Chapter Twelve

The stilted silence that followed as Dean and Jane returned to the motel room seemed to permeate the air, leaving everyone with an uncomfortable unease, though each tried to hide how they felt.

Jane, the fight now gone from her, had once again turned in on herself wearing her silence like a shield of armor, her shoulders hunched, hands buried in the long sleeves of Sam's jacket, clutching the cuffs of it in an effort to keep them still.

Sam and Bobby said nothing, unsure of the right words to say that would offer her any comfort from the pain and turmoil that she was suffering without them sounding like some kind of banal platitude. Instead they concentrated their efforts on coming up with a plan, a way to lure the Harpy out into the open. For the next few hours the three men worked, going over all the information that Sam had gleamed from the Sheriff and Doctor Landon, searching for anything that might be of help among the photos and documents that were spread out across the dining table as well as going through several websites finding any lore they could about Harpies. Every so often Sam would glance over at Jane who sat silent on the couch.

Finally the need for a break and an overwhelming desire for some coffee drove Sam to head out to the convenience store down the road. The fresh fall air hitting him immediately as he left, acting as a soothing balm to the thoughts that troubled him. Quickly getting into his stride he made his way in the direction of the store. Fifteen minutes later he was back with four coffees and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Taking one of the coffees out of the cardboard tray he went over to Jane placing it in front of her. "Here, I thought you might need this."

Without saying a word Jane reached for the coffee. Sam watched on a worried expression on his face before going back to Dean and Bobby. Taking one of the coffees for himself, he glanced over at her again as he took a sip, the worried look back on his face.

"She'll be fine," said Dean, his voice low and deep as he glanced up from one of the papers in his hand, giving Sam a firm look.

To anyone else the words might have sounded callous but Sam knew that Dean was speaking with a deeper understanding of what was going on than he had. Usually it was the other way around. He had always been the better of the two of them at reaching the scared and the freaked out. Not that Dean didn't have his moments but generally he was all words and action; emotions got in the way of the hunt, at least according to the rule book of John Winchester and Dean had always followed the rules. Lately though the rule book had been thrown out of the window and the emotional barrier that Dean wore wasn't quite as tough as it had once been. Hell and its aftermath had changed him, had changed them both.

Sam nodded in reply, knowing that his brother was right, as much as he was reluctant it to admit it. Pushing his concern for Jane aside he swept his eyes over everything that was laid out on the table. "So you think this'll work?"

"Unless you can come up with something better, it's all we've got," said Bobby, sounding more confident than he felt. The brief silence that followed lasted only a moment as the brothers thought it quickly through before answering.

"I've got nothing," said Dean.

"Same here"

Satisfied that neither of the them were going to fight him on this, Bobby cast his own quick glance at Jane. "All right then. You boys pack up everything we'll need, I'm just gonna have a word with her over there."

Walking over to Jane Bobby leaned down, gently placing his hand on Jane's arm. His action got the response he had hoped for as Jane's eyes snapped upwards, Unable to hear their conversation Dean and Sam turned their attention back to what needed to be done.

"You okay with this?"

Dean gave Sam a slightly incredulous look. "For being bait for a blood thirsty psycho killer?"

"Yeah."

The word came out soft as the reality of what Dean was about to do sunk in, even though Sam knew Dean wouldn't have any other way. Putting their lives on the line was what they did, though it was hard to be the one who had to sit back and do nothing.

"Not a problem," said Dean, picking up his gun and tucking it into his jeans, behind the small of his back. "Just let the bitch get near me and I'll show her how we deal with monsters."

SN*SN*SN

Walking towards the Impala, the dimness of the dusk encompassing the two men as they headed in its direction, Dean managed to count to ten before he gave voice to the question that had been nagging at him, resting his arm on the roof of the car, his eyes landing on Bobby.

"That Harpy you went up against. You wanna fill me in on what happened?"

Bobby paused as the meaning behind Dean's question sunk in, his face unreadable. "Like I said. It ain't an experience I wish to repeat."

Dean held Bobby's gaze for a moment longer. "Riiight," he said, drawing the word slowly out.

Okay, so not in the mood for sharing, he thought, sliding into the driver's seat and slotting the key into the ignition, the faint rumble of the engine starting up along with the car radio.

No surprise there. Like most hunters Bobby was reluctant to talk about a hunt that had obviously gone wrong. Failure wasn't something that was easy for someone who did what they did to deal with, let alone admit to, especially as it usually meant that someone had probably gotten killed on a hunt and as Dean drove the Impala out of the motel parking lot, the words of the song playing on the radio filtering through, he couldn't help but wonder who it was that Bobby had gotten killed.

"Maybe I'll find on the way down the line
that I'm free, free to be me.
Black night is a long way from home."

SN*SN*SN

The silence lingered in the air. Thick, heavy and uncomfortable.

Trying to shake the unease off Sam busied himself, picking up the pieces of paper and photographs that laid strewn across the table, tidying them into a single pile. Finished he looked up, any words he had been about to say dying in his mouth.

Jane stood with her back to him, frantically patting down her body as if searching for something. Finally she paused, drawing out the flask that Dean had given her from the depths of the jacket. With a toss of her head she swallowed several gulps of the whiskey.

Sam could tell she was struggling to calm the turmoil that was within her. He tried to think of the right words to say that would ease the undercurrent of tension that remained in the room.

As if a few simple words could make her feel any better. Realizing this he knew that there was only one thing that he could say to her. "I'm sorry."

Silence answered him and Sam wondered if she had heard him. Had they pushed her too hard? Had he pushed her too hard? So many thoughts whirled inside his head, mixing in with the guilt he felt.

"I know.

Jane's voice broke through, bringing him out of his thoughts and his heart ached at the weary acceptance that was buried in each word.

"It'll be okay. Dean and Bobby. They'll find the Harpy and it'll all be over."

"It's never over."

She looked over at him then, her eyes filled with so much sorrow, not just for herself but for all of them. Anything else that he might of said fled his brain and he could only look on as she sat back down on the couch, her mind lost to the memories that plagued her.

She was right. It was never over and that filled him with a sense of trepidation as he wondered what the future would bring.

All he did know was that he was going to need every bit of strength and determination he had if they will going to stop Lilith from breaking the 66 seals.

Taking his own seat he watched over her, sharing in her silence as a way of letting her know that she was not alone, knowing that keeping her safe was the one thing that he could do.

SN*SN*SN

Songs:

Black Night (performed by Deep Purple