Bubbles: Thank you so much to those of you that reviewed. Lee Tea I didn't take your review as a flame, in fact it was very helpful. It made me think and go back and reread, you were absolutely right. I hope I corrected everything in this chapter. thanks again guys. Please read and review. Enjoy!
Ceri Ashton sighed in relief as she lowered herself into the claw foot tub. Her hair piled on her head and the bubbles came into her chin. Steam drifted from the water. Her eyes drifted to the skylight where the sunlight filtered through from the setting sun. She let her thoughts wander. It had been strange talking to men, she hadn't done that in years; hadn't been allowed to.
Letting her eyes drift shut she dreamed of death.
Dean looked at the house from his place in the driver's seat. It was kept nice, painted a pale cream with blue shutters. There was a garden in the front that looked well tended and there wasn't a house for miles. He'd give her credit for that; most women he knew couldn't live without having at least a mall within the vicinity.
"Explain to me why we are here instead of booked into a hotel?" Sam asked. "I mean this girl isn't even your type."
Dean got out of the car and slammed the door shut. After his brother was out of the car he asked, "What's my type? Besides the hotel is booked solid."
"Thin blonde and no brain. You go unlock the door and I'll get the stuff out of the trunk."
"Yeah and if she attacks me with a frying pan?" He asked dryly.
"Then you get hit with a frying pan." Sam replied cheerfully.
"Funny, Sammy, funny." He said before taking off into the house.
"It's Sam!" He yelled at his brother's retreating back before walking to the trunk of the car.
Dean knocked on the door waiting a second before retrieving the key from under the flower pot.
"Hello?" He called out after unlocking and opening the door. Noting the silence he crept quietly through the house, stopping to look in every room making sure she just hadn't heard him.
Stopping at the last closed door he knocked, "Ceri?"
He could hear classical music coming from the behind the door. Gently he opened it and saw her sleeping in the tub. Leaning against the door frame he surveyed the bathroom. Harwood floors glistened and the walls were painted a sunny yellow with pictures of various flowers and plants. He liked it.
A sigh escaped from her lips drawing his gaze. It startled him how black and inky her eyelashes looked settled on a soft bed of peaches and cream. Suddenly she was screaming and disappearing under the water. The fact she was struggling propelled him forward. Plunging his arms into the freezing water he soothingly pulled her head up, sighing in relief when he heard her gasping for air.
Tenderly he shifted his right arm under her legs, slowly withdrawing her from the tub. "You ok?"
She shivered against him, "I'll be fine. Umm where's my towel?"
"Where'd ya leave it?"
"In the sink…." Ceri trailed off after looking in it.
"OK where are they?" He asked moving into the hallway.
"That closet. You can put me down now. Promise I won't break."
Carefully setting her on her feet he said, "Yeah I need to go and see how Sammy's doing."
She felt her knees buckle the minute he let go. Not even a second later his arm wrapped around her almost non-existent waist. Her wide dark eyes collided with his hazel. "Thanks. Um I was wondering if maybe Sam got kidnapped."
Jesus, what was wrong with him? Yes he was a slight womanizer, he knew that but not once in his life had he ever given a pregnant woman a look or glance and here he was ogling her.
"Dean, are you in there?" Ceri asked hesitantly.
The phone rang startling him and promptly he let her go. "Will you get that?"
"Sure." He said turning his back on her and walking downstairs. She frowned at his retreating back. That was rather rude, she thought. Quickly she reached into the closet for a towel only to knock a pile of washcloths off the shelf. Sighing she shut the closet door giving up. She stole across the hallway to her shutting her bedroom door behind her.
Dean had just hung up the phone as Sam finished bringing their stuff in. Irritated he asked, "When you are done fantasizing about the pregnant woman upstairs care to help?"
"Ceri's upstairs and besides you brought everything in. Also we just had a little visitor that I think it right up our alley. I found Ceri in the tub sleeping."
"Ahh so you decided to play a little bit of a voyeur?" Sam asked walking into what he hoped was the living room or kitchen.
Following his brother Dean asked, "Pay attention would ya? Anyways I'm standing there trying to wake her up and suddenly she's screaming her pretty little head off, right before she's held underwater."
"She started screaming just before she was submerged?" Sam asked silently thanking god that he'd found the kitchen. Waiting for his brother to answer he started rummaging through the cupboards; hey she was the one that had said to make themselves at home.
"Yeah. I was gonna wake her up."
Smirking and pulling a bag of chips out he said, "At least it wasn't a frying pan."
"True. You have the weirdest sense of humor Sammy." Dean said popping a chip in his mouth.
"It's Sam. What are you thinking it is?"
"A nightmare that's all." Ceri said from the doorway. "Please sit I'll start making dinner."
Dean stared at her a minute, she'd changed. Instead of wearing the knit top and jeans she now wore jean shorts that showed off long legs despite her height and a dark blue maternity tank top. Jumping a bit when his brother kicked the back of her leg he said, "We just ate."
She sent Dean a dark look that had him stepping back a few feet. "You may have eaten but I haven't; besides I wouldn't necessarily call what you ate at the diner food. It was more grease. Sam I swear to god if you crunch on one more of those chips the bag will be gone. Now sit the hell down before you two end up sleeping in the garden."
Sam looked at his brother's face whose registered shock. For once in his life a woman wasn't the least bit affected by his looks. Not really wanting to sleep outside, Sam sat down abruptly at the long rectangular table.
Ceri sent another glare at Dean, "So what's it going to be?"
Deciding not to push his luck he took a sat next to his brother, "So how'd you know so much about Potter's death?"
She felt his eyes watching her as she gathered ingredients to make fajitas. Tossing her wet hair over her shoulder she asked, "Do you like Mexican? Who do you think found him? I was working late at the diner and my car was parked down a couple of block. Mrs. Mallory doesn't like the employees taking up the customer parking. I'm not sure what made me look down the alley but I did. I couldn't have been more delighted then to see him laying there dead."
"Why do you sat that?" Dean asked taking the bag of chips from Sam and popping on in her mouth.
"Its just the way I feel." She replied ignoring the warning bells that rang through her mind.
The doorbell ringing had her jumping and Dean remembering the phone call, "Oh your sister Cilla called. She's coming by with a few things for you.
The shock hearing that her sister was visiting had the knife slipping and cutting her finger open, "Goddammit!"
Dean and Sam stared at her shock registered on their faces.
Ignoring them she started through the hallway toward the front door, finger stuck in her mouth. As she made her way through them she muttered around the finger. Throwing open the door she glared at the buxom blonde standing in front of her. "What the in god's name do you want Cilla?"
"Is that anyway to talk to your big sister?" The blonde asked breezing right by the glaring brunette into the hallway.
"Excuse me Cilla this happens to be my house now get out." Ceri snapped following her sister into the kitchen.
Cilla stopped in surprised at the sight of the two sexy brothers sitting at her half-sister's kitchen table. Oh yes, she thought, they could definitely be fun, especially the darker blonde. "Well, well, my dear Ceri you've been holding out on me. Where'd she pick you two up?"
"I didn't pick them up. Christ almighty Cilla what do you want?" Ceri asked turning back to the counter. "Now would you please quit acting as if I'm trying to run a brothel and leave?"
Cilla looked over at the men and licked her lips suggestively. "You'll have to excuse my sister. It's the hormones talking. Where ya'll from?"
"Kansas." Sam muttered looking out the kitchen's bay window. He didn't even know the woman and already disliked her. She was just so obvious.
Cilla hoisted herself up on an empty countertop. "Careful little sister or maybe you and your darling little baby may find yourselves out on the street. Are you sure you are being welcoming enough for them? I'd be nice to have them stay around."
Ceri sighed in disgust and whirled on her knife in hand, "I'm being welcoming enough. Also, I've known this house for six months now Cilla and you have no right to even threaten that. Now get the hell out and don't come back."
The tension in the room could have been cut with the knife. The smile of Cilla's face was like that of a cat that ate the canary. "That's not very hospital Ceri Mariana. What would Mama have to say? Or Grandma for that matter?"
Taking a deep breath, setting the knife purposely on the counter before she wiped her hands on the towel hanging from the oven door, she said, "Cilla I'm trying to make dinner. Between the fact that I was almost fired today from my job today for yelling at Mrs. Mallory's mother and having you threaten to have me evicted from my own home, my day has not been the best, so excuse me if I want, no need a little piece quiet. Now I'll show you to the door."
Smiling at the two in front of her, Cilla slid of the counter purposely sliding so her skirt stayed two inches into her thighs, "If either of you two get tired of her I live in town. Ask around, guys know me."
She winked at them before following Ceri out of the room.
"I'm sure the guys know her. Was she really that obvious?" Dean stated, he hadn't liked the looks of her, seeing her next to Ceri had him thinking seriously about his choice in women. Did you really date women like her when he had the chance?
"That was your type. I know. Something was off." Sam replied confirming Dean's question.
"I know."
"How dare you come into my home and try to make me feel inferior? Priscilla tell her I'm done with both of you. I'll find a way to leave this hell eventually."
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a little whore then you'd already know how or who to leave us with. When you are through send them my way, they look to be so much fun. I'd like to hear the blonde scream a bit." Cilla smirked watching the emotions clogging her little sister's eyes. Oh how she loved having the power, it was exhilarating.
Ceri wretched open the door, "Get the hell out and stay out."
"Very well little sister but you'll come running back when they leave." Cilla replied sauntering out the door.
Closing Ceri said, "Over my dead body."
Needing a calm she crossed to her study and to her stereo, checking to see which CD was in it. Smiling cruelly at Beethoven, she replaced it with something a tad more drastic, more contrasting to her usual choice of classical. Pressing the play button and turning the volume up, she preceded dropping into a chair beside the fireplace, the musical styling of Black Sabbath pumping loudly out of the speakers.
Letting her head drop back she listened to nothing but the bass, regulating her breathing with it. She knew she should be getting upset but yet her sister always found a way of getting under her skin.
Sam looked at his brother, "I'm gonna have to say she doesn't get along with her family."
"Apparently not, wonder why. But hey she doesn't have bad taste in music."
Sam thought for a moment, "Kinda strange though."
"What?" Dean asked watching the kitchen doorway.
"Her reaction to the murders, I mean she was happy that Potter was dead."
"Dude you seriously can't be thinking she's the one murdering all of these men."
"We can't be sure until we hit the library tomorrow. Something's bound to come up."
The two of them sat there another fifteen minutes in silence, both jumping slightly when the music was replaced with a classical sound and turned down. When Ceri cam back her face was paler but she didn't seem any worse for wear. Her smile faltered a bit when she looked out the window. Night was falling, her only thought before turning back to her guests, she said, "Sorry that you had to witness that. My sister tends to know what buttons to push to get a rise out of me."
"I know the feeling." Sam grumbled.
"Why don't' I show you to your rooms? Then you can freshen up while I make dinner."
Nodding the brothers stood, grabbed their bags and followed her upstairs.
"The bathroom is at the end of the hallway on the right. My room is right across from it." She said when they reached the bop of the stairwell. Opening the first door on her left she flipped the light switch, "This is the blue room the room across the hall is the green room. Figure out who is sleeping where."
Dean watched her walk slowly down the stairs before saying, "We've a long night ahead of us."
"I get this room." Sam said shutting the door to the blue room in his brother's shocked face.
Ceri stirred the meat and peppers slowly, not knowing what to do. Before long they'd find out the truth and then it would be their turn. The sad thing was that even though she'd only known them a short while she liked them both. In fact she was rather proud of their reaction to Cilla. Neither of them blinked or did a double take, like most men did.
The sound of their feet on her stairs made her smile. It had been so long since her first flirtation with a guy. Even now she couldn't understand why she had to remain all but a slave to the town.
Shaking her head she listened to the straining sounds of the first act of Swan Lake. Reaching up into the cupboard she tried pulling out the salt. Her arms couldn't reach it. Stupid short arms, she thought to herself as she dragged a table chair over by the counter and climbed up.
"I'm telling you this place is haunted." Sam said stepping into the kitchen starling Ceri whose step-chair started teetering.
"Isn't. Ceri is this place…" Dean started stepping in behind his brother. Sam found himself pushed out of the way as Dean rushed forward, catching her around her belly seconds before her head hit the floor.
As he sat her on her feet she mumbled, "I'm beginning to think you two are bad luck."
Grinning Dean bent and whispered in her ear, "Nah, just think of me as Prince Charming."
Sam rolled his eyes at the two of them, but he was happy that Dean was being nice. Not to mention pestering someone else for a change.
"And I'm the ugly stepsister. You can let me go now." Her face was flushed and laughter danced in her dark eyes. "Please have a seat at the table."
She took a step away from Dean and turned her back to him. Focus Ceri, she told herself, keep them alive until morning. Silently she served the fajitas.
The clock red just after midnight when she slipped from her bed, waddling quietly down the hall she had to make sure they were sleeping sound. Silently she walked into Sam's room. Moonlight filtered through the lace curtains, casting shadows throughout the room.
He laid spread across the bed, still in his clothes from the previous day. Gently she pulled the blanket over him and left the room just as silently as she had entered it.
Hurriedly she crossed over to Dean's room. She smiled at the sleeping form, hall light spilled in behind her. He was naked from the waist up, his arm wrapped around the pillow, blankets kicked down around his ankles. Sighing she soothingly pulled the blankets up around his shoulders.
Her hand hovered along his jaw line and without a second thought she pressed her lips to his cheek. Pulling back she whispered, "Prince Charming huh? We'll I suppose so."
As she shut his door she knew they were safe for at least one night and they weren't going anywhere, and for once she, herself felt safe.