Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
"Come on, Sam. I'm begging you. This is stupid" Dean said as he drove the Impala with Sam in the front passenger seat and Kaylee was laying in the back seat trying to sleep but failing.
"Why?" Sam asked confused.
"Going to visit mom's grave? She doesn't even have a grave. There was no body left after the fire" Dean stated.
"She has a headstone" Sam argued.
"Put up by our uncle, a man that we've never met. You want to pay your respects to a slab of granite put up by a stranger" Dean argued back.
"That's not the point" Kaylee said sitting up and leaning forward.
"Then enlighten me" Dean snapped.
"It's not about a body or a casket. It's about her memory, okay? And after Dad, it just - It just feels like the right thing to do" Sam explained.
"It's irrational is what it is" Dean muttered.
"Look, man, no one asked you to come" Sam argued making Kaylee roll her eyes.
"Just like old times" She muttered sitting back and closing her eyes.
"Why don't we swing by the roadhouse instead? We haven't heard anything on the demon lately. We should be hunting that son of a bitch down" Dean suggested.
"That's a good idea. You should. Just drop me off, I'll hitch a ride, and I'll meet you there tomorrow" Sam said.
"What's the Roadhouse?" Kaylee asked from the backseat, her eyes still closed.
"A pub we found that hunters go to. It's run by a woman names Ellen. She was a friend of Dad" Sam explained.
"Pub full of hunters or a cemetery? I'll take the cemetery any day. Sammy I'm with you" Kaylee said sarcastically making Sam grin.
"Right. Stuck with those people, making awkward small talk until you guys show up. No, thanks" Dean said sarcastically as he pulled up outside the cemetery. Dean and Kaylee walked out the cemetery while Sam walked over to his mother's grave.
"I think, uh... I think dad would have wanted you to have these. I love you, Mom" Sam said softly making a hole in the ground and putting John's dog tags in the hole.
"Look, I get that you don't want to talk to a tombstone but talk to me instead. I know you can't be handling John's death well" Kaylee said turning to Dean.
"It's not easy but I'm handling it better now that you are back from the dead" Dean said honestly surprising Kaylee because she thought that she was going to get some sarcastic comment brushing off the answer from him. Dean grabbing her hands and pulled them to his chest.
"I'm really glad you are back… I can't put into words how much I missed you when you… when I thought you were dead. I was struggling more than I care to admit" Dean said softly making Kaylee look up at him worried.
"Are you okay? You never talk so openly about your feelings" Kaylee asked confused making Dean chuckle slightly.
"I've just realized how much of a selfish bastard I've been and how much I have cost you. I never want to do that again. I never want to make you feel like you've been used or manipulated again" Dean admitted before hugging her tightly and kissing her forehead. He looked up and saw a dead tree in the distance.
"Huh" He said before letting go of Kaylee and walking towards the dead tree. Kaylee followed him and looked at the ground around him to find a perfect circle of dead grass and flowers. Dean left to go learn more about the tombstone while Kaylee walked back over to Sam.
"You guys okay?" Sam asked.
"Yeah Sammy, better than they've ever been" Kaylee said smiling happily.
"Good. Look…." Sam started to say but stopped when he saw Dean walking back over to him.
"Angela mason. She was a student at the local college. Her funeral was three days ago" Dean explained.
"And?" Sam asked not caring while Kaylee looked at him curiously wondering what he was about to say to her.
"And? You saw her grave – Everything dead around it in a perfect circle. You don't think that's a little weird?" Dean asked as they walked back to the car.
"Maybe the grounds keeper went a little agro with the pesticide" Sam suggested.
"No, I asked him. No pesticide, no chemicals. Nobody can explain it" Dean explained.
"Okay, so, what are you thinking?" Sam asked.
"I don't know. Unholy ground, maybe" Dean said making Sam scoff.
"What? If something evil happened, it could easily poison the ground. Remember the farm outside of cedar rapids?" Dean argued.
"Yeah" Sam said.
"It could be the sign of a demonic presence" Dean explained.
"Or the Angela girl's spirit, if it's powerful enough" Kaylee added while Sam remained silent.
"Well, don't get too excited. You might pull something" Dean said sarcastically making Kaylee chuckle.
"It's just stumbling onto a hunt... Here of all places?" Sam asked in disbelief.
"So?" Dean asked.
"So, are you sure this is about a hunt, not something else?" Sam asked making Kaylee sigh.
"What else would it be about?" Dean snapped making Kaylee step forward calming them down.
"Come on guys can't we go one day without you two arguing" Kaylee said sighing.
"Believe what you want, Sam, But I let you drag my ass out here. The least we can do is check this out" Dean said to Sam.
"Yeah, fine" Sam agreed begrudgingly.
"The girl's dad works in town. He's a professor at the school" Dean said jumping into the driver's seat. Sam looked over at Kaylee who shrugged and jumped into the backseat of the car.
…
"Dr. Mason?" Dean asked as he knocked on the office door and an elderly man opened it.
"Yes" Dr. Mason said.
"I'm Sam. This is Dean and Kaylee. We were friends of Angela's. We -We wanted to offer our condolences" Sam explained sorrowfully.
"Please come in" Dr. Mason said as he let them walk into the office and started looking through a picture book.
"She was beautiful" Sam said sitting next to Dr. Mason.
"Yes, she was" He said sadly while Kaylee and Dean looked around the office.
"This is an unusual book" Dean said picking up a book.
"It's ancient Greek. I teach a course" Dr. Mason explained.
"So, a car accident. That's -That's horrible" Kaylee commented softly.
"Angie was only a mile away from home when..." Dr. Mason started to say before trailing off because it was too hard to say.
"It's got to be hard... losing someone like that. Sometimes it's like they're still around, almost like you can still sense their presence. You ever feel anything like that?" Dean asked making Kaylee and Sam share a look.
"I do, as a matter of fact" Dr. Mason said
"That's perfectly normal, dr. Mason, especially with what you're going through" Sam said reassuringly.
"You know, I still phone her. And the phone's ringing before I remember that, uh... Family's everything, you know Angie was the most important thing in my life. And now I'm just lost without her" Dr. Mason explained softly making Dean look over at Kaylee because that's how he felt when he thought Kaylee was dead.
"I'm very sorry" Sam said watching Dean's face and knowing what he was thinking. Kaylee softly excused themselves and they went and checked into a local motel.
"There's something going on. We just haven't found it yet" Dean said determined as he read John's journal.
"Dean, so far you got a patch of dead grass and nothing" Sam argued.
"Well, something turned that grave into unholy ground" Dean countered while Kaylee went and lied on the bed with her hands behind her head thinking.
"There's no reason for it to be unholy ground. Angela mason was a nice girl who died in a car crash. That's not exactly vengeful-Spirit material. You heard her father" Sam replied.
"Maybe daddy doesn't know everything there is to know about his little angel" Dean stated while Sam turned to Kaylee.
"Kaylee, can you please help me out here?" Sam begged and Dean chuckled.
"No way, Sammy. Kaylee is on my side about this, right babe?" Dean asked as both the brothers looked at Kaylee who was laying on the bed with her eyes closed. She sighed and sat up when she realized they weren't going to continue without her saying something.
"Dean, so far there isn't much evidence to support your theory besides the dead patch of grass" Kaylee started to say and Sam when to gloat but was cut off.
"HOWEVER, Sammy, I have never seen a perfectly circular dead patch of grass that didn't turn out to be something supernatural and we have looked into things with less evidence than that" Kaylee finished making Dean grin smugly at Sam who sighed.
"You know what? We never should have bothered that poor man. We shouldn't even be here anymore" Sam snapped.
"So, what, Sam? We just bail without even figuring out what's going on?" Dean asked.
"I think I know what's going on here. It's the only reason I went along with you this far" Sam explained making Kaylee rolled her eyes knowing where this was going.
"What are you talking about?" Dean snapped.
"This is about mom's grave" Sam said
"Got nothing to do with it" Dean scoffed avoiding eye contact.
"You wouldn't step within 100 yards of it. Look, maybe you're imagining a hunt where there isn't one so you don't have to think about mom or dad" Sam said making Kaylee look at Dean worried as he turned to Sam and glared.
"You want to take another swing? Go ahead If it will make you feel better" Sam offered softly.
"I don't need this crap" Dean said grabbing his jacket.
"Dean, where are you going?" Kaylee asked standing up.
"I'm gonna go get a drink... alone" Dean said looking annoyed at Sam. Kaylee walked over to him and grabbed his hand.
"I just need to be alone" Dean said softly to Kaylee before kissing her softly, glaring at Sam and leaving the motel.
…