Author's/Underhill's Note: Chapter 16, and it's the longest so far (I cannot believe I am proud of an extra hundred word BUT I TOTALLY AM)! So, yes, I know I'm evil for the cliffhanger last chapter. Whenever I've read fics and there's a cliffhanger I am like "WHAT" and "WHYYYYYY." I... I have become what I feared... oh noes... Okay, so, disclaimer disclaimer I don't own Supernatural or Cas or Dean or Bela only the original plot in this fic. Also, virtual cupcakes for all reviewers; I adore you! Now, chapter 16, yeeesssss... I'm gonna go start chapter 17 now! Have I missed anything? I probably missed something. I hope this chapter is okay!
Chapter 16
Dean's perturbed face makes Castiel's chest ache. He looks out of breath and freaked out.
"That's pretty nice timing, Cas."
Castiel wonders about the details of Dean's rest while the angel was waiting. It had to do with Zachariah - - he can feel his fingerprints all over Dean - - but what happened he doesn't know. "We had an appointment."
Dean leans in and puts a hand on Castiel's shoulder and Castiel's heart races. "Don't ever change." It takes a lot of effort for the angel not to break out a big goofy smile.
"How did Zachariah find you?"
"Long story. Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?"
Dean pulls out his phone and Cas frowns. "What are you doing?" He wants Dean attention on him, he wants…
"Something I should have done in the first place."
Inexplicably, Castiel really wants to punch Sam.
February 12, 11:10 AM, Pontiac, Illinois
Claire can't stop smiling.
"I have a date," she says, trying the words out loud. Her first date, a date for the Valentine's Day dance. She says it again: "I have a date." She's so giddy she starts to skip.
She's on her way home from school - - her freshman year of high school - - and, as usual, a block away from home she slows. You have to go inside, Claire, she tells herself.
Claire's mom hasn't been the same since Jimmy left. The demon possession, watching her husband bleeding out, almost losing Claire, well… it's changed something in Amelia Novak. She's quieter. She cries a lot more. She's hesitant to let Claire even leave the house. Sometimes Amelia doesn't even get out of bed.
Claire's had to step up in a lot of ways as an adult; she's taking care of herself for the first time in addition to taking care of her mother. The last two years have been hard, but somehow Claire is getting by. None of it matters now though. Claire has a DATE. She can't help the little dance she does as she opens the door.
"Claire?"
Claire freezes. Usually her mother is in bed when she gets home. She checks her watch. Why is her mom up before noon? She tamps down on the panic she feels welling inside her.
"Mom? What are you doing up?" She closes the door slow behind her. Be calm, she tells herself.
Her mother frowns. "It's morning, of course I'm up. Question is, why are you home?"
Claire flinches. Granted, she's home a little early, but she'd wanted to celebrate the good news. It's not like she's skipping anything important. Just Social Sciences, that ridiculous amalgamation of basic world history and geography. She usually spent the time teaching herself Latin, something she can use in the future (not the future pictured, but since Castiel that future has changed). She's actually getting pretty good at it. She doesn't tell her mother this though.
"I get off early on Wednesday's, mom. It's part of my high school's block schedule. I stay late on Fridays." She does stay out late on Fridays, but she's not at school. Again, something she doesn't advertise to her mother.
Her mom frowns but doesn't challenge her. "Do you have any homework?" she asks.
Claire has no idea what this about. For a split second she wonders if her mom's possessed again, but remembers that she's laced the orange juice with holy water.
"Uh, not really," she lies. "I got it done during lunch."
"Oh really," her mothers says. She picks a piece of paper off the kitchen counter and Claire gets a bad feeling. "Your report card says differently, young lady."
Oh shit. "Uh." She searches for words. "About that."
She's got nothing.
"Your guidance councillor tells me you've had frequent absences, skipping classes and sometimes not showing up at all." True. "And your grades have fallen below a C- average."
"Not in Trig!" she protests. "Or Bio!" Which is true. Claire's smart with math like her dad was. He majored in math even though he sold ad space when he was alive. Claire's always wanted to follow his footsteps even though that's not in the cards now. Besides, Biology is useful. She's even more excited about Chemistry next year.
"That's not an excuse, Claire!" her mom yells. "You haven't been studying!"
"Yes I have!" Claire screams. Then she freezes. Oh God.
Her mom's eyes narrow. "Studying what, Claire?"
"Uh." Uh is her favorite word of the day, apparently. "Uhm, nothing?"
"Claire…"
Claire huffs out a breath. "Remember you asked," she says. She hefts her backpack onto the counter and starts pulling out books. They're all on Latin, the Occult, and angels. Her mom's back stiffens before she sweeps all the books into her arms.
"Wait, mom!" Claire protests. She makes a grab for the books but it's too late. Her mom's halfway outside and the backdoor slams behind her. Claire runs to the window and watches as her mom throws the books into the pool.
Claire clenches her fists. She loves her mother, she really does. But her mother doesn't get it. Amelia thinks she's protecting her, but really she's being selfish. Claire's not a little girl anymore. She needs to learn how to protect herself, because her mother's fallen down on the job.
She watches her mom watch as the books sink to the bottom. Goddamnit, she thinks. Damn her mom, damn her dad, and damn Castiel. Damn it all.
February 12, 11:10 AM, Montana
Dean takes the situation in fast. Eleven people, three women, eight men, ranging in ages from early twenties to fifty. He's being held by a man named Dennis who looks a little like Ash if Ash had ever cut his hair. The woman holding Bela is called Carli and she's only a little taller than Bela. The man with the grizzled voice is the boss, and he reminds Dean vaguely of Bobby, which brings a pang in his chest. The rest are unknown.
"What are Hunters doing here?" Dennis spits. Dean can tell immediately that Dennis is going to be a problem.
"We're not Hunters," Dean says.
"Far from it," Bela says.
"And the silver bullets, what're those for?" the Boss asks. "Decoration?" There's scattered laughter throughout the bar.
Bela raises an eyebrow. "A girl's not allowed to protect herself?" she asks. The man looks at Dean as if to ask what his excuse is.
"This girl's not allowed to protect herself either?" Dean flips. You can literally hear crickets. "What, no laughs?" More silence. "Tough crowd," he mutters.
"I repeat," the Boss says. "What are Hunters doing in my bar?"
"There've been some murders in the area," Dean says. "And all leads come here."
"We haven't killed anyone," Carli snarls.
"I didn't say you did," Dean says slowly. "We're not accusing you of anything. Like we said, we're not Hunters."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"We're looking to acquire an artifact," Bela says, her voice aloof.
The Boss takes the conversation over again. "That 'artifact' bein'?"
"A fetish."
Dean snorts.
"It's of a wolf. With the description of the attacks in the area, we thought the two may be connected."
"A statue, eh? What do you want it for?"
Bela frowns and looks over at Dean. "Is he joking? I can't tell if he's joking."
"He's not joking," the Boss growls. "Let's say I know where this thing is."
Bela's ears perk up. "We're listening."
"I'm not."
"Shut up, Dean. Continue."
"If I knew where the thing was, what would you be willing to do for us?"
"We can pay a handsome pr - - "
"We don't need tha money. We need a favor. What all do you know about the murders?"
"They were tortured," Bela says. She doesn't sound like she cares but Dean can tell the idea of torture, of ANYONE getting tortured, bothers her.
"They were. And not by a monster. It was a Hunter."
Dean freezes. "A Hunter?" he croaks. "There's a Hunter in the area?" Shit, what if it's Sam, what if Bobby is here, Jesus if it's Cas - -
The Boss gives him a curious look, but continues. "Yeah, a nasty one, and he's got it in his idea that we're up to something suspicious."
"Have you given him any excuse to believe so?" Bela asks him.
"No!" Carli interrupts. "We haven't done anything! We have no idea how he even found us!"
"Do you… do you know what he looks like?" Dean forces out. "Name?"
Dennis shoves him. "Like you. You all look the same to us, Hunter."
"He's not a Hunter!" Bela yells at him, losing it when she see the man push Dean. "We're antiquities dealers!"
"Is that some kind of code for something?" another person asks from the back.
Bela makes a frustrated sound and stomps her foot. "NO!"
"What's the guy look like?" Dean ignores that he's hit the floor. He needs to know.
The Boss is looking at him very strangely. "Tall fella," he says, and Dean makes a distressed noise. "Red hair…" Dean lets out a sigh of relief.
"Thank God," he mutters.
"We know why he's after us," the Boss says. "Why's he after you?"
"You first." Bela still looks pissed but still manages to pull off looking demanding and above them.
The man just stares at him. He seems to come to a decision after a minute. "I'll level with you, kids. We're skin walkers."
Dean mentally sorts through his father's journal. Skin walkers, if he recalls, aren't much of a danger to humans, though his dad tried his damnedest to make it seem so. They can transform into animals, most commonly dogs, but don't require blood to survive like vampires, don't eat human hearts like werewolves, don't don't suck the life out of you like changelings. The worst thing about them is that their bites are infectious. Otherwise, it's all enhanced smell and strength and pack mentality. Plus, the allergy to silver. No better or worse than a human.
"And we haven't done anything at all," Carli says.
"We got that," Bela snaps.
"What're you that you're so worried about the man in town?"
"We are antiquities dealers, like I said. Human."
"…Then why's your boyfriend down there hyperventilating?"
Bela shakes Carli off her and kneels next to Dean. "His family is in the Hunting business," she says, placing a comforting hand on Dean's back. "They weren't… happy that he turned away form the family calling. And he's not my boyfriend," she comes back.
The Boss grimaces. "Awkward family reunion?"
"They left me dead in a field."
The Boss snorts. "Okay. Well, you're a depressing couple. Back to the favor. I happen to have this 'fetish' - - "
Dean snorts again.
"And I'd be willing to trade it to you if you took care of our problem."
"Take care of, as in take care of?" Dean asks from the floor.
"Get rid of him. Don't care how ya do it. Lie to him, tell him we're gone, kill him, I don't care, just as long as he's gone."
"I know Hunters," Dean says. "He'll come back to check if you're gone."
"We have plans on leaving." He looks sad. "Had this place for years," the Boss says. "Be a shame leavin' it."
Yeah, Dean thinks. But you don't always get what you want.
Bela gets to her feet and pulls Dean with her. "Fetish - - shut up, Dean - - for a Hunter?" She holds out her hand. "Done."