Disclaimer: I own no rights on Supernatural and the characters.
Special thanks to Asya 55, you were a great help girl!
This is a rewrite from Route 666.
Have fun! =)
"Hey Hope, what are you checking?" Sam asked on their way to Pennsylvania.
"Some documents from Northwestern College, I applied for a distance learning, I want to finish my studies." Hope said, looking really careful at a paper.
"And, did they answer?" Sam asked interested.
"Yeah! They will tell me later when I can start." Hope said in disbelieve.
"You will study during hunts? What is your major? Urban Legends?" Dean asked joking.
"No, my major is Psychology, but I picked Urban Studies as minor." Hope explained.
"You are kidding!" Dean said; he couldn't imagine Hope as a real student.
"I'm not and I will continue it, during hunts." Hope said happy.
"That's great Hope! How long does it take till you finish?" Sam asked. He was really happy for her.
"About one year on a collage but I don't study fulltime, so I'm planning two years. I had lots of fun at college but I left to be a full time hunter." she sighed.
"Yeah, and now you will finish it, that's great Hope!" Dean said proud, surprising Sam and Hope.
"Wow and I thought you won't like it!" Hope laughed.
"I'm not sure if it will work but you can try, you should finish your studies." Dean said honest.
"And by the way, we must drive to Missouri, an old friend called, she needs help." Dean added.
"Wait, by 'old friend' you mean…?" Sam asked looking at Dean.
"A friend that's not new." Dean said annoyed and Sam continued.
"Yeah thanks! You never mentioned her. How did you meet?"
He asked curious. "Dad and I were in a hunt and Cassie finished college, so we dated for a few weeks. Now you know, happy?" Dean asked annoyed.
Hope was completely silent. Dean and a girl, like Dean and girl in a relationship? Was this really possible? This thought was shocking her.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. But how does she know what we do?" Sam asked and Dean didn't answer, he didn't need to. "You told her. You told her? The secret? Our big family rule number one, we do what we do, and we shut up about it. For a year and a half I do nothing but lie to Jessica, and you go out with this chick in Ohio a couple of times and you tell her everything? Dean!" Sam asked getting angry.
"Yeah looks like!" Dean shouted angry.
...
Cape Girardeau/Missouri
Hope's POV
The ride to Missouri was really quite. Sam and Dean were annoyed with each other and I decided to check the college stuff carefully. It was a good feeling to continue my studies and finally achieving something. Right, I have problems finishing things but I was sure I could do this!
We arrived in the afternoon and Dean couldn't wait to see his old friend, Cassie. We went to the newspaper office, and saw a man and a woman arguing with another man who left quickly. The woman spotted Dean and walked to us.
"Dean." she said and looked at him like she wanted to eat him alive.
"Hey Cassie." he replied and checked her out.
"Atishoo!" I sneezed loud, I froze like hell because it was icy there and I only wore shorts and a top.
"Oh, this is Sam, my brother and that's Hope, a friend." Dean introduced us, as he took his jacket off and wrapped it around my shoulders. It was warm and smelled like Dean. I couldn't resist but smiling as I saw Cassie's jealous face while I slipped into the jacked.
We went to Cassie's house in order to talk about the case.
"Atishoo!" I sneezed again.
"Hey, don't get sick Hope." Dean said in concern.
"I have an idea; I'll go shop for some heavy clothes and check us into a motel, while you guys talk to Cassie." I suggested. I won't stay at Cassie's, I don't know why, but I didn't like her. How she looked at us made me mad.
"Sounds good to me, give her the keys Dean." Sam agreed.
"Okay, but one scratch, only one scratch and-"
"And what? You will spank me?" I cut him off, grabbing his keys.
"It will be worse! Take care of my baby!" Dean called after me laughing.
I drove away and let the engine howl, seeing Dean flinching through the rearview mirror.
...
It was nice to be alone for a while, and spend some time with shopping. I bought a fluffy sweater, boots, and a really nice thick jacked, before I looked for a cheap but comfortable hotel. I texted Dean the address and relaxed on my bed till they arrived, which didn't take long.
"Okay boys, what did this Cassie chick tell you?" I asked them while we were eating.
"The chick, I mean Cassie, told us that her dad died in a strange car accident. There were no crash signs, only the tracks of her dad's car." Dean explained
"Okay looks like we are hunting a ghost truck, great!" I sighed.
"We believe the same, Cassie's dad was the second victim. We will check it out tomorrow. So now, what about the sleeping arrangements?" Sam asked winking.
"You and Dean share a room, I have my own room. Any problems with that?" I asked as I saw them glaring. Both guys shook their heads no, and I left.
...
I woke up thanks to the loud knocks on my door.
"Hope, get up! There was a new accident during the night!" Sam called while knocking hard on the damn door.
"God, Sam it already happened! Give me 30 minutes and buy me some coffee!" I called annoyed.
30 minutes later Sam knocked again. "I hope you have my coffee!" I answered grumpy as I walked out. Sam gave me a big cup of coffee; hoping it would make me nicer.
"Hey you are totally grumpy since we are here. Is something wrong? Or is it cause of Cassie?" Sam asked and I only glared at him.
"Oh, I understand, someone is jealous." Sam smiled and I slapped him, he made me angry.
...
We arrived at the crime scene and saw Cassie and the major arguing. I didn't care much, but the boys listened, so I grabbed my cellphone to check my emails and see if the college answered.
"Yes, yes, yes! They agreed! I can start in two weeks! This is unbelievable! Oh my god!" I screamed and jumped up and down. Cassie, the major and the boys looked at me confused."The Northwestern agreed to the distance learning, I can finish my studies now! That's so awesome!" I exclaimed happy.
"Are you kidding me?" Cassie asked; looking at me shocked. She lost her dad and a friend, I knew it's hard but honestly I didn't care. Did everyone care for me as I lost my parents? No! And I was years younger. I was about to say something, when Sam put his arm around my shoulders and forced me to go.
"Wrong moment Hope, but I'm really glad for you." he whispered and made me giggle.
"Damn Hope, are you completely insane? People died! You really should concentrate on the case!" Dean told me as we drove back to the motel.
"Oh yeah! Like you're concentrating on your ex-girlfriend?" I mocked and got no answer.
"Mayor Todd said that he isn't a racist and Cassie's mother could tell us why. We should talk to her again. But now we should check on Jimmy's friends. Jimmy was the latest victim I bet you didn't get it." Dean mocked back.
...
"She's fearless I bet she kicked your ass a couple of times." Sam told Dean while they were getting dressed.
"What's interesting is that you guys never really look at each other at the same time. You look at her when she's not looking. She checks you out when you look away. It's just an-an interesting observation, in a, you know, observationally interesting way." Sam continued and Dean got annoyed of his baby brother.
"Wow, Sam has a good point!" I laughed, enjoying this. "Okay, you will go talk to Jimmy's friends and I will check out something." I told them about to go.
"What are you going to do?" Dean asked but I couldn't tell him.
"Bye boys, see you later!" I said and left, ignoring Dean's question. I walked to Cassie's place; I had to talk to her mum, I was sure she knew important things that might help us.
...
Unfortunately only Cassie was at home and she wasn't happy to see me. "Hey did you talk to your mother about the truck?" I asked her. Cassie didn't answer, she only looked plainly at me.
"Do you want our help or not?" I snapped, checking out her home but I found no hints.
"I want Dean's help; I don't think you can help me." Cassie said, again looking like a little scared girl. How I hated this look! It was cute for little kids but not for grown up women.
"Sure you want Dean…" I hissed.
"What?!" Cassie asked surprised and shocked now.
"Goddammit! You are an adult but you're acting like a little girl! That's so awkward!" I shouted at her.
"I lost my dad and a ghost truck is killing my friends!" She shouted back.
"I know, you poor little girl!" I said, making her totally mad.
...
General POV
"So, what if we're dealing with a phantom truck? The extension of some bastard ghost re-enacting past crimes." Dean asked as they walked back to their car.
"The victims have all been black men." Sam mentioned. "I think it's more than that. They all seem connected to Cassie." Dean added.
"Right, you should talk to her and you might also want to mention the other thing." Sam said with a grin. "What other thing?" Dean asked confused. "The serious unfinished business." Sam laughed. "Dean, what is going on between the two of you?" he finally asked.
"Okay, we were a little bit more involved than I said. Okay a lot more, maybe. I told her the secret about what we do and I shouldn't have." Dean revealed.
"Oh my god, you were in love with her and she dumped you!" Sam combined.
"Hey Dean what is with you and Hope now? She's acting crazy since we are here." Sam said and again, he got no answer.
...
Hope's POV
"Leave my house!" Cassie said angry. I was about to go as we heard knocks on the door and Cassie left.
"Oh Dean, it's good that you're here now!" Cassie said in this little, poor girl tone again.
"Is something wrong?" Dean asked worried.
"Hey Dean, I wanted to talk to her but she only wants you!" I said and Dean looked puzzled between Cassie and me.
"Hope is right, we have to talk Cassie. But better alone." Dean looked at me while he said the last part, and I got it.
"No worries I have work to do, have fun tonight!" I said and walked away.
"Fuck Hope, I didn't meant it like this!" Dean called but I didn't care.
...
General POV
"I'm sorry; normally she's really nice and mostly easy-going." Dean told Cassie.
"Sure, and she doesn't care for other people or feels my loss." Cassie complained Hope's ignorance hurt her.
"What? Hope can understand you really well. She lost everyone except her sister and she is trying to help you!" Dean said defending Hope.
"Okay, you wanted to talk to me alone?" Cassie asked with a smile, changing the topic.
...
Hope's POV
I was walking in the dark night, I liked the dark and the cool air felt good now. I could see the major, his car was parked aside the road and a black truck stood behind the car. The black truck took off suddenly and I could see that there was no driver. It was the ghost truck and it was behind the major! I ran towards the truck and distracted it until it followed me. I was running away from a truck, great! I tried to hide somewhere but the truck hit me and I fell. I knew the truck would kill me if I don't get up but I couldn't. Everything went dark in front of my eyes and I hoped that the major could run away at least.
...
"Can I see my parents now?" I asked as I woke up, I thought I must be in hell now.
"For sure, but first a detective will see you because of the crash." a nurse told me.
"So I'm not dead?" I asked confused.
"No, you got some scratches and bruises and a bad hypothermia but you are alive. You must have a great guardian angel!" she said, checking my vitals.
"Okay, I will leave this hospital, please." I said firmly. The nurse left and sent me the detectives.
"Hope!" Dean called as he and Cassie walked in.
"Hey, is the major okay?" I asked as I grabbed my shoes.
"He is dead, got killed last night. You can consider yourself very lucky!" Cassie said coldly.
"What? This can't be true! I couldn't save him?" I asked again.
"Yeah he's dead and this isn't your fault. Damn Hope, why the hell did you fight alone with this truck?" Dean asked angry and concerned.
"I walked around and saw the major, what was I supposed to do?" I snapped.
"I have your papers, I need your signature before you go." the nice nurse told me and I grabbed the paper. "Oh shall I call your parents to pick you up?" she asked and I got pale.
"What?" I asked looking at her.
"You asked for your parents when you got up." she told me. I was still looking at her, I almost forgot my parents and I thought the pain was gone but this hunt woke the old demons up.
"And you mentioned a boy, Dean, maybe I should call-"
"It's okay, you don't need to call anyone, and I will go now. Thank you!" I cut her off, she was talking too much. I left the hospital with Dean and Cassie. Luckily I wasn't that much injured and could deal with the pain.
"So you mentioned me while you were asleep?" Dean asked smirking.
"Shut up!" I said and slapped him.
"Are you okay?" he asked worried.
"Yeah, kinda, it's only this damn case; it reminds me of the old times." I said biting my lip. I won't talk about it because Cassie was still there and I'm not a little, scared girl like her. She was completely quite now, and checked out every move we made. Dean wrapped his arm around my shoulders and made me smile.
"You can stay at the hotel, Sam and I can finish this hunt alone. And I bet you have some college preparations to do." Dean said sympathetic.
"This is nice Dean, but I will help you with this damn monster truck!" I replied stubborn.
"Stubborn like hell! Okay I will meet up with Sam, and you get some rest. I tell you everything later. Okay?" Dean asked. I agreed and he gave me a ride home.
...
General POV
"Hey Sam, tell me you have something? Please say yes!" Dean asked as they met up at Cassie's.
"Yes, Major Todd was killed on the property of the Dorian family, who owned the newspaper and Cyrus Dorian disappeared 40 years ago. Todd had the house bulldozed, and the first murder took place the next day.
Got you some information from the witness?" Sam told them and asked back.
"Yup, our witness is Hope, she tried to save him.-"
"What? Is she okay?" Sam cut Dean off.
"Yeah, kinda, I told her to rest now, but we should look after her before she does something stupid again." Dean said smiling.
"Okay, you check on Hope and I'll have a closer look at this Cyrus guy." Sam decided.
…
Hope's POV
"Hey Hope, open the door." Dean asked. I let him in.
"Wow, where's Cassie?" I asked sarcastic.
"Hope, what's wrong with you? Cassie is at home and I'm here to check on you." Dean answered annoyed.
"Wow again, you're not with her tonight!" I replied jealous.
"Stop this crap Hope! Can't you see how jealous you are?" Dean asked and I got silent. "Damn Hope, I like you and I can see how jealous you are. You only have to say one word and I won't flirt with Cassie anymore." Dean told me calm. He was tired of fighting the whole time.
"I'm not jealous." I said hesitantly. Dean looked at me disappointed, and I could feel it. I was weak and couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, I hate Cassie! And I am jealous! I feel like a little child beside her and she knows you well. This totally sucks!" I told him, feeling so vulnerable and lonely.
Dean got closer again and hugged me. "Damn Hope, I didn't know how you feel; I thought it's only a game for you!" Dean said softly.
"No it's not, not only!" I said sobbing.
"Hey, calm down, you are injured, let's sit." Dean said and we sat down on the bed.
"Dean, I can't do this, knowing you were with Cassie last night, now me…" Dean looked into my eyes and sighed.
"Hope, we fought and I left her, went back to my room and was there all night, alone, all night long." Dean said, stressing on his last part of the sentence. "Cassie and I had a thing once, but it was years back, it's over now." He added with a smile. Now I need to take care of you, or you thoughtless babe will get killed!" Dean said and poked me, so that I smiled again, feeling better now.
"Hey, do you remember our first kiss?" Dean asked and both of us remembered the day.
…
It was about one year ago. My injuries from a bad fight were healing slowly. I enjoyed spending time with John and Dean, though I meet them only two weeks ago. I wanted to die during this fight because I couldn't deal with my past anymore, but John Winchester ruined that plan and Dean helped me to feel better; he made me laugh, a lot.
That night, we sat on the sofa and watched 'Mulan' and 'Mulan 2'. Dean wanted to watch a horror movie but I convinced him to watch my movies, I loved them, but I always cry when Mulan loses the man she loved. Which I did this time too. And when Dean saw me, he laughed at me. He told me that this was only cartoon and took me in his arms. I looked into his eyes and told him that I knew it. Dean said nothing. He pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I was shocked and happy the same time. I wanted this and it was a great feeling. I kissed back and showed him that I like it too.
...
"Hope, hey daydreamer!" Dean called snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry." I said smiling and cuddled under the blanket. Without asking, Dean joined me and wrapped me in his arms.
"I was unsure as I kissed you then, I didn't know if you would slap me or not!" he said laughing.
"Oh I didn't know either, but you were sweet and not that rough like other hunters. And you didn't change." I told him, feeling good in his arms.
"Hey little tiger, you know it could be easy with us, we could try it." Dean said, and for a moment I was about to agree.
"Dean, I don't want to put you in danger. Can't we call it friendship? Friends with benefits?" I asked him.
"Could be a beginning, I shouldn't look other women or bang them then, right?" he asked smirking.
"We aren't together so I can't ask you to do this, but it would make me really angry if you got with another chick, just to be clear." I told him honest, feeling a little uncomfortable. I liked Dean's idea!
"Aww, I knew it, I totally knew it!" Dean said teasing and kissed me a last time before we fell asleep.
...
General POV
It was late at night as Dean's phone rang but he didn't even check who was calling. "What's up?" Hope asked tired. Dean snuggled closer to hug her again.
"Nothing we should care about, we have to hunt the truck tomorrow, let's sleep a little bit longer for now." he answered sleepy.
It didn't take long for the phone to ring again, as well as Hope's phone. This time, Dean picked up. "The truck frightened Cassie, Sam is there and he needs our help. Great, that's what I wanted!" Dean complained, getting up slowly.
"Should I call Sam to tell him that I'm coming too?" Hope asked Dean while she got dressed.
"No need for this, I told Sam that you are with me." Dean told her smirking grabbing his keys. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, but you told Sam we are together now? It is 4 a.m. Dean!" I said nervous.
"Hope, Sam knows more than we do, he brought up the topic…" Dean said shaking his head as he started the engine.
"I know, he said stuff to me too." Hope mentioned.
...
"Nice that you showed up, finally." Sam said mad as he opened the door and let them in.
"Calm down, Sammy, nothing happened!" Hope told him and earned a death glare from Cassie.
"Now we are here. Everyone okay?" Dean asked as they took place in the living room.
"The truck showed up, it scared Cassie and left." Sam explained.
"I called you, Dean, but you didn't answer. I tried Sam then and it was nice of him to show up immediately." Cassie said in an accusing and weepy tone, looking at Dean.
"Sorry, I didn't hear my cell phone; I was busy with the case." Dean lied with a little smile while Hope stifled a laugh.
"And, what did you find out?" Sam asked, knowing Dean had lied. "Um, something really interesting." Dean answered, smirking at Hope. Sam shook his head smiling while Cassie and her mom looked confused.
"Shut up Dean, we have a case to solve. We didn't find new information considering to the case. Happy Sam?" Hope asked, poking Dean, who was about to say something.
"For the moment, yes. Okay, Mrs. Robinson was about to tell us something." Sam said. She wasn't happy about telling her story, but she had to.
Her husband Martin knew who the truck belonged to – Cyrus Dorian. She dated Cyrus and was seeing Martin secretly because of their interracial relationship. She broke up with Cyrus and he found out about her and Martin, and he went insane with rage. Then the murders started, but she and Martin decided to get married anyway, unfortunately someone set their church on fire, killing the children's choir. Later that night Cyrus caught Martin and beat him. But Martin broke free from him and beat Cyrus to death. Martin and his two friends disposed Cyrus´ body and his truck, keeping it as a secret, and now all three are dead. She also revealed that Todd was a deputy back then and figured out what they were up to, but covered for them.
"Okay we should try to find the remains and burn them." Hope suggested.
"I agree but 'we' are Sam and I, you will stay here!" Dean told her.
"No chance, I won't let you hunt this thing alone!" she complained.
"Hope, you're hurt and you can take care of Cassie and her mom." Sam tried to sooth her too.
"I'm not a damn baby sitter and I'm fit enough to fight!" Hope complained; she didn't want to be alone with Cassie…
Dean hit Hope lightly and she flinched in pain. "You won't go little tiger, check your college stuff or watch TV. You will stay here and we will pick you up later!" Dean put Hopes foot down.
"You won!" Hope said pouting and walked the boys to the door. "Be careful, okay? I need you boys!" Hope told them worried.
"I'm more worried about leaving you here." Dean joked as they walked away.
...
Hope and Cassie were completely silent, only Cassie's mum tried to have a conversation. It was a really tensed situation, both, Cassie and Hope were ready to snap or fight. Cassie was still interested in Dean and she knew that something was going on between him and Hope. Hope on the other hand, knew what was going on in Cassie's mind and she wasn't going to let her get close.
Hope was glad as Cassie's phone rang and she had to answer a call. But it was Sam.
"Hey, what is going on? Are the boys okay?" Hope asked worried, but Cassie didn't answer. "Hey deaf woman turn on the speaker!" Hope shouted, getting angry. Cassie didn't react, she enjoyed teasing Hope. So Hope grabbed the phone and turned on the speaker. "Damn Sam, what happened?" she asked again.
"Dean has the monster truck after his ass. Hopefully my plan will work… Okay, see you later!" Sam said and finished the call.
"Damn!" Hope cursed silently while she gave back the phone to Cassie.
"You never ask; you take what you want without questioning how other people feel!" Cassie snapped now.
"What?" Hope asked confused, looking at Cassie.
"You always take what you want! Dean and I were about to get close again, but you destroyed everything!" Cassie said what bothered her for a while.
"You are such a selfish bitch! My family is out there, to fight for you! And you snap at me because you want back Dean! I'm staying with the boys for over a year now and we been through good and bad times, TOGETHER. Dean told me he will stop flirting, I didn't ask for it! And now shut up your damn piehole because I can't care less about you and your stupid girl issues, you know what? I will go pray for the boys, I want them back alive!" Hope snapped back and walked away.
...
"They are back!" Hope called as she heard knocks. She opened the door fast and hugged Sam who walked in first. "You got it? This ghost is history now?" she asked and Sam nodded smiling.
"Yeah, Sam sent me in a race with this truck, not knowing if his plan will work!" Dean mocked.
"Right, you can be happy that it worked!" Sam teased and Dean smacked his head.
"Good I'm so glad both of you are back, alive!" Hope said, hugging Dean now. "Staying at home while you are hunting sucks!" Hope added.
"I know babe, sorry, but you are hurt and I wasn't going to put you in danger. The next hunt, you will be back in." Dean told her smiling.
"Um, Dean, we have been hugging for way too long now…" Hope whispered. Everyone was looking at them and Cassie looked like she would explode any minute.
"I don't care!" Dean whispered into Hope's ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Dean, please!" Hope begged. He made her crazy; he made her wanting him more and more.
"Okay, okay, I will stop, after-" Dean smirked and kissed her lightly.
"How did you destroy the truck?" Cassie asked, annoyed.
"Delicious!" Dean said still smirking before he looked at Cassie.
"I hate you Dean!" Hope laughed blushing.
"No, you love me!" Dean teased.
"Oh you wish!" Hope teased back laughing.
"You can be so nice, that's why I love both of you, even with the fact you're totally insane!" Sam said laughing too.
"Does anyone care that I asked something?" Cassie asked angry.
"Keep cool, okay? Sam sent me to the place where the burned church was." Dean started to explain.
"And because it is a holy ground, the ghost truck was destroyed! Well done boys." Hope finished
"Thank you Hope. Okay we are done here and we can go now, right?" Sam asked.
"Right!" Dean and Hope said simultaneously.
"Now you go? That's all?" Cassie asked.
"Yeah what do you expect? That we go out? Or that I will stay with you tonight? I won't! I already told you that we can be friends, nothing more!" Dean declared.
"Okay Dean; thanks for your help, you too Sam. Good bye!" Cassie said coldly. They said good bye to Cassie's mum and drove away.
...
"Hey boys, can we visit Harvard next month? It's Tiny's birthday and I promised to show up, plus I wanna see her teacher slash boyfriend." Hope asked.
"I didn't see Tiny in ages, I like this idea." Sam said.
"Yeah sounds like an idea for a holiday." Dean agreed.
"Great, we have a lot to talk about, lots of catching up! Boys, hunting, school… I can't wait to see her again!" Hope giggled happy.