Synopsis:

AU Set directly after S4-10. An old flame of Dean's calls him out of the blue with a stunning revelation: Dean has a daughter. What's even more shocking is the fact that Dean must now raise this child. How will he handle the angst of a preteen girl who just lost her mother? Will Dean leave Sam to deal with everything while he goes out hunting? The boys have their hands full with a custody dispute, homeschooling, rebellion, kidnapping, and their worst fear… Boys. One thing's for sure, the girl is family. Dean will always look out for his family.

Warning: Contains corporal punishment of a minor in later chapters.

A/N:This is not Beta read, but I am looking for someone to Beta read for the next chapters. If you're interested, please PM Me.

Also, this is dialogue-heavy right now, but that'll even out.

First part of 4.11 transcipt, shortened:

SAM wakes from sleeping in the backseat of the car. DEAN is studying some papers.

SAM: We just finished a job like two hours ago.

DEAN: Adrenaline's still pumping, I guess. So, what do you think... Cedar Rapids, Tulsa, or Chi-Town?

SAM: I am all for working. I really am. But you got us chasing cases nonstop for like a month now. We need sleep.

DEAN: Yeah, we can sleep when we're dead.

SAM: You're exhausted, Dean.

DEAN: I'm good.

SAM: No, you're not. You're running on fumes, and you can't run forever.

DEAN: And what am I running from?

SAM: From what you told me. Or are we pretending that never happened?

Dean was saved from answering Sam when his cell phone started ringing in his pocket. He thanked his lucky stars, because he did not want to go down that road with his brother right now, or ever. Sam sighed heavily and settled himself back in to catch a little more shut-eye.

"Yeah," Dean answered in his usual fashion. The woman on the other end of the line spoke back quietly,

"Dean? Dean Winchester? I've finally found you, haven't I?"

"You mind telling me who this is, and how you got this number?" As always, he was on his guard and a little suspicious. For all he knew, it could be a trap. Could be someone faking a past acquaintance, or a demon trying to locate him. Dean shook his head to quiet the nagging thoughts for a moment so he could focus on what the woman was saying.

"You might not remember me, but you and your father helped me and my family almost thirteen years ago. My name is Sheila Leverett. We kind of… Dated for awhile when you and your father were here investigating. You know, that cursed necklace that was causing all those problems for me? You saved me, Dean." Sheila sounded close to tears.

Dean couldn't blame her, he assumed it was because she was overwhelmed by all the happy memories between the two of them. Hell, he was a great lay.

After clearing his throat and shifting a little in his seat, he answered her,

"I remember quite clearly, all those long nights by the lake. It was awhile ago, wasn't it? 18. Good times. Though I've got to ask, why are you calling me now?" Oh, he remembered all right. Did he ever! He was half hoping that she was calling just to relive the past with him, he'd drop everything and drive to Timbuktu just to be with Sheila again.

"Well, I was just wondering if you're in the same line of work that you were before? What I mean to say is… I need your help, Dean." Ah, a case. Of course. It was apparent to Dean that Sheila's voice was quivering, even over the crappy cell connection. He was kind of a sucker for a damsel in distress, especially one as beautiful as the one on the other end of the line. He vaguely wondered if she'd aged gracefully.

"Yeah, well, I'm in between cases at the moment and I can certainly look into your… problem." He said, smirking to himself "Just give me the details. Where, when, what happened, what do you think we're dealing with?" Dean reached over and popped open the glove compartment. He had to shuffle around all the fake IDs, but he quickly found the small notebook and pen he was hunting for. He took the cap off the pen with his teeth, and waited.

"Three Lakes, Wisconsin. Just look me up when you get here. Sheila Leverett. It's just that I don't know how to explain over the phone, but I promise it'll be worth your while to come. You just have to be here to understand." The poor woman sounded terrified. Dean wasn't surprised that she couldn't describe the events, most civilians couldn't; At least not without fear of sounding crazy.

"Still in Three Lakes, huh?" He reached over to the glove compartment once again to grab the map, and shook it open. Luck was with him tonight. Dean smiled as he did some quick calculations in his head, "Well it looks like it'll only be about a 16 hour drive, add in a couple hours for stops and traffic, from where we are in Stratton, Nebraska. I guess you can expect me and my brother for dinner tomorrow night."

"Yes! Thank you so much! Thank you, Dean, this means so much to me. I'll have dinner waiting for you." She hung up the phone right after that, without even a goodbye. Dean hadn't really meant that they'd be there to eat dinner, but she didn't seem put out by the idea.

Dean fired up the engine of his baby, and U-turned to get back onto the highway. He glanced back, seeing Sam rubbing the sleep out of his face.

"Rise and shine, Sammy. New case. Three Lakes, Wisconsin. We'll be there by tomorrow night." He actually seemed a little happy.

Sam didn't want to press his luck or anything with Dean's newfound good mood, but his inquisitive nature got the better of him. "So, what're we dealing with?"

"No idea," Dean replied emphatically. He remained totally focused on the dark road ahead. Sam stared at him with an open mouth.

"You mean you didn't get any details? How do you even know this is our kind of case?"

"I just know, okay?" Dean considered the discussion closed and snapped the radio on.

It was a bit of a long drive in one go-round, even for the Winchester brothers who'd spent their lives on the road, in the same car no less. Finally, though, they arrived. It took only minutes to pinpoint Sheila's address in the phonebook, and considerably less to give her a head's-up phone call to say they'd be there within thirty minutes.

The doors to the Impala creaked loudly as the boys got out of the car at Sheila's driveway. Dean had a little pep in his step, and Sam was a little baffled by it. Neither spoke as they waited for an answer to Dean's commanding knock. It only took the woman about ten seconds to fling the door open. Sheila hugged Dean fiercely around the neck,

"I'm so glad you're here," she whispered. She quickly broke off the hug and looked up at him.

Dean smiled, and then hesitated. Sheila looked… frail. Not to mention tired. She had dark circles under her eyes, and it was evident that she had recently lost an unhealthy amount of weight in a short time. She held the door open wider and beckoned the brothers inside. They followed her to the dining room and made themselves comfortable.

Sam got right down to business as Sheila took a casserole out of the oven and set it down in front of the Winchesters.

"So what can you tell us about what's been happening? Are people dying? Have there been attacks? Sightings? Strange happenings?" The words from his mouth were almost a script by now.

The wary woman sighed and sat down at the table,

"I'm afraid not. There's nothing like that going on." Both of the men stiffened up and were instantly on their guard. "I apologise for bringing you two here under false pretenses, but my intentions were honorable I swear. I just had to talk to you face to face, Dean. It's life or death."

Dean was a little offended at being misled, but he could see that Sheila was in distress and he was willing to listen. Sam had an I-told-you-so look on his face, but Dean ignored him.

"Alright, well you got me here. Just tell me the truth about what's going on." He leaned back in the chair and settled in to listen to whatever the woman had to say, though he had to admit that it wasn't with a totally open mind. After all, she had lied to him once already. Sheila glanced at Sam, and then back to Dean,

"Perhaps we could discuss this privately, after dinner?" Her voice was slightly hoarse with nervousness. Dean shook his head.

"Whatever this is about, you can say it in front of my brother. It's best we get this over with now instead of later." He pressed his lips tightly together to also keep his rising anger in check. Sam shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to be anywhere but here right now, because this matter was obviously between Sheila and Dean. The woman resigned herself to just come right out and say what she had to say.

"Dean, you have a 12 year old daughter. We have a daughter, and her name is Valerie," she declared with no hesitancy. Whatever Dean was expecting her to say to him, it wasn't this. He sat in stunned silence, taking it all in and trying to find words.

"Are you sure she's mine?" he rasped out when he was able to catch his voice. Sheila nodded gravely.

"I'm absolutely positive. Although, I do understand if you're not sure. I was prepared for this. I have a friend who works in the lab, and she can give you a paternity test. As a matter of fact," she continued, gaining confidence with each word. "I insist that we do it. You need to be sure, and so do… others." She looked as if a huge weight had just been taken off her shoulders.

"Wait, wait… Just hold on a damn minute! Why now, all of a sudden, do you try to get ahold of me? What's this really about? Is it money, like, child support or something?" Dean stood up angrily and paced around the dining room to try and calm his brain and think. Sam glanced back and forth between the two, ready to intervene if necessary but otherwise did nothing. Sheila was surprisingly calm about the whole thing, and accepted Dean's outburst. In fact, she had expected it.

"Dean, listen. It's not about money. I had… have… no other choice. I know the kind of life you have, on the road all the time. Going from one bad motel to the next, living off of fast food. I know what you do for a living. It's just that… I'm dying. Valerie needs you, Dean. She needs her father now more than ever." Sheila's eyes shone with unshed tears, willing Dean to believe her and praying for him to accept his role.

Dean sat back down heavily. He couldn't comprehend it all right now. He was quick thinking in a fight, or during a vampire attack. But now, faced with fatherhood, he was dumbfounded. He held his head in his hands and confessed,

"I don't even know what to say. Where is Valerie, can I see her?" He was starting to believe in the possibility of the whole situation. If there was anything to be said about Dean Winchester, it was that he faced problems head-on or ignored them altogether. He chose to face this head-on.

"Valerie isn't here right now, she's spending the night at a friend's house. She doesn't know you're here yet, and I wanted to wait until you calmed down to introduce you." She smiled apologetically at Dean. She wished she didn't have to break the news like this.

"I'll do the paternity test first thing in the morning. If she is mine, I just wanted to let you know that I'll take full responsibility… Wait, did you say dying?" Dean was shocked again, but he couldn't think of the consequences of those words at the moment. He didn't even think of the possibility of raising a little girl all on his own. One thing at a time.

"Yes, I'm dying. Inoperable Breast Cancer, 6 weeks or less to live. Valerie knows, she has for some time now. She's been very strong about the whole situation, you would be so proud of her." Sheila didn't want to go through any more details right now, and she could see that Dean couldn't handle any more information. "Now, dinner's getting cold. Let's just dig in, shall we?" Both the boys were grateful for that announcement and picked up their forks as Sheila dished out the casserole.

It was an awkward, silent dinner. No one spoke. No one even made eye contact. Instead, everyone just focused on their food and wallowed in their own thoughts. Everyone was thinking something different, though it was on the same subject.

They spoke no more about it the whole evening. As the Winchesters were leaving to check into a motel room, Sheila gave Dean the address to the lab. Dean promised he would be there first thing in the morning as he shrugged on his leather jacket. He walked out the door, and Sam followed without a word.

They didn't speak or look at each other the whole ride to the room, upon checking in, or even when they were unpacking. Sam knew that Dean just needed some time to process everything, so he let his brother be alone with his thoughts. Sam also knew what Sheila's unspoken plea was, even if Dean didn't yet understand. Sheila wanted Dean to take custody of their daughter after she was gone. Dean would have to raise a teenage girl he didn't even know.