Alex sucked in a big breath, and then let it out in one slow exhale, her hands still trembling. She tried to steady them. When she couldn't, she tucked them beneath her thighs. Her heart was pounding even now. She'd known a lot about Purgatory, so she shouldn't have been so unnerved, but here she was, running over every detail in her head again, and again, and again.

The book Bobby and Avery had come across was quite informative. "It talks about this place. The backside of your worst nightmares," Bobby had told them. He'd translated what he'd could before they'd made it back. "All blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty. It goes by a lot of names, most of which I can't pronounce, but we all know Purgatory."

It was an instruction manual, Bobby had called it. An instruction manual on how to open the door. The very thing she knew so many were looking for. The very thing she'd been looking for in the year she'd spent working with Castiel and Crowley. The very thing she knew Crowley thought she'd known. She'd keep her mouth shut about it if they came around. Alex was still trying to figure out how to tell them to keep quiet about it around Castiel without giving everything away.

Of course, the little part about bringing something labeled as the "Mother of All" out of Purgatory wasn't really a part of what they'd been hunting for.

Alex bit her lip, hard. Blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty. That was the part that twisted her into knots. She was one of those souls. She just hadn't yet gone to Purgatory.

The sound of the front door slamming behind her made Alex jump. She craned her head over her shoulder. "Sam," she said, but he ignored her and blustered out into the junk yard without so much as a look back at her. She blinked after him, puzzled. She debated going after him but decided against it – especially when Avery slid outside with a guilty look that quickly vanished when she saw Alex. Alex arched a brow. "What happened?"

Avery was quick to turn a question right back on her, and Alex knew Avery had something to do with Sam's actions. She let it slide for the time being though. Mostly because Avery shot her a sharp, angry look before disappearing back inside. Alex winced. She had to talk with Avery. Soon.

Alex heard the roar of an engine as Sam tore off in some car from the junkyard. She watched the car go, not bothering to raise an alarm. He'd be alright, and she was confident he'd come back at some point. If Dean threw a fit about it, then so be it.

The door opened again behind her, and the shift in the air told her enough. A smirk curved over her lips. "Nothing new," she guessed as he dropped onto the step beside her, seeming exhausted. He and Sam had spent the majority of the night trying to translate more of the book, hoping to get more information on Purgatory.

"Nope." He scowled at the fact. "Just more of the same. Have you seen Sam?"

"Yes." She rested her chin in her open palm. "He took off about two minutes ago in one of Bobby's favorite cars." Dean opened his mouth. She said bluntly, "He'll know something's off if you keep babying him too much, Dean. Better to give him some space. He'll be back. We've got too much going on for him to not come back."

She hoped.

Dean grumbled, but rather than saying anything about his brother, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She pretended not to notice, staring straight ahead as he rocked back and sighed heavily, "Alright, Alex, out with it."

She blinked once. "What?" demanded Alex, confused as she straightened. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"You've not said a word since Bobby translated those pages." His voice was sharp, and Alex wondered if he was trying to start an argument or distract himself from the fact that his brother was gone. Likely both, if she knew him well enough. "So…out with it."

Alex considered how to answer. "What should I say?" she challenged finally. "It's not anything we didn't know already. 'Blood and bones and darkness.' An afterlife of every monster to have ever existed – and now, we apparently have this supposed instruction manual on how to get in." Her breath caught on those words, and she couldn't help the way she practically trembled. "Dean, I…all that time I spent working with Crowley and Castiel…I was looking for that doorway." She'd not say anything of what they'd wanted with it – she couldn't really say, actually, as neither had really told her. She knew Castiel intended to use it in his war, but that was it. Carefully, Alex said, "It's pretty obvious why I was looking for it. I don't want to go to Purgatory anymore than you wanted to go to Hell. And I wanted to try and make sure Crowley didn't manipulate Cas into doing something he shouldn't.

"We could potentially find something to seal that door, but that can't possibly be a good option. I wouldn't go to Purgatory, maybe. But neither would any other creature we kill." She shrugged her shoulders, making a mild gesture with her hand to try and dismiss it. "It's frustrating, but so is life. And I have some hope. If Sam could escape Lucifer's cage, then perhaps we can find a way for me to escape Purgatory, alive or not."

Dean mulled over what she'd told him. After what seemed like ages of thoughtful silence, he frowned and asked precisely what she knew he'd ask. "Hang on, that's why you were looking, but Cas and Crowley–"

"I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to," she said simply. "I don't know what they're after, just like I said. All I know is we all wanted the same thing: Purgatory." She sharpened her voice, taking advantage to tell him the warning she'd wanted to give him. "I won't warn you against saying anything the next time we see Crowley. I don't need to. But Dean…I don't think the angel on our shoulders should know either."

"You got anything left to tell me?" he said warily, grimacing. "'Cause it seems like every time I turn around, you've got more and more going on behind the scenes than you were thinking about telling us–"

"I told you," Alex quietly interrupted, meeting his gaze calmly. "I don't take your trust lightly, Winchester, and I intend to keep it if I can. I don't take anyone's trust lightly. Even Castiel's, and he might be at the bottom right now, but he's still on my kill list." Alex rocked to her feet, brushing imaginary dust from her jeans. "You and your brother – and Bobby, I suppose – were the first hunters to give me that trust since the man who raised me died. I'll send myself to Purgatory before I lose that trust."

With that, Alex left Dean to his own devices and slipped inside, fully intent on talking to Avery. After all, she could count on one hand how many people she trusted, and Avery was one of them. She could talk about trust all she wanted, but she'd lose some of it soon if she wasn't careful.

Besides.

With each day that passed, it looked as if escaping Purgatory was less and less likely, and Alex supposed it was never too early to start tying up loose ends.

Dean was growing more and more concerned about Sam as the evening wore on. Alex was clearly on better terms with Avery, which told him she'd likely finally told her why she was so reluctant to let her hunt. Dean could tell Alex wasn't happy though, and he was more than willing to bet that Avery had told her off about it, too. She would likely do what she wanted to do and Alex wasn't about to stop her, a fully grown adult, from hunting if she wanted. But even so, it let him focus less on his clearly struggling companion and more on his missing brother.

It was nearing midnight and Dean hadn't moved an inch from where he'd been sitting on the porch steps when an engine finally caught his attention. Dean stood as a car rumbled back into the junkyard, waiting. After a few minutes, Sam finally came staggering back towards the house, stopping when he saw his brother. Dean furrowed his brow, concerned. There was conflicted horror upon his face as he looked at Dean. As if–

Dean was going to kill someone tonight.

"I'm sorry," Sam said hoarsely without pause. "I can't even begin to say how sorry I am, Dean."

Dean exhaled slowly through his nose, fighting to contain the temper that had flared. "Did Alex or Bobby–"

"Avery," admitted Sam, running a hand through his hair with a look of distress. "It was Avery who told me. I…I talked to Cas to clear up the rest."

Dean considered telling Alex that Castiel was back up at the top of her kill list, even as he grimaced. He'd never thought Avery would be the one to tell him, but at the same time…it made sense. Avery was certainly the one that would have told Sam. They got along relatively well and were fairly decent friends before Sam had gone south for the winter. "You weren't supposed to know," he grumbled, and irritation sparked in Sam's gaze.

"What I did?" Sam's voice rose with his agitation. "To Bobby? To Alex? To you? Of course I should know!"

"Sam, Death didn't just shove your soul back in," Dean said quietly, rising from his place on the porch step. He studied his brother closely. Sam looked shattered by what he'd learned, even if he couldn't remember any of it himself. "He put up the great wall of Sam between you and the things you don't remember. Trust me when I say that tearing that wall down will kill you. That's not a joke."

Sam seemed to settle after a few moments of considering that, his hands still trembling. He sighed. "I still have to set things right still. What I can, anyways."

Sam already was, simply by being Sam with a soul again. That was how Dean felt, at least. Sam probably didn't feel the same way whatsoever though. "It wasn't you," he tried to tell him, but Sam shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets as he quietly spoke.

"I feel like I got slipped the worst mickey of all time," Sam said with a bitter laugh. "I woke up to find out that I burnt the whole city down. You can say it wasn't me, but I'm the one with the zippo in my pocket, you know? I'm not sure it's that cut and dry. Look, Dean, I appreciate you trying to protect me. I really do. But I've got to fix what I need to fix, so I need to know what I did."

Dean ground his teeth, frustration flaring in his chest. "You don't know how dangerous that could be."

Sam stared him down, daring him to say otherwise as he said, "And what would you do, Dean?" Dean averted his gaze, scowling. "Right. Same thing."

Dean ran his hands down his face, trying to think of what he should say to convince his brother to not go looking, but at the same time…he wasn't wrong. Dean would be doing the exact same thing. Probably in a way more aggressive manner. He'd be knocking heads to get his answers. He gave Sam credit for not doing that.

"Anyways," muttered Sam, fishing his phone out of his pocket, "I got something while I was out." He paused to pull up a message, and then tossed the phone to Dean. Dean snagged it easily. He frowned at the coordinates he found on the screen. "I don't know who they're from. But I looked into it, and they're for Bristol, Rhode Island, where three women disappeared last week. Apparently they vanished into thin air."

"Could be something," said Dean slowly, offering the phone back.

Sam nodded, clearly agreeing. "Could be another hunter looking for backup," he suggested. "Throwing us a case. Who knows how many I met working with the Campbells. I think we should go."

Dean rocked back, grimacing at the idea. "Hold on. You're just gonna drop everything? You got mysterious coordinates from a mysterious person, leading to a mysterious town, and that doesn't throw up any red flags?"

"I don't know." Sam sighed heavily, looking down at his phone. Dean watched him closely, studying the furrow in Sam's brow as he considered the small amount of information they had. It was clearly bothering Sam, something about those coordinates. "But that doesn't mean we can ignore a bunch of missing girls, Dean."

He had him there. "Fine," muttered Dean. "We'll check it out. But if things get squirrely, we're jumping ship."

Sam nodded. "Right. I'll get Alex if you want to start throwing things together."

Dean considered just briefly telling him to leave Alex alone, that they should do this just the two of them. But at the same time, he was wary of leaving Alex on her own at the moment. Between the information they'd gathered and what she'd told him on top of a lot of dangerous individuals apparently being interested in her…well. He'd rather keep a close eye on her.

"Sounds good."

"Well," said Dean, straightening the stack of papers in front of him with a frown, "freak's got a type."

"Which is?" Alex prompted, stabbing her eggs with a fork. She glanced at him, her face unreadable as she waited.

"Brunettes." Dean suddenly grinned, studying one of the papers in particular. "This one's got a bit of a wild side. All in the eyes. See?" He showed her the paper as Sam rolled his eyes. Alex copied him, sighing heavily at Dean's nonsense before plucking the paper from Dean's hand and looking at it herself. She skimmed the information; nothing useful besides her appearance and the date and location in which she'd last been seen was there. Alex noted the latter two pieces of information. They'd be the most important, of course.

"Aside from your little deep insight there," sighed Sam, not at all impressed with his brother, "these women have nothing in common. They all have different jobs, different friends, different everything. So what's the connection?"

"Why don't you figure that out?" Dean rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders with a smug look. "I'm going to go grab another burger."

"Another?" Alex narrowed her eyes at him. "Winchester, you've had more food than I have, and I have an inhuman stomach. Quite literally." He ignored her, and when he was gone, Alex leaned back in her chair and rolled her eyes again. "Idiot," she muttered almost fondly, and Sam's lips quirked just barely. She ignored the look on his face in favor of jerking her chin, eyes locking onto something over Sam's shoulder. It was no more than a moment later that a voice filled their ears.

"Agent Roark?" a woman said, stopping beside their table. She was pretty enough, with dark hair that tumbled down her shoulders and thick eyelashes framing equally dark eyes. A man was with her, nearly her opposite with light blond hair and a pale complexion. She looked curiously at Alex before focusing entirely on Sam, studying his face. "It's good to see you again."

Alex didn't miss the brief confusion on Sam's face as he said carefully, "It is."

She smiled brightly at him. "You remember my husband? Don?" She gestured to the man beside her and Sam threw a pleading look to Alex, as if hoping she could help him. Alex lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug. She knew about as much as Sam did.

"Of course," Sam said quickly, smiling faintly at them. "Hi."

"So," said the woman, not seeming to recognize that he clearly knew nothing about them, "you're back because it started again, right? The disappearances?"

Sam perked up, and Alex casually leaned back in her chair, attention sharp. This might bring some kind of information they needed, and she casually chirped, "Absolutely. And if you two hear anything, please let Agent Roark here know."

The woman blinked at Alex, as if seeing her for the first time. She furrowed her brow, almost seeming nervous, which made Alex's friendly smile vanish. It was as if the woman could feel that something about Alex was different and that made her stomach clench in fear of what that might cause people to do – maybe not this couple, but in the future for sure. "Where's your partner?" the woman suddenly asked, glancing at Sam. "The big bald guy – Agent Wynand?"

Sam briefly looked unsure of what he was going to say, but was saved by Dean returning with a pair of burgers in hand. Alex nearly beamed at him when he wordlessly passed her one, caught off guard by the pleasant surprise, but saved face and remained focused on the pair. Dean smiled charmingly at the woman. "This is my new partner – and our consultant," Sam hastily tacked on when he realized that they would question Alex's presence.

"Pleasure," said Dean, offering a hand to shake. The woman looked bewildered by them as he did the same to her husband. "Hi. So…Agent," he said casually to Sam. "We should–"

"Oh!" The woman blushed, face flaming a small amount of red. "Right. Nice chatting with you Agent Roark." Despite her flustered look, as they turned to leave, she brushed her hand in a friendly manner over Sam's shoulder, and Alex could scarcely believe the heated look she gave him as soon as her husband's back was turned.

As soon as they were gone, Alex flashed Sam a wolfish grin and teased, "I think she likes you, Agent Roark."

Sam rolled his eyes, looking a little uneasy about that. There was a briefly distant look in his gaze before it cleared and he refocused on the situation at hand. Alex thought there might be some thought he almost shared with them. He decided against it, instead turning to Dean when Dean cleared his throat.

He was holding a photo up. A polaroid, bearing two familiar people – Samuel and none other than one Sam Winchester. Alex leaned in to look curiously at it, interested. "Check out what I found." He passed it over to Sam, and then set his burger on the table, digging out his wallet. "Come on," he said, throwing some cash onto the table. "Let's get out of here."

Dean was, to put it in honest words, severely pissed off.

He didn't want to be here, in this town, where Sam had potentially worked a case he couldn't remember with their grandfather. He'd tried to convince his brother to leave town, but Sam was completely against it, and unfortunately for Dean…Alex was siding with Sam. It left a sting of betrayal that he knew would have amused her had she known.

He knew they were right to some degree. The job was very similar to the one Sam had done with Samuel the year prior, just with a slightly different preference in victim. Dean had tried his damn hardest to convince Sam otherwise, nearly pleading with Alex to make him think about it, that it would be an absolutely terrible idea for them to linger for very long in a place where Sam had already been recognized from a serious situation.

Their father had taught them well when it came to hunting, and even Alex had reluctantly agreed that it wasn't a good idea to hunt in the same town so soon after a prior hunt. Sam had already been recognized, and questions would soon pop up if they hadn't already.

They'd argued over it, of course. Both had fired off arguments in their own defense before Sam had put the nail in their coffin: "You'd do the same thing."

So, here he was.

Following up with one of the missing woman's roommate alongside Alex, who looked incredibly bored, while Sam checked with local police. Dean had tried to convince her to go with Sam, keep an eye on him, but Sam had pointed out he'd not had a dog last time, and it likely would make him even more suspicious. Alex was sprawled out in her furry form near Dean's feet, earning wary looks from the roommate – a pretty woman who'd introduced herself as Sadie – when she pried her jaws open in a large yawn that flashed her teeth. A pointed flick of her ear told him she still hadn't noticed anything amiss.

"So," Dean said as Sadie tucked a dark lock of hair behind her ear and settled onto the sofa across from him, her cheeks flushed a light red as she avoided looking at him, "you and Nicole were roommates for a long time."

"Since college, but we've been best friends for longer," Sadie said quietly, fidgeting with a lock of hair. She cleared her throat softly, crossing her legs at the knee. "The whole thing's really surreal," she admitted quietly. "Are you any closer to finding her?"

"We're doing everything we can," said Dean soothingly, glancing at Alex when she shifted impatiently. He nudged her with his foot, and she stifled a quiet growl in response. "You were with her the night she went missing, right? Did she say anything?" Nevertheless, she hefted herself to her feet and began to poke her nose around, wandering. Sadie was anything but pleased with that, even scowling at him for that as Alex disappeared into her kitchen.

Sadie wrinkled her nose and asked, "Can't you put the dog in the car or something? I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything, I just – I don't like dogs much."

"Your loss," said Dean simply as Alex grumbled from the kitchen, clearly hearing her. "It's a new thing we're trying. Your roommate. Did she say anything when she went missing?"

"Nothing." Sadie ran her fingers anxiously through her hair. "It's like I told the cops. There was nothing. I wish there was something useful I could remember to give you, if only so you could find her."

Dean considered briefly if this was even something worth them hunting. Maybe it was just another random human, stealing people away and killing them, then hiding their bodies where others wouldn't find them. It happened often enough, as unfortunate as that could be.

A soft woof suddenly hit his ears. Dean glanced over as Alex came trotting back into the room, a triumphant gleam in her eyes as she carried something with her. Dean furrowed his brow and held his hand out for her to drop it into, muttering in disgust when it came away with a bit of drool softening its surface. She snorted at him. Apparently, it hadn't been intentional – this time. "This–" He sucked in a sharp breath as he studied the business card she'd found. The name on it was a familiar one: Agent H. Roark. "Where'd you get this?"

"Oh," said Sadie with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Nicole got that from the FBI guy that came through last year."

"Agent Roark," Dean said, lifting a hand in a gesture meant to indicate Sam's height, "about this high?"

Sadie confirmed it with a swift nod. "Yeah. That was him. One of the men that disappeared last year lived in our building." She rocked back in her seat, uneasy. "Agent Roark was asking us all questions about the disappearance. Do you think it's the same guy? The one who took the man from our building?"

Dean considered how to respond for only a moment before deciding against confirming that they were fairly confident that was the case. The girl didn't seem like a bad person. He didn't want to scare her with the idea that she could be next. "Did Agent Roark speak to Nicole?" he asked instead as Alex stretched out beside his feet again, her blue eyes sharp as her ears swiveled this way and that, catching sounds Dean couldn't.

"A couple of times."

"And how would you characterize their relationship?" prompted Dean, already grimacing at the answer he knew they would probably get. When Sadie sputtered, caught off guard, Dean added, "Just the…the tone, or the nature of their conversations."

Sadie's lips quirked into a sly smile. "Well…I'd say loud. And athletic."

Dean blanched, disgusted with the idea of his brother having sex, while Alex snorted loudly, a cough-like sound escaping her. A laugh, he knew, and he didn't hesitate to kick her lightly in the shoulder. She flattened her ears as she snapped her head up to glare at him. Even so, he saw the laughter glittering in her eyes.

It was interesting though. That Sam seemed to have a connection to the victim. It made him wonder just what else Sam had done when he was in town, playing out his role as Agent Roark. Shaking his head, Dean cleared his mind and rose to his feet. Alex didn't bother to move just yet, and he nearly tripped over her when she finally did just as he shuffled aside. He glared at her. She'd done that on purpose – he just knew she'd done it on purpose.

Sadie's gaze darted between them, her eyebrows lifting, but she said nothing as she rose, too.

"Right. Thanks for the help," he told Sadie, and she furrowed her brow. Clearly, she felt as if she'd not given them much of anything. Nevertheless, Dean herded Alex out the front door, waiting until he heard the door click to ask her quietly, "What do you think, Alex? The connections are just getting…weird. Plain out weird."

Alex snorted quietly, her ears pricked as she kept on high alert, just to be safe. She didn't disagree though. She glanced up at him when, quite suddenly, his phone suddenly rang. Frowning, Dean didn't hesitate to answer it, making his way down a flight of stairs.

"Hey," said Sam on the other end before Dean could even open his mouth. "I have a problem."

Dean's lips quirked. "Just now figuring that out?"

Sam chose to ignore Dean's comment. "I was arrested," he said bluntly, and Dean stopped in his tracks, frowning. Alex, hearing every word with her sharp ears, stopped a few feet ahead of him, looking back with narrowed eyes. Her tail swished impatiently. "Apparently, I bashed a cop's brains last time I was here. And worked with this woman's husband. He's missing. She helped me break out, and–"

"Slow down," said Dean, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You were arrested?"

"Yeah. This woman, Brenna, I guess I worked with her husband. He went missing, and she wanted some answers. I told her I'd help her. She helped me break out of the cell. Look, I'm back at where we're staying, but–"

Dean wanted to throttle Sam. This was why he'd not wanted to come here. It was a risk – a big one. "Don't move," he barked, picking up his pace. "I'm on my way. We'll come up with a plan and you can tell me everything we need to know when I get there."

He hung up, hurrying for the Impala. Alex trotted after him, ears pricked and eyes sharp with suspicion. As soon as he'd let her into the back seat, Alex's form began to shift and alter, and Dean didn't bother to make a comment as he was prone to doing when she was naked in his car. Rather, he said as he hastily put the car into drive, aware that she was wiggling into a pair of jeans in the back, "Something's not right here. There's way too many connections to Sam."

Alex grunted in agreement, buttoning her jeans before reaching for her shirt. "Sam's going to need to sit the rest of this out. But Dean, we need to be careful. If a Sam without a soul couldn't kill whatever is here, then it's going to be a hard hunt."

Dean had been thinking along similar lines and nodded, turning sharply into traffic. Someone honked at him, but he ignored them entirely, risking a look over his shoulder in time to see Alex yank the hem of her shirt down. "He knows a lot of people who've disappeared."

"So do we," sighed Alex, meeting his gaze at last. "We're hunters. Unfortunately, that's all the people around us seem to do."

Dean drove them to the abandoned house Sam had elected as a good one to hide out in while they worked, and Alex didn't bother to knock before entering the door. She was unsurprised by the gun waiting for her. She stared down the barrel of the gun, unamused. "Sam," she drawled, arching a brow, "think before you aim, maybe. Besides." She wrinkled her nose. "I can smell the iron. That's not going to work on me."

Sam scowled lightly at her and lowered his gun, clicking on the safety and putting it in the waist of his jeans. He seemed on edge. With good reason, she supposed. He'd escaped jail and the police would be looking for him.

"How does it feel to be a fugitive again, Sam?" asked Dean with forced playfulness as he pushed past Alex and entered the abandoned home. His gaze traveled the spaces he could see, checking for danger even though Sam would have done so first. "Hate to say 'I told you so–'" Sam glowered at him, and Dean grinned. "So, we found out that you knew the victim we were asking about. I got to say, man. You really got around. Soulless or not, I'm kind of impressed."

Alex rolled her eyes and kicked the door shut behind them. "Dean, not the time," she muttered.

A soft beep caught their attention, and Alex immediately focused her attention onto the police scanner they'd set up in the other room. "Eight Sierra Papa," it said. "Got a ten-fifty-seven, eleven hundred block of Hope Street. Over."

"Missing person," Sam commented, grimacing. He ran his hand through his hair with a look of frustration. "Another one."

Dean exchanged a quick look with Alex, who shrugged. She'd stay or go investigate – it was up to him. "I'll go," sighed Dean. He shoved his hands into his pockets, checking to make sure he had everything he needed. "Alex–"

"I'll stick with Sam," she said with a charming smile in Sam's direction, promising with a single glance to keep Sam under watch so that he couldn't get himself into any more trouble. Sam saw the look and scowled angrily at the pair of them, muttering under his breath about how he didn't need a babysitter, but Alex ignored it. Sam hadn't proven himself to be capable of staying out of trouble. Dean looked grateful about it though, especially as he told Sam, "Stay here, and don't leave. I'll be back."

"I'm not a kid," snapped Sam, throwing his hands up.

Alex lit up, waving Dean off in a dismissive manner so she could distract Sam with teasing while Dean left. It would keep Sam distracted so that he didn't feel as annoyed about having to stay behind again.

Dean slid out the door just as Alex had hoped. With just she and Sam left behind, Alex rocked back on her heels and gave the younger Winchester a thoughtful, evaluating look. Finally, she sighed heavily and asked, "There's no way you're going to just sit here and let Dean and I handle this case, is there? Right. Well. Might as well go if you're not going to stop. So where are we going?"

"...what?" muttered Sam, bewildered by what was happening. He stared at her, dark eyes wide, and Alex flashed him a wicked smile.

"You were going to slip out the second he was gone," she told him, hands on her hips. "Despite what you might think, Sam, I'm not an idiot. I've known you pair of fools for a while now. So let's go. There's a car we can borrow down the road."

Sam hesitated, seeming unsure of whether she was serious or not. "You're not going to rat me out to Dean?" he said finally. He strode across the room, digging through the bag he'd left in the corner. He retrieved a few weapons, including a silver knife that made Alex wary. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of it, even as she shrugged in response to his question.

"Not yet I won't. I said I'd stick with you, not that I'd keep you trapped here like you're in time out." Alex rolled her eyes. "Besides, like I said. I know the second I look away from you, you're going to disappear and go investigate on your own."

Sam tried to protest, but Alex waved him off. When he was prepared and comfortable with the number of weapons he had to ensure they were well-covered, he led the way out the door, still seeming suspicious of Alex's reasons for going with him. She ignored his wary looks as she wandered over to the car she'd seen, not hesitating to break into it with ease, keeping an eye out for any sign of the actual owners of the car.

They ran into no trouble, however, and soon, they were on the road, Sam behind the steering wheel and Alex tapping away on her phone, raking her mind for anything she could think of regarding their case and what they could be hunting.

It was as Sam was pulling into a driveway following a failed attempt at finding information in a police station that Alex's phone suddenly buzzed to life. She glanced down at the screen and grimaced lightly. Dean, read the caller ID. Alex considered whether or not she should answer. Dean had gone to investigate a disappearance. He might have important information–

"Are you coming?" demanded Sam, stooping to look at her in the car. He'd already climbed out and was waiting impatiently for her to join him so they could break into a house. Alex wasn't sure why they were there. The house looked like any other for the most part. It was definitely inhabited. There was a car out front.

She smoothed her thumb over the phone and then made her decision, firing off a text containing their location to him and telling him to meet them back at the abandoned house they were staying in an hour before clambering out of the car. An hour seemed like enough time to get what they needed and get back. If they weren't back, then Dean would know where to come looking. "Patience, Sam," she drawled. She put her hands on her hips as she studied the house. "What are we looking for here?"

"A case file." Sam led the way around the back of the house, testing windows as he went and watching out for any signs of security systems. The windows were all firmly locked, much to their disappointment. Alex wasn't surprised.

As Sam went to work on breaking in through the back door after giving up on all the windows, Alex felt her phone vibrate again. She checked the message, listening closely for any signs of danger as she did so. Dean had replied, of course, and he was anything but pleased. You were supposed to keep him out of trouble.

He won't stay out of trouble, so I've got his back while he walks right into it, she responded before looking up at the familiar sound of a lock unlocking. She hastily added, 1 hour and sent the message. She pocketed her phone again. She needed to focus on the situation at hand, not on the temper she was sure she'd face when she and Sam got back to their temporary home base.

Sam led the way into the house, and Alex remained on high alert. "Whose house is this anyway, Sam?" she demanded under her breath as he paused to evaluate where they should start looking. She knew why they were here, and what they were looking for: old case files related to the previous hunt Sam had apparently been on.

"Brenna Dobbs," he whispered back. Sam chose to start in a study to their left, crossing through a small dining room. Alex listened closely for footsteps as they did so. The study they entered was messy, containing an overloaded desk filled with papers. Some shelves were staggered around the room and contained various books. When Alex skimmed their spines, she found books on criminology, law, and other such law enforcement related topics.

"Why?" she asked.

"I worked with her husband the last time I was here," said Sam without bothering to explain why he knew that or how he'd remembered. Alex eyed him, worried. It couldn't be good regardless.

She didn't bother to ask though, not as something else caught her attention. She growled softly as she whirled around, eyes sharp in the dim lighting of the house. "Sam, incoming," she said hastily as footsteps lightly descended a flight of stairs. A few moments later, a woman with dark sleep-tousled hair appeared in the entrance to the study. She froze at the sight of them, her breath hitching, and Sam hastily held his hands up. "I'm sorry," he said in a rushed tone before she could say anything."

Brenna Dobbs appeared to recognize Sam on sight, and her eyes hardened with fury at the sight of him. "You can't be here," she said harshly. "Not after what you did. I let you out, and now Debbie Harris is gone." The woman Dean had gone to investigate, assumed Alex. She kept quiet, letting Sam handle the situation.

Sam grimaced. "That wasn't me," he said in a placating voice. "Look, we need your help." Brenna gave a breathless laugh of disbelief. "I know. Brenna, I need the case files that your husband made about the disappearances last year. We checked the police station, but it wasn't there. It's gone. I have a theory about who might have it."

"Do you now?" Alex muttered, annoyed he'd not bothered to tell her. Brenna fired her a suspicious, wary look, and Alex did her best to smile charmingly at her. It only made Brenna blanch, as if she could sense something odd about her. Alex tried to pretend it didn't hurt.

"We want the same thing here," Sam told Brenna quietly. "I promise. We want to find out what happened last year, and we want to stop what's happening now."

Brenna studied him, and then glanced at Alex again. "Who are you?"

"Someone who's helping Sam stop more people from disappearing," Alex said simply.

It took Brenna a moment to decide. Finally, she turned away from them both and walked away, calling over her shoulder, "The file's upstairs. I'll be back." She began flicking lights on as she went, leaving them alone.

Alex blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the change of light. When Brenna was far enough upstairs that she couldn't hear them, Alex told Sam, "We're picking Dean up after this. He knows. Just so you know."

Sam threw her a dirty look, and Alex shrugged. Dean would have found them regardless. She'd just organized the when.

Brenna came back then with a box of files, setting it neatly on the table. "Here," she murmured, and they descended on the files like a pair of hungry wolves. Alex flipped through a few, finding nothing helpful. They were missing persons files, containing information on the people Sam had investigated the first time he'd come through more than likely.

They'd been flipping through the files for a few minutes when Sam suddenly locked up, his gaze sharp. "Arachne," he murmured just softly enough that Brenna wouldn't hear. Alex did though, and her attention snapped from the picture of one of the missing men she'd been looking at. She stared harshly at him as he snapped his file shut and said quickly to Brenna, "Brenna, do you mind if we borrow all this stuff?"

Brenna, who'd been watching them the entire time they'd been looking, nodded. "Sure." She hesitated, studying Sam, and then asked, "You really don't remember Roy, do you?" When Sam shook his head, she told them, "Roy was a good man. I've made peace that he's dead. But I just want to know what happened to him."

Alex didn't know this woman. Not at all. But she knew the pain she felt. Maybe their situations were different, but she'd lost people, too, just as Sam had, just as Dean had. "I'm sorry," she said softly. Brenna glanced at her. "For your pain. If he is truly dead, then…even if it shouldn't have happened, I'm sure it was a good one, one done for a reason that would have made you proud."

Brenna's lips parted, and then curved into a tired, pained smile. "Thank you."

Alex and Sam gathered the files quickly, and as Sam tucked the box under his arm, Alex checked how long they had before Dean was supposed to show up. It wasn't much, but they had time. Sam bid Brenna a final farewell, and then they hurried out the front door. Brenna locked it firmly behind them.

Lingering for just a moment on the front porch, Alex began typing out a message to Dean. "I'm going to let Dean know we're on our way back to our home base," she told Sam without looking up. "That way–"

"Alex, look at this," muttered Sam, and she paused to glance up at him. He'd stepped to the side, studying something. Curious, Alex sent the message and followed him, peering up. It was a spider web, she realized. More of an old cobweb at this point, but something made by a spider nonetheless.

And it was a big one.

"What the bloody–"

A ding caught her attention, one she'd heard before, and Alex whipped around just as a hand seized her shoulder and yanked her back. A yelp escaped her and before she could react herself, Sam had dropped his box and spun around, gun primed and ready to fire.

"Whoa!" cried Dean, throwing his hands up. "Watch it!"

"Dean," Sam yelped in horror, immediately lowering his weapon. "I almost shot you! What the hell, man?!"

Alex's heart raced in her chest as Dean dropped his hand from her shoulder, and she rubbed ruefully at her chest. She bared her teeth at Dean irritably. "I told you to meet us at the abandoned house in an hour, not here."

Dean glared right back at her. "And I told you to keep him out of trouble, Alex! The victims didn't just have connections to Sam – he is the connection! Anyone he came in contact with has disappeared!" Alex's lips parted. She hadn't thought that far ahead, she supposed. It made sense though. "Now. Get in the damn car. Alex, you're in the back seat."

Her jaw dropped. "I'm not a child."

"Yeah, well, start acting like an adult and do what you're supposed to." Dean pointed at the Impala he'd left idling on the curb a short distance down the street, and her eyes flared wide with fury. She snatched up the box Sam had dropped and stormed down the porch steps, heading for the Impala. A grumbling Dean followed her, dragging his brother along by the arm. Sam tried to protest, but Dean silenced him with a look.

When they were all unhappily seated in the car, Dean threw it into drive and peeled away from the curb at a quick speed that drew a yelp from Sam. After a few minutes of grumpy silence, Sam suddenly said quietly, "Arachne."

Forcing herself to forget how annoyed she was with the eldest Winchester, Alex perked up. "You said that in the house."

Sam glanced over his shoulder at her. His face was grim. "Yeah. It's an arachne. I remembered."

"You what?" sputtered Alex at the same time that Dean slammed on the brakes and snapped his attention entirely onto his brother as he barked, "You remembered? What else have you remembered?!"

Sam rolled his eyes as if it were nothing to be worried about. "Don't worry so much. It's nothing to do with Hell. Besides, what do you expect me to do? It's not like I'm trying to remember anything. It just…started coming back, okay? Maybe it's natural."

As the car started forward again at a speed higher than Sam or Alex would have liked, Dean glared at his brother out of the corner of his eye and said curtly, "We're leaving." When Sam protested, Dean cut him off without a moment's hesitation. "We are not the only hunters on the planet. We'll call Bobby, and he could bring Avery up to wrap it up."

"Like hell he's bringing Avery up here to deal with something Sam couldn't solve the first go around," said Alex darkly, baring her teeth at the eldest Winchester from the backseat. He ignored her entirely, of course, which only served to piss her off further.

"Whatever this thing is," said Dean as if she'd not spoken, "it hates you, Sam. We're not staying."

"I know who did it," insisted Sam. "I know who it is. I just…I can't remember right now. It'll come back–"

Dean threw his hands up, and then slapped them back down on the steering wheel. "I don't think you get the risk here," he snapped. He shot Sam a small glare, frustrated. "Sam, every time you scratch that wall, you're playing Russian roulette. And I don't think Cas can help you if it goes down."

"Look," Sam said with a heavy sigh, pressing his face into his hands. He dragged them down and let them flop them back into his lap. He sounded exhausted when he said, "I'm starting to think I might have done some bad stuff here. I don't care if it's dangerous. I have to set things right since I have a soul now and it won't let me walk away. I'm staying here, whether you like it or not. Whether both of you like it or not." He threw a nearly pleading look over his shoulder at Alex. "So I need you to back me up, okay?"

Alex, leaning forward when she knew she likely should have been wearing a seatbelt with Dean's aggravated driving, glanced at Dean. He met her gaze briefly, brow furrowed, before looking back at the road. The look was enough. He looked irritated, but accepting as Alex gently rested her hand on Sam's shoulder and squeezed it. "Okay," she said simply. "Then tell us what you need, Sam."

Alex could tell that while Dean was trying to read some of the old newspaper clippings he'd acquired from older disappearances, he couldn't focus for long enough to actually comprehend what he was looking at. She was having a difficult time, too, her mind racing a thousand miles a minute. Sam had taken a phone call in another room, keeping his voice low and hushed, and Alex was sure it had to do with the case they were working on. He'd tell them when he came back.

Deciding to give up after reading the same fact about Crete over and over again, Alex slapped the laptop shut and turned the entirety of her attention onto Dean. He glanced over at her, lifting a brow in question. "I hate to side on the side with the dangerous things," she said, "but I think Sam would have remembered all of this regardless of what hunt we were on. Maybe not this particular case, but that wall Death put up…no wall is built to last forever, Dean."

Dean grimaced. "I know," he muttered. "I just don't think we should be picking at it and make it fall sooner."

Alex hummed her agreement, propping her chin in her hand. She could hear Sam's low voice murmuring urgently on the phone, though she couldn't make out what he was saying. After a moment, she admitted, "I agree with you. After this case, maybe you can coerce him into a vacation somewhere or something."

Dean's lips twitched. "You don't want to come?"

"I'm going to do some work on tracking down information on Purgatory and whatever happened with the alpha skinwalker I killed." Alex flashed him a wicked grin, showing off her sharpened canines. "Someone's gotta keep working while you idiots faff about."

Before Dean could reply, Sam appeared in the doorway, face grim. "We need to go," he said.

"What? Why? What happened?" demanded Alex, rocking upright.

"Brenna," he admitted. "It was Brenna. She said it was no big deal, but she wanted me to swing by, and I could tell she's in trouble."

Dean and Alex asked no questions. Rather, they lurched into action, and within minutes, they were in the Impala, barreling down the road at a speed that would have likely gotten them pulled over had a policeman caught them. It took them half the time it should have to reach Brenna's home, and when they did, Dean parked them down the street – just in case, he told them.

Alex checked to ensure her blade was where it ought to be – it was – and chose to don a pair of gloves so she could safely handle the silver-loaded gun Sam handed her as Dean raided the arsenal in the trunk for weapons they might be able to use. Neither she nor the boys had come up with a solid way of killing the Arachne, so they'd have to make do.

"Seriously?" muttered Alex with a snort when Dean elected to bring along a few items for a makeshift flamethrower.

He flashed her a humorless grin, handed Sam a machete, and slammed the trunk shut as quietly as he could.

"Back door," decided Sam as they stopped in front of Brenna's house. Alex was on high alert, keeping a sharp eye out for anything they might miss. She carefully breathed in and wrinkled her nose at an old, rancid smell. She grabbed Sam's arm to stop him when he started for the back door. Sam glanced at her, and she shook her head, following the scent with quick steps. Dean and Sam fell into step close behind her, and they eventually found themselves at a shed in the corner of the backyard. No one moved to enter it – not yet, at least. Alex palmed her blade uncertainly. Her canine instincts screamed that something was wrong. Her jaw clenched, Alex took a step back. "Something's not right," she muttered aloud. The brothers looked inclined to agree with her.

"Sam?"

"Brenna!" Sam spun on his heel to look at Brenna, relieved. She was standing behind them, in the middle of the yard. Her arms were wrapped around herself, her face stricken. Her face was pale, even in the moonlight.

"What you did to Roy…" Brenna's voice hitched in grief, and Alex knew immediately that whatever had happened wasn't good. "Is it true?" Sam faltered, clearly knowing what she was talking about. Alex wished he'd bothered to tell her and Dean what was going on. It would have certainly helped with everything that was going on.

Footsteps in the grass and a strong waft of the strange scent she'd caught had Alex whirling around with a deep snarl, her blade held at the ready. Alex's stomach churned at the sight of the man standing there. He'd clearly been human once, but now…his face held a strange veining, his eyes a pale blue that outdid her own. When he shifted, the movement was jerky and unnatural and sent chills down her

Dean's hand went for one of the weapons he'd brought with him, but the man – clearly infected with something – was on him in an instant, hurling him at the ground so hard that it knocked the breath from his chest. Alex lurched forward, the knife immediately aimed for his chest. The creature that she presumed to be the arachne managed to jerk back in time that it only left a long but shallow laceration. Alex cursed, dancing back, but the arachne managed to catch her in the face with a blow that made her stumble. She still managed to get back enough that it stopped, her gaze darting between Dean, the arachne, and then Sam when the arachne said without looking at her, "Got to admit, Sam. I look good – except for the souvenir." He traced a finger over a hole that Alex hadn't initially noticed in his forehead.

"You win, Roy," Sam said urgently, glancing back again at Brenna, who hadn't moved. Tears streamed down her face. Alex shifted so she could keep half of her attention on Brenna, too, just in case she decided to take advantage of the distraction. "This has nothing to do with Brenna. Let her go."

The arachne, Roy, who must have been the husband Brenna had lost, laughed. "You come back around and start hanging with my wife, and you think that this has nothing to do with her?" He shook his head, eyes narrowing a fraction. He didn't so much as look away from Sam as Dean, still wheezing, rocked upright. Alex noted the look he shot her, and she nodded just slightly, hoping Roy hadn't noticed. "You thought I was out of the way, right?" mocked Roy. "I got to say…you get a hell of a lot wrong, Sam. Like that thing you threw me to. You thought it was here to feed, but…guess I fit her profile."

Alex's lips twisted into a disgusted grimace. The arachne had been there to breed. Disgusting.

"She bit us," mused Roy almost softly, "to turn us into what she was. By the time you pulled that trigger, I wasn't human. Not anymore. So…" He traced a finger over the bullet hole in his skull. "Bullets didn't hurt me much. Oh, and neither did that fire. So after you left, we ran. I hid for months. Nearly starved." His face twisted with rage as he glared at Sam then. "Every night, I dreamed about ripping out your throat. I thought you'd have figured it out sooner. The text…all those girls…I was kicking so much sand in your eye. But then Bren tells me you've got brain damage. It's just too good."

Sam risked another look in Brenna's direction. She'd not moved. She simply watched them blankly, as if she didn't care what happened or who was going to get hurt. He swallowed as he hastily cast a quick glance at his brother. Dean was slowly getting to his feet now, gaze sharp and aggravated. He wasn't pleased to have been thrown around so easily, thought Alex, lips quirked. She'd have to tease him about it.

"The women," rasped Sam uneasily. "Where are they?"

"Scattered in the wind," he laughed. "They're like me now. Congratulations, Sam. You killed one monster and made so many in return."

The look of self-loathing on Sam's face was what did it. Dean jolted forward without an ounce of hesitation. "Alex, watch her!"

Alex spun away as he crashed into the arachne, blade still at the ready as she lunged for Brenna. Brenna had clearly lured them there, and Alex couldn't say she liked her much now, but she didn't hate her. She didn't deserve to end up caught up in this mess because of everything that had happened when Sam hadn't had a soul, nor did Sam deserve to pay for what he'd done, simply because it hadn't been him.

Sam ensured Alex was alright with Brenna, within arm's reach, before he sprinted for Roy and Dean. The pair were locked in a struggle in which Dean had lifted a gun that was likely useless and Roy had grabbed his wrist to stop him from firing. Alex eyed the neighbor's house as she growled under her breath, unsure of what she should do besides stand there.

Sam solved the problem.

In a few swift movements, no hesitation in sight, he drew his machete and beheaded Roy. Dean cursed as the arachne's head fell away, jumping back. He looked mildly annoyed, though pleased when no blood spattered him. There was a moment of harsh breathing in which they simply stared at the body. Alex didn't move, growling under her breath. Dean and Sam exchanged a quick glance.

And then a soft sob escaped Brenna as she buckled to her knees, hands clutching her chest as if she could crush the heartbreak from it, and Alex grimaced.

She much preferred when they did this with no one around.

Brenna wanted nothing to do with them after they'd destroyed the body of the arachne that had once been her husband. Alex couldn't blame her for that. She'd not have wanted anything to do with them either.

So, upon leaving Brenna's house, they'd gone back to their base camp in the abandoned house they'd been squatting in. "We need to get out of here sooner rather than later," Sam had told them quietly, and neither Dean nor Alex had argued with that statement. They'd simply left Roy's body in the middle of Brenna's yard, so she didn't want to see what would happen come morning and it was still there.

She just hoped that it wouldn't come back to life. She didn't want any other arachnes rolling around later when they looked for a new hunt.

It was as they were shoving things back into their bags that Sam said suddenly, "You were right, Dean. We shouldn't have come back."

Alex glanced up beneath her lashes, watching for Dean's reaction to decide her own. Dean shrugged. His attention remained on what he was doing as he said almost roughly, "Well…you did kill something that needed killing. Even if I don't like that we came here, it's a good thing we did. He would have kicked someone else's ass, and the last thing we need is a hunter turning into one and coming after us."

Alex snorted quietly. At least skinwalkers weren't included in that thought line – at least, not anymore they weren't. Getting what Sam was thinking without having to ask, Alex said quietly, "Sam, everything that happened when you had no soul…it wasn't you. Perhaps it was your body, but it wasn't the same you right here in front of us. It's not the fault of the same Sam who's clearly torn up about it."

Hefting his duffel bag onto his shoulder, Dean pointed at Alex and began making his way to the door. "What she said," he called over his shoulder.

Somewhat frustrated, Sam scowled and scooped up his own bag. Watching him closely, Alex tried another route, picking up her bag, too. "If one of us – if me, or Bobby, or…just, if one of us turned around and told you that we needed help, Sam, what would you do?"

Sam paused, looking absolutely bewildered as to where this was going. "I'd help."

"And that's why we argue your point," she said warmly. "Because that other Sam we don't think is you? He wouldn't have. In fact, he would have carved us open and left us out as bait if that's what would accomplish his–"

Alex abruptly cut off when right before her eyes, Sam suddenly crumpled. "Sam!" His name left her lips on a breathless wheeze of surprise as she lurched forward, bag thumping to the rotten floorboards. Sam hit them, too, before she could reach him. "Sam," she repeated, hastily patting his cheek a few times. His eyes were open, she noted hastily, but glazed over as if he weren't seeing what she did. His breathing stuttered in ragged gasps and choked sounds, almost as if he were seizing yet not quite. "Bloody hell – Dean!" She lifted her head, voice rising to a cry, and then a scream.

"Dean!"

WELP. IT'S BEEN A WHILE. BUT HAVE AN UPDATE AND MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES. I'm not sure what happened, because I've been actively working on this chapter every week for a while? Regardless, hope you enjoyed the arachne (not my favorite episode, but seemed relatively important to include). We might do the grand awaited French Mistake episode next, not sure yet.

On another note, I'm rewriting! You may notice some changes in the beginning of this fic especially, so keep an eye out!

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE! And thank you to all reviewers (Savage Kill, savethemadscientist, Mia, and Kirsty!) as well as those who favorited and followed!