A/N The brothers discover something about Meli's job that they do not approve of, something that could endanger her life. I tried to capture just a little of that teenage angst, but not too much. Ha!
Enjoy!
4: Assumptions
Twenty-seven hours later, Meli paced back and forth in front of a side door to City Hall. Anxiety was building in her that someone would come around the corner and find her lurking. And what would be her excuse? Oh, sorry, a couple of monster hunters impersonating law enforcement officers told me to wait back here for one of them to open the door so we can take a look at some old town records. Why? Because my life gets weirder by the hour!
She bit her lip and nudged the ground with the toe of her shoe. It felt like a year and a day had gone by before she heard the door clack open behind her, making her jump. Dean stood in the doorway, graphite grey suit jacket over his arm, nodding his head for her to slip inside, eyes darting around the back parking lot. Meli slid past him into the dim hallway lined with offices, gripping at the hem of her jacket. What the hell was she even doing here, what had she been thinking?
"Took you long enough" she complained.
"Can it." Dean said in a sharp whisper "Just be grateful we let you tag along."
She wanted to argue, but there wasn't much to say. Dean was right; he and Sam had been nice enough not to hijack her job from her in the first place and now they were taking an even bigger risk by letting her come with them now.
"Right," she muttered under her breath "thanks." She was surprised to find she meant it.
Dean led her up a few hallways and a flight of stairs to a room lined with filing cabinets. Sam was seated at an old computer, scrolling through pages of what looked like old newspaper articles. They stepped in and Dean made sure to close the blinds on the window that looked out into the hall.
Sam pulled a chair up next to him and said to Meli "Have a seat."
She did so and asked what he was looking at.
"Checking for the usual stuff. Deaths in the area, mostly, and branching out from there."
"Find anything?"
"Not yet," Sam looked at her sympathetically "there may not be anything to find."
Dean piped up impatiently "We don't have forever here, guys."
Sam hushed him with a glare, turning back to the screen.
Meli sighed, feeling hopelessness creep up on her. "That's fine, Sam. In that case, I'll figure something out."
They spent a little under an hour in that records room, only as much time as they felt that could risk, Sam and Meli at the computer looking for any articles that may have had even the slightest relevance, while Dean picked over a few choice files. Their search was fruitless, though Meli was amused to find out was a speedy reader Sam was. When she asked him where he'd learned to do that he replied with "Law school prep."
Near the end of the hour Sam gave a sigh as he reached the end of yet more search results.
"Is that really the last of them?" Meli asked.
"Afraid so, sorry."
Meli tried to put on a smile despite the weight that settled in her.
Dean crossed to the window and peered out through the blinds. "If that's it," he said, hitching a thumb to the door "we'd better not push our luck."
"Yeah," Meli consented "let's bail."
When Meli stepped out of the Impala in the hotel lot, her mind unconsciously began compiling a list of things she would need to draw out the ginger haired man at the empty tenement. She tried not to worry just yet about whether she could afford them. Was there such a thing as an economy séance?
She brought the brothers up to her room. There were things scattered everywhere, it was hard to tell where one object ended and the next began. Books lay open on every surface, clothes were strewn about— most needing to be washed, and half burned ritual candles sat abandoned on the small table.
"Sorry it didn't pan out." Sam said, sounding like he just wanted to say something nice to her. It was sweet of him, but there wasn't any need to baby her.
"No worries, I've done more than a simple cross-over with less to go on." Saying this reassured Meli, like she had reaffirmed to herself that she was capable.
"More of what, exactly?" Dean asked, crossing his arms, once again wearing a face of disapproval.
Meli hesitated, feeling a flutter "Nothing, really" she lied casually. "It's just that not every job is as simple as this one."
Something about Dean's expression changed from disapproving to angry. "What kind of crap have you been getting yourself into, kid?"
Sam seemed equally curious, and he showed it by not reining his brother in when he snapped at her.
"Do I actually have to explain angry spirits to a couple of seasoned hunters?" Meli asked sarcastically.
"Possessions." They stated the word flatly and in sync.
"Well," Meli tried to choose her words carefully "yeah."
"You've been messing with evil entities?" Sam didn't so much ask as tell her out right. A note in his voice betrayed his unhappiness at the idea. But what did it matter?
"I can pull them out of people, I've done it a few times."
"Son of a bitch." Dean jammed his hands into his pockets. "That's why you keep runnin' in to hunters."
"So," Sam said, seeming to grasp the whole reality "that's the full extent of what you do."
"Yep." Meli felt a spark of pride at the word.
"Well you need to stop, now." Dean didn't so much warn as threaten.
Meli laughed a little at him. "Why?"
"Because the more you do this, the more hunters are gonna show up in your life, and they— we bring nothing but trouble."
Meli would have had to have been completely without her senses not to notice the plea in every inch of him. It was the first time she'd seen anything other than sourness on his face.
Sam spoke up from where he still stood by the door. "What he means is that where hunters go, monsters follow. You could get hurt. Or someone could decide that your abilities are a threat. Most hunters wouldn't hesitate to shoot a kid."
Meli got the feeling she wasn't fully understanding their meaning despite the warnings. "I can do something that not many —if any— other people can, for people that the rest of the world, including you hunters, have written off."
"This crusade isn't worth your life," Dean pressed "trust me."
Meli scoffed bitterly "What the hell do you know about my life?"
"What's there to know? You're just another spoiled kid from the suburbs."
"Dean, come one…" Sam stepped in.
"Somebody has to say it." He glared at Meli, green eyes burning. "You ran away from your family, for some probably stupid reason, and now you're risking your life to prove something. You say things like you don't know me, but I got a pretty good idea, kid. I'm telling you, drop this."
"You don't know crap about me, Dean." She mentally kicked herself when she felt tears prick her eyes, her mind wandering to things she'd rather not have remembered just then. "You can go to hell."
Dean looked like he wanted to say something but quickly shut his mouth when a single, traitorous tear slid down Meli's face.
"Thanks for your help, boys," she said, forcing a smile she didn't feel "I got it from here. It was nice to meet you, but I think you should go."
Dean threw his hands up and strode out of the hotel room, shoving past Sam and letting the door slam behind him. Sam looked back apologetically at Meli before pursuing his brother.
"Stupid Winchesters," Meli spat through clenched teeth "you can both go to hell!"
Insulted and feeling more than a little pathetic— and yes, even a little misunderstood, she let stubborn tears drip down her cheeks. She heard a voice carrying from the front parking lot down below and stumbled to throw the window open to listen.
"Dean, come on!" Sam persisted to his brother, blocking him from getting into the Impala's driver's seat. Meli could suddenly see all of the douchey pretense in driving a car like that. Hey, guess who just wants attention!
"Forget it," Dean replied, shouting though he probably didn't mean to. "If that stupid kid wants to get herself killed, why should we stick around to watch it happen?"
"We've seen young hunters before, and Meli doesn't even want to be a hunter. She just wants to help who she can."
"Well," Dean droned sarcastically "good luck to her!" He knocked Sam aside with his shoulder and stooped into the car.
Sam gave a deep, exasperated sign and began walking the opposite way as Dean drove off, probably on his way to the tenement— though Meli couldn't care just then. Frustrated and a little tired, she flopped onto the stiff couch and closed her eyes— she just needed to rest for a moment.
A/NWhy is Dean being so difficult?Next time we'll discover the real reason Meli is on her own, and maybe Sam can help us see things from his brother's perspective.