Welcome to the Club

A rock through a window never comes with a kiss.
Rhyme and a reason never argue with a fist.
There's a time for discussion and a time for a fight.
It's the time in the season for a maniac at night.

Method to the Madness, Blue Oyster Cult

Sam looked at Dean in disbelief. Dean was looking down and trying to remember something that just wasn't in his brain to recall. Kole was the one who spoke.

"Are you really telling me that you didn't know you had an uncle?" When they both looked at her and shook their heads, she said, "Wow. I mean, I knew they hadn't been close for a long time, but… wow."

A knock at the door made them all jump. Kole excused herself to speak with a colleague.

"What are you thinking?" Sam asked his brother. Did Dean feel the same way about having family that he never knew existed?

"I think we got no job here," Dean said. It took Sam a moment to comprehend the statement.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," Dean said, confusion still painting his face, "I'm not saying that I regret stopping here and meeting our… oh geez, she's our cousin! I was looking at her like…" he shuddered. "Anyway, just add it to the list of things to ask Dad about when we find him. The way I see it, we can head out anytime."

Sam was going to argue, but Kole came back into the office.

"Sorry about that guys," she told them. "I actually have another class that I need to get to. Feel free to rummage through the cabinets and fridge if you're hungry. You can use the laptop to check e-mail or whatever. How long are you guys in town?"

"We're heading out tonight," Dean said before Sam could respond. "We don't have a room anywhere, so…"

"Oh," Kole said, trying not to show her dejection. "Well, why don't you stop by my place for dinner? You might as well have a decent meal before you leave. I can't promise that I'm a decent cook, but I know all the best carry-outs around," she smiled. Then, grabbing a pen and paper she said, "Here, let me give you my address."

"Oh, that's all right," Sam told her, "we've already got it."

"Really? How did you know to look for me at the school, then?"

"Actually," Dean said, "we stopped by your house first but there was no car in the driveway…"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you didn't know that I don't own a car, then."

"You don't own a car?" Dean asked incredulously. "How do you get around?"

"I walk," she laughed and nodded to a pair of hiking boots and a winter coat. "I have a meeting after my class, so see you guys around 6:00ish?" When they nodded, Kole smiled and waved good-bye.

"So," Dean said, standing up from the sofa, "what are we going to do for the next couple of hours? This is a small college town. It's not exactly my area of expertise."

Sam wasn't really listening. He was looking around at the books in Kole's office. Sure, she had all the standard folklore, religious, and mythological texts, but they all seemed rather general. Something didn't seem right, but Sam couldn't put his finger on what or why.

"Hmm, Kole is really into the classics," Dean said, indicating a small leather-bound travel case of DVD-Rs. "Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man… And these are all from the 30s and 40s."

Sam looked up to see Dean holding the case open to a disk that had 'The Mummy, 1932, Boris Karloff' written on it in none-too-loopy handwriting. He looked around the office again, studying it a little closer. There were no photos, no knickknacks, no personal touches of any kind. The old horror movies were the only insights they had into their cousin's life.

But, Sam reminded himself, this is only an office.

"I'm starting to get claustrophobic in here," Dean told him. "Let's get some fresh air."

They left the office, the building, the quad. Since the town was so small, Sam suggested that they forego the Impala and just walk. Neither one of them could believe the Norman Rockwell world they were walking into.

Sam smiled to himself, thinking how quaint this little area of the world was. From the corner movie house playing classic matinees to the housewife he saw holding a measuring cup and knocking bashfully at her neighbor's door. Was she really borrowing a cup of sugar? That was something that Sam thought only happened in old black and white television shows. The entire area gave him a warm, tranquil feeling.

Dean, on the other hand, shuddered. He had thought that nothing could be creepier than suburbia, but he was walking through a new level of hell that went by the name 'Small Town, USA.' How could a person live like this? A place where everyone knows everyone else and no one locks their doors? And he swore he saw some middle-aged oddity just wander over to her neighbor's home with a measuring cup in her hand. These people were fools who had no idea how vulnerable they were to any evil being looking for a free buffet.

When Dean could take no more, he suggested they return to the car and head over to Kole's. It was a little early yet, only 5:20, but she had said 6:00ish. And, it was already starting to get dark.

As they pulled into the driveway, they saw her trudging through the frozen grass towards the back of the house. There was a clear view of the college through the winter, leafless trees.

"I hope we're not too early," Sam told her as they met at the front door.

Dean was a bit more than relieved when he saw Kole take a key from her pocket to let them in. He was glad to see that living in this too-sugar-coated town hadn't robbed her of her Winchester senses.

"No, you're fine," she told them with a smile that seemed a little forced as she took their coats, "my meeting ran a little longer than expected." The emphasis she used made Sam look over at his brother, but Kole noticed and quickly amended. "It was nothing serious. I think some of the questions and drama had less to do with my performance and more to do with my disallowing the dean's nephew get away with not doing his work."

"What," Dean asked, "that David kid?"

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes, "Professor David is the dean at Woodcreek."

But, that was all she would say on the matter, or about the college itself. She told them to make themselves comfortable while she attempted to fix something for dinner. It gave the boys a chance to look around.

Sam noticed, much to his irritation, that Kole's home was almost as impersonable as her office had been. There was a bedroom, which neither of the boys went into out of respect, but could see through the open door, a bathroom, a living room that moved directly into a dining room, and a small kitchen. There were no photos of friends or family, or even artwork of any kind. There was no television or stereo, but there was a laptop computer that matched the one in Kole's office.

The only personal touch seemed to be contained on the large bookcase that took up an entire wall of the living room. There were few books on it; mostly it held notebooks and binders. And, Sam spotted, there was a short row of DVD-Rs. When he went in for a closer look at the individual jewel cases, he saw that the movies matched the collection in Kole's office.

"What would you guys say to some makeshift tuna casserole?"

"What makes it 'makeshift'?" Dean asked, giving Sam an apprehensive eyebrow raise.

"Well," she said, leaning through the kitchen doorway to smile at them, "the fact that it's not from scratch, I guess. My tuna casserole consists of a box of mac-n-cheese, a can of tuna, and some frozen broccoli. The good news is that it only takes about 20 minutes to make. And, just for you, I'll add some extra cheddar."

To tell the truth, it was probably the closest thing to a homemade dinner that Dean had had in years. The third helping he took answered any questions of whether he was just being polite or if he actually liked the meal. The conversation was light and friendly. Well, as light as a full description of an exorcism or a detailed account of a demonic insect infestation could be.

Sam wasn't sure how much of their stories Kole believed, but she listened to each of them eagerly and he was impressed that she wasn't disgusted, even when they told her about the skin-shedding shape-shifter.

"Wow," Dean said, as he glanced out of the living room's large window, "it's really gotten dark. We should probably head out."

They said their 'good-bye's and their 'happy to finally have met you's, exchanged cell phone numbers, and were on their way. After driving only 30 minutes or so, Dean's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Sam answered.

"Sam? I don't suppose you're still in town, are you?" Something in Kole's voice made him sit up straighter and worry.

"No, we're not. Kole, are you OK?" he asked, and even as he spoke, he felt Dean take his foot off the gas and look at him.

"No, I think I'm in trouble. I…"

"Kole? Kole!" but Sam knew yelling into the phone wasn't going to help.

"What?" Dean said as he twisted the wheel and the car was suddenly facing the opposite direction. "What happened? What'd she say?"

"I don't know," Sam told him. "She said she was in trouble… then… breaking glass… and the line went dead."

Dean pushed the gas pedal down further.