#witch!sam

“You son of a bitch!” Dean roared into the receiver, hurting Sam’s eardrums, but it didn’t seem to bother Crowley. If anything, the demon was probably smiling, smug as ever.

“I gather you’ve caught on to my little scheme?”

“Why?” Sam demanded. “Those people didn’t do anything to you! They’re innocent!”

“I have to punish you somehow. Do you really expect me to stand by as you shut the gates on my kingdom?” Crowley scoffed. “You must be joking! You don’t get to cancel me, darlings! I’m not through until I bloody well say so, and I’m just getting started! I’ll kill every last soul you ever saved up in that godforsaken country you call home until the States are covered in their blood – or…”

Crowley waited for the brothers to take the bait.

Dean inhaled deeply, his jaw so tense he could feel his teeth cracking. “Or what?” He growled.

“You surrender the tablets to me. Both of them.”

“You’ve got to be joking!” Sam said in outrage.

“Only if all those innocent souls are worth less than your mission. But hey, what’s a few broken eggs? Then again, what would daddy dearest say about the precious ‘family business’ aye? ‘Saving people, hunting things,’ Good God, did you really say that, Squirrel?”

Dean, Sam, and Jess all furrowed their eyebrows. Sam was the first to realize it.

“He’s reading the books!” The Winchesters never hated the cursed Edlund book series more until that very moment.

“And that’s why you’re the smart one, Moose. You have four hours until I kill another. Call me back when you’re ready to surrender.” Crowley ended the call right then.

“Fuck!” Dean thundered. He drove as fast as the Impala allowed, racing toward the hometown of Cassie Robinson. Thankfully, they weren’t too far. They arrived at nightfall, and the hunters were dismayed by the state of the Robinson household. The windows and doors had been torn apart and broken. There appeared to have been a small fire that damaged the house some.

“Cassie!” Dean shouted urgently, tripping over the dead body of a stranger. There were a multitude of corpses scattered about the residence as if Crowley had sent a small militia’s worth of demons, all killed in action. All these enemies for one woman?

“Dean,” But it wasn’t the journalist who responded to Dean’s shout. It was –

“Cas?” Dean uttered in surprise as the seraph stood over the bodies. The house was oversaturated with the smell of sulfur. Behind the angel appeared one Cassie Robinson, who had gotten lovelier in the years since Dean had last laid eyes on her.

“Dean,” Cassie said, voice level. “You want to explain why an angel from Heaven had to kill all these demons from Hell?”

Shit. She was mad. Dean swallowed nervously.

“Hey,” Dean said sheepishly. “Long time. You look great!”

“You gonna ignore my question?” Cassie huffed out. Sam smiled despite himself. Jess looked on in quiet confusion, but she liked this woman so far.

“Cassie,” Dean sighed as the tip of Cassie’s right foot began to tap the floor repeatedly in impatience.

Castiel looked awkwardly between Dean and Cassie. Clearing his throat, he tried to spare the elder Winchester some unpleasantness. “Ms. Robinson, I believe I explained–”

“No,” Cassie interrupted sternly, her eyes never moving away from Dean. “I want to hear it from his mouth.” She pointed at the hunter. “Well, c’mon. You better have a damn good explanation.”

“There’s this guy…” Dean started lamely as the others watched him struggle.

“Guy or demon?” Cassie questioned with a harsh tone.

“Demon,” Dean confessed. “It’s a demon. He’s kind of a boss, a douchey boss, who’s been running around killing people off, people Sam and I saved from monsters and such. You remember Sam?” Sam gave a stiff wave.

“I remember,” Cassie said curtly, her eyes focused on Dean like lasers. “Go on.”

“He’s been killing people off because Sammy and I have been working on shutting Hell off for good, and he doesn't like that too much,” Dean added. “He wants us to stop so –”

“He’s gonna keep murdering people until you give him what he wants?” Cassie finished for him. “And what does he want, aside from keeping Hell open?”

Dean exhaled, “There are these really powerful tablets. One of them tells us how to seal Hell down, and the other can rewrite Heaven or something.”

Cassie whipped her head around sharply to look at Castiel, her curly locks bouncing as she moved. “Is he for real?”

“He is telling the truth, yes,” Castiel affirmed.

“And I’m on the list of people to kill off?”

“Yeah,” Dean frowned.

“Because you helped me with my family back in ‘06?”

Dean nodded.

“Fuck,” Cassie hissed angrily. “How are you gonna fix this?” She demanded of Dean.

“Cassie –”

“Mommy?” A little girl showed up from an adjacent room. She had Cassie’s curly brown hair and dark skin, but her eyes were green – the kind of green that matched Dean’s. Sam, Jess, and Dean were stunned.

“Sweetie,” Cassie rushed over to the child and squatted down, wrapping her arms around her daughter. “I told you to stay. Mommy’s not done yet.”

“I’m hungry,” the child whined, her stomach rumbling loudly.

Cassie sighed as she cradled her daughter, keeping her close. “Are you positive we’re safe?” She asked Castiel.

“Yes,” Castiel asserted. “There are no more demons in the area. I can also place warding sigils to prevent their entry into this house.”

“Do that,” Cassie responded, “Alright, baby. Let me make you a sandwich.” She marched off towards the kitchen, daughter in her arms.

Dean charged after her without hesitation. The little girl noticed the large white man following them but wasn’t afraid. Merely curious. It disarmed Dean in ways he wasn’t ready for.

Where there was doubt with Ben, there was no doubt with this little girl. She was Dean’s, for sure. He just needed to hear the words out of Cassie’s mouth.

Cassie set her daughter down on the nearby kitchen table while she pulled out the bread, ham, and cheese from the fridge. Neither she nor her small daughter paid any mind to the dead demons littered about the house. They appeared to be dead for a while.

“Is she mine?” Dean demanded quietly as he approached Cassie immediately. But Cassie was focused on her sandwich making. Dean placed his hand above her own, stilling her movements.

“Is she mine?” he repeated.

Cassie sighed, turning to face the hunter. “Yes. Lest you forget, the last time we were together wasn’t exactly planned by either of us. You didn’t have protection, and I…” Cassie shook her head. “Point is, we made a baby, and I decided to keep her.” Cassie turned to look back at her daughter. She finishes making the sandwich, putting it on a plate, and handing it over to the little girl, who happily digs into the food. Dean watches the interaction, astonished, without a bit of air in his lungs.

A daughter. He has a daughter.

That makes him…

A father.

Cassie walks back over to Dean with a solemn look on her face. “Look. I didn’t contact you because…well, how could I? Doing what you do, always out on the road, fighting those…things. You’re not safe. Given what happened today, we’re not safe either. But something tells me that if you have a relationship with her,” Cassie nodded towards the child, “we’d be worse off. Even killed. Tell me I’m wrong.”

He couldn’t.

“Yeah,” Cassie noted as she held Dean’s miserable gaze. “That’s what I thought. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“For what it’s worth,” Dean heard himself say, “so am I.”

“Her name is Chloe,” Cassie told him. “She’s six years old. She was born on January 31, 2007. I gave her my last name, all things considered. No one’s listed as the father on her birth certificate. I figured it was safer that way. She’s been asking about you. I haven’t really known what to say to her.” Cassie watched her daughter sadly.

“I do,” Dean said as he approached Chloe. The little girl finished her sandwich and noticed the large man approaching her. She looked to her mother, who gave a nod with a wistful expression.

“Hi,” Dean greeted the child as he squatted down before Chloe. “You’re Chloe, right? I’m Dean,” he gulped, “I’m your dad.”

Chloe looked back at her mother. Cassie gave her another nod. Chloe looked upon Dean with excitement and joy. “Daddy!” Chloe launched herself into Dean’s arms and overwhelmed Dean with a wave of emotion. “Where have you been? Why are you never here with me and Mommy?” He could feel his heart breaking.

Clearing his throat, Dean pressed on as best he could. “I got a job. A job that’s more dangerous than a cop and a firefighter combined and takes me all over. Because of that job and what I do, I can’t be with you.”

Chloe’s face fell. “That’s not fair,” she whined, giving him those big green doe eyes. Dean wanted to crawl into a hole, but he soldiered on.

“I had a mom once. She died when I was four. The way she died was horrible, and if I stick around, what got her, what hurt her, will hurt you and your momma. I’d rather you hate me and live and be safe than love me and die.”

Chloe blinked at Dean, processing his words. “Like your momma did?”

Dean nodded sadly. “Yeah.”

Chloe looked as desolate as Dean felt. But there was no hate in her eyes or resentment as Dean or maybe Cassie was expecting. The girl didn’t cry either. She clung to Dean, wrapping her little arms around him tighter. Dean had to fight to suppress the tears, but Cassie did no such thing. Tears fell quietly from her eyes as she observed this moment between father and daughter.

“Tell you what,” Dean said suddenly, bringing Chloe face to face. “When you’re eighteen, I’ll come find you wherever you’re at, and you and I will have a long talk. But until then,” Dean got an idea. He ran out to the Impala, scouring for what he wanted to find. Dean usually would’ve stashed them somewhere else, like in the bunker or a safe deposit box, but given how often Dean was on the move, the hunter preferred to keep them close. He pulled out a set of golden rings – his parents' wedding bands from when they eloped in the 70’s. John had held onto Mary’s ring since her death, and Dean took John’s after his passing. The eldest Winchester kept the rings close ever since, one of the few tokens of his parents he had left. He returned to his daughter and presented the rings.

“I want you to have these,” Dean said, presenting them to his child. Chloe took them in her tiny hand. “They were my parents’ wedding rings. They’re both gone now, but I need you to take care of them for me. Can you do that?”

Chloe looked up at her father. She nodded, her little brown curls bouncing as she did.

“Alright. I’m gonna come back for those, so don’t lose ‘em. Okay?”

“I promise,” Chloe said.

“My girl,” Dean said with a small smile.

Castiel cautiously entered the kitchen. “I’ve finished with the wardings all over the house. They’re invisible to the human eye, so your home won’t look untoward to your neighbors, and I’ve placed several devil’s traps all over the home, particularly your bedrooms. A simple prayer would suffice in calling for my assistance, but if all else fails, call this number,” Castiel held out a card with a number on it, “and help will arrive. All you’d need to do is hold out long enough to be saved.”

“Thank you,” Cassie said to the angel.

“Of course. I know what you mean to Dean,” Castiel said, carefully avoiding Dean’s gaze. “I…I am glad I reached you in time.”

Chloe ran back to her mother, clutching the rings in her tiny fist. She hid behind Cassie’s leg, looking up at Castiel. Chloe giggled. “Your wings are pretty.”

Dean looked at Castiel but couldn’t see what she was talking about. Though it certainly made Dean curious.

“Thank you, Chloe,” Castiel said politely to the little girl. “Allow me to clear the bodies.”

“I’ll help,” Dean volunteered. He followed Castiel’s lead, the angel carrying two bodies for every one that the hunter handled personally.

“How’d you even find them, Cas?” Dean couldn’t resist the urge to ask his angel friend.

“She prayed,” Cas explained. “For the first time in her life, Cassie Robinson prayed out of sheer desperation. When a human gets like that, it can send waves from quite a distance. The name stuck out to me because I recognized her from your memories. I knew that you were once quite…close.” His tone was tinged with a yearning Dean decided best to ignore. “When she mentioned her daughter, I knew I had to drop everything and try to save them.” Cassie and Chloe were visible from the broken window inside. “As I said, I’m glad I got here when I did. If there had been more delay…”

Dean placed a hand on Castiel’s broad shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

“Are you alright?” the angel asked him.

“What?”

“You just learned that you have a daughter. I can sense the emotional storm within you,” Cas pointed out. “I know you’re not one to speak about your sentiments, but you should know that your daughter shares one quality with you.”

“What’s that?” Dean asked tensely.

“Understanding,” Cas said. “She has an incredible sense of empathy for her age that will only grow over time. Mind you, your sense of empathy is askew, given how often you prioritize your brother, but that’s understandable given your circumstances.”

Dean blinked at Castiel’s words, “Okay,” he expressed dubiously.

“My point is that she won’t grow to resent you,” Castiel clarified. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

Dean shrugged that off, but Castiel gave him a look that informed the hunter his angel friend knew better.

While Cas and Dean did away with the bodies, Sam was at work using the spell Marion once taught Jess to restore the damage undertaken in the home to everything from the broken windows around the house to the furniture strewn about the interior. Cassie and Chloe watched in amazement as their home was fixed like nothing ever happened.

“Wow,” Cassie remarked to Sam. “So you’re a witch now?”

Sam shrugged sheepishly. “I’ve picked up a few things.” His eyes shifted to the little girl. “So, this is Chloe?”

Cassie gave him a wry smile, “I figured you were listening in.” She ran her hands through her daughter’s hair. “Yeah, this is Chloe.” Chloe looked up shyly at the tall hunter.

“Hi there,” Sam held out a hand. “I’m your Uncle Sam.”

“I have an uncle, too?” Chloe asked in awe.

Cassie and Sam chuckled. “Yes, baby, you have an uncle, too,” Cassie clarified.

Cas and Dean returned from the backyard. Dean watched as Chloe’s little hand fit into Sam’s large one. Sam shook her hand gently.

Castiel cleared his throat. “We finished outside.” The seraph proceeded to give mother and daughter strange Enochian markings meant to protect their bodies from the possession of any demons that would try, dying at the touch of their skin. The spell consumed much of Castiel’s grace, but he was glad to do it—anything to protect Dean’s child.

Dean decided it was time to leave since there was nothing else to do in the house. He figured it better to go now before looking into Chloe’s eyes was too much to bear. Cassie didn’t stop him; her eyes glimmered with guilt and sorrow.

Dean squatted down by Chloe once more, his legs feeling heavy. “I gotta go now.”

Chloe wrapped her tiny arms around her father. “Okay,” she said, sadness edging into her childish voice.

Dean took care to wrap his arms around her. “You take care of those rings, you hear?”

“I won’t lose them, Daddy,” Chloe swore. “I promise.”

Dean blinked and, in what felt like ages, finally let his daughter go. He stood up straight, beelining it for the door. He took one last look, exchanging a somber glance with Cassie.

“Goodbye,” he said but didn’t linger for a response. He retreated to the Impala, waiting for Sam to follow him out.