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Sam looked at his brother. He had gone down to see the case his brother had brought, and was confronted with a child. A little girl sat on the front seat fiddling with a cassette tape. She even has a mini leather jacket, he thought hysterically.
“Claire!” Dean yelled and she almost dropped the tape. “What have I told you about messing with those tapes?”
“To not to.” Claire said sullenly. “You were taking too long.”
Sam looked between them, hunt forgotten. Who is this kid? “Dean, why is there a kid in your car?”
She looked at him. “He kidnapped me. I have wanted posters with my face on it.”
Sam’s eyes widened at Dean's laugh. “Those are missing posters. No one wants you, that’s why you’re with me.” Sam looked between the two of them, back and forth. They had done a lot of things as hunters, but kidnapping a child? That’s where he drew the line. “Unclench Sam. She’s mine.”
“Dad, I think we broke him.”
“She calls you dad?”
Dean gives Sam a look, one Claire mirrors. “What else is she supposed to call me? By my government name?”
Claire rolls her eyes. “Duh.”
Sam watched them. Dean brings him around to the back. He opens the trunk and the false bottom, and rustles around for the papers. “Aha! Here we go.”
Sam looks at him. “Dean, are we not going to talk about the literal child in your car?”
“Not when you phrase it like that.” Dean said. “Now. Dad was checking out this two lane highway in Jericho. About a month ago this dude vanished, but his car was still there.”
“Dean-“
Dean continues on like he didn’t hear him. “Another one in April, and then one last year, one in ‘03, ‘98, ‘92. All over two decades. All men over the same stretch of road.”
Sam sees the girl get out. “Are you telling him about the highway?”
Sam fixes Dean a glare. “She knows about hunting?”
Dean shrugs like this isn’t a big deal. “Considering her mom was killed by a demon, yeah.”
“Doesn’t mean you need to bring her on hunts!” Sam said, scowling. “She needs stability, and hunter life is not stable.”
“She does have stability.” Dean said, scowling. “And to be honest Sam, you’re the last person who should be judging me, considering you and I haven’t talked in four years.”
That stops him. “It hasn’t been four years.”
“We haven’t talked since you left for school Sam. I called, but you didn’t pick up.” Dean went quiet for a moment. “Even when I really needed you to.”
“He said that you were too busy having fun in school without us.” Claire said, scoffing a boot. “Grandpa Bobby said you would call eventually.”
Sam sidestepped the whole “Grandpa Bobby” issue, and focused on what else she had said.
That made Sam feel 100x times worse. He never called, and if Dean hadn’t shown up here he might have never even met Claire, much less know she existed. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know who he was apologizing to. It didn’t matter.
“It’s fine.” Dean said. “Now are we going to hit the road or what?”
“You want anything?” Dean asked Sam, as they pulled up to the gas station. “Hector is buying.” He held up the fake credit card in his fingers.
“Are you sure that you should be modeling this behavior for Claire?” Sam said to him, raising his eyebrows at the idea. “Children are impressionable, you know.”
Dean shrugged. “Dad did, and we grew up fine.”
Sam scoffed. “I don’t think “fine” is the word to describe our childhood, Dean.”
“Yeah, well, that’s life.” Dean said, getting out of the car. “Claire, come on. I’ll let you pick out some candy.”
She jumped out of the car, and smiled. “Gotta stock back up for when Uncle Gabe comes over again.” She said, smiling mischievously.
Dean hoped Sam didn’t hear that last part. The last thing he needed was Sam asking even more questions about Claire and her history.
“Yeah.” Dean laughed. “Let’s hope it’s not anytime soon.” He went to the aisle to get drinks.
“Wow Dean-o, and here I thought we were best friends.” came a voice from the next aisle. “Guess I was wrong.”
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Dean remarked.
“Well that’s hurtful.” Gabriel said, walking around to meet them. “I only came here because I heard you two gossiping about me.”
“It’s not gossip if it’s true.” Dean muttered, grabbing some sodas and a water for Claire.
“Alright, I didn’t come because you were talking about me.” Gabriel said, wirh his hands up. “I came to deliver a message per Cas’s request.”
“What about?”
“Said that his lead panned out, and he won’t be back tomorrow.”
Dean nodded. “Got it.”
“Don't pout, it’s not attractive.”
“I’m not pouting.”
A moment of silence before, “You kinda are though.”
“Claire!” Dean said, whipping around to face her.
She shrugged “What, it’s true.”
He pointed to where Sam was waiting by the pumps. “Get in the car.”
She rolled her eyes. “Touchy. You get so grumpy when he’s gone.”
They get back in the car, and he slips in Back in Black into the cassette player. Sam shakes his head and Dean scowls.
“What?”
“Dude, you have got to update your cassette tape collection.”
Dean gave him an unimpressed look. “What’s wrong with them? Claire never complains when we’re driving.”
“Claire is a kid. You remember having opinions on music at that age?”
“Yeah.” Dean said slowly, like Sam was an idiot. “I liked it.”
“Of course you did.” Sam rolled his eyes. “And to answer your question. They’re cassette tapes. Ever heard of aux cords?”
“And douche up my Baby?” Deans looked disgusted at the mere idea. “No thanks.”
“I’m just saying, anything from this century. I’m begging you.”
“I don’t know if you remembered the golden rule Sam. Claire want to enlighten him?”
“Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts their cakehole.” Claire says, smirking.
Sam says nothing, but sighs as the music climbs in volume.
“You think this is where she took the swan dive?” Dean asked Sam, as they stood on the bridge. Claire was standing behind the car, looking at the river below.
“That’s what the article said.” Sam said, turning to him. “Dean, he’s not here.”
“I know. But what can we do? He’s off chasing a story and we’re chasing him. I haven’t seen him in a long time, but he’s still our dad.”
Sam gives him a confused look. “What do you mean you haven’t seen him? Weren’t you guys hunting together?”
Now Dean outright laughs. “You’re hilarious Sam.” At Sam’s look of annoyance he stops. “Oh, you’re serious. Hate to break to you Sam, but once you left he ditched me pretty quickly after. I’m not exactly the child he was sticking around for.”
Dean can see the steam pouring out of Sam’s head, trying to put the pieces all together. “He left you?”
“Yeah, about a day or so after you did. Wasn’t happy you left, and saw no reason to stick around so…” Dean said, shrugging. “A few months after that I found Claire, so it wasn’t all bad.” Dean sighed. “Anyway, doesn’t matter. We gotta follow his trail.”
Sam shook his head. “I have to be back by Monday.”
Dean gave him a considering look. “You really think you’re going to have a normal apple pie life? Marry your girl, the whole nine yards?”
Sam scowled. “I do.”
“Does she know the truth? Because if you’re serious about this, that’s something you need to tell her. It only hurts in the long run Sam, trust me. It’s fine if you’re not going to hunt, but at least tell her how to protect herself.”
“And what would you know about telling the truth?” Sam snaps at him. “Your entire life is lies and half truths.”
Dean gave him a look. “More than you know Sam. Now come on. If you want to get back by Monday, we need to finish this up.”
Of course they get noticed by the police.
He sits in the interrogation room and lets out a deep sigh. It’s just his luck, honestly. The man slaps down some papers. “Oh boy, are you in a lot of trouble. Not only do you have ten missing persons taped to your wall, you currently have a missing person traveling with you. A child. Care to explain?” The sherif asked him.
“Yeah. She’s my daughter.” Dean said. “Before her mom was killed, she contacted the father, because she just couldn’t bare being a single mother anymore and wanted the father involved.”
“That’s interesting,” the sheriff says, pulling out papers of a very familiar man. “because we did a little bit of digging and the father is someone named James Novak, who died back before Claire was born. That does not look like you.”
It was a glossy photo of what he knew to be Cas. More particularly, Cas’s vessel. Jimmy had long departed, as he had suffered a major illness at the time, and had passed on after Cas had taken him as a vessel. “Yeah.” Dean agreed. “We were really good friends.” Dean smiled as the Sheriff put the picture back down onto the table.
The Sheriff gave him a look. “That so?”
Dean gave him a look that asked Are you stupid? Obviously. “Yeah.”
“So, then, want to explain why you’ve got her caught up in all this?”
He let the deepest sigh.
Gabe, I could really use your help right now.
Ghost destroyed and car no worse for wear, they headed back on the road. Dean looked at Claire and smiled at her in the rear view mirror. “You hungry kid?”
She nodded, and Dean pulled into a diner. It was the middle of the day, so it wasn’t too crowded. Sam gave him a judge-y look and said, “You’re going to a diner?”
Dean was getting real tired of Sam’s judgements of him and Claire. He got that Sam didn’t understand, but he could at least keep his comments to himself. He looks around the desolate area. “Where else would I go?”
“She’s a growing girl, you should be giving her fruits and vegetables, not this…junk.”
“And where am I gonna find that? I don’t even have a kitchen.”
“And who’s fault is that?”
“You know what Sam, if you hate the food so much, how about you stay here in the car while we go eat?”
Dean slams the door and Claire follows him inside. She sits down on the vinyl booth and looks at the menu. “Is he always like that?”
Dean drags a tired hand down his face. “Yeah. Good thing we’re almost back. He can get on my nerves sometimes.”
She laughs. “Me too.” She looked down for a moment and a stormy expression took over her face. "Can I say something? And you have to promise not to be mad."
Dean raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"
She looked down at her menu. "I don't like him."
He laughs loudly, and Claire looks at him. "He's annoying, I know. But he's a good kid. You'll like him eventually, don't worry Claire."
They talk for a bit before Sam slides in to the seat next to him. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah?” Dean said, picking up his coffee. “Are you?”
“Dean, don’t be difficult about this.” Sam sighs. “We only have a few hours left until we’re back.”
“I’m never difficult.” Dean muttered. They focused back on the food, the quiet surrounding them.
A few hours later, they’re back in Palo Alto, and Dean now has to deal with a traumatized girlfriend of Sam. At least she’s cool, Dean thinks. She shakes as they watch the building burn down. Her arms are wrapped around her chest, clutching at her shoulders.
“Are you okay?” Claire asks her softly.
“No.” she says. “But I will be. I can’t believe demons tried to kill me.”
It’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Deans takes one look at Sam’s absolutely flabbergasted expression and bursts out laughing.
Of course she's a hunter. Trust Sam to find the one hunter girl in the sea of normal girls. It's all he can do but laugh some more.