Hello everybody! Thanks to all of the loyal readers of this story, and welcome to all newcomers! I hope you're enjoying Heather and Erica's journey with the Winchesters as much as I am :)
Chapter 10
Erica woke eagerly to her alarm the next morning, all but jumping out of the bed she'd shared with Sam. Neither Winchester moved at the soft harp sounds. Erica padded over to Heather, pulling the covers off to reveal her tangled waves.
"Do you want first shower since I got it last time?" she asked.
Heather nodded wearily and rolled herself to the floor. Erica sat with her back against the wall, long legs stretched out in front of her as her friend stumbled into the bathroom. Sam would be up soon for his morning run. She scrolled through local news articles on her phone before hearing a phone go off.
Dean's ringtone of an electric guitar drew her to his duffel. The caller ID read "Ellen."
She glanced at Dean's sprawled out sleeping form, mentally debating her chances of surviving an attempt to wake him up.
"Hello?" she answered finally.
"You're not Dean." a scratchy female voice came over the line.
Erica immediately went into business mode. "He's asleep right now."
"Oh, you're his hook up of the week?" the voice replied.
"No, can I help you?" Erica replied crisply.
"Sorry honey, no."
"Hold on." Erica tucked the phone against her shoulder and selected a shoe from Dean's bag before tossing it so it landed squarely on Dean's throat. He shot up, gun outstretched.
"Phone, man whore." Dean grumbled an equally insulting response back as she passed him his cell.
They sleep with guns? Erica decided she should start doing that. Could be useful.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. We're not too far off. Sure, we can be there by lunch. Yes, that's me asking you to cook. Ellen?" Dean hung up his phone.
"You have a way with women." Erica told him. "What'd she want?"
"She runs a roadhouse not too far from here. Bobby told her we were in the area looking for that magical bird feather."
"White peacock feather." Erica corrected.
Dean waved her off. "Anyway, she and her daughter, Jo, apparently have a personal investment in me and Sam. She wants us to swing by for a visit."
"Dean, we're busy." Erica said shortly. "We can't afford distractions."
"It's lunch, E, not us checking in the Hotel California." Erica frowned faintly at the familiar way with which he used her nickname.
Just then Dean glanced down at his bed and then over to the one his brother occupied, eyes widening. "Please tell me it was Heather I shared a bed with. Not that you're not great and all…but…" His eyes cut over to Sam.
My god, had he noticed? Or had Sam simply told him?
Erica shrugged, making the older Winchester scowl. "Seriously." he demanded.
"I don't see why it's so important." Erica traipsed off as Heather exited the bathroom.
"Heat, did you sleep with me?" Dean called, making Sam start and sit up groggily.
Erica winked and Heather grinned widely. "Why, I don't know what you're talking about."
Erica could see how uncomfortable Heather was at The Roadhouse. Not because it was so unlike the polished diners she was accustomed eating at; it was because Dean seemed a bit too familiar with Jo.
Heather had her arms crossed and, even though Ellen was speaking to them, kept glancing over her shoulder at the flirtatious pair.
"An alpha Rou? That's one hell of a hunt you've found yourself." Ellen noted.
"Erica found it actually." Sam nodded to the older hunter.
"Yeah, well I wouldn't have been able to save Heather if it wasn't for y'all." Erica said shrugging.
Sam's hazel eyes went soft for a second and Erica pursed her lips, refusing to look at him.
"How long have you been hunting, dear?" Ellen asked her. Erica was glad for the distraction.
"Since I was 17. My parents raised me in it, though they're retired now."
Ellen nodded. "That's good that they could get out of the life like that."
"They like to think so." Erica smiled.
"Hey Dean." Ellen called. "Mind if you and Sam come move some stuff out back for me?"
"I see the real reason you called us. Manual labor isn't free, Ellen." Dean tutted.
"Good thing you're just boys then." Sam laughed at Dean's mock hurt face.
Once they were out the back door, Jo sauntered over to Erica and Heather.
"I just remembered I left my phone in the car." Heather murmured, skirting out the door.
It wasn't like Heather to be impolite. Erica had seen something going on between her best friend and Dean. Maybe it was more than she made it out to be.
"I don't see how you can tolerate sitting a car with them for countless hours. These little visits are about all I can take of Dean. Sam's not too bad." Jo allowed.
"How long have you known them?" Erica asked instead of responding to the comment.
Jo shifted on her feet. "A few months maybe. I went on a hunt with them one time. It wasn't what I imagined it would be."
She laughed wryly. "My sister, Maureen, has this fantasy where hunting is this glorious thing that she can't wait to be a part of."
Jo nodded along. "It's not bad necessarily, just different. Very different." She waved her hand towards the door. "I don't think your friend likes me very much."
"I'm not sure what's up with her." Erica said.
"Well, I could make a solid guess. But you're her friend, aren't you? Go see." Jo instructed.
Yes, because Erica was just so great about discussing feelings.
"Heat?" Erica called as she approached the impala. Heather was sitting on the trunk, but she didn't want to startle her.
"Are the guys ready?" She asked.
"No, they're still with Ellen." Erica responded.
When Heather didn't say more, she slid on the trunk beside her. She opened her mouth and shut it, trying to decide how to start this conversation. She was really bad at girl talk.
"I knew it. I don't know why I'm letting it get to me. I knew he slept around a lot. Hell, I did too. I knew I wasn't really special. But seeing Jo...seeing Dean with her hurts. I let myself actually get jealous over him. How stupid was that?" Heather laughed dryly.
Erica licked her lips, preparing for an awkward conversation, maybe a hug if needed.
"I see you with Sam and you've got everything so perfectly sorted through with him. And I tried to do that with Dean, but I'm not like you. I like flirting and I like doing it with him. Is it so horrible to think he's a good person?"
"You don't want to be like me." Erica said by way of reply.
"But you know exactly what you want. Exactly how you feel."
"Is that really how you see me? Because I'm a damn mess. And I'm so damn confused because I've been too stubborn to let myself feel anything before this. So now that I do…" Erica cut herself off, rubbing her hands under her eyes.
"I'm hurting Sam." she whispered finally. "And that hurts me and it shouldn't. I shouldn't let it. But I can't figure out how to make it stop." Erica looked over at her friend suddenly. "Go talk to Dean." she said.
Heather's eyebrows rose. Then she promptly got down and straightened out her jacket. "You're right."
She began to walk off before turning around. "I think Sam would understand if you told him all that. He would help you work through it at least. He's a really great guy if you take time to notice it."
"I have."
Heather nodded shortly and strode off. Erica sighed and swung her legs back to the ground. She heard a scuff behind her and whipped around, gun already removed from her boot and ready to fire. Sam stood off aways.
Erica read his face in an instant. He'd heard everything.
"Erica." He started forward.
Erica seriously considered shooting him for half a second, then Heather, then herself for being so idiotic.
Instead, she tucked the gun away. "No." she breathed.
"Just let me talk." Sam held up his hands.
"That's all you do Sam." Erica ran her hands up and down the tops of her thighs. "But talking doesn't fix anything." She turned and headed back to The Roadhouse.
"Maybe because you refuse to say anything that will make you vulnerable!"
Erica didn't like fighting. She didn't like that she could make Sam this upset. She especially didn't want to shout anything back in her anger. So she merely turned away and left him there.
..
Heather's stride toward the back of the roadhouse had started off strong and determined. But as her target came into view, her steps became hesitant. What was she even supposed to say to Dean? At this point her only argument was I know who I am, but not what I want and that wasn't going to get anybody anywhere.
Like she'd told Erica, this whole flirting deal with Dean was just in good fun. Something to ease her mind of the madness she'd been thrown into. But now that she had seen him with another potential object of affection, it made her upset, and that made her uneasy. She knew she'd been forming an attachment to him but she wasn't interested in it making a huge difference.
Nonetheless, she'd been hoping to be the only blonde on his radar for awhile.
She stepped into their line of sight as the Dean was hauling the last crate of wood through the back door. "I know Sammy went back to the car for his phone, and now he's sent you as his replacement? Man, I've gotta teach that kid some manners." Dean shot her a killer grin and laughed at his own jesting.
"Might wanna learn some yourself, barn animal." Ellen said with a glint in her eye. "You came trampling up in my place in those dirty boots!"
Heather snickered at Dean's pursed lips, then sombered as she noticed Jo pass by the window. Thankfully, neither Dean nor Ellen noticed.
The older woman instead crossed her arms. "Joking aside, Dean, I think I can actually help you guys out on this hunt."
"With all due respect, ma'am, I'm not letting you or Jo come with us. We can handle it, plus we've already got a full crew in the Impala."
"Would ya listen, Winchester?" Ellen jerked her thumb toward the roadhouse. "I'm trying to tell ya that I've got a feather like the one you're looking for."
Heather's head snapped up. "You've got a white peacock feather? That'd be great!"
"Yeah, hon. Y'all c'mon and get it."
Dean and Heather followed her to a back storage room and watched as she rifled through a few cardboard boxes. Sure enough, from a box marked 'Misc.', she pulled out a long white feather with the telltale eye-pattern at its tip.
"You are an angel." Dean said as he carefully took it from her and placed it in a plastic bag.
"And don't you forget it." she offered with a warm smile. "Now I just heard that front bell ring so I'm gonna go see what kinda patrons stumbled in for lunch."
As her footsteps echoed down the hallway, Dean stated, "We can swing out back to pick up my jacket, then head to the car for Sam and E before we say our goodbyes."
They retraced their steps back outside where Dean began the search for his jacket. "I know I left the damn thing out here…"
Heather saw worn leather peeking out from behind a barrel and grasped it, holding it out for its owner. "This it?"
"Nah, I'm looking for the other leather jacket I always wear." He smirked, taking it from her and dusting it off. "But yeah, thanks."
Heather's stomach twisted into knots as she realized this was going to be the best time to talk with Dean privately. How was she even gonna start? Well, she could try the…
"Hey, Heat?" Dean snapped his fingers in front of her face. "What's with you? You've seemed off today. Better not be gettin' sick."
She forced a smile. "Oh, no I'm not sick. I feel fine. But anyway, um, well I was curious about Jo. How long have you known her?" Struggling for words was unnerving for Heather, and she could only hope that her question seemed casual enough.
When she turned to look at Dean, however, his knowing grin made her heart drop.
"Well we've worked a hunt or two with her. Nice girl, takes after her mom, stubborn as hell. Why do you wanna know?"
Heather looked away as she racked her brain for an answer. "Oh, you know, I was just curious. Wondered if she started out to all this hunting stuff like me."
"Right." His voice was steady, strong like the rest of him. And she daren't look his way. "Well I think you've realized by now, Heat, that I know a lot about how women work."
He watched her mouth contort into a small smirk, and continued. "And so I know that you probably wouldn't be asking me about Jo unless you were dealing with a bit of the green-eyed monster."
Heather sharply turned to Dean, ready to fire back that he was a green-eyed monster, only to find that he had stepped quite close to her. Hands bumping together, shoulders aligned, eyes boring into each other's.
And lips. God, those lips were close.
"So you were a little jealous." he said barely above a whisper.
She nodded, regaining some of her confidence. "I thought we had a good thing going."
He cocked her half a grin, then leaned in. She met him halfway, their lips pressing together feverishly. His hands found her shoulders and she caressed his cheek as their mouths moved together, finding each other's rhythm.
Heather was the first to pull away, beaming. But it was Dean who spoke first, smile matching hers.
"Good thing going, huh?"
She shrugged nonchalantly as her hands snuck behind his neck. "Yeah, I like to think so." She kissed him once more, short and sweet, before turning and walking back towards the Impala.
Flouncing probably better described her movements, but she'd never admit to that.
"Two more exits 'til we're in Iowa." Sam stated. "I think we can call it a night after that."
"Then do you think we can make it to the Cincinnati…geology showcase, was it? Can we get there by closing in two days?" Heather pondered aloud.
Sam answered "Definitely" at the same time that Erica said "Maybe." Immediately both looked away.
"It's still four states away," the latter continued, "but maybe with Dean's driving we'll make it."
Dean petted the dashboard as a Lynyrd Skynyrd song came on. "See Baby? They're starting to trust us."
The foursome stopped at the first motel within Iowa lines, booking once again into only one room. Gotta save money, right? This time, however, a couch was provided, making the sleeping arrangements easier to manage.
"I'm on the sofa." Sam offered, surprisingly without a fight.
"E and I get window bed," Heather said, then turned to the elder Winchester, "and you'll not be joining me this time."
She swatted at his pouting face only to see, regrettably, the realization dawning on him.
"So it was you I shared a bed with." Dean's shit-eating grin was still irresistible, and she faintly blushed.
Man, it was good to have him back to herself.
Sighing in defeat, Heather quickly grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom. When she reemerged a few minutes later, she saw Erica laying down, facing the wall. Do hunters always sleep on top of the sheets? The more disconcerting matter, however, was Erica's general lack of communication since they'd left the roadhouse, particularly with Heather herself.
Erica had stonewalled her about talking to Sam, and Heather hadn't had the heart to share her own good news about Dean. She hoped that with a little rest and time to mull, they could then talk things through.
Until then, though, the show must go on. "And in the next act," she muttered, smiling at her own wit, "our characters search for a mysterious opal."
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