Crown Park Inn
Tues, May 23, 2006, 7:30 pm

They had all been in and out of the motel a few times for food, air, or just to clear their heads. And they'd all taken their turn looking online, checking local papers and looking for more information about the outcast girl and her family.

"I got something, the obits. Two of them with a matching last name. One must be the sister, one is the mother. The mother was 36, named Abigail died in 1992. The sister died three years ago, at age 15, and her name was Bernadette." Alex looked pretty tired of the search at this point. Hours and all she managed was a couple names.

"All I found on the ghost story is a report about 10 years ago of a pair of campers who were in the general area the teens were found. They were out there, saw some ghostly things, like things moving around, small items going missing and turning back up in odd places. Noises and chills that weren't typical for the area in July. The campers left after one night scared to stay the whole weekend they'd planned to. The area is traveled minimally by outdoor types, seems most don't camp in that area much. But nothing solid." Kris spoke soft, but clear and shook her head. She sighed a little and had this tired, almost sad smile.

"Even so, what could cause these kids to be slipping into comas? It isn't typical ghostly M.O." Nic still wasn't sure on the whole ghost thing, especially with the sketchy reports of some woodsman ghost or something.

"Well, there is a notion of ghost sickness, usually believed to be newly dead though. But different cultures have different ideas. Some in which Native American tribes go so far as to move homes when someone dies and the name of the dead isn't spoken to keep the living from the sickness." Sam shrugged, having been poking around trying to figure that himself. Ghosts weren't usually the cause of people in comas, but ghosts seemed to be able to do many things, depending on the spirit and it's state of mind and how it died. "There weren't a lot of details and some places seemed to have different takes on what exactly it was. But I'd say ghosts could be capable of all kinds of things, depending how they died, how angry they were, all that."

"That's true, get a ghost that's angry enough and it can find all kinds of ways to maim, kill, and otherwise torment the living." Nic kind of made a face, she still felt like there wasn't enough solid ground with this case. They knew enough that there was definitely something strange going on, but not enough to have a real theory.

"Okay, maybe it's time to kind of just get away from the research and let it all sink in." Sam looked around at everyone. He felt as spent as Alex and Kris looked and was sprawled across a whole bed. Dean was laying on the bed next to Alex looking asleep, aside from the fact he was rubbing the bridge of his nose. Kris was cross legged in one of the chairs with some photocopies of old newspaper articles and a book, she closed everything in the book and set it as far away as she could reach. And Nic was actually laying across the table, eating gummy bears and staring at the wall.

Alex turned off the computer and quickly got it off the bed and out of sight. "I'm all for no more research right now. Do we think there's something to this girl and her family?"

"Maybe." Dean turned his head and looked over at Sam and then shrugged, it was about all he could come up with at the moment. Alex went to get some gummy bears from her sister, and Nic decided to hop off the table. It was starting to put a kink in her back.

Nic moved around the room and stood between the two beds, looking at Sam and Dean. Each Winchester brother stretched out on a bed. When Alex got up Dean had stretched and taken up a little more of it. "So, uh, can a girl get a little bed space?"

Both guys actually scooted and Alex bounced over and dropped herself on the nearer to the door of the two beds, occupied by Sam. She looked up at Nic and smiled. "Hey Sam," Alex turned and smiled at him, the bag of gummy bears in hand, she wiggled one at him like it was dancing. Sam opened his mouth and Alex fed him the gummy bear.

Kris shifted in the chair, but didn't make any move to get up and join the 'party' over on the beds. She actually kind of averted her eyes and then closed them, like she was ready to just curl herself up in the chair and sleep, despite the chair not really being all that comfortable.

Nic shook her head and smiled at Alex and promptly fell onto the other bed next to Dean. "Looks like you're suck with me again." He whispered in her ear. Nic just smiled, without looking at Dean, and shifted, getting comfortable.

They were all quiet for a little while. Alex stayed sitting up, leaned against the wall alternately dropping gummy bears into her own mouth and then Sam's. When she ran out she got up to get some water and toss the bag. While she did Sam closed his eyes and tried to clear his head some more. He felt like he couldn't think straight, he was tired. Alex laid down, on her stomach, and propped herself up with her elbows so she looked down at Sam's face from above. "You were restless last night. I woke up at one point and noticed you tossing more than my sister does. Which I have to ask, do you two, like, keep each other awake in the same bed?"

Sam opened his eyes and looked at Alex, who was speaking softly enough that she was clearly only talking to him. "Yeah, I'm a little restless a lot. Not as bad as I was a couple months ago though. I don't think Nic's ever kept me awake with her shifting, and I hope I haven't kept her up."

Nic heard some of the conversation, "you haven't." She looked over, at Alex and Sam, and smiled.

"Hey, how's your chest healing?" Dean propped himself up on one arm and with the other reached over and tugged down on the neck of Nic's shirt. Mostly he was just trying to be a pain. He knew she was feeling better. They had all stopped re bandaging their wounds yesterday, and all were healing nicely. Dean's bruise was also looking a little better. The purple was starting to fade away.

"I don't know, how's yours?" Nic looked at him and smiled. She knew he was still feeling a little playful, and she tugged down on the neck of his T-shirt. They both kind of laughed.

"Are yours getting better though?" Sam looked up and asked seriously.

Nic looked over, "yeah they are. Your arm looked like it's healing nicely." Sam nodded and looked at Alex who lifted her shirt a bit to show her sister her sides and the healing puncture wounds the demon had left on both of her sides. "Kris' looks a lot better too." She'd checked on her youngest sister's wound this morning, and again while they were all researching. Nic glanced over at Kris by the table and wondered for a moment if her sister was alright, she seemed quieter than usual.

Sam was in a T-shirt, and he pulled the sleeve up to show his arm. The cuts were still very apparent, but also clearly healing. "It doesn't hurt as much either."

Alex made a little sad pouty face at Sam's arm. He'd gotten the cuts while trying to keep a hold on Alex, and keep her from the demon, and part of Alex felt bad for his getting hurt in it, even though she also got hurt. Alex laid back on her stomach and leaned in and kissed Sam's hurt arm. "I'm still hungry." Alex looked around to see if anyone else was.

Sam sat up, "come on, I could eat too." He glanced at the others, specifically at Kris. He noticed she seemed kind of removed from the group. "How about it, Kris? I'm buying."

Kris slowly opened her eyes and looked over at Sam when he spoke her name. She managed a kind of half crooked smile, "yeah, okay. My stomach is kind of rumbling." It actually had been for a while, but she'd been ignoring it. The little snacks weren't cutting it and she needed real food.

"I'm good." Nic rolled onto her side and propped her head up.

"I think my need to just lay here is overriding my need to eat more right now." Dean only turned his head, and was otherwise laid out on the bed. Usually Dean could eat at anytime, but that was how beat he felt, plus he'd been snacking all afternoon, and the warm girl next to him all combined to beat his usual desire to eat at every opportunity.

Sam, Kris, and Alex grabbed their jackets and headed out the door. Nic glanced at Dean after the door closed and he was already looking at her, "you want the bed to yourself now, don't you?" She smiled at him and started to sit up.

Dean pinched her shirt as she sat up and she glanced at him. "I wasn't going to ask that." Nic looked at him like she was expecting the 'but' to come next. "And I'm not asking now, either. You're welcome to stay here." He smiled at her, genuinely.

Nic eyed him a moment, then giggled and smiled, before laying back down with him. "Is your bruise really better?"

"I think it's looking a little better." Dean sat up and pulled his shirt off. It was still a big green blotch on his chest, but it did look better than a few days ago. Nic turned to get a good look at the bruise, then reached out to touch lightly along the edges of it. He made a slight face when her fingers pressed a little near the center of the bruise. "That's where it still hurts. And I'm kind of all achy all over. But I get by." He gave her a smile.

Nic smiled back with a tiny snicker, "I'm sure you do tough guy."

"Yeah, I do. What of it Blondie?" Dean stared at her. He had fun teasing her and seeing what kind of reaction he could get from her.

This time Nic just giggled and sat up all the way, putting her hands up at the same time in a kind of 'I surrender' way. When she did Dean hooked a finger at the bottom of her shirt and pulled up. Nic just sort of watched him and then fixed him with a sort of, 'and what do you think you're doing' kind of look.

"I showed you mine, now I want to see yours." Dean tugged up again a little.

Nic crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Dean, "and would this be because you're concerned how I'm healing or because you want a look at what bra I'm wearing today?" The slightly devious smile that played at corners of her lips was not lost on Dean.

His smile quickly matched hers and then some, "little of both, so sue me, okay?"

Nic smirked and then lifted her arms over her head. Dean smiled and pulled her shirt off and tossed it aside. Nic actually hadn't really let anyone look at her cuts since the last time Sam re-bandaged them. After that during the two days in the car she just sort of glanced at them and figured they were fine, since they didn't hurt as bad as the day before. She sat cross legged on the bed, Dean grabbed her knee and pulled her a little closer. He started looking at her back, and she craned her neck to try and see it herself, or at least try to read his expression. He touched gently with his fingertips, brushing across where the cuts were a bright red and the new skin was just starting to mend her wounds. She shifted a little when it felt a little tender, but otherwise didn't react. He moved around her a little, for perhaps a moment looking at her bra, and that bit of skin it covered, that he was more than a little curious about. But then he shifted his mind to actually take a good look at how she was healing. Nic leaned back on her hands a little and Dean did the same thing to her front as her back. Her eyes closed softly, as his fingertips just lightly brushed the wounded skin on her chest. Dean liked that look, it was hard to resist taking it further with her, but he forced himself to be 'good'.

When he finished she twisted, trying crack her back. "Sore?" Dean was watching her not get the relief she'd clearly been trying to get.

"Yeah, a bit." Nic put her hand to the back of her neck and rubbed and tried to stretch her neck out a little.

"Here, let me," Dean scooted behind her and began rubbing her neck, with a careful, but firm pressure. Her response was immediate, she moaned softly, one of those sounds that communicated that it hurt, but it was that good, tension relieving kind of pain. As his hands pressed into her skin he could feel the tension in her muscles. "You really should do something about all this tension you're carrying around." Dean spoke softly into her ear with a little smirk on his face, and watched her profile as he continued to rub her.

"Any suggestions on that?" Nic smiled, she was starting to look vaguely blissful as he gently massaged her. Letting his hands move down her back, carefully avoiding her injuries the best he could.

"A few, but most of them Sam would probably smack me for saying to you." As he rubbed and spoke, he leaned into her and his head was pretty much next to hers, he subtly glanced down at the angle this gave him on her chest.

Nic laughed slightly, "and who's tension would that really be relieving?"

"What, you don't think I'm capable of giving as well as receiving?" He kind of chuckled in her ear. And often, yes, he was out for himself. But if she ever actually consented to a little night of fun with him, he knew he'd do for her too.

"I think you can if you want to. And I'll keep your offer in mind." Nic glanced at him with a little smile.

Dean smiled a little softer, a little less cocky in the smile, and kissed her neck, then leaned back a little and turned his focus back on rubbing her so she moaned a little more. He rubbed her for a while, till it actually seemed like her muscles were starting to relax. He slid his hands down her arms and leaned into her again, "feel a little better?"

Nic nodded and sort of leaned back into him. "Yes, thank you, Dean. Did you want anything from me? Besides sex."

"Maybe a rub sometime soon." Dean smiled at the fact that she just came out and said what he'd been insinuating for sometime. "Cause, well, this job sometimes leaves some tension."

"That's putting it mildly." Nic sat up, slowly, "you want one now?" Dean nodded and they traded places. Nic put her hands on Dean's shoulders and started gently with some easy pressure to see how sore he was, and how he liked his massages. When almost right off she got one of those pleasant groans out of him, she figured she was on the right track. She went up and down his whole back slowly, occasionally going a little longer in spots where he seemed to have more tension and made more of those groaning noises.

Dean actually didn't get massages like this all that often. Sometimes for a minute or two as a prelude to, or 'cool down' after, sex. He usually relieved his tensions by picking up a girl somewhere and spending an evening at her apartment or a motel room or something. This was actually pretty nice, not that he'd completely lost the idea that having sex would have been nice too. Nic's soft, warm hands probably would have felt very good on some other parts of his body as well. But for now, he'd take them on his back. After probably a good twenty minutes Dean leaned back into her a little. "Thanks, that was really nice."

"Sure, and that you can ask me for anytime. So long as you're willing to do for me too." She leaned back on the pillows, smiling. Her hands would have slid off of Dean, but he leaned back with her.

"Yeah, it's the only action I've gotten lately, other than your sister kissing me today. That was weird, but I'm not really complaining." Dean smiled, and then looked at her, realizing he'd basically laid back on her, his head resting sort of on her upper chest and shoulder. "Sorry, am I hurting you? Your cuts and..."

"You're fine. They're okay." Nic smiled at him, "this is the only action I've gotten in a little while, so..." She laughed, the idea of having sex with him was a bit tempting. Dean was certainly attractive and seemed to exude this kind of raw sexual energy, but they were trying to work together and get to know each other. And she worried sex might get in the way of all that. So they were making do with what they could. Maybe she was resisting a little more firmly than he was, but she thought even he was holding back on the 'moves' a bit, and probably for the same reasons.

If Nic hadn't been pretty firm about not having sex, Dean knew he'd have had her on her back and naked already. But it perhaps was best not to mix too much pleasure with business, especially right in the middle of a case. Her hands had begun playing with his hair without her really knowing it. Dean liked what she was doing, it was relaxing, and it felt really good. Nic was wearing just her jeans and a bra, and Dean's hand slid up the leg of her pants, pulling her jeans up her leg, and then he brushed his fingers up and down on her bare calf. "So what is up with your sister? I mean, might not be a good idea for her to go around kissing random guys."

"Well, she doesn't kiss just anyone. But she apparently likes to kiss people sometimes. It's her solution to tense, awkward, or sexually charged situations when there's an attractive guy involved. And I can't really tell her not to do things like that, since I'm not really immune from such actions either." Nic sort of shrugged and ran her fingers along his jaw.

"Oh yeah?" Dean smiled and when Nic gave him a playful eye rolling look, he turned over. "I know, I know, we shouldn't mix business and pleasure. Just at times like this, when I'm too tired to think, and there's a pause in what we can do for the case, it's hard not to look at you and want a little something on the side, in the in between moments of working."

Nic smiled at him, "I do know what you mean." She put her hands on his shoulders, rubbing them lightly again. Dean closed his eyes a moment letting her try and release a little of his tension in the more innocent way. His hands slipped under her back and shoulders and his head dropped a little, resting his forehead actually on her breast. She just continued rubbing his shoulders, feeling his breath on her chest.