The Good Life (Book 11, The Life Series, Supernatural)

The One You've Been Waiting For

 It was morning in the kitchen of the Bunker.

I was sitting at the table, on my laptop.

Dean was drinking coffee across from me.

Amara was holding Aiden at the table with us, bouncing him around on her knee, making him laugh.

Dean and I smiled small smiles.

Sam walked in with grocery bags. "Hey. Got everything on the list. So, what are you thinking, scrambled or fried?"

"I'm not really hungry right now," Dean told us.

"Y--you're not that..." Sam trailed off, taking out a box of pie, opening it to show us. "How about some pie?"

Dean didn't look up. "Maybe later."

I looked up in surprise, exchanging a look with Sam, looking at Dean. "All right, something's wrong."

"No," Dean told us.

Sam sighed. "I get it. If Mom--"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, okay?" Dean asked. "Look, Mom needed her space, and I told you I'm cool with it."

"But are you really?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't answer.

I changed the subject, turning the laptop to face them. "Happened last night."

Amara read from the computer. "Killed in mystery fire."

"Mm-hmm," I answered.

Dean was checking out the pie. "Mystery fire?"

"Yeah, the kind that doesn't burn anything but the bodies," I answered.

"So, spontaneous combustion," Sam told us, clicking his tongue. "What are you thinking? Uh, witch? dragon?"

"Maybe," I answered. "Check it out. The old lady? Loaded. I'm talking Scrooge McDuck swimming in pools of money."

"So, what's a lady like that doing at some crap store at 2:00 AM?" Dean asked.

"Well, it says it was an antique shop," I told them.

"So?" Amara asked.

"Uh, rich people like antiquing," I answered. "I don't know."

"I say we check it out," Dean told us.

"Uh..." Sam trailed off, sighing. "All right. In the meantime, you sure you don't wanna talk about--"

"No," Dean answered.

"Dean, it's called sublimation," Sam told him.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it's kinda my thing." He stood, kissing both me and Amara on the heads. "We'll call from the road." He rubbed Aiden on the head, smiling. "See you, buddy."

Dean walked out, leaving.

Sam, Amara and I exchanged a look, sighing.

I shook my head. "Give him a little time."

Amara nodded, whispering. "Yeah."

     ***********    

Sam and Dean had called me to let me know that they were dealing with the Thule once again, finding out that they had taken a pocket watch from the antique shop, so at home in the library, I called Aaron Bass, who as in Germany with the golem.

"We're halfway through the ledger. I nailed six, and the golem got the rest. It feels good, you know, finishing what the Judah Initiative started."