Lonely Is the Night

by poorpiratelass

The hunt for the yellow-eyed demon continues as Sam tries to learn more about his gift. Meanwhile, Dean deals - or doesn't deal with John's death, Lynn uncovers a family secret, and Jayne makes some tough choices. Volume 2 of Get It While You Can

10. I'm the Only One

Lonely Is the Night

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Supernatural is the property of Eric Kripke and the CW – i.e., not mine. Jayne Gibson, Lynn and Steve Juarez, the Hannigans… all mine. I write for pleasure, not profit – and I have no money, CW, so good luck suing me!

AN: Big thank yous to AshlynPaige92, Guest, Mariana, SPN Mum, ColtFan165, Nelle07, ThreeMoons3, angeleyenc, chabitso.0, Spelllesswonder29, Swallowing Dante, Dean Winchester's Play Thing and DesElements for all the reviews!

---

Chapter 10: I'm the Only One

Jayne shouldered her duffel bag and swung open the old creaking door, stepping out into the bright morning sun. It was reasonably early, and the air was actually sort of chilly. She let the door fall shut behind her and marched across the dirt and gravel lot, around the corner of the rundown tavern.

They were still at the Roadhouse. Ellen had let them crash there the night before – Sam and Dean in one room and her in the other. Really, Jayne wasn't sure what Ellen liked so much about them anyway. She barely spoke to the woman. When they stopped at the Roadhouse, Dean ended up being an asshole nine times out of ten. And Sam? Well, he was an abomination.

When she came around the corner, she found Sam and Dean already loading their bags into the Impala. Both turned around at the sound of her footsteps. Sam smiled at her, and Dean looked away immediately, turning his back on her without a word and heading for the driver's seat. Jayne rolled her eyes, marched up to the trunk, and tossed her duffel inside.

"Hey," Sam greeted her.

"Morning," she grunted.

She slammed the trunk shut simply to piss off Dean. It worked, although he tried not to let it show. He flinched at the noise, shoulders tensing, but refused to look or speak to her.

Sam watched them both warily, obviously confused. She offered him no explanation and neither did Dean. Finally, Sam gave up and sighed in exasperation. "Where are we headed?" he asked.

Jayne shrugged.

"Los Angeles, California," Dean replied.

Sam frowned. "What's in L.A.?"

"A young girl's been kidnapped by an evil cult."

Jayne raised an eyebrow. Sam looked slightly interested. "Yeah?" he asked. "Girl got a name?"

"Katie Holmes."

It took a lot of energy not to snigger. She was pissed at Dean, and therefore refusing to laugh at his stupid jokes. Sam chuckled, sounding more surprised than amused. "That's funny," he said. "And for you, so bitchy."

Dean smirked. Jayne rolled her eyes again. Before they could say or do anything else, they were startled by a sudden commotion coming from the Roadhouse. Something heavy fell over, and Jayne could swear she heard breaking glass. Ellen was yelling, although Jayne couldn't make out the words. Oddly enough, Jo was yelling back.

Dean shrugged. "Of course, on the other hand… cat fight."

He immediately headed for the tavern's front door. Sam followed just as quick. Jayne made a face, lagging behind them. "I really don't think this is any of our business," she called after them.

Neither boy paid her any mind.

Dean swung the door open and the three of them snuck over the threshold. "I am your mother!" Ellen was shouting, angrily yanking chairs down from the tables. "I don't have to be reasonable!"

"You can't keep me here!" Jo screamed back.

"Oh, don't you bet on that, sweetie!"

"What are you going to do? Chain me up in the basement?"

"You know, you've had worse ideas than that recently!" Ellen snapped. "Hey, you don't want to stay, don't stay! Go back to school!"

"I didn't belong there!" Jo retorted. "I was a freak with a knife collection!"

"Oh, but getting yourself killed on some dusty back road, that's where you belong?"

Jo looked ready to spit out some nasty comeback, but then she caught sight of the three of them lurking behind her mother. Immediately, she looked away, still every bit as pissed off as she'd been moments before. Ellen whirled around and glared at them.

"Guys, bad time," she spat.

Jayne shook her head, annoyed. She'd known they should have kept their noses out of this. Sam held up a hand in surrender, and Dean nodded. "We rarely drink before ten, anyway," he quipped, as the three of them turned towards the door.

"Wait!"

Jo's voice rang out behind them, and Jayne cringed. She did not want to get involved in this; she did not want to give an opinion. She did not want anything to do with Jo.

"I want to know what they think about this," Jo said, snatching a file folder off the bar and marching towards the three of them.

"I don't care what they think!" Ellen bellowed.

The front door swung open just then, and Jayne whirled around to eyeball the newcomers. A family of four, all wearing bright yellow tee shirts with "Nebraska is for lovers," emblazoned on the front, burst into the dark, hole-in-the-wall tavern. The father frowned at Jayne, who looked away. He then surveyed the other four people in the room. "Are you guys open?" he asked.

"No!" Jo shouted.

"Yes!" Ellen barked.

Jayne tried not to laugh, but the snort that escaped earned her dark glowers from both Ellen and Jo. The family backed away towards the door. "We'll just check out the Arby's down the road," the man said.

Once the tourists were gone, the phone started ringing. Jayne raised her eyebrow at the mother-daughter pair, both of whom were refusing to answer it. They glared at one another as the phone continued to ring and ring and ring, until Ellen finally got pissed off enough to march behind the bar and answer it.

"Harvelle's," she grunted into the receiver.

Jo seized the opportunity and walked up to Dean. "Last week, some young girl disappeared at a Philadelphia apartment," she announced, holding out the folder. He stared at the thing like it was a grenade.

"Take it!" Jo hissed, shaking the folder. "It won't bite!"

Dean cocked his eyebrow. "No, but your mom might."

Jo stared back, annoyed, and continued holding out the folder. Sam glanced at Jayne, who held up her hands, trying to indicate that she wanted to be left out of it.

She so wasn't going to get her wish.

Dean finally rolled his eyes and took the folder. "This girl wasn't the first," Jo explained as Dean started leafing through the report. "Over the past eighty years, six women have vanished. All from the same building, all young blondes. Only happens every decade or two, so the cops never eyeballed a pattern. So, we're either dealing with one very old serial killer, or…"

"Who put this together?" Dean interrupted. "Ash?"

Jo straightened her spine and tossed back her hair. "I did it myself."

There was a moment of silence. Dean looked mildly impressed, but he clearly wasn't going to express it to the aspiring hunter. Jayne frowned at him as he looked back down at the case file, and then she looked at Jo. Her eyes were fixed on Dean.

Jayne clenched her fists at her sides, and then folded her arms over her chest. "You have to admit," Sam spoke up. "We've hit the road for a lot less."

"Good," Ellen snapped, rejoining the discussion. "You like the case so much, you take it."

"Mom!" Jo protested.

"Joanna Beth, this family has lost enough," Ellen retorted. "I won't lose you too."

Everything got quiet and uncomfortable then. Jo looked at the floor, and Ellen glared at all of them.

"I just won't," she insisted.

Another moment of quiet descended on the tavern, and then Dean shut the folder. "All right, I guess we're going to Philadelphia," he said.

Jo gave him an outraged look. "Good," Ellen returned. "Safe hunting. Jo, finish pulling down those chairs."

Jayne had to smirk when Jo petulantly stomped her foot and stormed out of the room. Ellen watched her go, and then lifted her eyebrows at the three hunters standing in her bar. "One for the road?" she asked. It wasn't an offer – it was a dismissal.

"No, thanks," Dean replied. "We're good."

"See you later, Ellen," Sam added.

Jayne nodded at her. "Later," she agreed.

The three of them headed outside, marching towards the car. Sam and Dean were up ahead of her, joking around. Jayne slid her cell phone out of her jeans and dialed Lynn's number.

"Hey," she greeted her sister. "We got a hunt. Meet us in Philadelphia?"

---

Lynn leaned on a light post outside of a tiny diner in Guthrie, Oklahoma and lit a cigarette. It was not the diner where Andy's ex-girlfriend Tracy worked – she, Steve and Andy had made a conscious decision to avoid that particular place. Tracy wasn't comfortable around any of them, and Lynn was pretty sure the sight of her broke Andy's heart.

She and Steve had been with Andy for less than two days now. Her sister had pulled out of Guthrie with the Winchesters only yesterday, although it had been very early in the morning. She and Steve were meeting Andy at this diner for a mid-morning breakfast.

Steve was already inside the diner. She could see him through the front window, leaning back in the booth with his arm propped on the sill. He was leafing through a menu and nursing a cup of coffee. Andy wasn't there yet.

Lynn breathed out a slow cloud of smoke, watching it spiral up against the clear blue sky. She was afraid she had been next to no help when it came to Andy. Sure, she and Steve had stuck around and tried to make him feel a little better about his situation. They'd helped him clean up the mess with cops back on the bridge. They'd told him the little they knew about the yellow-eyed demon and his plans for people like Andy.

But they couldn't really help him with anything, Lynn had realized late the night before. She should have figured that out from the start.

Her cell vibrated against her thigh. Sighing, Lynn dug the phone out of her jeans and glanced at the display. Jayne was calling.

"What's up?" she greeted her sister.

"Hey," Jayne drawled into the receiver. "We got a hunt. Meet us in Philadelphia?"

Lynn snorted. "A hunt already? Wow, you guys don't waste any time."

"Whatever. You coming or not?"

Lynn sighed and stared at the diner window, watching her brother. "Well… maybe. Want to tell me what the hunt is?"

"Some apartment building blonde chicks tend to disappear from. Jo gave us the tip."

"Jo?" Lynn asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Jayne grunted, and Lynn detected some small hint of animosity in her tone. "She put it all together. Was fixing to work the job herself until Ellen went ape-shit."

Lynn laughed out loud. "Jo wanted to work the case? What, alone?"

"I don't know. Guess so."

"But… she's a waitress."

"Yeah. Anyway, we stole the gig. You coming?"

Lynn sighed. She looked up and down the street. Still no Andy. Steve was drumming his fingers impatiently on the windowsill now.

"I'll come," she said. "Steve probably won't."

"Wasn't counting on that."

"Give me the address."

Jayne rattled off the street number. Lynn jogged three feet to where she'd parked the truck and dug pen and paper out of the glove compartment. "OK," she said once she had it written down. "I'll meet you guys there."

"Cool."

Jayne hung up the phone then, leaving Lynn frowning at the paper in her hand. Something was seriously up with her sister.

She tucked the paper back into the glove compartment and then stubbed out her cigarette on the sidewalk with the toe of her boot. Then she jogged up to the diner door and ducked inside.

Steve waved at her the moment she stepped over the threshold. She ambled to his table and took a seat across from him. "Hey," she said.

"What's up?" Steve asked, taking another sip of coffee.

"Jayne called."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Already?"

Lynn shrugged. "They have a job. Philadelphia. Missing persons. Apparently it was all Jo's idea. Want to come?"

Steve looked slightly interested. "Jo?"

"Yeah. She apparently has some sort of secret ambition to be a hunter. Color me blown away."

Her brother smirked at her. "Don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"Petty."

Lynn glared at him and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you coming?"

Steve shrugged. "Jo coming along?"

"No. Ellen would never stand for that."

He nodded at that, looking down at the coffee. "No offense, sis, but I think I'll pass. Dumb and Dumber don't really do it for me."

Lynn raised her eyebrow at him. "I wish you'd try and get along with them. Sam and Dean are a part of our lives now, and you're going to have to get used to it."

Steve made a face. "Why?"

She frowned at him. "What do you mean, why?"

"I mean, why do I have to get used to it? How long do you plan on riding with them anyway? They ain't family; they're just friends. Barely friends. If anything, I call this shit a temporary alliance. So why should I get used to it?"

That stung. Lynn blinked at her brother, working her lower jaw in tiny circles as she mulled over his comments. In a way, he was right, but he was also very wrong. Still, she had to wonder… when all this demon crap was over, what were they going to do?

Instead of admitting that Steve was right and she was worried, Lynn simply tossed her hair again and glared at him. "I don't expect you to understand. But we've been with them so long now… I don't know. Yeah, they're not family, but… they're kind of starting to feel like it."

Steve snorted. "Well, you better hope they feel the same way."

That stung too. She glared at the tabletop, wishing he wasn't getting to her. Steve sighed, rubbing his forehead. "So… you bailing on Andy, or what?"

Lynn shrugged. "I don't know. I guess so. I mean, now that we're here… I find I don't really know what to do."

Steve nodded slowly. "I get that. We don't know a lot more than he does, so… helping him is hard."

"Right. And… I don't know. I think he was glad we stayed, but towards the end of the day… it was kind of like he didn't want us around anymore?"

"I don't blame him. We're a freaking curse."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? It's true. Everywhere we go bad things happen. He should wave a cross at us or something, all while running the fuck away."

"You're being an asshole."

The bell over the diner door dinged, and Lynn looked over her shoulder to see who'd walked in. Andy had finally arrived, and he approached their table with a friendly smile, his hair mussed in all directions, wearing the same shirt he'd worn yesterday.

"Geez," Steve mumbled. "Guy's a train wreck."

"Can it," Lynn hissed.

Andy plopped himself down at their booth, next to Lynn. "What's up?" he greeted them.

Lynn glanced at Steve, who looked out the window. She rolled her eyes and then turned to Andy. "Hey," she said, trying to smile. "Andy…"

His grin vanished. "Oh my god," he exclaimed. "You guys are leaving."

She winced. "Look, I'm sorry…"

"We're not leaving," Steve cut her off. "Just Lynn."

Lynn glared at him, and then frowned at him in confusion. Steve glanced at her, and then turned his attention on Andy. "Lynn's got to meet our sister. She's got a hunt. But I'm not coming, so… if you need me to stick around, I will."

She couldn't help it – Lynn would have never expected this out of her brother. She gawked at him incredulously, but he ignored her. Andy was quiet for a moment, mulling over the offer as he studied the table.

"Honestly?" he said after a while. "I don't think I really need you to stay, you know? Like, what are you going to do? Babysit me for a few more days just in case I start offing people?"

Lynn smiled in spite of herself. Even her brother offered up a grin. Andy shrugged. "I guess the thing is, I'm afraid to be alone right now. You know? And, like… like there's nothing you can do here, man. I just… I mean…"

"You kind of want him to stay?" Lynn supplied.

Steve glared at her. Andy laughed sheepishly. "I don't know, man! Maybe."

They talked a little bit more, but nothing was really said and no final decisions were made. The waitress came over, poured coffee for Lynn and Andy, and then took their orders. Once she left, Andy excused himself and headed for the restrooms.

Lynn met her brother's eyes over her coffee. "So?" she asked him. "Are you staying?"

Steve shrugged. "I don't know. Looks that way."

She nodded slowly and sipped from her warm mug. Steve leaned back against the booth and turned his eyes on the window again.

"I'm heading out after this," she told him. "To meet Jayne."

He nodded. "Ok. Be safe and all that."

She forced a smile. "Right back at you."

---

The apartment building in Philadelphia where Jo had sent them was old and rundown. Sam raised a skeptical eyebrow at the exposed brick and quick drywall job. He could see where the owners had tried to maintain the building's old urban feel, but it left the complex gray, cold and dismal.

He, Jayne and Dean were inside, standing in the corridor. Sam knelt before the door of the missing girl's apartment. The hall had hardwood flooring and pale gray walls. As Dean and Jayne stood on either side of him, watching each end of the hallway, Sam picked the lock.

The lock wasn't exactly top of the line, and Sam popped the door open in a manner of seconds. Slowly, he pushed open the door and stepped carefully into the apartment. Jayne and Dean followed close behind him. The apartment was wide and spacious, with high ceilings and a large wall of windows directly across from the entrance. Pale gray like the hall, except for where the red brick was exposed, most of the apartment features were in one room – large living area in front of them, and a kitchenette on their direct right. A hallway several feet from the door disappeared into the bedroom.

Once Sam could be fairly certain that they were alone, Dean gently pushed the door shut and Sam pulled out the EMF reader from inside his coat.

"I feel kind of bad snaking Jo's case," Sam admitted.

Jayne made no comment and wandered away to another part of the main room. Dean pushed past Sam. "Maybe she put together a good file," he admitted. "But could you see her out here, working one of these things?" He scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" Jayne asked.

Sam glanced at her in surprise. Jayne wasn't looking at either him or his brother. Her eyes were on the far wall, and she was moving lazily alongside it, studying it.

Dean frowned at her back. "You're kidding, right? Because she's an amateur! A waitress in a rundown tavern, who's never worked a case in her entire life. That's why."

"So?" Jayne retorted, turning around and staring him down. "We all got to start somewhere."

Sam stared at her, and then at Dean, and then at Jayne again. The two of them glared at each other from opposite ends of the room. Sam swallowed nervously and raised an eyebrow.

What the hell was going on with Jayne and his brother, anyway?

"So you think she should have come out here?" Dean asked dangerously. "Worked this job, against her mother's wishes… alone?"

"No," Jayne shrugged. "Not alone. But… I still don't see why she shouldn't hunt if she wants to hunt."

Her words almost sounded rehearsed, Sam noted. Carefully calculated to jab Dean in the spots that would make him most furious. Sam wasn't really sure why Dean was getting so worked up over all this, but Jayne seemed to understand what would piss him off best, and she was using it.

Why? That was anyone's guess.

Dean glared at her and opened his mouth, clearly ready to shoot back with a scathing retort. Sam intervened. "Ok, well none of that really matters because we're here and Jo's not," he said. "So… let's not fight about it and get to work."

Jayne shrugged and turned her back on them both. Sam frowned at her. She didn't look like she gave a damn. She seemed like her usual, apathetic self. A little moody, maybe a bit more quiet than usual – although Jayne was always quiet, so it was hard to be sure. But something was off.

Something was off about Dean too. He angrily shook his head and stormed away from both Jayne and Sam, headed for the wall. Sam sighed and started running the EMF over whatever was closest to him.

"Getting anything?" Dean asked.

"No," Sam murmured, turning towards the wall too. He lifted the EMF in the direction of the nearby light switch. "Not yet."

Suddenly, the lights glowed red, and the EMF made a high-pitched whirring sound. Frowning, Sam leaned in closer. The light switch had no plate covering, and he could see the wires around the metal switch. There was odd black goo congealing all around it.

"What is that?" Sam asked out loud, vaguely disgusted. He scrunched up his nose and poked at the goo. The sticky black glop stuck to his fingertip like tar.

Both Dean and Jayne had joined him now, one on either side. They leaned in close, studying the guck. Sam gawked at the black stuff on his finger. "Holy crap," he exclaimed.

Jayne raised an eyebrow at his finger. Dean reached out and poked at the goop too. He frowned at his hand as he pulled it back with a dollop of black muck on stuck to it. "That's ectoplasm," Dean announced.

Jayne let out a low whistle. "That can't be good."

Dean shook his head. "Well, I think I know what we're dealing with here. It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean, I've only seen this stuff like… twice. I mean... to make this stuff you have to be one majorly pissed off spirit."

They all took a beat to absorb the find. Jayne leaned against the wall on her hip, crossing her arms over her chest, and stared at the floor. Sam made a face at the ectoplasm and tried to shake it off his finger.

"All right," Dean spoke up. "Let's find this badass before it snatches anymore girls."

He led the way to the front door. The three of them ducked out into the hallway, glancing about furtively for any observers. Sam gently shut the door behind them, and then the three of them took off down the hall.

"So… where exactly are we going?" Jayne asked dryly, lagging behind Sam and his brother.

Sam glanced over his shoulder at her, but Dean ignored the question. "I don't know," he murmured. "Dean? Do you think we should talk to the super first, or track down local zoning records?"

Dean didn't get a chance to answer. The sound of footsteps echoed from the down the hall and around the corner. Instinctively, all three hunters pressed themselves into a dark, recessed doorway in hopes of hiding from the newcomers. Sam heard a woman's voice, followed by a man's.

"Yeah, it's a great building," the man was saying. "Fixed it up real nice. All the apartments come furnished too."

"It is so spacious. You know, my friend told me I had to come and check this place out, and I have to admit she was right. You did a really good job with this place."

Sam frowned, and turned to look at Dean. His brother gawked back, and they both ducked their heads back out into the hall. Jayne didn't move. The woman in question came around the corner with the man. She had wavy blonde hair and wore a gray jacket.

It was Jo.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean demanded.

"Hi honey," Jo greeted him sweetly, sashaying right up to him and folding herself into his side. Sam frowned, confused, but Dean went absolutely bug-eyed. Jo grinned at the man – the building super, Sam decided. "This is my boyfriend Dean and his friends Sam and Jayne."

The man grinned at Dean. "Quite a gal you got there."

Jayne scoffed from behind Sam. Dean forced a painful looking grin for the stranger and squeezed Jo just a little too tight. "Yeah, she's a pistol," he practically growled.

Sam rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Jayne. She shrugged apathetically at him, and looked away.

"So, did you already check out the apartment?" Jo asked Dean, not even looking at him. Dean frowned incredulously down at the top of her head, and Jo rolled her eyes. "The one for rent?" she elaborated.

"Ye…yeah… yes!" Dean stumbled over his words, and forced another painful grin. "Loved it. Great flow."

The super frowned. "How'd you get in?"

"It was open," Dean replied quickly.

The super didn't look like he bought that for a moment. Sam winced slightly and looked at Jayne again. She was shaking her head and eyeing the ceiling, looking torn between amusement and exasperation.

"So Ed," Jo swooped in smoothly, cutting off any further questions Ed might have had. "When did the last tenant move out?"

"Uh, about a month ago," Ed told her. "Cut and run too. Stiffed me for the rent."

"Well, her loss, our gain," Jo smirked. "Because if Dean-o loves it, that's good enough for me."

"Oh, sweetie," Dean drawled sarcastically.

Jayne rolled her eyes and Sam just managed to hide a smile at her nauseated expression. "I swear I'll barf," she muttered at him.

Sam barely stifled a guffaw.

Jo pulled a hunk of cash out of her coat pocket and held it out to the super. "We'll take it," she announced.

Sam's jaw dropped. Jayne widened her eyes slightly and raised her eyebrow. Dean's shocked expression was priceless.

Jo smirked. Ed looked equally impressed. His gaze was fixed on the stack of bills he was now holding in his hands. Quickly, he shoved it in his pocket.

"Ok," he grinned at them.

And that was how Jo took her case back.

---

Dean slammed his duffel bag down on the kitchen table, pissed beyond belief. It did not help matters that the kitchen table was in an airy, loft-like apartment in a complex where young blonde women mysteriously vanished, and that the apartment had been bought and paid for by Jo Harvelle, who was supposed to be tucked away safely in her mother's bar in Nebraska.

Jo looked immensely pleased with herself, and that was pissing him off too. Sam, who had been rather amused when Jo had first arrived, now seemed to realize exactly what Jo's appearance in Philadelphia meant for them and the case, and subsequently, his smirk was gone. He sat quietly at the kitchen table now, cleaning his weapons. Dean took a seat on the table top and started doing the same.

Jayne was quiet and distant, and leaning against the kitchen counter, trying to be as far away from the rest of them as possible without actually leaving the room. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe she didn't care that Jo was here. After all, she'd been quiet and distant the whole freaking day.

He knew why, of course. Deep down, he even knew that he was an asshole. He had fucked up, and he hated himself for it. He wanted to fix it.

He didn't know how.

"I'll flip you for the sofa," Jo smirked at him.

Dean glowered at her. "Does your mother even know you're here?" he snapped.

Jo shrugged carelessly. "I told her I was going to Vegas."

Dean snorted. "You think she's going to buy that?"

"I'm not an idiot," Jo retorted, glaring him over her case file. "I got Ash to lay a credit card trail all the way to the casinos."

She looked pretty proud of that too, and Dean didn't like it. See, he liked Ellen. Maybe he didn't always show it – maybe sometimes she pissed him off, like when she bulldozed her way into their family business. But Jo had a pretty awesome mother, even if she couldn't see it.

He was also pissed that she was here, period. This was no place for Jo Harvelle.

"You know, you shouldn't lie to your mom," he told her. "And you shouldn't be here, either."

He returned his attention to cleaning and piecing together his pistol. Jo looked at him like he'd clearly lost his mind, and then shot looks at Sam and Jayne as if to ask, 'is he for real?'

Dean didn't see what sort of looks they gave her back, but the expression on Jo's face made him think they weren't exactly encouraging.

"Well, I am," she finally said. "So untwist your boxers and deal with it."

"Where'd you get all that money from, anyways?" Sam asked suspiciously.

Jo shrugged. "Working at the Roadhouse."

Dean scoffed. "Hunters don't tip that well."

Jo smirked. "Well, they aren't that good at poker, either."

A short laugh was heard from the back of the room. Dean glared over his shoulder at Jayne, who was still lurking by the counter. She was trying not to smirk, but it was a failure. Her amusement was all over her face.

"You think this is funny?" he snapped.

Jayne raised her eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. "Do I think this is funny?" she repeated, slowly and condescendingly. "What, exactly? The tiny blonde amateur being completely unaffected by your crap? Yeah, Dean. I guess I think it's hilarious."

She didn't think it was hilarious, if her cold, detached tone were anything to judge by. Jayne wasn't amused by Jo's arrival – Jayne was pissed at him, and determined not to take his side, even if secretly, she agreed with him.

Well, Dean was in no mood for her crap, either.

His ringtone sounded out then, echoing through the apartment. Dean glared at Jayne, and then at Jo, and then he got off the table and answered his phone. "Yeah?"

"Is she with you?" Ellen's voice demanded into his ear.

He didn't smile, but suddenly his world felt like it was made of candy. "Oh, hi, Ellen!" he greeted her, louder than necessary.

Jo's smirk vanished, and obvious panic took its place. It was very satisfying. "She left a note she's in Vegas," Ellen said. "I don't buy it for a second."

Her daughter rushed at him, leveling an angry finger at his chest, hissing. "Don't tell her."

"Oh, I'm telling her," he whispered back, covering the receiver.

She hissed at him some more and he whispered angrily back, and then Ellen asked, "Dean?"

"Haven't seen her," he lied.

"You sure about that?"

She knew. Dean could feel it in his gut. He was a damn good liar, but Ellen had some kind of motherly, sixth-sense bullshit detector built into her eardrums.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"Well, please. If she shows up, you'll drag her butt right back here, won't you?"

"Absolutely," Dean replied, almost gleefully.

"Ok. Thanks, hon."

Ellen hung up, and so did he. Jo stared at him for a moment, and then she flashed him a slow, falsely bright, shit-eating smile.

He kind of wanted to throttle her.

"Great," Jayne growled from the back. Dean looked at her, but she didn't look at him. "So she's staying. Let's get to work now, because you two and your antics are boring me."

Dean smirked at her and opened his mouth to retort. Jayne cut him off. "Jo?" she asked, ignoring him completely. "What you got on this place?"

Jo looked surprised that she was being addressed. That surprise faded into a genuine smile, and she practically danced back to the table. Dean watched incredulously as she dug maps and newspaper clippings out of her knapsack, setting them out on the table and then dropping her bag on the floor.

Sam had wide eyes as he stared down at the array of research laid before him. "Wow," he said.

Dean rolled his eyes and started pacing. Jayne didn't move from her corner. Jo took a seat at the table, and pulled a short, ugly little knife out of her boot. She started twiddling it around as she frowned down at her papers.

"This place was built in 1924," Jo announced. "It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago."

"Yeah?" Dean grunted at her. "What was here before 1924?"

"Nothing," Jo replied. "Empty field."

Sam picked up one of Jo's papers and frowned at it. "So, most likely scenario," he murmured. "Someone died bloody in the building, and now he's back and raising hell."

Jo shook her head. "Already checked. In the past eighty-two years, zero violent deaths – well, unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor."

Sam chuckled slightly. Jayne shifted uncomfortably on the counter. Dean paced some more.

"Would you sit down, please?" Jo demanded.

Dean froze and glared at the back of her head. She didn't bother turning around. Finally, he shrugged and took a seat across from his brother. "So did you check for police reports?" he asked. "County death records?"

"Obituaries, mortuary reports, and seven other sources," Jo interrupted him, rolling her eyes. "I know what I'm doing."

Dean smirked at her. "Jury's still out on that one."

Jo rolled her eyes again and looked over at Sam, still playing with that damn knife. Sam smiled slightly and looked back down at the papers.

"Put the knife down," Dean smirked.

Jo turned back to him and raised her eyebrow. Slowly, she put the knife down on the table, looking amused.

"So, uh, it's something else, then," Sam announced, attempting to end the stand-off. "Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought a spirit with it?"

Jo frowned. "Well, then we've got to scan the whole building. Everywhere we can get to, right?"

"Right," Dean agreed. "So, you and me will take the top two floors."

"We'd move faster if we split up," Jo pointed out, getting to her feet and stepping in front of him. He stopped short, their chests almost pressed up against one another.

Dean smirked. "Oh, this isn't negotiable."

They stared one another down. Jayne snorted, and Dean looked up in time to see her rolling her eyes. "Can we just do this?" she asked in annoyance.

"Excellent idea," Sam intervened smoothly, pushing himself out of his seat.

Before anyone could do anything else, however, quiet scratching noises sounded from the door. Dean frowned towards the entrance, listening to the scratching and clicking noises. The doorknob was moving from side to side ever so slightly.

Jo frowned. "What's going on?" she whispered.

Jayne snorted again. "Lynn."

Sure enough, there was a click, and the lock came undone. Slowly, the door was pushed open, and Dean caught sight of Lynn's dark eyes peering around the edge of the door… although they were much lower than they should have been.

She huffed loudly and pushed the door open all the way. "Seriously?" she demanded, getting up off her knees and brushing dirt off her jeans. "One of you assholes could have opened the door!"

Dean smirked. "Hey, Lynn," he greeted her. "Welcome back."

"Shut up," she retorted, glaring at each of them in turn.

"You could have knocked," Jayne pointed out.

Lynn huffed again. "How was I supposed to know you idiots were squatting? I was trying to avoid any possible tenants!"

"Oh, we're not squatting," Jayne informed her. "This place is bought and paid for."

Lynn scoffed. "Please. Do I look stupid? With what money?"

Jayne jerked her head at Jo. "She footed the bill."

"You're welcome," Jo added sardonically.

Lynn seemed to see Jo for the first time. She frowned, blinked, and tilted her head to the side, folding her arms over her chest. "Jo?" she asked.

Jo nodded. "Hey."

Dean raised an eyebrow at them both. Lynn crinkled up her nose at Jo, paused, and then said, "Don't take this wrong way or anything, but… uh… what the hell are you doing here?"

Jo tilted her chin towards the ceiling, and then she too crossed her arms. "This is my case, and there's no way the four of you are working it without me."

There was a short pause. Everyone avoided eye contact with Jo and shuffled about awkwardly. Dean opened his mouth to retort, but Jayne cut him off.

"Well, all right then," she announced, her voice dripping with irony. "I'm sold. Let's get a move on, already."

She turned her back on all of them and headed for the door. "Whoa, where are we going?" Lynn demanded. "Um… just got here! Want to give me some details?"

"Jo and I take the top two floors," Dean said again. "Sam, you got the bottom, and Jayne and Lynn, you two can take the middle."

Sam nodded, grabbing his coat. Jo rolled her eyes again, but she got her coat too and didn't argue this time. Jayne kept walking for the door, but Lynn stopped her by grabbing her arm.

She looked confused and annoyed at everyone. Dean guessed he couldn't blame her – she was behind on the story and couldn't possibly understand what all the tension in the room was about. So when Lynn laughed, he frowned at her in surprise. "You and Jo?" she asked, looking straight at Dean. "Seriously? Why?"

Dean glared at her. "You're kidding, right? She's an amateur!"

Jo tossed her hair and gave him a mean little smirk. "I don't suppose you're going to stop saying that anytime soon."

Lynn made a face at him. "Duh. I get that; she has no idea what she's doing!"

Jo redirected the smirk at Lynn. "Thank you."

"But that's not my point. Why does she have to go with you? Why not Sam? Why not me? I just thought you and Jayne would end up together, like you always do. You know, pretending to fight, making jokes at one another's expense… totally flirting…"

"All right, let's go. We're losing daylight," Jayne barked, cutting her sister off. She grabbed Lynn by the arm and hauled her forcibly out of the apartment.

"Jayne! What are… all right, fine! Nice seeing everyone! God!"

The two of them disappeared down the hallway. Dean could hear their echoing voices fading as they got farther away from the apartment, continuing to bicker.

Dean couldn't keep the heat out of his ears. He tried to act unaffected by Lynn's comments, but it wasn't working. Jo was staring at him, eyebrow raised, and Dean refused to return the look.

Unfortunately, he did catch Sam's eye. Sam raised his eyebrows too, an uncontrollable smirk spreading across his face. He was clearly trying not to laugh at his brother's expense.

Damn it, Lynn.

"Let's just go!" he demanded, snatching his coat off the back of his chair and marching for the door.

Jo and Sam followed at a distance. Dean shrugged into his jacket and ran his hand over his hair, trying to focus on the case.

He couldn't.

---

"What is your problem?"

Lynn's voice echoed around the empty corridor as she stared incredulously at her older sister's back. Jayne was ahead of her, EMF reader in hand, scanning everything they passed. At Lynn's question, she stopped short and got all tense.

"Nothing," Jayne returned tightly, without turning around. Then she started walking again.

Lynn rolled her eyes and followed Jayne down the hall. She had been in Philadelphia for a grand total of two hours, and she was officially confused and lost. Ever since she'd shown up at the address Jayne had given her over the phone, nothing had made any sense to her.

"Aren't we going to talk about the hunt?" Lynn demanded, still following her sister down the hall. The hallway was gray and dim and depressing, and Lynn decided that this was a perfect place for a ghost to hang out.

"What's to talk about? I told you, the place is probably haunted. The ghost likes snatching young blonde girls."

"Ok, so… what are we scanning the place for?"

Jayne glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "Jo already went over the place's history, and couldn't find a record of any violent deaths. So Sam thinks the spirit might be attached to a cursed object. Hence the building-wide scanning."

Finally, a reasonable answer. It was like pulling teeth getting Jayne to talk about this stupid place and this stupid hunt. Lynn nodded, and quickened her pace, falling into stride alongside her sister. "Ok, so that's all the leads we've got so far?" she asked.

Jayne nodded.

"You know, Jo kind of fits the victim type," Lynn observed. "Young and blonde."

"Yeah, I think that's why Dean won't let her out of his sight," Jayne replied, her voice distant and her eyes on the EMF. "Besides the whole inexperienced thing."

"What is Jo even doing here?" Lynn demanded. "I mean, when you called you said she wasn't coming; that you guys stole the gig."

"Well, she wasn't supposed to come," Jayne grumbled. "But she headed out right after we left and showed up here all on her own. Lied to her mom and said she was going to Vegas."

"Ellen bought that?"

"No."

They were quiet a moment, shuffling down the hall and watching the EMF. Lynn sighed. "Ok, let's have it out. What's going on with you and Dean?"

Jayne gave her a sideways look that Lynn didn't buy for a second. "What are you talking about?"

Lynn scoffed. "You two are being totally weird."

"You were with us for a grand total of five seconds!"

"Yeah, I know! That's how weird you guys are being; I picked up on it immediately!"

Jayne rolled her eyes and walked faster. "Whatever."

There was a brief moment of silence. Lynn pressed her lips tightly together, blowing air through her nostrils, and tried to broach the subject again. "You know, Jo's not the only one here who fits victim type," she pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Jayne asked.

It was Lynn's turn to roll her eyes. "Jayne, come on. Young and blonde? That's you."

"No! I'm not… I'm…"

"You are," Lynn interrupted. "Deal with it."

"Whatever."

There was another moment of silence, and then Lynn pressed on. "I'm just saying, the last time we hunted something that went after young blonde chicks, you were the one Dean wouldn't let out of his sight."

"Yeah, well, that was different," Jayne replied, even though Lynn could see her bristling under her too cool, unbothered exterior. "That was demon stuff. That thing was… that thing was way more powerful than a vengeful spirit. And we were actively using me as bait, and it was actively going after me, not just any young blonde girl, so…"

Jayne trailed off and swallowed too hard. Lynn raised an eyebrow at her sister's attempts at rationalization, not convinced for a moment. "So, add to that Jo's zero-level of experience, and the fact that I know what I'm doing, and Dean keeping an eye on Jo makes a lot more sense," Jayne finished. She sounded rather proud of herself for thinking all that up, and Lynn didn't blame her. The argument was so solid that Lynn might have believed it, if she'd been somebody else.

Might have, but definitely did not.

"Yeah, I don't buy that," Lynn retorted. "Seriously, what is up with you two?"

Jayne ignored her and changed the subject. "So how was Steve?"

Lynn raised her eyebrow, but let Jayne get away with dodging. "He's fine," she said. "He says hi."

Jayne snorted. "No, he doesn't."

"Well, it was implied."

Her sister didn't reply. Lynn sighed, tangling her hand in her hair. "He stayed with Andy," she offered. "Guy was still a little freaked, so…"

"So Steve decided to hang around?" Jayne asked skeptically. "Seriously?"

Lynn shrugged. "Yep."

"And I'm the one acting weird?"

"Yes. You are," Lynn replied jokingly, and then she sobered up. "But so is he. I don't know… it's good, in a way. I'm glad he's trying to be involved with the demon stuff again. You know, looking for answers and reaching out to other people. That's good. But it's not very…"

"Steve?"

"Yeah."

There was a long silence, and then Lynn forced herself to smile. "But maybe he's just trying to be different, you know? Like he realizes the old Steve was wrong a lot, so he's making improvements."

"Sure," Jayne murmured.

They lapsed into silence again. Lynn studied the ground, watching Jayne run the EMF over the walls. Nothing was lighting up, and the reader wasn't making any noises. "You said there was ectoplasm?" she asked, switching gears back to the hunt. "In the wall, around an exposed switch?"

Jayne nodded. "Yep."

"Great. Super pissed off spirit. Not a demon, maybe, but still something we should be concerned about. Could get the drop on us."

"Mm-hmm," Jayne murmured noncommittally.

"If the ectoplasm came from the walls," Lynn went on, frowning. "Then maybe the spirit – or whatever the spirit is attached to – also came from the walls."

"Could be."

"Hey, try running the EMF over the vents."

Jayne made a face at her. "What?"

Lynn rolled her eyes and heaved a harassed sigh. "Gimme," she snapped, snatching the EMF reader out of her sister's hands.

"Are you five?"

She ignored Jayne's snark and knelt before the nearest vent. It was an ancient looking thing, probably as old as the building itself. She suspected it was molded out of antique brass, and it was shaped into several Victorian looking curly-ques. Lynn ran the EMF reader over the vent, and the red lights lit up as the whirring noise sounded.

Lynn smirked triumphantly at her sister. Jayne raised her eyebrow. "All right," she admitted grudgingly. "So it's in the vents. Should we pop her open?"

She shook her head, making a face. "I don't know. I kind of hate to poke at this thing."

"Why?"

"Because, Jaynie, you're this jerk's type, and I don't want to risk pissing it off while you're with me!"

Jayne rolled her eyes and knelt before the vent, shoving Lynn over with her shoulder. "Oh, my God, be more smothering," she grunted, whipping out her pocketknife.

Lynn huffed. "Fine! Make fun of me and ignore my wisdom! But don't come crying to me when the freak snatches you!"

"No one is getting snatched. Hold the flashlight."

"But that's the girl job!"

Jayne ignored her protest and started twisting the screws out of the corners of the vent. Lynn sighed and slumped against the wall, giving up. She held the flashlight half-heartedly in the direction of the vent as Jayne went about dismantling the thing.

Finally, Jayne finished and set the vent cover on the floor. Then she peered into the hole, squinting into the dark corners of the shaft. "Hey, move the light closer," she ordered.

"You didn't say the magic word," Lynn retorted.

Jayne glowered at her out of the corner of her eye. Lynn rolled her eyes and sat up straighter, directing the light into the ventilation shaft. "Fine," she grumbled.

Her sister went back to looking inside the vent, and then the dumbass went and shoved her arm inside the shaft. Lynn widened her eyes, blown away once again by her sister's bordering on stupidity levels of stubbornness. Jayne didn't seem to notice, concentrating on feeling around the inside of the vent.

"Try to angle the light to the left," Jayne said.

Lynn rolled her eyes again, but did as commanded. Jayne continued her search for cursed objects, and Lynn slumped back against the wall, stretching her legs out on the floor and crossing them at the ankles. "You know, I don't get you and Dean."

Jayne shot her an annoyed look. "Again with the me and Dean crap?"

"Seriously," Lynn pressed. "If the two of you want to bump uglies, then how about instead of tiptoeing around one another, pretending to be just friends, and distracting yourselves with Hunter Barbie, you two just… I don't know, bump uglies?"

Jayne made a repulsed face. "Do we have to have this conversation?"

"Yes! You're being stupid, and I hate when you're stupid."

"Shut up," Jayne grunted, and then she smirked at Lynn. "Did you just call Jo 'Hunter Barbie'?"

Lynn shrugged. "Maybe. Are you done feeling up the ventilation system?"

"I think there's something in here," Jayne replied, frowning in concentration as she shoved her arm farther into the wall. Lynn crinkled her nose in disgust. "I can feel it… I just can't get a hold on it."

"What's it feel like?"

"I don't know… soft? Fuzzy?"

"Ew!" Lynn exclaimed. "You realize you're probably touching a dead mouse."

"Got it!" Jayne announced, pulling her arm out of the wall. In her hand was a hunk of blonde, human hair.

Lynn screwed her eyes shut and turned away. "Oh, my god."

"Well, that's gross," Jayne commented casually.

"Is that hair? Please don't tell me that's hair."

"It's hair."

"It's hair, still clinging to a hunk of human skin, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Are you still holding it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Put it down!"

"Open your eyes!"

Lynn swallowed, hard, trying to compose herself. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and then she turned to look at her sister, cringing the whole way.

"You're still holding it," she observed faintly.

Jayne shrugged, frowning critically at the bloody blonde hair dangling from her fingers. "So… what do we think this means?"

"I think I still want you to put that down!"

Jayne rolled her eyes, but dropped the hair on the floor. "Other thoughts?"

Lynn shrugged, looking at the wall across the way to avoid looking at the hair. "I don't know… I guess the thing's taking keepsakes from its victims. You know, like a serial killer?"

"Awesome," Jayne drawled.

"Yeah, awesome. You are going to throw that thing away, right?"

"Actually, I was thinking about holding onto it," Jayne smirked. "I've always wanted to start a collection of bloody human hair."

"I hate you."

Jayne picked up the vent and started screwing it back onto the wall. "Let's pack it in," she said. "Show the keepsake to the others."

Lynn nodded, focusing on the vent on the other wall. "Ok."

Her sister continued replacing the vent, and Lynn continued staring at the vent on the other wall. They were silent for a while, the only sound in the hallway being the click of Jayne's screwdriver against the metal of the vent. Suddenly, Lynn thought she saw something move behind the other vent.

She jumped, sitting up straighter. Frowning, she stared at the other vent, but she saw nothing else. Jayne glanced at her as she finished tightening the last screw. "What?" she asked.

Lynn shook her head. "Nothing," she breathed. "Let's just get out of here, all right?"

Jayne shrugged and got to her feet. "Ok."

Her sister led the way down the hall, towards the stairs. Lynn stuck close to her, darting glances at the other vents in the hallway, half expecting to see something else creeping along the hallway with them.

She could not get away fast enough.

---

Back at the apartment Jo had rented, Jayne found herself once again taking a spot in the background, leaning on the kitchen counter and watching the proceedings rather than joining in them. She was annoyed at almost everyone in the room, but she didn't have the energy or the patience to tell them so.

"Ok, so you guys found a souvenir too," Lynn was saying, although she was very carefully not looking at either sample of bloody blonde hair lying on the kitchen table. It was almost amusing, actually – watching Lynn stand directly at the head of the table with her arms folded over her chest, trying to take control of the group and the hunt, while at the same time being unable to stomach what they'd found in the walls. "So… classic serial killer move, right? We're dealing with a psychotic serial killer ghost."

"But nobody found a cursed object," Sam interjected. "Which means we have no idea who the ghost is, or how to get rid of it."

"Thanks for the sum up," Jo drawled, rolling her eyes. She swept the blonde hairs out of her way without so much as flinching – which, judging by the repulsed expression on Lynn's face, very thoroughly disgusted Jayne's sister – and took a seat at the table, pulling her case folder towards her. "The only thing to do now is look back over the information, try to find something we missed…"

"Or go looking for new information," Sam pointed out. "Maybe we did miss something, but it's not in that folder."

Jo narrowed her eyes defensively at him. "I've been over this building and its history with a fine tooth comb," she retorted, clearly annoyed.

"Right," Dean added sarcastically. "Because you have so much experience with this kind of thing, so obviously there's nothing else out there that you might have skipped over. Sorry, sweetie – I'm not buying it."

Jayne didn't know who she was more annoyed at – Dean or Jo. Jo's real problem, Jayne determined, was her defensiveness when it came to the job. It was to be expected that she might miss something; it was to be expected that she might screw up. This was Jo's first job, and no one was expecting perfection… well, no one expect for Jo.

In the waitress's dreams, Jayne was sure Jo had pictured herself being unaccountably awesome in this line of work, and it had to be hard to hear that maybe she needed a little work before she could become Little Miss Badass. Still, her attitude was pissing Jayne off.

Dean's attitude was pissing her off more, Jayne decided. He was refusing to cut Jo any slack; he was doing his best to discourage her. Points had to be awarded to the girl for refusing to take his crap lying down. Jayne got it in a way; Jo had a chance at normal, and she had a mother who was rooting for her to take that chance. Ever since John passed, Dean seemed to be less in love with the job than ever before. He was jealous of Jo, and angry that Jo couldn't see how good she had it. And Jo had it good; Jayne wasn't going to argue with that.

But it was Jo's right to pick hunting over normal; it was her right to do what she wanted with her life, even if it made her mother unhappy. Jayne knew where Ellen was coming from; she knew what it was like to want certain things for the people you loved, and she knew how hard it was to understand why those people didn't want those things too. But the fact was, Jo didn't want to go to school and she didn't want normal – and she was in no way obligated to do anything she didn't want to do.

If the girl wanted to hunt, then the girl should hunt – and Dean should shut the hell up about it.

Lynn heaved an exasperated sigh at Dean's commentary, and rolled her eyes. "Dean," she said frostily, still trying to maintain the image of being in charge. "Do everyone a favor and stop talking."

Jo smirked at Dean over her shoulder. Lynn tried to take a seat at the table, saw the bloody hairs lying close to the chair she'd been about to sink into, and changed her mind. Sam seemed to notice, and he removed the souvenirs, tossing them onto the counter by his fingertips. The face he made indicated he was equally grossed out. Lynn shot him a grateful smile and took her seat.

"Dean, you said you smelled something off in the upstairs hallway?" she asked, snagging one of Jo's papers and reading through it.

"Yeah," Dean grunted, taking another chair by the table and spinning it around. He took a seat backwards on the chair and leaned towards the table.

"Ozone?" Lynn suggested.

Dean shook his head. "No. It was familiar, but… not ozone. Something else."

Lynn nodded, still frowning at the paper in her hand. Sam took a seat on Lynn's other side and pulled some of the papers towards himself, ready for another read-through. Jo reached into her boot and pulled out the short, squat knife she liked playing with so much. Jayne watched her twiddle the knife between her fingers as she glared at her research. She glanced at Dean. He was staring at Jo, watching the knife move around in the other girl's hand. Jayne dug her nails into her arm and narrowed her eyes at him, all the while doing her best not to care.

"Jayne," Lynn barked. "Would you sit down please?"

She looked up, startled. The command was frighteningly similar to the one Jo had issued to Dean mere hours earlier. Lynn didn't know that, of course. Still, she glowered at her sister and dug in her heels, leaning farther against the kitchen counter. Lynn stared at her, frustration evident on her face, but Jayne didn't move. She raised her eyebrow challengingly, and finally Lynn rolled her eyes and returned to the rest of the group.

Jo watched her out the corner of her eye. Jayne pretended not to notice. "We should look into the history of the neighborhood," she murmured, watching the ceiling. "Or the history of the previous owners… the company that built the warehouse… something might have glommed onto an owner or a developer… a nearby building…"

"That's good," Jo spoke up, nodding. "I hadn't considered that."

Jayne channeled all her energy into not snorting with derision. She wanted to appear cool, calm, and unaffected by Jo's presence. The younger, smaller, obviously less badass blonde was not going to know how badly Jayne did not want her here… and Dean was not going to know how she felt about Jo, or him, or the time the two of them were spending together.

No one was going to know how she felt about any of it.

"It's late," Sam observed. "We're going to have a hard time doing any more research tonight. Let's just crash, grab a few hours of sleep, and start again in the morning."

Lynn nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Seriously so tired from driving, anyway."

"Great," Dean drawled. "You ladies can share the bedroom. Sam and I will flip for the couch."

Jayne made a face. It was on the tip of her tongue to demand the couch… but she didn't. She wouldn't give Dean or Jo the satisfaction.

Not that they actually gave a damn, she was sure. They didn't suspect how she felt, and they wouldn't care if she showed it. They were oblivious, and that's how she was going to keep them.

Jo looked irritated. Clearly, she wasn't ready to let go of the case, even if it was only for the night. Dean grabbed his coat and took orders for dinner, and then disappeared out the door in search of takeout.

Immediately, Jo began discussing the case with Lynn and Sam again. Jayne rolled her eyes and ducked as quietly as possible out onto the fire escape. She stood on the iron grate just outside the large living room window and leaned against the brick wall of the building, staring moodily out into the dark street.

She couldn't wait for this shit to be over.

---

Lynn mussed her damp black hair with a towel, grabbing a pillow and tossing it at the chair and ottoman in the corner of the apartment's single bedroom. She tossed an extra blanket over there too, and then returned to the queen bed in the center of the room, where she'd left her duffel bag.

As she dug around for her toothbrush, Jo watched her from the other side of the bed, where she was rifling through her knapsack. The petite blonde raised an eyebrow at the chair and ottoman. "You sleeping there?" she asked skeptically.

"No," Lynn retorted, barely looking at her. "But Jayne will. You and I are sharing the bed, Barbie."

It slipped – sort of. She'd never really intended to call Jo anything other than her name – or so she liked to think. Lynn watched Jo carefully out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the catfight to start. Jo glared at her over the knapsack, but didn't take the bait.

Lynn pouted and returned to finding her toothbrush. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom, where Jayne was washing up. The TV was on in the living room, where Sam and Dean were finishing up the remnants of their dinner.

Dean was another one she was ready to catfight with, but Jo was the one in the room. Lynn frowned at Jo, who removed her own toothbrush and toothpaste from her bag and turned away from the bed.

"I can take the chair," Jo murmured, offhand. "I mean, I want to go over everything one more time anyhow, and I don't know how long I'll be up."

"What's the point?" Lynn asked. "No offense, you did a good job, but I think we need to start looking for more information."

Jo's shoulders went rigid. Lynn rolled her eyes. Honestly, she'd meant it. Jo was doing a pretty good job, considering her zero level of experience. Lynn didn't want the girl there, and she found her presence incredibly annoying, and the effect Jo had on her sister made Lynn want to pull her hair and kick her in the shin, but Jo did have potential as a hunter. She'd have a lot more potential if only she was willing to learn.

"I told you, I checked. I looked everywhere. If there was something to find…"

Lynn heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Ok, see, you really need to stop getting defensive about this. You are working your first ever hunt. Right?"

Jo glared at her, but nodded in affirmation. It was a short, stiff, single nod, but it was enough.

"Right, so since this is your first job, no one's expecting you to offer up a perfect performance," Lynn went on. "It's cool if you made a mistake or two. Really. It doesn't mean you're not doing well."

Jo tilted her chin and crossed her arms. "I know," she practically snarled.

Lynn sighed again. "Great. You know. So convinced. Jo, you are here to learn. If you don't learn, you're going to get your ass killed. You still have a long way to go, and if you're serious about hunting…"

"God, you and Dean sound just like my mother," Jo interrupted, rolling her eyes. "I've heard enough crap from him today, so I don't really want to hear yours too."

"Well, if Dean and your mother were telling you that you're not ready to hunt alone and you need to take a few lessons with a professional, then they're right," Lynn retorted. "I'm serious; I think you're doing a good job. But we all have to start somewhere. Jayne and I needed our Dad to train us before we started doing solo gigs. Same for Sam and Dean."

Jo didn't offer a reply. She stared sullenly at the carpet with her arms still folded over her chest. Lynn watched her for a moment, waiting for it all to sink in. She liked to think Jo was getting the picture, and that's why she wasn't talking anymore. But there was something else Jo needed to understand.

"And also, stop hitting on Dean," Lynn demanded.

Jo made an incredulous face. "I'm not," she protested.

"Sure you're not," Lynn retorted. "You two aren't doing the 'I hate you so much it's cute,' thing at all. All that bickering really starts to look like flirting after a while, just so you know. And it's not your fault, because Dean's totally doing it back, so how the hell are you supposed to know he's taken? Which is why I'm telling you to stop flirting with him, because he sure as hell isn't about to be straight with you. He is in far too much denial to be straight about this."

"Look, even if I was flirting with Dean – which I'm not," Jo replied, tossing her hair angrily. "I don't see how it's any of your business. I mean, I don't see your name on him, so…"

"Whoa, hold on a second," Lynn interrupted, holding up her hand. "I am not telling you to stay away from Dean because I am interested in him."

"Then why would you say anything?"

Lynn sighed and shook her head. "Look, they like to pretend it's not a real thing, but everyone knows how they feel. There's something going on between Dean and my sister, and you can't compete with it."

Jo scoffed. "I wouldn't want to, even if there was."

"There is," Lynn insisted. "And… ok, maybe you aren't interested in him. I don't buy that, but if you say you aren't…"

"I'm not."

"Great. Then you can stop flirting with him. Consider it a personal favor."

Jo glared at her. "If you're serious about this, then I'm really not the person you should be talking to. The person you should be getting all catty with is Dean, not me."

That hit home. Lynn sucked in a deep breath and blinked. Jo was right – deep down, she knew that. And that pissed her off more than anything.

"And also?" Jo smirked. "Pretty sure you're not that much older than me – if you're older than me at all. So how about you stop talking down to me like I'm your kid sister."

Lynn would have made a nasty retort, but Jo had already turned her back on her and marched out of the room. For a moment, she stood there, stunned and angry. Then she heard the shower shut off.

A few minutes later, Jayne appeared in the bathroom door, wearing a tee shirt and a pair of sweats, wringing out her damp hair with a towel. Lynn barely acknowledged her, and Jayne frowned.

"Why do you look like you just got smacked in the face with a Wiffle Ball bat?" Jayne asked dryly.

Lynn titled her head and looked at her sister. Jayne raised her eyebrow. "You know," Lynn announced. "I don't think I like Jo."

Jayne nodded slowly, a mildly amused, tiny smirk crossing her face. "You don't like Jo," she repeated, leaning against the doorjamb and raising her eyebrow.

"No," Lynn replied. "I don't. She's snotty, like a child."

Her sister widened her eyes mockingly and nodded again. "All right, then."

"Also," Lynn added. "She's stubborn, and unwilling to learn. Nothing is more infuriating than an amateur who thinks they know everything."

Jayne covered her mouth with her hand, but Lynn could see the smirk widening. "Mm-hmm," Jayne choked out, clearly trying not to laugh.

"What?" Lynn snapped. "Do you like her?"

Her sister shrugged, but the smirk began to fade. "Aw, she's all right."

"That's not really an answer."

"I don't really know her, that's all. Yeah, she's stubborn and thinks she's better than she is, but isn't that classic newbie stuff? She's got potential, and she'll get over all that."

Lynn glared at her. "You hate her."

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. You used your noncommittal voice. You hate her, and you're trying to act like you don't."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't."

Jayne rolled her eyes, tossed her wet towel back into the bathroom, and walked out into the bedroom, heading for the duffel bag she'd left in the corner. "Whatever."

"It's Dean, right?" Lynn asked, following her. "They flirt with each other, so you hate her, but you won't give her the satisfaction of acting like it."

Jayne made a face. "I couldn't care less who Dean flirts with."

"Bull shit!" Lynn crowed. "You care so freaking much!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Look, even if I did care," Jayne retorted. "I wouldn't hate Jo. I'd just be royally pissed at Dean, because he's the asshole. Not Jo."

There was a long silence. Lynn stared her sister down through narrowed eyes, once again crossing her arms over her chest. Jayne stood there for a moment, shifting about uncomfortably, and then raised her eyebrow.

"What?" she demanded.

"You are royally pissed at Dean," Lynn announced. "It's very, very obvious. So I'm right; you do care."

Jayne rolled her eyes and crossed the room, duffel in hand, headed straight for the chair by the window. "Do not!"

"Do so!"

"What's it matter?" Jayne demanded, dropping the duffel on the ottoman and throwing up her hands. "Why do you need to hear me say it?"

Lynn was momentarily stunned into silence. Jayne stared at her, awaiting an answer, raising her eyebrows impatiently. There was a long moment of nothing, and then Lynn opened her mouth, closed her mouth, and shrugged.

"I just… I don't know," she replied carefully. "Dean's being a douche."

"I know he is."

"I want to yell at him, and maybe kick him in the shin."

"You go right ahead."

"And Jo's not helping, because I honestly can't believe she is so oblivious that she can't pick up on the huge waves of sexual tension that practically roll off yours and Dean's bodies."

Jayne made another nauseated face. "Ew."

"And I know you think I'm being a silly girl, or whatever, and you don't want to talk about your feelings because feelings are lame, but… I can tell when you're upset, Jaynie. You're my sister, and you're upset, and I don't like it."

It was Jayne's turn to be silent. Lynn stared at her, waiting for her to say something – anything. Jayne just shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, staring distantly at the floor.

"It doesn't really matter," Jayne murmured after a while. "He's… we're nothing. Not really. I just… I don't care anymore. It was stupid to get attached, and I'm done now."

It was the closest thing to an admission that Lynn was going to get. Jayne shrugged and turned her back on Lynn so she could rifle through her duffel bag. "Let's just work the job, ok?"

Lynn wanted to tell her that she wasn't stupid, and that getting attached to people was all right, and that her feelings did matter… but Jayne didn't want to hear any of that, she could tell. Instead, Lynn took a deep breath and blew her hair out of her eyes. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and shrugged at her sister's back.

"Ok," she agreed. "We work the job."

She was totally going to kick Dean Winchester's ass.

---

Sam spat toothpaste into the off-white sink and then rinsed out the brush. He frowned at himself in the bathroom mirror. It was very early in the morning, and everyone else was still asleep – except for Jo, who he'd found sitting at the kitchen table in last night's clothes, going over her research and twiddling that little knife of hers.

He'd cleaned up and changed his clothes. Now he ducked out of the bathroom, which was connected to the apartment's single bedroom. Lynn was sleeping on the bed, and Jayne had crashed on a chair and ottoman set in the corner by the window.

Sam made to sneak towards the door, but froze in his tracks when he heard the creak of the bedsprings. He turned slowly and found Lynn sitting up in bed, her hair mussed and hanging around her face. She squinted up at him, her eyelids drooping with sleep.

"Morning," she croaked.

He smiled. "Hey."

Lynn looked around the room, and then frowned at him. "What time is it?" she asked.

Sam shrugged and glanced at his watch. "Uh… five-thirty."

"In the morning?" Lynn asked incredulously. "Oh my god, what is wrong with you?"

Sam laughed in spite of himself. Lynn threw back the covers and clambered out of bed, running a hand through her tangled, wavy black hair. "All right," she said, stretching. "Where we headed already?"

"Uh… I was just going to get coffee…"

"I'll come!"

He blinked as she danced into the bathroom, shutting the door before he had a chance to argue. For a moment, he just stood there in the room, a little shell-shocked. Then he shook his head and ducked out into the living room.

As much as he wanted to pretend that everything was normal and fine with regards to him and Lynn, Sam knew that hadn't exactly been the case. The two of them had been friendly with each other, but there was an undercurrent of awkwardness that hadn't yet gone away. To see Lynn volunteer to spend time with him – alone – was unnerving. Still, he didn't mind the idea so much. Maybe it was a step in the right direction; an attempt to get their friendship back on track.

Dean snored loudly from his uncomfortable position in the recliner, jarring Sam from his raised his eyebrow at the odd pretzel shape into which his brother had twisted himself while sleeping. He glanced over at Jo, who was staring at the papers on the tabletop, one hand tangled in her wavy blonde hair and the other one clutching that stupid little knife again.

"Hey," he greeted her.

Jo glanced at him, shrugged one shoulder, and returned her eyes to her research. "What's up?"

Sam shrugged too, and gestured at the bedroom behind him. "Um… Lynn and I… we're going to get coffee. How do you…?"

"Black, two sugars."

Sam widened his eyes in surprise and nodded. "Ok, then."

There was a long silence. Jo flipped over one page so she could stare at another. Sam frowned at her, and then tried to offer up a friendly smile. "You know, it doesn't matter how many times you read those… they aren't going to change."

Jo glared at him. Sam's attempt at a smile faltered. "I just really want to figure this thing out before any more girls go missing," Jo replied.

"Right," Sam nodded. "Of course."

There was another long, awkward silence. That pretty much summed up this whole hunt, Sam thought ruefully: long and awkward. Jo returned to her papers, and Sam stood quietly by the exit.

Lynn bounded out of the bedroom a few minutes later, dressed and ready to go. "Hey, I'm ready," she told him. Then she saw Jo sitting at the kitchen table and narrowed her eyes. "Jo," she greeted her.

Jo looked up and nodded at her. "Lynn."

Neither one of them was being very friendly to the other. Sam frowned, glancing from Lynn to Jo and back again. "How'd you sleep?" Lynn asked with false cheeriness.

"Not so well," Jo replied ironically. "Seeing as I never went to bed."

Sam blinked. Lynn nodded. "Oh," she returned, tilting her head from side to side. "Well… that was stupid."

Jo whirled her head around to gawk at her. Lynn ignored her and marched straight out the door. "Bye!" she chirped. "Sam? You coming?"

Then she stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door gently behind her. Sam flinched slightly, and then offered Jo an apologetic smile. Jo raised her eyebrow at him, and then glanced at the door.

"Later," Sam said hastily.

Jo smirked. "No rush."

He didn't necessarily deserve that, but Lynn probably did. Sam nodded once, still wearing that apologetic smile, and then he left the apartment. Lynn smiled at him as he stepped into the hall, and then led him towards the stairwell. Sam glanced back at the apartment and then followed her down the corridor.

"So…" he said slowly, two steps behind her as she ducked into the stairwell and started down the steps. "What's up with you and Jo?"

"Nothing," Lynn replied, her voice too bright.

Sam scoffed. "Right. Nothing. That's why you two were brimming over with animosity back there."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sam."

"I kind of think you do."

Lynn shrugged, and hurried down the rest of the steps. Sam followed her out into the ground floor hall, and then they ducked out the rear doors. He hurried to catch up to her before she could round the corner of the building.

"Seriously," he pressed. "Is something going on?"

"Nope," Lynn replied, fussing with her ponytail. She looked up at Sam and gave him a sly smile. "Nothing that's your problem, anyway."

Sam blinked at that. But before he could press the issue further, the two of them had rounded the corner of the apartment building. Lynn froze, her eyes fixed on the street out front of the building. Sam stopped too, frowning.

"Cops," Lynn observed.

"Another victim?" Sam asked.

She shrugged. "We better find out."

Lynn pranced off towards the cop cars. Sam frowned at her back. Something was going on – not just with her, not just with Jo, but with everybody. He wasn't really in the loop – didn't really understand the tension – but he could feel it, and it made him want to quit the hunt and run away from Philadelphia.

He decided to just keep his mouth shut and focus on the job. No good could possibly come from getting involved. Besides, he had his own drama to deal with; there was no need to borrow from anybody else.

Resolve made, Sam squared his shoulders and marched after her.

---

Jayne groaned, rolling over in her chair and nearly falling out of it. She blinked sleep out of her eyes and frowned around the bedroom. There was sun streaking in through the window beside her. Slowly, she sat up and tossed her blanket on the ground. She rubbed her aching neck and stumbled to her feet.

The bed was crumpled, and Lynn wasn't in it. Jayne rolled her eyes and grabbed a pair of jeans. A few minutes later, she was dressed, her hair was up, and she was brushing her teeth.

She did not want to be awake. She did not want to be in Philadelphia. The idea of spending the morning with Dean and Jo was vomit-inducing. And as much as she loved her sister, she was not in the mood to hear Lynn talk about feelings today.

Jayne left her toothbrush on the sink and then stepped out of the bedroom. Sam and Lynn were nowhere to be found, and Dean was still asleep on the recliner in the living room. Jo sat at the kitchen table, reviewing her research and looking like she hadn't slept all night. Jayne knew the feeling.

Jo looked up at her and gave her a short, forced smile. "Morning."

Jayne nodded. "Where is everyone?"

"Coffee."

She nodded again and hooked her thumbs in her belt loops. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Jayne glanced at Dean. He hadn't moved from his weird position in the chair.

"I don't know how he sleeps like that," Jo offered, following her eyes.

Jayne shrugged, and looked at the ceiling. "Yeah… he can sleep just about anywhere. Eat just about anything. It's kind of gross, actually."

Jo chuckled once, under her breath. Jayne glanced at her and looked down at the papers on the table. "How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Didn't," Jo replied.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Just wanted to go over this stuff one more time. See what we missed."

Jayne nodded. She took a few steps towards the table and frowned at Jo's research. "Find anything?"

Jo sighed and played with her little knife. "Nope."

There was another long, awkward silence. Jayne looked around the room, her thumbs still hooked in her belt loops, her eyes settling anywhere that wasn't Dean or Jo.

"We probably need new intel," Jayne offered after a moment, studying the ceiling.

Jo groaned, putting the knife down and rubbing her temples. "Everyone keeps saying that!"

Jayne rolled her eyes and looked down at the floor. "Probably because it's true," she mumbled.

The glower Jo sent her in response was a clear indication she'd heard every last bit of Jayne's mumbling. Jayne sighed and shuffled towards the table, frowning at the papers too.

"You don't like me, do you?" Jo asked.

She looked up at Jo, startled by the question. There was no insecurity in the other woman's voice; in fact, Jo didn't even sound all that angry. Jo asked the question like she was stating a fact.

Jayne shrugged and looked at the nearest stack of papers. "I like you fine."

"Bull shit. You act like you don't care one way or another, but there's this feeling I get off you… like you want me to be anywhere else but here."

"What does it matter if I like you or not?" Jayne snapped.

Jo raised an eyebrow at her, taking up her tiny knife again and twirling it between her palms. "It doesn't, really. Just… I don't really get it. Who cares if I want to hunt? You guys are the ones who took my case, so… I'm here and I'm working it, and I don't know why I'm getting so much static about it."

Jayne shrugged, uncomfortable. She frowned at the table and took a seat in the chair farthest away from Jo. "I don't care if you work this case," she told her. "I don't care if you hunt. That's your right; hell, judging by this file, you might even be good at it."

Jo widened her eyes and scoffed. "Thanks."

"I meant it," Jayne replied. "You got a knack for this stuff. If you want to hunt, you should hunt. I just… I'm not real big on the tutoring thing, so… not loving amateur hour."

The comment was probably uncalled for, judging by Jo's affronted expression. Jayne rolled her eyes and swallowed, bracing herself to explain. "Look, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. It's just that… you being here… you got us involved in family drama with your mom and… now we're like, responsible for you. I didn't sign up for that. If I'd known that was what this hunt was going to be, I would have passed. You should hunt if you want to hunt, and there are plenty of hunters out there who'd be willing to train you… and trust me, you're going to need some training… but I'm not one of those hunters. So… this is annoying for me."

"Annoying for you?" Jo retorted. "I've been on the receiving end of everybody's crap since I got here. You, Sam and Dean stole my case… and then Dean had the nerve to get pissed at me for showing up. Your sister chewed me out last night for things way beyond my control…"

"She did what now?" Jayne interrupted, raising her eyebrow again.

Jo sighed, harassed, and rolled her eyes. "I don't want to get into it. Trust me, you probably don't want to either."

Jayne nodded slowly. "Yeah," she muttered. "You're probably right."

There was a long silence. Jo chuckled and rubbed her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "So… Dean thinks my mom's right, and I shouldn't be out here. I should… go to school… live normal… that hunting sucks way worse than I realize."

Jayne nodded again and made no comment. Jo side-eyed her, raising her eyebrow. "Well?" she asked. "You going to weigh in on that one?"

She shrugged, studied the table, and took a deep breath. Slowly, she let the breath out and leaned back in her seat. "Not my business."

"No opinion?"

"I don't care what you do."

Jo stared at her. Jayne tried to ignore the look, but it was impossible. She rolled her eyes and looked at the other woman. "All right," she said. "Dean? He didn't take his dad's death very well."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Is there a good way to take your Dad's death?"

Jayne blinked. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "All right, then. Fair point. Still, Dean's not dealing too well. He used to get off on this job, even on his worse days. Now… I don't know. He's dealing with some stuff and not really talking about it, and I think that's why he told you hunting sucks."

She earned a frown for her explanation. Jayne rolled her eyes again and tried to explain it better. "Hunting does suck," she said. "It sucks a lot. So does every other job in the universe. Most of them won't get you killed, though."

Jo nodded at that and frowned at the table. "So if you could do something else…?"

Jayne scoffed and shook her head. "Look, this job sucks, but… I'd rather do this than anything else. Even on a bad day… I don't know. I just can't see normal in my future. Under any circumstances."

The truth behind that statement left her feeling melancholy. Jayne sunk backwards into her chair and folded her arms over her chest, staring at the far wall. Jo watched her, awaiting further explanation. "Don't listen to Dean," she told Jo. "You shouldn't lie to Ellen; that woman loves you and wants what's best for you, and you shouldn't just ignore that. But…that's no reason not to do what you want with your life."

There was a long silence. Jo was frowning at her, but it wasn't an angry or confused frown. It was critical, like Jo was studying her, trying to see what was underneath her walls. Jayne shifted uncomfortably under the look, and got to her feet.

"So… now that this Hallmark moment is over," she quipped. "I'm going to need some air."

Jayne walked for the living room window and hopped out on the fire escape again. Jo didn't try to stop her or say anything else. Once she was out on the fire escape, away from Jo and Dean and everything else that was suffocating her, Jayne took a seat on the cool metal platform and glared at the building across the busy city street.

It seemed like no matter what happened on this hunt, who she talked to or what was said, it was with Dean that she kept getting so upset.

Maybe it was time to concede defeat – there was nothing left she could do. She was trying to stop giving a crap; trying to rebuild the walls.

Somehow, actually walking away felt harder than sticking around.

---

Dean woke up to the sounds of sirens.

Blinking against the early morning sunlight streaming in through the blinds and cutting across his face, Dean attempted to untwist himself from the painful position he'd slept in and sit up straight in the recliner. Clearing his throat and blinking sleep from his eyes, he rolled away from the sun, towards the door.

Jo smirked at him from the kitchen table. "Morning, princess," she greeted him cheekily.

Dean grimaced. "Where's Sam?"

"Went to get coffee."

"Jayne?"

"Fire escape."

He rolled his eyes. "Lynn?"

"With Sam."

Dean gritted his teeth and pulled himself out of the chair. All his muscles ached. "Ugh, my back," he grumbled, rubbing the offending body part. He glared at Jo, who was still sitting at the coffee table and twiddling that dinky little knife around. "How'd you sleep on that big soft bed?"

Jo raised her eyebrows at him, and then looked back down at her collection of papers. "I didn't," she replied.

Dean smirked knowingly. "Lynn," he nodded. "Snores like a grizzly bear?"

Jo stared up at him incredulously. "No, I just never went to bed! I was just… going over everything… how do you know that Lynn snores?"

Her dark eyes were narrowed accusingly at him. Dean held up his hands, drawing his eyebrows together. "So the four of us have bunked in the same room before! Geez."

Jo raised an eyebrow at him. She didn't look like she bought that excuse for a moment – which was unfortunate, seeing as this was the one time Dean actually had not slept with the girl in question. "Seriously," he insisted. "Nothing ever happened."

"Uh-huh," Jo drawled, still not looking convinced. She lowered her eyes back to the research and resumed twiddling her knife.

Dean eyed the little knife for a moment, and then grabbed his bag. Jo looked up in annoyance as he thumped it down on the table and drew a long, sheathed knife out of its depths. He pulled the knife from the cover, revealing the long, wicked looking blade, and then tossed it in the air, catching it by the blade. He held the handle out towards Jo.

"Here," he smirked.

Jo took the knife and raised her eyebrow at him again. "What's this for?"

"It'll work a hell of a lot better than that little pig-stick you keep twirling around."

Jo pursed her lips and cast her eyes down. It was a weird reaction, and Dean frowned until she handed him her little knife. Confused, he took it, spinning in it his hands. He froze when he caught the engraving on the blade – W.A.H.

"William Anthony Harvelle," Jo announced.

Instantly, Dean felt like crap. He handed the knife back. "Sorry. My mistake."

Jo looked a little teary-eyed, and Dean fought the urge to run away. She took the knife and looked back down at the table, handing him his blade back. He slid it into the sheath and tucked it back inside the bag.

"What do you..?"

Her voice caught. Dean looked up at her, startled. Jo stared him straight in the eye. "What do you remember about your Dad?" she asked him. "I mean, what's the first thing that pops into your head?"

Dean wasn't really up for the heart-to-heart stuff at the moment. He'd given Jo a lot of that yesterday, when they'd been searching the top floors together. Crap about Ellen, and hunting, and how finding someone who gave a damn about her might be hard to get later in life, if she turned her back on Ellen now.

Jo stared up at him expectantly, and he simply shook his head, dropping his eyes. She kept staring at him. "Come on," she said, smiling slightly. "Tell me."

He fought it a moment, working his jaw into tight little circles. Dean dropped his eyes again and moved a little further away. "I was six or seven," he told her, sinking into a chair. "And, uh… he took me shooting for the first time. You know, bottles on the fence, that kind of thing… and I bulls-eyed every one of them."

She smiled. He smirked at her, and lowered his eyes back to the table. "He gave me this smile… I don't know…"

Dean trailed off, muttering the last bit. Jo stared at him. "He must have been proud," she told him, almost severely.

He shrugged, although the words struck a chord with him – a chord he didn't even know he had. "How about your Dad?"

Jo looked surprised that he asked. She forced a smile for him. "I was still in pigtails when my Dad died, but… I remember him coming home. From a hunt? He'd burst through that door like… I don't know, like Steve McQueen or something. He'd sweep me up in his arms… and I'd breathe in that old leather jacket of his… My mom was sour and pissed from the minute he left, and she started smiling again. We were…" she choked slightly, swallowing hard. "We were a family."

He didn't understand why this wasn't more awkward. Honestly, it was awkward, but it also felt… hell, he didn't know. Cathartic?

It was easier to talk about this stuff with Jo, he guessed, not just because she understood what it was like to lose a father, but because she was on the outside. If she heard him talk about John, she wouldn't hand him some alternate depiction of the man based on her own, less pleasant experiences.

She swallowed, steeling herself. "You want to know why I want to do the job?" she asked him.

He stared back, silent, waiting expectantly.

"For him," she said. "To be close to him. Tell me, what's so wrong about that?"

Dean didn't have an answer. There was nothing wrong with that. All his instincts were to warn her away, discourage her from following her messed-up ambitions… but it was hard to argue with a reason like that.

"Nothing," he whispered.

Luckily, he was spared any further conversation. The door swung open just then, and Sam and Lynn burst into the apartment.

"Where's the coffee?" Dean demanded, half sorry and half relieved to drop the subject.

Sam gave him an irritated look. "There are cops outside," he retorted. "Another girl disappeared."

And just like that, it was back to business.

---

Back at the apartment, Lynn collapsed in the living room's black leather recliner, groaning.

"Theresa Ellis, apartment 2F," Dean announced to the room. He was standing at the door, having just got in. Sam and Jo were standing over the table, fussing with the papers again, and Jayne was on the fire escape. "Boyfriend reported her missing around dawn. Where's Goldilocks?"

Lynn turned over in the chair and glared at him. "Fire escape," she spat. After all, it was Dean's fault Jayne was hiding out there.

Dean barely acknowledged her glower or her tone. He just rolled his eyes and stomped over to the window. "What about the apartment?" Jo called after him.

"Cracks all over the plaster – walls, ceiling. There was ectoplasm too," Dean replied, pushing open the window. "Hey! Get your butt inside!"

Jayne's reply was lost to the wind, but Lynn could tell by her tone that she'd said nothing nice. Dean had heard her perfectly, however; she could see it on his face. "Damn it, Goldilocks, because there's a homicidal ghost on the loose, snatching up blonde chicks! Now get in here where I can see you!"

Lynn raised an eyebrow at that. The concern was nice to hear – definitely better than all the ignoring Jayne and following around Jo. Still, as far as Lynn was concerned, it was all too little, too late.

Her sister seemed to feel the same away. She stepped inside the apartment without even looking at Dean, knocking her shoulder confrontationally against his. Dean glared at her back and shut the window behind her.

"Well, between that and the tufts of hair we found, I'd say this sucker's coming from the walls," Sam murmured.

"Yeah, but who is it?" Dean retorted. "Building's history is totally clean."

Lynn bit back a snide comment about Jo and her novice research skills. It wasn't fair, and it probably wasn't true. She was just feeling catty and needed to take the rage out on someone.

Jayne was right though – she should be getting pissy with Dean, not Jo.

Speaking of Jo, she was reviewing one of the old photos of the field that the building had been built on. Lynn frowned at the other girl, who was carefully studying the picture.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place," Jo spoke up.

"What are you talking about?" Lynn asked, unable to keep all the nastiness out of her tone. Sam raised an eyebrow at her, and Jayne sent her a warning look. Jo took it in stride.

"Check this out," Jo said, handing the photo over to Sam.

Lynn glanced at her sister, who shrugged at her. Then the two of them joined Sam and Dean at the table and took a look at the picture.

"An empty field?" Sam asked, confused.

"Take a look at the one next door," Jo returned. "The windows?"

Lynn saw it at the same time Sam did. "Bars," the youngest Winchester said aloud.

"We're next door to a prison?" Dean asked.

Lynn didn't want to admit that Jo was onto something, but it was useless arguing with facts. Sour, she folded her arms over her chest and returned to the living room recliner. Jo wrestled her cell phone out of her jacket, and called Ash.

Twenty minutes later, Jo had the answers she was looking for. "Thanks Ash," Lynn heard her say into the cell. "And if you mention a word of this to my mom… that's right, I will! With pliers!"

Lynn looked up as Jo ended the call and commanded everyone's attention once again. "Ok," she announced, snatching the photo out of Dean's hands. "Moyamensing Prison. Built in 1835, torn down in 1963. And get this: they used to execute people by hanging them in the empty field next door."

Sam and Dean looked impressed. Lynn was not – or at the very least, she wasn't going to admit it. "Awesome," her sister drawled. Jayne had taken up leaning space on the kitchen counter again. "Not bad, Jo."

"Well, now all we need is a list of everyone executed there," Sam spoke up.

Jo smirked. "Ash is already on it."

She had Sam take out his laptop and check his email. Lynn sat on the edge of the recliner, watching impatiently as Sam took a seat at the table, checking his inbox for new messages. Finally, after ten minutes of waiting, Ash sent them the list.

It was bad news; Sam opened the attachment and shook his head. "157 names?" he asked incredulously.

Dean shook his head. "We've got to narrow that down."

"Yeah," Sam scoffed.

"Or else we're going to be digging up a hell of a lot of stiffs."

Sam was scrolling down the list of names, Dean and Jo reading over his shoulder. Lynn looked at Jayne over the kitchen table and raised an eyebrow. Her sister shrugged and leaned back farther against the counter, folding her arms over her chest.

After a moment Sam paused. "Herman Webster Mudgett," he read aloud, frowning at the screen.

Jo stared at him. "Yeah?" she prompted.

"Wasn't that H.H. Holmes' real name?"

That name was familiar. Lynn sat up straighter and locked eyes with Jayne. Her sister didn't look nearly so impressed – in fact, she shrugged at Lynn again and mouthed, who?

Lynn rolled her eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean murmured. He practically shoved Sam out of his seat and commandeered the laptop, looking for information on Holmes. Lynn dug her fingernails into the edge of the lather seat, waiting impatiently for the answer.

Jo looked confused. Lynn didn't bother explaining to her – nor to Jayne. If she told Jayne, she'd inadvertently tell Jo, and she didn't really want to talk to Jo right now. Or ever.

"Yep," Dean suddenly announced. "Holmes was executed at Moyamensing, May 7th, 1896."

Sam shook his head, a smile spreading across his face. "H.H. Holmes himself. Come on! I mean, what are the odds?"

Jo was still frowning in confusion. "Who is this guy?"

"America's first serial killer," Lynn drawled, staring vacantly at the far wall.

Dean glared at her, presumably for stealing his thunder. "Yeah. Multi-murderer, actually. They coined the term to describe Holmes."

"Yeah, he confessed to 27 murders, but some put the death toll at over a hundred," Sam jumped in.

"And his victim flavor of choice?" Dean added. "Pretty petite blondes. He, uh… used chloroform to kill them." Suddenly, his smirk faded, and his eyes went unfocused. "Which is what I smelled in the hallway last night."

Lynn frowned at Jo, who wasn't paying her any attention. Then she looked at Jayne. Her sister seemed annoyingly unconcerned, and Lynn was ready to smack her in the head.

"At his place, cops found human remains, bone fragments, and long locks of bloody blonde hair," Dean read aloud. He glanced at Jo. "Boy, you sure know how to pick them."

Jo shrugged. "So we'll just find the bones, salt and burn them, right?'

Sam shook his head. "Well, it's not that easy. See, his body is buried in town, but it's encased in a couple tons of concrete."

Jo made an incredulous face. "What? Why?"

Dean smirked again. "Story goes, he didn't want anybody mutilating his corpse… because, you know. That's what he used to do."

Lynn shuddered. Sam got rather suddenly to his feet. "You know something?" he asked, sounding excited. "We might have an even bigger problem than that."

"How does this get bigger?" Jo demanded.

Sam rifled through the research on the table, and finally dug out an old photo of another building. "Holmes built an apartment building in Chicago," he explained. "They called it the Murder Castle. The whole place was a death factory – they, uh… had trap doors, acid vats, quicklime pits… he built these secret chambers inside the walls. He'd lock his victims in and keep them alive for days… some he'd suffocate, others he'd let starve to death."

Lynn was starting to feel nauseous. It wasn't necessarily the idea that this could be happening in the walls of the building right then and there… all she could think about was her sister, and how this could all end with Jayne being reduced to a lock of long, bloody blonde hair. That thought alone made her shudder again.

"So Theresa could still be alive?" Jo asked hopefully. "She could be inside these walls!"

Dean got to his feet immediately. "We need sledgehammers and crowbars. We've got to smash these walls, anywhere thick enough to hide a girl."

He rushed off in search of the necessary tools. Jo blinked a few times, and looked at Sam. He nodded at her, and the two of them followed Dean. Lynn rubbed her temples, groaned, and slowly to her feet. Jayne looked at her, not moving from the counter, and raised an eyebrow.

Lynn pointed a warning finger at her sister. "We are taking the middle floors again, together. I am not letting you out of my sight. Do not give me any crap; just accept the fact that I love you, and let me watch your back."

Jayne smirked. "Well, when you put it like that…"

Lynn rolled her eyes. Jayne smiled slightly, looked at the floor, and then pushed herself off the counter. "Ok, let's do this," Jayne said, heading off in the direction the other three had disappeared.

She watched Jayne duck out of the apartment, shaking her head. "Great," she grumbled under her breath. "Let's definitely do this. Best idea ever."

Still grumbling, she followed Jayne out the door.

---

Dean leaned against the corridor wall, just outside the apartment door, with his sledgehammer between his boots and his hands balanced on the handle. The rest of them were inside, and he was getting sick of waiting on them.

He bumped his head against the wall rhythmically, bored and impatient. It had already been decided that Jo was going to be sticking with him, Sam was going it alone, and Lynn and Jayne would be working together.

Dean didn't really like that idea. He wanted to keep an eye on Jo, but he also wanted to keep an eye on Jayne. The two of them hadn't been getting along, but that didn't change how he felt, and… well, now the thing was active again, going around snatching blonde girls, and the last thing Dean wanted was for Jayne to get snatched too.

The door creaked open and Dean looked up at the unexpected noise. Jayne stepped out into the hallway with a crowbar over her shoulder.

"Hey," he greeted her gruffly.

She stared at him a moment, blinked, and then shrugged one shoulder. "Hey."

There was a long silence.

"Well… later," Jayne drawled, rolling her eyes and walking away. Dean frowned at her back, and took a step after her.

"Hey!" he barked. "Wait a minute."

She stopped and turned around slowly, giving him impatient eyes. "What?" she demanded.

There was a brief moment of silence. There was ice in her expression, and he didn't know how to respond to it. When Jayne was cold, it always threw him. He was never sure of the correct course of action, and he almost always wound up choosing wrong.

Dean took a few more steps towards her, looking around for eavesdroppers. Deciding they were alone, he shrugged and leaned towards her. "You know, Jo's not the only one around here who matches the victim profile."

Jayne tilted her chin and narrowed her eyes. "What are you trying to say, Dean?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.

He shrugged again. "Just… you know. Be careful."

She tightened her jaw. "I can take care of myself," she informed him frostily. "Maybe you need to babysit Jo, but I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"I know," he countered. "I just want you to be careful."

Jayne snorted. "Take care of Jo, all right? Don't worry about me."

"Of course I'm going to worry about you!" he snapped.

His voice echoed around the hallway. Jayne took a step back, folding her arms defensively over her chest and glaring at the floor. Dean took a deep, steadying breath, and glanced around them, making sure the outburst hadn't attracted any outside attention. "Look, I know you know what you're doing," he told her. "But… I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me," she said flatly, and Dean got the sense that she was talking about more than H.H. Holmes. For some reason, that got under his skin. His fuse was already short, and now it was burning shorter.

He shook his head in annoyance. "You're such a pain in the ass," he bit out. "Why do you have to be like this, every time I try to worry about you?"

"Because I don't need you to worry about me!" she exploded. Dean took a step back, widening his eyes at the sudden, unexpected shout. Jayne looked surprised by her own outburst too, and she looked at the floor, lowering her voice. "I don't need anyone to worry about me."

"Like hell you don't," he muttered.

"I don't," she returned sharply, looking him directly in the eye. "I never did before, and I don't need it now. So don't worry about me, Dean. I'm fine."

He stared at her. She glared back. Dean didn't really know what to say. It wasn't just Jayne's usual crap he was facing here – he could feel it. She wasn't just putting on a brave face and acting tough because that was what she did. No, she was pushing him away.

This was partly his fault; that he knew for sure. Acknowledging his blame in the situation didn't make him any less pissed at Jayne.

Lynn stumbled out of the apartment just then, freezing before the pair of them. She looked from Jayne, to Dean, and back to Jayne again, eyes wide and lower lip caught between her teeth. "Um…" she murmured. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope," Jayne replied smoothly, before turning her back on Dean and marching off down the hall. "Let's go!"

Dean watched her disappear down the hall and around the corner. He looked at Lynn, who was watching him with concern and apprehension. She glanced down the corridor, and then looked back at him, eyebrow raised. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you, but…"

"Just keep an eye on her, all right?" Dean interrupted, his tone rougher than he intended. "Holmes…"

"I know," Lynn replied, bristling. "She's his type. I don't need you to tell me to look out for my sister, Dean. I look out for her all the time, no matter what. And it's not just ghosts and demons that worry me; I don't like it when human male assholes screw with my sister either."

Dean blinked at that, taken aback. Lynn glared at him, ice in her eyes and steel in her spine. She tossed her hair back and lifted her chin, staring him down. Dean swallowed down an angry retort, and glanced off in the direction Jayne had gone.

"Yeah, I hear you," he finally said. "Just… watch her back."

"I will," Lynn retorted frostily.

"I know," he snapped. "I just… need to say it."

There was a long silence. Dean stared at the floor, doing his best to avoid Lynn's eyes. Lynn stared at him, her brow furrowed and her arms folded over her chest.

"Telling me to have her back is not the same thing as you having it," Lynn informed him. Then she turned away from him and stormed down the hall, just like her sister had before her. It was all Dean could do to stare at the end of the now empty hallway, trying not to run off after them.

Sam and Jo appeared in the doorway then, and Dean forced himself to snap out of it. "Hey," Sam greeted him. "Uh… I'll take the first floor?"

Dean nodded tightly. "Sounds good.

Sam nodded back, and then he sauntered down the hallway, taking the opposite direction from Jayne and Lynn. Jo stood still beside him, her hand on her hip, with her eyebrow raised.

"Well?" she asked. "Ready or not?"

"I'm ready," he practically grunted. Then he headed off towards the nearest stairwell. Jo bounced after him, and it grated on his nerves. What sort of person got this excited about climbing around inside an old building's walls?

Jo, apparently. She sensed that he was on edge, however, because she refrained from talking to him for a little while. There were no overly enthusiastic questions or comments; Jo didn't ask him what his problem was, or call him on any of his crap. Jo just tagged along behind him quietly, although her expression betrayed her excitement.

They picked a spot on the top floor, out of the way, so no one would notice the gaping hole in the drywall – at least, they wouldn't notice right away. Dean busted through the plaster with his sledgehammer, knocking enough away that he could fit into the wall. He led the way, and Jo climbed inside right behind him. They turned on their flashlights and began inching their way through the small space between the exterior walls and the plasterwork.

At first, they didn't talk much. Dean focused on shining the light ahead of them, scouting for any sign of Holmes or his victims. He had the EMF reader out, and was scanning the insides of the wall. So far, nothing had triggered the reader. Jo tagged along behind him, flashlight out as well.

Soon, Jo dug out her cell and dialed a number. Dean sent her a weird, questioning look over his shoulder. "I'm just checking everyone else's progress," she informed him rather snottily.

He rolled his eyes. Jo called Sam. Dean tuned her out.

"OK, just call us when you're done checking the southeast end," he heard her say into the phone. She hung up, sighing. "Sam's almost done with the first floor," she announced. "Hasn't found jack squat either. He said he'd call Jayne and Lynn, find out whether they got anything."

"Yeah, I'm betting no on that," Dean grumbled. He kept pushing on through the wall and finally turned the corner.

It was just around the corner that he hit the roadblock. A snarl of pipes and extra brick prevented him from going any further. He sighed and stopped short.

"What is it?" Jo demanded.

"Too narrow," Dean grunted. "Can't go any further."

"Let me see," Jo replied, pushing past him.

"Whoa… what are you…"

She pushed past him, breathing hard, rubbing up against his chest… and a more sensitive area… in her attempt to get around him. Dean groaned as her warm body pressed against him, stirring up a very inconvenient reaction.

"Should have cleaned the pipes," he grunted.

"What?" Jo demanded.

"Uh… the pipes…wish the pipes were clean."

She dug her elbow into his stomach. "Shut up!"

He winced and moved to the side. Jo shined her light ahead of her. "I can fit in there!" she announced.

"Whoa, you're not going in there by yourself!"

"You got a better idea?"

He didn't.

Jo shoved her way past him and managed to squeeze through the small space ahead of them. Dean glared at her as she picked her way through the wall, putting more and more distance between them. He swallowed, hard. Jo turned a corner up ahead, and Dean clenched his fist so tightly around his flashlight that he nearly broke it.

Dean dug the blueprints of the building out of his jacket and his cell phone out of his jeans. He dialed Jo's number, perusing the blueprints by flashlight.

"What?" she answered the phone, her tone annoyed.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

"By the north wall."

Dean scanned the blueprints, trying to find her position. "I'm heading down some kind of air duct," she told him over the phone.

"No, no, no, stay up here!" Dean protested.

"We got to find this girl, don't we? I'm ok."

She might be ok for now, but Dean couldn't guarantee that would last. Jo was climbing around in the walls by herself, and there was a ghost running around the apartment building that liked snatching young, petite blonde girls. The hell he was leaving her alone for long. Dean located her position on the blueprints, and made his way back towards the hole in the wall.

"All right," he told Jo over the phone. "I'm coming to you."

He ducked back out of the wall, waiting for Jo to say something about where she was or what she saw. She was still fine, he knew, because he could hear her breathing into the receiver. Dean jogged to the stairwell and down a flight of steps.

"Oh god," he heard her say, fear in her voice.

Dean's heart skipped. "What is it?"

There was no answer. "Jo?" he asked, his concern spiking. "Jo!"

A shrill, terrified scream rang out over the phone.

His stomach rolled. Dean raced down the rest of the stairs, his heart pounding. At the foot of the stairs, he took off running for the part of the wall he thought she'd be behind.

"Jo!" he bellowed once he reached the spot. She didn't answer.

Swallowing down his panic, Dean hefted his sledgehammer and swung, splintering the plaster and the wooden beams underneath it. He smashed the hammer into the wall five times, until the plaster fell away and he was able to bust through the wood using his bodyweight.

There was no one behind the wall. Dean shoved his way through, shining his flashlight into the dark, cobwebby corners of the space behind the plaster. Lying on the ground behind the wall was Jo's abandoned cell phone.

"Jo!" he shouted, craning his neck for any sign of her. "Jo!"

There was no answer. Jo was gone. Dean cussed and pulled back out of the wall. In a fit of rage, he kicked the wall, splintering another hole into the plaster.

Ellen was going to kill him.

---

"It's so gross in here. Seriously, I'm grossed out. Are we done yet?"

Jayne rolled her eyes at her stepsister's commentary. Lynn was behind her, flashlight and EMF in hand, complaining nonstop about being in the walls.

"You didn't have to come in, you know," Jayne replied nonchalantly. "You could have hung around outside, ran navigation by phone…"

"Oh, no, I could not," Lynn interrupted fiercely. "There is an undead homicidal maniac in these walls, and I am not letting you go spelunking in here with a homicidal manic. Not without me."

Jayne rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, yeah."

Lynn had been on about this ghost, and Jayne's unfortunate resemblance to his chosen victims, ever since she'd arrived in Philadelphia. It was starting to grate on her nerves, although a lot of Jayne's irritation was for show. She didn't really mind Lynn worrying about her – she just wished Lynn wouldn't talk about it so freaking much.

Dean hadn't seemed all that concerned until that Theresa girl went missing earlier in the morning. The moment she'd vanished, he'd gotten… weird.

Actually, he'd started acting more normal – talking to her, ordering her around, and being stupidly, unnecessarily overprotective. It hadn't lasted long. They were all running around inside the building walls now, and Dean was with Jo.

And Jayne didn't care. Really.

The two of them crept silently through the wall, dodging cobwebs and squeezing around pipes. "Ew," Lynn whispered behind her.

Jayne raised her eyebrow and frowned at Lynn over her shoulder. "What is it now?"

"I think there's a cobweb in my hair."

Jayne rolled her eyes again and pressed on. The space behind the wall started getting narrower and narrower. She turned sideways to get around a collection of pipes and just barely managed to squeeze on through.

There was a sudden clang!

"Damn it!" Lynn exclaimed.

Jayne stopped short and twisted her head around. Lynn was behind her still, on the other side of the pipes, pouting at the obstacle. "I can't get through!" she said in a loud whisper.

"Why not?" Jayne frowned. "I did."

"I know, I just… it's just that…" Lynn sighed harshly and rolled her eyes. "Fine, damn it. My boobs are getting in the way."

Jayne snorted.

"Shut up!"

"All right, I'll go ahead without you," Jayne called in a low voice.

"Wait!" Lynn hissed. "You can't! That's a bad idea!"

Jayne shrugged. "Yeah… oh well."

"Jayne!"

"Later!"

"Jayne! Jaynie! You…would you just… what the hell?"

Her sister was going to be pissed, but Jayne kept walking anyway. She pressed farther through the space behind the wall, and rounded a corner. Jayne barely made it three steps away from the corner when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

Rolling her eyes again, she answered the phone without even looking at the display. "Hi, Lynn."

"I am so mad at you right now!"

"Figured."

"What's back there? See anything?"

"Not yet."

Jayne frowned into the darkness, straining to see by the dim glow of her flashlight. A cobweb caught her hair and she jerked her head to the side, making a face. Slowly, she picked her way down to the end of the wall, and rounded another corner.

"Jaynie?" Lynn asked suddenly.

"I'm still alive."

Her sister sighed into the phone. "Look, I really don't like this. Can you just come back this way, and we'll find another way in? Go over that part of the wall together?"

It went against her instincts to give in that way, but she really hated the nervous tone of her sister's voice. Lynn sounded on the verge of a panic attack. Jayne sighed too. "Yeah, ok."

She knocked some cobwebs down and managed to twist her way around, intending to go back the way she came. A strange odor filled the space behind the wall, one she hadn't picked up on before. Jayne sniffed, frowning, trying to discern what the scent was. It was almost sweet, with a strange medical undertone.

"Jayne?" Lynn asked again.

"I'm fine," she replied automatically. "Smell something weird back here…"

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

"Chloroform? It's chloroform, isn't it? Get your butt out of there right now!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Geez, it's probably just mildew."

It wasn't mildew; she was sure of that, but she wasn't going to tell Lynn. Jayne quickened her pace. Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine as the temperature behind the wall dropped several degrees.

"Oh, crap," she muttered.

"What is it?" Lynn demanded over the phone.

Jayne ignored the question, swallowing. She heard an unexpected noise beside her, like a drip from one of the pipes. Turning her head, she shone her light on the exterior wall.

Thick black goo was oozing in through the seams.

"Oh, shit," she added.

"What's going on?" Lynn asked, her voice getting a little too high.

Jayne didn't answer that question either. She stared silently at the black goo, her eyes wide, frozen in her tracks. Then she gave her head a cleansing shake and quickened her pace.

"Everything's fine," she told Lynn. "I just…"

Her cell phone went flying out of her hand. Jayne stared at it, watching it clatter on the ground several feet away. Swallowing again, she whirled around, but her flashlight flickered and died.

It was pitch black inside the wall now, and she couldn't see a damn thing. Breathing heavily, Jayne took a step backwards, towards her cell phone. Her fingers were shaking as she reached inside her coat, trying to find a weapon. Something cold wrapped around her ankle, and suddenly she was on the ground, on her back.

Her short, loud, scream echoed through the wall. She kicked and tried to get back up. Another cold, rough hand clamped down over her mouth, and the sweet, chemical smell got stronger. The cold hands began dragging her through the narrow space. Jayne tried to fight, but the smell made her head spin, and her limbs weak.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she lost consciousness.