Chapter 8:
Now:
Paul's Laundromat. November 1, 2007.
By the miracle of random electrical interferences via demons, the laundromat they had decided to use as their command center was closed. Of course, that wasn't a problem for Dean Winchester and his lock picking skills. The FBI agents present for the moment all begrudgingly turned a blind eye to the breaking and entering, but Garcia didn't really have a problem with a little law breaking every now and then. After all, she used to play for the other side before she was recruited by the FBI, and hacking is her middle name. While the others had gone off to storm the dungeon and slay the dragons, Penelope Garcia, esteemed technical analyst of the BAU, had stayed behind to be their eye in the sky, putting those hacking skills of hers to good use on the the police station security feed.
She and Agent Reidy, who had also stayed behind in the laundromat, watched as the others confronted the demons and secured the station. The suspense and anticipation of the take-down had Garcia's heart beating so fast she could still hear it pounding away in her ears. Thump. Thump. Thump.
It took Garcia a moment to realize that the pounding wasn't her racing heart, but it was coming from below them, in the basement of the laundromat. Turning to the other agent, Garcia could see from Reidy's expressions that he had also heard the pounding noise.
"We have to check out whatever is making the noise," stated Reidy grimly.
"Fine," answered Garcia after a pause. "But you're the one with the gun so you lead the way."
They had just gotten off the last step into the basement-turned-storage space when the wall in front of Garcia and Reidy came crashing down, revealing two figures in the shadows.
Garcia and Reidy backed up the stairs a little before Reidy ordered, "Whoever you are, identify yourselves if you don't want to get shot in the next three seconds! One! Two! Thr-"
"Wait! Wait!" yelled a feminine voice. "My name is Jennifer Jareau, and I'm with the FB-"
Garcia didn't wait for JJ to finish before she pushed past Reidy and gathered the other woman in a tight hug. "JJ! So glad you're okay -" Garcia quickly pulled back to get a good look at her friend. "You're okay, right? Not creepily possessed or anything, right?"
Letting out a relieved laugh, JJ answered, "I'm okay. Definitely not possessed; I promise. I'm a damsel; I was in distress, and I handled it."
The technical analyst couldn't help but smile at the modified Disney's Hercules quote JJ added for her benefit. Garcia quickly caught her friend's eyes to let JJ know that her message was received and much appreciated.
JJ then turned to the young man beside her and introduced him to Garcia and Reidy, who had approached the group. "And you know Sam Winchester."
"Hi," said Sam with a little wave. "I'm not possessed either, if you're worried."
"Let's get out if this old basement and back upstairs," suggested Reidy as he headed to the stairs.
Keeping a firm hand on JJ to reassure herself that her friend was there with her, Garcia followed. "Right. The others will want to know you two are safe." Garcia quickly tapped the headset of her comms to Hotch and said, "Sir, you and the others should head back to Laundromat HQ. There's something here you all need to see."
Before they could have gotten far, a cluttering noise echoed out from the ominous dark hole, stopping them in their tracks. A low beam of light shone out from the tunnel. "Sam? JJ?"
"Bobby?" Sam asked the whispering figure.
The familiar figure of the older hunter stepped out from the tunnel into the old basement. When he caught sight of Sam, JJ, Reidy, and Garcia on the stairs leading up to the laundromat, Bobby said, "Well, I'll be damn."
When they had regrouped up in the main area of the laundromat, the rest of the BAU, Henriksen, and Dean were already waiting by the counter where Garcia's laptop was setup.
"Look who decided to rescue themselves," presented Garcia as she waved her hands at JJ and Sam. "But you guys did good on storming the dungeon and slaying the dragon, too," she added with good humor. She was in a much better mood now that her team was safely united. Garcia watched with satisfaction as Hotch, Morgan, Rossi, Reid, and Prentiss each took turn pulling JJ in for a hug while the Winchester brothers and Bobby also had their own reunion to the side.
It didn't take long before the happy moment was broken up though. Standing between his brother and JJ, Sam addressed the group standing in the makeshift circle. "I know we were hoping our problem was over, but we need to leave and not be here when Lilith arrives tomorrow."
"Lilith?" asked Dean. "What does Lilith have to do with anything."
Garcia didn't know who this Lilith the Winchesters were talking about was, but if she was another demon, that wouldn't be good at all.
Catching his brother's eyes, Sam continued, "Apparently, Meg and Lilith made some kind of deal, and Lilith's coming here tomorrow. We need to get out of here before she arrives." Sam turned to JJ and added, "You guys should too. Just get out of town today before the sun sets."
"But what about the shambled police station and the traumatized officers? We can't just leave them," said Garcia. Her team had been called to Dumfries to help; they couldn't just abandon everyone here.
"Look," started Sam, "I don't know if Lilith is really involved or if Meg was lying, but it's best for everyone involved if none of us are still here when, or if, she shows up.
"Then, I'd say you all better leave soon," said a voice from the entrance.
They all spun around at the sound, and Garcia realized it was Captain Wards, weary and pale from her ordeal, but she stood strong. "We'll manage. We'll come up with a story for the station. The lack of news coverage due to the electrical interferences will make it easier to keep a lid on things. We'll manage," she repeated again.
xxxxxx
The farewells didn't take long after Captain Wards's insistence that she and the surviving Dumfries officers could handle the ensuing cleanup themselves. Agents Henriksen and Reidy had already left for Quantico moments before. Henriksen had appeared reluctant to leave. Dean assumed it was because the agent hadn't been able to see Dean and his brother off in chains like the man kept on threatening, but given their recent experience together, the Winchesters' longtime pursuers had little choice but to turn the other way.
Bobby had also said his good-byes and left for Singer Salvage Yard not long after. The only ones left in the parking lot were the members of the BAU, Sam, and Dean, or rather, the BAU team was waiting in their SUVs for JJ, and Sam was waiting in the Impala for Dean.
It was the first time through the whole crazy ordeal that the two former lovers had a moment alone together. Dean just wished they weren't being watched by JJ's team and his brother. "Hey," he said as he shuffled his hands into his pants pockets awkwardly.
JJ let out a small laugh. "You're just as eloquent as I remember."
"Hey!" Dean said again, this time with mock indignation. Letting out a sigh, he continued, "You look good. It's good to see you again, although the circumstances could have been better."
JJ tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before she replied, "Yeah, maybe the next time we meet up, it'll be without the demons and monsters."
"I don't know," Dean joked. "They've always been kind of our thing."
The two traded a wistful look. In that loaded, silent moment, Dean thought of everything that they had had years ago and the moments that they could have had if he hadn't walked away. They both knew that it was too late for any what-ifs or maybes. They were two different people now on two different paths. Dean would always loved JJ, and when he thought of her, there would always be that nostalgia for the days they spent together, but no matter how much he wished it wasn't so, their moment together had passed.
Breaking eye contact, JJ glanced back at her waiting team before she turned to Dean again. With a sad smile on her face, she leaned in close and gave him a lingering kiss on his cheek. Dean closed his eyes at soft touch of her lips against his face.
"Thank you for letting me say good-bye this time," JJ whispered softly as she pulled back.
When Dean opened his eyes again, JJ was already halfway to her team's SUVs.
He watched as she got into the front passenger seat of one of the SUVs. When Dean saw JJ raised her hand in a small wave to him, he did the same before he headed for the Impala where Sam was waiting.
He got in the driver seat and started the engine, but waited for the BAU to leave before Dean pulled out of the police parking lot and onto the highway.
They drove for a while in silence before Sam none-to-subtly cleared his throat. "You know, I'm picking our next case," he said.
"What?" asked Dean, slightly confused. He wasn't sure where Sam was coming from or going with that statement.
Turning to Dean, Sam clarified, "You're not choosing our next case. I mean, Lisa Braeden in Cicero, Indiana. JJ in Dumfries, Virginia. Which one of your ex-girlfriends are we going to run into next? No, I think it's best if I pick the next case."
Dean realized Sam was trying to lighten the mood, and he couldn't help but smile a little at his little brother. "No, no," Dean rebuked, "I didn't go looking for JJ. Dumfries was your idea, not mine. You're not going to blame that on me."
"Jerk," said Sam.
"Bitch," Dean replied with a smirk.
As they continued to follow the highway, driving towards their next case, an unfamiliar wistful song played on on their radio.
"You and I were never meant to be together
And now, it's time for me to go
But, deep in my heart, you will always stay forever
In another time; in another placeā¦"
xxxxxx
Author's Note: It's done! After four and a half years, this fic is finally done! Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, or followed Secrets of the Night. I've finished my first multi-chapters fic, and it was a brutal but learning experience. Real life, writer's block, and procrastination are very real things, and they are the reasons for this story's long hiatus. It took me two and a half years for Chapter 5, and I didn't want to post it and have you wait another two years for Chapter 6, so I had decided to post the remaining four chapters when I was done with them so that you would get the completed fic. Now, it's done.
Some last few housekeeper items. I'm a big fan of Lisa and Ben Braeden, so they still happened, both before the events of this fic in Season 3 and later in Seasons 5 and 6.
1999: Dean's "five days, five states, though most of those times were spent at Lisa Braeden's loft"
Summer 2000: Dean met JJ. Originally, I had planned on writing a prequel with the events of their first meeting, but since I no longer have the motivation nor ideas that I had had four years ago when I thought of it, here are some notes that I did make for that unwritten fic:
Dean and JJ met when JJ and her parents went camping in Kenora, Ontario, Canada, where an encounter with a wendigo happened. Bobby and Dean were on the hunt for it, though at first, they thought it might be a werewolf (full moon, July 16, 2000), but no hearts were missing. John and Sam were having their many rows again so Dean peaced out for the summer with Bobby (which turned into two years with JJ). The incident with the wendigo was how JJ developed her fears for the woods and lost her father.
November 10, 2002: When this fic started with Dean leaving
Early October, 2007: Supernatural's "The Kids Are Alright" episode
October 27 - November 1, 2007: The main events of this fic
Sometimes between November 1, 2007, and the events of Criminal Minds' episode "In Heat" (Apr. 30, 2008), JJ began dating Detective William LaMontagne, Jr., who she met in "Jones" (Feb. 28, 2007), since her complicated relationship with Dean was finally resolved. Both timelines for Supernatural and Criminal Minds shift back to canon compliant.
The lines of the song at the end of this chapter is "In Another Time" by Jodie Simmons.
And that is it! Thank you everyone who read, are still here reading, and will read this fic.
