"Going out, Mom?" John asked, seeing his mom make her way towards the front door. John had been sitting in the living room, just channel surfing. Meredith stopped and turned to look at her son.
"Oh, yeah. I was just going to run to the grocery store. We're out of milk," she answered.
"Where's Dad?" John asked back.
"He left about an hour ago for the garage. You know, that's what you get for staying out with your girlfriend, kid. You start missing things around here," Meredith teased.
John frowned, "I don't do it all the time!" Meredith just chuckled, before leaving the house and shutting the door behind her. The minute the door shut, John felt someone watching him.
"Now that we're alone…" the female voice said.
John turned around, demon killing knife in hand, "I've been waiting for you. You know, a person never really knows how creepy it is to feel watched all evening until it's actually happened to them. You are one creepy motherfucker."
"Winchesters," the demon growled, charging towards John, but before she could make any leeway, out of nowhere, Dean sidelined her, slamming her out of the way. The demon put him a fight, but Dean was able to back her into the den room, of course, with a few punches to the jaw thrown in. The demon fell to the floor and Dean shoved her and she lunged at him before stopping, her eyes widening. She looked up to see the demon trap on the ceiling. "Damnit."
"Damn it, is right," Dean snarled, rubbing his jaw.
"Croat or demon, because either way this thing will kill you?" John asked, using that witty Winchester gene that they all had, and waving the knife in the demon's face as he neared her. The demon swallowed, her jaw clenching. "Yeah, we've been waiting for you." John held the knife up and his mother, coming back into the room, took it from him.
"You know, I'm almost glad you and your father convinced me to use you as bait. It worked. Good work, kid," she said, taking the knife from John.
"We'll take it from here," Dean said, nodding for John to leave.
John nodded slowly, "You sure?"
"We're sure," Meredith answered.
"Alright. I'll be in the kitchen. Doing my math homework. So if any of you need anything… oh come on, guys! When do I ever do my math homework? Please?" John begged.
Meredith sighed and she and Dean exchanged glances before she responded, "Okay, but don't do anything rash."
"Yes!" John said, under his breath.
"Whatever it is you want, I'm not telling," the demon stated, strongly.
"Oh, okay. We can definitely arrange something then," Meredith said. She began to speak the exorcism and the demon began to cough as black smoke started to come out of her mouth.
"We know your secret," Dean said through gritted teeth.
"What secret?" the demon struggled to get out.
"The first isn't really the first. You see, this 'first' guy is really only the devil's botched up attempt at making a demon," Dean said, crossing his arms over his chest. The demon gasped as Meredith continued the exorcism.
"Stop! I'll tell you!" she begged. "Just stop!"
"Wow, they're not as stubborn as they used to be," Meredith said, amused.
"Used to be?" John asked.
"Yeah, long story," Dean replied. "So tell us. Everything we need to know."
"Why don't you just kill me? If I tell you, he'll kill me. If I don't tell you, you'll kill me. Either way, I lose. So what's in it for me?" the demon propositioned. Dean, John, and Meredith all exchanged glances before Dean spoke up.
"How about this? You tell us what we need to know and we'll make this as painless a process as possible. You back out? Well, you're the one under the demon trap so let's just I've got a flask of holy water right here," Dean said, pulling out the flask in his jacket.
The demon swallowed, eyeing the flask. Dean tossed the flask to John and John caught it effortlessly.
"Does this confession involve actual words because if not, we have all the time in the world?" Meredith asked, coldly. After a long silence of thinking over her options, the demon finally spoke.
"Fine. You're right about the first. It doesn't mean he's any weaker than the rest of us. He's actually stronger. He's spent all of his life hiding and building himself up – overcompensating for the fact that he was looked at as lesser than the rest of us. But now the first is stronger than all of us and I can't wait until he kills all of you hunters. All of you! You deserve it," she said.
"So why us? Why our family?" Dean asked.
"You're Winchesters! And the first knows that if anyone can take him down, it'll be you. The prophecy? Oh, the first is well aware of the prophecy. So he sends us every week. And don't think the fact that our kind never returns from these missions. He knows you're a lot stronger than he expected so he's prepared. He's going to take your sons of bitches down. It's too bad I won't be there to see it, knowing you-," the demon continued.
"Is that all?" John interrupted, holding up the flask.
"That's all, you worthless-," the demon spat.
"Ah. I don't think so," Meredith said.
"Fine. It's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain," the demon said, narrowing her eyes.
"Mer, take it away," Dean said.
"My pleasure," Meredith said back, glaring at the demon. She started the exorcism, speaking it so quickly that the demon barely had time to feel the pain. The black smoke flew out of the host's body and out of the house as the girl collapsed to the floor. There sat a girl, scared and helpless.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"You're in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Come on. We'll get you to the hospital," John said, going to help her up.
"Well, the first picked some loyal followers, huh?" Dean asked, sarcastically.
"Yeah, well her lack of loyalty was our gain," Meredith replied. "I'll take John and the girl to the hospital. You go check on the twins, okay?"
"Okay," Dean agreed.
The next morning, almost everyone had finished breakfast and was upstairs getting dressed and ready for the school day. Dean, on the other hand, had just gotten up and was making his coffee as his wife came into the kitchen, fully dressed.
"Hi, you," she said, kissing him once as she tidied up the kitchen table, wiping it down with a damp paper towel.
"Morning," Dean said, his eyes following his wife wherever she moved.
Meredith spotted a pair of shoes lying on the floor. She scowled, "How many times have I told Victoria not leave her shoes all over the place?" She bent down to pick them up as Dean stared right at her ass. "Oh, and by the way, I won't be home right on time after school. I have to run to Bed, Bath and Beyond quickly."
"I'd like you in my bed, bath, and beyond," Dean smirked. Meredith stood up, whipping around to look at him.
"Dean, what're you-," she started.
"Baby, have ever I told you how hot you are on a hunt? I mean, this one wasn't really a hunt but, damn, baby," he smirked.
"Dean, we can't do this right now," she blushed, averting her eyes from Dean's.
Dean licked his lips, moving towards his wife, "We have time before school. John's taking the twins into school anyways and he has to go in early to make up a quiz." Dean wrapped his arms her waist, pulling her in closer to him.
Meredith glanced at the clock, extremely tempted by his offer, "We do have time…" Dean trailed his fingers up and down Meredith's sides, causing her to giggle and bite her lip.
"And you look so sexy when you're biting your lip like that," Dean said, his voice husky and deep.
"Hey, Mom have you seen my-, oh, there are my black flats!" Victoria said, spotting the shoes that her mom held in her hands. Then Victoria realized what was going on. "I'll just uh… take my shoes." Victoria was thoroughly weirded out, took her shoes, and quickly left.
"Hey, let's go. Now," Victoria demanded, quietly to John.
"Why?" John asked.
"Mom and Dad are having one of their gross, weird moments and I'd just rather not be in the house for it," Victoria shuddered.
"Alright," John said.
"Hey, ready to go?" Flynn asked, coming downstairs where John and Victoria stood at the end of the steps, right across from the front door.
"Yep," John said. "Mom, Dad, we're leaving!"
"Okay," Meredith and Dean both shouted back.
Meredith and Dean both heard the front door slam, and in an instant, were all over each other.
"Okay, but you've got fifteen minutes," Meredith panted in between kisses.
"I can do it in ten," Dean winked, pushing her up against the kitchen cabinets and lifting her on top of the counters. Dean pulled away, just long enough for a mischievous smile to form on Meredith's face before his mouth was instantly on hers again.
At school, Meredith and Dean showed up about ten minutes before classes started and were perfectly okay, but Victoria on the other hand, was majorly disturbed.
"Hey, what's with you?" Haley asked, seeing her cousin in the hallway on their way to their first period English class.
"I've had a rough morning," was all Victoria could say.
"Aw, what's up?" Haley asked, concerned.
"Uh… we bolted out of there early this morning because I was pretty sure that my parents were about to go at it. They, of course, showed up later than us so, just ew. I actually walked in on them in the middle of a moment and-, just be thankful that your parents aren't as bad as mine are!" Victoria said, having trouble forming coherent sentences about what was bothering her.
"Oh. That's… quite a morning," Haley said.
"Uh huh," Victoria said.
"Hey," a voice said, as she felt an arms slip around her shoulders.
"Hey," Victoria said, her eyes lighting up as soon as she saw Tyler.
"And that's my cue to leave. Sorry about this morning, Vi. I'll see you in English," Haley said, before parting from her cousin to get a seat in English class.
"What's up?" Victoria asked.
"Not much. Listen, can I talk to you about something?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah, is everything okay?" Victoria asked back.
"You'd tell me if something was going on at home, right?" Tyler asked, concerned. Victoria saw the worried look in his eyes and on his face and she feared what he was going to say next.
"Yeah, why?" she replied.
"Okay, don't think I'm crazy, but I could've sworn I heard something last night coming from your house. Like… a scream?" Tyler said. Shit.
"Oh. Yeah. It's no big deal, really, Tyler. See, John was watching some horror movie last night and forced me to watch it with him so not only was the volume turned up way loud but I got kinda freaked out as well. I'm so sorry. I didn't know we were bothering you guys!" Victoria said, thinking of the lie as she said it.
"Oh. So… everything's okay?" Tyler asked.
"Everything's fine! But it's cute that you care so much," Victoria said, attempting to distract him by being all girly and coupley with him.
Tyler smiled, "I just got worried about you. That's all."
"I'm a big girl, Tyler. I can take care of myself," Victoria reassured. "But since you're feeling so chivalrous today, would you like to walk me to class?"
"Yeah," Tyler answered.
Victoria wasn't quite sure that he was convinced, but it was enough for her to avoid the questions now. She was getting really sick of having to lie to Tyler, especially since this whole 'first' demon thing felt like it was getting closer and closer. Not only that, but she was getting more and more involved and he kept asking more and more questions. Victoria thought back to her conversation with Bryan Gallagher. As much as she disliked him for that, she knew he had a point. Was it only going to get harder to do this? Bryan was right. Victoria couldn't drag him into this. She knew that she had to do somethingbefore anyone got hurt.
After school, Cole headed over to Greer's apartment. He knocked on the door and he could hear footsteps towards the door, but he also heard Greer talking. She opened it, smiling at him and holding a cell phone to her ear. She nodded to signal him to come inside but she was talking to whoever was on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, I'd really love to. I'll definitely consider it. Alright, I'll talk to you later, Mom. I love you too. Bye," she said, before hanging up the phone. Greer closed the door behind Cole and they two of them stood in the small hallway leading to her apartment. "Hi." She stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
"Hey, was that your Mom?" Cole asked.
"Uh huh," she replied. "Here, come inside." Greer led Cole to her kitchenette area dining table and curled up in the chair that she had been doing homework in. Cole sat down next to her and he had a feeling that she had something to tell him – something wasn't going to be easy for either of them.
"I've actually been talking to my mom a lot recently. I mean, not just regular check up phone calls but about demon stuff and uh… about my living situation for next year," Greer started.
"What about it?" Cole asked. It's not like he thought she would stay ever since she went to find her mom, but he hadn't really thought about her leaving either.
"Well, you and I both know that I'm going to California for the summer, but we've also been talking about coming to live with her… you know, for the school year as well," Greer said, biting her lip.
"Oh. Well, do you think you're going to?" Cole asked.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I mean, of course I want to! She's my mom and I want to get to know her better, but I have a life here… and you're here, Cole. And, I honestly don't know what I would've done without you this year," Greer confessed. "Look, it's just an option, you know? Something to think about. It's not like I have to make a decision any time soon."
"Right. Well, if it counts, I'd understand if you went," Cole said, as hard as it was to say that. He just wanted what was best for her, even though he wanted her to stay here. "They're your family, Greer."
And Cole knew how important family was.
"Really?" Greer asked.
"Yeah. Why so surprised?" Cole chuckled.
She sighed, "You're too good to me, Cole Winchester. If I do go, you're going to make it hard as hell."
That evening, Jude was demon free and had found himself at the library, finally making time to study the way he should be studying.
"You know, I told the lady at the help desk that I was looking for more of a Mr. Darcy kind of guy, and she sent me to Edward Cullen. Huh. I guess we all have to deal with life's disappointments," Anna joked, upon seeing Jude studying, his brow furrowed, and buried in the book he was reading.
"What?" Jude asked, looking up.
"Never mind," Anna chuckled.
"I can't believe you called me Edward!" Jude protested, refusing to change the subject.
"Then quit brooding," she teased, kicking him playfully under the table.
"I happen to be studying," Jude defended, playfully.
"I know. And you know how cute I think it is when you focus and your eyebrows do that thing," Anna replied, imitating what Jude's face did when he was focused. Jude laughed at her imitation and pushed the chair across him out with his foot.
"Sit. You look like you have a hidden agenda. What's up?" Jude asked.
"What?" Anna exclaimed.
"You've got that look when you want to ask me something but it's important so you're nervous," Jude shrugged, casually.
"You shouldn't know my looks like that," Anna said.
"We loove each other," Jude said in a sing song voice.
She laughed, rolling her eyes playfully, "Okay, yeah. There is something I want to ask you…"
"If you're going to ask me to marry you, I expect a 12 carat canary diamond to follow," Jude joked.
"Jude!" she exclaimed, kicking him under the table and laughing.
"Sorry. Proceed," Jude said.
"So I got a call from my parents the other day. They're coming to town in two weeks and they want to have dinner so I was wondering if you'd come with me. I'd be able to finally introduce you to them as my boyfriend and tell them about going to U Penn together. And you know, you would be there, well, to provide love and support because my parents are scary…" Anna trailed off. "But you don't have to, of course! I'd just love it if you were-."
"Of course, Anna," Jude replied.
"Yeah?" Anna asked, letting a sigh of relief out.
"Yes," Jude chuckled.
Author's Note: Things are heating up! Warning: Next chapter is a mix of lighter material and then some more sad stuff. So you'll just have to wait and see! I wasn't 100% satisfied with Meredith and Dean in the chapter. I was afraid they came off as a little too heartless, but I figured they'd go all mama and papa lion on the demon, especially since this was the bajillionth demon that attacked them. That and they needed the information. I really can't wait for you all to read the ending. Oh, how the drama is good.
Thank you so much to Record 7, Deangirl93, elisitax21, Tiffany Kai, and Miss E Charlotte for reviewing the previous chapter. We are at the cusp of 200 reviews so help me get to 200! Again, thank you so much. I couldn't ask for better readers.