Growing Up

Decided

Dean woke up the next morning and checked on Mary, still asleep. He brushed his teeth and washed his bloody clothes and made breakfast for the two of them. He was scooping eggs onto plates when his phone began to ring. "Jess should wake up soon. It's still really touch-and-go, but there's a chance she'll be okay. So go ahead and make sure Mary is ready, alright?"

"Alrighty, Sammy. We'll be there soon." Dean finished plating the breakfast and sat it on the table. He hung up the phone and walked back to Mary's room. He opened his mouth to wake her, but he heard a higher pitch. He knit his eyebrows together and looked down at his mouth for a moment before he heard it again.

"So James, I think you should know who everybody is before you have to meet them again." Dean edged into the doorway just enough to see into the room. Sunlight spilled in from one window, lighting up the pink-canopied bed. Mary held the 'Family Portrait' in front of her teddy bear. "That one is my Dada, his name is Sam, but you can probably call him Dada, too. He's really tall and strong and is good at making cheeseburgers and he keeps me and Mama safe. My Uncle Dean makes fun of his hair sometimes, but in a brother way, not in a mean way. That's him over there, but I'll talk about him in a minute. Dada is really funny and silly and he can pull Reese cups from behind my ears.

"The girl is Mama, and her name is Jess, but she wouldn't get mad either cause I'm supposed to call her Mama so you can, too. She's really pretty and nice and she's good at making cakes and stuff like that and Grandpa Bobby says I'll look a lot like her when I grow up. And her and Dada read me stories at bed time and they do voices and Mama is always the princess voice cause Dada doesn't have a good princess voice. Okay, so the next one is me and you already know me.

"Like I told you before this one is my Uncle Dean. He's tall and strong, too, but not as tall as my dad. And he really likes pie and my Dada says he hunts a lot, like deer and stuff and he works at the Roadhouse with Jo. That's the girl he likes, she's really pretty." Dean paused for a moment at this, but decided he shouldn't correct her. "He's really cool and is really nice to me and comes to some of my school plays whenever can cause he travels a bunch but he's here when I need him. Like that time my pet goldfish died.

"And that's Grandpa Bobby, he's the only one who isn't a Winchester, but that's okay. Grandpa told me about how family doesn't end in blood, which means the people who love you and you love them, that's your family. And he wears a lot of hats. And that's my family not counting things like cousins and Aunts and Uncles and stuff. Maria in my class tried to tell me not to put Uncle Dean or Grandpa on it but she's wrong." She explained to James before Dean smiled a little wider and stepped inside, knocking on the door frame. Mary looked up from her bear and set her picture on the bed. "Uncle Dean, you've met James." She got up and held out the bear's arm to shake. Dean squatted and put out his hand.

"Hello, James." They shook and James was once more placed on Mary's hip. "Alright, I've got breakfast in the kitchen. Blueberry waffles, your favorite."

"Yay!" Mary exclaimed, running past Dean and down the hall. "Waffles!" She cried once she arrived in the kitchen. Dean chuckled and ambled down the white hall way, coming from Mary's doorway now on his right and glanced into the guest room on his left. A few steps and multiple perfectly arranged photos later, Sam and Jess' room on his left and another step forward to the bathroom on the right. He looked at the family photos and pictures of Mary as she grew. He turned back into the kitchen, walking past the couch and sitting at the table. Mary was still in her clothes from yesterday as she jammed pieces of waffles into her mouth, grinning up at Dean, "These are really yummy, Uncle Dean!" She proclaimed with her mouth full.

He chuckled and nodded, digging into his own. "Better be, I mean I made them." Dean answered with his mouth full as well. They devoured the eggs, bacon, and blueberry waffles Dean had slaved over. They finished the meal and Dean stood up. "Okay, kiddo, let's get you in the bath."

"Okay." Mary nodded and placed her plate, cup and silverware into the dishwasher. She then walked back to her room to pick out an outfit for the day. She retrieved a pair of jeans and a green Tinkerbell T-Shirt and ran off to the bathroom.

"Can you do it on your own, kiddo?" Dean called down the hall, doing the dishes.

"Yeah!" Mary yelled back, turning the bathtub on. Dean cleaned up the mess from breakfast and straightened up the kitchen and living room. Just as he sat on the couch and picked up the remote, Mary's voice rang down the hall. "Hey Uncle Dean!"

"Yeah?" He asked, making his way down the hall. He pushed open the bathroom door to find Mary with a comb stuck in her wet hair and trying to turn on the hair dryer. Dean chuckled and looked down at the blond mess before him. "I. Um. Uh. Hmm."

"Mama usually fixes it. But it's harder than I thought." Mary explained, looking at Dean through the mirror, hair drier still in hand.

"Yeah." Dean agreed, gazing perplexed. "Okay. Let's take this out." He removed the comb with out causing permanent damage. He tried unsuccessfully to brush her hair with the comb, and then decided to dry it first. He turned the hair dryer on high and held it too far from her head, then too close, then in one spot too long, then in one spot not long enough. He finally gave up on the hair dryer and attempted to braid it as Mary requested. Coming to the conclusion he was no good at braiding, he resorted to a ponytail. Which, coincidently, didn't turn out great either. "We'll just fix it later." The elder Winchester finally admitted defeat. Mary agreed and retrieved her shoes. Dean grabbed his jacket and they hopped into the Impala.

"Mama!" Mary yelled, dragging out the last syllable as she ran into the hospital room.

"Hey, sweetie!" Jess smiled and held out her arms, hugging her tightly and lifting her onto the hospital bed. "What happened to your hair?" She giggled, lifting apart Mary's locks.

"Where's Sammy and Bobby?" Dean ambled in, grinning.

"They just left, actually. Sam took Bobby back to the house, he looked pretty tired." Jess explained, scooting over to allow Mary onto the bed. They began a conversation and Dean snuck into the hallway. He walked down to look out the window and pulled out his phone. He called Sam and glanced down the hallway as it rang. Sam's voicemail played and Dean took a deep breath.

"Hey, Sammy, it's just me. I'm over here with Mary and Jess, call me when you can. Bye." Dean snapped his phone shut and began to walk back to Jess' room taking his time. A scream pierced the air, one Dean had heard before.

He ran into Jess' room, colliding with Mary. "Uncle Dean!" "Mary!" They yelled at the same time as he scooped her up. "Mama's water is on fire!" She yelled, pointing a finger at Jess. Black eyes smirked at Dean as smoke rolled out her throat.

"Mary, go sit in the car while I fix Mama's water, go. Take my cell and call Dada." Dean instructed, handing Mary the phone and shoving her out the door.

"Exorcizamus Te" Dean began, and Jess coughed as she laughed.

"If I leave, she dies!" Dean snapped his mouth shut, debating his options. "Well, actually, she's already dead!" Another fit of wicked laughter filled the hospital room.

"What do you mean?" Dean demanded.

"I've been in this meat suit since I left the little brat. She's been dead for a day now." The demon pulled Jess' mouth into a evil grin.

"Why?" Dean growled.

"Call it revenge, pumpkin." The grin didn't waver, but Dean swore it widened.

"On Jess? What has she ever done?" Dean asked with an idea of the answer.

"Love a Winchester." The demon said simply as she ripped the tubes from Jess' arm and side. Dean waited for the blood to spill out of her side, but none came. "Whoops." Sam came rushing in beside Dean. As soon as he stopped the demon smoked out, leaving Jess to fall into a heap on the floor.

"Jess!" Sam yelled, pulling Jess in his lap. "WE NEED A DOCTOR!" He cried out, tears spilling down his cheeks. He held her cold body tight against his chest as a team of nurses filled the room.

"I'm, I'm calling it." The dark haired male nurse croaked out, looking at the two women with him. The older redhead nodded. "October 19, 10:47 AM. I'm sorry." He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and they left the room, solemn looks on all five faces.

Sammy, Mary, I'm sorry. Dean swallowed hard, But I'm gonna fix this.