You Can't Run Forever

by captain ty

How long can you run away from your destiny? Contains Bobby, Dean, Sam and OC

DISCLAIMER: Hate to say it but I only own Alex and the rest belongs to Mr Kripke. I also appreciate the ability to borrow from Journey and Johnny Cash, nice of them wasn't it.

This is my first Supernatural story and it's a very long one shot. Love it or hate it I would love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

Wyoming

Dean leaned back in the chair away from the computer screen he'd been focused on for the last hour. Glancing over at the bed he was relieved to find Sam asleep, the bruising around his left eye standing out in stark relief against his pale skin.

Pinching the bridge of his nose he closed his own eyes and tried to easy some of the pressure building in his head. Sometimes he really wished he and Sam could be like the rest of normal society and just enjoy the mystery of Halloween, instead of rushing into danger due to the upswing in activity.

Dean was honestly feeling bad about the black eye Sam was sporting; after all he'd been the one to knock him down and into the edge of an overturned table. What he didn't feel bad about was that a black eye was better than a missing head. Which is what the spirit was about to do.

Pushing to his feet, he slowly stretched and moved to the bed. They'd grab a few hours sleep; see how Sammy was feeling and go from there. Halloween was the time for spooks and ghouls, not to mention all the other shit that went bump in the night. There'd be plenty of time to hunt.

Yet Dean was having a hard time dropping off. The murders they had been pursuing continued to bother him. They'd started in Texas with the mutilation of a young girl, something that was definitely up their lane, however after two days nothing hit. They were then surprised to see another one in Montana. Yet when they arrived, the exact same thing happened. Two days of investigation with nothing to show for it and then the same thing happened in another state.

Whatever they were after was definitely supernatural, but why the jumping state to state? Pinching the bridge of his nose he tried to release the tension that had rebuilt with thinking about the case. He had a strong feeling that tomorrow when they got up, there would be another murder, question was, what state would it occur in.

By the time she pulled back into the hotel parking lot, it was early morning, and the symphony of pain radiating through her right side has escalated to where her breath was coming in short painful pants. Pulling into the parking spot she turned off the motor and sat listening to the radio and the ticking of the cooling engine.

The ghostly light from the security lamps cast the inside of the car in a pale light that seemed to remove the color from the world. Feeling the shiver roll down her spine she closed her eyes, and dropped her head to rest on her hands still clenching the wheel. If she could just rest for a minute then, then she would be able to face the stairs.

Or at least she was trying to convince herself of that when the world slowly faded away and the pain receded as sleep drew her into its warm embrace.

"Who's that man?"

Her grandmother turned to where she was pointing. Her eyes squinting at first, and then a smile played about her lips. "That's no one for you to fear child. That's the man in black."

Her tone conveyed calm and even a hint of amusement but to Alex's way of thinking, the old man in the black suit just standing in the middle of her grandmother's yard did seem to be something you should be concerned about.

"But what does he want?" The words had no sooner left her mouth, than she began to notice something strange about the man; she could see through him, as if he was being projected onto a movie screen.

"That man…I don't understand, I can see through him." Her skin was suddenly covered in chills as he continued to stare at her. There was something about him that was drawing her to him, yet her fear kept her feet firmly in place.

"Child I was beginning to wonder…" her grandmother stopped and stared off into the distance and then looked back at her and smiled. "Alexandra, you need to wake up now…something dangerous is coming."

With a gasp her head snapped off her hands, her mind warring with the pain and sleep daze to focus on her surroundings. Something was coming, and she was glad it had not taken this opportunity to appear. She wasn't certain she would have had the strength to fight.

Slowly she forced her hands to relax and release the wheel. Reaching up she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes, only to find her face was damp with tears. She'd not dreamed of her grandmother in months, yet the dreams always came as a warning. A warning she'd learned to take heed.

"Hey this is Rockin' Dave reminding you that the Great Falls Fire Department Halloween party is a little over a week away. I'll be there along with some of our other radio personalities bringing you the all stars of dead rock and roll."

"So all you ghouls and goblins get ready, the party starts at eight pm, don't be late. Now to get us in the mood here's a little Blue Oyster Cult…"

All our times have come
Here but now they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind the sun or the rain (we can be like they are)
Come on baby (don't fear the reaper)
Baby take my hand (don't fear the reaper)
We'll be able to fly (don't fear the reaper)
Baby I'm your man

Reaching over she snapped the radio off harder than she had too. Halloween was only a week away; the busiest night of the year for hunters. Last year she'd spent it drunk and salted into a locked motel room. A lone hunter on a night like that was never safe; the odds were just stacked too high against them, especially if that hunter had a price on their head.

Shaking her head at where her thoughts were going, she pulled the key and struggled to open the door with without turning her body too much. She knew the trip up to her room promised a new level of pain.

When she finally reached her room, she locked the door and gave the bed a loving glance. It would be so easy to just collapse as she was, but she knew from past experience if she did that, some spider or other critter hitching a ride on her might join her, besides the heat from the shower would help loosen up her muscles.

Dropping the leather jacket on the chair, she groaned and looked down at her shoulder holster and sighed. In hind sight, this hadn't been the best option, but oh well. Gritting her teeth she pulled it off the uninjured side and let it drop off her right side quickly repeating the same process with her clothing.

Stepping into the bathroom, she didn't bother with the mirror, but glanced at the first aid kit on the vanity, knowing there was a good chance she would need it after the shower. Dropping her head under the hot water she watched as the water changed color from clear to brown, to red and back to clear again. By the time she'd finished her entire right side was screaming in pain, but at least she could go to bed varmint free.

Forcing herself to look in the mirror she was shocked by what she saw. Gray eyes sunken in and surrounded by purple shadows, the bruise along her right jaw already showing a Technicolor of purple, black and yellow.

Turning away in disgust she picked up the bottle of whiskey and limped to the bed collapsing back against the pillows with a hiss of pain. Glancing at the cell phone next to the bed she knew she'd have to call him this time, she needed somewhere safe to come in and rest. Rest somewhere she could relax and not be alone. Whatever that dream meant she couldn't be sure, but trouble was right behind her, growing closer with each day and this time she would need help.

Swallowing back another drink she pushed the speed dial and waited.

"This better be good."

The gruff voice coming through the line causing her throat to choke closed, it had been so long.

"Look, I ain't got all night, what do you want?"

Smiling, she finally found her voice, his name coming out raspy and hoarse. "Bobby."

"Good God, Al is that you? Where are you girl?"

Glancing around the room she had to honestly think before she could answer. "Uh, someplace called Great Falls, Idaho I think. Look I wanted…I wanted to ask if it would be okay if…"

"How long before you can get here? You ain't hurt are you?"

Smiling she looked down at her bruised right side; the ribs were either cracked or bruised she couldn't be sure, but as always leave it to Bobby to cut to the point.

"I can be there in two days and no, I'm not hurt too bad, just bruised. Look Bobby…"

"No you get some sleep there'll be enough time when you get here to talk."

The sun was setting by the time she pulled into the salvage yard, its dying rays casting strange shadows in the growing twilight. Putting the vehicle into park she forced herself to get out like nothing was wrong, even though the long hours in the car had stiffened already stressed muscles.

She saw him standing backlit against the door and smirked. He was waiting on her to come to him that was the way Bobby was. If you could walk, then you really were okay. Pushing off the car she slowly walked toward him trying not to favor her right side only to have him yell out from the porch.

"No good Al. I can see you're favoring your right side. Just give up and get in here."

Sighing she shook her head and gave up the pretense of not limping. "Thanks old man, you could show a little sympathy here, where's a drink for a thirsty hard working girl?"

Bobby chuckled, "inside waiting for you once you're on the couch."

When she was standing in front of him she smiled softly, "how you doing Bobby?"

The older man pulled her into his arms wrapping her in a gentle but warm embrace. "It's been too long, way too long, now let's get you inside and fix you up. How bad is it?"

Easing down on the couch she caught herself before she shrugged. "Honestly, it's just some bruising. That last spirit was just a tad bit unhappy when I told him he needed to leave and well he thought that shoving me down the stairs was an appropriate response to my eviction notice." Taking the drink he offered she leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes.

"Alright, now that you've got your drink, why don't you tell me what's really wrong?" He heard her sigh and it told him so much. She was tired and it went all the way to the bone. There was also something else that he just couldn't put his finger on, a sadness that hung over her.

"Bobby, have you heard a word I said?"

His eyes jump to hers and in that split second he sees what she's hiding. She's haunted. Something was pulling at her soul, chasing her into a dark place no hunter should ever go. Then with a blink the look was gone just as quickly and he couldn't be sure he had even seen it.

Shrugging he laughed, "Sorry Al, just thinking. Look why don't you finish that drink let me get you something for pain and you head on up. We can talk in the morning."

For a moment he thinks she might argue with him but then she nods and finishes her drink.

"You're right, tomorrow is as good a time as any." Getting up slowly she walks to where he is sitting and gently kisses his check. When she speaks her words are so soft that for a moment he's not sure she spoke. "Thank you."

He watches her climb the stairs slowly and painfully, wincing at her walk. When he finally hears the bedroom door shut, he reaches for the phone. Whatever trouble is following her he knows he is going to need help.

His crotch was vibrating. Well not exactly but close enough that he was forced to roll onto his back and start digging in his pants for the phone. Managing to grip it between two fingers he pulls it out and open rolling to the side to press it to his ear without having to hold it.

"What?" His voice is hoarse from lack of sleep or maybe too much sleep, either way he sounds like shit.

"Dean, wake up boy I need you."

Dean's eyes popped open and for the life of him, he couldn't understand how three words could change his perspective.

"Yep awake now. Talk to me."

Dean listens as Bobby tells him he needs to come to his house. There is something going on that he's not sure he can handle alone and since he knows the boys are between jobs and close, so why not lend a hand.

Rolling over he glances at the clock and grunts. "Sure, see you later today. Oh and Bobby, you better have a beer waiting."

He closes the phone and shoves it back into his pocket. He can let Sam sleep for a few more hours. With way he drove they could sleep most of the day and still be there on time.

She's not sure what woke her, the house was silent, but there had been something. Not to mention her shoes were missing. Frowning she rolled onto her back and gasp as the pain radiated through her side. Breathing as deep as she could, she let the pain ebb away as she concentrated on finding what it was that woke her.

Glancing at the window she could tell it was late afternoon and that she probably needed to get up. Slowly working to the edge of the bed she pushed to her feet. Her body swaying like a branch in the breeze until she put her hand on the nightstand to steady herself.

Looking around the room she couldn't find her boots and could only shake her head. Bobby had removed them and probably hidden them to keep her from taking off while he was out. Releasing a huffed laugh, she decided that the only option would be to head downstairs and eat his food. She'd only taken a step toward the door when she heard the voices from downstairs.

"He's not here…."

"Good lookin' car…."

Two different male voices and apparently they were searching the house based on the noise they were making. The sudden rush of adrenaline relieved her of her aches and pains and focused her on the task. Someone was traipsing through Bobby's house and that just wasn't going to work.

Taking her 9mm from the drawer she found that she was now glad Bobby had taken her shoes as it would allow her to slip down the stairs without being noticed. Keeping her back to the wall she slowly made her way down each tread pausing to try and determine where the two men were.

As she cleared the last step, a tall brown-haired man stepped out in front of her. The shock on his face coupled with his slow reaction gave her enough time to grab his arm flip him to the ground, putting her gun against his head and her knee in his back.

Leaning in she whispered in his ear, "not one sound sweetheart or it will be your last. Now where's your partner."

Dean heard something heavy hitting the floor in the living room, coupled with a grunt that sounded suspiciously like Sam. Smirking he sat his beer down and decided to go give his brother grief for being a klutz. The last thing he'd expected to see was Sam face down with a female on his back. A female that currently had a pistol pressed against the back of Sam's head.

Reaching behind him he pulled his own weapon and waited for his opening. She gave him one in the form of her husky voice asking about a partner.

"I'm right behind you. Now let my brother up."

The cocking of a pistol from behind her brought her head up. That had not been what she expected. Rather than give away her advantage, she snorted and looked down at the man she currently had her weapon on.

"Not gonna happen, so why don't you step around where I can see you." She heard the shuffling of feet and out of the corner of her eye she saw scuffed boots step into her field of vision. Close, but not close enough.

"Ok so how about you let him up."

Alex slowly lifted her head and followed the boots, up the legs and finally down the barrel of the .45 and up the arm to meet the coldest, but most beautiful green eyes.

"Damn! Now ain't that just a shame."

Dean frowned, what the hell was she talking about? Yeah he could see it as a shame. In front of him was a female he'd normally try and charm sitting on his brother putting all of them in a bad position, so yeah this was turning into a damn shame.

She saw the furrow develop between the eyebrows of 'pretty eyes' and could only smirk. She could almost see his thoughts on her comment of "what a shame" running through his head. Shaking her head she nodded toward the weapon pointed at her. "So we gonna have a Mexican stand-off?"

Dean shook his head; she was crazy. Who else would be making jokes with a 45 pointed at their heads. "Look, you're gonna let my brother up or I'll redecorate the wall with a new shade of color."

He watched as the blue-gray eyes went glacier in color and feeling and one elegant brow lifted.

"Hmm, so you plan on shooting me and you think you can pull the trigger before I do?"

Below her the man she currently had on the ground groaned, "come on Dean back off. I'd rather you not push my luck."

'Pretty eyes' glanced quickly from her to the man on the floor. With zero emotion on his face he shook his head. "Don't worry Sam I can take her."

The body under her groaned again and she could feel the vibrations and she knew he was speaking but she didn't have time to really listen, she was too focused on watching 'pretty eyes', no check that, Dean's trigger finger.

"Dean, how many times do I have to tell you not to park…what the hell is going on? Damn it Al let the boy up and Dean; put that pistol away before someone gets hurt."

Both of them moved at the same time with Alex quickly stepping far enough back from the guy on the floor so as not to be attacked. But one glance at Bobby had her dropping her head to keep laughing. They were all in for in now.

"Alright, so which one of you idjits want to tell me why you were drawn down on each other."

Alex and Dean pointed at each other and said at the same time, "he…she… started it."

Even though she'd threatened to shoot him, Sam couldn't help but be curious about the woman standing off to the side. She'd taken him down quicker than even Dean could and had then calmly faced down his very pissed off, overly protective older brother. Not to mention she was easy on the eyes.

Cutting his eyes over to where Dean and Bobby stood arguing he had to drop his head to hide his smile. He'd never seen Dean ignore a pretty lady, that was a true reflection of how pissed he was. Turning his attention back to the woman Bobby referred to Al; he let his eyes roam over her.

The dark auburn curls fell around a delicate elfin face, her honey colored skin marred only by the fading colors of the bruise, which currently resembled a spotted Easter egg.

But he found himself wishing he'd gotten a better look at her eyes. For one brief instance he'd seen those blue-gray orbs that stood out against her skin and he just knew when they were turned on you they would be something. But currently those same blue-gray eyes were focused on the floor, studiously ignoring Dean and Bobby.

Sighing he shifted his weight and glanced at her again, and this time he noticed her skin was quickly losing its color. Recognizing it for what was about to happen he began a slow shift in her direction.

Alex tried to focus on the argument Bobby was having, but it was too hard. Snatches of the conversation seemed to be the only thing getting through her fuzzy brain. The adrenaline was fading away and her body was beginning to shut down. The pain in her ribs quickly pushing to the front of the line, demanding all her attention.

She shook her head to try and clear her thinking only to find the room appeared to be growing dimmer. Recognizing the early stages of passing out, she dropped the weapon and tried to reach for something and that's when someone turned out the lights.

Sam had only an instant to react. Grabbing her left arm as she started to drop gave him the moment of support he needed to bend down and put his other arm under her legs and lift. Closing his eyes he released his breathe he'd been holding; shifting her to get a better grip, earned him a groan of pain from the woman in his arms. Opening his eyes, he found Bobby and Dean staring at him with their mouths open.

"What? Come on Bobby, she's not as light as she looks. Where do you want her?"

The question seemed to break Bobby out of his daze. "Uh, top of the stairs, first room on the right. Damn it Dean, get the first aid kit don't just stand there."

Glancing down at the woman he carried in his arms Sam laughed. "Well sweetheart, I can't wait to hear the rest of your story because you've certainly livened up the place."

By the time he'd laid her on the bed Bobby and Dean were beside him.

"Alright, you two back downstairs. Let me take a look at those ribs without you two looking over my shoulder."

Bobby could sense Dean's reluctance and sighed, "I'll tell you all everything if you'll just give me this."

Dean nodded and pushed Sam out the door as Bobby turned back to his patient. "Alright Al, I know when you're faking. So I guess now is as good a time as any to tell me why you called after three years."

She kept her eyes closed and tried hard to fight the wince at his three year remark. Okay so sue her for not calling but she'd been busy.

"Come on Al, roll over and let me take a look at those ribs."

Sighing she raised her right arm and patiently lay as Bobby gently probed her ribs. When he finally stopped she smirked, "see Daddy nothing but a little bruise."

He growled a comment under his breath that she chose to ignore. The last thing she wanted to do was fight. Reaching out she laid her hand on his arm. "Bobby I'm sorry about not keeping in touch, I really don't have an excuse either." Patting his arm she tried to smile, "guess I make a lousy pen pal huh?"

Laughing, he scrubbed a hand down his face. "Well while you make a lousy pen pal, you do know how to liven things up. So you want to tell me why you were gonna shoot Sam?"

"Hey that's not my fault. They woke me up and appeared to be ransacking the house, I was just trying to protect myself."

Leaning back in his chair he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah well I think you are one lucky girl, because I've seen Dean Winchester shoot people for less."

Groaning she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. Yep, it was just her luck to piss off the most dangerous hunter in the game.

She felt him slap her on the leg and groaned again, mumbling into the pillow. "Can't we talk about this later?"

"No we can't. You disappear for three years and suddenly show back up with trouble chasing ya, and you if want to sleep you need to come on and spill it."

"Ok, but not sure you're going to believe me, it all started three weeks ago in Dallas…"

"Seriously Dean you need to calm down. I don't think she'd have shot me, she was reacting to a situation."

Dean rubbed a hand through his short hair and glared at this brother. "yeah well I'm not gonna take that kind of chance Sammy. I mean really what do we know about her?"

Sam shrugged, "Bobby trusts her and that's good enough for me and it should be good enough for you."

"Yeah, well excuse me for having a few more doubts. Look, I'm going to sneak back upstairs and just listen in. You never know what you'll learn."

Sam shook his head and watched his brother sneak back upstairs. Sometimes it was better to get the whole story and not just the one you think you know. Unlike Dean, Sam still had faith in Bobby.

"I'd gotten rid of the spirit, very easy salt and burn. Yet there was still something else hiding in the shadows. I could feel it, but never see it. Anyway, the next night I was getting ready to leave when the hotel manager tells me to be careful, there had been a young woman killed just last night." Sighing she shrugged. "So at that moment in time, it sounds like not a big deal until he says she had red hair too, looked a little like me oh and how terrible it was that her body had been mutilated."

Dropping her head she started picking at a spot on her pants to avoid looking at Bobby. Taking a deep breath she continued. "So of course I left thinking this had nothing to do with me, you know just coincidence. I headed on to Montana and forgot the whole thing, still convinced it had nothing to do with me, until it happened again. Same thing in Wyoming and then again in Idaho, that's when I started to become concerned…anyway, three young women slaughtered the same night I evicted a spirit. Oh and I've already checked, their deaths had nothing to do with the spirit I removed."

Bobby sighed, "So what do you think it is?"

The smile she gave him was so sad he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react.

"Bobby, you know exactly what this is and that this is the end for me. I've tried for so long and I can't beat it and it would seem I can't out run it so I'm going to put as many of them back into hell as I can."

Outside the door, Dean frowned at her comment. Was she dying? What was going on that she knew this was the end? Creeping back down the stairs he shook his head at Sam. "I've got no idea what's going on, but it's something Bobby knew about."

"What do you mean you don't know? Come on you were outside the door the entire time, weren't you listening?"

Dean just shrugged and picked up another beer. "Yeah well I couldn't make any sense out of what I heard so I guess you were right to begin with. We're waiting on Bobby."

Bobby listed to her story then leaned back in his chair and sighed. Closing his eyes he tried to focus on what she's told him. He had to agree that something seemed to be trailing her; he just prayed it wasn't what he thought it was.

When he opened his eyes he was surprised to see watery gray eyes focused on him.

"I don't want to die." She tried to smile and shrug. "I'm not going out the way the rest of the women in my family have. I've got too much more ahead of me."

Bobby moved from the chair to sit next to her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "Baby I'm not gonna let you go without a fight, but I need you to trust me."

He felt her nod against his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok then, so we go forward from here. And it starts with me going downstairs and telling those boys about you."

He wasn't surprised to come downstairs to find both Sam and Dean sitting at the kitchen table looking at him expectantly. Waving a hand in their direction he headed for the refrigerator and grabbed a beer, but changed his mind half way. A story like this was better told with alcohol and right now the harder the liquor the better.

"Alright, I expect you boys want some answers and I'll give you all I know, but I need your help to keep that woman alive."

Sam and Dean traded looks and then Dean nodded. Sam knew he could never deny Bobby anything, so why try.

"Alright, we'll help, but we need to know it all Bobby, you can't expect us to go in blind."

Bobby sat at the table and poured himself a whiskey and sat back. "Fair enough, I'm sure you boys have heard of Jack the Ripper…well that was he was no myth and nothing he did was exaggerated. The man was real and that lady up there is the door to his return."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks and shrugged. They knew the stories and that he'd escaped, never being caught and assumed to have died, so how this woman 100 years later could assist with his return would prove interesting.

"Alright, I can see you too have your doubts. This all started with your father, in New Orleans…I think it was the early nineties…."

New Orleans, 1993

"Why are we meeting with this man? You are the one who told me I have nothing to fear, right?"

Martha rubbed her forehead and reached deep for patience. It seemed that ever since Alex had turned thirteen she thought she knew everything and this fight for calm was an everyday occurrence.

Feeling her patience return she kept her voice calm. "That's right dear, we have nothing to fear from the man in black, but there are other things, more important things you need to learn about. I've asked this man to come and speak with you because he is considered an expert in his field."

She heard Alex snort from across the room but didn't reprimand her. The girl was having a hard time…and Martha's job at this point was to help her understand about her family and survive the curse.

When the door bell rang, Martha sighed in relief and waved at hand at her granddaughter to get the door. The man on the other side would be able to help them, because if he couldn't all hope was lost.

Alex mumbled under her breath as she headed for the door, jerking it open, her negative attitude clearly displayed. "So, you are the guy who is going to solve all our problems."

Bobby sighed and rubbed his face. John had warned him that the person he was here to help might not be receptive, but this was just crazy. "Yeah I'm the help, who are you."

"Alexandria, my grandmother is the one you want. Come on follow me."

The young girl in front of him already had eyes older than they should be for someone only thirteen. She reminded him of someone else that was too young and trying to fill the shoes of an adult. Sighing he followed her through the house and into the sitting room where an older woman sat smiling.

"Welcome Mr. Singer, I apologize for anything my granddaughter might have done or said. She's a little too hard headed for her own good."

Alex started to speak only to have her Grand wave her hand. "Enough Alex you should listen and not speak from this point on. In fact why don't you just go to your room and I'll call you down later. Mr. Singer…"

"Bobby."

"Bobby, well you should understand that Alex has had a hard time since her parents death, and well now that she's become a teenager, she knows everything and won't listen."

Bobby nodded, "understood ma'am, why don't we just get to the point."

"Alright then, I'm sure you've heard of Jack the Ripper, the terror of White Chapel…oh somewhere around 1888. Well this family is the direct descendents of those not destroyed by the Ripper."

Bobby shifted on the couch but remained silent. John had warned him that this one might be a little strange, but like most things strange, he was more than interested.

Martha shook her head, "I can see you you're a little confused. To be honest I was as well when I first heard the story. As you may know from history, Mary Kelly was the final Ripper victim and that after the murder, he disappeared. What no one outside of this family knows is that Mary Kelly really didn't die as the last Ripper victim.

Frank Abberline, the policeman investigating the Ripper murders, fell in love with her and made sure she escaped London and another woman died in her place. Three years later Frank faked his death and went to Ireland. There he met up with Mary and they made their way to New Orleans, changing their last name to Mason along the way.

The point of all this is that no daughter that can trace their line to Frank and Mary ever lives beyond their thirtieth birthday. I'm hoping you can stop that trait with my granddaughter. Take her; train her in the way of a hunter so she's not vulnerable."

Bobby rubbed his face and sighed. "Does she even know?"

Martha shook her head, "About the curse? No she doesn't. I was waiting until she was a little older so she'd understand. Please go easy on her because she has no idea and well I'm telling you to take her. Today, don't delay. She's strong, she can do this."

"If I do this she can never see you again…it's just too dangerous…"

The old woman closed her eyes and then opened them to meet Bobby's. "I'm aware of that, but she's all that matters. Do what you must".

"She's not gonna like this."

"Yes I know, but, in time she'll recover. Maybe even someday she'll forgive me."

"Well obviously she knows now."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah she's known for a long time now, I just hated that she couldn't see her grandmother before she died, but at the time I had no idea what we were dealing with."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks, "and now you do?"

"Not really but I'm sure that keeping her alive past Halloween night is the key. Understand; if she dies on Halloween, we are gonna have a whole new level of spirit to deal with."

"Great, then let's get hunting." Dean pushed up from the table a wicked smile on his face. "I never could resist a good challenge."

"Not so fast, we need to do some research to see if we can find a way to kill this thing. Come on Sam, I need some help."

Dean watched them walk past him, "hey what about me?"

Sam laughed, "why don't you go find a drink, and try not to get into trouble."

5 days before Halloween

"Ok so do you two want to tell me again why we are heading out on a hunt that has nothing to do with my little problem?"

She watched as the two men in the front seat exchanged looks. They weren't going to tell her the truth no matter what she said or did. Damn frustrating. Both they and Bobby had become silent on the issue but all three would cast strange looks her way. Yeah nothing like knowing you were going to die to dull a party.

"Fine then, I'll take a nap and you can wake me when we get where we're going." Closing her eyes the she really hadn't mean to fall asleep but the radio mixed with the road noise quickly knocked her out.

Sam spun around in the seat to make sure Al was really asleep and then faced forward. "Dean, this isn't a great idea I just want to say that. I can't believe you and Bobby are going to use her as bait."

"Yeah I know and she's probably gonna be pissed, but what option do we have. We need to find out more about whatever it is after her and if we don't hunt, then we know only what the books say."

Tapping his fingers on the wheel Dean tried to keep his eyes focused on the road, but found this eyes shifting back to the rearview mirror to grab a glance at their passenger.

The last few days he'd found himself glancing her way more than he'd have liked. He was supposed to not care about her. I mean he should still be mad about her putting a gun to Sam's head, but damn if she didn't interest him.

"Uh Dean, you going to drive or do you want me to?"

"What? Sam I'm driving, so what's the problem."

He heard Sam's chuckle and knew he'd been caught looking in the mirror. Shaking his head he glared over at his brother. "Not one word Sam, I mean it."

"Yeah I'd hate to point out that you've not stopped glancing in the mirror since we left Bobby's, man I thought you hated her."

"I don't hate her, I just don't trust her. Look just keep your eyes open for a dinner, I'd like to eat before we do this."

Sam smirked and turned his head away from his brother. Yep, this was going to be an interesting hunt.

Once they were seated in the dinner, Sam watched with great amusement as Dean and Al circled each other like wary animals. Dean liked to be in charge and Al had been in charge of her life for a long time now. Turning his head to smile he signaled the waitress they were ready to order.

Clearing his throat he cast a glance at the woman beside him, the one currently trying to stare down his brother, definitely time to change the game plan.

"So uh Al, how is it you got that nickname instead of just going by your real name."

Frowning Al pulled her eyes way from Dean with some reluctance. God the man made her skin itch. "Uh, it was Bobby's idea. He thought if people only heard of Al Mason they would always assume they were looking for a man. It's allowed me to avoid other hunters as well as any cops that might be looking for me."

"Good idea, I had heard of you…well the male you. You've done some impressive jobs."

"So how is it exactly that you always seem to know where the spirits are, seems kind of odd to me that a hunter is always that lucky." Dean kept a neutral expression but inside was cheering when he saw her eyes narrow as she glared at him. She was more fun to jerk around than Sam.

"Uh, Dean I don't think…"

"It's ok Sam. I'm not going to say anything except maybe I'm exceptionally lucky. However I think I'll hit the ladies room and meet you guys at the car. Thanks for the coffee Sam."

Sam watched her leave and then turned on Dean, "what the hell did you do that for?"

Groaning he could only shake his head, "I don't know I was just trying to make conversation."

"Yeah right Dean. Look if you have that big of problem with her, why are we helping her?"

"Bobby asked. Now come on we need to collect the gear and get started. I would like to be in bed before dawn for a change."

As they stood behind the Impala gathering what they would need, Sam sighed loudly as he looked at the house they were about to enter.

"I really hate Halloween. I mean it seems like every normal spirit becomes super charged or something."

Al grabbed her weapons and went to stand beside Sam. "Yeah I know what you mean, here we are going after a spirit that in life murdered her husband and then killed herself. Easy enough right…oh no, never easy. Our luck she'll be some super spirit possessed by a demon or something."

"Alright girls stop complaining and let's get this done. Sam, you and Alex take upstairs and I'll handle downstairs. Did you find out where the bones were?"

Sam started up the walk, "no nothing. I think there still in the house, which would explain why no one and I mean no one has been able to live there or tear it down since the murders in the late 60s. Probably the basement or maybe the attic, either way this should be quick."

Al chuckled behind Sam and patted his back. "Oh so he says now."

She paused at the top of the stairs reaching out to feel what no one could see. The spirit was here, somewhere on this floor and she was pissed. The fact she could feel the spirit so clearly indicated no possession, so this was a straight forward haunting, it was kind of a relief actually.

Creeping further down the hallway she kept part of her focus on where she thought Sam was and the other on what she was feeling. The spirit was full of hatred, toward the living, but men especially and now she was extremely angry that two men were traipsing through her house, searching for something.

Turning into the last bedroom she felt the ice cold rush of air as the spirit passed her and headed toward the bedroom she'd last heard Sam in. The intent was clear; she was going to kill Sam.

Rushing down the hallway she didn't waste time calling to Sam, instead she screamed for Dean to hurry up and burst into the room where Sam was. When the door crashed against the wall the noise caused Sam to turn and that turn saved his life from the first swipe of the knife.

"Sam get down." Alex ran across the room and tackled the bigger man knocking him to the ground and taking the next knife strike down her back. Grunting she rolled off him and screamed again, "damn it Dean get moving or your brother is about to be a pin cushion."

Pushing to her feet she put herself between Sam and the spirit, this time her focus was on the wavering figure in front of her. "You don't want to do this; they've caused you no harm."

She knew Sam was confused behind her and that she'd be the only one to hear the response, it didn't matter though, because she'd just bought Dean enough time. In a flash of bright light the spirit disappeared and she felt her knees weaken. "Wow, next time I need Dean to move I'll just let him know you are being threatened."

Sam reached down and pulled her back to her feet. "Yeah well he tends to get a little protective." Laughing he brushed the cobwebs from her hair, "but you knew that already."

Blowing out a breath, "oh yeah, nothing like a pistol held to your head to understand family dynamics. Ready?"

They could hear Dean coming up the stairs and Sam grabbed her arm before she could move. "You gonna tell me what that was all about."

Alex glanced and the door and shook her head, "maybe later. Let's not give your brother any other reason to hate me."

"Sammy you okay?"

"Yeah thanks to Al, she knocked me off my feet and kept me from getting slashed. She's pretty handy to have around."

Dean gave her a look and grunted, "yeah if you say so. Let's get out of here; we still have a two hour drive."

Growling she bent down and picked up her weapon, her voice doing a strange falsetto imitation of Dean. "Oh Alex, you did a great job. Thank you ever so much for saving my brother. Oh no you're welcome Dean…it was my pleasure."

Sam laughed, "don't take it personal, he's just not into chick flick moments."

Alex snorted, "yeah well when saying thank you does not constitute a chick flick moment."

On the drive back to Bobby's the silence in the car was deafening. No talking, no radio, just overwhelming silence filling the void.

When they had all gotten in Alex had closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Her back was killing her but there wasn't a chance in hell she'd ever admit to being hurt in front of Dean. Who needed the macho ' See I told you this is why women shouldn't be hunters' comment.

She hadn't even been aware of falling asleep until she felt a warm hand on her knee. "Hey Al, we're here. Wouldn't you rather sleep in a bed?"

Forcing her eyes open she met Sam's warm hazel ones. "Yeah actually I would, just give me a minute to convince my body to move."

She watched as Sam turned and left the car leaving her alone for one blessed moment. Forcing her back off the seat she winced when she felt her clothing try to stay with the seat. Blood was a bitch when it dried. Growling she felt warm trickles slowly creep down her spine. She could only hope it didn't need stitches and that she could get back and clean up Dean's seat before he saw it. She'd shut the door too hard for his liking and he nearly threw a fit, Lord only knew what he'd do if he found blood on his precious baby.

Opening the door she got out and grabbed her bag swinging it over her injured back, grunting as it collided with the open wound. But it was better to suck up the pain than deal with questions. Passing them she headed into the kitchen grabbed and bottle of whiskey and headed upstairs to her room.

Dean watched her walk past him, the smell of perfume, leather and gun oil following her; along with another smell that was familiar he just couldn't put his finger on it. He hadn't realized he'd been watching her all the way up the stairs until Sam stepped into his field of vision.

"Have you heard a word I said?"

Dean gave him a confused look and sighed, "yeah of course I have. Uh, what was the question again?"

Sam shook her head, "what is it about her that makes you suddenly go stupid. Honestly Dean, she covered my ass tonight and she's not asked us for anything. So want to explain why you watch her like an axe murder or a cheeseburger depending on the moment?"

Dean opened and closed to his mouth, not sure exactly why he was watching her. He knew the trust issue was only going to go so far with Sam, and he sure wasn't about to tell him he was attracted to her, oh no that was not happening. Instead he went on the defensive. "Look, can you go back out to the car, I think I left the knife in front seat."

Sam threw his hands up in defeat, "fine you don't want to talk I'll go get the knife."

Stomping out the front door he tried not to slam it, even if his frustration level was high. Dean had always been difficult, but lately…yeah well he would ride with someone else if he could. Opening the Impala's door he saw the knife exactly where Dean had said it would be. How did both of them get out without grabbing it?

Shaking his head he bent lower to grab it when something made him turn his head toward the back seat. Something didn't seem right. Closing the front door he walked around the car and opened the driver's side passenger door. The coopery smell hit him immediately and it didn't take long to figure out the dark stain on the back seat was dried blood.

Reaching out he ran his finger down the stain. Most of it flecked off into rust like flakes, but the tinge of damp rust stain had him looking back at the house. To have bled this much, she had to have been hurt and she didn't even bother to tell them. She was turning out to be worse than Dean.

Sam shut the door and slowly started back to toward the house trying to figure out exactly how he was going to convince her to let him take a look at her back.

Wincing she glanced down at the torn leather. Guess the good news was it wasn't one of her favorites. She'd have to take that in and get it repaired. Walking into the bathroom she flipped on the light and turned her back to the mirror and tried to twist around to see the damage.

The tank top she had on was currently stuck to her back and there was no chance of getting it off unless she got it wet. Damn, she hated taking a shower in her clothes, but it had to come off. Reaching over she turned on the shower and picked up the whiskey bottle taking a large drink.

Downstairs she heard the front door slam and could only assume that Dean and Sam were having issues. It was times like this she was glad not to have any family.

As steam filled the small bathroom she took another drink and tried not to think about how close Halloween was. Everything depended on them finding what was after her and destroying it, before midnight or she would end up bringing back the worst possible evil next to Satan. Great no pressure there.

Sam tossed the knife on the table and kept walking toward the kitchen. Based off the scrapping sounds he could only assume that Dean had gotten up to follow him, but right now he had other priorities.

"Ok Sam, I get you are in one of your pissy moods but don't take it out on me."

Closing his eyes he pushed away the frustration and he grabbed a beer from the fridge. He needed Dean to go back into the other room if he had any hopes of getting what needed.

"Dean I don't want to fight. I think we're both tired so can we just call this one a draw?"

Turning he saw Dean frown but then nod. "Yeah we can. I'm going to chill on the couch for a while. I'll try to not wake you when I come up."

Sam waited until he heard the sound of the television before he released the breath he'd been holding. Moving quickly he grabbed a couple of wet rags and snuck out the back door and around the house to the Impala. First priority was getting rid of the blood. There had to be a reason she was so set on them not knowing she was hurt, far be it from him to let her secret get back to Dean. Plus there was no way he wanted to listen to the whining that would accompany blood being found on the seat.

With his first mission accomplished without incident, grabbing the first aid kit and heading upstairs seemed an easy task. A task made all the easier by Dean being sound asleep on the couch.

Sam chuckled, who would have thought that for once a Winchester would have good luck. Facing the closed door he lifted his hand to knock and hoped that his luck would continue to hold.

She had the wet shirt half way off when a soft knock sounded at the door. Wincing she finished pulling it off and stood for a moment staring at the door. Wondering if she was hearing things or if someone was actually there? When the knock came again she groaned and grabbed the towel holding it up in front of her.

Cracking the door open just enough to see who was there, she was shocked to find Sam patiently waiting. "Sam? I thought you'd been in bed by now, what's up?"

He held up the first aid kit and shrugged, "I thought you might need some help."

"Wait how did you…oh never mind. Better you than him. Come on in just give me a second before you open the door." Closing it she rushed back into the bathroom and slipped into a pair of sweats. Better to get this over with and then get some rest.

She heard the door open and wrapped the towel back around her upper body and opened the bathroom door. "Ok, so how'd you know?"

"Didn't at first, and probably never would have except I had to go back out to the Impala for something and noticed blood on the seat." Sam finished laying the kit out on the table next to the bed, "so why didn't you say something?"

Giving a snort she dropped face down on the bed. "Yeah right, I can just see me saying 'gee boys I'm hurt would one of you mind helping me'. Your brother would have rushed to rub salt in the wound before he treated it and well, until I got up here, I wasn't sure how bad it was."

Turning her head she gave him a smile and glanced at the articles on the table, "so we gonna do this what?"

Sam chuckled and picked up the antiseptic wipes. Working silently he decided to play a hunch. "You know Al, Dean isn't as bad as you make him out to be, I don't think he hates you."

"Sure Sam, can we just drop the topic of your brother." Al closed her eyes and tried not wince every time he wiped across the cut with alcohol.

Sam gave a shrug and changed topics. "So how exactly were you going to handle this if you didn't tell someone?"

"The same way I always do. Hope it stops bleeding and take a couple of days off. Why?"

"Just asking, I always wondered how hunters on their own took care of things. I mean Dean could be bleeding to death before he would say something, seems you are the same way."

"Great now you are comparing me to your brother. Nice way to endear yourself to me Sam."

She heard him sigh, "that's not what I meant and you know it. I'm here helping you aren't I?"

She suddenly felt bad for giving him a hard time; after all he was the nicer of the two brothers. "I'm sorry Sam I know you are just trying to help and you're right. Both of you are sticking your necks out for me I should try and show a little more understanding."

"Yeah and Dean will suddenly stop liking burgers. Don't worry Al; I understand how you feel and its ok."

He finished putting the last of the bandages on her back and gave her leg a slap. "Ok all taken care of. Just try and take it a little easy…yeah I know easier said than done with Halloween so close."

Turning her head she watched him gather everything up and just before he stepped away she reached for his arm. "Thank you Sam, I have to admit it's kind of nice to have someone else watching my back."

He gave her a smile and nodded. "I need to get this back before Dean wakes up. He sees me with a first aid kit and I'll never hear the end of it."

Al watched him leave and smiled. She hadn't been lying, to finally have another person to trust, even for a short while was a welcome relief, especially now. Sighing she closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

4 days before Halloween

When she came downstairs the next morning Sam was sitting at the table and waved his hand in the direction of the coffee pot. He knew better than to talk before any of them had their first cup of coffee.

Alex finished half the cup before she leaned back in the chair and looked at Sam, "so did Bobby get back?"

"Yeah sometime this morning I think. I heard him and Dean talking and Bobby said he'd grab some sleep then get back with us." Sam tapped his fingers on the table and cast a quick glance at the door before continuing.

"So how are you feeling this morning?"

She shot a quick look at the door and seeing no one approaching smiled, "good and I really thank you for last night. I know it wasn't on your list of things to do."

Outside the door Dean leaned against the wall and listened. Apparently his little brother had been up to something last night. Lately it seemed like he was eavesdropping more and more just to find out what was going on.

"Not a big deal. Honestly I did it for two reasons; the first being my desire not to hear Dean whine about his precious seats being trashed and the second reason is that I owed you for what you did."

Al glanced back at the door before she answered. Honestly she felt like someone was there just out of sight… "Sam I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done, I'm just glad that I could help."

"So how long have you been able to do that?"

Al picked up her coffee cup and moved for another refill casting an innocent glance over her shoulder, "do what? Fight evil spirits?"

Sam lifted a brow and stared at her. He'd learned long ago when dealing with stubborn people that silence worked better than cajoling.

Alex sighed and realized this was a fight she wouldn't win. "I've been able to see them and sometimes communicate with them since I was about twelve. Runs in the family and we've all been able to do it with varying degrees. Apparently I'm the strongest in the family since my great-grandfather. It's been a huge help as a hunter, except in finding the thing hunting me."

"Huh, so you mean you can't sense or see the one that's hunting you?"

She gave a shrug, "nope and I've really tried trust me." Reaching across the table she grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. "You can't tell Dean, promise me."

Sam grimaced, "how can you ask that? He's my brother and he should know. It could be a huge help. I mean all this could be…"

"Just stop Sam. We both know your brother wouldn't care. From what I've seen of your brother, he'd probably feed me to what's hunting me if it wasn't for Bobby." Standing she turned her back on Sam and moved to look out the window and watch the sun come up wondering just how many more of these she'd see.

Dean frowned and was trying to figure out exactly where Sam had been going with his comment when a hard shove to his back caused him to almost bang into the wall. Spinning he found Bobby with his arms crossed and a fierce look on his face.

"Had I known you'd turned into an eavesdropping old woman, I'd deal with this myself."

"Oh come on Bobby. Suddenly everyone around here seems to have secrets and I'm the last to know. You knew what she could do yet you didn't say anything."

"Yep and you ain't saying anything either, especially with the way you're acting right now. She has never opened up to anyone and the fact she trust Sam says something. So keep your pie hole shut and let's get some coffee."

Dean shook his head in frustration. Sam and Bobby had a friendship with Al that he wasn't going to be included in. Well the only way to win in this case was to force them to let him join.

Following Bobby they both made enough noise that the kitchen residents would hear them coming. Entering the room he gave his trademark grin. "Huh, guess we're running late, what're you ladies talking about?"

Sam snorted and Al rolled her eyes and grabbed a cup filling it with coffee before passing it to Bobby as she passed him on her way out. It wasn't that she was running away, she just didn't feel like fighting with Dean first thing this morning.

"I'll see you guys later. Bobby I'm anxious to hear what you found out, maybe we could talk later."

Dean stepped in front of her and smiled, "so no good bye for me? Come on Alex, the least you could do is hand me a cup of coffee."

When Dean called her Alex her eyebrow had lifted, then he had accused her of not doing something he thought she should do…well yeah that really ticked her off.

Smiling sweetly she stepped back from him and toward the counter. She heard Bobby mumble something under his breath about how 'they were in trouble now' but refrained from looking at him.

Grabbing the cup she held it out. "Why Dean, you have mistaken me for one of those silly girls you seem to favor who fall at your feet."

Behind her she heard Sam choke off a laugh, but continued in the same syrupy sweet tone. "Sorry, but I don't find you the least bit interesting."

Slamming the cup down in his hand she brushed past him and headed for the door, trying to suppress her smile at having gotten the better of the great Dean Winchester.

Sam snorted and leaned back in his chair. "Nice job Dean. Honestly what is it between the two of you?"

"Yeah I'd like to hear that myself." Bobby's gruff voice joined the 'bash Dean' party and all he could do was roll his eyes.

"Look, I was trying to be nice here, you know play friendly. She was the one who all but threw the coffee at me."

"Way I see it, you're lucky you're not wearing it. Look Dean, did you ever consider just talking to her?"

"I thought that was what I was doing was talking? Look I'm trying here; maybe she's just a little touchy."

Sam shook his head, "do you think she might have a reason to be? Honestly Dean just go and find her. Normally you don't have a problem charming women, why not use some of that famous charm now?"

Dean cast a glance in Bobby's direction, but quickly saw that he'd find no help on that front. Setting down his coffee he sighed. "Fine I'll go, but if she hurts me it's your fault Sam."

Bobby watched Dean stalk from the kitchen and laughed, "you do realize she honestly might hurt him."

"Yep and it might do Dean some good to be humbled, besides we honestly need to get together on this if we have any hope of finding this thing before it finds her."

Leaning back against the car she let the music calm her and the morning sun warm her face. Closing her eyes she breathed in the smell of autumn and the chilly morning air. There had been a time in her life when fall had been her favorite time of the year, the leaves exploding into color, the cooler days and the excitement of waiting for Halloween.

She shivered at the thought of Halloween. Until just a few years ago it had been a holiday she'd enjoyed, guess something wanting you dead tended to change your perspective. Letting a sigh escape she felt her shoulders sag.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

She clenched the fender hard to stop the flinch that threatened to escape. She had no idea how he'd snuck up on her, she must have been more relaxed than she thought. Keeping her eyes closed she sighed with feigned boredom. "You couldn't afford me Dean."

She felt the air move around her and then something settled beside her. She could almost feel the heat from his body and internally began to pray for strength. "Ok, so what do you want now? Or is this just another of your tactics to make me crazy."

"Look I'm here trying to have a friendly conversation. But hey if you and my brother have something going on, far be it from me to get between you."

Dean grimaced and waited for the fall out. He just couldn't seem to help himself when it came to her; he could insult her even when he wasn't trying. So now he found himself watching as her eyelashes slowly rose and she stared into the sun for a moment before turning to face him.

Her normally blue-gray eyes had turned into gray chips of ice, the anger rolling off her in waves. But nothing compared to the icy cold voice she was now using.

"Dean I know you don't like me and I know for a fact you'd just as soon see me fed to whatever is after me than help. But you need to be clear about one thing; there is nothing going on between me and your brother beyond the fact he is nice."

Dean pushed off the car and walked around to face her, "yeah then why were the two of you whispering like little girls in the kitchen this morning. He watched her face pale and knew he'd hit home. "I mean something has to be going on between you two, right?"

Giving up her relaxed pose she stood toe to toe with him, her head cocked back slightly to meet his eyes. "Look, let's stop this thing after me and if you still hold a grudge after that, I'll let you shoot me like you wanted to the first time we met, because honestly, I don't trust you to guard my back."

Dean glared down at her and leaned it, "I only wanted to shoot you because you were about to shoot Sam. If you don't think I would have your back why are you here then?"

Al put a hand on his chest and pushed, "because Bobby told me to stay, he seems to have some hair brain idea you'd help. So maybe I should ask you why you are still here."

Dean weighed the emotions churning through him. On one hand he wanted to turn and walk away. Tell Sam to pack his bags and get back on the road. Alex was infuriating and sexy as hell. But on the other…the idea flew through his head in an instant and without giving it too much thought, took his life in his own hands and did something guaranteed to get him shot.

Al was glaring at him waiting for whatever response he was about to give, but in no way was she prepared for Dean's hands moving to cup her head and his mouth covering hers.

Dean felt her body tense and for a brief moment he was pretty sure the punch was coming, but then he felt her slowly relax and begin to respond to the kiss. He had no idea what the hell they were doing, but it felt too good to question it right now.

"Well do you think they've killed each other yet?"

Sam shrugged and got out of the chair. "Who knows, but they've both been out there for a while maybe it's time I go break up the fight. Besides we need to sit down and discuss what you found out."

"Right, just make sure they don't drip any blood on my floor. Id' hate for it to ruin my décor."

Sam chuckled and kept silent about his thoughts on Bobby's decorating ideas. In his opinion a little blood would never be noticed anyway.

Pausing outside the door he could hear a radio playing out need the garage and decided to head that way first. The fact he couldn't hear any screaming was a positive sign, or at least that was his hope. However the last thing he expected to see when he rounded the corner was his brothers hands tangled in Alex's hair as he kissed her.

"Well that isn't what I expected." Backing up he paused and took a deep breath and let the grin spread across his face. He knew that Dean had been complaining too much and this just proved it.

As much as he would have enjoyed embarrassing his brother, he knew that Al would take it harder if he did that, so he opted for the safe decision and called out Al's and Dean's name.

Like a dream Al heard someone calling her and Dean and to be honest as far as dreams went, this wasn't too bad. But when Dean lifted his head she slowly opened her eyes to meet glassy green ones. No dream, but real life in the form of Sam who was about to make an appearance.

Dean stared down into Alex's eyes that had taken on a gun metal blue color, her lips swollen from their kiss. He really hated to let her go, because he knew the minute he did the spell would be broken and she'd probably hit him.

Pulling his hands free of her hair, he let his fingers trace along her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips. Giving her a sad smile he called out to Sam and watched with regret as she put about two feet between them. Damn Sam and his timing.

Sam choked back a smile when he saw that there was now two feet between them and while Dean was still looking at Al, she wouldn't raise her head. Leaning against the side of the car he gave them both a grin. "Good to see you both standing. Bobby and I were taking bets you'd have killed each other by now."

Dean glared at him a moment and shrugged, "come on Sammy give me some credit here. I can be charming when I want to be."

Sam didn't miss Al's head jerking up to stare at Dean before she turned away from them both. "Well I'm heading in, need more coffee, you and Dean can keep each other company."

Sam and Dean watched Al walk quickly back toward the house. Sam turned to look back at his brother, "did I miss something? She doesn't seem too happy with you."

Dean frowned, "you didn't miss anything but you're right, she doesn't seem too happy and here I'd thought progress had been made." Shaking his head he reached in and turned off the key in the car. "Come on, I'm sure Bobby is waiting for us.

Sam let Dean lead the way so he wouldn't see the grin on his face. He'd known there was something between Al and Dean, but after that kiss, this was about to get very interesting.

Al kept her attention firmly on the table in front of her. She could feel the three men staring at her but she wasn't going to rise to the bait. They were all three searching for something in her eyes, Bobby was looking for understanding of the situation, Sam was looking for anything that would show she was okay and Dean…well who really knew what he was looking for.

Bobby had told them that the only way to kill what was after her was to draw it out and that only a direct descendent could kill it. Wow didn't that just liven up her day. The thing she was running from was the thing she had to kill and if she failed it got her instead. Yet instead of focusing on the plan Bobby was talking about her mind was stuck on the kiss.

Did it honestly mean anything or was this just another way for Dean to charm his way closer to her? After all didn't he say he could be charming when he wanted? God how she didn't want to be another notch on Dean's belt, especially after all she'd heard about him in the past.

Sighing she picked up her drink and swallowed it. It had to be five o'clock somewhere and right now she needed a little liquid courage. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she actually jumped when Bobby laid his hand on her arm.

"So Al, what do you think? You think the plan could work?"

She stared at Bobby for a moment and tried to recall what he'd been saying and was coming up with a blank, so she did the next best thing and bluffed. "Sure, it could work, when do we start?"

"Well I found some positive signs and I think if you head out tonight we should…"

"No, you can't let her do this Bobby, this is just crazy." Dean's voice held that tone that normally no one would cross.

"Enough Dean, my life, my decision and I'm going. Now you and your brother can tag along if you want, but if there is any chance to stop this, I'm taking it."

Pushing to her feet she turned for the door when she felt a hand on her arm. Turning she saw it was only Sam. He gave her a smile and a shrug. "I'm with you Al, just let me get my stuff."

She gave a glance past Sam to Dean who was giving her one of his 'if looks could kill', as if it were her fault Sam wanted to go.

Smiling she shrugged. "His choice." Turning she left Bobby and Dean sitting at the table and began her mental packing list as she headed up the stairs.

After a brief fight between Al and Dean about whose car to take, everything and everyone was now settled into the Impala. Since winning the argument Dean had been quiet and Al was content to let the silence prevail. Even with Sam attempting some form of conversation both stayed silent, so after his third attempt with no response from either of them, he stopped and stared out the window.

The set up was simple, head into the forest where satanic rituals had been taking place; let Al walk into what they all presumed to be a trap and they'd come running to save the day. Sounded easy right? Sam shifted in the seat and glanced at the side mirror suddenly seeing the same doubt reflect in Al's face as she stared out the window as well. He hated this idea, but they had one final chance and he knew they couldn't afford to pass it up.

Al was silent as she picked up the weapons she wanted to carry and moved off to stand by herself for a moment. It had always been her routine to center herself before a hunt. Reaching out to try and feel her quarry, but tonight all she could feel was a black hole. That was a good indication that what they were after was out there waiting.

Alexandra, come to me. Come and meet your destiny.

She shivered as the voice echoed inside her head and when Sam touched her arm she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. The last time she could remember being this scared was her first hunt, and that had been many years ago.

"You okay Al?"

Forcing her lips into something that resembled a smiled she nodded, still not trusting herself to speak.

"Look, you know Dean and I are right behind you, it's gonna be ok. We're going to find this thing and stop it. Just remember not to get too far out of our sight."

She nodded again and cleared her throat, "no problem Sam, I'll make sure you are close enough to help."

Sam glanced over at Dean who was still bent over in the trunk of the Impala and then turned back to Al. "Look I know you and Dean don't exactly get along, but just remember, no matter what he says, he means well."

She gave a brief laugh, "yeah I'm sure he does. Rumor has it when all else fails he uses his 'charm' to make women see things his way."

Sam frowned at Al's tone. She was obviously upset over something and apparently the kiss had not gone over as intended. Sam knew his brother too well and while Dean would flirt with anything in a skirt, he'd never have kissed her unless he was really interested.

"Uh look Al, I think there might be some kind of…."

"Alright let's get going." Dean stopped beside Sam and glared at Al. She'd been ignoring him the entire trip and he was going to have his say before they headed out into the woods.

Dean let Sam walk off a little before he grabbed Alex's arm and stopped her from following. "Look, you know this is a really bad idea. Why don't you let Sam and me take care of this?"

Al snorted and pulled her arm free. "You know what Dean; I've been taking care of myself for a long time so why don't you and Sam stay here and I go take care of it."

"Damn it Alex, can't you stop being stubborn for one minute and see that I don't want you hurt?

"Ha, this coming from a man who not more than two days ago wanted to put a bullet through my head. Uh huh, excuse me for doubting your sincerity."

Dean shoved his hand through his hair and tried to calm his anger. He had honestly thought that after this morning she would have been willing to listen but apparently he'd been wrong. Sighing he tried one more time, going for the guilt hard.

"Look, if you won't do this for me, consider Bobby, I mean do you have any idea how he'd feel if you were hurt?"

Al growled and gave Dean's chest a hard poke. "Don't try that stupid guilt trip on me Dean Winchester. Bobby knows the score better than anyone and if he thinks this is a good shot, then I'm taking the risk. Oh and by the way, you better not try your own brand of charm again." When she saw the shock on his face she grinned, "oh yeah that whole event this morning I figured it out. You're good, but I'm older and wiser. Save that trick for the children."

Spinning on her heel she jogged over to Sam leaving Dean to follow if he wanted. Shaking his head he followed slowly and silently hoped that everything would work out okay.

When Al walked up beside him, Sam shook his head, "he does mean well Al, believe me, Dean doesn't want you hurt, and that is the honest truth."

"Right Sam and he just grabbed me and kissed me this morning for no other reason than he felt like it."

It was all he could do not to laugh as he watched Al slap a hand over her mouth and glare at him. "You did not just hear me say that. Time to go and we will never speak of this again."

When he saw Al had stepped into the woods Sam let the laugh escape. She and Dean were so much alike it really was scary.

"What's so funny Sam?"

"Oh nothing, just a comment Al made about you. I get the feeling that she isn't happy with you."

Dean shifted the shotgun and grunted, "yeah well she can join the other ladies out there who are not happy with me. Come on before she gets too far out of our sight." Dean stopped and gazed at the woods, "uh Sam, where is Alex?"

Come to me child, I've waited so long and we are so close to our time.

The voice drew her forward, her body feeling out of her control. The voice was pulling her deeper into the forest, and further way from Dean and Sam.

So long I've waited to meet you. You are the strongest, but I'm sure they never told you that. A little further my dear and all will be revealed.

The rain had started just as they were arriving and all around her it was a soft patter of drops. The smell the decay and dampness hanging in the damp air. Shifting her weapon she tried to focus on where she stepped, yet she found that she didn't need to. Her body was moving without her even trying. Well this was not going as planned.

Suddenly the forest gave way to a clearing and she felt her body relax and she realized she was back in control. Lifting her weapon she scanned the area searching to any movement that would give away what was waiting out in the dark.

"Okay, I'm here, show yourself."

There is no need to speak aloud my child. I can hear you clearly like this. Besides, I would hate for us to be interrupted prematurely.

All right then, what do you want? Show yourself.

When the man stepped into the clearing from the woods her first thought was that it was Sam, but just as quickly she realized she was wrong. This man was dressed in a cape and wearing a top hat, similar to the ones she'd seen in photos of her great-grandfather wearing. Now she found herself face-to-face with the thing that had destroyed her entire family and she was alone with no idea where the boys were.

Ah my dear you are so much lovelier than your great-grandmother. You truly are stunning.

Okay enough flattery; get to what you actually want.

The sigh echoed through her head at the same moment the man was suddenly in front of her when he'd been across the clearing just moments ago. She still couldn't see his features, but she found herself suddenly grateful for that fact.

My dearest, you simply don't understand. I'm very pleased that you are what you are, it will make all this so much easier.

Make what easier, killing me?

Oh my dear I promise you won't be dead, at least not for long, but this might not be the time so I'll just give you a sample…

As the ice cold hands wrapped around her throat her last conscious thought was to scream.

"Alright so we took our eyes off her for what thirty seconds and she's gone?"

Dean glanced over at Sam and sighed, "yeah I know. Look there has to be something…"

When the scream carried through the trees both men's heads snapped up and faced the same direction.

"Dean that can't be good."

"Wasting breath Sammy, run."

She could feel her body growing colder, her breathing harsh as she tried to force the air in and out between the spirits clenched hands at her throat. This was not the way she expected to go out, dying alone in some forest.

Not yet my dear, I just needed you to be more receptive to my words. I must wait, no matter how tempting you are, but Halloween it must be. I will see you again and we will begin our time together. I expect you in New Orleans, you know where and if it grows close to midnight and you've not arrived, your young friends die in you place.

Where in New Orleans? She was honestly at a loss or maybe she just couldn't think with so little oxygen getting to her brain. She was trying so hard to think clearly when she was sure she heard Dean's voice.

"Get the hell away from her."

Dean didn't wait for the spirit to comply and while he knew the rock salt would have no lasting effect, he shot anyway. All he needed was that moment so the spirit would release Alex.

He felt Sam pull up beside him as they both watched the spirit drop Alex and disappear, but what pushed both men back into action was the sickening thump that accompanied her drop to the ground.

Dean dropped his weapon and ran to Alex's side gently rolling her over until she was on her back. "Sam, give me a light."

The flashlight beam suddenly appeared on Alex's face and Dean winced at the bruising around her throat. "Ouch, that's gonna hurt in the morning. Okay sweetheart time to wake up and be mad at me again."

Both of them were holding their breath as Dean lightly tapped Alex's face. When nothing happened Sam moved the flashlight around. "Check her head Dean that thump was just a little too solid to have been nothing."

Dean rolled Alex further into his lap and gently ran his hand through her hair and when it came in contact with something wet; he pulled it away and into the light to see the redness covering his hand. "Guess you were right Sammy, we need to get her out of her. Head wound coupled with the cold, not a good combination."

"Ok, I've got the weapons you want me to take her?"

Dean stood with Alex in his arms and gave Sam a strange look. "Nah, that's ok, I'm good. You drive when we get to the car. As it is we're gonna be lucky if Bobby doesn't kill us."

The trip back to the car seemed to take forever but when the Impala's chrome flashed in the flashlights beam Sam relaxed. "Dean you get in the back and let me get a blanket out of the trunk she's gonna need warming."

By the time he'd gotten the blanket, Dean had managed to get into the backseat and his arms wrapped around Alex. "Okay Dean, let me get this wrapped around you both and then I'll get us on the road. Should be about an hour."

Dean helped Sam wrap the blanket and laughed, "yeah well not the way you drive, it'll be more like two."

Once he was in the front seat Sam laughed, "got it, I'll step on it, you good back there?" He tossed his brother a look in the mirror and saw that Dean had his head bent to whisper in Alex's ear and smiled. Yeah Dean had this under control.

Bobby heard the deep purr of the Impala and glanced at the clock. They were back way too early. Moving quickly to the front door he saw Dean struggling to get something out of the back and with Sam standing beside him Bobby knew this wasn't good. "Alright anyone want to tell me what happened?"

Sam pushed into the room pulling Bobby with him as Dean walked straight to the stairs an unconscious Alex is his arms. "Well you were right about it being there waiting on her, the problem was she…well she got away from us."

Bobby tried to keep his frustration under control until he found out the entire story, but his tension was clear in his voice. "You boys were supposed to watch her."

"I know Bobby but it was like one minute she was there beside me then she suddenly was gone. We went after her but it was like she just disappeared into thin air. Until she screamed…oh hell Bobby it's not like we just let her walk off."

Bobby sighed and realized that both of them wouldn't have been able to control her. Al had always done things the way she wanted to and that this would be no different. "Okay I know you couldn't have stopped her so just tell me how bad is she?"

"Well when we found her, the spirit had her by the throat choking her, but Dean shot it and it dropped her. When she fell she hit her head and hasn't been awake yet. Dean kept talking to her, but I just don't know how serious it really is."

"Okay, well let's go see how it looks."

Sam grabbed Bobby's arm to stop him. "Uh yeah before we go up, you need to know that Dean's being a little protective right now. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but just wanted you to know."

Bobby frowned, "protective? Dean? Of someone other than you?" Shaking his head he laughed, "nah, you must have been mistaken Sam, we both know Dean is Dean and if it ain't you, he ain't worried."

Sam shrugged and followed Bobby upstairs; at least Sam had warned him. But when they finally arrived at Al's room Sam bumped into the back of Bobby who'd suddenly stopped in the doorway.

Looking over Bobby's shoulder Sam smirked and leaned against the door. Dean was sitting on the opposite side of the bed gently cleaning off the blood on Al face and neck. Even though Sam couldn't hear the words he knew Dean was keeping up a running commentary about nothing.

Sam would never tell his brother, nor would Dean admit it, but when Dean got nervous he tended to ramble.

Bobby sighed and finally drew Dean's attention. "Alright, how bad?"

Dean shook his head. "No stitches but she's gonna have a wicked bruise when she wakes up." What Dean left unsaid was "if she woke up." After keeping up a running commentary for the better of two hours he'd yet to see Alex even twitch that was beginning to worry him.

"Okay, you boys get some rest, I'll take over here." Bobby moved toward Dean only to stop short when Dean glared up at him.

"No Bobby, I'll stay. I think it would be better right now don't you?"

Bobby turned to look back at Sam who smirked, his face clearly reflecting his desire to say 'I told you so.'

"Uh, ok I'll check back in later then."

Turning he pushed Sam out the door and toward the stairs. When they were back in the kitchen he finally spoke. "Ok Sam, you want to tell me what that was all about."

Dean sighed when Bobby and Sam left and glanced back down at the woman in the bed. "Alright sweetheart, time to wake up and get all pissy at me over something I did, or didn't do."

Silently he watched her face for any sign she'd heard. Not even an eyelash twitched. Leaning back in the chair Dean put his hand over hers. Not so much for comfort, well at least that's what he told himself, but to ensure if she woke up he'd know it.

Turning in circles she frowned. Even with the low hanging fog, something seemed familiar about all this.

Walking forward she tried to search for anything that would jar her memory or at least explain where she was. She was so focused on looking that she nearly walked past the person standing next to her.

"Alexandra, I really would have thought he would be more observant."

Spinning she turned to face the voice and gasped in shock, "Grandpa?"

Before her stood a man she'd only seen if photos; Frank Mason.

"My child it's me, well not really me, but I had to speak with you."

"You? You're the man in black all the family speaks of seeing; the one who warns us when something bad is going to happen."

The man in front of her gave a sad smile. "Yes that has been my lot in the afterlife, or maybe it's just been my desire to keep my family safe. Alexandra, I've tried hard my dear to warn all the females, but I've always failed. I was pleased when your grandmother sent you away, it kept you safe."

Alex snorted and leaned against the crypt, "right I was so safe she sent me to live with what I thought was a crazy man and I learned that things that go bump in the night are real and they should be destroyed. Oh yeah that was real safe. Oh not to mention she forgot the little fact we are CURSED!"

The last was word was yelled loud enough that the word echoed back to her through the fog. This was getting just a little too strange; she really needed to wake up.

Beside her Frank laughed, "oh you are so much like Mary it's shocking, look a lot like her too. But my dear, you've outlived any female because your grandmother sent you away, she recognized that you are special. You will be the one to finish this."

Rubbing her head she vaguely wondered why it was hurting, things didn't hurt in dreams did they? "Look, I know you mean well, but I'm a little tired of hearing that I'm the one. I tried this a little while ago and it didn't go so well."

Sighing she glanced around and then turned to face him. "In fact I'm pretty sure it went more than just not well and this is why we are here talking…by the way where is here?"

She felt the gentle hand squeeze her shoulder. "Here is where it must end and I'm here to tell you how you will end it. I'm just sorry that it will cause so much pain."

Before she could wonder at the pain statement, her grandfather leaned close and whispered to her how she must end it. At the suddenly revelation she gasped and…

Sam jerked awake nearly falling out of the chair he'd been leaning back in. The sudden gasp from the woman, who for the last twenty-four hours had been unconscious, startled him more than any ghost.

Reaching out he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back down. "Easy does it Al, you've had us a little worried. Hell I just managed to run Dean out of here about thirty minutes ago."

Al blinked and tried to focus her blurry vision on the blob holding her down. She knew the voice, but just couldn't seem to focus. "Sam?"

Her throat felt like she had swallowed gravel, and her voice didn't sound much better, but Sam's chuckle suddenly made her feel so much better.

"Yeah it's me, welcome back sleeping beauty. Here let's see if you can drink a little."

Her throat hurt so badly she was thankful to let Sam lift her up and hold the water. Wow if she knew it would be this nice to be taken care of she'd have partnered up years ago.

When he finally laid her back against the pillows she found her vision had cleared and she gave him a smile. "thanks Sam, where's Bobby?"

"He took off to restock, four people were putting a dent in his food, or so he keeps complaining. Don't you want to know where Dean is?"

Alex wrinkled her nose and tried to put on a good front. "Now why would I want to know that?"

Sam's look clearly said he didn't believe her, "right, well it might interest you to know that he only left your side about an hour ago. He seems very concerned about you. Maybe it has something to do with that kiss you didn't want to talk about."

Al rolled her eyes and pushed up further in the bed, "yeah he's concerned that if I died, Bobby would kill him." She waved her hand to stop any further 'great Dean' comments. "Look I'm gonna get up get a shower and get out of here."

Sam gave her the concerned mother frown and internally she prepped herself for a battle.

"I don't think you heading out is such a great idea. I mean you've been unconscious for over a day and well maybe you should wait until Bobby gets back and Dean gets up. We really need…"

"Oh my god stop it with the mothering routine. One I've not answered to Bobby Singer since I turned eighteen and second, I never answered to your brother. I need to get out of here Sam and we can do this the easy way or I can do it the hard way. Which one is it going to be?"

The bass was pounding through the bar. The smoke so thick it had burned her eyes when she'd first entered, but now it added to the mood of the place. Dark and seedy, the exact place she'd wanted when she'd let Bobby's.

Taking another sip from her glass she let her eyes roam the room; always on guard she'd chosen the far end of the bar deep in the shadows. It also hadn't hurt that she could see the entire bar as well as the door. This is the type of place she could let her guard down, or as down as it ever got.

Shifting on the bar stool she hid a wince and signaled for another drink. Damn Dean Winchester and his protective nature and smooth style. She was frustrated not just with him, but her weakness toward him. Slapping down a hundred on the bar, she decided that drinking was better than facing down in another argument with him. Ever since that kiss she didn't trust herself to be alone with him for too long.

Tapping her fingers on the bar she let her frustration build. She was a grown woman, one who'd been on her own for a long time. The last thing she wanted or needed was a body guard. She smiled slightly as she thought about how pissed he was going to be when he found out she taken off. That would teach him a lesson.

Sighing she took another drink; maybe what she needed was a distraction, something that would make her forget about Dean. Glancing around the room, her eyes spotted something in the back playing pool that just might fit the distraction bill.

Hmm, tall, dark and handsome, just what a girl needed to distract her from tall, infuriating, sexy, over protective blondes.

Picking up her drink she slowly headed back towards the pool tables where handsome was currently standing. Licking her lips she smiled; oh yeah this was gonna be fun.

"Sam you had one job and that was to watch her and not let her leave."

"Well I'm sorry Dean, but short of tying her up, that wasn't gonna happen. Hell she got past Bobby too and I don't see you yelling at him."

Dean ran his hand through his hair and tried to think. The woman was driving him crazy. "Ok how many bars around here?"

Bobby shrugged, "I guess about three or four, shouldn't be that hard. I'll take the two to the left of the driveway, and you two can take the others. We'll call if we find her."

As they pulled out the driveway Sam frowned over at Dean, "why exactly are you upset again? I thought you'd be glad she took off so the both of you could cool off."

Dean didn't answer because for the first time ever he really didn't have one. He should be glad that she was out of the house, but when he'd gone to talk to her and she'd been gone the fear had crept up his spine slowly. Clearing his throat he tried to make his voice sound normal, and not the fear laden one he knew was just under the surface.

"Look, I'm just concerned that here we are trying to protect her and she runs off with no cover. Now how exactly are we supposed to keep her alive when she does that?"

Sam shrugged, "not sure, but I think the two of you would rather kill each other than a demon. Come on Dean, what is it with her that makes you so tense?"

If the radio had been just a little louder Sam would never have heard Dean's soft reply.

"I've no idea what it is."

It was the last bar they'd stopped at and Dean had just nodded his head and stayed seated behind the wheel. If she was in there, Sam could find her, let him know and together they'd go after her.

The minute he stepped in the door he knew this was the bar they'd find her in. What he hadn't expected was to see her leaned over a pool table with some guy helping her line up a shot. Causally walking over to the table he stood where he knew she'd see him the minute she glanced up, and damn if that look wasn't going to be just priceless.

She could feel someone watching her and it was more serious than someone just watching the game. Lifting her eyes from the overly easy shot she let them trace long legs causally crossed and up the torso leaned against the bar. She knew even before she got to his face it was Sam. Wrinkling her nose she turned her head and told the guy she was currently with she'd be back in a moment.

Grabbing her drink she walked over to the bar and mimicked Sam's current stance. "Well if it isn't the nicer of the Winchester brothers. Wait I didn't think Dean let you out by yourself."

Sam laughed and picked up his beer giving her a silent toast. "Who says I'm alone."

"Oh gees, what is it with you two? You do realize I had to sneak out like a teenager just to get away from you two and now you've followed me here." Looking back over her shoulder and then giving Sam a smug smile, "and I'm sure you and your brother are here to ruin a possibly good time too."

Sam cast a glance at the dark and brooding male and laughed, "yeah I can see that we might be. But you should know that Dean is going to be coming through that door in about thirty seconds and he's not going to like it."

Shrugging she picked up her refilled drink and turned back toward the pool table, casting a parting comment over her shoulder, "who says I care. Last time I checked, he had no hold over me."

Sam took another drink of beer and slowly began to count down in his head; yep this was going to be so much fun.

"What the hell is taking you so long?"

He looked over at this brother and smiled, "well I thought you'd get the idea when I didn't come back out. She's here and in fact." Sam paused and looked over Dean's shoulder, "she's right over there learning how to play pool."

Dean frowned, "learning to play pool? Hell she can beat me what does she have to…" his voice trailed away when he finally turned to look at the pool table and the man plastered against Alex's backside.

"Who the hell is that?"

"That would be her pool teacher."

Dean snorted, "what kind of pool is he teaching? Bend them over the table and…"

"Enough. If you don't like it, then do something about it, otherwise, please don't put visuals in my head."

"Uh yeah maybe I will." Dean paused after taking a step and looked back at Sam. "Do you think I should?"

"Do what you want Dean and deal with what happens."

Sam hid his grin behind the beer mug and was tempted to laugh; Dean had paused twice now and finally seemed to end the conversation in his head and walked over to the table.

Sam signaled the bartender for another beer and got comfortable in his seat. Who would've guessed it would take a game of pool to get Dean off his butt.

Dean paused next to a small group where he could see her and she couldn't see him. He loved to watch her, he'd never admit that to Sam but it was a very pleasurable experience. He loved women plain and simple. But with Alex, she had everything he wanted on his 'A' list. Tall, nice full hips and after holding her in his arms and the kiss he had to admit his blood was running just a little hotter when he remembered those pleasurable experiences.

It had been in that short moment in time staring down into her eyes, he'd seen them go from the normal blue-gray to the startling gun metal blue and he knew she felt it too. He'd been lowering his head, a continuation of their earlier kiss, when Sam had yelled breaking the spell. She'd pushed him away and put about two feet between them before he could recover.

She'd been quiet and that he could explain with Halloween being just a few days away, but she wouldn't even look at him. But now he finds her in the arms of some muscle bound idiot. Well that was about to change, she was gonna trade up.

He moved to the end of the pool table and waited for her to look up. When she did he smirked and gave the 'come here' motion with one of his fingers.

It took all his will power to not move when her eyebrow had shot up and she'd shrugged. Then man next to her had wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. He had to put an end to this.

Behind them someone had started the jukebox and the perfect Journey song poured out through the speakers;

If he could hold her so close in his arms again
If she could show him
The letter her heart forgot to send, why
They're livin' dreams on their own
Ooh they'll never stop running

Moving over to where she was currently standing he enjoyed the play of emotions he saw cross her face. All he had to do was get her away from the dude currently wrapped around her.

The girl can't help it, she needs more
He hasn't found what he's lookin' for
They're still standing in the rain
He can't help it and she's just that way

Stopping in front of her he gave her his best smile. "So, you just gonna stand here all night, or are you ready to get out of here?"

Al shook her head, "you are a serious pain in my ass you know that right?"

Leaning in Dean whispered in her ear, "I'd like to be a pain to other parts as well. But I promise to kiss them and make it better."

And when he calls her
She tells him that she still cares
Under the moonlight
He wonders why she can't be there...why

She felt her breath catch. She'd been telling herself that the moment they'd shared had been a fluke, nothing more than a momentary loss of sanity. But now he was standing right in front of her offering more.

"Hey babe, what's going on?"

Wrinkling her nose she suddenly remembered Bill…Mike…whatever his name was. Breaking her gaze away from Dean she turned to look at the other man. "Yeah well you see it's just not going to work out."

The guy gave her a confused look for a moment and his eyes darted between her and Dean. "You mean he shows up and suddenly you dump me?"

Alex looked over her shoulder at Dean and smirked before turning back to face what's his name. "Well you see, technically he was my first choice, so yeah have a nice night."

Turning back to face Dean she heard the other guy call her a rather unpleasant name but could only laugh. "Gee you'd have thought we were married or something."

Ooh...there's a fire in his eyes for you
(Don't you know she still cries)
Ooh...do you know she still cries for you
(Fire)
Ooh...there's a fire in his eyes for you
(Ooh...there's a fire)
Ooh...do you know she still cries for you
(Oh nothing stands between love and you

Dean leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek as he moved to whisper in her ear. "So you ready to get out of here?"

He felt her nod and reached to take her hand pulling her behind him as he headed toward a very smug looking Sam. "Not one word Sammy. Here take the keys and we'll meet you back at Bobby's."

Sam reached for the keys to Al's car and smirked. "Sure Dean, see back at the ranch." As he watched the two of them head for the door he knew he wouldn't be seeing either of them before morning.

Time grows short my dear; you must leave now…I'm waiting for you.

Her eyes popped open to a dark room that was unfamiliar and a heavy arm draped across her middle. Stifling a groan she rubbed her eyes and tried to focus her sleepy mind. She was getting real tired of everyone having conversations in her brain.

The digital clock flashed in brazen red that it was two am and her mind screamed for her to get moving. The problem was Dean, who was currently asleep beside her and any movement from her would probably bring him wide awake.

There are no worries my dear, he will sleep on. Do what you must; come to me Alexandra.

Sliding free of Dean's arm she quickly gathered her clothing and took a moment to stop by the desk and scribble a note, not only to Dean but also to Sam and Bobby. She could only hope they would understand. She knew Bobby would when he read his, but part of her doubted that Dean would ever abide by anyone's wishes.

Stepping out into the night she made two calls, first to a cab company the second to her private pilot. Sometimes being born into money had its advantages. When the pilot picked up she made it quick, she wanted him at the airport in twenty, weapons in the cabin and no flight plan. She had to be untraceable to throw them all off the trail except Bobby. She could only hope he would read her code and show up where she needed him.

Jumping into the cab she sighed and ran her hands through her tangled hair. In the front the cabbie's eyes jumped to the rear view mirror and she saw him smirk. "What you running from girl."

For a moment she met his gaze in the mirror letting her gaze freeze the smirk off his face, finally she smiled, "not from someone old man, I'm running to something. Now get going."

1 Day before Halloween

Dean felt warmth on his face and for a moment thought he might have fallen asleep on Bobby's porch. Turning from his side to his back he rubbed his face and smiled; now he remembered, definitely not at Bobby's.

Pushing up he expected to find the bathroom door closed and was surprise to find it wide open and the room empty. Glancing around his eye finally fell on the paper lying on the table.

Dean,

Sorry but had to go; my time grows short but thanks for a great distraction. Take care of Sam and especially Bobby; he's going to need you.

Alex

Dean quickly got to his feet and started to dress. He had a bad feeling about where Alex was heading to, and he could only hope they would get there in time.

Bobby silently read the note and worked to keep his face neutral. He could feel both Sam and Dean watching him closely. There was no way to explain everything in detail and the words contained in the note told him they had to go now, he only hoped the plan Alex had written would work, he really didn't want to give much thought to how she'd come up with it.

"Okay Bobby, so what do we do now? There's no way we can let her face this alone, she's gonna need back up."

Bobby rubbed his tired eyes and nodded, "you're right Sam; we're going to back her up. Dean, sorry boy but you're just gonna have to deal with flying. No way we'll make in time if we don't.

Sam shot a look at Dean who'd suddenly gone pale and seemed to be swallowing a lot. Turning back to Bobby he wondered aloud, "how are we going to get the weapons on the plane. Last time I checked the TSA didn't care much for that."

Bobby snorted and headed to the phone, "same way she did."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look as Bobby dialed the phone. "Uh Sam, flying? Dude not happy with this at all, come on what if I just take the car and…"

"No Dean, even you won't make it in enough time. Look let's just go with Bobby and whatever he has planned. Look maybe we can knock you out of something. Just remember you're doing this for Al."

Dean winced and sighed, the things he did for friends.

Halloween

When the plane landed Bobby flipped open his phone and quickly reviewed his contacts finding the one he was looking for. Hitting the number he let it ring three times and snapped the phone shut barely avoiding Sam's probing gaze.

"Ok Bobby, where to now?"

Bobby shrugged, "where else but a cemetery."

Alex grabbed the phone from her pants pocket and looked at the number without answering. When it went silent after three rings she sighed and leaned heavily against the porch railing. It had been so many years since she'd been here all she wanted was just a few moments to cherish the fading day. If this plan failed, this would be the last day she'd ever see, so she was damn well going to enjoy it.

As the sun slowly began to wane she grabbed her bag and headed off toward the old slave quarters down by the cemetery. She really hoped that this plan worked, she really didn't want to die, but either way it went tonight, she'd never see Sam or Dean again.

Come to me Alexandra, our time is drawing near. Come and join me my dear.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you I'm coming, but in my time not yours." Taking a deep breath she pushed open the gate to the family cemetery and walked forward to meet her fate.

"Bobby this is the worst idea I've ever heard."

Bobby rolled his eyes and shifted in the seat. He knew this wasn't a great idea, but this was the best they had and after all when someone hands you the idea from the other side of the veil, maybe you should listen. Even if you though the chances of it failing were high.

"Look, I know it don't sound like much, but it's all we got and what we're going with."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks then Dean waved his hand at Bobby a clear indication that Sam was the one to try and reason with the crazy person.

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated with the 'sensible one' role he'd just be relegated to. "Look Bobby, you know the chances of that banishment spell working are almost zero, especially once it's in her, I mean according to this, Al would have to be nearly…dead."

Bobby didn't respond but stared hard at Sam. He knew the boys weren't gonna like it but this was the only shot.

Dean and Sam glared back not really believing what they were hearing.

"You can't be serious Bobby, we're going to kill her or almost kill her?"

"That's right Sam and when she's down one of us is going to perform the spell."

Al sighed and pushed back to her feet. She'd laid out everything they would need for the spell, now all they had to do was get here, get her under control and then excise the spirit. "Oh yeah that's all."

Laughing she turned and began to walk deeper into the cemetery. For the last hour she'd focused all her thoughts on listening for a car and worked to lay things out by muscle memory with no thought to the task at hand. For this plan to work it was critical to keep this part hidden from him, even if that meant she had to give up control of something else, this part of her memories had to stay hidden.

Turning she relaxed her body when she heard the faint sound of a car engine. Time was growing short and now that she'd relaxed the voice was back; only more insistent.

"Now girl, stop wasting time. We have only a short time before the end of Samhain and I will not be denied. Come to me now Alexandra."

"Oh I'm coming, but you are in for a little surprise."

When the three men stepped into the cemetery, each was wrapped in their own thoughts. Bobby; worried for the woman he'd come to think of as his daughter and her survival. Sam; recounting the spell over and over again in his head, hopeful that this would all turn out for the best, and Dean; dreading the upcoming battle knowing he might be forced to kill a woman he found just a little more interesting than a one night stand.

Al approached her great-grandfathers crypt and waited. She could feel it moving, with something that evil you really didn't need to see it. When the icy caress came at the back of her neck she locked to her muscles to keep from shivering.

"My dear, I have to admit, I was concerned that you'd try and avoid this."

"Yeah well you invitation was just so heartwarming who could resist. Look let's get this over with. Just remember, you promised never to look for Bobby or the Winchesters."

The icy presence at her back chuckled and tightened the hold on her neck. "Correct my dear; I never go back on a promise. Besides, I'm not that fond of males to begin with."

As the pain of the iciness slipping inside her skull began to increase, she fought to stay conscious and not scream. The fight didn't last long as the scream ripped from her throat echoing through the silent cemetery.

"Okay well that wasn't good." Dean looked harder into the fog as if he could divine the direction the scream had come from.

Bobby growled low in his throat, "you think. Sometimes you aren't nearly as smart as I give you credit for."

Sam chuckled, "okay you two look sharp and you can bite at each other when this is over. We are working on a limited time line and the fact we still haven't located her doesn't increase my happy mood."

"Looking for someone boys?"

The low sultry voice that Dean had once found sexy as hell, now held a tone of menace disguised in that soft question.

Bobby felt his whole body stiffen and slowly turned to see Al; no not Al, the Creature standing right behind them. There seemed to be only one response to a situation like this. "Balls."

"Now, now gentlemen, there is no need to worry. She did make me promise that I wouldn't come after you, but little did I ever guess you'd hand deliver yourselves to me."

Dean tried to ignore the fact he was facing off against Alex, even if her eyes did glow red and decided the best way to get ahead was to piss the thing off. Make it make a mistake. "So what since we're here you just felt the need to break that promise."

The thing cocked Al's head to the side and studied him, he knew the instant it'd found what it was looking for.

"Ah, you have to be Dean. You'll be pleased to know that she has some rather warm feelings toward you." The creature turned Al's body to look at Sam and smiled. "You too Sam, she finds you…what's the word…ah yes, charming and sweet."

Grimacing Sam shifted his weapon, "yeah well I'm not concerned with what you say her thoughts are I'd like to talk to Al."

The creature gave him a sad smile and shook its head, "sorry but Alexandra can't come to the phone right now, so please leave your message."

When it cast a glace between the three of them it spread its hands wide in a supplication move. "Boys, it's almost midnight, and I have miles to go before I sleep and since I promised her I think I'll be moving on now."

Bobby exchanged a quick look with Sam. They'd all set their watched to chime at different times. He'd heard Dean's and now his had chimed. They only had fifteen minutes. When Sam's went, it would be too late.

Stepping forward Bobby leveled the shotgun at Al. "Al honey if you are in there and can hear me, I'm sorry."

The blast was loud, echoing back to them through the fog. But the growl of frustration rivaled the sound. "Old man you should have left me alone. Guess I won't be keeping my promise after all."

Al pushed back to her feet, shaky but still strong, the powers of the creature currently nesting in her body, overcoming the close range shotgun blast. Then with a flick of her hand, launched Bobby ten feet away.

Sam took the opportunity to fire his weapon hitting her in the back. Before leaving all of them had loaded their weapons with rock salt. They didn't want to kill Al; they just wanted to hurt bad enough that they could slow her down. Only Dean carried the one weapon loaded with real rounds. If they failed to get her into the circle in time, Dean would be left with no other option.

Dean edged his way over to Bobby helping him back to his feet and handing him his weapon. They both watched as Al got back to her feet, much slower than the last time. If nothing else they were slowing her down.

When Al had regained her feet she smiled sweetly in Sam's direction. "You know Sam, I really did expect more from you than joining in with these two. I did expect better from the Winchesters."

Dean knew what she was about to do and there was no way he'd let her toss his baby brother ten feet. When he fired and hit her, he was relieved to see that Sam had only moved a little. Yep the night was finally going their way.

As her body lay aching on the ground, Al decided to exert herself inside her own mind and see if she couldn't distract the presence from its current course.

"Well how's this working for you Jack?"

The growl echoed through her skull, "these miserable peons! Do they think that they can stop me with rock salt?"

Chuckling softly she wanted to groan as the pain radiated through her chest, "hmm, well as we are currently laying on the ground and having trouble getting to our feet, yeah I'd saying this is going not so well for you."

"Oh my dear, you are so naïve, I know exactly how to stop this…oh and its only one more minute until I take over completely.

By the time Sam had gotten back to his feet, Bobby and Dean were beside him and Al was struggling back to her feet.

"You know boys, this has been just too much fun, but time grows short for all of us."

The deep growling voice sounded nothing like the woman they knew and all of them had to force themselves to take a step toward her instead of backing up.

When she saw them advancing she slowly started to back up. The plan was to drag this out so that time would escape them. The creature knew when the clock struck twelve it would be at its full power and then he would deal with the humans.

As they watched her back up Dean smiled and leveled the weapon. "You know what, you're right, time is up."

Dean's shot caught her center of the chest knocking her back the last few steps they needed. Now she was trapped inside the circle and they had a chance.

"Now Sam before she gets up."

Sam began to recite the exorcism as the wind began to swirl around him.

Bobby glanced from his watch to where Al struggled to get back to her feet. "Come on Sam, you've only got thirty seconds to finish."

The sound of unholy laughter drew all their attention. "You fool, do you honestly think you can banish me? My time draws near and just remember, even if you succeed, you'll never get her back."

Bobby heard the stutter in Sam's speech and put his hand on his shoulder. "Finish it Sam. No matter what happens, we can't let her stay like this."

Bobby's words seemed to bring Sam around and his voice regained its determination and speed.

The screaming from inside the circle had increased to a point that all of them wanted to cover their ears and then in a split second it all changed. Time seemed to stop as Sam uttered the last words as his watch peeped midnight.

The bright light flashed blinding them all and then it was gone. The night slowly returned to normal as the creatures who cried in the night slowly returned, leave three men worried at what they would find.

Sam's hoarse voice broke them out of their daze. "Does that mean it worked?" He'd taken a tentative step forward, even though he really couldn't see anything.

Beside him Bobby searched blindly until he located his flashlight, turning it on and searching where he thought Al had last been. "I'd say that the blinding flash of light was a pretty good indication it did."

Finally the beam of light caught the immobile figure as it lay twisted. Bobby felt his breath catch and was glad he couldn't see her face; he really wasn't sure what he'd find. Tentatively he began a slow walk to where she was lying. He knew the boys were behind him and in any other circumstances he'd have found it funny they weren't rushing ahead of him.

Dropping to his knees beside her he took a deep breath and reached to turn her face into the light. That same breath that he'd just taken rushed from his lungs at the sight that greeted him.

Blood ran in slow meandering trails from her mouth, nose and eyes. Yes the spirit was gone, but he feared it had taken Al with it.

Sliding his fingers lower he caressed her neck searching for a pulse, only to find a weak thread of a beat. Alive in body for sure, now the concern became getting her out of here.

"Bobby?"

Sam was beside him assessing the carnage as well. He knew Dean was near but right now he couldn't seem to focus on either one.

This time it was Dean who tried to gain his attention. "Come on Bobby, we need to get her out of here. Where can we take her?"

Right they needed to get moving. He still had a plan here and it all depended on him. "Alright Dean, you get her up and let's get her back to the house. I have a doc down here who'll make house calls."

Bobby got to his feet and started walking back to the house with a purpose. Behind him he could hear Dean and Sam. As he finished his call he said a silent prayer that he was a better actor than he thought he was.

Bobby, after telling Dean where to take Al, had stayed on the porch waiting on Henry. Henry LeDoux had taken care of more hunters than Bobby could count on his fingers and he hoped that Henry could act.

When the old model Cadillac ground to a screeching stop in front of the house, Bobby released a sigh. One of these days that ancient rust bucket was gonna kill Henry.

"Alright Bobby what kind of trouble to do you have this time? Hmm, can't say as I've been out this way since…" Henry squinted his eyes in thought, finally smiling. "Yeah now I remember, old lady Mason kicking the bucket." Henry chuckled and walked up the stairs. "Well not that she was really old, but…"

"Not now Henry. Look…" Bobby paused and looked over his shoulder. He couldn't hear or see anyone behind him, but it still felt like he was being watched. "I need you to go in there, take a look at the girl, and then give her this. No matter what you stay out of the way…got it?"

Henry looked down at the syringe in his hand and frowned. "Bobby, what's in this?"

"Nothing that will kill you, now come on."

Both men entered the house and headed up the stairs, never seeing the shadow that moved from beneath the stairs.

Bobby and Henry quickly entered sparing a brief glance at Dean when they entered. Bobby frowned and was about to ask where Sam was when the younger man walked it.

"Great he's here. Hey Doc, how does it look?"

Henry glanced at the tall man who'd just come in and then favored the younger blonde with a glance. Hunters, no doubt about it, he'd seen and patched up too many not to recognize the look. When he notice three sets of eyes focused on him, he turned his attention back to the woman lying on the bed. Taking in the trails of blood staining her face he quickly shined the light into her eyes and then turned to look at the three men. "Boys do I even want to ask?"

Bobby snorted "possession" and turned to look at Dean and Sam daring them to say anything else.

The 'ah' that came from the bed was lost and the doctor quickly ignored the others as he took in his patient. She wasn't well, in fact beat to hell was a better statement and though he had no idea what Bobby was up to, he knew better than to ask too many questions. Bending down he reached into this bag and pulled out the syringe Bobby had given him. He had no idea what was going to but Bobby had asked for his help and he was going to give him that help.

"Bobby you mind coming over and giving me a hand with this light?"

Bobby stepped up next to Henry and held the light closer as the older man injected the contents of the syringe. Part of him immediately relaxed, if they were lucky this would all go so easy, but nothing had ever been easy. No sooner had Henry removed the needle than Al eyes had popped open.

At Dean's yell to watch out, Bobby was able to push Henry out of the way before Al pushed herself from the bed tackling Bobby to the floor. Her cold fingers wrapping around his throat. Bobby knew he had to get free, but her grip was much stronger than it should have been.

"You should have left it alone old man. Did you really think I'd go that easy?"

As the darkness began to push his vision to a narrow point, all he could think was that the smile gazing down on him was all wrong. He had to tell her, "s-s-sorry A-Al, w-we t-t-tried."

Any response was cut off by the deafening report of a handgun and sudden the cold iciness was gone from his throat and he could suck in the sweet air.

He felt arms supporting him and multiple voices talking over one another asking him if he was ok and all he could do was wave them away. He knew without looking that Dean had shot her. They'd all know it could happen and that her death was the only way, but to open his eyes would be facing a reality he'd prayed against.

When Bobby finally forced his eyes open they fell on Dean. "Wasn't your fault, you did what you had to."

Dean grimaced and looked away. While he didn't answer, the actions told Bobby everything. Dean was guilty and there were no words that would ever help. Glancing over at Sam he saw a little different look.

Those hazel eyes were focused in deep concentration on him. Sam seemed to be searching his face for something and that something was what Bobby would never let him see. "What, afraid I'll disappear?"

Sam chuckled and helped pull him to his feet. "Nope, just checking to see that you're ok. Can have a man your age dropping dead on us, just wanting to make sure you could handle the excitement."

"Yeah well I'm fine. You two need to get going. Henry and I'll take care of what needs to be done."

Both boys exchanged a look and then Sam looked back at Bobby, something in his gaze made Bobby flinch. Yep, Sam knew or suspected way too much.

"You sure Bobby I mean we are here and we can help."

"I'm sure; you guys go to the cemetery and clean up that stuff. Henry and I will get stuff together here and we'll take care of the rest."

Bobby watched as both of them left the room and when he heard the door shut downstairs he glanced over at Henry who raised his eyebrows in question.

"What exactly are we gonna take care of Bobby. She looks pretty dead to me or would you like me to patch up that bullet hole now."

Bobby growled and pushed to his feet, "shut up you idjit and take care of what you need to do and don't start being a smartass now."

Bobby didn't remember a day passing so quickly, but Henry had left an hour ago and both the boys were standing by the car they'd rented getting ready to head back to Bobby's.

Sam was still watching him with a suspicious gleam in his eye and Bobby refused to bow to that suspicious look. He had to choke back a smart comment, the last thing he needed was Dean becoming suspicious as well. Henry and he had been careful, burned the body and now all that was left was cleaning up the financial issues. Yet Sam still watched him silently, a smirk creasing his lips.

"Bobby, you sure you don't want us to wait on you? I mean we could all use a few days down."

Bobby shook his head, "nah, you boys head on out, I don't think either of you need to spend the next few days in the presence of lawyers besides, I'll meet up with you later."

Dean nodded and slid behind the wheel waiting for Sam to join him. Sam in turned actually smiled at Bobby and then nodded. "Okay Bobby, we'll meet back at your place. But just so you know, there'd be no problem waiting while you take care of things here." Sam joined his brother in the car but then rolled down the window. "Be careful Bobby. You never know what might still be lurking around."

Bobby nodded and gave a wave as the car headed down the long driveway. Well if nothing else confirmed it, Sam's parting comment did. The little devil knew something was going on. But with the car heading down the drive way at least he could breathe a little easier.

From behind him the sound of Johnny Cash echoed through the now empty house.

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

The sound of footsteps was slowly drawing closer, those steps marred by the slight dragging of one foot. Bobby sighed and continued to watch the dust settle from where the boy's car had passed.

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

This time the air behind him shifted and the boots he'd been hearing come down the hall settled behind him. He didn't turn but continued to start down the dustless road, shaking his head he finally cleared his throat and spoke, "you happy now?"

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

"Hmm, do I sound happy? We had no choice Bobby, none at all."

If I could start again
A million miles away

I would keep myself

I'd find a way

Bobby snorted and finally turned, "nope you don't look all that happy to me. How's the shoulder?"

The woman standing in front of him smiled, "hurts. We're just lucky I saw what he was about to do, or I would have nothing to hurt because he was aiming for my head. Oh and yeah three shotgun blasts feel real great too. Seriously if you'd told me how bad that would hurt yeah we'd forgone that part."

Bobby chuckled and reached out to pat her arm. "Sorry can't give away everything. So now what?"

"Well you head back to South Dakota and I…well I take up the mantle of the grieving cousin who was just informed that she inherited everything."

"You know it didn't have to end like this, we could have told those boys…"

"No we couldn't. They had to believe or the plan wouldn't work. They would have hunted me Bobby, even if I got away and the spirit was excised, we both know something still lingers. Come on the boys are back to hunting and I'll heal."

Bobby smiled, "you know Dean took it kind of hard killing you and all."

Al laughed, "I'm sure. Just glad it wasn't real." Reaching up she ran a hand through her now short hair. "You know I'm not sure what to do now that I'm out of the hunt."

"You become normal, you're out. Not many hunters get to say that."

When Al stepped forward Bobby saw the tinge of red behind her normally gray eyes. That would take some getting used to.

He let her pull him into a hug, this woman who was just as much a daughter to him as those boys who'd driven away were his sons.

"I love you Bobby Singer and you know where I am. Besides, someone has to keep your operation financed."

For one brief moment Bobby closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. Tomorrow would be soon enough to get back in the hunt.