"I swear to God, if you call me "kid" one more time you arrogant son of a-"
"Oh yeah, because you're acting sooooo mature right now."
"That is the best comeback you've got? Seriously? You sound like a 12 year old girl."
Ivy flung open the motel door, nearly crashing into a bemused looking Sam. She glared at him and stormed towards the bathroom, her shopping bags swinging violently. She heard Dean slam the door behind him, and was savagely pleased. The shopping trip hadn't started out great, what with Dean trying to slip skanky lingerie in with her purchases at every store. Then they had argued about what she should be buying, as Ivy wanted to choose her own clothes while Dean was adamant that he should get a say, considering he was paying. Ivy had reminded him that it wasn't even his credit card that they were using, and the argument had only escalated from there. Eventually Ivy had thrown a shoe at Dean's head, and they had decided to call it a day.
Ivy took her time changing into her new jeans and shirt, trying to avoid re-joining the wannabe Ghostbusters in the other room. Sure, she was grateful that they had rescued her, but a small part of her couldn't help hating them for not being able to save her parents too. If they had just been a little faster…Then again, from what Castiel had said, it seemed that the only reason the Vampires had been at her house in the first place was because they were targeting her. Ivy's parents had just been caught in the crossfire. She pulled on a pair of flat leather boots and sighed. How had her life been so utterly destroyed in such a short amount of time?
She heard the front door open and a new voice joined the muffled conversation in the other room. Ivy opened the bathroom door and saw the newcomer shaking hands with Sam, a large bag slung over his shoulder. He was an older guy, maybe in his fifties, with a short beard and trucker cap. He looked a bit like Santa's evil twin, if he was a small town mechanic.
"Ah, here's the little sweetheart now," Dean grumbled. "Bobby, this is Ivy. If you see her holding a shoe, duck. She throws surprisingly hard for a highschooler."
"I'm a third year Psychology major, you jackass," Ivy retorted. "Nice to meet you, Bobby."
Bobby glanced at Dean and then at Sam, who was trying not to laugh. "Uh, nice to meet you too kiddo. So you guys reckon we got a Vampire problem?"
Sam quickly filled Bobby in, while Dean and Castiel sorted through Bobby's bag, which turned out to be full of weapons. By the time Sam finished explaining, Bobby's face had settled into a grave expression.
"If our buddy Edmund had sentries at Ivy's house, then he's probably in charge of a nest somewhere in the area", Bobby glanced at Castiel, who was holding a thick wooden stake. "I don't know if the four of us is gonna be enough. Maybe I should call in some other hunters in the area."
Sam opened his mouth to reply but Ivy beat him to it.
"What do you mean, "the four of us"? Last I counted, there are five of us."
They all stared at her, dumbfounded. Well, except for Castiel, who was examining a bottle of water obliviously.
"Ivy, I admire the bravery but you can't come with us," Dean was the first to collect himself. "Vampires are bastards to kill at the best of times, and if we're dealing with a nest, we'll be lucky to get outta there alive. Me, Sam and Bobby have been hunting a long time, and Cas here has the big man upstairs on his side. You, on the other hand, have no training, no experience, and the only weapon I've seen you handle was a shoe. Sorry, but you're staying put."
Ivy flushed. "Dean, they killed my parents. If you were in my place, would you sit around doing nothing?"
Bobby and Sam suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. Dean's expression softened, but his eyes were undecipherable.
"Trust me, I know all about your position. And you're right, I didn't stay put and act like a good boy like I was told. But I'm also pretty sure you're a hell of a lot smarter than I was. So you're going to stay here, with the doors locked, and you're going to watch crappy TV with a stake in your hand until we get back. Hell, if you're lucky, we might even let you order in pizza."
Ivy was so angry it took her a moment to regain the ability to speak.
"You patronizing asshole! In the past 24 hours I've held my Dad's dead body in my hands, a Vampire has used me like a water cooler, and I've been forced to hang out with some expressionless angel and you two Dukes of Hazzard wannabes. How dare you treat me like a child! I want to kill as many of those bloodsuckers as I can, and if you don't let me come with you I'm just going to wait until you leave and then call a cab."
Dean was glaring at her, but Ivy matched his glare with her own until he looked away. Sam whispered something in Bobby's ear, and the older man chuckled.
"I do have expressions," Castiel said, sounding a little hurt, but nobody paid him any attention.
The tension grew until finally Dean couldn't take it anymore.
"Fine," he snapped, stalking towards the door. "I guess I can't stop you. But don't expect me to come running if a Vampire starts drinking you like a juicebox."
He slammed the door behind him. A few moments later they hear the loud revving as the Impala's engine whirred into life.
"He'll be back, he just has to blow off some steam," Sam said, although Ivy could tell that he was a little worried about his brother. Bobby sighed and dragged his bag of weapons across the table and away from Castiel, who was staring blankly out of the window.
"If you're dead set on coming with us, I guess we better teach you the basics. At least you'll have a one per cent chance of survival rather than zero per cent."
"You're confidence in me is inspiring," Ivy replied, taking the stake he offered her. "Right, how do I use this?"
Sam glanced at Bobby and then back at Ivy, looking resigned. "Well, for a start, you should turn it the right way around."