"I need caffeine….."

Erin was slumped over the hood of the jeep, whining. Currently, the jeep and Impala were parked at the gas pumps of a convenience store en route to the fifth victim's apartment. It was 6:00 in the freaking morning, and Dean decided it was time to go. She barely had time to grab a cup of that dirty brown water the motel called coffee. And everyone knew it was dangerous to deprive Erin of her caffeine.

She lifted her head and glared at the man at the gas pump. It was his fault she was dragging ass today, and therefore he should suffer an unfathomable punishment. Now, if she could only muster enough energy to think of said unfathomable punishment….

"Erin? Are you going to go pay for the gas?" Jo prodded her cousin in the arm. Many people probably thought Erin's lack of energy was strange, but Jo was used to it. Who knew? Maybe she had low blood pressure or something. Jo liked to think that Erin drank so much coffee in high school that she became a caffeine junkie.

The brunette turned to give her cousin a scrutinizing look. Jo was no longer looking at Erin, but rather the Impala. Following Jo's gaze, she saw that Dean was sitting back in the car, apparently having sent Sam in to pay.

She didn't know what had transpired the previous night, but she had a good idea. Around 9:00 Jo had stormed into their hotel room and kicked Sam out, claiming she was exhausted. Her face was flushed, and she had a distracted look. As hard as she tried, Erin couldn't get anything out of her. Instead, Jo just insisted she was tired and went to bed.

Erin pulled a couple of fifties out of her wallet and handed to them to Jo. Seeing her cousin's perplexed expression, she gestured to the money with a serious look.

"You go pay for the gas with Sam. I'm too tired to walk that far. Buy us some food too. And coffee. Lots of coffee; biggest cup they have." She made a shooing motion.

Jo shrugged and ran to catch up with Sam, throwing one last look on Dean's direction. As soon as her cousin was inside the store, Erin rushed over to the Impala and slid in the passenger side. Dean whipped around to give her a surprised look. She cut off his questions with her hand.

"Look Winchester, I know what happened between you and Jo last night." She pointed at him accusingly.

Dean sighed and faced forward.

"Well, girls talk at slumber parties. I'm not surprised."

"Don't play aloof with me, you moron. Listen, I could care less if you date Jo. I don't care if you want to swap spit with her or not. Frankly, I think she needs to get laid. But that's beside the point." She gripped his shoulder, forcing him to look at her.

"I don't know you that well, and I definitely can't read you as well as your brother. But I do know my cousin, and I can tell you with certainty that Jo's feelings for you are way deeper than some stupid little schoolgirl crush. I suspect you feel the same about her, even if you won't admit it. But you better listen up. If you use her feelings against her, or do anything else that might hurt that girl, I will kill you. Ellen just being a mom when she says that; I'm being a vengeful bitch. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." She left go of his arm and turned to get out of the car. As Dean breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly spun back to face him.

"Oh, and Dean? Jo didn't say a word to me; I figured it out of my own. And she tells me everything, which should give you a clue as to how much she cares about you. Just try to keep that in mind, ok?" She patted his cheek sweetly and slid out of the Impala, slamming the door behind her.

Dean gripped the steering wheel and stared out the windshield.

"I just…got another death-threat from another chick. Damn it!"

"Hand me some of those."

Sam tossed the bag of chips over to Jo and laughed when they nailed her in the head. She gave him a mock glare.

"Haha, smartass. You not supposed to hit girls, you know."

He chuckled and went back to perusing the candy bars. Jo's behavior last night had worried him, but she seemed to be back to her usual self. Unlike his brother, who had been moody and unresponsive ever since last night. Well, moodier than usual.

Instead of asking about the previous night, Sam decided to breach an easier topic. He eased over to stand beside Jo so that his voice wouldn't carry. Normally, he wouldn't care; but this was a conversation other people really didn't need to hear.

"Hey Jo. Did Erin tell you about her theory on the killer?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, she thinks its Markus." She gave Sam a curious look.

"She told you about him?"

"Yeah. She said he was one of her sister's friends at one time. She also mentioned what he did to his mother." His expression turned grim at the thought.

Jo expression turned from curiosity to surprise. "She told you about Kelsey too?"

He gave her a strange look. Was Erin talking about her personal life really that odd? Ok, so maybe they had only known each other a few days. But still, why was Jo giving him such strange looks?

"She talked about her while we were at her apartment. I saw Kelsey's file, so Erin told me all about her. You know: that she's adopted, that she went to private school, she's telekinetic." He grinned.

"She fits the older sister role well. You could tell she's proud of her sister, even if she does worry about her abilities."

Jo nodded in agreement, smiling sadly. "Yeah, she does. It reminds me of the way Dean cares about you; they have a lot in common in that. And Erin loves Kelsey to death. They were so close when they were younger, way closer than Erin and me."

The smile disappeared from her face suddenly, as if she suddenly recalled something depressing.

"Poor Erin; It nearly killed her when Kelsey disappeared."

Sam's shock was apparent in his face. All that time Erin talked about her little sister; not once did she give the impression that she was gone.

"What?"

She gave him yet another look of surprise. "Erin didn't tell you? Yeah, Kelsey went missing about six months ago. It's pretty strange that she didn't mention it, considering the fact that she was the first one to suspect Kelsey left with Markus." She turned to face him.

"Erin didn't mention any of this to you?"

Sam glanced away, preoccupied. Despite his wish to think otherwise, he was beginning to see why Erin had failed to mention this. It probably hurt her just to think about it; the same way it hurt Dean to think about Sam's destiny. If Kelsey was with Markus, then…

"No. She didn't say anything."

He forced the suspicions from his mind and put one a slightly brighter face. "Come on, let's go. Your cousin's probably passed out from caffeine deprivation by now."

"Ah, you know her well." Jo laughed and followed him to the register. In the back of her mind, she was beginning to wonder if telling Sam was such a good idea…

"How did you convince Jo to ride with Dean? And likewise, how did I convince you to drive?" Erin finished her coffee and smiled. She had caffeine, and it seemed to improve her mood.

Sam kept his eyes on the road, his expression serious. "I just thought they had issues to work out."

"You're right about that. Those two…I feel a Jerry Springer episode coming on just thinking about it." She snickered.

Sam's expression remained unchanged as he turned left behind his brother. What Jo had revealed to him in the store had been nagging at him ever since, but he just couldn't bring himself to ask Erin about it. What if his suspicions were wrong? If so, then bringing up Kelsey's disappearance would only hurt her.

Erin noticed Sam's silence and sat up, concerned. She knew that Sam was a quiet individual, but something was bothering him. Maybe it had something to do with their psychic encounter, but she was beginning to realize that she could senses even the most subtle changes in Sam's demeanor.

"What's the matter?"

"Why didn't you mention your sister's disappearance?"

The change in her countenance was immediate. She shifted in her seat and turned away from him. The chill was back, as was the tension in her figure. She swallowed.

"It's got nothing to do with you, or this. So why bother bringing it up?"

"Because you think that she's with Markus."

A silence pause ensued. Erin's face was obscured from his view, but he could feel the anger and sorrow emanating from her. He felt a pain at causing her so much grief, but he needed answers. She continued to keep her silence.

"Is that why you're hoping its Markus doing this? Because your sister might be with him?"

"Don't jump to conclusions about shit you know nothing about, Sam." Erin dug her nails into her thighs in fury.

"Erin, I'm sorry. I know you must miss her. But Kelsey….if she's with Markus then it might be possible the demon has turned her--…"

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?!" It wasn't the rage in her voice that surprised him, but the grief. This was literally tearing her apart.

"I know that's the most likely situation, Sam. I don't need to be reminded of it."

"There's still a chance that she can be saved, Erin."

Sam spoke to her softly, attempting to soothe the pain he had caused. As they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, he turned to look at her.

"I'm just worried about what happens if it's true. What are you going to do if he has turned her?" He pulled into a parking space beside Dean and shut the engine off.

She was silent; her feelings were a mystery to him. Her head bowed, her face obscured, she sat unmoving. Sam was actually afraid; what was she thinking? He couldn't even speak, for fear of her retaliation.

Finally, after an eternity, she raised her head. The cold, unfeeling hardness she had possessed during their first meeting was back again. She turned to look him in the face, granting him an apathetic stare.

"I'll kill her."

Without another word, she left him sitting alone in the jeep in silence. Somehow, he didn't doubt her.

Author's Note: I updated twice in one day! A short chapter, but I thought it was a good place to end it. Erin's threatening to kill everybody, isn't she? I swear, that girl has more dysfunction than my family reunion...