[Present]
Dean was at a loss. The last hour of his life had seemed surreal. He had driven away from Sam, reached the end of the block, and had such a suddenly strong feeling of uneasiness that he had immediately turned around and reached his brother just in time to save him from the heat and the flames, for the second time in their lives.
Only last time, taking care of Sam had been pretty easy. A little rocking and soothing and he was okay. This time, Dean couldn't just tell his little brother not to cry, everything would be okay. It wouldn't. The love of Sam's life had just gone up flames, and Dean had no idea what to say.
He drove to a motel. He had passed one on the way in, and knowing the location of the nearest motel was second nature in Dean's life. It was about a twenty minute drive. Dean glanced at his brother. Sam was calm. Too calm. Occasionally, a hand would move to clear the tears from his eyes, but he just stared straight ahead as if deep in thought.
Dean glanced in the rearview mirror and caught sight of the girl in the backseat. He had seen her before at Sam and Jess's apartment, so she must be the roommate, the "friend", Sam had briefly mentioned. Dean frowned. He didn't know her, he didn't trust her, and he didn't want her in his car. What happened in there was their family problem, and even if she currently couldn't stay in the apartment, there had to be someplace else she could go. He wasn't about to start some fight with Sam over it right now, though, and Sam seemed so certain about her. Oh well, Dean could sort it all out later. Right now, his major concern was getting his brother someplace safe, and the motel was the only thing he could think of.
Sam and Jen waited in the car while Dean procured a room. He didn't know what Jen was going to do, but if she wanted her own room then she could get out and get it herself. The trio was silent as Dean parked the Impala in front of the door that said 15 and they entered the small motel room. Jen stayed at the rear of the group and Dean quickly threw his duffle on the bed nearest to the door. Sam still looked like he was in a trance and he quietly sat on the other bed, looking down at his hands. Dean looked over at his brother who hadn't said a word now in the last half an hour.
"Sammy?" He questioned.
"What do we do?" Sam responded quietly. Dean looked at his brother quizzically.
"What do you mean, Sammy?"
"We have to do something. We have to find out what did this and we have to kill it. So, where do we start? What do we do?" Sam's voice started to break. Tears filled his eyes as he looked up at Dean. Dean knew that the person sitting on the bed was his 22-year-old adult brother who has been living by himself at college for three years, but what he saw were the eyes of his kid brother, waiting for Dean to tell him how to make things better, like he always used to do. Only this time, Dean didn't know, so he just looked at Sam. Sam asked again.
"What do we do?"
This time it only came out as a whisper and a tear fell from his eye. Dean didn't know what to say, but he knew what to do. Dean sat beside his brother and three years ago may as well have been yesterday as he wrapped his arms around his brother who fell sideways onto his leather jacket. It was okay. This was one of the few times when it didn't matter if the jacket got a little wet.
As Dean held his shaking brother he looked up for a moment for the girl that came along with them. She was sitting in an armchair in the corner, a black wrap pulled completely around her. She watched Dean comfort his brother as well as he could. Her face was expressionless, but she seemed to understand. Dean knew that a lot had probably happened in the last three years. He wondered if this girl would be his link to that part of Sam. He began to realize that he might need her around after all, at least, for a little while.
Soon, Sam began to calm down again, and Dean began to realize just how little sleep they both had gotten.
"You two should try and get some rest." Jen whispered, moving across the room to Dean who was still cradling Sam. Sam was nearly asleep already, and Dean tapped his shoulder to rouse him.
"Hey Sammy-boy. Time to switch to the pillow."
Jen came over to the other side of Dean and helped him shift Sam to the bed. He babbled something incoherent towards them, but Jen rubbed his shoulder and whispered, "You should rest, Sam," and he rolled over and fell asleep.
Dean looked at Jen for a moment as she stood upright and looked back at him. "You should rest, too." She said, matter-of-factly. Then she walked past him and went back to the chair she was in before. She flipped the switch on the light beside her. Dean watched her until the room was dark, and then took his place in the bed, but with one ear toward Sam, and one eye on the girl in the chair.
Dean did eventually fall asleep. He woke up once a couple of hours later to the sounds of muffled crying from Sam's bed. He shifted, trying to wake himself up when he looked over and saw Jen sitting up on Sam's bed already, whispering to him. Dean was too tired to worry about it. Maybe this Jen would be useful as well. Note to self. Ask about her in the morning. Dean rolled back over and got a few more hours of sleep.
The next time Dean woke up. Jen was sitting at the desk reading a book and Sam was asleep again. He looked at the clock and realized that it was close to 10:00am.
"Whew, maybe I should go out and get some breakfast food or something." He said rooting through his duffle.
"I could do that." Jen said, closing her book and standing up. Dean started to protest, but Jen kept talking. "I know where to go around here, and there's a place I can walk to just up the road. Plus, I think it would be better if you were here when if he wakes up instead of me." Dean wasn't about to argue with that, at least so long as she wasn't asking to drive the Impala, and Jen took off.
Sam did wake up while Jen was gone. Dean heard the shout, "Jess! Jess!" just before Sam sat upright and looked around dazed for a moment. Dean sat on the edge of the bed.
"Sammy, you alright?"
Sam shook his head and swung his legs over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He looked around the room for a moment. "Where'd Jen go?"
Dean sighed. Something seemed odd about that: Sam waking and asking for Jen, but again, Dean had been gone for three years. What had he missed? He had to find out.
"She went to grab some breakfast or something."
"I'm not really hungry."
"Maybe you should try and eat something." Dean started as the door opened and Jen returned.
"I agree." She said, bringing over a bag and tossing one at Dean. He peered inside and found what appeared to be a lemon-poppyseed muffin. Jen sat across from Sam on the other bed and pulled a bagel out of the other bag she held. "Cinnamon-raisin with cream cheese." She held it out to Sam, who ignored her. "Please, a little at least." Sam begrudging took the bagel and took a small bite. Jen smiled and pulled another bagel out of the bag that she began to eat.
"So," Dean started, figuring this might be his only chance to get the story about Jen. "We were kind of rushed last night," Sam flinched, and Dean hurried to get the rest out. "What's the story with the two of you?"
Jen looked up at Sam and smiled. "We met the first day of orientation." Sam weakly smiled back and the two of them quickly relayed a story about freshman year orientation, study groups, Christmas carols, and lunches. For a few minutes, Dean got a glimpse of Sam's life in college, and Sam got a brief mental break from recent events through. The story ended about the middle of Sam and Jen's sophomore year.
"Oh, we also did the Cabaret shows together." Jen recalled.
Sam laughed. "Yeah, I did lights, and we would sit up in the booth and watch Jen perform."
"We?" Dean interjected.
Sam continued without thinking. "Yeah, me and Jess." A sudden silence settled on the three. Sam looked down. A moment later he looked up at Jen with tears in his eyes. Dean watched as she quickly moved next to Sam and took his hand, which he grasped without hesitation. Dean swallowed hard and felt a pit in his stomach to see his brother transformed once again from the Sam he knew to the grief-stricken boyfriend he didn't really know what to do with. Well, Dean knew the one thing he was good at, hunting down evil fuckers like this one. He stood up and turned to Jen and Sam.
"You asked me yesterday what we should do. Well, I know you probably don't want to, but we should go back to the apartment and see what we can find."
Sam gripped Jen's hand harder and she put her other hand on top of it. Sam looked up at his brother. "I know." He said very quietly. "I know."
"I can't believe we found nothing!" Dean paced around the motel room. "No EMF, no remnants, nothing."
Sam sat at the desk burying himself into his computer. "There's got to be something we're missing."
Dean stopped and looked at his brother, desperately trying to find something anything to go after, to get answers. No, not answers, revenge. Dean knew the look. He had seen it in his father's eyes more times than he'd like to recall. He never knew what to do about it then, and he still didn't know now. He looked at his father's journal sitting on the bed. Maybe there's something in there.
Dean grabbed the journal and sat on the bed. He glanced over at Jen who was going through the bags of stuff they managed to salvage from the apartment. Sam had barely looked at it. He seemed to be fully focused now on hunting and researching, a sure sign of denial if Dean ever saw one. Wasn't much else they could do anyway. Dean opened the journal and started to read.
The research continued almost nonstop for the next two days, and kept ending in dead leads. Sam didn't want to quit or even take breaks. He spent his waking hours looking for something to follow. He tired himself out trying not to fall asleep because whenever he did, his mind replayed Jess's death over and over. Everyone was exhausted.
Dean turned to the next page in the journal. He had barely gotten anywhere spending half of his time trying to decipher his Dad's cryptic descriptions and notes. Just as he started to glance at the pictures and words in front of him, he heard the moan. Dean's gaze went immediately to the desk where Sam had fallen asleep at his computer.
Crap. Now Sam was mumbling, "No. Jess!" Dean looked across the room at Jen who was already moving off the other bed in Sam's direction. Dean put the journal down and did the same.
Sam woke suddenly with a start and a loud shout. "Jess!" He blinked a few times and remembered where he was. Jen had found her way to the chair next to him and rubbed his back gently. Tears filled Sam's eyes and he put his hand to his mouth and started sobbing silently. Jen wrapped her arm around him and pulled him gently toward her. Sam gave in to her and allowed himself to hold her and sob. Dean put a hand on his brother's shoulder and looked at Jen. This had happened a few times in the last two days, and Dean was starting to worry about Sam's ability to function if he couldn't get some sleep. Jen's expression suggested that she had a similar thought.
Dean remained for a moment trying to lend some comfort to his brother, but soon returned to his seat and the journal. He looked back over at Jen and Sam, thinking again about her. He had mixed feelings at this point. He was somewhat relived that he didn't have to be the one to deal with Sam, he was never good at this kind of thing. Yet, he was still somewhat concerned about this person he didn't know or trust. Can you really get that close to someone in three years? Dean was used to protecting his brother, and his role seemed to have been usurped while Sam was off at college. Sam appeared to trust her completely, but had no compelling reason for that beyond "She's always been there for me." She was too mysterious. That made Dean nervous.
Sam calmed down after a minute or two and picked his head up and sat up. Jen picked up one of his hands and held it between hers. "Maybe you should try and get some actual sleep, on the bed, it might help," she suggested.
Sam shook his head, "I don't know, nothing seems to help."
Jen looked directly into Sam's eyes and spoke with absolute certainty, "Trust me, this time it will." Dean watched as Sam, who looked slightly tranced, suddenly stood up and moved over to the bed and lay down. Jen pulled the chair up next to him, and stroked his hair, and began to hum. Soon Sam was breathing deeply, sound asleep. Dean was still watching Jen, wondering how she finally managed to get him to sleep on the bed. Jen looked satisfied and stood up and smiled weakly at Dean.
"I think we both deserve a break, can I buy you a beer?"
"What if he wakes up while we're gone?" Dean questioned.
Jen glanced over at Sam. "He's pretty exhausted. I'm sure he'll sleep for at least a few hours." She sounded very confident, and Dean at least wanted to believe her.
Dean shrugged. "Who am I to turn down a free beer?" Dean grabbed his coat and both exited the hotel room. They headed down the street to a slightly shady, but quiet bar. Jen want up to the bar and ordered. Dean sat in a booth near the back. Jen returned with two pints of a dark-amber beer.
Dean took a long sip. He thought for a moment, and then nodded and smiled. "Well, you have good taste in beer, I'll give you that."
Jen took a sip of her beer. "Thanks, but I think that you have something to say that's not related to the beer." She gave Dean a knowing smile.
Dean paused a moment and took a long drink from his pint. He hadn't necessarily been hiding his suspicions, but he hadn't been making them obvious either, at least, he hadn't thought so. Still, if she was going to ask, he might as well talk. He began, in a somewhat accusing tone. "Yeah, I do. I don't know you, and I don't know how well you know Sam. I've been holding my tongue so far because you are good to my little brother, and I certainly don't need to be doing all this hand-holding 'share your feelings' crap that you both are so into, but before this gets much further, I gotta know why you are here? I'm not buying this 'good friend of Sam's' line you have both been feeding me. What do you know and why do you care so much about Sam?"
Jen took just as long a drink of her beer as Dean did his. She looked him in the eyes and began. "First thing I'm going to tell you is that I can't tell you everything, but I think you already know that. That's the life, the same one you live, where some things have to remain untold for the higher cause. Here's what I can tell you: I'm fighting against the same things you are. Things that hurt and kill people, and things that are evil, but I'm doing it in my own way. I know Sam, and you, because in this business, the Winchesters are a well-known name, more than you know yet. I can tell you that I've been doing this job for a long time, longer than you think, and I know that you and Sam are special and very important. I would do anything within my power to help you both, and I'm here when you need me." Jen paused for a moment and something changed in her eyes. She looked deadly serious. "Trust me, Dean. I'm on your side, and I can help."
Dean kept looking at Jen. He wanted to trust her. Dean didn't understand why, but everything she said seemed to make perfect sense. Something was still nagging at him though, but he couldn't place it. There was almost something, oddly familiar about Jen. That couldn't be though. He would remember a girl their age involved in hunting. At the very least, Dean couldn't pass up the help with Sam. He already didn't know what he would have done without her for the last few days. How much trouble could one girl be? Okay. Decision made, for now.
He picked up his remaining beer and downed it. "Ok, you seem like a cool chick, you take good care of my brother, and you have good taste in beer, you can ride with us. However, I warn you, two things: first, if you so much as injure one hair on Sam's head, I will destroy you. Second, I do not do any of this chick-flick, share my feelings crap, so you just stick with Sam and I'll deal with me just fine."
Jen smiled and downed her remaining beer, which caused Dean's eyes to widen slightly. "I will leave you to handle anything you can handle," she paused and looked at their empty glasses. "Another round?"
Dean thought for a moment and shrugged, "Maybe just one more."
Jen signaled to the bartender and soon they had full pints. The two spent another hour chatting and getting to know each other. Jen told a few stories about Sam at Stanford, and Dean told a few hunter stories. Dean felt better about Jen by the end, and was ready to accept her as part of their team, for now. He almost couldn't understand how easily she seems to fit, but yet, it felt natural to him. After the second round, they did return to the motel room. As promised, Sam was still asleep. Dean went to the other bed and began to lay down. He paused and looked at Jen. "You want the bed?" He asked, something he hadn't done the previous two nights.
Jen smiled at him but shook her head. "No, I'm plenty comfortable on the chair, and I have terrible insomnia so it's easier if I can just get up and down."
Dean shrugged. "Ok, night."
"Goodnight." Jen turned the lights out, and Dean rolled over and fell asleep quickly.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far! I realize that this series is going to be a little out there for most people, but if I like to write this stuff, it stands to reason someone, somewhere will enjoy reading it, right? Anyway, if you recall your canon, Wendigo will be posted next week.