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It was a spur of the moment decision when Eric Kripke decided, after much debate, to add a third Winchester to the mix. He intended to leave it open, beyond having a small blonde girl appear as a placeholder for ‘Shailene Winchester’ in the pilot, letting the audience speculate where she was and what had happened to her. He hadn’t expected the audience to demand an explanation for her absence, and so began the search for the perfect Shailene with the intention of introducing her, as an adult, in the 11th episode of the first season.
Many an actress came in and read for the part with Jared and Jensen, but none of them felt right, none of them meshed with the intense chemistry that the boys had from day one. Just a day before he intended to scrap the idea entirely, Ben Edlund came into the room they were using for the auditions with a tall blonde woman, incredibly young looking with a little girl about 4 years of age perched on her hip and a little boy about the same age hanging onto her free hand following him. A tiny solitaire diamond on a yellow gold band and a matching plain band adorned her left ring finger.
“Trust me,” Ben spoke before he even speak, “give her a shot.”
“Alright,” Eric murmured begrudgingly, “what’s your name, hon?”
“H-Hera,” she replied nervously, “Hera Jameson-Martinez.” She walked over to a group of chairs off to the side of the room and set the little girl and boy, obviously her children, down and murmured something to them before facing the room again.
“May I?”
“We haven’t had much luck,” Eric waved his hand towards Jared and Jensen, who were watching quietly, “go ahead. Do you have a copy of the script?”
“I have it memorized, actually.” Hera’s cheeks flushed pink as she padded over to the center of the room, “which scene do you want to see, sir?”
“Eric’s fine,” Eric perused his own copy of the script, “the second to last scene, in the parking lot after the girl gets on the bus to leave Burkitsville. Jensen, start at ‘you headed off’.”
“You headed off?” Jensen, as Dean, asked wryly. Hera, only briefly caught off guard by the suddenness, nodded once, letting Shay’s character take her over, “I gotta head back to Ithaca, Bex’s waiting for me.”
“Ah yeah, the mysterious girlfriend Rebekah,” the eldest Winchester sibling remarked, “are we ever gonna get to meet her?”
“Not on your life,” Shay retorted teasingly, and then smiled up at Sam, “Maybe Sammy can, but not you. You’ll just flirt with her.”
“Well you’re not wrong,” Sam smiled back, ever the sweet puppy dog, “this kinda sucks, ya know. Not even a day gone by and you’re already leaving.”
“I’d stay a little longer, but I’m sure Dad’s gonna send you guys some more coordinates and I already told Bex I’d be headed back today,” she shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t plan on being a stranger, so if you need me for anything just give me a ring. Let me know when Dad turns up too.”
“We will,” Dean promised, “as long as you stop being a stranger.”
“I will, jeeze,” Shay whined, opening her arms to Sam, “gimme my hug, Sammy Long Legs.” The youngest Winchester laughed and went eagerly into his older sister’s arms, pulling her small, soft form in close and breathing in her scent.
“’m so sorry about Jess, honey,” Shay murmured in his ear, “you’ll get your guy, I know you will.” She pressed a soft kiss to his temple and ruffled his hair as she pulled away, “you’ve gotten so big and tall, but you’re still my sweet puppy baby brother.”
Dean looked at his twin sister skeptically as she looked over at him expectantly, “what? I already gave you a hug.”
“Yeah, like two days ago, jack ass,” Shay spat, rolling her eyes, “you’re not gonna get your so-called ‘man card’ revoked just because you gave your sister a hug before she left. Give me a hug or I’ll kick your ass all over this parking lot.”
“You can’t even reach my ass, shorty.”
“Shorty?” The blonde huntress scoffed, “I’m 5 foot 8 and you’re like 6 foot 1, not that much of a difference, De.”
Dean snorted derisively before begrudgingly opening his arms, “make it quick, chuckles.”
“You’ve got a reputation to uphold, we know.” Shay hurried into his arms and rested her cheek against his collarbone, “love you, De.”
“Yeah, me too,” he responded quietly, kissing the top of her head, “be safe driving back to Ithaca and call when you get there.”
“I will,” she kissed his cheek and pulled away, twirling her keys around one finger, “this is where I take my leave, boys.”
“Cut.” Eric called out. Jared, Jensen, and Hera came out of the sort-of trance they’d fallen into, shaking their characters off and smiling widely at each other.
Ben smiled knowingly at Eric, “Told you.”
And so, they found their third Winchester.