Author's Note: Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates. I hope 2024 brings good things to you and yours. I hesitate to say it, but I certainly hope it's better than my 2023 was.

I thought it would take me awhile to get this chapter written and published, but it went much faster than I anticipated. I had fun writing it. I've had parts of it taking up space in my brain for a while, but I hadn't been about to figure out how to incorporate them into the story. I'm so happy I was finally able to use them. I have a broad idea of where I want this story to go from here, but I haven't quite figured out the details. It might be a while, but I'll definitely let you know when I do!

If you like what I've written, please post a review or send me a message. I love hearing from my readers.

CHAPTER 32

Marissa Stockton pulled into the driveway of the modest craftsman house that occupied a large lot in an older subdivision just outside Lebanon city limits. It was the last house on a narrow road and had a slightly neglected look about it. The fallen leaves from the nearby trees were a thick carpet over the too tall grass, and the planters along the porch railings held nothing but dried remnants of whatever had once grown in them.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself for what she was about to do. In previous years, she had held these mid-semester meetings with the home-schooled students and their parents in her office. She changed that this year for the sole purpose of this particular meeting. To make it seem less suspicious, though, she had arranged to meet with all of them in their homes. She knew the administration would certainly have something to say about it if they found out, and if she survived this encounter. Unless she counted her meeting with the Winchesters and Krissy, this was the first of those meetings. She knew she would have to follow through with the other families, but she wanted this one out of the way.

She also knew that she'd have to deal with the Winchester brothers as well. Marissa smiled to herself at the thought. She was old enough to be their mother, but she had no doubt neither of them would have a problem with reading her the riot act if they'd known the details of her plan. It had been a bit over a week since she'd learned of the possibility that Zoe and her parents had been possessed by demons. She'd come up with this plan to confirm their suspicions, but she hadn't shared any of the details. In fact, other than texting them a few days prior that she had a plan, she had ignored any attempts they'd made to communicate with her. Now, she would either survive to tell them what she discovered, or she wouldn't. One way or the other, they would have an answer to at least one of their questions.

She sighed heavily as she reached into the small tote bag sitting in the footwell of the front passenger seat of her car and pulled out a spray bottle of holy water. She'd managed to fill the bottle from the stoup at the cathedral where she occasionally attended Sunday mass. She gave a short laugh as she remembered the sense of relief she'd felt when she'd entered the sanctuary and found it empty. She made a mental note as she sprayed the holy water on the outside of a disposable water bottle that she would need to disclose the theft the next time she went to confession. She could only image the penance the priest would assign to her. Too bad she didn't think she'd be able to fully disclose the reason for her theft, since she might have at least earned some points for that.

She hoped the holy water on the outside of the drinking bottle would appear to be condensation, and she would be perceived to have bad manners when she failed to dry her hand off before shaking hands with Zoe's parents. If things went according to plan, there would be just enough holy water on her hand to cause a reaction if James and Yvonne Carlson were demon possessed.

A few minutes later, James Carlson opened the door at her knock. Marissa switched the holy water covered drinking bottle to her left hand so she could offer her right one for a handshake. If she hadn't been watching for it, she would have missed the slight burning sensation in their joined hands and the split second when his eyes turned black. She had to give him credit, though, because he didn't show any outward sign of the reaction. Yvonne's response to the holy water on her hand was nearly identical to her husbands. Marissa managed to hide a shudder as fear and adrenaline coursed down her spine as she followed them into their home. They would be behind closed doors, out of public view, where anything could happen.

Once they were seated, Marissa placed her bag on the floor by her feet and pulled out a manilla folder and an ink pen. "I appreciate you allowing me to come into your home for this meeting. I thought doing it here would make it a little more informal and relaxed. Plus, I've received some information about something that occurred at a recent football game, and I would prefer to keep any discussion about it unofficial. If I have the discussion in my office, I would be required to document it."

"We're glad to have you visit," Yvonne commented as she shared a look with her husband. "Personally, I prefer a more relaxed atmosphere anyway."

James cleared his throat and drew Marissa's and Yvonne's attention. "What is this about something happening at a football game?"

Marissa smiled. "It's nothing too serious. Let's go through our mid-semester report, shall we? Then we can talk about what's going on with Zoe."

His brows knitting together was the only outward sign of his displeasure. Marissa mentally noted that his reaction was in line with her previous interactions with him. Whatever demon was possessing him either wasn't controlling him full-time or had been possessing him for much longer than any of them suspected.

"Is Zoe home today? I like to get students involved in these meetings as much as possible. After all, she does have a vested interest in what we are discussing."

"No," her mother stated. "She has gone to help her grandmother do some work around her house. She will be home this afternoon."

Marissa nodded. The explanation was plausible enough to not rouse any suspicions about the teenager's absence. "Okay, I hadn't mentioned her needing to be here, so we'll just go on without her. I'm sure you'll fill her in on what we've discussed anyway." When Zoe's parents nodded, Marissa began asking the questions and checking the appropriate boxes on the form that she had to submit to the School Board for each student in the homeschool program at mid-semester. She handed it to Zoe's parents to review and sign.

"According to her teachers," Marissa said as she accepted the form back from them and slipped it into the folder on her lap, "Zoe hasn't attended her classes as scheduled during the last few weeks. Granted, she has logged into them later, but it is becoming a regular occurrence. In addition, when she has attended class as scheduled, she hasn't participated in class discussions. Is there a problem that I need to be made aware of? According to her teachers, this is a sudden change in her behavior this semester."

Marissa watched as James and Yvonne shared a look for several seconds before Yvonne shook her head and met her gaze. "Zoe has had a bad bout of bronchitis. It started with the flu, and she just can't seem to shake it off. She has her good days and bad days. She doesn't always feel like attending the live class sessions, especially if her cough has flared up and she's having trouble breathing. I'm sure that even on the days she feels up to attending the live sessions, she doesn't feel like participating. We've not been pushing the issue."

Marissa nodded in understanding. It was a plausible explanation that ordinarily wouldn't rouse any suspicions. She had personal experience with bronchitis and knew exactly how hard it was to function when it felt like you were trying to cough up a lung. "I'll let her teachers know. I hope she feels better soon."

James nodded in acknowledgement of her statements. "You mentioned something that happened at a recent football game."

Marissa studied the man for a moment. She had to wonder why he was so focused on that rather than the other, more important, aspects of his daughter's education. "Before I start, let me make clear that the information I have is second hand. Because of that, there will be no school-related consequences. The person who shared the information with me identified the students involved, but when they formally reported it to the school administration they withheld that bit of information." She paused and gave what she hoped came across as a brief, warm smile. "I have a soft spot for our district's homeschooled students, so I have decided to give fair warning to them that a closer eye will be kept on students attending school-related sporting events to prevent any more incidents." She intentionally did not mention that, had this been real, an announcement would have been made to the student body notifying all of the in-person students of the increased scrutiny. She wanted it to appear she was giving the homeschooled students something of an advantage over their piers.

James and Yvonne shared a look that Marissa couldn't interpret. "What could have happened to warrant that serious a response? We haven't heard that there were any problems," Yvonne stated.

"Zoe and her friends were seen smoking marijuana under the visitor's bleachers at the game against Salina Central. As I said, the information came to me from someone outside of the school, so I am not taking any official action regarding it. But there is a zero-tolerance drug policy, even for our home school students. If they are caught doing drugs, including smoking marijuana, on school property, there will be serious consequences."

"Who reported it?" James asked. His expression had grown hard with a mixture of anger and concern.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that. The information was given to me confidentially," Marissa responded, making sure there was a note of regret in her voice.

"Was it that Chambers girl, the one who joined the home school group this year? Was she the one who brought the drugs? We didn't have this problem in the past." James sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. There was a quick flash of black in his eyes, and Marissa wasn't sure she hadn't imagined it. Still, it was enough to send a spike of adrenaline through her system. She had to remind herself not to react.

Marissa shook her head. "I don't know who brought the marijuana to the game. Even if I knew, I would not be at liberty to share the information. As I said a few minutes ago, I wanted to make you aware of what had happened so you can take steps to prevent a reoccurrence." The tone of Marissa's voice clearly indicated that she was finished with the topic of conversation and was ready to move on. "Now, before I leave, do you have any questions or anything about Zoe's education you would like to discuss further." She wanted out of there before her nerves got the better of her and she accidentally let something slip that would cause the Carlsons to become suspicious.

Yvonne glanced over at her husband, who still had a sullen look on his face. "No, I don't think we do."

Marissa nodded and rose to her feet. She picked up the water bottle she had placed on the coffee table in her right hand before transferring it to her left. The bottle still had holy water beaded on the outside, which transferred to her hand. Marissa paid no attention to that fact as she held her right hand out to offer a farewell handshake to Zoe's parents. She barely restrained her reaction when there was an unexpected flash of heat when Yvonne grasped her hand.

Marissa allowed Yvonne to escort her to the front door and quickly made her way to her car. She pulled out of the driveway and drove to the nearest public parking lot before pulling over. The adrenaline crash had her shaking so hard she imagined she could feel the vehicle moving with her tremors. This was one of the reasons she hadn't followed her father into the family business. Her system just couldn't handle the adrenaline rush that came with a hunt. Despite the real possibility of danger presented, this hunt hadn't been nearly as stressful as some of the life or death situations she'd experienced before she'd stepped away from that world.

Several minutes later, after she had regained her composure, she picked up her phone and dialed Sam Winchester. "We have to talk," she said as soon as he answered her call.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

"Have you seen Alex?" Jody asked as she entered the kitchen.

Dean looked up from the open refrigerator, where he was grabbing a bottle of water. "I just left the gym. She wasn't in there. What's up?"

"She didn't log into her class this morning," she said as she scrubbed a hand over her face in frustration. This was just the latest in a list of problems Jody had had with the teenager in the week they'd been at the bunker. She knew Alex was testing her boundaries, but Jody had had just about enough of it.

It didn't help her frustration level that she had called the mayor of Sioux Falls that morning to arrange an extended leave of absence. She'd claimed a family emergency that was taking longer than expected to resolve. It was the first time she had done something like that, and it hadn't set well with her. It had been one thing to take a forced vacation. She had planned for that in advance. It was totally different to spring an unexpected extended absence on the mayor and her deputies. She was thankful she had a good staff whom she could rely on to step in and help.

After hanging up with the mayor, she'd contacted her office to let them know and to confirm that her chief deputy, Larry Unser, would be in charge during her absence. Larry had informed her that they'd increased patrols around her house while she was gone because they had found more than one person sneaking around her property. Jody had thanked him and asked him to continue to keep an eye on her place and to let her know if anything happened. She suspected the people her deputies had encountered had been more demons looking for her.

Her next phone call that morning had been to return a call from one of Alex's teachers. She had already arranged for Alex to be temporarily homeschooled based on the idea that the teenager would be safer away from a public place until the demon threat was resolved, regardless of whether they were in the bunker or had returned to Sioux Falls. Alex's core classes had regular online sessions for other homeschooled students that she was able to attend, but a couple of the electives she was taking that semester hadn't been included in the classes offered online. Special sessions had been set up for her to meet one-one-on with the teachers once a week. One of those sessions had been scheduled for that morning, and the teacher had contacted Jody to let her know Alex hadn't logged into the virtual session.

Dean studied his friend while he chugged the bottle of water. He could tell there was more going on than she was telling, but he wasn't going to push – at least for the moment. He was, however, going to bring up the matter that had been bugging him. "Are you going to let her get away with it?" he questioned. He hadn't said anything to Jody up to that point, but based on what he'd observed, she had been too lenient with the teenager. Krissy would have gotten her ass busted for half the crap Alex had pulled in the week or so she and Jody been in the bunker.

"That is between me and Alex," Jody said, giving him a hard look. "I was willing to present a united front the other day when you were handling the issue between her and Krissy. But we agreed that I would take care of Alex, so you need to back off and let me deal with her as I see fit."

"She owes you a lot more respect than she's giving you," Dean said, ignoring Jody's statement. Now that the topic had been breached, he wasn't willing to give it up easily. "I talked to her about that the other day."

"And no doubt you threatened to spank her if she didn't start living up to your standards," Jody commented. She stalked over to him and pointed a finger in his face. "You aren't the boss of everyone in your life, Dean. Respect and trust aren't something to be given on demand. They must be earned. I would have thought you'd learned that with Krissy."

She paused to allow Dean to digest her words and was slightly taken back by the emotions crossing his face. She took a step back and scrubbed her hands over her face. "Dean, you aren't responsible for the world," she said with a heavy sigh. "You have to let others take some of that burden, too." She turned on her heel to leave the room, not giving Dean a chance to reply. She just hoped he would think about what she'd said.

Several minutes later, Jody found Alex sprawled in a wingback reading chair set in a niche at the back of the library. She was sitting sideways in the chair, with her back supported by one arm, and her legs over the other. She held her phone in one hand and what looked suspiciously like a beer bottle in the other.

"And just what do you think you're doing with that?" Jody asked as she moved to stand in front of Alex.

Alex shrugged her shoulders and lifted the bottle to take a long drink. "What does it look like?"

Jody didn't respond. Instead, she reached out and pulled the bottle from Alex's grasp.

"Hey, I was drinking that!"

Jody gave her a hard look and turned to put the bottle on a nearby table. She would dispose of it later. Turning back to Alex, she ordered, "Put your phone down and turn around and sit properly."

Instead of doing as she'd been told, Alex snorted and lifted her phone for a better view of the screen. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, and Jody saw red. She took a step forward and swiped the phone from Alex's grasp. After sliding it into her back pocket, she grabbed the teenager's arm and pulled her to her feet. Jody had training and years of experience in subduing uncooperative people, and Alex didn't present much of a challenge despite her struggle to free herself from Jody's grip. Within seconds, Jody had her arm held behind her back in a rear wrist lock and was marching her from the room.

"Get off me!" Alex demanded as she struggled against Jody's hold.

"You had the chance to cooperate with me," Jody stated as she pushed Alex along in front of her. She secretly hoped they didn't run into any of the other inhabitants of the bunker on their way to the teenagers's room. This was going to be hard enough without unnecessarily embarrassing the teenager further. "You chose to ignore me, so now we're doing this the hard way."

Luck was with them, and they reached Alex's room without seeing anyone else. Jody released the wrist lock and transferred her grip to Alex's upper arm as she pushed the door open.
"Sit" she ordered nodding toward the bed.

She waited until Alex was sitting at the foot of the bed before moving to lean against the dresser. She crossed her arms over her chest and studied Alex's face for a moment. "What's going on with you?" she asked. Her voice was calm, but it held an unmistakable note of command.

Alex shrugged and refused to meet Jody's gaze.

"Come on, Alex, talk to me. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on." She paused a moment to get Alex a chance to speak. When the teenager remained silent, Jody sighed. "I get that this is a tough situation now. You were barely settled in at my place before we had to come here. I don't know if that's part of the problem, or if you're just trying to figure out the boundaries, but you need to understand something. I didn't bring you here to leave you with Dean and Sam. There is nothing that would cause me to send you away like that."

Alex's sharp intake of breath revealed just how close Jody had come to hitting the mark. The problem was, she wasn't sure she could believe what Jody had said. "Yeah, right," she commented. "They didn't want some like me around, and there was nobody else for them to dump me on. You didn't have a choice. They foisted me off on you, and all I've done is complicate your life. When this shit with the demon is over, you'll go back to Sioux Falls and leave me here."

"Oh, sweetie, that's not true," Jody's voice took on a gentle tone as she moved to sit on the bed beside Alex and draped her arm around her shoulders. "Sam and Dean care about you. They wanted to make sure you were safe and got to live as normal a life as possible. They didn't keep you with them because they didn't think they could give you what you need, and I could. In fact, I was already thinking about asking you to stay with me before the fight with the vampires was over. You're not an obligation to me. I care about you, and you're with me because I wanted you with me. I have no problem saying no to the Winchesters when I want to. I would have refused to take you in if I hadn't wanted to do it."

"If they couldn't keep me with them, then why did they keep Krissy?" Alex asked angrily. She really hadn't intended to voice that thought, but it was out of her mouth before she was able to stop it.

Jody was stunned for a moment. So, this was part of the problem between the girls. Now that Alex had finally voiced it, it made perfect sense. "Krissy's circumstances were totally different. Do you know much about her background?"

Alex shook her head. Resentment was still simmering under the surface of her emotions.

"Krissy's dad was a hunter. She grew up in that life. In fact, she first met Sam and Dad when she got involved in a hunt while looking for her dad. Her dad was killed by a vampire, and she was taken in by someone who was training teenagers to hunt and kill vampires. After he was killed, too, the Winchesters offered to take her to her family, but she wanted to stay with her friends. They let her. But, earlier this year they found out that she was hunting by herself. They brought her to the bunker so they could keep her safe and train her how to hunt properly," Jody paused to look into Alex's eyes.

"Sam and Dean care for both of you, but they took your own individual needs into consideration when they made the decisions they did. Think about it for a moment," she directed. "They still hunt regularly, and Krissy travels and hunts with them. If you had come here to stay, you would be expected to do the same. On the other hand, I hunt only when necessary. With me, you're able to stay in one place where you're safe and can just be a teenager."

"But you brought be back here after I skipped school." Alex wanted to lean into Jody and soak in her reassurance. She just wasn't ready yet to give into that desire.

"I brought you here because it's the safest place for us to be," Jody said before sighing heavily. "I should have told you before, but Dean called me to warn me that a demon was trying to find them. The demon wants revenge against them for the other demons they've killed. From what the Winchesters have been able to learn, there is a small army of demons helping them. Dean was concerned that they would try to use the people he and Sam care for the most to try to lure them out. It turns out he was right. A demon showed up at the house the day before we came here. I was prepared, and I handled it. If it had just been me, I would have stayed, but I don't want you in that kind of danger. So, I brought you to the safest place on earth. We," Jody emphasized the plural pronoun, "will return to Sioux Falls when it's safe."

"You didn't tell me about the demon," Alex accused.

"No, I didn't, and I'm sorry. I didn't want to give you reason to worry. You were starting to heal from your time with the vampires, and I didn't want to cause any additional trauma," Jody said as she gave Alex's shoulders a squeeze. "That's why I was so worried when you left school without permission. I was afraid the demons had somehow found out about you and had taken you."

Alex nodded and reached up to wipe away a tear that had run down her cheek. She leaned into Jody and finally accepted a hug.

Jody waited until she felt Alex begin to pull away before releasing her. "Now," she said as she came to her feet again to resume her position against the dresser. "We need to discuss your behavior lately."

Alex stiffened, not sure what was about to happen. She knew Jody had been fairly lenient with her, but even she had a breaking point. Alex was afraid it had been reached.

"I get that you're trying to figure out your place and the boundaries, but your behavior has been unacceptable. You've been rude and disrespectful to me and to the Winchesters. I'm not going to discuss whatever is going on between you and Krissy other than to say you need to figure it out. I'm warning you now, I'm not going to put up with it much longer, and I think Dean has made it clear he isn't going to put up with it much longer either. Nor am I going to put up with your attitude and disobedience, and I'd better never catch you with another bottle of beer in your hand until you are twenty-one. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah," Alex said hesitantly, unsure of where this conversation was going. She was suddenly concerned that the woman had more in mind than just a lecture.

Jody briefly thought about demanding a more respectful answer, but she chose to pick her battles and move on. "And skipping your class this morning is not something I will tolerate. I thought I made that clear the last time."

Jody watched the emotions that crossed Alex's face. "You're going to email Ms. Anoki and apologize for not attending your session this morning. She agreed to give up her time to have a weekly video session with you, and what you did was very disrespectful." Jody paused to gather her thoughts. "This is your last warning. If you skip class again, whether its online or in person, I will spank you."

It was obvious that she expected a response. "Yes, ma'am," Alex said as she studied the hands that rested in her lap. She had known when she'd chosen to skip her class that morning that Jody wouldn't be happy. But she hadn't been able to help herself. She had to know how Jody would react.

Jody nodded her acceptance of Alex's response. "You're also going to cool it with the attitude and start helping around here. No more snarky comments or blowing off requests for you to do things. You're living here, too, so you're going to contribute to preparing meals and maintaining the bunker just like everyone else. If we have to have this conversation again, you will face consequences. Do you understand?"

Again, Alex nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay," Jody said, moving away from the dresser. "Give me a hug," she opened her arms in invitation. It took only seconds for Alex to rise to her feet and accept the embrace.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into Jody's ear.

"I know you are, sweetie," Jody said as she pulled back to look into Alex's eyes. "You've had a rough time of it lately, but that doesn't mean you can treat others the way you have been. If things get too much for you, you can talk to me. I'll help you work through whatever it is. If you don't want to talk to me, talk to Sam or Dean. They're willing to listen and help you work through whatever is bothering you. You might also try to work things out with Krissy. You two have more in common than you realize."

Alex nodded and reached up to wipe tears from her cheeks.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

Marissa pulled to a stop in the clearing in front of the bunker. For this visit Sam had given her directions to the bunker itself, rather than to the clearing where she'd parked during her last visit. Even though she'd been expecting it, she was still surprised with the large industrial building suddenly appeared as she slowly drove through a gap in the trees. She still couldn't believe that no one in Lebanon knew it was there. She sat in her vehicle for a moment, gathering her thoughts and trying to calm her still jangled nerves before reaching for her phone to let Sam know she had arrived. She smiled a little as she thought it wouldn't surprise her in the least if they had some sort of warning system set up and already knew she was there.

A few minutes later, she saw the heavy outer door open, and Sam's large frame filled the space. She took a deep breath as she exited her car and made her way over to greet him. The hard part was over, so she didn't know why she was so on edge about telling the Winchesters what she had discovered.

"Would you like some water or coffee or something?" Sam asked as they stepped off the stairs into the war room. He'd started to offer her something stronger, as the tension emanating from her was palpable, but he decided it would probably be better to wait for that until after they had finished their discussion. He gestured for her to follow him to the marble steps that led into the library. "We've been working in there today," he commented almost absentmindedly.

Marissa shook her head. She would have loved something that came with a health warning statement and a proof percentage, but she chose to keep that too herself. There would be time enough for that later, when she was home and safe in her own space.

She was so lost in her own thoughts of the impending discussion that she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings and nearly tripped over the first step. Concerned at her sudden clumsiness, Sam reached out a hand and grasped her elbow.

"You okay?" His concern was evident in his voice.

Marissa nodded. "I'm still a little shaky from what I learned. I'll be okay soon."

"Sam?"

She glanced past Sam toward the direction of the voice and saw a tall woman with short salt and pepper hair approaching them from the interior of the library.

"Oh, Jody," Sam said as he glanced over his shoulder. "This is Marissa Stockton. Marissa, this is our friend, Jody Wells. She and her daughter, Alex, are staying with us for a while."

Jody moved to stand beside Sam and held out her hand to Marissa. "It's nice to meet you." She made no attempt to hide the fact that she was studying the other woman as if trying to assess just how much of a threat she was to their makeshift family.

Marissa accepted the handshake. "And you," she responded. She was little surprised to find herself drawing strength from Jody's scrutiny. This new person was a potential rival, and she didn't want to be seen as weaker in any way that might put her at a disadvantage. She returned Jody's assessing gaze with one of her own.

Sam watched the two women and after a moment, he cleared his throat and gestured vaguely in the direction of the large room's interior. "Why don't we go join Dean. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about."

Once they were all seated, Marissa took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh to calm her nerves. She glanced around at the others and said, "I met with Zoe Carlson's parents at their house today. I'm not one hundred percent positive, but I have reason to believe they have been possessed by demons."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Sam spoke. "Does this have anything to do with why you've ignored my texts and phone calls?" The tone of his voice clearly conveyed that he wasn't happy with the idea that she had chosen to act on her own.

She nodded and related what had happened that morning. "There wasn't enough water on my hand to cause a strong reaction. In fact, I would have missed it if I hadn't been watching for it. I'm still not convinced that I didn't imagine it, but my gut tells me I'm right. If Zoe's parents are possessed, the demons don't seem to be controlling them, though. Either that, or they've been possessed for a long time, because I didn't notice any change in their behavior or demeanor from our previous meetings."

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment as they pondered the implications of Marissa's actions and what she had learned. That silence was suddenly broken when Dean slammed his hand on the desk. The resulting shotgun blast like sound caused everyone to jump in their seats.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Dean demanded as he rose to his feet and started pacing. "You could have gotten yourself killed going in there like that!"

"Dean," Jody's voice held a note of command and immediately caused him to stop pacing to turn to look at her. Neither Sam nor Marissa missed the hard look she gave him before he resumed his seat.

"Okay," Jody said, taking charge of the discussion. She turned to address Marissa. "The guys have filled me in about what's been going on. Did you get to see or talk to Zoe?"

"No, her parents explained her absences from class as being the result of a lingering illness. She's only been attending the live sessions when she was physically able. She wasn't there this morning because she was supposedly visiting her grandmother."

Jody nodded. "But you're sure you felt heat when you touched their hands and their eyes turned black? You weren't allowing your suspicions to lead you to imagine that?"

"If it had only happened the first time," Marissa said. "But I had forgotten about the holy water being on the bottle when I shook their hands before I left. The same thing happened."

Dean expressed his opinion of Marissa's statement with a snort, earning another hard look from Jody.

Marissa was a bit impressed with the way the other woman was handling him. Her impression of Dean Winchester during her few interactions with him was of a man who was more accustomed to giving orders than taking them. However, he was complying with Jody's unspoken orders without argument. She had to wonder who just Jody was to the Winchester brothers.

Sam glanced at his brother and Jody before he picked up the thread of the conversation. "Did anything about their behavior seem off?"

Marissa shook her head. "No, I didn't notice anything. I've only met with them a dozen or so times over the last two years."

"Two years?" That fact had caught Sam's attention. "Zoe is also a freshman, isn't she? If that's the case, what interactions did you have with her parents last year? Wouldn't she have been at the junior high school?"

Marissa sighed. Somehow, she wasn't surprised that Sam had picked up on that bit of information. "I can't give you details, as those are confidential, but I will tell you that like Krissy, Zoe is repeating her freshman year."

"To hell with confidentiality," Dean stated, ignoring Jody's glare. "We're dealing with fucking demons here, if you have information that can help us, you'd better start talking. Now."

Marissa met his hard gaze with one of her own. Dean Winchester was a formidable man, but she'd held her own with formidable men before. "I understand completely what we are facing. That still is not reason for me to breach the confidentiality of one of my students."

Sam held up a hand, trying to stop the argument before it could progress. "Just tell us what you can. Any information you can share may help us."

She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Things were fine until the end of the school year, when she just disappeared." She pinned Dean with a look, daring him to challenge her about her lack of details. "Her parents re-enrolled her a few weeks before the term started this year."

"I wonder if that's when the possession occurred. It would make sense. Maybe they were able to trace you to this area, but couldn't pinpoint your location since the bunker is so heavily warded. It still doesn't explain why it would be this particular family." Jody said, glancing between the two men. "Have you been able to find out anything on the demon who is behind this. Maybe there's some connection."

"According to Cas, the demon's name is Eisheth." Sam pulled out his phone and thumbed it on to pull up a file he'd stored in his cloud drive. After a moment, he glanced up at the others. "I've been doing some research, hoping it might help us track her down. From what I've been able to find, Eisheth is a demon from Jewish mythology and is a feminine personification of sin. She's supposed to eat the souls of the damned." He shared a look with his brother and Jody, who both understood his unspoken comment that he and Dean would undoubtedly fit into that category.

"Do you know if Zoe and her family lived in the area before two years ago?" Jody asked, deciding it was time to change the subject.

"Off the top of my head," Marissa commented, "I don't know."

Dean was looking back and forth between the two women and Sam. He picked up their line of conversation. "There's no damn way this, whatever this is, was put in place overnight. I mean, there was that computer virus thingee . . ."

"The tracker," Sam interrupted, earning a glare from his brother.

"What I'm saying," Dean pushed on impatiently, "is Eisheth had to have putting all of this into operation over a period of time."

"But why use a teenager and her parents?" Marissa asked. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they think they'd be able to get closer to you that way?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know."

"But we can find out," Dean said. His voice held a hard note. "We just have to figure out how to make that happen."

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

"Thanks," Marissa said as Jody set a cut glass tumbler filled with ice and whiskey on the table in front of her. She had accepted Jody's invitation to stay and chat after their meeting had broken up without a firm plan in place for handling Zoe Carlson and her parents. "So, you're Sheriff Mills." She picked up the tumbler and took a sip of the amber liquid.

Jody's eyebrows raised in surprise as she took a sip from her own drink. "I am. How'd you guess?"

"Your name came up during my interview with Sam and Krissy when she enrolled in my school," Marissa said as she sat back in her chair. "I didn't make the connection when we were first introduced, but after seeing the way you handled Dean I figured you couldn't be anyone else."

Jody nodded and smiled. "Dean means well. He just thinks it's his job to protect the world and everyone in it. So, I have to rein him in every once in a while."

"I can see how that might happen." Marissa gave a short laugh. "It tends to be a common problem among hunters, especially those who grew up in it." She studied the other woman for a minute. "If you don't mind my saying, you don't seem like a lifer."

Jody took another sip of her drink then studied the remaining contents of the tumbler. She sighed heavily. "No, I had no idea the supernatural even existed until several years ago."

"What happened?" Marissa asked quietly. She knew that whatever it was had to be tragic. Otherwise, the woman sitting in front of her wouldn't have become involved in the dangerous world of hunting.

"Life was good. I had a husband and a career I loved. I still have the career, but I no longer have a husband." She sighed again and rubbed her hands over her face.

"You don't have to say anything more if you don't want to tell me."

Jody shook her head. "No, it's okay. One day people started returning from the dead – including my son. He was just a child, and he had died from the flu. Anyway, everyone in town thought it was a miracle. When Sam and Dean showed up and tried to tell everyone that it wasn't a miracle, but something that needed to be stopped, we resisted. Or at least, I did. I couldn't stand the idea of losing my son again, until I came home and found my son eating my husband's corpse."

"Oh, god," Marissa breathed. She couldn't image what that had been like. "I'm so sorry."

Jody nodded, acknowledging the other woman's words. The Winchesters stopped it. They left town shortly after that, but I ran into them a few more times on hunts in my area. I couldn't keep from getting involved, and eventually I asked them to train me. We became friends. Now, we're practically family."

Marissa smiled at her last statement. "A family friend used to say that family don't end with blood."