Chapter Seven

Jim was having a really, really bad day.

His boss was pissed at him, they were making zero progress on the case, his dog had peed on him, all that crap. And now to top it all off, the funny, sexy FBI agent he had been really into, and who had seemed really into him, was playing him. Either that or she was playing Agent Johnson, and judging by the fact that they were tearing each other's clothes off in the men's bathroom, he would guess that he was the one she had been fooling.

He hadn't seen Julie Thorne since that incident, and he was kind of okay with that. He didn't want to have to face her and realize what a total idiot he was, again. Agents Johnson and Black had gone off to investigate and she had stayed behind, but they were doing a great job of avoiding each other in the small police station.

At least until the door to his office opened and she walked in, uninvited.

He cleared his throat. "Agent Thorne," he said carefully. "Can I help you?"

"Look, we both know that I was using you earlier, and I'm sorry about that," she said quickly, not one to beat around the bush. "That was pretty awful of me. But I need you to move on past that, just long enough for you to help me."

Jim wanted to still be pissed at her, but she looked truly concerned. He sighed. "What do you need help with?"

"I haven't been able to get ahold of my fellow agents for almost two hours," Julie Thorne said. "And before you tell me not to worry, that's very serious. They were investigating the addresses you gave me, and I think they might be in trouble."

"What do you need me for?" he asked, still not comprehending, although he was a little concerned now.

"They took the car," she admitted. "So I kind of need a ride. But I want you to help me find them. I know it's a lot to ask but they're…they're my coworkers, as well as my friends, and I don't want anything to happen to them."

"Just your friends?" Jim muttered, and she didn't reply. He sighed and gave in, standing up and heading towards the door. "Well, come on. I've got a cop car out back. And if you're really lucky, I'll even let you use the sirens and the flashy lights."

Julie smiled despite herself as Jim led her out to the parking lot. She was in love with Dean, and no other guy could compare to him or take his place. Still, this guy was nice, and funny, and a good, brave, competent cop, and he wasn't too bad-looking either. He was the kind of guy she would have maybe been interested in, if it weren't for Dean.

It was a twenty minute drive to the barn where Sam and Dean had been when Julie last spoke to them. For the first couple minutes of the drive, there was an awkward silence, but eventually Jim's phone went off and he pulled over to the side of the road to read it, brow furrowed. After a moment, he looked up and asked, "So, these guys. Have you known them a while?"

"Well…I've known Agent Johnson almost a year, and I've only known Agent Black a couple of months, but he's a great guy," Julie said carefully, but also truthfully. "If something happened to them…"

Jim turned to Julie and put his hand on hers. "Hey," he said gently. "They'll be okay."

Julie looked up and gave him a brief smile, and then suddenly he was closing a handcuff on her wrist. She just stared at him as he handcuffed her to the dashboard and gave her a cold look. "Jim, what-?" she started, completely surprised and confused by this change of events.

"I looked you and your 'friends' up," Jim Morgan snapped. "There is no Julie Thorne or Dean Johnson in the system. There is a Sam Black, but he's five-six and, in fact, black." Julie stared at him, trying to think fast and coming up blank. "You're not FBI," he said coldly. "I don't know what you're up to, but I am taking you in right now, and we'll figure out what to do with you there."

"No!" Julie gasped, snapping to her senses. "Jim, please, you can't do that!"

He smirked. "Pretty sure I can."

"Jim, please," she said desperately. "You're right, I lied. I'm not an FBI agent. But I wasn't lying about my friends. Please, I think they're in a lot of trouble, and I can't let something happen to them. At least give me a chance to explain!"

Jim Morgan stared at her for a long second. "You've got two minutes to convince me before I haul your ass back to the station," he snapped.

"Thank you," she sighed. "Okay, so my name's not Julie Thorne, it's Julie Carters. Those guys that were with me…that's Sam and Dean Winchester. They're brothers, and Dean is my boyfriend of almost a year." Jim nodded a little to himself. Of course a guy like that would get a girl like her.

"This is going to sound crazy, but this is our job," she continued. "This is what we do, we investigate murders and disappearances like this that the government can't explain. I know you probably won't believe me, and you'll think I'm crazy, but we think that…well, we think a vampire or more than one is killing these people."

Jim blinked. Then he smirked. "Okay, you almost had me," he chuckled. "Alright, we're going to jail now-"

"No! No, Jim, please, you have to believe me," Julie said, and he was surprised to see real honesty and fear in her eyes. "Look…I care a lot about Sam, and I love Dean. I cannot lose these guys. So please, just…give me a chance. You can turn us in if I'm lying, just please…let me save them." Jim stared at her, looking conflicted, so she whispered, "Please. Please, I can't lose them."

After a long pause, Jim sighed. "I'm going to let you out of those handcuffs," he explained. "If you try to run, I'll knock you out and you can forget about finding those guys."

"I'm not going anywhere," Julie said firmly, and he unlocked her wrist.

Jim sighed again. "Okay. Let's find those lying bastards," he muttered. Julie gave him a look, and he corrected, "Sorry. Let's find your lying friends."

Sam suppressed a groan as the vampire crouching over him pulled away from his neck. He was extremely lightheaded from blood loss, and yet these vamps had only been toying with them for an hour or so. The dark-haired vampire in front of him, Tasha, wiped her mouth and smacked her lips. "You're right, he's pretty tasty too," she sighed. "And a real pretty boy, too…"

She brushed her fingers along his cheek, leaving a smear of his own blood. Sam spat at her, hitting her square on the cheek, and he was gratified that Dean had the strength to laugh.

"Thatta boy, Sammy," his brother chuckled weakly. Tasha glared at him for a moment, wiping off her cheek, and then hissed, opening her mouth to reveal what looked like shark teeth.

Sam tensed, waiting for the vampire to leap on him and kill him, but their leader, Scarlett, laid a perfectly manicured hand on Tasha's shoulder.

"That's enough, you two," she said with a smirk, and Tasha stepped away from Sam, although she still looked murderous. Sam wondered what it was about this pretty blond vampire that made the others obey her without question.

"So what do you think, Tash?" Scarlett sighed. "Which do you prefer?"

Tasha looked thoughtfully between the two chained, pissed brothers. "Hmm…I'm going to have to go with Dean," she said, winking at him.

Dean smiled sarcastically. "I'm flattered, sweetheart. No, really, thank you. I'm glad you'd rather eat me than these other guys. It's what every guy wants to hear."

Sam almost smirked. "I'd have to go with Sammy," Olivia sighed dreamily, giving him a seductive look. Sam bit back a few choice words and just glared at her.

"Jade?" Scarlett asked, amused.

"Jake's blood is a bit thinner now, but I'd have to go with him," she said after a moment. "Sorry, boys."

"Bummer," they muttered simultaneously.

"What about you, Scar?" Olivia asked. The other vamps looked to their leader eagerly.

Scarlett looked thoughtfully around. She approached Sam and he tensed. She bent and touched his bloody neck, causing him to wince, and next to him Dean jerked on the chains holding him and swore quietly. Scarlett slowly tasted the blood on her finger, then walked over to Dean.

Sam's stomach clenched at the sight of his brother chained to a wall, his neck and half-buttoned shirt bloody. If there was anything worse than being chained up and toyed with and having your blood sucked by vampires, it was having the same thing done to your brother.

She dipped her finger in the blood on his neck and tasted it, then grinned. "Sorry, Liv. I'd say Dean wins this round."

"Lucky me," Dean muttered, and Scarlett smiled.

The next second, she was sinking her teeth into his neck. Dean cried out in pain before he could stop himself, and Sam struggled violently against his chains. "Hey! Hey! Don't hurt him, stop it, you-"

"Get the hell away from my boyfriend before I kill you," a deadly calm, cold voice said from the doorway of the barn, and everyone froze.

Scarlett whipped around, her chin and mouth red with Dean's blood, and Dean put his head back against the wall, breathing heavily, eyes closed. But Sam had eyes for only Julie, who stood several yards away, holding a machete and wearing the most dangerous, pissed expression he had ever seen on her pretty features.

"Who is this?" Scarlett snarled, standing in-between Dean and Julie, which was a very dangerous place to be.

"Julie Carters," she said calmly. "I'm a hunter, and I would kindly ask that you step away from him before I make you."

The vampires exchanged a look, and then laughed. "What are you going to do, sweetie?" Scarlett called teasingly. "There's four of us and one of you, and to top it off, we've got three victims I'm sure you wouldn't want us to hurt any further, isn't that right?"

"I'm giving you one chance to let these men go and leave here and never return," Julie said slowly. "Otherwise…I will kill you, I can promise you that."

"How about…no?" Scarlett smirked.

"Suit yourself," Julie shrugged, and in the next second she had raised a gun and fired on Olivia, who was standing near Sam. The vampire howled and crumpled, and when she fell, Sam saw a dart sticking out of her chest. Dead man's blood. This girl was good.

Jade howled and leapt at Julie, but she swung her machete and in one quick, swift, neat movement, Jade's head left her shoulders.

However, Tasha had gotten behind Julie and before the hunter could turn around, the vampire grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully behind her back until Julie gasped and was forced to drop her machete.

Tasha yanked Julie's head to the side, leaving her neck exposed. "No!" Sam cried desperately, trying to help her but getting pulled back by his chains. Dean lifted his bloody head and even though he was weak, he still managed to look horrified at the sight of Julie an inch from death.

Scarlett moved away from Sam and Dean and approached Julie. "Kill her," the leader of the vampires spat, and Tasha growled, her mouth stretching wide to reveal her vampire teeth.

"Jules…" Dean cried weakly, as helpless as Julie was.

Thankfully, Julie hadn't come alone.

Tasha was stopped literally dead in her tracks as her head was taken clean off her shoulders. Jim Morgan stood there, holding a bloody machete and looking absolutely shocked at what he had done. Julie whirled around, looking for Scarlett, but the leader of the vampires had disappeared the moment she realized she would lose the fight. "Dammit," Julie muttered before quickly rushing over and finishing off Olivia before the vampire could get back up.

"You…weren't lying," Jim Morgan breathed, looking around, white and shocked.

"No, I wasn't," Julie muttered.

"Hey! Officer! Somebody, get me out of here!" Jacob Lee cried, rattling his chains. Jim moved to help him, while Julie turned to the Winchesters.

"Are you guys alright?" she breathed, taking in for the first time the blood on their shirts and necks.

"We're okay, thanks to you," Sam assured her.

She smiled genuinely at him, and then knelt down in front of Dean. "Oh, god…Dean, honey, are you…?" she asked in a horrified voice, trailing off as she took in the blood all over him and his pale skin.

Dean raised his head and gave her a weak smile. "I'll be fine, Jules. Although we both would have died without you."

"And me!" Jacob Lee snapped, and they turned to see him standing shakily, pale from blood loss. Jim tossed Julie the keys, and she nodded gratefully. Julie quickly unchained Dean, and he collapsed into her gentle embrace. For a long moment they held each other, Julie being careful not to brush her head against his wounded, still bleeding neck.

Jim unchained Sam, and he rubbed some life back into his arms. The officer helped Sam up as Julie helped a shaky Dean to his feet. "We should get going before she comes back," Sam pointed out, and the others nodded.

"We need to get you guys some medical attention," Julie said, slipping into nurse mode. "I don't think you two have lost too much blood, but Mr. Lee here is probably in worse shape. He'll need hospital attention-"

"Don't you think that's for a medical expert to decide?" Jim Morgan said uncertainly.

"Good thing I've been to medical school and worked as a nurse for two years," Julie replied coolly.

Jacob turned to Dean. "That's your girlfriend?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Where can I find another one?"

Julie started to smirk, but her smile faded as she heard sirens approaching. Dean and Sam both tensed and looked up as three police cars pulled up to the barn. Julie whirled on Jim. "What the hell?!" she cried.

"I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded like he genuinely meant it. "I didn't realize you really were being honest. So…I called backup."

"The hell is this about?" Dean snapped, instinctively stepping back as the sheriff got out of his car. He had been arrested countless times, gone to jail repeatedly, and been on the FBI's most wanted list so many times it wasn't even funny. The thought of going to yet another prison was not something he was too thrilled about…

"Jim kind of realized we weren't really FBI," Julie said carefully, shifting into a defensive stance in-between the approaching police and Sam and Dean.

Jim saw her move and sighed. "Look, Julie, I really am sorry about this. But please…don't make this harder on yourself. Since you were honest about this whole situation, I think I should be able to help get you out within a couple days if you just work with me."

"And Sam and Dean?" she asked. He didn't reply or meet her glare, confirming her suspicions. Julie turned to Dean, who was staring down the sheriff. "Hey, Dean, how long does someone go to jail for assaulting a cop?"

"Depends," Dean rattled off without thinking. "If you hit him and knock him out and run, versus just hitting him and maybe causing a bruise-"

"Time frame, please, sweetie."

"Could be years-"

Before Dean could even finish his answer, Julie had slugged Jim Morgan so hard he fell flat on his butt, nose gushing blood. Sam, Dean, and Jacob stared at her as she smirked, "As long as my boys are going in the slammer, might as well join them."

Dean shook his head and grinned. He put his arm around Julie and kissed her head. "God, I love you, Jules," he said as the officers moved forward to arrest them.

"Does it burn with silver?" Dean asked in a distant, bored voice.

"Nope," Sam answered in the same flat tone.

"Um…does beheading it work?" Julie asked, clearly as disinterested as the brothers.

"Guess again."

"Can you kill it with fire?" Dean guessed, absently rubbing a strand of Julie's hair between his fingers.

"Yeah."

"Wendigo," Dean said confidently. Sam nodded. "Yahtzee!" Dean said triumphantly, and Julie rolled her eyes.

They were a funny sight, three people in handcuffs sprawled around a small jail cell. Sam sat on the metal bench, the sleeves of his bloody shirt rolled up, picking absently at the sterile bandage on the side of his neck. Dean lay sprawled on the floor, his arm around Julie a little awkwardly, due to his handcuffs. Julie was snuggled close to him, resting her head on his chest, absently playing with the silver chains on his hands. They were about the most calm, collected prisoners to ever be in this cell, as comfortable in a jail cell as most people were in their own homes.

"Your turn then," Sam sighed.

"Alright…I've got mine," Dean said after a moment.

"It's a vampire," Julie and Sam said simultaneously, and he frowned.

"How did you-?"

"That's been your answer the past three times!" Julie complained.

"Well, maybe that's because that's the monster that used me as their personal chew toy just a few hours ago!" Dean snapped.

"Julie, go," Sam said, ignoring his bitching brother.

"Got it," she said after a moment.

"Iron?"

"Nope."

"Salt?" Dean guessed.

"Nice try."

"Silver?" Sam sighed, rattling through the basics.

"Guess again," she replied.

"Angel blade?" Dean guessed, and Julie hesitated to answer. "Angel!" Dean cried triumphantly, and Sam and Julie rolled her eyes. "I win again!" he chuckled.

"Just pick something," Sam snapped, and a moment later Dean said, "Ready."

"I swear to god, if the answer is vampire, you are getting no sex for a week!" Julie growled, and Dean quickly said, "Wait, just kidding, I still need to think."

Jim Morgan backed away from their cell, shaking his head. He had sneaked past his fellow officers to check on the hunters, expecting angry people trying to escape. Instead, he found the three calmest prisoners he had ever seen, completely at ease, sprawled around a cell, playing some game about how to kill monsters. Anyone would think they were insane, but the worst part was, he knew they weren't. Well, at least not about the monsters.

Jim backed away, and returned to the main office. It was night, and there were three other officers besides him and Sheriff Anderson, waiting for the real FBI to come and take these three people away. Jim couldn't help feeling a little guilty, even though he was carrying out his job. They had broken the law and they had to face the consequences, even if they did seem like nice enough people who really had been trying to do the right thing…

He sighed. This was ridiculous. He had never felt so guilty about arresting someone. Maybe it was Julie's expression when she realized Jim had betrayed them. Maybe it was the way he had seen her rush to Dean Johnson…no, Winchester, the concern in her eyes, the way they held each other…once they went to jail, they wouldn't see each other again for god knows how long. Most likely though it was his conversation with Julie in the car as she pleaded with him. She loved him, she had said. Jim hadn't truly loved someone since…well, he had never loved someone. Not like she loved him. And he didn't want to be the one responsible for ruining that.

Someone walked into the police station. Jim didn't look up, not wanting to have to look at the men who were coming to take away the people he had turned in. But then one of his fellow officers, Kyle Simmons asked, "How can we help you, miss?"

Jim looked up, surprised, and a cold wave of panic swept over him. A pretty, scantily-clad, blond woman stood in front of the desk Kyle sat at, smiling seductively at him. Jim knew the second he saw her that she was the one vampire who had escaped, and he cried, "Kyle, no! Get away from her!"

The vampire's eyes flashed to him and she hissed, her lips curling back to reveal pointy teeth. Kyle cried out and scrambled back. Jim turned and ran into the other room, Kyle on his tail. Right as Jim reached the safety of another room, Kyle screamed, and Jim turned to see his coworker fall, the vampire tearing at his neck. For a moment, Jim was too terrified to move, and then he slammed and locked the door just before the vampire abandoned Kyle's body and lunged towards him.

Jim backed away from the door, horrified. Kyle was dead. That took a long moment to process, and then an almost blinding panic overtook him. He could very well be next, with that dangerous vampire loose in the police station.

Jim turned around and there were Anderson, his friend Harry, and the only female officer, Maggie Bloch, staring at him. "Did…did that woman just…?" Harry sad shakily.

"That's the thing that's been kidnapping and killing people," Jim told the shocked officers. "She just got Kyle, and if we don't fight back, she'll get us, too."

"We should be safe in here, right?" Maggie asked shakily.

"As long as that door stays locked, we'll be fine," Jim said, more hopeful than certain.

"What about those prisoners?" Anderson pointed out, and Jim's blood ran cold again.

Dean was trying to braid Julie's hair when they head a man scream in pain. All three hunters sat straight up, immediately on high alert. They scrambled to their feet and backed up to the far wall of the cell, pressed shoulder to shoulder, waiting. "Do you think…?" Julie started quietly.

"Scarlett," Dean said, and there was no question in his voice. "She doesn't seem like the type of bitch to just forgive and forget."

For a long, tense minute or two, they stood listening and waiting for a vampire to appear. After a couple of minutes, all three of them jumped slightly as someone started trying to force open the door to the room where all the prison cells were. Dean subtly tried to push Julie behind him, and then the door swung wide open.

"Jim?" Julie sighed in relief. "God, don't scare us like that!"

"There's a vampire," Jim Morgan gasped as he rushed to their cell. "Somewhere in here, that other vampire."

"We figured," Dean muttered. "Get us out of here, we'll take care of it."

Jim hesitated for a moment, looking conflicted. "For god's sake, let us save your life!" Julie snapped. Jim gave in and quickly unlocked their cell. The three hunters scrambled out and quickly found their weapons lying nearby. But just as Dean was enjoying the feeling of his good old machete back in his hands, the power went out.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered, finding Julie's arm in the dark. "Sammy?" he hissed.

"Right here," his brother breathed from a couple feet away.

"Get your back up against a wall and get ready to swing," Dean ordered the three other people, doing so himself. "Morgan, don't you guys have emergency power?"

"It'll take a couple minutes to kick in," Jim replied, feeling around for a wall and pressing his back to it. He tried to steady his breathing, but his heart was pounding so wildly he was certain that the vampire could hear it beating.

They waited in tense silence, trying to sense the vampire coming. But vampires were creatures of night, and they moved with such silence and stealth that no one heard Scarlett coming until it was too late.

Julie screamed next to Dean, and there was a thud in the darkness. "Jules!" he cried, but he couldn't dare risk swinging the machete if it could hit Julie instead. He waited in the darkness, hoping to hear Julie's voice or Scarlett's cry of pain, but he heard nothing.

After a few moments that seemed to last years, the lights finally flickered and came on, dimmer but before, but working at least. "No!" Dean cried, when he saw Julie lying on the ground, blood trickling from her forehead, and Scarlett standing over her, pressing Julie's machete to the unconscious woman's throat.

"One move and I'll kill her, Winchester," Scarlett smirked, gloating. "Like she killed my sisters."

Dean froze, staring in horror at Julie. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. Sam and Jim Morgan were frozen as well, unable to help Julie or kill this vampire before them. Scarlett grinned, enjoying their helplessness. She nudged Julie with her toe. "So," she smirked. "This is your girlfriend, huh, Dean?"

Dean didn't move or speak, just gritted his teeth.

"Do you love her?" Scarlett continued, grinning now. "Would you cry if I killed her?"

"Stop," Sam said in a voice so filled with pain it surprised Dean. "It's not her you want, not really. It's us."

"She killed my sisters," Scarlett snarled.

"Vampires killed her father," Sam replied, and Dean blinked. He didn't tell Sam that. How did he know that? Had Julie told him? "So she had a reason. Killing vampires is all she's ever known."

"You're still not explaining to me why I shouldn't slit this bitch's throat right here and now," she snapped.

"Because I'll surrender," Sam said, and both Dean and Scarlett blinked, surprised. "You leave her alone, promise not to hurt her, and I won't try to kill you. I'll do whatever you want, just leave her and the rest of these people out of it."

Scarlett studied him for a moment, and then laughed. "Dean, sweetie, I thought you were the boyfriend," the vampire smirked. "Yet it's Sammy here who is trying to save her, who is willing to take her place."

Dean gritted his teeth, unable to explain why those words bothered him so much. Before he could reply, though, he realized that Julie's eyes were open. She winked at him, and before he could even be stunned, she rolled over and stabbed a dart into Scarlett's leg.

The vampire shrieked as dead man's blood shot into her system, and Dean took his chance. He leapt forward and with one clean slice, he killed the last vampire.

Sam moved forward, and the two brothers helped Julie to her feet. "You okay?" Dean asked her, gently touching the spot on her head where she must have been hit, his fingers coming away bloody.

Julie nodded a couple of times and buried her face in his chest for a moment. When she pulled away, she turned to Sam and said, "Thanks for the distraction."

He nodded at her, smiling slightly. "Anytime."

"But that better have just been a distraction," Julie continued, giving him a sharp look. "I never want you, or Dean, or anyone taking my place in situations like that."

Sam shook his head. "Come on, Julie. We both would, without hesitating. And you know that."

Julie sighed. "I know. And I need to work on fixing that."

Sam chuckled, and Dean looked back and forth between them. He couldn't explain it, but something about that exchange had bothered him. He tried to ignore the strange emotion trying to crawl its way out of his stomach, and he turned to Jim Morgan. "Alright, Morgan. We took out your vampire. I'd say it's only fair if, in return, you accidentally let us go."

Jim sighed and smiled slightly. "Sure. That's twice I owe you three now. Just get out of here before my fellow officers get brave enough to risk coming out."

Sam and Dean gathered their stuff and headed for the door. Julie stopped for a moment and surprised Jim by giving him a brief hug. "Thank you," she said quietly, nodding at him.

Jim Morgan nodded back at this strange, tough, funny, brave, sweet, beautiful woman, and as he watched her walk away with those two men, Sam and Dean Winchester, he felt a pang of concern for her. Life with those two didn't seem very safe, and she was a good person, the kind who deserved to live a long, happy life.

Jim just hoped she got to live it, before a monster came along, one that they couldn't beat.