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spn-safeandsound · 5 years ago

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14. Family Squabbles

Safe and Sound

Dean Winchester x Original Character

Episode: 1x20; Dead Man’s Blood

Word Count: 7,603

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence + gore, arguing

Author’s Note: Introducing Luke Alexander! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Don’t forget to reblog and like!

Masterlink in Pinned Post!

Julia popped a fry into her mouth and wiped her greasy fingers before looking back at her laptop, reading an email that her Aunt Maggie had sent to her, Abby, and Beth. It was her monthly update with what was going on with PSC; earnings, new contracts, and employee turnaround. Julia didn't know much about what went into keeping a business but she knew enough to know what Maggie was talking about in her emails without having to look it up in a dictionary.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dean reach for one of her fries; she swatted his hand away and ignored the pout he gave her in return. Fries were her favorite and she would only share them on certain occasions. A random weekday didn't count.

Dean sighed and folded the newspaper he was reading. "Not a decent lead in all of Nebraska," he told them before addressing Sam, "What have you got?"

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota..." Sam said from behind his laptop. "Here—a woman in Iowa fell ten thousand feet from an airplane and survived."

Julia raised her eyebrows while Dean cocked his head. "That sounds more like 'that's incredible' than 'the Twilight Zone'."

Sam sighed and continued his search. "Yeah."

"Hey, you know, we could just keep heading east. New York, upstate," Dean suggested. "Could stop by and see Sarah again, huh. She's a cool chick, man, smokin'," he whistled playfully. "You two seemed pretty friendly. What do you say?"

Julia grinned when Sam perked up, a little flustered. "Yeah, I dunno, maybe someday," he placated his brother. "In the meantime, we got a lot of work to do, Dean, you know that."

Dean pressed his lips together. "Yeah, you're right," he conceded. "What else you got?"

"Uh, a man in Colorado," Sam studied his screen. "A local man named Daniel Elkins was found mauled in his home. It sounds like the police don't know what to think. At first they said it was some sort of bear attack and now they've found some signs of robbery."

Julia perked up when she recognized the name. Her dad had known a man named Danny Elkins way back when she was a kid. They had a falling out of some sort but Luke still held him in high regard and made sure he was supplied with anything he needed from PSC.

"My dad knew a Danny Elkins," she told the brothers as Dean pulled out John's journal.

"I think my dad knew him, too," Dean flipped toward the part of the journal where John kept his hunter contacts. "Here—D. Elkins."

He pointed out the contact, which included a phone number, to Sam and Julia.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "You guys think it's the same Elkins?"

"If both of our dads knew a Danny Elkins, it makes sense," Julia shrugged, closing her laptop. "Plus, that's a Colorado area code."

Sam looked from Julia to Dean, who nodded. "Okay," he agreed. "Let's check it out."

Daniel Elkins lived in a secluded cabin up in the mountains and, according to the bartender at the place he frequented every week, he was a bit of a shut-in. Despite the fact that it was July, it was chilly up in the mountains and starting to snow a little.

They had to pick the lock to get into the cabin and since Julia didn't have much experience with that, Sam and Dean made sure that she was the one to do it this time. It took her a few tries but she eventually unlocked the door.

"Good job, shortcake," Dean patted her ass when Sam stepped into the cabin and then followed in behind him. He turned on his flashlight and started looking around. "Well, looks like the maid didn't come today."

Julia stepped into the cabin, lighting her own flashlight. She wandered off into a different room as Sam stayed by the door, observing some of the salt on the ground, and entered the study. It was an absolute disaster; with most of the furniture splintered into pieces, papers and books all over the place, and various collectibles knocked over everywhere.

"Hey, there's salt over here, right beside the door," Sam called from the front room.

"You mean protection-against-demon salt or whoops-I-spilled-the-popcorn salt?" Dean called back from the room he was looking through.

"It's clearly a ring," Julia heard Sam say as she picked up an empty wooden case that used to hold a gun and its bullets. "Do you think this Elkins guy was a player?"

"Definitely!" Julia spoke up loud enough so the boys could hear her.

"He's got a journal here, Jules!" Dean replied back. "Dates back to the sixties."

"Ooh," Julia whispered under her breath; that would be interesting to read.

Finished with searching their rooms, Sam and Dean entered the room where Julia was looking around. Sam's eyes immediately went to the broken skylight. "Whatever attacked him, it looks like there was more than one."

Dean nodded, looking at the wooden case that Julia had discarded on the messy desk. "Looks like he put up a hell of a fight, too."

Julia made a noise of agreement as she continued to slowly step over some of the debris. She paused when her light flashed over some blood and when she took a closer look, she saw that there were some scratches in the wooden floors.

"You got something, J?" Sam noticed her crouching down next to the scratches.

"I think so," Julia nodded. "Hey, can you get me a pencil and some paper?"

Dean quickly grabbed some supplies from the messy desk and handed them over to her. Julia slapped the paper over the scratches, making sure it was flush with the floor, and then scribbled over it with a pencil, marking out whatever Elkins scratched into the wood.

She picked it up when she was finished, reading the letters and numbers that she deciphered. "It's a message."

Dean took the bloody paper from her. "Well, that looks familiar," he showed it to Sam. "Three letters, six digits."

"The location and combination of a post office box," Sam realized. "It's a mail drop."

Dean nodded. "Just the way Dad does it."

After dropping by the local post office and getting into Elkins' mail drop box, Julia, Sam, and Dean went and rented out a motel room. The letter they had discovered in the drop box was written out to a J.W, which just so happened to be John Winchester's initials. Julia didn't think it was a coincidence but Sam and Dean were a little skeptical.

"J.W," Sam sighed, looking over at the envelope Dean held in his hands. "You think it's for Dad?"

"I don't know," Dean studied the initials, looking as if the writing would jump out at him. "Should we open it?"

Before Julia or Sam could answer him, there was a knock on the motel door. The three of them stiffened and Dean dropped the envelope on the table before grabbing his gun to walk over to the door. He aimed it at the door as he reached for the knob and twisted, opening it just a crack so he could see who was on the other side.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was and he opened the door all the way. "Dad? Luke?"

John Winchester and Luke Alexander made their way into the motel room, shocking Julia and Sam. They both looked a little tired but other than that, they seemed healthy.

Julia silently stared at her father. She hadn't seen him in almost a year and even though she loved him, she had been suppressing some anger toward him for a long time now, especially after what happened to Levi and the fact that he just took off again.

Growing up, Julia and Luke had a good relationship despite the fact that he was gone most of the year, hunting supernatural creatures. Luke had always been closest to Abby, his little protégé, but he loved each of his children in his own ways. He was a strict father but still loving and he loved Naomi to death. When she died, he became distant but he still kept in contact. All that had changed the beginning of Julia's senior year at Stanford.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sam asked John, standing up from the table. "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," John assured his youngest son. "We read the news about Daniel. We got here as fast as we could. We saw you three at his place."

Julia narrowed her eyes at her dad, noticing that he was avoiding eye contact with her. She couldn't believe that he would come all the way to some random cabin in Colorado but didn't have the decency to attend his own son's memorial or make sure that his daughters were okay.

"Why didn't you guys come in?"

"You know why," John said pointedly. "Because we had to make sure you weren't followed by anyone or anything. Nice job covering your tracks, by the way."

Surprisingly, his comment wasn't at all sarcastic.

Dean grinned proudly. "Yeah, well, we learned from the best."

Julia couldn't contain her anger anymore. Not when everyone was acting so casual about John and Luke's reappearance. "So, you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" she caught everyone's attention with the sharpness in her voice; it wasn't like her at all to speak that way to anyone. "but you couldn't extend the same courtesy for Levi? For your son?"

Luke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Jujube—"

"No, don't do that!" Julia stood up abruptly, causing Dean and Sam to exchange a knowing look; Dean slowly started moving toward her, hoping she wouldn't direct her ire at him. "Levi died, Dad! He died and you were no where in sight. Oh wait," she scoffed bitterly. "I forgot. You were in Chicago but you decided it was best not to see how the rest of your family was doing!"

Only inches away from her, Dean placed a warm hand on her back, trying to calm her down. "Jules..."

Luke was in the wrong, he knew that, but he wasn't about to let his daughter yell at him like that. Especially in front of other people. "Don't you talk to me like that, Julia Ruth," he pointed at her, his eyes hardening. "I'm still your father and you will show me some respect."

Julia scoffed, tears coming to her eyes. She angrily brushed them away, cursing her overreactive tear ducts. "You don't deserve it," she spat, pushing away Dean's hand as he tried to grab her waist. "You abandoned your family!"

Luke took a threatening step forward and Julia recognized the look in his eyes. She had seen it many times before when she or Abby stepped out of line and got into trouble. It was look he gave when he was two seconds away from whooping their asses.

Luckily, Dean came to her rescue. "Okay, that's enough," he said sternly, firmly grabbing her waist, pulling her to her and Sam's bed, and sitting her down. He gave Luke a glare, too, expressing all of his anger into it for Julia's sake. "You too, Luke. Both of you calm down."

Luke glared back at him but calmed down when John patted his shoulder.

"All right," John sighed and gave Julia a sympathetic look that surprised her. "We need to focus. Dean, can I look at that letter?"

Not letting go of Julia's shoulders, Dean nodded at the letter where he set it on the table. John picked it up and opened the envelope as Sam came to sit by Julia on their bed, grabbing her hand to calm her down.

"If you're reading this, I'm already dead..." John read the letter, trailing off when he came across something shocking. "That son of a bitch."

Luke gave him a questioning look. "What is it?"

John handed him the letter. "He had it the whole time."

"What?"

Luke quickly read the letter and then looked at Julia, Sam, and Dean. "When you searched the place, did you see a gun? An antique, a colt revolver? Did you see it?"

"There was an old case," Julia told him, wiping her tears and swallowing her anger in order to talk to him. "but it was empty."

John sighed angrily. "They have it."

"You mean whatever killed Elkins?" Dean wondered.

John nodded. "We gotta pick up their trail."

"Wait," Sam looked at him in shock. "You want us to help you?"

"If Elkins was telling the truth, we gotta find this gun."

"The gun?" Sam raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because it's important, that's why," John said sharply.

Sam sighed. "Dad, we don't even know what these things are yet."

"They were what Danny Elkins killed best," Luke spoke up. "Vampires."

"Vampires," Dean's grip on Julia's shoulders tightened. "I thought there was no such thing."

"You never even mentioned them, Dad," Sam pointed out.

"We thought they were extinct," John explained. "We thought that Elkins and others had wiped them out. We were wrong."

"Most vampire lore is wrong," Luke took a seat at the table where Julia, Sam, and Dean were previously sitting. "A cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them, and neither will a stake to the heart. The bloodlust, though, that's true. They need fresh human blood to survi-ve. They were once people so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late."

Julia pursed her lips and shared a look with Sam, both of them concerned with the unknowns of what was happening. Vampires now existed, their dads were searching for some random gun that the vampires stole from Elkins, and they didn't even know why the gun was so special that Elkins left a letter for John in the event of his death.

She was unsettled already by her dad's presence but now, with all this new information, it was worse. She wrinkled her nose and bowed her head, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her again. Dean had pretty much calmed her down for the moment but her anger was still simmering inside her. There were three things she did while she was angry; cried, gave whoever she was angry at the silent treatment, or act petty.

This time, she was going with silent treatment.

A harsh pat on the end of her bed by her feet woke Julia up from her deep sleep. She could hear Luke and John talking and the hum of a police radio but her mind was trying to catch up to the fact that she was now awake. Sam groaned from next to her and hit her in the shoulder when he stretched out his arms, making her groggily groan in pain.

"Sam, Dean, Julia, wake up," John barked at them; Julia sat up to see that he and Luke were shrugging on their jackets. "Let's go."

Still half-asleep, Dean sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. "Mmhm."

"What happened?" Sam sighed.

"We picked up a police call," Luke stated, making sure his weapon was loaded. "A couple called 9-1-1, found a body in the street. When the cops got there, everyone was missing."

"It's the vampires," John added.

Sam slowly sat up, groaning. "How do you know?"

"Just follow us, okay?" John said impatiently as Luke opened the door, heading out after the older man.

Julia moaned as she stretched, getting the sleepiness out of her joints, and hopped up to her feet. She had fallen asleep in the leggings and t-shirt she wore the day before, so she simply pulled on her boots and her navy-blue canvas jacket, making sure all her weapons were ready to go.

"Huh, vampires," Dean scoffed groggily, getting up from his bed. "It gets funnier every time I hear it."

A half-hour later, the sun was rising as John and Luke questioned the police gathered around the abandoned car. The two older men had been adamant about having Julia, Sam, and Dean stay back while they did their work, leaving Julia and Sam feeling frustrated.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with them," Sam grumbled from his place against the hood of the Impala.

While Julia nodded in agreement, Dean gave him a calculative look. "Oh, don't tell me it's already starting."

As John and Luke started making their way back to them, Sam furrowed his eyebrows at Dean. "What's starting?

Dean just shook his head and turned to the older hunters. "What'd you get?"

"It was them, all right," John confirmed for them. "Looks like they're heading west. We'll have to double back to get around that detour."

"How can you be so sure?"

Dean gave his brother a warning look. "Sam..."

"I just want to know that we're going in the right direction," Sam defended himself.

John clenched his jaw. "We are."

"How do you know?" Sam challenged him.

John sighed and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling something out and handing it to Dean. "I found this."

Julia silently looked over as Dean flipped over the sharp tooth between his fingers. "It's a vampire fang."

"Not fangs, teeth," Luke corrected him. "The second set descends when they attack."

John gave Sam a hard look. "Any more questions?"

Sam didn't speak but glared down at the gravel at their feet.

"All right," John spoke when he was sure Sam wasn't going to backtalk. "let's get out of here. We're losing daylight."

It was early in the morning and the sun had just set so Julia knew that John was just being an asshole.

He proved her theory correct when he passed by the Impala and commented, "Hey, Dean, why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it."

Julia scoffed quietly as John and Luke got into their truck, glaring at the former. Dean took better care of Baby then he did himself. There was no way rust was getting anywhere near the treasured Impala. Dean would rather die.

Sam gave his brother an I-told-you-so look while Dean just smiled awkwardly and shrugged in embarrassment. The three of them got into the Impala, with Sam driving, and started following John's truck to make their way past the detour.

"You take great care of Baby, Dean," Julia assured him, reaching forward to pat his shoulder twice. "Don't listen to your dad."

"Eh, maybe he's right," Dean shrugged as he grabbed Daniel Elkins' journal from the dashboard.

"No, he's not," she insisted.

Sam nodded in agreement. "She's right, Dean."

"All right, all right," Dean sighed and tossed the Elkins journal to Julia. "Find some info on the vamps, would you, shortcake?"

Julia, who caught the journal easily, nodded and started flipping through the pages until she saw the start of the section about vampires.

"Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten," she read out loud so Sam and Dean could hear her. "Smaller packs are sent to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive, bleeding them for days or weeks."

"Ugh," Dean grimaced. "I wonder if that's what happened to the 9-1-1 couple."

"That's probably what Dad is thinking," Sam muttered sourly. "Of course, it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks."

"So," Dean gave his brother a thoughtful look. "it is starting."

Sam glanced at him confused. "What?"

"Sam, we've been looking for Dad all year," Dean pointed out. "Now we're with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already?"

"No," Sam huffed. "Look, I'm happy he's okay, all right? And I'm happy that we're all working together again..."

"Well, good," Dean thought that he was finished. Julia knew better, though; Sam was itching to make the fact that he was annoyed with John bossing them around known.

"It's just the way he treats us," he blurted out. "Like we're children."

Dean groaned. "Oh, here we go."

"He barks orders at us, Dean," Sam raised his voice to try to make a point. "He expects us to follow them without question. He keeps us on some fucking need-to-know deal."

"He does what he does for a reason," Dean argued, matching Sam's volume.

"What reason?"

"Our job!" Dean exclaimed. "There's no time to argue, there's no margin for error, all right? That's just the way the old man runs things. Luke does it, too."

"Yeah and look at what a great father my dad is," Julia spoke up. "Look, I agree with Sam. You guys are grown men and he should treat you like it."

While Dean gave her an annoyed look, Sam nodded, glad that she was backing him up. "It doesn't work anymore," he agreed. "Not after everything that the three of us have been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you're cool with just falling into line and letting him and Luke run the whole show?"

Dean pressed his lips together and looked at Sam. "If that's what it takes."

There was something in the way that Dean said those words that had Julia doubting that he didn't mind John taking charge. Over the last year, Dean had been the one in charge; he was the oldest, what he said goes. More than likely, he didn't like giving up his control, especially when his dad treated him like a kid and not the twenty-seven-year-old man he was.

Nevertheless, Dean gave nothing else away. They continued driving through Colorado throughout the whole day, with little to no breaks. It was well past dark when John called Dean to inform him of their next move.

"Yeah, Dad, I got it," Dean confirmed before hanging up the phone and turning to Sam. "Pull off at the next exit."

"Why?"

"Cause Dad and Luke think that we've got the vampires' trail."

"How?"

Julia winced at Sam's furious tone; John Winchester sure did know how to bring the best out in his sons.

"I don't know. He didn't say."

Sam stomped on the gas pedal, revving the engine. They shot forward, speeding from their current place behind John's truck until they were passing it. Once Sam was sure they were a safe enough distance ahead of their fathers, he abruptly pulled out into the middle of the road, cutting John and Luke off.

"Shit," Julia breathed in shock, pressing her hand against her racing heart. As Sam pushed open his door, she protested, "Sam, no!"

"Fuck, here we go," Dean muttered, getting out of the Impala to run interference between his dad and Sam. "Sam, stop!"

Just as Julia was getting out of the car, John barreled out of his truck and up to Sam, a furious look on his face. "What the fuck was that?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?" John stopped in front of Sam when there was only about three inches between them.

Luke got out of the passenger seat of the truck and leaned against it, watching what was going on with raised eyebrows. He shot Julia a look but she steadily ignored him, watching Sam with furrowed eyebrows.

"About everything," Sam said firmly. "Where are we going, Dad? What's the big deal about this gun?"

"Sammy, come on, we can Q-and-A after we kill all the vampires," Dean tried to interject.

"Your brother's right. We don't have time for this."

"Last time we say you, you said it was too dangerous for us to be together. Now, out of the blue, you need our help," Sam raised his voice. "Obviously something big is going down and we wanna know what!"

John gave him a stone-cold glare. "Get back in the car."

"No."

"I said get back in the fucking car."

"Yeah, and I said no!" Sam yelled.

Before the argument could escalate any further, Julia and Dean stepped in. Julia grabbed Sam's arm and forcefully tugged him a few feet away from his dad, standing her ground when he tried to fight her.

"Okay, you made your point, tough guy," Dean told his little brother as he pushed on his dad's chest to get him to back away. "Look, we're all tired. We can talk about this later."

"Come on, Sam," Julia said encouragingly. "Let it go for now."

Sam shook his head, still glaring at his father. "This is why I left in the first place."

John lunged forward, pressing against Dean's hold on him; Luke jumped into the fray, holding his friend back. "What did you say?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, you left!" John reminded him scathingly. "Your brother and me, we needed you. You walked away. You walked away!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Dean called as Sam broke loose from Julia's grasp, stalking straight up to John. Dean immediately pushed him back while Luke continued to try to pull John away.

"You were the one who said don't come back, Dad," Sam shouted, tears in his eyes. "You closed that door, not me. You were just pissed off that you couldn't control me anymore!"

Julia shook her head, feeling three angry energies clashing back and forth. Sam was getting more and more riled up and John was the source of the Winchester temper so he was no better. Dean was angry because he just got his family back together and it was splitting apart already. It was too much anger and, added with her own, Julia was having a hard time keeping her composure while Sam needed her. She had to stay calm, though. She—and her dad, really—were the only ones who could right now.

She took a deep breath, calming herself down, and stomped forward, gripping both of Sam's arms to pull him away from John. "Stop it!" she yelled firmly. "Stop it right now! That's enough!"

Dean saw an opportunity when Julia got Sam to back up a couple of inches; he forced himself in between his brother and his father, making sure that they were far enough apart once again.

"That means you too," Dean added to John with a glare.

"Come on, John," Luke grunted, pulling John back toward the truck.

Sam ripped his arms away from Julia and stomped to the Impala, slamming the driver's door shut behind him. Julia and Dean shared with look of exasperation with each other; it'd only been a day and the duo of Sam and John Winchester would be the death of them.

"Fucking terrific," Dean grumbled under his breath as he and Julia joined Sam in the car.

Julia, Sam, Dean, Luke, and John crouched in the woods only a couple hundred feet from the old barn where the vampire nest was living. They had been there for a half-hour already but there was no activity until an old car drove up and parked next to the other ones. A vampire got out and another vampire opened the barn door for him, neither one of them affected by the sun's rays.

"Son of a bitch," Dean swore, shaking his head as the second vampire closed up the barn once again. "So, they're really not afraid of the sun?"

Luke shook his head. "Direct sunlight hurts them like a nasty sunburn," he told them. "The only way to kill them is by beheading."

"And just because they sleep in the day doesn't mean they won't wake up," John added.

Julia hummed. "So, I'm guessing just walking in isn't our best option."

"Actually," John grinned at her, showing off his Winchester dimples. "that's the plan."

The five of them left their hiding place and made their way back to where the truck and Impala were parked. Even though the truck was only a couple years older than Baby, its weapon outfit was much nicer. It buzzed as it mechanically opened, holding numerous weapons in a neatly organized way.

"Come here, baby girl," Luke waved Julia over to their weapons; Julia hesitantly walked over, knowing that now really wasn't the time to be angry with her dad. "This is for you."

Luke pulled a brand-new machete out of the weapons storage, complete with its own holster. It was slightly shorter than the ones that he and John were using but it was pretty and it'd get the job done—well, she had never beheaded anything but she assumed her dad wouldn't give the machete to her unless it would do the work.

She knew this was some sort of truce between them. For the moment, Luke wanted her to set aside her anger so they could trust each other and have one another's back. He had done this many times growing up; when he missed her ninth birthday, Luke had come home from his hunt with a set of brand-new daggers. She easily forgave him and still used them to this day. Usually her problems with her dad didn't disappear but she wasn't perfect and she loved presents. What little girl didn't?

For now, she'd accept the truce. She took the machete from him with a small smile. "Thanks, Dad."

So much for the silent treatment.

Luke grinned and tugged on the end of her French braid like he used to do when she was a girl. "There's my girl."

Julia gave him a closed-mouth smile and went back to Sam and Dean, holding it out for them to look at it. Dean was more impressed than Sam was, holding it up and mimicking an attack, slicing through the air with the blade. She couldn't help but laugh when he grinned happily and gave it back to her.

"So," John spoke up once Julia put the holster around her waist and they were all loaded up with whatever weapons they needed. "You three really wanna know about this colt?"

Sam nodded, his temper calmed down from their fight the night before. "Yes, sir."

"It's just a story, a legend really," John started to tell them. "Well, I thought it was. Never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter. Back in 1835, when Halley's comet was overhead, the same night those mean died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun."

"He made it for a hunter," Luke took over the story. "He made thirteen bullets and this hunter used the gun half a dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. Somehow, Danny got his hands on it."

"They say...they say that this gun can kill anything," John finished.

"Kill anything," Dean repeated slowly. "Like, supernatural anything?"

Sam stiffened in realization. "Like the demon."

"Yeah, like the demon," John confirmed with a nod. "Ever since Luke and I picked up its trail, we've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. If we find the gun, we may have it."

The five of them split up—John and Luke together while Julia, Sam, and Dean were grouped up—to enter the barn. While John and Luke went to look for the colt, the three of them went to rescue hostages. While Julia and Dean were unlocking the cage full of three human women, Sam went to freeing a woman who was tied to a post, blood all over her. She ended up screaming and alerting all the vampires that they were there, making them abort their mission.

After they got some dead man's blood, which will incapacitate a vampire for a while, and night fell, Julia and Dean were to be the trap for the vampires coming after them. They would make it look like the Impala had quit running, leaving them at the side of the road, looking for help.

Julia crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she watched Dean look over Baby's engine. She wrinkled her nose, trying not to think of what they were about to do; usually she was okay with anxiety before a hunt but she nor Dean had any experience with vampires. She didn't even know if she was strong enough to behead a vampire, for crying out loud.

Dean peeked over at her, giving her a cute smile. "Nervous, shortcake?"

"Yes," Julia didn't bother lying; he knew her tell anyway. "What about you?"

"Nah," he shook his head, his green eyes surprisingly soft. "And you don't have to worry, okay? As long as I'm around, nothing bad is ever going to happen to you."

Julia's heart fluttered in her chest and she couldn't help but grin at him. "Didn't you say that to Sam once?" she teased him. "Are you reusing one-liners, Dean? I never thought I'd see the day."

Dean chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Shuddup," he shook his head in amusement. "I distracted you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess you did," she conceded, her eyes flickering to the right when she heard some branches snapping. "Oh, crap."

The smile left Dean's face as he concentrated on the engine again, acting like he had no idea what he was doing. Julia peered over his work, making it seem like she was paying attention to what he was doing.

"Car trouble?" they heard from behind them.

Julia and Dean turned around at the same time, coming face-to-face with an older woman dressed in tacky double denim. She was very obviously a vampire, especially since there was no car around that she would have used to get to them, were she a human.

"Let me give you a lift," the vampire insisted with a seductive smile "I'll take you two back to my place."

"Sorry, we don't do threesomes," Dean said sharply. "And we draw the line at necrophilia, anyway."

"Ooh," the vampire cooed before reaching out and backhanding Dean across the face.

Julia went to help him but another vampire walked over to them—this one was a huge guy—and grabbed her. She was forced to watch as the woman picked Dean up by the chin, raising him up until his feet were off the ground.

"Ugh," Dean grunted. "I don't usually get this friendly until the second date, but..."

While Julia struggled in the man's arms, the woman smirked up at Dean. "You know, we could have some fun," she tempted him. "I always like to make new friends."

The woman lowered her arm until Dean was level with her. She smashed her lips against Dean's, giving him no room to struggle. Julia pushed against the vampire holding her, anger welling in her chest, and shouted for the woman to stop.

"Get off of him!" she yelled at her, still trying to make her way out of the man's arms; he roughly took one of her arms and held it behind her back while placing his other arm in front of her mouth. "Ouch, hey! Let go of me, dammit!"

The woman pulled away from a disgusted Dean and smirked at Julia. "You got yourself a feisty one, don't you," she sent a dig toward Dean as she slowly walked toward Julia. "Mmm...Luther will like you, sweetheart."

Fed up with the talking, Julia kicked back her leg into the man's nuts, making him grunt and let her go. As soon as she was out of his arms, an arrow was shot through his heart and the woman's.

"Damn it," the woman grunted while Julia helped Dean up from where the vampire discarded him; Sam, John, and Luke came out of the woods where they were hiding, bows in their hands. "It barely even stings."

"Give it time, sweetheart," John smirked at her. "That arrow's soaked in dead man's blood. It's like poison to you, isn't it?"

Like clockwork, the woman stumbled and faltered, fainting to the ground. John handed Dean his bow and picked her up. "I'll load her up," John called out toward Luke. "You take care of that one."

Luke grinned and pulled out his machete, angrily leering down at the vampire who was holding Julia. "It'd be my pleasure."

As John went to toss the vampire in Impala's trunk, Luke swung his machete, slicing through the vampire's head with ease.

"I told you I'm okay," Julia assured her father as they sat around the campfire he had built.

"That vamp had you pretty tight, Jujube," Luke said worriedly.

"I've had worse," she told him; she had gotten injuries with almost every hunt that she had been on with Sam and Dean—some of them worse than others.

Luke nodded understandingly. "And how is the training going? Are Sam and Dean treating you all right?"

Julia looked over at the truck, where Sam and Dean were talking to their father about his weapon storage. "Yeah, they are," she nodded, turning back to Luke. "and training's going fine. I did an exorcism on an airplane, you know."

Luke grinned. "I know you did," he hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. "Listen, Julia, I'm sorry for not being there for you and your sisters. I've been with John on this from the very beginning and I got caught up in it. And, when Levi was killed," he shook his head and Julia was surprised to see him tearing up. "Well, I didn't want to face you girls."

"Why, though, Dad?" Julia didn't understand; a girl always needed her daddy.

"Because I was ashamed," Luke confessed. "We think that girl who was controlling the Daeva, the one who killed Levi, was working with the demon that killed Mary and Jessica. And, if she was, that meant that I brought her right to your brother. I'm the reason he's dead."

Julia grabbed Luke's left hand where his wedding ring was still wrapped around his fourth finger. "Dad, it's not your fault," she whispered, her eyes stinging with her own tears. "You couldn't have known that what happened to Levi would actually happen."

"I should have, though," Luke shook his head. "I've been hunting evil my whole life. I should have known that one of you—if not all of you—would pay the price."

"You can't think like that, Dad," Julia sniffed and wiped away some of her tears with her free hand. "You and Mom protected us the best you could."

Before they could talk anymore, the Winchester men walked over to the fire. John was holding a bundle of herbs, which he threw in the fire, immediately stinking up the vicinity.

"Gross," Julia wrinkled her nose at the smell. "What the hell is that?"

"Saffron, skunk's cabbage, a trillium," John informed her. "It'll block our scent and hers until we're ready."

Dean coughed and shook his head. "The stuff stinks."

"That's the idea," Luke let go of Julia's hand and stood up. "Dust your clothes with the ashes and you stand a chance of not being detected."

"And you're sure they'll come after her?" Sam questioned his father, nodding over to the vampire they had tied to a tree.

"Yeah," John confirmed. "Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun but the blood sickness is going to wear off soon, so you don't have a lot of time."

"A half-hour ought to do it," Sam checked the machete in his holster.

"And then we want you three out of the area as fast as you can," Luke ordered.

Julia stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "What?"

"You guys can't take care of them all," Dean protested.

"We'll have her and the colt," John placated him, pointing to the vampire.

"But after, we're gonna meet up, right?" Sam stared hard at his dad. "Use the gun together, right?"

John paused for a long moment, giving them the answer they needed.

Sam scoffed. "You're leaving again, aren't you?" he confronted John. "You still wanna go after the demon alone. You know, I don't get you. You can't treat us like this."

"Like what?"

"Like children."

"You are my children," John said firmly. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Dad, all due respect, but that's bullshit," Dean spoke up, earning shocked looks from Sam and Julia.

Never before had Julia heard Dean speak up to his dad like that; and, by the way Sam was looking at his brother, he hadn't heard it either. Julia was proud of him; he was finally sticking up for himself.

John blinked in disbelief at his oldest son. "Excuse me?"

"You know that Sammy, Jules, and I have been hunting," Dean stood his ground. "Hell, you sent us on a few hunting trips yourself. You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."

"It's not the same thing, Dean."

"Then what is it?" Dean asked him. "Why do you want us out of the big fight?"

"This demon is a bad son of a bitch," John told them slowly, like they were kids wouldn't couldn't understand evil and the danger it brings. "I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you alive."

"You mean you can't be as reckless," Dean retorted, seeing through his dad's bullshit.

"Look," John sighed. "I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. You mother's death, it almost killed me. I can't watch my children die, too. I won't."

"What happens if you die?" Dean countered, his voice wavering. "Dad, what happens if you die and we could have done something about it? You know, I've been thinking and I...Maybe Sam's right about this one. We should do this together."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"We're stronger as a family, Dad. We just are," Dean continued. "You know it."

John shook his head. "We're running out of time," he changed the subject. "You do your job and you get out of the area. That's an order."

Luke tapped Julia's shoulder and when she turned to him, he nodded in Sam and Dean's direction. She knew that he was silently telling her to go with them but she agreed with the brothers; they should stick together. Sam and Dean had as much of a right to see this demon dead as John did.

"Go," Luke urged her. "Be careful."

While John and Luke left with the female vampire to lure out half of the nest, Julia, Dean, and Sam wiped out the rest of them who were left at the barn. It turned out that after a few tries, Julia did have enough strength to behead a vampire, which gave her much relief that she could defend herself.

After they freed the hostages, they made their way to where the fight between John and Luke and the vampires was going down. When they arrived, the vampires had John knocked out and Luke fighting a lost cause. But the tide turned in their favor when Dean shot an arrow drenched in dead man's blood into one of the vamps.

The three of them rushed at the vampires, their machetes drawn. Sam took out two vampires, one after another, while Dean killed the vampire that had Luke on the ropes. Julia was right behind him, ready to kill one of the last ones when another vampire came up behind her and forcefully pushed her to the ground.

The wind was knocked out of her as she hit the ground hard. The vampire who pushed her down stood over her, feet on either side of her body, and bent down, backhanding her face so hard she could taste blood. He wasn't finished with her, though; he grabbed her around the neck and lifted her with one hand, swinging her around so his arm could snap her neck and kill her within a second.

Julia's wide and fearful eyes were on a furious Dean, who was posed to attack the vampire, machete raised.

"Don't," the vampire warned him lowly. "I'll break her neck."

Julia inhaled deeply, silently panicking. This wouldn't have happened if she had been more careful.

"Put the blade down."

Dean hesitated, fire in his eyes, and when Julia grunted as the vampire squeezed her neck threateningly, he did as he was told. He raised his free hand and lowered the machete to the ground with the other. Sam dropped his blade as well, raising his hands in the air.

"You people," the vampire hissed as Julia wheezed in his hold. "Why can't you leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."

"I don't think so."

The vampire whipped around at John's voice, bringing Julia with him. John had the colt in his hand and waited for less than a second before aiming at the vampire and pulling the trigger. The bullet went right between the vampire's eyes, making him still.

Dean hurriedly pulled Julia into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her. Sam hovered near them, all three of them watching with wide eyes as the vampire slowly died.

The female that they had caught had tried to go after John but the last one wasn't having it. She dragged her into one of the vampire's cars and drove off, leaving Julia, Dean, Sam, Luke, and John to deal with the rest of them.

The vampire chapter of the story was done for now. They were safe and they had the colt. Now, all they had to do was track that demon down and kill it, just like it killed Mary and Jessica.

(Gif is not mine)

#supernatural rewrite #dean winchester x oc #dean winchester x reader #supernatural #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x original character

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christophercraig-blog · 6 years ago

Video

tumblr

Physical Computing - Final Product 2/2

Components used - Ultrasonic Sensor, 3 LED’s, Arduino Leonardo, Buzzer, Servomotor, Small portable battery (Link -> https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B017285HB4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Code:

#include <Servo.h>

const int pingPin = 9; //Ultrasonic sensor pin const int buzzer = 6; // Buzzer Pin Servo myservo; // Servo Motor variable for pin int pos = 0; // interger variable for servo persision

void setup(){ pinMode(13, OUTPUT); // Green LED pinMode(12, OUTPUT); // Orange LED pinMode(11, OUTPUT); // Red LED

Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(buzzer, OUTPUT);

myservo.attach(3); }

void loop(){ //LED //digitalWrite(13, HIGH); //digitalWrite(13, LOW); //digitalWrite(12,HIGH); //digitalWrite(12,LOW); //digitalWrite(11,HIGH); //digitalWrite(11,LOW);

//USS long duration, inches, cm; pinMode(pingPin, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW); delayMicroseconds(2); digitalWrite(pingPin, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(5); digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);

pinMode(pingPin, INPUT); duration = pulseIn(pingPin, HIGH);

// convert the time into a distance cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);

Serial.print(cm); Serial.print("cm"); Serial.println();

delay(10); if (cm < 35){ //RED digitalWrite(13, LOW); digitalWrite(12, LOW); digitalWrite(11, HIGH); tone(buzzer, 1000);

for (pos = 0; pos <= 180; pos += 1) { // goes from 0 degrees to 180 degrees // in steps of 1 degree myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos' delay(1); // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position } for (pos = 180; pos >= 0; pos -= 1) { // goes from 180 degrees to 0 degrees myservo.write(pos); // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos' delay(1); }

} else if (cm > 75){ //GREEN digitalWrite(13, HIGH); digitalWrite(12, LOW); digitalWrite(11, LOW); noTone(buzzer); } else { // YELLOW digitalWrite(13, LOW); digitalWrite(12, HIGH); digitalWrite(11, LOW); tone(buzzer, 500); } }

long microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds) { return microseconds / 29 / 2; }

#physical computing #final project

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noellrobertsart · 6 years ago

Text

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Python!

T. Roberts

Hey there, budding Pythonistas(those who code, use, and/or love Python)! The biggest challenge with getting into tech that I’ve found so far is that there is just SO MUCH of it, and it’s easy to get lost! Not to worry, though. I’m here to help. (“And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide.”) Bonus points if you know where that’s from. Anyway, if you’re interested in learning Python, I’ve compiled a list of resources that might help you on your Python journey. Python is a great language. It’s versatile, it’s powerful, and it’s widely used. (And it’s named after Monty Python, how awesome is that???) If you’re as excited as I am to delve into this language, read on!

ONLINE RESOURCES:

The Docs(https://www.python.org/doc/):

When it comes to new languages, sometimes the best place to start is with the language itself. Python has rather extensive documentation which you can either download or review on your own. There are two main versions of Python, Python 2(older) and Python 3(newer). Pay attention to which version you download or use because there are some significant differences between the two. For example, in Python 2 you use “raw input” to retrieve information from your site users, and you use “input” in Python 3. The versions are not wholly compatible with each other so you want to be sure not to mix syntax or documentation.

Udemy:

An OG, Udemy has been around for a while, and it’s actually where I got my start in programming. I found a free course on HTML/CSS, jumped in, and was immediately hooked. From there I took a few front-end courses, including JavaScript (temporarily the bane of my existence.) But one day I was poking around and found a course on Python, and well, here we are! Udemy has tons of sales so if the course you want looks a little pricey ($200???) then just park it in your cart and wait for a sale. I’ve never paid more than twenty dollars for a course. Pro Tip: I’ve been advised that if you’re going to learn frameworks, start with Flask. It’s a little easier to grasp, Django might take you some time.

General Python:

https://www.udemy.com/complete-python-bootcamp/

This one ^ gets stars from me, good course, teaches you the basics.

https://www.udemy.com/the-python-bible/

https://www.udemy.com/the-modern-python3-bootcamp/

Hacking:

https://www.udemy.com/learn-python-and-ethical-hacking-from-scratch/

For Data:

https://www.udemy.com/python-for-data-science-and-machine-learning-bootcamp/

https://www.udemy.com/learning-python-for-data-analysis-and-visualization/

https://www.udemy.com/python-coding/

https://www.udemy.com/data-analysis-with-pandas/

Machine learning:

https://www.udemy.com/machinelearning/

Frameworks:

https://www.udemy.com/python-and-django-full-stack-web-developer-bootcamp/

https://www.udemy.com/python-django-web-development-to-do-app/

https://www.udemy.com/rest-api-flask-and-python/

https://www.udemy.com/python-and-flask-bootcamp-create-websites-using-flask/

https://www.udemy.com/scrapy-python-web-scraping-crawling-for-beginners/

Databases:

https://www.udemy.com/the-complete-python-postgresql-developer-course/

https://www.udemy.com/using-mysql-databases-with-python/

https://www.udemy.com/python-easily-migrate-excel-files-to-a-database/

https://www.udemy.com/django-python/

FreeCodeCamp:

FreeCodeCamp does not have a specific Python curriculum but what they do have is a forum, and there is a ton of great information on there about things you can do with Python. Below I’ve listed a link for building your own web scraper, and the third link is a list someone complied of other Python resources. It might be a bit dated, (I think it’s from 2016) but you may find something of use there.

Project:

https://medium.freecodecamp.org/how-to-scrape-websites-with-python-and-beautifulsoup-5946935d93fe

Forum:

https://www.freecodecamp.org/forum/search?q=python

Resources:

https://www.freecodecamp.org/forum/t/python-resources/19174

Treehouse:

I took the beginning and intermediate Python tracks on Treehouse and they were a great supplement to the Udemy course I took on Python. The courses are extremely thorough and cover some stuff that wasn’t in the Udemy bootcamp I took. I wasn’t the hugest fan of the Flask course, as I felt the teacher went very quickly and didn’t fully elaborate on what he was doing, especially when building the project, but it’s great if you just want to get your feet wet and get some basic concepts under your belt. Pro Tip: my local library gives me free access to Treehouse (for six weeks). You might want to check and see if your library does the same, or see if your company has an account. In addition to their tracks they also have “techdegrees” which have quizzes and projects as well as lessons, so you’ll have a portfolio when you’re all done! The tracks appear to start at about $25 per month but the techdegrees can be as much as $200 per month. And yes, there is a techdegree for Python development.

Tracks:

https://teamtreehouse.com/tracks/beginning-python

https://teamtreehouse.com/tracks/intermediate-python

https://teamtreehouse.com/tracks/beginning-data-science

https://teamtreehouse.com/tracks/exploring-flask

https://teamtreehouse.com/tracks/exploring-django

Lynda:

Born out of LinkedIn, Lynda is their online learning platform. I haven’t used Lynda as much, but it does have a wide range of material. I attached a link to a Raspberry Pi course because I thought that was interesting, I’ve always wanted to play around with those little guys! (Raspberry Pis are basically mini computers you can use for a wide variety of projects!) Lynda ranges from about $25 per month to around $40 for a premium membership. I get Lynda free through my library, so you might want to check with yours. I also pinned a few other courses you might find interesting.

https://www.lynda.com/search?q=Python

Engineering:

https://www.lynda.com/Python-tutorials/Python-Theory-Network-Engineers/772337-2.html?srchtrk=index%3a9%0alinktypeid%3a2%0aq%3apython%0apage%3a1%0as%3arelevance%0asa%3atrue%0aproducttypeid%3a2

(I actually thought about doing network engineering for a hot second…)

https://www.lynda.com/Python-tutorials/Python-Network-Programmability-Scaling-Scripts/769299-2.html?srchtrk=index%3a27%0alinktypeid%3a2%0aq%3apython%0apage%3a1%0as%3arelevance%0asa%3atrue%0aproducttypeid%3a2

Testing and Automation:

https://www.lynda.com/Python-tutorials/Python-Automation-Testing/651196-2.html?srchtrk=index%3a16%0alinktypeid%3a2%0aq%3apython%0apage%3a1%0as%3arelevance%0asa%3atrue%0aproducttypeid%3a2

Projects:

https://www.lynda.com/Raspberry-Pi-tutorials/Internet-Things-Python-Raspberry-Pi/5019806-2.html?srchtrk=index%3a7%0alinktypeid%3a2%0aq%3aPython%0apage%3a1%0as%3arelevance%0asa%3atrue%0aproducttypeid%3a2

https://www.lynda.com/Developer-tutorials/Python-Projects/604246-2.html?srchtrk=index%3a4%0alinktypeid%3a2%0aq%3apython%0apage%3a1%0as%3arelevance%0asa%3atrue%0aproducttypeid%3a2

edX:

edX.org features a lot of courses from universities, including some heavy hitters like Harvard and Stanford. The classes are free to take but you can upgrade for about $99 to get a certificate. Should you pay for the certificate? That’s up to you, honestly. I’ve heard arguments both ways. A certificate might look better on your resume, and the fee will definitely help edX maintain this awesome platform. However, I don’t know if the certs from edX really carry the same wait as some other certs, like Network+ or SEC+, you might want to consult a recruiter or someone who already works in tech. Just from a precursory glance, it looks like there are a ton of data science courses, so if that’s your boat, edX has definitely got you covered!

General Python:

https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-python-absolute-beginner-3

https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-programming-using-python

https://www.edx.org/course/cs50s-web-programming-with-python-and-javascript

Data Science:

https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-python-for-data-science-2

https://www.edx.org/course/data-science-research-methods-python-edition-2

Machine Learning:

https://www.edx.org/course/principles-of-machine-learning-python-edition-2

https://www.edx.org/course/essential-math-for-machine-learning-python-edition-2

YouTube:

Ah YouTube, home of crazy cat videos and…Python. Yes, you can use YouTube to learn, and the best thing of all, it’s free. I’ve dropped a few tutorials below to give you an idea of the types of things you can find on the Tube, check them out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfscVS0vtbw&t=19s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uQrJ0TkZlc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDa-Z5JzLYM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ovCm9jKfA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdTgxv2Vv0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-gEQdGVXbk

BOOKS

Some folks are old fashioned, I get it. Nothing compares to having a physical copy of something you can flip through, highlight, and dog-ear to your heart’s content. If you’re a book kind of person, I’ve got some of those too! I tried to limit this list to things that were either highly rated or that had come out fairly recently. Tech changes so fast, the problem with books is sometimes they can’t keep up.

https://www.amazon.com/Python-Crash-Course-Hands-Project-Based/dp/1593276036/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=python+programming&qid=1553791792&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Smarter-Way-Learn-Python-Remember-ebook/dp/B077Z55G3B/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=python+programming&qid=1553791837&s=gateway&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Web-Development-Python-hands/dp/1789953294/ref=sr_1_11_sspa?keywords=python+programming&qid=1553791837&s=gateway&sr=8-11-spons&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Python-Programming-no-nonsense-programming/dp/1788996666/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=python+programming&qid=1553791837&s=gateway&sr=8-13

https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Learning-Python-Comprehensive-Beginners/dp/1797861174/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=python+programming&qid=1553791837&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

CERTS

Want to stand out from the crowd? Certs are a good way to do this, and I have found a site that helps you do just that. Not only do they have certification exams but they have FREE study material. Even if you don’t want to take the exams, you can still check out their study resources to expand your knowledge of Python. Just in case, though, I’ve posted the links to all four certification pages. There is a fee to take the exams, but again, the study material is free and is run through Cisco Networking Academy. Might be time for me to hop on one of these!

https://pythoninstitute.org/certification/pcep-certification-entry-level/

https://pythoninstitute.org/certification/pcap-certification-associate/

https://pythoninstitute.org/certification/pcpp-certification-professional/pcpp-32-1-exam-syllabus/

https://pythoninstitute.org/certification/pcpp-certification-professional/pcpp-32-2-exam-syllabus/

PROJECTS

In addition to certs, a great way to test your prowess and build your confidence is through projects. I’ve included a few links to help you get started. In addition some of the course I’ve posted on here come with their own projects. If you really want to challenge yourself, try to build the projects before watching the code-along or solutions videos. Also, try to figure out how you can improve or add complexity to the projects in your courses. For example, in one of my bootcamps I had to build a game where you try to guess a random color shown on the screen. The game originally came with two levels, but I used my knowledge from the course to build a third, harder level. Pro Tip: Consider contributing to open source projects on GitHub as you build your knowledge. The last link in this section is a list of open source projects using Python.

https://knightlab.northwestern.edu/2014/06/05/five-mini-programming-projects-for-the-python-beginner/

https://medium.mybridge.co/30-amazing-python-projects-for-the-past-year-v-2018-9c310b04cdb3

https://realpython.com/what-can-i-do-with-python/

https://www.hackster.io/projects/tags/python

https://www.edureka.co/blog/python-projects/

https://hackernoon.com/50-popular-python-open-source-projects-on-github-in-2018-c750f9bf56a0

GET OUT AND ABOUT

Hopefully after going through these resources, you are as excited about Python as I am! And guess what? There are tons of other Pythonistas out there, just like you and me. While conferences can be a great place to meet up and hobnob with your fellow wiza-, I mean Pythonistas, consider using something like Meetup to find the local Python groups in your area. There are quite a few tech meet-ups in my city, including one for Python, and there are groups for other languages and for programming as well. Also check to see if there are any Hackathons in your area. Some of my first programming experiences were with Hackathons, I got to learn and practice code, and work with other developers and programmers to create ideas, build working projects and network…wait a minute. Those sound an awful lot like things that would help in finding a tech job! Brilliant!

https://www.meetup.com/apps/

https://us.pycon.org/2019/

https://www.python.org/community/workshops/

https://www.python.org/events/

https://confs.tech/python

https://opensource.com/article/18/12/top-python-conferences-attend

https://mlh.io/seasons/na-2019/events

https://www.hackalist.org/

https://devpost.com/hackathons

https://hackathons.hackclub.com/

OTHER RESOURCES

Remember in Lord of the Rings, when Frodo is on the slopes of Mount Doom and feels he can’t go on? And Sam says, “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” *Sobs.* That’s real friendship right there. My point is you don’t have to go on this wonderful Python journey alone. A lot of people have started where you are, and have gone on to do awesome things. You can too! But, if you get a little stuck, it doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of help.

First resource: Google! And no, I’m not kidding. Google is your friend here, and it will help you a lot when you get stuck. If you’re getting quirky error messages or something isn’t quite clicking, use Google to find the light. There’s also Stack Overflow. If you have a question, chances are someone else has had that same question, and someone has already answered it. Don’t beat your head against a brick wall. I mentioned the Python documentation earlier, use it! That’s why it’s there. Udemy, Treehouse, and FreeCodeCamp all have forums where you can post questions if you happen to get stuck.

I mention Youtube again, because if you are not sure where to go career wise there are breakdowns of a lot of different fields, from everything to network engineering to Python development and IoT (Internet of Things.) I actually posted a video from a “self-taught” developer, for reference.

https://stackoverflow.com/

https://docs.python-guide.org/intro/learning/

https://www.learnpython.org/

Inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62tsiY5j4_0

And for the youth J :

https://girlswhocode.com/

https://www.blackboyscode.com/

http://www.blackgirlscode.com/

https://www.codeninjas.com/

https://www.idtech.com/courses

I hope you found this helpful. It can be pretty daunting tackling a new language, especially if you’ve never coded before, and sometimes even if you have. But just remember, you’re not alone! Use your resources, set aside time to study, practice your skills, and you’ll get it! Now get out there and be awesome!

#python #programming #coding #tech #beginner #newbie #resources

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amazingworkspaces-blog · 8 years ago

Photo

The Upgraded my Battlestation! Workspace

Here are some of the products that make this workspace an Amazing Workspace:

Cambridge - Azur 351A (Silver)

Paper Mate Arrowhead Pink Pearl Cap Erasers, 144 Count

Fiber Optic FTTH Tool Kit with FC-6S Fiber Cleaver and Optical Power Meter 5km Visual Fault Locator Wire stripper

G.SKILL TridentZ Series 32GB (4x8GB) 288-Pin SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform Desktop Memory F4-3200C16Q-32GTZB

Cuisinart DCC-450BK 4-Cup Coffeemaker with Stainless-Steel Carafe, Black

MSI GAMING Radeon RX 480 GDDR5 4GB CrossFire VR Ready FinFET DirectX 12 Graphics Card (RX 480 ARMOR 4G OC)

Intel SSD 600p Series SSDPEKKW512G7X1 (512 GB, M.2 80mm PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4, 3D1, TLC) Reseller Single Pack

Sungwoo 2.4GHz Small Wireless Computer Mouse with Nano Receiver for Notebook Laptop Desktop (White)

Neo smartpen N2 (Titan Black) for IOS and Android Smartphones and Tablets

NEXBOX A95X Pro Smart Box Android 6.0 Amlogic S905X Quad Core 2.0GHz STB 2GB RAM 8GB ROM VP9 4K H.265 HDR BT 4.0 Rooted with Spdif Learning Remote

KHSKX Fashion can be raised and lowered the bed notebook computer desk, home to the computer desk, iPad stand fan , a

Intel 7th Gen Intel Core Desktop Processor i7-7700K (BX80677I77700K)

ASUS ROG Maximus IX Code LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 Z270 ATX Motherboard with onboard AC Wifi and USB 3.1

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bd5useddriversblog-blog · 5 years ago

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spn-safeandsound · 5 years ago

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11. Too Many Coincidences

Safe and Sound

Dean Winchester x Original Character

Episode: 1x16; Shadow

Word Count: 8,933

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence + gore, minor character death, angst

Author’s Note: Introducing the Petersen clan! Tell me what you think of this chapter! Enjoy, reblog, and like!

Find the masterlink pinned on my profile!

Julia could feel their eyes on her every now and then. First it would be Dean; his green eyes would look into the rearview mirror and study her pouring over her bible, head bowed. He would look away and then, not even three minutes later, Sam would turn to check on her, his puppy dog eyes peaking over the back of the seat. She would ignore them and continue on reading, her eyes stinging harshly.

She got the call the night before, just after they rescued Sam from the creepy family that hunted humans for sport. It was Taylor, Beth's husband, that called her, telling her that she needed to come home now. They were supposed to be on their way to Chicago for Beth and Levi's birthday in a day's time; now they were going for a different reason.

Levi was dead. The police had found him in his condo in Chicago after he didn't show up to work for two days. She didn't know how her brother died because at that point, she was a mess. Sam had pulled her into his arms while Dean took the phone, getting the details from Taylor. They were on their way to Chicago as soon as they packed up their things.

Julia had been inconsolable for the first half of the eight-hour drive from Hibbing, Minnesota to Chicago. Dean had stayed with her in the backseat, holding her tightly while Sam drove them. Then Julia fell asleep; when she woke up only an hour later, she was alone in the backseat. She cried silently as she pulled her bible out of her backpack and started reading, trying to find strength from whatever passage she turned to.

Now they were just getting out of the early morning traffic on their way to Winnetka, the village that the Petersen-Alexander family lived in which was only sixteen miles away from Chicago. Beth, Taylor, and Lizzie still lived in the house that the siblings grew up in while keeping rooms for Luke, Abby, Levi, and Julia.

"Jules," Dean spoke up gently as he pulled up to the gates that kept strangers and any enemies off the Petersen property. "We're here."

Julia barely looked up, just enough to give Dean a view of her bloodshot eyes. She looked back down, hearing Dean sigh and roll down his window to speak into the speaker in front of the gate.

"Name?" a gruff voice spoke.

"Dean Winchester," Dean stated. "I'm here with Julia and my brother, Sam."

"Codeword?"

Dean cleared his throat and recited the codeword that Taylor gave him the night before. "Peanut butter cup."

As the gate buzzed and slowly opened, Julia wondered if Lizzie picked the codeword. It had been food before, but Lizzie's favorite candy was a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. She probably insisted that it would be the week's passcode. Her niece was a special one, that was for sure.

The head security guard, a man named Mike that had been with them since Julia was a baby, greeted them at the front of the house. He hardly acknowledged Sam and Dean as Julia got out of the car, immediately pulling her into a tight hug.

Julia felt the tell-tale sting in her eyes as she buried her head in Mike's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Jules," Mike said hoarsely; he was just as upset as the siblings, considering they considered Mike and his wife, Judy, their family. "Levi was a good man. One of the best."

Dean felt his heart ache for Julia when he saw his shoulders heave, a sign that she had started crying again. He felt so bad for her on top of his own sadness; he and Levi had been good friends since childhood. Everyone was feeling his loss right now.

Julia pulled back from Mike and wiped her eyes, giving him a tired smile while Sam and Dean started getting their stuff out of the trunk. "How's Judy?"

"She's okay," Mike told her, grabbing her bags from Sam and Dean. "We've missed you around here."

"I've missed you guys too," she assured him. Turning to face the house, she sighed heavily. "Is Abby home yet?"

Mike nodded. "Yep. Maggie got here an hour ago."

"And no Dad?"

"Not yet," he frowned; Dean and Sam copied his expression. "Sorry, Jules."

Julia didn't answer verbally; she reached for his hand and squeezed it before climbing up the steps to the front door. She typed the four-digit code in to unlock the door and opened it when the locks unlocked loudly.

"Auntie Jules!" a squeal erupted from the foyer before Julia was almost knocked over by a small force.

"Lizzie!" Julia plastered a smile on her face for her niece, who probably didn't understand what was going on. All she knew was that Aunt Julia and Aunt Abby had come home earlier than they were meant to. She picked Lizzie up and poked the dimple in her right cheek. "Look at you! You're almost as tall as me!"

Although Lizzie was tall for her five years of age, she wasn't almost as tall as Julia. She was the cutest little girl that Julia had seen, though. She got her dad's face full of freckles and height but everything else was Bethany. The wavy brown hair that all Petersen women inherited, the brown eyes, and the pretty smile.

Lizzie giggled. "Yep!" she exclaimed as her eyes left her aunt and found Dean behind her. "Uncle Dean!"

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted her with a grin, reaching forward to tug on one of her braided pigtails. "Lizzie, you remember Sammy?"

"Hi, Uncle Sammy!" even though Sam and Lizzie had only met three or four times, she was always fond of the tall man. "Your hair is silly!"

Dean chuckled in amusement while Sam smiled. "Hey, Lizzie."

Julia shook her head and hid her laugh. Clearing her throat, she gained her niece's attention once again. "Hey, Lizzie, where's your mom?"

"Upstairs in her room," the bright smile fell from Lizzie's face. "With Aunt Abby."

Julia set Lizzie back down. "I'm gonna go check on her, okay? Why don't you bring Dean and Sam to your dad?"

"Okay!" Lizzie chirped, grabbing Dean's outstretched hand. "Nana Maggie is here, too."

Forcing a smile, Julia waited until Lizzie led Sam and Dean out of the foyer. Mike had already gone to put all of their bags in her room and the guest rooms, so all she had to do was go to Beth and Taylor's room.

She knew as soon as she saw her sisters she would break down again. Levi was a quiet man but he had always watched over them. He was protective and the best big brother Julia could have asked for. The three sisters would feel his loss forever.

Julia wandered around the staircase to the hallway at the back of the foyer. The master bedroom, as well as two guest rooms, and her dad's room were on the main level. The closer she got to the master bedroom, the more she could hear gentle sniffling. She gently knocked on the door before opening.

Beth and Abby were laying together on the king-sized bed, their eyes red and faces puffy. They looked up when Julia entered the room and, when she broke into sobs and ran to the bed, they started crying again.

Julia buried her head in Beth's shoulder, inhaling her rose and vanilla scent. She already felt better in her sisters' arms but she'd be perfect if Levi was still there, too.

It was a somber night in the Petersen-Alexander house with all three sisters not coming out of the master bedroom since Julia arrived. Sam and Dean had greeted Taylor and Maggie fondly, knowing both of them quite well, and the four of them made sure that Lizzie was entertained and the sisters were checked on every hour.

In the morning, the news had centered around Levi's death. As one of the most eligible bachelors in Chicago, it was a big deal to hear that Levi Petersen had passed away. Taylor had to turn the channel when Maggie burst into tears over her cup of coffee from the rumors that were going around about her nephew.

Julia was the first of the sisters to emerge. At eight, she was freshly showered and dressed in lounge shorts and a PSC t-shirt. She and Taylor greeted each other fondly and then she and Maggie had an emotional reunion.

Maggie was one of Julia's heroes. Her aunt was a spitting image of Naomi, with the wavy brown hair and dimple, but that wasn't the reason why Julia looked up to her. When Naomi first got sick when Julia was ten, Maggie took over as the CEO of Petersen Sports Co.. She was thirty-two years old and previously the head of sales, much like Levi was. She thrived in her new role and kept the company successful while making sure her sister was taken care of while Luke was out hunting every week. And when Naomi died, Maggie was the one to take care of Julia while grieving her sister and still taking care of the family business. Even if Maggie didn't fight or hunt, she was a badass in her own way. She stepped up when she needed to, was a faithful woman, and she loved her family fiercely. Julia hoped to be half of the woman Maggie was as she aged.

"Julia," Maggie sighed into her hair as they hugged tearfully. "I've been worried about you."

Julia pulled away from the hug and wiped her tears away, giving her a confused look. "Why?"

"Well, you're hunting," Maggie pointed out the obvious. "Without your sister, might I add."

"Sam and Dean are great, Aunt Maggie."

"I know they are," Maggie nodded, sending Sam and Dean a warm smile where they sat on one of the couches in the large living room. "I just worry about you kids."

"I know you do," Julia squeezed Maggie's hand. "but I'll be okay. I promise."

Maggie smiled and kissed the top of Julia's head before going to join Lizzie by the coffee table to color from a princess coloring book.

"So," Julia took a deep breathed and smiled at Sam, Dean, and Taylor. "Who wants blueberry pancakes for breakfast?"

"I do!" Lizzie exclaimed excitedly. "You always make them the best!"

"Hey, I heard that, you rugrat!" Beth entered the living room, giving her daughter a mischievous smile. Abby walked in right behind her, both of them showered and freshly dressed.

While Abby greeted Sam and Dean, Beth picked Lizzie up and kissed her cheek, making her giggle, "Sorry, Momma."

"How about I teach your mom how to make them like Nana Naomi taught me?" Julia asked Lizzie. "Extra blueberries?"

Lizzie nodded jerkily. "Extra blueberries."

Beth shook her head in amusement and set down Lizzie before walking over to Sam and Dean.

"Hey, guys," she pulled Dean into a hug, who returned it easily. The Petersen family were huggers and he was comfortable enough with them to return the affection. "How are you?"

"Hanging in there," Dean smiled sadly. "I'm so sorry, Beth."

Beth's dimple popped out as she frowned but gave him a grateful look. "Thanks, Dean," she turned to Sam, wrapping her arms around him. "Sam, you need a haircut."

Sam pressed his lips together while Dean laughed. "Lizzie said that too."

"Yeah," Sam rolled his eyes as Beth started laughing with his brother. "Laugh it up, guys. Real funny."

Dean and Beth continued to laugh until Julia called over for her sister. "Beth, come on!"

Beth sobered up and grinned at the men she considered her brothers. "I better go before she gets all bossy on me."

Dean looked over Beth's head to where Julia stood with Lizzie on her hip, both of them looking over the oldest sister expectantly. She looked good with a kid on her hip, he realized. It made him think of his dream, of Peter, Jonah, and Levi and their life together.

He didn't know that he had a certain glint to his stare as he watched Julia but Beth did. She quickly looked between the two, noticing that Julia was now staring back at him with a small smile and looked to Sam to see if he noticed too.

She raised her eyebrows at him in a silent question; do Julia and Dean have feelings for each other? Sam nodded back at her; they're both oblivious, but yes.

An amused smirk crossed Beth's face as she crossed the living room to her sister and daughter. "All right," she gave in. "Let's go make breakfast, girlies."

Maggie followed Julia, Beth, and Lizzie into the kitchen, leaving Dean, Sam, Abby, and Taylor. Abby waited until the sound of the mixer started before sitting next to Taylor on the couch and bringing up a difficult subject with all three men.

"Did Taylor give you the details about..." she hesitated for a long second, swallowing the lump in her throat. "about Levi?"

"I didn't," Taylor shook his head. "Not all of them, anyway. I figured you'd have a better perspective about the whole thing."

Abby nodded and Dean gave them a curious look. "What are you talking about?"

"Levi's death wasn't—" Taylor shook his head sadly. "It wasn't from natural causes. Someone—or something—murdered him."

"Something?" Sam raised his eyebrows at Taylor, stomach sinking in dread. "You mean you think something supernatural killed him."

"I do."

"I do, too," Abby added. "His condo was locked and the security system was on without any reported break-ins or tripped alarms."

"Have you seen the condo?" Dean asked; Taylor nodded. "Was there anything weird or any sign of a presence?"

"I took pictures of it," Taylor's face paled immensely as he remembered the crime scene. "It—it was bad. I had to identify the body and, well, Levi put up a fight."

Abby sniffed as tears filled her eyes; Sam and Dean gave her sympathetic looks while Taylor wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"Listen, I looked more into it," she pulled herself together. "There was another death a week or so ago and this morning. Same thing as Levi; locked apartment, no tripped alarms."

"This morning?" Sam asked in shock.

Abby nodded. "Guys, I think this is something," she inhaled deeply. "and I would do this myself but I-I just can't."

"We'll take care of it," Dean assured her quickly; he knew how important this way. This was Levi and he wasn't about to let his friend's little sister look into his murder. "We'll find what did this to Levi."

Abby wiped her eyes and sniffed noisily, taking the tissue Taylor offered her. Dean hadn't seen her cry since Naomi died; Abby was a tough one and didn't wear her heart on her sleeve like her sisters.

"Thank you," she managed to smile at them before standing up. "I'm gonna go see how they're doing in there."

As she left the room, Sam and Dean exchanged serious looks. They had to find out what exactly happened to Levi. They owed it to their friend and his grieving family.

After a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage—because Lizzie was weird and she didn't like bacon—and bacon, the arrangements for Levi's memorial began. While Maggie was on the phone with the funeral home where Naomi had her memorial—the family knew the home's director, who made sure their family was salted before being cremated—Taylor, Sam, and Dean retreated into the former's study, where they went over the photos of the crime scene in Levi's apartment while Julia, Abby, Beth, and Lizzie went through pictures of Levi to display at the memorial.

There were around twenty photo books to go through since the Petersen family were big on pictures. There were three whole photo albums just on Levi himself, from infancy to adulthood, while there were five books or so of the siblings all together and even more for special events and holidays.

It was heart breaking to go through the books, looking at Levi's smiling face but there was also something calming about it for Julia. Seeing Levi's bright smile in the pictures made her miss him so much but she knew he was happy up in Heaven with their mom. He had been a momma's boy through and through and he was destroyed when Naomi died. Julia would see her big brother again; she was sure of it.

"Look at this one," Beth smiled sadly down at the picture in her hands. She showed Abby and Julia, who were sitting side-by-side across the kitchen table. "Do you remember this?"

"Oh, my God, was that the Easter?" Abby reached for the photo and grinned widely when her question was answered. "It is. God, that was the funniest thing that ever happened to me."

"Yeah, funniest for you, most embarrassing for me," Julia grumbled as she took the picture from her sister; she couldn't help but smile at it anyway. "I tripped and fell at the Easter egg hunt, right in front of the boy I liked."

The picture was from when Julia was ten years old, Abby was thirteen, and Beth and Levi were seventeen. It was Easter and they were all dressed up in their best spring outfits. Right before the picture had been taken by Naomi, there was an Easter egg hunt that Julia participated in while her family watched on. She ended up tripping in the church parking lot in front of Simon Johnson, the boy she liked from her school. Her knees were still bloody and her face was tear-stained in the picture where she was smiling forcefully in front of Levi.

Beth and Abby snickered and Julia tried to glare at them but she couldn't keep it up. "All right, fine," she admitted. "It's kind of funny now."

"It was funny then!" Abby exclaimed before turning to Lizzie who sat next to her mother. "Auntie Jules is clumsy, isn't she?"

Lizzie nodded, her eyes eagerly soaking in the picture as Julia handed it back to Beth. "I like that picture."

"Me too," Beth smiled fondly. "It's going in the sibling pile."

Julia sighed; why must her sister torture her. "Fine."

She grabbed a photo album from the middle of the table and opened, smiling when she realized that it was Levi's teen years. It was full of awkward but sweet pictures. There were some of him with the youth group they all participated in; some from school events like prom and soccer games; there were a lot with Beth, especially when they graduated; and there was even one with Dean by his side, both of them looking at the camera with unamused looks. She saved that one, intending to give it to Dean later.

It was nice to see the pictures and remember times that she may not have on her own. She was seven years younger than Levi and Beth, which meant that some of her memories of them were different with a child's point of view. When she was younger and Levi went to prom with his date, she thought that he needed to hire a stylist. Now, as she looked at the picture, she knew that he dressed as best as he could, considering it was the nineties.

They went through the rest of the photo albums, pulling the pictures they wanted to frame for the memorial. They had to take a few breaks for the sisters to shed some tears. The worst part for them was when they had to decide which picture they needed to blow up for the large frame that would be in front of the church. It hurt them so much to know that the picture was the last representation of their brother.

Lizzie, bless her heart, was a Godsend. Taylor had explained what happened to her Uncle Levi the night before and she was sad but she was smart, too. She understood that her mom and aunts were grieving so she took it upon herself to cheer them up. To distract them, she'd the song that Beth sang to her while tucking her into bed every night.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..." It made all of them smile.

Lizzie's favorite thing, though, was something she had in common with her Aunt Julia. She was a big fan of corny jokes and it was something so simple that had the sisters crying in laughter.

"What do you call a cow with no legs?" she'd say so innocently. "Ground beef!"

Normally, Beth and Abby would snicker politely but when Julia really got going—and she laughed hard at stupid jokes like that—they couldn't contain themselves. And then, Lizzie would join in, looking very happy that she made her mom and aunts laugh.

It was nice to laugh instead of cry. It felt right; Levi never could bear to see his little sisters cry.

Dean climbed out of the Impala outside of the apartment building of a woman named Meredith, the latest victim that fit the pattern of Levi's death. They had spent the morning and most of the afternoon pouring over the crime scene photos of Levi's condo and more details about Meredith's death. When they found the woman's address, the brothers decided to go check out the apartment for themselves.

"All right, Dean," Sam got out of the passenger seat, allowing Dean to lock up. "This is the place."

Dean nodded and tugged at the jumpsuit Sam insisted he wear so they could pass as workers for the company that provided the security in Meredith's apartment. "You know, I gotta say that Dad and me did just find without these stupid costumes. I feel like a high school drama dork."

Sam gave him his famous bitch face, making Dean chuckle.

"Hey, what was that play you were in?" he asked Sam. "What was it—Our Town," he nodded, grinning when he recalled how adorable Sam looked a the main tree. "Yeah, you were good. It was cute."

Sam sighed in annoyance. "Look, you wanna pull this off or not?"

"I'm just saying," Dean shrugged as they got closer to the building's entrance. "these outfits cost hard-earned money, okay?"

"Whose?"

"Our," Dean answered Sam's skeptical tone with an obvious one. "You think credit card fraud is easy?"

"Just shut up," Sam scoffed, holding back his laugh as he opened the door for his brother.

They spoke to the landlady, Maria, about who they were and why there were there and she led them up to Meredith's apartment.

"Thanks for letting us look around," Sam thanked Maria as she let them into the apartment.

"Well, the police said they were done with the place, so," she trailed off, shrugging as she and Sam moved further into the apartment. Dean closed the door behind them, his eyes looking around the place curiously.

If he closed his eyes, he could still see the gruesome photos that Taylor took of Levi's apartment. It was messy, obviously from when Levi struck up a fight, and it was bloody. Meredith's apartment was bloody, too. The white carpet was absolutely destroyed from the blood that was soaked up in it.

"You guys said you were with the alarm company?" Maria asked them.

"That's right," Dean confirmed.

"Well, no offense, but your alarm's about as useful as boobs on a man."

Dean and Sam exchanged a taken aback look.

"Well, that's why we're here," Dean assured her. "To see what went wrong and stop it from happening again."

As Dean started to look around the living room, Sam asked Maria, "Now, ma'am, you found the body?"

"Yeah."

"Right after it happened?"

"No, just this morning," Maria sighed sadly. "Meredith's work called—she hadn't shown up in a few days. I knocked on the door and that was when I noticed the smell."

Dean nodded and studied the windows, looking for any disturbances. "Any windows open? Any sign of a break-in?"

"No, the windows were locked, the front door bolted," Maria told him. "The chain was on the door and we had to cut it just to get in."

Dean turned back to her. "And the alarm was still on?"

Maria nodded. "Like I said, bang-up job your company's doing."

Dean hummed, his eyes searching the area of the room where it faded into the kitchen. "You see any overturned furniture, broken glass, signs of a struggle?"

"Everything was in perfect condition," Maria's eyes filled with tears. "Except—except Meredith."

"And what condition was Meredith in?" Sam wondered, remembering the police report on Levi.

"Meredith was all over, in pieces. The guy who killed her must have been some kind of whack-job," Maria shook her head in disgust. "But I tell you, if I didn't know any better, I'd have said it was a wild animal that did it."

Dean pressed his lips together and bowed his head; the report had said the same thing about Levi's body. Not about the wild animal, but that he was in pieces. When he read that part of the report, he had to take a minute to pull himself together. He couldn't imagine Levi—who was the closest to a best friend that Dean had—like that.

Sam, seeing the distant look in Dean's eyes, turned to Maria. "Ma'am, do you mind if we take some time to give this place a once-over."

"Oh, well, go right ahead," Maria agreed. "Knock yourself out."

As soon as Maria left the apartment and the door was shut firmly behind her, Dean pulled the EMF meter out of the tool box he brought. "So, a killer walked in and out of the apartment—No weapons, no prints, nothing."

The EMF meter whirled to life as Sam sighed. "Just like Levi's place," he stated. "So, you talked to the cops, right?"

Dean nodded. "Nothing we don't already know," he told his brother. "but the deputy I talked to told me something and it matched right up to Levi's case."

Sam raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Hmm?"

"Meredith's heart was missing."

"Just like Levi's?"

"Just like Levi's," Dean confirmed as he started waving the EMF meter around the room.

"So, what do you think we're dealing with?" Sam wondered he finished his own snooping and met back up with Dean in the middle of the room.

"Well, Maria said that it looked like an animal attacked Meredith," Dean reminded him. "Maybe it was a werewolf?"

"No," Sam shook his head. "No, the lunar cycle's not right. Plus, if it was a creature, it would've left some kind of trace."

Dean nodded in agreement, catching some of Meredith's blood out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at the blood splatter fully, eyebrows furrowing when he saw that the drops were in some kind of pattern.

"See if you can find any masking tape around," he said to Sam.

Sam went searching throughout the apartment and it didn't take long until he found some electrical tape in the junk drawer in the kitchen. Dean got to his knees and started taping the stains together, like a gruesome connect-the-dots challenge.

The tape made out a symbol that Dean had never seen before. There was a circle in the middle with two lines going off either side of it and curving up on one side and down on the other.

Sam studied the symbol with furrowed brows. "Have you ever seen that symbol before?"

Dean shook his head. "Never."

"Me either."

After talking to the bartender at the bar that Amanda worked at, Dean walked back to the table where Sam was waiting for him, pages deep into their dad's journal. He sat on the stool across from his brother and tapped the surface of the table, almost impatiently.

Sam looked up from the journal and Dean sighed, "I talked to the bartender."

"And did you get anything besides her number?"

Dean rolled his eyes at his brother. "No, and I didn't ask for it, either."

"Really?" Dean wanted to punch the bewildered look off of Sam's face. "Why?"

"Dude, one of our friends—who was pretty much family—just died," Dean avoided his brother's eyes; truth was, it didn't feel right drinking and flirting with attractive women while Julia was at her house mourning her older brother.

"Hmm," Sam hummed and Dean looked over at him with narrowed eyes; Sam quickly moved on, "so, what did you find out, then?"

"Meredith worked here; she waited tables," Dean told him something they both already knew. "Everybody here was her friend. Everybody said she was normal. She didn't do or say anything weird before she died, so..."

"Huh..."

"Yep," Dean clicked his tongue. "So, did you find anything out about that symbol?"

"Nope, nothing," Sam shook his head. "It wasn't in Dad's journals or in any of the usual books. I just have to dig a little deeper, I guess."

"Okay..." Dean tapped his fingers on the table again as he tried to think of something that would help. "Well, what about the first victim? The one before Levi?"

"Right, yeah," Sam pulled a newspaper clipping out of his jacket pocket, handing it to Dean. "His name was Ben Swardstrom. Last month he was found mutilated in his town house. Same deal as Levi and Meredith—the door was locked, the alarm was on."

"Was there any connection between the three of them?" Dean asked as he skimmed the article.

"Not that I can tell," Sam sighed. "I mean, not yet, at least. Levi worked for PSC, Ben was a banker, and Meredith was a waitress. None of them met or knew anyone in common."

Dean handed the newspaper clipping back to Sam. "So, we have nothing."

When he didn't get an answer from his brother, he looked over at him. Sam was looking across the bar and, when Dean followed his gaze, he saw that there was a tall woman with short blonde hair seated at a table with a few other people.

"Sam?" he looked back to his brother. "Hello?"

Sam quickly stood up and left the table, heading across the bar to the blonde woman. Dean quickly followed him, watching, bewildered, as Sam hugged the woman fondly.

"Sam," the woman pulled away from the hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I'm just in town visiting friends," Sam answered her with a half-lie.

The woman looked around Sam, her eyes sliding past Dean without a pause. "Where are they?"

Sam stiffened for a second before he spoke. "Well, they're not here right now. But, what about you, Meg? I thought you were going to California?"

Dean furrowed his eyebrows. Is that how Sam knew this chick? He met her while he was trying to hitchhike his way to California to find their dad?

"Oh, I did," Meg—that was what Sam called her—told him. "I came, I saw, I conquered. Oh, and I met what's-his-name, something Michael Murray at a bar."

"Who?" Sam looked confused.

Dean knew who she was talking about, though. Julia was a big fan of One Tree Hill and watched it every week when a new episode premiered. Chad Michael Murray played one of the main characters that Julia wasn't a fan of because he cheated on Brooke with Peyton and it was a whole thing. He didn't even know he knew exactly what she passionately rambled about until this moment; did this mean he was a fan of One Tree Hill?

"Oh, it doesn't matter," Meg grinned up at Sam. "Anyway, the whole scene got old, so I'm living here for a while."

Having enough of being left out of the conversation, Dean cleared his throat to get their attention. He was promptly ignored.

"You're from Chicago?" Sam asked her in surprise.

"No, Andover, Massachusetts," Meg told him. "God, Sam, what are the odds we'd run into each other?"

"Yeah, I know," Sam smiled. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Well, I'm glad you were wrong."

From the looks Dean saw coming from Meg to Sam, it looked like those two had a connection. He grinned, amused like he always was when Sam met someone he was interested in, and cleared his throat again.

Meg immediately turned to glare at him. "Dude, cover your mouth."

Sam realized that Dean was there. "Yeah, um, I'm sorry, Meg," he apologized to the blonde. "This is, uh—this is my brother, Dean."

Meg gave him a surprised look. "This is Dean?"

Sam nodded while Dean smiled charmingly. "So, you've heard of me?"

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of you," Meg said; Dean was taken aback by the hostility in her voice. "It's nice, the way you treat your brother like luggage."

Dean furrowed his eyebrows; maybe her head her wrong. "Sorry?"

"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do?" Meg scolded him like she had any right to. "Stop dragging him over God's green earth."

"Meg, it's all right," Sam intervened; Dean gave him a surprised look. Is that what Sam really thought about him?

"Okay, this is awkward," Dean mumbled, wishing Julia was there to break the ice. "I'm gonna go get a drink now."

Dean only got through half a beer when Sam all but dragged him out of the bar. Dean immediately started questioning him, wondering exactly had happened earlier.

"Who the fuck was she?" he asked as they walked through the parking lot.

"I don't really now," Sam admitted. "I only met her once. Meeting up with her again? I don't know, man, it's weird."

Dean didn't pay much attention to Sam's concerns. "And what was she saying, huh? I treat you like luggage? What, were you bitching about me to some chick?"

"Look, I'm sorry, Dean," Sam sighed. "It was when we had that huge fight when I was in that bus stop in Indiana...but that's not important, just listen—"

"Well, is there any truth to what she's saying?" Dean interrupted him worriedly. "I mean, am I keeping you against your will, Sam?"

"No, of course not," Sam assured him. "Now, would you listen?"

"What?" Dean stopped walking once they crossed the street; Sam did the same and faced him.

"I think there's something strange going on here, Dean," Sam stated. "Like, our kind of strange. Maybe even a lead."

Dean blinked at him. "Why do you say that?"

"I met Meg weeks ago, literally on the side of the road and now I run into her in some random bar in Chicago?" Sam pointed out. "I mean, the same bar where a waitress was killed and the same time Levi was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don't think that's a little weird?"

Dean didn't know what to think. Maybe Sam was right. Maybe it couldn't be a coincidence but even if it was, they could still check Meg out to see if she did anything suspicious.

"Okay, so you follow her," Dean suggested. "I'm gonna go back to the house and look through their library. See if they have anything on that symbol."

"Okay," Sam nodded. "and check to see if there's really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts."

Dean agreed and the brothers split up.

Julia wandered through the house, looking for Dean. She had heard the Impala roll up to the house around ten but she hadn't seen him at all in the hours since. Granted, it was midnight and pretty much everyone else was asleep, or trying to fall asleep, but Dean was a night owl. He usually stayed up until the infomercials came on and even then, he'd sit and watch some of them that he thought were interesting—he was especially interested in the knives that claimed to cut through anything, which Julia thought was kind of adorable.

She entered the small library that was connected to the study and was surprised to see Dean at the large table in the middle of the room, flipping through some pages in one of her dad's old hunting journals.

"Hey," she greeted him as she walked over and sat in the seat next to him.

"Hey," he gave her a small and concerned smile. "How are you?"

"I'm managing," Julia tried to conjure a full smile but she didn't have it in her. "What are you doing?"

Dean hesitated for a couple of seconds and Julia could tell that he was seriously thinking about something.

Finally, when he spoke, his voice was careful. "I'm gonna tell you something and it's gonna be hard to take," he said cautiously; Julia stiffened nervously. "Abby and Taylor thought that something was off about Levi's death so Sam and I are looking into it."

Julia swallowed harshly as she took in the new information, her eyes stinging. She let herself shed a few tears before forcefully pulling herself together. If something that they hunted killed Levi, then she owed it to him to help find out what—or who—it was.

"What do you have so far?"

"Julia—"

"I'm not saying that I want to go hunt the thing," Julia cut him off and grabbed his hand; he was the one to give her a comforting squeeze this time and it almost made her cry again. "I just—I want to help if I can. I need to help, Dean."

"Okay," Dean's green eyes stared sadly into her hazel ones. "Okay, there was another victim this morning so Sam and I went to check it out. The apartment was locked, the alarm wasn't tripped, and there was no sign of forced entry. We found something, though."

He took his phone and pulled up the picture he had taken of the symbol. Once he handed her the phone, Julia studied it for a minute or so before her eyes lit up in recognition.

"I know what that is," she declared, standing up to head to one of the large bookshelves.

Dean followed her with his eyes. "You do?"

Julia nodded, finding the book she was looking and pulling it from the shelf. "Yeah," she confirmed as she walked back over to him. "It took me a second to place it, but yeah, I know it," she flipped through the book. "My dad...he told me about this one time."

"Okay, so what is it?"

"It's Zoroastrian," Julia informed him. "It's old, like two thousand years before Jesus was born. It's a sigil for Daeva."

Dean furrowed his eyebrows. "What's a Daeva?"

Julia skimmed the information on the page she stopped at, the familiar symbol inked into the top. "It translates to 'demon of darkness'," she read. "The Zoroastrian demons are savage and animalistic."

Dean looked at one of the drawing of the demon. "Like a demonic pitbull?"

"Exactly," Julia nodded at him and then looked back to the book. "This says that the Daevas have to be summoned or conjured."

"So, someone's controlling it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah and they look terrifying," Julia's voice wavered as her eyes started to sting again. "If Levi...I mean, who would want to kill him? Why would someone do this to him?"

Dean couldn't stand to see Julia so upset and not comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her into his chest. Her body shook with sobs but Dean held on tight, determined to support her just like she always supported him. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, whispering comforting words.

It wasn't until Julia fell asleep in his arms that Dean let his own tears fall.

Levi's memorial was scheduled for the next day, his and Beth's birthday. Beth insisted that it was done that day so she could give him one last birthday party. The house was quiet in the morning as everyone gathered in the foyer, dressed in black, to pray before they left the church. Dean didn't pray—he didn't really at all—but for Levi, he did. He held onto Julia's and Sam's hands and prayed to whoever or whatever was out there, hoping that the Petersen family would find peace with the loss of Levi and that his friend was up in Heaven like he told Dean he would be going after he died during one of the conversations in high school about faith, Christianity, and God.

The church was crowded when they arrived and the family was swept up in condolences from PSC employees, family friends, school friends, and church members. They were all very kind but, like any church, there were a couple of people who just seemed like snobs to Dean.

The memorial itself was beautiful; a large picture of Levi was at the front of the church next to the podium where the pastor spoke and there were more pictures in white frames around the church that detailed Levi's life with friends and family. Dean sat in the front row with the Petersen family on one side of Julia—with Abby on the other side of her—holding her hand and letting her squeeze it as tightly as she wanted.

There were eulogies and kind words spoken about Levi. Beth's speech was by far the most moving and it had Julia quietly sobbing into Dean's shoulder, his own tears falling down his cheeks as he held onto her. The pastor's message was moving, too, and for a second, it made Dean appreciate the faith that Julia, Levi, and the rest of the Petersen family had.

When the service was over, completed with a rendition of Amazing Grace from the church's choir, they moved into the banquet hall part of the building to enjoy a meal in remembrance of Levi. It was a potluck; made up of foods brought in by church members and Levi's friends.

It was after Dean finished eating that Sam pulled him aside to tell him about his night of watching Meg. It didn't really shock him to find out that Sam was right about seeing Meg was too much of a coincidence. It was her that summoned the Daeva and it was her that killed Levi.

"That's not all," Sam said as Dean's blood boiled. "She was communicating with someone."

"Someone?" Dean raised his eyebrows. "With who, the Daeva?"

"No, you told me those things were savages," Sam shook his head. "No, this was someone different. "Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's coming to that warehouse."

Dean closed his eyes in realization; he had looked up some more information on the other victims and he had completely forgotten to tell Sam what he found.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. "I looked into the records of the other victims. We missed something."

"What?"

"The first victim, the old man, he spent his whole life in Chicago but he wasn't born here," Dean informed his brother. "He was born in Lawrence, Kansas."

Sam's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"Mmhm," Dean nodded. "and Meredith, it turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from?"

"Lawrence, Kansas," Sam breathed. "Shit."

Dean hummed. "Yeah."

"I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom," Sam sighed. "That's where everything started. You think that Meg's tied up with the demon?"

"I think it's a definite possibility."

Sam frowned. "I don't understand. What's the significance of Lawrence? Why was Levi targeted? How do these Daeva things fit in?"

"Well, we're from Lawrence," Dean pointed out. "and Levi was practically family."

"And the Daeva?"

"Beats me," Dean shrugged. "but I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."

"No, we can't," Sam shook his head immediately. "We shouldn't tip her off. We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We've gotta see who, or what, is showing up to meet her."

"Fine, we'll go tonight," Dean agreed. "In the meantime, we need to support Jules."

Sam nodded and clapped Dean's shoulder. "Yeah," he stated. "We do."

The hallway to the motel room Sam got for them seemed much longer after they were thrown around by Meg and her little Daeva friends. Sam trashed the black altar she was using to control the demonic pit bulls but not before they got a little slashes in; Sam's right cheek had three claw marks scratched into it and, compared to him, Dean was let off easily.

"Why didn't you just leave that stuff in the car?" Dean asked his brother about the duffle bag full of weapons he was carrying as he pulled the room key out of his jacket.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again," Sam said, adjusting the bag's strap on his shoulder. "Better safe than sorry."

Dean shrugged and unlocked the door; he walked into the room but stopped just beyond the threshold when he saw two tall but dark figures standing near the window.

"Hey!" Dean barked at them, reaching for his gun.

The two men turned around as Sam reached for the lights, allowing him and Dean to see them clearly. The brothers recognized them immediately; Dean felt hope swell in his chest.

"Luke?" his eyes flicked between the blonde man and the brunette man. "Dad?"

John smiled warmly at his sons, his dimples making an appearance. "Hey, boys."

Dean didn't care if he usually didn't do chick-flick moments. He hadn't seen his dad in almost nine months and he thought he was dead for half that time. He walked forward at the same time as John, both of them pulling each other into a warm but strong hug.

Dean inhaled the usual scent that his dad gave off, peppermint and leather, and committed it to his memory for the thousandth time. The hug ended then, as Sam and John greeted each other, and he walked over to Luke to shake his hand—Luke was definitely not as touchy-feely as his children were.

"Luke," he greeted Julia's father; Luke's grip was as firm as it usually was but there was a sadness in his blue eyes that wasn't always there. "I'm really sorry about Levi."

"Thanks, Dean," Luke nodded, his gruff voice wavering only a little. "How are my girls?"

"Managing," Dean told him. "but they need you."

Luke pressed his lips together but didn't say anything; he wasn't positive, but Dean took that to mean that Luke wasn't visiting his grieving daughters while he was in town. It was discouraging and he grew irritated enough to turn away from the older man.

Dean had never really loved Luke—despite the fact that he was his dad's best friend—but he never disliked him, either. Now, though, his respect for the man had plummeted. His son had died and he wasn't at the memorial and he wasn't going to show up for his daughters, either. If Dean knew Naomi—and he did, she was the closest thing he ever had to a mother—she'd be rolling over in her grave right now at her husband's behavior.

"Dad, it was a trap," Dean focused on what was happening at the moment instead of letting his anger at Luke get the better of him. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"It's all right," John nodded with a small smile. "We thought it might've been."

"Were you there?"

"We got there just in time to see the girl fall from the building," Luke told him and Sam. "She was the one who killed Levi, right?"

Sam and Dean nodded in unison. "Yes, sir."

Luke inhaled deeply, his eyes flicking to meet John's. "Good. That's—that's good."

Well, as least he seemed grateful that his son's murderer was dead, Dean thought to himself.

"Well, the trap doesn't surprise me," John kept the conversation going, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes, as well. "It's tried to stop me before."

Sam looked at him in surprise. "The demon has?"

John nodded. "It knows we're close," he told his sons. "It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to Hell—actually kill it."

Dean furrowed his eyebrows; from what Julia told him and what he already knew, he didn't think demons could actually be killed. "How?"

John and Luke shared smiles. "We're working on that."

"Let us come with you," Sam insisted immediately. "We'll help."

"No, Sam," John bowed his head as he denied is youngest son. "Not yet. Listen, try to understand, this demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in the crossfire. I don't want you hurt."

"Dad, you don't have to worry about us," Sam tried to talk sense into his father.

"Of course, I do. I'm your father," John shook his head and then paused, his eyes softening. "Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight."

Sam's lips pursed as he started to tear up. "Yes, sir."

John sniffed. "It's good to see you again," he said thickly. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," Sam agreed; the two hugged, tightly holding onto each other as they fought their emotions.

To matter the circumstances, Dean was glad this was happening. It'd been four years since that nasty fight when Sam took off for Stanford; it had been one of the worst nights of his life; Sam was gone, John was an angry mess, and Dean's favorite person in the world had left him. Things were looking up now, though. Sam was by his side—until they found the demon, at least—Julia was hunting with them, and his dad was okay.

John and Sam finished their hug and John was looking at Dean tearfully when he was forcefully thrown back against the wall with some invisible force. Sam went down next, falling hard on his side when the Daeva attacked him, and then it was Luke who was on the floor.

"No!" Dean shouted before he was soaring through the air, too.

There was a lot of screaming from John and Luke as the Daeva seemed to focus on them but Dean couldn't focus on that them with all of his attention as he tried to get away from the Daeva knocking him around. Frankly, the grunts of pain Sam was letting out concerned him more but he couldn't shake the Daeva on his tail.

"Shut your eyes!" he heard Sam shout just after the Daeva swiped its claws down his forehead. "These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!"

Dean covered his eyes as Sam lit a flare; flooding the room with bright light and smoke. The Daeva attacking him disappeared and so did the ones on John and Luke. He slowly got to his feet as he coughed heavily and tried to make his way to John.

"Dad?"

"Over here!" John called back to him.

Dean followed his voice and found his dad where he was tossed in the kitchen. He ducked under John's shoulder and helped him up while Sam got Luke to his feet. The four of them piled out of the bright and smoky room and tried to get out of the motel as fast as they could.

"All right, come on," Sam said hurriedly as they approached the Impala; he let Luke lean against the car while he put the duffle bag full of weapons into the backseat. "We don't have much time. As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back."

"Wait, wait, wait," Dean stopped him, his mind racing. He took in a deep breath as he turned to face John and Luke. "You guys can't come with us."

"What?" Sam looked to him in shock. "What are you talking about?"

"You boys," John argued breathlessly. "You're beat to Hell."

"We'll be all right."

"Dean, we should stick together," Sam protested angrily. "We'll go after those demons—"

"Sam, listen to me!" Dean interrupted him. "We almost got Dad and Luke killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop, they're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to them. I mean, Meg was right, Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's—he's stronger without us around."

Dean saw the look of realization and understanding on his dad's face.

Sam saw it, too. "Dad, no," he put his hands on John's shoulders. "After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you...Please, I gotta be a part of this fight."

"Sammy, this fight is just starting," John grabbed Sam's wrist. "and we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you've got to trust me, son. Okay? You've gotta let me go."

Sam hesitated for a couple of seconds before he finally nodded and let go of John's shoulders. Luke, who was in much better shape than John was, went to his friend's side and helped him stand on his own.

"He'll be all right," Luke assured Sam and Dean. "I'll take care of him. You take care of my Jujube."

Dean pressed his lips together and nodded; he had hoped that Luke could stay around for Julia, Beth, and Abby but now he saw that it wouldn't be safe. Luke was just as wanted by the Daeva as John was and he couldn't bring it around his children, sister-in-law, and granddaughter. For now, it was best for him to leave.

John smiled at his sons. "Be careful, boys."

Dean and Sam watched as Luke and John limped away, back down the alleyway to John's truck. As the truck started and pulled away, Dean grabbed Sam's arm and urged him toward the Impala.

(Gif is not mine)

#supernatural rewrite #dean winchester x oc #dean winchester x reader #supernatural #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x original character

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