Shower pellets rained down around Erica's seated position. Her hair slipped onto her face to cling along her nose and jaw. Her headache refused to go away. Her problems refused to be productive and mend themselves. She fingered the chipped maroon nail polish on her toes, thinking back to the spat she and Heather had shared. She glanced up at the watermelon scented shampoo sitting on the side of the tub and her thoughts went to Sam; her heart was quick to follow. Then, there was the logical path of attempting to battle a gang of witches and demons.
Raising herself up on shaky arms, Erica forced even breaths deep into her lungs and attempted to work the kinks out of her long hair. Dim light filtered in through the checkered shower curtain leaving symmetric patterns across her athletic legs.
As she cut off the steaming water, an idea occurred to her. Who did she always call with hunter problems? Who was the perfect medium between a friend and a parent? Her mentor—Jody Mills.
Before she even had her robe on, Erica had dug her cell out of the folds and hit the frequently dialed number. Without waiting even a full ring, the native South Dakotian answered. "Hey kiddo. I was beginning to wonder when I'd hear from you next. Haven't stumbled across Oz down there in Kansas have you?"
"Something like that," Erica said. She massaged at the little bridge above her nose and gave the strings of her borrowed robe a firm tug.
"Oh, god. I know that tone. Who am I dismembering?"
Erica laughed feebly. She kicked down the toilet lid and sat down with a wet thud. She played with a crack in the blue tinged tile as she sought out an answer. "So, um, you remember how we thought the Winchesters died?"
Silence.
Clearing her throat, Erica shifted to lean her elbows on her thighs so she could hunch over. "Or just me and Heather were caught in that delusion." She was too tired of revelations to let one more lie derail her.
"Bobby and I agreed that it was for the best. We didn't want you two getting mixed up with them again," Jody defended quickly.
"Yeah, well that really wasn't your place, and we managed to anyway."
"What?" Jody sounded as if she was choking on water, or more likely some sort of alcohol.
"That's problem one. Two is the case we're teaming up on. Maureen is here and I'm worried about her safety because stuff is piling up and angels and demons are now involved. I've never dealt with anything like this before, so I sure as hell don't want Mar around."
"E, you realize that you girls are more likely to kill the Winchesters than any monster, right?"
"I'm actually ok on that front. I think I still have feelings for…" She trailed off as a knock came on the bathroom door.
"Erica, are you done? I need my razor from in there," Sam's voice came through the door.
"Speak of the devil," Erica muttered to herself and flinched at the bad joke. "Thanks for listening, Sheriff. I should get going."
"Hold up, kiddo. I might have a way to fix at least one of those problems. What do you say I swing down and take Maureen off your hands."
"You're a saint, Jody," Erica said.
"Most Sundays," she agreed.
Erica hung up and hopped to her feet to unlatch the door. Sam squinted down at her from beneath the hood of his jacket. Red decorated his sleepy eyes and there was dried drool on the corner of his mouth. "Morning." He yawned loudly.
"Brush your teeth while you're in there," Erica instructed, slipping past him back into his bedroom where she'd spent the night.
"You're one to talk. Did you even use soap?" Sam retorted.
Erica spun around with laughter peeling off her lips. "Yes, but I don't enjoy smelling like a fairy princess unlike some fully grown men."
He shrugged and kicked at the loose ends of his sleep pants. A brown tuft of hair hung directly between his eyes, but he couldn't be bothered to remove his hands from his pockets to move it. He sniffed as his feet tiptoed forward.
"Listen," the joking nature was gone. A solemnity hung in his words now. "I just…" he glanced helplessly to the floor before meeting her gaze more intensely than at first. It was like a silent movie—a thousand words communicated with only the dramatic music of the background to set the mood. Only, it was the song Barracuda being blasted from Dean's room down the hall and Sam seemed intent to speak it out loud regardless. "I know the way I walked back into your life wasn't ideal, but I'm glad I did."
Erica found herself nodding. As if the nonchalant gesture could acknowledge everything that had transpired between them. She should say something or run to him or at least smile.
"I'm gonna go shave now. Heather has been getting on me and Dean about our stubble. You're welcome to any of my clothes if you don't want to wear what you had on yesterday again." He disappeared into the bathroom before Erica could formulate a proper response.
Erica donned her unwashed jeans and rolled the cuffs up her shins to at least make them appear new. Ethics dictated that she not give into her craving off being engulfed in one of Sam's larger than life plaids and make do with the tank top she wore beneath her sweater yesterday. Gathering up her dignity, Erica made her way into the apparently already occupied library.
Maureen jumped up from her reading so fast her headband fell to bounce against her chin. Hastily pushing it back into place, she grinned widely spun in a circle with her arms stretched wide. "This place is like the ultimate superhero lair. I can't believe the Winchesters were holding out on us."
"Get used to disappointments from them," Heather called without looking away from her laptop.
Ignoring the sour comment, Erica surveyed her baby sister. Her dark eyes were still so young and innocent. Erica wanted nothing more than to keep them that way. "Come outside with me?" Erica asked.
"It's freezing and your hair is still wet," Maureen pointed out.
Erica sighed and walked to the base of the exit stairs where a coat rack hung. Looks like she'd be resigning to wear Sam's clothing anyway. She pulled on a ratty hoodie over her hair and waved expectantly at her pouting sibling. They trudged up the stairs side by side and by the time the heavy bunker door closed in their wake, Erica was beginning to reconsider the hike into the outdoors. It was in fact below the freezing point and the sun was missing despite the mid-morning time.
"You're going to tell me it's too dangerous, aren't you? That's why you've kept me out of things lately," Maureen sent a spray of gravel skidding ahead with the toe of her combat boots.
"Well, I can never say you're ignorant. Just inexperienced. You get that, don't you?"
Maureen nodded and swatted at a snowflake clinging to her eyelash. "I guess. I'll call Garth and see if he can find something more basic for me to work on."
"Actually, you know my friend Jody?"
"Sure. You talk about her enough."
"I was thinking you could go stay with her a while. She'll find you some nearby hunts, but can also keep an eye on you. Just until we sort out this mess. Then you can roam the country as you want. I want to make things safe again first."
"Wouldn't want to interrupt Mom and Dad's retirement either," Maureen said. "You realize things will never really be safe though, right?"
Erica inclined her head down and gnawed at her raw lips. "I do, but if I can stop this one evil, it'll be one step closer."
Snow began pouring down harder. Maureen shrieked in surprise and threw up her head to welcome the frost. She jutted out her tongue childishly and gripped the ends of her knit dress. Snow clung to her printed tights and decorated the pastel blue sky above. Most people viewed snow as an inconvenience, something to wait out like hail or rain. But maybe snow was more like a blank slate for the seasons to start from. Its where the most beautiful flowers blossomed from, after all.
A clean beginning was something Erica craved. No more lies or deceit. She would cleanse every part of her life beginning with the most important aspect, her family. She was taking care of Maureen. Then, she would remedy her relationship with Heather and together they would work to do what they did best. Finally, maybe she'd have a moment to open up a spare part of herself to the owner of the jacket that kept her warm against even the harshest of winter winds.
Calling to Maureen, they headed back into the bunker, shucking snow off their shoes as they sealed the door behind them. At the table Heather worked at, Sam had drawn her out of her sulking and gestured animatedly with his hands about whatever fable he fed her. She rolled her eyes and tilted her head towards where Dean sat beside her as she responded. He held up his hands in defense making Heather reach for a beer before her.
As Maureen clomped her way down the metal staircase, Erica leaned against the top railing. There was an unshakable warmth in her chest as she folded the floppy ends of Sam's sleeves over her stomach. Maureen plopped herself on the table, entering the conversation without reserve. Dean pointed in victory and jumped to his feet.
Sam laughed and shook his head. With still beautifully crinkled eyes, he glanced up to where Erica observed. His head tilted in a request for her to join them. Yes, winter was proving to be her favorite time of year.
When Jody said she'd drive down to get Maureen, Erica did not anticipate her arrival only a few short hours later. Nor did she realize just how much she was in need of a hug from her longtime confidant. Jody turned to Maureen, placed her hands on her hips and popped out her hip with her gun on it. "We'll have to buff you up before hitting the road kid," she noted.
"That a standard issue 9mm?" Maureen countered, eyes latching curiously on the weapon.
Jody snorted with laughter and nodded in approval. "How about you go grab your stuff and I'll put you sister and her friend in place before heading out."
Heather and Erica stepped out onto the porch of the motel they occupied, shutting the door for privacy. After debating with the Winchesters for a few pointless hours, it was decided that after Maureen left, the elder women would move into the bunker for easier access to lore and their current partners. Once this case was over, however, and Heather stressed this point excessively, they would be on their way. She sounded like Erica Lacour five years prior—so caught up in her own agenda, refusing to allow room for the possibility of attachment. Of course, last time they'd permitted that she and Heather had ended up all manners of fucked up and over.
Though Erica was fully prepared to absorb a lecture on safety and hunting etiquette, Jody surprised them both by asking, "How are you guys holding up?"
A stray hawk mosquito buzzed lazily around Erica's hands in clear denial about the weather climate. What the clouds didn't blot out of the sun struggled through her three layers of clothing to offer any minute amount of warmth.
"That well?" Jody pressed when neither woman spoke up.
"Erica seems to be coping just fine," Heather snapped.
"Christ, not this again," Erica moaned.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are my feelings a burden to you? I know you're not accustomed to having any," Heather snapped.
"Should I have brought my psychiatrist couch or are you two going to stop fighting like teenage girls? Be mad at me or Bobby or either of the boys. Not each other. You're the only steady things in each other's lives. You can't afford to be at each other's throats; that leaves an opening for a demon to go for yours."
"Look, Heat, I'm sorry if what I've done comes across as me abandoning you. That's not how I intended it. I'm just trying to get this done right," Erica said.
"Does that involve mentally undressing Sam?" Maureen inquired as she maneuvered her two bulky suitcases between the three.
"Thanks for the backup, Mar," Heather nodded approvingly.
"Not your fight. Wait in the car," Jody instructed.
"Won't let me fight demons. Won't let me fight Erica. I've done that one for all 19 years of my life, though. I'm highly qualified for it," Maureen responded immaturely.
"I'll miss you." Erica pulled her into a hug, though the recipient could not reciprocate with her hands struggling to maintain a grip on her bags.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't go wimping out and die on me." Maureen brushed the affection off and began tossing her things into the popped trunk of her mini. Jody's squad car was parked right beside the van waiting to begin its caravan back north.
The Sheriff swung her keys about her middle finger, raising expectant eyebrows to Erica. "No heartfelt goodbye for me? We're practically family." Erica rolled her eyes but offered up her arms to embrace the ever concerned woman.
Heather pushed her way past to offer up her own farewell to the younger Lacour. A pair of squabbling boys raced past, the taller one holding an action figure just out of reach of the smaller. Jody laughed, dark eyes crinkling up at the scene. She pulled back and caught at the hem of Erica's jean jacket. Erica stared at the dark brown police jacket Jody wore. Those were days she often classified as boring and pointless. Staying centralized waiting around for a boy who was not coming back. But in truth she'd gained more than she lost. She'd gained a life-long friend in Jody, a hunting partner in Heather and a much needed source of stability behind that desk. She'd lived life on the road and she'd experienced a hunter's version of domestic life. One was not dominant to the other anymore. There had to be some sort of middle ground for her to stand on.
"Erica, Sam is a sweet boy. He really means well, but he and his brother have a habit of getting into shit that they can't dig themselves out of. Somehow they always end up alive. But not the people closest to them. Their mom, their dad, Bobby. I'm not blaming them; I'm just trying to warn you. Please, please be careful."
Wet snow leaked into the canvas toes of her boots as Erica took a step away. She let her head fall downwards as the laughter from the two playing boys echoed through the parking lot. She shrugged and held up her hands. "Heather's right. I did cut out everything for a long, long time. Numbing the pain only made it worse when I finally felt it, and yesterday it finally caught up. It hit me just how damn much I cared about those idiot Winchesters. I'm done pretending I don't."
"And if it gets you killed? Or your best friend or your innocent sister?" Jody countered. "I love those boys as much as you, but I check up with them through phone calls or infrequent visits. I don't live with them."
Erica thumbed the hilt of a silver dagger stuck into her belt, chewing her upper lip as she pondered her response. "Sam and Dean don't kill people. They save them. Family business and all that jazz. They do the same job as me and Heat. For now, we're sticking with them because we need each other."
Jody nodded and slung an arm around Heather's waist as she jogged back over. Maureen jumped into her front seat and revved the laughable engine of her vehicle to indicate her impatience. "I just worry about you girls. I'll text when we get there. Keep me up to date on the case ok?" She gave Heather a squeeze before stepping out from under the awning. The two children returned, nearly trampling her in their newest war game.
"Tell those Winchesters I said to call. I like to keep all my ducklings in a row." Jody offered one final parting wave before ducking behind the wheel of her car.
Heather and Erica waited on the porch step until both cars were safely on the freeway. With the roads recently cleared of this morning's snowfall, they peeled away quickly.
"Guess we should finish gathering our things and head back to the bunker," Erica suggested, raising her gloved hands to her mouth to warm them.
"Ever the efficient one," Heather muttered, letting herself back into the hotel room.
Erica took a moment to breathe in the cool air before following. She could not expect everything to mend over the course of a day. She would focus on ganking a few feisty demons and their sidekick witches until Heather decided she wanted to talk again.