Bloodlust.

chapter forty-one , Bloodlust

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"Thank God! You're finally awake."

Sam blinks and looks to his side, meeting Athena's good eye. Even though she only had one eye that wasn't damaged, it was obvious she was relieved. "Do you have a concussion?" She asks sniffling.

Sam looks down at his hands that were bound together. He pulls his brows together and looks around the building they were in. Athena wipes her eyes and Sam turns back to her just in time to see that. His eyes widen and he lets out a muffled cry. Athena raises her brows, she hops off her chair and makes her way over to her brother. She pulls the cloth out of his mouth and he exhales a sharp breath. "You're okay?" He urgently asks.

Athena presses her lips into a small smile. "Of course."

Sam sighs softly, "Okay, why aren't you tied up?"

Athena holds her hands up. "I came willingly." She states. "And I'm guessing you didn't."

Sam chuckles softly, "I didn't."

"Where are we?" Sam looks around again.

Athena frowns, "I don't know..." she gives him a playful wink. But to Sam it just looked like Athena was blinking. He pulls his brows together and Athena sighs.

"I'll tell you later." Athena whispers softly.

Sam slightly opens his mouth and nods. A clatter was heard behind them, Sam snaps his eyes over to the figure approaching them. "Shit."

Athena's eye widen, "Don't say that when my back is turned away from the thing you're talking about." She spins on her heel and looks at the man from the bar, earlier.

He opens his mouth, baring his fangs. Athena's eye widen, "Hey, this wasn't apart of the deal!"

"You made a deal with them?!"

"No!"

"Athena...?"

The girl's shoulders sag, "Yes..."

The Vampire walks closer to the siblings. Athena opens and closes her mouth. She stands in front of her brother while muttering all kinds of swears. "Athena, don't!"

"Too late." Athena huffs. She points at the Vampire. "If you want him you're gonna have to kill me. The 11-year-old." She then places her hands on her hips.

"Is that really what you want?"

The man hesitated. He looks at the kid, then at Sam. The middle Winchester raises his brows, "She's not moving." He chuckles nervously. "Believe me."

"Stand back, Eli."

Simultaneously, the three heads turn to the woman. Athena lets out a breath of relief, seeing Lenore. Eli steps away from the child and her starts to feel light-headed from the sudden relief. "Holy fuck..."

Lenore walks toward the two siblings. "My name's Lenore. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Athena chuckles softly, "I know you're name's Lenore, silly." She looks at Sam, then points back at Lenore with a laugh. "This girl, am I right?"

Lenore laughs softly, which causes Sam to pull his brows together. "I was talking to Sam, Athena."

Athena slightly opens her mouth and slightly tilts her chin up. "Oh..." she then nods. "...now I'm embarrassed."

Lenore looks at Sam, "We just need to talk."

"Talk?" Sam raises his brows. "Yeah, okay. But I might have a tough time paying attention to much besides Eli's teeth."

"He won't hurt either of you." Lenore states. "You have my word."

Athena smiles, "That's all I ask for."

Sam's eyes widen, "Athena, come on—her word?!"

Athena snaps her good eye over to Sam.

"Lady, no offense, but you're not the first Vampire I've met." Sam snaps.

"Hey, not all Vampires are the same." Athena states. "We've only met a few. We shouldn't judge them all."

Sam shakes his head in disbelief hearing his sister.

"We don't kill humans, and we don't drink their blood." Lenore speaks. "We haven't for a long time."

"What is this some kind of joke?" Sam scoffs.

"If this was a joke, their punchline would be us...dead." Athena tilts her head.

Lenore presses her lips into a small line. She touches the top of Athena's head and she looks at her. "How about you take a seat?"

Athena frowns and she nods her head. "Yeah, yeah—I'll sit. Cool..." she walks over to her chair and sits down and crosses her legs.

"Okay, Uh, correct me if I'm wrong here, but shouldn't you be starving me to death?" Sam asks.

"We found other ways—cattle blood." Lenore states.

"You're telling me you're responsible for all the—"

"It's not ideal. In fact, it's disgusting." Lenore cuts off Sam's judgmental question. "But it allows us to get by."

"Okay. Uh, why?"

Athena pulls her brows together.

"Survival." Lenore answers. "No deaths, no missing locals, no reason for people like you to come for people like us. And we blend in."

"Our kind is practically extinct." Lenore states. "It turns out, we weren't as high up the food chain as we imagined."

"Why are we explaining ourselves to this killer?" Eli snaps. Athena snaps her head over to the man.

"Eli."

"We choke on cow's blood so that none of them suffer." Eli growls. "Tonight, they murdered Conrad, and they celebrated."

"Eli, that's enough." Lenore orders.

Athena holds her hands up. "If it's any consolation, Sam and I didn't like that at all."

"You know what, Eli? Why don't you listen to your boss?—"

"You're not helping." Athena seethes. "Like, you aren't aiding me whatsoever."

Sam exhales through his nose and stays silent. Athena bites the inside of her cheek.

"I'm sorry about Conrad." Athena speaks, looking from Lenore to Eli. The man senses Athena's sincerity, but he lets out a harsh breath and looks away from the three.

"We're leaving this town tonight." Lenore informs the two.

Athena quickly looks at Lenore.

"Then, why did you bring us here?" Sam asks. "Why are you even talking to us?"

"Believe me, I'd rather be just talking to your sister." Lenore states. "But something tells me you wouldn't rest until she was back with you again. I know your kind anyway. Once you have a scent, you'll keep tracking us."

"It doesn't matter where we go. Hunters will find us."

"So, you're asking us not to follow you."

"We have a right to live." Lenore pronounces. "We're not hurting anyone."

"Right, so you keep saying. But give me one good reason why I should believe you."

"They didn't hurt me."

Sam looks at the 11-year-old girl. She gnaws on her lower lip. "I trust them, Sam. So, trust me, please?"

Sam lets out a soft breath and he looks at Lenore. His eyes shift to Eli and he rolls his eyes. "You should be happy, I love you." He looks at his sister.

Athena smiles, she looks over to Lenore. The woman returns the smile. Lenore looks over at Eli, "Take them back, not a scratch on them."

Athena and Sam's heads were back in potato sacks. They were lead down the porch steps when Athena speaks. "You do realize that convincing Dean is going to be a bitch, right?"

Sam sighs heavily, "Yeah, I know."

☆

Athena inhales a deep breath as exhales a soft one. Be calm. This is for Lenore and her Nest. Be calm...

"What's up?"

Athena turns to Sam and Dean, who made their way out of the Motel. "Dean, maybe we got to rethink this hunt." Sam speaks.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asks. "Where were you two?"

Athena walks over to her brothers with her hands stuffed into her dark green corduroy jacket. "In the nest." She answers.

Dean raises his brows and looks at the girl. "You found it?"

"They found us, man." Sam states.

"How did you get out?" Dean asks. "How many did you kill?"

"None." Sam answers.

Dean chuckles softly. He looks at from Sam to Athena. "Sam, they didn't just let you guys go."

Athena frowns, "That's exactly what they did."

"All right, well, where is it?" Dean inquires.

Sam and Athena look at each other. Athena bunches her shoulders and holds her hands up. "We were blindfolded. How would we know?"

"Well, one of you've got to know something." Dean scoffs lightly.

"We went over that bridge outside of town, but Dean, listen, maybe we shouldn't go after them." Sam says.

"Why not?"

"I don't think they're like other Vampires." Sam states. "I don't think they're killing people."

"You're joking."

Athena inhales a breath, "If he was joking, neither of us would be here. We would be dead." She scratches her wrist out of annoyance.

Calm down.

"Then, how do they stay alive or undead or whatever the hell they are?" Dean questions.

"The cattle mutilations." Sam answers. "They said they live off of animal blood."

"And you believed them?" Dean chuckles.

"Why wouldn't we?" Athena squints her good eye.

Calm down.

"Look at us, Dean. They let us go without a scratch."

Dean blinks. He looks at Dam then Athena. "Wait, so you're saying—" he then shakes his head in denial. "No, man. No way."

Athena knits her brows together and she curls her hands into fists.

"I don't know why they let you two go. I don't really care." Dean shrugs. "We find 'em, and we waste 'em." He walks past his siblings.

"Why?" Athena quickly follows after him and Sam follows after the angry girl.

Dean turns back to his siblings. "What part of Vampires don't you understand, guys?"

"If it's Supernatural, we kill it." Dean states. "That's our job."

"No, no, no." Athena growls. "Our job is to hunt evil. Those Vampires aren't killing people, so why kill them?" She cranes her neck forward.

"Of course they're killing people. That's what they do!" Dean raises his voice.

Athena laughs, she looks at Sam and she slaps her hand over her forehead. "Did you not hear what we said?! They're feeding on cattle."

The debate to defend the Vampires took a quick turn for Athena and all she wanted to do was scream. Sam took notice in this.

"They're all the same, Athena! They're not human, okay?!"

Athena's headache starts to increase and she pinches the bridge of her nose.

"We have to exterminate every last one of them."

Athena takes her hand off her face, "What the fuck?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Exterminate every last one of them?! You don't even know that they're like the Vampires from last time!"

Sam takes a step forward, "Dean, look. This isn't like last time, all right?"

"Gordon's been on those Vamps for a year. He knows."

Athena pulls her face back, "Why do you care so much about Gordon's word?"

"Why are you taking his word for it?"

"That's right." Dean nods.

"You sound so fucking proud—it's bizarre." Athena massages her temples.

"Ellen says he's bad news." Sam speaks.

Athena points at Sam, trying to further her point.

"You called Ellen?" Dean scoffs. "And I'm supposed to listen to her?"

"We barely know her, guys. No thanks. I'll go with Gordon."

"Oh, fuck." Athena covers her face. "I need to lie down—"

"Then go to sleep, Athy, Jesus Christ!"

Athena's nose flares and Sam's eyes widen. "You met Gordon a few hours ago. Ellen took me in when our own father wanted nothing to do with me!" Her eye fills with tears. "She told us about Ash, allowing us to figure out Dad's files!"

Dean brushes Athena off with a scoff and she squints her eyes. She knows what it takes to piss people off. That's one of the pluses of her being so intelligent. Dean starts to walk away and she tilts her head. "Are you really that dumb?!" She shouts back.

Dean stops in his tracks.

"Athena, stop."

Athena waves a hand, "No, Sam! If Dean wants to be so ignorant to the idea that not all Supernatural Creatures are evil then I want to be ignorant to the idea that Dean's actually got brains!"

"All you can do is question my intelligence!" Dean lets out a bitter chuckle, walking back over to his siblings. "I don't need your kind of intelligence to survive, all right?! I'm great at hunting, I can actually understand when people are sarcastic, and I'm not dense about any literal thing in the world!"

Athena inhales a breath and raises her brows. "Now, that I've got your attention, let's continue to talk dick for brains."

"Both of you—enough!" Sam steps between you two. "This isn't about the two of you. It's about the Vamps and how much bullshit Gordon is feeding you!" He looks at Dean and scoffs.

"You don't think I can see what this is?" Sam questions.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's a substitute for dad, isn't he?" Sam asks. "A poor one."

Athena raises her brows and takes a step back. "Not touching that with a 50 foot pole."

Dean's jaw clenches, "Shut up, Sam." He goes to walk away but Sam continues to speak and Dean stops.

"He's not even close, Dean, not on his best day."

"You know what? I'm not even gonna talk about thi—"

"You slap on this fake smile, but I can see right through it, cause I know how you feel, Dean." Sam raises his breath.

We all can see right through it. Athena thinks.

"Dad's dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can't take it." Sam continues. "But you can't just fill up that hole with whoever you want to."

"It's an insult to his memory."

His memory shouldn't be that great.

Dean raises his brows, but there was obviously anger in them. He turns away from Sam, wanting to just walk away from the situation; but his anger took over. He spins back around to his brother and slams his fist across Sam's face. Athena flinches and her hands flies over her mouth. She keeps her good eye on Sam and tears instinctively well. Athena snaps her eyes over to Dean as silence fills the parking lot. Dean keeps his eyes on Sam, then he looks over at Athena and her back straightens with fear. Dean notices the tears in her good eye and his eyes slightly widen, realization hitting him.

He looks at Sam and the middle Winchester stands up and keeps a hand on his cheek. "You can hit me all you want." He huffs. "It won't change anything."

For a second, Athena could see the regret on Dean's face. He wanted to apologize for shouting and resorting to violence. But then he quickly remembered that he wanted to stay in denial about the black and white world he had grown to know. He wanted to stay ignorant. Dean switches to a face of previous anger and speaks.

"I'm going to that nest. You two don't want to tell me where it it. Fine. I'll fine it myself."

Dean stalks back into the Motel room. Sam and Athena quickly follow him.

"Gordon!" Dean calls out, searching the room.

Athena places her hands on her hips and leans against the doorframe with a sigh.

"You think he went after them?" Sam asks.

"Probably." Dean answers.

"Then we have to stop him." Athena speaks.

Dean looks at the girl, "Really? Cause I say we lend a hand."

Athena rolls her eyes, "Every time you want me to do something for you; whether it was seeing if someone lied, trying I calm someone down—whatever. But now you don't want to listen to me?—To either of us?!" She covers her face. "This is bullshit."

"Just give us the benefit of the doubt, all right?" Sam adds, his patience running thin like Athena's. "You owe us that."

"Yeah we'll see. Give me the keys I'll drive." Dean holds his hand out to Sam.

Sam motions to the key holder, but the keys weren't on there. Athena raises her brows.

"He snaked the keys."

A taunting laugh comes from the young girl. Dean rolls his eyes and looks at her. She hand her hands in her knees and she was genuinely enjoying this. "Oh wow!" She stands straight and continues to laugh softly. "I cannot wait for this to blow up in your face!" She points at Dean. "I'm telling you this now, I don't want an apology after this."
She walks out of the Motel room.

"Believe me, you're not going to get one."

☆

Turns out, Athena and Sam had the same idea. Sam counted how long it took them to get from the barn back to the Motel. And Athena hates to brag (she really doesn't), but her observation skills were a skill to behold. Athena knew when Eli switched from a dirt path to a road. She also recognized when the car started to move uphill. Sam then took count of the how many rights and lefts the Vampire took.

As soon as the siblings got to the location where Lenore was, Athena quickly opens her door and runs toward the house. "Dammit—Athena, wait!"

Athena runs up the porch steps with her brothers not far behind. The girl quickly stops in her tracks, noticing the door cracked open. She pulls her brows together, "He's already here." Her head turns to her bothers. The same amount of worry was on Sam's face.

Athena grabs the doorknob and pulls the door open. "No, Athena—"

"Screw you!" She whispers harshly. Athena enters the house and follows the sounds moans of agony. Her throat tightens as she gets closer to the kitchen. Athena turns the corner and her heart drops into her stomach, seeing the star Lenore was in.

"L-Lenore!" Athena takes a step forward, but Dean grabs her arm to keep her from stepping forward. Gordon lifts his head up and sees the three siblings standing in the doorway.

"Sam, Dean, Athena, come on in."

"Gordon, what's going on?" Dean asks.

"Just poisoning Lenore here with some Dead Man's Blood." Gordon states.

Athena's eyes widen and a lump forms in her throat, seeing the amount of pain Lenore was in.

"She's gonna tell us where all her friends are, aren't you?" Gordon looks at her. "Wanna help?"

Athena knits her brows together.

"Look, man—"

"Grab a knife. I was just about to start in on the fingers." Gordon tells them. He cuts Lenore's arm and she lets out a groan. Visible red veins move through her arm.

Athena's jaw clenches, "No—"

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, hey, let's all just chill out, huh?" Dean quickly speaks.

"Gordon, put the knife down." Sam orders, he takes a step forward but Dean uses his free hand to stop him.

Gordon shifts his eyes to Sam and Athena, noticing their protective and angered body language. "It sounds like it's Sam and Athena here that need to chill."

"Just leave her alone." Athena speaks up.

Gordon looks back at the wheezing Vampire and slowly nods his head. "You're right." He tosses the knife onto the table. "I'm wasting my time here."

"This bitch will never talk." Gordon pulls a machete out of his hatchet. "Might as well out her out of her misery. I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane."

Sam steps away from his brother's arm and walks toward Lenore. "Gordon, I'm letting her go—"

"You're not doing a damn thing." Gordon points the machete at Sam.

Athena's back straightens. Dean lets go of her arm and walks toward Gordon. "Hey, hey, hey. Gordon, let's talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Gordon scoffs, his impatience rising. "It's like I said, Dean—no shades of gray."

"Yeah, I hear you."

"What? That's such bullshit!" Athena spits, her eyes on Gordon. She then snaps her eyes over to Dean. "And you listened to that?!"

"Athena, you can reprimand me later, all right?" Dean speaks, slightly turning his head over to his sister. He looks back at Gordon. "I know how you feel—"

"Do you?"

"The Vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but—"

Gordon's laugh cuts off Dean's plea. "Killed my sister...that filthy fang didn't kill my sister." He shakes his head. "It turned her, made her one of them. So I hunted her down, and I killed her myself."

Athena makes a sound of an explosion from her mouth. "And in this moment, Dean's mind has just been blown." She narrates.

"You did what?"

"It wasn't my sister anymore. It wasn't human." Gordon states.

Athena's gut turns seeing no remorse across Gordon's face when he talked about killing his sister.

"I didn't blink. And neither would you."

Dean's gut turns and he feels absolutely sick. Never even in his darkest times has he ever thought about hurting Athena intentionally. Dean knew that Gordon was on the edge of being too far gone.

"So, you knew all along, then." Sam states. "You knew the Vampires weren't killing anyone."

"You knew about the Cattle, but you just didn't care." Athena adds.

"Care about what?" Gordon lets out a chuckle. "A nest of Vampires suddenly acting nice, taking a little time out from sucking innocent people, and we're supposed to buy that?"

"Trust me. It doesn't change what they are."

Everything Gordon was saying was verbatim to what Dean was saying to his siblings earlier. That made him realize how close he was to being just like Gordon.

"And I can prove it."

Gordon immediately grabs Sam's arm and cuts it with the machete. Athena's eyes blow wide, "Gordon, stop!"

Dean pulls the hammer back on his gun and aims it at Gordon. "Let him go."

"Now!"

Gordon pulls Sam's arm close to Lenore. "Relax. If I wanted to kill him, he'd be on the floor."

Athena snaps her good eye over to the Vampire.

"Just making a point."

The blood from Sam's arm drops onto Lenore's face. The Vampire softly gasps and she bares her fangs, desiring the taste for blood. Athena sucks in a sharp breath and holds it. "This is so stupid!" She exhales, Athena pulls her dagger from her pocket and flicks it open. "I'm gonna stab him—"

"You still think she's so different?" Gordon questions. "Still want to save her? Look at her."

Athena looks back at Lenore and her eyes soften. She swallows the lump in her throat. Her eyes shift to her knife and she looks back at Lenore. Athena closes her knife and slips it into her pocket. She trusted Lenore. Yes, Athena just met the Vampire but she still trusted her.

"They're all the same—evil, bloodthirsty."

Athena knits her brows together and she slowly shakes her head. "That's not true, Gordon." She states. "I'm sorry about what happened to your sister, even though you murdered her without hesitation, but not every single Vampire turned her. They're not all bad."

Athena looks at Lenore, "You don't want to hurt Sam, Lenore. I know it's weird that I'm talking to you like I know you. But..." she looks at the ground, her brows pulled together. "...do you want to hurt, Sam?"

As soon as Lenore realizes what she was doing, it was like something flipped inside of her. Lenore's eyelids slightly fall and her fangs disappear.

"No..."

A small smile graces Athena's lips.

Lenore slowly shakes her head, "No, I don't."

Athena looks at the Vampire Hunter, "You hear that, Gordon?"

Weak mumbles escape Lenore's lips as she moves her head away from Sam's arm. Gordon takes the blade off of Sam's throat and lets go of his arm.

"We're done here." Sam states.

"Athena, Sam. Get her out of here." Dean speaks.

Sam quickly but gently picks Lenore up. Gordon takes a step toward Sam, but Dean points his gun at Gordon. "Unh-unh." The oldest Winchester quickly says which causes Gordon to stop moving.

Athena follows Sam out of the house and they quickly make their way toward the car. She opens the car door and Sam places Lenore in the seat. Athena sits in the back and lets out a breath. "Lenore, do you remember where you're supposed to be meeting everyone?" She asks.

Lenore quietly wheezes, but she slowly nods her head. Sam lets out a breath, "Okay, okay. We can get you there."

Sam starts the car and speeds out of the parking lot. It was a slow process, but Lenore was able to give Sam the directions to the place her nest was meeting. The car slows to a stop in front of the group of people. Athena quickly gets out of the car and her red converse drag against the gravel. She rounds the car and Sam follows after her. Sam opens the door and both siblings help Lenore out of the car.

Eli's eyes widen seeing the state Lenore was in. He runs over to them, "What happened?"

"There was another hunter." Athena says. "He got there before we could stop him. I'm sorry."

Eli sucks in a sharp breath. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you people—"

"Eli." Lenore meets his eyes.

Eli's looks at Lenore and his eyes soften. His shoulders sag. He takes Lenore from the siblings arms and leads her over to his truck. "Wait, wait..." Lenore whispers.

Eli slows his walking and Lenore turns her head to the Winchesters. "Thank you."

Athena smiles softly, "You deserved a chance to live." She shrugs a shoulder. "Now, go live."

Lenore manages a smile before getting into the car. Sam looks at Athena, "You're so corny."

Athena's mouth hangs open and she looks up at her brother l. "What?"

"That was corny."

"What?"

Sam laughs and touches the top of her head. "I mean what you said was sweet, but it was corny."

Athena frowns, "Lets just go." She gets in the car with a pout.

Sam laughs at the girl's annoyance and they get back into the car.

☆

Sam and Athena got back to the house as the sun started to rise. "You know, I normally like the sun, but lately it's been giving me a headache." The girl gets out of the car with a huff.

"You just have a sensitivity to light so far, that's all." Sam gets out of the car as well.

Sam and Athena walk into the house, but they quickly stop in their tracks seeing the broken coffee table. Athena looks at Sam and he looks back at her with a nervous expression. Sam holds an arm out in front of her. "Stay behind me." He whispers.

Athena swallows and stands behind him. Sam cautiously walks toward the kitchen and Athena follows. Sam lets out a huff, seeing Gordon tied up. "We miss anything?"

Athena pulls her brows together and pokes her head out from behind Sam. She looks at Dean and raises her brows, "Lovers quarrel?"

Dean sputters, "No, we just had a bit of catching up to do."

"Lenore get out okay?"

"Yeah, all of them did." Sam states, his eyes on Gordon.

"Then, I guess our work here is done." Dean says. "How are you doing, Gordie? Got to tinkle yet?"

Gordon doesn't answer and Dean smirks. "All right. Well, get comfy. We'll call someone in two of three days, have 'em come out and untie you."

Athena scratches her arm, "Everyone ready to go?" She points at the man tied up. "Except for you, Gordon."

Gordon looks at the girl and she presses her lips together. Athena looks at the ground, "Sorry, that was mean. I'll stop."

"One more thing..." Dean stands in front of Gordon. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Well, it's—it's been real."

Dean uppercuts Gordon, the man falls back and Athena winces. "What the hell?—very mature."

"Didn't you just make a joke about him not leaving?" Dean asks.

"I apologized." Athena seethes. "Are you done now?"

Dean frowns and nods, "Yeah, we can go."

"Good." Athena turns on her heel and starts out of the house. The siblings walk toward the Impala in silence.

"Sam."

Sam stops and turns to Dean, but Athena keeps walking. "Yeah?"

Dean slightly jumps up and down. "Clock me one."

Athena stops in her tracks and looks back at her brothers. Sam cranes his neck forward, "What?"

"Come on. I won't even hit you back." Dean says. "Let's go."

Sam chuckles, "No."

"What? Are you kidding me?" Athena walks over to her brothers. "This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Dean points at Athena, "She's right. Let's go. You get a freebie. Hit me. Come on."

Sam waves a hand, "You look like you just went 12 rounds with a block of cement, Dean."

Athena giggles, "That was good."

"I'll take a rain check." Sam walks toward true Impala.

Athena rolls her eyes, "Lame..."

"I wish we never took this job." Dean says. "If jacked everything up."

Athena pulls her brows together.

"What do you mean?" Sam asks.

"Think about all the hints we went on, guys, our whole lives." Dean starts.

"Okay..."

"What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing?" Dean questions. "You know? I mean, the way dad raised I."

"Dean, dad probably didn't even know to think about this kind of stuff." Sam explains. "It's a lot to think about."

"Dad wasn't perfect." Dean states almost like he was just now realizing it. "And the way he raised us, to hate those things—and, man, I hate them. I do." He admits. "When I killed that Vampire at the Mill, I didn't even think about it. Hell, I even enjoyed it."

"You didn't kill Lenore." Sam states.

"No, but I'm sure he would've."

Sam and Dean look at the young girl. Athena sighs and looks at Dean, "Look. Dad taught us to...hate a lot of things." She shrugs a shoulder. "That's why when you get older you start to think for yourself and have your own beliefs about things."

"You don't have to take everything people say to heart, y'know? You are your own person." Athena pronounces. "I'm sure you're capable of making your own choices."

"And maybe one day the things you hate won't stay that way." Athena presses her lips together. Even though she was saying it to Dean, Athena knew that she was talking about herself as well. There were so many things her dad had told her repeatedly, to the point she started to believe it herself. And there were even things and interests that Athena had that she now hated about herself. Because of what other people said and did to her.

Sam and Dean look at each other. "Good advice."

"Great advice actually." Athena corrects. "We can all take something from it."

"You two are a pain in my ass." Dean voices, even though he was clearly thankful for the advice.

"Yeah, well, I guess we might have to stick around to a pain in the ass, then." Sam says.

Athena blows air from her mouth, "I hate being right." She then frowns. "Hell, who am I kidding? I love it!"

She proudly gets into the car.

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

I rewatched Breaking Bad in six days...I need a job fr, but I've got social anxiety. Too bad my parents don't care about that 🫢

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