Chapter 5

I had reclined the seat back, my eyes closed and put my foot out the window as Sam put gas in the Charger. It was then, as I was trying to relax and wrap my head around the in-depth conversation that Sam and I had about Dean that my phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, I rolled my eyes and placed it to my ear activating the call. I heard him clear his throat, the very man we had just been discussing was now waiting patiently to say hello.

"Dean?" I whispered and heard him sigh.

"Hey Ali, you guys almost here or what?" I smiled at his impatience and brought the seat up to sitting position and glanced at Sam as he looked at his watch.

"Stopped for gas." I answered and thought of what Sam had told me about his brother. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little antsy I guess," he admitted and that made me think that either Danni wasn't in the room or he was guarding his answers. "You know how I get about Sammy." Ah-ha, I'm sure that was it completely, which was total sarcasm on my part because I knew he was holding back it was just a matter of time before he let it out, and that was exactly the way it played out, "and you."

"Danni's not there, is she?"

"Nah, she went for a snack run. You know, beer and pie."

"You do know that eventually that crap will kill you."

"Yeah, well." he sighed again and I knew something was bothering him.

"Dean, why did you call? I mean don't get me wrong I love the sound of your voice but you shouldn't be sneaking around behind Danni's back just to get a phone call in."

"I'm not so sure she would understand." I was the one that sighed this time. Dean hadn't figured out the need any more than I had and worse the distance between us had made me almost itchy for his touch. And how exactly do you tell that to your sister? "I, ah, I just needed to check on you, Al."

"I get that Dean, I do but it can't be done this way. It's not fair. Promise me that you'll tell her when she gets back."

"Yeah, okay," he whispered and the next breath came out as if he weren't just blowing air.

"I thought you gave those up," and I talking about the American Spirits he was not so addicted to.

"Another bad habit I can't drop."

"Wait you have more than one?" I laughed. And listened to him snicker.

"Four right now, the two of you, these, and Danni." he laughed and unheard him take a drag.

"Did you tell her yet?" I smiled, remembering the late night drunken phone call where Dean had come clean about his feelings for her. You know one of the kind of conversations that changed your life.

"Not gonna let that drop are you?"

"You haven't let go of the whole Sam Skype incident?" He was silent but I could hear the "hmmph" as he thought about it, probably smiling. "So, no, I'm not dropping the fact that you're in love with my sister." I watch as Sam put the gas cap back on and knocked on the window, letting me know he was headed to the restroom. "Though the Skype really was kind of funny." He was quiet for a moment. "Tell me about the case."

"I thought Danni did."

"I wanna hear about it from you."

"Okay, well the store didn't have any EMF activity, no ghost activity and no cursed object vibes." Dean sighed.

"What about the mirror?"

"Just looked like an ordinary mirror to me and Sam, I mean, it really wasn't until Danni started freaking out at the motel that we even thought of it. She was the one that showed us the pictures she took of it, of the writing on the back, but since we couldn't place it, we just thought maybe someone had scratched it up." I could almost see Dean shrugging it off in my mind and I rolled my eyes, scratches…yeah right. "Anyway, Danni goes out for a few minutes, grabs some stuff out of the car and comes back in freaking out that we needed to get you and you needed to be here, like yesterday, so we did our usual, and Sammy won. He was off to collect our missing member. You."

"Okay, so she didn't give you any real reason why I needed to be there? I mean, don't you think that sounds a little fishy to you?" I was confused by the whole thing, the way that Danni reacted, the way that Sam and Dean had no clue to even… "Hey Dean, did you look in the mirror?"

"No, there wasn't any reason to," he answered completely nonchalant.

"Did Danni?" I wasn't fishing, I was hoping to rule out what I thought was just a simple puzzle.

"Yeah, she was the one that pointed it out, I would assume that she had looked into it," I could hear the curiousness growing in his voice. "Ali, you're starting to scare me, what's with the questions?"

"One last one and I swear I'll tell you," I replied and took a breath, crossing fingers and toes (if I could) that I got the answer I wanted. "Did Sam?"

"What?"

"Did Sam look into the mirror at all, I mean even a tiny peek?"

Dean let out a breath and thought for a second before answering. "No. No, there would have been no way, he was right beside me the whole time and we were on the other side of the store. Why is there something wrong with Sammy? What's going on?"

"I don't think those were scratches, there's a reason why I had Danni send them to Carol. I think they were really writing, some different kind that we've never seen before," and I did a hell of a good job lying because I knew what they were, I could read them, I knew what it said, but I had to sit on it until I could get to where all of us were together.

"Okay, fine, what's going on with Sam?" I heard that protective side come out in him.

"Nothing, he's good, I mean, we're almost there, Dean." I breathed in a sigh, and heard him let one out.

"So, what's your theory?" Wow, really couldn't pull one over on him.

"Still forming it, but don't go back and the shop and don't let her look in that mirror again." I watched as Sam started heading back towards the car. "Promise me, Dean. Promise that you won't let her go anywhere near that shop."

"Okay, Kid, I promise," he stated with concern and cleared his throat. "Danni's back."

"So is Sam," I answered and closed my eyes. "It won't be long, Dean, just a few more hours."

"It feels like you've been on the road all day," he groaned, "would you get here already?"

"Yeah, we're headed out now, just hang on," I smiled, but it slowly faded. "Tell her, Dean, I mean it, tell her that we had this conversation, don't hide it from her." That was about the time that Sam slipped into the car. "Say you will, Winchester, or I will come in kicking ass!"

"Calm down, woman!" He laughed and I heard Danni's boots approaching. "I'll tell her as soon as you hang up."

"Yeah, whatever," I blew out the breath I was holding, took the phone away from my ear and pressed the "End" icon, disconnecting the call before I glanced at Sam. "That was Dean. He said: hurry up and get here."

"He said a lot more than that," Sam smiled and handed me another coffee but also a bagel with cream cheese. "You need to eat something."

"So, do you, and bunny food isn't going to cut it." I sassed back and watched him give me a look like he was not going to be lectured, but then pulled a protein bar out of his pocket and gave it a gentle wiggle, before starting the car up. I smiled and opened the bagel up. Okay, maybe I wasn't completely satisfied with his choice, but at least it was something and he was eating it.

The last leg of the trip we completely kept away from the past, from Sam's history and especially from Dean's because now I was interested in the fact of what the hell exactly happened between him and John. Dean looked like the kind of guy to go in swinging, and the picture that Sam painted was that he had always been that way, so why would fights with John put him in such a dark place.

So, it was settled, Dean and I really, really needed to have a chat.

The ride wasn't as long as I thought, or maybe it was because I was lost in thoughts that I didn't realize the time, but I know I sat up straighter, got a little more excited, and found it hard to sit still in the seat as we pulled up into the motel parking lot.

There she was, that beautiful, sleek, black beauty that had saved our lives, and the boys too many times to count, and she was there, in all her glory as the fading sun shined off what looked like a fresh wax job. Sam laughed quietly at the way I stared at the car, but he didn't realize just how much she meant to me. She brought me Sam, she brought me Dean, and so many other memories that she was a part of me. She was home, and with that home came the two men I love most.

He backed up along side her, in order to get better access to the trunk and I couldn't wait to get out and touch her, though I'm pretty positive that Dean would have cut my hand off if I had left finger prints on her at all. His smile widened bringing out those dimples as I grinned in his direction before hopping out of the car if only to walk around her.

I stopped on the opposite side of baby, on Dean's side and I leaned down into the open windows, placing my arms on the chrome. Sam, as he got out, closed the door quietly and slowly leaned down to look in on me as I just stared at the backseat. My eyes gazing over the interior, I remembered him holding me as I slept on the way to Joplin, the way he curled around me on the way back from Tulsa and how comfortable we were just laying together before the vampires struck.

It was then that a smile crossed my face because I thought of the one thing we had never done in the car. I looked up from under my brows, bit down on the corner of my lip and watched the knowing smile cross Sam's face as he gave me a wink, held my gaze for what was way too long to be anything but inviting and I watched the blue-green of them darken with want. Yeah, I loved that we were so in tune with each other's needs, and boy did I need that man.

He popped the trunk and grabbed a few of the bags as I made my way over to take a few of my own, and snatch my hunting pack out of the back seat of the car. Sam was on his way out of the opened hotel room when I was about to step in, catching part of a conversation that I ever expected.

"Okay, that I get, but what the hell is a De-sti-el?" Dean questioned, as if trying to pronounce the word while reading it from paper and I turned the corner into the room to see him doing just that, but from a tablet. I dropped the pack, probably a bad idea with all the stuff that was in it and stared at him as Danni cracked up laughing and looked up at me. "I mean, that word makes absolutely no sense."

"Says the man who can understand seven different written, oh and DEAD, languages." Danni laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, please tell me you are not reading fanfiction," I pleaded and watched his brow crease in confusion.

"No, I'm reading this story about me and Cas," he announced and I walked over, apparently, it was to hell with the formalities of hugs and "how have you been", forget that we hadn't seen each other in a few months because we picked up right where we left off. I snatched the tablet away and rolled my eyes as I read the description of some sort of torrid love affair between Cas and Dean in the bunker, and shook my head. "Jesus, Danni, you let him read this?"

"He was kind of Googling himself," and she couldn't help the smile that came along with the sentence.

"Okay, rule number one," I said and turned to Dean, "don't… Google anything about yourself, ever." I gave him back the tablet and turned to look up at Sam, "and don't binge watch Supernatural on Netflix." I glanced at Dean and snatched it away again. "And stay off Tumblr for, Chuck sake!"

"Um," Danni agree, a grin spreading across her cheeks, "just… stick to the porn sites."

"Okay, hold up," Dean growled. "Before you start barking orders, someone want to tell me what has your panties all up in a bunch and what the hell is a Destiel?"

"It's a ship," I started and watched the confusion spread across his face, which made Danni look at me for help.

"A relationship that fans see together, they call it shipping." I added and watched as Dean looked up at Sam, who stood beside me shrugging. I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose as I smiled. "Destiel, is Dean and Castiel…together."

"Like, together-together?" Sam whispered, and I nodded. "Well, that isn't at all strange."

"It's 2017, Sam, two guys can be together."

"Yeah, me and Cas, not happening," Dean grumbled and that was when I smiled.

"That's why it's called fanfiction." He looked at me, every expression on his face went completely blank as if he were saying that he wasn't amused. "Because fans write it and they do whatever the hell they want in it." I waited for it to sink in and when it did, Dean just shook his head.

"You people are sick," he stated sarcastically, but I know he was flattered that people were writing about him, even if it wasn't really him they were thinking of but Jensen Ackles. "What about you, do you do this whole "ship" thing?"

"Why would I ship," I looked up at Sam, "I got all the Winchesters I can handle right here." I turned back to Dean and gave him a wink.

"Okay enough of this crap," Danni smiled and stood up from the chair, she turned towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a hug, one that I had been waiting for all day. I let out all the tension, all of the frustration I had been holding in and closed my eyes, my own arms taking her into an embrace. "I've missed my sister."

"And she's missed you." I whispered back, not letting her go, not for a few minutes yet, but she pushed me back and glanced at Dean, which got me a little more than curious as to what was going on. Dean stood, cleared his throat and I heard Sam shift beside me. Looking up at the moose of a man, Sam leaned down and kissed me softly, before caressing my cheek, and turning towards the door.

"Gonna grab the rest of the bags," he murmured and stepped out of the room. Danni let me go, gave me one raised brow and patted me on the shoulders.

"I'll help," she stated and headed towards the door, leaving me to stare at the green-eyed Winchester before me, but that was when I heard Sam's voice, low and laughing.

"Oh, I get it… shipping," he chuckled, "like you and Ali would be Danali."

"Okay, don't go there!" Danni replied but laughed at the comment, "just step away from the shipping, don't make eye contact…"

Her voice trailed off as I watched Dean take a step towards me, his hands rubbing on his thighs as if his palms were sweaty. He stopped not more than three feet from me, just out of arms reach and looked me over, as if he were checking for something, anything that he could protect me from. But I watched the emotions rise in his eyes as he realized I really was okay and suddenly the distance was gone.

He was an overpowering force, his arms wrapping around me, cocooning me in something I needed for a month and a half, a safe place where the monsters and the spirits I had chosen to fight couldn't come back to harm me, a sanctuary where the thought of demons and vampires all but disappeared. I felt his lips against my head, in the spot they always landed before they were replaced by his cheek and I buried my face against his shirt, the same smell of distinct Dean was there, just as I remembered, cars, gas, his cologne, deodorant, the scent of his skin and those damned cigarettes, all just perfectly Dean.

"You've been hunting," he scolded, but his voice cracked with the emotions that filled him, and he pushed back just a little so I could look into his eyes, his fingers brushing over my cheek. "Why the hell have you been hunting?"

"Because I can, Dean," was all I had for him, "because with everything that was going on, I needed an out."

"Why didn't you tell me, I could have helped."

"I had all the help I needed," and when his palm pressed against my skin, I leaned into it. This connection was so strong, but it wasn't the same as Sam, I wasn't in love with Dean, but I loved him just as much. Sam was my guardian, my protector, my everything, and Dean was equally that. I took a shaking breath and just looked at him, the scar on his cheek was fading and I reached up to trace it with my thumb, a touch he closed his eyes too. "If I had told you, what would you have honestly done?"

"Come up there, kicked you in the ass and locked you in the house," he answered truthfully, opening his eyes to look down, still scolding. "You have kids, you should be looking out for them."

"I have been, trust me." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Whatever is after me and Danni, whatever this thing is, it won't touch my kids."

"You don't know that, you're not there to protect them all the time." I smiled up at him when he finished saying this. "What? What did you do?"

"Let's just say there isn't a thing my kids don't wear, eat, bath with, or carry that isn't warded and some sort of barrier of protection. A demon can't get within ten feet of one of them without being smoked out."

"What are you playing with?" He stepped back, put his hands on my upper arms and I watched the seriousness return to his face. Yep, he was concerned again.

"Crowley gave me the knowledge, Dean, when he made that deal with my grandmother. Stuff I can use to protect my house and my family, something I would use on you, Sam and Danni in an instant if you asked, but I'm not delving into anything dark." I replied, and watched him roll his eyes, shake his head and step away. "I told you, I'm not a witch, not a bad one."

"But you're playing with magic," he turned and leaned against the table, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared, annoyance in his eyes.

"Yeah, and so do you and Sam, please tell me what the difference is."

He paused for a moment as I walked up and pressed against his legs, making him widen his step as I moved up and we connected at the waist. His arms uncrossed and his hands came down to land on my hips.

"You're right, there isn't a difference, but the more you use it, Al, the more addicting it becomes," he warned and placed his forehead against mine.

Maybe Cas was wrong, maybe Sam was wrong, maybe whatever this connection was, this need for physical contact wasn't anything but that, a need because he wasn't checking me for damage, to see if Sam had hurt me in anyway, he was just holding me, at least until the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind me. Dean picked his head up and by the look in his eyes, I could tell that Sam was standing there, but the grin on Dean's face said Sam wasn't looking at his brother.

"He's looking at my ass, isn't he?" I whispered and the smile only got wider. I turned towards Sam, leaned back against Dean, who just kind of adjusted the hands on my hips and watched as the younger of the two brothers scanned me over again from head to toe. "Dean, ah," I whispered, looking at the wanting way Sam stared at me, "could we borrow the car?"

"You have your own…" he started and then grabbed me by the shoulders, used his hips to push at me from behind and stood me up straight before he stepped aside and pointed his finger at me, then at Sam, "ut-uh, you ain't doing that stuff in my car. Take the Charger, I'm sure that plastic piece of crap has enough vibration in it for you to get off."

"It's just not like the Impala," I laughed, finding myself teasing him as I reached out and grabbed both Dean and Sam by the shirts, but I didn't take my eyes off the older Winchester. "It doesn't have just the right kind of rumble to get me where I need to go."

Dean's head literally rolled on his shoulders and he playfully swatted my hand away from his chest when he moved over to the table to grab his coffee. His eyes darted from me to Sam, gave us a disgusted look and stepped to move by us before he stopped and gave us each a nasty glare.

"You two seriously need to get a room," he sassed as he walked out, which left Sam all smiled as he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to him.

I laughed as Sam's arms snaked around me and he pulled me to the bed so that I was sitting on his lap. My hands went automatically to that hair that loved to fall about his face and he closed his eyes, letting the feeling of my fingers calm him.

"Did you get all unpacked?" I questioned as one of my hands fell to his neck and I slid my thumb under his chin, lifting his neck so that it was exposed to me. I planted gentle kisses along the artery there, feel the pulse beneath my lips and I heard him give a quiet growl.

"Mmm-hmm," he sounded off and I smiled. "I have another room."

My lips left his skin, blazing a trail up to his ear as he sighed and when I whispered, I felt the chill rush through his body.

"Later, definitely later," I smiled and felt his hand come up to my face, placing his palm firmly against me when I laid my head on his shoulder. "Until then, I think we need to figure something out."

"Like a mirror with symbols we don't understand?" Danni's voice questioned and it was then that I realized why Sam had moved me from the precarious position against his neck, we had an audience.

"Yeah," I sighed, "that." I moved on Sam's lap, adjusting myself so that I was sitting on only one thigh, not that he had small legs, and the part beneath my ass was pure muscle and a complete turn on. "So, it's like nine pm, sun's down, shop's closed up. What's our plan of action?"

"What's our usually plan of action?" Danni smiled and I shook my head.

"B and E on my first night here, wonderful," I groaned and put my head back on Sam's shoulders. His lips came down to my skin, needing that contact as his hand, the one hidden from the view of the other two in the room, snaked under my shirt and pressed against my belly, his thumb caressing the bare skin there. "Do you guys have cat burglar outfits or just paint yourself and go in the buff?"

"Seriously?" Dean asked as he grabbed the computer from Danni's side of the table and gave me a look of uncertainty. "You've completely lost your nuts."

"Well, no, not completely," I replied sarcastically and watched him look back at the computer with just a small shake of his head. Danni grinned at me, loving the fact that everything seemed back to normal. "So what, no cat suits, no buff? We just go in as is?"

"That's usually the plan," Sam answered and suddenly it felt hard to concentrate as his thumb slid up under the edge of my bra.

"Okay," I stood suddenly, not for the reason you would think, I mean, if you had Sam Winchester pawing at you, I'm sure you're first thought would have been the same as mine. The "take me now" kind of thought, but it was the man outside the window that caught my attention. "Two-minute intermission," I breathed, trying to catch my heart as the night sky darkened. "I think I need some air."

With that, I bolted out the door, looking both ways as I stopped by the back bumper of both cars. I watched as he rounded the side of the building, disappearing into the growing blackness and just as I was about to head in that direction, a hand rested on my arm. My head snapped towards the glow of the motel room door and I looked at the wonder in Danni's eyes, just before she narrowed them and opened her mouth to lecture me, but snapped it shut when she saw the look on my face.

"What is it?" She whispered, stepping closer to me, I wanted to open my mouth and tell her everything that I had learned on the trip down, everything that was in Jones' files but I knew she was referring to why I had bolted and not what I was thinking.

"It was," I looked past her at the door, making sure there was a clear view of the boys that sat in there, that they weren't listening before I whispered anyway. "It was Cas, he went around the corner of the building."

"Wait, what the hell is Cas here for?" Danni seemed more shocked than I was that he was hanging around but then I realized.

"You don't know, do you?" I whispered and watched as she gave me this strange and confused expression. "Danni, John's here, in Winchester, Virginia."