Tales from Baby: Baby and the Green Cooler

A Supernatural story by Mich @raiahome

It’s New Years Eve 2029. The Green Cooler is packed with beer, all nicely chilled of course, and is sitting in the backseat of the Impala as they wait for their boys.

OK, some may say that at 46 and 50 Sam and Dean are no longer children, but to them, they would always be their “boys.” But that’s what happens when you’ve watched over people since they were babies.

There’s a comfortable quiet in the garage. These two have known each other for more years than either wants to remember. They’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of a hunter’s life and managed to survive it together. 

Sure, things are a bit quieter now that the Winchesters are concentrating more on training up young hunters, but they still take on the odd job now and then, and Baby and The Cooler are always ready for a new adventure. Tonight, however, isn't about monsters. It's about tradition.

As the silence stretches on, The Cooler decides to break the ice, “So,” he says nonchalantly, “another year gone by.”

Baby flicks a glance in the rear view mirror at her old traveling companion and replies in the same tone, “Yup.”

The Cooler gives a weary sigh. The old gal is no more talkative than her driver. But he isn't put off by it. “It’s been quite a ride, hasn’t it?”

Baby smiles at the choice of words. The Cooler is serious about his job, but he does tend to like making bad jokes now and then. “You mean an easy ride for you. I’m the one who does all the work, hauling your lazy ass all over the place.”

Assuming an affronted tone, The Cooler shoots back, “Hey, now! I’ve seen my share of dirty work!”

In a skeptical voice, Baby asks, “Oh, really? When?”

The Cooler replies proudly, “There was that time that girl used me to beat off a hellhound. I saved Sam’s life!”

“You mean the hellhound that dented my hood and roof and broke my window?” Baby asks pointedly.

Not willing to surrender his pride, The Cooler continues, “And then there was the time Dean put a severed head in me! One that was still alive, I might add! Sucker was growling and snarling like anything the whole time.”

With a smirk in her voice, Baby inquires innocently, “Would that be the same head Dean cut off using one of my doors?”

The Cooler gives her an annoyed look for a moment, then, hiding a grin, states boldly, “I once had to hold a bunch of slimy green smoothies. Beat that!”

Baby is shocked into silence for a brief second, staring at the smug Cooler, then both of them break out in laughter.

Finally getting a hold of herself, the Impala says in mock horror, “Oh, yes! Hazardous duty indeed! You win, my friend.”

They both settle back into a reflective mood, looking back on their many years of service to the Winchesters in their battle of good against evil. There were some rough times, some hard times and some downright scary-as-hell times.

But there were some really good times too. Long, sunny days of just driving down the road, the four of them with the music blaring, the wind whipping through the open windows, Sam and Dean laughing and teasing each other. 

There were quiet nights spent under clear skies, staring at the infinite stars with the boys lying on Baby’s hood or stretched out on her seats, The Cooler providing handy refreshments as the Winchesters discussed their latest hunt or just reminisced about days gone by. The four of them together. That was all they really needed. That was their true home.

In a hushed, thoughtful voice, Baby absently observes, “It's all been worth it, hasn’t it? I don’t have any regrets about our life.”

The Cooler answers her seriously, “Neither do I. In our own way, we helped make the world a better place. What more could we ask? I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Just then they hear some familiar voices heading down the hall towards the garage. Looking at the clock, they see it's around 11:30.

“Finally!” they both say in unison and chuckle at each other.

As the clomping of booted feet grows closer, Sam is commenting in a light tone, “The new recruits are really coming along. I think Josh and Candy will be ready to go out on their own in a couple of weeks.”

Dean replies in a mocking, grumpy voice, “Yeah. I still can’t believe we have a hunter named Candy!”

As Sam moves to open the doors to the tunnel out, he chuckles and replies, “ At least it’s with a Y and not an I.”

Dean slides into Baby’s driver’s seat with happy familiarity and chuckles in return, “True, but it still seems wrong.” He turns and lifts The Cooler’s lid to check the contents, gives a satisfied grunt and drops it back in place.

Sam opens the passenger door with the accustomed creak and settles in the seat with a grateful sigh before smirking at his brother. “Hey, she’s good enough to get through your guard!”

“That was just luck!” Dean shoots back defensively.

Sam puts on a straight face and answers seriously, “Of course, Dean. She just got lucky… three times.”

The Cooler and Baby exchange amused looks. Some things never change.

After shooting a betrayed frown at his not-so-little brother, Dean reluctantly admits, “OK, so she’s good.”

Sam grins and replies, “Or you’re just getting old.”

Dean throws a playful punch at Sam before carefully steering his precious car out of the garage and into the dark tunnel. “Watch it, bro! I’m still young enough to beat your ass!” 

As they break out into the crisp, clear night, Sam sighs, “Maybe. But then I’m getting old too.”

Once they hit the road, Dean guns the engine and heads west. “Yeah. How did that happen? I never thought we’d live long enough to get old!”

“Neither did I,” Sam says, settling deeper into his seat. “Guess we just got lucky.”

“Yeah, never expected that either!” Dean turns his head to smile at his brother, only to find Sam doing the same thing.

The Cooler and Baby bask in the comfort of the boys’ banter as they drive on. The haunting lyrics of “Simple Man” come from the speakers as Dean finally pulls off into an empty field on their right. It's far from any town or city. Far from any man-made lights that might dim the endless stars above. 

He parks the car and turns off her purring engine, and silence falls around them. Without a word, Dean climbs out and grabs The Cooler, putting it in easy reach of Baby’s hood while Sam fetches a blanket from the trunk. Still not needing to speak, Dean grabs a couple of bottles of beer and opens them as they both stretch out on the front of Baby and lean against her windshield.

As he takes his bottle from Dean, Sam casually comments, “It’s too bad Cas can’t be here.”

Giving a sigh, the older Winchester agrees, “Yeah, but Jack needed his help to sort out some trouble in Heaven. The last thing we need is another problem upstairs.”

Sam nods agreement as he sips his beer. Dean pulls his coat closed tighter and shivers. “Damn, it’s cold out tonight!”

Sam arches his brow at his brother. “That’s what the blanket is for.”

“You’re such an old woman, Sammy,” Dean remarks in a peevish voice.

“Fine. Then there’s more for me,” Sam replies calmly, and starts counting in his head. He only makes it to eight before Dean grumbles, “So are you gonna share, or what?”

Hiding a smile, Sam spreads the fleece over them both and they settle in, staring up at the sparkling sky and swigging their drinks.

The Cooler gives Baby an exasperated glance, saying, “Sometimes it’s hard to believe these two have saved the world more than once.”

Baby returns an amused grin. “You got that right, my friend!”

Suddenly, Sam’s phone chirps and a mechanical voice begins counting down, “5… 4… 3… 2… 1...”

Sam and Dean clink the necks of their bottles together. 

“Happy New Year, little brother.”

“Happy New Year, old man.”

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

With matching smiles, they raised their bottles and take a drink.

The Cooler looks fondly at his friend. “You’re still as beautiful as ever, darlin’. Happy New Year, you old tin cart!”

Baby replies, warmly, “And you will always be the coolest, sweetheart. Happy New Year, you decrepit ice bucket!”

And so another year ends and a new one begins. Who knows what it will bring? Joy and sorrow, love and pain? No doubt a bit of all of that. But they would keep on grinding. Keep on fighting. Because that’s what they do. All four of them.

But for now, it’s enough just to be here together. To take a breath of clean air, enjoy each other’s quiet company and pause to remember what they were fighting for. To know that someone always had their back.