The response to this story has been amazing so far! thank you so much to everyone who's taken the time to review, or even just favourite or follow this! it really does make me write quicker which is why you'll be getting another two chapters tonight! i hope you all enjoy them, as always i own nothing unfortunatly. hope you enjoy this weeks instalment! :)

Chapter Six

First Hunt

I didn't learn that much about Dean on our trip to get some food. Other than the man loved pie. Seriously loved pie. Loved pie like I loved reading. He needed help.

I did however learn a hell of a lot about Sam that night. Much more than I'd wanted to actually.

I talked in my sleep which must be annoying. But not as annoying as someone who thrashed around in their sleep, hugged my feet and liked to spread out. Not to mention the snoring.

After being pushed out of bed for the third time that night by Sam's humongus body, I gave up. I wasn't trying to get back in again this time. Dean was still laughing as I picked myself up off the floor again. As he'd done every time that I'd been unceremoniously dumped on to it. Now I understood why Sam called him a jerk.

I picked myself up off the floor and walked the foot that separated Dean's and Sam's beds before pulling the covers back and climbing in. "What do you think you're doing!?" Dean sounded half amused and half annoyed as I claimed some of his bed for my own.

"Trying to get more than five minutes sleep. And sleeping on the cold hard floor doesn't appeal much to me." I said grumpily, every bone in my body ached, a mixture of being so tired that I could cry and hitting the floor three times in an hour. "Please tell me you don't spread out like Sam there!" I added, my voice betraying just how tired I was.

"Nah your safe with me sweetheart, now go to sleep." Deans voice came from a lot closer than I expected, and I was suddenly very concious of his body that was so close to my own giving off a radiating warmth. I mentally berated myself for being ridiculous before closing my eyes and falling instantly asleep.

~0~

I was woken suddenly by the radio alarm clock blasting out the Eye of The Tiger and sat bolt upright in bed. I was muddled for half a second. Where was I? What was going on? Why wasn't I at home? Before I saw Sam and Dean both sat on Sam's bed eating breakfast in suits. Then it all came rushing back to me.

"Morning B!" Dean chirped at me, way too happy for this time in the morning if you asked me.

I grunted back an answer, I was not a morning person.

"Sleep well?" Dean asked me with a cocky smile, I narrowed my eyes first at him then at Sam. In truth I'd slept well, surprisingly well, normally I'd toss and turn, sleep talk and mutter, waking myself up a few times in the process. But last night I'd slept all the way through, a first for me in a very long time.

"Dean told me about what happened..." Sam said looking embarrassed about kicking me out of bed. Three times. "Sorry Bella." He muttered while trying for a smile.

"S'all right." I said with less of a scowl this time. It was obvious that the guy was mortified and hey, they were doing all this for me after all.

Dean climbed up off Sam's bed and plonked himself down next to me before passing me a coffee and a bag full of flapjacks. I smiled as I eagerly took the offered goods. "Breakfast in bed, that's what I call service." I said brightly after taking a sip of the still hot coffee, my mood perking up with the intake of caffeine.

"Don't get use to it!" Dean smirked at me.

I took a bite of one of the flapjacks before talking. It was delicious. "So what's the plan for today then?" I asked both brothers, eager to find out what they'd be doing.

"Dean and me will go talk to the police, see what they've got and see if Charlie's been snooping too. We'll also take his picture around a couple of motels, see if we can find his room. He may have left something there for us, if he's not there himself of course." Sam told me as though it were an obvious course of action. It may have been for those two but for me, not so much.

"Can you track Charlie's cruiser for us again sweetheart?" Dean asked me with a mouthful of something.

I wrinkled my nose at him but answered anyway. "If you drop me off at a library I can. But I haven't got my computer here." Not that it would have fit in a single bag anyway, it was a monstrosity, not one of these small laptops but a real life computer with a tower and everything.

Sam reached over his bed and brought back a laptop. "You can use that, passwords 'JBDSJM'." Wow, now that was a long password, that I was pretty sure no-one would get in a rush.

"Thanks." I said eyeing the tiny silver little thing with glee. I bet it even loaded up before you had time to make a coffee.

"Give us your cell number and we'll ring you if we find anything. Here's ours." Dean said grabbing a pen and scrap of paper from his bag next to him and scribbled something down on it before passing it to me.

"Er... I don't have a cell." I said after taking the scrap of paper. I didn't need a cell, everyone I knew didn't have one either except for the Cullen's and one of them was almost constantly with me anyway.

Sam and Dean looked at me as though I'd grown two heads. "You don't have a cell?" Sam asked me incredulously.

"You do know what year this is right B?" Dean added also sounding bemused.

"I really don't have one, I've never needed one before." I defended myself, knowing that wouldn't be a good enough answer for these two.

"Whatever. Just don't leave the room then." Dean told me while climbing off the bed and making me hold on to my coffee tighter as I wobbled with the sudden movement.

"If you need to ring us use the phone at reception." Sam added also standing up and brushing down his suit.

Wow, the brothers were hot anyway, but in suits. Wow. A little intimidating maybe but still hot. I guess that was the whole reason for wearing the suits though.

"See you in a bit Bells." Sam said heading for the door.

"Later." Dean added before walking through the door as well and closing it with a thump behind him.

I finished my breakfast and coffee before climbing out of bed and getting stuck into my task. Now I knew how to do it, it took me all of five minutes to find Charlie's cruiser. Something that would have taken my ancient computer at least twenty minutes to do.

I was excited to find that Charlie's cruiser was only three blocks from here. That meant he was close. That we were close. I'd probably be heading home with him in the next hour or two. I'd know he was safe, we could have a heart to heart and everything would be even better than before he'd left, cause now I knew the truth. Maybe I'd even be able to help him? With researching and stuff like that. What had Sam called it? Donkey work? Yeah, things would be better than ever between us.

I rushed to get dressed, not caring that I was actually wearing something I'd normally not be caught dead in. I ran a brush through my boring brown straight hair and grabbed the key that the Winchesters had left and rushed from the room to the reception. Excited now that the end was finally in sight.

I burst into the dark reception area, light spilling in with me making the room seem to brighten with my mood.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind reception asked me sounding surprised by me. Or maybe surprised that I was so happy in a place like this. She was older, perhaps in her late thirties with long brown hair like mine. Her blue eyes looked like they should sparkle but instead were dull. I couldn't imagine a place like this inspiring much else though.

"Yeah can I use a phone please?" I asked with a smile, one piece of good news away from bouncing.

"Er... Yeah, sure." She told me pushing a beige phone towards me on the desk.

"Thanks!" I said before picking up and dialling one of the phone numbers. I got Deans answer machine. So I tried the next number. This time I got Sam's answer machine. My good mood was depleted but not defeated. Turning my back on the curious receptionist I left a message for Sam. "I found it, parked up three blocks from here." I was about to put the phone down and leave it at that when a course of action occurred to me. "I'm going to go find it!" I said before hanging up. Why hadn't I thought of that before? I could be useful, Dean had even said that himself. And what was more useful than actually finding my dad?

I thanked the woman before leaving the dull reception area and heading into the bright sunshine. I was going to head straight for the cruiser when I had the sudden realisation that perhaps I was being a little rash. I mean after all there was something in this city that was preying on girls. In my age bracket.

So instead I went back to the motel room.

Five minutes later and I started walking to where Charlie's cruiser was parked up. A small black bag hanging at my shoulder. Inside was my wallet, the silver knife that Alice had packed for me and the gun, complete with six bullets. I hoped I didn't have to use it. I'd never even shot one before, but there was a hunt happening here and I wasn't going to be stupid. I'd at least be prepared for the worst.

The walk was quicker than I'd expected, with few people on the street between the blocks, but plenty of traffic rushing by.

I turned a corner and broke into a huge smile of relief. There in the car park to a small hotel was the cruiser, clear as day. Charlie was here!

I almost ran to the cruiser and tried the door. It was locked, of course it was locked, my dad wasn't stupid. I put my face against the glass and saw that the car hadn't changed. It was still in it's immaculate state, no rubbish or debris cluttering it up like in most cars. No, the car was in perfect order. Something niggled at my brain but I pushed it away after not being able to work it out.

I turned my attention from the car which hadn't helped me. I should learn to pick locks, or break into cars, that right now would be a handy skill. Instead I focused on the hotel, it was small and friendly looking, bright colours, freshly painted and clean. Was Charlie in there? I guess there was only one way to find out.

I headed into the hotel, to find a bright cheerful entrance with a white desk and a couple of comfy looking sofa's covered in plump green cushions.

Behind the desk stood a manicured blonde with a small smile plastered onto her tanned face. "Hello and welcome to Sunville hotel, how may I help you today?" The woman asked me with an insincere smile, her speech obviously something she recited twenty times a day.

"Hi, I'm looking for my dad, I think he might have checked in here, his name's Charlie Swan, and that's his cruiser in the car park. I don't suppose you could help me could you?" I asked with warm a smile. I was so close I could almost feel my arms wrapped around my dad in a rare welcome back hug.

"Nope." The woman smiled at me, a real smile now she was causing someone else some misery.

"What? Why not?" I asked, the stupid little computer thing was right in front of her. All she had to do was push a few buttons and tell me what room Charlie was in. Why wouldn't she? Did her life really suck that much that she had to mess with mine just for amusement.

"It's company policy not to give out customer information, its a breach of confidentiality." The way the woman spoke, her vocabulary. She'd obviously thought that she was meant for some place better than this. I wondered if there was anyway of getting round her? She resented this job, that was for certain and she wanted to be something else. Hmm... Bad idea Bella, bad idea. But it was the only one I had. I glanced down at her name tag and leaned in consipiritulosly.

"Look April, here's the thing. Officer Swan isn't my dad, he's my partner. You know the disappearances that have been happening?" I said making my voice harder, trying to be anything but a scared nineteen year old looking for her dad. It seemed to be working the woman looked shocked but leant in as well and nodded. "Well we're looking into it, I'm undercover, you know lost nineteen year old in the big bad city. And I've lost touch with Swan, he was suppose to check in yesterday and hasn't. All I want to know is if he's been back here and when. If you could help me out your country and city would be most grateful ma'am." I channelled my inner cop, defiantly a bonus of being raised by a cop and being surrounded by them for the majority of your life.

April swallowed and hastily nodded before going to her computer and typing into it. It worked! Oh my goodness it worked! And she was helping me out! And Edward said that I couldn't act, well I'd shown him.

"Officer Swan hasn't been back here since... Tuesday night it seems." April frowned at me.

"Hmm... Well that's odd, he never mentioned staying anywhere else and the cruiser's still here..." I said while looking like I was thinking hard when really my heart was actually sinking. Shit. If he wasn't here then where was he? I'd thought I was so close, but seems as though I was just where I was a couple of hours ago; nowhere. So what did I do now? Where did I go from here? "Do you mind if I take a look at Swan's room?" I asked the woman, looking worried, something that wasn't faked.

April looked a little worried at that herself. She didn't want to, that much I could see. "I don't think..." She hesitated. That was fine, now I knew what to do.

"Don't think on it, I'll go get some help, see if I can bring back a couple of guys from internal affairs, go through his stuff carefully, besides I haven't even got my badge with me." I placated the woman before thanking her for her time and leaving the hotel with a frown, my heart now set deep in my stomach. Something was really wrong here, that much was obvious.

So it was with a bowed head and what felt like lead in my shoes that I started walking back towards the motel. Couldn't I catch a break for once? Did I have that much bad luck attached to me? Everything that I'd been trying to fight back for the last two weeks all of a sudden came crashing down on me. My dad, my life plan, my monetary situation, Edward, what happened in my room back in Forks, my loneliness, all of it. Soon I was fighting back tears.

The day seemed to be reflecting my mood somehow, earlier it had been sunny, mirroring my optimism, my conviction that we were getting closer, that I was finally going to be reunited with my father. But now the clouds had come in making the day seem darker, more maudlin, like my mood.

The walk back again took moments. Or seemed to anyway as lost in my thoughts as I was.

I got into the still empty motel room and sat myself down on Deans bed. I don't know how long I sat there just wallowing in self pity, letting the tears finally flow before the door crashed open making me jump and swipe furiously at my face. I wanted no trace of them visible.

"Bella!" Dean said angrily as he came through the hardwood door. His tie now lose and his jacket clutched in his hand, his shirt sleeves rolled up making him look even hotter than before. Seriously, I had to fight the drool that was threatening to spill from my open mouth. For a second anyway. "What the hell do you think that you're doing!?"

"Huh?" I asked my throat still thick with tears making me sound like I had a bad head cold.

"I told you to stay in the room! And what was that message you left Sam? I'm going to go find it! That is not staying in the damn motel room! Do as your told, I haven't got time for hand holding!" Wow, Dean was mean when he was angry. But the thing was I'd actually been useful, I found out some information, and I hadn't needed my hand holding. Why was it everyone thought I was so incapable of anything? Instead of feeling sorry for myself I got angry for a change.

"What Deans trying to say Bella..." Sam started in a much more gentle tone, but I didn't care, I was angry now, and it felt kind of good.

"I didn't need my hand holding. It was three blocks away, I can manage that all on my own thanks! Now are you going to carry on having a bitch fit or do you want to know what I found out?!" I glared at Dean as my words came out as cold as ice.

Neither man said anything, they just looked at me in surprise. I guess I'd tell them then. "Until Tuesday Charlie was staying at the Sunville hotel, he hasn't been back there since, his cars still parked in the car park with nothing of interest on show. April, the woman who was on reception wouldn't tell me the room number or let me see the room. I had trouble getting that much out of her. Did you find out anything?" I asked now that my anger had disappeared almost instantly. I was proving that I could be useful, that I didn't need my 'hand holding'.

"Not much other than what we know, Charlie was on the case, using his real name but saying that the case crossed state lines so that he had some duristriction." Sam told me while throwing his tie and jacket on to his own bed.

"When the woman said no to letting you in the hotel room what did you do?" Dean asked me, he sounded like he was trying to catch me out. He might well have done, I didn't know what I was doing I'd just made it up on the spot.

"I told her that I'd come back with my badge and some people from internal affairs to sort it out." I said, my voice more hesitant than I would have liked it. But I didn't know if I'd made a huge faux paux or not.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks for a second before Dean said; "I'll go."

He then pulled out his phone and looked at me. "Go stand by that wall there and look miserable." Dean told me pointing to the one white wall in the room. I did what I was asked to having a slight idea where this was going.

"Perfect." Dean said after snapping a few pictures on his phone. "See you in a few." He then slipped from the room taking his tension and anger with him. This guy was like a yo-yo, one minute he was all happiness and light, making you laugh and smile, taking the piss out of you and making you feel like a life long friend, making you feel all warm and tingly. The next he made me feel like an intruder, like a stupid little girl, he was angry and tense and a heck of a lot less fun to be around. I didn't get it.

"Is your brother bipolar or something?" I asked Sam as I flopped back down on the bed.

"What Dean?" Sam sounded surprised.

"Yeah, he's got worse mood swings than I do when I'm on." I muttered pulling my legs up to my chest and resting my head on my knees.

"He's just tense. And he was worried about you out on your own, especially when you don't really know what your doing." Sam glanced at me looking like he felt sorry for me.

"I can walk down a street on my own. I've been doing it for years." I shot straight back again my anger coming out, which after nineteen years of being repressed felt good.

"Yeah, but Charlie's gone missing on this hunt Bella. Charlie who's been doing this since you were born. And something got the jump on him, no offence but you don't stand a chance on your own. We were just worried that's all. Dean was just worried." Sam told me before grabbing his bag and heading for the bathroom, leaving me feeling a little guilty in his wake.

I sat thinking about what he said for a few minutes. I'd thought I was being helpful, thought I was taking precautions, what with the knife and gun, but Sam was right, it did boarder on reckless. I didn't really have a clue what I was doing, I was making it up as I went along. But I was still alive right, not captured, not dead, but still not with Charlie.

Where was my dad, was he safe, ok? I fought with my conciseness which was trying very hard to show me imaginary pictures of my dad hurt, or worse dead. I fought it though and just imagined him so far into the hunt that he'd forgot everything else. Denial, not just a river in Egypt, but my life too.

Sam came out of the bathroom in his normal clothes again, looking extremely tired. Bags were starting to form under his brilliant, brown, green eyes that were almost as beautiful as his brothers. The brothers must have come from an excellent gene pool.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help. I'll listen from now on." I told the huge man, feeling and sounding very contrite. I didn't want to screw this up, to screw up a chance of finding Charlie. And I certainly didn't want to be the reason that anyone got hurt because I wasn't thinking properly about what I was doing.

Sam looked me over and smirked before nodding. "Sure Bella." He added sounding like he didn't believe me one little bit.

Sam came and took his laptop off my bed and clambered on to his own before typing into it. "What are you doing?" I asked curious.

"Looking into all of the girls, something doesn't feel quite right with a couple, they don't fit the profile of the others." Sam replied sounding distracted.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked, interested.

"All the girls, they're quite, shy, reserved, pretty. But two of them, they're partiers, lots of friends, out going. They don't fit the pattern." He explained with a small frown on his flawless face.

"Can I have a look?" I asked, I was interested to see how Sam was so certain that two of the girls weren't the right fit.

Sam glanced up at me and studied me for a second. "Sure." He said with a small smile that morphed back instantly to a frown when he looked back at his computer.

I walked over to Sam's bed and sat next to him. On the screen were pictures of all seven girls.

"Spot the odd ones out?" Sam asked me.

Ok, it was easy to pick out the two girls that didn't fit in this picture. One of them was blonde, bleach blonde with a nose ring and heavily made up eyes, a huge smile on her face that I'd seen on other faces before, usually when they'd been stoned. The other odd one out was a tall girl who had red spiky hair, a beautiful smile and was surrounded by people, all of whom looked slightly drunk. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

The other five girls were all pretty, but reserved, they all had their natural hair colour, all with polite smiles on their faces and all alone. They looked like your typical wall flower. The girl who'd rather sit and read a book than be in the spot light. They all looked like me. That thought stung. If I went missing that's how I'd be seen, the shy, mousey girl, the loner, the geek girl, the wall flower. Ouch.

"That would be number two and number seven. So why did whatever it is deviate it's pattern?" I asked Sam while trying not to think of just how pathetic I could possibly come across.

"No idea." Sam said with a sigh before typing a name into a search engine. The first thing that came up was a Facebook page for bleach blonde girl, who happened to be called Cindy Macker. She was seventeen and apparently went to Boston State High, she had five hundred friends, but other than that we couldn't find out any more information, her page wasn't open and I had a feeling she wouldn't be accepting any friend requests any time soon.

"Helpful." I muttered as Sam then typed in another name, odd girl out number two I guessed.

The girls name was Danielle Stevenson, she had three hundred friends, also went to Boston State High and was coincidentally the same age as Cindy, they were mutual friends. Coincidence maybe, or something else? Maybe they'd run off together or were just doing a bunk from town for a few days. I'd heard stranger things when teens went missing from Charlie.

"Ok, guess we've gotta find out if these two are actually missing or just out on a bender." Sam sighed, sounding exhausted by the prospect.

"So how do we do that?" I asked staring at Danielle's picture, she really was beautiful and looked so happy, so full of life. I hoped she was ok. I also selflishly hoped that I had photos where I looked so happy, where I looked less of the plain Jane that I felt right then.

The door opened then and Dean came into the room. A smile on his face, until he spotted me and Sam on the bed together, inches apart, then his smile dropped and he looked like he was being force fed lemons, or tuna. Why was he so upset? Did he not want me involved in the hunt in anyway? Was I to sit in the corner by myself and obsess over Charlie's journal? I didn't get men, not these ones anyway.

"Here Bella." Dean said, his voice tight and hard, throwing me something that landed straight in my lap. I picked it up, it was a cop badge, with the picture of me he'd taken earlier on it. He'd made me my very own counterfeit badge. Well... That was... Illegal, but not exactly surprising somehow.

"Dean..." I started saying, smiling softly at him as I did.

"Sammy get dressed again, we've still got work to do. Bella see if you can find something half decent to wear, ok?" Dean interrupted me, his voice still cold and hard.

Sam didn't say anything just shot first Dean a look and then me one, I couldn't decipher what it was all about. He then walked past us and to the bathroom, suit under arm.

"I'll leave you to get changed." Dean said, his voice still ice cold. He stormed out of the door slamming it behind him, leaving me staring at the back of the still shaking door in bemusement.

I got up to follow him, I had a small idea what his problem might be.

I walked out into the freezing air, the clouds had really taken hold now, I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked over to Dean who was leant against his pretty black car.

Dean looked any where but at me as I stood in front of him. "I'm sorry." I said softly, the cold seeping into my bones now. That made him look, his head whipping to look at me, his expression almost scared. For what I had no clue. "About earlier, I'll listen from now on. I didn't mean to worry you, or mess anything up." I explained myself, my voice still low, sincerity ringing true in every syllable.

Dean studied me for a second or two, making me flush his gaze was that scrutinous. "You're a woman, you won't listen, it's not in your DNA sweetheart." Dean smirked, back to his light hearted, joking nature, his yo-yo moods still firmly in place then. "And ya didn't do too bad, you know for your first hunt, you're turning out to be actually useful." He feigned surprise at that making me giggle.

"Well I'm trying, and I'll try to listen." I agreed, he was right, sexist pig, but right, I probably wouldn't listen. I was a bit too stubborn to be following orders, but I'd make an effort to at least try.

"You should do that more often you know." Dean told me his eyes lighting up, and a small smile lfting the corners of his mouth, a true smile for once. It took years off him.

"What listen?" I asked jokingly with a small giggle.

"No laugh." He said again with his true smile, making me flush bright red, but also making something in the pit of my stomach leap.

"Now go get changed, I'm not hanging around B!" Dean told me, his voice trying for stern but the smile ruining the effect some what.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your panties on D!" I said with a smile, walking back towards the motel room, feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, one that I hadn't realised had been there. A smile lighting my face and a small flush warming me slightly.