"Hey, you're a hunter, Kota." He soothes her, placing his hand firmly on her shoulder.
She takes a deep breath to calm herself. "I don't know if I can do this, dad." She whimpers, clutching onto his hand tightly.
"You're a hunter, aren't you?" He...
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"Every man has his own secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
<< Salvage >>
It's been an whole week since Dakota said yes to Lucifer, unknowingly of course but that didn't make the situation any better. Dean's gone down hill since it happened, every waking moment was spent drowning himself in alcohol. Sam spent every bit of his time searching for his niece, anything that would him to finding her.
"What if she's dead." Dean speaks up, his words slurred together as he slowly blinks up at his brother. "What if he killed her and is just wearing her skin."
"Dean, we can't think like that." Sam denies, looking over at Dean with gentle eyes. "You heard Cas, he could feel the second she was possessed, he can feel that she's still alive."
"I've been thinking a lot about dad, about how he raised us." Dean starts quietly, raising a hand up to rub at his forehead. "I tried so hard to do everything opposite of what dad did, I always cared about her feelings. I taught her how to be a kid, how to count, read, write, I taught her how to swim and ride a bike. I did the exact opposite of what dad did with us, I made sure Dakota knew how much I loved and cared about her. I just don't understand how I could've failed this much."
Sam's quiet for a few moments, watching Dean cautiously.
"Dean," He clears his throat, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table. Dean's gaze snaps up to meet his quickly, stopping Sam when he notices his older brother's eyes are red and tears line his cheeks.
"I failed Sam." Dean's voice cracks, he chokes down a sob and looks away from Sam. "I tried so hard to keep her safe, to keep her away from this. I'm cursed to lose everyone I love."
"No, Dean." Sam refuses sharply, shaking his head. "You didn't fail at anything, you taught Dakota how to protect herself. That's the best thing a father could do for their kid, teach them how to be safe. You did that, Dakota is the strongest, bravest, and smartest girl I know. You did that. You raised her to be strong and she is, you succeeded."
Silence hangs in the air as Sam lets his words settle in Dean, letting him process them.
"She's independent now, Dean, she doesn't need you to baby her anymore." Sam admits, he knows his words could potentially hurt Dean, but it's something he needs to hear.
"But...she's my baby, Sam." Dean whispers, his throat suddenly dry. "It's my job to protect her."
"And you did your job, she knows how to protect herself. That's all a father can do for their child, it to teach them how to protect themselves."
