8
Sometime in the morning Dean woke me up gently and took over on driving. I stayed in the back as they both playfully pestered me about any more dreams. We arrived at the address given to us.
We all got out. Sam leading the way. "Hey. Come on." He said urging us faster as he pointed at someone, probably Chuck.
The guy was pacing in front of the steps of the hotel we arrived at.
"Chuck!" Sam said. "There you are."
The guy turned, and while he clearly recognized the guys he looked confused. "Guys?" Then he eyed me, my hand clasped in Dean's, our fingers laced together. "And very pretty woman I have never met… Hi, I'm Chuck." He held his hand out toward me and I shook it.
"I'm Dee." I said politely.
He smiled yearningly at me. "She's with me. So, what's going on?" Dean asked.
"Ah, nothing. You know, just kinda hanging. What are you guys doing here?" Chuck asked.
"You told us to come." Dean said with a hint of irritation.
"Ah, no I didn't."
"Yeah you did, you texted me. This address, life or death situation. Any of this ringing a bell?" Sam added.
"I didn't send you a text." Chuck replied, confused.
"We drove all night!" Dean snapped.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what could… oh no." Chuck said, digging in his pocket.
"What?" Dean asked stepping forward slightly.
We all turn as a woman on the stairs squeals. "Sam! You made it!"
"Oh, ah, Becky, right?" Sam asked.
The woman ran down, "Oh you remembered." She lowered her voice slightly, "You been thinking about me."
"I-..." Sam froze.
"It's ok. I can't get you out of my head either." Becky replied with a smile.
Dean and I chuckled and Sam looked at us for help, but we shrugged.
"Becky, did you take my phone?" Chuck asked turning toward her.
"I just borrowed it from your pants." She replied with a wave of her hand.
"Becky…" Chuck chastised, but not very well.
"What? They're going to want to see it!" Becky said excitedly.
"See what?" Sam and Dean asked together.
"Oh my God! I love it when they talk at the same time!" Then she caught sight of me and her smile faltered a little. "Who's she?"
"Uh, Dean's girlfriend, I guess." Chuck answered.
A guy with a clipboard walked down the stairs, "Hey Chuck?" Chuck nodded. "Come on pal, it's showtime." He turned around and head away.
Becky flashed me a quick glance and ran excitedly up the stairs.
Chuck turned to us, "Guys. I'm sorry. For everything." Then he turned around and headed back up the stairs.
Sam and Dean exchanged confused looks as Dean's hand flexed around mine getting a better grip as we followed Chuck up the stairs.
We entered the hotels foyer and I was dumbstruck. Sam, Dean and I looked around. There were so many people running around, most in similar clothes to what Sam and Dean were currently wearing.
A large man walked passed us with a stein of beer over one shoulder. "Ha-ha-ha. Hey Dean, looking good."
Dean pulled me closer to him, "Who the hell are you?"
The guy turned around as he was walking away. He too, wore similar clothes to Dean. "I'm Dean too. Duh!"
Dean turned to look at Sam, on my other side and jumped. I glanced up and behind Sam was a scarecrow…? Obviously a guy in a costume… Dear God! I knew where we were!
Sam turned to look at what made Dean jump and ended up jumping himself, "Uh-oh! It's Sam and Dean. I'm in trouble now." The guy in the costume said playfully. "Have fun you two. Aaaaah!" He wiggled his fake scythe in Sam's face and walked away.
Becky and I giggled at the same time.
Dean looked down at me and glanced quickly at Becky. "What?"
"Becky, what is this?" Sam asked.
"My guess, it's a convention." I said softly.
"It's awesome! A Supernatural Convention, the first ever!" Becky said.
Sam's face fell into a very unhappy stern glare. Dean leaned down toward me, "A what?"
"Think Comic-Con, but just for fans of Chuck's books… or you and Sam." I said with a chuckle.
We followed where we were directed to. It ended up being the hotel's auditorium. It wasn't huge, but looking around and seeing people either dressed as monsters or Dean and Sam was strange.
The Convention Manager got on stage as the crowd sat. We stayed standing in the back, Becky a constant shadow by Sam. "Welcome to the first annual Supernatural Convention. At 3:45 in the Magnolia room we have the panel, 'Frightened little boy, the secret of Dean.'" I had to stifle a laugh. "And as 4:30 there's the 'Homoerotic Subtext of Supernatural." I almost lost it, but managed to keep it under control.
I glanced up and saw that Dean looked shocked, his eyebrows were raised nearly to his hairline. I glanced over at Sam and his brows were furrowed, clearly not looking forward to the panels. I giggled to myself.
"Oh, and of course the big hunt starts at 7pm sharp." The manager paused for applause from the audience. "But right now, right now I'd like to introduce the man himself. The creator, the writer of the supernatural books. The one, the only, Carver Edlund!"
Chuck walked on stage shyly as applause erupted. "Ok," A bit of feedback on the mic. "Ok good, this isn't nearly as awkward as I…" He cleared his throat a couple of times. "Dry mouth."
Chuck gets a drink of water while the room waits in silence. "Ok. Uh...Ahem. So I guess… questions?"
I see every hand around us shoot up. Chuck looked startled, he wasn't expecting that. "Uh… you?" he pointed to a skinny man in the front row.
The man leapt up, "Hey, Mr. Edlund. Uh… big fan. I was just wondering, where'd you come up with Sam and Dean in the first place?"
Chuck glanced back at the real Sam and Dean, and I felt Dean tense beside me in anticipation for the answer. "Oh, ah, I… it just came to me."
The tension in Dean didn't relax, Dean didn't like the answer.
Hands shot up again. "Ok. Yeah. The hook man." Chuck said.
The hook man, which was a guy in a costume with a hook hand, stood up. He had a heavy German accent when he spoke. "Ah, yeah. Why in every fight scene, Sam and Dean are having their gun knocked away by the bad guy? Why don't they keep it on some kind of bungee?"
Sam tilted his head in interest. I glanced at Dean, who just looked really angry.
I just shook my head and tugged Sam's arm and he glanced down at me, seeing me shake my head. A bungee cord on a gun has so many problems with it.
"I… yeah. I really don't know." Chuck replied.
"Ja, follow up. Why can't Sam and Dean be telling that Ruby is evil? I mean she is clearly manipulating Sam into some kind of moral lapse. It's obvious, nein?" The hook man added.
I reached my hand up to Sam's arm, placing my finger's on the inside of his elbow. He glanced down at me quickly, bending his arm, to hold my hand… an invite to keep my hand there. Maybe he needed me to ground him? I left my hand there gently.
Becky was walking down the aisles towards the Hook man. "Hey! If you don't like the books don't read 'em Fritz!" She yelled.
"Ok, ok, just… okay. It's okay. So, next question." Chuck said and hands shot up. "yeah, you."
Someone stood up, "yeah, at the end of the last book, Dean goes to hell. So, what happens next?"
"Oh. Well there lies an announcement, actually. You're all going to find out." He glanced up at Dean and Sam. "Thanks to a wealthy Scandinavian Investor, we're going to start publishing again."
The whole room erupted into cheers, Becky's being the loudest. Dean pulled me out of the auditorium and I tugged Sam along with me, my hand sliding down into his as he followed us.
Dean let my hand go as he walked slightly faster. Sam put his hand on the small of my back as we walked after him.
"So, we're here because Becky has a huge crush on Sam and she wanted to piss you both off?" I asked glancing between their stone faces as Dean turned around and looked at Sam.
"Becky? She's just crazy. Why we're here… not the issue. Why he's publishing more books…? That's what I wanna know." Dean said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Alright, then we wait until after Q&A and find him and ask him." I replied.
Dean nodded, "Alright. Why aren't you asking any questions?"
Now it was my turn to look confused, "Why?"
"About me having been in Hell, or who Ruby is… don't think we told you those details." Dean said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"When you wanna tell me you'll tell me. I've never been one to pry into someone's past. People tell you when they're ready to tell you." I shrugged, "Or in our case if it's ever relevant to something we're currently doing." Then I paused. "Wait, what Chuck writes all of it… how does he know? Clearly you're not telling him, which was my first guess, but it doesn't exactly seem like you would willing tell someone like him everything."
"Oh, yeah, he get's dreams or vision of what we do. Blessed by an angel or some crap like that." Dean added. "You think we told him? Hell no."
"Alright, so, why's he using it this way?"
"Beats us." Dean said, "But we'll ask him."
"Well, when you guys are done with this convention and talking to Chuck, I'm totally saying we go for a hotel and sleep in a bed… preferably not this hotel, just saying." I offered.
"Good idea." Dean said. "Let's go get a coffee while we wait for that to end."
We headed outside and walked a few blocks until we found a coffee stand. Then we headed back toward the hotel stopping off at the impala only to find it in a row with more impalas, all similar, but not the same beauty of Dean's. How had we not noticed that before?
I had left my jacket in the car and decided to grab it, even though both Sam and Dean had offered me theirs. They started to head back inside, but I hung back.
Dean stopped and looked back, "Come on, we need to talk to Chuck."
I shook my head, "You go on. I'll wait in the car."
Dean paused a moment and then shook his head, "Nope, if I have to go back in there, you're going with me!" He walked back toward me and wrapped his arm around my waist.
While his contact made my body tingle, I really didn't want to go back in there, it was weird. "Do I have to? It's a bit strange to be surrounded by a ton of Winchester Wannabes."
Dean and Sam chuckled, "And how do you think we feel?" Sam added.
I sighed, "Valid point." I started walking with them. Dean kept his arm around my waist and I looped my arm under and around him. My coffee in my other hand with my jacket draped over my arm.
It was starting to get dark as we entered the hotel. We ended up waiting and looking around for a while before they finally spotted him at the hotel's bar.
"There." Dean pointed.
"You guys go. I'll just wait over here." I said pointing to a bench behind a column.
"Alright," Dean leaned in and kissed me quickly before letting my hand go and walking away with Sam.
I sat down on the bench and next to me was a paper of the center's events, including a 7pm hunt with further directions. Apparently, the hunt was a live action role playing game. Meaning, around 7 things were going to get interesting. I looked at my watch, I had about five minutes.
I leaned back and sighed, wanting the night to be over. Everywhere I turned there were look a likes and it made my stomach twist strangely. I closed my eyes.
Only startled by the scream until I looked at my watch. And it begins, I thought.
Sam and Dean came running around. "Dee? You alright?" Dean asked with concern, his hand brushing my cheek.
I was a bit flattered that their first thought was of me. I nodded. And before I could say anything they were taking off, up the stairs toward the staged scream.
I waited and crossed my arms. Then I moved back to the bench. Eventually, the guys returned, both looking irritated and borderlining on pissed.
They headed past me as I stood up. I moved to walk between them. Looping my arms through one of each of theirs. "So, I totally vote for drinks!" I skipped ahead and turned around as I walked. "So, when you two are done getting your dose of…" I spun my finger in the air. "All of this. I'll be inside at the bar."
I skipped back through them and headed back inside straight to the bar. They wanted to check something else out, I wasn't interested.
I order a shot of whiskey, then another and finally a glass of whiskey on the rocks. Within five minutes I had six other drinks in front of me all from other guys around the bar… dressed as Sam or Dean. But hey, free drinks. I smiled my innocent cuteness and thanked them. And since none of them were bold enough, they didn't come over to me.
A few minutes later Sam and Dean slipped in on either side of me. Dean taking my glass of whiskey and downing it, and Sam taking my beer. I grabbed another glass of whiskey from the line of them in front of me.
Dean pointed to my drinks, "Are you trying to get drunk really fast?"
I nodded, "Yes, but I didn't order those, your fellow Winchesters around the bar did." I smiled sweetly at him.
He chuckled and put his hand on my leg. "How many drink have you had?"
"Not enough." I smiled at him, "I'm kinda hoping that if I get drunk enough the other Winchesters will disappear and I'll be left with just the original." I leaned toward him and kissed him.
He made a noise that almost sounded like a growl, "I like the way you think."
Dean and I both turned as someone started shouting, "For the last time I'm not making this up, ok? She's upstairs, a real live dead ghost." A guy named Alex said, I knew his name because I could hear his friend saying it.
The three of us all got up together and walked over.
Alex's friend was trying to calm him down, "I'm sure it was just one of the ghost actors."
"Who beat the hell out of me and then vanished?" Alex added.
"You saw something?" Sam asked.
Alex turned to Sam, "This isn't part of the game jerk." Then turned back to his friend, "Look, I'm getting out of here and you should do the same." He walked away.
His friend chased after him.
Sam turned to Dean and I, "What do you think?"
"I don't think that guy's a good enough actor to be acting." Dean replied.
"Yeah, he looked genuinely frightened, definitely not acting." I agreed. "And I have a degree in Psychology, so I'm trained to know when someone's faking or lying, even acting."
Dean pointed at me, "Valid point." He took my hand and we headed toward the hotel manager, passing the acting manager for the LARPing.
"Excuse us, mind if we ask you a few questions?" Dean asked.
"Look. I don't have time to play Star Wars guys. Go ask the guy in the ascot." He didn't even look up.
I pulled a fifty out of my back pocket and slid it across the counter, "Actually we… really need to talk to you."
The manager looked up, not expecting a woman to be standing there. "Ok." he shrugged. "You guys are really into this."
"You have no idea." Sam said a bit sarcastically.
"What do you want to know?"
"All this stuff they're saying. This place being haunted. Leticia Gore. Any truth to it?" Sam asked.
Dean had his hand in one of my back pockets- now empty as the rest of my cash was in the car- as we stood there. The combination of the alcohol and the rush of of his touch made me almost dizzy.
"We generally don't like to publicise this to… normal people… but yeah. 1909 this place was called 'Gore Orphanage' Miss Gore, killed four boys with a butcher's knife, then offed herself." The manager said.
"And is tonight really her anniversary?" Dean asked.
"Yep, guess your convention folks want authenticity."
"There been any sightings?" Sam asked.
"Yep, over the years. A few maids quit saying they heard boys or saw them. A janitor even saw Miss Gore once."
"Where did Miss Gore carve up the kids?" Dean asked.
"Look, I don't want you stomping all over the joint. A lot of this place is off limits to nerds."
Dean took a fifty out of his wallet and slid it across. "The attic." The manager said softly.
We went back to the impala and got supplies. Dean handed me a flashlight and another one to Sam, he took a flashlight and an EMF reader for himself.
"Alright, let's go." He closed the trunk and turned to me, "You stay close to us, alright?"
I gave him a mock salute, "No problem there, never been a fan of attics or basements."
"You can stay here if you want." Dean offered, but I shook my head. "You sure?"
"Yeah, said didn't like attics or basements, never said I was too scared to go."
"But it's an attic that's haunted." Sam added.
"Yeah, thanks for that helpful encouragement, Sam!" I said playfully smacking him. "I'm fine, let's go. I had plenty of liquid courage." I smiled.
Dean chuckled.
We quickly found the attic and crawled our way through the small opening. Once in, we turned the flashlights on. Sam had the EMF and it was going off.
"EMF's going nuts." Sam said.
"Great. We got a real ghost, and we got a bunch of dudes pretending to be us poking at it." Dean replied as he reached for my hand and tugged me gently towards him as we searched.
"No way this ends well." Sam said.
"Yeah, well, serves them right." Dean shrugged.
"Dean…" Sam and I both said together.
"I'm just saying." He added.
We continued to look, shining the flashlights in every corner looking for remains. We took it slow making sure we didn't miss anything.
"My mommy loves me." A little boy's voice said from behind us.
I jumped and spun around, my pulse quickening. Dean pulled my hand gently and stepped around me, positioning me behind him and Sam. Even Sam has an arm protectively nearby.
"I said my mommy loves me." the boy repeats. He's crouched down holding his head. And something tells me I don't want him letting go of his head.
"I'm sure she does." Sam said softly.
"My mommy loves me this much!" He moved his hands, revealing that his scalp had been partially removed, then he disappeared.
My stomach flipped, and threatened to empty its contents. We quickly got t work looking around, but came up with nothing.
After a while Dean wrapped an arm around me and ushered me toward the small area we had crawled through. "Come on. Let's get out of here. Clearly, the remains are not here.
We headed back downstairs to the bar. Sam said he would make a few calls.
I ordered some water and sat with my back facing Sam as he paced. Dean had his hand on my leg. "You alright?" he asked softly.
I nodded, "A little queasy, but good." I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. He kissed my head. "You?" I asked him.
"We'll just figure out this ghost and then hightail it outta here. And then I'll be fine." Dean said before kissing my head again.
Sam returned a few moments later, "Alright. So that was a guy with the County Historical Society."
"And…?" Dean added when Sam didn't continue.
"Not only did Leticia Gore butcher four boys, but one of them was her own son."
I sat up "Oh God! That's… "
"Her son." Dean said in almost a growl.
"Yeah. According to the police at the time, she scalped the kid." Sam added.
"Oh that's it. I'm gonna deep fry this bitch extra crispy. Dude say where she was buried?" Dean was standing up now.
Sam shook his head, "He doesn't know."
Dean and Sam eavesdrop on a couple of LARP players. I had no idea why, but I didn't bother to join them. I sipped my water, until I heard Sam.
"It's real." Sam said and I got up to finally join them. "A century old, at least, and he's right, there is a cemetery on the grounds."
Dean turned to one of the guys, "Where'd you get that?" I stood behind him.
"It's called a game pal. It ain't called charity." He said rudely.
"Yeah right. Gimme the map, Chuckles." Dean said.
"Yeah well you're the Chuckles, Chuckles. Besides, Dean don't listen to nobody." He said, pulling back his jacket to reveal a plastic gun.
I busted out laughing as Dean rolled his eyes. A moment later Dean was reaching for his own gun.
I placed my hand on his as I stepped forward and Sam hissed through his teeth, "Dean!"
"What! They're freakin' annoying." Dean said in defense putting the gun away and wrapping an arm around my waist.
Sam shook his head, "Look guys. We all wanna find the bones, right? We just thought… it would go faster if we worked together."
"Ahem. We… ah… we get the sizzler gift card." One of them said.
Dean rolled his eyes, "Fine."
"And we get to be Sam and Dean." The other guy said.
I laughed again as Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "Fine." Dean said.
"Alright, then who does that make me?" I asked, looking at Dean. "Because I'd much rather play myself…" I smirked, trying not too go to far with my playfulness.
The one mimicking as Dean stood up, "Who are you?"
Dean tensed, "My girl, now back off."
"Wait, I'm playing Dean, so that makes her my girl now, right?"He held a hand out to me. He was playing a bold move and it did not work to his benefit.
Dean clenched his teeth and moved me back a little as he stepped forward, "She's my girl, in case you didn't hear it the first time."
"Yeah, I'd back off the girl or you won't be getting the gift card." Sam added.
I rolled my eyes as we followed the two nerds out. I held Dean's had as we followed them around the hotel as they took a path.
"Hey, Rufus, Bobby, would you hurry it up?" Mock Dean said.
"Are you alright?" Sam asked Dean.
Dean didn't look too pleased. I wrapped my other hand around his arm and leaned my head against his shoulder, "I'm trying to be."
The two mock brother's started talking. I realized I had taken my jacket off at the bar and left it there. I went to get it real quick, Dean understood when he looked at me and nodded.
When I returned, Dean was standing there, looking very angry before he exploded, "I'm not Bobby, ok? You're not Sam. You're not Dean. What is wrong with you? Why in the hell would you choose to be these guys?"
"Because we're fans. Like you." The mock Sam said.
"No. I am not, ok. Not fans. In fact, I think that the Dean and Sam story sucks. It is not fun. It is not entertaining. It is a river of crap that would send most people howling to the the nut house. So you listen to me. Their pain is not for your amusement. I mean do you think they enjoy being treated like… like circus freaks?" Dean glared.
"Uh… I don't think they care, because they're fictional characters." Mock Dean said.
"Oh they care. Believe me. They care a lot." Dean said before storming off ahead.
I slipped the jacket on and ran after him. I grabbed his arm as we rounded a bush and he pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. It startled me so much that I almost couldn't stand, thankfully his arm was around my waist tightly. After a few moments of his lips and tongue dancing with mine he pulled away.
"Come on. Let's get this night over with." He finally said softly.
"Are you alright?"
He glanced at me, and I knew that he wasn't. He kept his arm around my waist as we continued down the path. Still ahead of the others.
"Dean?" I asked softly.
"What, love?" He turned toward me.
"That this is happening. I get why you feel so angry about it. They're not exactly making fun of you two, but they don't realize that the stories and the events… they don't know that they're real. They just think it's fiction. If they knew it were real, I doubt there'd be many fans."
"You didn't do this. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you're here with us. Kinda keeping us grounded."
We stopped walking as I pulled him toward me and brushed my fingers down his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned toward me with a deep breath. "Let's get this night over with."
I nodded and we continued on. He kept his arm around me as we walked until we found what was the cemetery.
The other's joined us. "I found the boys." Dean said shining his flashlight on the gravestones.
"And here's Leticia Gore." Sam added pointing his light at her gravestone.
Dean and I turned as the mock Sam and Dean started digging through the bushes. "Ah… what are you guys doing?" Dean asked them.
"We're looking for bones genius." The mock Dean said. "They gotta be around here somewhere."
"Ok. Generally, bones are in the ground." Dean said, letting his arm fall from my waist.
Sam dropped his bag down of supplies.
"Yeah, I know that. I just…" Clearly mock Dean wasn't prepared for the real work.
Sam pulled shovels out of the bag. "Wait, hold on! Are you guys serious?" Mock Dean said, breaking character.
"Deadly." Dean replied, motioning for me to stand off to the side and hold the flashlight for them.
"We're not really digging up graves you guys, we're just playing a game." One of the guys said, but I was no longer paying attention to them.
"Trust us. You wanna win the game, right?" Dean said, taking a shovel.
I wrapped one arm around me as I held a flashlight in another. They worked quickly and quietly.
Dean's shovel hit the coffin lid and he pried it open. The wind picked up and swirled around us. I shivered.
"That's not a plastic skeleton. That's a… that's a skeleton skeleton." Mock Dean said.
"You just dug up a real grave." Mock Sam said.
"You guys are nuts." Mock Dean said.
"I thought you guys wanted to be hunters." Sam said looking at them.
I stepped forward and started to get the salt and kerosene from the bag. The mock winchesters were argueing. I stood up and looked at Sam… just in time to see Leticia Gore beside him, she backhanded Sam across the cemetery.
"Sam!" I yelled just before I went flying toward him, the wind knocked clear from my lungs.
"Dee! Sam!" I head Dean.
Sam wrapped one arm around my side as I caught my breath, "You alright?"
I nodded, "You?"
"Yeah."
Dean had finished burning the remains. Sam and I headed back, dusting ourselves off. "You two alright?" He asked, holding a hand out for me.
I slipped my hand into his and nodded. Sam went to drop the bag off of supplies at the car. I needed to use the restroom after all that liquor. I returned to the bench I had been on before as Sam and Dean went to talk to their mock selves.
A minute later they returned. Dean held an arm out for me and wrapped it around me. "Ready to get out of here?"
I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder, "Yes!"
We reached the doors, but they didn't budge. Dean and Sam looked around, "That's weird." Dean said.
"Definitely." Sam added.
I sighed and turned as we decided to split up and check exits and windows. I found a back exit hidden away, but it was closed solid.
Sam met me in the hall, "Anything?" I shook my head as he took my hand and searched for Dean.
We found him straining against a window, "Hey. Anything?" he asked.
"Every exit is locked. Almost like…"
"Something's keeping us in?" I asked, voicing what we didn't want to face.
Dean punched the window and I stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm.
"Yeah. This is bad." Sam said, running his hand through his hair.
"Gee ya think, Sammy?" Dean said.
We heard a scream and and headed toward the direction. A woman stumbled out, "Don't go in there!"
"Get downstairs, ok? Go go!" He ushered the woman past us. "You too." He said turning toward me.
I shook my head, "I'm with you guys."
Crouching in the corner was the same little boy from the attic. "Why'd you do that? Why did you send my mommy away?"
"Ah, maybe because of the high and tight she gave you, huh? How bout some thanks." Dean replied.
"Ahem." Sam stepped forward.
"My mommy didn't do this to me." The boy said.
"What? Then who did?" Sam asked just as the boy disappeared.
"Great! We don't even have the whole story, and we're locked in this hotel!" I said turning around and heading back down the stairs.
The followed me, "Look we're locked in here with ghosts, we need to get everyone in one place." I added. "Get them all into the auditorium."
Sam and Dean nodded. Three of us started ushering everyone into the auditorium. Sam spoke to Chuck on stage, to get him to stall for time.
Once everyone we could find was in one area, we met just outside the auditorium. "Ok. New theory. the legends about Leticia are ass-backwards obviously."
"Well, Leticia certainly didn't kill her own son. Sounded more like… she was protecting him." I said.
"Yeah. So alright. Let's say those three orphans were playing cowboys and indians." Sam said.
"LARPing as cowboys and indians." Dean added.
Sam and I rolled our eyes. "Whatever. And let's say they scalped Leticia's son and killed him."
"Alright, then mom catches them." I said.
"Flips out, slices them and dices herself." Dean added.
"If that's true it means we've got three bloodthirsty brats in the building." Sam said.
"Yeah and Leticia was the only one keeping them under control." Dean added.
"Smooth move on our part." Sam sighed.
"Well, it's not like we knew, now is it." I said crossing my arms.
"Yeah, well we gotta get back to the cemetery, torch the kids' bones." Dean scratched the back of his neck.
"How? We're trapped, we don't even have our guns! The ghosts are running this joint and they're only scared of one thing." Sam said.
Dean met my eyes and we both had the same thought, "Exactly." Dean said.
"Uh, you both wanna fill me in."
"The kids are afraid of Leticia, her ghost may be gone, but we have an actor who was hired because she resembled Leticia. That's why the little boy appeared to her." I said with a smile. "Get the woman to act as Leticia."
"And how does that work?" Sam asked crossing his arms.
"Get her to scare the kids into behaving long enough to unlock the doors. Then we get back to the cemetery and burn the remains." I said.
Sam smirked, "That actually might work."
We search for the actress and the boys tried to convince her. Then the wannabe winchesters returned to Dean's irritation. They were offering to help and seemed genuinely themselves, not acting as Sam and Dean.
"Why not?" One pleaded with Dean.
"'Cause this isn't make-believe." Dean said through clenched teeth.
"Yeah, but if all these people are seriously in trouble, we gotta do something."
"Why?" Dean asked raising an eyebrow at him.
"Because." The mock Dean said. "That's what Sam and Dean would do."
I smiled and stepped toward Dean. The woman looked at me, "Have her do it." She said pointing at me.
"Sweetheart, I don't look anything like this Leticia. You were hired because you did."
She eyed me and then Sam and Dean and nodded, "Fine, but you're helping me get ready." She reached for my hand and pulled me away.
We went into the woman's bathroom so that she could change into Leticia's clothes that she had worn earlier.
"So, what exactly am I doing?" She asked as she adjusted her hair in the mirror.
"Pretend to chastise the kids. They are being bad and they need to unlock the doors."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
When she was ready we headed out.
Dean stopped me, "You go with Sam, I'll go with her and watch her back while she does this."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
He nodded. "If you manage to get out, get this done."
I nodded and he wrapped a hand around my neck and kissed me quickly. I grabbed him before he pulled away, "Dean… I love you." I said softly.
His eyes softened and he smiled, "I love you, too." He kissed me once more and left.
Sam and I with the other two wannabes headed toward the doors. We all pushed on the doors. Hoping that the scene in the library would be enough to open the doors, even for a little.
I heard the sound of the door clicking open and pushed it open, it barely opened. I slipped out followed by the wannabes and the door slammed closed, leaving Sam inside.
Sam pounded the door, "Damn it!" he looked at me through the glass, "Go!"
I nodded and turned, dashing to the impala for the supplies. I turned and faced the wannabes, "You wanna help?" They nodded. "I'm not calling you Dean and Sam!"
"Barnes," Mock Sam said, "Call me Barnes."
"Demian." The other one said.
"Alright, I'm Dee. You do as I say, we get this done. Fast!"
They nodded. I grabbed the bag with the shovels and kerosene and salt and handed it to Demian. I pulled out my revolver and loaded it quickly, flicking the barrel closed.
"Holy crap!" Barnes said as Demian only gapped.
I put the gun in the back of my jeans with my jacket over it and headed to the cemetery with the boys behind me.
We started digging, as fast as we could. My arms burning with the effort the deeper we got.
"Oh my God!" Barnes said. "Supernatural makes digging graves seem so easy. It's not though. I'm gonna throw up."
"No you're not." Demian and I said together.
We finished digging and poured the salt and kerosene. Demian kept flicking a lighter, "How come Dean can always light the stupid thing on the first freaking try?"
I pulled out a couple of books of matches from a side pocket on the bag and lit them, then tossed them in the graves.
"That's why you have a backup." I said as we watched the remains burn.
They turned to me, "You're a real diehard fan, aren't you?" they asked.
I eyed them and sighed, "This isn't about a stupid books series. If you think that what you just witnessed was freaky, well it was, and it was real. Now, if ghosts are real, what else from those books are real? Think about that." I grabbed the supplies and put them in the bag and draped it over my shoulder. "Thank you, for helping. I would've been here forever trying to get it done myself. Who knows what could've happened during that time."
We heard ambulances and sirens. I headed back toward the car as Barnes and Demian headed inside. I closed the trunk and headed back toward the hotel to find Sam and Dean.
Dean was already headed toward me, running down the stairs and wrapping me in a tight embrace. I had already left the gun in the car, so when his hands clung against my back, there was no revolver in the way.
"You literally saved our asses!" He said as he pulled away slightly and kissed me.
"I didn't do it alone. If your wannabe winchesters hadn't helped me dig, I would've been there forever just digging." I replied.
Dean let me go and Sam stepped in and wrapped me in a hug, surprising me and Dean. Sam let me go, "What, I almost got my head scalped, thanks to her, I didn't."
I snickered as Dean wrapped an arm around my waist and I put my hand in the crock of Sam's arm. My arms were shaking still slightly, if I had to dig more graves, I was going to end up with biceps bigger than my head.
I stepped away and slipped into the impala's passenger seat. The window was rolled down and I rested my head on my arms resting on the door. Sam and Dean went to wrap up a few loose ends, I stayed in the car. My day's worth of excitement exceeded.
I couldn't fall asleep, I was literally beyond exhaustion.
Later Dean returned, alone. He brushed my cheek and kissed it tenderly, thinking I was asleep.
"Are we ready to go yet?" I asked.
"Just about, hun. Waiting on Sam." Dean relied leaning against the door, leaving a hand resting against my neck, his thumb gently brushing my jaw line.
"I vote for food, and hotel, and sleep." I said softly.
"I'm with you there, babe." Dean replied.
Sam returned, "Alright, so, got a lead on the Colt."
Dean removed his hand and I sat up to look at him, "Really?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I'll tell you everything once we're gone."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Dean walked around the car.
I slid into the middle as Sam slid in beside me and Dean got behind the wheel.
We hit the highway heading to a different town. "So, Lilith gave the Colt to Crowley, apparently they were lovers." Sam finally said when we were on the highway.
"So, Crowley has it. We should call Cas when we get to a hotel." Dean replied. "See if he can pinpoint Crowley for us."
"Crowley's like what, the keeper of hell or something, right?" I asked.
Dean put his hand on my leg, sliding to my inner thigh. "Something like that."
"And Cas? That's Castiel, the angel right?" Bobby had filled me in on the extra help they had received from Castiel.
"Yeah." Sam replied.
Dean pulled off the highway about an hour later and we stopped to eat. We ate quickly and headed to a hotel. We got adjoining rooms and grabbed our bags. Sam showered in the other room while I showered in the room Dean and I were sharing.
It felt so good to wash all the dirt from the day away. I felt slightly refreshed when I was done. I pulled a tank top on and underwear and headed out of the bathroom. Standing in the room talking to Dean was a guy with dark hair and a trench coat. He wasn't human though, I could feel a strong presence of light and good, and I knew he was an angel.
"And who is the woman?" Castiel asked, looking past Dean at me.
Dean turned around, his eyes softening as he smiled. "That's Dee. Dee this is Castiel."
"I figured that much out."
Castiel stepped toward me and tilted his head at me as he eyed me. "You are not what you seem." He said flatly.
"Um, excuse me?" I asked.
"You are not what you seem. You are not a simple human. There is more to you. I cannot tell what."
I felt a shiver go down my spine as I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Think you could elaborate on that Cas?"
Castiel put his hand out toward me and without even thinking about it I slipped my hand into his. A bright light filled my vision and then faded, but I wasn't in the hotel. I was… I didn't know where I was.
Beside me stood Castiel, "You are not a simple human. You have lived before." He pointed. I looked at a vision of myself, I wore a gossamer gown in layers of pink shades. In my hand was a dagger, around my neck was an amethyst heart pendant, that was radiating with a soft glow. I looked stunning and fierce. As I looked on the ground at my feet there were bodies.
A few yards away two men, shirtless, walked out of the dust, both carrying broadswords.
"You are a warrior for good. Fighting for love. Powers beyond compare, once you accept them." Castiel said softly.
I turned toward him as both the guys approached my past self and each kissed her passionately in turn. "I don't understand."
"You have not come into your abilities yet. This path is not yet set for you."
"I still don't understand." I said, my head beginning to pound."
"I cannot tell you more. You must discover the rest on your own."
"How?"
Castiel turned and tilted his head, "Your dreams, your visions. Listen to your heart. That is where your power lies." He paused and closed his eyes, "Yes, your fate is tied to Dean and Sam. This is… strange. How did I not see this before?"
The bright light returned and then faded, I was back in the hotel, my hand still in Castiel's. I swallowed hard and let my hand fall. That was a lot to take in and on top of everything that I had already experienced for the day… My head was spinning.
The floor seemed to sway and my knees buckled. I fell into Castiel's arms.
"Dee? Cas, man, what'd you do?" Dean asked his hand on my cheek.
Castiel lifted me up into his arms, my head spinning erratically. He laid me down gently on the bed. "I am sorry. I should not have showed you that. You weren't ready for it."
"Showed her what?" Dean said, on the bed beside me. "Cas, what the hell?"
Castiel placed his hand on my cheek, a feeling of warmth and calm filled me. My head stopped spinning and the room stilled. I took a deep breath as Castiel removed his hand and stood up.
"She needs rest." Castiel said.
Dean turned and looked sternly at him, "You gonna tell me what just happened?"
Castiel shook his head, "That is not for me to tell you."
Sam stepped into the room, wearing clean clothes and his hair wet. "What's going on?"
"I will search for Crowley." Castiel said and disappeared.
"Dammit, Cas!" Dean said before turning back toward me with concern.
I sat up, leaning against the headboard.
"Cas said you need to rest." Dean said, his hand on my bare leg, filling me with the familiar yet strange energy flow.
"What happened?" Sam asked.
"I don't know. Cas took her hand… apparently showed her something…? She almost passed out after that." Dean replied.
"What'd he show you?" Sam asked, intrigued.
"Me… in the past… a past life, I guess." I said softly, grabbing a bottle of water from the nightstand I had put there before my shower.
I told them what I had seen and what Castiel had said about me. They looked at me strangely.
"So, you're a warrior?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
I shrugged, "It was me, standing there. That was obvious. I could literally feel the power pouring in waves from me. It was… overwhelming in strength. It was a power filled with…" I shook my head and thought back to what the power felt like. "It had felt like pure passion, desire, love... "
"So, you what? Just blast things away by blowing kisses at them?" Dean asked with a smirk.
I shook my head, "No, I had a dagger. I think those things are just what make up the power." I hadn't told them about the two guys or how I was clearly with both of them.
I figured that would strike Dean's jealousy a bit and decided it wasn't relevant to what I was actually telling them. At least, at the time, I didn't think it was relevant.
"Well, at least we know that the dreams are real. Did Castiel say they were prophecy dreams?" Sam asked.
I shook my head, "No, he just told me to listen to the dreams, the visions and to listen to my heart."
"And he just left without giving you any more details?" Sam asked.
"Said that he shouldn't have showed her any of it." Dean added.
Through the curtains I could see the light of dawn beginning to lighten the sky. "How about we get some sleep and worry about it in a few hours at least?" I asked, setting the water on the nightstand.
Dean patted my leg, "Yeah, sounds like a good idea."
Sam nodded, "Hopefully Castiel can get us a lead on Crowley soon. Good night you two." he left through the adjoining doors and closed his side.
Dean got up and closed our side. His sighed and scratched the back of his neck, "You get some rest, I'm gonna take a quick shower."
"Dean…" I looked at my hands in my lap.
He walked around the bed and sat down on the edge, "What's wrong?"
I shook my head, "Nothing. Just a lot running through my head."
I cupped my cheek and kissed my forehead, "I'm sure there is. You don't need to think about it now though. Get some rest." He brought his lips to mine quickly and got up and headed to the bathroom.
I heard the shower and got up and went to look out the window. We had opted for a nicer hotel at my insistence, with my money. We were up on the fourth floor overlooking the city we had stopped in. I stared out the window. There were still a couple of hours before the sun was fully up so the city was still dark.
Castiel appeared beside me, "I waited until you were alone."
I didn't turn, just stared out the window. "I thought you were supposed to be looking for Crowley."
"I will. I felt you needed to talk."
"From what I hear you aren't exactly the 'share your feelings' type. Not that an angel's presence isn't comforting enough."
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"You want to know more about yourself."
"Duh! You can't just say I'm some powerful warrior and then leave! Of course I want to know more, but you said-"
"I said I should not have showed you, but I do believe that the sooner you know the safer… For you and for Dean and Sam."
"Why?"
"Because you and them… you are a… team… a unit. You must work together."
"Alright, well, that's kind of why I'm here."
Castiel turned and eyed me, "No, you have not yet learned why you are here with them. It is more than what you think."
"Anything else you wish to add to further confuse me?" I said crossing my arms and facing him.
"I do not wish to confuse you. I merely wish to… help you."
"Why?"
"Because you are more important in this than you know. How you have been hidden from… everyone for so long I do not understand."
I looked at him, he stared back, "What is that Dean has to accept before it's too late?"
Castiel tilted his head slightly to the side, "The same thing that you all must accept. The parts you play in this… team."
"That's not helpful."
"I am sorry, I cannot tell you more." He paused. "But there is something I can do. I can let you see your guardian."
"My what?"
"Centuries ago, when you were first given these powers in your first life, you had a guardian that helped you. I can send you to her. Perhaps she can help you more."
I turned toward him and let my arms fall to my sides. "Alright, then take me to her."
"I cannot take. I can only send you."
I took a deep breath, "Alright, do it."
He lifted his right hand and held it over my heart, "This is going to hurt… a lot."
My heart hammered erratically as fear filled me, but I wanted answers. I swallowed hard, "Do it!"
"Very well." He pressed the palm of his hand to my chest.
I felt a warmth grow until it burned to my core. I tried to contain the pain. My hands gripping Castiel's arm. My knees buckled under the pain and his other arm wrapped around my waist. The burning grewing until my whole body felt like it was on fire.
"Dee!" I heard Dean scream. "Castiel, what the hell are you doing?"
I screamed as the pain devoured me and I blacked out.