Chapter Fourteen: The Walking Wounded

"Desperate for words, Lost in a maze, It falls apart, You loose your place, It hurts so bad, You cry for days, Time heals all pain, You will be okay"

I hadn't been anywhere without my brothers in a long time. Not since I had kidnapped by that demon. Before than, I could've been mistaken for being sown to Dean's hip. It wasn't often where you saw me without him somewhere around. But, after I had been retrieved from that warehouse, the idea of personal space was a fleeting idea. For the first couple weeks of me being awake we all bunked in one motel room with me sharing a bed with Dean. There were also random touches, hugs, light punches and I had caught each of my brothers had just watching me.

I wondered if they missed me half as much as I missed them. Sure, I loved being able to stay in my room in the roadhouse without being bothered every five minutes. But, I still wondered how the hunt was doing. I couldn't believe there was a killer clown somewhere on the loose, and it was somehow a supernatural problem. That was the one reason why I was glad that Dean hadn't let me come. I hated clowns, always had and most likely, always would. Sam and I shared that phobia and Dean and Aiden never let us forget it.

There wasn't a lot to do at the roadhouse. I was looking forward to getting my cast taken off, Ellen was bringing me to a doc-in-a-box and hopefully it had healed already. It was nearly three weeks and most broken bones took at least four to six weeks, depending on the severity of the break in question The doctors had said that it was a clean break, so hopefully that would work in my favor. The leg felt fine but I didn't want to risk walking on it just yet.

I'm betting the one thing Dean didn't know when he decided to leave me at the roadhouse was the fact that Trevor was staying here too. I doubt that Dean would've willingly left us alone, had he known. We spent nearly every moment together and it was nice. He helped me pass the time as well as practice my abilities. That was the one thing we had to get away from the roadhouse for.

"You sure you're up for this?" Trevor asked for the thousandth time.

"Yes," I groaned.

"Because we can wait," Trevor continued.

"Trevor," I growled.

"Okay," Trevor placated. "Okay, I was just checking."

Trevor had found a completely abandoned property the perfect place for us to practice. He had a pretty good handle on his abilities at least from what I've seen but I was curious to see him in action. When Trevor pulled his car behind the barn and we walked into the middle of the field. I immediately spotted an archery target with a number of knives laying a few feet away. I eyed the knives cautiously. I had always been good when it came to knives, I actually preferred them to guns but none of the knives in front of me were mine.

"Try to lift the knife," Trevor said.

Before today, my abilities were just a defense mechanism, something that happened when I felt threatened, was threatened, or one emotion was stronger than normal. Trevor was trying to help me so that my telekinesis can just happen whenever I want it too. 'Move' I prodded myself in my mind, just let it move. Just as soon as I thought about it moving, three knives began to lift themselves from the ground.

"You're doing great, Hails," Trevor smiled. "Try throwing them at the target."

I glanced at the target and immediately the knives went zooming into the target imbedding themselves around the bull's-eye. That was awesome. Trevor raised an eyebrow before looking at me.

"Neat trick," Trevor nodded.

"Why don't you show me what you got?" I smirked.

Trevor laughed before he snapped his fingers. A little flame appeared on the tip of his index finger. Now that was cool but I continued watching knowing that Trevor was just getting started. He looked at it before blowing at it. Instead of the flame extinguishing from the air it blew out expanding until there was a floating ball of fire the size of a beach ball and just as suddenly as it appeared it vanished.

"Now, I want to do that," I grinned.

"You kidding?" Trevor scoffed. "That knife trick is bad ass."

"You haven't seen anything yet," I smiled.

"Oh, is that so?" Trevor smirked.

"Yeah," I laughed.

Trevor closed the distance between us and I raised my eyebrow at him. He curled two of his fingers around my of my front belt loops, pulling me flush against him. One of his hands snaked around the small of my back supporting me as he kissed me firmly. His other hand buried itself in my hair as he moved us backwards so that I was leaning against the wall. I gasped Trevor suddenly lifted me up. His hands supporting my ass as my one good leg wrapped around his waist. He pulled me up so that we were eye to eye as I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck as we began to kiss once more. One of my hands snaked from his shoulder and into his hair. I felt Trevor moan into the kiss and I smiled as he suddenly grinded his pelvis into my own.

"Trevor," I groaned.

"Hails," Trevor sighed.

I didn't know idea how much time Trevor and I took to get reacquainted. But I knew that we had other work to do, including driving to the nearest mall so that I could replace my old phone. Trevor must've realized our other responsibilities when I did because he reluctantly put me down. I straightened my clothing and rolled my eyes as Trevor handed me my crutches.

Two hours later we were pulling back into the Roadhouse's parking lot. Only this time I had a new phone and a few new outfits. Dean was going to kill me. I had gotten a messaging phone and the new outfits with ne of my credit cads that I wasn't even supposed to have in my possession. But, I needed new jeans and I wasn't going to take my brother's hand-me-downs forever.

Trevor moved to go into the backroom. Instead of following after him I made a beeline straight to Ash. I found him at his typical table. He looked up at me as I approached and smiled.

"Hey, Hails," Ash greeted me. "What'cha got there?"

"This is a years worth of my dad's work, so, uh, can you help me make sense of it?" I asked.

I watched as Ash opened the folder and shuffled through the paper beginning to look at each before casting me an inquisitive look.

"Come on," Ash scoffed, a hint of scolding in his voice, "This crap ain't real. Ain't nobody can track a demon like this."

"My dad could," I responded.

"These are nonparametric statistical overviews, cross-spectrum correlations. I mean…damn. They're signs, omens. If you can track them, you can track this demon," Ash whispered. "You know, like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightening? It ain't fun."

"So, you can track it?" I whispered.

"Yeah," Ash answered. "I mean with this, I think so. It's gonna take time. Give me, uh, fifty one hours."

I watched as Ash gathered up the information and ambled back to his room leaving me alone at the table. I jumped when I realized that my phone was buzzing. I had kept the same number I had before and I recognized that it was Sammy calling me. I had reentered my brother's numbers from memory. Luckily, I was pretty good with numbers.

"Hey," I answered.

"Hails," Sam whispered.

"Sam?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sam said a little too sharply.

"Bullshit," I retorted. "You sound sad. What did Dean do?"

"Hailey," Sam sighed. "That's not why I'm calling."

"Than why are you?" I responded.

"We're at a loss on the case," Sam said. "Dean shot the clown and it hit something solid."

"Hold on," I responded. I thought for a few minutes trying to remember if Dad had a hunt like this before. I ended up asking Ellen what she thought.

"Rakshasa," I said.

"What?" Sam questioned.

"It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures. They appear in human form, they feed on human flesh, they can make themselves invisible, and they can't enter a home without being invited inside. They also live in squalor, sleeping on a bed of dead insects." I explained. "They also only feed a few times every twenty to thirty years."

"Hailey, please tell me that you read that off a website or something," Sam teased.

"Of course, you're the sidekick geek boy in the family," I quipped.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Hails," Sam muttered. I heard Aiden in the background demanding what I said and Sam told him to mind his own business. I coughed masking a laugh as Sam's attention turned back to me. "We'll be back soon."

"Just be careful," I pleaded.

"You too," Sam whispered.

After Sam hung up I was left wondering if they were almost done with the hunt. If and when my brothers finished. What would we do? Go back to Bobby's? I guess that was the best course of action, since Dean made it clear that weren't leaving the impala anywhere.

I ate dinner with Ash, Ellen, and Jo before the roadhouse began to pick up business. I helped Jo fill orders as I watched Ash play pool and Ellen watch over everyone and everything. By the time it was midnight, I was exhausted. I dropped down on my bed, and as soon as my head hit the pillows, I was out. When I woke up the entire roadhouse was silent. I sighed as I limped out into the main room going straight into the kitchen and getting a bowl of cereal. I was excited because today was the day that I'd be going to the doctor and hopefully I'd get this god forsaken cast removed. All I had to do was wait until someone was awake so that they could take me.

I wondered how long it would be until my brothers came back. That was the one thing that sucked about being left behind because I knew that a hunt could take anywhere from a few days to months depending on what we were hunting and why. We, also had to take into account the weather and what time of year it was. Our jobs were complicated and it never got any easier. Luckily, I was use to waiting. Normally I had company since I hadn't been able to go on hunts until fairly recently. It still sucked, though. I waited waiting, being unable to help my family or anything. It was nearly unbearable having to wait until they called or came back.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard the door to the backroom open. I grinned as Trevor ran a hand through his hair. He walked towards me, planting a kiss on my temple before going into the kitchen for food. He came back out a few minutes later with a bagel and a cup of coffee.

"You ready to go to the doctor's?" Trevor asked sitting down beside me.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I can't wait to just walk around."

"I'll bet," Trevor grinned.

"And they're be another things we can do when this thing isn't in our way," I purred.

Trevor smirked at me as and shook his head. But, he couldn't mask the unadulterated lust in his eyes. I grinned back at him. Maybe it was better that my brothers weren't here with me. I was almost certain that they would not approve of the way Trevor and I were looking at each other.

"You wanna get outta here?" Trevor asked.

"You done with breakfast?" I responded.

"Yeah," Trevor nodded. "Come on, Hails."

"Okay," I replied.

I picked up my crutches and followed Trevor out the door. Trevor helped me into the car before driving me into town. A half hour later I was sitting on the table waiting for the doctor to tell me whether or not the new x-rays showed that my leg had healed. Trevor was waiting next to me. Finally the door opened and the doctor came in with the results.

"Well, Ms. Winchester," The doctor sighed. "You've healed remarkably well. I think that the plaster cast is ready to come off. You'll have to take it easy for a couple more weeks. You're muscles are weak and where the bone has mended is still a tad fragile."

"But the cast can come off?" I asked.

"Yes," The doctor nodded. "You just need to take it easy."

"Yes, sir," I replied.

Soon enough my cast was off and I was limping my way out of the medical clinic. Trevor helped me back into his car as we drove back to the impala. I sighed because Bobby's minivan still was no where in sight. I opened the door and walked into the roadhouse. Ellen and Jo looked like they were taking inventory before another busy night and I ran over to help them as Trevor walked over to Ash.

"Hailey," Jo grinned.

"Jo," I smiled.

It was then I noticed that Ellen didn't seem to be in the best of moods as she slammed into the kitchen.

"Uh, what's going on?" I asked.

"She's being completely unreasonable," Jo hissed. "She says I should go back to school. But I want to hunt like my father did. It's what I was meant to do. But she won't listen to me."

"It's dangerous, Jo," I whispered. "I mean you've seen the injuries my brothers and I have gotten."

"You guy save lives," Joe retorted. "You all make a difference more so than anything I could ever do with just going to school."

"Hailey!" Ash called. "Come here."

"You find it?" I asked.

"It's nowhere around, at least nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises its head, I'll know. I mean, I'm on it like divine on dog dookie."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world my rig will go off like a fire alarm."

"You'll call when it shows back up?" I asked.

"Of course," Ash smirked.

"Thanks, Ash, you're the greatest."

"Thanks, baby girl," Ash grinned.

I smiled at him as I slid off the stool and made my way into the my bedroom. I changed into a blue camisole and a pleated black mini skirt. I wore my modified knee high boots with built in knife holders, that was the modified part. Normally my brothers hated me in bars, especially since I was under age. There was the fact that I also got hit on and some of the bars were seedy at best. So, I learned not to go anywhere without at least one knife on my person.

"Damn girl," Jo whistled smirking. "Looking for tips."

"No, I'm hustling tonight," I responded. "I need my money."

"Good luck," Jo laughed.

I smirked and walked over to the pool table where a group of three guys were playing pool.

"Well, well, well," One guy sneered, his eyes raking up and down my body. "What do we have here?"

"Can I join you guys in a game?" I replied.

"What do you think, guys?" The person who addressed me first asked. "Should we let the little lady play?"

"Sure," The others shrugged.

I picked up the remaining pool stick and purposefully flubbed all my shots until I had lost.

"Aw," I pouted. "One more game?"

"Sure, baby doll," The guy smirked.

"Let's make this interesting," I said innocently.

I laid down a few bills amounting to two hundred and fifty dollars on the table. I quickly did the math. I was currently playing against five other people, which would amount to 1250 dollars. That was a good amount of money.

This game was completely different than the other one. Honestly the guys didn't have a chance. I had learned how to play pool from the best, namely my brothers and father. It had been a family tradition to hustle. We hustled pool and cards and whenever we were in a place for more than a few weeks, Dean would get a job as a mechanic at any local shop. But credit card scams and any money we made from hustling would normally keep us stabilized. When I had won the atmosphere visibly tensed. I attempted to move away from the pool table when a hand came down hard on my shoulder.

"You just conned us," The guy hissed

"No, I just got lucky," I shrugged. "Shit happens."

"Bullshit," The guy growled.

His grip on my shoulder tightened almost painfully so and I glared up at him. But before I could even attempt to grab my knife, the Roadhouses doors slammed open.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!" A voice demanded sharply.

"Dean," I whispered.

"Oh, shit, Chuck, that's Dean Winchester," Another one attempted to warn the man who was holding my shoulder.

"This your slut, Winchester?" Chuck called. "If she is. I feel bad for you. She has a mouth on her."

"I'm not his slut," I growled, stomping on Chuck's foot as hard as I could and pulling my knife out at the same time pushing him away from me. He sprawled out on the pool table and looked shocked as I raised the knife high over my head.

"Hailey!" Dean called sharply.

I ignored him as I swung the knife down. Chuck looked terrified as the knife plunged down impeding itself in the pool table right between the sleezeballs legs. He gasped as his eyes widened looking between me and the knife that came dangerously close to his family jewels. He then reacted quickly kicking me back as he got off the table he swung me around slamming me back on the pool table. I hissed as Chuck scrambled on top of me. He punched me hard in the jaw. My mouth welled with blood as I flipped us and returned the punch with equal force. I swung down hard as I could. My knuckles split open but I continued punching until I suddenly went airborne.

"Hailey," Dean hissed.

I growled squirming in Dean's grasp as I fought to finish what Chuck had started. I cast feral eyes on Chuck as his friends helped him up and stumbled to the door where Ellen told them that they would not be welcomed back. Even with them out of sight my anger grew and I continued to fight Dean's hold.

"Let me go," I shouted.

"You need to calm the hell down," Dean growled. "Damn it, Hailey."

"That bastard fucking started it," I fumed sagging in Dean's arms.

Aiden came out from behind Dean grabbing my knife and pulling it out of the wood. Dean had grabbed a hold of me of me pulling me into the backroom. He shoved me into my room and slammed the door behind me us before Aiden could try to come in. Dean tossed me onto my bed glaring at me harshly.

"What the hell was that?" Dean demanded roughly.

"That asshole started," I snapped.

"Really?" Dean continued. "Because a little birdie told me that you were hustling. You know that we don't hustle unless we had someone watching our back."

"I had it handled."

"Yeah, tough guy," Dean rolled his eyes holding up my hand up to his eye and mine.

My knuckles looked pretty battered but it wasn't anything that wouldn't heal in a few days. I sighed before standing back up and closing the distance between Dean and I. He looked at me curiously before I leaned against his chest and wrapping my arms around him

"I'm glad you're okay, Dean," I whispered.

"Of course we are," Dean murmured. "Come on. We're due to get back to Bobby's."

I nodded and began to pack up my clothes and Dean helped me with my duffels as we walked out of the back hallway. Dean smiled giving Ellen and Jo a kiss on the cheek and clapping Ash on the back. I hugged Ellen, Jo, and Dean. I looked around and quickly spotted Trevor. I ran over to him and kissed him goodbye as he lifted me into his arms.

"Hey!" Dean snapped. "Not in public, you two."

I flushed as Trevor placed me back on my feet. I hugged him goodbye before following Dean out to the parking lot. I quickly spotted an old station wagon, that wasn't Bobby's van.

"Uh, Dean?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Dean questioned.

"Where's Bobby's van?" I queried.

"Don't ask," Den retorted.

"Oh, god," I laughed.

"Hails, shut up and get into the car," Dean ordered.

"You mean the stolen car." I smirked.

Dean huffed and rolled his eyes as he shoved my bags into the trunk. He moved around to the driver's side and together my brothers and I moved to go back to Bobby's house.

"Your leg's all better?" Aiden asked.

"Yup," I grinned. "Doctor says I gotta take it easy for a few more weeks but I'll be fine."

When we got back to Bobby's it was almost as if we never left. We all moved to different corners of the house. I sighed as I limped around in Bobby's kitchen a few days after we had shacked back up. I was pouring myself a cup of coffee. I heard Sam come into the kitchen but his steps didn't slow as he stalked out to Bobby's yard where Dean was still buried under the impala. I slid open the window so that I could listen as I drank my coffee.

"You were right," Sam called.

"About what?" Dean asked as he got up tossing the tire iron on the tool table.

"About me and Dad," Sam said. "I'm sorry that the last time I was with him, I tried to pick a fight. I'm sorry I spent most of my life angry at him. I mean for all I know he died thinking that I hate him. So, you're right. What I'm doing right now, it is too little, it's too late."

"Oh, Sammy," I whispered.

"I miss him, man," Sam sniffed. "And I feel guilty as hell. And I'm not all right. Not at all. But neither are you. That much I know. I'll let you get back to work."

Sam walked stiffly back into the kitchen. His eyes were wet and he looked at me fleetingly as he tried to leave the kitchen. I latched onto his wrist and burrowed into his side. Sam held me tightly as his body shuddered with sobs.

"It's okay, Sammy," I whispered. "Dad knew you loved him."

I felt Sam nod as his hold tightened even more. I did what my brothers had always done for me whenever I was upset. I rubbed his back and waited for Sam to calm down. While Sam was in his own world, the window was still open and I heard Dean as he smashed something glass before banging something metal against the impala.

"Thanks, Hails," Sam whispered.

He wiped his eyes and kissed me on the forehead before he walked into Bobby's library. Sam had taken to reading anything he could get his hands on and luckily Bobby had a lot of books. I cast a cautious look out to where Dean was. He was just standing there. The tire iron laid abandoned by his feet. It was than where I made up my mind to be strong for my brothers. They had remained strong for me during anything that could go wrong. It was my turn. They were barely holding it together and we couldn't all be strong, someone was going to crack but the rest of us were going to be there to pick up the pieces because that's what family did. I just hope that dean would let us in because from the look on his face, right now, he was shutting down and that terrified me.