Two Days Later
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Rachel drew in a deep breath before knocking on Jody's front door, swallowing when a young woman with long dark hair answered. "Hi," she said softly, "I, um … Jody is-"

"You must be Rachel." The young woman ushered her in; Rachel stepped into the house, a sense of warmth flowing over her as she shut the door. "I'm Alex," Alex Jones said, turning to Rachel with a bright smile. "Jody will be psyched you're here. She's in the kitchen. Come on. You can leave your bag here."

Setting her bag by the stairs, Rachel followed Alex into the kitchen, her stomach growling as she smelled the delicious scents wafting through the air the closer they got. "Look what I found," Alex teased to Jody, whose back was turned as they entered.

Jody spun around, a wide smile on her face. "I'm so glad you made it here okay," she said, setting her spoon down and wrapping Rachel in a hug. Jody's embrace was more than needed after a day on a bus, and a night alone in a crappy motel. Rachel didn't realize she was crying until she saw Jody's face change when she pulled away. "Oh sweetheart," Jody murmured, wiping her tears away. "Hey, Alex, stir that sauce, would you?"

Leading her into the living room, Jody sat down on the couch, guiding Rachel to sit next to her. She handed her a box of tissues; Rachel took one, wiping her face. "Thanks," she managed, sniffing.

"You okay?"

"No. But I will be."

"Are you sure?"

Rachel nodded. "It's just … good to be here."

"So did the Winchester boys bring you up here?"

"No, I took a bus."

"I know." Rachel's eyes rounded, seeing Jody's expectant look. "When were you planning on telling me you are Sam Winchester's girlfriend?"

"Um … I was thinking never."

Jody frowned. "Rachel. That boy is worried sick about you." She shifted, lowering her voice. "He told me about what happened. He's very stressed about you coming here. In fact, he's asked me to try to talk you into going back to the bunker."

"I can't." Rachel shook her head. "Sam is a wonderful guy. I love him. But I can't base a relationship with him on him feeling sorry for me."

"Why do you think he only feels sorry for you?"

Rachel teared up, trying desperately to hold it back. "He was so distant after it happened. I didn't even talk to him for three weeks because he refused to see me." Jody's face wrinkled, pained at her struggle. She wrapped Rachel in a hug, smoothing her hair as Rachel cried. "He said he loves me, but he avoided me for weeks," Rachel murmured when she pulled away. "He made Cas keep me in my room, and made him bring me food. He wouldn't even lay with me in bed. He just … he just hid from me." Rachel trembled a little as she cried. "He said he didn't want to trigger me, but I told Cas to tell him I was fine. I mean, I get it. I do. Why would he want damaged goods? He deserves more than a broken girl who's probably pregnant with a Watcher's child. But, I love him. And … it's just hard."

"I can imagine," Jody said, continuing to stroke Rachel. "But if I know one thing about Sam Winchester, it's that he's got a big heart. And you own that heart now. "

"I don't," Rachel said, shaking her head. "And anyway, I can't burden him with this. I won't even be here long. I just … I couldn't stay there, knowing he felt guilty or obligated because of what Arioch did."

Jody drew in a deep breath. "Save any decisions for later. Right now, you focus on just relaxing, and mending your heart and mind. Okay?"

"Okay."

Taking her hand, Jody pulled Rachel to stand up. "Now, I'm thinking that sauce is ready for my spaghetti."

Not long after, Rachel was seated next to Jody at the dinner table with Alex, Claire Novak, and Patience Turner. The women were friendly and seemingly kind, but Rachel still felt nervous as the new girl among them.

"So, you're a hunter?" Claire asked, eating some pasta.

"Yeah," Rachel replied, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Cool. So, you coming with on the poltergeist?"

"Claire," Jody interrupted, "we're not sure yet it's a poltergeist."

Claire shrugged. "I am. But fine … You coming on 'the case?'"

Rachel chewed her food, answering after she swallowed. "If that's okay, I think it would be good for me." She looked to Jody; Jody's eyes gave a subtle enough hint of worry that Rachel caught it, but it wasn't enough to be noticed by anyone else.

"Sure," Jody said in an even tone. "If that's what you'd like to do."

"Awesome. Because she can drive me nuts sometimes," Claire teased with a smirk. "And Alex and Patience sure as hell aren't hunting."

"I work nights, dork," Alex replied, snagging some bread.

"You don't hunt, Patience?" Rachel asked.

"No," Patience replied with a laugh. "I'm a research slash psychic signs kinda girl."

"Jody and I do the hunting, sometimes with Donna," Claire said. "But some fresh blood will be good."

"So, where is the case at?" Rachel asked.

"Lincoln, Nebraska."

Rachel swallowed, her heart stopping. "Lincoln?"

"Uh huh." Claire's brow raised. "What, you have like an ex there or something? Because you just totally Caspered."

"No," Rachel said quickly with a small laugh. "Sorry. I just totally thought you said somewhere else where I do." She cleared her throat. "So, Lincoln, Nebraska. Where at in Lincoln?"

"It's kinda weird," Claire replied. "This 'non-poltergeist' poltergeist-" She made air quotes, smirking at Jody, who sighed. "-is focusing on houses of cops. Several break-ins, but no prints found, no signs of forced entry. A pattern of creepy symbols left in blood."

Rachel kept her poker face on, willing herself to draw in deep, even breaths. "Weird."

"I'll show you the file after dinner," Jody said.

"Great. So, when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. It's about three and a half hours away, so we'll leave at seven."

Quietly, Rachel ate, only chiming in on the conversations briefly to avoid suspicion. She knew the poltergeist had to be Vance, and his spirit had to be angry at Denning for leading the Winchesters straight to Rachel. She also knew that Vance's spirit was likely trying to trap Sam and Dean. If the brothers heard about the case, they would go to Lincoln. That's just what Vance would want, and it scared the hell out of her. But she couldn't back out now, not without Jody putting her under lock-down just like Sam.

Sam.

Her throat ran dry, feeling the weight of her cell phone in her pocket. She had glanced at it before getting to the house, noting several missed calls, voicemails, and texts, all from Sam. If he knew about it, he'd likely have tried to contact her several more times. Still, if he didn't, should she warn him to avoid the case, and lie and say Jody was handling it? If she did, they'd likely not let Jody or Claire go it alone. It didn't matter if she told Sam or not. Either way, she was screwed.

After dinner, Patience showed her to her room, an untouched twin bed waiting for her. "I don't use the closet, so feel free," Patience said. "I just use the bureau. But there's an extra drawer for smaller stuff if you need it."

Rachel watched the beautiful girl sit on her bed and whip out her phone. "Thanks," she said softly.

"Sure," Patience replied, searching Rachel's eyes. "You okay?" Her brow creased a little as she studied Rachel.

"I'm fine," Rachel assured with a forced smile.

"Yeah, you're totally not," Patience laughed gently. "I mean, I can't read your mind, but I see your face. Just know I'm here if you want to talk."

Patience's words and expression were nothing but genuine. Still, it was far too much for Rachel to try to explain to someone who didn't already know some of the details. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

After a shower, while everyone else was watching a movie downstairs, Rachel got dressed in pajamas and sat quietly on her bed, looking through the file Jody gave her. Though she already knew who the poltergeist was, she didn't know what the symbols were in the photos. Though, after nearly an hour of studying it, Rachel realized it wasn't just a symbol composed of odd shapes—it was made up of abstract style letters, letters that spelled out the last person she wanted involved in the case:

SAM

Rachel's stomach roiled as she traced over the photos, her blood running cold. She had no choice—she had to keep Sam away from the case, which meant she had to convince him to stay in Kansas, which meant she had to talk to him.

Her eyes clouded with tears as she scrolled through the massive collection of notifications from Sam. She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to draw in courage to make the call while she had the chance. She was able to seize some alone time, claiming she was tired. Truthfully, she was anything but-it was easier than trying to explain how she was completely torn between trying to avoid Sam, but also trying to prevent him from walking into a trap.

Reluctantly, she read his text messages, then listened to his voicemails. Each one got progressively more desperate, until he was pleading with her to just talk to him even for a single minute. Her heart twisted, wrenching at the sound of his voice. God, how badly she wanted to be in his arms, to feel his lips on hers, and on her skin. She couldn't let him care for her out of pity, though. With enough time away, he would soon realize she was right, and it all was for the best.

He must have seen that she read his texts, because a string of new ones popped up:

Rachel, please. Please talk to me.

I can't sleep. I can't eat. I need to talk to you.

I need you to know how much I love you, how much I want you to come home.

Please, baby girl.

Rachel's tears coated her face. She knew he would eventually be better off without her, that he would find someone better. In the meantime, though, his blind desperation was killing her.

With a deep breath, Rachel dialed his number, Sam barely waiting a second before answering. "Rachel," he breathed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she whispered, her throat painfully dry. "Listen-"

"Baby, please," Sam begged. "Please tell me you're at Jody's, because I'm coming up there now."

Rachel's stomach tightened. "I am, but no," she said quickly. "You can't. You need to stay in Kansas."

"But-"

"This isn't about me and you. I need you to stay in Kansas to be safe."

She could practically see Sam's confused expression through his pause. "Safe from what?"

"I can't say," Rachel replied. "I just need you to trust me. I need you and Dean to stay in Kansas."

"Are you in trouble?" he asked, panicked.

"No!" She sighed, drawing in a deep breath. "Just ... just promise me, Sam. Promise me you'll both stay in Kansas until I call again."

Sam's small laugh scared her. "Baby girl, I'm already in the car. We just left."

Rachel's eyes widened. "No!" she begged. "Please, Sam. Please, don't come here. You can't be near me right now. I promise I will call as soon as this is over."

"As soon as what is over?"

"Promise me, Sam," Rachel argued, her fingers tight around her phone as she trembled. "Promise me you'll stay at the bunker right now. If you want to do something for me, if you want to show me you love me, then do this for me. Stay. Home."

She heard the pain in Sam's voice, and it made her eyes tear. "Baby, if you're doing something dangerous, I can't just sit here. You know that."

"Promise me."

After a long pause of silence, Rachel heard Sam's barked order though he likely muffled the phone with his palm. The faint squeal of the Impala's brakes followed, along with a string of curses and questions from Dean. Sam drew in a deep breath. "You'll call me immediately," he said, a question posed more like a command.

"I will," she assured, hopeful Sam would listen to her. Though they stopped, she wasn't sure if he would follow through. "I promise."

"Jody is with you?"

"Yes."

Sam sniffed. "Rachel, please tell me what's going on."

"I can't, Sam," she whispered. "Just trust me."

Rachel hung up, sick to her stomach as she dropped the phone on the mattress. She buried her face into her palms, sobbing. Despite her desperation, she knew there was no way he would listen to her. Sam Winchester would never let her face this alone, even if it meant his potential death. She had to take care of it now, before he could catch up. She had to locate Vance's body to salt and burn it.

With a few taps, Rachel scheduled a private ride to Lincoln, her debit card more than abused from the cost. Still, she had to take care of it before Sam could get involved. She dressed in jeans and Sam's flannel shirt from before, zipped up her bag, and quietly snuck out of the house, not looking back as she got into her ride and drove away.

"You're fucking crazy," Dean growled at his brother as Sam hung up the phone, bruised that Rachel hung up on him.

"We're not staying here," Sam snapped, eyeing him. "I just had to make her think we were." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Something's got her freaked, Dean," he murmured, looking out through the windshield. He felt himself on the verge of tears. He couldn't possibly get to Rachel fast enough. "You were right. I should've never let her walk out that door."

"You'll get her back, and whatever it is she's mixed up in, we'll take care of it," Dean concluded somewhat stiffly, saving his "I told you so" and starting up the Impala again.

Two hours later, Sam's phone rang. "Hey, Jody," Sam answered tentatively, receiving a look from Dean in the driver's seat.

"Sam," Jody said, a quiver to her voice, "she's gone."

"Who?"

"Rachel."

Sam swallowed, his nostrils flaring. "When?"

"Within the last couple hours."

"Any idea where she would go?" he asked, receiving a wide-eyed look from Dean.

"Not really," Jody replied, sighing deeply. "The three of us were going to go look at a potential poltergeist case tomorrow involving houses of police officers. She seemed eager to get back out there." She cut Sam off as he started objecting. "I know, Sam. I know her potential condition. But I can't just lock her up. You saw how well that worked out for you."

"Where is the case?" Sam asked, his pulse racing, his knee bouncing.

"Lincoln."

His lips parted. "Nebraska?"

"Yeah. Why is everyone so weird about Lincoln, Nebraska?"

"Because that's where Arioch was killed. And that's where she went, more than likely."

"Son of a bitch," Dean grumbled.

"Son of a bitch." Jody echoed in Sam's ear. "She said nothing about it."

"Of course she didn't." Sam let out a growl, slamming his hand against the dashboard.

"Hey! Don't hit my girl!" Dean snapped next to him.

"Alright, we're heading to Lincoln. Sit this one out, Jody," Sam advised. "Especially if Claire is planning to go. Castiel will kill us if she's anywhere near this."

"Sam-"

"We've got her, Jody. We'll get her back."

Jody inhaled deeply. "Alright, Sam. Call me soon, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Sam hung up, tugging at his hair. "Watchers can't be poltergeists, can they?"

"Doubt it," Dean replied.

"So, then whose ghost would it ...?" Sam's eyes rounded with realization. "Oh fuck."

"Who?" Dean asked. Sam didn't reply. "Sammy, tell me, dammit!"

Sam tightened his hand into a fist. "Vance fucking Matthews."