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SEASON 01, EPISODE 20

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Delaney sat next to Dean in a small booth in the diner the three Winchesters stopped in as they passed through Nebraska. She happily ate her scrambled eggs and bacon while Dean read through a newspaper and Sam typed away at his laptop across from Dean and Delaney. 

Dean tried to reach for one of Delaney's slices of bacon but she slapped his hand away. "Please?" He pleaded with big eyes and a small pout.

Delaney sighed and shoved one of the bacon pieces into her brother's mouth as he grinned and went back to his newspaper. She took a sip of her coffee and glanced over Dean's shoulder at the paper in his hands. "Did you find anything?" 

"No," Dean groaned as he closed the paper and folded it back up. "There is not a single decent lead in all of Nebraska. Sam, please say you have something."

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota. Here - a woman in Iowa fell ten thousand feet from an airplane and survived," Sam responded.

Delaney rose an eyebrow as she laughed softly. "That's more incredible than Twilight Zone don't you think?"

Sam shrugged and focused back on his laptop while he continued to search for anything that could lead them to a hunt. It's been two weeks since their last hunt with the cursed painting and the three were getting antsy since their minds kept drifting to their father. With them not being on a hunt, it wasn't distracting them from the fact that John still hadn't called.

"We could keep heading East, you know," Dean suggested and by the smirk on his face, Delaney could already see where his mind was headed. "We could stop by and see Sarah again. Huh? She's a cool girl. Smokin'." He whistled, leaning his arms on the table and grinned at his little brother. "You two seemed pretty friendly. What do you say?"

Sam scratched the side of his head as his face tinted pink in embarrassment. "Yeah, maybe someday. However, in the meantime, we got a lot of work to do, Dean. You know that."

Before Dean could argue his case, Delaney placed her hand over his mouth and smiled softly at Sam. "Yeah, he knows, Sammy. Do you have anything else?" She squeaked when Dean's tongue licked her hand to get it off. "Gross, Dean!"

"Gross, Dean," Dean mocked his sister and the girl punched his arm with a dark look on her face.

Sam rolled his eyes at his siblings' bickering and clicked open another one of the articles he had open on his browser. "Um, man in Colorado. Local man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found mauled in his home." He paused as his eyes drifted over to Sam a flicker of recognition flickering across his face. "Don't we know an Elkins?"

Dean furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember where he had heard that name before.

"It looks like the cops don't know what to think," Sam continued as he allowed Dean to try and remember the face for Daniel Elkins. "At first they said it was some sort of bear attack, and now they found signs of robbery."

"Hand me Dad's journal, Del," Dean asked and held his hand out for Delaney to place the leather bound journal in it. Once it was in his hand, he opened it up and quickly flipped through the pages until he stopped on a certain page. "Here. Check it out."

Sam took the journal from Dean's hand and Delaney looked it over after Sam was done. The name D. Elkins was scribbled on the page with his phone number. "You think this is the same Elkins that you guys knew?"

"It's the Colorado area code," Dean explained, pointing to the 970 at the beginning of the phone number.

"Well, I guess we're headed to Colorado."

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Later that night, Dean was picking the lock to Daniel Elkins' home that sat at the top of a mountain. Delaney wrapped her jacket tighter around her body as the wind blew harsh and cold around them, snow softly falling from the sky above them. Dean eventually got the door open and the three siblings slowly crept into the darkened house. 

The house was a mess with papers, journals and books scattered all over the floors and furniture around them. Delaney shined her flashlight around the walls that had pictures of multiple lores and demons taped in scattered places, some with notes written underneath them in a sloppy handwriting as if Elkins was rushing to get whatever info he needed onto each sheet of paper.

"Looks like the maid didn't come today," Dean commented as he looked around the house.

Sam squatted down by the front door and dragged his finger against the white powder that sat on the purple mat under the door. He lifted his hand up and rubbed his fingers together. "There's salt over here, right inside the door."

"You mean, like, protection-against-demon salt or oops, I spilled the popcorn salt?" Dean questioned, looking through the journal that on top of the desk in the next room.

Delaney walked over to Sam and examined the line of salt beneath her feet. It seemed as if Elkins was trying to keep whatever demon out of his house by salting the doors and windows. "No, it's a ring, Dean. He knew something was coming for him."

Sam slowly stood to his feet, his flashlight gliding across every inch of the entrance and living room next to him and Delaney. "This guy was definitely a player."

Delaney made her way back over to Dean and looked over his shoulder at the journal that looked exactly like the one their dad wrote in. It had all information from Daniel's hunts, along with multiple drawings of either symbols or demons. "Does every hunter have one of these things? This looks like the one Dad has."

"Except this dates back to the 60s," Dean whispered as he continued to flip through pages of information. "Let's look upstairs."

The three siblings made their way to the second floor and stepped into the room that was to their right. There was broken glass and furniture strewn around the room and the three had to climb over broken wood to get around the room. 

Delaney shined her light above her to the skylight that had a huge gaping hole in the middle of it. "Whatever attacked him, looks like there was more than one of them."

"Looks like he put up a hell of a fight, too," Sam commented as he walked over to the desk in the middle of the room - the only thing that hadn't been broken or knocked over in the fight. 

Delaney slowly made her way around the room, picking up various items  to inspect them. Nothing really stood out to her that could give away what happened in the room. Until she stopped at the end of the throw rug where an opened wooden box sat emptied of its contents. It looked like it previously held a gun and some bullets. Next to the box on the wooden floor were lines of scratches that looked like it made have been done by the Daniel himself.

"You got something, kiddo?" Sam asked as he noticed his sister squatted down again and inspecting what she had found and made his way over with Dean.

"I don't know. Some scratches in the floor."

Sam looked over Delaney's head to Dean who had a thoughtful look on his face. "Death Throes maybe?"

"Maybe..." Dean mumbled and grabbed a piece of paper and pencil from the desk next to them. He lowered himself to his knees next to Delaney, placing the paper over the scratches and colored over them with the pencil. He blinked as three letters and six numbers stared back up at him and his sister. Plucking the paper from off the floor, he handed it to Sam. "Look familiar to you?"

"Three letters, six digits - the location and combination of a post office box," Sam replied. "It's a mail drop."

Dean pushed himself to his feet along with Delaney and gestured to the paper in Sam's hand. "That's just the way Dad does it."

Once they had finished sweeping the rest of Daniel Elkins' home, the Winchesters made their way over to the nearest post office and stopped in front of Daniel's PO Box. Dean held his hand out for the combination and Sam handed it to him. He put in the combination for the small box and pulled out an envelope that had the initials JW on it.

Dean closed the PO Box and sat back in the car with Delaney and Sam. 

"J.W.? Do you think that's Dad?" Delaney asked, looking over Dean's shoulder from the backseat.

Dean shook his head as he stared down at the envelope in his hand. "I don't know. Should we open it?"

A knock on the window caused the three Winchesters to jump, the youngest one letting out a loud screech. Dean and Sam both turned to glare at her, but she just sheepishly smiled at them. She hunted ghosts for a living and she was scared by a tap on the window. She was seriously losing it.

"Laney, I think you made me go deaf," John Winchester teased as he itched the inside of his ear, dropping into the back seat next to his daughter.

Delaney blinked as she stared at her father. She reached out and poked his chest, the man giving her a confused look in return. "Nope. You're real."

"Yes. Thank you, baby, I know."

"Dad, what are you doing here? Are you alright?" Sam questioned as he and Dean both turned in their seats to look at the man next to Delaney who still looked like she couldn't believe he was sat next to her.

John nodded and exhaled heavily. "I read the news about Daniel. I got here as fast I could. I saw you three up at his place."

"Why didn't you come in?" Delaney questioned, the shock slowly dissolving as her mind was finally starting to process what was going on.

"You know why," John replied. "I had to make sure you weren't followed... by anyone... or anything. Nice job of covering your tracks, by the way."

Dean smirked at his dad, propping his arm onto the back of the front seat. "Yeah, well, we learned from the best."

"So you came all this way for this Elkins guy?" Delaney questioned, still not understanding the full story behind all of it. 

"He was - he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting. I don't know if you boys remember, but Daniel and I had a falling out. It's why we haven't seen him in years," John explained and his eyes fell on the envelope in Dean's hand. "Let me look at that."

John opened up the envelope and pulled out a folded up, handwritten letter from Daniel. "If you're reading this, I'm already dead." He read and scoffed softly. "That son of a bitch. He had it the whole time."

"Dad, what?" Sam prodded.

"In the house, did you guys see a gun, an antique, a colt revolver? Did you see it?"

Delaney's mind flashed to the empty wooden case that had been left behind on the floor. That must have been what was inside originally. "I saw an old, wooden case on the floor upstairs. It was empty."

"They have it," John mumbled to himself.

"Whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asked and watched as John scrambled out of the Impala, yelling something about a trail.

Delaney's eyes widened as she slid over to the side of the car where John stood by the back window. "Wait, Dad, you want us to come with you?"

John dipped his head so he could look into the car at his three kids. "If Elkins is telling the truth, we have got to find this gun. This gun is really important."

"We don't even know what attacked him," Delaney argued, wishing her dad would just slow down for a second and think about what they were doing before they burst in anywhere guns blazing.

"They're what Danny Elkins killed best... vampires."

Delaney couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips and all three men looked to her with a deadpan look. "I'm sorry, but... vampires? Those blood thirsty things actually exist?"

"They exist, but I thought you said they were extinct," Sam replied as he turned to their dad.

"I thought they were. I thought Elkins and the others had finally wiped them all out. Clearly I was wrong."

The three siblings exchanged a look with each other. Delaney had been the most confused about it all. Demons and monsters she could understand because she had seen it, but for some reason, vampires being real just felt weird. They weren't possessed by anything to keep them alive. They were just like zombies, but instead of wanting flesh and having gross skin, they craved blood. It was just something out nightmares. Though, Delaney really shouldn't be surprised that they existed with everything else she had seen within the past few months.

"Vampire lore is crap mostly. A cross won't repel them. Sunlight won't kill them and neither will a stake to their heart. The bloodlust - that part's true. They need fresh human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late. We got work to do."

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Delaney slept in her bed next to Dean, subconsciously cuddling to her brother's side in her sleep. His hand dragged lazily up and down her back in his sleep, it thankfully kept her nightmares at bay. Her and her brothers had passed out the second they got to the motel while their dad stood awake, listening to the police radio he had. It would let him know where the vampires were attacking and they could head over to where they were.

"Della, Sam, Dean, wake up," John whispered as he tapped each of their feet as he said their names. "I picked up a police call. 

Sam propped himself up on his elbow, rubbing a hand over his face to wipe the sleep from it. "What happened?"

"A couple called 911. They found a body in the street. Cops got there and everyone was missing. It's the vampires."

"How do you know?" Delaney mumbled as she buried her face into Dean's side, not wanting to get up. 

"Just get up and follow me, Delaney, okay?" John huffed and exited the motel room to head over to his truck. Delaney wasn't sure why they had to take both cars, but she decided to keep her mouth shut on that one.

Dean nudged his baby sister gently and forced her to sit up. "Come on, baby girl, let's go before he gets antsy."

"He already is," Delaney yawned and rolled off the bed, stuffing her feet into her sneakers and groggily followed her brothers out of the room.

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Delaney sat cross legged on the hood of the Impala and watched John speak to the authorities that had been at the scene when they arrived. "I still don't understand why we couldn't go over there with him."

"Oh, don't tell me it's already starting," Dean scolded his sister.

"What's starting?" Delaney argued and went to say more, but Sam tugged on her jacket to pull her back from getting in Dean's face.

John sighed as he stopped by his kids. If he noticed that Dean and Delaney were about to go at it again like an old married couple, he didn't say anything. "It was definitely them. It looks like their heading West. We have to double back and get around that detour."

Delaney slid off the Impala and stood in front of their dad in between her brothers, her arms crossed. "How can you be so sure?"

"Delaney..." Dean warned.

"I just want to know that we're going to be headed in the right direction."

"We are."

Delaney narrowed her eyes at John, still apprehensive about the whole thing. "How do you know?"

John stuck his hand into his jacket pocket and brought out a long pointed tooth, handing it over to Dean. "I found that."

Dean twisted the tooth in his hand as he inspected it. "What is it? A vampire fang?"

"No fangs - teeth. The second set descends when they attack," John corrected and turned his attention back to Delaney. "Any more questions?" 

Delaney just stared at John and stayed silent because he probably expected her to have a witty remark back at him. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction though. They finally find their dad and it only took a matter of a few hours for him to revert back to Authoritarian John. You would think with her knowing about the family business now that he would lay off her, but Delaney figured he would never change and she would always be the punching bag. Old habits die hard.

"Good. Let's get out of there because we're losing daylight," John said and walked over to his truck. "Oh and, Dean, why don't you touch up your car before it gets rust. I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were gonna ruin it."

Delaney turned to Dean with a pointed look, but Dean simply ignored her and let Sam take the driver's seat. She rolled her eyes and hopped into the back seat as Sam took off after John.

"Okay, so," Dean said, taking out their dad's journal and opening up to where he wrote down all the information on vampires. "Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten. 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."

Delaney sat in the back scowling with her arms crossed and she didn't even care if she looked like a child. She felt she was justified in being annoyed with their father. "It's probably what Dad's thinking. Of course, it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks."

"So it is starting," Dean noted and looked behind him to Delaney who focused her scowl on him.

"Dean..." Sam groaned from the seat next to him, not wanting either one of his siblings to fight right now. However, as usual, both of his siblings ignored him so he decided to just once again keep his mouth shut and let them duke it out. It would just be better for everyone if he didn't let either one of the hotheads sit there brewing the whole time. It would be worse in the end if he forced them both to shut up.

Delaney shrugged her shoulders as she tried to act innocent. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Delaney, we've been looking for him all year. Now we're not with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already."

Delaney scoffed and dropped her hands to her lap. "No, Dean. I'm glad he's fine, alright, and I'm happy we're all working together now. It's just the way he treats us - mainly me, mind you - like we're children."

Dean rolled his eyes and sat properly in his seat again. "Oh, God."

"No, Dean, okay? He barks orders at us like we're his freaking soldiers instead of his kids. He expects us to follow him without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal," Delaney ranted.

"He does what he does for a reason?"

"Oh please tell me the reason then, Dean," Delaney remarked as she placed her elbows on the back seat and placed her chin in her hands. She bat her eyelashes at him as she waited for his response.

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

Delaney scoffed, annoyed that Dean still followed their dad around like a lost puppy. Just a few minutes ago John had belittled him for getting rust on the car when there wasn't even any rust in sight. Dean had taken better care of the damn car than himself the whole time they have been together. "Yeah, well, maybe that worked when we were kids, but not anymore. Not after everything you, Sammy and I have been through, Dean. Are you really telling me you're cool with just falling in line and letting him the run show?"

"You don't see Sam complaining about any of this," Dean said, gesturing to his brother next to him.

"Do not bring me into this, Dean," Sam warned.

Dean ignored Sam and continued, "If that's what it takes to help Dad, then we're going to do it."

Delaney caught Sam's eyes in the rearview mirror that practically begged her to let it go because it was getting heated and fast, not taking the turn he hoped it would. Sighing, Delaney pulled away from the front seat and laid across the back, throwing her arm over her eyes. Might as well just relax until they got to wherever they were going.

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The Winchesters had been driving for a few hours now, the detour they had to take set them back quite a bit, but no one complained so Delaney figured they were still making good time on getting to the vampires. She was woken out of her half-slumber when Dean's phone started to go off and he listened to whatever John had to say before hanging up.

"Get off the next exit. Dad thinks we got the vampires' trail."

Delaney pushed herself up and rubbed at her burning eyes from lack of sleep. "How does he know?"

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

Delaney's hand fell limp in her lap as she blinked at Dean. Did he seriously not even think to ask their dad what tipped him off? "Sam, pull over."

"What?"

"You heard me, Sam. Pull. Over," Delaney demanded.

Sam quickly pulled off to the side of the road and Delaney was immediately getting out of the back seat - hearing Dean mumble something along the lines of oh here we go - as John hopped out of his truck.

"Why the hell did you stop?" John barked as he stopped in front of his daughter.

"We need to talk," Delaney ordered, officially and utterly done with everything. "Seriously, where are we going, Dad? What's the big deal about this gun?"

Dean threw his head back as he groaned, stood to one side of Delaney and John's showdown while Sam stood on the other side. "Delaney, we can Q&A after we call all the vampires."

"Your brother's right. We don't have time for this," John agreed, not taking his eyes off his daughter. However, all of the boys should have known that it wouldn't deter her whatsoever. Typical Winchester stubbornness.

"Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous to be together. Now, out of the blue, you need our help. Obviously something big's going down and we want to know what!" Delaney snapped, throwing her hands into the air in frustration. 

"Get back in the car."

Delaney stood her ground and shook her head defiantly at her father. "No."

"I said get back in the damn car, Delaney Elizabeth Winchester," John ordered, stepping closer to his daughter so they were toe to toe. 

Anyone on the outside looking in on the situation, would probably laugh because of the height difference between John and Delaney. Delaney was a full foot shorter than both her brothers and her father, so even though she looked intimidating and tough, she just looked like a tiny child trying to stick up to a taller bully. However, to those involved in the conversations, Dean and Sam watched on with baited breath knowing full well if you disobeyed John Winchester, it wouldn't end well.

"Yeah and I said no, John E. Winchester."

If the situation wasn't so serious, Sam would have laughed, but instead his eyes blew wide at the fact Delaney was so easily back talking John without even an ounce of fear inside of her. Any other person would be shitting their pants the second John stepped closer to them.

"Alright, you made your point, Delaney. Look, we're all tired. We can talk about this later," Dean cut in, trying desperately to diffuse the situation. He grabbed the back of Delaney's jacket and pulled her back away from their father. "I mean, Delaney. Come on."

Delaney pushed her brother away and turned her fierce gaze back to her dad. "This is exactly why I left in the first place."

"Yeah, you left, Delaney," John said and closed the distance between him and his kids again. "Your brothers and me - we needed you. You walked away, Delaney. You walked away!"

"Guys, just stop," Sam weakly chimed in, but everything had already blown up.

"You're the one that said to not come back, Dad!" Delaney yelled in his face. "You closed that door, not me! You're the one that hid me from this life and treated me like I was a freakin' fragile doll! You keep this huge, dark secret from me and you don't even care. You claim it's because you wanted to keep me safe, but it's really just because you didn't trust me with it like you did with your precious boys, isn't it?! You're just pissed because you couldn't control me anymore like you used to!"

Having heard enough, Dean quickly stepped between the two and lightly pushed Delaney back from John, who had she gotten in the face of as her rant continued. Delaney hadn't even realized how heavy she was breathing until she stopped talking. "That's enough, the both of you!"

Delaney growled and turned on her heels, storming over to the Impala and getting in the back, slamming the door behind her. She pulled her knees to her chest and placed her forehead on them as she tried to control her breathing. She heard her brothers get back into the front seat, both of their eyes on their baby sister but ignored their stares. 

Delaney hadn't realized how much she had been holding back until it all just spewed out in one go. Her limit had finally been met and all the pent up anger and aggression just boiled over. Half the stuff she said, she didn't notice bothered her until it came out. Maybe she was a little jealous that John treated her brothers differently than her, as if they were two gods and she was a mere mortal or something. It sucked.

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Early the next morning, Delaney hid behind a mass of twigs with her dad and brothers as they watched over the barn the vampires were hiding in. Ever since the argument the night prior, Delaney hadn't spoken a word to anyone. The boys both tried to talk to her a few times on the drive over, but she had pretended to be asleep in the back with her back facing them. She knew they were worried about her because not even they knew how much she had been truly holding back. She just didn't want to talk about it with any of them. 

"Son of a bitch. Sunlight really does nothing to them?" Dean questioned as they watched two of the males stood outside. One of them had just arrived in his car and the one stood by the barn door must have been the leader because he had that leader aura wafting off him. 

"No, direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn," John explained, removing his eyes from the now empty area surrounding the barn and over to the three next to him. "The only way to kill them is by beheading and, yeah, they sleep during the day. Doesn't mean the won't wake up."

Sam chewed on his lip as he sat back on his heels. "So walking right in isn't an option."

"Actually that's the plan," John chuckled and motioned for the three to follow him back to the cars so they could get their weapons ready.

Dean dug around in the trunk of the Impala with Sam, while Delaney leant against the side of the car not knowing what weapons they would actually need. "Hey, Dad, I have an extra machete if you need one."

John removed a sheath from his trunk and removed it to reveal a massive blade that reminded Delaney of a Katana. "No, I think I'm good."

Dean's eyes bugged at the knife and he nodded his head in appreciation. "Wow."

"So..." John trailed off as he slid the sheath back onto his sword and placed it back in the trunk for a moment. "You kids really want to know about this Colt?"

Delaney crossed her arms across her chest and one of her legs over the other. "Obviously."

"It's just a story... a legend, really," John explained, the three Winchester kids all stopping whatever they were doing and focusing their attention on their dad. 

"At least, I thought it was. Never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter. Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, the same night those men died in the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun... a special gun. He made it for a hunter - a man like us, only on horseback. The story goes he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. Somehow, Daniel got his hands on it. They say - they say this gun can kill anything."

Delaney stood up straight at the last part of their dad's long spiel. "Wait, when you say kill anything, Dad. Do you mean like supernatural anything?"

"Like the demon that killed Mom and Will," Sam added in a quiet voice. 

John nodded, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, ever since I picked up its trail, I've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun... we may have it."

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After coming up with a game plan, the Winchesters were sneaking into the barn through the back window that lead into the room that the vampires slept in. They ducked into the room through the window and stood on top of the bails of hay just below it, scanning the area. 

Throughout the room, there were hammocks hung from the posts or ceiling, vampires asleep in them, some softly snoring. With their advanced hearing, Delaney was surprised none of them woke up at the sound of their feet lightly hitting the ground below the hay or their heartbeats as they passed by. They didn't even stir when Dean accidentally knocked over a stack of glass beer bottles and knocked into the bottom of the hammock he was ducking under.

Delaney gave him an are you serious look and he stood still for a long moment until he was sure none of the vampires were awake. He quickly darted over to his sister and pushed her further into the room, away from the sleeping vampires.

"Delly, Dean," Sam whispered from the other side of the room, where he squat down next to a tied up brunette that was either sleeping or knocked out. There was blood on the front of the girl's button up shirt so Delaney hoped that she wasn't actually dead instead of just knocked out or asleep.

A cry was heard from behind them in the expansive and Dean turned in the direction it came from noticing a large cage taking up one of the walls across from them. "There's more. Della, stay here with Sam." 

Delaney went to the other side of the girl that was tied up and helped Sam cut off the ropes that were keeping her held against the ropes. A quiet clanging sound had Delaney snapping her attention back over to Dean who had broken one of the locks on the cage. Thankfully, none of the vampires woke up, just stirred and tossed in their sleep. They were still safe for now.

The girl that was tied up stirred quietly and blinked her eyes open to Sam who still worked on the ropes by her ankles. "Hey, shhh, we're here to help you," Sam whispered, motioning to Delaney on the girl's other side.

The girl let out a loud growling kind of scream and the two siblings scrambled away from her and onto their feet as the vampires that were previously sleeping, now shot up from their hammocks and hissed at the sight of them.

"GUYS, RUN!" John screamed from somewhere in the barn.

They didn't have to be told twice before the three were rushing out of the barn and back over to the Impala. 

"Dad?!" Dean yelled into the trees when John hadn't emerged for a minute. "Dad!"

A moment later, John was thankfully running towards them and he stopped in front of them, taking a deep breath. "They won't follow us. They'll wait till tonight. Once a vampire gets your scent, it's for life."

"Well, what the hell do we do now?" Dean asked, slapping a hand to his side.

"Find the nearest funeral home."

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Delaney paced back and forth in the motel room while her dad sat in the small desk by the window, reading over his notes on vampires with his forehead in his hand. "It shouldn't be taking this long. I should go help them."

"Your brothers are fine," John assured Delaney, not looking up from his notes. 

Delaney sighed and went back to her pacing, not in the mood to argue with John over it. She was still emotionally drained from the one the night prior.

"Laney."

Delaney froze in her pacing again to look over at her dad who had sat up in his chair and had his attention on her now instead of the journal. "I don't think I ever told you this, but the day you were born, you know what I did?"

"No," Delaney replied.

"I put one hundred bucks in a savings account for you. I did the same for both of your brothers," John began and fiddled with the pencil in his hand. "It was a college fund. Every month, I'd put in another hundred until... well, you know. Anyway, my point is, baby, that... this is never the life I wanted for you. It's why I kept it from you. The day your brothers told me you had a boyfriend, I was really happy for you, especially since your brothers had said they already gave him the old big brother scare off." 

Delaney laughed softly at the memory of Dean and Sam surprising her with a visit, only to find her and Will kissing on her bed. Their Biology assignment they had been assigned together had been tossed behind them. She didn't think she had ever seen Will so scared in her life, but like the champ he was, quickly sobered up and took all the digs Dean and Sam - mainly Dean because he liked to be the controlling one out of the two - shot his way. That's when she knew Will was a keeper. If you could go up against Dean Winchester without batting an eyelash, you were a real hero in her eyes. 

"I know I got mad when you left, Laney. You have to understand why I did, though," John continued with a heavy sigh. "After your mother passed, all I saw was evil, everywhere. All I cared about was keeping my boys and my little princess safe. I wanted you kept away from it because I couldn't have you go through that. You were just so young and the boys, they were both old enough to understand what was going on. I guess while I tried to make sure you had a normal life and keep you in the dark... I stopped being your father... and became your drill sergeant."

Delaney slowly walked over to her dad while he paused and took a seat in the chair placed in front of the desk. She had never heard her dad so... open and honest with her before. He was usually always so closed off and hard when it came to her and she hated it. Now that he was being open with her, it actually brought some pain to her heart because she could hear the emotion and pain in his voice as he explained everything to her. At least she wasn't the only one affected by this situation.

"So, when you said you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought, was that you were gonna be alone... vulnerable and innocent," John whispered, shaking his head and dropping his eyes to the pencil in his hands. "Your brothers and I wouldn't be there to save you from the things that crept in the night. You had no idea what was out there or how to get rid of it. If you were to call us, we wouldn't be able to get to you in time because who knew where in the country we would be? 

"I know Dean constantly called you because he was just as scared as I was, even if he wouldn't admit it.  Sam tried to tell the both of us all the time that you would be fine because you could handle yourself just fine. It's just... you were my baby, Laney. My little girl who had such a promising life ahead of her. I just never thought about what you wanted because I was so blinded by my fear of something coming for you. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me... we're just different."

Delaney smiled softly and licked her lips as her dad looked at her in confusion. "No we aren't different, Dad. Not anymore. With what happened to mom and Will..." She cut herself off and laughed, shaking her head at the thought of it. It was crazy to think how much her and John were actually a like now that she had really thought about it. "We probably a lot more in common than just about anyone.

John smiled back at his daughter and nodded. "I guess you're right, princess."

"Whatever happened to that college fund, anyways?"

"Spent it on ammo."

Delaney scoffed softly and shot her dad an amused grin. "Of course you did."

John laughed and sheepishly shrugged. "Well, you know how it is now..."

"Whoo!" Dean huffed as he and Sam walked into the motel room, suddenly breaking off the moment going on between John and Delaney. "Man, there is some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys."

"Did you get it?" John asked the boys and Sam nodded, passing over the brown paper bag that held the jar of blood inside of it. He smiled proudly at his boys before placing the jar on the desk in front of Delaney. "You know what to do."

◆ ◇◆ ◇

Delaney hunched over the open hood of the Impala with Dean. "I have no idea what any of this does."

Dean chuckled and bumped his hip with hers. "Well, good thing this is only a ploy to get those dead bastards over here or we'd be in trouble."

"Car trouble?" a female voice asked from behind them and the two turned to see a pretty brunette and a handsome dark skinned man stood behind them. "Let us give you a lift... take you back to our place."

"I think we'll pass," Delaney declined, fakely smile at the two vampires that stood right in front of them now. "We usually don't like to take part in necrophilia."

The brunette's previously flirty face instantly turned stone cold and slapped Delaney across the face, causing the girl to fall to the ground with a groan. She was lifted up by her face by the dark skinned man as he smirked at her, while the brunette lifted Dean up by his throat. 

"You know, darlin, we could have a little fun together," the man said and brought her face closer to his. "I can make it worth your while."

"Sorry, I don't necessarily have the capacity to make a commitment to someone for eternity," Delaney breathed and was dropped to the ground when an arrow was shot into the man's chest.

Dean rushed over to his sister once he was dropped when his captor was also shot in the chest and helped her to her feet. "You okay, kiddo?"

Delaney gave him a thumbs up as they turned to where John and Sam were rushing out with their bow and arrows in their hand. "Second longer and I might have become vampire chow though."

"Barely even stings," the female snapped at John as he approached.

"Give it time, sweetheart. The arrows are soaked in dead man's blood. It's like poison to you isn't it?" John boasted smugly, holding his bow over his shoulder.

As if on cue, the female fainted and the male dropped to his knees weakly. Dean caught the female in his arms and placed her in the backseat when John instructed him to. 

"Go on. I'll take care of him," John told the kids, motioning to the male knelt in front of him.

◆ ◇◆ ◇

"Toss this on the fire," John said and passed his daughter the ingredients in his hand. "Saffron, skunks, cabbage, and trillium - it'll block our scent and hers until we're ready."

Once the three had met up again, where they had parked the first time they came to the barn, John began a fire and started to dig through his trunk for items to throw into it.

Delaney gagged as she dumped the ingredients into the fire, the smell was worse than a dump's smell. "This shit smells so bad."

"That's the point, Laney," John responded and stood around the fire with Delaney, Dean and Sam. "Dust your clothes with ashes and you'll stand a chance with not being detected."

Delaney pouted and hugged her jacket closer to her. "Damn and Dean just got me this jacket." She sighed when John gave her a look. "Sorry, but are we sure that they will ever look for her?"

All the Winchesters turned their gaze to the female vampire that was tied up to a tree by the fire. "Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun, but the blood sickness is gonna wear off soon, so you don't have a lot of time."

"Half hour should do it," Sam assured.

"Good and then I want you out of here as fast as you can."

"But - you can't take on all of them by yourself," Dean argued.

John waved Dean off and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll have the gun and her. I'll be fine."

"But after, we're gonna meet up, right?" Delaney asked, hopefully. "Use the gun together?"

John avoided his daughter's gaze and rolled his lips into his mouth.

Delaney scoffed and crossed her arms. "I can't believe it. You're leaving again? You still want to go after the demon alone. You can't treat us like this, Dad."

"Like what?"

"Like children," Delaney grit through her teeth.

"You are my children and I want to keep you safe."

"Dad, all due respect, but that's a bunch of crap," Dean remarked and his two siblings looked at him in shock. Delaney had to clean out her ears because there was no way she just heard Dean Winchester sass his father. She was hearing things. Maybe that male vampire grabbed her face a little too hard and broke something, affecting her hearing. "You know what the three have been hunting. Hell, you sent us on a few hunting trips yourself. You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."

John sighed and he looked like he was getting agitated that his kids were arguing with him. "Its not the same thing, Dean."

"Then what is it? Why do you want the three of us out of the big fight?"

"This demon... it's a bad son of a bitch," John informed, his eyes bouncing between each of his kids. "I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you guys alive."

"You mean you can't be reckless," Sam corrected.

John huffed and rubbed his hands over his face. "Look... I don't expect t make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother's death... it almost killed me. I can't watch my kids too, too. I won't."

"What happens if you die?" Delaney retorted rhetorically. "What happens f you die and we could have done something about it?"

"I've been thinking," Dean cut in as he looked at their dad desperately. "I think maybe Della's right about this one. We should do this together. We're stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it."

It was quiet for a long moment and if the situation wasn't so tense, Delaney would have begged Dean jokingly to say that she was right again so she could have it as blackmail for later when he would tell her she's wrong. However, by the look on John's face, she already knew what he was going to say and it already annoyed her before he even said it.

"We are running out of time. You do your job, and get out of the area. That's an order."

◆ ◇◆ ◇

Once the siblings cleaned out the nest of the vampires that stuck behind, Dean tossed Delaney and Sam a bow and arrow each before they were rushing off to find John who shouldn't be too far from where the barn was. They burst through trees and bushes until they finally saw their dad's truck with three cars in front of it. 

Without a second thought, they shot arrows at two of the vampires as they came running out of the trees. Delaney want to rush at the the leader to shoot him next, but he hit her, sending her flying onto her back with a groan. 

The leader grabbed her by the throat and spun her around, wrapping his arm around her neck as Dean and Sam stood in front of him with their knives raised. "Don't! I'll break her neck. Put the blade down."

Delaney gasped for air as she clawed at his arm to loosen up on her throat. He wasn't squeezing it enough to cut off her air flow, but it was enough pressure that it was making it hard for her to breathe properly. He only tightened his arm when neither one of her brothers moved. "Dean...Sam..." she gasped as her nails desperately continued their clawing at the leader's leather jacket.

"Okay, okay..." Dean whispered and he and Sam dropped their weapons to the ground.

"You people," the leader growled, his arm still around a gasping Delaney. "Why can't you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."

"I don't think so."

The leader spun him and Delaney around to see John stood behind them, a gun pointed at the leader. A shot was fired and landed itself directly into the center of the leader's forehead, a flash of light shined out of his forehead before he dropped to the ground.

Delaney took in a big breath of air as she stumbled back towards her brothers, choking quietly. 

Sam's arm wound  her waist as he held her up. "Delly, you okay?" he asked as Dean used his jacket sleeve to wipe the blood away from her cheek. She hadn't even realized she had been bleeding. 

Delaney weakly nodded, her eyes trailing over to John who had lowered his gun. The two remaining female vampires - one of them being the leader's girlfriend - scurried into one of the cars and sped off, away from the hunters.

Thank God that was over.

◆ ◇◆ ◇

Delaney slapped Dean's hand away from her face with a scowl. "I said I'm fine, Dean. Stop."

"I'm just making sure it doesn't need to be stitched up or get infected, Della," Dean said, but dropped his hand away from his sister's face regardless. It wasn't that bad anyway. It just a small scratch so he would just let it go.

"So, guys..." John leaned against the doorframe of their motel room, his hands in his pockets. "You ignored a direct order back there."

"We saved your ass," Delaney countered, not even the least bit sorry they had gone behind John's back.

John nodded and he actually looked... proud? "You're right."

"I am?" Delaney asked in shock, her eyes widening. Okay, she seriously needed to get both John and Dean to say she was right again so she could film it. If Sam wasn't there, he probably wouldn't have believed either one of them ever said it - especially not their dad.

"It scares the hell out of me. You three are all I've got, but I guess we are stronger as a family. So... we go after this damn thing... together."

The three siblings all exchanged grins before turning to John. "Yes, sir."

authors note

Hi hey hello

CHAPTER COUNTDOWN: 2 TO GO

DELANEY AND JOHN'S CONVERSATION IS THE THING I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG TO WRITE!! LIKE YALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I'VE HAD THE CONVERSATION FLOATING IN MY HEAD JUST WAITING TO BE WRITTEN DOWN AND BROUGHT TO LIFE WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO THIS POINT. HE FINALLY LAID IT ALL OUT ON THE TABLE AND... UGH... I JUST LOVE IT OKAY!!!!

I actually have been waiting for the final 3 episodes (20-22) for the longest time, not even going to lie to you guys. I have all the ideas floating in my head and I was just able to bring out half of them in this chapter. I am so excited to do 21 & 22 next and then move onto book 2/season 2. It's gonna be AMAZING!!!

ANYWAYS, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT. I LOVE HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS AND WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN NEXT!