At A Crossroads

by SeasideSurvivor

Alice and Thalia's lives are changed when they join Sam and Dean in their quest to destroy evil. The four criss-cross the country facing any and all obstacles the hunters are faced with. In chasing after the yellow eyed demon and all their challenges there after, relationships are pushed to the limit. Sam/OC (Thalia) eventual romance and Dean/different OC (Alice) friendship.

3. Pilot

Note from the Survivor: Hey y'all! Before you read this chapter, I would like to thank several people. Firstly, thanks to BadassPurpleNinja, Sherlockian082994, and hewitt. for following this story. It means alot to Mary and myself. Second, thanks to all of you who have read this and (hopefully) spread the word or have clicked onto it for the first time. You're all awesome. Thirdly, I would like to thank Mary, because she was the one who wrote most of this while I tried to watch as many episodes of Supernatural as I could in the shortest amount of time. What you're reading and thinking "Golly! That's the best thing I've ever read!", yeah. She probably wrote it. I wrote the end bit. And some middle bits. And stuck in a few pieces of dialogue or action or words here and there. But this would not have happened without the wonderful seasidewriter1 (aka Mary). So, enjoy! Please review. It would help us fix those little nuances that you can't stand.

Foreword from Mary (seasidewriter1): Wuzzup, everyone? So... this is a long chapter. Like... WICKED long... thirty-something pages. I thank everyone that Survior thanked above, it really does mean alot to us! But I thank HER for writing in the bits I couldn't. I only wrote as much as I did 'cause I had no life this weekend and had to vent some creative tension from the last week XD So, let us know what you think! Tell us if the chapters should be shorter or what not and so on and so forth. READ FORTH!

Disclaimer: We do not own Supernatural (creatures, plots etc.) or any of the characters. We only own our OC's.

1. Pilot

Thalia, now changed out of her Halloween costume, tiredly shuffled her feet in order to move. The party had wiped her out; she, along with Jess, Sam's girlfriend, and Sam and another friend all celebrated Sam's amazing LSAT scores. She had been literally just been about to go to bed-she had her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth and her pajama pants on-when she noticed one of Sam's textbooks on her desk. She knew with his interview on Monday he might want to review some things, so returning the textbook as soon as possible would be preferable; so, instead of forgetting to bring it round the next morning, she grabbed the book, changed into a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and headed for his and Jess' apartment.

Approaching the building, she shivered in the cool night air and yawned. Her hair was tossed into her face and she spat it out of her mouth, tasting the hairspray that it had been coated in earlier. She wished that Sam had taken his stuff home; he had spent a night studying in her dorm a few days before, which eventually became a night of take-out food and light hearted joking. She liked spending time with him, it allowed her to not to put all focus on studying her ass off. She lazily checked for cars before passing across the street, just barely glancing up. She spotted something... off. Something one didn't want to particularly see; two figures slowly sliding through a darkened window. And, in this case, a window she recognized as Sam's. She took off at a run, hoping to climb the stairs in time.

OOOO

Sam floated. All this thoughts were pleasant, the girl he loved was asleep beside him. He breathed out again and relaxed. His life was awesome.

He felt himself on the edge of sleep and was about to let go and fall into the restfulness when he jolted awake. From the next room over came the sound of books falling to the ground. He sat up silently and carefully stepped out into the darkened hall. He didn't want to wake Jess. He peered around the corner and didn't see anyone, just the window the burglar must have opened to get in. His breathing hitched in his throat and he looked around for something he could use as a weapon. Nothing. Floorboards creaked and his gaze darted back to the other room.

He saw a dark shape move behind the bead curtain and another one climbing through the window. Sam darted to the next wall and hid there in the shadows. The first form was going back to help the other jump to the ground. It passed the place where Sam was hiding. Now was the time.

He jumped out and got his arm around the intruder's neck. They fought, spinning each other around, trying to get the upper hand. Like magic, all of his old training came back and he threw punches like a pro. Unfortunately, the other guy matched him blow for blow. They were evenly matched until Sam started to tire. He no longer had the endurance he used to, back when his dad taught him to fight. Demons and the like mainly, but it worked just as well on humans.

Sam was pushed back into another room. He squared up and threw a punch. The other guy went under it and after another breathless minute of dodging and ducking, Sam felt his arm get caught and his body thrown to the floor.

"Whoa, easy, tiger." Light fell on a face that was as familiar to Sam as Jess's. Granted, it looked older and more weathered than it had two years ago, but it was him.

"Dean?" Sam frowned, and his brother simply laughed. "You scared the crap out of me."

" That's 'cause you're out of practice!" Dean chided. Sam's face scrunched up and he flipped Dean over, seemingly effortlessly, utilizing all his strength. Dean laughed again, staring up at his younger brother. " Or not."

"Not exactly my idea," came a voice from the window. "That clotpole was the one who opted for the window." Sam's eyes quickly flicked to a short-very short woman with bright pink hair sitting on the windowsill, arms crossed. She, he didn't know.

" Who the hell are you?" he asked, still out of breath.

" A friend," was Dean's reply. " Get the hell off me." Sam complied, standing up and grasping Dean's hand.

" Dean, what the hell are you doing here?" Sam hauled him up, expression confused. The older Winchester smirked and grabbed Sam's shoulders, shaking him a bit.

" We were looking for a beer!"

" Again, with the stupid ideas..." the woman muttered.

" Sam?" came a soft feminine voice. The light flicked on, bringing the two brothers out of the shadows. Jess leaned in the doorway, brows furrowed and looking tired... and just a bit confused.

" Jess, hey." Sam looked from his girlfriend to his brother, who happened to be giving the blond woman an appraising look. He supposed it didn't help Jess was wearing short-shorts and a cropped Smurf shirt. " Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica."

" Wait. Your brother Dean?"

"No, the Dean from the corner store who has all the reason in the world to be dropping in on you," said the short woman.

"Who are you?" asked Jess, eyebrows raised.

"A friend," interjected Dean again.

"Fine then," she replied, leaning against the wooden window frame, "don't tell them who I am." Dean glared at her then turned back to the blond woman glancing between the pair with confusion.

"I like the Smurfs," he said, looking at her chest where the blue creatures were smiling. He winced as a bottle cap flew and hit his neck. "Hey!" he shouted at his 'friend'.

"I'm just a person who's here. I'm obviously not important enough to have a name." She lounged in her spot on the window fidgeting with the end of her red linen scarf.

" You know... I gotta tell you..." Dean stepped over to Jess, ignoring the jab his 'friend' made. " You are completely out of my brother's league."

Bang, bang, bang!

Three loud pounds rattled the door to the apartment, causing the four occupants to glance around to see who was going to get it.

"Well, I'll act the butler since I don't get a name." The woman jumped down from a window and her height was apparent. She barely came up to Sam's chest. She pulled her navy tank lower over the waist of her neon green shorts. As she passed Dean, she flicked the back of his neck. "Aren't all butler's nameless?" She passed out of the room and headed to the left.

"Other way," Sam called. A moment later, she reappeared, walking the other direction, her index finger pointing the way. The three people in the room waited in silence as they heard the door open.

"Oh, hi." Sam groaned. Just who he had hoped would stay away. "Um... Is Sam there?"

"Yeah. What do you want?" Sam could just smash his head against the wall. He had never wanted to drag her into his crazy life.

"I have a uh... textbook?"

"Cool." Rustling cloth. "I'll make sure he gets this." The door hinges squeaked as they closed.

"Actually, could I come in?" Two pairs of footsteps headed back towards the others. In no time at all, Thalia appeared around the corner and stood behind Jess as the short girl headed back to the window.

"Could someone tell me who that is?" she asked the room, pointing at the pink haired girl.

"A friend," they chorused as Dean opened his mouth.

"At least," the person in question called, "that's what Dean says. Apparently, though, I'm not enough of a friend to get a name."

"You want a name?" Dean asked, anger apparent in his voice, "I'll give you a name." He turned to the women in the doorway. "That," he jabbed a finger at his companion, "is Pixie."

" Pixie," Sam stated dully.

" Yes." Just as 'Pixie' began to say something, Dean interrupted. " It's better than nothing, right?"

"Bite me," she spat, then turned away.

" Okay, I'm sorry, are these the two I saw climbing through the window? 'Cause I came running up here when I saw that," Thalia said, pointing vaguely to a window.

" Apparently..." Sam sighed.

" So, if Jess is your girlfriend..." Dean smirked and pointed at Thalia. " Who's this?" Sam rubbed his forehead, jaw clenching. It was like a nightmare coming true...

" Dean, this is my friend Thalia Fletcher. Thalia, my brother Dean." Sam sounded tired and by the look on his face, he wanted to hit something. That something was probably his brother, but that aside, he didn't look at all happy.

" Let me put something on..." Jess turned to leave the room, but was stopped when Dean said,

" No, no! No, I wouldn't dream of it, seriously. Anyway, I've gotta borrow your," he pointed to Jess, " boyfriend and your," he pointed to Thalia, "friend. We need to talk about some private family business, but it was nice meeting you two." He smiled at the two women and nodded. Jess gave a small nod and Thalia had already been taking a step back when Sam decided to speak up again.

" No." He looked at down at Dean and shook his head. " No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of them." Sam walked across the room and wrapped his arm around Jess' shoulders. He nodded for Thalia to stay put, and she awkwardly drummed her fingers on the cover of his textbook.

" Okay," Dean agreed, turning to face the trio face on. " Um, Dad hasn't been home in a few days."

" So he's working overtime on a 'Miller Time' shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later," Sam reasoned with a small shrug.

" Dad's on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days." The seemingly normal statement made the small smile that had been on Sam's face disappear.

" Jess, Thalia, excuse us." Sam's voice was falsely calm, shaking ever so slightly. Dean grabbed Pixie's arm and began to drag her towards the door, not giving either Jess of Thalia another glance. He squeezed and nodded towards his brother.

"You bastard," she muttered, then grabbed Sam's hand and forced him to stumble along after them. The reached the hall and Pixie gave the hand she was holding to Dean. "You two." She pointed to a doorway. "Go have a heart to heart. I," she turned away and walked to the front door, "will be with the car." Dean turned to his brother.

"I wonder if she realises we have to go the same way."

" Come on, you can't just break in in the middle of the night and expect me to hit the road with you!" Sam told Dean as they jogged down the steps.

" You're not hearing me, Sammy. Dad's missing. I need you to help me find him," Dean explained again, leading the way to the door of the apartment building. Sam shook his head and scoffed slightly. His brother honestly wore on his nerves sometimes.

" You remember the poltergeist in Amherst or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's always missing and he's always fine." Sam froze a few steps from the bottom, which gave Dean time to step onto the ground floor and turn to look up at him sternly.

" Not for this long. Now, are you gonna come with me or not?" Dean asked.

" I'm not."

" Why not?"

" I swore I was done hunting. For good," Sam reminded, voice quiet as not to wake anyone up.

" Come on, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad." Dean turned and walked towards the door, Sam trailing close behind. The younger brother arched a brow at Dean's statement.

" Oh yeah?" he challenged, " When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45."

" What was he supposed to do?" Dean inquired, spinning to a stop at the door. The light from the lamppost outside spilled in, casting shadows everywhere. Sam was being difficult, just like when they were kids. It seemed to be a trait that would always be there, even after all the times he was proved wrong or yelled at.

" I was nine years old. He was supposed to say 'don't be afraid of the dark.'"

" 'Don't be afraid of the dark'? Are you kidding me?" Dean asked incredulously, " Of course you should be afraid, you know what's out there!"

" Yeah, I know, but still-the way we grew up after Mom was killed and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her, but we still haven't found the damn thing! So... we kill everything we can find!" Sam ranted, voice getting progressively louder. He could hardly count how many times this conversation had occurred. And each time, it was a losing battle since Dean always insisted to get the last word.

" Save a lot of people doing it, too," Dean pointed out, face carefully emotionless. Sam scoffed and shook his head bitterly.

" You think Mom would have wanted this for us?" Dean's jaw tightened and he slammed a hand against the metal door that led to the back lot. " The weapon training and melting the silver into bullets?" The two Winchesters marched up the steps and into the garage, where the ever familiar black '67 Impala sat idly. " Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors!"

" So what are you gonna do? Are you just gonna live some normal Apple-Pie life? Is that it?" Dean's voice turned resentful and his expression angered. Sam, again, shook his head.

" No, not normal. Safe." It was Dean's turn to scoff.

" And that's why you ran away."

" I was just going to college," Sam replied, looking evenly at his brother. "It was Dad who said if I was gonna go, I should stay gone." He laughed without humour. "And that's what I'm doing."

"Dad's in trouble, if he isn't dead already," Dean replied, completely serious.

"It's so troubling, even I am worried." Sam turned to see Pixie on the roof of the Impala, lying on her back and looking at the sky.

"Get off, Kenningway!" Dean reached out and thumped her crowning braid. "Oh my God, for a little Pixie, you sure can be a pain in the ass." She waved him off and stayed where she was, long fringe spilling onto the rear windshield.

"Dean is too proud to admit it, but we can't do this alone." Her light grey eyes looked at him and Sam had no doubt that despite her eccentric appearance, she was genuine at this moment. But even so, he scoffed.

"Yes, you can." The girl gave an upside down shrug.

"Well, yeah."

"But I don't want to." Dean threw a glance at Pixie then looked back at his brother. Sam let out a weighty sigh and glanced at the ground. The question was on his lips. But he really didn't want to ask it.

"What was he hunting?" he finally voiced, giving in. Dean's eyes flicked up to his younger brother. And, spying his expression, he couldn't help but think,

Gotcha.

The trunk of the Impala groaned as Dean opened it, keeping it up with one hand. He lifted a plywood panel on the bottom and used a smaller shot gun to prop it open, revealing a lit mini arsenal. The sight-something Sam wished he wasn't familiar with-brought back memories of a shattered childhood, and dragged a sigh out of Sam's lungs. Knives glimmered devilishly in the dim lighting and guns sat still, waiting to be loaded.

" All right, let's see..." Dean mumbled, staring into the trunk. " Where the hell did I put that thing?"

"You have to keep track of your shit," Pixie commented, rolling over onto her stomach, blowing her fringe over to the side.

" So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam inquired, leaning his hands against the trunk opening.

" I was working-"

" We were working," Pixie interjected. Dean rolled his eyes and continued his search through the trunk.

" We were working our own gig. This, uh, Voodoo thing down in New Orleans." Dean pushed aside a few small boxes of ammo as he spoke. Honestly, he had to remember where he put this stuff... although, he wouldn't admit that out loud.

Sam smirked at Dean's comment, eyebrow arching.

" Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" He asked skeptically. Their father, John Winchester, had always been a stickler for keeping his boys with him. The last thing he wanted-no, the last thing he needed was to have his sons killed off by whatever had taken the life of his wife, Mary. So, the news of Dean being turned loose to hunt was not only something of doubt, but was shocking if it were true. Dean turned his head to look at Sam from his angle bent over the Impala.

" I'm twenty-six, dude." There was a pause where Sam seemed to, non-verbally, say 'yeah, right.' Dean turned his attention to what he'd found. He produced a small pile of papers, straightening up to look at it. " So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy-" he held out an article to Sam, "-they found his car, but he'd vanished. Completely MIA."

" So, maybe he was kidnapped." Sam accepted the paper and looked at the man's photo. But, of course, Dean continued on.

" Yeah, well, here's another one in April, another one in December, '04, '03, '98, '92-ten of them over the past twenty years. All men, all same five mile stretch road."

" When your Dad started noticing the increasing numbers, he opted to go check it out," Pixie said as Dean tossed the papers to the side of the trunk.

" That was three weeks ago," Dean said, " We haven't heard from him since, which is bad enough. And then I get this voice mail yesterday." He extracted a voice recorder from his pocket and began to play it.

" Dean, something is starting to happen. I... think it's serious. I need to try to figure out what's going on." The voice of their father was strongly distorted by static, cutting off around that point and becoming indistinct. Then, the static lessened. " Be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger."

" You know there's EVP on that?" Sam immediately asked. He'd been roped into watching ghost shows, mostly by Thalia, but sometimes by Jess as well, so it was sort of like his EVP training had been, unofficially, kept up.

" Not bad, Sammy," Dean complimented with a small smile. " Kind of like riding a bike, isn't it? Alright, I slowed the message down and ran it through a GoldWave, took out the hiss, and this is what I-"

" We," Pixie interjected again. Dean ignored her.

" -what I got."

" I can never... go... home..." came a drawn out, sorrowful female whisper.

" Never go home," Sam repeated. Dean dropped the recorder into the trunk. He removed the shotgun and closed the panel first and then gently slammed the trunk shut. Sam lapsed into thought.

" You know, in almost two years, I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing." Dean leaned against the Impala's bumper. Guilt trip. That was what Dean was trying on Sam. A guilt trip. And... though Sam hated to admit it... it might have been working. He huffed a sigh and looked at his feet. Then, slowly, he raised his eyes to meet Dean's.

" Alright. I'll go. I'll help you find him. But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here." Sam turned to return to the apartment.

" What's first thing Monday?" Dean asked curiously.

" I have an interview." Sam stopped and looked at his brother.

" What, a job interview? Skip it."

" It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate," Sam specified. Dean felt a smirk slip onto his lips.

" Law school?"

" So we got a deal or not?"

Dean swallowed and nodded, looking off to the opposite end of the garage.

" Now, I'd hate to interrupt this... heartfelt brother conversation, but we've had a visitor for a few minutes," Pixie said from her perch atop the slick black car. She jutted her chin to the entrance of the building, where Thalia stood, staring at the trio.

" Oh, shit..." Sam muttered.

" EVP?" Thalia asked out loud, arching a brow. " That's ghost stuff. When you said 'hunting trip' I assumed you meant... bears or deer or ducks." Sam sighed as Thalia began to cross the back lot towards them.

"Welcome to the real world, sweetheart," Pixie yelled gleefully. "Time to open your eyes! Everything you've ever been afraid of that lurked in the dark exists!" She turned onto her back again and threw her hands in the air so they were perpendicular to her body. "Yippee!"

Sam raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"What?" Thalia took a step towards the group. "So, ghosts and all the stuff that's in horror movies, that's all reality?" She sounded extremely skeptical.

"Yup!" The other girl gave a large, upside down grin, showing all of her teeth.

There was a long pause as Sam and Dean pondered what to do.

" Uh, Sammy, I'll handle this," Dean said, walking over to Thalia.

" No, I think it would be better off if I explained-"

" You have to pack."

" How about I do it?" Pixie asked.

" You've had your fun, now-"

" Everyone please quiet down a moment!" Thalia said loudly, holding up her hands. She sucked in a long breath and shook her head. " I can't say I believe you..."

" Look, Thalia, right?" Dean put a hand on her shoulder. " Like I said, I think I can explain this." She shook him off.

"Like hell you will!" She rubbed her hands over her face. "So, ghosts, real?" Dean nodded. "And spirits? Poltergeists? Demons? All real?"

"Yeah," Sam said quietly, looking down at his toes digging into the pavement.

"And before you ask, girlie," Pixie said, "no. Unicorns aren't real."

"Who ever said I was going to ask that?" Thalia demanded, glaring at the girl.

"Well, you are a teenage girl."

Thalia gasped, outraged. "Teenage girl? I am twenty-two!"

"Huh," Pixie replied, squinting. "Maybe I shouldn't try to estimate ages while upside down." She sat up and turned around. Facing the group from the top of the car, she was eye level with all of them. Propping her elbows on her criss crossed knees, she addressed the younger girl. "Trust me, honey, everything out there isn't all cotton candy clouds and sugar dust. There are things hiding behind the lollipops. So maybe you should just turn around and forget about all of this. You won't be able to handle it."

"Me? Not handle it?" By now, the college student was on the verge of breaking down into a screaming mess, the little bitch on top of the car was so infuriating. "I'll show you I can handle it." She crossed her arms and stated, "I'm coming with you."

"Woah, hold up," Dean said, looking at her. "I never said you could come. Truth is, my friend up there is right. You just couldn't handle what we do."

"That is sexist! Just because I'm a girl." Thalia scoffed and stared him down. "You let Pixie go along. She's like, two feet shorter than me! I'd be more worried about her than me." She shifted her weight to her other foot. "Ouch!" She smacked her hand to her forehead and looked down at the beer bottle cap lying on the ground at her feet. "What the hell?" She bent down and picked it up.

"I can take care of myself, thanks," Pixie said cooly.

"That was you?" The other girl laughed coldly.

"No. It was Tinkerbell over in the corner yes it was me." She glared at Thalia. "Now stop doubting me. Or I'll show you what I can really do."

Thalia opened her mouth to shout an angry retort, but Sam put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"If I'm going, I have to go pack." He gave a look to his friend who nodded and stepped down. Then he blew out a breath and headed back inside.

"Okay," Pixie piped up after a minute, "if you really want to come and prove yourself, be my guest. But don't come haunting me when we have to send your remains back to your family in a match box." She slid down to the trunk and then stepped off of the car. She glared up at the taller woman. "Go pack your bags." Then she spun on her heel and climbed into the passenger seat.

Thalia sucked in a breath and slowly slid both hands into her hair, turning away from her new acquaintances and tried to cool down. Truth was... she was sure Dean and Pixie-or whatever the hell her name was-were absolutely insane. And she was worried Sam might be going mad as well. Sure, she thought ghosts could be real, but things like werewolves? It just didn't seem... logical. And, if she had to be truthful with herself, she thought that whatever was up with John Winchester might be the cause of all this insanity. And she was worried about Sam, that was enough incentive to try and tag along.

" So, uh... you always react like that?" Dean questioned from behind her. She slowly turned and looked at him, flushed cheeks cooling down. She smiled slightly and shrugged.

" Not usually-I guess things have been unusually crazy so I sort of... exploded. Honestly? I hate getting mad or overly mad," Thalia told him, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Dean smirked slightly and shrugged.

" Guess we all have our moments. But, uh, would I be right in saying you honestly don't believe us?" Dean quirked an eyebrow and met her gaze evenly. He'd dealt with having to tell people the truth about the paranormal world; barely anyone accepted it in a snap. Well, other than Alice, but she had been abducted by one as her first encounter. A slow smile stretched across her face.

" Not quite."

" Are you going for Sammy?"

A pause.

" What's it to you?" She started to walk backwards, still smiling a bit. " Sam knows where my dorm is. Again, sorry for exploding."

As she turned and walked off, still taking deep breaths and glancing over her shoulder doubtfully, Dean chuckled.

He might just like this girl.

OOOO

Alice sighed. She was stuck in the back seat of the car with the girl who was determined to prove herself. That chick just bugged her. They were filling up the Impala at a gas station somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It never really mattered where they stopped along they way, as long as they ended up where they were going. Sam had claimed the front seat this morning, claiming that his legs always cramped up sitting in back. Dean was inside getting their breakfast: a soda and bag of chips for him and a black coffee for her. Dean tapped the back of the Impala.

"Hey, you want anything?" Dean called, holding up his spoils. Sam, who was looking at their collection of music shook his head.

"No thanks." He pulled his legs back inside the car and shut the door as Dean put back the gas pump and went around to the driver's side. "How did you pay for it, anyway? You and Dad still running credit card scams?"

"All we do is apply," Alice retorted, looking at her black nail polish. "Not our faults they send us the cards." Sam turned around to look at her.

"And what names did you write on the application this time?"

"Melissa Goodhue."

"Uh... Bert Aframian. And his son Hector," Dean added. "You can't exactly blame us. hunting ain't exactly a pro-ball career."

"Oh, God." Thalia groaned. "I'm running around the country with conmen. People who fake credit cards." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm going to be thrown in jail."

"You're the one who insisted you come," Alice reminded her, accepting her coffee with a smile to Dean. Dean had only told them her real name after three hours on the road. He hadn't told them how they had started hunting together yet, either. But she didn't really care. She would follow his lead on this one.

"But really, man," Sam said, changing the subject, "you have got to update your cassette-tape collection." Dean frowned at his younger brother.

"Why?"

"Well, for one, they're cassette-tapes. And two - Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock," he said as Dean grabbed a tape. He held it up to show Alice and she nodded.

"House rules, Sammy," Dean retorted, changing the tape in the stereo, "driver picks the music." He looked over and gave Sam a look. "Shotgun shuts his cake hole." He tossed the case into the cardboard box and started the car.

"Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old," Sam tried to say as music started blasting. "It's Sam." He cringed as the tiny midget started drumming on his seat. Dean turned to him and pointed to his ear.

"Sorry, I can't hear you. The music's too loud." They pulled out of the station. Sam sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was going to be a long car ride.

Hours later, they passed a sign that told them Jericho was seven miles away. Sam, who had been making calls for the last hour or so, finally hung up, turning his attention to Dean.

" Alright, so there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So... that's something I guess," Sam said. Dean gave him a sidelong glance, keeping his face turned towards the windshield. They were coming up on a bridge, which happened to have a few cop cars parked by it. Immediately, Dean's instinct perked up and he became alert, nodding to the scene.

" Check it out," Dean said. The other three in the car craned their necks to see out the window. Dean pulled the Impala off the road and shut of the engine, which made a sound like a cross between a purr and a growl. They all stared at the cops and their squad cars and Dean immediately knew what to do. He lunged sideways and popped open the glove compartment; he removed a wooden box and flipped it open, much to Sam's wary curiosity. Inside were an array of fake badges and IDs. Most of them with Dean's face and quite a few with Alice's. Sam's face went blank and Thalia's did as well. Dean just smiled.

" Let's go!" Dean popped his door open and jumped out, holding an ID and handing the box to Alice. As Sam slowly started to get out of the car, Alice turned her eyes to Thalia.

" Stay here and duck down. You'll probably start shaking like Chihuahua and give us away," She told Thalia, sliding out and pushing the younger woman down behind the seats. Thalia, too exhausted to make a retort, sighed and stayed down, rubbing her eyes. She was starting to think she should have just stayed at Stanford; it beat realizing your best friend might be delusional.

The trio of hunters quickly crossed to the bridge, ducking under bright yellow crime scene tape. There was a car in the middle of the closed off bridge, being examined by two officers in tan uniforms, complete with brown hats and brown leather jackets.

" So this kid Troy-he's dating your daughter, isn't he?" asked one cop, leaning down to peer into the abandoned car.

" Yeah," replied the other cop.

" How's Amy doing?"

" She's putting up missing posters downtown." The cop gave a solemn nod, taking a pause from examining the driver's seat.

" You fellas had another one like this last month, didn't you?" Dean suddenly asked, beginning to stroll around the car. Both cops gave him a surprised look, unsure of why the three civilian dressed people were now standing there.

" And who are you?" asked the first cop, stepping over to Dean. Dean quickly flashed a fake ID, letting the cop get a brief but good enough look at it.

" Federal Marshalls."

" You three are a little... young to be marshalls, aren't you?" he asked, eyes lingering on Alice, who, out of the three, looked the least like any sort of law enforcement. Alice arched a brow and put her hands on her hips, where she'd placed a false badge. Dean scoffed, looking out at the river.

" Thanks, that's awfully kind of you. You did have another one just like this, correct?" Dean and Sam walked over towards the car, looking at the first cop.

" Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There have been others before that." The cop nodded in confirmation, voice carrying above the bubbling and rushing of the river below them.

" So, this victim. You knew him?" Sam took his first turn to speak, facing the officer.

" A town like this, everybody knows everybody."

Dean walked over to the other side of the car, taking his own turn to look at the drivers seat.

" So have you found any connections between victims?" Alice inquired, staring up at the cop. " Other than the fact that they're men, of course."

" No. Not so far as we can tell," the cop replied.

" So what's the theory?" Sam questioned, heading around the back of the car. The cool air brushed his face, making him glad he wore his hoodie under his tan jacket. The cop scoffed.

" Honestly? We don't know. Serial murder... kidnapping ring..." he offered in possible explanation. The trio, now standing side-by-side-by-side, all looked at him. Dean shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at him, eyebrow quirking slightly.

" Well, that's exactly the kind of crack police work I expected out of you guys." He smiled cockily but it quickly faded as Sam harshly whipped his foot downwards onto Dean's.

"Thank you for making sure that I can go to sleep at night with a gun in my hands," Alice said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Sam quickly pushed her over to Dean to get her to shut up and offered an extremely tight smile.

" Thanks for your time," Sam said, starting to walk as smoothly and professionally as he could. He gave a nod to the cops. " Gentlemen."

As Dean began to catch stride with his younger brother, he sniffed and glanced around before giving Sam a solid hit upside the back of his head.

" Ow! What was that for!" Sam hissed quietly, falling into step with Dean.

" Why do you step on my foot?" the older Winchester challenged angrily.

" Why do you have to talk to police like that?" Sam shot back. Alice and Dean shared a look before running out to step in front of the taller man.

" Come on! They don't really know what's going on!" Dean stopped his brother and gave an incredulous look.

" They probably think they're dealing with some crusty old man looking to kidnap people for kicks," Alice grumbled, shooting a dark glare at the cops.

" We're practically alone on this! Sure, we've got Alice, but she's only had two years of this!"

" Hey!"

" Shut up! And we have your friend Thalia, and I'm beginning to think she might have a panic attack! If we're gonna find Dad, we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves with whatever help from Pixie and yes, maybe even Thalia, we can get." Dean met Sam's gaze evenly. Sam cleared his throat and flicked his eyes behind Dean and Alice, causing them to spin around.

There stood the sheriff and two men in suits and sunglasses-actual FBI agents.

" Can I help you boys?" the Sheriff asked.

" No, sir, we were just leaving," Dean replied. " Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." Dean nodded to the agents as they passed. The trio then wove around the sheriff, avoiding his sunglasses blocked gaze.

When they got back to the car, Thalia stayed hidden till they pulled away from the bridge, headed towards town once more. When she sat up, she leaned back against the seat, looking remarkably calm. Dean stared at her in the rearview mirror.

" So, Thalia," Dean began, draping one arm on the back of the front seat, " I know this is all... quite shocking, really. I suppose you're probably thinking about what trouble you're going to get into or what trouble we're going to get into, but don't worry about it. Just... don't call the cops, alright? We know what we're doing." Thalia met his eyes in the mirror and arched a brow.

" Is your Dad actually missing?" she asked in a serious voice, tilting her head slightly.

" Of course he is, princess, why else would we be here..." Alice muttered, staring out the open window. Thalia gave an annoyed roll of her eyes and waited for the brothers to answer. They both nodded and Dean replied in a worried voice,

" Yeah, he is." She nodded and looked out the window for a good long moment. She'd taken the time the other three had gone to illegally pose as law enforcement to actually collect herself. She took note that they had to be insane to do what they'd gone of to do and she had to be insane to actually go along with it. Misery loves company, right? Or, insanity loves company in this case.

" Thalia?" Sam's voice was soft and a bit worried. He'd never seen Thalia explode like she had the night before, and she'd probably been going through the stages of shock... but, hell, what did he know, he wasn't a doctor. Her blue eyes slowly met his. Dean nudged his arm and, sighing, Sam extended a hand to her. She knew exactly what the brothers were asking for-her phone.

" For God's sake, don't take a lifetime to think about it!" Alice reached into Thalia's jacket pocket and yanked her phone out, promptly dropping it into Sam's large hand.

" I was getting to it," Thalia explained, leaning back against the Impala's seat.

" Yeah," Alice scoffed, " right."

OOOO

Jericho was cast under grey skies by the time the four rolled in. Not many people were wandering the sidewalks since it seemed rain was threatening to unleash itself on the town below. Dean drove into the downtown area where one of the cops had said his daughter would be putting up wanted posters. They spotted two girls by a small movie theatre, putting papers up on a metal gate; they figured that one of them was probably who they were looking for, so they parked on the side of the road.

All four doors popped open.

" Whoa, whoa, sweetheart, where do you think you're going?" Alice asked as Thalia pulled herself out of the car. The brunette woman raised both her eyebrows and shrugged.

" If I'm going to stick around I might as well try to help; if we get caught I'm going to jail anyway," she somehow managed to joke, smirking a bit. Alice turned to Dean as if he could attempt to get Thalia back in the Impala but he shrugged as Thalia walked around the bumper of the car.

" So we're looking for this guy's girlfriend?" Thalia cleared up as they all stood on the sidewalk.

" Yep. And I'll bet you that's her," Dean said, nodding to a girl in a brown suede coat.

" Yeah." Sam nodded and they slowly stepped over to her.

" You must be Amy." Dean casually put his hands in his pockets when she glanced at them.

" Yeah," she replied, sticking a poster to the brick wall. She had on thick eye makeup and her clothes were all back-besides her aforementioned coat, of course.

" Troy told us about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy," Dean explained, nodding to Sam. He then took account of Alice and Thalia. " And these are our fiancés, Alice and Thalia."

" He never mentioned any of you to me," Amy said, turning to pull out a few more posters.

" Well that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much. We're up in Modesto."

" So, we're looking for him, too, and we're kind of asking around," Sam jumped in, taking a step slightly in front of Amy. The second girl quickly stepped over to Amy's side, touching her elbow.

" Hey, are you okay?" She glanced at the four newcomers, confused as to who they were.

" Yeah." Amy nodded.

" Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Sam gave an innocent look that everyone always said was a puppy-dog look... something that usually worked on people. And, as Amy slowly bit her lip, she nodded.

" There's a café about a block down."

OOOO

" I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, but he never did."

"He never said anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked gently, looking at the poor girl with concern.

"No, nothing I can remember," Amy replied. Her friend looked back at her, biting her lip.

"Here's the deal, ladies," Dean broke in, leaning forward on the table, "the way Troy disappeared, something's not right." He stared at them evenly and Alice put her elbows on the table, looking at them too.

"So if you've heard anything," she hinted, leaving the sentence open. The two girls across the table from them exchanged a long glance.

"What is it?" Thalia asked, speaking up for the first time since they sat down. As the new girl, she got seated at the end of the table on a chair. However, this way she could see everyone's faces really well.

"Well, it's just," Amy's friend started to say, "her hair is too bright. It's bothering me." Amy nodded as her friend pointed at Alice.

"Oi! That's completely out of-" Sam laid a restraining hand on her arm and she subsided into a glare. Dean motioned to Sam who wriggled out of his jacket and hoodie, then gave the hoodie to Alice. She pulled it on and pulled the hood up over her hair, giving a death glare to the two brothers.

"Now, is there anything else?" Thalia asked in a kind and genuine voice, leaning on the table slightly.

" Well... I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk," Amy's friend finally

continued.

" What do they talk about?" Sam and Dean asked in perfect unison. They might not have seen each other in a handful of years, but they didn't seem to act like it. Both girls on the opposite side of the table shifted and exchanged a few looks. Amy's friend moved her hands to the table before she continued to speak.

" It's... kind of this local legend. This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago. Well, supposedly, she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up-well, they disappear forever." Her voice was quiet and verging on a whisper, as if it were a taboo topic no one really liked to talk about. In truth, that was probably the case. Sam and Dean looked at each other. It certainly sounded like a lead. Thalia, who was leaning back in her chair, stared at the two girls from Jericho, slightly shocked. Judging on what she'd picked up or been told about what had been going on that sounded exactly like what was happening... scarily so.

" Well, thank you girls for your time. But, if we want to ask around a bit more and get back to Modesto at a decent time, we'll have to start heading out now," Dean said, offering a small smile. The two girls gave a nod.

" It was nice meeting you," Amy said softly.

" You too," Sam replied as they all slid out of the booth and stood up.

The bell tinkled as they pushed through the café door, the cool air assaulting their warm faces.

" Guess where we're headed next, College Boy?" Dean asked with a smirk. Sam looked down at him.

" Where?"

" Probably one of your favorite places. The library."

OOOO

Dean had taken charge in searching the archives in the library; he sat down at the computer and pulled up the local newspaper sight, the Jericho Herald, and accessed the archive. The first thing he typed in the search bar was 'Female Murder Hitchhiking' when zero results popped up for that, he tried 'Female Murder Centennial Highway.' Zero results again. Alice, who'd returned Sam's hoodie the moment they got in the car, was slumped in a chair, feet up on the table. Thalia sat beside Sam, who was on Dean's right, and they all peered at the screen as each failed search attempt was tried.

" Let me try," Sam offered, reaching for the mouse.

" I've got it!" Dean snapped, smacking his hand. He began to type again, but Sam quickly shoved Dean's arm, sending his chair rolling to the side; he knocked into Alice, whose feet then dropped to the floor. She glared at Sam. Dean and her were probably fine by themselves. They had been for two years. But now they had brought in baby brother and freak girl.

"Bitches," she muttered under her breath, pushing Dean away and slamming her Van clad feet on the table again.

" Dude! You're such a control freak." Dean's voice had a warning sound to it, but Sam ignored it as he took over the keyboard. He slid closer to Sam's side and shook his head. Thalia laughed a bit and smiled fully for the first time all day.

" You two are such brothers..." She muttered, crossing her arms. Dean caught sight of her and happily noted she didn't look like she was about to break down anymore; she actually had quite a nice smile. Alice saw Dean's line of sight and rolled her eyes before heartily punching his shoulder to draw his attention away from the new girl.

" So, angry spirits are born out of violent deaths, right?" Sam raised an eyebrow, leaning forwards slightly.

" Yeah, right," Dean deadpanned.

" Well, maybe it's not murder.

The keyboard keys clacked as Sam changed one of the search words. Now, instead of 'Female Murder Centennial Highway' it read 'Female Suicide Centennial Highway.' After a moment, one result popped up. Dean's brows jumped up slightly and Alice laughed harshly, nudging his arm.

" You just got schooled," she pointed out.

" Shut up." Dean shot her a look.

" This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river," Sam read aloud.

" Does it say why she did it?"

" Yeah..." Sam's voice sounded troubled. Everyone leaned forward to look at him.

" What?"

" An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Her two little kids are in the bathtub, she leaves them alone for a minute and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die."

" That's horrible..." Thalia said quietly, eyes focused on the picture of Constance. She had been a pretty woman with thick dark hair and fair skin, and the smile on her face in the picture, instead of seeming happy now, it was almost haunting.

" ' 'Our babies were gone and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch.'" Sam scrolled down the page to a photo of the Sylvania Bridge.

" That bridge look familiar to you?" Dean pointed to the photo, looking at the other three.

" Guess this means we're gonna check it out, right?" Alice asked, sighing and sounding almost giddy to finally get moving again.

" Damn straight. It'll be getting dark soon, too, so that'll be an advantage." Dean stood and straightened the collar of his jacket. He smirked over at Thalia. " Looks like you'll be going on your very first ghost hunt tonight."

" Should I scream or should I laugh?" she joked lightheartedly with a small smile.

" Honestly?" Sam looked at her as they stood. " I'd run."

" Ah, don't be such a killjoy, Sammy! You're getting back in the game!" Dean announced, giving him a pat on the back. The four worked their way back to the Impala, the sun already dipping lower in the grey clouded sky.

Night had blanketed the sky for an hour or so by the time they parked at the mouth of the bridge. They air was foggy and their breaths were coming in visible white clouds. They slowly walked to the middle of the bridge and to the cold metal guardrail.

" So this is where Constance took the swan dive," Dean said, peering down to the rocks and muddy water below. Thalia winced at his wording; Constance's situation didn't seem like something to toy around with.

" So, you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked.

" Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him," he reasoned. The lights on the bridge were barely enough to light them properly.

" Okay, so now what?" Sam asked. He hadn't been on a hunt for God knows how long, and he really didn't know what to do. Thalia sighed and unzipped her jacket and fixed the hem of her now wrinkled beyond belief flannel shirt. She was in Sam's boat; she had no clue what to do and felt so out of place it was hardly a point to laugh at.

" Now, we keep digging till we find him. It may take awhile." Dean's words carried over to the trio as he started to walk back towards the opposite end of the bridge. Sam's shoulders slumped and a weary look overcame his entire body. He should have figured Dean would do this...

" Dean, I told you, I've got to get back by Mon-"

" Monday." Dean finished, turning around to face him, " Right, the interview."

" Yeah."

" Yeah, I forgot."

" Sure, you did, Dean. Just like how you 'forgot' my name," Alice grumbled, leaning against the rail. Her scarf was still looped around her neck and Thalia honestly didn't know how she wasn't frozen judging that she was wearing only a tank top and shorts.

"I never forgot that. That was a conscious decision." Alice scoffed and Dean shook his head. He turned to Sam.

" You're really serious about this, aren't you? Think you're just gonna become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" Dean arched his brows, waiting for Sam's response. The younger man shrugged.

" Yeah, maybe."

" Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?"

" No, and she's not ever going to know," Sam spat back, stepping towards his brother.

" Well, that's healthy," Dean said sarcastically before pointing to Thalia, " My guess was to never tell her either, huh? You saw how she reacted, Sammy; first she was in denial-probably still is. Face it, you've been lying to them the entire time you've known them! Hell, they don't know the true you. You can pretend all you want, Sammy, but sooner or later you're gonna have to face up to who you really are." He turned on his heel and started to walk again, Sam quickly following.

Thalia and Alice exchanged a glance, one that was vastly different to the one's they'd been shooting each other for most of the day; they were both slowly inching towards being concerned the direction the brotherly argument was taking. Sam didn't want to accept that his family had been hunting the supernatural for years. He didn't want to be apart of that, and if he had to send a punch to Dean's face to get him to shut up, he'd do just that.

" Who is that?" Sam's voice was sharp and annoyed, but Dean merely sucked in a breath and replied with,

" One of us."

" No! I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life!" Sam retorted, stepping in front of his brother, stopping his path. The two women were slowly making their way over, ready to try to intervene if things got too out of hand.

" Well, you have a responsibility."

" To Dad and his... crusade? If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. What difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone and she isn't coming back." Sam shook his head, gaze still locked with his brother's. Dean shoved Sam into one of the icy support beams, grabbing the front of his jacket. His face was overcome by anger by Sam's words towards their mother. Slowly, the anger faded and he shook his head.

" Don't talk about her like that."

" Dean... let him go," Alice said in a stern voice grabbing his jacket. Thalia stepped over and placed a hand on his, meeting his eyes when his gaze flicked to her. She began to pry his hands off Sam's coat, and when he finally let go, Alice pushed him a few feet away from the taller man.

" You alright?" Thalia asked Sam. " It looked like your head hit the beam kinda hard..."

" Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine..." he trailed off, still looking at Dean. Said man had turned towards the end of the bridge where the Impala waited, but he and Alice spotted something very interesting.

" You see that, yeah?" She nodded to the guardrail on the bridge. Dean nodded.

" Sam. Thalia." His and Alice's eyes never left the sight feet away. There, standing on the metal divider, staring down at the water, was a woman; she was wearing a white nightgown that fluttered in the breeze, and her thick, black hair seemed to curl and tangle slightly on her shoulders. It was the woman from the picture. It was Constance Welch. Sam and Thalia took a step forward, mouths hanging open slightly.

" Oh my God..." Thalia muttered, staring at the woman who hadn't been there moments before. Constance's head slowly turned towards them. Then, as her shadowed eyes began to meet theirs, she tipped forward, plummeting off the guardrail. Everyone rushed forward, feet pounding on the bridge as they made it to the rail.

" Where'd she go?" Alice asked when nothing but water rushed beneath them.

" I don't know..." Sam muttered.

The familiar growl of the Impala's engine met their ears and headlights shone towards them. Each of the four took a step back and stared down at the now running Impala, its engine purring in an ominous way.

" What the-" Dean began, staring at his baby. Nothing like that had ever happened before...

" Who's driving your car?" Sam asked in confusion. There was a metallic jangling as Dean removed the car keys from his pocket and held them up.

"Oh, damn," Alice stated, staring at the black vehicle, headlights shining in her face.

Squeal!

The Impala's tires skidded against the ground as it lurched towards them at full speed.

" Shit," Thalia muttered as the car swerved slightly, before directing its aim at them. Needless to say, they all started running. However, with each few steps they took, the Impala gained more than what distance they'd taken. They got closer and closer to the rail...

Dean and Alice ran for the divider and Sam yanked Thalia over; the four launched themselves over the edge of the bridge and the Impala squealed to a halt, headlights still shining into the night. In the sudden silence, the river gargled and rushed, bringing an uneasy peace to the bridge. Alice had easily flipped over the rail and held on, her small stature making it easier for her to stay put on the ledge. Sam, however, had mostly fallen, one hand gripping the edge. He grunted and hauled himself upwards, standing beside Alice... but no Dean or Thalia.

" Dean!" Sam called out in a panic.

" What?" came a call from down below. Dean crawled out onto the rocky bank, covered in mud.

" Where's Thalia?" Alice called, using the woman's real name for the first time.

" Is she down there with you?"

" Yeah... yeah she's here." Dean, laying flat on the rocks, pointed to Thalia's figure, which was collapsed on the ground beside him, also soaked and covered in mud.

" Are you two alright?" Sam called again. Dean held up the typical 'a-ok' sign.

" I'm super," Dean called back. Sam and Alice let out a laugh of relief. " How 'bout you, Fletcher?"

" Yeah..." Thalia called upwards, slowly sitting up. As Sam and Alice climbed back over the rail, she shook her head. " I just jumped off a bridge..."

" And now you're covered in mud." Dean stood and grabbed both her dirty hands, pulling her up. She looked slightly dazed. His brows furrowed. " You sure you're alright?" She met his eyes and grabbed his forearms, steadying her wobbling legs.

" I... the car drove itself."

" Yes."

" There was that woman on the bridge..."

" I think we should have you sit down..."

" She just disappeared."

" Hate to say it directly, but, Thalia Fletcher from Stanford, you just saw your first real ghost," Dean told her as they began to walk up the rocky slope. After a pause of silence, a disbelieving laugh echoed from her lips.

" I just got chased off a bridge by a ghost..." she said, shaking her head, smiling. Her smile fell. " I just got chased off a bridge by a ghost." She looked up at Dean. That woman looked exactly like Constance and wasn't in the river when they looked.

Shit... she thought to herself. This might actually all be real...

When the two got up to the bridge, Dean's first moment of action to take was to check the Impala. He checked over the engine and didn't do it speedily either; if the car was damaged in any way, the things he'd do to that ghost...

" Car alright?" Sam inquired as the muddy Dean closed the hood.

" Yeah, whatever she did to it, its alright now. That Constance chick-what a bitch!" He shouted 'bitch' down the bridge, hoping that she heard it.

" Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure."

" You think? She drove us-literally-off a bridge," Alice said from where she leaned against the guardrail. " Hell, Dean and Princess scared me when they didn't get out of the river..." She shook her now messy pink hair out of her face, staring down at the choppy water. Dean sat on the hood of the Chevy Impala and Thalia leaned against the side, a look of intense thought on her face.

" Yeah, you're telling me..." Sam muttered in agreement, sitting beside his brother. " So, where's the trail go from here, genius?" Dean blew out a breath and threw his filthy arms in the air in an 'I don't frickin' know' gesture. There was a pause as Sam sniffed. " You smell like a toilet."

" She doesn't smell much better either." Alice smirked, looking at Thalia. Dean and the younger woman both glared at their insulters.

" Yeah, well you try jumping into a damn river like that one." Dean walked over to the drivers seat.

"I'm smart enough not to," she replied smoothly, holding her hands out for the keys. Dean rolled his eyes and reluctantly dropped them in her hand. "I think there's some blankets in the back. Don't get the upholstery dirty."

On the way back to Jericho, Thalia had time to think about everything. She'd been raised pretty normally; she grew up in a small, one-floor, robin's egg blue house just outside of Seattle with her mother, Celia, father, Kevin, and a tuxedo cat named Whiskers. She remembered learning to ride a bike on her small, cracked driveway and taking the first kicks of doggy-paddle in the frigid Puget Sound. And like every kid, she'd believed in and was horrified of the 'monster' in her closet that would eat her when she slept; she wouldn't enter the basement for fear of the 'beast' lurking and growling behind the water heater. But despite all the fear, all the long, sleepless nights, the thoughts of vampires and ghosts and witches had created a bigger, more fascinating world for her and all other children... but, of course, that all changed when she got older.

The monster in her closet was just coats and a softball bat piled up in the corner. The beast behind the water heater that growled and hissed were just pipes. The notion of ghosts was up for debate and left to be dealt with on Halloween.

But, now twenty-two, almost twenty-three, Thalia's beliefs were being challenged. She'd seen a woman, looking exactly like a woman who died in '81, jump off a bridge and disappear. The shiny black Impala drove itself, without keys, to kill them.

" I don't think Thalia's doing too well," Dean commented to Sam, who was sitting in front of him. The older Winchester, who had heard her sudden realization about the ghost, had been sending sidelong glances at her when he caught the troubled look on her face.

" Of course she isn't, this is why I didn't want her to come, Dean. Why I didn't want to tell her and don't want to tell Jess. She's literally just seen a ghost, something she wasn't sure was real!" Sam whispered in response as if they could keep their conversation private. He knew Thalia's stance on ghosts and ghouls-he's spent two Halloweens with her. Honestly, underneath all the mud, she looked a bit sick-what skin wasn't coated in the drying dirt was pale and her face contorted in a way that made her seem ill.

" Well, she certainly looks like she's seen a ghost," Dean teased smirking. Alice laughed quietly, peering over the dashboard at where they were going. Sam glared at his brother.

" You're not funny."

" Really? I think I'm an absolute riot."

" I can hear everything you're saying; this car isn't exactly built for private conversations," Thalia suddenly interjected, making the Impala silent for a moment.

" So... uh... you feeling okay? You feel sick? 'Cause if you have to puke, tell me to pull over I don't want to get my car dirtier than it's getting." Dean patted the Impala's seat fondly. Sam's hand reached over the seat and into Dean's elbow giving him an affective 'what the hell?' look. " What?"

" She's not gonna get sick," Alice gave Thalia a few once-overs in the rearview mirror, " She's just thinking, right?" Thalia nodded and ran her hands through her messy and extremely dirty hair.

Alice may still have a bit of a thing against the younger woman in the backseat, but she would have to admit, she was taking it all pretty well. Well... besides the whole almost-fit in the backlot of Sam's apartment and the almost panic attack that morning. She'd seen different reactions over the last two years; anything from denying it flat out with determination even after seeing something like a ghost right down to people fainting on the spot. Alice remembered her first encounter with that creature in the cornfield-the day she met Dean and her life changed. The day her eyes opened to the truth. This trip, this insane case was Thalia's introduction to the real world, and right now, she was trying to process it. So, Alice decided maybe she could be a little less rough on the girl. Well... a little.

OOOO

" One room, please," Dean said, dropping a credit card onto the front desk of a motel. They got back to Jericho in the early morning, the nights events prompting them to drive slow and watch out for Constance. The man at the desk looked at the name on the card and then up at the four people in front of him, two of which were covered head-to-toe in dried dirt. He decided to make assumptions later.

" You guys having a reunion or somethin'?" The man asked. Sam's brows furrowed at the question.

" Meaning, what, exactly?" Alice asked, peering at the old man.

" That other guy, Bert Aframian, he came in and bought out a room for the whole month. Dean and Sam exchanged a look before returning to look at the old man.

" Yeah, yeah, we are. So, uh, what room's he in? He didn't tell us over the phone," Sam asked casually, leaning against the counter.

They got their room for the night, but their first stop was John's room. Sam had crouched down and pulled out a paper clip from his pocket, expertly picking the lock on the door, something Thalia was wondering if she should be worried about. Sam pushed the door open and stood to his full height, ushering Thalia and Alice into the room first before he grabbed Dean by the back of his jacket collar and hauled him inside. Looking around, the brothers and Alice definitely knew it was John's room.

The walls had pictures, sketches and articles pinned to them, some lopsided, some straight and some just barely holding onto the cheap paint. There was an overturned suitcase on a messy bed and all out basic hunter items around. Dean stepped over to a lamp and flicked it on, spying a half eaten hamburger beneath it. He lifted it up and sniffed it, immediately groaning and dropping it again.

" I don't think he's been here for a couple of days at least," Dean said. Sam was crouched down, fingering a thick line of salt on the cheap burgundy carpet.

" Salt, cat's-eye shells, he was worried, trying to keep something from coming in." Sam stood and looked over to see Thalia staring at some of the items pinned to the wall; Alice was doing the same, craning her neck to see what was higher up.

" These are all the Centennial Highway victims," she announced, tapping one of the papers.

" I don't get it. I mean... different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities... there's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?" Dean stared at all the articles, shaking his head. Sam caught sight of a picture close to Thalia's head, so taking long strides, he stepped over to peer at it.

" Wow, your Dad did a lot of work..." Thalia murmured, staring at the information that had been collected on different sorts of creatures. " I'm... impressed, I have to admit; I can barely scrape up enough info for a paper but this?" she gestured to the walls, " is impressive."

Woman In White.

That was what the scrap of paper read that caught Sam's attention. He clicked a lamp on underneath it, spotting an old drawing of a ghostly looking woman in a long white gown in the center of the road. He let out a quick breath and smiled slightly.

" And that work paid off-Dad figured it out."

" What do you mean?" Dean turned to look at Sam curiously. Sam nodded to the section of wall devoted to the Woman In White.

" He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a Woman in White." Sam emphasized the name, which made Dean and Alice smirk.

" You sly dogs..." Dean muttered, looking at the photos, " Alright, so if we're dealing with a Woman in White, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it." Thalia, by the shade-covered window, furrowed her brows. There were two things she wasn't quite getting. One: what a Woman in White was, two: destroy the corpse? What the hell did that mean?

" She might have another weakness," Sam said, staring at the article.

" You know your Dad would want to make sure, Sammy," Alice said as she and Dean stepped over to him. " Destroying the body is practically the nail in the coffin."

" Exactly; he'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?" Dean asked as he leaned in close to the article. Sam shook his head.

" No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband," Sam said, tapping the man's photo. " If he's still alive."

" Alright, why don't you see if you can find an address? I'm gonna get cleaned up," Dean said, heading towards the bathroom. Sam quickly caught his attention again by saying,

" Hey, Dean, what I said earlier about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry." Dean held up a hand to stop him.

" No chick-flick moments. That's why we have them," he said, jerking his head towards the women in the room. Alice flipped him the bird. Sam scoffed.

" Alright... Jerk."

" Bitch," came Dean's smirking reply. As he stepped into the bathroom, Sam shook his head and smiled. He spotted something familiar against the mirror. Stepping up to it, he removed a photo of his father, himself as a child and a younger Dean. He smiled slightly at it and pocketed it, turning to face the room again. Thalia had taken a seat, removing her mud-crusted jacket and relaxed against it, tapping her fingers against her leg.

" We all know you're far from 'okay,'" Alice pointed out, now leaning against a wall. " You can try and lie to us all, but we've seen it before. Thalia sighed and looked at the two she was left in the room with.

" It's... a bit much to take in all at once you know? Especially since this all seems... very, very real..." Thalia ran a hand through her stiff hair, shaking her head in disbelief.

" You'll get used to it," Alice attempted to assure, " but I guess I can remember the notion of all these creatures, demons, ghosts and what not being real... all of them being out there in the world is a bit... well.. daunting." Alice then noted the strained look on Thalia's face.

" Yeah, thanks for that..." she whispered shakily.

" Should I let Sam deal with this?"

" Yeah, I think that's best," Sam replied, stepping over to sit on the side of the bed closest to Thalia. " So, uh..." He clasped his hands together and leaned forward, arms on his knees. " You're not okay. I figured as much." A small laugh escaped Thalia's lips and she shrugged.

" Everyone is asking me to believe this is real. Hell, my brain is even telling me its real. 'Cause how can someone explain the woman on the bridge? The Impala chasing us with no driver?" She picked at a spot of crusted mud on her jeans.

" You could have stayed back at Stanford; you should have stayed... I shouldn't have let you come, but... I guess it's too late for that," Sam sighed. Thalia smiled and nudged his shoulder with hers.

" I wish I could say I was royally pissed with you for bringing me on this trip... or just in general." At that, Sam laughed. " But it's my own fault. I dragged my own ass on this trip I deserve the shock."

"That's right," Alice called from where she was lounging on the floor. Thalia laughed, mainly at herself, smiling again. His brows creased for a moment, thinking something over.

" Did you really come just to prove something to Alice?"

" Uh... not completely. Me being the amazing friend I am, I was worried about you; I wasn't about to let you disappear into the night to some place unknown. And... maybe... just maybe I was a bit... a tad... interested in all this..." She spoke the last bit quietly, looking at her feet. Sam's brows rose.

" You interested in all this?"

" Oh, shut up, or I'll hit you with my muddy coat."

" I'd like to see you try."

" Get a room!" Alice drawled, feet now up on the wall. " So, Princess, do you finally believe us?"

" Kind of hard not to, right? While I let this sink in, I'm going to take a shower in the other room," she snatched the room key from Sam's pocket, " I'll be back shortly." Sam smiled up at her and she returned it, leaving the room quickly, as not to be seen.

" Wow, you sure she's not your girlfriend?" Alice teased openly with a large smile. Sam shot her a look.

" Oh, shut up..."

" Hey, I'm just pointing it out; that last bit of your conversation was almost textbook flirting, dude." Alice threw a bottle cap at the tall man.

"Okay, where the hell do you keep those?" Alice raised her pink eyebrows.

"A girl's gotta have her secrets."

OOOO

By the time Dean got out of the shower, Thalia had been done for a good five minutes already. She smiled at him as Sam listened to phone messages.

" You do know you shower longer than a girl, right?" she teased, smirking. Alice started to laugh at Dean's expression as he fixed the collar of his fresh shirt.

"Believe me, I've let him know."

" It was all the mud. I'm surprised you didn't take longer. But, I'm hungry, so I'm gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. Any of you want anything?" Dean inquired as he crossed the room, grabbing his beat-up leather jacket.

" Yeah, I do, but you'd screw up the order. I'll go with you," Alice decided, getting up from her spot on the carpet. Dean looked at Thalia.

" Fletcher?"

" I'm good thanks."

" Sammy?"

" No."

" Come on you guys!" Dean smirked. " Aframian's buying!" He chuckled. " Come on, Pixie, let's go." The two stepped out of the room and into the bright sun, Dean pulling on the jacket and popping the back of the collar. Alice rolled her eyes at the action; it was something he always did-popping only the back of his collar. She once told him that if he thought it made him look cool, it didn't, but he obviously chose to have selective hearing at that moment. As they began to cross the bright parking lot, they spotted cop cars. That was something they never wanted to see in general what with the fake ID's and all that; but what made it worse was that the motel owner was speaking with an officer... and pointed right at them. Dean grumbled and spun his back to the cop and the owner, rooting through his pocket for his phone.

" The hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed. " Is making a call really necessary?!"

" Yes, it is, now shush!" Dean hit one number on speed dial and held the phone to his ear.

" What?" asked Sam's low, currently disgruntled voice.

" Dude, Five-O, take off." There was a brief pause before Sam replied,

" What about you and Alice?"

" Uh, they kind of spotted us. You and Thalia go find Dad." Dean snapped the phone shut and the two turned to face the two officers-the ones from the bridge-right behind them.

" Problem, Officers?" Alice asked innocently, both playing a casual face.

" Where's your partner?" asked the cop they'd been talking to the day prior.

" Partner? What-what partner? The only person I've got with me right now is her." Dean put a hand on Alice's shoulder with a smile. The cop jabbed a thumb to the motel room and a wave of panic rushed over the two as the second cop made his way to the door.

" So... fake U.S. Marshall, fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?"

" My hair," Alice contributed helpfully. "It's all natural." Dean held up a finger as if something came to mind.

" My boobs," Dean said with a serious nod. Both smiled in unison as the cop gave them a disdainful look.

Dean was slammed painfully onto the hood of some random car as Alice was pushed into one of the doors. They were then read their Miranda Rights as they were handcuffed, Dean turning his gaze to look at Alice, who was glaring over her shoulder at the cop restraining her. He hoped Sam and Thalia didn't screw up anything while he and Pixie were locked up-they were, at the moment, the only hope he had of finding his father.

OOOO

The police station was fairly vacant at the moment the two were marched into a small interrogation room; they were definitely an odd pair. Dean's height emphasized how small Alice was and her pink hair was the brightest thing in the station. They were sat down in stainless steel chairs and told to wait.

" So, you want to give us your real names?" asked the Sheriff, re-entering the room with a large filing box.

" I told you, it's Nugent. Ted Nugent." Dean repeated for the fifth time in the last half hour.

" And, like previously stated, it's Betsy Larson." Alice seemed rather bored, slumped in her seat as much as she could; her head was resting on her shoulder and she was lazily blinking at the Sheriff.

" I'm not sure you both realize just how much trouble you're in here." The Sheriff was glaring at them from the opposite side of the table, grasping the box edges. Dean puckered his lips slightly in thought, eyes narrowing as well before smirking slightly.

" Are we talking... like, misdemeanor kind of trouble or, uh... 'squeal like a pig' trouble?" he asked, causing Alice to snort.

" You got the faces of ten missing persons taped to your wall, along with a whole lot of... Satanic mumbo jumbo. Kids, you're officially suspects," the Sheriff explained, the look he was giving them was unforgiving and stern; like a teacher who hated your guts for all your worth.

" That makes sense 'cause the first one went missing in '82 when I was three and she was one," Dean wise-cracked.

" We probably knocked them out with our... wooden building blocks and rattles," Alice added in. The man in front of them was taking none of what they were saying; they seemed to think they were in a comedy club, not a police station.

" I know you've got partners. One of them's an older guy. Maybe he started the whole thing. So tell me... Dean." Dean's eyes flicked up to the man's smug face. " Is this his?" The Sheriff plopped down a heavy journal right in front of him, causing Dean's smirk to disappear. What sat on the table was his father's journal; the brown leather was surprisingly well kept and the inside was stuffed with everything his father had encountered. Papers of different sizes, shapes and ages stuck out from the inside, some of which were pictures of family, friends or locations from hunting gigs. There were maps and how to tell what creature was what. This wasn't boding well. His father never parted with the journal...

" I thought that might be your name," he said, sitting on the edge of the table. He flipped the cover open and started to turn pages. " You see, I leafed through this-what little I could make out-I mean, it's nine kinds of crazy." As each paged turned, Dean got a little more nervous and a little more on edge. Alice was eying the Sheriff like she wished she could shove his ass right off the table. " But I found this too." Dean leaned forward to see the page he stopped on.

There, on a blank page, was his name, Dean, and a the set of numbers 35-11.

" Now. You're staying right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means."

Dean and Alice shared a look before staring up at the older man. Yeah, like they'd give in that easily.

OOOO

Sam drove the Impala down a driveway that seemed to be in the middle of a scrap yard, Thalia in the passenger's seat. She was wearing a new, mud-free red floral printed tank top with a fresh peach colored hoodie over it, hair twisted into a bun.

" Your brother and Alice got arrested by the cops..." she muttered, shaking her head. " I see why you went to college beside the obvious reasons." Sam scoffed and ran a hand over his face.

" Yeah... I'm glad he called and told us to get out though." Sam looked over at her, the sun shining in through the open windows. She laughed once and nodded.

" That bathroom window was tight though."

" Says the girl who's five foot eleven," Sam said in a sarcastic tone, drawing attention to his own height.

" Shut it, we have to talk to this guy to see if he's seen your dad, right? I'll let you do most of it since I'd probably screw it to hell..."

The two got out of the Impala, Sam pocketing the keys, and they strode across to the worn looking house. Sam knocked a few times on the door, the two nervously waiting for someone to answer. An older looking man answered, face tired and shaded by a baseball cap.

" Hi, uh, are you Joseph Welch?" Sam asked, putting on a small smile.

" Yeah."

" A colleague of ours may have stopped by and asked you some questions within the last few weeks or so. We were wondering if you could maybe identify him?" Sam extracted the photo he'd taken from John's room and offered it to Joseph. He slowly took it and looked it over, starting to walk back around the side of the house. " The, uh, guy in the middle."

" Yeah, he was older, but that's him," Joseph confirmed, " He came by three or four days ago, said he was a reporter."

" That's true," Thalia stepped into the conversation, keeping stride with the two men. " The three of us are working on a story together." Joseph gave her a look and sucked in a long breath. He remembered their colleague... the questions he asked. They were odd-extremely so.

" Well I don't know what the hell kind of story are you're working on-the questions he asked me." He shook his head as he remembered.

" About your late wife Constance." Sam had pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen that he'd stuffed into his pocket before jumping out of the Impala-if they were going to act as reporters, they had to look the part... at least a little bit.

" He asked me where she was buried."

" And where is that again?"

" What, I got to go through this twice?" Joseph asked in a tired and pained voice.

" It's just to make sure we got it right-fact checking if you will. We're sorry we have to bring it up, we understand that it's hard," Thalia interjected. She met his gaze. " Of course, you can only tell us if you want to." There was a pause as Joseph seemed to think.

" In a plot behind my old place over on Breckenridge," he finally replied, breaking his line of sight with Thalia.

" Why did you move?" Sam asked curiously. The older man shook his head, staring at his white shirt and plaid button down.

" I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died." They stopped walking and Sam turned to face him, another question passing through his mind.

" Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?"

" No way. Constance, she was the love of my life, prettiest woman I've ever known." As he spoke, a soft smile pulled on his thin lips, remembering his wife.

" So you had a happy marriage." An uncharacteristic long pause followed the question.

" Definitely."

Another pause followed as Sam glanced at his notepad and Thalia brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

" Well, that should do it. Thanks for your time," Sam said, putting a hand on Thalia's back and leading her towards the Impala. As they stepped up to the car and Sam began to fiddle with the keys he groaned and called out a question. " Mr. Welch, you ever heard of a Woman in White?"

Joseph turned to face him, his progress to walk back to his home halted.

" A what?" he asked, confused.

" A Woman in White, sometimes a Weeping Woman. It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really." Sam pocketed his keys and started to walk back towards Joseph. Thalia stayed by the Impala's side, brows slowly creasing. " They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places in Hawaii and Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women, you understand, but all share the same story."

Please, God, don't let Sam make a stupid mistake... Thalia thought to herself, leaning up against the Impala.

" Boy, I don't care much for nonsense," Joseph practically growled, turning away.

" You see, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them, and these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. Then, once they'd realized what they'd done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways, and if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him and that man is never seen again."

Joseph's jaw trembled as he opened his mouth, stuttering to speak.

" You think..." he sucked in a breath, " you think that has something to do with Constance... you smartass."

" You tell me."

" I mean maybe... maybe I made some mistakes, but no matter what I did, Constance would have never killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here, and you don't come back!" Joseph's voice was shaking and his breathing was getting heavier and heavier. He began to back away, sick of the puppy-dog sympathetic look on Sam's face, marching back towards his house. Sam sighed and turned back to the Impala, where Thalia stood, watching him.

" Well... I think we got what we needed," she nodded to the Impala. " Let's go, it'll be getting dark soon." She slid into the passenger's seat, looking at Sam as he got in. " You do understand that asking him about a Woman in White probably wasn't the smartest idea?" Sam repressed the urge to smirk and started the Impala.

" Well, we got what we needed," he said, shooting her words back at her. His tone softened as he continued. " You did well, handling him though. You're pretty good at talking with people." Sam craned his head to see out the back window at where he was backing up. She laughed and rolled her eyes, rolling the window up.

" Yeah, you get used to it when you ask random strangers to take pictures of them for photography assignments." Thalia grinned and shrugged.

" Like when you photographed me?"

" I had your permission beforehand!" Sam chuckled and pulled out her phone, giving it back.

" I trust you can keep this and not call the cops. Let's go save Dean and Alice, shall we?"

OOOO

" I don't know how many times I've got to tell you! It's my high school locker combo," Dean said, nodding to the numbers. The Sheriff had been trying to get info out of them for a few long, agonizing hours. In which, Alice had insulted him at least five times and Dean had gotten close to losing his cool.

" Are we going to do this all night long?" he questioned, eyebrow quirked.

" We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road," an officer said, peering through the doorway. The Sheriff slowly looked at the two.

" Do either of you have to go to the bathroom?"

" What kind of random question is that?" Alice asked irritably. She hadn't been able to move more than six inches for the entire time she was there-she was just a bit pissed.

" Uh... no," Dean replied, just as confused as Alice.

" Good." With that, the Sheriff took two pairs of handcuffs and locked one of Dean's hands and one of Alice's hands to the table. He then left, shutting the door behind him. Dean's eyes slid to the journal and he spotted a paperclip.

" Hello," he said quietly, pulling it out and holding it up for Alice to see. She smirked and held her hand out for it. " Ah-ah! I'm older, I'll do it."

" But I can do it faster," she countered, snatching the key to their freedom from his hands. With ease of practice, she unbent the piece of metal and quickly unlocked her hand, then turned to to Dean's. Then, the two partners in crime got up and taking the journal, hid by the door as the cops made their way to respond to the call.

They snuck out of the room, passing through the empty office space.

"Hold up," called Alice. She had spied a plastic container on one of the desks. "These are ours, aren't they?" she asked, holding up his gun and her knives. Dean laughed and reclaimed his gun, waiting for Alice to sheathe her weapons in the hilts on her back, hidden on her hips and on her ankles, inside the high tops of her grey Vans. She checked the throwing knives in her scarf then nodded.

"They really didn't notice those?" Alice shook her head and smiled.

"Nope," she replied, popping her 'p'. Then she continued out of the station, Dean following.

Once outside, they stood in the sun for a moment, then started walking.

" Did Sam really do what I think he did?" Alice asked, stretching out her arms and doing a few cartwheels.

" Oh, Sammy. Yeah, he made a fake 911 call. He may think he's lost his touch, but, oh boy, he's got some tricks, doesn't he?" He smirked and dialed Sam's number, shaking his head.

OOOO

Sam's phone rang as he and Thalia drove down a quiet stretch of highway. As he reached for it, Thalia pushed his hand back on the wheel and pulled it out of his pocket for him. He took it with a small smile and answered.

" Fake 911 phone call, Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal," chided Dean's voice.

" You're welcome," Sam said with a smirk.

" Listen, we've got to talk."

" Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a Woman in White. And she's buried behind her old house so that-"

" Sammy, would you shut up for a second?"

" I just can't figure out why he hasn't destroyed the corpse yet..." Sam's voice was troubled and he shook his head, glancing at Thalia, who was watching the road.

" That's what I'm trying to tell you! He's gone. Dad left Jericho," Dean explained. Sam's thought process jammed to a halt. That made no sense-the case was hardly finished, why would he just... leave?

" What? How do you know?"

" I've got his journal."

" He doesn't go anywhere without that thing..." Sam trailed off. Thalia's attention turned from the road to Sam, brows furrowing in confusion. The tone of his voice was once again troubled.

" Well, he did this time." Dean sounded a bit put off by all the obvious statements Sam was making.

" What's it say?"

" Same old ex-Marine crap when he wants to let us know where he's going." Dean was completely put off with the whole situation; he just wanted to find their dad and make sure he wasn't in trouble.

" Coordinates." Sam gave a look to Thalia which clearly read 'I'll explain later.' " Where to?"

" Alice and I aren't sure yet."

" Dean, what the hell is going on?"

" Sam!" Thalia screamed, grabbing his arm.

" Whoa!" he yelled, slamming on the breaks. There in the middle of the road was Constance, staring Sam dead in the eye. The Impala didn't stop, but instead went right through her, stopping another few feet down the road. Sam and Thalia both caught their breath, staring at the road.

" Are you alright?" he asked Thalia. She nodded and swallowed a lump in her throat.

" Yeah... skeeved out, but yeah, I'm fine..."

Then, the door lock clicked on the passenger side and it flew open. Thalia felt like something grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the Impala, her body crashing hard on the damp pavement. She hissed in pain and yelled out in shock as the door slammed and locked with her outside.

" Thalia!" Sam shouted, trying to get his door open; it wouldn't open. He felt a cool breeze touch the back of his neck and he slowly let his eyes slide to the rearview mirror... where he saw Constance sitting in the backseat.

" Take me home..." she ordered, staring at him. " Take me home." Sam evened out his breathing as Thalia brought herself to her feet, attempting to open the doors once she saw Constance inside.

" No." His voice was even and calm as he stared at her reflection. Just as Thalia was grabbing a rock to shatter one of the Impala's windows, the car sped off, Sam trying to yank the doors open.

" Dammit!" She ran after the car, hoping she could follow it to the Breckenridge house. Her red Converse pushed at the pavement as she ran and all she could hope for was that Dean and Alice would figure out what was happening.

OOOO

Sam slammed his shoulders against the doors as the Impala drove itself down the road. He had to get out-he had to. Why was Constance even trying to take him? He wasn't unfaithful to Jess; unless Constance figured that Thalia was his mistress... which might explain why she'd been thrown out of the car. Sam grabbed the wheel in hopes of maybe being able to stop control the Impala's direction, but his eyes widened when he saw where he was. It was an old, dilapidated house that looked like it should be condemned. It must have been the Breckenridge house. The car rolled to a halt and the engine shut off. Constance's face contorted into a pained and saddened look as she stared at the house.

" Don't do this," Sam urged, voice steady. She shook her head slightly.

" I can never go home..."

" You're scared to go home," Sam realized. He turned in his seat only to see she was gone. The windows were suddenly fogged up and blocked his view of outside pretty well. But as he turned his attention forward, he caught sight of Constance in the passenger's seat. She lunged and pushed him down hard enough to drop the back of the front seat, straddling his waist. He groaned as his head smacked the seat hard.

" Hold me..." she whispered, putting her hands on his shoulders. " I'm so cold."

" You can't kill me. Thalia's literally just a friend. I'm not unfaithful. I've never been," Sam told her as her hands slid to his chest.

" You will be." Her mouth was by his ear and one hand forced him to stay against the seat. She moved her head to hover over his, eying him as he groaned in pain. She dropped her lips against Sam's and held him there as she kissed him. All the while, Sam remained unresponsive and tried reaching for the keys in the ignition... Just as his fingers brushed them, Constance pulled back, face serious and flashing to something akin to a skull before she was suddenly... gone.

Sam looked around in confusion before he yelled out in pain as something stabbed into his chest. It felt horrible, like someone sticking hot pokers through his skin and into his body. With nothing visible to be hurting him, he unzipped his hoodie and looked down at his chest. His navy blue shirt now had five holes in it, bloody and excruciating. Suddenly, Constance flickered back into vision, her hand pushing into his chest; each hole had been created by her slender, pale fingers. She continued to flicker like a bad TV image and Sam continued to scream-it felt like she were trying to rip out his heart...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The driver's window shattered and Dean marched forward, gun out as Constance disappeared. His gun was drawn and his face was deadly. He and Alice had caught up with Thalia moments before as she ran up the driveway, and they'd thankfully been on time. Constance reappeared again and Dean shot again, hell-bent on saving his brother's life. Once she disappeared again, Sam lurched forward to sit up, starting the engine. He stared at the house, breathing ragged, mind determined.

" I'm taking you home," he said, stepping on the gas.

" Sam!" Dean called out as the Impala crashed through a small shed and then through the front of the house.

" Shit!" Thalia exclaimed.

" Go, go, go!" Alice insisted, pushing them all forward. They ran towards the destroyed house front and through the hole the Impala created.

" Sam!" Dean called out again.

" Here!" came Sam's pained voice. He was holding his chest and breathing hard as Dean tried to open the passenger door.

" You okay?"

" I think..." Sam nodded slightly.

" Can you move?"

" Yeah. Help me," he grunted as Dean pulled him out of the Impala, helping him take his weight. Dean helped him lean against the car as Thalia and Alice shifted some debris from behind the car-they had to get out somehow. Dean and Sam's expressions turned grim when Constance, who'd been looking at a picture of herself and her children, looked up at them darkly. She dropped the frame and stepped to the side, a dresser sliding across the room and pinning the men to the car at their waist. They groaned and tried to push it off to no avail.

" Hey!" Alice called out, grabbing Constance's attention. A knife flew through the air and sliced through Constance, causing her to disappear. " Taste iron, you bitch." The two women started to try and help pull the dresser away.

" Iron?" Thalia asked through her teeth as she tugged on the piece of furniture.

" It repels spirits-particularly evil ones. Doesn't kill them, so she'll be back, but," Alice yanked on one of the legs, " it buys us time."

As Sam pushed weakly against what was trapping him and Dean, he noticed Constance appear behind Thalia.

" Thalia, behind you!" he yelled. She spun around and jumped back as Constance took a step towards her.

" Fireplace equipment!" Dean grunted. " Use it! It's iron!" Thalia stumbled backwards as the ghost took slow steps towards her. She threw a hand out and grabbed the first fireplace tool she could-a fire poker. She held it the way one would handle a sword, standing in a stance with her feet braced apart. As Constance stepped towards her again, Thalia expertly lunged, hoping to catch her through the middle. When the ghost woman stepped to the side, Thalia dropped to the ground as Constance suddenly loomed over to her. She quickly thrust the poker upwards, dispelling the ghost with a move fencers knew as a passata sotto. She caught her breath and stood, dropping the poker. Dean and Alice stared at her.

" The hell was that?" Alice asked.

" I fenced through high school," she explained simply, rejoining the force to pull the dresser away.

" I should start calling you freaking Robin Hood..." Dean muttered.

But, like the insistent ghost she was, Constance reappeared. But before she could wreak any more havoc, the lights suddenly flickered. The ghost woman directed her eyes to the stairs and saw water trickling down the wood. She moved to the base of the steps and looked up, spying the silhouettes of her two children at the top. Everyone stopped and looked at the three ghosts, wondering what was about to happen. The two children joined hands and said,

" You've come home to us, Mommy." Constance turned and suddenly her children were behind her. They rushed forward and grabbed onto her, causing her to scream. They began to seemingly melt into and through the floor, disappearing in flashes of gruesome looking corpses. Then once they were gone, a sound like a drain gurgling echoed out and there was silence. The lights went out and the two Winchesters overturned the dresser with ease. They all paused and caught their breath, looking around the house. They stepped over to where the ghosts had disappeared, spying a pool of water on the floor.

" So this is where she drowned her kids," Dean said.

" That's why she could never go home." Sam nodded. " She was too scared to face them."

" You found her weak spot." He nodded in appreciation. " Nice work, Sammy." He slapped his chest right where Constance had got him. Sam's face scrunched up in pain and he laughed, covering up the yell he was about to let out. As Dean stepped away, Thalia pulled Sam into a gentle hug, careful not to press on his chest too hard.

" You scared the absolute crap out of me, Sam," she muttered into his shoulder. He carefully wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug.

" I could say that about you for the last day." Sam smiled a bit. She laughed and looked up at him.

" Good to know someone worries about me."

" People! Get. A. Freaking. Room!" Alice yelled, rolling her eyes.

" What were you thinking, Dean, shooting Casper in the face, you freak. That was... not good thinking," Sam groaned, pulling away from Thalia.

" Hey," Dean pointed at him, " Saved your ass." He turned to the Impala and started to inspect it. " I'll tell you another thing, if you screwed up my car, I'll kill you." Dean's face and voice were dead serious, but Sam and Thalia started laughing, rolling their eyes. Alice gave them a look.

" He's not kidding; I accidentally scratched the hood once and he chased me through a mall of all places." Alice shot Dean a glare as he bend over to continue inspecting his car. "I've always been able to run faster than him, though. It was quite hilarious to see him cursing, lumbering through the sales racks at Talbots." Dean threw a scrap of wood at her and Alice easily dodged it. She sighed. It might be a long ride back home.

OOOO

The worst damage done to the Impala was a shattered window and dead headlight; no doubt Dean would be asking Sam to pay for it. As they drove down the highway, Sam, in the passenger seat, was marking out the coordinates their dad had left.

" Okay, here's where Dad went. It's called Blackbottle Ridge, Colorado," Sam said, finger resting on the point on the map. Dean arched a brow.

" Sounds charming. How far?"

" About six-hundred miles." Sam removed the flashlight that he'd been holding between the side of his face and his shoulder.

" If we shag ass we can make it there by morning," Dean offered, relaxing into his seat.

" It would just mean we'd have a Mr. Grumpy-Pants driving for a few hours straight," Alice interjected. Dean shot her a look.

" Oh, shut up, will you?" Sam gave Dean a long look.

" Dean, I, um..." he trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Dean knew exactly what he was trying to say, though. His face fell.

" You're not going," he stated.

" The interview is in like, ten hours, I got to be there," Sam explained seriously. Dean stayed quiet and nodded quite a few times, biting his lips.

" Yeah. Yeah, whatever," he said casually, smirking, " I'll take you and Thalia home."

They rolled up to Sam's apartment first, letting the Impala rest idly in the street in front of the building. Dean stopped the engine as Sam climbed out.

" You'll call me if you find him?" Sam asked. Dean nodded. " Maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

" Yeah, alright," Dean said with mock-casualness. Sam patted the door.

" Nice meeting you, Alice."

"Back at you, BFG," Alice said, her eyes closed and head tilted back.

"See you soon, Thalia." He turned and made his leave, stopping only when Dean called out,

" Sam! You know, we made a hell of a team back there. Our own resident Robin Hood and Pixie included."

"I deserve more than a footnote." Sam smiled at the irate midget and gave a small nod.

" Yeah."

The Impala pulled away, carrying Thalia, Alice and Dean away, and Sam went inside, climbing the steps. Truth was... they kinda did make a hell of a team. Even if all hell was breaking loose, they did get through it. Sam brushed the thoughts inside as he unlocked the apartment door and stepped inside.

" Jess!" he called out. " You home?"

Passing into the bedroom, he heard the water on. So, assuming his girlfriend was in the shower, he dropped his bag and flopped onto their bed, shutting his eyes... he could finally relax. His hair fell out of his face and he sighed in content...

Drip. Drip.

Sam's forehead scrunched up as something wet dripped onto his forehead. Something deep red and thick. He opened his eyes and immediately gasped in heart wrenching horror. Pinned to the ceiling directly above the bed, mouth open, eyes wide, hair fanned out and stomach bloodied... was Jess. She wasn't breathing. She was contorted awkwardly above him, unmoving.

" NO! NO!" Sam cried out as flames suddenly spread out across the ceiling. He was scrambling backwards in bed when the door slammed open...

Moments before...

Dean steered the Impala towards Thalia's dorm and everyone was quiet.

" So, uh, you have fun?" Dean asked as Alice clambered into the front seat. Thalia smirked and shrugged.

" As much fun as you can have with ghosts after you." Thalia looked out the window.

" Ah, so you believe they're real now?"

" I was attacked by one. We all were, so, yeah, I do."

"Yay, you're not stupid," Alice cheered sarcastically from where she was rooting through the cassette tapes. She held one up and Dean shook his head.

" Do you want to join us in finding my dad?" Dean asked for the hell of it, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. Thalia sent him a genuine smile and shook her head.

" I've got classes to finish, Dean. But, I'll tell you what, give me a call whenever you need a ghost run through with a fireplace tool," she teased, grabbing his phone and plugging in her number. " But only for 'business' calls, no other reason."

" Not even if I want to take you for dinner?" Dean asked sarcastically.

" Please..." Alice snorted.

" Not even for that." The three laughed a bit, but Deans smile immediately disappeared as lights everywhere began to flicker. He looked around at the street lamps, the house lights, anything that was electric-they were all flickering.

" Shit," Dean hissed, making the Impala spin a complete 180. The two women grabbed onto the seats to keep from being flung to their sides.

" The hell!?" Alice shouted as Dean sped back towards Sam's apartment.

" Sam's in trouble!"

" How do you know?" Thalia asked as they slammed to a jolting stop.

" Just trust me!" Dean leapt from the Impala and sprinted up the sidewalk and to the doors, Alice hard on his heels. He kicked down the front door, hearing Sam yelling from inside and Alice rushed in before him.

"Sam!" Dean called, looking around, then followed Alice. They darted down the hallway until Alice slid to a stop in one doorway, Dean catching the doorframe to come to stand behind her.

"Sam!" Alice shouted, taking in the man on the bed, staring up in horror at the ceiling. Around him, the room was in flames, orange light washing everything in heat. She rushed in and motioned to Dean. He looked up to see Jess on the ceiling and then ran to pull his brother up from the bed.

"Sam," he said loudly, dragging his younger brother from the room, "come on!"

The taller Winchester kept his eyes on the body of his loved one, mind not processing anything other than the fact that she was dead. "Jess!" he yelled, voice tearing itself from his throat. "No!"

Alice glanced around quickly, then grabbed the bag Sam had just put down and hoofed it out the door after her friends. Right behind her was the burning flames that consumed all that was left of Sam's life at Stanford.

OOOO

Red lights flashed outside Sam's apartment building. The fire department had just finished putting out the fire. Dean and Alice stood next to each other wordlessly, staring at the black smoke billowing from what used to be Sam's home. Soot stained Alice's white scarf and yellow tank, not noticeable on her black shorts. Dean had managed to get out as clean as he was before. Alice leaned her head against his arm for a short moment, then turned and walked back towards the car. Sam stood at the open trunk, Thalia beside him, working with something in his hands. Dean followed Alice around the side and the two saw Sam checking a rifle.

The young man cocked it and looked at his friends, grief and rage shadowing his eyes. He sighed and gave a small nod.

"We have work to do." He tossed the gun back into the personal arsenal Dean and Alice had built up over the years and slammed the trunk shut. Wordlessly, the four of them got into the car, Alice in the back without complaining, and Dean started the engine.

"So you're coming with us?" Sam asked, voice hard, his eyes steady as they locked with the clear blue ones of his friend. Thalia nodded.

"Stanford can do without one more of its students. Friends are more important than school work." She hoped he would be okay. All she knew was that Jess was dead. He nodded and turned back to the front. Dean started driving.

"Next stop," Alice announced quietly and without any of her usual snarky attitude, "Blackbottle Ridge, Colorado." She sighed and settled down, staring out the window into the cold black sky.