Chapter 6

Dean walked into the gun range and stood behind Lexi and Sam. Sam was teaching Lexi to shoot, and judging from the groupings on the targets across the room, she was a natural. He watched as Sam gently made a few minor adjustments to her grip on the pistol and she began to empty the clip at the target.

"Hey guys," Dean interrupted as Lexi released the empty clip and Sam slid a fresh one over to her. "Found a job."

"Oh yeah, whatcha got?" Sam asked, reaching for the papers Dean held out to him.

"Haunting up in Oregon," Dean said. "Should be a simple salt and burn, no big deal, but I'm dying to get on the road for a while."

"How about it, Lexi?" Sam looked over at her, the pitch of his voice raising slightly with the excitement of a trip and a hunt. "You ready for your first hunt?"

"Um...y-yeah, I guess," Lexi said, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. "Road trip, yeah."

"You're scared." Dean stated. "What's up?"

"It's just...leaving the bunker…"

"Lucifer. The protection won't keep him away," Sam said. "He can't physically hurt you, Lexi. I promise. You'll be fine."

"He's right," Dean said, laying a hand gently on her shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze. "Sammy would have been toast a long time ago if he could really do any damage."

"Well," Lexi said, looking back and forth between two sets of hopefully, almost pleading eyes. "Okay. Let's do it. I've never been to Oregon."

"Alright...atta girl!" Dean clapped her shoulder lightly as he turned and half-ran out of the room to pack with Sam close at his heels. Lexi stood watching after them with a feeling of unease spiralling up through her.

He visibly tensed, one hand absently tugging at the whiskers on his chin, as he watched the two hunters hurriedly preparing to leave the safety of the bunker. The warding and protections were the only thing blocking Lucifer from making a full move right now. He turned his attention to Lexi, watching as the foreboding flooded through her, darkening her image slightly.

He wracked his brain for a quick way to divert this hunt, mentally kicking himself for not making preparations for this inevitable excursion sooner. He was out of practice with meddling and his timing was off. He sighed loudly when he realized there was nothing he could do to deter them. He'd just have to be vigilant in his watching and do what he could to derail Lucifer's actions.

Lexi groaned softly when she woke to the sound of the Impala's rumbling engine cutting off. She felt the rush of cool air and the vibration of the driver's door slamming shut again as Dean got out. Rubbing her eyes with the heel of her thumb she sat up and looked around, trying to get her bearings.

"We're about halfway across Colorado," Sam said as he looked back and saw her sleepily looking around. "Dean's getting snacks...of course."

"Okay," Lexi replied through a yawn, shifting to sit up properly in the seat behind Dean's. "Sam, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Sam said, turning so his back was against the passenger door and he could face her.

"Are you trying to find a way to let Lucifer back in your head?" She watched as Sam's face dropped, the color draining while his mouth flopped open as if to speak but the words weren't there to come out. "Lucifer told me. He said you were researching how to do it, and I wanted to know if he really knew."

"I am researching it," Sam said, turning his head to look out the windshield. "It's my burden, you don't deserve that."

"Sam…"

"No, Lexi, you're not going to talk me out of it." Sam shifted in his seat again, facing front. "I've dealt with it before, I can do it again."

"It's what he wants, Sam." Lexi startled slightly as Sam whipped his head around to stare her in the eyes. "He told me. That's why he's doing this to me. He's trying to get to you."

"How?" Sam said, his voice coming out barely above a whisper.

"No idea. He says he strong enough to do it on his own." Lexi shrugged, looking down at her sneakers as she noticed a slight electric tingle wave through her. "We can't let him do it. It's going to be bad if he does. It can't happen."

"Lexi?" Sam tilted his head to get a look at her eyes, concerned at the way her voice had suddenly dropped most of it's intonation, like she'd slipped into a trance. "Hey, you okay?"

"What?" Lexi shuddered, suddenly realizing she'd been in a fog for a few seconds. She reached up to idly rub at her temple. "I'm fine. Just a headache."

"Did you...Lexi did you just have a premonition?" Sam asked, reaching over the seat to grab her hand, his eyes glued to hers, laced with worry.

"I think...so."

"We've got road snacks!" The driver's door flew open and Dean swooped into his seat with a rustle of plastic bags and cool, fresh air that filled the car. Dean tossed one bag onto his brother's lap and began rifling through another on his own, only stopping when the silence in the car seemed to startle him to attention. He looked across at his brother, then at Lexi in the rearview mirror. "What? Did I interrupt a lover's quarrel or something?"

"Dean," Sam said, pausing to take a deep breath. "Lexi had a vision."

"Oh." Dean looked in the mirror again, looking for the telltale signs of a raging headache he associated with visions. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Lexi said, meeting Dean's green eyes in the mirror then turning her head to catch Sam's hazel eyes. "I'm good."

"What'd you see?" Dean asked, glancing again between Lexi and his brother.

"Lucifer is trying to get to me." Sam turned his head to look out the passenger window as he spoke, not wanting to see his brother's face cross with anger.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Motel, crappy motel," Dean said as he pulled the car to a stop in front of the office. "Let's hope they have two rooms next to each other."

"Two?" Lexi piped up from the back seat. "Why two? It's cheaper to get a cot in a double room...I'm small enough, I'll fit on a cot."

Sam turned around to see Lexi sitting there, wringing her hands with an unmistakably panicked expression on her face. He knew the visions of hell almost always hit her at night, and although it hadn't happened yet, without the warding of the bunker, they were all just waiting for Lucifer to show up in all his glory. He didn't blame her for not wanting to spend the night alone.

"Yeah, Dean, just get a cot, okay?" Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother, willing him to get the non-verbal hint.

"Okay, a double and a cot." Dean snorted with irritation. "I didn't want a hot shower anyway."

The three filed into the dingy room, each with their own bag, Sam with their weapons bag slung over his shoulder as well. Dean flung his bag on the first bed and headed to the bathroom as Sam set his duffel on the second, watching as Lexi slid into a chair at the table in the corner and started picking at the chipped, wood-grain laminate.

"You doing alright?" Sam asked.

"Fine," Lexi answered, her gaze intent on the table top.

"I know you're scared, Lexi," Sam said as he slipped into the chair next to her. "But I promise, Dean and I will do everything we can to keep you safe."

"Yeah, I know…" Lexi looked up at Sam and forced a half-smile to cross her face. She let out a short laugh. "I'm supposed to be the guardian, and I'm the one who's scared shitless."

"Well, I think we're giving this whole guardian thing a run for it's money," Sam smiled back at her, reaching across the table to lay his hand over hers.

"It's the Winchester way!" Dean blurted as he crossed the room from the bathroom to flop down on the bed. Sam and Lexi both rolled their eyes at him. Just then a knock echoed through the room from the door. "That's the cot...finally, we can get some shut-eye!"

The room buzzed with activity then as the three bustled around setting up the cot, laying salt lines at the door and window and taking turns changing in the bathroom. In just twenty minutes they were all settled into their beds with the lights out and silence falling over the room again.

Two hours had passed and Lexi was no closer to falling asleep. Her head still ached after the vision she'd had earlier, and her nerves were so ramped up her muscles ached. She listened to the even breathing of the two brothers, trying to focus on the soft sound and let it lull her into rest. A few more tosses and turns on the creaky cot that caused stirrings across the room and she decided to give up for the time being. She grabbed her discarded clothes and quietly shut the bathroom door before turning on the light and dressing. She figured a walk in the fresh night air might settle her enough to sleep. She scribbled a quick note on the motel stationery by the dim light that poked in from the parking lot and slipped quietly out the door.

She'd walked about a mile when she came across a convenience store and ducked in to see if they had any herbal tea. The pimply-faced cashier glanced up as she made her way across the store and started filling a cup with hot water. She gasped slightly as she looked up from setting the cup on the counter by the register, only to find the cashier who'd been idly leafing through a comic book was now the smirking visage of Lucifer, just as she'd seen in her apartment.

"You didn't think I'd left you, did you Lexi?" He rounded the counter and started walking quickly toward her as she backed away from the counter. "I'm not that easy to get rid of."

Lexi turned and ran toward the door, Lucifer's laughter following after her. As she pushed through the glass door she turned back to see if he was following, only to find the original cashier, still behind the counter, staring after her gape-mouthed with his comic book still in his hands. Choking back a sob, Lexi turned back and continued running across the parking lot to the sidewalk. She picked up speed as the path in front of her straightened and she tried to put as much distance as possible between herself and the store. Her breath quickly started coming out in huffed bursts as she focused on the sound of her feet striking the pavement one after the other until she finally had to slow and then stop, not able to continue any further. She bent down with her hands to her knees as she tried to slow her labored breath. After several minutes she could breathe normally again, and she stood to look around. Another wave of panic shot through her as she realized she'd gotten herself turned around and wasn't sure which way the motel was.

"Crap." Lexi replayed her walk and her midnight run in her head, trying to get her bearings. When she was fairly certain she knew which direction she'd come from she started walking again, only to have her vision suddenly flash bright white. A somewhat familiar sensation of electricity flew through her, washing out from her center to flow out from her hands, feet and head. The white flash seemed to suck itself back into her and she felt her body go back to normal, only laying down on a soft surface. She quickly looked around and found she was back in the motel room, with Sam stirring from sleep next to her.

"What the fuck?" Sam yelled sleepily as he shot up to a sitting position, his hand whipping out from under his pillow holding his gun, his eyes darting around quickly until he landed on a stunned Lexi laying next to him. "Lexi?"

"Oh god…" Lexi said, slapping her hand over her eyes. A grumble sounded from the next bed as Dean reached over and turned on the nightstand light. "Ummm…"

Lexi could feel the red rising from her neck to her face, as both Sam and Dean sat, wide eyed, staring at her.

"Lexi, what are you doing?" Sam asked, tucking his gun back under his pillow.

"I went for a walk," Lexi answered, peeking out between her fingers. "I guess I went too far?"

"Son of a bitch," Dean said as he flopped back onto his pillow. "THIS is why we needed two rooms!"