-1

A/N: I've had an icky day so far so I'm going to write, apologize for whatever I do in this chapter.

Chapter Four

Northern Nebraska, May 15th

Athena heaved a sigh and dropped down on the ground, leaning back into her duffle bag and playing with the zipper of her backpack. She was about at wits end with this hitch hiking shit, they made it look too easy in the movies. Hold your thumb up and suddenly four cars later there was a nice couple in a station wagon there to pick you up, she rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure this stretch of highway was abandoned. It didn't take long before Athena's travel worn mind gave over to sleep, drifting in and out never dropping off enough to really reenergize. Her phone ringing startled her out of her current state, she checked the ID afraid Autumn was trying to call again.

"Hey," she grinned into the phone as she answered.

"Hey, Blondie! What are you up to?" Darcy asked sounding to bored for either of their good.

"Oh you know, trying to bum a ride to Canada." Athena said trying to make it sound normal.

"I've done that before, show the truckers a little leg." Darcy teased. "So what are you really doing?"
"Seriously Dar, I'm hitching."

"Where are you? I was going to take a case but I'll come get you guys. What happened to the cars? I thought Dean and Autumn worshipped those things.""Scarlet and the Impala are fine as far as I know. I'm not with them any more; we sort of split."

"I repeat where are you I'll come get you."

"I'm at a cross roads, out in northern Nebraska, but I'm not telling you anything else." Athena was quiet a moment and Darcy was waiting on her to break. "Darcy, you can't tell Autumn anything okay? She can't know I'm hitching, or lost."

"Teenie, why don't you call me when you get to town and I'll come meet you."

"I'll call, if you promise not to tell Autumn." Athena bargained.

"I promise." Darcy swore. "You want to tell me why you've ditched your pack?"

"It's nothing really, this guy I know has gone missing and they obviously don't have any interest in figuring out why or how so I'm going after him."

"A guy?"

"Okay, Will Raining." she rolled her eyes feeling every bit like she was talking to Darcy in person.
"I heard about that, isn't his lap dog, the kid that was orphaned by vampires, looking for him?" Darcy questioned further.

"Yea, Marc's out after him."

"Didn't realize you were so tight." Darcy kept talking but Athena stopped listening watching a large Mack truck slowing down as it approached, the shinny chrome sparkled in the fading sunlight. Painted in beautiful flames on the door was the name Phantom 309.

"Hey, you need a ride?" the driver called kicking open the passenger door. Athena nodded numbly.

"Dar, I'll talk to you later I just got a ride."

"On what?"

"The Phantom," she hung up without waiting on Darcy's response and stuff the phone in her pocket swinging her bags over her shoulder and climbing into the cab.

"I'm Big Joe," the man leered.

"Athena."

Sparta, Michigan, May 16th

"Something is definitely going on where that pond was." Autumn said rolling her shoulders. They'd been chasing their tails all day, she was worried sick about her sister who still was ignoring all forms of contact and she's slipped word to Jen for any hunter who spotted Athena to report to her immediately. It wasn't a matter of not trusting Athena, she did, but no matter how old they got Athena would always be her baby sister and that meant long past death Athena was her responsibility. Dean was tooling around with a hand gun, Sam clicking away on his computer, and she sat on her bed comparing notes in the journals strewn across it.

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Dean snapped. They'd been over the details of what they'd seen at Betsy's farm a hundred times. The ghost dog, the old man that appeared in the barns and would wave, the way doors opened and shut on their own, something was knocking on various walls. Betsy didn't seem upset in the least, she waved back at the old man, took the ghost dog a biscuit, and knocked the same pattern back on the walls. When a door would shut behind them as they toured the barns and old farm house she kindly and calmly asked that it stopped.

"If it's the brother we don't have a body, we'll have to do a total cleansing." Autumn reminded them.

"Cut the girl a break, she's just lost her brother we can't take everything else away too." Sam pleaded.

"Yea, that's another thing," Dean looked up from his gun. "The girl has spent every day of her life with Scott and Iris and she's not tore up at all about them dying. It's like she knew it was coming."

"You think Betsy is in on this?" Autumn asked disbelieving.

"Not like people haven't worked with ghosts before, look at Tommy back in Vegas." Dean pointed out.

"Yea, but he showed signs of distress, he was cracking over it." Autumn said shaking off the memory of the hunt in question.

"What about Iris' little brother, we've not seen him and Betsy said he's pretty messed up." Sam offered another route to take, from the way Betsy told it Bud was taking this harder than he should have, even if he'd already lost a brother. The boy wasn't doing anything, his parents were considering hospitalization.

"I'll go talk to him this afternoon," Autumn offered.

"No, Sammy you and that patented puppy look go talk to the Bud. Autumn you and I are going to back to the farm." Dean ordered.

"Why, we've already been there?" Autumn looked perplexed.

"Something is locking spirits down, we've got to figure out what and remove it. Everyone who had died on the property is still there, that's not right." he explained.

"Okay, boss." Autumn bounced off her bed. "I'll get my hip boots and we can go wade through the shit."

"Don't sound so happy about it." Dean shot back at her, sensing the argument that was coming Sam folded down his computer and started slinking out.

"I'm just doing what you said, Dean. Do you want me to come back with something else to do?"

"No, Autumn, but you could at the very least drop the sarcasm." Sam stifled a groan, he hadn't made it and any movement now would attract their attention his best bet was to sit still and wait it out. They'd been at each other's throats all day, and he wasn't sure if it was the hunt, Athena, or that Dean had breached the subject of Autumn's current physical abilities, a good piece of muscle had been shredded back in Rhode Island.

"I'm sarcastic? You're the one that can't get through a simple sentence with out some lame ass joke, is it really so hard to have a normal conversation?"

"With you? Yea, it is. Can't tell what's going to send you into RoboAutumn mode."

"I'm withdrawn?" Autumn gave a hallow laugh shaking her head. "Whatever Mr. Sensitivity."

"Yes, dear. You can be very withdrawn. You seem to have it branded in that little head of yours that I've got some master plan and am only using you." Dean was near yelling level, both of standing now.

"Oh you mean like you think I'm going to get up and leave you for no damn reason?"

"Yes!" Dean shouted, before assuming the 'oh shit' face. Autumn started to reply but her phone rang, all three of the room's occupants stared down at the phone still lying on the bed. "Answer the damn phone," Dean growled picking up steam again. Autumn scooped the phone up and barely registered the number before flicking it open.

"Yea, Jen. What have you found?" With one name the room's atmosphere did a complete turn around.

"I'm e-mailing you the details now, I think Athena's got herself in trouble." Jen said too calmly for Autumn's liking.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Darcy Valover called yesterday afternoon, said she'd talked to Athena. She mentioned that Teenie got in a Mack known as Phantom, I ran a search, because I thought I remembered that name. Phantom 309, is justly named, in the mid 70's the driver Big Joe wrecked the rig saving the lives of a bus load of kids. Phantom and Big Joe were destroyed in the wreck, the kids walked away safe. There have been reports for decades of hitch hikers being picked up by Big Joe and dropped off at a truck stop, now that past five years over a dozen people have gone missing at the cross roads where he crashed. Athena told Darcy she was getting picked up by The Phantom, and that she was at a cross roads in northern Nebraska."

"Son of a bitch." Autumn ran her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes, and trying to find her composure. "Send me the location, I'll head out as soon as I get loaded up."

"Autumn, you're on a hunt, I've got people here who can"
"Jennifer, Athena is mine! Don't you dare send anyone else after her, I'll go all night and be there tomorrow evening if I leave in the next hour."

"You need to call Valover, I told her I'd have you call if anything came up."

"I'll call her when I get on the road," Autumn paused a minute still not looking at Sam or Dean. "Thanks, Jen. I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it, you got me Will back, even if he didn't stay long. This is just payback."

"Ha! If you hear anything else."

"You'll be the first to know." Autumn shut her phone and drew a deep breath.

"Where are we going?" Dean asked not giving her any time to think of a strategy to avoid him.

"You and Sam are staying," she answered numbly booting up her computer. While it started she began packing.

"No, we're not." Sam argued.

"Yes you are. Guys, we've got a hunt here."

"Forget the hunt!" Dean reached for her, crossing the room. Autumn backed away from him, desperately struggling to remember that she didn't need Dean to survive, that she could stand on her own.

"Dean you said yourself we never forget a hunt."

"That was different, Aut, this is Athena's li"

"No its not! Her life isn't at stake here, she's just fine." Autumn cut him off. "I'll be back in a few days. Sam, Jen just sent me an e-mail, you know the pass, go print me off directions." she dismissed him from the room, she could only deal with one Winchester at a time right now. Sam looked from Autumn to Dean who nodded, so gently scooping up Autumn's computer he went to the office to bum a printer.

"Autumn, let me come with you, we'll call someone else to handle this," even though he didn't allow pleading to sound in his voice she heard it.

"Dean, I'm not leaving you," she whispered stuffing jeans in her bag and ducking under the bed to fish out a pair of tennis shoes that had snuck under there. "Don't make me chose between you and Athena either, because as much as" Autumn came out from under the bed, her next words were words she hadn't ever planned on repeating, and weren't meant to be said from under a bed. She moved toward Dean drawing him to sit on the bed with her, shoving her bag to the floor. "Dean, after everything I've gone through I never thought I'd have to say this again. I honestly never wanted to feel this way, I wanted to get through the rest of my life without ever looking at another man. Without ever putting my heart in another man's hands, but you came along and you've reworked everything I believed about men. You've given me some small hope that maybe life doesn't have to be without a white knight and a ride into the sunset." She was fighting not to rock, or go robotic, knowing both moves would worry him. "Dean, when I was a growing up I was waiting to see the Impala pull back in the drive and your family to pour out and rescue me again. Part of me was in love with the idea, that I had the three musketeers out there willing to save me from anything. But a much bigger part clung to the fact that you'd come back. Not John, or Sammy, I wanted you. When I kissed you at Lena's it was like I found a part of me that had been missing, with out even knowing it was lost." she looked down at her hands breaking away from the hold of his eyes. Had he ever heard these words? Was he going to think she was weak if she said them? Dean cupped her chin forcing her to look back at him.

"Aut?" his voice was low and slow, calm and anxious at the same time.

"I don't want you to ever repeat this to me, babe. I love you, always have always will." She waited, and didn't know why she was waiting. Something was supposed to happen now, they both knew something should be happening but neither moved. Their faces hid all emotion, though their eyes were singing with the words she'd just said. After a long moment Autumn drew a deep breath and stood up. "I've got to pack, my sister needs me."

As she gathered her things Dean watched committing ever detail to memory. She'd just made letting her go that much harder. He knew she was more afraid than she was admitting to say what she'd just said. He was thankful that she'd told him she didn't want to hear the same three words come out of his mouth. Dean followed her when she took her bags out to the Mustang. Time was slipping away and worse than lost time he was losing her too.

"She's in Nebraska, I'm going to get her. I'll call you when I do and we'll decide then where to meet. It'll probably be easier for you guys to just start heading back home when you finish up here." Dean fought not to take hold of her, not to beg her to stay, because he knew he'd do the same thing if it were Sam.

"You'd better call before that." he tried to sound teasing.

"I'll call as I know something." she offered.

"No, you'll call everyday." their eyes met and she smiled for the first time that day.

"Okay, I'll call everyday." Briefly he wondered what she'd seen, but if it got her to call every day he really didn't care. "I'll be back Dean, I'm not leaving you."

"I know," he said slipping a hand behind her head and dragging her to him. She buried her face in his chest. "You two will be back in a few days and we'll start kicking ghost ass again."

"Autty, I've got it." Sam said coming up and shattering their moment. He had her laptop tucked under his arm and was brandishing a handful of white papers. "You'll have to really push the speed limit if your making it there tomorrow night." Autumn pulled away from him to face his brother.

"Yea, I figured I would." she took her things from Sam and put them in the front seat of the Ford. "You boys take care of each other." Dean realized then that she wasn't going to kiss him, she wasn't going to say good bye.

"Yea, Dad, watch out for Sammy." he returned his mask going back to normal Dean. Autumn gave a slight smirk and looked at Sam.

"You take care of Dean for me, keep him in line while I'm out." Sam nodded. "Good I'll leave some of Athena's ass for you guys to beat." she said swinging down in her car. She didn't look back up she just started the engine and pulled away. The two remaining hunters waited until she was out of sight before moving.

"Okay, you go see Bud, I'm headed back to check out the farm." Dean repeated the days orders, it was time to get back to work.

A/N: Okay, so the hunts should get well underway in the next chapter. Seer, thanks for the loan of Dar again, I adore her. I'll see you guys in a couple of days with the next chapter.