Disclaimer: How oh how I wish the wonderful world of Supernatural was my own. Sadly its not and I can only claim the characters and places that spring from my own mind, so no Sam, no Dean, and no 1967 Black Impala with trunk modifications…

Chapter 3

Jess left around 8:30, muttering something about work and obligations. She told the boys to make themselves comfortable but that if her house was a bachelor pad when she got home, she would throw her entire book collection one by one at their heads. Smiling warily, they waved goodbye.

"Does she remind you of anybody?" Dean asked. Without waiting for a reply he continued, "I think she might be related to Jo. You know the feminist 'I can too' attitude, the smart mouth and the whole let's play bait thing is freakishly familiar and not just a little bit annoying."

Sam grinned bitter sweetly. Jo was definitely a handful, but his latest meeting with her was one he didn't like to think about. Dean had told him the things he had said to her and even though it was actually Meg saying them he still felt guilty. To top it off, something had happened with Jo and Dean that night, but Dean wouldn't tell him what it was. All he could find out was that "no way!" had he slept with her. Dean was Dean and if he didn't want to talk about it, being tortured by demons wouldn't get it out of him. "I guess there is a resemblance, determined, kind-hearted and good-looking"

Dean glared and shut the door. "Don't start that shit again. You go and keep doing your computer whiz kid thing and I'll start calling Linda's"

"I'll look her up on the net for you."

Dean nodded and grabbed a phonebook. There was nothing wrong with having an old fashioned back-up.

The boys made themselves comfortable, Sam at the table on the computer and Dean leisurely sprawled on the couch with the phonebook and newspaper articles spread around him. Tangerine the cat had regarding Deans invasion of her couch with skepticism but was soon settled on his legs, despite Dean's efforts to move her. Sam called for a break at noon. "Man I need to eat something. Wanna pick up some burgers?"

"Burgers!" Dean scoffed. "Sammy, I believe it was you desiring regular food, I, after that breakfast completely agree. The fridge and cabinets are fully stocked."

"How would you know?"

"Well while you were relieving yourself, I managed to find a few treasures. The woman has homemade cookies and plenty of other delicious, delicious things"

"You are shameless, you know that. You can't just take her food; we are tying to help her!"

"Uh, I believe her exact words were 'make yourself at home' so I am simply doing what she asks. Besides I cleaned up" Dean grinned. "Now be a good little brother and make me a sandwich."

Sam stared at him incredulously "Get off the couch and make your own! When did I become your personal slave?"

"Sammy, we wouldn't want to disturb poor Tangerine now would we," Dean replied, gesturing towards the cat, scratching her behind the ears. She purred gratefully. "I think I might be becoming a cat per…" his sentence was stopped by a crashing noise followed by a brindle colored pit-bull bounding through a previously unnoticed doggie door in the back door. Sam jumped on the table as door dog tore past him and flew onto the couch. Dean sat frozen to his spot as it landed on him. Tangerine however meowed happily and the dog began grooming her head. A woman's laughter brought the boys out of their shocked stage.

"Down Rosalita!" Jess commanded. Rosalita and Sam simultaneously climbed from their perches. "Sorry about that. She's been cooped up at the vet since last night. Apparently she is feeling better. I see you and Tangerine have become acquainted."

"Wha…uh yeah." He picked up the cat, set her down and stood up. "So, um, you're back?" He cocked his head questioningly to the side. "Admit it, you missed me." With that he shot her his trademark grin. With is hand in his pockets, rocking on the balls of his feet he resembled a creepy cross between a playboy and a kid in a candy store.

Jess stared at him for a few seconds before replying "my heart ached for you and I couldn't keep myself away, or wait people are dying and I want to stop them so I kindly bought lunch for the people who are helping me stop this insanity and took off work early so I could help as well. Take your pick." She dropped the plastic bag she was carrying onto the table and grabbed herself and Sam a beer from the fridge. She was just about sick of that guy. There was no denying his attractiveness, or the fact he was extremely competent at his job, but he was exactly the kind of guy that rubbed her the wrong way. i Chauvinist pig. /i she thought to herself.

"So what, I don't get beer now?"

"Sure you do unless you happen to have lost the use of your feet and hands." She turned back towards Sam. "So anyway, I did a bit of research at work on Linda. Turns out we don't have to worry about her."

Dean joined the pair at the table. "huh? Why not?"

"Well. For starters, she's dead."

"Dead?" Sam looked perplexed. "I couldn't find any death certificates. I checked under Connelly and her maiden name Jeffers."

"Ahh Watson, you see she no longer goes by either." Jess began removing the contents of the bag. "Lexington's famous BBQ. Pulled pork, brisket and ribs. There's also bread and coleslaw. Anyway, so I called Mrs. Evans, the town gossip saying something about having found some of Linda's stuff in my uncle's cabin. Turns out Linda remarried and was Linda Sloan when she passed 2 years ago in Raleigh." She watched both boys hopefully, because despite the annoyance she felt for one, she still wanted both of their approval. The ability to again freely speak about the things that had so completely enveloped her life since she was child was a wonderful release. Here were these two guys, about her age and on a daily basis they fought the world's evil, saving lives with each battle. It was everything she had wanted to do since her uncle first introduced her into the supernatural world.

She got it from Sam. "Nice instinct there."

"Ok, well that's good. Well not good, since she's dead but it does make our job easier since we only have to watch Pat now." Dean said.

"Sure as long as we have it right that he's next."

"It's a game of demonic Guess Who?. Which character is the demon possessing? Is it a man? Is he wearing glasses? Flip down those who don't match."

"But it's a start right?" Jess interjected. "So what is the next step?"

"We get Ash to run some data. See if anything is happening between attacks. The demon's gotta be leaving signs somehow. I doubt it's just idly sitting by." Sam replied.

"Stake out asap. There isn't much other research we can do aside from historical events that are no where near here. This bitch is one of the original baddies and I still can't think of a way we can trap her short of making it rain holy water while she's possessing someone outside!" Dean added

"Right then. Let's hop to it boys! Sam you call Ash and then I'll take you guys over to Pat's."

"Jawohl mein Fuhrer! But I think here is how it will go. Sam will call Ash, you will provide me with the address and then you two can research and I will stake."

"But…didn't we go through all of this like 6 hours ago? I'm helping."

"Jess, Dean's right. While there may not be a lot directly linked to your uncle there is still a lot of research to be done. Dean's the best person for a stake out and with 2 of us plus Ash researching we will be able to cover a hell of a lot more ground."

"But, I mean…" her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. Pat runs Lester's Lumber on Oak Street. Just head towards downtown and make a right on Jefferson and then another right on Oak. He'll be there till at least 6."

"Got it. You kids behave while I'm gone now." With a grin and a wink Dean was out the door.

"Is he always like that?"

"Day to day yeah, but when it's down to it, he's 100 serious. When he has a responsibility he never does it half way. It's all or nothing. Years with our dad made him very thick skinned. We weren't allowed to show emotion growing up, we had to be soldiers. Becoming a soldier was a responsibility our dad gave us and so Dean put every bit of himself into it. He may not be socially pleasant all the time but he's definitely the guy you want to have your back and trust me he does."

"Mmm. And you? How did you come into tact and social functionality?"

"Actually because of Dean. He looked out for me when I was really young and did his best to make things a little normal for me. Granted there wasn't much he could do, and our Dad was pretty intent on keeping it that way. But I knew because of that I could have something more and I didn't want to be a hunter, so I left and went to Stanford."

"But you're here now. If you disliked it so much, why did you get back into it?"

Sam's expression changed. For a split second something resembling rage flicked across his face but was almost instantly replaced with sadness.

"I'm sorry, is this is a bad subject? I shouldn't have asked, it's just I wanted to know about you both and how you got into this. I'm sorry. God why do I always open my mouth at the wrong time." The speed talking was starting again. "Sometimes you can't get me to say a word, even if I want, I can't and then when I do the stupidest things pop out."

"Jess, hey, calm down. It's ok, really. When I was 6 months old, my mom died in a fire in my nursery. Dean was four. A demon with yellow eyes killed her. The same demon killed my girlfriend Jessica at Stanford 22 years later."

i Talk about open mouth, insert foot /i Jess thought. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, having never been good at replying to deep but awkward statements. "Well needless to say, I'm glad you guys are here. So shall we call this Ash guy?"

Sam grinned, "Yeah."

Dean pulled up to Lester's Lumber. Zeppelin's "Bring It on Home" blasted from the Impala's speakers. He had gotten several stares as he had driven through town. Stranger in a black car with loud music, small town, it was to be expected.

Lester's was a small building with a large yard and lumber shed. The front was dark green with yellow letters. Through the front windows he could see a couple of customers leafing through catalogs and manuals. A middle aged woman sat behind a counter answering phones and processing orders. He could see a couple of young guys in the yard loading up trucks, but the man Jess has described as tall, tanned, 50's with white hair was no where to be seen.

He was definitely glad to be out of the house. There was way too much estrogen going around. He turned down the music and got out of the car. A bell chimed as he opened the door and the woman at the counter looked up at him.

"How can I help you sir?"

Dean put on his best southern, sweet talk voice. "I sure hope so Josie" he said, glancing at her name tag. "I was lookin to talk to Mr. Lester about a job."

"Is he expecting you?"

"No ma'am. Could you let him know I'm here though? My name's Dean Livgren"

"I'm sorry Mr. Lester is really busy today. One of the boys called in sick and he's helping with inventory."

He could see his current approach wasn't working. It was time to drop names. "Could you let him know that Jess Connelly sent me over here? She said it shouldn't be a problem just to talk to him."

"You're a friend of Jess'? Give me a minute." She got up and walked through a door towards the back. Dean slapped his hand on the desk grinning. The other customers glared at him. He smiled uneasily "I'm goin for an interview." He turned away from them. "Sheesh" he muttered under his breadth. "Can't a guy be excited?"

"So Jess sent you to see me?" A tall, white haired man, presumably Pat, stepped out of the back office.

"Yes sir. I'm Dean Livgren."

"Pat Lester. Nice to meet you. So how do you know Jess?"

"Um, back from UNC."

"You went to UNC and you want a job here?"

"Oh no, I didn't go to UNC. I just lived in Chapel Hill. I'm lookin for pretty much anything to earn a few dollars. I'll stock, I'll load, and I'll sell."

"Can you do inventory?"

"'Course I can."

"Let me make a quick call." With that he returned to the back office. Dean paced the office until he emerged. "Alright son, Jess told me all about you. Can you start now? You can fill out an application later. I need inventory help asap."

"Sure thing boss" Dean grinned.

"Yeah Pat. He's a good guy. Never been in any trouble, just needs a fresh start. Got a broken heart back in Chapel Hill and needed someplace new so I told him to come out here…no he's staying at the motel till he finds a place…thanks Pat, I really appreciate it."

"What was that about?" Sam asked.

"Apparently your brother now works for Pat. I'll admit he's clever. Probably the best way to keep an eye on him."

"That's Dean."

Sam's phone started vibrating across the table. "That must be Ash. Hello?"

"Hey Sam, Ash here."

"SO what do you have for me?"

"To be honest, there ain't a damn thang goin' on within 20 miles of the city outskirts between the dates of the killings."

"What? Nothing! How can that be? Where the hell is she going?"

"For that I ain't got an answer. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do. Thanks man." Sam set the phone down. "Nothing, not a thing. It's like she doesn't exist between killings. I don't get it. We need a strategy, something, anything."

"I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions except keep hitting the books. Dig, deeper, further back. Obviously she is a higher level demon and through the years, someone must have picked up on something else she and Clyde were doing."

"Yeah, but who and where? We may be talking the middle ages!"

"Then I suppose we better start reading more quickly. Get in the car."

"Where are we going?"

"To the library. I manage it and happen to know that we have several very taboo works that had it not been for my uncle's friendship with Debbie, the previous head librarian would not be there." Jess got up and pulled on her jacket with Sam following suit.

"You're a librarian. Didn't see that one coming."

"Have you looked at your surroundings recently? Walls covered in books weren't a clue?"

"Yeah, but I dunno, you seem too young to be a librarian."

"Yeah, since it takes so much education to learn how to organize books. I've been working there for years. Last year Debbie decided to retire and since I'd been there the longest and had more experience than anyone else I got the position."

"Ahh"

Throwing together the pages spread on the table, the two young hunters ran into the cold North Carolina afternoon.

Dean took a deep swig from his water bottle. Despite the cool temperatures he was sweating. His whole afternoon had been spent working with Pat inventorying and moving the new shipment. And damn was it a big shipment. Somehow he didn't mind though. It felt good to do work that didn't involve blood and ectoplasm, even if the whole time he had to be alert to demonic signs. Pat also ran a contracting business and by the end of the day had let Dean know if he wanted to earn a bit more he could come and do construction work, as he seemed to be 'a fine, hard working young man'. Dean in turn thought about it. If he had a normal life, construction was something he could see himself getting into. Maybe becoming a contractor, and putting together the puzzle pieces of a site. i Yeah, 'if' I had a normal life. /i

Pat came back into yard. "Hey Dean, we're gonna close shop. It's 5:30 now."

Dean pulled off his gloves and swung on his leather jacket, feeling the stiffness in his arms as he pulled it up. He was going to be in pain the next day that was for damn sure. "Well, I'll see ya tomorrow then. Thanks again for giving me a shot"

Pat chuckled. "No problem. Actually, we all usually head over to Meanley's. You should come."

"Sure. Wait, what's Meanley's?" Dean asked looking a bit skeptical.

"Ha, don't worry just a dirty little bar on the edge of town."

"Sounds like my kind of place."

Pat chuckled as he followed Dean out of the yard, locking up behind him. The floodlights went out and they were sunk into darkness with streetlights and headlights from the after-work traffic illuminating them.

"Nice car. '68?"

" '67. My dad gave her to me a few years ago. She's been through hell and back but still purrs."

"You like cars too. You sure you and Jess never had a thing? You seem to be her type."

"No, no sir. Nope, never." Dean said swinging his arms like a nervous young guy talking to a girl's father.

"Ok. Well you seem too nice anyway. She had a tendency to go after no-good assholes."

"Mmhhmm." Dean shifted his weight i Oh if only you knew /i Though he did get a sort of perverse pleasure from hearing that despite her cuts at him, he was exactly the kind of guy she wanted.

Pat indicated Dean should follow him. He slid into the Impala, just as his phone began to ring. The name i Sammy /i flashed on the screen.

"How's the research coming?"

i "It's slow man. We're at the library now, there's a bunch of books that Debbie the old librarian got for Ken. You should see this stuff Dean, I mean there are books dating back to when the Saxons still had control of England and they are all about our world. Apparently the wonderful world of hunting has been around for centuries." /i

"That's peachy, but did you find anything about that vengeful demon we happen to be after?"

i "No, nothing serious yet. We did find mention of a historical figure that had the nickname of 'the dark eyed'. Jess is looking into it. How's Pat?" /i

"Well he has no idea anything is after him, he wants to hire me for other jobs and he likes dirty bars. Honestly this has got to be the strangest stakeout in a while. Then again nothing compares to that banshee stake in Wichita."

i Just keep us updated if anything happens. /i

"You too man."

"Sam!"

"What is it Jess?"

"Oh shit, oh shit. You are not going to believe this. I think I found her and it's not good."