naya is pronounced as (neh-ya). de is pronounced as (dee)
chapter four.
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1.1 || the woman in white.
Alternatively known as: Pilot.

⛤

❛ You can't hurt me. I'm not unfaithful, never have been. ❜
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warnings: probably medical inaccuracy 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DEAN'S ARRESTED?" 

Annie paced the room, way neater in comparison to the one the Winchesters'. Ophelia had gotten out of the shower hours ago, smelling like flowers rather than the toilet, wet hair leaving drops of water all over her (Naya's) brown sweatshirt. 

"I mean he's all the way to Vegas to get a lap dance. C'mon, Annie! The police caught up to him. The guys at the road stop haven't ratted you out, I guess, or you would've been in the slammer too." 

"And where are you, Samuel?" Annie groaned, sitting at the edge of the bed, flicking Ophelia's ear for being so engrossed in Mario Kart. 

"I'm gonna go pay Joseph Welch a visit, see if he'll tell me where his wife's buried." 

"Yes, because asking someone where their dead wife has been buried is an excellent way to strike up a conversation, especially one with a stranger who's wife is now haunting the whole of this town." 

"Breathe, Ann." Ophelia could hear Sam's chuckle. "I'm gonna ask if dad's been there, pretend to be a reporter—"

"Yeah, I know the whole routine, shut up." Annie rolled her eyes, pacing once again, causing Naya — who was sprawled starfish on the bed, Hornsby's High Fidelity in her hands — to groan. "What'd you call me for? To give me more to worry about?" 

"I—I thought you'd want to help—"

"Yeah, what's the plan, Sasquatch?" 

"Alright, so Naya can look after Phea, 'cause I don't trust her to be alone in a hotel room, and you're gonna get Dean outta jail."

"'Kay, you're on." Annie grabbed her bag, sighing. "But once I get Dean outta there, — so in thirty minutes or so — we're gonna come with you."

DEAN WASN'T EXACTLY FAMOUS FOR MISSING HIS EXES. 

But right now, cuffed to the table? God he missed Annie — at least, the pins she always, always had on her. 

"Missed me?" 

Dean jumped, hand retracting from where he reached for the paper clip in the diary in front of him, eyebrows raised at Annie, who peered at him from the window, cherry lips carved in a smirk. 

Of course, he'd missed her. Would his ego allow him to admit that? No. 

"I'd rather kiss the toilet, sweetheart."

"Christ, appreciate a little help once in a while, will you?" she walked in nonchalantly, as if breaking into a police station was everyday for her. "Looks like you didn't need my help, though." 

"Yeah, the 911 was enough." 

"That. . . wasn't me." Annie shook her head, reaching out for the same paperclip Dean had thought of using, and shimmying his lock open, pulling him out of that chair. 

"Sam? Naya? Phea?" 

"I don't know, alright?" Annie took a discreet look towards the glass in the door, looking out if there were any officers — there were. They were getting ready to head out to attend to the said 911 call. She quickly and quietly crouched and moved towards the window, Dean following suit. But of course, he couldn't keep his mouth shut, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're here 'cause you were worried, Annie." 

"Of course I was. Didn't want the officers to have their hands full with you for any more time."

Dean rolled his eyes, hopping out of the window and pressing himself against the wall as they waited for the cars to roll out. "I think I entertained them more than annoy them." 

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." Annie raised her eyebrows, then nodded towards the diary in his hands. "That John's journal?"

"Yeah. So that means—"

"He left already, yeah I know." the police sirens wailed into the cool evening air, and soon enough, they were in the clear. She walked out, fingers already pressing the numbers to Sam's cell on her phone, the device tossed at Dean as soon as Sam picked up.

Dean frowned, letting out a "hey!" before pressing the phone to his ear, his signature Texan drawl back. 

"Hiya Dean!"

"Phea, wh— shouldn't you be at the motel with Naya?" 

"Technically, I'm supposed to be with Naya, and she's right here with me. Was that 911 call smart?"

"Yeah, and pretty illegal, kiddo."

"God, when will people start appreciating my genius?" Annie snorted hearing Ophelia sigh. "Sammy wants to talk to you. Tell Annie I said hi!" 

Dean rolled his eyes, looking at Annie as they got into her car — parked a good mile away from the police station, — "Phea says hi." 

"Such a sweet kid. I wonder how she ended up being John's kid." 

Before Dean could defend his dad, Sam's voice could be heard from the speaker, "Dean?"

"Yeah, we gotta talk."

"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've been dad's next stop—"

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

"Geez, so bossy." That was Naya, which meant—

"Phea, am I on speaker phone?"

"To be fair, Naya asked me to do it."

"How's that fair to me?" that was Naya, again. 

"It's the truth, and the truth's always fair." and that was Ophelia. Sam was chortling away to glory. 

"Alright, all of you just shut up." 

"Geez, so bossy." Annie rolled her eyes, and Dean flicked her ear. She punched his shoulder in return. 

He groaned in pain, making a faux-wounded look before Sam started speaking again, "I just can't figure out why he hasn't burnt the corpse yet." 

"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. Dad's gone. He's left Jericho." 

There was silence for an entire of two seconds before Ophelia and Sam started speaking in tandem, each of them overlapping the other. 

"Alright, shut up!" Naya spoke again, and Dean had to distance the phone from his ear so his eardrums wouldn't burst, making Annie laugh. 

"Is that right?" Dean grinned. "The great, Anisha-the-Grinch-Kumar can laugh?" 

"Shut up." Anisha pouted and went to punch him again, but this time, he caught her wrist, going back to the conversation effortlessly. 

"I know 'cause I've got his journal."

"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing." 

Annie shook her wrist out of his grip, snatching her phone out of his hands, "Alright, where are you, Sam?" 

". . .on the road?" it was Naya who answered. Annie groaned and braked her car, hitting her head on the steering wheel, her car giving out a loud honk. 

"C'mon, Nini, where are you?" Annie put the phone on speaker, tossing it between her and Dean, starting her car again. 

"You're not gonna come after us."

"Nini, baccha (kid), there's a ten-year old with you. You can't exactly walk into fire all alone." 

"I'm not a kid! And we're fine, and as for Phea—Sam's gonna look after her."

"Sam's gonna run headfirst like his brother does."

"Hey!" that was both of the Winchesters. Ophelia had been oddly quiet.

"Inaya, you better tell me where you are right now, or I'm calling mom."

"Alright, alright, no need to get violent. We're—"

The sounds of the car brake screeching screamed through phone speakers, causing Dean and Annie to share a look. Dean hurried to call out for his siblings, but the phone had been disconnected already. 

They were on their own now, Ophelia, Naya and Sam. 

"YOU CAN'T HURT ME. I'M NOT UNFAITHFUL, I NEVER HAVE BEEN." 

The Woman in White, Constance Welch — whatever her name was, crawled on top of Sam, "You will be." 

Naya managed to get pass Ophelia the box of cassettes for her to break open the window and crawl out. Constance Welch kept smothering Sam as resisted her, trying to reach for the key to the ignition. 

Naya got the hint and twisted the key, just as Constance sunk her nails into Sam's chest. It was horrible enough that the ghost had thrown Naya's gun out of the car a good few miles ago. 

Constance heard the sound of glass shattering and let out a howl, but the gunshots hitting her body stopped her from attacking Ophelia. 

The car darted into the rickety, worn down house just as Ophelia fell out of the locked car, causing her to sprain her wrist. 

Dean picked her up as Annie ran into the house after the Impala. 

"You're alright, kid?" Dean asked, wiping off the tears on her waterline. Ophelia gave a weak nod, "Please go check on Sam?" 

"Stay inside, okay? There's Annie's gun with salt rounds on the seat, if she comes here again, 'kay?"

"Mhmm." 

Dean closed the door shut, darting inside. Constance stood near the stairs, a family portrait in her hands as pure horror washed over her face.

Horror on a ghost's face, that was something. Ophelia would've enjoyed seeing that. Annie helped Naya out of the car while Dean rushed to do the same with Sam. 

The ghost of Mrs. Welch glared at the quartet. She threw her portrait down, moving away before making a cabinet slam against the four, sandwiching them against the Impala. The lights flickered, and Constance looked murderous. 

Before she could hurt them, again, the sound of water trickling down the stairs caught her attention. They looked towards the staircase, two ghosts of Constance's kids appearing before her. 

If Dean thought that the look before was one of horror, this one was downright terrified. She looked guilty, but also scared for her life. The kids, dressed in formals — probably their school uniforms, — held hands, speaking monotonously, "You've come home to us, Mommy."

They looked at her with blank expressions, before squeezing her in a hug, Constance's screams of agony resounding in the dead of the night, their bodies flickering between skeleton and flesh. 

Finally, they dissolved into the house itself, leaving behind nothing but a small puddle of water, deafening silence allowing the four to gather their thoughts about what they'd just witnessed. 

"Alright, that was fun." Naya finally groaned, pushing the cabinet off of them. 

"Where's the kid?" Sam asked Dean, wincing as the pain in his chest increased with movement. 

"In the car. And before you ask, don't go out. She'll scream murder if you walk in on her in one of her breakdowns." Dean warned them, — Annie — before walking towards the puddle. 

Sam knew better than to argue, because well, Dean had known Ophelia longer and better than he had. Naya trusted Dean, still like an older brother to him. 

But Annie, well. She didn't exactly hold him responsible when it came to feelings. 

"You're sure she wants to be alone, Dean? She dropped out of a goddamn car, she's hurt." 

"Yeah, I know Phea, alright." Dean waved her off. "She doesn't want anyone seeing her cry, she'll hit the daylights out of you if you do."

"So this is where she drowned her kids." Naya toed the puddle, Annie pulling her back almost immediately. "That's why she could never come home." 

"She was too scared to face them." Dean concluded. He clapped Sam on the shoulder, "Alright, good work, Sammy, Naya. Phea, too"

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you, Annie." He winced again before facing the older girl. "What were you thinking, shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"C'mon, I saved your ass!" 

"Yeah, sure, and you say I'm suicidal." Naya kicked the ground, moving around the house, tinkering with the cabinets. 

"Alright, I'll tell you another thing." Dean moved closer to the Impala, bracing his hands on his knees. "If you screwed up my car, all of you, I'll kill you."

Ten minutes later, they managed to get the Impala out. Ophelia was half-asleep in the backseat  of Annie's Camaro, her right hand cradling her left wrist. 

Dean rapped the window gently, causing Ophelia to stir awake from her slumber. She rolled the window down, "Hey, De." 

"Hey, Phea. Let's get you to  hospital, yeah?" 

"Yeah, get in, Dean." Annie got in the car, just as the Impala took off in the night. "We're gonna get her to a hospital."

"Wha— Where's my car? Where's my brother? Where's your sister—"

"They've taken off. The co-ordinates your oh-so-loving father left? They lead to Blackwater Ridge, Colorado." Annie started the car. "You have five seconds to get your ass in before I leave you here with no ride."

Dean ran to the other side of the backseat, sliding in beside Ophelia. 

"You should try new things, getting in the backseat for once is a start." Ophelia slurred, leaning against her brother instead of the car door. 

"We can't go to any of the hospitals in this town, thanks to your brother being a fugitive. Does it hurt too much, chand (moon)?"  Annie looked at Ophelia through the rearview mirror. The little girl shook her head no before snuggling into Dean, going back to sleep. 

Meanwhile, Annie tossed him one of her scarves to tie around her wrist. As soon as he did so, she broke the news, "We're not going to Colorado." 

"And why is that?" 

"Monday, remember? Sam's got some interview?"

Dean paused, tongue poking his cheek, "Right. Right. The interview."

"We're gonna drop him, get Phea a decent hospital on the way, of course. Then we can go look for John."

"Be honest with me—"

"I'm always honest, Dean. Speak for yourself, please."

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed a little too loudly, to which Annie shushed him. "Anyway, you think it's okay that Sam's going to college?" 

Annie gave him a smile, a sad one. She had to be gentle this time, she knew it, but she'd thrown gentle out the window those two years ago. She sighed, "Just 'cause it's something you didn't get, doesn't mean it's something he can't have, Dean. He earned it, didn't he?" 

Dean shook his head, mumbling something along the lines of 'unbelievable'.

"I know you miss having him around, but instead of being all passive-aggressive about his college, and job, and girlfriend, maybe try telling him just that. That you miss him." Annie thought that was kind enough. "That way, maybe he'll stop avoiding your calls. You owe that, to him, and to Phea."

Dean pretended to be asleep. 

Almost an hour later, Dean had to be woken up, having reached a hospital somewhere near Sam's university. 

Dean didn't wake Ophelia up, aware that she'd be groggy and that would just worsen her pain. Annie handled the reception while he carried her in, and soon enough they were led to the OPD. 

A kind doctor, one Dr. Singh, who knew Annie and her family and asked minimal questions, operated on her wrist. It wasn't a sprain, but a fracture — a minor one, but a fracture nonetheless. 

"Let me drive the rest of the way," Dean suggested as he watched Annie fight sleep off. She had been sitting next to him in the waiting room, barely able to keep herself up. 

"Just get me a coffee, I'll be fine."

"More milk, less sugar?" 

"And we have a winner."

Thirty minutes, then forty. An entire hour and twenty minutes later, Ophelia was free to go, with instructions to look after her wrist and taking her meds on time. 

"Well, at least you have a cool cast." Dean slung an arm around Ophelia's shoulder, careful to not pressure on the arm with the broken wrist. 

"You're just itching to scribble something stupid on it, aren't you, De?" 

"Not stupid! But yes." 

Annie chuckled, thankful that Dr. Singh had let them off with minimal fee. The coffee in her system kept her alert enough to stay awake for a couple more hours, and then she would snooze. 

"Naya and Sam stopped for a snack on the way. If we're quick enough, we can say goodbye to him."

"You're saying that as if he's leaving forever." Ophelia snorted, munching on the cafeteria bagel as they took off, Dean in the front seat with Annie this time.

"For all we know, the next time we see him again might be at his wedding, kid." Annie turned the radio up. Ophelia frowned. 

But when AC/DC was on, no one talked. 

"— SMILEY FACE, SMILEY FACE." 

"Thank you!" Ophelia grinned a toothy grin, thankful that local anaesthesia had been used and she wasn't still dizzy. Sam had signed a 'Get well soon, Phea!' with plenty of smiley faces, from himself and Jess. Clearly they couldn't meet her — it was well into the phase between late night and early morning and she was probably asleep. 

Naya and Annie had already wished him luck with the interview and had gotten back into the Camaro, giving the siblings space. Dean had pouted when Sam was the first one to sign Ophelia's cast, but he let it be. 

Finally, it was time for Dean and Sam to talk, for which Ophelia stepped away to give them privacy. A good twenty seconds later, they were done, and Sam was hugging her goodbye and Dean was calling her back into the Impala. 

"I'm gonna miss Sammy." 

"He's not going away forever, Bubbles." Dean handed her the cassette collection to look through. 

"But you heard was Annie said." she frowned, having difficulty in sorting through the cassettes with just one hand, but slapped Dean's hand away when he tried to help. 

"That's just how Annie is." 

It was an inexplicable feeling. It came all of a sudden, an overwhelming feeling of anxiousness and restlessness. She felt as if she had to go back, the queasiness in her chest worsening as she went farther from the University. 

"Go back." she stopped flicking through the collection. 

"C'mon, Bubbles, we'll see him soon, after Colorado, maybe—"

"No, I need to see him now. Go back, now, Dean, please." 

Knee bouncing, the urgency in her voice, the panic in her face — whatever it was, it made him turn back. 

"See, everything's fine." Dean gestured towards Sam's balcony, the one they'd waited outside for God knows how long just two days ago. 

"Go check on him, please?" 

Maybe it was the guilt of allowing her to accompany him to Jericho, and that she was still gonna tag to Colorado, and who knows where till they found John, or maybe he felt bad that she got hurt on his watch. Whatever it was, he went up to check on his brother. 

And when the room was swallowed by fire, he was glad that Ophelia persuaded him when she did.