"Dean!" Alex screamed again, frantic. She continued to gently shake Sam, pat his cheeks, even tug on his hair a little, trying her best to get him to awaken. She managed to keep her panic under fairly good control as Dean burst back into the room, his gaze lethal and a gun at the ready in his hand. He took one look at the situation and then hastily put the gun away.
"What happened?!" he demanded as he hit the floorboards on his knees beside them, ducking down to check on his brother. "Sammy?"
Alex pressed her lips into a hard line, drawing back a little to let Dean take over as Sam uttered a ragged groan, seeming to awaken a bit. Relief coarsed through her at the sound. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be okay, she thought as she said quickly, "He just…we were talking, and he just collapsed."
Dean cursed under his breath. "Damn it," he muttered, "I knew this damn job was a bad idea– Sam?! Can you hear me?" he repeated when Sam's eyes fluttered open a little. He remained half-awake as he began to come to, heaving for air. "Sam–"
"I hear you," the youngest Winchester managed to slur out, groaning again. "God, my head…"
Alex let out a relieved sigh. It seemed like he'd be okay – for now, at the very least. She ran a hand through her hair, wondering if Dean actually had been right that it had been a terrible idea to chase memories that seemed keen on ripping down the wall Death had put up for him. "Don't sit up," she said when he tried to rock upright. "Stay down for a little bit, Sam."
He blinked blearily up at them. "What happened?"
"We were talking and you fell," she said honestly at the same time that Dean groused, "Exactly what I said was going to happen!"
"Not helping," Alex added, exasperated.
Sam grunted, not at all amused, and after a few moments, he began to sit up. He touched his head lightly, and Dean watched him closely to ensure he didn't fall back again. Alex quietly rose to her feet, retreating to grab the bags they'd dropped, seeking anything they might have that could help with anything Sam might need. The best she could come up with was a bottle of beer Dean had hidden away in one for some reason.
Rolling her eyes, Alex left the brothers and went to search the duffel Dean had already loaded in the still-open trunk of the Impala. Alex winced and shuffled about in it before hastily slamming it shut after finding some pills that would help with any pain Sam might be suffering. She glanced around. Luckily, it seemed no one had been around – not that they would be when they had been squatting in an abandoned house outside of town.
Still, best to get moving.
There was still a body out there – a body they'd helped create.
As she made her way back inside, Alex said firmly, "I know this isn't a good time to say it, but we need to get on the road, boys." She held the bottle of pills up, and Sam immediately reached for them, wincing delicately as if his head hurt. She pressed them gently into his hand. "Sam, do you think you'll be alright to make it to the car at least?"
"Should be," he grunted. With Dean's help, he clambered to his feet, wavering a little. Alex grabbed the lingering bags, double-checked the space to make sure they had everything, then followed the Winchesters out the door. By the time she'd gotten everything packed into the Impala's trunk, Sam was seated comfortably in the Impala's passenger-side seat. Alex didn't even protest once as she clambered into the back, demanding, "How's he doing?"
Dean glanced over at her before returning his attention to his brother. "Better," he reported.
Sam rolled his eyes. He certainly looked better, and Alex thought he had to definitely feel better with the amount of sass he threw behind the eye roll. He said nothing as Dean twisted the key to the Impala and let it purr to life. It was only when they were well on their way that Sam asked, "How long was I out?"
"A few minutes," said Alex. She'd scooted forward on the back seat to lean on the front, too anxious to sit back and enjoy the ride as she usually did. She watched Sam closely, worried. She could recall the sound of his big body hitting the floor rather distinctly, and she didn't like it one bit.
Sam gave a somewhat bitter laugh. "Felt like a week," he admitted, which drew a wary, concerned look from Dean.
"Want to talk about it?" Dean asked slowly, but Sam shook his head. He looked unnerved enough that Dean gave up on being polite about the whole event. Scowling at his brother, he said bluntly, "It was Hell. You got a big smack full of Hell." Sam scoffed, attempting to play it off, and Dean laughed hoarsely. "You think I don't know what that looks like, Sam?"
Alex and Sam both winced. Sometimes, with how weird their lives were, Alex supposed it was easy to forget things, no matter how big they were. Dean had been to Hell, too, after all. Maybe not in the same way, and certainly not with Lucifer in a cage, but he'd been to Hell, too. He'd know a little bit about what Sam was probably being subjected to.
Alex thought sometimes, he still saw those same images of Hell.
When Sam didn't answer, Dean sat back a little in his seat and focused on the road. He took a deep breath and then let it out in a loud rush. "Here's the deal. Past stays past. We're not kicking that wall again. I don't care if you see Dad somewhere in there. No more."
Alex perked up a little, admittedly interested. Throughout her time with the Winchesters, she'd heard here and there about John Winchester, but she'd never heard them sit down and actually talk about him. Even after years now of working with them, she still knew virtually nothing about him – though she had heard of him in the years she'd hunted in the States before she'd come to join the brothers' little tag team.
"So I'm supposed to just…what, ignore it?" Sam sounded incredulous, as if he couldn't believe what Dean was saying.
"Yes," said Dean firmly. "You're going to shove it down, and you let it come out in spurts of violence and alcoholism like the rest of us."
Alex snorted. "Or, you know, you could just not think about it," she said wryly. "No alcoholism needed, though it sounds like someone's completing step one and admitting he has a problem."
"Shut up, Alex."
Alex rested her cheek on her folded arms and grinned. She could see Dean fuming over his brother's reluctance to agree. Sam was angry, too, scowling about Dean thinking he could control what Sam did or didn't do.
She was simply happy to see Sam alright, and to have both of them with her.
Paterson, New Jersey wasn't nearly as exciting as Dean had made it sound when he'd first introduced the idea of going there for a potential job – one that had absolutely nothing to do with Sam's issues. Alex hadn't been sure it was a good idea, but Sam had insisted as soon as she'd tried to suggest a break from hunting for him. Exasperated, Alex had given up and agreed to the job as well, but only because she was outnumbered.
Which was how they ended up in a university science lab, where a janitor had been murdered a few nights before. Alex, fur fluffed out and nose working overtime, slowly worked her way around the classroom, sniffing for any sign of what they might be dealing with. Sam trailed along behind her, letting her guide the way as he just barely held the leash attached to the harness she'd donned. She sneezed here and there, overwhelmed by a variety of smells she rarely encountered.
"Hey, check it out." Dean's voice drew their attention. They looked over and found Dean grinning back at them. Alex narrowed her eyes, ears pricked, as he held up a plastic heart he'd removed from an anatomically accurate dummy. "Be my valentine?"
Alex rolled her eyes and groaned at his ridiculous joke. She went back to work as Sam threw his brother an exasperated look and sighed, "Dude, we're working. Put the heart back."
Dean's smile grew wider and Alex began to growl softly when he tried, "Have a heart."
If he said one more stupid joke–
When Sam only glared pointedly at him, Dean cackled under his breath and put the fake heart back in the dummy. He ensured it wouldn't fall out as Alex sighed in exasperation and went back to sniffing around. She flicked an ear to the side as Sam asked her, "Anything?"
Alex lifted her head again and wrinkled her muzzle in irritation. Sulfur, yes, but it was a college science laboratory. They worked with sulfur, so it wasn't unusual to find it in a location like this. So, with a heavy sigh, Alex shook her head and then peered over when a familiar ringtone went off. Her ringtone. Alex immediately looked to Dean as he dug it out of his pocket, having agreed to carry it while she sniffed around. He peered at the caller ID – and immediately hit the "end call" option, shoving it back into his pocket. Alex barked a protest, but Dean ignored her entirely.
"So no sulfur," he said, and Sam lifted a brow.
"Lisa," guessed Sam. He glanced questioningly at Alex. "How often do you talk to her?"
Alex shrugged. She answered the phone on some occasions, reassuring Lisa that yes, Dean was alive, and yes, she'd try and convince him to call her back, but Dean hadn't done so as far as she knew. Lisa was quickly losing patience with Dean's avoiding her though. She'd begun to call less and less, and Alex felt a little bad for her. Dean wasn't an easy person to care for – she and Sam would know.
"Maybe you should mind your own business," retorted Dean without confirming or denying it.
Definitely Lisa then.
A loud, shrill sound made them all jump, interrupting their would-be conversation with Dean about Lisa. The EMF detector in Sam's pocket had gone off. He tugged it out to look and made a face, showing it to his brother. Dean whistled softly. "Ghosts gone wild," he commented. "I'm gonna go see what I can find on some security footage. You two wanna chat with Mr. Clean's girlfriend? Pick me up after?"
At least it wasn't a demon, Alex supposed, sighing to herself. And Dean's suggestion meant something positive about the whole day: he wouldn't be in the Impala if she went with Sam. She watched the keys fly as Dean tossed them to Sam, whose lips quirked when he spotted the excited way Alex watched them, her fur rising on her shoulders.
He knew without even being asked, and Alex was more than happy when upon changing forms a few minutes later, he wordlessly passed her those very same keys.
Dean was not impressed when he climbed into the Impala a few hours later to find that Alex was beaming at him from the driver's side, her fingers loosely gripping the wheel. Every time Alex was allowed to drive the Impala, they seemed to get into trouble of some kind. But, he didn't say anything, finding he couldn't bring himself to scold her. She looked too damn happy.
"So what'd you find?" he asked, his own mind racing as he considered what he'd discovered: nothing. He hadn't found anything regarding hauntings in the building, which worried him a little. It wasn't often they had weird ghosts. Usually, it was clear pretty quickly what they were dealing with.
"Nothing," said Sam from the backseat, looking mildly annoyed that he'd agreed to sit in the back. His long legs were awkwardly folded up. "We heard about how great he was. Went to church, donated to charity. He even rubbed his girlfriend's feet during Glee. What about the science building?"
Dean made a fake gagging sound that had Alex's lip curving into a hint of a smile. "Security footage was a bust, too. Building was built in oh-five. Nothing weird about the land. Before this, the biggest mishap was some genius accidentally spilled sulfuric acid on himself. They don't even dissect anything in there. They use iPads."
Alex snorted softly. "So we've got nothing then," she sighed, looking troubled by it. "Great."
Sam and Dean agreed.
Cracking a yawn, Alex followed her nose through the creepiest factory she'd ever set foot in, trying to ignore the dozens of mannequins hanging around. It was horrible, and she hated it, and she'd not even found anything good. She'd not gotten any sulfur at least. That would have ruined her day even further.
It didn't help that they all knew a man had been killed in the very building they searched only twenty-four hours prior.
"Hey! Guys!" called Sam, and Alex snapped her head around to look in the direction his voice had come from. She made a beeline towards him, a little worried, but was pleased to see he was fine. No signs of hellfire seizures. Clearly, Dean had been concerned about the same thing, too, because he looked pale when he appeared, striding over.
Sam, not noticing their concern at all, held up a very loudly buzzing EMF. Alex peered over his shoulder at it, curious. It was going off at a high level, which was unusual unless there was some serious activity going on. They all puzzled over it for a moment before Sam suddenly blurted, "Wouldn't that anatomy dummy at the lab be from somewhere like this?"
Alex knew immediately what he was talking about. "It should be," agreed Alex, looking over her shoulder, suddenly concerned that a mannequin would come and knock her over the head. When Dean threw them a confused look, Alex flashed him a grin and said, "You know, the one you were toying with."
Dean scowled lightly at her, clearly not actually offended. "What exactly are you accusing me of, Alex?"
Sam cracked a grin. "Focus," he chided.
"So…what?" challenged Dean. "We've got a bunch of killer dolls? Come on, that's just creepy."
"Hey," said Sam with a shrug, "if ghosts can possess humans and move objects…"
"So how is it hopping county lines then? It hit a college and then a factory, three towns over." Dean fired back at him, which Alex inclined her head to. It was a good question; most ghosts couldn't go far if capable of leaving their location of haunting at all. Not unless they were a woman in white, or something similar. Even then, those ghosts tended to eventually make their way back.
"So let's dig around." Alex shoved her hands into her back pockets, rocking back on her heels. "We can search the office. I don't smell any signs of demons, so that's something good in our favor, right?"
"Did either of you spot any plasma?" checked Sam, and Alex shook her head. Dean echoed her denial, which made all three of them feel better. It meant that while the ghost was angry enough to kill, it wasn't as bad as it could be, even if it was still pretty bad. "I'm going to take another look around, see if you guys missed anything. You two want to check out the office?"
Alex glanced at Dean, who shrugged, though he looked a little uneasy. He'd not really left Sam unattended since the "incident." Alex flashed Sam a wink when he began to scowl at Dean, grabbing Dean's arm and hauling him away. "Check with us in twenty," she called over her shoulder.
"Will do," Sam said, waving lazily.
"Alex," grumbled Dean as they entered the office, and she rolled her eyes.
"If you baby him, it's not going to do anyone any good, Dean." She began rifling through various papers that had been left out on the desk, noting the computer. Sam was the best of the three of them when it came to electronics. She'd have to make him check it out when he got done looking at the rest of the warehouse.
Dean huffed. "Yeah, well," he muttered, yanking a filing cabinet drawer open with a loud clatter, "someone has to keep an eye on him."
"We are, but obsessing over it will keep him from opening up when something does happen." Alex abandoned the papers on the desk and dragged a small drawer open, clicking her tongue when she came up empty-handed.
They'd been searching for a few minutes when Alex's phone suddenly began ringing shrilly in the otherwise silent room. It made them both jump. Snickering, Alex yanked it out of her pocket and furrowed her brow at the caller ID: Lisa Braeden. "Would you look at that," she said, flashing her teeth in a grin at Dean, which immediately made him suspicious. She tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder, drawling, "Hullo, Lisa, what can I do for you?"
"Alex," seethed Dean.
There was a beat of hesitation on the other end before a voice that was definitely not Lisa Braeden said hesitantly, "Is…is Dean there?"
Alex paused and then straightened with a furrowed brow. "You must be Ben, Lisa's son," she mused, which had Dean staring harshly at her, wary. He looked as if he wanted to snatch the phone away, yet he didn't seem inclined to do so at the same time. He'd definitely been avoiding Lisa's calls for a while then. "Dean's a little busy at the moment," she told Ben gently. Her eyes warmed at the sound of frustration that filled her ear. "If it's an emergency though, I'm sure I can convince him away. What's up?"
"Something's wrong with Mom," Ben replied hesitantly. "It's bad."
"And what do you mean by 'bad?'" Alex prompted, ignoring the look on Dean's face as he started towards her, hand out. She side-stepped him, ignoring the glare he shot her. If Dean was going to ignore Lisa's phone calls to this degree, then he didn't get to just demand the phone back now.
"She won't talk to me," Ben said, sounding anxious and upset.
"Okay," Alex said slowly, "can you put her on the phone, Ben?"
"I can't," Ben insisted, suddenly rather angry. His voice dropped back into misery a moment later. "Her door's locked. She barely gets out of bed. Please. Is Dean there?"
Alex clucked her tongue sympathetically, her blue eyes softening. Lisa was definitely depressed about something from the sounds of it. So, she said, "One moment, Ben, I'll see if I can get him on the phone." She put the phone on mute, whirling and giving Dean a sharp, pointed look. Dean scowled at her, holding his hand out again, and she narrowed her eyes in turn. He held his hand out pointedly again, and as she pressed it into his hands, she said quietly, "I don't know what your bloody issue is with Lisa, but you need to start dealing with it. The boy's getting dragged in."
"Stay out of it, Alex," he grumbled, lifting the phone to his ear.
"Yes, well, when people start calling my phone, I get dragged in, too, now don't I?" she retorted. As Dean began speaking with Ben, basically rehashing the conversation Alex had just had with the poor kid, Sam ducked into the office, arching a brow at the sight of his brother on the phone. In a low voice, Alex told him, "Ben called my phone about Lisa."
"Ah." Sam nodded thoughtfully, looking amused and pleased. At least they'd gotten him on the phone with someone in the two-person family at last. "Did you guys find anything in here?"
Alex made a noncommittal sound. "Not really. There's a computer. Figured you might make something useful out of it."
Sam eyed the machine thoughtfully. "I can try," he declared, immediately walking over and dropping into the seat. He began attempting to break through the password-locked screen, muttering under his breath thoughtfully about what it might be. Alex watched the Winchesters, snorting softly, and went back to digging through drawers.
"Well?" said Sam a few minutes later, and Alex glanced over her shoulder. Dean had ended the phone call and looked distressed. Alex made her way over and took her phone back when he offered it to her.
"I need to go, but I can't just leave," Dean said, clearly frustrated about the idea.
"Yes, you can," said Alex, rolling her eyes. "Sam and I will take care of things here."
Dean threw her a sharp look. "The last time I trusted you to keep an eye on things, you ended up at Spiderman's house, Alex." Alex winced. He wasn't necessarily wrong about that, per se.
"Dean," Sam said wryly, scowling at his brother, "I can handle things for twenty-four hours. Besides. It's not like we're going to ditch the current case we're working on to try and go find something else to do. Go. Take the Impala and go make sure Lisa's alright."
After a moment of thought, Dean groaned and spun on his heel to leave, shouting over his shoulder, "If you anything happens at all–"
"We'll call, you bloody idiot," Alex called after him. When he was finally gone, she joined Sam at the computer and asked him, "You find anything yet, Sam?"
"Maybe. A small article. Seamstress named Rose Brown went missing over a year ago, and the cops gave up on her." They both winced, and Alex uttered a small sound of sympathy. She hated cases like that, where police decided to forgo a case because they weren't so keen on solving it. It made her wonder who might be involved in it. "Last seen here in the factory, presumed dead. Survived by her sister Isabel."
"A vengeful spirit?" guessed Alex.
"Fits the profile." Sam scribbled some information down and then closed out of the computer, rocking to his feet. "We'll look up Isabel's information, see what she knows?"
"Sounds like a plan." Alex raked a hand through her hair as she cast a final look around the office. "Now. Let's try and get this wrapped up before Dean gets back, shall we? Without any of our usual drama. Because if you go down seizing again on my watch, I won't live to see tomorrow."
Sometimes, the dog route worked better than others. In this case, it was very much working in their favor. The woman seated on the sofa before her hadn't thought twice about how strange it was for a working K-9 to enter her house and sit calmly at her feet as the supposed federal agent asked her questions. It even seemed to reassure the woman, who occasionally reached down to stroke Alex's head. Alex put up with the touching simply because it seemed to help Sam in gathering more information. He already had a good amount of information on Isabel Brown herself scribbled down onto the notepad in his hand.
Eventually, Sam switched gears. Alex's ear flicked towards Isabel when her breath caught as he asked, "So, you and your sister Rose were close then?"
"Very." As expected, Isabel's hand descended to scratch behind Alex's ear and she was momentarily distracted by the pleasant feeling. She even leaned into the touch, ignoring the mirth that lit Sam's eyes. Isabel took in a deep breath, her dark eyes saddened. "Our parents died when we were little, so we only had each other. She had the biggest heart, but people gave her a hard time."
"How come?" prompted Sam.
"She was shy – a little awkward. I guess that made her an easy target." Isabel gave a soft, pained laugh. "I feel like I've been defending her my whole life. It went both ways though. She did more for me than anybody else ever could. I just…I miss her." Alex felt a stab of sympathy for Isabel, her own heart squeezing with grief. She missed Matt every day, and knew precisely how Isabel felt about the loss of her sister. Isabel took comfort from ruffling Alex's scruff for a few moments before letting out a sharp exhale. "Anyways, one day she went to work…and the next…"
Alex flicked an ear towards Sam, signaling her interest in this line of conversation, and he noticed. "Where did Rose work?"
Isabel blinked, then rocked to her feet. "One moment." She disappeared from the room.
Confused as to where she'd gone, Alex turned a pointed look at Sam, who shrugged. He knew as much as she did about where Isabel had gone. As they waited for Isabel to come back, Alex hefted herself to her paws and began sniffing around the table at the center of the room. There were no signs of demons or any other supernatural creature that she could catch, which likely did mean they were dealing with a haunting of sorts. She meandered around the room, and was doing so when Isabel came back.
"Sorry, I was grabbing this." Isabel offered a photo album, already flipped open to a specific page. She handed it to Sam, tapping a particular photo, and then retreated to her seat. "That photo…it was at a company Christmas party a couple years back. We worked together."
Alex circled back, wanting to see the photo. After studying it himself, Sam casually put it on the coffee table between he and Isabel, sliding a finger thoughtfully over the image to indicate which one she ought to inspect. Alex checked the photo out under the guise of sniffing at the photo album, and studied the picture. It held a couple people in the photo, and Alex paused when she realized she recognized a face among the others: the victim of the death they'd been investigating.
They worked at Salzman & Sons, too.
She flicked her gaze to Sam, who nodded just slightly. He'd spotted it, too. "Can I borrow this photo?" Sam asked, and Isabel, confused, agreed.
They said farewell to Isabel not long after, and she watched them walk from the house curiously, making their way down the street. Alex kept on high alert for danger as they went, and Sam didn't hesitate to dial Dean, wanting to keep his brother up-to-date despite the fact that Dean was no longer part of the hunt. Alex pricked his ears when Sam said, "Hey, Dean, get this. The college janitor worked at the factory until last year. Apparently, he quit right after this woman was reported missing. We just talked with the sister."
Alex didn't hear what Dean said in response, flattening her ears when a car roared past them. Sam looked mildly annoyed by the loudness, and threw a small glare over his shoulder at the vehicle before focusing on the phone again. "Doesn't explain how a ghost ended up at a college in another zip code," he said. "We're heading to the factory now. I'll call again when we get the whole scoop on Rose – the woman who went missing."
He hung up on Dean, and then grimaced, letting out a soft sigh. "Alex," he said, glancing at her, and she swung her head up to look at him questioningly. "How about we find something to eat, and then go ask some questions at the factory? There's some others in the picture we can look into."
How's Sam?
The message made Alex bite back a laugh, mostly because Sam had heard her phone send an alert as they pulled into the parking lot at the factory and threw her a dark look. He knew precisely who'd texted her, and he knew exactly what the message would be about. Lips twitching as she fought back the smile that so badly wanted to emerge, she fired back a quick message reassuring Dean that his grown, adult brother was fine.
"Seriously?" griped Sam as he slammed the door of their stolen vehicle a little harder than necessary.
"He's just worried about you," soothed Alex, waiting until Sam had turned his attention away from what she was doing to fire a second text promising that she'd keep Dean updated if something did happen. And unlike with the Arachne incident, she fully intended to follow through on ensuring Sam was safe and stuck to their usual routine. She partially blamed herself for what had happened following that little misadventure, and she didn't want Sam to end up seizing on the floor like that again. She shuddered at the memory and refused to shrug it off. She knew how things tended to go with the luck they had.
"Ready?" she checked with Sam as he straightened his suit jacket. She'd forgone the professional attire, electing to stick with her favored leather jacket and jeans. It had frustrated Sam, but she'd not had the clothes on her when they'd left the motel that morning.
Sam gave a curt nod and together, they set off.
Dean tapped a finger thoughtfully on the steering wheel of his Impala, eyeing his phone with a suspicious frown. The message he'd received from Alex was short and curt. Fine. I'm watching him. He considered actually calling, not liking that answer – until another message suddenly came through, promising, I'll call the second something goes sideways. Promise.
The tension eased from Dean's shoulders and he put his phone away, hastily exiting the Impala and studying the house he'd parked in front of with concern. At least Alex was around to keep an eye on Sam, which eliminated one fear. Now, he just had to figure out what had happened to Lisa and why Ben was so scared.
He'd crossed the lawn in a matter of seconds, unsure if he should just enter the house or ring the doorbell. He decided on ringing it, checking the waist of his jeans as he did so. His gun, loaded with iron-laced bullets, was ready to go should he need it, and he had a silver knife stashed in his jacket. The flask of holy water and the stupid pack of salt Alex had sneaked into his pocket were comforting, too. He was ready regardless of what appeared on the other side of the front door.
Which was Lisa, herself, looking just as startled as he felt when she flung the door open and found him standing there. Her dark eyes sprang wide. "Dean!" she exclaimed, tugging nervously at the front of her simple dress, "what are you doing here?"
Dean knew immediately what had happened, taking one look at Lisa and cursing. "Well," he muttered, scrubbing his hands down his face and scowling as relief was replaced by irritation, "don't you look absolutely fine."
He'd been on a hunt.
Kid or not, Ben shouldn't have been calling him for anything less than a real emergency. But then…Dean could tell, just looking at Lisa, why Ben had panicked. "Ben sent out a nine-one-one," he told her drily. When Lisa frowned, confused, he nodded at her nice clothes. "You're going on a date."
And he wasn't sure what it said about him that it didn't bother him as much as it should have, seeing as he'd been something with her for at least a year.
Lisa's dark eyes flickered with understanding. She sighed, stepping aside. "Come in," she muttered, and Dean did just that. He stepped inside, scanning the house he'd lived in for anything that might be amiss. He knew he'd be in trouble, seeing that he'd been avoiding Lisa's phone calls and leaving her to talk with Alex of all people, but at the same time…he hadn't expected this.
"So," he said awkwardly, "who's the guy?" He didn't know what he felt worse about: the fact that he'd been so on the rocks with Lisa that she'd decided to hell with Dean Winchester or that he didn't feel as guilty about it as he should have.
Lisa whipped around, face a hard mask of irritation. "Matt. He's a doctor."
Dean cleared his throat, fighting the urge to flinch violently at that. Of course she'd find a doctor named Matt. Thank God she'd not told Alex that. Alex would have lost it. "How…respectable."
Lisa laughed without humor, scowling furiously at him. "I called you several times, Dean," she said sharply, and he winced. "And then, I had to start calling Alex. Do you know what that's like? To have to ask a virtual stranger who sees you every day if you're even alive?"
Dean ran his hands down his face and wondered how he was going to get the conversation away from the skinwalker who'd been occupying his thoughts way too often as of late. "Lis, Ben called me. I dropped everything and ran. If you want to know I care, then–"
"Doesn't help me," she fired back, folding her arms. She lifted her chin in that proud look he'd once been amazed by. He didn't like it now that it was pointed at him. "You know what? I don't want to know if you care. I know what I want. But I can't have it." Her voice broke just a little then and the guilt was like a stake in his chest. "Not with how you live. My phone rings and I think…I think it's you. Or I think there's a big chance it's Sam or Alex, calling to tell me you're dead."
When Dean opened his mouth, unsure if he meant to protest that it wouldn't happen or to simply apologize for making her worry like that, she held her hand up to silence. "No," she said sharply. "Don't. Just…don't. It's just…I get to this place where I'm okay, like today, and then you show up at your door. You keep doing that – everytime I think I'm never going to see you again, that I'm finally getting over you, you show up. So what do you want from us, Dean? What are you trying to do?"
Dean was disappointed to find that he didn't really have an answer.
Alex groaned impatiently, rocking her head back to stare at the roof of their stolen car. "Can't we just, I don't know, break in and drag our answers out of him? We've been waiting here for hours, Sam."
"You know who you sound like?" Sam asked her, not taking his eyes off of the house they were watching.
"Don't you dare."
"Dean. You sound like Dean right now."
"That's rude."
Sam rolled his eyes, exasperated, and Alex slumped in the seat she sat in, scowling. They'd been there for some time after interrogating a man who'd known the woman they were investigating. He'd been so nervous when they'd started asking questions about Rose that they'd agreed it would be a good idea to keep an eye on "Johnny," even if they both agreed Rose's ghost might deserve a little bit of revenge on the people who had been behind her death.
Silence fell again. Alex broke it yet again after a few moments, "You're doing okay, right?"
This time, Sam threw her a small glare. "I'm fine. I told you guys–"
"Just checking. I'm worried about you, that's all." Alex exhaled softly. "It wasn't fun, watching you like I did." Sam's annoyance faded just somewhat, and he grimaced. "Dean might be going a little overboard, but he's just worried, too, and you know it. You'd be just as bad as we are if it were Dean."
Annoyance gone entirely at that statement, Sam reached over and playfully poked her arm. "I guess so. And I'd be just as worried if it were you, too."
Alex seemed pleased by that admission. She glanced at the house – and rocked upright, eyes flashing. "Sam," she murmured, nodding in the direction of a front window. Jonny had peeked through the curtains, but that wasn't what she'd noticed. She'd seen the frost creeping along that window, the way his breath fogged it just before he moved away. "Time to go!"
Sam was out of the car in an instant, Alex following suit. The pair sprinted for the house, and Sam didn't bother trying to knock. He busted down the door, stumbling through just as quickly as he'd broken it. Alex ducked around him, knife in hand. Maybe she couldn't kill a pissed off ghost, but it would certainly fend them off until they could do something about it.
Jonny whipped around to look at them, startled. Alex wrinkled her nose at the familiar coppery scent of blood as it streamed down the alarmed man's face from a gash that had opened in his forehead. "What are you–"
They didn't have a chance to bother trying to explain themselves. A furious-looking woman appeared behind him, her eyes blazing with wrath. Alex lunged forward, making Jonny yelp in terror at the sight of the knife in her hand. She slashed it through the ghost, which disappeared with a scream that had Jonny whirling around to stare at where she'd once been.
Drily, Sam told him, "That was a ghost trying to kill you for being a dick."
Johnny looked stunned. "What?"
"You're lucky you were one of the weirdest interviews we've ever done," Alex mused, shoving him towards Sam. Johnny stumbled towards him, not sure of what else he ought to do. "Listen here, you daft idiot. You're going to end up like all your little friends unless you start talking to us about what happened to Rose." When Johnny faltered, unwilling, her eyes flashed irritably. "Do you want to live or not?"
Johnny cracked beneath the pressure when Sam glared at him pointedly. "It was just a stupid joke," he began, and Alex considered throttling the man for a moment. "We didn't…we didn't think it was that big of a deal, y'know? We made Rose think she had a secret admirer. I don't think the girl had ever been asked out in her life. We just thought she was kind of pathetic, to be honest. We knew she'd take the bait. She was so excited…" Johnny trailed off, guilt splintering across his expression. Alex's anger lessened just somewhat. At least he felt bad about whatever had happened. "It was mean. But you know how a group of guys get when they're together; they're complete and total jackasses."
Alex muttered something under her breath that earned her a half-hearted glare from Sam that told her she wasn't helping. Alex ignored him, instead curling a lip in disgust when Johnny admitted, "It was an accident. She got mad, we tried to stop her from leaving…she fell and hit her head. We didn't mean for it to happen. By the time we realized how serious it was, it was too late. I wanted to call the cops, but…the others said it'd be manslaughter. I…I really wish I could take it all back. But I didn't kill her!" Johnny added hastily.
Sam tipped his head back, exasperated, as Alex drawled, "I'm sure you didn't kill the woman you tricked and got killed. Look, save your pleas of innocence for someone who actually bloody cares. Where's Rose buried?"
"Excuse me?" sputtered Johnny, turning a wide-eyed look on her.
"We can help," Sam said, cutting Alex off before she could speak again. "Just tell us where."
Johnny hesitated only a moment longer before telling them, "In the woods. In a clearing off Canyon Run Road."
Alex beamed. "Was that so hard?" she mocked, and Sam pointed wordlessly at the door. She pouted, but headed outside anyway. She stopped beside the front door, waiting impatiently as Sam ordered Johnny to stay in the salt circle he poured for him. When Sam finally came outside, she smiled impishly as he threw her a look. "What? He said it himself. He's a jackass." Her smile vanished. "I don't like when people mess with people who don't deserve it, let alone when it ends up like this. That man gets to live a whole, enjoyable life while Rose is dead. I think a little mockery is just fine for someone like him, Sam."
Sam just shook his head. "Come on, let's go find the body. and let Dean know we're finishing up. Maybe we can drive out and meet him closer to where he is."
"I'm not going to say 'I'm sorry.'" Ben's voice was hard when Dean found him in his room. The boy was cross-legged on his bed, playing a video game. Dean eyed the TV thoughtfully, wrinkling his nose at the sight of zombies attempting to get past a wall of plants. As if that would work in the real world. He focused on Ben instead when Ben glanced at him with hard, dark eyes.
"You lied to get me here, Ben," said Dean quietly, leaning against the doorframe.
"It was an emergency."
"A date isn't an emergency."
"It is if it's the third one." Ben threw his controller aside, angry. "I know what that means. I watch TV. Why can't you just come home? Can't you just say 'I'm sorry,' come home, and take her out yourself?"
Dean let out a soft sigh. He'd not really wanted Ben involved in the situation that was his relationship with Lisa. It was very clearly on the rocks, and at the rate he was going, he doubted it would last much longer.
They never did with people like him.
Ben looked at him with such distress on his young face that Dean's heart twisted with guilt. It wasn't Ben's fault, but he clearly believed that he was, in some way, partially to blame for it. "Look," said Dean carefully, picking each word to try and reassure him without making any promises. "I can't…Ben, I care for you two. I do. But caring for someone doesn't mean you should stick around and screw up their life. My job…it turns you into someone that can't just sit at a dinner table like everyone else. I don't want that for you, and I don't want that for your mom either."
He would turn and walk away. He would never come back if it meant keeping Lisa and Ben safe from the hunting lifestyle, and he knew Ben might hate him for it, but he would.
Anger flashed across Ben's face. "Don't we get a vote?"
"Not in this. No."
Ben climbed to his feet, glaring at Dean. His hands curled into angry fists, and the guilt was like a stone in Dean's gut. He hated that he was hurting the kid like this. Especially when Ben spat, "You say family's so important, but what are people who care for you and love you even when you're horrible? We're family, too. And you're walking out on your family."
Dean found he couldn't argue with that – which made everything all the worse. He did consider them family, especially after everything that had happened following Sam's supposed death and everything else that had happened.
But who wanted their family dragged into a life filled with death?
Dean didn't want Ben to have the childhood Dean had had. He didn't want to be like his own father, who'd loved them in his own way, yes, but had forgotten that his children deserved to have childhoods. Bobby had done his best, but his best hadn't done them a whole lot of good when their father stopped bringing them around him.
When Dean didn't answer, Ben threw him a dirty look. "Exactly," he said, and Dean felt all the worse for it.
A familiar ringtone suddenly went off. Worried it'd be Alex calling with some bad news about his brother, Dean checked it. Sam's caller ID flashed across the screen. Ben said nothing when Dean glanced at him, unsure of what he ought to do. Instead, the young boy went back to his video game, clearly fuming over their conversation.
Not knowing what else to do but needing to find out if Sam was okay, Dean told him, "Sometimes, life's not as easy as we want it to be, Ben. I'll try and see you around, okay?"
Ben didn't answer.
As he left the house a few minutes later, fully aware that Lisa had watched him go with uncertain eyes, as if she was deciding whether or not to continue waiting for him or go out on her third date, Dean thought he might hate himself for what he was doing to them. He wanted to protect them. It wasn't that he didn't care for Lisa or her son; he did, very much so.
But it was harder than he'd thought.
He could get them killed, rather easily, simply because they knew him. How many times had some monster chosen to use Sam or Alex against him? How soon would it happen with Ben and Lisa? He knew it would – it always did. He had put them in danger when the damn vampire incident had taken place.
Frustrated with his own indecision, Dean pressed the phone to his ear. Sam hadn't answered when he'd called him back, but Alex did as he slammed the Impala door shut behind him and rested his head back against the seat. "What happened?" he demanded. The voicemail had reassured him that Sam was fine, but that something had gone sideways in the case the pair were currently working on without him.
"We thought we'd dealt with the ghost," said Alex, forgoing any greetings and playful teasing for once. She sounded immensely concerned. "One of the guys behind this girl's death gave up the location of her body – poor thing," added Alex softly before going back into work mode. "We salted and burned like normal, but when we came back to check on things afterwards, the guy was dead. His body was found at a bar. We thought he'd, you know, maybe died beforehand, but we found out the time of death definitely happened afterwards. Which means–"
"The ghost is still kicking," finished Dean, sighing heavily.
"We're going to talk to the ghost's sister in the morning. She's been pretty helpful. Figured we'd update you on the case."
"Sounds like a plan. I'm on my way back."
Surprise colored Alex's tone. "Everything okay with Lisa? What happened there?"
Dean considered whether he wanted to admit the truth of what had happened or not. He decided to in the end. "Lisa was going out on a date – third one, with some doctor. Ben panicked and called an SOS."
For just a moment, Dean thought Alex would scold him like he was a child. Maybe comment that he ought to start doing a better job of communicating with the woman he supposed he could have called his girlfriend, or something similar, for the last year or so. Perhaps even berate him for not enjoying the fact that he had someone on the outside a bit more when her own family had been killed. Instead, she said simply, "Poor kid. Might be time to start thinking about what you plan for the future for their sakes, Dean."
It wasn't something he wanted to hear, but it could have been a lot worse. "Yeah," he muttered. "Mabe." He took a deep breath, letting it out in a rush. "Should be there tomorrow some time. I'm gonna drive through the night."
"I'll tell Sam. He's fine, by the way. Still no sign of anything."
That was probably the best news Dean could have heard at the moment. "Good."
"I've got to go. Sam's back with food. See you tomorrow, Dean."
"Yeah." Dean hung up, sitting there for just a moment. He smoothed his thumb over his phone's screen with a heavy sigh, considering, and then tossed it aside. The engine of the Impala rumbled to life – the only thing he found comforted him in that moment. He listened to it before throwing the car into reverse, grimacing.
He wondered if Lisa would end up going out on that third date – and, for her sake, hoped she did.
Alex could feel Isabel's wary gaze flashing to her every now and then as she dropped a rather small box of various items onto her kitchen counter. Sam, standing beside Alex, glanced at her with an incredulous look on his face. "This is it?" he demanded, not prepared for such a small number of things to sort through. He'd been expecting much, much more.
"I gave most of her clothes to the Goodwill down the street," said Isabel with a small frown. Softly, she added, "She didn't have much. She was a minimalist."
Alex bit back a quiet snarl of frustration as best as she could. Of course Rose wouldn't have much. She shifted in the stool she was perched on, drawing Isabel's attention again. Isabel nervously tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear before telling them, "Look, I don't know what you're looking for, but I have some homework to get to." She gestured to a set of textbooks, as if she thought they needed proof. "So–"
Sam straightened, eyes locked on the chemistry books. "Where do you go to school?"
"Great Falls?" She arched her brow. "So?"
Alex's lips parted, and she caught on immediately to what Sam was suggesting. "Were you at the chemistry lab and the factory this week?" she asked quickly. Isabel sputtered, but nodded, and Alex leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the island they were seated at. Her blue eyes scanned Isabel's face closely, nostrils flared as if she was seeking some answer in a scent. "What about a bar called McOwen's?"
Defensively, Isabel huffed, "I was there last night, with a few friends from the factory – why? What's this about?"
Sam slumped in his seat, studying her closer. "It's about you," he said aloud. "The murders…they're all connected to you. Your coworkers. Your college's janitor–"
Isabel scowled then, narrowing her eyes at them with irritation. "You think I had something to do with their deaths?!" She shot Alex a particularly suspicious glare. "And who are you anyways?"
Hastily, Sam cut in. "No, no, but we don't think you had anything to do with the deaths. We do think you have something that might be related to them then." His dark eyes met Isabel's, searching them intently as he asked almost kindly, "What are you wearing of Rose's? A ring? A bracelet? Something with a lock of hair in it?" She continued to glare at him, suspicious, and he pleaded, "Please."
Isabel gave a bitter laugh. "Her kidney, if it matters so much," she fired back, irritated. She lifted her chin, glaring daringly at them. The defiance and agitation seemed to fade as Alex slumped back, disbelieving, and Sam's face dropped. "What?" she demanded. "What's wrong?"
Sam exchanged a wary look with Alex, who pressed her lips into a hard line. She'd never heard of something like this happening before. This was entirely new to her. A haunted kidney? "I think," she said hoarsely, "we're going to need to wait for Dean, Sam."
Sam only nodded, which made Isabel even more concerned and bewildered about what was happening. "What?" she snapped. "Just tell me what this is about already, would you?"
"Right." Sam let out a soft breath, hauling his tall frame to his feet. "Here's the deal. We'll tell you what's happening, but I think…I'm going to need you to come with us." Isabel narrowed her eyes warily, and he promised, "We're not going to hurt you or anything, Isabel. I promise. We're just going to meet my brother, see if he's heard anything about what we're going to tell you."
When Isabel still hesitated, Alex murmured, "More people might die if we don't, Isabel."
She was relieved when Isabel, for some unknown reason, decided to trust them, nodding firmly.
"You're messing with me," Dean said bluntly, unimpressed with what Alex was telling him. The pair leaned against the trunk of his Impala as a grudging Isabel trailed after Sam, who was speaking quietly to her. Alex and Sam had agreed upon hearing from Dean that he was back in town that while Alex filled Dean in on what was happening, Sam would explain what he could to Isabel, and they'd all met up outside an abandoned shop at the edge of town. Even from where Dean and Alex stood, Dean could tell that Isabel was struggling to believe whatever Sam was telling her. "A haunted kidney?"
Alex nodded curtly. "A haunted kidney," she confirmed grimly. "I don't think I've ever had something like that pop up in my cases. Have you?"
Dean shook his head. Not that he knew of. "Just when you think you've seen it all…what's the plan? Not like we can salt and burn the thing. She needs it."
His comment earned him a look. "I wasn't planning on cutting the bloody thing out of her and leaving her for dead, Dean. We've got to figure out something though. The ghost…it's attached. Anytime she goes near someone it wants revenge on…" She trailed off.
Dean thought over everything she'd relayed to him, considering. He had about as much of an idea of what to do as he did about everything regarding his issues with Lisa. He thought over what he had available to him and finally suggested, "We could call Dr. Robert. Might have some leads on some non-haunted, black-market replacement kidneys."
Alex wrinkled her nose. "I'll go back to that man for something the day I'm granted a place in Heaven, Winchester." She was too busy looking disgusted to see Sam meandering over, leaving Isabel looking particularly upset.
"I think we should go hoodoo," said Sam, and Dean couldn't help the wicked grin that split over his face when Alex squeaked, jumping. It was the funniest sound he thought he'd ever heard her produce. She growled in response, glaring furiously at him and then Sam when Sam cracked a small laugh. "It'll buy us some time to figure out what else to do, you know?"
"Voodoo?"
Isabel's spluttered laugh made them all stop to look over. She'd followed Sam without them noticing, and Dean noted that he really, really needed to start paying better attention to what was happening around him. She looked from Sam, to Dean, to Alex, disbelief written across her face. "What the hell are you talking about?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, realization dawning. She withdrew a step, wrapping her arms around herself as she said faintly, "You aren't feds."
"Isabel," began Sam, but she shook her head and retreated when he held his hands out to try and calm her, as if she were a wild animal.
Dean was nearly deafened when the Impala suddenly roared to life. He whipped around instinctively, expecting to find that Alex had climbed in and started the car for whatever reason, but to his shock, he realized she was still beside him, though she'd shoved away from the hood like it was on fire. It took Dean a good long moment to realize the truth of the situation: there was no one in the Impala.
The Impala had started itself.
Or, at least, a ghost had.
"No," he breathed, horrified by the idea. This had happened before, and he didn't appreciate that it was happening again. "No, c'mon! Not Baby!"
The Impala revved its engine. The lights turned on, flashing at them. They were all nearly blinded by the brightness. Alex's voice was a little more shrill than it typically was, even in extreme situations, as she said, "Dean, I don't think the ghost cares about the Impala."
It really ought to have in his opinion. Especially as it lurched forward, heading straight for them. Isabel screamed in surprise as it veered away from her, nearly clipping her in the process of charging for Sam. Sam swore loudly and managed to throw himself out of the way. "What do we do?" barked Sam, hurtling to his feet and bundling Isabel away towards the storefront. He didn't hesitate to kick in the glass door, ignoring glass that scraped at him as he shoved her inside. Isabel was more than willing to follow, her eyes wide with terror.
The Impala wheeled around and made a beeline towards Dean and Alex next. "Your knife," yelled Dean as it charged ahead. "Alex–"
Alex barked a laugh. "What am I going to do?" she snarled at him, sharp in her alarm. "Stab a car?!" Her eyes flew wide when the Impala hit the brakes and quickly screeched backwards. Dean, gawking, found himself staring at the taillights of his own car as it tried to run him over. "Dean," shrieked Alex as he simply stared, "move, you bloody idiot!"
Dean made a face, muttering a pathetic apology to his car as it screamed towards him. He spun out of the way at the last second, fighting the urge to whimper like a child when his beloved car crashed into the storefront, shattering glass and cracking wood with a massive sound of impact. He felt as if his own chest had cracked in half as he stared at his Baby's shattered windshield and dented hood and scratched, scraped paint.
Alex brought him back to reality as she vaulted over the car and into the shop. "Sam! Dean, I smell blood!"
His heart all but stopped for a moment. His brother was in that shop. They'd just gotten him back – gotten his living, breathing soul back – and Dean had run a car right into the front of the store Sam had taken shelter in.
Frantic, Dean hurtled through broken glass after Alex, ignoring the sting of slices on his arms. "Sammy!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," came Sam's voice. "It's…it's not my blood." Waving dust and debris out of his face, Dean nearly ran right into Alex, who stopped dead in her tracks to stare in horror. Dean stopped, too, when he saw what had happened.
Sam was fine. Virtually unharmed, even. He sat in the chaos, wood and cement and brick and glass laying around him.
Isabel, however…
She half-sat in Sam's lap, as if he'd done his best to shield her. It had done her little good. Something protruded from her gut. Dean could hardly tell what it was in the dark lighting of the shop, but he knew it wasn't good, mostly because even he could smell the thick, heavy scent of blood. It was so strong, Alex had covered her nose, looking ill.
None of them tried to reassure Isabel that it would be alright. They had seen enough in their lives to know they could not help her.
Dean stiffened when something flickered into existence beside Sam, standing so that it bent over his shoulder to peer at the dying woman. Alex lifted her black knife, prepared to launch herself at it, but stopped when the ghost who must have been Rose, for she had the same look to her that Isabel did, whispered, "I'm sorry, Isabel. I didn't mean for this to happen."
Isabel stared at her sister's spirit in shock, even as she gasped for air that wouldn't come.
They could do nothing but stand there in silent comfort as the last breath rattled from her lungs. No sooner than it had did Rose's ghost vanish in flames, as if they'd succeeded in destroying it at last. It wasn't how it was supposed to go, thought Dean as his brother kindly closed Isabel's blank eyes.
Yet again, another had died at their hands.
Alex wasn't sure when she'd started favoring this particular whiskey, but it tasted pretty damn good as it burned its way down her throat. Not wanting to deal with the attitude one Dean Winchester had worked himself into upon their return to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, she'd elected to wander out into the middle of Bobby's never-ending junkyard. Sam had gone to speak with him, hoping he could coax him out of the dark mood. Alex had watched him go, relieved to see there was no sign of any other seizures. He seemed to be doing much better. They'd just need to keep avoiding anything that picked and plucked at the wall protecting his soul.
"Hey."
Avery's voice took her off guard, but Alex pretended it didn't. She merely lifted her glass of whiskey in greeting, resting her head against the car she'd been sitting beside. Avery stood over her for a few moments, dark eyes thoughtful, and then dropped to sit beside her, stretching out in a way that was oh, so familiar. Her friend had sat like this on the floor of her living room, back before the Winchesters had danced back into Alex's life.
After a few moments, Avery spoke.
"Bobby told me. Why you've been so standoffish and don't want me to come with you on hunts."
Alex nearly choked on her whiskey. "Did he now?" she gritted out, glaring at nothing in particular. She was going to chew Bobby out for that.
"And I want you to know," continued Avery as if she'd not spoken, "that I understand the risks, and that you're worried about what'll happen if something goes wrong. But I don't care. I want to help people like you all do, Alex." When Alex glanced at her, Avery was smiling widely. "Even the small cases I've gotten to do…how many lives were saved because of it?"
Alex recalled the chat she'd had with Dean, once upon a time. How in his djinn-induced coma, he'd dreamed of what life would be like if he weren't a hunter, and how many lives the Winchesters had saved because of it.
"I just…" Avery took a deep breath. "I don't have to help with demons. I don't really want to get involved with that. But I want to do more than what I've been doing, and I don't want to ruin our friendship in the process."
Alex slid a wary glance at Avery and found her waiting for a response. Alex sipped once more at her alcohol, wishing it were even stronger, that it might kick her ass like it once had. Alcohol had lost a lot of its bite in the last few weeks, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with whatever chaos she'd unleashed with the Alpha skinwalker's death. "Avery," she said after a long moment, "you don't get to pick and choose. You're involved with the Winchesters now. With me, whatever that means to the otherworldly creatures around us. You're either in entirely, and you have been since day one, or you turn around and walk away and don't involve yourself at all. I want you to walk away. I want you to go and live a life that we can't."
"But I can't either now," she said quietly. "Like you said, I'm involved. I wasn't even all that involved initially, and look what happened."
Alex winced. That was her fault. Entirely her fault. She was the reason Avery had turned up half-dead in the Badlands, and she blamed herself for that. "Do what you want, Avery," she sighed, swallowing the last remnants of her whiskey. She rose to her feet, frustrated. She glanced back at her equally frustrated friend. "Come with us next time. Don't come with us. I can't stop you. I'll support you regardless. I'll watch your back. You're my friend, and a part of my little family of mismatches," she added, if only to soften her frustrations, "but I don't have to be happy about it. You can say anything you want. I'll never be happy about it."
Huffing, Avery followed her to her feet. "The same could be said about you."
"I'm sure it is." Alex smiled ruefully, turning towards the house. She paused, just once, to look back. "Avery, you don't know everything I know about Purgatory. You don't know what comes with it. What others will do to you if they think you might have information. You don't know what friends will do to friends to get that information you don't have. Here, you don't have to think about that. You don't have to always look over your shoulder, because it's Bobby's house, and Bobby's house is one of very few places we have left where I think it's truly safe – most of the time," she amended, thinking of soulless Sam's attack. "You're not a child. We're equals, but maybe consider that I've lived in this world a lot longer than you have – longer than even the boys have, and that I've seen and felt things they will never have to even think about.
With a final wave, she started back for the house. "When you find what hunt you want us to help out with, let me know, and I'll get Sam and Dean ready. Like Bobby's said, if you're gonna do it, might as well make sure you've got the bloody best of the best around."
She didn't wait to hear what Avery said. She didn't want to. She was tired of the same conversation over and over again with her, and she wanted her to stop and think about what Alex meant – even if, perhaps, it didn't make any sense at all.
The bottle of whiskey was right where she'd left it: on the porch, untouched. She forewent the glass she'd been using in favor of drinking straight from the bottle as she wandered off to see how the Impala was coming along. Alex found herself unsurprised when she discovered both Winchesters in Bobby's garage, working on it. Well, Dean was halfway under the hood; Sam was sitting there watching him.
"Hey, Alex," said Sam, arching a brow at her choice in drink.
Alex smiled grimly. "Any luck?"
"She's coming along," said Dean, sounding as tired as Alex felt as he pulled back. He glanced her way – and paused, frowning at the bottle in her hand. "That isn't the last of it, right?"
"If it is?" she remarked, lips on the bottle, ready to start chugging there and then if only to make sure he didn't get it.
Dean rolled his eyes, as if reading that intention in her reaction, and turned his attention back onto his beloved car. Alex was relieved to see that he wasn't too upset; it meant the Impala would be up and running again soon. "If it is, you owe me more. It's my favorite."
Alex blinked, wondering if she'd imagined the oddly guilty way he said it.
Long time, no see. Should be in bed, but posting this instead. Enjoy.
This was most certainly season 6, episode 14, and we will unfortunately be skipping the glorious episode that is season 6, episode 15, but hey! We're getting towards Purgatory nonsense. ;)
Thanks to reviewers (savethemadscientist, Savage Kill, & Trench gun!) as well as those who favorited and followed!