Growing Up

A Long Day

Soon enough they pulled in front of the Roadhouse and Mary followed Jo in quickly as instructed. They ran in and sat at a back booth, waving at Ash and Ellen. The boys came smashing in, hands in their pockets. They greeted Ellen and she pointed them to the booth in the back corner, where Jo and Mary were laughing. "We need to talk." Dean commanded with a snarl, motioning Jo to follow him. They walked back outside and Dean demanded he get the polish from his nails.

"Oh, but not in front of Mary, please. She's so happy about it, she talked about it for like fifteen minutes in the car." Jo lied, pleading with Dean. He sighed and looked down at his hands. He stuffed them back into his pockets and grumbled as he walked back into the restaurant. Jo chuckled as she sat back down at the table, where Sam and Mary had been whispering. Jo slid in beside Dean, and Ellen came over to their table.

"Alright, what do you four want to drink?" She asked, grinning as she passed out the menus.

"Umm, beer for me." Sam told her, looking to Mary.

"Can I have some Juice please, Mawmaw Ellen?" Mary asked, trying to figure out the menu.

"Sure thing, kiddo." She nodded, scribbling on her notepad.

"Beer for me, too, Ellen." Dean nodded, not even picking up his menu.

"Me too, Mom." Jo agreed, also not looking at her menu.

Ellen rolled her eyes with a smile and took their food orders and went back to the kitchen. They chatted until Ellen brought out their food. They dug in and Mary played with the little flag that came with her burger and built a small castle out of her french fries. Sam ate his salad and watched as Jo and Dean dug into their burgers at the same time. They began talking with each other and Sam looked to Mary and nodded. She nodded back and got up, making her way to sit up at the bar. She swung her legs and Ellen came over laughing. Mary climbed over the counter to whisper into Ellen's ear. She smiled and pondered what Mary said, finally nodding along and agreeing. Mary smiled wide and ran back over to her table, a few of the hunters grinning as she crossed the saloon.

Dinner was finished and the Winchesters took a while, but eventually they left. At eight o'clock they pulled into Sam's driveway, and Sam carried a sleeping Mary inside. "It's been a long day." Sam sighed, changing her into PJ's and tucking her in. He kissed her on the forehead and returned to the living room, where Dean handed him a beer and they toasted. "Listen Dean, I need you to watch Mary."

"Why?" Dean asked from the couch.

"I'll be home by tomorrow." Sam replied, grabbing his wallet and keys.

"Why?" Dean repeated.

"Cause I feel like I'm gonna snap, and I don't want to do it around her. So, I'm gonna go get drunk and smash up a motel room a little." And he shut the door. Dean finished his beer and trudged into the guest bedroom, decided to stay there for the night.

"Uncle Dean. Uncle Dean!" Mary whispered, shaking his arm.

"Huh?" Dean rolled over, letting his body relax when he realized it was just Mary. "Hey kiddo, what do you need?"

"Well, Dada's not here, is he okay?" She asked, rubbing her eye with one hand and holding her teddy with the other.

"He's totally okay, he'll be home tomorrow, alright? Now, go back to bed." He yawned.

"Well, I had a nightmare, could I sleep with you?"

"Yeah, come 'ere." Dean held out his arms and Mary crawled into bed, snuggling up to her uncle. She kissed her teddy on the forehead.

"Goodnight James, Goodnight Uncle Dean."

"Night, kiddo."

The next morning they got up and got themselves dressed, Dean figuring out how to remove the nail polish and successfully braiding Mary's hair. They climbed into the Impala and Mary asked for the billionth time. "But Uncle Dean, where are we going?" She giggled and Dean smiled.

"You'll see." He replied each time.

As they neared their destination Mary squealed. "Are we going to your work?! Are we gonna see Jo?!"

"As long as you have eyes, you'll see her." He grinned, parking.

"Yay!" She yelled, running inside. "JO!"

"Hey, kid." Jo giggled, bending down to embrace Mary. Dean followed in and held out his arms, smiling wide. Jo threw him an apron and took Mary in behind the counter. Dean tied the apron around his waist and followed. Mary sat at the bar and ate pancakes, swinging her feet. She ran around and played with one of the pool tables. Dean kept an eye on her as he worked, the other eye on Jo. Mary helped Jo with certain tables (the ones Jo decided wouldn't hit on her). By lunch Mary was back at the bar, swinging her feet.

"Having fun, squirt?" Dean asked, sliding a glass down the bar.

Mary nodded with a full mouth as she swallowed her fries. "I wanna work here when I grow up. And I can give people food and play with the pool and give people advice on hunting things like you do and I can be a hero like you."

Dean nearly missed a glass that was headed his way, "And why do you say that?"

"Cause that's what lots of people say." She pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Like who?" Dean rivaled, cleaning another glass.

"Well, Dada, Grandpa Bobby, Jo, Mawmaw Ellen, some people in here, everybody really." Mary shrugged, eating her chicken fingers. "They say you're a hero and you save people."

Dean was speechless. He wiped out the glass for a minute or two, staring at Mary. How do you know they aren't lying? He wanted to ask her, but that was something he wouldn't do. He wouldn't steal her trust in people, her innocence. She would grow up believing that angels were watching over her and monsters were a myth. Because Dean would slaughter every one of them if they so much as thought of coming near her.