Marked (Supernatural) [Rogue Trilogy] {2}

35. Tulsa, Oklahoma

35. Tulsa, Oklahoma

I follow the Impala in my truck as Dean leads the way to Tulsa Memorial Hospital. We'd gotten a call from Cas; Claire found herself in a hospital. He didn't divulge much to us, just that he needed us to meet him at the hospital as soon as possible. Of course, like the people we were, we dropped everything and ran.

Personally, I'm not happy about leaving the bunker; I had been kicking Dean's ass in some baton-lightsaber match. Cas's call had interrupted that. But hey, he needed us, so I guess it wasn't something worth holding a grudge over.

We find Cas pacing outside in front of the hospital when we pull up. The car and truck cut off, thankfully gracing my ears with normal noises. We all climb out and approach Cas.

"Thanks for coming," he says.

"Yeah, of course," says Sam.

"Cas, look, we're always glad to help, but Claire and I aren't exactly on the best of terms," Dean admits. "I mean, should I even be here?"

"I need help from the three of you. You were all troubled teens. You speak her language."

I smirk. "Yeah, we were troubled teens, you know, way back when. We're kind of climbing the hill, Cas."

"How is she?" asks Sam.

"Well, I-I haven't gone in yet," says Cas. "I was waiting for backup."

"B-backup?" asks Dean. "Why didn't you just tell Jo to come solo, then? She'd be of bigger help."

"What, because I can relate to her? Because I was a troubled teenage girl?" I snap at my older brother.

"Well...yeah. You might be one of the few people she wants to be in the same room with right now."

I snort. "You ain't turning back on this. You're coming in too."

"Three men and two ladies. Let's do this."

After asking the receptionist, we're given Claire's room number. Cas and I head the team, and Claire is in a hospital bed when we walk in. She's definitely not happy to see us.

"What are you doing here?" she says disdainfully. "And why the hell did you bring him?"

"Awesome," Dean says sarcastically.

"Um, the...police found my number in your emergency contact list," Cas mutters.

"Yeah, well...That was a mistake," says Claire. "You can go now."

"Claire...Why were you at a bar?"

"I wasn't."

"Claire," I say slowly, trying to not use intimidation to get an answer out of her, "what were you doing in an alley outside of a bar?"

"Wrong place, wrong time. Story of my life."

"Look, we're not leaving until you tell us what the hell really happened." I cross my arms authoritatively. "So if you want us gone...Talk."

Claire looks at Cas. "I was looking for my mom. I wanna find my mom and tell her she ruined my life."

"Your mom didn't..." Cas tries to say.

"She left me, and so did my dad. But Jimmy's gone, right? Has it easy up in Heaven. So...Mom's the only one left I can tell off."

"When's the last anybody heard from your mom?" Sam asks.

"Um...When I was living with my grandmother, she used to send me postcards." Claire reaches to a table, grabbing a package from her bag. "This is the last one." She hands a postcard over to Sam. "I got it just before my grandma died. Two years ago. Nobody's heard from her since. It was sent from a motel here in town. That's where I've been crashing. I was at Susie's bar looking for a loser named Ronnie Cartwright. Mom's diary said she was gonna meet him around the time she disappeared. Before he knocked me down, he remembered her name. He knows something."