Chapter Twenty Five: Parting of the Ways

The gray of the early morning light pierced through the glass and into the backseat of the 1967 Chevy Impala. Slowly, the young woman named Kelly Jones stretched. She felt good, whole, completed. Who knew that one night with Dean Winchester could do something so wonderful? She sat up and gazed out the window and into the woods. Fog hung between the trees, yet to be burned off by the early morning light. It had to be around six. She looked down at the man who had given her a wonderful night. A wonderful night filled with pleasure and ecstasy that had exceeded her wildest imaginations. As only Dean Winchester could. "I love you, Dean." Kelly said. Then she blinked. Shit. She thought. Why the hell am I still here? Wasn't sex supposed to send her home? It was right? Right? I have to go. She realized. She couldn't let Dean know she was still here. She couldn't keep getting him and Sam involved in this mess. I'll just end up getting them killed. She'd figure out whatever the hell her mission was on her own. That was how she'd do it, on her own. Carefully, and as silently as possible Kelly gathered up her things and slid back into her clothes. Then she opened the door to the Impala and stepped out into the early morning light. For once she was glad that her stuff was left in the trunk, and that the Winchester brothers had opted out of getting a hotel room. "I love you." She said. Her voice small, as she gazed through the glass and down at his sleeping face. "But this is something that I have to do." She paused and took a deep breath. "Alone." Then she turned around and opened the trunk, pulling out her plaid bag, full of her weapons and her clothes. She'd figure out who she was. She had to. She slung it over her shoulder, and then she started walking. If she remembered right there was a greyhound bus station in this town, and if she was lucky they'd have a bus out of here before Dean ever realized that she wasn't physically gone. She trusted his intelligence enough to realize that. 'Cause after all, she was taking her stuff wasn't she?

"An interesting development." Came the voice from behind her. Kelly sighed, but this time she didn't turn around. Instead she kept walking. "Not what I expected."

"Glad I could surprise you." Kelly snapped. She crossed her arms over her chest as she walked. Her body was sore and swollen from the night before and the toes of her boots pinched at the toes. The bag swung beside her, solidly hitting her in the thigh as she walked. "Guess I'm still good for something."

"Oh you're good for a lot of things." The demon said. He was still following her, and Kelly was waiting for him to fall in line beside her. "Still in my plans, Kel-bear." His voice was infinitely sarcastic in it's sincerity. "You're still in my heart."

"Shut up." Kelly snapped. The stores were all closed, it was Sunday in a small town, chances were they weren't even going to be opening today. She sighed, that's what she hated about small towns, they were utterly annoying. Kelly swallowed as she stared down the empty Main Street. Knowing that at any moment Dean could wake up and not follow his first assumption. Then there would be the sound of tires squealing through this silence, and the last thing she wanted was for him to find the kind of company she was currently keeping. If she remembered right the Greyhound stop was at the edge of the city.

"No, you're right my favorite toy is a more accurate description." The Yellow-Eyed Demon said. "So passionate your lover was last night, beautiful, nearly brought tears to my eyes."

"I bet." Kelly said.

"Oh, my little Kelly cub, demons feel too you know."

"If you had a heart." She growled. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Well, that is the crux of the argument." The Yellow-Eyed demon said. "The major problem, the big kahuna as it were." Kelly continued walking. She knew how much he liked to spout, and there was nothing she could really do but let him. He'd get around to his point eventually. "Everything started moving along a bit faster than scheduled." He laughed. "But hey that's humanity for ya, always on the quick and ready." He paused. "Less with the ready." He laughed. "Hell, then he'd have been prepared for you to take off."

"What do you want with the Winchesters?" Kelly asked. She stopped and turned to face him. "Cause this had better be important, scary, and future related, otherwise I'm not interested." She glared. Her eyes flared up, bright gold, and a soft growl bubbled out of her throat. He was the enemy. Always had been the enemy, and it was her duty to take him down, to remove him. That's what her instincts were screaming.

"I still think he should have left you tied to the emergency break." The Yellow-Eyed demon said. "More poetic, but then plans would have been ruined."

"Yours especially."

"You've got a bright future ahead of you, duckling." The Yellow-Eyed demon said. "Hate to have it ruined by you getting sent out prematurely." His lips curled into a smirk. "That would be unfortunate."

"But not impossible to recover from." Kelly said. "I'm sure you've got contingencies, so long as you've been alive."

"Waking up's doing you good kiddo." The Yellow-Eyed Demon said. "You're not quivering the way you usually do."

"I've had enough visits to know the difference." Kellys said. "If you were here to kill me you'd've done it already." She swallowed. "Besides you've already said you have plans, so obviously while I'm completely expendable it'd be a pain for you to kill me and find a new one." She looked into his yellow swallowed irises. "Am I right?"

"Oh, I love it when they're smart." The Yellow-Eyed Demon reached out and took her by the shoulder. "Hang on, this might sting a little."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Kelly snarled. She tried to wrench away from him, but he held her fast.

"Sorry, Kelly cub, this time, you're not getting a choice." Then the two of them vanished in the early morning fog as the world swirled around them. Kelly's yells were incomprehensible, and as usual in a small town, no one heard her.

***

Kelly was gone. Dean blinked. He couldn't believe it. She was gone. That couldn't be right. How could she be gone? Dean swallowed. Gone. It ate at him. His stomach hurt. It felt like he had the flu, salmonella, constipation, and diarrhea all rolled into one. He swallowed again. I did this. I slept with her. It was all his fault. All his fault for letting her go. Why had he slept with her? Best night of my life. And the worst morning after. Dean scrambled for his keys. Hell, he needed his phone. He had to call Bobby and see where Sam was. Sam had deserved to say his goodbye's, but Dean hadn't thought of him. No, he'd been selfish. This whole thing had been selfish. He'd been scared. Very scared. She wasn't the first girl whom he'd told "I love you", but this had been the first time where he'd felt it'd actually meant something. Scratch that, there were only two. Cassie and Kelly. Dean found his keys and hopped into the front seat. Then he fished his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and found Bobby's name and number. It rang.

"'ello?" It was Bobby. "Dean? I got your brother here, he's a real mess." Maybe this had been a mistake. It wasn't the first he'd made. Like you'd pass up hearing her say 'I love you' for anything. A treacherous voice whispered in the back of his mind. You knew exactly what you were getting into, so stop lying. Dean swallowed. His throat was incredibly dry. Cracked. He hated it.

"Yeah, sorry to pawn that off on you, Bobby." He said. His voice felt tight. Was he going to cry? That was impossible, Dean Winchester did not cry. Especially not over a girl. Not some little girl. A girl who scratches and claws, yells, screams, and calls out your name over and over until you try every trick you've got in your book to get her home and happy. A girl, who, when she spoke his name sent chills racing up his spine, and his heart tumbling over in his chest. A girl who turned him into some kind of sappy cretin, how could he not be happy to see her go?

"She gone?" There was a crack in Bobby's voice when he said 'she' a minor hiccup that Dean might not have caught if he hadn't been paying close attention. This has hit Bobby hard too.

"Think so." Dean said. "She wasn't around when I woke up this morning." I mean her clothes aren't still here, but… Wait. Why were her clothes missing? If she'd evaporated into thin air then why were her clothes missing? Well, she came fully clothed last time… Did the logic actually follow for her to return missing her clothes? Dean swallowed. Why the hell was his throat so damn dry?

"I guess it's for the best then." Bobby said. "You want to meet up somewhere? Get Sam back?"

"How's his hangover?" Dean asked. His lips twitched at the thought of his brother suffering a severe headache always made him feel just a little bit better.

"Horrible." Bobby replied. "Kelly's leaving hit him hard, but I think he'll recover."

"Eventually." Sammy was always the soft type. He had a tendency to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and his sweet sincerity often lead to his undoing. But also makes clients like us. They didn't work well without each other, and Dean hoped that Sam wouldn't hold sleeping with Kelly against him. But then, Sam loves her too. He'd gotten himself into a pickle. So this is life after Kelly? Somehow it didn't seem all that different from before, except… It's just a little more empty. Only a little. But still.

"You still at the bar?"

"Yeah." Dean replied. He looked down at his hands, his knuckles were white around the wheel. Calm down. Sammy would need him to be calm. He would need him to be calm. He would need him to be ready, available, and snarky. That was the only way they were going to get through this. If he didn't give an inch. If he refused to give an inch to this grief.

"Meet you there." Then Bobby hung up, Dean didn't bother to ask how long it would be until Bobby got there. Knowing him he'd kick Sam's ass into gear right quick. Hangover or no. Dean took a deep breath. He had to be ready for when his brother came. He had to be normal. He couldn't be grieving. But God help me if Sammy asks if we should get her a grave stone.

***

Kelly woke up to the swinging of a greyhound bus. Her stuff was gone, and she could only guess that it was stowed in the bowels of the machinery. She sat up, but the seatbelt that she must have secured around her waist kept her firmly planted. "The…" She started as she looked around. There were other people here, and they didn't seem to taken aback by her sudden appearance. Well she could only guess it was a sudden appearance. Her fingers immediately went to the demon repelling charm around her neck. The small iron pendant kept on winded twine was gone. It's irritation no longer a factor against her neck. What was going on? She always wore that pendant. She hadn't even taken it off when she'd had sex with Dean. Right? She hadn't. She started to thrash. Was that how she'd gotten here? She'd been possessed? Goddamn bloody fucking hell! She swore. She should have stayed with the Winchesters. No. No, if things get worse for me… Then she'd never forgive herself for dragging them into it. Especially if they got killed because of her. I already did a terrible thing by telling Dean I loved him. She'd find a way to stop this Yellow-Eyed Demon on her own, to subvert whatever plans he had for her. And she'd do it without ever risking the lives of the people she loved. I've lost enough. She couldn't stand to lose anymore. I told Dean I loved him. Stupid! Stupid! It just came out. Slipped out. Accidentally. Kelly threw her head back against the rest, and heaved a deep sigh.

"Calm down." Kelly looked over to stare at the man next to her. Was he a demon? She inhaled sharply. Her senses had grown since the fight with the hellhounds and now it was easier to smell the residue on the body. "You'd think this was your first trip on the bus." He wasn't. Kelly eyed the tall imposing black man carefully. Just because he wasn't a demon didn't mean he was human. All she had down was ghost smells and sulfur residue. There were a thousand other things that could account for him, and Kelly didn't care for any of them. There's no way his sitting next to me is just a coincidence. No way in hell, right? Unless… I was possessed and put on this bus, then I could be sitting by him by accident. "You running from something?" He asked. His voice was kind.

"No." She said, but her traitorous voice trembled even as she spoke. "Not at all."

"Convincing." He smiled. "Most people who ride the bus are running from something. The bus makes it harder to be found."

"Where are we going?" She asked. She didn't trust him, not as far as she could throw him, non-monster style. But at worst he could lie and then she'd turn up at the last destination. So she'd find out anyway. It's just harder to create contingencies from here. That was very true.

"Last place this bus stops is San Francisco." He told her. He raised his ebony eyebrows. "Didn't you know that this line runs from coast to coast?" Kelly paused, and he continued. "I got on in Milwaukee, and you were sitting in this seat. Sleeping then, like you were a few minutes ago. Whatever you be runnin' from must have knocked you right out."

"And all my senses too, apparently." Kelly said, she was trying for a joke, and to cover her slip. Not like it's unusual for me to not know where I am. Not since she'd landed here close to four months ago. She tapped the side of her skull. "Faulty memory."

"Nothing like a little amnesia to wash down your breakfast." He replied, and Kelly tried to smile.

"True." She said. She looked out at the rolling hills around her, and the golden reeds of grass waving in, what she guessed was wind. Her eyes following the telephone wires and she reached into her pocket for her cell phone. Kelly sighed with relief when she discovered it was still there. Okay, so he's not cutting me off. He'd just put her on a bus out in the middle of nowhere. Apparently, I'm not ready yet. For whatever the hell it was he needed her for. Something she was sure as hell not going to do. At least, Sam and Dean are out of this mess. She paused. "Did you say San Francisco?"

"That where you're running from?"

Kelly blinked. There was something in the name. Something, about the word, it had a smell, a taste, a scent, sweet and warm. Like home. "I guess." Kelly said.

"Sometimes it's best to end the journey at the beginning." The man said. Kelly glanced up at him. "Close the circle." He looked down at her. His eyes seemed earnest. "So you can start something new."

I'm from San Francisco? Kelly swallowed. Why would Yellow-Eyes send me there? Why home to San Francisco?

"Maybe you left your heart there?" The strange man said. Kelly glanced up at him, a glare formulating behind her eyes.

"Of all the stupid…" She began, but stopped. There was no reason to throw a temper tantrum here. I'm just tired of being yanked around like a puppet on a string. She was tired of always feeling lost, never having a handle on anything except, well, anything. She was tired. Frustrated. This game is getting old. It had gotten old months ago, but the wheel still continued to turn. I was supposed to go home. So the question was… why hadn't she?

***

"Thanks Bobby." Dean said as Sam walked over to the car. "I owe you one."

"Nah, not this time boys." Bobby said. "This is what needed to get done." He looked down at his boots. "And yeh did the best yeh could." Bobby swallowed, and Dean wondered if the old man was also having a case of the clogged throat. "Nobody could of asked for more." He looked from Dean and then to Sam. "Out of either of you." He crossed his arms. "Now, Kelly's gone, but that don't mean you boys have to sit around pouting. It's time to get things back to normal, and get on with the rest of your lives."

"Things'll never get back to normal." Sam mumbled. Shaking his head he turned and stumbled towards the trunk.

"Thanks Bobby." Dean said.

"Yeah." Bobby replied. "I'm not one for speech giving, but you boys sure look like you could use a good one." He put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "You'll hold up alright though. You've got Sammy and he's got you."

And there was a time when I figured we didn't need anybody else. Dean thought. The voice in his mind cutting away at the newly opened wounds. Man, I was wrong. But I'm always wrong. Dean swallowed. "Yeah. I know Bobby."

"Dean!" Sam yelled. "Keys!" Dean turned to his brother. Sam's back was up straight and his upper lip was stiff. Dean figured his brother wouldn't want to stare into something that'd remind him of Kelly. At least not so soon, but apparently avoiding wasn't entirely Sam's style anymore.

"Sammy…" He trailed off.

"You know, Dean." Sam snapped. "I spent all night in these clothes, cause I had no place to go, and I really didn't want to disturb your good time. But I'm kinda done being understanding. I didn't get a shower this morning and I want a clean shirt." Dean stared at his brother, taken a little aback by Sam's outburst. " And my clean shirt is in your trunk." Dean swore softly, and tugged out his keys and tossed them to his brother.

"He'll be fine once we get back to hunting." Dean said. He looked at Bobby with eyes hollowed, and the old man smiled. "He'll adjust."

"I know he will." Bobby said. "And so will you." Dean's lips twitched. Hell, this felt like losing his father all over again. Except that he still had direction. Killing that yellow-eyed sonofabitch was his heading, and he'd do anything to achieve that goal. Save Sam, be the hero. That was all that mattered. Kelly's gone. He'd just have to learn how to deal.

"Yeah." Dean began, but Sam cut him off.

"Or maybe she's not as gone as we thought."

"What?" Bobby exclaimed. He hurried past Dean to where Sam was standing over the back of the trunk, his eyes examining the contents that were there, and the distinct items that were missing.

"I don't think Kelly would take her guns home with her." Sam said. "For one thing I doubt she'd have the time to grab them."

"Her stuff's gone?" Dean croaked. So, she was still here?

"Yeah, it's gone." Sam turned around. "Where'd she go Dean?" The older Winchester brother stared at the younger. Hostility boiled in Sam's normally placid dark brown eyes. "You were the last one to see her, hell you fell asleep with her last night, so where'd she go?"

"You'd think I'd keep something like that from you?" Dean demanded.

"I think you just might!" Sam growled. "Hell, I'm sure you were willing to send her out into god knows what after you had your fun with her. Is that what this is all about Dean? Just a chance to sleep with her? Did you even believe that she was going home? Hell, what's wrong with you? Taking advantage of her like that! She was scared, and tired, and we all ganged up on her." He stared down at the ground. "No wonder she ran away."

"No one's saying she ran away yet, Sammy." Dean said.

"Actually they are Dean. She's not here, her stuff is gone, her clothes are gone, hell I bet even her cell phone is gone. Probably switched off because she doesn't want us calling her. She might even ditch it once she's a few miles out, just so we can't track her through the GPS." Sam pointed into the mud. "Hell, look there are even her footprints heading towards Main Street." He glared down at his brother. "She didn't want to stay, she didn't care to stay, and no matter how scared she is, she's now out there alone and vulnerable."

Dean thought back to the powers she'd shown earlier, as he tried to answer. "I don't think she's all that vulnerable anymore, Sammy."

"Why Dean? Because she's an animal in the sack?" Sam yelled. "Because she can face a fucking hellhound head on and not blink! She's brave! Yeah, she's a little stupid! But something had to have happened for her to take off! Something big! What the hell did you say to her?"

Dean swallowed. "I told her I loved her." And if that was the thing that had sent Kelly racing for the hills, then Dean Winchester was the biggest loser on the face of the planet. He knew he wasn't worth her love, but did his loving her mean she felt it was necessary to run away? What kind of a man was he?

"Oh." Sam said.

"Look if we're gonna track her we'll need Ash on the horn." Bobby said. "I'll give him a call." He raised a finger at the two of them. "And you two idiots are going to work this out. We'll find her, she can't have gotten all that far."

"We need to check the area to see if there were any signs of demons." Dean said. "There was a demon hanging around when we hunted H.H Holms. Might be the same now, Sammy?"

"Yeah." Sam said. "I'll go look for the sulfur." He started to walk off, but then he turned. "I want to be clear on something." He snapped as he looked at his brother. "I'm doing this for her, not for you."

"That's fine." Dean growled. "Just get it done."

"Let him burn off some steam." Bobby said. "It's been an eventful morning."

"Yeah, whatever."

"You know Kelly, Dean. Better than most of us, I'd wager. I'll bet you know exactly why she'd take off. Even if you're brain don't want to admit it." Bobby took a deep breath. "Any idea where she'd run to?"

"Ellen, maybe." Dean said. "Wherever she figured her home is, is the next step, but Bobby if she got kidnapped by a demon then she could be anywhere by now."

"I'm not denying that she don't have a major head start, but if you can pull yer head out of yer ass long enough to think clearly then I bet you'll find yer answer. Or at least the best place to start looking." Bobby told him.

"It's best to ask Sam that, he and Kelly were the ones who spent each night in deep conversation." Dean shook his head. "He'd know better than I would."

"Yeah, but you know her." Bobby said. "I stand by it. I trained her, and I know there are more similarities between the two of you and the way you think than either'd ever admit to. So, yeah, you might not know. But I'm willing to bet you could hazard a guess." Dean just shook his head.

"Sorry Bobby, I've got no clue. I figured she was gone." Show's how well I know her. "It's best to get Ash on the line and see if he can track that cell. It's the best plan I've got." She never told me anything about herself or her family, or even where she was from. I'm at a loss as to where she'd go. The people she's closest to are all here. Except Ellen. Maybe she'd run there, at least to get a chance to get her head on straight. It was worth a short. "Call Ash and see if she's talked to Ellen. She might have an idea." Better than I do about where a scared and frightened girl would run. This was one of the many times in his life when Dean Winchester felt completely and utterly useless.