Chapter Text
The metal is cold around Deanna’s wrist; it rattles each time she moves. The fluorescent lighting is too bright. It’s harsh. Her chair is uncomfortable; the armrests are digging into her elbows. She tries to flip hair out of her face with a shake of her head, but she only manages to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the two-way glass across the room.
She’s pale. Her eyes are wide with fear and red-rimmed. Her hair is wild around her face. The top three buttons on her grey shirt are missing. There are goose bumps on her arms, past where she’s pushed up her sleeves. She’s still not sure if they’re from cold or fear.
The door opens quietly, gently, but Deanna still flinches and tries to scoot the chair backwards. The woman gives her a soft smile and pulls something small and silver from her pocket. “Are you Deanna Winchester?”
Deanna narrows her eyes. “…..Yes?”
“Sheriff Jody Mills.” She holds her hand out to the teenage girl, who gives it an apprehensive glare. After a moment, the older woman withdraws her hand with a sigh. “Look, Deanna, I don’t know if you’re scared or angry or what, but you gotta work with me here.”
Trying to ignore the painful twist of nerves in her gut and the pounding of her heart, Deanna smirks. “Then take the cuffs off me.”
“I can’t do that.” Jody sits on the edge of the table. “Officer Henrikson didn’t really need to bring you in here, though. You don’t need this interview room, honey, it’s the first mark on your record.”
Deanna swallows hard. She manages to keep her expression impassive, despite wondering if she’s broken out in a cold sweat. “So?”
“Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Steal bread. And peanut butter? A half gallon of milk? It sounds like a sandwich kit or something. You’re just missing jelly.”
Deanna scoffs, running her tongue across her lower lip. Sheriff Mills isn’t going to do anything to her. She flips hair over her shoulder and is just about to level the older woman with her most deadly glare when the door swings open again.
“Knock knock!” The new woman practically shouts, a wide smile plastered on her lips. “I brought powdered donuts! You want some, Jody?”
Sherriff Mills squeezes the bridge of her nose and shakes her head. “Uh… no. Deanna, this is Sheriff Donna Hanscum; Donna, Deanna Winchester.”
Donna shrugs and sets the box on the table. “Suit yourself. Miss Deanna? You want a donut?”
“I can’t really reach my face, now, can I?”
“Jody!” Sheriff Hanscum gasps the word out, leaning over to snatch the piece of metal from her colleague’s hand. “I can’t believe you. Why didn’t you uncuff her?”
As Donna reaches over, Deanna flinches away. “What do you have?”
“The key. To the handcuffs?”
Jody raises an eyebrow as Donna unlocks the cuffs and removes them from Deanna’s wrists. She doesn’t mention the tremble in the girl’s hands. The blonde sheriff hands Deanna a donut before shoving one into her own mouth.
“So, Deanna,” Jody begins, “You didn’t tell me why you took the food.”
“It was food. I was hungry. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Hey, I don’t get it.” Donna butts in, wiping white powder from the corner of her mouth. “You say you’re hungry. But you haven’t even sniffed that donut I gave you. So what makes you hungry enough to steal?”
“I… I have a little brother,” Deanna finally says, hands shaking in her lap. She hangs her head. “He’s eleven. We don’t have any money, or food. I just….. I just want to make sure he doesn’t go hungry.”
“Don’t you have parents to care for you both?”
Deanna clenches her jaw, shaking her head to avoid looking at the two women. “I’ve been taking care of Sammy since he was a baby. He doesn’t know we ran out of food. Not yet.”
Jody frowns, shifting her weight. “Deanna, where are you staying?”
The girl swallows hard and averts her gaze. She doesn’t answer until Jody asks again. “Why should I tell you, huh? So you can go take my brother away from me?”
Donna rolls her eyes and pulls a cell phone from her pocket. “Tell you what, sweetie, we’re not supposed to do this, but if you eat that donut, I’ll make sure Jody doesn’t eavesdrop while you call your brother.”
“Can I call my dad, too?”
“Of course.”
Deanna studies Sheriff Hanscum for a long moment before nodding. “Okay. Thank you.”
Donna sets the cell phone down next to the box of donuts. “Eat up, honey.”
She stands up, motioning for Jody to follow her out the door. As soon as the door clicks shut, Deanna sets her donut on the table and snatches at the cell phone. She bites her lip, drawing in a shaky breath before dialing a number from memory. It rings four times before someone answers.
“Days Inn, Johnathan speaking. How can I help you?”
“I need to talk to room 32, please.”
“Please hold.”
The familiar sounds of a transfer comes over the line, then it rings twice more.
“Hello?”
Deanna nearly sobs with relief. “Sammy!”
“Dee? Where are you? Where’ve you been all day?”
“Don’t worry about me, Sammy. Just… are you okay?”
“I’m okay. I found a national geographic in the lobby. It’s super cool, Deanna, I’m reading about these awesome killer fish. They’ve got these light things on their bodies that attract little fishes, and then they eat them! It is soooo cool, Dee, I’ll show you when you get back.”
Deanna squeezes her eyes shut and draws in a deep breath. “That sounds awesome. I can’t wait. But um… I- I gotta ask you a question.”
“Okay. But Dee, if it’s Dad, he didn’t show up today either.”
“Oh.” She can feel her heart sink as she listens to him speak. “No, no, I just…. Wanted to know if you’d eaten.”
“Yeah. I got some cereal from the continental breakfast right before it closed. It was stale. I also grabbed an apple in case you were hungry but then you still weren’t in the room so I ate it. Sorry.”
Deanna laughs, shaking her head as she drags a hand through her hair. “That’s okay. Can you do something for me?”
“Yeah.”
“If I’m not back in an hour, I want you to go up to the police station. They… they’ll keep you safe. And listen, Sammy, I’m gonna try and call Dad.”
She hangs up without a goodbye and inhales slowly. There’s a knock on the door just before Donna pokes her head in.
“You know, Miss Winchester, you were supposed to eat a donut.”
“I will. Promise. Just lemme call my dad first, okay.”
Sheriff Hanscum glances at the two-way glass and nods once. Deanna smiles unsteadily and dials another number. It rings… and rings… and rings… and goes to voicemail. She clicks the end button and redials. On her fourth try, it stops ringing.
“John Winchester speaking.”
“Holy shit! Dad?!”
Donna drops her gaze to the floor, trying to ignore the way the girl’s voice cracks with emotion.
“Deanna? Why are you calling?”
“I need your help, Dad, me and Sammy both do. We don’t have any food.”
“Well go out and buy some. You’re not helpless.”
“I don’t have money. I… I used the rest of it to buy new shoes for Sam.”
“Do you have shit for brains, Deanna? That was food money, not new-fucking-shoes money. Return the shoes, get the money back, and buy your brother some goddamn food.”
Deanna flinches, pulling her legs up onto the chair. “I can’t, Dad, his old shoes are too small. They hurt his feet.”
“Oh my god. Pass the phone to your brother. Now.”
“I- I can’t.”
“You sure as hell can, young lady.”
“No, no I can’t, I’m not with him right now.”
“Why not? Where are you?”
Her lower lip is trembling and her eyes have filled with fearful tears. She shakes her head, forgetting that he can’t see her. She can hear him breathing, waiting for an answer.
“Deanna Jane Winchester, answer me. Where the hell are you?”
“The police station…” Deanna’s voice drops to a whisper. “I’m sorry, Dad, I didn’t mean to get caught. I went to get food for Sammy and they took me, and you’re not here, Dad, but I need your help, please.”
“Damn it, girl, what is wrong with you? Is there an officer in the room with you?”
“Yes.”
“Give them the phone.”
Deanna swallows hard, flicking her eyes up to Donna. She slowly extends the cell phone, trying and failing to steady her hand. “He wants to talk to you.”
Donna frowns, but takes the small device. “Sheriff Donna Hanscum speaking.”
“John Winchester. Can you tell me what exactly my daughter attempted to steal?”
“Bread, peanut butter, and a half gallon of milk.”
“What’s the usual punishment for that?”
“Well, she’s a minor, sir. We can’t do much but release them to their parents unless they’re repeat offenders.”
“What happens to them?”
“Sometimes repeat offenders have to serve a few days or weeks of jail time, and we’ve occasionally sent someone to juvenile hall. But your daughter doesn’t have a criminal record, this was her first time.”
“First time being caught. Listen, sheriff, I want you to give her a message.”
“Alright…”
“You tell that ungrateful little bitch that this is the last straw. She can rot in jail or juvie or wherever if that’s what you want to do to her. She deserves it for leaving her brother. She can find her own way out of this mess and then she can go to fucking England or France or Canada or wherever that fucking school is.”
Before Donna can say anything else, the line dies. She stares at the cell phone, clearly shocked. Deanna puts on a weak smirk as she wraps her arms around her knees like a security blanket. “He’s a fucking delight, isn’t he? What did he say?”
Sheriff Hanscum stares openly at the girl, then hurries from the room. Deanna yells after her, jumping out of her chair and running to the door. As it clicks shut in her face, she groans and punches the wall beside the doorframe. It’s hard to ignore the hurt gnawing at her, and it seems like a lifetime before the door opens again, this time held open by Sheriff Mills. Deanna scrambles backwards, watching as Jody looks out into the hall and back at her.
“Come on, Winchester, you can sit in the break room.”
“What happened to Sheriff Hanscum?”
“She uh… needed a break.”
“Was it because of my dad? What did he say to her? Is she okay?”
Jody holds the door open wider and motions for Deanna to walk out. “Come on. I haven’t got all day. Donna will meet us in a few minutes, alright?”
Deanna drops her gaze to the floor and follows Jody out of the room and down the halls into the main part of the building. From there, Jody takes her into a room that is comfortably furnished and decorated in a homely fashion. She sits on a couch while Jody brews herself a pot of coffee.
“Look, Deanna, I don’t know everything your dad said. Donna didn’t tell me before she ran off to call her parents. But he said something about a school.”
“Oh.” She bites her lip. “It’s a boarding school somewhere in Canada… he’s been threatening to send me there for years, and I guess this time he was serious. It’s Hunter something or other.”
“Hunter’s Creek School for Girls.”
Jody and Deanna turn simultaneously to see Donna standing in the doorway. Jody raises an eyebrow. Donna shrugs and walks forward to steal her partner’s coffee and take a sip. “I had a cousin who went there once. I think you forget I’m originally from Minnesota. I used to sneak over the border with my friends to go to a gas station three miles up the road and buy candy that was illegal in the U.S. Is that the right school?”
Deanna sighs, wringing her hands. “Yeah. It sounds right. So I’m going to Canada for real this time? Shit.” She buries her head in her hands. “Who’s gonna take care of Sammy?”