CHAPTER SEVEN

"We look ridiculous." Nyx grumbles, and Sam looks at her and laughs.

"You look ridiculous." He counters, and she narrows her dark eyes at him.

"Why do I have to be the trainee?" She questions.

"Because you are the trainee."

"And you're annoying." She says as she gets out of the car.

"Alright, this is the place." Sam says as he gets out as well.

Dean walks back over to them from the trunk. "I've got to say, Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes." He says as they start walking toward the building. "I feel like a high school drama dork."

"We look like it too." Nyx mutters.

"What was that play you did?" Dean asks his brother while laughing. "What was it— Our Town. Yeah, you were good — it was cute."

"Look, you two want to pull this off or not?" Sam asks.

"Nobody can pull these off." She tells him.

"I'm just saying, these outfits cost hard earned money." Dean says.

"Whose?" His brother questions.

"Ours. You think credit card fraud is easy?"

"Please never say that in front of Elena or Jeremy. Or anyone, ever again." Nyx says as she walks ahead of them.

They go inside the building and the landlady lets them into the apartment where a woman was murdered.

"Thanks for letting us look around." Sam says as he glances back at her.

"The police​ said they were done with the place, so..." The landlady tells them. "You said you were with the alarm company?"

"Yeah, that's right." Dean says.

"Well, no offense, but your alarm is about as useful as boobs on a man." She says, and Nyx stifles a laugh.

"Well, that's why we're here. To see what went wrong, to stop it from happening again." He says, and she nods.

"Now, ma'am, you found the body?" Sam asks as Dean and Nyx walk away from them.

"Yeah."

"Right after it happened?"

"No, a few days later. Meredith's work called — she hadn't shown up." She says as they look around. "I knocked on her door. That's when I noticed...the smell."

"Any windows open? Any sign of break-in?" Dean asks.

"Windows were locked. Front door was bolted." She says. "Chain was on the door. We had to cut it to get in."

"And the alarm was still on?" Nyx asks.

"Like I said, bang up job your company is doing." She says sarcastically.

"Did you see any overturned furniture, broken glass, signs of struggle?" Dean asks her.

"Everything was in perfect condition... Except Meredith."

"Well, what condition was Meredith in?" Sam asks.

"Meredith was all over, in pieces. The guy who killed her must have been a whack job." She says, obviously remembering the scene. "But​ I tell you, if I didn't know any better, I'd have said a wild animal did it."

"Ma'am, you mind if we take some time, give this place a once over?"

"Go right ahead. Knock yourself out."

—

Dean and Nyx are now at the bar that Meredith worked at, but they don't find anything useful to tell them what could've happened to her. Sam walks in a little later, and they head over to the table that he sits down at.

"We got nothing. What about you?" She asks.

"Yeah, did you find anything on that symbol?" Dean asks, talking about the symbol that they found on the carpet of the apartment; it was a large bloodstain.

"Nope. Nothing." Sam says. "It wasn't in Dad's journal or in any of the usual books. I just have to dig a little deeper, I guess."

"There was a first victim, right? Before Meredith?"

"Right, yeah, his name was... His name was Ben Swardstrom." He shows them the newspaper article on it. "Last month he was found mutilated in his townhouse. Same deal — the door was locked, the alarm was on."

"Is there any connection between them?" Nyx asks.

"Nothing I could tell." Sam says. "Ben was a banker. Meredith was a waitress. They never met, never knew anyone in common. They were practically from different worlds."

"So, we've got absolutely nothing." Dean says, and Nyx sighs. Something behind them seems to catch Sam's attention.

"What?" She asks as he gets up and walks away from them.

"Sam?" His brother calls after him, but he just keeps walking.

The couple get up and follow after him then. Sam walks over to a blonde girl on the other side of the bar and gets her attention. She smiles when she sees him and quickly gets to her feet to hug him. Dean and Nyx look at each other, both confused.

Dean clears his throat, but doesn't get his brother's attention. They keep talking, and he clears his throat again, making Nyx laugh. He slings his arm around her shoulders and puts his hand over her mouth.

"Dude, why don't you cover your own mouth instead of hers." The blonde girl says, and his hand drops from Nyx's​ face as they both look back at her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Meg. This is, um— This is my brother, Dean. And his girlfriend, Nycole." Sam tells her.

"This is Dean and Nycole?"

"Yeah."

"So, you've heard of us." Dean says with a smile, and the brunette rolls her eyes at him.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of you. Nice — the way you treat your brother like luggage." She says sourly and then looks at Nyx. "And you aren't much better — just agreeing with Dean because you're in love with him." She says, and the two both look at Sam.

"Sorry?"

"Excuse me?" Nycole questions.

"Why don't you two let him do what he wants​ to do?" Meg asks. "Stop dragging him over God's green earth."

"Meg. It's alright." Sam tells her, and she looks at him.

Dean whistles. "Okay. Awkward. I'm gonna get a drink now. Babe, you comin'?" He looks at Nyx.

"Yeah." She nods and they walk away from the other two.

Sam finds them a little while later and the three hunters leave the bar. "And who the hell was she?" Nyx questions as they walk out the door.

"I don't really know. I only met her once." Sam says.

"Meeting up with her again?" Dean asks.

"I don't know, man. It's weird." He tells him.

"What was she saying? I treat you like luggage?" He questions. "Were you bitching​ about me to some chick?"

"Look, I'm sorry, Dean. It was when we had that huge fight when I was in the bus stop in Indiana." The younger boy explains.

"And this chick thinks that I always agree with Dean because I'm in love with him?" Nyx questions. "I do not always agree with him. In fact — at that time — I was on your side, you asshat. Not to mention, Dean and I weren't​ even together then."

"Is there any truth to what that chick's saying?" Dean asks Sam. "Am I keeping​ you against your will? Is that really what you think is going on with Nycole, Sam?"

"No, of course not. Now, would you two listen?" Sam looks between the two of them.

"What?" Nyx questions.

"I think there's something strange going on here. Maybe even a lead." He says, and they stop walking.

"Why do you say that?"

"I met Meg weeks ago literally on the side of the road. Now I run into her in some random Chicago bar — the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural. You don't think that's weird?"

"It happens." Dean shrugs.

"Yeah, it happens, but not to us."

"Ignore him, I'm with you. You think this girl is somehow connected to the deaths of Meredith and Ben?" Nyx asks.

"I could be wrong. I'm just saying there's something about this girl that I can't quite put my finger on."

"But I bet you'd like to." Dean says, and she rolls her eyes. "Maybe she's not a suspect. Maybe you got a thing for her, huh? You're thinking​ a little too much with your​ upstairs brain, huh?"

"Again, ignore him. He has a one track mind when he's not working." Nyx says, and his brother nods.

"Do me a favor." Sam looks between the two of them. "Check and see if there's a Meg Masters from Massachusetts and see if you can't dig anything up on that symbol."

"What are you gonna do?" Dean asks.

"I'm gonna watch Meg." He says, and his brother laughs.

"Yeah."

"I just want to see what's what."

"Alright, you little pervert." Dean says as he starts walking away from them.

"We'll look." Nyx tells Sam, and he nods.

—

"Did you talk to your dad's friend — Caleb?" Nyx asks as she walks out of the bathroom after her shower.

"Yeah, he knew what the symbol was too. It's Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It's a sigil for a Daeva." Dean tells her, and her eyebrows furrow as she picks up from her phone.

"A what?" The brunette questions.

"They're Zoroastrian demons​ of darkness. They're savages, animalistic, nasty attitudes. Kinda like demonic Pit Bulls." He explains.

"I don't like that comparison. Pit Bulls are damn good dogs." She says as she quickly sends a text to Damon.

"Sorry." He says. "Anyway, these things have to be summoned and from what I gather, it's pretty risky business. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them... And the arms and the torsos—"

"I get the picture." She cuts him off, her nose scrunched in disgust. "What do they look like?"

"Nobody's seen them for a couple of millennia. Summoning a demon that ancient, someone​ really knows their stuff. I think we've got a major player in town." He tells her, and she sighs as she glances at the text that just came in.

Damon
Got it. Thanks.

Nyx sent him the latest location she found for his brother and Klaus. She's been helping him track them, not that they're telling Elena that.

"Great, so what are we gonna do?" She asks Dean as she sets her phone down.

"Wait for Sam to get back later, pick it up in the morning. Right now, I'm done working, and you know what that means about my mind." He says as he stands up and starts toward her.

"You are such a—"

He grabs her by her waist and pulls her to him, the jerky movement makes her laugh as she looks up at him. He leans down and picks her up before walking over to their bed, and he gently lays her down. She smiles as he crawls over her, and then he leans down and presses his lips to hers.

Nyx pushes his button-up over his shoulders, and he shrugs it off before pulling his t-shirt over his head. He reconnects their lips, and she slowly pushes him over until his back is on the bed and she's hovering over him. His hands find her waist as she leans down and presses her lips to his neck. His grip on her hips tightens as things start to get more heated.

The next morning after Sam gets back to the motel, the three of them start filling each other in on the information that they collected on the case.

"So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" Dean asks.

"It looks like she's using that black altar to control the thing." His brother explains.

"So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl." He teases, and Sam sighs. "And what's the deal with that bowl again?"

"She was talking into it. The way some witches used to scry into crystal balls​ or animal entrails — she was communicating with someone." He tells them, as Nyx scrunches her nose.

"With the Daeva?" She asks.

"No, Dean said those things are savages. No, this was someone different, someone who's giving her orders, someone who's coming to that warehouse." Sam says, and his brother walks over to a desk and starts looking at something.

"Holy crap." He says.

"What?" The younger two ask in unison.

"What I was gonna tell you earlier, when you first came in. I pulled a favor with my friend Amy over at the police department — I got complete records of the two victims. We missed something the first time." Dean tells them, and they walk over to where he's sitting at the round table. "The first victim: the old man. He spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look where he was born."

"Lawrence, Kansas." Sam says as he looks at the paper Dean's pointing at.

"Meredith, the second victim." He goes through more papers. "It turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from."

Lawrence, Kansas.

"Holy crap." Sam says, and Nyx sighs.

"Yeah." Dean says.

"I mean, that is where the demon killed Mom. That's where everything started."

"So, you think Meg's tied up with the demon?" Nyx asks him.

"I think it's a definite possibility." Dean nods.

"What I don't understand is, what's the significance of Lawrence?" Sam asks. "And how do these Daevas fit in?"

"I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."

"No, we can't. We shouldn't​ tip her off. We've got to stake out that warehouse. We've got to see who...or what is showing up to meet her."

"I'll tell you one thing, I don't think we should do this alone." Dean says, and Nyx nods in agreement.

She and Sam go out to the car to get some weapons for when they confront Meg tonight. They walk back into the room, and Dean's on the phone. He hangs up as they set the stuff they got on the bed.

"Voicemail?" Sam asks; Dean called their dad to tell him what's happening.

"Yeah." He nods. "Geez, what'd you guys get?" He asks as he looks at the bed full of weapons.

"We ransacked the trunk. Holy water, every weapon we could think of." He tells him. "Exorcism rituals from about a half-dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect anything, huh?"

The hunters start loading​ some guns.

"It's a big night." Dean says.

"Yeah." Sam agrees. "You nervous?"

"No. No, are you?"

"No. No way."

"Alright, macho men." Nyx says. "I'm a little nervous."

Dean smirks and pulls her into his side before kissing the top of her head. The action makes her smile, as it always does when he kisses her. Then they continue getting the weapons ready.

"God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing, that demon?" Sam asks.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves​, alright?" His brother says.

"I know. I'm just saying... What if we did?" He asks. "What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month, go back to school, just be a person again."

"You want to go back to school?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, once we're done hunting this thing." He says, and Nyx doesn't look up as she keeps getting the weapons ready.

"Huh."

"Why? Is there something wrong with that?" Sam asks.

"No, no, it's great. Good for you."

"I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?"

"It's never gonna be over. There's gonna be others." Dean says, and Nyx looks down, her gaze falling briefly to her stomach. "There's always gonna be something to hunt."

"But there's got to be something that you want for yourself. What about you and Nycole?" Sam asks. "I mean, I know you haven't been together that long, but don't you want to settle down eventually? Make a life, start a family?"

"I don't know. I haven't really given it much thought." She says, and it's half a lie. "There's always people dying, someone getting killed. It's kinda hard to just walk away when I know that."

And that's what bothers her — what she said is true. She knows that she's pregnant, and she knows that that means the babies are going to come, but she really doesn't think about that part as much as she should. She's too afraid to think about what changes after they're born.

"You're telling me that you don't ever want to stop hunting? You never want to live a normal life again?" He asks her.

"No, I'm saying, I don't know." She tells Sam.

"Come on, there has to be something you want that's not related to the job."

"Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's​ over, Sam." Dean says as he walks away.

"Dude, what's your problem?" He asks.

Dean sighs and leans against a dresser, but he doesn't face them. "Why do you think I drag you guys everywhere, huh?" He asks as he then turns around. "Why do you think I actually said yes to bringing Nycole with me when we met last June? Why do you think we came and got you at Stanford?"

"'Cause she was almost killed and she needed your help. And 'cause Dad was in trouble." Sam says, both of them looking​ at his brother. "'Cause you wanted to help Nyx, and find the thing that killed Mom."

"Yeah, that, but it's more than that." He says. "You and me and Dad — I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again. And I want Nycole with us."

"Dean, we are a family. All of us." Sam looks at her for a second before looking back at Dean. "I'd do anything for you, but things will never be the way they were before."

"They could be." Dean says, and Sam nods slowly.

"I don't​ want them to be." He tells his brother. "I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way." He says, and Dean just looks at him; he doesn't say anything else.