Chapter 35
While Jessie was still slightly upset with Sam, she managed to get through breakfast with no problems. She couldn't be angry with him for how he felt, but it was a bad time to talk about something so serious. She wasn't sure how she was going to deal with the discussion when it came time to have it, but she couldn't really afford to think about that at the moment. She needed to think about the show and the case.
She spent nearly the entire day involved in various things for the show. She could have done without spending any amount of time with the other women in the show, since she didn't really like them, especially the women who were in the top five. They were all full of themselves. She was just happy to see one of them had been voted out. It would make it easier to make it into the top five. And with today being the last show that counted, she needed to do all she could to focus.
The remaining seven ladies were having a late lunch together when a brawl between two of them broke out. Jessie didn't want to get involved, but the tiny bit of aggression needed to subdue the women helped her forget about her earlier worries. It wasn't difficult, especially when she'd been up against some pretty terrifying creatures, but she found that two women who really didn't like each other, but didn't have any particular fighting skills, could really do some damage to each other if they were angry enough. She didn't even manage to walk away completely unscathed, although she wouldn't call a scratch on her hand a big deal.
From that moment forward, the women were not left alone without any sort of security. Jessie was shocked that they had been in the first place, but apparently there hadn't been a need for it before today. She only hoped the men were behaving themselves, not that she had anything to worry about with Sam. They would all be sorry if they messed with him.
There were no more issues before the show, which was a relief to Jessie. She managed to get through the show, doing much better than she thought she would have. She still had Sam on her mind, despite doing her best to keep her mind busy and distracted. However, she was no closer to a solution.
After she was finished with the show, she headed straight back to her room, making it there before Sam. She pulled out her laptop, then changed her mind. She needed to talk to Mike, so she called him instead. She refrained from mentioning anything about Sam's proposal, but he always knew she was hiding something, so she promised to call him again when she could actually speak about what was on her mind.
When Sam finally made it back to the room, it was almost an hour later. He found her asleep on the bed with her laptop open.
"Jessie," he called gently, placing his hand on her back.
She stirred slightly, but her eyes stayed closed.
He called her name again, only much louder this time.
She yelled, "what?" before her eyes were even open, stretched, knocking her laptop aside, and almost kicked Sam in the face.
He laughed as she shot him an indignant look.
"You wouldn't be laughing if I'd managed to kick you," she said groggily.
He smiled, sticking out his hand and assisted her into a sitting position.
"How was your day?"
She snorted. "Oh, just stopped a fight between two crazy chicks. No biggie."
"Really?" he asked with surprise. "The same happened between two of the men. It almost turned into a knock down, drag out between all of us."
Her eyes darted all over him. "Well I don't see any bruises so I guess you're fine."
He chuckled. "Nah. Most of them are short and scrawny."
"It is kinda weird though, don't you think, Sam?"
"What?"
"That both groups break out in a fight on the same day. Don't you find that odd?"
"Now that you mention it," he said with a furrowed brow. "Didn't something like that happen back in the forties, too?"
"Yes, it did," she replied, her forehead also furrowing. "So what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know," he replied. "But maybe we should take the EMF meters out for a walk."
She smiled mirthlessly, shaking her head. "You're so cute sometimes, Sam."
He smiled, taking her hand into his. "Don't let that get out. You'll ruin my rep."
She chuckled. "What rep?"
He rolled his eyes playfully. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. Just let me brush my hair," she replied, almost jumping off the bed.
He laughed, watching her become so excited to go searching for clues. It made him realize that as much as she seemed to enjoy singing, she'd never quit being a hunter. It was in her blood as much as it was in his.
The couple walked out into the hallway being as casual as possible. Occasionally they would stop to kiss or have a private moment, but it was mostly for show. They began to realize how well being a couple worked as a cover.
They stalked the hallways for as long as they could, before security became suspicious and sent them back to their room. It was pretty late when they got back, the halls were now almost completely empty.
"I only found readings on this floor, where the couples are staying. What about you, Sam?"
"Same here."
"What do you think it means?"
He shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not sure. But maybe we've been looking at this all wrong."
"How so?"
"What if there never was a ghost in this hotel and it was only in people's imaginations? You know how stories can spread and then people believe in them."
"What are you saying, Sam?"
"Maybe there wasn't a ghost in the past, but there is now. I think it's more and more likely that we're looking for a cursed object."
"That's a great theory, Sam, but why now? And who has it?"
"I don't know, Jessie. Maybe we didn't do our homework. We must of missed something."
She snorted. "We researched the background of just about every employee and person on the show. What could we have missed?"
"I don't know, Jessie. I just have this feeling."
She sighed loudly. "I'll start looking over things again. Why don't you call Dean and see if he can do the same?"
Sam called his brother, while Jessie began to pour over the information she'd already been over several times already. When her eyes became too sore, Sam switched places with her. But even with two sets of eyes, neither of them came up with anything new, and eventually they gave up so they could get some sleep. Although the worry about voting was over, there was still the final results show for the week.
Jessie was awakened early that morning by loud pounding on the hotel door. She'd only fallen asleep less than three hours before and she definitely didn't want to get out of bed. Then she remembered someone telling her she needed to be up early to prepare for the last show of the week. She'd completely forgotten all of it when she'd immersed herself in the case.
She groaned as she climbed out of bed, feeling like she hadn't slept in days. She asked Sam to answer the door, while she jumped into the shower. She kept the water as cold as she could handle it, in hopes it would help wake her up. It did, but only for a short time. What she really needed was caffeine.
She dressed as quickly as she could, then headed down to restaurant to have breakfast. But before she made it there, she ducked into the women's public bathroom and got sick. She wasn't sure why after only one night of little sleep she felt so badly, usually it took days before she felt so horrible, but she imagined it must be from how little she'd been eating since she'd been at the hotel.
When she walked into the restaurant, Sam was sitting at a table waiting for her with a worried expression. He'd already ordered her a cup of coffee, which she began to drink the moment she sat down. She quickly explained to him what happened, which didn't seem to do much for his worry, but she had no time to dwell on it. She had too many things to do for the show that evening.
Immediately following breakfast, the remaining seven women were taken to a room to rehearse for that evening's show. Since the voting part was over, they had to perform a few numbers together, as well as a solo, but everything was chosen by the producers. And with little time to rehearse, there was no room for errors. They'd already rehearsed during the week, but each person voted out affected how the final show would go, so they needed to rearrange things and practice again and again.
They stopped for a quick lunch, which Jessie didn't want any part of, but she did try to keep something down. All she really wanted was some coffee, but she managed to choke down a sandwich. She knew she wouldn't have enough energy during the show if she didn't. Her mind was already distracted wondering what Sam was up to, she couldn't afford to mess up the show and get thrown out before they figured out where the ghost was.
When it came time for the last results in the show, she had a difficult time pretending to be surprised she'd made it into the top five. She figured that probably lost her some votes for next week since it made her seem conceited, but she hoped she wouldn't have to worry about next week. She wanted to get that ghost before she had to suffer through another week.
There was an after party she was expected to attend. And although she had little desire to, she did what she had to. The first thing she did was find Sam, which took a few minutes.
It was difficult pretending she was as happy with making it through the week than everyone else seemed to be for her. Deep in her mind she was happy, but this was not the life she wanted anymore or she might have been happier about it. And, she was just too tired to give a damn. All she wanted to do was get out of the limelight and go to sleep, but she knew that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
It took much of the night, and a lot of protesting from Jessie, but eventually Sam coaxed her onto the dance floor. She—jokingly—whispered death threats in his ear while they danced, which only made him laugh. He knew she wasn't the best dancer, but making her do it in front of a crowd of people and cameras made her anxious. She swore to him she'd get him back at some point. She didn't know how, but she swore it would be clowns. He laughed, but secretly he was worried. He knew when she made a threat she was usually serious about it.
It was late when the couple finally made it back to their hotel room. All Jessie wanted to do was sleep, but she had work to do with Sam. They went snooping down the halls again, but it was much more difficult this night, there were still too many people around. All they could do was go back to their room and wait until everyone went to bed.
Jessie opened her eyes slowly, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She was lying in bed, although she had no memory of getting there. The last thing she remembered was sitting on the small couch with Sam.
For a moment she lay still, wondering what had woken her up, then she thought she heard a sound. She laid still a moment longer, trying to get her bearings. She knew Sam wasn't in the bed with her, she assumed he was the one who had put her in the bed. She also knew there was someone in the room, but she was unsure if there was a weapon nearby.
She sat up, knocking the covers aside, turning towards the end of the bed, all in one swift motion. She could see a figure in the dark, but it was just beyond the moonlight shining in from the window close to the bed.
"Who's there?" she called firmly, but quietly.
The figure chuckled lightly before taking a step forward into the light from the window.
Jessie was taken aback by the sight of a woman. One of the women from the top five.
"Melinda?"
She chuckled ominously. "You weren't expecting me, were you?"
"What are you doing here?"
She held up a tiny see through bottle, but it was too dark to see what was inside it.
"Do you know what these are, Jessie?" she asked, shaking the bottle. The sound reminded Jessie of a baby rattle. "These are teeth. But not just any teeth. They were my grandfather's teeth."
Comprehension began to dawn on Jessie's face. She glanced around in the dark looking for some sort of weapon, but nothing was close by. She could only hope to keep her talking until Sam could show up.
"Why should that matter to me?"
"It should matter a great deal. You see, he was killed here. Died in this very room. Died, all because he wanted my grandmother to win so badly."
"Your grandfather was, Jeffery Milton, wasn't it?"
"So you've heard of him? But then again, who hasn't?" she said with a crazy look in her eyes. "They think he's been haunting this place since his death, but that couldn't be farther from the truth."
"How did you get his teeth?"
Jessie was still contemplating whether she should keep Melinda talking or jump her. She knew she could take her, but if the ghost was being controlled by her, she'd be screwed with no weapon.
"My grandma saved them. The men who attacked him, killed him, they beat him first. There was blood all over the room and a few of his teeth. She picked them up, kept them all these years."
"And what, she gave them to you to win this contest?"
She laughed maniacally. "No. My grandma had no idea about the teeth. It was my mother who gave them to me. You see, my grandma was pregnant when she was on the show. After my grandpa died, she had to raise my mom on her own. She didn't have time for my mom, but my grandpa did."
"What do you mean?"
"My mom found the teeth, kept them all these years. And when she heard I was coming on this show, she gave them to me, told me all about them."
"You mean, told you how to get your grandfather's ghost to kill people?"
She laughed. "No. I figured that out all on my own. Just like this," she said looking at her feet. "I know what this salt is for. That's why I came to your room, instead of just sending my grandfather. I knew he couldn't get to you like the others."
Jessie looked down and saw the ring of salt around the bed. It hadn't been there before. She assumed Sam must have done it before he left.
As Melinda began to push the salt with her feet, she jumped out of bed, lunging for the bottle of teeth. She slammed into the woman, sending them both falling to the floor amongst the salt, the bottle sliding away from both of them.
Jessie was struggling to get to her feet, when she felt hot white pain course through her leg. She stumbled forward, catching herself before she could smack her face off the floor, managing to turn herself onto her side. She looked down and saw a great deal of blood dripping down her leg, but she didn't have time to worry about it. The ghost was now behind Melinda, who had just gotten to her feet. She had a blade in her hand, and it looked like there was blood on it.
'Oh great. She's got a knife, too,' she thought. 'As if a ghost wasn't bad enough.'
She didn't have any time to think, just react. She grabbed a handful of salt and threw it at the ghost, which disappeared with a wail. But Melinda was still there, brandishing the knife with an intensely psychotic grin. She approached her slowly, and as she bent down to stab her, Jessie grabbed another handful of salt and threw it into the woman's eyes, who shrieked with pain.
As the woman was rubbing her eyes, she rolled a short distance away from her, unable to put any pressure on her injured leg. The pain was so intense, she almost passed out when she attempted it. That single moment was long enough to allow the ghost to reappear. It slashed at her neck, only knicking her as she moved her head out of the way, reaching for more salt. She threw it at the ghost, which disappeared instantly, then scooped up more salt with her other hand in preparation for another attack.
Sam came running into the room brandishing an iron rod, before the ghost had a chance to reappear. He was shocked by the sight of the woman and her knife, but he had little time to think as the ghost suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He swung the rod through the ghost, making it disappear once again.
"Teeth, Sam!" Jessie yelled. "Find the teeth! They're on the floor!"
Melinda was still for a moment, unsure who was the greater threat. She glowered at Jessie before running at Sam, holding the knife above her, the blade facing down. She dove at Sam, trying to stab him, but he deftly moved out of the way, kicking her legs out from under her. The momentum sent her flying forwards, hitting the floor, the knife skidding away from her reach.
The ghost began rapidly appearing and disappearing in random spots around the room. Jessie continued to grab handfuls of salt to throw at it, and Sam used the iron rod to fight it off, while searching for the teeth on the floor.
"How many are there?" he asked, while continuing to search the floor.
"I don't know!" she replied.
He scrambled across the floor in search of the teeth. He found one quickly, but it was more difficult to find any more. As he reached for a second one, the woman came at him with the knife again. He dodged her attack, but the knife sliced across the upper part of his arm. It was barely more than a scratch, but it was more than a few inches long. He shoved the woman with as much force as he could, sending her flying into the furniture in the other part of the room. She tumbled over a chair, fell to the floor, unmoving.
He grabbed the second tooth off the floor, just in time for the ghost to reappear in front of him again. He hit it with the iron rod once again, before he doused both teeth in lighter fluid from his pocket, then lit them on fire. The ghost reappeared for a moment, before disappearing for good, in flash of flames and a horrible wail.
Sam glanced quickly in the direction of the woman, but she seemed unconcious, so he ran over to Jessie, who was still sitting on the floor near the bed. She had ripped a sheet off of the bed and tied it tightly around her thigh, just above the cut on her leg.
He reached out to look at the wound, but she pushed his hands out of the way.
"Leave it, Sam," she said, cringing in pain.
"I need to see how bad it is," he stated with concern, taking her hand in his.
"It's almost down to the bone and it hurts like hell."
He stood up, grabbing the phone beside the bed and called the hotel security. After the call, he sat down beside her on the floor, his arm around her.
"Who the hell is that woman?"
She snorted. "Apparently, she's the granddaughter of our ghost."
"Are you serious? How did we not catch that?"
She shook her head. "I have no clue, Sam, but..."
"What?" he asked with concern, cupping her face in his hands. "What is it, Jessie?"
"I shouldn't have been asleep. I knew better than that, and—now look where it's got me."
"I'm the one who let you sleep. It's my fault."
"What? No, it isn't. I don't know why I've been so tired lately. I used to be able to stay up two days at a time, now every day it's a damn struggle."
"It's okay, Jess," he said, brushing hair away from her face. "Hey, what's this?" he asked, looking at her neck.
"The ghost managed to cut me, but it's fine."
He moved the rest of her hair out of the way to inspect her neck. When he was sure it was fine, he laid his head against hers, releasing a weary sigh.
"You really scare me sometimes, Jessie."
She closed her eyes for a moment, fighting back tears. They weren't sad tears, they were joyful tears. She could feel how much he loved her and she felt exactly the same.
She pulled away from him so she could look into his eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair, smiling lovingly.
"I feel the same way about you, Sam."
He leaned closer, kissing her lips gently. The moment only lasted a few seconds before they were interrupted by the arrival of the hotel security.
When the security got the story of what had happened, they called the police, who showed up within minutes. Minutes after that, the EMT showed up. Then the producers showed up. By this time, Sam had lifted her onto the bed, where she was being examined by the EMT.
"I'm not going to the hospital!" Jessie stated adamantly to both the EMT and to Sam.
"You need stitches, ma'am," the tallest of the two EMT replied.
"Why can't you just do it? I don't wanna go to a hospital."
"Your wound is very deep. It needs to be examined by a real doctor."
She glanced at Sam pleadingly.
"No, Jessie. I'm with them on this one."
She sighed in resignation. "Fine. But first, I wanna speak to Eugene."
He nodded knowingly then went in search of Eugene, who was the head producer. He had been standing across the room, speaking with the hotel security.
"I'm so sorry this happened, Jessie," Eugene said.
She could tell by the look on his face he didn't really give a damn. He was only thinking about the show. She imagined he was seeing this event as an opportunity to get more publicity. Too bad she had other plans.
"I want out of my contract," she stated matter-of-factly.
"What?" he replied in shock. "I can't do that."
"You can and you will."
"Why would I do that? You're good for the show and you've done so well. Why would you want to quit after all of that?"
She desperately wanted to smack him, but she had to play this right.
"You're gonna let me out of my contract, or else."
He stood up straighter, his eyes narrowing. "Is that a threat?"
"No, it's a promise. I promise to drag you through the mud in the papers and through court."
"On what grounds?"
She snorted. "Two women were murdered and you did nothing. Your security was a joke." She paused for a moment, trying to look upset. "Melinda nearly killed me. I'm not staying here another minute. You either let me out of the contract, or I'll keep you tied up in court for years. Long after this show is only a memory."
His eyes narrowed shrewdly as he seemed to think about it.
"Fine," he replied, crossing his arms.
"That's not good enough. I want this done officially. Get your lawyer here, now."
He sighed loudly then swept from the room in a rush.
"We don't have time for this, Jessie," Sam said with agitation. "You need to get that leg stitched."
"This also needs to be taken care of now, Sam. You're lucky I even agreed to go to the hospital."
He rolled his eyes but decided not to argue with her.
It didn't take long for Jessie to get herself and Sam out of their contracts. Perhaps it was the gaping wound on her leg, her fake agitation—which became more pronounced as time passed—or maybe it was Sam's threatening look, that also became more pronounced as time went on.
"You really amaze me, Jessie," Sam said as the EMT wheeled her out of the building on a stretcher.
She smiled. "Thanks, Sam. Bobby always tells me I'm like my dad. He was a lawyer. After he quit hunting."
"He musta been one hell of a lawyer."
"He was, so I hear. Guess all the years of lying and knowing who was lying kinda helps in that profession."
He smiled, although he could see the pain in her eyes. He knew it had been a long time since her father had died, and she was so young, but it still affected her.
The EMT had stopped the stretcher behind the ambulance. That was when Dean walked up behind Sam, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"You did a great job, Jessie," he said with a smile.
She glanced at him suspiciously. "Thanks, Dean."
He chuckled. "No, I mean it. Didn't I say you'd be fine on stage?"
She wasn't sure if she should tell him it was thanks to his words, or not. She didn't need his ego swelling any larger than it already was.
"Yes, you did, Dean. Thank you for your support."
He looked at her curiously, then shot his brother a knowing look.
"I'm gonna ride with Dean to the hospital."
She nodded her head in agreement, smiling teasingly. "I'm a big girl, Sam. And I'm not dying."
He smiled, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead lightly. "I'll see you shortly."
She returned his smile, watching him leave with his brother as the EMT loaded her into the ambulance. Her smile faded as soon as the doors were closed, replaced by a scowl. The last place she wanted to be was in a hospital.
She closed her eyes, intending to relax, but she was unable to. She was feeling uneasy, but wasn't quite sure why. When the lights inside began to flicker and the vehicle took a sharp turn to the left, her uneasiness switched to panic.
She couldn't do anything while strapped down in the gurney, not that she could have with the injury to her leg. But she glanced around the inside of the ambulance, looking for any kind of weapon. There were none, but she remembered she had her cell phone in her pocket, if she could manage to get to it.
She managed to get her fingers into her pocket, but she couldn't quite grasp a proper hold of it. But panic didn't set in, until the ambulance stopped abruptly.
She turned her head around, trying to see into the front of the ambulance. She looked just in time to see the EMT on the passenger side reach over to the driver and rip his heart out. She knew what had happened, but when he turned and looked in her direction with black eyes, her worst fears were confirmed.
She struggled to break free of the straps holding her down, as the demon began to climb out of his seat, moving towards her. Then suddenly, the passenger side door flew open and something yanked the demon out of the door by it's leg.
She wasn't quite sure if she should quit struggling to get out, but she did continue trying to grab her phone, although she was pretty sure she'd never manage to get it out.
It was only moments later when someone appeared in the doorway the demon had just disappeared through. She was shocked to see the man was wearing a suit, until he turned in her direction and she recognized him.
"Crowley!"
"Hello, darling," he said with a grin. "Nice to see you again."
"What the hell are you doing?"
He raised a finger, telling her to hold on. After yelling at the demon who'd taken the driver's seat, the ambulance began to move, in a different direction than it had been.
"Where are we going?" she asked with agitation.
"You're still going to the hospital. Just not the one you were heading to."
"Why?"
"Has anyone ever said you ask too many questions?" he asked with sarcasm.
She narrowed her eyes, fumbling for her phone once again.
He sighed, climbing into the back of the ambulance, sitting down beside her.
"Long story short. The EMT were Meg's demons. She's waiting for you at the hospital. So I'm taking you to another hospital." He glanced at her with a sarcastic grin. "Does that answer all your questions?"
"No, not at all."
He shook his head slightly in annoyance. "I told you before. I don't want Meg to get her hands on you. And trust me, you don't want that to happen either."
"Obviously," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "You still haven't told me what you want."
He narrowed his eyes shrewdly. "You'll know soon enough."
"That's not good enough."
"Tough!" he yelled. "I came here personally to save your ass, so you're gonna sit there and shut up!"
She sat in silence for a moment, taken aback by his yelling.
"What about Sam and Dean?"
He stood up, looking like he was about to yell again, but he caught himself.
"Feel free to call dumb and dumber when you get to the hospital. I would prefer not to see them—for obvious reason."
She looked at him suspiciously as he climbed back into the front seat, but she didn't speak to him again. The pain in her leg had become noticeable once again, after the initial adrenaline rush was over, so she laid her head back and closed her eyes, hoping for the best.
Once she had been safely wheeled into the ER, she tried to relax. She hadn't wanted to go to the hospital in the first place and now she wished she had fought Sam a little harder against it.
After the doctors got over the confusion of why she'd been brought there instead of the hospital she was supposed to have gone to, they stitched up her leg. They warned her not to walk on it for two days, and not to put her full weight on it for at least a week. It wasn't good news, but it could have been worse. At least she was happy there was no other surgery involved. No tendons or muscle had been cut.
By the time Sam and Dean showed up to the hospital, Jessie was asleep. And instead of waking her up, Sam picked her up and carried her out to the Impala, laying her down on the back seat.
"I don't know what's up with, Crowley, but I think we better figure it out, Sammy," Dean said, when his brother got into the car. "And soon."
He glanced at his brother with fear and said, "Yeah," but that was all he could say. He turned around, looking at Jessie with concern. He wished he had an idea why the demons were so interested in her. He had a feeling it had less to do with revenge, which is what his brother had suggested. He could only hope to find out what was going on before it was too late.
A/N: What do you think Crowley is up to? Why would he personally save her?
Thanks for reading!