Chapter 4
Sam pulls a very old photo out of the box. In the photo are a group of people in Victorian clothing. In this photo, there is only one person he should recognize…instead, he recognizes four out of five of them. "Dean! You need to see this!"
The photo is labelled: Abraham Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, John Seward, and James Novak, 1893. The surprising thing was, Mina was not the only person he recognized. Dean takes one look at the picture and says, "What the hell? I don't remember posing for that picture. And is that Bobby? And Cas? What the hell is this?"
"This is Van Helsing, the Harkers, Dr. Seward, and someone named…wait for it…James Novak. Who, incidentally was NOT in the book," Sam explains.
"So, wait, why do these people look like our people?" Dean asks.
"That is the question of the hour," Sam says.
"I think it's time to call Cherry, or Mina, or whoever the hell she is and tell her it's time for her interview with the Men of Letters. Why don't you call her, Sam?"
"Why me?" Sam asks, "She's your former lover…and apparently wife," he waves the picture around to emphasize "wife."
"Because you should just call her, that's why. And I think Cas needs to be here too. I'll call him."
"You do realize that these could just be pictures of our relatives, right? That's most likely not even Cas at all, but an ancestor of his vessel," Sam states.
"Yeah, well, he was still around back then. Maybe he knows something," Dean said as if it made sense, when in reality he just wanted Castiel around to help figure things out.
"Fine, you call Cas and I'll call Mina, and we'll get both of them to come here. Although, even if Cas knew anything, Naomi erased his memory so many times, he may not know what he knows."
"Did that sentence make sense?" Dean asks with a grin before dialing his phone and walking away.
Sam dials a number on his phone, hoping Mina still has the number she texted them from. After what feels like infinite rings, a female voice finally answers. "Hello?"
"It's Sam Winchester. We need to talk. It's time for your long overdue appointment with the Men of Letters, Mina."
"Ah, so you found my file in that big old bunker of yours. It's about time. You have no idea how much harder things can be when there's no one to help hold you accountable," Mina tells him.
"Actually, I do," Sam replies, "But this isn't about me. How soon can you get here?"
"I never left town after our last meeting, so I'm close. I can be there in a couple of hours."
"You knew I'd call, didn't you?"
"I had a feeling. See you soon," she says as she hangs up on him.
When Sam walks back into the conference room, Dean and Castiel are already there waiting for him.
"Mina is on her way. She'll be here in a couple of hours. How did you get here so fast?" Sam turns the inquiry towards Castiel.
"I was already on my way here when Dean called." The angel answered matter-of-factly.
The men sit at the end of the conference table, Dean and Sam sitting across from each other and Castiel at the head of the table between them. They pass the picture back and forth, staring at it. A couple of hours have passed, and none of them have been able to come up with an explanation.
"Do we time travel again?" Dean asks. "I mean, is it possible that we time travel back to frickin' Victorian England and it just hasn't happened yet?"
"With our lives, anything is possible," Sam states.
"Who is this?" Castiel asks, pointing to Mina. "She seems familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on it."
"Is it possible that this is one of the memories that Naomi erased?" Sam asks.
"Wait, no I remember." He looks at Dean, "It was while you were in hell. She prayed to me, pleading with me to do something. That Dean Winchester does not belong in hell, that it wasn't his destiny. I remember how unusual it was for a prayer to reach me in heaven, especially from someone who's not human. She's not human, is she?"
"No, she's not," Dean answers. "She's a monster, who has apparently been granted immunity by our grandfather, among other Men of Letters."
"Then her prayers should not have been able to reach me. She shouldn't have even known my name, unless…"
"Unless it is you in that picture," Sam interrupts.
"Yes, that would explain her knowledge of me, but there's still no way I should have heard her. We only hear prayers from humans."
At that moment, Sam's phone rings. "It's Mina," he says as he answers it.
"Tell Castiel he could hear me because we're linked. I'll explain more once you let me in."
"You heard all that?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Yes. I have super human hearing. You should have seen that in my file. What I don't have is the ability to get through the warding on this bloody bunker, so can you please come let me in?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll be right there." Sam puts his phone away and addresses the guys. "I have to go let Mina in. Apparently, among her many gifts, passing through Men of Letters warding isn't one of them. Oh, and Cas, she says the two of you are linked, that's why she could pray to you." On that, he leaves to let their guest in.
"Linked? What the hell does that mean?" Dean asks no one in particular, then turning to Castiel, he asks, "How are you linked? To a frickin' monster?"
"Dean, I really have no idea," Castiel says softly. "I find this whole situation mildly disturbing."