thanks to everyone who reviewed, here's another chap for u all. As always I own nothing! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Twenty

Splinter

The Cullen's left despite my protests, I'd not seen them in so long and I ached I missed them that badly, but Alice had insisted that they needed to return to Carlisle and Esme, promising me as they climbed back into the yellow Porsche that they'd arrived in, that they would ring me. Calls of thanks rung out through the air as they sped off, Dean, Sam, Charlie and I certainly wouldn't be forgetting their part in helping us out tonight anytime soon.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I think I've earnt myself a large whiskey." Rufus said with a smile while rubbing his hands together.

"Oh yeah, and I'm buying." I said with a smile, wanting to show how grateful I was without saying it. Hunters didn't know how to accept thanks, something I was starting to struggle with now as well.

"You will not Isabella, you're under age. I don't know what you've been doing for the past few months, but it stops now. Starting with the drinking." Charlie barked out, looking angry but also sad and tired.

My anger just flared back up, anger and sadness as well. Could my father not see that I wasn't a little girl anymore? That I didn't need his permission to do anything anymore.

"I've been taking care of myself and looking after myself for months now Charlie, me hunting you down isn't going to stop that. And you're not gonna stop me if I want a drink." I growled out channelling my inner Bobby.

"No, but I can shop you for being underage." Charlie bit back.

"I have ID that says otherwise." I replied.

"You know what, I think I'd actually rather go hit the sack. Long night and all that. Thanks though Bella, see you all in the morning ok?" Rufus spluttered out, his eyes darting from Charlie to me before he basically ran back into the hotel. Great.

"You and me Bella, we need a long talk girl." Charlie snapped at me.

"Yeah we do, you're right. But it can wait. I'm sore, I'm tired, I ache and I'm pissed off, I am going to have a god damn drink." I said before walking off from the lit protection of the parking lot, hoping as I did that the brothers would follow me and not let me deal with this on my own. If they did I'd get wasted at least, killed at most and right now I didn't give a shit which one it was. As long as I was away from him.

"Bella! B! Wait up!" Dean called out behind me as my walk was more of a jog really. I stopped and stood waiting, enjoying the feeling of relief that washed through me.

Dean and Sam started walking next to me, one either side. "How ya doing Bells?" Sam asked me softly, a complete change to the douche bag he'd been earlier.

"Angry, sad, happy. Pick an emotion and run with it dude." I said with tiredness. I was amazingly happy to see my dad alive and well, of course I was. But I was also pissed as hell with him, he'd left me all alone to deal with this crap, he didn't know that I'd have two amazing people like Sam and Dean to help pick me up and dust me down. I was sad that things were like this, although my dad and me weren't the Brady Bunch, we had a pretty good relationship, and now everything had gone down the pan, including the way I viewed him. It's always a sad moment when you see a parent as a real human being, just as fucked up as you, instead of the superhero you imagined them to be.

"It'll all work out B." Dean said to me, uncharacteristically serious for once. "Look sweetheart, I was gonna ring you when Charlie rocked up, I was." Dean started saying in a low voice, Sam looked away and pretended to be deaf which I was grateful for.

I cut over the hunter, my breath coming out in white clouds as I spoke, wrapping itself around the three of us as we walked briskly, hopefully to a bar. "I know I heard. Thank you. For what you said to him, by the way." I muttered as Sam stared at his shoes as though he found them fascinating.

"Yeah." Dean said, apparently going all shy on me. "You know you're gonna have to talk to him right?"

"When I've had a drink and some sleep then yeah. Course. But until then I'm living in a land of denial where every thing's coming up smelling of roses." I smiled at Dean and Sam.

"I'm sure that's very healthy for you Bells." Sam said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, and finding out that my mother was dead from Bobby, rather than my dad, who didn't even try and find me when he found out... Yeah that was healthy for me too." I said with heat, there were so many issues that I had to work through with my dad that I didn't even know where to start. So I wouldn't, at least not tonight.

"Good point well made." Sam said with a sad look in his eyes just as a bright neon light caught my eye. I sighed out in relief, we'd come across a bar, at last.

~0~

My day just went from bad to worse. Dean, Sam and I had hit the bar and had a nice few hours. We'd played pool, I'd drank, Dean had one beer or two but not more and Sam had stuck to coke, I knew the brothers were holding back their own drinking in case they needed to look after me. Not necessary, but appreciated.

All through the night though Sam had been getting more jittery and snappy, as though he was waiting for something. He kept checking his phone, he even started sweating at one point.

After two hours he excused himself and left the bar. Dean and me shared glances but refused to say anything, denial was running strong throughout tonight. Instead I ordered another whiskey and racked the balls up, I was getting better at pool.

Sam came back into the bar twenty minutes later looking like he was in a worse mood than ever. His face was hard and tense, a frown creasing his forehead and his kind mouth was turned down. His muscles were stiff, and he looked like he was about to lash out at someone.

"Here's Johnny!" I hissed at Dean while keeping my eyes on Sam as he made his way through the quiet bar.

"I've had enough of this, it's getting ridiculous now!" Dean hissed, his eyes also on Sam, his voice pissed. "I mean what is his damn problem?!"

"C'mon D, you know he's not gonna tell us, there's nothing we can do about it but ride thwe wave." I giggled as I slurred my words a bit.

"Well your about as useful as a cat in water right now aren't you sweetheart?" Dean said, his voice half annoyed and half amused, a chuckle escaped him as I scruntched up my face trying to work out where the insult was in his sentence, I knew there was one but I didn't quite get it. Was he calling me a cat? That's when I decided that maybe switching to water for a couple of drinks wouldn't be a bad move.

"Here." Sam said sitting down at the table while slamming a beer and a tequila down in front of me, a beer remaining in his clutch that he rapidly began draining.

Although I knew it was a really, really bad idea I downed the shot in one, making a slight face as it burnt its way down my oesophagus and lit up my insides. I felt the heat of Deans disappointed stare and shied away from it as I sipped my beer at a more languid pace. I heard him heave a sigh and put down the beer, ashamed of myself slightly that I was causing this wonderful man more worry, more upset, especially when his brother was being a prize douche bag.

"So what you gonna say to Charlie then Bells?" Sam asked me innocently enough, his voice though had a nasty infliction to it, almost as though he was trying to upset me or infuriate me.

"Depends how I'm feeling." I replied picking my beer back up.

"You know he's going to bust your balls about him." Sam jerked his head towards Dean, a frown creased my forehead at the gesture. What was wrong with him? And why was he being so impersonal to his best friend in the entire world, the other half of himself, because these two brothers couldn't live without each other that much I knew. And Sam was treating the man who'd done nothing but care for him like a piece of shit that he'd accidentally trodden in.

"Well Charlie will just have to deal with it." My voice was hard now as I crossed my arms and frowned at Sam.

"What are you gonna say to him about your mom dying then Bells?" Sam smirked at me. "I mean it was a crappy way to go and he didn't even find you to tell you."

Ok, enough was enough, that was below the belt. If Sam wanted an argument I'd give him one!

"What the hell is your problem Sam!" Dean hissed out beating me to the punch. His eyes blazed with fury and his tone was sharp.

"Just asking Bells a question Dean, that's all." Sam snapped back.

"You're acting like a dick, you have been for weeks. What is it? What's wrong?" Dean's voice was still hard, still angry.

"Nothing!" Sam snapped back picking up his beer and downing it. "I'm going home!" He then declared before standing up and storming from the bar.

"Oh no, not this time!" Dean muttered as he stood up as well. He then glanced down at me, "you be ok getting home B?" He asked me slightly softer, his eyes more gentle as he looked over me.

"Yeah. Go on." I said while jerking my head towards the door.

~0~

I waited an hour before I left the bar. More than enough time for me to sober up and let the brothers bash it out without me getting in the way.

The air had dropped even colder as I walked slowly back to the hotel, making sure that I was keeping an eye on the dark streets around me. The vampire had told us that they were the only ones, but still I didn't think it was a good idea to let my guard drop, after all Eve had escaped her prison tonight and I was first on her list.

I was pretty sure as I walked through white clouds of my own breath that it would snow within the hour, changing the landscape completely and making it even harder for me to walk down the street without tripping over. Pretty though.

I was instantly on guard as the hotel came into view and I saw a shadow stood outside the entrance waiting for something. My hand instinctively went for my gun that was in the waistband of my jeans.

I relaxed though as I saw it was just the outline of Dean, he was stood outside waiting for me. But by the set of his shoulders it wasn't to tell me everything was fine now and that we were all about to have the happily ever after that we all sorely wanted.

I quickened my pace over the parking lot, slightly worried now.

"Hey D! What's wrong? Everyone ok?" I asked Dean as I approached him.

"Yeah, everyone's fine Bella." Since when did Dean ever call me Bella? And why was his voice so pained if everyone was ok?

"What's wrong?" I repeated myself in a softer voice taking a step closer to his worried and upset features, his green eyes not meeting my face.

"We're going Bella."

"Ok, I'll grab my stuff. But can't I have a day or two to speak with Charlie? Or has Bobby found something for us?" I asked, not moving from my spot as I did. Something was really wrong, I could feel it in my gut. And those words that he'd spoken... They seemed familiar somehow.

"Sam and me, we're going Bella." Dean said confusing me even more.

"Dean, stop speaking in riddles, what you on about?" I asked while wrapping my hands around myself to keep myself warm.

"I'm on about me and Sam, we are leaving. You got your dad back B, job done." Dean's words left me cold, an icy wind had gripped the inside of my chest in an iron vice.

"Hang on, so we find Charlie and you just leave me with him? What about all that stuff you said about you wouldn't just dump me with him? What about me not just being a job to you guys?!" My voice was rising as was my panic. "What about us Dean?" My voice dropped again as I spoke the last bit.

"What us? I told you Bella, I told you. I don't date. I'm sorry that you thought something else but... Look our job's done, we're out of here. Go sort things out with Charlie then go home Bella. You don't belong in this world." Every word that Dean spoke tore into my damaged and bruised heart, ripping it to shreds. My chest pyshically hurt and my hand went to it, as though to try and stem the pain somehow.

"Dean, no, please. Dean I lov..." I started choking out.

"Don't! Just don't Bella." Dean said, pain and hurt in his own eyes before he snapped his mask back in place. "Look after yourself ok?" Were his last words to me before he walked away towards the Impala.

As he climbed in and started the car with a roar, the first snowflakes descended in time with my tears.

~0~

I went back up to the room that had been rented when the cold finally penetrated my numb body. I was on autopilot, my body moving without my brains input. I wasn't thinking, my mind was blank, all the was in it was a dull buzzing noise.

I grabbed my bag with one hand while checking the room for anything I'd left behind, doing my damn best not to look at the double bed that I'd needed less than an hour ago.

Having got everything I left the room and threw my bag over my shoulder.

I stopped outside the hotel again, a thick hoodie now protected me from the worst of the winds bite, though not all of it. I had two choices. I either went in search of Charlie and did as Dean had asked, went home with him and live a normal life. Or I carried on hunting, by myself this time though.

Whatever I did, I needed to talk to Charlie before I did it. I owed him and myself that much first. Though what he could possibly say to make any of this any better was beyond me.

With a sigh I walked back into the hotel, passing a smirking Daisy as I did, I resisted the urge to smack her in the face and carried on back upstairs, dragging the shattered pieces of myself behind me.

I knocked on Charlie's door firmly with the hand that wasn't clutched around my bag. Trying desperately to arrange my face into my poker mask once more. It was hard though, so hard when all I wanted to do was curl up and sob. To run after Dean and beg him to take me back.

Charlie answered the door looking like I'd woken him up, his hair was dishevelled, his clothes ruffled and his dark brown eyes, so similar to mine, were thick with sleep. Tough.

"Bella?" My dad mumbled looking slightly confused by the sight of me outside of his door in the middle of the night.

I didn't wait for him to wake up, I just edged my way around him into his room.

"You wanted to talk? Let's talk." I said in a monotone voice while leaning against a beige wall and not taking my eyes of the man. Strange how he looked like my dad, acted like my dad, smelt like my dad but didn't feel like my dad anymore, strange and sad.

"Where are Sam and Dean?" Charlie asked me, his eyes hardening and narrowing. Something was off, even when my dad was pissed beyond belief at me, he would have made sure that I was ok first. That the reason that I'd come to him wasn't because I was hurt or upset. Odd. But then maybe he'd come to the realisation that if I was hurt, upset or in danger I didn't need him anymore, I had done, but not recently, I'd found a way to cope without him.

"They've gone." I told my father, my voice coming out dead and hollow. My chest constricting painfully as I said the words out loud. Tears started to fill my eyes that I quickly banished, pulling out my poker face and putting it back firmly in place. I couldn't afford to be weak ever again.

"Really? I didn't think that dick Dean would ever leave you. Glad to be wrong for once." Charlie said, smiling as he did. How could he be so cruel?

"Right, so. You said we needed to talk. Talk." I crossed my arms over my chest, trying so hard to hold myself together.

"Oh dear Bella, you've become so hard haven't you? What have those boys done to you?" Charlie's voice wasn't full of outrage or anger, but a smile, happiness even. Ok, this was starting to worry me now. This wasn't my dad. Even if he was being a big douche bag, these weren't his actions, weren't his words, I knew my dad better than most and this just wasn't him. Subtly I let my hands drop, trying to inch my way to my gun without drawing attention to myself.

"They haven't done anything dad." I said my voice controlled so that it was calm yet hard, making sure the infliction was no different from normal even though I was suddenly petrified. I had no-one now, no back-up, no help and no idea what I was dealing with. If things went wrong now, then there would be no Sam and no Dean to fix it for me. I truly was on my own, and the thought sent cold chills of terror racing through my body.

"Oh you learnt the whole, I'm a mean, bad-ass hunter look all by yourself did you Bells?" Charlie taunted me, I was centimetres away from my gun now, I had to keep him talking.

"I learnt it when I saw the bloodstains that mom had left." I told the thing, letting an edge of hurt creep into my voice and trying to act as naturally as I would if this had been my father.

"Saw that did ya?" Again no sense of outrage or hurt coming from the man, did he not know he was giving himself away, or did he just not care anymore?

My hand reached the gun which was loaded with silver bullets and I almost sobbed with relief. At least I could count on the skills the Winchesters had taught me even if I couldn't count on them anymore.

"Yes, I did." I said in a monotone voice. My hand firmly wrapped around my gun, the safety off, a chamber already loaded from last time I'd used it and my finger resting lightly on the trigger. All I needed was a slight distraction to pull it out unseen.

I cast my eyes around the room for the first time. Whatever the thing that was impersonating my father was had already made itself at home, pictures from hunts lined the walls as well of pictures of me and the brothers, taken together were spread over a huge map on the wall. Where had it got those pictures from? We'd never posed for one, ever, what was the point?

"Why are they on the wall?" I asked with real confusion, pointing to the pictures with my free hand and making the thing turn around briefly.

Catching my chance I yanked my gun free and pointed it at the creature. My eyes hard, my stance ready for battle, my hands un-wavering as I pointed it at my dad.

"Bells?" The thing asked looking hurt and upset as it turned to face me. A good show but too late now. I knew.

Without a seconds hesitation I lowered my gun and shot the thing in the kneecap. He howled with pain and dropped to the ground. His skin bubbling and burning where the bullet had hit.

"What are you and where is my dad!?" I asked stepping towards the thing and pointing my gun at it's head. My voice was harder than I'd ever managed to make it yet.

The thing started laughing in between gasps of pain, the noise eerie and worrying coming from my fathers mouth.

"Does it matter what I am?" He hissed out in between laughs.

"No, not really, I'm going to kill you anyway." I said lightly, while chambering another bullet into my .22. "But I'll do it a hell of a lot quicker if you tell me where my dad is."

"Go to hell." The thing bit out at me, his hands still clasping his knee.

"Probably." I said while pulling out a silver knife from my pocket, I was nothing if not well prepared. I'd be dead now if I wasn't. "Now I have no problem skinning you alive, but I'd really rather not get blood all over me, so if you'd just tell me where Charlie is, this will all be over and I can go on my merry way. What have you done with him?" I asked again.

"Nothing! We haven't done anything, we don't know where he is, he dropped off the map yesterday!" The thing told me, it's eyes wearily eyeing the knife that I held close to it's face.

"Really?" I asked while cutting a line into his cheek which made him roar with pain, a roar that would forever be embedded in my soul but which I ignored for the minute.

"Yes! I'm telling you the truth!" The shifter told me, I'd worked it out, a shapeshifter, maybe even the same one that had killed my mother.

With hard eyes and an even harder stomach I pulled the trigger of my gun, killing the shifter instantly as my bullet shot between its eyes.

I took one long look at the shifter before putting my gun back in its place and walking from the room. As I passed the wall I took a picture, one keepsake of Dean, Sam and me together. I don't know why I did it, I'd never look at it again, the pain would be too much, but I couldn't leave it, something deep in me wouldn't let me.

I stuffed the picture in my bag and left with no thought to where I was going or how I was gonna get there. All I knew was that I had to find Charlie. And this time I was looking on my own and with a shattered heart.

~0~

It was thirty hours later that I pulled over in the car that I'd... Borrowed. Yeah borrowed, from the hotel car park. It was a dark blue Ford that couldn't go over sixty and stuck in neutral a lot, but a car was a car and it would do till I could find an upgrade. I pulled the blue monster over beside one of those internet cafe things, one where you can pay five bucks and surf the internet for like an hour.

For the last thirty hours I'd just been driving and trying to come up with a plan of action.

The facts were; I was on my own, I had no idea what I was looking for or how to find it, I was in bits, my heart broken and my spirit smashed once more. I had money, that wasn't a problem, and I had fake credit cards, not to mention Id's.

It took me thirty hours but I'd come up with a plan. I was gonna hunt on my own, that was a given, and I was gonna look for Charlie as well. And my first stop was in this dirty little internet cafe where all the customers were overweight middle aged dudes. But I'd figured out that I could put out a search on my dad's alias', his police badge and his last known car details. And with my fancy phone I could then have all the information sent to it when it arrived. While I was here I could also look for a close hunt.

I'd not been able to find a hunt, not anyway within a three day drive anyway so I decided to carry on driving until I was tired. I didn't want to sleep till I had no other choice; everytime I closed my eyes all I could see were images of Dean. All I could hear were his parting words. Words that had already been spoken to me before.

Every day I drove my phone beeped at me telling me I had a new voicemail message. I'd been ignoring my calls, very few people had this number after all.

Six days passed before I decided I needed a rest. Six days of grabbing a bottle of water, a cereal bar and twenty minutes of sleep before I moved on again.

The only problem was that on day six I was kind of off the beaten track. All that I was passing was scrubby grass lands, the kind that made you think of the 'Wrong Turn'. But my eyes were heavy and my mind a fuzzy mess, I had to find somewhere. Anywhere where I could just rest.

I made a deal with myself, if I couldn't find somewhere within the next half an hour I'd park up and sleep in my 'borrowed' car, risking getting eaten by the locals for a couple of hours kip.

Luckily I didn't have to take the risk, on my left was a ramshackle looking building that looked like a cross between a bar and an inn. I hoped to god they had rooms going, otherwise it was going to be a night in the parking lot.

I pulled into the empty lot and looked round without much hope, the building looked like it had been re-built recently from scorched wood and with not much skill.

I hoped the inside was more favourable than the outside, but not holding out much hope.

I climbed out into the dusty parking lot while grabbing my bag and looked at the sign above the door. The Roadhouse.

Maybe my luck would change here? Either way, I thought to myself as I trudged for the door, it couldn't get much worse.

I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! But I'm going somewhere with this! Love always Tametiger xx