The black Harley Davidson rides onto the parking lot of the Sunset Motel, followed by the Chevrolet Impala that Sam is driving. Zoë hasn't said a word to him since she found Taylor at the Dawlson home. Both of them gave a statement to the local police, which felt strange, since Zoë had to keep pretending to be a fed, as she already identified herself to them like Agent Evans earlier that day. Luckily Sam improvised and said he was her partner. They both kept the cops in the dark, hoping they wouldn't be making their ghost hunting work more difficult then it already is. Sam also talked to Jeff Dawlson. The poor guy was a mess, but the widower made clear that he knows that this wasn't just some ordinary murder. No screaming, the windows which didn't break, the door that didn't open and suddenly they all did as if a button was pushed. Even for a skeptic down to earth guy like Jeff, this was obviously not from their world. So Sam told him, everything about Laura, all that they know. Jeff took it quite well, even thanked them for their attempt to save his wife, but he was devastated, never to be the same. Without speaking Zoë gets off her bike, takes her laptop case out of the saddlebag and strolls to the entrance, followed by Sam. He watches her as she makes her way to room 17; she's quiet, but keeps a straight face. People passing by don't notice anything about Zo, but Sam somehow knows this is messing with her head. She slips the room key in the lock and opens the door. As she expected, Dean is obviously present. A McDonald's bag and several paper wraps are spread out over the floor and loud music is playing from the radio. Dean who is probably freshing up in the bathroom, apparently didn't hear them come in, because he keeps singing along with the song.
"… There's a lot of people sayin' we'd be better off dead. Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them. So I try to forget it, any way I can. Keep on rockin' in the free world!", he sings loudly.
His younger brother halts and raises his eyebrow. Finding Dean inside Zoë's apartment is one thing, but this would be so amusing if the circumstances wouldn't make it awkward. Zoë isn't in for the fun either and she slams on the bathroom door.
"Hey Neil Young, shut your pinhole, will ya", she comments without the slightest laugh.
They hear a glass breaking on the bathroom floor and Zoë rolls her eyes while sighing deeply.
"Crap", Dean curses softly, then sets up a voice loud enough for Zoë to hear it. "Sorry!"

Without responding she walks away from the door and turns down the volume of the radio completely, leaving them all in a deadly silence. As Sam picks up the wraps from the floor, Dean pops his head around the corner.
"What the hell are you doing here?", he asks them both, when he notices his brother by the door.
"I could ask you the same thing", Sam returns.
"I let him break in", Zoë says before Dean can answer.
"Didn't expect you two to be back anytime soon", he comments, walking out of the bathroom while buttoning his white shirt.
"Something occurred at the Dawlsons", Sam responds shortly, looking away.
His elder brother halts and looks from Sam to Zoë, who sits down on the bed and just stares at nothing, not looking particularly happy. Zoë can feel his unspoken question and decides to answer.
"She's dead".
Dean expected something like that when he felt the mood they're both in, but it still comes as a shock. All he can do is stare at her.
"Dead as in hit-by-a-car-dead or killed-by-a-ghost-dead?", he asks carefully.
She doesn't answer, words aren't necessary. When she glares into his eyes, he knows enough. He sighs deeply and looks away, shaking his head; well, this is unfortunate. A depressing silence fills the motel room.
"How did you find out?", Dean asks seriously.
"I had a vision", Sam explains from their behalf.
Both Zoë and Dean look up at him, a bit stunned by his statement. Zoë isn't surprised that Sam had one, she knew that of course. What she didn't knew was that Sam told his brother about his ability, which she presumes as he just blurred it out like that.
"You fell asleep or somethin'?", Dean questions with the knowledge that Sam only sees these strange things during the night in the form of nightmares.

"No, this was the first time he had one like that", Zoë answers before Sam does.
Now Dean turns towards her, surprised to hear that she's all up to date with Sam's special abilities. Disbelieving, he glares at his brother.
"You told her?", he cries out.
"Yeah, so? What's the big deal?", Sam returns defensive.
"You wanna know what the big deal is? If this gets public amongst hunters, some of them might seriously keep an eye on you, Sam!", he snipes.
"It's safe with me, Dean", Zoë tries to cool it.
"That's not what this is about", he turns his back at his younger brother. "He doesn't realizes how dangerous this could be".
"Don't talk like I'm not even here, Dean", Sam huffs irritated.
Zoë's not sure where it's coming from, but she has the sudden urge to defend Sam. Dean is the one in this room who's in the dark about this, not them.
"Like you have a clue what's going on", she jumps in to protect the youngest. "I think hunters are the last ones on earth you should worry about".
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?", Dean wants to know.
"Haven't you wondered where this is coming from?", she looks up at him, waiting for an answer.
Silence. It might not have yet occurred to Dean though, but Sam and Zoë have thought of it constantly. People, normal random people, shouldn't be having visions about the future or the past. It's not normal, it's not human. Dean however, decides to ignore her notification and points his finger at his younger brother in the way a father would do to his son.
"You shut up about this", he warns. "If you wanna talk about it, talk to me".

"Don't treat me like you're Dad!", Sam snipes.
Zoë rolls her eyes as soon as the guy is mentioned. She turns to the window with her hands in her side.
"I am responsible for you and I am the one who needs to drag you out of trouble when you have God knows what on your tail because of this freaky stuff. As long as Dad isn't around, I am gonna talk to you like that, get use to it", Dean returns stern.
Sam huffs and grinds his teeth. He hates, absolutely HATES it when he's treated like a child. It doesn't matter if he's talked to like this by Dad or Dean, he can't stand it.
"I'm not gonna listen to you", Sam laughs cynically.
"Yes, you are!", Dean raises his voice.
"No, I'm not!", Sam dares to overrule him.
"Would you two SHUT THE HELL UP?"
Both the boys stop in their tracks and look at Zo, who got up from the bed. Furious she glares at them, slowly her penetrating eyes move from one to the other, disgusted by their behavior.
"How old are you? Twelve?", she asks mad. "People are dying and you two are actually arguing over who's boss and who's not?"
Sam gulps, she has a point. This is completely senseless, because both Dean and Sam know that neither of them is gonna give up this argument. Even Dean seems to be ashamed a little as he looks down at the floor.
"I'm gonna be honest with you two. If you don't get along, that's your problem, but you're no good to me when you don't function together", she continues, a bit calmer now. "An innocent just died, God damn it".
The uncomfortable silence returns once again as Zoë turns her back on them and paces through the room. Sam and Dean exchange a look; this is really bothering her. Dean makes a careful attempt to find out what's really going on with Zoë.

"What's wrong, Zo?", he asks gently.
Instead of answering, she just shakes her head, telling him she doesn't wanna talk. Slowly she settles down on the bed again and avoids their eyes, folding her hands together and resting her elbows on her knees. For a long while she doesn't speak, but then she starts to open up, just a little bit.
"I was suppose to watch her", she states. "Yet I was goofing around and bored, while she got murdered".
"This isn't your fault", Sam says immediately.
"It is", her piercing gaze looks into his eyes. "I should have known how Laura operates, I should have drawn that conclusion from the first two killings, but I didn't".
"Hey, we didn't see this coming either", Dean brings to mind.
"It doesn't matter. Someone died again while I could've prevented it", she states frustrated.
Sam glances aside at his brother confused. Again? What does she mean by that? With a questioning look upon his face he looks over at Dean and is surprised by what he sees. Compassion, compassion for Zoë. He realizes Dean might know more about he past, as they hung out together for a few weeks many years ago. Dean never actually gave him the details about the case and he didn't think of it appropriate to ask.
"Zo, what happened back then was out of your hands", Dean tries to bring to her.
"Don't go there", she looks away.
"You shouldn't still be blaming yourself for that, nor should you feel guilty about today", he lectures.
"I said: don't go there", Zoë says firmly.
Her eyes warn him as they glare at Dean, but the eldest of the Winchester brothers isn't spooked by it. Sam, a bit disorientated, just looks from one to the other, not following the conversation, while Dean thinks of another way to get through to Zoë.

"Maybe you should step out of the case", he suggests.
"What?", she cries out perplexed.
"It's obvious that you're emotionally involved, Zo. Maybe you should us take care of this one", he explains.
He might say so, but Dean doesn't want her to quit on them. This might just trigger her to talk. They watch how she starts to boil, he really pissed her off now.
"Are you insane? I don't quit on cases, I don't take the easy way out!", she yells.
"Then tell me what the hell is bothering you!", he shouts back.
"No!", Zoë shouts outrageous, as if she's unable to control her voice. "I don't want to talk about it!"
"It's been almost five years, Zoë. It's about time you talk about it. This isn't healthy", Dean pressures.
"I just can't, okay?"
Her voice is suddenly softer now, almost if she begs him to stop. She doesn't look at the boys, but Sam can see her eyes glister. Slowly he starts to get the idea what happened back then and gives it a try to make her feel better.
"Zoë, if this has something to do with that Diligo Vesco demon", he carefully starts off. "Whatever happened, it wasn't you".
"My hands", she holds them up in front of her. "... and his blood all over them. Now don't you tell me it wasn't me".
Confused Sam looks from Zoë to Dean, he's not sure what she's talking about. She spots his confused expression and turns to Dean.
"You didn't tell him?", she asks him.
"I didn't, I wasn't sure if you were okay with that", he states calm.
She takes a deep breath and prepares to say the words that bring up so much pain. Then she looks up at Sam and swallows back the tears. She can't break, she never did and she won't now. With trembling voice, she speaks up.
"When I was possessed, I killed my father".

Sam jaw almost drops, now that's something new. Slowly his image of Zoë changes. Poor girl, losing a parent is one thing, but experiencing their murder like you're the one killing, you don't get over that. Both boys watch her struggle, both know there's nothing they can do to make her feel better. She walks over to the window and rubs her face. Dean can't see the tear run down her cheek, but somehow he knows she turned away to prevent they see her cry. She can't show her weakness, not to them, not to anyone. Dean notices something about her that he recognizes in himself. She's unable to express how she feels, it just hurts too much. It's easier to stuff it away and pile it up, hoping not to have to deal with it, that the pain slowly fades away. But it doesn't and it never will. Zoë sighs deeply and mans herself, then she takes heart and turns back to them.
"We shouldn't be talking about me, guys. Our ghost is getting more violent by the hour, we need to stop this", she reminds them.
Sam glances at his brother, their eyes meet. He knows she's avoiding the subject, but she has a point. Laura might be killing someone right now and he had to leave the Shire residence unattended. Both boys decide to give it a rest.
"You're right, let's focus here", Dean agrees. "I'm gonna get the doctor to talk, I won't take no for an answer".
He grabs his tie from the chair and folds it around his collar as he looks up at Sam, awaiting a follow up from his younger brother.
"I'll check on the Shires and update you about the situation there", Sam suggests.
"Sound good to me. Talk to them too, fire it up a little. Maybe they know more about this possible blackmail stuff. We need information to wrap this one up and we need it fast", she checks her watch and is startled to see that it's almost five o' clock.
"Take the car, I'll walk, it's just a block away", Dean nods at the car keys on the drawer, while struggling with his tie.
"Come here", Zoë gestures him to come close and takes Dean's tie in her hands.
Skillfully she redoes his tie, her hands move quick and it seems like she has done this often. Dean looks at her face. Her make-up has run down a little, it emphasizes her frame of mind.

"Shall I tell them the truth?", Sam proposes.
"Not yet", she tightens Dean's tie and looks up at him. "You try to get to the doc first. We're sure he actually knows something, but that isn't certain about the Shire family. We don't want to spook them".
"Okay, let's go then", Dean picks up his jacket and heads for the door.
"What are you gonna do?", Sam wonders as he halts in the doorway.
"I'm gonna try to get some info on what kind of girl Laura was and who she was close to. Maybe I can find a lead on her next victim", she explains.
"We'll get her, Zo", Dean ensures.
"Hell, we will. Taylor was the last one killed by Laura Shire", she states powerful.
Just after she pronounces those words, the door slams and locks. Surprised Zoë stares at the doorknob, which felt like it was just ripped from her hand. As she slowly turns around, she feels chills running down her spine as the bathroom light starts to flicker. Suddenly the radio flips on, but all she hears is noise as the tuner scrolls through different stations. She breaths out clouds of warm air and it gets ice cold in the room.
"Oh… crap…", she swallows apprehensively.
Seems like she doesn't have to search very long to find Laura's next victim; she's here. Getting a little nervous, she searches the room for something iron, as it is the only pure tin that can fight off ghosts. Suddenly the image of the ten year old girl appears in the corner. Her blonde hair looks blackened, her eyes are dead, but still penetrate hers. The nightgown she was wearing the night she got killed is stained with blood. She makes one thing clear without saying a word; she's pissed. She flickers in and out and suddenly stands right before her. Startled Zoë stares at her for a moment. She has no weapon, no defense; she's screwed. Even though she realize the boys can't hear her, she cries out one of their names at the top of her lungs.
"SAM!"