Chapter 3

Morning has broken, like the first morning…

Dean grinned while his eyes were closed as he started to wake up. To him she sounded pretty happy. He figured she must be since she was singing a hymn sung in church for her morning wake up call. He glanced over to where his brother was sleeping. Sam was starting to wake up and Dean hoped that he was in a better mood than yesterday.

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning, praise for them springing fresh from the word…

Dean sprung out of bed to open the door, thinking that she was bringing in coffee per her usual habit. As soon as he opened the door and peered out, he saw Angela walking down the hall. She was dressed in a tank and flannel pants and she was carrying something in one arm and reading something in the other. Her hair was swept back into an artfully messy ponytail with the curls going the way they wanted to.

Dean frowned since he had never really seen her in anything so… He had no idea what to describe it but she looked good and she didn't seem to mind showing off her tattoo. He checked on his brother who actually went back to sleep before jogging to catch up with Angela. "Hey Angie."

Angela looked up from the report that had been given to her that morning from Georgia who was on her way home. She adjusted her hold on the bucket of ice she had collected and turned to see Dean jogging towards her in a t-shirt and sweatpants. She raised a brow in surprise but smiled, "Wow you're up early Dean."

Dean grinned, "What can I say a pretty singing voice woke me."

Angela couldn't help but laugh. "Flatterer."

Dean feigned mock hurt, "You wound me, Angie." He spotted the ice bin and the folder she was holding. "Well I'm guessing the ice bucket is for your thing you told me about. What is that?"

Angela continued to smile knowing that Dean was trying not to insult her about her body temp thing. She replied, "You would be right on the ice. I have a thing for going through a whole bucket when I do a read through. This is a file. George brought it by this morning. Apparently one of the rangers was attacked while on patrol last night. They found his body this morning."

"Saying it's another bear attack?"

"What else are they going to say?" Angela replied with a slight shrug. "What I find unusual is that this one had more remains. I would like to check it out for myself. I was going to go down there and poke around."

"Sounds good," Dean replied as he took the file and thumbed through it. "Does your friend have anything on the other attacks?"

"She can give us what we need if you ask. George is pretty good at getting info since she is in charge of her unit and she was put on the case of the bear attacks. You can hold onto that and you might want to look the part of a specialist or something." Angela grinned as she eyed Dean up and down. "I seriously doubt that outfit would be taken seriously by the forestry service."

"Very funny Angie," Dean replied. "Maybe I'll do the heavy lifting today and get you coffee today."

"Coffee? Getting two drinks in a row? Maybe I should be the one saying Christo," Angela replied. "Just for that, you get a nice show of my tattoo as I go into my room and shut the door." She smiled and turned around to give Dean a good view of her tattoo since her straps were thin ones and went into her room.

Dean chuckled as he got a look at her tattoo. "You'll get your coffee Angie." He chuckled as he went back to the room. He found Sam still asleep and decided against his usual means of waking him up. Instead he picked out his clothes for the day and went to take a shower.

About forty-five minutes later Dean was knocking on her door with three cups of coffee and a box of doughnuts. When she opened the door, she was dressed like a detective wearing comfortable black pants with a white button down unbuttoned near the neck and a black blazer. She smiled and said, "I am definitely impressed. Coffee and doughnuts… police food."

Dean nearly lost it at the face she made. He couldn't help but laugh along with her. That was the state of things when Sam came out of his and Dean's room dressed identical to his brother in jeans, t-shirts and jackets. Dean and Angela were laughing when she spotted him and said to Sam, "Look police food." She gave a slight smile trying to be cute and hopefully elicit at least a smile and a chuckle would have been a bonus.

Sam was feeling a bit better when he woke up and thought that maybe he could find a moment to apologize. He was a bit disconcerted to find that Dean was already up and gone. For a split second he thought that his brother was still pissed at him. That was put to bed when he heard laughter down the hall and he emerged dressed for some investigating and he found them laughing.

He had seen his brother and Angela laughing and talking before but it was like they were sharing something that he wasn't privy to. He quickly dispelled the emotion that arose and managed a slight smile. He replied, "But you'll never look like one."

"Good genes," Angela replied. It was something but she didn't quite like the implication he made on the fact that she never gained a pound when it came to eating food. Sure it was a joke between the three of them but the way it sounded, it sounded mean. She wasn't going to go into it and went to business. "George informed me that one of the rangers on patrol was attacked. She gave me the details. I thought we could take a look. She said to meet her at the station and she would take us out."

"Why would she need to drive us out?" Dean asked the question as he handed a cup of coffee to Angela and then to Sam while she held the doughnuts.

"Wilderness area, Dean," Angela replied not looking at Sam. "Areas like these, apart from forestry business, no vehicles allowed and you go either on foot or horseback. It's all about preserving the wilderness."

"Please don't tell me we have to go camping," Dean replied as he led the way to the car. He couldn't help but give a grin as Angela sat on the rail banister and slid all the way down on the railing. He liked it when she was in a good mood.

Angela couldn't help it. Ever since being regressed back to her thirteen she felt the urge to occasionally do a few things kids would do. She did them when the opportunity presented itself and in a way it was a nice reminder to allow herself to live a little. It was like that saying 'all work and no play' and it made her feel good. She gave a chuckle as she slid down the banister and replied, "No but we may have to hike up to other areas. Maybe take a ride."

"You're loving this aren't ya Angie?" Dean walked down the stairs wearing a grin. He wasn't trying to ignore Sam but the look that was on his brother's face was more of a warning sign to him and he didn't want to get into a fight.

"Just enjoying the fact that I might have to watch you make a fool of yourself or be smart with the M&Ms," Angela replied as she waited for the boys to catch up with her.

"I see someone's been following us," Dean teased knowing that she was referring to the wendigo case.

"Nah. Just read the reports. You know them. They have eyes everywhere," Angela replied making the hand movements to make it mysterious. She knew that they knew she was referring to the Centurion. She had told them on the road after leaving the point that she read about a few of their cases that the Centurion observed in their own way.

Dean made a slight hum as the trio made it to the Impala. "Alright so what station?"

"West Fork Station. It's fifteen miles south of Darby. We meet there and George will take us up," Angela replied as she got into her seat.

Dean looked over the roof at Sam. He made a slight face and got in the car. At least the day wasn't starting off with the ugly looks. Maybe Sam would get over what was eating him by the time they finished the day's work.

"A little formal for the wilderness isn't it?"

Angela glanced up at the ranger while she was kneeling and examining the ground near where they found the remains of Ranger Todd Jennings. She thought him to be a cocky ass wipe but she wasn't going to be rude. This was George's territory and she was a friend who was on vacation and she was invited for her expertise. A similar story went for the boys who were looking around and asking questions.

Angela looked back at the remains and replied, "Old habits and this is casual."

"Whatever you say," and the ranger walked off, leaving her alone.

Angela was grateful for that since what she wanted to do would be considered a bit creepy. Glancing down, she noticed something. Pulling out a pair of tweezers in her jacket pocket, she picked up the object and examined it. She turned the tweezers in her hand to get a good look at the object which she surmised to be hair.

It was unusual type of hair. It was not Jennings' since it was too light, almost white, to be from his head. The length and the texture was most unusual too. She knew definitely that it wasn't bear fur meaning that this was not a bear attack and neither were the others. The coroner's report on the remains will confirm that. No this was something else.

It couldn't be a wendigo. True that some were pretty hairy and it was grotesque but wendigos collected their food and hoarded if for their hibernation and the like. Besides wendigos didn't maul their food. This was something else. She was sure of it but she just had to take one more observation.

Holding the tweezers with the hair under her nose, she waved it underneath her nostrils while she took in a deep sniff. She could smell the odors of the forest areas but the animal's odor she was more focused on. She frowned as she continued to sniff. That it wasn't a normal animal was a certain fact but it was a beast. The thing was she didn't recognize the smell but it was unique. She stared off in a direction and thought about it.

Meanwhile Sam and Dean were looking at other things and asking questions. Dean was glad that Sam slipped into his role of good and understanding cop. He didn't know if it was a good sign or not but he was going to work with it. He was checking out the ground around the body and decided to check the remains.

He kneeled while trying not to make too bad of a face. Angela never let him or Sam live down the fact that they could get squeamish around bead bodies. He had to look professional too since it was Ranger Wilkes' career on the line since they were operating under fake IDs and the like. Looking close he could tell right off the bat that it was no bear attack. The markings were inconsistent with bear claws and he had seen what those things could do since he, Sam and Dad were nearly mauled by a giant grizzly when they went camping… and hunting for a werewolf.

It was definitely not a werewolf since those guys liked their hearts. They rarely, if ever, ripped a body to shreds. If Dean had to venture a guess, the thing that did this was pissed at this guy. He asked, "Ranger Wilkes, did Ranger Jennings carry a gun?"

Georgia looked up from the report she was writing from the other ranger on the scene. She had gotten the trio in as consultants while they were in the area. Her team bought it and allowed them to look around. She also got them time with the coroner. She replied, "According to the report, Jennings was carrying his standard .45 revolver. Is that significant?"

Dean had done this plenty of times. He replied, "From the general condition of the body, it looks like Jennings may have shot at it and in turn antagonized it." He glanced up at Sam and his brother gave a slight movement of his head that told Dean he agreed with the assessment. Whatever this thing was, it was serious pissed.

Sam went and kneeled next to Dean to take a look. He spoke in a low voice, "So you think wendigo? Shooting it with a regular gun just makes it mad."

"Wendigos don't rip a body to shreds," Dean replied. "They store them."

"Chupracaba?"

"You're kidding me Sam? Up this far north?" Dean looked at Sam who gave him that look that asked him if he had any better ideas. "What about werewolf?"

"They usually take the heart and leave the body," Sam replied. He pointed at the remains and what he was sure was the remains of the heart. He added, "And I think that is the heart." He looked up and saw Angela making a strange loping movement. She was studying the ground while holding a pair of tweezers. "What's she doing?"

Dean looked up. He frowned at the movements Angela was making. She looked like she was trying to match her stride with something on the ground and she looked ridiculous doing it. He nudged Sam and replied, "No idea. Go check it out and I'll see about getting the autopsy report as well as the other reports." It probably wasn't a good idea to put them together so soon after yesterday but maybe the case would mellow them both out and they would start talking.

Sam looked at Dean who immediately busied himself with his appointed task and gave a sigh. He wanted to talk to her but he wasn't sure if he could do it without bringing up anything that would lead to a fight. He could just stick to the case and maybe he would survive. He walked over to where she was kneeling and studying the ground. He asked, "Find anything?"

Angela knew that it was Sam and she had the option of ignoring him completely or brush him off under the guise of the work she was doing. However, she tried not to be petty even if it was deserved. If she was going to find out why Sam was insisting on treating her like a leper, she was going to have to talk to him eventually. Talking about the case would be good practice. She replied, "Tracks and most unusual. There is a wide stride meaning that it was big."

"Bear?"

"No. Bears waddle on all fours and that would be a different stride altogether," Angela rubbed her finger in the track to gauge the impression. "This is almost… ape-like. It has a distinct two legged stride but there are also four limbs like gorillas when they rush something. Plus I found this." Angela held up the pair of tweezers with the hair for Sam to grasp.

Sam examined the hair. "Gorilla hair?"

"Please. Gorillas don't do this. The hair is definitely animal though. I just can't figure it out…"

"Find something?"

Angela looked up from what she was doing just as Sam hid the pair of tweezers. They would need the hair to examine later. They looked at Georgia and Angela replied, "Maybe George but I think it's best that you keep it labeled as a bear attack."

"You know a bear wouldn't do that and that is just going to spark a manhunt for a man eating bear and that will bring whatever it is more victims," Georgia replied.

"And they aren't going to believe that possibly Bigfoot is behind it." Angela meant it in sarcasm but she had a point to it and she hoped that Georgia picked up on it. Her eyes flickered slightly to the faint scar that was near Georgia's left temple. The marks had been deep and people thought she would be permanently scarred.

Georgia understood where her friend was coming from. Who would believe that it wasn't a bear but some creature that only existed in ghost stories and the like? Hell people still believed that she had been attacked by a mountain cat which left the scar on her left temple. She trusted that Angela knew what she was doing and she could hold off the hunt under a mountain of paperwork. She nodded, "Alright but I'm counting on the three of you to find the thing and kill it before any more of these killings happen."

"Don't worry George," Angela replied, "We got it covered."

George smiled at that. She knew that her friend's word was bond. "Alright. Well the coroner is ready to take the body and I promised your two friends the look in. We better get heading back." She turned to head back to the jeep and give orders.

Angela smiled and waited until Georgia was gone before saying, "And I'm sure the report is going to say what is obvious." She started walking towards the jeep but not before she got a few pictures of the footprints. There was something about them that had her bothered and she had a mind to ask the survivor about it.

They usually say that if it is too good to be true then it usually was. At least that's usually the case when it involved the Winchesters. Dean had a feeling the tentative peace that seemed to settle over them was not going to last and looking back on it, he wished that he had done something more about it or more likely forced out the root of the stick up Sam's ass.

That he was certain it was unrecognized jealousy on Sam's part didn't mean that he shouldn't have been diligent about it. Maybe he could have done steps to assure Sam that she knew what she was doing. Of course it didn't help when Sam seemed to turn that green eyed monster look on him. He was sure Sam knew that he didn't feel about her in that fashion. That was just plain gross.

It started out pleasant in grabbing a bite to eat since the coroner needed to perform the autopsy. It seemed ridiculous since there were few remains but since it was suspicious circumstances even though it was ruled to be a bear attack, they had to do it. Dean likened it to something out of one of those procedural cop shows and that had Angela snickering.

There was some friendly banter over the food since Angela was eating fruit, yoghurt and a gallon of iced tea while Sam was eating his usual rabbit food and of course he had his bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon and fries. He teased Angela more about the ice since he knew why she always had something cold to drink and she mentioned his slow decay into being a fat old bloke watching reruns on Saturday night. That had Sam laughing since he was always on the campaign to get Dean to eat healthier.

Dean of course made fun of Sam being a Sasquatch living off of rabbit food. That earned him a bitch face but it was worth it. That was until she got a phone call.

Angela was finishing the last bit of her yoghurt when her cell phone rang. She frowned slightly at the sound it made. Dean suspected that she wasn't expecting a phone call which was why she frowned or she was and it was not the time she was expecting it. Either way Dean smelled trouble the minute she fished it out of her coat pocket and looked at the call ID.

Sam tried not to be nosy about it but Dean could tell that he was trying to find out who it was. Dean figured she didn't know since the frown she was giving indicated that she didn't recognize the number. She answered it, "Hello."

Dean could tell that it meant trouble when she frowned and said, "Nick?"

At least she took the conversation away from the table though Dean was certain that wasn't going to improve matters much. It was unfortunate that he had to take a bathroom break at that time. He left Sam sitting on a potential keg of dynamite to answer nature's call and prayed that Sam would control himself while he was gone. He wasn't to get his wish.

When Dean came back, he found Sam in what appeared to be one short step from a fist fight and that was saying something given the way Angela was standing. At least she didn't have that dangerous gleam in her eye when she was royally pissed. Instead she looked angry and hurt but more hurt at whatever Sam said to her. Dean got close enough to hear her say, "When you're ready to not be an ass then maybe I will talk to you."

Dean could only watch as she put her share of the food money down on the table and turn and leave their table on the outdoor picnic table. It took a lot of restraint not to march up to his brother and give him what was coming to him. The look on Sam's face said enough. All Dean managed to get out then was, "Nice going bitch."

Sam replied, "Shut up jerk."

Angela wasn't at the motel but she did send Dean a text saying that they were ready at the coroner's office for them. Dean figured that she was taking the whole not talking to Sam at all seriously. Dean tried calling her but all he got was her voicemail and he seriously wondered what the hell Sam said to her so that she was not talking to Sam and only texting him. Did he do something?

So now they were at the coroner's office waiting for the coroner to get back from lunch and tell them what they were sure wasn't a bear attack. Dean sat on the bench while Sam was sitting there equally quiet and brooding like an emo bitch again. Dean decided that now was as good as a time as any to talk. He turned towards Sam and asked, "Okay, so you want to tell me what the hell you said to her today?"

Sam glanced at Dean. "No."

"Sam."

"It's none of your business Dean."

"I think it is Sam," Dean replied trying to keep his voice low. "I want to know what happened and I bet that it had something to do with that phone call she received from the warlock Nick."

The look on Sam's face told Dean all he needed to know. Sam was jealous but he wasn't recognizing it as such and instead of being a man and actually addressing why he was uncomfortable with her talking to the guy that returned them to their normal size, he was decided being an ass was the best way to go. Now Angela was pissed thinking that he was an ass or that Sam changed his mind about her and she was off on her own.

Dean knew that she wasn't going to stick around when she needed to think and she was in a bad mood. He looked forward at the ugly wall in front of him to think before saying, "You know Sam, if you were that bothered by her talking to the guy then you should have come out and said it. Treating her like she's one of the things we hunt… it's no wonder she called you an ass."

"Right and I'm sure she likes stringing you along too."

"What are you talking about?" Dean frowned at Sam. Where in the hell was Sam getting his ideas? He wasn't about to have his question answered since the coroner decided at that moment to walk in and he greet them with professional politeness. It was a conversation to be finished later but it would have Dean wondering the rest of the time they were investigating.

A/N: Looks like Sammy is jealous... Stay tuned for next time on Bitterroot Resolutions...