Chapter 3
"Wait so you're telling me that this crap that happened 135 years ago is starting up again?" Dean looked at Augusta and Angela as they leaned against the battered truck that they had acquired that morning.
"It wasn't crap Dean," Augusta said gently. She smiled a bit since it was a delight to hear his voice again. Even though it sounded rough and there were instances of rude language but it was pleasant to listen to. "It was a serious thing because demons were involved."
"So demons caused the Hatfield and McCoy dispute?" Sam looked at Angela and Augusta not sure if he should believe it or not even though he had been around Angela long enough to know that she didn't kid about certain things. "I thought it was over something…"
"Yeah the whole thing with the pig was part of it," Angela replied as she used her forefinger to push up the hat she had been wearing since she got up that morning. "In 1882, I was called out by the Centurion to investigate a possible demon threat. Turns out they were right."
"So what a demon decided to…"
"It was like Hudson," Angela supplied as she pressed her fingertips together. "Different kind of demon but still the same thing," she added as if that made it better. It didn't really since she would rather not think about that for another decade. "Caused trouble with its followers and they spread discord between these two families and it changed the moment Ellison Hatfield was stabbed and shot during Election Day in 1882."
Dean remembered Hudson and noticed how Angela looked down the moment she mentioned it. He didn't blame her for that since he didn't exactly come out of that affected and the things he said and did… He couldn't forgive himself for that and he figured he didn't deserve it from her. He assumed that she went with the best case scenario and that was to act like it didn't happen. It was a defense mechanism of hers that Sam picked up a lot quicker on and had been a big help in recognizing the cues she gave. "So this Ellison guy dying started it?"
"It was one event that escalated it," Augusta clarified," We were hoping he didn't die and even rode out to the Hatfield place to try and help. He died two days after infliction." She shook her head slightly at that. "After that, we tried to get both sides to see reason."
"You tried to stop it?"
"Had to," Angela replied. "It was demons influencing people the way they do. It was like witnessing the war all over again. Pride was the sticking point until the hanging of Cottontop Hatfield. Then it petered out but the damage was already done. The 'feud' continued on sort of until 2003 when a peace treaty was signed by members of both families." She adjusted her position as she leaned against the truck.
"That's why you're here Gus?"
Augusta nodded at that as she answered Dean's query, "The Centurion has kept a close eye on the Tug fork, the boundary between Kentucky and West Virginia. They never could figure out why the demons did what they did then. One of the agents of the order stationed there reported unusual activity."
"But why come out to have Angie do it? Last time they kicked her out," Sam pointed out.
"Because I was on the original case," Angela replied as she spat at a pile of dirt. "I know the area and they think it might be the same demon."
"Piss poor excuse if you ask me," Dean pointed out. "They kicked you out after making your life miserable and now they want you back? No way. They need to get someone else."
Sam could see that it was what Angela probably had told Augusta when she first approached her. Yet he could tell that she had already made up her mind to go help these people. He said, "It's not possible Dean."
"Sure it is Sam. This is worse than what Cas has had her do," Dean pointed out.
"She made up her mind Dean," Sam replied as he looked at her and then at his brother. "She's going to go do the job."
Dean looked at Angela and the look she gave him confirmed what Sam was saying. "So you're going to let yourself be bullied into this?"
"You know I wouldn't let pride get in the way of helping someone," Angela replied, repeating what she had told Sam when they first encountered Anna. "I have little to no love for the Centurion but I am not going to let history repeat itself. Something is going on at the Tug and it is not just a simple demon infestation just to be a pain in the ass. I don't know what it is but if I can find out what it is, then I can put a stop to it."
It was a tall order and both Winchesters knew that she was telling the truth with the fact that she would put aside her dislike for the Centurion to do the job. They looked at each other and then at Angela and they shared silent looks. Sam was the first to ask, "When do we leave?"
Angela made a slight movement of her head and Augusta said, "We were going to leave after breakfast but it seemed that the demons are onto us. Seems they might have been keeping an eye out on hunters for quite a while. We need to go now and avoid making it too obvious."
That was enough to spur them into action. Surprisingly the owner of the bed and breakfast wasn't too put out from the disturbance in the dining area. In fact he looked rather relieved that things were returning to some state of normalcy. He certainly made his thanks known by bringing a box of food from the kitchen made by his wife and handing it off to Sam.
He put it in the Impala and noticed that Angela was putting something into the truck. It was strange going in two separate vehicles but it seemed that there was going to be a need for the truck. What need, he wasn't sure but he figured that if anything Angela would figure out something apart from the fact that it was a potential tinkering project.
She was leaning against the truck and looking at the pistol she had held inside the dining area. She was peering through it and examining it with an expert eye and every so often a slight twitch of her lip would occur in the faintest of smiles. He teased her, "I guess the only way to impress you is with a gun."
Angela looked up at Sam and gave a slight smile, "I've always had a fascination with weapons. My first was small and very prickly." At the look Sam gave her she smiled and chuckled, "It was a sewing needle."
Sam made a slight face but couldn't help but laugh with her. "A sewing needle?"
"No bullshit," Angela replied, "I could stab anything that could be sewn before it knew what hit it. Some of my best work was from then. At least your repaired shirts are a testament to that." She smiled while offering no apologies for the fact that she still had a few of Sam's shirts that she occasionally wore.
"Considering that you stole them…"
"Borrowed," Angela corrected.
"Alright, considering that you borrowed them, I'm not surprised," Sam replied amending his original statement.
"Well I could give them back in the state they are in now or…" Angela shrugged to give the hint of the alternative. "It's up to you though I don't think you want the hoodie back. There was a slight mishap with one of my potions…"
Sam could see that she was teasing him about the hoodie. Besides he had given it to her and he had seen it on her ever since at intervals. Also she did return whatever she borrowed and they looked like they were brand new. "It's okay. A new used shirt from you always is welcome."
"Glad to hear of it." Angela made an adjustment on the gun and just looked at it to admire it. It had been a long time since she had seen that gun and its mate.
Sam felt the awkward silence start to come upon them. It disappeared since the shared silence was pleasant between them as he watched her look at the gun. Finally he asked, "Were you trying for intimidation or was it the truth?"
Angela didn't even bother to pretend that she didn't know what he was talking about. She looked up and replied, "This? It's real."
"So it is like the Colt?"
"It is a Colt and I have its mate." Angela took in Sam's expression and continued, "They can kill demons."
"But… Dad said that there was only one Colt that could do that."
"There is. These are Colts but smaller caliber but just as deadly," Angela replied as she pulled out the other one. She offered the handle portion to Sam for him to hold and indicated that he could touch it. "These were made for me, courtesy of Samuel Colt from the first time we met. These were actually the test pilots for the Colt of legend."
"How come you've never used them before?"
"I gave them to Augie before we parted ways."
Sam looked at Angela with a raised brow. He found it a bit strange that she would do that. "You gave a pair of guns to Gus?"
Angela smirked, "Just because she's blind doesn't mean that she's an invalid. I did teach her how to shoot a gun and she's a very good marksman. She might rival Bobby." She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of that. It actually sounded appealing to her. "I gave them to Augie as a gift. She returned them to me."
"Because she knew you would take this job."
"Most who know me well would be right."
"Do you always feel that you have to take on jobs even if they bring bad memories?"
Angela looked up at Sam. She could see that he was being serious about it. She sighed as she glanced downward before looking up, "I could say that duty compels me. It used to work in the past especially when one of my strays would be persistent like you."
"It's not the worst thing in the world."
"No but… The truth is, Sam, that part of it is duty, duty to keeping people, humans safe from what we see. It is the price of being a Champion. The other part is that I take on these jobs because I need to finish what was left undone. Some things I did, I worked with what I had and I thought the job was finished. It's not always like that. And the downside of having a good memory is that it is hard to forget what you did that got you to that point."
"But why Angie?"
"Because if not me, then who? Most hunters like you and Dean only know of what the historians tell in school about these things. There are those of the supernatural that are that good at hiding in plain sight. My father was one of them and he taught me how to do it and I use it to find others with some talents more or less a little scary than others but still… I didn't get to where I am by being too cautious but by learning and sometimes the hard way that what is often so obvious in a course of action is not always the best. Life is interesting that way but it is always the hope that one doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past."
Sam looked at Angela as she stared back. "So you want to make sure that this is done for good."
"And hopefully before it escalates," Angela replied in agreement. "The Centurion has good agents but not all of them are good at recognizing demon types. Even the few slayers that remain are not that good."
"You are the first," Sam put forth.
If only you knew, Angela thought to herself. "Maybe so. Anyway you and Dean don't have to do this. They know who you are."
"Two way street Angie," Sam replied firmly as he finished looking at the second Colt.
Angela smiled a complete smile. "Two way street then," she replied in a drawl.
"What are you doing with the accent?"
Angela put up an innocent look. She spoke, continuing with the accent, "This accent? I've been using this one since 1881 down in some piss ant town in Pima County Arizona called Tombstone and before that in 1879 in Dodge City."
"You know you could have just let me ride with Dean and you could spend more time with Sam," Augusta said as she stared straight ahead as the truck bounced along the road.
"I have no idea what you are talking about Augie," Angela replied as she glanced in the rearview mirror of the truck to check on Sasha. The pup was in the truck bed and enjoying every moment of it, the evidence clear on her doggy face. Further back was the Impala but she could still make out Dean in the driver's seat and Sam riding shotgun.
They had been on the road for a while heading towards Pikeville, West Virginia. She had decided on it since she had stayed there before and the agent watching the area had property on that side of the Tug. Also she could still recall the warnings from Randal about setting foot on the property.
You come around here again you devil's seed then I will blow a hole in you and pray that Almighty God smite you into eternal damnation.
And I have God's blessing Randal, she thought to herself.
"You do know what I am talking about. Unlike your friends that can see, you can't hide from me. The feelings you have for him light up your aura like a beacon," Augusta countered in a firm voice. She may be an adult but she was ready for any harsh words or even a slap for sassing Angela that could come yet she would say her piece.
"I have feelings for Dean too. We are family," Angela replied in a matter of fact tone. She knew that once Augusta sunk her teeth in, she would hang on.
"That I see but I'm not an idiot. Most everyone who can see it does though I suspect that Sam doesn't see it."
"You're lucky I don't shove a boot up your ass," Angela groused.
"I half expect it of you. I may be grown up but to you I will always be the girl you took in when no one else would," Augusta pointed out. "Please. Tell me."
Angela glanced at Augusta and back at the road. She had been keeping it between her and Dean for so long that it bothered her when it was very obvious to someone else. Sighing she replied, "I have… feelings for Sam. Before that mess with Grace and the others."
"I figured as much."
"Great so the whole world sees it."
"You do a good job of hiding it. Most of the time it looks like you two are teasing each other." Augusta paused for a moment as if to think. Then she added, "You know he respects you."
"Fairly obvious."
"No need to sound so dejected."
"That's all anyone ever has for me Augie. Devil Anse respected me because I had the balls to stand up to him and didn't take crap from his dumb hick uncle Jim Vance," Angela countered as she gripped the wheel tighter than she intended. "All I have is respect for what I do and even that is tainted by the fear of what I can do."
Augusta thought it was a load of bull. She could see the boys' auras clearly and it was a sight to see. "Bullshit."
"No it ain't Augie. It's the truth."
Augusta pursed her lips for a moment. Then she said, "You know, when you were dead, I spoke to Dean. The emotions were so raw and pure, it broke my heart to see the love he has for you come in the tears. And Sam… he was most insistent against the burning of your remains. He was hurting because of what…"
"What he said. I know Augie. The dead can hear the thoughts of the living. But it…" Angela shook her head slightly. "Sam sees me as a friend, the little sister to protect. I take it because to be honest it has been a long time since someone dared to try it with me."
"Nothing wrong with that."
"No there isn't." Angela made the turn she needed to head into Pikeville. They still had a couple of hours to get there. "I am worried Augie. I am very worried for Sam and what he is doing."
"Care to elaborate?" Actually Augusta didn't need her to elaborate. She had sensed it the moment she had said hello to Sam but she wanted her friend to voice it; to hear it in her own words. It was like a reversal of roles since Augusta could recall a few times that Angela did the same for her. They both could pick up emotions and it was just a matter of the give and pull regarding that.
Angela was thinking of the same thing as she looked over at the girl she had raised to the hunter she was. She had missed being with Augusta but things had to be the way they were and the girl did mature in her walk in this life. "Sam is walking a path I walked a long time ago and I fear that the end is going to be paved in blood, secrets, lies and betrayal."
"He seems to be fine."
"Outwardly yes but Augie, what he is doing… I went back to those ways a short time back in order to wrestle information from a demon who knew nothing but I continued because I actually dreamed of that moment. I dream of one day paying back to Alistair what he did to me and I liked it and I hated it."
"There were rumors flying around about that. The order did say that heavenly energies had come into play," Augusta offered. She knew the details of what happened to her mentor since she actually told her one time. It still wrenched her gut to think about it at the mere mention of those days with a single word.
"They would say that," Angela said per her habit of cursing the angels that she considered dicks. "I am scared Augie. I am scared that because I love him that I will lose him but I won't go against Ruby because I want him to see that I trust him. The reason he and Dean butt heads so much is because he has his own ideas and both John and Dean never really let him give it a try."
"I would think that protecting Sam was their main goal."
"I know that and I'm not saying that what they did was wrong but I think they forgot that Sam is his own person too. He has his own mind and is capable of coming up with a plan every now and then." Angela sighed, "I know he hasn't told Dean about it because he knows his brother. Dean is very much ingrained with black and white…"
"Hardly applies when it's you."
"Maybe, but… I understand why Sam is doing this. Dean was gone. I was gone and while it did hurt that he gave up looking for me, he did what I would have done; he moved forward with the job. It stinks to do it but he did."
"But a demon?"
"I know I should have ganked Ruby the moment she walked into our lives but I was and still willing to follow Sam's lead on this. I want him to see that someone has faith in his choices and while I don't like the bitch…"
"Apathy has never been the best thing for you. You've always picked a side and it's the solution that tries to save all parties involved," Augusta pointed out. "Still I understand your reasoning. You love Sam so much that you are willing to let him take that step off the cliff. You want him to really weigh the choices he has before him but you're still like a parent. You want to be there to catch him when he falls."
"I look after both of them…"
"And I suspect out of a promise that you made to one or both of their parents," Augusta interrupted with a slight smile. "And I know that even when released from it you would continue to keep it but Angie, you can't always keep this stance of a protective parent. That's why you are so confused and essentially acting like a well concealed train wreck. You're treating this like a parent would and that is not going to work."
Angela looked at Augusta. Her initial response was to snap back in denial at the girl. That was consistent with her habits. Yet she found herself being quiet and listening to what the girl had to say. So she remained quiet and kept her eyes on the road.
Augusta could tell that her friend was listening and thinking about what they were talking about. She sensed that she should continue and she did, "You need to be there like someone who is in love with a man who makes her feel complete and would feel like her heart getting ripped out if he died. Going back and forth won't help in the end. What Sam needs is a partner, more than a partner with whom he could confide in and knows that she won't give him bullshit but the honest truth."
It grew quiet in the cab of the truck as the engine rumbled down the highway. Augusta strained her ears to hear any sign of response from Angela. It was a bit unnerving so she asked, "You're not gonna punch me now are ya?"
Angela burst out with a chuckle. She suspected that in her past conversations with Dean that was what he had been trying to tell her; his saying that Sam was going to need her when he was gone. She had heard the words but didn't listen. Now being with Augusta, a person she really couldn't hide from, she was listening to what was being told to her. She replied, "No I'm not gonna punch you. You would block."
"I know that but you never attack the same way twice."
"No but when it comes to something that is so alien like what I feel, I am scared Augie. I had some thinking time and I realized that when Sam died the first time, it was like having my heart ripped out. Now that there is definition to it… It scares me. I have shown love like a parent would for my strays but this is different."
"You seem to be doing okay so far," Augusta allowed. "I know that Dean is trying in his own way but you don't want to bother him because of whatever bothers him. You always were selfless. It's why I love you like a daughter does her mother."
"Thanks Augie."
A/N: Explanations occur and Angie and Augie have a long overdue conversation and Angie admits to being afraid. Fluff and stuff and keep watching for more Long Live Blood Feuds...
