Chasing Cars

"Be good, alright, baby? Mommy'll be right back with some juice in a little while." Frankie Sommers kissed the side of her daughter's head before heading into the back of the small diner to clock in. Some might say she was crazy for bringing an eighteen month old with her to work every single day, but what else was she supposed to do? She couldn't afford a babysitter, and her parents lived on the opposite end of the country so they couldn't exactly watch her. Maybe Frankie was stubborn for staying where she was instead of moving in with her parents, but at twenty seven years old was that really something she wanted to be doing? Maybe making two ends meet was a little difficult, but she made it work as best she could. And she was pretty damn proud of herself for making it as far as she had on her own. Her pregnancy hadn't been an easy one, and raising a baby with little support wasn't easy either. But little Aaliyah was doing just fine, they were doing just fine, and Frankie didn't need her parents around 24/7. She certainly didn't need him to be in the picture either. They were doing just fine on their own. No one else was needed. Not even a little bit.

Her shifts at the diner were sometimes long and tiresome, but the cash made them worthwhile. It sucked bringing Aaliyah in every single day that she worked, which was most days, but if she didn't work then they wouldn't be able to afford the small apartment that they had just a few blocks from the diner. It wasn't ideal, but it did work out fine in the long-run. Once she had clocked in, she headed back out to put on the coffee machines and get everything set up. Since she opened today, she knew that Aaliyah wouldn't be getting antsy for at least a little while longer without her juice. She had time to set things up, and maybe take a table or two, grab her juice and then wait for the breakfast rush to begin.

---

"You're sure that you're up for this, right, Sammy?" Dean asked, for the umpteenth time that hour glancing over to his brother as he drove Baby down the highway. He knew that it was really starting to get on his brother's nerves, but he knew that there had to be something going on in his head now that the wall Death had put up was down. No thanks to Cass. He, Sam and Bobby hadn't seen or heard from the angel since the whole fiasco a couple of days ago. He was off on some freaking power trip. All he did hear was on the radio about this man claiming to be the new God and all of this other crazy mumbo-jumbo. He'll come around. Just focus on Sam for right now. He kept on telling himself. That was easier said than done though when Sam was claiming that he was perfectly fine when it was obvious that he wasn't. He was a lot jumpier at times than he used to be, and it was obvious that he was zoning out on occasion and seeing things that no one else could see a couple of times a day too. Something was definitely up, that much was obvious. Whether Sam wanted to admit to it or not.

"Why don't we stop and grab some breakfast? I'm freaking starving, and there's gotta be a diner around here somewhere." He suggested. He never turned down diner food, and he was actually pretty hungry anyway. He figured they'd ease into this case if they could. He didn't want his brother doing too much right away. And if there was more moderation then he could probably figure out, and call his brother's bluff too.

@ sam winchester.
Roxanne sighed as she hit the snooze button of the alarm clock in her apartment. She had been living there for about three years now. It had been so long since she had last been even anywhere remotely near the town. Every time she came close she was reminded of her past and didn't want to relive it. What she had done to him. She was the worst kind of person and she thought about him nearly every day. What could have been if she would have just stayed. If she would have just faced her fears instead of running like a scared little girl.

She rolled over and figured she might as well start getting ready for work. She didn't live far from the office, but it was far enough that she didn't have much time to procrastinate. Roxanne hopped in the shower quickly and got dressed in her usual office attire. She made herself a quick cup of coffee and grabbed her keys to her car before heading into work. She had never thought that she would be the assistant to an editor, but here she was, living out the path to her dream. She loved her boss, Brandi, and wouldn't possibly dream of being anywhere else for the time being.

---

Sam looked over at Dean with a blank look in response to his question, "For the millionth time, Dean, yes, I'm okay. I can do this." Sam replied. He knew that Dean was just worried about him because of how much had really happened, but Sam was getting annoyed with his constant pestering of asking if he was okay. Things weren't going to miraculously change over night. Things never worked out that way for Sam. Ever. Sam, of course, wasn't telling Dean the whole truth of everything he had been seeing since the wall had been taken down in his mind. Sam knew, though, if he told Dean that Dean would make a big fuss out of everything and try to fix him again, but the fixing wasn't going to help. This needed time.

"Breakfast sounds pretty great right about now actually." He agreed as he felt his stomach grumble. Sam knew that this case was going to be the one that showed Dean whether or not Sam was actually well enough to be back out working on cases. As they drove into the town, Sam felt a sense of Deja Vu wash over him for a split second, but he couldn't remember being in the town. It all seemed very familiar to him but wasn't sure why. Sam remembered almost all of the towns which he and Dean had taken cases, but this town wasn't one of them, Sam would remember if it was. So why was he feeling like this?

Frankie had always been a hard worker. She always put 100% into whatever it was she was doing, and that included waitressing. She never imagined that she would be here, a single mother waiting tables just to make ends meet at the age of twenty seven, but that's what she'd been dealt, and she'd accepted that for right now. Maybe when Aaliyah was a little bit older she could give college another try, she'd gone to community college for two years and always said that she was going to go back but never quite got there, but this was what she had for right now and it was fine. Sure, the apartment was small, and she often walked to work instead of taking the car because it was cheaper that way, and she saw more of the diner walls than she did her apartment, but she was doing the best that she could. She was making it work.

A few minutes after the dinner officially opened, a couple of regulars trickled in. "I'll be right back with your usual, Phil." She said to the elderly man who came in each morning to read the papers and have his hash and eggs. He always told Frankie not to tell his wife or else she'd lecture him about his cholesterol. "You're the best, Frankie." Phil said, causing the blonde to smile. "I try my best." She said with a shrug of her shoulders before putting the order into the ticket window. Once she had done so, she grabbed Aaliyah's sippy cup from her purse and filled it with some watered down apple juice before bringing it over to her daughter. She set the cup and some saltines down next to the placemat that her daughter was scribbling on the back of. She had recently started getting interested in coloring, and prior to that, one of the other staff members, usually one of the busboys, kept her busy whenever Frankie got busy. "Juice!" Aaliyah exclaimed happily when Frankie set down her sippy cup. "That's right, baby. Mommy'll bring you some nanners and pancakes later on, okay? Color mommy a picture until then." She smoothed some of her daughters dark locks down, something she'd gotten from her father, and kissed the side of her head before going to get the order from the window. Aaliyah looked so much like him. Same hazel eyes, same dark hair, same nose. Some days were harder for Frankie than others, but she just kept reminding herself that it was just the two of them and that was fine. They didn't need him.

---

"You can't blame me for asking, Sam." Dean said. He was going to worry whether his brother wanted him to or not. "You're seeing freaking Lucifer, you can't expect me not to ask you how you're doing." He didn't know how his brother was keeping it together as well as he was. He didn't know if Sam was just good at hiding things or if he really was getting better. Bobby thought that he was, but Dean couldn't be too sure. "I know that you worked that case in Nebraska by yourself, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to check to see how you're doing every so often." Dean still couldn't believe he'd just gotten up and left him at Rufus' cabin in Minnesota that day. Sure, he'd still had the cast on his leg from that freaking leviathan, but that was no excuse to leave him behind. He knew it was because the Kitsune, Amy, had been his brother's friend in a way, but that was no excuse, and Dean was still kind of pissed that Sam had taken Baby's keys without asking first.

"Good, we were getting breakfast whether you were hungry or not." He said as he pulled into the parking lot of the diner. It was kind of early, so there weren't very many cars in the parking lot at all. He and Sam had gotten an early start that morning despite the slight tension between the two brother's over Sam's condition. To be honest, Dean was a little bit more tense because of the town they were in than anything else. He hadn't worked a case in this area in years. The last one had only be just one town over and that was back before Sam had gotten back into hunting. The last one was when he'd met her.

@ sam winchester.
Roxanne smiled at her friend, Cole, when she walked into her cubical that was across from his, "Drinks tonight?" Cole asked with a grin. Roxanne shrugged off her coat and threw it over her chair before looking over at Cole with a laugh and nodding, "After the week I've had. Yeah definitely." She replied. Roxanne frowned at the stacks of books she was helping Brandi look over. They were trying to get the majority of them done so Brandi could take her vacation, and didn't leave Roxanne stuck with an ungodly amount of work to get done.

Roxanne was already looking forward to drinks with Cole that night, but not particularly at the bar. Every time they went to King's Pub, Roxanne just thought of Dean and the time they spent together. Coming back to the town that they had met was crazy, even for her, but it was the only place she could really think to go after her mom had died. The only other place that had felt like home besides home. Of course, she knew Dean wouldn't still be there, but just the thought of him still possibly being there was enough to make her come back, but when she found out he wasn't there anymore, she decided to stay and make a life there. It was

---

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Dean spoke, "I know, but let's be honest, it's not the worst thing to happen to me. I'll be okay, Dean. I just need to get back into cases. I need something to keep my mind busy." He replied. He knew that it was crap and that keeping his mind busy wouldn't help for him seeing Lucifer, but the more he continued to try and get Dean to believe it, the more he could try and believe it himself. Sam knew that just up and leaving Dean at the cabin wasn't probably the smartest choice, but at the time, Sam felt like it was, which is why he did it. He came out fine and got everything taken care of. By himself.

Sam laughed lightly and shook his head at his brother's words, "I guess you're right there." He stated and then looked out the window. When they pulled up at a diner, he felt the Deja Vu again. Sam was starting to get frustrated at why he was feeling like this over a town he could have sworn he had never been in before. Sam could tell that Dean was tense, but figured it was just because of the tension between them and what Sam was going through. He wasn't going to ask his brother about it, knowing that Dean would blow it off and claim nothing was wrong.

"Of course I'm right. You should really listen to me more often." Dean said as he climbed out of the Impala. Despite the tension and memories being in this town brought on, Dean's appetite hadn't been ruined. He wanted some bacon and eggs and coffee so freaking bad. Maybe he'd get a slice of pie with his breakfast too. He knew his brother would probably lecture him about it, but he didn't really care. He was going to eat what he wanted to eat. "Hurry up, Sammy. I want some bacon." He called over his shoulder as he started towards the diner. He knew that a minute or two wasn't going to make much of a difference, especially being that it didn't look like there were very many people in the diner at the time, but he didn't care.

Once inside the diner, he glanced around and saw most of the tables were empty. There were a few people scattered about the place, but the early hour meant it was still relatively quiet. "I guess we just sit wherever." He shrugged and made his way over to an empty booth and slid in. "I'll be right with you two." He glanced up and saw a waitress with reddish brown hair walk past them with two coffees. "Take your time, sweetheart." He called after her before looking over to his brother. There was an expression on Sam's face that Dean couldn't quite place. "You alright, Sammy?" He asked.

---

"Let me know if you need anything, Phil." Frankie said as she set the man's breakfast down in front of him and refilled his cup of coffee. She sent a smile the elderly man's way before she went to take another customer's order. At this time of day, people normally trickled in very slowly. The only time it ever really got busy early on was in the summer, but other than that it was usually pretty quiet until around 9:30. Then there was the breakfast rush and then another small lull before the lunch rush. Just before the breakfast rush another waitress would come in, but for right now Frankie was the only one on. That meant that any table that came in was hers.

After taking the new table's order, she went to grab their drinks. She heard the door of the diner when she was behind the counter pouring coffee and didn't even glance up when she walked past the table the new customers ended up occupying. She acknowledged the fact that they were there though and told them that she'd be right with them before she dropped the coffee cups in her hand down at the other table. When she turned around and started back towards it, she almost stopped dead in her tracks. He was here. He was sitting at that table. What the hell was he doing here? Why was he back now? After she found out she was pregnant with Aaliyah, she'd tried calling him. He never returned any of her calls. What audacity did he possess that made him think showing up like this, well over two years later, was okay? "Can I start you off with something to drink?" She asked, purposely directing her words towards the other man at the table as she didn't even glance in his direction.

@ sam winchester.
(I'll just do Sam for the moment in time)

Sam rolled his eyes lightly at his brother as he got out of the Impala and headed into the diner behind Dean. They slid into a booth before a waitress walked past them saying that she would be with them shortly. There was something really familiar about her, but like with the town and diner, he couldn't put his finger on why she was. When Dean asked if he was alright, he shook his head, "Have we done a case here before?" He questioned his brother, "I am getting this overwhelming feeling of Deja Vu like I've been here before. In this town. In this diner. Hell, that waitress even seems familiar, but I can't think of why. I don't remember coming here on a case before."

When the waitress walked over, Sam noticed that she really only asked her question toward Dean, which confused Sam even more than he already was. He must know this girl from somewhere. She was really familiar to him, more than the town and the diner had been. Then he got flashes in his mind of her smiling at him, but he didn't know where the flash was coming from. As far as he could recall, he had never met this girl before. So why was his head showing him images of her that he hadn't seen?

Frankie refused to look at him. Maybe it was a bit childish, but she was pissed and rightfully so too. Who the hell did he think he was just showing up like this after all the time that had passed? Not to mention how he'd freaking up and left without even leaving a freaking note and that he hadn't returned any of her calls when she did try reaching out to him afterwards. Even if he had left her, and she'd been just as pissed then as she was now, she had wanted him to know about Aaliyah. After calling and leaving numerous voicemails she finally just sort of gave up and said screw him. He didn't deserve to know Aaliyah. He didn't deserve to be in her life.

"I think we both know what we're getting actually." The man whose presence she had actually acknowledged said. Frankie nodded and pulled her pad out of her apron. "Alright, I'm ready when you are." She said with a smile, still refusing to look at him. "I'll take a black coffee and two eggs over easy with bacon and sausage and white toast." He said. Frankie jotted down his order as he told her it. Once he had done so, she kept her eyes on the pad as she shifted her body to his side of the table. "What can I get for you?" Her demeanor had changed and there was a curt, clipped tone to her voice.

---

Dean gave Sam a weird look when he asked if they had been to this town before. "We've never worked a case here before, Sammy." He said. That was the truth, although Dean had worked a case just one town over, but he didn't want to talk about that. He didn't want to think about that case. He didn't want to think about that bar and he didn't want to think about her. They were here to figure out what evil son of a bitch was responsible for the recent deaths in the area and that was it. He didn't know why his brother thought the town seemed familiar, and chalked it up to whatever was going on in his head. "Are you sure you can handle this? Because if you can't, you can stay back at the motel. I'll call and ask Bobby to come help me out."

Before Sam could answer him, the waitress from earlier came back over to their table. Dean couldn't help noticing that she directed her words towards him and not Sam. He also couldn't help noticing her change in demeanor when she spoke to Sam, and the fact that she seemed to be refusing to look at his brother too. Something wasn't adding up here at all. "I'll be right back with your drinks." She said once Sam had placed his order. Once she was out of earshot, Dean spoke. "Okay, what the hell was that about?"

@ sam winchester.
Sam frowned when Dean said they had never worked a case there before. Then how the hell did he know this town? When Dean asked if he was okay to work the case, Sam nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. I can do this I swear." He replied. When the waitress asked for their orders, Sam raised his eyebrows at the tone of voice she used with him, "I'll take a water and I'll have the same as him." He replied quickly. He felt like she didn't want to be in his presence any longer, so he wouldn't make her be, just so he could get his thoughts together.

"I have no idea." He replied to Dean's question, "I feel like I have seen her before, Dean." He added. Sam had no idea what the hell was going on right now, and he hated that he didn't know, "I can't remember ever coming to this town, but everything here seems so familiar, and she seems the most familiar out of everything that I've seen so far."

Frankie made a beeline for the kitchen once she had taken their orders. She couldn't believe he was here, right now. Why the hell would he come back after two years? And why had he acted as though he hadn't known her at all? She supposed he could have been doing the same thing that she'd been doing, but she had a reason to do so, he didn't. She was pissed at him. He was the one who had up and left without even the slightest warning. He was the one who hadn't returned any of her calls when she tried reaching out to him. He was the one who had left her to raise their daughter alone, whether he knew about Aaliyah or not.

She took her time writing up their order. The longer it took her, the longer it would be before she had to go out and bring them their drinks. Unfortunately, she didn't take as long as she would have liked to. "The food should be out in a few minutes." She said, avoiding his gaze as she set the coffee and water down on the table. "If you need anything before then, let me know." She disappeared back into the kitchen to grab Aaliyah's breakfast before walking to the back booth with the plate of pancakes and bananas. It was slow enough right now that she'd be able to feed her now.

---

None of this was making any sense. Dean had no idea how Sam knew that waitress, but it seemed like she knew him too just based off of how she was acting with his brother moments before. She was friendly towards him, but he couldn't say the same about how she acted towards Sam. She was cold, and almost seemed pissed off. Dean didn't know why, but that's what it seemed like. "Well, if you ever came here, it wasn't with me or dad." He said. "I think you would have remembered being here though, and if you knew her, you would remember her." This was weird even for them, and it kind of just added to all of the crap they were already dealing with.

"Thank you." He said when she came back over with the drinks. Before he could say much of anything else, she was disappearing into the kitchen. "She doesn't want to be near you for more than five seconds, man." He said, watching as the doors to the kitchen swung back and fourth a bit after she disappeared inside. He sipped his coffee. "If you have met her before, you did something to piss her off...she only seems familiar? That's it? You don't remember her name or anything like that?"

@ sam winchester.
Sam was about to thank her for the drinks but she left too quickly and he didn't have a chance to say anything. When Dean said how they hadn't been there on a case before, he frowned, "I mean I'm getting flashes of being here, but I don't actually remember coming here." He replied. He took a drink from his water as he looked around, trying like hell to remember anything from this diner. Anything more than just familiar. It was killing him that he didn't know why this place was familiar and why their waitress seemed to hate him.

"Yeah it does seem that wait doesn't it." Sam stated and looked toward the kitchen and shook his head, "I don't remember anything. I just am getting these flashes of her smiling at me, but obviously she hasn't even looked in my direction once." Sam closed his eyes as he tried to picture her more in his head and why she was so familiar to him. He imagined her standing back in front of them and thought about what her name tag said. Frankie. It said Frankie, "Her name tag said Frankie, but I don't think it's registering in my head."

"So do you think you've been here before then?" Dean asked. None of this was making any sense at all, but it would explain why Sam felt like this town seemed so familiar. If his brother really had been here once before, he obviously hadn't been here with him or their dad. Truth be told, Dean kind of avoided this town after what had happened last time he was here. He had honestly only agreed to come this time because he knew that Sam wanted to try getting back into hunting. He pushed the thought to the back of his head and tried to figure out when Sam could have been here.

"When I went to Hell, you were with Bobby...you wouldn't have been here back before you got back into hunting....okay, hypothetically speaking, what if you were here after you got out of the cage?" He asked his brother. It kind of made sense to him. It would explain why Sam didn't really remember being here. The wall Death had put up in his brother's head made him forget most of his time spent without a soul, not just his time spent in the cage with Lucifer. "I'm not saying that's definitely the case, but I thinks it's definitely a possibility." He said to his brother before he stood up. "I'm heading to the bathroom, don't touch my bacon if it comes out." He stood up and headed to the back, passing by the booth the waitress was sitting at. He didn't notice the little girl sitting with her until he walked back out a few minutes later. When he did, he almost stopped dead in his tracks. He stared for a couple of seconds before quickly heading back to the table where he and Sam were sitting, looking like he'd just seen a ghost if ghosts actually scared him. "Are you sure you've never been here before?"

---

Frankie really just didn't know what to do. She had Aaliyah here, and if he saw her, well, it would be fairly obvious that she was his daughter. She didn't want him to know about her though. Maybe she was being selfish and a little coldhearted but he deserved it after the stunt he pulled. If he cared about her at all he would have returned her phone calls. He wouldn't have waited over two years to come back. He would have acknowledged the fact that he knew her back at the table a couple of minutes ago. He never would have freaking left in the first place. Maybe she was still a little bitter and pissed off, but she had every right to be.

She was feeding Aaliyah when the other man from the table walked past her to get the bathrooms. Her back was turned to him when he came back out, so she didn't notice him pause and stare intently at Aaliyah for a couple of seconds. "Mommy'll be right back, baby, okay?" She kissed the side of her daughter's head before she stood up and headed towards the window for the kitchen as she heard the bell ring. She picked up the order and carried it over to the table. "Let me know if you two need anything." She said, still refusing to look at him as she dropped the order at the table.

@ sam winchester.
Sam shook his head, "I don't remember ever coming here, no." He replied. When Dean started listing off the times that he would have had the chance to come to this town, Sam frowned. Of course. Not having his soul, "That actually probably seems right. I mean you know that I've had a hard time remember anything from the time when I didn't have my soul. It makes sense, Dean." When Dean left Sam to his thoughts, Sam started to think more about the year that he didn't have his soul. Even despite the wall being down, Sam still didn't remember much of that year. Truth be told, Sam knew he didn't want to think about it because he knew it wouldn't be good.

When Dean returned to the table and made sure that he thought he hadn't been there, Sam raised an eyebrow and was about to speak before Frankie brought their food out. Sam smiled lightly, "Thanks." He said softly, knowing that she still wouldn't look at him. What had he done in that year that was so bad she didn't want to even look at him, "I think I have. The only logical thing that makes sense is while I didn't have my soul. It's probably why everything here is so familiar. Why what did you find?" He asked curiously.

Dean wasn't one too make assumptions, but this one seemed pretty freaking obvious. That little girl at the back table looked exactly like Sam. Like there was no denying that fact at all. And if his brother didn't remember much from when he had no soul, well, it would make sense that this place seemed vaguely familiar to him. And so did that waitress. If Sam kind of vaguely remembered her, and that was her daughter, well, it seemed pretty obvious to Dean. That kid was Sam's, she had to be his. Dean had seen plenty of weird and freaky things in his life, but this would take the cake if that little girl wasn't Sam's.

"Thank you." Dean said when the waitress dropped their food. He eyed her for a moment and then his burger and watched her walk off before looking at his brother. "If you're getting some weird Deja Vu feeling being here, and the waitress seems familiar too, I think you've been here before Sam." He told him before leaning over the table a little bit and lowering his voice as he didn't want anyone to overhear what he was saying. "And if that wasn't enough for me to go off of, then that little girl at that back table definitely is."

---

Frankie refused to look a him. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. When they both thanked her, she mustered a small smile before turning and walking over to the counter to drop Phil his check. "Take it easy, Frankie." The old man said as he got up and dropped fifteen dollars down on the counter to cover his check and the tip. "I'll try my best, Phil." She said with a smile. "The munchkin keeps me pretty busy when I'm not here though." She said with a slight laugh. "She's very well-behaved, you must be doing something right." She smiled at his comment. "I do what I can, thank you though. Tell Maura I said hello." She said before walking over with menus to the table that had just walked in.

She had no idea what was conspiring at Sam's table. She had no idea that the other man had seen Aaliyah sitting at the back booth and realized immediately that she was Sam's kid. She was trying her best not to think too much about him being in the diner in the first place, but it was proving to be quite the difficult task considering there were very few tables in the restaurant to keep her busy.

@ sam winchester.
Sam nodded at Dean's words and picked up a piece of bacon and eating it. When Dean spoke about a little girl at a back table, he raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his water, "What do you mean? Why would a child be confirmation?" He asked. He didn't know why it wasn't registering to him. He probably figured it was more than likely because he couldn't remember ever being here except for flashes he was getting. There was a silence between him and Dean and he could hear Frankie talking with a customer, his attention immediately focusing on her once she spoke about a child and how the customer said she must be doing something right.

It started to click together in his head, but still very slowly, "Alright so she's got a kid? Is that the little girl you were talking about?" He questioned his brother. He still didn't see how all of this was relevant. Of course he hadn't seen the child, so he didn't realize how relevant it all really was. Dean seemed to be thoroughly convinced, so Sam was going to hear him out.

Dean gave his brother a look, wondering if he was going to have to spell it out for him. "You'd know what I meant if you saw her." He said before he started eating his breakfast. He was silent after that as he ate his breakfast. He supposed that he might not put together what he was trying to get at if he were in Sam's shoes. His brother didn't remember much, if anything, about his time here. If he did, it probably would have been a little bit more obvious. He overheard the waitress talking with another customer and shot his brother another look when she mentioned her daughter. It sort of seemed liked it was registering in his brother's head, but not quite.

"Considering I heard the little girl call her mommy early, I'm thinking that's a yes." He told his brother. He could see that Sam was starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together as best as he could. He didn't know if it was working though. Not entirely anyway. "Sam, the kid looks exactly like you." He finally said, unable to sit there and wait for his brother to figure it out for himself any longer. "I don't know if something was going on with you and that waitress last time you were here, but I'm pretty sure the kid's living proof that something was going on."

---

Frankie was behind the counter getting drinks for the new table that had just walked in. Once she did so, she took their order and put it up in the ticket window. She busied herself behind the counter for a bit, clearing off the area where Phil had been sitting and wiping down the area before replacing the place setting that had been there earlier. Once she had done so, she made her way back to the back booth and sat back down with Aaliyah. When it was slow like this, it was easy for her to keep her daughter company. It was harder when it was busy, but Aaliyah didn't get all that fussy often, and she had so many people in this place wrapped around her little finger anyway, so she was often spoiled when she was there by both workers and customers.

@ sam winchester.
Sam raised an eyebrow at Dean's words before Dean started to eat his food. His words reeled in Sam's mind as he ate his own food. He was in the middle of taking a drink from his water when Dean said that the kid looked just like him, causing him to choke a little and look at his brother with wide eyes, "She what?" He asked, clearly not believing what he was hearing from his brother. There was no way that it was his kid. She couldn't be. Then Sam thought about the flashes he had been having about Frankie and seeing her smile like she had been. It started to make sense in his head. He needed to see this child for himself, "I'll be right back." He said to Dean. He slid out of the booth and headed towards the bathroom once he knew that Frankie was taking care of another table.

He went to the back booth and paused when he saw the little girl sitting in her booster chair, coloring on her placemat with a smile on her face. Sam watched as she went to grab another crayon and knocked the cup off the table, spilling the crayons all over the place. Sam was quick to rush over and pick them up for her. He put them all neatly back in the cup, "Here you go, sweetie." He said softly. She smiled up at him and Sam felt like he was hit by a ton of bricks. He knew that smile. It was his smile. Now that he was really looking at her, Dean was right, she looked just like him. He squatted down next to her and looked at her placemat, "Whatcha coloring?" He asked. She looked over at him and picked up her placemat, showing off her work, "Doggy!" She exclaimed with a giggle. Sam smiled slightly at her, "Well that's a pretty doggy." He said. It was weird, but it almost felt natural to him to talk to her. If she was his child, he figured then it should feel natural.

Frankie sat with Aaliyah for a few minutes before another table came in. It wasn't quite time for the breakfast rush yet, but it would be soon enough. Now that it was a little later in the morning, more people were awake and deciding they were in need of breakfast. She grabbed drinks for the table, and brought out food for another before refilling a couple of cups of coffee. It kept her busy enough that she didn't realize that Sam had headed towards the back of the restaurant. Once everyone was taken care of for the time being, she turned to head towards the back booth. Her stomach dropped when she saw Sam squatting down by the table, talking to Aaliyah. She knew that it wouldn't be hard for him to figure out that she was his. She looked so much like him, it was beyond obvious really.

After the initial shock and nerves, the anger returned. Who the hell did he think he was? "Did you need something?" She asked cooly. She couldn't quite lash out like she wanted to, not in front of Aaliyah, but that didn't mean she needed to be friendly towards him either. She hadn't been friendly or shown him any sort of kindness since he walked into the diner forty five minutes ago.

---

Dean knew that his words had caught his brother off guard. He was sure that they were the last words Sam thought he would utter, but they were the honest truth. The little girl sitting at the back of the restaurant was the splitting image of his brother. Dean didn't know how old she was, but if he had to guess, he'd think she was nearing two. A year passed before he learned Sam had gotten out of the cage, and it had been about a year and a half since then so that would mean his guess was probably correct. It all was adding up perfectly, which meant that little girl was Sam's, and Dean had a little niece that he hadn't been aware of until now.

"She looks just like you, Sam." He repeated. "I'm not exaggerating either. I wouldn't have said anything if I was." There was no denying the fact that that kid was his brother's. None at all. He continued eating his breakfast and nodded when Sam said he'd be right back. He watched as his brother headed towards the back of the restaurant, smiling slightly when he watched him interact with the girl. That's when the waitress started heading towards the back booth as well. And she looked pissed.

@ sam winchester.
Sam was watching as the little girl colored before Frankie showed up, causing him to jump up from his seat and stand in front of her hesitantly, "Um...no...I was just heading to the bathroom and she spilt her crayons, so I picked them up for her, then she was showing me her drawing." He said and looked at the floor. He felt weird that he was so nervous around her, but with no memory and the thought looming over him that the child next to him was his daughter, he was overcome with so many emotions.

"What's her name?" He asked as he looked up at Frankie. He needed to know the child's name. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach that Dean was right and he had been with Frankie when he didn't have a soul, and that's how the child next to him ended up here. He wasn't sure if he should bring up to Frankie that he didn't remember her just yet, but he knew that he would have to. There was no way he was getting out of this one. It was obvious that she knew him and was not the biggest fan of him. He just wanted to know what he did to make her hate him like she seemed to.

This was harder for Frankie than she ever imagined it would be. She had always wondered if Sam would ever show up, but she never thought that it would actually happen. She never thought that he'd walk back through that door. She didn't understand why he left without telling her in the first place. Maybe it was pure stupidity on her part considering whatever was going on between them was just casual hook up after casual hook up. She shouldn't have been surprised or hurt when he just skipped town without telling her, and she probably shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't return any of her calls either. But the fact of the matter was that she had been hurt and she had been surprised, and right now she was pretty pissed off that he thought it was okay to show up again like nothing had ever happened between them.

"Well, the bathroom's just back there." She said shortly, pointing behind them. He seemed different. He wasn't as confident as she recalled him being, and there was just a different air about him altogether. Now that she was forced to look at him, she noticed that there was something in his eyes that hadn't been there before. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head though. Stop it. He doesn't matter. You don't need him. She didn't need him in her life and Aaliyah didn't need him in hers. They were doing just fine without him. His later words caught her off guard, and she was unsure whether she should tell him or not. Did he deserve to know her name? The way he looked at her though, with big eyes like a puppy, wore her down though. "Her name's Aaliyah." She said quietly. God, you're so soft, Sommers. "What are you doing here, Sam?" She finally asked, acknowledging, finally, that she knew him.

---

Dean sat and ate his breakfast for a little while. He'd intervene if he had to, but he hoped that talking to her might help jog some of his brother's memories. He was still looking at her with little to no recognition on his face though, and he kind of looked like a lost puppy if Dean was being completely honest here. He could tell that Sam was trying to remember though. His brother wanted to know why the brunette was giving him the cold shoulder. Dean knew how Sam had been when he was soulless. He was sure she had a reason for pulling the Ice Queen card. After a few minutes had passed, he checked the time on his phone. They should probably check into the motel and try to start figuring things out with this case. He stood up and walked towards the back of the restaurant. "We need to head out, Sam."