AN: I apologize again for the delay. Here you go guys. Toodles AT
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"Surprise!"
Isabel jumped back startled, clutching her chest dramatically and letting out a scream of shock and unexpected delight as she entered Missouri's house with her cousins. All the while, she smiled and shook her head as if annoyed with herself that she'd been duped. Apart from Sam and Dean, who knew she was faking her surprise, only Missouri appeared to have realized that Isabel's reaction was less than genuine. Dean watched as across the room, the psychic slowly turned to the man standing on her right, openly glaring at him. As if he could feel her accusing eyes on him, he turned to her sheepishly, an apologetic and guilty expression on his face.
"You just couldn't keep your big mouth shut, could you?" Missouri asked him in a scolding tone.
"She guessed!" He replied defensively.
That must be Paul, Dean thought to himself. He wasn't sure what kind of guy he was expecting his cousin to be dating, but this wasn't it. For starters, he was older than his Isabel. Not much older, but he had to be at least thirty, if not thirty five. He wasn't a small or large man; built slight, like Sam, but approximately Dean's height. His dark brown hair was impeccably cut and combed, his face clean shaven. The pristine sky-blue shirt he was wearing with his equally immaculate black suit pants seemed to emphasize his piercing blue eyes. He stood slightly awkward, his shoulders hunched and his hands in his pockets. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and Dean guessed he was probably not a huge fan of social events such as these. He wasn't by any means unattractive, but from what he'd learnt about Isabel in the weeks she'd spent with him and Sam, this guy was a far cry form her usual 'pretty boy with a naughty streak' penchant.
Still, he thought, he hadn't really known Isabel long enough to have formed a definitive opinion on her 'type', and her taste in men might not be centered on appearance alone. She'd once said she liked smart guys, and this guy, Dean thought, definitely had a nerdy bookworm aura about him. How someone as serious and conservative looking as this man ended up with his spirited and flighty cousin was surely a mystery. He figured he probably shouldn't let his mind form a judgment yet, at least not until he had a chance to talk to him.
He looked to Sam and his younger brother appeared lost in similar thoughts. Sam gestured to Dean with a nod towards Missouri and who he'd obviously also deduced to be Paul, silently suggesting that they go over and introduced themselves.
As they slowly made their way across the room, Isabel materialized unexpectedly in front of them. She'd been greeting a couple by the door whilst holding a small child in her arms only a moment earlier, and Dean wondered how the hell she'd managed to move so fast.
"Why don't I introduce you?" She said cheerily, though her tone held an almost indiscernible trace of warning.
"It's OK" Dean said sweetly, now knowing she'd moved faster than the speed of light in order to stop him and Sam from approaching her boyfriend alone "We can introduce ourselves, go back to your party"
Her stare was sharp "Yeah, nice try"
She motioned with her hand for them to follow her as she made her way towards the man. He was watching her as she approached him, and Dean finally saw what had captured Isabel's heart. As Paul watched his girlfriend walk towards him, a smile broke out over his face, making his dimples deepen on his cheeks. His eyes softened, giving him a boyish charm that belied his true age. It was written all over his face. He was head over heels in love with her. Poor bastard! Dean thought sadly, he was in for a bumpy ride.
Before they reached him, Isabel turned to them again and this time, the warning in her eyes, voice and words, was unmistakable.
"Be nice" She said to both her cousins. Her eyes returned to Dean and she looked up at him with a mixture of threat and pleading "Please"
They nodded in agreement and her suspicious gaze lingered on Dean for a moment, before she also nodded, seemingly satisfied with their promise to behave.
She turned back to the man now in front of her and threw her arms around him as he bent his head to kiss her affectionately. She would have loved to lose herself in that moment indefinitely, but behind her she could already hear an impatient cough. She couldn't tell if it was Sam's or Dean's. She pulled away from Paul and looked into his eyes, and for a moment everyone in the room seemed to vanish.
"Happy birthday honey" He said softly, with a smile she'd come to know meant he wished more than anything that they were alone right now.
"Thank you baby" She said breathlessly and kissed him again as once more his hands pulled her to him. To her surprise, it was actually Missouri who interrupted them this time.
"Maybe you can save that for later" Missouri said dryly "There are children in the room"
"Speaking of children" Isabel said with a smile, turning around in Paul's arms as she faced Sam and Dean "These are my cousins"
"It's your birthday, so I'm going to let that go" Dean said as he gave her a withering look.
She laughed and stuck out her tongue at him, disentangling herself from Paul as she moved to quickly stand between her two cousins. She placed an arm around each of them.
"Paul, this is Dean" She said with a nod to her older cousin "And this one is Sam" She repeated the action and turned back to Paul "Boys…this is Paul"
The men shook hands cordially, and Paul looked a little nervous as Isabel's cousins studied him silently. He felt like he was under a microscope, and justly so. Meeting Isabel's cousins, her only remaining family, was akin to meeting her parents and no less intimidating.
"Wow, the infamous Sam and Dean Winchester!" Paul said, looking from one man to the other "I've heard a lot about you"
"Told you I wasn't making them up" Isabel said jokingly.
"Isabel speaks of you all the time" Paul said, going along with the teasing vibe "Most of it good"
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Paul" Sam said warmly.
"Likewise" Paul said, now looking more comfortable "You know, Isabel's told me what you two do. I think it's fascinating!"
Dean's smile disappeared instantly and he looked down at his cousin.
"She told you?" He asked unsurely.
"It's OK" Paul said quickly, sensing Dean's displeasure of the revelation "My girlfriend lives with a psychic. I've learnt to be open minded"
Isabel looked up at her older cousin.
"Paul is a history professor at the University of Kansas, here in Lawrence. He's done a lot of research and written lots of papers on American folklore and mythology"
Sam's eyebrows spiked in interest and Paul saw his opening with Isabel's younger cousin. Excitedly, he continued.
"I teach a module on urban legends and myths" He said "I'd love to talk to you about it and the things you've investigated"
Dean raised an eyebrow at Isabel and continued to watch his brother and Isabel's boyfriend hit it off. She grabbed his arm and subtly pulled him away, letting Sam and Paul carry on with their conversation.
"I should mingle" Isabel said after they'd walked off.
"Yeah, go on" Dean said to her, looking around the room "Where'd Missouri go?"
"One bet" Isabel said "Kitchen"
"I need to talk to her" Dean said "I'll be back"
"Is this about your dad and what happened in Chicago?"
"Yeah" he said uncomfortable with discussing this in a room full of people "She might be able to shed some light, and even if she's not, she needs to know what happened up there"
He made his way toward the kitchen, leaving Isabel to entertain her friends. She looked around the room. Jenny with her new boyfriend and her kids. Paul's sister, her husband and their baby. Jacqui and a couple of the girls from work. Missouri, Paul, her cousins. She smiled to herself. She hadn't felt less alone in years.
The hours went by like a flash. In between opening presents, blowing her candles, introducing Tracy and Patricia from work to her cousins at Dean's persistent request, she barely had time to catch her breath.
It was almost midnight when people started leaving, and she noted with a pinch of worry that Tracy was giving her number to Dean. Great! She thought dryly, this is going to cost me. She walked back to the lounge room and saw Sam and Paul still chatting animatedly. She let out a snort of amusement. Finally Sam had found someone just as bookish as himself, and finally Paul had found someone just as interested in his fables and folk stories as himself.
"Looks like you have some competition" Dean said, coming up behind her. He too was watching Sam and Paul with an amused expression on his face.
"Too bad for Sam, I'm not the sharing kind" She said.
"If he wasn't your cousin I'd suggest a three-way" He said casually.
She frowned for a second as if considering his idea seriously, before shaking her head.
"I don't' think Paul would be up for it" She said, equally casual.
He turned to her with a disturbed look "I was kidding, Bel"
"Duh" She said looking at him, slightly disturbed herself that he'd thought she'd been serious "Me too, dumbass"
"Your friends are nice" He said then, changing the subject completely.
"Yeah, I saw you and Tracy hitting it off" She said "Dean, can I please ask you not to sleep with my friends? I don't have many and I'd like to keep the ones I have"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know what it means. I can see it now, she gets attached, you leave, you never call her again and next thing I know she's coming to me asking me why you haven't called her and when will you be back in town, and blah blah blah"
"Wow, you've got a vivid imagination" He said "She just gave me her number, that's it!"
"Yeah right"
"You don't know if" He started.
"Oh, I know" She said "I know your kind Dean, I've been with your kind. You're nothing but trouble"
"Is that why you ended up with a Sam clone?" He asked with a smirk towards Sam and Paul.
She followed his gaze and sighed deeply.
"I hadn't realized how alike they are until right now" She said with a shake of her head "If I wasn't in love with him I'd be really freaked out"
He tilted his head as he regarded her with a smile "In love, huh?"
She blushed and he couldn't believe it. It had to be the first time ever he'd seen his cousin blush like a shy schoolgirl. It was so cute he almost pinched her cheeks. She smiled and nodded her head timidly.
"Yeah" She said quietly "In love"
The moment was interrupted by the man in question.
"Ready for your present honey?"
She turned to Paul with a brilliant smile "I am"
He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small box, handing it to her as he watched her expectantly. With shaking fingers she pulled the ribbon keeping the box together and pulled the lid off, peeking inside with a frown as she pulled out not a ring, but a key. She raised confused eyes to him.
"It's a key to my place" He said.
Her frown deepened "I already have a key to your place"
"Let me rephrase that" He said "It's they key to our new place"
"Come again?"
"Remember that cute little house we saw for sale near campus a while ago? I sold my apartment and bought it" He said still watching her with gleaming eyes "What do you say? Want to move in with me?"
"Oh my God" She breathed out "Are you serious?"
"I'm serious Bel" He said "Our house"
"How long have you been planning this?" She asked, amazed he'd successfully been able to keep something this big from her.
"Three weeks" He said proudly.
"And you couldn't keep the surprise party a secret?" Missouri piped in.
"Can we let that go already?" Paul snapped back "What do you say, Bel?"
She looked at Missouri, feeling like she was a child asking her mother for permission. It had been great living with her, but it would be even greater to live with Paul. She looked at her cousins too. They were watching her quietly, obviously trying really hard to let her make her decision. She detected a small smile on Sam's face, and even as she turned to Dean she saw him give her an approving nod. She was about to say she wasn't really looking for their blessing, but that would have been a lie. She kind of was. In a way, Missouri and her cousins were the closest thing to an immediate family she had, and there was nothing wrong with seeking their approval, even if she was old enough to make her own choices.
"OK" She said finally, squealing in delight "Yes, let's do it!"
Paul picked her up and swung her around, for a moment forgetting he was a serious, conservative grown man and losing himself in Isabel's enthusiasm and youthful exuberance.
"I moved in today" He said finally setting her on her feet again "You can move in as soon as you want"
"Like, tomorrow?" She asked.
"Perfect"
She had wanted to go home with him that night, and if Sam and Dean hadn't been there visiting her, she would have. But she hadn't seen her cousins for months, and after they left, she wouldn't see them again for God knew how long! After moving in with Paul, she would see him everyday. He looked disappointed when she told him she would spend the night catching up with Sam and Dean, but he tried to hide it, not so much for her benefit, but at Dean's challenging look when he gathered breath to protest.
"You can give me my other present tomorrow night" She whispered suggestively to him.
After that, he left, promising to come around the next day to help her move her stuff over to their new place. Not that there was much to move anyway. She hadn't really bought much in terms of home wares whilst at Missouri's.
She sat with her cousins and Missouri, the older psychic saying they would clean up in the morning. That suited everyone fine. Dean and Sam started discussing when they should head out again, deciding that early the next day would be the best.
"No, you can't leave!" Isabel protested "You only just got here, plus…you've gotta help me move"
"Isabel"
"Oh, come on, stay one more day" She begged "We can hang out tomorrow, go out for dinner, a few drinks. You know, I can drink now!"
"On your medication?" Sam asked.
"I'm not on it anymore" She said "I've been off it for almost two months"
"That's good" Sam said smiling "That's great actually"
"Yeah, I still take a sleeping pill every now and then at night" She said more seriously now "If the day's been particularly… trying"
"What about you two?" Missouri asked looking at both Winchester men "How are you two doing?"
"Better now" Sam said "That we found our dad"
"Although it seems we have more questions than when we started" Dean added "This thing with Meg in Chicago gave us a wake up call"
"This demon, whatever or whoever it is, knows more about us than we realized" Sam said "And I don't like it that it's been this close to Isabel"
"Without you even sensing it" Dean said this to Missouri.
Missouri nodded pensively. Yes, it was strange that she hadn't sensed anything. Though, to her credit, she'd never met Meg, and only heard vague details about her party nights with Isabel.
"It is unsettling I admit" She said finally as she turned to Isabel "We just have to be a little more careful, that's all. I don't sense any danger though. I never did"
"She might not have been in danger" Sam said "Meg might have just said that to rattle us, she might have been playing with us. Letting us know that she could get close if she wanted, that even Isabel wasn't safe. It's still better to be safe than sorry"
"Which brings us to your birthday present" Dean said walking over to the kitchen where he'd left his duffel bag and bringing it back. He pulled out a large wooden box and held it out for her.
She took it and examined it closely. It was beautiful, about as big as a shoebox. It was plain, but the cedar wood had been polished to perfection and she could smell the earthiness of it. It smelled like a forest after the rain. She placed it across her lap and opened it slowly, staring at the contents for a moment before pulling them out one by one.
The first thing she pulled out was a crucifix and rosary beads, which she regarded with a frown. She hadn't been to a church since her parents' funeral almost nine years ago, unless she counted the church where Lori Sorensen's father preached in Iowa. But her visit there had been entirely unmotivated by desire for religious enlightenment, but rather part of her cousins' investigation into the hook man myth. She set the cross and beads next to her on the couch and next pulled out a small clear glass bottle with a cork stopper on it. She shook it and looked up at her cousins questioningly.
"Please tell me this is vodka" She said.
"It's holy water" Sam said sitting next to her and grabbing the bottle from her hands "It's not just used for baptisms"
"So this is an exorcism start-up kit?" She asked "Because I've seen the movie and let me tell you… not my cup of tea"
"It's not for exorcisms either" Dean said "Although you could do one with this stuff. Keep going, there's more stuff in there"
She returned her attention to the box and pulled out a couple of candles and a small blue silk sac containing what she could only assume were herbs of some sort. She looked up at her cousins again, not knowing what she was looking at.
"It's sage and bergamot flowers" Sam explained. He reached in the box and pulled out a couple of small glass vials "these are oils…dragon's blood, myrrh"
"Aromatherapy, I know" She said nodding "I work in a health spa. I use essential oils all the time"
"These are pure" Sam said "These are as pure as you can get. You can't buy them at shops"
'Why am I getting the feeling you didn't give me these to make the house smell nice or for medicinal purposes"
"All these oils and herbs are used in protection spells" Sam continued "Protection from evil"
"Is this a letter opener?" She asked pulling out a thin metal object.
"It's a dagger" Dean said "Pure iron"
"Wow" She said "I was kind of hoping for earrings or a necklace"
"Funny you should mention that" Sam said as he reached in the box and pulled out a long chain with a pendant on the end.
She picked it up from his open palm and regarded it with interest, fascinated by the symbols engraved on the large round shiny surface. The edge had been set with stones, but she couldn't identify them.
"Oh my God" She said "This is beautiful. What is it? What do these mean?"
"This is the 6th pentacle of Mars from the Key of Solomon" She looked at him blankly "It comes from an ancient book on magic, supposedly written by King Solomon. That symbol is from the book. This is an amulet for protection against evil. Spirits, demons…all the bad stuff"
"It's made out of pewter" Dean added "And the stones around the pendant are black onyx and tiger's eye. Both protective"
"Yes, I'm getting the common theme here" Isabel said "I'm expecting a crossbow and a wooden spike as well. Some mace, perhaps? A taser gun?"
"Again, funny you should mention it" Sam said gesturing to the box again "Check out the pouch"
She did. There was one more item in the box and as she lifted the small black velvet pouch she immediately knew what was in it and she hesitated to open it. She took a deep breath and slowly pulled out a small revolver. If it wasn't a potentially lethal weapon, she would have admired its sleek design and lustrous silver surface. She looked from Sam to Dean in alarm.
"No" She said shaking her heads "No guns"
"It's OK Bel" Dean said comfortingly as he pulled out a handful of bullets still left inside the pouch "These are salt bullets. They won't kill a human. They just hurt like hell" He finished with a look at Sam.
She put everything back in the box silently and finished with a deep breath as she closed it carefully. She was touched by their gift, which they had obviously put a lot of thought and effort into getting her. But it still raised doubts, and deep within her, some fears. She should have guessed the last few months had been too peaceful, too…good.
"I don't want to seem ungrateful, because I am grateful. Thank you…but…and don't lie to me…am I in danger?" She asked.
"No Bel, we just thought…"
"Sam, stop it" She cut him off "Don't lie to me, I'm a big girl. Now tell me seriously, should I be worried?"
"Not worried" Sam said "Just careful"
"We don't think you're in danger, Bel, and Missouri would sense if you were" Dean assured her "I still…we still think you should be cautious and maybe learn how to handle yourself, protect yourself. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to shoot that gun and we'll work on your aim. We'll show you how to use some of the other stuff in that box"
"I really don't want to learn to shoot"
"I wasn't really asking Bel" Dean said "I'm not leaving here until I'm satisfied you can handle yourself in an attack. Your other option is coming along with us"
He saw Sam's head snap sharply at him. They had discussed the need for Isabel to learn some rudimentary supernatural fighting and protection skills, but having her join them on the road again? That, they had not discussed. Sam obviously disagreed with the suggestion and was about to protest, but Dean knew better. After seeing her with Paul and her friends tonight, he knew Isabel would not leave Kansas with them even if they asked her too. She would agree to take Dean's advice and a bit of training, and he would leave knowing his cousin would not be completely helpless in the event of an attack.
She nodded her head in assent, like he knew she would.
"OK" She said "You can train me"
