To anyone still reading this… I know it's been months since I last updated. I'm taking three college literature classes right now, and haven't had time to do anything but read lately. but I'm back! at least for now…

as always, review and let me know what you thought!

~wwsadd

Of Deals and Demons

I resisted the urge to flip on the radio for all of about thirty seconds. Music calmed me like nearly nothing else could, and it was definitely shaping up to be that kind of day. I tried not to overanalyze the fact that the song playing was Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper.

Daddy Winchester seemed to find the same irony in it that I did, made apparent by his soft chuckle as the lyrics reached the chorus. I snickered too, casting a sidelong glance in his direction. "Coincidence?" I asked slyly.

"Or a warning." He countered.

"For you or for me?" I retorted.

"Looks like that's what we're here to figure out." He said, an unidentifiable edge in his voice. Though I wasn't comfortable, per se, I strangely felt like I was right where I needed to be. The fear that had been plaguing me since escaping through Dean's window had disappeared as swiftly as the wind speeding past the windows of my truck.

"Okay, so… you're a hunter…?" I asked, figuring I might as well get the conversation kicked off in the right direction.

He cleared his throat once and I felt his gaze on my face even as I kept my eyes trained on the winding black road in front of me. "Yes. And you are…?"

I threw him a swift, withering look. "Human. But more than that, I'm a daughter, a sister, and a friend. And you are threatening my whole family, the only family I have." I said shortly. There was a moment of silence, while the foreboding words of the song on the radio hung in the air between us.


And it was clear she couldn't go on
Then the door was open and the wind appeared
The candles blew then disappeared
The curtains flew then he appeared...saying don't be afraid
Come on baby...and she had no fear
And she ran to him...then they started to fly
They looked backward and said goodbye...she had become like they are
She had taken his hand...she had become like they are
Come on baby...don't fear the reaper

It seemed as though he didn't have a reply. I hoped that meant he had seen the truth in my words and knew what I was getting at. Taking an obscure turn off the highway, I drove, still too fast, through the forest.

"You know what it's like to have your family torn away from you. Dean told me about your wife, and I'm sorry. But please, Mr. Winchester, don't go and do the same thing to me. I won't have anywhere to turn, and trust me; time itself will leave me abandoned soon enough." I bit out, voicing my deepest fear.

I hadn't formed a real plan, just concentrated on my father's advice. Talking human to human was something I could do, after all. My passenger sighed heavily. "Okay kid, I'm listening." He finally conceded.

By this point I wasn't sure where we were going, the pavement had turned to gravel, and I was merely following the slight curve through the dense trees. "First of all, my brother Caleb… he's the golden child, the smart, kind, perfect one… he would never hurt anyone. Not ever.

"And the rest of them, they follow his lead. It's the way our families have always been. We were persecuted three hundred years ago by people crazed with fear of things they didn't understand. There is magic here, you won't ever hear me deny that. But it's not evil. Those two things aren't exclusively synonymous." I pressed, impressing myself with my own vocabulary.

Again there was silence. I resolved to wait for him to speak this time. I directed my truck through the forest, and flipped on the windshield wipers when the rain began to fall. It seemed to become a battle of the wills as we both sat stubbornly, not saying a word.

Shock passed through me when a large dark building loomed up in a clearing to my left. I swiftly spun the wheel and hit the brakes, pulling the truck roughly off the road. I hadn't been out here in years. Even the boys never came out here for anything.

John was giving me a semi-concerned glare. Maybe I had lost my mind. "What is this place? A one-stop magic shop?" He asked condescendingly. I stuck my tongue out, getting tired of being mature already.

"It's Putnam Barn. If you're looking for evil, I'd recommend starting here." He moved to open the door, but I hurried to stop him. "I'd start here… if it were the mid 1600's, when John Putnam turned on his brothers. This was the evil of Ipswich, and it's gone now. All that's left is a family that is trying to get by living with a curse that no one asked for." I said sharply, the dilapidated wood of the barn in front of me giving me creepy chills down my spine.

I turned in my seat to lock eyes with John Winchester, turning off the engine and pulling my keys out of the ignition. "I'm asking you, begging even, that you see how much we have already been punished. How much I have already been punished. What crime have we committed? Against you? Against humanity?"

John's harsh gaze slowly softened. "You have a lot of courage for such a young girl. I'm sorry for what you have lost."

I sighed. "Why do I hear a "but…" coming on?" I asked quietly.

"Look kid, life's tough, and I really don't want to make you suffer more than you already have. None of this is your fault. But that doesn't change the fact that your brother is a powerful warlock. He may not go out killing people every day of the goddamn week, but he's capable of it. And it's my duty to ensure that doesn't happen." He explained, his gaze hardening.

I bit down hard on my bottom lip for a second, trying to phrase what I wanted to say just right. "You, you were military, right? I'd guess Marine Corps from your clearly no-bull-shit policies." I began, and then rushed through the rest.

"Are you telling me you aren't capable of hurting people? Aren't you capable of killing someone while blindfolded, with one hand tied behind your back? How does that make you any different than my brother?" I demanded.

His piercing eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Interesting theory, kid." He conceded. "My 'no-bull-shit policies', as you refer them, have gotten me this far, why should I take a chance on your brother?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. Hadn't we just gone over this? "Okay, first of all, I have a name. It's Andie, not kid. And let's go through this one more time. My brother has done nothing to warrant your apparent disregard for his humanity. Yes, he can kill with the power of his mind, but he doesn't, because he has only the utmost respect for human life. Something you obviously lack." I snapped, my temper finally rising.

John Winchester began to laugh.

"Where did Dean find you?" He asked, between chuckles. I glared. I was not the latest Happy Meal toy for god's sake.

"Find me? What does that matter? And what does Dean have to do with anything? You sent him to kill my big brother and my best friends, and he used me to get close to them. Honestly, if we're talking morality here, my family has yours beat." I ranted. John looked astonished for a minute, before cracking into another wave of laughter.

"Okay, okay, Andie." He said, stressing my name. I nodded in approval, though I was still glaring. "What exactly are you asking me to do? Just pick up and leave and forget this whole mess? I have no guarantees that the Sons of Ipswich are going to behave themselves, and I won't take that kind of a chance." He pointed out. I sighed disgustedly and stuck the keys back in the ignition, turning on the truck and flipping back on the windshield wipers.

I was momentarily sidetracked when the same song as before came back on the radio.


They looked backward and said goodbye...she had become like they are
She had taken his hand...she had become like they are
Come on baby...don't fear the reaper

I casted a sidelong glance at Daddy Winchester as the words of the extremely-ironic-yet-totally-coincidental song really sank in. My mind started to race as I pulled my truck back onto the road and headed back toward the highway.

A million possibilities seemed to stretch out before me, and I took a deep breath before voicing the one that would change my life forever. "I'll make you a deal." I said, staring straight ahead resolutely.

"What kind of deal?" He asked, and I could hear the contempt in his voice.

"A... guarantee." I said, tightening my grip on the steering wheel.

"Oh, and how exactly are you going to do that?" He retorted. I could feel my whole body shaking slightly as I comprehended the consequences of my actions.

"My brothers, my family, you leave them be, you leave this place be. They won't hurt anyone, ever." I promised. John laughed once, the sound mocking.

"And just what exactly is going to ensure that? What kind of warranty will I have?" He asked, and I could tell he was beginning to lose any respect he might have had for my intellect.

I prayed that my voice wouldn't crack embarrassingly. "Me. I'll be your warranty. Take me with you, teach me to hunt, and I will make sure my brothers know that if they slip up it is on me. I'll be your leverage- trust me, it's the best warranty you'll ever get." I said grimly, as I pictured Caleb's face when I told him of my most recent idiotic move.

There was a deafening silence as I slowed my truck at the city limits. It wouldn't be much longer until we were back at the apartment, and I wanted his answer by then one way or another.

Five minutes later I pulled into a parking spot and once again shut off the engine. I waited for a moment before shifting in my seat to fix John Winchester with a defiant glare. "Well…? Take it or leave it." I said resolutely.

The words hung in the air between us, almost threateningly so. I wasn't sure if I was shocked or not when he stuck out a large callous hand toward me. "You've got yourself a deal, ki- I mean, Andie." He said, as I reached out and shook his offered hand once.

"Okay, deal."

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