The Family Business
The Family Business
"Do you have any other family or friends that you can stay with?" Dean asked as we got in the Impala, sneaking Sam out of the hospital. A few bandages and stitches later, and the man was, as he claimed, fine.
I looked down and bit my lip nervously in the backseat, sighing at the mention of his words.
"What is it, Austen?" Sam asked, looking back at me from the passenger's seat.
I shook my head as the tears began to fall, covering my face with my hands. "It's nothing, I'm fine."
"You can't lie to us, it's what we do for a living." Dean said, raising an eyebrow at me from the rearview mirror as we took off. "Look, we know how it feels to lose a parent. Hell, we lost both of ours. It sucks."
"You're not the only ones who lost both of yours." I muttered, looking out of the window.
Sam sighed, looking back at me. "Look, Austen, we're really-"
"John Winchester wasn't only a friend of my mom's." I interrupted, surprised at the outburst of my words.
Dean gave me another unknowable look as he pulled the Impala over on the side of the road, looking back at me like Sam was. "Come again?"
I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. "Fort Worth, Texas. 1995. My mom and John were working a case together. Wendigo, I believe."
Sam looked at me as if he knew where I was going with this, but didn't believe a single word of it. That was the one moment I had seen the brothers have anything in common.
I gulped and forced myself to continue. This needed to be heard. "One night the both of them had too much to drink...and..."
"This can't be true, come on." Dean interruped, shaking his head. "We already had a long lost little brother, and now you're trying to tell me that we have a sister, too? Right."
"Dean." Sam started, looking at his brother. "I remember that case. I was thirteen, you were seventeen. Dad left us with Pastor Jim, and you bitched because you wanted to come but he was already working with another hunter."
"What are you trying to say, Sammy?" Dean gave a stern look at his brother, his emerald eyes boring into the younger man's.
"I'm saying...there's a huge possibility that she's right." Sam looked at Dean and then back to me, compelling me to finish my story.
"John never knew about me. Or atleast, that I was his daughter." I finished. "As far as he knew, my mom got pregnant by another man and had me. She never wanted me to tell him, she didn't want me in that kind of life. The only reason I know what I know is because she wanted me to be safe."
The Impala was deathly quiet for what seemed like hours, but was probably closer to a few minutes while the men were taking everything in.
"If your mom didn't want you in this kind of life, you're not going to be in it." Dean spoke up, scaring the both of us from our thoughts. "Do you have any other family you can go to?"
"I don't want to go to any other family." I told him, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Dean gave me a stern look. "Austen, no. I-"
"I just learned yesterday that I have two big brothers. Is it so wrong to want to be with them?" I asked, on the verge of tears again.
"Austen...with what we do, Dean and I are always on the road. It's a nonstop job, and you're so young. You can do anything, you can go to college." Sam started, offering me a solemn look. "All I'm saying is that this life is hard. You might have grown up into it, but at least you had a mom to shield you from some of it. If you were to do this with us, it's not going to be anything like the life you had."
"And I'm okay with that!" I argued. "I saved your asses back there."
Sam scoffed, nodding. "Yeah, yeah you did."
Dean looked back at me, his expression showing one of finally caving in. "If you really want to do this, and you're serious about it-"
"I am." I interjected, seeing him roll his eyes at me at the interruption.
My brothers traded unknowable looks, ones that can only be read over the amount of time they had grown close together, and that was something I wanted so badly to share with them. The only family I had ever known was my mother, and that was it. My entire life, I'd felt like I had never fit in. Being here, with these two, gave me a feeling I couldn't place, but one I wanted to last forever.
"So...?" I asked after a couple of minutes, confused as to what the two were thinking.
Sam looked back at me, giving me the first real smile I'd seen since I'd known the man. "You really are a Winchester."
I looked down and bit my lip nervously in the backseat, sighing at the mention of his words.
"What is it, Austen?" Sam asked, looking back at me from the passenger's seat.
I shook my head as the tears began to fall, covering my face with my hands. "It's nothing, I'm fine."
"You can't lie to us, it's what we do for a living." Dean said, raising an eyebrow at me from the rearview mirror as we took off. "Look, we know how it feels to lose a parent. Hell, we lost both of ours. It sucks."
"You're not the only ones who lost both of yours." I muttered, looking out of the window.
Sam sighed, looking back at me. "Look, Austen, we're really-"
"John Winchester wasn't only a friend of my mom's." I interrupted, surprised at the outburst of my words.
Dean gave me another unknowable look as he pulled the Impala over on the side of the road, looking back at me like Sam was. "Come again?"
I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. "Fort Worth, Texas. 1995. My mom and John were working a case together. Wendigo, I believe."
Sam looked at me as if he knew where I was going with this, but didn't believe a single word of it. That was the one moment I had seen the brothers have anything in common.
I gulped and forced myself to continue. This needed to be heard. "One night the both of them had too much to drink...and..."
"This can't be true, come on." Dean interruped, shaking his head. "We already had a long lost little brother, and now you're trying to tell me that we have a sister, too? Right."
"Dean." Sam started, looking at his brother. "I remember that case. I was thirteen, you were seventeen. Dad left us with Pastor Jim, and you bitched because you wanted to come but he was already working with another hunter."
"What are you trying to say, Sammy?" Dean gave a stern look at his brother, his emerald eyes boring into the younger man's.
"I'm saying...there's a huge possibility that she's right." Sam looked at Dean and then back to me, compelling me to finish my story.
"John never knew about me. Or atleast, that I was his daughter." I finished. "As far as he knew, my mom got pregnant by another man and had me. She never wanted me to tell him, she didn't want me in that kind of life. The only reason I know what I know is because she wanted me to be safe."
The Impala was deathly quiet for what seemed like hours, but was probably closer to a few minutes while the men were taking everything in.
"If your mom didn't want you in this kind of life, you're not going to be in it." Dean spoke up, scaring the both of us from our thoughts. "Do you have any other family you can go to?"
"I don't want to go to any other family." I told him, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Dean gave me a stern look. "Austen, no. I-"
"I just learned yesterday that I have two big brothers. Is it so wrong to want to be with them?" I asked, on the verge of tears again.
"Austen...with what we do, Dean and I are always on the road. It's a nonstop job, and you're so young. You can do anything, you can go to college." Sam started, offering me a solemn look. "All I'm saying is that this life is hard. You might have grown up into it, but at least you had a mom to shield you from some of it. If you were to do this with us, it's not going to be anything like the life you had."
"And I'm okay with that!" I argued. "I saved your asses back there."
Sam scoffed, nodding. "Yeah, yeah you did."
Dean looked back at me, his expression showing one of finally caving in. "If you really want to do this, and you're serious about it-"
"I am." I interjected, seeing him roll his eyes at me at the interruption.
My brothers traded unknowable looks, ones that can only be read over the amount of time they had grown close together, and that was something I wanted so badly to share with them. The only family I had ever known was my mother, and that was it. My entire life, I'd felt like I had never fit in. Being here, with these two, gave me a feeling I couldn't place, but one I wanted to last forever.
"So...?" I asked after a couple of minutes, confused as to what the two were thinking.
Sam looked back at me, giving me the first real smile I'd seen since I'd known the man. "You really are a Winchester."