A/N-
I'm sorry this is so long- I had a little too much fun writing this. But anyway, I hope you enjoy it! :)
When we arrived at Stanford, it was late at night, and although you could hear the thumping of party music in the distance, the campus seemed empty. Dean pulled up outside of where Sam lived and shut the engine off before turning to face me.
"You ready, Ell?"
I nodded, and pulled my hair up into a quick ponytail to calm my shaking hands.
"Yeah, I guess. Do you think he'll be happy to see us?"
"Dude, we're breaking into his house in the middle of the night. What do you think?" Dean responded, shaking his head.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just worried- I haven't seen him in two years. What if he hates me?"
"Ella, why would he hate you?"
"I don't know, Dean. I'm nervous, and when I get nervous I start to think of the worst-case scenario and then I can't stop thinking about it and-"
"Okay, you need to relax. Take a deep breath, will ya?" Dean said, reaching out and putting his hand on my shoulder.
I took a long, slow deep breath, and relaxed a little bit, and Dean nodded at me.
"Hey, it's going to be fine. Now let's go get our Sammy."
We crept up to Sam's door, and I knelt down to pick the lock. It took me a little longer than usual- I dropped the tools a few times because my hands were shaking so badly, but after a few minutes I heard the lock click. Dean slowly turned the doorknob and held out his arm, motioning for me to let him go in first. We snuck into the entryway and closed the door quietly behind us, looking around the room. There were a large pair of shoes by the door with a pair of high heels haphazardly thrown beside them, and Dean turned to look at me with one raised eyebrow.
"Looks like Sammy's got a guest, huh?" He whispered, smirking.
"Dean, focus! Are you sure we're in the right place?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Do you see how damn big those shoes are?"
"True," I responded, shrugging.
We made our way to what seemed to be the kitchen, and I attempted to hop up on the counter and make myself comfortable without making much noise. Unfortunately, I wasn't very successful- my hip sent a glass crashing to the floor. Dean spun around to glare at me before bringing his finger to his lips in a shushing motion. I smiled sheepishly, and inched myself closer to the wall. We heard the quiet thump of footsteps approaching us, and Dean looked at me with a smirk on his face before creeping forward.
Sam slowly entered the kitchen, walking right past me. Noticing Dean trying to be still across the kitchen, he leapt at him, and they started fighting. I rolled my eyes and watched them try to take each other out, before Dean pinned Sam down.
"Whoa, easy tiger!" Dean said, smirking.
Sam was panting on the floor underneath him, and he looked up in shock at his brother's face.
"Dean?"
Dean laughed quietly.
"You scared the crap out of me!" Sam said, still trying to catch his breath.
"That's cause you're out of practice," Dean replied, still grinning smugly.
Sam somehow managed to quickly flip them over so he was on top of Dean, and I tried my hardest not to laugh.
"Or not," Dean said, smiling up at his brother.
Dean tapped his shoulder and told him to get off, and Sam obliged, helping him up. I gave up on holding in my laughter, and slid off the counter. Sam looked at me in shock and was about to tackle me before Dean pulled him back.
"Jeez, Sam, it's just Ella!" Dean said, struggling to hold him back.
Sam froze and squinted at me.
"Ella? What the hell?" Sam said, wiggling out of Dean's grasp.
"Hey, Sammy," I smiled, walking towards him.
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Sam asked.
"Well, I was looking for a beer," Dean responded, grabbing Sam's shoulders and smacking him before dropping his arms.
"What... the hell... are you doing here?" Sam asked slowly.
"Okay, alright. We gotta talk."
"Uh, the phone?" Sam responded, an edge of sarcasm in his voice.
"If I'd have called, would you have picked up?"
The light turned on, startling us all. Both boys spun to face the light switch, and Dean instantly pulled me behind him.
"Sam?"
A pretty blond girl stood at the doorway in a Smurfs shirt and some pajama shorts, looking at us in confusion.
"Jess. Hey..." Sam said, looking at her before turning to Dean and me.
"Dean, Ella, this is my girlfriend Jessica."
She walked closer to us, still looking puzzled, and Dean pulled me closer to him.
I smacked him and slipped out from behind him.
"Dean, I can take care of myself," I said, crossing my arms and giving him the death glare.
He raised his hands in surrender, and stepped away from me.
"Wait, your brother Dean?" Jessica asked, a smile creeping across her face.
"I love the Smurfs," Dean said, smiling at her and earning a smack from me.
"You know, I gotta tell you- you... are completely out of my brother's league."
I rolled my eyes and prepared to smack him again, but he slid out of reach.
Sighing, I crossed my arms, and waited for her response.
"Let me put something on," she said, as she turned to leave.
"No no, no- I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously," Dean said, smirking.
"Dean, you're being gross- cut it out," I told him, rolling my eyes yet again.
Jess turned to me with a grateful smile on her face that quickly turned into confusion.
"And you're Ella?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's me," I answered, smiling shyly at her.
Jess turned to Sam, who did not look pleased with the turn in the conversation.
"Sam, is she..."
"Yeah. She's the girl who Dad raised as his own," Sam answered, running a hand through his overly long hair.
After an awkward pause, Dean, who had somehow managed to remain silent, turned back to Jess.
"Anyway, I've gotta borrow your boyfriend here to talk about some family business, but, uh... Nice meeting you," Dean grinned, stepping closer to me and Sam.
Sam looked at him before turning to Jess.
"No."
He walked over to Jess and slid his long arm around her waist.
"No. Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her," Sam said, looking Dean directly in the eyes and avoiding my gaze.
"Okay," Dean said, stepping closer to the couple. I hung back- I didn't want to get any closer than I had to.
"Um, Dad hasn't been home in a few days."
Sam sighed.
"So he's working overtime on another time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later."
Dean nodded before repeating himself.
"Dad's on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days."
Sam's face slowly turned grim, and he paused before telling Jess that we needed a moment.
She nodded, and Sam showed us to the door. He closed it behind him and turned to us, motioning us down the stairs.
"I mean, come on, you can't just break in, middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you," Sam said as we walked down the stairs.
"You know, I hear me, Sammy. Dad's missing. We need you to help us find him."
"Remember the poltergeist in Amherst?" Sam responded. "Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then to. He's always missing, and he's always fine."
Dean and I turned to him.
"Sam..." I said, brushing my too-long bangs away from my face.
"Not for this long," Dean responded. "Are you gonna come with us or not?"
Sam sighed, before shaking his head.
"I'm not."
"Why not?" Dean asked, crossing his arms.
"Sammy, come on, we need your help," I pleaded, looking at him.
He glanced at me quickly before he sighed and turned back to Dean.
"I swore I was done hunting. For good."
"Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad," Dean scoffed, before turning around and starting down the stairs again.
"Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45," Sam responded as we reached the door.
"Sam, he was doing the best he knew how to do," I said. "He did the same for me."
"Ella, you were 8. He wouldn't even let you use the stove without supervision," Sam sighed, turning to face me.
"Okay, how the hell was I supposed to know that when you spill Jello powder on a hot stove it bursts into flames?"
"She's got a point, Sammy," Dean said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sam smiled slightly before becoming serious again. "But Dean, I was nine years old! He was supposed to say 'don't be afraid of the dark'."
Dean scoffed.
"Don't be afraid of the dark? Are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there."
"Yeah, I know, but still. The way we grew up, after Mom was killed, and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her..."
Dean glanced outside, a hard look on his face.
"And Dad didn't have to bring Ella into it too- she was just a kid, Dean," Sam said sadly.
"I would take this life over dying on the side of the road any day, Sam. Your dad saved my life," I hissed, standing up a little straighter. "So he wasn't the best father. But he took me in when anybody else would have left me there to die."
Sam sheepishly looked down at his feet, and Dean wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
"I know, kid. I know," Dean assured me, before opening the door.
We stepped through the door and into the night, and headed over to the Impala. Sam trailed behind, but followed us regardless.
"But Dean, do you really think this is what Mom wanted for us?" Sam asked, easily catching up to us.
"The weapon training, and melting the silver into bullets? Dean, we were raised like warriors."
Dean looked at him harshly before spitting "So you're just gonna live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?"
"Dean..." I always hated it when they fought.
"No. Not normal- Safe."
"And that's why you ran away," Dean said, looking off into the distance.
"I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing," Sam responded shortly.
"Sammy, he didn't mean it," I said softly, trying to break up the fight.
Sam looked at me sadly before turning away.
"We can't do this alone," Dean said, and Sam turned back to him, eyes shining with tears.
"Yes, you can," Sam responded, and turned to walk away. I reached out to touch his arm, and he froze.
"Please, Sammy? We need you," I pleaded.
He sighed and looked down, and after a short pause, he looked back up at us with a determined look on his face.
"What was he hunting?"
Dean popped the trunk and started digging around.
"So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked as he watched Dean pick up a case of bullets, shrug, and toss it back in.
"Well, I was working my own gig, and Ella came with me."
Sam looked at Dean, obviously stunned.
"You brought her on a hunt? What the hell, Dean?"
"Dude, have you seen her shoot?" Dean grinned at me goofily, and I reached over to mess up his hair.
Dean finally found what he was looking for, and started to update Sam on the case. I had heard this spiel too many times over the past week, so I settled into the backseat of the Impala, kicking my boots off and grabbing a book from the floor. Sam ran in to pack a bag, and Dean climbed into the driver's seat, turning to look at me.
"You okay, kid?"
I nodded slightly before returning to my book. Sam opened the door and climbed in, and we pulled away and started our long drive.
I woke up the next morning to the Allman Brothers blasting through the car speakers , and a bottle of soda and a bag of chips unceremoniously dumped into my lap. I opened my eyes slowly and found Dean grinning at me.
"Morning, sunshine! Brought you breakfast!"
I yawned and sat up, stretching my arms over my head.
"Jesus, Dean- it's like 8 am. How are you so freaking perky?"
Dean laughed, and reached out to close his car door. Sam had been searching through Dean's box of music, and finding nothing satisfactory, decided to poke a little fun at Dean. Rolling my eyes, I opened my bag of chips and drank my soda, wincing when Dean turned the music up and peeled away from the gas station.
After a while, we pulled up to the bridge leading into town to find two police cars and several officers. Dean pulled the car off to the side and popped open the glove compartment to grab the ID box. He dug through until he found the badges he wanted, tossed me one, and turned to grin at Sam. We got out of the car and started walking towards the bridge. Dean reached the lead Deputy first, and Sam and I hung back slightly.
"You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn't you?" Dean asked, causing the deputy to straighten up and look at him.
"And who are you?"
Dean and I showed him our badges, and after giving me a suspicious look, he turned back to Dean.
"Aren't you three a little young for Marshals?"
Dean laughed slightly and thanked him before he and Sam walked over to the car. I walked over to the edge of the bridge and looked down at the murky water below, catching the eye of one of the officers searching the water. I quickly looked back to Sam and Dean and saw that they were walking to the car, so I hurried to catch up.
They told me what they had heard, and we got into the car and drove away.
When we arrived at the town, Dean announced that he was hungry, so we drove around looking for food. We found a place to park and got out of the car, Dean unsurprisingly leading the way. As we walked, I noticed a girl putting up posters of the missing guy's face, and I turned and elbowed Dean in the side.
"Hey, check that out."
Dean turned to look, and then nodded at me.
"Yeah, one of the officers was talking about the girlfriend of the missing guy- I'll bet you that's her," He said, and started towards her.
Before he could get very far, I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back towards Sam and I.
"Who do you think she'll be more likely to talk to- two random guys or me?" I asked, and Dean sighed, nodding in agreement. I smirked at the two boys and walked up to the girl, tapping her on the shoulder. She spun around and looked like she was about to hit me, but once she saw that I wasn't a threat, she relaxed.
"Hey, you're Amy, right?"
She nodded quickly.
"I heard about Troy- I'm really sorry.."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked, looking suspicious.
"Oh, we go to the same school. I've seen you around, but we don't have any classes together. Troy and I used to be really good friends- he talked about you a lot."
She seemed to believe me, and noticing that her guard was now down, I asked her if she had heard from him before he went missing. She told me that she last talked to him when he was driving home, and that he had promised to call her back, but never did. She told me about a local legend- a woman had been murdered on Centennial highway a while ago, and that her spirit was still out there. I thanked her and walked back to Sam and Dean.
"Okay, how about we go to the library and check this out?"
A couple hours later, we had found everything we needed, so we headed back to the bridge. An article that Sam had found had said that a woman named Constance Welch had committed suicide there back in 1981 after her two children drowned in the bathtub. We walked about halfway along the bridge, then stopped to look over the railing. Dean looked over at Sam and opened his mouth to speak.
"So this is where Constance took the swan dive."
"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam said, looking over at Dean.
Dean nodded, and continued walking. I stayed at the railing, gazing off across the water. I could hear Sam and Dean arguing in the distance, but I didn't want to get involved- it was obviously between the two of them. But then I heard a noise close to me, and looked up to see a woman in a long white dress standing on the railing. I reached into my pocket for the salt I always carried with me and called out to Sam and Dean.
"Hey guys? You might want to take a look at this."
She turned to look at me with dark, sad eyes before stepping over the side of the bridge, falling to the water below. Sam and Dean ran over to the railing, but by the time they got to me, she had vanished into the water below. Then we heard a noise from behind us- a car's engine. We all turned to look, and saw that the Impala's lights were on and the engine was running.
"Uh, Dean? Who's driving your car?" I asked, starting to back away. Dean pulled his keys out of his pocket and slowly jingled them, and the car jerked into motion with a deep growl. We turned and started running as fast as we could, but we weren't fast enough. The wind whipped my hair into my face and I could barely see, but I grabbed the railing next to me and hurriedly climbed on top of it in time to see the boys throw themselves over the side of the bridge.
Sam managed to catch himself on the edge of the bridge, but Dean wasn't as lucky. He had fallen into the water, and as he stumbled towards us, I saw that he was covered in mud. I tried to hold back my laughter but failed, and Sam quickly joined me. Dean pretended to shake his head at us in annoyance, but quickly broke down as well. After we had finally stopped laughing, we got into the car and drove away in search of the nearest hotel.
We finally found one after driving all night, and went into the lobby to check in. The clerk gave Dean a very strange look, and I thought it was because he was covered in mud, but I was wrong.
"You guys having a reunion or something?" The clerk asked, looking at the credit card Dean had given him.
"What do you mean?" Sam looked at the clerk in confusion.
"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month."
"Yeah, something like that. Can you possibly tell us which room he's in? We haven't seen him in a while- we've got a lot of catching up to do," I said, moving closer to the counter and looking the clerk in the eyes.
"W-well, I'm really not supposed to…"
Dean rolled his eyes and reached for his wallet, pulling out a 20 before slapping it on the counter in front of the man. "But I think I can make an exception just this once."
Once Sam had picked the lock on the door, we quickly entered the room, locking the door behind us. Sam and Dean immediately started looking around the room, and I knelt down on the floor next to a large ring of salt.
"Hey, guys? Salt and cats-eye shells. He was trying to keep something from coming in," I told them, before standing up and brushing stray grains of salt away from my knees.
Dean looked at me with concern before turning back to the walls, which were covered in newspaper articles, pictures and post-it-notes, and I got up to join him.
"What have you got here?" Sam asked.
"Centennial Highway Victims," Dean answered, leaning towards the pictures on the wall to get a closer look.
"Guys, I don't get it. These men have nothing in common- different jobs, ages, ethnicities…. Is there something we don't know?" I asked, and Sam crossed the room to look at another wall. He turned on the lamp and stopped in his tracks once he saw what was on the wall.
"Dad figured it out."
Dean turned to look at him, obviously confused.
"What do you mean?" he asked, walking over to the wall. I followed him, and saw what Sam was talking about.
"Constance Welch. She's a woman in white," I told Dean, reaching out to tap an article on the wall.
"You sly dogs," Dean said, and opened his mouth to say more, but was quickly silenced by a well-placed kick in the calf. He turned to look at me in annoyance, but kept quiet once he noticed the death glare aimed at him. He turned back to Sam, who was still looking at the picture of the woman.
"All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it"
"She might have another weakness," Sam interjected, turning to look at me and Dean.
"Well, Dad would want to make sure- he'd dig her up," Dean said, looking back at me. "Does it say where she's buried?" I asked, and Sam shook his head, turning away.
" No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband. If he's still alive."
"All right. Why don't you see if you can find an address- I'm gonna get cleaned up," Dean said, starting to walk away. I moved to sit on the bed, making myself comfortable. Judging by the way he looked, that would take a while. But before he got to the bathroom, Sam turned to look at him.
"Hey, Dean?"
Dean stopped, and turned back towards his brother.
"What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad… I'm sorry."
I turned to look at him, confused, and was about to ask him what he meant, but Dean held up his hand before I could say anything.
"No chick-flick moments."
Sam laughed and nodded.
"All right. Jerk."
"Bitch."
"Dicks," I said, and they both turned to look at me. They both laughed, but Sam's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and he turned away quickly. Dean disappeared into the bathroom, and Sam crossed over to the mirror, his back still to me.
"H-hey, Sam?" I stammered, and he stopped walking.
"Yeah?"
"I really missed you, you know."
Sam turned to look at me with tears in his eyes, and slowly walked over to the side of the bed before sitting down next to me. He slung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me close to his side, and I leaned my head into his large shoulder.
"I missed you too, El."