The Rise of Dawn - Dean Winchester

Chapter 10. There's No Way it Can Get Worse

Niamh and her father got back into the previous room of the underground level where they met Dean. She showed him a box and smiled with her lips not parting. They ascended back into the house where Sam was talking to her mother and brother. They thanked Millie for her time and got ready to leave the house.

"Take care of yourself, ma'am." Niamh gathered up her strength to talk to her mother and she squeezed her shoulder lightly, trying not to hurt her in the process. That act caused a smile to appear on Nathan's face.

They said their goodbyes and entered the car. Niamh felt like her heart was going to burst from all the emotions she was feeling. She felt loved and unforgotten and that was all she needed to keep her going. Along the rumble of the engine, they drove away towards the next step.

***

The drive to Lebanon was quiet, with few words exchanged between Niamh and Sam, while Dean was silent and focused on the road most of the time with a disgruntled expression on his face. Upon arriving home, Dean slammed the car door and fled into the bunker, leaving his brother and friend behind. Niamh and Sam exchanged looks of confusion and followed the frustrated Dean inside. They found him leaning on his hands against the table in the war room, his duffle bag laying few feet away from him on the floor. His behavior started to worry Niamh, making her slowly approach him and try to get him to talk.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Niamh asked and stroked his back with her palm. Dean felt her warm touch and relaxed for a second before tensing again.

"Everything's fine," he abruptly answered and shook her hand away from him, taking a few steps toward the library.

"Dean, what's wrong?" Sam's voice came from behind Niamh, and she felt his reassuring touch on her shoulder as he approached the table. Dean was gripping tightly on the edge of the table, trying hard to keep his calm and not to burst out in anger.

"We have The Scroll, we are a step closer to-"

"Shut up! Just shut up," Dean shouted and slammed his hands onto the table, startling Niamh so much she took a step back and bumped into Sam's chest.

"Dean!" Sam yelled back

"What? Do you know why Niamh's parents don't know her?" Dean continued to speak in a loud voice, not getting any reaction back from the two people across from him, but shock and fear.

"Dean, why does it matter?"

"It fucking matters! They don't know her because she made them forget her. She performed a spell on them to make them forget her. A spell!" He shouted again and kicked his bag that was still laying on the floor. Niamh's hands started to shake at disbelief of what Dean was saying. "She has living parents and she chose to leave them."

"That's enough Dean!" Sam yelled back at his brother, moving Niamh behind his back when he saw her shaking in distress.

"What, Sam? I don't know about you, but I'd do anything to have my parents here with me, and I'd never do such selfish shit!" Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled roughly before storming off down the hallway from the war room.

Niamh's eyes started to form tears again and she couldn't control her hands anymore. She was pressing her tongue along the roof of her mouth to prevent herself from crying again that day, but her eyes were filled to the brim and tears started to spill on their own. Her brain was her worst enemy in that moment, repeating Dean's words over and over again, making her wonder if she really was selfish for making her parents forget her when Sam and Dean's parents weren't even alive. She started shaking so much that Sam had to intervene and try to calm her down.

"Hey," he chanted repeatedly, "breathe, Niamh. It's okay, don't listen to him. Thinking before speaking is something unknown to Dean."

"We heard yelling." Castiel's voice startled both hunters. They turned their attention to the angel accompanied with young Jack. Niamh quickly rubbed her hands over her face to hide the pain she was feeling.