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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

jake the snake

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Delaney laid in the back seat as Dean continued to drive down the road. She wasn't sure what their next move was since Jake made it pretty clear how dangerous it would be for them if they even attempted to go back. Dean had been silent ever since they left the sheriff's office, which was never good by any means. He seemed to be deep in thought throughout the whole drive, driving on auto-pilot as he flicked through a bunch of thoughts at once.

Sam seemed to notice his brother's silence because he would glance over to Dean every now and then, a worried expression evident on his face. Dean only ever got this quiet if he was either mad or if he was trying to come up with a plan that would obviously cause a lot of havoc. The two younger siblings didn't even want to begin to figure out what that plan was.

"Green," Sam announced after the longest silence between the three ever.

"What?" Dean asked, snapping out of his train of thought.

"The light's green," Sam pointed out, motioning to the stop light above them.

Dean paused for a moment before moving forward and turning right, which confused Delaney and Sam greatly.

"The interstate's the other way, Dean," Delaney stated, pointing in the other direction.

Ignoring Delaney, Dean continued to turn right which would lead them back in the direction they were supposed to stay away from. This made Delaney's heart race because there was no way she wanted to head to jail. She would be forced to wear those horrid orange jumpsuits they show in the movies and TV shows. Not to mention she would be separated from her brothers and that was something she didn't want. They were finally together as a family and she was enjoying her time with them, even though they were spending that time hunting things she used to think were apart of horror films and books.

"But, Dean, this job - I think it's over," Sam was saying, snapping Delaney out of her thoughts. Dean merely shook his head, clearly not agreeing with his younger brother. "If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest."

"So what if we take off and this thing isn't done?" Dean inquired, glancing over at Sam, daring him to fight him on this. "What if we missed something? What if more people get hurt?"

"Yeah, but, why would you think that?" Delaney butted into the conversation, agreeing with Sam. Why would they go back to something that was already done and over? The only thing they'll be going back to is a jail sentence.

Dean sighed, leaning his head against his hand. "Lucas was clearly scared."

"That's what this is about?" Sam asked incredulously. For someone who wasn't crazy about kids, Dean sure was Hell-bent on making sure Lucas was happy and safe. It would make more sense if Delaney was making the comment but Dean? That was something different.

"I just don't want to leave this town until I know this kid is okay."

Delaney leaned forward and felt Dean's forehead, who instantly swatted her hand away. "Who are you, and what have you done with Dean Winchester?"

Dean looked behind him to glare at Delaney. "Shut up, brat," he retorted, shoving her face back so she flew back into her seat. Before turning back around and continuing to speed towards Lucas and Andrea's house.

Once they finally arrived at the house, Dean lead the way up to the front door as Sam and Delaney trailed behind, still not sure about this whole thing. 

"Are you sure about this? It's really late, man," Sam stated, clearly nervous about Jake randomly popping up and arresting the three on the spot.

Dean simply rang the bell and it automatically flew open, Lucas hyperventilating. He grabbed Lucas by the shoulders, trying to calm him down. "Lucas? Lucas! What's wrong?"

Continuing to pant, Lucas rushed back into the house and the three Winchesters immediately rushed after him. They ran up the stairs where water from the bathroom pooled underneath the door and trailed down the stairs, making Delaney almost slip. She quickly caught herself on the banister and stopped outside the bathroom where her brothers and Lucas were.

Dean quickly turned and handed Lucas to Delaney before he kicked it down and rushed into the bathroom with Sam. Sam knelt down by the overflowing tub and stuck his hands in and tried to lift Andrea out of it. It seemed quite difficult for Sam because he would pull her out but she would be pulled right back in by something in the water as if she were in a lake rather than tub.

Eventually, Sam was able to pull Andrea out of the water and Dean covered his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at a naked Andrea, who continued to cough up bits of water. Delaney held Lucas closer to her and hid his eyes as well because no child would want to see their naked mother either.

After catching her breath and was handed a nearby robe from Dean, Andrea slowly got off Sam - who wound up underneath her after dragging her out of the tub - and wrapped it around herself. She walked over to Lucas and wrapped him in a hug, which he gladly returned - happy that his mom was still alive. Andrea pulled away when Sam asked if he could talk to her about what happened. Nodding, she told Lucas to stay with Dean and told Sam to meet her in the dining room where Delaney quickly joined him. After quickly changing into comfortable clothes, Andrea met the two youngest Winchesters at the table.

"What can you tell us?" Was Delaney's question after a few minutes of silence. Her and Sam wanted to give Andrea a few minutes to calm herself down and get in the right head again before asking her any questions.

"No," Andrea replied softly. "It doesn't make any sense. I'm going crazy." She hid her face in her hands as she silently cried into them.

"No, you're not," Sam reassured Andrea. "Tell us what happened - everything."

Andrea let out a shaky breath, removing her face from her hands. "I heard - I thought I heard... There was this voice."

"What did it say?" Delaney prodded, placing a comforting hand over Andrea's.

"It said - it said come play with me," Andrea responded. Her face contorted as another wave of sobs took over her. "What's happening?"

Dean rushed into the room with a photo book in his hand. He placed the book in front of Andrea and pointed to the photo of a boy scout group. "Do you recognize any of the boys from this photo?"

"What?" Andrea questioned, clearly confused. "Um, no, I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been at least twelve in these photos." She pointed to the boy right in the middle of the photo.

Dean hung his head, hating the conclusion he had finally come to. He looked back up towards Sam and Delaney who stared at him oddly. "Chirs Bar's drowning - the connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to Sheriff."

It seemed Sam had gotten to the same page as Dean because he perked up in his seat. "Bill and the sheriff - they were both involved with Peter."

"What about Chris?" Andrea spoke up, not seeing what the two Winchester boys were. "My dad - what are you talking about?"

Delaney looked to the side and noticed Lucas just standing by the door in the kitchen. "Lucas? Lucas, what is it?"

Lucas ignored Delaney and opened the kitchen door before walking outside to the back of the house. The four in the dining room quickly moved after Lucas, rushing to see what he was doing. Lucas had lead them to the trees behind the house, stopping just before a patch of dirt that was clearly dug up and refilled.

"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Dean softly ordered.

Andrea wordlessly nodded and grabbed Lucas's hand before leading him back towards the house.

Dean rushed back to the car to grab the two shovels in the trunk before running back to where Delaney and Sam were waiting for him. He passed the second shovel to Sam and shrugged off his jacket, which he threw onto Delaney's head. She glared at him through the  jacket and snatched it off her head. The two boys started to dig until Sam hit something hard in the ground. They stopped digging and began to dust off the rest of the dirt before grabbing whatever was in the ground and hauling it out.

It was the red bike that Lucas had been constantly drawing in his pictures - Peter Sweeny's bike.

"Who are you?" Jake asked before the sound of a gun cocking was heard.

Delaney slowly turned around and the gun was pointed right in between her eyes. Her brothers behind her slowly let go of the bike and Dean grabbed Delaney by the back of her jacket, pulling her protectively behind him.

"Jake, put the gun down," Sam demanded, holding his hands up in surrender along with Dean.

"How did you know that was there?" Jake shakily asked, not bothering to put the gun down.

"What happened - you and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried his bike?" Dean taunted, already knowing that was what happened. "You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried."

Jake wavered slightly, giving him away completely. He quickly caught himself and held the gun more steadily. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You and Bill killed Peter thirty-five years ago. That's what I'm talking about. Now you've got an extremely pissed off spirit."

"Dad!" Andrea called, rushing over to the man. 

"It's gonna take Lucas, Andrea, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them and it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt," Sam explained.

Delaney stepped out from behind Dean, suddenly feeling her confident boost. "Then, it's going to take you and it's not going to stop until it does. I can't wait to watch it happen."

"How do you know all of that?" Jake asked, staring at the three siblings as if they were crazy.

"Because that's exactly what happened to Bill Carlton."

"Listen to yourselves, all three of you. You're insane!" Jake exclaimed, his hold on the gun still going strong.

Dean scoffed, clearly at his patience's end with this guy. "I seriously don't give a rat's ass what you think of us, but if we're going to bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them and burn them into dust."

"Please tell us you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake," Sam added on.

Jake finally lowered his gun as he stared at the three siblings before him. Delaney could tell that they had got him, just by looking at the facade he was trying to upkeep the whole time. He had to know this would catch up to him sooner or later.

"Dad, is all of that true?" Andrea asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

"No, don't listen to them. They are liars and they're dangerous," Jake lied through his teeth.

Andrea looked over at the trio, who just stared back at her, before turning her attention back to her father. "Dad, I almost died. Chris died out on that lake. Dad, look at me!" She begged, which got her father's attention instantly. "Tell me you - you didn't kill anyone." 

Jake could barely look his daughter in the face which gave her all the answers she was looking for. He watched with sad eyes as she stepped back from him, hurt written across her features. "Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time... it got rough. We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to, but we held him under too long, and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank."

Horrified, Delaney's went covered her mouth in complete shock with a gasp. How could anyone think holding someone's head under the water wouldn't do any damage to them? Even being under for long enough could potentially drown them on land later if enough got into their lungs and stayed there. Delaney wanted to be the one to throw Jake into the lake and let the lake take him away. It's what he deserved after all. Looking over to Andrea, she could tell she couldn't believe she was looking at the man who raised her either.

"Oh, Andrea," Jake breathed, clearly about to start trying to make what he did not so bad. Not like that could ever happen. "We were just kids, and we were scared. It was a mistake, but, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris because of some ghost - it's not rational."

"Yeah and neither is thinking pretending to drown someone is a good idea, asshole," Delaney snapped which earned her a glare from Dean, telling her to shut up. Pouting, she remained quiet while Dean took over the situation, as usual.

"All right, listen to me, all of you," Dean began, looking at everyone surrounding him. "We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now."

A sudden gasp from Andrea made everyone jump and turn to see where attention was directed. Lucas was kneeling down right by the lake, his hand outstretched over it.

"Lucas!" Jake yelled before they all rushed over to try and grab Lucas before anything happened to him.

Before they could get out of the trees, Lucas was pulled into the lake, causing Andrea to scream in agony. They all continued to rush their way over to the dock Lucas was just on, Dean and Sam jumping in once they reached the edge.

"Andrea and Delaney, stay right there!" Sam ordered, swimming after Dean. "We'll get Lucas you stay there!"

Delaney watched with baited breath as her brothers continued to dive under the water in search of Lucas. Andrea and Delaney dropped to their knees as they began to look at the water around them in case Lucas' head were to pop up near them. They would then be able to haul him out from where they were.

"Peter, if you can hear me, I'm sorry!" Jake said, making his way into the lake, which got the two girls' attention. "I'm so- I'm so sorry. Lucas, is just a little boy!"

Andrea was shaking her head and trying to tell her father to get out of the water, which fell on deaf ears as he continued to make his way through the lake, trying to convince Peter to give him his grandson back.

"Please, it's not his fault. It's mine! Take me instead," Jake pleaded as Dean and Sam resurfaced yet again. 

"Jake, no!" Dean shouted.

"Let it be over!" Jake yelled and just like that, he was dragged under the water.

Delaney had to grab Andrea who went to dive into the lake to save her father. Sam and Dean dove under to search for Jake and Lucas again. Sam popped back up after a minute, shaking his head sadly as he hadn't found Lucas or Jake. Delaney felt her heart drop as Dean hadn't resurfaced along with Sam like the other times. She began to scream Dean's name, tears streaming down her cheeks as the worse case scenario was running through her head.

Jake gave himself up so Peter wouldn't take Dean along with him... would he?

Dean broke the surface with Lucas in his arms, relief flooding through Delaney, Sam and Andrea. As Dean and Sam swam back to the dock, Andrea lifted Lucas out of the water and held him close to her chest, sobbing at the loss of her father. 

Dean hauled himself out of the water and Delaney instantly wrapped her arms around his torso, not caring at all that he was soaking her jacket and shirt. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him as he placed a kiss to the top of her head, reassuring her he was okay. Delaney couldn't find the will power to let her brother go. If he would have drowned along with Jake, she didn't think she would ever be able to get over it.

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A few hours later, the three siblings exited their motel after Sam and Dean had taken long, hot showers to get rid of the lake smell from their bodies. Dean was obviously upset that he couldn't save Jake like he had Lucas. He opened the trunk of the Impala and they tossed their bags into it before he slammed it close in frustration.

"We're not going to save everyone, Dean," Sam reminded him.

"I know," Dean sighed. Sam and Delaney could assure Dean all they wanted but it still wouldn't help Dean feel any better. He was still upset about the loss.

At the sound of their names, the three turned to see Andrea and Lucas rushing over to them, a plate in Lucas' hands. Dean greeted the two with a smile while Sam and Delaney gave small waves.

"We're glad we caught you three. We just, um, we made you lunch for the road," Andrea stated, gesturing to the plate in Lucas' hands. "Lucas insisted on making them himself."

Lucas looked up at Andrea with hope in his eyes. "Can I give it to them now, Mom?"

Delaney grinned at her brothers when she heard Lucas speak. It was so good to see him finally smiling and talking. It meant he was doing okay again and that's what made Delaney happy the most.

"Of course, sweetie," Andrea whispered, kissing him on the top of the head before allowing him to hold the sandwiches up to the siblings.

"Lucas, let's load this into the car so the adults can say bye to each other," Delaney suggested, taking the plate gently from Lucas and leading him over to the car. She placed it in the back seat before sitting down on the floor of the car so she could see Lucas eye to eye. "Now, Lucas, I'm going to teach you something and you have to promise to remember it okay?"

"Okay," Lucas nodded, waiting for whatever it was Delaney had to tell him.

Delaney beckoned him closer and Lucas took two steps closer to her. "Just remember that Delaney Winchester is the best Winchester. Got it?"

Lucas giggled into his hand but nodded nonetheless. "I think I can remember that."

"Remember what?" Dean asked as the three adults approached the car.

"Delaney Winchester is the best Winchester!" Lucas exclaimed, smiling widely when Sam and Dean glared jokingly at their baby sister.

Delaney held her hand up for a high-five which Lucas gladly gave to her. "That's right!" She stood up as Dean was announcing they should probably head out.

Andrea grabbed Dean's jacket sleeve, catching him off guard. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thanks again for saving my son. Have a safe trip."

Dean tried to hide the blush none too expertly, making both of his siblings smirk at him. "Get your asses in the car. We need to hit the road before daylight ends."

Sam and Delaney exchanged a knowing look before hopping in the car along with Dean. The three waved to Andrea and Lucas before heading off to their next adventure in finding their dad.

ORIGINALLY POSTED: JANUARY 20TH, 2018

EDITED: AUGUST 15TH, 2019