Chapter 5: Bloody Mary

Riley walked back over to the Impala, being careful not to spill the three cups of coffee and the mini cinnamon buns she was toting. Reaching the car, she saw Dean tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, probably in time to some song on the radio. She smiled a bit, shaking her head. He was still such a goofball at heart. A movement from the backseat caught her attention and had her frowning in concern. Sam was tossing and turning, his head shaking like mad dog. Another nightmare.

Sighing, she shifted her items to one arm and opened the passenger side door.

Dean turned his head when the door opened, and he grinned at her so widely that she nearly dropped the items in her hands at how it weak in her knees it made her. Dumbass. She scolded herself and returned the smile, butterflies in her stomach.

"Whatcha got, Blondie?"

"Coffee and mini cinnamon buns." She replied and handed him the bag first before sliding carefully in the leather seat. Setting the container on the dash, she shut the car door and turned her head to face Sam.

"He's having a nightmare."

"I know." Dean grimaced and shoved an entire mini cinnamon bun into his mouth. "It's every time he sleeps." He added with a mouthful of food.

Riley snorted at his eating habits and then snatched the bag from him. "Share, you swine."

He only smirked at her.

After finishing their coffee in silence, Dean glanced back over at her.

She was taking her hair down from her braid, running her fingers through it and the faint scent of strawberries filled the car as she shook out the waves the braid had made. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting it wash over him. Ever since the night she had asked to sleep next to him, his mind had been a whirl of emotions and confusion. He couldn't deny his attraction to her, it had grown since she had been traveling with them, even his brother had picked up on it and so he had tried to distance himself. But everything she did brought his mind back to the gutter.

She was a beautiful, smart, capable hunter which were all pluses in his book. And she knew him unlike other girls who just didn't get him at all and would never understand his lifestyle. On the other hand, he didn't think he stood a chance at having her. He wasn't good enough for her. Had never been, really. He was bad for her, he had hurt her, and that made him nervous that she wouldn't be receptive towards him.

"No!" Sam jerked in the back, his startled gasp making the young woman jump. Dean snickered at her before turning to glance at his brother, glad for the reprieve from his inner turmoil.

"Sam, wake up." He said and Sam blinked. Sitting up, he blinked at them in confusion before sighing.

Dryly, he said: "I take it I was having a nightmare."

"Yeah, another one."

"Hey, at least I got some sleep." He joked. Riley rolled her eyes.

Dean shook his head with a small frown. "You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this." Sam looked away from his brother and cleared his throat.

"Are we here?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Yep. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio, Samwise." Riley grinned and handed him the cup of coffee. Sam smiled at her and took the cup before reaching the newspaper that he had circled the article for a potential case.

Sam skimmed over it again. "So, what do you think really happened to this guy?"

"That's what we're gonna find out." Dean murmured and took the bag back from Riley.

"Gimme." She snatched it back before offering the bag to Sam. "Want one, Sam? It's a mini cinnamon bun."

Sam almost laughed at his brother's pout and declined.

She let Dean take it back from her and he finished off the rest of the breakfast.

Once he was finished, he tossed the empty bag into the backseat floorboard, much to Riley's and Sam's annoyance, and dusted off his jacket of cinnamon and sugar.

"Let's go."

They got out of the car and headed for the hospital to find the morgue.

Riley found the morgue's room number on the wall and they hopped on the elevator.

Sam stood between Riley and Dean on the ride down, rubbing at his temples. He was exhausted and the coffee hadn't helped as much as he thought it would have. Something prodded his arm and he glanced down to see a bottle of aspirin. He blinked at Riley who arched an eyebrow and waited for him to respond.

He nodded at her in thanks and took the bottle, opening the cap and tapping a few pills into his hand. He almost missed the look on Dean's face as his brother watched the interaction. Catching his eyes, they both smirked. Riley was such a mother hen, but she had always been that way. He popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed, grateful for the caring blonde.

The elevator stopping, dinging at the arrival of the floor they had hit the button for and exited through the opening doors.

In the room there sat two desks, one was empty and in the other sat a tech, and Riley read the nameplate on the empty one.

Dr. D. Feiklowicz.

She grimaced and practiced saying it in her head. It wouldn't do to botch that up.

The balding tech at the other desk looked up at their arrival. He was older than an intern normally would be, so Riley assumed that he was an employee.

"Hey." The man greeted.

Dean nodded back. "Hey."

The tech arched an eyebrow, looking from one face to the other.

"Can I help you?"

Dean shifted. "Yeah. We're the, uh...med students."

The tech frowned. "Sorry?"

"Oh, Doctor—"

Riley jumped in before Dean could mispronounce the name.

"Dr. Feiklowicz." She said confidentially, raising an eyebrow at the man. "He didn't tell you about us? We talked to him on the phone."

"Right." Dean nodded, grateful the girl intervened. "We're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper."

The morgue tech shook his head. "Well, I'm sorry, he's at lunch."

"Oh well he said, uh," He shrugged. "Well, you know it doesn't matter. You don't mind just showing us the body, do you?"

"Sorry, I can't. Doc will be back in an hour. You can wait for him if you want." He indicated a set of chairs.

Dean shook his head. "An hour? Ooh. We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then." He glanced at Riley and Sam who nodded.

"Yeah." They said at the same time.

"Uh, look, man, this paper's like half our grade, so if you don't mind helping us out-"

The morgue tech snorted. "Uh, look, man...no." He mocked him.

Dean turned around and muttered under his breath.

"I'm gonna hit him in his face I swear."

Riley smirked when Sam hit him on the arm and she stepped around the boys, going over to the tech who was looking back down at his newspaper. She unbuttoned the top of her shirt as she got to the desk.

"Please, sir."

His eyes lifted to her and he stared at her. "My grades are so important to me." She continued, fluttering her eyes at him as she leaned over his desk. He visibly swallowed and his eyes wandered to her cleavage. "I'd just die if I didn't get good grades." She bit her lip and the tech shifted in his seat. Dean snorted at his expression and Sam smirked at him, making him scowl. "So, if you'd be so kind as to help a poor college girl out?" She batted her eyes at him.

Taking another lingering look at her chest, he nodded. "Sure thing. Follow me, miss."

Riley turned and grinned at the boys, showing them two thumbs up. Sam snickered and Dean rolled his eyes.

They entered the lab and the tech flipped on the light. Walking over to one of the freezers, he took the door handle and opened it. Reaching in, he grabbed the sliding body rack and pulled it out. Riley wrinkled her nose a bit. She really didn't like morgues.

"Now the newspaper said his daughter found him." Sam spoke first. "She said his eyes were bleeding."

The tech nodded and pulled back the sheet over Steven Shoemaker's face.

"More than that. They practically liquefied."

The man's eyes were nonexistent. Bloodied holes in his skull.

"Holy fudge." Riley muttered under her breath.

"Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?" Dean questioned, moving closer to the body.

"Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone." The tech shook his head.

Riley turned away from the man. "What's the official cause of death?"

The tech rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, Doc's not sure. He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

Intrigued, Sam lifted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

He frowned. "The eyes-what would cause something like that?"

"Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."

Dean scoffed. "Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?"

Riley rolled her eyes.

The tech shrugged and gave them a smirk. "That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor."

"Hey, think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh...our paper."

"I'm not really supposed to show you that..." He said and his eyes cut over to Riley. Dean scowled.

The blonde sighed. "That's too bad...I really want to get an A."

The tech swallowed.

She tugged a pen from her pocket and took his hand, writing something on his palm. "Would this help?"

He looked at the number and smiled absentmindedly. Dean scowled and tried to see what she had written on his palm.

"Y-yeah. Sure thing, Brittney."

Riley giggled at him and Sam snickered as the tech fumbled for the keys to the file cabinet.

Riley walked behind the boys as they exited the morgue.

"Might not be one of ours." Sam was saying. "Might just be some freak medical thing."

Dean rolled his eyes. "How many times in Dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?"

"Uh, almost never." He answered, shaking his head at his own question.

"Exactly."

"All right, let's go talk to the daughter." Riley spoke up and Dean turned to scowl at her.

"There are other ways of getting the job done without you flaunting yourself, Blondie."

She blinked at his hostile expression and then scoffed at him.

"Well, how else were we going to get by him? Bribe him with money? I didn't give him my real name or number, I'm not nuts. I guarantee we would have had to pay cash if he hadn't been so fixated on my chest. Did you want to lose your Poker money?" She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I would have slept with him, Dean. How many times have you flirted with some random woman to get information?"

"I would have paid." He said instantly.

Riley snorted. "Bullshit, you'd whine that you lost damn Poker money, you big baby."

Sam rolled his eyes at them as they continued to bicker.

"Guys, knock it off. Look, I don't really agree with Riley's method, but hey, she pulled one over on him and we got our info, Dean. Just be glad we didn't have to hand him your Poker game cash."

Riley stuck her tongue out at Dean childishly and he did it back.

Sam shook his head at them.

The trio walked up to the Shoemaker house and were welcomed inside by one of the family members. As they walked through the home, they noticed all of the attendees were dressed in black. The Winchester boys stuck out sore thumbs in their flannels and jeans. Only Riley looked like she belonged in her black skirt and dark grey button up.

"Feel like we're underdressed." Dean muttered and Riley smirked.

"Why you feel a draft?" She snickered quietly and dodged the hand swung in her direction.

"Knock it off, guys." Sam muttered.

They keep walking through the house towards the backyard where they could see a teenager about two or three years younger than Riley with short dark hair sitting on a bench next to two other teenage girls and a younger girl with long light brown hair. Riley noticed the little girl's posture and tilted her head. She looked...guilty.

Dean spoke up first as they approached the four girls.

"You must be Donna, right?"

The young woman looked up.

"Yeah."

Sam grimaced. "Hi, uh—we're really sorry."

"Thank you."

"I'm Sam, this is Dean and his girlfriend, Riley." Dean's arm snaked around her waist before she could speak, and she tried not to blush when he tugged her closer to him, pressed almost flush against his side. He didn't have to hold her so damn close! The blonde in the lounge chair was eyeing Dean like a piece of meat and Riley rolled her eyes.

"We worked with your dad."

Donna looked confused and exchanged looks with her friend next to her.

"You did?

Dean nodded. "Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke."

The girl next to Donna frowned. "I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now." Riley thought she seemed suspicious of them.

Donna shook her head. "It's okay. I'm okay."

Riley looked at her. "Were there any symptoms? Like, dizziness or migraines?"

"No." She murmured and then the younger sister whirled around.

"That's because it wasn't a stroke." She exclaimed.

Donna looked at her in concern. "Lily, don't say that."

"What?" Sam asked and she looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, she's just upset."

"No, it happened because of me." Lily said, upset.

"Sweetie, it didn't."

Sam walked over. "Lily." She looked at him as he knelt in front of her. "Why would you say something like that?" He asked gently.

She hesitated at first, but no one can resist the pleading puppy dog eyes of Sam Winchester.

"Right before he died, I said it." She whispered.

"You said what?"

Riley and Dean tensed, waiting to hear what she would say. Dean's arm tightened around her slightly and she almost leaned against him. Almost.

"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror." She paused for a second and then continued. "She took his eyes, that's what she does."

Donna sighed and shook her head. "That's not why Dad died. This isn't your fault."

"I think your sister's right, Lily." Dean spoke up. "There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

Dean nodded, exchanging looks with Riley. They needed to see that bathroom.

"We just wanted to give you our condolences." She told them and Donna nodded.

"Thank you."

Riley stepped out from Dean's embrace, relived to do so. "Would you mind if I used your bathroom?"

"Not at all. There's one down the hall next to the stairs."

"Thank you so much."

Slipping past the guests, they managed to get upstairs unseen.

Riley opened the bathroom door and they peered inside. There was still some dried blood on the floor.

"The Bloody Mary legend...Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?" Sam questioned.

Dean shook his head and stepped further into the bathroom. "Not that I know of."

Sam bent down and touched the floor, inspecting it.

"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it."

"Well, maybe because everywhere else it's just a story but here it actually happens." Riley guessed and Dean nodded at her in agreement.

"The place where the legend began?" Sam inquired.

Riley shrugged. "It's possible."

Dean opened the medicine cabinet and peered inside.

"But according to the legend, the person who says-" Sam paused and scowled at his reflection, before shutting the cabinet. "The person who says you-know-what gets it. But here-"

His brother nodded. "Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah."

"Right."

"Never heard anything like that before. Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right." Dean pointed out. "The way the legend goes, you-know-who scratches your eyes out.

"It's worth checking in to." Riley stated. "I saw a library when we drove through town."

A creak on the floor, made them freeze and then they exited the bathroom.

There in the hallway was Donna's friend. The suspicious one.

She frowned at them. "What are you doing up here?"

Dean grinned. "We—we, had to go to the bathroom."

She narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"
"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." He said and she scoffed.

"He was a day trader or something. He worked by himself." She snapped.

He stumbled over his words. "No, I know, I meant-"

"And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that? So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming."

Riley stepped up.

"All right, look. We think something happened to Donna's dad. Not a stroke. Because that is not a sign of a typical stroke."

Her frown lessened. "Something like what?"

Riley sighed. "Honestly? We don't know yet. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth."

Dean nodded. "So, if you're gonna scream, go right ahead."

They waited, but she never moved.

"Who are you, cops?"

Riley smirked. "Something like that." She pulled a piece of paper out and wrote something on it. "Here. This is my number. If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange or out of the ordinary then give us a call, okay? We're not out to hurt anyone, we just want to find out what's going on here."

The girl nodded.

"Were those your real names?"

"Yes, I'm Riley. This is Sam and Dean."

"I'm Charlie." The girl relaxed. Riley was easy to talk to.

"It's nice to meet you, Charlie."

Riley led the way into the library.

"Can we please go to the motel after this? These friggin' heels are killing me and I hate this damn skirt."

Dean's eyes drifted to her ass when she bent over to rub at her foot before sticking it back in the shoe. Sam smacked his chest and the noise attracted Riley, turning her head. Dean immediately looked elsewhere, and Sam was shaking his head. Riley gave them a confused look.

"Yeah, sure." The younger Winchester answered her, and she stood back up.

"Great."

Dean turned back to them. "All right. Say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof—Like a local woman who died nasty."

Riley sighed. "There's like 50 versions of who she is though."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, it's widespread. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride, there's a lot more."

"All right so what are we supposed to be looking for?" His brother asked as they neared the computers.

"Every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. So we've gotta search local newspapers—public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill."

"Well that sounds annoying." Dean griped.

"You can say that again." Riley muttered, gesturing at the signs that adorned each computer. "Out of Order" they read.

"Well crap."

"Which is the pile we've already gone through?"

Dean glanced up and froze at the sight of Riley who was running her fingers through her damp hair. Her tank top was stuck to her body, her pajama shorts perfectly short. Swallowing, he nodded at the pile of books in the chair across from him.

"Okay." She bent and grabbed some of the books from the floor next to him. When he looked at her again, she was sitting crisscross on the bed in front of him, flipping pages.

A snore sounded and she glanced up, catching his eyes. He nodded behind her with a smirk and she looked over her shoulder. Sam was sprawled across his bed, deep asleep, an open book across his chest.

"He's not going to be happy you let him sleep." She commented. "But he needed it."

Dean's eyes softened and the smirk faded. "Yeah, he did."

Riley went over to the motel's closet and got out a spare blanket. She shook it out before draping it over Sam and tucking it around him. Dean snorted softly. Mother hen. Her concern for Sam hadn't changed over the years. He wondered briefly if she had ever had any feelings for his brother. Or if she did now. She had given him the medicine earlier and then the blanket... He knew she would do that for him regardless. Not that he wanted her to do that for him...

Riley was back on the bed now, laying on her stomach. Her feet were in the air, her ankles crossed, and she was checking the index of a book in front of her.

"Blondie."

"Hm?"

He hesitated, almost loathe to bring it up, but it had been bothering him for the past month since she had come on the road with them.

"We need to talk."

That got her attention and she turned to look at him from the bed.

"About what?"

"That night."

"What night?" She asked slowly, though her body was tense. She had an inkling of what he wanted to talk about.

"You know." He said simply and waited.

Riley sat up and stared at the man across from her. Dean was sitting there nonchalant like he hadn't just declared they talk about it. She didn't want to talk about it, because she knew if they did, she'd make the mistake of telling him she still felt the same as she had that night. And it would be a mistake. He'd reject her again and with good reason. He was Dean, the one-night stand king, and he wasn't interested in her. Had never been. She wasn't sure why he wanted to talk about it, other than maybe he wanted to make sure they were good. That she didn't hold any grudges. She didn't. She had been fifteen and stupid. Full of fantasies and craziness. And he was Dean Winchester, the rough tough hunter with the gorgeous green eyes. Eyes that were just now looking at her intently and making her skin prickle uncomfortably with heat.

"Right now?"

He nodded and she sighed.

"Why? Look, I don't, like, hate you or anything. I mean, I was fifteen and stupid. I didn't know what I was saying." She babbled, though inside she was screaming the truth.

Dean frowned. "I hurt you." He was frustrated because he had been in the wrong that night. He had lied to her about how he had felt, how he still felt...Especially when she smiled at him.

She shrugged. "You're not the first who's told me the truth, Dean. The truth hurts." She fingered the necklace around her neck. "This is a reminder." She held it up, the ring glittering in the dim light of the bedside lamp. "I didn't tell you this part of the story, but Eli and I were-" She looked pained as she tried to explain. "I was calling off the engagement that night he was killed. We fought because he had cheated on me and I stormed out, leaving him with our friends. He told me he cheated because he thought I was cheating on him, that's what we were fighting about." Riley tucked the necklace back in her tank top. "But I didn't."

Dean wasn't sure how to respond. "Why would he think that?"

The young woman shrugged. "I don't know." She frowned. "Why did you want to talk about it?"

"You never called or made contact. I hadn't heard from you in years." He lied, too cowardly to admit that it had bothered him. "Bobby only had my number because he tried dad first."

Riley was silent for a moment, looking at her lap. She nodded and raised her head. "You're right. I never meant to stop talking to you, but after the falling out between dad and John... Weeks turned into months and so on," She shrugged, looking at him apologetically. "Then I started working with Pastor Jim and met his son, Eli. We did hunts together and then...Well you know the rest." She looked back down quickly. "I end up driving people away and then things happen to them."

Dean moved to sit on the bed next to her and he touched her chin with gentle fingers, tilting her face toward him. Her eyes rose slowly, and he felt heat pool in his stomach when her shimmering blue eyes landed on his face.

She didn't expect him to touch her that way, so gentle and intimate. His eyes were two burning green infernos and she couldn't look away, nor did she want too. They were so close that she could see specs of gold in the green irises.

"Hey," He said softly. "That wasn't on you. It's not your fault. People fight and argue, but nothing happens because of it. You walked to get some air, right? But you had every intention of going back."

She shook her head. "No, Dean, I left them in there. I wasn't...I didn't want to go back. If I had just toughened it out and tried to work it out with him instead of running...They'd still be alive." Tears shimmered in her eyes and he had a moment to take in how beautiful she was. How beautiful she always had been.

"You can't think that. It'll drive you crazy. He was a hunter too, yeah? It happens. It was an accident nothing more. It wasn't on you."

"You really believe that?" She asked softly, biting her lip. If he knew the whole story, he and Sam both would run for the hills. If they knew she had seen Eli's death in the same repeated dream for several weeks before the incident, that that was the real reason Eli had thought she was cheating on him. She had been distancing herself slowly, afraid of putting him in harm's way from whatever it had been, but...it had happened.

"Yeah."

She found herself leaning into his touch, seeking the warmth and comfort he was giving. They were inches away from each other, noses almost touching. She found she couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Dean." She breathed, trembling slightly. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't be leaning so close to him.

Dean licked his lips, eyes lowering to her slightly parted ones. "Yeah?" He leaned closer, unable to stop himself. He suddenly wanted to confess to her. To tell her the truth about that night. He wanted to kiss her.

"Riley, about that night? There's something you should know..." He began.

Riley was hardly listening to him, trying to make herself stop getting so close to him. It was like she couldn't stop herself.

Sam snorted loudly and flopped in the bed behind them. Before Dean knew it, Riley was up and across the room.

"I'm going to get some air. I'll be back." She said rapidly, red-faced, and fled out the door.

Dean watched her shut the door and then dropped his head into his hands. "Damn it." What had he been thinking? Almost kissing her? Almost telling her the truth? "What the hell is wrong with me?" He said aloud.

Riley pressed against the closed door. "What the hell was I thinking? I almost kissed him. Damn it." Trying to calm down her racing heart, she headed down toward the vending machines.

Dean looked up when Riley came back in carrying two cans of soda.

"Wanna drink?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great." She handed one to him and went to sit on the couch. She went back to researching, ignoring him. Groaning quietly at his own stupidity, he rested his head against the wall behind him.

Sam jerked awake and Dean glanced up at him from the notebook in his hand. Riley had condensed her findings into a few notebook pages, so he was scanning back through them while she was out getting breakfast.

"Why'd you let me fall asleep?" He said groggily, frowning.

"Cause I'm an awesome brother." Dean replied with a wry grin. "So, what did you dream about?"

Sam ran a hand over his face. "Lollipops and candy canes."

He snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"Did you guys find anything?" He got off the bed, stretching his limbs and toed the blanket that fell off him. "Riley?" He guessed with a small grin.

Dean smirked back. "Yep. And we found nothing, besides a whole new level of frustration. Riley found a few local women who committed suicide in front of a mirror. And I found a guy named Dave who had a giant mirror fall on him, but uh, no Mary."

Sam sat back down with a groan. "Maybe we just haven't found it yet."

"We've also been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know...eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary." He muttered.

Riley came back in, phone against her ear.

"Okay, don't worry. We're on our way, Charlie." She promised and hung up, turning to face the boys. "It happened again. That girl we met at the house? Her friend died. Same way."

"Guess we better check it out." Dean said and took the bag of food from her.

"Morning, Sam." Riley smiled and he shook his head her.

"You should have woken me."

"You have to sleep sometime." She said seriously before rolling her eyes at Dean who was digging through the food bag. "Hey, quit hogging the food!"

Sam shook his head at them as they fought over the bag of donuts.

Riley patted Charlie gently as the girl told her story. Sam was on the other side of her, while Dean was perched on the back of it, his leg pressed against Riley's back.

"And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her—her eyes. They were gone." The teen sniffled.

Sam looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry."

Charlie sighed. "And she said it." Dean looked at Sam and Riley. They were all on edge. "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of that." She shook her head and looked at Riley. "I'm insane, right?"

Dean answered first. "No, you're not insane."

She groaned and rested her head on her hands. "Oh God, that makes me feel so much worse." Riley grimaced and patted her again.

"Look, Charlie. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained." She told her and Dean nodded.

"And we're gonna stop it but we could use your help." He added.

"How?" Charlie sniffled.

"Need a boost?" Dean smirked and Riley glared at him over her shoulder, pausing from climbing into Jill's bedroom window. His hands looked ready to shove her ass.

"Want a boot in your face?" She retorted and he snickered as she climbed in. She turned and caught the duffel bag that he slid off his back and tossed to her.

"Hurry up and get inside." Sam hissed, perching precariously on the ladder and climbed in after his chuckling brother.

"What did you tell Jill's mom?" Riley inquired as Charlie watched them dig through the bag.

"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things." She sighed and rubbed her arm guiltily. "I hate lying to her."

Dean shut the curtains and turned around. "Trust us, this is for the greater good. Hit the lights."

The teenager turned the lights off. "What are you guys looking for?"

"We'll let you know as soon as we find it."

Sam lifted the digital camera from the bag and turned to Dean. "Hey, night vision." He handed it over and Dean flipped the night vison on for him. "Perfect." He lifted it and aimed it around the room.

Dean made a face when it landed on him. "Do I look like Paris Hilton?"

"Yes." Riley smirked and he smirked back.

Sam ignored them and walked away with the camera. He opened Jill's closet door and began filming around the mirror.

"So, I don't get it. I mean...the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?" He questioned and Dean shrugged.

"Beats me. I want to know why Jill said it in the first place." He turned to Charlie who sighed.

"It's just a joke."

"Well, someone will say it again." Riley said, frowning. "It's a matter of time. And it's definitely no joke."

"Hey." Sam called from the bathroom. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"

Dean nodded. "I'll get it."

Riley went into the bathroom with Sam and helped him get the mirror down. As they did, Riley could see the blood that Sam had seen on the back of the mirror.

"Let's lay it on the bed, mirror side down." He suggested and they hauled it into the room and onto Jill's bed.

Dean came back in with the blacklight and he tossed it to his brother.

Riley peeled off the brown paper on the back of the mirror and Sam turned on the blacklight, shining it down where the paper was being peeled off. On the back was a clear handprint and the words "Gary Bryman."

"Gary Bryman?" Charlie read aloud.

"You know who that is?" Sam asked and she shook her head.

"No."

Riley groaned. "Time to go back to the ancient library."

"So...what's going on with Dean?"

Riley glanced at Sam from the newspaper archives she had been searching through. She gave him a confused look.

"What?"

Sam arched an eyebrow. "He's been acting weird. You haven't noticed?"

"No. He's his usual goofy self. Why? Is something going on with him?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know he likes you, Riles."

"He tolerates me." She corrected with a snort.

"No, I mean he likes you, likes you."

"Are we in the fourth grade?" She teased and felt a jolt of uneasiness. "Seriously, Sam. There's nothing between Dean and I." She went back to her archive.

"Either you like him too or you're oblivious. And I think it's the first."

Riley grimaced, knowing he was right. "Shut up, Sam."

"You used to have a huge crush on him when we were younger." He pointed out.

"Used to, Sam. Used too. It's not that way anymore."

He started to say something else, but the look on her face was distraught and full of fear.

"Please don't push this, Sam. I'll admit that I once felt something, but not anymore. Just..." She begged him and he nodded, his eyes softening. "Just please drop it."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't say anything else." He said and relief went across her face so quickly that he almost missed it. He was more than curious now, but it was apparent that she didn't want to discuss it.

Dean and Charlie were still on the bench when Riley and Sam exited the library.

"So, Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy." Sam told them as he approached the park bench. "Two years ago, he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

Charlie gasped. "Oh my God." Her eyes widened and Riley looked at her in concern.

"What's wrong?'

"Jill drove that car."

Riley looked at Dean who frowned. "We need to get back to your friend Donna's house."

After getting into the house, they checked the bathroom mirror.

Sam held the blacklight over the back of the mirror.

There was a handprint and a name.

"Linda Shoemaker." Riley read. "Do you think the dad killed her?"

Dean shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

They went down the steps and met with Donna who was not to happy to have them questioning her.

"Why are you asking me this?" She demanded and Sam sighed.

"Look, we're sorry, but it's important."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Linda's my mom okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that's it." She glared at them. "I think you should leave."

"Now Donna, just listen." Dean began, but she wasn't having it.

"Get out of my house!" She shrieked and ran upstairs.

Charlie turned to them. "Oh my God. Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?"

Riley grimaced. "Maybe."

"I think I should stick around."

"All right. Whatever you do, don't-"

Charlie waved her off. "Believe me, I won't say it."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?"

Dean nodded. "Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database—at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me.

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town." Sam argued.

"I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked. So unless you got a better idea-"

Sam frowned. "The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern."

Riley sat down across from Sam and put her legs across his lap, making him roll his eyes at her. "Yeah, I caught that too. With Mr. Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run."

Dean nodded. "Both had secrets where people died."

"Right." His brother agreed. "I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them." Riley felt like someone punched her gut and she shifted on the bed. Sam's words reminded her of the dark secret she held and the knowledge that if the boys were to learn of it, would make them run in the opposite direction.

"Right, right." Dean agreed. "So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a really nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it."

"Whether you're the one that summoned her or not." Riley added quietly. Sam looked at her, frowning at her quiet tone, but Dean was pulling something from the printer.

"Take a look at this."

Sam took the offered picture and glanced down at it. A woman was lying by a mirror in a puddle of blood. Riley glanced at the photo too and then Dean handed them another one. This one was of a handprint and the letters "Tre"

"Looks like the same handprint." Sam looked at Dean who nodded.

"Her name was Mary Worthington—an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."

"You think she was trying to spell a name?" Riley questioned and he shrugged.

"Guess we're going to find the detective who was on this case."

Riley washed her face in the bathroom sink again, making sure the blood was gone. It wasn't as much as last time, but it was still enough to worry her a little. Rubbing her forehead, she groaned tiredly. Every now and then she'd get intense headaches and her nose would bleed. She had felt it coming before they had left to talk to the retired detective, so she had told Sam she wasn't feeling well enough to go.

A knock on the bathroom door made her glance up.

"Hey, Riley, we're back. Are you feeling, okay?" It was Sam.

Riley took a steadying breath.

"Yeah. Be out in a second."

Checking her reflection once more, she turned off the light and came out of the bathroom.

Sam was sitting on the bed, looking at his laptop. "Dean went to get food." He said without looking up.

Riley nodded and went to sit on the couch, downing a few pills for her headache.

"Are you okay?"

Sam was looking at her with worry.

"Just a bad headache. It'll go away." Riley responded and propped her feet up on the little coffee table. "So what did you guys find out?"

Sam launched into what had happened at the detective's house.

"See, you were right about her trying to spell something out-"

Riley's brows rose. "So, we find the mirror and smash it?"

"Something like that I think." He nodded and glanced down at his lap for a moment. "Riley about what happened at the library-"

Dean came in the door before he could continue, and Riley was relieved.

"Feeling up to eating a cheeseburger on the road, Blondie?" The green-eyed hunter smirked at her and she smirked back.

"Sure thing, Winchester."

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.

Riley leaned up from the backseat so that her arms were propped on the back of the front seats and she could rest her chin on her folded arms.

"Oh really?" Sam said into his phone. He was calling about the mirror. "Ah that's too bad Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks." He hung up with a sigh and Dean turned to him.

"So?"

"So that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A store in Toledo."

"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Riley concluded and Sam nodded.

"Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow."

Dean turned to glance at his brother and Riley. "Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah there is."

"Yeah," Riley nodded. "When someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped."

"So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit." Dean guessed.

Sam frowned, but not in disagreement. "Yeah but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?"

"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it."

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe."

Riley's phone started ringing and she dug it out of her jacket, sliding back a bit in the seat. "Hello?" She prompted and the frowned. "Charlie? Hey, hey, slow down. What happened?" She listened rapidly and then sighed. "Okay, listen to me. Do not look at anything reflective okay? Right. We're on the way. It's okay, Charlie." She hung up and met Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Donna said it this time."

"Well, crap." He muttered.

"Yeah and it's after Charlie."

After picking up the girl, they went back to the motel room throwing blankets and sheets over every reflective surface they could find and drawing the curtain closed. Charlie was sitting on the bed all the while, hiding her face into her knees and Riley was next to her, stroking her hair and trying to give her comfort. Sam nodded at her when she glanced at him and nodded back.

"Hey, hey it's okay. Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie. It's okay, all right?" Riley prompted and the girl looked up slowly.

Sam sat down in front of her. "Now listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you." He told her calmly and she sniffled.

"But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

Riley shook her head. "No. No. Not anytime soon."

Dean sat down next to Riley. "All right Charlie. We need to know what happened."

"We were in the bathroom." Charlie muttered. "Donna said it."

He shook his head. "That's not what we're talking about. Something happened, didn't it? In your life...a secret...where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?"

Charlie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said? I said "Go ahead." And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just...I didn't believe him, you know? I should have." She put her face back onto her knees and started sobbing lightly. Riley stroked her hair and whispered to her soothingly.

After figuring out where the shop that had the mirror was located, the team took off leaving Charlie to rest in the motel room.

Riley stared out the window watching the rain drops roll down the glass, feeling a bit broody again and started playing with her hair, a nervous habit she had picked up as a small girl.

"You know," Dean began and Riley jumped at the sudden sound. "-her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault."

Sam heaved a sigh. "You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary."

"I guess."

Silence filled the car again for a second.

"You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror." Sam spoke and Riley turned from the window.

"What do you mean, Sam?"

"Well Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it."

Dean frowned. "Well how do you know that's going to work?"

"I don't, not for sure."

"Well, who's gonna summon her?"

Riley tensed. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something, but thought better of it.

"I will. She'll come after me." Sam said so calmly that Riley chewed her lip.

Dean grit his teeth. "You know what, that's it."

Sam and Riley both stared at him as found a safe spot and pulled the car over, shutting off the engine. For a second, he didn't speak and the sound of rain hitting the car filled the air. Finally, he turned to Sam. {He pulls the car over.}

"This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow?" The blonde in the back studied Sam's face. Though his jaw was clenched his eyes spoke volumes. Dean sighed. "Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night—it's gonna kill you." His brother emphasized and then he heaved another sigh, frowning. "Now listen to me—It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place."

Sam's head swiveled to face him quickly, his face full of pain. "I don't blame you."

Dean shook his head. "Well, you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done."

The look in Sam's eyes made Riley start to twist her hair again. she recognized that look because she saw it in her own face every time she caught her reflection. He had secret that haunted him just like she did.

"I could've warned her." The young man said softly, eyes getting a bit misty.

"About what?" Dean scowled. "You didn't know what was gonna happen!" Sam turned away, jaw tight again. "And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean I know all about it. So does Riley!" She jumped at being addressed and her eyes widened when Dean's hand gestured at her. "It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."

"No, you don't."

Dean frowned. "I don't what?"

"You don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything."

"What are you talking about?"

Sam turned to him. "Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?"

Giving him a surprised look, he shook his head. "No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it."

Sam sighed. "Dean, that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this."

"Just let him do it." Riley spoke up for the first time since the argument started. Dean was too stubborn to let Sam go through with it and she didn't exactly like it herself.

Dean opened his mouth to argue but she plowed on. "No, Dean. The reason doesn't matter as long as we can summon her and smash the mirror she's pulled into. Charlie is depending on us and we're wasting time." She looked from one brother to the next. "We'll both be there with him." She added for good measure and Dean groaned.

"All right already. Stop ganging up on me."

After Riley picked the lock with ease, they entered the shop. Switching on their flashlights, they shone them around the room. There were dozens of mirrors everywhere.

"Well...that's just great." Dean griped and pulled out the picture of Mary's body that had the mirror. Riley peered over his shoulder to look at it, pressing against his back and he smirked slightly that she was on her tip toes. "All right let's start looking. Blondie, you're with me."

"Aye, captain." She saluted him and Sam snorted.

Dean led the way toward the left side of the store. "So, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"In the car?"

She shrugged. "Sam obviously wanted to do it because he feels so strongly about it. Or are you asking me what he knows, because I don't."

He shrugged back. "Just wondering why, you were ganging up on me."

She rolled her eyes and ducked a low hanging sign. "I wasn't ganging up on you, you big baby. Sam wants to do it, so I just think you should let him."

"You like him? Sam." Dean said and Riley stared at him.

"What?"

"You've been mothering him a lot lately."

"Well, excuse me for helping take care of Sam. I just happen to know how it feels to have someone you loved ripped out of your life."

Dean took her arm. "Sorry, okay? I know. You can sympathize with him. It just frustrates the hell out of me that he won't talk to me." He glared at the wall behind her.

Riley sighed and took his face in her hands, surprising him and he looked at her. He swallowed nervously, fidgeting beneath her hands.

"Hey, give it time. Sam's still grieving and there's a lot going on in that head of his. He'll come around to telling you, Dean. Just give him time. You're a good brother, you always have been. Just keep being there for him, okay?"

He nodded dumbly, slightly dazed by her sparkling blue eyes.

She smiled at him and his felt something flutter in his chest. "Don't worry, Sam's like a brother to me. Always has been and always will be."

To his disappointment, her hands slid away from his face and she turned to keep looking for the mirror.

"Hey, Sam." She called. "Maybe they've already sold it."

"I don't think so." He answered and Dean shook his head to clear it. He'd be thinking about her eyes and her smile later and how her hands had felt on his face.

They made their way over to Sam and he pulled the picture out to compare it.

"That's it." He said and then sighed, turning to Sam. "You sure about this?"

Sam handed him his flashlight for an answer and faced the mirror. "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." He glanced at Riley and Dean took a deep breath, taking a crowbar and lifting it up ready to swing. "Bloody Mary."

A car pulled up in front of the store, lights beaming through the darkness.

"I'll go check that out. Stay here with Sam." He told Riley and then looked at his little brother. "Smash anything that moves." Dean left them and Riley watched Sam.

Her eyes widened when he glanced at a side mirror and smashed it with his crowbar. Then he quickly turned and smashed another before facing her original mirror.

"Come on. Come into this one." He taunted. Riley watched Sam's reflection and gasped softly. It wasn't doing what Sam was doing. Glancing back at Sam, she could see blood trickling from his right eye.

"Sam."

"'m okay." He grunted, though he was staring to have trouble breathing.

Reflection Sam glared at him. "It's your fault." It said slowly. "You killed her. You killed Jessica."

"Sam!" Riley grabbed the crowbar from him, but was stopped by her own mirror image that appear next to Sam's while his was still talking. In a matter of seconds, Riley was on her knees next to Sam, holding her aching head. Blood trickled from her eyes.

"You did it. You let them all die! You saw it in your dreams and did nothing!" Reflection Riley hissed at her. "You walked away and let it happen! How could you just leave them there to die! Leave Eli there to die?!"

Sam glanced at the girl next to him. Riley looked worse off than he did and realized that it was killing her faster.

Dean came running back in to see both Sam and Riley on the ground in pain, eyes bleeding. Mary had gotten to the two of them and while part of him was confused at why the spirit was attacking Riley, now was not the time to ask questions. The girl looked seconds away from losing consciousness. Thinking quick, he grabbed the crowbar Riley had dropped and smashed the mirror.

He grabbed Sam's face. "Sammy, Sammy!"

Sam groaned and winced. "It's Sam."

"God, are you okay?" He questioned, wiping some of the blood from his brother's face.

"Uh, yeah." Sam said weakly. "Riley?"

Dean went over to her, cupping her face. "Hey, sugarpie, you with me?"

"What happened?" The blonde blinked at him and he snorted.

"Mary decided to pick on you too. Probably to keep you from helping Sam." Dean helped her sit up and then got Sam to his slightly unsteady feet.

"Go ahead and get him." Riley waved to Sam. "I'll be okay."

He gave her a doubtful glance, but urged Sam toward the door, knowing the cops wouldn't be out for long.

Riley ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face and turned to find something to pull herself up with. Seeing an old stool, she used it to get up wobbly and then grabbed a table to keep from falling back to the ground.

As she did, she heard glass crunching behind her and slowly turned. Mary was crawling out of the broken mirror like a creature from a horror movie.

"Uh...Dean!"

He and Sam turned around and their eyes widened.

Mary started toward them and the three hunters fell to the ground, bleeding from the eyes. Riley managed to get close to them and Sam pulled her between him and Dean. The older Winchester reached for a mirror on his other side. Pulling the mirror in front of him, he aimed it at Mary.

The spirit paused staring at her refection which began shouting at her. "You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" Mary stumbled back choking to death and melted into a puddle of blood. Once she disappeared, Dean threw the mirror and shattered it.

Dean glanced at his brother. "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"This has got to be like...what? 600 years of bad luck?"

Riley snorted as Sam chuckled weakly.

"Let's get the hell out of here. I need a stiff drink." She said and Dean nodded in agreement.

Charlie turned to face Riley when they stopped in front of her house.

"So this is really over?"

The older blonde nodded her head. "Yeah, it's over."

"Thank you!" Charlie hugged Riley and shook hands with Dean and Sam. "Thank you." She got out of the car and started up her driveway.

Sam leaned his head out of the window. "Charlie?" She turned around. "Your boyfriend's death...you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen."

She gave him a faint smile and then turned to go into the house. Dean hit Sam's arm gently.

"That's good advice."

Dean started up the engine and they drove toward the highway.

As they passed through the town, Dean glanced at Sam.

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is."

Sam sighed heavily. "Look...you're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself."

Riley remained silent.

Hours later at a motel/rest-stop...

"Sam, can we talk?"

He turned to look at her. "Of course." She was chewing her lip nervously, staring out the window. "What's wrong, Riley?"

"What you said about Jessica..."

He sighed. "Riley, I'm not going to tell you either."

She finally looked at him, her blue eyes filled with tears. "No, you don't understand. I know you heard what Mary said to me." She paused for a moment, unsure. "Sam...When you said you could have warned her. Jessica. It reminded me of myself because...I saw Eli die before it happened."

Sam sat up straighter, alert. Eyes widening, he stared at her.

"In a dream?" He asked quickly and she nodded. "Oh my god. Jess..."

"You saw her too didn't you?"

He nodded, swallowing hard. "It doesn't make sense."

"I know how you're feeling, Sam. I knew he was going to die and I didn't do anything. I just walked away." She buried her face into her hands. "I let it happen, Sam. I saw it and I still walked away from him." She began to sob, her shoulders shaking.

Sam wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, Riley, it's okay."

"I never told anyone that part before. Please don't say anything."

"Of course, I won't. you think I'd tell about you when I have the same secret."

Wiping at her eyes, she looked back up at him. "Why Sam? why did we see it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, Riley. I just don't know."

Sighing, Riley pulled out of his embrace. "I'm going to shower before Dean comes in and sees us hugging." She smirked and grabbed her bag from the couch. "He already asked me in that antique store if I had a thing for you."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dad used to think we did."

Her jaw dropped. "What? No way!"

"Way."

Laughing she went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Sam frowned at his lap as he heard the shower turn on. Why did he and Riley have those dreams? What did it mean? Before he could ponder it much further, his brother came in with a pack of beer and a big cheesy smile. Dean was his brother and it was wrong to keep him in the dark, he knew, but like Riley feared the outcome of his admittance. For now, Dean would just have to be content with not knowing everything.

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