A/N: New chapter! It's a bit lengthy and mainly, as the chapter states, conversations; so bear with me. The upcoming ones will get more interesting. Promise! I've got a demon infested town coming up soon and then we move into episode 20 - The Rapture. Please read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 4: Conversations

The house was fairly calm. Bobby and Dean came up from the panic room with Castiel in tow to Sam and Tori in the library."We're gonna stay here for the night, Sam," Dean announced. Sam gave a nod in his brother's direction.

Tori looked at Dean with a grim look. "What about us?"

"You two are staying 'til I go get your car and bring it back to fix," Bobby said. "Where's Ash anyways?"

"She was outside," Castiel said. "I spoke with her briefly. She seemed upset."

"Upset?" Tori stood up, looking very concerned. "Where outside?"

Castiel kept the blank look and told her, "The porch. Just outside the front door."

The blond moved to leave the room, but Dean held up a hand. "Let me talk to her." She nodded and went back over to sit down. Tori could hear Dean was worried, but she also heard he was a bit interested in Ashley via his thoughts. She rolled her eyes as he left to go find her. "Obvious," she muttered to herself.

Dean stepped out onto the low porch of Bobby's house. Ashley wasn't there. The screen door slammed shut once he let go of it and Dean took a few steps forward. "Ash? Ashley!"

There was no response.

Immediately thinking the worst, Dean pulled out his handgun that was tucked away in the waistband of his jeans. He held it down cautiously as he moved around to the garage. "Ash?"

He could hear a faint thunking sound. As if someone was hitting something against a tree…

Rounding the corner and holding up the gun in one swift movement, Dean set eyes on the familiar dark haired woman. Ashley was flinging a knife into a wooden target with a determined expression. The knife hit dead center and Dean raised an eyebrow. "Nice arm."

She jumped, dropping the second knife she had in hand. "Damn… Scare me half to death, Dean."

"Sorry," he chuckled, moving closer. The gun went back to the waistband of his jeans as he spoke. "You uh, got quite a talent there."

"Yeah. My dad always thought so. This one," she explained while pulling the knife from the target, "was his. First one I ever used." Ashley smiled reminiscently.

Dean put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Is he…?"

Ashley nodded. "Last year." She gave a weak smile. "He died peacefully, the way he wanted."

"Was he a hunter?"

She flipped the knife in her hand. "Yep. So were my mom and grandfather."

"Long line of hunters. Same for our family. What about Tori?"

"She…" Ashley trailed off, shaking her head. "It's my fault she's a hunter."

"What do you mean it's your fault?" Dean questioned.

Ashley took a breath and leaned against the garage. "When I was sixteen, there was this ghost across the street. It caused trouble and I brought Tori along to check it out. She was fourteen and only knew vaguely what hunters were." She shook her head. "Anyways, she got hurt but we ganked the ghost. After that, my parents started teaching her."

"That doesn't make it your fault though," Dean told her.

"It does. She would never be here, living this kind of life if it weren't for me." Ashley glanced up at the sky, turning the knife over.

Dean moved and leaned against the wall next to her. "You know, Tori doesn't seem to hate this lifestyle."

There was a sigh and he gave her a knowing look. "She doesn't show it," Ashley said. She clenched the bridge of her nose for a moment, and then looked at Dean curiously. "What about your brother, Sam?"

"What about him?" Dean crossed his arms, trying to figure out where she was taking the conversation.

"He was telling me about when he was a baby. Does that mean he does something like Tori?"

Nodding, Dean said, "Yeah. He does. Did, actually. He had premonitions of things that were going to happened." There was no way in Hell that he was going to let her in on the whole demon killing thing. That was something that needed to stay hidden from all other hunters.

"Like Chuck?"

"Not like Chuck. His didn't always happen."

"Well, that's good I guess…" She sighed. "Why can't things just be easy for once? When I was little, my parents dealt with ghosts, werewolves, and the occasional vampire. Now there are demons, angels…"

Dean couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. "The world's changing. It's part of the change."

Ashley nodded and went quiet. The two just stood there for a while in silence as the sun went down.

Sam watched Bobby leave the house and Castiel disappear once more, leaving him alone. Tori was up in one of the spare rooms getting ready for bed. He felt bad for earlier, but…he just wanted to know if it worked for her, too.

Giving a sigh, Sam stood up. Dean and Ashley hadn't come back inside yet, letting him having a chance to go talk to Tori.

He made his way over to the step that led upstairs, taking them two at a time. Honestly, he was nervous. She knew his secrets and most likely…every other thought in his head. Nervous wasn't even beginning to describe it really.

"Sam?"

He turned at the sound of her voice. Tori was coming out of the bathroom in a grey t-shirt with black and blue striped sweatpants. "I um…"

"You wanted to talk to me about earlier, right?"

"Uh, yeah. You can still hear thoughts?"

She nodded. "Loud and clear."

Sam didn't think Tori sounded too happy saying that. "And…you don't like that I'm guessing."

Tori shook her head. "It's almost annoying. Plus, I feel like I'm invading everyone's privacy." She frowned, playing with a strand of her blond hair. Clearing her throat, Tori went on to say, "If you don't mind, I kinda want to go to sleep. I have a headache."

"Yeah. Yeah sure, you go ahead. I'll probably go do the same," Sam said, giving a warm smile.

"Okay." She turned and walked to the door on the left side of the hall. "Goodnight Sam."

The door shut behind her and Sam knew he didn't even need to say the words, since she heard them. Sam shook his head and made his way downstairs.

Ashley followed Dean back into Bobby's house, feeling a little better after talking and getting the whole Tori thing off her chest. And Dean, he listened and actually understood. It was a relief for her.

She saw Sam come downstairs and he almost looked nervous. "What's up Sammy?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "I was just talking to Tori…" He glanced around briefly and slipped past the two.

With a befuddled look, Ashley glared at Sam and then Dean before hurrying upstairs to the spare room. She opened the door, poking her head in to see Tori was already sleeping. Ashley let out a sigh of relief and snuck in to grab her bag. She changed into a pair of black shorts, a purple tank top, and a grey pullover hoodie before quietly leaving the room.

Once back downstairs, she heard the voices of the Winchester brothers and Castiel. Ashley walked into the kitchen as she pulled her ponytail out and saw the three sitting around the table. Dean and Castiel both look up at her; Sam had his nose in a book.

"I am so not used to seeing a chick around here," Dean said through a chuckle.

Castiel donned a curious expression before looking at Ashley. She thought he looked a bit nervous. Do angels get nervous? "Are you okay, Castiel?"

Dean cleared his throat, giving the angel a pointed look. "Oh. Yes, I'm alright," he finally said. "You may call me Cas, if you like. Dean does."

She smiled at him. "You can call me Ash then, Cas."

"Ash, huh?" Dean quickly said in a questioning tone.

"Not you. That nickname's a privilege I give. You and Sam don't have that."

At the sound of his name, Sam looked up. "What?"

Ashley laughed. "Never mind, Sam. Go back to reading your book."

Castiel shifted before standing up. "I must go. You can have my seat." She nodded, patting him on the shoulder before sitting where Castiel had been. In a blink, he was gone.

Dean rolled his eyes. "He's confusing."

The following day was boring to say the least. Dean and Sam left, leaving the two girls alone at Bobby's for the day. They spent their time looking for a case and had no luck.

Bobby got back in the next afternoon with Tori's car in tow. He said nothing looked wrong with it after a quick inspection. Tori blamed it all on bad luck.

That night, Tori's cellphone went off. She didn't recognize the number, and hoped it was on of her contacts with a case. She answered it happily. "Hello, Tori Gallen."

"Tori? Hey it's me," a voice on the other end said. Whoever it was, they sounded upset about something.

"Uh…who's me?"

"Me. It's Dean."

Her eyes widened. Bobby must have given him her number. "Oh! Okay, hey. What's up? You sound kind of down."

"I'm fine. We're in Minnesota and there's this…" Dean went silent.

Tori kept the phone to her ear as she pushed her hair back. "This what?"

She heard a sigh from him before he said, "This kid. His name's Adam…and he's my dad's son."

"So, you and Sam have another brother? That's great."

"No. It's not," Dean grumbled. He cleared his throat and said, "It's the last thing I needed to freakin' hear right now."

With a curious look, Tori straightened up in her chair. "Hold on. Why are you calling me about this?"

Dean went silent again. This time for longer. She actually had to check to see if he was still on the line. "You saw into my mind. I just figured you would understand."

Nodding and then forgetting she was talking to him on the phone, she told him, "I understand a little. I'm an only child so…"

"Sorry for bothering you. I'll let you go."

"Wait, Dean!"

"Yeah?"

She gave a smile. "What's he like?"

"He…sort of reminds me of Sam. Kinda seems like a good kid."

"Give him my best. And call if you need to talk, Dean. Ever."

"Thanks Tori. I…will."

Bobby gave them the green light to leave and Ashley was antsy with sitting around. Castiel did stop by early around the time she overheard that Tori was on the phone. He wanted to check in on her, see how she was. Ashley smiled at the thought of the angel. She was throwing her backpack in the trunk of the Camaro when she heard a faint ringing sound. Her phone was in her pocket on vibrate, so it wasn't hers.

She looked around. Tori was inside talking to Bobby. Maybe she left her phone out here… Ashley circled to the driver's side and pulled the black cell phone from the cup holder. She flipped it open and saw it was 'Dean W.' calling. Ashley frowned, but pushed the 'talk' button.

"Tori. I'd like to take you up on that talking offer."

"Sorry. Tori's talking to Bobby, Dean. Besides, how'd you get her number?"

"Never mind," Dean said in a mumble. "Tell her to call me back."

Ashley grinned. "You got it Winchester." She snapped the phone shut just as Tori walked out of Bobby's house. Sending a smile to her friend, Ashley tossed the phone to her.

Tori caught it, looking lost. "Someone called me? Was it a case?"

"Nope. It was Dean." She raised an eyebrow, teasing her a little. "Said you should call him back." Ashley winked and opened the car door. "This means I'm driving now."

"Fine," Tori groaned as she got in the passenger's side, holding her cell phone in hand.

Ashley started the car with the keys, which were already in the ignition. She turned the radio up and honked the horn before tearing out of the yard.