Dead Man's Blood.

*Slight Content Warning*

John explained to the kids what the Colt really was and why he was determined to find it. Athena grabs her bag and round the Impala. She gets to the trunk with her brothers. She holds her hand out and Dean looks at her.

"Oh." He slaps his palm against hers.

"Yuck!" Athena wipes her hand against her jeans. "I didn't want a high-five. I wanted a machete."

"Oh...yeah--no."

Athena's expression drops. "Why no?"

"Because you're not ready." Dean states.

"Then let this be practice," Athena says.

"This isn't the case for that," John speaks. "We need this done smoothly and you've got butter feet."

"It's butter fingers." Athena corrects.

"Well, you have butter that too." John brushes Athena off. "Get back in the car."

"Are you serious?"

"Deadly." John opens the trunk of his truck.

Athena rolls her eyes and looks at her brothers.

"Athy, go back in the car," Dean says, his voice soft.

"Unbelievable--"

"We will be back as soon as we can, okay?" Sam crouches in front of her. "Right now, we need you safe. You are the only one who can save us if we get caught."

Athena hums softly, "That is true." she kicks a pebble across the dirt.

Dean's chest tightens with envy, but he clenches his jaw and looks back into the trunk of the Impala. It was so easy for Athena and Sam to talk to each other. Dean wishes it was like that for him and Athena. The youngest Winchester wraps her arms around Sam's neck. "Be safe."

Athena lets out a huff and waps her arms around Dean's middle. Dean slightly turns his head, his brows pulled together. "You're...hugging me."

"Yeah." Athena shrugs a shoulder. "Just because I'm disappointed in you, doesn't mean I don't want you to be safe."

Dean presses his lips together, he touches the back of her head. "Sorry, kiddo."

"Yeah, me too." Athena pulls away from the hug and gets back into the car.

Dean keeps his eyes on the trunk, guilt rising in him. He looks to the side and sees Sam staring at him. "What?"

"Dick." Sam scoffs, he closes the trunk and walks away from the car.

Dean exhales a sharp breath through his mouth. All he needed to do was get through his case and everything would go back to normal. He just needed to keep the peace between everyone, and hopefully John wouldn't blow a fuse. All Dean wanted was peace between everyone so they could work cases together. He just wanted them to be a family.

Athena sits in the car with her Walkman in one hand and her screwdriver in the other. She stops clicking her tongue and her eyes shift toward the steering wheel of the Impala. "Huh..."

Athena sets her Walkman aside and crawls to the front seat. She pulls her goggles over her eyes and grips the steerin wheel. "Oh, yeah--"

A knock is heard at the window and Athena snaps her eyes over to the window. "Wha--"

"Get out of the seat, Athy!" Dean orders.

Athena growls and she crawls to the back seat. Sam and Dean get into the car and Athena raises her brows. "So, I'm guessing things didn't go as planned?"

Dean shifts in his seat, "They woke up and...we didn't get the Colt."

Athena raises her brows, "Oh, really? Well, maybe if you had help from...mmm I don't know a newly 11 year old. You would've gotten the job done."

"Okay, okay. Next time you can help." Sam says.

"Absolutely not!" Dean exclaims. "We barely got out this time."

"This isn't fair!"

"Yeah, well. This is a lesson for you, Athy." Dean holds up a finger. "Life isn't fair."

Sam scrunches his nose, "Calm down, Yoda."

☆

"You got to understand something..."

Sam looks at his dad with a pointed expression.

"...after your mother passed, all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you kids alive."

Sam looks away from his dad and John pulls his brows together.

"What is it?" John asks.

Sam inhales a breath, "It's just...the things you've done." he scoffs. "To Athena. And what she told me you did to her even after I left..."

Athena had this brilliant aura that could make anyone's dimmed presence brighten. And it broke his heart knowing that John tried to put that light out.

John clenches his jaw.

"Is Athena one of the evils you had to protect us from?" Sam asks.

"Of course not--"

"Then why did you make her life a living hell?!" Sam raises his voice. "Why do you hate her?"

"I wanted you ready!" John's voice booms through the room. "All of you. So, if that meant that I had to twist some arms to get you guys in line, then that's what I had to do."

Sam lets out a scoff and looks away from John.

"And I never said I hated her--"

"Well, you sure as hell made it seem like that." Sam murmurs.

John quietly sighs, "I guess...somewhere along the line, I, uh...I stopped being your father. I became your drill sergeant--I became worse than that."

"And 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. Sammy, it just never occurred to me what you wanted." John explains.

Sam keeps his arms folded with his back against the counter.

"I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me...we're just different."

Sam appreciated that his father was trying to make up some sort of apology. But Sam didn't want to talk about himself, he wanted to talk about Athena. But John completely steered away from the topic.

"We're not different, dad." Sam says. "Not anymore."

"With what happened to mom and Jess...we handled that the same way. Wanting to find that demon. That's all we have in common, you know that right?" Sam looks at the ground. "And, I appreciate this conversation, but...I don't think you should be apologizing to me."

It's like there was a switch that flipped inside of John. His whole approachable attitude was gone. And he was back to the drill sergeant he has always been known for. "We have to focus on this case."

Sam raises his brows and a breath of disbelief leaves his lips. "Why do I even bother?" he grumbles.

The door opens, revealing Dean and Athena entering the room. "Man, there's some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead gu..." he trails off his sentence, noticing the intense feeling of aggravation in the room. Athena looks at Sam, his body was tense. He had so much he wanted to hash out with dad, but John could never give clear answers. Especially when it came to Athena.

"Did we miss something?" Dean questions, chuckling nervously.

"No." John looks at Dean. "Did you two get it?"

Athena and Dean look at each other. The younger girl shrugs a shoulder, telling Dean to just brush it off. Athena unzips her bag and pulls the brown bagged bottle out of her Hello Kitty bag. She takes the bag out of the bottle. John grabs the bottle, "Good. You know what to do."

The prep for John's plan didn't take long. John didn't want to bring Athena along to find the Vamps, but they all had to hide their scent. So reluctantly, he allowed her to come along.

"Toss this on the fire." John hands Dean the bag. "Saffron, skunks, cabbage, and trillium--it'll block our scent and hers until we're ready."

Athena inhales one breath and her nose starts to burn, causing her eyes to water. "Jeez!"

Dean pulls his face back from the strong stench. "Stuff stinks."

"Well, that's the idea." John says. "Dust your clothes with the ashes and you'll stand a chance of not being detected."

"You sure they'll come after her?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun." John pronounces. "But the blood sickness is gonna wear off soon, so you don't have a lot of time."

"Half-hour ought to do it." Sam says.

"And then I want you out of the area as fast as you can." John orders.

All the siblings turn to their father.

"But--"

"You can't take care of them all yourself." Dean voices.

"I'll have her and the Colt." John says.

"But after we're gonna meet up, right?" Sam asks.

John shifts in his stance.

"Use the gun together, right?" Sam questions, his voice has more force behind it.

Athena squints her eyes when John shifts his gaze away from his kids.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Athena asks.

John doesn't say anything and that gives the kids their answer. Sam scoffs, "You still want to go after the demon alone?" he questions. "You know, I don't get you. You can't treat us like this--"

"Like what?"

"Like children." Athena adds.

"You are a child, genius." John scoffs.

"Well, it doesn't seem like you got that memo." Athena scoffs back.

"I am trying to keep you safe!" John raises his voice.

"How can you do that, when I don't feel safe around you?!" Athena shouts.

Dean grabs her arm and slightly pulls her back.

"Dad that's such crap." Sam snaps.

"Excuse me?"John takes a step forward.

"Dad." Dean steps in front of his siblings. "You know what we have been hunting. You sent us on a few hunting trips yourself. You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."

"It's not the same thing, Dean." John states.

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

"This demon...it's a bad son of a bitch." John states. "I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you alive."

"You mean you can't be as reckless." Athena folds her arms.

"Look...I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece." John states. "Your mother's death...it almost killed me. I can't watch my children die, too. I won't."

John looks at Athena and she tenses. "And that goes for you too."

Athena looks away from him with a huff.

"What happens if you die?" Dean asks. "Dad, what happens if you die and we could have done something about it?"

"You know, I've been thinking and I think maybe Sammy and Athy are right about this one." Dean states. "I think we should do this together."

"Maybe?" Sam and Athena chorus.

"Not now, I'm on a roll here." Dean holds a hand up.

"Look..." Athena sighs, scratching at her brow. "...we're stronger together as a family. You know that."

It was painful for Athena to say that. Athena doesn't have a problem with not having John by their side, but it doesn't mean she wanted him to die. He was still her father, whether she like it or not.

"We're running out of time." John says to Athena. "You do your job, and you get out of the area. Those are your orders."

John walks away from his kids before they could say anything else. Athena gnaws on her lower lip, a crease between her brows. They watch John get in his truck and drive away. Sam and Dean simultaneously, look at Athena.

"You got a plan?" Dean asks.

Athena looks at her brothers and raises her brows. "Maybe..." she inhales. "Clean out the nest. Obviously, we then meet up with dad and save him."

"Why do you assume we're gonna have to save dad?" Dean asks.

Athena deadpans, "Dean. He's gonna be doing this trade alone with...who knows how many other Vampires." she bunches her shoulders. "Doesn't take that much thought to predict that."

Dean's mouth hangs open. Sam chuckles softly before looking at the ground. Athena slaps her hands together, "Okay--break!"

She walks over to the car.

"Jesus, she turns 11 and she's suddenly the boss."

☆

Sam and Dean cleaned out the Nest. Easy. Athena would most definitely tell John about that later. After the brothers cleaned out the nest, they sped over to the road John was making the trade. Dean stops the car, "Okay, let's go."

The siblings all get out of the car and get to the trunk. Sam grabs the crossbow and pulls his brows together, "Hey, Athy."

Athena hums softly, "Yeah?"

Sam holds the crossbow out towards the girl. Athena's mouth hangs open, "Shut up!"

Her eyes widen, "I didn't actually mean 'shut up!' I'm just...shocked." She starts to jump from one foot to the other.

"Sam--"

"What? It's only for this case." Sam shrugs. "She's gonna have to learn sometime."

Athena grabs the crossbow. "Imma kill so many Vampires."

"All right, Buffy, calm down." Dean chuckles. "Do you remember how to use it?"

A sputter escapes Athena's lips. "Duh! Who do you take me for a clumsy newbie?" she then snorts.

Sam and Dean look at each other and Athena holds a finger up. "Don't answer that." she says.

"Okay, the arrows are already dipped in Dead Man's Blood." Dean says. "So, just point and shoot."

"And..." Dean presses his lips together. "Just in case. Things go wrong and you have to get closer..." he holds the machete out toward her.

Athena's mouth hangs open, "Oh My Gosh!" she jumps up and down.

"Take your finger off the trigger please!" Sam quickly says, flinching.

Athena winces and lowers the crossbow. "Sorry." she snorts. Athena clips the belt around her waist and slides the machete into the sheath.

The siblings all got to the road John was making the trade at and...let's just say he really needed their help. Athena raises the crossbow and aims it at one of the Vampires. She pulls the trigger and the arrow releases, flying into the Vampire's back.

"Athy!"

Athena looks over at Dean and tosses the crossbow over to him. Dean catches it and shoots one of the Vampires. Sam is slammed into the ground and the leader of the Alpha Vampire grabs Sam, before Dean could help him.

"Don't! I'll break his neck." The vampire threatens.

Dean swallows.

"Put the blade and crossbow down."

Athena immediately drops her cross bow with her hands in the air. Dean's heart rate increases, seeing the Vampire tighten his grip around Sam's throat. He holds a hand up in a surrendering manner, "All right! All right!" he drops the machete."

The Vampire lets out a scoff, "You people. Why can't you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."

"I don't think so."

The Vampire turns around, just in time to see John pull the trigger to the Colt. Athena's hands fly over her ears. The bullet hits the Vampire in the head and Sam stumbles from his grip. Athena's eyes widen as the Vampire drops to the ground.

"LUTHER!!!"

Athena looks over at the Kate, who lunges at John.

"Kate, don't!" The Vampire grabs Kate by the arm and drags her to the car.

Both the Vampires get into the car and speed away from the hunters. Athena takes her hands off her ears and exhales sharply. John looks at his kids.

"I told you not to come."

Athena raises her brows, "You're welcome."

The kids all followed John into the motel room. He opens the door to the room and the kids walk in.

"You guys deliberately disobeyed my orders!" John shouts.

Sam and Dean slightly flinch, "Yes, sir."

"Yeah, but we saved your ass."

The brothers turn to their younger sister.

"Athena!" Dean snaps.

Athena snaps her eyes over to Dean, her brows pulled together. "I knew it." she chuckles, her voice filled with pain. "I knew you were gonna choose him over me the second he conveniently showed up!"

"Conveniently?" John scoffs.

Athena snaps her eyes over to her father, defiance in her eyes. "Yeah, conveniently!" she shouts. "You never answered your phone when we called you! Dean was dying and you didn't show up! WE WERE DOING JUST FINE WITHOUT YO--"

John slaps Athena across the face with enough force to cause the young girl to stumble into the wall. Dean tenses.

"No!" Sam stands in front of Athena. "We are not doing this! Ever again, got it?!" he snaps. Sam shakes his head, his anger rising with every second. "Jesus, you just can't help yourself for one goddamn second."

"You think I'm gonna have some half-blooded brat talking to me like that?!" John's voice booms through the motel, just like it used to. Athena knew John was just putting on some facade, so he could have his kids help him. He tried to convince them that he's changed, but Athena saw right through it.

Athena keeps her hand over her stinging cheek, her eyes on Dean. He wasn't even looking at her. Angry tears form in Athena's eyes. "Whatever." she spits. "I'm going to my room." she quickly leaves the room and slams the door shut behind her.

Athena's breathing quickens as she walks to her room. A tear slips out of her eye and she quickly wipes it. All this time of being together slipped right out of their fingers. Everything that Athena feared had came true.

Dean chose their father over her. Again.

Sam looks over at Dean, who's eyes were still on the ground.

"She came up with the idea of coming to save you." Sam says. "After everything you have done to her, she still wanted to save your life."

"You should be thanking her--"

"We have the Colt, what does it matter--"

"SHE'S YOUR DAUGHTER!!!" Sam's voice booms through the room. He quickly leaves the room, his breathing quick. His eyes land Athena's motel door and he inhales a deep breath. He had to calm down before going in there. Sam looks down at his shaky hands, he then lightly knocks on Athena's door.

"Athy, it's me."

"Sam!"

Sam turns to his brother, who was jogging over to him. Sam shakes his head. "Dean, go away."

Dean notices the shaking rage in Sam's voice, but he continues toward him. "Is Athena oka--"

Sam grips Dean by his jacket and slams him against the wall. "What do you fucking think?!"

Dean's chest tightens. He was overwhelmed with so many emotions right now. Disgust, guilt, shame, anger...all for himself. "Sam--"

"No matter how many chances he gave you, you threw them each away. Like she didn't matter." Sam shakes his head

"Sam, I didn't know what else to do, all right?!" Dean shoves Sam back. "What if dad left again--"

"Who gives a shit about dad?!"

"This whole year, we've been searching for him--"

"And this whole year we've been with Athena!" Sam snaps.

Dean scoffs.

"So, if dad left because we both sided with Athena you would be okay with that?"

"Yes!" Sam shouts. "No one else matters when it comes to Athena. all right?!"

Dean's jaw goes slack. Now...now he understood. Athena and Sam were always so much closer, because they chose each other. Especially, when John was here. They never once deterred from each other. John wanted to pit the kids against each other, but Sam and Athena wouldn't allow that. Dean fell right for it. All because he wanted his family to stay together.

Dean's eyes water, realizing that having his family being together wasn't the best thing for them. That wasn't them at their best.

Sam shakes his head, tears filling his eyes. "She loves us so much, Dean. Man, she looks up to you. You piece of shit!" he shoves Dean. "And you chose that asshole over her. Again, again, and again.

Dean wipes his tears. Everything hit him all at once. Too hard.

"Dean, go back to the room." Sam sighs. "I'm not gonna ask again."

There was no way Dean was going to convince Sam to let him stay. And he knew for a fact, Athena wouldn't be ready to see him. So, Dean turns around and goes back to the room with tears in his eyes.

━━━━━━━━━━

A/N

So...that just happened. Kinda made me tear up ngl.

Words : 3388