Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1

Dean Winchester HATED flights. Period.
Everyone in his regiment knew it. But this flight was especially difficult. Even during immigration, his comrades could see that his strong and cocky facade was slipping momentarily. The enigma that was Dean Winchester however, was as close to being revealed as it had been years ago, when their batch started training together.
His rise to his current position had been nothing short of miraculous, but that had been expected out of him, having graduated the academy with the highest marks in the last half century or so.
As he settled into his seat, his thoughts wandered towards his family. His family, who he hadn’t seen in the last 4 years, nor had he spoken to them. His family, who had absolutely no idea that he was coming home for Christmas, and for good.
He had handed in his papers 3 hours before leaving his base in Afghanistan, and had received his honourable discharge papers hand to hand. His friends, after initial shouts of outrage had all but melted at his cocky smirk. They were reduced to simply demanding a farewell, that Dean assured they’d get a chance for, once they were back on US soils. Enough about his friends, his thoughts drifted again towards the family he had left behind.
His parents, John and Mary Winchester were hunters of the supernatural. His father was a member of the elite group, Men of Letters, and Dean himself was a legacy, as was his younger brother Sam. They lived in a super-secret, tech-savvy bunker in Lawrence, Kansas,along with two other families. Bobby also lived in the bunker with his son Adam, who was a younger brother to Dean. After Bobby had to kill his wife (who had been possessed by a demon), Adam grew much more closer to Mary and the boys. Bill and Ellen also lived in the bunker, with their twins, Ash and Jo. When Bill had died on a hunt, Ellen had moved out for a while but she realised that the Winchesters were ultimately her family and had returned.
Dean, being the eldest of them all, had grown up with a responsibility from a very young age. He had 4 kids to take care of when the elders were away hunting. He was often on edge, and the phrase, “pulling out my own hair”, was like second nature while growing up. He had always been a loving kid, always giving, never asking for anything in return. It was only when he grew up and went to school that he realised that his parents had often manipulated his loving nature, not that he would ever call them out on it.
Once Dean started schooling, his teachers were amazed. He aced all his exams all the way till senior year without even having to work especially hard. While his family, and extended family gushed over the fact that he was valedictorian, he brushed it off without a second thought. It came as no surprise to anyone that he received a full ride to MIT, one of the most prestigious institutes in the country for his course of automobile engineering.
The twist however came after that, when he enlisted for the army straight out of college, much to his family’s surprise. The Elders, or the furious four, as Dean liked to call them had been enraged. This was the only time when Dean had done something Dean wanted to, and he would’ve been damned had he backed down. Instead, he packed his backs, hugged all 4 of his siblings and went out the door, straight to Coronado. It had been a delight for him when Sam and Ash had both made it to Stanford, reducing their physical distance drastically.
His graduation from Coronado had been magical, for the lack of a better word. The Secretary of Defense had himself given away Dean his graduation certificate, and was full of praises for him. His family (Singers and Harvelles included), had all been there, and even the Elders had been filled with pride at Dean’s achievements.
After he was whisked away from the stage itself, Dean catched up with his family later and told them that he was being deployed overseas, to Afghanistan within 36 hours.
To say that everyone was aghast was an understatement. At the airport, he gave Jo a tearful goodbye and told Ash, Adam and Sam to keep studying and pursue their dreams. John and Bobby had clapped him on the back and told him to keep his nose straight, as had Mary and Ellen.
But that day at the airport, he had introduced his family to someone very important, his journalist girlfriend, Cassie Robinson. It just took his family 30 seconds to realise that Dean was completely smitten by the girl. Even in his outposts in rural Afghanistan, when Dean was feeling particularly low, he would remember distinctly the smell of vanilla that enveloped her shoulder blades, and how beautiful her dark brown eyes looked in the sunlight. He could almost feel how her curls felt against his fingers as they made love, and how her chocolate-like skin felt against his own. Cassie had also told him on the day of his graduation that she was pregnant. Dean had been shocked, but had refused to decline the deployment.
He had told Cassie to tell his family and move in with them, after telling her about his family’s occupation. To her credit, Cassie took everything in her stride and as soon as Dean had started walking towards his platoon, he could hear Cassie telling his family about her pregnancy and the shriek of happiness Jo had let out. That was the last time he had seen them, and even though he promised to write, he had sent 2 postcards in 4 years and never opened any package he had received.
With a content sigh, Dean opened his eyes. They were almost about to land and Dean could feel the tension in his bones. He had decided that he would be surprising his family on their annual Christmas dinner, which was tomorrow. Till then, he decided to go over to Jo’s place. She had come out to her family and was now in a happy relationship with Dean’s childhood best friend, Charlie. They now lived together in a small apartment above the cybercafe they jointly owned. Charlie also knew about their “family business” and had been more than receptive of their lifestyle.
While the pilot gave instructions for a touchdown, Dean suddenly remembered his hunter friend Garth, who owned a pub in Lawrence, called the Roadhouse. Apart from being a cool hangout spot for the locals, it was also a centre for hunters, who stopped by everytime they were in town. Dean was excited to see the whole gang for Christmas, but mostly, it was Cassie and his kid, whose gender was also unknown to Dean.
As the plane landed, a sharp pain drove up Dean’s left arm, which was in a cast. He bit down his lip as he stood up and hanged his backpack over his comparatively good shoulder. Pushing thoughts of his injuries to the back of his mind, he made his way to the luggage belt along with his fellow army-men. Dean tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible but when someone at his position leaves, it IS a big deal. Soldiers came up to him every 3 seconds and while thanking him for his services, told him that they had been honoured to serve with him.
As a Sergeant helped him load his belongings in the back of a taxi, he thanked him profusely before getting in the car, slamming the door shut and heaving a sigh of relief.

Chapter 2

As Dean told the driver Jo’s address, he felt himself drifting again. His thoughts went towards the horrors he had seen in the past 4 years, he found himself hyperventilating. He remembered what his psychiatrist, Pamela, had told him and started his deep breathing exercises.
After a few minutes, when he regained his composure, he felt someone watching him.
He opened his eyes to find that his cabbie was stealing glances at him. Puzzled, Dean asked, “You okay, brother?”
The driver blushed and said, “Yes sir. I just wanted to thank you for your services. I am Muslim, you know? I am so proud that people like you keep our country safe.”
Understanding dawned on Dean’s face as he moved his good hand to squeeze the driver, Jabhir’s shoulder, and said, “Spineless men hide behind the facade of religion, Jabhir. I am glad to see you make an honest living. Keep your nose clean, you hear me?”
The driver nodded enthusiastically and when they reached the cybercafe, he refused to take money from him, helped him unload his meagre belongings (a backpack and a duffle bag), and took off in high spirits.
He found the cafe closed, since it was still pretty early in the morning, and made his way upstairs. Being used to ignoring his injuries (and trauma), even in battlefield conditions, he hoisted up his duffle, pulled up his backpack and made his way to the first floor.
He reluctantly knocked on the door and waited patiently. After approximately 14 seconds (yes, Dean counted), a disheveled looking Charlie opened the door, and as she was about to scream at the one who disturbed her beauty sleep, her eyes opened wide and she let out a whimper.
Dean grinned.
“Oh my god, Dean Winchester?”
“In the flesh”, he replied.
Charlie lept at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and pushing him backwards. He winced in pain but said nothing and simply wrapped his arms around Charlie and laughed, for what he thought was the first time in years.
Jo, making her way out, screamed, “What the hell Charlie! Did you see a ghost or wh-”. She stopped mid sentence when she saw who Dean was hugging and would you know, broke down then and there. Dean placed Charlie down and after adjusting his cast, which earned him a guilty intake of air, and made his way towards Jo. He easily wrapped his arms around her, and Jo hugged him back as if her life depended on it. In between sobs, she managed to signal Charlie to close the door and they made their way to the living room.
Charlie picked up Dean’s duffle and made her way inside. After she finally calmed down, Jo simply looked at Dean. She noted his hair which was sticking out, a particularly nasty gash on the right side of his forehead, stitches on his inner lip and perhaps the most heartbreaking, the lack of his patent childlike sparkle in his eyes.
Dean let out a sigh, “You gals gonna stare me down, or will you feed me something?”
Charlie was slightly taken aback. Dean Winchester never asked for anything; it was one of the many things his family would tear his hair out. Something had changed about Dean, and she could not put her finger on it.

Charlie popped his duffle down and went to the kitchen, shouting out, “Coffee and pie, coming right up! Come inside bitches”.
Dean and Jo beamed and moved towards the kitchen and settled down on the table.

“So, you never told us you were coming home. Does Cassie know? Anyone?”

Dean smiled softly at the mention of his family. “No, and that’s where you come in. I need your help, girls.I gotta surprise them at the dinner tomorrow.”

Jo replied, “That is all well and good, but in four freaking years, you did not call anyone, did not bother sending a reply to our messages, why? Do you have any idea what that did to us? To Cassie? She had to raise that devil princess of yours all alone”.
Dean’s smile vanished and a look of apprehension that Jo had never seen before adorned his face. “Princess? I have a daughter?”
Charlie interrupted, “Obviously dumbass. You would know if you had opened the letters we sent you. Emma Dean Winchester is the most gorgeous kid we’ve ever seen”
Dean swallowed and looked at his coffee before either of the girls could make out that he had tears in his eyes.
Charlie handed him a photograph and continued, “Cassie has been amazing with her. All of us help whenever we can, but she is very close to Sammy. She knows all about you, her hero daddy”.
Dean, while listening to Charlie and Jo narrate his daughter’s antics, could not take his eyes off the photograph. While Cassie looked just like he remembered her, his daughter looked like something straight out of a fairy tail. In that photo, she was wearing a yellow frock, with white sandals and was playing with Jess, Sam’s wife. She had beautiful brown eyes, like her mother but her freckles, her face structure and the shit-eating grin on her face, were all patent Dean Winchester.
Charlie noticed Dean’s cast again and said, “How’d you get injured?”
Dean shrugged and said, “Ah the regular, you know.”
Charlie glared at him, “You’re okay though? Apart from your arm and face, I mean? Cassie will kill you, ya know?”
Dean laughed, “Ah that fireball, she will kick my ass for not replying for four years you know, before she lets me touch her. Anyways, I am good, just a few minor injuries here and there. ”
Jo narrowed her eyes, “What exactly is your excuse for not keeping in touch all these years?”
Dean, embarrassed and shameful simply said, “I never received any”.
Jo snorted and remarked that while she could see straight through his bullshit, she would give him time to come around.
Dean asked who all would he be seeing tomorrow, when Charlie launched into her monologue and began with the guest list. Mary, John, Ellen and Bobby were obviously organizing the party at the bunker. Sam, who had his practise in practise in Lawrence itself, would be coming over with a very pregnant Jessica (Dean felt overjoyed at this), as would Ash and his girlfriend, Ava (Dean smirked at this). Their uncle Rufus, keeping up with the family tradition, would be coming over as Santa, with Garth as a reindeer (Dean raised his eyebrows at this but Charlie kept going) and Adam would also be there with his fiance, Bela (at which Dean let out a wolf-whistle). Charlie and Jo would also leave tomorrow evening, and the entire gang would stay at the bunker till New Years, or probably a few days after that.
Dean however, was particularly shocked to discover that not only had Cassie moved to the bunker and was living there, she had remained steadfastly loyal to Dean. his eyes watered at this devotion, and he felt undeserving of her love.
Jo was about to reprimand him on this and say that he loved Cassie just as much, when there was a sharp rap on the front door, and Jo glanced over at the kitchen clock.
“Damn! that’s Jess, we forgot that she was coming.”
“Dean go and hide…” Charlie tried to push Dean out of the kitchen, but Before they could do anything, however, Jessica came through to the kitchen finding the door unlocked and made her way to the kitchen.
She steadied her hand on the door frame, as she opened and closed her mouth, like a gaping fish. Dean let out an embarrassed laugh.
“Dean…is that you? Am I dreaming?”, Jess asked, cautiously.
Dean jumped up and helped the heavily pregnant woman over to a kitchen chair. He grinned and whispered to Jess that Sammy would kill him if his sudden secret arrival sent his wife into premature labour.
“It's me alright, sweetheart. I wanted to surprise y’all.Now you ladies plan this; no one else finds out, okay?” Dean glared in mock sternness.
Jo picked up his backpack with a determined air, while Dean carelessly swung his backpack. “The spare room, Jo?”, he asked?
“Yes, go on. We can let you sleep while we plan.”
Dean mock saluted them and went off with Jo.
As she returned, Jo slung her arms around her Charlie and stated, “Let’s get this plan into motion, girls. I told him he had to be in that uniform tomorrow, our very own soldier.”
The girls put their heads together and plotted in joyful glee, the incredible shock they would bring for all their family.

Chapter 3

“You need to eat a little Dean we won’t be eating until later tonight”, Charlie commented. Apart from the haunted look in his eyes, Dean was moving only when required, which signified the tremendous pain his body was in, and he was eating way too little for her liking.
“Nah, ‘mom’, I am done. I gotta go get ready and look pretty now”, commented Dean as he sauntered out of the living room.
Something had changed, Jo commented.Even yesterday,there were no comments about Dean, being the better Winchester and that Jessica should have chosen him. That she was way out of his little brother’s league, all the comments he often made, would frustrate Sam. Dean still had the same cheeky smile, his green eyes,but the sparkle was long gone, which left a haunting sadness in his eyes, that was hard to find, only if you knew him well.
No,agreed Charlie, this Dean had faced a harsh reality, stared into the face of death itself. He had come out the other side a different man. Dean must have realised what was more important in life. It had dramatically changed his behaviour.

Later that evening, before leaving Charlie said “Are you ready? Uncle Rufus is in on the plan. Don’t worry, the old grouch will keep a secret.”
“Okay, girls I hope I’m a suitable present for everyone?” Dean sighed, feeling slightly nervous about the entire operation, despite having done things much more dangerous over the period of his deployment.
“Unless you want your other arm injured, I would suggest you shut your trap, Winchester.
Dean, we love you. We haven’t received any of your stupid letters for the past one year and 11 months. Everyone was worried to death.”, said Jo.
Dean groaned. “Damn it. Guess I’m in deep trouble.” Even though he was super nervous, he let his mask slip and gave the girls a small grin.
“No, Dean, you’re back where you belong with the people that love you and this time buddy, we won’t let you go,” Charlie told her best friend with conviction in her tone.
Dean pulled both of the girls in a one-armed hug, which caused both of them to raise their eyebrows. Dean Winchester was not a hugger. But they knew better than to comment, and made their way to the bunker while Dean waited for Rufus.

The drive to the bunker was fairly uneventful. As Rufus pulled his truck outside the bunker, he said, “Here you go, boy. I left the heater on. I got you a flask of hot cocoa. Can’t have you being drunk on your surprise debut.”
“Uncle Bobby will hate you for this.” Dean chuckled.
“Ain’t nothing that old coot can do to me boy.” The older man winked. Rufus turned to walk out, before he sat back and said, “Damn good to see you back home, son. We all missed you. That girl of yours, I’ve been worried about her.”
Dean sat up his green eyes growing sharper. “Cassie? Emma?What’s wrong.”
Rufus let out an audible sigh. “What’s wrong? You left them hanging for 4 years you dick. She was literally waiting for them to tell him you had died, Dean. Every damn day. She puts on a brave face but everyone could see her slipping away. Your old man, the stoic one you remember, was going to ring up your training academy, he was that damn concerned.”
Dean closed his eyes and rested his head “Then I’m glad I’m home, if only to give y’all some peace.”
“I need to go mingle. Your girl just loves Santa Claus.”The older man chuckled.
Dean laughed. “I can’t wait to see her grow up then. Spend time with my family.”
“You ain’t going back?”
“No, Soldier Winchester has been honourably discharged and is back for good.”
“I see. Our hero has returned. You make us all proud, never,forget that.”

Dean watched his uncle walk away and waited for his turn. He could hear the distant sounds of laughter, the merriment of the time of year. Sipping his hot drink, he settled in for the night and waited for a message from Jo on Rufus’s phone that he had kept with him

Chapter 4

The bunker looked nothing short of a postcard set-up. Wreaths adorned the stairs, along with white and red streamers. The map table had been moved to the side of the room where the food was set up, and a huge decorated Christmas tree sat in the middle of the bunker. The table was full of homemade delicacies and store-bought steak. The meal was nothing short of spectacular. Snacks and drinks did rounds every now and then.
Sam then called for attention and cleared his throat before beginning, “Before we start, I want to raise a glass for those...those who are not physically present with us today. Cassie, wherever my big brother is, he will be thinking about you. And Emma. And all of us. Even though that son of a bitch could not make a goddamn phone call in 4 years, we all love him!”
There was a chorus of mingled voices. Ellen moved towards Cassie and hugged her, while Adam pulled Emma close to him. Ash was ridiculously close to tears.
“Sam, your brother, will come home. I am sure of it.” Jess joyfully told her husband.
Sam was bewildered, “Woah. What's with the optimism? You are not even drunk!”
She laughed and her blue eyes sparkled as she winked mischievously.
Cassie made her way towards Sam, who held her tightly. Fighting back tears, she just said, “I wish for Dean to be safe, more than anything”
Jessica touched her arm,“I know he will, Cas.”
There was so much conviction in Jessica’s tone that everyone stared at her oddly.
Rufus cleared his throat, signalled to Jo and drew attention towards him while he moved to Emma, who was playing with Bela and Ava happily.
“Ho,Ho, Ho princess! What do you want for Christmas this year? What can Santa and his elf give you?”, he asked, motioning towards the weirdly dressed up Garth.
The little girl put her finger to her forehead, pretending to think.
“I would like a dolly house, but Santa can I ask for anythin?”
“Sure, sweetie.”
“I want my daddy back.”
Everyone was listening, and their hearts melted at the little girl’s request. Even John could not manage to look at her. Jess clutched Cassie’s hand as a tear slipped her eye.Sam tightened the grip on her shoulders. The music had been turned off, and everyone was quiet, disheartened and sad.
“I might be able to help you with that. You see, Santa saw that you all needed your daddy back. He makes wishes come true.”, Rufus said.
Bobby narrowed his eyes and seemed like he was going to smite Rufus there and then, for getting Emma’s hopes up. The little girl was clapping her hands and giggling in joy, at the thought of meeting a father, her hero whose stories she had heard.
Before Bobby could say anything, Jo motioned for everyone to keep quiet and let Rufus be.
Everyone in the room could feel something; the air changed. Rufus picked up Emma and climbed up the stairs to open the door. The iron door squeaked open and Emma’s eyes widened.
Right in front of her, stood a man in uniform, the hero from the stories she had been told, her father, Dean Winchester.
Chapter 5

There was pin-drop silence in the room. Everyone was too stumped to react.
Meanwhile, Dean went down on his knees, with a wince (that Emma noticed), so that he was face to face with Emma.
“Hi baby girl!. What’s your name?”
“Emma Dean Winchester! Are you my dad?”
“Yes princess. My name is Dean Winchester”
“Obviously. I was named after you. I know all about you, you’re a hero! You keep me and all my friends safe”
Seeing the interaction between the two, both Cassie and Jess broke down into tears.
Dean looked downstairs, and back again towards Emma and gently asked, “Do you wanna go down so that daddy can meet everyone else also?”
Emma nodded and held her hands out expectantly. Dean instantly picked her up with his good hand and made his way downstairs. Everyone was still numb and had yet to react to seeing Dean again after 4 years. Keeping his grip steady on Emma, Dean made his way towards Cassie. He simply looked at her, as if trying to memorize her face.
Cassie dried her tears and told Garth to take Emma away and keep her occupied for a while. Initially pouting, Emma happily jumped into Uncle Garth’s arms at the prospect of playing with her toys.
After handing off his daughter to Garth, Dean turned to embrace Cassie and was met with a resounding slap straight to his cheek. A few guys in the room snorted, and Mary let out a gasp, but no one dared interfere with the wrath of Cassie Robnison.
“You son of a bitch, Dean Winchester. You knock me up and leave me to raise our kid, OUR daughter, alone? For 4 fucking years, you don’t call, you don’t send letters, you don’t even let us know if you are fucking alive. And now (punch) you waltz in here (punch) and pretend that (punch) you didn’t vanish (punch) FOR FOUR FREAKING YEARS!” Dean remained silent and looked down while Cassie continued punching Dean in the chest, not stopping if she felt the bandages around his chest. After around 23 seconds, Cassie stopped punching him and wrapped her arms around Dean, sobbing uncontrollably. Dean hugged her back equally ferociously, and wrapped his good hand around her hair.
Almost everyone now had tears in their eyes, and some even looked away, trying to give the couple some privacy.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Cassie moved back and kissed Dean. Despite having trouble with his stitched lip, Dean kissed her back as if she would melt. Charlie and Jo wolf-whistled, while Dean laughed against Cassie’s lips.
Cassie then moved to his good side, so that he could wrap his right arm around her, while the rest of the party met him.
First up were John and Mary. While Mary hugged her son as if her life depended on it, John clapped his back and held his good shoulder while saying, “You good, soldier?”
Dean responded, “Yes sir, never better.”
John broke into a smile and said, “I am proud of you”.
Everyone could sense Dean’s happiness at the compliment, but they also noticed that his smile did not completely reach his eyes.
Next came Bobby, who tackled him into a bear hug and said between tears, “Welcome back, son. We’ve waited too damn long for yaa.” Cassie could see Dean fighting back tears and squeezed his arm reassuringly. Once Bobby had returned to the beer counter, Ellen attacked Dean. She simply twisted Dean’s right ear to a point where he actually let out a painful whimper.
“You boy, you wanted to give me a heart attack? 4 years and 2 postcards were all you could manage?”
“Sorry ma’am”, said Dean while Cassie snorted playfully besides him.
“Enough with the ma’am and sir, you idiot. Look at you, you skinny thing! Don’t they feed you enough?”
“Not nearly”, joked Dean.
So while Ellen was loading up a plate for Dean, Sam attacked him and nearly pushed him to the ground.
“Whoa! Easy, Sasquatch. Not all of us are freakishly large.”
“Shut up you jerk! Let me atleast hug you. You’ve been gone way too long!”, Sam managed between tears.
Dean laughed and hugged him back with all he had. Jess had tears in her eyes as Dean led her to a chair and smacked his younger brother on the back of his head, “She’s pregnant, you bimbo. Take care of her.”
When Ash hugged Dean, he was met with an equally ferocious hug and direct dib, “I see the nerd finally grew up and got a girl”, as Ash introduced Ava to him. He politely greeted her and expressed his condolences on being stuck with Ash, which earned him quite a few eye-rolls.
When Charlie and Jo told everyone that not only them, but Rufus and Jess were also in on the plan, there was a lot of hue and cry where Dean was accused of having favourites.
In the middle of all this, Cassie put her head on Dean’s right shoulder and felt his gaze upon her. She returned it with a lustful wink of her own, which made Dean push her closer to him. When Adam introduced his fiance Bela and hugged Dean after what felt like a lifetime, Dean held him close and gladly welcomed the blonde to their family. Once everyone had met up with Dean and the festivities finally began, Garth returned Emma to Dean’s waiting arms where she spent the rest of the night.
While everyone noted that Dean had not touched anything Ellen had kept on his plate, they chose not to comment on it. He was too engrossed with Emma and Cassie to have a care in the world.
After some time, everyone decided to retreat to their rooms. John came over and clasped Dean's shoulder while looking at Emma and said, “Hey princess, wanna sleep with grandpa and gramma today?”. While the little girl nodded excitedly, Dean did a double take and quickly muttered “Christo” under his breath. While everyone broke into fits of laughter, John smirked and said to a puzzled Dean, “What? Just because I kept you and your siblings on a short leash, doesn’t mean I can’t spoil my granddaughter.”
“That he does.”, commented Cassie as John picked her up and made way to their room.
After wishing everyone a good night, Cassie took Dean to his old room. As soon as the door was shut, Dean realised that there had been a few additions to his room. The guns had been taken down, and with his old band posters, were a few mirrors and Barbie posters. The counter was full of photographs and the bedside table had heaps of books.
Dean turned to comment but was met with a smell of vanilla and blueberries as Cassie kissed him with everything she had. Dean gave his everything in that one kiss and as they made their way to the bed, Dean said, “Cassie, baby, I gotta tell you, you may not like what’s under this”, he admitted shamefully.
Cassie lifted his face with her palms so that green orbs met her dark browns. “Dean Winchester, no matter what, you are the most beautiful person for me on this plane”.
“Ah damn, don’t talk about planes, sweetheart.”
With a playful grin, Cassie began undressing him. She realised apart from the visible injuries on his face and broken arm, his chest was wrapped up, as was his right leg, all the way from above his ankle to directly above his knee. Other than that, he had multiple scars on his back.
“These recent?”, Cassie asked, in a tone that made it clear that she wouldn’t mind not getting an answer. Cassie also undressed while waiting for Dean to respond.
“Some of them, yes. And some are pretty old”, was all he offered. “Shh, you talk too much”, Cassie said seductively, with other things on her mind.
Lust crowded his vision as he pulled Cassie towards him and their bodies started moving into tandem. They made love thrice that night, before Cassie finally fell asleep in Dean’s arms, while Dean looked at the blades of the fan that moved above him, taking him back to the helicopters he often had to travel in.
Shaking away those thoughts, Dean snuggled closer to Cassie, and took in her smell, before finally falling asleep.

Chapter 6

The next morning, Cassie woke up to find a note on her bedside that Dean had gone out for a run. They spent the day together, with Emma, who was in awe of her superhero dad, and told him all the stories she heard about him.
With the whole family at the bunker, Dean spent his time catching up with everyone’s lives. But whenever he was asked a question about his 4 years of absence, he would divert the topic skillfully. He also avoided all questions on the fact that he hardly ate anything, did not sleep for more than 2 hours and was always alert. Despite being in evident pain, he never allowed anyone to help him with changing his bandages. Everyone told him to take it easy, but he insisted and went on an hour-long run every morning, after which he would spend an insane amount of time in the gym.
It was only on the breakfast table on 28th of December, that his peace was disrupted. He was feeding Emma sandwiches while telling her some stories about chupacabras, when Garth entered the room and said, “Yo Dean, there is some military guy with a Brit accent asking about you in the Roadhouse. Says you will recognize him by his name; Raphael. What sorta name is that? He a priest’s kid?”
Dean immediately stiffened at the name. Everyone could sense tension oozing out of him.
“Garth, I left that life behind 4 days ago. Send out the word that if anyone comes in contact with this guy, they tell him to sod off. And that is his call name”.
Ellen growled, “Hey, you mind your language around my granddaughter, or I’ll have to wash your mouth with soap”. The mood lightened at this comment.
As Garth was about to call up the Roadhouse to carry out Dean’s instructions, John said, “Garth wait up! Get this Raphael guy here, I’ll talk to him.”
Dean turned, with a scary iceness in his voice, that shook Cassie, “I said, he is NOT coming here”.
Everyone was taken aback by this, seeing Dean stand up to his father.
John snarled, “Well, boo-hoo. Suck it up, he’s coming here.”
Dean shot right back, “Oh yeah, says who?”
“Me, and my word is binding in this house”
“Oh get over yourself, old man. I’m 29, and so done taking orders from you.”
“You will watch your-”
“Shut up, both of you. The next one who says a word, I will kick your ass ten ways to Sunday. Garth, invite that Raphael kid for lunch.”, declared Jo.
Suitably chastised, John made way to the library, while Dean simply went back to feeding Emma, as if nothing had happened.
As lunch drew closer, the tension in the air grew palpable. While everyone was excited to meet someone who had obviously worked with Dean, they were also curious as to why Dean did not want to meet him.
As they heard Garth’s truck stop outside the bunker, Dean braced himself for the inevitable. As Raphael and Garth made their way downstairs, all eyes were on them.
Raphael, simply walked upto Dean and saluted, “Captain Lafayette reporting, Major-general sir!”
All eyes widened at this while Dean merely rolled his eyes and said, “At ease captain, I haven’t been your Major-General for the last 4-5 days”.
Unable to control, Adam blurted, “What the hell Dean? Major General? When were you gonna tell us?”
Captain Lafayette covered up a snort with coughs, while Dean glared at him, heaved a sigh and said, “Never came up”, as if that covered it.
Cassie quite literally screamed, “That’s your excuse? Dammit Dean, don’t you think we had a right to know?”
Sam pitched in, “Why did we not read about this in the paper?”
Before Dean could speak up, Raphael said, “let me save you the trouble, Major-General. That is because the only way he would accept the promotion was on the condition that it never made the news”.
Everyone was shocked, to say the least, when Cassie asked, “And why is that?”
Dean looked down and said, “Didn’t deserve it”, barely audible.
The room was full of groans at that, with everyone being tired of his self-loathing behaviour.
But as soon as it slipped, Dean’s mask was back on as he coldly regarded Raphael and said, “Why are you here, Raph?”. Raphael pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “The Pentagon wants the best back.They’re calling you back to lead a training program.”
The cold laugh that left Dean’s throat shook everyone, “Oh, so after everything, they still want me to ‘lead’? Doesn’t Secretary Jody learn, I am not a leader. You know that better than anyone!”, he all but shouted.
Raphael stood his ground and said, “Dean, it has been over a month. You gotta stop blaming yourself.”
Dean shook his head and said, “Go, Benny. I am begging you. I cannot do this.” his family was shocked to hear the tone of tiredness in his voice. The visage was coming undone.
Raphael said, “Brother, at least hear Secretary Jody out. This program is huge. Completely undercover. They want us to train convicts, those who have potential, and make them spies for the nation.”
“Don’t you get it, Raph? I CANNOT DO IT. I do not have it in me anymore. Go, please. Just get out!”. Dean’s family was surprised to hear such emotion in his voice. They were merely spectating this entire dialogue.
Raphael countered, “Sir, you need to get over it. The country needs you. Dean, does your family even know what happened?”
Dean stiffened at this and shook his head, in a way that said ‘no’.
Raphael sighed, “You gotta tell them, brother.”
Dean collapsed on the nearest chair and said, “I know Benny, but I need time.”
Raphael used some sort of sign language and Dean signed something right back. His family merely looked on. After about 4 seconds, Dean sighed and said, “Alright y’all, let's have lunch and put Emma to bed for a nap, after which I gotta tell you all something”.
With that, the conversation was forgotten as everyone striked up a conversation and went for lunch. The atmosphere was taught with tension and when Mary returned after putting Emma to bed, the group regathered in the main hall, for what seemed like the millionth time. While everyone settled down, Dean looked around at the group. Jo and Charlie sat together, looking up at him expectantly. Adam sat with Bela, Ash and Ava to his left, Bobby and Garth to his right all looking towards him. Jess was sitting with Cassie, Sam standing behind them. John, Ellen and Mary were the last one’s to settle down. They were all looking at him curiously, while trying to remain inconspicuous, as Dean fiddled with the whisky bottle in his hand. Raphael kept his hand reassuringly on his good knee and signed something again. Bela, being a school teacher for the gifted, noted that this was not the usual sign language. Dean simply shrugged and said, “Nah, stay. You anyways know everything I’ll be telling these guys. I’ll be more comfortable with you around” This earned more gawking, because Dean Winchester NEVER EXPRESSED.
Raphael simply sat next to him when Dean looked at the group of 15 people and said, “So, before I tell you all about the last 4 years of my life, just know that we can never go back from this. It may drastically affect your opinion about me, so if you don’t wanna know, you can leave now. I totally get it”.
To everyone’s surprise, it was John that said, “Nonsense,son. We all love you. We know what it is like out there.I know what serving is like. We’re damn curious, but you didn’t tell and we didn’t push. We all really wanna know.”
Raphael added, “And, as opposed to what you believe, sir, you are a hero. You’ve saved more lives than I can count. You got absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”
This time, Dean signed a finger everyone could understand, and they all laughed. Massaging his head with his good hand and taking a large swig of the JD bottle he was holding, Dean sighed and began.

Chapter 7

“Ok. So yeah. I was in the military, we all know that.I enlisted for the military and graduated with top marks.Now, the Navy Seals, and sometimes Marines get most of the glory for Black Op type missions but they aren’t the only ones. In Fact, they hardly do Black Ops. For that, the forces have delta teams. These people are just another face in the crowd, they work behind the scenes, but they are the ones who get things done in our country. ”
“After the basic training, everyone gets evaluated in different areas. Our sergeants test us for our strong points, our weaknesses and what makes us break down.”
A rueful smile settled over his sensual mouth. “My superiors reported that I was good at decision making, even under tremendous pressure.”
Benny snorted and added, “And you were the best damn soldier in our batch, not to mention anyone who came up against you in hand to hand combat was defeated within seconds.”
While everyone was watching Dean pointedly, he took a swig and continued,“As they evaluated the batch, a few of us emerged as a little different. They decided to form an elite team from those of us that scored well on the tests.out of our batch, 5 of us were chosen and they made us a delta-team in training.” Dean licked his lips as his mind settled back into his military past.
He was unaware of the half laugh that shook his body and lit his face up with joy as he spoke. The others in the room didn’t miss it and they all tried to remain normal in their behaviors though there was a thrum of energy that shot through them as they tried not to look at each other. Raphael could sense that his family was taken aback at the fact that Dean had hidden something that big from them.
“Damn,” Dean chuckled as he carried on, “We were a motley crew. We were named the “Angel Squad”, since our call names were straight out of the Bible. I was Michael, young and brash, put in charge of a group of guys worse off than me.
“First was Benny Lafayette, call name Raphael, as you know him; he was my second. Big, burly guy with a beard just a hair too long for regulation and a Southern drawl so deep the people we came across could hardly understand him. But, he is an expert with a blade and his knowledge of bombs and grenades could put anyone to shame.”
“Then there was Richard Novak, or Gabriel, as we called him. Typical ponchy, trickster dude.Goofy as shit and the best damn communications guy in the country possibly. Could talk to anyone about anything. He knew almost all languages. Shorthand and messages that made sense to no one else, he could interpret easily. Saved our asses more times than I care to think about. He also devised a sign language for our group, the one which Benny was using to communicate with me.”
He paused to take a sip of his drink and gave a knowing smile to Bela, who was looking at him with a smirk of her own. He took another sip as he thought about continuing his story. Ellen could sense his hesitation and gently put a hand on his shoulder and offered her silent support.
Dean looked at her gratefully and carried on,“Jimmy Novak, or Castiel was our sniper. Kid was young and almost greener than grass but the minute you handed him a sniper rifle, he became ruthless. A bit aloof really, but being a sniper is lonely work.”
Benny added, “He worshipped the ground you walked on, brother. We all did. But everyone could see that you were the only one who held our team together”.
Dean mock glared and said, “Captain, if you’re gonna make a habit of interrupting me, I’ll regret asking you to stay”.
Benny shrugged, “Your family deserves the true story. You have a habit of underplaying your achievements. I just want to ensure that they know everything.”
Ash added, “He’s right, Deano. You would probably end up telling the story painting yourself as the villain.”
Dean bit his lip on an indulgent smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling, before continuing. “The last was Crowley, or Lucifer as well called him. Damn guy was a buffoon. When they gave him to me I had half a mind to start crying at his antics. But when we started working, we realised that he was a genius at recon. Could disappear, reappear, and sneak into or out of any camp, enemy or friendly, without leaving a trace,like a damn ghost.”
“That was our team. We did both Green Ops and Black Ops. Y'all probably get the point of Black Ops. With Green Ops we did deep recon into enemy territory though we took no direct action. Black Ops take the direct action.” Dean shrugged, and Benny nodded. “That’s simplified but I think you get the picture.”
When everyone nodded, Dean decided to continue.
“I was given this team right after graduation, when they whisked me away straight from the stage. Now we told y’all that I was being deployed to Afghanistan, but actually that was not true. At the airport, the five of us boarded a separate charter plane that flew us to Karachi, in Pakistan for our first mission.”
Letting that sink in, he locked his eyes with Cassie and said, “This is the reason I sent only two letters. I was in Afghanistan only twice during these 4 years. Though we never returned to the USA, we received our orders directly from the Pentagon, and travelled almost the whole world. Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Korea, Russia, Japan, Venezuela, Vietnam, you name it, and we’ve been there.”
Everyone nodded in understanding, trying to take in what Dean was telling them.
“In the beginning, newly formed units primarily focus on Green Ops and let the experienced groups handle the Black Ops. Our team got scary good at it. We handled our missions quickly and well within targeted parameters. The results we produced were at par with some of the oldest teams in this line, if not better.”
He looked down at the bottle in his hands and continued, “Maybe that was part of our problem. We were young for a team, age-wise and certainly in experience. But because we did so well, they started giving us more complex Green Ops, ones they usually saved for more experienced teams. And again, we outperformed expectations.”
Bobby snorted, “What did ya expect? You are undoubtedly the smartest guy I’ve ever met.”
While Dean blushed Benny added, “I agree with you sir. His planning and timely execution made all the difference. He took care of all of us, but be damned if he ever let us take care of him. We had to bandage the smallest of scratches, but he did not even bother getting checked when we knew he had definitely broken some bones.”
Mary remarked, “Yeah well, that’s Dean for ya. The hero.”
Benny, “But his injuries were not the only thing he buried. He was always there when we wanted to talk things through or talk about whatever horrific things we had witnessed, but this guy, never a crack in the mask, never broke down, never stopped, he just kept going and going.”
With a rough throat clearing, and a glare thrown towards Benny, he drew the attention of his audience and decided to push on. He knew that If he stopped now he would never finish. .
“So,” he said, eyes flicking around the group. “Benny was the oldest among us, even though I was in charge. It was never a problem between us though. The other guys were easy going enough, and we all got along seamlessly.”
Dean ran a hand through his hair. “So, like I said, our team got really damn good. We were being sent out on dangerous Ops, mostly grey, bordering on black” He shrugged.
“But we survived so we kept going when they sent us. We’d been sent out on a Op to do some deep recon and destroy a camp. This was down South, and according to the intel we had, there were 13-20 armed militants in the camp.We were to go in deep, set up some surveillance, and scout out extraction points before we carried out the op. Then things went to hell.”
Sam watched as Dean rolled his tense shoulders. He wanted to move forward, to offer his support, but Jess stopped him. This was something that Dean had to do himself. Dean felt edgy. He wasn’t a natural storyteller but he had a rhythm and rough way of speaking that brought the story to life.
“This was this year, Beginning of October I guess. We were a well-oiled unit. In the field we communicated with hand gestures, certain looks and the odd whistle.”
He gave a humorless laugh. “Though we had a reputation in the larger group, we weren’t without our injuries and failures. We, or I, failed plenty. I made a lot of wrong decisions which ended up with Benny shot in the leg, Garth’s communication equipment shot to hell and our sniper with a dislocated shoulder.”
He licked his lips, eyes on the bottle. “I’m not saying this shit to get your sympathy, but I want you to try and understand what it was like, for four damn years. We were good at what we did, sometimes too good, but we were also just men out there. Boys, really,” and that last was barely whispered.
Benny got up and stood right in front of Dean and said, “Get over yourself, Mike. you were the best leader we could ask for. That mission was not YOUR fault, and neither was the last one.”
A soft throat clearing had the group shuddering as they were jolted out of the story.
“Dean, you’re in a safe place here. This is your home. No one here doubts that you and your men were amazing. You had a duty and you did it. You’ll never be challenged on that, Son,” Bobby’s softly gruff voice slid into the air, his eyes firmly on the ex-soldier. “So don’t waste words on us. You and your men were good soldiers. So, Idjit, you say what you need to say and we’ll hear it through.”
John and Adam nodded fervently at that, and Dean found himself chuckling with the normalcy of the way Bobby spoke to him. It broke the heavy line of tension in his body and allowed him to swig back the last of his whiskey.”
“Ok, y’all, but just remember, Bobby asked for it. So, this Op in October, we went out, doing our recon, planted some sensors and identified the extraction point. That is when we realised that we were boxed in on three sides. The last side being over the enemy line.”
The smile in his voice had faded and he stared off into the distance,before clearing his throat and carrying one, “Benny and I were hidden in a deep copse of bushes. Lucifer was nearest to the camp, while Gabe and Cas were in trees near us. Raph and I started panicking as we heard nothing from the team in about twenty minutes. Our rule was contact every fifteen. Not overt contact, nothing to alert to our positions. Given that lack, we crawled to the edge of our hiding place to look around.”
He let out a huff of breath, lost in the memory, as Benny stared into the distance, “All we could see was smoke and all we could hear was static. We couldn’t leave under any circumstance; that was protocol.
It was Lucy that reached us first, blood pouring down one side of his head, left arm useless at his side. The militants had been prepared for us, which was unexpected and unpredicted. Cass was stuck in a tree, popping off shots conservatively but with the forethought to keep the rest of us alive. He had already communicated with Gabe before heading back to us. It was then that I broke the rules and put my foot down, we would not leave anyone behind.”
Dean knew his pulse was up, his heartbeat erratic. This wasn’t an easy memory for him. “So we moved quickly and quietly behind Lucifer. We came up on the camp pretty quickly. Because of Cass’s position we had come up a bit around the way but close enough so that we could signal or reach him if needed. That is when we saw that they had Gabe..”
His head slipped up at the soft gasp to see that Ellen’s eyes were wide with unshed tears, her hand reaching out and Mary grasping it, with a similar expression.
Bobby’s face was set in a hard line, steeling himself, Dean knew. John was looking at Dean with complete understanding that warmed his heart somehow. Adam and his fiance were simply staring at him, taking in everything he had been saying.
Ash looked a bit dazed and Dean knew his awesome brain was processing each minute detail as much as possible, with Ava running her hand up and down his arm.
Garth looked sick, and tried to put on a brave face while Charlie and Jo wiped their faces, trying to hide their tears.
Sam, well, Sammy looked pale and vaguely distraught. His younger brother always had a deep capacity to understand the suffering of the rest of humanity. It’s what made him a formidable lawyer. He was surprised to see Jess bawling, but quickly chalked it down to hormones and chose not to comment on it. Then there was Cassie. His lover sat there, her eyes steady and focused.
Ducking his head, he fought off a small smile. He found it odd he could smile in the retelling, reliving really, of this story. But he was truly surrounded by family and those that loved him.
Benny simply looked at him and urged him to finish the story.
“Damn goofy dude had managed to smash the communications equipment before they took him. He was on his knees, one eye swollen shut, body bruised and battered by the way he held himself” He found that he could actually chuckle through the tears burning in his eyes and throat. A slight whimper came from his audience but Dean only clutched his now empty bottle harder.
“But it was his face that did me in” he ended with a mutter. “I didn’t even have to look. I knew. I just knew and I gave the signal,” his voice broke, and everyone in the room could see that he was suppressing tears. “Cass took the shot, on his own brother. Took it so Gabriel wouldn’t suffer. And we couldn’t risk it.”,his voice was a soft drone. “We’d seen what this particular group of militants could do, would do.They had already broken each finger on Garth’s right hand. One had a long knife and was lazily cutting deep cuts into his other arm and poking shallow stabs into his stomach. There was no way they would have left him alive, or let him die peacefully. They would have tortured him for as long as possible, cutting off body parts, burning him with cigarettes and gun muzzles.” He swallowed hard. “So I had Cass take the shot.”
At this point, he actually had to close his eyes to stop the tears from spilling. No one in the room even dared to breathe loudly, because they understood how difficult it was for Dean to share his feelings.
“It was Benny that stood straight and looked at me. Gabe was ours and we weren’t going to leave without him. Beside him Lucifer’s eyes blazed with rage and he clutched his gun. Man only had one working arm, but in that moment, nothing mattered.” He ran hands over his face, tears that he tried so hard to stop, smearing over the freckled skin. “He wanted to do it and wanted me to tell him to do it. So I did. Biggest damn mistake of my life”
Benny let out a low growl, “Honestly brother, at that point of time, I think he and I would have went in with or without you, we were that pumped.”
Dean took a few breaths, composed himself and continued, “The three of us charged into the camp, knowing that Castiel had our backs from the trees. We were outnumbered five to one approximately but we didn’t care.”
He closed his eyes again, remembering blood and pain and fear. “We were like wild animals. Benny cut so many down with his machete. I popped off shots with my hand guns, aiming to kill rather than wound, and once my magazines were empty, I shifted to hand-to-hand combat. I ducked all the bullets they fired and tried to finish off as many as possible. But one of ‘em got me, this broken hand right here.Lucifer was taken down by two of the rebels when Benny and I were turned away and Cass was focused on taking down the group running at us from the far hut.”
“Dean,” Sam’s ragged voice cut through the bloated silence. He licked his lips, cheeks pale and eyes bright. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yeah, Sammy, I do,” he disagreed, shooting a soft smile at his brother. “I have to tell it, but you don’t have to listen. These men, they deserve their story being told. And yeah, it’s my version, and Benny might have a different one, but it’s still worthy of the telling.”
Benny let out a humorless laugh and stared at Dean intently before simply stating, “Yeah just that in my version, you did the best you could, and none of this was your damn fault.”
Sam clamped his lips together and nodded at Benny in agreement, nostrils flaring as he took in a deep breath.
Dean appreciated that his younger brother tried to give him an out, he truly did, but he also knew that meant that Sam would never truly grasp what he had been through. And that wasn’t a fault in his brother, in fact, he was glad for it so that his brother could live a normal life.
“The three of us managed to kill or wound enough of them that the rest backed off. Benny grabbed Gabe and I carried Lucifer. We headed back towards the rendezvous point, knowing he had us covered. Once we reached the trees he hopped down. Benny and I trudged forth with Cass taking the rear, eyes open for any rebel stragglers.”
He blew out a deep breath as his eyes started watering again, “We missed the fact that a few rebels had been tracking us from the side. It was probably how Gabe got nabbed. It was Castiel’s cry that alerted us to them. They hit him in the shoulder which threw off his aim and made his rifle practically worthless. I turned back to help him but he was running toward me, waving me off with his good arm.”

Dean huffed. “I couldn’t stop myself from heading toward him. I just knew if I got one arm around him I could still get him and carry his brother.
Well, the militants had thrown some kind of grenade. Cass took a dive to try and shield me from it. Lucifer was over my right shoulder, in a fireman’s carry. But he didn’t dive far enough and I managed to get too close. He took the brunt of it. I took what he didn’t block down my left torso, my chest and my leg. He and Lucifer blocked me from the worst of it.”
He stopped to catch his breath and could hear sniffles throughout the room. “Next thing I remember is Benny. I was half cradled under his body in deep brush. And then the pain.” He licked his lips. “Somehow Benny managed to cobble together enough pieces of equipment to get a radio signal out. And he hid us until help was on the way.”
He finally looked up, with tears in his eyes,” They never recovered Gabe, Cass or Lucifer. Raph had to leave them behind to save me. They were good men and they shouldn’t have died and they shouldn’t have been left behind.”
His eyes flitted over the group. “And now they are asking me to come back. Benny has apparently been sent here to ask me to come back.”
The room was silent after he finished speaking. His head hurt, not from the whiskey or the lack of food, but from reliving the nightmare.
Benny took a deep breath and said, “They deserve the whole story brother. We did not have complete intel. There were more people than we had previously been told. I had a dislocated shoulder, a few broken bones here and there and a few scars to remind me of this. But this guy here was in a coma for 13 days and was fighting tremendous injuries.”
Everyone double-took on this and all eyes were glistening with tears as Benny carried on, “He dislocated an ankle, and the flesh on his right leg was blown to smithereens. It is a wonder they didn’t have to amputate it. His torso was covered in bruises, and his right arm was literally smashed to pieces. A few ribs had broken and his right lung had collapsed-”
“Benny, that is enough, you-”, Dean tried to cut him off.
“Shut up Dean. You may carry on Captain.”, Cassie said fiercely, with tears in her eyes.
Benny nodded towards her graciously and continued, “the blood loss was so severe that the doctors were surprised that he was even alive. They were worried about a cerebral edema, but once he regained consciousness, their fears were unfounded. He was in the hospital for about 2 months. His injuries took a long time to heal. His ribs and leg bone are still delicate, as is his arm.”
“But the worst of all was seeing the light leave his eyes. For exactly 48 days, he did not utter a single word. He did not help in recounting the story for our superiors except to take blame. And when he finally started talking again, he never spoke about our team. Today is the first time he has taken their names ever since their deaths.”
Cassie moved towards Dean and enveloped him in a hug. After a few minutes, Sam walked up to him and asked, “why did you not tell us about your injuries?”
Dean simply shrugged and said, “Wasn’t a big deal”.
This time it was John who smacked the back of his head and buried his son in his arms and said with a softness no one had been expecting, “Son, you are a hero. We are all proud of you. What happened to your team was not your fault. You have to stop blaming yourself.”
Dean looked at him and nodded before Mary ran up to him and started sobbing uncontrollably. Dean wistfully smiled and hugged her back.

Chapter 8

Benny left that evening after urging Dean to at least hear the Secretary of Defense, Jody Mills out. He said that a chopper would be waiting for Dean at the airport on 2nd January at 10:00 in the morning, which would bring him back the next day.
Dean simply hugged Benny and said that he would think about it. Before leaving, Benny also told his family that Dean never opened any of their packages because he knew he would not be able to go on. Understanding dawned upon them and all his siblings tackled him into a hug.
His family was extremely understanding and said that they would support whatever decision Dean took. Cassie however told him to meet his superiors and discuss this covert project before he rejected it.
New Year’s eve was nothing short of magical. As the clock hit 11:59, Dean tapped his wine glass and everyone looked at him. Emma ran to his side and started giggling. As Dean went down on one knee, there were gasps of surprise all around.
Dean cleared his throat before beginning, “Cassie Robinson. I had no idea when I first saw you in the United Coffee House outlet next to my training camp, that you would rock my world. I was cruising for a hook-up when I came across you. I was hooked. Even when I simply looked at you, I was lost. The year I spent with you while training has been the best year of my life. You, baby were the only thing that kept me going, in the thick rainforests of Venezuela or the deserts of Syria. I lost count of the number of times when I just wanted to give up and put a damn bullet in my head. But everytime, you brought me back from the edge. Every Time. And when I came back, I had never expected you to wait for me, but not only did you stay, you gave me the most wonderful kid in the world. For everything you have ever done for me, I cannot thank you enough, Cassie. But now, I think it’s time we put a ring on it. so , Cassie Robinson, will you do me the honour of becoming Cassie Dean Winchester?”
Cassie nodded between tears as Dean slipped a beautiful solitaire onto her finger. The room erupted in congratulations and Dean picked up Emma before kissing Cassie as the clock struck 12.
Everyone spent the next day in high spirits and were glad when Dean announced that he was going to Arlington the next day. Ash said that they would all support Dean in whatever decision he took and would stand behind him a hundred percent.
While everyone nodded, John just had one question, “Son, when did you become so comfortable flying?”
While a few people laughed, Dean simply grinned and said, “When I realised that they are the fastest way to save my ass.”
Everyone broke out into laughter and decided to retire for the night. Charlie and Jo decided to sleep with Emma so as to give the newly-engaged couple some privacy.
Dean spent the night worshipping Cassie’s body, and making love. When Cassie finally fell asleep in his arms, he avoided his own need to sleep and played with her hair, waiting for sunrise, so that he could make his way to the airport.
The flight to the Pentagon was fairly uneventful. His chopper landed on the roof, where he was greeted by Captain Zachariah and Captain Lafayette.
Having the highest security clearance possible, Dean was taken to a conference room where a few other people sat in the room.
He greeted Defense Secretary Jody Mills, CIA Director Donna Hanscum, the National Security Advisor Mick Davies and three more people he did not know. He simply nodded at them and settled down with Captain Lafayette, while Zachariah left the room.
Jody welcomed all of them before telling them that their briefing would be conducted by the President himself, who had devised this program.
As they connected with the President through video call, all of them greeted him before settling down again.
The NSA began, “Mr. President has decided to start a covert unit, a training program. This program will pick out inmates from across the country and train them to be spies for the country”. As Mick elaborated the plan of action, Dean became more and more engrossed and was genuinely interested in this operation.
Once the program had been explained in great detail, everyone put up a few questions, which the Defense Secretary and NSA answered patiently. It was only when the CIA director Hanscum nodded in approval of the plan that Mr. President spoke up, “Now that you all know what this plan is, I will tell you your roles. A few trusted veterans will be let on this plan and they will be responsible for scouting. Now you will be using the newly refurbished bunker under the Pentagon. Major Balthazar will be responsible for their briefing once they first get in, and will serve as a counsellor for the young boys and girls we send in. Captain Ketch will be their shooting and mechanical coach. Young Mr. Tran here will train them in technologies and communications. Captain Lafayette will look after their weapon training, and teach them about bombs. Y’all good with that? ”. Everyone nodded.
Dean could sense all eyes on him as he looked at the President, who took a deep breath and said, “Major-General Winchester, how are you?”
Dean replied stoically, “Never better, Sir. Although you might have missed the memo that I am not a Major-General anymore.”
The President simply grinned, “Technicalities, young man. Now, I have looked through your stellar record and you, son, are the perfect fit to lead this program. I want you to be the Director of what I call ‘The unit’.”
Dean took a deep breath before gently saying, “I am honoured sir, I truly am. But if you have seen my records, you must know that I got two of our men killed in October, just to recover the body of a dead soldier. I am not fit to lead”
While the NSA and Defense Secretary sighed, the CIA director simply glared at Dean. They were all tired of his self-loathing and his uncanny ability to take the blame in every situation.
Dean to his credit however, did not flinch.
The President smiled somewhat sympathetically before continuing, “Major General Winchester, I read your report of the Operation. But I also read what Captain Lafayette had to say, and the reports of your immediate superiors. My statement remains unchanged, you are the best choice for this position.”, his gaze softened before he continued, “Son, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for you to lose your men. But, you need to move ahead and stop blaming yourself. Just like you were responsible for your men, I am responsible for this country. Just like you did everything in your power to keep them safe, help me keep my people safe. I need you to do this young man.”
While everyone in the room held their breaths, Dean Winchester closed his eyes. After what seemed like a lifetime, he opened them and nodded with a small smile.
Epilogue

Once Dean agreed to lead the program, within six months the base was up and running. During this time, he moved to a luxurious apartment with Cassie and Emma. Cassie started working for online journals and discovered that freelancing made her a lot of money.
The whole gang gathered regularly for celebrating birthdays and festivals in the bunker at Lawrence.
Charlie proposed and Jo readily accepted. Adam and Bela got married in Florida, where they had their dream beach wedding with the family and a few of their close friends.
Ash shifted to Massachusetts as he and Ava started-up with a new app. Jess delivered a healthy baby boy who was named Nick Henry Winchester, and Dean thoroughly enjoyed spoiling his nephew and godson.
Cassie and Dean decided to tie the knot a day before the Unit’s first batch was set to begin. With Sam as his best man, Jess as the Maid of honour and Emma as their flower girl, they got married in a quaint church on the outskirts of Arlington. Apart from their families, all the higher-ups from the Defense World were present. As the NSA, Defence Secretary and Director of CIA wished the newly weds a happy married life, they handed them a gift from the President himself, with a little signed note-
“Young man,
Congratulations on finding a girl who will put up with your sorry ass for the rest of her life. God Bless you both, son.”
The wedding was beautiful and as the pair chose to recite their own vows, the whole gathering was sniffling gently. The afterparty saw everyone getting drunk and dancing their asses off.
The very next day, Dean officially took charge as the Director of the Unit. dealing with the riff-raff youth and giving them a purpose for their energies seemed like good work to him. He and his team worked hard and soon, were producing some of the finest spies, agents and assassins the country had ever seen.
The program was a huge success, and although it was never taken public, members of the Unit were found everywhere, across the globe.
Dean was content. He had an amazing wife, his little princess Emma and a newborn baby boy, Richard Benjamin Winchester. Adam also named his daughter after Jimmy Novak, making her Jamie Karen Singer. Charlie and Jo named their adopted daughter Lucy Bradbury, which swelled Dean’s heart with pride. But the happiest day of his life was when Ash named his firstborn Dean Bill Harvelle, in his honour.
Now when the family met time and time again, to celebrate festivals, the story of how their hero returned home on a Christmas and surprised them all was a hit amongst the children who adored Dean Winchester.
For many generations to come, this story, and other tales of this brave soldier were recounted as the Winchesters, Singers and Harvelles continued to take his legacy forward. Dean Winchester, the enigma, lived on.