Chapter 12

"Well, that was fun," Dean said sarcastically, as they stood outside his Impala. He glanced at Jessie, who was glaring at him.

"Just unlock the car, Dean," Sam said impatiently.

"No, Sam," Jessie said. "If he's got something to say, I'd like to hear it."

Dean turned to face her, a slight grin on his face. "Actually, I wanted to tell you how much fun tonight was."

"More fun than last night?" she asked harshly.

He swallowed hard, averting his gaze. She was obviously in a mood and he didn't want to start a fight he wasn't in the mood for. He unlocked the car doors, jumping inside in a hurry.

Sam opened the passenger side, climbing into the backseat again, while Jessie sat in the front. Nothing was said the entire ride back to her house, or on the way into the house. But once they were inside, Jessie turned to the boys, looking apologetic. "I'm really sorry about tonight."

"Why are you sorry?" Dean asked. "It ended in a fight, big deal. You kicked ass."

She grinned. "Yeah, I guess I did." She set her purse down, walking into the kitchen. She reappeared a minute later, handing both of the boys a beer. "Sit down, take a load off."

"Aren't you gonna have a beer with us?" Sam asked curiously.

"Yeah, but I'll be right back," she said, heading upstairs. She went into her bedroom, changing into a black pair of yoga pants and a white t-shirt, then into the bathroom, letting her hair down. She brushed it vigorously, until it was straight again, then put it into a tight pony tail. She cleaned her face thoroughly, making sure all the make up was off of her face, before going back downstairs.

Dean and Sam were sitting on the couch in the livingroom talking when she walked in. They became quiet, watching her walk into the kitchen for a moment, before reappearing with a beer. She sat on the couch between the brothers, took a swig of her beer, then sighed deeply.

"What a night," she remarked to no one in particular.

"Yeah," Dean said in agreement. Sam only smiled at her.

She gazed at Sam questioningly. "Do you have something you want to say to me, Sam?"

"Yeah," he replied with a smile. "You have a beautiful voice, Jessie."

"Thank you, Sam," she replied blushing slightly. She had expected him to say something else.

"Is that how you make your money?" Dean asked curiously.

She laughed. "No. There isn't a lot of money to be made that way. But I enjoy singing in public. Winning money is just a bonus."

He studied her for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. "Where do you get your money?"

She pondered his question for a moment, giving him a curious look. "Is this an interrogation?"

"No, not at all. I was just curious."

She smirked."Actually, it's all honestly earned, unlike yours," she said pointing at Dean.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.

"Dean," Sam called. "She didn't mean anything by it."

She glanced at Sam, smirking. "You don't have to stop your brother from making an idiot out of himself. I rather enjoy it." She looked at Dean, smirking widely. "My parents had honest jobs after they quit hunting, for over fifteen years. They had a house, insurance policies. I'm more than set for life—well, this life anyway."

Dean looked at her uncomfortably. "I didn't mean to...nevermind."

"It's fine, Dean. Didn't I say I'd tell you about my life?" she paused a moment, thinking. "Or were you upset about what I said?"

"Upset? Me? Nah," he replied nonchalantly.

She smiled. "I'm not one to judge, Dean. I've done enough things in this life to be ashamed of. As long as you're not robbing little old ladies or kids for their lunch money, I could really care less." Sam and Dean both laughed.

She set her beer down on the table, stretching slightly. "I'm gonna excuse myself for now boys," she said, standing up. "I've got some work to do on my computer before I go to bed."

The boys watched her walk across the livingroom and into the computer room, closing the door behind her. Sam immediately looked at his brother with a worried expression.

"What is it, Sam?"

"I don't know, Dean. There's something weird going on here."

"You mean with only one werewolf kill during the week before the full moon, or because it was out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Both, actually. It doesn't seem like the usual pattern."

"You're worried about her, aren't you, Sam?"

"Yeah, actually I am Dean," he replied harshly. "Don't you find it strange how the same werewolf hunted her entire family down?"

"I do, Sam, but what're we gonna do? She's gonna go after whatever it is alone just as she always does, no matter what we say."

"Are you saying we shouldn't at least try, Dean?" he asked angrily. "So she was good enough to sleep with but not help? Is that what you're saying?"

"We're back to this now are we? I made a mistake. Are you going to keep punishing me for it?" Sam looked at him with frustration but said nothing. "You've got it bad for her, don't you?"

"That's not the point, Dean," he replied with a steely glare. "How I feel has no relevance to what's going on. We promised Bobby to look out for her. Are you saying you want to break your promise to him?"

"No, of course not. But I don't remember volunteering to be a damn babysitter."

He laughed at his brother incredulously. "Babysitter, huh? I think she's more than capable of looking after herself, Dean."

"You're probably right, Sam. So why are you so worried about her?"

He shook his head, sighing loudly. "Just forget it, Dean." He set his beer bottle on the table, still shaking his head. "I'm going to bed," he said, then left upstairs without another word.

Dean sighed, watching his brother leave in a huff. He wasn't sure why his brother was so concerned about Jessie. She'd taken care of herself for so long without their help and she'd made it pretty clear she preferred to hunt alone. But still, his brother was upset and he figured it wasn't just because he had some sort of feelings for her. His intuition was usually right. He finished his beer then headed upstairs to bed as well.

Jessie was busy searching for more information about Dennis' death on her computer. She was so wrapped in her research she was completely unaware of the Winchesters arguing in the livingroom, not that she would have cared. Her mind was often single minded when she was on a hunt, nothing else mattered. This one was personal though, which made her even more determined to find out what was going on.

She searched for two hours, but ran into dead ends everywhere she turned. Even hacking into the local police department's computer system didn't get her any extra information about Dennis' death. All it proved was that there had been no other strange deaths nearby, not in the past two weeks. When she finally realized she wasn't going to get any further on her computer, she decided it was time to go to Dennis' house.

She opened the door to the livingroom, expecting to find Dean or Sam, but was suprised to find neither of them. She was actually relieved, she wanted to go to Dennis' house alone. She picked up the beer bottles from the coffee table and took them in to the kitchen, turning off the lights, then doing the same when she went back into the livingroom. She quietly walked up to her bedroom, put on her favorite shoes–which she'd left up there earlier–then headed back downstairs into the livingroom. She walked along side the wall beside the stairs, feeling for a hidden button on top of the trim, which triggered a door to open under the stairs. Inside the hidden room were various weapons, ammunition and other miscellaneous hunting equipment. She took out a shotgun, shotgun shells full of silver buckshot and silver bullets for her hand gun. She was about to lock the room back up, when she decided to grab an extra knife. After her last encounter with a werewolf, she needed all the help she could get. She wasn't even sure why she was being so precautious, there was still a week before it would be the right time in the lunar cycle, but it never hurt to be ready.

After closing the door to the secret room, she turned around to find a tall figure standing in the darkness in front of her. Startled, she almost swung her knife at him, but deep down she knew it was only Sam.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered harshly.

"I'm going with you," he whispered back.

She sighed, but she wasn't in the mood to argue with him. "Just don't get in my way," she whispered, grabbing her keys from her purse. Sam nodded, following her out the door. He walked to the car while she set the alarm, waiting. He immediately jumped in when she unlocked the door. She threw the shotgun into the back of the car, and retrieved her hand gun from a hidden spot in the middle seat. She loaded the gun before she drove off towards Dennis' house.

"I'm sorry I woke you up, Sam," she said after they'd left her driveway and were on the main road.

"You didn't wake me. I was still up waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?" she asked with surprise.

"I knew you were gonna go to Dennis' house tonight."

She snorted. "What are you, psychic?"

"No," he answered quickly, looking insulted. "I could tell by the look on your face when Mike told you about Dennis, you weren't going to let it go."

"You're a hunter, Sam. Would you let it go?"

"Definitely not."

She smiled as she pulled the car off the main road, onto a short laneway that led to a small house that looked similar to Jessie's, only there were no barred windows, or high tech security system. Both Sam and Jessie grabbed their weapons, double checking they were loaded properly before they even took a step out of the car. She popped open the glove compartment, handing Sam a flashlight, while she grabbed one for herself.

They approached the porch slowly, while carefully scanning the area, stopping when they reached a dark stained spot. Jessie raised her hand to her mouth for a moment, looking sadly. "Dennis was a good man. He didn't deserve this."

Sam laid a supportive hand on her back for a moment, before walking over to the door. He twisted the knob easily, glancing back at Jessie. "It's unlocked."

She nodded her head in acknowledgement, following him inside. They separated once inside. Sam took the upstairs, while Jessie looked around the main floor of the house. She snooped through his mail, in the drawers of his desk and anything else she thought might have something interesting in it, but nothing led her to any clues.

On a hunch, she checked the caller ID on his phone and the last numbers he'd dialed. She was surprised when she saw that the very last number he'd called was her home phone. So much had happened to her in the last couple of weeks, it had made her forget things. She could almost kick herself for not checking it sooner.

She was about to check it with her cell phone, when Sam wandered back downstairs. She figured it could wait until she got home.

"Did you find anything?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head. "Nothing. What about you?"

"Not much, just something on his caller ID," she replied absentmindedly. She was too busy wondering what Dennis could have called about to notice the expectant look on Sam's face.

"Jessie," Sam called after waiting for her to elaborate. "What is it?"

"Nothing," she replied shortly. "Let's go."

She didn't hesitate even a split second as she walked out of the house, not bothering to see if Sam was following her. She was already in the car waiting, before he even walked out of the house. She sighed impatiently, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel of the car waiting for him. He walked up to the window on the driver's side of the car, waiting for her to roll down the window. "What, Sam?"

"Did you check to see if the cops took his security footage?" he asked, pointing up to a camera slightly concealed by the front door.

She looked at him with an indecipherable look for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Sam. I'm the one that installed the damn thing and I didn't even think about it."

"Should I grab his computer?" he asked, ignoring her comment.

"No, it's fine. I can grab it remotely from my computer at home. Get in."

Sam hurriedly jumped into the passenger side of the car, as Jessie began to drive off before he'd barely even closed the door. Her mind was too preoccupied to make small talk, even though Sam tried to ask her a few questions on the drive back to her house. He gave up after being ignored.

Once they were back at her house, Jessie immediately headed to her phone, dialing the voicemail. Sam was standing beside her, waiting expectantly while she listened. He watched while the expression on her face change to shock and surprise. He was going to ask her what the message was about, but she hung the receiver up and ran into the computer room without hesitation.

Sam stayed where he was for a moment, trying to decide if he should follow her, since it seemed she didn't want his company. He flip flopped on the decision for a minute, before finally deciding to follow her into the computer room. He had a feeling this was one of those moments she needed company, whether she knew it herself or not.

Jessie glanced at him quickly when he walked in, but she was too busy with her computer to worry about him. She hurriedly clicked a bunch of things with her mouse, which were almost a complete blur to Sam because she was so quick. He continued to watch in interest as she gained remote control of Dennis' computer, opening several files, until she came to a locked folder that needed a password. She stared at it for a few moments, before raising her hand to her face in frustration.

"What did the message say, Jessie?" Sam finally asked.

She sighed loudly, removing her hand from her face. "He said, 'check my computer when you get this message'. I don't even know why he didn't call my cell phone. He knew the number."

"I guess we'll know once we see what's in those files."

She glanced into Sam's eyes at that moment, suddenly feeling calm and relaxed. She smiled lightly, turning back to the screen and typed in what she hoped was the password. A second later, the file opened, revealing several video files. She grinned excitedly for a moment, then opened the file that was dated from the day of his death.

Jessie skimmed through the video, while Sam sat beside her, watching as well. She sped up the video slightly, but not too much, she didn't want to miss anything. They'd been watching for almost an hour, when she suddenly cried out, "What the hell was that?" Sam had thought he'd noticed something as well, but he couldn't be sure.

Jessie backed the video up slightly, playing it again, only at a lower speed this time. Seconds later they both saw what they had thought they'd seen.

"There is no way," Jessie exclaimed breathlessly. "It can't be."

"What is it, Jessie?" Sam asked with concern.

She ignored him for a few moments, speeding up the footage again. When she came across a better image of what she'd seen, she paused it.

"It's a werewolf," Sam stated.

"I know, Sam. One that I killed a few months ago," she replied, shaking her head. "How is this possible?"

"I guess you didn't kill it."

"I did, Sam. I know I did," she said becoming irate. "Of all the werewolves, I made sure that bastard was dead. What the hell is going on?"

He looked confused for a moment, putting the pieces together in his head. When he realized what she meant, he took her hand in his, gazed into her eyes, speaking in a calm, soothing voice. "Are you talking about the werewolf who killed your family?"

"Yes, that's him," she replied, looking lost. "I know I killed him, Sam. How could he have killed Dennis only two weeks ago?"

"I don''t know, Jessie. But I swear we'll help you find out," he said with determination.

Something in Sam's tone of voice helped to calm her down, even though she was ready to explode. She was incredibly confused, angry and upset, and all she wanted to do was lash out. She wanted to tell Sam to go away, leave and never come back, but she couldn't, not now. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she needed his help–and Dean's–whether she wanted it or not.

She was about to stand up from her chair, but Sam held on to her hand, even as she pulled away. She gave him a weary look, about to protest, but he didn't allow her to get that far as he stood up, pulling her to a stand, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Jessie was stunned at first as she lay her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around him hesitantly, but she was too upset to think about anything. She thought she had killed the werewolf that had killed her entire family, only to find out she hadn't killed him at all. And now, he'd killed her neighbour, and one of her grandfather's oldest friends. All she knew for sure was it felt comforting to be in Sam's arms. He made her feel safe and secure, unlike how she'd felt for the past eight years.

Jessie stayed in Sam's arms for a short time, her eyes closed, but she wasn't crying. She may have cried more in the past few days than she had in the past eight years, but it had mostly been in private. And even though she was considerably upset, she couldn't bring herself to tears in front of him.

Sam held her tightly, until he began to feel her shoulders relax, then he loosened his grip slightly. He could imagine how upset she would be, he knew he would be furious in the same situation, so holding her was mostly for her benefit, but he wasn't sure why she wouldn't let go and cry. He knew she was proud, but he had hoped she would let down her guard, even if it was just a little.

After a few minutes, he began to rub her back lightly. When she didn't seem to care, he began running his fingers through her hair, which was hanging down low across her back. She moved away from him slightly, surprised by his touch. She knew she couldn't make the same mistake she'd made with Dean, barely even twenty four hours earlier. She looked up at him, gazing into his sensitive, caring eyes, wanting to move away from him, but she couldn't.

Sam reached his hand to her face, holding it gently, smiling supportively as she gazed into his eyes. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew he couldn't–not now–maybe not ever, but definitely not now.

"Maybe you should get some sleep now, Jessie. It's been a really long day, and night."

She nodded her head lightly in agreement, smiling thankfully. "I think you're right, Sam. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," he said as he released his grip on her.

She stood looking at him awkwardly for a moment. "Yes I do," she said quietly, before leaving the room.

He stood still, watching her depart, before following behind her moments later.

A/N: So what do you think is up with this werewolf? Its acting kind of strangely, dont you think? And how long do you think Sam can keep himself away from Jessie? Or how long can she keep herself away from him?

Thanks for reading!