AN: This is my first Supernatural fic and my first fanfic in a long, long time so please be kind. This is also on my AO3 under the name Formosus_Iniquis96. There is slash even if that isn't one of the tags and it says that in the description, so if that isn't your thing don't read. This is unBetad so if you see any major mistakes feel free to point them out.
As usual I don't own anything so with that please enjoy.
"How come Cas gets to sit up front and I'm stuck in the back, I'm a foot taller than him!"
Dean grinned at the angel in his passenger seat, "Quit your bitchin' Sammy. Cas gets to sit up front 'cause he knows the rules."
Sam pulled out bitch face number 21, "The rules?"
"Yeah Sammy the rules, driver picks the tunes shotgun shuts his cakehole. Cas gets it, he doesn't complain about my music, you always try to put on show tunes or some shit." Dean said turning around to look at Sam.
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
"Dean, it appears that there is a young woman running in the middle of the road." Castiel said calmly, eyes never leaving the road in front of them.
Dean turned back to the front, a smirk on his face, "What Cas… Shit," he said slamming on the Impala's breaks narrowly missing the girl who was running down the middle of the road.
They could see the girl clearly now, her brown hair was wavy and falling out of her ponytail and into her face. She had dirt and oil streaked across her round face and her eyes were wide with fear, but she had a small smile on her face. She was wearing a grey shirt that had been ripped across her torso; her dark jeans had a tear in the knee. She looked at the boys parked in the middle of the road her green eyes now sparkling with amusement and with an eyebrow raised she knocked on Dean's window. "I'm glad you decided to stop," she said her accent implacable and seemed to shift with each word; "it could have been messy if you hadn't."
"Yeah well I'd hate to damage a pretty little face like yours," Dean drawled.
She seemed relieved when she heard Dean speak, "Well isn't that sweet," her voice settled into a subtle country drawl, "my car broke down about ten miles north of here. I walked into town but… well, things got a little weird so I kept walking, luckily I found you guys. Think you could give me a lift?"
"What kinda weird are we talking kid?"
The girl's easy smile faltered and she tilted her head as if she was trying to read the men in front of her, a look of recognition crossed her face and her smile returned, "Oh you know, the already lovely gas station owner, who by the way looks like an extra from The Deliverance, was possessed by a demon. Tried to stab me when I went to fill up the tank, pretty sure there's a poltergeist too but that could have just been the demon throwing the oil cans at me."
Dean's eyebrows climbed to his hairline, "You're kiddin' me right?"
The girl smiled at him, "Nope," that paranoid look returned to her eyes, "You guys aren't LARPers right? You are the real deal."
Dean nearly choked, Sam started laughing in the back seat, and Cas had a confused look on his face, "What is a LARP? And why does this woman think you are one?" he asked with his head cocked to the side.
Sam's laughter erupted in to full out hysterics and Dean's cheeks tinged red, "It's nothing," he responded gruffly. He turned back to the girl, "I don't know who you think we really are or how you think you know us, but we can give you a lift back to your car and give you a jump."
"Thanks." The girl walked around the Impala and slid in the backseat next to Sam, "I'm Becca Dawson, by the way."
Sam and Dean made no move to introduce themselves, so Cas piped up, "I am Castiel, pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Oh, what a pretty name to go with such a pretty face," she purred sticking her arm up to shake hands with the man, "it's lovely to meet you too."
"Yeah, yeah," Dean said gruffly, "I'm Dave Hope and that's Phil Ehart back there next to you, now where did you say your car was?"
Becca kept her arm where it was, now resting between Cas and Dean, "It's up a ways, can't miss it. Though I must say I didn't realize Kansas was touring in an old Impala now. Want to try the introductions again or should I go ahead and get my autograph book ready?"
"That is Dean, and Sam is next to you," Cas said as way of introduction.
Dean shot him a wounded look and as his eyes rolled back to the road he glanced at the girl's arm in between them, he glared at it and then noticing something he asked, "What happened to your wrist?"
She jerked her arm back from between the boys and said with a smile, that didn't quite meet her eyes, "I got burned as a kid, no biggie."
Sam glanced at her wrist, which she was no clutching with her other hand, the skin was red and raised slightly, but it looked less like a burn and more like a brand. He tried to get a better look at it when he heard Dean shout, "You must be shittin' kidding me."
"Well this is my stop," the girl, Becca, said hurriedly while sliding out of the Impala, "really it's been a blast, probably should have warned you about the whole can't leave town or your car and phones die, sorry about that but you know what they say, c'est la vie."
"Hold it right there kid," Dean growled, "you aren't going anywhere until you explain what happened to my baby!"
"Dean," Sam said warningly.
"And what the hell is going on," Dean amended.
"Sorry handsome, love to help but I really don't know much," the girl shrugged her shoulders and walked around to her car, an old '99 cherry red mustang, she reached in the backseat and grabbed a bag, "but what I have figured, is there's a motel about ten miles outta town and that's a hell of a lot better than staying here. So you boys gonna join me? Or are you gonna run in there half-cocked and clueless?"
Sam turned to Dean, "She's got a point dude."
"I am not leaving my baby in the middle of the street!"
"Oh no one is going to be coming this way." Becca called out helpfully from halfway in her trunk, "everyone in town is either dead or already gone and we're on one of the back roads."
"Why is everyone dead?" Cas asked.
"Demon killed them I guess, look I really don't know much more than you. If you're coming than move it but if not, well, sit here I guess not much you really can do, your phones are dead and unless you want to turn around and go into town your stuck here until the next person drives through or the demon gets bored and moves up the road."
Dean let out a long suffering sigh, "Grab the bag Sammy looks like we're goin' with the kid."
"So glad you decided to tag along handsome, but you don't have to sound so enthusiastic, I might get the wrong idea." Dean and Cas both glared at her and she watched as Sam's lips twitched up in a smirk. "Don't worry pretty boy," she said to Cas, "I'm glad you're coming too. It's just my luck to find such a lovely group of boys to accompany me. I feel like this is the start of a beautiful friendship," she paused and looked thoughtful, "or maybe it's a bad porno."
"Just start walking," Dean all but growled.
Becca fought back a smirk and shrugged, "Suit yourself."
They walked in silence for a couple of miles until the girl spoke up. "So you and Sam are brothers," she asked.
"Right."
"And you and Castiel are sleeping together?"
"No!" he denied quickly.
"Sorry, I just assumed. You keep checking him out and you get this glare whenever I talk to him. But if you aren't sleeping with him I might give it a go. He looks like a virgin and I just love to be the first. Oh! There's that glare again!"
"Finally, there's the motel." Sam chimed in from ahead of them.
"Great! I'm starved," Becca said speeding up.
She and Dean walked into the check-in while Sam and Cas went to go find food. "Hi," she said with a smile, tracing her finger along the desk in front of the young man working the counter.
"H-hi," he stuttered out.
"My wife and I need a room," Dean interrupted.
If Dean's comment fazed her she didn't let it show, "Now sweetie, where do you expect to put the boys." She gave the teen at the counter a look and rolled her eyes good naturedly, "two rooms, please."
"Each with one bed, ma'am?"
"Two queens in both if possible," she told him, she turned to Dean, "Don't give me that look, we both know that Cassie will just end up in our room, he just hates staying in places like this and his brother just eggs him on."
"That'll be $188, how'd you like to pay for that?"
As Dean started to reach for his wallet, prepared to pay for the rooms or have Hector Aframian pay for the rooms, but before he could Becca handed the teen a card, pulling it from nowhere, "Credit, if that'll work."
"It sure will. Here's your room Mrs. Sullivan, have a nice day."
"So is it Dawson or Sullivan?" Dean asked as they left the check in.
"As far as you know, it's Dawson. Mrs. Sullivan would be the lovely old lady whose mailbox happened to be on my way out of town. It'll be at least a month before she notices that it's gone and by then it really won't matter."
Dean shrugged and accepted her answer; she tossed a key to Dean "Here you three can fit in one room I'm sure."
"Why the hell did you need to get two beds in both rooms if you're just going to take the room yourself?"
"A couple of reasons. 1. It worked for the cover you so ingeniously came up with, a tired and upset kid who needs to stay with mom and dad 'cause he's scared of the weird, probably HIV infested motel room. 2. The kid at the counter knocked off 30 bucks because he thinks we have a failing marriage and he thinks he can sleep with me. 3. I figure when you inevitably grow a pair and shack up with angel boy, poor Sam might want to sleep somewhere other than the floor outside your door."
"Did you say angel?"
"Really that's what you took from that speech. Yeah I said angel, Castiel is the angel of Thursday, I figured his parents were religious freaks or something. I know I'd hate to live with that name."
Dean snorted, "Yeah religious freaks, that's one way to put it."
The girl shrugged, "Okay then… I'm going to the room then. See you when there's food."
She walked in the room and as Dean turned to look for Sam and Cas he heard a shriek, "Oh you must be shitting me. Conjoined rooms this is ridiculous. What was the point of getting two rooms at all?"
He chuckled, the kid may be giving them more questions than real answers but she wasn't bad company.
Sam showed up a few minutes later a fast food bags in hand. They all sat around a small table that was in the boys' room. Becca had just taken a huge bite of the cheeseburger Sam had brought back when he asked, "Earlier you asked if we we're the real deal, what exactly did you mean by that?"
With an exaggerated gulp the girl replied, "Wow you really have great timing and, honestly, how do you even still remember that. Okay, so you know a while back when the Carver Edlund books got really big?" she didn't wait for them to answer, "Well I flipped through them while work was slow so when the series ended I was a little upset."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Dean interrupted.
"Calm your tits, I'm getting there." She chastised, "Anyway, so I got kinda into the books and when they ended I was mad, but I had heard a rumor that he was going to continue publishing the series online, where he could do it for free. Instead I managed to stumble on this twisted little side of the internet where the 'More that Brothers' site exists."
"Still waiting for the point," Dean muttered his face red.
"I see you're familiar with it. Anyway, not that I have a real problem with the site itself, fanfiction as a whole is a decent creative outlet for people and it's good to get them reading. I really don't care about the slash stuff either, if horny teenage girls feel better about reading porn than watching it good for them either way I guess they're learning. But the incest bothered me, so I had fun commenting on the girl who ran the site's works, you know, telling her why all of her ideas were so farfetched because of the various neuroses that the characters she was writing about had and that none of her plotlines would even remotely work in canon. The point," she said when she saw Dean about to interrupt, "is that when Becky, or whatever her name is, found out that the characters from the books are real and that she got to meet them well she couldn't help but rub it in my face. I'm still a little concerned about how she managed to find my phone number."
There was silence for a while before Sam finally said, "You're kidding, right?"
"Even if I am, you three did just tag along with some chick you picked up off the side of the road when she said she was attacked by a demon. There's really only one outcome in a situation like that, maybe two if you're the previously assumed fictional characters from a poorly written 'Supernatural Thriller'. So there's either the acknowledgement that I'm right or the acceptance that you're a bunch of horny guys that'll pick up a hot chick off the side of the road even though she's probably a raving psycho killer."
There was more silence and finally she piped up again, "There might also have been a case that you dealt with around where I was living for a while; I didn't put two and two together until I read the book, he is updating online now in case you were wondering."
Still more silence, "All righty then, while this conversation has been riveting truly and your input has been thought provoking and just mind blowing, really, but I'm gonna give you some time to think this over while I get out of these ruined clothes."
She slipped out of the room and into her own slipping off the ruined shirt and tossing it back behind her, the two hunters craned their necks to look and before the door shut behind her they caught a glimpse of black ink and another red mark both poking out from above the waistband of her jeans.
"So, can we keep her Sammy?"
"This isn't some stray dog that followed us home from the park Dean. This is a person, a person who knows who we are, or thinks she knows who we are, and is probably crazy."
"Well what are we supposed to do then Sam?"
"Dean is right Sam, if we do not take her in with us. The only other solution is to leave her with her car until the demon gets a hold of her while we push the Impala to the next service station." Cas pointed out.
"Right, my baby is broke down on the side of the road 'cause of that damn demon. We can't go anywhere till we gank it, so we might as well let her help."
"Why do you want her with us so bad? Ever since she's been with us you've spent half your time glaring at her, if looks could kill she would have knives sticking out of her at every angle."
"Yeah well," Dean muttered red in the face, "the kid grows on you. Besides she's either gonna have to stay here or come with us, she seems like she knows what she's doing, and she can't be any less competent than the Ghostfacer douches."
Sam sighed but made no move to argue again, about that time the door reopened and Becca reemerged. Now wearing a threadbare black shirt and the same ripped jeans, she had a laptop in hand and tossed a small paperback on the table in front of the boys. "What's this?" Dean asked examining the book.
"What's it look like? Don't tell me you're just another pretty face." She responded.
"What is this books relevance?" Castiel tried.
"See now there's a good question. So the demon had said something about a revenge plan when he was trying to kill me. Let something slip about a demon killing another demon, and he was going to fight back blah, blah, blah poorly thought out plan. He started to say the other demon's name though and he got out the Cr- part before he stopped and realized what he said and then tried to kill me."
"So the book is for…" Dean prompted.
"It's gonna give us the demon he wants dead's name and his name."
"And your sure about that," Sam asked skeptically.
"Well, 90% sure. I've read the book before and it would fit, potentially."
"Potentially," they echoed.
"Well yeah."
"So you have a hunch that we might be potentially right about the name of a demon. The name of a demon whose only goal while here is to kill another demon." Dean reiterated.
"It's not that simple."
"Why isn't it that simple? Seems pretty simple to me. We just let the two of them kill each other and if that doesn't happen we wait and gank the winner."
"But, but he's not really evil," she sputtered.
"He's a demon kid, there's no such thing as a not evil demon."
"He's misguided really; he was hanging out with the wrong crowd before, when he fell." She sent a desperate look to Sam, who had picked up the book and was flipping through it.
He opened to a random page, the character list and introduction, his jaw dropped, "Dean," he said, "you need to look at this."
"Just read it Sammy," Dean sighed, unwilling to get up and look at the book that he didn't think would help.
Sam sighed, recognizing his brother wouldn't do what he was asked, and read, "Crowley, an angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards."
"This is a joke right," Dean asked.
He was met with blank stares, "This has to be a joke," his eyes lit up in sudden realization, "Gabriel, get your feathery ass down here," he shouted.
With a rustle of wings Gabe popped in, landing in Becca's lap, "No need to shout Deano," he drawled with a grin, pulling a sucker out of his mouth. He looked around the room and after a quick headcount looked down at who he had landed on, "Hello."
"Hi," she replied with a laugh.
"And who might you be?"
"Becca Dawson, though I think I should be the one asking the questions. I am the one who had a small man land in her lap, seemingly out of nowhere."
"Touché," he smirked, "now what did you want Deano, I'm a very busy guy."
"What is this?" Dean asked angrily.
"Well…" Gabe answered, sliding off of Becca's lap and onto the bed beside her, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth."
"That's not what I meant," Dean interrupted, "what is this," he growled launching the book at Gabe's head.
"Hey," Becca shouted, "don't throw that, I've had that since college." She snapped her fingers as Gabe reached up to grab the book, the book brushed the top of his fingers but, by some miracle, it moved back and landed softly in his lap.
Gabe looked at the title and grinned, "Oh, I remember this one."
Dean sighed in relief, "Knew it, this was all some trickster bull and now the kid is going to disappear because she was all a part of Gabe's stupid joke."
They sat there for a few seconds, Dean waiting in gleeful anticipation for his day to make at least some sort of sense again. After a while of nothing happening Becca just smirked and wiggled her fingers in a little wave, "Still here and also not a projection."
"I'm in this book," Gabe bragged, returning back to the conversation, "well I'm mentioned a couple of times." He turned and found Cas shaking the book at him to accent his point, "Cassie you should remember this you would have been in heaven still during this shit storm."
Castiel looked back at him blankly, head cocked and trying to understand what Gabriel meant.
"Oh you know," he sighed realizing he was going to have to spell it out for Cas, "it was back in the 90's when they decided to try that dry run of the apocalypse, the one with the antichrist. Come on Cassie, you know, the one Aziraphale stopped with that demon he was so fond of."
"That was Crowley?" Castiel asked at the same time that Dean cried, "The King of the Crossroads, averted the apocalypse?"
Becca clapped her hands together, "Okay, now that that's settled. Who wants a beer? Anyone? There's a bar down the road, saw it when we were walking in."
Dean shrugged, still uneasy about where this case was headed and a beer seemed like the best solution. "Yeah, I could use a drink."
Gabe perked up and bounced on the edge of the bed, "Hey Sasquatch, I know this great drink you should try! It tastes just like cotton candy and skittles!"
Sam grimaced but laughed good naturedly, "God Gabe, that sounds nauseating."
Gabriel pouted, "Fine let's fly over then, I'll show you how nauseating my drink is."
As Gabriel' hand reached out to grab Sam and Becca' shoulder she flinched away and yelped, "No! No, um, I'd rather walk thanks."
"I'm with the kid, that teleportation shit makes me queasy."
Gabe shrugged, "Suit yourselves, Come on Cassie it's no fun to drink with just the human." That said he smirked and grabbed Sam's shoulder before he could argue; they disappeared with a rustle of wings, and left Castiel standing there. He looked questioningly at Dean and after a short conversation of eyebrows and head tilts vanished like Sam and Gabriel.
"I know why you really stayed," she muttered going back into her room.
"Really and why is that?" Dean asked following her.
"You don't trust me yet, understandable, and you want time alone to try and figure me out."
"That's not true," Dean instantly covered, trying not to alienate their strange, new companion.
"Dude, come on. I'm a strange girl you picked up off the street; I'd be more worried if you did trust me. I know way more about you than you do me… Way more," she added with a pointed glance down, "Besides, I've seen that glare you give me when I look at your angel."
Dean sputtered lamely before muttering, "He's not my angel."
She smiled fondly and shook her head, looking like a mother humoring her naïve child, "I wish I had someone who looked at me like you look at him. Not to mention the conversation you just had with him, it was all head nods and eyebrow quirking that's a sign of a profound bond."
She waved him out of the motel as she slung a brown leather messenger bag across her shoulders, Dean was positive she hadn't had that when they were walking to the motel. "It isn't like that, I don't swing that way." He defended.
She rolled her eyes, "That is such a guy thing to say, 'I don't swing that way,' blah blah." She mocked. "There are 7 billion people on the planet and you're gonna limit yourself to half of them. Really less than that if you think about it," she rambled, "there are people you'll never meet in other countries, too young, too old, married, dating, lesbians."
Dean let a fond smile cross his face, "I thought limiting yourself to one sex was a 'guy thing.'"
She laughed, "It is, and you shouldn't let yourself be so close minded. But not everyone gets to hear the wisdom that I am bestowing on you." Dean laughed and she continued, "Angels are sexless anyway. So you aren't so much sleeping with a dude, as you are sleeping with an ethereal being… Who happens to be wearing a dude's skin, wow that came off really Silence of the Lambs-y."
Dean laughed, "I got the point. What about you, kid?"
She shot him a knowing grin, "I'm really not one to kiss and tell. I like to keep an air of mystery around me, especially around boys who just want to know what team I'm batting for."
Dean was about to complain when she announced, "Ah, here we are! Thank God, cause I need a drink!"
They walked into the bar to find Sam, Gabe, and Cas sitting at a long table right next to the bar. Gabe had a strange, pinkish looking drink and was waving it under Sam's nose trying to get him to take a drink, Cas watched the two amused, nursing his beer and trying to avoid having Gabe's drink shoved in his face next. Becca and Dean walked up to the bar; Dean flashed a heart melting smile to the slim redhead tending the bar, "Two beers, gorgeous."
The redhead glared at him, she sighed and turned to grab their drinks. Becca came out from where she was standing slightly behind Dean. As the redhead turned back to face Dean she caught sight of the girl, the bartender put on a sweet smile and handed Becca their drinks, "On the house," she said.
Becca grinned back at her, "Thanks," she drawled. She walked back to the table the boys were sitting at, putting a little more swing in her hips as she did. Dean was pouting over by Cas, his ego wounded. "She just doesn't swing your way," she whispered in his ear, setting his drink down in front of him, "she does, however, like busty brunettes, and she gives them free drinks."
"Is our Dean losing his edge," Gabe sing-songed from across the table, "the new kid is getting the free drinks now."
"Stuff it feather brain," Dean growled.
"Dean," Castiel chastised half-heartedly. Dean grinned back at him unabashed.
"Now we know why the bartender wasn't in to you Deany boy, your heart just wasn't in it," Gabe leered.
Then the table erupted into bickering, Dean and Gabe arguing back and forth while Sam and Cas tried to calm them both down. As the boys continued to argue Becca slipped away from the table and out the front door.
"Kid help me out here," Dean cried turning took look at her now empty spot, he turned back to face Sam, "how long has she been gone?"
He was met with shrugs and muttered I don't knows, "I'm sure she just went out to get some air," Sam pointed out reasonably.
"Or maybe she shacked up with the hot bartender," Gabe said with a wink.
Dean rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna step out for a second."
"Oh come on Deano, the kid can take care of herself."
"Yeah, well," Dean joked, "striking out was just too much for my ego. I need some air before I can look at the example of my defeat again." Sam and Gabe chuckled and Castiel cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what was really going through Dean's head as he stepped out of the bar.
Dean walked out the door and looked around where he was standing, he didn't see the kid, maybe she had gone out back with the redhead from the bar. He was about to go back inside and finish his drink when he caught sight of her standing up in the middle of the road and brushing herself off. It had gotten dark in the time that they had spent in the bar and walking to it, so he couldn't tell what had happened to her. He jogged over wanting to help her before anything else bad could happen, he called out her name as he got close and when he was standing next to her he noticed a sheepish look on her face. "What happened?" he asked concerned.
"Don't get mad," she warned.
"Why would I…" Dean started to ask, then he looked around and noticed where they were standing. Noticed that the bar they were in front of was at the corner of an old, dirt crossroad, noticed the freshly upturned dirt in front of the kid, "You didn't."
She looked abashed, "Sorry."
"Were you planning this the whole time? You must have been who just carries the ritual items around with them?"
"No, you don't understand," she started.
"Damn right I don't, what the hell is this?" He didn't wait for an answer and he turned and started walking toward the bar.
Crowley appeared next to Becca as Dean's back was turning. "Hello," he purred, "now what is it that I can help you with? Love, money, power?"
"Oh I know," the girl purred back, her accent losing its subtle twang and adopting a slight English lit to match Crowley's, "you can stuff it. I'm kinda busy at the moment." She turned back to Dean about to chase after him, "Stay," she called to Crowley as she ran to where Dean was.
"Listen, I know what it looks like okay. And I'll be frank this was a little preplanned," she explained, as she spoke Dean noticed her voice had taken a steely edge to it, one that spoke of experience in doing things like this, one that belonged to someone who wasn't used to having to hide and explain things to others, "I knew that there was a crossroads by the bar, I knew I could get you here easily, so I did what I had to. There's a master plan at work here, you just have to trust me. I swear I'll explain more later."
Dean sighed but he agreed and she grabbed his arm and tugged him back to Crowley with her. When he saw her approaching Crowley called, "Now what can I help you with… Oh, it's you lot. I'm just doing my job Winchester, no need to burn my bones. But if your lady friend wants something it's gonna take more than a kiss." He gave the girl a lewd smirk and a wink.
Becca glared back, "I don't sleep with bonded men."
"I didn't say anything about sleeping with Winchester."
"Neither did I," she retorted with a smirk.
Crowley snarled, "Leave him out of this."
"Touchy," she sighed, her hands up in mock surrender, "really I was just shooting in the dark, I didn't think a demon could bond with…"
"Leave him out of this," he growled again.
"Fine." she let a long suffering sigh slip out, "Okay," she ordered, "here's what's going to happen. We're going to regroup at the motel and I'll fill everyone in on what is really going on."
"Why would I go anywhere with you lot," Crowley spit.
"Because you want to keep that pretty little meat suit of yours, don't you." She turned to Dean, "Call Cas, have him fly you back to the motel it'll be faster," Dean went to open his mouth, to shout at the empty air, summoning the angel, "not like that."
"Not like what, you said to call him." He testily replied.
"Okay, what you're going to do is think," she paused grasping for the right words, "you want to push your thoughts toward him, call him with your mind kinda."
"Call him with my mind," he echoed, "and what am I supposed to say."
"I don't know. Tell him you're in danger, or tell him you lost me, oh! or tell him you want his tight, hot body. Any one of those should work."
Dean's face flushed and he gaped, trying to find something to say. He settled for closing his mouth and still red in the face focused on what the kid had told him to do.
Castiel appeared less than a second later, "Yes Dean," he asked eyes open wide in what looked like confusion.
Dean shot a glance at the girl, who had a knowing smirk plastered across her face. "Motel, fly there with him. Get Gabe and Sam there too," she ordered and then turned to direct Crowley, whose eyebrows were raised so far up that they were touching his hairline, "Motel, you can do the fly thing to yes." She didn't wait for an answer. She grabbed a hold of Crowley's arm, snapped her fingers, and they were gone in a blink.
Cas looked to Dean in confusion, he just shrugged his shoulders, "She said she'd explain. Let's hurry up and get Sammy."
It couldn't have taken more than a couple of minutes to get back to the bar and explain what had happened to the others. It had taken a couple more for Sam and Gabe to stop yelling about how they couldn't go back and face a demon and someone who they obviously didn't know as well as they thought, they argued back and forth and they finally decided to return if for no other reason than an explanation. Cas and Gabe grabbed their hunters by the arm and they're gone in a flash. They reappeared in the motel and caught the end of an argument between Crowley and Becca from the other room, "You aren't going to be able to keep it a secret for forever you know, the Winchesters may be completely oblivious to anything that's right in front of their face," he gave a lengthy pause, "but they are good at what they do," he acknowledged with a sigh, "not to mention those two bloody angels they have with them."
Dean huffed in protest and whispered, "What does he mean oblivious."
Gabe chuckled, "You're kidding, right. There's a list, I have a list if you want to see it."
Sam shushed them both and they grumbled but obeyed getting quiet just in time to hear the kid say, "Even if they do figure it out it'll be too late for it to matter."
The four men looked at each other confused, Dean opened his mouth to ask what that meant when Crowley and Becca came into the room, "Oh good you're finally here," she said.
"Yeah just got here," Sam covered before anyone else could admit that they heard part of the argument.
"What he means," Dean said gruffly, "is we here so explain."
"Well, nothing that has actually left my mouth has been a lie."
"Really?"
"Yeah, everything I let you assume about me that's where the lies come in. But they're all lies of omission so it's not like they count. And let's not get all high and mighty since I was introduced to Kansas earlier today."
"So you aren't a naïve coed who's gonna sleep with me?"
"Yeah none of that is even remotely true."
"So you aren't in college?" Sam asked at the same time Gabe asked, "What are we considering naïve?" and at the same time Dean asked, "You sure about that last one?"
Becca smiled, "Okay in order," she pointed to Sam, "No, I do have my doctorate though," then Gabe, "I've seen a thing or two, nothing we'll talk about now," she winked and pointed to Dean, "and like I told the demon, I don't sleep with bonded men."
Dean flushed, but asked, "What does that even mean?"
Gabe choked out a laugh and his fist flew to his mouth, "Oh sorry, you both, you're both serious."
She sent him a knowing grin, "You know I am. Why don't you explain it to him?"
Castiel jumped in, "Every angel has what humans have termed a 'soul mate. And if an angel and their 'mate' are in a high stress situation…"
"Or if they're doing it," Gabe cut in with a laugh.
"Or… that," Cas continued, "a bond can form."
"Oh don't give him the short version Cassie! Not only does a bond form, which is a bond for life there Deano, but the mate gets a rather lovely parting gift," he laughed, "that's the real kicker."
"A parting gift?" Taking pity on Dean, Becca motioned at her arm. Realization crossed his face, "Oh."
"Don't look so sad Deany boy, there are some good things I've heard," Gabe covered, seeing the embarrassed look on Cas' face, "I've heard the sex is supposed to be otherworldly," after he received a glare from Becca and a hissed Gabe from Sam he added, "there's a psychic bond to, allegedly. Telepathy and shit, don't know never actually seen someone who had one."
"The sex is phenomenal though," Crowley chimed in.
"The point," Becca said with a glare in Crowley's direction, "is that really the whole thing was ineffable, though it isn't the point of all of this. Congratulations, mazel tov, whatever. Back on topic."
"And what would that be," Crowley sneered, "we've spent most of our time figuring out Winchester's love life."
"Well the plan was saving your demon ass," Dean growled, "but I'm hoping that the plans changed."
"Oh," he laughed, "and why would I need saving?"
"Cause the Duke of Hell managed to snag a meat suit and now he's out for blood, yours to be exact. Something about dumping holy water on a guy's demonic lover will do that to someone," Becca announced, irritated.
Crowley grew pale, "Ligur is here? Why, in the bloody wherever, would you bring me here if he's trying to kill me?!"
"Because," she said patiently, "he's set up camp in a town he's cleared out. Set up directly on a cross roads, so he can summon your ass. So we're keeping you here so you don't end up," she made a slicing motion across her neck.
"He's staying?" Dean and Sam asked.
"Yeah he is," she turned back to Crowley, "so call your dear bond mate and let him know you won't be coming home tonight, I'd hate for him to be worried," she ordered in a sickly sweet voice.
"Why would I call him when I could just," he began.
"Because I'd like to hear what you're saying. Hate to sound cliché but I can really only trust a demon about as far as I can throw one, and I never did have a very good arm."
He rolled his eyes but produced a small, black mobile. He flipped it open and expected it to call who he wanted. "Hello," he answered after a minute, a small, fond smile sneaking onto his face, "yes, yes I know you hate your mobile. I know angel, you're so dreadfully stuck in the past.
"No, no the original was one of mine, this update is purely human.
"Yes, I did have a reason for calling you on this 'blasted thing.' I won't be home tonight.
"No the Winchesters are acting as body guards, I'll be sure to fill you in at dinner later, at the Ritz.
"Yes, they're the same ones I told you about. They have a clever one with them now.
"Yes, yes I promise I'll tell you all about it. We'll make a night of it.
"Yes angel, me as well. No, I'm not sure when exactly I'll be back. Watch the Bentley for me; it should be fine it front of the store.
"Yes, I will try to be home soon.
"Yes, yes Zira," he ended the call shortly after that with a mumbled response that sounded suspiciously like love you, too.
Gabe had a shit eating grin plastered across his face, "6000 years and the two of you have finally done the deed, so sweet."
"Bite me, feather brain."
"Oh, I think Aziraphale has already got that covered."
"At least I can get mine to sleep with me."
"Boys, focus please." Becca chimed before Gabriel could jump up and throttle the demon.
"Oh come on kid, it was just getting good," Dean whined.
The girl shrugged, "Sorry, maybe later. Have to keep a singular focus right now."
"And what is this plan that you seem to have all worked out." Crowley asked tone full of disbelief.
She grinned, a cold glee shined in her eyes. With a flourish she produced a knife from nowhere, "Slide this right between the ribs, give it a twist, and hell is looking for a new Duke."
"Please like that will do anything." Becca glared at him and launched the knife at the wall behind him, with it narrowly missing the demon's ear. He dug it out of the wood paneling behind him, spinning the knife around in his hand, "Oh."
"Yeah, oh," she said grabbing the hilt of the knife and ripping it from his hands. "I'm headed to bed; don't want to be tired when we're creating a régime change."
After she had retreated to the other room Dean asked, "Is that actually going to do anything?"
Crowley nodded, "It's rather similar to the blade that Ruby gave you."
Dean grunted in acknowledgment and flopped down on one of the beds, "I'm siding with the kid, lights out."
Gabe popped out and reappeared cross-legged and smirking on the other bed and Crowley settled down on the sofa. Sam nudged Castiel toward the bed Dean had flopped down on and he walked through to the other room.
"You know why I had to call," Sam heard the girl say; she was clearly talking to someone on the phone.
"Yeah I'm with the Winchesters. We'll take care of it tomorrow.
"Yes, yes I'll deal with them tomorrow as well. I'll be back before you know it Sweetie, promise.
"No, I don't want you anywhere near this. You'll blow my cover; they already think something is up. I've had to adapt.
"Nothing much, just some minor personality tweaking, it would have happened eventually. Thought it would have happened sooner. Gabriel landed, literally, in my lap. Thankfully he was distracted by Sam and forgot about it.
"Don't be that way.
"That way. I'll be done by tomorrow it'll be a quick in and out. Goodbye demon, goodbye Winchesters.
"No, I'll just move onto someone else, something else. It's always the same old song and dance.
"If the plan looks like it's going to change I'll let you know. I'll call you later." She hung up and Sam felt a sickening feeling in his chest, he knew it was too good to be true; the kid was just a little too perfect. Too sweet and naïve, then too suddenly cold and knowledgeable, things like that never spelled out good things for Team Freewill. He cleared his throat to draw attention to himself. She smiled, "Hey Sam, what's up?"
He decided not to let it slip that he had overheard her phone call, if they didn't know her true plan and what she meant by goodbye Winchesters, letting her know that he had heard her might make her desperate. "Well," he answered, "There are only two beds and Gabe is in one and Dean is in the other and Crowley took the couch."
"I'm sure Gabe would have been happy to share with you," she said with a lewd smirk, "what about Cas, where'd he end up?"
"That's part of the problem too," he replied with a laugh, "Cas is in bed with Dean and everyone else has the option of poofing away if things get to…"
She laughed too, "Understood, blasphemous brother sex isn't your thing. Have at the other bed. It's all yours dude." She paused and then joked, "Unless you're a snorer then you are on your own, I'll throw you back in the other room."
"So what's the plan?" Dean announced the next morning, the boys already up and ready.
The girl yawned and stretched, the hem of her white shirt rising up and giving Dean a quick glimpse of half of the raised, pink mark on her hip. The same half that was visible from the top of her jeans was visible from over her black pajama pants; he tried to figure out what it was and why it looked so familiar when it was covered once again by her white shirt. "I'm thinking eggs."
"What?" he asked confused.
"The plan, it is for breakfast right? I'm thinking eggs. Ooo unless this place has a continental."
Dean glared, "Not that."
"Oh right the hunt or whatever. Okay so we'll go in the demon will say something that's supposed to be witty and insulting to Crowley but will really just be funny since he only seems to be capable of communicating in ye olde English and he looks like a Dukes of Hazard reject. Then when we're done laughing I'll stab him and then we can skip merrily into the sunset. But I'm not doing anything on an empty stomach."
"Are we sure she's not really a Winchester?" Crowley asked, "Because, darling, the more I'm around you the more it seems you have to be related to these two… gentlemen."
"Okay grouchy. I see someone didn't appreciate the couch or are you just crabby cause you haven't gotten laid in a while?"
Crowley grumbled something in response and the kid shrugged, "Fine kill first food later. I'm flexible and I'm sure you're date at the Ritz has got you just all hot and bothered, so we'll hurry up and get your ass home won't we."
"What about the rest of the town?" Castiel asked.
"What about it?"
"You cannot honestly expect that we are going to be able to walk into this establishment, kill a demon, and slip back out quietly without anyone noticing. Even if we could dispose of the demon quietly someone could see."
"Well they could if there was anyone to see anything. The town's abandoned."
"Abandoned?"
"Yeah as in no one is there. Judging by the state of the town it survived on outside commerce, so when Ligur came in and made sure every car that came in couldn't leave, people stopped coming and the ones that lived in town left, ergo no witnesses, ghost town."
He nodded slowly and the girl glanced around the room to make sure everyone was on the same page and watched in amusement as Dean struggled to find the words to the question he clearly wanted to ask. "So no one would've been anywhere near my baby?" he asked slowly.
"Well since Castiel has been here the whole time I would imagine you would know," she replied unable to resist getting in the harmless dig, "but I'm sure your car is fine too."
She was met with amused reactions from Sam and Gabe (Sam looked down to hide a smile and Gabe started to laugh but tried to cover it with a cough when he saw Dean's glare,) Dean glared at Gabe and then her, and Cas' face turned pink. She sighed, "Okay then I'll just go get changed and we'll head out then."
When she came back she watched as Sam and Dean rifled through a duffle and pulled out a couple firearms. "So you're decent with a knife but how are you with a gun."
She gave him a look that said she thought he was an idiot but she took the Smith & Wesson from his extended hand, "One, I am excellent with a knife, not decent. Two, we aren't going to need guns so I don't know why you're bringing them out. For the record I am equally amazing at any weapon you could pull out of your bag Mary Poppins. And last, but not least, I am never without at least three weapons on my person so," she handed him back the gun, "I usually try to have more but you have to work with what you have and some outfits don't give much." She pulled out a Beretta from the back waistband of her jeans.
Dean shrugged and placed the gun back on the table, "Would you like a demonstration," she continued, with a tone Sam compared to the one Dean would use when he was trying to play stupid but was finding it harder and harder to pretend, "I could stand on my head and shoot beer bottles of a fence."
"I'm sure that won't be necessary," Cas answered obliviously.
Though it wasn't intended to calm the girl down, she did visibly relax. "Why are you bringing all of these guns anyway?" Crowley asked as Dean pulled out a sawed off shotgun, looked at it, and then put it back, "We're just going to walk in and the kid is going to stab Ligur seems simple and gun less."
"Yep, seems simple enough," the girl replied scooping her wavy, shoulder length hair into a high ponytail, "let's do it," she grabbed Crowley's arm and snapped her fingers and they both disappeared.
"Shit," Dean shouted, "'seems simple enough' that isn't a plan. Damnit!" He sighed and tossed the Smith & Wesson at Sam and pulled another gun from his bag, "Let's go," he called to the two angels.
They popped in to find Crowley chasing after the girl as she headed into an abandoned service station, "Hold it," Dean shouted.
The girl stopped and jogged back to where the boys where standing. "What," she cried throwing her hands in the air.
"How about, what's the plan? Is there a plan? Or are we just going to run in there, guns a blazing, and hope you get a good shot."
"That sounds like a plan to me."
Sam drifted back to what he had overheard last night, "Dean is right, if we go in there now someone could get killed."
"No one is going to get hurt," the girl soothed, "it's not like this is my first, boys. It's a simple hunt and an even simpler kill. Granted he is using a host for this one," she looked to Crowley for confirmation, "I would prefer an exorcism but that would guarantee someone would die, not to mention the worry of him coming back." She made it clear she was finished talking, when she noticed that no one was following she sighed and added, "It's six against one, now I'm worried about your competence level if you don't think we can win."
She turned and walked away again, walking faster when she heard them trailing behind. They walked in the service station, weapons drawn; she motioned to a door that led to the garage out back. Grabbing a hold of Crowley's arm she flung open the door and tossed him in. "What," she asked as they gaped at her, "I was planning on going in after him!"
They trailed through the door catching Ligur mid-rant. "Truly, Crawley it was most tempting to call you here. But to watch you crawl in like the snake you are, much more fulfilling," Becca pointed and mouthed, 'attempted witty insult' the movement caught Ligur's eye, "Crawley have you fallen so far that you are requiring the help of mortals now, angels are one thing, you did have a soft spot for them, but three mortals who rightfully belong to us," by this point he had made it over to where the hunters were. He grabbed Becca's face and gripped it in one hand, "It is disgusting," he breathed into her face, pulling it close to his.
She spit in his face and he recoiled, he had a look of fury on his face and she could practically see the flames leaping from his fingertips. She reached for the knife and from the corner of her eye she saw the Winchesters scramble for their guns. "You insolent creature," he bellowed, "You will pay dearly for that." He made a swiping gesture and the guns went sliding across the concrete floor. He took a step back and raised a hand, the room crackled with energy. When a shadowy figure appeared between the girl and Ligur, there was a thud that sounded like the hilt of a knife colliding with bone. Ligur became a scattered mess of dust on the floor and someone muttered, "Weird, just like Buffy."
The shadowy figure turned around to face the girl. He smiled at her and ran a hand through his black hair; his blue eyes were cast down and then risked a glance up. As he did the knife she had been holding went soaring past his ear. "Are you a complete idiot?" the girl asked hitting his chest to accent each word. The hunters winced, feeling bad for the man on the receiving end of the girl's anger, "You could have gotten yourself killed," she shouted, "not to mention the fact that I didn't need your help."
"Yeah, you looked like you had it completely under control," he said sarcastically.
"I had it handled," she bit out, "and don't turn this around on me. Can we, for once, remember that we aren't exactly on anyone's friend list? I can go unnoticed but you can't just disappear, you just killed the Duke of Hell, God damnit."
The angels and the man in front of her winced at that when something hit Castiel, he nudged Gabe and said, "Isn't that…"
"Eli," Gabe finished and the man looked back at the angels.
"You didn't say they were both here," the man, Eli, groused.
"Well in my defense you weren't supposed to be here either," she replied.
"What in the hell is going on?" Dean shouted.
"I was hoping to avoid this," the girl said clearly addressing Eli, "kill the demon, fix the boys, and get in the mustang and drive away. No explanations, no ties, just getting my name out and moving on to a new town."
"Well you're going to explain now," Dean cut in.
She sighed, "Not here, I'm thinking a diner with an old, blue-haired waitress named something like Flo. Or is it late enough to start drinking?"
"It's 10 in the morning," Eli informed her with a tone of disapproval.
"5 o'clock somewhere," she tried.
He shook his head and in a flash they were seated around a cracked Formica table. "Explain," Dean growled out.
She shook her head and waved over the waitress, "Pie?" she asked, when the waitress nodded she grinned, "Brilliant, okay can we get a pie, just whatever you've got whole, and a pot of coffee," she ordered adding, "please," after receiving a stern look from Eli.
When the food and coffee arrived the girl started talking, "I'm not looking for pity or anything. I am only answering the questions you have and will ask, no more, no less." She waited until they nodded in understanding, "Do you remember, oh it was about 13 years ago, Sam you would have been 16; there was a ritual suicide in the basement of an old hospital in a rural area, Kentucky I think. Oh it was in all the papers."
"Yeah, Dad drove down for that said something about a case but we left the next day," Sam answered.
"Yeah ritual suicide here," she replied raising her hand. "If you could call it that, the papers always get it wrong. Really it was me, a hunter's kid with daddy issues who sold her soul so her dad wouldn't die."
They gaped at her for a while and finally Dean asked, "So you're..."
"Human, yes."
"And he's…"
"Not."
"You were in one of the battalions below Cassie, right," Gabe asked Eli.
Eli nodded in response and Castiel spoke up, "There were rumors that you had disobeyed orders, most believed you had fallen. I see that is not the case."
"Demoted, actually," Eli responded.
"Well don't say it like that," the girl cut in, "I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you and don't try to deny it."
"So you're…" Sam tried to ask.
"Bonded, yeah," she flashed her wrist were the boys could now tell that the marking was a handprint; she lifted the hem of her shirt and they saw the top half of another hand, "I've seen you staring at it, I'm a little concerned that you didn't figure out what it was."
"But didn't you say you sold your soul?"
"Getting there, patience grasshopper. So like I said hunter's kid, we weren't quite the same caliber as you but then no one was as good as the mighty Winchesters; we really didn't need to be I guess. Dad's vendetta was nothing like your dad's he wasn't after anything as powerful as a demon, hell the worst thing we ever went up against was a Shojo and the damn thing eviscerated me before we finally killed it. Guess it was still surprising when Dad ended up on his death bed because some witch brought a gun to the fight. It wasn't even what he was after, not that he told me either way; he took the job instead of showing up to my graduation; I got called out after they handed me my diploma, Dad's on his deathbed. So like Daddy's good little soldier I went to the hospital and saw him, then I went down stairs and made a deal with a demon.
"It turns out though that unless you're some real hot shit it's a soul for a soul down there. So there was no year to say goodbye, no anything just gone. I was 16, I had just finished high school and then bam straight to Hell, do not collect 200 dollars.
"So I was in hell for a year about when I woke up in a balsa wood box three feet underground. So not only did my father not respect me enough to give me a proper hunter's burial after 10 years of whoring myself out for information and risking my life but he couldn't even give me a proper normal person burial," the boys could feel her bitter rage boiling just below the surface.
"Sp you spent a year in hell and you did what when you got out," Dean asked disbelief tingeing his question.
"Made it to the nearest town where I promptly had a complete and total breakdown, voices included and I spent the next six months in a psych ward."
They sat in awkward silence for a while before Dean asked, "How long till… you know?"
"How long did it take me to break? Two months up here, twenty years down there. Nothing to scoff at I guess but it wasn't, it wasn't physical stuff you know? Anyway I spent the next 100 torturing people, I assume at least don't remember most of my time dead, miracles of the subconscious." She paused, "For the record, the only reason you got the back story is because I felt bad. I know a lot about you from the Edlund books not to mention the misleading and then Eli showed up."
"Demoted, how did that work out?" Gabe asked.
"I got off easy because I blamed the bond," he replied frankly, "Instead of falling they said I would have to 'guard the one I pulled out.'"
Gabe and Cas both winced in sympathy, "That's rough."
"What about that PhD you said you had," Sam asked.
"Funny thing about the psych ward is that it kinda gives you plenty of time to do whatever. I worked through most of my college stuff through correspondence and had my degree in psychology by the time I was 19. Wrote my dissertation on my own personal brand of psychosis."
"That's still 10 years unaccounted for," Dean cried out, "plus missing back story!"
"That's all you're getting from me. Listen it was nice to meet you guys, glad to see you got your head out of your ass Dean, Sam you might want to give it a try," she got up from the cracked plastic table and with a snap of her fingers there was a black leather jacket around her shoulders she winked when she saw the boys jaws drop, "Cool trick right, you'll have to figure it out for yourself Dean; it comes from being in a lot of close contact with an angel's grace, you get some of the perks of being an ethereal being after that intimate contact with their grace."
"So you just created that? Brought it from nothing?" Gabe asked.
"God," she started and Eli glared and nudged her so she amended, "He-" she started again and he glared even more, "Curie no." she turned to Eli and said, "Well I don't care if you don't appreciate the implication, I'm being censored and I'm going with scientists today. What was it last time? Yeah that's right, English writers. Now actually speak please, the one sided conversations worked before they knew you existed now it's just rude and makes me seem crazy."
He mumbled an apology and a fond smile crossed her face. "Alright then," she said addressing the table, "it's been fun but I'm gonna be off. Things to see, people to do. I'll see you around, maybe. Best of luck with," she paused and considered who she was dealing with, "not dying."
She started to walk out the door and Dean called out, "Wait," she turned back with a smile she was trying to suppress on her lips.
"Yes," she asked.
"You could come with us," he muttered, "hunting and stuff."
"Yeah," Sam added, "you know what you're doing and it wouldn't be terrible to have a few more hands on deck."
"And it wouldn't be awful to have someone who knows what's going on with this angel stuff," Dean tacked on a little red in the face.
"Well," she said in false contemplation, "it wouldn't be awful to get back into the hunting game again. What do you think sweetie?" she asked Eli.
"It doesn't really matter what I say angel, you're going to do what you want either way," he replied with a sigh.
She laughed and gave him a peck on the cheek, whispering something the boys couldn't hear in his ear and announced for the boys benefit, "We're in!"