A/N: Yay! Another chapter. This is a really long one guys. I hope you like it. Happy reading.
Chicago, Illinois. We park across the street from the apartment building, and Dean gets out to grab something from the back. From the back seat, I look over Sam's shoulder and look at the newspaper in his hand. On the front page there was a story about a stealth killer. Some girl was killed in her apartment, but there was no forced entry. Her doors and windows were locked, and her alarm was still set when she was found. I ruffle his hair a bit as I step out of the car.
"Hey." He complains. I giggle a bit as I shut my door and stand on the sidewalk waiting for the boys to join me. I shift around in my coveralls. It feels so weird to me. But how else are we gonna get inside the place? I guess I could say that I'm related to her. Sam steps out of the Impala as Dean closes the trunk.
"All right, guys. This is the place." Sam says. Dean comes up to us with a toolbox in his hand.
"You know, I gotta say dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes." Dean says as we begin to walk towards the apartment building. I chuckle to myself. "What's so funny?"
"You know, guys in uniforms are a real turn on." I giggle some more.
"Shut up." He bites back. "I feel like a high school drama dork." He looks over at Sam with a smirk. Of course that was a bit of a jab at Sam. He had been in some high school plays when he was younger. "What was that play you did?" Dean asks. "What was it-"
"Our Town." I say. I remember going to that play. It was pretty good for a high school play. Dean snaps and points to me between them.
"Yeah," He says. "You were good. It was cute."
"Look, you wanna pull this off, or not?" Sam asks.
"I'm just sayin', these outfits cost hard-earned money, okay?"
"Yeah? Whose?" I scoff.
"Ours." Dean replies. "You think credit card fraud's easy?" We finally make it across the street and head inside. The landlord lets us into the girl's apartment with little persuasion. We walk into the living space and I can immediately smell the blood. Sure it's old, but there had been a lot of it, and I guess she was dead for a few days before anyone noticed.
"Thanks for lettin' us look around." I say to the lady as Sam and Dean walk farther into the room.
"Well, the police said they were done with the place, so…" She says as she follows the boys. I shut the door and notice the chain had been cut. I follow the rest of them into a room with a white colored carpet. "You three said you're with the alarm company?" The lady asks.
"That's right." Dean answers. I look around the room to see if I can find anything out of the ordinary. You know, besides the blood stains on the floor.
"Well, no offense, but your alarm's about as useful as boobs on a man." I silently laugh to myself as Sam and Dean share a look.
"Well, that's why we're here." Dean says. "To see what went wrong and stop it from happening again." I go around the apartment and test the windows as Sam starts to talk to the landlady.
"Now, ma'am, you found the body?" Sam asks as I get to the first window. The lock is latched. I try to open it anyway, but it doesn't budge.
"Yeah." She answers.
"Right after it happened?"
"No, few days later." She says. "Meredith's work called. She hadn't showed up." I go to the next window and try it, but I get the same result. "I knocked on the door. That's when I noticed the smell." I turn to her.
"Were any of these windows open?" I ask, gesturing to the windows I just tried to open.
"Any sign of a break in?" Dean adds.
"No, windows were locked, front door was bolted. Chain was on the door. We had to cut it just to get in." She replies.
"And the alarm was still on?" Dean asks, pointing to the front door.
"Like I said, bang-up job you company's doin'." She says.
"Mmhmm." I can tell that Dean is thinking through all the information we have. "You see any overturned furniture? Broken glass? Signs of a struggle?" The lady shakes her head before answering.
"Everything was in perfect condition, except Meredith." I look between the boys. Dean was still thinking about what could've possibly happened, and Sam seemed curious about what the landlady had just said.
"And what condition was Meredith in?" Sammy asks her.
"Meredith was all over. In pieces." She gestures to all of the bloodstains on the floor. "The guy who killed her must've been some kind of a whack job." I walk into the room she was found and try to get a closer look at the crime scene. "But I tell you, if I didn't know any better, I'd have said a wild animal did it." That's interesting. That is definitely odd. We all pause before I speak up.
"Ma'am, do you mind if we take some time? Give this place a once-over?" I ask.
"Oh, well, go right ahead." She answers. "Knock yourselves out." She leaves the apartment and we start our investigation. What could've done this to this poor girl? Dean opens the toolbox and takes out an EMF meter wrapped in a red rag.
"So, killer walks in and out of the apartment. No weapons. No prints. Nothin'." Dean says as I think through the same info in my head.
"I'm tellin' ya, the minute I found that article, I knew this was our kinda gig." Sam says crouching down next to Dean as he turns the EMF reader on. I hear it start sounding off right away.
"I think I agree with you." Dean says. Sam pulls out the thermal to look for a trace of anything.
"So, you talked to the cops?" Sam asks. I already know what Dean will say, so I try to block it out. It doesn't work.
"Uh, yeah. I spoke to Amy. A, uh, charming, perky, officer of the law." I groan internally as I look around at the bloodstains on the floor. It seems weird, almost deliberate.
"Oh yeah?" Sam asks. "What'd you find out?"
"Well, she's a Sagittarius." I roll my eyes. "She loves tequila, I mean-" He lets out a breath. I look to him with my arms crossed. He has his back to Sam and I. "Oh, and she's got this little tattoo-"
"Dean!" Sam interrupts him. I feel my features form into a scowl as he turns to us. Is he trying to piss me off? I thought we had a truce of some sort.
"What?" Dean asks seeming to come out of a trance. "Yeah, uh, nothin' we don't already know." I shake my head and look back down at the bloodstains. "Except for one thing they're keepin' out of the papers."
"What's that?" I ask.
"Meredith's heart was missing." Dean answers.
"Her heart?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, her heart." Dean confirms.
"So, what do you think did it to her?"
"Well, the landlady said it looked like an animal attack. Maybe it was."
"Werewolf?" Sam asks.
"No, the lunar cycle's not right." I say, still staring at the ground. They pause, so I look up at them. "My dad was a pro at hunting those things. You think I don't keep track of something as simple as the lunar cycle? Plus, if it was a creature, it would've left some fort of trace." I say, looking back at the carpet.
"So, it's probably a spirit, then." Sam says.
"Why are you so interested in the carpet?" Dean asks. He looks at the bloodstains again.
"Can you see it?" I ask. It seems like there's something here. He seems a bit more intrigued, so I know he sees it too. I look around for some masking tape. I find some and Dean grabs it from me. He connects the spots. Once he's finished, he steps back. The three of us stand there looking at the symbol taped on the floor.
"Either of you seen that symbol before?" Sam asks. I shake my head to answer him.
"Never." Dean answers out loud.
"Me neither." Sam says. We all share a look before documenting what we found, ripping up the tape, and leaving the apartment. We thank the landlady on the way out. As the details of the case run through our heads we head to a motel and get a room. Dean decided he wanted to go get a drink, so we all head to a nearby bar that we knew Meredith worked at. I mean, we might as well do some research while we unwind, right? Dean heads there before us.
Sam and I head over after. He brings John's journal to try and see if he can find that symbol anywhere. Once we enter, I see Dean at the bar. Sam grabs a nearby table. I look around the bar. It's crowded, more guys than women. But, that's good for me. I see someone familiar in the back corner, though. Our eyes meet and he holds his finger up to his mouth. He doesn't want me saying anything to Sam, sitting across the table from me. Then gestures for me to come over to him. I start walking away and Sam looks up at me.
"Where are you going?" He calls to me. I let out a laugh.
"To the ladies room." I say. "Dean's still talking to the bartender and I really need to go. Can you hold down the fort here?"
"Sure." He says, looking back down at the research in front of him.
"Good." With that I head to the corner of the bar, passing Dean on the way. The man has switched seats, so his back was facing the room. I take the seat he was originally in, and I look up at him with a smile. "What're you doing here, old timer?" I ask. He smirks before answering.
"Same shit, different day, Slugger. How're my boys?" He asks. I glance towards the table Sam is at. Dean has joined him now.
"They want you around, but other than that they're good." I say. "Why are you here, by the way?" If he didn't want his kids around him, why is he here?
"I followed a lead here." He answers. "I guess you guys did too."
"Wait, are you saying this has something to do with what you're chasing?" The atmosphere between us becomes serious.
"Possibly." He answers. I look over at the table again. I heave a sigh. This is not good.
"Do you have a pen?" I ask him. He digs in his pocket and finds a piece of charcoal. I grab a napkin and take the offered charcoal. I draw the symbol on the napkin and slide it across the table. "Have you seen that symbol before?" I ask him. He holds the napkin closer to his face to see it in the dim lighting of the bar.
"It looks familiar, but I can't quite place it." He says. "I'll keep this and if I figure anything out, I'll call you." I nod to him as I stand from my seat.
"I should head back to them." I say.
"Hey." He says, holding a hand out to stop me. "Make sure you watch out for them." He says. "Even Dean." I laugh at that. He knows about why we separated as hunting partners.
"I'm not gonna just let him get hurt because I'm angry with him, John." I feel my eyes start to sting. "I still love him to death." I take a breath before finally walking back to the boys. I walk over to them as I hear them talking about the symbol.
"It wasn't in dad's journal, or in any of the usual books." Sam says. I come up behind Dean and Sam looks up at me.
"Hey, on my way back from the ladies room, I ran into another hunter. He was an old friend of my dad's." I say. "I drew the symbol for him. He said it looked familiar, but couldn't place it." They look at me with curious expressions. "He said if he figured it out, that he would give me a call."
"I just have to dig a little deeper, I guess." Sam says, I walk around the table and sit next to Sam.
"Well, there was a first victim, right?" Dean asks. "Before Meredith?"
"Right, yeah." Sam pulls out a newspaper article. "His name was, uh," He looks at the name of the man on the article before handing it to me. "His name was Ben Swardstrom." I take a quick look before I hand it to Dean. "Last month he was found mutilated in his townhouse. Same deal. The door was locked. The alarm was on.
"Any connection between the two people?" I ask.
"Not that I can tell." Sam replies. "I mean, not yet, at least. Ben was a banker. Meredith was a waitress. They never met. Never knew anyone in common. They were practically from different worlds.
"So, to recap." Dean says. "The only successful intel we've scored so far is the bartenders phone number." My face drops. I could smack him so hard right now. I glance to where John had been, minutes ago, and he's gone. I look back to Sam and realize he's looking in a similar direction. Dean tries to follow Sam's line of sight, but can't see anything interesting. "What?" He asks. Sammy gets up and starts walking in the direction he was staring.
"Sam?" I ask in concern. I look to Dean before picking up the journal. We head over to see what's going on with Sam. Why would he just walk away from the table without saying anything to us? Dean and I walk up on either side of Sam. Dean on Sam's right, and I'm on his left. We see a petite girl with short blonde hair.
"I came, I saw, I conquered." She said. "Oh, and I met what's-his-name, something Michael Murray at a bar."
"Who?" Sam asks.
"Oh, it doesn't matter." The girl waves it off. "Anyway, the whole scene got old, so I'm living here for a while." Dean clears his throat, but Sam and the girl ignore him. I smirk at that and Dean shoots me a glare.
"You're from Chicago?" Sam asks.
"No, Massachusetts. Andover." She corrects. "Gosh, Sam, what're the odds we'd run into each other?"
"Yeah, I know, I thought I'd never see you again." Sam says, smiling a bit. Wait; does little Sammy have a thing for this girl?
"Well, I'm glad you were wrong." She says. There's a short pause before Dean clears his throat again, a little louder this time. "Dude, cover your mouth." She says. I snicker to myself. Dean looks like he doesn't know what to say.
"I like her." I say. Sam finally notices that Dean and I are around him, so he introduced us.
"Yeah, um, I'm sorry Meg." Sam starts. "This is, uh, my friend, Shelby," He says, gesturing to me. She sends a smile my way. "And this is my brother, Dean." He says, gesturing to his brother. Meg, I think her name is, looks a bit shocked.
"This is Dean?" She asks. I see Dean smile.
"Yeah." Sam answers.
"So, you've heard of me?" Dean says.
"Oh, yeah, I've heard of you." She says. She doesn't look too pleased. "Nice, the way you treat your brother like luggage." Wait what?
"Sorry?" Dean asks her.
"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do?" She asked, in an accusatory tone. "Stop dragging him over God's green Earth." I whistle in awe of what she just said. Something must've happened with them before they met up with me.
"Meg," Sam stops her. "It's all right."
"Okay, awkward." Dean says. "I'm gonna get a drink now." He starts to walk away.
"Yeah, I think I'll join 'im." I say before following Dean to the bar. As I pass by her I get a bad feeling. I don't know if she's really who Sam thinks she is. I stand next to Dean. He already has a beer, and when he sees me he asks the bartender for another bottle for me. "Thanks, but no thanks." I say. The bartender walks away to help another patron. "I only want a sip." I say as I grab his beer. He doesn't protest. Before I take a sip I ask him a question. "You haven't been with anyone diseased, right?"
"Excuse me?" He seems offended.
"I don't wanna take a sip if I'm gonna get a cold sore tomorrow morning." I say. He glares at me before rolling his eyes.
"Not that I know of." He answers, looking back towards Sam and that Meg girl. I take a sip and look at them, too.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this chick." I say. He doesn't say anything. He finishes off the beer as Sam starts walking towards us.
"Come on." Dean says, dragging me through the crowd of people to the exit. I pull my arm from him, but I continue to follow him. Sam catches up to us as we open the door to leave. "Who the hell was she?" Dean asks.
"I don't really know." Sam answers. "I only met her once. Meeting up with her again? I don't know, man, it's weird."
"And what was she sayin'?" Dean asks. "I treat you like luggage? What, were you bitchin' about me to some chick?"
"Look, I'm sorry, Dean." Sam says. "It was when we had that huge fight. When I was in that bus stop in Indiana. But that's not important, just listen-"
"Well, is there any truth to what she's sayin'?" Dean interrupts. "I mean, am I keeping you against your will, Sam?"
"Dean, calm down." I say.
"No, I wanna know." He insists, looking to Sam.
"Of course not. Now, will you listen?" Sam says.
"What?" Dean says, aggravated.
"I think there's somethin' strange goin' on here, Dean." Sam insists.
"Yeah, tell me about it. She wasn't even that into me." I roll my eyes once again. How many times is that? One hundred? One thousand? I've lost count.
"No, man, I mean like our kind of strange." Sam says. "Like maybe even a lead."
"Why do you say that?" I ask.
"I met Meg weeks ago," Sam starts. "Literally on the side of the road. And now, I run into her in some random Chicago bar?" That is a bit weird. "I mean, the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don't think that's a little weird?"
"I don't know. Random coincidence. It happens." Dean says.
"Well, yeah, it happens, but not to us." Sam continues to insist. "Look, I could be wrong. I'm just sayin' that there's somethin' about this girl that I can't quite put my finger on."
"Well, I bet you'd like to." Dean smirks. I punch him in the arm.
"Can you not?" I say to him as he grabs at the arm I punched.
"Maybe she's not a suspect." He continues anyway. "Maybe you've got a thing for her, huh?" I see Sam roll his eyes. "Maybe you're thinking a little too much with your upstairs brain."
"Can you not try and corrupt him, please?" I ask. Sam turns to me.
"Can you co me a favor?" He asks.
"Sure."
"Check and see if there's really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts." He says. "And see if you can't dig up anything else on that symbol on Meredith's floor." I nod my head as Dean speaks up again.
"What're you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna watch Meg." Sam answers.
"Yeah you are." Dean laughs. I slap him on the arm where I punched before.
"I just wanna see what's what. Better safe than sorry."
"All right you little pervert." Dean says. I shoot a glare his way.
"Dude." Sam says
"We're goin'." I say. I grab Dean by the arm and drag him back to the motel. Once we get back in the room we start our digging. I hand Dean the task of looking up the girl, and I look into the symbol. About an hour goes by and I get a call. I answer it without checking the caller ID. "What's up?" I ask, still looking at my laptop screen.
"Hey, Slugger." I hear that familiar voice. "I got a bit of a lead on that symbol."
"Oh yeah?" I ask.
"Yeah," He says. "It's Zoroastrian. That's all I know right now, but I'm sure you could figure it out from there."
"Yeah, thanks." I write down what he says.
"No problem." He says. "Be careful out there, Shel."
"Will do." He hangs up before I do.
"Who was that?" I look up at Dean.
"Just the guy I ran into at the bar." I answer.
"Yeah, your dad's friend." He says. "He have anything on the symbol?"
"Yeah, he says its Zoroastrian." I look at the laptop in front of me and look up the symbol with the new information I have. As I look at the information I get a really bad feeling. "Damn." I say. "We have to tell Sam." I say as I feel Dean leaning over the back of my chair to read what's on the screen.
"I got it." He says. He dials Sam on his phone as I continue to read about the symbol. "Let me guess. You're lurkin' outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?" I flash yet another glare in Dean's direction as a long pause occurs. "You've got a funny way of showin' your affection. Hey, I'm gonna put you on speaker." Dean presses a button and I am able to hear Sam.
"So, did you find anything on her, or what?" Sam asks.
"Sorry, man, she checks out." Dean says. "There's a Meg Masters in the Andover phonebook. I even pulled up her high school photo." I am about to say something about the symbol when Dean continues. "Now, look, why don't you go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is you do, huh?" I smack him on the back of the head. "Ow, hey." He says to me.
"Thanks, Shel." Sam says. "Have you found anything on the symbol?"
"Yeah, my dad's friend called me back." I start. "It turns out, it's Zoroastrian. Old school stuff, like two thousand years before Christ. It's a sigil for a Daeva."
"What's a Daeva?" Sam asks.
"It translates to 'demon of darkness'." I read straight from my laptop screen.
"Zoroastrian demons." Dean says. "And they're savage, animalistic, you know, nasty attitudes. Kinda like, uh, demonic pit bulls." He sits in his chair and I follow him, sitting on the armrest so I can hear and talk to Sam.
"The thing is, these Daevas have to be summoned, or conjured." I say.
"So, someone's controlling it." Sam states.
"Yeah, and it's pretty risky." I say. "These things tend to bite the hand that feeds them."
"So, what do they look like?" Sam asks.
"Nobody's seen 'em for a couple millennia." I say
"Summoning a demon that ancient?" Dean pipes up. "Someone really knows their stuff. I think we got a major player in town." A smirk forms on Dean's face and I give him a warning look. "Now, why don't you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?"
"Bite me." Sam says.
"No, bite her. Don't leave teeth marks, though. Just enough to where-" Sam hangs up on him and I smack him on the back of his head again. "One of these times you're gonna give me a concussion." He says pointing at me.
"Maybe that would be a good thing." I say as I shut my laptop and clean up the papers on the table. He stands up and moves towards me. He grabs my hips as he comes up behind me.
"Sam'll be out all night." He whispers in my ear. "Why don't we have a little fun?" I'm shocked. I turn around to glare at him when he captures my lips with his. I try to resist him, but I can't. I missed this. I missed him. Our tongues fight for dominance as he brings his hand to the back of my head. A moan escapes my mouth, and I finally feel like I have the strength to push him away. Both of us try to catch our breath.
"How dare you." I say between breaths.
"Shel-"
"No!" I interrupt him. "After this case is over," I say still trying to catch my breath. "I'm leaving to travel by myself again." He closes his eyes and looks to the floor. I feel my eyes start to sting again. "I'm gonna take a shower." I say as I walk to the bathroom.
"Shel, please, I'm sorry."
"Don't talk to me." I say. "I'm done with this shit." I head into the bathroom, turn on the water, and strip off my clothing. Once the water gets warm enough I step in. Only then do I allow myself to cry. How could he do that? My tears blend with the water spraying my face. As sobs rack my body I crouch down in the tub. I don't wanna leave, but I have to for my sanity. Once I am finally done crying I turn off the water, grab a towel to dry myself off and put my clothes back on. I step out into the main room and head straight to one of the beds. I lay down and try to ignore the other presence in the room. Soon I drift off to sleep. Sam bursting through the door to the room startles me awake. I sit up and watch as Sam and Dean come face to face.
"Dude, I gotta talk to you." They both said at the same time. I giggle at that, and they both turn to me. Dean has a guilty expression on his face. Sam looks between both of us.
"What's goin' on?" He asks.
"It's nothing, Sam." I say as I stand from the bed. "What do you got?" I ask, wanting him to tell us what he found out last night. He explained that he followed Meg to some warehouse where she had an alter set up. The Zoroastrian symbol was drawn on the alter in blood. That's not good.
"So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" Dean asks.
"Looks like she was using that black alter to control the thing." Sam states.
"So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl." Dean says.
"What's the deal with the bowl again?" I ask Sam.
"She was talking into it. The way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails." He keeps looking between Dean and I. "She was communicating with someone."
"With who?" Dean asks. "With the Daeva?"
"No, you said those things were savages." Sam answers. "No, this was someone different. Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's comin' to that warehouse." We all think about this new information for a second before Dean sits at the table and sifts through the papers.
"Holy crap." He says.
"What?" Sam and I say in sync.
"What I was gonna tell you earlier. I pulled a favor with my," Dean stops to clear his throat before continuing. "Friend, Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victims. We missed somethin' the first time."
"What'd we miss?" I ask and Sam and I go over and take a look at the papers in Dean's hands.
"The first victim, the old man, he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here." He sets the paper down and points to the place of birth. "Look where he was born."
"Lawrence, Kansas." Sam reads. This is getting creepy, real fast.
"Mmhmm." Dean says. He sets down the page about the other victim. "Meredith, second victim, turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from.
"Again, Lawrence, Kansas." I say. Sam sits in the closest chair.
"Holy crap." Sam says.
"Yeah." Dean agrees, looking at Sam.
"I mean, it is where the demon killed mom." Sam starts. "That's where everything started."
"So you think this Meg girl is tied up with the demon?" I ask.
"I think it's a definite possibility." Dean answers.
"But I don't understand." Sam says. "What's the significance of Lawrence? And how do these Daeva things fit in?"
"Beats me, but I say we trash the black alter, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."
"No, we can't." Sam says.
"Why?" I ask. I'm a bit excited about the demon possibly being here. I'm in the same boat as Sam. I was born the same year as Dean, but on my sixth month of life my mother was killed in a fire. It's something I remember so vividly. It's my first memory. She was engulfed in flames attached to the ceiling. My dad had been a hunter even before I was born, but this almost sent him off the edge. He left me with a family friend, I called him Uncle Bobby. I didn't see my dad again until I was about five.
My dad taught me how to hunt, and he brought me on my first one when I was sixteen. We met up with one of his friends and that man's son. If you can't guess, that was John and Dean. Our fathers had bonded over the deaths of their wives. They were exactly the same, only they were four years apart. I met Sam once my first hunt was done. We connected right away. Dean, Sam, and I were so close back then.
"We shouldn't tip her off." Sam says. "We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We gotta see who, or what, is showin' up to meet her."
"I'll tell you one thing," Dean says. "I don't think w should do this alone." I look to Dean, knowing exactly what he's planning to do. I think about all of this information that lines up just right. It's too good. I take a breath. I take out my phone and text John.
'Whatever Dean says on the message he's gonna leave you, don't come. It doesn't feel right to me. –Slugger' I hit send. Sam and Dean are getting ready to go in tonight, so I do the same. Sam leaves to grab some things from the trunk of the Impala to help us. I see Dean sit on one of the beds and call someone, most likely his father. By the time Dean is done with the call Sam walks back in the room. I grab the bag in his hands so he can take off the one on his shoulder.
"Voicemail?" Sam asks.
"Yeah." Dean answers as he stands from the bed. Sam and I set the bags on the bed Dean just vacated. "Jesus, what'd you get?"
"I ransacked that trunk." Sam answers with a laugh. "Holy water, every weapon that I could think of, exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions." Dean goes through the bag as Sam spouts off what he carried up here. "I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything." Dean and I nod in agreement. We each take a gun and load it with special bullets. Dean grabs a sawed off shotgun, Sam grabs a pistol, I grab my own revolver.
"Big night." Dean states.
"Yeah." Sam agrees.
"Either of you nervous?" I ask them.
"No." Dean answers right away. Sam shakes his head. "Why? Are you?" He glances at me.
"No way." I answer. We check the other weapons in silence for a while before Sam speaks up.
"God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing? That demon?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?" Dean says.
"I know, I'm just sayin', what if we did?" Sam asks. "What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month."
"I'd sleep for a year." I smile.
"It's not a competition." Sam says to me. "I'd also go back to school, just be a person again." My expression falls at that comment. John and Dean didn't like that Sam left for school.
"You wanna go back to school?" He asks Sam.
"Yeah, once we're done huntin' the thing." Sam confirms.
"Huh." Dean says. It's one of those 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything' moments. But I know Sam won't let it slide.
"Why? Is there somethin' wrong with that?" He asks.
"No, no, it's, uh, great. Good for you." Dean says, loading another gun.
"I mean, what're you gonna do when it's all over?" Sam asks. Dean glances at me before answering.
"It's never gonna be over. There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be somethin' to hunt."
"Yeah, Sammy, with what we know is out there, how can we just sit around and live 'normal lives'?" I ask, putting air quotes around the last two words with my fingers.
"But, there's gotta be somethin' that you want for yourself."
"Yeah, I don't want you two to leave the second this thing's over, Sam." Dean says, agitated. Sam looks to me, and I look away.
"Are you leaving?" Sam asks me.
"Yeah, whatever this case is, after it's done, I'm out." I admit. Dean walks over to a nearby dresser.
"Dude." Sam says to get his brother's attention. "What's your problem?" Dean leans on the dresser for a moment.
"Why do you think I drag ya everywhere? Huh?" Dean asks. I feel the sting in my eyes again. "I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?"
"'Cause dad was in trouble." Sam answers. "'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed mom."
"Yes, that, but it's more than that, man." Dean raises his voice. He pauses for a moment before he turns back to Sam. "You and me and dad. I want us to…I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again." I sit down on the bed and look at my hands, resting on my lap.
"Dean," Sam starts. "We are a family." Sam says slowly. "I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before." I hate to agree, but it's true. I don't want to look at Dean. I know he's gonna have the look of a man with a broken heart.
"Could be." I can hear the sadness in his voice. I watch as a tear drops onto my hand. I wipe it away quickly so neither of the boys see it.
"I don't want them to be." Sam says. "I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way." We are all quiet as we finish getting ready. The silence continues as we get to the warehouse. Dean and I follow Sam's lead. We climb up the elevator shaft. Yay! Heights! Can you sense my sarcasm? We make it to the top floor, and stop as we see Meg speaking some sort of enchantment at the alter in the room.
Sam climbs up silently, and turns to me. He grabs my hand, and helps me up. Then, both of us help Dean. Once all of us are on firm ground, we keep to the shadows. Sam keeps a gun aimed at Meg as we work our way to a better vantage point. We hide behind some boxes in the back corner. Dean hands Sam the sawed off shotgun as Sam hands the pistol to Dean. I keep my revolver aimed at the back of the woman's head.
"Guys." She says, suddenly. We all keep quiet. "Hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?"
"Well, that didn't work out like I'd planned." Dean says. She turns around to face us.
"Why don't you come out?" Meg asks. We stand from our hiding spots, weapons still aimed at her. The three of us walk towards her as she walks towards us. "Sam, I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Sam replies.
"So," Dean says, getting Meg's attention. "Where's your little Daeva friend?"
"Around." She answers. "You know, that shotgun's not gonna do much good."
"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart." Dean says. Oh how I miss him calling me that. I shake my head. I have to focus. This is serious shit. "The shotgun's not for the demon."
"So, who is it Meg?" Sam asks her. "Who's coming? Who're you waiting for?"
"You." She answers simply. I knew it. This is a trap. Suddenly something throws me into the wall behind me. I feel something claw at my shoulder before I pass out. I wake up, and realize I'm tied to a support posts. I look to my right and see Sam and Dean in similar situations.
"Hey, sweetheart, you okay?" Dean says.
"Are you talking to me?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"I'm fine."
"Can you two shut up?" The voice of Meg sounds.
"You shut up." I say. Soon Sam wakes up. Dean is the first to notice.
"Hey, Sam?" He starts. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend…is a bitch."
"Agreed." I add.
"This, this whole thing, was a trap." Sam says. "Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearin' what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn't it?" The bitch laughs. "And that the victims were from Lawrence?"
"It doesn't mean anything." She says, smiling at him. "It was just to draw you in, that's all."
"You killed those two people for nothin'." Sam says.
"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less." She admits. I don't think this is a normal person. It just doesn't feel right.
"You trapped us. Good for you." Dean says. "It's Miller time. But, why don't you kill us already?"
"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" Meg says to him. The she turns her attention to me. "Honestly, I don't know what you ever saw in him. You are way outta his league." I laugh and shake my head at that. She looks back at Dean. "This trap isn't for you."
"Dad," Sam says. "It's a trap for dad." I can tell he's getting a bit emotional.
"Oh, sweetheart," Dean says with a smirk. "You're dumber than you look. 'Cause even if dad was in town, which he is not," I look away, knowing that he is in town. "He wouldn't walk into somethin' like this. He's too good."
"He is pretty good. I'll give you that." She stands up from her seat and walks over to Dean. "But you see," She crouches down to look at him at eye level. "He has one weakness." She says as she plays with Dean's jacket.
"What's that?" He asks her.
"You," She answers. "He lets his guard down around his boys. Let's his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he is in town." She looks over at me. "Isn't that right, Slugger?" The boys look at me. They know that's their dad's nickname for me.
"Your dad's friend." Sam says. "He was at the bar."
"Why didn't you say anything, Shel?" Dean said.
"He made me promise not to tell you guys about him being around." I say. "But he's not comin' here." I say. The bitch stands up and walks over to me.
"And why is that?" She says, standing over me.
"Before Dean called him and left a message, I sent him a text. I told him it didn't feel right to me." I say with a smile. "I told him, no matter what, not to come." She looks a bit angry.
"There's still a possibility he'll come for you three." She says. "And when he comes to try and save you, the Daevas will kill everybody." She smirks at me. "Nice and slow and messy."
"Well, I've got news for ya, it's gonna take a lot more than some…shadow to kill 'im." Dean says. Meg goes back over to him and crouches again.
"Oh, the Daevas are in the room here, they're invisible." She says. "They're shadows are just the only part you can see."
"Why you doin' this Meg?" Sam asks. "What kinda deal you got worked out here, huh? And with who?"
"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do." She says looking to Sammy. "Loyalty." Then her eyes meet mine. "Love." Then she looks back to Sammy. "Like the love you had for mommy, and Jess."
"Go to hell." Sam says.
"Baby, I'm already there." She smiles. She crawls away from Dean and over to Sam. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty." She leans by his ear, and whispers something I can't hear. Then she straddles his legs. "I saw you, watching me, changing in my apartment. It turned you on, didn't it?" Oh God.
"Get a room, you two." Dean says.
"Wow, I never thought Dean Winchester would ever say those words to someone." I laugh as I take the small blade that I always have hidden up my sleeve.
"I didn't mind." She says to Sam, ignoring Dean's comment. "I liked that you were watching me." Gag me. "Come on, Sammy. You and I can still have a little dirty fun." I think I really am gonna throw up.
"You wanna have fun?" Sam asks. "Go ahead, then. I'm a little tied up right now." I continue to hear kissing noises as I try to cut the rope holding me. My blade is pretty sharp, so I can barely hear it cut through the fibers. When the kissing sounds stop I look over. Meg is looking at Dean. She stands up and heads for Dean. She walks around behind the post he's tied up to. She crouches down and takes a small blade from his hand and tosses it away. I hide mine back in my sleeve. She swings around the post to look Dean in the face. He chuckles a bit before she goes back over to Sam.
"Now were you just tryin' to distract me while your brother cuts free?" She asks Sam. I slowly bring my blade back out and continue cutting the rope holding me.
"No. No. That's because I have a knife of my own." Sam breaks the rope around his wrists, grabs Meg's shoulders and head butts her. I finish cutting loose and stand up.
"I got the alter." I say. I walk up to the table and flip it over. I turn back to the brothers and Dean is now free. I then watch the shadows of the Daevas dance on the walls. They grab Meg and drag her out the window. The three of us gather at the window, and look to the ground below. Meg lay there, motionless.
"So, I guess the Daevas didn't like being bossed around." Sam says.
"I guess not." I say.
"Hey, Sam?" Dean asks.
"Hm?" Sam sounds.
"Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so buckets-o'-crazy, huh?" Sam nods his head. We gather up our weapons and leave the warehouse. It's silent on the way back to the motel. We get out and walk up to the room. Sam had grabbed the bag to bring it up. "Why didn't you just leave that stuff in the car?" Dean asks Sam.
"I said it before, and I'll say it again. Better safe than sorry." Sam says as Dean unlocks the door to the room. We walk inside, and Dean calls out.
"Hey!" I look where he's yelling. The silhouette of a large man is standing by the window. That silhouette turns around as Sam turns the lights on. The man's face hits the light, and I realize that it's John. "Dad?"
"Hey boys." He says with a smile. Dean looks to Sam before looking to me. I nod to him, to say that it's real. John's really here. I feel myself begin to tear up. Dean and John walk towards each other, and they meet in a hug. I turn to Sam and take the bag on his shoulder before lightly push him towards the two embracing in the middle of the room. Dean and John let go of each other as Sam meets them there. "Hi, Sam." John says.
"Hey dad." Sam says softly.
"Dad, it was a trap." Dean says. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."
"It's alright, I had a bit of a heads up." He says looking to me, still standing by the door. "What're you doin' over there Slugger? Get over here." He holds his arms open and I walk into them, dropping the bag on the ground. Once he lets go of me Dean decides to speak up.
"Were you there?" The older brother asks.
"Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive." John answers. "She was the bad guy, right?"
"Yes, sir." The three of us answer.
"Good." John says. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before."
"The demon has?" Sam asks.
"It knows I'm close." He replies. "It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell. Actually kill it."
"How?" Dean asks. John smiles.
"I'm workin' on that."
"Let us come with you." Sam says. "We'll help."
"No, Sam." John says. "Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in a crossfire. I don't want you hurt."
"Dad, you don't have to worry about us." Sam insists.
"Of course I do. I'm your father." John pauses. "Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight."
"Yes, sir."
"It's good to see you again. It's been a long time."
"Too long." Sam says. Sammy and John hug each other, and I watch in amazement. Who would've thought they would make up that easily. Of course, it's probably not completely fixed, but it's a start. As they let go of each other something knocks John into the cabinets. Sammy is the second one to be knocked around, then it was Dean. I look around, trying to see where it would be coming from. Out of the corner of my eye I see something coming at my face. I am knocked to the ground, next to Sam. "Shut your eyes!" Sam yells as he reaches for the bag of weapons. "These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!" He grabs a flare and lights it. Suddenly the room is filled with smoke and a white light.
I hear the demons leaving. Sam grabs the bag and I grab onto his shirt. He feels around for the exit blindly. All of us make it out of the room, coughing, and slightly blinded by the bright light from the flare. We finally make it to our vehicles
"All right, come on. We don't have much time. As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back." Sam says as he puts the bag in the back seat of the Impala. I lean against the car, trying to get my bearings.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Dean yells. "Sam, wait." He looks at John, and I can tell he's going to say something he really doesn't want to. "Dad, you can't come with us."
"What? What are you talkin' about?" Sam is confused.
"You three," John says. "You're beat to hell."
"We'll be alright." Dean says.
"Dean, we should stick together." Sam insists. "We'll go after those demons-"
"Sam! Listen to me!" Dean raises his voice to stop Sam. "We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He-he's stronger without us around." Sam looks to his dad.
"Dad, no!" Sam puts his hand on his father's shoulder. "After everything, after all the time we spent lookin' for you, please. I gotta be a part of this fight." I look to Dean, and I almost start sobbing. I look up to the sky, hoping the tears will just soak back into my eyes. It doesn't work. They just fall down the side of my face instead.
"Sammy, this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you've got to trust me, son." John says. "Okay, you've gotta let me go." I watch as Sam finally accepts that this needs to happen. John then looks to me. "I need you to stay with them, Shel." I look to the ground, and more tears escape my eyes. "I know you wanna be on your own right now, but they need you." He says, referring to the boys. I look up to him and nod.
"Yes, sir." I say trying not to have my voice crack. With that he walks away from us, and towards his truck. The three of us watch him open the driver's side door and turn back to us.
"Be careful you three." He says before getting in his truck and driving away.
"Come on." Dean says as he starts getting in the car. I head to the other side of the car and get in the back seat. Sam grabs shotgun. Once we see the truck turn a corner, Dean starts up the Impala and we back out of the alley.
A/N: I'm really sorry this was so long. I hope you liked it. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a review. I love reading them.