Someone was shaking her awake, and unfortunately her brain was too tired to form coherent thought. She opened her eyes to see a blurry figure with long hair.
Bah. Must be her mother waking her up for school. Wasn't it a Saturday? Did her mother forget that there was no school on Saturday mostly because she didn't have to go to school anymore?
"Mom," she slurred, "I already graduated. Five more minutes."
Someone laughed. Dean, her mind said. Oh right. Supernatural. TV show turned real life.
She glared in the general direction of the boys, "What? I'm trying to sleep."
"Found a job," Sam said, "Bedford, Iowa. Guy beat his wife's brains out with a meat tenderizer."
Zoe grimaced and checked the time on her phone, "Fucking Mother of Sin, Winchester. It's seven in the morning."
Sam slapped her back lightly, "Up."
With another curse, she lifted herself up, and leaned against Dean, "Dean-o. Your brother is being mean."
Sam and Dean shared a look, before Sam continued, "Third local inside two months to gank his wife. No priors on any of 'em, all happily married."
Zoe muttered something along the lines of "kill them with fire" but neither brother wanted to delve further.
"Sounds like Ozzie and Harriet," Dean noted.
"More like The Shining," Zoe muttered.
"All right," Dean said, "well I guess we'd better have a look."
"And by that you mean I stay in the car," Zoe said.
Sam gave her an apologetic look, "If we bring you in with us, it'll raise too many questions."
Zoe shrugged, and pulled on her plaid shirt over her undershirt, "Well, when do we leave?"
"As soon as we finish packing," Dean said, and motioned to the papers on the desk, "Make sure they're organized."
With a huff and yawn, Zoe managed to pull herself off the bed. Curse the Winchesters and their early waking hours.
The drive to Bedford was long, and Zoe took advantage of the time to nap. For the first four hours, she was dead to the world. It was usually when she was dead to the world when Gabriel avoided bothering her.
They arrived in Bedford at night, so they slept in another dingy motel. The man with the yellow teeth smiled at her, but she ignored them. Sam's height was enough to deter most people from trying anything. The first time it happened, Sam nearly gave the man a heart attack.
The next morning, the boys left for the county jail, and later on the hospital. This meant Zoe had most of the day to herself. This also meant that Gabriel would drop by.
"Alright Kiddo," Gabriel said, "Brought us some movies, popcorn, and chocolate for your biological needs."
She smiled and accepted the Hershey bar from the archangel, '"Merci mon ami."
"De rien," he replied, "So what's the case?"
The Incredibles began, and Zoe took a bite of her chocolate bar.
She shrugged, "Guy bashed his wife's head in with a meat cleaver."
The archangel grimaced, "Well that sounds cheerful. Any leads?"
"They're interviewing the guy," Zoe said, "And later checking out the hospital."
"Any trouble from Big Brother?" Gabriel asked, glanced upwards.
Zoe shrugged, "Nope, and thank God for that. I'd rather not deal with Zachariah or whatever flying dick is up there. No offense."
"None taken," Gabriel replied, "Now, shush. This is my favorite scene."
The boys wondered why the room smelled like popcorn when they came back later that day. Zoe didn't answer, and they didn't question it.
Sam called to tell her to go ahead and order pizza and to tell her about the case.
Apparently the girl had gotten the men to kill their wives for them, bailing after the deed was done. The men were perfectly happy to do it, and were even aware of the result. The hospital got them more data. The men had high levels of oxytocin in their system.
"Sounds familiar," Zoe said, tapping her chin with a pencil, "Sex and Violence. It's definitely an episode."
Sam sighed, "Do you remember what it was about?"
Zoe scoffed, "It was the stripper episode, Sammy. Of course I remember what it was. You're dealing with a siren."
"A siren?" Sam asked.
She nodded, "Honest to God Odyssey Siren. I forgot how you kill it though. You guys stab it with a knife, but you need something else too."
"Anything else?" Sam asked.
"Ehm…well since it's an episode y'all are going to find out the siren is the least likely suspect," She frowned, "I can't remember who. Call Bobby. I'm sure he knows."
Dammit. She forgot that episode, but at least she got the outcome.
…
Zoe was in the corner reading, headphones on, while Dean sat at the table by the window. Dean reached for the phone, catching Zoe's attention. She watched him quietly as he brought the phone to his ear, before placing it back on the table, disappointed.
He glanced at Zoe who held his gaze, both their gazes unreadable, until Sam entered the room. They each looked away.
"Hey Sam," Zoe smiled before returning to her book.
"Hey," Sam greeted, "So Lenny Bristol was definitely another siren vic."
"You get in to see him?" Dean asked.
"Yep," Sam nodded, "He bought home a stripper named Belle. Couple of hours later he offed his mother. Belle, of course, went MIA."
"Wait," Zoe said, "he killed his mom?
Sam shrugged, "The woman he was closest too."
Their attention was brought to Sam's ringing phone on the table.
"Yeah, you," Dean glanced briefly at Zoe and continued, "forgot your cell phone."
Sam gave him a strange look and answered, "Hey Bobby… Ahhh, no. And, uh, it doesn't seem like she's slowing down any. You got anything… Hold on a sec, I'll put you on speaker."
"It says you need a bronze dagger," Bobby said, "covered in the blood of a sailor, under the spell of the song."
"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked.
Zoe got it quickly, "OH! Basically you need the dagger to have the blood of any of the people under the siren's spell."
"Exactly," Bobby said, "the siren's spell ain't got nothing to do with any song. It's most likely some kind of toxin or venom. Something she gets in the vic's blood."
"And makes them go all Manchurian Candidate," Sam said, "Uh, what do you think, she infects the men during sex?"
"Maybe," Bobby said.
Zoe grimaced.
"Supernatural STD," Dean said.
"Well, however it happens," Bobby continued, "once it's done the siren's gotta watch her back. She gets a dose of her own medicine..."
"It kills her," Sam finished.
"Like a snake getting iced by its own venom," Zoe muttered.
"So we just gotta find a way to juice one of the OJs in jail?" Dean asked.
"Not that easy," Bobby explained "None of those guys are under the spell anymore. Haven't got a clue where you're going to get the blood you need."
"I think I might have an idea," Sam said.
"Be careful," Bobby warned, "These things are tricky bitches. Wrap you up in knots before you know what hit ya."
…
Sam and Dean left later that day, and Sam didn't show until late that day. He came bearing food, for which Zoe was happy for. Not that she got to thank him as he was in the middle of an argument with Dean.
"…With Cara," he said, "We were trying to find the blood samples – someone stole 'em… What's that supposed to mean?" He gave Zoe a small wave before turning his back, "So? OK…You think Cara's the siren? Yeah. And…Well, maybe it was a heart attack…Look, I just don't think it's her…I dunno, a hunch…What? No!" He glanced at Zoe briefly who suddenly found her chicken nuggets very interesting, "Dude, I'm not under her spell…What? No. Say it….Dean, I'm telling you, it's not Cara. I feel fine. You don't trust me?"
Maybe she should say something. It wasn't Cara. She'd remember if it was Cara.
Look, tell me where you are," Sam amended, "I'll come meet you and we'll figure things out…Are you serious?"
So Dean thought that Cara was the siren and that Sam was infected. They had their fight, but there was something she was missing. Something about Dean and that FBI guy.
She flinched when the phone hit the wall and clattered to the ground, before cursing in Spanish when it came to her.
"It's Monroe."
Sam glanced at her, "What?"
"Monroe," Zoe said, "He's not a real FBI agent. He's the siren, and he's got Dean."
"But Dean isn't-?"
Zoe scoffed, "Trust me, bro. The fandom raises a good point on Dean's bisexuality."
…
Breathe Zoe. Breathe.
Sam and Dean were fighting. Monroe had gotten him while she was downstairs trying to work the vending machine. She and Sam had gotten dinner at the diner across the road, and Sam had gone ahead when a bag of candy caught Zoe's attention. She'd gotten back to the brothers trying to kill each other and Monroe watching. Unfortunately, she didn't have a weapon on her, which meant that any attack on Monroe would mean that she would be chopped into little pieces.
So she sat on the Impala, praying for Bobby to come faster, and he did. She followed him up to the boys' room, where Dean had raised the axe, intent on letting it fall on Sam.
Bobby moved quickly, jabbing Dean on the shoulder with the bronze knife. Sam scrambled to his feet, trying to stop him, and Monroe had turned heel. Bobby flung the knife where it landed straight into the siren's back.
It fell to the ground dead.
…
"Thanks."
Zoe took a sip of her soda, swirling it around absently as she stared at the pavement.
"Soda?" Dean asked, taking the can anyway.
"You boys are driving, aren't ya?"Bobby pointed out.
"Thanks, Bobby," Sam said, "You know, if you hadn't shown up when you did..."
Sam trailed off, but Bobby shrugged it off, "Done the same for me, more than once. Course, you coulda picked up the phone. Only took one call to figure out that Agent Nick Munroe wasn't real, or listened to the kid. She figured it out before I did." There was silence, and Bobby studied them, "You boys gunna be OK?"
"Yeah, fine," Sam nodded.
"Yeah, good," Dean answered.
Zoe jumped to her feet, and followed Bobby back to his car.
She waved to the boys, hugging both of them before she climbed into the car.
"See ya," Bobby paused and turned back to the brothers, "You know, those sirens are nasty things. That it got to you, that's no reason to feel bad."
…
December 20, 2008
Pamela was dead.
Friends from all around showed up to the funeral, including the Winchesters, herself, and Bobby. No one spoke after the funeral. The Winchesters were relieved Zoe was alright.
She left with Bobby. Sioux Falls had become her second home, and Zoe hoped that, as morbid as the thought was, she could take Bobby's place after season 7. She certainly got enough practice.
…
Castiel showed up in her room on the day before Christmas eve. Zoe had been sketching, when he flew in.
He seemed distressed, and Zoe was happy to see the guy after having missed him for two months now.
"Cas," she greeted, but her smile fell at the look on his face, "Something wrong?"
"You've seen this all before," Castiel said, sitting down on the chair.
Zoe frowned slightly, "Yes and?"
Castiel seemed at a loss for words.
"Castiel," Zoe sat in front of him, "What's wrong?"
"I have disobeyed," Castiel said.
She frowned, "Disobeyed how?"
"I…I have doubts," Castiel said, "Anna believes that I should take advantage of my newfound independence, but-"
"But you don't want to," Zoe said, and frowned, "Well, at least you know better than to trust Anna."
"What should I do?" Castiel practically begged.
What did she look like? And angel general? She supposed she could call in Gabriel, but Castiel needed to begin to think for himself. It was practically the reason why he's with the Winchesters.
"Castiel," Zoe said, "I can't tell you what you should do. It'd go against everything I believe in, but I will tell you what I would do." Castiel gave her his full attention, and Zoe sighed, "I'd help the Winchesters."
"How?" he asked.
She shrugged, "With anything they want." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, "Castiel, this choice is up to you. There's nothing wrong with exercising some freedom. Help the Winchesters if you want, or don't. In the end it all comes down to what you want to do."
The angel considered this, "Thank you."
"No problem-o," she smiled.
…
The boys arrived on Christmas Eve, mostly on Zoe's behest. She couldn't fathom the idea of celebrating Christmas on Christmas day, and the boys couldn't understand why she didn't. To upkeep tradition, Zoe forced them to come on Christmas Eve. It was just the four of them around a small little table.
Because the boys arrived on Christmas eve, Zoe had prepared a nice latino dinner. It consisted of mole, tamales, fajita, and pollo asado. Needless to say, after driving the entire day, eating nothing but snacks and greasy fast food, this came as a relief. The boys brought presents. Sam got her the complete Harry Potter series, how he could afford that, Zoe didn't ask. Dean got her a brand new hunter's journal, along with a silver charm bracelet. Bobby got her a cryptozoology book written by a hunter, which Zoe read whenever she could find the time.
Christmas day Bobby and Zoe made a typical American Christmas dinner. Zoe presented the boys and Bobby with pencil portraits, since she couldn't afford anything from the store.
The boys stayed for New Year's, but left soon after. Zoe left with them.
For her first Christmas in a new dimension, it was very fun.