Episode 7

"Not so funhouse."

Chapter 1

When Dean started to get to tired to drive he had to conceed to at least stopping at a hotel for the night, because the car was just to cramped with three people in it for him to sleep and there was NO WAY he was going to let either Laney or his amnesiac brother drive. So having no choice Dean turned down the next exict that had lodging.

Laney looked back at Sam and shook him awake telling him they were stopping for a few hours.

As the three of them entered the room Sam looked at Laney and told her he'd take the couch so she and Dean could sleep in the beds.

Dean shook his head. No way he was letting his brother give up a bed for him and said "No I'll take the couch."

"Oh for Pete's sake." Laney scolded. "I'm the third wheel here, I'll take the couch."

Dean didn't argue. Sam however looked at the couch making a disgusted face and said "But it smells like pee."

"All the more reason you should be glad I'm sleeping there instead of you." Said Laney jokingly as she gave Sam a playful poke to the side.

Sam laughed drousily and moved aside so the insistant Laney could make her bed.

Sam settled down into the bed closest to the couch and turning himself to face away from Dean's bed he fell back asleep.

Dean gave Sam a mournful look, because Sam's actions were breaking his heart. Dean settled into his bed and forced himself to sleep in hopes that tomorrow would be better.

Three o'clock in the morning Dean was jolted from his dreams as Sam woke screaming from a nightmare. Dean rushed over to Sam only to find that Laney had beaten him. She was holding Sam as he cried and poured out the horrors of what Dean knew was really memories of hell.

Laney comforted Sam assuring him that it was alright now and she soothed him back to sleep.

Dean looked down at her angrily. Laney was taking his place as Sam's protector and he didn't like it one bit.

In the morning when Sam came out of the bathroom Dean took note of the quality of Sam's clothing. They were nice, new, stylish and sturdy, meaning Laney had obviously been taking care of him pretty well, which made Dean hate her even more.

This new day was already starting out pretty crappy as Sam still wasn't interested in really giving Dean the time of day, which in turn Dean took that all out on Laney.

Dean spent every day after that addressing Laney with snide underhanded comments that sounded harmless enough to Sam's untrained to subtext ears. But Laney stayed true to her good nature though and in taking the moral high road Dean's hostility didn't phase her. Laney's tolerance of a saint annoyed Dean to no end and caused him to distrust her even more because no one was really THAT good.

Even after a month of hunting together, things still didn't get any better between Laney and Dean or Dean and Sam.

Hunts were getting harder for Laney because she had to work triple time to watch everyone's asses because in her mind Sam was still her responsibility and therefore so was Dean because he was a part of Sam.

Dean took notice of Laney's protective behavior and his heart hardened because she couldn't win his approval so easily. He didn't know she was doing it out of selflessness and not for his approval.

The new case the trio had started on had to do with gruesome murders at Alexandria, Indiana's local fall festival and like always leads were few and far between. ... ...

Chapter 2

Sam set to the task of research while Dean grudgingly took Laney along to the site of the murders.

Dean was agrivated because Sam still wouldn't work with him alone and he blamed Laney for his brother's emotional distance from him.

Once to the festival Laney crossed the yellow caution tape flashing her "badge" to the local deputy. Using very technical terms about juristiction and evidence she swayed the real badges to leave the scene so that she and Dean could "investigate".

At first the funhouse seemed normal enough as Dean and Laney entered. There was no E.M.F., hex bags or sulfer. So far there was no physical evidence of supernatural activity to explain how and why six people had died here with no one living to tell the tail.

Untill they reached the mirror maze that was. The E.M.F. meter spiked, the temperature dropped and the lights flickered. All of the reflections in the mirrors came to life.

Other Deans climbed out of the reflective glass and advanced on Laney and the original Dean while other Laneys threw themselves in between original Dean to protect him but they left the original Laney to fend for herself.

There must have been at least a hundred other Deans and Laney found herself outmatched as the other Deans started trying to kill her. Neither salt nor iron worked on these other Deans and Laney was forced to crawl away from the physical beatings they were inflicting upon her.

Original Dean was well guarded from the multitudes of the other hims that tried to get through the protective boundary of the other Laneys. But the second original Laney was knocked unconscious by the punches and kicks the other Deans layed into her with, the other hers blinked out. Leaving Dean to fight against at least twenty other hims and leaving original Laney helplessly at the ruthlessness of the rest of the other Deans.

Original Laney came to just in time do dodge a lethal stomp from one of the other Deans. She roled onto all fours and resumed crawling. Getting to original Dean, original Laney scrambled to a stand and limping the whole way she pulled the original him towards the only possible exit while fighting off the hoard that got in their way.

Finally out of the confusion Laney collapsed, sliding down the side of the Impala with a faint "What the hell?" as her body slumped sideways from pain.

Dean was physically unharmed and he could tell the now unconcious Laney was hurt pretty bad Although personally he didn't care about her he still hauled her limp body into the Impala because he cared about Sam and Sam cared about her.

When Laney came to she was suprised that she was patched up, crudely patched up, but patched up still the same, she didn't think Dean would've helped her, but she knew she'd taught Sam to mend wounds better than this.

Looking around the room Laney sat up, gingerly because it hurt to move, she was alone in the room but could here water running in the bathroom and she called out "Sam?" because he was the only person she expected to be there.

Again she was suprised when Dean came out drying his hands. "Sam's out getting something to eat." Dean said. "He didn't want to be in the room alone with me while you were out of it."

"Have you tried asking him why he's scared to be alone with you?" Laney asked, confused that Sam would leave her.

"Drop it." Dean stated looking away.

"Sorry." Laney whispered.

"Thank you for taking care of me." She said swallowing hard because she knew that if it wasn't for Sam she would have been left for dead.

Dean shrugged still not looking at her, plopped down on his bed and turned on the T.V..

Laney called Sam to let him know that she was awake and that it was safe for him to come back.

Five minutes later Sam came in carrying take out.

Laney wasn't one to stay down long because she couldn't afford the wasted time that came with letting herself mend properly. So she was up and active again when less than an hour ago she was nearly dead.

After more research Sam and Laney discovered that some mirrors were enchanted by acient sorcery and that the ones in the funhouse were somehow enchanted to project the physical manifistations of the worst evil that could lie inside the people's souls that were reflected by them.

"But that doesn't explain why the reflections of her didn't try to kill either of us." Dean said pointing at Laney.

"Laney has rules that even the most evil part of her wouldn't break." Sam guessed with a shrug. "She said I could trust her no matter what, so she protected you because you're my brother."

Dean looked agast at the idea that even the most evil version of Laney still managed to be, to good to be true. Still Dean thought it could make sense. Because even the real version of him wouldn't mind to put the hurt on Laney so the most evil version of him would have been able to beat her sensless without any qualms.

"How do we stop it?"Dean asked.

Sam shrugged.

Laney continued searching the internet for solutions.

Looking up from her laptop Laney said "It says here if we put a person in front of the mirrors alone who has NO inner evil whithin their soul, that in the face of such true innocence the mirrors will break themselves and their evil powers will be rendered powerless."

"Where are we going to find someone truly innocent?" Dean asked in a smart assed tone of sarcasim.

"Well that could be why Laney's projections didn't attack." Sam said.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Think about it, she wasn't alone.", "SO, the mirrors produced projections of the most evil she could be.", "Which if there's NO evil inside her, then her projections would just, be her, by extent." Said Sam.

"I seriously doubt it." Said Dean with a frustrated sigh.

But in the back of his mind he kept thinking about how Laney's projections had protected him and didn't care anything about the danger to the original. Maybe it was because the original didn't care about the danger to herself. She had gotten him out of there, even though, she was, badly injured, after all.

"There's NO WAY someone is THAT selfless." Dean thought as he tried to hang on to his hatred of Laney. But how could he keep hating her if Sam was right?

"The only way we can know for sure is to try." Said Dean surprising even himself. It wasn't like Laney mattered to him except for the fact that she was what was keeping Sam around.

Chapter 3

Sam drove Laney back to the festival and Dean was left alone to brood in the hotel room.

Out of suspicion more than curiosity Dean opened Laney's laptop and reviewed her search history.

"Damn." Dean groaned irritably. Laney had told the truth so if Sam was right that meant he was hating Laney for no other reasons than his own hurt pride.

Much to Dean's chagrin Sam and Laney returned only an hour later. Laney was covered in fresh cuts and broken shards from the mirrors, the one down side of being in a room with mirrors literally exploding all over the place.

Most of the wounds Laney was able to stitch up herself and once she was soundly patched up the trio packed up their belongings and hit the road once again..

As they crossed over the Kentucky state line Dean looked over at the dozing Laney.

He was stubborn and wouldn't let his hatred be abated so easily and he hardened his heart to her again, if only for the reason of her being truly good.