I was sprawled out on a couch in Bobby's living room, flipping through channels on the TV. There was nothing but shit on after midnight, on a weekday, on your antenna basic. I sighed and rolled my neck back, staring at the ceiling. The screen door creaked and I jumped at the noise, "Dean?"

"Yep." He walks in and leans on the room's entryway.

"How's the car coming?"

He smiled, "Just finished her up. Can't to wait to get on the open road and drive her."

"Good cause Sam found something. He wants to head out in the morning."

"Okay. Where is that giant bucket of sunshine? I haven't seen him today."

"Upstairs, went to bed an hour or so ago. Bobby went outta town to help a friend a state over, left this afternoon."

Dean came over and I sat partway up, he plopped down on the couch and I laid my head on his leg. He grabbed my left hand and examined it, straightening my fingers, "You took the cast off?"

"It was getting in the way...plus it feels fine."

"Still, these usually take a few months to heal." Dean turned my hand over, inspecting it.

"Well thankfully, it seems I have super-human heal time, or whatever. So this is fine, I think… Well at least I hope."

He ran his fingers through mine, "So what have you been doin' all day? Absolutely nothin' like usual?"

I laughed, "Lookin' through book after book. Trying to figure out what the hell could be goin' down out there. Tryin' to find some lead somewhere on that damn demon."

"You are tryin' to find stuff about you." It wasn't posed as a question.

I sighed, pausing, "Dean...I just don't know. I mean what if the demon…"

"It doesn't matter."

I looked up at his face, "What do you mean 'it doesn't matter'? I could be some abomination…"

"Just shut-up about it Jen."

"Excuse me? Wanna try that again?" I raised my eyebrows, challenging him to reconsider what words had just come out of his mouth.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Okay, shut-up, like don't worry about it. So what?"

"So what? What the hell does that even mean?" My voice raised.

"It means I don't give a shit. You could be a backwoods hobo or the freakin' queen of Sheba. I doesn't matter what the demon said. I told you I don't buy that destiny shit...Well at least until you start smokin' when I hit you with the Holy Water...then I might need to rethink my position."

I laughed, "So you aren't worried that I'm 'tied to fate' or some bullshit like that."

"We will cross that bridge if we ever come to it. Right now, I want to chill, watch some TV. Because it doesn't change anything that has already happened and we choose what happens from here on out…" The corners of his lips twitched, "...So shut-up about it."

I faced the TV, "Make me."

Dean laughed, "Oh... make you? Alright…"

He moved quickly, swinging his legs up and under me so he was laying on the couch. He pulled my face around and held his lips centimeters from mine. I was staring into his eyes, waiting, when his lips twitched into a wicked smile and he winked. What the hell? Then Dean's fingers jabbed under my ribs, making me screech.

"No...Dean...Please...Stop" I couldn't breathe, I was laughing so hard, trying to fight off his hands. He kept tickling me. I turned into him, shoving. I gasped again and again.

"...Dean...I…can't"

"I don't understand you. What's that?" He asked playfully. His hands found a spot that was even more ticklish and I pushed back, harder than I meant to because I was tumbling off the couch. I grabbed for something, anything to break the fall. It ended up being Dean and I pulled him off the couch on top of me. There was a huge thud as we hit the ground, both of us laughing. His hand moved to my side again and I accidentally let out a sharp squeal.

"Shhh...Jen." Dean laughed, bent down and covered my mouth with his, suppressing the screech. At first it was gentle, but then it deepened. I was lost as he pushed against me, hands intertwining with mine above my head. Dean eventually pulled away. I was gasping for air, looking up at him. He just smiled like a goof, biting his lip. Sighing, Dean rolls off of me and clambers back on the couch. He pulls the blanket off the back, tosses it over himself and then holds the front open,"C'mon."

I just roll my eyes, and climb onto the couch, under the blanket, facing away from Dean. His arm wraps around my waist and he adjusts his body to mine, spooning me. I feel lips on the side of my neck, moving to my exposed shoulder. He buries his face there. I close my eyes and drift off to his steady breathing.

The sun creeping through the curtains hit Jen's face. She groaned, trying to stretch but unable to move. Dean's body was wrapped around her, legs tangled with hers, arm trapping her tight to his chest. Jen squirmed, attempting to loosen his grip with no avail, he had her pinned. He unconsciously gripped her tighter, burying his face into her hair and neck.

"Dean." She said quietly, trying to wake him. She struggled again, but gained no advantage, barely able to breathe under his death grip.

"Dean!" Her voice rang louder.

"Mhmm." A sleepy groan was all she received.

"Dean... dammit. Get up or let me out!"

"Hmm?" She turned to see his eyes opening slowly, squinting. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. Now are you gonna let me move or not?"

"Sorry." He lessens his grip enough for her to stretch, but not enough to get up as he stretches too, letting out a belch.

"Uck, Dean, that smells." Jen elbows him lightly in the stomach and he chuckled, wrapping arms around her, pulling her closer again, moving his hand up and down her stomach. She leaned her head back into his chest for a moment.

"C'mon, we gotta get up." Jen pushed off of him, getting to her feet. Dean watched her walk to the kitchen to make coffee. He called after her, "You need to learn how to relax and enjoy stuff."

Jen returned, leaning against the door jam, "Hazard of the lifestyle. There is always something that needs done."

They locked eyes and smiled. The steps creaked as Sam came down the stairs, Jen cast her eyes down and then over to him, "There is coffee going."

"Thanks…" Sam looked to Dean, "...uh I don't know if Jen told you but I caught wind of a hunt. Might be a demon."

Dean nodded, sitting up, "She mentioned it...Let's go then, you can get me caught up on the road."

A few hours later we were flying down the road in the Impala, radio blasting some AC/DC. I sat in the back, alternating between staring out the open window and watching Dean act like a kid in a candy store.

"Whoo! Listen to her purr! Have you ever heard anything so sweet?" He was smiling, both hands on the wheel. I leaned up resting my head and arms on the back of the seat, near his shoulders, "You two need a room?"

He laughed and turned to me, "Oh, you are freaking hilarious."

Sam laughed from the passengers set, "You're in a good mood."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Dean turned to him.

Sam shrugged, "No reason."

"Got my car, got a case... things are looking up."

"Wow. Give you a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows and you're Mister Sunshine."

Dean laughed, "How far to Red Lodge?"

I looked over at the map laying on the back seat, "Three-hundred miles, give or take."

"Good" He pressed down on the accelerator and the engine rumbled. I sat back in the seat and looked over some of the stuff that Sam had printed out. Though mostly I just enjoyed the ride and Dean's contagious good mood.

Once in Red Lodge, Sam and Dean posed as reporters to talk to the sheriff. Jen had taken the Impala to go talk to some of the local farmers and take a look at the crime scene where a woman had been beheaded. Sam and Dean headed into the office, introducing themselves to a secretary and being escorted to the Sheriff's office. The man was rather large, old, and sported a handlebar mustache. Sam bullshitted around, trying to get a feel for what the Sheriff would be willing to reveal, "The murder investigation is ongoing, and that's all I can share with the press at this time."

Sam nodded, "Sure, sure, we understand that, but just for the record, you found the first, uh, head last week, correct?"

The man leaned back in his chair, "Mm-hmm."

"Okay, and the other, a uh, Christina Flanigan…" Sam pressed

"That was two days ago. Is there..." A woman knocked on the door, cutting the sheriff off, "You have an appointment in five Sir."

The Sheriff began to get up, "Oh. Sorry boys, time's up, we're done here."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, Sam starting "One last question - "

Dean cut him off, fidgeting, "Yeah, what about the cattle?"

The sheriff was taken aback, "Excuse me?"

Dean shrugged, "You know, the cows found dead, split open, drained ... over a dozen cases."

"What about them?"

Sam leaned forward, serious, "So you don't think there's a connection?"

"Connection ... with...?" The Sheriff wasn't sure where they were going with this line of questioning.

"First cattle mutilations, now two murders? Kinda sounds like ritual stuff." Sam said skeptically.

Dean swallowed, scribbling on his pad with a pen, "You know, like satanic cult ritual stuff?"

The sheriff laughed and then stopped at their serious expressions, "You - you're not kidding."

Dean shook his head, "No."

The sheriff's expression became serious, "Those cows aren't being mutilated. You wanna know how I know?"

"How?" Sam asked.

"Because there's no such thing as cattle mutilation. Cow drops, leave it in the sun, within forty eight hours the bloat'll split it open so clean it's just about surgical. The bodily fluids fall down into the ground and get soaked up because that's what gravity does. But, hey, it could be Satan. What newspaper did you say you work for?"

Dean started to panic, "World Weekly News…"

Sam tried to save him, "Weekly World News."

Dean chuckled uncomfortably, "Weekly... I'm new. "

The sheriff stood up angrily and pointed to the door, "Get out of my office!"

While Dean and Sam were trying to get information and failing miserably, Jen had driven to a farm on the outskirts of town who had recently lost a large chunk of his herd. She got out and her boots sunk in the muddy driveway, bottom of her jeans soaking through. She reached up and knocked on the door, an older, short lady with salt and pepper hair opened the door.

"Morning, I am from the Agricultural and Livestock Services over in Helena. I understand you lost part of your herd recently. I am just here to make sure it wasn't a disease infecting the herd and that if there is a predator involved that it gets taken care of."

She looked Jen up and down, pausing, "Alright… My husband is over in the barn, him and our foreman should be able to help you with whatever you need."

Jen smiled, "Thank you ma'am. Which barn?"

"The horse barn is the one with the hayloft. Give me second and I will take you over. My husband isn't exactly known for his good manners."

"Thanks."

She lead Jen towards the barns. Chickens clucked from their pen, cats scampered in and out of the buildings, cows mooed, horses whinnied. The lady pulled the door of a barn open, "Bob! There is a lady from the...from the...Where did you say you are from again?"

"Ag and Livestock Services." Jen said with a polite smile.. A gruff looking, weathered, aged man turned the corner around the stalls, looking Jen up and down.

"What the hell do you want?" The man had no time for pleasantries.

"I'm just here to make sure any of your herds deaths over the last few weeks aren't from a disease that would affect the quality of the meat."

"Like I told the sheriff, wild animals."

"But you haven't reported finding it. Wild animals don't kill that often."

The man looked down, "There were no tracks, the cows were shredded. It isn't a disease."

"Then I would like to see where you found them, just to confirm."

He looked at her, annoyed, he didn't appreciate her sticking her nose in his business, "Alright, it is a ways out and I don't have any ATVs running. Do you ride?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tom!.." He yelled over his shoulder and then turned back, "My foreman will take you out then."

A sandy haired man hurried over to Bob. Tom was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, and, honestly good looking in that country sort of way. I smiled and nodded.

"Tom, take this lady out to see where the cows were attacked, she is with the livestock department or something. Give her that little black gelding to ride out."

Tom nodded nervously, looking between me and his boss, "Um..follow me miss."

"Jen is fine."

"Yes ma'am."

I rolled my eyes and followed him through the barn, past stalls filled with horses. He walked up to a sorrel mare that he already had tied up, patted it on the shoulder and grabbed a halter from the wall behind it, tossing it to me,"The horse that the boss wants you to take out is in the third stall, I will grab you a saddle."

"Thanks." I walked back up the aisle, breathing in deeply the smell of hay and horse. I had forgotten how much I loved this stuff, how much I missed it. I opened the door, slipping the halter over his nose. It is a cute little horse, his back about even with my shoulders, solid black. He followed me to the hitching post where I tacked him up with the stuff that Tom had pulled out. He watched me warily, probably trying to see if I actually knew what I was doing or if I had been bullshitting his boss. He was quiet, I tried to make conversation, "How long have you been working here?"

"About five years."

Well he is a chatty one, "How far of a ride up is it?"

"Hour up, hour back."

I finished tightening the cinch, "What's his name?"

"Chess."

"Am I gonna get more than a direct, one-syllable answer out of you?"

I looked up and he smiled, "I don't know ma'am...Are you ready to go?"

"Yep." We lead the horses outside and hopped up felt great to be back up on a horse again. He turned up a trail by the pasture fence at a trot, I bumped Chess to follow and he obliged, picking up the bouncy gate. We rode in silence for about fifteen minutes before Tom slowed his horse to a walk, "Aren't you kinda young to work for the Ag Department?"

I laughed, pulling Chess up beside him, "Aren't you kinda young to be a foreman of a large ranch?"

"Fair enough… I'm actually sort of surprised, most of the yahoos they send out don't know the front end of a cow from the ass-end."

"I'm not most yahoos." I smiled and he smiled back. "Tom? Did you find the cows?"

"Yeah. Last one was found yesterday. We have been having trouble for the last month. Boss has been reporting it to the Sheriff but he won't do anything."

"What do you think it is?"

"Honestly, boss wouldn't agree with me but, I think it is some sort of animal."

"But that is what he reported?"

He shrugged, "That's what he says but not what he thinks. I'm not entirely sure either. Animals only kill when they are hungry, and I haven't seen any tracks...weird. Plus, none of the meat is gone."

"Not a disease then?"

"No."

"You sound pretty sure."

"I'm positive."

"Alright then." We kept riding for awhile. Then he turned to me,

"The body is just over this next knoll, 'bout three hundred yards past the tree line up ahead...Wanna race to the pines?"

I laughed, and as I got excited, Chess began to prance, "Only if you wanna lose."

Tom laughed and spurred his horse without giving me a warning. Shithead. I kicked Chess and he leapt forward, legs pounding the ground, muscles moving in perfect rhythm. I let myself go, let myself dip into the pure freedom that came along with this. I caught up with Tom's horse and Chess beat him by a stride to the pine tree.

"Whoa." I sat back and he slid to a stop. Tom shook his head, "Damn."

"I told you I would win." We walked the horses up over the hill, both squirming underhand, breathing heavily, snorting, wanting to run again.

"What kind of riding did you do Jen?"

"Barrel racing mostly...But anything where you get to run is fine with me."

"We should hop off up here and tie them up. They get kinda nervous around the cow, I think they can smell whatever did it."

"Alrighty." We dismounted and tied the horses to some trees, walking the last hundred yards or so. When we arrived the stench was pungent, and that cow was freaking mutilated. But Tom had been right, this wasn't a disease. I was pretty sure it wasn't an animal either. I could see the tracks from Tom and a few horses yesterday, but other than that, nothing. I stepped up to examine the body. Sides were ripped, right behind the leg and the throat was ripped. But all the meat was pretty much intact. Very little blood littered the ground, weird. Kneeling, I examined the neck, pulling the muscles out of the way to get a better view. As I grabbed the windpipe, something fell to the ground. I picked it up, looking at it in the light. Fuck, I pocketed it. "Tom, I think I have gotten all I need here."

"Alright."

We began to ride back. I couldn't call Sam or Dean because he would overhear, so I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to wait until I got to the car. They needed to know before they got themselves deep into a shit storm. Tom's voice pulled me out of my swirling thoughts,"How long are you in town for?"

I turned to him, "Excuse me?"

He smiled, "Are you in town long enough to grab a drink tonight."

"Oh...Um." I looked forward and he laughed uncomfortably.

"It is okay, you can say no." Tom said quietly.

"Listen, you seem like a nice guy, but…"

"But I work on ranch and you probably have some higher expectations. I should have figured."

"No..Not at all actually...I'm… I guess I'm seeing someone."

"Really?" He sounded surprised.

"Tom, I'm offended. Are you saying that I couldn't get a guy?"

"Not at all...You just don't seem like the 'I have a long term relationship' type."

I scoffed. He chuckled, "For starters, the gun shoved down the back of your pants would be a speedbump for most guys."

Shit, I hadn't even thought about making sure my coat had covered that up. "Um...This is the middle of Montana."

"Yes ma'am it is, but rifles work a little better."

I smiled, "I'm sure they do."

"Are you still going to stick to the boyfriend story to blow me off?"

"Well it is true."

"Sure it is."

We trotted the rest of the way back to the barns. I helped Tom untack the horses and we parted ways. As soon as I was back in the car I called Dean's cell.

After the Sheriff had been a bust, Sam and Dean headed over to the coroner's office to take a look at the severed head and body that had been found. On the way in they snaked some labcoats off some pegs. When they entered the morgue there was an intern sitting behind the desk whose nametag read '

'. Dean stared at it for a moment, calculating his chances, "Hey John."

The intern looked up, uncomfortable, "Jeff."

Dean bit his lip, snapping his fingers, "Jeff I know that... Dr. Dworkin needs to see you in his office right away."

The intern was startled, "But Dr. Dworkin's on vacation."

Dean feigned panic, "Well, he's back. And he's pissed, and he's screaming for you, man, so if I were you I would…"

The intern flew out of the chair and scampered down the hallway. Sam and Dean both chuckled. Sam started reading the sliders on the cooler wall, Dean played with some tools, "Hey, those satanists in Florida, they marked their victims, didn't they?"

Sam nodded, finally finding the right drawer, "Yeah, reversed pentacle on the forehead."

"Yeah. So much fucked up crap happens in Florida." He hands Sam a pair of latex gloves, puts on his own and slides the drawer out. A headless body emerges with container between the legs. Sam grabs the container and puts it on a lab table. Dean slides it towards Sam, "All right, open it."

Sam scoffed, disgusted, "You open it."

Dean grabbed the container, flipping the lid up, "Wuss."

Inside the box is the severed head of the female victim. Sam cringed at the sight of it, Dean sighed, "Well, no pentagram."

"Wow. Poor girl."

Dean bumped shoulders with him, "Maybe we should, uh, you know, look in her mouth, see if those wackos stuffed anything down her throat. You know, kinda like the moth in Silence of the Lambs."

Sam pushed the box to Dean, "Yeah, here, go ahead."

"No, you go ahead."

Sam backed away, "What?"

Dean made his voice scratchy and high pitched, "Put the lotion in the basket."

Sam scoffed at his impression of Buffalo Bill, "Right, yeah, I'm the wuss, huh? Whatever."

Sam felt down the throat, wet, squishy sounds accompanied his fingers sliding down the mouth cavity, "Dean, get me a bucket?"

"You find something?"

"No, I'm going to puke."

Dean's phone began to go off, he looked at the screen to see Jen's number, "Hey Jen, what did you find?"

"Dean we aren't dealing with a demon. I checked out the body of the last cow up on the highlands of a ranch. There was a vampire fang lodged in the throat."

"Vampire? Why is vampire chowing down on a cow?"

"Maybe it was fucking hungry, I mean there isn't a whole lot of food in central Montana."

"Hold up a second Jen...Hey Sam, lift up the lip again, I wanna check out something."

"Are you trying to make me sick?" Sam snapped.

"Just do it."

When Sam lifted up the lip, holes in the gums were visible. Dean pressed down on one and a fang descended. Sam scoffed, "Well that changes things."

"Ya think?...Jen, we will meet you back in town. If we hit up a couple bars tonight we should be able to find where these things are bunkering down at. At a minimum get a lead on the nest."

"Alrighty, should be there in thirty-ish."

Jen pulled the Impala in front of a diner that Sam and Dean had been waiting in. Dean walked to the driver's side , opening the door, Jen scooted over to the passenger's side. Sam climbed in the back, "The dead body was a fang...you think we have another hunter in town?"

Jen shrugged as Dean pulled the car out, "I think that is becoming a distinct possibility."

Dean turned to her, "Do you know anyone who would be in town?"

She shook her head, "Not that I can think of, you would be surprised how few hunters actually hunt vampires. It is dangerous as hell by yourself."

"Sam and I were asking around, there is only one bar on the outskirts of town."

"Really?"

Dean nodded, "Only one that can stay in business. The town is so damn small the only things here are people in the lumber industry and the farmers."

"Well at least we shouldn't have to look to hard...I'm guessing there is only one motel in town as well."

Dean chuckled, "Nope, there are two. Though the people at the diner highly recommended one over the other. I guess the one is a little spendy."

"Is that where we are heading?"

"Yep. Figured we could grab a few hours of down time and then get going tonight. Feeling the townspeople out, the people who know everyone and everything are the bar rats so…"

Sam cut Dean off, "Well since we already know what this case is we could start looking at new ones."

Jen sighed, "Sam you are all work and no play man. Can't you just cool it for a few hours."

"Not in my nature Jen."

When they arrived at the Adobe Motel, Dean checked them into one room where they set up camp. Sam immediately pulled out his laptop and began looking for more cases, sitting at the table by the window. Jen pulled out some newspapers, laying horizontally on the bed closest to the door. Dean grabbed a handful of Jen's newspapers and laid on the bed, longways, on his back. He rested his head on the small of Jen's back, using it as a pillow. It was a toss-up who was more surprised, Jen or Sam. Dean never showed affection in front of his brother.

In all honesty, I didn't see this job lasting beyond tomorrow afternoon. Once we found the nest tonight it would only be a matter of hours before this pest problem was cleaned up. I pulled some newspapers that I had picked up at a gas station out of my bag, laying on my stomach across one of the beds. Dean grabbed half of my stack and I shot him a look. He winked in response and I rolled my eyes. He plopped onto the bed, laying perpendicular to me, resting his head at the bottom of my back. At first I stiffened, nervous. Dean never really, well blatantly obviously, touched me in front of Sam. I didn't look for his reaction, and frankly at this point I could care less what he thought of us. Relaxing, I flipped through the major headlines, nothing too interesting. I moved onto the obituaries; old age, old age, heart attack, old age. Nothing, nothing, nothing. I huffed and then stared out the glass sliding patio door.

Every time Dean finished with a paper, he tossed it at my head or made paper airplanes and bombed Sam. Looking up I could see that Sam was frustrated and not having any more luck than us at finding a new case, he sighed, "I'm going to the vending machine, you two want anything?"

I shook my head, Dean tossed his wallet at Sam, "Grab a few bags of chips or pretzels, I'm starving."

I heard the door shut after Sam, Dean sat up, "How are you not hungry?"

I shrugged, and looked back down at my paper, "I don't know...I'm fine."

Suddenly I felt a rolled up newspaper smack across my ass, I jumped up in surprise, "Dean Winchester!"

He laughed, cocking an eyebrow "Jennifer Wesson."

"I'm gonna murder you!"

"What?" He asked innocently, sitting on the edge of the bed.

I huffed, and shoved him playfully, "Jackass."

Sam walked back in, tossing a few bags of food at Dean, who immediately started chowing down. He held an open bag of potato chips at me and I just shook my head, returning to the papers.

Once it was dark we pulled up to this bar right outside of town. It was run down on the outside, neon beer advertisements showing through the windows. Dean parked the Impala and we all got out. I nodded to the bar, "Go ahead, I will trail you."

Dean nodded and him and Sam took off. I watched them enter, waited a few moments and crossed the parking lot. All the vehicles except for a select few were older model trucks. As I enter, the inside is just as nasty and dark as the exterior, smoke wafts through the air. Dean and Sam are already at the bar, I sit at a table within earshot, order a beer and watch around the room. Most of the people were talking with friends, laughing, a select few were sitting by themselves. The bartender, who was shorter than either of the boys, but a little older, finally made it over to where Sam and Dean were standing. Dean nodded at him, "How's it going?"

"Living the dream. What can I get for you?"

"Two beers, please." Dean replied.

Once the bartender handed the beers over the counter, Sam spoke slowly, "So, we're looking for some people. "

The guy laughed, "Sure. Hard to be lonely."

Sam reached into his pocket, "Yeah. But um, that's not what I meant."

I glance over and see him throw some cash on the bar, then he continued, "Right. So these, these people, they would have moved here about six months ago, probably pretty rowdy, like to drink...real night owls."

The bartender pocketed the cash, "Barker farm got leased out a couple months ago. Real winners. They've been in here a lot... drinkers. Noisy. I've had to 86 them once or twice. "

Dean grabbed his beer off the counter, "Thanks."

They sat two tables away from me, there were a few girls watching them but they quickly went back to their friends. I kept scanning the room, a black man dressed in red plaid alone in a corner kept alternating between glancing their direction and smoking. Dean made eye contact with me, I nodded toward the corner and he looked over his shoulder and then nodded back. He smacked Sam on the shoulder and they got up and left. The door hadn't even shut when the man from the corner rushed after them. I trailed after in time to see Dean and Sam disappear around a corner, the man watched and followed, stalking them. Staying in the shadows I moved quickly and quietly, watching. Against the dark I saw the gleam of a drawn blade in the man's hand. Shit.

I closed the distance between us and grabbed at his arm, he heard me at the last second because he ducked and turned, drawing up. I smacked the hand away, his knife flew out of his hand. He swung wildly, I dodged and hit him square in the chest, pushing him backwards, his body bouncing against the wall. As he went to charge me, hands came out of nowhere, pinning him off the ground, against the wall. Dean drew his machete and held it at his throat, "Smile."

The man looked confused, "What?"

I glared at him, picking up the knife and pushing it against his stomach, "Smile bitch."

His eyes rolled, "Oh, for the love of… you want to stick that thing someplace else? I'm not a vampire… Yeah I heard you guys in there."

Sam frowned and Dean pushed his machete closer to his throat, the skin folding around it, "What do you know about vampires?"

"How to kill them. Now seriously, bro. That knife's making me itch." Dean smirked and the man tried to pull away, Sam pinned him harder. The man swallowed hard, "Easy there, Chachi."

He slowly brought his hand to his mouth, revealing his gums, "See? Fangless. Happy?"

Sam and Dean let up, I took a step back but didn't drop the knife, "Who the hell are you?"

"Gordon Walker, and you have my knife."

I cocked my head, flipped it around and handed it to him handle first. He took it and sheathed it, watching me warily. Sam broke the silence, "I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean. That is Jen."

Gordon looked between all of them, "Sam and Dean Winchester?"

Dean nodded, "The one and only."

Gordon laughed, "And Jen Wesson?"

Jen cocked her eyebrows and nodded, unamused and suspicious. Gordon made her uncomfortable.

"No fucking way…" He turned back to the boys, " I can't believe it. You know I met your old man once? Hell of a guy. Great hunter. I heard he passed. I'm sorry. It's big shoes. But from what I hear you guys fill 'em. Great trackers, good in a tight spot -And you Jen, I heard you clean up stuff quick, real efficient...nerves of freaking steel... "

Dean cut him off, "You seem to know a lot about our family…"

"And you know who I am." Jen finished.

Gordon started to walk toward the parking lot, "Word travels fast. You know how hunters talk."

Dean scoffed, "No, we don't, actually."

Gordon turned, "I guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?"

Sam squirmed uncomfortably, Gordon made him nervous as well, "So, um, so those two vampires, they were yours, huh?"

"Yep. Been here two weeks."

"Did you check out that Barker farm?" Dean asked.

Gordon leaned up against a car, "It's a bust. Just a bunch of hippie freaks. Though they could kill you with that patchouli smell alone."

Dean nodded, "Where's the nest, then?"

Gordon shifted, "I got this one covered. Look, don't get me wrong. It's a real pleasure meetin' you guys. But I've been on this thing over a year. I killed a fang back in Austin, tracked the nest all the way up here. I'll finish it."

"We could help." Dean spoke quickly before Jen could stop him.

"Thanks, but uh, I'm kind of a go-it-alone type of guy."

"Come on, man, I've been itching for a hunt." Dean tried again, Jen swallowed hard, she wanted to get the hell outta here. Gordon opened the door, "Sorry. But hey, I hear there's a Chupacabra two states over. You go ahead and knock yourselves out...It was real good meeting you, though. I'll buy you a drink on the flip side."

He waved quickly and sped off. Dean walked toward the Impala, "C'mon."

Jen follow, "Do you really think this is a good idea, the guy gives me the creeps."

Dean reached for the door, "He's a hunter, I'm sure we seem a little off to people. Plus, no one can take out a nest on their own, I just want to make sure he doesn't get wasted."

They all climbed in and Jen continued, "Dean, I'm telling you that I have a bad feeling about this guy…"

"Jen, it will be fine...We take care of the nest and we are outta here by noon." He sighed, and tapped her shoulder. "I promise."

She rolled her eyes, "Sure thing."

They tailed Gordon's car from a distance until it hit a lumber mill on the river. By the time they pulled the car off the road and caught up on foot, Gordon was long gone from the car.

"Shit." Dean muttered. Jen took off through the shadows, both of the boys trailing her. She slid the door open on the warehouse and they swept it, one area after another. As Sam is passing a door, a saw starts on the opposite side, rumbling and humming. He swings it open and sees a beat up Gordon on a table and a vamp pulling a saw down toward his head. Sam grabs Gordon and pulls him away quickly. Dean and Jen appear behind him, attacking the vampire. Jen struggles with him, flipping him on his back and pinning the vamp under the electric saw.

"Dean!" She yells and he grabs the saw and lowers it, decapitating the vamp. As the saw chain meets the flesh, they are sprayed with blood. The head thumps to the floor, Dean and Jen exchange a look, and she sighs, relieved. He starts to laugh, Jen joins him. Gordon watches and then finally speaks in disbelief, "So, uh, I guess I gotta buy you that drink."

Dean and I had stopped off long enough to clean up, but we were now sitting with Sam and Gordon at a table in that bar. Dean and me were both leaning back in their seats, Sam sat with his elbows on the table. Gordon waived a waitress over, ordering four shots of whiskey. When she came back Dean reached for his wallet, Gordon waved him off,

"No, no, I got it."

"Come on." Dean said uncomfortably, I knew he didn't like not paying, feeling like he owed someone.

"I insist…" Gordon turned to the waitress, "...Thank you, sweetie." He raised his glass, "Another one bites the dust. "

We all raised our glasses in response, I slung mine back. I noticed that Sam only sipped, then sat back and crossed his arms. As wary as I was of Gordon, Sam flat out didn't like the man. Gordon chuckled, "Dean. You gave that big-ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend."

Dean smiled, "Thank you."

"That was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful...And Jen, the way you flipped him back? Bad-ass."

I smirked, "Thanks."

There was a pause, Dean was watching his brother, "You alright, Sammy?"

"I'm fine."

Gordon slammed his glass on the table, making me jump, "Well, lighten up a little, Sammy."

Sam bitch faced him, "He's the only one who gets to call me that."

Gordon put up his hands, "Okay. No offense meant. Just celebrating a little. Job well done."

I knew Sam or Gordon didn't catch it but when Sam said that, I caught the proud little smirk on Dean's face. Sam kept talking, "Right. Well, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess. "

"Oh, come one, man, it's not like it was human. You've gotta have a little more fun with your job." Gordon took a swig from a beer.

Dean snapped and pointed, "See? That's what I've been trying to tell him. You could learn a thing or two from this guy."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Yeah I bet I could. Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down. I'm just gonna go back to the motel."

Dean was confused, "You sure?"

Sam got up and nodded, "Yeah. Jen, are you staying here?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna stick around for awhile...If I get too twitchy I will give you a call."

Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and tossed them at him, "Sammy? Remind me to beat that buzzkill out of you later, alright?"

Gordon leaned forward and furrowed his brow, "Something I said?"

Dean waved him off, "Nah, nah, he just gets that way sometimes. Tell you what. Match you quarters for the next round."

For the next hour or so Dean and Gordon swapped stories. I pretty much just sat there and listened, sipping on a beer. It was nice to see Dean happy. But fucking Gordon, he was charismatic sure, but he was definitely the guy you avoided in the prison yard. The guy that would shive you just because he thought you gave him a look, stab you while your back was turned. I just kept my eye on him, zoning out, watching the locals. Dean was in the middle of a story about a werewolf,

"... So. I pick up this crossbow. And I hit that ugly sucker with a silver-tipped arrow right in his heart. Sammy's waiting in the car, and uh, me and my dad take the thing into the woods, burn it to a crisp. I'm sitting there and looking into the fire, and I'm thinking to myself, I'm sixteen years old. Most kids my age are worried about pimples, prom dates. I'm seeing things that they'll never even know. Never even dream of. So right then, I just sort of - "

Gordon laughed, "Embraced the life?"

Dean smiled, "Yeah."

"Yeah...How about you sweetie?"

I cringed at him calling me that, "I don't know… My first hunt was a demon with John, but when I embraced the life? I've hunted everything; vamps, wolves, shifters. When I realized I was in love with the life? A windigo, over in the rockies. I'm telling you, there is nothing more thrilling than hunting something that is a better hunter than you. That bastard, I was holled up in a protective circle for almost a week before I got that son of a bitch."

Gordon slammed his beer down, "You took a wendigo by yourself? That's insane...how did you do it?"

"Old Indian tiger trap...I didn't kill him but it sure as hell slowed him down enough to burn him, caught him with a homemade torch. How did you get started?"

He sat back and sighed, then Gordon spoke slowly, "First time I saw a vampire I was barely eighteen. Home alone with my sister. I hear the window break in her room. I grab my dad's gun, run in, try to get it off her. Too late. So I shoot the damn thing. Which of course is about as useful as snapping it with a rubber band. It rushes me, picks me up, flings me across the room, knocks me out cold. When I wake up, the vampire's gone, my sister's gone."

"And then?" Dean asked.

"Then... try explaining that one to your family. So I left home. And then bummed around looking for information: how you track 'em, how you kill 'em. And I found that fang - it was my first kill…"

A familiar voice cut Gordon off mid-sentence, "So you weren't lying to me."

Looking up, Tom was right beside me, "Hey! I told you I wasn't."

"Well shit. I came all the way over here, to this side of the bar, thinking I was gonna catch you in it, and actually have a shot at that drink."

I chuckled, "No such luck…"

Dean cleared his throat, "Oh, ah...Tom this is Dean….Tom showed me around that farm today."

Dean held out a hand, they shook, "Nice to meet you."

Well this was uncomfortable, "Tom, how about I get you a couple beers for taking me to the ridge today?"

His face brightened, "Sure."

Tom turned away, walking to the bar, I turned to Dean, putting my hand on his shoulder, "You want anything?"

He shook his head and shot a look after Tom, I sighed, "Really?"

Dean nodded stiffly, "Yeah really...He wants in your pants."

"Oh my god, number one...no, just, no. Number two, like every girl in here doesn't want in yours? Calm yourself." I patted him lightly on the chest and leaned down near his ear, and spoke quietly, "Being an ass doesn't suit you."

He chuckled and I walked up to the counter where Tom was standing. I ordered two beers from a new bartender, "So you stalked and cornered me in the only bar in town."

He smiled and chuckled, "I honestly didn't mean to… but it is the only bar in town, so…"

I took a swig from my beer, "Well now that you have trapped me…"

He huffed jokingly, "Trapped you? I never would dream…"

Dean watched Jen walk over to the bar. He hadn't meant to be an ass, but the guy clearly had an ulterior motive. Gordon cut off his thoughts, "She is a hell of a...well something."

Dean snapped back into reality, "Yeah, she is."

"Though man...mixing work with pleasure isn't usually a good idea."

Dean grimaced, "It isn't really like that."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I didn't know..."

"Don't worry about it. I mean she is a real pain in the ass sometimes, she is so used to goin' at this stuff alone, doesn't know when to ask for help...But she is pretty cool, knows her stuff, kick-ass hunter. It is nice having someone that you can be honest about the life with. "

Dean was uncomfortable talking about Jen like this. He knew how most guys brains worked, and the first thought was always about how to get some. So he changed the subject, "Sorry about your sister, by the way."

"Yeah. She was beautiful. I can still see her, you know? The way she was. But hey, that was a long time ago. I mean, your dad. It's gotta be rough. "

"Yeah. Yeah, you know. He was just one of those guys. Took some terrible beatings, just kept coming. So you're always thinking to yourself, he's indestructible. He'll always be around, nothing can kill my dad. Then just like that..."

Dean snapped his fingers, …" he's gone. I can't talk about this to Sammy. You know, I gotta keep my game face on…. Jen probably isn't the best option either, she and my dad didn't get along so well. Him actually stabbing her definitely derailed that train…But, uh, the truth is I'm not handling it very well. Feel like I have this…"

Dean trailed off and Gordon spoke slowly, "Hole inside you? And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker? Good. You can use it. Keeps you hungry. Trust me. There's plenty out there needs killing, and this'll help you do it. Dean, it's not a crime to need your job."

Dean nodded, staring at his beer. Gordon slapped the table, "Hold on, your dad actually stabbed her?"

Dean chuckled, "Yeah...I mean there had been a fist fight before then, but I think stabbing her was the last straw."

"No shit?"

"Well Jen isn't exactly good at putting up with bullshit and my dad had a short fuse, so that was always a nuc waiting to go off."

"Know why I love this life?" Gordon asked.

"Hmm?"

He leaned forward, "It's all black and white. There's no maybe. You find the bad thing, kill it. See, most people spend their lives in shades of gray. Is this right? Is that wrong? Not us."

"Not sure Sammy would agree with you, but uh…"

"Doesn't seem like your brother's much like us…"

Dean gave him a skeptical look, Gordon raised his hands, "I'm not saying he's wrong. Just different. But you and me? We were born to do this. It's in our blood."

Dean just nodded and thinks about that. He looks over his shoulder again, Jen was talking animatedly, hands flying and laughing. Glancing down at his watch, it was quarter to three.

"Doesn't this place have a closing time?"

Gordon laughed, "A place like this? Middle of nowhere? Closing time is when the sun comes out."

Sam had made it back to the motel quickly. And as soon as he was there he flipped out his phone and dialed,

"Harvelle's Roadhouse." Ellen's voice picked up on the other end.

"Hey Ellen, uh, Sam Winchester."

"Sam, it's good to hear from you. You boys are okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Got a question."

"Yeah, shoot."

"You ever run across a guy named Gordon Walker?"

"Yeah, I know Gordon. "

"And?" Sam turned the key in the lock, opening the room.

"Well, he's a real good hunter. Why are you asking, sweetie?"

"Well, we ran into him on a job and we're kinda working with him, I guess. "

"Don't do that, Sam." She was almost yelling through the phone.

"I... I thought you said he was a good hunter."

"Yeah, and Hannibal Lecter's a good psychiatrist. Look, he is dangerous to everyone and everything around him. If he's working on a job you guys just let him handle it and you move on."

"Ellen…"

"No... Sam? You...just listen to what I'm telling you, okay? It will only end one of two ways, either one of you three will get hurt or one of you will end up killing him because he put you in danger. Do you hear me?"

"Right, okay...Thanks Ellen."

"Anytime sweetie, just listen to what I said."

"Okay, bye." Sam flipped the phone closed and sighed. He had known there was something off about Gordon and he was glad that it wasn't just him being paranoid. Though he was pretty sure Jen was on his side for this one, he had noticed that she gave him a wide berth and reeled away anytime Gordon addressed her. He walks to the vending machine and back, it is cool out, clear. As he comes back to the door, a rustle in the bushes makes him pause. Waiting, Sam starts to think that it was all in his head, after all this was the middle of Montana. He enters, leaning against the door, relieved. As he begins to open his soda a person jumps him from behind, Sam flips him over his shoulder to the floor. A second man comes at him from the shadows, Sam defends himself, but fails to see the first man grab the telephone off the nightstand. It collides with Sam's head and the world goes black.

As Sam comes to there is dim light in the room, caused by a lone lamp. He is bound to a chair and gagged, looking up the bartender from earlier is staring at him, opening his mouth to reveal a set of fangs. The bartender advances and Sam struggles against his bounds.

A woman's voice, with a slight drawl, rings through the air, "Wait! Step back, Eli."

Eli shoots her a look, but steps back, retracting his fangs. The woman walks over and pulls Sam's gag off, "My name's Lenore. I'm not going to hurt you. We just need to talk."

Sam snorts, "Talk? Yeah, okay, but I might have a tough time paying attention to much besides Eli's teeth."

Lenore pulled up a chair, opposite of Sam, "He won't hurt you either. You have my word."

Sam's eyes roll, "Your word? Oh yeah, great, thanks. Listen lady, no offense but you're not the first vampire I've met."

"We're not like the others. We don't kill humans, and we don't drink their blood. We haven't for a long time."

"What is this, some kind of joke?"

She looked him up and down, "Notice… you're still alive."

"Okay, uh, correct me if I'm wrong here, but shouldn't you be starving to death?"

She looks over at Eli, who is hovering, "We've found other ways. Cattle blood."

It clicks into place for Sam, "You're telling me you're responsible for all the…"

"It's not ideal, in fact it's disgusting. But it allows us to get by." She makes a face.

Sam nods, "Okay, uh, why?"

"Survival. No deaths, no missing locals, no reason for people like you to come looking for people like us. We blend in. Our kind is practically extinct. Turns out we weren't quite as high up the food chain as we imagined."

"Why are we explaining ourselves to this killer?" Eli hissed at her.

"Eli!" She was admonished.

"We choke on cow's blood so that none of them suffer. Tonight they murdered Conrad and they celebrated."

"Eli, that's enough."

"Yeah, Eli, that's enough." Sam sassed at him.

Lenore shot Sam a look and then spoke again, "What's done is done. We're leaving this town tonight."

"Then why did you bring me here? Why are you even talking to me?"

"Believe me, I'd rather not. But I know your kind. Once you have the scent you'll keep tracking us. It doesn't matter where we go. Hunters will find us."

"So you're asking us not to follow you."

She stood up, "We have a right to live. We're not hurting anyone."

Sam glared at her, skeptical, "Right, so you keep saying, but give me one good reason why I should believe you."

"Fine…" She leans over him, "...You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to let you go."

She gets up and stands in front of Eli, "Take him back. Not a mark on him."

Two vampires came out of nowhere, replacing the gag, putting a sack over his head. They lead him to a truck and started driving back to the motel.

I was leaning against the bar still talking to Tom. We had spent the last couple of hours discussing pros and cons of different tractors, beef cattle and different brands of horse equipment. Right now we were in the middle of an argument about Chevy's versus Ford's.

"I'm tellin' you man, Chevy has the better cars but Ford has got them on the trucks."

He slammed his beer down, wavering, losing his balance slightly "Chevy has a way better engine on their trucks…"

I laughed "You are so full of shit."

"No…" He almost fell backwards, the poor guy was plastered. I grabbed his arm to keep him from tumbling.

"Easy there, maybe you should slow down."

He waved at me, "I'm... fine."

An arm wrapped around my waist from behind, I looked up to see Dean, "Maybe you should listen to her...Tom? Right?"

"C'mon man back off." Tom managed to slur out. Dean just ignored him, looked down at me and spoke, "You about ready to go. Gordon is gonna give us a lift back to the hotel, maybe talk some strategy."

I leaned my head back against his chest, "Sure."

Tom's hands flew again, "Stay for an…" Before he could finish the sentence the drink he was holding flung onto my shirt, and the glass smacked me in the face.

"Son of a bitch." I hissed, jumping back. Dean pushed me behind him and grabbed Tom up by the collar, pulling him off the ground, growling, "You clumsy fucker."

"Dean!" I put my hand on his shoulder, "C'mon. Its fine, let's go."

Dean looked between me and Tom, then sighed and flung him back. I grabbed his hand and pulled him behind me towards the door where Gordon was already standing. As soon as we were outside, Dean planted himself and spun me around.

"You okay?"

"Dammit Dean, I'm fine...I don't need you to protect me!" It came out little harsher than I had meant it to. He ignored me and grabbed my chin, examining my face. I shoved him back, "Dean! Stop-it!"

"Jen…"

I just glared at him and he put up his hands, defeated. Gordon cleared his throat, "You two ready to go?"

"Yeah." I snapped. We climbed into the car and drove in silence. When we arrived, Gordon parked his car and turned to us, "I'm gonna get a decent shower...You guys want to meet back up in a hour or so and we can figure out how to get these fangs?"

Dean nodded, "Sure thing."

I stalked to the door and flung it open, Dean was right behind me, "I think your chin is bruising."

"I told you that it is fine." I snarled, snatching my bag and digging out a clean t-shirt. Dean came up beside me, reaching for my wrist. I reeled back, "Don't."

His voice raised, "Why are you so pissed?"

"The guy was drunk, you didn't need to attack him." I headed for the patio door, I needed some air. But before I got there, Dean's voice raised even more, "Attack him? The guy spilt his drink on you and smacked you with a glass!"

"Jesus Dean! It was an accident! And that's not even the point!"

"Then what the hell is it?"

"You don't need…" I didn't know what to say.

"I don't need to what? Need to watch a guy hit on you all night?"

I flung my hands in aspiration, "It isn't like anything happened. He never laid a hand on me. I can handle myself, I have worked alone for years. I have dealt with guys for years. I don't know why you are a...a...a jealous ass sometimes."

"Ha." He crossed his arms across his chest.

"God Dean! You don't need to worry about anything because I…" I choked on the words, stopping myself because I realized the words that were going to escape.

His face softened, "You what?"

"I..I...I…" I turned and ran smack right into the glass door, face first. I ran into it hard enough that I bounced back and fell on my ass. I stared at my reflection for a moment, watching the red creep up my neck and to my cheeks. I heard a couple of snorts and then Dean busted a gut. I pulled my knees up and buried my face there. His hand ran down my back, he slid down behind me and wrapped his arms around me, body still shaking with laughter.

"You're an ass." I mumbled into my lap.

"I know." There was a long pause in which he buried his face into the back of my neck, "Jen?"

"Hmm?"

His arms tightened around me and nuzzled my neck, "Me too babe."

After a few moments I finally looked up, I caught his reflection staring at me in the dark glass. I smiled tentatively and his lips twitched in response. I sat up straighter and turned my head, Dean rested his forehead on my temple. He grabbed my earlobe between his teeth and tugged lightly. I smacked his leg playfully, "Stop that... It's weird."

He started kissing my neck, "You like weird and you know it."

I giggled as his hands moved over my body, a knock at the door stopped him, "Shit. Every. Single. God-damn time." Dean mumbled, getting up and pulling me to my feet with him. Gordon was on the other side holding a stack of papers. He came in and laid a county map out on the table,

"This is the best pattern I can establish. It's sketchy at best."

Dean pointed, "Looks like it's all coming from this side of town. Which means the nest would be around here someplace, right?"

Gordon nodded, "Yep, that's what I'm thinking. Problem is, there's thirty-five, forty farms out there. I've searched about half of them already, but nothing yet. They're covering their tracks real good. "

I sighed, "I guess that leaves half the county to search…" I looked over at the clock, "Hey Dean, where is Sam at?"

He looked down at his watch, "I dunno. He should be around…"

Gordon cut him off, "Car's parked outside, keys are on the table. Probably went for a walk. Seems like the take-a-walk type."

Dean sighed and looked around worriedly, "Yeah, he is, but…"

The door swung open and Sam rushed in. He shoots a look between me and Dean who looks back at his brother worriedly, "Where you been?"

Sam shifts nervously, "Can I talk to you two real quick?"

Dean turned to Gordon, "You mind chillin' out for a couple minutes?"

Gordon waved him off, "Yeah, go ahead."

Me and Dean followed Sam to the middle of the parking lot, "Dean... Jen, maybe we've got to rethink this hunt."

Dean shrugged, "What are you talking about? Where were you?"

"In the nest."

I stared at him, "You were in the freaking nest? How did you find it?"

Sam scoffed, "They found me."

"How'd you get out? How many'd you kill?" Dean asked.

"None."

Dean scoffed, "Well Sam, they didn't just let you go."

"That's exactly what they did."

"All right, well, where the hell is it at?"

Sam bit the inside of his cheek, "I was blindfolded, I don't know."

"Well, you've got to know something.", Dean was almost yelling.

"We went over that bridge outside of town, but Dean, listen. Maybe we shouldn't go after them."

"Why Sam?" I inquired because none of this was making any sense. Vamps just didn't pass up a free meal ticket, especially since this meal ticket was a hunter.

Sam shrugged, "I don't think they're like other vampires. I don't think they're killing people."

Dean chuckled, annoyed, "You're joking. Then how do they stay alive? Or undead, or whatever the hell they are."

"The cattle mutilations. They said they live off of animal blood."

"And you believed them?"

I cut Dean off, "That would make sense. I found that fang in that cow's throat. I mean, technically it could be possible."

Sam held out his arms, "And look at me, Dean. They let me go without a scratch."

Dean rubbed his temples, "Wait, so you're saying... No, man, no way. I don't know why they let you go. I don't really care. We find 'em, we waste 'em. "

"Why?" Sam raised his palms.

"What part of 'vampires' don't you understand, Sam? If it's supernatural, we kill it, end of story. That's our job."

I sighed, not knowing what to think. This was not going to go over well between them though and the yelling continued, with Sam first this time, "No, Dean, that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil!"

"Of course they're killing people, that's what they do. They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of them."

"No, Dean, I don't think so, all right? Not this time."

"Guys!" I pleaded quietly, but was ignored. Dean continued to yell, "Gordon's been on those vamps for a year, man, he knows."

"Gordon?" Sam scoffed.

"Yes."

"You're taking his word for it?"

Dean nodded, "That's right."

"Ellen says he's bad news."

Dean took a step back, "You called Ellen?...And I'm supposed to listen to her? We barely know her, Sam, no thanks, I'll go with Gordon."

"Right, 'cause Gordon's such an old friend. You don't think I can see what this is?"

Shit, Sam was gonna go there, I tried to get in between them, "Guys! C'mon, let's just track down these SOB's and get outta town."

Dean pushed past me, "What are you talking about?"

Sam stepped up, challenging him, "He's a substitute for Dad, isn't he? A poor one."

"Shut up, Sam." Dean snarled.

"He's not even close, Dean. Not on his best day."

Dean turned to walk away, "You know what? I'm not even going to talk about this."

But Sam kept right on at it, "You know, you slap on this big fake smile but I can see right through it. Because I know how you feel, Dean. Dad's dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can't take it, but you can't just fill up that hole with whoever you want to. It's an insult to his memory."

Dean stiffened, "Okay." Then he turned back quickly, slugging Sam in the face, hard. I stood there in shock. Sam paused, turned back but didn't rise to Dean's bait, "You hit me all you want. It won't change anything."

Dean got in Sam's face, "I'm going to that nest. You don't want to tell me where it is, fine. I'll find it myself. Jen?"

I looked between the brothers. Dean turned back and headed for the room, I gave Sam an apologetic look and then trotted after Dean. When we entered the room Gordon was gone.

"Do you think he went after them?" I asked.

Dean turned, "Probably."

"Shit." I rolled my eyes, this was gonna just be a freakin' party. Sam entered the room, "Dean, we have to stop him."

"Really, Sam? Because I say we lend a hand."

"Just give me the benefit of the doubt, would you? You owe me that." Sam pleaded.

Dean looked over at me. I shrugged and then he glanced back at his brother, "Yeah, we'll see. I'll drive. Give me the keys."

"I left them on the table earlier...Shit, he snaked the keys."

"Fuck." Dean stomped out of the room and to the car. He pulled the door open, pulling the box beneath the steering wheel out, grabbing wires, "I can't believe this. I just fixed her up, too."

The engine turned a few time and then caught. Sam was already sitting in the passenger's seat with a flashlight and a map. I leaned over the back of the seat, "Is the bridge all you got?"

Sam pulled out a pencil and started marking stuff, "The bridge was four and a half minutes from their farm."

Dean got in the driver's seat, "How do you know?"

"I counted...They took a left out of the farm, then turned right onto a dirt road, followed that for two minutes slightly up a hill, then took another quick right and we hit the bridge." As he spoke, he traced roads along the map.

Dean revved the engine, "You're good. You're a monster pain in the ass, but you're good."

Dean drove the Impala through the early hours of the morning. Sam was staring at the map. I was just hoping we all got out of this, well, not in a bunch of pieces or as vamp chow. We crossed the bridge on the far side of town, Dean stopped the car, "Which way?"

Sam consulted the map for a moment, "Pull up this road, you are looking for a dirt road a few miles up."

Not fifteen minutes later we were parked outside a farmhouse, Gordon's car was parked out front. We piled out, grabbing weapons. I had to hand it to Sam, he had nailed the location. Entering the house, I could hear Gordon talking lowly. I pointed in the direction and Dean nodded, flanking me. In this dining room Gordon dips a knife into a jar of blood and slices at this female vamp. Then he turns to us, "Sam, Dean, Jen. Come on down."

Dean walked forward, speaking slowly, "Hey, Gordon. What's going on?"

Gordon smiled, "Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood. She's going to tell us where all her little friends are, aren't you? Wanna help?"

Dean held up his hands, "Look, man…"

"Grab a knife. I was just about to start in on the fingers." Then he drug his knife across Lenore's arm, her veins darkening.

I stepped around the opposite side of the table, "Whoa! Let's just all take a moment and chill out. Okay?"

Gordon sniggered, "I'm completely chill."

Sam flanked Dean, "Gordon, put the knife down."

Sam stepped towards Gordon, but Dean put a hand on his chest, stopping him. Gordon stared at them, "Sounds like it's Sam here that needs to chill."

Sam moved up again, "Just step away from her, all right?"

"You're right. I'm wasting my time here. This bitch will never talk. Might as well put her out of her misery…" Gordon pulled out his machete, "...I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane."

He turned on Lenore, but Sam blocked him, "Gordon, I'm letting her go."

Gordon turned the knife to Sam's chest, "You're not doing a damn thing."

"Gordon…" I warned, "You want to think very carefully about what you are about to do…"

"Let's talk about this." Dean cut in, trying to move his attention.

"What's there to talk about? It's like I said, Dean. No shades of gray."

Dean nodded, "Yeah. I hear ya. And I know how you feel."

"Do you?" Gordon smiled.

"That vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but this one…"

Gordon laughed, "Killed my sister? That filthy fang didn't kill my sister. It turned her. It made her one of them. So I hunted her down, and I killed her myself."

Dean stopped dead, "You did what?"

"It wasn't my sister anymore, it wasn't human. I didn't blink. And neither would you."

I shook my head, "You knew? You knew about the vamps not killin' anyone and you didn't care?"

"Listen sweetheart, you gotta learn that a monster is just that. A monster. And I can prove it to y'all right now."

Before I could make a move on him, Gordon grabbed Sam and sliced the knife across his arm. Dean drew his gun, "Let him go. Now!"

I drew my gun as well, "Gordon! Let Sam go, or I put you down."

"Relax. If I wanted to kill him he'd already be on the floor. Just making a little point."

He held Sam's arm over Lenore so that the blood dripped on her face. Her fangs descended and she hissed. Dean cocked his safety off, "Hey!"

"You think she's so different? Still want to save her? Look at her. They're all the same. Evil, bloodthirsty." Gordon was yelling. Lenore's face contorted and she retracted her fangs, shaking her head back and forth, "No... No."

"You hear her, Gordon?" Sam asked. The vamp kept shaking her head, mumbling to herself. Sam pushes Gordon away from himself and begins untiing Lenore, "We are done here."

Dean keeps his gun on Gordon, "Sam, get her out of here."

Sam picked up Lenore and rushed by Dean. Gordon goes to follow but I flip off my safety and Dean pulled up again, speaking firmly, "Uh-uh. Uh-uh!Gordon, I think you and I've got some things to talk about."

"Get out of my way." Gordon hissed.

Dean shrugged, "Sorry. I can't do that."

"You're not serious."

Dean exhaled heavily, "I'm having a hard time believing it too, but I know what I saw. If you want those vampires, you gotta go through me."

Gordon nods, debating on his next more. He jams his knife into the table, "Fine then."

Dean looks at the knife and then to his gun. I shake my head but he pulls the clip out of the gun and tosses it on the table.

"Dean." I warn. He winks at me, "It's fine. Put the gun down. Go help Sam."

"No."

"This is between me and Godon here." I consider for a moment and then place the gun back into my pants, but do not leave. I wasn't having Dean alone with this crazy son of a bitch. Gordon nods and then swings at Dean, hitting him square in the jaw. Dean comes back at him and they exchange blows. As Dean is flung back, Gordon grabs the knife.

"Really?" Dean asks as Gordon slashes at him, "What are you doing, man? You doing this for a fang? Come on, Dean, we're on the same side here."

Dean laughed, "I don't think so, you sadistic bastard."

"You're not like your brother. You're a killer. Like me."

Gordon throws Dean across the room and lunges at him with the knife. I tackle him from behind, slinging him backwards on top of me in a choke hold. He stabs downward, but lodges the knife in the floorboards. Dean regains his footing and pulls Gordon off of me and against a wall, continually punching him. Finally, when Gordon is unable to fight anymore, Dean pins him under his elbow. Leading Gordon back towards the dining room he slams his head into a wall, "Opps...Sorry."

I grab some ropes and Dean shoves him into a chair, "You know, I might be like you, and I might not. But you're the one tied up right now."

Dean pulled up a chair, sitting on it backwards watching Gordon. I leaned up against the wall, still holding onto Gordon's knife. Dawn was just breaking over the horizon, light pouring through the windows. Gordon just glared off in space. I looked at Dean's face, his skin had burst in a long line across his cheekbone, another huge bruise along his opposite jaw. We watched the quiet Gordon for an hour, until a truck engine rumbled and pulled away. A door slammed as Sam returned, "Did I miss anything."

Dean got up and started pacing, "Nah, not much. Lenore get out okay?"

Sam leaned on the door jam, "Yeah. All of 'em did."

Dean stopped and nodded, "Then I guess our work here is done. How you doin', Gordy? Gotta tinkle yet?

I scoffed and Gordon glared at him. Dean kneeled in front of him and continued, "All right. Well, get comfy. We'll call someone in two or three days, have them come out, untie you."

I stepped up and jammed Gordon's knife down into the table. He glared at me and I smirked in response.

"You guys ready to go?" Sam asked.

Dean stood up, "Not yet... I guess this is goodbye. Well, it's been real."

Dean's fiist slammed upwards into Gordon's jaw, the chair rocked and flipped backwards. Dean turned, "Okay. I'm good now. We can go."

I smirked and followed the boys out. Dean winced walking down the stairs, at the bottom he set his feet, "Sam? Clock me one."

Sam turned, confused, "What?"

Dean waved his hand at his face, "Come on. I won't even hit you back. Let's go."

"No!" Sam scoffed.

"Let's go, you get a freebie. Hit me, come on."

Sam laughed, "You look like you just went twelve rounds with a block of cement, Dean. I'll take a raincheck."

Thank God, because Dean did looked like he lost a fight with a woodchipper. Sam turned and took off towards the car again. Suddenly, Sam turned on his heels, "Hey Jen? What happened to your face."

I stopped in my tracks, looking at Dean. He smirked and then pointed at his forehead and eye. I must have been bruising, "I...um...um."

Dean laughed, "She lost a fight with a glass door."

"Thanks a lot Dean."

"Anytime…" Just as Dean was about to get in the car he spoke again, "I wish we never took this job. It's jacked everything up."

Sam went to open the door but leaned on the roof of the car, "What do you mean?"

"Think about all the hunts we went on, Sammy, our whole lives…What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way Dad raised us... "

"Dean, after what happened to Mom, Dad did the best he could."

Dean sighed, "I know he did. But the man wasn't perfect. And the way he raised us, to hate those things; and man, I hate 'em. I do. When I killed that vampire at the mill I didn't even think about it; hell, I even enjoyed it."

Sam gave a sad smile, "You didn't kill Lenore."

"No, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill 'em all."

Sam smacked the top of the car lightly, "Yeah, Dean, but you didn't. And that's what matters."

"Yeah. Well, 'cause you're a pain in my ass."

"Guess I might have to stick around to be a pain in the ass, then."

"Thanks." Dean said quietly.

"Don't mention it." Sam said as he climbed into the car. I got in the backseat. Out of the window I watched Dean stare into the distance for a few moments, thoughtfully. I rolled down the window and patted his hip lightly, "C'mon… You can have your self-realization moment later, we need to check out of the motel and get the hell outta town."

"Alright." He looked down at me and smiled then climbed into the car. We drove off, eventually checking outta the motel and headed down the road. At least we had gotten done before the afternoon.