A/N: This is once again Grace's fault for talking me into this. Hope you all enjoy, please let me know what you think!
Gimme a Taste of What's to Come:
"Saaammm," she whined with a sigh, sounding somewhat defeated as she slid her hand off the table.
"Hey hey hey… eyes on your own paper there Missy," Sam replied while trying not to sound too amused about the situation. He caught her wandering hand as it snaked its way towards his thigh.
He laced their fingers together and she watched him while he continued to flip through the law journal that was in front of him and his eyes never straying from the words on the page. She opened her mouth to protest, but when her light tickling of his palm elicited no reaction; she stopped and somewhat begrudgingly returned to the long forsaken volume that she had in front of her.
"Tooonnnii," his voice finally broke through the still, quiet air between them after what felt like hours later before he kissed her neck. "Toni."
"Sam?" She questioned just before his lips caught her own in a soft, delicate kiss. "What happened to us focusing on our own books?" She asked as his lips travelled to her neck and then up to her ear, trying desperately not to give in.
He squeezed her hand (their grip had remained steadfast during the time spent studying) then whispered, "I found it."
"REALLY?" She exclaimed excitedly. When she received the stink eye from practically every other student in the library, she offered a few quiet and silent apologies and then hushed her tone asking, "Really? You found it?"
"Yep! So… What do you say we get out of here?" Sam continued as he released her hand and stroked her thigh then squeezed it.
She smirked and quietly replied," Well that takes care of the Crim 220 assignment, but how are you doing with the Poli Sci paper there Smarty Pants?"
His hand traveled up her thigh and closer to her body and waited until after she sighed to say, "Almost there."
As she watched the last of the white bubbles dissolve with the last of the shower water down the drain, she finished turning off the water and released the breath she had been holding with a loud sigh. After a slight hesitation, she pushed the shower curtain back and stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a beach towel that she had received as a gift during high school. For some reason she just never could get used to the feel of cheap motel towels, so she would splurge on 'Laundry Day' so that she could have at least one towel that was softened by the cheapest fabric softener that she had bought that month. This had become the routine that she had become comfortable in even though this time she was staying in a cleaner, much more comfortable Bed and Breakfast.
She wiped a streak across the foggy mirror so that she could see her hazel eyes (well she could somewhat see them) and thought Why? Why now? He's been out of my life for so long… Why think of him now?
Her image soon disappeared behind another layer of fog, so she shook her head and focused on brushing her teeth instead of any thoughts of the dream that she had had the night before.
After she was dressing in a form fitting charcoal grey skirt suit with a teal dress shirt, she continued out to her navy blue 2000 GMC Sierra pickup. She had given up long ago caring about the quizzical looks people gave her when she arrived on scene at a job because it was her baby and she loved her truck too much to give it up for anyone.
Today she was once again playing the part of a Counselor employed by the FBI to console families torn apart by a tragic death in the family. She figured that she would be able to slip into the police station without noticing what vehicle she arrived in (of course that is so long as she parked far enough away from the entrance that no one would be the wiser). But then again, even if anyone did notice, she would just blame it on some mix up at the FBI's lot ONCE AGAIN and share a laugh with members of the local police department about the ineptness of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In her experience, this was one of the easiest ways for her to get an in with the authorities so that she could get the information that she needed to complete her mission.
Slinging her briefcase over her shoulder, she took a deep breath and made her way to the large tinted glass doors. Today would mark her third trip to the Sheriff's office and her heart was feeling very heavy with the knowledge that she STILL wasn't any closer to figuring out what was responsible for killing so many young women in this town. She had been tracking the trail of carnage through two states, but every single time that she thought that she might be getting close to catching it, the trail would go ice cold and then she would feel like she practically had to start from square one again.
She approached the reception area with a feeling of false hope and flashed her warmest smile to the switchboard operator as she pulled out a pen to complete the signing in process.
"Good morning Monica. How's life treating you today?" She questioned cheerfully without allowing her tone to betray her true feelings.
The fairly plump, dark haired woman got up from behind her desk and walked toward the front counter and replied with sorrow overtaking her tone, "So far so good." The older woman passed a sign-in sheet along with a Visitor's pass to the young visitor and continued asking, "How 'bout you Clydie? Ça va?"
After putting down the pen, she looked up at Monica's bloodshot eyes. The puffiness and blotchiness of the skin under her eyes and on her cheeks was faint but there was no mistaking that the receptionist was putting on a brave face after what must have been a very rough night or morning.
"I think that I'm doing much better than you are… Oh goodness Monica, what's wrong? You know… If you don't mind me asking that is," the faux counselor inquired with genuine concern.
"Oh, it's nothing… Honestly I don't even know why it has me so upset," the employee of the Sheriff's Office explained as she opened a gate to grant the civilian access to the inner workings of the office. "There was another girl attacked last night and… And seeing her poor maman… It just broke my heart, you know?"
"I certainly do," the 'Counselor' consoled the receptionist while giving her a reassuring side hug. "And please Monica, don't feel bad about showing your emotions, especially in front me. We have that part of our hearts surgically removed by the Bureau during training."
The receptionist chuckled softly and smiled as she responded, "Thank you for saying that, I really do appreciate it. The victim's maman and papa are in with a couple of your agents right now. Here… I'll show you to the interview room."
SHIT! 'MY' agents… The actual FBI is here? Before she could reply, the imposter had to take a deep breath to calm her now frantic nerves.
"Thanks Monica," she finally managed to hoarsely reply.
"We understand and we'll be doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this Mr. and Mrs. Boudreaux. I promise, we will be in touch if we find anything else out that might shed some light on it," the shorter of the two male FBI Agents in a plain black suit said as they exited the interrogation room with the sheriff.
Out of instinct the phony Federal Bureau employee/counselor dipped her chin in order to obscure any view that the actual FBI agent would have of her face in an attempt to conceal her identity.
"Clydie! Thank goodness you're here," the Sheriff quietly exclaimed as he ushered her past his two companions into the interview room without once attempting to make introductions between her and the two other men. "It's pretty much the exact same circumstance as the other three victims," he continued to explain in a hushed tone in order to prepare the Counselor for her next resounding performance of someone who was selflessly helping her fellow man.
"Thanks Sheriff… I think I understand. I'll do what I can to help them through this horrible ordeal."
Just as she ducked into the interview room, she inadvertently looked up and briefly made eye contact with the taller of the two Agents causing her to be temporarily winded. She took a moment at the door as she closed it to compose herself before turning towards the two grieving parents in order to try to offer them some consolation. She immediately settled on the same words of comfort that she had spilled out to the other families: You're right; this is a senseless crime… No, please. You really shouldn't blame yourself… Yes, you should blame the maniac that did this… As she comforted them, she made every attempt to keep from being distracted by the face that had taken her breath away, but with each passing moment she felt like she might fail.
"Sheriff? Who was that woman?" The taller Agent inquired as he and his partner prepared to leave the building.
"Oh… I thought you knew her, désolé… That was Clydie Anderson. She was sent down by the Bureau as a Counselor shortly after the first attack in order to help the victim's family… It was such a relief to have that help," the Sheriff explained simply. "You two honestly do not know her?"
"Well… We're fairly new to the Baton Rouge office, so I'm sure that we probably just haven't had the chance to meet her yet," the shorter Agent explained while shooting his partner a look of mild confusion. "Isn't that right Agent Plante?"
"Huh? Oh… Yeah. That must be it," Agent Plante replied without hiding that he was still somewhat distracted by the sight of the brunette that he had watched enter the interview room.
The Sheriff didn't question their logic and just held the short gate at the counter open for the Agents to leave saying, "We have to thank you again for getting down here so soon to help us. If we find out anything else that you should know, we will call you right away."
They each shook the Sheriff's hand and departed with the usual pleasantries of keeping the local authorities in the loop as well during their research as well. Once they were outside in the stifling sun and humidity once again, the shorter Agent checked that no one was watching them or listening to what they said and curtly asked, "Sam? Dude! What the hell was that all about back there?"
The younger Winchester was thumbing through one of the four police reports that the receptionist had given him, so he completely ignored his brother's question. Sam was still so engrossed in the typed words on the reports when he reached the Impala that he only looked up when he tried the handle on the passenger door and found that it was still locked. "Dean? What's going on? Seriously… Come on, unlock my door," Sam commented slightly annoyed that his brother had yet to grant him access to the vehicle.
"That's exactly what I've been asking you Sam. What was that all about with the chick back there?" "Huh? Oh… Uh, it was nothing. She just kind of looked familiar is all… It's nothing."
"Familiar? Like she knows you and she can bust us for not actually being FBI Agents? Sam… Seriously? You're not seeing how this might become a problem?" Dean questioned while holding back his rage and leaning on the roof of the Impala.
"I'm sure it's nothing Dean, so just let it go. Now… Will you unlock my door so that we can get going and start figuring this out?"
Dean wanted to push the matter further, but he chose instead to save the argument he was going to star for later. Well, at least he would stay quiet unless all of this came back to bite them in the ass. He then unlocked his door, but paused before getting into the car when he saw the door to the Sheriff's Office open. Right away he saw the Counselor emerged as she pulled her hair out of the tight bun at the back of her head and shook out her long dark brown locks. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her thumb through her own copy of the police reports as she walked towards the parking lot. She then swiftly exchanged the manila folders in her hands for her set of keys that were hidden within her briefcase without ever once looking up. At the same time, Sam and Dean both watched her in complete silence.
As she walked towards them, Dean then turned his attention towards his brother's face so that he could study it for any signs of recognition. Once she reached the curb, 'Clydie' looked up from her hands and immediately saw the duo standing on each side of the Impala as they were watching her. SHIT! I am so fucking busted! Okay… Okay, confidence… Just relax. It's just Sam… You can handle him. She coached herself as she put on a bright smile and diverted her previous course so that she could confront him (because confronting one was easier then facing both of them at the same time). The best offense is a good defense… Or the best defen… Whatever, you can do this!
"Oh hey there Sam! Long time no see," she greeted the taller male pleasantly as she wrapped him in a quick hug.
"Yeah… Hey…" He replied slowly with his face contorted into a look of slight confusion.
She swallowed hard and withdrew her arms at lightning speed before she fidgeted with her keys while casting her eyes towards her feet.
Then she quietly said, "Oh… Shit, you don't remember me. Well… I guess that makes sense, it has been a while. Umm… Okay… I'll… Umm… Just… Uhh… You know… I'll just be going then." DUMBASS! Fuck! Of course he doesn't remember you! Idiot! She admonished herself as she turned to make a hasty retreat towards her pickup truck. It was safely parked at the far end of the parking lot and she secretly wished that the sanctuary of its interior was actually closer to her current position, so she resolved to make her feet to move faster than they normally would.
Sam's hand shot out and he gently grabbed the woman's arm. "Toni… Toni! Of course I remember you. I'm sorry, but the whole name change kind of threw me off for a minute." After she paused and turned back to him, Sam flash as sincere a smile as he could muster then asked, "So… You work for the Bureau now?"
She swallowed hard, but tried to hide any discomfort that she was currently feeling. "Umm… Yeah, but it's just kind of free-lancey stuff," Toni lied wanting desperately to put this current conversation to and end before she was arrested for impersonating a Federal Agent. "Well… You're looking good as usual and I really wish that I could stay and chat but I have an appointment that I really have to get to and… Umm… Maybe if you're going to be in town for a while then… Uhh… You know, maybe we could grab a drink or something and catch up. Sound good?" She finished by calling the last bit over her shoulder as he nearly sprinted towards her previous destination.
"Sure… Sounds good," Sam called out after her as his final response.
Dean was nearly doubling over in laughter once his brother turned back towards him and he gasped out, "Smooth Sam… Really fucking smooth."
Sam shot his older brother an undeniable death glare and snapped, "Can we just go now and get to work on the case?"
"Sure Sam, of course we can. But don't go and get all cranky with me just because you struck out swinging with a hot chick that practically threw herself at you."
Toni sat behind the wheel of her pickup and watched the Impala pull out of the parking lot as she calmed her racing heart by taking more than a few deep breaths. Then she made a resolution with herself that she was not going to let Sam Winchester be a distraction while she worked this case. She had an objective that she had to achieve and she wasn't going to allow anything to take her eyes off that target.
Back at her room, Toni went over each of the police reports once again while sipping on a café latte and muffin that was brought to her room every afternoon by the middle aged woman that ran the Bed and Breakfast. Each of the four attacks had taken place in different parts of town, but each of the victims shared the same basic description: female, college student, local, long hair and single.
"What else is there?" She questioned out loud as she tapped her pen on her chin.
Then a name struck her like a punch in the face. It was the one other thing in each of the reports. There was a witness and as luck would have it she didn't live too far away from where Toni was staying. After changing into something more comfortable, Toni grabbed her tape recorder and double checked the address before leaving her room once again. As she slipped out the front door, she thankfully wasn't delayed once again by the well-meaning but somewhat overbearing owner of the B&B.
The home of this witness, Phyllis Sauvage, was close enough to Toni's current location that she chose to walk instead of having the headache of trying to find a parking spot on the crowded, narrow residential street. As she rounded the last corner to put her on Phyllis' street, she stopped dead in her tracks because she was confronted with the same black classic muscle car that she had seen Sam get into with his partner earlier that day.
Dammit! Okay, doesn't change anything. This just means that you aren't a reporter anymore and you'll have to follow their lead, she thought to herself as she continued towards the sounds of a fairly heated argument.
"Caiss-toi!" An angry voice of an elderly woman shouted as she swatted at the Winchesters with her broom.
"Hey lady… Just calm down!" Dean shouted back as he ducked and just narrowly missed being struck in the side of the head with the broom bristles.
During his hasty retreat, Dean ran square into Sam's chest and they became a mess of tangled limbs. Toni couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the two fully grown males stumble over each other as they tried to flee the Sauvage's yard.
"Crétin! Déblaye le terrain!" Phyllis continued to shout.
"Ma'am we're going," Sam tried in vain to reason with her while helping Dean to stand upright.
"Madame Sauvage? Est-ce que je peux vous aider?" Toni asked politely as she stepped in between the angry French woman and who she still thought were two FBI agents.
"Bien sûr," the older woman replied in a much calmer tone. "Ces deux…"
As the elderly woman continued into a fairly animated explanation, Toni quietly said, "I'm guessing that she only speaks French?"
Then Winchesters simply nodded as their response because they had been muted by their shock that they hadn't been able to win the older woman over with their usual charm.
"Okay then. Just hang back and I'll do the talking," Toni offered with a smirk and a wink. She then turned her attention back to the witness in front of her who had finally calmed down enough for Toni to start her interrogation. "D'accord Madame Sauvage. Si je comprends bien…" Toni continued as she placed a comforting hand on the woman's back and continued their conversation.
"Dude!" Dean quietly exclaimed as he backhanded Sam in the abdomen. "Where the hell did you find this girl?"
"School," Sam replied curtly with his eyes trained on the two females that walked deeper into the yard to sit at a small table in the Sauvage's garden.
"Seriously dude, she's…"
"Shh!" Sam nearly hissed at his older brother. "I'm trying to hear what they're saying."
"…même si vous pensez que c'est rien," the younger female gently probed.
"Like you'll understand any French too," Dean grumbled while walking away towards the curb.
"Je le jure, ma petite. C'était un loup-garou!" The elderly woman stated passionately while holding both of Toni's hands on the table in a desperate attempt to get Toni to believe her.
"'Loup-garou'?" Sam repeated as he started to walk back towards the Impala.
"Does that mean something to you?" Dean asked as he followed his brother, but kept his eyes fixed on the conversation between the two women.
"Not sure," Sam replied. "Where's dad's journal?"
Dean moved to the truck of his beloved car and started to shift through its contents to retrieve the brown leather bound book. Once he found it, he passed it to Sam and they started to pour over the information on its pages.
"Merci! Bon journée," Toni called out as she made her way back over to the Winchesters.
She found Sam half seated on the trunk of the Impala, thumbing through the journal while Dean watched him with a look of frustration etched on his face. Toni wasn't sure what would be the best way to get their attention since they hadn't noticed her standing there, so she opted to simply clear her throat.
They both looked up, but it was Dean that recovered first and asked, "So, what did she have to say?"
"To be honest Agent…" Toni started, but paused when she realized that she had no idea who the male she was speaking to was, other than being Sam's partner.
Dean immediately recognized that she was still completely fooled into thinking that he and Sam were real FBI agents, so he thrust his right hand forward and quickly injected, "Page, Agent Page. But please, just call me Dean."
She smiled warmly and replied, "Okay, Dean. Umm… I'm Toni." She swallowed uncomfortably hoping that the Sheriff hadn't told them her alias, and then continued, "Umm… To be honest, I'm not sure that she's the most reliable eye witness. She might just be you know… coo coo."
Sam closed the journal and placed it on the trunk behind him and furrowed his brows contemplatively and asked, "What makes you say that?"
"Umm… well," Toni laughed uncomfortably despite herself. "She is absolutely convinced that it was a 'loup-garou', but that's just not possible."
"Well you never know…" Dean started cautiously, not wanting to freak out a civilian when they needed her help at the moment. "So, Sam did you find anything on that?"
Sam shook his head and grumbled slightly. "No, there was nothing about it in there. Guess that means we have some research to do."
Dean nodded and Toni stood and watched their non-verbal communication in awe. Then Dean continued as if she wasn't even standing there.
"Okay, well once we figure out what that is, then I guess we'll be able to finish this for good."
Toni snorted and the Winchesters whipped their heads around and stared at her, unsure how to respond to her reaction. "Sorry… Sorry, but there's just no way that's what she saw," she explained while barely holding back her laughter.
"Oh yeah?" Dean questioned with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "So you know what that is? A Lou whatever you said?" "
Oh shit, sorry," Toni replied somewhat remorsefully. "I didn't totally switch out of French mode there. Yeah, a 'loup-garou' is just the French term for 'werewolf'. So… Pretty sure that wasn't what she saw."
Sam and Dean remained silent and then smiled uneasily at the petit woman in front of them. When Toni realized that the two 'Agents' in front of her weren't finding the explanation as amusing as she did, she argued, "Seriously guys, come on. First, there's no such thing as werewolves. And second, even if they were real, the full moon isn't for another week."
The Winchesters looked at each other while contemplating this piece of information that Toni had provided. Without attempting to hide her annoyance, Toni rolled her eyes and huffed as she reached into her briefcase to pull out her pocket calendar. She then flipped to the current month so quickly that she nearly tore the page.
"See!" She retorted almost angrily. "Even IF you believe her bullshit story, we still have five days until someone would change!"
Dean shrugged nonchalantly in an effort to cut the tension somewhat then politely replied, "Well at least it gives us a starting point."
Relieved that she didn't appear to be under the threat of being arrested for personation; Toni turned to walk away and called over her shoulder, "Well good luck with that guys."
As they watched Toni make her way to her destination, Dean elbowed Sam in the side asking, "Are you seriously just going to let her walk away?"
Sam shrugged then turned his attention to one of the police reports that he had obtained earlier in the day.
"Well? Come on Sam, we might need her services in the future," Dean commented.
Sam raised an eyebrow at his brother and shook his head at Dean's rationale.
"Dude, gross… Not like that. Apparently we'll be running into some people where her French skills might come in handy…"
Sam sighed and closed the folder he was holding and shoved it into Dean's chest saying, "Fine, you might have a point there. I'll catch up with her and then I'll meet you back at the room."
"That's more like it," Dean replied almost inaudibly as he walked to the driver side.
"What'd you say?" The younger Winchester nearly snapped. Dean's head shot up and he flashed his brother a warm grin. "I said, 'Perfect, I'll see you later'."
Sam shook his head, still not wanting to chase after a ghost from his past, but then he eased into a comfortable jog while calling out, "Hey Toni! Hold up a minute!"
Dean remained where he was parked on the street and watch the exchange between the two on the sidewalk. He smiled to himself when he finally saw the two of them walking down the sidewalk side by side, then eased the Impala into the street en route to the room he share with his brother.