Fix You

Dean tightened his grip on her small frame, his head immediately burying into her hair. “Oh, shut the hell up, you don’t hate me.”

As Dean stood there, he felt more whole than he had in a while. When Brooklyn left, she took a huge part of Dean with her. Just to have her in his arms again felt like he was holding on to the only world he ever knew. Nothing else mattered but her, that little girl inside, and his brother.

After this encounter, Dean wouldn’t be able to bare it if Brooklyn didn’t want to go back with him. Part of him understood her concerns, Dean knew all too well that raising children in this life only lead to bad things. Take him and his brother for example… But he was Dean freakin’ Winchester. He could make it work, right? Take fewer cases, the ones he would take be closer to home…

Now that the big things were done and over with, mainly Abaddon, God, and Amara… He could focus on the real things that mattered. Dean pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. “We can make this work, B. I promise you. I’ll keep the both of you safe… I just cant leave you here and pretend like this never happened.”

It would have been so easy for her to tell Dean off, tell him to leave and pretend like this had never even happened in the first place. That likely would have been the easier option in the long run but she couldn't bring herself to. She couldn't tell him to leave and ignore her and their daughter any longer because it had been what she was dreaming of for nearly four and a half years.

Brooklyn started to nod, sniffling as she leaned away from Dean. She didn't wait to ask Dean for permission, she just went ahead and wiped off the remaining tears on his shirt. She looked up to him with a tiny smirk before it fell, her eyes truly taking in Dean for the first time.

Clearing her throat, Brooklyn stepped backward, breaking the hold that he had on her.

"Do you... do you want to meet her?" Brooklyn asked quietly, her heart jumping to her throats as she watched him. "We can leave town after the case. Should be enough time for me to give notice here."

Dean couldn’t help the half smile (the first genuine one that had donned his face in years) as he watched her actions. That was something that attracted him towards Brooklyn more than anything. She never asked questions, only took action.

Dean shook his head and chuckled at her question. Did she really have to ask? Considering the long tyrant of bitching, complaining, and accusing he had just been on because of the little girl. Of fucking course he wanted to meet the toddler in question. Dean was curious to how the little girl was. He hoped she was more like her mother than she was her father. Yet, after the brief moment that he had stolen to look at her, she sure as shit had her fathers features.

“Of course, I want to meet here.” Dean rolled his eyes at her, his arms crossing. “You’d gotta be an idiot to think after what I just did, I wouldn’t want to meet her.”

Dean pulled her in for one last hug before he slung his arm around her shoulders. “Lead the way, B.”

Dean didn't bother asking, he just offered the comfort that he sure as shit knew Brooklyn wouldn't be able to deny. Dean had always been her rock growing up and even after she had left, she liked to think that she was doing the right sort of thing. That helped, too. At least she was trying to help him, without him really knowing what the hell was going on.

Brooklyn leaned into Dean as she led the way back into the diner, surprised by just how empty it seemed. Had they really been gone that long? Clearing her throat, Brooklyn motioned for Dean to sit with Sammy who she gave an uneasy smile. Would he be mad, too?

Taking a deep breathe, Brooklyn turned and headed over to Mary. He knelt down, looking up at the little girl. "Mary, sweetheart. I have someone very, very special I want you to meet, okay? Your daddy, he's here."

Those words were all it took for Mary's head to snap up, eyes searching the diner. They landed on Dean and her face broke into the biggest smile that Brooklyn had ever seen on her little girl's face.

Brooklyn stood, helping Mary down off of the stool. With no hesitation, Mary made a run for the table the two Winchesters were sitting at.

Dean’s eyes were as wide as saucers when the little girl bounded into his arms. She had crawled up into his lap with considerable ease. Now that she was directly in front of her, Dean felt like he was looking at himself decades ago. The swelling and tightening in his chest was a sensation that Dean wasn’t familiar with. When he looked down at her, he knew that he couldn’t let anything, not a damn thing happen to this little girl. She had her whole entire life a head of her, and he’d be damned to see anything stop her from doing what it was she would choose to do in life.

Sam, who was sitting next to him, was awestruck. He wasn’t really sure what was happening. Usually, Sam had all the right things to say, but at that point, words were evading him. All he could do was watch his older brother interact with this young girl who was the spitting image of him.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Dean finally spoke. “I’m your daddy. And this,” he pointed over to Sammy. “This is your uncle Sam. He’s daddy’s brother.”

Brooklyn didn't know whether she should be laughing or crying because as she watched Mary all but launch herself into Dean's lap, she was the happiest that Brooklyn had ever seen. And Dean, he looked surprised but it seemed to come natural to him. She had half expected Sam to try and be the reasonable one, try to say that it would be better to keep distance but he seemed just as happy to be meeting Mary.

Brooklyn gathered Mary's things, carrying them over to the table. She assumed that her little girl wouldn't want to leave Dean's side any time soon. She took a moment to watch them interact before she forced herself to resume working.

Two hours later and she was sliding into the booth beside Sammy because Mary was completely spread out on the opposite side. Brooklyn looked over to Sam with a nervous smile, her shoulders pulled together. "How're you doing, Sam?"

Dean continued to keep his daughter company while Brooklyn worked. He colored with her, talked about her interest, and learned everything that he could about the little girl in the short time that they had been visiting with one another. Soon enough, she was curling into his side and falling asleep. Dean wrapped his arm around her and leaned his head back, allowing himself to drift off for a moment as well. They were safe, weren’t they?

Sam smiled softly at Brooklyn as she slid in next to him. His licked his lip, wiping his hands on his pants. There were many things he wanted to say to Brooklyn, but a lot of them were not appropriate for the current situation. “I’m, uh, doing well. Just keepin’ on, ya know?”

Sam looked down at the table and then over again at his brother. He had watched his brother the past few years at his low. Dean’s calling out her name in his sleep often woke him up. Sam wasn’t sure if he was angry or relieved about the whole Brooklyn situation.

“How have you been, Brooke?” He asked.

There was something that Sam felt, Brooklyn could tell just by the way he looked at her. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, not the way it normally did when the gesture was genuine. It had dulled quite a bit after Jess had been killed but through the years, through everything, Sam seemed to start getting his happiness back. Not completely and not in the same sort of way, but he still seemed to be moving forward with life. The way he deserved to.

"Yeah, I do," Brooklyn answered quietly as she gave a nod of her head. She chewed on the bottom of her lip, glancing down to her hands. Wringing them together, Brooklyn shrugged them together before she looked back up.

"Uh... things are hard but we get by enough," Brooklyn answered quietly. She looked up, over to Dean.

"I had a kidney infection the start of the third trimester. I... uh, I almost lost her," Brooklyn spoke so quietly that she hoped no one would hear her. Jamie knew, the older woman had become like a mother to her in a lot of ways. She was the only one who knew, who worked here.

Brooklyn wanted to go on further, she wanted so bad to admit to Dean how many times her finger had hovered over the send button. She had called him once, and he'd picked up. But the sound of his voice was enough to scare her away. Brooklyn looked down to her lap as she took a deep breathe. "I called you once, you know. You picked up and I just... I hung up."

Sam’s eyes went wide as he listened to Brooklyn speak. He had never imagined that she would have to go through such hardships alone. They had all been such a family with one another; he always thought that he would be there when shit got bad for her—just like he was with Dean. There was no one in hell that Sam could continue having any malicious feelings towards Brooklyn after she had gotten through speaking.

Sam reached around her, his long arm wrapping around he and pulling her into his side. “I just wish you would have said something, to me at least… I could have helped you, Brooke. You wouldn’t have had to do everything on your own. Coulda had a bit of help.”

Sam paused, sighing slightly as he thought back to everything. If he were her, he probably would have done the exact same thing. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “Nothing we can do now but try and move forward. Dean still loves you—I still love you. None of that has changed and it never will.”

Dean jolted awake when he heard a plate being dropped back in the kitchen. He looked down and his daughter was still curled into his side. He rubbed his eyes as he stilled his body, not wanting to wake the little girl. He looked across the table and Brooke and Sam. “What did I miss?”

Brooklyn's shoulders eased as she leaned into Sam's side, feeling her tension slowly relaxing. She sighed, wrapping an arm around Sam's torso. She squeezed him tightly, giving his sid a rough pat. "Thanks, Sammy. I know you would have. I just... I couldn't do that to Dean. He had so much on his plate and so did you. What would have happened with Dean? I just..." she trailed off, letting out a quiet sigh. It had been something she wondered every day since turning away but what would have happened was anyone's guess.

Looking up when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, Brooklyn couldn't help but let out a soft laugh when she noticed Dean looking around a bit frantically.

"Nothing, Dean. We should probably head out though," Brooklyn urged as she moved to climb out of the booth. "My place isn't big but I mean.." she trailed off, shrugging as she bit into her bottom lip. "You guys can stay if you want. I'm sure Mary wouldn't mind at all."

Her place was nothing more than a tiny one bedroom apartment. Mary had the bedroom because as far as Brooklyn was concerned, that was all that mattered. Mary having everything that she needed and whatever Brooklyn could provide that Mary wanted, she damn sure would. "We'll have to figure something out in the living room for you two is all."

Dean nodded as he looked out the window, noticing that the sun was in fact starting to dip below the horizon. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to get the fog of sleep out of his mind. Mary was still curled up in his side. Part of him just wanted to stay there with her; he was scared that Brooklyn would back out and not go with him. There was no telling how much time he had left with his daughter.

Dean shifted slightly causing the little girl to stir. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes, almost an exact mimicked action of her father. She sleepily crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, her face burying into his chest.

Dean wrapped his arms around her small body, a goofy smile making its way onto his face. He looked across the table at Brooklyn and Sam. “You need a ride, B? Cuz we could all fit in Baby. I don’t have a car seat or shi—“ Dean stopped himself from cursing in front of the child, “Crap. I don’t have a car seat or toddler crap, ya know, so I don’t know what would be best.”

Dean was just rambling on now. He was really unsure of what move to make next or what move would be welcomed by Brooklyn. All he could do was offer, and if she took it, he would be elated.

Brooklyn couldn't help but let out a soft laugh when Dean caught himself, still giving him a stern look. She was doing her best to raise Mary well and she had never been one to tolerate cursing around her child. Not until she was at least double digits, if not later if she could help it any.

Clearing her throat, Brooklyn gave a nod of her head. "I usually just walk over. We only live a few streets over and it being a small town, a car isn't that necessary. Besides, expensive," she answered quietly. She had given up a lot of material things because there just was no room in her budget for them.

"Just gotta promise to drive safe. That means following the speed limit, Dean," Brooklyn scolded with a small smirk of her own. She climbed out of the booth, stepping around to Dean's side. She reached forward, tickling Mary's side. "Come on, princess. Daddy and Uncle Sam are going to come home with us, okay? Maybe we can build a fort in the living room, hm?"

Lifting the still tired toddler into her arms, Brooklyn reached over to grab Mary's bag of supplies. She glanced over to Dean, offering a timid smile. "Lead the way."

Dean hated what he was hearing. He could have provided for her. He and Sam would have done everything in their power to make sure that Brooklyn and his daughter had every single thing that they needed. Brooklyn didn’t need to be living such a life that she was. All Dean wanted was to give her and their little girl everything they needed.

“I always follow the speed limit,” Dean said as matter of factly that he could. He let out a small chuckle, however. That was nowhere near the truth. Dean had a lead foot and was proud of it. At least he got them from point a to point b safely. “I’m a great driver, you know that.”

Dean grabbed the diaper bag off of Brooklyn’s shoulder. “I can carry stuff too, ya know. I ain’t useless, contrary to popular belief.”

Dean lead them out to the Impala. He peered in the back seat, thankful that he had moved everything out of there and back into the truck when Sam needed to take a quick cat nap earlier. “Sam, you’re in back with Mary. Brooke is going to ride shout gun with me. She has to tell me how to get to her apartment.”

Dean flashed Brooklyn his famous grin and raised his eyebrows. “Well hop in.”

Brooklyn frowned as Dean grabbed the bag off of her shoulder, a small frown forming on her lips. "Sorry. Just... not used to it," she muttered the last part of her sentence, almost positive that it would upset Dean for him to realize how very little help she had received over the past few years to help raise their daughter.

She followed Dean out to the car, unable to hide her grin as she took in the sight of the Impala for the first time in years. She held Mary as Sam climbed into the backseat, handing over the toddler who had already managed to fall back asleep. Something that Brooklyn always envied.

Brooklyn climbed into the car, settling back into the seat like she was used to the feeling. She let out a quiet sigh, glancing over when Dean climbed in beside her. She eyed the man, struggling to resist the urge to reach out and touch him. She wanted to hold his hand, tell him that everything was going to be alright but she simply couldn't bring herself to. What if he didn't want her to?

Clearing her throat, Brooklyn balled her hands up in her lap as she turned away from him. "Turn right out of the parking lot and on the second light, you're going to turn left. We're the first street on the left," Brooklyn explained as he started up the car. Brooklyn truly didn't want the boys seeing where she lived - silly things like the kitchen cabinets often stuck and the bathroom door didn't quite shut properly unless you put weight behind it.

Just by Dean glancing at her, he could tell that she felt uncomfortable, but what he didn’t know was why. With all the time that they had spent together in previous years, and all the different situations they had been in, why was this particular situation bothering her?

Sure, Dean was pissed that Brooklyn had been doing all of this on her own. Moreover, her was furious. He was angry at himself for not taking extra effort to try and find her. Sam had told him that he had done everything he could, yet, Dean always felt like no matter what, there is always more that can be done.

Dean listened to her directions and began to follow them. Absent mindedly, he reached over and squeezed her thigh. Dean could tell that the girl needed a break. Hell, Dean could deal with hunting shit and helping people, but he couldn’t imagine raising a child by himself. To be honest, it terrified him. He withdrew his hand and placed it back on the steering while, huffing to himself as he got lost in his thoughts while they drove.

Brooklyn's body visibly tensed when Dean initially set a hand on her thigh, only to relax in the next moment. God, how bad she had longed for this but she had never thought it would happen. As the years went by, being on her own got just a little bit easier for her. She didn't have to hurt as much when she was alone. But being back with the boys, that felt better than she could have ever thought.

She frowned, looking up when Dean pulled away. She wanted to invite him to set his hand back on her thigh, she wanted to hold his hand. Anything to assure her this was all real but she didn't have the courage to. If Dean didn't want to for whatever reason, she had no right to ask simply because it was a comfort to her.

When they pulled up to Brooklyn's house, she let out a sigh as she looked up to the small apartment building. "If you guys are cool with it, we should build a fort in the living room. It'll make Mary happy and I mean, it'll probably be the best option for us all to sleep..." she trailed off, sighing as she pushed open Baby's door.

If Dean Winchester said he wasn’t freaking the fuck out, he would be lying straight through his teeth. There was still the nagging fear that Brooklyn would bail out and not go back to the bunker with him. Brooklyn was more like a Winchester then Dean would have liked. She was head strong, stubborn, and never wanted to ask for help. Even in this situation, Dean assumed it wasn’t going to be any different.

Dean didn’t want to experience losing Brooklyn for a second time. But this time would be much, much worse. Not only would he be losing Brooklyn, but he would be losing his daughter; he had already missed out on so much of the young girl’s life. Dean was going to do everything in his power to get Brooklyn to come back—he wasn’t sure he would even take no for an answer.

Dean gathered as much stuff in his arms as he could and allowed Sam to lead Mary to the house behind her mother. Dean felt sick, this shouldn’t be happening. But he was torn between being elated, bewildered, and pissed. It was nauseating. When they finally stepped through the threshold of the door, Dean shrugged. “Where do you want this stuff?”

Brooklyn looked around slowly, running a hand through her hair. She pulled the ponytail out of her hair and ruffled it, breathing a small sigh of relief at the feeling. She looked up, a small frown on her lips as her eyes locked onto Dean's. "Um, just in the corner. I know it's not much but.." she trailed off, suddenly wishing her apartment was more. She wanted to be able to show that she could provide more, she was almost positive that Dean and Sam had to be judging her. Had to be thinking that she was an unfit mother.

Glancing over to Sam, Brooklyn shifted her weight from one side to the other. "Are you... are you okay watching Mary for a minute while we step outside? It's totally okay if you're not," she quickly finished, not wanting to ask too much of Sam. While she hadn't really talked to Sam about how she had hurt them, she was sure that she had hurt Sam nearly as much as she had hurt Dean.

"I can make some popcorn then we can all watch a movie, I guess. But we only have Disney Princess movies so I apologize in advance." Brooklyn couldn't help but smile when Mary piped up with excitement, talking about how much she loved Mulan and how the movie was her favourite of all time.

There was a small smile tugging at Dean’s lips as Brooklyn spoke about only having Disney princess movies. It made his heart flutter thinking about the fact that their daughter was living a normal life. All she had to worry about was trying to choose her favorite cartoon character and what type of cereal she wanted.

Dean did as instructed and set all the bags down in the corner. He let his eyes roam around the main living area, looking at the different toys that inhabited the space. He wondered what Mary’s favorite activity was, her favorite food, her favorite color…. There was so many things he needed to learn about his on child; he was practically a stranger to the small girl.

As Dean saw the excitement in Mary’s eyes as she spoke about Mulan being her favorite, he instantly saw that she had to be a Winchester. Even Dean knew that Mulan was a strong, independent, and fiercely wild woman. Exactly what he had hoped his daughter would be. Dean strode over to the girl, sitting on the couch beside her. “What’s your favorite thing about Mulan, baby girl?”