||PROLOGUE // THE RULES||
Dakota, age six, sat in the back seat of the impala. Listening to Sam and her dad argue about Dean's deal that he made. That's all she's heard recently, Sam and Dean arguing. She was told about her dad's deal after they closed the devil's gate, Sam was angry and told Dakota what he did. She didn't say anything for a while until Dean finally apologized and explained to her that he couldn't live with Sam dead. That's when she screamed at him, saying that he couldn't live with Sam dead but he's forcing him and Dakota to live with him dead. She cried, asking why he would leave her alone.
Then she decided to push everything back and try and help Sam find a way for Dean to live, but so far it was slow moving. They've just been picking up random hunts that they find, they found that the trickster is still alive. He forced Sam and Dakota to watch Dean die over and over again. Of course, with Dakota being only six there was only a limited amount of stuff she could help with, but Dean taught her how to read many years ago so she helped Sam research. Most of it didn't make sense so she read it out loud to Sam.
Dakota sighed deeply as they continue to argue, so she finally leaned on to the front seat and turned the radio up, forcing them to quiet down as Dean focused on the music. As they pulled up to the abandoned house, Sam rolled down his window and shined his flashlight around the trees. All three Winchesters focused their attention on the trees in front of them. Dakota hovered behind Sam's head, looking over his shoulder and narrowed her eyes at some shadows.
"There's something over there." She mumbled and pointed toward the direction she saw the shadows. He didn't see anything so he turns to Dean, who hit the accelerator.
Dean pulled the car around the house to stash it in between some bushes. Once it was well hidden, Dakota trailed after her father toward the trunk. He grabbed his gun and turned towards her. She watched him with apprehensive eyes, she was a little anxious being on a hunt, she's only been on one other one. Dean didn't take her with him hunting often, only cases he deemed were safe enough-which was only the trickster case. She picked up information and facts about hunting but knowing was different then doing.
"You know the rules." He said, raising an eyebrow in question, silently asking her to recite the rules.
"Stay close and stay alert." She recited carefully, hope sparking up in her eyes.
"And most importantly?" He urged, leaning his head toward his daughter.
"Watch out for myself." She said hesitantly, that's the one rule that she's terrible at following. Her instinct is to go to her father and uncle, it was both a natural fear response and an urge to try and protect them.
"Atta girl." He praised, clapping her gently on the shoulder. Sam waited patiently at the front of the impala for Dean and Dakota to finish their moment. The two Winchesters started walking toward him but Dean pulled Dakota to a stop. "You know why I do this, right?"
"You want to keep me safe, but you also want to prepare me." She said softly. "You hate sounding like grandpa but it's the only way you know how to keep me safe."
"Damn straight." Dean agreed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Listen Kota, you're not going to like this but we need to talk about it sometime." He said slowly, Sam's head raised at the words, knowing where it's heading.
"No, we don't." She retorted hotly, her anger flaring up at the hint towards the deal. They've all but changed the subject from the inevitable goodbye speech.
"Yes, we do." He said, grabbing her arm when she tried to walk away from him. "I made a stupid deal, I know that, but that doesn't change what's going to happen. When I'm go-"
"No." She said shoving his shoulders back slightly. He sighed and looked down.
"When I'm gone you need to still follow these rules with Sammy, okay?" He asked, Dakota didn't answer, her eyes were somewhere else. "Okay?" Dean repeated with the tone of voice that Dakota hated hearing, his dad voice.
"Okay." She snapped, crossing her arms and turning on her heel. She stalked off toward the house with Sam on her heels. Dean straightened and followed after his family.
Dakota waited for Dean and Sam to enter the house before following after them quietly. Before she could say anything to her dad, he shouted and raised his gun.
"Freeze! Police officers." He warned, Sam followed his lead and Dakota darted to the side to hide. She crouched behind the wall and watched her dad and Sam slowly approach the innocent people in the house. They screamed in fear when they heard Dean's voice. She pushed herself forward slightly but couldn't understand what was happening. Sam and Dean were talking at the same time and over the whimpered sounds coming from the scared men they had cornered. "Let's see some ID." She heard Dean shout. "Care to explain the weirdo outfit, Mr....Corbett?"
"Woah...I know you." The other male said in realization, Dakota froze, she's never had to deal with being recognized before, Dean never told her what to do if that happened, mainly because he didn't think it ever would. Her breathing picked up slightly in preparation. She noticed her dad tense up.
"Yeah, sure you do. Give me some identification." Dean ordered in response.
"Woah, hold on a second." The man said when Dean reached for his ID. "I know the both of you guys, yeah." He said, holding the flashlight up to see their faces. Sam flinched back when the light was shone in his eyes.
"Holy shit." Sam swore drawing Dean's attention to him.
"What?" Dean turned, Dakota peaked out slightly, releasing the tight grip her jacket.
"Uh, West Texas...the-the tulpa we had to take out, those two goofballs who almost got us killed." Sam said, his tone growing irritated. "The Hellhounds or something?" He questioned.
"Fuck me." Dean sighed. Dakota's eyes grew in recognition but she stayed put, she remembered her dad and Sam talking about them.
"Yeah, we're not hellhounds anymore. It didn't test that well." Ed answered.
"Ed, what's going on?" Corbett asked.
"They're not cops, buddy." Ed smirked. "No, not at all."
"Ed, Ed, you had a partner too, didn't you?." Dean cut him off, Dakota could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "A different guy? Is he around here somewhere?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah." Ed answered nodding, his eyes looking around for something. "Wait, you two had a kid last time. A little girl? Right?"
Dean glared at Ed before nodding. "Hey, Kota, it's alright you can come out." He called over his shoulder.
Dakota straightened and hurried to stand slightly behind her father. Her hand going to grip onto his jacket nervously.
"He's running around, chasing ghosts." Ed answered Dean's earlier question.
"Okay," Dean said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Well, listen, you and Rambo need to get your girlfriends and get out of here." He said, moving so Dakota is more behind him, knowing that she felt uncomfortable around new people.
Ed started to chuckle, walking forward. "Alright, listen here chisel chest, okay?" He said, growing serious. "We were here first. We've already set up base camp. We beat you."
"Base camp?" Dakota giggled into Dean's back.
"They were here first." Dean said sarcastically, turning towards Sam who rolls his eyes. Dean laughed slightly before lunging forward and grabbing Ed. "Ed? Where's your partner?" Dean asked as he pinned Ed against the wall, his fists knotted up in Ed's jacket, keeping him in place.
"Daddy." Dakota hissed quietly, not moving from her place next to Sam.
Ed sighed and nodded, telling them he'd show them to "base camp" which Dakota snickered at again. Sam, Dean, and Dakota followed Ed and Corbett back to the center of the house, where they have cameras and monitors setup in different locations.
"What are you doing at the Morton house, Ed, huh?" Dean asked as they entered what was the living room, Dakota thought. "On leap year-what were you thinking?" Dean demanded, standing on the other side of the table with Dakota and Sam next to him.
"We're here to spend the night, okay?" Ed said calmly, glancing at the two older Winchesters. Dakota stayed behind her dad. "It's for our TV show." Annoyance flared up in his voice as he uses his hand to emphasize.
"What?" Sam snapped, casting an annoyed look at his older brother. "Great. Perfect."
"Yeah, nobody's ever spent the night before." Corbett said with excitement.
Dean turned and gave him his bitch face. "Uh, actually, yeah, they have." He corrected, turning away from Corbett and back to Sam.
"Uh, we haven't heard of them." Ed retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"That's because nobody has lived to talk about it." Dakota snapped, speaking to the others for the first time, she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed in annoyance. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion, like they had forgotten she was there.
Ed laughed loudly. "Oh, come on kid." He chuckled walking towards Dakota, Dean gave Ed a warning glare that stopped him in his tracks. "I don't believe you." He glanced at Dean but otherwise kept his gaze trained on the young child, she glared back not moving.
"Look-" Sam said, gaining Ed's attention away from Dakota. "Missing-persons reports going back almost half a century." Sam started pulling out papers to name all the people who've died in the house. Dakota started to look around the room, trying to find anything that might help them find the body of Morton. She walked to the far end of the room when Dean called out to her.
"Kota." Dean said, she turned to look at him. "Rule number one, come on." He gave her a look and she sighed heavily, walking over to stand next to him. He ruffled her hair but turned to look at Sam.
Dakota jumped when people started to run into the room yelling, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" She stiffened at the same time her dad and Sam pulled out their guns. The three people started talking over each other, making Dakota overwhelmed. Her hands started to shake, and she inched backwards from everyone. She watched the people with wide eyes, unsure of what to do, all the noise were confusing her.
"C'mere, Kota." Sam murmured, pulling his niece closer to him upon seeing the frightened look on her face.
Harry, Ed's partner, finally calmed down when he noticed the three Winchesters standing close together. "Hey, aren't those the fuckers from Texas?" He questioned. The Winchesters all three glared at him hatefully. Ed agreed but Dean stepped in before anything could start up again.
"Alright, why don't we have this reunion across the street, guys." He said, as he grabbed Dakota's small hand and waved everyone forward.
Dean and Harry started talking over each other. Harry asked what they were doing there and Dean bribing them to leave with ice cream. Ed tried to walk forward but he ran into Dakota and knocked her off her feet, she hit the ground and grunted softly. Sam shoved Ed back before Dean could do anything worse than a push. Sam helped his niece off the ground and tugged her toward him, her head just reaching his hip.
"Just look at this!" Harry shouted, while the woman next to him was frantically typing on the computer they had.
"Okay, honest to God proof, all right?" She said pointing at the computer. Everyone crowded around the screen, Dean picked Dakota up and held her on his hip while they looked at the screen. Dakota was always small for her age, she didn't look like a six year old, she was only slightly bigger than the average four year old.
They watched the apparition appear, it looked like it was talking to someone. Persuading them to not do something. Dakota watched the tape with interest, she's never seen a spirit before, she glanced at Sam who had a look of realization on his face. Dakota leaned towards her dad to ask him a question.
"He won't hurt us, will he?" She questioned, Dean shook his head and assured her that they were going to fine. Sam pulled on Dean's arm momentarily.
"Think we're off on this?" Sam questioned as they walked, Dean hiked Dakota up slightly as she started to slip. "That was just a death echo."
"Yeah, but what's it doing here? Did anyone got shot here?" He replied in question. Dakota wiggled in his arm and jumped out of his arms before he could release her. "Stop doing that." He said, his eyes wide, he hated when she did that, thinking she was going to hurt herself. She just shrugged it off.
Sam denied Dean's question. "Not that I could find." Dean moved closer to lower his voice but Spruce stepped in before he could say anything.
"What's a death echo?" he asked. Dean looked away in annoyance and Dakota moved away from them.
"We got a problem here. That ghost ain't it." Sam said as he pointed his flashlight at Spruce.
Dakota moved closer to Ed and Harry, listening to their argument as Spruce prodded her family with questions. "What's a death echo?" He repeated slower.
"Echoes are trapped in a loop, okay?" Dean started but Dakota butted in. "Grandpa said those are ghosts that replay their deaths over and over." She finished for her dad, he pointed in agreement with her as she strolled back over.
"Usually in the place they were ganked." Dean added. "It's about as dangerous as a scary movie."
"Hey! Those are terrible!" Dakota cried in protest as Sam started talking. "Maybe the echo's not dangerous, but maybe something else is." Sam spoke over her.
"All right, we need to get out of here guys, come on let's go." Dean shouted, calling everyone's attention.
Everyone started talking over each other again, Sam and Dean arguing with Ed and Harry about leaving. Dakota's eyes widened, she hated when people shouted over others, it overwhelmed her as she tried to focus on all of their voices at once. She played with her blonde hair nervously, asking them to stop but her voice was easily missed over the shouts. She spotted Sam's head over everyone and darted through the group, gripping onto her uncle's coat tightly. He looked down at her but kept telling the Ghostfacers to grab their stuff, Sam's hand pressed against Dakota's back comfortingly.
"Wait! Wait!" Ed shouted over everyone, ceasing their voices. "Where's Corbett?"
"Where's Dakota?" Dean panicked, not seeing her behind everyone. "Where is she?"
"She's here, Dean." Sam said quickly, he lifted Dakota up to hold her so Dean could see her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him in a panic, she didn't expect Sam to randomly pick her up. She spotted her dad and he gave her a relieved smile, she waved smally.
She absentmindedly played with the ends of Sam's hair as Ed yelled at Dean who threw him back by the jacket. Corbett's loud, terrified scream ripped through the air, Dakota shrieked and hid her face in Sam's neck, gripping onto his coat tightly. He rubbed her back as Ed's team ran up the stairs yelling for Corbett.
"Shit!" Sam cursed as they all disappeared upstairs. Dakota kept her face hidden in Sam's neck.
They normally never brought her on hunt's with them, only ones that should be easy. Dean thought this one would be simple, which is why he let her join them and made her recite the rules they established early on.
"C'mere, baby." Dean soothed as he pulled his daughter away from Sam gently, she quickly grabbed onto him. She looked at him with wide eyes. She's only been on one hunt, this kind of fear was new for her-she knew the dangers of hunting. Most of the time she stayed with Bobby or in the motel room until Dean and John, or Sam when he was there, got back. She hasn't ever been there when a monster has taken someone. She was terrified. "It's okay." Dean said rubbing her back slowly.
Sam brushed her hair back before the three of them headed up the stairs to find the Ghostfacers. Dakota looked down at her dad's watch and saw it was midnight. Corbett kept screaming when Sam returned from looking for him, Dean and him started to usher them all out of the room and back down the stairs, they refused and shouted that they heard Corbett, that he was there. Everyone kept yelling and it started to really freak Dakota out, she was whimpering as Sam and Dean shoved everyone forward.
"Go!" Dean shoved Spruce, who heard Dakota's whimpering. He wheeled around and started to record the scared little girl. "Turn it off!" Dean snapped angrily, shoving the camera away from his daughter's face. He placed a hand on the back of Dakota's head and brought it closer to him, hiding her face from view.
Edited 3/15/19