One Woman Army

Chapter Ten

Quin really hated the suburbs. It was ridiculously hard to find parking. And why the hell did all the damned houses have to look the same? I mean, really? Make it more difficult for a woman would you? Plus, do you know just how annoying it is to have a black sedan in a place full of little kids. There have been a number of tickets Quin has gotten, that she's ignored. She owned the country more money than God. Or at least that's what it feels like. She was right on time when she finally got there. Right around eleven. In all honesty, Quin didn't think she would make it because traffic had been that bad. But, she was here. So where was everyone else? The cops had cleared out a while ago, taking the body with them. Everything was clean and shiny and nice again. But there was no Impala, or sheriff's car waiting the driveway for Quin to see. Parking her monster of a car a few feet away from the house, Quin made her way over to the front door.

Now, if anyone asked, after she knocked twice, someone answered the door. In reality, Quin knocked twice, waited a little bit, looking into the window and made sure no one was home. Then she picked the lock on the door and made her way inside. Dean had texted her about Jody and her two daughters. And while Quin already knew she could trust the Winchesters, she had never met these other people. Protocol still applies. She's careful, sue her.

Getting in was actually a lot easier than Quin thought it would be. Breaking into the sheriff's house wasn't supposed to be a walk in the park with a piece of cake. It was interesting to note. She would have to say something to the boys about it later, when they got back. For now just looked around. Frist place she went was the living room, finding pictures of Jody's dead family, and ones with her and Alex. Claire was in a few too, although she didn't look too happy about it. Quin understood being a moody teenager though, so she couldn't really get too mad about it. She found the shotgun the couch. It was well hidden, but still was easy to get to. After that she went to kitchen. Checking for weapons there was pointless, and a waste of time. Having to check every knife would just be annoying.

Moving to the bathroom, she noticed another gun in the medicine cabinet. Loaded. Okay, so they're prepared at least. Going to Jody's room she found more information on the case they were working on. There were no suspects; that was given. From the pictures she was looking at, Quin knew the boys had been right calling her. Wendigroo's are horrible things to deal with. They don't like to stay down, if you know what I mean. Quickly glancing through all the files that she could see, Quin moved into Alex's room. She seemed to want to keep things pretty normal. There weren't any weapons in the girl's room. So, she was going to let Jody and Claire protect her? Then Quin walked into Claire's room.

The first thing she saw was sword. The angel sword that hasn't been seen or heard of in thousands of years. Quin had only ever seen them in pictures, found in the most obscure lore out there. It practically glowed with power. Being the weapon nerd she was, Quin couldn't help herself and picked it off the wall. It was lighter than she thought it would be. And perfectly balanced. Giving it was few experimental swings, Quin found that she wanted one. Although, you couldn't just make one of these. Much to the hunter's dismay. Maybe Claire would be willing to part with it. Quin doubted it; after all this was an important weapon. And a powerful one too. This could kill just about anything. Short of an archangel, of course. Quin ran her fingers along the flat of the blade, feeling the bumps of the carvings in the metal. There was something about rare weapons that turned her on like nothing else could. Claire was one lucky girl to be able to something like this. And it was sharp, so either Claire was taking care of it, or not using it that much. Quin hoped for the first choice. Anyone who mistreated something as beautiful as this should be killed.

It was then that Quin heard voices coming up to the front door. Crap! I forgot to shut it! Quin made her way out of the room, back to the door. (Also forgetting about the sword in her hands.) She wasn't trying to fight them. Oh no, she just wanted to tell them that she was friendly, and not going to kill them. Of course, the moody teenager didn't see it that way. Claire took one look at Quin, with her sword in her hand, and charged. Jody pulled her gun, ready to fire, but Sam stopped her in time. Quin grabbed Claire's arm that was reaching for the sword, and twisted it behind her, pointing the point of the sword on her stomach.

"I would stop fighting if I were you. I don't really want to kill anyone today, and I like my face better without a bullet through it." Quin tightened her grip on Claire, getting her to stop struggling. "Sam, Dean. Nice to see you again." Quin nodded towards the boys.

"Nice to see you too, Quin." Sam said, while Dena just nodded back. It was strange considering that they were talking while Quin was holding a sword to Claire's abdomen.

"You two know her?" Jody asked. Alex was standing behind everyone, trying to stay out of the action. Jody still had her gun up, although Quin doubted she would actually shoot. Claire was still trying to get out of Quin's grasp; she was just being more subtle about it.

"Seriously Claire. Stop moving. I'm not going to hurt you. You're just going to hurt yourself. This thing is a lot sharper than you think." Quin snapped at the girl who froze.

"How do you know my name?" Claire didn't turn around, but rather glared at the boys, thinking it was them who gave away her name. Dean and Sam shook their heads, and Jody got ready to fire again. Quin sighed, but didn't let up her grip.

"There aren't very many people that the Winchesters know that live in Sioux Falls. I made a guess that it was Jody Mills, sheriff and friend of Bobby Singer, who is dead. Jody's family died when the Apocalypse was starting up. That was how she got into hunting, although she prefers to stay on the law side of things. Pulling both brothers out of sticky situations. She picked up her first teenager, Alex after she found the girl being held up with a small group of vampire, being their feeding bag when she couldn't find food for them." Quin looked up at Alex. "Honestly, I was surprised. Vamps hardly ever keep humans around without turning them anymore. You should count yourself lucky."

"Yeah, as lucky as a victim could be." Alex snarled at her. Quin just smirked, before looking back at Claire.

"Then there's you, Claire. Troubled child, still troubled. In and out of reform centers, and you still have a lot of anger problems. Although I would too if I had your childhood. Parent got possessed, I'm guessing by an angel, because it's right around that time that people started becoming vessels. Then your other parent went looking for them, they ended up dead. I would be willing to bet that's how you got this sword." Quin said.

"How do you know so much about us?" Jody asked, slowly putting her gun down as Quin relaxed. Claire started to relax as well, finally realizing that Quin could seriously hurt her if she didn't.

"It's called reading." Quin smiled at the group. That same beautiful, blazing smile that brought a shine to the room. Slowly, carefully, Quin let go of Claire, but not the sword. In fact, she seemed to hold onto it tighter. Jody put her gun away after that. Everyone relaxed; although all parties never knew they were tense. Claire backed away from the stranger in her home, not sure what to think of her. "Oh don't look so scared. I'm not here to hurt you. Dean called, he said you needed help." Quin picked up the sword, resting the flat of the blade in her left hand while holding the hilt in her right.

"Yeah well, that's nice and all, but we don't need your help." Claire snapped. Quin looked down at the sword, shaking her head. Dean was about to step in to get Claire to back down. But Quin waved him off.

"Listen, Claire. I like you. You've got a fire in you. Most likely because of something that happened in your past. Something that I can relate to all too well. But just because people in your life have died, you got a really cool sword, and you've been taken in by a very nice sheriff doesn't mean that you're a hunter. Hell that barely makes you special in the long scheme of things. You think yourself so high and mighty when really, you're a whinny baby who doesn't understand jack-shit about the real world. You go out hunting for monsters that aren't actually there. You don't do the proper research to make sure you don't end up killing an innocent person. Going in guns a blazing will only get you killed. You want to know what you're hunting now. A combination of two of the most bloodthirsty beasts that feed off of human flesh. And honestly, you go out there without my help, maybe the boys get away, because they've been doing this for a long time. Jody would get badly hurt most likely. Probably die on the way to the hospital due to blood loss. You? You Claire would be the main course. Moody teenager served up raw for dinner. So don't tell me you don't need my help." It was scary how calm she was about all this. Claire paled though, trying and failing to hold her glare.

"Look at it this way; Dean and Sam are the best hunters you know, and possibly ever. When they call for backup, you know it's serious. So, I would very much welcome you to get your head out of your ass. We all want to save people, and getting you killed won't do that. Remember that the next time you get yourself in a situation where this thing won't save you." Quin pointed the sword at her, the glare in her eyes settling down some. "How did you get this anyways? These things are supposed to all be locked up in Heaven's vault. There are incredibly few weapons that are more powerful than this. An archangel's blade being one of them." Dean also could've sworn Quin looked at his arm. Right where the Mark used to be.

"It was a… gift from an angel that took my mother. He wasn't really willing to part with it though." Claire stood down some, realizing that Quin had the upper hand in this argument.

"Yeah, I bet. It's a good blade. I mean, self-sharpening edges. Metals you can't find out of the celestial plain. Forged in, and I'm willing to bet about this, star fire. The ruins were hand craved, with amazing attention to detail. And I can feel the Grace of the angel that owned this still pulsing through it. Light as a feather, perfectly balanced. Stunning. Wonderfully stunning." Quin flipped the sword in her hands, holding onto the blade while offering the hilt to Claire. "You're lucky to have seen something as beautiful as this." Claire took the blade, looking at Quin weirdly.

"How do you know so much about this stuff? Have you seen one of these before?" Claire asked. Quin laughed, and shook her head.

"No. Well nothing that wasn't a picture. And I'm what you might call a supernatural weapon's expert. The only time you see something like that if when it's angelic. And the ruins are written in a really old version of Enochian. I collect rare weapons in my spare time, when I'm not hunting things." Quin shrugged. It was almost weird to watch her look at the sword in Claire's hands with such longing; like she wanted more than anything in the world. But that look quickly dissipated, and she smiled once again. "So, I hear you can a cannibal problem."

Jody, Dean and Sam filled her in on what was going on. Alex had gone back to bed, trying to get some rest. Claire went back to her room too, although she didn't say why. At that point the adults had moved to the living room, going over the case files Jody had with her. Quin pointed out a few things the boys had missed, and told them about the basics of these hybrids. Thankfully, (or not so thankfully, depending on how you look at it) they ate the same thing, so you didn't have to worry about that. Also, the same thing would kill it; fire. The problems were that although Wendigo's tended to hibernate for decades on end, the Rogarou part of it needed food more often. Which meant more people were going to die. Also, there was the possibility for the creature to been seen, because although the wendigo part of it tended to say in the forest, the rogarou didn't really care where it was. Same with the time of day. It was going to make this hunt difficult.

"So, how are we going to find it? It could be anywhere." Jody noted.

"Do you have a map?" Quin asked. Jody nodded and went to go get it. "Alright, tell me exactly where the attacks happened." Quin said to Jody when she came back. The sheriff pointed out all the places. There were a few more attacks than the boys knew about, but the cops wanted to keep it quiet. You know, bear attacks and the like. Quin put little marks on all the sites, then started putting the dots together. When she was finished, there was a small area of the forest circled, where most of the pots crossed paths. "Somewhere in there. That's where you'll find it."

"You sure?" Sam asked. She had been hunting hybrids for longer, but it kinda seemed like Quin was guessing about this.

"Yeah, mostly. I mean, the spell isn't foolproof, definitely. But it gets the job done most of the time." Quin commented. Dean looked at her with this weird expression on his face. "Oh, magic pen. Took it off a witch a few years ago. Let's you find things you're looking for up to around half a mile. It's saved my ass a few times." Quin smiled.

"Alright, well, that's all forest. I mean there are a few caves around that area, but it's mostly just trees. How are we going to kill it without starting a forest fire?" Jody noted, and Quin's smile only grew.

"Let me worry about killing it. You just worry about keeping it down long enough for me to get close." Quin got up, and stretched. The boys and Jody started clearing the table, when Claire walked back out. Quin noted the look in her eyes; stubbornness with a hint of anger. "Claire, you want something?"

"You aren't very good about being quiet. And from what I can tell you need all hands on deck." Claire said, crossing her arms over her chest. Something, Dean thought, looked a lot like when he did it. It was strange how, even though Claire seemed to hate him, there was a lot of Dean in her personality. Jimmy would be proud of the strong woman she's become. Dean smiled softly to himself at the thought. He remembered when Cas called them asking the brothers to help with Jimmy Novak's daughter. At first Dean thought it was a horrible idea. When he meet her, he knew it was a horrible idea. But after a while, Claire started to grow on him. Almost like the daughter he was never able to have.

When Dean thought about it, he realized that it was something that he's always wanted. A family, someone to go home too that wasn't his brother. A nice little house that wasn't full of books of lore. A job that wasn't hunting the monsters of the world. Kids. Dean had gotten that with Lisa and Ben, but it never felt right. When Sam came back, all he wanted to do was go out and start hunting again. Dean felt that hunting would always be a part of his life, no matter how much he tried for it not to be. He guessed that part of the reason it didn't work was because, even though Lisa knew what he was doing, she didn't understand it. She didn't get the fact that he had to go and save people, because that's what he's always done. It was a good year. A year that taught Dean a lot about a world that didn't involve hunting. But he could never see himself not having this life. So if he still wanted a family, a home, children to call his own, Dean realized he would have to find someone who actually did understand what it meant to be a hunter. All the danger, the overwhelming thoughts of always having to protect those around you. All the crap that came with; the depression, the drinking, almost dying every time you went out on a job. And Dean smiled, because he knew he already did.

"Oh, I know that look. Haven't seen it in a while, but I know that look." Quin was the only one still in the room. Jody had gone off on a call that came in. She said it was important, but it wouldn't take very long. Mostly paperwork. Claire was in the kitchen with Sam getting dinner ready. The giant thought it would be good for the young girl. Quin had to agree. But she stayed to look over a few things, when Dean got that dreamy look in his eyes. A look Quin had only seen a few times in her short life as a hunter. But no matter when she did, it always made her smile. She always thought how in life there were shadows that blocked over the sun, but in those times of darkness there were still little rays of sunlight.

"Oh yeah? What look?" Dean questioned, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about. Quin just smiled and shook her head.

"You know the look I'm talking about. The one where your eyes get all glossy and smiling for no reason. A small little blush on your cheeks, your muscles relaxed. The look of pure love." Quin said leaning back on the couch.

"Yeah, well, it's hard not to be in love with him. I mean, he's perfect. In every way possible." Dean smiled once again thinking about his blue eyed angel.

"You're lucky. There aren't very many hunters out there who can actually say they found something like that. I know I haven't. Well, at least, not with a person." Dean quirked an eyebrow at Quin strange comment. "Oh, I got this knife in the back of my car, locked up real tight. It's beautiful; hand crafted, serrated edge, sharper than sharp. It was the first knife I ever made. Never found anyone who could replace it in my mind and heart." Quin shook her head. It strange to think about your favorite weapon as the love of your life, but hey, someone's got to do it, right?

"Yeah, I feel ya. Sammy is still one of the most important things in my life. But, Cas, god I didn't even realize that I needed him until I thought I'd lost him for good. And now… well things couldn't be better now." Dean looked over at the red head, not expecting her to have a sappy smile on her lips. She looked so different than when he had been talking to her before. It was strange. Because while she was working, Quin brought in a natural humor to the situation. A lot like Dean himself, she tended to treat the darker parts of the job with laughter. And when he looked at her now Dean could see the person beneath all that. There was still the sarcasm and bad jokes, but there was also pain. The pain of losing someone close to you. The pain of having to kill every day, over and over again. Yet also the joy of having them there. Feelings Dean knew quite well.

"I know how you feel." Quin smiled. Sam and Claire walked out of the kitchen then, holding bowls of what looked like tomato soup. "Thanks." Quin nodded her head, before grabbing her bowl. Dean did the same when his brother shoved the warm broth in his face. Sam and Claire sat down on the couch on the other side of the room while Dean and Quin stayed where they were. They all sat there for a few seconds in an extremely awkward silence. It was Claire that chose to brake it.

"So, Quin, how did you get into hunting?" It was a simple enough question. Every hunter out there either was raised in the life, like Sam and Dean, or they were forced into it, like Claire.

"My dad." Quin said as she was filling her spoon up with soup. Slurping the red liquid Quin went back for more, making a note that she wasn't going to say any more. Claire nodded.

"Yeah, mine too. He thought it would be a good idea to be possessed by an angel. How did you know about that?" Quin looked up at her, pretending not to understand the question. "When you came in, you started talking about us like you knew us. About my family, and what happened to them. How did you know all those things?"

"They're called books. You should try reading one sometime. Might help with your attitude problem." Quin smiled through her sass, making sure everyone knew she was just messing with the hunter-in-training. Dean couldn't help but chuckle, while Claire was glaring at Quin. Sam was trying to figure out what the hell Quin meant. Quin just sighed, and shook her head but didn't say anything else. They all ate in silence from that point on. Jody came back a few minutes later, and she went to Alex's room both of them joined the group. It wasn't until they all finished that the T.V. was turned on. The program that was on was something about animals, but no one was really paying that much attention. They were all thinking about the hunt.

"Well, it's getting late, and I need to do some things for the hunt tomorrow. Hey, Jody, I was meaning to ask, do have any trank guns we could use?" Quin stood up from the couch, and looked over at Jody.

"Yeah, we should have some at the station. Why?" Jody sat up a little bit, not sure she trusted this strange woman.

"Oh, well, these things are really fast, and they're easier to hit when they can't move as well." Quin explained. Jody nodded in understanding and Alex just sighed. It was obvious that the young girl didn't want anything to with hunting. Unlike Claire, who seemed to do anything in order to make people believe that she was capable of killing monsters. Dean knew how she felt. When he was a kid, John never let him hunt anything on his own, and honestly it made him feel like he couldn't do it. His father had messed up with being a dad, and screwed the brother's lives up so much that Dean actually felt that because he needed help to kill things he wasn't worthy. Sometimes it was easier to blame some things on John, although Dean knew that it wasn't always his fault.

"Right well, I've got some tranquilizer to whip up, along with something to kill this thing that won't burn the forest down. I'll see you all bright and early in the morning." Quin gave a two finger salute, and made her way to the door. Dean and Sam looked at each as they heard Quin's car drive off.

"Yeah, I think we should be heading out as well. I have a feeling Quin is going to wake us all up at ridiculous o'clock in the morning. Don't ask me how I know, I just do." Dean commented as he got up as well. Claire scoffed under her breath, which in all honesty, was a good thing. A move in the right direction.

"Well, you boys are always welcome to stay here for the night." Jody said, waving towards the guest bedrooms. Claire opened her mouth to argue, but Sam beat her to it.

"We already have a room at a motel a few blocks from here. No use paying for something you're not going to use, right?" Sam smiled. The boys said their good-byes, and drove back to the motel. Dean didn't see Quin's car, so he figured she was staying at another place. Not that it was hard to find a place to stay in this town. It was just Dean wanted to see if they could help out with whatever she was doing. Although both the brothers could tell that Quin had much more of a lone wolf kinda thing going on. Not that it bothered them. It was just strange. Most hunters liked working with other people for backup. But then again, Quin had said something about getting burned a couple of times by other partners. It would make since to want to work alone after that.

Sam and Dean made their way into the room and settled in for bed. Well they would've if Sam hadn't wanted to do some more research. Which meant that while Sam was typing away at his computer, Dean turned on the carry motel T.V. in hopes that he would find some Dr. Sexy. Sam would always tease his brother about the damned show, but it was good. (Not to mention that fact that Dr. Sexy is sexy). Just because Sammy couldn't understand the amazingness that was Dr. Sexy didn't mean that he had to torture Dean. And hearing Sam groan when he heard the familiar sound of the opening song was always fun. This time was no expectation.

"Seriously Dean. You know you could help me." Sam said with his usual bitch-face. Dean just waved a hand at his brother, silently telling his brother to leave him alone. Sam sighed then turned back to his computer, knowing it was no use to try and argue with his brother about his dumb show. So while Dean fangirled (because we all know that's what he's doing) Sam started looking in the area that Quin marked on the map. It wasn't a very large area and wouldn't take too long to search with everyone out and about, but Sam thought it would be safer to narrow it down just a little more. There weren't any caves in the area which made sense considering that it was a hybrid. There was a small clearing the in the middle of the area Quin pointed out. Sam saved a picture of it on his laptop, then started brushing up on his Wendigo and Rogarou lore. Quin was right about the fire portion of the whole thing. And of course, Rogarou's change later in their life along with Wendigo's. Both were hungry for human flesh, and had a few other things in common.

Dean could hear Sam typing away at his computer while he watched TV. Dean was sure that Sam was looking up the lore on the monsters they were hunting, the nerd. The older of the two brothers found himself internally yelling at one of the new nurses about screwing up Dr. Sexy's work. She was obviously distracted by his looks, and that's why she messed up. It wasn't his fault that guy died on the table. The episode ended, and Dean turned the TV off. Sam shut his laptop and took a shower. Dean leaned back on the bed and pulled out his phone. Dean was surprised to find a few new messages on his phone, but wasn't surprised to see that they were all from Cas. They were mostly just telling Dean where he was, and that he was ok. Sometimes he would give updates on information about either Metatron or Rowena. And then of course there were the few about missing Dean.

'Hey sorry I couldn't talk sooner. Working. And I miss you too.'Dean set back, a shit-eating grin on his face. He couldn't help it. What he had said to Quin earlier that day; he really did need Cas. He didn't realize it at first, but now he knew. He knew that Cas would always be his rock; the one person he could always go to about anything. No matter how hard it was for him, Cas was his rock. And Dean loved him even more for it.

'Don't worry. I was on the road all day. I've heard it's not safe to drive and text at the same time.' Dean smiled. Although a car crash wouldn't do anything to his angel, it was funny to think about Cas worrying over his safety.

'Where are you now?' Dean sat up a little on the bed.

'Somewhere in Nevada. The motel room smells.' Dean laughed at the last comment. He'd been in a few rooms like that. Normally Sam and him didn't stay in them for too long, so he kinda felt bad for Cas. At this point Dean was sure that Cas was just as used to sleeping with him as Dean was.

'It could be worse.'

'Yes, it could be. How has the hunt been going?'

'Well, we actually had to call in help. It's not something that Sammy and I are used to.' There was a pause before Dean got another text.

'Do you need my help?' Dean smiled softly at the message. Of course Cas would ask if he could help. Dena also noticed that they shower had turned off at this point. Which meant that Sam would be coming out soon.

'Nah, we're good. Thanks though.'

'Of course Dean. I will always be there to help you and your brother.' Dean smiled. Sam walked out on the bathroom, a trail of steam following him out. He already had some sleep wear on, and a toothbrush in his mouth. When Sam caught sight of his brother's smile as he stared at his phone, Sam gave Dean a knowing look.

"Let me guess; Cas." Dean just glared at Sam. "Wow, you are so whipped." Sam smiled as he moved over to his bed getting under the covers. Dean flipped him off when Sam wasn't looking. 'I know Cas. And we're grateful. I'm grateful.'

'I love you Dean' Just seeing those words made his heart jump. Dean had a feeling they always would. He just wished he could say them back. Dean knew that he would be able to in the future; he just needed to give it time.

'I feel the same way.' Dean decided to text back. Cas understood that Dean was doing his best, and it wasn't like he was hiding his feelings, he just didn't say the L-word. 'Alright well, I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll text you in the morning.'

'Goodnight Dean.'

'Night Cas.' Dean then put his phone on the charger, and went to sleep.

A/N: Hey Guys. Sorry it took so long to update, writers block is a bitch. I hope you like it, because I mean, that's always good. So, I got to see the last two episodes of SPN, and thank you Chuck for being Bi. That made me so happy. Also, am I the only one who wants to know if Chuck ships Destiel? I think he does, but I really want him to say it. And seriously guys, come on, just let Dean say that he loves Cas and have it over. Better yet, have him say it to Armra. It would piss her off, and hopefully get her to back off. Her thing with Dean is so wrong on so many levels. So, it needs to become cannon. Because they love each other.

That's it from me for now. As always tell me what you think. Leave comments and reviews please. Tell me what you think sucks, I will do my best to make it better. What did you think of Quin? Please R&R. Love you all. Peace out Bitches!