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

Chapter 18: Two Men, One Nephilim and a Teenage Girl

Henley was supposed to be asleep, but that's hard to do in a car. Especially when the spawn of Satan was sleeping soundly next to her. Jack was curled up on the other side of the backseat of the Impala, much to her father's chagrin. Henley knew the boy was dangerous, but his sleeping form looked so serene and innocent. All Henley wanted to do was protect the boy, even though she figured he didn't really need protecting. Peeking her eyes open, Henley turned her gaze to the front of the Impala, where Sam and Dean sat in utter silence. They had just over twelve hours left until they reached the bunker, and for the past hour she'd been feigning sleep in hopes of overhearing her father and uncle talking about things they thought she shouldn't hear. A small smile tugged at her lips, and she quickly closed her eyes once more when Sam spoke up.

"Hey, we still got probably twelve hours until we're home. You want me to drive?" Sam asked, and she could all but see his tired and hopeful face.

"Do I ever want you to drive?" Dean resounded, his gruff voice thick and laced with exhaustion.

Look. . .losing mom and Cas, that's a lot to process Dean, especially on no sleep. And the kid—"

"The kid? Henley is a kid. The other one in our backseat is a supercharged nephilim just waiting to explode." There was a brief lapse in conversation, and Henley assumed Sam's distressed look gave Dean a moment's pause. "Come on, man. You know how this plays out. Look, when we try to bend the rules, pretend that the bad guys aren't so bad or that things will get fixed, that's when people we care about get hurt. And then we end up doing what we should've done in the first place, which is end the problem. So this time, let's start with the obvious. Soon as I find a way to take care of it." Dean let out an exasperated sigh, and the sound of the rear view mirror squeaking gave way that Dean was checking in on the backseat. "I'm not letting Henley get hurt. Not again."

"Dean, I don't want Henley to get hurt again either. Believe me. She's the only other family we've got right now. But. . .Dean 'the problem' might be our only shot at saving mom." Henley grit her teeth, and she knew that Sam was about to get the annoyed, 'I can't believe you just said that' look from her dad.

"Mom's gone," Dean rasped. "There's no fixing that." Henley's face pulled into a frown, and she bunched her sweater up more underneath her head, in an attempt to make a better pillow. Maybe she could get a few hours of shut eye and escape this depressing atmosphere, if only for a little while.

Henley couldn't of been asleep for more than thirty minutes when the Impala jerked to a halt, waking her from her slumber. Rubbing her eyes, Henley peered up at the bright flashing sign that read 'Black Hat Hotel' through the car window.

"What are we stopped for? Are we spending the night in a hotel?" Henley cleared her throat, realizing just how closely her tone resembled that of a five year old. She really hated the way her voice sounded right after she woke up. It was so childish.

Dean let out a frustrated sigh, looking back at her, and then Sam, to who he only rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're stopped for the night." Sam let out a scoff, quickly exiting the vehicle after Dean. Shrugging her shoulders, Henley pushed open the car door, slowly dragging her tired feet to the trunk, where Dean handed her her duffel.

"Thanks dad," Henley muttered out, hoisting the bag up onto her shoulder.

"Welcome," Dean said, grabbing his own bag out, and walking ahead of the rest of them into the motel. Henley shot her uncle a surprised expression, to which he just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it kiddo. He's just tired. We're all tired."

Henley nodded her head in understanding, though she didn't believe her uncle. Not really. She knew from the conversation she overheard that this was about their mom, and Cas. As well as Jack. How could it not be?