May 13th, 2009
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
It was more than a month later. Alex was laying on the study floor, feet on the couch, focusing on her breathing. In and out. In and out. It was final. She was bored. She let out a loud groan, banging her head once against the ground.
"If you're so bored, get up and do something," Bobby snapped, looking over at her from the desk.
"Ugh . . ." Alex groaned again, rolling onto her stomach.
"Alex. Stand up."
Alex rolled back over onto her back with a dramatic grunt.
"Okay." Bobby stood up. He walked over to her and poked Alex with his foot. "Come on, get up."
Alex let out another wordless groan, curious to see what Bobby would do.
Bobby reached down and grabbed her by the arms, hauling her to her feet. Alex let him. "What?" she groaned.
"Get off your ass and do something."
Alex rolled her eyes and walked over to the back door. "Oh." She stepped back, letting Garth in. "Hey."
"Hey." Garth looked her up and down, a goofy grin on his face. "How are you doing?"
"Good. You?"
"Good. Bobby's . . ?"
"Study." Alex let Garth led the way into the study. "Found someone," she said, dramatically collapsing on the couch.
"Get out," Bobby told her.
Alex did. She hurried upstairs, closing her door. Then she plopped down on her bed with a huff. She grabbed her phone off her nightstand, dialing a number. It rang, then rang again, then again. Finally, someone picked up the other line. "What?"
"What do you mean, 'what?' " Alex scoffed. "Good day to you, too."
"What do you want?" Dean asked again.
"Dunno. You busy? On a case?"
"Yeah. Husbands have been ganking their wives. They were all happily married, no problems. The guy knew perfectly clear what he was doing. Said a stripper made him do it. They all said that, actually."
"Oh. Okay then. Strippers made 'em do it. Sounds like your kind of case."
In the distance, she heard Sam snicker.
"Is that Sammy?"
"Yeah. Hey."
"Sammy-boy! How's it going?"
"Good, I guess."
"Okay. Awesome. So. Anything else with these stripper murders?"
"Uh, yeah. There was a high level of some hormone, uh, love hormone, in their bodies. Um, amroxo-"
"Oxytocin," she heard Sam corrected.
"Oxytocin," Dean repeated. "Unusually high levels. The coroner said she'd never seen 'em that high."
"So you're dealing with lovestruck husbands. Never heard of that one before. I'll bring it up with Bobby."
"Yeah, okay." Dean hung up, and Alex sighed, once again bored. She glanced over at the vampire skull. "Hey, Ernie. How's life? Sorry. Bad subject." She laughed at her own joke, then rolled her eyes, falling back on her bed. She had named the skull Ernie after much deliberation between that, Benedict, Archibald, and Bobby - she thought Bobby would be proud to have a skull named after him.
Deciding that she was thirsty, she headed downstairs. Bobby and Garth were in the study, deep in conversation. Bobby was shaking his head in disbelief, and Alex knew it was directed at Garth. She entered the kitchen and pulled out a Coke. She pulled herself onto the dirty countertop and cracked it open. Both hunters glanced over at her. She shot them a confused smile, then took a sip. "Can I help you boys?"
Bobby snorted in annoyance. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"No?"
"Get outside."
Alex rolled her eyes, but did as he said. She wandered out into the salvage yard among the cars. A dusty brown sedan sat in the center, and Alex deduced it to be Garth's. She walked farther in, past the rusting cars and past the piles of to-be-recycled steel. They were to be shipped off in a few days, which would bring in much needed money. She sighed, walking into the first large building. The Marquis was sitting there, the engine propped open. Alex studied it, the tangle of tubes and wires too confusing to make out. She decided to leave it for Bobby to finish.
The sound of a car starting and driving away caught Alex's attention. She went back into the house to see Garth sitting there, beer in hand.
"Uh, where's Bobby?" Alex looked around, confused.
"He went down to the library." Garth put down the bottle, standing up. "Alex, right?"
"Yup. That's me." Alex sat down on the desk, keeping a good distance from the hunter. Sure, she had seen him a lot during those four months with Bobby. He was a good friend of Bobby, and Alex knew him well, but there was an ever-constant reminder in her head to be wary around any and all hunters that wandered through Bobby's. Still, he didn't seem like much of a threat.
"Is there any food around here?" Garth stood up, heading towards the kitchen.
"You're in luck. I went to the store a couple days ago." Alex watched him look through the cabinets. "Take anything you want."
...
Bobby didn't come back for a few hours. When he did, he was carrying a folder stuffed with several notes. He dropped it all on his desk, then handed a piece of paper to Garth. "Here ya go. You're dealing with a skinwalker."
Alex slipped out of the room, waiting for Garth to leave. When he did, she went back downstairs. "Bobby."
"What'd you want?"
"I, uh, I talked with Sam and Dean. They're hunting strippers."
"What?" That actually made Bobby look up.
"Yeah. Three guys iced their wives. Dean said they knew perfectly well what they were doing, and that all three said these strippers made them do it."
"Like, told them to do it, or possessed them, or what?"
"I dunno." Alex shrugged and leaned against the wall. "They also said that there was a high level of this love hormone in their system. Uh, omoxycilin?"
"Oxytocin."
"Yeah."
"Huh." Bobby stood up and walked towards the basement door.
He left, and Alex let out a frustrated noise. "Good talk," she called after him.
...
It was eight o'clock by the time she sat down to eat dinner. Bobby walked in, talking on his phone. He sat down across from Alex, and she shifted her plate closer to her. Bobby put the phone on speaker, and Sam's voice came through.
"-like I thought," he was saying. "So, I was hoping you'd know."
"Yeah." Bobby reached for an open bottle of beer. "Actually, Alex was telling me about this. Oxytocin, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Don't forget the strippers," Alex chimed in.
"Alex."
"Hide-y-ho, Sammy boy."
Sam let out a breath. "So, what were you thinking, Bobby?"
"Well, I did a bit of digging," Bobby began. "Alex said it wasn't like a typical possession, which ruled out all the usual suspects. But the oxytocin was the key. You're dealing with a siren."
"A siren? Like -"
"Yup. Full on Odysseus. A greek siren."
"Okay. How do you kill one?"
"Not sure."
"Bronze knife, I think." Alex pulled a thoughtful face. "Ninety percent sure."
"That ain't good enough," Bobby countered. "I'll look into it and get back." He started to hang up.
"Mm! Sam!" Alex knocked Bobby's hand away, leaning closer to the phone. "Another thing."
"What?"
"Siren's infect their victims."
"Yeah, we figured. Through sex."
"No. Not just that. Touch. A single touch is really all it takes. So, uh, don't touch anyone?"
"Okay." Sam didn't really sound like he completely believed her, and hung up. Alex let out a frustrated noise.
"Bronze knife, huh?"
"I think?"
"That's like a shishiga. You sure you're not getting confused?"
Alex frowned, disheartened. "Maybe."
...
Alex got up the next morning and hurried downstairs. "Collins called."
"Good morning to you." Alex muttered to Bobby. "What does he want?"
"A couple of his helpers were unavailable. He's got two cows that need to be slaughtered this morning up at Leo's. I told him you'd do it."
"Thanks a lot." Alex wolfed down a quick breakfast than quickly changed into torn jeans and an old shirt. Calling a good-bye to Bobby, she grabbed the keys to the truck and stepped outside.
...
It was a ten minute drive to Leo's butcher. She pulled the truck into the long driveway past herds of cows before halting it next to a small white building. Mr. Collins was already there along with Walt and Jared. Alex got out. "Hey."
"Howdy." Jared threw her a mock salute, and Alex grinned. "Haven't seen you in awhile."
"I've been busy." Alex shoved her keys in her pocket. "How many?"
"Two. Numbers 22-879 and 22-883." Walt motioned out to the pasture vaguely. He exchanged a few more words with Leo, then picked up his rifle and headed out to the field.
Jared handed her a large knife. "You're on throat duty."
Alex took the knife, grumbling in her head. She followed Walt out. They quickly separated the cow, and Walt quickly shot one in the head. It collapsed, and Alex hurried forward to slit its throat. Blood gushed out, and she jumped back. After a few seconds, the cow began kicking erratically, the result not of the cow being in pain, but of the nerves in the spinal cord. The cow was quite dead.
After the second one had been slain and the first had stopped kicking, Jared drove his truck out to them. The tied chains around the first cow's feet and dragged it up towards the white building. There it was deposited, and Alex set to work on skinning it. She cut off the front legs and tossed them to the side, then cut down the stomach, careful not to sever the thin membrane that held in the guts. She grabbed the skin with one fist, pulling it tight, while she cut the rest away with the knife. She cut down the flank, then started on the other side.
By this time, Jared had brought up the second cow, and was starting on that. Walt was setting up the pulley. Alex started on the back legs. She cut the hide away up to the joint, where she cut through the tendons and around the joint. Then, which a sudden jolt of force, she pulled the leg off. She tossed it aside. Then she cut off the last one. Finally, she made one last, final cut down the center, and the organs bubbled up. Walt set the tripod crane up around her, and she hook the hooks under the tendons. Walt hoisted the skinned cow up into the air.
...
Alex drove back to Bobby's. She quickly took a shower and changed out of her blood-stained clothes before jumping down the stairs to the kitchen. "Bobby!" she yelled.
"What?"
"I'm hungry!"
"Who am I, your mother?" Bobby stuck his head out of the basement door, frowning.
"Maybe." Alex watched Bobby disappear back into the basement.
Suddenly, Bobby came running up. "Phone."
"Here." Alex handed it to him, confused. Bobby dropped a heavy book open on the table, took the phone, and dialed a number. "Sam?"
"Speaker?"
Bobby acquiesced, and Sam's voice came over the phone. "Hey Bobby."
"Sam. You find her yet?"
"Ah . . . no. And it doesn't seem like she's slowing down any. You got anything?"
"Well, some lore from a dusty Greek poem. Shockingly, it's pretty vague."
"Hold a sec, I'll put you speaker."
Alex waited a moment. "Dean-o!" She called. "Afternoon."
"Uh, hey?"
Bobby cleared his throat. "It says you need a 'bronze dagger covered in the blood of a sailor under the spell of the song'."
"I was close," Alex chimed in.
"Except you forgot about the blood part," Bobby shot back. "That couldn't ended real bad."
Alex shrugged. "Sorry."
"Okay. So, the blood of a sailor under the spell of a song," Dean said. "What the hell does that mean?"
"You got me," Bobby began.
"I got a guess," Alex put in quietly.
"Hm?"
Alex pulled the phone closer. "Okay. So I'm guessing 'a sailor under the spell of a song' means someone who's been infected by the siren. Uh, so, someone with the high levels oxytocin in their blood?"
Next to her, Bobby nodded in slow agreement. "And I'm pretty sure Alex was right about infecting victims through sex."
"Supernatural STD," Dean reiterated.
"Yeah. Sure." Alex looked around the kitchen. Books were everywhere, piled high on every chair.
"Yeah, well, however it happens, once it's done, the siren's got to watch her back. She get's a dose of her own medicine . . ."
"It kills her," Sam finished.
"So we just got to find a way to juice on of the OJ's in jail?"
"Not that easy. None of the guys are under the spell anymore." Bobby finally said. "Haven't got a clue where you're gonna get the blood you need."
After a second's pause, Sam said, "I think I might have an idea."
"Be careful. These things are tricky bitches. Wrap you up in knots before you know what hit ya."
"Yeah, thanks Bobby."
Bobby hung up. Alex grumbled under her breath, then got up to find something to eat.
"You still hungry?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah."
Bobby frowned. "Fine. I'll make us something, okay? You start reading." He motioned towards the pile of books, and Alex threw her head back dramatically.
...
She read for a good fifteen minutes. The house was starting to smell good, and Alex inhaled deeply, looking over at the older hunter. He had returned to the kitchen, and was now standing in front of the stove. "Bobby?" she asked innocently, rolling her head back against the chair. "What are you wearing?"
"Bit of a personal question," Bobby huffed back.
"βλάκας," Alex mumbled. Moron. "I was talking about that apron. Turn around." Bobby grumbled, but did so. Alex ran an eye over the apron. "Kiss the cook," she read, then snickered.
"Shut up." Bobby turned back to the pan.
"Whatcha cooking?"
"None of your damn business."
"Is too my damn business," Alex retorted. When Bobby didn't respond, she frowned. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry I made fun of your fabulous apron. Now. What's for lunch?"
"Hamburger. Now keep reading." The phone rang, but Bobby didn't move towards it.
Alex sighed, then answered it. "Hello?"
"Yes, hello. Assistant Director Kaiser, please."
"Hang on." Alex motioned Bobby over. "He's right here."
She handed the phone to Bobby. "Hello?" he asked gruffly. Pause. "Yeah, that's me." A longer pause. "Are you questioning my authority?" Bobby listened for a second. "Well, you coulda fooled me. Last time I checked, son, D.C. has jurisdiction. Or am I wrong?" Bobby turned back towards the phones, a frown across his face. "Well, good. Well, the next time you want to waste my time asking stupid questions, don't." With that, Bobby hung up. "Oh, those idjits," he muttered.
"Well?" Alex crossed her legs, looking up expectantly.
"Stiles and Murdoch. That's some of Sam and Dean's aliases, right?"
Alex nodded. "Yeah."
Bobby pulled the meat out of the frying pan and put it on a plate. "When we're done eating, remind me to check up on this Nick Monroe person."
"Consider it done." Alex frowned as Bobby slid a hamburger patty onto a plate and handed it to her. "Is this all?"
"What? Isn't this good enough for you, princess?"
Alex snorted. "γαμήσου."Fuck off.
"Watch your tongue," Bobby snorted, and Alex let out a sly smile.
...
Alex didn't see Bobby again until nearly five. She had spent some time down at Charlie's Antiques, and was now just getting back. She walked into the kitchen, eyes running over the room. They came to rest on the phones. Right. "Bobby?"
"What?" Bobby's voice came from upstairs.
Alex hurried up to the second floor, looking around. Then she ascended to the third floor. There he was in the library. "Hey. Uh, did you call about Nick Monroe?"
Bobby looked up. "Uh, no. Not yet. Think it's worth it?"
Alex shrugged. "Dunno." She turned to leave, then turned back, an idea reaching her mind. "I mean, they are dealing with a shapeshifting monster. Might be a good precaution."
Bobby frowned. "That's true." He heaved a loud sigh, closing his book and standing up. "Let's go get that taken care of."
Alex followed him to the second floor than turned into her bedroom. She sighed, looking around. Her duffle bag was just laying on the ground next to all her clothes, and her journal was laying open on the ground. She slowly moved to pick it up, knowing Bobby wouldn't be happy finding it there. There wasn't that many rules here, but apparently journals were important. She tossed it on her bed, then pulled out her laptop, crossing her legs. She leaned against the wall, losing herself in the comfort of the internet.
"Alex!" Bobby ran up the stairs, and Alex slammed her laptop closed, concerned. Bobby opened her door, leaning in. "Called about Nick Monroe."
"And?"
"He's not a real FBI agent."
"Siren?"
"I don't know of any hunter using that alias. I'd say better safe than sorry."
Alex cursed under her breath. "So the Winchesters could easily be infected."
"And trying to kill each other. Come on. We're leaving."
Alex frowned. "You're basing all this on the fact that Monroe isn't real? I mean, he could just be some nutjob."
Bobby shook his head. "It ain't worth risking. W're leaving. Now."
"Now?"
"Now."
...
Three and a half hours later, Bobby's cell rang. "Get that," Bobby told her.
Alex leaned over the seat, looking for it. It took her a long time, and by the time she had it in her hands, it had stopped ringing. She frowned, checking to see who called. "Dean," she told him. "He left a message."
Bobby cursed quietly. "Balls. What does it say?"
In response, Alex played it back. Dean's worried voice came through. "Sam's in trouble, Bobby. I think the siren's worked her mojo on him. Give me a call as soon as you get back."
"Balls." Bobby stepped on the gas, and the car increased speed. "Call him back."
Alex tried. "Not working. Line's busy."
Bobby cursed again. "We'll be there in an hour. Hopefully they haven't killed each other by then."
Alex muttered in low agreement. On a hunch, she pulled out her cell phone and called Sam.
He answered. "Alex."
"Sam." Alex breathed his name in relief. "You're okay."
"Yeah, of course."
"Yeah, uh, where are you?"
"The motel." Sam seemed confused.
"Which motel?"
"Uh, the Lion's Pride motel. What's going on?"
"Nothing. But, uh, Dean thinks you're . . ." Alex trailed off, figuring completing that sentence would not be wise. "We couldn't get a hold of Dean."
"He's off with Monroe or something." Sam's voice grew angry at the mention of the agent's name.
Alex groaned. "Dean's with Monroe," she told Bobby. "Listen, Sam, uh, Monroe's not real."
"Uh-oh. I got to go."
Sam hung up, and Alex closed her phone, tossing it in the backseat. "Shit."
...
Bedford, Louisiana
Within the hour Alex and Bobby were racing into the Lion's Pride Motel. Bobby held a bronze knife, and Alex, well, Alex took up the rear. Unarmed, except for her completely useless gun. So basically unarmed.
"Come on." Bobby led them through the hall, face darkened with a frown. A loud crack and a thud rang through the halls, and they froze, sharing a look of worry. Then Bobby took off, Alex following.
They turned a corner, and Alex froze. A door was broken down, and three figures appeared in front of them. Alex recognized Sam laying on a broken door. Dean was standing over him, fire axe in hand.
"Do it for me, Dean." A new voice tore Alex's attention away from the brothers. A man stood in the doorway, studying the scene before him with a twisted grin.
"Tell me again how weak I am, Sam, huh?" Dean hissed. "How I hold you back?" He raised the axe, and Bobby rushed forward. With a burst of strength he knocked the axe away and stabbed Dean in the shoulder with bronze knife. Alex hurried forward, pulling Dean back as he cried out, dropping the axe. She kicked it far away.
In the corner of her eye, she saw the third man start to run.
"No!" Sam yelled as Bobby stepped over him, knife in hand. "No!"
Bobby ignored him. He hurled the knife through the air; it lodged itself in between the man's shoulder blades. The man stopped, shoulders rolled back. Then he staggered forward, hand finding its way to a wall. Alex's eyes found their way to the mirror next to him; a creatures stared back; a thin, grey skinned, hairless creature with a sunken face. It slowly collapsed to the ground, dead.
Alex let go of Dean, who leaned back against the wall. Sam sat up, eyes wide, and Alex noticed a good sized cut on his neck. She knelt down beside Sam, pulling the collar of his shirt away. "You okay?" she whispered.
Sam nodded, his eyes flickering over to her. They returned to Dean, and Alex gently studied the wound. It didn't seem too deep, and had mostly stopped bleeding. However, the shirt collar was stained red. She clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Anything else hurt?" she asked gently. "Any other cuts?" She wiped the blood off of a small nick on his cheek, but deemed it too shallow to need attention. "Well, uh, by the way, happy birthday." She patted Sam on the shoulder, and he grunted in acknoweldgement. She turned her attention to Dean. The two Winchesters were still staring at each other, breathing heavily.
"Alex." Bobby's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Help me get this body into the room."
"I'll get him." Dean started to get up, but Alex held him down. He met her gaze, and Alex let him get up. She helped Sam back into the room - even though he really didn't want her help - and then watched as Dean and Bobby lay the body on the bed.
"Dean." Alex caught his attention. "How's the shoulder?"
"It's fine." Dean brushed her off, and Alex frowned, shaking her head.
"You sure? Nothing hurts?"
"I'm fine, okay?" Dean snapped, and Alex flinched.
"Be nice, boy," Bobby snapped back. "She's just trying to help, dammit."
Dean lowered his gaze. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Alex grunted, hurt by his actions.
Bobby noticed. "Alex. Go see if you can find some ice. I'm sure these guys are pretty beat up."
"Okay." Alex sullenly did as he asked.
...
She found ice in the lobby, and brought it up wrapped in a couple shirts. She handed one pack to Sam, the other to Dean. Both immediately put them on their face.
"Hey, Alex. Look." Bobby called her over, and Alex's eyes widened in interest. "This is a siren."
Nick Monroe's body had changed into the grey-skinned creature Alex had seen before. She nodded. "Neat. Nasty creature."
"Yeah."
Alex looked over at Dean. "He infected you first?"
"Yup."
"Your siren was a dude."
"So?"
Alex smirked. "I'm not saying gay, but . . ."
Dean just glared at her.
"Gay," Alex whispered, turning back to the siren.
"Hey. He said he chose a guy because apparently he thought I needed a brother. Not gay."
"Gay." Alex ignored everything he said after that.
...
She and Bobby left Sam and Dean to take care of the body and retired to a different room to sleep. Alex woke up late that morning. Bobby was already up, and Alex followed him over to Sam and Dean's room. It was empty; apart from the broken door, there was no sign that anyone had lived there. Bobby walked away, pulling out his phone. Alex yawned, watching him. He exchanged a few words, then turned back to Alex. "They're a few minutes out. Let's go."
Alex followed him down and into the car. They stopped at a gas station on the way out of town, and Bobby picked up three bottles of an off-brand coke. Alex cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing. They got back into the car.
...
The eldest hunter pulled the rusty car to a stop. Alex saw the sleek Impala parked in front of them, and she opened the door and got out, her opened bottle in hand. Bobby walked up to the Winchesters, the other two bottles in hand. He handed them out.
"Thanks," Sam mumbled, taking his.
Dean studied the bottle. "Soda?"
"You guys are driving, ain't ya?" Bobby glanced up at Dean.
"Like that stops them," Alex muttered under her breath. She walked over to Sam and leaned against the car next to him.
Sam cut in. "Thanks Bobby. You know, if you hadn't shown up when you did . . ."
Bobby shrugged. "Done the same for me more than once. Course, you coulda picked up the phone. Only took one call to figure out Agent Nick Monroe wasn't real."
Both of the Winchesters looked down, embarrassed.
Bobby continued. "You two going to be okay?"
"Yeah, fine."
"Yeah, good," Dean echoed.
Bobby tipped his dirty baseball cap then turned back to the rusty car. "See ya." Alex reluctantly followed. As she opened her door, Bobby spoke. "You know, those sirens are nasty things. That it got to you, that's no reason to feel bad." Then he got in.
Alex looked up at the two of them. "Bye, then. See you around. I guess." Then she got into the passenger seat. Bobby peeled out and drove away.
...
The car ride back was completely silent. Bobby drove, and Alex rested her head against the glass, lost in thought.
...
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Within four hours she was back in her room. Her journal lay next to her, and a rough drawing of the siren was sketched on the pages. Her phone rang, and she looked over at it. Dean. "Hello?"
"Alex?"
"What's up?"
"Are you alone?"
"Yeah." Alex narrowed her eyes. "Everything okay?"
"I . . . I don't know. I mean, Sam's - it's Sam. He's been calling Ruby. They . . . they've been hunting Lilith on their own."
Alex frowned. "Oh no."
"Yeah. Is that bad?"
Alex searched for the right words. "I . . . I wish he wouldn't . . . I don't trust Ruby, Dean. I just don't."
"Me neither." Suddenly Dean stopped talking. "It's Alex," she heard him say. "Mm-hmm. We're just talking." Alex heard Sam's faint voice on the other end. "I can talk to her if I want," Dean rebutted. "It's just Alex, dude." Another pause. "I don't care you don't like her-" Suddenly Dean hung up, and Alex frowned. She sullenly tossed her phone onto the nightstand.
...
Alright, not a whole lot happened in this chapter. But don't worry, I personally really like the next chapter. So hopefully that makes up for it :)