Chapter 5: Potluck

Author's Notes: Please excuse any typos or errors in this chapter. I have the worst eye infection I've ever had and I'm half blind at the moment I swear. So editing for this chapter is going to be iffy at best, but I know so many of you are waiting for the update that I figured I would post anyway as opposed to making you wait until I can see again.

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Dean looked out through the windows of the light house and was amazed to see nothing, nothing but an empty grayness that absorbed all light and color. He had driven through fog before, but he had never seen anything like this. The fog was so thick that it completely blocked out the world outside. One would almost think it was a solid mass…impenetrable.

His duties were done for the night. The light was on and rotating and down on the beach he could just barely hear the fog horn blaring out across the lake warning the ships of the coast.

Dean really liked being up here, but tonight the fog made it slightly claustrophobic so he figured he should go and help Sam with the research like he had said he would. He walked down the metal stairs back into the house. He made a point of checking the doors and locks before heading upstairs.

Dean walked into their room and smiled. Sam was sound asleep in bed with a book lying open, face down, on his chest rising and falling with his every breath. It was a position he had found Sam in often when he was younger. He quietly picked up the book and dog-eared the corner before closing it and setting it on the night stand.

He took a moment to look at Sam's neck. He was no longer wearing a bandage over the wound and it was healing nicely. Tomorrow or the next day he would probably be able to remove Sam's stitches from his neck and his arm. He turned out the light and changed into his bed clothes in the dark.

Dean crawled into bed and closed his eyes. He heard the toilet flush and looked at Sam's bed. Sam was still there and sleeping soundly. So who the hell was using the bathroom? He got out of bed and walked down the hall. He flipped on the lights to find an empty bathroom but the toilet was still filling it tank with water.

"Great, we have ghosts who use the toilet," he said to himself. "Oh well, at least they flush." He turned back to his room. "No wonder the previous caretakers cracked up. This place is a loony bin." Of course he didn't doubt for a minute the reason he and Sam were experiencing so much phenomena so quickly was because they were so open-minded about all of it. Nonbelievers had a natural resistance to ghostly activities and it took the spirit longer to break though and make them selves known.

He climbed into bed and closed his eyes for the night.

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Once more Sam was running through the snow calling for his brother Tom. He ran through the trees ignoring the pain that came when occasionally a branch would scratch at his face. He needed to find Tom. He had to tell him about their mother and the horrible thing he had seen.

"Mommy…oh mommy," he cried. She was dead. Her blood had been everywhere. He didn't know where his father was, or Tom. He had to find them.

He continued to run until he broke through the trees. He was standing on the beach. The fog horn was on. He hated that thing. It was so loud and frightening. He dropped to his knees to catch his breath. He was so tired and his chest ached from breathing the icy air so deeply for so long.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and scream. He looked up to see his brother. Tom had found him. Everything would be okay now. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Tom's waist. Tom was big. He was older. He would know what to do.

"Tom, mommy's dead. Someone killed her."

"I know."

"I can't find father."

"Don't worry, we will. Come with me. I'll take care of you. I'll take care of everything."

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"Sam! Wake up!"

Sam opened his eyes and then closed them against the bright morning sunlight.

"Why did you wake me up?" Sam grumbled. He had a feeling he was about to learn something important if he had just had the chance to finish. "I was so close."

"So close to what?"

"To learning what happened in 1942."

"Sammy, you aren't making any sense right now."

"I was dreaming, but it wasn't a dream. It was a memory."

"That's not possible. The beds are surrounded by salt. There's no way a ghost should be able to get to us while we sleep." Dean was putting on his white shirt and tucking it into his pants.

"It wasn't a ghost or a visitation. It was more like…like a vision."

Those words stopped Dean cold. "A vision?"

"Yeah…a vision."

"And since when did you start having visions?"

Sam didn't reply. He didn't want to. He hoped Dean would drop the subject but his brother was staring at him and waiting for a response.

"Sometimes…sometimes I see stuff. Not when I'm awake, but when I'm asleep. Sometimes it's about the past, sometimes it's the future."

"You want me to believe that you're psychic?" Dean asked.

"No, I'm not psychic. I can't predict the lottery numbers and I don't know what's going to happen in the next five minutes. All I'm saying is that sometimes I have dreams, and sometimes they come true."

Dean released a deep sigh. And just when he thought they couldn't possibly be any freakier than they already were, a new bombshell drops.

"Sam, I don't know what to say to this."

"You don't have to say anything, just don't call me crazy."

"Oh, you're definitely crazy, but that was true before I knew you had visions."

Sam smile and threw his pillow at Dean's head. Dean caught the pillow easily enough and tossed it back.

"You really do need to get up…and put on your good shirt."

"Why?"

"Because we have to go to church."

Sam laughed. "You're funny."

"I'm serious," Dean replied. "All of the community will be there. It'll be a good chance for us to do a little research, meet the locals, and even get some free food."

"Food?"

"Yeah, bro. Remember the potluck? That's today. So come on, hurry up."

"Dean, we have a house full of food. We don't have to find an excuse to eat other people's food today."

"True, but I'm about to be stuck looking at your ugly face and nothing but your ugly face for a while. So, get ready so we can go hang with the natives."

Sam went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. He never thought he would see the day when Dean would want to go to church, even if he did hope to score some free food. Then Sam realized what it was. The storm was coming tomorrow. This would be Dean's last chance to socialize and flirt for a while. A smile crossed his face as he shampooed his hair. Dean would never change, and he was grateful for that.

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They arrived at the church only about fifteen minutes late and quickly went inside and sat in the last row. Together they suffered through the last thirty minutes of the sermon before the reverend finally gave his final blessing and people began to stand and head for the doors. Sam and Dean sat there and watched the people go by. Dean was checking out all the ladies trying to find the ones that were single and cute. Unfortunately there wasn't that many. Most of the women were already married, and the ones that were left were slim pickings at best.

"Hello, there."

Sam and Dean turned to see who was greeting them and found that Jonas from the museum was there with his wife and kids.

"I'm glad you two decided to come."

"Thank you for inviting us," Sam replied.

"This is my wife, Meredith."

"How do you do?" Dean said, shaking her hand.

"Fine, thank you. Well, you two better come along. The potluck is in the church basement since it's so cold outside."

Sam and Dean followed them down a flight of metal steps into a large open room with white walls and a battleship gray painted floor. Long eight by two foot tables had been set out with folding chairs and white table clothes. A large group of women were busy setting up all the dishes they had prepared while the men stood to one side and talked and the little kids ran around without a care in the world.

Sam always felt out of place when they did stuff like this. He envied his brothers ability to walk in a room and act like he'd known the people there all his life. Sam was awkward until he finally got to meet a few people and then start a conversation.

Two girls in their early twenties approached them. They were blond and blue eyed, but they were both rather homely looking. One had on too much makeup and the other had none. Both girls wore floral skirts that were probably hand made with bulky turtle neck sweaters on top.

"Hi there," the one with too much makeup said. "I'm Jenny and this is my sister Louise."

"Hi, I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean. It's nice to meet you."

"I'd say the pleasure is all ours," Jenny gushed. She moved up real close to Sam and entwined her arm in his. "My you're a tall one."

"Uh, yeah, I get told that a lot," Sam said as he pulled his arm out of her grasp as politely as possible.

In the mean time Louise was cozying up to Dean.

"So you two are working at that scary lighthouse," Louise said. "It must be just terrifying there at night."

"Uh, not really," Dean said. "Things have been pretty quiet."

"Half the town is placing bets on how long you two last there," Jenny said. "But you two look pretty tough to me. I think you can handle a few ghosts."

"We'll do our best," Dean replied. "Uh, if you'll excuse us ladies, I think we should go and um…find…someone."

"Oh, do you have to go," Louise said, grabbing Dean's arm with her hands. "The island is so boring. Everyone knows everyone and we never have new people around to talk to."

"Jenny, Louise, I believe your mom is looking for you two," came a woman's voice from behind them.

Jenny and Louise both huffed in frustration and went to find their mom.

"Thank you," Sam said as he turned around. His words died on his lips. Standing before him was a woman who would take a man's breath away. She was maybe twenty three or twenty four, she had long silky auburn hair flowing down her back that ended in loose floppy curls. Her skin was like porcelain. Her eyes were brown, but they were large and expressive. Her clothes were simple but elegant. A fitted white shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks with black high heels.

Where Sam froze at the sight before him, Dean moved in for the kill.

"Hello," Dean said, flashing his most charming smile. "And thank you for rescuing us." He stretched out his hand and took hers in his own.

"Let me give you a word of advice about those two," she laughed. "Their mother has been trying to marry them off for a couple of years now and their father is looking for any excuse in the world to have a shot gun wedding."

"Gotcha," Dean replied with a smile. "I'm sorry, and your name is?"

"I'm sorry, I'm Tina Malone. I'm guessing by the way everyone here is staring at you two that you must be the new lighthouse keepers."

"Yes, I'm Dean Harte and this is my brother Sam."

"Hello," Sam said with a shy smile. Tina smiled back at him and he felt something inside him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Well, it looks as if the food is nearly ready. Shall we all go get something to eat?" Dean asked. "I'm actually eager to talk to someone about the lighthouse, if you know anything that is."

"Why? Have you experienced something already?" Tina asked.

"Uh, well, now that you mention it, just a few things," Dean replied smoothly. "I'm not sure how much we should say for fear of being sent to a psych ward."

"Oh, I don't think you're crazy," Tina laughed. "I know all about that place. I'm your closest neighbor. Of course I'm half a mile away, but I often go for walks by the lighthouse and I've seen plenty of things that would cause others to think I was a little nuts if I were to talk to them about it."

"Well then, I definitely think we need to sit down and share stories," Dean said, extending an arm out to escort her to the buffet line.

Sam followed behind, slightly jealous that Dean had already staked his claim, but then Dean was just so good at working the ladies. Although, Sam had a feeling Tina wasn't necessarily going to be worked over that easily.

The three loaded up their paper plates with mashed potatoes, meatballs, fried chicken and other delicious looking food. Then they found an out of the way table and had a seat.

"So, if you don't mind my asking," Tina said, "why are you two here?"

"Free food," Dean grinned, which caused Tina to laugh.

"No, not at the potluck, but here on Beaver Island. I mean honestly, your both young, you seem intelligent, and you're relatively handsome," she teased. "So why come to an island that is in the middle of no where, offers literally no entertainment, and just a day before the first snowfall."

"We needed the jobs for a while," Dean answered. "We've sort of been on a road trip for the past few months and funds started to run low. With winter right around the corner, it just seemed like a good idea."

"I can understand that. So do you two go to school or anything?"

"I just graduated from Stanford," Sam said. "I was about to go to law school but then…something came up."

"I'm pretty much in the same boat. I was about to start my last year at U of M but then my father passed away this past August and I ended up coming home for the funeral and didn't go back. I thought I could try and make a go at running the ranch, ya know, make the old man proud of me, but the truth is I'm in over my head. I've already sold off the horse stock and most of the equipment. Come spring I'm hoping to sell the house and then go back to school next fall and finish my BA."

"So what are you going to school for?" Sam asked.

"Child psychology," Tina replied.

"You should get along well with my brother then," Sam grinned.

"Are you a psych major too?" she asked.

"No, he just acts like a child," Sam chuckled.

"Ha, ha," Dean replied while giving Sam a dirty look. "Actually, I didn't go to college. I just never had the desire to go."

"So what do you do for a living?" she asked.

"I'm the lighthouse keeper on Beaver Island he said with a smirk."

"Oh, so you're one of those guys."

"What?" Dean asked.

"Here today…gone tomorrow."

"That's not true. I promise to be here tomorrow, and even the next day for that matter. But I admit, I can't guarantee where I'll be several weeks from now."

"Got it," Tina said. "So, you mentioned something about swapping ghost stories."

"Yes I did. What have you seen out there while on your walks?"

"Nope, you two first," she said and stuffed a bite of food in her mouth.

"We saw a woman in a long blue dress with her hair in a bun walk out into the lake and disappear under the water," Sam said.

"But you could see through her if you looked hard enough," Dean added.

"That would be Elizabeth Brown. Her husband, Pete, went out on the water one day. A severe storm appeared out of no where and his boat sank. He died out in the lake. Elizabeth had a break down after his death and a week later walked out there and joined him."

"What year was that?" Sam asked.

"Hmm…I'd say some time in the 1920's."

"The man and the boy," Sam continued, "are they Michael and Daniel Fritz?"

"That's what most people believe," Tina confirmed.

"What about the other one. The mean one, who's that?" Dean asked.

"I don't know, and neither did my father. Most of the info I have on that place came from dad. Both my grandfather and my father lived there. It's been in the family for a long time, which is why I was hesitant to sell it at first, but in the end I have to do what was right for me. I never wanted to work a horse farm, nor did I want to spend the rest of my days being an islander wife."

"Why? What's so wrong with this place?" Sam asked.

"Nothing's wrong with it, it's just that every day here is the same. The boats come the boats go. The fish are caught and sold. The men complain about the weather and the women cook their little potluck dinners and raise their kids. Honestly, I've lived most of my life here and I just couldn't take it anymore. The minute I turned eighteen I hopped on that ferry and was off to college."

"How did your mom take your leaving?" Dean asked.

"My mom died when I was four."

"I'm sorry," Dean said.

"It's okay," Tina shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I barely remember her. If it weren't for pictures I honestly would even know what she looked like. But getting back to the lighthouse, have you seen Caleb yet?"

"Who's Caleb?"

"He's the ghost who haunts the lighthouse. He's an old guy who's always standing up there by the railing. In the evening when I walk past you can always see him standing up there, like he's keeping watch or something."

"We haven't seen him yet?" Sam replied. "Tell me, the land the lighthouse is on, is it old Indian ground or something?"

"No, why?"

"Well, it's just not usual for a place to have so many ghosts haunting it," Dean said. "I mean, the lighthouse seems to be acting like a beacon for lost souls."

"Even worse than that, the lighthouse seems to be killing people to create more lost souls for it," Sam added.

"So you think the lighthouse itself if evil?" Tina asked. "Is that possible?"

"Anything is possible," Dean answered. "Did you know the last keeper? John?"

"Yeah, I used to ride Buttercup over to see him about once a week. He was a nice guy. Then one day he's just gone, never to be seen again."

"Did he seem like the type to just leave like that?" Sam asked.

"No, not really. From what I know, he never even saw any of the ghosts. I'd asked him about it and he would just tease me and tell me not to believe in ghosts."

"Excuse me folks!"

Everyone turned to look at the Reverend. "I hate to interrupt the festivities, but the sheriff has asked that I make an announcement. The weather has taken a turn for the worse. The snowstorm predicted for tonight and tomorrow has been upgraded to a blizzard with up to twenty inches of snow possible."

Immediately the quiet hall erupted with chatter.

"Quiet please," the Reverend continued. "Bob has graciously offered to go and open the store for a couple of hours so everyone can get any last minute supplies they may need before the storm hits. So go ahead and finish your meals and then go across the street and run your errands."

"I guess that's my cue to leave," Tina said. "I need to get a few things before tonight."

"Will you be alright at your place all by yourself?" Sam asked.

"Are you kidding," Tina smiled. "I've lived here my entire life, remember. If anyone around here needs looking after it'll probably be you two."

"We can take care of ourselves," Dean said.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you both, and I hope I see you again before you leave in a few weeks." She shook both their hands.

"I'm all for seeing you again," Dean said with his cocky grin. Tina gave him a smile almost as flirtatious as his own and then walked away.

"Wow," Dean said once she was out of earshot. "Bro, nothing personal, but I really wish I was sharing a room with her tonight instead of you."

Sam didn't reply. The truth was he was pretty much of the same opinion, but then he remembered Jessica and how much he loved her and suddenly he felt guilty for even thinking of such a thing. He had been right when he told Laurie he wasn't ready.

"We better get going ourselves," Dean said. "We can grab some paper plates from the store before heading back."

"Sure," Sam said.

They both stood up and dropped their plates in the trash. Once outside they were surprised by how the weather had changed just in the past couple of hours. This morning the sun had been shining brightly and even though it was cold it had been a nice day. Now the sky over head was thick with gray, ominous clouds and the wind whipped the barren trees around wildly. It almost reminded Sam of what it would be like just before a tornado came.

"We need to get the lighthouse running, ASAP," Sam said. "The water is going to be rough, really rough with winds like these."

"You're right. Skip the paper plates." Dean pointed at the store and Sam saw a line of people literally going down the side walk. They didn't have that kind of time on their hands. The hurried to the car and Dean raced for the most deserted part of the island.