Chapter 64

"Sweetheart? Are you still on the phone?"

"No. Dean isn't taking calls right now, not that I blame him." Claira mumbled, sniffling while sitting on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. "Mom, I'm scared. Do you really think this is connected to Seth?"

"I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty confident. It's too coincidental for Roman, of all people, to be targeted and Seth is both a warlock and a demon, so I definitely don't wanna rule him out as a suspect." Not to mention, Claira graduated high school and she had told Seth she wouldn't have sex until after graduation. Her 18th birthday was upon them too. "Daddy is calling in some of the circle to help us."

"I guess it doesn't make sense… why would Seth kill Roman?" Claira whispered, having heard that bit about the Circle and had nodded to show her acknowledgment. "What does he have to do with any of this? What's the point?" Roman had known nothing about them. Dean had sworn not to tell and honestly, who would believe him? And nobody had heard from Seth in all this time, so why now? "Why wouldn't he just come after us directly… I don't… I don't understand."

"I don't know, sweetheart. The only thing I can think of is Seth is trying to hurt you by targeting the ones you love and care about." With this going down, Dean really shouldn't be at home because he was vulnerable there. "As I said, I'm not 100% it's Seth and maybe it's not. Maybe I'm totally wrong here, but…" Brooklynn had been doing this a long time and just had the intuition, remembering what Julia told her over a year ago in her dream. Trust your instincts, trust yourself, trust your gut…Brooklynn's gut and instincts were telling her the same thing: this was all Seth Rollins' doing.

"God… Dean's parents are never going to let him leave, especially if this could somehow be tied to Seth…" Claira shook her head. She knew if they were in reverse, and her parents were the normal ones, they'd have her under lock and key. "Maybe it's best for Dean to just stay away for a while… until this is over."

If it was ever over, or if they won, or didn't. Everything was so confusing right now, but she did know she loved Dean and she didn't want to put him in danger. Was this what her Mom had felt like when Dad had talked about merging? Claira was scared to death for Dean, wanting to keep him safe and Brooklynn remembered that feeling well when it came to Mark. Staying away from the love of her life in order to prevent him from doing something that could end his life, his existence.

"You want to protect him." She pulled her daughter into her arms, hugging her close. "You must stay by me and Dad then until we can figure out what's going on. No more going out on your own, Claira. You're still a virgin, yes?" She nodded and Brooklynn sighed heavily, silently hoping her daughter had just bit the bullet by now. "Seth will want you more than ever now. Don't worry, he's not going to touch you, not with Daddy and the others coming to help. And we WILL find out, once and for all, what happened to Roman, so he can find peace. I won't rest until he's in the light. I won't rest until you are completely safe and Seth Rollins is destroyed."

"Okay, Mom."

Well, it looked like Brooklynn had beaten him to the punch. He stepped into the room, wrapping his arms around both his women and kissed each of their heads before letting his chin rest on the top of Brooklynn's head. "They're coming. They're all catching flights." He had, much to Orton's chagrin, paid for a first class seat for the man, just so he wouldn't have to suffer from a breakdown by being stuck in crowded coach, unable to keep from being touched. "They'll get here tomorrow, and they're staying here this time, Lynn."

Since it wasn't the whole crew…. they could fit them. Married couple in the guest bedroom, Glenn and Orton could fight over the couch. The basement was also refurbished and done, so there was a couch down there as well and it was a sectional. More than one person could fit in it if done right.

"Thank you, big man."

Brooklynn snuggled against him, along with her daughter, the family holding each other and enjoying this peaceful moment. They would be few and far between from here on out…and Brooklynn hoped they could deal with this before Claira's 18th birthday rolled around. She really didn't want to see her daughter in pain and turmoil for longer than she had to.

"I'm gonna try to call Dean again, see if he'll talk to me. I'm worried about him…" Hadn't she just been thinking of cutting him off and keeping him away from her until this was finished? "I understand now, Mom. I understand why you…did what you did. This feeling really sucks." She hugged her mother tightly around the neck.

Brooklynn just returned her embrace and then left Claira to give her privacy, letting Mark guide her out or else she wouldn't have left.

"I'm going to go over to the Ambrose's, Lynn." He said quietly, once they were out of earshot, making sure Sonya wasn't around to snoop. Though, he had a feeling the husky would probably agree with what he was going to do. "I'm going to ward their house, and when Mickie gets here, she can add some of her own protection to it."

There was no way Dean's parents were going to let their son out of their sight, as it should be, and he knew, he felt, like Dean would be a target. If, when, the boy was ready to come see Claira, he already knew Dean would find a way. Until then, he wanted to make sure that family was safe.

This man never ceased to amaze her, and Brooklynn felt her heart explode with newfound love for him if that was possible. "I think I'm more in love with you now than I ever was. You've always had such a big heart and you're showing it now." Brooklynn looked up at him through unshed tears, reaching up to caress his face with her hand and accepted a soft kiss from him. "Be careful. I'll try to get Claira's mind off this and we won't leave the premises." The backyard and all around the land they owned was all warded, so they weren't stuck directly in the house, thankfully.

Growling, Mark lifted her and planted her against the nearest wall, kissing her, his kiss demanding, brutal and he felt her melting into him. "Let that keep YOUR mind occupied for a bit." He smirked when he finally let her down, taking in her molten golden eyes and swollen lips. "I won't be long, darlin'." He ran his hand down her face, chuckling darkly at the scowl Brooklynn gave him. "Take her outside, keep Sonya with you. She'll pick up on anything long before either of you do."

"Okay, I mean it. Be. Careful."

If anything happened to him, Brooklynn would lose her mind and touched her side where the black rose commitment mark was embedded into her skin. She watched him nod, still trying to regain her breath and didn't pull away from the door until he was long done down the street. Dean didn't live far away from them, his parents' house was only a couple blocks away, so hopefully, Mark wouldn't be more than an hour, depending on how long it took for him to cast a protection spell all around the Ambrose's. Shutting the door, Brooklynn turned and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Roman standing there.

"Hello again, Roman."

"Where was he when I needed him?" He asked, almost sourly, arms folded over his chest.

He may have looked like a grown man because of his build and height, along with the bit of facial fuzz he had been trying to grow in, but the fact was, he was or had been, still a teenager. It wasn't fair. He didn't know that these people were… 'special', he had been a friend to Seth. WHY did HE have to die?

"Is Seth going to go after Dean?"His face softened as did his stance.

"We're guessing he will because he's connected to Claira since they're together," Brooklynn answered truthfully, keeping her voice soft and steady, knowing better than to show pity to a ghost. "Roman, you have to know if there was ANYTHING we could've done to prevent this from happening, we would've. And just so nothing else happens to any more of your family members, we're going to ward them as well." She had already sent a text to Mark, hoping he understood that request and hadn't thought of it until after he drove away. It was probably what drew Roman back to her because she'd been thinking of his family's safety as well. "Have you remembered anything else, anything that might help us solve this mystery faster?"

"Is that what I am to you? A mystery?" He rolled his dark eyes at her. "I don't remember anything… it's like… like everything after a certain part just goes blank."

"Mom, Dean still isn't-" Claira shrieked at the sight of Roman, her eyes darting to the slash across his throat and wished she could both run away and hide and hug him again at the same time. Tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Roman…" She whispered thickly. "I am so, so sorry this happened to you."

Ghosts tended to change their appearance and, currently, Roman was feeling a lot of negative emotions, which made him reveal what happened to him. Slashed throat…it was a quick death at least and hopefully, he didn't feel any pain. Brooklynn walked over to wrap an arm around her daughter, feeling her shaking like a leaf.

"No Roman, you're not a mystery. We just want to find out who did this to you, so you can find peace in the light. You won't crossover otherwise and you need to because, the longer you stay here, the worse you will get."

Roman was quiet, considering that. He looked down, holding out his hands, studying them and then began to feel his body. "But it's also making me stronger." He admitted, after a long silence. "I'm becoming… more." More solid, and he could feel their focus on him, it was… fueling him. Was that how being a ghost worked? "Do the dead ever come back?" He asked, looking up at Brooklynn. "Or at least something close to it? Will other people notice me?"

"The dead don't come back, Roman," Claira said, realizing where he was going with this. "The longer you stay, and the angrier you get, you will become stronger. You know what a poltergeist is?" Or at least, he knew what the movies told him. "That's where the path of anger and bitterness leads, and there's no coming back from it."

Brooklynn was very proud of Claira handling this situation, a ghost situation, with patience, understanding, and compassion. Granted, she knew this young man from school and he was Dean's best friend, but it still did Brooklynn's heart good to watch her embrace the other part of her. Her other gift. Instead of stepping in, she decided to let Claira handle this and folded her arms in front of her chest, nodding when her daughter looked back at her. Her mother was letting her handle this and Claira didn't know how to feel about that, her heart-shattering at the site of Roman.

"No spell, no amount of magic, can bring you back, but…finding peace, going into the light, crossing over to see what's in the beyond, is what you need to do. And until we find your killer and the reason why, you won't be able to find that peace, just like my Mom said. Staying here will mean you'll be lost forever, but going into the light…all your loved ones and ancestors are waiting for you to join them." He would become a dark spirit and would need to be vanquished instead of crossed over, which is the last thing Claira and Brooklynn wanted.

Roman fell silent again, mulling her words over. "Something pulled me to you two, and looking at you Claira…" He made a grimacing face, eyes narrowing. "It feels like you're related to this." He didn't know how to feel about that. She was his friend, but why was he feeling pulled to her? Did she have something to do with his death? "My Mom and Dad…" He began drifting away. He needed to see them. They wouldn't be able to see him, but he had to see them, to know they were all right.

"Well done, Claira." Brooklynn complimented, pride shining through her amber eyes at her beautiful daughter finally grasping the concept of the other half of her powers.

"How can you compliment at a time like this?! Roman is DEAD and it's probably because of me!" Claira knew losing her temper wasn't the right thing to do, but she was scared, terrified, of what was coming their way.

Sonya padded up to her and dropped, accepting the tight embrace Claira gave her, whining softly at her master's tears.

"I know this can't be easy for you, but you're dealing with this better than I ever did the first time I dealt with a spirit." Brooklynn explained, dropping down on her backside to sit beside Sonya and stroked her daughter's hair.

Sniffling, Claira pulled back and wiped her tears away, wishing there was something she could do to bring Roman back to life. He didn't deserve to die…because of her, no less. "How did you deal with it, Mom? How DO you deal with this, seeing dead people – spirits – and helping them? How do you cope?"

"By knowing I've done some good in the world and brought people peace. Without me, a lot of these spirits would be lost and eventually, they would've turned into dark spirits that have to be vanquished instead of crossed over. Sometimes, it doesn't always work out that way, but…I love helping people. Even with all the danger it surrounds, people are brought to justice and people find peace with what I do. Spirits have no voice – I am that voice…and you can be too if you want."

Claira would have to think long and hard about this because, it did feel good to be able to help Roman, but at the same time, it was horrible to see his slashed throat…how he died. "I'm gonna go up to my room and lay down for a bit. Thanks, Mom." She kissed her mother's cheek and walked up the stairs to her room with Sonya following suit.