Hey guys! Here is the remake of my The Trouble With Love Is story. I hope it's a bit more engaging that the last one. I made a few improvements and fixed up a bit.
Chapter 1: The Woman in White
The night was dark and muggy. A stifling heat not usually felt near the end of October. The dank, abandoned house was almost unbearable, but the weather wasn't what was bothering the occupant of said cabin. She didn't own it, nor live in it, but at the moment it could have been her death bed.
Sweat made her clothing stick to her, but it soon wouldn't matter. All she had to do was finish off the last one. The leader of the werewolf pack. A big tall, brute by the name of Heath Edgecombe. The snags? Her gun with the silver bullets was across the room of what was once the parlor, just barely out of sight behind the decrepit old musty loveseat. She was behind the china cabinet or what was left of it. The other problem was the house's other inhabitant, an old man who was haunting the place. He apparently had been doing it for years and that was who she was originally there for. The werewolf pack had been a nearly fatal coincidence.
The family that had wanted to renovate the house called her father, the husband of the family was a man who knew what lurked in dark so he had called Bobby who in turned called her. "Simple salt and burn, princess." The gruff hunter had told her. Simple indeed. No one mentioned a werewolf pack hovering around.
Riley heard a sound and looked up in time to see the werewolf making a leap for her and a yelp died in her throat.
The silence was almost deafening and he loathed it. He had never had to drive alone before. At least not for a long period of time. The passenger seat used to be filled with the tall, shaggy haired form of his younger brother, Sam, but it was now empty. Occasionally his father had filled the spot, but now he was gone too.
I'll be back, Dean. His father had said. It's just a simple hunt. You're old enough to be on your own.
Dean snorted and said aloud: "What a load of crock."
Since when had John Winchester ever trusted him to do hunts on his own? Never. Sure, they had split up to do different jobs on the hunt, but they were hunting the same thing, he was never really alone. He always had back up. When he needed it anyway.
Sam had been away at college for three years. Three years of no phone calls, no nothing from the kid. John had refused to even acknowledge Sam's name for the first few months that his brother had been gone. The night Sam had left them, they had had a blowout. A shouting, headbutting match that seemed endless.
Dean had tried to convince him to stay, but Sam had been obnoxiously stubborn. Had been stubborn for years and just stuck to his guns. The kid had sneakily sent in a scholarship request for the college one day and actually got a fully paid ride to Stanford. It was impressive, Dean would admit to himself and no other, but he had done it behind their backs. Betrayed them, at least in John's eyes. Or so it had seemed.
His father started making long trips to some place for a few days a month and Dean discovered that he had been watching over Sammy. Making sure all was well with his youngest boy. Never speaking to him or letting him know he was around, but watchful all the same. At Dean knew that John wasn't completely forgetting his younger son.
His phone ringing, pulled him out of his thoughts and he dug for the cell in his pocket, hoping it was his dad.
"Dean."
He blinked at the familiar gruff tone. "Bobby?"
"Forgot my voice already son?" The hunter asked offendedly, but with a teasing undertone.
Dean smirked back. "Forget you? Nah."
"Been a few years and you've not picked up a phone. Coulda been dead for all I knew." Dean rolled his eyes. "Anyhow, I need your help."
"What can I do for you?"
"Locate my daughter."
Dean frowned. He hadn't thought about Riley in a long time. He had tried to put her out of his mind after their last conversation. The last time he had laid eyes on her and the way they had left things. What he had said to her… "Is she hurt?"
The very idea of her being hurt sent long buried feelings of brotherly worriment flow through him. She and Sam used to be the only two in the world he'd wanted to protect from everything bad thing. From all the supernatural world even. They had learned about it too young, too late to keep it from them. Not that John had intended to keep Sam obvious forever. Riley had figured it out on her own, having always been a clever girl.
"Don't know." Bobby answered. "Won't answer. I sent her to Oregon for a simple salt and burn. She's not called me back yet. Not that she ever does most time. So you ain't heard from her either, I'm guessin'?"
"I haven't spoken to her in five years." He said truthfully, willing the memory of their last talk to leave his mind. He didn't need to think about that. "And last I heard anything about her was from dad. She called him from Texas about something she was hunting. That was over a few months ago, I think."
"She called John about that?" He heard the man scoff. "Of course, she did. Well, she was supposed to call me a few days ago. She's not answering. Not that that's anything new."
Dean frowned. "I thought you worked cases together? Does she not live with you anymore?"
"She took a lesson from Sam and split six months ago to be on her own." Bobby monotoned and judging by that tone of voice, Dean knew better than to push for explanations, something had obviously gone wrong on between them. Although Dean couldn't remember a time when it had ever gone wrong. Riley and Bobby had gotten along since day one. "She might answer if you call her."
"Same number?"
"Mmhm. Unless she ditched that too. A few of my buddies were keeping tabs on her, but she's managed to slip away from them more than once."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Still stubborn? How is she by the way? At least before she left."
"Things aren't the same anymore." Bobby said quietly after a long worrying pause. "She ain't the same." Dean frowned.
"Something happen?"
"I ain't going into detail, that's her business, but I'm just letting you know that she's had a very rough year. Your brother all right?"
"Guess so. Dad's been keeping tabs on him."
Bobby snorted. "Knew he wasn't stubborn enough to let him go completely." He paused for a moment. "Call me when you find her."
"What kind of case was she working?"
"Poltergeist. Something must have gone wrong."
"I'm sure she's fine." Dean told him. "You know how she gets." All the same, he made the turn on the highway and coaxed the car a little faster. "Tell me where she was supposed to be."
Dean got out of the Impala, eyeing the building before him before heading to his trunk to get out a shotgun. Riley's lime green Volkswagen was sitting nearby so he knew she was close.
When he heard a werewolf howl cut through the silence, he froze.
"Damn it." He muttered and dug for his silver bullets. Normally, he wouldn't have worried. Back then, Riley had been one of the best shots he had ever known for her age. Even John had praised her for it and that was hard to accomplish. But Bobby said it had been a few days and if she hadn't expected it…
He shook his head. She was fine. She was probably hunting the thing while he stood there. Shouldering the gun and shoving bullets into his jacket pocket, he closed the trunk and headed for the decrepit building.
Signs of a struggle was laid clearly before him, imprints in the dust covered floor and objects. Blood splatters everywhere.
"Back off, asshole!" He heard a familiar voice snap and the sound of a gunshot going off above his head. Dust rained down from the creaky ceiling as something thudded loudly, crashing into the floor, and then someone was muttering under their breath.
Feeling cold on the back of his head, Dean whirled around to see a ghostly apparition of an old man.
"Get outta my house, you sum bitch!" He yelled.
"Gladly, fugly." The elder Winchester son smirked and shot the ghost in the chest with the rock salt. The ghost screamed and flickered out of sight.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
He whirled around again, slightly angry that he hadn't heard her coming. A young woman, around twenty years of age, stood at the bottom of the stairs, sapphire blue eyes flashing with anger. She was dusty and had bloody spots on her, though he couldn't tell if it was hers or not.
"I didn't call you."
"Nice to see you too, Blondie." Dean retorted and she rolled her eyes. "What do you mean you didn't call me?"
She pushed past him, elbowing him out of the way. "Out of the way, Winchester." She grabbed a black backpack that looked like it had seen better days, slinging it over one shoulder and marching purposely out the back door of the house. Dean followed her, curious and frustrated.
The girl was pouring salt and gasoline over a freshly dug up hole when he stepped off the porch. Over the bones of the poltergeist, he assumed. She lit a match catching a rag on fire and tossing it into the grave. Flames appeared and they heard the tell-tale sounds of the seriously pissed off ghost wailing in agony before a rough wind blew out of the house, breaking a few windows in the process, before dying down completely. During all of this, Dean was able to look over the girl before him.
Riley had changed a lot in the past five years. The last time he had seen her, she had been fifteen. A perky, over-enthusiastic teenage cheerleader. She still looked hot as hell though. Even more so now that she was no longer a teen. She had always been curvy, but now it was more noticeable. And she was still short. That almost made him smirk.
Her hair was still golden blonde and was done in a braid that had seen better days. Other than the obvious, she looked good.
"How long are you going to stare at me?" She demanded, arching an eyebrow in amusement. Dean blinked and refocused, shrugging shamelessly as his eyes slowly slid away from her chest.
"Can't help it. Almost didn't recognize you."
She shrugged back, but there was a bit of satisfaction in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Your dad was worried."
"Seriously?" She scowled and picked up her shovel, carrying it over one shoulder. "I'm not a baby. He needs to stop sending people after me." She walked back towards the front of the house and he followed after her, matching her pace easily. Or maybe she let him, he wasn't sure.
Dean rolled his eyes. "He's concerned. Apparently, you didn't call him."
She slowed, taking in what he had said.
"Right…I busted my phone." She murmured. "Last night. I was on the case, so I couldn't run to get a new one, ya know?" She ran a hand through her hair, mussing up the braid even more and she eventually took it down, letting her hair flow down her back. It had gotten longer from the last time he has seen her. Dean suddenly had an urge to run his hands through it as the scent of strawberries hit his nose. He shook his head to clear it, frowning at himself.
Riley got to her lime green Volkswagen beetle and Dean snorted.
"Can't believe you still drive that."
She rolled her eyes and opened her trunk. "Yeah. Either that or that rust bucket of a truck that dad has. How'd you find me? Daddy?"
Dean nodded even though she didn't turn around to look at him. "Yeah. He called."
"Can I call him back on yours then?"
"Yeah." Dean tossed it to her, when she settled the shovel back into the bottom of the trunk.
She dialed the number and held the phone to her ear.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said and leaned against the car. Dean rocked back on his heels, trying to look everywhere but at her. If she had been anyone else he would have been trying to flirt with her, but this was little Riles. Blondie to him. She had been like a sister to him and Sam.
"I'm fine." She said sharply and Dean glanced back at her. She was scowling at the ground. "He showed up when I had the thing ready to kill off." Riley nodded to herself. "Yes, daddy. I know." Her voice was softer now, her face no longer angry. "You know I can't." She was melancholy now, confusing Dean. "No, I'm still looking."
He arched an eyebrow, intrigued.
"I'll call you when I buy a new phone. Friggin' werewolf threw me out a window and I landed on the phone." Dean could hear Bobby's voice raise up a notch and Riley snorted. "I'm fine, dad. No, I know you didn't know. I'm fine. I handled it. Just a few bruises. I'll call later. I don't know when." She looked conflicted for a moment. "I'm sorry too...Love you." She hung up after a second and tossed the phone back to him. "Thanks."
"Looking for someone? Something?"
She shrugged. "Might be. Not your problem though."
She was still stubborn that much hadn't changed. But something had, he could see it.
Silence fell between them. "You, uh, you doing okay?" He made himself ask, awkwardness in his tone, and she stiffened before looking at him over her shoulder. He expected her to be cold and angry with him, in remembrance of the last time they had spoken to one another. Instead, there was a sadness, a loneliness, in her gaze that he hadn't seen since she had been four years old. He couldn't imagine anything that would make her look like that.
"Yeah." She uttered softly. "You?"
"Yeah." Dean frowned for a moment and added: "Dad's gone." Riley froze and turned to face him again.
"What do you mean? What happened to John?"
"He's disappeared. Went on a hunt, said he'd be back. Never came back. It's been a few days."
Riley's mouth thinned into a line, brow furrowing. "That's not like him." Dean knew she'd find it odd too. She knew John almost as well as he did. "Think something happened?"
Dean shrugged, trying not to show his anxiety at the thought. "I don't know."
She nodded, ignoring the look of brief panic she saw go across Dean's face. Even after all of these years, she knew better than to point out that he had feelings of any kind. She adjusted her red leather jacket and faced him again. "You want my help looking for him?"
"If you want. Gonna pick up Sammy too."
"Isn't he in college?" She raised an eyebrow. "Away from hunting and all that?"
Dean scoffed. "Yeah, well, time to get his ass back in the game. Dad's missing."
Riley snorted at his choice of words.
"I am looking for something." She admitted after a second and Dean looked at her. "In answer to your earlier question. Some friends of mine were killed about six months ago. I've been trying to find their killer."
Dean frowned. "Monster?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I never saw it. Just saw…" She hesitated, a flash of regret and pain in her eyes and she shook her head. "Anyway, I've been having some trouble. I was on what I thought was a trail, but then it went cold. There's nothing…That's why I called John. He told me to call if I needed help. And I think he can help me figure it out. I've done everything to find it. Looked everywhere."
He nodded once. "Well, you can ask him when we find him. Dad always has the answer."
She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, he does. I'll follow you."
A few hours later, Riley parked her car near Dean's and got out. He climbed out of the Impala and tilted his head at her. She was looking over the sleek black car, a faraway look in her eyes.
"What?"
"That car." She smiled, her eyes meeting his. "It's my favorite. Lots of memories."
"Yeah." He said fondly and ran his hand along it. "I was so happy when Dad gave me the keys." He glanced at the building before them. "You can wait here or come with. Sam will be glad to see you."
"I'll wait here."
"Oh, come on."
She sighed. "All right, but why do I get the feeling he's not going to be happy to see us?"
Dean ignored her and she shook her head. Some things never changed. That made her slow her steps. Things had changed since the last time she had seen him and time had been so great to Dean. She admired the way his jeans clung to his butt. The man had a great butt. She shook her head, mentally slapping herself. How could even think those thoughts after their last conversation? The last time she had ever seen him? When his words had cut her so deeply she never thought she'd be able to feel again?
"Earth to Blondie."
She arched an eyebrow at Dean. He was halfway up the fire escape ladder, looking over his shoulder at her with a half-amused expression.
"What are you doing?"
He rolled his eyes. "Going into the apartment, duh."
"Why can't you use a door like a normal person?" He just smirked and she snorted. "I forgot, that would imply you were normal." Shaking her head, she started up the ladder behind him.
Dean pried open the window with ease, something that, had Riley not been used to, would have shocked her. Being a hunter meant you were stealthy to some degree and more than likely able to pick a lock or jimmy open a window with the ease of a professional thief.
She slipped inside after him and looked around at the apartment.
"This is nice." She said more to herself than to Dean, but he did have to agree with her. It was a nice little place for Sam and it was obvious that he wasn't living alone.
A crash made her roll her eyes. "Could you not break anything?" She turned around. "Dean?" He was nowhere to be seen. Sounds of a fight suddenly came from the living room and she moved slowly out of the kitchen, her eyes widened as Dean fought with his brother. It had to have been Sam. He was very tall and his fighting stance hadn't changed over the years.
"Whoa, easy tiger." Dean grinned as he pinned his little brother to the ground.
Sam froze beneath him. "Dean? You scared the crap out of me."
"That's cause you're out of practice."
Sam flipped their positions with ease and Dean's back slammed onto the ground.
"Or not. Get off me."
Riley laughed and Dean scowled at her.
Sam's head whipped up from his brother at the sound of another person and he blinked. In the doorway to the kitchen stood a young woman with long blonde hair, shimmering blue eyes, and a red leather jacket. He got off the floor and his brother slowly.
"...Riley?"
"Hey, Sam. It's good to see you." She waved at him and he engulfed her in a hug automatically. She returned it enthusiastically, happy to see the younger Winchester. "It's been a while. I've missed you."
"Missed you too." He held her back at arm's length to look from her to Dean. "What are you guys doing here? Are you hurt? Dean?" He glanced at his brother. "Everything okay?"
"We're fine. Or at least I am." She told him.
"You've got blood on you." Sam said dryly and she glanced down at her side.
"Oh, crap. Guess that werewolf did get me."
At his narrow-eyed look, Dean tossed his hands up. "Didn't see it."
Riley examined her side. "Oh, it's not mine." She announced and Sam rolled his eyes. "Just got bruises."
"What the hell are you doing here?" He repeated in exasperation.
"We were looking for a beer." Dean smirked and Riley lightly swatted him on the back of the head. Sam huffed.
"Sam?"
The lights flickered on and they looked over to see a pretty blond blinking sleepily at them in confusion. She had on a pair of pink pajama shorts with stripes of green, yellow, and red. Her top was an old blue tee shirt with a Smurf on it and it was cut like a v-neck shirt.
"Jess, hey." Sam said softly before looking awkward. He had not expected his brother to show up unannounced in his apartment and he did not expect to have to introduce him to his girlfriend. And he definitely hadn't expected Riley to show up with Dean. Especially since they hadn't seen her in five years.
Jessica was watching him, waiting for an explanation and he shifted slightly.
"Dean, Riley, this is my girlfriend, Jessica." He said just to get it over with. Dean looked her up and down and nodded at Sam in approval.
"Wait. Your brother Dean?" Jess asked, smiling widely and much more relaxed. She smiled kindly at Riley. "And you're their friend Riley?"
"That's me." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Jessica." The younger girl told her and quickly pulled her jacket tighter against her to hide the dried blood. Sam almost sighed aloud in relief that she had the sense not to show off the blood.
Dean sauntered forward. "I love the Smurfs." He smirked and she cocked an eyebrow at him in amusement. Behind him, Riley rolled her eyes, knowingly exactly what he was "loving" and it had nothing to do with the cartoon. "You know, I gotta tell you, are completely out of my brother's league."
"Just let me put something on." She said, gesturing at the bedroom.
Dean looked disappointed. "No, no, no. I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously."
"Knock it off, Dean." Riley said with a roll of her dark blue eyes. He could be such a pain sometimes.
Jessica tilted her head curiously. "Are you two dating?"
"Oh, hell no." Riley spoke up first and Dean nodded in agreement.
"No way…Did you think we were…No, no, no. Absolutely not. She's like a close sister or-"
"Okay, I think she gets it." The blonde snapped at him. "Don't hurt yourself." Dean rolled his eyes. Sam shook his head. Nothing had changed apparently. They still bickered like an old married couple.
"Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business. But, uh, nice meeting you." Dean stated swiftly.
Jessica looked at Sam and he frowned.
"No." He said turning to face Dean as he walked over to his girl. "No. Whatever you wanna say, you can say it in front of her."
Riley almost smiled at the way he wanted to include Jess.
"Okay." Dean said with a shrug of indifference. "Um, Dad hasn't been home in a few days." Sam looked at his brother incredulously.
"So, he's working overtime on a "Miller Time" shift." He said not wanting to hear what his brother was really telling him. Riley bit her lip as he continued. "He'll stumble back in sooner or later."
"No, Sam. John's on a hunting trip." She tried instead and Sam's brow furrowed.
Dean nodded. "And he hasn't been home in a few days."
Jessica looked at the brothers and then at the blond who was looking concerned at whatever the news meant. She had no clue what they were talking about, but it seemed to upset everyone and from the way Sam was stiffened at her side, it upset him too.
"Jess, excuse us." He murmured to her and she nodded understandingly. "We have to go outside." Sam smiled at her and she gave him a look that meant he was going to have to explain later. Riley waved at the girl on her way out the door.
"It was nice meeting you." She said to Jessica and she smiled.
"You too, hope everything is okay." She murmured and Riley nodded not sure how to respond before following Dean out the door.
Riley closed the door behind them and Sam remained silent as they went towards the stairs, once he was sure no one else could hear them he started in.
"I mean, come on." He began. "You can't just break in, in the middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you."
"You're not hearing me, Sammy." Dean snapped back. "Dad's missing. I need you to help us find him."
Sam frowned. "You remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gate in Clifton? He was missing then too." He paused at the foot of the stairs and Riley bumped into his back as Dean whirled to face him. "He's always missing and he's always fine."
"Not for this long." Dean said firmly and he actually looked concerned. Sam knew then, that this really was worrying his older brother. "Now, are you going to come with me or not?"
"I'm not." Sam said and Riley couldn't help but feel sad that he didn't want to go. But she had seen that he was happy here and couldn't deny that she had already been thinking that he wouldn't go. John had pushed him too far.
"Why not?" Dean asked disbelievingly and she saw the angry look in his eyes.
"Here it comes." She muttered under her breath. A lecture from the wise Dean Winchester.
"I swore I was done hunting. For good." Sam responded firmly.
"Come on. It wasn't easy but it wasn't that bad." Dean frowned at Sam, his temper boiling. "Right, Riley?"
She started to respond, but Sam cut her off. "Don't bring her into this. And yeah it was that bad." Dean started walking again and Riley had to straighten up to avoid smacking the floor as the younger brother followed.
"When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." He continued and Dean looked at him over his shoulder.
"What was he supposed to do?" He asked seriously and Riley sighed.
"I was nine years old." Sam said incredulously. "He was supposed to say "Don't be afraid of the dark"."
Dean rolled his eyes.
"'Don't be afraid of the dark?' What are you kidding me? Of course you're supposed to be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there." He retorted hotly.
"Yeah, I know." Sam stated seriously. "But still, the way we grew up, after Mom was killed and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her. But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we can find." Riley bit her lip anxiously and Dean saw.
"What about, Riley? Her mother was killed, Sam."
Riley scowled. "Don't bring me into this." She snapped at him. "This is between you and your brother." Sam put a hand on her shoulder. She really didn't want to talk about that. Secretly it still gave her nightmares, although she was too young to remember everything she did have flashes of things that happened that night, but never told anyone. She bared it alone.
"But we saved a lot of people doing it too." Dean continued, ignoring her.
Sam let out a brief humorless laugh. "Do you think Mom would have wanted this for us?" They had reached the bottom of the stairs now and Dean shoved the creaky metal gate open as they went outside towards his pride and joy. Sam continued to speak as they approached the car.
"The weapon training and the melting silver into bullets? Man, Dean we were raised like warriors."
Dean looked at Riley. "She was too. And she isn't complaining."
"That's because she hasn't known anything else!" Sam snapped and Riley blinked. "She's been under Dad's influence ever since she and I were both old enough to hold a revolver. Against what Bobby wanted for her!" Riley blinked at Sam.
He was right of course, but she really didn't like that he made it seem like she had no choice. It wasn't as if Bobby hadn't tried to keep her in the dark about his secret hunter life and John had too. They both had tried, but Riley hadn't been so easy to fool and she had soon been trained with the two Winchester brothers. And it wasn't against Bobby's wishes exactly. She had begged to be just like him and John. But…somewhere in her mind, Riley sometimes wished that she had been kept in the dark about it.
"He may not have wanted it, but I did." She told him seriously. "This is what I wanted."
Sam frowned, but he just let it go for now. Dean glanced at her briefly before clearing his throat.
"So what are you going to do?" He asked as they got to the back of the car. "You're just going to live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?"
"No. Not normal. Safe." Sam murmured.
"And that's why you ran away." Dean scoffed, frowning. Riley snorted.
"John ran him off, Dean. You know that."
Sam scoffed back at his brother, looking dumbfounded that Dean was acting this way.
"I was just going to college. It was Dad that said if I was going to go, I should stay gone." Sam stated, looking back at his brother and Dean looked at him.
"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now, if he's not dead already. I can feel it." After a minute Dean continued, shifting awkwardly. "I can't do this alone."
"Yes, you can." Sam argued back and Riley cleared her throat to get Dean's attention and he sighed.
"Yeah. Well, I don't want to." He finally admitted reluctantly. Sam sighed too.
"You have Riley with you."
Riley shook her head. "He wants his brother, Sam." She told him softly when Dean was opening the trunk of the Impala. "Just come with us to find your dad. You both need to talk and you know that." Sam frowned and she touched his arm. "Do it for Dean, Sam. Your big brother. He's always taken care of you, hasn't he?" The young man's face softened. "And of course, do it for me. Just because." He laughed softly and nodded.
"What was he hunting?" He asked aloud and with slight hesitation. Dean gave him a knowing smirk as he rummaged through his trunk.
"All right. Let's see. Where the hell did I put that thing?" He muttered to himself as he dug through the piles of weapons that were in the back of the trunk. Weapons were something that was needed for the job and Riley could use just about every one of those weapons, thanks to John and Bobby and a few other hunters she had grown up knowing.
"So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked Dean, before glancing at Riley curiously. "And I thought that you were still at Bobby's?"
"Dean found me on a job." The girl stated quickly and the way she said it made Sam look at her in concern but she only shook her head. It wasn't something to get into right then.
"I was working my own gig." Dean answered, having caught the glances between Sam and Riley. He narrowed his eyes at them, but he could see that Riley wasn't happy about something, the sight of her worrying her lower lip indicated to that. She saw him looking and straightened, pushing back her unhappiness much to Dean's annoyance. She could be so cryptic about everything.
"This wouldn't be the kind of gig with poker cards would it?" She asked with a smirk and he answered her with a smirk of his own.
"No. It was this voodoo thing down in New Orleans."
"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" Sam asked and his big brother gave him a look.
"I'm twenty-six, dude. Ah, here it is." He drew some papers out of the large envelope. "So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy," He handed a paper to Sam and Riley looked over his shoulder to read, and had to stand on her tip-toes. "-went missing. They found his car, but he'd vanished. Completely, MIA."
"So, maybe he was kidnapped?" Sam suggested, not thinking that paranormal activity was involved. He really was looking for a way out of it.
"Yeah, well. Here's another one in April." Dean handed out more papers. "Another in December '04, '03, '98, '92. Ten of them over the past twenty years."
"All were men?" Riley asked and Dean nodded.
"All were men. And all on the same five-mile stretch of road. It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago." Dean looked up then. "I haven't heard from him since, which is bad enough. Then I get this voice mail yesterday." He flipped his cell open and pressed a button. John's voice came through the speakers full of static.
"Dean. Something is starting to happen. I think it's serious. I need to try to find out what's going on. It may be…looking for…be very careful Dean. Were all in danger." After that Dean shut the phone and looked at them.
"You know there is an E.V.P on that?" Sam asked, hearing the tell-tale ghost signs.
"Not bad, Sammy. Kind of like riding a bike, isn't it?" Dean asked and Sam rolled his eyes. "All right. I slowed the message down and ran it through a Goldwave. Took out the hiss and this is what I got." He played it again and this time a woman's eerie voice came from the speakers.
"I can never go home."
"Never go home." Sam repeated thinking it over. Dean shut the trunk and sat against the back.
"You know in two years. I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing." Dean stated, giving Sam a look. Riley looked at Sam, wondering what his final decision would be. He sighed and looked at the building behind him. Riley bet he was thinking of Jessica.
"All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him. But I have to get back first thing Monday." Sam warned and Dean frowned.
"What's first thing Monday?"
"I have this…I have an interview."
"What, a job interview? Skip it." Sam looked shocked and then rolled his eyes.
"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate."
"That's wonderful, Sam!" Riley said and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you!" Sam patted her back with a smile. Looking up, Sam caught the look in his brother's eyes and arched an eyebrow, storing that away. Was Dean…jealous? Or had he simply mistaken the look?
"Thanks." Sam said with a grin, looking back at Riley.
"Law school?" Dean asked, seeming indifferent but both could tell he was impressed. "So do we have a deal or not?" He asked and Sam nodded.
"Yeah."
"You still comin', Blondie?" Dean asked Riley and nodded.
"Definitely."
Dean patted the Impala. "Ride with us?"
"Yeah, sure. If you can spare the room."
"I'm going to talk to Jess really quick and then we can go, all right?" Sam murmured and Riley turned to him.
"She's beautiful, Sam. I'm happy for you."
He smiled widely. "Thank you."
Riley grabbed her duffel bag from the car, trying to ignore Dean staring at her.
"Hey, um...About the way we left things before..."
"Don't." She said quickly, shaking her head. "If we want this to work, we can't talk about it or bring it up. I've put it behind me and I'm sure you've done the same. I'm over it and that's that."
Dean watched her untense as she went back into the safety of her car to grab more of her things. He frowned slightly. She had been living in her car. He could tell that much. Clothing, food wrappers, empty mini shampoo and soap containers. She had been out of Bobby's house for a while now it seemed.
"Are you really over it?"
She looked at him. "What do you want me to say? I was fifteen and stupid." She said simply and then sighed. "Really, Dean. I don't have a problem working with you again. I care about John too, you know. He was another dad to me."
"Yeah." He murmured, feeling a bit better, and then cleared his throat. "You don't have much stuff."
Riley snorted. "I've run out of a lot of things. If we can stop at gas station sometime, I can get what I need."
"I know you talked to him. Sam. Thanks for that."
She smiled. "Even if I hadn't he would have helped, Dean. John is his father too, whether he's mad at him or not."
Sam came out of the building then, a bag over his shoulder. He smiled at Riley before shoving his things into the trunk with hers.
"You good in the back?"
"Definitely." She nodded. "It will be great to not have to drive for a while." Sam was the nicest guy she knew...other than…Eli… Riley blinked back the tears that formed at the thought of the name and she quickly hid it before Sam could get a good look at her in the dimly lit car.
"Don't worry about me, I get more leg room." He laughed as she stretched out across the back. "Oh and by the way...Happy Halloween." Sam and Dean both snorted.
They took off down the road seconds later and within minutes Riley was asleep. Sam looked at her and then to Dean.
"So...Werewolf?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah, Bobby called me. She hadn't answered him in a few days. Sent her on a salt and burn...No one knew about the werewolves."
Sam looked back over his shoulder at Riley. The girl was curled in the backseat, a frown on her face.
"She could have gotten really hurt. Why was she alone? Did she tell you?"
"Nope and Bobby wouldn't say much about it. Apparently, they had a falling out."
"Bobby and Riley? I can't believe it."
Silence fell again and Sam looked out the window.
"She seems...nice. Jessica, I mean." Dean managed to say and Sam smiled where he couldn't see.
"Yeah. She is. Jess is the best thing that's happened to me."
It was Dean's turn to smile where his brother couldn't see. In the backseat Riley let out whimper.
Riley grabbed all the travel sized containers of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and deodorant she could fit into her basket. A man down the aisle was watching her, but she ignored him the best she could. She knew what she looked like, but it couldn't be helped. She had washed her hair in the bathroom sink, so now it semi-wet and clung to her clothing. She couldn't help that the gas station of Dean's choice was full of leering mechanics and truckers. Backroad hillbillies. Moving to the next aisle quickly, she found toothbrushes and floss. A thin, slightly grubby hand landed on the shelf above her and she felt her hair stir at the movement of someone leaning against the shelves.
"Nice day, innit?" He drawled and she nodded, moving slightly up the aisle. He followed her and she chanced a glance at him. He was tall and not so scrawny, with a long thin nose and a pair of mud brown eyes that were leering at her in what he obviously thought was a friendly manner. His tobacco smelling breath hit her bare shoulder and she grimaced.
"Yeah. It's nice." She answered and turned to leave. He grabbed her wrist.
"Wait a minute, honey. Don't go just yet."
Riley scowled. "Let go of me." She warned and he tightened his grip.
"What's a nice looking sweet girl doing all alone? You traveling to see someone?"
She heard him come down the aisle before she saw him in the reflective lens of the mirror mounted in the corner. Dean's foot steps came closer, slowly, his gaze on the shelves. He paused near them and glanced up at the reflective glass before narrowing his eyes. Riley knew he was about to start something so she jerked her hand free and passed him rapidly, moving onto the next aisle and leaving him no opportunities to ask questions as she grabbed a random bag of chips.
Unfortunately, Dean followed her.
"What was that?"
"A perverted trucker." She answered him, without looking and he started to touch her. "Don't, I'm fine."
"He's watching you." Dean said lowly and despite her muttered protests, he wrapped his arm around her waist. He watched the trucker retreat, obviously not in the mood to try and tussle with him and the man left the store with a disappointed look.
Riley resisted to the best of her ability to not lean against the warm body next to her. It was going to be hard to ignore how good looking he was, how much he still affected her after not seeing him for five years. But the remembrance of their last conversation came to mind as well as the last time she had let herself fall for someone and that had ended badly as well.
Dean could feel how stiff she was, uncomfortable with the arm he had around her. When she trembled slightly, he grew concerned.
"Riles-"
"Thanks, but he's gone now. You can let go." She said in a rush, pulling out the drink she wanted.
She pulled away from him and he let his arm fall.
When she went to the register, Dean was behind her, almost pressed against her back again because of the limited spacing. Heat was radiating against her back and she swallowed nervously. She paid for her things, ignoring his curious gaze on the items she had gotten. She turned, almost bumping into him on her way out and he smirked at her when she almost fell.
"Shut up." She told him with no real heat in her voice.
Sam looked up when she exited the convenience store with pink cheeks. She got into the backseat and started sorting through her bag without a word.
"So...You and Bobby? I hate to ask, but I gotta know. It's...weird."
Riley sighed with a nod of her head. "I know. We got into an argument. After what happened to my friends...We didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. He meant well as he always does, but it was my fault it happened, Sam." She met his eyes, her were pained filled and full or regret. "I couldn't let it go. I can't let it go. Something happened that night. It wasn't...I didn't understand it."
Sam nodded. "So, you haven't been home since."
"I feel that if I do, I'd be giving up and I can't." She looked away from Sam, fingering a leather cord necklace that was tucked into her shirt. "Sorry I freaked out on you guys this morning." She had jolted the both of them when she had woke up with a scream.
"You had a nightmare. It's fine." He murmured, getting the feeling that she was hurting more than she was willing to say.
"Sorry all the same."
"I have nightmares too." He admitted. "A lot lately."
"Me too." She said with a frown. "It sucks."
Dean came back to the car, a cigar hanging from his mouth.
"Breakfast?" He offered Sam, a bag of chips and a fountain drink under one arm.
"No, thanks." Sam looked back out of the open door. "So, how'd you pay for that stuff? You and dad still running credit card scams?"
"Yeah, well, hunting isn't exactly a pro ball career." Dean took the gas pump out of the car and put it back on the hanger before closing the gas door. "Besides all we do is oblige. It's not our fault they keep sending us the cards." Sam snorted and Riley laughed.
"And what names did you write on the application this time?" She asked him and he grinned at her.
"Uh, Burt Aframian and his son, Hector. We scored two cards out of the deal."
"Sounds about right." Sam scoffed and shook his head, and then he looked at the pile of tapes in his lap. "Man, you gotta update your cassette tape collection." Riley burst into laughter again and Dean looked confused.
"Why?" He asked a slight aggressive look on his face.
That made her laugh more. "God, Sam don't get him started."
Dean gave her a dirty look.
"Well for one they're cassette tapes." Sam scoffed and dug through the box in his lap. "And two…Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock." Dean snatched the cassette out of Sam's hand.
"Yeah…" He drawled. "House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shot-gun and backseater shut their cake-holes." He tossed the cassette back into the box and Sam rolled his eyes.
"Hey!" Riley protested and Dean smirked at her in the mirror.
"You know "Sammy" is a chubby twelve-year-old. It's Sam okay?" Sam's mutters could barely be heard over Dean's pick of music ACDC's Back in Black.
"Sorry, I can't hear you. The music is too loud." Dean retorted and he gave a laugh before pulling out of the gas station.
Several hours later, they headed down the highway in silence, Sam calling local morgues and hospitals for John's whereabouts. Luckily, he wasn't in any of those so far, but the trio were worried about what that meant if wasn't. Where was he?
"…Thank you."
Riley caught the end of the conversation as Sam shut his phone.
"All right, so there's no one matching dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something I guess." Sam told them and she sighed aloud with relief.
"That means that he's still on the case somewhere." She smiled a little and Sam did too.
"Hey, check this out." Dean pointed out a window as he pulled over to the side of the road. They saw several cop cars surrounding the edge of a suspicion bridge. He opened the glove compartment and dug through for the fake IDs that they would use today. He handed one to Sam and glanced at Riley, who waved her own at him.
"Got it covered."
Riley pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, lowering her head a bit to gather her hair. Dean found himself watching her in the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on her cleavage.
"Can't believe you still have mine." Sam murmured and that tore him away from watching Riley for a second. She was sitting back up anyway.
"Of course I do." Dean smirked. "Knew you'd come back eventually."
He started to retort, but Dean was getting out of the car. Riley reached up and patted his shoulder.
"Let him have that one, Sam." She said quietly. "He's happy."
Sam nodded at her. "I know, I just don't want him to get his hopes up. I'm only in this for one job."
"Yeah." She sighed as he got out of the car and followed after him.
She stared at the bridge for a moment, swallowing nervously. She couldn't swim so bridges made her nervous. She couldn't let them see that though. To this day they never knew she couldn't swim and had a fear of drowning.
"Follow my lead, boys." She stated and slipped on a pair of fake glasses, tossed her red leather jacket on, and took out a pad and pen before giving her best "wide-eyed, innocent" look.
"Intern." She said simply and towards the police officers, her hips swaying from the high heels she was now wearing. Sam rolled his eyes as Dean's eyes landed on the blond in front of them, or more specifically on the bottom in front of them, and he elbowed him.
"What?" Dean asked defensively. "I wasn't doing anything."
"Just staring at her ass." Sam muttered and his brother smirked.
"Nice wasn't it?"
"Wha-No! Just-just no." He sputtered out, looking horrified. Dean laughed aloud and patted his brother on the back.
Sam rolled his eyes and they followed Riley across the bridge to the cops that were surrounding a car.
"You fellas had another like this just last month, didn't you?" Dean asked confidently when they got near the cops. Confidence was key for a good lie.
"And who are you?" An officer asked, looking a bit annoyed.
"Federal Marshals." Dean said, flashing his badge to the man.
"You two are a little young to be federal marshals, aren't you?" He asked, looking them over.
Dean laughed. "Thanks, that's awfully kind of you." He murmured and walked past. The officer looked at Riley, his eyes roaming her figure much to Sam's disgust.
"Who's she?" Dean heard the question and looked over at Riley, who was pretending to take notes of what was going on, tapping her mouth with the eraser of her pencil.
"Intern." He said simply before calling out to Riley. "Olsen!" The girl whipped her head around like she had been scolded.
"Sir?" She stated, scrambling over to stand next to Dean and sounding very much like the nervous intern she was pretending to be. Sam almost snorted. She definitely hadn't lost her touch. She was good at playing roles when they did cases and she was almost never caught. But it was because of her acting skills that she had been chosen to go on a case with Dean. The last case they had been on together...The night something went wrong between Riley and Dean.
"Yes, sir?" She said again, bringing him out of his thoughts. She pushed up her glasses with a finger nervously.
"Are you getting all this?" Dean barked at her and she nodded, almost jumping timidly. Nodding approvingly, looked back the officer with shrug. "Interns." He scoffed and then asked: "You did have another one just like this, correct?"
"Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There's been others before that," The officer replied.
"So, this victim…you knew him?" Sam questioned and like the obedient intern, Riley followed him as he walked a bit.
"Town like this, everybody knows everybody."
"Any connection between the victims, besides that they're all men?" Dean asked walking around the car and Riley followed him, her pencil flying across the notepad. Sam almost smiled when she bumped into Dean's back as he came to stop. He sent her a look of annoyance with a hidden smirk and Riley stepped back, a fake flush to her cheeks or a real one, Sam wasn't sure.
"No, not so far as we can tell," The officer said, watching Riley too. Sam had to admit that the officer's ogling was a good means of getting answers. He wasn't so guarded about telling them anything.
"So what's the theory?" He asked.
"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?"
"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys." Dean scoffed with his usual attitude and Sam stomped on his brother's foot, hard. Riley muttered behind him:
"Watch it, you big idiot."
"Thank you for your time." Sam said before starting to walk away with the other two following him. "Gentlemen."
Riley waved to the policemen. "Thank you very much, officers. Ya'll have a nice day." She called to them flirtatiously and Dean rolled his eyes before tugging her away from the men who waved at her. Once they were a good few feet away, Dean slapped the back of Sam's head.
"Ow! What was that for?" Sam hissed in pain.
"Why'd you have to step on my foot?" His brother retorted.
"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?" He asked angrily and halted to a stop when Dean moved in front of him, so he could look him in the eye.
"Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."
Riley rolled her eyes. "You two better calm the hell down. There's a cop behind us."
Sam glanced over Dean's shoulder and they turned to look at the sheriff now standing before him. The sheriff was small, broad shouldered, and had a belly that Riley suspected held too many donuts. He gave them all a stare down along with two men that were standing on either side of him.
"Can I help you boys, young lady?" He asked and Riley frowned.
"No sir, we were just leaving." Dean replied as the two men passed by. They were dressed in black suits, white shirts and tie Riley gulped. They were real FBI. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." When they were good deal closer to the car and out of hearing range, Riley hit the back of his head.
"You are such a dork." She snorted and he smirked at her.
"Come on, you know that was a good one."
She just shook her head.
They drove into town and there they found a young girl wearing a deep brown leather jacket and dark brown hair that was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She was pinning posters to the outside of the local movie theatre.
"I bet you that's her." Dean stated and Riley smirked.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" She teased. Sam snorted and Dean sent them both glares as they walked up to the girl.
"Excuse me." Riley said taking charge before Dean could open his mouth. "Are you Amy?" The girl looked at her curiously and to the boys behind her before nodding.
"Yeah." She responded quietly and Riley sighed internally. She knew what it felt like to lose someone like that. Far too well in fact. Dean noticed that Riley had gone quiet suddenly and stepped forward.
"Yeah, Troy told me about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy, and this…is my girlfriend, Riley." Dean stated. She almost jumped as her waist was encircled by his arms, his grip firm, but surprisingly soft. If she hadn't been good at keeping face she would have freaked, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel how nice it was to be held like that, and a flush pinked her cheeks faintly.
"Yes, it's so nice to meet you." She made herself say to the girl in front of them, trying to ignore the feeling of him pressed against her back.
"He never mentioned you to me." Amy stated, turning away from the wall to face them fully.
"Well, that's Troy, I guess." Dean laughed. "We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."
"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around." Sam stepped in, wanting to hurry this interrogation along.
"Hey, are you okay?"
A girl came up to Amy, her eyes looking over at the three strangers warily. Riley couldn't really blame her. Small towners often stick up for each other.
"Would you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" Riley asked the new girl and she nodded.
Riley wanted to shove Dean off the bench, but it wouldn't look very good for their image of a happy couple. He was sitting far too close, oblivious to the fact that she was uncomfortable. She shifted slightly, hoping to put a bit of distance between them. She needed the space and she needed to distance herself from him. Although it was a normal routine that she had often done, it was usually with Sam. Since they were closer in age, John would pair them on certain cases whenever the need arose. Only a handful of times had she and Dean had been the fake pair. The last time...the last case they had ever worked together on...Had been one of those cases.
She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about it.
"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked and she got back into reality.
"No. Nothing I can remember." Amy replied.
"I like your necklace." Riley spoke up. She nodded at the pendant that the girl wore. It was a pentagram in a circle. Amy looked down at it and held it up to show her better as she murmured:
"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents-" She laughed. "With all that devil stuff."
"Actually it means just the opposite," Sam interjected and Riley smiled. "A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."
Dean looked at Riley and rolled his eyes. "Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries." He shook his head at his brother, and got jabbed in the ribs sharply by the girl next to him.
"Don't be an ass." She muttered under her breath and Dean ignored her.
"Here's the deal, ladies." He said. "The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything..." Amy and Rachel looked each other at that and of course it didn't go unnoticed by the three hunters.
"What is it?" Dean asked and Riley looked at them in interest.
"Well it's just... I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk." Rachel said slowly.
"What do they talk about?" Sam and Dean asked almost excitedly at the same time. Riley snickered.
"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago. Well, supposedly she's still out there." Rachel said, looking a bit ready to agree if the three across from her didn't believe her story. She hardly believed it herself. "She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever." Riley looked at Sam and then at Dean. Now they had something.
"Where are the lights in here?" Riley muttered, plopping down in a seat on the other side of Dean. "How do they expect people to read in this cave?" Dean snorted and went back to typing as Sam looked over his shoulder. They were in the local library looking up what he could with the information they had just received.
"Female-Murder-Hitchhiking". Dean typed and hit enter. They waited as the little hourglass on the screen indicated it was searching and loading. It came back with zero hits much to their disappointment. Dean replaced the words with more "Female Murder Centennial Highway". Again, it was zero results.
"I'm bored." Riley pouted and Dean cast her a look. She gave him one back and went to browse the shelves.
"Let me try." She heard Sam say and then heard a loud smack. She rolled her eyes and turned around to see Sam glaring at his brother.
"I got it." Dean said snappishly and Sam shoved Dean's chair out of the way, rolling it towards Riley.
"Dude!" Dean exclaimed, punching Sam in the shoulder when he rolled back. "You're such a control freak."
Sam ignored him, typing quickly. "So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?"
"Yeah," Dean answered, still pouting and Riley popped him on the head with a random book. He grabbed at her, but she step-sided him. "Watch it, Blondie."
She only smirked at him and Sam ignored the exchange.
"Well, maybe it's not murder." He muttered, typing again. "There was one article, dated April 25, 1981 titled "Suicide on Centennial."
"What's it say?" Riley asked curiously.
"This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river." The three of them glanced at the article, glancing at the picture.
"She was pretty." Riley murmured softly.
"Does it say why she did it?" Dean asked.
"Yeah," Sam answered. "An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Riley gasped.
"That's horrible." She said quietly.
Sam scrolled down to photos of a bridge and one of a man standing near it, his head resting in his hand.
"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch." He finished reading.
"That poor man." Riley stated.
Dean looked back at the photograph
"That bridge look familiar to you?" He asked and both Riley and Sam nodded. It was the same bridge where Troy's car had been found.
The moon lit their way over the bridge. Riley kept away from the edge, trying her best not to cling to Sam or Dean. She hated water. Actually, she was afraid of drowning in it. She liked ponds and creeks, well at least the ones that were relatively small. As long as she never had to get in them, she was fine.
"So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Dean stated the obvious as he leaned forward. Riley shook her head.
"You think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked.
"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." His big brother shrugged like it was nothing and he frowned.
"Okay, so now what?" He asked, trying to keep up with him. Riley's teeth chattered as she hurried to stay nearby.
"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while."
Sam stopped walking and Riley sensed a fight coming on. "Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by—" The older sibling turned around and Riley almost swore she saw a little regret in his eyes, but then again it was probably a trick of the moonlight.
"Monday. Right. The interview." He deadpanned with a straight face. He sounded neither ecstatic nor angry so Riley wasn't sure what he was thinking.
"Yeah." Sam said.
"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" He was starting to show his temper.
"Dean, stop that." Riley said, looking from him to Sam. "Don't start this."
"Maybe. Why not?" Sam asked angrily, getting just as riled up.
"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" He demanded.
"No, and she's not ever going to know." Sam said quietly and Riley sensed a storm coming.
"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are." Dean started walking again and with a frustrated look, Sam followed.
"And who's that Dean?" He asked and Dean looked at him.
"You're one of us."
He moved and got in front of Dean and took his arm, stopping him from walking. Riley bit her lip. Here comes the confrontation.
"No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life." He snapped, trying to convince himself more than Dean.
"Well, you have a responsibility to—"
Dean was interrupted by Sam. "To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back." Dean's temper flared and he grappled Sam, shoving him against the railing of the bridge by the collar of his shirt. Riley grimaced, feeling her stomach lurch although she wasn't at the side of bridge. They were too close to the edge for her liking and Dean looked like he couldn't decide what to do with Sam.
"Don't talk about her like that." He muttered before shoving his brother and walking away. Riley sighed with relief that they were no longer near the railing and then gasped.
"Uh, guys? Might want to see this."
They turned around to see a lady in a tattered white dress, standing on the railing. The woman looked over at them, her long dark hair blowing in the wind. Riley gasped as suddenly she stepped off the railing and just like that the trance was over. Sam and Dean darted forward and Riley ran after them.
"Where'd she go?" Dean asked, looking over the railing. Riley stayed back from the edge.
"I don't know." Sam muttered. The Impala's engine suddenly roared to life, the headlights turning on to shine down the bridge at them and Riley jumped.
"Dean!"
He turned and frowned. "What the—" He started, wondering who in the hell got in his car.
"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked, warily. Without looking away from the precious car, Dean pulled his keys out of his pocket and jingled them in front of Sam. Just then the Impala jerked forward, roaring down the stretch of highway along the bridge. They stood frozen for a second before they knew that they were going to be hit.
"Go! Go! We've got to jump!" Sam called as they ran down the road, trying to get away from the car.
"What?! No, I can't!" Riley panicked. She would rather get hit by the car than jump into the water.
"You've got too!" Dean shouted over the roar of the car and pulled Riley sharply to the side of the railing, where he practically toted her over the side with him. A few seconds of free falling and they were submerged in the murky dark water below.
Sam clung to the underside of the bridge, looking frantically for his brother and Riley. He climbed up so that he was sitting on the railing and looked back at the water.
"Dean! Dean!" Sam yelled panicking. "Riley!"
Dean's eyes snapped open as he broke the surface of the water and he looked around before frowning. His brother was calling their names, but he couldn't answer him just yet. Then he spotted the girl, clinging to a nearby rock, trying to keep from floating down river.
"I gotcha, Blondie." He said and held his hand out towards her.
She stared at it a moment before letting him pull her towards him. She clung to his back as he made his way to the side of the river.
"Dean?!"
"What?" A tired reply came from below and Sam sighed with relief as a figure pulled itself out of the water, covered in mud as he inched up the embankment, another figure rolling off the first's back.
"Hey, are you and Riley all right?"
"I'm super." Came the reply from his brother and Sam snorted.
Dean wiped mud from his face before facing Riley.
"You all right?"
"Water is fudgin' cold." The girl scowled and he rolled his eyes.
"You all right?" He questioned again, not forgetting the panicked look from earlier.
"Yeah, I'll live." She told him, though her voice still had that slightly panicked pitch in it. "I can't swim." She admitted to him. She paused a moment and then looked at her bare feet. "And I lost my shoes." Dean snorted.
"Is the car okay?" Sam asked as Dean inspected his pride and joy.
"Yeah," He answered, closing the hood. "Whatever she did to it seems all right now." He looked crossly at the spot they had just went over and shouted: "That Constance chick, what a bitch!"
"I don't think she heard you." Riley retorted, wringing out her hair. Sam sent her an amused smirk before shaking his head.
"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." He murmured and then he looked over at the muddy Dean. "So where's the job go from here genius?" Dean only threw his hands in the air angrily.
Riley moved closer to them, trying and failing to wring out her clothing.
"You both smell like a toilet." Sam stated after a moment. Dean looked down at himself and Riley made a face, smelling her own hair.
"Eww!" She gagged and the boys snickered as she attempted to get the mud off.
"Time for a shower?"
"Oh, shut up. You smell just as bad if not more than usual."
Sam burst into laughter and Dean rolled his eyes.
They arrived at the local motel as the sun came up and went inside, heading right for the lobby desk. Riley attempted to keep from dirtying up the floor, but ended up just letting water run down her hair. There was no stopping it. Dean slid his credit card down on top of the desk clerk's magazine and smiled.
"One room please." He said lightly and the clerk looked at them with wide eyes. Riley and Dean looked a sight, but he knew better than to ask. Instead he just glanced down at the card.
"You guys having a reunion or something?" The clerk suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked from behind Dean. Riley frowned.
"That another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month."
Dean looked back at Sam and Riley, raising an eyebrow.
"John." Riley smiled with a whisper and Dean had to smile too. Her smile was contagious.
It didn't take long for Sam to pick the lock to "Burt's room". The yellow door swung open and he stood, stepping into the room with wariness. Dean, Riley saw, was playing look out, but he seemed to not have heard the door unlock. Riley, poked him roughly and when he turned, Sam grabbed the both of them and pulled them inside, shutting the door.
"Whoa." Sam and Riley breathed, taking in the entire room. Every inch of the motel walls were covered in some kind of paper, newspaper clippings, maps, pictures, and a whole lot of John's scribbles on post it notes stuck in random places. Dean reached for the light by the bed and turned it on. A half-eaten burger was sitting there and Riley protested when Dean held it up to sniff it.
"Dean!"
"I had to check, okay?" He said rolling his eyes. "I don't think he's been here for a couple of days at least."
Sam bent down to a line of salt ran a handful the salt through his fingers. Riley frowned.
"He was trying to keep something out." She stated and Sam nodded.
"Salt, cat's eye shells... he was worried. Definitely trying to keep something from coming in." He stated and then looked at Dean.
"What have you got here?" He asked, coming up behind him to see and Riley followed.
"Centennial Highway victims" Riley read and Sam followed her line of vision.
"I don't get it," Dean started, "I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection right? What do these guys have in common?" Sam left to look at the papers taped to other walls. His eye caught a note in John's handwriting said Woman in White; it was stuck above a printout detailing Constance's suicide. Sam regarded this for a moment before turning on the desk lamp and illuminating sketches from old books. Each displayed a woman in a white dress, looking haggard and staring like she was lost.
"Dean?" Riley whispered and he turned his face to show he was listening. "Thank you…for you know."
"No problem…Just remind me to teach you how to swim, okay?"
"Um…we'll see about that." She muttered and he faced her fully.
"So…you're okay then?"
"I will be when I'm clean." She stated, eyeing her matted, filthy hair and he chuckled.
"Dad figured it out." Sam stated suddenly. Dean turned to look at him as did Riley.
"What do you mean?" He questioned.
"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white."
"You sly dogs." He muttered, glancing at the pictures. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."
"She might have another weakness." Sam suggested.
"Well, Dad would want to make sure." He said frowning and crossing the room to Sam. "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"
"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." He tapped the picture of Joseph Welch pinned to the wall. "If he's still alive."
"That's encouraging." Riley muttered much to Dean's amusement.
"Only one way to find out," said Sam.
"All right. Why don't you two, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up." He said, heading for the bathroom door. He paused and looked at Riley. "Sorry I call dibs first."
"No fair!" She pouted and he smirked at her. Riley flounced away to look at the walls again.
"Hey, Dean?" Sam called out suddenly. Dean stopped before entering the bathroom, turning back. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry." He apologized, holding his arms slightly out from him like he wanted a hug. Dean held up a hand to him.
"No chick-flick moments." He said. Sam laughed and nodded.
"All right. Jerk." He retorted.
"Bitch." Dean smirked. Sam laughed again as Dean disappeared into the bathroom.
A picture caught Riley's eye and she lifted it from the wall. It was one of her, at age seven, and Bobby. He had her in his arms, and she had been waving at the camera, while he tickled her. There was another one nearby it and it was other one of her tenth birthday. Sixteen-year-old Dean was making goofy faces, while twelve year old Sam was eating cake. John was hugging her and she remembered that Bobby had been holding the camera. That was when they had been on speaking terms.
Stuck into the frame of a mirror was a photo of John, Dean, and Sam. They had to have been younger than thirteen in the photo and they looked happy. Then Riley almost cried. There was her graduation picture on the mirror too. She hadn't known that John had ever gotten it. She took the photos off the mirror, holding them in her hands and she gave them to Sam.
"Why would he leave these?" He asked and Riley shrugged.
"I don't know…." She whispered and wiped at her face. Then she frowned. Dean was singing loudly in the shower about how he was using up the hot water and she'd never get her turn. Sam only snickered before looking at her bare feet.
"You have more shoes right?"
"Yeah, in the car." Sam nodded. "Err…so…" She gestured to the beds and Sam rubbed the back of his neck.
"You can sleep in that one. Dean and I can share…Might be less awkward."
"Okay…are you good with that? Because I can sleep elsewhere…"
"No, it's fine. Really. I don't think either of us will be getting much sleep." He said truthfully before sighing. "Riley…I've been meaning to ask you…."
"Yeah?"
"…What happened that night? With you and Dean. I never found out."
She shook her head. "Sam, its complicated. I'd rather not-"
"You guys went on a case together. I never found out what happened."
Riley glanced at the door before looking at Sam again.
"I can't, Sam. I've put it behind me and I'd rather not get into it right now."
"Dad and Bobby don't know either?"
"No. It's better if they don't."
"Riley…" He sighed. "Will you at least tell me why you're doing hunts alone?"
"I can do hunts by myself. I'm not incompetent."
"I know that." He nodded. "But you..."
"Something happened in that hotel room, Sam. It was...It was like stepping into a horror film. Something or somebody killed my friends. Murdered them. Like I told you before, daddy meant well. He tried to help me, but I couldn't let it go and I...It was my fault."
"There's more to it isn't there?"
"Yes." She looked down at her feet. "I was dating one of them."
Sam's eyes widened. "Oh...Riley, I'm so sorry. Who was he?"
"Yeah...Can I have the keys? I need to get my clothes out." She said quietly. deflecting, and Sam frowned.
"Here." He tossed her the keys and she smiled.
"Thanks." She left the room quickly and headed for the car without another word. Once she got there, Riley opened the door and grabbed her duffel bag. This was all she had left and if she lost anymore then it would be time to update her wardrobe. Riley looked back at the motel room and then lifted her necklace. A diamond ring glittered brightly in the streetlamp as she held up the necklace. There were two rings on it. The other was a high school class ring.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered, touching the rings gently. She sucked in a breath, tucking the necklace away again. She couldn't think about this now. She locked the car back and went into the motel room. Sam smiled at her as she sat down waiting for the shower to turn off and she smiled back.
"Don't even think of coming out of there without any clothes on." Riley warned and Dean laughed evilly. He stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his lower half.
"What the hell did I just say?" She complained.
"You never said I couldn't walk around in a towel." He beamed at her and she covered her slowly reddening face as she stalked past him with her clean clothes and slammed the door to the bathroom closed. Sam shook his head as Dean continued to snicker.
"Dean…I think she's hiding something."
"Like what?" Dean asked, though he sounded like he could care less. Sam rolled his eyes.
"I don't know. I tried talking to her, but she's still holding something back."
"We all have secrets, Sammy." Dean muttered.
"Yeah, well some secrets shouldn't stay secret." Sam retorted back. Dean only frowned.
The next morning Sam paced the motel room floor, holding his phone to his ear as he listened to Jessica's message. With a sigh he sat down on the bed after a moment and eyed Riley who was braiding her long hair. She caught his eye and smiled. Dean came out of the bathroom, looked at Riley and crossed over to her, perching on the bed next to her. She frowned as the bed tilted and she kept her hands still so not to mess up her French braid. She was now wearing a pair of denim shorts and a dark green tank top.
"I'm starving." He whined in her ear and she half turned to glare at him crossly. "I'm going to grab something at that diner down the street. You want anything?"
"No."
"Come on…" He said as seductively as possible and Riley suppressed a shiver as his breath hit her ear. "How about some coffee? Aframian's buying."
"Fine, just get away." She stated, moving across the bed and flipping her braid behind her shoulder. Dean snickered at her before grabbing his freshly cleaned button up shirt from the bed and slipping it on. He gave Sam a wave before leaving the room.
"What?" Sam asked suddenly into his phone and Riley looked over at him. After a moment, he was slowly standing up. Realizing that something was wrong, she laced up her sneakers and stood up too. "What about you?" Riley went over to the curtains and peered out a bit.
"Cops." She muttered. There were deputies approaching Dean who had his back to them, talking to Sam on the phone. After a brief exchange with Dean the uniformed men glanced at the window of the motel room, Riley hiding along the edge of the window.
"They're coming." She stated and ran to grab her things as Sam scrambled to take everything he could. While he grabbed things, Riley ran and slammed open the bathroom window. "It's a good thing I lost those heels or this would be really difficult." She hissed, sliding out and jumping to the pavement below. Sam didn't comment, but followed her out of the room and down the back alley.
"Is this the Welch's place?" Riley asked, wrinkling her nose at the old worn down building in the middle of a junk yard.
"This is his address." Sam answered before rapping on the window. A second later, an old man opened the door, his face wary of what the two of them wanted.
"Hi, are you Joseph Welch?" Sam asked politely and Riley gave the old man a reassuring smile.
"Yeah," The older man confirmed, giving Riley a small smile back.
"We just have a few questions to ask you." She stated. "Do you mind?" Mr. Welch shrugged.
"It's all right I suppose." He stepped out of his house. "Let's take a walk. Don't like to do business on my porch." He led them through the junk yard and looked at them again. "What exactly is this about?"
"We wanted to know if you have you seen this man before." Sam showed him the picture of him, John, and Dean.
"Yeah, he was older, but that's him. He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter." Joseph replied, glancing up from the picture to them.
"That's right. We're working on a story together." Sam said.
"Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on. The questions he asked me…" He paused, shaking his head in bewilderment.
"About your wife Constance?" Sam finished and the man nodded.
"He asked me where she was buried," Joseph said, looking at Riley now. "What kind of question is that to ask a person?"
"And where is that again?" Sam asked him and Mr. Welch frowned.
"What, I gotta go through this twice?" Suspicion lit up his eyes. "You have any idea how much talking about something like that hurts a person?"
"I'm very sorry, sir." Riley apologized quietly, she smiled sadly at Joseph. "It's just fact-checking. Routine questioning. We don't mean to cause you anymore pain. I can only imagine how awful it was to lose someone you love and have to relive it by talking about it." Sam regarded Riley, but she ignored the scrutiny.
"In a plot." Joseph's face softened as he answered them, taking Riley's apology to heart. "Behind my old place over on Breckenridge."
"And why did you move?" Sam asked.
"I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died." Joseph said with a sad tone and Riley bit her lip.
"That's understandable. Did you ever…remarry?" She asked.
"No way." Joseph stated. "Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known. I never want to forget that." Riley nodded.
"So you had a happy marriage?" Sam asked, and for a second he seemed to hesitate.
"Definitely." He finally answered.
"Well that should do it. Thanks for your time." Sam said slowly, turning back toward the Impala. Riley could practically see the gears turning in Sam's head.
"Mr. Welch, did you ever hear of a woman in white?" He asked suddenly on a hunch and Riley paused at the car door.
"A what?" The older man questioned, looking confused.
"A woman in white. Or sometimes a "weeping woman"." Sam continued. "It's a ghost story. Well, heh, it's more of a phenomenon really. Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately Arizona, Indiana." He walked back over to stand in front of Joseph. "All these are different women you must understand, but all share the same story."
"Boy, I don't care much for nonsense." Joseph said, turning on his heel and walking away from Sam. Riley frowned. The man was being a little guarded now. Sam pushed forward and she followed him, waiting to see Mr. Welch's reactions.
"See when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them," Sam continued. "These women, basically suffering from temporary insanity...murdered their children." Joseph stopped walking and slowly turned to face them.
"Once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again." Sam finished up and Mr. Welch's face took on a dark look, his eyes blazing with something that Riley could see was guilt.
"You think... you think that has something to do with Constance? You smart-ass!" The man said, looking ready to either yell at them or to start sobbing.
"You tell us." Riley murmured softly. Mr. Welch trembled slightly under heavy emotions.
"I mean, maybe...maybe I made some mistakes." He began. "But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!" He shouted, fighting back tears as he stalked away. Sam looked down at Riley to see her frowning after the man.
"You okay?" He asked and she nodded not looking at him. "We'd better get out of here."
"Hey, Sam…What are we going to do about Dean?" Riley asked as they pulled out of the junk yard and Sam looked at her with a grin.
"Do you think it worked?" Riley giggled. Sam smiled.
"I'm sure it did. That was quite a performance."
Riley had called the police stating there had been a shooting across town. If Sam hadn't been with her he would have assumed she was the one being shot at by how terrified she sounded. Sam's phone began to ring and Riley beamed.
"How much you want to bet that's him?" She asked and Sam laughed before answering the phone and putting it on speaker.
"Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal." Dean's voice praised from the phone and Riley laughed.
"You're welcome." She said and Dean's laughter echoed from the phone.
"Listen, we gotta talk."
"Tell me about it." Sam nodded. "So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. She's buried behind her old house, so Dad's next stop-"
"Sammy would you just shut up for a moment."
"I can't figure out why he hasn't destroyed the corpse yet." Sam finished.
"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you." Dean interrupted. "He's gone. Dad left Jericho."
"What?" Sam asked in disbelief.
"How do you know?" Riley asked curiously.
"I've got his journal." He replied.
"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing." Sam said, frowning and Riley frowned too. Was John running from something?
"Yeah, well, he did this time." Dean replied
"What's it say?" Sam questioned.
"Ah, the same old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going."
"He gave you coordinates." Riley guessed.
"Righto, Blondie. But, I don't know where to yet."
"I don't understand. I mean what could be so important that dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?"
Riley suddenly gasped as a woman appeared in the road.
"Sam!" She screamed and Sam slammed on his breaks, tires squealing. The figure disappeared and they skidded to a stop.
"Sam? Sam!" Dean's voice came from the phone, but neither Sam nor Riley had the breath to answer him.
"Take me home." A voice said from behind him and Riley shrieked. Sam whipped his head up to look in the rear-view mirror.
"She's in the car…" He heard Riley whisper.
"Take me home." The woman in white said again.
"No." Sam told her. Suddenly Riley was evicted from the car. With a shriek she went flying out of the car and into the ditch. "Riley!" Sam yelled, but the car door was shut again and the car peeled off.
Spitting dirt, Riley lifted her head with a groan.
"Damnit." She got up from the ground, scowling. "You bitch!"
Luckily she didn't have to wait long for Dean to come down the road with a hotwired car.
"What happened to you? Get in a fight with a bush?" He smirked, rolling down the window. She was picking leaves and grass from her jacket and hair. A bloodied spot on the right side of her forehead.
"No, smart ass. The ghost ejected me from the car!" She got inside and he took off down the road. "She was driving Sam."
"Taking control of my car again." He grumbled, coaxing the old car faster. "Nobody takes my baby."
She just rolled her eyes before turning in her seat. "You found the bag I left you. Great." She pulled it into her lap and unzipped it, pulling out a sawed off shotgun and starting to load it.
"I'm pulling off here and we can walk the rest of the way. Don't want to let Casper know we're here."
Riley nodded and handed him the gun once he shut off the engine.
They walked in silence for several minutes until they came upon the house. The Impala's engine still purring. They could see Sam's outline in the car and when he start making pained noises, they sprang into action.
Dean raised his gun and without hesitation, shot the ghost of Constance Welch right in the face, unfortunately breaking the window of his car.
Sam gasped in air, looking a little pale-faced.
"Sam, you-" Riley began, but suddenly Sam glared at the house.
"I'm taking you home!" He exclaimed before slamming on the gas and busting through the house with the Impala.
Riley looked at Dean. "Guess that's one way to make her go home."
He rolled his eyes and they hurried inside to check on Sam.
"Sam?" Dean called running through the wreckage.
"Here." Sam mumbled.
"You okay?" He asked Sam who was struggling to get out of the car. Dean wrenched open. "Can you move?"
"Yeah," Sam replied. "Can you help me?"
Dean leaned across the seat and took his brother's hand, easing him out of the car. Once he was sure that Sam was okay.
Riley turned her head and froze.
"Dean." She said almost in audibly and the boys turned. Constance was staring at them and before they could react she sent a bureau sliding across the floor and pinned them to the car, making them groan.
The lights flickered to life suddenly and Constance looked confused a bit frightened. Water began pouring down the staircase behind her and she turned around to coming closer to it. At the top of the stairs were a little boy and girl. Slowly they joined hands and spoke in unison:
"You've come home to us Mommy."
Constance turned away in fear, but the children were now behind her, wrapping their arms around her. She screamed, her white light flickering as they held her tightly. A pulse of energy surged through the room then, causing the house to shake. The three ghosts began to melt into a puddle them melt into a puddle before draining away into the ground. The bureau eased up and they shoved it out of the way.
"So this is where she drowned the kids." Dean said, standing over the wet spot in the wooden floor.
"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them." Riley added with a nod.
"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean laughed and patted him on the chest where he'd been injured. Sam laughed painfully.
"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?" He snickered and Riley laughed too.
"Hey. Saved your ass." Dean responded before probing Riley's head. There was a spot of blood from when she had flew to of the car and hit the ground. "All right, Blondie?"
"Ow, yeah that hurts. Stop touching it." She said and pushed his hand away.
"I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car," Dean turned to look at Sam with a warning. "I'll kill you."
Sam just laughed.
"Ouch that freakin' hurts, Sam!" Riley hissed and Sam pulled his hand back.
"Sorry, but it's a deep cut."
"Do you have to press so hard?"
"Stop whinin' Blondie." Dean snickered as Sam turned back around in his seat.
"Hey, you didn't get evicted from a car like cartoon character. I get to whine." Sam snickered and Dean smirked.
"Sure, sure."
"Okay. So the coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, Colorado." Sam informed them, and his brother nodded. Riley leaned forward.
"How far is that?" She asked.
"About 600 miles."
"Hey, if we shag ass, we could make it by morning." Dean was smiling now and Riley saw Sam freeze. Uh-oh. She leaned back wondering what was going to happen now. Would they continue not speaking to each other?
"Dean, um, I..." Sam stuttered to get the words out and Dean sighed.
"You're not going." He said quietly.
"The interview's in like 10 hours. I gotta be there."
"Yeah. Yeah, whatever." Dean's wall was back up again. The feigned indifference. "I'll take you home." Dean's eyes met Riley. "I suppose you want to bail too."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily." She smirked and he chuckled.
Hours later they were in front of Sam's apartment building again. Riley climbed out of the car to hug Sam.
"I'll miss you." She whispered in his ear and pulled back with tears in her eyes. "Don't be a stranger. Call me some time."
"I will." He laughed.
"I'm going to get my car." She told Dean. "Meet you in five?"
"You bet." He nodded and she dashed across the road.
Sam leaned in the open window, his forearms resting on the window ledge as he looked at his brother.
"You'll call me if you find him?" He asked Dean.
Dean nodded, silent.
"And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?" He tried again.
"Yeah, all right." He replied, his voice doubtful and a little moody. Sam patted the door twice and gave his big brother one last look before walking away.
Dean suddenly leaned to call out the window.
"Sam?" He called out. Sam turned to look back. "You know, we made one hell of a team back there."
Sam smiled sadly. "Yeah, we did." He almost wished that the feeling he got being back working with his brother would last. Dean watched his brother disappear inside, before waiting for Riley.
After waiting a while, he noticed Sam's building. There were black tendrils of smoke coming from the windows and he could see the flames.
"Sam!" Dean was running across the ground and towards the apartment in seconds.
In the second most terrifying scene in his entire life, Dean was once again lugging his brother out of a burning building.
Sam coughed against his brother's neck while hanging onto him.
"Jess." He said softly and Dean sighed, squeezing his shoulder gently.
"I know, man."
"Riles?"
"Still at her car I gue-"
Sam and Dean both jolted as the sound of an explosion came from nearby.
"Dean...Riley's car." Sam whispered and exchanged looks of horror with his brother.
"Blondie!"
They hurried as fast as they could, rounding the building to where Riley had parked. Her car was burning intense hot flames and the boys ran over carefully.
"Riley!?" Dean called, looking around and he spotted her. She lay a few feet away, looking relatively unharmed. A few scrapes and bruises here and there, but nothing life threatening.
"Riley, Riles." Dean took her face in his hands. "Blondie."
She moaned slightly, eyes fluttering open. "D'n?"
"Yeah. What happened?"
"Smelt...gas...car was fine. Checked good..." She whispered and winced.
"Take it easy. We've got to go... We can't stay here."
Dean helped her to her feet and she swayed. Sam got on the other side of her and helped Dean haul her back towards the front. They headed towards Dean's car, each of them processing what had just happened in their own way. Sirens began to wail in the night and Sam flinched.
An hour later, Dean watched the fire trucks, firemen, medics, and policemen work around the building, from among the spectators.
Riley was comforting Sam the best she could.
"Shh." She said, hugging the much taller figure to her. "It'll be okay. It'll be okay." Sam leaned against her as they stood by the car, his body sort of covering hers by his height. She stroked his shaking back, glancing at Dean whose eyes were focused on the flaming building. His green eyes were filled with terror and for once he wasn't trying to hide it.
He had almost lost his little brother the same fiery flames his mother had been killed in. Sam would never know how scared Dean really was. His eyes landed on hers. The same terror was aimed at her and she felt Sam hug her tighter. She had almost died too. He released her slowly, going to the car and Riley turned to Dean.
"You okay?" She asked softly and Dean didn't answer. She didn't expect him too.
Both turned at a sound to see Sam loading a shotgun.
"Sam?" Dean asked and Sam gave his brother a haunted, yet determined, look.
"We got work to do." He declared and shut the trunk.
"Sam, are you sure about this?" Riley asked. He only sighed and met her gaze with a look of pure heartache. She nodded at him that she understood and when he walked away she looked at Dean. He met her eyes with a saddened look of his own.
"We better go." He said quietly and she nodded.
REVIEW?
