From The Very Beginning

Two and a Half Men

Receiving the call from Sam had been a surprise, to say the least. The last time she had interacted with Dean he had expressed a disinterest in ever seeing her again. But now they needed her and for a baby at that. A baby that they had just... found, a stranger. Over the phone Sam had sounded nearly annoyed about the entire situation, not unexpected — he was different now and constantly preoccupied with their unusual... skill set.

If someone were to listen to the recording they would assume that the two were distant acquaintances, perhaps with a few conversations under their belts but nothing indicated any sort of prior friendship. That's what they had been. Friends. Prime word in that expression being had. One day it was there and the next it was gone. At least Dean had given an excuse, no matter how it had felt. Sam was just different and had pretty much left Alive in his dust. He now favoured hunting over everything else. Maybe for the distraction? Originally she had hoped to figure out what was going on with him to make him so odd but Sam had pretty much stopped coming around...

So...

When Allie finally arrived at the motel Sam had given her he wasn't even there. The room was akin to most others that they experienced in years prior. Walls had washed out paint tones, presumably from being mopped over and over. Nicotine and bad choices were not easy to eradicate.

Dean was sitting on the bed when she walked in (without knocking). One would think that Sam would have communicated to Dean that she'd be showing up but of course - he didn't.

Dean had just gotten the baby, Bobby-John, down. He had never necessarily seen himself as a father until Ben and Lisa came into the picture and now? Well, now Ben sort of felt like his. Plus, he took care of Sammy when he was young. He had tried to perform a nonchalant attitude when he went to the store with Sam to get baby stuff but really he knew more about kids than he thought. Just little things that you pick up along the way through conversation while living in the suburbs.

Hosting neighbourhood barbeques and the odd football brought up average American dad topics. Highlights included: wife's breastfeeding and boobs are crazy huge, work doesn't understand when people have kids, wanting to golf but having to stay home and change diapers instead, not being able to play video games all day anymore...

It's not that the guys he had surrounded himself with were bad guys. They just didn't know how to appreciate the lives that they led. They'd never been to Hell or met angels, or used silver to kill their shapeshifter doppelganger. They were just normal suburban men.

The sight of Allie walking through the motel door made him tense. Seeing her walk around like nothing had happened was jarring. She was wearing her hair differently. Her body even looked... filled out. He hadn't recognized that last time. "Allie?" He paused, eyes roaming over her. "What are you doing here?" he spoke incredulously.

Allie's eyes flickered from side to side in confusion. "Uh..." she scratched her head awkwardly. "What do you mean? Sam called me— to help with the baby ." her head gestured to the crib as she gently rocked between her feet, unable to firmly plant herself in the moment due to the unnatural uncomfortable air between them. That was new. The space between them could be filmed and made into a sarcastic comedy about stupid people who didn't know how to interact.

Dean sighed and stood, tall frame leaning over her as he grew closer, subconsciously moving to stand within tight proximity. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. "He didn't tell me you were coming." He wanted to reach out and touch her. They always had a language of physical touch but he held back, his fingers tapping against his leg to fight the habit.

Growing up his idle movements had made him wonder if perhaps he had an affliction, considering he found it difficult to sit still at times. John never seemed to notice and so... the internal question of 'what's wrong with me?' went unanswered. Though, he had many other reasons for asking such things.