"So, do you have any ideas about what it might be?" Sam asked as they entered their hotel room. Alex nodded her head.

"I figured that with all the, uh, mess that it could either be a demon or a ghoul."

Sam scrunched his face at the thought of ghouls. They had never come across one before, not like they were complaining though. Dean had the same thought and added,

"We didn't find sulfur at the house, so that narrows it down pretty well." He shook his head and made a disgusted noise. "Ghouls are nasty, man. Feeding off the dead, then mutating into the last corpse they stuffed down. That's just sick. I mean eating people's one thing, but then they're stuck looking like a dead guy. We'd probably be doing it a favor by killing it."

"Some favor." Alex muttered under her breath.

"What'd you say?" Sam trying to understand what she just said.

"Well, it wouldn't be around to appreciate the gesture now would it?" Alex teased. Sam nodded, but kept his eyes fixed on her cautiously. She reminded him of someone.

Dean didn't see his brother's puzzled face and huffed out a laugh at Alex's joke. She may have dissed him earlier, but anyone that makes fun of Sam's hair is okay in his book.

Dean regained his focus and tried to make sense of the case. "So how do you think the dead girl fits into this?"

Alex shook her head in agreement. "I thought about that too. Maybe the ghoul found the girl's body, and , you know, and after it became her, maybe she went back to the family."

"Why would it do that?" Dean questioned.

"When you lose someone, you'll give anything to get them back. And if the one you loved most walked through your door, you'd probably be pretty happy."

San sighed. "If only that could happen." He said as he thought about Dean's deal. He'd give up his life to have Dean be okay and not have to go to hell.

Dean looked down feeling guilty at Sam's subtle mention of how he felt about his deal. Dean still didn't regret it though. His father had told him to protect Sammy, no matter what. He was always willing to give his life to save Sam.

"Anyways," Alex continued, "She could have just walked up to the front door and they would opened it gladly."

"Why would it do that?" Sam asked. "Ghouls just feed off the dead, don't they?"

Alex snorted at his question, as if the answer was obvious.

"You guys are hunters right?" She spat.

"Haven't we already been over this?" Dean replied.

"You guys have probably wasted enough ghosts to know how friggin awful the corpses smell. Even ghouls probably get sick of all that rotting flesh, so why not move up to fresher game?"

"Makes sense." Dean said. "And acting like the dead chick would have been the easiest way to get to the family. Gain their trust and then take bite."

"We should talk to the neighbors and see if they found anything." Alex suggested. Dean nodded.

"Yeah, Sam and I were planning on doing that when we finished up with the house. You know, before we ran into an amateur."

"Excuse me? I've been hunting almost as long as you have. What makes you think you're better than me?"

"Well going by all the scars you have all over your arms, I'd say you've had your fair share of fights. And it looks like you didn't always come out on top."

"Oh, like you've never had bad days! I'm sure you're just the perfect little hunting duo!" She turned her gaze toward Sam. "What about you Sam? I bet you've never had any problems, right?"

Sam tilted his head at her with a twitch of his lip. He was reminded of all the time he'd been kidnapped by demons, ghosts, and even people. Supernatural crap just seemed to follow him everywhere.

Dean huffed out a breath, but it was more like a regretful sigh. "Look, Alex, yes Sam and I have had our share of problems, but we've always been there to look out for each other. We've got each other's backs, but nobody's looking out for you! What happens when you're cornered one day, and no one's around to help?"

"Then I'll die! That's what hunters do, Dean! They save a couple people, gank a few monsters, and then they die! It happened to my father, your father, and one day, it'll happen to me and you too!"

Dean scowled, knowing that his end was coming way too soon. He stood up and started to head towards the door. Sam went after him.

"Dean, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go talk to the neighbors, see if they saw anything."

"I'll come with you." Sam protested.

"No Sam, someone's gotta stay with Little Miss. Sunshine over there, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be me. Not unless you want the hotel room to end up looking like a crime scene." Dean argued. He hated the fact that he had enjoyed her joke earlier.

"Fine. I'll see if we can figure out where it might go next. Just be careful, Dean."

"I'm not the one hanging out with Debbie Downer over there. You be careful." He was only half joking, and he set off.