The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Sam and Victoria stressed out in the basement as they tried to figure out how to kill the shadow people. Their yawns were so loud that you could hear them from upstairs. If someone upstairs listened closely, they could probably hear the gears turning in the researchers' minds.
Dean strolled into the kitchen with Missouri trailing close behind. He snatched a cupcake from a tray on the counter and shoved the nearly bite-sized deliciousness into his mouth.
Missouri eyed the colorful frosting adorned goods before taking a bite out of one. her face soured instantly. She spit out the mushy cupcake remnants and tossed the rest of it. "Baby, this is horrible." She pursed her lips and tried to get the taste out of her mouth by inhaling water she poured into a cup. She gulped all of it down in no time and set the cup down. "Who made these?"
Dean shook the crumbs off of his gray shirt. "I did."
Missouri washed her hands in the sink. She air dried them as she waved her hands in the air. She put on a green apron that was hanging on a hook and adjusted her hair. "Let me teach you how to make real cupcakes."
After thirty minutes of fighting with Dean about how stubborn he was and learning to bake was a great skill to have to impress the ladies, Dean finally gave in. He put on the only other apron, which was bright pink and frilly. Victoria loved the crap out of her apron, and now Dean was wearing it. He had nothing else to protect himself from the messy event. He added in the ingredients and mixed it all. Missouri added in a few extra touches of her own personal recipe.
Dean went to swipe some batter from the bowl to eat, but Missouri swatted his hand with wooden spoon. She furrowed her brow and raised her tone with him, "Boy, ya know better than to do that." Dean glared at her before rubbing his sore hand gently.
They put the mixture into a pan and into the oven to bake. Dean and Missouri talked a bit about life. He told her of all of the events that lead up to the present, which most of it surprised her for the most part. The boys had changed so much since she had last seen them. Then again, the last time she saw them, they were on television claimed to be mass murderers. Missouri told him exciting stories about her adventures in the world of the paranormal. She put many spirits to rest with the help of their family members and soothed out emotions for everyone. That was one of the most amazing feelings Missouri had ever felt.
Angel and Alice walked into the kitchen and immediately stopped in their tracks. Angel stifled a laugh and covered her mouth. Alice took out her phone in a flash and snapped a picture before Dean noticed. Dean in a pink apron? This is impossible to pass up! Alice thought to herself. She grinned, "I'm going to post this on the Supernatural blog!"
Dean turned, grabbed a knife, and scowled, "You better not."
"I will!" With that, Alice scampered out of the kitchen.
Missouri watched Dean, and when she saw the look on his face, she immediately scolded him. "Dean Winchester, if you run around this beautiful house with that knife in your hand, then God almighty have mercy on your soul. You better pray that I don't find you."
Dean set the knife back on the counter top slowly. His eyes weren't wide like Angel had thought they'd be, but she could tell a dose of fear was injected into his system. Angel knew if Dean ran around with a knife, someone would be getting stabbed. Missouri made the right call.
Dean took out the cupcakes from the hot oven. The brown delicacies puffed up over the top of the tray in perfect plumps. Missouri smiled and took them out of the tray delicately, making sure none of them fell apart in the process. The tops shined in the light, and after a few minutes of messy decorating, they had frosting on the top of each one. Dean's cupcakes were frosted terribly, but he didn't seem to care. Missouri made sure the frosting was clean cut and had sprinkles on top.
"Oooo, cupcakes," Angel licked her lips as she eyed them hungrily.
A yell came from the other room, "Cucumbers?" Alice ran into the kitchen and slid on the floor. She stopped right in front of the island and narrowed her eyes when she noticed the freshly baked goods. A frown settled on her face and whispered, "These aren't cucumbers…" Alice wasn't the junk food eating type like Dean and Angel were. She wanted to stay at the peak of health, but with a few splurges here and there. She had to live a little sometimes. Alice turned to Angel and pointed a finger at her as she dramatically quoted one of her old favorite shows, "You are a liar! A deceiver!" She ran out of the kitchen before anyone could say anything.
An awkward silence swept through the entire kitchen. Everyone stood around the cooling cupcakes confused. Missouri shook her head in disapproval, "That girl has her health in the right place, but she needs help."
"She needs more than help," Angel conceded. She laughed and leaned on the counter. Her brown hair fell in her face and she brushed it back behind her ear almost involuntarily. Most of her actions now were like clockwork. Always the same and never changing, happening over and over. Her cobalt eyes looked up at Missouri, who was admiring their work.
Dean put his hands up a bit as a defensive move and admitted, "Hey, now. She's a good kid. One of the smartest I've ever known." He took off the pink apron, revealing his plain red button up shirt, blue T-shirt, and blue jeans. Angel watched him as he fluffed his hair slightly and his pear shaded eyes caught her staring. He smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth in his signature smile.
"So, Dean, what do you think of Victoria?" Missouri grinned. She already knew the answer, but something told her that Dean didn't recognize it yet. He pushed back his feelings and held onto only the truth. It was all subconsciously, but he wouldn't be able to do that for long. So, Missouri thought it would be in her best interest to just nudge him in the right direction.
"What about her?" Dean questioned as he snacked on one of the cupcakes. He chewed with his mouth open.
Missouri patted his chin with her hand to make him close his mouth. She looked at him like he was missing something important. "You look at her like a dog to a bone."
Angel snorted while she took a giant bite of a cupcake. She nearly choked on it and swallowed before she talked. "I'd be surprised if Dean made a move on her."
"She seems like a great girl. Maybe you should ask her out for a cup of coffee sometime," Missouri offered. She seemed a bit giddy for such a short lived conversation.
Dean shook his head. "I'm with you, Angel. I'd be surprised too." Dean stepped out of the kitchen to take a break from all of the talk about Victoria. That was a conversation he'd save for another day. But…thinking about it actually woke up something inside of him. Something he knew was there for at least half of the year. Dean had given up on being upset at her for being a demon's child. It wasn't her fault. She didn't ask for it. After he let that go, he started to see her for who she truly was. She was this cute, shy girl who needed guidance. It was definitely a change from Angel and Alice, who were naturally tough and straight forward. And the way Tori looked…
Dean snapped out of his thoughts and walked straight up to his room. He needed a nap.
Angel lingered behind to get a glass of milk. Missouri studied her intently, not even caring if Angel noticed. Angel set the milk back into the fridge and raised an eyebrow. She guessed, "What? Reading my thoughts again?"
"You're afraid," Missouri simply replied. She linked her hands together and set them on the counter like a therapist. Her eyes softened at the new information she gained and remained quiet.
Angel's lip twitched and some of the milk spilled onto her black shirt. She brushed it away. "Afraid of what, exactly?" That was something she hadn't thought about in years. It stung to remember all over again, like drops of hot sauce placed on her tongue.
"Afraid of seeing everyone you love die." Missouri locked her gaze on Angel. She didn't move a muscle. "I know what you saw whe-"
Angel snapped, "You didn't see all of it. She had…dozens of thoughts swimming in my mind." She calmed down and wiped her sweating hands on her blue jeans. It was suddenly very hot in the kitchen. The thoughts crossed her mind once more, recalling it like she had just been possessed yesterday. All these years, and it still haunted her to this day. Missouri looked at her in horror, which allowed Angel to continue, "It's more than that. What the demon thought of…all of it was detailed. The demon who's leading the army is ruthless. He will show no mercy. I don't know who he is. All she gave me was that."
Missouri put a hand to her heart. Her eyes filled with more fear by the second. The emotions Angel had pent up inside for so long were strong, so strong it almost made Missouri's knees weak. "When is this going to happen?"
"I…" Angel inhaled and let go of her breath, "I don't know. And that's partly why I'm so afraid. I can lose my family at any moment."
Missouri put her hand over Angel's, and something sparked in her system. Missouri's eyes widened, but didn't say anything about it. What Missouri just saw…that was unbearable. The detail, the gore, the loss of two lives instead of one, it all broke her heart. She retracted her hand, but made sure Angel didn't notice it was because of something she saw happening in the future. "You've thought about this a lot," she pointed out. Her eyes broke the gaze and stared down at her hands. She could tell Angel what she saw, but then she'd alter the future. That could only make things worse.
"Only when I can't sleep at night…" Angel trailed off. She turned her head to see if anyone was standing in the entrance to the kitchen, but found nothing there. Her heart ached at the mere thought of something so tragic happening. But she always said she wanted to go out in a blaze of glory like her parents. It was a warrior's death.
"Did she say who was going to start it?" Missouri coughed on her words. The pictures that were brought back to Angel's mind…they weren't pretty. Gruesome portraits of the demon tearing the family apart, literally, was what was there. She really meant he had no mercy. With the ways he was killing them…and using Sam as a vessel only made it worse.
Angel bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she made herself bleed. She tasted the warm iron liquid and swirled it around her mouth. She had to come to terms with saying it. This was something she couldn't keep, especially from a mind reader. But to say it out loud, that was a different story. Once she said them out loud, there was no taking it back. The words would forever be out in the air, swimming around the house restlessly. They would hang over her head until she told the rest of the family. She swallowed the blood and stared straight at Missouri's umber eyes. "Us."