CHAPTER TEN

Day 27 continued

'Family Ties'

"Are you sure?" Dean asked. He stood beside Andie as they all looked at Sam's computer screen that showed the sad face of missing woman Penny Smithfield.

"Yes, her ghost led me to this thing." Andie jiggled the whimpering baby in her arms. He was quieter now, but Andie had the feeling that it was because since he'd been crying for so long; he was finally tired out. "You don't just forget a face like that."

"Well, the police report didn't say anything about a kid." Sam told Andie. "Penny wasn't even married. Unless she's keeping a massive secret; this baby isn't hers."

"So...we need to find out more about how Penny disappeared; find out why her ghost is still hanging around." Andie realized.

"That's a good idea." Dean said. "I say we go talk to the friend who found out Penny was missing in the first place; maybe she knows something about the kid."

"Ooh, that's good." Andie agreed. "But someone's gotta stay here with the baby." She paused. "Not it!"

"Not it!" Dean yelled about one second before Sam. He laughed and slapped his little brother on the back. "Too slow, Sammy."

"I can't take care of a baby!" Sam protested as Andie lowered the tiring little boy into his arms.

"Oh, you'll be fine. He'll probably fall asleep soon then all you have to do is make sure he doesn't die." Andie told Sam.

"The two of you couldn't do this; what makes you think I can?" Sam protested, awkwardly holding the baby under his arm.

Dean and Andie looked at each other. "Well…" Dean started slowly. "As you pointed out; our bickering wasn't helping the baby."

"Yeah, and here by yourself you won't have anyone to bicker with." Andie finished. "It's a win-win."

Sam shook his head. "For who?"

Dean shrugged. "Us." He grabbed his coat off the hook by the door and handed Andie hers. "Don't pout; I'll bring you back a cookie."

"Screw you." Sam bit back at him.

"Hey, hey!" Andie yelped, waving her hands. "No cursing in front of the baby."

Dean scoffed. "He's tiny; he's not gonna remember."

"Oh yeah?" Andie countered. "The book said that babies can hear stuff in the womb and at his age they can recognize tone and pitch in the voices around them. That means he knows when we're angry and therefore swearing."

"I'm gonna take that book and I'm gonna beat you over the head with it." Dean retorted.

"For the love of God; just go!" Sam pleaded at the two of them.

xxx

It was just hitting midday when Dean and Andie arrived at Melissa Tillerman's home. They'd found her name in the police report and there was only one M. Tillerman in the Linus phone book. Dean and Andie exited the Impala and headed for the modest one-story home. As they walked up the front path; they discussed the motives they were going to use for being there.

"Ok, how about this?" Dean started. "I tell her you're my psychic sister who's been seeing visions of Penny and a baby."

Andie sighed. Not only was that a bad idea; but Dean and Andie didn't look remotely alike. The only thing they had in common was dark hair, but no one would believe for a second that they were related. "What?" She asked tiredly.

"We test her reaction; we get our answer." Dean clapped his hands together once; proud of his idea. "Plus you can show her your telekinesis thing to make her believe us. It's a flawless plan."

"Yeah; until we get a door slammed in our faces and the cops on our asses." Andie shut him down. "People aren't all that inclined to let psychics into their homes, Dean; especially ones who travel door to door."

"Alright then, genius, what's your idea?" Dean asked her expectantly.

"Well...how about we tell her we're grief counselors with the police department." Andie suggested. "They sent us here to talk to her about Penny's disappearance."

"How is that better than mine?" Dean asked childishly.

"Well, one; people trust the police, two; it explains how we got her name and address and three; she should be willing to open up about Penny; people tell shrinks everything." Andie said with a proud grin.

"Ooh, that is better." Dean mumbled.

"Thank you." Andie nodded. The pair of them walked up the steps towards the front door. "But I don't think we should use our real names."

"Yeah, ok." Dean agreed. "Ok, I'll be Mr Sanchez and you be Miss Wong."

Andie looked thoughtful. "Diverse." She said approvingly; hitting the doorbell. "But I think Jack and Jenny Jones might be less inconspicuous."

Dean smiled. "Oh, so we're married?" He asked happily.

Andie sighed; too tired to argue. "Sure." She agreed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dean reach for her hand. "Touch me and I'll telekinetically remove a valuable appendage from your body."

Dean quickly retracted his hand and held up his arms in mock defeat. "Worth a shot." He muttered as the front door opened.

Melissa Tillerman was a woman in her early thirties with long, sandy blonde hair and olive skin. She was wearing a white apron over a floral housedress and was wiping her hands on a kitchen towel when she opened her front door. There was a golden cross on a chain hanging from her neck that glimmered in the sun as she eyed Andie and Dean. "May I help you?"

"Hello, ma'am, my name is Jack Jones and this is my wife, Jenny." Dean said with a broad smile.

Andie would have elbowed him if they were alone; what kind of grief counsellor is that happy?, she wanted to snap at him. Instead she bit her tongue and spoke to Melissa. "Mrs. Tillerman?"

"Yes. Well; it's just Miss now; I'm divorced." Melissa told them. She looked at them both suspiciously. "Look, I don't want to buy anything."

"Oh, no, we're not salespeople." Andie assured her quickly. "We're grief counselors with the police. They asked us to come and speak to you."

"All we're selling is an ear to listen and shoulder to lean on." Dean said in a syrupy voice.

Andie let out a fake laugh and grabbed Dean around the arm. "Oh, don't mind my husband." She said to Melissa. "He's just an idiot."

"I don't need any counseling." Melissa said in an uneasy tone.

"Please. Miss Tillerman; we want to help find out what happened to Penny and, ah, Jack and I really think that you'll be able help us." Melissa didn't protest, she seemed to be thinking it over. Andie pressed on. "May we come in, please?"

Melissa sighed and nodded. "Of course." She opened the screen door for them.

Dean smacked Andie lightly on the behind. "After you, sweetheart."

Andie swallowed the urge to hit him. "Thank you." She managed to get out through the anger in her throat. She entered the house after Melissa while Dean followed behind her. The shrill ring of a telephone broke the silence.

"Please; take a seat in the kitchen." Melissa said. "I'll only be a moment." She smiled at them and went into the living room to answer the phone.

Dean was looking up at the walls of the house. It was quite homely; very well-kept. "This is a nice place." He observed.

Andie turned to him and smacked him in the arm. "Never slap my ass again."

"Ow!" Dean laughed a little and rubbed his arm. "You don't have to be so violent, Morgan."

"Don't call me by my last name!" she snapped back at him. "And I'm protective of my butt, okay?"

"I would be, too. That thing is fine." Dean made a show of checking Andie out. She raised her hand to him and glared at him with furious eyes. Dean immediately held up his hands. "Kidding; joking. Never again; got it."

Miss. Tillerman came back into the room with a harried expression on her face. "My daughter had an accident at school; I have to go pick her up."

"Is she okay?" Andie asked immediately.

"Oh yes; fell of the monkey bars apparently." Miss Tillerman smiled, letting her visitors know there was nothing to worry about. "I'm afraid we'll have to do this another time."

"Oh, ok." Andie said as Melissa removed her apron and headed down the hall towards the door. For the first time, Andie noticed a wooden cross hanging above the door. "Can I just quickly ask you, though, did, ah, Penny have any children?"

Shaking her head, Melissa pulled her housecoat off the hook by the door and shrugged it on. "No. She did want them though; but she wanted to find a man, first."

"Was she seeing anybody?" Dean asked.

"Not that I know of." Melissa opened the front door and ushered Andie and Dean out in front of her. Then she shut the door behind them. "And she'd tell me something like that."

Andie wasn't sure how to ask the next question. Seeing as Penny was a ghost; still hanging around, that meant she had unfinished business. But Andie didn't know how to ask that without sounding like a whack job. "Was Penny, ah, in the middle...of anything?"

Melissa unlocked her SUV and opened the drivers' side door. "I-I don't know." She said hurriedly, searching for something in her handbag. "Look, I have to go. It was nice to meet you." She found what she was looking for, her sunglasses, and started her car. She drove out into the street leaving a forlorn Dean and Andie in her wake.

"Well." Dean sighed. "That did not go well."

Andie heaved a similar sigh. "No it did not."