Author's Note: I apologize for the delay in posting. I moved back in July and took a month break from writing. Unfortunately, all the life changes I had in 2024 really messed with my mental health and I haven't been able to resume a regular writing schedule. I haven't abandoned this story though. Hopefully, you still have interest in following along. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews do motivate me, so if you enjoyed and have time please leave a review. Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from supernatural. All rights belong to the writers and creators of the show.
Fallon sat next to her mother in the kitchen as she peeled potatoes for the night's meal. She'd begun spending more time with her family and friends in the weeks since the las case. Bobby kept an annoyingly close eye on her when she spent time at his place and Sam had started calling every day to check on her. She loved him and appreciated his concern, but his worry and constant assurances that he was there for her were really grinding on her last nerves. She found herself preferring to hang out with people who were unaware of her presence.
She and her mother looked up when they heard the front door open and then slam shut. Heels clicked angrily across the floor and a thud sounded from the parlor. Fallon pictured a purse being slammed down on the console table. More muted footsteps stomped toward the kitchen until the door swung open and smacked the wall.
"How many times have I told you and your grandmother not to swing open the door like that?" her mother sighed.
"Not as many times as you told Fallon," Veda snapped, and then her face crumpled as she burst into tears. Fallon felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She hated being the cause of her family's anguish. Their mother immediately put down her potato and paring knife and went to Veda. She pulled her into a hug and held her until she stopped crying. She then ushered Veda into a chair at the kitchen table.
"Sit," their mother ordered. "I'll make some coffee."
"I'll take whiskey with mine," Veda grumbled. Their mother snorted, but pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard. The kitchen was silent except for the sounds of mugs being placed on the counter and the bubbling of coffee brewing. After a moment, a mug was placed in front of Veda and Fallon gave a resentful glare at her sister for receiving all of their mother's attention. She blinked and the emotion was immediately replaced with shock. Of course, Veda was getting all of the attention. She was their mother's only living child. Fallon shouldn't begrudge her that. When had she started to? She'd never felt that way before.
The thud of a coffee mug being placed on the table broke Fallon out of her thoughts, and her worry redirected itself towards her sister. Veda picked up the mug and took a large gulp of the steaming coffee. Fallon raised her eyebrows. The coffee had to be scalding.
"There's not enough whiskey," Veda said, taking another gulp from the mug.
"I think you've had enough whiskey lately," their mother said gently.
"I'm fine," Veda snapped.
"I know what fine looks like on you, and this isn't it," their mother said. "Now why don't you skip the bullshit and tell me what's wrong?" Silence filled the kitchen for a moment as both women sipped their coffees.
"Eric broke up with me," Veda said, starting to cry again.
"What?!" Fallon cried, shocked. Eric had been one of her best friends. Since birth, really. Their mothers had met in the birthing ward at the hospital. They'd bonded over being first time parents. Eric's mom was on her own and Fallon's parents helped her out as best they could, watching Eric when she had to work. Both families often joked that she and Eric had been each other's practice siblings. They both easily fell into the role when their younger sisters came along. Coincidentally, their mothers had gotten pregnant at the same time again.
As they grew, many had expected a romance to develop between them, but one had blossomed between Eric and Veda instead. It had been weird at first, but Fallon wouldn't have trusted any other guy with her sister's heart. Eric looked out for Veda and their relationship had always been constant and stable. Fallon had sometimes envied them the ease of their relationship when her own relationship with Mason was more tumultuous. She was floored that the two hadn't lasted. She turned to their mother, expecting her to be just as surprised, but though their mother's expression was sad and sympathetic, there was no trace of surprise.
"You don't look surprised," Veda grumbled.
"Well, now how could I be?" their mother replied. "Every time you come in this house, you're telling me and whoever will listen about a fight you two had. You moved back in with us when the lease on your apartment with Eric was up. I've been waiting on this news for some time now."
"You could at least pretend you're sorry about it," Veda said.
"I am sorry about it," their mother said. "I liked the two of you together. Eric was always so good to you."
"He's still good to me," Veda admitted. "He didn't want to let me drive home because I was upset."
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" their mom asked.
"We were on our weekly date. We were having lunch at Angelo's Pasta House. I was telling him about the final details I was working on for Fallon's annual fundraiser and he just lost his shit. He went off about how I make everything about Fallon. That I can't even get through one date without mentioning her."
"Is that true?" their mother asked.
"Maybe lately," Veda admitted. "But only because I've been planning and preparing for the fundraiser. It's a lot of work. It takes time to plan. Eric should understand that. It's like this every year since we started the fundraiser. The key word in that sentence is we. Eric started this fundraiser with me. He even came up with the idea for it! He was the one who thought of raising money in Fallon's name to donate to other women in abusive relationships. To help get them out or back on their feet.
"But when I pointed that out to him, he just said the fundraiser wasn't the problem. That I don't just make everything about Fallon when running the fundraiser. I make everything else about her too," Veda said.
"He makes a fair point, Veda," their mother said. "I honestly don't remember a conversation we've had that hasn't involved Fallon in some way."
"I can't believe you're going to complain about that, too!" Veda cried. "She's your daughter! You should want to talk about her."
"Veda, I will talk about Fallon as much as you want. You know that," their mother said. "I only meant…"
"That I should just forget about her like everyone else has?" Veda snapped. "Only half of her friends show up for the fundraiser anymore. Some don't even send donations. And no one wants to talk about her. It feels like I'm losing her all over again!" She broke down sobbing and their mother moved to comfort her. Fallon stared at the two for a moment and then left. The peace she had felt in her mother's presence vanished and was replaced with a more unsettling feeling. Guilt, for being the cause of her sister's grief and being the breaking point of her relationship with Eric. Sadness, that life was going on without her. And anger and resentment that those she loved were letting her go.
She had needed a break from Bobby and now she needed a break from her family. She decided to check in on the boys and see if they had a case. Things might be awkward with Dean, but that would be better than dealing with the emotions currently swirling inside her. Her decision made, she teleported to the boys' location and found herself in a dark, enclosed space. She didn't immediately see the boys, so she began to search the room. It was a large space, but the junk piled up in it made it feel claustrophobic. A spike of fear shot through her when she saw blood puddled on the floor.
"Dean!" she cried. "Sam!" The sound of footsteps coming towards her made her feel a little better. Both boys soon appeared around a corner.
"Fallon?" Sam said. "Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Who's hurt?" she asked, her eyes scanning over both boys.
"What? Oh…we're fine, Fallon. The blood isn't ours," Sam said.
"It isn't?"
"No. We're both fine, Fallon," Dean assured her. "We got a call that someone broke into our dad's storage locker. The two idiots who broke in got a nasty surprise via trip wire."
"Oh," Fallon replied. "So, you're both okay."
"We're fine," Dean repeated.
"Yeah. We're okay," Sam said. "I guess you're checking in to see if we have a case?"
"Yeah," Fallon answered. "But it looks like you don't." She found herself disappointed. On top of feeling like she had nowhere to go, she missed working with the boys.
"We might, actually," Sam said. "One of the bozos who broke in continued after the other triggered the trap. We're trying to see if anything is missing and then go after them if there is."
"Isn't that the polices' job to track down stolen property?" she asked.
"Did you forget who our dad was, Fallon?" Sam teased. "This storage room doesn't just contain old junk. It contains supernatural artefacts. We can't let unsuspecting persons get their hands on it."
"Oh, right. So basically, this in the Winchester's version of The Warren's Museum of spooky things," she snorted. Sam laughed.
"Basically."
"And we don't know if anything is missing yet?" she asked.
"No, we're still looking," Sam answered. "We haven't checked over on that side of the locker if you want to help. Just be careful with anything you handle."
"Got it," she said. She started to turn, but Dean stopped her.
"So, um, how are you?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head. His eyes darted to hers and then looked away. Pink dusted his cheeks and she felt a phantom blush of her own.
"Fine," she replied, staring at her feet. "You?"
"Fine. Fine," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Sam glanced at her and then Dean bewilderedly.
"Did I miss something?" he asked.
"No!" she and Dean both replied quickly. Sam made a face.
"Okay, then," he said. "I'm going to search over there to see if I can spot anything missing. Why don't you two tackle this section and work out whatever it is that I missed."
"You didn't…" Sam walked off before she could finish protesting. She glanced back at Dean, expecting him to move off on his own, but he just smiled at her.
"Come on. Help me go through this box," he said, and she followed him. They went through the box. It was filled with a hodgepodge of memories she hadn't been around for. "Bobby says he hasn't seen you in a while."
"I've been spending time with my family," she said with a rueful smile.
"How are they?" he asked. Tears pooled in her eyes and she stared intently at the plaque on the soccer trophy she held: Sam Winchester. Division Championship 1995.
"I'm ruining their lives," she stated bitterly. Dean placed the sawed-off shot gun he'd been admiring back in the box and placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"You're not ruining their lives, Fallon," he said empathetically.
"Tell that to my sister. Her boyfriend just broke up with her because of me," she replied.
"Her boyfriend broke up with her because the relationship was no longer working," Dean said.
"Yeah, because she's grieving me," she said.
"Sounds like the boyfriend either couldn't handle your sister having understandable human emotions or your sister couldn't meet his needs in the relationship due to her grief," he replied. "Neither of those reasons are your fault."
"Pretty sure the grief is because of me," she murmured.
"But how your friends and family handle it isn't," he insisted. "Fallon, if it had been Veda who died instead, and that drove a wedge between you and Mason and you split, would you blame Veda for that?"
"Probably. I'm an inherently selfish person," she said.
"You're not selfish, Fallon. You're one of the least selfish people I know," Dean said. "You're always looking to do something nice for the families of the victims. You even try to aide some of the monsters we hunt. You've helped many spirits cross over that otherwise would have been destroyed. You're not selfish." He pulled her into a hug then and she leaned into it. After a moment though, they both tensed and pulled away.
"Sorry," Dean said, glancing anywhere but at her. "I shouldn't have done that." Fallon felt a flicker of anger stir in her chest.
"Why? Afraid you'll give me the wrong impression?" she snapped.
"What? No, Fallon," he replied quickly. "It's not like that at all! I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Really."
"Well, I wasn't uncomfortable. Until now," she said.
"Right. Yeah, I…um, I'm sorry. I…" They both glanced at the floor until the sound of a throat being cleared had them both look up to see Sam had joined them. He was wearing an impressive bitch face.
"Are either of you going to tell me what I missed?" he asked.
"No," Fallon and Dean replied.
"Right. Well, I can tell you what is missing from the storage locker," Sam said.
"They did get out with something?" Dean said.
"Yeah, and it's not good," Sam replied. They followed him over to a table covered with strange boxes with odd symbols on them. They could see one spot on the table clear of dust where another box must have rested. "See these symbols? That's binding magic. These are curse boxes."
"Curse boxes?"
"They're supposed to keep the evil mojo in," Dean explained.
"They're built to contain the power of a cursed object," Sam added.
"Dad's journal did mention a whole bunch of stuff, you know," Dean commented. "Dangerous hexed items, fetishes…He never did say where they ended up."
"Well, this must be his toxic waste dump," Sam said.
"That someone else found," Fallon said. "And now they're walking around with some powerful cursed object."
"Well, maybe they didn't open it," Dean replied. He was clearly trying to sound optimistic.
"You really believe that?" Sam asked.
"We better start tracking the thieves down," Dean said.
"Let's talk to the manager of the facility. They probably have security footage of the lot," Fallon suggested.
Fallon had been right. The security footage had captured the thieves. It even got them the plate to their vehicle. Only a few hours later and they were pulling into a parking lot of a sketchy apartment building.
"Connecticut. Last three digits 880," Dean said, and chuckled. "Should've blacked out their plates before they parked in front of a security camera."
"So far they aren't striking me as intellectuals," Fallon remarked as they made their way into the building. When they reached the thieves' room she phased through the door and unlocked it for Sam and Dean. They quickly moved into the apartment.
"FREEZE! FREEZE!" Dean shouted; gun drawn. "Nobody move!"
"What is this?" one of the thieves asked.
"All right, give us the box," Dean ordered. "And please tell me you didn't…"
"Oh, they did," Sam said pointing at the empty box chucked nearby.
"You opened it?" Dean whined.
"Great," Fallon sighed. "Just what we needed."
"Are you guys' cops?" the thief asked. Dean shoved him against a wall.
"What was in the box?" he asked. The thief glanced towards the coffee table. A rabbit's foot laid in the middle. "Oh, huh? What's that thing?"
"A rabbit's foot," Fallon said. "Dean, watch…" Her warning didn't come in time. The thief took Dean's moment of distraction to knock his gun out of his hand. The gun fell on the floor and fired a stray bullet that bounced off the radiator and re-directed into Sam's gun, knocking it out of his grip. Sam and the other thief both went for the gun. The second thief shoved Sam, sending him flying into Dean. They both went down, crashing into the coffee table and sending the rabbit foot flying.
Fallon tried to intervene then, using her power to try and push the gun out of the thief's grasp, but it slid neatly across the floor right to the other thief who promptly pistol-whipped Dean. In the same moment, Sam was reaching desperately for the rabbit foot as he was being strangled. He managed to grab it and was then able to knock the thief's hand away and kick him across the room.
"Guys, I got it!" he cried jumping back up to his feet. The thief with Sam's gun stepped forward with it drawn.
"No, you don't," he said. Fallon instinctively used her powers again. This time she hit her mark. The thief flew backwards into his companion, who'd only just gotten back on his feet. Neither moved to get back up.
"Out cold," Dean declared, checking on them. "That was a lucky break." He glanced at the cursed object. "Is that a rabbit's foot?"
"Definitely," Fallon replied. "My grandmother had one. Though hers doesn't work."
"Neither does this one," Sam said.
"I have a way to find out. Dean, drive us back to the convenient store we drove past a few blocks over," she ordered.
While Sam stayed in the Impala, Fallon and Dean entered the store. She had him purchase a slew of lottery tickets. Dean was just as giddy over her idea as she was and the two excitedly hurried back to Sam.
"I'm not finding anything on the foot in Dad's journal," Sam stated as they slid into their seats. Dean passed him the lottery tickets. He sighed. "Dean, come one."
"It was Fallon's idea," Dean said.
"Of course it was. I always have the best ideas," Fallon said, bouncing in her seat.
"C'mon, Sam," Dean urged. "Scratch and win!" Sam sighed again, but took a card and scratched it.
"Guys, it's gotta be cursed somehow," Sam said focused on the case. "Otherwise, Dad wouldn't have locked it up." He passed the lottery ticket back to Dean.
"$1,200…you just won $1200!" Dean exclaimed.
"We are buying so many books!" Fallon cheered.
"I don't know, Sam. It doesn't seem that cursed to me," Dean said, passing his brother another ticket.
The next day, the three drove to a diner across town from their motel. Dean and Fallon huddled by the hood of the car ecstatically counting their earnings from the lottery tickets. Sam had won on every ticket. He currently stood across from them leaning against the car as he talked to Bobby. Fallon was only half listening in on the conversation.
"Now, look Bobby, we didn't know," Sam said.
"You touched it?" Bobby cried. "Damn it, Sam!"
"Well, Dad never told us about this thing," Sam replied defensively. "I mean, you knew about his storage place at Black Rock?"
"His lockup? Yeah, I knew," Bobby said. "Hell, I built those curse boxes for him. Listen, you have got a serious problem. That rabbit foot ain't no dime store notion." Sam held up a gold watch he'd just spotted to show Fallon and Dean. Dean mouther "awesome." "It's real Hoodoo. Old world stuff. Made by a Baton Rouge conjure woman about a hundred years ago."
"It's a hell of a luck charm," Sam commented.
"It's not a luck charm! It's a curse," Bobby snapped. "She made it to kill people, Sam! See, you touch it, you own it. Sure, you get a run of good luck to beat the devil. But you lose it, that luck turns. It turns so bad you're dead inside a week."
"Well, so I won't lose it, Bobby," Sam said.
"EVERYBODY LOSES IT!" Bobby shouted.
"Well, then how do we break the curse?" Sam asked. Bobby sighed.
"I don't know if you can," he replied. "Let me look through my library and make some calls. Just sit tight." Sam disconnected the call and sighed.
"Dude, we're up fifteen grand!" Dean cheered. Sam forced a smile.
"I don't think we should be celebrating," he said. "Bobby said this curse is a big deal."
"Don't worry," Dean said as they headed towards the diner. "Bobby'll find a way to break it. Until then, I say we hit Vegas, pull a little 'Rain Man.' You can be Rain Man."
"Look, we just lay low until Bobby called back, okay?" Sam replied as they entered the diner. He then turned to a worker. "Hi, uh, table for two please."
"Congratulations!" the worker, actually the owner cried as a blaring alarm went off. "You are the one millionth guest of the Biggerson's Restaurant family!" Other staff gathered around them and began to sing as balloons and streamers dropped down from the ceiling. Sam looked mortified, but Fallon and Dean were overjoyed. Fallon even danced with excitement.
When the excitement died down, the owner led them swiftly to a table. Other guests eyed them to a table. Other guests eyed them as they walked past. Sam set up his laptop and worked through their lunch. Dean celebrated their good luck with a large sundae for dessert.
"Bobby's right," Sam said. "This lore goes way back. Pure Hoodoo. You can't just cut one off any rabbit. Has to be in a cemetery under a full moon on a Friday the thirteenth."
"I think from now on, we only go to places with Biggerson's," Dean mumbled through a large scoop of ice cream. He then made a face when he got brain freeze. Sam laughed.
"You need a bib," Fallon teased, tossing a napkin at him. A pretty waitress suddenly approached with a pot of coffee. She gave all her attention to Sam.
"Can I freshen you up?" she asked, gesturing at Sam's near empty mug.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks," Sam said. The waitress smiled winningly as she poured the coffee, but then spilled some.
"Oh!" the waitress cried, and then grabbed some napkins off the table and started wiping the coffee off Sam's pants. "Let me mop up here."
"No, no, don't worry. It's okay," Sam protested. "I got it."
"It's no trouble. Really," the waitress replied. "Sorry about that."
"It's all right," Sam said. The waitress finished up and then walked away.
"Dude, if you were ever gonna get lucky…" Dean said, eyeing the waitress as she walked away.
"Shut up," Sam mumbled reaching for his coffee, only to knock the mug over, spilling coffee all over the table and himself. He jumped to his feet. "Oh! Oh geez…" He turned to head for the bathroom, but crashed into a server. Both crashed to the ground.
"What's happening?" Fallon asked. Sam reached into his pocket and paled.
"It's gone," he said.
"How?" Dean asked.
"The waitress!" Fallon cried. "You two are way too easily distracted by a pretty face."
"It's not like you noticed," Sam grumbled as they headed for the door. The three started to run across the parking lot, but Sam tripped and landed flat on his face.
"Wow, you suck!" Dean and Fallon exclaimed. Sam glared at them and Dean pulled him to his feet.
"So, what? Now your luck turns bad?" Dean asked.
"I guess," Sam replied.
"I wonder how bad," Dean said.
"Didn't Bobby say it would kill you?" Fallon said.
"To be honest, I was more focused on the lottery results," Sam admitted.
"Bobby could be wrong," Dean said.
"Is Bobby ever wrong?" Sam replied.
"Well, we could check the records and see what happened to the previous owners," Fallon suggested.
"We don't have to go back that far," Dean replied. "Let's go check on those bozos whole stole it in the first place."
The three of them quickly drove back to the run-down apartment complex. When they got back into the apartment only one of the thieves was to be found. He was half slumped over in an armchair; an almost empty bottle of tequila held loosely in his hand.
"Oh man," he grumbled when he saw them. "What do you want?"
"Heard about your friend," Dean said. Another tenant had told them. "That's bad luck."
"Piss off," the thief snapped.
"We know someone hired you to steal the rabbit's foot," Dean said. "A woman."
"Oh yeah? How do you know that?" the thief asked.
"Because she just stole it back from us," Dean answered. The thief laughed.
"Listen man, this is ser…" Sam started to say before tripping over a wire and crashing to the floor. A heavy cd player just barely missed his head.
"Sam, you, okay?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. I'm good," he sighed.
"Maybe you should just…not move," Fallon suggested, helping him to his feet.
"I want you to tell us her name," Dean continued the interrogation.
"Screw you," the thief replied.
"It wasn't a freak accident that killed your partner," Dean said.
"What?"
"It was the rabbit's foot," Dean said.
"You're crazy," the thief scoffed.
"You know I'm not," Dean replied "You saw what happened. What it did. All the flukes. All the luck. When you lose the foot that luck goes sour. That's what killed your friend. And my brother here is next. And who knows how many more innocent people after that. Now if you don't help us stop this thing, that puts those deaths on your head." The thief looked uncomfortable.
"You're a thief and a low-life," Fallon said, "but you're not a killer, are you?"
"No," the thief replied and told them what they wanted to know.
"Thank you," Fallon said as they left the apartment. Dean's phone rang as they made their way to the Impala.
"Hello?"
"Dean, great news," Bobby said. "Wasn't easy, but I found a heavyweight cleansing ritual that should do the trick."
"Bobby, that's, uh, great, except Sam…Sam lost the foot," Dean admitted.
"He WHAT?" Bobby cried.
"Bobby. Bobby, listen," Dean replied quickly. "This, uh, this hot chick stole it from him. I'm serious. In her mid-twenties and she was sharp, you know? Good enough at the con to play us. And she only gave the guy she hired a name, probably an alias or something. Luigi?"
"Lugosi," Fallon corrected. "She's not a Mario Kart character."
"Lugosi?" Bobby repeated and then groaned. "Aw crap, it's probably Bela."
"Bela Lugosi? That's cute," Dean said.
"Bela Talbot's her real name," Bobby said. "Crossed paths with her once or twice."
"Well, she knew about the rabbit's foot. Is she a hunter?" Dean asked.
"Pretty friggin' far from a hunter, but she knows her way around the territory," Bobby said. "She's been out of the country."
"Well, it's a shame she didn't stay away," Fallon grumbled.
"Which means serious bad luck for you," Bobby stated. "But if it is Bela at least I might know some folks who know where to find her."
"Thanks, Bobby," Dean said. "Again."
"Just…look out for Sam, ya idgits," Bobby groused. Dean and Fallon shared a look before glancing to Sam. He stood a foot away looking completely dejected.
"What?" Dean asked with a sigh.
"I lost my show," Sam replied despondently. Fallon and Dean glanced down at his sock covered foot. Dean sighed and continued to the Impala. Fallon worked up a sympathetic smile.
"Come on," she urged. "We'll get you new shoes." Once they all piled into the car, she and Dean began to argue over what to do with Sam. "We need to stop at the closest motel we can find."
"What?" Dean replied. "We need to get Sam to Bobby's."
"That's a twenty-two-hour drive!" Fallon cried.
"What do you have to complain about?" Dean said. "You're a ghost. It's not like you're going to get cramps."
"That wasn't my concern," she replied, tone like ice.
"Can you two not fight right now?" Sam interjected.
"Shut up, Sam!" she and Dean both snapped. Sam scowled and slumped sullenly in his seat.
"I know it's a long drive, but he will be as safe as he can be at Bobby's," Dean said, trying for a more reasonable tone.
"I understand where you're coming from, but I think you're missing the fact that we have to get him to Bobby's first," Fallon replied. Dean frowned. "Mr. Bad Luck over here is a target for disaster. There's no way some other car won't crash into us. We're basically sitting ducks." She saw comprehension dawn on Dean's face, but he still looked reluctant. "Do you really want to risk baby like this?" That settled it. Dean nodded his agreement and she sat back in her seat triumphant.
"Everyone, keep an eye out for a sign indicating a motel off the exit," Dean said.
"Seriously," Sam cried.
"I'm not risking the car, Sam," Dean replied. As it turned out, Fallon had made the correct call. They only had to go about twenty miles before finding an exit with a motel off it. As they merged off the exit ramp, another car randomly blew the light and nearly plowed into Sam's passenger door. It only missed because Fallon was able to use her powers to force the car in a different direction. It spun at the last moment before screeching to a stop just before crashing into a guard rail.
"Nice save," Dean said.
"Yeah, good job, Fallon," Sam said a little breathlessly. It was a relief when they pulled into the motel's parking lot. Dean had Sam and Fallon wait in the Impala while he got a room. He tossed her the key when he came back and ordered her to get Sam inside. He wanted to check in with Bobby. Fallon herded a sullen Sam to their room. She felt like a body guard as her head practically swiveled a 360, keeping an eye out for danger. Though she couldn't stop Sam from tripping over his own two feet, she did manage to keep him from cracking his skull open on the pavement. She was relieved when they reached their room. Dean joined them a few minutes later.
"All right. Bobby, thanks," Dean said, still on his call. "We owe you. Another one." He hung up and turned to Sam. "Bobby's got it on pretty good authority that this Bela chick lives in Queens. So, it'll take me about two hours to get there. You, my brother, are staying here, because I don't want your bad luck getting us killed."
"You're seriously going to leave me here?" Sam exclaimed.
"I'll be here with you," Fallon said, trying to soothe him.
"No, you won't. You're coming with me," Dean declared.
"What?" she and Sam replied, stunned.
"We're not taking any chances here," Dean said. "We can't afford anything going wrong. We stand a better chance of success if you come with me."
"Okay," Fallon agreed and Sam groaned.
"What am I even supposed to do?" he complained.
"Nothing!" Fallon and Dean cried.
"I don't want you to do anything," Dean stressed the last word. "I want you to sit right here and don't move, okay? Don't turn on the light. Don't even scratch your nose."
"We'll be back asap," Fallon assured him, following Dean out the door.
Dean and Fallon made the drive in record time. Unlike the two thieves they'd visited earlier, Bela lived in a swanky apartment building. The two had to sneak past a doorman to get into the building.
"Clearly this Bela is a successful thief," Fallon muttered as they climbed the stairs to reach Bela's floor.
"Yeah. Maybe it's time for a career change," Dean said. Fallon gave him a look. "Wouldn't you rather reside in a fancy apartment than sleazy motels?"
"Sure," Fallon agreed. "But you aren't really considering turning to a life of thievery."
"What makes you so convinced?" Dean asked.
"You care about others too much," Fallon replied. "You couldn't do anything that would harm them. Not intentionally at least."
"I think you're thinking of Sam," Dean said as they approached Bela's floor. "He's the caring one."
"He's the more socially tactful between the two to of you," Fallon stated, "but he's not the only one who cares." Dean looked like he was about to argue, but nodded instead before reaching for the door handle to enter the floor. Fallon covered his hand with her own to stop him, but quickly drew it back as she realized it could be interpreted the wrong way. She felt her cheeks flame with heat, though she knew there'd be no visual flush to discern. She was surprised, however, to see a rosy tint to Dean's face.
"Sorry," she said quickly. "I was just trying to get you to stop for a moment. You stay here. It's safer for me to go in and get the rabbit foot. I'll be right back out."
"You're not going in alone, Fallon," Dean said sternly.
"Why not?" Fallon asked. "She can't see me. Even if she can, she can't hurt me. It's an easy mission."
"She knows about the supernatural world, Fallon," Dean replied. "She probably can see you and is probably aware of how to hurt you." Fallon started to argue, but Dean shook his head. "You're not going in alone. We're a team. We're doing this together. I'll distract her. You find the foot." Fallon nodded her agreement and they entered Bela's floor together and found her apartment. She cautiously phased through the door. Seeing no one around, she quickly scanned her surroundings and saw an alarm system by the door. She used her powers to fry the system and then let Dean in. They split up, Dean heading to engage Bela if she was home, and her to find and collect the rabbit foot.
Fallon used her powers to search for any hidden safes in the apartment. She found one, but the foot was not among its contents. She scoured the rooms she moved through quickly. She felt her anxiety grow as the foot continued to allude her. She wondered if Bela had already sold the cursed object to a buyer.
Finally, she began to move towards where she heard Dean and Bela chatting. She'd kept an ear on the conversation while she searched and she could tell the confrontation had taken a turn towards hostile. As she turned a corner, the thief and hunter came into view…and so did the rabbit foot. It was lying out in the open on a console table. A rather careless placement for a successful thief. A quick movement caught her eye and she flicked her glance back to Dean and Bela. Bela had drawn a gun on Dean. It was time to intervene.
"Dean!" she cried, and used her powers to toss the rabbit foot to him. He easily caught it out of the air.
"You're a ghost!" Bela cried, shocked.
"Duh," Fallon replied.
"And you're working with him?" Bela asked. "Why?"
"Because I…" She cut off as she realized what she was about to say. She knew her feelings for him made Dean uncomfortable. She didn't need to make it worse for him or herself by blurting her feelings out to this thief. "I'm dead. What else do I have to do with my time?" Bela made a face, appearing to concede she had a point. Dean took advantage of the distraction to slip away from Bela, and moved towards Fallon.
"Seems like you're not the only one with sticky fingers," he called back over his shoulder. "If it's any consolation, I think you're a truly awful person." He and Fallon headed for the door. They heard an infuriated growl behind them and then a gunshot. Fallon flinched, but the bullet missed Dean and ricocheted around the hall, breaking several items. Fallon turned her head and saw Bela duck as the bullet was redirected back to her. She smiled and waved as she and Dean slipped out the door.
The two of them were laughing as they climbed into the Impala. They then sped off. They were still laughing as they merged onto the highway, heading back to Sam. For a while, all either of them had to do was look at the other and they'd start laughing again. As the miles ticked on though, they began to calm down. Dean kept his eyes on the road, but she couldn't stop looking at him.
"What?" he asked, when he noticed her attention. He didn't sound uncomfortable with it.
"Why did you bring me along?" she asked. "You didn't need my help. Or if you did, you could have just sent me alone so you could stay with Sam."
"Would you believe me if I said I just wanted your company?" he asked.
"You never have before," she pointed out. "Look, if this is just some attempt to make me feel good out of pity…" Dean snorting cut her off. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"I don't pity you, Fallon. I never have," he said. "You're right that when we first met, I didn't want you around. But it wasn't long before I did enjoy having you with us. Unfortunately, it took a long time to be able to accept that I liked you. And even after I did, I've done a poor job of expressing it apparently."
"Well, it's just that you've never expressed wanting to spend time with me," she replied. "Especially not time with just the two of us."
"I know," Dean said. "Honestly, I didn't realize you'd be interested in hanging out alone with me. You and Sam are a unit. I've always assumed that you've stuck around for him."
"I have," Fallon said. "But I've stuck around for you, too. And not just because…well, you know."
"I do," Dean replied. "You can say it, Fallon. I'm not going to freak out on you if you want to express your feelings. Or talk about them. That's another reason I wanted you to come with me. I wanted you to know things are all good between us." She smiled as her heart fluttered in her chest. Or it would have if it could still beat. It was nice that the two of them could be friends. It wasn't what she wanted, but it was the best thing she could have. Still, it was probably time to steer the conversation into safer territory.
"You know when we get back to Sam it's going to be a shit show, right?" she commented. Dean laughed.
"Yeah, one of us really should have stayed with him," Dean agreed and pressed down harder on the gas pedal.
The prediction proved accurate. Although the motel was miraculously in one piece when they pulled into the lot, Sam hadn't managed to avoid trouble in their absence. As they approached their room, they heard voices coming from inside. Only one belonged to Sam and it became clear that he was in distress. Dean motioned for her to wait before entering. He mouthed the word signal and she nodded, keeping an eye on Dean to give the go ahead, while keeping her ears on the conversation inside.
"It's God, Creedy," a man said fanatically. "He led us here for one reason. To do His work. This…is destiny." Dean tilted his head toward the door and then moved in. She was right behind him. Her gaze raked over the scene. Two men stood in front of Sam who was tied to a chair. One of the men held a gun pointed at Sam's head. Dean pulled his own gun out and she prepared herself to use her powers.
"Nope," Dean said. "Not destiny. Just a rabbit's foot."
"Put the gun down, son," the man threatening Sam said. "Or you're gonna be scraping brain off the wall."
"Oh, this thing?" Dean asked casually, waving his weapon.
"Yeah, that thing," the man replied, unamused.
"Okay," Dean agreed. "But you see, there's something about me that you don't know." He put the gun down on a table and picked up a pen.
"Yeah?" the man asked. "What would that be?"
"It's my lucky day," Dean replied glibly, and tossed the pen at the man's gun. It lodged in the barrel of the gun, making the weapon useless. "Oh my God! Did you see that shot?" The other man in the room tried to take advantage of Dean's delighted distraction, but Fallon used her powers to knock him off course. Instead of barreling into Dean, he ran smack into a wall, before crumbling to the floor, unconscious.
"We're amazing," Dean laughed as he picked up the remote control to the tv and tossed it at the man who'd threatened them with a gun. The remote hit the man right between the eyes and he joined his friend on the ground. Sam sat staring at the scene with an astounded expression. Dean grinned smugly. "I'm batman." Sam gave him a doleful look.
"Yeah. You're batman," he grumbled and then turned to Fallon. "Does that make you Robin?"
"Batgirl!" she and Dean cried with equal level of indignance.
When they got Sam freed, the trio found the closest cemetery and began following Bobby's instructions to break the curse. Sam sprinkled a powder over the embers of the small fire they'd built.
"That should do it," Sam called to Fallon and Dean. The two were huddled together by the hood of the Impala checking Dean's latest scratch off ticket. "Really?"
"Just bringing in some cash," Dean replied, but then stashed the tickets in his coat pocket, which he'd hung over a nearby gravestone. "All right. Time to say goodbye to this rabbit." The sound of a gun being cocked had the three of them spinning around. Bela stood behind them, with a pistol in hand. She looked pissed.
"I think you'll find that belongs to me. Or, you know, whatever," she said. "Put the foot down, honey."
"No. You're not going to shoot anybody," Dean replied. "See, I happen to be able to read people. Okay, you're a thief. Fine. But you're not…" The gun went off and Sam dropped to the ground, groaning.
"You crazy bitch!" Fallon cried, kneeling down beside Sam. She felt relieved when she saw it was just his shoulder that had been shot. He'd be fine.
"Back of, tiger," Bela warned when Dean began to advance on her. "Move again and I'll pull the trigger. You've got the luck, Dean. You, I can't hit. But your brother? I can't miss him. Put the rabbit foot on the ground now." Dean hesitated, but Fallon took immediate action.
"You better think fast," she said, and sent the foot flying at Bela. On instinct she caught it.
"Damn!" Bela hissed, glowering at Fallon.
"Nice work, Fallon," Dean said.
"Happy to help," she replied and began attending to Sam's wound.
"Now, what do you say?" Dean said turning back to Bela. "Want to destroy that ugly ass piece of dead thing now?" Bela glared at him, but tossed the foot down into the embers of the fire.
"Thanks very much," she grumbled. "I'm out one and a half million, and on the bad side of a very powerful, fairly psychotic buyer."
"Am I supposed to feel bad for you?" Fallon replied snidely. Both boys chuckled.
"Hmm. Maybe next time, I'll hang you out to dry," Bela retorted.
"Oh, don't go away angry. Just go away," Dean said. Bela smirked.
"Have a nice night," she replied.
"What a bitch," Fallon muttered.
"No kidding," Sam agreed.
"You good?" Dean asked.
"I'll live," Sam replied. He then turned to Fallon. "You'll check in with us in a few days?"
"Actually, I was hoping I could just stay with you two," she replied, giving a cautious glance to Dean. "Unless that would be uncomfortable for you."
"You don't make anyone here uncomfortable, Fallon," Dean said. "We want you with us."
"Okay," Fallon said. "Then I'll stay." The two smiled at each other.
"Are either of you ever going to tell me what went down between the two of you?" Sam asked, annoyed.
"No," they replied together. Sam made a bitchy face before following them to the car.
"I guess we're back together now, huh?" Dean commented as they climbed into the vehicle. "No good luck. No bad luck. Oh! I forgot we're up $46,000. I almost forgot about the scratch tickets." Dean patted his jacket pocket and froze.
"Dean?" Sam questioned.
Son of a bitch!" Dean cried.
"Don't tell me," Fallon said. "Bela…"
"Yeah, she did," Dean replied angrily.
"How could you not watch her?" Fallon said, accusingly.
"Me? I was taking care of a cursed object!" he replied. "Why weren't you watching her?"
"I was taking care of Sam!" The sound of their fighting filled the car.
"That took less than five minutes," Sam muttered. "Guess things really are back to normal." He smiled.