A/N: A special thanks to SBMntReader and moira4eku for their reviews. It was greatly appreciated… And thank you moira4eku for your constructive words, I went back and read that first chapter and realized that you were more than right. Thank you again and I hope to hear from the both of you in the future.
Summer paces back and forth usually her phone was pressed to her ear thankfully today it was quiet because at any given moment she's either yelling at Sam who plaster's on fakeness like it's a fucking art form or she's having it out with Dean. Then there are all her contacts. Thanks to Bran (who apparently approved of her helping the Winchesters shocker) she had a contact in every pack in America. Lucky, her contact with the walkers had been calling her insistently going on and on about something. She could never get anything useful out of him. He left her feeling frustrated the whole fucking thing left her feeling frustrated.
She plopped down hard on her beat up leather couch she loved this thing it was the only thing she had to remind her of her old life. A life she was forced to run from. She wondered what else she would be force to give up. "Sup doggy," said a voice that was most assuredly another aggravation. "Demon skank." She growled not bothering to look at the demon. A demon that owed her big time.
"You know I do have a name." She groused. "Yeah and why should I care?" Summer asked leaning her forearms on the tops of her thighs her fingers linking together as she eyed Meg. Oh, she knew her name didn't really care though one must act this way if one doesn't want their contacts going AWOL. But if truth be told for demon bitch like Meg, she wasn't so bad.
"Well look dog breath I just wanted to tell you Winchester is on his way." She murmured a wicked glint in her eye and a cocky sway of her hips as she walked over to where Summer was sitting. "Again why should I care?" Meg's eyes narrowed, as she looked Summer over. And for the first time Summer felt like she was lacking something. That wearing jean's and a tank weren't enough. "Dunno just figured you wanted to slut it up a little."
"Fuck you." She barked out and started grabbing up her research and shoved them inside her cream colored journal if Dean was on his way she didn't want him seeing this not yet. "Just a friendly suggestion. He might look at you like you were something other than what you are." That wicked glint turned nasty Meg had a real temper on her one that would get the bitch in trouble if she didn't knock it off.
"Pushy demon," Summer snarled warning in her tone and eyes Meg could be unpredictable but she at least understood her place once she was put in it.
"Just trying to help."
"Yeah well don't!" She snapped again shoving her journal into the safe and slamming the door shut, she then spun the lock before turning around and facing Meg again. But by the time she was done the demon was gone. "Fucking demons, never give you any real help at all." She mumbled walking over to her fridge were she checked to make sure it was stocked with beer. She had been expecting this visit from him for a while now.
And knowing that he had talked to the alpha vamp she knew he was going to ask questions. But she had to be careful she couldn't let him know that she knew that. All was not well in the Campbell camp but Dean and Sam didn't need to know that just yet. All in good time, he will know everything when the time is right. She leaned against the marble countertop and wondered when her life got so complicated. Before all she ever had to worry about was hunting rogue wolves. Helping Charles with the troubled ones. Of course, she meant kill when a wolf couldn't be helped there was only one thing to do and that was put it out of its misery.
She looked up when she heard the familiar rumble of the Impala. Summer loved that car it was such a beauty better not let Dean hear her refer to the Impala as an it he was in love with that car. But when she thought about, she thinks that car might just love him back. The Impala was as much part of the family as much as Sam was she was an extension of the man that drove her. Summer could understand because she felt the same way about her truck.
She sighed when she heard the engine shut down she really didn't know how to answer the questions he was here to ask. Oh, she knew the lore as well as anyone her age. The young ones they didn't know unless they were eager but the old ones the ones old enough to remember they knew. A knock fell on her door and she padded her way to it opening it with a sly grin. She was still playing the bitch with Dean and she wasn't going to let him change that anytime soon. But when she saw the tired but hopeful man standing there, she wiped that smile off her face. Damn she was screwed.
"What do you need Dean?"
"Can I come in?"
"Were you followed?"
"No." short and to the point was his answer she took a small sniff and could tell he wasn't lying good to know. So she opened the door and waved him in. She eyed him as he walked over to her couch his shoulders were slumped a little and she made a mental note to slap Gwen next time she saw her. She shut her door and walked over to where he was sitting and chose the little and completely uncomfortable chair instead of sitting next to him.
"What's up?" She murmured her eyes scanning her small living room checking to make sure she had all her papers put away. She heard him sigh and looked over at him just in time to see him wipe a hand down his tired face. "Tell me about purgatory." Tell him about purgatory, she thought leaning back into the chair. Well that had not been what she expected well it was kinda but mostly she expected him to ask about his brother soul or the mothers of the alphas. Mostly about the latter. Because when it came to alpha's she had been his go to gal as much as it annoyed her.
"Well it's as one would expect. My kind we don't go to hell because this was forced upon us," For some at least there were others that wanted it, which just didn't seem right to her. She got wanting to spend all of eternity with one's mate, but for fucks sake if your human stay human.
"We didn't ask to be turned so we go to purgatory to wash away the sins that we have done on this earth.""So it's true?" He asked green eyes boring into hers. She shrugged because she didn't have a definite answer for him. Could it be true? Yes. Was it? Who knows? "Could be yes; see it's told to us in our first days as a newly changed whatever. Every creature that has a mind and isn't some mindless eating machine like say a wendigo or a zombie has been told the stories."
"Why?" He couldn't understand why this was something the old ones would tell the young ones, but was it any different than if you do good you go to heaven philosophy that the Christians taught their children. This was a chance fore them. These creatures that should not be. This place of purgatory was a chance for them to go to heaven that place upon high that was so unreachable. "Is it so hard to see? We go there and we have a chance at redemption. A chance for forgiveness." She couldn't understand why this was hard for him to understand this man that had been to hell and back that had been to heaven and back. He above all should understand.
"Well when you put it like that." He mumbled and she knew he still didn't get it and there was no point in trying to tell someone something when they couldn't see. She sighed and rubbed her hand across her suddenly aching forehead, "Is there another reason you're here or are you just here to give me a headache?" He grinned suddenly making her heart do a little jig in her chest, which will not happen again in the future she could not afford that.
"You sound like Bobby.""You've been giving old man a headache again?"
"You to."She smiled at that it was true enough she had been bothering Bobby just for the sake of bothering him. They sat there smiling at each other like it was old times and just like any other time this happened which was rare that cold anger she still felt about the betrayal washed over her. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her head sharply away. "Summer," she heard him say she didn't want to hear it so she told him, "Shut up." He coughed in his hand and wiped his palm on his jean. "Look," he said now, "I, uh, oh hell what do you know about your alpha?" her head snapped back around her wolf stirring at the threat she felt he posed to her alpha.
On any given day and with anyone else she would take out the threat but this was Dean. He was not asking so he could carry his ass on up to Montana and kidnap Bran. "Why do you want to know?" He reached inside his jacket, pulled out a battered newspaper, and showed it to her. "Crowley wants us searching for a werewolf." She looked over the paper her eye searching for any evidence that this was one of her kind when she caught the names of the people. Oh Lucky this is what you have been calling about.
"This isn't a werewolf attack, not of mine or our distant cousins." She had already explained the difference between what she was and what they had hunted on more than one occasion. No need to do it again, but she watched as she handed the paper back over to him as he narrowed his eyes.
"Why do you say that?" She shrugged she was going to have to tell him anyways because he was going into that town and she would prefer him going in knowing what he was hunting. That and she really didn't want Lucky to die because of her. He was a good informant at least that's what she kept telling herself. "Because the people that has been killed are related to this woman that a friend knows." The look he gave her clearly stated 'get talking, now' she sighed again which was really starting to become a habit around him and told him the story of Lucky.
Dean thought over all that Summer had said as he pulled into the motel parking lot. He shut down the engine and sat there for a moment thinking about everything. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around all this even after a few months it was still taking some getting used to. He had lived his life one way for so long and even when he learned that things weren't always so black and white he still didn't realize that all that Summer had told him had been happening under his nose. Walkers living with families, werewolves that had something akin to a police force. Werewolves and their cousins and they all had their own lore to boot.
All of them each creature they have ever hunted had stories that they told the newly changed or young one as Summer called them. He shook his head at that when she said it like that she sounded so old and he wondered not for the first time just how old she was. He sighed something that was quickly becoming a habit when he thought about her. After all these years, the anger of her lies had slowly faded especially when he was constantly confronted with her hostility.
The sneers the snarls were wearing thin but today when he had been there at her home he had seen a side of Summer he hadn't seen in a very long time. He wondered again not for the first time what had happened to her. It couldn't have been what he had done all those years ago could it? Yeah he had been angry that night. And rightly so. He had found her in Sam's bed for fuck sakes and then found out she had been lying to him for years how was he supposed to act?
Okay so maybe he had overreacted and Sam hadn't pled her cause any but was that the reason behind her attitude change or was there something more? Had something happened over the years that he obviously doesn't know about? He wiped a hand down his face, he had no fucking clue and Summer wasn't in the sharing and caring mood. If Sam was still Sammy, he would have him ask but the state Sam was in now well that wasn't such a good idea. Summer would rip of his head and hand it to Dean on a silver platter. Proudly at that.
No that wasn't something he should do. Fuck. He should just leave it alone what had summer said "I wouldn't poke the bear if I were you Dean." yeah that was it except in this case it wasn't a bear it was a werewolf one that he wasn't so sure wouldn't kill him if he didn't stop 'poking the bear'. Whatever nothing he could do now so he picked up the cream colored journal.
He eyed it for a moment noticing the way there were papers stray notes and newspaper article clippings sticking out haphazardly all around it. He smiled remembering that this was how she kept track of all her research. She was always meticulous in her research more so than Sam or even his dad had been but she was more like him in how she stored things.
They hadn't always hunted together in the past there were times he didn't see her for months. But she always showed up on the doorstep of his latest motel when he needed her. He thought over their conversation over the journal he didn't understand why she was giving it to him. Why give him something that meant so much to her. He gave a shake of his head and climbed out of his baby. The Impala he got woman well yeah he usually got them to but not the complicated ones and Summer was sure as hell complicated.
And after what had just happened, it was even more complicated. He leaned against the Impala loving the cool steel behind him as he looked up at the stars. He wondered about a lot of things lately his mind constantly whirling of thoughts about Sam about Summer and everything dealing with Crowley and the Campbell's. He also wonders when the hell he got so whimsical probably about the time he moved in with Lisa. He had thought he had a family that he had a chance at normal. But all that was blown out the water. He heard the door to the latest motel they were staying open and he looked over to see Sam standing in the doorway.
He wasn't sure he knew who his brother was anymore. "You're coming back pretty late." Sam said crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door jam. How late was he? He realized he didn't even know what time it was. "What time is it?" Sam looked at his watch a small weird smile flittering across his features. "A little after one. What did you and Summer talk about?" Yeah he wasn't willing to go into that much detail. "She told me that the hunt Crowley wants us to go on isn't a werewolf." he said with a shrug.
"Well what s it then?"
"Skin-walkers. Gave me a name of her contact told me to ruff him up a little for her. Something about he's not supposed to go killing people but we are not allowed to kill him. She said he would help with whatever we needed that more was going on in that town than we were told."
"So we looking at another alpha?"
"Could be that's why Crowley wants us there anyhow."
"Hey man look I know you don't like working with Crowley but," Damn but Summer was right Sam could plaster on fakeness like it was a fucking art form. He cut off anything Sam had to say with a vicious slash of his hand and snapped out, "Just stop Sam. I don't just not like it I hate it. Working with demons never ends up well you of all people should know that." Sam narrowed his eyes at that and of course, he had something else he wanted to add.
"Yeah and working with a werewolf is any different especially one that isn't so quiet in her want to kill us?"
Dean thought over that a moment. Was working with Summer any different? She was after all something hunter's hunt, something that he should put a silver bullet in. However, Summer wasn't a something she was a someone to him and she used to be a someone to Sam. "Yes," He said finally after a few moments of staring into the face that he once knew everything about. "Yes it is different." With that said, he shoved the journal into the pocket inside his jacket and brushed past Sam. He needed to get to bed if they were leaving early in the morning.
His dreams were haunted that night. Haunted by Lisa's cold with anger words, by Summer soft brown eyes as they bored into his asking ,"What is it you want from me Dean?" what did he want from her. Funny thing is he doesn't know and as the drove to the modest home were Summer said Lucky her informant lived with his 'family' he still hadn't figured it out. She was always just Summer to him. Then she was someone that had gotten close only to find out that she had been lying for years.
He didn't like liars; it was why he reacted so badly to Sam. But the thing is Summer had risked it all according to Bobby to come to them and get them the news that they had a death warrant out on their heads. It wasn't the first time the supernatural world had done that when they weren't trying to kill him they were trying to kill Sam. Or they were trying to kill him to get to Sam or the other way around. Something was always trying to kill them it was getting real old real fast.
But such was the way of a hunter just seemed to happen to them more often than most. He looked over at Sam who was scanning the street address's looking for the right one when he found it he smacked him on the arm and said, "There," He pointed to the rancher on the left, "its that one." he pulled to a stop and shut down the engine and waited. "Let Lucky come to you, he'll know your coming. But he's a tense bugger and will freak if you try and come to him."
That's what Summer had said and since this was her informant, he did as was told funny thing he seemed to do that a lot these days. What the hell happened to him that he was taking orders from Crowley or taking his cue from Summer? He wiped a hand down his face when did his life get to be so fucking complicated. He missed the days when things were easy. He missed hunting down nasties because that's what he was supposed to do not what he was told. Okay so with the exception of his father but that was different. And he missed, well never mind that, that was going to stay locked away in his head forever. He jumped when a soft knock fell on his window. Damn he was out of touch.
He waved the tallish man with the scraggly beard back so he could open the door and climbed out Sam right behind him. "You Lucky?" The man nodded and said, "Summer told me you would be coming. Speaking of Summer have you talked to her lately I've been calling her since about midnight?"
Lucky looked around him like a man running from the cops. Summer was right he was jumpy. Wait what did he just say? "Excuse me?"
"Summer I've been trying to call her but she's not answering her phone. The only time she ever does that is on the full moon." Dean did not miss the emphasis Lucky had put on the word only. "We'll look into as soon as we're done here." Lucky gave a quick nod before saying, "Look I don't have much time my human is going to want to take me for a walk soon. Meet me here at ten and I'll talk to you then." Before Dean could, say a word Lucky was off running back across the street. The next time Dean saw him he was walking out of his house a leash around his neck and in the form of a German Sheppard.
After checking into a motel, grabbing a shower then food oh and calling Summer a dozen or so times they finally piled back into the Impala and drove off to meet Lucky. Just as he pulled to a stop and before he could shut, the engine down Lucky came; barreling out of the bushes threw the door open and climbed inside. Once seated he looked over at Sam his eyes a bit wide and more than a little fearful he said, "Go its not safe for my humans if anyone see's me talking to you." Dean nodded and drove them all back to the motel.
When they pulled up into the parking lot, they climbed out Lucky looking around like a wanted criminal, slid inside once the door was open, and paced back and forth. Sam eyed him with a cocked eyebrow and Dean just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what was up with the man either.
"So tell me why it isn't safe?"
"Because the man that turned me into," Lucky said waving a hand at himself, "this, he's done it to others. There a lot of what I am out there and their sleeper cells. Told to live with a family the bigger the better and then when the time came we were to change them. But I, I couldn't do it. I love my human and her child. I, I want to protect them not hurt them. I don't want them to become like me.""Is that when Summer found you?" Sam asked his eyes narrowed in thought. Well at least there was still something of his brother in there. "Yeah, yeah she told me I don't have to do what they wanted me to do. That I could protect my human. So I took her up on her offer and have been spying for her. She's really good at this by the way." Dean was sure that she was.
"What did you learn?"
"The time is coming, I don't know when for sure but soon. The order is going to come straight from the alpha. This isn't supposed to be happening we have a pact with the werewolves that meant whatever plan my alpha has was supposed to stop. Bran has a soft spot for the humans he wouldn't want them hurt like this."
"Who's Bran?" Sam asked a shark like glint in his eyes and Lucky seemed to realize that he said something he shouldn't have. "I'm not telling you anything soulless one. I shouldn't even be working with you; you're more of a monster than I am." Dean's head snapped back like he had been punched. Monsters were calling his brother a monster now. What kind fucked up universe had he fallen into?
"Okay, okay do you have some kinda meeting you go to?" Dean murmured trying to diffuse the bomb that was now ticking in the room. "Yeah," Lucky answered still keeping a weary eye on Sam. "We're supposed to meet tomorrow; my handler I guess that's what you call him has been getting anxious with me. I think he knows that I don't want to do this.""Do they know about you and Summer?"
"No, no they don't know that. She wouldn't meet me in person except for that one time. She didn't want me smelling like a werewolf said it was too dangerous."
"Well go to that meeting tomorrow and we'll have your back."
"You'll make sure nothing happens to my human right?"
"Yes."
Sam glared at him from the passenger seat as they waited for Lucky to get into the house he was going to flash the front porch light to let them know all was okay. "What the hell do you think your doing?" Sam snapped finally he knew it was coming so he had been waiting for it. "What are you talking about?" He asked not looking at his brother but that front porch light. Was it him or was this taking a long time? "You know what I'm talking about Dean! We're here to hunt them not help them."
He gave a slight nod when the light came on good that was out of the way, turned the engine over, and pulled away from the little house on the corner. "I thought we were supposed to be helping people Sam?" He heard Sam huff in frustration. "These aren't people Dean." The thing is and trust him when he says this they were. See he's done a little reading here and there in his new book. Read the day-to-day grind of what Summer did and what she had to do. Read the back-story that she kept on a few of her contacts they were just people that had a life forced on them that they didn't want. A life that could turn you into a thing if you let it. A little, like Dante and Lucky.
Dean had told Sam he doesn't remember much but he remembers being followed by a vamp that was just watching him. And when the raid had happened when he was slicing off vampires heads left and right Dante had walked up to him and Dean still doesn't know why he didn't just kill him.
But when Dante had said, "They took her from me. You kill them all if you have to but avenge her for me. Do what I can not." Yeah he thought it was weird to but for whatever reason he really wanted to do what Dante had asked.
"Let's just do this job and be over with it huh?" He murmured wiping a hand over his mouth.
"Whatever."
Things (like they have a tendency to do) got a little bit carried away from them. They didn't think that the Skin-Walkers would take Lucky's family. So Dean did the only thing he could he waited with baited breath a finger on the trigger hoping for a clear shot. But even if he could get that shot, he didn't know if he wanted to take it not with the girl and her kid in the way. Like all this wasn't hard enough he had Sam yelling in his ear. "Take the damn shot Dean!" Fuck you he thought. There was no way he was going to risk those people he would just have to trust Lucky. "Come on!" He snarled taking sniper gun down off the tripod.
He shoved it back in its case and circled around the building yelling at Sam along the way. "Find another way in keep an eye out for Lucky and his family." as he snuck in a back way and found a grate nig enough to put the gun through without being seen but small enough that no one would see him before its to late.
"Come on Lucky you have to do it." Some big guy pleaded with Lucky, "You have to bite them turn them. Show that you are still with the cause." Lucky looked back and forth between the man and the other walker looking like he didn't know what to do. That was until he looked at the woman and her child. "No," He stuttered but Dean watched through the lens of the gun as he stood up taller straighter Dean knew that Lucky wouldn't let any one hurt them.
"No, I, I wont let you hurt them."
"I'm sorry Lucky I tried to save you from your folly with the werewolf traitor but apparently she really got her claws into you man."
"You were supposed to stop we have an alliance with the werewolves."
"What the damn dogs don't know won't hurt them. Now move Lucky."
"No."That was his cue he pulled the trigger shooting the man standing next to Lucky. It was all Lucky needed because as soon as bodies started dropping Lucky shoved the woman and her child into a room where they would be safe. Dean was taking shot every chance he got wondering where Sam had fucking gone to when he heard a growling to his right. He snapped his head around a saw a beautiful looking dog that looked like a husky he tried pulling his gun from the grate but it was stuck. But he shouldn't have worried because Sam popped up then and shot the dog for him. "Fucking time you showed up." He growled out.
"Your welcome." Sam snapped back then darted off again. Dean sighed and rolled his eyes some things never change. He looked back through the sight and started picking the walkers off. When it was all said and done he and Sam drove Lucky and his family back to their home. But it wouldn't end so well for poor old Lucky Dean watched as Sam flipped through the newspaper as Lucky's life fell apart in front of him. When Lucky walked, back to the car Dean climbed out and met him in front of the car.
"She's afraid of me."
"Well yeah I mean come on man you lied to her."
"I loved her." It was an honest to god answer and Dean knew he couldn't give some flippant comment but he fell back on something Summer had told him.
"Summer wanted me to tell you something."
"You talked to her?" He seemed like a hopeful puppy. Like someone had just promised him a home which he kinda was. "Not since you said she wasn't answering her phone. But earlier she thought something like this might happen so she told me to tell you to go to Montana that Bran would take care of you." Lucky nodded and took off down the road Dean turned away but when he looked back, he saw a German Sheppard with white around his muzzle Lucky gave a bark before running off. Dean wondered if this would be the last time he saw Lucky. He shook off the thought and reached into his pocket for his cell. He hit speed dial and waited to see if she would pick up.
"You've reached Summer Lee sorry can't come to phone try again later."
A/N: yeah I put this up when I have the flu so if there are any mistakes I'm sorry. but please let me know.. R&R
