We helped Miss Carter to bury Alex's body again, and I steered her away long enough for the boys to nail Alex into her coffin- just in case. Once they had shoveled the dirt back onto the wooden box we allowed Miss Carter to go back to the grave, and while she sobbed we made our escape.

We let the impala idle in the parking lot outside our motel room, each of us silent and brooding.

"We should take a break," Sam suggested.

Beside him Dean nodded.

"Jodi?" I suggested. "She said to come visit."

"I don't think she meant now," objected Dean.

"We can call her in the morning," Cas said. "Check with her. It will take several days to drive to her anyway."

With that he vanished, presumably to my motel room. I sighed and began to leave the impala.

"Night," I called.

Sam and Dean both grunted replies.

Cas was waiting on my bed, and scooted over as I came in. I curled up next to him, and he pulled me against his chest.

"You ran off kind of fast," I observed.

Cas shrugged.

"You wanna talk?"

For several moments Cas was silent, and I was beginning to wonder if he would ever respond when he finally started talking.

"Their time was cut short," he said. "Alex and Rebekkah's. Do you ever worry that our time will be too?"

I frowned and pushed myself up on my elbow so that I could look Cas in the eyes. They were dark and stormy with worry.

"Is that what you think?" I asked. "That I'm going to get myself killed? Cas, I can handle myself."

He offered me a thin smile. "I know. Still…"

I sighed. "Cas, nothing is going to happen to me. Or to you. We're going to live long and happy lives."

Cas nodded. I wasn't sure if he believed me.

I wasn't sure if I believed me.


Jodi seemed thrilled by the prospect of us coming for a visit, so by noon we had checked out of the motel and were on the road. It was sunny and warm out, and we let the windows down and cranked up the music. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and let the wind whip it around my face, laughing the whole time. By the time we stopped for dinner it was a giant poof ball around my head, but I didn't care.

When we finally reached Jodi's place a couple of days later it was around three in the afternoon. It seemed she had the day off from work, because when we pulled in the driveway I saw a curtain twitch at the window, and Jodi was trotting out of the house before Dean had even killed the engine.

"Hey!" Jodi drew us all into hugs, though she had to stand on her toes to reach Sam. "You made good time!"

"Yeah." Sam detached himself from Jodi. "How've you been?"

Jodi shrugged as she led us inside. "Not too bad. You?"

"Same as usual," Dean answered. "So, what was that we were hearing on the phone the other night? It sounded like a motorcycle."

Jodi sighed. "Annie has a boyfriend. And he has a motorcycle. And a lot of bad habits."

Dean snorted. "Look at the bright side. He's not a vamp."

Jodi scowled. "Yes, thank you Dean."

She grabbed a pitcher of lemonade and started for the back of the house. There were a few chairs on the back porch, and we gathered together on them to talk.

"Where is Annie now?" I asked.

"With her boyfriend."

I nodded and resisted the urge to smirk at the look on Jodi's face. Clearly she didn't like her adopted daughter's latest company.

"Speaking of boyfriends," Jodi said. "How're you two doing?" She gestured between me and Cas.

"We're doing well," said Cas. He reached over and took my hand as he spoke, and I leaned into his side.

We talked for a bit longer, then Jodi got up to get started on dinner. She refused to let the boys help, instead bringing me with her.

I raised an eyebrow as she drew me into the kitchen.

"So," she said. "What's bothering you?"

I frowned. "What?"

Jodi rolled her eyes. "You've been skittish the entire time you've been here. You jump at every noise, and you look around every few minutes like you expect something to jump out of the deck box and bite you. What's going on?"

I sighed. Dammit, she was perceptive. She must be really good at the whole mom thing.

"Nothing," I said. "Just the job."

Jodi wasn't buying it. "Try again."

I gritted my teeth. "It's gonna sound crazy," I warned her.

She slanted me a look as she rummaged around in the fridge. "We hunt monsters, Lucy. I don't think there's anything you can tell me that gets crazier than that."

She had a point there. I took a deep breath, weighing around what I wanted to say.

"I feel like someone's watching me," I told her. "Sometimes. I just get a feeling, like there's someone there. Except when I look, there's no one. Until the other night."

"What happened then?"

I frowned. "I got the feeling again. That chill up your spine, hair standing on edge feeling. It's what I get whenever I feel like someone is watching me. And when I turned around, I thought I saw someone there, across the street. But by the time I moved closer to look they were gone. I'm not even sure I didn't imagine it."

Jodi nodded slowly, leaning against the counter.

"First of all," she said. "Never assume you're imagining things. I haven't seen too much of you kid, but I can tell you're a bright one. You've got good instincts. If they're telling you something is off, you trust 'em. Could just save your life."

I nodded, relieved.

"Have you told the boys about this?" Jodi asked.

I shook my head. "Not yet. I don't really know how, and they'd all flip anyway."

"They're more mature than you give them credit for," Jodi objected.

"Sam and Dean were having a food fight this morning," I said. "Trust me, they're not. They'd lock me in the bunker and never let me leave again."

Jodi chuckled. "Maybe, maybe not. But you're family. Family doesn't keep this sort of thing from each other. If there's something going on they should know about it so that they can help."

I nodded. "Thanks, Jodi."

Jodi nodded. "Anytime. Let me know if you ever need help with this."

"Ok." I took a deep breath and decided we needed a topic change. "What are you making?"

Jodi grinned. "Barbecue chicken. Help me carry this stuff out to the grill, will you?"

I grabbed the bottle of barbecue sauce and the grill tools and brought them outside. Jodi carried a plate heaping with chicken. We got to work lighting the grill, which was a rusty old thing that looked older than Cas.

Lighting it took a while, and we used a lot of not so nice words. By the time Annie got home, hair a mess from riding on a motorcycle, we were pulling the last of the chicken off the grill. She didn't look too thrilled by Sam and Dean's presence, and Cas and I seemed to be guilty by association.

Dinner went relatively well- as well as it could go with a teenager who seemed to hate everyone and everything. She headed up to her room soon after, and a minute later I could hear music blaring from behind her closed door.

Sam and Dean found a football and started a game, and somehow they managed to drag Cas, Jodi and I into it.

"Wait," said Cas. "The teams are uneven."

"Hold on," said Jodi. She jogged back into the house, emerging a minute later with a grumpy looking Annie.

"Girls against boys?" Jodi suggested.

"I don't do football," Annie stated.

"Neither do I," I told her. "But we can't let those doofuses win. Come on."

Annie considered for a moment, scowling ever so slightly. She seemed to like my insulting the boys though, because she nodded, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"One game," she said. "Then I'm out."

"Touch or tackle?" asked Dean.

"Touch!" Jodi widened her eyes in exasperation. "I don't need to spend my Saturday night in the ER."

Sam and Dean pouted slightly, but didn't object. We moved to opposite ends of the yard and the boys kicked the ball to us, starting the game.

I'd never played football outside of gym class, and it had been a long time since then. I'd had no idea how the points worked then, and I still didn't know, but that didn't matter much. Chasing the boys around the yard was fun, especially when Sam tripped over his own feet trying to catch Jodi, who was zig zagging to avoid him as she ran with the ball. He crashed to the ground and got a mouth full of dirt.

Annie may or may not have taken a picture to post online.

"Hey!" I shouted a minute later. "Cas, that's cheating!"

"What?" Cas gave me a deceptively sweet smile from his end zone. "I was supposed to get the ball here. I did."

"By running." I yanked the ball out of his hands. "Not flying."

"Nice try though," said Annie.

We exchanged grins as we lined up again, each of us picking out our targets. When Dean lobbed the ball we both ran, Annie toward Sam and me toward Cas.

He paused in his running to catch the ball soaring at him, and I couldn't quite stop on time. I crashed into him, and with a pair of oomphs we tumbled to the ground.

"Oops." I smiled down at Cas. "My bad."

Cas's blue eyes twinkled. "I don't mind."

I grinned.

"No breaking Cas, Lucy," called Sam. He jogged over and pulled us up, and to my annoyance I saw that Cas had the football clutched in his hand.

"How the hell did you hang onto that?" I demanded.

Cas snickered and shot me a grin.

Suddenly I felt an all too familiar prickle run up my spine. I spun, scanning around me.

"Lucy?" asked Dean.

I ignored him, my eyes widening and heart pounding as I continued to spin in a circle. There was nothing there, but there had to be. There had to be something there.

"Let's go inside," suggested Jodi.

I locked eyes with her, and saw that she looked wary. She had guessed what was going on. Her eyes were calm though, steady brown. Whatever was out there, she was ready.

The thought helped calm me, if only slightly.

"Yeah," I choked out. "Let's."

Truly concerned now, the boys rushed inside. Annie followed behind me, clearly confused, and Jodi came last. I saw her scan around as she came through the door, and then she locked it behind her.

She turned to me and I shook my head. Whatever it was, it was still there. Still watching.

Jodi started to go around the room, drawing the blinds. I joined her.

"Check the windows upstairs," Jodi ordered Annie. "Quickly. Make sure they're locked and shut all the blinds. Turn all the lights on. Every single one."

Annie looked scared now, but she hurried to do what Jodi said.

"What's going on?" asked Sam. "Lucy?"

I ignored him, drawing the last curtain shut.

"You too," Jodi told me. "Lights on. We can't turn them off because we need to see, but we can at least confuse whatever's out there about where we are."

I nodded and ran around the first floor of the house flipping switches. By the time I had finished Annie was back, a machete in hand. She handed Jodi the other and went to sit in a place in the room that was in the perfect location for her to bolt for any of the doors.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean stood from where he had been seated on the couch next to Sam and Cas. His face was tense with worry and confusion. "Why are you acting like something is about to come barging in here?"

Jodi opened her mouth to answer, then shut it and looked at me. I sighed and glanced away.

"Lucy?" asked Cas.

I could feel his eyes probing me, willing me to meet his gaze.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head, my cheeks reddening. Now that we were safely inside the whole thing seemed blown out of proportion. It was just a silly feeling. I was overreacting.

But it had been Jodi who'd had the biggest reaction, who had rushed inside and all locked down the house. I trusted that she knew what she was doing. If she was worried this much then shouldn't I be too?

One glance toward the window, where the curtain was still shut but from where I could still feel a dark sense told me that yes, I should be very worried.

"Lucy?" Cas stood when I didn't respond, crossing the room and taking my hands. "Look at me. Lucy, please."

I did. Cas's eyes were filled with worry, darting across my face as though he would find the answers to his questions there.

"What's going on?" he asked softly.

I sighed. "I've been feeling like something's been watching me," I said. "I don't know what, and I don't know why."

Dean frowned. "How long?" he asked. "What exactly happens?"

I shrugged, stepping away from Cas so I could see everyone. "Nothing ever happens," I said. "I just get this feeling that I'm being watched. Except the other night; I thought I saw something. Someone. When we were in Miss Carter's office, I thought I saw someone standing across the street. By the time I'd gone across the room to get a better look whoever it was had gone."

"And how long has this been going on?" asked Sam. "You failed to answer that one."

I crinkled my nose. "A while. Since the shapeshifting vigilante case in Alabama. That was the first time it happened. That I know of at least."

"What?" Dean threw his hands up. "That was months ago! Lucy!"

I held up my hands. "I'm sorry! Ok? What was I supposed to say? Hey guys, I'm having a weird feeling that I think someone who I can't put a name or motive to is watching me. Except when I look there's never anyone there."

I raised my eyebrows, and Dean sighed.

"Lucy," said Sam. "We would have believed you. We'll always believe you. You gotta tell us these things."

I nodded, my throat choking up.

"So, it's not vampires?" asked Annie. She was glancing around uncertainly, her grip on her machete loosening. "It's you, not me?"

I blinked rapidly, taking a moment longer than I would have liked to realize what Annie must have been thinking. Then I felt awful.

Jodi was already comforting her. "You're fine," she promised. "Nothing is going to happen to you."

Annie nodded, her breaths slowing. She looked relieved, and my guilty feeling worsened.

"I'm sorry," I offered her. "I didn't think what must've been going through your head."

Annie nodded slowly. She was definitely upset, but I didn't think she was too angry at me.

"Ok," said Dean. "Let's get back on topic. We need to find out what's been watching you and why."

"It seems like you're being watched in a variety of places," Cas observed. "Right?"

I nodded, and he continued.

"So whatever this is, it's willing to travel to keep an eye on her. It also has some way of knowing where Lucy is. What monster has the ability to do that?"

We all traded looks, and then shrugs.

"It's times like these that I really miss Bobby," muttered Sam. He sighed and grabbed his computer from his bag. "Let's start looking."

"In the meantime," said Dean, "Lucy, you're to stay with one of us at all times. No more going off on your own." He raised a hand as I started to object. "I mean it. We have no idea what this thing is or what it wants. If it makes a move, I don't want you cornered by yourself."

I ground my teeth but nodded. I hated his confinement, but oddly enough, it made me feel better.

"I'll ask around heaven," Cas said. "Maybe one of my siblings will know something." He moved back to me. "Will you be alright without me for a few days?"

I rolled my eyes. "I can handle myself, Cas."

Cas smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "I know you can. Be careful. I love you."

He vanished before I could reply.

I sighed, glancing around the room. Sam and Jodi had their laptops open and were already sorting through google searches, and Dean was going through their father's old journal, which he had gotten out of my bag.

"Come on," said Annie.

She led me to the coat closet, where there was a wooden trunk that was kept locked. The key was on a hook on the inside of the closet, and she had to feel her way up the wall to find it.

At the top of the trunk were a variety of monster hunting weapons that Jodi had collected over the years. Underneath that were books, new and old that Annie started to pull out.

"This is all Jodi's research," she told me. "Her own and what she's found from other people."

"Thanks." I took a stack of books and brought them to the living room. Annie followed with the rest, and we settled down to start the search.

I glanced up a few minutes later, then cautiously made my way to the window. I pushed aside a curtain, ready to let it fall back into place, but the feeling that I was being watched was gone. Whatever had been there, it had given up for the night and left.

With a deep breath I sat again, picking my book back up and leafing through it.

The night wore on, and though the feeling of being watched didn't return I never relaxed. I wasn't going to until we'd caught whatever was stalking me.