Chapter Twenty-four: Thumb-Fight

Next-Day:

"Thank you, Sam and Dean." The hunter kid spoke. In the aftermath of their fight with the demon, everyone was a little shaken. Sam gave the kid a small smile as they stepped out of the house, where Jody and Bobby stood talking.

"Where is she?" Dean asked, looking around and failing to see Reina.

"She's resting," Bobby said.

Dean moved aggressively towards the car, his expression steely, only to find Jody pulling him back. "Now, Dean. Calm down. I know you're angry. But-

"I'm not angry, Jody. I'm worried. She's been here a few days and jumping into danger recklessly." Dean countered. "I – I know, I know she was trying to - she helped. But what if she'd been –

Dean couldn't continue.

"I talked to her," Jody said reassuringly. "She told me - she knew it was Jael, so she summoned him away to lift his powers from the house and the hunters."

"So that's how he got pulled out of –

"Me," Jody said. "She didn't tell me how she got the info –

"That was me," Bobby spoke sheepishly. "What? She asked me about exorcisms way back when we were driving to meet Cas, before. So, I gave her a book to read."

"Wow." The word slipped out from Sam.

"Yeah, wow. She's been planning these. That's why! The book she was reading in the Car; She knows when the next hunts are going to be, what's going to happen, and she's trying to –

"Save us." Sam finished Dean's sentence.

"Well, save us or not, there are things she's been hiding. She's not telling us the complete truth, which makes things complicated. How are we supposed to look after her, if she goes and acts out on her own?" Dean ranted, rubbing his temple as he paced.

Jody, Bobby, and Sam shared a look that clearly meant they'd noticed Dean's words, 'Look after her'. Clearly, his perspective had changed. From thinking of Reina as a danger to him and Sam, he'd started thinking of her actions as a danger to herself.

Dean turned around to Jody again. "Where is she?"

"She's in the car," Sam said. "Are you…

"I won't shout, I promise," said Dean. "Where's Cas?"

"He's with her," Sam said.

"Of course." Dean shook his head; the image of Cas and Reina in her room earlier came unbidden to his mind. He walked away, leaving Sam to wonder about the meaning of his reaction.

"We should get going, Bobby," Sam suggested to the older hunter after checking up on the rest of the party. Seeing them all okay, Sam wondered what would have happened if Reina had let things play as she'd seen.

"You boys take care," Jody said, hugging Sam. She kissed Bobby on the cheek. "Come see me sometimes old man. You've forgotten all about Sioux Falls ever since you came back."

"Sure. You and the girls take care." Bobby said.

"You know we do, Bobby."

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Meanwhile, Dean had reached the Car, to witness a bizarre scene. Cas and Reina stood near the Car's rear and seemed to be holding hands. Dean's breath caught for a moment before he realized that Cas and Reina were sparring with their thumbs.

"One, Two, Three, go!" Reina shouted and began swiping with her thumb. Cas made a few dodges, but he seemed to have not yet grasped the game. "I win!" Reina danced her fingers in front of Cas. "You gotta catch my thumb, Cas." She explained.

"Okay. One more time." Cas extended his hand. "One, Two, Three!" and they started swiping again. This time, Cas was wary, and after two tries, he'd pinned down her thumb. "Oh damn!" She let out a sigh. "Best of three?" She asked. "It means best two matches out of three." She described it for Cas's benefit.

And they went again. Dean stood a little distance away, caught in the intrigue of the silly little game. And after a minute of swiping and narrow misses – "Gotcha!" Dean shouted, involuntarily as Cas grasped her thumb tight.

Both Reina and Cas turned around in surprise. "Dean?" Cas smiled. "I won." He waved their fist, where Reina's thumb was pinned under Cas's. For a second, they looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

Reina smiled. "Are we ready to go?" She moved to face Dean.

"Uh, I – I guess so." Dean looked at her with a strange expression.

"What is it, Dean?" She asked after a pause.

Dean shook his head. "Nothing," He said. He couldn't remember, exactly, what he had come to say.

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Bobby's phone rang just as he and Sam reached the car. "Hello," Bobby walked away to talk.

"Ready to go?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Of course." Dean replied.

"Hey, Cas?" Bobby called for Castiel.

"What's that about?" Dean asked Sam. "I don't know."

Cas and Bobby returned. "I got a Case," Bobby informed them. "Bodies are dropping in a pattern moving eastward, with clear signs of smiting."

"Oh – okay, then let's go," Dean said. "How far?"

"Probably take us a day to get there," Bobby said, and Sam's phone rang.

"Yeah, this is he," Sam answered. "Oh." His expression changed to serious. "Okay, we'll be there. Just – keep the area restricted, alright? Yeah. Sure. Bye." Sam clicked off. "We have a case too. Remember that sheriff Milly from _?"

"Milly? – oh yeah. I sure remember her," Dean gave a half-smirk, and Reina realized that Dean had probably been with this woman. "What about her?"

"She's got missing cases, presumed dead, coming back. Three people who they thought were dead are back. And – she's sensing something off. She sounds scared."

"Okay. We should probably go check it out. Could be nothing, but –

"Yeah. I think so too. Uh, Bobby –

"Don't worry. I'll take Cas. I want to confirm if it's an angel anyway. It'll be fine." He assured Sam. "You boys take care of that case. It sounds strange."

"Okay, Bobby," Dean said, and they all moved away, only to turn around a second later. Neither of them knew what to do with Reina. "UH…

"Yeah. I don't know these cases. If this happened on the show, it happened in between two episodes." She shrugged. "If you don't mind, can ride along with you and Dean?" She asked Sam, afraid to directly ask Dean because he might say no.

"Uh – sure. Dean?" Sam turned towards his brother. "Yeah. I mean, there's no time to drop you off at the bunker, and Cas and Bobby probably do have a real case. I mean here, it could be nothing." He rambled.

"Great. Cas, Bobby, have a great hunt." She smiled at them.

"Sure. You too. Stay safe. Don't take risks." Bobby spoke to her like a parent.

"Yes, Bobby."

"Don't 'Yes Bobby' me, kid. I know what it sounds like. I raised these two fools, you think you can come up with something new after them?" Bobby scoffed. "Don't pull any stunts like you did just now." He tried to glare at her but ended up smiling at her.

"Yes, Bobby." She smiled back.

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