Dean

Chris was waiting in our room, packing his stuff. I opened the door and stepped inside, with Jemma trailing behind me.

He looked up and bit his lip, he stood up straight and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Hey, Dean. You know, I really am sorry. I didn't mean-"

I shook my head and patted his back. "It's fine." I lied, smooth as silk. "I get that you're frustrated. It's not like this has been easy. For either of us." I grabbed my bag and started to help him pack. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw him eye Jemma warily.

When everything was checked out, I called down to the front office and told them we were ready to check off. It was that same man as last night, Ralphie. He said his lines, asking if we were sure and all, even though his tone of voice made it sound like someone had just told him they shot his puppy. I told him I was sure and asked him to check us out, he happily obliged.

"Do you have any leads yet?" Asked Jemma, from the corner where she sat.

No. Of course not! "Yes. Of course we do. What would you expect."

Jemma giggled. "You can't just lie to me, I can see in your eyes that you have no idea what you're doing. So I'll help you out. I have an older sister up in Los Angeles. She works with this girl, that works with this guy, who knows a guy who they say kidnaps girls around your sister's' age." She beamed. "So what do you think of going to see what's up with him?"

I looked over at Chris who shrugged and his shoulders at my silent question.

I opened my mouth to answer her question, but before I could she said. "But the rule is, you have to bring me with you."

My voice box stopped mid-word. I snapped my jaw closed, grinding my teeth.

As I opened my mouth again to refuse her request, Chris spoke. "Yeah. As long as it helps. We have room."

I glared at him, a little annoyed that both of them kept interrupting me. Jemma squealed. "Awesome! Let me get my stuff and tell Ralphie where I'm going. I'll meet you at the door!" She rushed out of the room. I turned to Chris.

"Really?" I asked, pulling my lips into a thin line.

He looked up at me, an innocent look on his face. "What?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my clothes, folding against my chest and placing them in my bag. "You seriously want her to come with us? We met her not even three hours ago."

He shrugged. "She seems... Reliable. I think we can trust her. She's really nice."

I smiled, zipping up my duffel and tossing it onto my shoulder. "Where's your wallet, Chris?"

Chris reached into his back pocket, grabbing for his wallet. I saw the instant he realized it wasn't even there. He patted himself down and then rooted through his bag, searching wildly before he eventually came back up empty.

He looked at me, eyes wide and scared. I laughed, ruffling my fingers through my hair.

I scooped up his bag, placing it on the same shoulder my own was resting on. I walked out the door, grabbing the keys off of the table as I went. I walked down the hall with Chris trailing behind me, his head swinging as he continued to look for his wallet.

I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the first floor, tapping my foot as Chris' breathing started to become more and more rapid. When the steel doors finally slip open, Chris rushed out, straight for the desk to report his wallet missing. I, however, walked over to doors, where Jemma was standing, fiddling with a set of keys. My keys. I grabbed them out of her hands. She looked up at me, and her cheeks lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Dean... Hi. That was just - well, I was holding them for you." She stammered nervously.

I smiled the fakest smile I could manage, "Right." I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up to my chest. As she stared up at me, eyes wide, I reached my arm around her hip and grabbed Chris' wallet out of her back pocket. I shoved her away and waved it in her face.

"I suppose you were holding this too, then?" I hissed.

Jemma bit her lip and looked away. She tucked her hair behind her ear and shuffled her feet.

"Chris!" I called, turning away from her. Chris looked away from the clerk, excused himself, and rushed over to me.

"What? What is it?" He asked, looking between Jemma and I. I held his wallet between two of my fingers. He stared at me as he took it.

"You had it this whole time?"He asked. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"No. She did." I said, gesturing my head in her direction.

Chris blinked. "She- wait. Oh. oh...." I rolled my eyes and walked back to the clerk's desk, slamming the keys to our room down in front of him. I squinted my eyes at him and handed him my credit card, letting him total up the cost of our room and then taking it back.

I walked back to the door, slipping between Chris and Jemma and then out the door. They trailed after me awkwardly, keeping distance from each other.

I unlocked the car and got inside, letting Jemma and Chris sort out who was sitting where. They didn't really talk about it, they just separated, leaving Chris in the front and Jemma in the backseat.