Chapter Six
Sam turned up his longneck and Autumn tried to ignore Will's jokes. She was busy writing down, word for word, the different ways to destroy a demon. Athena occasionally looked over her sister's shoulder and was surprised at the possibilities Autumn was considering. One solution actually included the sacrifice of a virgin. Dean leaned over the table towards Will and implored for more details.
"It had to have been, what the second hunt after Lena's pack?" Will cast Athena a smile questioning her.
"I guess." she shrugged and grabbed her own beer.
"Right. Well, this guy, who we think is going to be the spirits next victim, is totally checking Athena out. Autumn went over and flirted with him and he just blew her off. So we send little Miss Athena over, I didn't know she'd never done this sort of thing before. She was horrible!"
"Dude! I'm sitting right here." Athena protested.
"I know, babe, but that don't make it any less true." Will gave her pony tail a tug and laughed. "She's talking with this guy and he suggest they get a motel room. Athena spills her coffee in the guys lap and he spends the rest of the day in the ER."
"Autumn spit beer all over Dean when we met up." Athena tried to defend herself. Autumn looked up from her notes, sticking her tongue out at her sister.
"Bite me, Teenie Weenie."
"You taste bad." Athena said scrunching up her nose. Dean seemed to consider biting Autumn and finding out for himself.
"I can't believe you guys actually met up in a bar, without strings being pulled." Will marveled. "I mean with all the lengths Winchester went to, to keep ya'll separated when he was teaching you two." he shook his head. "That man never did make sense."
"No harm no foul." Dean dismissed the topic.
"So, Sammy, you went to Stanford?" Will asked turning toward Sam.
"It's Sam. Sammy is a chubby twelve year old." Sam glared at Will who seemed to be inching closer and closer to Athena.
"Whatever, Sam, you went to Stanford?"
"Yea," Sam paused staring at his empty beer bottle. "A life time ago."
"Know the feeling. You going back? After all this is done of course." Sam shrugged.
"I don't know." Dean glanced at his brother. "What about you, what are you doing now that you're free?"
"First I have to get things square with my sister. After that though," he shrugged. "It's anyone's guess."
"You'll hunt." Autumn said without looking away from her work. "We all hunt. Can't stop, it's a bad addiction with no twelve step program."
"Hunter's Anonyms?" Sam mused. "There's a new program for Jen to run."
"You can't believe that there's no quitting. You said you're done after the demon." Dean interjected. Autumn turned on him a pointed glare.
"What?" the other three all asked in sync.
"Autty, you're a natural. You were born for this you can't just stop." Will argued.
"What about me, I don't want to stop?" Athena asked.
"It's something I'm thinking about and Athena you don't need me. You're a big girl you can do whatever you want on your own." Autumn kept her eyes locked on Dean's, "but you sir, I thought we agreed that was between the two of us." Dean kept up his end of the stare down but didn't say a word.
"Alrighty, then." Will broke the tension. "Why don't I go get us another round?" Autumn shook her head.
"I'll get it." Something passed between Autumn and Dean and both left the table after another round.
"They always like that?" Will asked watching the older members of their party.
"It's a long story." Sam informed him.
"Well, we're celebrating tonight. No room for serious long stories." Athena grinned.
"Exactly! So where are you guys headed after here?"
"That all depends on what Autumn finds in your ancestors journals and what Dad wants us to do. But most likely head back for the Resort, at least for a little while." Sam said eyeing Will. He couldn't put a finger on it just yet but Will was bad news and he didn't want him anywhere near Athena.
"You know what, this is a serious topic it too." Athena shifted in her chair leaning away from Will.
"What are you doing, still having the dog around?" Will asked.
"He's a good dog and better company." Athena shrugged.
"I'll never forget the day you got him." Will chuckled. "They tell you about that Samster?" Sam gave a helpless sigh, this guy could take a hint.
"The name is Sam." Athena corrected.
"Right. Anyway, Autumn had been all bent out of shape because Teenie and I were always together on our down time and she knew no one so Athena gets the great idea that a dog is what her sister needs. We went to a dozen pet stores, must have seen a million puppies. Labs, retrievers, collies, some shepherds and mix breeds," Will shook his head. "We finally end up going back to the first store and getting a rottweiller. The loudest, rowdiest, most misbehaved pup in the lot and the clerk can't say enough to talk us out of buy the dog. 'Rotts are dangerous dogs' he kept telling Teen and finally she hands him the money with a shrug 'I'm dangerous too.' and walks out." Will laughed and Sam and Athena humored him with a few snickers.
"What all is Aut writing down?" Sam asked turning the note book to himself and looking over the list. "Sacrifices, rituals," he read. "This stuff looks darker than some of the things we hunt."
"Yea," Will shrugged. "You don't want this thing going to Hell, you want to destroy it completely, that's a wee bit dark."
"But this isn't sacrificing a lamb to appease the god of war these are people." Will took the note book from Sam.
"Not this one," he stabbed the entry Autumn had been writing with his finger. "This one is just getting possessed and using your soul to over ride and obliterate the demon."
"Yes, and soulless people are going to be around for a real long time." Athena rolled her eyes taking Sam's side. "I think that's the one Jen told Autumn about the night of the fire."
"Jenny'd know about this sort of thing," Will dropped the book back where Autumn had left it. "She was always into stuff like this growing up. Dad used to swear she was a little demented."
"What happened?" Sam asked.
"You mean her legs? I don't know for sure. I'd gone off to college, I wasn't going to waste my life fighting thing no one believed in." Will took a final swig of his beer. "I get this phone call from my uncle saying that Jen had been hunting and been shoved down an elevator shaft. She was out for a couple of days and when she came too she was paralyzed from the neck down. Took almost two years but slowly she regained control of her upper half but doctors were surprised by that. She'll never walk again, I'm just shocked she didn't decide to end things. Hunting was all she ever wanted to do. Dad always told us hunting was a guy thing, not for girls. But you try growing up with Hunters passing through your house constantly and not learn a thing or two." he looked around the bar for the older two hunters.
"Where are they with those drinks?" Athena asked scanning the room herself.
"Backroom or supply closet." Will smirked provocatively.
"You're joking!" Athena swatted his arm. Sam chuckled a little at the thought, he wouldn't put it past his brother. "You two can't be serious."
"Teenie, are you saying you haven't noticed the looks and just the way they've been acting? Hell that little stare down they just had here was obvious." Will joined Sam's laugh.
"They're just…. Autumn wouldn't…" she stammered but every time she tried to finish a sentence she thought of Lena's, then the way they'd been after that. It wasn't entirely impossible.
"You know I mean this with the utmost respect: you're slooooow." Will teased.
"Oh Zip it Ass." Athena slugged him before getting up to find her sister.
"Do you really want to find them if that's what they're doing?" Will asked watching her move to start her search.
"No." she said slowly and sat back down on her barstool.
They fell into more uncomfortable conversation and, though it took a good twenty minutes longer than it should have, Autumn and Dean returned. All three of the abandoned hunters surveyed the returning, no disheveled hair or inside out shirts, not even smeared lipstick. Sam, Athena, and Will exchanged looks and cracked up. It had been a long day, so when they finished their fresh round the five hunters returned to their motel rooms.
Will was waiting in the parking lot the next morning when Autumn took John out for a walk. Autumn ducked her head in the Daemon's room and called her sister out. Dean and Sam were still dawdling in their room.
"We talk?" Will asked when the blond emerged.
"Yea, come in. It's cold out here." she shivered and led Will inside. She sat down on her bed and gestured for him to join her. "So, what'd you want to talk about?"
"Athena, you know what I want to talk about."
"Do you remember our first kiss?" Will nodded.
"Yea, why?"
"I was pissed at you because I walked in on you with Autumn. I had no claim to you and you were just helping her out of a tight spot when she was doing too well playing poker. It had rained three days straight and when I ran back outside I slid in the mud and crashed against the cabin across the way."
"And I chased after you and we both ended up in a heap, soaked, and covered in mud." Will grinned.
"Yea, and I'd busted my nose. So you leaned in talking real soft about how you were going to make it better." She leaned in talking just as soft as he had. "Do you remember what you said just before?"
"No." Will blinked.
"You said 'Let me try something.' Then you," she kissed him. It was a quick, strangled kiss with no sparks. When she pulled away he sighed.
"Nothing?" he asked watching her carefully.
"If you still have that ring, pawn it and get a paint job for that rust machine of yours." she nodded as if this ended the subject forever.
"When I get back home, I'll see about Marc and I going off for a while." he said standing up. "That way we don't have to…" he trailed off and she laughed.
"So we don't have to be awkward right off the bat?" when he nodded she shook her head still laughing. "After everything, I think awkward is a lot better than the past two years." Will wrapped her in a short embrace.
"Take care, Blondie." he whispered in her ear before leaving her there. Will Raining climbed into his old beat up El Comino and drove off, finally with the destination of home. When Autumn and her hound returned they'd be heading out too. Athena sighed and dropped back in her bed.
"If I ever figure men out I swear the world will end and hell will freeze over."
A/N: Amen Athena... Any who this is the end of Next Time. I know it was mostly just Athena dealing with an old flame and we didn't concentrate much on the hunting stuff. But Vegas is up next so warmer weather and more hunting is just a few days away. In the mean time go read Posinchik88's Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing and it's companion Girls Guide to Dating and Loving a Winchester and if you've already read those but haven't checked out Boogeyman, Race to Kill, Burning Family, From the Ashes, or Werewolf Territory (my other SN fics) please go read those. I'm off to start the next fic and as soon as I have a title it'll be up. Love and ApperciationSarah the mutant farm girl