Well, this chapter was starting to get super long, so I cut it off at a slightly weird point. Hopefully, I will be able to get the next chapter up very, very soon so you can find out what happens! Sorry about that! Please let me know if you see any typos. I love the reviews and talking (just in general) to the other authors on the site. Thanks again!
Disclaimer: Only the idea is mine. Supernatural and the characters therein belong to the actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians that bring it to life. Rated T, because there's a bit of cursing.
The next morning, Sam showed up at the coffee shop alone. Alexa was talking to Dwight again. He had a lead on a house for rent on the edge of town. Sam just sat down across from Alexa at the table and listened.
"Hiya, Sam. Gina, get Sam here his coffee, could ya?" He waved at one of the workers behind the counter. "So anyway, this friend of mine, he doesn't know what to do with the house. It was his daughter's house, but then she died of cancer a few months ago. Such a sad thing. Still tears him up inside. Parents aren't supposed to bury their children, you know? But he cleaned all her stuff out of the house, 'cept for the furniture. He isn't ready to sell it yet, but he can't seem to find anyone to rent the place. You interested?"
"Absolutely! Would you mind calling him and asking if it would be okay to see the place?" She looked over at Sam and raised her eyebrows. He shrugged and made a 'whatever' face.
"On one condition." Dwight said.
"What's that?" Alexa asked.
"You agree to keep coming here at least, let's say twice a week for your hot chocolate."
She grinned. "It's a deal." Dwight smiled back at her and said, "Give me a few."
He returned a couple of minutes later with an address and phone number on a piece of paper.
"Hank said he'd meet you there in a half hour, or you can call him and let him know what time might be better."
"This is amazing. Thanks so much!" Dwight nodded at her, then walked back behind the counter.
Alexa turned back to Sam, her eyes bright and shining. "I'm going to head over there. I'll see you later okay? Maybe we can actually work on researching that case we found last night? Oh, wait, speaking of last night, how did you sleep?"
"Pretty solid for the first half of the night. Nightmare came back after about five hours of sleep though. But five hours in a row is more than I've had since I got back, pretty much."
She looked crestfallen. "Damn. I was hoping it would last all night. Maybe if you nap during the day and I can show up at night right before you go to sleep..." Her focus turned inward as she considered ways to help him get some sleep.
He watched her for a second, then shook his head. "C'mon. Let's go see this house. We can deal with the rest of it later. I'm happy with the five hours of sleep I got last night, so I'm not complaining."
"You want to come look at the house with me?" She looked surprised.
"Yeah, why not? Besides, what if he's some crazy ax wielding murderer? Somebody's got to protect you."
"Right. Because that's a likely scenario. If he's Dwight's friend, he's probably in his seventies at least. Even if he has an ax, I'm pretty sure I could outrun him."
As it turned out, Dwight's friend was just past his fiftieth birthday. He explained that the house had originally belonged to his mother. When she died a few years ago, she left it to her granddaughter, Hank's daughter. Though only 23, Hank's daughter had died of cancer a few months before. He didn't want to sell the house, but he didn't want to leave it empty either.
The house itself was half cottage, half cabin. It sat on the center of a mostly uncleared four acre lot, right at the edge of Cicero's wildlife preserve. A tall pine forest surrounded the yard and lined the driveway. In spite of seeming remote and secluded, it was only a fifteen minute drive to either Dean and Lisa's place, or the coffee shop. From the outside, most of the yard was overgrown. Hank's daughter, "Kathy", he told them, loved to keep a flower garden on the side of the house in the summer. The remnants could be seen through the weeds now. Hank had obviously been keeping up with mowing the lawn, but not much else.
He handed Alexa the key and told her to go in. "The place is probably dusty. I haven't been inside since last month. I went around then and checked all the pipes and whatnot. Being in there, even without her things around, it's just too hard." Hank sighed and looked off into the distance.
Alexa went and stood in front of him. "I'm so sorry about your daughter. I know there's nothing I can say to take away your pain, but I can tell you from personal experience you learn how to carry it. It never stops hurting, but you adjust, and you just... learn to manage it, I guess. At least, I hope that happens for you."
"Thank you. You're the first person who hasn't said 'time heals all wounds' or something similar." He choked up a bit, and grabbed for her hand, patting it. She placed her other hand on top of his and smiled gently. Sam stood off to the side, just watching the exchange.
He told them, "Take your time looking at the house. I think I'm going to go pull a few weeds out of Kathy's garden."
"Thank you, Hank."
He pulled his hands away from Alexa, nodded to Sam, and walked off to the side of the house, seemingly less burdened.
Sam waited until he was gone, then asked Alexa, "Did you mean that, about how it never stops hurting, you just learn to deal with it?"
"Dean's alive, Sam. But the fact that he died and you lived without him for months still hurts you. Just like the fact that he lived without you for a year will probably always hurt him. My family died years ago, but as you saw last night, it still hurts. I think our threshold for grief just grows to encompass each new hurt." She sighed. "I'm depressing myself. Time to stop. Do you want to come in, or wait out here?"
"No, I'll come in and check it out." They walked up a sturdy wooden staircase, which led to the wraparound porch. The front door of the house was actually situated closer to the right side of the house instead of being centered. Inside, there was a great room which housed a kitchen, eating nook, and living room. The kitchen was in the far left of the house, next to the breakfast nook. The living room part was actually split into two sitting areas, one near the fireplace and television, the other a small reading area close to the stairs. The back right corner of the house had a staircase. Behind them there was a full bathroom, storage closet, entrance to the basement, and downstairs bedroom. Alexa guessed this was where Hank's mother had slept when she lived in the house. There were built in wooden bookshelves everywhere, contributing to cabin-like feel of the house.
They headed up to the second floor. The hallway was open to the first floor. Actually, before they went up Sam stood by the balcony on the first floor and held his arms up, and found his fingertips just brushed the bottom of the railing. In spite of the low ceiling in the kitchen and bedroom, the first floor didn't feel cramped. There were four doors off of the hallway. The first two, over the downstairs bedroom, were another full bathroom and closet. The other doors were two more bedrooms, both with their own small closets. The whole house was bright and well lit. The furniture looked comfortable, but wasn't falling apart. Each bedroom had a bed, nightstands and dresser, but no linens.
Alexa stood in the upstairs bedroom at the center of the house and looked out the large picture window on the rear wall. "Wow. This is a great place. I can't believe no one will rent it from him."
"Maybe it's haunted." Sam joked.
"Nah. I don't think so." She smiled.
"You gonna take it?"
"Oh yeah. If he'll let me." Alexa went back down and poked around in the kitchen. Sam heard her say something about 'still dishes here, this is great' as he followed.
"Alexa, how are you going to pay him the rent?" He asked, leaning a hip against the cabinet.
"With money. That I earned from jobs, like singing at Charlie's. I've got enough saved up, unless he's asking for some ridiculous amount. Hmm, maybe that's why he can't rent the place. I'm going to go find out." Before Sam could respond, she was out the door, walking around the house to where Hank was weeding. Sam watched her through the windows. He eyed the empty bookshelves, itching to fill them with books. Every wall in the house would be covered in books. His own private library, but shelved neatly so he could find everything, not stacked haphazardly like at Bobby's house. How nice would that be? Maybe Alexa will let me keep some books here.
When he got outside, Alexa was shaking Hank's hand. "I feel like I'm robbing you, Hank. Honestly, I've been looking around, and you can easily get two or three hundred more a month for this place. Please let me give you a fair month's rent."
"Young lady, I want this house taken care of. I want good people living here. I don't need to make any money off it. The mortgage is paid for. My wife and I have simple lives. The price I gave you is fair and honest. I'll hear no more on the matter." He looked at her sternly. "Now then, would you like to move in today? It's fine with me if you do."
Alexa nodded like a little kid being offered ice cream. "Yes, please. I'll get you the money for the first and last month's rent. I can bring it back after I check out of the motel. Where should I bring the money?"
"Let's see. Today is my day off, so I can meet you here anytime. You've got the key, and Dwight speaks well of you, so that's enough for me. Some would say it's a bad way to do business, but I don't care. I like to expect the best in people. What's say I stop by around four this afternoon to get the money. You think you'll be back by then?"
"Definitely. I cannot thank you enough for this, Hank. This place is beautiful, and I know it will work out perfectly. Thank you."
The older man looked deep into her eyes for a long moment. He seemed to be looking for something specific. Apparently satisfied, he smiled and pulled Alexa into an abrupt hug. She stood awkwardly in the embrace. At first her arms were at her sides, but she lifted them and touched Hank's back tentatively. He patted her a few times on the back, then stepped back. "My Kathy would have liked you," he told her.
"Thank you." She didn't seem to know what else to say.
He nodded again, and the mood shifted. "Well now, off with you. I'm going to talk to the young man here for a moment." Hank told her, making 'move along' motions. Alexa looked at Sam, curious. He made an 'I don't know face' and stayed where he was. Alexa walked back to her car and poked around in the trunk for something. Sam turned to Hank and asked him, "Can I help you with something, Hank?"
"You going to be staying here too, son?"
Sam was surprised by the question. "Uh, no sir. We...we're just... friends, I guess. It's up to her, really." He stammered.
Hank looked up at him. "Not to pry into private business, but are you gay?"
Blushing, Sam answered, "No sir."
"Just an idiot then, huh? If you change your mind, you staying here is okay with me. Just so you know."
"Thank you?" Sam just looked uncomfortable.
Hank just laughed at him. "Go on with you then. She's going to need some help bringing her things in. See you at four." With those final words, he got into his battered Ford truck and drove off, waving out the window to Alexa.
When Sam got to the Challenger, Alexa asked, "What did Hank want to talk to you about?"
"He wanted to know if I'd be staying here too." Sam eased into the passenger seat without looking at Alexa.
"Oh." She waited a few beats. "What did you tell him?"
"That we were friends." He made sure he was looking out the passenger window as he said it.
"Oh." Alexa turned the car so they could get out of the driveway and reached over to switch on her mp3 player.
"I also told him it would be up to you." Sam spoke into the silence just before the song began, still facing out the window. Alexa didn't answer, so he wasn't sure if she heard him. They drove back to the motel just listening to music.
Back at the motel, Alexa packed quickly. Toiletries and a few clothing items were tossed into a large backpack, along with a pair of shoes and her guitar case. As they walked out to the car, Sam asked where everything else was. Alexa opened up the trunk of her Dodge and showed him two duffel bags. "That is everything. Well, except for weapons and supplies." She pointed at the milk crate holding a large bag of rock salt and a tool box.
"Weapons?" Sam peered into the trunk.
"Under here, like you and Dean." She lifted a panel in the truck. Beneath were guns, knives, and various other hunter's accoutrement. "There's a stash under the back seat of the car too. And a Walther PK .380 in the glove box. A second one in the guitar case."
Sam looked surprised. "Hey, they were having a two for one sale!" She said, intentionally misunderstanding his surprise.
"It's not that. You're just as bad as me and Dean, that's all. Well, as we used to be. Everything is locked up in the garage now, except for what I carry. I'm not even sure if Dean still carries his knife."
Alexa's head tilted to the side. "He does. You carry two, as well as your gun."
"Yeah, well." Sam didn't say anything else.
"Right. Okay, well, I'm going to go shopping for sheets and cleaning supplies and stuff. And I need to get the money for Dwight. I'm assuming you don't want to come with?" The trunk slammed shut and Alexa turned to face him.
"Shopping? No thanks, I'll pass. Maybe I'll look around for a case. We could meet up later, over at your new place, talk about what I find. I could bring Dean, Lisa, and Ben with some pizza or something. Lisa would probably like to see the place. Doubt Dean will care much, but he'll come."
"Okay. That works. You've got my number if you need it. See you later." She swung the driver's door open and got in. Sam closed the door for her, and leaned over into the open window.
"Have fun," he said.
She flashed him a mega-watt grin. "Oh, I plan on it. Later, myndarlegur."
"Huh? Hey, wait, what language was that?" Sam stepped back as she eased the car out of it's parking spot.
"Figure it out, Stanford. See ya!" Her hand waved goodbye as she pulled out onto the road.
Lisa was delighted at the prospect of going to see Alexa's new place. Ben and Dean weren't so enthusiastic, but cheered up when Lisa reminded them that pizza was part of the deal. Lisa ordered three pizzas, knowing that Ben and Dean would eat at least one between them. She didn't know what Sam's appetite for pizza was, nor did she know what kind of pizza Alexa liked. The four of them piled into the Impala and picked up dinner. Sam gave Dean instructions from the back on how to get to the house. Ben bounced around in the back, occasionally chanting 'pizza pizza'. When they pulled into the dirt road that served as the driveway to the house, his eyes widened. "Look at all the trees! This is awesome. Wow! Is that the house? It's smaller than I thought it would be. The whole place is surrounded by forest. So cool!" Ben was actually bouncing in the seat now. Dean stopped the Impala next to Alexa's Challenger and Ben was out of the car like a shot.
"I'm going to go see if I can find some salamanders and stuff in the woods, okay, Mom?"
"Eat first, crazed woodsman later. Come inside and eat some of this pizza before it gets cold. And carry in the soda."
Ben sighed and grumbled, but did what she told him.
Even from where they were standing, they could hear music blaring through the open windows of the house. Dean nodded his approval. "Styx." Ben smiled and said, "Awesome."
"Yeah, Dean." Sam shook his head. "She's never going to hear us knock over that."
"Well, try it. If she doesn't answer we'll go in." Lisa started for the steps.
Sam and Dean exchanged looks at that. Dean hurried to get in front of Lisa without unnerving her. He took the pizza from her as an excuse. But the real reason he wanted to be ahead of her was that he and Sam both knew you didn't walk into a hunter's house casually. Ever.
The music was louder by the front door. Sam pulled open the screen door, knocked on the main door, and called Alexa's name, but got no answer.
"Open it. I'm sure she won't mind." Lisa's hand snaked out and twisted the door knob. The door swung open, and they could each feel the pulse of the music now. Sam saw Alexa across the room, in the kitchen area. Her back was to them, and she was singing with the music while she put dishes away. Alexa had obviously been working most of the day. She was wearing an old t-shirt and loose cargo pants. Her feet were bare, hair in a ponytail and pinned up. The singing continued as she grabbed a spatula from the ceramic jar next to the stove and started singing into it while dancing around like an idiot, eyes closed.
"Is it any wonder I've got too much time on my hands? It's ticking away with my sanity. I've got too much time on my hands!"
Even just belting out the lyrics for herself, they could still hear the quality in her voice that had affected them so much the first time they heard her at the pub. Dean stepped in next to Sam. Lisa watched from between them, and Ben poked his head around so he could see as well. He giggled. "She dances funny." Dean grinned at him and said, "You should see Sam dance. Like llamas mating." Ben giggled even louder, just as the song faded.
It only took a few seconds, but for Dean, it felt like everything slowed down. Alexa heard the giggle, and reacted like a hunter. She dropped down to make a smaller target, pulling out a gun and whirling to face them as she did. Sam swept Lisa and Ben back out the door, shielding them with his body. Dean pressed his back against Sam's, covering him, and shouted, "Whoa! It's us, stop!" even as Alexa was coming out of her crouch and pointing the gun at the floor. She reached over to the counter and slapped the music off. The gun was tucked away.
"Sorry. That was my fault. I didn't think you'd be here this early and... I'm sorry. God, I'm such an idiot. Are you all okay? Did I freak Ben out?"
Lisa eased past Sam. "No, but you freaked his mom out a little. What just happened?"
Sam answered, "We screwed up. Alexa's a hunter too, Lisa, and you don't sneak up on hunters."
"Unless they're playing music way too loud and acting like idiots. Are you sure everyone is okay? Dean, are you breathing?"
He swallowed hard. "I'm good. Yep. I'm... good." He held up the pizza boxes. "Got dinner."
"Yeah. Okay. Thank you. I'll get some plates." She turned to the cabinet, then turned back to them. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't going to use it until I knew you were a threat. But I'm still really sorry."
Dean sighed. "I noticed that you dropped the gun as soon as you saw it was us. Didn't miss that. And Sam's right. We shouldn't have come in like that. Forget it. Won't happen again, so let's eat."
"Okay. Go ahead and put the pizza on the counter." The tension eased and they entered the house. Dean set the pizza down and Lisa helped set the table. Sam got silverware and napkins. Ben put soda next to the pizza, sat at the table and focused on Alexa. He started giggling again. She quirked an eyebrow at him and asked, "The dancing was that bad, huh?" Dean sat next to him.
"No, it's not that. Well, I mean, you were bad, but that isn't why I was laughing. I like your shirt." He pointed. For the first time the rest of them read the green and purple letters against the black background. It said 'Zombies don't call shotgun.' Dean snorted and was surprised to hear Sam laugh. It was quick, but it was a laugh. Haven't heard that in a while, he thought.
Alexa looked at Ben, very serious and businesslike. "Ben, this shirt isn't meant to be funny. It's an extremely important warning." She held the serious look for about five seconds, then laughed along with Ben.
"So what do zombies call for, anyway?" he asked. They were all sitting around the table now, digging into the pizza.
Alexa scoffed at him. "Brains, of course."
Ben kept laughing and proceeded to tell a dozen horrible zombie jokes in between bites of his pizza. Everyone groaned appropriately.
Suddenly he stopped. "Have you ever seen a real zombie, Alexa?" Dean froze, a piece of pizza halfway to his mouth. Lisa set down her glass and hissed her son's name.
"What? Dean won't tell me about it because you told him not to, and I don't want to bother Sam. But Alexa's cool. She'll tell me about zombies and hunting and stuff, won't you?" He turned eager eyes back to her.
"Ben, if your mother asked Dean not to tell you about those things, what makes you think that I will? I'm sure she has excellent reasons for..."
He cut her off, "Because she still treats me like a baby!"
Dean barked, "Ben!" and dropped the pizza slice he'd been holding up. The eleven year old stopped, guilty, and glanced at his mother. She pointed to the door and said, "Outside. Now. Let's talk." He got up slowly, shoulders slumped, dragging his feet. Lisa called, "back in a few" over her shoulder as they exited. Dean exhaled loudly and scrubbed his right hand across his face.
"It makes her crazy, you know? He knows about it because of what happened when he was younger. He's been researching on the internet, and when I showed up again, he begged for months for me to teach him everything. Lisa flat-out refused to let me tell him anything, and I don't blame her. I don't want him learning about this stuff if I can stop it either. Thanks for backing us on that, by the way."
"Least I could do, considering earlier. And I am the one wearing the zombie t-shirt."
"That you are. Weirdo." But he was grinning when he said it.
Lisa and Ben came back in and they all finished dinner without any problems. Ben ran outside to explore the woods, since it was still daylight. Alexa showed Lisa around the rest of the house. Together, they made up each bed with the linens Alexa had picked up earlier in the day. Sam and Dean sat out on the porch, drinking beer while keeping an eye on Ben. Lisa and Alexa joined them when the beds were all made.
The four of them chatted a bit, letting the conversation ebb and flow. Sam said into one of the silences, "I found us a case."
Lisa and Dean both tensed, for different reasons. Alexa just said, "Really? What is it?"
"Should be a simple salt and burn, up in Michigan. Looks like a haunted highway kind of deal. Men and women keep disappearing on a stretch of road on the same three days every year. They turn up later, dead, apparently frightened to death. Their hair has been turned pure white, hearts seized, stuff like that. I figure it's a ghost."
"You're going on a case?" Lisa asked Sam.
"Yeah, Alexa and I are getting tired of sitting around, so we figured a hunt would be something to do. It will probably only take a few days, plus a little driving time." He looked at her sheepishly, "At least it will keep me out of your hair for a bit."
A bit of the tension eased out of Lisa, but apparently seeped right into Dean. Lisa told Sam, "You aren't in my hair, Sam. You've been helping around the house. It's only been a few weeks. You're entitled to a little bit of recovery time."
"Thanks, Lisa."
"Sam, can I talk to you?" Dean got out of his chair as he asked the question. He stayed on the wraparound porch, but moved down to the other corner of the house with Sam trailing behind. With a glance at Alexa, now sitting alone with Lisa, he started in on Sam, keeping his voice a harsh whisper.
"What are you doing? I thought we agreed you wouldn't go on a hunt with her until we knew more about what this deal was, and what she is, and how good she is. If she's a crappy hunter, she could get you killed. Were you even going to talk to me about this? You can't start keeping secrets again, Sam. That doesn't work for us, you know that. I mean, come on, man. Help me out here. Why do you trust her? Are you even a tiny bit worried about a repeat of what happened with Ruby?"
Until the mention of Ruby, Sam had been listening patiently to Dean. But her name sent a flash of fury across his face, and he glared at Dean before answering.
"We," he pointed at Dean's chest, then his own, "didn't agree that I wouldn't go on a hunt until later. You said," he pointed just at Dean now, "that I wouldn't. I get that you're concerned, Dean. It wasn't a secret though. I mean, I just started talking about it in front of you. If I was hiding it I wouldn't do that. In terms of trusting her, I'm not sure yet. I don't want a repeat of anything like what happened with Ruby, so I'm being careful. But you have to admit, Dean, she's helped us. We know she's tied in with this deal somehow, she healed Ben. She helps with the nightmares. Cas doesn't have a problem with her, and she isn't a demon. As far as how good a hunter she is? Not as good as you, but since you're the best hunter in the known universe," Dean smiled at the old joke, "she's got a high standard to live up to. But the reflexes are there. We've seen examples of that, including tonight. I'll be okay, Dean."
Dean harumphed. Sam just waited, giving Dean time to think. Finally, Dean turned back to the other end of the porch. "Alexa," he called down, "you up for a little sparring match?"
"Uh, sure, I guess. Down on the lawn okay with you?"
"That's just fine," he answered with deadly calm, then vaulted over the porch railing, landing softly in the grass below.
