By the time the sun started to rise, Betty was finally able to sleep. Lee, on the other hand, hadn't so much as blinked since the ghost appeared. She sat hunched over the kitchen table with a thousand yard stare as the image of the ghost approaching her replayed over and over.
Tala came up behind her and squeezed her shoulders, "Lee, you should get some sleep." Lee fought off the urge to flinch as her aunt touched the shoulder she used to ram the door down.
"I could say the same about you," She answered hollowly. With a sigh, Tala retreated and exchanged a worried glance with the brothers as they entered the kitchen.
"How's the shoulder Lee?" Sam's eyes flickered between her sunken expression and injured shoulder.
"It's fine."
Dean made a forward motion fully prepared to speak before stepping back with his mouth shut. Her eyes flashed quickly at the sudden movement but continued to remain silent.
Sam cleared his throat, "We've – uh – decided to stay and help you sort this out, Lee." She nodded slowly in response.
"We were actually on our way out to the store for some supplies. You wanna come?" Dean asked, trying to snap Lee out of her daze.
After minutes of steely silence and Lee's refusal to answer, Sam tugged at Dean's arm and motioned towards the door. Dean pursed his lips and nodded his head towards Lee.
'Let's go' Sam mouthed. He knew that now was not the time for an intervention.
"It's not the same one." She said as they turned to the door.
"Are you sure?" Lee answered Dean with a poisonous glare, "I mean, you were young when it happened was all I meant…"
"My daddy killed that one. He was an amazing hunter and his skills are not to be doubted." She added tightly. "This was a different one."
"What are you guys talking about?" Sam asked with a furrowed brow.
"Do you know why this ghost could be targeting you?" Dean went on, ignoring Sam, "It's either you or Betty because you guys were both in that room."
"I don't know…" She muttered with downcast eyes.
"Hey," Dean crouched next to Lee, "Sam and I are going to make sure this thing goes away. Okay?"
The corners of her mouth were pulled down and she shifted her gaze to him, "I want in. I need to stop whatever is harming my family and make sure no one very thinks of doing it again."
Dean nodded, "Fair enough."
"Again?" Sam said in the background.
"Just let us know if you remember anything helpful," Dean straightened up and saw something flicker in Lee's eyes. But as quickly as he saw it, it disappeared.
"Sure thing."
"What was that about back there," Sam asked once they were in the Impala.
"Her family's been haunted before, some ghost killed her mom when she was six."
"Oh god, that's horrible," Sam's mouth frowned, "Wait, when did she tell you this?"
"Last night." Dean said while easing to a stop at the lights. He looked at Sam and noted the questionable look he was giving, "We were talking on the porch, jeez."
"I didn't say anything!" Sam raised his hands in defense.
"Yeah well, it was a traumatic event for her," Dean said trying to change the subject, "She kinda started crying–"
"Jesus, Dean please tell me you were nice!" Sam pinched his nose.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dean glared.
"You're not always the best at emotional situations." Sam said pointedly. "You're always 'no chick flick moments'." He added with his hands raised to form quotations.
"That's different," Dean took a hard left into the mini mart parking lot and Sam slammed into the door, "And I was a teddy bear okay! You happy?"
"What did you do?" Sam rubbed his shoulder.
"I patted her arm."
Sam let out a choked laugh, "That's being a teddy bear?"
Dean made a face and grumbled under his breath the whole way to the front of the store. Inside, he made his way over to gather salt while Sam made a quick call to Bobby.
Sam clicked the phone shut as he came walking up next to Dean. "Just got off the phone with Bobby."
Dean looked up from a carton of Sponge Bob mac and cheese, "He know about the change of plans?"
"Yeah, he said to keep him posted in case he could help. He's actually taking care of a simple salt and burn a few towns over." He motioned with his thumb.
"That'll be handy…" Dean started to say but focused on something behind Sam, "Hey look who it is." Sam turned as saw Harold at the end of the aisle.
"Maybe we could ask him some questions?" Sam suggested, but Dean was already halfway down.
"Hey Harold!" Dean called. The chief they met yesterday looked up and smiled a greeting when he recognized the two brothers.
"Sam and Dean, right?" He asked, "I saw you both at the dance showcase last night, did you enjoy it?"
"Amazing," Dean motioned his hands like flashing lights, "But I have a question to ask you. What can you tell me about Lee's mom?"
The warm smile dropped from Harold's face and turned into a gloomy sadness. "Why do you want to know?"
"Oh, well Lee was telling me about how her mom died when she was little. She wasn't too quick with the details but she mentioned a ghost?" Dean asked, trying to probe for information, "I just want to know what happened."
"You have to understand, Lee was very young." Harold shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Children have vivid imaginations."
"Uh huh," Dean said unconvinced.
"Neti died of a severe heart attack. She was so young, it was a shame. It must've been difficult for Haleli to process it." Harold said to his hands.
"So she rationalized it as a ghost attack?" Sam asked with raised brows.
"Like I said, children have wild imaginations." Harold shrugged.
Dean clapped his hands together, "Well thanks for your help. It was nice to see you!" The chief nodded and the crease between his brows deepened. To Sam he looked ashamed. Almost guilty.
"He was definitely hiding something," Sam whispered as they left Harold.
"Yeah, wild imagination my ass." Dean said gruffly.
Back at the house, Betty sat on the front porch with a twig in hand. She absentmindedly traced the cracks and lines in the wood. The stuffed tiger was tucked securely under her arms. She remained unresponsive as the Impala pulled into the driveway.
"Hey Betty, you like Sponge Bob?" Dean asked casually. When she nodded, he tossed her the box of mac and cheese.
The corners of her mouth lifted into a toothy grin and she ran inside. Dean turned triumphantly to Sam, "See, I'm a teddy bear!"
Sam rolled his eyes but knew nothing he could say would bring him down. They expected to find Lee still sitting at the kitchen table only to find Tala beginning to cook the mac and cheese for an eager Betty.
"Is Lee asleep?" Sam asked. Tala paused her stirring to give him a quizzical look.
"Lee said she was going with you to the market…" The color drained from her face and went slack jawed, "Oh no," she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked, "Where's Lee?"
"I'm so stupid!" Tala scolded into her hand, "I should've seen this coming… She looked so upset when she came down from the room…" Sam and Dean shared a worried glance as Tala continued to mutter to herself.
"Gramma the food's burning!" Betty squealed and clanged her spoon on the table. Tala jolted around and stirred the smoking pot.
"Look, just tell us where she went and we promise we'll get her back safely," Dean said.
"She's gone looking for Ayashe."
"The chipmunk?" Dean's eyebrows rose into his hair, "Yay tall?" He pointed at his hip. Tala nodded with her lips pinched tightly.
"Why would she be looking for her?" Sam asked.
"It has something to do with her mom!" Dean said with a snap of his fingers and turned to Sam, "Remember when she acted weirdly when we mention Lee?"
"Lee told you about her mother?" Tala asked skeptically, "She rarely tells anybody about that."
Dean shrugged, "It came up, I guess…"
"Well you're right," Tala said with one last look at Dean, "Ayashe's family is a direct descendant of the ghost that was responsible for… You know…" She trailed off and looked pointedly at Betty, not wanting to reveal to much in front of her. "That family isn't the most accepting and Ayashe hasn't exactly made if a secret that she doesn't like Lee much."
"So she thinks that maybe Ayashe had something to do with last night," Sam concluded.
"Please, you need to find her!" Tala pleaded, "What happened to her mother already broke off a piece of her spirit, I can't even imagine how she feels right now. Lee is going to do something she'll regret forever. You saw how she was this morning." Tala looked from Sam to Dean with a trembling lip, "Maybe she'll listen to you." She said to Dean.
Dean felt his stomach drop and felt weight dropping onto his shoulders. He opened his mouth but he couldn't form the words he wanted to say. A deep sigh escaped him as he struggled to answer when Sam came to the rescue.
"Do you know where she could be?"
"No," Tala said hopelessly.
Sam turned to Dean, "I know who we could ask, but you're not gonna like it." With a pointed look, Dean tilted his head back with a glare.
"You can't be serious. Don't tell me it's Ruby."
"Dean, she helped me find you when Uriel and Castiel took you last week!" Sam argued.
Dean's fists clenched and he shook his head. He looked at Tala and the growing fear he saw welling up inside her. He gave a nod of defeat with his eyes shut, "Call her before it's too late."
By the time Ruby arrived, Tala had made sure to send Betty upstairs. She did not want her granddaughter knowing Ruby was a demon on top of everything she was going through.
Ruby sauntered in with a smirk dancing on her lips. She gave Sam and friendly arm squeeze and then a nod to Dean. Spotting Tala, she extended a hand in greeting, "Have we met?" Ruby squinted her eyes curiously.
"This is Lee's aunt," Sam said, "You met her last week, remember?"
"That little southern bunny at the motel? Oh she was so scared it was adorable," Ruby stopped mid chuckle, silenced by Tala's merciless stare. "No offense," She quickly added.
"Look, Ruby," Dean spat, "We don't exactly have time to spare. If you could just do your little voodoo demon thing and leave, that'd be great."
Biting back a stinging remark, Ruby pulled out a map and old matches to lay out on the table. Once she lit the map on fire, Ruby closed her eyes and chanted softly.
"What's happening!" Tala asked with wide eyes as the flames began to climb higher and consume the map.
"Relax, lady," Ruby chided, "Out." The flames were extinguished, leaving only one piece unscathed. She picked up the piece and held it out with two fingers.
Tala studied and recognized the location on the map. "It's a warehouse across town," She said while looking at Dean. He only acknowledged her with a nod as he watched Ruby whisper something in Sam's ear.
He saw her flash a smirk as he shook his head. After a few more whispered words, Ruby pulled back and sighed in defeat, "Well I'm off, hope you find your girl. You owe me!" She pointed at Sam and then flashed a smile at Tala, "Nice meeting you!"
Sam frowned at the uneasy glare Dean was giving him, "What?"
"Nothing," Dean made his way to the door, "We're wasting time."
Sam shook his head still wondering why he could be surprised by Dean's moody behavior, "We'll be back soon," He promised Tala and followed his brother out the door.
"Be careful!" She said and followed them to the door. She continued to watch as they pulled away from the curb, praying and clutching her heart that all would be well.
Up at the warehouse, Lee stood towering over Ayashe as she lay tied up with rope to an old waterline pipe. A cut on her cheek and a slow purpling eye gave evidence that this was not a consensual meeting.
Lee started to pace across the floor, clenching and unclenching her fist against her mouth. Blood trickled from Ayashe's raw wrists and she continued to pull at the threads of the rope. The sound of a car crunching gravel went unnoticed by Lee but Ayashe was ready and kept an eye on a rusted pipe nearby.
"Stop your fidgetin'!" Lee hollered. Ayashe cried out as she clamped down on a fistful of hair, "You are gonna answer my questions truthfully! You hear!"
"I don't know what you're talking about you crazy bitch!" Ayashe spat, "You're so pathetic! Just like you're moth–" She felt her cheek sting like a razor cut as her head spun to the side.
"If you know what's good for you," Lee seethed with her hand still raised in the air, "You'll keep your mouth zipped about my mama." Ayashe let out a wail from a late onset of pain and clutch her face in a fetal position.
Lee prepared to bring down another blow when the door's burst open and the Winchester brothers thundered in, "Lee, stop!" Dean shouted.
She spun around to face them, "What are you doin' here! This ain't your business!"
"You don't want to do this," Sam pleaded, "She's not responsible. This isn't you!"
A small parcel landed at their feet with a soft thud. Dean reach down and out spilled a mix of bones, feathers, and ashes, "A hex bag," He gave it to Sam.
"Don't you dare tell me she's not responsible!" Lee shrilled and turned to Ayashe, "It's her fault! It's always been her fault! Her and her demonic family so obsessed with cultural purity. Everyone knows your mother unleashed that ghost on my mama!" Dean motioned for Sam to start inching closer to Lee.
"And now it's happening again! Why can't you leave my family alone?" Lee grabbed at Ayashe's collar, nearly lifting her small frame off the ground, "Haven't we been through enough? Why Betty? She's a child!" Lee threw her down like a bag of potatoes.
"Lee it wasn't her!" Sam said. He and Dean stopped their movements as she turned to face them. Her face was twisted in a trembling frown and tears welled around her eyes.
"Don't you see?" She choked, "The only way my family will be left in peace is if she dies!" Behind Lee, Ayashe cried in protest and increased her struggle with the ropes.
"Lee it's not her that's summoning the ghost, it's you," Sam said. Dean whirled around and looked at Sam like he had swallowed a sword.
"How dare you!" Lee shouted, "I would never make something as demonic as that hex bag! On my own family no less!"
"What I mean," Sam said trying to inch closer to Lee, "Is that the ghost was after you. Because you're blessed."
Lee froze and blinked rapidly, "Wh-what do you mean?" She whimpered.
"There's a war going on out there between angels and demons!" He said, waving his arms around, "Once you became aware of your blessing... It's like putting a target on your back. A demon put that hex bag under your bed. Isn't that where you found it?" Sam asked knowingly.
"I…" Lee struggled to answer him. She new he was right. The bag was under her bed, but when she found it, all she could think about was what happened to her mother. Lee covered her mouth and sobbed into her hand.
Dean looked at Sam, "How do you know this?"
"Ruby told me before she left," Sam answered, "She said to look for traces of sulfur on the bag, and sure enough it's there."
"And you didn't think to let me in on that tidbit of information?" Dean hissed. "Way to keep me in the dark!"
"We didn't have time," Sam argued.
"Oh yeah because there was no time at all on the way here," Dean let out a humorless laugh, "I told you, I don't like you keeping things to yourself. I bet my life that this wasn't all Ruby told you either."
This is not the time, Dean." Sam glared.
Before Dean could argue further, a metal scraping alerted them. Lee had picked up the metal pipe and was making her way towards Ayashe.
"What are you doing!" She cried, "They just said–"
"I don't believe them. Sam's lying." Lee raised the pipe like a bat and looked down on her with empty eyes, "Even if he wasn't, you're still responsible for my mama."
Ayashe screamed and shut her eyes as Lee started to swing down the pipe. Feeling a lack of sudden pain, she opened her eyes to see Lee glaring at Sam while struggling to yank the pipe out of his hand.
"Don't touch me!" Lee spat. Sam almost recoiled at the venom in her words.
"I'm not!"
"I saw you, Sam" She said in a lowered voice, "With Ruby. You're practically a demon as well." Sam froze, unaware that she had witnessed him drinking Ruby's blood.
"Lee," Dean's voice caused her glare to falter but her eyes were still locked onto Sam, "Lee don't do this."
"Who are you to tell me?" Lee asked rhetorically, "Aren't you the one who tracked some demon for revenge as well?"
"That was a monster, this is a girl. A human!" Dean argued.
"She's a witch!"
"No, Lee, she's not." Dean paused to swallow, "You remember what you told me last night? How despite the bad choices I've made that I'm still a good person?" Lee clenched her teeth and continued trying to yank the pipe away, "God may forgive me for what I've done, but that won't take away the pain. Lee, I don't want you to live the rest of your life with this pain. Revenge isn't worth it."
Lee had stopped struggling with Sam and was trembling at the choice in front of her. She turned slowly to face Dean. "I don't know what to do…" Dean felt his gut being ripped open. Seeing her eyes swollen and mouth stretched out in a twisted cry made him feel like he was in hell again.
"You know what you have to do," Dean answered roughly, feeling his own eyes sting and ache.
Feeling her grip falter, Sam yanked the pipe clear out of Lee's hands. Lee collapsed in a heap of sobs and Dean rushed to catch her before she hit the floor. He felt her hot tears melt through his shirt as she cried into his shoulder, "You did the right thing," Dean soothed.
Sam had gone to work on cutting Ayashe free from the ropes. She shakily stood up and rubbed her wrists, refusing any help Sam offered. "I'll keep my mouth shut." Ayashe said as Lee continued to wail out her pain. Sam stood frowning at her as she simply turned and headed for the door. Ayashe paused and prepared to shoot a glare of contempt but instead fastened a look of pity at Lee's broken figure. She blinked a look of thanks at Sam and left without another word.
Driving back was silence except for the scattered sniff from Lee in the back seat. Tala burst out the front door and rushed up to Dean as he lifted Lee out the car. "She fine," He assured her as Tala her face with unsteady fingers.
"Take her to the back," Tala ordered, "I have an area set up and the fresh air is good for the soul."
Dean nodded carefully placed her on the collections of cushion and tribal blankets. Sam had followed but chose to linger by the door to the backyard. He felt the wind shift beside him and looked down to see Tala.
"What happened?" She asked.
Sam grimaced, "I think it might be best if she told you." Tala nodded in agreement. "But she did the right thing."
"Oh thank god," Tala breathed with her hand on her heart.
"Is that Leeli?" Betty's eyes grew at the sight of her cousin and Tala moved quickly to shield her from view.
"Betty let's go watch some T.V. okay?" Tala ushered her out with howls of protest from Betty.
Lee remained unresponsive the long into the night and everyone decided it was time for bed. Dean had refused to leave her outside alone but sleep eventually claimed him too.
The moon was high in the sky when Lee was sure everyone was fast asleep. She slipped out from under the blankets, careful not to wake Dean as he snored on a lawn chair. Lee froze as he startled himself awake and breathed a sigh of relief as he snuggled deeper into the chair.
Careful to skip the creaking step, she tiptoed up the stairs to gather her things. Lee bit her lip until she tasted the metallic tang of blood, watching Betty as she slept unaware of her plans to leave.
Lee pressed her lips against her soft forehead and whispered goodbye and hustled down the stairs before anyone could notice.
"Going somewhere?" Lee inhaled and dropped her keys. She had just rounded the corner of her car to see Dean leaning against the driver's door.
"I though you were asleep," She said, crouching down to gather her things.
"I'm a light sleeper." Dean pushed himself of the car and walked until he stood in front of Lee.
"Why are you leaving your family like this?" Dean looked down at her. Lee refused to make eye contact and chose to study to ground.
"What I left a note," Lee countered, remembering the brief note of explanation she left on the kitchen table.
"That's bullshit," Dean scoffed and earned a scowl from Lee.
"It's in the kitchen." She explained, assuming he was referring to the letter.
"No I mean this," He motioned to her bags and car, "You're running away from your problems."
"You're one to talk buddy boy!" Lee retorted. Dean couldn't even muster the strength to cast a stern look and it irked Lee to no end, "Look, I'm a danger to them. You saw what happened last night! A ghost nearly hurt Betty because some demon was tryin' to get to me." She paused and hugged her arms together, "You said this angel blessing was a good thing, but you were wrong."
Dean cringed at the hurt in her voice, "Where are you going to go?"
"I don't know sweet pea," Lee shrugged, "Probably go wrap up some stuff back in Georgia. And then after… I don't know."
Neither knew how else to continue the conversation. In her mind, Lee was protecting what little family she had left. Dean shoved his hand into his pockets and swung back to open the path to her car door.
"Just keep Sammy and I posted okay?" Dean's eyes were fixed on something down the street and missed the smile threatening to escape from Lee. He looked back at her once the door slammed shut.
Lee rolled down the window and leaned back against the headrest, "I'm going to find the angel who blessed me and make him take it back." She mused, "It may be a long shot, but it's worth a try."
"Come with us then," Dean leaned in the window, "I'm sure Cas can point you in the right direction. Besides," He leaned back out, "It's safer out there in numbers, especially now."
Lee closed her eyes and shook her head, "Y'all already got enough demons on your tail without me adding a few more to the bunch," She drawled, "I'll promise to call." She added when Dean opened his mouth.
"Thanks," Dean said with his mouth set in a hard line.
Lee smiled softly and placed her hands on the wheel. The engine sputtered to a start and Dean had yet to step away. He swallowed hard and felt his jaw clench tightly, feeling the cold, early morning air nip at his skin.
Everything began to blur around the edges as Lee imagined her aunt reading her letter and Betty wondering when she'd be back. "Dean," she sniffed, "I can't leave with you so close to my car." Lee chuckled with little enthusiasm.
With a final silent good bye, Dean reach in to pat her arm before walking onto the sidewalk. Lee watched in her mirror as Dean continued to watch with his hand still jammed in his pockets.
"I'll find you," Lee muttered aloud, tearing her eyes away from the shrinking figure in her mirror. She would find the angel responsible if it was the last thing she did.