Dead Man's Blood.

Athena covers her mouth as a giggle escapes. She lowers her head behind the menu and sinks in her seat. Sam shakes his head and laughs softly, "Dude, that was terrible."

Dean rolls his eyes, "All right, all right. Terrible isn't the word I would use."

Sam purses his lips, "Athy?"

Athena stops drinking her strawberry milkshake. "Uh...I would say embarrassing."

"Okay--"

"Atrocious," Sam adds.

Athena points at Sam, "Atrocious is good."

"Thank you--"

"I am right here." Dean holds his arms out.

"You asked for her number and she denied you." Athena shakes her head. "Next time, maybe don't disrupt a woman while she's working."

Dean looks down at his menu with his lip pouted.

"Great, now he's whining." Sam rolls his eyes.

"I am not whining--"

"You definitely are." Athena voices as she looks at her menu. "Can we take this stuff to go?"

Dean raises his brows, "What? Today is a special occasion--"

"Technically the special occasion was two days ago." Athena shrugs.

"And we would've celebrated two days ago if you hadn't broken your toe," Sam says.

Athena bunches her shoulders, "I stub my toes all the time. It was bound to happen."

Athena broke her big toe going up the porch steps. She was in the hospital for two days. Sam and Dean never left her side.

"Well, I know we promised to not get you anything, but—"

"You got me something anyway?" Athena deadpans.

"How'd you know?" Dean smiles.

Sam chuckles, "Well, since we're confessing right now. I got you something too."

Athena raises her brows. She wasn't surprised...okay, maybe she was a little surprised. But that's only because Athena doesn't make such a big thing out of her birthdays. Not since Sam left for college. I mean, Dean would try and do little things for Athena; John would always reprimand him. Athena always acted like it didn't bother her and she didn't care about celebrating her birthday, but it hurt her. A lot. But she didn't want to ruin anything. She just wanted everything to be perfect, even if she wasn't.

Sam and Dean place the gifts on the table.

"Happy Birthday, Athy."

A timid smile forms on Athena's lips. "Thank you, guys." she chuckles bashfully.

"Open mine first." Dean pushes it toward the girl.

"No--what?" Sam scoffs. "Open mine first."

"You should...definitely open mine first." Dean urges.

Athena looks between Sam and Dean as they continue to argue about who should give their gift to the girl first.

"How about..." Athens speaks.

Sam and Dean look at their sister.

"...a game of rock, paper, scissors."

"No..." Dean whines.

"He's doing it again--"

"Am not!"

Athena laughs. Dean's back straightens, "Fine. You know what? Fine." he holds his fist up. "Put 'em up, Sam."

Sam lets out a chortle, "Whatever, dude." he holds up his fist.

Sam and Dean simultaneously raise their fists and open their hands. Sam had rock and Dean had scissors.

"Dammit!" Dean facepalms.

"Why scissors? Every single time?" Athena shakes her head in disbelief. "It's astounding."

"Ah, can it. I let him win." Dean sinks into his seat.

Sam chuckles, "Sure, you did." he looks at Athena and hands her the gift.

Athena accepts the gift and gnaws on her lower lip. She pulls the wrapping paper off, and a loud gasp leaves her lips. "No way!" Athena bounces both of her legs and starts to rock back and forth.

Sam and Dean smile at Athena's excitement. Athena feels her emotions start to get overwhelming so she lets out a squeal. She slaps her hands over her mouth. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry..." she says continuously. "Look it!"

Athena lifts up the box. It was a Hello Kitty puzzle. Dean squints his eyes, looking at the words on the box. His eyes suddenly widen, "3000 pieces?!"

Athena's eyes widen and she looks at Sam. "Do you think we can beat our last time?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Sam snorts. He holds his hand up and Athena gives him a high-five. "We're going to crush our last time."

"Yeah? And what time is that?" Dean asks.

"Well, when in one sitting probably 10 hours--"

"No, no..." Dean shakes his head.

"What?" Sam shrugs.

Dean's eyes blow wide, "What? What do you mean 'What'?" he holds his hands up and chuckles. "You two have seriously sat down for 10 hours just to solve a puzzle?"

"Just to solve a puzzle?" Athena cranes her neck forward and chuckles. "We are exercising our minds."

"Yeah, well, I can do that by eating," Dean says.

Athena shakes her head, "No...no, you can't."

"Whatever--open my gift." Dean slowly pushes it toward his sister.

Athena looks at Sam, "Thank you for the gift, Sam."

Sam gives her a smile, "I'm glad you like it."

Dean clears his throat and Athena turns to him.

"Patience you must have, My Young Padawan." Athena imitates Yoda.

"Wow," Sam says.

Athena looks at Sam, "Right? It's gotten better."

"She has been practicing that voice for years." Dean exasperates.

"He's being dramatic." Athena waves her hand in a dismissive manner. She grabs the bag that Dean pushed toward her. Athena pulls the tissue paper out of the bag and pokes her head into it. Her eyes land on the overalls and her eyes widen.

"Dean..."

She holds up the 'Good Guy' overalls. Sam and Dean burst out laughing.

Athena scrunches her nose, unamused.

"Oh, come on! It's funny!" Dean laughs.

"I do not look like Chucky!" Athena scoffs.

"Well, not anymore." Sam shrugs.

Athena's mouth hangs open. "What?" she chuckles.

"Yeah, I mean. When you were little you cut your hair and it was all choppy and red--"

"Auburn."

"Same thing." Dean waves a hand. "So...do you like 'em?"

Athena looks at the overalls. "I love them." she presses her lips into a smile. "Thank you guys for today."

Sam and Dean smile and fist bump each other.

"You know what I would also like?" Athena leans forward.

"What?" Dean pulls his brows together."

"A case." Athena leans back in her seat. "Let's do some solving."

"I already checked." Sam sighs, he grabs his laptop and opens it. "There's nothing out there."

Athena slumps her shoulders. Dean shrugs, "Well, we could just keep heading east--New York, Upstate."

Sam cracks a smile.

"Could stop by and see Sarah again, huh?" Dean raises his brows. "She's beautiful."

Sam and Athena raise their brows.

"Did...Dean just compliment a girl without calling her a 'chick'?" Sam looks at Athena.

Athena smiles proudly.

"And I thank that to my tutor over here." Dean ruffles Athena's hair. "I am going to get so many chicks."

Sam and Athena roll their eyes.

"And...he's back." Sam sighs.

"I mean, it was the bare minimum." Athena shrugs. "But okay."

"You two seemed pretty friendly." Dean goes back to the past conversation. "What do you say?"

Sam chuckles softly, "I don't know. Maybe someday. But in the meantime, we got a lot of work to do, Dean, and you know that."

"Yeah, shame on you, Dean for wanting to see your brother happy." Athena wags a finger at Dean. She then looks at Sam, "That was sarcasm, by the way."

"Thanks for the clarification, Athy." Sam pats the top of her head.

Athena smiles. "What else is out there on the world wide web?"

"Uh, a local man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found mauled in his home." Sam reads off his laptop.

Dean scrunches his brows together, "Elkins. I know that name."

"Doesn't ring a bell." Sam shrugs.

"I've seen that name somewhere too." Athena purses her lips, thinking.

"Looks like the cops don't know what to think. At first, they said it was some sort of bear attack, and now they found signs of robbery." Sam explains.

"Here. Check it out." Dean sets John's journal in front of Sam and Athena.

Athena's eyes follow Dean's finger and her eyes read the information beside Daniel Elkins' name.

"You think it's the same Elkins?"

"It's a Colorado area code." Athena shrugs a shoulder.

Dean inhales, "Well, Athy. Seems like you're getting your case after all."

Athena gives them jazz hands, "Yay!"

☆

"Whatever attacked him, looks like there was more than one."

Dean looks around the room, "Looks like he put up a hell of a fight, too."

"Yeah..."

The siblings look around the room, hoping to find any clue about what happened with Daniel. The glass crunches underneath Athena's converse. She pulls her goggles over her eyes, catching sight of something. Athena crouches to the ground, she runs her fingers across the scratchings on the hardwood floor. The girl knits her brows together, thinking.

"Athy, you got something?" Dean asks.

Athena hums softly, "Uh--just some scratches in the floor..."

"Death throes maybe?" Sam questions.

Athena shakes her head softly, "I don't think so..." her stomach turns. She notices the ragged scratches across the floor. One person taught her how to pass messages that way.

"Can someone hand me a piece of paper?" Athena asks.

Dean looks around the room and he grabs the paper off the desk and hands it to his sister. Athena grabs the paper and presses it against the marks on the ground. She grabs a pencil from her overall pocket and scribbles across the paper. Athena lets out a voice of disappointment, Sam and Dean look at each other. She holds it out to her brothers, "This look familiar to you guys?"

Sam grabs the paper and Dean shines the light on it. "Three letters, six digits--the location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop."

Athena lets out a huff, "Just like how dad does it."

Sam and Dean look at Athena, noticing her aura take a full 180 at the mention of their father. Athena takes her goggles off. "We should head to the post office, yeah?"

As soon as they got to the post office, there was a letter to someone with the initials 'J.W.'

Athena wishes she never asked about a case.

The kids all sit in the Impala, their eyes on the letter.

"J.W.--you think? John Winchester?" Sam questions.

Athena blinks, "Are we thinking of someone else?"

"Well, should we open it?" Dean asks.

"Yes," Athena says. "Unless you want to go on another hopeless search for dad, then--"

A knock is heard at the window, causing the siblings to all jump.

"We're gonna die!" Athena cries with her arms over her head.

"Dad?"

"What? No, I said we're gonna die." Athena takes her arms off her head. The door beside her opens and she turns her head. John slides into the back and Athena scoots away from him. "Oh, I get it. Dad."

I would rather die.

"Dad, what are you doing here? Are you all right?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, I'm okay." John sighs. "Look, I read the news about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could. I saw you three at his place."

"Why didn't you come in?" Athena asks.

John looks at the girl and she raises her brows, waiting for an answer. Sam and Dean look between their father and sister. It was way too tense in the car.

"Hey, Athena, how would you like to sit in the front?" Sam asks.

"I'm good right here, thanks," Athena says, her eyes still on her father.

"D-Dad?" Dean questions.

"All good here."

Sam and Dean look at each other.

Athena was doing her best, trying to remain calm. She was being a professional hunter. Putting her personal issues aside to get the job done. But she couldn't get the job done if her father didn't cooperate. The sooner they finished this case, the sooner John would leave. Hopefully.

"You know why I didn't come in," John says, his tone distant. "I had to make sure you weren't followed. By anyone or anything."

"Nice job covering your tracks, by the way," John murmurs, looking away from Athena.

Sam, Dean, and Athena look at each other. All three of them were confused about what was happening. Did John just compliment Athena?

"Uh--okay," Athena says, scooting closer to her door. "Thanks..."

"We learned from the best," Dean says.

Athena looks at her fingernails. "Bobby?"

The three men look at the girl and she snorts. "Kidding..."

Not really.

"Wait, so you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. He was--he was a good man." John states. "He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting."

"You never mentioned him to us," Sam says.

"We had a--we had kind of a falling out," John informs them.

"A falling out with you?" Athena huffs. "Didn't think that was possible."

"It hasn't even been five minutes," John growls. "And I complimented you."

"You complimented me?" Athena's eyes widen. "Oh My Gosh--then I should just forgive you for everything!"

"Sam, Dean--guess what? All of my issues? They've been resolved!" Athena claps her hands together.

"Yeah, this isn't happening--dad we're switching spots." Sam gets out of the car.

John and Athena glare at each other. Sam knocks on the window, "Dad."

John reluctantly gets out of the car and gets into the passenger seat. Sam sits next to Athena and she relaxes. John exhales a sharp breath, "I should look at that." he holds his hand out to Dean.

Dean hands the envelope to John. John grabs the envelope and opens it. His eyes look across the letter.

"If you're reading this, I'm already dead...that son of a bitch."

"What is it?" Dean asks.

"He had it the whole time."

"Dad, what?" Sam asks.

"When you searched the place, did you see a gun, an antique, a Colt Revolver? Did you see it?" John slowly rises into a panic.

"There was an old case, but it was empty." Athena states.

John shakes his head, "They have it."

"You mean whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asks.

"We got to pick up their trail." John gets out of the car.

Athena's eyes widen, "Wait, what? You want us to come with you?"

"Athena, I don't have time for this--"

"What, time to answer a question?--"

"I don't have time to answer your questions!" John snaps.

Athena presses her lips into a firm line and sinks into her seat.

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down...

John inhales a deep breath and scoffs. "Look, if Elkins is telling the truth, we've got to find this gun."

"The gun? Why?" Sam asks.

"Because it's important, that's why," John's voice has force behind it.

"Dad, we don't even know what these things are yet." Sam states.

"They were what Danny Elkins killed best...Vampires."

Athena's mouth hangs open.

"Vampires? I thought there was no such thing."

"You never even mentioned them, dad." Sam states.

"I thought they were extinct," John says. "I thought Elkins and others had wiped them out."

"I was wrong."

☆

It was killing Athena and Sam, knowing John wasn't telling them the whole truth. And Dean could see that. They tried to not make it obvious, but to Dean; he could right through their facades. Athena had her headphones on and she was tapping on her lower lip. Sam had his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets and he was bouncing his leg.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with him." Sam huffs.

"Isn't it obvious?" Athena speaks, she pauses her music.

Sam looks at Athena.

"He still thinks we're not ready." Athena states. "But he doesn't know anything."

"Oh, come on--"

"He hasn't been here, Dean," Sam says, agreeing with Athena.

"Don't tell me it's already starting." Dean rolls his eyes.

"What's starting?" Sam asks.

John walks back over to them and Athena slips her headphones back on.

"What do you got?" Dean asks.

"It was them all right," John speaks. "It looks like they're heading west."

His eyes shift to Athena, who was keeping her eyes on her fingernails. "Do you two always let her wear those on a case?"

"Yeah, so?" Sam questions.

"So? Did you guys forget about 'be aware of your surroundings'?" John snaps his fingers in Athena's vicinity.

Athena blinks and looks up. She slips her headphones off and places them around her neck. "Yeah?"

"Pay attention."

Athena lets out a huff and pauses her music.

"Watch your breathing, next time." John's voice was firm.

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down...

"We have to double back to get around that detour." John continues.

"How can you be so sure?" Sam asks, his patience running thin.

"Sam--"

"I just want to know we're going in the right direction." Sam cuts Dean's pleads off.

"We are."

"How do you know?" Athena asks.

John looks between Athena and Sam with squinted eyes. Athena folds her arms. "Bet you, you wish I kept my headphones on now, huh?"

John lets out a scoff and shakes his head. He rummages through his pocket and holds it out to his kids. "I found this."

Dean grabs the item in his father's hand and inspects it. "What is it? A vampire fang?"

"No fangs--teeth. The second set descends when they attack." John explains. He then looks back at Sam and Athena. "Any more questions?"

Why do you hate me?

Why did my mother give me up?

Why did you even take me in?

Athena frowns, "I'm all good."

Sam shrugs his shoulders and looks away from John.

"Now, come on. Let's get out of here. We're losing daylight." John rounds the Impala. "And, Dean, why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing If I thought you were gonna ruin it." He gets into his truck.

"Can we go now?" Athena slips her headphones back on and gets into the Impala.

Sam and Dean get into the car as well. The sibling's father their father's truck down the road.

"Does dad even have anything about Vampires in his journal?" Athena says, leaning her head against the window.

"Checking now..." Dean flips through the pages. "Here, uh...Vampires nest in groups of 8 to 10. Smaller packs are sent out to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive, bleeding them for days or weeks. I wonder if that's what happened to that 911 couple."

"That's probably what dad's thinking." Athena sighs.

"Of course, it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks," Sam murmurs.

Dean inhales a sharp breath, "So it is starting."

"What?"

"Guys, we've been looking for dad all year. Now, we're not with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already?" Dean looks at his siblings.

Athena rolls her eyes, "There's no static. The air seems pretty clear to me."

"That's because dad's not here, right now!" Dean states.

Athena lifts her head up and purses her lips with her brows scrunched. "Oh yeah. That definitely helps."

Sam laughs and Dean snaps his eyes over to him, causing Sam to slam his mouth shut.

"Guys--"

"Look, Dean, I'm happy he's okay, all right, and I'm happy that we're all working together," Sam says.

"Good."

Sam inhales a breath. "But, Athy's right, he treats us like we're children."

"Okay."

"He barks orders at us," Athena says.

"He's always done that." Dean states.

"Yeah, and guess what? It's annoying!" Sam exclaims.

Athena nods her head, "Yeah! And he expects us to follow him without question. What's up with that?!--"

"He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal!" Sam adds.

"He does what he does for a reason." Dean defends John.

"What reason?" The younger siblings chorus.

"Our job!" Dean exclaims. "There's no time to argue. There's no margin for error. It's just the way the old man runs things."

"Well, we're older now," Athena replies.

"Not you." Dean states.

"I'm 11 now--Hello!" Athena waves her hands.

Dean looks back at John's journal and Athena shakes her head.

"Hey." Athena's voice was firm.

Dean looks at the auburn-haired girl and her face was stone cold. Dean shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "After everything we have been through this year you better not just fall in line with everything dad says."

The car falls silent and all you can hear is the engine running. Dean's silence worries Sam and he looks over at his brother. Athena squints her eyes. Dean looks between Sam and Athena, the same glare across both of their faces.

"Guys, he's our dad. So if me falling in line helps keeps things under control...that's what I'm gonna do." Dean says.

Athena lets out a chuckle of disbelief, her stomach-turning. "You're such a...buttface!"

"Excuse me?!--"

"You heard me!" Athena snaps. "I shouldn't even be surprised by this, I just knew this was gonna happen."

"What? What happened?! What are you talking--"

"Oh, put a cork in it!" Athena puts her headphones back on, folds her arms and looks out the window.

Dean squints his eyes, "What the fuck, just--"

"You're such a dick, dude."

☆

"Pull off the next exit."

"Why?"

Athena pulls her headphones off, hearing muffled voices. "What's going on?"

"Dad thinks we got the Vampires' trail." Dean states.

"How?" Sam asks.

Athena raises her brows, identifying the agitation in Sam's voice. He has reached his breaking point.

"Don't say--"

"I don't know. He didn't say." Dean answers.

Athena presses her lips together. "--that..."

Sam slams his foot on the gas and he speeds past John's truck. He yanks the wheel to the side and slams his foot on the brake, stopping the Impala in front of John's vehicle.

Athena's head bumps the window. "Ow!"

Sam parks the car and gets out.

"I told you not to say anything!" Athena says to her eldest brother, rubbing her head.

"You didn't say it fast enough." Dean holds his arms out.

Athena and Dean get out of the car, just in time to see John standing in front of Sam.

"What the hell was that?"

"We need to talk." Sam huffs.

"About what?"

"About Everything," Sam emphasizes.

Athena and Dean stand between Sam and John.

"Where we going, dad? What's the big deal about this gun?" Sam asks.

"Sammy, we can Q&A after we kill all the Vampires." Dean throws his arms in the air.

John huffs, "I don't have time for this shit. Dean's right."

"Last we saw you, you said it was too dangerous to be together." Sam continues. "Now, out of the blue, you need our help. Obviously, something big's going down, and we want to know what!"

"Get back in the car."

"No."

"Guys, knock it off!" Dean shouts.

"What has she been saying to you, huh?" John points at Athena.

Athena pulls her brows together, "What?--"

"The only sensible one around here is Dean. So, obviously you two have been talking shit!" John barks.

Athena flinches, "Can you blame us?"

John takes a step toward Athena, but Sam stands in front of her. Athena exhales a sharp breath and she looks at Sam.

"Don't touch her," Sam growls. "You know what? Don't even look at her." he points at John.

Athena's mouth slightly opens.

"So, what, you've spent a few months together, and now--"

"A year, dad!" Sam shouts. "It's been a year. And if you're going to be here with us, then I'm definitely going to stand between you and my sister."

Athena feels tears burn in her eyes. Someone defended her. She wasn't alone. It made her feel...hopeful that things could be different. Maybe she didn't have to bury all her pain. Maybe she could talk to someone about everything and maybe things could be better.

"All right, you guys have made your point." Dean tries to usher Athena and Sam back into the car. "We're all tired. We can talk about this later."

"Guys, I mean it. Let's go."

Athena and Sam walk back over to the car. Small mumbles come from Sam's lips and John's jaw clenches.

"What'd you say?--"

"You heard me." Sam snaps, turning back to John.

"Yeah, you left." John nods. "Your siblings and me--we needed you. You walked away, Sam! You walked away!"

Athena presses her back against the car, her breathing quickening.

Dean looks over at the panicked girl. He looks back at Sam and John. "Stop it, both of you!" he shouts.

"You're the one who said, 'Don't come back,' dad!" Sam cries. "You're the one who closed that door, not me! You were just pissed off you couldn't control me anymore!"

John grabs Sam by the collar of his shirt.

"STOP IT! SHUT UP! JUST STOP!" Athena screams her hands over her ears.

Dean takes Sam and John being distracted as a chance to pull John's hands off of Sam.

"You guys are adults--we can talk about this later." Athena shakes her head. "And you." she looks at John.

John squints his eyes.

"You cannot blame me for Sam questioning you." Athena scoffs. "He wasn't going to follow you like a sheep forever."

John's hands immediately become fists and Athena snaps her eyes to them. She inhales a deep breath. "I just want to solve the case, like you."

Athena knew that Dean had a point. They couldn't hash any of their issues right now (even though her subconscious was screaming for her too). They had to find this nest. Hopefully, this can all be done.

"Dad," Dean says, standing in front of Sam and Athena.

John takes his eyes off of Athena and looks at Dean. He lets out a scoff and walks toward his truck. Dean exhales a sharp breath and turns to reprimand his younger siblings, but they were already in the car.

Dean throws his arms in the air.

"Terrific."

━━━━━━━━━━

A/N

Sam and Athena 🤝 talking shit about John

Words : 4330