Carmen and Sam sat in the Impala outside of the apartment building where Jenna was living. They had stopped back at the motel after the library, saw that Jenna had gone home, and, without a word to Dean, left for Jenna's apartment.
And now they waited. Carmen sat in the driver's seat, and hadn't taken her eyes off the shaded window for hours. She watched Jenna's shadow pass back and forth, and it was early morning before the lights went out.
"She's going to bed." Carmen sighed. "I guess we'll have to come back tomorrow."
She finally peeled her eyes away from the window and looked over at Sam, only to find him fast asleep. She examined his serene face and smiled to herself at the fact that he seemed to be having peaceful dreams, or maybe even no dreams at all. She gently moved a piece of his floppy hair away from his eyes, and went to start the Impala.
Before she could turn the key, however, a movement from the dark side of the apartment building caught her eye. She looked and saw Jenna slink away in the cover of the shadows. Several times, she looked over her shoulder, glancing at the nothingness that followed her.
"Sam," Carmen whispered. "Sam." She shook him gently and it was enough to wake him. Nodding to the escaping Jenna, she stealthily got out of the Impala, Sam doing the same, and followed her.
"Where the hell is she going?" Sam whispered. After twenty minuets of following Jenna down back roads and sketchy dark alleys, they finally saw her enter a tall, deserted, boarded-up building.
"Only one way to find out," Carmen whispered back as she copied Jenna, moving one of the boards out of the way to slip inside. Sam had a bit more trouble, considering he had to fit his abnormally large frame into a slim entryway, but eventually he was in, too. They were in what seemed like an old abandoned hotel; the ground floor was filled with desks covered in dust and old moldy couches.
There was no stairwell in sight, but an empty elevator shaft to their left was illuminated. They heard, with perfect clarity, Jenna's voice speaking to someone several floors up.
Sam put his fingers to his lips and pointed up the elevator shaft. He gave Carmen a boost so she could reach one of the hanging cables, then grabbed onto one himself. They silently scaled the rope until they reached the top floor where Jenna resided. They hung, out of sight, watching the back of her head. It seemed like she was speaking on a phone, but when she turned around, they saw that she was speaking into a goblet…full of blood.
Carmen immediately took out her phone from her pocket and started recording.
"Yes, it's definitely the Winchesters. The Valente girl, too. They're together, it looks like. I got in close with the older one, and it looks like he's on my side. I know we need the boys, but the girl is negligible. I could easily destroy her. Yes. Yes, father."
Carmen turned to Sam, and his face mirrored her shocked expression. He pointed down, and Carmen slid down her cable as Sam slid down his. They took off to get back to the Impala, and ultimately back to Dean.
As Sam related that night's events to Dean back at the motel, Carmen leaned inconspicuously against the wall, unmoving. Her eyes were examining the carpet.
"I'm sorry, man." Sam said as he finished telling Dean what they saw. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear." They didn't even need to show him the video they took. He didn't question them. Nobody said a word for a moment. Dean's eyes were locked firmly on Carmen throughout Sam's retelling, and he watched her now, gauging her reaction. Only when Sam was finished speaking did her eyes finally raise to find Dean's.
"I'm sorry." He said in a gruff tone.
"I know," she said. "Me too."
"For what?"
"I didn't want to be right." She looked at him sympathetically. "I could tell you liked her. It's just…that's exactly what she wanted."
He nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. "So, she's after us, huh? What the hell for?"
"We didn't stay long enough to find out." Carmen answered. "But we need to go back. We need to find out who she was contacting, and what they want with us." Carmen could already guess whom she was contacting, but, with a glance at Sam, she held her tongue.
"So let's go." Dean said as he stood up from the bed.
"Now?" Sam asked, incredulous.
"No, Dean." Carmen said with authority. Although she admired his enthusiasm (she always had), it was very late and they all needed rest. "We'll stake her place out tomorrow. We'll see who she contacts, both in the real world and the supernatural, and we'll see what she's like while she's not flirting with unsuspecting hunters."
Dean shot her a glare.
"Ehem, sorry." She mumbled, forgetting that the backhanded comments were now unnecessary. "What I'm saying is, all we know about her now is that she's a demon, and she's after us. It would be unwise to try and attack her without knowing more. We'll go tomorrow night, alright?"
Dean nodded once more, yawned and settled into bed, Carmen and Sam not far behind.
Carmen lay silently in her bed, her eyes closing against her will time and time again. She was trying so hard not to let herself sleep, but she couldn't stay awake all night. It was so hard not to let herself drift…
She sits in a dark corner of her room with her knees hugged to her chest. The door is slightly ajar allowing a sliver of light to touch her face and illuminate the tear tracks running down her cheeks. Her head is tilted toward the opening, the better to hear the voices yelling from the other room. She is only seventeen.
"Dad, Carmen is a young girl! She's going to get hurt out there; you know how dangerous it is, and you're acting like you don't care!"
"Sam, I care more about that girl than you know! And she's old enough now, she can make her own decisions-"
"Oh, so she can make her own choices but I can't? Or is it that she can make up her own mind because she chose this life? As long as I choose to stay, I can choose for myself? Why can't you just let me live my own life?"
"This is your life, Sam!"
"No, dad, this is YOUR life! You dragged me into this when I couldn't decide for myself, but now I can, and I'm deciding that I want to go to college!"
"College isn't an option!"
"The people at Stanford think it is! They gave me a full ride and you can't just take that away from me!"
"And you can't just leave your family!"
"Watch me."
She hears footsteps heading away from her.
"Sam, if you walk out that door, don't you EVER come back!" She holds her breath, then hears the door open and close with a loud SLAM-
Before she knew it, she was jolting awake, unaware that she had even fallen asleep. She took a deep, steadying breath, allowing herself to recuperate from the night terror that was also one of her worst memories.
"Still not sleeping?" Sam asked. Carmen's eyes darted to the window seat where he was perched. He didn't look away from the outside, allowing her to regain herself. Dean was on the other side of her, fast asleep.
"I could ask you the same question." She stated as she rose from her bed and went to sit opposite Sam.
"I couldn't sleep even if I'd wanted to." Sam sighed. "I just keep thinking about what we heard tonight. This demon that's possessing Jenna…it knows who we are. This isn't an accident, Carmen. I mean, how did it know we were going to come here? It wanted us specifically, you know, and I can't help but think…"
"It has something to do with The Demon." Carmen finished for him. "I think you're right, Sam. And I think maybe that's who Jenna was contacting earlier."
They stared at each other, mulling over the new theory. "Sam," Carmen whispered. "We should call John."
"Why?" Sam spat bitterly, reacting exactly how Carmen knew he would. "He won't answer. He never does. What would make this time different?"
"We've never been this close to The Demon before. He's spent his whole life hunting this thing, Sam. If something was going to bring him to us, it's this." Sam just looked annoyed, as he always did at any mention of his father. "Why are you so angry with him?" She asked softly. He didn't answer, just continued staring out the window.
The next day, the trio followed Jenna all day long. They awoke before sunrise to get to Jenna's apartment, but it was unnecessary, as she didn't leave until after noon. They followed her throughout the city, but didn't observe anything odd about her routine, although she called Dean's phone several times to try and get in touch with him.
"No way I'm answering your phone calls now, bitch." He mumbled as he chucked his phone into the backseat.
By nightfall, she was back in her apartment.
"Maybe she knew we were following her." Dean pondered from the passenger's seat.
"No, there's no way; we've hidden flawlessly." Carmen leaned over to get a better look at Jenna's shadow through the curtains. Just then, Dean's stomach gave a loud growl.
Carmen rolled her eyes. "Hungry?" Sam asked as he chuckled.
"Shut up! I haven't eaten since breakfast." Dean mumbled.
"We're not going to find anything here tonight anyway," Sam said. "Why don't you two go back to the motel and I'll call you if I see anything strange."
"Sounds good to me." Dean said as he got out of the Impala to start walking, but Carmen stayed put. She turned her large eyes on Sam, glaring.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Are you serious? Considering our theory as to what kind of demon this girl is working with, I don't think you being here alone is a good idea." Her nostrils flared as she spoke to him.
"Come on, Carmen. I'll be fine. You said it yourself; she has no idea we're following her. I'll call you if anything weird happens. Go."
She continued to glare at him, but after thinking it over for a moment, she got out of the car. She walked to the passenger side door, opened it, and, staring directly at Sam, pulled out her pistol from inside her leather jacket. She pulled out the magazine, dropped her eyes to make sure that it was full, and threw it on the passenger's seat next to Sam. Sam glanced down at the gun, and before he could look back up to Carmen, she had already closed the door and was catching up with Dean.
"Carmen? Carmen! God, I hate it when you do that. Have you listened to anything I've been saying for the past ten minutes?" Dean asked as they walked.
Carmen glanced over at Dean, unaware that she had even been spacing out. "No, but I'm sure I missed out on a riveting discussion." She said sarcastically. She looked around and realized they were already back in the motel room.
"You want to go to the diner or just get some fast food?"
"Like I said, riveting."
"Alright, you know what? I'm going to go get us some food, you stay here and work on that attitude problem." Dean grabbed his jacket and slammed the door on the way out. Although Carmen knew she should feel guilty, she was grateful for the time alone to think. She lay down on Sam's bed, staring at the ceiling but not really seeing it. Her mind was still back in the Impala with Sam. It was also wandering up to the window with Jenna. She needed to know if this girl really was working with The Demon, and what that son of a bitch's plan was with Sam. Why Sam? Why not her or Dean? And why, even though Carmen was just as avid a hunter as the Winchesters, was she "negligible"?
Not having these answer's made her itch, and she was getting tired of discovering more questions without getting any answers. The prospect of revenge also made her itch. This bitch, whether it was working with The Demon or not, had destroyed way too many lives, and Carmen wanted vengeance. The gruesome images of what those families experienced, and what the surviving teens were still experiencing, had hit her so deeply that it had penetrated her nightmares.
Before she knew it, Dean had returned with fast food. It smelled greasy, but to Carmen and Dean, it was as good as any food they ever ate. The closest thing to a home cooked meal they had was grilling burgers at Bobby's.
Dean put the boxes of grease down on the shabby motel table. "Earth to Carmen. You with me?"
She sighed. "Yeah, I'm with you." She pushed herself grudgingly up from the bed and sat with Dean at the table.
"Good, cuz this philly cheese steak is more grease than even I can handle. You're gonna have to help me out with this one."
"I got your back." Carmen's mouth pulled up into her half smile.
"So, I've been wondering," Dean said through a mouthful of food. "What's this demon's problem with us? Why is it after us specifically? There are plenty of hunters out there who kill more evil than we do."
"Actually, Sam and I have a theory." And she told him about what they had been discussing.
"We should call Dad," Dean said without hesitation.
"I said the same thing, but Sam thinks he won't answer."
"The hell he won't! Dad's been after this thing for forever!"
"I know, Dean." She said patiently.
"I'm calling him." Dean took out his phone. Unsurprisingly, John didn't answer. Dean left a message, giving John information on their situation and whereabouts. Just as he flipped the phone shut, it buzzed in his hand. "Hello?" He said into the receiver. "She's moving? The abandoned hotel…be right there." And Dean snapped his phone shut again.
Carmen was already up with her leather jacket on. She bent over her duffel and started chucking things onto the bed to be put into her backpack. "We're going to need holy water, and salt to trap her." Carmen packed her backpack, and looked up at Dean. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're planning on handcuffing her?" She asked, nodding to the silver cuffs dangling from Dean's hands.
"Not exactly," he said. Before Carmen knew it, Dean had attacked her, sweeping her legs from underneath her and forcing her on the bed. She kicked at him as hard as she could, but he overpowered her easily.
"Dean!" Carmen screamed as he handcuffed her right hand to the right side of the headboard. "What the hell are you doing?"
"There's no way you're coming with me."
"What are you TALKING ABOUT?" Carmen screeched. Fury exploded like a volcano in her stomach.
"Oh, this is way too kinky." He laughed, cuffing her other hand to the other side of the headboard. He backed away and looked her over, making sure it was impossible for her to escape.
"Dean, don't you DARE leave me here!" Her eyes were vicious, and her face was red with rage.
"It's too dangerous for you Carmen! Sam told me what the bitch said about you; that you were negligible! That she would have absolutely no restraint killing you just to get you out of the way. I'm not taking any chances after last time. You're staying here."
"DEAN! John would kill you!"
"John would agree with me."
There was nothing she could do but yank on the cuffs like a chained animal as Dean walked out the door.
And now Dean and Sam were trapped.
They were in the abandoned hotel, on the top floor where Jenna resided. Jenna had Sam tied to one column on one side of the room, Dean to a separate column on the opposite side. Dean watched as she shamelessly tried to seduce Sam. The way she was straddling his lap and nibbling on his ear made Dean nauseous. He averted his eyes as he maneuvered the small knife that he always carried up his sleeve down to his open palm. He was careful to keep a disgusted expression on his face, in case Jenna looked over.
"You know," she cooed into Sam's ear. "I had to flirt with Dean over there to try to get him to trust me. I knew there would be no way of getting you on my side with that girl of yours in the way. But I have to say…out of the two of you, you are definitely more delicious."
"Oh, God." Dean groaned as he made a gagging nose in his throat. Jenna ignored it. Dean had just begun weakening the thick rope that bound him when his hand slipped up and the blade dropped to the floor with a clang.
At the sound, Jenna's head snapped up from Sam's neck to glare menacingly at Dean. He groaned inwardly. She stalked over to him and ripped the blade from the ground next to his hand.
"You think you can get away so easy?" She barked out a crazed laugh. "I don't think so!" She chucked the knife down the elevator shaft and they heard it collide with the metal as it fell. For good measure, she smacked Dean across the face.
Jenna turned fiery eyes back to Sam. She sauntered over to him, took her place on his lap, and continued her flirtatious rape.
"So, you have us here," Dean panted as his cheek burned white hot where she struck him, "can't you just maim, or torture or do whatever it is you're going to do? Anything would be better than being forced to watch a demon molest my brother." Jenna pulled away from Sam. Her face went dark for a moment, but she quickly plastered on a smile.
"Be patient, baby. That part comes later." Her sweet voice sickened him.
Sam stared thoughtfully at her, a smirk building on his face. "No," he said softly. "No, she can't do anything to us. She would have done it by now. She's waiting for orders…Ha," he scoffed, "she's someone's bitch!" The darkness appeared momentarily on her face once more.
This time her attempt to fool them was slightly less convincing. "If anyone's the bitch here, baby, it's you." She straddled him again, and he cringed away. "And you're right," she whispered seductively in his ear, "I can't kill you. Not yet. At least not until Daddy dearest shows up to try and rescue you."
Sam's face fell, and she could tell that her words had the effect she wanted. "It's a trap," he breathed. "It's a trap for dad."
"Oh, don't you catch on quick!" Jenna exclaimed sarcastically. "But until then, baby, it's just you and me." And she kissed him full on the mouth. Dean groaned, but Jenna ignored him.
Sam tore his face away from her hot breath, cringing away once more. He was losing hope as she forced his face forward and kissed him again. There was no way to warn his father, and no way out of the restraints that bound him. Jenna continued making out with his unmoving lips, until:
"He's mine, bitch."
Jenna looked up suddenly as Carmen landed a roundhouse kick straight to her jaw. She staggered backward as Carmen stalked forward. Her fist connected with Jenna's temple, sending her to the floor. Carmen kicked at her again, but this time Jenna dodged it. She got to her feet and attempted a right hook to Carmen's face, but it was blocked. She tried to land a hit to Carmen's stomach, and this time her fist collided. Carmen doubled over, and Jenna kicked her hard in the face.
Jenna laughed as Carmen fell to the floor face down. Fear overtook Sam as Carmen lay unmoving on the ground. "What's the matter, Sammy?" She said as she turned towards him. "Worried about your little girlfriend? Guess she isn't at tough as you thought, huh?"
Sam shook his head. "You're right." He narrowed his eyes at her. "She's tougher."
At that moment, Carmen surprised Jenna by grabbing her around the neck from behind and squeezing as hard as she could. The demon tried to wrestle its way out of her grasp, but Carmen overpowered it. She tried to throw it back on the ground so that she could knock it out somehow, but she couldn't force it down. The demon suddenly escaped from Carmen's grasp and put its hands around her neck. In defense, Carmen hit its arms away and kicked Jenna's body as hard as she could. The demon stumbled back, and fell out of the window with a deafening crash.
Carmen stood frozen for a moment, her mouth hanging open in horror. She ran to the edge of the window and gazed down at the bloody, broken corpse that had been a casualty of the battle.
Carmen knelt down reverently and whispered "I'm sorry, Jenna."
"Carmen!" Dean called. "Get us out of here." She obeyed, getting up and ripping off the rope binding Dean's hands. "Someone must have heard that; we don't want to be here when the cops get here." She nodded as she knelt beside Sam, freeing his hands. "How the hell did you get out of those cuffs?" He asked, perplexed.
"I broke the headboard." Carmen said, grinning sheepishly.
Dean burst into laughter. "That's my girl!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, and here," Carmen held out the small silver blade that Jenna had stolen. "I caught it when she threw it down the elevator shaft." Dean could only stare at her with reverence; he pulled her into a bear hug.
"Hey, no chick-flick moments." She said, but wrapped her arms around his neck anyway.
Sirens in the distance were their cue to leave. They shimmied down the elevator shaft, and got back to the Impala. As they headed back to the motel, they realized they were also heading towards the sirens.
"Looks like we're not going back just yet," Dean said as he turned the car around. He drove until he found a deserted lot a ways away from all the commotion and parked in some dark ally where the Impala was inconspicuous. "Well, that bitch had me tied up for too long. I'm going to go find a bathroom." Dean said as he got out and headed back into the city.
Carmen got out of the Impala and watched Dean go, wondering why he wasn't sticking around. She perched herself on the hood of the car with her legs crossed underneath her and her hands in her lap, and Sam sat on the edge next to her. She realized after a while that he was staring at her, grinning.
His smile looked so big and goofy that she couldn't help the side of her mouth curling up as well. "What? What are you looking at me like that for?"
"'He's mine, bitch'?" Sam quoted with a chuckle.
She let out a laugh as well. "Yeah, you know, you say stupid stuff in the heat of the moment. I just saw her gnawing at your neck, and I guess my protective instincts took over."
"I don't mind being yours, Carmen." His voice was like velvet.
At this, Carmen looked down at her interlaced fingers. She could feel her face falling and her smile fading, but she couldn't help it. Her heart fluttered uncomfortably.
Sam sighed deeply. "Carmen, why do you do that?" She shot him a skeptical look from the corner of her eye. "Every time I say something about you, about us, about the way I feel about you, you make this face like…like you're…"
"Terrified?" Carmen finished for him. Sam nodded, and it was her turn to sigh. "I guess it's because, when you talk about me like that, I feel terrified and…stupid."
"Why? What could I possibly have done to scare you?"
"You left, Sam. That's what you did: you left. Maybe I sound like a broken record but…I can never forget that. I was so broken, so lost…it was like you took part of myself with you when you went away. And I know that your decision to leave had nothing to do with me, but as much as that thought comforted me, it hurt me just as much. You didn't think about how much I needed you. How badly I would miss you."
"Carmen, it hurt me, too. Everyday that I was away from you felt like…like I didn't know who I was."
She was silent for a moment as she took that in. It didn't make her feel much better. "It wasn't just that, Sam. When Dean and I came to recruit you that night from Stanford…I just felt so stupid."
"What would make you feel like that?"
"The whole time you were away, I still felt…" She sighed. "Sam, I can't."
"Carmen, tell me. What are you afraid of?"
"That you'll judge me. That you'll think I'm as stupid as I think I was."
She chanced a glance at him, and his eyes looked so trusting that she heaved a sigh and told him exactly how she felt.
"The whole time you were away, I still felt connected to you. I still felt like you were with me, every single day, and I held on to that thought with everything I had. I was waiting for you to come home, to come back and be with me again…but you had Jessica, and you had a different life, and I was still with Dean and John, living the same life I have been for almost ten years."
"But Carmen, don't you see? This life, this is who we are. This is who I am! I didn't know it at the time but…you always knew who I was. You saw me like no one else did, and that's why you were waiting for me to come back. I didn't belong at Stanford. I didn't belong with Jessica…I belonged with you. And I want to be with you now."
Carmen looked at him, looked deep into his bright green eyes. She saw them burning with passion, and knew he was telling her the truth. He brushed a long brown lock away from her face and put a gentle hand to her cheek. She closed her eyes and unconsciously leaned into his touch. Then she felt soft lips brush her forehead for a long moment that she didn't want to end.
But Dean came back, and Sam pulled away, clearing his throat awkwardly and pushing himself away from the Impala.
"Should be safe to head back." Dean said. They all got into the car and drove back to the motel.
"So, did I interrupt something back there?" Dean asked as they got out of the car.
"No." Sam and Carmen said in unison. Dean smirked as he took the motel key from his pocket.
"You guys are so obvious. You know one day, you're-"
But he stopped mid sentence. Upon opening the door, he saw a shadowed figure silhouetted against the window. He dropped his duffel bag and whipped out his gun.
"No," Carmen said softly as she put her hand over Dean's and forced him to lower the weapon. She took a timid step forward, and the shadowed figure slowly turned around.
"John?" Carmen whispered in disbelief. John Winchester's hard face cracked into a rare smile. Carmen ran the length of the room and practically jumped into his arms, and he embraced her back, but his eyes were on his boys.
Every bit of air that Dean had in his lungs felt like it had been punched out of him. He crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped his arms around his father and Carmen.
Sam was too stunned to move, so he just gawked at the man standing in his motel room. He did not cross the room like his brother and Carmen had, to embrace his lost father. He wasn't sure how John would react if he did. He sauntered over to stand next to Carmen and Dean.
"Hey Sam." John looked at his son with regret.
"Dad." Sam smiled wearily.
"Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know, I'm sorry." Dean said as he stood with his arm around Carmen's waist.
"I figured it might be," John said "I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?"
"Yes sir." All three of them chimed.
"I'm not surprised. It's set traps like this before."
"The Demon?" Sam asked.
John nodded. "It knows I'm on its trail, and that I'm close. It knows I'm going to kill it, and not just exorcise it or send it back to hell, actually kill it."
"How?" Carmen breathed.
"I'm working on that," John said with a smile.
"Let us come with you." Sam said. "Let us help."
"No, Sam."
"Please, I have to be a part of this fight!"
"Not yet. This fight is just starting, and we're all going to have a part to play. But for now, you can't come with me. Listen, I heard about your girlfriend…about Jessica. I'm so sorry. And I know you want to get this thing as much as I do. But it's a nasty son of a bitch. I don't want you three caught in the crossfire."
"You don't have to worry about us." Sam said passionately. Carmen saw that he wanted to catch this demon so badly, maybe even more than John.
"Of course I do. I'm your father." He looked at all three of them, including Carmen. "Listen, Sammy. Last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight."
"Yes, sir." Sam looked weary.
John nodded, and looked as if he couldn't find the words. "It's good to see you, son. It's been a long time."
"Too long," Sam agreed. And then they embraced, and they both knew that all was forgiven.
"Listen, all three of you," John said as he looked at each one of them in turn. "I know you want to help. And you will get your chance. I promise. But for right now, you have to let me go my own way. In the nineteenth century, a hunter named Samuel Colt made a gun. The legend says that this gun can kill anything. Now it could just be a legend…or it could be exactly what we need. I'm going to hunt this gun down, and when I do, we'll go after The Demon."
"And what should we do until then?" Sam questioned. "Just sit here and wait?"
"No, do exactly what you've been doing. Working jobs. Saving as many people as you can, and killing every evil thing that you can find."
Sam nodded, and John turned to go. "I'll be in touch." He said as he looked back.
"Dad," Sam said. "Be careful."