-1 A/N: Sorry on how long it took to start the new fic, and how short the first chapter was. Anyway as always thanks for the reviews, ya'll are wonderful!
Chapter Two
"No!" Autumn was tempted to slam the breaks and pull over so she could beat her sister to death for the thought. "You aren't going back there."
"Why?" Athena demanded. They were three days on the road, sleeping and driving in turns, the last thing Autumn wanted to discuss was the first thing Athena had chose for today.
"You want to pick up some scum bag at a bar for the night, fine. Whatever, you're the one getting screwed not me. You want an older guy that's okay too." She tried to clarify her stance. "Hell, I get the older guy thing. I've heard enough psycho-babble to understand that bit, but married is where I draw the line."
"A ring comes off, how are you going to stop me?" Athena demanded.
"Easy, darling sister, I'll tell Sam and Dean what you want to do and they won't let you out of sight."
"Because when a girl is with them they expect her to be a innocent little school girl," Athena huffed.
"No, because they've got morals, and know you don't mess with something that's already claimed. Just don't call him up, okay? For me, just refrain from making a fool of yourself." Autumn switched gears, choosing to beg instead of talk down.
"Uh huh, don't try that on me, sister. I didn't even say I was going to I just mentioned that Chuck lives in the area, and wondered out loud what he might be doing."
"Whatever." Autumn rolled her eyes knowing she'd won.
"So you really don't care if I get around?" Athena asked after a long pause.
"Oh Lord, save me." Autumn looked to the heavens through the windshield of her Mustang.
"I'm being serious."
"So am I, I need help fielding this one." She replied trying to mask her irritation with her sister's sex life.
"You realize Dean was the same way before you got your hooks in him."
"Athena," before she could finish her phone went off in her pocket. Autumn quickly dug out the offensive cell and answered it. "Yellow?"
"What's wrong?" Dean read the annoyance in her voice even with her hiding it.
"Nothing, just having a sisterly chat. What's up?"
"You're nuts will still be there if we stop for lunch won't they?" Dean asked and she could hear his grin.
"Yea, Dork, the nuts will still be there."
"You know, I was thinking"
"Don't hurt yourself."
"Ha-ha. I think we're going after a giant squirrel or a chipmunk."
"I'm on your tail pull off at the next exit your choice." Autumn rolled her eyes avoiding the conversation on how to kill Chip and Dale.
She didn't avoid the conversation long; lunch at Denny's included theories on how to kill a giant nut eating rodent. Autumn managed to convince Dean to trade her passengers for a while, she and Sam could discuss the hunt and start research from the car, a task Dean and Athena wouldn't want to touch. Athena and Dean spent too little time together in her opinion anyway, they were rarely just together without due cause. Sam was ready to start seriously discussing the hunt when he dropped into the Mustang.
"You've been at the wheel all day, sure you don't want me to drive?" he offered before it was too late to change her mind.
"Nah, I'm good for now." Autumn smiled. "So what do you think it is?" "You mean you didn't buy Dr. Hibbert's animal testing theory?" he asked in mock offense.
"He was turning humans into animals by combining their DNA; I don't think it's very likely."
"Okay, so where do you want to start?"
"Case file is on the back seat." She instructed him as she hit the highway.
"Wow, I'm really hurt." Athena pouted.
"You ask too many questions." Dean accused.
"And you really don't wanna go there." Autumn put her hands up when the others looked to her for the reason she was refusing to ride with her sister any longer than she had to. Athena rolled her eyes and grabbed her duffle from the back of the Mustang.
"I'm going to take a load off. Tell me when we're ready to do something constructive." John followed on her heels. The dog had recently taken to following after Athena, as if she might disappear at any moment. Sam grabbed his bag and tailed the dog and blonde to their motel room, leaving the other two hunters alone between their classic cars.
"Teenie, you okay?" he asked dropping the bag on his bed. Athena was sprawled out on hers feet crossed in the air behind her as she flipped through television channels.
"Fine, Sam." She stabbed numbers into the remote choosing a channel playing Monty Python's Flying Circus.
"You sure?" he pushed in his ever sympathetic way. She sighed but didn't answer for a long time when she finally looked at him.
"Just need a break, and we don't get those in this job." The desperation in her eyes worried him, he could see the wheels turning behind them. Athena was plotting something that was likely to get them all in trouble.
"You want to sit this one out?" he offered, figuring they could manage whatever was here alone.
"Nah, Sammy, I'll be fine in a little while. Just need to blow off some steam."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"Don't worry so much." She closed the topic turning up the volume.
"What'd Jenny call about?" Dean asked when Autumn came back out of their room. She leaned onto the hood of the Impala next to him.
"Will still missing." she sighed. "We have to lie to Teenie, though. Otherwise she'll take off to Canada to find him."
" 'Kay, what are you thinking we tell her?" Autumn shrugged and looked at him desperate for a lie. "Want to go for a drive?"
"Yea, babe." she slugged his shoulder before diving into the passenger seat and waiting on him to take her far away from the betrayal she was about to commit.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?" Autumn faked her shock. The nurse shook her head, eyes darting about.
"No, his sister, Mary-Lou, don't want any search parties and anything beyond the police's basic treatment." Jean shook her head sadly. "I knew I shouldn't have let him go. I should have known better, with the stories."
"Stories?" Dean inquired. Jean brushed her hair off her shoulder, leaned over the counter between them, lowered her voice, and swept her eyes over the hall.
"Every few years a couple of people will just disappear. It's always innocent, harmless people, like seniors and our mentally ill patients, a male and a female usually but isn't that how all these stories go?"
"What do they say happen to them?" Dean asked doubling her cautious tone.
"The police drag the river and say they drown. You hear there's not much left of the body, close casket, family never sees them. This, usually, isn't a problem because there isn't much family for these people. But the kids say there's a monster in the woods that feeds on them. A lot of mutilation goes on in abandoned houses, some kid'll get a slap on the wrist for when the cops find the tore up cats or dogs or whatever."
"Have you ever been here when it's happened before?" Autumn asked.
"No, messy divorce last year, I moved here two months ago to get a fresh start." Jean pulled back now that the subject was shifting.
"I'm sorry that must be rough." She offered the nurse a weak smile.
"Got dead weight off my shoulders, the rest was worth that. But, Remy?"
"We'll see if we can't pull some strings get the case status upped." Dean promised.
They had left Sam to handle Athena and her escape thoughts, while the pair of them went to start research. Of course the first place to start was Garden Manor, a home for seniors and the mentally ill who needed more supervision than their family could or was willing to provide. Autumn had the name of the nurse on call the afternoon Remy came up missing. So, when they're 'drive' brought them past Garden Manor she instructed Dean to pull in, the best way to forget family drama being to wrap up in work drama. They'd found the nurse and told her they were reporters, that the case was on interest, and Jean had started spilling details.
"Thank you so much." Jean reached out shaking both their hands. Autumn allowed a gentle, comforting squeeze.
"Don't blame yourself for this, Jean. Whatever sick-o did this, it isn't your fault."
"I know, but that don't make it easier. I lost a patient on my watch to something I wasn't trained for." she shook her head. Dean was shooting the door looks every few seconds, ready to get away. "Thank you so much for this. Maybe the creep will come out or someone will have details."
"We can only hope." Autumn nodded.
"Thanks."