The Runt of the Litter

Even in the Dark and Quiet

Note: hey my lovelies <3 thanks for commenting and voting

this one is for a request over on ao3, for a reader who wanted to see anna struggling to adjust when they all move into the bunker

anna is fourteen

Even in the Dark and Quiet

When Anna was born, Dad didn't buy her a crib. It wasn't practical. They couldn't disassemble and reassemble a crib every week or two. There was no space in the back of the Impala for a playpen either, so they didn't get one.

Instead, Anna slept in her carseat and took contact naps.

()()()

Their new home base is pretty fucking cool.

It's hidden and underground but somehow well-heated and has an endless supply of hot water. Anna didn't know it was possible to have hot water that lasted longer than a half hour. The lighting is warm in the massive library where Sam has already taken root.

There are swords and artifacts all over the place– Anna and Dean had an epic sword fight behind Sam's head, but Dean stopped it pretty abruptly when he realized how sharp the swords actually were. Now Anna's not allowed to use them. Which is lame.

There's a room with a big map table in it, which is awesome and will come in handy someday for sure. For now Anna just likes drinking her morning coffee there– she still hates the way it tastes, but she's adjusting. Sometimes she imagines being someone important, someone who uses maps like this to order other people around. Hudson, you're here. Jones, here!

Sometimes she just studies the geography, wondering about all the places she hasn't seen. She never felt an itch to travel before, having grown up doing just that. But now she worries about the things she might never see. Europe. Africa. All this while she sips on gross black coffee, hoping she'll start enjoying the taste soon.

There's a lot to love about the Batcave (Dean's nomenclature). But there's a lot to hate too.

For one thing, Anna still can't remember the path from her room to the kitchen and library. Which is kind of an important route for her. So she waits until the last possible minute to go to her room every night.

Well, maybe that's more about the nightmares. Nightmares she had pretty well under control until they moved into this stupid, awesome bunker. And now they're back, keeping her up well into the early morning hours.

So here she is, at 4am, sitting with her back to the wall outside of Sam's bedroom door. She doesn't want to get lost trying to find the kitchen, or she would make herself a cup of coffee. She's actually craving the stuff, which is new to her but must signify progress.

Sam will be awake before Dean, and he'll be normal about the fact she still can't remember the three turns that separate the bedrooms from the rest of the bunker.

In the meantime, Anna waits for him, staring in exhaustion at the wall across from her. Stone or concrete or whatever it is, illuminated lazily by the little wall lights that line the halls. She's so fucking tired. What she wants more than a 6'5" guide to the kitchen, is to get some sleep.

Feeling a little bolder, Anna brings her fist up nervously and knocks a few times on Sam's door. She hears him stir almost immediately. She waits a second, then twists the knob and cracks his door open. She tries not to look too much like a little kid as she waits for him to notice her. But she feels suddenly like crying as she looks at her brother and... well, she wants him. She wants him to chase away her nightmares. And she feels childishly, very sure that he could do it.