The look of frustration on Sam's brow intensified the longer her stared at his laptop. Each passing minute caused the calloused tips of his large fingers to wane mercy on the keyboard, smacking against it with growing fervor.

"What's wrong?" asked Lory as she came up behind her, resting her chin on his broad shoulder and squinting at the screen, attempting to decipher the source of the anguish but finding no clue, just a full search engine.

"Sammy's looking for a new job," Dean chimed in through a mouthful of Doritoes, before shouting, "Goddamn it!" at the playoff game.

"Well, there are plenty of things listed here," Lory offered, her face pouting in confusion.

"Yeah, exactly. There's dozens of cases in each city- and those are just the ones that were mentioned online…"

Sighing in dismay, Sam swept his fingers through his hair.

Clutching his shoulder gently, Lory reassured, "It's okay. It's not like we'll have to handle this all on our own. There's plenty of other hunters, right?"

"Not plenty…" he corrected, "But there are others. They're scattered, though."

"We'll take what we can handle," Lory smiled, ruffling his hair.

"You want the task of deciding who lives and who dies?" Dean cut in, "Because I sure as hell don't."

"Not all ghosts are homicidal, Dean," she replied softly, scoffing under her breath, "Drama queen."

"Unfortunately, most of these are…" Sam said, raising a finger to the screen and continuing, "Do you all these headlines? I've read through about forty-something of these pages. Most of these hauntings are violent."

"Well, then…" she relented, shrugging a bit.

"I wish there was some way we could canvas," Sam said, chewing his lip, "Like networking with the other hunters in the country or something. Maybe divide it into sections..?"

Dean snorted, "Well, you put in the ad on Craig's List, and I'll start checking the Yellow Pages."

00000000000000000000000000

With her chin resting lazily on her folded arms, which rested lazily upon the back of the chair she straddled, Lory stared dreamily out the window. Just on the other side, a few yard further, was Dean, in the motel's parking lot, looking under the hood of the '64 Impala that he loved more than most people, Lory included. She sighed, smiling a bit as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and began to stroke his lightly stubbled chin inquisitively. As he bent down deeper into the car's works, Lory found herself intrigued with the way his strong back arched, and the way its knotted muscles were even still slightly visible through three layers of shirts. And just like that, she had lost herself in him once more, quickly to be found.

"You might want to be careful," Sam quipped as he emerged from the bathroom, causing her to jump like a frightened rabbit.

She turned around, meeting his kindly smile with a look of bewilderment.

"Huh?"

"You might burn a couple holes into him, staring like that," he half-teased, folding his arms across his broad chest.

"I- I wasn't staring…" she said before turning around again to look back out the window, "I'm observing… Just watching him work on the car."

"Uh huh…"

"Really!" she defended earnestly, "Why would I be staring at him?"

"We both know why, Lory…" he said, sitting on the bed behind her.

"Is it obvious?" she sighed, relenting.

"Not really, he probably can't even tell."

Over her shoulder, she asked, "Then how could you?"

"Uhm, duh. I'm the smart one."

Both of them laughing, Lory replied, "Yeah, but it was Ruby."

"Yeah, it was… But, Lory, listen… "

"Listening."

"I know that women have always found my brother… intriguing, for whatever reason. And yeah, underneath that asshole exterior, he really is a great guy. But, I only know that after being his brother for twenty-six years, you get what I'm saying? Someone who isn't as close might not stand a real big chance of getting to the good guy inside him."

"Don't worry about me, Sam. I know I don't stand a chance with Dean, I don't need you to tell me. That's what mirrors are for."

"Lory, that's not what I meant. I'm sure if you really wanted to just sleep with him you could, but he usually never goes beyond that."

"Sam, please, I know."

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"And I appreciate it. But trust me, I'm not going to go there with Dean. He won't even know if I can help it."

"But, what I can't understand is why you care for him in the first place. He's been a bigger douche to you than I've ever seen him be to anyone else."

"He's got a score of redeeming qualities," she said simply.

"But he hasn't shown you any of them this entire time."

"I know your brother better than you think."

"Oh?" he said, completely unconvinced.

"This wasn't some last minute thing the angels cooked up… They planned this for years."

"What do you mean?" he asked, leaning forward.

Lifting a leg over the back of the chair, Lory spun around on her bottom, ending up facing Sam. She leaned forward much in the same manner as he.

"Ever since I was a little girl… I would have these dreams almost every night about these two mystery men. One was tall and kindly and warm, and the other was just… intense…"

"Me and Dean?" Sam asked, almost in disbelief.

"Yeah, you and Dean. The more often I began having these dreams… The more vivid and real they would become."

"Like what kind of dreams?"

"I don't know… Like glimpses of your lives. Sometimes- rarely- I would see pieces of your childhood, like what happened to your mom… and what happened to you… But it was mostly 'adult' you. Dean, especially, the longer it went on. I always thought I'd just created you in my head. I'd never seen you and I didn't even know your names But that night you almost ran over me, when you guys got out of the car, I knew you were real."

"So then why did you run from us?"

"Because I've seen pieces of my destiny, Sam… And it involves you and Dean, but mostly Dean."

"And what exactly is your destiny?

"I'm supposed to-"

The door clicked open and Dean walked in, wiping the dirt and oil from his hands. Both Sam and Lory stared up at him, but Sam's look was that of irritation.

"What?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow and bouncing his gaze between the two, "Interrupt something?"

"No, you're fine- It's fine," Lory nodded.

"Okay. Well, I got that funny little sound out of the engine. She's running like a bat out of hell," he said with a smile, which actually didn't fade when his eyes shifted back to Lory.

This caused her to smile back.

"Great," Sam said, stretching as he rose before looking down at Lory and asking softly, "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

"All right, to grandmother's house we go," Dean said as he picked up his duffle bag and slung it over one of his broad shoulders.

"Your grandma is named Bobby?" Lory asked innocently, rising from the chair and adjusting her clothing a bit.

Dean squinted at her in disbelief before shifting his eyes to Sam.

"Kidding, " she grinned.

"We're going to take you to meet Pamela- that psychic we've been telling you about, too," Sam informed her, placing a large hand square on her shoulder, "Talked to her yesterday. She said she can't wait to meet you," he finished with a smile.

"Great," she smiled in return, heading toward the door behind Dean.

He stopped in his tracks.

"Actually, Lory, you might want to use the bathroom before you leave. Once we get on the highway…"

"Uhm, okay…" she complied.

Her bladder was bone-dry, but she could take a hint. After the bathroom door closed behind her, Dean turned to his younger brother, whispering, suspiciously raising an eyebrow.

"What exactly was she divulging before I walked in?"

"Nothing!" he replied, just as hushed, "We were just talking."

"Really? Why did you stop when I walked in?"

"Because we were having a personal conversation."

"Am I supposed to believe you and your new BFF were having a little girl talk? I'm pretty sure you weren't gushing about Justin Timberlake's new album."

"I'm not telling you what we were talking about, wise ass, and Justin Timberlake's last album was like two years ago," he shot back triumphantly.

"…Are you sure you like vagina?"

"What the hell does that have to do with-"

"Just answer the question."

"I'm not dignifying that with a response."

"Oh, sweet Jesus," Dean groaned in dramatic exasperation, holding his hands to his head, "I knew it-"

"Yes, Dean!" Sam snapped. "Yes! I really like vagina!"

"Okay," sighed Dean in relief.

"I LOVE vagina! …A lot!"

"Yeah, that's enough."

Lory stood in the threshold of the bathroom, blinking at the brothers, who whipped their heads toward her in unison.

"I- I'll be in the car…"

And she brushed past them, out the door.

.