The father-daughter pair is exiting Maybelle's apartment forty minutes later with a plate of not only brownies, but also chocolate chip cookies and lemon bars. Dean's practically salivating at the mouth just thinking about the goodies in his arms, even with the fresh news about something killing Morgan clones in the area. Sometimes, Dean's knack for being able to appreciate food in almost any situation disturbs even him.
While Dean says his final goodbyes to Maybelle, because neither Winchester is planning on returning to her home, Rayan wanders down the hallway a little ways to give the old friends some room. She finds it kind of weird to be in the same apartment complex where her mother lived, and where her father had brought Rayan for the first week of her life. The worn down carpet and faded blue walls feel cold and formal, instead of welcoming the she had secretly hoped.
It's not like Rayan expected to ender the building and suddenly have a moment of clarity when it came to the mystery that was Morgan Grey. Rayan knows that a building can't offer her that. Not even Dean can completely offer her something similar, because he hadn't even known that much about Morgan. But there was still a little piece of hope inside the youngest Winchester that had wanted to feel at home in the apartment complex. That wanted to feel something other than curious.
With a sigh, Rayan turns around to head back towards Dean and Maybelle, but a flash of gold from the corner of her eye stops Rayan in her tracks. She quickly turns to her right and catches sight of the number 14B painted gold and hanging from an old wooden door in desperate need of a paint job. There's nothing fancy about the door really, except as soon as Rayan starts to exam the door she feels that moment of clarity that she had just been so longing for.
"You okay, Ray?" Dean asks from the few feet down the hallway at Maybelle's apartment.
Rayan doesn't answer at first and instead just continues to stare at the door as images of the twenty-two year old woman whose picture is sitting on a desk back in South Dakota flash through Rayan's mind.
Morgan Grey is opening the door, her arms loaded down with several bags of groceries. She didn't want to make two trips.
Morgan Grey is a little buzzed after a night out with some friends she'd met at work, and she drops her keys several times before she manages to slide them into the lock and let herself into the apartment.
Morgan Grey hurriedly opens the old wooden door before ushering a young man inside, who is all leather jacket and charming smile. He's just saved her from the spirit that targeted her after she chose to go for a jog at the wrong time through the local park. He's handsome and young, and Morgan doesn't see too many good-looking men who are actually respectful these days. She's decided that Dean Winchester's worth this one-night stand.
"Talk to me Rayan," Dean says as he grips his daughter's shoulders and gives them a small shake. Rayan blinks her large green eyes a few times, and turns to Dean in surprise. She obviously didn't hear him approach. "You back with me?"
Rayan ignores her father's concerned stare and instead launches into a line of questioning that almost brings Dean to his knees. "Dad, was this Mom's old apartment?"
Dean blinks once before quickly glancing at the doorway they are standing in front of. "Yeah, I guess it is. I hadn't even noticed," he answers in a soft voice. "But, short stuff…how did you know that this was your Mom's old place? I never told you the number."
"I…I don't know," Rayan answers honestly. She's racking her brain, trying to come up with some sort of explanation that makes sense and doesn't involve her being even more of a freak than she was before her vision trip. As if seeing dead people isn't enough.
"Did you maybe read about it somewhere? Or maybe I slipped the number in with one of the stories and don't remember?" Dean asks as he lets go of Rayan's shoulders and unconsciously takes a step away from apartment 14B.
"No, I don't think so," Rayan answers softly as she chooses to take a step towards the door and softly place a hand on its faded wood. "It was like…something wanted me to know she lived here. Something showed me that this was her old place, Dad."
Rayan adds the last piece of information in a whisper to avoid Maybelle overhearing, because as cool as the elderly lady is, Rayan is pretty sure she'd think they were both crazy if they started seriously discussing visions. And to Dean's credit, Rayan notes that her father takes the news of another one of his family members suddenly seeing things in their head with relative calmness and just nods his head once before wrapping an arm around Rayan's shoulder and returning to Maybelle.
The old woman silently hands the plate of desserts that Dean must have gave her to hold onto for a moment back to the oldest Winchester, and gives a sympathetic smile to Rayan.
"I wish you would have been able to go inside the place, baby girl. I'm sure Abbie would have been glad to show you around."
Neither Winchester misses the familiar name, but it's Dean who is the first to react. "Did you say Abbie?" he questions softly. "As in Abbie Wallace, on of the girls who was murdered?"
"The one and only," the old woman replies with a sigh. "I guess I forgot to mention that all three girls lived in the complex. Must be my old age kicking in."
Dean let's out a small laugh, just enough to try and keep a somewhat lighter note to the air of depression that has managed to sneak into the small group. His attempts fall on deaf ears however, because Rayan is still too busy comprehending the images of her mother while she was still alive, and Maybelle is concentrating particularly hard on Rayan.
When Dean notices the elderly woman's stare, he's surprised to find that for the first time he's unsure about the woman.
"We'd really better get going," the oldest Winchester quickly states as he begins to steer his daughter away from Maybelle. "It was nice seeing you again, May."
"It was nice seein' you too, boy," May responds with a smile that's so warm and genuine that Dean almost feels foolish for being unsure about the woman. "You make sure to take good care of that pretty girl of yours."
"She's in good hands," Dean replies with his signature smirk before giving one last wave and rounding the corner and out of sight.
"I'm telling you, Dad. I saw you and Mom going into her apartment seventeen years ago," Rayan insists as she and Dean sit on a bench in the small park where Abbie Wallace was killed. Behind them is a majestic fountain carved from granite. "You were both twenty-two, and I knew that you had just saved her from that spirit. It was like I was in her brain, without actually being there."
"And you're sure I never told you a story, and for some reason it just surfaced?" Dean questions one last time, still reluctant to believe that his daughter now has visions on top of everything else.
"Would you tell me about the night of my conception?"
Dean flinches at his daughter's words and quickly shakes his head back and forth negatively. "Okay, okay. I get what you're saying," Dean responds as he runs his fingers through his short hair. "It's just…a lot of stuff seems to be happening to you lately, you know? It's just a lot to take in."
Try being me," Rayan responds with a scoff. "I'm the one who's becoming a Haley Joel and Alice Cullen."
"Actually, Alice Cullen saw the future. Not the past." At Rayan's disgusted and confused look, Dean straightens and begins to defend himself. "Hey, those books were a big thing back when you were little. Everyone knew who Alice Cullen was."
"Sure, Dad," Rayan says with a roll of her eyes. "Either way, my botched pop culture references are unimportant at the moment. What is important is figuring out why in the world I'm seeing this stuff."
Dean runs a hand over his face in thought before nodding his head up and down in agreement. "You're right, short stuff. But I don't even know where to begin with this." He sighs and absentmindedly scratches at his left eyebrow. "I guess I'll give your uncle a call tonight. He's bound to have heard of something like this."
"Sounds reasonable," Rayan agrees. "Can you just-" Rayan stops as she catches sight of a glint off the water in the fountain in the corner of her eye, and the last thing she thinks before she's once again flooded with images is "not again."
Morgan Grey is sitting on the edge of the fountain, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and reading the morning newspaper. She's just moved to Savannah, and has deemed this small park her favorite place to sit and think. Maybe she'll even meet some locals, if she visits enough.
Morgan Grey is tossing a shiny nickel into the shallow water of the fountain, wishing with all her might that this newest job at Kellerman's will actually hold. Her rent is due in three days, and if she's late again Morgan is pretty sure Mr. Coleman will kick her out.
Morgan Grey is heavily pregnant as she is, once again, sitting on the edge of the fountain. She's just found out that her life is going to end in a month, and that leaves a big hole in her daughter's life. Morgan doesn't have another choice, she decides, as she is pulling out her cell phone and punching in a few numbers. "Hi Dean. It's uh…well, this is Morgan. Morgan Grey."
"Son of a bitch," Rayan curses as she pulls herself out of the visions and blinks at her father, who is once again looking at her with concern. "We've got to figure this out. Because as much as I'd like to get to know about Mom, I don't want to learn it this way."
"I know, Ray. I know," Dean soothes as he reaches over and wraps his daughter into a comforting hug. "We'll figure this out. I promise."
And there's not much more Dean can say, but he knows deep down that he's going to figure out what in the hell is going on with his daughter, and how it involves Morgan and these murders. Because if there's one thing Dean has learned over the years, it's that there are never coincidences.
Not when it comes to the Winchesters.
Hello all.
First off, thanks for the reviews and all the kind words. I hope you continue to enjoy the story, and I hope you agree that it's finally starting to pick up a little. There will be major twists, but also answers coming up in the next few chapters.
Second, I just want to mention how happy I am tonight. For those of you who have not heard, Osama Bin Laden has been killed. I feel so relieved and thankful that this man has finally been taken care of, not only for my family members who are in the military, but for all of the families who lost loved ones on September 11th.
As I sit and watch CNN in my dorm room, I am moved by the people outside of the White House who are singing the National Anthem together. And I'm so proud to be an American, and a person living in this country, because even among all of the differences between Republicans and Democrats, and whether people agree or disagree with President Obama...in this moment, we're all Americans. And we're all celebrating a victory that means so much to us.
God Bless America, and God Bless You All.
Fallen.
