(A/N: The character of Lita came about accidentally as a side character in another story I wrote, I Pray the Lady my Soul to Keep, mostly to make a point about a certain faith group that is welcoming to all religions, but she grew on me... and on Dean... so if you want her background, go read the other story first, but keep in mind that one is M for a reason.
Despite the fact that this story will address the issue of rape, entirely due the type of monster they're hunting, I am going to try to keep it at the same level as the actual show, and if I raise it to an M, I hope it will be for gore, because everything else I've done so far is very adult.
Thanks for reading! FW)
Lita moved through the Denver airport, watching faces carefully. Her small suitcase rolled behind her, and her low heels clicked on the tile as she went. She wore business attire, her dark, curly hair was swept back and wound into a bun, and her makeup was reserved and tasteful on her tan skin.
She seemed to hold her head up as she watched the faces that passed as she made her way to the door, but she carried in her demeanor a hint of fear, and was watching for signs the people in the crowd might not be human.
Once outside, she sent the text message she'd already written and saved on her phone.
It wasn't long before the classic black sedan pulled up the curb.
She would have known it anywhere.
She opened the back door and put her suitcase inside before quickly getting into the front.
The driver took a quick glance at her out the corner of his eye, through sunglasses.
"Walking around in public half dressed again, huh?"
Lita pulled a long green scarf out of her purse as the car pulled away. "This time it was for my own safety, not yours."
"Yeah, I guess I can see that." he said. "But, hey, don't worry, I'll keep you safe, so you just make yourself comfortable."
Lita smiled as she put her hijab on, carefully covering her hair, neck, and what little of her chest was showing.
"So what is it you're tracking?" he asked.
Lita chuckled, "You are never going to believe this one."
"Try me."
"A Lilin... daughter of Lilith and Adam, if the stories are true. A very powerful, specialized, female demon... You'd probably know the it by a different name."
He nodded. "Wait... no, wait a minute, are you serious?"
Lita laughed at his uncomfortable reaction. "Don't worry, Dean, I'll keep you safe."
"Oh, yeah, that's very funny... How did you know it was coming out this way?" Dean asked.
"A co-worker of mine hacked her credit cards, and we found her in the security tapes getting on a flight a few hours before I did. They're actually digging through footage from the cameras in this airport right now, and she paid for a suite in Colorado Springs, so we know where she'll be... Of course she paid for a package for a convention that's happening, so we also know what she'll be doing." Lita answered.
Dean looked at the big air port complex in his rear view mirror. "They can do that?"
"Yes, we're pretty good. Now if only we could get a foothold in the states..." she hinted.
Dean shook his head, "Sorry, honey. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment."
"Mitzy.. Melissa doesn't mind working with us."
"How's she doing?" Dean asked, a hint of worry and a touch of sadness in his voice.
"She's doing well." Lita said. "We go for lunch regularly, she's got her apartment just how she wants it, and she's helping people. If she can just drop the Mexican accent when she talks, she'll be fine."
"Mexican?"
"Yes, I guess growing up in Texas has made it harder for her to learn the proper pronunciations for Spain. She'll get it, though, don't worry." Lita answered. "You know, we had about six or seven hunters out taking care of a vampire nest, and something went wrong. They barricaded themselves in a storage building. It was her help that got them out. She's saving people, and like her brothers, she's good at it."
"I don't know, I'd rather she was traveling like she said she was going to do." Dean said quietly. "Something safe."
"She's safe, and so am I. She's helped us make our control building even safer, and we've received a mysterious grant from this strange Faulkner Corporation, which I'm sure has nothing to do with her." Lita said. She was quiet for a moment. "Did your angel friend tell you she's blonde now?"
Dean shook his head. "No... I'm not sure Cas cares what color her hair is."
Lita pulled up a picture on her phone. "Here..."
Dean was pulling up to a red light anyway, and took the phone. "Where was this?"
"St James' cathedral. It was lovely."
Dean looked closely at the one woman in the picture who wasn't sitting next to him. "So a Wiccan girl and a Muslim girl go to a Catholic church on their day off?"
"It was fun. Nothing tried to kill us, and if anything tried, there was holy water available."
Dean handed the phone back to her. "Well, I liked her regular color better, but I guess she's less recognizable. Looks more like her mom, though."
Dean came through the connecting door of the two hotel rooms and put the take-out bag on the table. "Got you a tofu stir-fry, hope that's okay."
Lita pushed her laptop to the side, reaching for the food. "Thanks... I found out when the convention will be selling tickets at the door, we'll need to be in line early, and there's a game shop on the way so we can get you something more appropriate to wear."
"Game shop?" Dean asked. "What kind of convention is it?"
"Science Fiction and Anime." Lita answered.
Dean shrugged and took a bite of his egg roll. "Y'know, that actually sounds like fun... Makes sense, though, if she's looking for victims."
"Stereotyping..." Lita muttered.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"So," Lita said, digging through her rice for another piece of tofu, "Flash Gordon..."
"The old black and white ones." Dean answered, with a small smile and a nod. "What?... What's that look? Don't tell me you like the 80s one, that was awful."
"The music was good." Lita argued.
"If course it was good, it was Queen. But the rest of it?"
"It had that guy from Fiddler, too."
"Yeah, but he was better in Fiddler." Dean said, before quickly looking away while stuffing more food in his mouth.
Lita's jaw dropped. "You watch musicals?"
Dean shrugged, "No, c'mon! Fiddler doesn't count, it's like Sound of Music, everyone knows Fiddler."
"So you've never seen Cats?" Lita asked skeptically.
"Oh, I see cats all the time, I just don't get too close, 'cause I'm allergic." Dean answered, his sarcasm obvious. "So do we know how to take this thing out?"
Lita shook her head. "Actually, we're still trying to figure that one out."
"So, even if we find it, we can't take it out." Dean said. "Sam is going to be back in the bunker by the end of the day, we can get him to help out."
Stepping out of the bathroom, traces of water still on his skin, Dean ran the towel over his hair again, and kicked himself for not taking his bag in with him. He had left the door between the rooms cracked, giving Lita a reminder of the last time they'd been in a hotel. 'You need anything, and I mean that, anything, you so much as hear a weird noise, come find me, okay?'
Dean pulled his undershirt on over his head and straightened out the waist before going back to the connecting door and opening his side. Lita's was cracked a few inches, but she was already in bed.
He sat down on his bed with his phone, accessing his email.
Sam had thankfully avoided sending a wall of text, probably knowing Dean wouldn't read it, and instead opted for more of a bullet list format.
"Jury's out on this one, there's different lore for different types, but it's going to be more powerful than a regular demon.
Maybe the knife would work, but we're never that lucky,
Reinforced demon trap, maybe,
Here's a link to an anti-lilith charm, if this thing is related to her, who knows, might keep it away or slow it down. Also where the word lullaby comes from..."
Dean rolled his eyes. At least Sam, and his propensity to sleep with dangerous not-quite women was safely several states away. Although taking a look at the dark outside the window, he wasn't sure for his own safety.
Briefly, he considered the small couch in the next room, but decided against it.
Dean tapped softly on Lita's side of the double door, trying not to knock it open further, but sticking his head into the small gap. "Hey, you awake yet, jet-lag?"
Lita mumbled something, rolling over and throwing the covers off her face. Dean's eyes fixed for a split second on her obvious cleavage then immediately shot to the ceiling.
"I'm going to go hit that geek shop you mentioned, and grab breakfast, give you some time to get ready. Breakfast burritos okay?" Dean asked.
"Uh... depends on the tortillas."
"Tortillas are a problem?"
"Some are made with lard. Pork product."
"Okay, I'll double check, if they can't manage kosher, there's always donuts."
Lita dragged the pillow over her face.
"K, I'll be back in a bit. Phone's on." Dean said, turning to leave.
Dean decided to stop at the game store first. He looked through the windshield at the garish sign.
He was actually fond of comic and game stores. After winding up with a teacher giving his father a rather long phone call, John had started making the time to let Dean pick up anything he wanted to read until he had caught up to grade level. It was the only time he'd seen his father embarrassed. John had also encouraged Dean to read to Sam, in the hopes Sam wouldnt have the same issue.
Dean had managed quite a collection before girls became a distraction, and it was no surprise when Sam started reading early, practicing on whatever shredded cast-off copies Dean would let him have.
He was supposed to be looking at the tshirts, but couldn't help snagging a Batman comic when he noticed the Joker was the villain.
Dean grabbed the first Han Solo tshirt he found sufficiently snarky, and headed back to the front, putting his items on the counter at the register.
Briefly he considered the game pieces on the wall behind the counter, as a heavily tattooed and pierced young woman with green dreadlocks approached to ring up his purchase.
She droned, either half awake, or very disinterested. "We have a special on Steve Jackson crap. %40 off Munchkin, %25 off the other stuff."
"What's Munchkin?"
"It's a card game that doesn't suck ass. It's like the only thing I'll actually play with my so-called family. I strongly recommend it."
"Uh, okay. Yeah. Why not?"
She grabbed a brown box with an odd cartoon character off the shelf behind her, practically throwing it onto the counter.
Dean paid, attempting to give her a smile, before gathering his things and heading out.
