Chapter 11 "What She's Getting"

They drove day and night until they reached Fenton. Kenzie hung back with Dean while Sam and Nate went to check out the Dawson house for signs of Brice.

"Think I'll sleep there tonight," Nate said when they returned. "The house is still ours and he might show up there; then we can dig around in the morning." He turned from the Winchesters' motel room, looking expectantly back at his sister.

"I'm not going," she said.

"Sis, there's nothing wrong with the place. Brice and I have stayed there since –,"

"I won't go," Kenzie interrupted firmly.

"I'll go with you, Nate," Sam offered. "Might be a good idea to have someone with you. Even if Brice shows up, he might have someone or something on his tail."

The Dawson home still served as a base for Nate and his family so it was well kept and ready for its overnight guests.

Nate threw his bag into his bedroom then he and Sam began searching the house for anything that might give them a clue about their missing vampire or what Brice might be doing in Fenton. Nate was pretty sure his brother hadn't been to the house yet, but he hoped he could find something about the hunt that started all this. He knew his mom had been here just a few days before they took up the vampire case.

As they sorted through papers in the study, Nate kept the wheels in his brain moving: the vampire in question, why they'd been led back home, and what his sister had been doing while he was gone. His eyes roved over to the man he was working with. Sam Winchester. His mom had mentioned a John Winchester on occasion – he'd taught Karen a great deal about hunting. Karen said John was one of the best. While Sam was interviewing Brice's doctor at the hospital, Nate gave his mom's plan B – Bobby Singer – a call. Both to check in and bring Bobby up to speed and to check Sam and Dean's credentials. His sister seemed quite attached to them, so like a good brother, he got them checked out. He'd never met Bobby before, but based off what his mom told him, he trusted Singer's word about the Winchesters. Bobby's word was enough. Enough for their professional reputation, that is. Not enough for the way Kenzie looked at Dean.

"Something on your mind?" Sam's voice suddenly reminded Nate to pull his gaze back to the task at hand.

Nate shrugged, "Just thinking."

"Anything in particular?"

"My sister seems to like you two quite a bit. Just wondering what kind of guys she threw in with. Especially Dean."

Sam nodded knowingly, "You noticed."

"A blind man could notice. You have sisters, Sam?"

"No, it's just me and Dean."

"Well, big brothers tend to be real protective about who their little sisters hang around with; we like to know they're safe. Well, safe for a hunter."

"You won't find anyone more protective than Dean."

"Still wonder if there's anything I should know about him."

Sam paused in his search and leaned back on a desk. "Look, Dean's a hunter; you know firsthand what that entails. Sure, he sleeps with a gun under his pillow, his home base is his car, he knows how to kill nearly every monster under the sun, and he's not exactly the poster child of good health. He's probably never going to have a house with a backyard, weekend barbeques with the neighbors, a dog named Spot, and 2.5 kids. But that's not what your sister needs anyway, Nate. She's in this now. We are all in this. Hunters don't walk away from this life. If you're asking me what Kenzie is getting, I'll tell you: she's getting the kid who raised me on the road when our father was too obsessed to remember he had a toddler and a baby in the car. She's getting the kid who stood over me all night with a shotgun in a motel room when the monsters came after me. The kid who kid who got caught stealing peanut butter because I kept whining for a lousy banana sandwich. She's getting the man who refused to follow the reaper, because he wouldn't leave his family unprotected. She's getting the man who came back from forty years in Hell, and whose first thought after that was to find me and Bobby. He's gone to unbelievable lengths to keep our family – even strangers' families – together. Sure, he's rough and battered, Nate – all hunters are. But I can guarantee Dean will love Kenzie, he'll take care of her to his last breath. That's what she's getting."

"Hmm," Kenzie muttered from the bed, her eyes fixed on her laptop.

Dean straightened up from his position at the table, "Does 'Hmm' mean something good?"

"I got an email from that nurse Sam talked to. Said she remembered something more: Brice's doctor – a Brian Hayes – had left instructions for a security guard to be assigned to Brice's room, only Brice left before the guard came."

"Did she say why the doctor wanted a guard?"

Kenzie shook her head, "He just seemed very interested in Brice's case and said he wanted him watched 24/7."

"So where can we find this doctor?"

"Nurse says he hasn't shown up for any of his shifts since Brice disappeared, but he's supposed to be at a hospital fund raiser tomorrow night. He sent his staff an email saying he's been ill, but he will be at the event."

"Mighty suspicious illness…Well dear, better find yourself a dress; looks like we're going to a party."