(1) The Devil's Hybrid (D. Winchester)

Chapter Six

"You know what.....no" Sam looks to Dean surprised. "I mean....long day...."

"Okay, then" Jamie offers and then leaves. Sam raises an eyebrow at Dean who looks to his beer ignoring his brother.

"Hey, you think this Dracula could turn into a bat? That would be cool" Dean states.

..........

Erika approaches Jamie who sits with her head in her hands, Erika sets a glass of whiskey in front of her and then squeezes her shoulder.

"Drink this" she tells the barmaid who nods, Erika takes a seat on the other side of the booth as Sam and Dean walk into the bar.

"Hey. You guys all right?" Dean asks.

"I think I know what's going on, loves" Erika tells him, he frowns at her, she sets a folded towel on the table and raises an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah?" Sam asks.

"Part of it, at least" Erika teases, Sam opens the towel. Dracula's ear is inside.

"Uh, the ear part?" Sam asks her.

"I tore it off of Dracula's head. Touch it" Erika tells them, Dean and Sam share a look before Dean touches the ear.

"Ugh" Dean pulls his hand back. "Oh, man" Sam raises an eyebrow at Dean, Erika leans back crossing one leg over the other.

"It's a shapeshifter" Erika tells them both.

"Just like St. Louis and just like Milwaukee" Dean tells Sam. "Of course this one's all holding buckets of crazy"

"Oh, and, uh..." Erika takes out a medallion from her pocket and gives it to Sam. "This, I pulled it off during the fight" Sam looks over it and then holds it out to Dean.

"Look at the label on the ribbon" he tells his brother. Dean looks at the label. It reads, "THE FX SHOP PROPHOUSE PHILADELPHIA, PA."

"It's a costume rental" Dean states. "All three monsters - the Dracula, Wolf Man, and the mummy -- all the same critter, which means we need to catch this freak before he Creature From the Black Lagoons somebody"

"So, you guys are like Mulder and Scully or something, and The X-Files are real?" Jamie asks.

"No, The X-Files is a TV show. This is real"

"Oh" Jamie breaths.

"Okay, so, the stagecraft, the costuming... it's like he's trying to re-enact his favorite monster movie moments, right down to the bloody murders"

"Wait a second. Who the hell is Mina?" Jamie asks.

"Mina?" Sam asks back.

"Yeah. That's what he called me" Jamie answers. "And he called Erika, Harker"

"They're characters from the movies and the novels" Erika answers. "Mina, Dracula's intended bride, Harker, stands in the way. Seems like he's fixating on you, like he sees you as his bride"

"Wow. Lucky me"

"But to fixate on you, my guess is that the shifter has to have seen you before or been around you" Erika tells her.

"Jamie, has anybody strange come to town, somebody that has taken a specific notice of you?" Dean asks her.

"I Don't know, Dean. It's Oktoberfest. I'm a bartender. There's lots of people. I... wait a second. There is Ed"

""Ed Brewer" Ed?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. He moved here about a month ago. Lucy swears he has a crush on me. He comes in almost every night. But, you know, I Don't think he's the type of guy..."

"Where does Ed live?" Dean asks.

"I don't know. But he works at the old movie theatre. I think he's the projectionist there" Jamie answers. Sam turns to Dean.

"Take care of Mina?" he asks, Dean nods.

"Yep" Sam leaves, Dean slides into the seat next to Erika, she pushes her whiskey to him, his fingers wrapping around it.

....................

Jamie is pacing in front of the booth Dean is sitting in, Erika pulls on her coat.

"So, monsters are real" Jamie mutters.

"Some of them, yeah" Dean answers.

"Most of them" Erika corrects, Dean shoots her a smirk.

"And the shapeshifter, he can turn into different people?" Jamie asks looking between them.

"Yeah. Yeah, except this one's turning into the great monsters of screenland, which is a new one for me" Dean offers.

"You're not really FBI, are you?" Jamie asks Dean.

"Not so much"

"So, this is what you do? You and your partner just tramp across the country on your own dime until you find some horrible nightmare to fight?"

"Some people paint" Dean teases.

"Wow"

"What?" Dean asks Jamie.

"That must suck. I mean, you're giving up your life for this terrible... I Don't know, responsibility"

"Last few years, I started thinking that way, and, uh, it started sort of weighing on me. Of course, that was before... A little while ago, I had this – let's call it a near-death experience. Very near. And, uh, when I came to... things were different. My life's been different. I realize that I help people. Not just help them, though. I save them. I guess it's -- it's awesome. It's kind of like a gift... like a mission. Kind of like a... a mission from God" Dean looks to Erika who smirks back at him.

"So, does that make you... some kind of monk or something? You know, celibate?" Jamie asks sitting next to Dean.

"Man, I hope not" Dean tells her back, Jamie kisses him, Erika smiles a little, Dean pulls back and looks to her.

"I guess you have this all under control, love" Erika tells him. "See you around....." she looks to Jamie. "Be careful" Jamie nods, Erika leaves, Dean watches her go. Jamie goes to kiss him again, Dean pulls away.

"Sorry, it's just..." Jamie smirks at him.

"It's Erika, right?" She asks. Dean shakes his head.

"No, no, it's just....." she raises an eyebrow. "I don't know" he admits with a small frown, maybe it is Erika, maybe Sam is right, maybe there is something about her, about them, something he's drawn to.

.................

Erika rubs her head as she walks away from the bar, what is it about him? She doesn't help humans all that often and not without motive, not without there being some reasoning behind it, but these brothers, maybe that's what it is, the bond of family, reminding her of her own. No. it's more then that. It feels like more. She growls and shakes her head. No. She's immortal. A monster. A Mikaelson. Humans are nothing but a food source.