A/N: Ok, i've so got to get writing more. I'm catching up faster than I would like. Anyway, here's a little sibling bonding for you.
Xoxo
It was almost midnight, and Jessa was on the lounge in her favourite flannel with a packet of salted chips watching a terrible, and quite inaccurate, supernatural horror flick. She laughed at it as the protagonist let out a fake scream as the 'vampire' opened its mouth to reveal two obviously-fake fangs, as another character plunged a wooden stake into its back, causing it to disintegrate.
"Do people really believe this shit?" She asked out loud, flicking it to a different channel but finding only infomercials, so she returned it to the terrible horror movie. Apparently in the two minutes Jessa wasn't watching, two of the protagonist's friends had been killed, and now the remaining two characters were battling with a 'werewolf' that looked suspiciously like an Irish Wolfhound.
She was just about to give up on it and go to bed when she heard the sound of her lock being picked. Instinct taking over, she leapt from the couch and grabbed her gun from the kitchen counter. She planted her feet and trained the gun on the door as it creaked open. The only light was coming from the TV, and now the characters were in a graveyard so that light was dim. She couldn't quite make out the figures that were sneaking through the door, but she watched their silhouettes stiffen when she clicked the safety off.
One of the figures reached the light switch by the door, and the room lit up to reveal her brothers.
"Are you serious?" She lowered the gun. "What the hell are you two doing sneaking in? I could have shot you!"
"In all fairness, we figured you'd be asleep or away on a case." Sam tried to reason.
"Yeah, well call next time. Jeez."
"What are you even watching?" Dean criticised. "Do they realise how inaccurate it is?"
"I don't think movie produces care about the proper way to kill a vampire." Jessa told him.
Dean swung his legs over the back of the lounge and propped himself up against the cushions, sticking his hand into the bag of chips, "How'd they do it?" He asked with a mouthful.
"How do you think? Wooden stake."
"Seriously? What'd the Vamp do?"
"Turn to dust."
"Seriously? Amateurs." He laughed.
Sam sat down on the armchair and grabbed the chips from Dean, shoving a handful into his mouth.
"What are you guys doing here, anyway?" She asked.
"What? Can't we swing by to see our favourite sister?" Dean asked, trying his best to look offended.
"I'm your only sister."
"All the more reason to come round." When Jessa fixed him with the don't-give-me-any-shit look that she had perfected over the years he just shrugged and added, "We finished up a case nearby."
"Do you forget that we're twins, Dean? I know when you're lying."
"Dean was dying, I guess he got sentimental." Sam informed her, shooting her a soft look.
"What?"
"Nice one, dude."
"What do you mean you were dying?" She sat on the other end of the couch.
"It doesn't matter." Dean snapped, giving Sam a shut-the-hell-up-or-else look. "We dealt with it."
"How the hell do you deal with dying?"
"It doesn't matter!" Dean roared.
Jessa wanted to press, but she decided it was best not to. She would ask Sam about it later.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Jessa letting the news sink in. After a while she gave into her tiredness. "I'm going to bed." She told the boys, "Will you two still be here in the morning?"
"Possibly." Dean answered without looking away from the TV.
"Yes." Sam clarified, actually looking at her.
Jessa nodded and shut herself in her bedroom. It wasn't until she was on the verge of sleep that she realised she didn't have a place for the boys to sleep. Oh well.
When her alarm rudely pulled her from her dream state, Jessa climbed out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen. Her brothers were asleep in the same positions they were in last night, the TV still playing softly. With a chuckle, she flicked it off and resumed her morning ritual that consisted of coffee, shower, more coffee, getting ready for work then another coffee if she had time. Occasionally she would get a lift with Morgan, or catch a cab. On those days she would allow herself a fourth coffee for the trip.
Dean woke up when she was pouring her second cup of coffee.
"Morning." He said, way to cheerful for first thing in the morning.
"Morning." Jessa echoed a little more sleepily. "Why are you so chipper?"
He shrugged, "Why not?"
"Hm." Jessa slid her mug to him and grabbed another one for herself.
"You working today?"
"Uh-huh."
"Will you be home?"
"Don't know. We haven't had a case in a little over two weeks, but I never know."
"What about you guys? Are you hanging around?"
"Don't know. I've been hearing of things happening in Pennsylvania, so we might head up there in the next couple days."
"Is that coffee?" Sam mumbled, alerting both siblings to his presence. The large man was rubbing the back of his neck. "God, I don't think sleeping on the armchair was good for my neck."
Jessa laughed and handed him a mug of steaming coffee, "I could have told you that. You might want to check into a motel if you plan on staying. I would offer you a bed, but I don't have any."
Sam shrugged and gulped down half of his coffee.
"Right." Jessa declared after a short silence, "I have to get ready for work."
She disappeared into her bedroom and when she came out she was dressed in her sensible fed clothes, just finishing the braid in her long hair.
"I will never get used to seeing you like that." Dean said.
"Like what?"
"Like responsible and stuff."
"What? You guys wear suits for cases."
He opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again.
"Anyway." Jessa grabbed her leather jacket and pulled it on, "I have to go. Lock up if you leave, there's a spare key in the pot plant by the door."
The boys nodded and she zipped up her jacket to her chin and slipped her hands into her gloves before grabbing her helmet, badge, and gun.
"See you later." She smiled and slipped out the door.
Jessa arrived at Quantico at the same time JJ was climbing from her car.
"Good morning." Jessa offered. It was unusual the she saw JJ before briefings, as the Media Liaison always arrived early and left late.
"Morning Jessa." She smiled, but her tone wasn't as bright as it usually was.
"What's up?"
JJ shook her head, "We've got a case." She handed over the file that she had. "Two murders in 48 hours."
Jessa flicked through the information she had, "Different M.O's. Why have they called us?"
"Harringtonville, Tennessee, population five thousand. Last homicide was sixty-four years ago."
"Great, this is another one of those 'everyone is cheerful and helpful' towns isn't it." Jessa sighed as they reached the elevator.
"God, I hope not." JJ agreed.
Jessa closed the file and handed it back to her friend. "How long do you reckon we'll be gone?"
"Not a clue. Couple days at least."
Jessa smiled and pulled out her phone and dialled Dean. He answered almost instantly.
"What? You don't trust us here alone?" He asked, mock hurt in his voice.
"Not really." She jabbed back, "But I was calling to tell you that I'm not coming home tonight. Probably won't be for a few days."
"Alright, well we might head to Pennsylvania, then. No point in us hanging around if you're not here."
"Take care."
"You know me, J." He laughed and hung up.
"Someone stay over last night?" JJ asked with a smirk as the lift arrived at their floor.
"My brothers." She answered, shutting down JJ's thoughts.
"Boring." They walked through the bullpen, "Briefing." JJ ordered Morgan and Reid, who were already at their desks.
Jessa stopped at her desk and put her helmet and jacket in the drawer, before following the others into the briefing room.
The case ended up being worse than Jessa ever thought. A third victim turned up, and a seven-year-old boy was abducted, and to make matters worse, the killer was eating the organs he took from his victims. It made Jessa sick to think that their killer was actually human.
Jessa used the time on the plane to check in with Sam and Dean. It turns out that an ex had called Dean, and they ended up going to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Sam informed her they would be back in another couple of days.
"Everything alright?" JJ asked as Jessa hung up the phone, taking a seat next to her.
"Yeah. My brothers have skipped town, is all."
"What? They couldn't wait a couple of days?"
"Dean got a call from an ex."
"Ah." JJ smiled, understanding. "How long since you've seen them?"
"A few weeks. They were in Kansas when we were." She told her friend, "Before that, five months and before that, nine years."
"Why so long? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."
Jessa shrugged, she trusted JJ. "I ran away when I was seventeen. Ended up in a dodgy bar in Nebraska. That was home until I joined the Bureau."
JJ nodded, vaguely remembering the case from two years previous. "Why did you run away?"
Again, she shrugged, "I guess I just got fed up. I don't know if it was the moving around or the fact that in my dad's eyes I could never live up to Dean. I just left one night. Packed my things and walked out the door. A couple of months later I found myself in Nebraska." She paused before adding, "The Roadhouse felt like home."
JJ didn't answer, the two agents just sat in silence for a few minutes.
"I don't think I've told anyone that before."
JJ gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, but didn't speak.
They got home not long after that, and the team left slowly, none of them looking forward to the mountain of paperwork that waited for them.
"Ugh, I have like fifteen folders on my desk." Jessa complained, walking through the bullpen.
"Fifteen?" Reid asked, "I have twenty-four!"
"I wonder how they got there." Jessa smirked, sitting down at her desk.
"Did you—?"
"Yup."
Reid scowled, but made no attempt to slip the extra files back to Jessa's desk.
A few hours later she finished her pile and flicked off her office light, realising for the first time that she was the only one still in the bullpen. A faint glow emanated from between the slats of the blinds on Hotch's window. She grabbed her things and headed for the elevator. The pushed her earbuds in as she waited for the elevator and switched Eye of the Tiger to full volume. She reached the parking lot and began the walk to her bike. A few steps from the elevator she began to feel uneasy and suddenly cursed herself for parking so far away. This late at night, there were only a few cars in the lot, not enough for her to feel secure.
When she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up she pulled her earphones from her ears and reached down and unclipped her gun from its holster. She quickened her pace as the feeling of being followed became more intense. She heard footsteps behind her and, in one fluid movement, dropped her helmet and grabbed her gun spinning and aiming it at the parking lot and firing three rounds into the empty space.
Letting out a slow breath, Jessa lowered her gun just as a figure stepped out from behind a car.
"That isn't going to do a whole lot, sweetheart." His eyes flashed black and Jessa fired four more rounds. "Ouch."
"Who are you?" She didn't lower her gun, even though she knew it was useless.
He shrugged, "Call me what you want, it doesn't matter." He took a few steps toward her, "Where's your father, Winchester?"
"How do you know who I am?"
The man laughed, "Please, we've been following the Winchester's for years."
"Who is 'we'?"
The man took a few more steps forward and Jessa fired another bullet at him. "Ok, stop shooting, you're wasting your bullets."
"Answer my question, Demon." She spat.
Again, the demon laughed. "I don't answer to you, Hunter." He spat with just as much venom.
"Then who do you answer to?"
In one long stride he was directly in front of her, his hand reached out to snake around her neck before she had time to react.
"Where is John Winchester?"
Jessa struggled to breathe as the demon lifted her feet from the ground. She could feel her lungs burning from lack of oxygen as she clawed at his hands, in a vain attempt to get him to drop her.
"I will ask one more time, where is John Winchester?"
"Right here." Three gunshots rang out and Jessa fell to her knees, gasping for breath.
It took her a few moments to get her breath back and when she did she saw the demon rounding on her father. She scrambled for her gun and aimed it at the back of the demon, firing it once in an attempt to distract it.
He didn't turn around, just raised his hand and her gun went flying. With a small chuckle, he raised his other hand in John's direction and the older hunter went flying into the wall with a thud. The demon squeezed his outstretched hand into a fist and John started choking for air.
Jessa felt paralysed with fear, watching the life get squeezed from her father. She wracked her brain trying to think of something—anything—to help.
"Regna terrae, cantate Deo," She started, reaching for the only exorcism she could remember off the top of her head. "psallite Domino qui fertis super caelum caeli ad Orientem Ecce dabit voci Suae vocem virtutis, tribuite virtutem Deo."
The demon whirled on her and pinned her to the pillar behind her effortlessly.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus—" She choked, gasping for air. "spiritus omnis satanica—" She managed to breathe out as spots blurred her vision.
"potestas, omnis incursion infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica." Jessa heard John's voice across the parking lot, "Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te." Jessa felt the pressure from her neck loosen and she was able to suck in a few breaths before she heard two shots ring out, and she fell to the ground.
Jessa pulled herself to her feet and she saw Hotch emerging from the elevator, his gun raised at the demon.
"cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, Satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt." It came out in a rush as the demon approached Hotch and threw him across the lot. "Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos. Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae humiliare digneris, te rogamus, audi nos." Jessa screamed, staring at the too-still body of her boss. "Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae te rogamus, audi nos. Terribilis Deus de sanctuario suo. Deus Israhel ipse truderit virtutem et fortitudinem plebi Suae. Benedictus Deus. Gloria Patri." She finished and the demon roared as the black smoke poured from his mouth and the body it was possessing crumpled to the ground.
"Dad!" Jessa rushed to his side and helped him to his feet.
"You alright?" He asked, leaning heavily on her for support.
"I will be."
"And him?" He nodded toward where Hotch's lifeless form lay crumpled against a dented car.
"Can you stand?"
"Yeah."
Jessa ran toward her boss, checking for a pulse. It took her a moment, but she found it. "Oh, thank god!"
"He ok?" John limped toward them.
"He's unconscious, but alive." She told him, relieved. "Dad, I have to call an ambulance. There'll be cops and feds here soon."
John nodded, understanding, "I'll see you, Jessa." He turned and half ran, half limped away.
When he was completely out of sight, Jessa pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled 911.
Jessa waited seven minutes for the ambulance to arrive, during that time Hotch remained unconscious. FBI Police arrived at the same time as the ambulance.
"Agent Winchester, I need to get a statement from you." One of the officers told her.
"I'm going to the hospital." She answered, with no room for argument. "You can get my statement there."
"Of course, but I need to take your weapon." He said, but was met with an incredulous look. "Until you are cleared of any wrong doing."
She rolled her eyes, but handed over her gun then she turned and walked toward the ambulance that Hotch was being loaded into.
"We need to contact his next of kin." One of the paramedics said.
"I'll call his wife." Jessa said, "Do you have his personal effects?"
A second paramedic handed her a bag with his things and she fished out his phone. Flipping it open, she hit speed dial one and waited for an answer.
"Aaron?" Haley answered sleepily, "You said you'd be home by now."
"Haley, its Jessa Winchester."
"What's going on?" The other woman was suddenly alert.
"Something happened. Hotch got hurt, I'm going with him to the hospital now."
"What happened?"
"He's going to be ok, Haley. Can you meet us at the hospital?"
"Yes!" Jessa hung up the phone and climbed into the ambulance.
Jessa was sitting in the chair by Hotch's bed when he regained consciousness.
"What happened?" He asked, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the light in the room.
"Hey, Hotch!" Jessa turned her attention to her injured boss. "How are you feeling?"
"My head hurts." He offered a tight smile.
"What do you remember about what happened?" She asked, praying that she could explain away what happened.
"I came out of the elevator, and there was someone there." A frown formed on his face as he struggled to remember. "I fired my gun."
Jessa nodded, prompting him further.
"I don't remember anything else."
"He was attacking me, strangling me. You fired at him and he attacked you, knocked you out. You saved my life."
"There was someone else there." He said, his brow furrowing as he concentrated on the memory.
"There was no one else there, Hotch." She told him with as much conviction as she could muster, "I didn't see anyone else."
If Hotch was going to reply, he was cut off by his wife rushing through the door with baby Jack in her arms.
"Aaron!" She exclaimed, rushing to his side.
Jessa stood from the chair and quickly left the room, wanting to give the couple privacy. Almost as soon as she walked through the door, she bumped into the officer from earlier.
"Agent Winchester." He smiled, "Just the person I wanted to see."
She smiled politely.
"How's Agent Hotchner?"
"Just a bit of bruising and concussion. They're keeping him overnight for observation, but otherwise he's fine."
"Good to hear. I'm going to need that statement, though."
Jessa nodded, knowing that it was coming, "What do you want to know?"
"What happened? Start from when you got off the elevator."
"Okay. Well, I got off the elevator and was walking to my bike when I felt someone watching me. When I turned around I saw a man approaching me. He was coming toward me, and I fired my weapon."
"How many times?"
"Sorry?"
"How many times did you fire your gun?"
"Uh, a few."
"Be specific, Agent Winchester."
"Okay, I fired three times."
"And?"
"As a warning. They weren't aimed at him."
"And then what?"
"Then he attacked me, choked me. That's when Hotch came. He fired a couple of times but the guy got to him. Threw him into the wall, knocked him out. I grabbed my gun and pulled the trigger until he fell to the ground."
"How many times did you shoot?"
"Five, I think."
The officer made a few more notes. "Are you saying that you fired a total of eight times, and Agent Hotchner fired twice?"
"Yes."
"That means there are three bullets unaccounted for. Do you remember anyone else being at the scene?"
Damn, she had all but forgotten about the bullets her dad fired. "I don't recall."
"Are you saying that someone shot at the victim three times and you don't remember?"
"Look, the 'victim'," She spat the word sourly, "Was strangling me. I was on the brink of unconsciousness and if there were gunshots, I didn't notice."
"Ok, thank you for your time, Agent Winchester."
He turned to walk away but stopped when Jessa spoke, "When can I have my gun back?"
"When you've been cleared."
"And when will that be?"
"After I've spoken to Agent Hotchner to confirm your story."
He walked off without another word.
A/N: Ok, so I thought i would mention that the exorcism I've used in this chapter was the one recited in Devil's Trap. I know there's heaps of different ones used over the course of the series, shorter ones even, but this was my favourite.
Also, the timelines. I've been more or less matching the timelines of the two shows episode for episode, even though the Criminal Minds timeline is vastly different to the Supernatural one. It just makes things a little easier for me this way.
Until next time,
Xoxo
