⌜ chapter twenty ⌟

"You're gonna hand Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn't notice?" Dean questions as Isla walks back into the motel room.

"Look, as long as it's close, she shouldn't be able to tell the difference." John tells him.

"Yeah, but for how long? What happens when she figures it out and goes after Isla's family?"

"I just— I just need to buy a few hours, that's all. Did you get your brother on the phone?" He asks as he turns his head in the direction of the blonde; she's leaning against the door.

"Yeah. Unlike you, he always picks up when I call." She tells him, her eyes on the ceiling as she leans her head back.

"And?"

"And I'm gonna kill Mateo before any demon does." She sighs. "Dumbass is seven and a half months sober, and he gets a job in a bar."

"But he's safe?"

"Yeah. He's living with some old family friends, and he's got another hunter there with him." She tells him. "He says if you tell that to my dad, he'll kick my ass for telling his business. I laughed."

"There's something wrong with you kids." He says, and she nods.

"So, what do you need to buy a few hours for?" She asks as she stands up straight and starts toward the kitchen. "Me and the boys?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean questions as he looks at her.

"He's leaving. He wants us to stay here while he pawns off the fake gun and we kill the demon on our own." She tells him, and he turns back to his father.

"No, Isla." John says, and she makes her way to stand between the boys. "I want me and my boys to stop losing the people that we love. I want Sam to go to school. I want— I want Dean to have a home. I want you to finally be happy with the family you found here." He says as he turns away from them, and Dean looks down at her. "I want Mary alive. I just..." He turns back to the three of them. "I just want this to be over."

They set up a game plan from there — Sam's going with John to get a few things that he thinks they'll need, and Dean and Isla are going to an antique shop to pick up a gun that they can pass off as the Colt. John and Sam leave first, and Isla's getting ready to leave when Dean walks up beside her. His hand brushes her lower back, and she looks up at him.

"I need you to stay here." He tells her, and her eyebrows furrow.

"What?"

"This demon keeps going after the women in our lives, and I need you to stay here. Salt the door and windows, and stay safe." He says, and the blonde turns her body to face him; his hand slides to her hip as she moves.

"You realize how chauvinistic you sound right now?" She questions. "This son of a bitch doesn't care about gender. Meg just killed Pastor Jim and Caleb."

"Isla, please."

"What happened to all that talk after what happened with those hillbillies? That you guys need me more than I need you?" She argues. "Now you want me to sit out and stay put?"

"I stand by everything that I said that day." He tells her. "We do need you...but I need you to be alive and safe. The demon killed my mom, and Sam's girlfriend...and now I need you not to be anywhere near it. I need you to be as far from this thing as possible...because I don't know what I'll do if you get hurt...or worse."

She hesitates for a moment as she looks up into his eyes, trying to process what exactly he's saying and what it means. "I'll stay on one condition." Isla finally says, and he nods. "You make it back here alive and in one piece. It was scary enough when Sam showed up and told me that you were in the hospital. I can't go through that again, especially now."

Dean leans down and places a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back. I promise." He whispers against her skin before pulling away from her and moving for the door.

—

Isla walks out of the bathroom after her shower, and she's irritated because she couldn't button her jeans, which means she's wearing another pair of her black leggings. She's been eating more junk food with the boys instead of eating healthier like she had been when she was living on her own, and it's obviously having some negative effects on her clothes.

The door opens, and she turns to see Sam and Dean walking into the room. Both boys look mad and...maybe even a little worried. It scares her more than she'd like to admit.

"What happened?" Isla asks, and Sam sits down on the foot of the bed closer to the door; he doesn't acknowledge her. "Dean?"

"We saved the family, but the demon got away." He tells her as he starts pacing.

"At least you saved the mother." She says, trying to help, but knowing it's not enough. "Have you heard from John?"

"No. Nothing. You haven't heard from him?" He asks as he looks over at her, and she shakes her head. He sighs, running his hand down his face, and Minx jumps so that she can hook her claws into his pant leg. "Why is she all wet?" He asks after he reaches down to pick her up.

"I took a shower, and she started playing in the water." The blonde says as she sits down on the other bed. "She won't let me near her with the blow drier. I think the noise scares her."

"Can you start packing up your stuff and hers?" He asks, and she nods as she gets back to her feet. "We need to be ready to go in case anything happens."

And of course something happened. Something bad always happens. The demons have John, so the three younger hunters get the hell out of town as fast as they can. Dean comes up with a plan, which places them at the house of another hunter they know — Bobby Singer.

"Hey, puppy." Isla smiles as she walks over to the Rottweiler that's laying on the hood of a baby blue Ford truck. "Who's a good boy?" She scratches his head before unhooking his chain, and he jumps down from the truck.

"I really don't think you're supposed to do that." Dean says as he watches her.

"Says who?" The blonde questions as she makes her way into the house, not bothering to knock, and the dog trots along at her side. "Honey, I'm home!"

"She knows Bobby?" Sam asks as he looks at his older brother.

"Apparently."

"Every time you show up, he thinks he gets the run of the house." Bobby grumbles as the boys walk in the front door.

"I should come over more often." Isla says as she squats down to pet Rumsfeld. "Pets should be allowed inside with the rest of us."

"And you're bringin' more animals into my house." He says as the Rottweiler sniffs the fluffy head that's sticking out of the pocket on the front of her hoodie.

Little arms stretch out as the kitten wakes up, and Rumsfeld jumps back when her paw touches his nose. He pauses and moves forward again when he hears the tiny meows as she pulls herself out of Isla's hoodie and jumps to the floor. The kitten and the dog sniff at each other, but otherwise remain unfazed by the new presence.

"Minx is Dean's." Isla says, and the older man looks over at the Winchester boys, seemingly surprised by the new information.

"Excuse me?" Dean quirks an eyebrow.

"No, you're right — Dean is Minx's." The blonde amends, and Sam chuckles at the unamused look on his brother's face.

"You belong to a cat?" Bobby questions as Minx climbs Dean's pant leg again.

"She seems to think so." Dean says as Isla walks over and takes Minx from him.

"Come on, sweetness. Let's get you set up in my room." The blonde says as she starts for the stairs with the bag of the kitten's stuff in her hand. Rumsfeld follows behind her, causing Bobby to shake his head.

"We didn't know that Isla was a friend of yours." Sam says once she's gone.

"Known her daddy a long time." Bobby tells them. "The girl takes over my house every time she's in town. I lost all say when she charmed the damn dog."

Isla makes her way back downstairs a few minutes later, and she hears the men talking. "The man knows his stuff." Dean says as he walks over to his younger brother, who made himself comfortable at the desk.

"Minx won't settle down." The blonde says, and Dean pulls the keys to the Impala out of his jacket pocket and hands them over to her. She takes them from him and heads for the door, going to get one of his shirts to put in the room with the kitten.

The three men are talking a few minutes later when the door suddenly bursts open, and Isla flies in the room. The blonde groans as Meg struts through the doorway, past the pieces of wood that splintered off when she threw Isla.

"No more crap, okay?" The demon says, and then throws Dean into a wall when he tries to move toward Isla. He hits a wall with rows of books stacked high in front of it, and glass shatters when his back goes through the doors of an enclosed bookshelf there. He lands on the floor, out cold.

"Isla?" Sam glances down at her as he pushes himself in front of Bobby; she rolls onto her side, obviously in pain, but gives him a thumbs-up nonetheless.

"I want the Colt, Sam. The real Colt." Meg tells him. "Right now."

"We don't have it on. We buried it." He says as he and Bobby move into another room, and she follows them.

"Didn't I say no more crap?" She questions, and Isla crawls over to Dean once the demon's passed her. "I swear — after everything I've heard about you Winchesters, I've gotta tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed." She says, still advancing on them. "First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you two chuckleheads and your brother's pretty little girlfriend. Lackluster men, and the useless little girl. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?" She questions.

"Actually." Dean says as he and Isla walk up behind her. "We were counting on it." He tells her as he looks up at the devil's trap above her head. The demon's jaw tightens as she looks up at the black paint as well.

"Now who's useless?" Isla questions as she starts toward the stairs. "Black-eyed bitch."

After getting Minx to calm down by leaving one of Dean's shirts on the bed with her, Isla makes her way back down the stairs. She gets back to the living room just in time to see Dean backhand the demon across the face. She grunts as her head snaps to the side.

"That's kind of a turn-on — you hitting a girl." Meg looks from Dean to Isla. "Don't you think?"

"Shut up, bitch." The blonde says as she splashes holy water on her face, and the demon starts screaming as Bobby calls Dean out of the room. "I was thinking... Why don't we do a little light reading, huh?" She asks as the three men walk out of the main room.

"You're gonna read me a bedtime story?"

"Mhm." She smiles as she walks past the boys to get to Dean's leather jacket. "Do you have a preference — I can do English, Spanish, Italian... Oh, I know. How about some Latin?" She asks as she pulls John's journal out of the inside jacket pocket.

"Offended by the useless comment?" Meg asks as the huntress walks back over to her. "You don't have to show off for me. Or were hoping to impress your boy-toy? If that's the case, I'd go with Spanish, or the Italian. Sounds sexier than the Latin."

"That's cute." Isla smiles sarcastically as she flips through the pages of the journal that's in her hands. "Where's John?"

"Oh, I think the better question is... How many demons are going after Santiago?" The demon says, and Bobby looks over at Isla.

The huntress chuckles as she looks down at her; the demon's tied up in a chair in the center of the devil's trap. "Sweetheart... I pity any demon dumb enough to go after my father." She tells her. "You, however, should be thankful that you're here and not there. I'm much nicer than he is."

"Prettier too. Don't you think, Dean?" Meg asks as she looks over at him.

"Regna terrae, cantáte deo, psállite dómino..."

"Maybe your girlfriend isn't as useless as I thought." The demon says as she looks up at Dean again, ignoring Isla as she reads the exorcism.

"...tribuite virtutem deo." Isla stops when she hears Meg groan, and then the demon turns her head to look at her.

"I'm gonna kill you." She says as her gaze flickers between Isla and Dean. "I'm gonna rip the bones from your body."

"No." Dean shakes his head, his jaw tight as he looks down at her. "You're gonna burn in hell...unless you tell me where my dad is." He says, but she just looks at him. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan."

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica..." Isla stops again when the demon lets out another pain-filled groan.

"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes." Meg says, looking up at Dean. "He begged to see his kids one last time. That's when I slit his throat."

Isla continues the exorcism as Dean leans down to look the demon in the eye. "For your sake, I hope you're lying. 'Cause if it's true, I swear to God, I will march into hell myself, and I will slaughter each and every one of you evil sons of bitches, so help me God."

"Perditionis venenum propinare, vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae..." Isla ignores when the pages in books around her start to turn on their own. "...hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt."

Meg groans, and Isla looks down at her.

"Where is he?" Dean asks as he starts to circle the demon.

"You just won't take dead for an answer, will you?" Meg questions.

"Where is he?"

"Dead!"

"No, he's not!" He snaps as he leans down to yell in her face. "He is not dead! He can't be!"

"Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, domine." Isla continues as she tears her gaze away from Dean and back to his father's journal. "Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos." The chair that Meg's tied down in starts moving around inside the trap, and Dean takes a step back so that it won't hit him.

"He will be!" The demon yells, and only then does Isla stop the exorcism.

"What?" Dean questions.

"He's not dead, but he will be after what we do to him."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't."

"Isla!"

"A building!" Meg continues so she won't start the exorcism again. "Okay. A building in Jefferson City."

"Missouri?" Dean questions. "Where, where? An address?"

"I don't know."

"And the demon — the one we're looking for?" Sam interjects. "Where is it?"

"I don't know! I swear." She tells them. "That's everything. That's all I know."

"Well, I hope you had your fun in the sun." Isla says, and Meg looks at her. "Now, have fun in hell."

"What?" The demon questions. "I told you the truth."

"I don't give a shit."

"You bitch! You promised."

"No, Dean did." Isla reminds her, then she leans down to look her in the eye. "You shouldn't have threatened my family."

"You're just as bad as your father." Meg says as the huntress stands up straight, looking down at the journal in her hands.

"Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae. Terogamus audi nos. Terribilis deus de sanctuario suo deus israhel ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae. Benedictus deus. Gloria Patri."

Meg screams as her head flies back, and black smoke shoots out of her mouth and into the devil's trap. It takes longer than Isla remembers from exorcisms that she's done in the past, and then the screaming stops as the girl's head hangs down.

A string of blood drips from her mouth, and everything's silent as they wait to see what's going to happen next. Meg — the real Meg — very slowly starts to sit up as a low wheeze escapes her lips.

"She's still alive." Dean says. "Call 9-1-1. Get some water and some blankets." He tells the older man as Bobby quickly moves past him.

Isla tosses the journal in her hands onto a nearby table before moving to untie one of Meg's hands, and Dean quickly goes to undo the other.

"Thank you." Meg barely manages.

"Hey, shh. Just take it easy." The huntress tells her.

"Come on, let's get her down." Dean says, and Isla moves out of the way so that Sam can help his older brother.

Meg groans as the two men lift her from the chair and slowly lay her down on the floor. Sam's trying to comfort her, and Dean looks mildly horrified by the condition she's in.

"A year." Meg wheezes.

"What?" Sam asks.

"It's been a year." She tells him.

"Just take it easy."

"I've been awake...for some of it." She seems to be having a hard time breathing. "I couldn't move my own body. The things I did — it's a nightmare."

"Was it telling us the truth about our dad?" Dean asks, immediately gaining his brother's attention.

"Dean." The younger boy scolds.

"We need to know."

"Yes." Meg says. "But it wants...you to know...that...they want you to come for him."

"If Dad's still alive, none of that matters." Dean says.

Bobby walks back in then, and he hands a glass of water to Dean before spreading a blanket out over her body. The older of the Winchester boys slowly lifts Meg's head as he helps her take a drink of the water, being careful not to spill it on her.

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam asks as Dean lays her head back down.

"Not there." Meg tells them. "Other ones. Awful ones."

"Where are they keeping our dad?" Dean asks her.

"By the riv-river." She says, but talking's becoming impossible. "Sunrise."

"Sunrise? What does that mean?" He asks, but she's already gone — dead.

Isla pulls her phone out of her pocket and hits her speed-dial before holding the device to her ear. It's not long after that that her brother's voice comes over the line. "We got nothing on his cell. I bet they turned it off. Or ditched it altogether." He tells her.

"Jefferson City, Missouri." Isla says, gaining the boys' attention. "A building by the river. Look for something having to do with the word Sunrise."

"Sunrise?"

"Just do it."

"You got that, Ash?" He asks as he looks at the man sitting across from him.

"I'm workin' on it." A familiar voice comes over the line. "So, beautiful, what do I get for helpin' you out on this?"

"Mateo, leave him alone." Isla says, pinching the bridge of her nose as she looks down.

"Stop hitting on my baby sister." Her brother's angry voice fills the line, and she pulls the phone away from her ear when Ash starts yelling.

"He didn't listen. What else you got?" Ash asks, and she shakes her head at them.

"Give me the information, and I won't kick your ass for getting him a job in a Goddamn bar." The blonde says.

"How about you swing by and have a beer with me?" He asks. She can hear him typing on his laptop, so she knows that he's working. "I'll take you on a fine date."

"Yes to the beer. No to the date. Ash, do you even have anything worth getting that beer?" She questions, and Bobby chuckles as he walks past her. "Shut up."

Sam's eyebrows furrow as he looks at his older brother. Dean's jaw is clenched tight, and the younger boy can see the tension on his face. Sam hadn't thought anything of demon Meg calling Isla his brother's girlfriend — it seemed like she was just trying to get under their skin. But seeing the way that Dean's watching Isla now, obviously annoyed by what the guy she's talking to is saying — he's starting to wonder what exactly he's missed.

"Jefferson City — Sunrise Apartments, a nice little complex with a riverfront view." Ash says, and a smile pulls at Isla's lips. "I'm sending the coordinates to your phone now."

"Oh, you beautiful genius." The blonde sighs in relief. "How about we bump that beer up to dinner?"

"Do I still get the beer?" He asks, and she chuckles.

"Janie, we're talking demons inside of an apartment complex." Mateo says, and her smile falls as she nods. "They can look like anybody. They're wearing human armor."

"Yeah, I know. We'll be careful." She tells him. "I love you, big brother. And leave Ash alone."

"S'alright, beautiful. Our love is worth the pain." Ash says, and she shakes her head.

"You're insane. I'd run if I were you." The blonde says before hanging up the phone.