Chapter 1: Double coincidence
"Hurry up snail! It's gonna be a long drive." Dean turned around impatiently only to find Sam rooted at the other end of the street, hands in his pockets looking uncertain.
"What?!" he asked loudly, exasperated.
"Er-nothing" Sam said quickly. He was just crossing the street when he heard his brother scream-
"Whoa! Look out!"
Wide-eyed, Sam hastily retreated as a black Chevrolet zoomed past him at full speed. Raising his eyebrows, Sam exclaimed- "Wow! Emergency much?"
Sighing, Dean came over to him and said crossly- "I thought we were on Operation Gank-the-Vamps, not Suicide Sam!"
"What? That wasn't my-"
"I don't care!" Dean cut him off. "Whatever's going on in your head, spit it out. If you weren't looking so lost, I wouldn't have needed to guide you across the street like a 5 year old!"
Sam gave him a 'are-you-kidding-me' look; but Dean crossed his arms and refused to budge.
"I don't think we ought to leave mom here, alone." Sam said finally.
Heaving a sigh, Dean uncrossed his arms and began-
"We talked about this, Sam. It's been a month."
"Yes!" Sam replied earnestly "It's been a month. She still has no memory of who she was and we still have no clue how to fix that." He started pacing a little and running his hand through his hair, nervously.
Dean grabbed his elbow and stopped his pacing. Looking straight in his eyes he said- "Listen to me. We're trying okay? I know, we can never fully make her understand what she needs to remember, hell that'll take a lifetime. But what she knows for now, that's a start. Whatever we've told her till now, she has been taking it well, you saw her. This is Mary Winchester. She'll be fine. In fact, she begged me to take this case, give her a little time alone. If that's what she wants, I'm going to give it to her. Besides, we could use a little ass-kicking too!" He finished with a wink.
Sam rolled his eyes and gave in- "Fine, whatever."
"Awesome!" Dean clapped his hands happily and said- "Let's fire up my baby!"
With that, the two took their usual seats in the Impala and drove off.
After a 6 hour drive, the duo finally reached New York. At the buzzing Times Square, they squeezed their way through a noisy crowd and entered McDonald's to grab lunch. Taking a table, Dean leaned back rubbing his eyes and said-
"I am famished. Just go get me anything Sammy."
Sam was about to voice his usual argument against the nickname but only smiled at the sight of his worn-out brother. 'Got it" he replied and strode to the queue to wait his turn.
A few minutes after Sam left to place their order, Dean heard an unexpected familiar voice behind him-
"Well, well. Look who's here."
Turning around he saw the stout figure of Cole Trenton- the military man Dean had hoped to see the last of, with his hands on his hips; wearing an amused cum surprised expression. Walking over to the table, Cole pulled back a chair and sat down next to Dean.
"If you are here, it's bad news for the city." Cole said with a smirk.
"Hello to you too, Mr. Sunshine" Dean replied. "So! Hell of a surprise, running into you."
"Not a pleasant one, I suppose?" Cole asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Definitely not. What are you doing here?"
"Taking time off work; staying at an old buddy's place for a couple of days. The more exciting question is, what are you doing here?"
Just then, Sam came back carrying a tray.
"Hey! I got you a-"Sam stopped short a few feet away from the table, taken aback at the sight of Cole. Cole turned and flashed a smile at him-
"Heyo Sammy! Long time. I know I know. It's a surprise. But still, please wipe that- I-just-saw-a-ghost-look; it's kinda embarrassing."
Sam sat down, looking suspiciously at Cole. "What are you doing here?" he asked uncertainly.
"Came to grab lunch. Just like you two. Now Dean-o was just about to tell me what case you have come here to work on" Cole said munching on a chicken burger.
"Was I? We're not working on any case." Dean said attacking his own burger.
Cole stopped munching and stared at him. Then rolling his eyes he laughed- "Not a Mr. Ignorant anymore Dean-o. So, please. Quit the secrecy."
Sipping his Coke, Sam said- "It's a vampire case. Teenage girl's body found with puncture wounds in neck and wrists. Another guy was lucky enough to survive but with no recollection of whoever did that to him."
Dean glared at his brother. It didn't go unnoticed by Cole who slapped him on the shoulder and said in an amused tone- "What? Don't give poor Sammy that look. You think my mere curiosity is going to turn into a desire to jump in on the case? Please."
Finishing his last bite, Dean said- "Wow! You read my mind. That being taught at the military too?"
Cole laughed. "Something like that. By the way, the puncture marks make sense. But memory loss? Was it just shock or something else?"
"Shock doesn't wipe out memory Cole.' Sam said
"You sure about that?"
"Not 100% But I am sure enough. No this has to be something else. Looks like it's gonna be an interesting case." Sam said in a bright tone and stood up. Dean and Cole stood up as well and the three walked to the door and stepped out into the busy road.
Cole was just about to shake hands with the hunters and say goodbye when his eyes caught sight of two men in leather jackets walking towards them at a leisurely pace. Both were of a medium height-one with brown wavy hair and the other jet black. Both had a pale white complexion and were making heads turn with their incredibly good looks. Cole froze.
Dean frowned and nudged him, snapping him out of his trance.
"What? Love at first sight?" Dean joked grinning. Cole looked dazed for a while and then glared at him. Dean's grin faltered.
"What's wrong Cole? You were just looking at those two guys like you saw a ghost." Sam asked cautiously.
"Well, I was just looking at one of them and I-I might have seen a ghost." Cole replied shakily, biting his lip. Saying this, he turned his face away as the two men walked past them without a glance.
Dean straightened up and spun Cole around to face him. "Tell us what the hell just happened and no mincing words." He said firmly.
Cole sighed. Sipping some water from his bottle he said- "This is not going to make sense but it's the truth. That guy with the brown hair? I know him."
Dean raised his eyebrows and asked slowly "And?"
Taking another sip, Cole looked straight into Dean's eyes and said- "I know him from when I was 11 years old."
Sam and Dean stared back at him, with blank faces. Sam was the first one to recover. Letting out a short laugh he said- "You are not serious?" Cole looked back at him grimly. "You are serious. But- are you sure?" Sam said, his eyebrows furrowed. "He looked barely 18 and-that's impossible!"
"You think I don't know that?" Cole snapped rubbing his sweaty palms. "But I am telling you, I am sure. I am not confusing anyone for anyone. I remember the day I saw him, and he hasn't aged a day! What in the name of God-"
"Alright! Hold it right there" Dean said firmly putting a hand on the agitated man's shoulder. "Just take a breath and tell us. How can you be so sure?"
Cole brushed away the hand and looking piercingly at him, replied-
"You don't forget the face of the man who saved your life"