【"Adventure is what happens when you just did something stupid." -Professor Bernie】
Hitting the end button on her phone angrily, Alex lets her head fall against her chest unsure why she's even continuing on the hunting path. She was angry when Sam left the first time for some normal apple-pie life and now you could say she's boiling hot over the fact that Dean has decided to go after that apple-pie life. She knew he was still dealing with the loss of Sammy, hell even she was.
Scoffing Alex tosses her phone down rather hard on the table causing it to skitter across the grainy wood to the other end. Wrapping her slender fingers around the neck of the beer bottle sitting to the side she picks it up and places it against her lips before turning it up and draining half of it.
A knock at the door has both Bobby and Alex heading to the front of the house. Unlocking the door Bobby pulls it open only to find Dean, Lisa and Ben standing on the front porch. Blinking her brown eyes some, Alex's heart speeds up some upon seeing Dean.
"Damn it." Bobby says.
"It's good to see you too Bobby, Al. It's been a while." Dean replies.
"If you're here, something's wrong." Bobby states, earning him a swift jab in the back from Alex.
"Bobby, this is Lisa and Ben. Alex you should still remember them, from back then… With the bugs." Dean says.
"Hi." Lisa says.
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you two. Alex has tried to describe you, but it just doesn't paint a perfect picture." Bobby replies before motioning for them to come on into the house. "Mi casa es su casa. Maybe you wanna just go upstairs. TV's broken, but there's plenty of Reader's Digest. Just don't touch the décor, okay? Assume it's all loaded."
Stepping back into the house, Alex situates herself beside Bobby as they wait for Lisa and Ben to disappear upstairs.
"So…" Dean says just as a very familiar face saunters into the house.
"Hey, Bobby. Alex." Sam says as he walks up behind Dean. Staring wide eyed Alex attempts to form coherent words.
"Sam, I mean I knew but when, how?" Alex finally says as she turns to look at the elder hunter.
"Sam." Bobby replies with a small smile directed towards Alex, knowing the jig was up. Slowly Bobby leads them into the makeshift living room so that they could at least sit down for the lecture that was bound to come.
"You knew? You knew Sam was alive?" Dean asks as he walks around to stand in front of Bobby, while Alex stands off to the side still trying to process how she had managed to keep this whole thing from Dean.
"Yeah." Bobby replies.
"How long?" Dean asks.
"Look—" Bobby starts to say but is cut off by Dean.
"How long?" Dean asks, adding emphasis to each word.
"All year." Bobby replies.
"You gotta be kidding me." Dean says.
"And I'd do it again." Bobby says.
"Why?" Dean asks.
"Because you got out, Dean. You walked away from the life and I was so damn grateful, you got no idea." Bobby replies, anger very clear in his voice.
"Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?" Dean asks as he turns back around to face them.
"Yeah. A woman and a kid and not getting your guts ripped out at age thirty, that's what." Bobby replies.
"That woman in there and that kid. I went to them because you asked me to." Dean states as he angrily points his finger at Sam before turning to look at Bobby. Hearing that slightly tugs at Alex's heart and causes her to close her eyes as the conversation draws on.
"Good." Bobby says.
"Good for who? I showed up on their doorstep half out of my head with grief. God knows why they even let me in. I drank too much, I had nightmares. I looked everywhere. I collected hundreds of books, trying to find anything to bust you out." Dean says, emotions dancing in his eyes as one sternly takes its place on his face.
"You promised you'd leave it alone." Sam says as Alex scoffs.
"Of course I didn't. Sue me. A damn year? You couldn't put me out of my misery?" Dean asks.
"Look, I get it wasn't easy, but that's life. And it's as close to happiness as I've ever seen a hunter get. Ain't like I wanted to lie to you, son. Hell I made Alex keep her mouth shut and I know that was hard as hell for her because you're her family. But you were out, Dean." Bobby replies.
"Do I look out to you?" Dean says as a door upstairs opens and closes, signaling that the conversation was over. Turning, Dean leaves the room leaving Bobby, Alex and Sam to wallow in the emotions Dean had finally let flow from inside.
Shuffling her feet some, Alex looks over at Sam, "Bobby told me you were back, you could have called you know?"
"Yeah, I should have called you, but Bobby said you were working some of the southern states trying to rid the world of some prick-stick vampires." Sam replies, a small laugh coming from Alex as she catches onto the prick-stick part.
"By the way, how did that go?" Bobby asks as he turns to look at Alex.
"It was okay, but after a while hunting vampires does get old and tiring." Alex replies as she glances down at the scar on her left palm, her mind taking her back to the first vampires she ever hunted, back when she was hunting with Dean while Sam was away at Stanford.
Footsteps heading towards where they are cause them to look at the doorway just as Dean walks in, "Alright lets go and Al, you're coming with."
"Whoa there tiger, going where?" Alex asks as she pushes away from the chair she's been leaning on since the previous conversation.
"To hunt Djinn." Sam replies, causing Alex to huff and stomp her foot some a small part of her immature side coming out.
"But I don't wanna hunt Djinn." Alex says as she follows the boys out of Bobby's house while shrugging on her jacket.
"It'll be a big help." Sam states as she waves by to Bobby and climbs into the midnight black Dodge Charger that Sam seems to be driving now.
"Fine." She says as they speed down the road, heading back to whatever small town that Dean lives in. Dozing off for an hour or so Alex didn't realize that they were pulling up in front of a small run down shack until Sam slams on the brakes, throwing her forward.
"Shit!" Alex blurts out as her head smacks the headrest in front of her, causing a small chuckle to emit from both Winchesters. "Not funny!"
Flinging open the back door of the car Alex climbs out right behind them, rubbing her now red and aching forehead. Following them into the run down shack Alex comes face to face with and a few unfamiliar people.
"What's the plan?" Dean asks as they come to a stop in front of the four people.
"Oh, right now, we stock up, get set. Why not introduce us to your other friend." The older man says as she continues to clean and work on a gun.
"Alex Mitchell, pleasure to meet all of you." Alex says as she nods to the three who nod back.
"Pleasure." The older guy says.
"So you're saying there is no plan. And he's our grandfather Al. That's Christian, Gwen and Mark." Dean says as Alex makes a facial movement that resembles the letter "o" while following his finger as he points each of his family members out.
"Well find them. We gotta be patient." The older guys says.
"Yeah, okay." Dean says as Alex closes her eyes and shakes her head knowing full well about Dean and patience. "Or here's a thought. Why don't we go kill the sons of bitches that broke into my home?"
"Relax, Dean. We got it handled. Djinn are hard to draw out. You've been out of the game. Leave it to the professionals." One of the younger guys says, which sort of hits a nerve in both Dean and Alex.
"Yeah. Sure. Tiny suggestion. You see, Djinn are easier to draw out when you got bait. They want Sam, Alex and I. They know where I live. Now, I haven't been hunting in a while, but I'm gonna stick my neck out and guess that's a pretty good place for us to go. See, it's almost like I'm a professional." Dean replies.
Nodding their grandfather stands up and nods, "Alright then, we'll start at the house."
Dean nods and turns, leading both Alex and Sam back outside and to Sam's car. Once back in the car Sam starts it up and pulls away from the shack and back towards Dean's house.
[]
Walking into the house everyone begins to spread out and do their own thing in preparation.
"Heh. Oh I love this one." Gwen says as Alex totes in a bag full of goodies. "Yours or, uh, your wife's?"
Alex near about runs into Dean when she hears what Gwen says, but stops in time to catch herself.
"Hey. Do me a favor. Don't touch that." Dean says as he hurries over to where Mark is holding a picture after giving Gwen a very strange look.
"Golf?" Sam asks as he fishes out a putter from the hall closet. "Really?"
"It's a- it's a sport." Dean replies before disappearing into the kitchen. Dropping the bag on the floor Alex takes a look around the house, silently making note of how much Dean is really into Lisa and Ben. Turning Alex walks into the kitchen, catching the tail end of Samuel's sentence.
"Uneasy. Are you referring to the, new creatures popping up everywhere?" Alex asks as she fully walks into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I, uh suppose you've come across a few in the past year." Samuel replies.
"You could say that, vampires isn't the only thing that's popped up on my radar lately." Alex says as she leans against the far end of the counter, every once in a while feeling Dean's gaze on her.
"So what's your theory?" Dean asks.
"You tell me. All we know is it's all hands on deck. We're counting on each other right now. That's how it is with Campbells. We need you, Dean. As well as you Alex." Samuel says as he looks from Dean to her.
"Look, I hear you, but-" Dean says.
"You don't know what you're part of, Dean. You know, you had ancestors hacking the heads off vamps on the Mayflower. What I'm saying is that we're your blood. We're out there dying, trying to get in front of whatever this is. Maybe not the best time for golf." Samuel says before Dean heads outside leaving Alex and Samuel in the kitchen.
"Was your grandfather, Todd Mitchell?" Samuel asks as they make their way back into the hallway.
"I would ask you how you know that, but I have a feeling that you hunted with him in the past?" Alex asks as Sam pops out of the living room.
"You could say that." Samuel replies.
"I have some maps set up, let's take a look." Sam says as he leads them back into the living room, crouching down Alex glances over the maps just as the front door opens and Dean walks in clearing his throat.
"Those Djinn are just waiting out there, watching us." Dean says as he walks over to where they're looking at maps. "Everybody's gotta clear out."
"What?" Samuel asks.
"They're not gonna come until Sam, Alex and I are alone." Dean replies.
"So I'm supposed to leave you here with no backup?" Samuel asks.
"Dean's right. They're smart. They'd wait till they weren't outnumbered." Sam replies.
"All right, we won't be far. You call when they come, you hear?" Samuel asks.
"You bet." Sam replies.
"Pack up, we're out of here." Samuel says as he turns and heads outside. Walking out behind them they stand there and watch as they load up the van and pull away. Heading back inside they mosey around the kitchen, waiting patiently for something to happen.
"You okay?" Sam finally asks, splitting the silence wide open.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah. No. This is—This is crazy. I mean, you, Grandpa whoever brought you back." Dean says as he leans against the counter.
"They don't want to be found." Sam replies as Alex lays her head down on the counter, mentally sighing at the coolness radiating through her warm cheeks.
"I get that. But who are they? What do they want? Why?" Dean asks.
"That's a good question." Sam replies.
"Do you remember it?" Dean asks, causing Alex to raise her head from the counter where she had laid it.
"What?" Sam asks.
"The cage." Dean states.
"Yeah." Sam says.
"You wanna-?" Dean asks.
"No." Sam replies.
"If anybody can relate—" Dean says.
"Dean, I don't wanna talk about it. I'm back. I get to breath fresh air. Have a beer. Hunt with my family- that includes you Al. See you again. So why exactly would I wanna think about hell?" Sam asks.
"And you really think…?" Dean starts to ask, but trails off as he moves towards one of the windows in the kitchen, something catching his eye. Turning on the stool Alex leans over just as Dean moves towards the bag sitting on the counter. Looking out the window Alex watches as a couple falls helplessly to the floor, obviously being affected by the Djinn. Just as Alex slips off the stool Sam slides past her to see what's going on.
"Dean, they're dead and you know it." Sam says, catching Dean's arm.
"This is happening because of me." Dean says, but he pulls away from Sam, running outside and over to the neighbor's house.
"Dean!" Sam calls, before rushing back into the living room. Grumbling Alex runs after Sam so that she could get her syringes. Yanking open her bag she pulls out two syringes full of the poison. Turning back around her and Sam come face to face with one of the Djinn. Quickly Sam reaches into his jacket pocket for his gun, pulling it out he points it at the Djinn only to have it knocked out of his hand. Thinking on his feet he shoves the coffee table into his legs only to have it shoved out of the way.
"Alex!" Sam calls just picks up a lamp and begins to swing wildly at the Djinn. Carefully Alex edges around, trying to get behind it. Suddenly the Djinn catches a hold of the lamp and tries to touch Sam.
"Move!" Sam yells, ducking out of the way he slams the bottom of the lamp into the Djinn's chest sending him toppling over a kitchen table. Stumbling back Alex balances herself as the Djinn suddenly comes flying towards Sam. Flinging open the closet door he pulls out a golf club and begins to swing violently at the Djinn who falls to the floor where Sam continues to beat the Djinn to a bloody pulp leaving Alex stunned.
Turning Alex finds that yet another one has appeared, then the other. Looking back at forth Alex takes a step forwards but is stopped by Sam.
"Al, I can handle them you need to get to Dean." Sam says.
"Are you crazy, you're highly out numbered." Alex replies, trying to make a split decision on what she should do.
"Go!" Sam yells.
"No! I… I…" Alex says, fighting with her inner self just as Sam's backed into a corner. Finally deciding that she'll take out of the Djinn first she steps forward only to be grabbed by Samuel who holds a finger to his lips. Nodding she watches as Samuel takes down a Djinn.
"I got her. Take Alex and go get Dean." Samuel says. Nodding Sam grabs her wrist and pulls her along behind him. Skittering up the steps Sam and Alex run into the house and find Dean collapsed in the dining room. Tossing Sam one of the syringes, he quickly jams it into Dean's chest pushing hard on the plunger, just a few seconds later Dean is gasping and blinking.
Slowly they help him up and back over to his home where he takes a few moments to re-gather himself as the sun rises on the horizon. Soon enough though, Dean is back on his feet and walking through his home, surveying the damage.
Sitting up an overturned picture Dean speaks, "So Samuel and the cozes?"
"Don't know. They left in a hurry. I'm meeting them back at their place. You uh, you coming with me?" Sam asks Dean as Alex leans against the stairs.
"No. No, I'm going back for Lisa and Ben." Dean replies.
"I thought you said—" Sam starts to say.
"I did. I changed my mind." Dean says as Sam lets out a sigh as something else pulls at Alex's heart.
"Look, I practically shoved you both at them." Sam says.
"That's a funny way to put it, but all right." Dean says.
"I'm just saying, I really wanted that for you. And when I told you to go, I thought have it, you know? But now I'm not so sure. I mean, you'll be putting them in danger if you go back." Sam says.
"So it's better to leave them alone, unprotected? And then they're not in danger? I did this to them. I made them vulnerable the moment I knocked on their door. I can't undo that. But what I can do is go with the best option." Dean says.
"I hear you. I guess I just wish you were coming that's all." Sam replies.
"Why?" Dean asks as a curious look appears on Alex's face.
"Don't be stupid." Sam says.
"No, I mean it. You know plenty of good hunters. I'm rusty. I did something seriously stupid going out there. I almost got us killed. Al's up to speed on hunting why not drag her along." Dean says as he motions towards Alex.
"And that's exactly why I want you and Alex." Sam replies.
"What are you talking about?" Dean asks.
"You just went. You didn't hesitate and Alex was split in decision wise which is why she'll always be a good hunter in my book- but also kind of reckless. Because you both care and that's who you are. Me… I wouldn't even think to try." Sam replies.
"Yes, you would." Dean and Alex say at the same time.
"No, Dean. I'm telling you. It's just better with you and Alex around. That's all." Sam says.
"Listen," Dean says as he digs around in his pockets for his keys, "she should be hunting. Take her."
"Thanks. Really. But I already got my car set up how I like it. I should hit the road." Sam says.
"We'll walk you out." Dean says as Alex stands up and follows behind the two. "You keep in touch, you hear?"
"Of course." Sam replies.
"That doesn't mean a text here and a text there, call me damn it." Alex states before crossing her arms over her chest in a dramatic way.
"I will and it was really good to see you two again." Sam says, with that he climbs into his car and pulls away leaving Dean and Alex standing there in the driveway.
"Come on, let's get you back to your ladeh and youngin." Alex says with a bit of trouble, before patting him on the abdomen. Turning they walk back into the house to allow Dean to fix up whatever else that needed it, soon enough though they were on the road as the air lapsed into a familiar silence. Just enjoying each other's company, no words had to be spoken the air was already filled with emotions.
Author's Note: Ah… I really wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long, but I'm liking longer chapters to I hope it settles right with everyone! Hope you enjoy!
