Previously on Supernatural...
"What makes you think any of us are really safe?"
When Baby rejoined the Winchesters, Sam had to ask. "They're cars?"
"A fifty-nine named Madeline, an eighty-three named Rose, and a ninety-seven named Tanya," she said, pointing to each in turn. "Local cars like those three have been getting turned along with the out-of-towners. Been going on for about four months, but unlike the Jane Does, the locals have stayed alive this whole time. Don't know why."
"How did you know they were cars?"
"It's just something I know." Baby's smile was something that he would have expected Dean to flash when the elder Winchester had shown hidden intelligence. "The dead girl is Sheila, a local '73 Mustang that hasn't seen the light of day for thirty years." She crossed her arms suddenly, puzzlement making her forehead crease as she frowned. "But something doesn't make sense. They said Sheila was in perfect condition, yet she's got a worn-out engine block after two days of being human."
"You can tell her damage just by looking?" Dean asked. She nodded. "Then let's get you down to the morgue to see if the other car-girls died the same way."
Leaving the crime scene to be processed, the Winchesters and Baby headed for the medical examiner's office. Dean pasted on his best winning smile as they entered, not noticing how Baby seemed to bristle up.
"Agent Brown, Agent Garfield. Always a pleasure," the M.E. said in a cheery voice. Her eyes instantly zeroed in on Dean as her smile grew flirty. "What can I do for you?"
"Hey Marla. Wondering if you had a moment before the new Jane Doe comes down. This is our consultant - "
"Paula Campbell," Baby supplied, her tone arctic.
Dean blinked, startled at her sudden show of hostility. " - and she needs a look at the other Jane Does."
"Of course. Follow me."
As they passed him, Sam heard a strange noise coming from beside him. He turned to see Baby staring daggers at the M.E.'s back, her fists clenched at her side and her pearly white teeth bared in a snarl. The sound was her sharply exhaling through her gritted teeth - a sound, Sam was surprised to hear, sounded an awful lot like the Impala when someone revved her engine. "Baby? You okay?" he mumbled.
"Fine," she gritted out. As if making a command decision, Baby tore off her leather jacket and slung it over her shoulder. "Let's go, Sammy," she said, stalking down after the others.
For the next half an hour, the transformed Impala made sure she was always by Dean's side. Her tanktop bared her unmarred tanned skin in full view of Dean's eyes. When she spoke, she spoke directly to Dean. When Marla made to hand over her files to Dean, Baby quickly snatched them up. The Impala was clearly marking her territory, which amused Sam a little too much, but her frosty change in attitude clearly puzzled his brother to distraction.
Dean finally turned to Baby when the M.E. left to supervise Sheila's move from the crime scene to the slab. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"
"What was what about?"
"You know what. You were clinging to me like duct tape and giving Marla the Arctic shoulder."
Baby kept staring at the corpse in front of her. "No idea what you're talking about."
Recognizing the start of an argument when he heard one, Sam immediately intervened. "Baby, what can you tell us about the other girls?" he asked, bringing the focus back on their case.
"They all have similar damage." Crossing her arms, Baby tore her eyes from the dead girl. "Their engines have been run into piles of scrap. Broken engine belts, destroyed transmissions, cracked cylinder heads. They were pushed over their limits and fell apart from the inside."
"What could cause that?"
"Usually years of serious wear and tear without proper maintainance."
"So somebody's literally running these girls to the ground." A true mechanic's son, Dean was sickened by the thought. "Once they're broken, they're left on the streets like broken heaps of trash."
"We should talk to that Hendrix guy," Sam said. "She's the first local car to wind up dead. Maybe he knows something about how Mustang Sally turned into a person."
"Do it yourself," Baby said, her tone suddenly growing weak and tired.
Dean caught the change in voice and looked down at her. "You okay?"
"Feels like I'm running on fumes. I'm heading back to the motel." She shot a dark glare at Dean. "Have fun flirting with Marla," she spat out.
A car acting like a jealous girlfriend, Sam thought in suprise as he watched Baby leave as Sheila's body was brought in. Now I've seen everything.
When Castiel returned to the motel room, he found Baby stretched out on Dean's bed like a cat, flipping through John's journal. Dean's jacket was draped over her like a large blanket, and long locks of black hair fanned over the comforter like a dark halo. The wrappers of several burgers were scattered on the nightstand, holding a small pile of lettuce and tomatoes that had obviously come from said burgers. "I see you share Dean's choice of nourishment."
She looked over when she heard him speak. "Hey Cas. Yeah, I like the greasiness. The taste reminds me of fresh oil, and it keeps my insides running smoothly."
"You are reading John Winchester's journal."
"Thought that I should look through it," she said. "John always wrote in it. I may have driven him from hunt to hunt, but I never knew much about the life my boys chose to live."
"May I join you?"
"Sure."
"I have a query," said Castiel, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You have been with them since the beginning. You have watched them live and grow and survive it all. Now you are able to help them as another hunter, not just a manner of transportation."
Baby closed the journal and set it aside. "What are you asking?"
"Are you conflicted about this case?" he asked. "About stopping the person responsible and giving up the way you are?"
She shook her head. "No, not really."
"Why?" Castiel cocked his head curiously at her. "You are now human. You can be with them this way. Be with Dean this way," he added. He knew how much the older Winchester doted on and adored his car.
"I've always been with him. With both of them," Baby stated. "I've carried them across the country more times than I care to admit. I've cradled them as they slept. I've seen all they've seen and quite a bit more. All as a car." She looked down at the hand holding her place in the journal, and slowly flexed the digits. "This...is a nice change, but it is unnatural. I wish to be myself again - to be the Impala they know and love again."
Her selfless statement made Castiel's eyes narrow in puzzlement. "But you are able to speak and be with Dean. Doesn't this please you?"
"I don't understand your question."
"You don't wish to have intercourse with him?" He spoke as if this was an obvious end to his chain of thought.
Imagine his mild surprise when Baby's face flushed redder than a sunburned albino. "N-N-No! I-I mean, it's not that I haven't...I mean I didn't...it's not like..." She slapped the angel's shoulder roughly, and Castiel was painfully reminded that there was an Impala's strength hidden within her petite human form. "Shut up!"
The angel didn't understand her embarrassment. "You are human. In terms of human beauty, you are quite lovely, although I myself cannot find any attraction to you - "
"Gee, you really know how to compliment a girl, huh Cas?" she said dryly.
"But you are human," he reiterated. "As is Dean. He loves you more than anything I've ever seen, so I assume you do as well."
"I do, but I can't - we can't - " She heaved a sigh and said, "No, Cas. It just wouldn't work."
"But you do love him."
The girl slowly nodded. "Yeah. But I'd rather have everything as it was. It was...simpler for me."
Castiel cocked his head to the side. "Then I do not understand."
"Being a car is simple." A smile began to form on her lips as Baby's eyelids lowered to half-mast. "When you feel someone searching for that pain in your transmission or undercarriage, you feel the relief that he cares enough to fix you. When someone keeps you through an accident that should condemn you to the scrapyard, you know you're loved. You feel the road beneath your tires, the wind along your body, the people in your seats, and someone's hands on your wheel, and you're content. It's pure bliss, really."
"But being human..." She shook her head. "It's more complicated. You see your master's eye wandering at someone prettier and it's like your oil and coolant are mixing. It hurts too, like your engine belt's about to snap. My headlights fog and sting like they're about to burn out - What?" she snapped when Castiel leaned closer to stare intently at her face. "What is it?"
"This shouldn't be possible," he murmured. "I've heard of instances, but only after centuries - "
Getting angry at his cryptic musings, Baby crossed her arms. "Mind sharing with the class?" But when she blinked, the trenchcoat-wearing angel was gone. "Cas? CAS? Dammit Cas, what the hell!" she yelled.
"Cas was here?" Dean's voice made Baby turn to see the brothers entering the room. He was carrying a bag of burgers in hand and a six-pack of beer under one arm, his green eyes glancing around the room as if for a sign that Castiel would be returning.
"Here and gone."
"Same as always," Sam grumbled as he pulled off his jacket and tie and tossed them on his bed. "We talked to Jack Hendrix, the guy who owned Sheila. He said that after he had his stroke, he had a mechanic come around every few months to make sure she stayed in working order."
Baby tried to focus on Sam's words, but her treacherous eyes kept trying to look at Dean. Now that Castiel had said those things, she couldn't help thinking about them. And it wasn't like her Dean was all that bad to look at. Judging by the way Marla the M.E. couldn't keep her eyes off him, he was a fine-looking man.
Very fine indeed... Clearing her throat with a rattle, she said unsteadily, "You think the mechanic's involved?"
"Maybe. First we gotta find the guy," Sam said. "If he is involved, then we need to figure out how he's doing it."
"Before he kills more cars," Dean added.
"And before he gets me," Baby finished, looking from brother to brother.
Dean quickly strode over to place a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm not going to let that happen to you," he promised.
Damn if his words didn't make her insides purr like a well-tuned engine, but Baby knew better than to say so. Her Dean never was good with what he called "chick-flick moments" and she wasn't about to make him feel awkward. So instead, she snatched his beer from his fingertips and said, "Mind if I have a sip?"
She didn't wait for an answer before taking a long draft from the bottle. "Ah. Good stuff," she sighed as the alcohol settled in her belly with sudden warmth. "So, how do we go about finding the elusive mechanic?"
Aww, jealous Baby! Poor Dean's clueless. And awkward Cas with his awkward questions...
Review please! I love reading them, they make me happy and keep the plot bunnies well-fed!