𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒, supernatural ¹ [ REWRITING ]

⠀ i | pilot

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

[ chapter one, pilot ]
( episode one ; pilot )

⠀  "YOU GOTTA FIND NEW TUNES, DUDE," Feet up on the dash and wind flowing through her hair, a now twenty-two year old Maxine Winchester turned her head to look at her big brother. Dean was only four years her senior, but the twenty-six year old had to grow up into a father figure for both of his siblings. One of which wasn't in the car on this fine October 31st 2005 afternoon.

Glancing briefly over at his younger sister, Dean raised a brow. This wasn't the first time one of his siblings had commented on his music, "What are you talking about? You love my music,"

"Yeah, at first," she chuckled, "Not after two days when we've listened to the same four albums seven thousand times,"

"Seven thousand is an exaggeration,"

"Really? Cause it feels like more than that," she groaned dramatically

"Well, suck it up, princess," Max narrowed her eyes at that. Having grown up with all guys, Dean knew how irritating it was calling her nicknames like that, "And get your feet of the dash," he reached over, smacking her foot and earning another eye roll from his sister

"God, are we there yet?"

"Don't tell me you're just starting to get tired of me now, Maxine? You've seen this face everyday for years,"

"Don't call me Maxine," Dean smirked at the sudden change in tone, but Max couldn't keep a straight face for long. Smile creeping up on her, Max looked out the window, holding back a giggle, "Fuck you, I can't wait till Sam kicks your ass,"

Chuckling, Dean let his eyes rest back on the road. Engine hum and classic rock filled the silence once more as Max and Dean continued on down the wooded two-lane road.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "SAM! GET A MOVE ON, WOULD YA?" Jessica Moore, blonde and beautiful and wearing a sexy nurse costume poked her head around the corner, soft, loving smile on her face as she adjusted her hat, "We were supposed to be there like fifteen minutes ago." Jess walked off. "Sam! You coming or what?" Sam poked his head around the corner. He was wearing jeans and three shirts, and unless his costume of choice was generic white boy he was well underdressed for a halloween party

"Do I have to?" he whined, though still smiling

"Yes!" insisted with a grin, "It'll be fun," Sam walked further into the room towards his girlfriend, who looked up up and down with a raised brow, "And where's your costume?" Sam chuckled nervously, ducking his head as he buried his hands in his pockets

"You know how I feel about Halloween," sighing knowingly, Jess simply nodded before planting a gentle kiss to her boyfriend's lips.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "SO HERE'S TO SAM!" The bar was completely decorated for Halloween. There were fake skeletons, jack-o-lanterns and even a gargoyle with cobwebs and a baseball hat that said "GET NAKED" and everyone was in costume. Everyone except for Sam. Jess raised a glass as a Young Man in a ghoul costume, Luis, came up to the table where Sam and Jess are.

"So here's to Sam-" she grinned, " -and his awesome LSAT victory." Sam sighed, struggling to take the compliments

"All right, all right, it's not that big a deal." he insisted, raising his shot glass nonetheless, clinking his with Jess and Luis

"Yeah, he acts all humble," she teased, nudging Sam lightly, "But he scored a one seventy-four." Downing their shots, the three twenty-somethings chuckled

"Is that good?" Luis asked, brow raised

Jessica nodded enthusiastically "Scary good,"

"So there you go." Luis smiled, grabbing Sam by the arm "You are a first-round draft pick. You can go to any law school you want!"

"Actually, I got an interview here. Monday." Sam sighed, smiling but Jess could tell he was nervous, "If it goes okay I think I got a shot at a full ride next year."

"Hey," Jess took Sam's hand in hers as she looked him in the eye reassuringly, "It's gonna go great,"

Nervously, Sam scoffed, taking another shot as he said, "It better."

"How does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?" Luis questioned, Jess giving Sam a nervous glance at that. Luis didn't know Sam as well as she did. He didn't know he'd barely spoken to his family in years. Jess hadn't even met them

But Sam, eager to remain as vague about them as possible, simply shrugged it off, "Ah, they don't know,"

"Oh, no, I would be gloating!" Luis chucked, "Why not?"

"Because we're not exactly the Bradys," Sam shrugged, maintaining his smile

"And I'm not exactly the Huxtables." Luis joked, deciding to stop pressing on as he got to his feet "More shots?"

"No. No." Jess and Sam spoke in chorus, knowing they shouldn't get too drunk

"No," Sam said again, chuckling as he looked behind him at Luis, who just continued on to the bar anyway

Jess sighed, looking up at Sam again and leaning in close as she put her hands over his

"No, seriously. I'm proud of you," she emphasised, "And you're gonna knock 'em dead on Monday and you're gonna get that full ride," she nodded, as if speaking his future into existance, "I know it," Sam smiled at her fondly, shaking his head as he spoke

"What would I do without you?" he asked

"Crash and burn," Jess replied with a smile, pulling Sam in for a kiss.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"DEAN WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Max asked, as soon as she saw he was heading away from the front door. Finally, they arrived at an apartment complex

"Through the window," he replied blatantly, earning a slight glare from the younger Winchester

"Oh, yeah, sure," she raised a brow, "Cause that makes perfect sense," Dean rolled his eyes, holding back a smile

"Come on, don't you wanna see if Sammy can still hold his own?" he nudged her lightly, but Max still continued with the same deadpan expression

"No," she smirked, "but I kinda wanna see him beat the shit out of you,"

"Hilarious," Dean smiled sarcastically, "Ladies first,"

"Wh- I gotta go through the window too?"

Dean simply shrugged, smirk never leaving his fetaures, "Element of surprise,"

"Asshole," Max glared at him as she reluctantly began climbing the drainpipe. Taking her pocket knife from her pocket, she unlocked the window from the outside and carefully slid it open, trying her best to stay quiet. Climbing into the room, Dean followed after her shortly.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀SAM HAD ALWAYS BEEN A LIGHT SLEEPER, he had to be with the kind of childhood he had. So the sound of a window sliding open, even from the furthest room, was enough for his eyes to snap open

Careful not to wake Jess, he got out of bed to find the source of the sound. Possibilities ranking from burglar who picked the wrong apartment or monster that picked the right one. Slowly, he approached the unlocked window, that definitely had been locked before.

Footsteps. Two figures, Max and Dean, walked past the strings of beads at the far end of the hall. Sam moved to another part of the apartment and waited. The two entered the room. Sam lunged forward and grabbed the Man, Dean, at the shoulder. The woman, Max, folded her arms casually and chuckled slightly, leaning against the wall. Dean knocked Sam's arm away and aims a strike at Sam, who ducks. Dean then grabbed Sam's arm, swung him around, and shoved him back. Sam kicked and was blocked, then pushed back into another room. If Dean hadn't seen Sam's face before, he can see it now; Sam got his first glimpse of the Man. Dean elbowed Sam in the face; then Sam kicked at his head. The Man ducked and swung and Sam blocked it. Dean knocked Sam down pinning him to the floor, one hand at Sam's neck and the other holding Sam's wrists.

"Whoa, easy, tiger," Dean grinned, face finally coming into the light. Sam breathed hard, anger turning to confusion as he looked his brother up and down.

"Dean?" he finally realised, frowning as his brother chuckled, "You scared the shit out of me!"

"That's 'cause you're out of practice," narrowing his eyes and clearly taking his brother's bit, Sam grabbed Dean's hand and yanked, slamming his heel into Dean's back and Dean to the floor. "Or not," Dean groaned in pain, patting his brother on the back

"Get off of me," Dean muttered, Sam complying and getting to his feet whilst holding out a hand for his older brother to take

"Where is she?" he questioned, pulling Dean from the floor, the older Winchester playing dumb for a moment

"Where's who?" Sam only gave his brother a disapproving glare; there as only one 'she' he could possibly be talking about

"God, can't hide anything from you, huh?" a voice from behind him asked. Relief coated his features as he spun on his heels to greet his sister

"Maxie," he squeezed her tight, a much softer attitude than he'd had with his other sibling. Max groaned jokingly at just how tightly she'd been grasped by her twin

"Hey, little brother," she chuckled, hugging him back for a moment before he set her back on the ground. Sam rolled his eyes at that nickname. She'd always teased him about that; even though they were twins Sam had been born a whole ten minutes later, "Sorry for the home invasion," she joked, "Apparently our brother has a secret fear of doors,"

Unsure how to respond to the first words he'd heard from his siblings in years, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for a beer," Dean teased, his hands smacking onto Sam's shoulders, shaking him for a moment before dropping to his sides

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam repeated, sounding more stern and angry, looking from Max to Dean

"Okay," Max sighed, sensing the obvious tension in the room from their late night visit, "All right..." She trailed off, glancing over at ther big brother for help

"We gotta talk." Dean began

"Uh, the phone?" Sam narrowed his eyes in disbelief

"If we'd'a called, would you have picked up?" Breathing in to defend himself, Sam's retort was cut short when Jessica turned on the light, squinting form being woken up. Wearing very short shorts and a cropped Smurfs shirt, Jess stared in confusion at the strangers in their living room

"Sam?" Sam, Dean, and Max turned their heads in unison.

"Jess," Anger leaving his body, Sam looked relieved to see someone in the room he didn't have to ruthlessly question, "Hey," He walked over to her, arm draping over her shoulders, "Dean, Max, this is my girlfriend, Jessica." Dean looked at her appreciatively and Max slapped his arm, though she couldn't help but look herself

"Wait, like, your brother, Dean?" She began, Dean saluting upon hearing his name "And your sister?" Max winked, hand on her hip

"Older sister," she corrected teasingly, quickly earning her a glare from her twin

"Ten minutes, man,"

"Ten minutes of life that you don't have, little man," Jessica couldn't help but chuckle; she looked down them back up with a smile. Dean only grinned at her, taking a step closer

"Oh, I love the Smurfs," Dean began, Jess raised her eyebrows, glancing from Sam to Dean "You know, I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brother's league,"

Watching him oddly, though knowing he was clearly attempting to flirt, Jessica gestured behind her with her thumb, "Just let me put something on" she began and turned to go, but Dean's voice stopped her

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of it," he smirked, "Seriously," Clearly angered at her brother's behaviour, Max grabbed him by the collar, hauling him backwards as Jess and Sam exchanged amused glances

"Sorry! About my big brother, here," Dean forced a smile through his glare, adjusting his jacket once Max released her grip, "There really is nothing between his ears," Jessica raised a brow, arms folded as Max continued, "Anyway, we gotta borrow your boyfriend for a minute," she pointed at Sam, "Talk about some private family business. But, uh, nice meeting you-" Dean nodded in agreement but Sam only glared at the two

"No," exasperated, Dean and Max glanced at one another as Sam crossed the room to put an arm around his girlfriend, "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her,"

"Okay," Dean turned to look at them both straight on. Max nodded slowly and sighed looking down then at Sam pleadingly

"Um..." she trailed off, clearing her throat as she crossed her arms over her chest "Dad hasn't been home in a few days."

Clearly unphased, Sam scoffed in disbelief, "So he's working overtime on a Miller Timeshift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later," Letting out a dry chuckle at his brother's attitude. Dean, ducked his head and looked back up

"Dad's on a hunting trip" he began "And he hasn't been home in a few days" From the outside, Sam's expression didn't change as he took this in. But his silence was enough to let Dean and Max know that the reality of their situation had finally set in. Worried, Jess glanced up at Sam, also eagerly awaiting his response.

"Jess, excuse us," he spoke calmly, softly gaze never leaving his siblings, "We have to go outside,"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"I MEAN, COME ON, GUYS," leading his siblings down the hall, now dressed in jeans and a hoodie, Sam glanced back at them briefly, "You can't just break in, middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you,"

"You're not hearing us, Sammy," Max pressed on, trying to remain sympathetic, "Dad's missing. I need you to help me find him." Sam huffed frustratedly

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst?" He asked "He was missing then, too. He's always missing, and he's always fine."

"Or the Devil's gate in Clifton, we know," Max interrupted, already preparing counter agruments in her mind of her twin's protests. She stopped in her tracks, turning to face her twin,"He's never been gone like this... not for this long. Now, are you gonna come with us or not?" Sam paused, thinking for a moment before glaring down at the two

"I'm not,"

"Why not?" Dean and Max glanced at one another at their odd speaking in unison before their eyes snapped back to Sam

"I swore I was done hunting. For good," Sam stated

"And I swore I'd cut back on carbs but Dean won't stop to eat anywhere other than creepy diners with sleazy waitresses," Sam raised a brow and Dean gave her an unamused look, glacing between the two before siging and settling on Sam

"Come on, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad," Dean snapped as he started downstairs again. Sam and Max exchanged a quick glance before following after him,

"Yeah?" Sam argued with a scoff, "When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." Dean stopped at the door to the outside, unsure how there was anything wrong with that. Which just further proved Sam's point of how fucked up their childhood was

"Well, what was he supposed to do?" he asked, Max grimacing slightly at his tone. Even after years of no contact Dean and Sam slipped right back into their old arguing ways, Max always acting as the man in the middle

"I was nine!" Sam glowered, "He was supposed to say, "don't be afraid of the dark","

"Don't be afraid of the dark?" Dean repeated with a scoff. "Are you kidding me?" he continued "Of course you should be afraid of the dark you know what's out there!" Sam paused to think for a moment. There were a lot of reasons to be afraid of the dark. He knew that better than most

"Yeah, I know, but still," he sighed, looking back and forth at the contrasting expressions from his angered brother and sympathetic sister, "The way we grew up... after Mom was killed... and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her... nobody deserved that... even us..." Dean looked away, breaking eye contact before he showed too much emotion, "But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we can find!"

Dean nodded, proud rather than ashamed of Sam's statement, "We save a lot of people doing it, too." Sam couldn't argue with that. Even if it meant sacrificing a chance and a normal life, someone had to take out the things that go bump in the night or there wouldn't be any civilians left to save

"Sam," Max began, her methods of convincing far less anger-fueled than her big brother, "You know we wouldn't be here if it wasn't life and death," they all paused, uneasy expressions setting in as none of them knew what to say.

Finally, Sam sighed deeply, looking careful before he'd even uttered a word, "You think Mom would have wanted this for us?" Sam asked Dean rolled his eyes as Max looked at Sam and rubbed his arm comfortingly as Dean slammed the door open.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"THE WEAPON TRAINING? THE SILVER INTO BULLETS?" Now outside, Max, Dean and Sam climbed down the stairs towards the car, "Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors."

"So what are you gonna do?" Dean snapped, getting increasingly angered at how reluctant Sam was to go with them, "You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?"

"No. Not normal. Safe." Sam replied coldly. Clenching his jaw, Dean looked Sam up and down with genuine disgust

"And that's why you ran away,"

"Oh, here we go..." Max murmured to herself, getting between her brothers and pointing at Dean warningly, "Hey, chill out, alright?" Max warned him with a stern look

"I was just going to college, Dean, it was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone," Dean looked back at him, "And I'm starting to get real glad that he did," gaze whipping around to her twin, Max raised her other hand towards his chest

"Wow, you too!" she shoved him lightly, earning an exasperated eye roll as she continued, "Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already, I can feel it," the brothers' expressions softened at the worry in their sister's voice, "And you know what's not gonna help us find him?" quickly, she shoved them both, not hurting them but knocking them both off balance, "Arguing about everything we do!" Sam looked away thoughtfully but Dean never averted his gaze from his sister. Slowly, pleadingly, Max lowered her hands, focus back on her twin, "We can't do this without you,"

"Yes, you can," Sam was quick to respond. Max rolled her eyes as Dean huffed out a dry chuckle. His sister shot him a quick glare before folding her arms

"Yeah, well, we don't want to," she snapped, now matching his aggitated attitude. Sam sighed thoughtfully, knowing he was making a decision he was about to regret. Turning away and mentally cursing himself, Sam folded his arms, glancing over at his sister

"What was he hunting?"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE..." slight smirk on his face, Dean opened the trunk of the Impala, then the spare-tire compartment to reveal an arsenal of various different hunting tools. He propped the compartment open with a shotgun and dug through the clutter, "Where the hell did I put that thing?"

"So when Dad left..." Sam trailed off thoughtfully, "Why didn't you go with him?" Amused glances were exchanged between older brother and younger sister. A lot had changed since the night he left four years ago. He and Max were both eighteen, and even with Dean at 22 years old, neither of them were often allowed to hunt by themselves. But clearly, that was no longer the case

"I was working my own gig," Max proved Sam's suspicions, "This, uh, voodoo thing, down in New Orleans,"

"And I was a couple of hours away, five maybe?" He shrugged, "Dad found me a thing in Houston so... it was kinda weird how we were all apart when he just-"

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourselves?" Sam interrupted them in disbelief, raising an eyebrow. Max scoffed in amusement, exchanging quick glances with Dean

"I'm twenty-six, dude," he defended

"And, uh, I'm better than you," Max teased, Sam shoving her playfully, all three siblings chuckling as Dean pulled some papers out of a folder and handed them to his sister, "All right, here we go," she began, "So... Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy," She handed one of the papers to Sam, holding it out so that Dean could glance at it too, "They found his car, but he vanished," she sighed worriedly, "Completely MIA."

The paper was a printout of an article from the Jericho Herald, headlined "Centennial Highway Disappearance" and dated Sept. 19th, 2005; it had a man's picture, captioned "ANDREW CAREY MISSING".

"So maybe he was kidnapped," Sam guessed, ever the optimist

"Yeah..." Dean replied, unsure if they should be so hopeful it was as easy as that, "Well, here's another one in April," Dean continued, tossing down another Jericho Herald article for each date he mentions, "Another one in December 'oh-four, 'oh-three, 'ninety-eight, 'ninety-two, ten of them over the past twenty years," Dean took the article back from Sam and picked up the rest of the stack, putting them back in the folder, "All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road,"

Dean pulled a bag out of another part of the arsenal as Max continued, "It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. We hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough." Dean grabbed a handheld tape recorder, holding it up to show Sam

"Then I get this voicemail yesterday." He pressed play. The recording was staticky and the signal was clearly breaking up when John's voice began to speak

"Dean... Maxie... something big is starting to happen... I need to try and figure out what's going on... It may... Be very careful, Dean... We're all in danger."

Dean pressed stop, glancing over at his brother for answers. Though, from the look on his face he'd already come to a conclusion

"You know there's EVP on that?" Sam asked, earning appreciative looks from his siblings

"Not bad, Sammy," Max grinned, taking the recorder from her older brother as she nudged her twin in the arm, "Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it," Sam rolled his eyes, smiling a little and shook his head, "All right. I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got." Max pressed play again and they heard a woman's voice

"I can never... go home..."

Again, Max pressed stop, and again, the hunters looked at their brother expectantly

"Never go home..." Sam trailed off thoughtfully. Max watched her twin for a moment before tossing the tape recorder to Dean, who dropped it into the trunk along with the shotgun. Slamming the trunk down, Dean once again leaned on it, watching his brother cautiously. Max had forgotten how awkward those pauses when nobody knew what to say were. But, for whatever reason, she felt that her older brother's words would be wise ones to wait for

Running his tongue briefly over his dry lips, Dean looked away, eyes settling on a faraway street light "You know," he began, "In almost two years we've never bothered you... never asked you for a thing." Sam let out a deep sigh, turning away from his siblings and anxiously running a hand through his hair. Max and Dean glanced at one another, hiding smirks. They knew their brother well enough to pick up on when he was going to reluctantly agree with them

"All right," he mumbled, back still turned. Trying not to grin, Max leaned forwards, back against the cool metal of the impala as her arms folded across her chest

"I'm sorry what was that?" she teased, practically able to hear her twin brother roll his eyes, "I just thought I heard..." looking to her older brother, who was clearly trying to mask his giggles behind a glare, she pointed at Sam, "Did you hear something,"

"No, I didn't hear anything," Dean smirked; he'd definitely missed teasing his little brother

"I said, All right," Sam spoke much louder, firmer, as he turned to face his siblings, "I'll go. I'll help you find him." Sam said. Dean nodded. "But I have to get back first thing Monday." Sam began, sighing deeply as he turned away, "Just....wait here-"

"What's first thing Monday?" Dean asked, bitterness already present in his tone. Max resisted the urge to whack him as she too awaited their brother's response. Sam turned back when he spoke, a smile that didn't quite meet his angered eyes on his face

"An interview,"

"What, a job interview?" Max questioned in confusion, "Just skip it," Sam rolled his eyes at how easy his sister found it to just drop out of commitments, shaking his head as he breifly glanced at the ground

"It's a law school interview," he emphasised, finally making eye contact with his twin, befoe glancing at his older brother "And it's my whole future on a plate," Max folded her arms, looking away thoughtfully. She really wasn't winning any 'best sister of the year' awards by dragging Sam away from the life he'd made for himself. A life away from hunting. One she was kinda jealous of. But they needed him. And what's one more 'shitty thing to do' to add to her never-ending list of shitty things to do.

Silence becoming uncomfortable, Dean's smirk only grew as he repeated, "Law school?" Sam couldn't tell if it was pride or if Dean was mocking him. Either way, he wasn't about to be talked out of

"So we got a deal or not?"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"WAIT, YOU'RE TAKING OFF?" Concerned expression on his face Sam whizzed around the room, frantically shoving necessities into his duffle bag Sam began packing a duffel bag. Slowly, pulled out a large hook-shaped knife, examining it closely for a moment as he questioned the choice he was making. Footsteps approaching made him quickly shove the thing into his duffle just as Jess appeared in the doorway, "Sam is this about your dad? Is he all right?"

Sam was quick to give a reassuring nod, "Yeah," he insisted, "You know uhh. just a little family drama," Jess looked unconvinced whilst Sam approached the dresser, switching on the lamp atop it.

"Your brother said he was on some kind of hunting trip?" she questioned, taking a seat on the bed as Sam rummaged in one of the drawers and came out with a couple of shirts, which too went in the duffel.

"Oh, yeah, he's just deer hunting up at the cabin, he's probably got Jim, Jack, and José along with him. I'm just going to go bring him back," he hated lying to Jess but what other choice did he have? The truth would either drive her away or get her killed -- or both.

"What about the interview?"

"I'll make the interview," all this rushing around just made Jess more and more suspicious that there was more Sam wasn't telling her, "This is only for a couple days," Sam went around the bed to leave but, finally braking, Jess got up and followed

"Sam, I mean, please," She began, gently grasping his arm as she looked up at him pleadingly. She wasn't stupid, she could tell there was something being kept from her. Something he was very nervous about. Sam froze, eyes closing for a brief moment before he turned, forcing a reassuring and confident expression just for her comfort, "Just stop for a second... You sure you're okay?" Sam laughed a little, taking the hand gripping his arm and holding it in his own

"I'm fine," He tried his best to reassure.

But Jess just wasn't buying it, "It's just...you won't even talk about your family. And now you're taking off in the middle of the night to spend a weekend with them? And with Monday coming up, which is kind of a huge deal and-"

"Hey," Sam interrupted, cupping her cheeks gently, "Everything's going to be okay. I will be back in time, I promise," quickly, he kissed her on the cheek before finally letting her go and speeding out of the room

"At least tell me where you're going!" She pleaded, nervous smile on her features. But Sam had already sped down the hall, not wanting to lie to her any more than he was forced to.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"AMY I CAN'T COME OVER TONIGHT," A Young Man, Troy, drove down the highway, talking on his cell phone, "Because I've got work in the morning, that's why," the boy continued "...Yeah, okay, I miss it and my dad's gonna have my ass," suddenly there was a high-pitched whine, causing Troy to look over and see a woman in a white dress on the side of the road. She moved with such enticing elegance, as though dancing; she flickered, and for a moment the beautiful brunette was gone, "Hey, ah, Amy, let me call you back?" Troy mumbled, hanging up his phone the proceeding to try, several times, to turn off the radio, which too was flickering.

Nothing happened.

Troy pulled up next to the Woman, whose dress was torn in several places, and stopped, leaning across the shotgun seat. "Car trouble or something?" the boy asked, intrigued by the woman's' beauty

"Take me home," Troy could barely tell if it was a question or a demand as the woman balled up the corners of her dress in her fists. Troy admired her legs, smirk on his face as he leaned across the car to open up the passenger door

"Sure, get in," The Woman, who was barefoot, climbed in and closed the door behind her, staring at the boy in the driver's seat

"So, where do you live?"

"At the end of Breckenridge Road," the strange woman replied, longing in her tone that Troy had yet to notice.

"You coming from a Halloween party or something?" he asked, pretending not to notice the Woman's low-cut dress. But he found himself staring, only for a moment, before forcing his gaze away with a nervous laugh, "You know, a girl like you really shouldn't be alone out here," he told her. She looked at him mournfully, and extremely seductively, pulling her skirt up over her thigh.

"I'm with you," she told him, voice barely over a whisper as she began to lean closer. Troy looked away, almost uncomfortable, as the woman took Troy's chin and turned his face towards her, "Do you think I'm pretty?" Troy nodded, eyes glued to her cleavage, "Will you come home with me?"

Eager, Troy began to nod, seemingly unable to stop, "Um... Hell yeah," foot slamming on the pedal, Troy took off, following the woman's every instruction until, after some time, the two pulled up to an old abandoned house at the end of a road.

Sadly, the woman stared out through the windshield at the broken house before them.

Troy's confusion and fear began to grow stronger than his attraction to the woman, chuckling nervously, "Come on. You don't live here,"

"I can never go home..."

"What are you talking about? Nobody even lives here. Where do you live?" He turned to speak face to face, only to find she was gone. He checked the back seat, finding it also empty. And so he got out of the car, looking around nervously, "That's good," he cleared his throat, "Joke's over, okay? You want me to leave?" Troy looked around, finding no signs of life except crickets. Slowly, he walked towards the house, the sound of his footsteps all to loud against the quiet of the abandoned house in the night, "Hello?" the boy asked, looking around frantically "HELLOOO?"

Passing by the house, Troy failed to notice picture of a woman, the same woman he had just allowed into his car, and two children; the glass cracked and covered in dust. Troy peered through the hole in the screen door, when suddenly a bird flew at his face, scaring the ever-loving shit out of him. He fell to the ground screaming and panicking, scrambling to his feet as he sprinted towards the car. Pedal to the metal, Troy sped the hell out of there on the brink of a panic attack.

Again, Troy looked behind him - finding no one there - only to glance in the rearview mirror and see the woman reflected in the back seat. Troy yelled again and drove straight through a "Bridge Closed" sign, stopping about halfway across the bridge.

Screaming in pain and horror for nobody to hear, Troy finally lost his battle against the ghostly woman, blood spraying over the insides of the car he had so eagerly welcomed her into.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀NOVEMBER 2ND 2005 CAME AROUND QUICK. Dean had stopped for gas a few miles in, makings sure the wreckless and abrupt stop was enough to wake his sister sleeping in the backseat. "Ramblin' Man" by the Allman Brothers hummed on the Radio as Max lazily held the hose to fill the tank, back against the cool metal of the impala. Soon enough, Dean came out of the convenience mart, carrying, of course, junk food for breakfast. Something that Sam had very much not missed about the hunter's life; he'd grown accustomed to the healthy living side of having his own apartment. He was sat in the shotgun seat with the door open to stretch his legs as he sifted through a box of cassette tapes,

"Hey!" the twins quickly looked over upon hearing their older brother's voice, "You want breakfast?" Max smiled in amusement when she noticed her twin's disgusted yet amused expression

"No, thanks," he quickly replied, Max walking away from the back of the Impala as Dean settled their snacks on the trunk to finish pumping gas

"Most important meal of the day," she seemingly tried to convince him, although Sam knew she was teasing rather than helping him

"You call a snickers bar a meal?" he fired back, brow raised as the brunette caught the candy bar being tossed her way

"No," she replied, taking a large bite just to spite him, mouth full of chocolate as she spoke, "I call it delicious,"

Shaking his head although unable to shake his smile, Sam turned back to the cassette tapes, trying to find something he wanted to listen to, "So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?"

"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career," Dean retorted, putting the nozzle back on the pump before making his way around to the driver's seat,

"Besides, all we do is apply," Max defended innocently, seating herself in the middle so that she could see both of her brothers, "It's not our fault they send us the cards,"

"Yeah?" Sam chuckled, raising a brow, "And what names did you write on the application this time?" Sam swung his legs back inside the car, closed the door.

"Uh, Burt Aframian," Dean began, getting into the driver's seat and putting his soda and chips down in the middle, Max leaning forward to steal a chip as she poked her head through to look at Sam

"And his son and daughter, Hector and Helga," nodding confidently, Sam only laughed in amusement as Dean smacked her hand away when she went for a second chip

"Hey!" Max narrowed her eyes, jokingly sticking out her tongue when her back hit the smooth leather behind her,

"Scored three cards out of the deal," Dean smirked proudly whilst Sam chuckled in amusement, nodding knowingly at their illegal behaviour. It wasn't like he was surprised at their actions; fraud had been pretty much their only source of income since he could remember. That and hustling pool, which their dad had taught them to do the second they could walk

"That sounds about right," Sam sighed, amused smile remaining as he shook the box of cassettes on his lap, "I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection," he began, pointing at the -- at least -- a dozen cassettes in the box on his lap; some had album art, others were hand-labelled. Max raised an amused brow, glancing from younger to older brother as she awaited the response of the man who hated his music taste being questioned

"Why?" he was quick to get defensive, though Sam couldn't really care less when it came to teasing his brother back

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two," Sam held up a tape, "Black Sabbath?" he dropped the tape, picking up another, "Motorhead?" again, he dropped the tape, sifting through for a third band to name, "Metallica?" Dean narrowed his eyes, as Sam continued, "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock," Max snickered in amusement, Dean only shooting them both joking glares as he reached across to take a cassette from the box

"Well, house rules, Sammy," ignoring Sam's requests for new music, Dean popped the tape in the player, "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole," Dean dropped the box back in the box of tapes and started the engine, Max already smirking a little and looking at Sam from the back

"And backseat gets to enjoy the sweet music while shotgun is a whiney son of a bitch." she giggled as Sam glared at her, but just rolled his eyes "Oh come on, Sammy, I'm kidding."

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old," he insisted as AC/DC's "Back in Black" began to play, much to the male twin's dismay, "It's Sam, okay?"

"Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud!" Dean teased, drove off, blasting the electric guitar at full volume just to spite his siblings that had both complained about his taste in tunes

After a while of driving, they finally drove past a sign that says "JERICHO 7".

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

"ALL RIGHT. SO, THERE'S NO ONE MATCHING DAD AT THE HOSPITAL OR MORGUE, SO THAT'S SOMETHING, I GUESS." Slowing down, Dean glanced over at his brother, clearly relieved, before fixing his gaze back on the road

"That's good news," Max shrugged, trying to be cheerful. At a bridge ahead, there were two police cars and several officers, "Check it out," leaned forwards, arms resting on each of the headrests as she poked through to look at her brothers. Sam leaned forward for a closer look as Dean pulled over. Trying to stay low-key, the three took a long look before Dean turned off the engine. Opening the glove compartment, Sam watched as Dean pulled out a box full of ID cards with his, Max's and John's faces; from what Sam could see they were mostly FBI and DEA. He picked one and grinned at the two, then picked another for Max and handed it to her

"Let's go," Dean said, getting out of the car. Sam rolled his eyes, shaking his eyes in disbelief as he mentally added this too to the list of illegal shit he'd done in his not even twenty-four hours of time with his siblings.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"YOU GUYS FIND ANYTHING?" On the bridge, the lead Deputy, leaned over the railing to yell down to two men in wetsuits who were searching around the river.

"No! Nothing!" One of the men called back. The deputy turned to the car in the middle of the bridge. The very car that Troy had been murdered in, only now the blood that had sprayed the windows had somehow disappeared.

Another Deputy was at the driver's side searching inside the car, "No sign of struggle, no footprints, no fingerprints. Spotless... It's almost too clean." He frowned, glancing over at the sherrif with worry in his eyes.

Dean, Sam and Max walked into the crime scene like they belonged there, deciding that confidence was the way to go when showing up somewhere you're really not supposed to be.

"So, this kid Troy." The deputy began, still not noticing the three strangers now snooping aorund their crime scene, "He's dating your daughter, isn't he?"

"Yeah," the other man replied

"How's Amy doing?"

"She's putting up missing posters downtown," the hunters continued to walk over to them as they talked, Max exchanging a quick glance with her twin as they waited to follow Dean's lead

"You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn't you?" he finally asked, one of the deputies looked up when Dean started talking and straightening up as he approached them cautiously

"And who are you?" he questioned, clearly suspicious of the three twenty-somethings pretending to be far more mature than they were.

Sam, Dean and Max flashed their badges at him, "Federal marshals," Max told them with confidence, sarcastic smile from cheek to cheek as the deputy remained unconvinced

"You three are a little young for marshals, aren't you?" this only amused Dean, Max smirking ever si slightly whilst Sam stood back, not wanting to mock the police

"Thanks, that's awfully kind of you," Max replied, getting more into character.

She watched as her older brother approached the car, hand crossing behind his back as he stood straight and with authority, "You did have another one just like this, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," the deputy nodded, beginning to relax, "About a mile up the road. There've been others before that."

"So, this victim" Sam began "you knew him?"

"Town like this, everybody knows everybody." Dean circled the car, looking around.

"Any connection between the victims?" Max began, arms folding across her chest, "besides that they're all men?"

The deputy paused in thought, "No. Not so far as we can tell,"

"So what's the theory?" Sam asked.

"Honestly, we don't know," the deputy confessed, "Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?"

Deam smirked as his siblings approached his sides, bottom halves hidden behind the car as they looked towards the deputies, "Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys," Dean snickered, although quickly regretting his words when Sam stomped on his foot and Max punched him hard in the arm, giving him a stern glare before they turned and smiled at the deputies.

"Thank you for your time," Max nodded with a smile, she and Sam started to walk away first before Dean followed,

"Gentlemen," Sam nodded as we walked off, nodding in goodbye. The deputy watched them go, looking away just in time to miss Dean smack Sam and Max on the backs of their heads.

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

"Come on man!"

"What was that for?" the two spoke over one another as Dean narrowed his eyes

"Why'd you have to step on my foot?" he looked at Sam before turning down at his sister, "And why'd you have to punch my arm?"

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?" Max mocked his tone, raising her brows.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam and Max and moved in front of them, forcing them both to stop walking, "Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves" Sam cleared his throat and looked over Dean's shoulder; Dean turned to see the Sheriff and two FBI agents.

"Can I help you, boys?" Max cleared her throat and placed her hand on her neck nervously, "And young lady," she looked up and smiled, satisfied

"No, sir, we were just leaving," Dean stated as the FBI agents walked past, nodding at each of them. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." Sam rolled his eyes but Max couldn't help but grin in amusement at that one, the three hurrying back to the car before they got caught.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀"MISSING, TROY SQUIRE," WAS WRITTEN on several posters being put up by a young woman when Dean, Sam and Max began to approach her.

"I'm thinkin' that's her," Dean murmered, leaning down slightly to address his sister although he knew his brother could hear.

"Yeah, I bet," the twins agreed in unison, glancing at one another briefly with smiles at how their time apart hadn't stopped their minds from thinking the same

"You must be Amy," Dean greeted, the young girl suddenly turning and looking unsure of the two tall men and one small woman that had suddenly approached her

"Yeah," she nodded cautiously

Sensing her nerves, Max took a small step in front of her brothers, arms falling to her sides as she attempted a reassuring smile, "Yeah, Troy told us about you, they're his uncles and uh I'm his aunt. I'm Max, that's Dean and this is Sammy,"

"He never mentioned you to me" Amy argued trying to walk away only for the three to follow after her

"Well, that's Troy, I guess," Dean tried to convince her, "We're not around much, we're up in Modesto,"

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around," Sam continued as another young woman came up to Amy and put a hand on her arm, noticing the strangers hassling her and wanting to help

"Hey, are you okay?"

Amy looked up thankfully, glancing between her and the Winchesters, "Yeah," she nodded, looking away in time to miss the relieved glances shared between the siblings

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" Max asked. Another poster flapped in the breeze.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH TROY..." The five of them were sat in a booth, Dean and Sam and Max opposite Amy and Katie. The booth was only small, and so, as always, Max found herself begrudgingly squashed between her brothers, "He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and... he never did,"

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Max questioned

Amy shook her head as she replied, "No. Nothing I can remember," eyes wandering, Sam nodded when he noticed the pendant around Amy's neck

"I like your necklace," He complimented. Amy held the pendant she was wearing, a pentagram in a circle, and looked down at it

"Troy gave it to me," she smiled sadly, "Mostly to scare my parents-" letting out a sad chuckle, Amy let the pendant slip from her fingertips, "-with all that devil stuff," somewhat amused at the girl's naivety, Max huffed out a small chuckle, glancing down at her fiddling hands on the table before looking back at Amy

"Actually," she began, "it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful," Dean gave her a look and Max soon noticed the strange glances she was receiving from the young women. Nervously, she settled back into the seat, hands slipping from the table into her lap, "Y'know... I- I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing," Sam raised his eyebrows and seemed to look impressed

"Okayyy," Dean smirked, raising a brow, "Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries," he teased, earning an angered sideways glance that he only ignored as he let his arm slip from the back of the seat to lean forward, "Here's the deal, ladies," he began "The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything..." at that, Amy and Katie looked at each other. Clearly, there was something going on that they didn't want to talk about. Too scared that nobody would believe them. They didn't know they were sitting in front of the only three people in this town that would believe them

"What is it?" Max softly pressed, leaning forwards a little

"Well, it's just..." Katie trailed off nervously, leg bouncing beneath the table, "I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk-"

"What do they talk about?" the hunters spoke in unison, glancing at one another briefly before focusing their attention back on the girls

"It's kind of this local legend," Katie began "This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago," Dean peered at Sam and Max, who were watching Katie attentively, nodding. "Well, supposedly she's still out there". Sam nodded "She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever," nervously, Dean, Max and Sam gave each other a knowing look. They knew better than to dismiss what they'd just learned as just teenage ghost stories. Thankinf the girls for their time, the three rushed away, knowing that at least now they had enough information to start some real research.

And head to Sam's favourite place in the world.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "FEMALE MURDER; HITCHHIKING," keyboard clicked beneath Dean's fingertips as he typed into the search bar. A web browser was open to the archive search page for the Jericho Herald. The three had decided to head to the local library Dean clicked GO, but the screen just told him there are "(0) Results". Dean replaced "Hitchhiking" with "Centennial Highway" and was greeted with the same response. A big fat nothing. Sam and Max were left next to him sighing at his attempts.

"Let me try," Max said, but Dean just smacked her hand away, earning a glare from the brunette.

"I got it," Dean said. Max just rolled my eyes and shoved Dean's chair out of the way, taking over with a smirk.

"Dude!" He said, hitting her on the shoulder "You're such a control freak." He told her as she looked over to Sam, who was grinning and trying his best not to laugh.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, maybe it's not murder." she looked back at the screen and replaced "Murder" with "Suicide" and found an article entitled "Suicide on Centennial". Dean glanced at Max as Sam pushed her out of the way and opened the article, dated April 25, 1981.

"Hey!" She protested as Dean smirked at her

"What? Don't like the taste of your own medicine?" Max scolded him and shoved him playfully

"Will you two concentrate on what we're doing and stop being childish? You're both acting like children" Sam said, rolling his eyes when Max stuck out her tongue, purposefully proving his point further.

"You're my little brother Sam," Max said

"Ten minutes Max!" Sam complained "Ten!"

"Aww you're still little to me," she insisted, looking at the screen

"I'm 6'4" " Sam complained. Max ruffled up Sam's hair

"Little to me," she teased. Sam rolled his eyes and began reading the article

A local woman's drowning death was ruled a suicide, the county Sheriff's Department said earlier today. Constance Welch, 24, of 4636 Breckenridge Road, leaped off Sylvania Bridge, at mile 33 of Centennial Highway, and subsequently drowned last night. Deputy J. Pierce told reporters that, hours before her death, Ms. Welch logged a call with 911 emergency services. In a panicked tone, Ms. Welch described how she found her two young children, 5 and 6, in the bathtub, after leaving them alone for several [minutes]. She reported that their complex-[...] What happened to my children was a terrible accident. And it must have been too much for my wife. Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it," said husband Joseph Welch. "Now I ask that you all please respect my privacy during this trying time." At the time of the children's death and Ms. Welch's subsequent suicide, Mr. Welch was at the Frontier auto salvage yard, where he works the graveyard shift as associate manager. "Connie might have been quiet, but she was the sweetest, most caring girl I ever knew," said Deanna Kripke, a neighbor. "She just doted on those children."

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river." There was a picture of Constance. She had dark hair a slender face and figure and a beautiful white, cheek to cheek smile.

"Does it say why she did it? "

"Yeah," Sam told him

"What?"

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently, her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Max said as Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Hm." The article has a picture of Joseph next to a picture of Sylvania Bridge; it's the place Troy died.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch."" Sam continued for her as she glanced at the bridge. The one where they found Troy's car.

"That bridge look familiar to you?"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "SO... THIS IS WHERE CONSTANCE TOOK THE SWAN DIVE," Max, Dean and Sam walk along the bridge, then stop to lean on the railing and look down at the river. Dean concluded. Max looked or the edge and whistled, the pitch eating lower as the whistle continued.

"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked, looking over at Dean.

"Well, he's chasing the Same story and we're chasing him." Dean continued walking as Sam followed.

"Okay, so now what?" Sam asled, sounding somewhat agitated "Now we keep digging until we find him." Dean replied

"Might take a while." Sam stopped walking causing Max to bump into him by accident, folding her arms and stoping walking too, looking between the two brothers.

"Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday-" Dean turned around.

"Monday. Right." Dean began " The interview."

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some Lawyer? Marry your girl?" Max looked at Sam, who now seemed pretty infuriated

"Dean-" she warned. But the boys just ignored her.

"Why not?" Sam said

"Does Jessica know the truth about you?" Dean continued "I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" Sam stepped closer to Dean so Max decided to stand in between them

"No," Sam said sternly "and she's not ever going to know."

"Well, that's healthy." Dean told him "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."

"Dean leave him alone" Max said , but Dean just turned around and kept walking. Sam followed after him, making me follow them too as I knew what this was going to lead to.

"And who's that?" Sam asked, in reply to Dean's question, yet again ignoring Max.

"You're one of us." Dean told him. Sam hurried to get in front of Dean and stop him from walking as Max skipped along, her legs being shorter than Sam's so she had to jog slightly.

"No." Sam said "I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life."

"Dude" Max said at Sam's comment, finally earning a glare from him, causing her to sigh "Sam." She began "You have a responsibility to-"

"To Dad? And his crusade?" Sam asked "If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like."

"Sam, shut up." she warned, she could already see Dean clenching his fists.

"Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back." Dean went to grab Sam but Max pushed him away, causing him to angrily push her back and, him being stronger, she fell the the floor, catching herself but scraping her hands on the gravel, and cutting them a little. This gave Dean a chance to grab Sam by the collar and he shoved him up against the railing of the bridge.

"DEAN!" she yelled angrily, getting up from being pushed over and brushing her hands gently as an attempt to stop them stinging. There was a long pause as Dean looked from Max to Sam again.

"Don't talk about her like that." Dean released Sam and walked away. As Sam looked at Max

"You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Max said, furious from Dean's action. She got up and walked straight over to Dean. When he turned to look at her, she already had her fist clenched, and she punched him straight in the nose, causing him to stumble backwards "You didn't have to damn push me!" Dean held is nose, wiping it slightly as it was bleeding, and regained his balance as Sam grabbed Max's arm

"Max!" He shouted, before being interrupted by Dean

"Well maybe if you didn't get in the way so much it wouldn't have happened!" he shouted

"Oh really?! I get in the way?" she asked "What about every time I saved your ass while hunting?! Was that getting in the way?!" Max shouted at him. Sam saw something and looked worried

"Guys," They heard Sam say. Choosing to just ignored him.

"Well Sam started it!" Dean complained "I was just-"

"I don't care who started it! And do you know how much of a childish thing that is to say?! I'm supposed to be the young childish one, dumbass!"

"GUYS!" Sam repeated, the two turned to him angrily then turned to see what he was looking at. They slowly went to stand next to Sam. Constance looked over at them, then stepped forward off the edge. Max, Sam and Dean ran quickly to the railing and look over.

"Where'd she go?" she asked

"I don't know." Sam replied, looking to Max then to Dean confusedly. Behind them, the Impala's engine started and its headlights came on. The three turned to look.

"What the-"

"Dean." Max began "Who's driving your car?" Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and jingled them. Sam and Max glanced at them, astonished. The car jerked into motion, heading straight for them, so they turned and ran

"Dean? Go! Go! Max!" The car was moving faster than we were; when it got too close, Sam and Dean and Max dove over the railing

"Dean? Go! Go! Max!" The car was moving faster than we were; when it got too close, Sam and Dean and Max dove over the railing. The car coming to a halt.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIT," Max screamed as she plummeted into the river

Sam must've caught himself on the edge of the bridge as Max could only see Dean crawly out of the water. She then then crawled to the edge after him, now covered in mud and probably sewage.

"Dean? Max!"

"What?!" Max shouted, filthy and annoyed, as the two crawled out of the water and onto the mud, panting.

"Hey! Are you all right?" Dean held up one hand in an A-OK sign, and Max gave him a thumbs up

"I'm super."

"Just peachy" Max told him. Sam laughed, relieved, and scooted away from the edge.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "YOUR CAR ALL RIGHT" Once they were out of the water, Dean checked through the car to see if she was okay. Dean shut the hood of his car and leant on it.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now." He told me "That Constance chick, what a bitch!"

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." Sam said.

"Dean?" Max asked

"What, Max?" Dean replied, still a little angry at her

"I'm not sorry for punching you in the face. You deserved it." She joked. She pushed his arm lightly and he chuckled

"I'm not sorry for shoving you" He said. Max laughed as Sam looked confused

"That's how you apologise?" Sam asked is siblings

"Oh shut the fuck up Sa-"

"Hey! Is that anyway for a lady to speak?" Dean teased with a smirk as Max glared at him then looked to the distance pointing.

"Hey... Hey look... It's all the fucks I give.. Look they're just.. Flying off," she told him looking to the distance more "One... two and- oh no they're all gone!" she said, giving Dean her ultimate bitch face, but he just shoved her playfully

"So where's the job go from here, genius?" Sam asked as he settled on the hood next to her. Dean threw up his arms in frustration, then flicked mud off his hands. Sam sniffed, then looks at Dean and Max. "You smell like a toilet."

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "ONE ROOM, PLEASE," A VersaBank MasterCard in the name of Burtha Aframian landed on a handwritten guest ledger. Max and Dean were standing at the motel check-in desk, still filthy, with Sam right behind them. The Clerk picked up the card and looked at it.

"You guys having a reunion or something?" he asked

"What do you mean?" Sam questioned

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian." The clerk explained "He came and bought out a room for the whole month."

Dean and Max looked back at Sam, the three of them exchanged a knowing look.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "WOAH..." The motel door swung open, Sam on the other side having just picked the lock. He hid the picks and stood up. Dean and Max just outside, playing lookout, until Sam reached out of the room to grab one of each shoulder and yanked them inside. Sam closed the door behind them. They look around-every vertical surface has papers pinned to it: maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, notes. There are books on the desk and assorted junk on the floor and bed, including something with a hazardous-materials symbol.

Dean turned on a light by the bed and picked up a half-eaten hamburger sitting there. Sam stepped over a line of salt on the floor. Dean sniffed the burger and recoiled.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least." Sam fingered the salt on the floor and looked up.

"Salt, cats-eye shells...he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in" Dean looked at the papers covering one wall.

"What have you got here?" Max asked, walking over to Dean

"Centennial Highway victims." Dean told her. Sam nodded and walked over to the two. The victims seen on the wall included Mark somebody, William Durrell, Scott Nifong who disappeared in 1987 at age 25, and somebody Parks. Mark, Durrell, and Nifong are all white males, judging by the photos.

"I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs ages, ethnicities." Dean began

"There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?" Max asked. While the two spoke, Sam looked at the papers taped to the other walls. There's something about the Bell Witch, two people being burned alive, a skeletal person blowing a horn at several scared people with the note "MORTIS DANSE", a column about "Devils + Demons", another about "Sirens, Witches, the possessed", a wooden pentacle, and a note that says "Woman in White" above a printout of the Jericho Herald article on Constance's suicide. Sam turned on another lamp.

"Dad figured it out." He said, causing Max and Dean to turn and look.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked

"He found the Same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white." Dean looked at the photos of Constance's victims and Max walked over to Sam

"You sly dogs." Dean turns back to Sam.

"All right," Max began "so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness." Sam stated

"Well, Dad would want to make sure." Dean said as he crossed to Max and Sam.

"He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." Sam tapped the picture of Joseph Welch. The caption said he's thirty; the article dates to 1981, so he must be sixty-four by now.

"If he's still alive." Max told them as Sam went to look at something else. Dean looked at the picture below the Herald article, of a woman in a white dress.

"All right. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up."

"Not before I do!" Max said before sprinting in the direction of the bathroom.

"Dude!" Dean shouted after her, walking closer to the bathroom but stopping a few steps away from her because he knew she'd slam the door.

"Hey, Dean?" Dean stopped and turned back.

"What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry-" Dean held up a hand.

"No chick-flick moments." Sam laughed and noded, Max smirking at the two almost proudly.

"All right. Jerk."

"Bitch" Dean replied almost instantly; Max rolled her eyes

"Dicks" she replied instantly as she shut the bathroom door before anyone could protest causing the two brothers to look at each other and laugh.

After a few minuets, Max came out of the shower, her wet brunette hair in a plait, wearing jeans, a plain black top, green flannel and a leather jacket, whistling the tune from The Bridge On The River Kwai. Dean went into the bathroom the second she walked out. Soon after he walked in, Sam noticed something, his smile disappearing, and crossed over for a closer look.

"What is it?" Max asked, walking over to him. A rosary hung in front of a large mirror, and stuck into the mirror frame was a photo of John sitting on the hood of the Impala, next to a Boy in a baseball cap, Dean, a little girl with cute brown bunches held together with blue bows on one of Johns knees, Max, and with a younger boy on the other knee, Sam. Sam took the photo off the mirror and held it, smiling sadly. Max walked over to him confusedly then looked down at the picture and smiled sadly too. She hadn't realized just how much the three of them had grown up since then.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "HEY, IT'S ME..." Sam paced, holding his phone, and sat down on the bed. A voicemail message was playing "It's about ten-twenty Saturday night-" Dean, clean again, came out of the bathroom and grabbed his jacket.

"You know even after that shower Dean still smells like a pile of bullshit?" Max teased.

"Oh you're hilarious" he said sarcastically, causing her to laugh. He shrugged the jacket on one shoulder as he crossed the room.

"Hey, man. I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. You want anything?" He asked

"No." Sam said

"Aframian's buying." He said, trying to convince his brother. Sam shook his head.

"Maxie?" He asked. She shrugged and nodded

"Yeah, I could go for some grub," she said, grabbing her black leather jacket and putting it on. Dean and Max left the motel room.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "OH SHIT, DEAN, LOOK,"  Dean got the jacket the rest of the way on as we crossed the lot. Max looked over and sees a police car, where the Motel Clerk is talking to The two deputies from earlier. The Clerk pointed at Dean and her,

"Warn Sam" she told Dean, he then turned away and pulled out his cell phone and began to call Sam. The deputies began approach them. "Dude, five-oh, take off."

"What about you?"

"Uh, they kinda spotted us already. Go find Dad." Dean hung up the phone as the Deputies approach. He turned and grinned at them. "Problem, officers?"

"Where's the third one?"

"Third one? What, what Third one?" Max said as the deputy glanced over his shoulder and jerked his thumb towards the motel room. The other deputy headed over there. Dean fidgeted. Sam saw, and managed to escape in time.

"So. Fake US Marshals. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?" Dean and I both grinned at each other

"My boobs,"

"My dick,"

The two said in unison. Dean and Max grinned the deputies slammed Dean and her over the hood of the cop car.

"You have the right to remain silent,"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀  "I'M ASKING YOU ONE MORE TIME, YOUNG LADY," Dean was being kept in a different room to Max. Her hand was cuffed to the table so she couldn't escape and she was sitting in the chair with her 100% badass bitchface on, "What's your real name?"

"I told you. McNamara." she lied looking at him blankly "Heather McNamara," The sheriff sighed

"Do you realise how much trouble your in young lady?" I raised my eyebrows and glared

"Bite me" she told him. He sighed and looked at her pitifully

"What's a young Lady like you doing hanging around with a boy like that?" He asked

"Oh so just because I'm a girl he's bossing me around?" she said "What if I were the one bossing him around?" she looked down at the table

"Now, we both know that's not true Max, Dean's got a grip on you don't he?" she looked up at him scaredly.

"how do you-"

"I thought that was your name" he dropped John's journal in front of her. he never goes anywhere without that thing. she thought to herself.

"Listen here, You got the faces of ten missing persons taped to your wall. Along with a whole lot of Satanic mumbo-jumbo. YOU and your Boyfriend, you are officially suspects."

"When the first one went missing in '82 Dean was three and I was a year old, meaning it would be impossible for us to be responsible unless you think a three year old and one year old are capable of this. And he's my BROTHER," he laughed

"You know thats exactly what Dean-o said. And I know you've got partners. One of 'em's an older guy. Maybe he started the whole thing. So tell me. Max." The Sheriff he slid the brown leather-covered journal towards me on the table. "This his?" .

Max stared at it as the Sheriff sat on the edge of the table. He flipped through the journal: it was filled with newspaper clippings, notes, and pictures, just like what's on the walls of John's motel room.

"See, I leafed through this. What little I could make out-I mean, it's nine kinds of crazy". Max leaned forward for a closer look. "However I happened to find this, too". He opened the journal to a page that read "Dean, 35 - 111, Max", circled, with nothing else on that page. "Now. You're stayin' right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means". She stared down at the page, then looked up. shit shit shit shit uh-

"High school locker code," she concluded

"Tell me the truth, Maxxy"

"It's Max," she corrected "and high school locker code." someone walked into the room suddenly

"We need you in the other room with Dean sir," he looked at the man then glared at Max, who just waved as much as she could and winked at him

"This is not over young lady" he stated and walked out of the room.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "HI, UM..." Sam, seen through the chain-link covering a grimy glass window, knocks on the door the window is in. An old man opens it: it's recognizably Joseph Welch, "Are you Joseph Welch?"

"Yeah." Joseph answered

Sam and Joseph were walking down the junk-filled driveway, Joseph holding the photo Sam found on John's motel room mirror.

"Yeah," Joseph nodded "he was older, but that's him." he handed the photo back to Sam. "He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter."

"That's right." Sam nodded "We're working on a story together."

"Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on." Joseph scoffed "The questions he asked me?"

"About your wife, Constance?" Sam asked. Joseph nodded

"He asked me where she was buried." he explained

"And where is that again?" Sam pressed. Joseph looked agitated

"What, I gotta go through this twice?" he asked

"It's fact-checking. If you don't mind." Sam explained himself

"In a plot." Joseph told him "Behind my old place over on Breckenridge."

"And why did you move?" Sam asked

"I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died." Sam stopped walking, Joseph stopped too.

"Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?" Sam asked

"No way." Joseph shook his head "Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known."

"So you had a happy marriage?" Sam asked. Joseph hesitated, watching Sam suspiciously

"Definitely." he nodded

"Well, that should do it." Sam smiled "Thanks for your time." Sam turned toward the Impala as Joseph walked away. Sam waited a moment, then looked back up at Joseph. "Mr. Welch, did you ever hear of a woman in white?" Joseph turned to face Sam

"A what?" he asked

"A woman in white." Sam repeated "Or sometimes weeping woman?" Joseph just stared atsam, cofused. "It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really." Sam explained as he started back toward Joseph. "Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women." Sam stopped in front of Joseph. "You understand. But all share the same story."

"Boy, I don't care much for nonsense." Joseph warned as he walked away; Sam followed.

"See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them." Sam explained. Joseph stopped "And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children." Joseph turned around. "Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again."

"You think...you think that has something to do with...Constance?" Joseph glared at Sam angrily "You smartass!"

"You tell me." Sam answered

"I mean, maybe...maybe I made some mistakes." Joseph confessed "But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children." he cried, tears in his eyes "Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!"

Joseph's face shook, whether from anger or grief was impossible to tell. After a long moment, he turned away. Sam sighs.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I GOTTA TELL YOU," Sheriff Pierce was now interrogating Dean over the "Dean, 35-111, Max" page. Dean sighed "It's my high school locker combo."

"We gonna do this all night long?" The sheriff asked. Dean shrugged and sighed as a Deputy leaned into the room.

"We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road." he explained. The sheriff sighed and looked over at Dean

"You have to go to the bathroom?" Dean shook his head

"No."

"Good." The Sheriff handcuffed Dean to the table and left. Dean looked down at the journal and saw a paper clip poking out of the journal, pulled it out, and looked at it.After she knew they weren't coming back any time Max reached into her top pocket leaning down to get to it and pulled out a paper clip, unbending it and picking the lock as Dean came through the door. "Dean?!" she whispered loudly.

"Calm down I'm here to-" he saw that she had already picked the lock of the handcuffs "never mind" he said, looking at his sister proudly "there was "a 911", shots fired over at Whiteford Road"." he said making quotations with his hands. Max smirked knowingly. The two walked up to the door to check if the coast was clear. Once they knew it was, Dean slowly opened the door and snuck out. They climbed down the fire escape, Dean carrying John's journal.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "YOU THINK IT WAS HIM?" Dean and Max ran down the street to a phone booth; their phones were confiscated and they didn't take the time to steal them back.

"Absolutely," Dean dialed a number and it rang a few times before Sam answered, Dean holding the phone so that the two could both hear. Though Max was pretty small so she had to go on her tiptoes, "Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal".

"Who knew little goody-goody Sammy could pull a stunt like that" Max teased

"You're welcome" Sam said. Max cleared her throat, getting all serious

"Listen, we gotta talk" she began

"Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop"

"Sammy, would you shut up for a second?" Dean interrupted

"I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet-"

"SAM!" Max raised her voice "for god's sake that's what we're trying to tell you!" Dean nodded at her "He's gone, Sam. Dad left Jericho."

"What?" Sam asked "How do you know?"

"We've got his journal" Dean told him

"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing"

"Yeah, well, he did this time" Max explained

"What's it say?" Sam asked

"Ah, the Same old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going."

"Coordinates." Sam and Max said in unison.

"Where to?" Sam asked

"We're not sure yet."

"I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job?" Sam asked

"Dean, what the hell is going on?" Sam looked up and slammed the brake, dropping the phone: Constance appeared on the road in front of him. The car went right through her as Sam brings it to a halt.

Max and Dean exchange a look

"Sam? Sam!" Max yelled

"Sammy?!" Dean yelled at the same time

Sam breathed hard. Constance was sitting in the back seat.

"Take me home." she demanded. Sam just stared at her.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean shouted "Sam are you okay?!" Max said. The last thing they heard was Sam breathing hard and a voice, Constance, saying:

Sam breathed hard. Constance was sitting in the back seat.

"Take me home." Sam just stared at her.

The line went dead.

Dean hung up the phone and they both ran out of the box.

"We need to get to Constance's old house." Max spoke as they ran "That's where she'll take Sam because that's where she took the others. And she kills them in the car outside, hence "I can never go home", meaning we better hurry our asses!"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "TAKE ME HOME!" Constance was staring at Sam, who just stared back. She quickly looked annoyed

"No." Sam said sternly. Constance glared and the doors locked themselves. Sam struggled to reopen them. The gas pedal pressed down and the car began to drive itself. Sam tried to steer, but Constance was doing that too. Sam continued to try to get the door open. In the back seat, Constance flickered.

The car pulled up in front of Constance's house and stops. The engine shuts off and so do the lights.

"Don't do this." Sam said. Constance flickered

"I can never go home." She said, her voice sad

"You're scared to go home." Sam looked back and Constance wasn't there. He glanced around and back and saw her in the shotgun seat. She climbed into his lap, shoving him back, hard enough to recline the seat. Sam struggled.

"Hold me." She told him "I'm so cold."

"You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful."Sam tried to push her away "I've never been!"

"You will be." Constance smirked "Just hold me." Constance kissed Sam as he continued to struggle, reaching for the keys. She pulled back and disappeared; there was a flash of something horrible behind her face as she vanished. Sam looked around for a moment, then yelled in pain and yanked his hoodie open. There were five new holes burned through the fabric, matching to Constance's fingers: she flickered in front of him, her hand reaching into his chest.

A gunshot went off, shattering the window and startling Constance. Max and Dean approached, still firing at her. She glared at him and vanished, then reappears; Max and Dean kept firing until she disappeared again. Sam managed to sit up and start the car.

"I'm taking you home." he said. Sam drove forward.

Dean and Max stared after the car.

Sam smashed through the side of the house.

Max and Dean hurried through the wreckage to the passenger side of the car.

"Sam!" Max called

"Sam! You okay?" Dean asked

"Are you okay Sam?!" Max said at the same time Dean spoke

"I think..." Sam said

"Can you move?"

"Yeah. Help me?" Dean leaned through the window to give Sam a hand. On the other side of the room, Constance picked up a large framed photograph of her and her children.

"Uh.. Guys?" Max warned as Dean helped Sam out of the car.

"There you go." Dean said closing the car door. They looked around and saw what she was talking about, Constance; she looks up. She glares at them and throws the picture down. A bureau scoots towards Sam, Max and Dean, pinning them against the car. The lights flicker; Constance looked around, scared. Water began to pour down the staircase. She went over. At the top were the Boy and Girl from the photograph. They held hands and spoke in unison. "You've come home to us, Mommy" Constance looked at them, distraught. Suddenly they were behind her; they embraced her tightly and she screamed, her image flickering. Her eyes widened as In a surge of energy, still screaming, Constance and the two children melted into a puddle in the floor. Sam and Dean and Max shoved the bureau over and looked at the spot where Constance and her children vanished.

"So this is where she drowned her kids" Dean began

"Yup" Max said as Sam nodded. "That's why she could never go home."

"She was too scared to face them" Sam finished

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy" He slapped Sam on the chest where he'd been injured and walked away. Sam laughed through the pain.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the Same for you two." he smirked "What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey it worked didn't it?" Max protested "And we TOTALLY Saved your ass." Dean leant over to look at the car.

"I'll tell you another thing." Dean began "If you screwed up my car?"

"Oh god" Max rolled her eyes, she knew exactly what he was going to say. Dean twisted around to look at Sam.

"I'll kill you" he said, Max mouthing the words and making a face causing Sam and her to laughed. "Oh you think I'm kidding?"

"Oh no no number one rule Dean, never jokes about "baby"" Max smirked and laughed with Sam

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "OK, HERE'S WHERE DAD WENT," The Impala sped down the road; the right headlight was out due to Sam's incident. Sam had the journal open to "Dean, 35-111, Max" and a map open on his lap and was finding coordinates with a ruler, a flashlight tucked between chin and shoulder. Max was asleep in the back, "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."

"Sounds charming." Dean remarked "How far?"

"About six hundred miles." Sam told him

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning." Sam looks at him, hesitating.

"Dean, I, um..." Dean glanced at the road and back.

"You're not going." He finished

"The interview's in like, ten hours. I gotta be there" Dean nodded, disappointed, and returned his attention to the road.

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever." Dean glanced "I'll take you home". Sam turned the flashlight off. They drove on.

They pulled up in front of the apartment, Dean still frowning. Sam got out and closed the door which caused the door to slam loudly, waking up Max.

"Ghosts? murderer? I'm ready to fight I was awake the whole" she yawned loudly "time" she opened her eyes and looked around, realising where she was "I mean.... heeeeey" Dean and Sam laughed as Sam leaned over to look through the window.

"Call me if you find him? And don't let Max get into too much trouble" Dean nodded. "And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

"Yeah, all right"

"Bye Sam" Max smiled "good luck okay?" Sam she got out of the car and hugged Sam then pulled away and smiled, getting into the shotgun seat

"Oh this is nice" she smirked and laughed. Sam patted the car door twice and turned away. Dean leaned towards the passenger door over Max, one arm going over the back of the seat.

"Sam?" He called. Sam turned back. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

"Yeah" he smiled and nodded

"Bye Sam" Max smiled and waved. Dean drove off. Sam watched him go and sighs.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "SO YOU COMING WITH ME? Max paused and looked at Dean

"You know... I'm really gonna miss it..." she began, trying to throw dean off

"Hunting?" he asked

"Miss hunting?" Max shook her head "No I mean I'm going to miss having an extra brother hanging around so I can't sit in shotgun," she smirked

"Seriously?" he asked, surprised

"Well someone's gotta save your ass" they laughed. Max smiled before rubbing her temples slightly. She grimaced a little and leaned back in her seat. Dean gave her a worried look

"Are you okay?" He asked. Max nodded as she rubbed her head

"Yeah just... my head hurts a little." She breathed in slowly before suddenly gasping and looking upwards

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ VISION BLURRED, LIKE A DREAM, Max saw Sam sat on the bed, shut his eyes, and flopped onto his back. Blood dripped onto Sam's forehead, one drop, then another; he flinched and opens his eyes. He gasped in horror, eyes wide. Jess was pinned to the ceiling, staring down at him and bleeding from the belly.

"No!" Sam shouted loudly. Jess bursts into flame. The fire spread across the ceiling. "No! Jess!"

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "NO!" MAX GASPED BACK INTO reality and looked around the car. Dean had pulled over and was staring at Max worriedly

"Max!" He yelled, shaking her awake. Max stared at him worriedly

"We have to go back!" she said "we have to go right now!"

The Impala turned around and sped back to Sam's apartment.

*ੈ𖤐‧₊˚

⠀ "JESS! YOU HOME?" Sam let himself in. Everything was dark and quiet. "Jess?" Sam said closing the door. Sam noticed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table, with a note that read

"Missed you! Love you!"

Sam picked one up and ate it as he snuck into the bedroom, smiling. The shower was audibly running. Sam sat on the bed, shut his eyes, and flopped onto his back. Blood dripped onto Sam's forehead, one drop, then another; he flinched and opens his eyes. He gasped in horror, eyes wide. Jess was pinned to the ceiling, staring down at him and bleeding from the belly.

"No!" Sam shouted loudly. She burst into flames; the fire spreads across the ceiling. Dean kicked the front door open.

"Sam!" Max ran in after Dean. Sam raised one arm to shield his face.

"Jess!" Dean and Max came running into the bedroom.

"Sam! Sam!" They looked up and saw Jess.

"No!" Sam yelled "No!" Dean and Max grab Sam off the bed and bodily shoved him out the door, Sam struggling all the way. "Jess! Jess! No!" Flames engulfed the apartment.

A fire truck was parked outside the building; firemen and police keeping back gawkers. Dean looked on, then turned and walks back to his car. Sam was standing behind the open trunk, next to Max, loading a shotgun. Dean looked at the trunk, then at Sam a, whose face is set in a mask of desperate anger then to Max, who was loading a pistol, looking distraught for sam. Sam looked up, then sighed, nods, and tossing the shotgun into the trunk, Max doing the same with her pistol.

"We got work to do". Sam said, shutting the trunk.