Sorry it's been so long! There's been a lot going on with school recently and I've had at least one big test a week ever since spring break and every time I've even thought about working on something other than school work I've started stressing out. I have been working on this chapter little by little since my last update. So here is the start of season 3. I hope you guys like it!
In the week after the Devil's Gate was opened, things between Aubri and Dean had been a little awkward. They hadn't talked about either one of the kisses they had shared; they didn't really talk about anything except hunting. The easiness that had been between then the night after Dean shot Yellow Eyes had all but disappeared. Occasionally he would bump into her as he walked past, both of them would jump at the slight shock they both felt, but they would ignore it, muttering excuse me as they kept going. Sometimes when they were sitting across the table from each other, his foot would bump against hers or she would look up only to lock eyes with him. It always ended with Aubri's cheeks flushing and Dean muttering about the lack of an apocalypse.
Aubri wanted to talk about what had happened, but she could never find the right time to say anything. She knew she felt something for Dean, despite the fact that he was cocky and slightly obnoxious at times, but he was too busy trying to do as many things, or as many women, as he could in the year he had left before the demon's collected to listen to her. She sighed as she stared up at the ceiling of them Impala and she stretched her arms above her head, doing everything she could to keep from looking out the front window. Her curiosity got the better of her though as she looked just in time to see Dean close the curtains and turn to face the silhouette of the girl who had just walked up to him. "Ughh!" She threw her head back again, instantly regretting her decision to stop staring at the Impala's ceiling.
"Cut him some slack Aubs." Sam said quietly as he looked back down at the book in his lap.
"Maybe I would if he picked classier girls to spend his last year on earth with." She tried to suppress the jealously she could feel welling up inside of her as she leaned forward to look over Sam's shoulder. "Whatcha got there?" She asked, only having enough time to see the words "Crossroad's Demon" on one of the pages before Sam slammed the book shut.
"Nothing, just some research." He said, knowing that if Aubri knew that he was trying to get Dean out of his deal, she would probably tell Dean. He trusted her, but she also knew Dean had told Sam to leave it alone. Plus, he had learned she couldn't lie to save her life. She had a face like glass; it gave all of her emotions away. Dean would know she was hiding something the second he took the time to look at her.
"Sam…" Aubri was about to pester him until he told her the truth, but she was cut off by Sam's cell ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hey Sam."
"Hey Bobby."
"Whatch doin'?"
"You know, same old same old."
"You buried in that book again? Sam if you wanna break Dean out of his deal, you ain't gonna find the answer in no book."
"Then where Bobby?"
"Kid if only I knew. So where's your brother?"
"Polling the electorate."
At that Aubri got tired of listening in and flopped back against the back of her seat, lost in her thoughts. Sam was trying to break Dean out of his deal, she just knew it, but she also knew Sam didn't want her to know. He probably thought she would tell Dean or wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. Little did he know, she had gotten a lot better at lying since she had met the two of them. How else would she had been able hide her feelings for Dean for so long or not let on to Sam that she knew what he was doing. She wanted Sam to have some hope that he could get Dean out of this deal. She didn't want him to know that if Dean tried to get out of this, that he would die. She just couldn't squash his last glimmer of hope just yet.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Sam turned around to face her, "Aubs go get Dean, we gotta meet Bobby."
"Are you kidding me? No, you go get him." Aubri refused, as she shook her head.
Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, "Come on Aubs, I did it last three times. Just cover your eyes and tell him we have to go meet Bobby and then get out of there."
A sly smile stretched across Aubri's face as she looked at the door of the motel room, "No, if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna have some fun with it." She laughed quietly as she saw worry fill Sam's eyes and she quickly slid out of the backseat, shutting the door behind her before Sam could say anything. With a bounce in her step and an evil grin on her face, Aubri strode purposefully towards the door, pausing only a second with her hand on the knob to take a deep breath before turning it and letting the music waft out the door. Just before she poked her head around the door she screwed up her face in an angry scowl and threw the door the rest of the way open shouting, "Dean Winchester where the hell are you?"
The blondes who were on top of him flew off of the bed, pulling the sheets with them as they tried to cover themselves. Without the sheets on the bed, Dean was completely exposed for a split second and Aubri's eyes were locked on his naked body, admiring it, until he covered himself with a pillow. "What the hell Aubri?" He shouted, his voice coming out strangled.
"Who is she? I thought you said you were single!" One of the blondes wrapped in the sheets shrieked at him.
"He's not!" Aubri said, maybe a little too violently, before turning her glare back towards Dean. "What are you doing running around with other girls like this? Bobby's asking for you, waiting for us at home because you had to go leave us behind to pick up some girls!"
Aubri was practically dancing on the inside as she watched the color drain out of their faces, "You left her behind with a kid? You jerk! Get out!" The other one screamed as she threw his clothes at him.
"No, no it's not like that!" Dean protested as he struggled into his jeans.
"Get out!" She yelled one last time.
Aubri waited in the doorway, hands on her hips, as Dean got dressed. Maybe the bimbos Dean had picked up deserved some more credit than Aubri had given them initially. At least they had the class to be disgusted by Dean running out on poor Aubri and little Bobby. Aubri snorted as Dean stalked past her and out the door, making a beeline for the Impala. Shutting the door to the motel room behind her, Aubri walked slowly to the car, laughing to herself at Sam's shocked expression. "What the hell was that Aubri?" Dean yelled at her as soon as she was settled in the car.
"What?" Aubri asked innocently, eyebrows raised and eyes wide as she looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Are you the only one who gets to have some fun around here?"
Sam laughed quietly, trying not to be noticed by his pissed off brother. When Dean turned to glare at him, he raised his eyebrows, "Come on man, it was kind of funny."
Dean huffed as he revved the engine, speeding out of the parking lot and flying down the road. "Don't pull something like that again Aubs." He said through gritted teeth.
"Or what?" she asked sassily, lips pursed as she dared him to take the threat further.
Dean met her eyes in the rearview mirror and, seeing the defiant gleam in her eyes, groaned, "You're gonna kill me before the year is even up."
Aubri leaned forward and put her lips near Dean's ear, whispering "You're no good to me dead Winchester. You're a lot more fun if you're alive." The mention of the ticking clock of Dean's deal had taken all of the fun out of her little prank, but she couldn't help but smirk at the faint blush creeping up the back of Dean's neck.
Dean's hands clenched the wheel tightly as he tried to get his pounding heart under control. The anger had faded, but it had been replaced by something else. For the past week he had avoided spending any real time with Aubri, only talking to her about hunting. He couldn't risk getting any closer to her because if he did who knew how those unfamiliar feelings he had towards her would change, how they would grow. She deserved better than him, much better than him. A drop out who wasn't good for anything, who slept around and drank too much sometimes, who wasn't even going to be here in a year because he sold his soul to save his brother. No, she deserved a normal life and hopefully they could find a way to get her back to her world before things got any worse in theirs. He cleared his throat, "So what's Bobby got?"
"Not much, crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Nebraska. Now it could be demonic omens…" Sam explained.
"Or it could just be bad crops and a bug problem." Dean added, cutting him off.
"Yeah but it's the only lead."
"Any weird deaths?"
"No nothing yet."
Dean sighed, "It's weird man, I mean the night the Devil's Gate opened people saw weird clouds over what, 17 cities. I expected it to be Apocalypse Now, but it's been a week and bubkiss. I mean, what are the demons waiting for? It's driving me crazy. If it's gonna be war I wish it would just start already."
"Yeah, not gonna lie," Aubri said, leaning forward again, "I was expecting it to be all raining frogs and fire falling from the heavens, but it's actually been nice. All sunshine and rainbows except for seeing Dean naked. Speaking of, can one of you hand me a knife so I can gouge my eyes out?"
Dean chuckled, "I saw you looking sweetheart, you know you liked it."
Aubri scoffed, but before she could say anything else Sam cut her off. "Cut it out guys and quit wishing for the apocalypse to come looking for us. Enjoy the break before we get what you guys are wishing for."
~TFS~
After they stopped to get food, they drove until they met Bobby at an old farmhouse just outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. "You hear those cicadas?" Sam asked as they climbed out of the car.
"That can't be a good sign." Dean agreed.
Aubri shook her head as she brushed past them, "Y'all obviously have never been in the real south before. We didn't need demons to have cicada swarms, they just happened for fun." She walked up to Bobby, Sam and Dean trailing close behind her. "Hey Bobby, how's Folsom?"
"He's good, the neighbors said he could stay at his house. Apparently he's been running over there during the day and playing with their kids."
"You better not let those people steal my dog Bobby." She said with a grin, glad Folsom was getting to be a normal dog instead of riding around in the car all the time.
"Wouldn't dream of it sweetheart." His eye's landed on Dean and the burger he had in his hand. "We eating cheeseburgers for breakfast now?"
"Well, sold my soul, got a year to live, I ain't sweating the cholesterol." Dean replied nonchalantly.
Aubri shook her head, she hated that he was taking this so lightly. He didn't even seem to care anymore. "So Bobby, what do you think, we got a biblical plague here or what?" Sam asked, shaking off his brothers response.
"Well let's find out." Bobby said, leading the way up the steps, "Looks like the swarm's ground zero."
Dean walked up to the door and knocked loudly, shouting, "Candygram!"
"Come on Dean." Aubri said shaking her head.
"What?" Dean asked, brows raised. They all waited to see if someone would answer the door and after a couple of seconds of nothing, Dean got out his lock picks. Aubri reached for the knife she kept on her at all times now and Sam and Bobby both pulled out their guns. When the door slowly opened, Bobby and Sam went in first, followed by Dean who made sure Aubri was behind him. As soon as they were inside, they were instantly hit by a horrible stench.
"Holy shit." Aubri muttered, clapping her hand over her mouth and nose.
"That's awful." Sam said, looking over his shoulder at Dean.
Dean shook his head and walked forward, taking the lead, "That so can't be a good sign. Aubs watch the door til we give the all clear."
Aubri sighed, rolling her eyes. He always did this, not trusting her to go in with the rest of them. "Fine." She muttered, pulling her shirt over her nose as she tried to use the thin cotton to block the horrible smell. Her eyes stayed on Dean's back until he rounded a corner and then she turned her attention to the front yard. Obviously this family did not believe in proper lawncare. The grass was patchy and too tall to be considered attractive and there were weeds springing up everywhere. Twirling her knife between her fingers, Aubri whistled a tune, waiting patiently to hear something from the guys. Her eyes focused on a knot in the wood of one of the front porch posts and she grinned. One of the only times Dean took the time to talk to her was when he was teaching her how to use her knife properly and in her spare time she had practice throwing it and hitting targets, in a foolish attempt to do something that might impress him. She took a deep breath, held her knife properly, and when she exhaled she threw it at the knot in the wood. The knife sailed right past the post and landed with a thunk in the grass. "Damnit." She muttered, as she went to retrieve the knife, glancing at her watch as she did so. Surely they had cleared the house by now she thought as she walked back up the steps and into the house. She heard Sam and Dean making disgusted sounds and followed the noise, regretting her decision to come inside as soon as she made it to the doorway.
"Oh my God." She said as she pulled her shirt over her nose again. Flies were flying around the unmoving bodies that sat on the couch in front of the TV. They had obviously been dead for quite some time.
Bobby rushed into the room, coming to a halt when he saw the bodies, "Bobby what the hell happened here?" Sam asked.
"I don't know." Bobby couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the bodies on the couch.
"Check for sulfur." Dean said and he and Bobby started moving around the room, checking the windowsills.
Sam knelt down in front of the bodies and Aubri stood behind him, trying to figure what could have happened to these people. There was a creaking sound from the front porch and Aubri's head shot up as Dean let out a quick whistle, signaling something to Sam. Aubri watched the three men look at each other, obviously speaking some sort of silent code they hadn't decided to teach her yet. Then slowly they made their way to the door as Sam and Bobby went to take different exits. "This is why you watch the door Aubs." Dean whispered, shooting her a glare.
"Yeah, me and my knife would have done a great job covering your asses." She hissed back at him, matching him glare for glare.
He shook his head and slowly opened the door and walked out onto the front porch. Aubri stayed behind the open door, waiting for Dean to signal for her to come outside. She heard a struggle and, despite the fact that she knew Dean would be pissed at her for running into danger, ran outside only to come face to face with a woman. Aubri held up her knife, unsure of what to do as she looked around nervously. "Hold it lady." She said shakily. She could see Dean on the ground in her peripheral vision and a man was pointing a gun at him.
The lady smirked and opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when Bobby came up, "Tamara?" he said questioningly.
"You know these people Bobby?" Aubri asked, trying to keep the shaking in her hands to a minimum as she kept her knife up.
"Yeah it's ok Aubri, put down the knife before you hurt someone." Bobby said as he stopped in front of the man holding the gun on Dean.
Aubri lowered her knife shakily and then hurried over to kneel next to Dean. "You ok there Winchester?" She asked, smirking despite the concern that Dean could see filling her eyes.
"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy." He said sarcastically as he sat up, rubbing his head.
Bobby continued to exchange pleasantries with the two strangers that obviously weren't strangers to him as Aubri took in Dean's injuries. "You're bleeding." She said with a shake of her head. She pulled a napkin out of her jacket pocket and dabbed at the cut on Dean's lip. A cut on the lip wasn't that big of a deal, but she was still a little shaken from the memory of the rifle that had been trained on him just seconds ago.
Dean pushed Aubri's hand away, "Cut it out Aubs, it's fine." He protested, perhaps a little too harshly he realized when he saw the embarrassed flush spread across her cheeks as she quickly looked away from him and stood up. He stood up slowly, "So Bobby, do you mind introducing your friends to the class?"
~TFS~
Aubri sat at a table, leafing through a book on Demons she had found as Tamara and Isaac looked around for some kind of holy wood. She could hear Dean in the other room, spitting what she was sure he thought was some mad game to some girl at the coroner's office. Shaking her head with a sigh, she tried to turn her attention back to the pages in front of her. She hadn't spoken to Dean since he had brushed her off on the porch. She knew it was childish, but she didn't really care. He was being an idiot as usual and she didn't understand why things couldn't just go back to how they were before they had kissed.
"That was the coroner's tech." Dean said, snapping his phone shut and leaning against the table Aubri was sitting at, jostling it and the book she was reading. "Cause of death with that family dehydration and starvation. There's no signs of restraint or struggle. They just sat down and never got up."
Aubri's brow furrowed and she looked up as Bobby spoke, "But there was a fully stocked kitchen just yards away."
"Right, I mean is this some kind of demon attack?" Sam asked.
Bobby shook his head, "If it is it ain't like anything I've seen, and I've seen a lot."
"So what do we do?" Aubri asked, looking around at everyone.
"We don't do anything." Isaac said pointedly.
Aubri's brows shot up, "Excuse me?"
Isaac sighed as he and Tamara looked at each other, "Look you guys are nice and all, but this isn't Scooby Doo and we don't work with others."
"But we can cover more ground if we work with each other." Sam reasoned.
"Listen, no offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil's Gate get opened in the first place." Isaac admitted.
"No offense?" Dean asked, standing up straighter.
Aubri put her hand on his arm, holding him in place with just a touch as she stood up and leaned against the table, taking her hand off of Dean's arm so she could cross her arms in front of her chest, trying her best to look tough. "Like you've never made a mistake?" She argued.
"Oh sure, locked my keys in the car, turned my laundry pink, never brought on the end of the world though."
"Isaac." Tamara hushed.
As Isaac continued Aubri could feel the anger radiating off of Dean. "Look there are hundreds more demons out there now. We don't know where they are, when they'll strike, there aren't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought a war down on us, on all of us." Isaac shot an accusatory glare at all of them as his wife reached out and took his hand, trying to calm him down.
"How about we cool it with the blame game here bud." Aubri said through gritted teeth. "Things might be going to hell in a hand basket, but you sitting here blaming us isn't necessarily making the world any safer either." She didn't take kindly to people messing with people she cared about and this guy was pushing it. This was her family he was attacking. She didn't realize she had started to walk towards the guy until she felt Dean's hand on her arm. This time it was him stopping her from doing something stupid in the heat of the moment.
Dean had a satisfied smirk on his face as he gently pulled Aubri back to her original spot, leaning against the table. "Easy there Blondie." He said tensely, giving her a quick wink. She was cute when she got all riled up like that. Not that he needed her coming to his defense or anything, but it was cute all the same.
"I think that's enough for now." Tamara said, glaring at Aubri as she pulled Isaac out of the room.
I hope it wasn't too bad; I don't have a beta for this story so there are bound to be mistakes and I can't always get everything to flow just right. I'm going to try to have some more Aubri/Dean moments in the next chapter and if I can get 6 reviews by Sunday then I promise I'll have the next half of this episode posted by the end of Sunday.