NocteSpiritus

Chapter 16 She stepped outside and eased herself into sitting on the porch. There was something about her father coming back into her life now, just as Aaliyah was starting to think of getting out of hunting. Not that she would just up and leave Sam and Dean after all they went through in the past few weeks. Maybe it was the share experience of going through in finding the Colt, then finding and then losing John, then going toe to toe with the demon before all that happened at the hospital. It was a selfish line of thought in her process of wanting to save herself. But … she opened the beer and took a drink … if she could survive all that, maybe she could survive being a full blown hunter. The door opened behind her, shining light out into the darkness and her shadow onto the ground before the door closed. Someone sat down next to her and sighed. “Are you sure you wanna do this?” Xander asked, his voice low. “We don’t owe Casey anything.” “I know. But it’s something that’s kinda stuck with me even back in college with the werewolf.” Aaliyah pulled the side with the scars, stretching the muscles. “It’s about saving people and hunting things. Like it’s the Winchester’s family motto or something. Clearly it’s the family business. And ours in a way.” Aaliyah took another drink. “And it’s not like there’s much to lose over this. Casey will be outta our lives once again and we can continue on as if nothing’s happened.” “And what about our half siblings?” There it was, the concern over the possibility of bonding with their siblings. Aaliyah shrugged. “What about them?” “Well, according to Casey, they knew about the whole hunting thing and what went bump in the night,” Xander told her. “Or what Casey did before he left the life and settled down with their mother. He didn’t say if he told them about us.” “Probably because you were in there eavesdropping.” “I was not.” “So … You weren’t in the kitchen trying to find something to do while Casey told Bobby any relative information?” Aaliyah cocked an eyebrow at her brother. “Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t,” Xander deflected. “Point is, I’m thinking he didn’t tell them about us and they’re probably in the dark about us.” Aaliyah took a deep breath, her ribs protested at it. “I hope they haven’t gotten themselves killed.” ** Bobby handed Aaliyah a bag as she put her own duffel in the trunk. “Here, some things you might need.” “Thanks, Bobby.” She stifled a yawn as she opened the bag to find a few flasks, a sawed off shot gun, and some hand guns with the right ammo. “Just in case, right?” “Right. Now, just because this is your family doesn’t mean they owe you anything.” “I know, Bobby.” Aaliyah closed the trunk and pulled out a sharpie, drawing a demon trap on the top. “And thanks for letting us borrow the car. I think if all three of us were riding together, one of us would be dead by the end of it.” The car had to been ten years out of style and needed some minor repairs done, but Bobby swore it would hold up for the long distance traveling that had to be done. “Just don’t go overboard, will ya?” Bobby asked. “I’d hate to tell the boys that you went missing or ended up dead because of this.” “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Aaliyah capped the sharpie and turned from the car to see Xander emerging from the house. “Come on, Jerk wad,” she called out to him. “We’re killing daylight.” Aaliyah smiled at Bobby. “I’ll call in a couple days and give you an update, I promise.” “And if you don’t?” Bobby asked as Aaliyah walked around the car to the passenger side. “Then you can send the bloodhounds after me.” “Oh, I’m sure they’ll get a kick outta that.” Aaliyah eased herself into the seat, her ribs gave her a bit of a protest before she settled in. She heard Bobby talk with Xander before he slipped into the driver’s seat. “Do you believe him?” she broke the silence as Xander turned onto the road. “That we got half siblings out there somewhere?” “I think he got out of hunting and settled down without a second thought of us,” he answered. “Who knows what he told them of his past.” *** Aaliyah watched the “Welcome to Missouri” pass by. The drive for her had been a mix of napping and playing catch up with Xander. He had been sticking close to the southeast states, dealing with cases of hauntings and ghosts. Whispered rumors passed through local hunter haunts that he had picked up about how John was closing in on the yellow eyed demon and had the Colt nearly in hand. Xander had told her that there was a rumor he was willing to put into the realm of not possible. Aaliyah had pressed him when he attempted to change conversation. He caved after a half hour of prodding; the rumor had been the Winchesters had picked up an extra set of hands in Michigan. “Up for a pit stop?” Xander asked. “Think there’s a rest area coming up in a couple miles.” Aaliyah stretched, ignoring the protest in her chest. “Yeah. The bladder’s not happy being full for this long.” She looked out the window and watched the scenery race by. “I half wonder what they’re like.” “Who?” “Our half siblings. I mean, if they knew about our father being a hunter and all that, it had to have effected them somehow.” Aaliyah lightly scratched at a pant leg. “You’d think they woulda gotten into it if they knew.” “So, you’re thinking they can’t be a cheerleader and a football player if Casey was open about hunting?” Xander asked in his attempt to understand where Aaliyah was coming from. “Exactly. Why would anyone wanna try and ignore that?” “They don’t wanna face the fact that there are things out there that wanna eat us. Or kill us.” Xander eased the car off the highway and into the rest area parking lot. “You of anyone should know that.” “And look how many times I coulda died.” Aaliyah pulled herself out of the car. “I swear there’s…” A scream from the building cut her off. She didn’t dare look to see if Xander was following when she took off at a run toward the building; her body protesting the whole way. A woman had emerged from the building and refused to stop running from it. The doors on the building were blasted off their hinges before a person emerged. Every fiber in Aaliyah’s body screamed at her to run back to the car and get as far away as possible. “Diablo,” the woman screamed as she ran past Aaliyah. Aaliyah half scoffed. Devil indeed. More like a demon who got cocky. She sensed someone come up beside her and held a handgun and a couple clips in front of her. “I know you,” Xander said. “And there’s no way you’re going that way alone.” Aaliyah checked the gun and found a clip was prepped and chambered a round. “Come on. Let’s go take care of this guy.” She stepped around the few others that had managed to escape the building even as the demon possessed person stood in the lobby. “Stupid humans,” the demon said as Aaliyah stepped into the lobby. “Thinking you can…” “Stow it, Smokescreen,” Aaliyah cut in. “You’re not getting off that easy.” “Says the one who shouldn’t even be walking,” the demon countered. “I guess you’re gonna ignore the same message.” “You guessed right.” She brought the gun up and placed her index on the trigger. “Now, do you wanna leave peacefully? Or do I have to shoot the poor bastard you got trapped to send you on your way?” “I’ve heard of you,” the demon told her. “The little lost bird that gone and sent Papa Winchester downstairs. Was it worth it, sparrow? Seeing Daddy dearest give himself up to save a son.” “Stop trying to bait me and poof off, will ya?” Aaliyah snapped. “Or you’ll do what? Shoot me? You don’t have the Colt, and we both know that gun of yours won’t do much.” Aaliyah swore she caught whispering from behind her. She caught a few words before her mind caught on that it was Xander reading the exorcism rite that she used on the woman Meg had possessed. The possessed man started contorting as the demon inside fought against the exorcism. Aaliyah risked taking a couple steps toward the man as Xander continued the rite. “So what if I don’t have the Colt,” Aaliyah replied. “We both know that I’m not going to back down.” She reached down and grabbed hold of the man even as the demon fought against the exorcism. “Get out of him.” A billow of black smoke broke forth from the man’s mouth as the demon vacated. Aaliyah put her gun in the waist of her pants against her back as she adjusted her hold on the man. “Easy there, pal.” She plastered a small smile on her face as the man focused on her. “You blacked out and nearly fainted.” “I did? I don’t … remember.” The man put a hand to his head, still groggy. “Come and sit,” Aaliyah gestured toward a bench that was by a wall. “Is it just you …” He shook his head. “My daughter was with me.” “Dad?” a voice cried out before a young teenager rushed over and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank God you’re alright.” Aaliyah took a few steps back from the two before she started over to the opposite wall where Xander was standing. “Well … that was …” “Odd. Who knew that the rite actually worked?” Xander half held up the book. “I did,” Aaliyah commented. “We used it once; on Meg. Or the demon that possessed the woman named Meg.” “More missing details in the search for John?” Xander hazarded a guess. Aaliyah nodded with a noise of agreement. “Meg had followed the boys to Bobby’s, and got … stuck so to speak.” “So that explains that paint job on the ceiling,” Xander commented. “Wait, you saw that and didn’t ask about it?” Xander shrugged. “Figured it wasn’t a bit thing. So, the exorcism rite I read off worked on Meg?” Aaliyah nodded. “Yeah; couldn’t save the woman though. She fell seven stories, shoulda been dead then if it hadn’t been for the demon.” “Rough.” “Yeah.” Aaliyah watched the father and daughter get up and head out without much effort in finding her. “Does it ever get easier? Standing back and watching the people you help go back living their lives like nothing ever happened?” Xander asked her after a few minutes. “You do all the work and they go on living a life we never had.” “Not really.” Aaliyah sighed. “There’s been hunts where I go in, grab the kill, and slip outta town without making contact with people. The way I see it, the less contact I have with people on hunts, the chances of seeing that,” she gestured to where the father and daughter were. “Go down. And the chances of people getting hurt go down as well.” She moved away from the wall for the women’s restroom. “It doesn’t get any easier.” In the relative safety and privacy of the restroom, Aaliyah took a stall near the back and locked herself in. She barely made it down to her knees before her stomach rejected whatever was in it. A burp escaped her lips after her body finished clearing out the stomach. That didn’t happen when she dealt with Meg. Was there something about demons Aaliyah didn’t get, or was it just her own body dealing with the stress? “Aaliyah?” Xander’s voice echoed off the walls. “Are you okay?” “Yeah,” she called back. “Give me a minute.” She worked herself off the floor and onto the toilet. With her bladder and stomach emptied and the toilet sending it all down the pipes, Aaliyah stepped in front of the mirror and washed her hands and face off. *** “Never thought we’d be back here again,” Xander commented as he turned the car off. “And we’re trying to find more of the family,” Aaliyah finished, climbing out of the car. The drive from the rest area had been another few hours before they reached the town they grew up in. Aaliyah had the feeling it was smaller than what it was two years ago. Flashes of memory passed through her mind’s eye, reminding her of what she had been through. The town hadn’t changed, she just learned that the world was bigger and darker than the town. “Are you sure about staying here?” Xander prompted her. “I could afford a better place than a half star motel room.” Aaliyah took a glance over the motel and nodded. “It’ll be fine. We do plan on being here a short time anyway, right?” “Just until we find out what happened,” Xander agreed. “Then it’s back to Bobby’s and you get your license.” “And cramming more lore in my head.” Aaliyah grabbed her bags from the trunk. “I swear, the more lore I put in there, I lose more of what I learned at college.” “Maybe it’s a good thing.” Xander grabbed his bag before closing the trunk. “Not like you need it now that you’re gone full hunter.” “Hey, you’re gonna need it one day when a wendigo decides to make a steak outta you,” Aaliyah shot back as she followed her brother to their motel room. “Says the former nurse.” Xander pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Aaliyah dropped her bags on a bed, claiming it for herself. “Where did Casey say about where we can start looking?” “The high school. Apparently, they were seen after school and heading off for home.” Xander pulled out a folder and opened it on the table. “This is what info that Casey gave us to work off of.” Aaliyah joined her brother at the table and flipped through the pages. “Not much to work off of, but it should be something. Juniors at the high school, cheerleader and varsity football player. “Tell me why we should find out what happened to them again.” “Do you want some bull shit answer? Cuz I really don’t know.” Xander picked up the paper that had Nissa’s most recent picture and basic information on it. “You think we might have had the chance of getting along with them? I mean, the chances of all four of us growing up together were probably slim, but still.” “With how much he wasn’t home, for work or hunting I don’t care,” Aaliyah picked up Leo’s profile sheet. “I doubt it. We barely know these two. Hell, they’re a good four years younger than me.” “Barely outta high school,” Xander commented. “Or half way through a four year college if they went.” “Come on, we got people to interview.” Aaliyah grabbed one of her bags and darted for the bathroom. “And what do you think…” “Fed suit,” Aaliyah shot through the cracked bathroom door. “Not like we’re gonna get answers looking like we just dealt with a demon.” She stripped off the clothes she had one since leaving Bobby’s and left them in a pile as she adjusted the Fed suit Amanda helped pick out a couple years ago. Either the clothes got bigger or Aaliyah lost serious weight since she wore them last. A shopping trip was in store if there was enough money after the case. “Remind me to look for some new clothes,” Aaliyah told her brother as she stepped out of the bathroom. She looked down at how the jacket fell over her and heard the soft scrape of a shoe over the cheap carpet. Her eyes shifted up toward the sound just as a person stepped in just a bit too to her, a blade touched her throat. “Who are you?” a feminine voice questioned. Aaliyah felt her throat move against the blade as she swallowed. “I should be asking you that. Unless you’re into something…” The blade’s pressure on her neck increased a little. “I’m not playing games here,” the woman stated. “Again, who are you two?” “FBI,” Aaliyah said. “Clearly you don’t expect us to be in our suits all the time.” “I don’t expect the FBI to be holed up in a cheap motel,” the woman said. “We’ve got all sorts of surprises,” Aaliyah heard Xander chime in. “So, do us all a favor and let us go,” Aaliyah requested, hearing the half threat in her voice. “Not going to happen,” a new voice, a man maybe no older than his female counterpart, spoke up. “We don’t like competition.” “Competition from a couple Feds?” Xander asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Hunters,” the woman corrected. “We know you’re from outta town.” “All that from what?” Aaliyah questioned. “Unless you’re just grasping for reasons why you broke into our room.” “What FBI agent carries around sawed off shotguns, a book of demon lore, and a … book of keys of Solomon?” the man asked. “And we all know that the X-Files ain’t real.” “Prove it,” Aaliyah challenged. “We know that the government won’t confirm or deny about that.” “Not that we’d be inclined to do so,” Xander added. “So, you’re really FBI?” the man asked. “Why would you be looking into a local case that’s been cold for a year?” “There’s been someone who had been persistent in trying to solve the case,” Aaliyah answered. “The locals have given up, so the person went up the chain.” The blade’s pressure eased a little against her neck. “They don’t believe us,” Xander shot over to Aaliyah. “Not a surprise,” Aaliyah replied. “How ‘bout we all relax here and see what we all want? Nice thought, huh?” She willed her breath to remain steady as the room fell into silence. The blade pulled away from her neck, and Aaliyah turned her head in such a way to pull at the knot in her neck. “Good, some level of trust. Now … We don’t know you …” “And you don’t trust us,” Xander finished. “Why do you have this folder?” the man asked, holding it up. “Again, I believe you’re not FBI.” “More like hunters,” the woman said. Aaliyah looked between the two and swore they matched the pictures in the folder. “So, you caught us. What are you gonna do? If you know we’re hunters, you know the locals won’t believe you.” “None really do,” Xander added. “Unless you already know that, Nissa." Aaliyah turned her attention to the woman next to her and attempted to see past the dirt and grim. Or was that just an unknown time of pushing through without sleep? “Well, I guess we can go say we found ‘em.” “What do you mean, ‘found ‘em’?” the woman – Nissa – asked. “Who sent you?” She brought the blade up to Aaliyah. “You wanna be the one to tell ‘em?” Xander asked. “You’re the one …” “Don’t be putting me on the spot,” Aaliyah cut in, turning just enough to see Xander being released by Leo. “I didn’t ask for this case.” She mentally cursed their father for dumping this case on their laps. “Not my fault he decided to descend from whatever high horse he was on to visit us lowly hunters.” “Who’s this person you’re talking about?” Leo asked, his face contorted just enough in confusion. “Our father,” Xander said. “He hadn’t been the most … attentive parental unit for us growing up.” Aaliyah shifted her gaze between Nissa and Leo as they seemed to have a silent conversation between them. “I won’t hold any illusions about it…” she started before Leo held up a hand, silencing her. “We’ve been told about you two,” he said. “Our father had told us, when we were old enough to actually understand what he was saying, that we had a couple half siblings out in the world.” “And that he had attempted to keep them safe and his hunting a secret,” Nissa added. “He had left them when they were old enough to take care of themselves.” “All the while leaving hunting behind,” Leo finished. “Did he tell you about the substandard living conditions we were in?” Xander countered. “Or the long hours at work that he had to pull just to get food for us?” Aaliyah tossed in, gesturing at Xander. “Or the times I had to skip the last hour of school just so I can get a job and do homework? I’ve seen your house, that was a palace compared to what we had growing up.” “You were what?” Leo took a couple menacing steps toward Aaliyah. Aaliyah shifted a foot back with her weight mostly on the front one, and brought her fists up. “Stop, right there. I was on a case, and the trail just led me there. Now, take a step back or see yourself on the floor.” She stared him down with the half dare of actually following through with his threat of physical violence. “Clearly we all started off on a bad foot,” Nissa chimed in, trying to defuse the tension. “Why don’t we all just take a few steps back and try this again.” Aaliyah kept her stance until Leo moved back to the wall. “I can see why John didn’t deal with other hunters much,” she muttered to herself. It had been a clear thing she understood in the short time she had been with him on the two hunts she saw him. “What was that?” Leo asked, his voice raised more than what it should had been. “You’ve got an ugly mug for a face,” Aaliyah shot back. “You said John and hunters.” “Not this again,” Nissa said, rolling her eyes. “Leo, we don’t have time for dad’s little mission for you.” “You know as well as I that we need to find Winchester and tell him about the demon and the Colt.” “Too little too late,” Aaliyah cut in, gaining the attention of her siblings. “Oh, you didn’t know? John’s dead, about a good week or so now.” She nodded as the two stared at her. “How?” Nissa asked. “I mean, from what we heard, John was a tough hunter who didn’t take shit from anyone.” Aaliyah shrugged. “Went up against a demon he couldn’t put down. Bad luck of it, too. Nearly had the Colt. Not that anyone knows what the Colt looks like.” She took note of how Leo and Nissa took the news; both dejected at the news and the possible end of their hunt. “That’s what I’ve heard anyway. I hadn’t seen him in a few years. Not since we took out that werewolf on a Michigan college campus.” “You?” Nissa said, eyes frowned in partial confusion. “You were there for that?” Aaliyah tilted her head at the question. Nissa shifted her weight. “It’s bit of a legend among the hunters. How a college student in the nursing program had taken on a full grown werewolf on her first hunt with some tips from the seasoned hunters. How’d you survive that?” “I barely survived.” Aaliyah caught Xander’s uneasy stance. “I walked away bloody and scarred.” Leo made a noise in disbelief. “Like you survived a fight against a werewolf attack. Those who go up against one are either bitten and turned or have their heart eaten.” Aaliyah pulled her jacket off before tossing it onto a bed and unbuttoned the shirt up and over her head before turning to show off the scars from the fight. “Does this answer your question? Yes, it was a werewolf. Yes, I barely survived. And yes, it was John and his son Dean who were there. Now, before you go and try to lord over me, I’ve been at this longer than you. I’ve seen things that most hunters don’t in their lifetimes.” She threaded her arms back through her shirt. “There’s things I shouldn’t have survived in the past few weeks, or seen, but I have.” “You’re bluffing,” Leo countered, uncertainty in his voice. “Am I? The scars should be proof enough of the werewolf attack. I have hospital records of injuries sustained in a car crash that I shouldn’t have been able to walk from.” Aaliyah glared at Leo as she crossed her arms. “So, tell me, little brother, am I bluffing?” She watched him waiver under her attention before turning away. “That’s what I thought. The two of you have been hunting for what, a year?” “Six months,” Nissa corrected. “We heard Dad’s stories and wanted to do it as well.” “Stupid move,” Xander said. “Who willing goes to hunt?” “No one,” Aaliyah answered. “That werewolf was a threat I wanted to help take care of. Hunting isn’t one of those things you can just get out of easy. It finds a way to pull you back in no matter what you try and do. Trust me, I know. Two years of hunting while attending college. I nearly didn’t graduate on time; I was nearly late for my ceremony. You two; you’re still able to get out. So, pack up your stuff and go home.” She turned back for the bathroom, grabbing her change of clothes on the way. With the door closed behind her, Aaliyah stared at herself in the mirror, her blue and hazel eyes stared back at her. Deep bags hung under her eyes even as her legs threatened to give out from under her. Standing in one place was a strain on her still healing back. How she managed to not collapse in front of her siblings was still a mystery. Xander’s voice was muffled through the door as he and their siblings talked. Aaliyah the shirt off. “Aaliyah?” there was a knock after Xander’s voice. “Hey, they’ve … invited us over to the house for … a talk. I have half a mind to accept.” “What’s there to talk about? I told ‘em to get out while they could. If they still wanna hunt, it’s on them.” Aaliyah stepped out of the pants and eased her jeans on. “That’s the thing, they wanna learn how to hunt,” Xander answered. “And apparently you’re the best one to teach ‘em.” “Why does it have to be me? Half the lore I know is from pop culture, and who knows what’s been twisted up from the source material?” Aaliyah eased the shirt up and over her head. “Like the skin changer or the Djinn? What’s changed about them from their material?” “Wrong person. Let’s just make sure they get home. After that, we can head off for our own thing.” Aaliyah heard the longing in Xander’s voice to get back to Bobby’s without actually saying the destination. It might be a good thing he was being vague about it; less of a chance of their half siblings following them or showing up on their own. “Why do I have a feeling that this case was nothing more than a way for our father to get the four of us to meet?” She opened the door to see her brother there. He shrugged. “Beats me. I say, between us, we should take them with us back up. If they are gonna still hunt, it wouldn’t hurt.” “It’s a bad idea.” *** “You’re right, it’s a bad idea,” Bobby’s voice told Aaliyah. She had called him from the same house she and Dean were in a couple years ago. Xander was keeping their family occupied with stories growing up while she made the call to Bobby. “You can blame Xander, Bobby,” Aaliyah told him. “All his idea. I tried talking them outta it; even showed off my scars from the werewolf. Still they insisted on hunting. There’s no way they survived six months on their own hunting. Hell, I barely did the weeks after my first if it wasn’t for Amanda.” She heard Bobby muttering stuff about family drama and hunting before hearing what sounded like glass hitting the desk. “Xander and I will be with them on an easy case,” Aaliyah tried to assure him. “If they can survive that without major injury, we might try again.” “And your father’s okay with this?” Aaliyah peered around the corner and listened to the distant conversation. “I don’t think he cares either way. This is the same guy who was a hunter and left two of his children to hunt.” “Just don’t kill him,” Bobby advised. “A good idea, but I’m not sure how to do it with witnesses,” Aaliyah replied. “Its not chaos in the ER. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up and headed back into the kitchen, laughter drifting from the room. “You get hold of your friend?” Casey asked when Aaliyah stepped up to the counter. “Yeah. They’re expecting us in the next few days.” “We’ll go pack,” Nissa said, nudging her brother away from the counter. Aaliyah waited for them to disappear down the hallway before turning to Casey. “I don’t know what your plan was, but it was stupid. Any one of us could have gotten hurt. Don’t expect them to be back any time soon.” “Is that a threat, young…” Aaliyah held up a finger. “Don’t pull that tone on me. It may have worked if you had been around more. You messed up, and you know it.” She stared her father down even as she heard noise from the hallway. “I hope you know, if it sinks in, that the life you hoped to save your children from is the same one they’re in.” Aaliyah turned from the counter and joined her siblings in the living room before leaving the house. A small part of her held some guilt in what she said, but it was something she had to say. There was too much Aaliyah had seen already not to sugar coat anything anymore. “Aaliyah,” Nissa said, opening the car door. “You gotta tell us about what happened with the demon and John.” “I’d rather not, right now.” Aaliyah forced back the grimace of pain as she slipped into the front seat. “It’s still a relatively painful thing.” “Going face to face with a demon’s painful?” Leo questioned. “It’s what was involved,” Aaliyah said. “It was the same one that killed Mary Winchester.” “Revenge killing,” Nissa told Leo. “Not the best start to hunting.” “Never a good reason to get into it,” Aaliyah said. “What got the two of you into it?” “Stories, mostly,” Leo said. “Dad’s had friends, mostly hunters, pass through for a night or two before they moved on. He’d help when he could while trying to keep us out of it.” “Until this one decided to eavesdrop and wanted to go off on a ghost hunt,” Nissa jumped in. “Shit himself senseless from it.” “I told you that in confidence,” Leo yelled. “Dad found out and insisted that if we were to start hunting, we needed to cram our heads full of lore,” Nissa said, ignoring Leo. “Not that we have much use for it if we’re not allow to hunt.” “So he gave you lore but didn’t allow you to hunt?” Xander questioned, his eyes shifted to the rearview mirror to the backseat. Nissa shrugged. “Might have been one of those rite of passage things certain people do. He finally allowed us to do a hunt about a year ago, and we lost contact about a month or two in.” “And you two were reported missing,” Aaliyah hazarded. “So he had local cops and hunters out looking for you?” “Good guess. I don’t know where he found the two of you, but I’m half glad he did.” “Why’s that?” “Because there’s something out there following us,” Leo said, his gaze out the window. “Like what?” “Not sure; but we’re sure it’s attached to an item,” Nissa said. “And we don’t know how to get rid of it.”

Yes, warmth is crucial for the next few days.

Chapter 15 Aaliyah sat in the patient room, swinging her legs as she sat on the table. A good week and some odd days after the crash, she had been able to regain feeling in her legs and Bobby had insisted on her going to get checked out. Xander had hung around in town and decided to take her in while Sam and Dean went to deal with a case from a friend of John’s. The day at the hospital had been spent being poked, prodded, and tested for all the things doctors looked for in people who suffered the injuries Aaliyah received after the crash. Now she was ready to head back to Bobby’s and not deal with any more doctors for a while. Aaliyah looked over to Xander, who was reading a book she hadn’t bothered asking about. The door opened and the doctor who had been overseeing Aaliyah’s case stepped in. “I must say, Ms. McGillcutty,” they said, not really looking up from the folder just yet. “Your case is impressive.” They put the folder down and looked at her. “Two bad ribs that have healed well enough on their own, bruises that are fading well, and a back injury that has proven to be bit of an issue. But your … choice of physical rehab has helped you regain both use and feeling in both.” “So, I’m good to resume normal work activity, doc?” Aaliyah asked, pushing down that hopeful feeling that threatened to rise up. “I’m kinda tired of seeing the same four walls most of the time.” “If you can walk the hallway right here without the use of the crutches, I’d say you are.” Aaliyah glanced over to Xander to catch him looking over the book at her. It had been the one thing she had been pushing herself on the past couple of days at Bobby’s; walking without the use of the crutches. She had been able to do so, but with the support of the wall. Xander gave her a shrug so small, Aaliyah questioned if he even gave her one. She eased herself onto the floor, using the table as a support until she was sure her legs wouldn’t give out under her weight. The doctor moved to open the door and stood aside so Aaliyah could move out into the hall. Aaliyah took a breath and with a small shuffle at first, moved for the hallway. It was that movement when one first got out of bed in the morning and your body was still half asleep and the blood needed to get moving again. Aaliyah turned into the hallway and looked down to the nurses’ station that had that odd sensation of being further way than it actually was. “You don’t have to go all the way down,” the doctor said. “I just wanna see you walk without much support.” The reassurance from the doctor was enough push for Aaliyah to step out into the middle of the hallway and kept her eye on the station. Her mind tuned everything else out as she moved for the nurses’ station, all the voices of the staff, all the little noises made by the machines, all of it was tuned out as Aaliyah closed the gap between her room and the nurses’ station. Until she slapped the counter top with both hands. The nurses that were there jumped at the sudden sound of skin on counter top and turned toward her before they realized there was no danger. “Aaliyah,” Xander’s voice called from down the hall. “Aaliyah.” Aaliyah turned back around to see Xander standing in the hall just outside her room, a smile beaming on his face. The doctor next to him giving her a thumbs up. She glanced around to see some of the nurses in the hallway clapping. “Wha…What just happened?” “You practically ran down the hallway,” Xander said, coming up to her. “Ran, sis. Not walked, ran.” Her breath went short as her mind caught what her brother was saying. She just wanted to walk again. “I ran,” she said as her mouth pulled into a smile. “I haven’t seen that much improvement in someone with your level of injury in such a short time,” the doctor said. “Usually it takes months for it to happen.” “I guess I got someone watching out for me,” Aaliyah replied, the smile still on her face. *** “Bobby, we’re back,” Xander called out as he and Aaliyah walked into the house. “Great. How’d it go?” Bobby’s voice drifted from the living room. “Go ahead, tell him.” “Great,” Aaliyah said as she stepped into the threshold. “Doc says I’m a miracle case.” She smiled when Bobby looked her over without any crutches. “Practically ran down the hallway when they wanted to see me walk without support.” “That’s great, kid,” Bobby said, walking over to her. “You know what this means.” “I get back to hunting.” “No.” Aaliyah’s smile disappeared from her face. “You get back to your normal life before you got mixed up in this.” Aaliyah’s face contorted in confusion. “What normal life? You know I took out a werewolf in college, hell I still hunted while in college. I don’t know what a normal life is, Bobby. Now you want me to get out? It’s not gonna be easy trying to get a nursing job at hospital or some urgent care. Not while I know what’s really out there.” “She’s right, Bobby,” Xander chimed in. “Once she gets her mind set on something, she’s gonna do it.” The older hunter huffed before turning back to the desk in the living room. “If that’s the case, there’s a few things you need to do. First will be getting your driver’s license.” “You think that’s wise?” Xander said. “She barely learned how to ride a bike when we were kids.” “If she’s gonna stick to hunting, it’ll be easier on everyone if she has it.” Bobby turned back around, keys in hand. “Come on, Aaliyah. Time to waste a few hours at the DMV.” *** “Go take a seat, Uncle Bobby,” Aaliyah said, hearing the tone in her voice that willed him to shut up and let her talk. “Don’t want you having a heart attack now, do we?” She shot him a look that told him to shut up. He grumbled as Aaliyah turned her attention back to the worker. “Sorry about my uncle. He tends to get upset over the small things. Now, what do I need again?” “Birth certificate, social security card, any form that proves your identification,” the woman told her. “And a piece of mail that proves your address. Here is …” She pulled out a piece of paper and put it on the counter. “Where you can get copies of your birth certificate and security card.” “Thank you.” Aaliyah shot the woman a polite smile before she gave Bobby a jab in the side to get him moving for the door. “What the hell was that?” she shot at him outside. “And don’t tell me you’re gonna just forge a license just so I can drive. If I’m gonna…” Aaliyah moved for the parking lot and brought her voice down. “If I’m to be breaking laws in this line of work, I wanna do one thing legal. Even if it’s just a driver’s license.” “Then where are you gonna get a piece of mail for an address?” *** Aaliyah turned the display rack, looking for a decent looking postcard even as she attempted to ignore Bobby who seemed to be barely containing his frustration. It was her idea, and Bobby didn’t like the idea of her and Xander going off alone across state lines without some sort of back up in case something supernaturally happened. The trip to Mount Rushmore had been her idea just for a post card. Bobby questioned the trip the whole way just as Aaliyah pointed out the catch in his question of sending herself a post card from Sioux Falls was stupid. “Almost done, kid?” Bobby asked. “Yeah, hang on.” Aaliyah pulled a post card out and handed over the dollar something it cost before leading the way back outside the shop. “Next stop, post office. Should get this a whole lot sooner than my birth certificate and social card. Cuz you know how the government takes forever on that.” “And that’s gonna be another day wasted,” Bobby half complained. “I’ll walk into town tomorrow for that,” Aaliyah told him as she climbed into the truck. “Not like…” she closed the door. “you’ve got calls to field back home.” Two minutes down the road and another three in the post office, Aaliyah was back in the truck with Bobby on the way back to Sioux Falls. For once in the years since she started hunting, and handling the odd monster that went bump in the night at the hospital, Aaliyah had the feeling things were finally getting sorted out for her and going right. *** Aaliyah took a deep breath and blinked her eyes open as the truck slowed coming off the main road. The five hour trip back from Keystone did her good even if her ribs still protested against heavy breathing still. The lights from the truck shown over the display of junk cars as Bobby turned into the drive that led up to the house, shining off a vehicle that hadn’t been there went they left. “What now?” Bobby asked out loud as he parked. Aaliyah climbed out of the truck before he could turn it off. Something didn’t sit right. The lights inside should have been one and Xander waiting with food. She glanced over to the Impala and went for the trunk. She managed to open it and took out a hand gun and a clip before easing it back closed. She caught Bobby’s questioning look and shrugged. He seemed to understand what she was doing. Aaliyah took the lead into the house even as Bobby came up behind her. The back door was left open, a sure sign of a break in or an intruder still present in the house. Aaliyah slipped in between the door and the frame even as she scanned the kitchen to clear it. Bobby’s footsteps followed her as Aaliyah turned for the living room, her eyes caught the shadowy outline of someone sitting in a chair in front of the desk. Gun raise in front of her, Aaliyah gestured with her head for Bobby to turn the light on. Blinded for a few seconds, Aaliyah saw Xander tied up in the chair and gagged. He moved wildly and tried to talk through the gag, gesturing further into the house. Aaliyah followed the motion upstairs, trying to stay on the edge of the stairs to avoid any noise that might alert anyone else in the house. She turned at the top of the stairs and looked down the hallway just as a large figure came into view. “You won’t use that,” a semi familiar voice told her. “Not on me.” “Wanna bet?” Aaliyah cocked the handgun, chambering a round. “One step toward me and you’ll be full of holes.” Why did she make that threat when she would be lucky to hit him once? “I do,” he said, taking up the offer. “Why else would you hold back from pulling that trigger?” “Because I wanna know why you’re here.” Aaliyah fought against her hand from shaking. Monsters she was starting to understand, but not people. “Surely you…” Aaliyah swore she went deaf from the gunshot. Flashes of memory from when she shot the skin changer two years past through her mind. Footsteps thudded up the stairs and a hand on her back reassured Aaliyah that there was someone else there to take control. Her mind came back around from the slight shock before she realized who Bobby was tending to. “…Off me,” the semi familiar voice shouted at Bobby. Aaliyah flicked on the hallway light to see Bobby struggling with a face she swore to herself to forget. “Leave him, Bobby,” she told him. “He doesn’t deserve to be treated. ‘Sides, didn’t he break in?” Bobby stopped moving and pulled away from the man, confirming to Aaliyah who he was. “Are you sure?” “Positive. Though I gotta ask, why would my father break in your place after all this time?” Aaliyah let the question linger as she turned and headed back downstairs. She saw Xander sitting quietly, still tied up, in the living room before he caught sight of her and thrashed about. Aaliyah walked over and managed to free him of both gag and rope. “We’re getting outta here. I don’t care about getting my license.” “But …” “I don’t care if it is him,” Aaliyah argued as she moved for her duffel bag, putting her things back into it. “I’m not gonna hear what he has to say now. Not after all these years. Don’t forget, he gave up on us.” “You think I did that?” Casey’s voice called from the bottom of the stairs. “That I gave up on you two?” “Why else would you have disappeared all those years ago?” Aaliyah refused to turn around and face her father. “Why make it appear you’ve done that on a hunt and not even given one ounce of crap about your two children? Hell, John was a better father than you, and he was right old asshole.” “Wait, John? Who’s this … John … Winchester? Don’t tell me you’ve…where the hell is he?” Casey started looking around the house for him. “I thought I saw his Impala outside all crushed up.” “Why do you care?” Xander questioned. “It seems to me that you’re more worried about him than you were of us.” “Lets just say there’s something he needs to know about his big game prize.” Casey shot a look out of a window. “You mean the yellow eyed demon,” Aaliyah shot, watching her father come up short. “Yeah, I know all about it. How it killed his wife and how he started hunting to track it down and kill it. How do you think I ended up here?” “You …” Casey moved toward Aaliyah even as she anchored herself in place. “You and the man from a couple years ago. I thought that was you, but wasn’t sure. Who was he, the guy with you?” “All of a sudden you’re playing the protective father?” Aaliyah crossed her arms. “Too little too late, Casey.” Her head turned to a side as her cheek started to sting. “Don’t you talk back to me,” Casey threatened. The sound of a shotgun being cocked echoed in the room. “You touch her again, and your head will be all over that all,” Bobby threatened. “Now, what do you know about the demon and John?” Casey turned his attention to Bobby holding a twelve gauge shotgun. “So, you’re playing father figure to my children now, is that it?” “Someone’s gotta. Those two, they’re good kids. A bit new to hunting, but they’re getting better. Now, what do you know?” Aaliyah watched her father give a half shrug. “Just that he lost his wife in a house fire and disappeared after that,” Casey started. “Started hunting with a four year old and a six month old son. Why any parent would do that…” “Don’t shove off what John did just because you did it too,” Xander cut in. “We were lucky to eat once a day as kids.” “And get jobs after school,” Aaliyah added. “We already know about what John was after. So, get the hell out. I’m tired of the family bull crap from you.” “I … I actually came here for help.” Casey’s shoulders dropped. “You were at the house, Aaliyah,” he turned to her. “The pictures. My … Your half siblings are missing.” “Probably ran away from home,” Xander hazard. “There wasn’t any reason for it,” Casey said. “Nissa was captain of the cheer squad and Leo was in the varsity football team.” “So, they’re the popular kids,” Aaliyah said. “From a good family, all that good blue collar crap and the two of us are from the other side of the tracks. Is that it? You want them found so you’re back in the good graces of society again?” “They’ve been missing for a year now,” Casey said. “Even the local cops have given up looking for them.” “Well, this is all fine and dandy,” Bobby said, putting the shotgun down. “But how the hell are we to give one crap about finding them?” “There’s been a string of disappearances,” Casey said, looking at Bobby. “I think they’re all related somehow.” Aaliyah glanced over to Xander, her stomach knotting on itself. It hadn’t been the first time she worked a case that involved missing people. Most times they had ended up dead anyway, but there had been those lucky few who had survived. “I don’t know, Liyra,” he told her. “Do you really wanna be going off looking for people we haven’t met?” “I’ve done less for those not related to me.” She shifted her eyes over to Bobby. “I’ll keep an eye out for your stuff in the mail,” he told her. “I think there’s one more vehicle that might survive the job. But…not now. Get started…” “Now,” Aaliyah said. “You.” She turned back to Casey. “I’m not doing this because of our relations. I’m doing this to save people.” “And hunting things,” Xander chimed in, a smirk pulled at his lips. “Family business,” Aaliyah finished. She pivoted and headed into the kitchen, pulling a beer from the fridge.

Chapter 14 Aaliyah noticed a tray of food on the roller table that came over the bed before turning her attention to the doctor from earlier. “Doc?” “I’ve talked it over with our specialists in neurosurgery, physical rehab, and neuropathy,” he said. “And they all agree to give you the chance to do a high level of physical rehab.” Aaliyah straightened in the chair at hearing the first good news of the day. “They did? What’s the catch?” “That you make no complaints about the work. There is the hope that your paralysis is just temporary like what we talked about before. And with the rehab plan being put in place, you will regain the use of your legs.” “When do I start?” “After you eat. I understand you’ve asked for a menu but haven’t ordered or ate.” Aaliyah looked down at her stomach. “Yeah, I guess.” She reached out for the bed in the effort to pull herself out of the chair and into a sitting position on the bed. Both the nurse and doctor rushed to help, but she held out a hand. “Let me do this. Even if the rehab doesn’t work, I need to do this.” She pulled herself onto her feet, using the bed as support and ever so slow brought one knee up onto the mattress, then the other. She wasn’t positive, but she swore she felt the cool tiles through the socks on her feet. The injured ribs protested her movements, but Aaliyah pushed through it as she settled enough on the bed to eat the food on the table. *** “That’s it, you’re doing great, Bri,” the rehab nurse told Aaliyah. “A few more steps then turn back around.” Aaliyah had a bit of guilt telling the nurse a fake name, but it felt safer than her real name. The nurse had her on the support bars that were up to aid in walking for the better part of an hour, and Aaliyah pushed past the pain of the lactic acid build up in her muscles and the cramp in her lower back. Her toes dragged with each step she took, but that drag lessened just enough for Aaliyah to notice with each pass on the bars. She turned around at the end and looked at the waiting wheelchair. With a grounding breath, Aaliyah started again. One toe dragged, then the next. She looked down when she didn’t feel the drag on a big toe half way down the bars. Her toe was a couple inches off the floor. “Wonderful, Bri,” the nurse said, clapping. “Now, don’t rush it, but see if you can do that again.” Aaliyah took a step with the one foot and eased the other up in the air and took another step. No dragging. She pushed down the urge to jump and cheer at her ability to not dragging her feet any more. It was too early to celebrate. “Great job, Bri,” the nurse said when Aaliyah got back down to the wheelchair. “That should be enough for today.” Aaliyah turned herself back around. “A little more.” “You don’t wanna over work yourself,” the nurse cautioned. “It’s nothing new.” Aaliyah put a bit more weight on her feet from her arms and moved to take a step. A breeze brushed by her, stopping her from moving forward. The sense of not overexerting herself passed through her. She pushed it away and went to step forward when the sensation came again. “On second thought, I think I’ll call it for the day.” She settled into the wheelchair and swore she caught an outline in one of the big mirrors on the wall as the nurse wheeled her out of the rehab room. “Is it possible to go see my brother?” “I don’t know.” “Please? I know he won’t know I’m there, but it makes me feel better. Besides, I’ll just go to his room when you leave anyway.” “Only if you go to your room and eat first,” the nurse offered up. “Don’t want you wasting away, do you?” “No, ma’am.” Aaliyah accepted the fact that the roles had been switched on her and she was now the patient. Aaliyah spotted a folded board on the bed table as the nurse wheeled her up to the bed. She pulled herself up to her feet and eased herself onto the bed, setting in before picking up the menu. Aaliyah made her dinner order and waited for the nurse to leave before opening the board and found a piece of paper tucked in it. “Dean’s here, as a spirit,” it read in Sam’s handwriting. “Hunting a reaper.” Aaliyah crumpled up the note and looked to the bathroom that was in the room. She debated on if it was worth it to walk over there with the wheelchair as support. Not when her thighs were having minor spasms from the past couple of hours in rehab. She tucked the note under her before opening up the board on the table. Ouija board. So that was how Sam was able to give her the note. Aaliyah put the pointer on the board and against her better judgement put her finger on it. “Dean, are you here?” she asked just loud enough for him to hear. Aaliyah watched the pointer, half expecting it not to move. Nothing seemed to work for her. She drew in a breath when the pointer moved to YES. “It’s good to hear you,” Aaliyah said. “Hunting a reaper, huh? A good place as any. Were you with me at rehab?” The pointer moved back to YES. “Shouldn’t you be after the reaper?” “Are they after you?” Aaliyah asked, hearing the worry in her voice. I think so, the pointer spelled out. I got this. Take care … you. The pointer stopped when Sam walked into the room. “You’re up,” he said. “A break from rehab,” Aaliyah said, folding the board up. “Dinner should be here soon enough. What’s up?” Sam walked over and sat on the edge of the mattress. “I’ve been looking in Dad’s journal, but there’s nothing in it about …” “Reapers,” Aaliyah finished. “I …” She reached for her duffel bag just out of her reach. “I’ve been so busy with my own thing…” She accepted her father’s journal from Sam and flipped through it for any sign of reapers before giving up. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’ve been…” “Hey, it’s okay,” he attempted to reassure her. “You just worry about getting better. I talked with Bobby, and he’s willing to let you stay with him for a while after you’re out.” “Remind me to thank him when I see him. Come on.” Aaliyah gestured to the wheelchair. “I wanna go see Dean.” “What about…” “Dinner? It can wait.” Aaliyah eased a foot down to the floor before shifting herself into the chair and pulling the other foot after her. She started to wheel herself when Sam started to push her. Aaliyah heard coughing from Dean’s room and took control of her chair. With a tight turn, she saw Dean struggling against the ventilator that had been inserted in his throat. “We need some help in here,” Sam called out. “Whoa, Dean, calm down,” Aaliyah told him. “It’ll be out in a minute. Just hang on.” She was pulled back from the bedside when the nurses rushed in to tend to Dean. Panic set in as she watched the team worked on removing certain items from Dean. Time slowed to minutes before the nurses finally cleared the room and Dean recovered, turning his attention to Sam and Aaliyah. “I’ll go get the doctor,” Sam said. Aaliyah nodded before she rolled back over to Dean. “Your throat’s gonna feel a little raw from the tube,” she told him. “How do you… Right, I forgot. Former nurse. What happened to you?” “I got pretty banged up in that crash,” Aaliyah said with half a smile. “Bruises, a rib or two cracked or broken. And right now, paralyzed from the waist down.” “Paralyzed?” Dean pushed himself up off the bed before Aaliyah put an arm out to stop him. “Don’t, Dean. I’m fine. I had rehab, and I’m gonna talk with the doc about using crutches once I get outta here.” Aaliyah heard footsteps enter the room. “I can’t explain it,” the doctor said, going through Dean’s charts. The contusions are healed, vitals are good. You have some sort of angel watching over you.” “Thanks, Doc,” Dean said. “I coulda told you that,” Aaliyah muttered under her breath. “So a Reaper was after you?” “Yeah,” Sam spoke up. “How’d I ditch it?” Aaliyah shrugged as Sam answered. “You remember anything?” Aaliyah asked. Dean shook his head. “No. But I got this pit in my stomach. Something’s not right.” Aaliyah turned when a knock announced John’s presence. “Dad. What’s up?” She frowned, not liking the expression on his face. “How you all feeling?” John asked. “Fine, I guess,” Dean answered. “Alive.” “That’s all that matters.” “Where were you last night?” Sam asked, anger in his voice. “I had some things to take care of.” “Here we go again,” Aaliyah said, rolling her eyes. “Can we not just for once?” “Did you go after the demon?” Sam questioned. “Can we not fight?” John pled. “Half the time I don’t even know what we’re fighting about. We’re just butting heads. I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve done the best I could do. I don’t wanna fight any more.” “Dad, are you alright?” Sam asked. “Yeah, just a little tired. Would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?” “Yeah, sure.” Sam looked over at Aaliyah before leaving the room. Aaliyah caught John’s glance over at her. “I got food waiting for me in my room, anyway.” She managed to get out into the hall and hovered just out of eye sight of Dean’s room. “You know when you were a kid and I came around after a hunt,” John said. “And you’d come up to me, put a hand on a shoulder and tell me it’s okay? Dean, I’m sorry.” “What?” Aaliyah frowned even as she heard the confusion in Dean’s voice. What was John getting at? “You shouldn’t have told me that,” John continued. “It shoulda been me telling you that. I put too much on your shoulders, making you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy and me. You did it with no complaints. I … I want you to know I’m proud of you.” This wasn’t the John that Aaliyah met a week and a half ago. What had gotten into him to be saying this to Dean? “This is really you talking?” Dean asked, voicing Aaliyah’s thoughts. “Yeah, it’s really me.” “Why are you saying all of this?” Aaliyah strained to hear John’s voice before hearing footsteps. She pushed off in a rush to avoid being caught eavesdropping. Her food was waiting for her on the bed table when Aaliyah rolled in. She adjusted the table down to where she could eat comfortably before reaching for the television remoted. Shouts from down the hall started just as Aaliyah took her first bite of food. One of the voices sounded like Sam’s. Daring to peek out from her room, she eased herself out into the hallway just as the nurses and doctors on call rushed for John’s room. Aaliyah rolled herself as fast as she could to the room just as Dean came up behind her. She could hear him pleading for John to pull through before a doctor stopped all attempts and called time of death. Aaliyah looked over at John’s body, willing him to show some sort of motion. The staff filed out of the room, leaving her and the brothers alone. With a sigh, she managed to turn around and retreated back to her room. The food that held some temptation fifteen minutes ago was no longer appealing. She hit the call button and waited for a nurse to show. “I wanna be discharged,” Aaliyah told the nurse. “I know it’s probably against doctor’s orders, but …” Her voice caught in her throat just as her cell rang. She debated on answering it until she saw Xander’s name on the display. “Hey, what’s up?” “I haven’t heard from you in a few days,” Xander commented. “Thought you said…” “Something happened and I hadn’t been able to talk until now.” “Aaliyah, you’re scaring me. What happened?” Worry seeped through the phone. “Aaliyah, please tell me this isn’t hunting related.” “I can’t really do that,” Aaliyah fidgeted in the chair. “Aaliyah?” Sam’s voice drifted into her room. “We’re gonna… Sorry.” Aaliyah glanced over her shoulder at Sam while she moved the cell from her. “It’s Xander. I’m just waiting for the doc to show up to give me discharge papers. What?” She put the phone back to her ear. “Boyfriend?” “No. It’s Sam, Dean’s brother. Hang on.” Aaliyah looked back over to Sam. “What’s up?” “Dean called Bobby, he’s gonna come get the two…three of us. That’s if you need a ride.” “Yeah, I think I do. Hey, Xander.” “Yeah, Lirya? This better be good.” “Can you meet us at Bobby’s? I’ll send you the address and explain what happened.” “It better not result in you being hurt in anyway.” “Injuries are gonna happen during hunts, Xander.” Aaliyah heard a sigh from her brother. “That’s what I don’t like about you hunting. But … I’ll be there. Love you, Ass Pain.” “Love you too, Ass Kicker.” Aaliyah hung up and sighed. Guilt started eating at her for not telling Xander how bad she was messed up from the crash. “Aaliyah,” Sam walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “You don’t…” “I gotta tell him. He’s the only family I got.” “Ms. McGillcutty?” the doctor called from the door. “I understand you wish to be discharged.” “I sure do, Doc. I get that it might be against your better judgement…” “I don’t see why you can’t be,” he cut in. “Aside from the rehab, there’s really nothing we can do. The bruises and cracked ribs are just going to have to heal on their own. I’ve got the papers all set here. And if you just sign these few papers, you’ll be set.” Aaliyah picked up the pen and signed the papers before making them all neat. “One question…” “Crutches are right here.” The doctor took the plastic wrapped crutches in his hand and held it up for Aaliyah to see. “If you want…” “I wanna try walking out.” Aaliyah scarfed at her food in the attempt to eat as the doctor pulled the plastic off the crutches. “First, I wanna get dressed.” Sam rifled through her things and pulled out some clean clothes. The doctor ducked out to give Aaliyah some privacy to get dressed. “You don’t have to stay,” Aaliyah told Sam. “I’m …” “Too stubborn to ask for help,” he finished. “You’re a bit like Dean.” “I am not…” Aaliyah popped her head up through the shirt collar. “Like Dean. I’m just … wanting to do things on my own.” She eased one leg than the other into her pants and secured them before nodding to Sam. Her shoes were just within eye sight, but decided against them. The doctor stood before Aaliyah and held the crutches in a way so she could grab hold and pull herself up to her feet. She waved off Sam’s attempt to help her as the doctor held out the crutches. She wavered a little on her feet, the slight fear of falling flat on her face crept through before she got the crutches comfortably under her armpits. “Now, just slow and steady down the hall,” the doctor instructed as Sam grabbed Aaliyah’s things. “Go ahead and follow after her with it.” Aaliyah slid her feet along the tile, using the crutches more for support in her attempt to walk. She hadn’t really taken the time to focus on to walk before, just one of those things one learned when they were a toddler. She mentally started walking herself through taking a few steps. One foot up a few inches off the floor, reach out a little, heel down first, then roll just enough to the ball of the foot. Now the same with the other foot. Aaliyah focused on lifting each foot those few inches and rolling the foot from heel to toe all the way to the elevator. Her leg muscles screamed in protest and the wheelchair behind her was a looming temptation. She forced herself onto the elevator car then outside where a beat up looking pick up truck waited by the doors and Bobby coming around the front of it. “Damn, girl,” he greeted. “You’re all sorts of messed up.” “Yeah, I know.” Aaliyah worked her way over to the open door and propped the crutches against the truck. She held herself up between the seat and the door, and with a deep breath to brace against the looming pain, Aaliyah lifted one leg up she hoped high enough to get into the truck. Beside her, Bobby moved to help, but with a cough from Sam, he stopped. Aaliyah bounced a little on the foot that was still on the ground before pushing off and into the truck. She tasted blood on her tongue from biting her lip through the pain of the ribs and still swollen knee. Aaliyah put a hand up behind her, stopping any help. She grabbed her other leg by the pant leg and pulled it into the truck before reaching for the seat belt. Sam and Dean climbed into the back as Bobby looped back around to the driver’s side. *** Aaliyah eased into the kitchen as the brothers shared a look as if they were in a silent debate. After the past two weeks, Bobby’s home had that sense of warmth and welcome most hunters didn’t get. “Aaliyah, go ahead and take the couch,” Sam said. “We’ll take the bedroom upstairs.” “You sure? It’s not like I need the workout up and down the stairs.” There it was, the hand out, the sympathy. “Just take the couch, will ya?” Dean half snapped. “Sorry, Aaliyah. It’s been a tough few days.” “Yeah, tell me about it,” Aaliyah said, her voice drifting off. “Hey, Bobby.” She shuffled into the living room. “My brother’s supposed to be stopping by.” “A civie? What do you expect…” “He knows I’ve been hunting,” Aaliyah cut in. “We … We learned a couple years ago that our dad hunted after a djinn took and killed our mom.” “Whatever you say, kid.” Aaliyah eased herself down onto the couch, closing her eyes as she leaned back. She could hear the voices of Bobby and the boys drift in from a different room. Bobby argued against her staying even for the night. Why was he against her staying when he helped just days ago with Meg? Aaliyah heard a car approaching the house before the voices from the other room went completely quiet. A house door opened and someone stepped out. “I want to see her,” a voice shouted from outside. “You can’t…” “Stop you? This is my house, boy,” Bobby’s voice cut in. “Bobby,” Aaliyah called out. She struggled to get to her feet, using the crutches to shuffle over to the open door. “Just a minute ago you weren’t willing to let me stay, now you’re trying to protect me.” “That’s not …” “I’m not stupid, Bobby.” Aaliyah turned her attention to the person Bobby was blocking to see Xander. “Hey, Xander. Meet Bobby. Bobby, this is my brother, Xander.” The uneasy feeling the two of them were sizing each other up passed through her mind. Bobby turned back into the house with a muttering about something. “Okay, spill,” Xander asked as he stepped inside. “Clearly you’re more hurt than you can play off.” “You saw a crushed up Impala out there?” Aaliyah asked with a nod from her brother. “That’s the result of a semi t-boning it. The driver was possessed by a demon that tried to kill us.” “And your injuries?” Aaliyah slid a foot across the floor. “Bruises, a couple bad ribs, and a spinal injury that I may not recover from.” “But you’re walking.” Xander’s face contorted just enough in confusion. “Full of determination,” Bobby chimed in. “Docs said the likelihood of her fully regaining the use of her legs is small.” “And I’m gonna prove them wrong,” Aaliyah stated. “Just you watch.” She shuffled back into the living room. “Now you’re really starting to worry me, Lirya,” Xander said. “What exactly happened? And start from beginning.” Aaliyah sighed as she regained the couch. “Well … Dean had called asking for help looking for his dad. And I agreed.” “And what about the hospital?” Aaliyah shook her head. She heard worry in Xander’s voice. “They let me go before I got that call. The higher ups didn’t like how I did things. The guys picked me up there at the hospital and made good time picking up John’s trail. He really didn’t like me being there…” “But he accepted you,” Sam added in. “It was that or I went my own way,” Aaliyah said. “I think he was impressed at the end there.” “Where’s he?” Xander asked. “John? I’d like to …” “He … um … died,” Aaliyah dropped her voice. “Not sure of what. His injuries weren’t that serious. It was Dean I was worried about.” There was no way John could have died of a minor leg wound and whatever he had from the crash. “You’re skipping details,” Xander pointed out. “What are you leaving out?” “We found the demon that killed Sam and Dean’s mom. It had possessed John and started to kill Dean before Sam shot his leg with this gun.” “A colt,” Sam added. Xander rubbed his forehead. “And I thought I heard everything. What did the demon do you, Aaliyah? And what’s so special about this colt?” Aaliyah glanced over to Sam and received a nod. “Nothing, just let me hang there while he focused more on the guys. As for the Colt … Way back when in during the frontier years, Samuel Colt made a gun – the Colt – and special bullets that only worked with the gun. It’s been rumored that the Colt can kill just about everything; save for a few things.” “You’ve gone crazy.” Xander moved for the door. “I don’t know why I didn’t try harder to stop you from hunting.” “Like you’ve stopped since we parted ways,” Aaliyah called after him. “Don’t play stupid with me; I’ve heard stories of someone matching your description hunting.” Aaliyah stared her brother down. “So, don’t lecture me about hunting and the inherent risks of it. I have that proof on my body as scars.” “She’s got a point,” Bobby jumped in. “From what I hear, your sister kicks ass as a hunter.” “I had help along the way,” Aaliyah brushed off. “Not like I did half of it alone.” “Not from what I heard,” Bobby countered. “You got guts leaving a quiet life on a wild goose chase. And that’s after dealing with the people that went through your hospital. And the hunts you went on in college.” Aaliyah shot a glare over to Dean, who had a beer in a hand. “What?” he asked, opening the beer with a shrug. “He’s right. You kicked ass.” Aaliyah pressed her lips in an attempt to stop a smile. “Well, I need to rest up if I’m gonna get back out there to kick ass.” She managed to reach the couch and planted herself on it. “If you’re gonna be camping out, might as well read up on some lore,” Bobby told her, pulling a book off the desk and handed it to her. “You’re good with shooting guns, not so much lore.” Aaliyah accepted the book with a sigh as Xander sat down next to her. She heard Bobby talking with Sam and Dean in the kitchen before they disappeared. “I’m sorry I didn’t call before,” she told her brother. “The past few days had been a clusterfuck. Between dealing with demons and trying to find their dad … Facing the yellow eyed demon scared the crap outta me.” “Yellow eyed demon? There’s more to the story.” “Yeah, so much.” Aaliyah opened the book and flipped through the pages. “It’s the one who killed Sam and Dean’s mom. It had possessed John – their dad – a few days ago and had tried to get Sam to kill him through John. It disappeared after nearly killing Dean and getting shot in the leg.” “What about your…” “Injuries? Car got t-boned by a semi. I was dealing with Dean when it happened. Shows me that I can’t be kneeling in the back seat with a leg out to brace myself.” Aaliyah stopped at a page that depicted a representation of an angel and what lore the book held on the same page. “Tell me I did the right thing in trying to help the Winchesters,” she asked Xander. “That I didn’t fuck up by getting involved.” “I think you did good,” he assured her. “Who knows what might have happened if you weren’t there.” Xander pushed himself off the couch and wandered somewhere in the house, leaving Aaliyah on the couch. She stared at the page with angel lore, the feeling that some…thing had been there in the house where the yellow eyed demon revealed itself. There was no way that angels existed. If there were, why were they hiding? Aaliyah put the crutches on the floor before shifting and stretching out on the couch, nesting the book in her lap. The lamp behind her turned on at one point during her reading, and a small pile of books sat within reach had started soon after that. “Nah, let her sleep,” Bobby’s voice drifted into Aaliyah’s dream. “After what she’s been through, she needs it.” “We’ve done hunts on less sleep,” Dean half argued. “But your body’s not trying to repair itself after getting into a serious crash.” Aaliyah shifted just enough to feel a weight on her body and something soft under her head. When exactly did she fall asleep last night? The last thing she remembered was reading the Book of Keys that they used against Meg. Footsteps reached her ears before a door opened then closed. Daring to open her eyes, Aaliyah found a blanket on her and an out of focus pillow under her head. She used the couch to curl her legs up and closed her eyes in an attempt to fall back to sleep. The sound of bacon cooking in its own grease soon hit Aaliyah’s ears before easy going Saturday morning music started up. Sleep slipped once more out of her reach, and Aaliyah finally gave up. “Is that breakfast I hear cooking?” she called out as she turned over, fighting her legs to move. “Look who finally decided to wake up,” Xander’s voice called out. “Hush, you.” Aaliyah struggled to sit up and braced herself against the armrest of the couch, the book she had been sandwiched between her and the back of the couch. “Yeah, it’s breakfast,” Sam answered. “Bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, and sausage. Want a plate?” “Make it two,” Aaliyah said over her growling stomach. “I can’t remember the last time I ate.” “Don’t go overboard,” Bobby told her. “Your body will go into shock from too much food.” “Yeah, I know.” She pulled the book out between her and the couch and attempted to smooth out the pages. “Not my first time going without food for a while.” Sam walked in with a plate loaded with food and a tall glass of milk. “Let me know if you want more.” “Thanks, Sam.” Aaliyah accepted the plate and silverware as he put the glass of milk on the floor within reach. “Where’s Dean?” “Out working on the Impala,” Xander answered. “How the hell the three of you survived that is beyond me.” Aaliyah took a bite of the sausage, unsure how to respond. She had seen bits and pieces of the car when the EMTs and other rescue crews pulled her from the wreck. How she survived was just part of the question. The main part was how did Dean pull a full recovery when he was basically at death’s door. “Hey, Bobby,” she called out. “What’s the possibility of someone making a deal with a demon to ensure the survival of someone else?” “Low,” he answered as he came downstairs. “Usually deals done with demons are done for personal gain. What’s in your head, kid?” Aaliyah sensed Xander’s attention shift from his own breakfast to her and rolled her shoulders to free herself from her turning stomach. “I …” She lowered her voice so Sam couldn’t hear from the kitchen. “I think John made a deal with the yellow eyed demon.” Xander half choked on his bite of food before swallowing. “You’re joking, right?” “Why else would Dean have fully recovered from his injuries without any known reason?” Aaliyah waved her fork around with a bite of egg on the end of it. “Or that John had died soon after? What normal parent wouldn’t give themselves for their kid?” She put the fork in her mouth then pulled it out, leaving the egg in her mouth. Xander shrugged. “Wrong person to be asking those questions, sis.” He finished off his food and worked himself off the couch. Aaliyah pulled a leg in toward her and balanced the plate of food on it before reaching for the milk. She thought back on the short time she had been with John and the boys. In that whole time, they had been worried about getting the Colt and killing the Yellow Eyed Demon in an act of revenge. But was it really worth it in the end? John was dead, Aaliyah believed he made a deal with the demon to save Dean’s life at the cost of his own and the Colt. So they were all back to the point when Aaliyah got the call from Dean nearly a week ago. Or was it two? The time between leaving the hospital with the brothers and arriving at Bobby’s all blended together. “Hey, Bobby,” she called out, cheeking the bite of food in her mouth. “How long were the three of us out there looking for John and the Colt?” “Oh … about a week and a half,” the seasoned hunter answered. “Why?” She shrugged. “It all seems a bit of a blur to me. All that happened is a mess of events I’m still trying to piece together.” Bobby walked into the room with Aaliyah’s duffel bag before pulling out her journal. “I hope you don’t mind I went through it,” he said, handing the book to her. “From what I read, you’ve got a knack of surviving.” Aaliyah accepted her journal. “Thanks, Bobby.” She flipped through the pages to her last entry that told what happened with the nest of vampires. “Geez, that was a week ago?” “What was a week ago?” Xander asked, coming back into the room. “Dealing with a nest of vampires to get the Colt,” Aaliyah answered. “Then John being taken was a couple days after that, and getting him back about a day or two after that.” “Then the demon revealing himself,” Xander finished off with a nod from Aaliyah. “How the hell did you survive?” “How the hell do you expect me to answer that? Like you’d believe me if I say I got angels looking over me.” Aaliyah took another bite of food before searching through her duffel for the pen she kept with her journal. “I shoulda been dead when I went up against that werewolf. Or turned into one.” She found the pen and dated a new page before finishing off her food. The plate disappeared from her lap as she adjusted the journal and started to recap the events after the issue with the vampires. The same plate reappeared out of the corner of her eye before being put on the floor. The house grew quiet after a while with the exception of the music playing and Aaliyah’s pen scratching at the paper. Aaliyah finally stopped writing and rolled her back over the arm rest in her effort to stretch out. With a glance around the room, she noticed that the sun’s angle had changed. She looked down to see the plate of food still there on the floor, now gone cold, and the milk that had most likely gone bad. Closing the journal, Aaliyah put it on the small table behind her and shifted across the couch in the hope of getting to her feet. With crutches in hand, she got her feet in a comfortable spot to push herself up. On the count of three, she stumbled across the floor in a few steps before stabilizing herself on the crutches; the feeling of pins and needles shot through her feet. Aaliyah took it as a good sign that she was slowly regaining the use of her legs. “Where are you going in a hurry?” Xander asked as he came in from outside. “The bathroom,” Aaliyah called over her shoulder, swinging herself on the crutches. “Can’t remember the last time I peed. Oh, bring my duffel please? I think I need a shower.”

Chapter 13 Aaliyah could hear “Bad Moon Rising” from the radio. Was she dead? No, not dead. She had just gone unconscious from the impact. From what? She shifted. Bad idea, very bad idea. In the front seat, Aaliyah heard Sam’s voice call out for Dean, who didn’t respond. Her mind panicked as she forced herself through the body crippling pain. Bones felt like they were broken, rib cracked, was that a dislocated hip? Something was dislocated. Finally, Aaliyah opened her eyes and saw Dean unconscious and still losing blood. “Aaliyah?” One word from Sam. A question. “I’m … alive. Battered, bruised, and feel like death,” she replied, breath ragged. Yeah, there was a broken rib or two. “Dean’s out cold, and I don’t know if he’s gonna survive the night. How’s your Dad?” “Unconscious.” Aaliyah shifted, biting her lip enough to bleed. “We gotta stay awake,” she told Sam. “The risk of us both having concussions is too high.” Her mind scrambled in the attempt of finding something for the both of them to talk about. “How you do feel about talking about Jess? Is what the demon said true, you were planning on asking her to…” “Yeah, I was.” Sam’s voice was too quiet for Aaliyah’s liking. Either he didn’t want to talk about it or he was slipping. “I woulda liked to have met her,” Aaliyah said in the attempt to stir the conversation away from the demon and back to Jess. “She woulda liked you,” Sam commented. “Aside from the whole hunting part.” Aaliyah chuckled for a few seconds before a shot of pain ripped through her chest. Yeah, definitely a broken rib or two. “Sam … I … I’m sorry. I was supposed to have helped on this…” “You did.” Aaliyah’s stomach dropped when Sam drifted off. “Sam? Sam!” She called his name until her throat was raw. “Come on, Sammy,” Aaliyah pled, her voice above a whisper. “Don’t leave me here alone.” Tears threatened to fall. “I don’t wanna die alone.” Her consciousness drifted in and out as her mind and body went into life saving mode. A sound slipped into Aaliyah’s consciousness, bringing her back around. It was familiar, from before the hunt. Hospital. ER. Helicopter. Yeah, that was it. Voices shouted over the sound of the helicopter’s engine. Quick but gentle hands eased Aaliyah out of the back of the Impala and onto a stretcher. The voices of the EMTs called out the obvious injures she had and knew about. Sam’s voice filtered over to her as he called out, asking about John and Dean. Then he called out about her. “I’m fine,” Aaliyah shouted. “I’ll see you at the hospital.” She fought against the urge to panic as she was loaded into an ambulance. The EMTs went to work sticking Aaliyah with IV lines and sticking electrodes on her chest. She tried to remember all the injures they listened off. Bruises on several parts of her body, not surprised. What seemed to be either broken or cracked ribs. Again, that wasn’t a surprise to her. A dislocated knee that would be painful to fix. So that explained why Aaliyah hadn’t been able to fully move her leg during the night. And one EMT wasn’t positive about a back injury. Panic hit then. Aaliyah squeezed her eyes closed in her fight against tears. A few rolled down the side of her head even as the ambulance pulled up to the emergency room door and the nurses rushed out to greet them. The organized chaos that Aaliyah had been in only a few days ago seemed so … confusing. Her mind had been in hunter mode ever since Dean and Sam picked her up and struggled to make the change over to her nursing mode. A nurse inserted something in her IV line a minute before she sensed six people pressing her body down and one person holding her leg. Aaliyah heard the silence between the team members right before the one who held her leg pulled it. Her throat went raw when a scream of absolute pain shot from her mouth. “Aaliyah!” came a scream of concern. “Sammy!” Aaliyah fought against the nurses that held her down. “Talk to me. Sammy.” The dam that she had worked on to keep her emotions back finally broke and the tears started full force. “…CT and MRI of her back …” the attending doctor’s voice drifted into Aaliyah’s attention span. Aaliyah blinked away the tears. Flashes of what was wrong with her back ran through her mind. Paralyzed from the waist down. Lack of motion in her legs. Nerve damage. Anything could be wrong with her. The gurney Aaliyah was on was rolled out of the ER bay and down the halls to where the CT and MRI scans would take place. She fought against falling unconscious again even at the nurse and technician took her into the room and helped her onto the bed for the first of two scans. The nurse tucked the saline bag under Aaliyah’s hand before stepping away from the bed. The slab moved Aaliyah into the tube. She closed her eyes, the odd sense of feeling safe enough she didn’t have to fight or be in a constant state of fear from a demon attack. She stared up at the tube as the slab stopped. The thought that her head was being scanned as well passed through her head. It did make sense in away since John and Dean were unconscious for the whole time. The slab moved again and Aaliyah went deeper for her back to be scanned. She attempted to move her feet, even wiggle a toe. “Please don’t move, ma’am,” a voice requested over the speaker. The tests finished up and Aaliyah was helped off the slab and into a waiting wheelchair. “Where are the others that were in the car with me?” Aaliyah asked the nurse pushing the wheelchair. “The older of the three men is in a private room,” the nurse answered. “One of the two brothers is still unconscious and in ICU.” “And the other brother?” “Minor injuries. He was released some time ago.” “If you see him, can you have him come to whatever room I’m…” Aaliyah trailed off as the nurse parked her in a spot in the hallway before walking off. “Hey, don’t leave me here.” Left on her own, Aaliyah stared down at her feet, shoes lost back in the ER. She stared at her big toes and willed them to move. Nearly three years of hunting were not about to end because she had gotten injured in a car crash against a semi truck driven by a demon. Aaliyah glared down and mentally told her feet to move, looking for any sign that the signal from her brain was reaching her feet. Nothing moved. She willed her foot to slid off the front of the foot rest. She was willing to settle for any movement from her feet. No movement. The nurse that had left Aaliyah came back without a word. “Thanks for leaving me,” Aaliyah snapped. The nurse didn’t respond as they rolled Aaliyah down the hall before turning into a room. “Aaliyah.” Surprise sounded in Sam’s voice. “Thank you, nurse,” John said, a dismissal tone in his voice. “Are you okay?” he asked Aaliyah once the nurse left the room. “Bruised, a few ribs are either broken or cracked, a knee sore and swollen from being dislocated,” Aaliyah listed off. “And I’m pretty sure I’m paralyzed from the waist down.” “Aaliyah, I’m sorry …” Sam started, stopping when Aaliyah held up a hand. “Don’t. You’ve hunted your whole life,” Aaliyah said. “I’ve gotten lucky. I … I’ve accepted the fact I may not walk again.” She watched John struggle to pull out his wallet before handing a card to Sam. “Give ‘em this insurance,” John told his son. “Elroy McGillcutty?” Sam read. “And his two loving sons and …” John glanced over to Aaliyah. “Beautiful daughter.” Aaliyah shifted a little, the acceptance from John a bit unnerving. Either he actually accepted her as an able-bodied hunter – until now – or he saw her as a member of the family. “So, what did the doctors say about Dean?” “Nothing,” Sam answered. “They won’t do anything, we will. I’ll go find a hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him.” “We’ll look for one,” John seemed to agree. “We found that faith healer,” Sam countered. “And that was one in a million,” John pointed out. “So, we just sit here with our thumbs up our asses?” Aaliyah jabbed, leaning forward in the wheelchair. “No,” John turned to her, anger rising a beat in his voice. “I said we’ll look. Alright?” He turned between the two. “Where’s the Colt?” “Your son’s dying and you’re worried about the Colt?” Aaliyah raised her voice. “We’re hunting this demon,” John reminded her. “And maybe it’s hunting us. That gun’s our only card.” “It’s in the trunk,” Sam cut in. “They dragged it to a yard off I-83. I already called Bobby, and he’s an hour out. He’s gonna tow it back to his place.” “Alright,” John accepted. “You go meet up with Bobby, get the Colt, and watch out for hospital security.” “I think I got it covered.” Sam started for the door, giving Aaliyah a reassuring shoulder pat. “Sam.” John held up a piece of paper. “Here, I made a list of things I need. Have Bobby pick it up.” Sam took it and read off the items. “Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What's this stuff for?” “Protection.” Sam turned for the door before turning back. “Hey, Dad. The demon said he had something special for me and those like me. Do you have any idea what it was talking about?” “No, I don’t.” Sam turned and left the room, leaving Aaliyah alone with John. “What’s going on in that head of yours, John?” Aaliyah wondered out loud. “Finishing the job.” “At what cost? Dean’s life? My legs? When does it stop, John?” Aaliyah waited for an answer before turning the wheelchair around. “Let me know when you can answer that?” She managed to get through the door, a shiver running down her spine. “What’s up with the cold air around here?” Aaliyah worked to gain some control over the bulky hospital issue wheelchair by the time she reached the nurses’ station. “Sorry, to interrupt,” she cut in, trying to do her best version of Dean’s charm. “But I never got a room.” The nearest nurse turned to the computer. “Name?” Aaliyah leaned forward, giving the nurse what she hoped was a flirty smile. “McGillcuttry.” The nurse returned the smile and turned back to the computer. A few keystrokes and mouse clicks happened before she turned back to Aaliyah. “Room 254.” “Thank you …” Aaliyah caught the nurse’s name. “Madison.” She winked at Madison before managing to wheel back from the station. “Hang on, Ms. McGillcuttry,” Madison told Aaliyah. “Let me help you.” Aaliyah stopped and smiled to herself as Madison pushed the wheelchair. “How soon will the doc come around with the test results?” “By the end of the day,” Madison told her as they turned into Aaliyah’s room. “Do you want anything?” Aaliyah eyed the bed set at a height just too high for her to transfer herself as her stomach growled. “A menu would be nice. Thank you, Madison.” Aaliyah waited a few minutes before wheeling herself out and to the elevator bay. She cued the car for the ICU floor and tapped an index finger on the armrest. None of the staff on the floor questioned Aaliyah’s presence as she wheeled herself around looking for Dean’s room. “Can I help you?” a nurse called over to Aaliyah. “Yeah, I’m looking for my brother’s room. Came in about the same time I did, bad car crash.” “Room 423.” Aaliyah rolled into the room to see Dean hooked up to a ventilator and other machines. The wounds he had were stitched up and the blood washed off. If it hadn’t been the constant beeping and slight wheezing of the machines, Aaliyah swore Dean was sleeping. “Hey, Dean,” she spoke, her voice just above a whisper. “This may sound stupid, maybe not given what we do, but I know you’re still here. It’s a feeling I have, and I can’t explain it. Just … don’t give up on us.” “There you are, Ms. McGillcuttry,” Madison’s voice sounded behind Aaliyah. “I wondered…” “I wanted to see how my brother was doing,” Aaliyah said, spinning herself around. “I wasn’t told I couldn’t be up here.” “You can visit later,” Madison said. “The doctor’s ready to talk with you. And I’ve got that menu for you.” She stepped around Aaliyah and pushed her back to the elevator. Aaliyah sunk into the chair as the elevator doors closed behind them. The whole thing was out of her hands and there wasn’t much she could do. For the first time since she had the call from Dean back in Michigan, Aaliyah was completely useless. Back in her room, Aaliyah saw the doctor standing in front of the lit light board that held the results of her CT and MRI scans. “Ms. McGillcuttry,” the doctor spoke, turning around. “You got very lucky. I don’t know how it happened, but your spine should have been severed.” “Give it to me straight, Doc,” Aaliyah cut in. “How long am I going to be stuck in a wheelchair.” “That’s it, from what we’ve seen, your paralysis is a temporary thing,” he answered. “To answer you question, it could be a few days, or a few months. We can schedule you for physical rehab to help your body…” Aaliyah waved her hand. “No, no rehab. I can do it on my own. Just … give me a pair of crutches and I’ll do it.” “I would advise against it.” She heard that before back in Michigan when a drunk wanted to leave. Most times they passed out before they got out the door. “I know you guys can’t stop me from doing anything unless you believe I’m mentally unstable. Even then, it’s a seventy two hour hold. So, unless there’s something more serious wrong with me…” The doctor shook his head. “A couple ribs are either broken or cracked, nothing we can do about those. Serious bruising that’ll just take time to heal. Your serious injury is your lower back.” “Thanks, Doc.” Aaliyah’s voice went quiet. Temporary paralysis, it didn’t sound that bad. But given what line of work she had gotten into recently, Aaliyah wasn’t sure it was good either. The doctor and Madison saw themselves from the room as Aaliyah lowered the bed down as low as it went. She stared at it in the partial attempt of trying to figure out how to get herself up. She put both feet on the floor and with a deep breath, Aaliyah put both hands on the mattress and half pulled, half pushed herself to her feet. She expected to feel some of the cool tiles under her feet even through the socks, but there was nothing. Her feet were numb. Only thing that held her up was her weight against the bed. Aaliyah fell to the floor as she released her weight from the bed. She couldn’t do this. There was no way she could. Curling up in a ball on the floor, Aaliyah stifled her crying, embarrassed she couldn’t even manage the simple task of getting onto a bed. “Aaliyah? Aaliyah, what are you doing?” She felt a touch on an arm after hearing a thump on the floor behind her. Turning her head, Aaliyah could make out Sam above her through the tears in her eyes. “I … I can’t… I tried.” “You shoulda called.” Sam adjusted his body and offered a hand. “You know I’ll help.” “I shouldn’t have to.” Aaliyah tightened herself into a ball. “I don’t wanna be a burden.” “God, Aaliyah. After all that you did since we met, you honestly think you’re a burden?” “Why not? I mean, before the crash, I was hardly a hunter. Even …” She caught herself when John’s name hit the tip of her tongue. “Even Dad questioned my … skills in the family business.” Aaliyah refused to look at Sam when she felt a hand on her arm. “If he seriously questioned your skills, do you honestly think he would have let you stay and help?” Sam questioned. “Sure, Dad liked to keep his distance from other hunters, but for some reason he let you in. He and I don’t really see eye to eye, but there’s something about you. Dean told me about the college werewolf, and how you were back to class the next day and out running again in two weeks. That doesn’t sound like someone who’s willing to call it quits because you’re stuck in a wheelchair for a short time.” Aaliyah laid there, the want to just give up and accept the fact she would be stuck unable to walk for the rest of her life just oozing through her body. But Sam did have a point. She hadn’t given up when faced with the werewolf or when she pushed through the pain and went back to class. She shifted so she could look up at Sam. “You think that?” A smile pulled at Sam’s mouth. “I know so. Now, are you just going to lay there, or are you gonna get up?” He offered a hand to help. “Let me try first.” Aaliyah pushed herself up while using the bed as a support. Her face pulled into a wince when her body protested her movements as she managed to get to her knees. Aaliyah put her arms across the mattress and waited to catch her breath. Her ribs contested her movement when she focused on shifting one leg under her. Aaliyah wasn’t sure if it was the lack of feeling in her legs or her mind playing tricks on her when she brought her other leg under her. She closed her eyes and with a mental count to three, she pushed herself up and onto the bed with her arms. She laid across the mattress, ribs crying out in pain as she regained her breath again. Aaliyah worked herself around to sit comfortably in the bed before daring to look at Sam to see a tease of a smile. “I knew you could do it,” he told her. “I’ve got a few things to do, but I’ll send the nurse back in.” He turned for the door. “Hey, Sam?” Aaliyah called after him. “Did you grab my things from the car earlier?” He reached around the corner and picked something up off the floor in the hallway before revealing a duffel bag. “I packed a couple changes of clothes, the two journals, a couple lore books from Bobby, and some basic hygiene stuff. Bobby’s suggestion. He also suggested make up…” “But you know nothing about it. Don’t worry about, Sam.” Aaliyah accepted the duffel from him. “There’s no really here I need to make myself look cute for.” She glanced around the room and found the menu Madison promised on the bed table as Sam saw himself from the room. A few minutes later, Aaliyah swore she heard yelling from down the hall. Grumbling to herself, Aaliyah worked herself off the bed with a bit more success than before. She wheeled herself out of the room even before she got settled and raced around to John’s room. “It’s the same selfish obsession,” Sam yelled. “Come on, guys,” Aaliyah shouted. “Don’t do this.” She narrowed her eyes, as if there was someone else there who spoke with her. “I thought it was yours as well,” John said. “This demon killed your mother and your girlfriend. You begged me to be part of the hunt. If you had killed it when you had the chance…” “It was possessing you, Dad,” Sam countered. “I would have killed you.” “Yeah, and your brother would be awake and your sister would be able to walk.” “Shut up, guys,” Aaliyah cut in, pushing herself into the room. “Go to hell,” Sam cursed at his father. “I should never have taken you along,” John told Sam. “I knew it was a mistake. I knew …” The glass of water on the bed table went flying to the floor. Aaliyah shared a look between John and Sam before noise happened out in the hallway. She chased after Sam when he ducked out to find the source of the noise. He stopped at the door that led into Dean’s room where nurses and doctors were attempting to revive him. Aaliyah’s stomach dropped as the team fought to save Dean. Guilt seeped in when the nurse side of her mind warred with her hunter side when she wanted to help. Finally, a nurse announced there was a pulse and the team settled back. Aaliyah glanced around when a shiver went down her back. She swore she heard a faint whisper of ‘don’t worry…’ “Come on, Sam,” she told him. “Let’s get back to Dad.” Aaliyah maneuvered herself around and down the hall to John’s room. “I swear I felt something back there,” she mentioned when she rolled into the room. “What do you mean ‘you felt something’?” John questioned, anger rising in his voice. “Meaning it felt like Dean,” Aaliyah told him, trying to keep her voice calm. “Like he was just outta eyesight. You think it’s possible?” She glanced between John and Sam. “Think his spirit’s still here?” “Anything’s possible,” the anger in John’s voice disappeared. “Well, there’s one way to find out,” Sam said before turning for the door. “Wait, where you going?” Aaliyah asked, spinning to track Sam. “To pick something up.” “Sam, wait,” John called. “I promise I won’t hunt the demon. Not until I know Dean’s okay.” Aaliyah held in a noise that would have sounded her disbelief before she started for the door. “Aaliyah, wait a sec,” John requested. She stopped and turned back to face him. “What’s up?” “I want to apologize.” “Wait, hang on. I wanna record this.” Aaliyah padded her body down in her bad attempt of making a joke. “Aaliyah, please. I remember you from college and taking out that werewolf.” John glanced to the hallway. “How you were nearly killed by it. When I saw you outside the post office … There was something about you. Like you’ve taken to hunting in a way I hadn’t thought you would.” “Ms. McGullcuttry?” a nurse asked from the door way. “The doctor would like a word with you.”

Chapter 12 Aaliyah reached over the sink and poured a line of salt on the window still. Recruited by Bobby to help in putting salt in front of the windows and doors of the house. “Done down here,” she called up the stairs as Bobby came down. “Good.” He started into the living room. “If there’s any demons out there, they’re not getting in.” Aaliyah nodded as Dean circled around them and Sam to stand in front of Meg. “Where’s our father, Meg?” he asked. “You didn’t ask nice?” she replied. “Where’s our father, bitch,” Dean corrected. “You kiss your mother with that mouth,” Meg taunted. “Oh, right. I forgot….” Dean lunged at her, his weight on the chair arms. “You think this is a game?” he yelled. “Where is he and what did you do to him?” “He died. Screaming,” Meg told him. “I killed him myself.” Aaliyah stepped forward when Dean slapped Meg. “That’s kinda of a turn on,” the demon told Dean. “You hitting a girl.” “Dean,” Aaliyah spoke. “You’re no girl,” Dean told her as he turned away. “You okay?” Sam asked. “She’s lying,” Dean replied. “He’s not dead.” “You gotta be careful with her,” Bobby told him. “Why?” Dean frowned in confusion. “Because that is actually a girl, that’s why,” Bobby pointed out. “What are you talking about?” Dean asked. “She’s possessed.” Bobby turned his attention between the three of them. “That’s a human possessed by a demon. Can’t you tell?” Aaliyah turned her attention back to Meg before back to the brothers. “You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” She joined Sam in rifling through books before finding something that caught her attention. She showed Sam and Dean, who gave her looks of approval. “Are you going to read me a story?” Meg asked as Aaliyah circled around her. “Something like that,” Dean said with a gesture to Aaliyah. “Regina terrae, cantate deo, psallite domino…” She continued, stumbling over pronouncing a word or two as Meg taunted Dean. “…Tribuite virtutem deo.” Aaliyah caught a flinch from Meg as the demon looked over her shoulder. “I’m going to kill you,” Meg told her before turning back to Dean. “And you. I’m going to rip the bones from your body.” “No, you’re going to burn in hell,” Dean assured her. “Unless you tell us where our dad is.” He nodded at Aaliyah. “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus,” Aaliyah started. “Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii.” She watched Meg start shaking and crying out in pain. “Omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica...” She stopped reading. Meg gasped for breath. “He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. Begged to see his children one last time. That’s when I slit his throat.” Children, not sons. Aaliyah moved her eyes between the brothers, wondering if they caught the same thing. “Ergo…” Dean leaned forward even as Aaliyah continued to read. “For your sake, I hope you’re lying. Cause if it is true, I swear to God, I will march into hell myself and slaughter each and every one last of you sons of bitches. So help me, God.” “Perditionis venenum propinare,” Aaliyah continued. “Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae.” A wind picked up in the room, threatening to turn the book pages. Aaliyah held them down. “Hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei. Contremisce et effuge. Invocato a nobis sancto et terribile nomine. Quem inferi tremunt...” She ignored Meg’s signs of obvious pain as she read the exorcism. “Where is he?” Dean demanded. “You won’t take ‘dead’ for an answer, will you?” “Where is he?” “Dead!” “Where is he?” Dean shouted over the wind. “He can’t be dead.” “Ab insidis diaboli, libera nos, domine,” Aaliyah continued reading, refusing to give up even as she could hear the anger and fear in Dean’s voice. “Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias, libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.” She looked up and watched the chair Meg was tied in move around in the circle. “Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris, to rogamus audi...” “He will be,” Meg shouted. “Wait, what?” Aaliyah stopped reading. “He’s not dead. But he will be after we’re done with him.” “How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Dean asked. “You don’t.” “Aaliyah.” “A building, okay.” Panic filled Meg’s voice. “Jefferson City.” “Where? An address,” Dean pulled. “I don’t know.” “And the demon,” Sam chimed in. “The one we’re looking for. Where is it?” “I don’t know, I swear. That’s all I know.” Dean looked over to Aaliyah. “Finish it.” Fear lined Meg’s face as she looked between Dean and Aaliyah. “What? I told you the truth.” “I don’t care.” “You son of a bitch,” Meg cursed. “You promised.” “I lied. Aaliyah.” Aaliyah bit her lower lip. Her mind warred with itself. Part of her wanted to finish reading the exorcism and help the person being possessed, but the other part wanted to use the demon to help the boys. “Aaliyah, read,” Dean instructed as he moved from Meg to her. Maybe we can still use her,” Sam whispered to Dean. “Find out where the demon is.” “She doesn’t know.” Dean kept his voice low. “She lied,” Sam argued. “There’s an innocent girl trapped in there,” Dean retorted. “She’s gonna die,” Aaliyah tossed in, getting a look from both of them. “Didn’t you say she fell seventy floors?” She looked to Sam. “I exorcise the demon keeping her alive, she’s gonna die.” “We’re not going to leave her like that,” Dean told them. “She’s a human being.” Bobby stepped into the discussion. “And we’re going to put her out of her misery,” Dean told him. “Aaliyah, finish it.” Aaliyah looked between the three men then to Meg. With a deep breath, she looked down to the book. “Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae, terogamus audi nos, terribilis deus do sanctuario suo deus israhel. Ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae, benedictus deus, gloria patri...” She stopped when Meg’s head went back and a black cloud erupted from her mouth. It spread over the area in the circle before disappearing up through the ceiling. “She’s still alive,” Dean called out, rushing over to the woman. “Bobby, call 911. Aaliyah, blankets and water.” Aaliyah nodded and darted off into the house after putting the book back on the desk. Completely lost in the house, she skipped every other step going upstairs. Bedroom. Bedroom. Bathroom. Ah hah. Linen closet. Grabbing a blanket, Aaliyah darted back down for the kitchen before returning to the brothers. “Where are they keeping our dad?” Dean asked as Aaliyah knelt down. “By the river. Sunrise.” “What does it mean?” Dean asked. Aaliyah reached over and checked Meg’s pulse. She shook her head as she pulled away. “Dead.” “You three better get outta here,” Bobby instructed. “Before the paramedics get here.” “What are you gonna tell ‘em?” Dean asked. “You think you invented lying to the cops? I’ll figure something out.” Bobby handed the book of the Keys of Solomon to Sam. “Take this, you might need it.” Sam took the book with a thanks. “Thanks, Bobby,” Aaliyah said. “Yeah, for everything,” Dean chimed in. “Be careful, alright?” “Just go find your dad,” Bobby told him. “When you do, bring him around? I won’t even try and shoot him this time around.” Aaliyah chuckled. *** Aaliyah stared at her brother’s name in her phone, debating if she wanted to call or not. Dean was going through the trunk, loading a duffel bag with guns while Sam was flipping through the Key book and spinning a marker between his fingers. She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear. The call went through to Xander’s voicemail. “Sorry I couldn’t get your call,” his message told her. “Leave your name and message and I’ll get back as soon as I can.” Aaliyah waited for the beep. “Hey, Xander. Just wanted to call and let you know I’m fine for the time being. Still with Sam and Dean and getting their dad back. Call me when you get done with your hunt. Love you, Assface.” She hung up as Sam finished drawing on the truck of the Impala. “It’s a devil’s trap,” Sam shot back at Dean when he protested the drawing. “Demons can’t get through or inside. Basically turns the trunk into a lock box.” “So?” Dean protested. “It’s a place to hide the Colt while we get your dad,” Aaliyah pointed out. “We’re taking it with us,” Dean argued. “You know we can’t,” Aaliyah shot back. “We’ve got three bullets that we can’t waste on run of the mill demons. They’re saved for the one we’re looking for.” “No. We have to save Dad.” Dean turned to her. “We need all the help we can get.” “You called for my help,” Aaliyah brought up. “I haven’t left. This is bigger than whatever person ruled through my hospital that got attacked by a werewolf.” “Dean, you know Dad’ll be pissed if we used those bullets,” Sam sided with Aaliyah. “He wouldn’t want us to bring the gun.” “I don’t care, Sam. Not about what Dad would want. And since when did you care about what he wants?” “We want to kill this demon,” Sam brought up. “You used to want that as well. Hell, you’re the one who came and got me at school…” “And me from the hospital,” Aaliyah added. “You’re the one who dragged me back into this,” Sam continued. “I’m just trying to finish it.” “You and Dad are more alike than I thought,” Dean shot at his brother. “You can’t wait to sacrifice yourself for this. But I’m the one who’s gonna have to bury you. You’re selfish, only caring about revenge.” “That’s not true,” Sam countered with a scoff from Dean. “I want Dad back. But they’re expecting us to bring the Colt. They get it and kill us all. The Colt’s our only piece of leverage, and you know it, Dean. We can’t bring it.” “Fine,” Dean said, giving in. “I mean it, Dean.” Dean made a show of pulling the Colt out of his jacket pocket and putting it into the truck before Sam closed it. Aaliyah pressed her lips as she wondered what to do with the two brothers. She walked a few feet behind them along the river before pushing through some trees. A sign caught her eye. “Hey, guys.” She gestured to the sign. “I think I know what Meg meant by Sunrise.” “Son of a bitch,” Dean cursed. “That’s smart of them. If these demons can possess anyone, they got the run of the mill in there.” “And make people attack us,” Sam pointed out. “And we can’t kill ‘em,” Dean said. “A nest of human shields. “Probably know what we look like,” Aaliyah commented. “And we don’t know what they look like.” “This sucks loud,” Dean complained. “So, how are we getting in?” Aaliyah asked, looking at the brothers. “Pull the fire alarms,” Dean said after looking at the building. “The city response time’s seven minutes,” Aaliyah brought up, getting a look from Sam. “What? I used to work as an ER nurse back in Michigan. A seven minute response to the scene and about ten from the scene to the hospital if there’s victims.” “Tag, you’re it,” Dean told Aaliyah. Aaliyah look between them before sighing. “Fine. Give me a count of two minutes.” She slipped from the trees and put her hands in her jacket pockets. Double checking for any passing vehicles as she approached the street, Aaliyah crossed and headed for the apartment building. Inside, Aaliyah positioned herself next to the fire alarm and waited for a few people to pass by before pulling the alarm. She ducked back outside, trying to blend in with the growing crowd. Firetrucks showed up sooner than she expected as she knelt behind a vehicle. An idea popped into her head. Aaliyah used the vehicles as cover and slipped around the fire truck before bumping into Sam picking a lock. She started putting the equipment on as Sam handed it to her, adjusting the heavy jacket that was just a little too big on her before fighting with the oxygen tank and mask. Sam put the helmet on her before Dean appeared. “Nice work in there,” he complimented Aaliyah. “Thanks.” Aaliyah heard the small hissing of the mask and tank working. “Do I sound like Darth Vader to you guys?” “Funny.” There was a little humor in Sam’s voice before they all stepped around the truck. Aaliyah kept up with the brothers as they all headed into the apartment building. She cursed herself for not keeping up with her exercise while running up the stairs. The MacQuyvered EMF meter Dean made started to red line the closer they got to a door. “Always wanted to be a firefighter growing up,” Dean said, voice muffled by the mask. “You never told me that,” Sam brought up. “Guys.” Aaliyah gestured to a door. Dean banged on the door. “Fire department, We need you to evacuate.” Aaliyah fell into a spot between and behind the boys as the sound of a lock turning reached her ears. They busted the door in and started spraying the people with water. Aaliyah heard screams from the people – demons Aaliyah had to remind herself – as she forced herself into the apartment. One of the brothers got the man into a closet when the woman had jumped Aaliyah. Dropping her gun, Aaliyah found herself on the floor and wrestling with the demon. Struggling between the demon and the fire equipment, Aaliyah wrapped her legs around the possessed demon and managed to roll around to be on top. She stood, pulling the woman up with her, and shoved the demon toward Dean and the closet. “We really need to teach you how to defend yourself,” Dean told her as Aaliyah pulled the helmet and mask off. “I didn’t see you or Sam jumping in to help,” she shot back as Sam put a line of salt in front of the closet door. “Now, where’s Papa Bear?” The brothers shot Aaliyah a look even as she caught what she had said. “Yeah, shut up,” she told them. Aaliyah turned in place and spotted a closed door. The boys beat her to it. Sam and Dean rushed over to the bed where an unconscious John was tied up to the bed frame. “He’s still breathing,” Dean told them, leaning over John. He moved to cut the bindings before Aaliyah put a hand on his arm. “He could be possessed,” she told him. “You nuts?” “We didn’t go through all that just to have him come out possessed,” Aaliyah told him. She watched Sam pull out a flask of holy water and sprinkle it on John. “Sam?” John questioned, coming around. “Why are you splashing water on me?” “Dad, you okay?” Dean questioned. “They’ve drugged me,” John told them. “Where’s the Colt?” “Safe,” Aaliyah chimed in. “Good kids,” John complimented as Dean cut him loose. Aaliyah turned back and stood in the doorway just as the apartment door was kicked in by firefighters. “Guys, we got company.” She slammed the bedroom door and locked it. “Aaliyah,” Sam called, tossing the salt to her. She caught it with a small fumble and knelt down to draw a line just as an axe came into the door. Aaliyah heard the window open and people climbing out of it. “Come on, Aaliyah,” Sam called. Aaliyah tossed the salt back to him in her move to the window. She climbed out the window with Sam right behind her. Dean and John had gotten down to the sidewalk a minute or two before she did. Aaliyah tried to ignore her skin tingling as she stepped up to the curb and checked for nearby people. Just as she turned back to join the others, her stomach dropped as her body was thrown against a windshield of a nearby car. One of the boys, she wasn’t sure who, called out to her. She laid there for a minute, catching her breath. A few deep breaths, no broken ribs. “I’m good.” Aaliyah rolled herself off the car as a gun shot went off. Her heart raced in her search of where the shot came from before finding Dean holding the Colt up and the demon on the ground dead. “Come on,” Dean instructed. “We need to get outta here.” “No argument from me,” Aaliyah shot at him as she went over and picked up the duffel back. *** Aaliyah sat at the table and rifled through her medkit, partially taking stock of what she had left and partially what she could use to clean Sam up. Her eyes darted over to him as he finished putting salt down. Bruises she couldn’t do much for, the blood can be washed off with water, and all the swelling… well. Nothing she had could do about that. She hadn’t been sure about staying at the cabin, but was assured it was safer being out away from people than holed up in the middle of the city. “How is he?” Sam called out as Dean walked into the room. “Just needs a little bit of rest,” Dean answered. “How are you?” “I’ll survive,” Sam answered. “You guys thing we’ve been followed here?” Aaliyah questioned, forgetting about her medkit as she turned to them. “Don’t think so,” Dean answered. “We couldn’t have found a more out of the way to hole up.” “Yeah, okay,” Aaliyah sighed. She eased herself to her feet and headed into the bathroom, flicking the light on and closed the door behind her. Her body screamed at her to lay down and pass out even for a couple hours. She eased off the borrowed jacket and her last good tee shirt before turning in such a way to look at herself in the mirror. Her side and what she could see of her back were bruised from where she hit the windshield earlier. Aaliyah mentally cursed herself for getting involved in this fight. A little voice in her head chided her, telling her that she had been save back in that small town in Michigan where no one knew her. The bathroom light flickered. Aaliyah looked up from her wounds and locked eyes with her reflection. It was here. She threaded her arms into her jacket as she stepped from the bathroom, zipping it up a little. “Sam, line every door and window with salt,” John instructed as Aaliyah joined them. “I already did that,” Aaliyah spoke up. “Go with Sam to check it,” John instructed even as Sam moved from the room. Aaliyah took a couple steps back even as John asked Dean for the Colt. “Sam tried to shoot the demon back in Salvation,” she whispered to Dean. “It disappeared.” “But I won’t miss,” John assured her. “Now, Dean.” Aaliyah shifted her weight back away from John even as Dean looked down to the Colt. “Son, please,” John pled. Dean paced back to stand next to Aaliyah. “Give me the gun,” John told Dean. “He’d be furious,” Dean spoke up. John frowned. “What?” “I wasted a bullet,” Dean admitted. “He wouldn’t be proud of me. He’d tear me a new one.” He raised the Colt at John and cocked it. “You’re not my Dad.” “Dean, be serious now,” John tried to reason. “It’s me.” “I know my Dad,” Dean said. “I know him better than anyone. You ain’t him.” “What has gotten into you?” John demanded. “I could ask you the same thing.” Dean put his free arm out and guided Aaliyah back behind him. “Stay back.” Aaliyah heard Sam walk in behind them. “Dean, what’s going on?” the younger brother asked. “Your brother’s lost his mind,” John interjected. “He’s not Dad,” Aaliyah told Sam. “What?” “I think he’s possessed,” Dean told Sam. “Think he’s been since we rescued him.” Aaliyah swore she saw tears forming in Dean’s eyes when she looked up to him. “Don’t listen to him, Sammy,” John told him. “How do you know?” Sam asked Dean. “He’s … different.” Aaliyah stared at John. He turned his attention from the brothers to her. The glean in his eye wasn’t the same from the first time when they met again. That man had been broken, barely holding on with a mission to finish. The one that stood before him. It wasn’t the same man. Aaliyah shifted to stand behind Dean, using him as a shield. She sensed Sam join her and Dean. “Fine,” John told them. “You so sure, go ahead. Kill me.” “Dean,” Aaliyah whispered. There it was, fear in her voice. In all the three years of hunting, it took a pain in the ass, hard to kill demon to bring the fear out of her. She dared to look from behind Dean to look at John with yellow eyes. Sam lunged at John before getting tossed against a wall and pinned there. Aaliyah steeled herself and stepped out from behind Dean even as he’s pinned against a wall, dropping the Colt. Aaliyah drew in a raspy breath as the demon in John raised her in the air by the throat with one hand, the other picking up the Colt. “What a pain in the ass this has been,” the demon said about the Colt. “And you,” he turned to Aaliyah hovering in the air. “You should have gone back home after that little stunt in Salvation.” “It’s you,” Sam spoke up. “The one we’ve been looking for?” “Well, you found me.” “But the holy water.” “You think something like that works on me?” the demon taunted. Sam struggled against whatever held him against the wall. “I’m gonna kill you.” “Oh, that’ll be a neat trick. Here.” The demon put the Colt on the table. “Make it float to you, psychic boy.” Aaliyah struggled against the force holding her in the air and watched the Colt not make a move. “Well, this is fun,” the demon announced as he moved over to the window by Dean. “I coulda killed you a hundred times today. But this is worth the wait.” The demon looked him over. “Your Daddy’s still in here, trapped in his own meatsuit. Says hi, by the way. He’s gonna tear you apart and taste the iron in your blood.” “Let him go,” Dean sneered. “Or I swear to God…” “What? What are you and your God gonna do?” the demon questioned. “You see, as far as I’m concern…” He turned from Dean and caught sight of Aaliyah dangling in the air. “This is justice. That little exorcism of yours, that was my daughter.” Aaliyah struggled even harder to free herself as the demon walked over to her. “Meg?” “And the one in the alley? That was my boy.” The demon reached out and stroked Aaliyah’s cheek. Aaliyah recoiled from the touch, swallowing hard against the bile that came up. “You’re…kidding me.” “What? You thought you’re the only one who could have a family?” The demon tilted John’s head at Aaliyah. “Or get to play family with these three guys? You think you…” It stopped as it took a closer look at Aaliyah before laughing. “Oh, this a real good surprise. But it won’t save you. You destroyed my children. So, which one of you do I save until last? Make you watch while I kill the other two. By the end, you would be begging for death.” “You son of a bitch,” Dean cursed. “I wanna know why,” Sam cut it. “Why’d you do it?” The demon turned its attention back to Sam. “Why did I kill Mommy and pretty little Jess?” “Yeah.” The demon turned back to Dean. “You know, Sam was gonna ask her to marry him. Been shopping for rings and everything.” He turned to face Sam again. “You wanna know why? Because they got in the way.” “In the way of what?” Aaliyah dared. “Of what I have planned for young Sammy here,” the demon cast over his shoulder. “Him and all the young children like him.” “You mind just getting this over with, huh?” Dean called out. “Cause I can’t with all the monologuing.” “But that’s all part of your M.O., isn’t it?” The demon shifted back around to Dean. “Masks all the nasty pain. Masks the truth.” “Yeah? What’s that?” Dean dared. “You fight and fight for this family,” the demon told him. “But the truth is, they don’t need you. Not the way you need them. Sam – clearly the favorite. Even when they fight, it’s more concern Daddy dearest has ever shown you. And the pretty one over here.” He shifted again around to Aaliyah. “She’s gained a spot in Daddy’s heart real quick. The daughter he never had that turned out to be … well, the perfect blend of…” “Just stop, okay?” Dean jumped in. “I bet you’re real proud of your kids, huh? Right, I forgot. I wasted ‘em.” Aaliyah managed to turn her head just as Dean screamed out in pain to see heavy blood loss coming from his chest. She struggled harder against whatever held her up even as Dean pled for John not to let the demon kill him. “Dean!” Sam’s own yells mixed in with hers. Aaliyah took a deep breath even as Dean passed out, steadying herself. There was … something she couldn’t explain in her that she latched onto. She pulled it up and forced it against whatever held her up even as Sam dropped to the floor and dove for the Colt. Her own legs crumpled under her when she fell. She scampered over to Dean as Sam aimed the Colt at John, hearing the demon tell him that John’s dead too. “Dean? Dean, can you hear me?” Aaliyah moved her hands over his body, his blood covering her hands. Her body jerked when a gun shot went off. “Sam! Dean’s lost a lot of blood. We gotta get him to a hospital. I don’t have enough stuff in my medkit for something like this.” She turned around, panic setting in, to see Sam over John as the latter begging the former to kill the demon still in him. Aaliyah sympathized for a quick moment why Sam held his hand against killing John and the demon. Just for the moment before the demon erupted from John and disappeared into the floor. “Sammy, we need to leave.” Aaliyah worked herself to her feet before easing Dean up, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders. “Dean’s not gonna last long if we stay here.” Aaliyah managed to get Dean into the back seat of the Impala as Sam helped John into the front passenger seat. She ducked back into the house for what little they took inside before jumping into the back seat. “Drive, Sam. Drive.” Diving into her medkit, Aaliyah fished large gauze in the hope of stopping the blood lose. “Hang on,” Sam called over his shoulder. “The hospital’s ten minutes away.” “I’m surprised at you, Sammy,” John told him. “I thought we saw eye to eye on this. Killing this demon come first – before everything else.” “No,” Sam argued. “Not before everything. We still got the Colt, and one bullet. We just have to start over. I mean, we already found…” Aaliyah ignored the quiet argument in the front seat. It was the same album since she joined the little demon hunting trip, just a different …

Chapter 11 Aaliyah kept watch on the house from the backseat of the Impala. She could see Monica and her husband through the open window. “Maybe we can tell ‘em there’s a gas leak,” Sam suggested. “Might get ‘em out of the house for a few hours.” “Yeah, and how many times has that worked for us?” Dean pointed out. “We could tell ‘em the truth,” Aaliyah spoke up. She looked over to the boys, who had turned their heads over the back of the front seat. Dean raised an eyebrow at her. “Nah,” she spoke right along with the brothers. “Yeah, I know. But from what’s going to happen with them…” Aaliyah gestured toward the house. “You know we’ve got one move,” Dean told her. “Gotta wait for the demon to show itself, then we get it before it gets them.” Aaliyah nodded as she turned her attention back to the house as Sam wondered out loud how John was doing. Dean voiced how he would feel better backing him up while Sam voiced the reverse feeling; John there backing them up. “This is weird,” Sam spoke up after a while. “What?” Aaliyah asked. “After all these years, we’re finally here. It doesn’t feel real.” “We just gotta keep our heads and do our jobs,” Dean told him. “Like always.” “Yeah, but this isn’t always,” Sam countered. “True.” “Dean,” Sam trailed off. “I want to say thanks.” “For what?” “Everything. You’ve always had my back, you know,” Sam said. “Even when I couldn’t count on anyone, I could with you. I don’t know. I just wanted you to know. Just in case.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dean pulled the reins back. “Are you kidding me?” “What?” “Don’t say just in case something happens to you,” Dean told his brother. “I don’t want to hear that speech, man. Nobody’s dying tonight. Not us, not that family.” Dean gestured toward the house. “Nobody. Except that demon. That evil son of a bitch ain’t getting older than tonight, you understand me?” Aaliyah felt her mouth pull in a little smirk. There was something about the sheer determination from Dean that no one was going to die on their watch. She shifted in the back seat, turning to face the door with one leg tucked under her with the other knee at her chest. The sounds of Dean pulling out his cell and making a call drifted back to her. “He’s not picking up,” he announced. “Maybe Meg was late,” Aaliyah suggested. “Or the reception’s bad.” “Yeah, well…” The radio that had been playing low for background noise starting going static. “Guys, listen,” Aaliyah brought their attention to the radio. Sam reached out and turned the radio up, the static going higher as it came and went. Aaliyah glanced around out the windows as the wind picked up as the house light flickered. “It’s coming,” Sam announced. Aaliyah didn’t hold back as she opened her door and charged for the house. Dean’s voice shouted after her to wait. She slowed coming up to the front door as Dean came up beside her and worked the lock with a card. He motioned Sam through first before allowing Aaliyah to follow so he took up the rear. With the house dark and quiet, Aaliyah moved into the living room, doing her best to have light footsteps. Stepping around a corner, she barely caught a motion out of the corner of her eye before ducking a bat. It came back around as Dean stepped in between Aaliyah and the one swinging. “Get out of my house,” a man shouted. “Please, Mr. Holden,” Sam cut in. Dean gained control against Holden, pinning him against a wall with the bat against his throat. “Be quiet and listen,” he told him in a sharp tone. “Be quiet and listen. We are trying to help you.” “Charlie?” a woman’s voice called from upstairs. “Is everything okay?” Aaliyah caught Sam’s panicked expression and darted for the stairs even as both he and Charlie yelled at Monica. One telling her to stay out of the nursery and the other to get the baby. Charlie yelled after Aaliyah to keep away from Monica while he fought to free himself from Dean’s hold. Aaliyah stopped in the nursery door just as Monica was flung against a wall by a dark figure. She caught the eyes of the figure; yellow eyes. Aaliyah sensed a presence behind her and fought against flinching as a gun shot went off. The figure disappeared even before the blast ended. All the while, Monica was yelling about Rosie. Aaliyah darted over to the crib even as Sam helped Monica to her feet. Aaliyah reached down and picked up Rosie, wrapping the blankets around her just before the crib engulfed in flame. She jumped back from the crib before racing from the room after Sam and Monica. Aaliyah stumbled out the front door, holding Rosie to her chest even as her lungs burned from the smoke. A few tears streamed down her cheeks from her smoke irritated eyes. “Get away from my family,” Charlie yelled, being held back by Dean. “Charlie, wait,” Monica requested. “They saved us.” Aaliyah handed Rosie over to Monica as she started crying. Aaliyah joined the brothers as Charlie took his wife and daughter in his arms. Her attention drifted with theirs up to the nursery where the demon stood still with the room burning around it. Someone bumped into her in their effort to return to the house. “Sam? Sam, no,” Dean protested, grabbing hold of his arm. “It’s still in there, Dean,” Sam argue. “It’s burning to the ground,” Aaliyah pointed out. “It’s suicide.” “I don’t care,” Sam yelled at her. “I do,” Dean yelled at him. Aaliyah looked back up to the nursery window and watched the flames rise higher and the demon disappear. “Come on, guys,” her voice low enough it surprised her. “Let’s get back to the motel.” *** Aaliyah sniffed her jacket, still smelling the smoke from the house. Better than dealing with the dirt and grim from dealing with the vampire nest. She tried to ignore Dean’s pacing in his nervous state in trying to call John. “Come on, Dad,” he said out loud. “Damn it, answer your phone.” He hung up. “Something’s wrong.” Aaliyah shifted her eyes over to Sam to see him giving his brother a bitch face. “If you had just let me go in there,” Sam spoke up. “I coulda ended this.” “The only thing that would have ended was your life,” Dean pointed out. “You don’t know that.” Dean crossed over to the bed. “So, you’re willing to sacrifice yourself, is that it?” Sam pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah, You’re damn right I am.” “Well, that’s not going to happen,” Dean put his foot down. “Not when I’m around.” “What the hell are you talking about Dean?” Sam asked. “We’ve been hunting this demon our whole lives. It’s the only thing we cared about.” “I wanna waste it, Sam, I really do,” Dean agreed. “Okay? But it’s not worth dying over.” “What?” Aaliyah heard Sam’s face frown and hurt in his voice. Maybe she had been spending too much time with the brothers in the past few days. Has it been days? Or the better part of a week? “I mean it,” Dean continued. “If hunting this demon means getting yourself killed, I hope we never find the damn thing.” “That thing killed Jess. And Mom.” “No matter what we do,” Aaliyah decided to cut in. “What you guys do, it won’t bring them back.” Sam tilted his head as he looked at Aaliyah before he lunged at her, just out of Dean’s grasp. Aaliyah pivoted around trying to avoid Sam’s attack. She circled around him, fists up in a defensive posture. He recovered from the charge as he turned around to face her. “You have no right to say that,” he yelled. “Even if you did, don’t you ever say it. After all that Dean and I have been through. You don’t know what it’s like growing up without parents.” “Oh, I don’t know the feeling?” Aaliyah yelled back, still holding her defensive posture. “My mom was killed by a Djinn. My dad was barely at home between his actual paying job and hunting. You think you’re the only one to not have parents growing up? Or having an older brother playing care giver? Join the damn club.” “Sam, look.” Dean’s voice was calm as he attempted to pull his brother’s attention from Aaliyah. “The three … four of us … we’re all we have. All I have. Sometimes I feel like I’m barely holding it together. Without you … or Dad…” “He should have called by now,” Aaliyah pointed out. She lowered her hands, feeling safe enough that Sam wouldn’t charge her again. She fought back her tears even as Sam cried. “Try calling him again,” Sam suggested even as Dean put his phone to his ear. Dean started pacing for a minute before stopping. “Where is he?” Anger dripped in his voice. He hung up the phone. “They got him." “Meg?” Sam questioned with a nod from Dean. “What’d she say?” “What do we do now?” Aaliyah asked even as Dean gathered up his stuff, including the Colt. “We gotta go,” Dean answered. “Why?” Sam asked. “Because the demon knows we’re here,” Dean snapped. “It knows we got the Colt. It got Dad. And it’s probably coming for us next.” “Good, let it come.” Sam settled into his decision. “We got three bullets left.” “Listen, tough guy, we’re not ready. Okay?” Dean finished grabbing all his things. Aaliyah shoved the last of her clothes in a bag and double checked her gear bag. Everything was set and she closed both bags. “We’re no good to anyone dead,” Dean spoke. “We’re leaving. Now.” *** Aaliyah braced herself as Dean took a corner sideways. Sam was still going on about taking the demon back at the house. “What we need is a plan,” Dean countered. “They’re probably keeping Dad alive, we just gotta figure out where. They’re gonna want to make a trade; Dad for the gun.” “Then why didn’t Meg mention making a deal?” Aaliyah brought up, leaning forward just enough over the front seat. Sam shook her head. “What?” Aaliyah looked at him. “What if he’s…” “Don’t you say it,” Dean demanded. “I don’t want to believe it anymore than you do,” Sam countered. “But if he is, all the more reason to kill it. We still have the Colt, we can finish the job.” “Screw the job, Sam,” Dean argued. “I’m just trying to do what he’d want us to do. Keep going.” “Quit talking like he’s already dead,” Dean’s voice dripping with anger. “Until we get him back, everything stops, you understand?” With the exception of the car’s engine, it was quiet. The little voice in Aaliyah’s head started working at her. Some help she was, it told her. She proved to be less helpful than bug spray in the dead of winter in the Midwest. John happened to find them and questioned her presence every step of the way. Hell, she even argued for her being there when he wanted her gone and safe. “So, how do we find him?” Sam asked, breaking the silence. “Maybe we go to Lincoln,” Dean suggested. “Start at the warehouse he was taken.” “Come on, Dean. You think these demons are going to leave a trail?” Sam pointed out. Dean’s lips pressed together in thought. “You’re right. We need help.” *** Aaliyah stretched as the Impala turned off the road and onto a long dirt drive. The nearly five hour drive from Salvation to Sioux Falls was enough time for a nap. “You know, I think I’m getting used to working off of four hours of sleep.” “That’s good, cuz we’re here,” Dean tossed over his shoulder. “And where’s that?” Aaliyah looked at the window as they pass by junk cars piled high on top of each other. She caught sight of a sign high enough to catch attention from passers-by that read “Singer’s auto salvage”. “Singer?” “Bobby Singer,” Sam said. “Good friend of Dad’s. Bobby’s like a father to us.” Dean parked the car and climbed out. Aaliyah stumbled out from the back and worked her body free of the kinks and get her blood flowing. “Think he’ll help?” She followed after the boys on the way into the house, stopping long enough to let the dog laying on the hood of a truck and chained up sniff her. Inside, she hung in the threshold of the kitchen while the boys hugged an older man who couldn’t be much older than John before the man turned his attention to her. “This must be Aaliyah,” he said. “So, the boys dragged you into this wild demon hunt of theirs?” He turned back into the kitchen and led the way further into the house. “In a way.” Aaliyah followed after even as Sam took a seat at the desk that seemed to be the focal point of the living room. Over the walls were papers pinned up and piles of books on the floor and a few bookshelves. “Dean called in a favor from a couple years ago.” “Uh huh. Well then, how much do you know of lore?” “Werewolves are a pain in the ass to kill, but have a major weakness to silver,” Aaliyah recalled from her first hunt. “Usual fatal wounds take ‘em out as well as taking the head off.” “She took out her first one with a silver knife to the stomach,” Dean praised her. “Cut it al the way up to the rib cage.” “And you survived?” Bobby looked to Aaliyah, shock in his voice. “Gave me a couple sets of scars to remember it by.” Aaliyah watched Bobby walk over and hand Sam a book and opened to a page. “How’s your paint job?” Bobby asked. “There’s a first time for everything,” Aaliyah told him. “What needs painting?” She walked over to the desk and looked at the picture Bobby pointed to. “That, on the ceiling,” he told her. “From the sounds of this demon, it won’t be easy to fool it.” Aaliyah looked at the picture, up to the ceiling, then back to the picture. “Alright, then. Where’s the paint and brush? And a ladder.” After a short time gathering the needed items, Aaliyah went to work on painting the Key of Solomon on the ceiling. Bobby would come over and look up to inspect her work, occasionally reminding her to make sure everything was right; otherwise the demon would be able to escape. Painting the Key took longer than she expected, but Aaliyah finished up and climbed down from the ladder. “Not bad, kid,” Bobby complimented. “Thanks.” Aaliyah took the ladder and paint items outside against the side of the house. She took a deep breath, steadying herself as she thought back to when Dean called her. Had it really been days since that day at the hospital? Aaliyah couldn’t think back all that time on … how much sleep had she gotten since she left the hospital with the boys? Two at the motel before the 911 call that John picked up, maybe half hour naps in the Impala when they were all down in Iowa, four the night before leaving, plus five on the way to Bobby’s. Aaliyah had more sleep at the hospital in one week than the past few days. She’d have to make time for a day or two to herself before going off to find a paying job. She walked back inside just as Bobby handed Dean a flask and kept another. “That’s holy water,” Bobby answered Dean. “This is whiskey.” “Thanks for everything, Bobby,” Dean told him. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure we should come.” “Nonsense, your Dad needs help.” “Yeah, well, last time we saw you, you did threaten to shoot him full of buckshot,” Dean pointed out. “Cocked the shotgun and everything.” “He really did that?” Aaliyah asked, mildly surprised at the tale. “What can I say.” Bobby shrugged. “John has that effect on people. None of that matters, though. What does is you getting him back.” Dean handed the whiskey filled flask over to Aaliyah as Sam commented on the book he had be studying. She accepted the flask and took a sip of it, coughing from the burn of the whiskey. “Yeah, it’s a bit of an acquired taste,” Dean said, a tease of a smile on his face. “You think these circles really work?” Sam’s voice drifted into the kitchen. “Hell yeah,” Bobby answered. “You get a demon in it, they’re trapped. It’s like a demonic roach motel.” Aaliyah chuckled. “Man knows his stuff.” “I’ll tell you three something else,” Bobby told them. “This is some serious crap you all stepped in.” “Oh, yeah?” Sam asked. “How’s that?” “Normal year, I hear of, say, three demonic possessions. Four tops.” “Yeah?” Dean prompted. “This year so far, I’ve heard of twenty seven.” Aaliyah let out a low whistle at the number. “You get what I’m saying?” Bobby continued. “More and more demons are walking among us. A lot more.” “Do you know why?” Sam asked. “No, but I know it’s something big,” Bobby answered. “The storm’s coming. And you boys, your Dad, even you Aaliyah. You’re all smack in the middle of it.” Aaliyah half jumped when the dog started barking outside. “Rumsfeld,” Bobby called out. He rushed over to the window and looked out before turning back to the three young hunters. “Something’s wrong.” Aaliyah moved for the kitchen when the door flew into the house. She stopped on a dime when Meg stepped inside. “No more crap, okay?” the demon asked. Aaliyah felt a hand guide her out of the way before seeing Dean charge Meg. Aaliyah moved in front of Meg when she flung Dean into a wall. “Isn’t this cute?” Meg said with a smile and a head tilt. She started walking toward Aaliyah, who walked back into the living room. “Wait. Weren’t you the little brat who decided to go digging after her father? Did you learn anything?” “Yeah, how to stay alive.” “Until today. I want the Colt, kid. The real one.” “We don’t have it,” Sam cut in. “We buried it.” “Didn’t I say no more crap? I swear, after all that I heard about the Winchesters, I’m a little underwhelmed.” Meg straightened her head. “First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, leaving the real one with you chuckleheads. Lack luster, really. Did you really think I wouldn’t find you?” “Actually,” Dean’s voice called out. “We were counting on it.” Aaliyah pointed to the ceiling, taking Meg’s attention from her to the Key of Solomon above them. “Gotcha.”

Chapter 10 Aaliyah flipped through her father’s journal, half reclined on one of the motel beds. Nothing spoke of the Colt or what it could do. Something told her that her father hadn’t dug deep enough into the whole … darker world of hunting. Several mentions of the various monsters that he had hunted, little on demons. He left those to those who specialized in dealing with them. Aaliyah closed the journal as she turned her attention to the walls covered with all the weather charts, pictures, news articles, everything that John had gathered over the years about the demon he had been hunting. “We’ve been hunting this demon for years, right?” John spoke most to the boys. “Not a trace. Until a year ago when I picked up a trail.” “When you took off,” Dean recalled. “Yeah. The demon must have come out of hiding. Or hibernation.” “So, what’s this trail you found?” Aaliyah asked, working herself off the bed and over to a map. John was silent for a moment, as if he was debating with himself to include her in the hunt. “Arizona, New Jersey, California,” he answered. “Houses burned to the ground. It goes after families like it did ours.” Ours. Was that just a slip of the tongue or did John actually start including her in the family? It would be nice to have some sort of family. “What exactly happened that night?” Aaliyah turned back around and looked between the three men. “This demon did something that burned the house. And I’m thinking something happened to your … mom that sent you all after this demon.” “That’s it, we don’t know,” John said. “Just that it went after families with infants on their six month birthday.” “I was six months old that day?” Sam asked. “Exactly six months,” John answered. “So the demon’s going after the kids for some reason,” Sam said. “The same reason it went after me. Mom’s death. Jessica’s. All because of me.” Aaliyah heard the guilt in his voice. “We don’t know that,” Dean tossed out. “Really? Cuz I say we do, Dean,” Sam countered. “For the last time,” Dean yelled, frustration in his voice. “It wasn’t your fault.” “But it’s my problem,” Sam shouted back. “Our problem.” “Alright, enough!” Aaliyah shouted. She worked herself between the brothers and looked to Sam. “It’s not your fault.” She smacked Dean’s chest with the back of her hand. “And you stop arguing with him.” Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Aaliyah turned to John. “Why’s the demon doing it? What does it want?” “I wish I had those answers,” John answered. “I’ve always been one step behind. I …” “So how do we find it before it strikes again?” Aaliyah prodded. “There’s signs. It took me a while to see the pattern in the days that led up to the attack.” John was back on track. “Cattle deaths, electrical storms, temperature fluctuations. I went back and checked...” “Those things happened in Lawrence,” Dean chimed in. “About a week before your mom died. And in Palo Alto with Jessica.” John looked between the three of them. “And they’ve started up again.” “Where?” Dean asked. “Salvation Iowa.” *** Braced against the back of the front seat, Aaliyah took stock of the grab bag Dean had given her. Extra sawed off shotgun – he figured she could handle a twenty gauge – the machete used against the nest of vamps, a couple things of salt, an assortment of other weapons, and a few cans of spray paint. “The basic of hunting equipment,” Dean had told her. “You can always add to it.” There was definitely room to add more items. She felt the Impala start to slow as she started putting the items back into the duffel bag. With a small struggle, she managed to free herself between the seats and out of the back. “Just got a call from Caleb,” John told the boys. “Jim Murphy’s dead.” “Pastor Jim?” Sam asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. “How?” “His throat was slashed; bled out. Caleb said he found traces of sulfur.” “Demon,” Dean concluded. “The demon?” “I don’t know. He could have gotten careless and slipped up,” John guessed. “Maybe it knows we’re getting close.” “What do we do?” Aaliyah asked. She received a look from John she wasn’t sure how to interpret. Either he forgot she was there for the moment or a low level angry at the fact she chimed in. “We act like every second counts,” he told her. “There’s two hospitals and a health center in this country. We split up and cover ground. Get records; lists of every infant that’s going to be six months in the next week.” “That could be dozens of kids,” Sam pointed out. “How do we know which one’s the right one?” “We check ‘em all, that’s how. Got any better ideas?” “No, sir.” Aaliyah shifted her weight before turning back to the Impala. This whole thing with the demon going after six month old infants and burning their mothers on the ceiling was a bit of a stretch. Gone were the days she could do a simple milk run of a hunt. That was the minor league. Going after a demon targeting six month olds and leaving all those signs was her first major league game. “Hey, guys,” she spoke up. “Um … I’m gonna take a walk back to the motel. I wanna think things through.” Aaliyah glanced over to John, who seemed to be debating on sending one of the boys with her or insisting her staying with them. “Take your bag,” John instructed. “I expect to see you back at the motel in a few hours.” “Yes, sir.” Aaliyah stopped at the Impala to grab her bag before heading down the road. Her stomach twisted with guilt leaving the Winchester trio to the research, but they didn’t need a fourth person for three places. The Impala roared to life behind her. *** Aaliyah fished out her motel key and worked it into the lock. After a good two hour walk slugging her gear bag over a shoulder, she was ready to wash up. It could be a while before the Winchester Trio returned and she lost any sort of privacy. Her cell started ringing as she started the shower. Aaliyah checked the caller id that showed the number wasn’t programed in her contacts. She debated about answering or letting it go to voicemail before answering. “Whoever you are, I don’t want it,” she spoke. “So I can’t call my little sister to see how she’s doing?” came Xander’s voice. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you at the hospital, but they told me that you were laid off for a time. And that you were last seen getting into a black impala. You’re not in trouble, are you?” “If I’d been kidnapped, I wouldn’t have answered the phone,” Aaliyah pointed out as she gathered a clean set of clothes. “You remember Dean? The guy from a couple years ago that helped with Dad’s case?” “Yeah; what about him?” “He called in a favor; asked for help finding his own dad.” “So you decided to just up and leave?” “The hospital wasn’t happy with how I was doing my job, Xander.” Aaliyah dumped her clothes in the sink and turned the shower water on. “What I did was effective, even when dealing with the odd werewolf that came through. I’m fine, really.” “What trouble did Dean get you into?” “Not much. Just a nest of vampires.” “And here I thought the most dangerous thing was the Djinn.” “Them or the skin changers. Listen, Xander.” Aaliyah straightened. “I’m fine, I promise. The worse danger was taking out that nest.” A seed of guilt settled in her stomach from the lie. “I’ll call you in a few days and let you know what’s happened. I promise.” “You better. Or I’ll be hunting your ass down.” Aaliyah let out an amused sound. “Yeah, okay. Love you, Jerkface.” “Love you, Pain in the Ass.” Aaliyah smiled as she ended the call. She admitted to herself that Xander had a point. She should have called before going out across state lines with the brothers. The thought hadn’t really crossed her mind in the past few days since being let go from the hospital. Yet … there was something she swore woke the night of her first werewolf kill. And with the answers found at her childhood home, Aaliyah couldn’t deny she wanted to just be a nurse any more. Stripping off her clothes and using up the tiny shampoo and conditioner bottles, Aaliyah scrubbed away the grim from the past few days just as she heard voices. “I hadn’t seen her,” a voice half argued back. “We took the route back from where we pulled off. It’s possible she could have…” Grabbing one of the cheap towels, Aaliyah wiped off what excess water she could before working on her clean clothes. “Y’all know you coulda called, right?” She stepped out of the bathroom with a slight struggle of her shirt. “Not like it woulda killed ya.” Aaliyah caught Sam and John looking at her like she had stepped out of a time machine. “What?” “Your side,” Sam told her. “What…” “Oh.” Aaliyah lifted her shirt and angled herself toward him. “Curtesy of the first werewolf I took down. There’s more on my back.” “I knew that hunt would be too much for you,” John told her. “One of two things happen with those who cross a werewolf.” “Bitten or killed, yeah. I got lucky.” Aaliyah lowered her shirt. “Whatcha all get?” “Well, Sammy here had another vision,” Dean pointed out. “Can he get me this week’s lottery numbers?” Aaliyah fished out a pair of socks even as John shot her a look telling her it wasn’t a joking time. “Sorry. What happened in this vision?” “The demon burning a woman on the ceiling,” Sam told her. “And you think it’s gonna happen to this woman because…” “Because these things happen exactly how I see ‘em.” There was a little defensive tone in Sam’s voice. “It started out as nightmares,” Dean brought up. “Then it started when he was awake.” He moved to get some coffee. “When were you going to tell me about this?” John demanded. Aaliyah caught the look shared between the brothers before Dean spoke. “We didn’t know what it meant.” “Alright. If something like this happens to your brother, you pick up the phone and call me,” John instructed. Dean dumped the coffee back and turned to his father. “Call you?” Dean repeated. “Are you kidding me? I called you from Lawrence. Sam called you when I was dying. Getting you on the phone? I mean, I have a better chance of winning the lottery.” “You’re right,” John admitted. “Although I’m not a fan of this new tone of yours. I’m sorry.” Aaliyah could see how it hurt for him to admit that a little. “Look, guys,” she cut in. “visions or not, we know the demon’s coming tonight. And this family’s gonna end up going through the same hell you all did.” “No, not this time,” John decided. Aaliyah managed the last sock as Sam’s cell rang. “Hello? … Meg. Last time I saw you, you fell out of a seventy story building. …” Sam glanced over to John, who was looking at him. “My dad? Don’t know where he’s at. …” He hands the cell to John. Aaliyah kept quiet, looking between the three of them in the hope of learning something. “This is John,” John spoke into the phone. There was a pause. “I’m here. … Caleb?” Dean and Sam reacted to the name. “You listen to me. He’s got nothing to do with anything. You let him go. … I don’t know what you’re talking about. … Caleb? Caleb! … I’m gonna kill you, you know that?” Aaliyah pushed herself to her feet and went in close with the boys, barely catching what the other person was talking about. Killing off all those who knew them until the gun was handed over. “Okay.” John’s voice was quiet. “I said okay. I’ll bring you the Colt. It’ll take me a day’s drive to get there. … That’s impossible. I can’t get there in time, and I can’t carry a gun on a plane.” Aaliyah shifted a little as John pulled the phone from his ear. “Meg?” “A demon,” John answered. “Or someone possessed by one. It doesn’t matter.” “So now what?” Dean asked. “I’m going to Lincoln,” John returned. “Dad, the demon’s coming tonight,” Sam reminded him. “For Monica and her family. That gun’s all we got. We just can’t hand it over.” “Who said anything about handing it over?” John brought up. “Besides us and a couple vampires, no one really knows what it looks like.” “So you’re just gonna pick up a ringer at a pawn shop?” Dean questioned. “Antique shop,” John corrected. “You’re gonna hand Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn’t notice?” Aaliyah chimed in. “As long as it’s close, she won’t notice,” John replied to her. “What happens if she finds out it’s not the real one?” Dean backed Aaliyah’s argument. “I … I just need to buy a few hours.” “For us,” Sam caught on. “For the three of us. You want us to stay here and deal with the demon on our own?” “No, Sam.” John turned to him. “I want to stop losing friends. I want you to go back to school, Dean to have a home. For Aaliyah to have a life outside hunting. I want … I want Mary alive. It’s … I want this to be over.” *** Aaliyah adjusted her shoes as the thought of getting better ones passed through her mind. Her current ones had seen better days to be sure at the hospital, yet they survived so far against the vampires. They should survive going up against a demon. The rumble of the Impala came up and came to a stop before Dean joined her and the other two. He handed over a bag to John, who took it and pulled out the antique gun. “You know this a trap, don’t you?” Dean asked. “That’s why Meg wants you to come alone.” “I can handle her. I got a whole arsenal loaded.” “Dad?” “What?” Dean shifted his weight a little. “Promise me something. This thing goes south, get the hell out. Don’t get yourself killed. You’re no good to us dead.” “Same goes for you,” John replied. “Alright, listen,” he picked up after a pause. “They made the bullets special for the colt, and there’s four left. Without them, the gun’s useless; so make every shot count.” “Yes, sir,” Sam said. “Been waiting a long time for this fight, and now it’s here … I’m not going to be in it. It’s up to you boys now. It’s your fight, finish it. Finish what I started, understand?” John handed Dean the colt. “We’ll see you soon, Dad,” Sam said. “I’ll see you later,” he replied. Aaliyah stood with the boys as they watched John turn and climb into his truck and drive away. Something told her that even with the plan, it’ll go to hell and they all would be rushing to come up with another plan.

Chapter 9 Aaliyah shifted in an attempt to get comfortable in the backseat. Stuck in the car since John talked with the cops about a couple hours ago, she exhausted the small list of things to keep busy. New journal entry had been added to her own book. A detailed look through her father’s journal brought up nothing about vampires. Dean instructed Sam to pull over after getting off the phone with their father. She heard the frustration from Sam before he gunned the engine and raced around and in front of the truck John was driving. “Sam, stop,” Aaliyah called out, bracing herself against the seats. “Not how I plan on dying, dude.” She looked out her window to see that the truck had swerved off the road and a visibly angry John emerging from it. “Not good.” She scrambled out the back seat as Sam stomped toward his father with Dean not far behind. “What the hell was that?” John demanded, voice raised. “We need to talk,” Sam answered. “About everything. What’s the big deal about this job?” “Sammy, come on,” Dean managed to cut in. “We can do a Q and A later after we kill the vampires.” “Your brother’s right,” John told the younger. “We don’t have time for this.” “Last time you told us it was too dangerous for us to be together,” Sam recalled. “Now out of the blue you need our help? Something big is going down and we wanna know what it is.” Aaliyah shifted her attention between the two men as the thought of which one she might be able to pull away if a physical fight broke out. She stood her ground when John instructed them back in the car. “Okay, you made your point, tough guy,” Dean told Sam. “Look, we’re all tired and we can talk about this later. Sammy, I mean it, come on.” Aaliyah took a half step back as Dean pulled Sam away from their father. She swore she heard Sam mutter this was why he left. “What did you say?” John turned back around. “You heard me,” Sam yelled. “Yeah, you left,” John confirmed. “Your brother and me needed you. And you walked away.” “Sam…” Dean started. “Come on, Sam,” Aaliyah joined in. “Can’t we do this later?” “You walked away,” John yelled. Aaliyah forced herself between the two men before Dean could stop her even as he attempted to get them to stop yelling. She put her back to Sam and held her ground against John. The thought of picking up some martial arts lessons after the hunt passed through her mind. “Listen, you two. Stop it, stop. That’s enough.” John tore his stare from Sam down to her. Aaliyah had prided herself on pushing 5’7”. There was still a good few inches between her and all three Winchester men and that a little seed of doubt she would be able to hold her own between father and son. John turned with a huff back to his truck as Sam got into the Impala. “Remind me to teach you a few things after all this,” Dean told Aaliyah. *** Aaliyah adjusted her posture against the tree trunk. One leg tucked under her while the other was bent at the knee at her chest. She peeked around the tree and watched the couple vampires before they disappeared inside the barn. “Son of a bitch.” Dean’s voice was low in the curse. “They’re really not afraid of the sun.” “Direct sunlight burns like a bad sunburn,” John said. “Only way is beheading. Yeah, they sleep during the day. But that doesn’t mean they won’t wake up.” “Guess walkin’ right in isn’t the best plan,” Aaliyah commented. “That’s the plan,” John said as he stood. “Wait. What?” Aaliyah eased to her feet and stared after John. “What you’re saying … It’s insane.” “Any more insane than how you took out that werewolf?” “That was stupid crazy, and you know that. Do I need to show you the souvenirs from that hunt?” She resisted the urge to glance to the brothers in that want of having support. This was her fight. “Like it or not, I’m involved now. I didn’t grow up being a hunter, and I’m still learning. If you don’t like what I do, deal or let me go.” Aaliyah refused to flinch when John stared her down. John shook his head with a sigh before muttering something under his breath. Aaliyah glanced over the brothers, who shot her a supportive smile each. She pushed away the feeling that she lost some standing with John even if she gained some with the brothers. Back at the vehicles, Aaliyah kept an eye out in the off chance of the vampires finding them while the guys did a weapons check. Sam nudged her and handed over a machete while John finally brought up something about a colt. Aaliyah listened while John told of how a Samuel Colt, a hunter way back in 1835, made a special gun and thirteen bullets. The story went that he had used it half a dozen times before they both went missing. Until Elkins got it somehow. “They say … it could kill anything,” John finished. “Like anything supernatural?” Aaliyah questioned. “Like the demon,” Sam added. “Yeah, like the demon,” John confirmed. “Ever since I picked up it’s trail, I’ve been looking for a way to destroy it. With the gun, we may have a chance.” Aaliyah looked down at the large blade Sam had given her and wondered what she had gotten herself into. This was way more than her own search a couple years ago. She kept quiet on the way back to the barn. John eased opened a window and slipped through. Sam followed suit even as Dean motioned Aaliyah to go next. She disappeared into the barn even as her skin tingled from her heightened senses. The vampires slept in hammocks. Somewhere an empty bottle got kicked. Aaliyah watched the hammocks closest to her, but the vampires didn’t wake. “Dean,” Sam whispered. Aaliyah watched her footwork while she made her way over to where Sam called from. She caught sight of more and motioned over to them. Picking up a metal hook, Aaliyah managed to break off the lock. A glance over her shoulder showed that the noise hadn’t waken the vampire. The feeling that the rescue mission and grabbing the gun was a little too easy seeped through. Then a scream. Aaliyah grabbed her machete as she turned. The girl Sam was untying screamed and the vampires woke with a start. “Boys, run,” John yelled. Aaliyah took off with little thought toward the door. Somewhere behind her she heard heavier footsteps of the boys. She didn’t stop running until she reached the vehicles. She brought up the machete when Sam and Dean showed up, breathing just as heavy as she was. “Dad?” Dean called out. “Dad!” Aaliyah listened for anything that signaled the eldest Winchester was approaching. The thought that the vampires got him passed through her head before John charged up the slope. “They won’t follow,” he told them, mostly to the boys. “Not until nightfall. Once a vampire has your scent … It’s for life.” “Well, what do we do now?” Dean questioned. “Find the nearest funeral home, that’s what.” Aaliyah shared a confused look with the boys. *** Aaliyah deflected the half-hearted punch from Sam and came back with her own. It had been John’s idea that Aaliyah learn some measure of self-defense. It was a decent idea since it kept Sam from pacing. “This is taking too long,” Sam complained. “I should go help.” “And leave me here in an awkward spot?” Aaliyah replied. “Sides, Dean’s got it.” She really didn’t want to be left with John, the sense that he felt like she still didn’t measure up to how he did things. “Sammy,” John cut in. He huffed as Aaliyah landed a punch harder than she intended. “Yeah?” “Don’t think I ever told you what I did when you were born.” Aaliyah eyed John as Sam pulled away from her. She stepped for the bathroom and left the door open a crack. Through it she heard John tell Sam how he put a hundred dollars into a savings accounts for the boys when college came around. John opened up to Sam, telling how after what happened he saw evil everywhere. Going from father to drill sergeant. That he saw his youngest son being alone, never what Sam wanted. John finished with how different they were. Sam countering with how they had more in common. “Whatever happened to those college funds?” Aaliyah questioned when she emerged. John smiled. “Spent it on ammo.” Aaliyah looked between the two of them before laughing. Sam broke out laughing followed by John. She caught her breath as Dean walked in. “Some heavy security for a bunch of dead guys,” he commented. “Get it?” John asked. Dean pulled out a bag from a pocket, then a jar containing a red liquid. “You all know what to do.” *** Aaliyah hated the twisting her stomach was doing. She wasn’t sure Dean would have even agreed to allowing her to drive the Impala for the plan. But he did as long as he was the one there to provide back up. Even knowing the three Winchesters were hiding near in the woods really didn’t help Aaliyah feeling safe. It was better than being out on the road, the hood of the Impala open, alone. “Car trouble?” a woman asked. Aaliyah looked to see the female vampire from earlier. “Let me give you a lift back to my place.” Aaliyah gave a half grin. “I’ll have to pass. I draw the line at practicing necrophilia.” The other woman gave a sound like she had been wounded before grabbing hold of Aaliyah by the face and lifting her into the face. “We could have had fun. I like making new friends.” She lowered Aaliyah back down, but still held onto her. Aaliyah tested the vampire’s strength in an attempt to free herself. “I’m not one to stay with a person like that for …. Well, eternity.” An arrow appeared with a wet thuck through the vampire’s body, blood splattered onto Aaliyah’s clothes. It caused the vampire to release Aaliyah. “Damn it,” the vampire cursed. “Give it time, sweetheart,” John told her. “That’s soaked in dead man’s blood. Poison to you, isn’t it?” Aaliyah watched the female vampire waver before collapsing. John instructed the boys to take care of the vampire while motioning Aaliyah over to the other vampire that had appeared. “Take care of it,” he told her as he handed over the machete. Aaliyah took the machete and stared down at the unconscious vampire. She positioned herself before bringing the blade down and cutting the head off. She poked at a fire when John tossed a bag into the flames. The fire had been the first she started, something she was proud off. “That stuff stinks.” “Saffron, skunk’s cabbage, and trillium,” John told her what was in the bag. “It’ll cover our scents until we’re ready.” “Like she said, stuff stinks,” Dean chimed in. “That’s the trick. Dust your clothes with the ashes and you might stand a chance of not being detected.” Aaliyah sneered at the smell the fire was producing thanks to the bag as Sam questioned if the vampires would be going after the female. She heard in John’s voice that he was planning on taking on the nest on his own. “You gotta stop treating us … them … like this,” she spoke up, daring John’s wraith. “Like what?” There it was, the wraith. The contained anger toward Aaliyah in her boldness in speaking against him. “Like children.” Aaliyah stood, branch still in hand. “They’re my children,” John told her, voice threatening to rise. “I’m trying to keep them safe.” “That’s a load of bull,” Aaliyah countered. “With all due respect.” Dean tossed in his support. “You knew Sam and I have been hunting. Hell, you’ve sent us on some hunts yourself. You can’t be that serious about keeping us safe.” “And you were willing to let me take on that werewolf all on my own,” Aaliyah added. “Or did you forget that?” “It’s not the same thing,” John argued. “Then what is it?” Aaliyah could see that he was being worn down and the real reason was going to come out. “Why do you want us out of the big fight?” Dean questioned. John shuffled his weight just enough, the one sign he gave ground. “This demon; he’s one bad son of a bitch. I can’t make moves I would if I’m worried about keeping you alive.” “You can’t be as reckless,” Dean surmised. “Look.” John’s gruff wall went back up as he squared at Dean. “I don’t expect to come out of this fight in one piece. Your mother’s death … it nearly killed me. I won’t stand by and watch my children die as well.” Aaliyah tilted her head just a little. There stood a man who had been broken, still was broken, by the death of his wife. It was one of those subjects that was still too sore to talk about even after all the time past. “What happens if you die?” Dean proposed. “What if that happens and we coulda done something about it? You know what? I…” He stumbled over the next couple words. “Sammy’s right about this one. We should do this together.” Aaliyah added her nod of approval with Sam’s. “We’re stronger as a family,” Dean finished. “I just know it.” “We’re running out of time,” John told them, argument finished with his word being last. “You have your job; go do it.” *** Aaliyah swung her machete and took off the head of a vampire. She spun in place and reacted when another vampire was right on her. Continuing the spin, Aaliyah pushed the vampire away just enough so she could swing. Somewhere she heard metal on metal. Soon enough the people that she had seen locked up broke free of the barn. “Aaliyah, let’s go,” Sam called out. *** Aaliyah mentally cursed her lack of exercise. She was on top of it as much as she could back in college. Hell, two weeks after her first hunt she was out running again. Two years and hunts she lost count of, Aaliyah wasn’t sure how she couldn’t keep up. A whistle grabbed her attention before a crossbow was tossed at her. She barely caught it, the tip brushing against the ground. Arm muscles protested when she pulled back the string to lock up. A hand held up a couple arrows tipped with dead man’s blood. Aaliyah took them and notched one of them just as she stepped out onto the road. She lined the shot and pulled the trigger before seeing a vampire drop. “Why can’t you just let us live?” the male vampire shouted. “We have just as much right to life as you do.” Aaliyah reloaded her crossbow even as the vampire tightened his hold on Sam’s throat. She aimed just as John shot the gun. The vampire lit up from the bullet before dying. The female vampire Aaliyah and the Winchesters had earlier screamed even as they escaped. *** Aaliyah put the last of her things in her bag. She could feel the tension between Sam and Dean even before John stepped into the motel room. “Boys,” he called. Aaliyah kept her gaze down even as they turned to John. “Aaliyah.” “Yes, sir?” Sam broke the tension. “You ignored direct orders back there,” John pointed out. “Yet we saved your ass,” Aaliyah counted, receiving a glare from John. “You’re right.” Aaliyah blinked a few times in shock. “I … am?” “It scares the hell outta me,” John admitted. “The boys are all I got. But we’re stronger together; as a family. And you, Aaliyah, you’re one hell of a fighter. You’re … I’d be glad to count you as a daughter.” Aaliyah smiled as a little pocket of pride and … something else grew. What was that something? A feeling. Like for once she actually had a group she could call a family and rely upon. “Now, let’s go after this damn thing,” John said. “Together.” “Yes, sir,” the boys responded as Aaliyah nodded.

Chapter 8 Aaliyah stared at the brown eyed man. The look he returned seemed to bore into her, as if he studied her. She wondered what he was looking for, if anything. “Hey.” “It’s Sam,” he told Aaliyah. “And she’s the help you told me about?” “She can hold her own in a fight,” Dean said, closing the back door and opening the driver door. “You shoulda seen her against her first werewolf.” Aaliyah flashed a little smile before getting into the back. “Werewolf, huh? How bad?” “Left some good scars,” Aaliyah told him. “Think we can swing by my place real quick? Don’t exactly have my hunting stuff with me.” *** Aaliyah dropped the last of three duffel bags near the door of her apartment and turned her attention to the brothers. Dean half rummaged through the kitchen as Sam looked at the few pictures that Aaliyah had put up. “Doesn’t look like much,” Sam commented. “Work ten to twelve hour shifts for six days a week,” Aaliyah countered. “Really doesn’t give much of a chance to go out and get things to spread roots. So to speak.” She cast a look around what was her living room that held a few lawn chairs, a television bought second hand, and a card table. “Same thing for food.” Dean closed the fridge and turned to her. “So, when are we leaving outta here?” Aaliyah looked around the sparse living room once more. “Now. I’m sure the landlord would love to clean out what little I have here.” She shouldered a duffel and picked up the other two. “Most of my clothes and anything valuable I’m taking with me.” She glanced over to the counter where she had dropped her set of keys before stepping out the door. Behind her followed the two brothers. The apartment had been yet another temporary stop for her on a road that hadn’t seemed right since killing the werewolf back in college. “So, where we going?” she asked outside the building. “Manning Colorado,” Sam answered. *** Aaliyah looked at the dark cabin from beside the Impala. Her stomach knotted up even as she followed along to the door. Something was telling her that they were being watched. She cast a glance over her shoulder toward the trees, as if whoever was watching was there. The door swung open as Sam managed to successfully pick the lock. Dean guided Aaliyah into the house behind Sam. Aaliyah turned her flashlight on and moved it over the mess. “Maid hasn’t showed up,” Dean commented. “There’s salt over here,” Aaliyah called out, her light trained on the circle of salt. “Protection against demon salt, or whoops, I spilled the popcorn salt?” Dean asked. “Definitely demon protection.” Aaliyah turned form the salt ring and looked around the floor. “Think this Elkins guy is a player?” Sam asked. “Definitely.” Aaliyah half listened as the two discovered a hole in the roof and assumed there had been more than one in the attack. Her light flashed over some scratches on the floor that seemed to be just a bit out of place for a fight. “Guys, over here.” She hunched down and gestured to the lines. “Think I got something.” “Death throes, maybe?” Sam suggested. Aaliyah shrugged as Dean grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil to make a rubbing of the scratches. “Or maybe a message.” Dean held up the paper to Sam. “Look familiar?” “Three letters, six digits. The location of a post office box; a mail drop.” “Just like how Dad does it.” *** Aaliyah bounced a knee. She didn’t like the idea of sitting in the post office’s parking lot while Dean went and got the letter. The feeling of being followed hadn’t gone away since they left the house. She slid a hand into her pack and wrapped her fingers around the knife. Dean slid back into the car and held up the letter as Aaliyah slid over and to the edge of the seat. “J.W.?” Sam read the envelope. “John Winchester?” “Think it’s your dad?” Aaliyah suggested. “Should we open it?” Sam asked. Aaliyah pulled her knife out when a knock at a window surprised her. Dean had a fist up and ready before he recognized the person on the other side of the window. “Dad?” Aaliyah shifted over away from the door as John slid in as if he took no notice of her. After the past few years, she doubted he even recognized her in the low light. “I heard about what happened to Daniel,” John answered Sam’s question Aaliyah missed. “And got here quick as I could. I saw the …” He turned his attention to Aaliyah. “Who are you?” “Aaliyah. The boys called for help.” She half shrugged. “Figured I’d would.” Aaliyah kept her attention on the older Winchester while the thought of if she was actually recognizable. “College werewolf,” John said. “You remember that?” Dean asked. “Hard to forget a nineteen year old civilian taking out their first werewolf with a knife to the chest.” Aaliyah dared to shift her gaze from John to Dean, who gave her a slight nod. She made an impression on John and she was going to take it as a good sign. “So, why come all this way for Elkins?” “Yeah. He…was a good man. Taught me a lot about hunting.” “You never mentioned him to us,” Sam told John. “We had…a falling out and I hadn’t seen him in years.” He motioned to the envelope. “I should look at that.” Aaliyah leaned over as John took the envelope and read the contents over his shoulder. Her eyes frown in confusion. “If you’re reading this, I’m already dead. What does that mean?” “Son of a bitch,” John swore. “He had it the whole time.” “Dad, what?” Sam’s voice broke in. Aaliyah looked up to John as he cast his gaze between the three of them. There was that split second where she was sure he was going to ask her to leave the car. “When you searched the place, did you find a gun?” John questioned. He had accepted Aaliyah in the case. “An antique revolver.” “There was a case,” Dean stated. “But it was empty.” “They have it,” John said. “Whoever killed Elkins?” Aaliyah asked as John started to climb out of the car. “We gotta pick up the trail.” “Wait,” Sam cut in. “You want us to come with you?” “If Elkins was telling the truth, we gotta find the gun,” his father told them. “Why?” Sam countered. “Because it’s important, that’s why.” Aaliyah heard the tone in John’s voice. It had that no questions asked and follow orders no matter what vibe. “Do we know what we’re hunting?” She dared to ask. She forced down the flinch when John turned his attention to her. “You should go back home,” he told her. “This isn’t…” “I’m involved,” Aaliyah cut in. “This isn’t a life for everyone, I get that. But I’ve got experience. Besides, what’s bad about adding more?” She felt Sam and Dean’s attention on her while keeping hers on John. “So … What’s the monster of the week?” John stared back at her, like he was looking for something. “If you come with us, you follow my orders. Understood?” “Clearly, sir.” Aaliyah pushed down the dislike that she had to give reign of decision making over to the elder Winchester. Even with Amanda on some hunts, Aaliyah was able to call the shots. “So, monster of the week?” John turned his gaze to his sons. “They’re what Elkins killed the best: vampires.” “Thought there were no such thing,” Dean said. “You mean vampires were legit legend?” Aaliyah asked, shifting her gaze between the three men. “You never mentioned them,” Sam said as Aaliyah spoke. “I thought they were extinct,” John told them. “That Elkins and the others killed them all off. I was wrong. Most lore about them is crap. Crosses don’t repeal them and sunlight and the stake to the heart doesn’t kill. They need fresh blood to stay alive. They were human once, so you won’t know it until it’s too late.” *** Aaliyah stifled a yawn when she slid out of the Impala. She had slept the couple hours it took to reach the motel. She grabbed her bags and stumbled toward the door, using Sam’s back as a moving target. Behind her came Dean with John at the rear. Once in the room, Aaliyah dumped her bags at the foot of one bed before collapsing onto the mattress. Sam and Dean kept their voices low in a debate on who got the other bed and who got the floor. The mattress sunk a little more under Aaliyah even as she adjusted her position. Her feet got slapped as John’s baritone voice called for them to wake up. She moaned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Wha….” “I picked up a police call,” John told them. “What happened?” Sam asked. Aaliyah started to lay back down when Dean caught her. She shot him a glare even as he shook his head. “A couple called 911, found a body in the street,” John told them. “When the police got there, everyone was missing. It’s the vampires.” “How do you know?” Aaliyah suppressed a moan as her muscles stretched when she got to her feet. She watched John head for the door with the instruction to follow him. There was something between Sam and his father she couldn’t place just yet. Grabbing her bag, Aaliyah headed out to the Impala. *** Aaliyah laid on the hood of the Impala, eyes closed. She heard Sam sulk about not being included in being able to talk with the cops and Dean responding back to him. “Will you two shut up?” She sat up as she opened her eyes to find John started for them. “Two hours of sleep isn’t enough with your sulking and your attitude.” “It was them alright,” John told them. “We’ll have to double back to get around the detour.” “How can you be sure?” Sam questioned. “Sam…” Dean started. Sam turned to Dean. “I just wanna be sure.” “We are,” John countered. Aaliyah swore she heard the tone a parent would take with their child when the parent really didn’t have an answer and wanted the child to accept what was given. She watched as John held up a tooth. “It’s…a fang,” Dean said. “Not fang, tooth,” John said. “The second set descend when they feed. Any more questions?” He shot a glance to Sam. “Good. Let’s get outta here, we’re burning daylight.” Aaliyah slid off the hood, mindful not to leave scratches on the paint, as the three men moved. “Dean, you should do a touch up on the car?” John shot at the elder son. “No point on getting rust. I wouldn’t have given it to you if you were going to ruin it.” Aaliyah caught the ‘I told you so’ expression Sam shot at Dean before she slid into the backseat. She pulled out a leather bound book and a pen as Sam started the car and drove after his father. The road had bumps along the way, making Aaliyah’s attempts to write a little difficult. She managed to make an entry about meeting up with Dean and Sam and the events of the hunt so far. Dean read from John’s journal about the vampires; how they lived in nests and how victims were taken there and bled for weeks. “You think that’s what happened to the 911 couple?” “That’s probably what Dad’s thinking,” Sam answered, his voice grumpy. “It’d be nice if he actually told us what he’s thinking.” “So it’s starting,” Dean jumped in. “What’s starting?” Aaliyah asked. “What?” Sam countered, ignoring Aaliyah. “We’ve been looking for Dad all year,” Dean reminded him. “Now we’re with him for a couple hours and already there’s static?” Sam humphed. “Look, I’m happy he’s okay, alright? And that we’re all working together again.” “Well good.” Aaliyah shifted her eyes between the two brothers before turning her attention back to her journal. “It’s just the way he treats us like children,” Sam continued, like he couldn’t help it. Aaliyah rolled her eyes even as Dean sounded off his frustration about it. “He barks orders at us, Dean,” Sam told him. “He expects us to follow without question. “He keeps us on some need to know crap.” “He does it for a reason,” Dean countered. “What reason?” “Our job,” Dean told him. Aaliyah swore Dean shot her a glance that included her in that two word sentience. She had been accepted by John the night before. Something he apparently didn’t do all the time from the little she knew of him. “There’s no time to argue, no margin for error, right?” Dean continued. “That’s the way the old man runs things.” “Maybe when we were kids, but not anymore,” Sam argued. “Not after all we’ve been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you’re cool with just falling in line and letting him call the shots?” Aaliyah thought on the question. After all she had been through after taking out the werewolf in college, she couldn’t ignore her twisting stomach. Sure, that hunt she was a complete novice and relied wholly on Dean and John. Finding her father had been another story. After that, Aaliyah had her own hunts. Sure, Amanda joined on one or two, but it had been all Aaliyah. “If that’s what it takes,” Dean answered after a long look to Sam.

Just so the story flow isn't interrupted once I post the currently 24 chapters posted on my tumblr and AO3 accounts, here's where anyone who's welcome to can leave their: 1. overall feedback 2. impressions 3. things that I may have missed 4. anything else for Ties in Blood. Because the show is a little more than half way through season 14, I may block out the entire work into three parts / season blocks. 1-5 is Ties in Blood. 6-10 will be the next block and maybe titled something different, but within the whole "Ties in" theme. Then seasons 11 to 14 will be next with the same "Ties in" title theme. (added by troy) - Link for the lazy please have a look:

Chapter 7 Aaliyah ignored the protests of the nurses as she climbed up onto the gurney and straddled the patient. They were putting up a fight despite having a collapsed lung. Aaliyah grabbed the lung needle from the attending doctor with one hand while she felt for the space between the patient’s ribs with the other, stabbing the needle between the ribs. Hissing came from where the needle was as the air escaped and allowed the lung to expand. The patient took several deep breaths even in their struggles to buck Aaliyah off of them. The struggles slowed before the patient slipped into unconsciousness. “Sedative,” a nurse said as she pulled the needle from the IV line and looked up to Aaliyah. “Should be out for a few hours.” Aaliyah climbed off the gurney as the rest of the nurses went about cleaning up. “That took guts, kid,” the head nurse complimented her. “Next time, though, don’t do it.” “I didn’t see you jumping on the gurney,” Aaliyah half snapped. “It would have taken more time to re-inflate his lung if he kept moving like that.” She turned to leave the bay. “Where are you going?” “Change my scrubs.” *** Aaliyah pulled her scrub shirt up from behind and tossed it into her locker. She hadn’t seen any of the others in the bay jumping on the gurney to keep the patient down. In a twist, her old scars on her side caught. Aaliyah held in the scream of pain even as her face morphed under it. Easing down onto the bench, she rolled down and touched the floor with her finger tips. “Oh … my … Alyra.” Aaliyah jumped to her feet, her scars pulled in protest. It was the other new nurse that started around the same time she did. The little she knew of him was his home country of Russia. “What’s up, Demitri?” “Your back … That …” His English broke into Russian muttering. “Bad scar from big animal. How say … wolf and man?” Aaliyah tilted her head, mind scrambling to piece the puzzle together. “Wolf man?” “Da, man becomes wolf.” “Werewolf?” Aaliyah bit back a light scoff. “Da, that one. Look like werewolf …” Demitri mimed a werewolf attacking Aaliyah. “Da?” “I don’t know what you’ve been putting in your vodka.” Aaliyah reached for a clean shirt scrub. “But you need to put it away for a while.” “No drink vodka, Alyra,” her name twisted a little under his American accent. “Know animals well.” Aaliyah let out a breath. There was something about Demitri that she couldn’t put a finger on. She pulled the shirt over her head and closed her locker. “Come on, let’s get back.” *** Aaliyah stood outside the automatic doors of the ER as the rain came down in sheets. The emergency room had been quiet since the patient with the collapsed lung was transferred and the last walk in left a few minutes ago. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the smell of the rain as it hit the pavement that gave away the heat from the summer sun. Other than the collapsed lung patient from a few hours ago, it had been a quiet night. “You did a good job in there,” a voice told her. “With the lung guy.” Aaliyah glanced over to see the doctor on rotation next to her. “Then why did Kerry get on me for how I did my job?” “Because you think outside the box. The rest of the staff have noticed things about you since you’ve arrived. Things that we really can’t explain.” “I’m being fired, aren’t I?” Her shoulders slumped as sigh escaped Aaliyah’s lungs. “Think of it as a time to reflect. From what little I know, you haven’t had the easiest of lives. Maybe having time away from work…” Aaliyah spun around and seethed back into the hospital. She was too focused on containing her rage to acknowledge the nurses at the station. Back to the locker room, she emptied out her belongings. “Alyra, you got a phone call,” a nurse called into the locker room. “Says he’s your brother.” “What’s Xander up to now?” Aaliyah barely slowed in semi organizing her bag. “Not Xander. Says his name’s Tiberius Kirk.” Aaliyah stopped her packing as her eyes squinted in confusion. “Want me to tell him to call…” “No, I got it.” Aaliyah finished grabbing her things and grabbed her bag. She followed her now former co-worker over to the station and accepted the phone receiver. “Hey, Tye Die. What’s up?” “Tye Die?” answered a familiar light gruff voice. “I thought you liked that nickname,” Aaliyah kept up the rouse. “Or are you too old for that?” “Aaliyah, stop joking around. I need some help.” “Sure, what’s up?” She dropped the bag on the floor and leaned forward on the counter top. “Dad’s gone missing on a hunt and there’s a few things I can’t piece together. Is there a way I can swing by and pick you up?” “Yeah. I’m just now getting off work now.” “Great. I’ll be there soon.” “Love you too, Tye Die.” There was a click on the other end. Aaliyah handed the receiver back and gathered up her bag. She claimed a duel chair in a corner of the waiting room and found a decent position to sit and sleep for a few hours. A light touch on her arm sent her into a defense posture. “Easy, tiger.” Dean flashed a smile at her. Aaliyah released the breath she held and relaxed. “Don’t…do that.” Dean kept his smile. “It was worth it. Come on, we gotta go.” He grabbed the bag before Aaliyah had the chance to grab it. She worked her body off the chair with a quick stretch to warm her muscles up. “What’s the case?” Aaliyah lengthen her stride to keep up with the six foot something man. “There’s a hunter out in Colorado that got killed by a vampire.” “That sounds like a milk run.” “There’s also a special gun that the vampire took back to their nest.” Dean put Aaliyah’s bag in the back seat of the Impala. Aaliyah reached for the front passenger door and was about to slide in before jumping away from the car. “You forget to tell me about your partner in here?” “Oh, right.” Dean’s head popped up over the car roof. “Aaliyah, meet my baby brother Sammy.”

Chapter 6 Her mind went blank as Aaliyah stared at the man who had aged more than his share in the past several years. A whirlwind of all the possible scenarios passed through her mind in her attempt of sorting out the shock. A cough beside her brought her back around. “Sorry, sir,” Aaliyah apologized. “I’m Agent O’Hare and this is my partner Agent Plant.” She pulled out the spare badge and id that Dean had. “We’re here following up about a case from a couple years ago.” She put her badge back in the pocket she pulled it from. “We understand that you’ve had a history of …” Dean started before being stopped by an upheld hand from the man. “I know why you’re here,” the man told them. “Come in and I’ll answer any questions you have.” Aaliyah glanced over to Dean, who gave her a little head tilt. He saw no reason to refuse. She started in first as the man led the way into the kitchen. “I have thought about finding you for years, Aaliyah,” the man said, opening the fridge and pulled out some bottles of water. “And your brother. I’ve missed so much.” “I’m sorry,” Dean cut in, coming up along side Aaliyah at the island. “But who are you? I’m not one to sit and have a conversation…” “If you really are who I think you are,” Aaliyah interrupted. “Why didn’t you try and find us years ago?” “I’m Casey,” he introduced to Dean. “As for your assumptions, yes. I am your and Xander’s father. I …” Casey looked down at the bottle in his hand, turning it in place. “I got so caught up in hunting, especially when I tried finding your mother. After what the Djinn did… I hunted for a while before stepping away. All the death and injury, I couldn’t do it anymore.” “So. You just … settled down here save in the city without trying to look for us,” Aaliyah argued. “Some father you are.” She started for the door. “Liyra, please.” “Please what?” She spun around. “Please stay and listen while you explain away the past several years you spent hunting? While you went off hunting djinn, wendigos, and everything else that went bump in the night? What was the point?” “I wanted to make the world save for you two.” Casey’s voice rose in countenance to Aaliyah’s. “Is that a crime?” “It’s a crime to leave your children unattended.” Aaliyah startled herself with how low her voice went. “It fucks with them in so many ways. Have a nice life; hope it ends up like how my childhood was.” She turned back around and left the house. She reached the impala when the sound of a closing door reached her. “You okay, kid?” Dean asked as he rounded around the car to the driver’s side. “I don’t know. It’s good to know he didn’t end up dead.” Aaliyah slid into the front seat. “But to know he didn’t even attempt to find me or Xander when he gave up hunting…How would you feel if your dad did that?” “Pretty damn awful.” The car turned over. “Let’s get back to the motel.” *** Aaliyah stared at the motel door through the windshield, her mind blank. During the drive back she had attempted to form something in way of explanation to tell Xander what she found. Nothing had been forthcoming. She sighed in her way out of the car and to the motel room. “Son of a…” Xander cut of his curse when Aaliyah stepped in. “Is it true; that he just quit hunting and didn’t give one shit about us?” Aaliyah glanced over to her brother and nodded. “Like it was something everyone did.” She grabbed a change of clothes and ducked into the bathroom. “Where’s Amanda?” “Right here,” her college friend called out, followed by a door closing. “Made a food run. What’s up?” “Let’s get back to Michigan. There’s nothing here. The trail’s been too cold to have found anything of use.” Aaliyah stepped out of the bathroom in her last pair of clean jeans and a clean tee shirt. She picked up the few items of hers that had been scattered in the room and stuffed them into her bag. “Hold on a sec,” Dean started. “You’re just gonna give up just like that?” “I started this almost four days ago trying to figure out what happened to my father and brother.” Aaliyah turned to face Dean, a shirt half covered in sludged off skin changer in a hand. She flashed him a thankful smile to him, grateful that he followed her lead. “I found Xander. The trail for our father … not so much.” She finished packing and started for the door, grabbing Amanda’s car keys. “Aaliyah,” Xander called after her. “He gave up on us,” Aaliyah fought to keep her voice low. She tossed her bag into the trunk and closed it. “He got out of hunting and settled down in a nice home in town; not a shack like the one we grew up in. I swear I saw a picture of him with a couple other people; family people, Xander.” “Then let him have that life,” Xander told her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Let him know that we’re doing fine and won’t know how well we’re doing. Speaking of which…” The motel door opened before Dean and Amanda emerged. “I wanna know what you’re up to.” “I’ll make sure she calls you every week,” Amanda assured him. “And that she sends out a graduation invite to you.” “You’ll keep me in the loop as well,” Dean requested. “And no more hunts.” “I promise to the first; and only if they’re local,” Aaliyah compromised. “Sides, can’t be calling you all the time when a case pops up.” She flashed him a smile. “You’d make a good hunter,” Dean told her. “Thanks. I did have help with you and Amanda.” “Glad that I don’t have to hide that part from you anymore,” Amanda commented. “We gotta get going if we’re to get back to Michigan in time for Monday class.” Aaliyah shared a hug with Xander before turning to Dean. “You keep my number, Winchester.” “Wouldn’t lose it for the world.” Two Years Later Aaliyah looked in the mirror and adjusted her cap and tassel. She had attempted to keep what little she had for breakfast from ending up in the toilet. She overestimated the hunt time just a little. It had been sheer luck Aaliyah thought ahead in taking her graduation items with her on the hunt. Aaliyah settled for how her commencement sat against her body, and left the restroom and jogged over to where her group of students had gathered for the processional. She ignored the subtle glances toward her. There hadn’t been time for a full blown make up coverage; just enough to hide the bandages and mask the small scratches. She made it to her seat and fought off dozing off. The speeches dragged on and her chin dropped to her chest. Someone nudged her awake. Startled, Aaliyah jumped up as the rest of her row stood. She followed along and merged into the queue that led up the stage. With each name announced came cheers from around the stadium; family and friends of each graduate. Aaliyah doubted that there was anyone in the crowd for her; even when she told Xander and Dean about it. The line before Aaliyah dwindled down to it was just her standing before the stairs that led onto the stage. “Aaliyah Fisher,” her name was announced. The student behind Aaliyah nudged her. Her mind clicked that she had been called and moved her feet. There was polite applause from the facility members on stage and scattered throughout the stadium. The loudest cheers had nearly been drowned out if it hadn’t been for the air horn and a large cardboard sign held up that read in bold letters: Way to Go Win-chester. Aaliyah fought against the tilt her head wanted to take as she stepped up and accepted her degree with a handshake. She waved up toward the sign as she stepped off the stage and back down into the seats. She joined her graduating class in the sitting area and waited for the last of the students. When the last had taken their seat and the president stepped forward and presented to the gathered crowd the graduating class of 2005. Aaliyah moved her tassel over and smiled. The processional music started playing and the first of the facility descended from the stage. After them down the main aisle started the students. *** Aaliyah closed the file folder and dropped it into the pile of other completed files. She had been lucky and had gotten a job in nursing in the first few months after graduating. The other nurses and doctors that were on staff at the local hospital seemed to have welcomed her well enough. Aaliyah sensed that there were things they were holding back. She glanced over at the clock and mentally checked when the full moon rose that night. The radio at the nurse’s station startled Aaliyah in its crackle to life. With the exception of a drunk being carried in by their friends, the night’s shift had been rather quiet. “Garden City, this is Tommy with Bus 4 coming in with a white male in his mid-twenties with apparent wild animal maul wounds. ETA ten minutes.” “Copy that, Tommy,” Aaliyah responded as the ER staff started their organized chaotic prep for the incoming ambulance. She rushed out to meet the ambulance as it rolled up. It had been the one thing she had managed to convince the staff letting her do. Aaliyah figured with her limited knowledge of things that went bump in the night, she would be able to treat the wounds better than her co-workers. The back door opened and the EMTs jumped out. She rushed over as the gurney wheels hit the ground and scanned the wounds as her mind raced through all the potential animals that may have mauled the guy. Most of it was on the left side of the torso, like the animal had gone for the heart. Werewolf attack. Aaliyah held in a sigh. Sure, they might be able to keep the poor bastard from dying, but there was a pretty good chance of him being infected. Aaliyah worked her way to the man’s head, wanting to make sure she was the only one to see any first signs and symptoms of the werewolf infection. She didn’t want to know what the attending doctor and gaggle of nurses would do – short of freak and run – once those started. Keeping an eye on the monitors, Aaliyah swore she saw a twitch of a finger from the patient. A flutter of a closed eye. Her heart threatened to escape her chest. Could have been his body just doing body things. A shoulder rolled in just a way Aaliyah would have missed if she hadn’t been paying attention. He was conscious and waiting for the opportune moment to strike out. Aaliyah leaned down to his ear. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” she whispered. “Not with all these hunters here.” A low growl rumbled in his throat. “There’s no hunters here.” Aaliyah reached up from her shoe and placed a small silver blade to the man’s neck. He hissed from the contact. “If there’s no hunters here, how’d I know about using a silver blade against you?” There was something off if he knew about hunters. Aaliyah glanced up over to the half patched up wounds, her mind working. “There’s some wounds on his leg that are a month old,” one of her fellow nurses pointed out. He was already a werewolf. “You’re all going to be either dead or werewolves before the night’s done,” he told Aaliyah. She slipped her blade back in her shoe before moving to grab the smallest needle she could hide in a hand. Aaliyah would have to do it quick as possible. The man was starting to move more, which would either help or hinder her. Pulling the plunger up in the needle in her hand, Aaliyah threaded her way down to his feet and grabbed one just as he started thrashing against the staff. She kept hold with her free hand and stuck the needle between two toes, forcing herself to keep her eyes on his face. Guilt seeped in as she watched him die. She took an oath to save people in the medical field. Yet … the man was a threat as a werewolf and by injecting air into his blood stream, Aaliyah saved more people if she allowed him to live. She slipped away, putting the used needle into the biohazard box as she went. The rest of the team struggled to revive him even as the monitors and machines argued otherwise. Round two with a werewolf and she survived again. It was a little less life threatening compared to the first, yet she had been the one to give the killing blow. “There’s gonna be times where we’re not gonna save ‘em all,” the doctor told Aaliyah. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She did a double look at him as her mind caught up to the present. “Oh, I know. I’m going out for some air.”

Chapter 5 “There’s no way we’re hunters,” Xander countered. “Maybe you’re not, but your sister is,” Amanda retorted. “Or did you forget the werewolf that quickly?” “I didn’t forget, but to say we’re hunters…” “Shut up, Xander,” Aaliyah snapped. She had taken the book from Dean and leafed through the first few pages. Those were pages of history she knew already. Her and Xander’s childhood, some of their imaginary games, a nightmare. “There’s stuff in here about Mom.” “Mom died when you were two,” Xander pointed out. “Then why’d Dad mention seeing her when I was five. Then again at six. Something’s not adding up.” Aaliyah flipped a few more pages, eyes scanning for any mention of her mother. “Something happened. She was … Jinn? That doesn’t make sense.” “Here, let me see.” Dean stepped in and read over the part Aaliyah pointed to. “Not Jinn, Djinn. They feed off of human blood while keeping them in a dream like state. So the lore says. Looks like your father found one, apparently he thought it was the one who had taken and fed off your mom. He was on its trail when he found it and your mom in an abandoned home. After a fight that wounded your father…” “I remember him coming home in the morning with fresh wounds,” Xander chimed in. “He hadn’t been very forthcoming with answers.” “The Djinn was dead … and your mother as well.” “Mom had been dead for years to me. That much hasn’t changed anything.” Aaliyah flipped forward to the last few pages of the journal. “Here. Dad was on a local hunt and got caught up with … something. The date isn’t far off from that news article.” “So, Dad musta been after what you say is a werewolf,” Xander hazarded a guess. “Seems like it.” Aaliyah looked up to Amanda and Dean. “Another werewolf?” Amanda sighed. “Didn’t we cover this already?” “Like it’s gonna be something else,” Aaliyah countered. “Like a jackalope or a wendigo.” “Guys, hush,” Xander hissed. “I hear something.” He looked back over his shoulder to the door. Aaliyah closed the journal and stepped up to her brother. “Dean what was that about Djinn holing up in abandoned places?” “They usually go for bigger places,” he said. “More places to hide.” “Let’s go,” Amanda urged. “We’ve been here too long.” Aaliyah started for the door first, handing the journal off to Xander with one hand and grabbing for her gun with the other. She stepped out into the hallway, keeping the gun up and index finger ready on the trigger. A growl emanated from down the hall. Forcing down food from breakfast, Aaliyah dared to head for the noise. She cleared the bathroom and started for the first bedroom when a shadow fell from a window. Her arms moved before her body as Aaliyah aimed at the shadow’s source. She was knocked away just as she got a shot off. “Xander!” “I panicked.” Aaliyah rolled around in her attempt to find her attacker. She focused on tuning out the voices as she brought her gun back up as the target came down toward her. BANG! BANG! The two shots she got off echoed in the small area, causing her to go deaf. Aaliyah eased to her hands and knees, a hand sinking into something. “Uh, guys. What is my hand in?” Two people joined her before a light appeared, showing sledged off skin, hair, and other bodily products. The light disappeared as Aaliyah was helped to her feet. “Skin changer,” Dean’s voice sounded. “And that was whatever person they wore recently.” “Wore?” Xander questioned. “Skin changers basically shed the skin of whoever they were posing as,” Dean explained. “You can’t tell the difference between them and the victim.” “Can we get outta here?” Aaliyah asked. “I feel it crawling on me. Xander, where’s Dad’s journal?” “Over here; I got it.” *** “I don’t get any of this.” Xander flipped through the journal. “How could Dad keep all of this hidden from us.” Aaliyah angled the journal toward her a little on the table. “You expect me to have that answer? This was supposed to be a quick search before going back to Michigan.” Dean sat across from them at the table, finishing off his food. “Nothing’s ever quick in hunting.” “Hey, I found my brother, didn’t I?” Aaliyah countered, turning her attention to the other man. “The main part of the job’s finding our father.” “I think I found something,” Xander said. He pointed to a page. “It says here that he was on a milk run case, a ghost haunting. It was successful but there was something about the case that felt off and he dug deeper. He wrote down the address. We might actually solve this before tomorrow night.” Aaliyah leaned back in the motel chair. After her encounter with the skin changer at her childhood home, she wasn’t sure about another house call. She caught the look on her brother’s face and sighed. There was no way Aaliyah could say no with the plea Xander gave her. “Oh, fine. Amanda, where’s that Fed suit I fussed about?” “I’ll go with,” Dean offered. “You’re good at the whole shoot ‘em dead part. I wanna see how you handle the talking part.” “I’d like to go as well,” Xander offered up. “Actually, I need your help with something,” Amanda countered. “I saw things back at your old place I wanna a second look at.” *** Aaliyah pulled at the shirt, itching to shred it to pieces. She followed Dean up the path as she smoothed out the shirt, the fake FBI pressed against her chest. Dean had surprised her with the speed he made the badge when they all were still in the motel. “Now, what’s your name?” Dean questioned. “Agent O’Hara,” Aaliyah responded. “And we’re here following up the case from a couple years back.” Dean nodded as he knocked on the door. Aaliyah had to anchor herself in place when the door opened. Her breath caught in her throat and her mind went blank. Before them stood a man dressed in jeans, tee shirt with a jacket over it, and well worn hikers. A little gray started to show at his temples. “Aaliyah? What is it?” Dean’s voice sounded distant. “Aaliyah?” Concern slipped in. She turned so the man at the door couldn’t hear. “It’s … my dad.” *** “That’s still creepy,” Xander shot over his shoulder. He leaned in the threshold of the room where the skin changer still laid dead not far from the pile of skin. “I know.” Amanda had dove right into the room Xander and Aaliyah’s father had used for his hunting purposes. “A lot of this stuff ties into what happened to your mother.” Xander pulled himself from the threshold and joined Amanda in the other room. “Dad’s journal said something how even after he killed the Djinn that had her, he just couldn’t stop being a hunter.” He came up to where old news articles were pinned to the wall. “Does that happen? Being in the life for so long you can’t leave it behind?” Amanda stopped rifling through old papers but didn’t turn to face him. “More than you think.” She turned and leaned against the table. “That’s what I tried to do; and look what happened. I was out for two years before I refused to let Aaliyah come on this wild chase. We both had futures in nursing. I know how most hunters end up; dead. The lucky ones would keep on going before they end up being monster food.” Xander’s mind recalled the scars Aaliyah had shown him from her fight with the werewolf. She had shrugged it off like they were nothing. “How bad were they; the scars from the werewolf?” “Bad. I could stick this finger,” Amanda held up an index finger. “In half way a week after the fight. She refused to actually go to the hospital to get it all properly treated. Dean had done the stitching himself that night; I just … touched it up.” Xander sighed as his gaze fell to the floor. “Some big brother I am. Off on hunts, hoping Aaliyah would actually make something of herself and here she is …” “Stop, right there,” Amanda snapped. “Aaliyah’s a tough person. She pushed herself even when she should have been resting. Hell, she started her morning run two weeks after her first hunt. Now, lets get this stuff out to the car. Dean and Aaliyah must be back at the motel by now.”

Chapter 4 Aaliyah looked through the few books Dean had left in the room as she attempted to starve off boredom. They and Amanda had agreed that Aaliyah would stay with Xander while Dean made a run to the store for her brother and Amanda made a food run. Aaliyah’s stomach had twisted into knots at the thought of being the only one to stay and protect her brother. Amanda stepped in and assured her that they’d be gone no longer than an hour tops. Dean also left a hand gun and a few full clips in the off chance of receiving unexpected visitors. Aaliyah froze when there was a knock at the door. She reached for the gun and motioned Xander to the bathroom. Another knock sounded as the bathroom door closed. “Who is it?” Aaliyah called, easing a round into the chamber. “Housekeeping.” Daring a look through the peephole, Aaliyah didn’t see the cart housekeeping would have for their rounds. “We’re fine, thanks.” “I insist.” The knob jiggled as Aaliyah put the chain on and took a couple steps back. She brought the gun up just as the door slammed against the chain. One good shoulder hit and the person was in the room. Panic set in before something clicked in Aaliyah’s mind. She aimed and pulled the trigger, the unexpected kickback sent her back a few steps. The intruder straightened and rolled their shoulders. “That wasn’t very nice.” Aaliyah glared as she aimed and pulled the trigger. The intruder continued to move toward her, eyes completely black. “Didn’t I tell you to stop going around digging?” the demon asked Aaliyah. “You’re going to …” Aaliyah shot the person in the chest. The body thumped to the floor as she waited for the black cloud to burst from the mouth. She dared to get close to the body before the black smoke shot out. Startled, Aaliyah backpedaled and hit a bed. The second time the same demon came with the same message: Stop digging. Why would a demon want her to stop digging around for her father? “Aaliyah!” Xander’s muffled voice called from the bathroom. “Aaliyah, talk to me!” “I’m here,” she called back. “Just … Hang on for a minute.” She spent a few minutes looking for her cell and with a shaky hand dialed Amanda. “Hey … um … remember that demon that told me to stop? The one that said that there was a hit on me? It decided to make another visit. No, I’m fine; just a little shaken. There’s a body to take care of though. Xander’s in the bathroom. Okay.” Aaliyah ended the call and with a shaky hand tossed the cell onto a bed. She had gone to college to learn how to save lives, not to take ‘em. She opened the bathroom door to find Xander sitting in the tub with his knees to his chest. “It’s safe to come out.” Xander sat there for a moment before easing himself slowly out of the tub. Aaliyah stepped back out into the room and looked down to the gun still in her hand. “What happened?” Xander’s voice broke into Aaliyah’s mind. “Aaliyah, talk to me.” “Demon possession,” she told him, her eyes on the dead body. “Had to kill the person.” “Demons? This is crazy, Liyra.” “I’m not so sure, Xander.” Aaliyah pulled off the blanket of one of the beds and put it over the dead body. “How is a demon possession not crazy to you?” Xander tilted his head as a few pieces fell into place. “This isn’t a first for you.” Aaliyah nodded. “Think it’s the same demon, always the same message though. Stop digging around.” “Digging for what?” Aaliyah caught a shadow from the motel door and brought up the gun before her brain recognized Dean standing in the threshold. “Nice reflexes, sweetheart,” he complimented. Dean held up a couple bags in Xander’s direction. “Here’s a bunch of stuff for ya.” Xander accepted the bags and returned to the bathroom while Dean peered under the blanket. “What happened here?” “I’ve got a fanatic after me,” Aaliyah half joked, getting a look from Dean that told her to tell the truth. “A demon. Don’t ask me why, but this is the second time it told me to stop digging.” “Well, that’s one thing we’re not going to do,” Dean said, standing. “We’ll head out when Amanda gets back. Don’t wanna be around when the locals find the body.” *** Aaliyah put the last few pieces of wood on the pyre as Dean tossed a match onto it. The lighter fluid caught the flame and for a moment the sarcastic thought of wanting marshmallows passed through her mind. She allowed her mind to wander back to the days before her fight with the werewolf before mentally questioning herself why she decided to dive back into that world. Answers to the questions that had been floating through her mind for the past few years. “You did good,” Dean’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Huh? What?” Aaliyah did that little head shake as her mind came back from wherever it wandered off to. “Handling the demon today,” Dean reminded her. “You did good.” “Then why’s there a big hole in my gut? There’s gotta be a way to save people from that … demon.” “The only way to stop it is to solve the case,” Dean told her. “We’ll get a few hours of sleep before we move again.” Aaliyah watched the pyre burn a little more before joining Dean in returning back to the motel. *** “Why is there never anything good on?” Amanda complained when Aaliyah walked into the motel room. “Because it’s a motel,” Aaliyah told her, stepping out of the bathroom. “What did you expect? Casa Erotica Seven?” “No, they’ve got that.” Dean held up the little display showing the porn movie. “Yeah, not watching a porn movie.” Amanda started flipping through the channels again. “Way too awkward at the moment.” “You’re telling me.” Aaliyah tossed the towel she had been using to dry her hair back toward the bathroom. “I don’t wanna be watching it with my brother in the room.” She picked through the leftover food, taking a few bites of a burger before her body refused more. Unsure if she was still full from earlier or if she just wasn’t in the mood for eating, Aaliyah joined Amanda on the bed they were sharing. “Oh, wait. Go back a couple channels. There.” “Disney channel?” Dean half questioned. “Hey, television’s still a new thing for me,” Aaliyah defended. “We had no tv growing up. All books and imagination.” “It got us up through middle school,” Xander tossed into the conversation. “That one, though.” He gestured to Aaliyah. “Still read.” “Still do, when given the chance,” Aaliyah countered. “Granted it’s been mostly medical books.” “Why medical books?” Xander asked. “I was in the medical program up at U of M.” Aaliyah shifted on the bed. “Was?” Aaliyah looked down at her hands in her lap. “I left to meet up with Dean to find out what happened to Dad and you. Hadn’t expected to find you first.” The mattress sank under a new weight. A hand came into Aaliyah’s view, bringing her gaze up. “I should have come back and told you what I was doing,” Xander told her. A groan came from Dean. “Chick flick moments.” *** Aaliyah grimaced at the outfit Amanda had picked out for her. “Really?” A few hours roaming the clothing section of the store and the two of them returned to the motel with two matching sets of a black skirt and coat with a white button up shirt. Tan hose and black heels that didn’t go any higher than an inch or two. “Gotta have the right outfit if you’re gonna play the part of the Feds,” Amanda told her, putting the clothes down. “Take it from experience, you won’t get answers from the local government if you’re look like a civilian.” “But I am a civilian,” Aaliyah argued. “Not since the moment you called for help,” Dean pointed out. “Better yet, when you put that knife into the werewolf.” “Which reminds me?” Xander asked, approaching Aaliyah. Aaliyah was turned away from the outfit. “There was a werewolf roaming the University of Michigan campus. Took a bit of work, but I managed to take it out.” “She kicked ass,” Dean tossed in. “Took some scratches, but she came out alive.” “You got hurt?” Xander started looking for scars. She brushed him off. “I got scarred, not bitten.” “How bad?” Aaliyah glanced over to Amanda, who nodded, before stripping off her shirt. She heard a hiss behind her before feeling a light touch of a few fingers tracing her scars. “If I had known…” Xander told her. Aaliyah flared her arms a little to keep Xander away from her. “I survived despite what you see.” She lifted her arm to show off the scars on her side. “I don’t know how it happened, but I survived. As for the Feds suit, I don’t see how it’d help if we have … two and a half days to figure out what happened to Father before Amanda and I need to get back to college.” “Short time for finishing a case,” Dean commented. “Thanksgiving break,” Aaliyah told him. “Believe it or not, I actually wanna graduate in a couple years.” “Then we got work to do.” *** Aaliyah stood at the side of the car and looked up to the single story home that held her childhood. Waist high tan grass hid whatever toys she and Xander had growing up. The late fall sun barely gave enough heat as a breeze rustled the grass. “We shouldn’t be here,” Amanda said. “The place could be monitored.” “We’re far enough way from the neighbors they can’t see us,” Xander told her. “Not like anyone’s gonna worry about a house that’s sat vacant for six years now.” “Are you sure there’s answers here?” Dean asked Aaliyah when she caught up to him. “I want to believe it. Something’s not sitting right in what my father did when he wasn’t working.” She looked around as Dean pulled out something and started picking at the locks. The locks gave way and Dean eased the door open. He pulled out his handgun before stepping into the house. Aaliyah followed his movements, still unsure about having a gun in her hands. Her footsteps led the way into the kitchen where dishes from the day the local law enforcement came and told her and Xander what happened. Cobwebs hung off the ceiling and walls and Aaliyah could swear she saw droppings from creatures she didn’t want to know of. “House is clear,” Dean called from somewhere. Aaliyah whistled and started into the living room. More signs of rodent life, maybe a racoon or two. Flashes of childhood memories leapt through her mind as she continued for her father’s room. Dean was looking at the numerous pieces of paper and lines of yarn strung up and stuck to the wall with push pins. Aaliyah’s mouth dropped a little. “I can’t make heads or tails on what’s happening here,” Dean told her. She picked up an old newspaper article with the headline “Large Wolf Sightings”. The article also sported a blurry picture of what the caption said to be the large wolf. Tilting her head in such a way, Aaliyah swore the image was similar to the werewolf she took down. “Dean, look.” She held up the article for him to take. “It might be something.” “So, this was what Father was doing all that time,” Xander commented when he walked in. “You knew?” Aaliyah turned her attention on her older brother. Xander shrugged. “Like I was gonna come out and ask him about what he was doing in here alone. Never thought it went this far.” “Xander, ever see your father with this?” Dean held up a leather bound book with small pieces of paper sticking out of the pages. “Once or twice for a quick minute. Why?” “It’s like the one my old man has. Seems yours was a hunter.”

Chapter 3 Aaliyah rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she shifted away from the glaring sun. It took a minute or two for her mind to recall where she was at. Amanda had pulled off into a rest stop a couple hours after the event at the gas station, claiming she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. The driver’s door opened and Amanda slid in and tossed over a bag of chips, a pack of cookies, a water, and pop. “Breakfast of champions,” Amanda commented. “Eat up.” Aaliyah shifted around and put the chips and cookies on the dash. “If this is ‘breakfast of champions’ we really must be champions.” She pulled out the map they had grabbed before leaving Michigan and unfolded it. “Where are we?” “Not far from St. Louis.” Aaliyah found the city on the map as she heard the hiss of the pop opening. “We’re not that far. Another whole …” She glanced up to the clock and worked out the math. “Three more hours if we make pit stops. Maybe four depending on how far from St. Louis we are.” “Sounds like a plan.” Amanda opened up a snack item Aaliyah hadn’t see yet. “So we stay on I-44?” “That and merge onto …” Aaliyah traced the map with a finger. “Route Fifty. No. The two share the same stretch of road for a while. It’s … Route Nineteen we need to get onto. That’ll be aways off, though.” “Sounds like a plan.” Amanda started up the car. “Hang on,” Aaliyah requested. “Gotta go visit the restroom.” Her leg muscles pulled in protest as she climbed out of the car. Stretching for a minute, she started for the building. After the better part of seven hours in the car, it felt good to get up and move. *** Aaliyah sucked down half the glass of water before taking a breath. “Thirsty?” Amanda half questioned, a tease of a smirk on her lips. “A little.” Aaliyah dabbed the back of her hand on her mouth to catch the couple drops of water that escaped. She glanced back toward the kitchen. “We ordered a few minutes ago,” Amanda pointed out. “Give them time to cook.” Aaliyah curled her lips into her mouth as she turned back around. “I never got that about you,” Amanda brought up. “How could you go like a day and a half without eating, then gorge yourself when you do.” Aaliyah half shrugged. “Maybe I just got used to it. Having little less than enough food in the house. And getting the basic breakfast and lunch at school.” She started playing with the straw, stirring the ice. “You know how I grew up.” “You’ve told me parts,” Amanda corrected. “Father had long shifts. Mother wasn’t there. And your brother …” “He was the one who made sure I got ready for school and fed at night,” Aaliyah finished. “I think some times if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t had gotten into U of M.” “Don’t think you’ve ever mentioned them.” Aaliyah shrugged. “Maybe it’s like you and your past. No point on bringing it up when you’re trying to run from it.” “But you’re not exactly running from your past,” Amanda pointed out. “You’re trying to find it.” “I just wanna know what happened to my father and brother.” “Here you two go,” the waitress spoke up, bringing over their orders. “One salad with a side of ranch and a burger with everything – hold the onion – and a side of fries.” The waitress set down the salad in front of Amanda and the burger to Aaliyah. “Everything look okay?” Aaliyah glanced over her food before nodding. She reached for the ketchup and started on the fries. The diner’s door opened, hitting the little bell above it. Aaliyah looked up over Amanda’s shoulder to see Dean walking over to the counter. Hard swallowing her food down, she kicked Amanda under the table. The kick jarred Amanda mid bite, resulting in her giving Aaliyah a death glare. “Dean’s here,” Aaliyah whispered, gesturing with her head. “Then call him over?” Amanda told her. “It’s not like we’ve got anything to work with.” Aaliyah kept her gaze on Dean, who had taken a seat and held onto the mug in front of him. Stuffing a fry into her mouth, she wondered when the last time he had gotten some sleep; and how much he had gotten. She looked down when Dean shifted to take in the diner. A light shadow fell over the table when Aaliyah took a bite of her burger. “Mind if I join you two?” a scruffy sounding voice asked. Aaliyah looked up with the bite of food still in her mouth to see Dean standing there. Something hit her shin, bringing her back around. She swallowed before shifting over in the booth. Dean slid her food over to her after taking a fry. “How’s the wounds?” “They still pull from time to time,” Aaliyah replied. “But they’re fine.” “Decent job on stitching,” Amanda commented. Aaliyah dared to look at Dean. The tough macho man façade he had when they first met slipped a little when a tease of a smile appeared when Amanda gave him a compliment. “What can you tell me about your father?” Dean asked, getting down to business. Aaliyah finished swallowing her drink. “What I remember…” She set the glass down. “Worked nights for twelve hours, saw him for maybe an hour or so after school. He’d cook when my brother and I were younger. When he vanished, the cops couldn’t find any reason why he would just up and leave. He was gone but there were no signs of struggle.” Aaliyah picked up a fry and took a small bite. “I wanna say it had something to do with … I don’t know. Something like that werewolf. Things that go bump in the night.” “We’ll figure it out,” Dean assured her. “Finish up and we’ll head out.” Aaliyah scarfed down the rest of her burger as Amanda flagged down their waitress for the bill. Aaliyah slid the rest of her fries to Dean, who finished them off before sliding out from the booth. *** Aaliyah closed the door behind her and started for where Dean had parked. “This is it,” she said. “This” was the two lane back road that was surrounded on both sides by woods. “The same spot where my father’s car was found, keys still in the car. The cops say that they believe they found tracks going into the woods.” She pointed in the direction of the woods on their side of the road. The speed it took Dean and Amanda to go from relaxed to full hunter mode took Aaliyah by surprise. She stumbled to catch up with them as they dove into the woods. After a few years, she wasn’t sure if they would be able to find anything. “Was there anything that you noticed that was out of the ordinary for him?” Amanda asked. Aaliyah shook her head. “Not that … Wait. There was this one time when he was half talking to himself about … something. Not like Bigfoot, with deer antlers. Think he was rambling more about the local law enforcement’s incompetence.” She caught an eye roll from Amanda and a small nod from Dean. “Does … that happen often with law enforcement.” “More than you know, sweetheart,” Dean spoke up. Aaliyah allowed the noise of the woods to fall over them. Different birds made their calls, the small breeze through the leaves, and three pairs of footsteps. Losing track of time, she wasn’t sure when the birds stopped chirping. “Guys, something’s up.” Panic started to set in when she stopped and didn’t hear more footsteps. Wishing for any sort of weapon, Aaliyah made the decision to start back for the road. Feet from where she had stopped and turned around, she caught a movement from the corner of her eye. Aaliyah was able to get a good sized branch as she turned in the direction she saw the movement. Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as she moved toward the potential danger. A snap of a twig to the right. Aaliyah swung the branch and made contact with something solid. She looked down to find a man who apparently had seen better days. Branch in hand, she checked to see if he was still alive. His chest was moving and a good heartbeat. “Aaliyah!” Amanda’s voice called out. “Aaliyah! Come on, now.” “Over here!” Aaliyah tilted her head to gain a better look at the man she had knocked out There was something oddly familiar about him. Too young to even be in the age range her father would be in if he was still alive. Behind her came the crunching of wood vegetation of two pairs of feet. “I knocked him out,” she said as Amanda and Dean came around. The two looked the unknown person over, checking for Aaliyah didn’t know. “He’s fine,” Dean announced. “Let’s keep moving.” He stood and started off. “Dean, wait,” Aaliyah called out. She watched at the bearded man start to come around, putting a hand to where she made contact with his head. Hunching down, Aaliyah made sure to make eye contact with him. “Who are you?” He stared back with a mirror image of her heterochromia iridis; one eye blue the other hazel. Aaliyah fell back onto her backside in mild shock. There was only one person who shared her two colored eyes. “Xander?” “Aaliyah?” She heard the concern in Amanda’s voice. “Who is this?” “It’s … my brother.” Aaliyah eased herself to her feet and offered a hand to Xander. She wasn’t sure if he would accept them, or if he even remembered her. “What are you doing out here, Liyra?” he asked as he accepted her hand. “And who are those two?” “Amanda’s my friend and college roommate,” Aaliyah introduced. “And that’s Dean. He helped…” She bounced a little on the balls of her feet. “He helped me take down a werewolf.” Xander moved with a speed that took Aaliyah by surprise and grabbed hold of both of her upper arms. Dean was right next to him, knife to his throat, and Amanda over Aaliyah’s shoulder with a shotgun. Aaliyah half expected Amanda to jump into her defense, but not Dean. The two of them barely knew each other. Aaliyah wasn’t going to argue the help. “You took down a werewolf? And survived? Were you bitten?” Xander started looking her over, trying to find a bite mark. Aaliyah managed to push him away. “No, I wasn’t bitten. Just scarred a bit.” “What’s a bit?” Xander stepped back and crossed his arms. “As much as I’m loving this family reunion,” Dean cut in. “We need to get outta here before the locals show up.” Aaliyah glanced at Xander out of the corner of her eye before nodding. “We need a room anyway.”

Chapter 2 “Ms. Fisher,” the professor called out as Aaliyah’s ringer started up. “Sorry, Mr. Greenwood.” Aaliyah rushed to her feet and out the classroom door as she struggled with the cell. Bracing herself against the wall, she flipped the phone open and pressed it against her ear without checking who was calling. “Hello?” “Aaliyah? It’s Dean.” She blinked a few times as her mind worked up a response. “I’m in the middle class. The professor’s not one to be lenient on having phones interrupt the class.” There was a pause long enough to have her think she said the wrong thing. “Dean, what’s up? I’m sure it’s not like hunters call an average college student out of the blue like this.” “Your voicemail.” Two words and the message Aaliyah left a month ago flooded back. “You said something about missing people.” Aaliyah glanced down as she scuffed the ball of her shoe against the tile floor. “One for sure. My dad went missing a few years ago, and the locals gave up after a few months of searching. I swear it was something … else. My brother had been at college … I think. He hasn’t called in a year, so he might be busy…” “Aaliyah,” Dean cut in. “Sorry. It’s okay if you can’t …” She started to pull the phone away from her ear. “Where was the last place your father was seen?” “You’d look for him? Really?” Aaliyah held onto that little glimmer of hope she had held onto for years. “Now, I can’t promise he’d be found alive,” Dean told her. “Where was he last?” Aaliyah glanced around the hallway in her attempt of thinking back the past few years. “Work; pretty sure. Or on his way home. He was never one for extra stuff due to long work hours.” She trailed off as a recent memory of her watching her father walk into the house after a long work shift and straight to his bedroom. “Hey, we’re getting a break for Thanksgiving. I could come back …” “No.” It sounded harsh coming from Dean. “Stay there and … study or something.” “This is my father we’re talking about, Dean,” Aaliyah half yelled. “And my brother. I want to help.” She listened to his breathing on the other end and wondered if he would relent. “If you can be in your hometown Thanksgiving Day, you can help,” Dean put up. “Gotta go.” A light thump on the other end and Aaliyah pulled her phone from her head. Easing it closed, she startled when the classroom door opened and her class streamed from the room. Waiting until most of the students had left the room, Sara ducked in and up where her belongings were still sprawled out. “Ms. Fisher,” Mr. Smith spoke up. “If you have your phone on in the next class…” “It won’t happen again, sir,” Aaliyah cut in as she put her things in her bag. “Promise.” She shouldered her bag as she moved to leave the room. Her mind raced with all the things she needed to do to make it back home in two days. *** Aaliyah adjusted her shower items in the suitcase and stepped back. A voice in the back of her mind was telling her that something was missing. A few pairs of jeans, check. A variety of shirts from tees to passable for a nice dinner out, check. Tennis shoes were by the dorm door. A couple pairs of shoes to match the two nice outfits were in the suitcase. She wasn’t expecting to be invited some place that would require the nice stuff packed away, yet there was that sense of wanting to be prepared for that occasion. “Taking a trip somewhere?” Amanda asked, closing the dorm door behind her. “Sorta. I may have gotten some help trying to find my father.” Aaliyah turned from her bed and joined Amanda at hers. “Then maybe my brother.” “You honestly think you’re gonna find them both alive after all this time?” Amanda put her text books away. “The cops didn’t find anything after my father disappeared. Sure, the car was on the side of the road, but no body. Nothing like that.” Aaliyah ran a finger along Amanda’s dresser and stopped at a picture that showed the two of them at a home football game. “I … They’re family, Amanda. Call it crazy, but there’s some part of me that wants to know what happened to them.” Amanda turned from her stack of books and met Aaliyah’s eyes. “Then I’ll go with you.” “You don’t have to. ‘Sides, you’ve got a better chance of graduating and getting a nursing job than I am.” “When are you supposed to be meeting this help of yours?” Amanda half dove into her side of the closet and pulled out her suitcase. “Two days. What are you doing? Put that back, you’re not…” “Letting you go alone.” Aaliyah watched Amanda pull out denim jeans, tee shirts, and a few jackets that looked like they’ve seen better days. Next went in an outfit or two that would pass for nice. “Don’t throw away your life because I’m going on a wild goose chase.” “I’m not.” Amanda tossed in a few pairs of shoes then zipped the suitcase. “Besides, you need a vehicle to get wherever you’re going in two days.” Aaliyah shifted as Amanda started for the door. There was something about Amanda that screamed skeletons in the closet. Aaliyah had asked about her roommate when they first met, but Amanda deflected with something else. Something told Aaliyah as she rushed to put her shoes on and grabbed her own suitcase that she may learn more than she wanted about her roommate. *** Aaliyah scanned the shelves that held a variety of snack foods. Five hours out from the university she convinced Amanda to pull off and to a gas station. The little voice in the back of Aaliyah’s mind had told her that Amanda agreed only because they needed to fill the tank. Unable to decide on what snacks to get, Aaliyah grabbed the few she had been eyeing and started for the counter. The door chimed sounded as a man staggered in and made his way over to the coolers. Aaliyah’s inner voice screamed to drop the snacks and all but run out to the car where Amanda was waiting and leave. Forcing herself toward the counter, Aaliyah set the snacks down and started to fish out what money she had as the clerk started ringing her selections. The light tapping of the man’s shoes came up a few steps behind Aaliyah as the clerk finished ringing up her choices. He was back far enough not to crowd, but the feeling he was too close had more of Aaliyah’s alarms go off. Handing over the money, she anchored her feet to the floor. The clerk accepted the money and dealt with the register. Behind Aaliyah was a small sniff. She turned her head just enough to see the other customer leaning over her shoulder sniffing at it. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “It’s a bad habit I’ve been trying to break.” Aaliyah shifted her shoulders as she accepted her change and the bag of snacks. She stepped away from the counter and half expected the other customer to step up. When something grabbed her arm, Aaliyah jerked away. When the grip got tighter, she looked up to the other customer and screamed. What looked back were not normal eyes, but all black. The bag of snacks fell from her free hand as she swung it around to hit the man. “Not so fast,” the customer … No, Aaliyah’s mind told her. It’s whatever causing the black eyes. “You’re going to …” A loud blast echoed in the building. Aaliyah’s body froze in place at the sound. Her mind worked her body out of the state as the body of the other customer started to slump to the floor. Aaliyah freed her hand and stumbled back away from the body, kicking the snack bag as she did. She stopped once she hit a display rack and the shooter ambled in over to where the body had dropped. A handful of seconds passed before Aaliyah’s mind recognized the new person as Amanda. “What’s your deal, demon?” Amanda demanded as she grabbed the man’s shirt at the collar and pulled him up to her. “There’s been a hit put on that one,” the man pointed at Aaliyah. “What demon do you know wouldn’t take the chance?” “What hit?” Amanda shook the man. “What hit!” She pulled her free hand back in a fist. “Go ahead and hit,” the demon taunted. “It’ll hurt him more.” Aaliyah tilted her head. Her adrenaline from fighting off the man had ebbed away just to be replaced by sheer confusion. She eased herself away from the display rack and over to where Amanda and the man were sprawled on the floor. His eyes jumped from Amanda to Aaliyah as she took one step too close. “Word to the wise,” the demon spoke. “Do not go digging up what should have been left buried.” A cloud of black smoke bellowed out from the man, startling Aaliyah back. “Wha…What was that?” she managed to ask after regaining her voice. Amanda eased to her feet, something in the hand that had been a fist. “A demon, low level probably.” She gathered up the snacks and the bag before heading for the door. Aaliyah blinked a few times as her gaze fell on the dead man. Her mind kickstarted her into moving after Amanda. “Low level demon? What do you know of demons? They don’t exist.” “Oh, and that werewolf that scarred you up didn’t exist?” Amanda countered as she opened the car’s driver door and slid in. Aaliyah stopped when Amanda countered with the werewolf. The wounds were definitely real and the scars on her side pulled when she twisted in such a way. Aaliyah got into the car as it started up and struggled with the seatbelt. “But … Demons. Like Exorcist type shit?” “Rarer than what just happened back at the station.” Amanda merged out onto the street and for the highway. “That was my … second time coming across a demon.” “Second time? Wait, how did you know how to deal with it?” Aaliyah shifted around in her seat to look at Amanda. “Things aren’t adding up here.” “I’ll tell you when it’s safe.” “When it’s safe? That thing is still out there.” Aaliyah reached for her door handle as she unbuckled. “Stop the car, let me out.” “Aaliyah, please.” Aaliyah stopped in her struggle and looked over to Amanda. In the low light she thought Amanda had the expression she was mentally debating on telling Aaliyah the one thing she didn’t want to. “You want to know how I knew to handle the demon?” Amanda asked after a few silence moments. “And why I didn’t get involved with your fight with the werewolf?” She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “My family are hunters.” “A lot of families are hunters,” Aaliyah countered. Amanda shook her head. “Not out hunting animals. More hunters of the supernatural.” Aaliyah chuckled. “Yeah, the supernatural. Okay, and my mother was a fairy and my father was a genie.” “I knew telling you was a bad idea. This whole trip was a bad idea from the start.” Amanda pulled over to the side of the highway. “I don’t want to see you get hurt again, Aaliyah. You were – are – the one person that didn’t judge me on my family or what we’ve done. I felt like a new person.” Aaliyah bit back the comment that threatened to emerge. Amanda hadn’t been really forthcoming with her life before college when they met, so Aaliyah couldn’t judge her roommate on family. “I’m sorry for dragging …” Amanda tossed up a finger, silencing Aaliyah before she could finish. “You didn’t drag me on this, I wanted to come. I …” The finger went down. “I just thought that I could do this without getting drawn back into hunting.” Aaliyah looked down to her hands, unsure of what to say to comfort Amanda. Aaliyah had started off with the hope of finding what happened to her father and brother for some sort of closure and here Amanda was trying to run from her past. “You don’t have to do this.” “What sort of friend would I be if I let you go off on your own without any sort of help.” Amanda turned to look at Aaliyah. “Besides, I kinda want to see the guy who brought you to the dorm again.” Aaliyah half swore she saw a smile on Amanda’s face and smiled. Maybe this trip would be better for the both of them.

Okay, not sure how many have seen the show (or how much), but this is what might turn into the first of a three part block of a fan fiction. At the current point, it's 25 chapters long and is at season 3 in the show's run. I do plan on making each post be a chapter a piece; unless I reach the word/character limit. Anyway ... Story summary. Yeah, that sounds good. Aaliyah's a nursing student at U of M and manages to kill a werewolf after teaming up with a pair of hunters. She then makes a call a month later that not only answers questions, but changes her life. Chapter 1 Aaliyah stood still as the young man adjusted her two layers of clothes. Behind him she watched the older man Aaliyah pegged to be the father finish the last of the traps. She hadn’t expected the elder to allow her on this part of the hunt. Yet after the werewolf caught her scent three days ago, there was little choice. Once the young man seemed satisfied with how Aaliyah’s jackets fit, he reached over to the trunk of the car, a black Impala, and brought out a knife. “Silver blade,” he told her. “Short of lobbing off the head, best way of dealing with werewolves.” With a slight flick of the wrist, he caught the blade and handed the knife handle first to Aaliyah. She accepted the blade, adjusting her hold, and nodded. “Any advice?” “Yeah, don’t get killed.” “Dean. We need to move,” his father instructed. Aaliyah watched Dean’s father climb into the driver’s seat of the car before the engine rumbled to life. She watched the car move away as memories flashed of the past few days hearing the engine around the college campus. Turning back to Dean, Aaliyah blinked a couple times in a slight surprise to find he wasn’t there. With a couple stabilizing breaths, she stepped out into the open. The late summer breeze tugged at the top jacket and she swore she heard cheers from the football stadium. The thought that the werewolf would be drawn there passed through her mind. Then again, even a wild animal would avoid people. A howl carried on the wind. Aaliyah spun her head and shifted her grip on the knife. Leaves on nearby trees rustled, but there was no breeze. She turned to see just out of the corner of her eye a lumbering werewolf in md arm sweep at her. Full force sent Aaliyah into a sapling, snapping it and sending the wind from her lungs. Gasping for breath, she searched for the knife that laid a few feet away out of the creature’s path. Crawling for the weapon, Aaliyah’s neck hairs stood on end as the hot stank breath of the werewolf touched her. Her fingers just barely grabbed the knife as her back erupted in pain as if it was on fire. Screaming in pain, Aaliyah curled into a ball, her hand around the knife handle. Fighting through the pain, she rolled onto her back as the werewolf swiped at her again, cutting into her side. The muzzle of the werewolf was inches above her face, a large glop of saliva hanging down. Biting through that pain, she thrusted the knife up into the creature’s stomach, pulling the knife up to the rib cage. She didn’t fight the shutter that worked through her body as hot blood bathed her. Pushing the dead body up and off of her, Aaliyah laid there, regaining her breath, her mind blank. She fought the urge to close her eyes as her body reverted into survival mode. “That took guts,” she heard a voice tell her. A slow turn of her head showed Dean coming up to her. “Think you can move?” Testing her side with a deep breath, Aaliyah nodded. Holding up a hand and worked with Dean to get to her feet. Wrapping her free arm across her stomach, she didn’t fight when Dean put the arm he held around his shoulders and wrapped his arm around her, mindful of her back. Eased over to the car, Dean helped her onto the hood before going to the trunk. She flinched when John came up to her. “What were you thinking?” he demanded. “Letting the werewolf…” “It’s dead,” Aaliyah cut in, eyes closed against the throbbing pain. “Bet you couldn’t do better.” A heavy thud on the hood reverberated through her body. With an eye cracked open, Aaliyah watched Dean start fishing through a duffel bag. From it appeared make shift medical supplies plus typical first aid items. Last item was a bottle of cheap looking alcohol any of the local party stores had in stock. She reached for the bottle as Dean found a needle and dental floss. “Think you can shed the jackets and shirt?” Dean asked. Aaliyah freed one jacket and struggled with the second. She ignored the feeling of serious judgement from Dean’s father. Unfit to be a hunter, the older Winchester said when she wanted to help three days ago. She wanted to show him he was fit when she heard that. Finally freeing the second jacket, Aaliyah dared to shed the shirt. A hiss from Dean was a clue on how bad it looked. A small shiver when a breeze passed by, Aaliyah hissed when a cold liquid washed over her open wounds. Adjusting herself on the hood, she folded her legs in front of her. Meeting Dean’s gaze, Aaliyah nodded. Holding herself still, she felt Dean’s hands working on stitching up her side and back. As he worked, Aaliyah started to drift off to sleep. A shake brought her back around. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your dorm,” Dean told her. *** Unsure of what she was conscious of first, Aaliyah laid in bed and attempted to pick each noise out. Her roommate moving around doing something. Coffee dripping into the pot. Music playing just a little too loud Aaliyah swore would have affected her if she had been drinking. Shifting under her blanket, pain snagged on her dental floss stitched wounds. “You look like you had a rough night,” her roommate told her, passing through to the bathroom. “Yeah, I had one.” Aaliyah eased herself into a sitting position on her bed, the covers pooled in her lap. “Where you at the game, Amanda?” “No, had a test to study for.” Amanda came out from the bathroom and gasped. “What happened to you? Have you been to the ER?” Aaliyah looked down to her bandages had red spots on them and shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me.” She didn’t fight when Amanda eased her forward. “Try me.” Closing her eyes as Amanda started peeling off the bandages, Aaliyah watched flashes of the previous night. The fresh wounds pulled at her muscles. “You remember the reports of a large wild dog and all that howling the past few weeks?” “What about it?” Amanda continued unwrapping the bandages. Aaliyah heard her roommate half listening to what she was saying. “It was a full blown werewolf.” “Werewolf, huh? Twilight or Harry Potter?” “More like Underworld.” Aaliyah glanced to the bundled bandages speckled with red as Amanda stepped away and tossed it into the trash. “I’m … still trying to figure out how I really survived the fight.” “You sound …” “Insane? Like I need to be put up in a psych ward indefinitely?” Aaliyah took a deep breath and held it as she moved her body to the edge of the bed. Feet on the scrap of carpet that served as a rug and her hands white knuckled the mattress, she released the air from her lungs. The pain was still there, blood vessels, muscles, skin working still to knit themselves back together. Breathing through the pain flair until it died down to a mild throbbing. “Go ahead and say it, I won’t fight it.” “That’s the thing, though, Lia.” Amanda sat down in the oversized chair that Aaliyah had. “I do believe you. I had gone out to the library yesterday …” “Studying for the test,” Aaliyah remembered, gaining a nod from Amanda. “Coming back here when the library closed, I swear I saw some sort of fight in the Diag,” Amanda told her, voice. “One of the … fighters loomed over the other, howling and grunting like those wolves we had gone to see over the winter. It clawed at the smaller fighter, who cried out. The smaller reached for something before turning around and just as the larger was just over them.” She mimed being stabbed. “The one on the ground stabbed up at her attacker. After that, two men came out from wherever they were and took care of the scene. One took care of the dead attacker while the other helped …” Amanda gestured toward Aaliyah. “You, apparently.” Aaliyah worked what her friend told her, wondering why she so readily believed her tale of being attacked by a werewolf. “That whole time, you never thought to go get help or come help?” “Oh, hell no. Too much trouble on my end.” Amanda pushed herself out of the chair. “Come on, I’ll help you wash up and get fresh bandages on those stitches of yours.” Aaliyah couldn’t help smile a little as her roommate and good friend since freshmen year of college offered a hand up. In the couple years she had known Amanda, Aaliyah wondered how much remained hidden between them. Any time she brought up family or friends before college, Amanda deflected the conversation to another topic. “Whoever did those stitches knew what they were doing,” Amanda called from the bathroom. “Major props to ‘em.” “Yeah, he knew what he was doing,” Aaliyah replied, trying to remember how it felt having her wounds being stitched with a deft and gentle hand. She half shuffled to the bathroom, using the furniture to help, where Amanda had water running. “A shame I didn’t get his number.” “There’s a piece of paper on your desk.” Grateful she was holding onto it, Aaliyah reached for the paper. “You did great, Aaliyah. Your roommate helped getting you back in. Here’s my number if anything happens while you’re still here.” --Dean Spotting the number under Dean’s name, Aaliyah made a mental note to call it later. Maybe after the shower and more rest. *** Panting, Aaliyah came up to The Rock near the ZTA chapter house and braced herself against the rock. Early morning before the University of Michigan and the surrounding city buzzed with its daily workings was a good time to run. A month after killing the werewolf, Aaliyah was able to breath and not have the feeling her side and back were on fire. The talk of the day had gone from the random animal attacks to the varsity football team being able to reach the championship game. Aaliyah had no issue with the gossip changing from the werewolf to the team. It kept the attention off of her and her wounds. Her professors and classmates had been worried when she showed to class after the fight. Her wounds bleed a little through her bandages the first day or so when she returned to class. Amanda had offered to go around and collect assignments from all her professors in that first week, but Aaliyah refused. She didn’t want to put more stress on her roommate and friend than what she already had with her load. Once her breathing slowed, Aaliyah dared to head off toward the Quad where the fight with the werewolf had taken place. Speeding up to a light jog, she passed a few students on their way to a morning class. A few minutes and a quicken heart rate later, she came to a stop at the grass line. The late summer yellow grass still held onto the large brown spot where the werewolf had fallen a month ago. Word had spread about a large animal being killed when the landscapers showed the morning following Aaliyah’s kill. Rumors and guesses of what it was had circulated the University and surrounding parts of the city for the past month, and Aaliyah kept to herself during those conversations. She stood there in the early morning silence as a strange sense of peace fell over her. Like something finally clicked in her mind that she, with some help, had not only learned of the supernatural but taken down one of the most popular creatures. If she could do that, what else couldn’t she do? Reaching for her phone, Aaliyah thumbed through the contacts until she reached Dean’s and paused. He never said anything about keeping in touch, but he might know a thing or two about maybe finding a missing person. Hitting the dial button, Aaliyah listened to the tone before the voicemail picked up. “This is Dean’s other, other cell, so you must know what to do,” the greeted stated before the beep. “Hey, um, Dean, it’s Aaliyah,” she started, her tongue tripping on her speed. “I was wondering if you knew anything about finding a missing person or two. Call me on this number.” Short and to the point. The thought of if he was going to return the call passed through her mind as she pocketed her cell and started a jog down the sidewalk back to her dorm building.

😄 I plan on posting it all here, though the profile link would help since the story will probably be updated more on AO3 than here.

I can always post it here and maybe a 'feedback' type of thread for others. That way any feedback doesn't interrupt the story's flow.

Trying to get myself to write out this Supernatural fan fiction chapter and posted up to Tumblr and AO3.

The Godfather.

I kinda wanna take a page outta Troy's book and do vlogs once in a while. Though, if I do, I don't know what to call 'em. "Tales from the Pit" maybe since I work in a dishwashing pit.

I've seen this for the past few years now through the Good Reads site. The site's a place for readers to go and find book recommendations and add them to lists. You can set your own goal on the site. What's on your "2019 To Read" list? My GoodReads profile

It's all part and parcel of us friendly nerds, geeks, goths, etc.