Sam practically jumped at the chance to let the new guy, Garth, into Freak Valley. He had to get out of his house before he went crazy. Tera kept following him around as much as she could and they had way more people in there than Sam was used to. He was used to just him, Dean, and Alec.
"Hey Sam, wait up," Dean called out, running to catch up to him. Sam stopped and waited for Dean. "It's a mad house in there…"
"I know," Sam agreed. "It hasn't even been a whole day and I already feel crowded."
"Not to mention that there's at least two more people on the way," Dean muttered. "Can't blame Alec for kickin' out at the first chance he got."
"Yeah, he doesn't really like crowds all that much," Sam said.
"And he doesn't like all the attention," Dean threw in. "Ellen's decided to practically adopt him. She won't stop fussin' over him."
Sam chuckled, "We'll need to keep an eye on him so he doesn't get kidnapped. The kid's too charming without even trying."
"He can't help it, it's in his blood," Dean said with a smile.
Sam laughed and pushed Dean to the side. Dean laughed too and tried to push Sam back, but Sam dodged out of the way before he could.
"Bitch," Dean said.
"Jerk," Sam instantly replied. Dean laughed as they started walking again.
"So this Garth guy…" Dean said after a moment. "Any idea who he is?"
"Bobby said he was a new hunter," Sam said. "That's all I really know…"
"Think he actually ganked the tooth fairy?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged, "Maybe…I didn't think the tooth fairy even existed."
"That's because I told you it didn't," Dean said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, just like Santa Clause," Sam replied, scowling at Dean.
Dean laughed at him, but they both sobered as they drew closer to the gate. It actually wasn't Link at the gate, which surprised Sam. The few times he'd been there, Link was always the one at the gate.
"Hey Sweep," Dean greeted as they walked up. Sam was always impressed that Dean knew practically everyone here. But Sam actually knew Sweep too; she was one of the hostages that they had saved the last time they were there.
"Hi guys," Sweep replied. "What're you two doing here?"
"We've got another visitor comin' in," Dean said.
"These visitors are…hunters?" Sweep said uncertainly.
"Yup," Sam and Dean answered at the same time.
"And you all will teach us how to kill monsters?"
"Yup," they said again.
"Good," Sweep said. "Cause that girl with the black eyes was freaky."
"She likes to freak people out on purpose," Dean said. He glanced away from Sweep though when the sound of a car drew closer.
An old, beat up Ford Ranchero drove up to them and stopped at the gate. Sam looked over at Dean and saw that he was just as curious about who this Garth guy was. Sweep opened the gate and Sam and Dean moved to the car to get a better look.
The passenger window opened and together they leaned forward. They both took a step back and frowned when they saw Garth.
"Hey guys," Garth said happily. "I'm Garth." From what they could see, Garth was a skinny dude and was the furthest thing from a hunter.
Sam shook himself out of his shock before Dean did and slowly said, "Um, I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean."
"Cool. Where should I go fellas?" Garth asked.
"There's a garage…" Dean said, sort of pointing behind him.
"I'll follow you," Garth said with a decisive nod.
Sam pushed Dean forward to get him moving and they both started to lead Garth to the garage. Garth parked, and it was even more shocking when he got out of the car. He was gangly, he wore normal hunter clothes, but instead of boots, he wore converse.
"So you two are hunters?" Garth asked as he fell into step with them.
"Yeah…" Dean said.
"Me too," Garth said. "Just got into it really. Believe it or not, I used to be a dentist, but the tooth fairy attacked my office and that's how I got into hunting. She was killin' my clients left and right, it was insane."
Sam looked over at Dean and Dean shrugged back at him. They were both confused by this guy.
"This place is dope!" Garth suddenly said with a wide smile. Dean shot a sideways glance over at Garth; the outside of Freak Valley was a dump. It looked like that on purpose, but no one thought it was 'dope'.
"Just wait 'til you see the inside," Dean muttered.
Sam suddenly turned at the sound of footsteps running towards them. Alec rounded the corner and looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on Sam and Dean. He brightened instantly and jogged towards Dean.
Garth stopped when Alec appeared and his eyebrows rose when Alec got closer. "Whoa! Twins?" Garth asked in surprise, glancing between Dean and Alec.
Dean scowled over at Garth, and then turned his attention to Alec.
Alec slowed; he scowled at Garth, his look identical to Dean's, and said shortly, "Clone." Then he looked back to Dean, kind of ignoring Garth, and quickly asked, "Can I borrow the car?"
Dean's eyebrows drew together in suspicion, "For what?"
"Bobby said someone needed to go get some liquor for this guy Rufus otherwise he'll be a pain in the ass," Alec replied. Then he gave Dean a wide smile and said, "And I volunteered."
"You need to make a special trip just for some liquor?" Dean asked skeptically. "We have liquor here."
"It's his favorite or something. Bobby said he won't stick around if we don't have his liquor," Alec explained.
"Do you even know what kind?" Dean asked.
Alec halfheartedly glared back at Dean, "Of course I know what kind. Can I borrow the car or what?"
Dean hesitated for just a second longer, and then he pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Keep her under the speed limit and I want her back in once piece, understand?"
Alec rolled his eyes, but a smile was tugging at his lips. He reached out and grabbed the keys from Dean. He fake saluted to him before he took off towards the garage.
Dean stood frozen in place as Alec backed the Impala out of the garage. He stayed frozen until the Impala was completely out of sight. Sam patted Dean on the shoulder and tried to hide his smirk, "I'm sure he'll bring her back just fine. You worry too much."
Dean glared at Sam and stomped off in the direction of their house. Sam smiled over at Garth, and then followed his brother.
"So, who was that?" Garth asked as he caught up with Sam and Dean.
"Our pain in the ass little brother," Dean grumbled.
Sam chuckled. He glanced at Dean, and then back to Garth and said, "Alec. He's a transgenic, but he's also Dean's clone. We found him almost a year ago and he's been with us ever since."
"Awesome," Garth replied with a smile.
Dean kept walking; Sam figured he would probably be grumpy until his Baby was back safe and sound. Alec had taken the car out before and Dean had been fine with it, but sometimes Dean got overprotective of his car.
Sam also figured Dean was a little nervous about Alec going out to Seattle by himself. The cops would probably recognize him if they saw him and there were still transgenic haters out there. They'd encountered that outside of Seattle so the fact that they were in the middle of everything, just made it that much more dangerous for Alec.
"I should've just gone with him," Dean grumbled under his breath.
"He'll be fine. He'll be back before you know it," Sam tried to reassure.
Dean stopped and turned to face him. "Sam, half of Seattle's after him and I let him go off to get some liquor. We don't even know if he's 21 or not! How's he gonna get liquor with that baby face?"
Sam tried to stop his chuckle. Dean's protective instincts were in full swing and there was probably nothing Sam could say to bring him back, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. "Dean, Alec can take care of himself. He's a super soldier remember? And I'm pretty sure he was drinking long before we came along and it's not hard for him to get his way."
Dean thought about it for a second. He looked like he wanted to say more, but his eyes shifted over to Garth. Sam nearly groaned; he'd forgotten Garth was around and he was surprised that Dean had said as much as he did.
Dean turned and started walking again. Sam sighed; he was starting to feel a little nervous about Alec leaving too. Dean's worry was rubbing off on him, but they couldn't do anything about it now. They just had to trust that Alec would call them if he needed help.
He shouldn't be worrying in the first place; he knew Alec could take care of himself. He'd just gotten used to looking out for Alec. His little brother was just as reckless as his big brother, possibly even more so. Alec had a bad habit of actually looking for trouble. This simple trip of going to buy a bottle of liquor could easily turn into a disaster.
"Sam, I'm sure Alec'll be ok," Garth said hesitantly.
Sam shook himself out of his worry and looked back at Garth. "…Yeah…he'll be ok…"
Sam and Garth quickly caught up to Dean. They were at their house now and Sam wasn't sure if he should feel relieved that he'd have a distraction from worrying about Alec or bummed that he'd have to go back inside the full house again.
Dean had already walked in and Sam saw him walk right over to Harper. Jo's eyes were following Dean, but she looked away once he got to Harper.
Sam could suddenly feel someone staring at him. He scanned the room until he saw Tera gazing back at him. She smiled at him when his eyes landed on her, but he quickly shifted his gaze away. Ellen and Jo were now looking at him and Garth expectantly.
"Um, this is Garth," Sam introduced, then he turned to Garth and pointed out, "That's Ellen, Jo, Harper, and Tera. Just a head's up, Tera's a demon, but she's off limits."
"Sam, I love it when you get all possessive over me," Tera said with a smirk. Sam looked away from her, uncomfortable and not really sure what he could say to that.
"Just try not to kill her," Dean said over his shoulder. Then he mumbled, "No matter how much you want to…"
Garth smiled though and nodded, taking it all in. He didn't seem that concerned with the fact that Tera was a demon, but so far, Sam thought Garth was a strange guy.
Sam turned to Garth and said, "You can just hang out for a while. We gotta wait for Rufus to get here before we really get started on training."
"Sounds great! Thanks Sam," Garth said with a smile.
Sam tried to smile back, but he caught Tera looking at him again. He slowly moved away from Garth and walked over to Tera. He didn't really want to talk to her, but he needed to try to get her to stop.
Tera's smile widened as he walked closer to her. "Sam," Tera greeted fondly when he stopped in front of her. "You look so cute when you're worried. Actually, I think this is more of a worried, annoyed mix. Either way, you look super cute right now."
"Can we talk in the kitchen?" Sam asked quietly.
Tera looked surprised for a second, but then she looked up at him with a sly smile. "I'd love to." She reached out to touch his arm, but he dodged her and walked to the kitchen. Tera quickly followed him though.
Sam leaned against the far counter, hoping that Tera would keep her distance. She didn't, of course, and sat on the counter right beside him. Sam moved away from her and crossed his arms over his chest. Tera pouted for a moment, but then she smiled again.
"What's going on?" Sam asked impatiently.
"Why, I have no idea what you mean…" Tera replied innocently.
"Tera," Sam said with a sigh.
It was quiet for a moment, but Sam just stared at Tera, hoping that would make her talk. "I just find you very interesting," Tera admitted. Sam didn't really know what to say to that, but Tera quickly continued. "You're not like other hunters…honestly, you're not like anyone I've ever met. You were supposed to lead the demon army, but you didn't want to do that, and instead tried to stop it. I'm just trying to figure you out."
Sam was a little stunned by Tera's admission. He had really liked her before he'd found out she was a demon, but then she tried to kill them all and had taken Alec with her. He still hadn't forgiven her for nearly killing his little brother, but he couldn't ignore that she had at least changed a little bit since the last time he'd seen her.
Tera hopped down from the counter and walked over to him. She put her hand on his arm, and he actually let her. She leaned a little closer to him and said, "I just want you to know, even though I was trying to get close to you to take out you and your brother, I actually did like you." She smiled at him seductively and stood on her toes so she could whisper in his ear, "And I still do."
She quickly kissed his cheek, and then started to walk out of the room. She stopped and looked back at him with a smirk before she left the room completely.
Sam was frozen, unsure about what had just happened and a little scared that he actually liked it.
"Sam," Dean suddenly said, poking his head into the room, "What're you doin'?"
Sam shook himself, "What?"
"Bobby just came in with Mole." Dean nodded his head towards the living room signaling for Sam to follow him. "C'mon, I wanna talk to him." Sam shrugged and followed Dean back to the living room.
Bobby was introducing Garth to Mole. Garth looked really impressed with Mole; he was smiling and looking him over, but not with fear, just with curiosity. Mole looked mad and uncomfortable with the attention.
"Hey boys," Bobby said as Sam and Dean walked over to him. "Did Alec find you?"
"Yeah, Bobby, what the hell?" Dean asked.
Bobby's eyebrows drew together in confusion, "What's up your butt?"
"You know half of Seattle's after him? And you wanted him to go out to buy a bottle of liquor?"
"Without that liquor, Rufus ain't comin'," Bobby grumbled. "Alec said he knew where to get it."
Mole snorted, "Course Pretty Boy knows where to get it. He knows where to get everything. He's the one who keeps me in supply of the cigars I like. Can't get 'em anywhere else...Really the only reason to keep the kid around." Mole glared at Dean and said, "And I keep runnin' out 'cause he keeps runnin' off with you."
Dean scowled, "Just send someone else to get them."
"Can't," Mole replied. "Pretty Boy's contacts won't deal with anyone else."
Sam frowned, something didn't feel right. "Mole, this liquor that Alec's getting, can you buy it at the store?"
"Depends on what kind," Mole replied.
Sam and Dean both looked at Bobby who said with a shrug, "Jonny Walker Blue."
Mole huffed out a laugh, "Good luck findin' that anywhere. Better hope Alec's contacts have some in stock and are willin' to deal with him."
Sam looked at Dean; he looked pissed and Sam wasn't sure if he was pissed that Alec was dealing with people again or the fact that Alec hadn't told them how he was going to get the liquor in the first place.
"Wait, what d'you mean 'deal with him'?" Bobby asked, turning to Mole.
"He finds people who has what he wants and deals with them. He gives them money or gets them something they want in return. It's not exactly a difficult concept to comprehend, but I guess it could be for a small minded ordinary," Mole grumbled. Bobby glared at Mole.
"He is in so much trouble when he gets back," Dean muttered under his breath.
There was a sudden knock on the door. Sam glanced over at Bobby, but he scowled back, "I don't live here. This is your house!"
Sam rolled his eyes and walked over to the door. He was surprised to see Max standing on the other side. He hadn't seen her around much since she was busy running Freak Valley.
"Hey Sam," Max greeted easily. She walked past him, further into the house. She stopped when she saw Dean, and then looked back to Sam. "Why are you both here?" Max asked in confusion, "Is Alec back already?"
"You knew he was going to deal?" Dean asked incredulously.
Max shrugged, "Yeah, he told me." She walked across the room and sat on the arm of the sofa near where Dean was standing. "It's not a big deal. That's just how we have to get things here." Max scanned the room quickly, and then turned back to Sam and Dean, "So where is he?"
"Alec?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time.
"Yeah, Alec," Max replied impatiently. "We were going to meet up when he got back, but then I heard that the new guy, Garth, was here and I wanted to meet him."
"I'm Garth!" Garth called out from across the room. He gave Max a big smile and waved at her.
Max shot Sam and Dean a look clearly saying 'are you kidding me?' But she turned back to Garth and said, "I'm Max."
"Nice to meet you Max," Garth said happily.
Sam frowned, suddenly putting together some of the things Max had said. She'd been confused that he and Dean were both there, but then she'd thought that Alec was back. She wasn't all that concerned that Alec had gone to deal, which didn't really make sense. She was pretty protective over Alec too and it was weird that she had just let him go.
"Max, Alec's not here," Sam said, interrupting her and Garth's conversation.
Max turned away from Garth and asked, "What d'you mean he's not here?"
"He's still out dealing as far as we know," Sam replied.
Max sprung up from the sofa and glared at Sam and Dean. "Then why are you both here?!" Sam and Dean took a small step back. "He said he was going to take your car!"
"He did," Dean defended. "He asked for the keys. Said he needed to get some liquor for another guy that's comin'."
"Why didn't you go with him?" Max asked angrily. She took a step closer to them and they both took another step back. It'd gone silent in the room and Sam could see that everyone was watching what was going down.
"We didn't know he had to deal for the stuff," Sam cut in before things got out of control between Dean and Max. "We thought he was just going to the store. I swear, if we'd known he was going to do this, one of us would've gone with him."
Max kept her gaze on both of them; she was trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. She deflated after a moment and said, "He made it sound like one of you would be going too. I was ok with it only because I thought he'd have backup in case things turned ugly."
"He wasn't upfront with us either," Dean said. "And we're not happy about it."
Mole scoffed from where he stood, drawing everyone's attention. "You all act like he's a fresh faced recruit that's never seen a day of battle. He's a soldier; an X5 who could take on a grown man before he was 6. He's got the skills to take out everyone in this room without blinkin' an eye. If he can't handle runnin' to town to make one simple deal, we've got a bigger problem on our hands."
Everyone just looked at Mole, who looked a little uncomfortable now that the attention was focused on him.
"Sure, backup would've been smart," Mole said when no one else jumped in. "But this is Alec we're talkin' about here. He does whatever the hell he wants and he always has. He wouldn't be Alec if he didn't do somethin' stupid, but he's made it this far, so, just, relax a little."
It was quiet for another minute, and then Dean said, "Damn Mole, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time." Mole growled back at him, but Dean chuckled. "I just wish I would've thought to record it. Alec would've liked to hear all the nice things you said about him."
"You better hope Pretty Boy gets some cigars for me while he's out, otherwise I'm gonna be a real pain to deal with," Mole grumbled in reply.
"More than you already are?" Dean asked with a smirk.
Mole looked like he was about to attack Dean, but Sam stepped in his way and turned towards Dean. He gave him a reprimanding look and asked, "Would you knock it off?"
Dean rolled his eyes and turned away from Sam. He started walking to the kitchen and Sam followed him. Dean ran his hand through his hair, and then said, "I guess I was overreacting a bit…"
"I probably was too…But Alec's just really good at finding trouble. We can't help it that we're worried," Sam said. "It doesn't matter to me how much training he has, he's still our little brother and it's our job to protect him."
Dean gave Sam a smile and said, "Damn straight."
It was quiet for a minute, and then Sam said, "Y'know, he probably doesn't even know that we're worried about him."
Dean frowned, "He's been with us for a year almost and he still doesn't get that we worry about him?"
Sam shrugged, "I don't know, probably. He's just as thick headed as his older brother, so I wouldn't doubt it." Dean gave him an unamused look and Sam smirked. He sobered after a moment though and said, "Dean, he spent his whole life without anyone caring about him except for how well he did on missions and training, we can't blame him for not just accepting that people worry and care about him."
Dean nodded, "Which is why he didn't think about bringing backup when he went out to make a deal."
Sam started to agree, but then Bobby called out from the living room, "Boys! Somethin's goin' on!"
Sam and Dean moved at the same time to go back to the living room. Max was on her feet with her hand pressed to her ear while everyone watched her intently.
"Sweep, slow down, I can't understand what you're saying," Max said out loud. Max was quiet as she listened again. "Alright, I'll be there in a minute."
Max started walking to the door without giving them an explanation, but Dean stopped her, "Max, what's goin' on?"
Max turned back to the room and said, "Someone's at the gate giving Sweep some trouble."
"We should come with you," Dean said.
Max started to shake her head no, but Mole of all people said, "Take someone with you. Don't be an idiot like Pretty Boy and go out there without backup."
"We're goin'," Dean stated.
Sam and Dean both moved to leave with Max, but then Bobby said, "I should go too. If it's who I think it is, then I better be there…"
Sam glanced over at Dean who shrugged back and the four of them left the house. They walked fast so they were at the gate in just a few minutes. A man was standing on the other side of the fence yelling at Sweep, who had her gun pointed at the man in warning.
"How old are you supposed to be anyway?!" The man practically yelled. "I didn't come all this way to have a gun pointed at me by some 12 year old! I'm retired! I'm too old for this shit!"
"Dammit," Bobby grumbled under his breath. Then louder he called out, "Rufus! Leave that poor girl alone! She's just doin' her job!"
Rufus moved his glare from Sweep to Bobby. "I'm retired, Bobby, I did not sign up for 12 year olds with guns."
"If you're retired, why'd you agree to come in the first place?" Bobby grumbled back.
"You promised me some Jonny Walker," Rufus replied with a smile.
Bobby leaned a little closer to Sam and Dean and said under his breath, "Better hope your brother gets back here soon, otherwise Rufus ain't gonna stick around."
"You sure we want him to stick around?" Dean asked, shooting a glance over at Rufus.
"He's a damn good hunter," Bobby said. "He's a grump, but he knows what he's doin'."
"So, you gonna let me in now or what?" Rufus asked.
"Sweep, you can stand down," Max said with a sigh. She was ahead of Sam, Dean, and Bobby, but she looked back to give them all a quick glare before she focused on Rufus again.
Sweep lowered her gun, but she kept her eyes trained on Rufus; unwilling to let her guard down around him. Max closed the distance between her and Sweep and went to the gate to open it. Rufus got back in his car and drove inside, and then followed Bobby where to go.
"Real nice guy," Max said sarcastically to Sam and Dean. She helped Sweep close the gate again, and said to the younger girl, "Good job, Sweep. When Alec gets back can you let me know?"
"Sure," Sweep said with a smile, proud of the praise from Max.
"Hopefully he gets better," Sam said.
"And here I thought Bobby was grumpy," Dean muttered, making Sam and Max laugh.
The three of them walked to catch up with Bobby and Rufus, but it sounded like they were arguing.
"What d'you mean there are conditions for my liquor?" Rufus asked angrily. "I drove all the way out here! That should be enough!"
Bobby sighed, "I told you, we're gettin' hunters together to teach hunting to the transgenics."
"And I told you, I'm retired," Rufus replied.
"Then you're not getting you're Jonny Walker until you come out of retirement," Bobby said with a smug smile.
"You act like I can't go to the store to pick it up," Rufus said.
"You can't," Max threw in.
"Then how do you have any?" Rufus asked.
"We have our ways," Max said, smirking over at Sam and Dean.
"I don't believe this," Rufus grumbled.
"All you have to do is teach a little bit of hunting, take a few out on a hunt, and then you'll get your liquor. We'll even start you off with one bottle if you agree to stay," Bobby bargained.
Rufus thought about it for a moment, and then asked, "If I do teach 'em how to hunt and all that, how many bottles we talkin' 'bout here?"
Sam had no idea how many bottles Alec was going to get from this deal and he was pretty sure that Bobby didn't either.
"We'll just decide that when we see how much you're teachin' 'em," Bobby said.
Rufus stopped walking and turned towards Bobby. He was smiling when he said, "No, no, no. I think we need to decide this now."
Bobby shot a look over to Sam, Dean, and Max, but they just shrugged back at him. Finally, Bobby said, "I'm not sure yet what we'll give you."
"That means there's jack squat. I might as well leave now," Rufus said, starting back to where he parked his car.
Bobby sighed, "I don't know how many the kid's gonna get, ok?"
Rufus smirked; he saw his chance at controlling this deal and he took it. "I want 1 bottle for every 2 that I teach."
"That's insane!" Max exclaimed. "There's almost 200 of us!"
"One for every 15," Bobby bargained.
"5."
"10 or no deal," Bobby said.
"Fine," Rufus grumbled. "But after I get my Jonny Walker, I'm goin' back into retirement."
They started walking again after that, and before long they were back at the house. Bobby introduced Rufus to the others, but he didn't seem to care and Ellen already knew him. Rufus did look a little surprised when he saw Mole, but he ended up just sitting and pouting.
"When's this kid gonna get back with my liquor?" Rufus asked after a few minutes.
"We don't know," Dean answered honestly.
Dean started to pace, but Harper walked over to him and forced him to sit down. She rested her hand on his knee and leaned close to him. Sam saw her whisper to him, but he couldn't hear what she said. It was loud in their house with all of the people there, but he was pretty sure Harper was trying to calm Dean down.
Sam could almost feel Tera's gaze on him as soon as he walked in, but he ignored her. He went and sat by Ellen, Jo, and Garth and talked with them while he waited for Alec to get back. After a few hours, his nerves were starting to shoot up as high as Dean's were.
It was pretty late now and Sam could tell that more people were nervous that Alec wasn't back yet. Mole checked the window every few seconds, Dean had ended up pacing, Garth was looking between Sam and Dean, Ellen was sitting perfectly still, Max's leg was jiggling and she was biting her nails, Bobby resituated his hat over and over again, and Sam would stand up, walk around the room, and then sit back down again. Alec should've been back by now.
Alec really should've been back a few hours ago, but none of them wanted to think about that. They wanted to call him, but they didn't want to mess things up for him if he was still in the middle of the deal. They just had to trust that Alec would call them if he needed them.
"Go for Max!" Max suddenly said, springing up to her feet. Everyone looked to her and held their breath for some answers. Max was quiet for a minute with her hand pressed to her ear, "Alright. Thanks for the update." Max dropped her hand and looked around at everyone else. "He's back. That's all I know."
That wasn't exactly reassuring. It was good to know that Alec was back, but they didn't know what shape he would be in. Sam wanted to run to go find out if Alec was hurt or not, but he didn't know if Alec was already on his way back or not.
A few minutes later, the door was slowly being opened and Alec slipped inside with a box held in his arms. Everyone was watching him, but Sam and Dean both ran forward to check him oven. Max was close behind them, and Alec looked surprised when he saw them all.
Dean got to Alec first and he quickly checked him over. Alec had a dark bruise forming on his jaw and his knuckles were bloody, but otherwise he looked fine. His eyebrows rose and he looked between the three of them with mild curiosity.
"Everyone ok?" Alec asked casually.
Sam, Dean, and Max all looked at each other before they started in on their questions.
"What happened?"
"Why didn't you tell us you were going to make a deal?"
"I thought you were going to bring back up!"
"What took you so long?"
"Did you get into a fight?"
"Did you get the stuff?"
"How's my Baby?"
Alec's eyes widened with the barrage of questions and he actually tried to back up a step. Max caught his arm though, seeing that he was about to bolt.
"Alec, what happened?" Max asked seriously.
Alec held up the box and said, "I got the stuff…I don't see what the problem is…"
"The problem is that you've been gone for hours," Dean said. "You didn't tell any of us that you were going to deal and you come back with a bruised jaw and bloody knuckles. Now answer the question."
"Can I at least sit down? It's been a long day…" Alec said. He looked around the room for a second, but then deflated a little when he saw all the people. "Can we go somewhere else?" Alec asked quietly.
Sam took a deep breath and looked over at Dean. Max decided before they could; she grabbed the box out of Alec's hands and passed it off to Bobby. She grabbed Alec's hand and walked him back to his old bedroom.
Sam and Dean followed after just a moment of shock, and Dean closed the door behind him. Max forced Alec onto the bed; he smirked and said, "Jeez Maxie, we have company. Now's not a great time for this."
"Start talking," Max demanded.
Alec sighed. "It wasn't that big of a deal," Alec tried to placate. "I had to go make some money real quick so I actually had something to trade with. It took a while to find one of my old contacts that actually had what I wanted, but once I did, it was easy. But…the sector cops stumbled onto us once the deal was almost done and I had to split. They unknowingly set up right where I was hiding out, so I had to wait until they got tired and gave up before I could move out."
"How'd you make the cash?" Max asked suspiciously.
Alec hesitated; Sam knew right then that he wouldn't like the answer. "I think you already know…" Alec said quietly.
"Alec!" Max exclaimed. "Are you insane?!"
"It was a one-time thing!" Alec defended.
Sam put together what Max had told him while they were on the hunt and the fact that Alec's knuckles were bloody and figured out that Alec had been cage fighting.
"What did you do?" Dean asked, his voice stern. Sam forgot that Dean didn't know Alec used to cage fight.
"I was cage fighting," Alec mumbled under his breath.
"What?" Dean asked lowly. "Tell me you didn't just say you were cage fighting."
Alec threw his head back and sighed. "It's not a big deal. No one caught me and I got what we needed."
"You're an idiot," Max stated. Sam thought she was about to start throwing punches so he moved just a little bit closer. He was mad at Alec too, but he didn't want Max to start hitting him.
"This is why I didn't tell you," Alec pointed out.
"Because I would've told you it was a dumb idea," Max said.
"Alec," Dean said with a sigh. He walked over and sat next to him on the bed. Dean looked like he wanted to say more, but then he caught sight of Alec's knuckles. "I'll be back…"
Dean got up and left the room. Alec flopped back on the bed and groaned, "I should've known you all would freak out…"
"Alec-" Sam started, but Alec sat back up and cut him off, "Sam, I know how to take care of myself. I've been doin' it a long time and this was easy compared to what I'm used to."
Dean walked back in before Sam could say anything else. He had their first aid kit in his hands and Sam expected Alec to say something. But he didn't. He held out his hand for Dean to clean up, and then let him do the same thing for his other hand.
"Are we done?" Alec grumbled once Dean released him.
"For now," Dean said.
Alec stood up and started walking towards the door. He stopped though and said, "I get that you guys were worried, but I'm not a kid. I did my job, and honestly, I was pretty happy that I didn't screw it up. I can handle a simple deal and a cage fight. It's what I'm good at."
Alec started to leave again, but Dean stopped him, "Alec, come back here and sit down." It almost sounded like an order, and for a second, Sam thought Alec was going to completely ignore him. He didn't though, and instead slowly walked back over and sat down.
"That's not all you're good at," Dean said.
"Can we not do the whole soul bearing episode right now?" Alec asked.
"Shut up. You're gonna listen," Dean said. "We know you can take care of yourself. And the list of things you're good at is way too long to actually list, especially since you're about two seconds away from running out of this room as fast as you can." Dean took a deep breath, and then said, "Next time just take someone to back you up, ok?"
Alec looked up in surprise; he probably thought that he was going to get yelled at more. Sam was a little surprised too that Dean hadn't said more. Alec looked at Dean for a minute to see if he was serious, and then slowly nodded. "Yeah…alright…"
"Good," Dean said.
"Can we go back out there now?" Alec asked. "Saw a new guy out there…"
Dean chuckled and Max rolled her eyes. Sam knew Alec was deflecting, and now wouldn't really be a good time to push him to talk.
"He's the worst," Max said, talking about Rufus. "He was yelling at Sweep when he got here."
"He's probably in a better mood now though," Sam said. "Now that his liquor's here."
Dean nodded in agreement, and then started out of the room. Sam followed Dean, Alec, and Max back to the living room after just a moment's hesitation. Alec was swept away almost immediately; everyone wanted to know what happened and Alec was more than happy to tell them. Rufus instantly took a liking to him since he was the one that got him his liquor, and Alec was an easy kid to like.
"I guess we need to chill…" Dean said as he watched the hunters all hang around Alec as he laughed and told them what all happened.
"I don't know…he was still cage fighting…" Sam said.
"Yeah, I'm still pissed about that," Dean muttered. Alec was talking with Garth now and Sam got the feeling that those two would actually start being pretty good friends.
"But, yeah, I guess we could chill a little…" Sam said.
They were both quiet for a minute, and then Dean said, "I guess now that we have more hunters, it's time to start teachin'…"
"Yeah, I guess so," Sam agreed.
"Good," Dean said with a small smirk, "'Cause we've got a lot of work to do."
More soon...
