Daughter of a Winchester

30

The next day, Dean woke up to a mysterious text on his phone. The number wasn't in his contacts, but he knew instantly who it was.

Can we talk over coffee? Please?

Sure. He replied. He wasn't sure about it but he agreed anyways. He grabbed his coat and scribbled a note to Avery and Sam telling them he'd be out for a bit. Dean walked in and searched around for her. Once his eyes met hers, he knew he found the right person.

"Hey Jen." He stated.

"Hey Dean. It's been a while." She replied.

"Yeah. More than 9 years." They took a seat at a table before continuing their conversation. "So why did you want to meet up after all this time?" He questioned.

"A couple reasons. 1, I missed you. I've missed you for years. I just always assumed you never wanted me back since you gave up calling. 2, I want to know how my daughter is doing. And 3, I need you, Dean. I need you in my life. These past several years have been the toughest years of my life and I've needed you to be there for me. I've needed you to be a shoulder to cry on. I've needed you back, Dean. I'm miserable." She told him as tears began to flow from her eyes.

"I gave up calling because you would never call me back. I tried for weeks to get an answer from you and you ignored me. I've missed you too, but you're the one who filed for divorce for crying out loud. I just got so mad that night we broke up and didn't mean what I said. You never understood that and then you filed divorce. Audrey is fine. Don't forget she's my daughter too. She's not just yours. She's happy. She has Avery who is like a mom who cares about her and she has me and Sam and my nephew Tristan who love her. I don't know what to say to you needing me. There's been times when you being with me would have made some garbage a whole lot easier to deal with. I know it wouldn't work out though. Everyone saw it coming." He stated with anger present. "I really appreciate the warning of Audrey showing up at my door and the fact you say you're so miserable yet you haven't called or texted all this time by the way." He added sarcastically.

"Dean, I filed for divorce because I was too afraid to confront you. You were pissed and upset and you were done with our mess. A divorce gave you what you wanted. I wasn't gonna be there to micromanage or tell you you were reckless or anything like that."

"Did it ever occur to you that I didn't mean what I said? I left you voicemail after voicemail telling you I was wrong. I was willing to deal with the mess. I would have accepted you back but you didn't even try." He snapped back.

"Ok. Ok. I'm sorry, Dean. I never should have filed for it. It was stupid and I'm sorry. Don't accuse me of not caring about Audrey or loving her. I loved and cared for her. I sent her to you because she reminded me too much of you and because I knew you'd take care of her. I no longer could." She explained.

"Well Audrey thinks you hate her, so I don't think your plan worked too well." He replied. He was so enraged about what happened.

"I'm sorry that's how she took things. And I'm sorry for not giving you a warning. Look, Dean. I know I'm not gonna get you to understand anything but at least hear me out." He nodded. "The reason I never called was because I was scared. I knew you were upset and I didn't want to hear you go off on me about it. I went through a really tough time and I-" she was getting really choked up. "I didn't know if I could still turn to you after we broke up and I didn't want to try to call you because I just wasn't sure how it would go. I needed you to be there for me and not yell at me." She explained.

"What happened?" He asked as gently as he could.

"Um, there was a guy I was dating after we split and he was abusive. Go figure with my luck. He hurt me physically and mostly emotionally. He trashed me for being a mother and trashed you repeatedly because you were still in a picture on my nightstand. He didn't lay a hand on Audrey thank goodness, but I was bruised for months. I felt like trash and I needed someone to just tell me it was ok." She explained. Tears were flowing at a steady rate and luckily no one was staring. "I'm not saying this to make you feel pity. I'm sure you think that but I'm not."

"Jen, I know you well enough to know you're not trying to fool me. I know you're genuinely upset. Why didn't you call me when this was going on? I would have been here for you regardless." He asked, seriously wondering.

"I was scared. It seemed like at the time you didn't want me back. I didn't know if I could still go to you with stuff. I just didn't know what to do and had nowhere to turn. I felt so lost, Dean. I'm still not totally ok. Please, take me back. I'll get the divorce cancelled if that's even a thing. I'll do whatever I have to do. I just need you, Dean. I can't live without you." She begged.

"Jen, you're gonna hate me for saying this, but I need to think about it. I don't know that I can." He explained.

"I get it. I didn't expect you to take me back after what I've done to you. Can I at least see Audrey? Please? If nothing else." Dean nodded. She followed the impala to the bunker and he led her inside.

"Guys, Jen's here." He announced as he came down the stairs. Jen and Audrey hugged and talked for a bit. Avery and Sam pulled Dean aside.

"You're back with Jen?" She asked.

"No. I'm thinking about it. She wanted to talk so I met up with her for coffee. I'll explain later." She nodded. He gave Jen an hour with Audrey to talk and get to see each other again.

"So are you with her again?" Audrey asked.

"I don't know yet, honey." Audrey nodded but was still confused. "Say bye to Jen. It's time to go." They said their goodbyes and Dean walked her out.

"I'm so sorry, Dean. For everything. I was dumb and wrong and an idiot and I'm so sorry. Just let me know, ok?" She asked gently.

"I will." He replied before shutting the door. "Hey Audrey, can you go play with Tristan for a while?" She nodded and the kids left the room. Avery, Sam, and Dean all took their seats on the couch.