Chapter One:

Back in the Game

I looked around the crowded bar. It was full of all types of people, from college students to seniors. Of course the worst of them were the bikers, who think they own the place-and that all the attractive women must find them exceedingly handsome. This is normally not the case. I've lost track of how many I've had to literally kick out of here. My eye's darted to the door as I heard it open. I watched as two men headed towards my end of the bar. They were tall and fairly good looking with brown hair. When they had finally gotten close enough to the bar to hear me over the noise, I asked what I could get for them.

"Well hello there," one of them said looking at me suggestively "I'll take a beer. Oh, and your number." I rolled my eyes. Typical.

"I don't have a number to give you, sorry." I said flatly. He looked shocked. I glanced over at the other one wondering when he would decide to chip in. Catching my eye he nodded towards the other one.

"Sorry, my brother is an idiot, I'll have a beer too. Name's Scott by the way, the idiots name is Alec."

"I'm Alex, I'll be one second with those beers, gotta get some more from the back."

They were brothers.. The thought echoed sadly in my mind as I wandered towards the back of the bar. Just like Sam and Dean Winchester had been brothers. That was until Dean had been torn to shreds and dragged to hell. He had made a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sam back from the dead. He couldn't live with himself for letting Sam die, it tore him apart..

I had met them in highschool during my grade eleven year. Me, along with my best friend Elizabeth Deo, had become reluctant friends with the two after getting caught up in their ghost hunting business. Ghosts had started to torment our town after a major disaster had happened in a near-by area. Sam and Dean, along with their father, had saved us from almost certain death. Your saviors tend to grow on you no matter how annoying they are. After they left I had begun to research more about "hunting". Figuring it was good to know as much as possible about it just in case.

I graduated a year later and Liz had gone off to do her own thing(whatever that was...) so I decided to try and find Sam, or Dean. This proved to be next to impossible, I had no way of contacting them. After a year of on and off searching I gave up and decided to spend some time traveling around. I don't know if it was fate, or just coincidence, but two years later I ended up running into Dean while he was on hunt. So when we were sitting by his Impala later that day having a beer for a job well done on his part, I asked him right out if I could help him out. At first he flat out refused, giving the entire "this is too dangerous for you" speech before I could stop him. And that even with Sam gone(he had told me earlier that Sam had gone to Stanford) he and his father were fine on their own. What Dean had forgotten was that I was that I do not give up easily when I really want something. So after lots of yelling and angry staring contests, I managed to convince him to give me a chance. I passed his tests, much to his dissmay. I was good at hand to hand combat, having taken lessons in several martial arts classes since I was young. Guns were also not an issue, I knew how to use most of those as well. The ones I didn't know how to use, well, I'm a fast learner. I did have some trouble with this "job" at first though. My troubles consisted of being stuck in a car with Dean for hours, and the shady motel rooms weren't great at first either. Eventually I got used to it. Since then I had been hunting with Dean and sometimes John on occasion. Then after john disappeared, Sam joined up with us. So why was I working in a bar? I'm here because when Dean died, Sam got understandably upset. When Sam gets upset, he ditches people. So he ditched me, just like Liz had. After losing Dean, then Sam, I just didn't feel I could continue hunting. So now I'm here, in Devil's Alley Bar and Grill( I know, ironic isn't it? I like it that way.)

"Lexi! You got customers waiting, stop standin' there would ya?" Crap.

"Sorry Andy! Lost in memories, I'll get back to work now." I said lamely. Andy sighed, he was a nice guy, but he also doesn't appreciate his employees standing around doing nothing. I grabbed a box of beer and headed back out. I gave Scott and Alec their drinks, flashing Scott a smile when he thanked me. I then proceeded toward the end of the bar where a blonde woman had just sat down.

" What can I get you?" I asked, hoping she would order something interesting to keep me occupied. She slowly raised her head to look at me. I nearly choked as I sucked in my breath. It was Elizabeth! I could tell she recognized me too. I raised me index finger indicating I would be back in a minute, mixed a dry martini for another man sitting near me and walked towards Andy. Putting on my best suck-up expression, I asked for a break. When he assured me it was fine and he could handle everything for a short time I removed my waist apron and took a seat beside her. I studied her for a moment then gave her a warm hug.

"Liz! I haven't seen you since we graduated! How are you?"

"Lexi. I'm great! How 'bout you? You look great!" She looked at me, I wondered what she noticed, I don't think I look much different than before.

"Thanks! But... Hey, so do you!" I said happily, studying her once again. Same old Elizabeth I thought to myself with a smile. A quizical look crossed her features then.

"Hey... Um... You're still into that weird stuff right?"

Well that was just a little out of the blue. "Uh... Well... Yeah, I guess." She looked excited, so I continued. "Do you need help with something?"

She began to tell me about all the wierd things that had been happening where she worked. I wondered then why I hadn't heard about it. Then I mentally slapped myself, of course I wouldn't know, I don't read the paper anymore. So I offered to tag along with her at work tomorrow, I had the morning to myself so why not?

" Well... Okay. If it'll help stop this." Good, I don't like arguing with her. So now I was back in the game..

"Well. It was great talking to you! How about we meet up after my shift is finished and we can work out tomorrow." I offered, not wanting to leave it all until the last minute. I walked around to the opposite side of the counter and grabbed my apron again, putting it on. "So. What can I get you?" I said with a smile.

"Well, to be honest. I don't know what kinds of drinks I like. Pick me one." She answered, grinning at me. I chuckled, deciding to make her a strawberry daiquiri. It was one of my favorite drinks, and easy to make.

I'm not sure how much time had passed, but eventually my shift was over. I hung up my waist apron on its hook and grabbed my purse from my locker in the back. Pulling out my cell phone I called a cab to pick me up, along with Liz. I wandered back out to the front, motioning for Liz to follow me out. When we got in I told the driver where my appartment was so I could grab my gear and some clothes. Just because I don't hunt anymore doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to get rid of all my weapons. I decided I would put my french immersion education to use and pose as Liz's french cousin, who doesn't know english. I love a challenge. When I was done at my place we headed over to Liz's place. As we got out she pulled out her wallet to pay for the cab before I could say anything. I decided I would have to sneak the money into her wallet while I was here to pay her back. She'd never accept it otherwise. Elizabeth unlocked the door to her home and as I walked in I realized just how tired I was, and anxious about tomorrow. I felt right at home here, something that doesn't happen often. She led me to my bedroom and I did my normal nightly routine before falling right into bed, asleep before I hit the pillow.