The black Impala rolls slowly into the dimly light parking lot, the bright neon sign over the front of the small the bar was casting a glow across the few vehicles left in the lot. Once stopped, both driver and passenger doors open simultaneously, and the two men inside casually exit the vehicle. Dean walks around the front of his Baby and claps his hand across his younger brother's shoulder.
"I'll see ya in a few," he says quietly, and Sam responds with a nod as he walks around the front of the car and climbs into the driver's seat.
Dean makes his way into the bar as his brother drives away. He spots her sitting at the bar right away, she's one of the few patrons still here, but he knows even if the entire place was full of people, she would still be the only one he would see.
He slowly makes his way over and notices the four empty shot glasses sitting on the bar in front of her, accompanied by a half empty beer bottle. She pops a handful of Chex-Mix into her mouth, he knows the bartender keeps a secret stash behind the bar just for her.
"I see you got my message," she says without looking at him as he takes a seat on the stool beside her, "Where's little brother?"
"Headed back to the bunker," Dean replies as the bartender places a beer in front of him, "Rough week huh?"
He asks the question he already knows the answer to, she had called Sam's phone after her last case. She had been checking into a possible werewolf case but had stumbled into something she'd never encountered before. A young boy, about 14 years old had gone missing six months prior. His parents hadn't even known he was missing until his school called after he'd been absent three days in a row. Turns out the werewolf in town had turned the young boy and they were working as a team, taking unsuspecting victims. They were from a pure-blood line but had a strict diet of human hearts.
Lexi takes a small sip from her bottle, she knows she's past her limit and that's why earlier she picked up her phone and typed a simple sentence out in a message. I need a ride home. After the second shot the numbness had begun to set in and she just wanted to ride this wave for a while.
"I'm fine," Lexi responds to the question as she grabs a few more rye chips to put in her mouth.
"No," he says matter-of-factly, "You're not and that's okay."
The dark-haired girl turns to look at him, "Aren't these roles supposed to be reversed? It's usually you at the bar, dark and broody."
"I don't brood." He interrupts her.
"And I'm the voice of reason, swooping in to give advice," she continues, turning back to look at the empty glasses in front of her and she runs her pointer finger around the rim of one, collecting the salt, "and pick up the pieces."
She had said the last line quietly, but he had heard her.
"I figured it was time to give you a break," he replies in the funny-sarcastic tone he uses when he's trying not to be too serious. Lexi transfers the salt from her finger to the mouth of her beer bottle before she takes another sip and Dean continues, "Hell, it's a full-time job picking up my pieces."
She doesn't respond, just continues to pick at the snack mix in front of her, so he tries another tactic, "Besides, you're cute when you brood, I should let you do it more often."
Lexi smirks and he sees the small eye roll she does, "Don't flirt with me Winchester, I'm four shots down, all I need is one more and I'd be putty in your hands with comments like that."
"Oh, I'm sure you'd keep me up the rest of the night," he says to her with a smirk, "me rubbing one hand against your back, while the other one holds your hair out of the toilet as you puke."
The dark-haired girl is smiling at this point and Dean tosses a few bills onto the bar as he stands up, "Come on, I'll take you home."
Lexi stands up and pulls her key fob from her pocket and passes it over to him before they head outside. Once inside her car, Lexi reaches across to turn the knob on the radio slightly, just enough for the music to break the silence as Dean pulls the car onto the highway.
The dark-haired girl was quiet for the drive until Dean comes to an intersection in which he turns left.
"My house is that way," she says quietly, pointing in the opposite direction.
"You're not staying alone tonight," the man beside her replies, keeping his eyes on the road, "Like I said, I'm taking you home."
Lexi doesn't respond as she turns to look out her window, noticing how the full moon was casting a glow onto the passing trees. The thought of the moon redirects her mind, but not in the direction she was wanting it to go.
She had tried to fight off the thoughts during the drive back to the bunker, but it was pointless, her mind was constantly busy with the what if's and alternate scenarios. As she climbs from the passenger seat, she can feel his presence beside her, and she holds up her hand in resistance, "No, please." Lexi could keep her composure 99% of the time, but when she's barely holding it together, like now, the slightest touch or embrace would cause the dam to break.
Dean was reaching for her when she stopped him, and he had known her long enough to understand the meaning behind her objection. He nods his understanding and follows her into the bunker.
Once she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she can see Sam at his laptop in the library and he's watching her. He gives her a half-smile, like it's good to see you, but sorry for the circumstances. His eyes are not helping her keep the dam intact, she can see the sadness and sympathy emanating her direction.
The dark-haired girl quickly walks through the library, a gentle pat to the younger brother's shoulder, accompanied with, "Hey Sammy."
She doesn't stop though, her numbness has worn off and it's too much, she needs to remedy that. The two brothers share a look, no words needed, and Sam stands up to follow her, his brother behind him.
Lexi has a beer turned up when the younger brother reaches the kitchen doorway. She glances his direction as she pulls the bottle from her lips, she hesitates a moment before she slowly shakes her head, then turns the bottle back up to finish it off.
Sam steps into the kitchen slowly as she places the empty bottle on the counter, she's staring off at the opposite wall when she begins to speak, "He was just a kid."
"You had no choice," he replies gently, "he would have killed you."
"I know," she says, "but who's to say he would have even been in that position if his parents had reported him missing sooner. I mean what kind of parent doesn't realize their child is missing?!"
The anger in her voice evident as she continues, "I killed a child. I had to shoot a little boy."
"He wasn't a child Lex, he wasn't a kid the moment he started eating human hearts," Dean says from the doorway.
She could feel the tears brimming up, so many emotions accompanying them: anger, regret, sadness. The dark-haired girl turns quickly back to the fridge for another beer, the rage coursing through her body and before she realizes what she's doing, she slams a fist hard into the front of the metal door, a cry of pain escaping her lips upon impact.
The younger brother is behind her in a second, wrapping her in his arms from behind her to subdue her. He tightens his hold to keep her arms from escaping.
"Don't," she pleads, "Don't."
Sam turns her away from the refrigerator and he leans back against it himself, not letting her go as her shoulders start to shake, he speaks gently, "Let it out."
Her whole body goes limp as the dam breaks and he eases both their bodies to the floor. Dean makes his way past where his brother is on the floor, leaned back against the refrigerator, a sobbing Lexi sitting in front of him with his long legs stretched out on either side of her, she leans her head into the arm he has wrapped around her shoulder. Lexi holds the hand she just slammed into the door with her other hand.
The older brother makes his way past them again as he reaches for the freezer. After a moment he crouches down in front of Lexi, placing the icepack he'd wrapped in a dishtowel on her hand.
The next morning, Lexi makes her way out of the guest room toward the smell of bacon, still dressed in the clothes she wore the night before.
"Morning sunshine," Dean says with a smile to Lexi as he places the plate of bacon on the table in front of Sam, "How's the hand?"
"Sore," she replies as she takes a seat beside the younger brother, who pours coffee into a cup then slides it in front of her.
"So, I think I found a case this morning, people being attacked by inanimate objects," Dean says stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth, "You in?"
Lexi shakes her head at the question, taking a sip of her coffee, "I can't. I'm heading out of town for a while.
"Since when?" Dean says with a confused expression.
"A few days ago," she replies, "I wasn't sure how to tell you without you getting angry."
"Where?"
"I've been doing some of my own research on this alternate universe and how to access it," she says, nonchalantly biting off a piece of bacon.
"We have the spell now though," Sam begins, "Cas is working on the Fruit from the Tree of Life right now."
"But archangel grace?" Lexi shakes her head, "You and I both know that's not possible."
"There's always a way," Dean interrupts.
"And I hope like hell there is," she continues, "but if your way doesn't work, I want to have a backup plan. Another way to access the rift, but I'm still working on it, and to do that requires me to go to the source of the information."
"Where?" Dean questions again sternly.
"London."
"No." the older brother cuts her off quickly, "Not happening."
"It's cute that you think you have a say in this decision," Lexi replies with a smirk.
"Dean," Sam intervenes, "It's not a bad idea. I would rather have a plan B, just in case."
"Who's your source?" the older brother questions.
"Greyson's sister, Logan," Lexi begins, "She's a British Men, or I guess Woman of Letters. Greyson's been getting intel from her on the rift and all the documented alternate universes. There's more out there than we can even imagine."
"I don't like it," Dean states as he gets up and leaves the table.
"Well that went well," Lexi says to the younger brother beside her as Dean storms out of the kitchen.
"He'll get over it," Sam says as he turns his coffee mug up.
Lexi stands up from the table, "I should be going, I'm going to Jody's and she's taking me to the airport day after tomorrow."
The younger brother nods his head at the information as he stands up and pulls the girl into a hug, resting his chin on top of her head, "Okay, just promise me you'll be careful."
"I always am," she responds as she takes a step back, "Let me know if there's any changes on this end and I'll let you know what I find out over there."
"Deal," Sam says, "Thanks for doing this."
"She's family," Lexi replies with a smile before she turns and walks out of the kitchen.
She makes her way into the library and spots the older brother sitting at the war room table, arms folded across his chest. He cuts his eyes to look over at the girl as she walks closer to the table.
"You're cute when you brood," she says playfully as she hops up to sit on top of the table beside him.
"I don't like it," he replies, ignoring her comment.
"I know," she says softly, "You don't have to. It's not your decision, it's mine and I'm a big girl. I can handle it."
"What if something happens? Those Brits don't exactly like American hunters, or did you forget that?"
"I'll be fine," she responds, "I'm more worried about you guys, what if you do get the rift open, what then? There's a warzone over there and I know you, you're going in guns blazing to save them. Your situation is way more dangerous than mine."
The older brother doesn't respond and Lexi slides from the table to stand up.
"I have to go," she says looking down at the man in the chair.
Dean doesn't move, only repeats, "I don't like it."
"I'm sorry," Lexi says sympathetically before she heads toward the stairs.
"Promise me," she hears him say as she steps up on the first step. She turns to see him approaching slowly, "Promise me you'll come back."
"Only if you promise me the same," she replies, then holds up her fist, pinky finger extended.
The older brother gives a shake of his head as he reaches up and wraps his pinky finger around hers quickly then pulls her into a quick hug.
"Be safe," he says before he releases his grip.
"You too," she replies with a smile then turns and makes her way up the stairs.
He watches as she walks out the bunker door, then he turns to walk back to the library but hesitates.
"Screw it," he says to himself, then turns back and rushes up the stairs and out the door.
"Lex," calls out as he sees her approaching her car.
The girl stops and turns to see him jogging towards her, confusion crossing her face.
"One more thing," Dean says as he closes the distance between them, "Just in case."
He moves quickly, knowing if he doesn't he might change his mind.
"What are you…" Lexi begins to question, but his lips are on hers before she can finish speaking and it takes a moment for her to realize what's happening and to join in.
It was strong, passionate, desperate, urgent, and hot, that's the only way to describe it, but she doesn't realize it at the time, only later when she's explaining it to Jody.
After what felt like forever, but was only a few moments, the two of them slowly pull apart from each other.
"Whoa," Lexi says breathlessly.
"Yea," the grin on his face making her smile sheepishly.
"So…" she's at a loss for words.
"There's that," he fills in the sentence.
"I….I really need to…" she waves her hand back to the car, "Cuz I…."
"Yea," he nods in understanding, the two of them fumbling around for words would have had Sam rolling in the dirt by now.
"See you soon?" comes out as a question when she opens her car door.
"Promise."
The two share one final smile before she climbs into the driver's seat and he turns to head back to the bunker.