The Angel, The Hunter and The Nephilim (Destiel x Daughter)

29. The Long Silence

Leah eventually came home late that night. At that point, Dean had been out driving around everywhere looking for her, and Sam had been sitting in the motel room in case she'd come back on her own, knowing that her dad's face was the last one she wanted to look upon when she returned. They didn't talk at all when she finally came in the door, Leah just fell into bed crying, dragged the covers over hers head and fell asleep. The next day at noon, they started the journey back home, Leah didn't talk at all to any of them, and she just waved absent-mindedly at Sam when they dropped him off at his and Madison's house. Dean tried desperately to make her talk to him, but she was angry and frustrated and she just ignored his presence while she tried to deal with the news on her own.
After that, the nightmares had gotten worse. Leah started pulling away from Dean more and more, because she felt that she couldn't trust him anymore. She couldn't trust anyone. When he woke in the middle of the night by her screams and came barging into her bedroom to wake her during her nightmare panic attacks, she would push him away upon waking, turn on the light, turn her back to him and fall back asleep. She became more and more independent and secluded, and communicated with him less and less. So when time came for her to start at her new school, she was more than eager to not have to spend time at home with her father constantly.
When Dean went to wake her up one early Monday morning to get her up for the first day of school, she was already gone. He had made pancakes for breakfast and was gonna drive her to school and pick her up later for dinner, maybe they could reconcile.
But she had already gone, and he felt like the loneliest man in the universe.

Leah, on the other hand, finally feels happy. She's out of the house, it's a beautiful day, this is a new start. And although all the things that have happened are weighing on her, Cas leaving, her mother resurfacing, her miscarriage... Leah momentarily feels the weight of the world on her shoulders, but shake them off when she approaches the school building. It's a new start, for better or for worse. This time she's spent a while on her makeup. She has learned to be happy on her own. She put on her cutest outfit. This is gonna be a good day.

By the end of the day Leah has gained three girlfriends and one guy she's already crushing on. Lucas Lodge, with the most gorgeous deep brown eyes and dark, curly hair, standing almost a foot taller than her, but she doesn't mind that.
They walk out together after the last class of the day, laughing and talking about the teachers and he educates her on how this specific school works, where people sit, and who hang with who, when Leah spots the Impala under a willow tree in the parking lot. She sighs and turns her back to the car, knowing Dean is inside.
Lucas notices and looks at her with a frown.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, it's just, my dad is back there," she says and nods slightly behind her towards the Impala when she hears the known creak of the driver's door being slammed shut.
"What's wrong? Is he abusive? Do you need help?" Lucas looks at the car behind her and frowns in worry as he sees the man walking towards them.
"No," Leah replies and sighs again. "He's just overbearing. We've had a rough couple of months and I just found out a few weeks ago that he's been lying to me my whole life."
"Oh man, that sucks," Lucas says and puts a hand on her shoulder. Then he looks up.
"He's coming over." To not out Leah and make her dad think that something is up, he starts talking about notes for a math test and scrambles through his shoulder bag, handing her a couple of papers while Dean approaches and comes to Leah's side.
"You ready to go out for some dinner to celebrate an apparently successful first day at school?" he asks and smiles at his daughter.
"Yeah, sure," she mumbles, not even trying to sound enthusiastic while stuffing the papers from Lucas into her bag. Dean reaches out his hand to the young man who smiles openly.
"Hey, I'm Leah's dad, Dean Winchester."
"Hi, Mr. Winchester, my name is Lucas Lodge. I'm a new friend of your daughter's."
"Lucas Lodge?" Dean asks and looks searchingly at the boy. "Your dad isn't Mark Lodge, is he?"
"Yeah, he is, actually."
"Well, I went to high school with him for a while ages and ages back. We were in the same gang for a time. Ask him is he remembers me!"
"I will, Mr. Winchester," Lucas replies and closes his jacket for the slightly chilly autumn breeze.
"Bye, Leah, I'll see you tomorrow," he says, shoots her one last empathetic smile and starts striding towards a motorcycle on the far end of the parking lot.
Dean looks after him with a frown on his face upon seeing the motorbike before he follows his daughter back to the car. Once inside, they sit there for a while in silence after putting on seat belts before Dean speaks up.
"I was gonna wake you up this morning with breakfast and all and drive you to school, but you were already gone when I came to your room."
"Yeah, I wanted to be really prepared and I didn't sleep much," Leah says quietly and turns to look out the passenger's window at Lucas who starts up his motorbike and leaves the school premises.
Dean turns to his daughter with a sigh. "Leah, can't we please be done with this soon? It's getting old and it's damaging for both of us."
She quickly turns back to look at him with an ice cold glare.
"Yeah, I could say the same thing. But who do you think it's worse for? The one who was lied to all her life, maybe. But it's not like you care."
"Of course I care, Leah, I've been trying to talk to you about it for weeks. And I've apologized over and over for that and yet you're nothing but cold. So what's really going on? Is it just this or is there something else as well?"
She turns away again, clenching her teeth shut and feeling tears work their way up into her eyes. "I'm not gonna talk about it again. You know what's wrong. Can we just go home? I have homework."
"Don't you wanna go out for dinner first?" Dean asks and curses internally while he starts the car, and throws Leah a look, only to see her shake her head.
"No, I'm good, I just wanna be alone. It's been a long day."
He tries to make up small talk on the four minute car ride, but she answers in nothing but short one-liners with a standoffish attitude, and he gives up at last, parking the car in the driveway at home and getting out, following Leah into the house.
She immediately walks over to the stairs when he comes in after her, taking off his shoes.
"Hey, I'm making some dinner, what do you want?" he says to stop her.
"Nothing right now, I'll make a sandwich or something later," she replies and disappears up the stairs, not even turning around to look at him.
Dean shakes his head when he hears the door to her bedroom gets slammed shut, hangs up his jacket and walks into the kitchen. He sits down by the table and looks at the family pictures on the wall. Him, Leah and Cas side by side, all smiling at Bobby who took the picture, it's his favorite. That happy family before everything just went sideways all at once. He rubs his face and sighs in exasperation, he has no idea how to make things right with his daughter, if he even can.
"Please, Cas," he whispers quietly through the tears, hoping that his husband can hear his prayer. "Please come back. I need you here. Leah is not doing good, and neither am I. We need you. I can't do this on my own anymore."
He buries his head in his hands, trying to fight back the tears.
Maybe it's not going to be okay this time.