Chapter Eleven

"What are you doing?" Dean asked Liz as she reached into the front of the car.

"I was…"

"You were about to touch my radio, weren't you? What was the number one condition for you being allowed to come with us?"

"But…"

"I want to hear you say it."

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

Liz rolled her eyes. "That I not touch your radio."

"Or?"

"Or I would be dumped on the side of the road and forced to find my way back to Bobby's."

"Right. Do you want to be dumped on the side of the road?"

"No, but…"

"No buts."

"Oh, come on, Dean. We are going to Amarillo, and we're gonna be there tomorrow morning. How can we not listen to 'Amarillo by Morning?'"

Dean glared at Liz. "Sam, make her stop."

Sam laughed. "Like I'm going to defend your musical taste, Dean."

XXX

"Oh my god, Dean. Don't you know anything that came out after 1987?" Liz asked in frustration.

"Why would I want to listen to that pop crap musicians today pretend is music?"

"And this is supposed to be better?"

"Don't disrespect Hendrix."

The song they were listening to ended and REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" started playing. Dean reached to change it, but Liz protested.

"No! You can't change it. This is the only song I have known in the last hour or so of horrid classic rock. Please, have mercy."

Dean's hand hovered over the dial. "Okay," he said moving it back to the steering wheel. "I'll leave it here as long as you don't sing."

"What's the fun in that?" Liz asked. "We can all sing. See, here's the chorus. Go." She started singing along with the song. Dean rolled his eyes and turned the station.

"You are no fun," Liz complained, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms.

Dean looked at her in the rearview mirror and sighed. "Fine," he said, changing the station back with a roll of his eyes.

Liz perked up. "Now that's what I'm talking about," she said and began to sing along with the song. Dean smiled begrudgingly at her silliness, eventually joining in with her. Sam looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Come on, Sam. Sing," Dean said.

"You guys have fun," he replied, shaking his head in amusement.

XXX

"Kill it! Kill it!" Liz exclaimed, frantically trying to hold one of the duster demons away from her face.

Dean turned from where he was fighting his own demon and shot the one Liz was holding in the head. The thing exploded into dust, coating Liz from head to toe.

"That's just great. I'm breathing in a dead demon. That's gotta be bad for me," she complained. She shot the next demon that came after her in the kneecap and then the head. It exploded, but she was far enough away to avoid the dust spray.

"Watch out!" Dean yelled and shoved her out of the way, landing on top of her. He had rolled off of her and killed the demon before she had time to register what had happened.

"Pay attention, Liz," he scolded. "That thing almost had you." He helped her to her feet and gave her gun back to her.

"How many more of these things do you think there are?" he asked tiredly.

"There were sixteen in all. How many have you killed?"

"Seven. You?"

She looked down in embarrassment. "Three."

Dean was all seriousness, though. "That's ten."

"I got five," Sam said, stepping beside Liz.

"That's fifteen. Where's the last one?" Dean asked, looking around.

"Uh, Dean, I think I found it," Liz said. Sam had turned into a duster demon and had her around the throat.

"Why don't you put the girl down and we can talk?"

"I like it better like this," the thing said, still using Sam's voice.

"Just shoot it, Dean," Liz told him, going still. "I trust you."

Dean looked surprised but aimed and shot, catching the demon between the eyes. It exploded on Liz, and she coughed and tried to wipe the dust off of her face. "This sucks," she said.

Dean laughed at her. "Let's go find Sam," he said good-naturedly.

"I'll be right behind you," she said, stopping to shake the dust out of her shirt.

Dean looked back just as Liz took off her shirt. "What the hell are you doing?"

Liz looked up. "I have dust everywhere," she explained, continuing to shake out her shirt.

Sam came up beside Dean then, dusting himself off. "I hate these demons. You didn't say they exploded."

"They are called duster demons. Did you think that was because they wore dusters?" Liz asked, still trying to get the dirt out of her shirt.

"I'm supposed to know that these things explode and throw dirt everywhere when they die because they are called duster demons? We are going to have to work on your shorthand. And, oh my god, what are you doing, Liz?" Sam asked as he realized Liz was shirtless.

"That's what I said," Dean commented, cocking his head to watch her.

Liz stopped what she was doing and turned to the brothers. They were both staring at her a little glassy-eyed. "Oh, grow up. I have a bra on."

"It looks a little dusty, too," Dean commented, eyes lighting expectantly.

Liz quickly pulled her shirt back on, suddenly self-conscious.

XXX

"I've got to say, not bad for your first hunt, Liz," Sam said and toasted her with his beer.

"Thanks," she said, flushing with pleasure.

They were sitting at a table at a local bar. Dean was flirting across the room with a girl at the bar and quickly getting drunk. Sam was following him into a non-sober state while Liz just sipped her mojito.

"I'll be right back," Dean said, heading towards the bar.

Liz watched him walk away. "She's looks like fun," she commented sarcastically. "All peroxide and lipstick. Right up Dean's alley."

"I don't want to talk about Dean."

Liz turned to face him. "Fair enough. What do you want to talk about?"

"How do you know so much about demons?"

Liz sighed and sat up straight in her chair. "My community dabbled a bit in the supernatural, and I was always fascinated by all the different demons and ghosts. I've been reading about them since I was a little kid. It's different fighting one face-to-face, though."

"Amen to that," Sam said, slurring his words slightly. He slid his eyes over Liz. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Get out of here?" she asked, weighing the words. "What about Dean?"

Sam caught sight of Dean at the bar between two trashy-looking women. "I'm sure that he can find his own way back to the motel," he answered, pulling the keys to the Impala from his jacket conspiratorially. He handed them to her. "Head out to the car. I'll tell Dean we're leaving."

Liz took the keys hesitantly. "I thought I wasn't supposed to look at his car, much less drive it."

"I don't think I should be driving. I'm a little drunk, in case you hadn't noticed."

"I had."

"Good, then we agree," he said, standing up.

"I guess so," she said, also standing up.

"Liz?"

"Yeah?"

He pulled her to him and kissed her softly on the lips. Her eyes slid closed as she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. When Sam tangled their tongues together, Liz came to herself and pushed quickly away from him, eyes wide. She jerked her head toward Dean to make sure he was none the wiser to what had transpired between herself and Sam. He was still flirting shamelessly with the two women and was blissfully unaware of what was happening a few tables away from him.

"I am so sorry," Sam said apologetically. "I don't know what came over me."

Liz put another step's distance between them. "It's okay. I think we've both had a little too much to drink," she replied nervously.

XXX

Liz was sitting at the table with Bobby and Sam when Dean came into the room. He grabbed the back of her hair, pulled her head back, and put a large hunting knife to her throat.

"You don't want to do that," she told him confidently.

"Oh?" he challenged, raising an eyebrow and sliding the blade along her throat.

"Yeah," she replied, maneuvering out of his grasp and shoving him into the seat she had abandoned. "There are so many more pleasant uses for my throat," she said. She kneeled in front of him and started unbuttoning his jeans.

Dean jerked awake, sitting straight up in bed. His latest one-night stand was staring at him angrily.

"Who the hell is Liz?" she asked.

Dean tried. He really did. But, he couldn't remember the girl's name for the life of him. It was something common, he was sure. Amber? No, she was last week. Tiffany? That wasn't right, either.

"She's my wife." There were two ways this could go, and Dean did not particularly care which one happened so long as it got him out of here so he could nurse his hangover.

"You're married?" one-night stand asked, disbelief dropping her jaw. "Get out of my house."

"Gladly. Have you seen my pants?"

XXX

"Have you seen Dean? We need to get on the road."

"I don't think he came home last night," Liz said.

"Oh. Well." Sam cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I guess I could try his cell again."

"Sounds like a plan."

Sam stood for a moment looking torn. "I'm sorry that Dean's been acting like such an ass," he said finally.

Liz shrugged. "It's understandable. He's trying to deal with the whole marriage thing. I get it."

"He's not the only one having to deal, though. I'm sorry that he never considers that."

"Well, I haven't exactly been an example of grace under pressure. I've been pushing his buttons, I know. I try not to, but he makes me crazy and I react."

"He's not a bad guy, just a little...rough around the edges."

She met his gaze. "I know," she said seriously. "He's..."

Dean pushed the door open then, and the words died on Liz's tongue. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, coming into the room. "'Cause it sure looks like you're trying to mack on the missus, Sam."

Liz rolled her eyes at Dean. "Did you have fun with Valerie?"

"Valerie! That was her name. Wait, I thought Valerie was last week," Dean said, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. At Liz's annoyed look, he continued, "No, seriously, was her name Valerie?"

Liz's jaw dropped. "You really don't remember her name," she commented disbelieving. She turned to Sam. "Is justifiable homicide a real thing? Because I think I am going to need to use it as my defense really soon."

"She was practically begging me to sleep with her," Dean protested. "She'll be fine without me calling her tomorrow. I mean, she gave me a ride here, so she must not be too broken up."

Liz shook her head in disbelief and grabbed her bags. "I'll be at the car when y'all are ready," she told Sam and left the room.

"What's up her butt?" Dean asked, sprawling on the bed.

Sam glared at him in response.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Could you just try to act like a human being towards her?"

"If you like her so much, be my guest. She's all yours."

"That's not funny. You're driving me crazy. You are both driving me crazy. I know that all of this marriage stuff hasn't been easy on you, but I swear to God, the next time you say something crappy to her on this trip, I am going to shave your head."

"Like you have the balls to shave my head."

"Try me if you think I'm kidding."

"Oh, I will," Dean promised. "Like I am going to make it an entire day without pissing off Liz."

"I guess we'll see," Sam replied.