Hunter's Mystique
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or its Characters including Sam and Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Castiel, etc. They are the property of Eric Kripke and The CW.
Author's Note: Hey guys, it's been a while! I hope you're all excited for another new episode of Supernatural tonight! I know I am. This one took me a while because I wanted to make sure I was all adjusted to my new schedule this semester before distracting myself with the story. The next chapter should not take as long to get out as this one. I've already written out the outline for it so it should be relatively quick. I hope you enjoy this one. You get to actually see Bobby for the first time in my story and just remember he is how he was at the end of the fourth season, not at all in the fifth season (I don't want to reveal why that's pretty important for those of you from other countries who might not be in the fifth season yet) but just remember it. BTW the title doesn't really have much to do with the content of the chapter I was just going through my iTunes and saw the ZZ Top song and thought it was kind of a perfect title for Supernatural. So I hope you enjoy it! I'd really like to hear some more feedback from people so review if you get the chance--about anything! Oh and if anyone knows where Bobby's house is (city, state, anything) I'd appreciate if they'd let me know. I don't remember if they ever told us and if they did I couldn't find it so if you know off the top of your head and want to let me know that'd be awesome. Thanks!
Chapter Eight
Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
It took about twenty minutes for the three of them to hit the road. Sam finished eating and putting all the bags in the Impala as Charlie and Dean argued about the possible driving arrangements.
"Will you please just get in the backseat of the Impala and shut up?" Dean growled for what seemed like the fifth time.
"I don't see why you're so adamant that I take the same car as you. I'm going to drive myself so you should just deal with that." Charlie retorted.
"No." Dean said sternly.
"Why not?" Charlie yelled.
"Because I want to be able to keep an eye on you!"
Charlie jerked her head back, insulted. "You know what? You need to get over yourself. I can take care of myself. I don't need you two jackasses to keep an eye on me."
"I'm not worried about your safety in the least bit. For all we know you could run off. Or worse, let someone tail you."
She moved closer, getting in his face. "Not even you drive fast enough to tail me." She seethed. She decided to pause for dramatic effect before trying to brush passed him. He grabbed her arm, roughly yanking her closer to him. Her muscles tensed instinctively, but she restrained herself from activating automatic fight mode. Her glancee moved from his hand to his eyes and she lifted her eyebrows in anticipation of his words.
"First of all, I doubt that. And second of all, you aren't in charge here. You need to start listening and cooperating with me—with us." He released her arm, but didn't move away.
"Question: Do you like to argue just for arguments sake? Huh? Or maybe you just like the sound of your own voice. For whatever reason you're trying to continue this conversation, I don't really give a damn because you're wrong. I am in charge. I'm in charge of myself, meaning I can drive myself wherever the hell I want to go."
She spun away from Dean, pulling her keys out of her pocket and jingling them very purposefully. She dodged Sam as he re-entered the room and smiled at him.
"I'll see ya there!" She said to him triumphantly. Dean tried to catch her before she reached her car, but she slipped away from him. She sped off before he had a chance to get another word in edgewise. Sam grabbed the final bag and watched as Charlie drove away. Dean joined Sam at the door.
"So I guess she won." Sam said, smiling in total amusement.
Dean turned to his brother, looking ready to sock him in the eye. Sam quickly jogged to the car before he could get injured and Dean followed after inhaling as much crisp, calming air as possible. He got into the driver's seat and relaxed as the purr of the engine dulled the edge of his nerves.
Charlie arrived at Bobby's first. She had driven straight through the night, pausing only for food and bathroom breaks. She parked on the perimeter of Bobby's property, out of any sight lines from his house. She curled up in her backseat and passed out, unwilling to face Bobby alone and running on no sleep.
She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she heard the rumbling of the Impala as it pulled up next to her. She rubbed her eyes in a vane effort to unblur them and tried to sit up, but her body was too cramped to move.
She heard a light tap on the window and looked up to see Sam gently rapping his knuckles against the glass. She leaned forward, but her neck was so stiff that she thought it might snap.
"It's unlocked." She croaked. She twisted slowly, groaning in relief as her back cracked in at least ten places. Sam opened the door to the backseat and poked his head inside.
"Morning sunshine." He said with a laugh. She grunted. "How long have you been here?"
She ran her hand over her hair to make sure she didn't have an insane case of bed head. "Uh…I have no idea. What time is it?"
"A little past seven." He answered.
"What the hell took you so long?"
Sam shrugged. "How'd you get here so fast?"
"Shortcut."
"Well, that would have been helpful information." He lightly scolded her.
Charlie could finally feel her body starting to limber up, but it was taking too long. "Can you do me a monumental favor?" She asked.
"Sure." Sam answered hesitantly.
"Pull me out."
"Huh?"
"My body is too stiff to get out right now. Grab my legs and pull me out." Sam followed orders, grasping her calves and sliding her to the edge of the seat. She slowly rose to sit up and Sam helped her to her feet. He was so close that she could smell the scent of his skin—a pleasant mixture of soap, leather, and some sort of coconut shampoo. She slowly stretched out all the kinks in her body as she spotted Dean leaning against the Impala.
"You ready princess?" He taunted.
"I believe I'm the one who's been waiting on you, Miss Daisy." She wanted to follow her comment by sticking her tongue out at him, but she did have a small amount of self-control and dignity that deterred her.
Dean pushed off the Impala and walked to Bobby's front door. Sam walked next to his brother and Charlie trailed slowly behind them. Dean knocked loudly and continuously until Bobby came to the door.
"Stop with that racket!" Bobby yelled, directing all his attention at Dean.
"It's great to see you too." Dean responded sarcastically.
"You should be grateful that I didn't greet you with my shot gun." Bobby snarled. Dean rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe, allowing Bobby to see passed the boys to Charlie for the first time. Both his mood and expression made a drastic change. The anger had fled his body (well, not all of it, it is Bobby after all) and was replaced by awe. He just stared at her for a while, making both boys and Charlie equally uncomfortable by his odd behavior.
Bobby approached her slowly and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. He looked at her for a moment longer before gripping those shoulders and pulling her in for a brief, but tight hug.
"I missed you, girl." He whispered into her ear. She laughed slightly.
"Yea. I missed you too old man."
Bobby pulled away and cleared his throat. "Boys, why don't you go on in and open some beer for the four of us. I think Charlie and I need to catch up a bit." Sam and Dean didn't move, suspicious of Bobby and Charlie's interactions.
"Go!" Charlie ordered lightly.
The boys reluctantly went inside, closing the door behind them, but Charlie saw their shadows from the crack at the bottom of the door. She signaled for Bobby to wait one moment, walked up the front step, and slammed her fist as hard a possible against the door without causing any damage to it or herself. The door rattled violently and she heard a yelp come from inside. She was satisfied that the loud noise had effectively impaired the eavesdroppers' eardrums.
"This is a private conversation!" Charlie yelled. She smiled mischievously to Bobby and pulled him farther away from the house, out of hearing range.
Once they were far enough away Charlie didn't know where to begin and apparently neither did Bobby. She let out a deep breath and decided to just jump right into it.
"You knew I was alive." Charlie stated it—a fact.
Bobby shrugged noncommittally.
"I know you knew." She pressed.
"How do you know I knew?" He asked. The corner of his mouth lifted into a half smile.
"You told Sam my name. The fact that I'm supposed to be dead didn't seem to prevent you from revealing me as a woman hunter. If you really thought I was dead I think it would have given you a little pause before you just assumed it was me and not someone stealing my identity."
Bobby nodded. "Alright. Yea. I knew." He admitted.
"How?" She asked. He raised one eyebrow, a clear indicator that his source was obvious.
"Son of a bitch. I can't believe him. I knew I never should have told him my plan. I'd kill him if he wasn't dead already." She ranted. Bobby became alert at her comment.
"So you do know."
She hung her head sadly. "Yea, I've known for a while."
"How did you find out?"
"Deductive reasoning. He used to call me at least once, if not twice, a month. I never saw him after I retired, but after my dad he was the only one I could really talk to—about anything. He kept telling me how close he was to the demon. And then one month went by and no calls—then another…and another. That was like three years ago." She paused for a moment of silence. "I miss him a lot."
"Yea."
"How did it happen?" She asked. "I never had the chance to find out without blowing my cover."
"He uh…the demon got him. He made a deal. His life for Dean's."
She smiled. "Figures. Stubborn, self-sacrificing fool 'til the end. He always said he'd do anything for his boys." She waxed nostalgic.
"John was a good man."
She nodded in agreement. "Why did he tell you? About me?"
"In case something happened to him. Wanted me to be able to help if you needed it without me thinking you were some supernatural creature when you came back from the dead." He explained.
"He wanted you to look out for me." She reasoned.
"Yes and no. He never told me where you were livin'."
"You could have found me—easily." She said with an admiring smile.
"Yea, but we both knew you needed space. I'd never try to find you unless I needed to."
She looked down at her feet for a moment and when she looked back up at him he could see the faint signs of her eyes watering. He could tell she wanted to ask him something—a question buried deep within her. She blinked rapidly to deter any waterworks.
"Was-how…uh, how disappointed was he really when I quit?" She asked quietly. The shame in her chest exposed itself as a deep blush that invaded her face.
"I won't lie. He was upset, but disappointed? No. He understood your reasons. I think it's safe to say he would've considered retiring after he finally got his demon the way you got yours. I think he was a little jealous that you were in the right place to quit while he was still chasing the same damn creature that started his whole mess." Bobby reasoned.
"What happened with it? Yellow-eyes still around?"
"No, the boys took him out—with a little spiritual help from John. And the Colt."
"No shit? The colt." She was immediately excited. "He found it?"
Bobby nodded. "Yea, but the boys lost it a while back." She sighed in annoyance.
"Of course they did. Some ace hunters you got there." She muttered.
"They're some of the best I've ever seen or worked with—even the best make mistakes." Bobby argued.
"Well then the standards have dropped since my day." She joked.
"Your day?" He mused.
"I'm just saying, they seem a bit sloppy." She shrugged.
"Watch it!" Bobby snapped. He had a harshness to his voice that Charlie had rarely ever heard addressed towards her. She took a small step back. "John trained them well. They're good boys. They are good at what they do and they're like family to me. So watch what you say because you have no right to come in here making comments like that when you've been sitting on your ass doing nothing for three years!"
Charlie tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. "Sorry sir." She murmured sincerely.
"Just trust them. They're good. And you could learn a thing or two from them." He stated, much calmer now.
"How can I trust them when I don't know them?"
"Trust me then." She smiled at him. "Besides you trusted John and they're his boys in every possible way." He said with a fond smile.
"I don't want them to know." She exclaimed suddenly.
"About?"
"The extent of my relationship with John. I'll tell them what I want them to know. Nothing else. I don't want you to say anything." She ordered. He narrowed his eyes, but conceded, offering his hand as a deal maker. She smiled at him and shook his hand firmly.
"We should head in. The longer we stay out here the more curious they'll be."
They walked back to the house and went inside to find Sam and Dean huddled together, whispering about something. They immediately stopped talking when they saw Bobby and Charlie walk in.
"Where's my beer?" Bobby asked, ignoring the tension at his entrance. Dean tossed him a beer can.
"So…anything you want to fill us in on?" Dean asked, clearly not enjoying that he wasn't in on their conversation.
"No." Charlie said simply. "How about you?" She raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, there's plenty I'd like to say to you." Dean said menacingly.
"Okay break it up, ya morons." Bobby intervened, placating the discussion before it could become an argument.
"Thank you." Sam said sincerely. He was getting tired of the constant bickering.
"How 'bout you all fill me in on what's been happenin'. Why is Charlie here?" Bobby was addressing the boys.
Charlie listened intently as Sam and Dean explained Castiel's appearance after the raising of Hell on Earth, his mission to get Charlie, and the events that followed. She watched each brother carefully. Analyzing their relationship with Bobby and each other. Something was off. She hadn't really noticed until right then, but there was a definite undertone to the conversation—like there was a giant elephant in the room, crushing all three of them, but they refused to acknowledge it. But aside from that she also noticed the concern hidden in their voices. She saw the worry in their features and looked at the boys for the first time as actual people, not just hunters with an agenda. She wondered if she could really do this with them. Can I handle hunting and living with them? She thought nervously.
She tuned back into the conversation to realize the topic had shifted. Bobby had just finished saying he had gone through his entire library and found nothing useful on Lucifer.
"I'm waiting for a big shipment of ancient volumes that might have the answer we're lookin' for. It won't be here for a while though." He explained.
Charlie decided to pipe up. "So what do we do until then?"
"I've come across a couple hunts while I was reading up on this crap." He answered, tossing a few file folders on the table in the kitchen.
"I'm in." Dean says immediately. "I've been itching for something to kill." He glanced meaningfully at Charlie.
"I don't know. I don't think it's such a good idea. We should stay focused on Lucifer." Sam protested.
"Sammy, come on. We need to get back in the saddle."
"No, Dean!" Sam said sharply.
"Look, I know you feel guilty or whatever, but staying here and rereading Bobby's research won't do a hell of a lot of good." Dean argued.
"Guilty about what?" Charlie asked. The boys looked at her for the first time, but ignored her question.
"I still don't think it's a good idea. We can stay here and do research on my lap top or go to a library or something."
Dean realized he wasn't going to win the argument easily so he looked to Charlie for her opinion. Sam noticed and, realizing his brother's intentions, he did the same. They both stared at her, patiently waiting for her input.
"Oh no. I'm not getting in the middle of this." She waved her hands in surrender and backed away from them.
"Oh, come on, you know both stances. I want to go hunt and get the apocalypse off my mind for at least a little bit. Sam wants to stay here and obsess. What about you?" Dean urged.
"No, I'm not going to be the deciding factor because then one of you will hate me." She whined childishly.
"I already hate you." Dean replied automatically.
"Wow, not the best way to get me on your side." She complained.
"Sorry. It's habit now. It just slipped out. I didn't mean it. Now, who do you agree with?"
Charlie looked back and forth between Sam and Dean as if watching an intense tennis match. Finally she turned to Bobby for support. He shrugged.
"A hunt could get you back into the swing of things before you get into a real showdown." He said logically. "You should go."
Dean smiled, but Charlie hesitated to agree as she watched Sam physically deflate in defeat. Dean saw her indecision and his grin became calculating.
"I think Bobby had a good point." He said. Something in his tone immediately captured Charlie attention. "I mean, unless you're nervous or something. We can always leave you here while we go take care of it." He taunted.
She steeled herself and glared at him. Normally this tactic wouldn't have worked, but after her conversation with Bobby, she felt the need to prove herself.
"You know what? Fine. Let's do this. Together." Dean and Bobby showed matching smiles while Sam and Charlie glowered.
"Great!" Dean said enthusiastically. "Just one more thing." He glanced around the room until he found what he was looking for. "I drive." He ordered, snatching the keys and all the folders with the information about the hunts—the only place that had the location of each one—leaving Sam and Charlie no choice, but to follow Dean out the door. Charlie grabbed her duffle from her car and, with a quick goodbye to Bobby, piled into the back of the Impala before the three of them swiftly sped away.
