I should have included this in the heading of the first story but I forgot so… This story takes place between eps 6.16 and 6.17. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't gotten to ep 6.16, I don't want to spoil anything for you. You can consider this story to be taking place in an alternate universe. And, I do not own anything, I am just borrowing.
Dean was puzzled by the look on Raven's face. She looked rattled, almost vulnerable, which was not the reaction he was expecting. What kind of game is she playing? Sure, she was hot and all, but she was also a stranger who knew too much about them and what they do. If Dean had learned anything from his father it was this, never trust another hunter. So she could look all vulnerable and thoughtful… and definitely kissable.
"Stop it, Dean." he mumbled to himself. You have a job to do. Don't let yourself get distracted.
Before he could continue to berate himself further, Dean heard a fluttering sound from behind him. Sam greeted Cass with a smile, "Hey Cass."
Cass was wearing his "all business" look which Dean noticed looked a lot like his "not all business" look. He felt himself smirk at his internal dialogue. "Let's cut to the chase, Cass. This lady says you sent her here." He stepped to the side so Cass could see Raven sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Hello, Raven," Cass nodded. "I'm glad you found the brothers as quickly as you did."
"So you did send her here, Cass?" Sam inquired. He was still wearing that overjoyed look he had after Raven had disarmed Dean. He felt like smacking it off of Sam's face.
"Why would you send another hunter after us?" Dean insisted.
Cass turned his attention to Dean with a look that indicated he was in no mood to explain himself. "Dean, Raven is a key part of the journey you are about to undertake. I know you have questions but I cannot answer them at this time. I am asking you and Sam to trust me. She must hunt with you, until such time as it appears clear why."
Dean took a good look at Cass. His appearance was haggard, his expression strained. He supposed the war in Heaven wasn't going very well. But asking them to trust this woman just because he said so… how was he supposed to do that? Angels weren't exactly the champions of truth these days and Cass had just used them as a diversion by sending them to an alternate universe. Trust was in short supply.
"You want us to have faith in you after everything that has gone on lately? You have to be kidding me." Dean licked his lips and started pacing, toward the door, back toward the bed, toward the door again. He did his best thinking while pacing. "So you aren't going to tell us why this woman has to hunt with us?"
Raven interjected, giving Dean another frosty look, "Hello? Sitting right here. I have a name, you know."
"That's exactly my point! You gave us a really dumb alias instead of your real name. We don't know the first thing about you and I am supposed to have you watching my back on a hunt? I have another idea. How about hell no?" Dean exploded. He was tired of being bossed around by a bunch of dicks with wings.
"Dean, calm down. Let's talk about this rationally." Sam crossed the room to talk to Cass face to face. "Cass, why can't you tell us the reason Raven has to hunt with us?"
Cass looked at Sam with a softer expression, "If I were to reveal Raven's purpose on this journey it could compromise the future and I cannot allow that to happen. All will reveal itself in due course. That is all I can say about the matter."
Dean heard Sam sigh. "Dean, can I talk to you in private?" He moved toward the door.
"I must leave. I was in battle when you called." Cass interrupted.
Dean asked him, "Are you going to tell us anything else about her?"
Cass replied tersely, "No. I cannot."
"Take off then." Dean said sourly. It's not like Cass had given them any useful information except that the angels were being manipulative again. Dean turned back toward the door and heard the flutter of wings again. He yanked it open, exasperated with the current situation with Cass.
He heard Sam turn to Raven and say, "We'll be right back," closing the door behind him.
"What have I gotten myself into? " Raven mumbled to herself as they left her sitting on the tattered bedspread. Dean was more of a spoiled brat than she had been prepared for. Cass had supplied Raven with copies of Chuck's writings so that she could get to know the brothers better. Knowing their history had been helpful in constructing an approach to the situation but the reality of the Winchesters didn't translate to paper that well. Sam wasn't as docile as he came off in the books and Dean… well, he was just… broken. Everything in his demeanor screamed it. Behind the hostility in his hazel eyes, Raven had seen the sadness, the utter lack of hope. Maybe that was what caused her reaction. In all her years, she had never seen that kind of naked despair.
"He's still a pain in my ass." she thought out loud. She was not about to let some cocky, self centered, Neanderthal get in the way of the reason she was here. She would complete her task, come hell or high water.
"Dean, I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt." Sam pleaded. Dean was already suspicious of Raven, and with good reason. If Sam had been thinking clearly he would be skeptical too. But Sam wasn't thinking at all, he was reacting. Something about her had rocked him to his core. He felt happy for the first time in a long while. It was like she had returned his hope just by being in the room. It didn't make sense but Sam wasn't about to let Dean run her off until he'd had a chance to think things through.
"Sam, you can't be serious! We don't know the first thing about her! And having an angel vouch for her doesn't give her a gold star." Dean was pacing again. Sam knew that Dean did his best thinking while pacing.
Sam sighed and replied, "Don't forget that Bobby has worked with her also. You may not trust Cass and I understand why but Bobby is family. His opinion should be gold." Sam knew that Dean couldn't argue with that logic.
Dean pulled his cell out of his pants pocket, dialed and activated the speaker. Sam heard the gruff voice of Bobby Singer say, "Hey Dean."
"Bobby, what can you tell me about this Raven chick?"
"Well," Bobby began, "She came to me highly recommended. Worked with a couple of hunters in Colorado and they couldn't say enough good things. Bill and Craig said they'd work with her again in a heartbeat. The jobs I gave her were finished before I could blink. She's damn good. Not to mention she's easy on the eyes."
Dean snorted, "Easy on the eyes doesn't help us when a monster is trying to eat my face. Bobby I need answers. How do we know she isn't a demon or a shape shifter or a…"
"She drank holy water and cut herself with a silver knife. She's not any of those things. Dean, what is your real problem?" Sam was starting to get exasperated with Dean's stubborn attitude. He could understand if it was just Cass who told them about Raven, but Bobby had attested to her abilities. That should have been all the information Dean needed. There was something more going on here. "Why don't you just admit that you don't like the fact that a woman got the jump on you?" Sam knew that would get under his skin.
Dean glared at Sam, "That has nothing to do with it. She caught me off guard."
Sam heard snickering coming from Dean's phone, "Dean? You let her take you down? Don't worry; she put Craig in his place too. Earned both of their respect. Bill said he had never seen a shot like her before. Call yourselves lucky she is on our side." Bobby then sighed and said, "Dean, don't look a gift hunter in the mouth. With everything going on right now it's a good idea to have backup. Raven is a professional. I'd be proud to have her at my side."
Bobby rarely heaped praise on anyone. If he wasn't convinced before, Sam was now. All he needed was for Dean to stop his temper tantrum and get on board.
Sam was about to continue the argument when he heard the door open behind him. He glanced back to see Raven standing on the sidewalk, looking pretty irritated.
"If you are going to continue this discussion as though I am not here, I might as well get some sleep. I am going to get a room and make friends with the bed. Please let me know when Dean stops acting like a spoiled child so I can tell you about a job I found." Raven then turned on her heal and stalked toward the motel office. When Sam looked back at Dean, he did not look amused.
"Sammy, I am beat. Let's talk more about this after I have had a decent night's sleep and a shower. I'll call you in the mornin' Bobby."
"You got it." Bobby replied. Sam heard a click as Dean stuffed the cell phone back in his jean's pocket.
"Fair enough," Sam conceded. Dean smelt pretty ripe and looked even worse. Maybe after he'd rested he would be more reasonable. He watched Dean go back to the room and slam the door. Sammy was even more wired than he was earlier. There was a new mystery to solve. Who is Raven? Sam decided to pay her a visit and get some answers.
Raven had just put her bags on the bed when there was a knock at the door.
"Are kidding me?" she muttered. They couldn't have decided that fast. Or had they? Dean could have simply refused to listen to reason and Sam went along with him, to keep the peace.
She pulled open the door to see Sam standing there, wearing a sheepish grin. "You up for a little company?"
She could hardly refuse that puppy dog look of his. It was just too cute. "Sure," she replied, "Come in."
"I'm sorry to disturb you but negotiations have been suspended until the morning so I thought we could get to know each other a little better." The grin made another appearance along with adorable dimples. Raven realized she was going to have a devil of a time saying no to that face.
Walking towards her bags while Sam closed the door, Raven replied, "Well, I'll save you the trouble of having to tell me about you and your brother. Cass provided me with copies of Chuck's writings so I know about as much as anyone can know about the Winchesters."
As he sat on the edge of the bed, Sam looked quite taken aback by the admission but quickly changed his expression to a neutral one. "Wow, then you do know a lot. Did you happen to have a favorite part of our story?"
Raven turned to him and answered, "Well, to be honest, your entire story was utterly depressing. You two have given up so much, lost too much, to do a thankless job. It amazes me that you can even get out of bed in the morning."
"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Sam admitted, "You don't pull any punches, do you?"
"No, I don't. Life is too short to try and skirt around issues. Get them out in the open and move on. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to bottle up emotions. You become a walking time bomb. Like your brother, for example."
Sam's face betrayed nothing but he did look contemplative. "Am I allowed to ask questions about you?"
"Of course," She smiled, "Fire away."
He rubbed his hands together and smirked at her. She giggled and he asked, "Why won't you tell us your real name?"
"Well," She began, "Unlike you and Dean, I have a large family to protect. If any malevolent being figured out who I really am, my family would be in grave danger and I cannot allow anything to happen to them. I am sure you can understand that."
"Yes, I can understand that perfectly." He allowed, "Why did you start hunting?"
Raven's expression darkened, "I'd rather not talk about that." She turned her back on Sam and busied herself collecting toiletries from her bag. Sam stared at the floor. "I'm sorry, Sam." She sighed, "It's not that I won't tell you. It's just very painful to talk about."
"I can relate. Most hunters' stories are sad ones. I'm sure you'll tell me when you feel you are ready to talk about it."
"Thank you. I appreciate that. What else would you like to know?" She tried very hard to brighten her expression.
"What did you do in your former life?"
Raven sighed, "Next question."
"Aren't you going to answer any of my questions? I didn't think that one was an invasion of privacy." Sam retorted with a sly smile.
Raven sat next to him on the bed. "I suppose you are right. Answering that couldn't hurt. I was and still am a doctor."
Sam's face lit up like a kid at Christmas, "A medical doctor?"
"Yep," She answered, "A surgeon and a damn good one too."
"That explains the fancy medical kit. You are going to be useful on the job." Sam looked very pleased.
Raven smirked at him, "As often as you Winchester boys get your asses whipped, taking care of your injuries is going to be a full time job."
Sam laughed out loud. It was an unexpectedly pleasant sound. "Where did you go to medical school?"
Raven hesitated again but realized that piece of information wasn't especially vital to protecting her identity. "I graduated from Johns Hopkins with honors." She had also graduated in three years but including that information felt like bragging. Her parents had been so proud.
Sam whistled through his teeth, braking her reverie, "What in the hell are you doing hunting? You can write your own ticket."
Raven's expression darkened yet again and she began. "Sometimes you have to do what you feel is right, no matter what it costs you. I have never regretted my decision to take up hunting." She felt the weight of the words she spoke on her heart.
Sam's expression perked up, "At least you don't have to hunt with your pain in the ass brother."
She giggled again and admitted, "If I were to hunt with either of my brothers, we'd be at each other's throats inside of a week."
"So you have two brothers? Any sisters?"
Oh crap, I said too much! "Sam, I am really tired. Would it be ok if we continue this discussion tomorrow?"
He looked confused but stood and stepped to the door, "Sure, Raven. No problem. Sleep well and I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night Sam." She also walked to the door and let him out, locking up behind him. It was too easy to talk to him. Raven was going to have to be especially careful. Divulging too much information could be costly.