family line, supernatural [ 1 ]

026. stanford letter aftermath

tw: abuse, panic attack

August 2001

Natalie and Dean were stuck at the motel alone for a few hours, both knowing their father is out getting shitfaced. Which scares Natalie because John is bad enough sober, but he's even scarier drunk.

It's rounding 11:30 PM when they hear the roar of the Impala return. Natalie is sitting on her and Sam's bed and reading while Dean lays on the couch and has his headphones on, listening to the Walkman and he has his eyes shut.

Natalie starts to get nervous when the door opens, glancing up to watch John stumble in, mumbling incoherent words to himself. He shuts the harshly, dropping the keys and a newspaper down onto the table.

Natalie tenses up when she hears John's footsteps grow closer to her before seeing his feet by the bed. She hesitantly looks up, rage being the only thing filling his eyes.

"Can-- May I help you?" Natalie meekly questions. She doesn't mean to come off as rude, but she doesn't know if it worked.

"You knew." John points a finger at her, his words slurring heavily.

"I-- Sammy told me not to tell you." Natalie says, messing with one of her rings.

John stares at her for a few moments, not doing anything. His hand suddenly raises, striking the young girl across the face. She lets out a cry of pain, her hand going to her cheek.

Dean sits up, slipping his headphones off his ears, worriedly looking between his father and sister over the back of the couch.

John grabs a fistful of Natalie's hair and drags her to her feet, slamming her against the wall. His hand tightens its grip, the girl whining in pain.

"Dad--" Dean tries to intervene.

"Don't!" John bellows. "She deserves this. She always deserves it." He growls in his daughter's face.

"Dad, please--" Natalie tries to say, but is cut off as John punches her in the face.

"That's for knowing." He seethes, he punches her again. "That's for not telling us." He punches her stomach. "That's for lying for months!" John punches her again, sending her to the floor. "That's for your stupid pregnancy!" He shouts.

John kicks her abdomen, repeatedly delivering kicks to her stomach. Natalie tries to move, but each time she does, another kick is delivered to her abdomen. John reaches down, harshly punching Natalie who knows there'll definitely be a black eye later.

"Dad. Dad, stop! Stop! You're gonna kill her!" Dean shouts.

"You want some of this, boy?!" John yells, Dean flinching from the level of his voice. "She's gotta learn her lesson." John reaches down and wraps his hand around Natalie's throat, lifting her to her feet. He practically drags her towards the closet.

"No. No, no, no, no, no." Natalie whimpers. "I'm sorry. No." She gives whatever fight she has left, not wanting to be stuck again. John holds her at arms length and his fist slams into her nose, strong enough to knock the girl into the back wall of the closet.

John slams the door shut and locks it, even putting a chair in front of it.

"Let me out! Please!" Natalie bangs on the door, her breathing start to pick up. She jiggles the knob, but it doesn't move. She wipes the blood from under her nose, ignoring the dizzy feeling.

"Dad--" Dean tries.

"I found a hunt while I was at the bar. It's a few towns over." John states. Natalie presses her ear against the door, her eyes wide at his statement.