Summary: After the car accident, Blaire discovers things about herself that really begin to frighten her, but on their quest to stop the yellow-eyed demon, the Winchesters realise they have to be stronger than ever before. Please R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters. I only own Blaire Winchester. I don't own some of the lines used either.


The Paths We Tread: Facing Our Truth

Chapter Four

The carnival was alive with children and their parents, the kids all screaming and crying happily as they ran to rides and attractions. Blaire wandered through, doing her job when she spotted a clown, gulping and going white at the sight of it.

Her brothers approached her and she jumped when Dean's hand

"Blaire…?" Dean asked, "What's wrong?"

"Mommy, look at the clown!" A little girl called, pointing at something that neither Dean or Sam could see.

"What clown?" Her mother asked.

"It's over there…" Blaire breathed through gritted teeth, shivering where she stood.

The clown waved at the little girl and she smiled, waving back at it.

"Come on, sweetie, come on." Her mother said, pulling her away.

"It's waving at her…" Blaire whispered, "It's standing there waving at her."

"You can see it?" Dean asked, looking at Blaire's teary eyes that were so wide he thought they'd pop out of her head, "Blaire?"

"I need to go…" She gasped, feeling herself panicking, "I need to get out of here."

"Come on." Sam said, the three of them following the family.


"Dean, I cannot believe you told Papazian about the homicidal phantom clown." Blaire breathed.

"I told him an urban legend about a homicidal phantom clown," Dean corrected, "I never said it was real."

Dean pulled out his gun and cocked it, Sam gasping and pushing his brother's hand down.

"Keep that down!" He hissed.

"Fucking idjit…" Blaire breathed.

"Oh, and get this. I mentioned the Bunker Brother's Circus in '81," Dean began, "And their, uh, evil clown apocalypse? Guess what."

"What?" Sam and Blaire asked.

"Before Mr. Cooper owned Cooper Carnival, he worked for Bunker Brothers." Dean said, "He was their lot manager."

"Oooh, that's interesting!" Blaire said with her child-like excited expression, "So you think whatever the spirit's attached to, Cooper just brought it with him?"

"Something like that." Dean laughed.

"I can't believe we keep talking about clowns." Sam breathed, both Blaire and Dean chuckling in response.


Later that night, the family had been waiting for the clown, and had also been seen holding the little girl it'd been waving at earlier. They parked the minivan at a roadside and cleared out their possessions, even the number plates.

"You really think they saw our plates?" Sam asked.

"I don't want to take the chance." Dean said, "Besides, I hate this friggin' thing anyway."

Blaire, who had been deep in thought, headed down the road with her brothers on either side of her.

"Well, one thing's for sure." She said, "We're not dealing with a spirit. I mean, that rock salt hit something solid."

"Yeah, a person?" Sam suggested, "Or maybe a creature that can make itself invisible?"

"Yeah, and dresses up as a clown for kicks?" Dean added, "You see anything in Dad's journal?"

"Nope." Sam said, pulling out his cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Dean asked.

"Maybe Ellen or that guy Ash'll know something." Sam said, "Hey, you think, uh, you think Dad and Ellen ever had a thing?"

"No way." Blaire breathed.

"Then why didn't he tell us about her?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, maybe they had some sort of falling out." Dean said, the others nodding.

Blaire walked in front as her brothers began to argue, eventually having enough.

"Enough!" She yelled, her brothers staring at her in shock, "Enough, okay? Stop it! We don't need to be fighting right now, we need to be strong…together…as a family."

Sam grimaced at his sister, seeing true pain in her eyes.

"Stop fucking this up, because as we've found with Dad, we don't have forever!" Blaire breathed, "There's gonna come a day when we're not together anymore, so just…just stop…please…"

Her brothers watched her with sad eyes as she turned, walking away with tears rolling down her face. They knew, deep down that she was right.


"Rakshasa." Sam said as he hung up after talking to Ellen.

"What's that?" Dean asked

"Ellen's best guess. It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures, they appear in human form, they feed on human flesh," Sam explained, "They can make themselves invisible, and they cannot enter a home without first being invited."

"So they dress up like clowns, and the children invite them in." Blaire breathed, "Bastards."

"Why don't they just munch on the kids?" Dean asked.

"No idea." Sam replied honestly, "Not enough meat on the bones, maybe?"

Blaire nodded. The idea seemed plausible enough, since children were only small.

"What else did you find out?" She asked, rubbing a hand over her mouth as Sam continued.

"Well, apparently, Rakshasas live in squalor." Sam said, "They sleep on a bed of dead insects."

Blaire shuddered at the thought, squirming a little in her seat. She hated bugs and believe it or not, it was no secret.

"Nice." Dean replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, and they have to feed a few times every twenty or thirty years." Sam told them, "Slow metabolism, I guess."

"Well, that makes sense." Blaire piped up, "I mean, the Carnival today, the Bunker Brothers' in '81."

"Right." Sam said, "Probably more before that."

Blaire saw her genius little brother's eyes twinkling with the knowledge in his brain and she smiled. She was proud of him, and proud of Dean. They headed down the road, the sun shining down on them and causing nothing more than a damn inconvenience, making it difficult for them to see.

"Hey Sam, who do we know that worked both shows?" She asked suddenly, Dean sighing.

"Cooper?"

"Cooper."


Blaire had gone missing while hunting the Rakshasa, and Sam and Dean both panicked when they ran into the funhouse, going to find their little sister.

"Blaire?" Dean called, "Where are you?"

"DEAN!" She cried, "Dean, I killed it!"

The brothers ran over to the source of the voice and found Blaire on her knees, the bloodied body of the Rakshasa by her side. She went to stand but winced, falling back to her knees. Sam picked her up and saw blood trickling down her side.

"Shit," He breathed, "Dean, help me…"

Back at the motel, Blaire drank a little whiskey as the antiseptic spray was applied to her open stitches, Dean holding her still as she writhed on the mattress.

"Sorry, honey." Sam said softly, "Sorry."

"It's okay…just hurry up…" She panted, "Please…"

Dean held her to him and passed Sam the prepared needle and thread, Sam looking his sister right in the eyes.

"This needle is sharp and it's thick…you ready?" He asked, Blaire nodding and burying her face in Dean's neck.

She hated needles, and she always had, even when John had taken her for a simple flu shot and she'd ended having a panic attack at just five years old.

"It's okay…" Dean promised, thinking of something to talk about while Sam stitched her up, "So…you like Ash, huh?"

Blaire smiled weakly, gasping as the needle pushed through her skin, the soreness setting in straight away.

"A little…" She said, "He's hot…"

Dean laughed and smiled softly.

"Go for it." Sam told her as he continued to stitch the wound, "I think he likes you too, Blaire?"

"D-Don't be ridiculous…" She whispered, trembling in Dean's arms through her fear.

"Come on, if you'd seen the way he looked at you before he left," Dean told her, "He looked at you and he so wanted you…you could tell, Blaire…you could tell a mile off."

He felt kinda girly right now, but he was making Blaire feel better, and that was all that mattered.

"Okay, all done." Sam said with a smile, "I've finished."

"Thanks, Sam." Blaire whispered, Dean lifting her a little for Sam to wrap the bandages around her.

The pain and the alcohol had made her drowsy so they put her to bed, watching over her until they fell asleep in their seats.


"Where you guys been?" Ash asked as he walked into the Roadhouse with a folder and the most bizarre laptop Blaire had ever seen, looking at her on the last part of his sentence, "Been waitin' for ya."

"We were working a job, Ash." Blaire replied, "Clowns?"

"Clowns? What the f…"

"You got something for us, Ash?" Dean asked, the family sitting down to find that Ash had prepared a kinda radar for if the demon should show up.

As Ellen said her goodbyes to Dean and Sam, Ash and Blaire stood outside the saloon.

"So…will I be seeing you again, hot stuff?" Ash asked, Blaire chuckling in response.

"You're not subtle with those compliments are you, Ash?" She said sweetly, "And…um…if you want to."

Ash grinned and looked down at Blaire, looking to her lips and grinning cheekily. Sam and Dean walked out of the doors just in time to see Ash lean down if a little nervously and kiss Blaire's lips.

Blaire was shocked at first but then she just melted into the kiss, her hands winding around Ash's neck as their lips moved slowly. She felt his tongue against her bottom lip, opening her mouth to give him entrance as he deepened the kiss. Pulling back, Blaire bit her lip and blushed before looking up into Ash's eyes.

"Oh yeah…you'll be seeing me again," She told him, kissing him one more time and winking, "Adios, mi amigo!"

Ash grinned and chuckled, Blaire walking past Dean and Sam with a big smile on her face.

And that's what the boys needed to see, Blaire smiling like that. Oh yeah…she'd be seeing Ash again, whether they liked it or not.


Blaire was sat in Bobby's living room, sipping a beer before her head shot up at the sound of smashing of glass and banging. She ran out into the yard, seeing Dean beating the Impala before he stopped and dropped the crowbar, putting his hands to his head before resting them on his hips, scratching the back of his head as his lower lip trembled. Whatever had just happened had really upset him and she moved closer to him.

"Dean?"

He saw her and looked away in shame, Blaire shaking her head and taking her hand in his own, cupping his cheek before pulling him into an embrace.

"Dean, it's okay…"

Dean actually started to cry, and Blaire felt pain surging through her chest at the sound of his whimpers. Yeah, her brother was whimpering, but she never once judged him or thought less of him for it.

"I'm sorry…" He breathed as she held him tight.

"No, no…" She whispered, "It's okay…let it out…"

Dean cried as he held his sister, Blaire just rocking him gently and rubbing his back. That's what Dean loved about her. She didn't judge, she just looked out for others and provided the comfort they needed, which was one of the reasons why he was so concerned for her safety when it came to men. More than once, she'd seen men play on her heartstrings and take advantage of her good nature, which is why he and Sam were so protective of her. But that kiss she'd shared with Ash had made her so happy, and that's all the Winchester brothers wanted for their sister. They wanted her to be happy.


Dean was in an incredibly good mood today, clearly because his baby was back in action, the familiar roar of the Impala music to everyone's ears.

"Whoo! Listen to her purr!" Dean cried like a happy child on Christmas morning, "Have you ever heard anything so sweet?"

"You know, if you two want to get a room, just let us know, Dean." Sam chuckled, Dean hushing the car and stroking the dashboard.

"Oh, don't listen to him, baby." He said to the car, "He doesn't understand us."

"You're in a good mood." Blaire said sweetly, Dean smiling at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Why shouldn't I be?" He asked.

"No reason, honey," Blaire replied, "It's just…it's nice."

"Listen, I got my car, got my siblings, got a case, things are looking up." Dean said, watching the road again.

"Wow." Sam huffed, "You hear about a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows and you're Mister Sunshine."

"How far to Red Lodge?" Dean asked.

"Uh, about another three hundred miles." Sam replied, a beautiful, yes, beautiful smile gracing Dean's face.

"Good."

With that, he floored it.

Blaire checked her phone and grinned as she saw a text from Ash.

"Hey, sweet cheeks. Let me know when you're stopping by again. It'll be good to see you again."

She smiled widely and blushed, Dean beaming at her.

"That Ash?"

Blaire looked up and nodded.

"Yeah…yeah, it's Ash."

She quickly replied.

"It'll be good to see you too, Ash."

The reply was a line of kisses, Blaire blushing again and grinning even wider.

"He put kisses didn't he?" Sam said, Blaire biting her lip.

"No…"

"He did, didn't he?" Dean laughed, "Hey, Sammy, Blaire's got a boyfriend!"

"Shut up, jerk!"

"Shrimp!"

"Jerk!"

"Bitch!"

"Shrimp!"

-TBC-