It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

(Part 1)

"Alright, Rose. Let's try it again." Sam said. They were in the yard of Bobby's house, both dressed down in their workout clothes. Sam had wrapped Rose's hands to keep them from getting cut as they practiced her hand to hand combat.

Dean was sitting by a picnic bench drinking a beer while Bobby barbecued chicken behind him. It was nice out, especially for October, and Sam had wanted to get in one more outdoors practice before the weather changed. That, and they were planning on hitting the road soon anyways.

They'd decided to lay low for a week, teach Rose the basics of hunting. Dean had to admit it, she was a natural. It helped that she could understand any language put in front of her, and Bobby had been utilizing that skill as much as possible. Rose had already translated a number of books for him in his search for a way to stop Lilith.

Beyond languages, Rose had been easily picking up the ways to handle demons and ghosts, vampires and werewolves, the works. She still wasn't entirely on board with killing the monsters, Dean didn't really think she'd ever be. However, it seemed that in her mind that after second chances, mercy went out the window.

Dean's attention quickly drew back to Sam and Rose with the thump that emanated from his brother hitting the soil. "Like tha'?" Rose asked proudly.

Sam laughed and rubbed his bruised stomach. "Yeah, like that." Rose offered Sam a hand and pulled him up. "I think the Time Vortex is giving you a little extra strength there."

Dean smiled. "You keep telling yourself that Sammy."

Rose laughed. "Yeah, Sam, wha'ever helps you sleep at night." Rose plucked the beer from Dean's hand and took a sip before handing it back over. "You know, we should really invest in water, or juice. Somethin' tha' isn't alcohol."

Bobby snorted. "Yeah, y'all need to leave and take her with you." Rose and the boys laughed. Bobby fixed Rose with a serious look. "I don't need no woman in my house changing my ways that ain't my wife."

Rose smiled. "Why Bobby, is tha' a proposal?" Bobby rolled his eyes and went back to cooking. A phone rang inside the house and Bobby closed the lid of the barbecue before heading inside to answer it. Rose sat beside Dean on the bench and smiled excitedly. "We should do somethin' for Halloween."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, okay princess."

"'m serious Dean. We could dress up Bobby's house, hand out candy."

Dean looked over Rose's head to Sam, eyebrows raised. Sam scratched his head. "Yeah, Rose?" He started unsurely. "We don't usually do anything for Halloween."

Rose's eyes widened. "Wha'? Seriously? Never?"

Dean shrugged. "We're usually hunting. Halloween tends to be a hotspot straight across the country for monsters."

"An' this one ain't gonna be no different." Bobby interjected. He stuffed the cordless phone into his back pocket as he made his way over to the barbecue. "Just got a call from a hunter out some ways. He got wind of a case, but he's all wrapped up with a wendigo. How you kids feel about a little Halloween murder?"

"Now how many razor blades did they find?" Sam asked as gently as he could. Mrs. Wallace's husband was the first and only victim of actually swallowing razor blades hidden in halloween candy. Sam glanced to Dean and Rose as they searched the kitchen for hex bags. Razor blades in candy, definitely witches.

Mrs. Wallace hiccuped as she tried to keep her tears at bay. "Two on the floor, one in his stomach and one was stuck in his throat. He swallowed four of them. How is that even possible?" Sam opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. It wasn't possible, that's why they were there. Mrs. Wallace frowned at Dean as he opened the oven. "The candy was never in the oven."

Rose raised her eyebrow at Dean from the other side of the fridge. Dean cleared his throat awkwardly. "We just have to be thorough, Mrs. Wallace." Mrs. Wallace narrowed her eyes but Sam quickly cut in before she could comment further.

"Did the police find any razors in the rest of the candy?"

Rose bent down at the corner of the fridge as her eyes locked on a dark smudge. It was a stain from moving the fridge. Rose pushed her fingers under the fridge, completely ignoring the erg to freak out when they ran through a spiders web. Why would they have moved the fridge? Obviously not to clean it. When she got to the back corner she fit her hand inside the crack between the wall and the back of the fridge.

Dean crouched down beside Rose. "Got anything?" He whispered as Sam continued to interrogate the widow.

Rose stuck her tongue out between her teeth. "I think…" She plucked out the hex bag from behind the fridge and held it up triumphantly to Dean. "Ha!" Dean smiled and took the bag from her. He showed it to Sam over the widow's shoulder than stuffed it in his pocket.

Sam sighed and turned back to the wife. "Mrs. Wallace, did Luke have any enemies?" He said, changing his line of questioning to fit the monster.

Dean turned around and gestured to Rose's hand, covered in dust and cobwebs. "I'd clean that up." Rose glanced at her hand and shivered. She nodded and headed out of the house while Dean waited a moment longer.

"If someone wanted to kill my husband," Mrs. Wallace raged at Sam, "don't you think they'd find a better way than a razor in a piece of candy he might eat?"

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. You'd be surprised, Dean thought. He left Sam to finish the questioning and headed outside to meet Rose. She was standing on the porch with her arms crossed as she surveyed the street.

"Find anything suspicious, Agent Smith?"

Rose smiled at him over her shoulder. "Besides the hex bag?" He grinned and nodded his head in acknowledgement of her victory. Her smiled broadened. "Then no. Just checkin' out the decorations."

Dean stepped up beside her and took a look at the pumpkins and fake spider webs. "These people really don't know scary do they?"

Rose frowned and glanced over her shoulder to the house of the once Mr. Wallace. "They certainly do." Rose shook her head. "Poor woman. Poor baby."

Dean scratched the back of his head. "I want to tell you it'll get better, Rose, easier. But it won't. Or at least, it shouldn't."

"Yeah," Rose sighed, "I guess when I travelled with the Doctor, all the darkness was counteracted by the wonders I saw. It sor' of balanced itself out. And I think a par' of me is still waitin' for that balance."

"The Doctor?" Dean asked.

Rose nodded. "My husband." Finally, Dean thought, a name to put to the person. But really? Doctor?

"Doctor who?"

Dean didn't know what was so funny about the question, but it made Rose laugh. Laugh harder than she had in the past couple days that they'd been training her and drilling her to translate ancient texts. Dean winced. Maybe they'd been working her too hard. She could use a break.

Hunters don't get breaks, his fathers voice whispered to him in the back of his head. Well, Dean thought, Rose was different.

Sam exited the house and the three hunters made their way over to the Impala. "So, witches?" Sam asked as they piled into the car.

Rose bounced in her seat excitedly. "Real witches!"

Dean raised his eyebrow at her. "Witches are not fun Rose. They're—"

"Powerful and dangerous and unpredictable." Rose mimicked over Dean's voice. Sam laughed at the scowl Dean shot the woman. "Dean, I remember what you said. But I mean, come on." Her serious voice and tone gave way to a grin of excitement. "Witches."

Sam laughed and shook his head. "She'll learn." Dean nodded once and continued on to the motel. "So his wife is pretty convinced he wasn't cheating."

Rose leaned forward and rested her elbows on the boys seats. "Do witches usually only do grudge killin's?"

Sam shook his head. "That's what so dangerous about them. They're human, which means they could have any number of motivations. But the usual MO does tend to be people who've wronged them. If you need a sacrifice for a spell, why kill the people you like?"

Rose nodded. "Righ'. Could have used that with some girls from school, tha's for sure." Sam smirked and nodded once. He could definitely agree with that.

Dean pouted mockingly. "Oh don't tell me little Miss. All Powerful One of a Kind Alien was bullied in school?"

Rose flicked Dean on the back of his head. "Wasn't an alien then, thanks." She frowned. "Wouldn't really say I am one now, I've been called a goddess before." Sam and Dean both raised their eyebrows at that. "Bu' I definitely wasn't a fan of school. Never even finished it."

Sam's mouth opened speechlessly. He shook his head. "You created a time machine that sits on your wrist, why would you drop out of school?"

Dean snorted. "Because she can make a time machine that sits on her wrist."

Sam rolled his eyes and Rose laughed. "Uh, no. Couldn't do that then either. Only recently became a genius with the vortex an' everythin'. My mind expanded, and I can pick things up a lot faster now. Helped tha' my husband was a genius, so he taught me a lot. But no, I was just a plain old drop out. Worked in a shop 'til I met the Doctor." At Sam's look of confusion Rose explained, "My husband." He nodded.

They pulled into the parking lot of the motel and Dean killed the engine. "Alright, well I'm going to get changed and see what dirt I can dig up on the victim."

Sam nodded. "I'll hit the books." They turned to Rose.

She shrugged. "I saw a Chinese take out place a little ways that way. I'm going to grab some food then I'll help Sammy with the books." The boys nodded and the three headed into the motel room to change.

Rose took the washroom and quickly striped off her FBI pants suit and donned her usual jeans. She pulled on Dean's plaid shirt with a jacket and smiled. It still smelled like him.

Rose stepped out of the washroom and Sam raised his eyebrows at her shirt. Dean frowned. "Am I ever going to get that back?"

Rose grinned. "Nope."

He rolled his eyes and pulled the Impala keys from the pocket of his newly donned jeans. "Come on, I'll give you a lift to the Chinese restaurant. See ya Sammy." Sam nodded at them absentmindedly as he hefted a box of witchcraft books onto the coffee table.

"Alright," Rose said with a smile as she slid into the passenger seat of the Impala. "Chinese, wha'd'ya want?" Dean pulled the Impala out of the parking lot as he thought over the question.

He shrugged. "I'm easy."

Rose laughed. "Really? Because I have not been gettin' that at all."

Dean slowly raised his eyebrows. He turned and gave Rose a look as they came to stop at a red light. Rose smirked at him and saw his mouth twitch as he fought to keep the smile off his face. "We talked about this." Rose shrugged lightly and turned her smirk towards the window. "In the line of work that we're in. We can't afford selfish distractions." They pulled into the parking lot of the Chinese restaurant.

Rose sighed. "In the line of work we do, don't you think we deserve to be selfish every once in awhile?"

When Dean didn't answer, Rose turned her gaze back to him. He was watching her carefully, his eyes narrowed and calculating. "Either you've rehearsed that line, or you've used it before."

Rose laughed and looked heavenward. "I don't know wha' it is about men who hate themselves, it might be my weak spot."

Dean raised his eyebrows amusingly. "Get out of my car."

Rose leaned towards him with her signature tongue in teeth smile. "No chicken balls then?"

"Out." He laughed. Damn it if she didn't move that fine ass of hers, he was going to kiss her. That smile. Why did she have to do that smile. In that shirt.

Rose laughed and leaned forward. She gave Dean a quick peck on the lips. "Bye!" Then Rose practically flew out of the car and into the restaurant.

Dean sat frozen for half a minute before he moved. He shook his head, gunned the engine and drove out. "That little flirt."

Rose's vortex manipulator beeped as she entered the restaurant. She lifted her wrist to fiddle with the suddenly active technology, her mind not really focused. Dean had clearly been surprised by her cheekiness. Rose was surprised herself. She usually wasn't so forward, dancing around the Doctor for years as she did. But maybe that was the reason. Rose had done the childish questioning and flirting and wondering and hoping. She wanted something real and tangible, and she wanted it now. Years alone had taught her to take the moments she had and cherish them. A hunter's life wasn't going to last long. If she was going to spend any time with Dean, she didn't want to waste it.

Activated. Rose finally registered. The vortex manipulator had activated. Rose looked up and her eyes widened. She wasn't in a the same restaurant. She wasn't even in a Chinese restaurant.

The entrance and doors were on the far side of the wall facing her. The wall had large wood panelled windows and led out onto a completely empty street. It looked a bit like a Mom and Pop shop, with checkered table cloth and wooden walls. There was a counter to the left of Rose and a massive oven, the smell of pizza doe hung in the air. Before her sat a man. He was older, with dark hair and eyes, a curved and pointed nose. His limbs were long and angular whilst the skin on his face hung in an almost emancipated way.

He looked down his nose at Rose as he cut into a thick slice of pizza. He gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit."

Rose didn't move. She surveyed the room once more, this time noting all the entrances and exists, closest weapons and how much damage they could do. "Where am I? How'd I get here?"

The man set his utensils down and took a sip from his glass. "You're in New York. Little Fonzerelli's to be exact. Very good pizza. As to how you got here, well that's a little bit more complicated don't you think?"

Rose crossed her arms. Not really, she thought. She knew how to activate someone's vortex manipulator from somewhere else in the same galaxy, even a different time if she was feeling clever. However, a vortex manipulator wasn't native to this new universe. "So how'd ya activate my vortex manipulator, then?"

He paused for a minute and gave Rose a long look. Rose held firm and refused to be intimidated by the oppressing aura of the man before her. "You showed me."

Rose smiled, amused. Well that was certainly interesting. "And just who exactly are you?"

"I'm Death."

Rose narrowed her eyes. She looked around, part of her thinking the Winchesters were about to pop out from around the corner. "As in…" Rose sighed. Oh god, was she really going to ask? She felt like an idiot, but really, in this world anything seemed to go. "The angel of?" Death nodded once. "Oh." Well then. "'kay."

Rose took a moment to process that information. Dean had said the Devil was real, angels were real. Demons, werewolves, vampires, shape shifters, ghosts. Why was the concept of Death embodied so hard for her to grasp?

"Pizza?" Death asked politely.

Alright, Rose decided, that was why it was so difficult. Not very Deathly.

Rose took a deep breath and nodded. She made her way to the small table and sat down across from… Death. She laughed. "I'm havin' pizza with Death."

"And I with Time."

Rose froze. "Wha'?"

Death raised an eyebrow at her as he picked up his cutlery once more. "Don't play dumb with me, dear. I know who you are, I know everything about you."

Rose blushed. It had been a long time since she felt like a child being scolded by her elder. "Righ'. Sorry. Don't usually mix up my own timelines anymore, learned to stay away from it. So 's all a bit strange for me, yeah?"

Death ate another piece of pizza in silence. He was either ignoring her comment, or didn't really care to respond. Rose fiddled with her fingers in her lap. Probably both, really.

"Is there a reason you called me here?" Rose asked after she finally plucked up the courage to do so.

"Eat." Was all he said in reply.

"But—"

Death paused in his eating, he gave Rose another long look. "Eat and then we'll talk, Ms. Tyler."

Rose swallowed. "'kay." She fumbled childishly with the fork and knife, her cheeks flaming, and cut into the slice of pizza before her. The taste made her mouth water. She'd never really been into pizza, more of a chips girl herself. But she'd never had pizza like this before.

Rose was halfway through her second piece before she spoke again. "So where did you say Little Fonzerelli's was?"

Death raised an eyebrow at her.

Rose smiled back teasingly. "Just tryin' to make conversation." She defended. "Ya know," she waved her hand, "how's the weather? Who won the match? Why are Death and Time actual beings and not just personified in literature in this universe?"

Death didn't move, his eyebrow stayed exactly where it was. High, and unimpressed with her antics.

Rose shrugged and went back to her pizza. "'s a valid question."

Rose continued to eat even when she noticed Death did not. He set his fork and knife down and rested his hands on the table top together. "It's simply the way this universe runs. There is heaven and hell. God and the Devil. Death and Time. Though we don't usually run on the same plane as all the other monsters and humans. You do like to make an exception. Don't you? Now, might I finish my pizza before it gets cold?"

Rose nodded. She finished her second slice and sat back. Death was still eating, how many slices he'd had already, Rose didn't know. She vaguely wondered if Death could have a high cholesterol. What happens when Death dies?

"You know," Rose started. Death sighed and looked heavenward. Rose smiled at his obvious grievance, "oh, calm down." She laughed. "I was jus' gonna say, although I don't know what you want from me as of yet. Nor do I know if we're goin'ta be friends or enemies. It's nice to hear someone else talk about other universes. Not so lonely."

Death didn't smile, but Rose could have sworn his eyes looked just a fraction of a bit lighter than they had before. "Yes, well…" Death took a sip of his drink. "Everything falls and everything fails. As beings of… a relative immortality and a redefined eternal being, we understand that far beyond all others."

Rose shrugged. "Which makes it all the more worth seein' and experiencin'. Moments pass so quickly. You've got to take wha' you have and treat it like a prize. 'cause tha's what it is."

"With an obvious degree of nonintervention of course."

Rose cocked her head to the side as she frowned. "'m sorry?"

"You are an Eternal, strictly speaking. You're a personified ideal, an imprint on this world if you will." Rose nodded, understanding what he was saying. "You cannot interfere with the matters of mortals and their lives. Fate has a plan for them, and she will be quite displeased if you interfere."

Rose's mouth opened wordlessly. "I…" She shook her head. "No. Wait — sorry. Are you tellin' me I need to stop hunting?"

"You should not be interfering with the Winchester's lives."

Rose laughed. "Oh you've got to be kiddin' me. Says who? I can do whatever I bloody well like."

"There are rules." Death intoned, his face growing more severe by the second.

Rose leaned towards him from across the table. "I'm not from this world. I don't need to follow your rules."

"You are Time." Death tried to reason. "You exist throughout this entire universe if you were born here or not. You are a part of the makeup of this universe, the structure of everything that is. You are wound into it like a knot."

Rose crossed her arms and fell back against her chair's backrest. "So wha'd'ya want me to do? Jus' leave Sam and Dean without a word? Sit on a cloud in the sky bored out of mind?"

Death sighed. "You are neutral. All immortal beings of our stature are. We cannot intervene on such a massive scale. We aren't supposed to at all. It is for good and evil to work itself out. However you wish to spend your time is your own. Helping the Winchesters, fine. But to a degree."

Rose laughed. "So you want me to do wha'? Jus' stand around and look pretty?"

Death raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. Rose raised her own likewise. After a moment of silence, Rose rolled her eyes and got up. "Thanks for the pizza. Definitely the best I've had." She lifted her wrist and tapped a few things into the vortex manipulator. "Next time you invite a girl out though, I'd work on the bedside manner. Could use a bit of work, yeah?"

She pressed a button and POP.

Rose looked around. She was standing in a parking lot beside the Impala. She glanced at the vortex manipulator's face, a few hours had passed. Rose rubbed her forehead.

Neutral? How was she supposed to stay neutral fighting demons and witches? Or did that just mean bigger picture? She could help the Winchesters now, but when it came to Lucifer, they were on their own? That seemed unfair. But really, Rose thought. When had things ever gone in her favour?

"Rose?"

Rose looked up and smiled at Dean. And another problem, she thought sadly. Did noninterference mean no mingling with humans as well? Was she really going to follow any of these stupid rules anyways?

Dean shook his head. "Rose, what are you doing here? I thought you were getting Chinese then going to help Sam?"

Rose nodded. Right. Food. Sam. Witches. "The restaurant was closin' early." What time was it? Oh, right, four in the afternoon. "Special holiday." Rose quickly explained before Dean could ask.

Dean raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Alright. Well I'm starved, so lets grab something from the store then head back." Rose nodded and climbed into the Impala.

"Did you find anything out about Luke Wallace?" Rose internally winced at her own question. Was that okay? Was that interference? Damn it! Why had she let Death get to her like that? She rubbed her temple annoyingly.

Dean shrugged. "Not really." He glanced at Rose. "Hey, you okay?"

Rose nodded miserably. "Jus' a headache." She sat up straight and pushed her internal dilemma aside. "I'll be fine." Rose smiled brightly. Dean didn't buy it.

"Are you sure? You seem a little… like you've got a lot going on all of a sudden." Dean frowned at her for a moment longer before turning back to the road.

Rose bit her lip and looked out the window. Dean really just had to be super perceptive, didn't he? Rose thought. Change of topic. Change of topic. "Awe, look at the witch." Rose pointed to a blow up air witch on someone's front lawn. "Maybe she's the culprit."

Dean rolled his eyes. "I don't even do Halloween and I know that blow up decorations are a cop-out." Rose laughed.

They pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and quickly headed in. Dean picked up a basket by the door and the two of them wandered the aisles together. "Where's the pie?" Dean wondered aloud as they walked through produce.

Rose rolled her eyes. She picked up an apple and tossed it up before catching it again. "Ya know, if we had an oven, I could simply make you a pie."

Dean shrugged. "I'm not really into the frozen ones that you heat up."

Rose turned to Dean as he examined a bag of oranges. "Dean, I do know how to make a pie from scratch." Dean dropped the oranges. Rose quickly caught them before they hit the ground and placed them back with the others.

"From scratch?" Dean whispered reverently.

Rose smiled at him fondly. "You're crazy."

Dean moved towards the apples. "How many apples do you need? I can get a stove. I can… we." He paused and turned back to the amused blond beside him. "Next time we're at Bobby's, I want pie."

Rose smiled amusingly, but didn't argue. She took Dean's hand and led him away from the produce. "Whatever you say, sugar." When they reached the bread and bakery section, they picked up a ready made pie and added it to their basket of a family box of chicken and chips — fries, Rose reminded herself.

They were walking past the seasonal section when Rose noticed the Halloween candy. She quickly led Dean over. "Gummies or chocolate?" She questioned.

Dean raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that even a question?" Dean grabbed both and put them in their basket. "I may not celebrate Halloween, but I certainly eat the candy."

Rose nodded. "Yeah… but I mean, we could celebrate too."

Dean gave Rose a look. "What would we even do?"

Rose shrugged. "I donno, pass candy out at Bobby's? Dress up! Drink and eat candy?"

Dean shook his head. "Sorry sunshine, but we do that already." He paused. "Well we don't hand out candy, but we're always dressed up as what we're not. We drink, and no one can stop my candy consumption."

Rose laughed. "I've noticed." Dean smiled toothlessly. "Well, we could crash a party, there's always things goin' on with too many people to count."

Dean made a face.

Rose sighed. "Fine. I guess you're right. 's just such a shame. I love Halloween." Rose smiled fondly at a costume of a ladybug. "I could use a day where I'm not some all powerful being with big decisions and ironically little time."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Something you're not telling me, Rose?"

Rose laughed weakly and shook her head. "It's nothin'. I think I'm jus' home sick or somethin'."

Dean watched the blonde beside him as she fiddled with ladybug antennas sitting beside the bagged costume. She looked so lost and alone. Rose was, Dean realized sadly. She was literally the only one of her kind. Rose would never meet another person who would understand, who could do what she did. She also happened to be incredibly selfless and brave and god damn it, Dean didn't like seeing her so unhappy.

He reached forward and plucked a witch costume from one of the pegs. Rose raised an eyebrow. "What?" Dean said defensively. "You said we could crash a party, right?"

Rose smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but not wearin' that." She traded the witch costume for a red hood and a fake axe. She nodded. "That'll do."

"You know I have a real axe, right?"

"You know we're not gonna actually be killin' wolves right?"

Sam looked up when the door to the motel opened. Dean waltzed in and threw the keys onto the table and a few grocery bags on the bed. He popped a candy into his mouth as he nodded at his brother. Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Really? After that guy choked down all those razor blades?"

Dean shrugged. "It's Halloween, man."

Sam sighed and shook his head. "She got to you didn't she?"

Rose closed the motel door as she entered. "Guilty." She admitted with no remorse. She set the bucket of chicken on the side table and piled her groceries with the other bags on the first bed.

"I thought you were going to get Chinese and then help me out?" Sam asked, confused.

Rose shrugged. "Place was closed." She smiled excitedly. "So we got candy instead." Dean nodded and tossed Rose a chocolate candy.

Sam frowned at the both of them. "Seriously you guys. No halloween stuff. We agreed."

Rose shook her head and shrugged. "Well I didn't." She sat down on the bed nearest to the couch.

Sam gave her a patronizing look. "Well then you're going to be celebrating on your own."

Rose looked to Dean. She leaned towards him as she stage whispered, "Don't worry, we'll get him on board too." Dean nodded, assured.

Sam's mouth dropped a bit. "Are you guys serious right now? Halloween? It's a joke Holiday. It's a day for kids to get free candy for no reason besides capitalism and consumerism — if you can find the difference."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't be a downer." He sat down on the arm of the couch. "Anything interesting?"

Sam looked between Rose and Dean once more, clearly annoyed. He shook his head and turned to his research. "Well, we're on a witch hunt, that's for sure, but this isn't your typical hex bag." He gestured to the hex bag beside his computer. He'd untied the string and had gone through the contents of the spell.

Sam lifted a dried flower and showed it to Dean. "Goldthread, an herb that's been extinct for two hundred years." Rose got up from the bed and stood by Dean to see the flower. "And this—" Sam picked up a silver coin, "is Celtic, and I don't mean some new age knock-off. It looks like the real deal, like 600 years old real."

Rose raised her eyebrows as she turned the coin over in her hand. "Well it's certainly held up well. Remember seein' 'em make these. Didn't look too safe."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look. Sam narrowed his eyes slightly. "How old are you?"

Rose looked up, shocked at the sudden question. She looked back and forth between Sam and Dean's curious expressions. She rolled her eyes. "Oi. Time traveller, remember? Not everythin' needs to be so linear."

Dean nodded. "Right. I guess the older you are the touchier you'd get about that sort of thing, right?"

Sam laughed at Rose's offended expression. "Anyways…" Sam coughed to cover up more of his laughter. Dean leaned forward and picked up a small charred piece. He smelled it. Rose raised an eyebrow and smirked. "… um… that is the charred metacarpal bone of a newborn baby."

Dean made a face and put the bone back. "That's just wrong." He wiped his hands down his shirt front. Rose covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. Dean narrowed his eyes at her. "You knew didn't you?" A short laughed escaped her and Dean shook his head. "And you let me sniff it?"

Rose shrugged, the laughter still prevalent in her voice. "Respect your elders."

Sam rolled his eyes at their antics. "Right, well. Witches. Remember? Because it takes a pretty powerful one to put a bag like this together. More juice than we've ever dealt with, that's for sure." Sam ran his hands through his hair and looked up at the two. "What about you? Find anything on the victim?"

Dean shook his head. "This Luke Wallace? He was so vanilla that he made vanilla seem spicy. I can't find any reason why somebody would want this guy dead." The three exchanged a look, each at a loss for what to do next.

It was late that night when they got a call about the second death. A girl had been boiled alive in a tub of water that was being used for apple bobbing. Sam, Dean and Rose descended the stairs into the basement of the house where the Halloween party had taken place.

They stood at the entrance and took in the scene of the crime. Forensics were still there documenting the scene and the police were questioning witnesses.

Rose eyed the apple bobbing tub. "Is it wrong tha' I really want to get in a hot tub right now?" She whispered to the boys.

"Yes." Sam said at the same time Dean said, "No." The brothers glared at each other over Rose's head.

Rose's shoulder's shook in silent laughter. "Righ', well, while you boys stare lovin'ly into each other's eyes, I'm goin'ta look for the hex bag." Rose headed over to the couch and began shifting through the cushions.

"Right." Dean moved to follow Rose, but was stopped by Sam's hand on his arm.

"Seriously?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Seriously what?" Dean glanced over his shoulder to Rose, thinking his brother was angry with them for something. He turned back and saw Sam incline his head in the direction of the witness, a young blonde girl dressed as a cheerleader.

Sam shook his head and smiled. "Wow, you must be more into Rose than I thought."

Dean frowned. He was not into Rose. Well he was. But that was none of his brothers business. They were friends and despite Rose's flirting that day — and that spur of the moment picture perfect heaven that was that kiss in the car — nothing was going to happen. Dean raised his hand when Sam moved towards the cheerleader. "You know what Sammy? I got this one."

Sam raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. He left Dean to his jail bait and went to help Rose search for the hex bag. Dean took one long look at Rose before heading over to the witness and officer.

"It's just so weird." The witness, Tracy, was saying. "The water in the tub – it wasn't hot, I had just been in there myself."

"Your friend didn't happen to know a man named Luke Wallace?" Dean interrupted. He turned a bit and Tracy instantly moved so her back was to Sam and Rose. Dean held up his badge for Tracy and said, "Agent Getty, F.B.I."

Tracy frowned and cocked her to the side. Her lips pouted a bit at the handsome FBI agent. "Um, who's Luke?" She asked innocently.

Dean kept an eye on Rose as she pulled back the cushions of the couch and carefully checked along the crevice for any tears in the fabric. Just like he showed her, Dean thought proudly. "He died yesterday." Dean explained to the girl. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the girl in front of him, and not the one across the room.

Tracy shrugged and looked away. "I don't know who that is."

Rose turned to Dean and held up the hex bag, a bright smile on his face. Dean smiled back over Tracy's head. Tracy frowned at the agent and turned to see who he was looking at. Her eyes widened when they landed on the blonde woman in a pants suit, stuffing something into her pocket. "Are those your partners?"

Dean watched Rose talk to one of the forensics men as she pointed to the tub of water, a soft smile on his face. "Yeah, Agents Lee and Smith."

Tracy's head tilted to the side as she too watched Rose. "I didn't know FBI agent's came in threes?"

Dean grinned and lifted one of his shoulders nonchalantly. "Yeah, well, not everything is like the movies."

A few hours later and a quick change of clothes saw the hunters back in their motel room researching. Sam was lying on his bed surrounded in a pile of books and pages. The pages were of spells and passages from various musty books. Dean was sitting on the couch with the laptop, his feet propped up on the coffee table. Rose sat beside him, looking through the various items that had been in the hex bags.

"I jus' don't get it though." She said into the silence. "How did a couple of witches get a hold of centuries old baby bones?" She made a face at that sentence. The last thing she wanted to know was how the babies had died.

Dean looked up from the computer screen and saw her studying the charred bone that had been a part of the witches spell. "Powerful witches can learn spells to keep themselves young. Or cheat their way into looking different while staying older and prolonging their life. I'm not sure how long they can keep it up, but six hundred years might be the longest I've ever heard of."

Rose shook her head. "Yeah but tha's cheating. People can't just stay young forever."

Sam snorted and looked up from his books. "Says the girl who's how old now?"

Rose made a face at Sam and put the bone back with the other spell items. "Yeah, 'cept 'm not human. And I didn't make a deal with the Devil to be young again."

Dean raised an eyebrow at Rose and leaned back in his seat. His arm stretched out across the back of the couch as he got comfy. "That's true. But while we're on the topic, just how old are you?"

Rose turned slowly to face Dean. She pursed her lips as she considered her answer. "I don't know." She heard Sam laugh from the couch. She smiled and gave him a look. "'m not joking. Tha's how old I am. I don't know anymore. I could guess. I spent a hand full of generations in my old universe, and a couple centuries here before I got stuck and met you guys. So probably a good 1000 years, give or take a century."

Sam and Dean sat slack jawed as they processed that information. Sam shook his head, coming round before his brother. "But… wouldn't you get bored?"

Rose laughed. "'course! Tha's partially why I came to this universe. Not a big part, mind you. But still. And it helps to have the vortex manipulator, tha' way I don't have to live everythin' out linear-like. Incredibly dull, that."

Dean rubbed his jaw. "A thousand years." He said hoarsely.

Sam and Rose exchanged a look and laughed. "Right," Sam said as he got up from the bed, a book in hand, "I don't know about that, but I think I got something on this witch."

Dean and Rose set aside their research, ears perked for Sam's explanation. "We couldn't find a reason either of the vic's would have a witch against them. Or really anyone at all. But maybe that's because this witch isn't working a grudge, maybe they're working a spell. Check this out." Sam raised the book closer and read an inscription. "'Three blood sacrifices over three days, the last before midnight on the final day of the final harvest. Celtic Calendar, the final day of the final harvest is October 31st.' That's Halloween."

Sam turned the book around and handed it to Dean. Rose leaned closer to take a look. There was a picture of a monster rising from what seemed to be stone crypt built into the ground. All around it other creatures were also crawling out of their graves as two robed figures stood watch over the first.

Rose made a face. "Blood sacrifices? Wha' like anyone? I thought it was all hearts of virgins?"

Sam shrugged. "It doesn't specify, so I'd say the spell doesn't require any type of blood, just human blood in general."

Dean frowned at the picture. "Okay, but what exactly are the, uh, blood sacrifices for?"

"Uh, if I'm right, this witch is summoning a demon, and not just any demon – Samhain."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "The origin of Halloween?" Sam and Dean gave her a look that Rose rolled her eyes at. "Really? Have we not established this yet? Been around a while, picked up a thing or two — thanks."

Dean turned back to Sam expectantly. "Uh… Well yeah, she's Celts believed that October 31st was the one night of the year when the veil was the thinnest between the living and the dead, and it was Samhain's night. I mean, masks were put on to hide from him, sweets left on doorsteps to appease him, faces carved into pumpkins to worship him. He was exorcised centuries ago."

Dean turned to Rose, listless. "This is your favourite holiday?" Rose smiled unabashedly. "Okay, so some witch wants to raise Samhain and take back the night?"

Rose laughed.

"You guys, this is serious."

Rose nodded as she pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop the giggles. "We are serious."

Sam looked unimpressed. "We're talking heavyweight witchcraft. This ritual can only be performed every six hundred years. Tomorrow night."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Naturally."

Rose turned the page of the old manuscript to reveal the image of a horned demon standing in a sea of bodies. In his hand he held a head, the other carried a sword. "Well tha's not pretty. How can one demon bring so much destruction? I mean, tha's a lot of dead people."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's because he likes company. Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Dark, evil crap and lots of it, I mean, they follow him around like the friggin' Pied Piper."

Dean nodded as his mind ran over the amount of monsters this thing could raise up and the resulting ammo they would need to take that down. "So we're talking ghosts?"

"Yeah." Sam sighed, thankful Dean was finally taking the situation seriously.

"Zombies." Dean continued to list.

"Mm-hmm."

"Leprechauns?"

"Dean—"

"Faeries?" Rose piped in with a small grin.

Dean pointed at her. "Good one."

Sam ran a hand down his face. Exhausted with the couple's antics already. "Look, it just starts with ghosts and ghouls, this sucker keeps on going, by night's end we are talking every awful thing we have ever seen. Everything we fight, all in one place."

Rose bit her lip and played with her hoop earring. She looked to Dean whose face had quickly gone serious again. "It's gonna be a slaughterhouse."

The next day, Rose and Dean were staking out the Wallace's house. They'd gone to talk to her again, but there'd been no change in her story. Rose ripped open another chocolate candy. She was starting to feel the effects of all the sweets she and Dean had been having. Beside her, Dean took a deep breath and pressed a hand to his stomach. He glanced down at the pile of candy between them. "Why do I feel like that pile just keeps getting bigger?"

Rose laughed. "Maybe because you're throwin' the garbage back into it?" She picked up a handful of empty wrappers and tossed them into a shopping bag turned garbage.

Dean nodded in acknowledgement of the statement before turning back to the street. A couple putting up fake cobwebs caught his eye. "People put so much effort into Halloween. It's just a glorified day where kids can get candy."

Rose rolled her eyes. Now he sounded like his brother. "Oh please, you love it." She honestly thought Dean did. Sure the man fought monsters everyday, but he also was very clearly a man who — under different circumstance — would go out of his way for any family holiday.

Dean raised his hand and shook his finger at Rose. "No, no no. I love candy. Dressing up like monsters for fun and scaring children…" He paused and Rose smiled. Yeah, she thought. He liked Halloween. "Yeah, no." Dean denied. "Not my thing."

Rose shrugged, a smile on her face. "Well I love it. I'd dress everyone up, and we'd have a big party. Kids loved it."

Dean froze in his seat. He watched Rose as she smiled fondly and munched on her chocolate. Kids… Did she mean? "…Your kids?"

Rose paused. Her eyes widened and she turned slowly towards Dean. Her reaction said it all. Rose was a mother.

The cellphone rang.

Rose fumbled with the mobile for a moment, struggling to get it out of her pocket. She flipped it open. "Yeah?" She avoided Dean's gaze. He was not going to be happy.

Dean wasn't. He felt like an idiot. Over a thousand years old? Of course she'd had kids. She thought she was human when she first married her husband, hadn't she? They would've started a family, done normal human things. Why wouldn't she have had kids? Dean mentally slapped himself. That's probably what she'd been so down about earlier. It was Halloween, and she'd been thinking about her kids.

"Yeah," Rose was saying into the phone. "I understand Sam. But 'm tellin' you, there hasn't been anyone yet who's got a connection to both… oh my god." Dean and Rose both watched, stunned, as the cheerleader Tracy from the night before walked up to the Wallace house.

"What?" Sam's voice asked through the phone. "Rose what's happening?"

Rose turned to Dean. "Didn't you say she didn't know Luke Wallace?" Dean nodded, still watching the blonde. The teenager rang the doorbell and greeted Mrs. Wallace kindly, as well as the baby. She entered the house, picking up the infant from Mrs. Wallace's arms as she did. "Sam?" Rose said into the phone. "I think we found tha' connection. Guess who jus' walked up the Wallace's steps? Tracy, the cheerleader from last night." She listened for a moment longer before nodding her head. "Righ', yeah. On our way." She nodded at Dean and hung up the phone as the car started and they headed back to the motel.

They drove in silence for a full minute before either spoke. "So… you have kids?" Dean queried awkwardly.

Rose played with her hoop earring as she stared out the window. "Had. They passed away, like their father. I outlived everyone." She turned to Dean and asked softly, "Is tha' a problem?"

Dean met her eyes for a moment before turning back to the road. He shook his head. "No." And it wasn't. Sure, Rose had had a family, but lots of people had. It was nothing against her. He glanced at Rose. He just hadn't expected it. She might have been centuries old, but she still looked like a young woman. The idea of her standing beside her teenage sons was definitely a concept his mind was having a hard time wrapping around. "I am sorry though." Dean continued. "That they're gone, that is. Were they not like you?"

"Yeah, but in the end, not enough, I guess. My youngest boy, Ali, he was very attuned to the Time Vortex. He was also a lot like the Time Lords of his father. Perfect blend." Rose smiled fondly.

Dean grinned at the look on her face. "Yeah? And what'd he grow up to be?"

Rose's smile dropped. "He didn't." She whispered. "There was an accident in the lab where we worked one day, and he jus' happened to be visitin' and… he jus'…"

Dean silently berated himself. "I'm sorry." He whispered weakly, at a loss as to what else could even seem remotely appropriate.

Rose sighed. "It was a long time ago."

"That doesn't lessen the pain." Dean sympathized. He'd been out of hell for a few months now, and he could still feel the fire. It was a different kind of pain, but pain was pain. And it never really went away.

"No. It doesn't." Rose agreed. "Absolutely awful." She shook her head. "We never even found a body. And we always hoped, for his sake, he was somewhere safe."

Dean frowned in confusion. "That was a possibility?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, the Doctor and I worked in this science lab. The Doctor had been working on our TARDIS." She paused and quickly considered how to explain that. "'s like my vortex manipulator, jus' bigger." She laughed lightly. "Much bigger. Anyways, we were both workin' on it actually. And another project malfunctioned. The TARDIS sor' of disappeared in the explosion, with Ali inside. The Doctor said the TARDIS could have travelled elsewhere, it was in working order for the most part. But the explosion would have messed with the circuitry, and where ever Ali ended up, he'd be stuck."

"So he got trapped in another time? He could still be alive?"

Rose shook her head. "Tha's what we thought could have happened. That he either was stuck in some future or past, or that he was on some alien planet. We had no way of figurin' it out, not at the time. I think the Doctor sor' of gave up hope after awhile. Ever the pessimist, blamed himself as the cause, same way he blames all problems. But… I did some maths. Years later after everyone had passed and new tech was developed." Rose played with the cellphone in her hands. "Honestly, 's the main reason I decided to come here instead of my home universe. If Ali survived in the TARDIS, it would have travelled sideways because of the explosion, not forward or back."

"Sideways?" Dean asked, confused.

"Yeah, through to a different universe. And the universe the TARDIS would have gone, was this one. I didn't know why at first. Travel through universes is supposed to be impossible. Bu' I think 's the magic here. Sor' of changes the rules. Anyways, I've been searchin' but…" Rose sighed and rubbed her face.

"You don't think he's here." Dean surmised. Rose shook her head. "But you did the equations or whatever right? This is the best possible place he could have ended up?" Rose nodded. Dean shrugged. "Well alright then. Stop Samhain. Stop Lilith. And search for Ali while we do it."

Rose smiled warmly at him. "Dean…"

Dean shook his head. "Don't worry Rose. We're going to find your son." Rose swallowed the lump in her throat. He said it so simply. As if it wasn't important or meaningful to anyone. He said it like it was a fact, and it comforted Rose more than she could explain.

It's a bit shorter than I'm used to, but the full episode is too long to post as one. So I'll be posting the next part in a couple days. Hope you liked this!

Thanks for reading! :)

(bit of an edit in the conversation with Death, sorry about any confusion)