|February 24, 2008|
Alex rolled her shoulders happily as she climbed out of her stolen vehicle, making a face as she realized she would have to figure out a decent place to dump it soon. Preferably before the police came after her.
...she'd do that in the morning.
For now, it was seven in the evening, and after driving for as long as she had, she was ready to eat and see her brother and his family. Matt didn't have a clue that she was coming of course. And she'd have to be careful that his daughters didn't overhear anything she said, as he was determined to keep their minds clean of what really happened in the news half of the time. His wife, a woman by the name of Karyssa, knew though, so that gave her someone to talk to if Matt refused to cooperate.
"Hm," Alex muttered to herself as she headed towards the beautiful brick house her family called home. "I hope they have that guest room open..." She took the steps that led to the carefully decorated porch two at a time, tugging her leather jacket tighter around her as a brisk wind blew through.
Damn, it was cold.
Puffing out a sigh, Alex knocked sharply at the door.
It took a few minutes, but the door finally opened to reveal a pretty young woman, with long auburn hair and sharp blue eyes that rivaled the sky. Then again, Karyssa's eyes were amplified by contacts and eyeliner. The woman stared at her for a moment, and then grinned hugely. "Alex!"
Alex laughed when the older woman tackled her in a tight hug. "Hullo, Ryss," she greeted, eagerly returning the hug. She hadn't had one in a while. When she pulled back, Alex waggled her eyebrows. "Miss me?"
"Of course," Ryss said affectionately. She glanced over her shoulder. "Matt just got off of work," she said excitedly. "The girls are with him out back."
"Got it," Alex said cheerfully. She waited until Ryss had stepped aside to step into the house. "Hope you guys don't mind having company for a few days? Some...things have come up and I want to make sure you're all safe."
Ryss' eyes flashed with concern. "You think we're in danger?"
"I don't know," Alex admitted, gently patting her sister-in-law's shoulder. "I'll make sure everything's safe just to make sure...I have a pair of idiots I've been teaming up with recently. Let's just say they're not too well liked by very many people. Demons, actually. And every other creature on the planet." Alex sighed heavily. "I regret it sometimes. But they're a bunch of bloody morons that faff around too much and need someone to make sure they don't get themselves into any more trouble than they already are." She paused. "I haven't done very well at stopping them, I'm realizing. One of 'em's friends with a demon. The other's currently got a one-way ticket to Hell. And they're both males who can't stop and think."
Ryss laughed. "Men are stupid. I still have issues with Matt on occasion." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then waved for Alex to follow her. "Dump your bag on the couch or something, you can set yourself up in your room later, okay?"
"Understood," the skinwalker answered, rolling her shoulders as she simply dropped the bag on the couch. She followed Ryss through the neatly cleaned house to the back door, and Alex's gaze softened as she took in the sight of her older brother playfully wrestling with his daughters in the grass. He didn't look up when Ryss opened the door and stepped outside, but one of the girls did.
Her blue eyes lit up. "Aunt Alex!" she screamed in excitement, practically flying at her aunt. Alex laughed as she caught the seven year old, hoisting her up into her arms.
"Hey, love," she said affectionately, hugging her. "How are you?"
She giggled at her aunt's accent. "You still sound funny, Aunt Alex."
"I know, I know," Alex sighed dramatically, "I'm working on it. And hello to you, too, Tess." Her other niece had come over and hugged her legs, and Alex smiled warmly at the four year old before lifting her gaze to smile brightly at Matt. "Hey, Matt."
"Look who finally decided to come visit," Matt drawled. His accent had long since vanished. It happened after living in America since the age of six. Unlike Alex, who'd been declared officially dead after she'd disappeared to live with another hunter, he'd been sent to stay with some of their extended family. The hunter she'd lived with had made sure to keep track of him until she was old enough to tell him about what had happened to her.
Alex gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah...sorry. Been a bit busy. Doing my best to make the world a better place. The usual."
Matt rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you're safe." He ruffled her hair. "Come on, let's go inside. I can see my children have decided they're done playing. Hm?" He scooped Tess up into his arms, then scolded the older of the two, "Hally, stop that."
Hally batted her eyelashes innocently at her father, dropping the necklace tied around Alex's neck. Alex patted the pendant with a tight smile. "Yes, let's not ruin that, it's a rather lovely life-saving device." When Matt shot her a confused look, she explained. "Keeps me from getting possessed. New partners of mine have it tattooed on their chests. I need to get it done, too."
"Partners, huh?" he muttered, closing the back door behind them.
"Okay, girls," Ryss announced, deciding that the two needed to talk. "Say goodnight to Aunt Alex. You have school in the morning. It's bed time."
Tess looked at her mother with wide eyes. "I don't."
"But you need sleep," Ryss replied, taking her from Matt. "You, too, come along, Hally." Hally pouted as Alex put her down, but scampered to take her mother's hand.
Alex waited until she could hear their footsteps upstairs before speaking. "Yeah...bloody stupid partners." She rubbed the back of her head. "They went to South Dakota, we're meeting up in Nebraska in a few days." She sighed softly. "You spoke to one on the phone a while back. That was Dean. The other one is Sam. Winchester."
Matt's gaze sharpened. "Wait just a freaking second, Alex, those are the two fugitives that died in that explosion alongside all of those other people a few days ago, aren't they?"
"...uh..." Alex squinted at him. "Sort of? They're kinda wanted - were wanted - because of a shapeshifter. That's what they told me, anyways. A guy by the name of Henriksen told them they were free to go-"
"Henriksen?" Matt rubbed the back of his head. "He's dead, too." When Alex stared blankly at him, he said slowly, "Alex. I told you. A bunch of people were killed an explosion the other day...some police officers, some other staff, the sheriff, the deputy, even the secretary. And the three FBI agents that were there. They're all dead."
"...no they're not," Alex protested, bewildered. "Left them safe and sound a day or two back. They were perfectly fine, Matt."
"Alex," Matt groaned, then dug in his pocket. He pulled his phone out and screwed around with it for a few moments. He proceeded to hand it over, the news pulled up, and Alex's lips parted in absolute shock.
"What?" she breathed.
Sure enough, just as he'd said, there was headline that announced the deaths of the very people they'd fought so hard to save. It described the suspicious circumstances, and Alex scanned through the rest of the article before clenching her jaw and slapping the phone back into her brother's hand. "Give me a minute, I need to call some people..." She turned and stormed right back outside, tears pricking her eyes as she yanked her phone out.
Matt let her go without a word, his eyes serious.
Alex took a deep breath upon getting outside, closing the back door behind her. They'd fought so hard to protect them, to keep them safe...and now they were dead. Why?! How?! She was more worried about that last question, if she was being honest...
Alex gave it a few moments, and then reached for her own phone. She searched her contacts list for Sam's number - she didn't feel like dealing with Dean at the moment. He'd only serve to piss her off even more.
Sam answered after a few moments. "Hello?" he greeted, sounding rushed.
Alex hesitated before rasping, "Sam. S'Alex."
The rushed tone vanished. "...what's wrong? What happened? Everything alright?" There was the sound of other voices in the background. Alex decided they must have been with Bobby already, that it was him and Dean talking, and Sam hurried to add after a curtly asked question, "Is your brother okay?"
"Matt's fine, as is his family." Alex sighed heavily, running her fingers through her tangled hair with a grimace. She really needed to brush it. "Just...did you hear what happened? To Henriksen and Nancy and the others?"
There was a moment of silence on Sam's end, a demand, a moment of scuffling, and then Dean's voice was on the other end. "What do you mean what happened to them?"
Ah. They must have been on speaker. "They're dead."
Silence. And then- "Oh. That."
"What do you - did you know about this and not let me know?!" Alex screeched furiously. "People we helped died and you didn't think to make sure I knew? What kind of bloody arses are you?!"
"On the idjits' behalf," came Bobby's gruff voice. "They honestly thought ya knew."
Alex scowled, gritting her teeth in frustration. "Well, I didn't. I didn't hear about it until I mentioned the names of you morons to Matt and he asked if you were two of the ones killed." She scrubbed a hand down her face. "What the hell was it? Do you know that much?"
"Lilith," Sam said grimly. "It was Lilith. Ruby was the one to tell us. She let us know who did it and gave us some hex bags that'll help keep us out of Lilith's radar. She gave us an extra one for you."
"Doubt it'll work," Alex mumbled. "Bitch." She moved on from that part of the conversation fairly quickly. "Damn...doesn't this suck."
"Sums the situation up," Dean agreed with a huff.
A moment of silence.
And then-
"How long you gonna be there?"
Alex was startled that out of the three on the other end of the call, it was Bobby who asked. Sam, she'd been expecting, maybe a short word from Dean, but not Bobby. "I plan on staying here for a few days at the very least...just to make sure nothing comes out of the night and kills what family I have left. Why?"
"Got a situation a few hours north of where you are now," Bobby told her. "Might be a demon, might not."
"Your point?" Alex said, arching an eyebrow and studying the massive oak tree in the backyard. She knew that her brother was impatiently waiting for her to come back inside, but she felt the need to know precisely what Bobby was wanting her to do. "I'm not leaving them to go and kill something."
"Don't need ya to kill nothing," Bobby replied. "Buddy of mine lives there. I want ya to check in on him. Hasn't returned any of my phone calls. The boys will meet you a few miles east of the place. Just do it on your way there, meet up with 'em in Wyoming or over on the western side of South Dakota."
"...I can do that," Alex agreed thoughtfully, nodding to herself. And she could. And she would. If Bobby was worried about one of his friends, she'd be more than willing to do it. "Just have Sam send me the information on where he lives, Mr. Singer. I'll check on him."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Alex smiled slightly to herself. Maybe they hadn't been able to save the ones at the station, but she'd do her damn hardest to save everyone that she could. "I'll call you when I've done so."
"Hey, Alex," Sam's voice suddenly said, and she focused on it. "Sorry 'bout not telling you."
Alex smiled to herself and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, you bloody idiot." And then she hung up. She shoved her phone back into her pocket and headed back inside, where Matt was waiting with an expectant look on his face. She cleared her throat before speaking. "They're aware of what happened as well...checking on another person's friend when I head out in a few days, though."
"Hm," was Matt's only response. He studied his sister's expression for a few moments, and then questioned her with a sigh. "Please tell me you're being careful?"
She gave him an offended look. "As if I wouldn't be. I'm always careful, stupid."
A smile flickered across his face for a second. "I'm sure you are."
|Februrary 25, 2008|
Alex was happy to call the couch her bed. While the motel rooms she'd stayed in with the Winchesters didn't have the best of couches in them, she thoroughly enjoyed her brother's. It was expensive, leather, and so plushy, you sank into it fairly easily.
It was kind of frightening waking up to a child landing on your stomach first thing in the morning though, squealing, "Aunt Alex, get up!"
"I'm up, I'm up," she groaned, scrubbing at her eyes as she sat up, resting on her elbows. She smiled sleepily at her niece, who beamed excitedly at her. Tessa smiled brightly in response, showing off a hole where she'd lost a tooth. "Where's your parents and Hally?"
"Daddy's leaving for work and said to wake you up," Tessa reported. "Mommy said you'd watch me instead of the weird old lady next door. She went to take Hally to school."
"Weird old lady, huh?" Alex mused, ruffling the girl's hair. She scooped her up into her lap. "Well, you and I can walk to that place on the corner. We'll get some donuts, yes?"
"Yay!" Tessa squealed, kissing her cheek. "I'll go tell Daddy."
"No need, I heard," Matt called as he walked into the living room, working furiously on rolling his sleeves up. He worked for a rather large hospital, though Alex had never worked at remembering what he was. A doctor, she thought. "Here," he said, tossing something to his sister. Alex caught it, studying the was of cash. "Some money. To pay for whatever you guys do today. Ryss is going to run a few errands, so go ahead and do whatever you want."
"Thanks," Alex said, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the money. She'd make sure to save some of it for an emergency stash. Matt didn't need to know. She pocketed it after standing, telling Tessa, "Come on. We'll get some breakfast and then go shopping. How does that sound to you?"
"Good," Tessa said happily. "Can I get a new toy?"
"Of course, love," Alex crooned, brushing Tessa's hair out of her face. Tessa kissed her aunt's cheek and then scrambled to go get dressed in the clothes her mother had set out for her.
Matt groaned. "I have to go. Don't spoil her, please."
"I won't," Alex said cheerfully, icy eyes sparkling with mischief. Just kidding. When you return, this child will have more bloody possessions than you can count.
When Matt had left and both she and Tessa were ready, the two set out hand in hand. Alex hummed happily, in a cheerful mood despite the news she'd received the night before. They walked peacefully down the street, past people that didn't even spare them a second look, and Alex grinned at the thought. Little did they know that they were walking past a supernatural creature that wielded a knife that only she could feel.
They stepped into the little cafe that was on the corner of the street that the Montgomery family lived on, Tessa chatting eagerly about what kind of donut she wanted. Alex was smiling at her, giggling in amusement.
Until the scent of sulfur filled her nose.
Alex's smile vanished and she tensed nervously, her hand tightening around Tessa's. But she pretended nothing was wrong when Tessa gave her a confused yet curious look. The little girl didn't need to know, she told herself. Let her be able to sleep at night. Damn, these bloody bastards are everywhere!
She casually glanced around the cafe, as if she was bored while they waited for their donuts to be packaged up for them to eat elsewhere, looking for the source of the scent. She found it quickly: an elderly looking man, who was just as casually studying the people around him. She quickly looked away, her throat tight. It was more than likely he would recognize her as something other than human, just as she could smell that he was anything but. She contemplated texting the Winchesters, but realized there was nothing they'd be able to do.
Since when did I start needing help on anything? Alex scolded herself, thanking the woman at the counter as she took her and Tessa's donuts. She tucked them under her arm and quickly tugged her out of the building and to safety. She took a shuddering breath and decided that calling Ryssa would be the next best thing. She needed to get Tessa to safety. Then she could focus on hunting.
Alex smirked to herself. She could do this, she'd hunted by herself for years before the Winchesters had shown up in her life. She lifted her phone to her ear as she led Tessa back towards the house.
"Hello?" came Ryssa's voice from the other end. "Alex?"
"Hullo," Alex responded quickly. "I believe it would be best if you came home, Ryss. I have some business to take care of. Immediately."
"Oh, dear," Ryss said anxiously. "Don't worry, I'm almost home now. I just finished grocery shopping. Just wait a few seconds and I'll be there." She sounded hurried as she added, "Is Tessa okay? Matt said I could leave her with you..."
"She's fine," Alex said, hurrying Tessa along the sidewalk. "I want you two to stay inside though, is that clear? I don't want you getting hurt by any demons."
Ryss was quiet for a moment, then murmured, "Demons? Are you sure?"
"Believe me," Alex said gravely, biting her lip. "I know a bloody demon when I smell one. Don't worry. I can deal with it. Just do as I said, alright?" She smiled gently at the confused Tessa. "You can have my donut, Ryss. Tessa? Your mum is going to eat with you."
Tessa blinked. "Where are you going, Aunt Alex?"
"Away for a few hours, probably," Alex responded, bidding her sister-in-law farewell before tucking her phone away. "Don't worry, Tessa, I'll be back. Promise me you'll stay with your mum, alright?"
"Kay," Tessa agreed, giggling again at her aunt's accent.
It didn't take long for her to get Tessa home, and she paused to say hello and goodbye to Ryss, who wished her luck with a grim look on her face before slipping away. As she made her way back in the direction of the cafe, her eyes narrowed, Alex yanked her phone out to call the Winchesters. She might as well make sure they knew what had happened if she didn't show up after a few days...something told her this encounter wasn't going to go well.
She simply picked a random one, holding her phone to her ear as she walked briskly down the street. She rested the phone between her shoulder and cheek, waiting for whoever she'd called to pick up as she checked to make sure she had her blade. She did, she found, and she was more than a little relieved. She never went anywhere without it, of course, but it was best to check and make sure.
Dean picked up. "Yo."
"There's a demon in the area," Alex reported, smirking. "I'm going after it. Just informing you in case I don't show up again."
"Whoa, wait. Hold on a second." Dean huffed, sounding bewildered. "I thought it was fine there! You said there wasn't anything wrong!"
Alex grimaced. "That's what I thought," she replied. She bit her lip as the cafe came into a sight a few moments later. "I was taking my niece out for breakfast though, and came across a demon. I'm not about to let rubbish like that hang around her, thank you very much."
"How old is she?"
"Four, and then I have another one that's seven. So I'm not waiting until you bloody fools show up, is that clear?" Alex said sharply. "You're more than welcome to make your way down here, but there's no way I'm leaving demons running around the area my family lives in. I've lost enough. I'm not losing anyone else."
Dean snorted softly, muttered something that she was able to catch even though she was on the phone. At least you aren't heading to Hell. She winced. That was true. "Be careful. I'm gonna go get Sam, maybe Bobby. We'll come down and you can stay with 'em while we check out the rest of the area. Watch out for Lilith, Alex."
"I know," Alex said in response, taking a deep breath. "Talk to you later, Dean."
"Yup. See ya."
Click!
Alex sniffed quietly as she stopped outside of the cafe, her hand resting lightly over the hidden blade after putting her phone away. The smell of sulfur was fainter now, she realized warily, wrinkling her nose. The demon had left soon after she had.
She followed the scent around the building, ignoring the strange looks shot her way from within it. People stared through the massive windows and she pretended not to notice them. Not like they even had a single clue as to what was going on.
Bloody bastards.
Her phone dinged, and Alex glanced at it, noting that she'd been informed that her companions were now on their way from South Dakota. "Good," she muttered, nodding to herself and shoving her phone back into her pocket.
This was going to be a long search, it appeared.
Evening had come and she still hadn't found the demon.
How? she demanded silently as she lowered her furry head to sniff at the cement. She'd long since abandoned her humanoid form in favor of her wolf-dog one, using her enhanced senses to look for the demon after checking in with Matt - he and the rest of her family were safe as far as she knew - and after she'd received the call that the Winchesters and Bobby would be arriving around seven in the evening.
That still left her another hour before they showed up.
Cursing herself, Alex sighed, trotting down the street to try again.
How could a demon hide themself so well?
Suddenly, something came charging out of nowhere, slamming into her. Alex went down with a snarl of surprise, instinctively snapping her jaws at whatever had a tight hold on her. She ignored the nasty pain that enveloped her shoulder, locking her jaws on whatever held her within its tight grasp and somehow managed to snap her head the other way, hurling them so that they slammed into the ground. She scrambled to her paws, one raised off the ground.
Bloody hell, she growled silently. Somehow, her attacker had dislocated her shoulder, and she winced at the blood that had begun to drip from a wound in her side. Not good when you had a demon to hunt - no, she corrected, the scent of sulfur flooding her senses. Not good when you had encountered a demon that had decided it was time for a fight.
She pulled her lips back to show off her teeth, growling at the smug looking man before her. It was the elderly one from the cafe earlier in the day, and he didn't seem the least bit intimidated by the sight of her teeth. In fact, eagerness spread across his expression.
He was looking forward to this fight.
Alex's hackles rose and she snarled viciously, grateful that the cafe was closed for the evening. She didn't need people seeing what happened next. She danced backwards as the demon lunged, expertly avoiding blow after blow as she guided him into an alleyway, and then took the chance to lunge for the demon's throat. Her jaws closed over his neck, snapping her teeth tight around it just as black smoke exploded from his mouth. Alex dropped the body in shock, her ears flattening against her head as the man began to cough and gurgle past the wounds she'd inflicted.
Bloody arse, she growled. He'd done that on purpose, so that she'd have killed someone who was clearly still alive. So, rather than leaving the man to die a long and gruesome death or to be rescued and turn out to be like her, Alex did something she was occasionally forced to do, cursing herself the entire time.
She buried her teeth in his neck and shook until his neck snapped, effectively silencing him forever.
She wore a blank expression as she trotted back to where she'd left her possessions, wiping blood off of her muzzle every few steps and ignoring the nasty pain in her shoulder. She'd have Matt deal with that when she got back to the house.
Just what the hell was going on here? It was like the second she'd shown up, her family had stopped being safe!
She froze.
Had they followed her?
She was going to kill the Winchesters!
Alex slowly shifted back into her human form as soon as she was able to, grimacing and groaning and whimpering as she did so. Pain raced up and down her spine and she cradled her dislocated shoulder with care as she carefully pulled her shirt on. As soon as she was dressed, she abandoned the idea of wasting time to put on her shoes, grabbing them and starting down the street, carefully lining her blade up with her arm, hopeful she wouldn't need it again for the night.
Alex wandered down the street, which was silent. She sniffed every few steps, searching for any danger that might pop up, keeping an eye on the streetlights as she did so. She'd been out all day, and she felt bad about it after saying she'd watch Tessa, but she'd make sure she made up for it. She was good with that.
Brick house after brick house blurred past as she tiredly walked, ignoring just about everything around her. When she finally reached Matt's house, she didn't even knock on the door. She swung it open, closing and locking it behind her with her uninjured side's hand. "Matt?" she called tiredly, stepping into the living room. "Ryss?"
"Alex?" came Ryss' hushed voice. The auburn-haired woman came hurrying into the room, her eyes widening at the pained look on the skinwalker's face. "Oh, what happened? Is everything alright?"
"Fine," Alex reassured, "Just dislocated my shoulder when fighting and got a little scratch, so...I'll try not to bleed on the carpet." She gave a faint smile. "Is Matt home yet?"
Ryss gave her a sympathetic look. "No...he' took an extra shift. He'll be gone for a few hours yet."
"Damn," she muttered. Alex ran her fingers through her tangled red-blonde hair. "Guess I'll wait until they get here, can't exactly go to the hospital...damn. It's trying to heal - I usually heal really fast - but if I don't get it fixed soon, it'll heal wrong and make it worse later."
Ryss bit her lip. "You said "until they get here"?"
"The people I've been working with," Alex said carefully. She settled onto the couch, leaning back carefully and then swearing softly as she realized her mistake. Gritting her teeth at the pain and pressing her good side's hand against her bleeding wound, she rasped, "I want to make sure everything's okay, so they're coming to help me. Clearly, I've lost all of my bloody self-assurance when it comes to killing those pieces of rubbish..."
The nervous looking Ryss pressed her lips together unhappily at the thought. "You didn't...you don't kill any innocent people, right?"
Alex didn't answer. Ryss' eyes went wide with shock at this, her face going pale. "Alex..."
"I know you probably hate the idea for it," Alex said quietly. "But it happens, okay? I don't exactly enjoy killing people, I hope you know. I had to. The Winchesters are no better than I, Ryss. But we won't hurt anyone unless necessary." She sighed softly, closing her blue eyes so that she could rest until someone that could help her fix her shoulder arrived.
Ryss left to go and take care of her daughters, her face troubled.
Alex had the feeling that she wouldn't be welcome near her nieces after that interesting conversation.
It was nearly a painful hour later that her phone went off. She cracked an eye open as she answered, cursing the blood that would be left on the device. "Hullo?"
"Which house?"
She blinked blurrily. "Huh?"
"Which house?" Dean repeated, sounding impatient. "We're here. Which house is the one you're at? Friggin' wasting time here."
Alex croaked out the address, and then added, "Saw the bastard. Still hangin' around here somewhere." And just to piss him off, because she felt like it, she continued. "I'm knackered, and I want to take a kip. Hurry your arse up."
Sometimes, pissing him off with British slang was the best way to make her feel better, and this was definitely one of those times.
"..." Dean promptly hung up, and Alex gave a small laugh before closing her eyes to sleep again and covering her side once more. She scowled at the fact that she was exhausted with no clue as to why. Fighting didn't usually exhaust her this much, even when she was hurt twenty times worse than this.
It seemed like only seconds later that there was a knock on the door. "Ryss!" Alex shouted, hoping that she wouldn't have to get up. "Can you get the door for me?"
"Of course." Ryss came hurrying out of the kitchen, from where she was doing the dishes so that she could head upstairs and to bed. Her smile faded into a look of concern at the sweat that had begun to dot her sister-in-law's forehead, and quickly swung the door open.
She was forced to tilt her head back slightly to look up at a nervously smiling Sam. "Hi," he greeted.
"Hello, I'm Ryss," Ryss introduced, smiling brilliantly at him. She waved him inside, along with Dean, who stopped to give her a once-over before noticing the wedding ring she wore and focusing on matters at hand.
"I'm Sam," Sam responded, "And this is my brother, Dean. We're-"
"The people that work with Alex, I know." Ryss jerked her thumb at Alex, who raised a shaky hand, not bothering to open her eyes. "She's right there. She got hurt, said that you would help her since Matt isn't home yet..."
"We'll do it, don't worry," Sam reassured, closing the door behind them. "We'll take care of it. You have kids, right? Go check on them, keep them upstairs so they don't hear anything you don't want them knowing."
"Got it," Ryss responded and hurried up the stairs to do just that.
The Winchesters exchanged a look before Dean crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "So how the friggin' hell did this happen, puppy?"
"Dean," Sam protested, annoyed.
Alex shifted carefully, grunting and nearly toppling over in the process. "Dunno. Fought the bloody wanker, got back here, and..." She waved her bloodied hand in the air, ignoring the fact that a drop of blood struck an immediately cranky Dean on the cheek. "It's...gah!" She gritted her teeth, wrapping her arm around her middle. "Just...fix it. Please. First-aid's in the first cabinet on your left in the kitchen."
"Dean, go get it," Sam said before his brother could snarl something angrily, annoyed with her for getting her blood on him. He then turned back to her, his eyes narrowed. "We'll get your shoulder fixed while he's doing that...ready?"
She gave him a small thumbs up. She braced herself on the couch, wincing as he expertly prepared to pop her shoulder back into place. Alex silently cursed herself for not stealing form her brother's stash of alcohol.
There was a sharp crack followed by a muffled yelp of pain. Alex's sharp hearing picked up the questioning words of Hally upstairs, but she only gave a shaky sigh, withdrawing her arm and carefully resting it on her knee, letting it simply heal for the time being.
"Did I miss it? Damn." Dean came back in with the first-aid kit tucked under one arm. He handed it to Sam, who rolled his eyes.
"Wanker," Alex wheezed.
"Bitch."
"Dean!" Sam snapped impatiently. "There's kids in the place! Pretty sure they don't need to be hearing things like that."
Dean huffed. "Alex was saying-"
"I use British slang," Alex mumbled. "Different. 'Sides. I'm their aunt, I can say whatever I want. You're an arse that needs to stop being a twat, so naff off!"
...okay, maybe she was overdoing it a little.
More than a little if the looks on their faces was anything to go by.
She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Makes me feel better."
"The hell's going on in here?"
Alex's head snapped around, and she gave a small wave to her brother as Matt stepped through the door. Matt looked anything but amused as he glared suspiciously at Dean and Sam with eyes as blue as his sister's. "Hey, Matt," Alex greeted.
"Don't "hey" me," he snapped. "Who are they? Just because you're out hunting whatever doesn't mean you can bring people who might infect my children-"
Alex's gaze hardened dangerously. "Don't," she muttered, "Even go there, Matt. These are Sam and Dean, the Winchesters. The ones I've been working with for a while now. They're not skinwalkers."
"Dude," Dean cut in, looking astonished. "Do you not see the blood? She's bleeding."
Sam grunted his agreement, frowning, but Alex merely waved them off. "It's fine," she muttered, looking a little upset by the matter. She yawned. "Just...Sam, do you mind?"
"Sure." The younger of the two gave a tight smile, glancing one more time at Matt before turning away to set to work on fixing up Alex's side. He gently inspected the injury after she'd twisted to let him - and then uttered a soft swear. "There's some kind of metal...did he catch you with any silver?"
She blinked. "I didn't feel anything like that. I guess he might have." She wrinkled her nose, sniffing to try and figure out just how much silver might be in the wound-
-and caught the scent of sulfur, enough so that she sneezed loudly.
"Bloody hell," she choked out, ripping her blade out of it's hiding place and then clutching her side when pain raced through her. "Damn it!"
"Alex?" Sam demanded.
"Demon," she mumbled from between clenched teeth, glaring at a suddenly grinning Matt.
"Miss me?" he taunted, and Dean spun on his heel, shoving his hand into his pocket to withdraw something. Before he could, Matt - the demon - simply waved his hand and it was gone. Alex grimaced at the sound of a glass bottle shattering. "Didn't dig the thing in deeper...should have been dead by now, saved us some trouble."
Alex only scowled, clenching her jaw when she realized that she couldn't exactly fight with the way she was now. So, she shoved her blade into Sam's hands. "Don't kill him," she mumbled. "Please don't kill my brother."
Sam's eyes widened with alarm. "Then what do I need this for?!"
"Try not to kill Matt," Alex corrected.
"What do you want us to do then?" Dean huffed. "Do an exorcism while he's trying to-"
"Daddy?"
Tessa's voice had the demon's smile growing sinister. Alex swore when she saw the little four year old at the bottom of the stairs, ignoring the pain to throw herself past the demon and at the stairs. "Ryss!" she shrieked. "Ryss! Keep them upstairs!"
Ryss appeared at the top of the stairs, a frown on her face. "Why? What's going on? You shouldn't be-"
A loud crash interrupted her as Sam was suddenly thrown through the wall at the base of the stairs. Tessa screamed in terror and Alex shoved her up the stairs, grimacing at the bloody hand print she left on her niece's nightgown. Ryss' eyes widened with horror as she grabbed Tessa and fled to hide, dragging the curious Hally with her.
Alex took a deep breath and forcefully set to work on digging in the damaged flesh of her injury, hissing in pain when spots dotted her vision. Finally, she withdrew a small but partially melted piece of metal, one that just barely singed at her fingers.
Not pure silver, but enough so that it would have done it's job.
She tossed it over her shoulder without a care, and then counted to ten, hoping her healing would kick in.
It took mere seconds for her exhaustion to fade, and she immediately changed forms, throwing herself at Matt. She was careful not to bite him as she pinned him to the ground, snarling softly. Dean jumped out of the way, cursing her in the process, but she didn't care.
She had to save Matt, even if it killed them. If it meant saving her brother, she'd sacrifice the world, because there was no way in hell she'd suffer more than she already had. And she wouldn't make her brother's family go through the same pain they had.
Alex whipped her massive furry head around to glare at Sam as the moose of a man hauled himself out of the wall. He winced, swiping some blood from his forehead as he immediately began to recite the exorcism, ignoring the demons loud screeching in Matt's voice.
"Lilith will find you!" it cried excitedly, and Alex shivered at the thought. She didn't like the sound of that at all, she decided. And neither did Dean, who simply dug in his brother's pocket as Sam continued to utter the exorcism, dumping a canteen full of holy water onto Matt's head. Smoke rose from his flesh, and Alex wrinkled her nose at the smell, fighting back a wave of tears.
This was her fault.
It was always her fault.
Suddenly, the familiar black smoke exploded outward from Matt's mouth, and the man fell limp beneath her. She growled at the smoke as it swirled away, escaping out from beneath the front door. She stepped off of the unconscious man, and was immediately changing into her humanoid form, eyes darting to the Winchesters. "Could one of you go get my nieces and their mother? I want to make sure they're alright, but I can't...I can't leave..."
"I'll do it," Dean muttered. He dropped the emptied canteen to the floor, where it gave a loud clank, bouncing. He cast a final look at the messy living room, the heavily breathing Sam, and the pale Alex before leaving.
"You alright?" Sam asked, glancing at her.
"I should be asking you that," she mused, nodding at the blood that was still dripping from the gash in his head. His lips twisted into a wry grin.
"I'm fine," Sam answered, then looked over his shoulder when Dean came thumping down the stairs, a terrified looking Hally in his grasp. Alex noted the fact that he was smiling just slightly, looking a bit happy about holding the kid despite the current situation. Ryss came down with Tessa in her arms, her eyes wide with fear as she followed him.
"Everything's been dealt with," Alex told her, ignoring the shameless staring she was receiving from Dean as she tugged her jeans back on. She was quick to yank her blood-stained shirt over her head as well, and she glared at him for staring afterwards. "Matt should be okay."
Ryss clenched her jaw uneasily. "What happened? Is he alright?"
"Fine," Sam supplied. "Just possessed by a demon."
"Just possessed?" Ryss' voice rose in volume, anger mixing with terror and disbelief. "Do you think this is a game?! My husband was just- My daughters! My children could have been-" She cut off with a strangled sob, and she hid her face in the quiet Tessa's hair. She took a deep breath, and then breathed a word that twisted Alex's heart. "Out. I want you out. All of you."
Alex hesitantly took a step towards her sister-in-law, hurt flashing across her expression. "Ryss-"
"Out!" Ryss interrupted, the word sharp and cutting through her like knives. She whirled on Dean just as quickly, grabbing Hally's arm and practically dragging Hally free of his grasp. Hally gave a soft cry of surprise and pain when she tumbled to the floor, and Ryss only touched her head apologetically before snarling, "I want you out of my house immediately. Don't bother coming back. You put my family in danger...I don't know why we ever let you come here, Alex." She curled a lip, eyes blazing. "Did you bite him?"
Alex jerked with an offended look on her face. "As if I'd - Ryss, you know I'd never-" Her voice cracked.
Sam pursed his lips. "We're leaving. Give us a moment so that Alex can gather up her things, Mrs. Montgomery. I can move him to the couch if you want," he added, waving towards Matt.
"Don't touch him," she spat out as fast as the words could leave her mouth. "Just...get out."
"Mommy?" Tessa said softly, looking confused. "What's going on? I thought Aunty Alex was going to-"
"Hush, dear," Ryss said, gently brushing the hair from Tessa's face. "Alex isn't you're aunty anymore. Okay?"
If Alex had been upset before, it was nothing compared to the pain she felt now. She silently went to work on gathering up her things, her face carefully blank and her mind numb, even as Sam tried to protest against what Ryss was saying and Dean, surprisingly gentle, pushed Alex out of the way when her hands shook too much to shove things into her duffel bag.
When they'd finally stepped out of the house, Alex spared a final look backwards, hope flashing through her when her sharp ears picked up the sound of Matt stirring.
Ryss slammed the door before she could say anything, though.
"Alex?" Sam said hesitantly, as if wary of speaking to the quiet skinwalker.
"I'm okay," she breathed. "I'm...okay."
"Come on," Dean said in response. "Let's go tell Bobby about what happen."
"Yeah," Sam agreed reluctantly.
"Yes," Alex echoed, staggering over to the car. She waited until Dean had unlocked it before climbing into the back seat, not bothering to fight for the passenger seat like she usually did. Instead, she curled up on her side, careful not to get blood on the seat, and closed her eyes, silently listening to the words Dean and Sam mumbled to each other minutes later when they thought she wouldn't notice.
They would turn on her, too, some day.
They always did.
|March 13, 2008|
She kicked a large rock as she wandered the path around the lake, ignoring the buzzing of her phone in her pocket as she contemplated just what she was going to do. She'd been considering the idea of leaving for a while now, going back to England, or even going to live as a dog. She paused, then scratched out the first idea.
She was contemplating the idea of either continuing hunting or going to live as a dog. Maybe she could find that girl, Avery, and pray she hadn't scared her too badly. Maybe she'd take her in again...
Alex hoped so.
The skinwalker bit her lip, chewing thoughtfully on it as she turned to look out across the water. It had been a couple weeks since she'd basically been outcasted from what remained of her family. She'd received a few phone calls from her brother - none of which she'd answered - as had the Winchesters, whose numbers were still in her voicemail. They'd just wrapped up on the job they'd taken little over three days ago; it'd been some ghost job, a normal one that hadn't been too exciting.
She kicked another rock and it went skittering into the water, which rippled as the stone sank, never to be seen again. Not that anyone would go looking for it.
Alex frowned. If she disappeared to go play as a pet...would anyone look for her? Sure, the Winchesters were friends for the time being - she used that term lightly when concerning Dean, she was still pretty sure he hated her - but everyone left eventually, right? Or at least turned on her.
Damn, there were a hell of a lot of problems that came with being her. Not that she liked to complain. In reality, she hated whining about her life. She was proud - had been proud - of the life she'd carved for herself, but that pride was gone now.
Her sister-in-law despised her after swearing that she'd never hate her for what she was. She'd promised when Alex had reluctantly told her. She'd been the one to demand to know why Alex constantly smelled of wet dog after showering, why the young woman was able to so easily tell her what her daughter was doing. They'd been decent friends for nearly three years of Hally's life before she'd told her.
And now she was betrayed.
She should have known. Alex huffed, hugging herself as she kicked yet another rock into the water.
"Can't catch a brake, can I?" she grumbled.
"Yo! You done moping yet?"
The familiar voice made her nearly jump out of her skin, and Alex whipped around to see a smug looking Dean. She glared at him, her icy eyes narrowing warningly until she saw the tired look about him, the exhaustion lining his face, and the way his hunched body swayed as he staggered closer.
Clearly, Dean Winchester had gotten himself just a little bit drunk. And she used the word "little" to hide the fact that the man was completely and totally wasted.
"Bloody hell, Winchester," she muttered, arching an eyebrow as he came to a shaky halt beside her. "You okay to be out here? Don't you need to be faffing about in a bed somewhere? Where's Sam? I thought he was going to keep the whisky from you."
"Snuck it away from him," the man admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Thought he hid it good when he went to finish up the job. Giving final statements to the cops, the likes."
"Ah," she mumbled. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and then sighed softly. "May I ask why you decided you needed to drink yourself into oblivion?"
"Nearly two and a half months away from going to Hell," Dean said with a shrug. "Give me a break for a change, woman."
"If you weren't an arse, maybe I'd consider it," she fired back. She rolled her eyes, and then turned them back on the peaceful lake. "Life is a bloody hell hole right now, isn't it." It was a statement, not a question, that she uttered.
"Eh. Always is for us," he answered. He glanced at her. "What you thinking about by yourself out here?"
Blinking at the question that made no sense, it took her a moment to understand. Then Alex gave a dry smile and rocked back on her heels, admitting, "Whether or not I should leave. I'm done with this hunting thing. It's taken one too many things from me."
"Can't," was his immediate answer. Dean followed her gaze to stare out at the lake. "Need someone to look after Sammy when I'm gone, if you don't mind. And Bobby's not cut out for the job like we are. He's not young enough to keep up with the amount of fighting we do, not anymore."
"Well aren't you a kind soul," she muttered.
He snorted in response. "Seriously though." He glanced at her. "Need someone to keep an eye on Sammy...you willing to do that? I don't want him getting mixed up with that demon bitch."
Alex pressed her lips together unhappily at both the idea of continuing like this and keeping Sam away from Ruby. Finally, she huffed out a soft sigh. "I suppose. Thought you'd rather kill me than trust me with this kind of thing though, to be honest."
"I still don't trust you completely," Dean admitted gruffly, "But...ain't many other people who would do it."
A smile played along the skinwalker's lips as she agreed, and the two agreed to a peaceful truce for the time being, staring over the calming water of the lake.
Another quick chapter...:D