Author's note: I do not own anything having to do with Supernatural, only Leah belongs to me. Just a reminder SUPERNATURAL signifies a break in time. As always please remember to ~Read and Review~
Can I just say yet again how awesome my beta, SPNxBookworm, is? I sit and work on this for weeks and BAM she gets it back to me in one day. Cookies all around :)
Instead of apologizing at the beginning of every chapter for not updating like I should I'm just going to say to expect this story to be updated once a month. Between the length of the chapters and the other stories I am working on both on my own page and co-writing with other amazing author's on here that's about as good as I can do. Besides, the rare occasion that I update more than once a month and it will be a treat!
I have a few little things in here for my girls as a continued thank you for their friendship and support. You girls are awesome and I would be lost without you.
Now onto the chapter, this is the first time I've incorporated a full song into my chapter. My intent was for it to be like in the movies when a song is played while you see what people are going through on the screen. Lyrics will be in bold and italic, memories or flashbacks will be in italic, and stuff that is happening at that exact moment will be in plain text. I sure hope it's not too confusing and that you enjoy!
Song is 'I Won't Let Go' by Rascal Flatts
Chapter 47 - Don't Let Go
General Point of View
It had been two days since the accident and only five hours since the brothers arrived at the hospital after a phone call from Jo asking for some information about a case. Dean had made some joke about asking the encyclopedia of a sister he had but he saw right through Jo's lie when she said Leah was sleeping. It only took one call to Leah's cell phone and for someone on the hospital staff to answer that sent both brothers speeding to Illinois. The doctor had explained how she was in a car accident and from the police report it sounded like it was her fault. The brothers shared a silent confused look knowing Leah would never drive drunk and wondered what had happened for her to lose control of the car. The doctor continued by going over her injuries most were superficial cuts from the glass that shattered, various bruises and a broken nose.
"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" Sam questioned anxious to get back in the room his sister was residing in as they stood out in the hall.
The doctor tried to give a comforting smile, "Everyone is different. We're on her time now but if she's not awake by the end of the week we will run some more tests."
Dean shook the doctor's hand before both brothers walked into Leah's room. Their faces showing every emotion that they refused to verbalize. She was lying so still on the bed, both eyes were rimmed with a slight black and blue making her look like she hadn't slept in months from the broken nose and she had an oxygen mask on to help her breathe.
Seeing his sister in this state, Dean couldn't keep quiet anymore and the anger inside of him finally burst forth. "What did you do?" Sam didn't respond thinking his brother was talking to Leah but that was quickly clarified as he felt Dean's murderous glare suddenly on him. "I found something interesting in the trunk last night, Sam. There was a bullet missing from the Colt and unless you were shooting at some incredibly evil cans, you went after it, didn't you? After I told you not to, you went after the crossroads demon!"
"Dean…" Sam started to explain surprisingly not faltering under the daggers that were being thrown his way.
"You could have gotten yourself killed!" Dean exclaimed cutting off any excuse Sam would have stuttered out.
"I didn't," Sam answered matter-of-factly, keeping his voice down so they wouldn't draw unwanted attention to themselves.
"And you shot him? So, what? Does that mean she's out of the deal?" Even with every instinct telling him otherwise a small sense of hope had started to ignite within him.
Sam shifted slightly on his feet more out of guilt then anything. "Don't you think I might have mentioned that little fact, Dean? No. Someone else holds the contract."
"Who?"
"He didn't say," Sam answered softly as he glanced over to his sister.
"Well, we should find out who. Of course, our best lead would be the crossroads demon. Oh, wait a minute…" The sarcasm dripping heavy with every word that spewed out of his mouth.
"That's not funny," Sam couldn't take the guilt that bubbled inside of him anymore.
"No, it's not! It was a stupid freaking risk, and you shouldn't have done it! Haven't I taught the two of you anything?!" Dean yelled before nearly throwing himself down into the chair next to Leah's bed. "So help me God, Sam, if she doesn't wake up because you screwed with this deal…"
"You'll what, kill me?" Sam spat back. "You're just pissed I tried to do something, anything, while you sit back twiddling your thumbs just watching as our sister goes to hell! She's my sister too Dean, I'm going to save her and I sure as hell am not going to apologize for it!" The room fell quiet, the only noise coming from the few monitors Leah was hooked up to and after a moment of silence Sam nodded to the door and mumbled, "I'm going to go find us coffee."
Dean let out a long breath as the door closed behind Sam before gently nudging Leah's arm as if she was merely sleeping. "C'mon, Le, stop being a bitch and toying with us…it's time to wake up."
He was met with silence.
It's like a storm
That cuts a path
It breaks your will
It feels like that
You think you're lost
But you're not lost on your own
You're not alone
It was the same thing every year on Mary's birthday. John left the kids in the motel room to go drink away his pain. Sam wanted Dean to tell him everything and anything he could remember about their mother while Leah sat silently in the corner of the room, her knees pulled up to her chest.
"Well, do I look like her? What about Le? Does she have mom's voice?" Sam asked in rapid fire as Dean was going through every trick in the book trying to calm his temper before he did something to his little brother that he knew he would undoubtedly regret. "C'mon Le, don't you want to know?"
"Leave her alone, Sam," Dean sighed knowing that if pushed he wouldn't only have to contain his own temper but his sister's as well.
"Every year you do this!" Sam shouted in the direction of his sister ignoring Dean's warning. "You sit there and stare off into space. Don't you care? Don't you want to know about her? She was your mother, Leah."
"Sa-" Dean's second warning was cut off as Leah exploded.
"Of course I care, Samuel! I don't say anything because nothing I do or say is going to bring her back! Nothing you, Dean, or dad say or do is going to bring her back so yes, I sit here quietly because one day…one day I hope and pray to be able to celebrate even one birthday with her. You might not remember it because you were so little but you got to celebrate your first birthday with her Sam. I didn't get that! I didn't get even one birthday so please excuse me if I don't feel like chatting."
Later that night, long after their dad had passed out from the amount of alcohol he had consumed and Sam was sleeping peacefully, Dean nudged Leah's shoulder hard enough to wake her before he ran over by the bathroom so he wouldn't be seen.
Leah blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to adjust to the dark room and sat up when she saw something sitting on the table that she didn't remember being there before. She got out of bed and padded over to the table to see a single cupcake with a candle in it.
Cause I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
And you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go
John was out on another hunt leaving a ten-year-old Dean behind to watch after his siblings who were both still blissfully unaware of the true nightmares of the world. It had taken three stories, two cups of water and one glare to finally get Sam and Leah in bed. Dean stayed up a little while longer enjoying the peace and quiet until his eyes started to droop and he too fell asleep.
A loud crack of thunder woke Dean up from the wonderful dream he was having. With a grumble he rolled over in hopes of picking the dream up where he had left off when he noticed only one lump in the bed next to his instead of two. Hunting instincts took over automatically as he grabbed the gun his dad had left him and crept over to the bed to see Sam's shaggy hair peeking out from the top of the comforter.
"Leah?" Dean whispered loudly so he wouldn't wake Sam and worry him if there wasn't really anything wrong.
Another loud crack of thunder sounded and he heard a slight whimper coming from the bathroom. His mind went instantly went into overdrive; there was something supernatural in the bathroom hurting his little sister. In one swift move he kicked open the door and aimed the gun towards the middle of the room. Leah's loud gasp brought his eyes to the bathtub where she was curled up.
"What happened?" Dean almost demanded not lowering the gun.
Leah stared at him wide-eyed, "Don't shoot me! I'm s-s-s-orry…"
"I'm not going to shoot you," Dean rolled his eyes as he set the gun on the sink before walking over and sitting on edge of the tub. "What are you doing in here?"
"Nothing," Leah mumbled hanging her in shame.
Dean knew his sibling like the back of his hand and he knew she was scared of the storm but instead of teasing or assuring her everything was going to be alright he went and grabbed a couple of pillows and the comforter off his bed.
"What are you doing?" Leah questioned as he sat down in the tub next to her.
Dean laid the pillows on one end of the tub and pushed her slightly so she would lay down before covering them up with the blanket. "I don't know about you but there is a dream I'd like to get back to."
It hurts my heart
To see you cry
I know it's dark
This part of life
Oh it finds us all
And we're too small
To stop the rain
Oh but when it rains
Leah stood out on the sidewalk in between her brothers with a huge smile on her face and lopsided pigtails that her dad had tried to do earlier that morning. This was it, her first day of kindergarten. She could barely sleep the night before; bouncing around the motel room with her backpack on.
Sam and Leah held hands as they walked through the crowded halls and Dean gave sly smiles to any girl he passed. Sam's class came up first and after he gave Leah a hug and Dean a high-five he nearly ran to find his desk.
"Midgets go down here," Dean nudged Leah's shoulder and motioned to the end of the hall that was surrounded with parents dropping their kids off for the first day.
Leah walked next to Dean most of the way until she slowed her pace way down and became overly fascinated with the laces on her rainbow sneakers.
"Leah, get a move on it," Dean called out. But she just stood in the hallway playing with the tassels on her backpack while staring down at the ground. Dean let out an audible sigh, cursing God for giving him a sister instead of another brother. It wasn't until he got closer that he saw the small frown lines on her face, "Le? Come on your class is waiting."
"I'll go next year," Leah mumbled refusing to meet her eldest brother's eyes.
Dean groaned, Sam was never this bad his first day of kindergarten and he thought it would be the same with Leah especially after her prancing around the room last night. "Hate to break it to ya but it doesn't work that way," he reached out and took her hand and started pulling her towards the classroom. "Let's go see where your cubby is."
He managed to pull her through the door and searched the boxes against the side of the wall for her name. "See, Winchester, L., this is your cubby. This is where you keep you bag until it's time to leave."
"Do I have to stay?" Leah looked up giving Dean her best sad eyes and if he could, he would have told her she didn't.
"Yeah," Dean nodded giving her hand a squeeze, "but today is going to be so much fun. I'll be right there," he pointed to the window in the hallway, "when the day is over. Just try and have fun, for me, ok?"
"For you."
The day went by quickly and the boys waited in the hallway for their sister and Dean half expected her to be mad that he left her there but was genuinely surprised when she came out with a smile on her face.
"See not so bad, right?" Dean asked wondering what had changed his sister's mind about school.
"Nope," she answered popping the 'p'.
They began to walk towards the front door when Sam poked her backpack where a note had been pinned on. "What's that?"
"Ms. George says I have to give it to daddy."
Dean shared a look with Sam knowing teachers only sent notes home when something bad had happened during the day.
"Leah," he took a deep breath trying to keep his anger in check, already foreseeing his father flying off the handle that she got a note on her first day of school, "Why did Ms. George send you home with a note?"
Without skipping a beat as if it was no big deal she replied, "I bit Peter."
"Why the hell would you do that?!" Dean screeched once they were on the front steps of the school.
"He took my crayons," she shrugged before taking Dean's hand so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd of people. "You were right, De, school's fun."
I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
And you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let you fall
"I hate you!" Leah screamed as she slammed the bathroom door behind her.
John pinched the bridge of his nose and tried counting to ten. The boys had been so easy, at least easier, in their teenage years but his daughter was going to send him to an early grave and she was only twelve.
"I'm going to go pick us up some dinner and get Sam from the library," John grabbed his keys off the table wondering if he had time to stop for a beer before going to get his middle child. "Don't piss her off, we can't afford for her to destroy the room…again," he tried to be serious but he couldn't help the chuckle that came out. She certainly had her mother's fiery temper that made his heart ache.
Leah came out of the bathroom ten minutes later her eyes red and puffy from crying.
"You finally pull that stick out of your ass?" Dean asked casually not even bothering to take his eyes off the magazine he was flipping through. With a huff she grabbed the closest pillow and chucked it at him. "Guess not."
Getting Leah out of these moods was like defusing a bomb. You needed a lot of patience and you needed to know which wire to snip. The room fell back into a comfortable silence and Dean knew it was only a matter of time now until she spilled whatever was on her mind.
Almost as if on cue Leah started rambling, "Middle school sucks. First, Jen wasn't in class today so I had to sit next to Nick who, let me tell you, needs to learn that deodorant is his friend and then Samantha was my partner in gym which I thought would be fun until she totally almost knocked me out with the tennis racket. THEN, Sanjana decides it's cool to tell Brad that I like him. Ew. He's in band and plays the flute. I specifically told her that I liked Kenny, who I suppose is kind of a loner if you really think about it, and he's no Phil but I mean I have no chance with him so Kenny is the next best thing, you know?"
Dean had one eyebrow raised as he tried to keep track of what she was ranting about and how that had pissed her off but all he got out of it so far was that he needed to stop by the middle school and let these guys know she had an older brother who was capable of breaking their necks.
"That's not even the worst part," Leah continued and Dean wondered how Sam ever managed to keep up with her when she went on her rants. "Joey tripped Jean in math class and guess what? She was wearing princess underwear and the whole class started laughing calling her a baby but…"
Dean waited a minute figuring she was going to continue but when she didn't he noticed her eyes swimming with tears again. Surprised by the sudden outburst, he swung his legs off the side of the bed so they were sitting knees to knees.
Leah let out a shaky breath, "Jason turned and pointed at me…laughing and saying that I probably wore boxers because…" she was barely whispering at this point and Dean had to lean forward to hear her. "…because…I don't have a mom."
He froze for a moment beyond shocked that Leah was not only freely talking about their mom but that she was showing so much emotion while doing it. When he got over the initial shock he got up so he could sit next to her and pull her into his shoulder where she cried fresh tears all over again.
It wasn't until much later that Dean was still confused, "So…I get why today was so horrible…but why do you hate dad?"
Leah smiled sadly. "Because he's the only parent I have to be difficult with," she replied sounding years older than she should have.
Don't be afraid to fall
I'm right here to catch you
I won't let you down
It won't get you down
You're gonna make it
Yeah I know you can make it
"You need to keep your left hand up, Leah!" John scolded as she and Sam were trying to tighten up their hand to hand combat. "You're leaving yourself wide open."
The day had started out with a Latin lesson which she had no problem with then they worked with the guns for awhile and she was given praise for her accuracy. The smile quickly was replaced by a scowl as her father kept pointing out everything she was doing wrong.
"Square your hips," he bellowed and though Leah tried to follow his every instruction it just wasn't working out.
After twenty more minutes John couldn't take it anymore and called it a day. Sam seemed overly excited as he started pleading with his father to take him to soccer practice and John finally gave. Dean and Leah headed back to the motel room for showers.
Dean went first mumbling about how chicks take too long and in the short time it had taken him to shower and get dressed, Leah had managed to punch a hole in the wall. She was seeing red. She was so pissed off and every time she reeled back to hit the wall, she heard her father's voice correcting everything she was doing wrong.
"What did the wall ever do to you?" Dean joked not seeing the tears that silently rolled down her cheeks as she kept swinging at the wall taking her frustrations out. "Alright I think that's enough," he tried again but when she didn't stop he walked over and wrapped an arm around her middle to pull her away from the wall. It wasn't until he had his arm around her that he felt her shaking and saw the tears. "Relax, Le, just breathe. I've got you."
It took Dean murmuring in her ear a few more minutes to get her breathing back to normal and for the tears to stop. When he was sure that she'd be alright for a few moments alone, he went out to the Impala to grab their first aid kit. He knelt down in front of her and cleaned her knuckles up where the skin had split.
Dean was going to let it go, knowing she would talk when she was ready when Leah mumbled, "I just want to make him proud."
Cause I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
And you can't cope
And I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go
Sam came back with two cups of coffee and silently set one on the small table next to Dean. He slid a chair up to the opposite side of Leah's bed and watched his brother curiously wondering what was going through his mind because he looked to be a thousand miles away.
Oh I'm gonna hold you
And I won't let go
Dean took Leah's hand in his own and smiled at how much she has grown up. It wasn't until times like this that he truly realized how much they had been through together.
Won't let you go
No I won't
Leah moaned as she came back to the land of living and felt a familiar hand in her own. She gave it a slight squeeze, "Stop staring at me it's creepy."
Dean and Sam both smiled at the sound of her voice relief washing over them and in true Winchester fashion Dean pushed down all the memories that had pained him to think about.
"Dude, you should see your face."
Leah blinked a few times to focus her vision and gave them the Winchester smirk, "I still look better than you."
Sam patted her sheet covered leg, "You alright?"
"I live to die another day."
SUPERNATURAL
The 'mother-henning' quickly wore off and was replaced by annoying, relentless brothers.
"Where did you go?" Dean demanded as we drove towards Sea Pines, Massachusetts; the hometown of our next case. We had just crossed over the state line when I woke up, and I should have stayed asleep or at least pretended so I didn't have to play twenty questions.
I let out a sigh and tried to get comfortable again as I carefully leaned my head against the cool window. "Told you I went to see Jo."
"Funny," Dean scoffed, "Wanna try again?"
"Nope."
Sam turned in his seat a bit so he could look at me, "Were you running?"
"People normally use their legs to run with," I replied sarcastically with an eye roll but Sam's expression never changed. "Ugh. No, Sam. I wasn't running away and contrary to popular belief, I'm not that childish."
The death glare Dean gave me in the rearview mirror was almost actually scary. "So you're not going to tell us where you really went?!"
"Nope."
Sam took a deep breath easily keeping calm and I often questioned how much Winchester there was in him. "How about why you crashed then?"
"No," I answered more softly this time and refused to look him in the eyes.
Everything seemed so clear before the accident. Ben was without a father, Dean was without a son and I was the one who knew the truth. It was so simple and straightforward that I wondered when it had become so complicated. I wouldn't go as far as Sam and have faith in a God that I wasn't sure existed but in the last couple of days, I thought the accident might have been some divine intervention. I had been on my way back to tell Dean the truth; was it not supposed to be told or was I just using that as an excuse to hide behind.
SUPERNATURAL
"This is stupid. You are stupid."
Dean shrugged and buttoned his suit jacket, "Hey, at least I'm dropping you off at Plucky's."
Sam flinched and I rolled my eyes. Seriously, dude? Ok, I'll admit that place was kind of lame but it did not deserve a flinch. Instead, big brother left me at a picnic table next to some burger joint with Sam's laptop, dad's journal and a notepad.
"Why do I have to do all the research?" I full on whined and I would have stomped my foot too if I wasn't already sitting down.
"Because…" Sam started out, most likely about to give me some sweet reply but Dean cut him off.
"You look like you got in a fight with Edward Scissorhands and lost."
I really wasn't that bad. So, I had about thirty small cuts littering my face, neck and arms as well as bruises especially the biggest one across my forehead from where I hit the steering wheel. But let us not forget my nose that broke and the doctor taped on this little metal thing to keep it in place until I healed. How long has it been since my accident? Four? Five days? Damn, this thing had to be on for another week before I could only wear it at night and not look like a complete idiot.
Sam patted me on the shoulder and gave me a small sympathetic smile. Yeah, keep smiling bro, you just go right ahead and question some lady while you leave your poor little sister all alone next to some food place that was on a pier. Well, I suppose once you think about I could be left in worse places. I looked around and it was actually quite peaceful being next to the water. Few people were chatting as they walked along the pier but mostly I heard the seagulls squawking at people for food and the water hitting the side of the planks from the breeze that was blowing.
I let my mind wander for a bit imagining if I led a different life than hunting nightmares. With the laptop, notepad and dad's journal in front of me I could have been mistaken as an author, maybe a poet, who came down to the pier for some inspiration. I would pick a quiet secluded location where I could just watch the world pass me by. I would watch as couples laughed and held hands thoroughly engrossed in conversation, as an elderly fisherman sail off on his boat to catch dinner for the night, as the seagulls spread their wings and fought each other for the last crumb of bread on the cobbled sidewalk and I would be in awe at how the world held so many wonders. Though I was not a poet and I was not in some secluded area I was just sitting here researching supernatural sightings. I didn't bother flipping through my dad's journal. I knew what was in there but it gave me a false sense of security.
Ten minutes after I had closed up the laptop, dumb and dumber had returned and we ordered food from the little burger joint.
"Sammy's a cougar hound," Dean smirked as he passed out our food.
I looked over to Sam and raised an eyebrow, "M.I.L.F.?"
"That would be better but no," Dean chuckled as Sam moodily unwrapped his turkey burger. "More like a G.I.L.F. You know, Grandmother I'd like to…"
"Ew, ew, ew, ew," I covered my ears not wanting to hear anymore. Great, anyone have a brain sponge because that was something I did not need an image of. Ew.
Sam added extra lettuce to his burger while Dean and I watched as if he was desecrating the thing before sharing a horrified look. I mean it was bad enough that it was a turkey burger, but he should have just ordered a salad with all that damn lettuce he was putting on the thing.
"So, what info did you get from your cougar?" I questioned, moving just in time as his gigantor foot tried to connect with my shin.
Dean cleared his throat of the piece of burger that almost got stuck from laughing. "Old broad says her niece saw a boat that was there one minute and gone the next right before she died…in the shower."
"In the shower?" I repeated wondering how that was possible. Heart attack? Stroke? Rouge shampoo bottle?
Sam set his leafy, hippie-loving burger down and gave me a look, "Out of all of that and you skip over the ghost ship part and go straight to how she died in the shower?"
"Yeah," I nodded, completely serious. "Have you seen where we are? Look around, boats are everywhere and it could have been a foggy night but I don't want to go take a shower and be taken out by some bar of soap. Can you imagine the headlines? 'Death by bubbles'."
"You need to stop hanging out with Becca," Dean shook his head and I had to admit if anyone could figure out to be killed by a bar of soap it would be her. "She doesn't use Alex as one of her aliases does she?"
I shrugged as I licked some ketchup off my fingers, "Don't think so, why?"
"Might have another player in town."
Sam got up from our table and returned with a handful of napkins that he set right in front of me. Oh, get over yourself Mr. Clean. I'm not that messy.
"It doesn't change the fact that we have a job to do," Sam stated as Dean and I shared another look, this time of annoyance at his ability to be overly focused on a task. "What did you find out?"
"That I'm not a poet," I mumbled as I fished out the notepad and Dean raised an eyebrow at my doodles around the page. "If this does have something to do with a ghost ship and not Mr. Bubbles then it's not the first one spotted around here. Every thirty seven years like clockwork there are reports of a vanishing three-mast clipper ship out in the bay. And every thirty seven years there's a rash of weirdo, dry-land drownings."
"Yeah all fingers are pointing to Mr. Bubbles on this one," Sam replied sarcastically and though he was trying to be an ass, I felt a little pride that he remembered how to not be such a stick in the mud all the time.
Dean reached for half of my uneaten burger, "What's the lore?"
I glared at him as nastily as I could but dumbass didn't even flinch, "I sit here and do all the work while Sam gets a girlfriend and you take my burger? What the fuck?!"
"Here," Sam went to hand over what was left of his.
I took one look at the burger and shook my head, "I'm not eating that crap, I'm an American," then proceeded to take the rest of Dean's fries making a nice little pile in front of me. After savoring a few of the grease soaked wedges I continued, "Ok, so there are apparitions of old wrecks sighted all over the world; the S.S. Violet, the Griffin, the Flying Dutchman and almost all of them are death omens."
"So, you see the ship and then a few hours later, you pucker up and kiss your ass goodbye?" Dean so eloquently summed it up and I nodded as I shoved more fries in my mouth. Dang, these were good, not deep-fried-crack good but good. "What's the next step?"
"We gotta I.D. the boat," Sam answered using a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth.
"That shouldn't be too hard. I mean, how many three-mast clipper ships have wrecked off the coast?" Dean questioned figuring it would be no big deal. Wrong, big brother, oh so wrong.
I swallowed and took a long sip of my soda to wash it down before checking my notes again, "I checked that too actually…let's see…over one hundred and fifty."
"Wow," Dean breathed out and I swear he got a shade lighter thinking about all the research he was undoubtedly going to make me do.
"Yeah," I agreed as I got up from the table and started to throw our trash away while Sam grabbed the laptop case and dad's journal.
"Crap," he declared and as we started back to the car he threw an arm around my shoulders, "You know, since Sam and I have to do all the heavy lifting for this case; researching what ship it could be would be a great way to pull your weight."
I linked my arm around his waist and nodded along sarcastically, "And you've finally gotten old enough to be delusional."
"Bitch," Dean mumbled and tried to pinch me but I moved out of the way in time.
I gave him a wink, "Thanks for the compliment." Dean stopped at the end of the sidewalk and whipped his head quickly to the left and then to the right, "What's wrong with you? Watching an invisible tennis match I don't know about? I think they have a pill for that."
"This is where we parked the car, right?" he questioned completely ignoring my witty and hilarious banter.
"I thought so," Sam answered as I looked around as well. Let's see we got out of the car and we were arguing over who had the better drummer Van Halen or Foreigner and five minutes later we were at the burger joint. To be honest, we could have parked in the other direction and I wouldn't have known the difference.
"Where's my car?"
Sam looked like he was trying to figure out the circumference of the moon with the look he had on his face, "Did you feed the meter?"
"Yes, I fed the meter. Sam, where's my car?" Dean demanded before he started walking around in a small circle and throwing his hands in the air. "Somebody stole my car!"
"Calm down," Sam tried.
Dean's nostrils flared and that little vein in his forehead appeared, "I am calmed down! Somebody stole my ca…"
I looked over when he didn't finish the word and I saw him hunched over hyperventilating. Well roles have definitely reversed, I thought as I put one hand on his back and the other on his arm, "Whoa, take it easy, just breathe."
"The '67 Impala? Was that yours?"
Crap, well this day just keeps getting better and better. Dean seemed to remember how to breathe and we joined Sam as he painfully greeted our old friend. "Bela."
"I'm sorry. I had that car towed."
I felt Dean's breath hitch and the muscles in his arm tensed, "You what?!"
"Well, it was in a tow-away zone." God, that jacket she was wearing was nice, I'd totally look kick-ass in that. Probably would never be able to afford something like that but hey that's what Dean's credit cards are for.
"No, it wasn't!" Dean exclaimed breaking me out of my serious jacket envy at the moment.
"It was when I finished with it."
Dean let out a long breath through his nostrils and pulled away from my grasp, "What the hell are you even doing here?"
"A little yachting," Bela shrugged her hands resting comfortably in the front pockets of the coveted jacket.
You could almost see the light bulb go off in Sam's head, "You're Alex. You're working with that old lady."
"Gert's a dear old friend."
I couldn't help the smirk that passed over my lips, "Gert, huh? Well, now I can put a name to the cougar."
Sam gave me an annoyed glare out of the corner of his eye but Dean wanted answers, "What's your angle?"
"There's no angle. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform séances so they can commune with their dead cats," she answered diplomatically.
"And let me guess it's all a con," Dean continued having regained his ability to breath, surpassing a regular heartbeat and going straight to fuming.
"The comfort I provide them is very real."
I never thought of that before I knew enough Latin to trick some old folks into thinking I was communicating with 'Skippy' from beyond the grave and then maybe I could afford a coat like that. "You make good money doing it?"
"Leah!" Sam scolded and I crossed my arms with a huff. It was just a question, Sasquatch.
"Have a bit of a run in with someone you couldn't shoot?" Bela asked seeming to have recently noticed my injuries.
I was going to answer when Sam spoke up, "How do you sleep at night?"
"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money. Really, Sam. I'd expect the attitude from him, but you?" she shook her head clearly unimpressed.
"You shot me!" Sam exclaimed.
Bela shrugged like she didn't see the big deal, "Your sister shot me and you don't see me throwing a hissy fit besides I barely grazed you," she tore her eyes away from Sam's and leaned closer to me, "Cute. But a bit of a drama queen, yeah?"
"Girl, you have no idea. There was this one time back in high school…" I started to tell her but Dean cut off story time.
"You do know what's going on around here. This ghost-ship thing, it is real."
Bela nodded again, "I'm aware. Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way."
"It isn't," Dean argued.
"She didn't know that. Now the old bag's stopped payment and she's demanding some real answers. Look…just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble," she started to walk down the sidewalk away from us, "I'd get to that car if I were you…before they find the arsenal in the trunk," she turned and waved, "Ciao."
"Can I shoot her?" Dean pleaded as he watched her walk around the corner heading down another street.
Sam sighed, "Not in public."
"If you do, can I have that jacket?" Both brothers looked at me like I just asked if the sky was red, "Never mind."
SUPERNATURAL
"Can someone please explain to me why we are squatting in this dump and not staying some place where I can get a chocolate on my pillow?" I complained as I dropped my duffle on a random wooden chair causing a cloud of dust to fly through the air tickling the little hairs in my nose. "No, no, no, no," I prayed the feeling would just pass, no harm in a bit of dust, all was well in the…positive thinking didn't help and I sneezed, hard.
Winchester or Man of Steel, I couldn't help the tears that welled up in my eyes as a sharp pain was sent through me.
"Oh God are you alright?" Sam questioned the concern clear in his voice as he started towards me.
Dean placed a hand on my back as I tried to breathe through the pain, "Ow. Shit that wasn't fun."
"Here," Dean pulled out a couple of twenties and handed them to me, "Go grab us some food so we can stock up for a few days and some more pain pills while we air the place out and go talk to the brother of a guy who was found drowned in his bathroom. We all know you aren't the domestic type."
I took the money and was halfway out the door when what he said actually registered in my brain, "Hey, Dean, what do you mean I'm not the domestic type?"
"Just that you're no June Cleaver," he shrugged as he went about moving some furniture around so that the chairs were by the table.
"Oh," I mumbled as I walked out of the house.
After stopping at a drug store to pick up the strongest over the counter pain reliever they had, I went to the grocery store. Usually, I would run in get what we needed and get out but today I found myself strolling up and down the aisles my head still up in the clouds.
Certainly I was no June Cleaver. I didn't wear pearls while vacuuming hell I didn't even own a set of pearls or a vacuum for that matter. I didn't have a house, a husband, or two point five children yet Dean's offhanded comment stuck with me. I never wanted to be a housewife but then why did it bother me so much?
I made it back to the house to see the Impala gone so I figured they had gone to talk to the next victim. I was pleasantly surprised to see that, for the most part, they had cleaned up a majority of the dust at least in the kitchen and dining room area. I went to walk into the living room to check out the rest of the house but saw it was barricaded off with an old couch that had a note attached to it.
Beware Sneezy, this area is off limits
I must have been out longer than I realized because I had just finished taking the groceries out of the bag and putting them in there respective spotswhen the boys came back.
"I'm telling you I'm going to murder her. It's going to be a slow, painful death," Dean grumbled as he took off his tie.
"I take it you ran into Bela again?" I questioned already knowing the answer by the matching scowls on their faces. "Ok then, anything good?"
Sam took out a small spiral notepad from his jacket pocket and flipped through a few pages, "Well we got more of a description about the ship so hopefully you'll be able to narrow your search."
"Again, why am I doing all the research for this case?" I whined plopping down in one of the cleaned kitchen chairs and turning Sam's laptop on.
Dean gently patted my shoulder so he wouldn't hurt me, "We have to go on a stakeout tonight and protect the next potential victim and it would be good if we had some information to go off of."
"I'll go with you," I stood up and started towards my leather jacket which normally comforted me but now it only reminded me that it wasn't the sophisticated kick-ass trench coat Bela was wearing. There was silence in the room like Dean and Sam were having one of there infamous silent conversations. I swear one of these days I'm going to get superpowers and be telepathic so I can't be left out. "You're not going to let me go, are you?"
Dean and Sam shared one more look before the tall one shook his head, "It's just we don't know exactly what we are dealing with yet and you're still recuperating…"
"I'm not a porcelain doll," I harshly cut him off, frustrated in the way I was being treated like they were wearing 'kid gloves' around me or walking on egg shells.
"Yeah 'cause if you were you would have shattered when you drove your car headlong into another!" Dean snapped.
I could see this quickly going into a fight I wasn't ready to have yet so I angrily tossed my jacket back where it was and sat back down at the table, "What does this ship look like?"
"Le," Sam started with those damn sad eyes again.
"Don't," I warned as I waited for the laptop to power up.
He shared a look with Dean that I didn't bother to try and decode this time before he got back to business, "It was like the old Yankee clippers; a smuggling vessel with the rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging, and an angel figurehead on the bow."
"Got it," I didn't bother to look up from the laptop as my fingers danced over the keyboard, "Go on, don't want the next vic to get killed while you're here staring at me doing research."
SUPERNATURAL
I couldn't take my headache anymore and had fallen asleep at the table when my brother's coming through the front door startled me. I jumped and then ran a hand gingerly over my face praying the pain would just go away.
"You don't look so good," Dean commented tossing his shotgun on the table that caused a loud noise to resonate in my head.
I winced again and took in their slightly slumped shoulders and Sam's set jaw line, "Never do you two, it didn't go well?"
"Nope," Sam answered looking more upset than I had seen him in a long time, "Lately I can't save anyone."
I was about to dispute that fact until I was blue in the face if I had to but before I got the chance there was a knock at the door. Great, cops, I thought thinking how this was the last thing we really needed right now. Dean grabbed his gun and carefully made his way to the door as Sam sidestepped so he was blocking me from any immanent danger.
Dean groaned and then opened the door, I tensed for a minute before I heard Bela's voice, "Dear God, are you actually squatting?" she looked around with her nose up in the air a bit, "So how'd things go tonight with Peter?"
"Peter?" I questioned and got a look from Dean. Ok so apparently that was the next victim so sue me you never told me a name you just said some dude.
Bela took in the boys' silence, "That well, huh?"
"If you say 'I told you so', I swear to God I'll start swinging," Dean threatened and though he would never put his hands on a woman, for the first time I thought he was telling the truth.
"Look, I think the four of us should have a heart to heart," she sat down at the table across from me and I once again gazed longingly at the coat she was wearing.
Dean grumbled, "That's assuming you have a heart."
Now I wasn't exactly thrilled with the fact that this bitch across from me had the audacity to shoot my Sammy but an eye for an eye or in this case an arm for an arm and I felt Dean was being a little unfair. Yes, she was sarcastic and annoying but so was I on a good day she just happened to make a profit off the supernatural instead of being consumed by it like us Winchesters.
"Dean, please... I'm sorry about what I said before, ok? I come bearing gifts," she pulled out a manila folder and I have to admit I was disappointed it wasn't a coat for me.
"Such as?" Sam questioned taking a seat at the table next to me and scooting the chair closer.
I patted him on the knee in hopes of relaying to him that I was alright and Bela wasn't a threat, at least in this exact moment as started to explain what she had for us, "I've ID'd the ship. It's the Espirito Santo."
I tapped the spacebar on the laptop to get the screensaver to disappear, "a merchant sailing vessel."
"With quite a colorful history," Bela nodded, "In 1859 a sailor was accused of treason."
I tabbed down a bit, "He was tried aboard a ship in a kangaroo court and hanged."
"He was thirty seven," Bela continued as if we were talking as one person.
Dean and Sam's eyes fluttered between the two of us before Dean spat out, "Stop doing that!"
"That would explain the thirty seven year cycle," Sam said apparently more capable of keeping up with us.
Bela shuffled through a few of the pages she had, "I have a photo of his somewhere... here."
"Isn't that the customer we saw tonight?" Dean questioned after looking at the picture.
"You saw him?" I asked wondering why that lovely piece of information was left out.
Dean nodded but still refused to sit at the table with us, "Yeah, that's him, except he was missing a hand."
"His right hand?" Bela questioned but I had a feeling she had the same information I found which meant she already knew the answer.
"How'd you know that?" Sam asked confirming her question with one of his own.
Bela looked to me and I was taken back that she was going to let me answer this one, "The sailor's body was cremated, but not before they cut off his hand to make a hand of glory."
"A hand of glory…I think I got one of those at the end of my Thai massage last week," Dean smirked like he was remembering the massage all too well.
"You're disgusting," I tossed my notepad at him.
"Dean, the right hand of a hanged man is a serious cult object and is very powerful," Sam spoke up and suddenly I felt like the three of us at the table were some kind of counsel and Dean was the one we were educating.
"And officially counts as remains," I added as Dean walked behind Bela and with his fingers pretended to shoot her in the back of the head. Sheesh, and people say I'm trigger happy.
"But still, none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims." Leave it to Sam to want every crack and crevice investigated.
"I'll tell you why, who cares. Find the hand, burn it and stop the bloody thing," Bela answered as she gathered up the pages she had laid out on the table.
"Le?" Sam questioned.
"Sorry, didn't look into it either, I just didn't get to it yet," I replied.
Dean crossed his arms like he was ready to interrogate her, "I don't get it. Why are you telling us all of this?"
"Because I know exactly where the hand is. It's at the Sea Pines Museum. It's a carp bit of maritime history…but I need help," she glanced between Dean and Sam with an evil smile and I knew I was about to be left out, again.
"What kind of help?" Sam asked reluctantly.
SUPERNATURAL
Yup, I was being left behind again something about people littered with cuts and bruises wouldn't be showing up at such an extravagant party. Whatever, it's not like I wanted to go anyways. Fine maybe a little bit but I swear Dean was just keeping me in this house so he didn't have to buy me a dress to wear. Bela looked absolutely gorgeous with a simple black dress, ringlets surrounding her face and pearls around her neck. God, even she had pearls and I would have bet dollars to donuts she was no June Cleaver either.
"What is taking so long?" Bela called up the stairs where Dean was still getting read. He's worse than a girl. "Sam's already halfway there…with his date."
Oh, I forgot that little detail. Sam was going to the ball with Gert, his cougar. I wonder after a certain age if they turn into a pumpkin before midnight. Huh, something to think about while I sit here and twiddle my thumbs.
"So not okay with this!" Dean called down the stairs.
"What are you, a woman?" Bela asked.
I let out a sigh, "Stop being a toddler throwing a temper and get your grown ass down here so you can get the hand and come back for me!"
That was the deal we had agreed on; I'd stay back without too much whining and after they got the hand they would come back to pick me up before going to the cemetery to rid the world of the evil thing.
Dean grudgingly walked down the stairs and fixed his bowtie one more time as I hummed the theme song from James Bond. He stood in front of the two of us with his arms out, "Alright, get it out…I look ridiculous."
"Not exactly the word I'd use," Bela complimented as she slowly raked her eyes up and down him.
Dean looked at her and then over to me clearly stunned at her choice of words, "What?"
"You know, when this is over, we should really have angry sex."
Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish before he crossed his arms, "Don't objectify me." Wow, big word, I'm impressed. I didn't however miss the intrigued look on his face as he walked to the door. "Let's go."
"Hey," I stopped them before they had gotten too far, "You two want to fuck like Jack rabbits I don't really care but for the love of everything holy if you come back here to do it I'll shoot both of you."
With everyone out of the house and the research seemingly done I was a little lost at what to do when I remembered my groceries from earlier. I rustled through the cabinets until I found a pan and scrubbed the life out of it until I was sure it was clean. I may not be June Cleaver but I was going to prove Dean wrong and show him just how domestic I could be by making homemade brownies. Well, homemade out of a box but still, more than I had ever done before. How hard could it be?
I preheated the over, stirred the ingredients and poured the mixture of chocolate heaven into the square pan. After the oven was at the proper temperature I placed the pan in the middle of the rack and started the timer. That wasn't hard at all, I smiled to myself as I sat down to play solitaire on the laptop to pass the time. The house smelt amazing and my mouth watered waiting to bite into my creation. The oven chimed letting me know it was time to take the brownies out of the oven but when I checked on them they were still liquid. Huh, well must need a little longer, I thought as I put them back in and reset the timer.
An hour later the brownies were still in liquid form looking more like molten lava than the chocolaty goodness I was expecting and my temper was about to come to a head. I threw the pan on the stove as I fished the box out of the trash and reread the instructions. Pre-heat oven, check. Grease pan, check. In a bowl stir together brownie mix, oil, water and…crap. Seriously? How did I forget to add the egg? One freaking egg apparently makes all the difference.
Damn it, Dean was right and I was no June Cleaver, Betty Crocker or domestic in any sense of the word.
Sam and Dean came back a couple hours later looking more pissed than ever and before I had a chance to even move a muscle Dean snapped at me, "Don't bother getting up."
"I…" I started but was cut off by Sam.
"Bela tricked us, she has the hand."
I didn't say anything until he sat down in the chair next to me and I remembered who he went to the ball with. I nudged him with my elbow and shook my head, "You need to shower you smell like sex."
SUPERNATURAL
"I can't believe she got another one over on us," Dean was still fuming the next morning.
"You," Sam corrected softly.
Dean stopped pacing for a second and looked over to Sam, "What?"
"I mean she got one over on you, not us," Sam clarified keeping his voice calm and steady.
Dean was ready to explode, "Thank you, Sam. Very helpful!"
"Guys, shut up," I rubbed my temples as I closed my eyes. Damn, I really needed some strong pain pills this headache was killer and their arguing wasn't helping anything. "Please."
"You need something for the pain?" Sam asked extra quiet so the sound wouldn't bother me.
I slowly shook my head as I continued to rub my temples, "Nothing we have is strong enough."
"When we go out later we'll get you something stronger," Dean promised as I felt hands on top of mine and I let my arms fall into my lap as I tried to relax into Sam's touch until I heard Dean shout, "What the fuck?!"
"Dean," Sam snarled but I pushed his hands away and opened my eyes to see what Dean was yelling about.
"I almost broke my tooth, these things are as hard as a rock," Dean exclaimed as he threw the brownie I had attempted to make last night in the garbage. Oops, guess I forgot to throw them away.
There was a loud knock on the front door and I winced again as someone was yelling on the other side of the door as they kept knocking, "Hello, could you open up?"
"I don't care if it's the devil himself answer the door please," I begged just wanting the noise to stop.
Dean looked like he wasn't going to move until Sam pushed him towards the door and without a word he opened to reveal Bela. "Just let me explain…I sold it, I've had a buyer lined up since I knew it existed."
"The hand?" I questioned making sure we were all on the same page.
Sam nodded slightly to me but his eyes were still trained on Bela, "So the whole reason for us going to the Charity Ball was...?"
"I needed a cover. You were convenient," she answered and sat down at the table next to me this time instead of across like she had before.
Once again Dean walked behind her and pretended to shoot her in the head and then proceeded to pretend to choke the life out of her. Sam looking like he wanted to do the same as he continued, "Look, you sold it to a buyer, just go buy it back."
"Really don't think it works that way, Sammy," I spoke up only to receive a death glare for calling him Sammy.
"It's halfway across the ocean. I can't get it back in time."
Dean circled her one more time until he stopped suddenly, "In time for what?"
"What's going on with you, Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost," Sam asked before she could answer Dean's question.
Bela hung her head, "I saw the ship."
"You what?" I breathed out knowing what Sam had dug up earlier and my stomach turned into knots. She wasn't the good person I thought she might have been. I had been wrong, very wrong.
"Wow, you know, I knew you were an immoral thieving con artist bitch but just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't get any lower," Dean shook his head in disgust while I still tried to wrap my mind around the fact that she didn't just make a few bucks off of selling supernatural stuff. She was actually as horrible as the monsters we hunted down.
"What are you talking about?" Bela asked as her forehead creased in confusion.
Sam grabbed a picture off the table and showed it to her, "We figured out the spirit's motive. This is the captain of our ship; the one who hung our ghost boy."
She glanced at the photo before looking back to Sam, "So?"
"So they were brothers. Very Cain and Abel. So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target…people who've spilled their own family's blood. See first there was Shelia who killed her cousin in a car accident, and the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance, and now you," Sam explained and I watched as I saw the fierceness drain from Bela's face.
"My God," she breathed out.
"So who was it, Bela? Hmmm? Who'd you kill? Was it daddy? Little sis, maybe?" Dean asked in rapid fire like he was a judge looking for a reason to give a death sentence.
"It's none of your business," she muttered before she found her voice again, "Please, I need your help."
Dean stopped pacing again as he shouted. "Our help? Now how could a couple of serial killers possibly help you?"
"Serial killers?!" I questioned staring at Bela in disbelief. We had been called a lot of things over the years but that was one I was not expecting. I guess I did miss a lot these last couple of days I had been stuck in this house.
"Ok, that was a bit harsh, I admit it, but it doesn't warrant a death sentence."
I scoffed as I stood up from the table and started gathering my things so we could leave, "It's a funny time to learn to swim when you start to drown."
"Never mind, I'll just do what I've always done, I'll deal with it myself," she got up from the table and headed towards the door when Dean stopped her.
"You do realize you just sold the one thing that could save your life."
She gave a short nod, "I'm aware."
"Well," Sam spoke up taking a deep breath before he continued. "Maybe not the only thing."
SUPERNATURAL
I had been released from lockdown as we all headed to the cemetery where Sam had hoped that by summoning the ghost's brother they would have some epic ghost duel and cancel each other out. I was still skeptical about helping someone who killed their own flesh and blood and even more so that it would even work. Dean had found an old bottle of pain killers in the glovebox of the Impala and tossed them back to me as Bela and I sat in the backseat.
Two was the recommended dose but my tolerance for pain medication had only grown over the years so I didn't think anything of taking four pills until we got to the cemetery and I wasn't able to keep my eyes open.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Dean got out of the car and started rummaging through the trunk.
I was vaguely aware of Bela and Sam getting out of the car as well but each arm felt like it was twenty pounds and I couldn't get my arm up to open my door. Instead my head bobbed as sleep called for me but every time my head would drop unexpectedly, my eyes would shoot open.
"Leah?...Le?" I heard Sam question as the backdoor suddenly opened and I almost fell out of the car, "Whoa," strong arms caught me and set me back straight. "Hey, hey, hey, look at me," someone lightly tapped my cheeks and I tried to focus my eyes but everything was starting to get blurry.
I felt a breeze blow through the car as another door opened and someone grabbed my wrist. I tried to pull away when somewhere in my head I realized they were making sure my heart was still beating like it was supposed to. I was guided to lie across the seat before the darkness called me home.
SUPERNATURAL
I woke up and the sun was shining brightly in the sky almost blinding me. I groaned as I tried to sit up and my stomach turned in on itself.
"Look who decided to join the party," Dean commented glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
I smiled the best I could as I stretched out my stiff muscles, "What happened last night? Where are we going?"
"You mean before or after your drug induced coma," Dean replied not bothering to meet my eyes this time.
I wrapped an arm around my stomach praying that nothing would come up, "I promise, I did not think they were that strong or I would have only taken two."
"Even I only take three of those," Dean admitted and my face paled as I mentally kicked myself for being such an idiot.
Sam turned in his seat and placed his hand on my forehead and then my cheeks making sure I was alright, "How many did you take?"
"Four," I mumbled.
The car swerved a bit before Dean exploded, "Four?!"
"Hey, I was just in a car accident so stay in your own lane. I don't want to do this again," I tried to lighten the mood as my head found the cool window and my eyes started to droop again. Damn, they were some strong pills.
Sam reached over and tucked some hair behind my ear, "Get some rest I'll wake you when we get to Atlantic City."
"Atlantic City?" I repeated opening my eyes looking over to Dean for confirmation.
"Hell yeah, play some roulette. Always bet on black."
"Whatever, wake me when we get there," I replied, my eyes closing on their own accord.
I was so relaxed sitting in the backseat of the Impala with my eyes closed and listening to the gentle roar of the engine that I was in my own little world. The boys must have thought I was asleep because conversation started about the one thing we had actually avoided talking about for one whole week. My deal.
"Hey listen, I've been doing some thinking," Dean started softly. "Um, I want you to know I understand why you did it. I understand why you went after the crossroads demon." Sam did what? When? "I mean I'm not blind, I see what you're going through with this whole deal…Leah going away and all that. But we're gonna be okay."
"You think so?" Sam questioned.
"I know so, we're going to get her out of this. I'm not done fighting with her yet," I heard Dean clear his throat trying to keep her emotion in check.
Sam was silent for a minute and I thought the conversation was over until I heard him speak so softly; I had to strain to hear him, "Now, we just need to convince her to want to live."