GhostFacers

Sam and Michelle were not very happy as Dean drove the Impala to their next hunt. Their leads on Bela had dried up and they were waiting on Bobby to get back to them. So, to pass the time, Dean had taken to randomly hunting various creatures and dragging Michelle and Sam with him. Now they were headed towards the Morton House which, according to Dean, was the Grand Canyon of hunting. Apparently a ghost appeared once, every four years, on leap day, at midnight, with a number of people disappearing when it happened. They did have to admit it sounded interesting, especially from the information Sam was able to find about it on the way.

They were currently driving up to the house, 'An American Band' by Grand Funk Railroad playing on the stereo. Dean was driving, searching the grounds carefully while Sam sat in the passenger's seat with his laptop open.

Michelle was peeking out the back with her flashlight, helping Dean scout the grounds.

"Idiots," she muttered as the Impala drove off. Just when they turned the corner around the house, she'd seen a few flashlights turn on by the fence.

"What?" Dean glanced back at her, moving to park the Impala.

She shook her head, "Probably some dumb teens trying to sneak in on a dare. You know, spend the night in the haunted house."

"Great," Sam groaned, just what they needed.

Dean turned off the car and got out, heading to the trunk as Michelle and Sam followed.

"Well, it's about 10:30," Michelle stated, glancing at her watch, "We better get in and get them out."

Sam and Dean nodded, grabbing a few weapons and supplies from the trunk as she did the same.

~8~

It had taken the trio about twenty minutes to actually track down the other people in the house. They'd been on the first floor, having checked out most of the level, before hearing someone running down a hallway behind them. They saw a few flashlights reflecting on the wall as the people came to a stop before turning the corner.

Dean looked meaningfully at Sam and Michelle before moving towards the corner slowly, trying to avoid making any creaking noises as he did.

"...I think it was just this branch...ok, in the window," a voice drifted over to them as they walked closer, "This is spooky, man."

"This place..." another voice remarked. Sam and Dean paused a moment, looking at each other, it seemed vaguely familiar to them.

"Ok," the other voice gulped, "Oh, no!"

Sam and Dean stepped out from around the corner with Michelle, guns drawn and aimed at two men standing in the middle of the hall.

"Freeze!" Dean shouted, "Police officers! Don't move!"

Michelle aimed her flashlight in the faces of the two men, freaking them out quite a bit, "Alright," she said calmly, "Take it easy."

"Let's see some identification," Sam demanded, "Come on, let's see some I.D."

"We are unarmed," the first man said, holding up his hands.

"What…are we under…under arrest?" the second asked.

"Oh God, oh God…"

"Want to explain that weirdo outfit, Mr. uh...Corbett?" Dean asked, squinting at the men.

One of the men paused a moment, squinting back, "Whoa, I know you."

"Yeah, sure you do," Michelle rolled her eyes, "Give me some identification, come on."

"Yeah, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second, I know the both of you guys, yeah," he looked between Sam and Dean.

"What?" the second man looked at the first.

"Yeah, huh," he lowered his hands.

"Holy shit," Sam said, lowering his gun.

"Sam?" Michelle looked over at him as did Dean.

"What?" Dean added.

Sam glanced at his brother, "Uh, west Texas…the tulpa we had to take out, those two goofballs that almost got us killed the...hellhounds or something?"

"Fuck me," Dean grumbled, lowering his gun.

Michelle raised an eyebrow at the two before slowly lowering her gun too.

"Yeah, we're not hellhounds anymore, ok?" the man said, "It didn't test that well."

"Ed, what's going on?" the second man asked.

Ed sighed, "They're not cops, buddy…no, not at all."

"Ed…Ed, you had a partner, too, didn't you?" Dean shook his head.

"A different guy?" Sam added when Ed didn't speak.

"Oh, yeah, yeah," Ed nodded.

"Is he around here somewhere?" Michelle tried, they had no idea how many other people were in the house.

"He's running around, chasing ghosts. Doin' what we do."

"Ok, well, listen, you and Rambo need to get your girlfriends and get out of here," Dean ordered.

"And what about you and your girlfriend?" Ed countered, eyeing Michelle.

Sam glared at the man and raised a gun at him.

"Wrong brother," Michelle commented.

Ed rolled his eyes and walked over to Dean, ignoring Sam's gun trained on him, "Alright, listen here, chisel chest, ok? We were here first, we've already set up base camp, we beat you."

Dean smirked and looked over at Sam and Michelle, both staring at Ed as though he were a child, "They were here first," Dean said before laughing to himself. Suddenly he turned and grabbed Ed, shoving him up against a wall.

"Oh, God!" Ed shouted.

His friend went to help him, when he heard a gun cock and turned to see Michelle with a gun on him. He stepped back, his hands up.

"Ed," Dean began slowly.

"Yeah?" the man groaned.

"Where's your partner?"

Ed just stared, wide eyed, and pointed down the hallway. Dean let him go and nudged him in the direction he'd pointed in, implying he should lead the way to his comrades.

After a few moments of walking, Dean spoke up again, "What are you doing at the Morton House, Ed? Huh? On leap year…what are you thinking?"

"We're here to spend the night, ok?" Ed defended, "It's for our TV show."

"What?" Michelle looked at him oddly.

"Great," Sam rolled his eyes, "Perfect."

"Yeah, nobody's ever spent the night before," the second man, Corbett, added.

"Uh, actually, they have," Michelle stated.

"Uh, we've never heard of them," Ed said as though he were right and they were wrong.

"Yeah, you know why?" Dean defended, "'Cause the ones that have, haven't lived to talk about it!"

"Oh, come on, I don't believe you."

Sam suddenly slammed his duffel bag down onto a table and began pulling out papers, "Look, missing-persons reports going back almost a half century. John Graham, stayed on a dare, gone. Julie Wilkerson, gone. There are tons more. All of them came to 'just stay the night,' always on a leap year. The only body they ever found was the last owner, Freeman Daggett."

Ed paused a moment, looking at the papers, spooked, before trying to be serious, "These look legit."

"They are legit," Michelle stepped up to the table, holding up a paper, "Look, Ed, was it? We don't have much time here. Starting at midnight, your friends are going to die."

Just then three people ran into the room, looking frantic, one girl and two men.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" one of the men shouted, gasping for breath, "Guys, guys! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! We got one! Corbett! Corbett, we saw one! We saw one! It was a full apparition! It was like a class four. It was a spectral illumination!"

"It was nuts!" the girl added, "It was totally amazing!"

"It..." the third man, which Sam and Dean recognized as Harry, Ed's partner, started before he noticed the three other people in the room, more specifically Sam and Dean, "Hey, aren't those the assholes from Texas?"

"Yes," Ed nodded.

"And who are you?" Harry looked over at Michelle. She rolled her eyes and just cocked her gun at him, "Ok," he held up his hands, taking a step back.

"Alright, let's have this reunion across the street, guys," Dean tried.

"Crap. What are you guys doing here?"

"Come on, come on," Dean began motioning towards the door, "We'll get you ice cream, our treat. What do you say? Let's go."

"Guys, I think we should listen," Ed began.

"Yeah, I say no, look at this, look, look," Harry cut in, "Ed, Ed."

"No, no, look at this, ok, honest-to-God proof, alright?" the girl held up a camera to show the ghost recorded on screen.

Ed's eyes widened, "Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah, no, not kidding," Harry replied.

"What kind of reading did we get?" Ed continued as the trio glanced at each other.

"Uh, it was a 10.9."

"10.9?" Ed almost shouted in excitement.

Harry nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, it was 10.9, it was almost 11. I came out, and I was like, 'what's going on?' And I was like…"

"Hold it, oh my God, watch this part," the girl cut in, holding it up so everyone could see the ghost being shot.

"Oh! He got blasted!" Ed smirked.

"It was crazy!" Harry exclaimed.

Dean nodded his head to the side and Michelle and Sam stepped over to speak with him, unaware that the last man had followed and was taping them.

"Do you think we could be wrong about this?" Michelle looked between the two, "I mean, that was just a death echo."

"Yeah, but what's it doing here?" Dean argued, "Did anybody get shot here?"

Sam shook his head, "No, not that I could find."

"What's a death echo?" the man asked.

They glanced over at him, but turned back to their conversation, "Look, if we've got a problem here that ghost ain't it," Sam continued.

"What's a death echo?"

Michelle sighed and looked at him, "Echoes of souls that are trapped in a loop, ok? They keep replaying how they died over and over and over again, usually in the place where they were killed."

"It's about as dangerous as a scary movie," Dean added.

"So, maybe the echo's not dangerous, but maybe something else is," Sam thought out loud.

"You're right, alright, we need to get out of here, guys," Dean called, "Come on, let's go, let's go, let's go, pack it up."

"What about all of our equipment?" the girl argued.

"Lots of fun, let's go."

"We got more material," Harry argued, "We got all kinds of stuff. We'll make you guys recurring guest stars."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Ed suddenly cut in, "Where's Corbett?"

"Shit," Michelle muttered as the team quickly made its way to the door to try and find their friend, when there was a scream.

"That was Corbett!" Ed shouted.

"Corbett!" Harry called as the guys and the girl tried to run upstairs and find him.

Sam lurched forward to try and stop them, "We'll get him! Go back! Guys!" but was unable to, "Shit!"

Dean sighed and shook his head, "Come on," he said, walking up the stairs, "Better go after them."

They made it up in time to hear Ed shouting down a hall, "Corbett, you need to come back, Corbett. No!"

Dean led them to a bedroom where the group was standing around, scared, trying to find their friend. They were all talking and yelling over each other.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Dean shouted, trying to get their attention, "Come on, come on!"

"Guys?" Michelle tried, looking at her watch, 11:58.

Sam ran into the room, "Hey, Corbett's...he's not here. Let's go, let's go, let's go back."

"No, that was Corbett," Harry argued, "Didn't you hear that?"

"Go, go, go, come on! Guys, guys, guys."

"Guys?!" Michelle tried again, 11:59.

"Here we go, here we go," Dean tried, pushing the team towards the stairs and down the hallway, "Keep it moving, keep it moving."

The cameraman tried to stay behind but Sam noticed and went to get him, "Hey, hey, hey, watch him, watch him."

"Guys!" Michelle shouted, but to no avail, 12:00.

"Go, go, move, move," Dean shouted at the camera, "Turn it off!" he reached over and put his hand on the camera, dragging the man out there and back to the base.

Ed was standing by the surveillance table, "Oh, God, what's happened? Oh, God, he's gone, he just disappeared."

"Ok, let's just go through all the angles," Harry breathed, "Let's go through all the cameras we have."

Sam and Dean were standing at the front entryway, staring at the now sealed door.

"I tried to tell you," Michelle said from behind them, sitting on the stairs, "It's 12:04."

Sam groaned and turned to glare at his brother, "You good Dean? You happy?"

"Yeah, I am happy," he replied sarcastically.

"'Let's go hunt the Morton house,' you said, 'It's our Grand Canyon…'"

"Sam, I don't want to hear it."

"You got two months left, Dean!" Sam shouted, getting frustrated, "Instead, we're gonna die tonight," he picked up a chair and slammed it against the front door, smashing it.

"Hey, hey," Michelle stood up and walked over to Sam's side. She grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face her and put her hands on either side of his face, "Sam, look at me. No one else is going to die here, not tonight," she stroked a thumb against his cheek, "Ok? Calm down. We'll get out of this."

Sam visibly relaxed. Even after all their time together it still shocked the boys at how calm Michelle could make them feel with just a touch or a look. They were thankful for that, they probably would have had a heart attack or killed each other by now if it hadn't been for her.

"What the hell is going on?" the cameraman asked as the group ran into the room to see the broken chair.

Michelle sighed and turned to face them, "Every door, every window, I'm guessing every possible exit out of this house, are all sealed."

"But why are they sealed?" the girl looked at the door.

"It's a supernatural lockdown, ok?" Dean explained, "Whatever took Corbett doesn't want us to leave, and it's no death echo. This is a bad mother, and it wants us scared."

"Or it just wants us."

"Uh, guys, the camera's fritzing again," the cameraman called.

"Whoa, whoa, guys, the EMF's starting to spike," Ed added, "This is a big one."

"Everybody, stay close, there's something coming," Sam ordered, grabbing Michelle's hand and stepping closer to Dean.

"Oh whoa!" the cameraman called, drawing all their attention back to the base, where another ghost appeared.

"Whoa!" Ed agreed.

"Whoa!" Harry seconded that.

"Is this the same echo you guys saw earlier?" Michelle asked, eyeing the ghost.

"No, it's a different guy," the cameraman replied.

"Multiple echoes?" Dean raised an eyebrow, "What the hell's going on?"

Sam shrugged, "Beats me."

"Ok, alright, alright, alright," Dean quickly walked up to the echo and got in its face, "Uh, hey, buddy! Hey, hey, wake up, you're dead! Hello!"

"What's he doing?" Harry asked, watching him, "What's he doing?"

"Sometimes you can shock an echo out of its loop if you can talk to the part of the ghost that's still human," Michelle replied.

Sam nodded, "It's rare, usually you have to have some kind of connection to the deceased."

"Come on!" Dean continued, "Wake up! Be dead! Hey! Hey!"

There was as distant sound of a horn blowing.

"You guys hear that?" Harry turned to look around.

"What's that sound?" Ed mimicked his friend's actions.

"You guys hear that?"

"What is that?" Sam spun around.

"Snap out of it, buddy, huh?" Dean continued, "Come on, what are you waiting for? You're gonzo! You're dead! Hey!"

Michelle strode forward, pulling Dean back and reached out as though she were about to touch the ghost, her hand resting around his shoulder, her plan was to treat it like a human and maybe it would connect to that aspect of its life again, "Hey!" she shouted. The group gasped as the ghost actually turned to face her, it seemed it was working, "You're dead!"

Just before she could get another word out, the death echo was hit by a ghost train, dragged away, and disappeared.

"Oh!" the cameraman followed the image on the camera.

"Whoa!" Sam was more focused on Michelle than the ghost.

"Where the hell did it go?" Ed asked.

Dean whistled, "You think that worked?"

Michelle could only shrug.

~8~

They were walking through the house with the group, the GhostFacers, the girl of them, whom they learned was called Maggie, holding a camera on Sam, Dean, and Michelle as the trio talked.

"Dude, there's no records of any of this here," Dean said, "No one got shot here. Obviously, no one got run over by a freaking train."

"Stay close," Sam called over his shoulder.

"Did the echoes take Corbett?" Maggie asked.

"Yes, no, I don't know," Dean sighed, "We don't know what's doing what here, that's what we're trying to figure out, ok?"

"Alright, stay close," Sam said again.

"Death echoes are ghosts," Michelle tried to explain and calm the girl down, "Ghosts usually haunt places where they lived or where they died."

"Except these mooks didn't live or die here," Dean added.

"Right," Sam agreed.

"So, what are they doing here?" Maggie shook her head, not really understanding.

"Hey, give the lady a cigar," Dean looked over his shoulder to see the camera still on him and frowned, "Alright, seriously, does looking at this nightmare through that camera make you feel better or something? I mean..."

"Um..." Maggie stuttered, "I…" she tried to put the camera down, only to bring it back up, "Uh...well, yeah. Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Oh," Dean rolled his eyes at her.

They walked into a room and started to look through the drawers. Sam pulled a framed certificate off the wall and read it, "Freeman Daggett, house's last owner, officially commended for 20 years of fine service at the Gamble General Hospital."

"He's a doctor?" Michelle looked over at him.

"Janitor."

"This looks like his den," Dean sighed, "When'd you say he died…64?"

"Yeah, heart attack."

"What are these?" Maggie picked a bag up, "C-rations?"

"Yeah, army-issued, three squares…like a lifetime supply," Dean commented.

"God, is that all he ate?" Maggie nearly gagged.

"One-stop shopping," Dean commented, continuing to search till he came to a cabinet with a lock on it, "Hello, locked."

"Oh, come on, guys, this is ridiculous," Ed rolled his eyes, "I mean, how the hell is this supposed to find Corbett, huh? We should be digging up the friggin' floorboards right now."

Michelle rummaged through some papers on a desk and pulled one up, "'Survival Under Atomic Attack,'" she read, "Well someone was an optimist."

Dean let out a victory whoop as he managed to get the cabinet open. He pulled out the box that was in there and turned around, only to have Ed standing before him, holding the EMF reader up to him. Dean gave him a frustrated look and set the box down on the desk. He opened it and quickly began going through its contents, discarding some things and pausing at some others.

"Crap...crap...taxidermy?" Dean held up one paper, "Ok, you said Daggett was a hospital janitor?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"Ew," Dean grimaced, "Got three toe tags here," he picked them up and tossed them down after a moment, "One death by gunshot, train accident, and suicide."

"Ew," Sam grimaced as well.

"What?" Ed looked at them, confused.

"Well, that explains why all the death echoes are here."

Harry and Ed still looked confused.

"They're here because their bodies are here, somewhere in the house," Michelle explained.

"Daggett brought the remains home from the morgue...to play," Dean added.

Harry and Ed remained confused for a few more moments before they both realized what was being said, "Ewwww…" they groaned.

"That's nasty, dude," Spruce, the cameraman, stuck out his tongue.

Dean looked up and around the room, frowning, something was off.

Michelle noticed his look and searched around as well, "Where's Maggie?"

Dean rolled his eyes and motioned for them to stay as he walked out of the room in search of the missing woman.

He had been gone no more than five minutes before he returned with Maggie following him.

The little reunion was short lived as Ed called out, "Harry...Harry! I got an 8.6 and climbing fast. Something huge is coming. Look, something big is coming."

Harry leaned over to look at the EMF, "It's past 11, you guys."

"What?" Michelle's eyes widened at that.

"Nobody move!" Dean shouted, "Hold on, hold on, stay calm."

There was a flash and suddenly Sam was gone.

"Whoa…" Harry began.

"Sam?" Michelle looked around, drawing Dean's attention to the fact his brother was missing.

"Some kind of surge," Ed shrugged.

"Sam?" Dean called, stepping over to Michelle who had been closest to Sam when he vanished.

"Where'd he go?" Spruce asked.

"Oh, no," Maggie gasped.

Dean reached down to find Sam's flashlight on the floor. He looked up at Michelle, both their eyes wide as they turned, "Sam!"

They quickly walked from the room, Harry, Ed, Maggie, and Spruce going with them in search of Sam and Corbett.

"Sam!" Michelle shouted.

"Sammy!" Dean called.

"Corbett!" Harry and Spruce yelled.

"Talk to us!" Spruce added, "Corbett!"

"Sammy!" Dean continued.

"Ok," Michelle said, "We need to split up. It'll be easier to look. Me and Dean this way," she pointed behind her, "Harry and Maggie, that way," she pointed to her left, "And Ed and Spruce, over there," she pointed to her right, "Just this floor. Check the room and meet back here."

The group nodded and broke apart. Dean and Michelle walked into a back room that looked like the living room. One quick scan of the room was all they needed to know Sam wasn't there.

Dean groaned and slammed his fist on a table next to him.

"Don't worry Dean," Michelle said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We'll find him."

Dean opened his mouth to reply, when they heard a crash and shouts from another room. They ran out to see Spruce standing in a doorway, videotaping something. They pushed him out of the way and saw Ed and Harry duking it out on the floor.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Dean shouted, trying to break up the catfight.

When it didn't seem to be working, Michelle took drastic measures.

A shot rang out and the duo broke apart to see Michelle standing there with a gun raised in the air, "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted, glaring at them, "Cut it out! Now!"

"We're down by two people," Dean added, getting up and shaking his head in disgust, "Find anything?" the team could only shake their head before Dean stormed out of the room followed by Michelle, "Sam!" he shouted.

"Sammy!" Michelle added.

~8~

It didn't take long for Dean and Michelle to grow frustrated, and a touch worried, at not having found Sam. Dean strode through the house and back to the room with the box he'd found. He slammed it open again, rifling through it with Michelle standing at his side.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Ok, so Daggett was a Cold War nut, ok?" Dean replied, more to himself than the others, "He was…he was an amateur taxidermist. He liked to slow dance with cadavers, and all he ate were c-rations. So what the hell are we looking for?"

"Horrible little life," Maggie remarked.

"Yeah, a lonely life..."

"A Cold War life…" Michelle commented in thought, before realization flashed across her face, "He was scared!" she turned and quickly walked away, Dean following behind as he trusted she had thought of something he had not.

"Scared of what?" Harry asked, following, "What?"

"What?" Spruce repeated.

"Where are you going?" Harry groaned.

"Wait, don't leave me in here, you guys!" Maggie called.

They all followed Michelle as she ran down the stairs to the basement.

"Where are you going?" Maggie continued.

"My dad told me about a lot of wars, about the Cold War and men like Daggett, the ones who were really scared of the Russians," Michelle explained, reaching the bottom of the stairs, "They built bomb shelters, I'm guessing he's got one, I'll bet you it's in the basement," she looked back up at the group, only to see the door to the basement slam shut, cutting her, Dean, and Spruce off from Maggie, Harry, and Ed.

"Whoa!" Ed and Harry shouted.

"That is not funny!" Ed banged on the door.

"Um, who closed the door?" Spruce turned to them.

Michelle sighed, "It did. It wants to separate us."

Ed tried to open the door but it was sealed.

Dean stepped back and yelled through it, "Ed! Listen to me!"

"What?" Ed replied.

"There's some salt in my duffle. Make a circle and get inside."

"Inside your duffle bag?"

Dean rolled his eyes as Michelle face palmed, "In the salt!" she shouted to them.

"Oh, ok, yeah, yeah," Ed remarked. They could hear their footsteps fading as they stood in the basement.

Michelle nodded and turned to investigate the room. Dean came down to join her while Spruce continued to film, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?" Dean looked back at him.

"Earlier, you and Sam...he said you had two months left?"

"Yeah, it's complicated," he answered distractedly, "A while ago, Sam..."

Michelle cleared her throat, shaking him out of his thoughts.

He looked over at Spruce and realized what he was about to say, "No, no, no. I'm not gonna whine about my freaking problems to some freaking reality show. I'm gonna do my job."

"Is it cancer?" Spruce asked after a moment.

"It's none of your business," Michelle threw over her shoulder, pressing her ear to the wall where she could faintly hear music being played, "You hear that?"

Dean and Spruce made their way over to her, trying to remain silent till they heard the music.

"Is that music?" Spruce asked, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "And it's coming from behind this wall," he stood up and motioned for Michelle to step back as he went to move a cabinet blocking the wall.

"Wow, you're strong," Spruce commented.

Dean just flipped him off.

The cabinet revealed a small pathway behind it, the music louder and a faint light reaching them. Michelle cocked her gun and stormed down the hall, Dean behind her, followed by Spruce.

"…you'll stay a good, long time," they heard someone say when they burst into a room at the end of the tunnel.

"Sam!" Dean called as Michelle shot the spectral form of Daggett with rock salt, forcing him to disappear.

There were a number of other corpses sitting at the same table Sam was tied to, with party hats on their heads and party horns in their mouths with big creepy smiles on their faces. There was even a birthday cake and plates set up.

"Oh, no, Corbett," Spruce muttered when they saw the body of the missing team member sitting at the table too.

Dean stepped forward and cut the ropes binding his brother to the chair, allowing him up as Michelle kept a lookout around the room, gun at the ready, in case the ghost returned.

"Come on," Dean muttered, leading them out of the room.

"So, what's this Daggett guy's problem anyway?" Spruce asked as they reached the basement again.

"Loneliness," Michelle commented.

"He's never heard of a Real-doll?" Dean scoffed.

"No, no, no, Daggett was the Norman Bates, stuff-your-mother kind of lonely," Sam shook his head, "I mean, that's why he lifted these bodies from the morgue, threw himself a birthday party, except they were the only ones who would come. Anyway, so, at midnight, he sealed them in the bomb shelter and went upstairs and O.D.'d on horse tranqs."

Dean paused and looked at his brother, "How do you know this?"

Sam shrugged, "'Cause he told me."

Dean shook his head, "Oh, yeah. Ok, so now that he's dead, what? Same song, different verse, trying to get people to come to his party?"

"Pretty much. Yeah, stay forever."

"Are those real bullets?" Spruce asked, watching Michelle reload her shotgun.

"It's rock salt," she remarked, cocking the gun and nodding to Dean that she was ready.

He nodded and made his way up the stairs to try and open the basement door, without much success.

"Seriously, you're still shooting?" Sam asked Spruce as he noticed the boy still holding the camera.

"It makes him feel better," Dean shrugged, "Don't ask."

"Ah, hell, guys getting your ghost-roll thing, something's coming," he said as the camera started to static, "Oh, my…"

Spruce was then thrown to the ground as Daggett appeared, Michelle quickly shot him with the rock salt and readied to aim again, it wouldn't take long for angry Daggett to reappear.

Sam glanced over at Spruce, "Take it easy. You alright?"

"Uh, guys..." Spruce pointed.

They turned around to see Daggett behind them. He threw Dean into a corner while Sam tried to get his attention while Michelle aimed, "Hey! Hey! Come here!"

Michelle fired and Daggett disappeared.

"This is bad," Spruce remarked when Daggett appeared again, "Very bad."

Before Michelle could even turn, Corbett's ghost appeared and rushed at Daggett, wrapping his arms around him and disappearing in a flash of light.

Dean and Sam moved to get up, staring at the spot where the ghosts had disappeared.

"You alright, dude?" Spruce looked at Dean with the camera before turning to Sam, "You alright?" then he turned to Michelle, "You alright? Oh, my God."

Dean and Sam both put their hands up to block the camera for a moment before heading up the stairs, knowing that the door would be open now.

~8~

Everyone was coming out of the house together and walked over to their cars, packing up and ready to leave.

"Leap year, February 29th, the Morton house," Ed's voice could be heard, "A tragic day, a day of souls bound in torment, of lives held in cruel balance. But the GhostFacers, they did the best that they could."

Harry and Maggie walked out last, pausing on the porch and hugging each other, as Dean and Ed made their way down the stairs, followed by Sam with his arm around Michelle.

"We lost a beloved friend," Harry's voice spoke, "But we gained new allies."

Sam walked over to Ed and handed him a piece of paper with their phone numbers on it before walking over to the Impala, where Dean and Michelle were waiting for him.

"We know this much, that every day, including today, is a new beginning," Ed's voice finished.

Suddenly Harry and Ed were sitting in front of a fireplace, in armchairs, in a lavish room, talking directly into the camera, "We learned more than we can say in the brutal feat of the Morton House," Ed said.

"The GhostFacers were forced to face something far more scary than ghosts," Harry stated seriously, "They were forced to face themselves."

"War changes man."

"And Maggie."

"War changes man...and one woman," Ed corrected, "You know, Corbett, we just...oh, gosh, we just like to think that you're out there, watching over us."

Harry nodded, "As far as we're concerned, you're not an intern anymore. You have more than earned full GhostFacer status. Plus, it'd be cool to have a ghost on the team."

"Yeah, yeah. And here we were, thinking that, you know, we were teaching you, and all this time, you were teaching us...about heart, about dedication, and...and, about how gay love," he cleared his throat, recalling how Corbett had a crush on him, "Can pierce through the veil of death and save the day. Thank you, Alan J. Corbett."

"Go well into that starry night, young Turk, go well..."

And the image froze.

Sam, Dean, and Michelle sat, stunned, in front of a computer monitor, watching the entire hunt on film in an episode the GhostFacers had made as a pilot.

"So, guys, what do you think?" Ed asked, watching over their shoulders, "You alright?"

"You know, I kind of think it was half-awesome," Dean remarked.

"Half-awesome, that's full-on good, right?" Maggie smiled hopefully.

"I…guess…" Michelle said slowly, turning to face the team while Dean put his hand into a duffle bag and pulled it out, covering the opening.

"I mean, it's bizarre how y'all are able to…to honor Corbett's memory while grossly exploiting the manner of his death, well done," Sam commented.

"Yeah, that's a real tight rope you guys are walking," Dean added.

"Yeah, alright, guys," Sam nodded, getting up with Dean and Michelle and walking towards the doors.

"No, that's reality, man," Ed called to them. They turned to face him, "Yeah, Corbett gave his life searching for the truth, and it is our job over here to share it with the world."

"Right…" Michelle drawled, looking at them as though they were crazy.

"In our experience," Sam continued, "You know what you get when you show the world the truth?"

"A straightjacket or a punch in the face, sometimes both," Dean answered for them.

"Oh, come on, guys, don't be 'Facer haters because we happen to have gotten the footage of the century," Harry said smugly.

"Oh, yeah," Ed grinned and nodded.

"You got us there," Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"Yeah, well, we'll see you guys around," Dean called, turning to leave with his brother and Michelle, ignoring the names they were sure to be called as soon as the door closed behind them.

They walked quickly over to the Impala, barely able to keep the grins off their faces, "We clean?" Sam looked over at his brother.

"NOOOOOO!" a cry could be heard from inside the GhostFacers' HQ, "No, this can't be happening! Are you kidding me? No!"

Michelle got into the car followed by Sam and Dean.

"Electromagnet wiped out every tape and hard drive they have," Dean remarked, glancing back at Michelle, "Where'd you get one of those, by the way?"

She smiled, shrugging, "You would not believe the things my dad made me pack when we went hunting."

Dean just laughed at that and pulled away from the house.

"I guess the world just isn't ready for the GhostFacers," Sam commented.

"That's too bad, I kind of liked the show," Dean smirked.

"It had its moments," Michelle agreed.

~8~

They had been driving for a while now, changing seats every few hours, until it was dark and Dean was driving, Sam and Michelle in the backseat. He glanced in the rearview mirror to see that it looked like Michelle had fallen asleep on Sam's shoulder. His brother was sitting with his arm around the girl, looking at her, deep in thought.

"What's up Sammy?" Dean called quietly from the front, "I know that look, you've got something on your mind. Care to share?"

Sam considered denying what was plaguing his thoughts, but thought it would be pointless as Dean could read him like a book. He sighed and looked at his brother through the mirror, "Do you think it's crazy?"

Dean's brow furrowed, "Gonna have to be a bit more specific than that Sam."

"I mean," he let out a breath, "Do you think it's crazy, me and Michelle?"

"What about you?"

"How fast this is all going? I mean, in Stanford, it took me two years to get to know Jess before I was comfortable saying I liked her, to work up living together. Isn't it crazy that it took so long with her but not with Michelle?"

Dean stared at his brother though the mirror, looking at Michelle then back to Sam, "You think you're moving too fast?"

"I don't know," Sam shook his head, "I feel like we're not moving fast enough sometimes, like I just want to be with her as much as I can, and every time I'm not with her, its time I'm wasting," he looked at Dean, "Is that weird?"

"I think that's love," Dean remarked, thinking of how he felt about Lisa. It was exactly the same, "You want my honest opinion on this?" he asked after a minute. Sam nodded, "I think what you had with Jess was a cover up."

"It…"

Dean held up his hand to stop his brother's arguments, "It was real, but I think with her you were trying too hard to get something and not letting it happen. Like…you wanted a normal life so bad that you went about doing things normal people do. Find a pretty girl, fall in love, get together. So I think, with her, it was all about getting the normalcy back. But with Michelle…" he shook his head, smiling a bit, "She knows everything. She's so far beyond normal, that it's almost normal. Normal for us is different than normal for normal people."

"Dean that makes absolutely no sense," Sam laughed.

"Think about it. Jess knew nothing about hunting, right?" Sam nodded reluctantly, "Michelle does. Michelle knows practically everything about us, not just whatever you sugar coated to seem normal. There're no secrets between the two of you. And you're both sharing experiences you'd never have had with Jess. You're bonding."

"But…it's more than that," Sam stressed, "I feel like, it's always been Michelle. Like I've always wanted her, before I even met her."

"You've probably had her in the back of your mind since we met her when we were little."

"We knew her when we were little? When?"

"According to Bobby, he and dad went to work on an infestation of Willow the Wisps with her parents, left us in their house with Michelle. Bobby said you took to her like he'd never seen you take to anyone before. Maybe, in the back of your mind, you remember that connection and now you're renewing it, making it stronger."

It was silent for a moment, "You think?" Sam asked.

Dean looked through the mirror to see Sam looking at Michelle again, "Whatever it is Sammy, just be grateful she feels the same way and just as strongly as you do."

Sam just nodded at that, brushing a strand of hair out of Michelle's face, smiling lightly as she snuggled into his shoulder.

A/N: Lol, I sort of wanted Michelle to slap either Ed or Harry, but I feel like she'd rather just shoot them if they annoyed her :) And awww, Dean actually talked about feelings! I could totally see him having a 'chick-flick' moment and talking about emotions and love if it meant helping his brother. He's just a big softy on the inside :)