Reflective Triangles

Summary: Sam and Dean try to help a woman who's lost nearly everything, but being Good Samaritans might cost them even more…

I sincerely apologize for not replying to your reviews tonight. Thank you for every single one and I'll reply as soon as possible. Overtime cut into my computer time.

Chapter Four

Dean stood, hands cuffed behind his back, and waited while the officer patted him down. Sam, standing a few feet away, was having to endure the same.

"Easy there, Roscoe. We're not the Duke brothers. You wanna tell us what the problem is?"

"We received a report of two men stealing a car from Hannah Mueller's residence," the cop behind Dean said. "And that is Mrs. Mueller's car."

Dean fought not to swear. "Don't tell me. Martin Kane called it in."

Dean could tell by the way the policeman halted his movement for just a second that he'd been right.

"Look, we didn't steal the car," Dean said. "We're working on it for her. It broke down last night. We've spent all morning trying to get the piece of crap running."

"We were on our way into town to the auto parts store," Sam added for good measure. "Call Hannah. She'll tell you."

"Dude, she's taking a nap," Dean said, shooting his brother a disapproving look.

"I'd rather wake her up than go to jail, Dean," Sam snapped.

"Why don't both of you shut up," the officer said irritably. He pushed Dean toward his squad car and leaned him against it. "Just stand there and shut it."

Sam and Dean stood quietly while one officer stayed with them and the other walked up to Hannah's car and looked in. Dean held his breath, waiting to see if the man would search under the seats. If he found the gun, then their gooses were cooked and he was never gonna get to see that pie. The man stopped though, only giving the interior a cursory look before heading back toward them.

"I've got Hannah's number in my cell phone," Dean offered. "Just give her a call and she can clear this all up."

"Martin Kane called you to report us?" Sam asked.

The officer didn't respond, watching them both carefully. His partner came up to stand beside him. They were both par for the course. One was blond, the other was dark-headed, both with the standard cop buzz cut. One was a little shorter than average, the other a little taller than the norm. The blond was Sam's age. The dark headed one looked to be in his forties.

"Well, did he?" Sam asked.

The older cop eyed him. His name tag said 'Timmons'. "Is that important?"

"Other than he tried to burn the house down last night, not really," Dean said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"He tried to burn the house down last night. He dropped the gas can and I chased him into the field. If we hadn't been there, Hannah would be out of a house right now. Or worse."

"You actually saw him?" Timmons asked. "You could identify him?"

That brought Dean up short. The cop looked almost… eager. "No," Dean answered.

The older officer didn't move a muscle, but the younger one shook his head and swore.

"You sure? You chased him. Maybe a clothing description?" Timmons asked.

Sam and Dean shared a look. Interesting.

"You… know about Kane?"

"Do I look stupid, kid?"

Dean blinked and couldn't help a grin from forming. "Ya know, you really shouldn't give people an opening like that."

The policeman had the good grace to look embarrassed. "We got our suspicions. We just can't prove anything. Can't prove anything, can't do anything."

Thankfully, Dean thought, he and Sam weren't working under the same restrictions. That and they did have an eyewitness. He happened to be dead, but he was an eyewitness nevertheless.

"Look, we ruined Kane's little plan last night and he's warning us to stay out of the way," Dean said. "Just call Hannah. She'll tell you."

The officer hesitated, looking them up and down. Dean carefully blanked his expression and put on his very best 'I'm harmless and trustworthy' face. Sam didn't have to do anything. He'd been born looking trustworthy. Amazing really since he was a scruffy looking sasquatch who could break a person in half. The cop looked at Sam, relaxing slightly, then his eyes shifted back to Dean. Back on alert. Crap. Dean never had been good at looking harmless.

"Dude," he said in frustration. "I'm not gonna steal a junker like Hannah's. If I'm gonna get picked up by the cops, I'm gonna steal a freakin' Ferrari."

The officer motioned for Dean to turn around. "I'm going to uncuff you. You try anything and this won't end well, understand?"

"I'm a sucker for a happy ending," Dean answered. The officer released him and he rubbed his wrists, more out of habit than anything else. He didn't like being restrained, physically or otherwise. He turned back toward the officer and carefully reached into his pocket for the phone, grateful he'd thought to get the number from Hannah that morning in case there was some sort of problem getting the car from the diner. He scrolled to the appropriate number, pushed the button to dial and then handed it to the older officer who was clearly in charge of this operation.

The man stood, waiting through several rings. "Hello, Mrs. Mueller? This is Deputy Timmons with the Sheriff's Department. I'm calling because we received a report of two suspicious looking men taking your car from your home." He paused, listening for several seconds. "Sam?" Dean pointed helpfully toward his brother. "And Dean?" Dean pointed a thumb at his own chest. The officer was silent for several more seconds listening. "They're just fixing up the car for you?" Hannah clearly answered in the affirmative because the officer visibly relaxed his stance. He gestured to his partner to remove Sam's cuffs. "Ok, hold on just a second." He held out the phone for Dean to take. "She wants to talk to you."

Dean took the phone and held it to his ear. "Hi, Hannah. Sorry we messed up your nap."

"That's all right. Nothing to worry about."

Dean went still and his heart thumped painfully in his chest. The words were fine, but… Sam saw the change and looked at him. Dean held up a finger to ask him to wait. "Is everything all right there, Hannah?" Dean asked.

"Just fine. I'm making those cupcakes for you."

The voice was cheery, but Dean could hear the tension practically vibrating down the line. "You're making cupcakes, huh? My favorite."

Sam's eyes widened. By this time both of the officers were back on high alert and looking warily between the brothers.

"Hannah, if there's something wrong I want you to say 'sure thing'."

"Sure thing."

He could hear the relief that he'd understood. Oh, this was so not good. "Hannah, is Kane there with you?"

"Yup."

"He's standing right there?"

"Yes, I've got chocolate icing for you." She laughed, though the strain was evident to Dean now that he knew what was going on. "I've got all sorts of things here in the kitchen."

Dean put his hand over the phone and looked at the two officers. "We need to get to Hannah's. Something's wrong. Kane's there. Hannah's scared and she's having to be cryptic." Dean vaguely registered Hannah continuing to make yes and no noises, then making suggestions about where he might go to get something for the car, pretending he was trying to find some part or another. Smart woman, Dean thought. Just keep talking. He's less likely to do anything with you on the phone.

The officers moved quickly. The older cop pointed at Dean. "You get in the car with me and keep her talking." Sam ran for Hannah's old bomber while the other cop ran for his car.

They were only a few minutes away from the house. Kane had just been waiting for them to leave. Dean wanted to yell. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to beat the crap out of Kane. But he couldn't do a freaking thing until he got back to the house and he had to stay calm.

"We're on our way back," Dean said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. "We're just a couple of minutes out."

"Oh, that's nice."

"You said you're both in the kitchen?"

"Uh huh."

"There's no way you can get away from him? Lock yourself in a room until we get there?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Does he have any weapons?"

"Sure does."

Dean's grip on the phone tightened and he immediately ordered himself to stop. He couldn't break the phone before he had a chance to shove it up Kane's nose.

"Well, I should get going."

Kane was getting restless. He wanted her off the phone. Now what? "Hannah, stay with me."

"You don't say!"

Hannah had missed her calling. She should have gone to Hollywood. She was pretending to be pulled back into a nonexistent conversation. "Hannah, does he have a gun?"

"Oh, no."

"A knife?"

"No, not really."

Crap, what else was there? "A bat?"

"Something like that."

"Ok, Hannah. We're almost there," Dean said, desperate to encourage her and feeling more helpless than ever. She was a freaking pregnant woman. Who terrorized a pregnant woman? It was against every instinct known to man. "Do you think he's going to lose it when we drive in?"

"I hope not."

"Me too, but I need to know how he's acting. Calm or is he acting crazy?"

"Cool as a cucumber. The baby kicks every once in a while, but that's normal. He's going to be a sweetie. I just know it."

Ok, Kane wasn't nutso quite yet. He was getting a little agitated from time to time. They might get out of this one fairly easily. Dean put his hand over the receiver. "He's got something like a bat, though not exactly that. Kane's twitchy, but he's not wacko yet. We play this cool, it should be fine, I think. Hannah's still playing it like this is just a social visit."

The officer nodded and put a hand to his radio. "14, hold back a minute," the officer said, speaking to the cop following them. "Standby on the road until we know what's up. I don't want him getting spooked and doing anything stupid."

Dean removed his hand and spoke into the phone again. "Ok, Hannah, we're just pulling in."

"Oh, look! They're back already!" Dean heard her walking out of the kitchen toward the front room. "And Deputy Timmons is with them. I haven't talked to him in ages."

The officer pulled the squad car up though not directly in front of the house. Dean practically jumped from the car and saw Hannah walking out the screen door onto the porch. Dean began walking toward her, still connected to her via the phone. He motioned for her to keep walking. "Come on down the steps," he urged. "Don't give him a chance to stop you, ok? You're just coming out to see some friends. There's nothing wrong."

He was eating up the distance between them and he didn't care if it did look like he was in too big a hurry. Kane was not going to get a chance to stop her. Dean saw him step out onto the porch as well with what looked like a wrench in hand. Nondescript, easily explained, and good for bashing in a woman's head.

Dean barely glanced to the side and saw that Sam had parked the car behind the cop car and he too was hurriedly though calmly walking toward the porch and Hannah. He gave a big wave and smiled at her like he was just coming in for a visit.

They were close enough now, so Dean let the phone drop and quickly tucked it into a pocket. "Hey, Hannah." He closed the distance between them. He grabbed her by the shoulders like he was greeting a long lost friend and swung her around so that he was between her and Kane. She was shaking slightly and she looked wide-eyed.

Sam continued past them, heading straight for Kane as did the officer. Timmons waved for Sam to stay back, but Sam didn't appear to be in any mood to cooperate. He looked loaded for bear and Dean couldn't blame him. They were all pretty much in their caveman Me-Guy-Must-Protect-Pregnant-Woman mode. It was a DNA thing. It just happened. Only the fact that Hannah was now shaking so badly that she looked ready to fall down kept Dean from following Sam up onto the porch.

Dean put a supportive arm around Hannah and urged her away from Kane toward her car. "It's ok," he said trying to soothe her, though he could hear the anger in his voice. "It's ok." Dean opened the passenger side door and let Hannah sit down, her legs still out of the car. He crouched down in front of her, distantly annoyed when one of his knees popped. He was going to be an arthritic 35 year old thanks to this job. He took the phone she was still gripping desperately and set it aside.

"You all right?" he asked.

Hannah nodded. "I'm fine. He just…" She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "He just scared me. I turned around and he was there in the kitchen. There's something different about him, something… crazy. He seemed nice and all and then he told me he wanted me to sell him the land. I told him the same thing I always do."

"Screw him and the horse he rode in on?"

Hannah gave a choked laugh and blushed furiously, shocked at the colorful phrase as Dean had intended. Granted, it was pretty easy to shock an ex-Amish chick.

"Not exactly, but something like that," she answered, a ghost of a smile appearing.

Dean had placed himself so that he could watch the proceedings on the porch. The deputy had taken the wrench from Kane and it looked like he wasn't too happy with the answers he was getting. Sam was alternating between looking worried and looking ready to hit something. He turned slightly and their eyes met. The look told Dean what he'd already suspected. Kane hadn't actually done anything criminal and the police weren't going to be able to do anything about it until he did.

Hannah started to turn toward the porch, but Dean stopped her with another question. "What happened after you said no?"

"He… he had this expression on his face. He still seemed calm, but…" She looked at him and frowned. "Have you ever had someone look at you and nothing actually seemed wrong, but you can tell that they'd just as soon kill you as look at you?"

Dean nodded. He was well acquainted with that feeling. Trusting it had saved his life more times than he could count.

She started shaking again and Dean self-consciously took both of her hands in his. His personal space issues could wait. He didn't need the woman going into labor because Sam was unavailable for the touchy-feely part of the job. "We're gonna figure this out. Ok?"

Dean watched as Kane was escorted down off the porch toward the deputy's car. The cop sat him inside then shut the door. Kane turned his head in Dean's direction and Dean saw what Hannah had meant. He looked fine, calm, peaceful even, but there was something really unpleasant going on behind those eyes. Dean stood and for the barest of seconds returned that gaze, just to let the guy know he wasn't the only predator here.

"Stop giving Kane the eye, kid," Deputy Timmons said. "Your brother's already done it plenty."

"Sam?" Dean shook his head. "He couldn't give a kindergartner the eye."

Sam joined them and glared at Dean to show him just how capable he was.

"See?" Dean pointed. "Would you be afraid of that?"

The deputy ignored them both. "You all right, Hannah?"

"Just fine," she said. "Thank you, Gene." Dean had to choke down a laugh. The poor guy's name was Gene Timmons. So close to greatness, yet so far.

"Did Mr. Kane threaten you?"

"No," she answered. "I turned around and he was just there in the kitchen. I… I was afraid he was going to… I don't know what he was going to do."

"It's ok," Sam said. He nudged Dean out of the way and sank down beside Hannah. "You did the right thing. You didn't like the situation and you got help." He easily took her hand and she latched onto him like a lifeline. Dean felt a twinge of jealousy at Sam's ease with strangers, but let it go. They each had their strengths. It was why they made such a good team. "Deputy Timmons is going to take him home. Kane's been warned not to come back on the property or he'll be arrested for trespassing." Sam briefly looked at Dean, telling him just how little good he thought the warning was going to do.

"I understand you boys are staying with her for a few days?" Timmons asked, clearly curious, but not asking.

"We're friends of Paul's," Dean answered.

"Ok. You two keep a sharp eye out." He was still looking at them doubtfully, but as long as they were useful Timmons apparently wasn't going to push the issue. "We'll be keeping an eye on the place too. Don't get any smart ideas. You call if anything happens. Understand?"

Sam and Dean both nodded. Hannah said, "Of course."

"I'll remind him again not to come back here."

Sam and Dean stood watching as the deputy got back into his car and turned to go back down the drive. Kane paid them no attention. His eyes were on Hannah. As the car swept past, Dean watched him watching her and knew what those eyes told him.

Tonight. Whatever Kane was going to do, it would be tonight.

I'll do my best to get something posted tomorrow, but it being a holiday it may or may not happen.