Sunday Afternoon
Part 2
@butiaintgonnaloveem set an AMAZING challenge; Must be about Baby, our beloved Impala. So I picked the following song (please listen to it first) that I fell in love with and this fic is what resulted. It’s 6k words, so it’s in 2 parts… enjoy
Song: Groovin (The Young Rascals) Characters: Reader, Dean, Sam Warnings: fluff, angst, supernatural themes, death, blood… A/N: Thank you to the marvelous @avasmommy224 for being my beta on this, you’re one amazing woman! This part is slightly longer! Summary: A shared love for an Impala brings people closer together, whether they know it or not… (shit summary but I don’t want to spoil anything)
I’d lived a long life with John Winchester, and in 2005 he gave me the opportunity to return the favour; He gave me Dean. If I thought John could push me, I was in for a treat. From a young age I could see the same love in Dean’s eyes, I was his first love, and over the many years, his only love. If only Dean understood that the radio wasn't faulty, it was me talking to him. If only he knew that I locked my doors when he slept inside me. What I wouldn't give to hold him tight when he sat behind my wheel and silently cried. I knew his secrets and all I could do was wish he knew mine.
January 23rd, 2011: Dean and Sam had tracked down a coven, they pulled me over to the side of the road, climbing out and silently shutting my doors. I don't think they ever noticed I never creaked my doors when there was need for silence. They retrieved their weapons from my trunk and disappeared into the night. I could hear curses and screams and gunshots. A woman ran out of the house, stopping dead in her tracks right in front of me, she looked so familiar. And she seemed to think the same, she stared at me, eyes wide, her face drained of colour. That's when it hit me… she was the head Witch. She was the one I'd been tracking in 1971. I shook with fury, I wanted to run her down, exact my revenge. And as my engine tried to turn, she raised a hand to me and began to chant. I was rumbling and revving now. Dean burst through the front door of the nearby house, taking aim and shooting her down as she was halfway through her spell. She fell forwards, her bloodied hand connected with my bonnet as the light left her eyes. But in that momentary touch, I felt it. She'd managed to do something to me. I locked my doors against Dean, trying my best to warn him against me. Something was happening, I was cursed, I could feel it. Completely different to being possessed, but I could feel something foreign surging through me. Dean mumbled swears at me as the keys finally took, forcing me open. By some stroke of luck, the boys returned to the motel, bypassing the usual bar stop after a successful hunt.
Dean shut off my engine and climbed out of my cab, he collected his bag and followed Sam through the door of their room. Dean didn't even look back to see the handprint on my fender. I wanted to scream for him to wipe it off, sure that it would stop whatever magic was coursing through me.
January 24th, 2015: The sun was shining bright, warm against my dark surface, the winter wind nipped at my sides and ran down my back. The ground was much cooler under me, than I was normally used to, must be a frosty morning. I opened my eyes and the sun glinted off the window, blinding me momentarily. I blinked the spots away and realised the position of the sun in the window meant I was sitting lower than normal. If my tires were blown, neither Dean or I would be happy. Speaking of, the door opened and Dean stepped out, keys in hand. He looked around then at me, I smiled, my insides warming for wherever he was taking me. His mouth fell open and he stumbled back into the door, almost tripping and sliding down it. What was happening? Dean began to shrug out of his jacket as he banged on the door at his back. “Sammy.” He bellowed, I’d heard that wary tone before, what was the matter. I checked behind me, nothing. I looked back to Dean who had carefully approached me, holding his jacket at arm’s length. “Don’t-Dean-the-spell.” I blurted as he was a step away. I don’t know who was more surprised. I heard my voice, not just in my head. For Dean, I was a stranger who knew his name. I looked down now, feeling the heaviness of my head, the movement of my neck, all the muscles, no longer machine but human. I pushed myself up into a sitting position, looking down at my hands. I had hands again, I looked at the rest of my body, my naked body. It wasn’t shiny and glinting in the sun, it was fleshy and smooth. My head, god, how heavy it was.
“But who is she?” I heard Sam ask in a hushed whisper. I opened my eyes and saw a ceiling, I was indoors. I spread my fingers wide and felt the cloth beneath me, around me, I was in a bed. I moved my hands up to my stomach, feeling the smooth naked skin. It was warm, and silky and … foreign. I frowned as I ran my hands in opposite directions, over my breast, between my legs, purely exploring long forgotten mounds and crevasses. “Uhh…” Dean cleared his throat, causing me to sit bolt upright, the bed linen falling away from me. “Whoa.” Sam was holding up the sheets for me within moments, protecting a stranger’s modesty, That’s my boy. I thought. smiling. I looked between the two, Dean was staring at me, differently to how he was before, as if he was concentrating a little two hard, trying to place the familiarity he felt. “Who are you?” Sam tried, throwing his brother a look, one I’d seen time and time again. He should ease up on Dean, they were brought up differently; Sam raised, Dean dragged. “I’m…” I actually had to think about it, my name, something I hadn’t heard in 50+ years, “YN?” I didn’t mean for it to be a question, I nodded to confirm it. Sam still looked unsure, “You,” I turned to Dean, “Know me as Baby.” I muttered, suddenly feeling their eyes on me, aware of just how naked I was. “Can I borrow some clothes?” I asked. It took the younger Winchester a second or three, but he let me take the blanket and searched through their bags for spare, clean, clothes. I wrapped the sheet around me and took the offered clothes, heading towards the bathroom. I let the sheet drop as I closed the door. The woman in the mirror staring back at me was a shock. It was like seeing a ghost. A ghost with a blood smear over her cheek. I’d gotten used to admiring my sleek, black, shine in reflections. Now I was human, and what more, I hadn’t aged, I was my old twenty-seven year old self. I was frozen, staring, relearning the planes of my face. I backed up against the far wall and studied my body, the way it moved, the shape, the colour, my hair. It was black and shiny, the only part of me now like my... true form is incorrect, but after more time as a car than as a human, you understand my meaning. I wet a facecloth and scrubbed the dried blood off my face then pulled the boxers up my legs, over my buttocks, discovering a demon trap tattoo on one cheek. I poked my head through the hole in the shirt and let the material fall over my body, it came further down my legs than the boxers. “No way, Dean, she’s a human, the car’s probably been nicked.” Sam explained away, for a man who’d seen it all, he sure was closed minded. “You don’t feel it? I know her, explain that, she’s naked where we left the car, the witch was chanting before I got her last night… I don’t know, Sam, it’s…” Dean must’ve shrugged to finish his sentence. I opened the door and the brothers straightened apart, trying to look casual, but in reality it looked more suspicious. “Why don’t you call Rowena, if you don’t believe me. See if she’s heard of this kind of magic?” Sam’s brows pulled in at my mention of the witch, Dean’s raised, interesting how my boys differ. “How do you know about Rowena?” Sam asks, more like interrogates. “Because I was there, Sam. I’ve always been there.” I know Sam won’t believe me till he has more evidence, instead I turn to Dean. “You feel it, right, Dean?” I ask, taking cautious steps towards him, Dean’s eyes flicker to Sam and back to me, watching, waiting. “John Winchester bought me on the 30th of April, 1972, with your encouragement, when Castiel sent you back. John proposed to Mary in me-the Impala.” At Dean’s nose crinkle, I quickly adjusted my statement and made a mental note that now I wasn’t a car, it sounded weird. “They conceived you in that car, Mary delivered you there. Sam was touch and go but I got Mary to the hospital, didn’t I. Dean, I held the three of you close when she died.” I desperately wanted him to understand. “I protected you boys when John drank himself into darkness and forgot you two were in the car.” Their struggle to believe me was infuriating, my tone adjusted to vent the anger, “You scraped my side when you borrowed me from John. John and I watched you, Sam, made sure you were safe while you were at Stanford. I was there through everything, Dean. I felt everything.” I finished, my chest heaving as I drew in heavy breaths. I looked between the boys, they were stunned. I couldn’t help myself from adding the cherry on top, “By the way, Dean?” I waited for him to meet my gaze, “Happy Birthday.” I walked between them and headed back to the parking lot, sure it was cold, but who knew how long this spell would last and I didn’t want to explode back into a car in the middle of their room.
“YN?” Dean was quiet on his approach. I was standing on the other side of the parking lot, I turned to face him, aware of the slump of his shoulders, the pain behind his eyes, the caution in his step. “Please don’t call me that, Dean. Not you.” I murmured, I could feel the tears in my eyes, I wasn’t aware of how to be with him now, being an automobile was much easier. Dean stopped a few feet from me, I wasn’t sure if it was my plea or his own deciding. He was silent for quite a while before he realised he was carrying a blanket. He closed the distance and wrapped me in the warm sheet. “Can you tell me something?” His voice was thick, he quickly cleared it and carried on as I nodded. “How were you in the Impala? How did we not know?” He asked, I smiled and swiped the wetness from my cheeks, he escorted me to the bench and sat with me. “I was a hunter, believe it or not.” Dean raised an eyebrow but didn’t interrupt, “I…” I should start from the beginning, I thought, “I wanted a Ford, and I’d saved for years for that bloody thing, and on the day I could afford it, I marched into the lot and bought the brand new, 1967, Chevrolet, Impala.” Dean snorted and smiled, I could almost read his mind, “She was beautiful back then, and I couldn’t leave without her. So I didn’t.” I smiled at the old memory, I was amazed I even remembered. “She’s still stunning.” Dean muttered. My head snapped round to look him in the eye, the silence stretched out, both of us frozen in the moment. “Rowena’s a state away if we leave-” Sam informed as he walked towards us, then broke off instantly realising a state away meant driving. Dean cleared his throat and looked to his brother, standing to make plans. I kept staring. My Dean called me beautiful, he was proud of me, loved me, but never once did I think he’d mean anything more. “We’ll borrow another for now, get you some clothes.” Dean stated casually with a shrug. “I don’t, I can’t…” I couldn’t figure out the way to phrase my fear of being indoors. What if the spell wore off when I was in a changing room? “Hey, hey.” Dean hushed, his palm rested on my cheek, my face fitting into his hand as if it were sculpted to him. “We’ll think of something else.” Dean soothed. “Something else? Dean!” Sam protested, but Dean shot him a look. “Just use a summoning spell, Sam.” Dean snapped. “With what?” Sam snapped back, motioning at me. I couldn’t help but feel hurt. I didn’t know what had happened to everything. I didn’t know where the weapons, herbs, other clothes and books had gone. Christ, I didn’t even know where my precious present from Sam had gone, or the Lego Dean had given me. “Dude.” Dean warned, “Call her back, she can come to us.” Dean said after a minute of thinking. “Wait. I can tell her the spell.” I said, closing the distance between Sam and I.
“By the sounds, it’s going to wear off 24 hours after whoever cast it died.” Rowena explained, I nodded, part of me knew it wasn’t permanent, she hadn’t got the whole curse out, it was her blood that had caused it to take effect. “Isn’t there anything we can do to make it permanent?” Sam asked. “Whoa, hang on.” Dean said, surprised at Sam’s thinking. “I mean, separate her from the car.” Sam amended. Dean nodded, looking up at me, realising that it might’ve hurt to hear him want his car back, more than he wanted a human. But in honesty, it didn’t. This world, as a human, was now foreign to me, give me four wheels and Dean, and I’d be myself. “If I don’t know what the spell was that caused it, I could do more damage trying to reverse it.” Rowena said, she actually managed to sound apologetic. I shrugged before either of them could talk. I didn’t want to hear how sorry they were, how they’d try to fix this. In my eyes, this would be fixed just after eleven tonight. “Thanks Rowena.” I said, effectively ending the conversation, taking the phone from Sam and ending the call. “We can fix this, just…” Sam began, I shook my head, I wouldn’t want them wasting their lives for mine, I had accepted that I was the Impala, and as long as the boys kept on loving me, they’d be my life. “Now, if this doesn’t wear off till tonight, I’d like some proper clothes.” I chirped, hoping my tone would escalate their moods.
“Can I show you something?” I asked Dean as we walked away from the store, wearing my new clothes. Sam had left us to it, claiming he’d look into “things” and let Dean get to know me. “Of course.” Dean smiled, I took his hand and pulled him across the road, weird that I was finally directing him. “I doubt you remember this, we drove past it on our way to the hunt.” I said, our fingers had fit together, intertwined, it felt very much like when he fit them into the grooves on my steering wheel. He shook his head. “You really see everything, huh?” He mused to himself. “It reminded me of when you were three and John and Mary brought you to a park quite similar.” I looked over at his sad smile, “I s’pose you don’t remember it.” I muttered, letting the thought trail off. I didn’t want to upset him on the only day I’d ever be able to talk to him. We stood watching parents with children, kids climbing over equipment. “Tell me more.” Dean prodded. “Mary had scooped you out and took you to the park, it had been a busy day and John had to look for a parking spot, we sat and watched the two of you in the sandpit for a while.” I smiled, looking over the planes of Dean’s face as he watched toddlers eating sand in the nearby box. “He told me he loved your smile. That you got it from Mary.” I saw the curl of his lips, the sad smile that pulled at his features. “I can see it now!” I whispered, he turned and looked at me, his eyes searching mine. “He knew about you?” He asked, I giggled and shook my head. “No, sorry.” I placed a hand on his arm, “I meant he said it out loud. You’re the only one that talks to me, Dean!” I said brightly, smiling at him. He reached up and tucked a piece of my unruly hair behind my ear, his thumb grazing my cheek bone. “I’m sorry.” He said it with such conviction my heart broke for him. It was my own stupid fault I'd got trapped in the car, how was ANYONE to know I WAS the car? But here Dean was, apologizing like he's not seen obvious signs. “There's nothing to be sorry for, my darling. You know now,” I tried to make him understand, but his tears were beginning to well and I couldn't have that on his birthday, “And maybe you’ll stop running me into things!” I joked, and it worked, he laughed. I patted his knee and stood up. “I'm starved.” I announced, “birthday feast?” I suggested, taking his hand and pulling him up.
After realising the time and heading to the bar for dinner, we joined Sam at the booth he’d been holding. “Good day?” Sam asked, looking between the two of us as we sat down opposite him. “Yeah,” Dean answered, passing me the menu that stood against the wall, “Do you remember that time when we were kids and Dad forgot we were in the car, got stone-cold drunk and passed out in the front seat... we couldn’t remember who’d locked the doors in the morning?” Dean asked his brother, a memory I hadn’t meant to remind him of but inherently did when I announced that there were small things I was able to control. “We thought the car was magic?” Sam said, recalling the memory, again, not my intention. Dean jerked his thumb in my direction and Sam’s eyebrows shot up, a proud nod was all he offered. “What do you boys feel like?” I asked, beginning to push out of the booth, but Dean stopped me, pulling me back to the leather seat. “This is on Mr Radowski.” He informed, waving a gold American Express in front of Sam and I. “I’ll have the chicken caesar,” Sam said, giving me an extra moment to glance at the menu. “I’m dying for a medium rare steak with fries and ketchup.” I said, smiling at Dean as he nodded his approval and made his way to the bar. “So, you enjoy your day?” Sam asked me now that Dean was gone. “Yeah, it’s been nice. Great stretching my legs and actually talking with Dean.” I said, glancing back to him. “You love him?” Sam asked, I whipped my head back just in time to see him surveying me. “I love you both, Sam.” My brow had furrowed at how serious a statement I was making, I needed him to know it wasn’t just Dean. Sure, Dean pays me the attention I need and I was in love with the man, but they were both my boys, I’d die for them, if I could. “You have to understand, I was there from the beginning of it all, Sam, I know what you boys have been through, I’ve seen most everything you have. Just cause I’m the Impala doesn’t mean I don’t take it in.” Sam’s gaze dropped to the table, fiddling with the cardboard coaster in his hands. “What do you miss mo-” Sam began as Dean plonked the beer bottles on the table and shoved them at us, scooting in next to his brother. We clinked bottles and took a sip. “The open road, the speed.” I answered, looking back to Sam who chuckled, I tilted my head and took another pull of beer. “I meant, about being human!” Sam said with a snort, Dean caught on and smiled. “Oh,” I thought about it and then smiled, wiping at the droplets of condensation on the bottle. “What is it?” Dean pried, smirking. I was sure he already knew the answer. “I s’pose, sex. Closely,” Sam nearly choked on his beer as Dean laughed, “Closely followed by food, speaking of,” I quickly segwayed as the waitress passed our plates to us, making eyes at Dean who didn’t seem to notice now he had his food. But I did, I saw the curve of her on-display cleavage, the way she pouted when Dean didn’t look up, the sway of her hips when she walked away. Man or Woman, I missed the human body and the way it reacted in moments of passion. “No wonder you’re so suited,” Sam muttered, bringing my attention back to the table. “What?” I questioned, knowing full well he was referring to his brother. Sam shook his head and chuckled before digging into his salad.
We all sat back, tummies full, third beer in hand, conversation freely flowing between us, when I felt it. It started as a fizz in my stomach, then spread out over my body, like a low hum of electricity under my skin. I was beginning to change back. “S’cuse, I think I’ve had one too many after how many years!” I explained, pushing out of the booth and heading towards the toilet. Sam gave me a questioning glance before returning to argue with his brother about the minute details of a case they worked many years ago. I stole a waitresses pad and pen before sneaking out the back door toward the parking lot. Who knew how long I had, I put pen to paper and hoped they’d find it.
The boys felt it before they heard it, the floor vibrating as if something heavy had just landed nearby, then the clunk of metal, like chain-mail falling into place. They looked at each other then at the door, both pushing out of the booth and darting for it, bursting into the cool night air. And there she was, sleek and black, shining under the streetlight, just waiting for them. Dean steps forward, running his hand over the bonnet, up the door panel and along the roof. He’s more tender and gentle than ever before, taking in every small groove and rough patch in the paintwork, making a mental note to wax and polish her when he gets her home, show her some real TLC. Dean gingerly opened the door and put one foot into the well, realising Sam is frozen near the door they’d just burst through. “You comin’?” Dean asks, nodding at the passenger side. “Isn’t this weird?” Sam asks, concern on his face. Dean’s brow furrows, to him she was a car come to life for a day, a Birthday wish. Sam heard her story though, she was a woman cursed to spend the rest of, who knows, trapped inside the Impala. “She was … now we both just…” Sam shook his head, his face contorting at the idea. “Dude.” Dean chided, sliding down into the seat, gliding his hands over the steering wheel, fitting his fingers into the grooves, like always but now he remembered the warmth of her fingers between his and he smiled. Sam finally, yet hesitantly, joined Dean inside the Impala. His discomfort evident on his face. Dean fished the keys from his pocket and slid them into the ignition effortlessly, turning them as her the glovebox fell open. “How-” Sam began as he reached in and retrieved the pad of paper, showing it to Dean who just shrugs but nods for Sam to read it out loud.
My boys, Today was wonderful, getting to share my story with you both, talk to you both. Something I never thought I’d do again, let alone with you. You’ve both grown into such wonderful gentlemen and I’m honoured to say I’ve been there for the whole ride. My heroes. Sam - please don’t go searching for a way to undo the spell. I’ve spent more of my life as a car than I have as a human, just knowing you both now know I’m here is enough. Dean - I look forward to many more years as the Impala, your Impala. For future reference, there’s one spot you always miss in the monthly wash - figure it out! -Baby
Sam read over it again as Dean smiled to himself, he remembered you saying large, deep, puddles were your favourite as they hit a certain point on the tires. He banked that thought and put her in reverse, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. She revs harder than he’s ever heard her before. Groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon … begins to play through the stereo and the brothers share a knowing look before looking away. Sam turned to his window, looking over his shoulder at the toy still stuck in the arm of the door behind him. Dean patted the dash affectionately, fingertips lingering for a brief moment before he releases the clutch, pressing his foot to the floor on the accelerator, letting his Baby fly down the interstate. “That’s my girl.”
Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it.
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