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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦-𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘎-𝘦𝘳

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Dean pulled into a gas station to fill up the Impala a bit. They had been driving for what felt like forever, when it was really only about two or three days. Sam was passed out in the back so Delaney took advantage of being able to sit in the front with Dean. It was a rare moment and Delaney would be damned if she didn't hop on the opportunity to not sit in the back seat for once.

"All right," Dean said as he shut the car off. "So I have a plan. I figured we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head South, hit Bisbee by midnight."

Delaney absently nodded her head to Dean's plan as she continued to scroll through her phone. All her friends back at school kept texting her to see how she was doing, especially after Will's death and her sudden disappearance from Stanford. She hadn't been able to get back to them in almost a week so Delaney was trying to get back to all of them while she still could. 

"Delaney, are you even listening to me?" Dean questioned in annoyance.

Delaney sighed and glanced over at Dean who glaring at her. "I'm listening, Dean. I'm just busy okay? There is such a thing as multi-tasking you know."

Dean softly scoffed before he got out of the car. "Busy doing what?"

"Reading and answering texts and e-mails from my friends back at school," Delaney replied as she continued to type away at her phone.

Dean chuckled and stuck the nozzle of the gas gage into the Impala. "You really still keep in touch with your little buddies from school?"

"Why not?" Delaney questioned as she poked her out of the open window to look at Dean.

"Well... what exactly do you tell them, you know, about where you've been and what you've been doing?"

"I tell them my two obnoxious older brothers abducted me and I'm slaying demons left and right," Delaney joked with a laugh but immediately stopped when Dean sent her a look. "I don't know. I just tell them I'm driving around with my two older brothers because I need time off after Will's death."

"So you lie to them," Dean clarified, raising an eyebrow.

Delaney leaned her arms on the open window and laid her head on them, looking up at her big brother. "No. I just... omit somethings."

"Della, that's called lying," Dean chuckled as he gently pushed her head. "I mean, I don't blame you. Telling them the truth is far worse."

"So what am I supposed to do, just cut all my friends out of my life?" Delaney asked, frustrated that she had to keep lying to them. She had never lied to any of them before this point. Granted, they would think she was psychotic and probably lost her mind because of Will dying right in front of her. However, that did not make Delaney feel any better lying to any of them. 

Dean simply shrugged and stared ahead of him. "Look, kiddo, it sucks, okay? In a job like this, you can't get close to people. It's one of the many reasons Dad didn't want you being apart of this shit. It's not for everyone, and him, Sam and I just wanted someone in the family to be normal. I guess that's kind of ruined now, huh?"

Delaney rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat as she continued to look through her messages. "You're antisocial, Dee. You should work on that."

"Maybe when pie stops being so good," Dean retorted.

Delaney's eyes widened as she read something one of her girl friends had sent to her. "Oh, no."

"Della, what?" Dean asked, ducking so he could look at her through the window.

"One of my friends, Rebecca Warren, she sent me this text," Delaney replied as she continued to scroll through the long message.

"Is she hot?" Dean grinned, looking to his baby sister.

Delaney looked away from her phone and sent Dean a glare. "She's too young for you, first of all. Second of all, she and her brother, Zach, were Will's best friends growing up. They're actually the reason I met Will in the first place. She says that Zach was charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Becca said he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a good case on him."

"Della, what kind of friends do you have? I might have to seriously cut you off from them," Dean looked to his sister, worried she associated with the wrong crowd.

"Dean," Delaney groaned, locking her phone and turning to face him. "Zac didn't do it, okay? I know him. He's like the most down-to-Earth person I've ever met. He would never kill his girlfriend. Hell, he was planning on proposing once we graduated."

"Maybe you know Zach as well as he knows you."

"They're in St. Louis. We're going."

Dean chuckled and shook his head. "Look, baby girl, I'm sorry about your little psycho murderer buddy, okay? However, this does not sound like our kind of problem."

"It is our kind of problem. They're my friends, Dean. I can't just walk away from this."

"Delaney, St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us," Dean said, gesturing at the way they came from. "Not happening."

Delaney looked up at Dean with the best puppy dog face she could muster. It was the best tactic in her arsenal on Dean. She wasn't sure if it was the way her green eyes went wide, or the fact that she looked so cute and innocent Dean never could fight the power of it. She just hoped this was another time he wouldn't be able to resist.

"OKAY!" Dean yelled and Delaney was surprised it didn't wake Sam up. "Fine. Just put the damn face away." 

Delaney smiled in satisfaction as she watched Dean take the gas pump out of the Impala and pay for it, before hopping in the car and speeding off to St. Louis.

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A few hours later, Dean pulled up in front of Rebecca's childhood home and shook Sam awake. Delaney immediately hopped out of the front seat and rushed over to the front door. She could hear Dean explain to Sam why they were here and not still on the road to Arizona. It was obvious Dean was still annoyed that they had to stop, but she couldn't care less.

Rebecca came to the door a few seconds after Delaney had rang the doorbell. She was a cute little blonde girl with big blue eyes and a sweet personality. "Oh, my God. Lane!" She squealed and wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette. "I've missed you."

Delaney squeezed Rebecca as tight as she could. She hadn't realized how much she missed her college friends until now. "I missed you too, Becky."

Rebecca jokingly shoved Delaney away. "Ugh, you know I hate that name. Reminds me of my ugly faze in the second grade."

"Please, like you ever had an ugly faze," Delaney teased with a giggle, the grin never leaving her face. "I got your text about Zach."

"I didn't think that you would come here," Rebecca admitted with a sheepish grin. "I just wanted to keep you up to date on everything."

Dean pushed his hand across Delaney and held it out for Rebecca to shake. "Dean - older brother."

Sam had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at Dean trying to flirt with a girl that was almost ten years younger than him. "Sam - also older brother."

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you boys," Rebecca greeted with a warm smile. "Well, why don't you guys come in?"

Delaney led the way inside and followed Rebecca through the house. "Nice place, Beck," she complimented as she looked around at the fancy decorations and furniture placed around what Delaney would describe as a small mansion.

"Thanks. It's my parent's place as you already know. I was crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened," Rebecca explained as she led the three into the kitchen. "I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zach's free."

"Where are your parents?" Sam asked, leaning on the kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Oh, they live in Paris for like half the year. They're on their way home now for the trial," Rebecca replied, leaning her hip on the island as well. "You boys want a beer or something?"

Dean grinned but Delaney immediately shut him down. "No they are good, Beck. Thanks."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Sam asked softly.

"Well, um, Zach had came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair," Rebecca began with a sigh. "She was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing. And so he... he called 911. And the police showed up, and... the police arrested him." She sniffled and wiped her eyes to clear them of the tears welling in her eyes. "But the thing is, the only way that Zach could have killed Emily was if he was in two places at the same time."

Delaney glanced over at her two brothers who both gave her a look of "this is crazy".

"The police, they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. It shows Zach coming home at ten-thirty. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but, Lane, I swear he was here with me. We were having a few beers until at least midnight."

"Do you think we could look at the crime scene - Zach's house," Delaney suggested.

"We could?" Dean asked, giving Delaney a look that said to shut up.

Rebecca glanced between the three siblings before focusing her attention back on Delaney. "Why? What could you do?"

"Well, I can't do much. Dean and Sam, though, they're cops," Delaney lied.

Dean awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. She could already tell Dean was gonna hang her for this. "A detective, actually."

"Really? Where?"

"Bisbee, Arizona," Dean replied with an easy smile. "I'm off duty right now."

"I don't know," Rebecca whispered as she chewed her lower lip. "You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just - I don't know."

Delaney frowned and deflated a little. She really wanted to help prove her best friend was innocent. "Beck, I know Zee wouldn't do this. He loved Emily. We have to find a way to prove that he's innocent."

Rebecca thought about it a moment before finally agreeing. "Let me just go get the keys."

Dean whistled as he walked around and stood where Rebecca had been previously standing. "Oh, yeah, Della. You're a real straight shooter with your friends."

"Dean, knock it off," Sam warned, shaking his head. "Delly, are you really sure about all of this?"

"Guys, come on! Zach and Rebecca need our help here."

"I just don't think this is our kind of problem. It doesn't seem all that off to me," Dean stated.

Delaney crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her eldest brother. "Someone being in two places at once doesn't sound weird or odd to you?"

The two older boys stayed quiet, which indicated they were just going to run with this. Delaney wasn't sure if it was to shut her up or if it was because she convinced them something weird was happening.

Rebecca returned with the keys in hand and jacket on, ready to go. Delaney smiled at her friend and lead her out to the Impala with the boys in tow. She sat in the back with Rebecca, while the boys sat up front whispering to each other. Rebecca and Delaney had their own little conversation in the back, catching up as best they could.

Dean finally pulled up in front of Zach's place and the four of them got out of the car.

"You're sure this is okay?" Rebecca asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Yeah," Dean replied, looking over the hood of the car at Delaney. "I am an officer of the law." 

Delaney avoided Dean's gaze as she walked over to Zach's place and waited for Rebecca to unlock it. Once it was unlocked Dean and Sam ducked under the police tape to enter inside. Delaney ducked under after them and glanced around. There was blood pretty much everywhere and on almost everything. She looked back to see Rebecca hovering by the front door, sadness evident on her face.

"Beck, you want to wait outside?" Delaney asked and received a shake of the head from Rebecca before she ducked into the house.

"No, I want to help."

Delaney stood with Rebecca as Dean and Sam took a look around. "Is there anything else the police said, Beck?"

"Well... there was no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers are already talking about a plea bargain," Rebecca said, looking around the place and a sob escaped her. "Oh, God."

"Look, Beck... if Zach didn't do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who would want to hurt Zach or Emily?"

Rebecca pulled her lips into her mouth as she thought about who could possibly do something like this. "Well... there was something. About a week before, somebody broke in here and stole some clothes - Zach's clothes. And the police, they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed."

Delaney followed Sam around to help him look for clues while Dean walked around by the front door and windows. The dog next door started to bark at him as he stood there with Rebecca. 

"That used to be the sweetest dog. He just changed," Rebecca shrugged, not really knowing what could have changed the dog like this.

"Do you remember when he changed?" Dean questioned as he continued to stare down the dog.

"I guess around the time of the murder."

Dean walked away and over to Delaney who stared sadly at the picture on the fridge. It was of Rebecca, Zach, Delaney and Will all at some music festival that was being held by the campus. They all dressed up in various animal onesies because of the cold weather at the time, and they all had a blast. It was where Will had actually told Delaney he loved her for the first time. Delaney had to furiously blink her eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"Della," Dean said and it snapped Delaney out of the memory. Sam walked over to them when he noticed Dean's expression. "The neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zach's girlfriend was killed."

"Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal," Sam reminded Dean.

"You think the dog saw something," Delaney said, clearing her throat once she heard the crack in her voice. She prayed neither one of the boys noticed it. They finally stopped pestering her about the whole nightmares and Will thing.

"So you think maybe this is our kind of problem?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "No. Probably not, but we should look at the security tape just to be sure."

At that point, Rebecca walked back over to the siblings which cut off their planning.

"Hey, Rebecca," Dean greeted. "So the tape - the security footage? You think the lawyers could get it for us? Sam and I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction."

"I've already got it," Rebecca replied. "I didn't want to say anything in front of the cops, but I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."

Delaney couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's rebelliousness. "Aren't you the little thief?" She teased and received a laugh from Rebecca.

Dean suggested they should get going so they could take a look at the tapes. He lead the way outside, but Delaney stayed behind for an extra minute to take another look at the picture on the fridge. She missed those days when the times were simpler. Now everything was a big mess and Delaney wasn't sure how to swim to the surface at this point.

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A little while later, the four were in the living room of Rebecca's parents' house. The surveillance video set up on the big screen. Delaney stood in front of the TV next to Sam, not being able to sit while watching this. The screen was split into four sections and each section had a different angle of the house and street the night Emily was killed.

"Here we comes," Rebecca announced, pointing at the screen.

On the lower right section, it showed Zach returning home at around ten o'clock. "22:04 - that's just after ten. You said time of death was about ten thirty," Dean pointed out, looking over to Rebecca who was sat next to him on the couch.

"Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape's authentic. It wasn't tampered with."

Sam fiddled with the remote as he looked over all the footage. After a moment, Sam turned to Rebecca and asked her if they could get some beers. She obliged and made her way into the kitchen.

Delaney furrowed her eyebrows at Sam. "Why'd you send her away for? What's wrong?"

"Check this out," Sam whispered to both Dean and Delaney who were now huddled around the TV with Sam. He rewound the video clip and then pressed play, freezing it after a few seconds. In the top left corner, Zach was looking at the camera and his eyes were shining white.

"Maybe it's just a camera flare," Dean suggested.

"I've never seen any camera flare like that before," Delaney countered, crossing her arms as she stared at the image in front of her.

"You know, a lot of cultures believe a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul," Sam stated. "Remember that dog that was freaking out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zach's - something that looks like him but isn't him?"

Delaney glanced up at her brother. "You mean like a doppelganger?" she questioned, remembering seeing something like that in a movie or TV show before.

"Yeah, exactly," Sam responded. "That sure would explain how he was in two places at once."

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The next morning, Dean pulled up behind Zach's place. Delaney groggily exited the car with her two brothers and groaned. "Why am I up at five thirty in the morning?"

"I realized something. The video tape shows the killer going in but not coming out," Sam explained, walking across the back lot and over to the dumpster area behind Zach's place.

"So he came out the back door?" Dean asked as he took a huge swig from his coffee.

"Right, so there should be a trail to follow - a trail the police would never pursue."

"Cause they think the killer never left," Delaney finished, realizing where Sam was going with this whole thing. He still didn't need to wake them up at five am for this. They could have done this at, like, eleven. 

Dean leaned against the hood of the Impala. "They caught Della's friend inside. I still don't know what we're doing here, though."

Delaney nodded tiredly and leaned against the hood with Dean, laying her head on his shoulder. "Wake me up when Sam finds whatever it is he thinks is here."

Dean jokingly shook his shoulder to annoy Delaney, only to receive a solid punch to the arm. He flinched but held back the "ow" that desperately wanted to leave his lips. Who knew his baby sister could punch so damn hard? "Are they teaching you boxing at school or something?"

"Self defense classes," Delaney yawned. "Will had me take them with him after someone near campus got attacked."

"I knew I liked that kid for a reason," Dean stated, taking another sip of his coffee.

Sam stopped in front of a wooden post, red smeared across it. He turned to his siblings and pointed to it. "Blood."

"Yes, I'm glad you know what blood looks like," Delaney retorted, rubbing her eyes.

"Somebody had to come this way."

"Maybe the trail ends. I don't see anything over here," Dean announced as he looked around him and Delaney. 

Delaney yawned again and lifted her head off Dean's shoulder. "Sam, I want to find this thing as much as anyone, but I honestly don't think anything is going to be back here."

Sam went to argue when the sound of an ambulance siren going off cut him off. The three siblings rushed over to where the ambulance was stopped in front of an apartment building next to Zach's.

"What happened?" Dean asked a woman that watched the scene unfold. Police put up caution tape and a man was led out of the building in handcuffs.

"He tried to kill his wife," the woman explained, her arms crossed across her chest. "Tied her up and beat her."

Sam side-eyed his siblings before focusing on the woman in front of him. "Really?"

"I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy."

After that, the three siblings split up. The two boys went around the back of the building to see if they could find anything about what happened between the man and his wife. They told Delaney to just hang around and make sure nothing else weird happened. However, Delaney was never one to listen because she couldn't just sit around, especially if this could help with whatever is going on with Zach.

She walked around the small crowd of people that lingered and decided to nonchalantly ask random people questions. Some knew the man that got arrested, others didn't know him at all but mentioned that he did kindly wave if they crossed paths with each other. She even asked some workers that lingered around if they knew anything about what happened or saw anything odd. 

After getting some interesting information, Delaney rushed over to where her brothers were. "Hey! Sam, Dean!"

"I thought I told you to stay where we left you," Dean said.

Delaney rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "I wasn't just going to sit on my ass and do nothing. I asked around the little crowd that was at the building, and I talked to a patrolman that was first on the scene. He heard this guy Alex's story. Apparently, this dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. "He was two places at once."

Dean puffed out his cheeks and rubbed a hand over his face. "Okay, maybe this is our kind of gig."

"Told ya," Delaney gloated with a smug smile as she rocked back on her heels. "Then, get this. He comes home and sees himself in the house. Police thinks he's a nutcase."

"Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way..." Sam trailed off as his mind kicked into overdrive.

"Could be the same thing doing it, too," Dean suggested.

"What would be doing something like this?" Delaney questioned.

"Shapeshifter. Something that can make itself look like anyone or anything," Sam suggested.

Dean shrugged and made a "why not" face. "Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore - legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."

"So this shapeshifter, or whatever, is going around making itself look like men to kill their girlfriends?" Delaney questioned.

"It makes the most sense. Two attacks within two blocks of each other. I'm guessing we got a shapeshifter problem in the neighborhood," Dean stated, looking between his siblings. "I mean, what else could it be? Nothing else I know that can change itself into anything it wants on its own accord."

Sam chewed on his lip as he thought it over. After a moment, a thought seemed to come to him because he perked up. "Okay, let me ask you this. In all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?"

"Not that I know of," Dean responded as he watched Sam look above them at the tall buildings.

"I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out of the back of this building, headed off this way," Sam explained, motioning to his left. 

"Just like at Zach's house," Delaney noted. "So what does this mean then?"

Sam nodded and grinned at Delaney since she saw where he was going with this. "Yeah, and just like Zach's house, the trail suddenly ends. Whatever it is just disappeared."

"Well, there's gotta be another way to go," Dean offered, glancing down at the sewage grate below them. "Down."

Delaney's face soured at the thought of walking around in the filthy water. "I sure hope you're joking about this."

Dean squatted down by the plate and quietly slid it off the hole leading down into the sewers. "You want to help your friend Zach? Then we gotta go down. It won't be that bad."

Delaney scrunched up her nose as she watched Dean and Sam begin to make their way into the hole below. The putrid smell of the sewer made Delaney want to vomit straight down into the hole - possibly hitting Dean for even suggesting doing this. However, she wanted to help Zach prove he didn't kill Emily so she had to do this. 

Zach, you owe me big time. Delaney thought before reluctantly following after her older brothers and covering the hole back over with the plate.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hey guys! I'm so sorry I didn't get to post this on Thursday like I had originally planned. I had a family emergency so this got delayed, BUT IT IS HERE NOW AND I AM SO READY FOR IT. Our girl Delaney is finally going off on her own against Dean's wishes and doing that hunter thing. I'm so proud of her

ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU GUYS ALL ENJOYED THIS. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND VOTE SO I KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE THINKING OF THIS SO FAR! I LOVE HEARING YOUR OPINIONS AND WHAT YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN.

ORIGINALLY POSTED: MARCH 25TH, 2018

EDITED ON: SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2019