As windows rattled like crazy, doors were opening and shutting all over the Nightingale Manor while freezing cold winds filled up every room of the house. At the center of the craziness was Vera, with her long hair flying in all directions and her eyes glowing blue while her three sisters cowered before her rage.

Katherine held onto Dean both for warmth from the cold and also from fright, as Dean squinted through the powerful winds whipping at his face. He watched in awe at how powerful the young ghost girl seemed, and could hardly believe she was doing it to protect him.

"I'm sick of this," Vera spoke to her sisters, her voice soft but biting like a cold wind. "I have lived with you for years and I've let you get away with so much and I always looked the other way. I let you play your stupid jokes and smack me around and just constantly get away with it! When I heard new people were coming to this house I was excited for the first time in years! I didn't want to haunt them and scare them away like you do. You know why? Because I thought it would finally be a chance for me to make some actual friends! People who don't treat me like garbage like you always did! Well, it's not gonna happen in this house anymore! You wanna go mess with people outside these walls, go ahead. I can't stop you. But as long as you're inside these walls, you will follow MY rules, or you will get out of MY house! Do you hear me?!"

The sisters looked stunned and couldn't speak. She had never talked to them like that. They had always thought they could just walk all over her. "I, uh... maybe... we should just be leaving," Lena said in a small voice.

"Yeah, it's late and time for bed," Bertha said, yawning in a exaggerated way.

"We're really sorry," Stella said to Dean and Katherine. "It won't happen again."

"Good," Vera growled. Her eyes suddenly flashed and she raised a hand, and the three sisters all screamed as a powerful invisible force inside the house seemed to smack into them and send them all flying. They managed to stop themselves, but only because Vera hadn't put all her might into it. "Now go outside and think on what I've said for a good long time. You can sleep in the graveyard tonight. If you try to sneak in, believe me, I will know. Now beat it!"

The last three words sounded like a demon had spoke from how loud it was. The three ghosts gulped and huddled together like an exorcist had just walked into the house and threatened to send them all to the afterlife. Vera's eyes flashed and the three of them were blasted out of the house and into the sky outside. As soon as they were gone, the house stopped shaking, the winds calmed down, and the doors all stayed shut.

Vera sighed heavily as her whipping hair flowed down and looked normal again. She looked down at her hands with a sort of amazement. She'd known she could control the winds and objects in the house before, like when she scared away that horrible Kress lady. But she'd never used a power like the one she had just now. She finally looked down to see the family looking up at her, and slowly flew down to the family as Katherine helped Dean to his feet.

"I'm sorry," Vera said. "For everything. For scaring you, making you faint, and for my sisters." She looked at the expressions on their faces. "I know, this is really weird and I know you probably don't trust me after all that. If it means anything, I'll help you pack your stuff back up." She started to fly towards the bags on the floor dejectedly.

"Hold up," Dean said suddenly, making both Vera and Katherine look at him. He blushed a bit and looked at his mom. "I mean... should we really just go and leave things like this? Isn't this what we've been looking for?"

"Well, yes," Katherine said uncertainly. "But... after everything that happened, I'm not so sure. Those girls... your sisters, I believe?" She asked Vera, who nodded. "Can you really promise they won't cause trouble again, or hurt my son again?"

"Mom, I'm fine," Dean said with a guilty smile. "The only thing that really got hurt was my pride. I came to protect you, and well... that didn't turn out so well."

Katherine shook her head in amusement and hugged Dean close. "Well, either way, I don't like seeing my baby boy getting harassed and being unable to help," she said. "I'm also not fond of being chased by ghosts either."

"Well," Vera finally said, getting their attention. "That... um, outburst of mine has never happened before. In fact, I've never used my power that much before. It's been building up over the years, I guess. I think if I keep it up, I could stop them from causing trouble in this house again. I mean, I could just force them out if they didn't want to listen. But I'm sure they will. They're not evil, they're just... stupid. And they like to cause trouble because they're bored of being dead."

She gave them a small smile. "I can't ask you to stay, and I'd understand completely if you wanted to just leave. But well... I would really like it if you did stay, and I can promise that I'll protect you from my sisters and also help you with whatever you're trying to learn if I can."

Katherine looked thoughtful, still not entirely convinced. Dean looked at her. "Remember the deal we made, mom?" He asked with a smirk. "We'd stop if we didn't find anything ghostly around this house." He pointed at Vera. "Well?"

Katherine chuckled, hugging her son again and giving him a kiss on the cheek, which he wiped off with a roll of his eyes. "Well," Katherine said to Vera. "I guess there are some things we need to discuss, some rules to lay down, mostly for your sisters. And now that you've dealt with them that shouldn't be too hard... but I don't think we'll be going." She finished with a smile.

"R-really?" Vera asked, her natural giddiness returning. She looked at Dean. "E-even you want to stay? I mean, after everything they did? And... how I scared you?" She looked at the floor.

Dean smiled. "This work has pretty much been our lives for three years. Nearly three years of nothing but sounds that we couldn't identify. That's why we got freaked out at first. We've never actually seen a ghost like you. But now... there's a ghost girl right in front of us. Heck, a bunch of ghost girls literally came up and perved on me." The two of them giggled. "So this is pretty big for us. And I mean, now that you totally saved me, I'm not really scared anymore. No offense, of course."

"None taken! I'm too happy for that," Vera gushed, suddenly flying at him and throwing her arms around him. "Thank you!" Dean blushed and patted her on the back awkwardly.

"Well, don't let me get in the way," Katherine said with a laugh. Vera felt the sensation of a blush in her cheeks, even though it couldn't be seen, and she quickly hugged her and thanked her as well.

"I think we can get started on the questions and everything else in the morning," Katherine said with a yawn. "It's getting pretty late and I think both Dean and I are pretty exhausted after all this."

"That's an understatement," Dean said.

"Okay!" Vera said cheerfully, flying down to the bottom floor of the hall and surprising the two as she quickly started bringing all the remaining boxes and bags up the stairs and placing them in front of them. "You can just direct me to your rooms or wherever you want this stuff and I can take it for you!"

Katherine smiled. "Thank you, sweetie, but you really don't have to. I don't want you to be working for us."

"It's no trouble, really," Vera said as Katherine shook her head with a smile. "Okay... well, at least let me get your bags up here. Can't be easy bringing them up the stairs." She took off to do just that as both Katherine and Dean looked at each other and chuckled.

"You'll be okay in your own room?" Katherine asked. "Don't want to bunk with me at least for the time being?"

"Almost eighteen, mom," Dean laughed. "Besides, we have Vera protecting us. I think we can sleep soundly for tonight."

"Let's hope so," Katherine said, hugging Dean again. "I'm still gonna check on you every now and then, though. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"Come on..."

"Let me be a mom, sweetie," she said with a smile, turning him around. "Now go get ready for bed."

"Okay," he relented. "You too!"

"I will!"

Dean smiled as he walked down the hallway towards his new room. Honestly, he had no problem with his mom being protective of him. He just didn't want her to stress over nothing. But seeing the way she worried about him, checked on him, hugged him, and wanted to keep him safe made him feel good.

As the mother and son went their separate ways, Vera was watching silently from below in the hall. She smiled at their bond, but also felt sadness inside at the loss of such a bond. She found herself wondering who her own mother was, and if she had loved her as much as Katherine loved Dean.

After Vera finished bringing the bags up the stairs, she decided to check in on them. Of course, she flew in the direction of Dean's room first. When she arrived, she saw the room was empty. Confused, she made her way back into the hall, but then heard the sound of loudly running water in the hall one of the multiple bathrooms in the house. It was the shower, and she realized Dean must have gone in.

Suddenly, evil thoughts began to form in her head. He's in there... without clothes... I could totally go invisible and sneak in... She almost slapped herself. No, no, no. Stop that. That's a horrible breach of privacy and totally disrespectful! Don't be like Lena and the others!

Then the evil thought voice was back, like a devil-Vera on her shoulder. What he doesn't know won't hurt him! Then the good voice, like an angel-Vera. That's like saying that killing someone that nobody knows is okay since nobody knew them, stupid!

The evil voice responded. Oh, come on, that's going a little too far. We're not killing anybody. The good voice responded back. We're not spying on anybody while they shower either. No matter how amazing they must look. The evil voice responded again. Hehehe... I'll corrupt you sooner or later!

"Oh, shut up, me," Vera said to herself, deciding to wait patiently by floating backwards down the hallway, resting her head on her palms as she floated around.

It was kind of interesting how she felt when she thought of Dean, now that she really thought about it. Whenever he looked at her, she got this warm, feathery feeling somewhere inside of her that made her feel happy and shy, like a giggly school girl. She'd probably be blushing if she still had the ability to blush.

And that was just it. She was a ghost! It didn't make much sense to be attracted to boys or anybody really. It was like blushing, sleeping, eating, and other human things. Vera either couldn't or didn't need to do any of that anymore. After all, she was dead. But for some reason, it was like her mind remembered the way she used to be attracted to boys and she still felt the same feathery feelings in her stomach that she used to feel when Dean looked at her.

"Whoa," Vera said out loud, stopping suddenly. Did I just think about stuff I did when I was still alive? When's the last time that happened?

Come to think of it, she may not need to sleep, but she had managed to sleep before. It didn't relax her or make her comfortable, since she didn't think she had those feelings anymore. It just kind of happened. She was asleep and then she woke up in the morning. No dreams, no feeling rested. Just sleeping and waking up. It had been a weird occurrence and she had decided not to do it much anymore.

I wonder if... maybe they can help me remember my past... maybe give me some answers I've been looking for. I wonder...

Dean made his way out of the bathroom after showering and brushing his teeth. He walked back into his room in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts to sleep, his damp hair matted down cutely.

"Hey, welcome back!" Vera said, popping through the walls excitedly.

Dean jumped and gasped out loud, placing a hand on his chest as he was startled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Vera quickly apologized. "I was just kind of excited and I forgot that... well, you know, the whole ghost thing. I'm not used to this. I haven't exactly seen another person in years, much less had to talk to them and get to know them."

Dean chuckled. "It's okay. Just gave me a jump, that's all. I mean, obviously we don't have any experience with this kind of thing either. The only reason we didn't run out of the house screaming from you is because we've already been searching for ghosts all this time. I didn't even believe that strongly in ghosts as much as my mom did. And even my mom screamed and ran away at first." He laughed, making Vera giggle as well. "But as long as your sisters keep under control, I think we can handle this just fine. And I'd really like to get to know you too."

"That'd be great," Vera said with a smile. "Um, I guess you want to sleep first before all that?"

"Not really," Dean smirked. "I doubt me and my mom will get any sleep tonight after finally discovering some real ghosts. Thank God I don't have school tomorrow yet, I'd be falling asleep in first period." He went to ruffle through one of his bags and pulled out a notebook and a pencil. "How about giving me an exclusive first interview?" He asked excitedly.

Vera giggled. "Sounds like fun to me." She motioned to herself, showing that she was ready for questions. "Go ahead and ask anything you want from me. Oh, and let me just get this out of the way. I don't know anything about a next life or afterlife, another world, what's beyond this world, or anything like that. I have no memory of what happened when... well, when this happened to me. I just remember being this way. Nothing more. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you are on that subject." She shrugged.

Dean laughed, pretending to scratch something out on the paper. "Well, crap. There goes my first question!"

"Sorry!"

A moment of silence passed as Dean scribbled something down in his notepad, and then he nodded. "No, no, that's alright. Actually, that's an interesting piece of information on its own. Probably wouldn't be right to get the answers to life that easily anyway. Gotta be some stupid mystery to it, right? So... how long have you been here?"

"Good question. Well, one thing's for sure, I'm not of this era. Time is pretty much nonexistent when you're dead. You don't age and you're kinda... stuck. If I had to guess... maybe like a century?" She looked down at herself. "I'm just assuming, but I think this gown is what I wore when I died, so this is my image as a ghost. Unfortunately, it doesn't exactly say much. But compared to the clothes I've seen you and other living people wear, it looks like it'd be from a much older era."

"True," Dean said, making another note. "So, you're probably at or over a hundred years old?"

"Well, technically. You see, I have no memory of most of those years. No experiences. As the years go by, they keep vanishing, probably because nothing stands out. So I might have existed for a hundred years, but I'm not really that old. If that makes sense."

"Yeah, it does," Dean said with a comforting smile. "So... you're physical? You can interact with the physical world? And by that, I mean, how did I smack into that door earlier if you were holding onto me?"

Vera giggled. "Interacting with the physical doesn't just happen... I have to... will it to happen. It's like a trick I can do. Like..." She smiled and floated over to him, offering her hand. Dean took it a bit hesitantly.

"Whoa," he said with a shiver. "It's a little cold." He hadn't noticed it before, when she'd hugged him or taken his hand. But now he could focus on it. It was a bit like putting his hand outside on a cool winter day. It didn't sting or make him long for a blanket to wrap his hand in, but it was enough to make him shiver a little.

She giggled again as she pulled him up from the bed. "Yeah, sorry about that. Okay..." She suddenly flew right at him without warning, and Dean gasped, taking a step back as she passed right through him. He shivered again, feeling like he had just stepped out of the shower again.

"Wow..."

Vera laughed. "Pretty cool, huh? I don't remember much, but I remember that at some point in my... well, afterlife, I had to learn to get used to that and train myself to become solid when I willed it. Don't really know why I did it, it just felt right. Now I can do it really quickly!" She flew back to him and placed a hand on his cheek. "See?" She relaxed herself and released the concentration, and her hand passed right through his face.

"Wow, Moaning Myrtle flashbacks," Dean said with a laugh, remembering a scene from the second Harry Potter movie.

"Moaning Myrtle?"

"Nevermind," he said.

"Were you making fun of me?" Vera asked, suddenly sad.

"No, not at all," Dean protested.

"Relax, I'm kidding," Vera grinned and gave his back a small slap, making Dean stumble forward a bit.

"Ah! Whoa..." Dean steadied himself, trying to hide his surprise. "Wow, you're pretty strong for..." He stopped before he said any more.

"For a tiny girl?" She asked, an amused smirk on her face. "It's okay, I know I'm pretty small."

"Sorry about that," Dean said sheepishly.

"Don't be," Vera said with a wink, suddenly floating through a surprised Dean, and Dean felt something catch his legs from behind, letting out a cry as he fell backwards. But then, he felt something stop him from falling, and then he was in the air. When he saw Vera's face above his own, he realized she had scooped him up, and was carrying him bridal-style.

"Took me months to perfect this," Vera explained to an awestruck Dean. "Being able to carry things is a bit different from just touching for some reason. I've tried and failed to carry really large objects, so I think this was my strength when I was alive, and my solid form 'remembers' this somehow. And since I don't get tired out like living people, it doesn't hurt or exhaust me. Neat, huh?"

"Totally," Dean said, continuing to scribble furiously in his notes, though he had a little trouble with the position he was in. "Wow... you must have been really strong in life."

"Or maybe you're just really light for a guy," Vera said with a smile, looking down at Dean. "Your mother carried you around too."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Dean muttered, blushing as Vera laughed. "I think my mom was operating on pure adrenaline at that point." He laughed along with her after saying that, and their laughter gently died down as everything went silent again, almost uncomfortably.

The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Huh... your eyes stayed their original color, I guess?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your eyes... they're green."

"Wow... really?"

"You've never noticed before?"

"I mean, I assumed, since my sisters also have colored eyes, but... well, look." She floated over to the dresser in the room, looking into the mirror on the dresser. "Check it out." Dean turned to look at the mirror, and to his surprise, he only saw himself seemingly floating in midair.

"Oh," Dean said softly. "So... you don't have a reflection."

"Nope," Vera said with a shrug, floating away from the mirror, with Dean still in her arms. Dean felt a bit strange being ferried around like this, though he didn't really mind it. Vera didn't even seem to realize she was doing it. "To be honest, I have no idea what I really look like. I don't see myself in mirrors, or water, or anything. Trust me, I've tried."

"Well, for whatever it's worth, you're a beautiful girl," Dean said, smiling.

There were those funny feelings again. "R-really?" Vera asked, trying not to let out a sheepish giggle as she stared down at him.

"Really," he said, nodding as they started to stare at each other for a second longer.

"Am I interrupting?" An amused Katherine asked as she peeked into the room.

Vera squeaked, and Dean fell through her hands to the floor with a crash. "Umf!"

"Oh my gosh, Dean! I'm sorry," Vera said, panicked, as she floated down to him. "You okay?"

"I'm all good," he said with a smile, wincing a little as he sat back up. "Didn't expect that."

"I see you were getting a headstart on research, Dean," Katherine said, walking into the room to help him up, gently brushing his clothes for dust. She then picked up his notebook and pencil, examining the notes he took. She gave him and Vera a teasing look. "You've never been this interested in our ghost studies before! Guess it helps when it's such a pretty girl, huh?"

"Mom," Dean groaned as Vera felt like she wanted to shrivel up and cross over to the next life at this moment.

"I'm kidding, kids, calm down," Katherine laughed.

"Kids?" Vera asked teasingly, putting her hands on her hips. "Who're you calling kid, young lady?"

Katherine burst out laughing. "Good point! Anyway, we can pick this up tomorrow. Dean, I want you in bed."

Dean sighed. "Only my mom can still be worried about me sleeping early when we've just discovered ghosts."

"I've always known they existed, honey," Katherine said with a wink at Vera. "This is an amazing find, but my world isn't going crazy right now. It's just more of an exciting time. Besides, we still have some other work to do tomorrow. Gotta sign you up at the new school, remember?"

Vera smiled at Katherine's casual nature. It was comforting to her that there wouldn't have to be a long period of adjustment for the family and her since they already had some experience with supernatural things. Not very much, of course, but still some.

"Now come on," Katherine ordered playfully, steering Dean towards the bed. "In you get!"

"Oh, god, don't tuck me in," Dean groaned as Vera laughed.

"In you get!" Katherine repeated as Dean laid down. Sure enough, she started to cover him with blankets and making sure he was tucked in. "Comfy?"

"Go away, mom," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"I love you, sweetie," she said, pecking his forehead.

"I love you too," he replied, giving Vera a "look what I have to deal with" look, making her giggle before closing his eyes.

Vera followed Katherine back out into the hallway as Katherine shut the door quietly. "If you're still worried, don't be," Vera reassured Katherine. "I'll keep him safe. I'll keep you both safe." She quickly corrected. "And I'll make sure my sisters don't get back into the house until they're ready to play nice."

"Hope so," Katherine said. "I'd like to work with them too at some point, if they can behave themselves."

"It might be hard," Vera admitted. "I mean, they don't like that you've managed to get ghosts to pass on, so they'll probably keep being hostile."

"All the more reason to try," Katherine said with a confident smile. "And wait... did you say we managed to get some ghosts to cross over?"

"Yeah, they told me about it when they returned to this house."

"Wow..." Katherine said, looking out a window at the sky. "All this time, I thought we just kept hitting dead ends." She looked at Vera. "I'll have to take some notes on this! Maybe some day, they'll give me the scoop on all the places we've cleared."

Vera giggled at her excitement at the idea of taking down notes. Like mother, like son.

"Thank you," Katherine said suddenly.

"For what?"

"For making Dean smile and act like he did around you," she replied. "I haven't seen him this excited and happy in a long time." She frowned a bit. "A lot of it is my fault. I always just assumed he was as into this little adventure we had going as I was. I never realized how lonely he was feeling. I feel awful about it. Last thing I ever wanted was to neglect the most important person in the world to me."

She looked at Vera, her face becoming a smile. "But on the bright side... look what my craziness brought us to," she said, motioning to Vera. "All Dean wanted was a friend instead of hunting down ghosts. But now he has a ghost friend. Life is weird sometimes, isn't it?"

Vera chuckled. "Very, very weird. But a good kind of weird."

"Definitely," Katherine agreed. "Definitely the good kind."