Truthfully the past 24 hours had not gone according to plan.

First of all, Dean hadn’t expected to find any actual humans inside the nest of vampires he’d just cleared. Much less a child. Much less you. It was supposed to be standard, according to his dad. Find the nest, wait until noon, kill the vampires, get out. Those were orders he could always easily follow, until he’d found you in there. He’s not really sure how old you are, honestly. Dean hasn’t asked yet, words catching in his throat.

Perhaps it’s hard to ask because how many bits of himself he sees in you. Is it the nose? The eyes? Maybe even the way you just stand there. God, when did the thought pop into his head? He’s not sure if it did the moment he saw you or not. Where would he even start, honestly? It’s not as if some of his questions you could answer. Dean tries to think back, to some girlfriend he had out this way in the past. It makes sense, he can see bits of her in you. Or maybe he just wants to, maybe he’s already grown attached. Before he even really knew what he was doing Dean had brought you back to the motel room he shared with Sam and had gotten whatever fast food you said you liked.

Dean rubs at the back of his neck awkwardly, words refusing to leave him as he sets the bag of food down. He’d gotten your order down correctly, right? It’s a blur. “Sorry it took me a minute.” He manages after a moment, almost stumbling over his own words despite how slow he speaks. “They’d just started lunch so I had to wait for the food to cook.”

Honestly he doubted you cared about how long the food took. He’d been more surprised to find a photo of him and his ex in the nest, a number to call scribbled on the back. It’d been one of his numbers. “How old are you, kid?” Dean finally thinks to ask, standing almost awkwardly as he glances at you.