Chapter Two: The Favour

Present day…

Dean POV

Spinning the empty beer bottle around on the counter, I couldn't seem to focus on the case I was working, nor could I seem to be able to concentrate on the girl I was trying to use as a distraction. Brandi - I think her name was - looked up through her lashes at me, biting her lip as she wrote her number on my forearm. Sighing, I slapped a few bills down on the counter, nodded at the bartender and headed out of the bar towards the lot.

Gripping the handle to Baby, I pulled the door open and slid inside onto the bench seats. Glancing behind me as the engine roared to life and I checked to make sure no drunk was stumbling about while I was trying to reverse, I paused. There was that blood stain on the floor of the backseat and I smiled fondly. Made it clear she had to clean the blood up if she got it on the leather, never made her promise anything about the carpet floors. I wondered sometimes, if I should have called her after that night. Why not? I'd gotten her number from her before I dropped her off at that hospital. It was weird, seeing her again after all these years, I'd be lying if I said I didn't remember her.

Not remembering the girl from the night before became something of a tradition for me, with every bar I went to, it was the nature of the job, but she was before all that. And I wasn't angry with her, like she seemed to think I was, I didn't need an apology for what she said when she was scared, grieving, confused. That was also the nature of the job, people needed to vent and sometimes you just needed to be there and let them lash out. If those few weeks at Bobby's taught me anything, it was that you can't always help someone when they were grieving, you just needed to be there. When you're a hunter you don't stop the job because people were yelling at you, you had to knuckle down and keep going. The people we helped were scared, and hurling harsh words at strangers was one way to cope with that. They rarely actually meant the things they said, and Katie's apology reinforced that. This was the job.

Pulling the Impala to a stop under a red light, I glanced around at the desolate street in this one horse town. People were tucked up in their beds, sleeping soundly as if there wasn't a monster somewhere on the loose. They were all completely unaware of the danger they were in and they were happy. No matter how many crummy towns I went to when dad sent me on a solo mission, I couldn't seem to get her out of my mind. Katie never once occurred to me before the bowling alley, sure I'd moped for a while at first but I'd gotten over it, over her. And she was back now, haunting me with a vengeance. She lived in the back of my mind, calling out to me when I was doing other things. Sometimes I was at a bar, trying to pick up girls and neither the patrons nor the bar staff were piquing my interest, other times it was during a particularly difficult hunt and I remembered I had her details. She owed me that favour, I could call her to help me out. Other times it was the dead of night and I hadn't quite drank enough to knock me out, and there she was.

Calling her though, that was a different story. Checking up on people after the hunt, showing up to the hospital with grapes or flowers, that wasn't really my style. Seeing someone again after you gank the ghoul just didn't happen, it didn't matter that it was Katie. After I'd carried her into the emergency room I'd left it to her brother, that was supposed to be it. The idea of keeping her details in case I needed a hand on a job wasn't a bad one, but you need to keep in contact with someone for that. I was never really one for long distance friends, or friends for that matter.

Still unsure if it was prior attraction that had caused this or if I was simply yearning for a friend and she had presented herself as the perfect candidate, I was breaking down. I needed to call her. She was a hunter herself and therefore knew my day job. I didn't have to hide a part of my life from her, or make up some story. She was the older sibling, so we also had that in common but it was more than that. There was just something about her, something completely unnatural that called out to me. And so I was calling her.

Shoving open the motel room door and then kicking it closed behind me, I walked over to the bed and collapsed down onto it instantly. Phone up at my ear, I was calling her before I even knew what was happening. The dial tone sounded in the darkness and she picked up after just a few rings. Staring at the ceiling I wanted to hear her voice through the receiver.

''Hello?''

''Katie, it's Dean…''

Main POV

Slamming the sky blue door to my Chevelle a little harder than necessary, I walked around the front to the sidewalk. Stepping up onto the cement, I headed into the diner, my boots clacking a little on the ground behind me, the bell ringing overhead when I pulled open the door. The waitresses in their little mustard yellow dresses all turned their heads at me, surprised to see a customer walking in, further surprised to see it was a stranger to them. Instead of putting on a welcome smile as I approached, they all wore irritated expressions. Fuck these small towns with their xenophobic locals, and ego driven cops. Why the hell did we bother with them? Let them burn, I say.

Hopping up on the red leather stool beside Dean, I flagged down a brunette with her hair in a little cap. She'd been making eyes at him the whole time so you would have thought she would have been glad for the chance to come over and be closer to him. Or maybe she would have been if I'd been some fat old man, and not just a few years older than him, and a stranger. Smiling at her, I ordered a black coffee and watched her pour it just to make sure she wasn't going to spit in it. She shot me a venomous glare as she handed me the cup and stalked over to the other waitstaff who were all huddled in the far corner behind the counter, staring and gossiping.

''Your fanclub seems nice,'' I commented and he glanced up at me, noticing for the first time since I'd stepped into the restaurant that I was here. He peered around the restaurant and towards our cars just on the other side of the window.

''Where's your brother?'' he asked and I scoffed, shaking my head.

''He's not talking to me so I left him at the motel, pretty sure we got the room next to yours, which should make things nice and easy if we wanna share notes,'' I told him, picking up the cup and blowing on it.

''The silent treatment, really?'' Dean chuckled, shaking his head. His forearms rested on the counter, either side of his empty dinner plate, scrunched up napkins sitting on top.

''He gets more and more sulky the older he gets,'' I agreed, thinking about how he'd started giving himself red foils and razored his hair into choppy bangs that hid one of his eyes. ''He's learning to express himself, trying to figure out who he is, but isn't having much luck. Unless of course who he is is a moody, melodramatic emo with floppy boyband hair. It was simpler, when we were that age, and the music was better.''

''You make it sound like we're forty or something,'' he laughed, pulling out his wallet and putting a few bills under his plate. He turned his body to me, looking down at my legs as I uncrossed them and swung myself around on the stool. ''Your leg better?''

''It's been over a year, Dean, I'm fine,'' I said and he swallowed thickly, pausing for a moment. ''What's this about?''

''That's uh, that's good. I'm calling in that favour,'' he told me and I raised an eyebrow, hopping off my stool and dropping all the loose change I had down on the counter as my payment. It might have been petty, but there was something so satisfying about being a minor inconvenience in someone you disliked's day. Walking out of the diner at his side, I stood between our two cars, hands in the pockets of my jacket as I waited for him to tell me what this was about.

''What do you need?'' I asked and he shrugged, leaning up against his Impala.

''Working a case, it looks like either a Wendigo or Black Dog but neither quite fits. If it's not either of them, then I'm in trouble, because I don't know what the hell it is,'' he told me and I nodded. I had lots of journals in the back of my car, Mom's, and a couple of my stepdad's from before he booked it. Plus there was my own. There had to be something in there to help him narrow it down.

''How long you been in town?'' I asked and he shrugged again, stuffing his own hands in the pockets of his leather biker jacket.

''Too long, I gotta get outta here before people start checking into my background but I'm coming up dry,'' he explained and I bit my lip, taking it all in. Dean was a bit more experienced at this stuff than I was, it didn't matter I was older, he'd started on jobs with his dad younger than I had with my parents. And he'd had the benefit of his senior teaching him, I had to learn a lot of this shit by myself. So if he was struggling, this had to be big.

''Let's get back to the motel, show me what you've got,'' I said and he nodded in agreement, pulling the door open to the black classic he had been leaning on and sliding inside.

''You wanna race?'' he asked and I laughed, shaking my head. His boyish grin didn't seem to fit the amount of mischief he wanted to get up to but it brightened my day anyway. It was easy being around him, it always had been, so I found myself slipping into tow with him as quickly as I had when we were teenagers.

''Oh I'll smoke you,'' I warned, ducking into the two door. Grabbing my sunglasses off the dash, I slipped them on, letting them rest on the bridge of my nose. Rolling down the window and looking over my glasses at him, I wore a smug smile. ''Hope you're an assman, 'cause all you're gonna see is my tail lights.''

''Those are fighting words, Katie, better watch out,'' he warned and revved his engine. Putting my keys in the ignition, my car gave out a similar roar and I pulled out of the lot, pausing in the left of the two lanes heading back to the motel. He lined himself up in the right lane and smirked at me.

''We go on green, watch out for highway patrol,'' I said determinedly and he flipped me off. Revving beside him, I kept my eyes on the lights, waiting for my time to leave him in the dust. I'd beat that boy with a bat.

The overhead traffic lights flashed to green and I lowered my foot down, pumping the clutch as we shifted up the gears and tore off towards the motel. It was hard to say who won as we ripped through the entrance to the parking lot, leaving tire marks on the dark tarmac. Giggling as I climbed out and locked up, I spied Dean leaning on my hood and smiling at me. Many nights I'd spent in bed, staring at the ceiling while Alex slept soundly beside me, I'd thought of Dean. Feeling guilty over how things went, I could never quite bring myself to forget him entirely but admittedly I hadn't thought about him in a while when he'd met me in the haunted bowling alley. But in the last year? He'd never left me alone. It felt good being back in his company, I'd missed him and I think it was more than just desire, lust, being the one who got away. He was more than just a good thing, he was Dean.

''My place or yours?'' He asked, giving me a wink outside our two doors.

''Gotta go check on Lex first, make sure he's doing his school work like he's told,'' I explained and Dean raised an eyebrow.

''Why, he's just going to end up like us, doing our day job. It's not something that normally requires a diploma,'' Dean said and I shook my head.

''He deserves the choice. It's my job to look after him, make sure he makes it to adulthood and do you think this is the life I would choose for him? He has the right to be ordinary, deserves to be boring,'' I explained, resting my arms behind my head. ''Maybe he goes to college and flunks out, maybe he goes and gets some degree in mythology or something but at least he gets to be normal for a little while. Gets to be around kids his age for a change instead of just me.''

''It's not wrong to want that for him, Sammy's a law student, I just don't understand how you can know about all the stuff out there and choose another job,'' Dean told me, reaching a hand out for me. ''How can you go back to ordinary when around every corner is a vengeful spirit, vampires, werewolves, demons and ghouls?''

''That's his argument, he's so ready to get out there, I know I need to let him, but he's just a kid,'' I said, leaning into him. His hand rested between my elbow and the wall as we both stood facing each other. Our shoulders pressed into the free wall space between our two doors.

''You've been looking after him all these years, I can't blame you for thinking that,'' Dean said and looked like he wanted to say more. He looked reluctant to, as if he had prior experience to call that a bad idea. In all fairness, he did.

''I promise not to scream at you and run off again,'' I told him and he scoffed, shaking his head with a relaxed smile.

''Maybe you should give him a little freedom while he still thinks it's yours to give,'' Dean suggested, nodding towards the 2b sign on my room door. ''That way he gets experience when you're there to protect him and not when he goes off on his own and gets in too deep.''

''I know, I know,'' I agreed, nodding my head with a sigh. The door opened behind me and someone grunted irritatedly.

''If you two are done fucking can we get to work?'' Lex grumbled and I didn't even turn around to scold him.

''Alexander,'' I warned, looking apologetically at Dean who seemed to take it in good humour. ''Did you finish your homework?'' I asked, ducking my head in the motel room door.

''Yes,'' he whined, rolling his eyes and pushing past me to get into Dean's room. He settled instantly into one of the chairs around the table, making himself at home despite not being invited in.

''I'll find out if you didn't, you know,'' I told him and he huffed, shaking his head at me. ''However, we need someone with your skills on this case.''

''Really?!'' He asked excitedly. I nodded, smiling encouragingly at him.

''Yep, Dean's got a case we need to match with the right baddie, and I know you've memorised everything in those journals,'' I said and walked over, letting Dean close the door behind me. ''Now, what've you got so far?'' I asked him and he sat down, giving us local newspaper clippings, notes, and showing us sections of his father's journal.

''I'm pretty sure it's a Wendigo from what I've been able to piece together, from the pattern I've been able to make, it's been happening over decades,'' Dean explained and I nodded beside him, looking at all the dates he'd scratched down on a notepad. ''Wendigo fits more with this, they store food, only come out when hunting, etc.''

''And this says some kids got out, right?'' I asked, picking up a newspaper article he'd ripped out from some paper he'd probably lifted from the gas station. My fingertips traced over the grainy faces of teens not much older than Lex.

''Yeah, the kids of the family that owns the land and some of their friends went up for a camping trip, came back all shaken up. I've been able to talk to some of the friends but not the actual family. They stirred up a bit of trouble, talking about what they've seen. None of the adults believe them, say it's a ghost story but you know what teenagers are like,'' Dean explained and I scoffed, nodding.

''Nothing like the small town rumour mill,'' I agreed, putting my paper clipping down. ''Well, if it is a Wendigo, they're lucky to be alive.''

''Some hikers and other campers had already gone missing but these are the first people to see something and come back. Like I said, I haven't been able to get in to see them, confirm the last few details. Part of it's Dad not being here, he was real persuasive with the small town types,'' Dean said and I chuckled, elbowing him teasingly.

''What's the matter, Dean, not as charming as you think you are?'' I joked and then shook my head. ''It's alright, I can get us through. How good are you at fake IDs?

''Sweetheart, there's nobody better,'' he winked at me and Lex made a noise of pain behind me, rolling his eyes as he sat in his crummy motel chair.

''Great, okay, I'm going to hit the town next over, get us some decent disguises, you make the IDs and Lex can man the research table, make sure you're right about this being a Wendigo. We'll grab dinner, and tomorrow, just after school, we'll hit those kids, see if we can get a story out of them,'' I said, doling out the plan.

Lex originally didn't look happy at being left out of the plan, at least until I said he was in charge of fact checking Dean. He perked up instantly, especially over getting included in the information gathering stage of our little project. Getting Dean's size, I ducked out of his motel room and headed for the city an hour out of the way of this shithole town. It wasn't much of a city, but they'd had a suit rental I'd spied on the way here. Dean probably couldn't get a word in because he looked like your typical twenty something, and not like an agent of the law like he was posing as. Men, I thought, shaking my head, when are they ever going to learn that the Devil's in the details?

It was an easy trip, the guy behind the counter seemed to adore doting on me. Even when I told him the suit was for my husband who'd just finished up at college and was going job hunting. He was also able to direct me to a womenswear store that I could grab a blouse and a blazer at, honestly I was just happy to get away from the guy. I could never understand why, but people seemed to be desperate to help me, like, running, not walking out of their way to do things. It was odd, and it bothered me.

Fingering the silky fabric on the racks I tried to work out what to wear to this stupid interview we were fake conducting. Instantly I was drawn to the pantsuits, at least then I could still run and do what I needed to but my stomach sank. This was the Midwest, very similar to the deep South, I needed to look friendly, approachable. Homey. Sighing, I grabbed a skirt off the rack and made sure it would fit decently well and pulled a pastel yellow blouse with a floral pattern along with it. If I didn't look like the sweetest girl you ever saw, then I'd pay your tab. And I grumbled the whole car ride home. Dean called me once I was back in shitsville to get me to grab beer, saying he'd grabbed takeout from the diner where my best friends worked. Apparently they were very excited to see him again after only a few hours and I rolled my eyes.

By the time I was done playing errand boy it was starting to get dark, but I noticed a reasonably well lit DVD rental on the way back from the liquor store and I stopped immediately. Things were hard for a kid Lex's age when I dragged him all across country all the time and he couldn't make any real, long term friends in this business, so whenever I could make things a little better for him, I tried. Grabbing some seasons of the Simpsons, an Avatar box set, and some movies, I took them to the counter where, again, the teen working there was ridiculously helpful. What gives? He handed me the DVDs, light reflecting off his shiny wooden saints bracelet, temporarily blinding me and I shook my head, blinking away the light.

Alex would probably spend the evening grumbling and insisting I didn't need to find activities for him to do while I was gone, and that he was perfectly fine. But this hadn't been the life I'd wanted for him, he deserved better, a real home for starters. I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was so obsessed with monsters and the darkness. When I did finally get back, I found Lex lounging on one of the two queen beds in our room, TV on with a bag of potato chips open. Dropping the DVDs down by the old and boxy number in front of him, I hung up the new shit I'd had to buy myself and headed back for the door.

''You coming?'' I asked, nodding to the motel door. ''Dean got takeout.''

''Not coming,'' he huffed, blowing his bangs up in front of his face with the puff of air that came out of his mouth.

''Suit yourself,'' I said, shrugging and heading for the front door. ''Picked you up some DVDs, and I'm only next door if you change your mind. If you're being murdered, you know the rules…''

''I know, I know, scream fire and make lots of noise,'' he huffed. Nodding approvingly, I closed the room door behind me and put my old boots on the concrete floor of the open air corridor.

''I'm back,'' I called, turning the knob and stepping forwards in the same motion. Smacking into the flimsy door, I felt the thunk through my skull and stepped back again. Jiggling the doorknob I found it was locked and sighed. Why had he invited me over if he was just going to disappear without word, it wasn't like he didn't have my number. Looking through the gap in the cheap net curtains I spied the brown paper bag of diner food sitting on the table next to his sprawling books and notepad. Locked doors did not stop people like me, especially not when food was waiting on the other side.

Squatting by the door handle, dropping the case of beer on the ground beside me and draping the garment bag over my lap, I worked the lock. In a few moments of agitated struggling, I managed to get the door unlocked. Stupid man, hadn't bothered with the chain. Though, if he had, I had some string on my wrist next to the watch and rosary bracelet to help me with that problem too. I was always the prepared traveller. Opening the door I carried the garment bag over to the made one of the two queen beds and dumped it down. Heading back for the beer I closed his door behind me and made for the fridge. What kind of psycho liked warm beer? Not one I wanted to meet, that's who.

The motel walls were thin, I could hear Lex watching TV with the sound obnoxiously high one room over and someone nearby was in the shower. And by the sounds of things had the water on full blast getting absolutely pelted by the spray. Just as I lifted out the cardboard divider for the second row of bottles, I heard a door creek behind me. Spinning, I saw a cloud of steam billowing out into the room from the direction of the bathroom. Stepping out of the cloud was Dean, still dripping wet with a towel wrapped tightly on his hips.

''You have something against knocking?'' he asked and I looked up from his adonis belt to meet his eyes.

''You don't know I didn't, in fact my head made quite the sound when I collided with the locked door,'' I replied with a wry smile. Closing the fridge I walked around the counter towards where he was standing. ''If you want to stop people from getting in here, you might want to try using the deadbolt. At the very least the chain would have slowed me down a little.''

''If anyone dangerous broke in, I think I'd manage,'' he shrugged, heading over to his unmade bed that his duffle back was sitting at the end of. Unzipping it, he rifled through, seemingly unbothered I was seeing him in a towel. Mind you, a few years ago I'd seen him in less.

''Hey man, you were in the shower. Haven't you seen any horror movies?'' I teased and he laughed, looking up from his bag with a grin.

''Don't worry, if I die, it's not going to be in the shower,'' he told me confidently. ''It'll be on a hunt or in a traffic accident.''

''Lucky you to be so sure,'' I scoffed, walking over to the made bed and turning my back to him. Just because I'd seen him naked before didn't mean he didn't deserve a little privacy. ''I'm not sure this is a Wendigo. There's some stuff here that just doesn't add up.''

''Lex said the same thing before he went to take a break,'' Dean commented and I heard his zipper going. So at least he was wearing pants now. Not that that was cause for celebrating. I'd rather enjoyed knowing all that separated me from that appendage I'd liked so much was a strong gust of wind. ''I'm assuming that's just misinformation. Details tend to get lost when stories are passed on from person to person. And we can clear all that up tomorrow.''

''There's always people who want to add feet and tails,'' I agreed and heard him behind me. Turning, I saw he was fully clothed and offering me a hand up. ''I guess you're right, we'll know when we get the story straight from its source.''

''No Lex?'' Dean asked and I shook my head.

''No, he's still in the huff with me I think. No amount of supernatural research is going to make up for missing out on the real thing. You uh, I think you're onto something with the whole, give him some freedom thing, I just..'' I trailed off and he nodded, guiding me over to the table.

''He's your little brother, only one you've got, I know, I'm protective of mine too,'' he said and I nodded. I'd never gotten used to people calling him my little brother, it was odd. Hearing the words seemed foreign, wrong almost. But at least he appreciated that we want to smother the ones we loved sometimes in the hopes it would keep them safe.

Dean and I sat in a comfortable silence, going over every detail of the case over and over and over again. The corners of my eyes burned as I tried to stay awake. I could feel the weight of all my limbs and the taste of beer on my tongue started to go stale. My head dropped behind me with little I could do to stop it and I felt sleep take me. If, just for a moment.

''Hey, pass me that file, would you?'' Dean said as I blinked myself awake.

Picking up the manilla folder, I handed it to him, fingertips brushing against each other's as I did. He took it from me and he looked at me, eyes staring into my soul. Feeling my heart start to race, I swallowed thickly. A great heat took route in me and I wanted to dive forwards and let him fuck me in his lap. Trying to behave myself and focus on the case, I picked up my own book again, looking at the page. It was as if all the words were melting off, I couldn't make sense of any of them anymore.

''Alright, I think I could use a distraction from this for a while, we're not getting anywhere,'' Dean said with a sigh. Tossing the folder back down on the cluttered table, he pushed up out of his seat and walked over to the tv, flicking it on. My breath shook a little when I turned in my seat. ''You alright?'' he asked and I nodded quickly. Too quickly. ''Katie…''

''Sorry, you just say the word distraction and my mind starts to wander,'' I joked awkwardly, feeling my words coming out light and pitchy.

''You could be my distraction, if you wanted?'' he offered, also sounding a little unsure. ''After all, it's your turn after all those other times.''

''Yeah,'' I nodded, swallowing hard again. I stood, slowly creeping forwards to where he was standing by the tv. ''I guess I owe you one.''

''I was always happy to help, no need to keep score,'' he told me, reaching out for me. He pulled me into his arms, my elbows resting in the palms of his hands as he held me to his firm frame. My pulse hammering in my ears was so loud I was convinced I couldn't hear anything else. Diving forwards, I took the last step and pressed my lips to his, holding him impossibly close for a rough kiss.

Jerking forwards, I blinked, finding myself in the hard metal chair around the kitchen table. Files splayed all around me, book in my lap. Glancing around, I spotted Dean eyeing me, looking slightly amused. Chest heaving, I realised that very hot scenario had only been a dream and I had not in fact picked up where Dean and I left off a decade or so ago.

''Fuck me,'' I muttered under my breath and Dean let out a snort.

''So it was a good dream, then,'' he asked and my eyes shot over to him, an expression written as horror. ''I mean, with all the moaning I wasn't sure, could have been a nightmare.''

''It is now,'' I grumbled, pushing back in my chair. ''What'd you hear?''

''A little moaning, heavy breathing, noticed you getting all flushed,'' he shrugged, picking up the beer bottle and taking a sip. Condensation rolled down the neck of the bottle and over his knuckles, making me swallow thickly. ''I asked if you were alright, then you muttered something I didn't catch. Something about a distraction?''

''Oh god,'' I whined, putting my head in my hands as I rested my elbows on the table. I could feel thick beads of sweat already pouring down the back of my neck, body overbearingly hot from the dream I'd just had. Damn him. ''I uh, think this is a good time to call it a night…''

''Sure, we could get started on that distraction,'' he teased and I shrieked, shooting up from my chair and scurrying back from the table. He let out a deep chuckle and stayed sitting down, content to just watch me flail about in shock.

''No, oh god, you heard everything, didn't you? You always told me I talked in my sleep,'' I said in exasperation, pacing up and down the kitchen as he watched me with more amusement. Curse that man and his sadistic sense of humour. So much for being a masochist. ''No, this is terrible.''

''Katie, will you relax? I was teasing you, it's okay, we all get those dreams from time to time,'' Dean soothed, staying seated as he sipped his beer and watched me wear a hole in the cheap carpet. Now I was more embarrassed, if that was possible, and the deep flush my body was covered in was more embarrassment than arousal. Damn him. ''Look, I can't imagine it's easy getting tail when you're on your own, and trying to raise your little brother. So you had a dream, who cares? I mean, at least it was me, and I'd already heard all those noises.''

''Dean, if you don't stop trying to make me feel better I swear I'm going to kill myself,'' I warrned and he let out a roar of laughter.

Fanning myself, I continued to pace up and down, a little slower as I started trying to calm myself down. Eventually I returned to the table, watching Dean open two new beers and handing me one. His hand brushed against mine as he did and sent a jolt right through me. Sighing as the cool liquid hit the back of my throat I leaned back in my chair, nodding to myself. He was right, it could have been worse. And he was right about not getting laid very much, it was hard to. I had to think of Lex. I couldn't leave him long, and I couldn't bring some stranger back. Even if I did, how could we, with him asleep right next to us? Glancing over at the man, I decided to go out on a limb, agree with him, talk about it a little. Perhaps talking about it might make me feel better, push away the embarrassment.

''You're right though,'' I agreed, looking back at the ugly motel room wallpaper. Just through that wall was Lex, blaring the TV and sulking. ''When it comes down to it, the choice is always to keep him safe. He's always my first responsibility. I can barely even think of anything else.''

''I get it, it was the same with Sam,'' Dean commented, taking a deep swig. ''It's not like I could bring some girl back to the motel room I was sharing with my Dad and little brother, and how could I tell some girl I lived in a motel? Worse, I couldn't go back to theirs, what would I do with Sammy?''

''Difference being, your little brother is all grown up now,'' I pointed out and jerked my head in the general direction of Lex. ''You can have all the sex with strangers that you want.''

''It's not that I want to have sex with strangers, but how do you explain this life to someone?'' Dean huffed and I nodded, resting my hands on my stomach. ''You always have to come up with some story, because people always ask questions. And no one in their right mind would believe in this stuff if it wasn't right in front of them, even then, who wants to be with someone with this kinda job?''

''Preaching to the choir, sweetheart,'' I said, putting a palm up.

He didn't look amused at being called sweetheart but let it pass in favour of finishing his beer. I swirled mine around in the bottle, looking at how much was left. I necked it and looked at him, debating on whether I should suggest what I'd been thinking about, what I'd been dreaming about. I mean, Lex was relatively safe, he was only next door, I'd hear anything that could happen to him. This may be my only chance.

''Dean..'' I started and the door flew open. Watching Lex stalk in, kicking the door closed behind him I sighed, shaking my head. ''Nevermind.''

''Hey, where's the food?'' Lex demanded, digging through the now empty brown paper bag and tossing food wrappers everywhere.

''Eaten hours ago, sulky Sue,'' I told him, pushing up out of my chair. ''Come on, I figured you'd be hungry. It's time for a night driving lesson.''

''Katie you're…'' Dean went to interject and I raised an eyebrow at him.

''You're not better, what do you suggest, hmm?'' I asked, picking my jacket up off the chair and sliding it up my arms. He bounced the idea around in his head and stood, grabbing his own jacket.

''There's another place around the corner, open late, serves food at this hour, I'll walk you,'' he told us and Lex grumbled the whole way to the door about him being able to handle things himself, and not needing Dean to protect me. I snorted, rolling my eyes at the thought of my infantile companion providing any assistance in a fight and walked between the two young men.

Dean was right, despite this being a small town, there was in fact a second twenty four hour food establishment and it wasn't a chain. Part of me wondered why we'd gone to the other diner both times if there was one so close, hell, within walking distance. That part of me was both amused and satisfied as we stepped into the diner, bell ringing over head and Dean getting slapped hard across the face in a matter of seconds. Glancing between Dean - who was still recovering from the audible and very painful sounding slap - and the blonde waitress in her green uniform, I tried to keep the smile small on my face. Still, I edged in front of Lex, keeping him behind me in case things got ugly. Guess I knew why he didn't come here, but it did make me wonder why he was willing to risk it now.

''Who's she?'' the waitress demanded, glaring at me.

''His wife, and this is our son,'' I said seriously, shaking Lex a little who grumbled behind me.

''Katie,'' he hissed, scolding me and protesting the fact that he could be the son of Dean and I. It wasn't that far of a stretch, given how much younger Lex was than Dean. I didn't understand why Lex seemed to hate him so much, I just assumed it was because he was another male in the house.

''We're his cousins, so relax, this might be close to Alabama, but I assure you, we're not that kind of family, so you're safe,'' I assured her, reaching out for the menus she was brandishing.

''Oh,'' she said, perking up instantly. ''Roy, I got worried when you didn't call,'' she said, brushing her nearly manicured fingertips across the reddening mark on his cheek. I chose to ignore the fact she'd called him Roy and steered Lex towards a booth, leaving Dean to deal with his own mess regarding the waitress. Given how small this place actually was, I was surprised more people hadn't slapped him in the time we'd been here. Especially if Dean had been in town as long as he'd said he had.

Dean sat down in the booth in front of me, Lex was wedged in between me and the window. Dean's long legs stretched out between mine, ankles brushing against each other's and I was annoyed to find out a simple, innocent gesture set me off once again. Damn hormones, why couldn't they be controlled for once? Now was not the time.

''I need to go to the library,'' Lex announced, placing his menu down flat on the countertop. He pointed to an item, tapping on it repeatedly. ''I want that.''

''Right now? They're not McDonalds, they don't open twenty four hours,'' I replied and he rolled his eyes at me.

''Tomorrow,'' he said, leaning and glaring at me like I was stupid. ''I have a theory of what it could be, but I need to do more research first. I don't think it's a black dog or a wendigo.''

''You want to be dropped off before, or after Roy and I go to question that family?'' I asked, making a dig at the false name he'd given the waitress.

''Before, you can radio me with any new information on the way back, and then I'll have it looked up before you pick me up,'' he explained and I bounced the idea around in my head.

''Uh, I don't think the radios are going to have that kind of range. What about I leave you with my cell and we'll call from Dean's on the way back to the motel,'' I suggested.

''All the more reason I should have my own cellphone,'' he said and I sighed, leaning my head back on the headrest of the booth.

''I keep telling you, Lex,'' I started, about to start my usual spiel when he groaned and slammed his head down on the wood.

''I didn't have a cell when I was fifteen,'' Dean tried and Lex simply groaned louder, grinding his face into the tabletop. ''I also don't recall being this melodramatic.''

''Ignore him, he can get a cell when he gets his licence,'' I told him, finally managing to get a look at the menu myself.

Late night eats went relatively well, and Dean walked us back to the motel, Lex as many paces ahead of me as he thought he could get, grumpily stomping. He parked him outside our room door, arms crossed over his chest and room key in his hand. He glared at the two of us.

''Don't stay out too late,'' he huffed, spinning on the spot, shoving the key in the door and slamming it closed behind him. Dean snorted, seeming amused by Alex's antics. I simply smiled, shaking my head at my angst ridden teenager. Leaning back against Dean's room door, I glanced at him.

''So uh…'' he said, clearing his throat. ''Do you wanna do a little more research?''

''I think our guy in the chair has it covered,'' I replied and he nodded. He swallowed, pausing for a moment to think.

''Well uh, a beer. You wanna drink beer?'' He asked. He looked down at me, and I shook my head. He licked his lips. ''Well I guess this is goodnight then.''

''Actually uh, I was going to ask before…'' I started and he nodded.

''Right, you were saying something before your brother walked in,'' he said and I shrank back a little, metal room numbers digging into the skin of my back.

''I don't mean to presume, and this would only be because of what you said… I'm not looking for anything…'' I suggested and he nodded.

''Two hunters, know the job, both have needs. Got it,'' he agreed. Ducking down immediately, he locked lips with me. His tongue delved into my mouth and he grabbed my thighs, hoisting me up off the ground.