to leave your kid. Just because he did a suck ass job at parenting doesn't mean you're going to."
Dean couldn't help but crack a small smile. Normally he would've gotten on Sam for talking about their father like that, but he'd be lying he he said Sam was wrong. John had gone absolutely bat shit crazy if he thought he was leaving his daughter while she needed him. He knew he'd probably get into it later with him, but he didn't care. Looking down at the precious little girl in his arms, he knew it'd be worth it.
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A/N- wow John, get your life together my man
Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! ❤️
Much love,
нαу∂єи ☕️