Ali still couldn't believe what the Winchester's had fought on the last hunt. A Tulpa. Seriously. Before, Ali hadn't even thought that those things existed. All it all, she was happy she had sat that one out, not to mention she was glad she hadn't had to try to work around the two idiots Sam and Dean had to in order to subdue the thing. If three was a crowd, five was a fricking army.

"You cheated," Ali heard Sam say accusingly across the motel room. She looked over to see him standing over the table, red faced and enraged. Dean was simply sitting there, beer in hand. He and Dean had been engaging in a clearly one-side-dominating poker game. (That side being Dean's, obviously.)

"No, Sam, I'm just better," he said with a smirk as he took a sip of his beer, enjoying the look of outrage on his younger brother's face as he slammed his cards on the table.

"You looked at my cards while I was in the bathroom, didn't you?" he accused again. Ali struggled to contain her amusement.

"Don't be a sore loser, Sammy," Dean chuckled as he dragged the pile of winnings to his side of the table. Ali made her way over to the brothers, eyeing the pile of cash on the table.

"Can I play?" she asked as she plopped herself down in a seat opposite Dean.

"Sure, you can take my place," Sam said sulkily, not wanting to lose any more to his brother.

"Have you even played before?" Dean asked sceptically. Ali shrugged.

"A few times." Dean eyed her carefully before coming to a decision.

"Alright," he said, leaning forward in his chair to shuffle the deck. "But Sammy has to play too." Sam let out an exasperated sigh before taking his seat in-between Ali and Dean.

"Here," he said as he slapped a wad of ones on the table in front of Ali and took some out for himself. "You got ten dollars," he told her, "don't lose it all at once."

Dean dealt them all two cards and the game began. He was a master at the game and thought himself more than adequately trained at reading people. Ali didn't think she was too bad at it either. Each player had a distinct way of playing. Dean was quite aggressive usually, playing hands Ali was sure were worse than hers but somehow still managing to take the pot. Sam, on the other hand, tended to fold early on in each hand, resulting in Dean stating how he played like a girl. Dean noted, however, that Ali didn't really seem to have much of a game plan. She won a couple of hands but slowly, her pile of dollar bills depleted until there was nothing left.

"I don't get it," she said finally, "how come you manage to win almost every round?"

"It's called a bluff, kiddo," Dean chuckled.

"What Dean's trying to say is, if you act like you have a good hand, the other players will think you do. Then you just hope they fold early," Sam explained. Dean watched as Ali considered his words.

"Okay," she said. "Can we do one more hand? Winner takes all?" she asked.

"Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you're outta ones," Dean said with a smirk. Dean watched as Ali looked towards Sam, silently asked him to lend her more money.

"Take mine," he said pushing his pile of notes towards her. "I'm gonna lose them anyway." Ali grinned at him in thanks as Dean dealt the last hand.

"Okay, Benny Binion, let's wrap this up. I wanna get my four hours tonight," Dean said. He watched as Ali took a look at her cards, carefully schooling her features as to not give anything away. Dean thought it almost adorable how she was trying to maintain her poker face. It was gonna be like taking candy from a baby for him. He took a look at his own hand. Two queens. He smiled inwardly. This should be easy. "You're up, kiddo."

After careful consideration, Ali put forward three dollars and considering she only had six left, this was a bold move for her. Dean chuckled to himself. Of course she was going to try and bluff. He did give her credit, she usually was a good liar. But Dean could always see right through her, and right now, she was transparent.

"Okay, I see your three bucks," he said, throwing in a few dollar bills, "and I raise two." Ali rolled her eyes at how patronising he was being and reluctantly threw another two dollars into the pot. Dean burned a card before placing three face up on the table. A queen, a two and a five.

"I'll check," Ali said and Dean nodded, checking as well. He burned another card and laid another on the table. Six of clubs. He had her now. He knew it. Ali looked sheepish, like she knew it too. "I think I'll check again," she said, running her last dollar through her fingers. Dean smirked.

"Well I'm all in," Dean said, pushing his winnings into the centre of the table. "You gonna fold?" Ali glared up at him as she slapped her last dollar down on the table.

"How about we raise the steaks," she said, her words sobering Dean a little.

"You've got nothing to raise them with," he chuckled, taking another sip of his beer.

"How about this," she said. "Whoever wins gets to have one thing they really want."

"What, like a wish?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, and the other person has to comply," she explained. Dean shook his head.

"Alright, but I hope you realise you're gonna be doing my laundry for the next month," he chuckled.

"I already do your laundry, Dean," Ali shot back.

"Well I'll make you do Sammy's as well," he said with a sarcastic smile.

"Deal?" she asked, stretching a hand across the table.

"You're gonna regret this, Ali," Sam said, shaking his head as he stood up. Dean chuckled as he grasped the girl's hand firmly in his.

"Deal." He burned a card for the final time and placed it on the table. Jack of hearts. Dean watched as Ali chewed on her lip, something she only did when she was nervous.

"What've you got?" she asked meekly and Dean threw his cards down onto the table.

"Three queens," he said proudly, ready to take his winnings. For a moment, Ali's face fell, disappointment and fury eclipsing her face in a way Dean thought was hilarious. But after a moment, a wide smirk pulled at her lips as she turned over her cards. A three and a four.

"Straight beats three of a kind, right?" she said. Dean stared bewildered at Ali's cards on the table as if that would somehow change them into something else. He had lost. Dean Winchester had lost to a sixteen-year-old girl. Through his teeth grinding, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

"Well played," he said, and he meant it. He was convinced she had nothing, that he would take the pot. He had been teaching her about bluffing when all the while it was the double bluff she was perfecting. "You've played this more than you let on, haven't you?"

"I did live with Bobby for five years," she replied with a smirk as she picked her winnings from the table. Dean shook his head.

"So, what is it you want? Queen size for a month? Unlimited whisky supply?" Dean asked as he gathered the cards together. Ali took a deep breath.

"I wanna go on a hunt." Her request was met with silence. Even Sam looked up from across the room to see what would happen next. Dean glanced up from the deck at her, meeting her eyes for a second before he looked back down.

"You already went on a hunt," he said dismissively. "Remember Minnesota?"

"That doesn't count," Ali argued, remembering when Sam had been kidnapped by a family of cannibals. "We didn't save anyone."

"We saved Sam," Dean shot back, gesturing to the younger Winchester across the room.

"Yeah but they were just people," Ali said. "I wanna hunt monsters."

"They were monstrous enough for me," Dean commented, thinking that would be the end of the discussion. He should have known better – Ali wasn't going to back down that easily.

"It doesn't really matter what you think," Ali said boldly. Dean looked up at her, eyebrow raised. "I won the game. I'm going on a hunt." Dean sighed, knowing there was no way he was getting out of this one. He looked over to Sam for some help, but he just shrugged in response.

"Fine," he said finally. "Next thing that comes up, you can tag along."

"And I'm not gonna be the one who does the research and digs up the corpse," she said, her voice determined. "I wanna be the one who burns it."


The impala glided down the dusty Wisconsin highway, the trees whizzing past the windows at an alarming rate, though it all felt too slow for Ali. This was it. She was finally on a hunt.

"Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy," Dean was saying as Ali unhooked her seatbelt so she could lean into the front, her elbows resting between Sam and Deans' shoulders.

"Well I'm telling you I looked and all I could find was a big steamy pile of nothing," Sam replied. Ali huffed. For her first hunt with the Winchesters it wasn't exactly off to the best start. "If Dad's sending us hunting for something I don't know what."

"Well maybe he's going to meet us there," Dean suggested. Ali thought the idea was highly improbably to happen. Apart from the coordinates he had sent them leading to Fitchburg, Wisconsin, they hadn't heard anything from John in weeks.

"Yeah. Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point," Sam commented sarcastically, voicing what Ali was thinking.

"You're a real smart ass you know that?" Dean said, causing Ali to snort. Sam sent her a look. "Don't worry I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing."

"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asked.

"Cause I'm the oldest," Dean said with a smirk. "Which means I'm always right."

"It means you'll be the first to get a hip replacement," Ali quipped back at Dean. Dean made the face he usually did when he wanted to flip someone off whilst driving.

"It means I'm right," Dean shot back. Ali rolled her eyes at him.

"No, it doesn't," Sam argued. Dean turned back to the road, a smirk finding its way onto his lips.

"It totally does."


Ali watched as Dean crossed the road, a stack of three coffees in his hand. Once he had made it to them, he handed one to the two hunters who were leaning against the impala.

"No one seems to have heard about anything freaky going on," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. Ali stared across the road, catching sight of a little girl in the playground, her mother watching on carefully. She smiled a little to herself. She could barely remember doing anything like that with her mom. Her childhood had revolved around silver bullets and target practice. She thought Sam and Dean must've had the same.

"You got the time?" she asked suddenly as she stared at the playground, leaning away from the impala to get a closer look.

"Ten after Four," Dean said after checking his watch. "Why?"

"What's wrong with this picture," she said, gesturing to the single child on the climbing frame, the warm breeze devoid of parental murmurs and childish laughter.

"School's out, isn't it?" Sam said Sam as he began to see what Ali was talking about.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "So where is everybody?"

"Shouldn't this place be crawling with kids?" Dean said. Ali's thoughtful eyes found the mother watching her child play.

"I'll be right back," she said, paying no attention to Dean's protests as she crossed over the road to the playground.

"Sure is quiet out here," she said as she sat down next to the mother.

"Yeah, it's a shame," she replied. Ali frowned.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing," the woman explained.

"How many?" Ali asked.

"Just five or six but serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching." Ali stared back out at the set of empty swings, finding their slow movement a little creepy. She sent a polite smile to the woman before she made her way back to the brothers.

"What did she say?" Sam asked as Ali approached.

"Kids have been getting sick," Ali explained. "I think there is a case here after all. What should we do?" She turned to Dean, expecting him to give her instructions of what to do next.

"You wanted to come on the hunt, you tell me," he said, raising an expectant eyebrow at her. Ali felt an exhilarating jolt of power propel through her as she considered Dean's works.

"I think we should check out the hospital."


Ali picked at her nails as she sat in the hospital foyer. Although Dean had allowed her to come on this hunt, it still didn't mean she could pass for a disease control officer. Besides, she still didn't have a fake I.D. She stood up when she noticed Sam and Dean walking briskly down the corridor, jogging over to meet them as they exited the hospital.

"So? What did the doctor say?" she asked, desperate to be brought up to date with the situation.

"They thought it was some kind of pneumonia at first, but the kids aren't responding to antibiotics," Sam explained as they talked to the impala. "He said it's like their bodies are wearing out."

"Yikes," Ali said as she grimaced. "Did you talk to any of the kids?"

"No, they're all unconscious," Sam replied. Ali's brow furrowed in concern. "But we spoke to one of the parents. Both his daughters are here, both got sick within 24 hours of each other and both had their windows open the night they got sick."

"That's weird right?" Ali said as she slid into the back seat.

"Yeah it's weird," Dean replied, looking as confused as the rest of them.

"You know, this might not be anything supernatural," Sam suggested. "It might just be pneumonia."

"Maybe," Ali said. "Or maybe something opened that window."

"Ali's right," Dean said finally. "Dad sent us down here for a reason. I think we may be barking up the right tree." Sam slammed the passenger door as Dean started up the engine.

"I'll tell you one thing," Sam said. Ali and Dean turned to him expectantly. "That guy we just talked to? I bet it will be a while before he goes home."


I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job. Dean's words echoed around Ali's head as she sat on the bed. Usually the three of them rented two rooms (a single for Ali and a double for the Winchesters) but for one reason or another, Ali found herself having to share. She didn't mind. This meant she could keep up to date on everything that was going on in the hunt, especially as Dean already seemed to know more than what he was letting on.

She remembered his distant look when they had broken into the sick girls' house to check for any signs of the supernatural. His eyes had been far away as he had stared at the rotted hand print on the window ledge. Whatever he had been thinking, Ali knew it would be important if they were going to be able to solve the case before any more kids in than town got sick.

"So what the hell is a shtriga?" Sam had said when Dean let on that he had encountered one before. Ali thought it was some kind of witch.

"Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16-17 years ago. You were there, you don't remember?" Dean had said, almost absentmindedly.

"You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?" Sam had asked. Dean seemed to think so. Ali thought it odd to think that whatever it was they were hunting had been around longer than she had. In the back of her mind she wondered if she counted as a child in the eyes of a shtriga. Was she safe?

"Well you were right," Sam said, snapping her from her thoughts. "It wasn't very easy to find but you were right. Shtriga's is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about them trace back to ancient Rome. They feed off spiritus vitae."

"Spiri-what?" Dean asked, pulling a confused face.

"It's Latin," Ali said. "Translates to 'breath of life'." Dean's gaze wondered over to her.

"You speak Latin?" he asked incredulously. Ali rolled her eyes at him.

"You know Venator is Latin, right?" Ali said, arching an eyebrow at the clueless hunter.

"Yeah, so?" Dean asked with a shrug. Ali shook her head.

"Never mind."

"It's kinda like your life force or essence," Sam explained, pushing the conversation on.

"Didn't the Doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" Dean questioned.

"It's a thought. Shtriga's can feed off anyone but they prefer…"

"Children," Ali filled in grimly.

"Yeah, probably because they have stronger life force," Sam agreed. "And get this. Shtriga's are invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man." Oh great.

"No, that's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds," Dean said. Ali's gaze snapped to him.

"What?" she asked, noticing Sam sending Dean a similar look.

"If you catch her when she's eating you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron. Err…buckshots or rounds I think," Dean explained.

"Okay. So, assuming we can kill it when it eats we gotta find the thing first," Sam said. "It ain't gonna be a cakewalk. Shtriga's take on a human disguise when they're not hunting."

"What kinda human disguise?" Ali asked.

"Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything," Sam said. The three were deep in thought when suddenly they heard a loud bang, causing them to just to their feet.

Within seconds, Dean, Sam and Ali were out the door, coming to an abrupt stop when Dean noticed Michael, the owner of the motel's son sitting by the door, his head in his hands.

"Hey what's wrong?" Dean asked, jogging over to the boy.

"My brothers sick," he replied sadly. "He's in the hospital. It's my fault."

"Oh c'mon, how?" Dean asked, trying to comfort the kid.

"I should've made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have got pneumonia if the window was latched."

"Listen to me," Dean said, and Ali was surprised at how comforting he sounded. "I can promise you that this is not your fault, okay?" The boy looked up at Dean, his eyes tearful. Ali didn't want the kid to lose his brother. She knew how it felt and she wouldn't wish it on anyone.

A woman appeared from behind the front desk, looking particularly flustered. "Michael, I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service," she explained. Ali noticed how she also looked like she might break into tears at any moment.

"I'm going with you," Michael argued, reminding Ali of how she was with Dean most of the time.

"Not now, Michael," she insisted.

"But I gotta see Asher!"

"Hey Michael," Dean said, catching up to the boy as he raced after his mother into the parking lot. "Hey. I know how you feel, but you gotta go easy on your Mom right now ok?" The kid nodded sadly and Dean turned to the upset mother. He offered to drive her to the hospital which she gratefully accepted.

"Be good," she reminded her son as Dean helped her into the passenger seat. Just before they drove away he turned to Sam, but Ali still caught what he was saying.

"We're going to kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?" Sam nodded at his brother's words, stepping away from the car as it pulled out of the drive.


Ali's legs swung in perfect synchronisation with the steady rhythm of the tapping of Sam's fingers on the key board. They had already been in the library for over half an hour and had discovered nothing. After the first ten minutes or so, Ali had switched from helping Sam and reading books to flicking through a clothing catalogue.

"Found anything yet?" Sam said tiredly as he clicked on yet another archived article. Shoving the catalogue off of her lap, she scooted closer to Sam on the desk so she could see the screen.

"So far, nada," she replied as she tried to read the article on the computer. It was difficult considering she was perched on the edge of the table so had to read at a funny angle. "Sam?" she asked after a moment as she pulled her sleeves down over her hands.

"Hmm?" he asked, only half paying attention to the teen beside him.

"Does Dean seem a little…off to you?" she questioned. Sam shrugged.

"I dunno," he said. "I think he just really wants to solve this case." Ali frowned, Sam's words not making sense in her head.

"Doesn't he really want to solve every case?" she asked.

"I guess," he replied. "Maybe this case is different?" Different? Ali frowned again. The only difference she could see compared to the other cases was that she was involved in this one.

"Why?" she asked.

"I mean, it's always more stressful when there are kids involved," he replied. Ali raised her eyebrows at him whilst trying to look like the comment didn't bother her. Sam had a guilty look on his face. "I didn't mean you," he started. "It's just, these kid's lives are in his hands. Our hands. That's a responsibility that comes with the job." Ali nodded, though she didn't buy what Sam was failing to sell. Sensing her discomfort, Sam pulled away from the computer to face the girl. "Listen to me, okay?" he said seriously. "Whatever's going on with Dean, it isn't because of you." He sent her a reassuring smile which she tried to return. He shook her head at her, slightly amused, and squeezed her arm in a way he hoped was comforting. "You're doing great, kiddo." Ali nodded, feeling a little more reassured.

Sam's phone began to buzz and with one last look, Sam turned to pick it up. Ali hopped off the desk and sat herself in Sam's unoccupied chair. She scrolled through the numerous articles and pictures pretty aimlessly, her eyes feeling droopy. Her eyes snapped open, however, when she came across a photograph from the 1890s, one of the figures looking ominously familiar.

"Sam," she said as she stared at the screen, picking up her catalogue with one hand and launching it across the library at Sam who was still on the phone. The paper bounced off the back of his head and he turned around, clearly irritated.

"What?" he managed to whisper and yell at the same time. Ali beckoned him over.

"Isn't this the paediatrician at the hospital?" she asked hurriedly, pointing to a figure standing over a child's hospital bed.

"Oh my god," Sam said. "I'm looking photograph right now of a bunch of Doctors standing around a kid's bed," he said into the phone. "One of the Doctors is Heidacker."

Ali shuddered at the thought of a monster disguised as a doctor. The idea just seemed wrong to her and she had the strong urge to throw up.


"The bastard's bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something," Dean explained as he paced the motel room. "I know how we're going to get it."

"What do you mean?" Ali asked from the bed as she sharpened the blade that used to be one of Deans.

"Shtriga, works through siblings, right?" Dean said. "Well last night it went after Asher. So, I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael."

"Well we gotta get him outta here," Sam said urgently.

"No. No, that would blow the whole deal," Dean said.

"What?" Sam said. "You wanna use the kid as bait?" he asked incredulously. Ali looked up at the two of them in shock. "Are you nuts? No! Forget it. That's out of the question."

"It's not out of the question Sam it's the only way," Dean argued. "If this thing disappears it could be years before we get another chance."

"Michael's a kid," Sam said. Ali felt her stomach sink a little but she didn't let it show. "And I'm not going to dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook."

"Dad did not send me here to walk away," Dean said. Ali was starting to get a little confused, as was Sam.

"Send you here?" Sam asked. "He didn't send you here, he sent us."

"This isn't about you," Dean said. "Either of you. I'm the one who screwed up, all right. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me."

"What are you saying Dean, how is it your fault?" Sam asked. There was a long pause before finally, Dean sighed.

"Fort Douglas Wisconsin," he said, his expression wracked with guilt. "It was our third night in this crap room and I was climbing the walls man. I needed to get some air. I can't have been gone for more than 10 minutes, but when I came back, it was there. I wanted to help you, Sammy, but I couldn't. I just froze." Dean looked up at his brother, his expression destroyed. "Then Dad showed up and the thing took off. He just grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas the shtriga had disappeared, it was just gone. It never surfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask. But he...ah...he looked at me different, you know?" he said sadly. "Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order and I didn't listen, I almost got you killed."

"You were just a kid," Ali said, trying to comfort the elder Winchester.

"Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it," Dean said.

"But using Michael," Sam said. "I don't know Dean. I mean, how about one of us hides under the covers, we be the bait."

"No, it won't work," Dean said. "It's gotta get close enough to feed. Believe me I don't like it, but it's gotta be the kid."


Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, each thump pumping the adrenaline through her veins. This was it. This was her chance to prove herself. This was her chance to be a hunter. Ali stood behind the motel room door waiting anxiously for her instructions. Dean had managed to convince the kid, Michael, to be bait in order for them to catch and kill the monster who had been hurting all those children. With all the security cameras set up and feeding into the adjacent room, all that was left to do was wait.

Ali wasn't sure what she was meant to be doing, or what she should do if the thing showed up. She wanted nothing more than to fire an entire clip into the monster though she thought Dean wouldn't be too happy about that. Furthermore, she didn't see how she was going to kill anything with only her small blade. She checked the time. It was just coming up to 3am. She let her head fall back and rest against the wall she was leaning against, her excitement turning to exhaustion.

She heard someone clear their throat above her and opened her eyes to see Dean, his hand held out towards her. Ali stared at the revolver in Dean's outstretched hand, a smile pulling at her lips as she eagerly reached out to take it in her grasp. As she did, Dean pulled it away, his eyes shut as if he were deciding whether he would change his mind. With a sigh, he held it back out, this time allowing her to take it from him.

"You be careful, okay?" Dean said, serious eyes fixed on Ali's blue ones. She nodded, a little nervous at his tone. "And if something happens, if it comes at you, you use it. You do not hesitate, do you understand? You shoot that son-of-a-bitch right between the eyes,' he said, pointing to the middle of his forehead.

"I'm not gonna choke, Dean," Ali said, trying her best to sound convincing. She knew herself. If she had to, she could kill anything. Dean was silent for a minute as he considered her, the thought of the girl being in the same room as the monster that had almost killed Sam years ago, making him nauseous. After this, he would need a stiff drink.

"Bobby isn't going to kill me for giving you a gun, right?" he asked, a slightly scared expression on his face. Ali simply grinned back as she climbed to her feet.

"Guys," Sam said suddenly. "It's here." Ali peered past Sam to the screen to see that he was right. The shtriga was inside Michael's room.

"Let's go," Ali said, making for the door as she checked to make sure the Glock was full.

"Not yet," Dean said, putting a hand in front of her to stop her from entering Michael's room. Dean's eyes were glued to the screen as he waited for the right moment. The shtriga moved closer and closer to the bed. Each second that passed felt agonisingly slow but Dean knew he had to be patient. He waited until the creature had started to draw the energy from Michael before he signalled to the others.

"Michael, down!" Dean yelled as the three of them burst through the door. Ali watched as the kid rolled off the bed and scrambled underneath it. Sam and Dean began to both open fire on the monster, until finally it collapsed to the ground.

She watched as Dean approached it, anxiety building up inside her body. They thing remained still and silent, though Ali wasn't sure the worst was over. She still held the gun tightly in her fingers, but she was yet to fire it. Suddenly, the shtriga rose from its position and grabbed Dean by the throat, raising him above the ground. Ali's heart rate picked up as she back into the wall, watching in horror as the creature threw Dean across the room like he weighed nothing.

"Dean!" Sam yelled as his brother crumpled to the floor. Ali watched as Sam lunged for the monster, but it was too quick and managed to push Sam to the ground, using its weight to pin him to the floor.

Now it was Ali's turn to panic. She glanced over to Dean who was struggling to pull himself from the floor. Then her gaze snapped back to Sam. The monster was forcing his mouth open as it tried to drain him of his energy.

"Ali!" Sam shouted. She snapped out of her frozen panic and tightened her grip on the weapon, pushing away from the wall and walking closer to the monster.

"Shoot it!" Sam screamed at her and she raised the weapon up in front of her. Her hand was shaking as she aimed. She knew she was an excellent shot, but the shtriga was so close to Sam. What if she missed? What if she hit Sam by mistake?

"Ali!" he screamed again, and she knew she had to act fast. The monster had started to drain Sam of his energy and she could already see his skin start to pale. She aimed her weapon, but before she could pull the trigger, the popping sound of a rifle came from behind her. The shtriga released Sam and fell to the floor.

"Dammit, Ali," Dean muttered as he passed her, hurrying over to Sam to make sure he was okay. He pulled his brother to his feet and watched as the energy began to escape from the shtriga. Ali glanced down at the gun in her hand that was still full of ammunition, the weapon suddenly feeling heavy in her hands.


"Why did you do that?" Ali asked as Dean as they packed up their things in the motel room. They had just received a call from Sam at the hospital to say that all the kids were fine. "I had it."

"No, you didn't," Dean replied, his angry tone only just starting to appear. He had been acting pissed at her ever since the previous night and Ali had a hunch as to why.

"Yes, I -."

"No!" Dean barked, cutting Ali off. "You choked! You had your finger on the trigger and you choked. If I hadn't cut in Sam would be dead."

"I didn't have a clean shot, Dean," Ali explained, her voice icy. She couldn't believe what he was saying to her. Did he really believe the words coming out of his mouth?

"I've seen you hit much harder targets," Dean said. "You're good on paper, Ali, but when it comes to real life, you can't do it." He didn't even look up from his bag as he spoke, that simple gesture indicating how disappointed he was in her. "I knew something like this was gonna happen."

"You knew?" Ali asked incredulously, starting to raise her voice. "You didn't want me to make the shot! You wanted to prove yourself to John and now you're making it seem like a couldn't do it!"

"You can't, Ali!" he yelled at her, turning away from his packing to face her. "You wanted to come on a hunt to prove you could and you failed."

"Why are you so mad?" she shouted.

"Because you think you're a hunter because of your last name, but you don't know anything about real hunting. You're a kid! Not a hunter, a kid," Dean yelled. Ali could feel hot tears threatening to spill from under her eyelids but she held them back. "Go get in the car," he said in a low voice. "Get out of my sight!" Without another word, Ali ran for the door, making sure to slam it extra hard on the way out.


Sam glanced to the backseat to check on the sleeping girl. She had her black hood pulled up over her head as she slept against the window but he could still see the trails of tears that had crawled down her cheeks. Next, he glanced across to his brother in the driver's seat, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel.

"Why'd you do it," he asked quietly so as not to wake Ali in the back.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked. Sam huffed.

"You know what, Dean," Sam replied. "I saw her. Ali didn't choke."

"Yeah, she did," Dean argued. "She aimed and she didn't pull the trigger."

"She would've if you'd given her a chance," Sam said, trying to understand his brother's motives. "Why, Dean?" The Winchester in the driver's seat sighed as he glanced in the rear-view mirror at the girl sleeping silently.

"I couldn't let her do it," he said finally, as if he was ashamed of what he had done. The truth was that Dean felt extremely guilty for all that he had said to Ali. Sam was right – she would have shot and killed the shtriga, but he couldn't have let it happen.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"She's not even seventeen years old, Sammy. She doesn't deserve this life," Dean explained. "Not yet." Sam sighed.

"Dean, I don't think there's any way we can stop her from becoming a hunter," he said. "Her family have been hunting for years."

"I know, I know," Dean replied, feeling regretful for the way he had spoken to the girl. "I guess I just wanted her to be a kid for a bit longer, you know?" he said. "I didn't want her to grow up like we did."

"I think she already has," Sam said softly, understanding what Dean had done. Dean didn't say anything else, simply turning on the radio quietly to fill the silence and drown out the sound of his own thoughts swirling around his mind.

AN: Hope you liked this chapter :)

Let me know what you thought, much love x