A/N: Hey there. :) Just wanted to quickly say thank you to the people who are reading this! I was hoping I'd get a few more reviews than I have been getting but oh well. I'm still enjoying writing this story heaps. So yeah, if you're reading, I would absolutely lovelovelove a review. I want to be able to improve my writing and this story in any way I possibly can, but I need your help to do that! Anyway, enjoy!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The car ride back to Kieryn's home was silent but for the classic rock pulsating through the speaker system of Dean's Impala. Kieryn made point to keep her gaze fixed upon the view outside her window to the right and Dean didn't even bother attempting to spark up a conversation.

Dean's car pulled over alongside the curb and within a second the engine was silenced altogether, leaving the only sound to be that of their slow breathes. Kieryn unclipped her seatbelt swiftly, turning in the passenger seat to face Dean completely.

"Thanks." She murmured, biting her bottom lip and then uttering, "see yah tomorrow, loser," with a cunning grin upon her face. Before Dean could even register her words, she was pushing the car door open and sliding outside.

That's it. He still totally despised her. "Bitch," Dean muttered in annoyance, though the passenger door was already slammed closed and Kieryn was making her way up the darkened pathway to her home.

"Em?" Kieryn called, slipping her small figure through the door frame and closing the door as softly as possible.

Emerson appeared at the end of the hall within a second of her sister's call, her eyes brimmed with concern. "Kieryn, I hate it when you run off like that," she murmured, smiling light heartedly as Kieryn shrugged her warm coat from her shoulders and hung it over the coat rack to the left of the front door.

"Yeah, yeah," Kieryn mumbled mockingly, tugging the shoe from her left foot and grinning wildly. Glancing back up at her sister deviously, Kieryn wrenched her arm back behind her head before launching it forward, sending the black shoe flying through the 10 metres that separated them.

"What the hell?" Emerson yelled, grinning uncontrollably as she barely managed to dodge the flying converse just in time. The shoe landed upon the third step of the staircase behind her and Emerson rapidly plucked it from the stair, turning around in preparation to haul the shoe back at her sister. But by that time, Emerson just caught a flash of orange hair disappearing around the corner into the kitchen and dining room of the home.

She could hear Kieryn's stifled laughter from the other room and began laughing hysterically herself as she raced down the short hallway and into the kitchen.

"I surrender!" Kieryn grinned, clutching her stomach with one arm in attempt to stop the pain that came with each hysterical giggle that escaped her, while holding her other arm in the air in defeat.

Emerson let out another chuckle, shaking her head with a sly smile printed upon her face. "It doesn't work like that."

Kieryn yelped as the shoe came flying toward her. She ducked behind the kitchen bench in the nick of time and the shoe hit the wall behind her with a thud.

Her sister's continuing laughter caused a smile to ignite upon Kieryn's fair face and she lifted herself from the floor, catching sight of Emerson leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen's exit.

"That was strangely entertaining." Emerson chuckled with a grin that matched Kieryn's own.

"And satisfying," Kieryn said cheekily. "Did I hit you?"

Emerson crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head smugly. "Not even close."

"Liar," Kieryn murmured playfully. Her attempt in lightening the situation had worked perfectly. All with the throwing of a shoe. Kieryn couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of that statement.

"You're awfully cheery," Emerson observed suddenly, plopping herself down upon one of the barstools lining the kitchen bench. Kieryn turned away from her sister's interrogating stare, tugging open the door of the fridge and poking her head inside.

"And you're not?" She countered lightly, pulling out the plastic milk container and settling it down onto the bench alongside the fridge.

Emerson wasn't surprised at her sister's attempt at changing the angle of the conversation. She had a tendency to try to dodge discussing her emotions in any way she possibly could. Trying to stay completely patient and calm, Emerson shook her head, smile lit up on her face. "I mean, you seem a lot happier coming home than you did when you just ran off earlier."

"Oh yeah?" Kieryn said, raising her eyebrows in turn. Grabbing her glass, topped off with milk, and the milk bottle, she quickly set the container back into the fridge before strolling toward the large dining table and settling herself down on one of the chairs.

"Yeah." Emerson spun around in the bar seat to face Kieryn, seated at the dining table. "Dean drop you off?"

"Sure did," Kieryn mumbled, taking a sip from her glass of milk. "Though I don't think he was entirely happy with the arrangement."

Em chuckled. "Sounds about right. Sam told me about the little spiff going on between Dean and yourself."

"Yeah?" Kieryn asked with a smile. Her sister's sudden chirpiness was refreshing compared to the normal stressed out Emerson that Kieryn was used to seeing. "What's Sam like? I haven't really had much of a chance to talk to him yet."

"Sam's cool," Emerson mused. "He's pretty quiet." Em's gaze flickered to the floor as she thought over the easy conversations she'd shared with the brunette man earlier that day. "He was at college, like you. Stanford, I think he said. Until their father went missing and he was forced to leave to go on the road with Dean, bit over a year ago."

Kieryn nodded in response, taking another large gulp from her milk and settling it back down onto the wooden tabletop. "What?" She asked in confusion as Emerson watched her, laughing softly.

Em bit her lip back in attempt to stifle her laughter. "Nice moustache," she managed finally, grinning wickedly as Kieryn swiped at her upper lip with the hint of a scowl.

Spying the time on the kitchen clock to now be past midnight, Kieryn rose from her perch at the dining table, transferring her glass to the marble bench top before strolling toward the room's exit. "Night, Em," she called over her shoulder.

Emerson smiled brightly, watching as her sister exited the room. "Night!" She chorused loudly, her smile stretching into a grin as Kieryn's muffled laughter sounded from down the hallway.

"Dean!"

Dean was awoken by the sound of his name being spoken and almost as abruptly as he'd heard it, a pair of hands gripped each of his shoulders, shaking him roughly.

Groaning, Dean made a lame attempt at turning onto his side, only to fail miserably as the hands clasped him even tighter, shaking his eyes open slowly.

"Finally," Sam murmured with a chuckle, turning around and walking away from his newly awoken brother.

"What time is it?" Dean moaned, rubbing at his eyes furiously before widening them once more. Light streamed in through the window at the front of the motel room and Dean quickly pulled his arm back up to cover his eyes from the blinding glare.

Sam scooped his boots from the floor beside his bed. "Nine." He informed Dean, slipping his shoes onto his feet over his socks and proceeding to tie the laces with ease. "Get up. We're meeting the girls for breakfast in half an hour."

"What? Why?" Dean asked, sitting upright in his bed and glancing over at Sam on the bed opposite as though he were insane.

"To chat about puppies and kittens and the good old days," Sam mumbled sarcastically.

"Oh, ha ha, Sammy," Dean chided, muttering a few incoherent curse words under his breath while Sam rose from his bed, grabbing Dean's duffel bag from the foot of the bed and tossing it at his brother.

"Hurry up."

"Hey guys." Sam looked up in time to see the blonde girl sliding into the booth seat opposite what he and Dean were seated upon. Emerson grinned sheepishly as the two brother's shot her a curt nod in return.

"Morning, Em." Sam greeted, smiling faintly and searching for what seemed to be missing in their reunion. "Where's Kieryn?" He asked finally, noticing the absence of the redhead for the first time.

"She's coming." Emerson assured, choosing to ignore the obvious look of disappointment that fashioned Dean's face in an instant.

Merely moments later, Kieryn's voice chimed through the small, bustling diner clear as a bell. "Hey guys!" She plopped herself down onto the seat beside her sister, grinning widely. "Top of the morning to yah!" With this, she saluted each of the boys in turn while Dean smirked cunningly.

"Oh, how wonderful to see you again." He mumbled sarcastically, failing to look up from the menu held in his hands.

Kieryn stuck her tongue out at Dean for a brief second before scooping a menu from the tabletop and beginning to scan through the list of possible meals herself.

"So what's the game plan for today?" Emerson asked the burning question at last once the quartet had all ordered their selected breakfast and the waitress had left their tableside entirely.

"Honestly?" Sam grinned inwardly, screwing his eyebrows the slightest. "I have no clue."

Kieryn snickered faintly. "Well, that's comforting." She muttered, her tone reeked with unmistakeable sarcasm.

"Oh yeah?" Dean confronted, shooting the redhead an unyielding expression. "You got any ideas then, smartass?"

"Actually, yes." Kieryn smirked, glaring at Dean with a matching look of determination. "The three victims all attended church. Now, there's only two churches in Petoskey, so I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that they all went to the same one."

"You're right. That is wild." Dean mocked, almost inaudibly.

Sam spoke up, ignoring his brother's immaturity altogether. "If you're right, then we should definitely check out the church."

"Alright. Sam and Kerry can investigate this church," Dean said, before any more plans could be made for him. Hanging out with Emerson was a far more satisfying concept than that of being stuck with the annoying redhead again. Plus, Dean wanted to see how Sam would handle Kieryn's annoying habits and queries for an entire day, like how Dean had been forced to endure in his time with her the day before.

"Really, Dean?" Kieryn asked with a sneer. "You don't want to come with me instead? I mean, after all that fun we had yesterday?" Despite the teasing question, Kieryn didn't mind the idea of hanging out with Sam for a bit. A change of scenery would be good for her. And probably for Dean, too. It seemed that if he spent too much longer alone with the stubborn redhead he would go completely nuts.

Dean tapped his chin with his index finger in a gesture of mock consideration. "Nah, I'll pass." He smirked finally, raising his eyebrows high into his forehead.

"Anyway," Emerson began, interrupting Kieryn and Dean's argument. "If Sam and Kier are checking out the church, then what does that leave for us to do?"

Dean shot a glance in Emerson's direction, a devious grin fashioning his face in an instant as he conjured up all the ways he could possibly answer that question.

"You guys can hit the library."

Dean's smile fell the second he heard his brother's words. "No, not research!" He groaned, slamming a clenched fist down onto the hard plastic tabletop.

Sam chuckled, nodding. "Oh yes. Research."