A/N: Hello Dear Readers. A warm welcome to all of our new followers and a big thank you to all of you who take the time to leave a review! The weekend at Jody's is nearly up. But how will it end? Keep reading and you'll find out!
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Chapter 19
On the razor's edge you trail
Title Credit: Lyric from the song Wild Boys, by Duran Duran (Album: Arena, 1984)
"Thanks Kyle. I'll get on this right away."
Hanging up, Jody felt pulled in so many directions. Since she came home last night, she'd barely had enough time to get some sleep and have a late breakfast with the girls. After that, Claire and Amber left for a drive around town and lunch out. And now... she had to head over to the cemetery to clean up a demon kill site. She was a bit surprised that Kyle didn't finish the job by getting rid of the bodies himself. In the year she knew him he hadn't ever left a mess behind. Not one that she had known about at least. God… This was not the way it was supposed to go when Amber came over. She felt she'd really let down the Winchesters.
She walked to the front door and put on her coat with a frustrated sigh, before grabbing her keys and heading to her police car. Opening the trunk she made sure the small duffel bag with her emergency hunting gear was in the secret compartment she had installed in the police cruiser. Since she started hunting, she'd made these modifications to her standard issue Crown Victoria with the Corvette engine block. It was a risk, but a necessary one. Pleased that everything was where it was supposed to, she closed the trunk and got into her trusted Crown Vic.
The drive to the graveyard was short. Shorter than it should have been, but Jody was hellbent on wrapping this up as fast as possible and getting back home to spend some quality time with Amber while she still had the chance. They had agreed to cook dinner together while the girls tackled homework and then all four of them would catch a movie. Trying to focus her attention to these positive thoughts of her afternoon and evening plans, Jody hastened up the path towards the site Kyle had mentioned in his phone call.
The higher up the hillside she got, the fewer headstones could be spotted. Trees and grass were well groomed and kept mostly tidy even in this section of the cemetery, but the area still held a wilder air to it, compared to the main part down the hill.
She glanced around her, breathed in the fresh air, and cracked a small smile. She hadn't been up here in quite a while. The last time she had, it was with Claire. Just a couple of months after Claire had come to live with her and Alex and right after their first major fight over hunting. Jody had brought her up here so that they could both cool off and discuss everything calmly. She had told her about the history of the site and how native Americans had buried their dead here for centuries before the white man ever set foot on this continent. She'd also shared with Claire her own teenage escapades around this hill and how she still liked to visit it every so often to get some peace and quiet.
She smiled fondly at the memory but kept walking briskly. She wasn't sure where exactly she was heading, but she knew from experience that her nose would let her know soon enough. Right on cue with that thought, the telltale smell of sulfur hit her nostrils.
Stumbling on a rock, she happened to look down and there was an empty wine bottle. Trash being left in the cemetery wasn't unusual with teens hanging out there, but this bottle looked familiar. She let the duffel bag she was carrying fall to the ground next to the bottle before she reached for it. The front label was partially visible and she could see some writing. Bending to pick it up, the dew had left the bottle damp and the penned inscription was starting to smear. However, she instantly felt a shock of recognition...as she read the inscription,
"Jody, your dedication is above and beyond any mere words can convey. ~June & David."
What the hell!
It all came back in an instant...the red wine they brought over after she'd helped to mastermind a sting on a string of identity thefts in town. June and David Hart's business had been deeply affected and they were able to recover most of the stolen credit cards from the biggest arrest she'd made on that case. This had been a personal gift they'd given her.
Only two persons would have access to this and only one of them would have brought it here. Claire!
Looking around her, she spotted the bodies from the fight. Walking closer she crouched down and inspected them. The strong scent of sulfur confirmed Kyle's words. These were demons. She could tell from the injuries that they'd been stabbed. A demon blade, then. Nothing else could possibly kill a demon. This was a very distinctive type of death. Jody briefly wondered where Kyle had managed to get a demon blade. She'd been searching for one for years until Sam and Dean hooked her up with one. It was stored in the hunting-duffel bag back home. She noted to herself to check if it was still there when she got back. Turning her attention back to the bodies, she was relieved she didn't know the one lying face up. Checking his pockets for ID, she found none. Moving to the next body, she crouched down, and using considerable force, rolled over the one body that was lying face down. She gasped in surprise when she spotted a familiar face. She didn't personally know this guy, but she did remember him as the bouncer from Amber's birthday party.
A chill of alarm ran through her. Swallowing with difficulty, she felt her stomach clenching. Was he possessed that night? Had a demon been there, right under their noses while they were celebrating Amber's birthday? Jody felt her skin crawl and the hair standing up on end under her heavy coat.
Jody was getting a more complete picture of what had happened last night. But had Kyle and Claire hunted together? This would be a first. Yet Kyle hadn't mentioned Claire being with him and the girls had told her they'd spent their night at home, binge-watching Netflix shows. Running a hand through her hair she tried to determine who was lying. The wine bottle said Claire was lying. And where was Amber during all of this? Oh god...had Amber been in all of this? Feeling her adrenaline start to spike, she recognized this and took a few more calming breaths. She would have to keep herself focused and calm if she was going to do this and assess the escalating implications.
Getting back in sheriff mode, she stood up, and further surveyed the area. Walking between the headstones she methodically worked her way from what looked like the epicenter of the action to the outer edges. Her police work was excellent and she noted the broken twigs, skids in the dirt and the footprints. There were a lot of footprints.
Backing up, she traced back first, one set of footprints, following it through the action and movement it described, and then she followed another and another and another...and another. There were five sets of footprints. Kyle had mentioned only two demons. Who did the remaining sets belong to?
It was looking like she and Claire were going to have a discussion. God, had Claire gone up against these demons? Had she lied to Her? Had Kyle lied to her? And where in all of this had Amber been? Could the remaining set of footprints belong to her? Sizing them up, Jody easily determined three of them belonged to male and two of them to female feet.
Putting her hand to her mouth, Jody was reeling at the implications. She'd said she'd keep Amber safe and out of trouble and right there was strong circumstantial evidence that at least Claire had been here. She couldn't believe she was dealing with this… Again. That Claire had ignored her and lied to her… Again. She had promised to stop being careless. She had promised that especially while Amber was here she wouldn't risk getting involved in any hunting situation. She had acknowledged the implications and possible risks that could harm Amber due to who her family was. And yet…here they were.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, her breath visible in the icy morning air.
She needed to get a grip and focus on the task at hand. She had to get rid of these bodies before anyone else spotted them.
Taking out her personal phone she scrolled through her hunting contacts. She needed help dealing with this. Burning two bodies in the middle of the day would attract unwanted attention. This needed to go down more discreetly. Thumbing through the list, she was reminded of Wynn Kneip. Good man. She'd last encountered him on a wendigo hunt. Built like a mountain and he had a long-bed Dodge Ram truck with a hemi engine. Both man and vehicle were brawny.
Hitting his number she listened to the phone ringing. Picking up, a strong voice responded.
"Morning Jody. What's up?"
"Wynn, I'm sorry to call you on a Sunday, but I need your help. Are you available?"
"Right now?"
Sounding sheepish, Jody replied, "Yeah. It's a demon kill with two demon bodies that need getting rid of."
"You take them both on yourself?" was the man's impressed response.
"No. Don't think I'd be calling you if I had. It was Kyle. He called me this morning. Kid's good but he needs to learn to clean up after himself. Anyways, I wouldn't call if I could deal with this myself. Can you do this?" Jody's brow was creasing in concern. If Wynn couldn't do this, she would have to call someone she trusted less. Someone she knew less.
"Yeah, ok… I can be there in about an hour," the man sighed.
"I'll be here, Wynn… Waiting," Jody said emphatically. Time for thanks would come later. Right now she needed to guilt trip the man enough to get him off his ass. Ending the call she turned her attention back to the scene. Deciding an hour was more than enough she started going over every inch of it again. She needed to memorize everything and make sure she had gotten everything right. And as soon as she did, she'd be calling Claire. And she damn well better answer her.
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Jody Mills entered her home with an exhausted sigh. Hanging her keys on the key holder next to the door, she took in a deep breath and only then realized something. The house smelled clean. Having been so tired and off her game when she came in last night, she hadn't realized just how clean everything looked. This was odd. Not that she didn't appreciate it, but Jody usually had to fight with Claire to follow through on her chores and this included housework.
Taking only a moment to get out of her coat and hang it along with her backpack by the door, she quickly stepped into the front room and noticed just how tidy everything looked. She could even smell the scent of lemon oil from the furniture polish. This was definitely not the look and smell of a house left at the hands of three teens for the majority of a day. She kept looking around her with inquiry. This was nice, but it seemed off. Since when do teenagers clean and go to bed on time when they have an out-of-town guest to entertain?
After finding the bottle of wine at the cemetery, she looked at everything with fresh eyes. And sure enough, slowly but steadily, everything fell into place in her mind.
Progressing to the kitchen, Jody looked inside a clean, highly polished stainless steel kingdom. Everything was gleaming. Jody caught herself wondering if the girls had spent any amount of time in the house while she was away. It sure didn't look like it. It actually looked like everything was cleaner than it was when she left that morning. In her sheriff training and in all the years of her service she had learned to count on one thing. When everything looked too perfect, too spotless, there had been some serious effort of getting rid of evidence.
How did all these connect with the bottle of wine though? A light bulb went off in her head and she headed into the living room. Reaching her liqueur cabinet she opened it and peeked inside. On the top shelf everything looked normal. All the hard liquors were intact in their bottles. Crouching lower she inspected the second shelf. The shelf where she kept the drinks she didn't prefer and some extra bottles of wine for gifting purposes. Now she might not remember how many bottles exactly should be in there, but she did remember it was supposed to be more than two.
"Damn it, girls!" She ground out as she got to her full height and closed the cabinet with more force than necessary. It wasn't that she was surprised. As soon as she found that bottle at the graveyard she did the math. Yet, actually confirming her theory further frustrated her. She was hoping against all odds there was some sort of logical explanation.
Walking back to the kitchen she glanced at the clock. It was close to two in the afternoon. Grabbing the coffee pot from the coffee maker she poured the last of its contents into a mug. She wasn't in the mood to prepare a fresh batch, so the morning's leftover coffee would just have to do.
Sitting on a stool she took her phone out and stared at it. With an annoyed sigh she took it out flipped to her recent contacts. Finger stalling for only a moment before tapping Claire's name on the list. She had refrained from calling her from the cemetery, wishing to give herself time to calm down and think things through a bit more before confronting her. But right now, she was in no mood for any more waiting. Hearing the phone ring, she waited patiently for the girl to pick up, but she never did. Ending the call with a frustrated sigh, Jody proceeded to call Amber. Not surprised when she didn't answer either, Jody contemplated what her next move should be. Calling Alex would be pointless. The girl had called her only minutes before she got home. She was out with Sean and would be back in time for dinner. And Jody seriously doubted Alex would be voluntarily involved in any demon-related escapades.
Clinking a fingernail against her mug Jody felt her frustration steadily growing. Part of her wanted to get in the car and drive all around town until she spotted them, and then promptly drag their butts back home. Another part of her was reminded that they were out to lunch and there was a good possibility they just missed the call. Hands circling her mug, she glanced at the wall clock. Half an hour. She'd give them half an hour. And then she'd go full sheriff on their asses. Sirens wailing and deputies searching local diners, taverns, and cafes kind of sheriff.
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Sitting at a table in the mostly empty tavern, tapping her feet and feeling the music, Claire watched as Amber spoke to the band in a heads-together conference discussing which songs they knew of Amber's lexicon of songs. She'd already rocked the place with her rendition of "We Are Young" , and "Iron Sky". Amber was really great! She lit up the stage and the kitchen staff had come into the dining area to listen in between food prep for the dinner rush. Everyone who worked there stopped what they were doing and had a listen. Even though she wasn't one to cheer and whoop, Claire had to admit that getting to watch her friend performing was highly enjoyable.
Letting herself lose focus and her thoughts to trail, legs crossed with the top one swinging in time to the beat, she was completely startled when a hand came down on her shoulder and gripped it hard.
"Are you out of your minds?" was spoken close to her ear in a familiar and angry voice. Jerking her head to the side to see who had hold of her she saw Kyle. He looked angry and frustrated. Claire, not used to being spoken to like this by him - or anyone else for that matter - whipped her shoulder out of his grip, glaring up at him.
"What the fuck is your problem?"
"What the fuck is my problem? After last night you think it wise to go back here? To let her sing? Are you always drunk or just stupid?" Kyle snapped.
Amber watched the scene from her spot on the small stage. She kept singing, but her attention had shifted to Kyle as soon as he'd entered the tavern. She had made a point of returning the glare he sent her upon entering, before she watched him closing up on Claire from behind. It was clear as day that they were not having any sort of pleasant conversation. She briefly considered taking a short break and going to help Claire out, but soon realized the blonde could handle herself just fine. Kyle on the other hand, she wasn't so sure. Finding herself enjoying this she continued her singing as if nothing was going on. Until Kyle, fed up with Claire, turned his focus solely on her.
Purposefully walking up to the band, Kyle intended to grab Amber and drag her off of the stage and out of the tavern. Amber saw him as he marched himself towards her and she could see what he intended. He was being such a dick...again. Who did he think he was?! And what on earth had brought out this Dr. Jekyll personality all of a sudden? Turning to exchange a look with the rest of the band, Amber saw that they were concerned and perplexed by the aggravated and fast approaching Kyle, too.
Reaching her, Kyle grabbed Amber's upper arm and leaned in to her ear, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" was all he said. Not giving her any time to respond Kyle tugged on her arm, pulling her off balance and forcing her to recover as he drug her forward, off of the stage.
"Kyle, what the fuck are you doing?" Amber asked indignantly.
Not giving her time to react, he picked up his pace, again forcing Amber to move faster away from the stage and back towards the dining area. This had happened so quickly that no one had had any time to respond. But having that two-second time period to recover, Claire jumped up from her chair, and intervened between Kyle and Amber. Stopping his forced march of Amber, obviously on his way out of the tavern, Claire got in his face.
"You dick! What's your problem? Let her go, you douche!" was Claire's loud intervention to Kyle's snatch and grab.
Taking advantage of Kyle's sudden halt and the inadvertent loosening of his grip on her arm, Amber elbowed him hard on his ribs before snatching her arm away. Quickly putting some distance between them she stood in a fighting stance, weight on her toes, knees slightly bent, her face a hard mask of defense and adrenaline. She'd pulled her arms back into a fighting stance, glaring at him. Dean's training had become deeply wired.
"Hey!"
At the loud interruption all three heads turned in time to see Mark, the bassist of the band, purposefully walking towards the heated group. Marching straight into Kyle's personal space, their eyes locking in an intense glaring contest, he asked, "Is everything alright, Amber?"
Amber lowered her hands, but remained vigilant and ready to start throwing punches. "Thanks, Mark, but I think I've got it covered," she said in a steady tone.
"Yeah, Mark. She's got it covered. So why don't you go back to play with your shiny little instrument?" Kyle said in a dangerous tone.
Seeing Mark's eyes darkening and his lips twitching in anger, Amber quickly stepped between the two of them, her back turned to Kyle.
"Mark, I can more than handle Kyle. Thanks for stepping in, but this is between him and I, alright? Please, go back to the guys. Keep playing. We've made enough of a scene already!"
Mark regarded Kyle intensely for a few more seconds, before turning his gaze to Amber. After a few seconds of contemplation he finally nodded.
"Fine. But I'm watching you, pal," he said, poking his index finger into Kyle's chest for good measure, before turning around and walking away.
Amber turned to fix Kyle with a hard glare.
"I don't know who you think you are, but you need to get out of here...immediately!" was her strongly worded statement, her face taking on the hard appearance of strength. Her tone was nothing to ignore.
Kyle regarded her for one more moment, as he quickly assessed the situation. This was much worse than he expected. He was letting his urges take control and he was losing the game. Drawing even more attention to the girl than she was attracting on her own while singing. Cursing silently at himself for losing control, he ran a hand through his hair and took in a deep breath, in an attempt to calm himself down.
"Just… Just listen to me... Please," was Kyle's next attempt to move this along with Amber's cooperation. Considering his use of the word "please," Amber was struck by a desperate tone in his voice she hadn't expected to hear. She scanned his face and realized that Kyle was scared.
Stopping her in her defensive action, Amber looked Kyle in the face trying to read his thoughts. She felt them...Or rather felt the strength and protectiveness of his intentions. He was actually trying to help her. Trying to save her. But save her from what?
Claire, witnessing this, saw Amber's face morph into one of understanding. So confused by the situation, Claire's instinct to fight and repel Kyle's attack was thwarted by this shift in Amber's face. This wasn't like Amber. She might not know her that long, but she knew her enough to be sure Amber wouldn't take this shit from anyone. So why was she giving this prick a chance? What the hell was going on?!
Amber's brain raced as she took into consideration the vibes Kyle was sending out right now, along with the doubts and concerns that had sprung up the previous night at the cemetery. Her intuition told her she shouldn't worry, that she was safe with him. But her logic told her otherwise. Deciding that she might manage to get some more information out of him, and clear things up in her head, she finally nodded.
"You've got five minutes! Follow me outside, you've embarrassed me enough as it is!" was Amber's barked order. The authority she held in her tone was a genuine obstruction to his plan and Kyle understood she was allowing him to speak his mind. Again, Kyle was struck by the obstinance and strength of opinion this girl had over herself. She was a force not easily overpowered or routed.
Not waiting for his response, Amber walked quickly towards the screen door that led to the tavern's small yard. The yard in which Kyle had given her her birthday knife just two nights ago. Where the hell had that guy, from the other night, gone?
Claire decided she was coming, too, and followed Kyle as he fell in behind Amber. Mark and the rest of the band watched in confused anger as this unfolded. Mark made the decision that if this pow wow of theirs got out of hand again, he was kicking this Kyle kid's ass out himself. An air of hypervigilance consumed the dining room, stopping all thoughts of rehearsing. The band all watched as the three young people retreated to the back yard. Mark, his body tensed with readiness to action watched as the screen door banged shut behind Claire.
As soon as all three of them were outside and the door closed behind them, Amber turned to face Kyle. She stood tall, arms crossed over her chest, jaw set, and eyes glaring. "I'm listening!" She snapped.
Claire took a few steps backwards, removing herself from the line of vision of both Kyle and Amber. She refused to leave her friend alone with the maniac, but she didn't want to draw the attention on her. As she discreetly watched Amber glaring at Kyle, she almost shook her head at how much her stance and attitude reminded her of Dean. She'd been on the receiving end of this stance and glare from him on quite a few occasions. It was a studied posture of confrontation.
"Amber, I know I came off like a jerk, but you're not safe! I thought last night made you realise that. God dammit, there are demons out there… You're a shiny prize to them, alright? They're out to get you!"
Amber almost snorted at his words. 'Old news, pal,' she thought to herself, but remained silent.
"And they could be anywhere! Just like the bouncer. You remember that guy from last night, don't you? He tried to snatch you away not twenty-four hours ago! Your father was right about all of this. You can't put yourself out there like that! It sends up a signal for anyone to see. You're drawing so much attention to yourself. Do you get this?"
"And how do you know this?" Arms crossed, angry frown on her face, Amber spit out this question with force, the memories from last night still fresh in her brain. His intentions might be honest, but his words weren't. She could tell.
Kyle shook his head with an awkward chuckle, "What do you mean how do I know?" Lowering his voice and eyes darting around them he added, "You're a Winchester! Anyone with a brain can tell that's reason enough!"
"No, Kyle. No, it's not. I mean, yeah, the random demon who will sniff me out, will probably like the idea of grabbing me, killing me, whatever…but you seem to think this is more than random. You can't be so freaked out over the mere possibility of someone realising who I am," Amber countered.
Claire watched the exchange with renewed interest. She felt she was missing bits of information not just from Kyle, but from Amber as well.
"It's not about random demons! Two of them were here last night. That means more of them know and more of them will follow. That's how they work, Amber! That's why I'm so freaked out. You're reading too much into this!"
"Oh, I'm reading too much into this?" Amber asked incredulously, arms uncrossing and tugging her hair behind her ears in frustration.
"Last night you appeared out of nowhere, just in time to save the day! You didn't have a car with you and just happened to be in the oldest part of the cemetery? I'm not an idiot Kyle! You're keeping things from me," Amber continued, her eyes measuring his facial expression. His face remained tense and worried, but he didn't seem to otherwise react to her words.
"Don't expect me to trust what you're saying or listen to your fucking warnings. When you're honest with me, then I might, but not now! I have enough secrets and enough shit in my life as it is!"
Enough secrets? Claire heard this and felt her mind go on red alert. What kind of secrets? What was going on with Amber?
Feeling his own frustration growing in the face of Amber's spot-on accusations, Kyle wondered how much to reveal. He knew she was a nephilim. Did Claire? Of course, Amber knew. She had to know, didn't she?
"Amber, OK. Yeah, there's more to this. You're right, but you have to know you're special. And you being what…uh, being who you are makes you a huge target, you can't even imagine how much of a target you are. Do you have any idea how many demons know about you and are after you? Do you?"
Kyle's impassioned argument struck a nerve with Amber. She did know. The way he phrased that question though, made her wonder… Did he?
The sudden ringing of a phone made both Amber and Kyle turn around in time to see Claire hastily flipping on her phone.
"Novak here," she said into the receiver and paused as she listened intently to the caller.
Amber and Kyle watched Claire, confused by the shift in attention and her taking on this professional persona. It was surreal.
"How many are we talking about?" Claire inquired next. "Got an address?" After a short pause she hung up with a "Thanks, I'll check it out!"
As soon as she pocketed her phone, she walked closer to Kyle and Amber.
"We've got demon sightings. Just two towns over. This is bound to have something to do with last night's ambush," she said excitedly, eyes glinting and a bright smile forming.
Amber felt her stomach clenching at the news.
"Alright… We'll tell Jody, I'm sure she'll know someone living there who can sort this out," she offered. She was pretty sure she knew where Claire was going with this, but she hoped she was wrong. God, she hoped she was wrong!
"Are you kidding? We got a case and you want to give it away to someone else? Hell no! It's just two demons! Let's go get them," Claire said excitedly.
"Are you serious, right now?" Kyle scoffed. "Last night it was just two demons! I didn't see you doing any 'getting'!"
"Last night I was off my game, asshole," Claire snapped at Kyle. She was still angry at him for the scene he had caused and the way he had treated Amber. "Plus, today we know what we're getting into! We won't be ambushed! Amber, c'mon! We might even learn what the hell all this is about!"
A look of absolute horror caused Amber's jaw to drop open, her eyes round with disbelief.
"Are you seriously considering going after them? After last night?" Amber was getting so frustrated with Claire. This girl was going to try and drag her into this...again!
"No way, Claire! Last night was too close of a call! I'm not risking it again! We could get killed! Plus, I already told you… I can't afford to get into any more trouble with Sam and Dean!"
Looking at her quizzically, Claire heard Amber refer to her father by his first name. Huh. This seemed a bit off. She'd previously referred to him as 'her dad'. Of course she had heard her calling him Dean when she directly addressed him, but when he wasn't around she rarely used his first name. She called him, 'her dad.' Her phone ringing again made her glance at its screen. Seeing it was Jody she immediately silenced it and shoved it in her pocket, before turning back to Amber.
"I don't know what kind of leash 'Sam and Dean' have you on, but this is a solid lead and I'm taking it!"
"You're gonna get yourself killed! You can't go into this alone," Amber countered in an angry voice.
"And I'm not getting dragged into this again. You can't go. That's it. You can't go, Claire. It's just stupid."
Kyle was getting a clearer idea of whose fault last night had been. He'd assumed it had been Amber and Claire's joint decision to put themselves in danger, but it was becoming clear that Amber had probably gone out of fearful loyalty. So, she wasn't as foolish as he'd thought.
Claire raised both her eyebrows as she let out a scoff.
"Nobody tells me what I can or can't do! You're too much of a wuss to follow, fine! But I'm going!" With these words she marched towards the door and opened it. Before letting it close behind her she turned her head, adding, "If Jody asks…find an excuse! I'll be home in three hours tops!"
Amber remained watching the blonde vanishing behind the door, her mouth hanging open. Find an excuse? What the hell was she supposed to tell Jody? How on earth could she cover for her? Turning to Kyle almost desperately she asked, "Can you go with her?"
Kyle shook his head. "Not a chance. If there are demons two towns over there's a good chance there are more right here…or there are more heading here as we speak. I'm taking you home. And I'll stick around to make sure you're safe."
"The house is demon-proofed, Kyle! It's not like they can march in…and Jody's there, too. Claire will be alone!"
"I'm not taking any chances," the young man said resolutely. "If she wants to play hero, let her. Best case scenario they beat the crap out of her and she learns to not go off half-cocked into hunts above her pay grade."
Her own phone ringing, Amber fished in her pocket and took it out. Glancing at the caller ID, it was Jody. Fuck! Trying to decide if she should pick it up or not, Amber let it ring. As it rang she was still formulating what she'd say. God, she didn't want to lie to her. Stalling while she frantically thought this through, and deciding to buy herself some time, she simply pushed her phone deep into her pocket. A few seconds later it stopped ringing. She knew Jody would call again and she knew she'd have to answer when that happened.
"Amber, we need to get you back to Jody's," were Kyle's only words. Nothing about Claire. His focus solely on her and her safety.
Amber's mind flashing through scenarios of 'what if', she decided this was the one solid piece of advice she'd accept. Whatever Kyle was hiding from her, and he WAS hiding something from her, this was the one unerring choice she could make.
"Fine, yeah…Do you have your car or are you riding incognito again?" Amber asked, allowing some sarcasm back into her tone.
"It's parked outside," Kyle simply answered, refusing to take her bait.
"Go ahead. I'll say goodbye to the guys and meet you there in a minute," Amber mumbled. When Kyle only stared at her she prompted, "Go on! I won't make a run for it or anything… Claire took the car. I'll need a ride!"
With a silent nod, Kyle walked towards the door. Amber watched him entering the tavern and moving towards the exit. Once she was sure he was outside, she made her own way back in and towards the stage.
The band had stopped playing. The mood was tense and it looked like they were packing it in for the day.
"Hey, guys! Thanks again for everything! It was great performing with all of you… I might not see you again anytime soon, but this has really been great. You're one of the highlights of this trip," Amber said with a smile, her eyes traveling from one musician to the other and finally settling on Mark.
"You okay?" Mark asked, shooting a concerned glance outside, where Kyle was waiting, leaning on his truck and watching them.
Following Mark's gaze, Amber said in an even tone, "I'm fine Mark. Me and Kyle… uh, we just had a disagreement. We figured it out. He's taking me home."
Leaning in closer and looking in her eyes Mark offered, "I can take you home…"
Reading the double meaning of his offer, Amber let out a flattered chuckle.
"Mark, that's really sweet. But, no." At his disappointed expression she added, "Trust me, I'm more trouble than I'm worth. Plus, Jody likes you… Let's keep it that way. I'm pretty sure the sheriff side of her will go all 'statutory rape' on your ass if she gets any ideas that you're flirting with me, right?"
Clearing his throat at the not-so-subtle hint, Mark took a step back and offered an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry about that. I keep forgetting how young you are. I just really, really don't trust that prick. The way he grabbed you…"
With a light shake of her head Amber reassured him, "If I didn't care to cause a bigger scene, trust me when I say I could easily knock him out."
At his surprised look she added, "Told ya. More trouble than I'm worth." Amber, smiling this cocky smile, just took in Mark's dropped jaw, feeling some satisfaction.
"Anyhow, I gotta get going." Turning to look at the rest of the band for a last time and waving a hand she added, "Thanks again, guys! Bye!" The rest of the band gave her a nod, the keyboardist having overheard Amber's conversation with Mark, gave Amber a knowing smile and a big thumb's up, grinning. Amber decided she liked this woman. Returning her smile, with her own thumbs up, Amber headed out the front door. Her walk was paced and self assured. This communicated to Mark and the rest of the band that she did, in fact, have things under control.
Kyle watched her finally walking away from the stage, grabbing hers and Claire's coats from their table, and then heading out to meet him.
"Did you kiss Mark goodbye?" He asked scathingly as he opened the driver's door and got inside, shutting it with more force than necessary.
Amber stared at him through his window for a few seconds, completely thrown off by the sudden change in attitude. Letting out an annoyed scoff, she walked to the other side of his truck and got in, slamming the door behind her.
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The steady squeaking of the wipers abruptly stopped as Kyle turned off the engine of the truck, having pulled up in front of Jody's driveway. The light rain that had started falling soon after Kyle and Amber had left the tavern tapped rhythmically on the metal roof of the car, accenting the otherwise heavy silence.
Amber kept her eyes locked on the windshield, watching the raindrops that gradually covered every inch of glass.
Kyle glanced at her every other second, uncertain of what he should or shouldn't say. He allowed a few more silent seconds to pass before lightly clearing his throat. "So… How much longer do you think you're gonna be around?"
Keeping her gaze on the rain-covered glass, Amber shrugged. "After all that's happened? I doubt I'll even spend the night… I need to contact my… Uh… Family. Let them know there's demon activity. I doubt they'll consider letting me stay any longer."
"Maybe that would be the best," Kyle commented in a quiet tone.
"Yeah… It would give you some free time… Maybe you can find some other girl to stalk," Amber answered dryly.
With a slight shake of his head Kyle turned to look at her. "Amber… That's not what this is about!"
Her eyes meeting his for the first time since she got in the car she scanned his face as she asked, "Then what is this about, Kyle?"
When he only averted his eyes and remained silent, Amber nodded her head and formed a tight smile. "I don't know why I'm even trying," she mumbled as she abruptly unfastened her seatbelt and opened her door at the same time.
As she shifted to climb out of the car, she felt Kyle's hand circling around her left forearm. When she whipped her head around to face him she found her face mere inches away from his, before his lips crashed down on hers. It took her by surprise, but as soon as their lips connected she felt her stomach fluttering in that familiar way that always accompanied Kyle's touch and kisses. Allowing herself to shut everything else out for a few seconds she let her eyelids close and savored the kiss.
When they drew apart for breath, she opened her eyes and peered into his for a few short seconds. With a small sigh, she whispered, "Goodbye, Kyle," before she finally got out of the car. This time he didn't stop her.
Shutting the door behind her, she started walking towards the house's front door. She could practically feel Kyle's eyes trained on her back, watching as she walked away. Tilting her head upwards she let the light rain cool her flushed face. The cold humid air felt sombering and as soon as she stood in front of the front door her thoughts stopped dancing all around the place and gradually focused on what was lying ahead. As on cue, her phone started ringing. She took it out hastily and saw it was Jody. Again. Taking in a steadying breath, she schooled her expression to one she hoped would pass as pleasant and casual, before pushing the phone back into her jeans' backpocket and ringing the doorbell.
The door swung open mere seconds later, revealing a worried looking Jody. Before Amber had the chance to utter a single word, the woman asked in a tense tone, "Where's Claire?"
"She went for a short drive," Amber replied, not missing a beat. She had some time to think over what she could go with about Claire's whereabouts, while Kyle drove her here, and she had decided this was the only believable excuse. Claire had shared with her the previous night that she liked to take long drives around the area to clear her head. Amber was sure Jody knew that. Not having any other plausible reason for Claire to be out on her own on a rainy Sunday afternoon, she went with that, hoping that Jody would buy it. "She said she wanted to clear her head," she tucked on, her eyes never leaving Jody's.
Jody stepped to the side, keeping the door open for Amber to enter. She watched as the girl walked in, took off her coat, and neatly hung it on the coat-hanger next to the door.
"Went for a drive?" Jody asked, pinning the girl down with an inspecting gaze.
"Yeah," Amber answered promptly. "Kyle met us for lunch, we hung out for a bit, and then she left for a short drive. I think she was trying to be discreet and give us some privacy… She said she'd be back in two-three hours tops. And that was like, half an hour ago…"
Amber knew Jody was measuring her every twitch and felt as if she was being scanned by the trained eyes and ears of this woman. She was. Furrowing her eyebrows a bit, expression growing concerned, she asked, "Jody, are you alright? You seem upset…"
Jody's expression remained tense. "How about we move this to the living room? I'd like to have a chat with you."
Amber's brain raced. She didn't feel confident about where this was headed. "
Sure… Let me go to the bathroom real quick and I'll meet you there," she answered.
"I'll be waiting," Jody nodded.
Amber jogged up the stairs and moved to the upstairs bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" she mumbled quietly as she took her phone out of her jeans' backpocket. She called Claire and brought the phone in her ear. When the blonde answered, Amber sighed with relief.
"Where are you?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Almost there," Claire answered shortly. "What's up?"
"What's up? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm at Jody's, I told her you went out for a drive, and she's not buying it! Claire, please, come back! Fuck the whole demon thing and just come back!"
"No way in hell. Stop overstressing. If she buys it, good. If she doesn't, no big deal. It's not like this hasn't happened before. Just don't admit anything and stall her til I'm back. I won't be more than two hours, honest!"
"She said she wants us to have a chat," Amber sent back.
When Claire answered, Amber could practically see the roll of her eyes, as it radiated through her tone.
"Jody always wants to chat! Amber, I need to hang up. I'm almost there and I need to focus. Just relax and stall. She has nothing over us, alright? You said I'm out for a ride and that's what I'm doing right now. See you in a couple of hours!"
"Claire d…" Not even finishing her phrase, Amber stared disbelievingly at her phone, as Claire hung up on her. "Shit!" She mumbled.
Bringing a hand to rub at her right temple, she turned around and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Taking in a deep breath she whispered, "C'mon, Amber. You've played adults a million times. You got this!"
And part of her believed her words. She had played adults a thousand times. That's how she had managed to survive all these years in and out of the system. The problem was, she never really cared for any of the adults that she'd played. Jody on the other hand… She couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed of even thinking about lying and playing the woman who had opened her home and arms to her. Damn it, Claire!
Taking in a second calming breath she tried to ease her nerves. Hopefully Jody would never learn that she was lying to her. Maybe this would end up just fine and she was simply overthinking everything. After all, Claire was right. Jody didn't have anything over them. With this thought she gathered up her courage and made her way out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the living room.
When she entered, she found Jody standing with her back turned to her, staring out the window. Hearing the girl approaching, she turned to face her. It was then that Amber spotted what she was holding. A bottle. A dark green, glass bottle, with a washed out but still visible, dark red label. A dark red label with smeared writing on it. Amber immediately recognized it. It was the last bottle they had opened the previous night. The one they had taken with them up to the cemetery. The one that fell from her hand during the ambush… How the hell did it end up in Jody's hands? She felt her stomach drop to her feet at the sight of it. So much for Jody not having anything over them…
Managing to keep her expression neutral, she offered a small awkward smile as she moved towards the armchair she liked to curl up in, and taking a seat.
"So.. What'd you wanna talk about?" Amber asked, hating that her voice didn't come out as casual as she'd like.
"This," Jody replied curtly, setting the bottle in the middle of the coffee table with a loud thud.
'What…" Amber started to ask, but was cut off by a now obviously angry Jody.
"Don't, Amber! Don't you even think about lying to my face about this!"
Amber's brain raced frantically as she analyzed the few clues she had in her hands. No matter how the bottle ended up in Jody's possession, chances were she knew where it was found. How the hell was she supposed to explain that without getting both herself and Claire in serious trouble?
"Jody, I know we shouldn't be drinking without permission and all, but we were home alone and one thing led to the other… Soon enough hot chocolate just didn't cut it… I know we should have called, but we thought, since we were home it wouldn't be that big of a deal… I'm sorry!" Amber offered in an apologetic tone. She went with the old golden tactic of not giving new information away. She wouldn't mention the cemetery on her own, not when she could only guess what Jody knew or suspected.
"You were home? You stayed home all night, Amber?" Jody immediately asked, moving to sit on the edge of the sturdy, wooden coffee table, her eyes never leaving the girl's.
"Yes… You already know that… You found us home when you arrived," Amber replied immediately, trying hard not to fidget with her hands or otherwise show her discomfort.
"I know you were here when I came back, yes. I'm not very sure that's where you were before that, though," Jody continued conversationally. "You see, Amber, this bottle here, the one you admit you and Claire opened and consumed, was found in the oldest part of the town's cemetery." Jody paused shortly to gawk at the girl's expression. She marvelled how confused she managed to look at that new bit of information. It was either that Amber was a great actress, or that she really hadn't played a part in the cemetery situation.
"The cemetery?" Amber asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "Jody… I… We were here the whole time…"
"So how did the bottle end up there, Amber? Rolled there on its own?" Jody asked, her tone taking on a harsh edge, Amber wasn't accustomed to.
"I don't know!" She answered immediately. "I really don't. Last night, we were watching Buffy, drank some wine, cleaned up before you came home, greeted you when you arrived, and then went straight to bed," she repeated. She knew Jody wasn't buying any of this. But what else could she do? Admit that they'd gone for a drunken joyride and got attacked by demons? There's no way Jody wouldn't share this information with her brothers, and if she did… Amber didn't even want to think about what Sam and Dean's reaction would entail.
"So you never went to the graveyard? Not you, nor Claire?" Jody asked again.
"No!"
"Because Kyle called me this morning… Telling me there were two demon bodies up there. He said he killed them last night but didn't have the time to clean up. Asked me to do it. So I go up there and find the two bodies, along with this bottle and not three, as expected, but five sets of footprints! Two of which belonged to female feet, Amber!"
Amber felt her cheeks flushing under Jody's intense stare. Kyle had called her but didn't tell her they were there? Deciding this could be their only allaby on the situation she immediately offered, "Well, don't you think Kyle would have mentioned that we were there, had we been? Jody, Sam and Dean almost didn't let me stay over because I sang a song in a god-damn tavern. Do you really think I'd risk driving in an old cemetery in the middle of the night? Or engage with demons? Even if I survived them, I would never survive De...Dad," Amber replied, playing her last card.
Jody appeared to think these words over. She was certain that at least one of the girls had been in that cemetery and participated in that fight. But she was having trouble not believing Amber's claims that she hadn't been there. Her argument was more than valid. Dean would rake her over the coals for this and she did seem honest about not wishing to have anything to do with demons. Yet, she looked nervous. And uneasy. Jody let out a frustrated sigh upon realising that Amber was most likely trying to cover for Claire. And she couldn't blame her. Nor could she put her in a position of tattling on her friend. Considering that the situation had already taken place and that Claire had come out of it safe and sound, Jody decided grilling Amber was rather pointless. It was Claire who she needed to have an extended discussion with. That was the only way she could confirm that Amber was truthful.
"I'm far from convinced that both of you stayed home last night. But I do believe you probably didn't have much to do with anything other than drinking alcohol when you shouldn't. I appreciate your efforts to not get Claire into trouble and that's the sole reason I'll drop this until she gets home. You and I are gonna talk more about this once I'm done talking with Claire."
Amber glanced at the woman and offered a reluctant nod. She couldn't believe that she had managed to avoid admitting anything other than drinking. She knew this was far from over, but for now she had managed to buy herself some time. Possibly enough to contact Claire and fill her in about everything so that she could support their story and come up with some solid alibi. Her thoughts traveling to the one thing she had admitted, Amber peered at Jody once again.
"Hey, Jody?" When the woman looked at her expectantly, she continued, "Are you… Are you gonna tell my dad about… You know... The wine?"
Jody measured the girl with stern eyes, contemplating the question. Would she? Could she really keep this from Dean? She thought about what she'd want had Claire and Alex gotten in trouble while under Sam and Dean's care. The answer was rather easy after that.
"I'm afraid so, Amber."
At the sad expression that followed her words she tucked on, "But I'll also tell him I handled the consequences myself."
At the alarmed eyes that turned to look at her, Jody had to put in some serious effort not to smile with satisfaction.
"Five page essay on the dangers of underage drinking and its effects on teens' health and development. Referenced. Get your butt upstairs and get started. You can use my laptop. It's in my room."
Amber's face flushed bright red in embarrassment as she stared at the woman wide-eyed trying to register what had just happened.
"Upstairs! Now!" Jody prompted in a curt tone and watched as the girl scrambled to her feet and followed her order.
Hauling ass up the stairs, Amber's mind was racing. How was this all going to turn out for her, for Claire? What a goddamn mess. In the back of her mind she was still so concerned for Claire's safety.
As soon as she reached Jody's room and closed the door behind her she took out her phone and quickly composed a short text. The least she could do was try to warn her friend.
"Jody found the bottle and the demons' bodies up at the cemetery. She's convinced you were up there. I haven't admitted a thing but she's onto us. Answer me as soon as you read this! Be safe"
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Dean drove faster.
They'd been tipped off to a demon presence by another hunter in the bar they were frequenting since holing up for the last few days. Staying close to Sioux Falls had been a good idea...on several fronts...the least of which had been the woman Dean had hooked up with. Sam, reading the text on his cell phone glanced up to see where they were going.
"Dean, it's here. That's the sign post Ed said to look for. Turn here."
Not saying anything, Dean kept his concentration on the road as his mind was going over the intel they had. Several demons had been sighted near the local cemetery. Well, it was a cemetery, so at least the setting wasn't so surprising, but so many and in broad daylight. There was trouble. They were congregating and not too particular about being seen. Their boldness was concerning.
Trying not to let this information drive him crazy, Dean was convinced this wasn't a mere coincidence. Getting back to Amber as soon as possible being his ultimate goal, he floored the gas of the Impala. The sooner they ended these bastards the faster they'd get to their sister.
Spotting the entrance up ahead, Sam simply indicated this with a negative shake of his head, Dean understanding the short hand of their communication. Shooting in between the gate posts, the Impala's tires ground out the sound of rocks underneath the treads. Forced to slow down, small rocks flying from beneath their tires. This cemetery hadn't been used in years.
There was a mausoleum up ahead. As it came into view, the front gate to the mausoleum's entrance was flung open and looked like bits of marble had been flung from its entrance. What the hell were these demons doing?
As soon as Dean parked the Impala, Sam shot out and opened its trunk. Dean joined him, each arming themselves with a variety of weapons. Demon blades, devil trap bullets, and a shotgun all found their way out and into their hands. Closing the trunk, each man was mentally ramping up into high alert. They had barely taken five steps towards the mausoleum when the sound of tires broke the silence. Turning on their spot, Sam and Dean watched as a familiar blue SUV arrived, practically following right in their tire tracks.
"Is that…" Sam began, his tone a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
Looking in the same direction, Dean's own face registered disbelief and then anger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here," Dean bellowed, taking a step towards the now parked SUV, right as Claire climbed out of it.
Her own face a mixture of surprise and displeasure, she glared right back at him as she answered, "What are you doing here? This is my hunt!"
"Your hunt?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Claire, get right back in that car and leave...NOW!" Dean shouted, pointing towards the SUV she'd arrived in.
"Not a chance. You assholes can leave. I'm staying," was Claire's firm response as she grabbed a shotgun from the window mount from the backseat window.
Closing the distance between them, Dean was up in Claire's face in under a second.
"I said, get back in and get out of here!"
Turning angrily to face Dean, Claire took a step forward to meet him. She looked him in the eye, gazing up at his 6'1" height, unfazed by his anger.
"Dean, go fuck yourself. Leave, stay, I don't give a crap! But I'm not going anywhere! This is my hunt," was Claire's bold response.
Sam watched this exchange, glancing towards the mausoleum and back to the argument in the parking lot. Then Sam saw it and it attacked with such force he barely had time to finish inserting the devil trap bullets into his rifle and close the breach.
"Dean!" was all Sam got out before he lept to the side and shot at the general direction of his assailant.
Turning eyes to Sam's alert, both Dean and Claire dropped into protective stance, ready to defend themselves.
The demon that was after Sam kept moving towards him, taking cover behind gravestones to avoid his shots.
Claire ran behind him, right hand gripping her shotgun, left hand securing her demon blade. Before she could get any closer to her target, a second demon appeared out of nowhere, charging towards her. In one smooth motion, Claire affixed the demon blade into its side sheath and brought the loaded shotgun up to her shoulder, aiming towards the demon rushing her. Claire fired and simultaneously heard another shot fired nearby.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean grumbled as he spotted two more black-eyed men running towards them.
Hitting the demon closest to her, Claire heard before she saw Sam's own shot. The demon she'd shot screamed in pain as it fell to its knees, giving Claire enough time to charge at it with her demon blade and stab it in the heart. She watched as the demon's eyes and mouth lit up from within like a flood light blasted from within him, arching his back in agony, and dropped to the ground, lifeless.
Hyper alert, adrenaline upping her game, Claire pivoted to scan their immediate area. Another demon, hit by Sam's devil trap bullet, lost its balance. She watched Sam ending him with his own blade.
Dean, watching the combat, kept his own eyes trained on the events engulfing them. Two of the newcomers rushed him, their own guns out. Instinctively Dean aimed and fired at each in turn...it was the unconscious reflex of practiced response. Hitting the first one within twelve feet of him, he fired the second round and hit the second demon, stopping him a mere eight feet from him...dropping him.
Both demons regained their footing soon enough. Devil trap bullets sure slowed them down and kept them from flying out of their hosts but they didn't do much in terms of damage. Registering movement from the corner of his eye, he turned in time to see Claire charging forward, blade ready towards the demon closest to her. Dean saw the demon raising the gun and aiming. Shooting forward himself he managed to land a second bullet in his shoulder, effectively making him lose aim, and his bullet, only barely missing Claire.
The girl, completely unfazed, kept running, landing the blade in the man's throat. She felt drops of blood landing on her face from the force of her stabbing.
As soon as she took her knife out of him, she turned around in time to watch Dean killing the last demon with his own blade. Glancing around them vigilantly, the only new movement she registered was Sam, jogging towards her and Dean. Claire felt her heart beating fast and let herself ride this electrifying, hormone-induced high which always rachetted up her senses after having survived a successful hunt. While her life was in danger, she focused on the moment, and this brought an exquisite focus on her survival. Adrenaline-junkies continuously push their luck for just this brain-clarifying high.
Everything stopped and was still, Sam, Dean and Claire, surveying the area stood in place, breathing labored from action and fear, scanned for movement of any kind. All was still.
Dean turned to glance at Sam. The two of them didn't need to exchange words. They knew what needed to be done. With a short nod to his brother, Dean walked to Claire.
"Keys," he said curtly.
"What?" Claire asked confused.
"Car keys. Now!" Dean barked.
"I can drive it myself Dean," Claire shot back.
"I don't give a shit. Last chance before I pin you to the ground and find them on my own!"
Claire measured him with a glance and realized he wasn't bluffing. She felt her temper rising, but she knew she didn't stand much of a chance if it came down to hand-to-hand with Dean. Reaching into her jeans' back pocket she got the key out and lifted it for Dean to see.
When he reached to grab it she let it fall to the ground.
"Oops!" she smirked, sardonically.
She couldn't take him, but she sure as hell wouldn't make it easy on him. She felt immense satisfaction when a vein in Dean's temple popped out under his skin and visibly pulsed.
Sam, having walked behind the girl unnoticed, and exchanging a glance with his brother, bent down to grab the keys from off of ground, right as Dean lunged for Claire.
"What the fuck! Dean, get your fucking hands off me...," was all she got out before Dean had taken her off her feet and threw her easily over his shoulder, left hand pinning her legs against his torso to stop the kicks she was bound to attempt.
"Ahhhh…! Dean! What the fuck are you doing you asshole?!"
Completely ignoring her, Dean called out loudly, "See you at Jody's Sammy. Call her for me, will you?"
Stoneface, Sam nodded and headed for the blue SUV Claire had arrived in.
Dean kept walking towards the impala. Claire's fists drummed against his back forcefully. She was trying to get a kidney punch in. He winced when she managed to land a hard hit near his ribs, but remained silent. As soon as he got the passenger-side back door open, he fished out a pair of handcuffs from a side pocket and cuffed Claire's right hand while securing the other end to the handle over the window. Once he had her hand cuffed he deposited her into the backseat pushing her farther inside and closing the door with force.
Not seeing a way out of this, Claire settled down, stony faced and grim. Getting in, Dean glared at Claire through the rearview mirror, not having words for any of this. Claire glared right back before focusing her gaze out of her window. Not a word was exchanged during the ride back to Sioux Falls.
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Knuckles whitening around her phone, Jody listened to Sam describe the scene and Claire's involvement in it. And there were three more demon bodies to clean up. This was more than she could handle. Ending the phone call, she sat down on the couch and merely stared off into space...shock settling in.
After a few minutes she began to sob, the fear of what could have happened to Claire cutting in deeply. Holding her hands over her face, she privately let this moment swallow her. The loss of her husband and her own son rushing back as it always did. This wound had never healed, it never would. And it only opened up again each and every time she was confronted by another loss...or the potential of another cherished person disappearing from her life. She started to hyperventilate.
This sound travelled upstairs and Amber rushed out of Jody's room to see what was going on. Seeing Jody, head in her hands and rocking slightly as she sat, stunned Amber. The only other time she had seen the woman in such a state was at Asa Fox's funeral.
What had happened?
Was someone dead? Her thoughts traveled immediately to Claire and she felt a wave of nausea hit her.
Jody was a tower of strength and to see her this broken, it was frightening. Running down the stairs, Amber sat down next to her and threw an arm around her shoulders and hugged the woman. At first Jody acted like she didn't even know Amber was there and kept sobbing and rocking back and forth. Amber felt her own senses overwhelmed and her eyes burning as she tried to keep her own tears from falling. She was scared by the sheriff's response.
Wrapping her left arm around the front of her, Amber held Jody in both of her arms, laying her head on Jody's shoulder trying to reassure her and to stop her crying long enough to explain what had happened.
"Jody! Hey, Jody! What's wrong? What's happened?"
Jody had to be strong. Amber felt the need for her heroes to be strong or her whole world would implode. Amber had no idea how long she and Jody sat there, but after a while Jody calmed down, hugged her back and slowly stopped crying.
"What's going on?" Amber repeated her question when the woman seemed to have gotten a grip on her emotions.
"It's Claire," Jody said, a tone of sad defeat in her voice.
"Is she alright?" Amber asked, her eyes enlarging in concern.
"That phone call, that was Sam. He and Dean have Claire and they're headed back here now. Claire's alive."
"Why wouldn't she be alive? And why is she with Sam and Dean?"
Amber knew the answer to the first question, but Jody couldn't know that. And Sam and Dean being there… She felt her stomach clenching uncomfortably. This day could end in many different ways. And she wasn't sure she liked any of them.
"Claire went on a hunt alone...and there were several demons there. Sam and Dean happen to have been on the same hunt and saved her ass, just barely. I almost lost her. I almost lost her and I can't have any more loss. I just can't!" Jody's voice cracked and she started to cry again.
Amber took all this information in. She swallowed with difficulty and bit her lower lip as the guilt over what almost happened to her friend sunk in. If Claire had been seriously hurt tonight… Or worse… That would be on her, too.
"It's my fault. I don't protect her enough. If only I had been harder on her, more strict, I'd keep her safe, but I just can't. I can't seem to get her to see how dangerous this is and...and she keeps risking her life."
Jody, while not renewing her tears at this last statement, turned to look Amber in the face. Amber found herself struck mute by this look, Jody's look of terror and guilt and defeat...all wrapped up with the feeling of a ticking time bomb. It was just a matter of time and Claire would be the next fatality Jody survived.
Amber shook her head and clasped a hand on the woman's shoulder. She hated seeing her like this. A new wave of guilt, this time mixed with anger towards Claire, engulfed her.
"I'm very sure that's not true. You're great with the girls, Jody. You're everything you should be. Claire is just a bit… hard headed. I'm sure she knows what she did was stupid."
When the woman simply remained silent, Amber got to her feet and offered the only thing she could do at this point.
"How about I go and make you some tea? Would you like that?"
Looking at Amber through the long hair falling across the girl's face. Jody considered how young Amber was...younger than Claire. And she looked scared. Amber was scared because her protector was falling apart.
Pulling herself out of her fear-induced PTSD, Jody was realizing how much this was affecting Amber. Looking up at her and she realized she needed to get it together. Amber needed her and needed her to be strong.
"Yes. Some tea. That would be good."
Jody managed a small smile and saw the reassurance this had on Amber.
"Thanks, Amber. And I'm sorry you had to witness this. I'll be alright."
With a small smile Amber nodded, "I know you will. I'll be right back."
Amber hurried into the kitchen leaving Jody sitting on the couch.
Alone, Jody reflected on what she could do. What did she have control over at this moment. Well, she had control over herself. She also had control over Claire albeit control over her influence. Her thoughts trailed to Amber. She was turning out to be a grounded young woman and the Winchesters were finding their way with her..and well, they'd been getting pretty good at this of late. Perhaps this influence would be good for Claire, too.
In the recesses of her memory Jody recalled Dean's recent offer regarding Claire, 'Send her over to the bunker anytime.' Could she? Should she?
Amber was receiving some sort of education. Not the best maybe, but she trusted Sam wouldn't keep her out of school if it wasn't imperative for her safety. She also knew he was doing his best to cover as much as he could for what his niece lost in that aspect of her life. Jody had heard from Amber about her 35-page essay that she'd written and had been impressed. And Amber was also receiving invaluable practical training from the two vigilant adults watching over her. Amber could do a lot worse. A whole lot worse.
As she mulled all these over in her head, the idea of sending Claire to the bunker for a while seemed more and more like a promising solution. But would she go? Claire and Dean would clash and this could be explosive. But Jody was certain that Claire would benefit from this. Maybe she'd learn to stay safe, or at least safer. At the very least she'd gain some practical skills that could make all the difference when she was out hunting.
But would she accept this?
What if she ran away?
As soon as that question crossed her mind she almost scoffed. Claire could always run away. Whether she was there with her or anywhere else. Jody had been keenly aware this was always on the table when she first took Claire in. Had this knowledge tied a hand behind her back in her approach to Claire? Maybe.
But, Jody knew herself. She'd never been a strong disciplinarian...even with her own son. It wasn't in her. It remained a point of confusion for Jody. Had she been stronger, more of a disciplinarian, would Claire have been safer, more….well...more disciplined in her approach to the hunting life? She'd never know as she'd taken the route she'd taken.
And now there was another route that could be taken if she stepped up.
Wiping the remaining tears from her face, Jody took in a cleansing breath and straightened herself up. Clear eyed she contemplated a hard conversation with the Winchesters.
Amber waited patiently for the electric tea kettle to heat up. Having already gotten out the small sieve for the loose tea Jody favored, along with Jody's favorite mug, she leaned on the kitchen island, watching the bubbles forming as the water reached its boiling point. The sound of the garage door opening surprised her and she half-jumped to see who had entered.
"Hey, there!" Alex greeted her. The girl's smile quickly vanished as she noticed Amber's expression.
"What's wrong?" She immediately asked.
"Uh… It's Claire…" Amber started, but was cut off by the frustrated sigh Alex let out.
"What did she do this time? Where's Jody?"
"Jody's in the living room. Hey, Alex? She's really upset. Just…don't make this worse with snarky remarks, alright?"
Alex raised an eyebrow, watching Amber pouring hot water from the kettle over the loose tea. In taking such extra care to make Jody's tea Amber felt she was taking extra care of Jody.
"Don't you think I'd know how to act around Jody when Claire is pulling crap? Besides, you're mixing me up with little miss sunshine, don't you think?"
Amber regarded the girl as she contemplated if she should answer truthfully to that or not. Deciding that creating even more tension would be pointless she simply nodded.
"You're right. Sorry. Sam and Dean are bringing her back."
"That bad?" Alex commented in a lighter tone.
"Yeah… Do you want to take this to Jody? Talk with her a bit? I need to get some coffee ready. I'm sure Sam and Dean will need it."
Seeing an opportunity to help Jody, Alex nodded and picked up the brewing tea, cradling the mug in her hands. How many times had she been in the position to comfort Jody because Claire pulled some sort of dangerous stunt? It had been countless times.
Walking into the living room, Alex was met by the sight of Jody, red-eyed and red-nosed, but looking sober with a dangerous sort of calm surrounding her. Sitting on the couch, Jody could have been sitting in a courtroom and she would have looked the same...wrung out and a subtle air of absolute. Huh...this was new.
This glint of absolute in Jody's eyes threw her a bit. Usually it was defeat and resignation, but at this moment Alex saw the results of Jody having made a decision. She'd had nothing more to lose in this game of persuasion with Claire and everything left to lose if she didn't change tactics.
Breaking this silent moment, Alex extended the mug in her hand, "Amber made you some tea."
Looking at Alex for the first time since she entered the living room, Jody looked at her and corrected her face, hiding her recent turmoil, and offering a small smile.
"Hey, Alex. Thank you."
Placing the hot mug into Jody's hands Alex took a seat on the couch next to her.
"So, Claire got herself into trouble again."
This was a statement, not a question.
"Yes. Dean and Sam are bringing her back here. She, ah...she was hunting demons. The boys happened to be on the same hunt and saved her ass. She would have been killed."
Alex felt the weight of these last words. It wasn't the first time they had been said about Claire. But they still carried the same air of fear and uncertainty. Alex used to get so sad at first… But as the number of times these episodes repeated themselves, she had become numb to it. Resigned was more like it and the numbness a measure of protection against the inevitable. Much as Jody had done.
Just then they heard the approach and increasing closeness of a V-8 engine, with it pulling up in front of their house. Hearing this, too, Jody shifted into Sheriff mode. Setting down the tea she felt like she was preparing for war. She and Alex got to their feet and walked to the hallway at the same time Amber did. The three of them heard the engine cut off and then Claire's protest. This shouting in this familiar voice continued followed by the sound of a car door being slammed loudly.
"Dammit Dean, these cuffs are hurting my 'em off! We're home, where do you think I'm gonna go?"
The sound of struggling was heard. Another loud car door slamming shut punctuated this overheard saga.
"Fuck, De…" and then the sound of more struggle and an abrupt interference to Claire's protests. Jody's front door opened fast and Dean stepped in, dipping slightly as he had Claire over his shoulder again. It was the quickest way to get her to cooperate with the least amount of wasted energy and damage to either of them.
Driving up the street and parking in the driveway, Sam got out of the blue SUV, his face grim as he watched the back of Dean enter the front door, the top half of Claire dangling from over his shoulder. He hastened to catch up with them. Gaining distance, Sam pulled up the rear, falling in behind Dean and stepping inside Jody's front door, closing it behind himself...and entering into the eye of the storm.
Setting Claire on her feet, Dean maintained a hold on her shoulders with both hands, keeping her face turned towards his own.
"We're far from done here," he informed her grimly.
Alex and Amber were stunned by this entrance and Dean's obvious anger.
Seeing Claire alive and whole, Jody reached her in two long strides, getting in front of Dean and crushing her in an embrace. Jody held Claire tight and started to cry. Initially stiff with her own frustration and upset, Claire heard Jody's sobs and her face changed to distress at the woman's response.
Amber felt her heart clench and her stomach tighten. Oh god, how could Claire do this to Jody? She hated that she had a share of responsibility in this. In the state Jody was in. Had she let her know of Claire's plans they'd have gotten to Claire earlier. Before she got herself in danger. Hating how torn she felt between guilt and loyalty to her friend, Amber took a step backwards and watched the scene in front of her from the sidelines.
Claire wrapped her arms around Jody, and tried to comfort her. "I'm fine. Jody! Hey, Jody I'm fine. I'm…" and that was as far as she got.
Breaking away from Claire, tears still streaming down her face, Jody summoned her hardest sheriff's tone, a tone she rarely used at home.
"Oh you're fine? You're FINE?! Well, guess what, Claire, I'm not! You are killing me! Every time you do this, every time you put your life on the line like this, I think I'm going to lose you. You're killing me and I can't seem to get through to you just how precious your life is, how precious you are to me! I can't do this anymore. I can't take this! I Just can't!"
Jody had ground out this statement loudly, leveling Claire with a glare. Claire felt the wind taken out of her. Whatever protest was rising up now sank.
Thick silence. Not a person in the room spoke. Claire's own mouth dipped open, stunned and mute. This wasn't the first time she found herself in this situation. Confronted by Jody for some solo hunting act. But this was the first time the woman's reaction was this emotional. This intense. Her words cut Claire deeply and made her stomach churn in uncertainty. Jody couldn't do this anymore? What did that mean? Had she managed to get herself kicked out?
Puncturing this vacuum, Dean intervened and placed a hand on Jody's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Turning her head to look at him, Jody met his eyes and there was a silent understanding.
Turning back to Claire, Jody's eyes took on a decisive absolute Claire had never seen before.
"Living room. Now! You're going to sit down and you're going to listen."
Seeing this as a family matter, Sam made eye contact with Dean and Amber, motioning for them to head into the kitchen. Unconsciously placing a protective hand on Amber's shoulder, Dean guided her along as the three of them headed for the kitchen.
"No, stay. Dean, Sam...you stay. Amber, you head upstairs and finish your paper."
Amber felt a wave of concern wash over her. What would happen when her brothers found out about that? And what would Claire say about the night at the cemetery? This momentary hesitation caused Jody to repeat herself.
"Amber, please head on up and finish now," was Jody's firm tone, turning her head slightly to make eye contact with the girl.
Exchanging looks, the brothers wondered what this paper business was all about, but this could wait. They were feeling left out of something while being folded into something else.
Amber was already heading for the stairs before Jody had thrown that glance, the brothers watching this meaningful exchange. Remaining in control of Claire, Jody kept her hands on her forearms as she turned to face her again, watching for understanding and compliance.
Throwing a glance up at Dean, Claire regained some opposition.
"Dean doesn't have to stay. I don't want him here."
"Yes he does. Sam and Dean need to be here because they need to hear what comes next."
Alarm on her face, Claire's mouth opened to protest again when Dean stepped forward, towering behind Jody. It was pure intimidation. Normally Claire ignored or baited Dean, feeling immune to all repercussions, but something was different now. She could feel it and she had no means of overcoming it. Closing her mouth, Claire just walked into the living room, as Jody had instructed and sat down on the armchair. Arms crossed over her chest, jaw clenched, and eyes looking stubbornly away from everyone, she radiated frustration and defiance.
Jody, looking back to Dean and Sam, indicated they should take a seat. Alex, watching this, decided she'd stay. This concerned her, as well. And she was so angry that Claire had no regard for how she affected Jody, if retribution was coming, she wanted to witness it. She felt Jody had reached a breaking point and was finally ready to take some serious action with Claire. Maybe, just maybe, this time things could finally change.
Silently leaning against a wall, Alex was ignored and this suited her fine. Her own arms crossed, she waited and watched.
When both Winchesters sat on the couch Jody started pacing around the room trying to put her thoughts into order. She was so upset that she could barely think straight, but it was imperative she got her act together. Claire wasn't one to go down without a fight and Jody needed to be ready to tackle everything she threw her way. When her eyes fell on the wine bottle she had found that morning at the cemetery, currently placed on the wall-shelf near the fireplace, she decided to start with that.
Grabbing it she slammed it down on the center of the coffee table. Years of experience in handling evidence during interrogation, she used just the right amount of force. Enough to cause noise and make Claire jump a bit, but not enough to break it. She watched Claire glancing at the bottle and then looking away once again, remaining silent.
"Any guesses on where I found this, Claire?" Jody asked in a curt tone.
"Dosey's liquor-mart?"
Glaring at the blonde's sarcasm, Jody remained stony faced and simply let her own words hang in the air. Dean, with a serious expression, looked to Sam, then Alex for any sort of clarity about what was going down in front of them. Meeting only a shrug from each, he turned back to the drama unfolding.
"You know, I thought we had enough spectators as it is, but if you're not willing to talk I can certainly call Kyle. I'm sure he wouldn't mind coming over, telling me what happened last night at the cemetery."
Sam turned to look at Dean, surprised to hear Kyle's name mentioned. What did he have to do with anything? Dean's own expression turned to bewilderment as he peered at Claire expectantly.
Claire stiffened up at Jody's words. Her eyes spotted Dean's reaction and she was reminded of the warning text Amber had sent her a few hours ago. Not wishing for Amber to also get drug into this she let out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine… I drank your wine and went for a drive up to the cemetery. It's not like I knew there'd be demons up there! They ambushed me, alright? And Kyle happened to be in the area and helped me tackle them."
"You drank and drove?" Incredulous, Jody's voice lifted as her eyebrows lifted her voice growing higher in pitch.
"You drank and drove? Claire..I can't believe you did this!"
Shaking her head and wrapping her arms around herself even more, Jody resumed her pacing of the floor, hands steepled around her mouth in contemplation, eyes wide with the implications of this.
"And you faced demons while intoxicated?" This was said in a strong pitch of fear and disbelief.
"It's not like I was wasted, Jody… It was just wine…" Claire said in an agitated tone. "And I didn't plan on facing them… They happened upon me, remember?"
"Which is exactly why you can't afford being out and about drunk off your ass," Dean chimed in, his tone thunderous. He received a glare from Sam for intervening, but frankly, he couldn't help it anymore.
"Says the barely functioning alcoholic," Claire quipped without missing a beat.
"Oh, no you don't, young lady! You don't get to turn this around onto anyone else," was Jody's response.
"How many demons were there?" Jody then asked.
Claire's brain raced. What kind of question was that? With everyone's gazes trained on her she couldn't afford to think this over too long.
"Two."
"Male? Female?" Jody kept asking.
"They were demons, Jody! And they're gone! Why on earth does this matter?"
"Answer my question, Claire!"
"Men," Claire answered with an annoyed huff. "They were both men. One of them was the god damn tavern bouncer from the other night…"
Sam and Dean's eyes enlarged at that. They looked at each other in shock. There was a demon in that tavern? There was a demon watching their sister perform? Possibly knowing who she was? Dean felt his stomach churning with worry and uncertainty. How the hell had they not realized something was off? Could the guy be possessed later? After they left?
"So it was you, Kyle, and two demons up there? Nobody else?" Jody kept questioning, tone hard.
Sam and Dean exchanged looks again. The same thought passed their minds. Had Amber followed Claire?
Claire's brain kicking into gear she realized where this was heading. Jody was a sheriff. And a damn good one. Of course she'd have searched the scene inch by inch after spotting that bottle of wine. She'd know there were five people on that hill. Hell, even she would be able to tell this much had she been up there this morning. "There was a third demon who managed to zap away when Kyle showed up. She was in a female vessel."
Relief washing over the brothers they turned to look at Jody, who was studying Claire intently.
"And you didn't think you should let me know demons made an appearance in town?"
Outrage faltering a bit, Claire was caught. She would have let Jody know if she didn't have anything to hide. Her momentary silence spoke volumes to the adults in the room.
"So, you plan on hunting and not sharing vital information with others, especially the local law which also happens to hunt? This is how you will proceed as a hunter in the future?"
Jody was ranting at this point. All she could see was a future of Claire poisoning every cooperative relationship and hunting with poorly thought out actions. Claire getting killed. Oh god, this was going to end Claire's life slowly and painfully while taking others down with her.
"You're making too much out of this!" Claire erupted.
"For crying out loud, I didn't plan or pursue this! It happened! And no, I didn't call, 'cause I knew you'd pitch a fit for having drunk some wine and for going up there alone in the middle of the night! Kyle was there too, I figured he'd call you, which by the way, he did! So why are we still discussing this?"
"We're discussing this because I refuse to keep enabling you to do this. Because at seventeen you should know better than drinking and driving, or keeping things from me just to avoid getting into trouble!"
Jody's face had morphed into the decisive expression that Alex had encountered earlier.
"We're discussing this, because not twenty four hours after that experience you went head first into a hunt you had little to no intel about and almost got yourself killed! And I can't seem to stop you from hunting, or stop you from continuously risking your life..so I'm not going to keep doing this."
"I'm a fucking hunter, Jody!" Claire yelled back. "Risk of death is part of the job! You should know this! I don't get why you keep babying me and overreacting about the risks that come with this job!"
"I'm not overreacting over hunting and its perils, Claire! I've been quite obviously underreacting for a long time now, to your refusal to see how incredibly careless you are! Going to face four demons alone with as little experience as you have is a suicide mission! And it's not the first time you've done this!"
Jody was openly yelling at this point, cheeks flushed and hands flailing in frustration.
"And it won't be the last!" Claire yelled right back.
"The more you coddle me, the less experience I'm getting! How the hell am I supposed to become good at this when you keep me from hunting?"
Jody stared back at the girl incredulously.
"I've set out rules, Claire! You can hunt, as long as you're with me! It's your decision not to do this, not mine! You opt to defy those rules, to undermine me and go head-first into life-threatening situations no matter what."
Claire didn't have an answer to this. She clenched her jaw in frustration as she looked away from the woman. It was true that she hadn't followed those rules in more than two years now. But that was because the one time she did, Jody kept interfering and didn't let her do much. After that Claire had decided there was little point in wasting time with the woman's method. She'd tag along whenever Jody asked her to in cases she found, but those Claire found on her own, she tackled them on her own.
Jody shook her head as she stared at the silent girl. She took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm down before she spoke again.
"This stops today, Claire. I refuse to go through this again. I've done enough damage as it is, letting things slide and not being firmer with you. But I see now where this is leading you."
Claire turned bewildered eyes at the woman. She didn't like the sound of any of that. What the hell was she talking about? When she watched Jody turning to the Winchesters, she felt her stomach dropping to her feet. A horrible suspicion of where this was headed formed in her mind… And she didn't like it at all. She hated it and anything to do with it.
Dean and Sam had been mute throughout this whole confrontation and they now understood where Jody was heading with this and why she wanted them present. Dean remembered his offer to have Jody send Claire over to the bunker. It hadn't been an idle threat.
Dean had meant it.
Seeing his que, Dean spoke up. "Jody, you send Claire over to the bunker. I agree it's high time she had some discipline and training in her life. Sam and I will train her like we're training Amber. But...we'll discipline her like we discipline Amber, too. This is non-negotiable. It's part of the training. Take it or leave it."
Claire's eyes widened. "What! Are fucking kidding me?
Every set of eyes in the room silently turned to meet her. It was a grim fortelling.
"Jody, you've got to be kidding!"
When not a single voice responded to this, Claire felt the walls closing in on her.
"I'm not, Claire. I've given you more than your fair share of opportunities. I've done everything I could, everything I could think of to handle this, to help you. It's evident I failed. But I won't let this failure lead to your very premature death. No way in hell. You'll go with the boys to the bunker. Maybe a month of intense training there will freshen up your perspective on hunting and how one goes about it."
A month? The bunker? "No way in hell!" Claire all but screamed.
"This isn't negotiable, Claire. You're under my care, and these are the consequences of your own actions. See this as the opportunity that it is. You'll learn a lot from these two. As for how pleasant or not your stay over there will be… That's in your own hands."
"You can't make me. I refuse and you know you can't make me," was Claire's counter argument.
Jody, anticipating this, dropped down to eye level with Claire.
"No, I can't. Nor do I want to. This is not a power-play, Claire. Nobody can make you do anything. Like everything else in life, this is a choice. I hope that you will choose to go. Because if you don't, you're out today...right now. I can't take this and I refuse to continue to be part of your death."
Jody wasn't used to throwing down such ultimatums, but she simply had to take a hard stand at how this would continue to affect her and how this would shape Claire's future. Seeing the look on Claire's face she added, "This is the last thing I want for you, seeing you out of here. You're family to me, Claire. But having your death on my hands… I can't do this anymore. I've lost one child already. I refuse to lose a second. It would kill me."
This last part was delivered with such heart-wrenching pain Jody began to sob, bringing her hands up to her face hiding her overwhelmed emotion.
Claire found herself unable to rebel against this woman's tears, pain, and grief. She found herself pushed into a corner. Her constant leverage with Jody had always been the running away card. But right now, she was faced with the decision of either submitting to the imposed sentence or being kicked out. Running away was an impotent threat. And if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want to be kicked out or run away. She loved Jody, and she liked living with her. She had grown to care for Alex, too. They had a family thing going here. And she couldn't help but feel hurt that Jody even considered kicking her out. She knew she had pushed the woman to her limits. There was no arguing this. Sitting on the couch, Claire frantically turned this all over..her mind feeling off kilter with the suddenness of it.
Sam, sensing Claire's powerlessness, decided to make a point.
"Claire, you would get the same training as Amber and she's shaping up into a good hunter."
Sam watched her face as he said these words. He couldn't tell how this was sitting with her, but she was listening. That was something.
"The biggest takeaway from this is that you will have the best foundation you could possibly have for a future in hunting. This is an opportunity you really want. Amber fought this at first, but she has found so much benefit for herself that will last her a lifetime. She's told you about her training, right?" Sam asked.
Claire did remember hearing Amber talking about going on a hunt with the Winchesters...and it was only after a few weeks of training. She'd been impressed...and surprised. She remembered her friend's description of lore studying, of the bunker's facilities and all the cool things she got to learn next to Sam and Dean. Starting to actually consider this, Claire's mind was calming down. She still hated the idea of actually giving up control of the situation and comply with Jody's consequences. But she had to admit the deal didn't sound so bad.
Jody spoke up next, her tone thick with emotion. "This is not a mere punishment, Claire. This is not retribution. This is a chance to get better, stronger, smarter. To prove that you're the mature person you claim to be. You have the choice to rise above your frustration and defiance and gain some concrete skills. You claim hunting is the only thing you want to do with your life…"
"It is," Claire interjected heatedly.
"Is it?" Jody countered emphatically. "Because so far the way you're going about it shows that all you crave is adrenaline-induced highs. If hunting is all you want, here's your chance. Choose to act as an adult and accept the consequences of your actions. Train with the best, learn from the best, start thinking before you're acting, and you might stand a chance of reaching your thirtieth birthday."
Claire felt she was losing the battle. Jody's words hit her hard. Did she really act so carelessly? She'd just dismissed everyone who ever claimed that, but right now, confronted by everyone like this, remembering Amber's and Kyle's words from last night... She wouldn't admit this of course but for the first time since she was sucked in this hunting life, she felt she might -just might- be in the wrong. Could she really turn her back to this? But then again could she survive a month with the Winchesters? She felt her head aching with the pressure of this decision.
"Jody… Look, I don't wanna leave, but… Please… If you give me just one more chance…"
"This is your chance, Claire," Jody answered seriously. Reaching a hand to clasp the girl's knee she looked at her almost pleadingly, "Please, please take it."
Claire saw the broken look in Jody's eyes and heard the catch in her voice. It was starting to actually dawn on Claire that Jody truly cared about her...and had been suffering because of this. It was a crack in her wall...that she had pushed Jody to the brink.
The blonde was warming to the idea. Dean was a dick, but the man was a legend...and so was Sam. She would be trained by such highly-skilled hunters, she was sure to get even better. In her mind she was already a skilled hunter. A bit careless… Yeah, sure. But skilled nonetheless.
The three adults could see the shift in her attitude. They could tell they were getting somewhere. Only Alex remained unconvinced. Still leaning against the wall, unobserved, she had witnessed many versions of this, none with such high stacks mind you. If Claire did go..well...she would believe it when she saw it. She felt this could be an act. It wouldn't be the first time...and she knew Jody thought this, too.
After Jody's strong plea the room had been silent.
Sam, sensing Claire's shift, considered what he knew and what he had surmised about her motives and personality. It was clear as day that Claire believed in her skills. She was adamant there wasn't much left for her to learn. Such was the self-delusion of the young. They already know so much...outside consideration is unnecessary.
And while this was part of the problem, it could very well serve as their trojan horse.
Pacing with her, he began, "Claire, you have a goal of being a hunter," and here he quickly corrected himself in response to Claire's glare. "Of being an even better hunter…"
Dean was agitated by this statement. Sam felt it, and it could derail everything. Forcefully pressing his knee hard against Dean's own, Dean's rising ire collapsed with this remonstrance.
Continuing, Sam refocused Claire.
"Same as you're studying Anthropology as a means of expanding your hunting skills...and you practice your holds and take-downs...training with us would boost your practical skills to an unprecedented level."
When the girl only looked back at him, he continued.
"We'll train you on tactics, lore, firearms, incantations and...our other methods...," here Sam was thinking about his computer hacking and counterfeiting skills.
"You'd, well...you would reach levels of skill almost unattainable any other way. Claire, you'd become phenomenal. How do you plan on doing all of this on your own and at this high of a level?"
Now it was the girl's turn to respond, but defiance was still Claire's modus operandi. "Claire? How will you do all of this? What's your plan?"
Sam's tone was still calm, but was acquiring a slight edge to it.
At her stubborn silence he only pressed on, "Claire...how will you do this?"
Sam wasn't going to back down and Claire needed to respond to the question. If she wouldn't participate in this exchange there was no point in any of this.
Claire agreed with Sam, what they were offering was powerful. She couldn't think of a faster way, but she wasn't going to let Dean know this. If she did, then he'd hold it over her. Then he'd be right. Shit!
Jody stepped in. " Claire, honey, this is it. This is your one and only chance. You have to choose and you have to choose now. Are you going to figure this all out on your own, couch surfing with your friends, or are you going to take this golden opportunity? This is something every hunter I know would've sold a kidney to have."
The pressure was real and the fallout was substantial. Claire knew it..and was coming around.
When she spoke her tone was tight and her cheeks flushed with the embarrassment of defeat.
"OK. I'll go to the bunker, but I have some conditions…"
Dean finally stepped in. "No. No conditions, no nothing. It's our way or we're not doing this. You got that?"
Sam and Jody cringed a bit. This wasn't helpful, but they understood the need for this fact to be stated. Part of what Claire was going to learn was that she wouldn't always be in control. That she had to learn to follow and obey before she learned to lead.
When Dean spoke again, his tone was calmer.
"Claire, you've seen how well Amber is doing. You'd fit right in, with, ah,...with your IP classes…"
"AP classes," Claire corrected.
"Whatever. The point is you take it or leave it. I recommend you take it... and learn it. That's the whole point. I'm done here."
Claire frowned at Dean's ultimatum. He was such a dick!
After a full minute of silent waiting, Dean turned to Sam and used a tactic he thought would be a bit of a 'Hail Mary.'
"Come on Sam, she's not going to do this...and we need to get Amber back to the bunker."
Turning to look towards the upstairs, Dean shouted, "Amber, get your stuff. We're leaving!"
Jody looked down at the floor, the saddest face Claire had ever seen on her, and watched her face cloud up, tears welling up and one started trailing down her face. Jody didn't try to hide it. Sam, feeling her despair, put an arm around her shoulders, causing this strong woman to cover her face with her right hand and sob. Deep loss, and the threat of more loss, wracked her heart and body.
Everyone was ignoring Claire. They were acting as if it was decided and Claire was certainly making it appear as if she had. Looking at Jody, she felt her grief and despair. Pulling herself out of the moment she scanned the rest of the room, a wide-eyed, lost look on her face. Dean was moving up the stairs to get Amber, Sam was hugging Jody and speaking closely to her...and she couldn't take it anymore.
"Alright! I'll go. I'll go! Dammit," she finally yelled.
Claire felt the crux of the moment and it was good that she did. Despite Dean's last ditch effort to push Claire to make this her decision, he and everyone else, they'd all meant every word.
Dean turned around and leveled Claire with a look.
"Don't do this if you're going to change your mind in a week. You're in or you're out."
Dean's tone was uncompromising and final.
"You do this and we'll start your training just like we did Amber's. You break your word or the rules, you'll feel my wrath, just like Amber. Comprendo?"
Dean let his words hang in the air. He ment this and she had to know this.
"So, what's it gonna be?"
Jody and Sam stood still. This was it. Tears rolled down Jody's face. She couldn't imagine Claire really agreeing to this and was anticipating her refusal...even after all this.
Claire saw this and her heart felt like it was in a vice. Augh! This was so unfair.
"Yes! OK, yes. Let's just go. I can't take this anymore. Jesus Christ!
Dean insisted, "You agree with everything I said?"
"Yeees. Jesus, we just went over this," was Claire's snarky, whiny response.
Dean merely nodded with affirmation, his mouth fixed in a frown of concentration, before he turned to Jody.
"Jody, you cool with this?"
Jody couldn't quite believe this had happened. With Claire's track record of about fifty percent compliance to rules and keeping promises, she was cautious of any sort of hope. Wiping at her face, Jody looked awful. Red, puffy eyes; red, runny nose; sad expression. Her head was a turmoil of worry, sadness, and glimmers of hope. She was thankful that Claire had taken up their offer, but the uncertainty of whether or not she'd actually see this through was weighing down on this relief. Then, a part of her dreaded the girl's reaction after all this was over. What if Claire hated her for putting her in this position? For telling her she'd have to leave if she didn't comply?
Claire saw sadness. This fear. Jody looked the same as before she'd agree to training at the bunker. This both perplexed her and pissed her off. She was going, goddammit! Shouldn't Jody be happy? Standing up, Claire walked over to the woman. After a hesitant second she hugged her, tight and intense. Jody clung onto the girl, silent tears trailing down her cheeks. Claire's own eyes welled up and she shed a few tears of her own, letting some of the tension finally go. Jody just wrapped her arms around her, stroking her golden hair and gently rocking her in their embrace.
Alex was quietly watching all of this, expression neutral. She fully expected Claire to break her word. She usually did.
"Please don't be sad.. I'm sorry for putting you through this today. And I'm going, alright? I'm going. Just, please… Stop crying," Claire practically whispered to the woman's ear.
"I will. I just need a minute," Jody managed to answer. The small smile that formed on her face somehow made her look sadder than before.
"You go pack, alright? I'll come help in a few minutes and I promise I will have it together by then."
With a small nod, Claire managed to let go of the woman and rushed out of the living room, running up the stairs. Sensing that the adults in the room wanted their privacy, Alex waited a few seconds before following behind Claire, while keeping her distance.
Thick silence followed the girls' departure. Jody remained looking towards the staircase, while Sam and Dean exchanged glances of uncertainty. Now what? Sam cleared his throat and was ready to break the ice, but never got the chance.
Jody turned on her heels and faced both of them, finger up to her lips to indicate they shouldn't speak. When she got them out of the way she turned with apologetic eyes to the Winchesters.
"Boys, I am so, so sorry! I don't know what I could possibly say. You trusted me with Amber and all hell broke loose with Claire… Instead of taking some time off for yourselves you ended up having to pick up my slack…"
"Jody, don't be silly," Sam said with a shake of his head. "None of this is on you…"
"Every single thing of this is on me, Sam!" Jody countered strongly.
"I screwed up with Claire. I tried, I really did, but I quite obviously failed. And now…handing her off to you like this, without even asking first...:"
"I believe I have volunteered this more than once in the past, Jody," Dean reminded her. "And you didn't fail us with Amber. Quite the opposite. Amber stayed behind. A couple weeks back, she'd have jump at a chance to follow Claire into this suicide mission. And yet she stayed back. She stayed safe. Not only today, but last night, too."
"You don't know everything about last night," Jody said with a tired shake of her head.
At Sam and Dean's questioning looks the woman explained in a guilt-ridden voice, "Amber didn't join Claire at her joyride, thank God, but she did join her for the drinking part."
Dean's eyebrows furrowed a bit at this bit of information, but he managed to prioritise. Right now his friend needed him.
"Yeah, well, I'm not thrilled that happened, but that's not on you either, Jody. That's on Amber. She knows she's not allowed to drink without permission. She's the one who broke a rule. You were a last-minute case, what else could you have done?"
"Let you guys know," Jody said, apologetically.
"To be honest, had you told us you wouldn't be around to watch the girls, we'd probably have come and taken Amber home that same day. But that wouldn't necessarily be better. Amber would throw a fit and quite possibly act up in some pretty serious way as a reaction. Yet, Amber ended up staying safe. Choosing to stay safe. And we were around and able to help Claire," Sam reasoned.
Jody sent him a thankful smile. Part of her saw his reasoning, part of her didn't think this as anything other than an attempt to make her feel better. Her eyes traveled to Dean. He stood a few feet away looking serious, but not pissed.
"Look, I know where your head's at right now. You're blaming everything on yourself, right? Claire and Amber's crap, that ain't yours. It's theirs. I used to do this with Sammy all the time. Trying to take the blame, trying to take the heat from dad whenever he'd screwed up… You can't keep doing this Jody. What are we teaching them by making their shit our responsibility?"
Sam looked at his brother, honestly impressed. He had to give him more credit than he did. His grasp on this was very accurate and very right.
"Dean's right, Jody. As much as we'd like to keep them safe from their own actions and their consequences, we can't. It's imperative they learn to take responsibility, to think before they act, to keep their word. It's not just about obedience, or safety… It's about being decent people who respect themselves and those around them."
Jody nodded but opted not to comment. She saw the truth in both mens' words, but she couldn't shake this deep-rooted feeling that she had screwed up with Claire.
"So… How much drinking are we talking about?" Dean asked, his tone turning grimmer.
"Two, maybe three wine bottles," Jody answered with a sigh.
"But Dean, I confronted her about this already. I've asked for a referenced five-page essay on the dangers of alcohol and its effects on health and development in teens. I know it's not your usual hands-on approach, but it came from me and that alone had quite the effect on her. Not to mention how worried she was about you learning about this."
"She damn well better be worried," Dean grumbled.
"Dean, please don't make a big deal out of this," Jody tried again.
"It is a big deal, Jody…" Dean answered.
"Not so sure," Sam intervened.
Turning surprised eyes to his brother, Dean gaped at him.
"Well, Dean, do we really want to make a big deal out of the fact that she drank some alcohol, or about the fact that she actually did what she was supposed to for once? Thinking about her safety and not putting herself in danger?"
Dean considered Sam's words.
"So we just pretend this never happened? That doesn't sit well with me, Sam!"
"We don't let it slide completely… But we don't have to go…uh...full Winchester on her. We can scold her, talk about this, warn her this is not to happen again… And then focus on what she did right." Sam answered.
Jody watched this interaction silently. Seeing Dean looked unconvinced she tacked on, "I think what Sam suggests is a great approach, Dean." Turning to the now smiling Sam, she addressed him directly, "Amber's lucky to have such a level-headed and dedicated uncle in her life."
Sam offered a tight smile as a response to that. While he had gotten used to hearing Dean referred to as Amber's dad, he hadn't gotten used to himself being referred to as her uncle. For the millionth time since they met up with Jody the day of Asa's funeral, he wondered if not telling her the truth was the right decision.
"Fine," Dean said in a resigned tone.
It was partly because he was too tired and drained to argue, partly because he had to admit Sam and Jody had a point. Amber's decisions regarding her safety were the right ones after all. Maybe honey would catch more flies in this instance. Damn, he was getting soft.
With that out of the way, and finally some privacy from the teen scene, Dean addressed Jody next. "Jody, I just wanna make something clear…Make sure we're on the same page here. If Claire screws up we're going to hold her accountable. And that will most likely translate to tanning her ass."
He watched the woman's face grow a bit uncomfortable, but nodded nonetheless.
"I've gathered as much, Dean. And yes… I trust you. And I trust Sam to keep you from over-reacting over every little thing. Claire hasn't responded to anything else and I have pretty much tried every trick and approach in the book. Maybe you two will manage to get through to her. But you need to keep in mind that she's a hardass. She's stubborn and she's rebellious."
"We got one of those, too," Dean answered laconically.
Jody shook her head.
"No you don't. Amber's different in so many ways. You'll realize now that you'll have both of them around… God help you! I'm just saying, you won't get anywhere with her if you simply ride her over every misstep or misdemeanour. That's part of the plan, yes, but it won't work on its own."
Dean regarded her, his expression surprised and offended.
"What do you think we are? Psychos? I told you, Claire's gonna receive the same treatment Amber does. We're not simply punishing our... "
Halting just in time, he cleared his throat. Calming down his offended feelings and correcting his face, he started again.
"We're making sure she's happy and that she has as much fun as possible. Quality time, bonding crap, chick-flick moments, all that…"
Jody smiled at the man's words, feeling some relief. It's not that she doubted them, but she knew just how much Claire's personality could - and inevitably would - clash with his. She needed to hear all the things Dean said, or she wouldn't be able to live with herself. "I'm glad to hear this. I know Claire's gonna be in good hands." Her face settled into an open expression, eyes steady. Dean felt himself settling down, too.
Sam, watching this cautious withdrawal of force, regarded Jody. He considered her warning that these two girls were vastly different...and would respond differently to the same experience. Smiling to himself, Sam already understood this...and he'd keep an eye on all THREE of his charges. Stepping closer to Jody, Sam placed his hand on her shoulder.
"She will," Sam chimed in warmly.
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The light knock on her door made Claire look up from the open drawer she was peering in.
"C'min," she said in a clipped tone.
When she saw Jody entering she lowered her eyes back to the drawer as the woman stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
Jody watched the girl grabbing a couple of work-out clothes and promptly turning to stuff them in an open duffel bag that rested on top of her messy bed. Not bearing the lingering silence, she cleared her throat, "You got everything you'll need?"
"Mostly. I'm guessing inmate uniforms will be provided by Dumb and Dumber," the girl answered, keeping her eyes stubbornly away from the woman. Having finished with her clothes, she walked to her desk and started gathering her laptop, chargers, headphones, and a couple of half-read books.
"I'm gonna call your school tomorrow. Let them know there's been an emergency and you won't physically attend for about a month and arrange online attendance. I'll let you and Sam know of the specifics of your program once they give it to me."
"Fine."
Jody felt her stomach tightening at how cold and distant Claire looked.
Once the blonde had her backpack stuffed with her electronics and books, she zipped it up and glanced around her room making sure she wouldn't forget anything she might need with her. Her eyes fell on the framed picture of her parents on her nightstand. Turning to look at Jody for the first time since she entered her room she pointed a finger to the picture and asked, "Do I need to take that too?"
Jody's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Are you asking me?" She asked a bit hesitantly, not sure what to make out of such a question.
"Do you want it with you?"
"I do if I don't get to come back here again," Claire said impatiently.
Jody brow creased even more. "What on earth are you talking about? Of course you'll come back!"
"Will I? Cause you looked pretty hellbent on kicking me out if I didn't go along with this shit! And I get it, but I need to know, Jody! Do I need to pack everything?"
Claire's tone came out thick with emotion. Anger, annoyance, fear…
Fear. Jody's heart pounded in her chest as she walked the few steps to reach the girl. She gently took hold of Claire's hands and led her to her bed, sitting them both down.
Claire let the woman lead her there but averted her eyes. She wasn't in control of her emotional reactions and the last thing she needed right now was to appear weak.
"Claire, I need you to look at me. Look at me, honey."
Swallowing down the large lump that had formed in her throat, Claire slowly raised her eyes and braced herself.
"The only reason I got to the point of giving you that ultimatum is the very real risk of you getting yourself killed if you don't change your behavior and attitude regarding your safety and hunting. I don't want you out, Claire! Hell, I don't know what I would do had you not accepted going with the boys!"
Claire saw the truth in the woman's tone and words. She felt her shoulders relaxing the tiniest bit and managed to keep her gaze on the woman.
Jody saw that she was finally listening. Really listening, and continued. "I couldn't stand watching you keep running down that self-destructive road you were on, honey. I'm not writing you off and washing my hands of you. I'm sending you to my two most trusted friends to get some great training and return home a better hunter. A disciplined and careful hunter. A hunter who values and protects her safety and her life. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Claire hesitantly nodded. She did understand. Even though she hated it, she did understand.
"Claire, I love you very much. You're like a daughter to me. I wouldn't do anything to harm or hurt you. I'm trying to do the exact opposite here. Do you get that?"
"Yes," Claire whispered, eyes lowering to her hands.
"Sam and Dean are great men. They can be rough around the edges, especially Dean, but they've got so much to teach you. And they want to do this. But you have to let them. You have to mind them, Claire." At the girl's silence, Jody brought a gentle hand under Claire's chin and lifted it until their eyes met again.
"I mean it, Claire. You have to mind them. Abide by their rules. And you need to know I completely back them up in whatever consequences they decide to impose should you break their rules. Do you understand me?"
Claire gulped down uneasily at the serious edge the woman's tone had taken and at the meaning of her words. Part of her wanted to scream and fight this tooth and nail, but she knew this battle was lost. Jody's words just made her realize that. She didn't like to lose, but she knew how to. And the war wasn't over. Reminding herself how much she could take out of this situation made it possible to swallow down her pride and nod at Jody.
"I understand."
"Good," Jody said solemnly. Deciding they needed to move on and not wanting to say goodbye in a sour mood, she offered a warm smile to the girl and ran her hands over the smooth blonde locks.
"Have you finished packing? Got everything you need?"
"Yes," Claire murmured.
"Let's get downstairs then. I'm sure Amber will be ready too by now and the boys want to hit the road as soon as possible."
"Alex?" Claire asked, not really needing to elaborate for Jody to grasp what she meant.
"She's waiting downstairs to say goodbye."
Nodding, Claire took in a steadying breath and rose to her feet. She pulled her backpack over her right shoulder and gathered the duffel's straps in her left hand, before following Jody out of her room and down the stairs.
Seeing everyone in the living room waiting, she placed her bags near the front door before awkwardly walking into the silent living room.
Sam, who was sitting on the sofa between Dean and Amber, stood first and motioned with his head to his siblings to follow him.
"Let's go and load the car."
Dean got up and followed Sam, grabbing hold of Amber's bag on his way. Amber walked closely behind him before pausing in front of Jody. "I didn't quite finish up the essay," she said awkwardly, a blush blossoming on her cheeks. "But I emailed the file to myself and I'll finish up and send it to you first thing tomorrow."
Jody smiled affectionately at the girl and brought her in for a hug.
"I'll be waiting for it." Breaking the embrace she locked eyes with her and her smile only grew. "We'll arrange another visit as soon as possible, alright? Next time your stay will hopefully be less eventful for all of us."
Amber smiled back and placed a kiss on the woman's cheek. "Thanks, Jody. For everything."
The woman shook her head dismissively and nodded to the door, "Go help Sam and Dean and we'll be right out." She watched the brunette teen exiting the living room and then focused her attention on her own girls.
Alex was sitting on the arm of the armchair, arms crossed and expression neutral. She regarded Claire silently and waited for her to break the silence.
"So…" Claire said a bit awkwardly. "I guess you'll enjoy some peace and quiet for a while."
"Seems so," Alex sent back, her tone even and distant.
"Back to your boring lives before my shadow crossed your doorstep, right?" Claire added hoping to get a reaction out of the older girl by using Alex's own teasing words from a few weeks back.
"Like it's gonna last…" Alex mumbled.
"Alex!" Jody called out surprised.
"It's true," Alex shrugged. "It's not the first time she promises she'll cut the crap. It's not gonna be the first time she won't keep her word."
"Alex, C'mon! Don't be like this," Claire attempted.
"Why? So that you're just gonna make us hope again and then get back to your usual bullshit?" Alex countered. "I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it!"
"Alex, that's enough!" Jody chimed in. "You're being very inconsiderate. Claire really gets it this time. And she'll do her time and put in the work. Won't you Claire?"
"I will. I really will."
Shaking her head and letting out a sarcastic snort, Alex got to her feet.
"Right. And then we'll all live happily ever after." Moving to Claire, and despite her words she offered her a quick hug, which the blonde returned.
"Alex…"
Breaking the hug, Alex shook her head effectively silencing Claire. "No more promises. You say you're gonna go through with this? Fine. Good for you. But I won't believe it till
I see it. Try to stay alive."
With these words, the girl left the living room and started ascending the stairs.
"Alex!"
Jody called in an exasperated tone, but the brunette didn't look back.
"It's okay, Jody. I don't have the best track record," Claire said in what seemed like an indifferent tone.
"Let's not keep the others waiting." She couldn't believe it, but she was actually feeling eager to leave. Alex's cold shoulder and her own feelings of guilt and displeasure over her current predicament made her almost welcome the idea of a change of scenery.
Her bags already taken to the car by Sam and Dean, Claire only reached out to grab her coat, before exiting the house and walking to the Impala. Once there, she paused and turned to Jody. The two of them hugged one last time.
"Be good," Jody said, placing a kiss on the side of the blonde head.
"And you be safe," Claire shot back with a wink. No more words needed, she opened the back door and stepped inside. Amber was already sitting behind the driver's seat. The two of them exchanged a look but remained silent.
Jody moved to Sam who stood closest to her and hugged him tightly. Moving over to Dean she did the same. "Drive safe and give me a call when you arrive at the bunker."
"Will do," Dean nodded.
"Take care Jody," Sam said with a small smile.
"You too, boys," Jody returned and watched them getting inside the Impala.
Dean turned the key in the ignition and his eyes glanced at the rearview mirror. The image of both girls staring out their respective windows, large headphones on, and heads bobbing to the music playing from each of their phones, made Sam and Dean exchange a look.
Getting the car out of the driveway and onto the road, Dean shook his head and mumbled, "Off to the Winshecter school for smartass misfits."
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So, what do you think about Kyle? Did Jody and the Winchester boys feel canon and in character to you? Do you think Claire will keep Amber's secret? the tension is maddening, isn't it. Just you wait. We have so much more for y'all.
So, Will you please write us a review and tell us everything you felt, discovered, or enjoyed. How did this suprise you? What did you think of our character depictions? Did we miss the mark? Did you enjoy this " episode" of Supernatural and how we wrote Claire? How could we have made it better?
Come on dear readers, tell us in your review.
Each chapter now takes us over 40 hours of writing, ~1 month, with the two of us working across 2 continents in 2 different time zones. Give us some love! Leave us a review.
MarionLuth & LauWhisperer
