Anything But Normal

Part 12

Liz pulled her black 2005 Cavalier into the driveway of a small house. She took out her bag and handed Sam a small device, the size of a walkman. "Why do I think this looks like an EMF meter?" Sam asked.

"Because you wouldn't have gotten a full ride to Stanford if you were stupid." Liz replied.

"Liz, I was serious before. I don't hunt anymore." Sam replied firmly.

"You really just stand by and watch when you hear about strange murders? You can just let innocent people die, knowing that you could be stopping it?"

"Liz, you got into this because you wanted to. I was forced to. I didn't get a choice."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Look, I've just gotta run an EMF meter over the house to make sure it really is haunted. I'll take twenty minutes, if that. Stay here if you want."

"I'm not letting you go alone. How are we getting in?" Sam said.

"Picking the lock." Liz told him, pulling out tools to pick a lock out of her pocket, "They're at work, and the house has no alarm system, so we should be alright."

As they entered the house Sam asked, "So why do we think this place is haunted?"

"Charles Maxwell died in this house six months ago. Since then his sons and grandsons, who also live here, keep dying. They were suffocated in their sleep."

"Why would he kill his family?"

"He begged not to b put in a nursing home, but his sons did it anyway. They never visited or anything. Just left him there to die. He's still pissed about it." Liz told him.

"Damn. Sulfur." Sam said going over to the window sill.

"Yep, the EMF is going crazy. He's definitely still here. Let's go." Liz said.

"So what do we do now?" sam asked, as they drove to the beach.

"I'm gonna salt and burn his body tonight." Liz said.

"What're you gonna tell Gavin?"

"That I have a shift at the bar. Which I do. I'm just leaving out the part where I salt and burn his body afterwards."

After they got to the boardwalk Sam asked for Liz's help picking out a present for Jessica. "Do you think she'd like this" Sam asked, holding up a necklace with a simple rose quartz stone.

"I never know if she's gonna like what I get her. I can never tell if she's just lying so I don't feel

bad."

"It's pretty hard to go wrong with jewelry. Now if only I could convey that to my boyfriend."

"What did he get you?"

"A toaster." Sam laughed.

"A toaster?" Sam asked between laughs.

"A toaster. Oh, not just any toaster, either. Oh no, he got me the toast-o-rama 5000. It comes with a lovely carrying case for travel, 7 different pans, and so many buttons that I can't even figure out how to toast anything. Exactly what a girl wants for her 22nd birthday."

"Note to self: no toasters." Sam said.

"Come on, Gavin and Jess are gonna be back soon."

A little while later, Liz was lying on her bed when she heard Gavin come in. "Hey." Liz greeted him with a smile.

"Hi." Gavin said before leaning down to kiss her gently.

"When do you leave for work?" he asked, lying on the bed with her.

Liz looked at the clock. It would be dark soon. "Ten minutes." she sighed.

"You have to work on Jess and Sam's last night here?"

"Yeah, Todd won't let me have off. Why? Are you still afraid of Jessica?" Liz asked teasingly.

"No...maybe." Gavin said sheepishly.

"You shouldn't be. Plus, Sam's here."

"No, he's going to some museum exhibit. Jess is gonna stay here. I don't blame her. Sounds boring as hell."

"Yeah, well, he's a good guy. Maybe a bit of a dork, but he's a good guy overall. And he's good for Jess." Liz wondered about the supposed exhibit.

"Yeah, they seem to really be in love with each other." Gavin commented.

"Jess wants to marry him."

"Really? Like in the near future?"

"Yeah, Sam told me he's already looked at engagement rings."

"Do you ever think about getting married?"

"Yes...and then I resist the urge to vomit. Marriage is just not for me."

"I still don't get it. Why don't you want to get married?" This wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. This was the...geez, she couldn't even keep track of how many times they discussed this.

"The idea of committing to one person for the rest of your life. I just don't get why."

"Because they love each other."

"So what's wrong with just telling someone that you love them? There doesn't have to be a whole big deal made about it. Especially considering most people get divorced anyway."

"You have commitment issues."

"I moved to another state to move in with some guy I'd only been dating for a couple of months. I have commitment issues?"

"So it isn't that you don't want to be with me? You just don't want marriage?"

"Exactly."

"Then promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll be with me until the day I die?"

"I promise." Gavin kissed her. Liz felt odd about making that promise. She knew that there was a damn good chance that she'd die before he even came close.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Crap." Liz said as she checked the time. "I have to leave."

Gavin kissed her again. "Bye."

"Bye."

It was a warm summer night. Liz was wearing just a tank top and shorts to stay cool. Liz began to dig up the grave while thinking about her relationship. Gavin was a great guy. She really did love him. Yet she couldn't help feeling like something wasn't right. It wasn't that anything was wrong with him. He was almost perfect. Almost. He just didn't make her feel safe. He made her feel more insecure about her life. He didn't ever intend to do this. He probably never even realized it. But she always felt like she was going to put him in danger. She really wanted that feeling to go away. She wanted to feel safe. Gavin just wasn't...Dean.

Where did that come from? Liz didn't want to leave Gavin for Dean or anything. She wouldn't do that. Especially considering she's technically only spent a total of about a week with Dean. But she felt like she knew him. He was the only person that she felt safe with. Yes, Sam was there, and she was grateful that she had him. He had made her feel more comfortable, as if she didn't need to hide anything. But it wasn't the safety she felt with Dean.

She couldn't even understand why she felt that way about Dean. It wasn't as if he'd done so much. She'd saved people too. They didn't feel like that towards her. He wasn't the first guy she slept with. She just didn't get it. Part of her was starting to become glad that Sam was leaving. Maybe if Sam was gone, she'd stop thinking about Dean.

Liz's thoughts were interrupted when she saw a beam of light from someone else's flashlight.

"Interesting museum exhibit?" she called.

"Oh, yeah. I get to see a real dead body and everything."

"You didn't have to come, Sam." she told him as he took off his American Eagle polo, leaving him in a wife beater and jeans.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Sam explained as he started digging with he.

"I've been doing this a few years now. I'm fine."

"I've been doing this my whole life. I have more experience and knowledge."

"Sam you haven't done this in years. You're rusty. What are demon repellants?" Liz challenged.

"Salt and Iron."

"EMF stands for?"

"Electromagnetic Field."

"What substances do demons leave behind?"

"Sulfur or Ectoplasm."

"Ectoplasm?"

"Not as smart as we thought, now are we?" Sam smirked.

"Alright, fine. You aren't that bad." Liz rolled her eyes. "Now what's Ectoplasm?"

"Thank you. If the demon is really powerful, it won't leave sulfur behind. It'll leave Ectoplasm. It's this black, thick, good stuff. You probably won't ever see it. I've only seen it once or twice."

"Weird."

"I think we've hit the casket." Sam said as he tapped his shovel on the wooden top.

Sam got out of the grave to get the salt and gasoline while Liz broke the coffin open.

As the body was burning, they stood by drinking two bottles of beer to cool themselves down.

"So how was Dean when you saw him?" Sam finally asked. He'd wanted to ask her for a while now.

"He was good. I told him not to be mad at you."

"So he is mad at me."

"He thinks you abandoned him and John."

"Going to law school is not abandonment."

"I know that, but Dean doesn't get why. He's never wanted normal."

"And what about you? Do you want normal?"

"I don't think I'd ever be able to have a normal life."

"Doesn't answer the question, Liz. Do you want it?"

"No, Sam. I don't want that life. I'd a semi-normal life. A life that doesn't involve lying to everyone I love. A life where I can get married and not worry that a demon will kill my husband. What I really want is a life that involves helping people. I save lives everyday. I like that life. It might not be ideal, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Is that a sufficient answer to your question?"

"Yes, very."

A/N: This was hardly edited or proofread, so please ignore errors. I just really wanted to get this up for you guys tonight. I hope you all liked it. Good news for those of you craving your Dean fix. This is the last chapter that focuses on just Sam and Liz's friendship. We bring back...someone next chapter. I'm not saying that it's Dean (though it could be), I'm just saying that most people love him (or at least I do.) I'll get the next chapter up early next week. As always, I'm a feedback whore. Let me know what you think!