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Erin

I sat in the small booth in the back corner of the diner with my hands wrapped around a warm mug of coffee. It was my fifth cup, I was jittery as hell and my stomach was rolling. I already decided I wasn't going to drink this one, but the warmth helped.

I had been up all night waiting for the Winchester brothers and now they were twenty minutes late. The longer I sat here the more I was convinced I was overreacting. Jack had worked for years to keep me away from other Hunters, and I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that calling had been a mistake.

I glanced towards the clock, wondering if there was still time to back out. Before I talked myself out of it, I picked up my purse and dropped a twenty on the table. I was halfway to the door when the bell above it rang. I froze like a deer in headlights as two men swaggered into the diner.

They looked enough like one another to be the brothers. The one on the lead was the taller of the two though he looked a couple years younger than me. His hair was shaggy and he looked like a typical college kid. His eyes were gentle as he looked around the diner.

The man behind him looked like he was my age. Although he was a couple inches shorter than the first man, he was still over six feet. He was broad shouldered and the leather jacket he wore did little to hide a fighter's build. His hair was short and dark, and his hard green eyes scanned the diner.

The taller one scanned left, while the shorter one scanned right, their movements mirrored one another like a perfectly choreographed dance even though they didn't say a word to one another. There was no way for me to get out the front door now. My heart started hammering in my chest as I realized I was trapped.

The taller man's eyes landed on me and he smiled tentatively like he wasn't sure if I was who he was looking for. When he took a step in my direction I recoiled instinctively and he froze. His eyes flickered over the other people in the diner as though he were trying to locate a threat other than him. It was almost laughable, these two Hunters were clearly the most dangerous people in the room. As soon as he looked away, I turned and hurried towards the back door.

I exhaled when my shoes hit the parking lot and I fast walked towards Jack's truck. The diner was lined with windows and I ducked my head hoping to avoid drawing either of the Hunters attention. My hand was about to touch the door handle when a voice called to me.

"You know, Jack loved this truck," the voice commented casually. "He and my dad rebuilt it when I was a kid. Learned a lot about engines working on it myself..." he dragged off.

I flinched and looked up. The shorter man had somehow beat me out here and was standing on the opposite side of the truck, his arms resting casually on the edge of the truck bed. Even though he was trying to appear non-threatening there was an undercurrent of power and potential in him. He brother might be more physically imposing, but this man was the more dangerous of the two.

I rocked back on my heels and sucked in a breath. "Yeah, he did," I agreed.

"Sorry about...him," he added awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck boyishly and it was completely at odds with everything else I had seen out of him. "It sucks."

I scowled, not understanding the man in front of me at all. I was tempted to drop my walls a little, just to get a small taste, but I knew better. Jack's warnings echoed in my head and I tightened my walls just a little bit more, just to make sure I didn't accidentally let anything slip out.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed fidgeting with my purse in my lap.

The two of us stood across from one another neither one of us exactly sure how to continue. I just wanted to get out of the situation. As good as having help sounded last night, seeing this Hunter stand in front of me now with his hard, suspicious eyes made me wish I could take it all back.

There was the slap of feet as the taller man jogged up to us. I glanced towards him suspiciously. He noticed and immediately slowed. He sort of hunched his shoulders as though he were trying to make his tall frame seem less intimidating.

"Hi," he greeted, his wide, gentle eyes going soft. "I'm Sam," he said stepping towards me and holding his hand out.

I scowled at his hand, trying to decide if I was going to shake it. I didn't like touching people. There was no way of shielding myself from them when I touched them. It had been months since I touched anyone willingly.

The shorter man let out a low rumbling laugh. "Guess she doesn't want to be friends Sammy," he said wryly.

I turned my scowl towards the shorter brother. He was smirking at me knowingly. There was something about the smug look on his face that made me want to rub it in his face. I lifted my chin defiantly and walked across the parking lot towards Sam Winchester. I held my hand out to shake his.

"I'm Erin Beckett," I introduced myself. I braced myself mentally for the moment his large hand closed around mine. As soon as his skin touched mine his emotions rolled over me like a wave. It wasn't as intense as with most people and I appreciated that, but it still felt like drowning.

"Nice to meet you," he said with a warm smile.

Concern was first, followed quickly by curiosity, a hint of impatience, and a general warmth that wasn't unpleasant. I was almost surprised to find out Sam Winchester was entirely sincere. It was rare to encounter someone like that. I forced a smile onto my face so he wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I pulled my hand away slowly and he immediately let me go.

"This is my brother Dean," he said gesturing to the shorter man behind us.

I turned back to Dean and nodded, exhaling a sigh of relief when he didn't offer to shake my hand too. I was still reeling from being overwhelmed by Sam's emotions.

"Yeah, we talked on the phone last night," Dean said jerking his chin in greeting.

"Right," I said and half turned back towards the truck. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you guys, and that you drove all this way but-" I took a step back towards the truck.

"Wait-" Sam called after me.

"Hold it," Dean snapped at the same time. The brother's exchanged a look, like they could read each others minds and Dean was the one to step forward. "You're the one who woke us up in the middle of the night asking for help. And it was bad enough you decided to call in a favor from your dead uncle. Now, what in the hell is going on?" he demanded

"He's not my uncle," I corrected on reflex. It's not like it mattered now.

"What?" Dean asked confused.

"Jack and I weren't related," I told him, looking down at my hands.

"Oh, you two were..." Dean dragged off suggestively.

I scowled and looked up at him in confusion. "What? Jack? No. Ew," I snapped. "He was old enough to be my father."

"Then how did you know Jack?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"He saved me when I was young. Gave me a place to live. We've been roommates ever since."

"Look, we're sorry," Sam said quickly stepping up so he was between me and his brother. "Something must have happened that made you call."

"I-" I started to say and then I nodded. There was no point denying it.

"How about we go inside and you start at the beginning," Sam said, he reached out to lay a hand on my shoulder to guide me inside. I quickly side-stepped the contact and without a better idea I led the way back into the diner.

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Dean

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously as Sam and the girl walked towards the diner. Sam didn't seem to notice, but I hadn't missed how she skittered away like she was afraid of us. It didn't make sense, she sounded terrified on the phone last night and now even though she was trying to get rid of us she still looked shell-shocked. I probably would have just left her, but Jack had been a friend of dad's and I always was a sucker for a beautiful woman when she was in trouble.

And she was beautiful, even though her face was pale with shock and she had bags under her eyes. Her grey eyes were rimmed with thick, dark lashes, and her skin was dusted with freckles.  Her dark hair was tied up in a messy pony tail. Her jeans were slung low on her hips and she wore an old AC/DC shirt that hugged her curves.

Sam cleared his throat and I tore my eyes away from her to look at him. He shot me an incredulous look and I shrugged it off. It wasn't the first chick he had caught me checking out. He scowled at me but I ignored it.

I followed behind them and slid into the booth next to Sam, giving her as much room as possible. She still seemed nervous and I didn't want to make it worse. We needed her to focus. Her eyes flickered over the two of us and then back down to the menu the waitress set in front of her. She studied it harder than she needed to.

No one said anything and the uncomfortable silence stretched on awkwardly until the waitress came back. "What can I get you, sugar?" she asked, looking down at Erin.

Erin bit her lip thoughtfully. "Just a cup of coffee please," she finally said, handing the menu back. There was a slight tremble to her hand and the waitress noticed. She turned hardened eyes on Sam and I.

"Garden omelet and coffee," Sam said quickly. He flashed a smile, trying to reassure the waitress,  but she didn't look convinced that we weren't somehow responsible for Erin's fears. An old guy sitting at the counter had noticed too.

I cleared my throat, we were drawing too much attention to ourselves. We needed to get Erin to settle down. "I'll have the biscuits and gravy with hashbrowns, a side of bacon and black coffee."

The waitress stared at me for a moment before she finally nodded and disappeared into the kitchen to place our orders. When I looked up Sam was glaring at me.

"What?" I asked defensively. "I've been up all damn night, I'm hungry," I complained and Erin's eyes flickered to my face for a second. I met her gaze and she looked away again.

Sam shook his head in disgust and turned back to Erin. "Tell us what happened," he said gently.

Erin sighed and looked a little embarrassed. "I was at home, watching TV last night."

"By yourself?" I interrupted. The waitress came back and set our coffee's down. I sipped on mine, but Erin just took her's into her palms as though she were cold.

"Yes, by myself," she said with a scowl that wrinkled between her eyes.

Sam looked impatiently at me like I had just asked something stupid instead of something that would help us figure out what in the hell was going on with this girl. "What?" I asked. "It's important."

"I turned off the TV, house was dark, and I went to let my dog out for the night. I got changed for bed and went to let her back in. She didn't come when she was called. I closed the door and went to put on some pants so I could go get her."

The waitress came with our food and we all fell silent until she was far enough away so we wouldn't be overheard. I cut a bite of food and put it in my mouth. "So," I said thoughtfully as I chewed. "At this point you were pants-less?" I asked gesturing with my fork.

Erin glowered at me, but she didn't look as pale as before. Instead a tiny spark of irritation shown in her eyes.

Sam slapped me hard on the shoulder. "Dude," he hissed.

Erin watched us for a moment, and finally let out a small chuckle over our antics. She took a sip of her warm coffee and some of the color came back in her cheeks. She had control of her nerves now. "I went back into the kitchen to let her in and the door was open-"

"So you called us here because someone broke into your house?" I asked shoveling another large bite of food into my mouth.

Her grey eyes were glittering with temper now and I knew she was going to be okay.

"Dean," Sam snapped at me. "Let her finish."

She turned in her seat to face me fully, her mouth pressed into an angry line. "I'm not stupid," she snapped.

A small pleased smirk tugged at one corner of my mouth when I realized she was even more gorgeous than I first thought. She looked like she wanted to slap me, but it was worth it. She didn't look shell shocked at all now. Now, she looked ready to fight.

"I lived with Jack for three years. If someone broke into my house I would have taken care of it," she assured me, her grey eyes glittering with determination. I believed her.

Jack had been one of dad's marine buddies and he had been tough as hell, one of the most badass Hunters around. If she had lived with him he would have made sure she could take care of herself.

"I would have..." she dragged off and her eyes flickered nervously over Sam and I before dropping back to her coffee. All of her bravado was suddenly swallowed up and her voice lost some of it's confidence. "As I stood there the clock flickered and buzzed. I took off. I grabbed the wrong set of keys and got in Jack's truck. As I was pulling away the porch lights started to flicker as well. I drove for an hour before I pulled over. I picked a number at random out of Jack's address book, and you know the rest."

It sounded like it could have been a ghost or a demon. Either one would have been too much for her to handle on her own. "You made the right call," I told her and an awkward silence stretched between us. I didn't know why I felt the need to reassure her. "Well," I said wiping my mouth with the napkin and pushing my empty plate away. "Let's go see what we have."

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Hope you're enjoying the story!