Dean and Lexi didn't wait for John to leave for the house. They immediately went to work, reading through their notes and photocopies. It was almost midnight when they heard John's truck leave the parking lot. Dean went to the window to be sure.

"Dad left."

"Do you think he'll find anything?"

"I don't know."

Their research led them to two more mysterious deaths, even older than the ones they had already found. Dean picked up his cell, scrolled through his contact list, and selected the one labeled 'Dad.' It went to voicemail. He tried one more time, and John picked up.

"What?"

Dean could hear the anger in his voice. "We found a couple more deaths in the house, and I wanted let you know-"

"Don't call me again unless you have something useful."

"Dad-"

Lexi watched the exchange, and the look on Dean's face hurt her.

"He hung up," Dean said.

Lexi rubbed her hand over his shoulders. "Did he say anything?"

"Not to call again unless I have something useful."

Tears stung at Lexi's eyes. She hated seeing Dean hurt this way. She hated even more that it was John causing him the hurt. She hated even more that it was her relationship with Dean that started it. She took Dean's face in her hands and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Lex. This isn't your fault."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Let's keep digging and find him something useful."

Lexi nodded and pulled up a search screen on her laptop. After a few false leads she found a website that talked about the history of the house.

"Dean, baby, look at this."

He leaned over and looked at the screen. Lexi pointed to one particular entry.

"This is the very first death in that house," she said. "Notice anything that doesn't fit the pattern?"

"Yeah, it's a woman."

"Exactly. Do you think she could be our ghost?"

"Could be."

Dean called John and got his voicemail. He disconnected and stared at the phone a moment before calling gain. Lexi knew he was worried about John hanging up on him again. She hated the tension between them, and she prayed that it would end soon. Dean pocketed his phone and grabbed his jacket.

"Dad's not answering. I have to go over there and fill him in."

"Shouldn't we wait until we have more information on this woman? We don't even know yet how she died."

Dean ran a hand though his hair and tossed his jacket onto the bed.

"Okay," Dean said. "Let's find out who she is."

After another half hour, Lexi found a way to search the library's archives online, at least the portion that they had available. She and Dean typed in the woman's name, Margaret Adams, and two articles came up. One of them gave her a brief mention as the wife of the man who built the house. It included a photo of her, her husband, and a small baby cradled in Margaret's arms.

The second article talked about the history of the house and the mysterious string of deaths. Dean walked away as Lexi's eyes flicked back and forth across the screen. He hated research to begin with, but his mind was preoccupied with John. He hated letting his dad down, and that's what he had done. He had defied an order. Dean sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Lexi. He had never known a girl like her, and he loved her. He wouldn't let anyone, not even John, stand in the way.

"Dean," she called out, not looking away from the screen. "You have to see this."

He returned to the chair next to her and circled his arm around her shoulders. "What's up?"

"The guy who wrote this article did a lot of research. I mean, there are foot notes for days on this thing."

"Yeah, that means nothing to me," Dean said with a roll of his eyes.

Lexi smiled. "Anyway... he did a lot of interviews. A small town like this, rumors and gossip tend to get passed down from generation to generation."

"Okay."

"Margaret died from head trauma. She was covered in bruises... and her baby died a little over a month later. Also covered in bruises."

Dean shook his head. "Rat bastard."

"Right. Story goes that Margaret's husband abused her, but she never fought back."

"Until he started hitting the kid."

"Exactly," Lexi said. "He beat her to death one night, but he was never charged with anything. He was a prominent figure in the community, and it was the 1800's. Not a lot of women's rights. He was arrested when his baby died, but no charges were ever filed. He probably had connections."

"The last two deaths in that house... the librarian said there were rumors that the men who died abused their families."

"She did." Lexi stared at the screen and scrunched her nose, trying to think. "This wouldn't be a woman in white, would it?"

"No. A woman in white is the one who kills her children... and it's because of a cheating husband." Dean pulled the laptop toward him and started a new search. "There is a spirit that's similar, though."

After a couple of minutes, Dean passed the laptop back to Lexi. He pointed to the screen, and Lexi read a few lines.

"A gray lady?"

"Yeah. Born out of traumatic death. They die for love. In this case..."

"Her baby."

Dean nodded. "Sometimes the spirit gets stuck and they spend eternity trying to reconnect with that love."

"Yeah, but she's not gently rocking cradles... she's killing."

"She's still protecting children," Dean said. "That's why there's no activity in the house now. The dad's not beating anyone."

"So, what do we do?"

"Burn the bones. Though, this one sucks. I mean, she's killing some serious douche bags."

"I know, but she's killing... and she doesn't belong here anymore."

"Do we have any idea where the body is?"

"Yeah," Lexi said. "The article gave the name of the cemetery."

"Awesome."

Dean pulled out his phone and dialed John. No answer.

"Come on," Dean said as he stood.

"Where?"

"We're going grave digging."

"Won't John be mad that you took me?"

"I don't care. He should answer his phone." When Lexi didn't move, Dean sighed and dialed John again. "I'll leave him a message. Okay?"

"Okay."

Dean explained the situation to John's voicemail as they walked to the Impala. The drive to the cemetery didn't take long, and it wasn't large, so they wouldn't spend too much time searching. Digging was another issue. Digging alone wasn't easy, and it took time. Lexi could help a little, but she didn't have the experience Dean would have liked.

Several hours later, they were back at the motel. John's truck still wasn't back. Dean checked his cell. No missed calls.

Dean grabbed a paper towel and wiped his face, removing a little of the dirt that had mixed with his sweat as he dug up the grave. "You want the shower first," he asked Lexi.

"What's this 'first' thing? Why not shower together?"

Dean gave her a big smile, but it faded as he spoke. "I want one of us to be out here to talk to dad in case he gets back soon."

Lexi nodded and gathered what she would need for her shower. She stopped just outside the bathroom door and looked to Dean.

"Hey, babe..."

"Yeah?"

"I love you." She gave him a smile, which he returned.

"I love you, too."

Lexi let the warm water run over her head, washing away the dirt and sweat. Even the ache in her muscles seemed to be fading. When she turned off the water she heard voices. John was back. She listened for a moment. They weren't yelling. That was good. She finished getting dressed, and joined them at the table. She kept quiet until John spoke to her.

"You okay after digging that grave," he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Dean filled me in. You two did good."

Lexi glanced at Dean. His eyes were on her, with a small grin pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks," she said to John.

John stood. "Well, I'm gonna head back to my room. Good night, you two."

"Good night, dad."

"Good night, John."

Dean stood and kissed Lexi lightly on the lips without touching her.

"I'm gonna shower. We need to talk when I get out."

Lexi hesitated. "Okay."

"It's not bad... I promise."

Lexi lay in bed watching television while Dean showered. Dean came out of the bathroom in just his boxers, and climbed in bed next to Lexi. He wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled into his side. Dean turned off the television and put the remote on the bedside table. He kissed Lexi and pulled her close.

"What do we need to talk about," she asked.

"Us... and dad."

"What about us?"

"Dad said he's still not happy about me going against his order, but he won't try to keep us apart."

Lexi sat up slightly, leaning on her elbow. "Really?"

"Really. He said he already lost one son, he doesn't want to lose us, too."

"He actually said that?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. That's about as open as I've ever seen him. He also said that part of the reason he had such a hard time when we told him is because he's come to think of you as a daughter."

"I know. I've really grown to see him as a father, too."

"Well, I don't think of you as a sister." Dean smirked and ran the back of his fingers over Lexi's cheek.

"I certainly don't think of you as a brother."

"Good."

THE END