A/N: Katie might be joining the writing again soon. And character marriage
Chapter Six
"Jackson Minton, opened the hotel in 1940. He ran it with his wife, until he caught her cheating on him. At which point, he killed her." Athena read the computer screen.
"How?" Sam leaned over her to read the screen.
"Slit her throat and then proceeded to remove body parts."
"Bring up her picture." he instructed. Athena clicked the link.
"Who would have guessed, red hair?"
"So our guy is a jealous husband." Athena nodded.
"Looks that way. Did you find the blueprint?"
"Yea, but lets try something real quick." he knocked her hands away from the keyboard and brought up all the articles on the murders. "We need to find out if any of the other women were cheating."
"How did he die, though? Wouldn't it have to be kind of violent for him to come back?"
"Typically, yes. But if he just thought he needed to protect others from that sort of heart break."
Sam and Athena worked over the articles most the afternoon, collecting names of people who were last seen with the couples. When they were satisfied with their list they set off to find the people. It didn't take long to start eliminating names. Sam took half the list while Athena took the other half and they agreed to meet back at their room before midnight.
"Tequila." Athena told the bartender.
"You drinkin' alone honey?" the woman asked grabbing for a shot glass.
"Nah, my sister is coming. She's just late." Athena answered looking towards the door.
"Kinda has red hair?" the bar maid asked.
"Yea." Athena answered drawing the word out.
"She's in the corner, doll face." Athena smiled her thanks before taking downing her shot and heading towards the corner.
"Read my mind." she smirked at her older sister who had two shot glasses sitting in front of her along with a half bottle of tequila.
"Not really." Autumn gestured for her sister to sit across from her, before pouring the drinks.
"Then why are we drinking, sister?" Athena asked setting the folder holding the blueprints on the table. Autumn looked up and Athena knew why they were drinking. On her sister's, otherwise pale, neck was a purple hicky. "So, did Tommy the clerk need more convincing to talk than you implied? Or do I need to kick Dean's ass for touching my sister?" Autumn threw back a shot and poured another.
"Tommy, wouldn't touch me with a fifty foot pole." the older Daemon said a little wistfully. "He's afraid of Dean."
"Autty, you freaked out after Lena's, do you really think you can handle this?" Athena let her worry bleed into her voice and Autumn rolled her eyes.
"If this is that speech about how things have changed since we were kids, save it. I'm having fun and I'm happy. I know it'll have serious repercussions later but, Athena, I've wanted this since before I knew what it was." Athena watched her sister for a beat before turning up her own glass.
"Okay, but be careful. I'm not picking up the pieces of this one and John's going to be pissed if he finds out."
"Teenie, I'll deal with Dad." Autumn assured her sister.
"You know, if John is our dad and Sam and Dean's dad that makes Dean your brother." Athena grinned. Autumn reached for another shot before replying.
"Yea, apparently I have a thing for my brothers. State law says Billy-Jack is my brother, then the fact that John has pretty much taken us in makes Dean a brother." she shuddered. "Athena, I think maybe I should have listened to my shrink a little closer." Athena laughed.
"Yea, well I could have told you that."
"So, the blueprints, whose room is the ghostie in?" Autumn asked tapping the folder.
"Yours." Athena told her sister. Autumn narrowed her eyes and Athena knew her sister was starting to get a little buzzed. How the girl could hold down Jack the way she did when tequila or beer took her out so easy was a mystery to her. "It only goes after married couples, with a red headed bride, and it seems the blushing brides are a little lose."
"Screw the bellboy lose or barely wearing clothes and flirting with anything that moves?" Autumn asked the wheels visibly turning in her head.
"It don't really matter. Anything that goes against the marriage vows, the traditional ones, that is."
"So, if she went to the slots instead of taking care of her hung over husband?"
"Autumn, I don't know."
"Okay, Squirt, I've got Mom and Dad's wedding rings under the trunk. They're in that little oak box behind the holy water."
"Think Dean would go for it?" Athena smirked at her sister. They both downed another shot.
"Dean won't be hard to maneuver, the spirit is another story. Will it fall for something like that?"Athena shrugged watching her sister, chew her lip trying to plot.
"It should. I mean if you can get it in both your minds, I doubt he'll think twice. Besides, you said this is something you've wanted a while. How far do you want it to got?" Autumn reached for the bottle only to have Athena swat her hand away. "We don't get drunk when we're looking for the monster in the closet."
"I thought we killed him already? Isn't that what we did back with those kids before Webler?"
"Autumn, you actually love him don't you?" Athena wasn't sure why she was so surprised by this realization. A big part of why Autumn had trusted John, why she hunted, was Dean. Now, he wasn't even up on the pedestal, Autumn had built for him, and she still would do anything for him.
"It don't matter, Tee. I'm just something to fill in the time between hunting, recoop, and research." Autumn's eyes flashed with hurt.
"I doubt he'd use someone he has to live with like that." Athena told her sister, slipping her hand over Autumn's. "He doesn't have a death wish does he?"
"Dean, please?" Autumn held out the golden band to him. It rested in her palm and he was sure it was going to bite him if he touched it.
"Aut, it's your dad's wedding ring." he argued.
"My dad has been dead for fourteen years. I don't think he's going to be needing it anytime soon." she was already wearing her mom's ring. He'd heard her telling Sam that it was a family heirloom passed down on her dad's side to the first born. The ring held a diamond cut to look like a rose and the band holding it looked like a tiny stem wrapping around its wearer's finger. It was delicate and beautiful, and seeing it on her finger made Dean feel all sorts of nervous.
"Dean-o she's not asking you to actually marry her. She's just asking you to wear the ring, so she can break your fake vows, and the ghost will try and kill her." Athena told him, she was sitting on the trunk of the Mustang knotting and unknotting her fingers. Sam lounged against the car's side watching, with a shit eating grin.
"Yea, Dean. You only have to pretend to marry her, so she can pretend to get killed." he chimed. Autumn started tapping her foot and her thumb worked turning the ring on her finger in circles.
"What are you chicken?" she taunted him.
"Autumn, you're begging to be bait, here." he said trying to take a different route.
"I'm used to being bait, babe. Besides, it's not like anything will happen. You'll be there." a deaf man would have heard the confidence in her voice and he reluctantly took the ring from her hand and slid it on his finger.
"It fits." he mumbled shocked, that it actually fit perfectly on his finger.
"Yea, dad had girly hands too." Athena teased. Autumn slugged her sister.
"You don't even remember Dad, Athena."
"You know, your first wedding was better." Athena smirked sliding off the car.
"It didn't even happen, if you remember I was trying to die in a hospital."
"Yes, but they still had the reception." the younger Daemon shrugged. "I never understood that, but it was pretty."
"Hold up, you were going to actually marry him?" Dean palmed.
"Yea, thought I mentioned that." Autumn shrugged it off like it was nothing. How could she have actually thought about marrying that creep?
"So Dean how many kids you want?" Sam asked.
"Our daughters going to be named Samantha after my sister." Dean threatened.
"We were flukes. The Daemons have only have boys for like two hundred years." Athena announced.
A/N: Okay, so maybe marriage is a little strong of a word... But soon we'll get to the actual hunt and be on our way. I've spent WAY too much time in this one dealing with Autumn/Dean drama and not enough actually hunting... Geeze Lousie, I might have to ground myself.