Chapter Four

Dinner was cleaned up and the men folk had all retreated to the den to watch the ball game. Martha had sent the girls out after dinner to run with the dogs when she'd called them in they'd been so wore out they hadn't made it farther than Sam and Dean's laps where they were now curled sleeping, neither of the two young men looked completely comfortable with the situation but didn't dare move to disturb the small children. Billy-Jack kept his distance from Dean though every chance he got he sized him up. Mrs. Bitch Morton was finishing up the dishes, so with John at their heels the girls followed Martha out to do the evening milking. The zing zing zing sound of the milk hitting the empty pail instantly called forth memories the way a bugle called men to arms.

"No, I never jumped out of the loft." Autumn protested as her sister imitated her landing.

"Then what do you call it?" Athena teased.

"I fell out." Autumn dipped her head down and tried to look like she was concentrating on her work.

"Falling with style." Martha laughed mimicking the voice of Buzz Lightyear

"No style. Believe me there isn't a stylish way to land on a pitchfork… or the tractor." Autumn corrected.

"Don't forget the rooster and how many times did you fall on the dog?" Athena piped up. Autumn glared over at her sister who had disinclined to actually milk and was supervising from the tool bench against the wall.

"Athena, I love you, but I'm afraid I have to kill you now." before Athena had time to think about what this meant she got a face full of milk.

"That's not fair! I'm unarmed." the younger girl whined.

"You two are worse than the children." Martha remarked coming out from behind her cow and dumping her pail in a large pot on the wood burning stove. Mrs. Morton had never believed that anything unclean should enter her home. This included the milk, so it was boiled in the barn then stored out in the milk house.

"Are not!" Autumn and Athena said in sync.

"Oi, Autty, tell Dean I said thanks." Autumn pointed for Athena to take over and stood up to stretch her arm out. She'd far from forgotten how to milk but even without extra rips and tears in your skin it was hell on the arms.

"What for?" she asked arching her back as she worked out the kinks.

"For putting the fear of… Dean in Billy-Jack." Martha went back to her milking. "I should rename Nick, Dean in honor of Dean's ass kicking. I mean that literally too." Autumn laughed.

"I'll tell him that. But I think he'd just like to be saved from Uncle Dean duty as repayment." Martha smirked turning her head, but keeping her hands milking, to look at Autumn.

"It's cute isn't it? You know you love the idea. Uncle Dean and Uncle Sam… Hell it could be Uncle Anus and it'd still be cute for those boys to be called that."

"Anus?" Athena asked.

"Yea, Hatfeilds and McCoys… one of the guys name was Anus, the locals called him Ole Devil's Anus." Martha had always loved family affairs that had taken on a memorable role in history, she'd spent much of her youth playing games based around the scandals of the English crown.

"I don't care, who names their kid Anus? He have a father named Gonad?" Athena queried.

"You are a very strange girl, Rhea." Martha marveled.

"Don't call me that. I don't know what my mother was thinking naming me after two Greek goddesses. I mean the goddess of wisdom and war, okay fine Athena is a pretty, some what normal, name but Rhea… what was she exactly?"

"Mother of the gods. She mothered Zeus, and Hades and there sister wives." Autumn threw in. "Besides you at least got off with names. I'm Aura… that's not a name. That's a paranormal energy put off from people. Mom must have wanted to be a hippy. You're a Greek goddess."

"Two." Martha reminded.

"Yes, two Greek goddesses, and I'm a season and an energy force. Might as well have named me Moon Shine." the other two got a real kick out of this laughing so hard they cried.

"Did you talk to Uncle Tommy today?" Martha asked getting herself under control.

"Yea, but what about?"

"He went down to visit his brother in-law or whatever in West Virginia. Well the man had a moonshine still up in the mountains and the two decided last winter, the same weekend they got the big snow storm, to climb the mountain and drink. They got so drunk they passed out woke up the next afternoon in puddles of puke and shit and couldn't get out of the shack the stills in because of the snow so they drank some more." Autumn rolled her eyes.

"I swear that man is beyond all logic." she remarked. Martha let the cow lose and Autumn led it out to its stall for the night.

"Yea, but you gotta admit he knows how to party." Martha offered up.

"Yes, but he'll disappear on one of his little trips and show up a dead John Doe somewhere in Mexico. Or someone'll have him locked up for his alien beliefs." Autumn argued.

"You know I don't understand that. Aliens grow eyeballs on plants, and warship our satellites but they come down here and abduct rednecks down at the mini mart and shove tracking devices up there ass?"

"So he claims, Teenie." Athena finished up her cow and put it back out. Once about ten years ago there had been a good thirty cows to milk, and that had to be done before school every morning. Now the Mortons were down to two. "It's a shame. Hefferina make four dozen cows this month." the little hairs on the back of Autumn's neck stood up.

"What do you mean?" again the Daemon girls sounded at the same time.

"Cows are dropping like flies. Four dozen, and a few dead births more than normal. The farmers are all tied in knots over it. They didn't get a great harvest this year because we barely got any rain, and when we did get rain it washed their fields clean, now their cows are dying off with out a sign of illness. There are a few of them who claim it's a sign from God, Uncle Tom's buddies all say it's the aliens. I just don't know what God or the aliens would want in killing off the crops and cattle." Martha said it all dismissively as she skimmed the froth off the top of the boiling milk.

"No electrical storms or anything is there?" Autumn asked. She'd helped John track down some of the information on his Demon and ever since it all came out she hadn't been able to escape the idea that every cattle death was the next burning.

"Couple of kids went off the road and hit one of the telephone poles and knocked the power out all over town." Martha looked up from her work. "Why, you sound all worried?"

"Just this thing John's hunting. Cattle deaths is one of the signs of it. But as long as the electricity stays normal I'm not worried." Athena shot her sister a look. Autumn was worried. She had every right to be too.

"Sis, did you call John today? We always call him on the holidays don't want to put up any flags… especially since we're disobeying orders." Athena was trying to turn the conversation but didn't think she was doing to well.

"What orders?" Martha asked.

"John don't want us with his boys." Autumn said with a sigh.

"Forbidden fruit. Do they know it? If they did it would make your move all the easier to make, Teenie Weenie. Guys love things they can't have." Martha was getting excited now.

"No, and don't call me Teenie Weenie. I didn't like it when I was little and I don't like it now."

"Fine, be that way, poopy head." Martha pouted. "Go make your phone call. Don't worry about me… I'll be just fine. All alone."

Autumn pulled out her cell phone wandered around the barn a little until she got a decent signal then punched in John's number. He was on speed dial but she found comfort in actually dialing it manually. The phone rang several times before pushing her through to voice mail. John redirected cases to Dean that way and then came the tone.

"Hey, Daddy Winchester! It's your girls, Teenie says 'hi'," Autumn held the phone over to her sister who greeted their mentor. "We were just getting ready to turn in for the day and remembered we hadn't called to wish you a happy Thanksgiving. You must be on a case or we've been bad girls because you never ignore me. Ha, ha. I heard through the grape vine about Pastor Jim and Caleb. I'm sorry. I know they meant a lot to you. I also heard you and your boys tried to fight a semi. Not too smart. Ya'll better be doing alright or I'll personally kick your ass for not calling us in for back-up. I don't want to leave a real long message so I'm gonna run. We love you and miss you and think of you all the time. Seriously, WWJD is What would John do for us. Night Johnny-boy." Autumn closed her phone.

"That sounded natural. WWJD? He'll never guess we're up to no good." Athena teased.

Kendra, Kelly, and Kayla had all forgotten about their gifts so Autumn left them in her room. Saving them for the next day. Mr. Morton and Billy-Jack carried the three sleeping girls out to the car while Martha gathered up little Nick's things. It was quick hugs from Martha and promises to see each other again the next day before they pulled out and headed home. Dean went for a shower saying his lap was full of drool. He'd had both Kendra and Kayla's heads in his lap while Sam had held Kelly. The remaining guest drifted out to their cars leftovers tucked under their arms. Mr. Morton left for bed and Athena and Sam went upstairs to set up the sleeping arrangements leaving Autumn wide open for attack.

"Autumn, honey, can we talk?" Mrs. Morton gently placed her hand on Autumn's injured arm.

"Yea, of course, Mom. We can always talk." she gave her foster mother a quick smile, before following her out onto the front porch.

"You see all of this?" the older woman gestured to all the visible farmland. "This all belongs to Billy-Jack after we die. I always hoped you'd run it for him. But," she paused and took Autumn's hands in hers. "I know things have been ruff for you. You've had a hard life without me making it worse and I always thought I was doing what was best for you. I thought if I controlled everything you'd know that we were always here and weren't going anywhere the way your parents did." Autumn pulled away and walked to the opposite end of the porch distancing herself as much as possible.

"I kind of figured that much. Look what I said at dinner I meant it. The Winchesters are amazing men. My job is one of the most important things in my life. If I can work with the Winchesters and use my job, the things they've taught me, to help people why not? I mean, when I was little Mamma was always doing things to help everyone else, and you always encouraged me to do the same." Autumn bowed her head and chewed at her lip for a long moment. "I never meant to upset you guys. I never wanted to leave Billy-Jack, and dash everyone's plans."

"I'm proud of you." Mrs. Morton came up next to Autumn careful not to touch her but still to be next to her. "I never told you that. You took such good care of your sister and when you knew what was right you always did it. But can't you see that your career choice is ruining you?" Fury quickly built in Autumn's eyes as she looked up.

"What do you mean by that?" she carefully punched out every word sure not to mispronounce a single syllable.

"I just mean that… Well look at you. You look like you've not had a proper meal in years, or a goodnights sleep. I've never seen you so diluted. God, Autumn, you've been shot! Don't you think it's time to throw in the towel? Isn't this one battle you can't win?"

"I win battles all the time. It's a war I won't win. But I'm not alone. Athena, Sam, John, Dean, and I aren't the only hunters. There's Will, and his family for 5 generations, there was a vampire hunter, the guy the colt was made for. What about all the hunters Jen dispatched for? She has a dozen or more people at her finger tips. We aren't alone and none of us are stopping any time soon." Autumn stopped before she really lost control. She counted to ten then hopped up to sit on the railing. "You know how priest and nuns say that their priesthood and sisterhood is a calling? That God came to them and told them that that is the right path for them?"

"Yes." there was an undeniable hesitation in Mrs. Morton's voice as she watched her foster-daughter.

"Hunting is like that. Not everyone is cut out to be a man or woman of the church. Not every woman is meant to be a mother. Not every man is meant to pull a plow. We all have certain paths we must follow, this one is mine. Can't you just let me go? What happened to the woman who argued with my social worker in the parking lot of Burger King, because they wanted to separate Teenie and I and send us to different families in completely different cities?"

"She died." Mrs. Morton hung her head this time. "She died when she saw her son hit you. She died when she saw Athena run to you for help. She died when she finally realized that you girls didn't need her and neither did her real family." Autumn laughed.

"Of course Athena came to me! For two years our mother withered away dying in pain. Two years our dad went to work early and came home late to make ends just barely meet. Athena was so small I was the only person who was ever there that was some big scary doctor, or casserole bearing cheek pincher. I hated it but those two years forged us together, we weren't just sisters after that. She's my best friend. You tried to keep us in a controlled environment she only had one person who wouldn't drill her. But Mom your family has and will always need you. Your brother, Tom, he needs you to keep him from getting abducted by men in white jackets. Dad needs you to remind him that life isn't a big joke. Billy-Jack needs you… God knows he needs you the most. Martha needs you to protect her now from your baby boy. Those little grandkids need Grandma to spoil them rotten and buy hundreds of noisy toys to drive their parents mad. Athena and I need you to keep us grounded. If it weren't for you Athena would have run off to Europe or something and be up to her eyeballs in misunderstanding do to the language barrier. I would be sitting in some little upstate New York apartment writing crappy novels about silly little girls and the hired farm hand." Autumn smirked. "We'd be in a fantasy land and never see those people who loved us when no one else would. You gotta give yourself some credit. I hate you. But I still love you." Autumn jumped down and yawned.

"You better get to bed. A good nights rest will help considerably with that bullet wound of yours… Just promise me that you won't be rooming with those boys in my house." Autumn rolled her eyes.

"We're all just friends… Traveling colleagues. Besides their totally not my type. Hunters don't make good family men."

"Teenie, you wanna help me put the antibiotic cream crap on when I get out of the shower?" Autumn asked shuffling through her duffle bag. Athena shook her head.

"No, its all nasty. I'll puke." Sam laughed. He was propped up against the bed sitting on the floor while Athena was hanging upside down from the bed.

"How can that make you puke?" he asked the younger girl. "With everything we see that's nasty to you? You'd have loved our skin shedder."

"I would have! It wasn't my sister's infected hole." Athena agreed. Autumn rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll shower and try and do it in the mirror." She folded her pajamas over her arm and grabbed her mini-bag of toiletries and started for the bathroom.

"Dean's not asleep if you need help." Sam called after her snickering.

"I give them until the end of the holidays." Athena grinned. Sam shrugged.

"Doubt it. Dean don't work slowly." Athena rolled over.

"Damn a blood rush. He might not work slow but, cool the room is spinning, Autumn does." Sam stretched out on the floor to stare at the ceiling.

"You should probably lay flat a minute until the room stops moving." he advised.

"You know for a big bad hunter boy you play things way to safe." Athena sat up and started bouncing on the bed, wobbling dangerously.

"Better safe than sorry." Sam told her.

"Yes, better to live your life trapped in the highest room of the tallest tower than to run with wolves." Athena laughed sarcastically.

"I wouldn't go that far." Athena fell off the bed right on top of Sam.

"Sure you wouldn't Mr. Safety." she sprang to her feet and went to stand at the door. "So, I'm going to poke the bear do you want a stick?"

"What?" she took three steps directly in from the door then two to the right before sitting down pulling a small pocketknife from the pocket of her pajama bottoms. "You sleep with a two inch blade?" he teased.

"Yes, now would you like a stick?" she ran the knife's blade down all four sides of the wooden floor board before popping it out of place. "She doesn't know I know this is here."

Carefully Athena excavated a small cedar box. She slid away the lid to reveal a large mass of pictures, ticket stubs, and tiny odds and ends. But this didn't hold Athena's attention for long she reached back into the hole left by the floor board and pulled out lap quilt as she unwrapped it a folder fell out. Sam watched her open the folder and grin.

"Autty is going to die."

"What is it?" he asked her. She handed it over to him.

"She hid things down in here growing up. But that, she would never have put under here. It's letters from our biological mom. She always had hers on the vanity, I kept mine between my mattress and the bedspring."

"What about the rest of that stuff?" he didn't read the letters, they were personal, none of his business. Athena fingered the quilt as if it were the most delicate thing in the universe.

"This was a baby blanket Real mom made for Autumn then I used when I was born, the box though is just things that were important to Autumn. When she left for college I used to sneak in here when no one was around and go through it. It wasn't as good as having her home but it meant she would be home someday." Athena put the box in her lap and started rummaging through it. At the very bottom was 20 page photo album, not much bigger than a picture itself. "Look at this." she commanded forking over the book.

Sam opened it and wasn't shocked to see a blue eyed red head sitting on a porch swing with a much younger version of Autumn and Athena at her sides. All three of them looked so happy to be there. There was none of the harden looks in the girls eyes as there was now. Just pure unbridled joy. He flipped to the next page. Autumn was holding her sister tightly on a white horse, her head thrown back in a fit of laughter while the younger girl clung to her arms. The next page was a young couple, the woman from the first page in a long white wedding gown and standing his arm around her waist was her groom. Despite his dark eyes he had almost white blonde hair, and a bright smile, as if he'd finally found the meaning of life. Sam looked up at Athena who grinned.

"That's my folks on their wedding day." she pointed the picture above of the two girls on a horse. "Her name was Snow Prancer, Dad bought her for Mom on Valentine's Day the year they got married. I think they treated that horse more like a member of the family than me. They always said she was their first daughter." Athena flipped to the next page. It was Autumn, she had to of been at least ten, she had a hot pink swimsuit on under cut off overalls, resting on her hip was a rifle nearly as long as she was tall. "She named the gun Annie, said it didn't matter who shot it they'd never miss. For hours she'd stand in the back yard shooting cans. That one there," she pointed to a picture of herself hair twisted in thirty or forty little pig tails all over her head and a make-up job that made her look like she belonged in the circus, "I wanted to be an actress when I was eleven or so, and Autumn said she'd follow me to Hollywood and do my hair and make-up. Dad got rid of all the make-up after that. I went to school that way." The next picture was one he hadn't expected. It was his father arms out stretched to catch him as he hovered in the air just out of reach. "Mom took bunches of pictures when you guys were here but only when your dad wasn't looking, most of them didn't survive. They got put out in the barn in this big plastic tote and the mice chewed through it. Destroyed nearly the whole box." The picture below him and his father was all four of them asleep, heads poking out of a tent made of blankets. Stuffed animals stood guard in a half circle around them G.I. Joe sat in a Barbie jeep his gun resting on his lap in the middle of it all.

"I don't remember this."

"We were asleep, you wouldn't remember it." She giggled reaching forward and turning the page again.

"No, I mean sleeping like this, what happen was it nap time or something?" Athena shook her head.

"Nope, you begged and cried until John let you stay. He finally gave in, since he was staying the night in the woods anyway." The pictures that were staring up at him now were snap shots out a kitchen window of the four of them and his dad shooting on a makeshift archery range. A large round bale of hay stood nearly a dozen yards away from them. Dean was behind Athena showing her how to shoot in one and in the next he was right behind Sam. The pictures that followed were more scattered in time. Athena in a ballerina outfit. Martha and Autumn being thrown into a pond. Billy-Jack with his arms wrapped around Autumn just before leaving for prom. Shots of pets they had owned through the years. The last one was two headstones a golden cross on a matching chain hung over the corner of one while a toy bow hung over the other, fresh mounds of dirt piled in front of them. "That's Mom and Dad." Athena stated the obvious. "Right after Autumn took that we were ushered into the social worker's car. Autty really hadn't let me see her cry until then. Kept telling me everything was fine because she'd never leave me."

When Autumn came in she shooed Sam away. She didn't pay any attention to the floor board that slid away she just tucked her things back into their respective bags and climbed into bed. Athena shut out the light and joined her. The younger sister waited until the older one was nearly asleep before rolling over on her side to ask a question that had been bothering her since she'd been pinned against the wall and pulled in every which way.

"Do you think Will still thinks about me the way I think about him?" Autumn moaned and rolled over to look her sister in the eye.

"I think he was a fool to run away and regrets it everyday he spends wandering this miserable earth." she rubbed her eyes and settled deeper into the pillow.

"Think he's okay?" Autumn nodded.

"I know he is. I didn't spend that much money for Sage to fix him up and him not be okay."

"Is he happy?" Athena asked. Autumn reached up and took her sister's face in her hands.

"I don't know, Teenie. All I know is if anything happened to him Jen would have called me and if you don't shut up and let me go to sleep you'll be able to haunt him." Athena put her hands over her sister's.

"You are pure evil you know it?" Autumn gave her a laugh worthy of the baddest bad guy to ever grace Saturday morning cartoons before she wrapped an arm around her sister forcing Athena to lay down.

"Go to sleep Squirt."

"She doesn't usually sleep this sound does she?" Dean asked leaning against the door frame. "No, this is a rare event that most be taken advantage of." Athena shook her head.

"What do you have in mind?" the older Winchester smirked.

"I don't know yet give me a second." Athena perched herself on the corner of the hope chest at the foot of the bed. She looked around the room as if the greatest inspiration ever would somehow grace the walls. Her eyes landed on Sam and she smirked to match Dean's. "Sammy, darling, could I get you to get in bed with my sister?"

"Excuse me?" he asked and his brother nodded as if to confirm the thought.

"Do it Sammy."

"Then give her a squeeze and say something a long the lines of last night was fun." Athena encouraged.

"Why can't Dean?" he whined.

"You are really a pain in the ass you know it, Samster?" Athena rolled her eyes. With a sigh Sam climbed into the bed and pulled Autumn to him.

"Mornin' beautiful." he whispered in her ear. Autumn's green eyes shot open.

"Oh God." Sam glanced in the direction of his puppet masters before taking the joke the next step.

"Is that your favorite phrase? You said it an awful lot last night." Autumn covered her face with her hands.

"Sam, I'm not going to look and count to a hundred get your stuff and get out. Then we'll just pretend like this never happened." the older girl gave a shudder. "I need to boil myself." Athena had been holding in a fit of giggles since Autumn had woke up but now it burst free. Autumn sat up a pitched a pillow at her sister's head.

"You little skank!" Athena dodged the pillow and it hit Dean who threw it back.

"Now, that's no way to talk to your baby sister." he teased.

"I hate you all!" Autumn folded her arms across her chest and pouted.

"Well we still love you." Athena grinned.

"You are a big meany head, Sissy." Autumn stuck her lower lip out further.

"Aww, that's so sweet." Athena jumped up in her bed and weaseled herself in between Sam and her sister. "Can I sleep with you tonight Mommy and Daddy?"

John didn't take no for an answer climbing into the back seat of the mustang with Dean and Athena, two hours later. They had had breakfast and Autumn refused to leave until everything had been washed and put in the exact place it had been when they started. Not that anyone really could blame her. Why anger the gods when you didn't have to? Mrs. Morton had gone out with Martha to hit all the stores for the big After Thanksgiving Sales, and Mr. Morton was watching the kids. The farm hands that usually came out to help were at home watching their own kids, and Billy-Jack had gone off to inspect the pear trees in the back quarter of the property. So they were left alone except for the animals.

"They're the second drive right?" Autumn asked trying to twist around to see her sister. But only managed half a twist before she winced and corrected herself.

"Yea. You know if that hurts you so bad you should go get it checked out again. It's been what… four days since it happened?" Athena pressed.

"Yes, four days. It's only been four days. I'll give it a bit longer before I call more money hungry doctors in." Autumn pulled in to the next drive and parked haphazardly in the drive. There was the typical white farm house sitting off just to the side of the house with newer looking barns out back. "The house was a school house back when the town was founded. There used to be a church across the street but it was closed down, then some kids started maiming animals in there when I was in middle school so the fire department burned it down." She climbed out of the car and let Dean out behind her.

"Where are they you think?" Athena asked rounding the front of the car. About that time a baby goat came running and screaming toward them. She reached down and plucked it up tucking it close to herself. "Hey little one. What are you doing lose?"

"I swear Josh! That kid of yours is a demented! He barely has teeth yet and ate the box of rifle bullets. I'm going to kill the monster!" a tall raven haired man yelled back as he came out of the nearest barn. "Well I'll be damned!"

"Probably." Autumn smirked.

"The river rat is here." the man yelled back the way he'd come.

"Oh shut up and hug me Kitty." Autumn held out her arms and the man embraced her carefully.

"Martha, called this morning said you'd gone and tried to get your self blown to bits?" Autumn shrugged.

"You know me. I just can't stand a normal day." the man laughed.

"How about you, Thena?" Athena shrugged pulling her finger out of the goat's mouth.

"Just trying to keep her out of trouble." Another man came out of the barn and joined their group. There was hugs and joking before Kit and Josh noticed Dean and Sam standing there.

"Well, this must be John's boys." Josh said holding his hand out to them. "I'm Josh and this is my husband Kit. We've heard so much about you."

"It's nice to finally meet you." Kit agreed shaking their hands too. "Here, Teenie I'll go put the little heathen away, Josh take them inside." Kit took the goat and headed back in the barn threatening it's life if it decided to escape again, while Josh led them into his house.

"So, girls, what epic battles have you been in lately?" rolling her eyes Athena shrugged.

"Their far from epic, Joshy." Autumn reminded him. Josh just shook his head.

"You've got no idea! You four get to go off and live these storybook lives while the rest of us average Joes just sit here and do the same thing day in and day out. You're lives are epic to us."

"Really, it's nothing." Autumn urged. She didn't want to retell any of her stories of near failure.

"Fine, be a spoil sport. Do you want anything?" he asked nodding towards the kitchen.

"Naw, we're good. Sorry to hear about Hefferina by the way." Josh hung his head.

"Yes, she was a good cow. It was hard to see her go. I would just like to know what killed her."

"Martha said there have been a lot of cattle deaths in the area. What are the vets saying?"

"They're saying we're making a mountain out of a mole hill." Kit said coming in. "Just the same thing they always say. The few vets who give a damn don't have the funds to find out what's really going on and the others have the dough but not a lick of sense. How is it that people would rather take their pet to someone whose just in it for the money than someone who cares? Would you take yourself to a doctor who was going to run a bunch of pointless tests for the sake of running them or one who ran only what he felt was truly needed for you to receive the best possible care?"

"You know as well as I do Kit, that things don't work the way they should." Athena said soothingly. "But we aren't here to talk about the politics behind the vets of Pinecrest."

"No, you didn't. You came to catch up with us and all we have to say is the town's been fed to the wolves." Kit apologized. "So my dear river rat you think any more about retiring?"

"Yep."

"What?" Dean interposed Autumn. "You just got started you can't retire now."

"Not hunting, dork. I'm in that for the long haul. My agent is tying up the lose ends of a deal to sell the series for a cartoon, and we've really stretched the plot. It's time to shut it down and let the contracts deal with everything."

"So what were you thinking?" Josh pushed.

"I was thinking about signing off on a few offers that have been made, it'll allow me to continue writing the series but also open it to other authors, all of which will have to be approved through me. Athena still gets to do the illustrating and everybody's happy. It's also the same money for half the work."

"Sounds like a plan. Can I get in on that?" Kit joked.

"You're in the will."

"So, how'd you guys all hood up?" Josh asked.

"Dean was hitting on me in this little bar, up north a bit." Athena over simplified.

"So why'd you stick together?" Kit asked. Both girls shrugged. They really didn't know. If John knew they were with his boys he'd have their heads. It really hadn't occurred to them that there was a reason beyond it just happened.

"We work well together." Sam offered.

"Hey hey! They do speak. I was starting to think they just sat there and looked pretty." Kit teased.

A/N: Okay this is a little over 7 pages. I'm going to cut the chapter here. But stick with us. Dean and Billy-Jack get into it again, and the boys get to meet Father Bill soon too. After that boring stuff is out of the way we FINALLY get to see the big bad guy for this story. R&R Plz. Thanks Angel-Who-Never-Felt and Posinchick88 for ur reviews. Ur both very appreciated!