A/N: Sorry for the late upload! School took up a lot of my time, but excuses are excuses. I hope this chapter is worth the wait!
The weight of the gun in her hands was a welcomed reassurance as she approached the decrepit, old building. Though she couldn't see them, she knew her brothers had her back. Her eyes narrowed up to the tarlike sky, not a star in sight.
They arrived at the porch, the wooden boards beneath their feet creaking mercilessly. She was nervous, but confident. She always was on hunts. Suddenly, Dean appeared beside her and kicked the door in. All three of them lifted their guns up to point at the monster behind the door, but it was not there. On her brother's command, they stalked into the building.
It was quiet. Too quiet. Surely there would be some noise, a creak or a scuffing. Hell, even creepy whispering would do. And then, she heard it, the sound of shaking chains. She whipped around, gun at the ready, to face their enemy. Sam and Dean reciprocated her action.
There, staring them down, were the two infamous Green Ghosts. Frankie narrowed her eyes. She didn't like them on Scooby Doo and she didn't like them now. However, these weren't disguises used by Cosgood Creeps and Cuthbert Crawls; they were real phantoms, floating eerily behind her and her brothers.
They didn't hesitate to fire their salt filled bullets into the phantoms. They mostly missed, but one of them wasn't quick enough and dissolved into a cloud of smoke. The other phantom was not happy with the loss of its partner. Not like she cared. She continued to line up shot after shot, firing at the thing.
After each missed shot she began to grow angrier and angrier. She was better than this, and she had to prove that to her brothers. She needed to act fast as the monster swirled in the air. She lined up a perfect shot, fired, and missed yet again.
She let out a frustrated growl and began to fire again and again, accuracy forgotten. Finally she knew she had a great shot. It stilled in the air, she brought the gun up, pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet soared through the air.
But it wasn't the phantom that was met with the bullet.
Her eyes widened. A gasp attempted to rush out of her mouth, but was caught by the remorseful regret than instantly showered over her as she gazed at the fresh bullet hole in Dean's head. Her eyes misted over at the sight of shimmering red ribbons streaking down his face. The man fell to his knees, his eyes set to her in one more intense moment of guilt until he fell face first onto the old wooden floor.
The violent gasp took hold of her the moment she heard his body thud against the ground. She couldn't believe what she did. She killed Dean! She killed her brother! And all because she was too dead set on shooting something that her brothers could have taken better care of.
She didn't want to look over to Sam. She knew what his face would look like. Her eyes betrayed her, almost as if they were controlled by some unseen force. Sam face was much worse than she expected. He wasn't looking to her as if he was betrayed and overcome with sadness at the loss of his brother by the hands of his sister, he was looking at her like she was a monster, the very kind he made a living on killing.
She backed up, but it was in vain as the other phantom had appeared behind Sam and took his head in its chained hands, twisting his neck to make a nauseating crack before it dropped his lifeless body to the floor beside her other brother. She tried to glare at the thing that was the cause – more or less – of the death of her brothers, but it was cut short when it began to stalk towards her.
She gasped, quickly turning around, running away from the fight like her brothers would never do. She ran right into the body of someone else in the house. She landed hard on her back, causing whatever breath she had left to leave her. Her sights lifted up to the figure above her. But once she saw who it was, fear enveloped her form.
Bela Lugosi's Dracula stood tall and menacing over her. No, she didn't like this at all! That was the one of the only horror movie monsters that gave her nightmares, and here he was. She wanted to be brave. She wasn't scared of him anymore, but here she was paralyzed with fear.
Suddenly, he smiled a wide, sickening grin, only his smile didn't have the classic two fanged appearance. No, instead his mouth was filled with rows of razor sharp retractable teeth that shined in the dull moonlight.
She scurried away, kicking against the floor in an attempt to get away. Dracula grabbed her legs, dragging her back towards him with his mocking laughter. She twisted around and tried to pull herself away, fully aware of the pathetically scared whimpers she was making. Finally, with one more shred of confidence, she reared back one of her legs out of his grasp and kicked his face so hard that a few of his fangs flew out of his mouth.
She tried to get to her feet, but the best she could do was hurriedly crawl away. She didn't get far, though, when a hand met her throat and constricted it. She was at first confused through the terror of the moment at how familiar the hand felt. She understood why when the hand lifted her entire body up to meet eye to eye.
There she was: Ida the hospital desk clerk, the ghoul. She didn't look the same. Her face was mangled and warped, barely comprehensible, but she could see exactly who it was based solely on the grin. The grin that was getting closer. The grin that was getting closer at a very fast rate. Just as teeth met neck, her vision warped into blackness.
Frankie's body jerked as if someone had shaken her out of her nightmare. Her throat sucked in a shaky breath followed by huffs in an attempt to sooth her buzzing heart. She forced herself to sit up from the couch as she absentmindedly held her throat. It was so dry. She needed water.
She slowly set her feet on the floor and lifted herself from the cushions. Damn that dream. It left her hands trembling. She rubbed them together in a vain attempt to calm them. As she entered the kitchen, she glanced out the window. It was still pitch black outside. She couldn't get a good night's sleep anymore. She prepared herself a glass of water and sat herself down at the table. She gripped the glass in both hands as she stared ahead at nothing in particular.
That dream. She knew what it meant. She didn't need a therapist to interpret it to her. It was a mirrored image of her eagerness to join the hunting life. While she was excited to get started with saving people and studying monsters up close, there was that underlying fear that she wouldn't be good enough, and that bigger fear that if she did join the life she might do something stupid to harm herself or others, especially Sam and Dean.
She was already a burden on them. The last thing she wanted was to cause them any physical harm. What if she was put in a real life situation where they were face to face with a monster and she made the wrong decision or did something the wrong way? What if she was the cause of one or both of her brothers dying because she screwed up? She wouldn't be able to live with herself. What if she pushed them so hard to let her join that they brought her on a hunt way too early and she ends up doing something to hurt an innocent bystander? What couldn't go wrong if she became a hunter!
She rubbed her temples. That was all speculation. Sam and Dean would never let her join the business. There was no reason that she'd end up in a situation like that anyway. Besides, even if she were to someday go out into the field she wouldn't take a single step in a monster's direction without proper training. She knew it was dangerous. She didn't need to see it happen in person to know that people died doing that sort of stuff. That was why she wanted to be qualified for the position before performing heroic acts.
And what was up with Dracula? She supposed that he was just a reflection of her perceptions of monsters as a kid versus her knowledge of their true forms now, but she wasn't sure. Maybe there was some deeper meaning behind it. Or maybe it was just Dracula with retractable fangs. Who the hell knew?
Her brows narrowed when her ears picked up a familiar sound. The Impala's unmistakable rumble echoed from outside. She turned her head to look at the study's windows from the kitchen. Headlights passed by before disappearing again. The light and purr of the car ceased almost in unison.
They were back? She thought that they would be gone all night. Oh well. She guessed Bobby's house was better than any dingy motel room. She knocked back the rest of her water and placed the glass in the sink just as the front door opened. She walked into the study and met eyes with her brothers as they entered the foyer.
"Oh, you're awake," Sam noted as Frankie set herself back down onto the couch.
"Yeah," she sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. "I, uh, couldn't sleep, so I got a drink," she explained, pointing over to the kitchen. Sam nodded and Dean just stood beside him. Before it could get awkward, Frankie remembered the last interaction she had with them. "Did you guys kill the Hidebehind?"
Dean finally answered as he entered the study, Sam followed behind him. "Yeah. Sliced of its head like you told us to." Frankie smiled at that. She was glad that she could help in any way. "In fact," he continued, sharing a glance with Sam, "we were really impressed with your help." Frankie perked up at that notion. She didn't expect Dean to be so forward with his praise. Instead of building off of his previous comment, he looked to Sam for him to continue.
"Uh, yeah, you were a big help on the case, and it got us thinking." Frankie's smiling face evened out to a curious gaze.
"Oh?" she asked.
Sam nodded, meeting eyes with his brother one last time. Frankie didn't miss the tiny nod Dean gave him, deepening her curiosity. "We thought that maybe… we were being too hard on you." One of the girl's eyebrows lifted the tiniest bit. "We know what you've been through and we know that you don't have a lot of options… or time. So, we thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to teach you a bit about how to protect yourself against monsters. Or about the family business."
Her eyes dug into their own. "What?" she muttered. "What do you mean? What are you… what are you saying exactly?"
"Well," Sam continued with a sigh, "there's a case nearby. Vampires." Dracula came to Frankie's mind. "We thought that since you already know so much about monsters, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have you on our team." Frankie stared at them. "And you are family. We can't expect you to have learned about what we do and not want to be a part of it. So, we are giving you the option to come on the case with us and see how you do. See if you like it. If you don't, then that's fine. You don't have to be a part of this life, but if it's something you wanna do then you have that option. What do you say?"
Frankie switched her gaze from Sam to Dean over and over again, taking her sweet time to answer them. "Are you guys making fun of me?" she blurted. She glared at the clueless looks they gave her. She crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the couch. "Y'know, you can't just stress how much you hate the idea of someone joining something and then turn around a day later and invite them along to a case. I don't believe you're doing this because you honestly want me to join. This has to be some sort of cruel test."
"It's not a test," Dean corrected. Frankie snapped her head over to him.
"Really? You expect me to believe after everything y'all said that you want me to come onto a dangerous case without any training whatsoever? You mean to tell me that after all that 'protection' crap you guys spilled to me that you now want me to help you take down vampires? What-what the hell do you think this sounds like coming from my end? You guys came to this conclusion how? Because I answered a question for y'all that Bobby could have found out for you? You think that is what is going to be the defining factor here?"
"Look, we're just trying to give you what you've been whining about, okay?" Dean spat, holding up a hand to stop her arguing. "Isn't that what brothers do? Give their whining sister what they want?"
"I don't wanna go out in the middle of a war zone without armor, Dean! I want to become a hunter, not to just go out and hunt."
"And how do you think you'll learn? Huh? By reading books all day? We learned out in the field, and that's how you'll learn. Take it or leave it."
Frankie and Dean shared a stare off, temper against temper. Why was he trying so hard? He was the one who was pushing her away the most. Why was he now pushing for her to come with them? There had to be some ulterior motive. She raked her brain for any clues. What could be so important about her coming with them?
Something clicked when she thought about the conversation her brothers had in the Impala. Dean suggested that she be used as bait due to her having little to no skills. That must be why they wanted her to come. She felt sick. There was no way in hell that she'd be turned into a meal for vampires!
But then again, she was bait, not food. She was going to be a useful pawn in their plan. She would be hunting, right? Wait, no! She wasn't hunting, she was being hunted! This was a terrible idea. She wouldn't do it.
But she might not ever get another chance to see how the family business works. Sure, it would be incredibly dangerous, but Sam and Dean wouldn't put her in any situation where they couldn't guarantee her safety. She knew that much. That was what was preventing her from getting involved in the first place, them being protective.
But that brought up more questions! Why now did they decide this? Obviously vampires shouldn't be that difficult to take care of. Surely they had taken down plenty of them before. Why did they need her this time? Maybe they really did want her to see how she felt about hunting. Maybe this actually was a test, just not the kind she thought it would be. Maybe this was their way to show her how bad things could get. Maybe this was their attempt to scare her off. Oh she wouldn't go out so easily.
"Frankie," Sam spoke up. The girl raised her eyes up to the tall man. "I know this seems like a really sudden offer, but just know we're offering this for your own good. If you come with us, we promise that you'll be safe. We're not expecting you to kill anything, or even get close enough to the monsters for you to be in danger. This is just to show you what we do so you can make a judgement for yourself on whether or not this is what you want. There's a chance you might just want to join because it's what we do. If you're to join this life, it's because it is something you feel like you have to do. We want you to properly make that decision before making any choices you can't come back from."
Frankie let his words sink in. She could see where he was coming from, but she still had her doubts. But this was Sam. She didn't think he would lie to her. Dean, hell yeah he would lie to her, but Sam had yet to treat her like dirt.
So now it was down to her decision. Should she go with them and possibly be used for bait but also possibly be given a chance to judge the life for herself, or should she stay at Bobby's house, wait to heal, and leave his house and this life before she was ready to go. Despite all of the doubts she had about going with them, she would do just about anything to not go back home.
With a heavy sigh, she lifted her eyes up to Dean. "Can you promise me that this is a genuine chance to prove myself to you guys and not just some attempt to get this out of my system?"
Dean narrowed his eyes at her. He switched his gaze over to Sam and kept that look for a few long moments. Frankie wondered what the hell it was that they were silently saying. He then turned his head back to her and gave her the nod that she was waiting for.
With a nod of her own, she stood from the couch and grabbed her bag at her feet. She met eyes with both of her brothers this time. "Then let's go smoke some vamps."
Frankie watched as the dark world outside zoomed past them. It was quiet aside from the rumbling engine of the car and the occasional other car passing by. Sam and Dean didn't say a thing once they sat in their seats.
So here she was, riding to her first hunt. Well, of course she wasn't hunting. She was just watching as Sam and Dean hunted, but Dean had promised that he'd treat this as her given chance. Well… he promised more or less. They wanted her to simply observe, but she knew she wasn't going to just be a third wheel. That isn't how this is going to go down.
Frankie couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right. There was something they weren't telling her. There was no way they would just come to the conclusion that she should see firsthand what hunters do. After everything they shouted at her at dinner, there was no way they would consider this unless there was some ulterior motive. Still, using her as bait was on the table, but what if it was something more? What would even classify as more? What was bigger than vampires in the matter of importance? It wasn't like it was the end of the world if they didn't go on this mission, so why need her?
She glanced over to her brothers in the driver's and passenger seats. Well, she should at least get whatever information out of this that she could. "So," she spoke up, clearing her throat, "where is this case?" She noticed that Sam looked over to Dean.
"Nearby," Dean grunted. Well so much for that. "Now listen." Oh, apparently there was more. "When we get there, we're gunna get a motel room. We'll drop you off there and you wait for us to come back, got it?"
"Where're y'all going?"
Dean sniffed. "We're meeting with a guy with information."
"Why can't I be there for that? I mean, he's not dangerous is he?"
"No. Not really."
"So, why can't I come?"
"Because it doesn't concern you, Frankie," he said calmly, much to the girl's surprise. "It's more of a personal meeting. It doesn't have anything to do with the vamps."
Frankie nodded her head at that. She knew she shouldn't press the matter any further. "What kind of info do we have on the case? What's the evidence?" She was met with silence. She noticed the two sharing a look yet again. What the hell weren't they telling her? Well, right now it was what info they had. "Do… we have any evidence?"
Sam was the one to speak up. "Uh… well, Frankie, it's a typical case. Bodies found with mangled necks. Witnesses swearing they saw a fanged human drinking the blood of victims. The usual clues." Frankie nodded at that as well.
She couldn't stifle the excitement that pulsed through her. Her first investigation! Even if it wasn't technically hers, she was still here in the Impala with her brothers and a trunk full of weapons. She practically buzzed in her seat. She was finally going to see a real vampire in the flesh! That was exciting for her! She couldn't wait to see them with their fangs. And then get decapitated. Eh, she'd have to get used to seeing that.
They finally arrived at the motel. It didn't take that long to get there. A few hours at most. They had filled the time listening to quiet rock music. Just as Dean had instructed, they checked into a room and then they let Frankie inside. Before they left, Sam gave her a flask. "Holy Water. If anyone shows up to the room that isn't us, you splash this in their face and run like hell, got it? It shouldn't come to that, but just in case. You never know who's a demon or not"
She watched them through the window as they sped off. It was only when they were out of view when she realized that she had no idea when they would be back. She forgot to ask. Oh well. Surely she could spend enough time in the room entertaining herself.
She sat on one of the beds. She tried the TV. Whatever channels came in with clear enough reception were boring, so she tried reading a few of her books. She sat on the mattress with her legs crossed under her, a book resting in her lap. Her eyes scanned the lines and pictures, but she couldn't retain anything. Her mind kept wandering to the case.
She was looking forward to seeing her brothers in action and wowing them with her vast knowledge on vampires. But underneath all of that excitement, her nightmare kept creeping back up on her.
Sam had already stressed to her that she would have no need to hold a weapon or get close to the vamps, so why was she still so worried about screwing something up? She wouldn't be doing anything! But that could still leave room for mistakes to be made. Like, what if the vamps caught her and used her like some sort of bargaining chip? Or what if they threatened her life for theirs? Where would that leave them? Well, if she could guess she'd say they would let the vamps kill her if it meant saving other people.
She hated the idea, so hopefully she wouldn't allow herself to be put in that position. No, she wouldn't hope. She would make sure that she wouldn't be put in that position. Her eyes traveled down into her bag. She reached in and took out her machete, feeling its weight in her hand. She was using her right hand. It was hurting a lot less with the mixture of rest and physically therapy from organizing Bobby's house. This hunting test was perfect timing. She was just about, if not already, healed, but now she almost had a reason to stay. She just needed to excel in this hunt.
She started practicing swinging the weapon around. It was a foreign feeling, but a welcomed one. It almost felt right. Maybe it was that Winchester blood in her. She swung up and down, left and right, in diagonals and in completely erratic moves. She spun around, swinging her blade this way and that and loving how badass she felt. In one passionate swing, she brought the machete down, hitting the pillow on the bed. She opened her eyes, her joyful smile immediately dropping.
Fuzzy stuffing had flown out of the pillow. Luckily it didn't get all over the place, but now they had to worry about paying for the damage. "Oh nice one, Frankie." She tossed her weapon onto the bed and began gathering the stray clumps of stuffing. "This is why we can't have nice things."
She walked over to her bag and looked for anything she could use to fix the issue. She found some loose thread at the bottom of her bag and cut off long strips of it with her blade. Now she just needed a needle. Where was she going to find a needle?
Her eyes pulled over to her brother's bags that they left behind. She shouldn't. It wasn't right to look through their private things, but this was sort of an emergency. She gave in and searched through the bags. She didn't remember whose was whose, so she delved into the one closest to her. There were the usual things: shirts, pants, a suit? There were also hygienic supplies, multiple flasks, knives, a gun, and a journal of some sort – her eyes lingered on the journal, her mind telling her to read through it, before she tore them away to move on.
The other bag had much of the same things, but there was a pouch inside the other one that was useful. Inside the pouch, there were many various items that seemed randomly placed at first glance, but it clicked when she thought of the items as being used for medical reasons. There was dental floss, a role of bandages, another flask, and a few needles as well as a few other things. She took out a needle and walked over to the crime scene.
Taking the thread she got from her own bag, she prepared it with the needle and began suturing the pillow back together. In no time, it was more or less put back together. She grinned down to her work. It wasn't too bad. After all, she was no stranger to light sewing. Eventually someone had to suture the heads back onto her stuffed animals after playing John Winchester.
After fixing Sam and Dean's bags so it didn't look like they had been rummaged through, Frankie saw the familiar lights of an approaching car travel across the walls from the window. She turned around and walked over to the window, peaking around the curtain to see if it was her brothers. She saw someone approaching their room… but it wasn't Sam or Dean.
Sam words echoed in her head. She began to panic. He told her it shouldn't happen, but this could be the real deal! He could be a demon! Where was that Holy Water? She rushed to grasp at it, and for extra measure she clutched her machete as well. She waited just on the other side of the door, her heart beginning to pound. Maybe they'll just walk on by. Maybe they thought her room was theirs and they'll realize that it's the wrong one and move along.
The doorknob turned and she clutched the flask and machete tighter, already rearing back the Holy Water. As soon as she saw the face of the stranger, she threw the water at him and made sure to splash all over. "Die you demon fucker!" she yelled, rearing back her machete, fully prepared to end that bastard's life.
"Woah, woah, woah!" a familiar voice shouted as a body appeared in between her and the strange man. She backed up at the sudden other man in the room, but it was Dean. She sighed out in relief, lowering her machete and the near empty flask. "What the hell were you trying to do? Kill him?"
"Yeah!" Frankie huffed out. "I thought he was a demon."
Dean sent her a confused glare as he turned around to the stranger. "You alright?" Frankie peered over the form of her brother to get an actual look at the man.
"Yeah," his voice assured as he wiped the water from his face. He was shorter than her brothers, but still taller than her. His black hair was ruffled and his clothes under his trench coat were wrinkled and dusted with dirt. He looked like he had been through hell and the bags under his eyes affirmed that. He lifted his crystal blue eyes to meet her own. Was this their personal friend?
"Uh…," she muttered, now feeling guilty for drenching a possible friend of her brother's with Holy Water and threatening to turn him into the pillow from earlier. "S-Sorry about that. I, uh, thought you were a threat."
"Well, I can assure you that I'm not. Not anymore at least."
Frankie's brows furrowed at that. What did that mean? She didn't get a chance to ask what that meant before Sam appeared behind them, his expression asking a silent question regarding to why the man was wet. One look to Frankie's hands answered that for him. He pressed his lips together before entering the room and closing the door behind him.
Sam had a handful of food in his hands, all burgers and fries. There was way more than enough for all of them. She wondered why he'd buy so many. Her own question was answered when Sam placed them all down on the table and the stranger began to eat them. All of them it looked like. She lifted a brow at him.
"Is that your friend? Who is he?" she quietly asked, keeping her eyes pointed at him as he scarfed down handfuls of fries and meat. When neither of her brothers answered, she turned her sights to them. They looked frustrated.
"Yes," Sam finally sighed. "He's the friend we were talking about. Kinda."
"Kinda? What does that mean?" He went silent again. Now Frankie was beginning to get frustrated. "Hello?" she added, snapping her fingers in front of their faces. "Who is that? Please give me something here."
"We told you it doesn't concern you," Dean lowly uttered. "You don't need to know who he is."
"Well how do I know he isn't a danger to me?"
"Dean, maybe we should tell her," Sam said, gaining Frankie's attention.
"Sam, we talked about this."
"Hey. I heard that. What are you keeping from me? What should you tell me?"
"Nothing."
"He's a vessel."
"Sam." Dean's shout caught the stranger's attention, but he quickly turned his attention back to his pile of food.
"Huh?" Frankie looked up at Sam as if she hadn't entirely heard what he said. Sam kept his gaze on his brother.
"Dean, the plan won't work anymore. She's gunna get involved now whether we like it or not."
"She won't if you shut up about it."
"Dean."
Frankie continued to look back and forth at the men as they exchanged their looks of silent arguing. Dean brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his features. He sniffed when he removed his hands and grunted, "Fine," before walking over to the table to sit next to the man. Frankie returned her eyes to Sam and waited for his explanation.
"Frankie… um, that man used to be our friend. Well, of sorts. He's a vessel, someone who is controlled by an angel. He used to have an angel in him named Castiel. That's the friend we were talking about. But now Castiel is gone and we have no idea why."
Frankie gaped at the man next to her, holding onto his words as she tried to process exactly how she took them. "He's… a what? She exclaimed, turning her eyes to truly examine the worn and weathered stranger across from her. "A vessel? T-To an angel?"
"I know this is probably a lot to take in-"
"W-Well… not a whole lot. I mean, demons exist. Why not angels?" Despite how calmly she tried to come off as, Frankie was taken aback by the existence of angels. She was always skeptical about them. If they were truly out there, where the hell were they when she needed them? Hanging out with hunters? That hardly seemed fair. There were more than enough people suffering in the world to pay attention to, but being buddies with her brothers was supposedly more important? She almost preferred them to not exist.
Sam walked over to join his brother as Frankie sat herself down on the mattress, all of them watching the man, the vessel, eat his many meals. "Mind slowing down? You're gunna give me angina," Dean muttered.
The strange man shrugged as he reached for his drink. "I'm hungry," he said through a mouthful of food.
"When's the last time you ate?" Sam asked him. The man shook his head
"I dunno. Months." He continued to munch and chew his food, slurping his drink through his straw, and Sam, Dean, and Frankie simply watched as he did so, growing slightly uncomfortable at the questionable sounds leaving the man.
"What the hell happened back there? It looked like an angel battle royal," Sam spoke. Frankie looked over to him. What was he talking about? The meeting they went to? Was the information they were looking for about angels? What else didn't she know? Frankie hurriedly silenced the quickly growing questions and listened to the conversation.
"All I remember is there was a flash of light and I, uh, I woke up and I was just, y'know, like me again," the stranger replied.
"So what? Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?" Dean asked. The man shook his head and thought for a moment, all the while still chewing on his food.
"I really don't know."
"You remember anything about being possessed? Anything at all?" Sam questioned. It seemed like they were trying to get anything and everything out of this man.
"Bits and pieces. I mean… angel inside of you, it's like being chained to a comet."
"Well, that doesn't sound like much fun," Dean noted.
"Understatement" the man replied with a knowing nod.
"Cas said he wanted to tell us something," Sam continued. "Please tell me you remember that."
The man shook his head at her brother. "Sorry," he muttered.
Dean looked visibly frustrated at the lack of info they were getting out of him. "C'mon, what do you know?"
The man swallowed. He narrowed his eyes as he rummaged through his brain for anything he knew for sure. "My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois. I have a family."
The man, Jimmy, then went on to tell of his experience. He told how he was a faithful man, how he was watching TV one night and fell asleep, but then woke up to a strange noise. He got up to turn off the TV, but the noise got louder and higher pitched. He went into a seizure like state as he heard the voice of an angel. Dean had a look on his face as if he had an idea of what he was talking about.
After hearing what Jimmy had to say, Sam and Dean excused themselves outside to talk amongst themselves, leaving Frankie and Jimmy in the room. After finishing his many meals, Jimmy got up and began pacing the room. It looked as if he was remembering more about his life.
Frankie was tempted, oh so tempted, to question him in every which way about what he knew, but she knew that there wasn't much of anything he could tell. Angels existed. They must really exist if anything the three men were talking about was real.
With that knowledge, Frankie had many questions. What did angels do? Weren't they supposed to go around and help humanity? Weren't they supposed to help those in their direst needs? Obviously not, because they would have helped her weeks ago. She couldn't help but feel bitter by the thought of angels walking amongst them.
Her eyes lifted to the pacing man in front of her. She had no reason to be bitter with Jimmy. He was just the vessel, but when she met this Castiel she would have more than a few words to him about his practices.
Sam and Dean finally reentered the room. They didn't look too happy. Jimmy walked over to them. "When can we leave? I really need to get back to my family." Frankie looked over to them as well and saw the troubled looks on her brothers. Dean stepped forward.
"Sorry, but you can't go home." Both Frankie and Jimmy looked to him in confusion.
"The hell are you talking about I can't go home?"
"There's a good chance you have a bullseye on your back," Dean continued.
"What? From who?"
Dean looked behind him to Sam and shared one of their famous looks to each other. Frankie was starting to think they mostly communicated through stares. "Demons," he finally grumbled.
"Come on, that's crazy. What do they want with me?"
"I dunno. Information maybe?"
"I don't know anything!"
"I know, but-"
"Look, I'm done, okay? With demons, angels, all of it. I just wanna go home!"
"We understand that-"
"No I don't think that you do understand. I've been shot and stabbed and healed and my body's been dragged all over the earth. By some miracle I'm out and I am done! I've given enough, okay?"
"Look," Sam butted in, "all we're saying is that until we figure this out the safest place is with us." Frankie wanted to confirm that, but she felt that it wasn't her place.
Jimmy looked to the side to collect himself before turning back to Sam. "How long?"
Sam hesitated for a few moments. Jimmy stared impatiently at the man, waiting for his answer. Frankie wondered this as well. How long were they going to be stuck with this guy? They had a vamp case to get through. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Jimmy moved forward, marching towards the door. "Where are you going?" Dean calmly asked as Sam moved to block Jimmy's path.
"To see my wife and daughter, okay?"
"No you're not," Sam said, placing his hand against Jimmy to stop him from moving forward. "You're just gunna put those people in danger."
"So what? Now I'm a prisoner?"
Sam tightened his face at the notion. "Harsh way to put it."
They commenced to try and calm Jimmy down, but it was to no avail. The man desperately wanted to see his family and he wasn't going to let the men stop him, but they eventually stressed to him that he needed to get comfortable, because he was going to be with them for a while. Frankie was disappointed with this. She didn't want someone else to slow down her first hunt. She wondered if they were even going to get around to it after all of this missing angel crap.
She decided to voice her frustrations to her brothers. She brought Sam and Dean to the side as Jimmy sat on a bed. "Hey," she quietly began, "How long are we really gunna be with this guy? Don't we need to focus on the vampires killing people?" Instead of being met with two equally frustrated faces, she was met with two very uncomfortable gazes. Once they sent each other the gaze, Frankie huffed. "C'mon, don't look at each other! Look at me! What are we gunna do here?"
Sam sent her a troubled glance. He motioned his head to the door, indicating that he wanted to talk outside and away from Jimmy. She sighed as she exited the room and stood outside with her brothers. "Okay, what? What's so important that we have to talk out in the cold?"
"Frankie," Dean spoke, hushing Frankie's questions. "There are no vampires. I mean, there are vampires, but not out here."
The girl lingered her gaze on Dean, the look wavering only when her brows narrowed and a small laugh left her lips. "What? What do you mean? Why'd we come out here then?" Taking in their serious faces, her voice grew a more serious tone. "Why'd you tell me there were vampires out here?"
Sam tightened his lips before sighing and answering her. "It was the only way to get you out here without knowing why we were really coming out here."
"The hell do you mean by that? You guys tricked me?" She turned her looked to Dean. "You guys lied to me?"
"Yes. But for good reason," Dean reasoned.
"What reason? What, the angel reason? You didn't want me to know about Jimmy? Or about Castiel?"
"Exactly. We didn't want you involved with angels."
"Why?"
"Frankie," Sam started, "Angels aren't all… good. Cas is an exception. He's on our side."
"So, you expect me to believe that angels aren't on our side? They're angels."
"Yeah, and they're dicks," Dean snapped. "They're soldiers of heaven and only follow what the big fish says. They have next to nothing to do with us."
"Well… well that hardly seems fair," Frankie angrily mumbled, feeling a little betrayed by everything she previously knew, but not nearly as betrayed as she felt about being blatantly lied to. "But you didn't have to deceive me! Why bring me out here in the first fucking place if you didn't want me to know!"
"Ask Sam," Dean suggested with a look to his brother. He was met with a furious glare from the taller man.
Frankie snapped her head over to him as well. No, not him. Not Sam. Not the reasonable, nice brother. Please, not him. "Sam?" she urged, her angered face turned more betrayed.
Sam let out a hefty sigh as he gazed down to his sister. "I wanted to bring you to Cas so he could heal your kidneys. And then when he did he would erase your memory of ever coming here." Frankie's mouth slowly went slack at his confession. "But then when we got here we found that he's gone. Frankie, I swear I meant it with good intentions. Dean was the one who didn't want you to know anything."
"Oh, c'mon. You agreed with me!"
"So…," Frankie muttered, her voice small. "You just wanted me healthy… so I could leave. So I wouldn't need you guys anymore." She stifled any tears that misted over her eyes. Her voice gradually grew more aggressive. "Y-You just wanted me out of your life faster. You weren't impressed with me at all. You didn't- you didn't really want me on your team. You lied to me, got my hopes up, just so you didn't have to deal with me anymore!"
"Hey, I really was kinda impressed when you helped us with the frightening creature case. That wasn't a lie," Dean insisted.
"Fearsome critter," Sam quietly corrected. Dean shot him a look before returning to Frankie.
"I shoulda known it was too good to be true. Even when you promised me that this was my chance to prove myself to you, you still turned your back on me! Why would you break a promise, Dean?!"
"Like Sam said, we had to get you out here. You wouldn't have come if I didn't."
"Well, seeing what happened, it would have benefitted me much better if I refused! Jesus, is this how you want me to remember you guys?! Telling me that I can follow in my father's footsteps and then pulling the rug from underneath me?!" Their faces both tightened, frowns getting deeper. "Why the hell do I even try anymore? I can't trust my own goddamn family!"
"Trusting us in the first place was your mistake. We told you that you'd never be a hunter. We meant what we said." Frankie's eyes turned up to Dean. "The fact that you believed us at all was due to your own desperation to be something you're not. Don't blame us for that."
Frankie didn't say anything. His words sure did the trick in shutting her up. That hit her hard right in the chest, this whole trip. Insisting that she try out her hunter's legs only to find out that it was all a ruse to get an angel to heal her. It was like climbing all the way to the top of a mountain only to be hit by an airplane.
She could feel the involuntary tear streaking down her face. Dean's eyes traced it as it traveled to her chin and dripped off to the unforgiving ground beneath her. She didn't say a word as she nodded her head to him, regaining his eyes in her own. "Something I'm not," she repeated, nodding even more in agreement.
She slowly turned towards the motel and walked back to the door, her head hung low. She ignored the call of Sam who tried to reason with her. Instead, she reentered the room, ignored the desperate glance of Jimmy and set herself a sleeping area on the floor. She grabbed the pillow with stitches and a lone blanket from the closet. She waited until Sam, Dean, and Jimmy were settled into their individual positions before silently crying herself to sleep.
The sound of a door closing woke her up. She sighed through her nose at the interruption. She scrunched up her face, her cheeks sticky from old tears. She could hear the snoring coming from the bed on the other side of the room. She could only guess that it was Dean.
She burrowed herself deeper into her uncomfortable position. However, the sound of someone getting out of bed interrupted her yet again. She cracked one eye open to see who it was. Her other eye snapped open when she saw that it was Jimmy. What, was he getting up to get a drink?
No, he was stalking towards the door, cracking it open, peering out, and slipping through it while quietly closing it. Oh shit. He was escaping. She immediately shot up from her sleeping position to look back to the bed Jimmy had been sleeping in. Empty. So it wasn't a hallucination. She twisted her head around. Where was Sam? He was supposed to be keeping watch. Dean was, of course, fast asleep.
Oh well. It wasn't her problem now. It was theirs. They wanted to come out here. They wanted to drag her into this mess, but she wasn't dealing with it. So what if their precious Jimmy Novak escaped to his family in Pontiac, Illinois. It wasn't her problem now.
She set her head back onto her pillow.
But wait a minute. Her eyes snapped open. She could make this her problem, only she could make this benefit herself. She could follow Jimmy and keep tabs on him. She could be Sam and Dean's eyes on him. This could be her way to prove herself. Not that she cared what they thought anymore, but she could make this hers to gain from.
She decided that this was her last resort. If Sam and Dean weren't going to escort her into this life, she would take it for herself. She quickly put on suitable pants before hurrying out the door after Jimmy.
