Wasting Them

“Dean! Look out!”

“What?” The man replied, confused.

“Behind you, dumbass!” The woman shouted before throwing the shot gun towards Dean. She watched as he caught it and nearly fell into the grave they had been digging. “A little grace would probably save your ass!”

Dean caught himself before falling, steadied quickly on both feet, and shot the grey-haired ghost behind him. “We can’t all be as awesome as you, Ken!” Dean shouted.

McKenly smirked and resumed her digging. “Damn right.”

“How’s it going down there?” He asked, looking into the hole.

“I’m trying. I can only dig so fast.” She groaned. “Why do I get stuck with all the dirty work? You’re the dude.” McKenly stuck the shovel into the dirt, hitting solid wood beneath it.

“Dude, yes. Gentlemen, rarely.”

McKenly could hear the cockiness in his voice. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the shovel, using it as a lever to crack open the coffin. McKenly grabbed the salt and light fluid she had set about her and poured both on the bones. Her head shot up at the sound of another shot being fired. “Dean? You alright?” she called.

“It’s gettin’ pissed. Light ‘er up, Ken!” He begged.

McKenly flicked up her zippo and started its flame. “Eat hell, you son of a bitch.” McKenly sneered, dropping her lighter into the coffin, making it catch fire. As the flames erupted into the air, she didn’t move her hand quick enough and her had got slightly scorched. McKenly cursed.

The ghost screamed out in pain from above.

Dean let out a breath.

McKenly turned her head and looked up seeing that he was laying on the ground, his back turned to her, but his head was a little over the edge of the grave. She raised a brow. “You let it get the upper hand?”

Dean turned his head showing McKenly a glare. “Shut up.” He said, pushing himself off the ground. “Or I might just leave you down there.”

McKenly laughed. “And risk the chance of your partner getting caught by the fuzz? You would never.” She said, matter-of-factly.

Dean rolled his eyes and reached an arm down into the grave.

McKenly smiled, realizing that she had won. She grabbed his hand and used it to help her climb up. “Besides, I obviously just saved your ass.”

“I wouldn’t have needed it if you had loaded this thing right.” He said, tossing McKenly back her gun.

“I loaded it perfectly fine.” She fought, picking up her duffel of other necessary supplies to walk back to the Impala. “My gun is always loaded right. I learned from the best.”

“‘Bout time you admit that, sweetheart.”

“Oh, I love it when you use pet names.” McKenly fake-swooned.

The two would always flirt with each other. Hardly a word passed between them that wasn’t suggestive. However, none of it ever led to anything. They were partners. Friends. Best friends. Known each other as long as they could remember so they were both okay with that. Dean would have his normal hot night and McKenly spent those nights alone. McKenly didn’t like the idea of sleeping around and she had too much self respect to let herself become one of Dean’s one night stands. That and she had only ever been with one guy that she went out with. The family had been in the same town long enough for some sort of strong relationship to bloom.

The Edens and the Winchesters were best friends before all the supernatural bullshit came to life. They hadn’t even known of any of it. At least, until Mary’s and McKenly’s parents’ deaths. That was when John took in McKenly. He told her that the same thing that killed Mary, killed her parents, too. John promised he was going to find whoever did it and he was going to kill them. So, of course, John being the only form of a guardian that McKenly had left, she had to go with him. Not that she minded. The Winchesters were her second family. McKenly looked to John like she would her own father. Or, how she would think that she would see him. McKenly didn’t remember her own father much. She was only four when the accident happened.

“So, McKenly.” Dean said, grabbing McKenly from her thoughts. “Where to next?”

McKenly shrugged her shoulders.

Dean slammed the Impala’s trunk down and leaned against his car.

McKenly copied him, crossing her arms over her chest, minding her burnt hand. “You wanna try your dad again?” McKenly suggested. “Maybe he’s found something.”

Dean nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets for his cell phone. He dialed the number and waited for an answer.

McKenly climbed onto the trunk to sit on it. She was hopeful that John would answer the call. McKenly was getting just as worried as Dean was. Her hopes were destroyed when Dean closed his phone and cursed under his breath. McKenly sighed, shrugging. “Maybe he’s just busy with his own case.”

“You think he woulda picked up a freakin’ phone by now.”

McKenly nodded, agreeing. “Yeah, but he’s your dad. The both of you love to pick up and leave without a word to anyone. Sometimes for days at a time.”

“It’s been three weeks, Ken.”

“Not the point. He’s an adult.”

“I don’t know.” Dean sighed. “I just - I have a bad feeling about this one. I think we’re gonna need some help.”

McKenly shook her head. “Don’t say it.” She begged. “Dean, we can do this. Just you and me, like it has been.”

“I think we need to get Sam.”

McKenly groaned, rolling her eyes. “Is there any possible way that I could talk you out of this?” she asked.

Dean moved his head from side to side. “Sorry, sourpuss.”

McKenly pushed herself off of the trunk and walked around to the passenger side door. She climbed into the car and dug through the glove compartment for some burn heal.

“You get yourself?” Dean asked, gesturing to her hand when he got into the car.

“No, I just like the way it feels. It’s a great moisturizer.” McKenly replied shortly.

Dean sighed. “Look, I know you’re not all that happy about this ‘Sam thing,’ but you don’t have to be an ass to me.” Dean complained.

McKenly humphed in her head, rubbing some of the cream on her burn. It felt immensely cool on her burned flesh, but quickly faded.

“Can you at least tell me why you’re not Team Sam?”

“He left us.” McKenly said, slamming the glove compartment and turning her body in the seat to look at Dean straight on.

“You think I don’t remember that?”

“Sam fought your dad about being able to leave. So much that I can still hear them shouting. You really think that he wants to come back?” McKenly asked, raising her voice slightly. “Sam made his decision. He didn’t want this anymore and I don’t want him back. If he even comes with us, he’ll just leave again once we find John.” McKenly paused. “If we find him.”

“We’ll find him.” Dean stressed. “But if we don’t, I’m gonna need Sam. Maybe this is a chance for us to get back to being a family again.”

McKenly closed her eyes, rubbing at them. “Some fucked up family.”

“I’m tryin’ here.” Dean pled.

McKenly looked to him, noticing how he looked nearly desperate. McKenly groaned and relaxed back into her seat. “Fine.”

Dean laughed to himself, reaching to turn on the car.

“But we are stopping to sleep first. I am going to need a good night’s sleep if I’m going to be acting civil towards Samuel.”

Dean drove the car onto the main road to begin his search for motels. “Make sure you drop the ‘Samuel’ crap. You know he hates it.”

McKenly smiled. “Oh, I know.”

Dean smirked. “That’s my girl.”

The blonde raised an eyebrow that Dean saw.

“You know what I mean.” Dean said, earning a disbelieving look from McKenly. “You know what…” Dean reached for the radio dial to turn up the music.

McKenly smiled at his awkwardness and turned to the window, leaning her head on the door. She felt her eyes get heavier, but tried to force them to stay open. She couldn’t fight them for long and passed out on the drive.

!@#$#@!

20 Years Earlier…

“Mommy!” The little girl cried.

Her father was tackling her onto her twin bed with pink sheets, trying to tickle her.

The girl laughed and tried to avoid her father’s tickles. “Daddy, stop!” she squealed. The girl jumped off her bed and ran towards her door. The girl ran into a woman standing at the door with an ‘oomph’. She backed away from the woman, pushing her light blonde hair out of her face. “Sorry, Mommy.”

“McKenly Olivia Eden, it is way past your bedtime. What in the world are you still doing awake?” The woman asked, crouching down to be at the girl’s level.

“I can’t sleep, Mommy. Daddy’s tickling me.”

The girl’s father snuck up behind her and tickled her again.

McKenly jumped into her mother’s arms with a high-pitched laugh.

“Is that so?” Her mom asked, standing to her feet.

“I have no idea what she is talking about.” Her father said, smiling big at his wife.

“Kenneth, you know that she has to get some sleep. It’s really too late for her to be up.”

The man moved forward to kiss his wife’s forehead. “I’m sorry, Susan.” He took his daughter from her and wrapped his arms around her. “Come on, Moe. Mommy says it’s time for bed.

McKenly awhed, protesting.

“I know, but tomorrow, we are going out with the neighbors to the zoo.” He said, trying to make the girl excited, but she only pouted. Kenneth put McKenly down on her bed.

“I don’t wanna go. Dean is mean to me.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Kenneth just laughed. “Don’t take it to heart, honey. It only means that he likes you.”

“Likes me?” she questioned, raising her eyebrows. “Yuck.” McKenly said, sticking her tongue out, making her parents laugh.

“Alright, now. Let’s get to bed.” Susan said from behind her husband.

McKenly laid down on in the bed, that, to her, was huge.

Kenneth tucked her into her comforter. “Where’s Bunny?” he asked.

McKenly reached behind her to grab her stuffed pink bunny. It was worn out so much from trips to the playground and many nights of sleeping on it.

“Got him?” Kenneth asked, earning a nod from the girl. “Good.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” Her mom said.

“Sleep well, Moe. We’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Mommy. Night, Daddy.” McKenly said, yawning and turning onto her side.

Kenneth and Susan crept out of the room, leaving the door open just a crack so that some light was able to shine into the room.

McKenly was very close to finally falling asleep when she heard a floorboard creak. She opened her eyes to see in the dark the best that she could. “Daddy?” She asked.

The figure shushed her, opening its eyes. They were a glowing yellow.

McKenly knew her parents didn’t have yellow eyes. She screamed loudly.

Both parents quickly ran into the room. “McKenly?!” The shouted. Then they looked to the tall shadow standing in the middle of the room and closing in on their daughter.

“Who the hell are you?” Kenneth asked.

The figure turned to the adults and raised his hand, palm up. They both flew hard towards the wall.

McKenly watched from her bed as her parents were stuck to the wall and were somehow sliding up. They stopped on the ceiling where they started to bleed. McKenly cried, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly the figure disappeared.

“Mommy? Daddy?”

“Moe…” Her father called, his voice strained. “Run!” He managed to scream before he burst into flames.

McKenly couldn’t listen to her father. She couldn’t even move. She was too scared to know what to do.

“McKenly!” A voice called from the hallway.

The little girl was still crying and couldn’t call out to it.

John Winchester burst through the door. He looked at her, and then to the flaming ceiling with her parents being burned alive. He cursed under his breath. “McKenly, come on!” he said, walking to her quickly and reaching out for her.

McKenly grabbed her bunny and climbed into John’s arms. She cried silently into his shoulder and he left the room, McKenly’s eyes never once leaving the ceiling until she couldn’t see it anymore.

John ran from the house and down to his own boys, where they sat on the hood of the Impala, Dean holding onto Sam. The man set McKenly down on the car next to Dean and took Sam from the boy.

McKenly continued to cry. “Where’s my Mommy and Daddy?”

John looked to the girl and sighed. He moved Sam to one arm and put his other around McKenly.

McKenly leaned into John, knowing he was safe. She felt a hand touch hers, and looked to it seeing Dean hold it tightly. She moved her head back to lean on John and closed her eyes. It scared her that all she could see were a pair of glowing yellow orbs looking right at her.

!@#$#@!

McKenly shot up quickly in bed, unaware of her surroundings. She started gasping for air, suddenly feeling like she was in a room full of smoke and flame. McKenly coughed until it started to hurt.

Dean slowly sat up in his bed, still only half-awake.

McKenly’s last cough turned quickly into a sob. At this point, she noticed that she had already been crying with tears running down her cheeks.

“Ken?” Dean questioned, groggily, turning to sit on the edge of his bed. He scratched at his bare chest. Dean reached to turn on the light on the nightstand in the middle of the two beds. “McKenly? What’s wrong?” He asked. Dean pushed himself out of his bed, rushing to his friend’s side when he noticed she was crying. He sat down next to McKenly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her.

McKenly’s tears didn’t stop their descent from her eyes, but she was crying silently know. She turned into his shoulder and held onto his waist for dear life.

Dean shushed his friend to stop her from crying. “It’s alright.” He soothed. “It was only a dream.”

“It wasn’t a dream.” She replied, calming slightly, hoping she could stop crying altogether. “It was a memory.” McKenly hated it when Dean saw her cry. She thought that he would begin to think that she was weak and couldn’t handle this job or that she wasn’t brave enough. It was only this dream. This dream didn’t allow her to hold back her emotions. Not when everything would come back to her all at once and she would see them so vividly. “It was that night.” She clarified, knowing that Dean would understand exactly which night she was talking about.

Dean leaned back in the bed, against the headboard, putting his feet up, and pulling McKenly with him.

McKenly laid down and continued to hug him.

“It’s alright, Ken. I swear to you, we will get the son of a bitch.” Dean promised.

McKenly nodded against his chest, as her tears slowly began to stop and she relaxed. She furrowed her brow. “Where the hell are we?” McKenly asked, noticing that she was in a different place from where she fell asleep originally.

“Motel. Fort Stockton, Texas.”

“Dean, I fell asleep in the car.”

“You did, and you wouldn’t wake up when I got here, so I, uh, I carried you.” He said, nervously, earning a light laugh from McKenly. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Will you just get some sleep?

McKenly nodded. “Thanks, Dean.” She listened to the sound of Dean’s heartbeat, feeling his chest moving up and down from his breathing. McKenly managed to stay focused on those two things and instantly fell back to sleep.

!@#$#@!

The next morning, McKenly woke up slowly, taking in her surroundings. Remembering where she was, McKenly was quite surprised by her position. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around Dean and her head was laying on his chest, as he slept soundly. McKenly backed away quickly.

Dean woke with a start, reaching under the pillow for his knife. When he couldn’t find it, he took a breath, looking around him. Dean looked to McKenly sitting on the other edge of the bed he was on and then the bed he got up from last night.

McKenly scratched at the back of her neck, completely embarrassed.

Once Dean figured things out, he seemed calm about the situation. “Well, that was probably the best sleep I’ve had in a long time.” He stated, confidently.

McKenly rolled her eyes and scoffed at him, getting up from the bed.

“What?” He asked, raising his arms to the side.

McKenly grabbed her bookbag from the floor and headed towards the bathroom.

“What?” Dean repeated, wanting to get an answer from her.

The blonde grabbed a shirt she knew as Deans from on top of the dresser and threw it at him. She went into the bathroom, slammed the door, started the shower, and leaned against the wall nearby. McKenly sighed. Did he actually enjoy that? She thought, throwing her head back.

There was a knock at the door.

“Ken?” Dean called. When she didn’t respond, Dean called again through the door. “McKenly?”

McKenly let out her breath. “Yeah?” she said.

“Uh, I’m gettin’ wheels up in thirty.”

McKenly nodded her head to Dean’s request, even though he couldn’t see. She was thankful that he hadn’t tried to talk about what happened. McKenly couldn’t believe that he said that he liked sleeping with her. Sure, nothing happened, and they were just sleeping, but they haven’t slept in the same bed together since they were kids. It definitely wasn’t the same as it was back then. McKenly had tried hard to avoid the feeling that she like sleeping with him and Dean comes right out and said that he did.

McKenly showered quickly, giving Dean time to jump in before they took off. She knew she wasn’t driving so she took a beer out of the fridge and took a big swig of it.

Dean came out of the bathroom to see her with a beer in her hand, half gone. “You’re starting a little early today, don’t you think?” Dean asked.

McKenly just glared at him, raising an eyebrow.

Dean laughed to himself throwing his clothes into his duffel bag.

McKenly finished the bottle in her hand and slammed it down on the table.

Dean looked at her for a moment, astonished to see her down a cold one so quickly and so early in the morning. “Uh, you ready?”

McKenly nodded, grabbing what was left of the six-pack from the fridge and reaching for the strap on her bag. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to zip it back up and everything inside came spilling out. McKenly groaned setting the beer down, and crouching to the floor to pick everything up. When she believed that she had everything, she stood up to close it, but her eyes caught on Dean.

Dean was holding a worn-out piece of pink fabric between his hands.

McKenly furrowed her brow, looking closer, realizing that it was her stuffed rabbit. Her eyes widened. “Shit.” McKenly cursed under her breath, rushing forward to reach for her childhood toy.

Dean pulled the rabbit away.

“Dean, I’m not playin’ this game with you.” McKenly threatened. She got closer to him, but Dean just put it over his head so that she couldn’t reach it. McKenly tried to get it, standing on her toes, but he was a whole head taller than her. She tried reaching for it until she noticed how close the two were and quickly backed away. McKenly sighed. “We gotta get goin’.” She said, plainly.

Dean looked to her and down at the fabric in his hands. He held it out to her with a smile on his face. “I can’t believe that you still have that thing.”

McKenly shrugged her shoulders, but nodded, grabbing the rabbit from his hands. “It’s the only thing that I have left of them. I like to think even you know what that’s about.” McKenly didn’t look to him and stuffed the rabbit back into the bottom of her bookbag.

Dean didn’t respond.

Between him finding her rabbit and them sleeping together, McKenly didn’t want to show Dean that she was embarrassed. She knew that he was probably mocking her in his head anyway, and she didn’t want him doing it out loud.

Little did she know, Dean actually respected her for hanging onto the animal for so long. He actually felt incredibly bad for slightly teasing her about her rabbit. Dean put his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his keys. “Let’s roll.”