Summary : requested by : @elenasalvatore1 Dean never knew he had a daughter, he only found out when he also discovered that she was the key to ending the second apocalypse. Dean wants to be a good father, but how can he do that with a broken, isolated and selfreliant 16 year-old?
Warnings : Curse words, mentions of a rough childhood.
Pairings : Dean Winchester x Daughter!reader
A/N : sooo sorry not sorry for how long this is. I wanted to write something worth the wait so here you are hihi. So sorry for the yearly delay ahah. Anyway- enjoy!
------
No sip of beer had ever tasted more bitter than this one for Dean. And no news had ever physically hurt him this much. His heart jackhammered in his chest. His stomach twisted tightly. And as he clenched tightly his fist under the bar counter, he catacllismically realized that this was all new to him- not Sam dying too many times, not Bobby, not his mother, not John. None of it ever felt this way.
For a fraction of a second, Dean was made aware of his own existence. he squirmed. it feels disgusting. He existed. She existed.
She is his. His blood. His daughter.
And not only was she his daughter, but she was also-apparently- the key to end this second apocalypse, along with all the tablets. Dean had fallen in love with this girl, her mother. Surprisingly, she was his first. He could've sworn that they were safe- although with Dean, you never really know.
The girl had died during childbirth, at which point the child was placed in the system...
His daughter..
°°°
Cas vanished as soon as he broke the news to the hunter. He probably didn't want to stand there awkwardly while Dean processed the news. Or at least that's what Dean thought.
But in reality, the angels had always known about the girl, watched her closely but were never allowed to interfere.
Not even to save her when she was a wound away from death.
Not when she was cornered against a wall with a group of men, toying with her life like it was worthless.
The angel left...Left Dean alone...Left him with yet another weight to bare. But...the weight wasn't the girl- it was rather the idea of her being alone for 16 years.
He doesn't deserve to feel anything other than guilt. And she surely didn't deserve any of it.
Bringing the bottle to his lips, Dean took another sip of his beer. It seemed like he had found his calling. She needed his help. And he decided to be there for her, no matter what.
°°°
"Can you stop following me?"
The child dragged her feet faster through the parking lot. "I said i don't want your help." She glared over her shoulder at her harasser-her words- before he grabbed her wrist in a soft grip.
It's been 2 weeks since Dean physically introduced himself to the her. 2 weeks since she's been running away from him, attempting to run away and even tricking him before running away.
"I'm not asking-kid." His grip on her wrist tightened as she pulled away, fighting harder as the seconds went by. "It's been two weeks, when are you going to finally let go and accept my help." The hunter pulled her as he simultaneously stepped forward. "I just want to help." Although the scene might've looked violent to pass-byers, his hold was gentle, firm but gentle.
But that didn't change much for the girl, she was already feeling claustrophobic and she needed a way out.
As she breathed in, a sudden shift in her face worried the hunter but his awareness came too late. His eyes widened as the girl took a violent breath in-
"KIDNAPPING-KIDNAPPING- THIS MAN IS TRYING TO KIDNAP ME-PEDOPHILE-"
Dean's fingers flexed fully open. He froze, his eyes darting around as a crowd started forming.
After one last glance, the girl stepped backward, turning on her heels before vanishing into the crowd.
Son of a bitch...Dean swore through gritted teeth.
"She's lying. She's-my daughter-she" The hunter swiftly took off, sprinting out of the parking lot.
Thankfully, his car was parked around the block, as the town was too heavily involved in demonic activity. Although demons could easily find them some other way, best be safe.
Later that day, at exactly 7.58 pm, Dean gently shut the door to his impala and locked it before turning his focus to the building before him.
He scanned the front, one too many windows and doors. A danger to him but a stategy to whoever took his daughter. They, unfortunately, had the upper hand but Dean had no choice. He had to save his newly found child.
Entering the building, Dean prepped the gun and a lamp, carefully tiptoeing up the stairs, heading to wherever the screams were coming from.
And then a whole set of violent acts took place, they saw him, launched at him, wounded him and even almost killed him. But with this child in mind and vision, he was determined to make it out alive, hurt but alive.
Slicing the last one in half, the hunter's eyes darted from the falling cadaver to his daughter, chained and bleeding.
He marched over, kneeling before untiying her part by part. No words were shared between them, just grunts from Dean and whimpers accompanied by heavy breaths from his daughter.
She wouldn't meet his eyes. And she didn't need to- Dean wasn't planning on forcing her. He was planning on saving his i-told-you-so's for later, when she is fed and fully conscious.
And so with arm wrapped around hers, he led her to the car, opening the door for her before rounding the front to his own side of the car.
"What were those things?"
Those were the first words that came out of her lips, words impeded by the blocked tears and choking sobs clogging her throat. But she could no longer wait for a response before a sob escaped her lips. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she hugged her waist, leaning away from Dean's touch as he approached his hand reassuringly.
Pins relentlessly jabbed Dean's heart as he watched his daughter shudder. He didn't push. Instead, he just rested his hand on his thigh, waiting for her to let it all out. To cry it all out.
He couldn't even imagine how hard life was for her. And for that, he watched her. Absorbing her pain, living it in a way for him to compensate for all that pain she had inside her. If he wasn't there for her, then he'll watch her painfully, ache with her.
A form of self punishment.
°°°
A few days later, after an evening of explanation and cries, the girl had finally calmed down, accepted her fate which included Dean, an introduction to god, angels, prophets, tablets and the apocalypse. Dean explained it all to her, how she was a key, and why she was one. The winchester bloodline's curse and how close the end is.
All was going well...Until Dean woke up to a very silent motel room.
Startling upwards, the hunter frantically looked around. He jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, opening the door to find simply nothing.
This fucking kid...
The Winchester left the motel, heading...nowhere. He searched and searched, for hours. And when there was no hope left, his eyes slid closed as his head tipped backward.
"Please...Cas." And before he knew it, he was something new-alongside the angel. "Wha..." Although he's been transported elsewhere before, he could never get used to the feeling. "Where are we?"
"It doesn't matter. She's in there." The angel nodded towards a house among many others. "Hurry, they're not inside."
He vanished.
Dean stayed frozen for a few seconds, taking it all in. Why wouldn't such a powerful creature just snap it's fingers and get her out of there?
The hunter shook the thought off. The question wouldn't answer itself on its own. And now's not the time for it anyways.
Regaining full focus, Dean headed for the house, the colt glued to his side.
Despite not having to fight any monster, Dean felt more weary than usual. He's never walked such long distances with a powerful arm at his side, even less when that powerful arm is his daughter.
As he held her close to him, he glanced over his shoulder and around, in front of him, over his shoulder and back around. Until a bus emerged from the fog a few miles away.
Dean took in a breath of relief.
"I thought last time was eye opening for you-kid." He began as they both plopped down on the bus seats.
"Well it wasn't." Raising her voice a little, the stubborn little thing crossed her arms over her chest, turning to face the window.
"I can see that. Are you gonna force me to change my ways with you?" He asked, tapping her shoulder when she didn't face him. "Are you?"
"Why do you want to do this anyway?" When she did, Dean noticed the glisten in her eyes. "I don't get it." She asked in a murmur. It was as if she didn't want to hear the answer, or maybe she was just afraid of the answer.
"You are my daughter- literally. You are my blood."
She shrugged. "But you just found that yesterday-what does that change?"
Dean leaned back in disbelief. Is...is that an actual question? But then he quickly recovered, reminding himself that she is....just a child.
"Yes..but now that i-we know that-" Dean's lips freeze in an o motion. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't very good at this. At answering these kinds of questions.
So he violently waved her off. "You're my daughter. That's it. You're stuck with me now and you have no choice but to-
"To nothing- fuck y-"
"YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO-" Dean repeated himself, louder, but yet still in a whisper. A way for him to contain the situation- contain her without causing a scene "But to listen to me. You are in danger."
She squirmed in her spot. It's unlike her. Listening to people, to adults.
"Well-i don't want-"
Dean pointed a finger at her, a soft warning. "Uh-no more talking. That's it."
Dean darted his eyes forward, ending the conversation, leaving the girl swamped in a sea of emotions.
She was so unsure-She didn't feel safe. She did. But that's the problem.
She felt safe.
This feeling is new to her, she's never experienced it before. Her fight or flight response was playing weird tricks on her. And soon after that, her eyelids felt too heavy.
For the first time in her life, she felt safe enough to sleep.
°°°
"Uh-uh- don't think im going to fall for that again."
The words caused her to hault to a stop, her hand still cupped around the door handle.
Fuck...she was so close.
"Get back here."
The girl huffed, closing the door and turning back around.
The hunch in her shoulders caused something to shift within Dean- the girl didn't actually fight back. She faked it. She gave up just as quickly as she had begun fighting.
As her lips flapped in a act of annoyance, she tossed her bag on the table, proceeding by plopping down on her own bed.
Dean had a decision to make-Either let it all go or scold her-well-fake scold her, you know, a way to make her aware of her own choices and how they're going to start affecting their relationship.
So Dean got up from his own bed, locked eyes with her before sitting beside her.
"What was that?"
She not so discreetly moved furthur away from him. He'd get offended-but he sort of got used to her ways. She didn't like it when people got too close to her.
Dean understood that.
"Can you please-please talk to me and tell me what you like and don't like instead of running off every single time? God damn it why are children this-"
"Children?" The word came out of her lips harshly. "I have been living on my own for the past 6 years. I ran away from foster care when i was 10."
Dean opened his mouth to talk, but his own state of shock accompanid by her cutting him off stopped him. She raised her voice slightly, angry but still in control.
"I was beaten up- stolen from, kidnapped, assaulted, and even-"
How could she still control herself?
The girl suddenly halted to a stop, and instead of a word, a whimper left her lips. "I was...i was..."
The winchester reached his hand out but she jumped up and off the bed, peering anywhere else but at the first person she's ever opened up to. She hated the tears burning her eyes, the lump preventing her from speaking so openly. The ache in her heart that is unconsciously pushing the words out of her mouth. "Don't fffucking call me a child. I don't know what that is, okay?" She clenched her jaw. "I never got to experience that."
with the hinge of anger still dripping from her tone, she murmured those last few words, words that hit Dean llke a train as they echoed in the back of his mind. They engraved themselves in his bones like a petroglyph on a mountain wall, permanent.
They sounded too familiar and yet, he felt like he's never deserved to think those same words. And for the first time in his life, Dean thanked god, Sam and John for the hundreds-maybe thousands of beds he got to sleep on, the locks on the motel doors, for the countless fights that made him feel less lonely, for the Impala's roar. For the shitty kind of safety he had that his daughter never got to know.
Dean's eyes glistened as he watched the child- the girl. A single thought kept twirling in his mind;
My fault-my fault-my fault.
He wasn't there. He could've prevented all that. She could've had a better life. The life of a hunter? But at least she would be surrounded by family.
My fault my fault my fault.
"Can i make you a promise?" Dean broke the silence just as he broke his own chain of thoughts.
"No?" the refusal sounded more like a question. Like a lazy avoidant answer of someone who was tired-still fighting, but tired.
"Hey-hey- focus." Dean stood up and closed the small distance between them. And before the girl could step back, her father gently rested his arms on her shoulders, cupping them without pressuring her.
He waited for her to meet his eyes. And when she did, she quickly looked away. But Dean's head followed her. He leaned his neck down. "Hey-As long as i'm alive- i won't let anything happen to you. I won't let you get hurt."
The girl sighed. "You might be a...Key...to end something as big as the...apocalypse." The man's pace slwoed. "But it's not my first radio out here and i promise you that we'll find a way out of it." Her father then let go of her shoulders. "I promise."
She gave it a thought...Maybe this is her chance to start new?
------
I'm so ashamed of my writing as always so i'm sorry if it sounded too poetic or cheesy or whatever. Also i hope that i didn't docus on the wrong things. But i hope yall enjoyed it anyways! see you next tiiime 🖤🖤🖤🧚🏻♀️🧚🏻♀️🧚🏻♀️
