I decided to split it ️ And post early. Enjoy!

For whatever it's worth - this chapter is meant to take the place of 1.13. I love Route 666 (yes, I know some people really didn't, but I thought it was a great Dean episode), but it just didn't fit what I had in mind for this story. As you can see, I definitely took some inspiration from it.

May 6th, 2006

Um, hey Dean, it's Katie… Katie Benson… Lorelai's little sister? This may be the dumbest thing I've ever done, and Lorelai'll kill me if she finds out I called, but uh… I didn't know what else to do. Lorelai took a case by herself in North Carolina, and I know she's… something's… ugh, look, Nick thinks I'm crazy and my sister still thinks if she treats me like a kid nothing bad will ever happen to me, but something's wrong. I don't know what, but I know my sister and Lorelai's not okay, and I'd bet my life it has to do with the case she's working. She's not dead or anything, but I can tell she's in trouble and I think it's serious.

I know you and Lorelai broke up – I don't know what happened, she didn't want to talk about it – but I know you do the same kind of work she does and with Nick not listening to me I just didn't know what else to do. She's the most important person in the world to me, and I'm… I'm scared, and I'm worried, and I wouldn't call if I didn't really think she were in danger. Whatever happened between you two, I think… I think you really cared about her. If you get this, please, please, please just consider going to check on her and see if you can help? Or maybe help me find someone? You can call me back at this number, I'll make sure I'm reachable. Please, I'll take any help I can get, I just need her to be okay.

Dean frowned as he pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it in disbelief even as his fingers started to tap out a text message. He'd only met Katie a handful of times – the first in Tennessee that first month he'd been seeing Lorelai, then once or twice for dinner while he and Lorelai had been seeing each other, and then when they'd let him crash their family vacation for that weekend. She'd been twelve at the time, but even then had seemed to share her older sister's fearlessness. Hearing her so shaken and knowing that Lorelai may be in trouble, suddenly it all seemed stupid. You should have called her a nasty voice nagged at him. Shouldn't have let her leave in the first place.

"Okay so I think I found a way we can bypass that construction just east of here. We might even make Pennsylvania faster than we thought."

Call you soon, on my way to NC. Where's Lor?

Dean hit send and snapped the phone shut, hardly sparing Sam a glance as he made towards the driver's side.

"Yeah. Problem is, we're not going to Pennsylvania."

"Wha – what?"

"Just got a call about an… old friend. Sounds like she's in trouble." Old friend? But really, what else was he supposed to say? That wouldn't have sounded insane.

"What? What kind of trouble?" Dean gave a sort of half shrug of his head.

"Our kind… she's on a hunting trip," he added after a slight hesitation. The car door creaked as he pulled it open and sank in. "Believe me, her sister never would've called if she didn't need us."

Sam still stood outside the car, and although he was already folding up the map Dean felt himself growing impatient.

"Come on, you coming or not?" he called, leaning towards the window. He was peeling out of the gas station parking lot moments later, trying not to think too hard about what type of reception he could be driving towards.

"So by old friend you mean…?"

"A friend that's not new," Dean answered shortly, not looking away from the road. They were about 8 and a half hours into what would likely be a nine hour drive, and in all honesty he was surprised it had taken his brother as long as it did to crack. He'd called Katie when they'd had to stop again for gas. She'd sounded relieved, although still on edge, and was very appreciative to hear from him, happily volunteering that Lorelai was in Kinston, NC and promising to text him the specifics of where she was staying when they got off the phone. Dean had expected prodding from Sam then, but Sam had dutifully taken care of filling up the car, the only indication of his curiosity being the sidelong glances he threw in Dean's direction every so often.

"Oh yeah, thanks," Sam shot back sarcastically. "So… her name's Lor. That short for Loren or -?"

"Lorelai," he corrected without thinking. Sam's brow furrowed. "Her name's Lorelai."

"You never mentioned her…" It was impossible not to miss the accusation in his voice.

"Didn't I?" Silence followed, and Dean tried to decide what the least amount of information he could share would be, without making matters worse when they got there. The fact that he had no idea what to expect from Lorelai didn't make the assessment any easier. "Yeah, we went out," he finally confirmed.

"You mean you dated someone? For more than one night?" Dean felt himself bristling at the skepticism in his brother's voice, regardless of the fact that he knew it was largely justified.

"Am I speaking a language you're not getting here? I met her while I was working a job in Tennessee and we went out for a coupla weeks. Turned out she was there on the same job, so we worked a few others together."

"So she's a hunter?"

"Yeah," Dean agreed after a beat. It was close enough to the truth.

"And…?" Dean shrugged. And what? he thought to himself. And she turned out to be a witch, but not the kind of witch we deal with, but I threatened to kill her anyway and we haven't spoken since?

"Why'd you stop seeing her?"

"Oh, Sam, come on man. You know what this life is like," Dean deflected. He glanced over as he made to turn off the highway and noticed that Sam looked unconvinced, but he also seemed to sense that his brother was done talking about it, for which Dean was relieved.

"Alright, well what do you know about whatever trouble she's in?"

"Not much," Dean admitted, happy for the shift in the conversation. "Her sister's the one that called. Said Lorelai took a case by herself in Kinston, and that she can tell something's wrong." Sam scoffed.

"No offense, Dean, but that's pretty thin. Why isn't her sister helping her if she's so worried?"

Dean bit his tongue, resisting the urge to remind Sam that he'd made them trek out to St. Louis for less when it was someone he cared about with a problem.

"Kid sister, dude. Lorelai takes care of her." The mood inside the car shifted ever so slightly, and Sam's features softened.

"What happened to their parents?" he asked after a beat. Dean shot him a look that had him nodding. "Right, everyone becomes a hunter somehow." For a moment, Dean thought of volunteering the information he knew of the Baudelaire-Benson history. As he opened his mouth, however, Lorelai's hurt and angry face swam into view.

I lost my mother, my brother, and my husband fighting in a war to protect the likes of you from one of those, to pull from your vocabulary, evil sons of bitches.

After she'd found out he was a hunter she'd told him she'd lost her husband, mother, and brother to witches, but after reading the books from Bobby he knew there was plenty of information she'd left out at the time. She'd told him even less about what happened to Katie's mother and the father Katie and Lorelai shared, but that he strongly suspected wasn't because she'd been concealing the magical world from him, and that story hadn't been available to him in any text book. The look on her face when it'd come up had been dark and angry, though, and he'd never seen her look so dangerous.

"They're half siblings," he eventually offered. "Neither of their mothers are alive, and from what I can tell their dad's a nasty piece of work." Sam seemed surprised that Dean had willingly given up any more information, but recovered quickly, nodding.

"Got it. So, she any good? I mean, I have to assume she was somewhat competent if you were willing to work with her." A short chuckle escaped his lips before he could stop it, and he could feel Sam's eyes on him.

"Definitely competent," Dean smirked.

Sam watched his brother as they approached the motel door, Dean taking the lead, and couldn't help but find his interest piqued. He knew Dean, he'd known Dean his whole life, there was no one in the world he knew better than Dean, even Jess… and he had never thought there'd be a girl that Dean would actually date. Especially as an adult. When they were kids, and Dean was the cool guy in every new school they'd pop into, he'd on occasion find a girl to get his kicks with while they were there, but it was always temporary, always fun.

Dude, she wants me to meet her parents. I don't do parents, a nineteen-year-old Dean had vented to Sam when they'd been stuck in Fairfax for a few weeks, during the closest thing Sam remembered Dean ever having to a relationship.

Despite the limited information Dean had given him, though, Sam could tell that whoever this girl was had gotten under his tough, loner, older brother's skin. Dean had been incredulous when Sam had wanted to check in on Rebecca and Zack in St. Louis, and Sam had practically had to force him to go, but one voicemail from this girl's little sister and Dean had dropped everything in less than a minute and hightailed it. His nervous, tense energy, and the fact that he'd been driven even higher above the speed limit than normal hadn't escaped Sam's attention either.

Dean stopped at the door and Sam stopped a few paces behind him, silent while Dean raised a hand, ready to knock, only to pause before he actually did. His eyes closed while he took a deep breath, as if to steady himself, and with a look of determination, they reopened just as he moved back into action.

There was a flurry of noise inside, and Sam swore he saw a curtain flutter, while Dean braced himself against the door frame with his left hand. It swung open a crack a minute later, just enough for half a face to become visible, and even from where he was, Sam could see the skepticism and glare being leveled in his brother's direction.

"Hi," Dean greeted, shooting a cocky grin in the woman's direction, putting up a front, masking whatever he'd been feeling seconds before with his normal bravado. Sam noticed the careful breath Dean was drawing in, the tension in his shoulders, but the girl – Lorelai, Dean had said, cut across anything he'd been about to say.

"Oh, you must be to have come looking for me," she bristled. Suddenly, Sam realized that whatever had gone down, whatever this woman had meant to Dean, they hadn't left it in a good place. Dean shifted uncomfortably and the smile slid from his face.

"I'm here to help."

"Help? Help what? Last time I saw you – "

"Hey, hey, hey, I come in peace!" Dean interjected hurriedly, looking nervously over his shoulder at Sam and quickly raising both his open hands to demonstrate. And while the gesture certainly didn't seem to earn Dean any forgiveness, it seemed to put the woman somewhat at ease because next thing Sam knew the door was swinging fully open to reveal a slender brunette, with hands on her hips and a furious expression on her face. Dean had quite a few inches on her – not quite a foot, though it was closer than not – but despite her shorter stature she had an intimidating presence. The knife at her only aided in the impression.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she growled, but Sam was only half listening as she took a step forward, closer into the sunlight and throwing her features into sharper relief. There was something achingly familiar about the woman, and Sam's brain started racing trying to figure it out.

"It's been eight months," she continued. "Complete, radio silence – "

"It's been a rocky eight months, Lor." Her nostrils flared at the nickname, her dark blue eyes gleaming with anger, and the grip she had on the blade tightening reflexively rather than threateningly.

Sam had seen this before. Not this exactly, but he'd seen the fiery, defiant expression on her face, he'd seen her treat a weapon like it was the extension of her own arm. He'd seen that nostril flare at the use of that particular nickname. The realization struck him even as his brain struggled to catch up. It couldn't have been possible…

"Oh, don't you dare," she hissed. "How did you even know where to find me?"

Sam didn't hear the rest of his brother's answer, though, because suddenly the memories were flooding back, the answer he'd been searching for finally hitting him like a train.

"Katie's my little sister," the young witch explained the next day as he sat in the front seat of her car and they watched the little girl walk up the steps to the elementary school with her too-big Megara backpack hoisted on her back. Sam had stupidly commented that he hadn't realized she was old enough to have a daughter. "I guess half-sister, technically. Her mom died when Katie was a baby, and our dad's a raging alcoholic. Mean one, too. I got her out of there about a month ago."

"Sorry… That's, uh, that's really great that you were able to do that for her, take her in like that. Not everyone would," Sam told her, thinking of Dean being off on his own for the week and wishing he'd been able to tag along with his big brother instead of being stuck with their dad. Dean was the only thing that ever made new towns tolerable. He knew he'd been fortunate to get such a good older brother, even if their home life was fucked.

"That's what you do for family," she immediately shrugged off, obviously uncomfortable. "Come on, the high school's just down the road. Screw the bus, some of those kids are real assholes."

"Cool, thanks – "

"Lorelai!" Sam exclaimed. "Lorelai Baudelaire!"

While he'd been lost in his own thoughts, Dean and Lorelai had obviously continued bickering and were in each other's faces, both looking upset, but at Sam's outburst they both froze and turned. Dean looked absolutely bewildered, and Sam knew why – Dean had told him the girl was Lorelai, but he hadn't included a last name. And while initially, Lorelai shared in the confusion, Sam saw the moment the recognition flickered onto her face too, the anger melting with it.

"Sam?" she asked incredulously, though the small laugh she gave told him it was rhetorical. "Oh my god!"

And like that, the knife was stowed so quickly he didn't see where it went, and Lorelai was rushing forward, past Dean, and throwing her arms around him in a hug. Over her head, Sam noticed his brother's baffled expression, but he was too shocked himself to clear it up. "You got so tall!" she complained, and Sam blushed, realizing they'd been within inches of each other the last time he'd seen her.

"Yeah, well seven or so years will do that," he laughed, returning the embrace. As they pulled apart, Lorelai's eyes darted briefly between him and Dean, giving a small shake of her head and a rueful expression forming on her face.

"I didn't even think… I should have put together you two were brothers," she admitted, her voice exasperated. "The name, and the hunting… it had just been so lo –"

"I'm sorry, but how the hell do you two know each other?" Dean demanded, and it was Lorelai and Sam's turn to freeze and swivel to him.

"Orlando, when Dad drug me down to hunt that Banshee while you did your five days five states thing," Sam supplied, his first inklings of nerves starting to catch up as the specifics of that trip continued to replay in his mind and the implications it held. He noticed Lorelai shift uncomfortably next to him, her eyes moving between them again before landing back on the door.

"Maybe we should all go inside," she suggested. Dean shot her a look but let her lead the way. Suddenly his protest that he was there in peace struck Sam a little differently and started the wheels in his brain turning. Lorelai, Sam noticed, seemed eased by his presence, but still wary of Dean.

While she stepped back into the room, Dean caught Sam's eye, and he could see that Dean's mind was spinning just as much as his was.

"You never mentioned her," Dean accused, his voice betraying his curiosity. Sam shrugged.

"You know what it was like back then. Wasn't like I ever thought I'd see her again. How many people did you keep in touch with?" Dean seemed appeased by this, though Sam felt his stomach churning.

The real reason, of course, that he hadn't mentioned Lorelai Baudelaire was the fact that she was a witch, and Winchesters hunted witches. Sam, at fifteen years old, hadn't had any faith that his brother and father would bother to understand the difference between Lorelai's brand of witchcraft and the demon bartering scumbags they usually dealt with.

"Hurry up!" Lorelai called from inside, and Sam followed Dean over the threshold.

The room inside was dark, dank, and rundown. There was a large bed to the left, a small kitchenette along the back right corner, a door that must have been the bathroom in the back left, and a round table with four chairs to the right. The walls were a darker, mustard yellow, the carpet a rusty brown color, both looking like they'd been there for decades.

Lorelai was standing awkwardly a little bit off from the table, and Dean wasted no time in flipping on the additional set of lights attached to the ceiling fan, throwing her form into sharper relief. It had been seven years, but there was no mistaking her for the woman that had saved his life and taken him under her wing while he was in town. Her style certainly hadn't changed, between the distressed jeans, chucks, the black scooped neck tee, and plaid flannel she was sporting.

Her already fair skin was pale, paler than Sam remembered, and there were bags under her eyes hinting that Katie's instincts that not all was well were spot on. She had, in the intervening years, at least put some weight back on, and Sam realized just how emaciated she'd really been when he'd met her. Her personality had been so strong he'd never have thought to describe her as frail, but she'd been unhealthily thin at the time.

Concern flickered in Dean's eyes as soon as he got a good look at her, though if Sam hadn't known his brother so well, Dean's attempts at masking it would have been successful. Lorelai, for her part, still seemed uneasy, and Dean gave her a decent berth. Sam looked between them, unable to push his curiosity about all of it away.

"So, you hunt now?" Sam asked, remembering Dean's explanation of how they'd met. Lorelai eyed Dean warily for a moment, and his eyes narrowed back challengingly, but Lorelai sighed and looked back to Sam, shaking her head.

"I'm an Auror," she began hesitantly. "Ended up getting a job with MACUSA about three years ago. Uhh, you both know about the witch thing, by the way," she added, seeing that both of the brothers were look at her with wide-eyed disbelief at the mention of MACUSA. Those looks were quickly turned on each other while Lorelai nervously scratched at the back of her neck. "So, no real use in trying to tip toe around that."

"You knew about witches?" Dean asked skeptically, the look of betrayal in his eyes impossible to miss. Sam opened his mouth, not really sure what to say. When he caught sight of Lorelai, and the guilt and hurt playing across her own features, Sam's mild curiosity was suddenly replaced with a strong suspicion of why they'd gone their separate ways.

"It was seven years ago, Dean, and I swore him to absolute secrecy," Lorelai jumped into defend the younger Winchester. "Telling Sam was illegal; I could have gotten into a lot of trouble." Dean's head swiveled back to Lorelai, who was standing with her arms folded across her chest defiantly, his disbelief turning to irritation. "I was already in a lot of trouble," she muttered, but Sam wasn't sure they were meant to catch that.

"So why did you tell him?" Dean asked, making an obvious attempt to keep his voice neutral. The guilt and the hurt both swelled on her face while she looked back at Dean.

"She saved me," Sam offered up, hoping he might be able to help. "I tried to follow some clues on my own and got myself in some trouble. Lorelai suspected Dad and I were hunters and had been keeping an eye. I was about 30 seconds away from being Kappa food when she stepped in and saved my ass. She used magic to do it, though, and after she patched me up, she told me how much trouble she could get in and begged me to keep her secret."

Dean's expression softened, though he shot Sam a look that let him know they definitely weren't done talking about it. The one Lorelai sent him was grateful, and he gave her a warm smile. They hadn't spoken since he and John had left her hometown behind, but he'd remembered her fondly, and had even tried to contact her a few months back after Dean had been electrocuted. Suddenly, Sam felt his own flash of confusion and anger. Obviously, Dean had known about magic when he'd been laid up in the hospital. Why wouldn't he have called Lorelai?

"I still don't understand how you two knew where I was. Or why you're here," Lorelai threw out there, the bite mostly gone from her voice.

"Katie called," Dean explained again, giving his attention back to Lorelai. "Said you were working a case by yourself, but she thought something went wrong, and she couldn't get Nick to take her seriously."

Sam frowned. He remembered Nick – he'd actually been the one to introduce Sam and John to the young witch while he was serving them at the diner. Lorelai had later confided to him that Nick had suspected the two hunters first but hadn't been able to look out for them himself with a newborn baby at home. Sam gathered from Dean's voice that his impression of the other man wasn't particularly high.

"She shouldn't have called you," Lorelai huffed.

"The kid was worried about you."

"Well, I'm fine. What do you care anyway?" Her voice was scathing, the bitterness returned full force, though Sam suspected there was some hurt underlying it. Dean looked as though she'd slapped him, but glared back himself, indignant.

"Of course I care! Could you try not being stubborn for five minutes and just let us help?" Dean shot back, exasperated, but Lorelai didn't waver.

"What? So I can work a case and constantly have to look over my shoulder. I don't think so." Dean let out a frustrated sound, but for the first time Sam couldn't tell if he was frustrated with her or himself. His earlier suspicions of what had driven Dean and Lorelai apart began to grow, and Sam didn't have a hard time imagining how his older brother may have reacted to the reveal that he was dating a witch. Even Sam had been a little unsure of the news that there was a whole hidden group of people, and he'd always been skeptical of their father's view on things. Dean had no problem following John's lead, and personally had a particular distaste for the witches they had hunted.

"Lorelai, come on! We're already here, and we only came to help. You and I have worked how many cases together?"

"That was before," she pointed out. "I've got no reason to trust you now." Dean looked over at Sam almost pleadingly, and he jumped to action. He doubted Dean's initial reaction to Lorelai's true nature had been good, and he had a decent idea of why Lorelai was skeptical, but he knew his brother wouldn't have drug them all the way there, on such a slim lead, in the manner that he had, if he didn't genuinely care.

"What about me? I promise, we only came to help." Lorelai turned her gaze onto Sam, obviously surprised, almost as if she'd forgotten he was with them, but eased ever so slightly.

"I'm fine," she repeated, less angrily this time, and completely unconvincingly.

"We're already here. We drove nine hours to get here. I'm serious, Lor, just let us help. Please." Lorelai pursed her lips but eyed Dean thoughtfully. Sam was amazed to see the pleading look he'd used on Sam still on Dean's face, and even more surprised when Lorelai eventually let out a breath and nodded, however begrudging it was. Even seven years ago and in the limited time he'd known her, Lorelai been one of the most stubborn people he'd ever met.

"Fine, sit down. I'll be right back." Sam had to stop his jaw from dropping in surprise, and he wondered exactly what we went out a coupla weeks really meant, and just how serious their entanglement had been.

Without another word, Lorelai turned around and slipped into the bathroom a few feet away, the door closing behind her with a distinctive click. As soon as she was gone, Dean took a deep breath, running his hand down his face as Sam often saw him do when he was stressed, and slowly pivoted towards Sam, looking around the room as he did. At some point in his assessment, he noticed the wide-eyed stare Sam was giving him and froze.

"You knew about this witch shit for seven friggin' years and didn't tell me?" he asked lowly. Sam raised an eyebrow and glanced between Dean and the bathroom door pointedly.

"Yeah, and if I had to guess you didn't take the news too well when you did find out. Is that why you broke up with her?" he accused. Dean glared back, suddenly looking angry.

"Shut it, Sam. You don't know what you're talking about," he bit out before turning around and pointedly ignoring him.

By the time Lorelai reentered the room a minute later, her hair pulled into a messy bun and looking a little fresher face, Dean had settled into a seat across from Sam at the small table. He watched her pause at the nightstand and bend down, pulling out a thin folder as she straightened back up.

Despite his inability to shake his thoughts of her entirely in their time apart, he hadn't expected the fucking wall of emotions that had hit him upon seeing her again. And he certainly hadn't expected the reveal that she knew his little brother, or that said little brother already knew the big secret.

Lorelai dropped into the seat between the Winchesters with a resigned look, and Dean wordlessly held his hand out for the file she was holding. Sam looked somewhat surprised, but Dean didn't pay him any mind and he felt a bit of relief when Lorelai resignedly handed it over. Some things, it seemed, transcended the chasm that formed between them. He could still read her; she could still read him.

Fuck, he hadn't realized how much he'd missed her. He hadn't realized how angry and hurt he still was either, or how sorry. His head was a fucking mess.

Flipping the folder open, he started to feel better at least having something to focus on besides his own emotions. He'd understood immediately why Katie had been concerned, and was glad they'd come. Lorelai may have had a good poker face, but Dean knew her well enough to see she was hurting. The bags under her eyes and the pallor of her skin were the easy giveaways, but it was more than that. It was how tense she was, how her eyes kept darting around, and he didn't think it was just because of his presence – especially after seeing her with Sam. She still trusted him, even if she didn't trust Dean.

"That's my case file," she supplied, more for Sam's benefit than anything else, while Dean began to scan the pages inside, his fingers ghosting over her familiar scrawl. It was organized the same as every other one he'd seen her put together – carefully clipped pieces from newspapers, photographs neatly labeled, annotated research, profiles on the victims, and her own handwritten notes on the case reminding him of the way his father made journal entries. The only difference was that she'd used stationary emblazoned with the MACUSA emblem he'd seen in the folder she'd left him rather than the plain notebook paper he'd seen when they worked together before. "It's a cursed object and a vengeful spirit tied to it, nothing crazy."

Except that Dean could see rather quickly that she was underplaying the situation, and crazy was probably the most apt descriptor of what he was reading.

"So how have you been?" he heard Sam asking, his tone light, brimming with curiosity and excitement. Dean tried not to feel resentful and to shut it out, but it was impossible to totally ignore the conversation that was being started. "I tried looking you up a few months ago, and when I couldn't find you, I thought you may have moved back to London."

"I did, for a little bit," she admitted, and Dean forced himself to continue looking at the pages in front of him. Marietta not only began to develop an Obscurus but began to suffer increasingly violent and gruesome visions while undergoing "treatment" with the Church. "Katie and I are in New York now, though. Nick and his daughter are there too, actually. It's been a good set up for us. The place isn't much, but I'm really only home when Katie's out of school."

"Ah man, how old is she now?" Sam mused, laughter in his voice. "Eleven, twelve…?"

"Thirteen," Lorelai supplied. "She's about to finish up her second year at Lytton, and she's the cutest little nerd. Top of her class, does all her homework and the extra credit, she was first in line to register for all her electives next year… the teachers can't believe we're related."

The pride was impossible to miss in her voice, even as Dean searched through the notes for a definition of Obscurus.

"Damn," Sam said, letting out a whistle. "Last time I saw her she was barely taller than your knees. That's awesome, Lorelai. And you guys are happy in New York?" In his peripheral, Dean saw her nod.

"Yeah, it's good. Easy to get wherever we need to be from there and MACUSA's headquartered nearby which is convenient. And it's easier to blend somewhere that's so populated."

"Nice."

"How about you? I gotta be honest, I didn't think you'd stick with hunting."

Dean glanced up surreptitiously at that, ready to jump in and save his brother, if need be. Sam doing better didn't mean Jess or the events leading him to leave Stanford were any less of a touchy subject. But although Sam scratched at the back of his neck, looking a little uneasy, he jumped into an answer quickly enough.

"Ah, I got out for a bit, but like Dean said, it's been kind of a rocky eight months. Dad went missing and uh… well, the thing that killed our mom resurfaced in kind of a big way. We're trying to find him and find the thing that killed her while we're at it. I still wanna go back to school, though. Had been planning on law school."

Dean stared determinedly down at the page, even as he felt Lorelai's gaze linger on him. He didn't want to see the pity or the concern, or even the questioning look he was sure he'd get, wondering if that's why he hadn't called.

"Shit. I'm really sorry. That's, uh… that's a lot… for both of you. What happened?" The air was tense for a moment, and Sam let out a humorless, bitter chuckle.

"We went to go follow a lead on Dad and I came home to my girlfriend pinned to the ceiling, dead. Dean got me out, but she burned, just like our mom. That was right around Halloween. We've been on the road since."

Dean was surprised at how easily Sam had opened up, and wondered exactly how much time the pair of them had spent together.

"Oh Sam, I'm so sorry. That's… awful. I um… I wouldn't wish that kind of thing on anyone."

And then it clicked, and Dean realized that outside of their dad, Lorelai was quite possibly the only other person that Sam knew that had been through something similar. If he was doing his math correctly, Sam had probably met her fresh off of her watching Fred die.

Dean resisted the urge to frown. His greatest, deepest hope had been that losing Jess wouldn't affect Sam as thoroughly and deeply as it had their dad, but as he sat there thinking about it, it wasn't like Lorelai gave him much more hope. He was crazy about her, but there was no denying the loss she'd been through had left her pretty fucked up.

"Thanks." There was a moment of quiet, though it wasn't uncomfortable, and Dean took the opportunity to zero back in on the paperwork.

The case, although crazy, was pretty easy to follow. Back in the late 1600's, there had been a young witch (the same kind as Lorelai, Dean gathered) that had been born to Muggles (people without magic, he remembered from the material he'd read after Lorelai's big reveal). The parents were extremely religious and very fearful of their daughter's abilities and grew abusive and fanatical in their attempts to eliminate the girl's magic.

These attempts not only prompted an Obscurus to begin forming – which Dean learned was a parasitical dark force that lashed out on its own but ultimately killed the witch or wizard that was unwittingly hosting it – but also began binding and restricting her magic through methods that created horrific side effects. These included, but weren't limited to insomnia, hearing voices, hallucinations, phantom pains, and suicidal ideation. The Obscurus, however, still lashed out despite the girl's restricted magic, and so the parents remained fearful and began to feel she was a lost cause. In the end, the girl died bloody at the hands of her mother.

Recently, there had been a string of violent deaths, mirroring that of the little girl, with all of the victims reporting similar symptoms in the week leading up to their demise. Lorelai had unearthed that the little girl had a locket she'd been given at her christening, which she'd worn every day. In her notes she theorized that the Obscurus turned the locket into a cursed object, forcing its victims to relive the little girl's death, including the symptoms from the "treatment" (details of which were kept vague but seemed gruesome) her parents and the Church had forced her to endure. Lorelai confirmed that each of the recent victims had the locket in her possession when they'd been murdered.

"I can't believe you became an Auror," Sam mused, his lighthearted tone returning, and Dean heard Lorelai chuckle.

"What can I say? I just couldn't stay away. I tried the normal, quiet life thing for a bit, but I got a little restless. This has been working out pretty good."

"Quiet? I wouldn't have thought co-owning a chain of magical joke shops was a recipe for a quiet life. What happened to them by the way? Are they still around?" Despite his efforts, Dean's ears couldn't help but perk up at that.

"Joke shops?" he asked, his head shooting up and the words falling from his lips before he could stop them. His eyes darted between his brother and his ex-girlfriend. "You owned joke shops?"

Sam suddenly looked awkward, and Lorelai shifted guiltily, looking to Dean warily before nodding.

"Uh yeah… co-owned anyway… still do, I guess. Fred and George started it as a mail order business when we were in school, and then they dropped out to open their first location. Fred left me his half when he died. I tried to give it back to George, but he insisted I keep it, and I helped him get everything back up and running after… well, after everything. I'd just opened the first US location when I met Sam. Their little brother, Ron, joined us when I took the MACUSA job," she said, turning to Sam to answer his question secondarily. "They manage the shops and most of the product lines, but I handle our defensive line and government contracts."

The smallest part of Dean felt bad, realizing she didn't even know that he'd done enough reading following their split to know the everything she was referencing was a war she'd fought in, but most of him just felt the anger bubbling up at finding more secrets she'd kept from him. He scoffed and turned back to the file, trying his damndest to push the swell of emotion down. The lack of money problems most hunters had suddenly made a lot more sense. How she'd been able to afford an apartment alone had always left him baffled, let alone in New York City, and he'd never seen her engage in credit card fraud or hustle the way he did.

"What?" Lorelai challenged, her eyes back on him.

"Nothing," Dean bit back, refusing to look at her. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"How exactly would you have liked me to tell you about a business that only exists in the wizarding world, without revealing that world to you?" Lorelai pushed, realizing what he was upset about all on her own. Dean rolled his eyes and glared at her.

"Like I said, it's nothing," he replied tensely, breaking their unofficial staring contest to look at Sam and toss him the file. The file was meticulous, but it only left him with more questions. Sam grabbed it eagerly, obviously feeling uncomfortable with the tension between Dean and Lorelai, and began doing his own reading.

"Good," Lorelai replied, as if daring him to continue down that path. Dean rolled his eyes but did his best to switch back to business mode. Something wasn't adding up.

"Interesting case," he acknowledged, nodding towards the papers now in Sam's hand. Lorelai followed his lead, visibly shifting back to a more business-like demeanor, but shrugged.

"Just a cursed object," she tried to downplay. Dean was relieved the stiffness, at least, had melted in her voice. "Told you I had it handled." He saw it then, the fear in her eyes, although she did a good job masking it.

"Yeah, except you don't. What's missing out of the file, Lor?" The fact that she didn't object to the familiar, shortened version of her name gave him an inkling of hope.

"What do you mean?" she asked, playing dumb. Dean arched an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"I mean if that's all there is to the case then it's a closed deal, and it doesn't explain why Katie's so worried about you or why you look like shit."

"Oh, very nice," Lorelai in an overly dramatic voice, falling back on humor as she often did when she was uncomfortable. "You don't call, you don't write, you threaten me with a gun… and then you show up and tell me how awful I look." Dean rolled his eyes, pointedly ignoring the look he could feel Sam giving him, his own gaze remaining on the feisty brunette.

"Come on, you know that's not what I meant. You just don't look healthy." Lorelai sniffed, her eyes suddenly darting to the floor while her hands fidgeted with the cuffs of her sleeve.

"Well, I'm fine," she insisted again. "Like you saw, I already took care of the locket, so I'm sorry you guys wasted the trip. You should check out the Neuse Museum, I hear they have some good Civil War stuff." Even if he hadn't already doubted her, the way she caught her bottom lip between her teeth sealed the deal.

"Lorelai," he prodded, but she shook her head.

"I'm fine, Dean. Really, you don't need to worry about me."

"Just tell me what's goin' on. I'm not stupid." She pursed her lips and for a second Dean thought she was about to argue the point, but with a final, anxiety driven sniffle, she grasped the cuff of her left sleeve and yanked it back, revealing a series of ugly, red symbols that looked as though they'd been scratched or maybe even cut into her skin… and that explained it all. Dean felt his heart drop and he swore under his breath, pulling Sam's attention away from the file.

"What is it?" he asked, but Dean was too focused on Lorelai, who was still looking anywhere but at him. Sam's eyes eventually found the same thing, though, and Dean heard him mutter shit.

"How long do you have?" Dean asked, and Lorelai fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable. Any anger he'd been feeling completely fell away, and he found he was consumed by his own fear, fueled by his concern for her. Ironic, that he'd been keeping his distance largely for fear of putting her in danger, and here she was in the hot seat anyway.

"Two days, maybe? Three tops. But it's fine, I'm working on tracking down the – " Dean let out a low whistle as pieced together some of the oddities he'd been noticing since his arrival.

"How are you not tripping balls right now?" he asked, somewhat impressed.

"What do you mean?" Sam questioned, and Dean looked over, realizing he must not have quite finished reading through everything. His brother looked concerned, though Dean could tell he was in full hunter mode, and he was happy to have the geek on their team. He suspected Lorelai was going to be pretty useless given the circumstances.

"The victims, they all suffer from the same symptoms Marietta did. Insomnia, hallucinations, voices in their head, the whole nine yards. If Lorelai's only got a few days left all that shit's been going full force for the better part of a week now," Dean explained. Sam's eyes widened and they both looked back to Lorelai for an answer. She'd already tugged her sleeve back down, her hands pulled most of the way inside them. She looked between the brothers, still seeming somewhat anxious, and shrugged, still nervously chewing at her lip.

"I uh… I'm managing," she said lamely. "There's some techniques I had to learn to practice certain types of magic, techniques to help sort of put walls up around your mind… they're helping."

Sam had returned his attention to the file and Dean could see the horror on his face as he found the details of what the hallucinations and voices often entailed. Gruesome really didn't feel like an adequate descriptor, and Dean didn't care what techniques she'd learned, he highly doubted that they were adequate enough to not drive her insane. The lack of sleep alone had to be wearing her down. He shuddered to think how much coffee she must have been drinking, considering what her normal intake was.

"Well, now we're here to help too. You already destroyed the locket, so what's your next move? Salt and burn the girl?" Lorelai shook her head.

"No, guys, really. I've got this, you don't need to do anything." Dean was ready to argue with her, but Sam stepped in before he could.

"Don't be stupid, Lorelai. We're not just gonna leave you to deal with this on your own." She started to protest some more, but Dean knocked his knee against hers, catching her by surprise at the contact and drawing her gaze back onto him. He smiled as reassuringly as he could at her, and for the briefest of moments the last eight months fell away, and it was just them again.

"I've got your back, Lor," he assured her, somehow just as easily as he had back in July. "We both do. I promise."

She bit that bottom lip of hers again, but this time Dean could tell he'd gotten through to her, even if there was still some reluctance. Really, he couldn't blame her after how they'd left things. He watched with relief, though, as she took a deep breath before finally nodding, her face temporarily revealing in full the vulnerability she'd been trying to cover up.

"Okay," she relented, her voice quiet. "Point a gun at me again though and I'll take you down before you can blink," she threatened half-heartedly. Despite himself, Dean let out a snort of laughter and smirked, nodding his own head.

"Deal."

Sooo, how does everyone feel about how that went? I've been eager to get to this point, because I've had this written forever, but as those things tend to go, now that we're here I'm hoping it lived up to everyone's expectations.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading Can't say it enough how much I appreciate all of you. Next chapter will focus on the three of them working the case - my plan is to have it up on the 22nd? But I'm not totally sure. I leave tomorrow, and while the next chapter is written there's still editing that needs to be done and some parts that need to be wrapped up. Either way, it shouldn't be too long. See you all soon!