(It's shorter than most of my other chapters, but all the same, I hope you enjoy this one. It's gives a hint as to what's to come for the next chapter.)

[Music & Song Recommendations – You can follow the playlist for 'Along for the Ride' on Spotify.]

~ "Love Heals Your Heart" by Third Day (the song Dani's listening to when she goes outside to find Bobby.)

~ "Don't Bring Me Down" by David Bowie (one of the songs Dani listens to as she's walking outside to find Bobby)

Chapter Nineteen

"Outside of Sin City"

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Early July 2007

As July came upon the hunters, Dani had reached another dead end in her search for Crowley. She'd contacted some old hunter friends of her dad and eldest brother, asking them to keep their eyes and ears open for any traces of the elusive crossroads demon. She'd also called up Ellen to see if those two businessmen from last month had appeared to get reacquainted with Crowley. The last Ellen had heard was that the men's company had gone bankrupt and closed down, which was a pretty good hint that Crowley had not returned to finish the deal.

So it was that Dani found herself with nothing to do but wait until a call came. It was a gorgeous day outside, and she had left the window of her room open to let in the sunshine and light breeze.

The TV in her bedroom was playing Season Two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while she sat at her desk and copied old entries from her ancestors' medicine journal into the one Loki had gotten her. For her own touch, she was including illustrations of the herbs and plant life that were described.

"Watchin' that crap again?" Bobby's voice drolled from her doorframe.

Dani turned in her chair to smile at him. "I find it entertaining."

"A cheerleader fighting those pathetic excuses for vampires?"

"She's not exactly a cheerleader. I like it. It's a guilty pleasure."

Bobby huffed out a scoff and settled himself on the edge of her bed. "What was the name of that character you liked so much? The pompous asshole? Had bleached blond hair?"

Dani snickered as she focused on sketching a cluster of blackberries. "You mean Spike?"

"Yeah. You still swoon over him?"

Dani pointed her pencil at him in warning. "I never swooned."

Said character happened to appear on the TV screen and Dani's eyes became half-lidded as she leaned forward, chin in hand, to stare at him. Bobby watched her with a smug grin until she realized she'd been caught. "Oh, you never, huh?"

Dani cleared her throat and went back to drawing. "Was there something you came up here for, Yonu."

Bobby allowed himself a chuckle before he sighed. "Nah, not really. Just an excuse to pull myself away from that darn Colt downstairs."

"Still can't figure out what makes it tick, huh?"

"Nope. I'm nearly at the end of my rope with that thing. I've pieced it back together for now just so we can have it whole."

"Wasn't Dean helping you with that this morning?"

"Yeah. He and Sam left about an hour ago to check out some possible demonic omens in Elizabethville, Ohio."

Dani scoffed. "And they didn't invite me?"

"You're just getting over that chest cold, Dani girl. Give yourself a rest for a few more days."

Dani gave a dry smile. "Now why does that sound so familiar?"

Bobby nodded. "I do sound like I'm repeating myself after the attack, don't I? But we agreed that you can handle yourself now. I ain't about to backslide."

Dani wrinkled her nose in an exaggerated pleased expression at him as she said, "I know."

Their attention strayed to the TV again. Spike was speaking, his British accent the only voice in the room. "If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock."

Bobby let out a bark of laughter then immediately froze. His eyes slid to Dani as she whipped around and stared at him with a great big smile spreading along her face. "You laughed," she accused, pointing at him.

"I did not."

"You thought it was funny."

"It was a cough."

"You sure you wouldn't want to join me in my Buffy-thon?"

"Your what?"

"I've got all the DVDs."

A phone rang downstairs. Bobby swiftly got to his feet and muttered something about needing to answer it then left her room. Dani couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she watched him go.

About an hour and a half later, Dani took a break from transcribing her journal entries and scooped up her iPod, sunglasses, and The Count of Monte Cristo as she headed outside. There was a hammock that she had rigged between two trees by the pond that was calling her name.

Seeing that it was so close to lunchtime, she made herself two sandwiches and filled a tumbler of sweet tea to take with her. Bobby was nowhere in the house and there wasn't a note on the fridge telling her he'd left for anywhere, so she assumed he was somewhere on the property. Her assessment proved to be correct when she heard the sound of gunfire out near the firing range Bobby had set up years ago. It was towards the back of the property, past the salvage yard.

Walking towards the pond, Dani put in her earbuds and listened to Third Day as she took a detour to find Bobby. She'd ask if he wanted anything to eat and let him know her destination. Third Day became David Bowie as she continued her walk. She had the music low enough that she could still hear the muffled sounds of intermittent gunshots as they came, steadily becoming louder the closer she got.

She sent out a shout to alert him to her arrival since she'd be coming at his back and clusters of trees and bushes would keep her hidden right until the last minute. Bobby's answering shout let her know he'd heard her.

Removing her earbuds, Dani stepped through the copse into a clearing and found Bobby firing the Colt at a sandbag with a red target painted on it. BANG! The bullet tore through the bag but didn't quite hit the target.

"Siyo," Dani greeted.

Bobby turned with a smile. "Hey."

"It this your way of avoiding my invitation to watch Buffy with me?"

"No comment." He fired off another shot and still missed. Looking at the other sandbags, she noticed none of them appeared to have had their target hit.

Dani frowned. "You feelin' okay? Normally you have better aim."

"I'm good. It's the Colt's aim. Gotta get it readjusted after having it taken apart." As he spoke, he was doing just that, fiddling with it with the help of a small tool.

"Ah. Hawa. Hungry?"

"Gettin' there."

Dani held out her spare sandwich. Bobby gave her an appreciative nod. She held up her tumbler. "Sweet tea?"

"No, thanks. I got me a water over there," Bobby said, pointing at a log turned bench where a box of ammo and a water bottle sat.

"Well, aren't you just considerate?" a young woman's condescending voice spoke up.

Both Dani and Bobby's attention snapped towards the targets. A blonde in a rusty red jacket stood there. "Cute piece," she saqid, nodding towards the Colt.

"Who are you?" Bobby asked, warily as he slightly lowered the gun. Dani hopped he didn't lower it any further. It didn't sit right with her how this woman had appeared out of nowhere without them hearing her.

"It won't stop a demon, if that's what you think."

"How the hell would you know?"

"Oh, I don't know." She closed her eyes and when she reopened them, pitch black engulfed her stare. "Call it an educated guess." She blinked and the black eyes were gone.

Bobby tensed as he angled his body to be in front of Dani. Dani kept close, grasping his free arm's shirt sleeve. "Well, ain't I lucky, then?" Bobby asked with sarcasm. "Found a subject for a test fire."

The blonde huffed a laugh. "Luck had nothing to do with it. But, hey, by all means." Blondie moved to stand directly in front of the target. "Take your best shot."

"Would've known she was a demon just from the arrogance," Dani couldn't help but mutter.

Bobby hesitated. Blondie sighed in frustration. "Are you gonna stand there like a pantywaist or are you gonna shoot me!?"

Which is exactly what he did. The blonde actually had the gall to look insulted despite having egged Bobby to do so. She stared at the hole in her chest before leveling a glare at Bobby. "Ouch. That smarts a little."

"You're Ruby, aren't you?" Dani suddenly asked.

The demon's eyes snapped from Bobby to her. "Good guess."

Dani shrugged. "Not really. Pretty obvious after the description Sam and Dean gave me. 'Pretty, blonde, average height, and an attitude that makes you want to smack the hell out of her.'… That last part was Dean's, by the way."

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" Bobby interjected.

"Peace on Earth. A new shirt," she said, pinching the ruined fabric. Ruby stepped forward. "Now… Do you want me to help you out with that gun or not? Hm?"


A couple of hours later, Ruby declared the Colt to be functioning and insisted that Bobby hurry to meet up with Sam and Dean. Bobby didn't get much out of her when he questioned the demon what she meant by that. Ruby vanished just as quickly as she'd arrived. Worry for the boys nagged at Bobby, and Dani encouraged him to leave as soon as possible while she held down the fort.

"Call me as soon as you know the boys are safe," Dani said, leaning down to speak to him through the driver's window of his car. Bobby nodded, gave her hand a squeeze, then drove off. Dani watched him go with a hint of unease within her chest.

"May he be swift, and no harm come to them," she prayed. Her brown eyes lifted imploringly to the sky. "Howatsu."


Dani attempted to distract herself by reading The Count of Monte Cristo, but her mind couldn't focus long enough on the words on the page. Eventually, she gave up and switched to watching Buffy. She'd seen the whole show more than once, so it didn't require her utmost concentration.

She answered two calls from other hunters wanting to reach Bobby. She did what she could over the phone and promised one of the hunter's she'd call back as soon as she heard from Bobby.

Despite these small distractions, her thoughts drifted to the boys as she waited for word from Bobby. It didn't come until late that night. The boys were safe, despite a somewhat close call.

Dani silently thanked God as she listened to Bobby recount what had happened in Elizabethville, Ohio. "And Dani, um, Dean told me somethin' that he might share with you cause I can tell it's prayin' heavily on his mind."

"What is it?"

"He said that back in Wyoming, Yellow Eyes, said something to Dean along the lines of hinting that when Sam came back from the dead...that maybe he came back different."

Dani's brow furrowed. "Different? What does he mean different?"

"Not sure. But Dean told me how Sam was when he killed the demon girl. How cold Sam appeared. It's been botherin' 'im. Dean asked me if I thought something may be wrong with Sam."

"What did you tell him?

"I told him that demons lie and that Sam's fine. I'm sure that yellow-eyed cuss was just tryin' to get under Dean's skin."

"That is their favorite pastime," Dani conceded.

"Anyway, we're headin' back to their hotel for the night, and I'll be heading home in the mornin'."

"Will the boys be coming with you?"

"They might. But now that the Colt's workin' they may be hittin' the road for a bit. Get a few hunts in before they return. Speakin' of which. Any calls?"

"Vv, there were a couple. One was from Garth needing some info on a haunted didgeridoo, and then Keith called wanting some help with a case in Minnesota. Lumberjacks are going missing. Ever heard of a Hidebehind?"

"A what?"

Dani chuffed a laugh. "I'll take that as a 'no'. It just so happens that I have, and I accepted the job on your behalf. Feel like accompanying me to Minnesota?"

"Don't sound like I got much of a choice."

"Vtla. You could say no, but by turning down this case, you'd be obligated to watch an entire season of Buffy with me."

There was a long sigh. "When do we leave?"

"That's the spirit!"

(Can you name the episode that the Buffy quote was from?
Until next time, Dear Readers.)

Cherokee Words and Phrases
[*asterisks mean I am making a guess as to the pronunciations, basing it off what I know of the Cherokee language.]

Gado Usdi (gah-dōh-oo-sdee) – What?

Hawa (hah-wah) or (hoe-wah) – Alright / Okay

Howatsu (ho-wah-jew) – Please

Osiyo (oh-see-yōh) or Siyo [Informal – (see-yōh)] – Hello

Vtla (un-tlah) – No

Wado (wah-doe) Thank you

VV (uh-uh) or (un-un) - Yes

Yo – [This word can be used in a variety of ways, but it is an equivalent to saying, "Oh gosh, oh man, oh geez," etc.]

Yonu (yō-năh) – Bear