Dinner is as awkward as it was last night, no one feeling brave enough to start a conversation when all of them can hear Kayla crying in another room. Unlike his wife, Jackson refuses to show anyone how upset he is with the death of his only daughter. He keeps his lips pressed tightly together, blue eyes narrowed suspiciously, and his back so straight that Elizabeth's surprised when it doesn't just snap under the constant pressure.
Elizabeth pokes at her green beans with her fork, just moving them around to make it look like she's eaten more than she really has. Seeing Clarke this afternoon has messed her up more than she ever thought was possible, bad memories coming back. She remembers how tight the belt was around her throat, the feeling of small bones about to give, and then warm blood covering her hand as she stabbed him with a sharp of broken beer bottle. Her shaking hands has the fork dropping to the plate with a loud clatter that draws attention to her.
"Sorry," she mumbles, hiding her hands under the table. "I think I'm gonna head upstairs." She makes a point to walk calmly all the way upstairs to her bedroom, then starts the shower and curls up in the corner of the room, her crying muffled by the sound of water beating against porcelain. Elizabeth keeps her knees drawn up against her chest, her forehead resting on her knees, and her fingers tugging on her hair to keep her from lapsing into the vivid memories.
She's been attacked plenty of times before, but it's always been by monsters who have attack programmed into the DNA. Humans are another thing entirely, she's only ever been attacked like that once before by a human, and she's on a fucking field trip to rescue his dumb ass.
"Liza?" Sam comes into the bathroom, sitting down beside her and wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders. He pulls gently until she's tucked against his side, both arms wrapped around her and his cheek resting against the top of her head as she continues to cry. "We'll catch him, alright? We'll catch him and then we'll burn him to make sure he doesn't come back this time."
"Thank you, Sammy."
"It's the other thing too, right? The John thing?" Her eyes close as the memories shift, the leather belt turning into a pair of calloused hands connected to a drunk man. John used to drink a lot back in the day, he'd found out that Liza was a Chosen and tried to strangle her after one too many beers. Sam had run to get Bobby and they'd all come to the silent agreement not to tell Dead, the kid had enough parental issues to deal with. "I wish you hadn't got involved in the hunt for Dad, then none of this would have happened."
"I'd be worried about you boys if I stayed at home."
"And when we do find him? What then?"
"Then we'll take everything one step at a time. If he tries to hurt me, I'll hurt his ass back." After all, she does feel the near overwhelming urge to break something and it might as well be John.
"I'll help you do it." They sit in silence for what feels like hours after that, Sam just holding Elizabeth and whispering soothing nonsense until the tears stop.
"Will you stay with me tonight? Like we used to when one of us had bad dreams?"
"Of course I will. What kind of big brother would I be if I left you to fend for yourself like that?"
"You're only older by a whole fifteen hours, so stuff it." Laughing, Sam easily scoops her up and carries her into her room where Dean is waiting on the bed. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," he returns, taking her from Sam and depositing her beside him. "How are you feeling?"
"Been better, I suppose." Sam excuses himself, going to take a shower and change into his pajamas to let Dean and Elizabeth have a moment by themselves. "I'm sorry I got so emotional earlier. I know how weird it is."
"Don't apologize, Liza, there's no need for it. That bastard tried to murder you in your own motel room, I think you have more cause to get upset about seeing him than anyone else. Besides, when you get all teary-eyed, I get to play the sensitive male and cuddle with you."
"You're such a dork."
"Yeah, but I'm your dork." She smiles up at him, resting her head on his shoulder as he twines their fingers together, their joined hands resting on his leg. He's warm and he smells amazing, she doesn't want to leave his side even if the world begins to end. Dean leans against the pile of pillows, pulling her with him and positioning them so that her head is against his chest and one of her legs is between both of his.
"You smell good."
"You don't smell so bad yourself, girly." Elizabeth laughs a little under her breath, snuggling her head under his chin and wrapping one of her arms around his waist. Slowly, her eyes close and her breathing deepens until she's lost to a dreamless sleep.
When Sam woke up the next morning, he expected to be alone and comfortable, instead he has a blonde wrapped around him like some sort of mutant pretzel. He frowns down at his friend, wondering if she had always snored so loudly and how she'd managed to do this without waking him up in the first place.
Wondering what will happen, he wiggles until he's at the edge of the bed, then stands up and stares down at Elizabeth in shock. She's managed to hang onto him tightly, but is still sound asleep, her head hanging limply.
"How in the hell…?"
"Hey, man, you ready to… Go…" Dean pauses as he stares down at Elizabeth, head tilted slightly as he shares Sam's question. "How is that even possible?" Suddenly, Elizabeth's snoring cuts off and she falls to the ground with a shout, Sam and Dean still staring at her in some shock. She rubs her butt, looking around her in confusion until something dawns on her.
"I'm sleep walking again," she states, more to herself than to anyone else. "Fan-friggin-tastic." Grumbling under her breath, she gets up and leaves the room, the sound of her shower starting up soon after as Sam and Dean are left behind to stare at each other.
"She's like Spider-Woman or somethin."
"Right," Sam agrees, shaking his head with a smile. "What'd you need anyway?"
"Oh, uh, I was wondering if you were ready to go, but apparently you and Liza were challenging gravity."
"Gravity won."
"Yeah, well, get dressed and meet me downstairs. I wanna get outta here before Cranston wakes up and sends me that get off my lawn old man glare again." Sam nods as his brother leaves and closes the door. He smooths down his bed-head and gets dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans, a Stanford tee, boots, and his heavy jacket. Where it had been pretty nice in Stillwater, it's downright cold in Sleepy Hollow.
By the time he makes it down the stairs and to the main hallway, the others are dressed and waiting for him, Elizabeth still stumbling around trying to get her Converse laced up.
"Why don't you just sit down to do that?"
"Because," she grunts, still hopping in place," Dean bet me twenty bucks I couldn't tie my shoes without sitting or leaning on something." Finally, after nearly falling on her face a grand total of seven times, Elizabeth straightens up with a sigh, holding her hand out in front of Dean's face. "Pay up, bitch." Looking put out, Dean pulls a twenty out of his wallet and slaps it on her open palm, Elizabeth looking smug as she tucks it away in her bra.
"If you two are ready to be adults, can we get going," Archer asks, raising his brows. "I mean, really, how hard is it to act your age and not your shoe size?"
"I don't know, Archer, haven't you figured that out yet?" Archer rolls his eyes, letting Elizabeth shoulder past him before following after her. Sam just smiles as he and his brother follow after them, Sam climbing in the front seat while Dean takes his place behind the wheel, the gentle purr of the engine something both boys are intimately familiar with.
He has to admit it, Sam's kind of missed the adrenaline rush he gets when he solves a case and saves people—it is, after all, the family business—but he doesn't much care for all the research and death that comes with the job.
"Luka said the library was in the center of town across the street from the high school," Archer says. Dean nods to show he heard him, navigating easily through the town even with the higher amount of traffic that comes with school days.
The high school looks like something you'd see in a zombie movie, the lights flickering from the heavy rain and the students wandering around campus in a sort of daze. This is the first day back since the murders, so it's understandable that no one is ready to face the day.
Sam shakes his head sadly, him and the others running up the stone steps to the library doors. Inside is warm and the lighting is dim, but the floor is slick under his wet boots until he makes it up another set of stairs to the carpeted area. Like most libraries, this one has several bookcases set up in the middle of the room, windows set high up in the walls with wire over the outside of them, and a circulation desk set up on the right.
Sam moves to speak with the older woman behind the desk, giving her a polite smile. "Hi," he greets," I'm new here, so could you tell me if you guys had a microfiche I could look at?"
"Yes we do," the woman nods. "You'll have to go down to the basement level and then into the genealogy room. You can ask the woman down there to help you find the tape you want to look at."
"Thank you very much." Dean and Elizabeth have already wandered off to the history section, Elizabeth staring down at the book in her hands while Dean has his hands on her hips and whispers something that has her grinning impishly up at him.
"When are those two ever going to start dating," Archer asks as he and Sam start back down the stairs to the entryway and then down another set to the basement.
"Whenever they pull the wool off their eyes and realize their feelings are deeper than sex." He has a feeling that they both know how the other feels, but they're just staying apart to see how long it takes for Sam to go crazy and force them to admit their feelings at knife point.
There's a younger woman manning the desk downstairs, most of the books down here for children or teenagers, though Sam can see a ramp that leads to a door with an adults only sign taped to it.
"We want to use the microfiche, please."
"Uh, right," the girl says, rising too quickly and almost falling. Archer catches her easily, a lifetime of fighting having his reflexes working better than most people's. The girl, a shy little redhead, blushes when Archer straightens her up, walking up the ramp with her head down.
"Really, dude?"
"What," Archer grins. "It's not my fault that I look amazing."
Once they have gathered all they can at the library—much of it based on the legend written by Washington Irving—Sam and Elizabeth decide to head to the diner to grab some lunch while Dean goes to the local bakery to grab himself some pie for later, and Archer hikes back to the bridge since the rain has stopped and the sun is struggling to break through the dark clouds. Like most Okies say, if you don't like the weather, then you just have to wait a minute.
"Want your usual," Sam checks as Elizabeth finds them a table outside under the awning. She gives him a nod, covering her seat with her jacket before sitting down. It isn't as chilly as it was earlier, so she can deal without a jacket long enough to eat and head back to the Cranston estate.
"And don't forget the extra pickles!"
"I know your order, blondie!" She's just settled back in her seat when she feels a set of hands massaging her shoulders. She thinks it's Dean at first, trying to be flirty while Sam isn't around to judge, but then she realizes that Dean wouldn't lean down and sniff her. She pushes the calloused hands off of her as they try to move lower, turning to face the creep.
"Want to take me home," the man asks in a low Southern drawl. He's around Elizabeth's height and she'd probably consider him handsome if he didn't have an aura of I steal candy from babies that clings to him like a bad cologne.
"Sorry, the last random guy I took home fucked me and then tried to strangle me, so you can imagine why I'm a bit hesitant."
"Don't worry, Elizabeth, I'm just taking you to see an old buddy of yours." She stands so fast that the chair topples onto its side, drawing attention from the other patrons inside the diner and making the man in front of her grimace.
"Really? Such a fuss."
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Kade Abrams and I need a small sacrifice on your part." He's had one hand in his pocket the entire time she's been facing him and now he brings it out, blowing a powdery something or other into her face. She jerks back on instinct, tasting the powder on her tongue.
"What is that?" Kade doesn't answer, smirking as her world tilts on its axis and sends her toppling against him. Whatever it is works fast, her legs turning to jelly beneath her and her surroundings turning blurry.
"I was hoping you'd come willingly, but Alexander did warn me how stubborn you were."
And then things go dark.