Disclaimer: Nothing of Supernatural belongs to me. All of it is Eric Kripke's. Just borrowing.
A/N: Story set in season 6 between episodes 10 and 11. Spoilers for plot of 11. If you haven't seen it you might not want to read.
Silver Lining
Chapter One
The area was quiet. It had just passed the seven hour mark. Nothing out of the ordinary came from the house they watched. The full moon hung in a cloudless sky above the house in clear view. A defeated sigh sounded from inside the black impala sitting across the dark, wet street.
"The moon no longer needs to be full. I think we've got the wrong house," said Dean, shifting uncomfortably, his backside began to turn numb.
"All the signs point to the woman inside," assured Sam. "Just be patient."
"Be patient?" snapped Dean, meeting his brother's eye. "We've been patient the last seven hours, not including all the hours since we first started this crazy mission."
"Look, we agreed to hunt down other alphas in case one of them actually does know where purgatory is," Sam reminded. "Now, I know that you think it's a waste of time-"
"Just because they go there when they die, doesn't mean they know where it is," interrupted Dean.
"I know, Dean," sighed Sam, clearly exasperated. "Why not tell me what you'd rather be doing then?"
There was no response as Dean broke the eye contact and went back to looking at the house.
"Let's focus on this alpha and then the next. If something worthwhile does come up then we'll focus on that, alright?"
Dean nodded but remained silent. Sam's head turned back to watch the house as well and everything turned quiet around them once again. Several more minutes passed and the only thing that changed was that the porch light had been switched off, followed by one on the inside. Dean looked at his watch. It was five minutes passed midnight.
When the watch hands pointed to four in the morning, Dean shook his head silently and gently turned the key to start the engine. Sam's head turned at the noise.
"What are you doing?"
"Sam, everyone in that house is asleep," said Dean calmly. "Nothing is busting out or wolfing out for that matter. Besides, all the alphas we've met are male."
"Doesn't mean they all are," pointed out Sam.
"Let's just go back to the motel and get some sleep... well, let me get some sleep and we can continue tomorrow and see if something's happened."
The conversation died as Sam found it pointless to argue and they drove to their motel in silence. The vacancy sign flashed in bright neon red letters and all the porch lights lined the small side walk except for one; theirs. After parking in front of number eleven they got out of the car and took their bags with them.
"Wait," said Sam suddenly.
Instantly, Dean stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening slightly as he looked side to side before staring at his brother, whose eyes were focused straight ahead. Following his line of sight, Dean noticed what Sam was staring at. There was something stuck to the faint, chipped green door. Dean held out an arm and approached the door alone. He ripped a photo from it and took a few steps away so he could see a little more clearly. Dean's eyes widened again as he instantly recognised the smiling face that stared back.
"What?" asked Sam quickly.
Dean glanced up briefly before flipping the photo around so Sam could see it. In a flash, Sam's features tightened and for a split second his eyes seemed to glaze over. With a shaking hand Sam reached out and took the picture, bringing it close to his face.
"Jess."
There was a dead, calm silence and when he spoke again Dean felt chills rush down his spine.
"Who the hell would do this?"
Both hunters looked up and down the small, concrete walkway, out into the half empty parking lot and into the dark adjoining street. There was no one.