The sky was dark when Leticia finally clicked her laptop shut, running a weary hand over her eyes. She glanced at the clock in the kitchen and cursed quietly to see it screaming that it was only a couple of hours until sunrise. Shifting her books and laptop into a stack at the end of her sofa, she stood and stretched, rolling the kinks out of her neck. All these hours spent bent over her dissertation were ruining her posture. She felt her back creak and decided a hot shower and her pjs was her reward for 5 hours of writing.
Humming absently, Leticia made her way down the hall stopping once to examine the shadows under her eyes as she passed the mirror in the entryway. Her studies were taking an intense toll on her nerves but she was making amazing headway in her field. So she shrugged off the frizzy hair and tired eyes, saying it was the price of academia.
Turning the shower knob as hot as she could stand, she kicked off her sweats and pulled the loose tank top over her tangled, dark mass of hair. The hot water instantly soothed her, calming her mind and relaxing her shoulders. She let out a long, happy sigh, working her fingers into her curls.
Her relaxation was short-lived as movement in the upper-right corner of her eye caused the hair on Leticia's neck to rise. The small fishing line running across the ceiling was vibrating, a feather and tassel bouncing wildly.
The fire escape window was open. She never left the fire escape window open
Slipping silently out of the shower and grabbing her tank top off the ground, Lettie reached for the .45 in her laundry hamper. Safety off and fully loaded, she eased the door open. She moved slowly and quietly down the hall, careful with her wet, bare feet to make no sounds. Leticia rounded the corner to the living room, quickly aiming at the large shadow hunched over on her couch.
"Woah, Lettie don't shoot!" The shadow grunted in surprise, hands raised.
The shadow sounded familiar, the large mass morphing into a shape Leticia knew well.
"Holy fuck Sam, what the shit?" Leticia cried, quickly lowering her gun and flicking on the lights. "I could've killed you! Knock much?"
"I thought this would be more nostalgic? Like back at school..." Sam shrugged sheepishly, his eyes glued to the carpet in front of him.
"That's the dumbes…" She trailed off, trying to figure out what he was looking at. "Oh.."
Lettie was all at once very aware the she was dripping wet in a white, now translucent, tank top and nothing else.
"Fuck, sorry! I thought you were here to kill me so…" She gestured lamely, placing the gun on a table and making Sams eyes dart up at the motion.
His eyes glazed over, his breathing shallow as he noticed Leticia's wet curls clinging to her face and shoulders. She somehow looked exactly the same and yet completely different. Her skin darker, her shape softer and her shirt hiding nothing as it clung to her wet form. Shit...
Sam cleared his throat loudly, "Go get dressed and I'll fill you in."
His eyes were once more glued to the carpet, cheeks flaming.
"Right, yeah. Okay." Leticia stammered, her face hot as she darted back down the hall.
Sam busied himself with making a pot of coffee, everything exactly where he remembered it to be.
He smiled lightly, "You were always a creature of habit."
"Jess, Sam there you are!" Leticia huffed, her eyebrows raised in question. "What happened to coffee and studying before the bio lab? We do this every week!" She glanced dramatically at her watch.
"Sorry Lettie, we got- umm... sidetracked." Jess blushed, smiling and not meeting Sam's eyes.
"Ew. Nevermind." Lettie rolled her eyes, shoving a tray with 2 lattes at Sam. "Let's go, if we're late the creepy grad assistant will make me sit next to him."
Sam laughed, "Come on L, I think you should give him a break. The guy's got it bad."
"So? That's not my fault!" Leticia scoffed, "It's hard enough to pass that class without some dude breathing down my neck!"
Jess snickered, wrapping her arm around Sam as they began to walk.
They made their way towards the science buildings, Lettie and Jess chatting about their class schedules for the fall semester. Jess and Leticia had managed to get no classes on Fridays and were making plans for weekend road trips down to San Diego or over to Tahoe. Jess threw her head back laughing, her blonde hair shining in the California sun, a stark contrast to her friend's short dark curls.
The girls were loud and carefree as they walked through campus. They joked and gossiped and made plans for summer in the Bay. Sam smiled and shook his head, sipping his coffee. He waved at one of his prelaw friends across the way, amazed at how normal his life had turned out to be.
"I need your help." Sam handed Lettie hot coffee in her favorite mug as she entered the kitchen fully dressed.
Leticia nodded, taking in the changes in her old college friend. His hair was longer, tucked behind his ears. His shoulders seemed larger but slumped, like he bore weights on his wrists. The wrinkle between his eyebrows was more pronounced, as if he has been worried constantly for the past 3 years.
Sam was explaining something about a case and ancient Chumash rituals being used by a local witch coven.
Lettie realized she had been watching his lips wrap around words as he spoke and she shook herself out of it.
"3 years, Sam." She whispered.
"I know, L… I know. I should've-" Sam stammered
"Sam, it's been 3 years." Leticia stated, louder than before. Her eyes locked with his own, the deepness of his reminding her of hot New Orleans nights, white curtains and fingers tangled in her hair.
"I was-" Sam floundered, taking a step towards her.
"Busy." She deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Too busy saving the world and fighting monsters." Her voice began to rise with anger she didn't know she still housed.
"Too busy to send a text, leave a voicemail, anything? Just so I know you're alive?" Leticia was searching his eyes for an answer to a question she had asked since the day she woke up alone in Seattle.
"I'm sorry." Sam sighed, hesitantly reaching a hand out to rest on her shoulder.
His hand on her skin, calloused and warm made her head spin. For Sam, it he heard bells.
Leticia threw handfuls of flower petals over the laughing bride and groom as the church bells rang. All of her family gathered on the steps of the old New Orleans church that her grandparents had once been married in, and that her mother had been baptized in. Now her playboy brother had become an honest man, escorting his wife Lina to their car.
The look of pure adoration they shared as he helped gather her dress and gently closed the car door was almost too much for Lettie. She sighed wistfully, leaning her head on her date Kevin's shoulder. She was so happy when he agreed to be her plus one, brushing off her nervousness that they had only been dating for a month. She wouldn't have made it through this ordeal without him making her laugh and holding her hand through the family drama.
"Come on gorgeous, let's get some drinks!" He said snapping her out of her trance. He kissed her on the cheek, throwing the last of his petals over her head. Leticia laughed and spun around, throwing hers to join the flower shower she was dancing in.
"That's the church Sammy." Dean grunted, handing the binoculars to his brother in the passenger seat. "The remains are buried in that plot on the right."
Sam peered through the binoculars and his breath caught. "No way." He leaned forward, watching as Leticia Cole spun around in a storm of flower petals, her smile brightening the already sun-soaked day.
"What is it?" Dean asked, squinting through the windshield.
"It's nothing, umm… I just saw someone." Sam lowered the binoculars his mind racing, distracted.
Dean grabbed the binoculars and looked back at the church entrance just in time to see Lettie take Kevin's arm and saunter down the road laughing.
"Well, well... Hello gorgeous." Dean murmured. "When's the last time you spoke to Lettie?"
Sam sighed, his head falling back on the chair.
"When I was soulless…" He said, eyes closing as the last words he said to her rang in his ears.
"Ouch..." Dean clucked his tongue. "Did you guys…" He wagged his eyebrows even thoughSam's eyes were closed.
"Let's just finish this case." Sam sighed, motioning for Dean to start the car.
As the drove away from the church, Sam kept his eyes focused on the road, trying desperately to push the memories of Leticia's hair wrapped in his fist, her back arched in front of him as she called his name.
Leticia sighed, "What do you need Sam?" She shrugged his arm off and walked to the sofa, coffee in hand.
"And don't tell me it's about a simple Chumash ritual. You could translate that yourself."
Sam sat opposite her on a chair, trying to catch her eyes, but Lettie was purposely focused on her coffee.
"I need you to get me into the Stanford Library Archives."
"Sure, that's eas-"
"Then I need you to help me steal and replace an entire collection."