"Madison, Dean. Remember Madison. and Jessica," Sam said looking at Dean, "I know Dean. I know how it feels. Maybe not Johnny, but I know."
Dean just sat slumped in the distressed motel chair staring at his folded hands.
I should have done something. Anything, Dean thought to himself. I mean, I just gave up. I quit them both. I promised I would always help her out, and I failed her. And Johnny.
Dean sat up straight and leaned forward and leaned on his elbows and put his face in his hands, and cried. Sam thought better of himself and mumbled something about coffee and cheese-fries, and walked outside towards the diner down the street.
Why? Why the Hell didn't I help her? Why the Hell didn't I tell her? Fuck.
The steam from the shower swirled in the small bathroom. Catharine Colt stepped out of her thin cotton robe and stepped in the shower. She stood under the stream for a minute and then lathered her long dark hair in shampoo.
Christopher Young sat his cereal bowl from dinner in the small rented cabin's sink. He straighted up the small kitchenette, made sure the salt was still around the one kitchenette/dining room window, and checked the lock on the front door and put a ring of salt in front of the door too. All of a sudden he felt a presence behind him and he turned quickly, grabbing the small switchblade out of his pocket. Nothing.
Weird, he thought.
His thoughts of intruders were broken when he heard the blood curdling scream of a five year old.
"MOMMY!!??"
Christopher ran into the first little bedroom of the cabin and flipped on the light. A little boy with shaggy dark brown hair sat on the bed. His beautiful hazel green eyes were shiny with tears.
"Johnny, whats wrong little man?" Chris asked softly going to the boy's bedside and sitting on the edge.
"Where's Mommy?", Johnny asked wrapping his small arms around Chris' waist.
"She's in the shower. What's wrong?"
"I saw a man.", came Johnny's muffled reply.
"In a dream?" No. "In a vision?" No. "Outside?" No.
"Then where? I don't understand." He couldn't have saw a man inside. We have a demonic roach trap above the door, and salt around all of the entrances.
Johnny leaned away from Chris and looked up at him with a tearstreaked face and said,"It wasn't a demon, and there wasn't a demon in him." Chris looked confused and Johnny continued."He was a hunter."
Chris smoothed back a strand of Johnny's hair and asked calmly,"How do you know it was a hunter?"
"Because I know. You not believe me?" Johnny questioned tearing up again.
"No John-boy, I just don't-- Shit." Chris started the conclusion dawning on him. He stood and grabbed Johnny up by his arms. "Johnny, I want you to stay right here, okay?" Yes. Chris picked up a .38 and handed it to the boy. "If you see the man come back, shoot him and run, okay?" Yes. " Good."
Chris stepped soundlessly out into the small hallway and took out the .45 he kept in the back of his belt.
Catharine stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel. She combed through her thick hair and looked at the reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were still blushed pink from the heat of the shower, her almond shaped baby blue eyes were soft and sheened with experience and were fringed with thick jet black lashes and sat under perfectly arched brows, and her full rosy red lips were sensuously parted slightly. Her wavy raven hair sat on her shoulders. She sighed and reached for her toothbrush, but dropped her comb and she bent down to get it. She grabbed it and leaned back up and placed the comb on the counter. She looked back to the mirror and saw a man.
She turned quickly and glanced to the spot where her bowie knife had been.
"Looking for this?" the man asked holding up the bowie knife and quickly tucking it into his boot. He held a sawed off double barrel shotgun, and it was pointed directly at her throat.
"Gordon." She said staring into his eyes.
"You knew I was coming one day." He said unwaveringly.
"I've never hurt anyone I didn't have to." She said coolly.
"Not yet. And you'll never get a chance to. Neither will your boy." He responded swiftly.
"If you lay one hand on my son, I'll--" She took a step toward him her normally calm blue eyes flashing fire.
Gordon cocked the shotgun, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Now your boy's just like you. Got that whole Danny Torrence thing going on. You're a hunter, Cady. You've seen what's happened to all the other's like you. I've had to waste 'em. I figured I could just kill you two now, or you could get hunted down like an animal later by another hunter."
"You'd rather perform the execution yourself though. Do you really expect me to submit the life of my son and myself?" She quieried.
"I expected you to put up a fight,yes. But--"
"I am going to kill you." She countered calmly.
Chris heard movement in the bathroom and cracked open the door in time to hear Catharine say she was going to kill the man, then he heard him speak and knew who it was. Gordon. Chris counted to three in his head and opened the door quickly.
"Hey!" Chris yelled at Gordon. Gordon looked to Chris startled.
"What the--" He started wheeling his gun around at Chris. Chris shot Gordon abruptly in the hand where the gun was, and again in the gut below his rib cage.
Gordon feel to the ground and grabbed his stomach.
"Damnit!" Gordon yelled getting back on his feet quickly and running to the window and jumping through it to the dewy grass.
Catharine grabbed Chris' gun and ran to the window and fired at the dark figure outlined with moonlight, it shouted as another bullet struck its target. After a couple rounds the gun clicked blankly, and Catharine threw down the gun and sprinted to the first bedroom.
"Johnny, are you okay?" she asked hugging the frightened child close.
"Yes, Mama." Johnny replied dropping the handgun he still held. Catharine picked up the boy and he wrapped his legs around her and arms around her neck.
"Oh, my sweet baby. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." she babbled trying not to cry because Johnny was crying enough for the both of them.
Around twelve a.m. Chris still had a rifle attached to his hand as he sat in the straightbacked motel chair watching the door. His shaggy sandy blonde hair hung down just past his eyebrows, but still provided full view to his startling green eyes. He was tall, lanky and lithe. He loved Johnny like he was his own son, and protected Catharine like a big brother. Chris met Catharine when he was only twelve and she was nineteen on a hunt in Indiana. Her dad and his dad were army buddies, but after his dad was killed he had to go live with an uncle in Louisiana. When Chris was sixteen he ran into a twenty-four year old Catharine and a three year old Johnny in Weeping Water, Nebraska, and he'd been living with them for the past two years.
Chris glanced back at Catharine who was leaned back in the old recliner with Johnny sound asleep on her stomach. She had her eyes closed but she was awake. When he first met Catharine, of course he thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen and he still thought even though he no longer had a crush on her. Chris looked back towards the door and yawned and leaned back in his chair keeping an eye on the door.
"Chris?" Catharine whispered softly.
Chris turned quickly and raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"I need to find Dean Winchester."
Around 9:30 the next morning Dean came in the door to the motel carrying two big cups of coffee and a brown paper bag.
"Mornin' Sunshine!" Dean called cheerily to a half-asleep Sam lying on the first double bed. Sam raised his head slightly at the sound of Dean's voice and groaned and turned back over.
"Food's gettin' cold, Sammy." Dean warned walking over to the little motel table and setting down the food and taking a gulp of coffee. He grabbed the other cup and walked over to Sam.
"Come on, Sammy." Dean said waving the cup slowly over Sam letting the smell get to him. Sam sniffed the air for a second and groaned again, then sat up.
"Ugh, What time is it?" He asked taking the cup from Dean and downing a long swig.
"Uh," Dean said looking at the clock on the wall, " About half past nine. Normally you're up by 6:30."
"Yeah. I was actually sleeping good." Sam said rubbing his eyes. "Until you woke me up." He added swigging his coffee once again.
"Yeah, Yeah. I'm horrible." Dean replied walking over to the table and taking out his food. He sat down and started to eat. "So what are we gonna do today?"
"I don't know." Sam said stetching and walking over to the table to sit down. He took out the other styrofoam box and opened it. There was a couple of scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, a sausage patty, a small cup of gravy, three biscuits, and a generous helping of hashbrowns. Sam picked up his plastic fork and started eating.
"Anything unusual going on?" Dean asked inbetween bites of egg and gesturing with his biscuit towards Sam's laptop.
"Don't know. Gimme a sec." Sam mumbled with a full mouth reaching for his laptop. He flicked open his laptop and started surfing and still stuffing his face with food.
"Well there are a couple of mysterious cattle deaths in El Paso, couple of kids claim to see a ghost after spending time with their Aunt MaryJane" he stated accuenting with an imaginary puff on his fingers, ", and... Nothing. Absolutely nothing, Dean. I don't get it. How could so many escape, and NOTHING is going on." Sam said closing his laptop, and turning his attention back to his breakfast.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe they decided to take a vacation. You know, see the sights of the middle world.," Dean stated closing his empty styrofoam box and standing up, "Maybe Ellen or Bobby will have something." He walked over to his bed and laid back on the bed. He took a Kit-Kat bar out of his coat pocket and started unwrapping it.
"Hey..Where'd you get that?" Sam asked eyeballing the candy bar.
Dean looked at Sam and didn't say a word. Sam opened his mouth to say something when he heard Dean's cell phone start to ring.
Dean patted his pockets as Sam leaned over the table and plucked the phone off the table and waved it at Dean. He flipped it open and said, "Hello?"
"Hey..um is Dean there?" came the soft female voice on the other end. Sam sat up a little straighter and had a slightly puzzled look on his face.
"Um. Yeah. Sure, he's here. One sec." Sam said quickly standing up, and walking over to his brother who was sitting up looking just as puzzled.
Who is it? Dean mouthed at him. I don't know. Sam mouthed back shrugging.
Dean grabbed the phone a cleared his throat, "Yeah?"
"Dean?" the delicate voice quieried.
Dean sat up a little straighter recognizing the voice instantly. "Cady, What's wrong?" he asked suddenly. Sam sat on the other bed looking at his brother, judging his facial expressions, and still confuzed.
"Dean, I need your help." the voice said quietly.
"Okay. Where are you?" Dean asked instantly grabbing a pen and notepad off the nightstand.
Dean wrote down the address and town and said okay and bye. He stood up quickly, and put his phone in his pocket and started gathering his personal effects.
"What's wrong Dean? Who was that?" Sam asked gathering his stuff also.
"We have to go to Weeping Water, Nebraska. That was Cady Colt." Dean muttered stuffing clothes and ammunition into a duffel bag.
Sam considered this for a minute. Cady Colt. Dean went to high school with her. They dated then. And later when he was older. He really liked Cady. Maybe even more than Cassie. Cady was another hunter so they had more in common. Cady seemed like a sweet girl when Sam had last met her on a hunt over in Tennessee. That was right before he left for Stanford. So if Cady needed them. Then they were to fight tooth and nail to help her.
"Okay.", Sam replied. That was the last thing said for a while until they loaded the car and Dean asked if Sam preferred Blue Oyster Cult, Metallica, or Zeppelin. Sam picked Metallica, and Enter Sandman started playing as they headed toward Nebraska.
Why Now? Cady asked herself as she loaded her sawed off shotgun with rock salt, and a small .38 with bullets. She pushed open the front door to the small cabin and looked out into the dreary misting rain. Why did Gordon show up Now?
She put the .38 in the back of her jeans and walked out into the rain.
It was about noon, but it looked about 6am. Definately strange weather. Chris was teaching Johnny how to take apart a pistol. Cady, dressed in tight jeans and a blood red tank top, had her black hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. She jumped in the jacked up, red '93 Ford F250 and gunned the engine. After settling on a country station playing Hank Jr.'s Family Tradition she backed out onto her dirt driveway.
After a couple minutes she pulled out onto a paved county road. She'd traveled this gravel road hundreds of times in the past 2 years. She'd heard about all the strange happenings and the Roadhouse burning down.
Something big was coming, Hell, it was Here. And it wasn't gonna just be a few measly exorcists, and salt-and-burn's. As a fellow hunter described it, A War was coming.
Cady reached the small town and pulled into the parking lot of a small run down motel called the 'Lucky Inn'. She found the black car and parked.
She jumped out of the tall truck and smoothed back a couple shorter locks of raven hair that'd been too short to confine to the elastic band holding the rest of her hair. Her Levi's were tucked into a pair of worn cowboy ropers. She looked every bit the experienced hunter she'd been for the past twenty-six years.
She walked slowly up to the green motel door and hesitantly knocked softly.
Here goes nothing.
Sam had settled down in the creaky motel chair at the small table and was checking up on some websites on his laptop.
As soon as they had arrived in the small town Dean was visibly worried. He started out pacing the length of the room, tapping his fingers on the table, clicking his toungue, shaking his leg, and now he resorted to laying on his motel bed humming along to a Metallica song he'd thought of. It calmed him down. He was starting to nod off when he heard a soft knock at the door.
Sam looked up at the door and went back to his work. Dean stared at the door intently. He looked towards Sam.
"Did you hear that?", he asked barely whispering. He leaned up, body poised towards the door.
Sam looked up at Dean with his mouth open to reply when a more forceful knock resonated through the stillness of the room.
Dean jumped out of bed and leaped smoothly over Sam's bed. He landed gracefully a foot away from the door. Sam looked at Dean in confusion.
"Dude, did you really just do that?", Sam asked amazed.
Dean ignored the obvious question and opened the door. He stared at the beautiful face for a minute, then looked down in embarassment.
"Hey Dean. Long time no see.", she said in her sweet melodic voice. She looked up at Dean and studied his handsome face with a soft smile.
"Hey. You too.", he replied looking her up and down. "Come on in."
She stepped over the threshold. "Thanks."
Sam recognized her instantly the second she walked in the door. Cady. Cady Colt. Black hair. Baby blue eyes. Petite. Soft curves. Very...womanly. Only about five feet tall. She was truly beautiful. Dean had loved her. Hell he could still love her for all Sam knew. She was the kind of woman every hormonally charged adolescent dreamed about. Sam looked her up and down. She was still the same ol' Cady. She looked exactly like she did the last Sam saw her. She was wearing a tank top that hung tightly to her curves, faded, ripped Levi's, and they were still tucked into her Ropers.
"Hey Cady.", Sam said quietly with a rueful smile.
"Sammy? Damn, you've grown even more." She replied coming over to Sam, who was still seated, and wrapped him in a hug. Sam returned the hug heartedly as he stood up.
"Yeah. I'm not sixteen anymore, but you still look like you are.", Sam teased.
Cady sized Sam up and feigned outrage. She suddenly smiled, giggled and pushed Sam back into his chair. "Shut up. I still got power over you, youngin'."
Dean sat on the end of his bed and studied Cady closely. A knowing smile ghosted over his lips, then left as quickly as it had come. Something was different about her. "So, Cady, what seems to be the problem?"
Her eyes appeared cloudy as she seemed to consider this question. She cleared her throat subtly and said, "Gordon."
"Gordon?" Dean asked vehemently, subconciously balling his fists.
"Yeah. He broke into my house last night. Said he was going to kill us. We shot him. But he'll be back. Next time it'll probably be without confrontation, 'cause it's not below him to kill us while we're sleeping. Normally I wouldn't be that awful worried, but I'm scared-- I'm scared for Johnny." She looked down at her feet at the mention of her son.
"Who's Johnny?", Sam asked blankly.
Cady sat down on the bed opposite Dean's. She sighed defeatedly and cleared her throat nervously. "Um.. He's my son." She looked up at Sam and Dean, her eyes still cloudy.
"You--Your--Your son?" Dean stuttered, eyes wide. Sam looked equally amazed, then quickly masked it with concern.
"Why does Gordon want to kill you?" Sam asked.
Cady looked at Dean, he looked back with a knowing look. Sam looked back and forth. "What? You both know already?"
"She's not part of the pattern Sam. Apparently neither is her son.", Dean said getting up. He walked over to the table that the tv was on, and ran a nervous hand through his hair.
"Pattern? The pattern? Our Pattern?", Sam asked, oblivious.
"Yes, Sam! OUR pattern! Mom, Max, That pattern!", Dean shouted at Sam, losing his temper. As soon as he said the words he calmed down. He shot Sam an apologetic look, then focused on Cady.
"Do you know where he is?", he asked.
Cady appeared hopeless for a second as she answered, "No. I heard about your Daddy.", she said softly, sadness flashing across her light eyes, "I'm so sorry. He was a good man." Dean stared at his boots, and Sam smiled wryly.
"Thanks," Sam whispered.
"Bella will know where he is." Dean said flicking out his phone quickly.
"Who's Bella?" Cady questioned, sounding kinda like a jealous girlfriend.
"Bounty Hunter."Sam said.
Cady made an 'o' with her mouth and sat on the end of one of the double beds. Sam sat next to her as Dean held up a finger and walked outside looking agitated.
"So how have you been? And since when have you been a Mom?" he asked.
"I've been good. Got this boy travelin' with me and Johnny. His name is Chris. He's real nice.-" she started
"You're kind of avoiding the main question, aintcha?" Sam smiled.
She smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I am. Um, Johnny's about 5,well, he just turned five this past November."
"Who's his dad?"
"Um, a real sweet guy who just couldn't stay in-town to be a dad." She smiled and looked down at her hands self-conciously.
"That sucks, being a single mom. Especially doing what we do."
"It's not so bad. He can already put a pistol together pretty quickly for his age, and he can run fast."
Sam laughed and studied a small pentagram tattoo on the underside of her thin wrist."It's so great to see you again Cady."
"You too Sam." She smiled and held out her arms and wrapped Sam in a hug.
The door opened a second later and Dean walked in. "She said he was in Clayton, Oklahoma. I hate Oklahoma." Dean mumbled as he started packing his stuff in a duffel bag.
Cady stood and studied Dean a second,"I guess I'll meet you out at my place in about twenty minutes. Go south on 49, then turn onto the little dirt road that says 1255. My truck's out front."
Cady went to the door and waved slightly and stepped out into the parking lot.