Dean pulled the Impala onto the plain of hay grass and dirt. The sun was just beginning to rise, but even with the little light they had he couldn't see anyone.
"Are you sure he gave you the right place?" he asked Sam gruffly.
"Well, yeah. This is where Bobby said she'd be." Sam looked at his notes in his lap, his brows pinched together. Then he raised his eyes to the flat piece of land in front of them.
Dean sighed, obviously cranky from the lack of sleep and coffee. "I don't see a damn thing."
"Maybe if we actually got out of the car, Dean."
Dean gave his brother a sharp look as he opened his car door and stepped out. The air was chilly and fresh. Low, gray clouds hung in the air with sunlight daring to peak out from behind them at any moment. Sam followed, their doors slamming together almost in unison before they walked towards the field.
A line of dark trees cut the grass field abruptly, and nothing but the soft stirrings of the wind could be heard. Dean squinted as he looked around as Sam wondered if he really did have the wrong directions.
"It has to be it. This is the only field of this size that I know of in this area."
Both boys stood half-asleep and a bit on edge as they scanned the field once more. Sam reached into his pocket for his cell to call Bobby when suddenly Dean stopped him. "I see something up there." He nodded his head towards the East. Sam followed his gaze until he saw the beat up pick up and a young girl leaning against the hood, her eyes fixed on the tree line. Sam tried to see what she did but all he saw were the trees.
Dean lead the way towards the girl, careful not to sneak up on her but not to not make any noise either. When they were close enough he cleared his throat. The girl turned, surprised at first. "Oh! We didn't expect you guys for a while."
"We?" Sam asked as he stepped around Dean.
"Yeah, Laena is still in the woods."
Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "So if you're not Laena, than who are you?"
The girl pushed her glasses up on her nose, her long sandy blonde hair blowing softly off her shoulders. She smiled softly and warmly as she pushed herself away from the hood of the truck and walked towards them with an open palm. "My name is Hailee. I'm surprised Bobby didn't tell you about me."
"Well, he didn't exactly tell us anything other than where to be at what time and to speak to someone named Laena," Sam shrugged, a bit apologetic as he shook her hand first.
Hailee just smiled. "Sounds like him. I'm sure if he felt he had time if he would have said more." She moved her hand towards Dean, who shook it but said nothing. He was studying her, as he usually did with people he just met.
Hailee seemed to ignore it as she walked back to the trunk hood where a laptop and some other equipment was set up. Sam followed her while Dean hung back. Both hands flexed at his side and his jaw tensed. He didn't like it when Bobby set them up with little information. It got on his nerves. Sam, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all. Dean watched Sam ask Hailee all sorts of questions about the equipment and what they were doing out here. Hailee, always polite the boys would soon realize, answered every question without thought.
Dean cleared his throat, interrupting their conversation. "So, when are we going to meet this Laena chick? I mean, it's not like we have all day."
"Dean," Sam warned. He already started to like Hailee, and didn't want to Dean to say anything stupid.
Hailee checked her watch then looked up at the sky. "The sun should be here any second so that means she will be."
"What exactly is she doing? Picking flowers or something?"
Hailee laughed. "No Dean, but that would be definitely amusing to watch if I ever caught Laena doing something like that." She typed a few lines on her laptop before turning her gaze to the tree line. "She's working."
"On what?"
"Just watch the tree line. She should be here any second."
Hailee leaned on the trunk, her forearms supporting her wait. She watched the tree line carefully, waiting for the moment. Sam stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and although he wasn't sure of where to look, he tried to anyway. Dean sighed and turned toward the trees as well.
Then they waited.
xxxx
It went better than she planned. While she didn't expect there to be more than double than they originally thought it still worked out in her favor. Because the more the merrier as far as she was concerned. She had taken most of them out at the nest. With daybreak looming an hour behind her, most of the vampires were preparing their "night", when they usually used the day hours to rest and recoup. It was a weak coven, to say the least, but even a weak coven was still pretty strong against humans.
Well, most humans.
She had riled them up good when she burst through their front door, her stake blazing fast as she kicked and fought her way in. A perfect morning workout, she thought.
The plan was to get most of them at the nest, and then lead the rest out of the woods. Their time in this area had been long enough. If she hadn't been so busy with tracking she would have gotten out here sooner. Before any more people disappeared.
Now she was racing through the woods. Her long braid whipping around her back like a panther's tail. She could feel them behind her. Their rage and anger lashing out between the gap she put between them. She knew they wouldn't be fast enough to catch her, but they didn't know that. All they knew is that this girl killed more than half of their coven, and they were pissed.
Up ahead, she could see the edge of the trees that led right into the field. She could see the bits of sunlight poking through. She grinned, shooting a final glance behind her. Yes, all the remaining vamps were there. Their faces contorted into fearful grimaces, their teeth baring at her as they hissed. She laughed, loudly and free. And kept laughing as she broke through the tree line into the field. The vampires were so distracted in their rage that they wouldn't realize her trap until it was too late.
She slid into the soft grass, dirt kicking up as she reached down to grab the machete from it's place where she left it just a couple of hours earlier just as the sunlight finally broke from the confines of the clouds.
She laughed again, finding joy in how perfect it all turned out to be.
Just like she thought the vampires didn't realize they had just stepped into sunlight until their skin started smoking. Still enraged, they fought confusion to get to her. To tear her from limb to limb for the damaged she had caused.
Oh well for them.
She kicked the first vampire in the stomach before bringing the machete down on his neck. The head snapped off so cleanly it took the body a moment to register before it fell in a heap to the ground. She spun her body, raising and swinging the machete in such a way in almost looked like a dance. Vampire bodies fell, the sunlight burned their remains into blistering heaps. It was over in minutes. Three of the vampires managed to backtrack into the woods and disappeared from sight. She could have gone after them but then decided she would need something to do later anyway.
Wiping some blood from her face, she turned and walked straight to the truck.
xxxx
Dean and Sam stood there, their mouths hanging open in shock at what they just saw. Never before had they seen someone like her, this five-foot-five girl stomping her way through the grassy field towards them. Her face and hands were splattered with blood along with her dark, worn-in jeans and white t-shirt. Her dark brown hair had come loose from the braid, and it stuck to the bits of blood on her face.
"Time?" she demanded, not even glancing at them. "What was my time?"
Hailee, not seemingly fazed by the sight, had been tapping furiously on her laptop. "Hang on, hang on."
The girl dropped the machete to the ground then stood next to Hailee. Dean didn't miss the impatient sigh that fell from her lips. Sam glanced at him, a slightly bewildered expression on his face.
"Done!" Hailee announced cheerfully.
"Aaaaaaaand?"
"You were off two minutes and thirteen seconds."
"What? Are you sure?" The girl glared at the laptop screen, as if giving it such a look would change the facts.
"What is that saying you like to use so much? Stupid questions get stupid answers."
The girl directed her glare to the blonde, who stood a couple of inches taller than her. "You know I hate it when you use my words against me." Hailee laughed and just patted her shoulder.
"Ugh! That sucks!" The girl kicked at the dirt, not even apologizing for the childishness of it. She had worked hard to win, and hadn't. It ruined her good mood.
It wasn't until she went to retrieve the bloodied weapon she had dropped moments before that she realized they weren't alone. She raised an eyebrow at them before glancing towards Hailee. "Who are Crockett and Tubbs?"
"They are actually the Winchesters," she stated as she finished typing in the data on her computer. "Bobby sent them."
"Oh, right," the girl turned back towards the brothers. She should have known because Bobby would do something like that. "You know, I hate the feeling of being retrieved." Her tone suggested accusation, and it grated on Dean's nerves.
"Well I hate being sent all the way down to some damn field without so much as to why," he bit back.
Sam cleared his throat and stepped up. He knew his brother too well, and didn't want an argument to start before they even had a chance to figure out why they were sent here. "Hey, look. I'm Sam, and this is my brother Dean. We just came down here because Bobby said we needed to met you. He didn't tell us why so I'm hoping you can."
Laena shrugged. "I don't have a clue. I haven't talked to Bobby since yesterday after he not so politely insisted that we come see him. Hails? You talk to him?"
Hailee shook her head, her eyes never breaking from her screen. "Just yesterday. I told him we'd take care of this nest situation first then see him."
"Well, it's taken care of.. for now, at least." Laena rolled her head to the side to stretch her neck. Her stomach rumbled softly and she sighed. "I hope Bobby has breakfast."
xxxx
Bobby Singer glared at Dean and Sam as they trudged up to his door. "Took you long enough! What did you do? Take a nap on the way?" He growled.
"Easy!" Dean growled back. "It's not like you sent us on a beer run."
"How hard is it to bring back two gir-"
"Careful, Bobby," Laena began as she stepped around Dean and Sam, a mischievous smile on her lips. "It would be hardly fair to them to paint us as poor, meek little girls."
Bobby didn't falter. "Oh, trust me. I know that you are far from meek, Laena. You are not excused from keeping me waiting for almost an entire day, as if I had nothing better to do."
Laena sighed and rolled her eyes, like a child getting a lecture from her father. "You are overreacting. You know I was going to see you after I took out that nest."
"Yeah, took your damn precious time doing it," Bobby sighed, shaking his head. "How long anyway?"
Laena opened her mouth to respond, but Hailee beat her to it. "She was two minutes off."
Bobby began to laugh as Laena shot Hailee a dirty look. "Shut up! He didn't need to know that." But Hailee just grinned at her as she stepped up between her and Bobby. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely.
"Hi, Bobby!"
Bobby put his arms around Hailee and hugged her back. "How are you doing, kid?" He pulled her back to get a good look at her. He could still the little girl he met ages ago.
She shrugged her shoulders. "As good as ever."
Bobby nodded and then looked at Laena. "I don't suppose I'll get a hug out of you."
Laena snorted as she started to walk past him. "Fat chance." Before she could go any further, Bobby snapped his arm around her and pulled her tight. She made a funny noise then sighed. It would be no use to fight back.
Sam and Dean stood there, their mouths slightly open in shock, for the second time that morning, as they watched the strange interaction unfolding.
"How long have you known each other?" Sam asked.
Bobby finally looked at the boys and then at the girls. "I don't know. A very long time." Hailee smiled at him and then at the boys. "Since Laena and I were thirteen."
"Bobby, what the hell? You never told us anything about them." Dean accused.
Bobby stood straighter and laid his eyes on Dean. "If it was any of your business, I would have."
Dean began to argue, but Laena interrupted. "I'm going to go take a shower." She announced, removing herself from Bobby's arm and disappeared inside.
"Hey, I need to talk to you!" He yelled after her. The rest of them could faintly hear her response but they were pretty sure she wasn't basking down. Bobby practically growled in frustration. "Females!"
Hailee laughed and patted his shoulder. "Come on, Bobby. Let's make a cup of tea and something to eat. I'm starving!" Then she walked inside, as if she had done it a million times before.
Bobby looked at Sam and Dean. They looked back. Bobby's irritation rose. "Well, you coming or what?"
Sam and Dean watched as Bobby entered the house. Sam looked at Dean, and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." He walked over the threshold.
"What the hell?" Dean muttered to himself as he followed his brother inside, closing the door behind him.