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Erin

I called into work, excusing myself for a couple weeks. I claimed a death in the family. Nobody there knew me well enough to know I had no living family. My boss didn't sound happy, but I couldn't exactly find it in me to care. This was more important than a stupid job as a bartender.

"So," Sam began awkwardly once I had hung up with my clearly angry boss. "How's life?" He asked.

I glanced towards him, then back at the road that stretched out in front of me all the way to the horizon. For the first time in a long time I felt like I could breathe. "Boring," I confided with a smirk.

Sam laughed.

"How about you?" I asked arching a brow.

"Not boring," he said with a sad chuckle and turned to look out his window. I had hoped the question would prompt him into telling me what all had happened in the months since I had seen him and his brother last. With no such luck, I settled in to drive. The drive to Central, Nebraska would take nine and a half hours. It was plenty of time for me to get the information out of Sam. I could wait him out.

Sitting so close in the car it was almost impossible for me to block him completely. I had a tight lid on my ability, knowing I would end up drowning in his emotions if I wasn't careful. I sifted through the surface emotions I was catching from Sam while he worked his way through all that had happened.

It was an hour before Sam finally cracked. "Aren't you going to ask anything else?" Sam asked in disbelief.

I turned to him and arched a brow, encouraging him to continue.

Sam snorted and shook his head. "I'm not sure even this is safe and you're just blindly coming along, no questions asked!"

Now it was my turn to snort. "Its research Sam."

"I mean around me," he said, looking down at his hands.

I felt a pulse of emotions, a confusing mix of the same self-loathing, worry, uncertainty and fear, but there was no aggression or hint of violence.

"You aren't dangerous Sam," I told him with absolute certainty after a moment.

"You can't know that," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, I know you don't mean me harm right now. I would know," I told him tapping my temple. It wasn't exactly where I felt things, that was more in my chest, but he would understand my meaning.

He stopped for a moment and just stared at me. I couldn't hold his gaze without driving us into the ditch, so I kept my eyes on the road and waited him out. I felt the slow dawning of realization and then a profound wave of relief.

"I suppose you would," Sam said shaking his head as he stared down at his hands. "I can't believe I didn't think of that..." he said with a frustrated frown.

I flashed him a sympathetic smile. "You've had kind of a lot on your mind," I reassured him. "Why don't you begin at the beginning Sam, I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

Sam drew in a deep breath. "You remember the demon from last year?" he asked.

I still had nightmares of the yellow eyed demon coming after me. I would wake in a cold sweat with the memory of the tar like feeling of his emotions rolling through me, choking me, taking me over.

"Hard to forget," I said a little tightly.

"Right, ah sorry," Sam said a little sheepishly.

"It's fine Sam, I'm not made of glass. I won't break," I assured him.

"The demon, he killed our mom...and our dad...He targeted a bunch of kids who were born in 1983. We aren't sure why. They are ah, all psychic, but with different powers. We've tried tracking them to try and find out what the demon wants with them. Some of the kids...they aren't right...they've killed people. We went to a town to investigate some deaths. One of the kids, he could make people do what he wanted, just with his words..."

"That's a terrifying prospect," I said, shivering. I had encountered an empath who could put feelings into people. He had touched me and against my will I had been totally in love with him. Only him almost killing Dean had allowed me to break free of the compulsion.

"Luckily he seems to be one of the good ones, but...how do we trust him...how do we trust me? I mean so many of them have gone dark side. Why wouldn't I?" He asked the question, although I could tell he hadn't anticipated an actual response.

"And that's where your dad comes in," I said, leading the story back on track.

"Right before he died, he told Dean that he might have to kill me to keep me from becoming...something...something the demon is after. Dean kept it from me for months. Didn't say a word...Just carried it..." Sam shook his head and looked out the window.

That sounded like Dean. I couldn't say I was surprised Dean had tried to protect Sam from this. It was in Dean's nature to try and shoulder responsibility himself and he took protecting his little brother to a whole new level of serious. I felt a little bad for snapping at him now, it had still been stupid of him to tell Sam, but I could have been more patient.

"Your brother would never do what your dad asked Sam," I finally said again.

"Yeah, you said that, but..." Sam shook his head and despair swamped me so deeply I could barely breathe.

"Look, we can agree to disagree," I told him. "But I know your brother." I let the words hang. Sam was the only one who had been around through most of it. Dean and I had been close, closer than I had ever allowed myself to be with anyone given my gift. I knew him.

"We'll find more information about the psychics and decide what to do from there," I assured him. "So, what exactly is this place we are going to?" I asked.

"It's owned by a family friend. Ellen and her daughter Jo," Sam said and he hesitated and uncertainty slithered through him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Sam double blinked in surprise at me before he seemed to settle. "Ah, sorry, it's just been a while," he said shaking his head.

I pressed my lips together and looked down. I had pushed too hard and made him uncomfortable. Sometimes it was hard to remember I had to be normal with Sam. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have..."

"No, no, it's part of who you are," Sam said quickly. "I just forgot how much it feels like you're in here," he said tapping his temple.

I smiled fondly at the memory of the accusation Dean had so often thrown at me. "More like in there," I said pointing at Sam's chest.

He nodded and exhaled. "The Roadhouse is a hang out for hunters. Ellen was a friend of my dads, but her daughter Jo...she's kinda got a thing for Dean..." Sam said sheepishly. "Probably not something you should be surprised by."

"If Ellen and the Hunters are friends I'm sure it will be fine," I assured him. "...and why are you telling me about Jo?" I asked.

"Well, you and Dean..." Sam dragged off.

"Sam," I said in a gentle tone. "Dean and I both knew what we were doing was a temporary thing. There were no hard feelings at the end. Jo will hardly be the first or last girl who has a thing for Dean along the way, I imagine he leaves quite the trail of broken hearts."

"True...Ellen also might not be too happy to see me either...see we were just on a job last month and Jo snuck off to help us...nearly got herself killed...Ellen was pretty pissed at us for not sending her straight home..."

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Erin

To say Ellen wasn't happy to see him was an understatement. As soon as we walked through the door Ellen's head jerked up and her eyes darkened. Ellen was a pretty middle-aged woman who looked like she had spent her whole life behind the bar. Her anger snapped around us but there was an undercurrent of sadness I didn't fully understand.

"Sam," Ellen said tightly. "Who's your friend?" she asked.

Sam's nerves were all around me and made it difficult to push through to learn anything about the woman standing in front of us.

"Ah, hi Ellen, I'm sorry to bother you, this...this is Erin, but ah...is Ash around by chance?" he asked nervously.

Ellen remained calm and leveled a look my way. She looked me up and down before turning back to Sam. "He's in back," she said jerking her chin that way.

"Ah...thank you," Sam stammered. He tripped over one of the stools, and fought to catch it before it could fall.

Ellen just watched with cool detachment.

I trailed behind Sam silently as he led the way into the back room. The man we were here to see looked a few years older than me. He had an impressive mullet and was wearing an open flannel and a pair of jeans.

"Sam, Sam, Sam...public enemy number two," he said, holding up two fingers as he shook his head.

"Ellen still seems pretty pissed," Sam said, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

"Understatement my man," Ash said.

Sam nodded.

"Why is Sam number two?" I asked curiously.

Ash snorted. "Well, Little Joey doesn't have a crush on Sammy Boy here, also Sam didn't outright lie to Ellen on the phone about Jo's wearabouts."

I turned an astounded look on Sam. "Your brother did that?" I asked.

He sort of shrugged and I shook my head. Dean Winchester was going to get himself shot someday. I glanced over my shoulder at Ellen, who was still watching us closely. Maybe today if he followed us here.

"...so...What can I do for you?" Ash asked. "Must be good for you to risk the wrath of Mama Bear out there."

"It's important," Sam told him seriously. Then he explained the perimeters of the search we needed done. Ash nodded along absentmindedly.

"All right, take a seat, might take a few shakes," he said and Ash disappeared into his room, closing the door in Sam's face.

Sam turned back to the bar, but shifted his weight uncomfortably. He didn't want to wait out near Ellen. "I'm ah, just going to go to the bathroom," he told me and he shuffled off down a back hallway

I rolled my eyes but resisted the urge to call him a wuss as I headed back to the bar. I sat down and flashed the stern looking woman a smile.

"Could I order a coke please?" I asked.

Ellen nodded and pulled out one of the old glass bottles. I pulled out some money but her look made me hesitate.

"You a friend of Sam and Dean's?" She asked.

I nodded and laid the money on the bar between us. She didn't even bother to look at it.

"How do you know them?" She asked suspiciously.

I got the impression Ellen would know if I lied. Not like I could tell when someone lied, but rather, that she was just that good at reading people. Sam said we could trust her. While I wasn't going to go around loudly pronouncing my abilities to the room of Hunters, there was plenty I could share.

"My adopted dad was a friend of their's," I told her.

Ellen's eyes narrowed a little. "John Winchester didn't have many friends," she said.

"They knew each other from Vietnam," I told her.

She nodded as though that made more sense. Maybe it did.

"How long you been traveling with Sam?" She asked.

"Not long," I said.

"You seeing each other?"

I nearly spit out my coke. I coughed to clear my lungs before I could continue. "Ah, no. Sam and I are definitely just old friends."

"You and Dean then...?"

I wondered briefly how long this interrogation would go on for and exactly how long Sam was going to hide in the bathroom.

"Just friends," I repeated but the look on Ellen's face made me think she had sensed my half truth.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Don't think you can lie to me. I love those boys like they were my own, even if I do want to throttle them right now. You tell me the truth or you get out of my bar," she snapped.

I felt my eyes widen a little and I sat back in my chair. Every word she had spoke was the truth. I liked her. "Currently just friends," I corrected myself.

Ellen nodded as though that made sense. "Do you know where Dean is?" She asked.

I glanced down at my watch. It was nearly dinner time. "I would assume on the road," I told her. It was the truth. While I hoped Dean would have listened to my note and gotten some rest before chasing after us, I was under no illusion it was more than the minimal couple hours to keep him safe on the road.

"It's unlike Sam and Dean to be traveling separately..." she let the statement hang, but since she didn't ask me a direct question I took another sip of my coke and waited.

Ellen looked up, over my shoulder and I assumed Sam had come back into the room again.

Sam took longer than was strictly necessary to approach the bar, but he reluctantly took the seat next to me, looking like a little boy who had gotten in trouble.

Ellen opened a beer and set it in front of Sam without him bothering to order. "Where's your brother Sam?" Ellen asked pointedly.

Sam shrugged. "Not here," he said taking a long drink of the beer. I was trying to remember if I had ever seen Sam drink before. I didn't think I had.

"So now you're traveling with a friend of your brothers?" Ellen asked, her feelings on the matter were clear in my tone.

"She's aware of the family business. Erin's tougher than she looks," Sam assured her.

I didn't like that they were talking about me like I wasn't here, but I appreciated the fact that Sam was defending me. I glanced over my shoulder. There were a few men sitting at random tables. Most appeared busy, but I could feel their interest.

"What-" Ellen started to ask but was interrupted as the back door swung open.

"Done and done," Ash said coming out from his room.

"That was fast," Sam said glancing over his shoulder.

"Well, apparently that's my job," Ash said dropping onto the barstool beside me. He flashed me a pleased smile. "Make the monkey dance," he said but he wasn't looking at Sam, he was staring down at me.

I shifted on my barstool. I could feel that he was harmless, but it made his interest no less uncomfortable. I didn't like strangers sitting so close to me, not when they could accidentally touch me.

"Just tell us what you got Ash," Ellen said exhaustedly. She stepped between me and Ash pointedly, lifting her eyebrows. "This girl and Dean are good...friends," her disbelief in my lie was evident in her tone.

Ash got the message loud and clear. He cleared his throat and took a measured step back from me. I bit back my smile as I met Ellen's gaze. Motherly love radiated from her in everything that she did despite her gruff exterior. She cared for Ash just as much as she did for Sam and Dean.

Ash turned back to Sam, making a clear effort to avoid making eye contact with me. Guess Ash was a little afraid of Dean.

"Four folks fit the profile nationwide," Ash told him. "Born in Eighty-three, mother died in a nursery fire, the whole she-bang."

"Four?" Sam asked despondently. "That's it?"

"Sam Winchester from Lawrence, Kansas. Max Miller from Saginaw, Michigan. Andrew Gallagher Gutherie, Oklahoma."

Sam nodded along with all of these names. None of them were a surprise to him.

"And...another name, Scott Carey..." he said throwing his list of notes down on the bartop.

"What you got an address?" Sam asked eagerly.

"Kind of, the Arbor Hills cemetery in Lafayette, Indiana. Plot 486," Ash said.

"So he's dead?" I asked with a frown.

Ash nodded. "Killed about a month ago."

"Killed how?" Sam pressed.

"Stabbed, parking lot. Fuzz don't have much, no suspects."

Sam took another long drink from his beer. "All right, thank you," he said. Nodding to both Ellen and Ash.

"Where you going?" Ellen asked as Sam made his way to the door.

I climbed off my bar stool and followed.

"Indiana," Sam said grimly.

"Sam," Ellen called stopping him in his tracks. "I gotta call Dean, I gotta let him know where you are and that you're okay."

"Ellen please," Sam begged. "I'm trying to find answers about who I am, and my brother means well, but he can't protect me from that."

Ellen hesitated. I could feel her wavering.

"Please," Sam implored.

She exhaled and nodded but I could feel her turmoil. She cared for both the boys and was torn.

"Thank you," Sam said and he ushered me outside ahead of him.

We climbed into my SUV. I turned the key and looked down at the gas gauge. We still had a couple hundred miles before we would need to fill up again.

"You can drop me anywhere," Sam
said. "I'll find a car."

I turned and looked at him with a frown. "What?" I asked in confusion.

"I'll find a car, you need to get back."

"No, we're going to Indiana,"
I said decisively and to accentuate my point I hit the power locks.

Sam snorted at the thought of me being able to stop him from going. I guess I didn't blame him. I put the car in gear and headed back out towards the main road. It would be harder for him to leave if I was going seventy down the freeway.

"Erin, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Going to Indiana," I repeated as though he were stupid. "And possibly kidnapping you," I added with an impish look.

Sam wasn't amused. "Research is over and done with, now I'm chasing down a murder."

"Past murder," I emphasized flippantly. "That still makes it research."

He opened his mouth to keep fighting but I shook my head. "Honestly Sam, I'm not going to give up on this, and Ellen was lying when she said she wouldn't call Dean. Our lead is closing rapidly. You don't have time to argue with me."

Sam frowned at me but finally sighed and pulled out a map. "It looks like it will take about ten hours to get to Lafayette."

I glanced towards the clock. It was a little past dinner time. "I've got another few hours in me before I'll need to switch out," I told him. "Why don't you get some sleep."

Sam nodded and leaned his head against the window. I reached forward and turned on my cd player. Metallica filled the speakers. Sam peaked open one eye at me and I could feel his mirth.

"Go to sleep Sam," I snapped, feigning impatience.

He just chuckled and obliged.

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Dean

I woke up after a couple hours of sleep. It wasn't exactly enough but it was do. I needed to get on the road. I remade the guest bed. Despite the note, it would have made me feel like a creep sleeping in her room without her here, no matter how much I wanted to. I moved through the house, turning off lights they forgot to in their hurry. I washed the couple of cups in the sink and checked around for anything else I could take care of. Erin would likely be gone for a few days. I didn't see any signs of a pet, which was surprising, Erin liked animals. Although it did make it easier for her to run off half cocked with Sammy. I locked the door behind me, leaving the house dark and quiet.

I started up baby before I realized I didn't actually know where I was going. I reached into my pocket and pulled out her note. I had already reread it dozens of times. I was pathetic.

The note gave nothing away. She seemed convinced I would find them though, which meant she probably thought I could guess where they were going. Sam would want to do research, but he would be in a rush since he knew I was chasing him. He would go where he could get the most help. That meant either Bobby or Ellen.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Bobby.

"Is Sammy with you?" I asked when he answered. Bobby lived close enough they would have already arrived.

"No," came Bobby's annoyed voice through the phone. "He's not with you?"

"Call me if you hear from him," I said impatiently and hung up before Bobby could ream me a new one for losing my brother.

That left the roadhouse.

I cringed inwardly as it rang. If Sammy wasn't there, Ellen was not going to be happy to hear from me.

"Roadhouse," Ellen's voice answered.

"Ellen, it's Dean," I said. I waited for her to start raging but to my surprise she never did.

"He ain't here anymore Dean," she told me without pause.

I breathed a sigh of relief. If they had gone there they couldn't have left too long ago. It was a long drive from Erin's to the Roadhouse. It allowed for only a short window of time for them to get into trouble.

"I need to know where they went Ellen."

"Sam made me promise not to tell you," Ellen told me.

"Come on Ellen please. Something bad could be going on here and I swore I would look after the kid. He shouldn't be alone."

"Well, he ain't alone. He's with your friend," Ellen said and I could almost hear the smile in her voice.

Somehow she had figured out there was something with Erin and I. I hoped it meant no one had noticed anything different about her. I could have throttle Sam for bringing her to the Roadhouse and parading her around in front of so many hunters.

"I need to know where he is," I repeated.

"Well, Dean they say you can't protect your loved ones forever," Ellen let the words hang as though she were thinking them over. "Well I say screw that. What else is family for. They're headed to Lafayette Indiana."

"Thanks Ellen."

"Dean, the girl with Sam-"

"Just a friend Ellen," I lied through my teeth and hung up. I pulled a map out of the glove box. It would take me a little under nine hours to get to Lafayette.

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