A/N: I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, I know mine passed for better than normal (ie: no blood guts or gore). Now I'm going to lock myself in my room and plot to kill all radio stations that started playing Christmas music at midnight November 24th. It's sick! I already can't wait for the songs to leave. -starts sharpening tiny pocket knife in a meancing way- How much damage can a farm girl from O-HI-Uh do with a pocket knife and an obsession with Supernatural? Probably not very much but it can't hurt to try... Nothing else I'll plead insane, ya'll will back me up right?
Chapter Four
Dean groaned rolling over to find the source of the offensive noise. It wasn't stopping. He hit the floor hard on his knees and crawled to the bathroom door where Autumn had left her pants inside the pocket was her cell phone, screeching to be answered. He cast the auburn haired maiden a weary glance before answering the phone. Had it been any other number, even his father, he would have ignored it but it was his little brother.
"Hey, Sammy." he answered pulling himself to his feet and going into the bathroom so as not to wake Autumn.
"You guys okay?" Sam asked just for a second worry bled into his voice and panic pricked at the back of Dean's mind.
"Yea, we were sleeping. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, go back to bed." Sam paused a second and Dean was ready to shut the phone when his brother spoke again. "Just make sure you have the salt lines down."
"OK, dude. Get some sleep and Aut will call you in the morning."
"Night."
"Night, Samantha." he snapped the phone shut and went back to bed.
"The kids okay?" Autumn asked flipping over to look at him.
"Yea, just calling to make sure we had protection." Dean answered brushing red curls out of Autumn face.
"You told him?" she grimaced forcing herself up in their bed, dragging the blankets with her.
"Damn straight! I banged the hot chick." he laughed, and for a moment wasn't sure if she was going to smack him upside the head or kiss him. She settled for shaking her head and yawning.
"I'm going back to sleep and praying what you said was a dream."
"He was talking about salt, sweet heart." he thought he heard her say 'oh' but wasn't sure.
Dean stole a portion of the sheet from his girl and let her ease into him. The snuggly shit had never been his strong point, it was more of an intermission before round two, but with Autumn it seemed almost right and comfortable. It wasn't long before her breathing slowed down and evened out, he watched her as her eyelids twitched and he knew she was dreaming. It amused him to see her fidget in her sleep, while awake unless she was nervous she barely ever made a move that wasn't necessary. When he saw her sitting so still he always had to wonder if it was natural or if it was the product of the years of abuse she endured. With this thought Dean wrapped a protective arm around Autumn silently swearing no one would touch her again.
"What about the men?" Sam asked as Athena sifted through the computer print outs of the news paper reports. They'd gone to the library and were now in a small restaurant in the more homey area of Vegas. Not the televised area, Sam mused.
"I don't see any real similarities. All just average, middle class guys, taking their brides to Vegas to blow a little cash and go through a couple of boxes of Trojans before they have to settle into running a household, and juggling work." Athena said running her fingers through her pony tail. She twisted it around her index finger and chewed at her bottom lip while her eyes flicked over the reports.
"Okay, so our girls are all pretty, red heads. Why would someone have something against them?"
"Because its fun to piss of a red head." she answered sarcastically. They'd both been on the wrong end of one or two of Autumn's fits.
"Oh yea, day just isn't complete without a threat of bodily harm, from a pixie." Athena poured another creamer into her third coffee and watched him for a moment.
"You sure he said she'd call us?" Sam nodded. He was worried too, but not worried enough to walk into a hotel room where Dean had been left alone with a girl, who he felt up every time he thought no one was looking.
"It's only ten, I'm sure they're fine." Athena shifted in her seat before looking back at the little research they did have.
"We need to run a history on the place. Anyone who died in or around the place last time it was opened." she resolved.
"We taking spirit on this one then?" the waitress stopped mid-step to send him a confused glance before disappearing into the kitchen.
"She likes you." Athena smirk jerking her head in the direction of the swinging doors, Janet, the pretty, busty, brunet had just passed through.
"So?" he asked deciding to take the route of innocence.
"So, it amazes me that you were raised with Dean and partially by Dean and none of that wore off on you."
"She's cute." he admitted knowing full well this was as far as he had to go to shut her up. Dean had ditched him a lot to chase Autumn, the past few months particularly after the Demon bar-BQed her, and Sam had been left to grunt work with Athena.
"I bet they're fake."
"Athena!" he chided only making her cackle.
"Real ones aren't that round."
"Teenie!"
"I bet she'd let you get a feel."
"You're worse than, Dean." Sam said before moving to plan B: ignoring her.
"No, if I were worse than Dean I'd take her for a test drive then give her your number." Athena watched the waitress come back out. "Excluding the test drive I might do that. What do you think, Samster?" he didn't even look up at her, pretending to be engrossed in his print offs. "Sammy and Janet sitting in a tree…" still no response. He'd perfected this game after growing up with Dean. "The silent treatment? That's just lame, dude." she finished her cup of coffee and worked through what remained of her late breakfast occasionally asking him something or saying something completely random in hopes of getting Sam to talk. "You know if I were to scream, I bet you'd talk." she said pulling a wad of ones out of her pocket and counting them out to pay the bill. "Of course, I don't know how quick the cops move in this place. But a poor screaming girl, with some big brooder guy doesn't paint the picture of innocents."
"No one would think your innocent with that number on singles." he pointed out and then kicked himself for talking.
"Hunters tip, but they're still cheap." she said trying to flatten the stack. "You're brother tips the girls well though." Janet came and took the bill a little put off by the mound of dollar bills she'd have to count out and Athena gathered their research shoving it all into her back pack. "Come on, we can start a run on the history before Autumn and Dean even get started for the day."
Autumn stretched out in bed and marveled at how well she'd slept. Somewhere between fighting not to drift back into her hibernation like slumber and actually getting up the previous night registered. That was when the cold sheets next to her sent a pang of fear through her. She strained her ears but couldn't hear water running in the bathroom, or any movement in the room at all. She wrapped one of the blankets around her, cursing herself for being too lazy to get dressed before she finally went to sleep last night. Her clothes had been picked up laid in a haphazard pile on a table, with her cell phone, and the keys to the Impala. Dean was okay, she sighed. If he'd managed to pick up her stuff he was fine.
With a yawn she checked the time on her phone and was startled to find, for the first time in a long time, she'd slept past eight. There weren't any messages, and Dean hadn't left a note so he planned on being back before she woke up. Autumn grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom to dress and make some attempt and hiding the hickey she wasn't impressed to find on her throat. Rafael's necklace was laying on the sink and she tied it on, it distracted a little from the mark but not enough to do any good.
"How'd he even get you to remove the necklace in the first place?" she asked her reflection. When the mirrorAutumn didn't offer up an explanation she tugged on her jeans and found a turtleneck at the bottom of her bag. It wasn't cool enough for a real sweater, and she was thankful this was a midriff, with sleeves that were just barely tacked to the body of the shirt. "You're never going to pass Athena, like this." she told herself aware of the bounce in her right leg. "She'll know before she even sees you." Autumn scolded herself.
"You awake?" she poked her head out the bathroom door.
"Nope, I'm sleep walking." she answered, sarcastically, the blond hunting god that had returned from scavenging for food.
"Fine, be that way." he slid the foam cups of coffee and a bag of Krispy Creams on the table.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked coming out and digging her boots from under the bed.
"You looked wore out." Dean said grinning, knowing he'd been the one to wear her out. "D'you call your sister?"
"No, just got up." she reached for the coffee and he smacked her hand away.
"Call, Teenie before she and Sam start a search party." Autumn stuck her tongue out at him retrieving her phone and dialing her sister.
"Morning Sunshine." Athena's peppy voice came through before the phone could ring twice.
"I thought Sammy was the physic one." Autumn could hear her sister roll her eyes.
"I was getting ready to call, and make sure you hadn't joined forces with the dead."
"No, they don't have very good health benefits."
"Dental?"
"The dental's fine, I just had a beef with one of their doctors."
"Oh, no." Athena was fighting not to laugh at her sister. "Whatever could your problem with the ghost doctor have been?"
"For starters I had to vanquish him."
"My oh my. You just can't keep the salt to yourself can you?" Athena teased. Autumn offered her sister a martyred sigh. "Well, better luck with the vampires then."
"How are you guys doing?"
"The kids, are good Jr. had a cold last week but doc says he'll be good to go back to school Monday."
"Teenie," Autumn whined.
"We're good, on our way to run a work up on the history of your dibs." Athena said losing her sarcasm.
"Okay, we're just getting started for the day, anywhere we should stay away from?"
"Nope, we hit the library over by the residential."
"Aut, you better eat before these things reach their second birthday." Dean warned, telling her to wrap up the call.
"I've gotta run. Call if you need us." Autumn said waving off Dean.
"Adios." Athena ended the call and her sister stuffed her cell in her pocket.
"So what's the plan?"
"We eat our feast of old donuts and bad coffee, then go talk to your buddy down at the front desk."
"Why him?" she dropped onto the bed next to him careful not to slosh the caffeine in the process.
"He was twitchy."
"So, maybe he was do for another hit." she shrugged passing him his coffee and tucking her between her knees to dig through the bag of donuts, in hopes of finding one that wasn't on its way out.
"That would work too."
"We can't make a full day out of torturing Tommy the clerk."
"I'm sure he'd like it if you tortured him all day." Autumn shook her head trying to remember what exactly it was about him.