p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"There was a voice from over Hailee's shoulder. She frowned. That wasn't what had happened next. She had sat on the bed and waited in silence with Boaz until Isaac came out of the bathroom, but sure enough when she turned around now, Boaz was facing towards her. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hailee." He said, his face expressionless. Hailee was considerably unsettled by the lack of emotion that Boaz was displaying. The two of them had such a close relationship that there was always a semi-hidden smirk, or conversation through eye-contact shared, so to look at his face now and feel no connection to him whatsoever was deeply disturbing. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hailee." He repeated, his voice morphing into an unrecognisable but still vaguely familiar tone. His expression had not changed, but this unknown voice had flavours of panic and fear running through it. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hailee!" It came again, roaring through her brother's lips. Confusion began to whirl inside her brain, and as it did so, the world around her began to spin as well, leaving her with only the voice to hold onto./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee could feel herself drifting in that blissful limbo between blackness and consciousness. Life was beginning to filter through slowly in the form of a dull pounding headache and a turning in her stomach. Someone began to ruthlessly shake her shoulder. Or had they been doing that all along? Hailee had been aware of an internal rocking sensation, but had put it down to imbalance due to an upset stomach./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee..." The ringing in her ears was almost enough to completely drown out the voice and the repeated cry of her name./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee." A second voice had joined the fray inside her skull. She shifted her head to the side and groaned softly as a fork of pain as quick as lightening shot up the back of her neck./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee!" The vigourous rattling of her loose-boned upper body increased in tempo./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Ugh... I'm awake okay?... I'll meet you at the van..." she murmured grumpily, frowning softly, before attempting to roll away from the hand that was working to jolt her out of unconsciousness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee? Hailee! I need you to open your eyes. Now! Come on."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She took a moment to process the blatant panic in the voice - which, now she had considered for a moment, didn't sound quite as familiar as she had originally thought. Screwing up her face, the confusion began to set in as an alarm bell started to ring in the deep recesses of her head, warning that something about this situation was not quite right, but for that moment her weighted eyelids and slumbering bones seemed to be winning out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Dad... Chill... I'm getting up, okay?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The next thing she knew, a large hand had landed a hard smack across her cheek, and her eyes shot open. Where she had been half-expecting to find herself in some grotty, mould-ridden motel room with her father's disgruntled face looming over her reclining form, she found hard, cold cement under her back and a blurred outline of two men silhouetted against a cold grey sky. Slowly their faces came into focus. She shot bolt upright, clinging to what little material was keeping her vaguely decent, as the past few days came storming back into clarity./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Monsters. Back-up. Virus. Fire. Dad. Winchesters. Vampires. Alpha. Hailee's breathing took a running leap and began pounding in and out of her body at an alarming rate. Dad. Boaz. Xavier. Isaac. Linden. Kaeden. Bonnie. Gabrielle. Demetria. Jaimie... Her uncles; Aunt Fiona; her cousins. The pyres. The howling./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Sam!" She heard faintly overhead. "She's freaking out. What do I do?" Panic was welling further in the cracks in the voice. Dean. "What the fuck do we do?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Calm down. That's what we do, Dean. Then we just make sure she keeps breathing. Try getting her head between her knees."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee felt her body being manipulated into the desired position, not really conscious enough of what was happening around her to attempt to stop them. Slowly, her breathing began to peter out of its frantic rhythm, returning to normal, only to be replaced by wrenching sobs that ripped through her body, exiting violently through her throat. She felt a presence to her left and an arm was slung over her shoulders, pulling her tight into the person's side. The gentle scent of soap, mint and a woodsy undertone clarified that it was Sam. She collapsed into him, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her arms around his waist./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""S-sorry..." she mumbled through the tears. "I-I... I'm..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Shh," he whispered back, tightening his arms around her shoulders./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Aware of a shift of Sam's head, Hailee guessed that he and Dean were using their non-verbal communication to decide what was happening next. After a moment, she heard Dean's heavy booted footsteps move away a short distance before the sounds of an old rusted door being opened ensued. After he walked further away, down some stairs, there was no sound except Hailee's sobs./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam sat there, rocking Hailee gently, with his chin resting on the crown of her head, until her sobs had subsided to hiccuping gasps, from gasps to soundless tears. Her tears soon dried on her cheeks, leaving her skin swollen and blotchy, her eyes red and raw and her mouth dry as her nose continually ran./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm sorry, Sam," she said quietly, wiping her eyes on her wrist. "I didn't mean to... It just... Hit me, you know?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hails," Sam chuckled mirthlessly, "There's nothing for you to apologise for. I know Dean freaked, but he's never been good at the 'chick-flick' stuff. It's perfectly natural that you would cry. I was kind of worried that you hadn't."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee laughed softly, "I freaked on Dean back at the warehouse."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam smiled tightly, "Yeah. So he said."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She gently pulled away from his embrace, taking a moment to look around her. The surroundings were completely alien to her. They were sat near an old rusted iron door that was cut into the side of a hill, overlooking a small town in the valley below./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Where are we?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We're back at the bunker," Sam said with a small shrug./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee smiled. "I didn't really get a look around before."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Come on, let's head in. Go find Dean."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee followed Sam down one of many tiled corridors that she had not ventured down before, through to a grand old library, full of thousands of books, some falling to pieces, some with their spines barely cracked. Sam paused for a second, obviously looking for his brother, but Hailee had been completely distracted by her surroundings. Drawn to the shelves, she ran light fingers over the spines and titles, in awe of the sheer amount of knowledge available for consumption./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam chuckled, "It's a lot to take in, huh?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee turned over her shoulder to look at him, her jaw still loose from the immediate impression that the room had lain on her. "A lot to take in?" she said incredulously. "This is fucking insane. Like, where...? How...?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Turning back to face the books head-on again, she found her head tilting a little as she scanned across the titles: reports on sightings; books of incantations, spells and rituals; papers on demon species, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, wendigos, witches, every monster imaginable; shelves upon shelves of books on lore and myth from every religion and culture imaginable; leaflets on weapons, firearms, even on armour. Spaced intermittently between the rows of titles were swords of many description, a large golden compass covered in forms of symbols or hieroglyphics, the occasional black-and-white photograph or portraits of men - who, Hailee guessed, had been former members of the Men of Letters, who ever they were - and positioned roughly in the centre of the back wall, hung a magnificent clock that appeared to turn anti-clockwise./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We haven't figured that one out yet," Sam admitted with a small smirk, "Dean reckons that the Men of Letters may have had a sense of humour when they were drunk, but I'm not convinced."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Well, you wouldn't want to have to figure out the time after a few." Hailee laughed a little./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam snorted in return, "That's very true."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He turned to continue through the bunker and Hailee jogged across the room to fall into step beside him. They walked through more rooms filled with books and files, tables and chairs scattered with papers, one of which already had Sam's laptop charging on it, before reaching a door off of another thin tiled corridor that lead to the kitchen./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam pushed open the door to reveal Dean with a 'prick with fork' apron tied around his midsection with a large chopping knife in one hand and an onion in the other. He looked up as he heard the two enter, and a smile crept to his lips./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Welcome to my domain!" He half-shouted, spreading his arms to gesture at the room at large. The pride in his face caused both Sam and Hailee's faces to split into equally large grins to match his./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I didn't know you could cook," Hailee said, taking a seat on one of the bar stools that stood in front of the work counter that Dean was currently prepping on./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He flashed a playful look at her. "Bite your tongue, missy." he growled. "You have yet to experience my culinary expertise."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee raised her eyebrow slightly in a questioning look, taking in Dean's challenging expression, before throwing it over her shoulder at Sam./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He smiled, holding his hands up in surrender, "The man makes a mean burger. What can I say?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Dean shook out his plumage in pride, his characteristic smirk in place, at his younger brother's praise. "Damn right I do. Won't find a better one north of Texas."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee laughed, jumping down from her stool to go to the fridge. Opening the door, she scanned the beverages available./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Do you really only have beer?" she asked, scrunching her nose and turning to face the boys./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Dean shrugged nonchalantly, "Nectar of the Gods. And my personal choice, as well. Be damn glad you're allowed any, Miss Nineteen-Years-Old."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam smirked at his brother, remembering a time when their ages had been such that Dean could reprimand Sam for the occasional beer that was snuck out of the case from under John's nose, or the odd cigarette that went missing out of his packet./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Dinner was a homely affair. It was the first home-cooked meal that Hailee had had in a long time that she hadn't had to produce. Sure, it was a burger, not some three-bird roast, but in that moment, it was perfect./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Afterwards, Dean disappeared out to the garage to double check that Baby had made the trip home okay, ready and willing to spend the next hours fine-tuning and loving her. Sam buried his nose into a mountain of books that was already sitting on a desk in the library, waiting for his perusal. Hailee was left wandering aimlessly around the bunker, examining various artefacts as she went, a keen interest in the Men of Letters already burning in the back of her brain./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As the night went on, she decided to change for bed. Once in her room, she pulled on an old pair of leggings that bore holes down both legs, and an old shirt of her father's. As she pulled the shirt over her head, there was an subtle waft of his cologne that engulfed her. Her breath caught in her throat, as the loss hit her yet again like a brick wall./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Curling up on the mattress and burying herself under the duvet, Hailee flipped off the light, and succumbed to the sobs that were aching to break free./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hailee." He said, his face expressionless. Hailee was considerably unsettled by the lack of emotion that Boaz was displaying. The two of them had such a close relationship that there was always a semi-hidden smirk, or conversation through eye-contact shared, so to look at his face now and feel no connection to him whatsoever was deeply disturbing. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hailee." He repeated, his voice morphing into an unrecognisable but still vaguely familiar tone. His expression had not changed, but this unknown voice had flavours of panic and fear running through it. /span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: oblique; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;""Hailee!" It came again, roaring through her brother's lips. Confusion began to whirl inside her brain, and as it did so, the world around her began to spin as well, leaving her with only the voice to hold onto./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee could feel herself drifting in that blissful limbo between blackness and consciousness. Life was beginning to filter through slowly in the form of a dull pounding headache and a turning in her stomach. Someone began to ruthlessly shake her shoulder. Or had they been doing that all along? Hailee had been aware of an internal rocking sensation, but had put it down to imbalance due to an upset stomach./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee..." The ringing in her ears was almost enough to completely drown out the voice and the repeated cry of her name./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee." A second voice had joined the fray inside her skull. She shifted her head to the side and groaned softly as a fork of pain as quick as lightening shot up the back of her neck./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee!" The vigourous rattling of her loose-boned upper body increased in tempo./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Ugh... I'm awake okay?... I'll meet you at the van..." she murmured grumpily, frowning softly, before attempting to roll away from the hand that was working to jolt her out of unconsciousness./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hailee? Hailee! I need you to open your eyes. Now! Come on."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She took a moment to process the blatant panic in the voice - which, now she had considered for a moment, didn't sound quite as familiar as she had originally thought. Screwing up her face, the confusion began to set in as an alarm bell started to ring in the deep recesses of her head, warning that something about this situation was not quite right, but for that moment her weighted eyelids and slumbering bones seemed to be winning out./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Dad... Chill... I'm getting up, okay?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The next thing she knew, a large hand had landed a hard smack across her cheek, and her eyes shot open. Where she had been half-expecting to find herself in some grotty, mould-ridden motel room with her father's disgruntled face looming over her reclining form, she found hard, cold cement under her back and a blurred outline of two men silhouetted against a cold grey sky. Slowly their faces came into focus. She shot bolt upright, clinging to what little material was keeping her vaguely decent, as the past few days came storming back into clarity./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Monsters. Back-up. Virus. Fire. Dad. Winchesters. Vampires. Alpha. Hailee's breathing took a running leap and began pounding in and out of her body at an alarming rate. Dad. Boaz. Xavier. Isaac. Linden. Kaeden. Bonnie. Gabrielle. Demetria. Jaimie... Her uncles; Aunt Fiona; her cousins. The pyres. The howling./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Sam!" She heard faintly overhead. "She's freaking out. What do I do?" Panic was welling further in the cracks in the voice. Dean. "What the fuck do we do?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Calm down. That's what we do, Dean. Then we just make sure she keeps breathing. Try getting her head between her knees."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee felt her body being manipulated into the desired position, not really conscious enough of what was happening around her to attempt to stop them. Slowly, her breathing began to peter out of its frantic rhythm, returning to normal, only to be replaced by wrenching sobs that ripped through her body, exiting violently through her throat. She felt a presence to her left and an arm was slung over her shoulders, pulling her tight into the person's side. The gentle scent of soap, mint and a woodsy undertone clarified that it was Sam. She collapsed into him, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her arms around his waist./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""S-sorry..." she mumbled through the tears. "I-I... I'm..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Shh," he whispered back, tightening his arms around her shoulders./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Aware of a shift of Sam's head, Hailee guessed that he and Dean were using their non-verbal communication to decide what was happening next. After a moment, she heard Dean's heavy booted footsteps move away a short distance before the sounds of an old rusted door being opened ensued. After he walked further away, down some stairs, there was no sound except Hailee's sobs./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam sat there, rocking Hailee gently, with his chin resting on the crown of her head, until her sobs had subsided to hiccuping gasps, from gasps to soundless tears. Her tears soon dried on her cheeks, leaving her skin swollen and blotchy, her eyes red and raw and her mouth dry as her nose continually ran./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm sorry, Sam," she said quietly, wiping her eyes on her wrist. "I didn't mean to... It just... Hit me, you know?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hails," Sam chuckled mirthlessly, "There's nothing for you to apologise for. I know Dean freaked, but he's never been good at the 'chick-flick' stuff. It's perfectly natural that you would cry. I was kind of worried that you hadn't."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee laughed softly, "I freaked on Dean back at the warehouse."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam smiled tightly, "Yeah. So he said."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She gently pulled away from his embrace, taking a moment to look around her. The surroundings were completely alien to her. They were sat near an old rusted iron door that was cut into the side of a hill, overlooking a small town in the valley below./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Where are we?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We're back at the bunker," Sam said with a small shrug./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee smiled. "I didn't really get a look around before."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Come on, let's head in. Go find Dean."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee followed Sam down one of many tiled corridors that she had not ventured down before, through to a grand old library, full of thousands of books, some falling to pieces, some with their spines barely cracked. Sam paused for a second, obviously looking for his brother, but Hailee had been completely distracted by her surroundings. Drawn to the shelves, she ran light fingers over the spines and titles, in awe of the sheer amount of knowledge available for consumption./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam chuckled, "It's a lot to take in, huh?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee turned over her shoulder to look at him, her jaw still loose from the immediate impression that the room had lain on her. "A lot to take in?" she said incredulously. "This is fucking insane. Like, where...? How...?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Turning back to face the books head-on again, she found her head tilting a little as she scanned across the titles: reports on sightings; books of incantations, spells and rituals; papers on demon species, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, wendigos, witches, every monster imaginable; shelves upon shelves of books on lore and myth from every religion and culture imaginable; leaflets on weapons, firearms, even on armour. Spaced intermittently between the rows of titles were swords of many description, a large golden compass covered in forms of symbols or hieroglyphics, the occasional black-and-white photograph or portraits of men - who, Hailee guessed, had been former members of the Men of Letters, who ever they were - and positioned roughly in the centre of the back wall, hung a magnificent clock that appeared to turn anti-clockwise./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""We haven't figured that one out yet," Sam admitted with a small smirk, "Dean reckons that the Men of Letters may have had a sense of humour when they were drunk, but I'm not convinced."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Well, you wouldn't want to have to figure out the time after a few." Hailee laughed a little./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam snorted in return, "That's very true."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He turned to continue through the bunker and Hailee jogged across the room to fall into step beside him. They walked through more rooms filled with books and files, tables and chairs scattered with papers, one of which already had Sam's laptop charging on it, before reaching a door off of another thin tiled corridor that lead to the kitchen./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam pushed open the door to reveal Dean with a 'prick with fork' apron tied around his midsection with a large chopping knife in one hand and an onion in the other. He looked up as he heard the two enter, and a smile crept to his lips./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Welcome to my domain!" He half-shouted, spreading his arms to gesture at the room at large. The pride in his face caused both Sam and Hailee's faces to split into equally large grins to match his./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I didn't know you could cook," Hailee said, taking a seat on one of the bar stools that stood in front of the work counter that Dean was currently prepping on./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He flashed a playful look at her. "Bite your tongue, missy." he growled. "You have yet to experience my culinary expertise."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee raised her eyebrow slightly in a questioning look, taking in Dean's challenging expression, before throwing it over her shoulder at Sam./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He smiled, holding his hands up in surrender, "The man makes a mean burger. What can I say?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Dean shook out his plumage in pride, his characteristic smirk in place, at his younger brother's praise. "Damn right I do. Won't find a better one north of Texas."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Hailee laughed, jumping down from her stool to go to the fridge. Opening the door, she scanned the beverages available./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Do you really only have beer?" she asked, scrunching her nose and turning to face the boys./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Dean shrugged nonchalantly, "Nectar of the Gods. And my personal choice, as well. Be damn glad you're allowed any, Miss Nineteen-Years-Old."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sam smirked at his brother, remembering a time when their ages had been such that Dean could reprimand Sam for the occasional beer that was snuck out of the case from under John's nose, or the odd cigarette that went missing out of his packet./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"span style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"Dinner was a homely affair. It was the first home-cooked meal that Hailee had had in a long time that she hadn't had to produce. Sure, it was a burger, not some three-bird roast, but in that moment, it was perfect./span/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Afterwards, Dean disappeared out to the garage to double check that Baby had made the trip home okay, ready and willing to spend the next hours fine-tuning and loving her. Sam buried his nose into a mountain of books that was already sitting on a desk in the library, waiting for his perusal. Hailee was left wandering aimlessly around the bunker, examining various artefacts as she went, a keen interest in the Men of Letters already burning in the back of her brain./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"As the night went on, she decided to change for bed. Once in her room, she pulled on an old pair of leggings that bore holes down both legs, and an old shirt of her father's. As she pulled the shirt over her head, there was an subtle waft of his cologne that engulfed her. Her breath caught in her throat, as the loss hit her yet again like a brick wall./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Curling up on the mattress and burying herself under the duvet, Hailee flipped off the light, and succumbed to the sobs that were aching to break free./p