Lex lays in bed, eyes wide open.
She can't sleep. All she can do is think about the kiss…
Each time it replays in her head, her stomach flops. She is full of nervous energy.
Since sleeping seems futile, she decides to read some more. She props herself up against her headboard, and pulls out one of the books in her new reading list.
Before she can begin, she is hit with a terrible stomach pain.
"Aughhh" she groans, and leans forward into her knees. She rushes to the bathroom, and what she finds causes her to nearly pass out.
She composes herself and darts down the hallway to Sam's room, which is the closest to hers. She knocks softly, trying not to freak out.
"Samuel!" She says.
Sam swings open the door, eyes half closed.
"Something's wrong!" Lex says, her eyes welling up with tears.
"What happened?" Sam asks, lowering his head to try and see her face.
"My stomach hurts really bad, worse than when then Yokai cut it, and... I'm bleeding..."
"Where are you bleeding?" Sam asks alarmed.
Lex stands on her tippy toes, and whispers into his ear.
His eyes widen, "Oh shit..." He says.
"What's wrong with me?" She cries.
"Nothing!" Sam stutters. "It's normal...for girls to...ummm...You wait here, he says, I have to go to the store to get you some…things... I'll be right back." He darts out the door, leaving a confused Lex standing in the hallway.
Sam arrives at the local Wally World; thanking his lucky stars they are open 24 hours. His first stop is in the book isle. He scours the shelves, until he finds the book he is looking for. It has a bright flowery cover, and is titled, 'THE BEAUTY OF WOMANHOOD'. He makes a face, as he tosses it into his basket. Next he hits the drug isle, and grabs a bottle of Midol. Finally he sighs deeply, and braves the hygiene isle. He looks at all the options, and finally decides to buy several different types, just to be safe.
He trudges to the checkout, and piles his items on the converter belt, head hung low.
A brightly dressed middle-aged woman rings the purchase up. "Ohhhh" she says loudly, examining the book cover. "Someone's little girl is becoming a woman."
Sam's face turns blood red. "Uh...something like that..."
He leaves the store as quickly as possible, and flies back to the bunker.
'Poor Lex...' he thinks.
When he makes it back inside, he locates Lex lying in bed, on her side, curled in the fetal position.
"Lex? You ok?" He says carefully.
"Nooooo." she groans.
"Here..." He hands her a glass of water and two Midol. "Take these, you'll feel a lot better. And read this book. It'll explain what is happening. And ummm... There are instructions in these boxes... Pick one and... I don't know what else to tell you..." He says, rubbing his hands through his shaggy hair, bewildered.
He sits on the edge of the bed, as Lex reads. He looks over several times, and chuckles silently at the various facial expressions she makes.
Finally she sits up, and closes the book. "Ok, I think I understand. I just have one question."
"What?" Sam asks hesitantly.
"HOW THE DO PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH THIS?!" She wails.
"Shhhhh!" Sam says placing his hand over her mouth. "Under no circumstances are we do discuss this with Dean. He would never let me live down tampon shopping..."
"Tampons..." Lex repeats, looking forlornly at the five boxes of assorted lady products...
She picks up the first box she sees, and trails into the bathroom. Sam sits nervously on the bed, waiting for her to re-appear. After several painstakingly awkward minutes, Lex comes back out of the bathroom.
"Ok...I think I've got this."
Sam sighs with relief. "Good. Let's never speak of this again."
"Thanks Sam. You are a good friend."
...
Morning finally comes, and Lex lies in bed, sleeping peacefully. After the long nights ordeal, she is out like a light.
Sam is passed out in her armchair.
He kept her company through the rest of the night, and ended up falling asleep as they discussed different types of spirits, and how to kill them.
Dean gets up and wonders through the hallway, still half asleep.
The kiss last night had been so powerful for him; it is all he can think about.
As he saunters down the hallway, he see's that Lex's door is open, and he can't resist.
He pokes his head in, and see's her, laying on her stomach, one of her bare legs hanging over the side of the bed. He opens the door wider, and see's Sam.
He stands there for a moment, staring at them incredulously.
Seriously?
She had just let him kiss her, and now she is sharing a room with Sam?
'They're not in the same bed....' he has to remind himself. 'Besides, she doesn't belong to you.'
He takes a deep breath, and turns to drift toward the living room. He sits on the couch, and gets lost in his own mind.
'I don't own her.' He thinks. 'I don't think I should… she is so… innocent. She has no experience with being human. The kiss was wonderful… but that's all it should be. Just a kiss. It would be so unfair of me to allow this to progress. I'm not a good person. Not really… she deserves better.'
He sighs, and resigns himself to watching TV.
Lex wonders into the room in a cotton shirt and blue jeans, her hair hanging long and wavy past her waist; and Dean's entire being questions his decision.
She passes through, and heads into the kitchen. He hears clattering, and disgruntled mumbling. He gets up and pokes his head in the kitchen door to see what the commotion is about.
"Lex? Everything ok?"
She is digging through the cabinets wildly, "I NEED SOMETHING SWEET." she cries.
"I don't think we have anything, we haven't been grocery shopping in a while…"
"Can we go get something? PLEASE?" She asks desperately.
"Sure?" he says confusedly.
Dean tries not to stare at her as they drive, but her long hair whipping in the wind is very distracting. He shakes his head, and looks out the windshield.
When they arrive at a nearby store, Lex darts inside, and Dean follows. They wonder into the baked goods isle, and Dean b-lines for the pie. He stocks up the cart with apple and cherry, as Lex stares at a shelf of assorted cakes and cookies.
"I don't know what I want." She says forlornly.
"Pie?" Dean grins, and raises his eyebrows.
"I've never had it. Is it good?"
"Is pie good? Seriously? Is the sky blue?"
"Sometimes…" She replies matter-of-factly.
"Yes." Dean sighs, "Pie is good."
"Ok then, pie it is." She grins, and walks toward checkout.
Once they arrive back at the bunker, Dean places the pie on the table, as Lex pulls out two plates.
Dean scoops a piece of cherry onto Lex's plate, and hands her a fork. He watches her face as she takes the first bite. Her eyes light up, as she swallows. "You were right. Pie is the best thing ever." She grins.
"Told you." Dean smiles back.
Suddenly Lex's fork drops on her plate with a loud clatter. She stares blankly through Dean.
"Lex?" Dean says, waving his hand before her face.
"I have to go. I am needed." Alexandros replies. She stands, and disappears.
"Dean?" Sam walks into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. "Where'd Lex go?"
"Angel hunt I guess. I'll send Cas after her." Dean sighs, picking up his cell.
As they wait for Lex and Cas to return, Dean and Sam skim through the news.
Several stories of varying relevance pass by, but nothing that grabs their attention, until:
"The eleven year old boy held for questioning in the drowning death of his five year old sister is undergoing mental evaluation, as he maintains the child was drowned by a horse."
Sam and Dean sit up at the same time. "Kelpie."
Cas pops back in the room with Lex in tow.
"Hey, we got a case, you in?" Sam says.
"Not me. I have business to attend to." Cas explains, and vanishes.
"Of course I'm in." Lex smiles.
They head out five minutes later. Sam stretches out in the back seat, and Lex sits in the passengers. Dean hits the gas, spinning out onto the highway.
"A kelpie is a water spirit, Celtic in origin. It appears as a horse, and it's irresistible to mount when it calls you. Once its victim does mount it, however, the person is dragged to whatever body of water the kelpie originated from, and is drowned." Sam explains the hunt to Lex.
"So you think that little girl was drowned by a kelpie? That's awful. Let's kill it...how exactly does one kill it?" She says, all in one breath.
"You have to bridle it, then it becomes mortal, and you can kill it." Dean says.
"That doesn't sound so hard..." Lex observes.
"It is. Our dad nearly drowned once on a kelpie case. If Bobby hadn't been there to help out..." Sam trails off.
"Point is kelpies are way more dangerous then they look." Dean sums up.
When they arrive at the police station Sam heads inside for autopsy reports on the little girl, while Lex and Dean wait in the car.
"What do you think will happen to the little girls brother?" Lex asks worriedly.
"Years of therapy, which is what he probably needs." Dean says.
"Can we talk about last night?" Lex says suddenly, which takes Dean off guard.
"Last night? Uh, yeah...sure."
"You… you kissed me?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was a heat of the moment type thing... It never should have happened." He says.
"Oh, ok." Lex replies softly, and drops the subject.
Sam climbs back into the car, and they head for a local Tack and Gear shop. Dean goes in this time, and comes out with a black bridle. He tosses it in Baby's trunk, and hops back in.
"Let's do this." He says.
They drive to the lake where the small girl was drowned. While Dean starts a fire, Lex unpacks the tents. She looks at the mess in frustration, before finally yielding the task of setup to Sam.
"So how do we find the kelpie?" Lex asks.
"Our best bet is to keep watch, and wait here. It took dad almost a month to find it." Sam explains.
"Well I'll take first watch. I'm not even a little tired." Lex offers. "You two get some sleep."
Sam smiles at her gratefully, and the boys crawl into their tents.
Lex circles the camp a couple of times, and finally settles on a stump near the waters edge. She looks into the reflective surface, and see's her own face looking back.
She contemplates her conversation with Dean. Although she wasn't sure what the meaning behind the kiss had been in the first place, Dean's apology makes her sad.
As she stares into the water, a white horse makes it's way onto the rise behind their encampment.
"Alexandros" she hears her name, causing he attention to snap to the horse. "Come to me. I can show you the meaning."
Lex looked at the horse wide eyed. It is not speaking, but she can hear it's words. Her desire to mount it is very strong indeed.
She walks toward it palms forward.
She speaks loudly, "It's really rude of you to try and use my confusion to kill me." She points out.
She looks over toward the tent, and see's the boys moving shadows. They are awake. She sighs, and stops trying to fight the urge to walk toward the horse.
It comes toward her as well, meeting her halfway.
The kelpie kneels, and Lex jumps on. As soon as her body makes contact with it, she is aware that nothing in the world could tear her off of it's back. This was it. She was in this one for the long haul.
'At least I don't have to worry about falling off' she thinks sardonically.
"DEAN THE BRIDLE!" She shouts, as the Kelpie picks up pace, heading straight for the lake. Dean rolls out of the tent just in time to fling the bridal full force. Lex catches it, and leans forward, reaching for the horse's mane. It cranes its neck, causing her to have to inch forward, until she is practically straddling its shoulders. She grabs its bangs, and pulls as hard as she can. The horse's head turns, causing it to veer from the lake. She tosses the bridal over the horses face, and sticks her hands in its jaws, just behind its teeth. She applies pressure, and the kelpie's mouth is forced open. She nearly gets the bits in, when the kelpie rears with all it's might, causing Lex to slide back out of reach. The bridle falls to the ground, useless to her now.
The kelpie picks up renewed speed, heading for the water again. Lex inhales just before the creature plunges into the icy depths.
As soon as the beast makes contact with the lake water, it's appearance shifts. It becomes skeletally thin, and covered in scales. It's back legs turn to an elongated tail, and it's face sinks in.
Lex begins to lose consciousness.
The last thing she see's is Dean swimming toward them, bridal in hand.
Dean reaches Lex and the kelpie, and grabs onto the creatures slimy main, risking his own life, as he is now bound to the creature as well. He secures the beasts head between his chest and his arm, and begins to force the bridle into it's teeth. He manages to strap the bridle in place, and the kelpie turns back into a horse. It shoots toward the surface, desperate for air. Lex slides off it's back, and is left floating freely. Dean grabs her under her arms, and swims up with all his might. When they break the surface Dean is greeted with the sound of Sam unloading a clip into the beast.
Once he reaches land, Dean lays Lex on her back, and begins to administer CPR frantically.
Finally Lex coughs up water, and rolls onto her side.
Dean sits her up, anger blazing in his eyes. "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!" He cries. "You could have been killed! Why did you mount it?!"
"I didn't want it to get away." Lex says, her amber eyes swimming with tears.
"We would have found it again! It's not worth risking your life over!" He yells.
"I didn't want anyone else to die..." She says softly.
"Except yourself apparently!" He retorts.
"Dean, give her a break. She was trying to do the right thing." Sam interjects, annoyed at his brother for being so harsh.
Dean stops, and looks at Lex's downtrodden face. "I'm sorry." He says, and pulls her into a hug. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."
They pack up their campsite, and head back to the bunker. This time Lex sits in the back, and stares out the window silently.
Dean catches himself look back at her through the rearview more times than he would like to admit.
They reach the bunker, and disburse to their rooms.
Lex lies in bed, and thinks about her near death experience. She thinks about Dean swimming toward her, and she falls asleep, welcoming him into her dreams.