The Secret of Henley Winchester || Dean's Daughter (Supernatural)

Chapter 6: Revelations

The whole ride back to the hotel was quiet. Henley managed to avoid Sam's questioning gaze through the rear view mirror for the majority of the ride home. She made the mistake of looking out the window when she caught his gaze, and he seemed confused as well as ticked off. Of course she understood where he was coming from. If she were him then she'd probably be pissed that someone was keeping a HUGE secret from her, and her sibling. Henley's face contorted into a frown as she rested her chin against the ledge on the car door. She began to twirl her hair as she became more nervous, eventually causing knots. As the car pulled into the parking lot Henley braced herself for a massive screaming match between her and Sam. She slowly opened the car door, and slid off the seat, moving like molasses. She looked over to Dean who rolled his eyes at how slow she was moving.

"Could you possibly move any slower?" he asked, as she tentatively shut the car door. He ran a hand over his jaw, and began hurrying back to his hotel room. He was too concerned with eating his pie that he hadn't even noticed that her and Sam weren't following him.

"We'll meet you inside!" Sam shouted. Dean just waved his hand in response, not even bothering to turn around. Henley looked down at her shoes, and pretended to be highly fascinated with them, as Sam walked up to her. He let out a fake cough, causing Henley to look up at him. "So, are you going to explain, or shall I just tell Dean the truth, and that you've been lying to the both of us this entire time." Henley's eyes widened at these words.

"Please you can't tell Dean. Not yet. I was just waiting for the right time to tell you both the truth, but the opportunity never seemed to present itself." she explained, twisting strands of her hair more violently.

"I'm not mad,"—he paused, letting out a big sigh—"Okay I'm a little mad. I just want to know why you didn't tell us the second we met, or why you haven't even attempted to do so since then."

Henley looked Sam strait in the eyes, pursing her lips, "I'll tell you everything. But first I want to know how you found out?"

Sam smiled, shaking his head a little at her request. "You think you're the only one that knows how to hack an FBI database, or dig up information on people?" Henley smiled a little, leaning against the side of baby, nodding her head. "Trust me, it wasn't that hard. All I had to do was type your first name into a public records search, then narrow it down by age. Then I found your photo, and figured out which state you lived in. After that all I had to do was input that into the FBI database, and a public article about a Caroline Watson getting hit by a drunk driver came up, and a two year old girl was mentioned. After that, all the pieces just fell into place."

"Well, I guess I know where I got my intelligence from." she quipped. He gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"So, since you know my whole backstory, I guess I'll just explain why I didn't tell you." Henley stopped twisting her hair, and shoved her hands into her back pants pockets. "The simple answer...I-I was afraid you guys would turn me away. That you wouldn't want me around, or better yet, pretend like you want to get to know me and be a part of the family but tell me it's "not safe" so I have to leave."

"Henley, we would of never turned you away. You're family, and we don't give up on family. Sure, hunting is extremely dangerous; but we would of at least heard you out, or arranged times to visit or something. Dean and I wouldn't of left you."

Henley looked up from the ground, choking back a sob. She ran into Sam, wrapping her arms around him, crushing him in the tightest hug she's ever given someone. He seemed startled at first, but eventually returned the gesture. They stayed like that for a good two minutes, until Sam pulled back. He leaned down to her height, wiping her tear stained face with his thumb.

Henley smiled through her watery tears. She shrugged her shoulders, and let out a sigh, "I'm glad to know you wouldn't of turned me away. I just assumed you would considering what type of business you were in, and I wanted to prove myself to you guys so you would let me stay, before I told either of you."

Sam chuckled, "Well you sure impressed me with your research and hacking skills, as well as your ability to track Dean and I down. We are pretty hard men to find."

"Yeah, really hard. I know I said it was easy, but it's taken me six months to gather all the information I possibly could on you guys, and then try and find cases I thought you might be working on. I even found a police recording of Dean talking about himself, and it sounded like he was signing up for EHarmony. That was my favorite piece of evidence. I still have it on my phone."

Sam laughed, hanging his head before looking back up at her, his face becoming serious again. "So, how are you planning on telling Dean?" Sam questioned, standing back up to his full height. "He's not going to take this easy. He'll beat himself up inside because he didn't know you existed, and wasn't there for you. He'll blame himself, and he's not going to know how to take care of a kid." Sam glanced back at his and Dean's motel room window, a worried frown etched on his face.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a kid anymore. I mean, legally speaking I'm still a minor, but I know how to take care of myself, wash laundry, do the dishes, and all that jazz. I just want a relationship with both of you, and to finally be part of a family. My whole life, it's been my mom's sister Gemma, and I, together. Don't get me wrong she is family, and I love her more than anything. But now I have the chance to know more of my family and be a part of something bigger, and I wouldn't give that opportunity up for anything in this whole world."

Sam slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling Henley close. "So, you going to go up there and tell him?" Henley looked up at Sam, pondering over her options. She just wanted to prove herself on this one hunt before she told Dean everything. Even though what Sam said reassured her, she still wanted to prove she could handle herself, before emotions came into play.

"I'll tell Dean, but can I do it after we finish this hunt? I know you said you guys won't reject me no matter what, but I really want to prove I can take care of myself in fights and snap second decisions before emotions come into play. Please please, just give me till the end of this hunt!" Henley begged, giving Sam the saddest puppy eyes she could muster. Sam sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I really don't like keeping a secret this big from Dean, but as long as you promise to tell him right after this hunt is over, I'll allow it—" he surmised "—Besides who can say no to those puppy dog eyes. I know for a fact that is one thing you got from me." Sam smirked, as they headed back into the motel, his arm around her shoulder, and Henley finally feeling like she was wanted by someone other than her aunt.