chapter eight

the devil in disguise

♰

    CORDELIA HATED WORKING out, she hated it with a passion. I mean, it was boring as hell and all that came out of it was her becoming a sweaty mess. She never really had any desire to get off her ass and make her way over to a gym.

Boy, had she been missing out.

Sometimes Cordelia tried to downplay how attractive Dean was. When she'd find herself thinking about it, she'd have to sit there and remind herself that he was a little prick. An extremely good-looking prick, at that.

Dean lifted a hand to his face and rubbed away the sweat droplets that were forming against his hairline. He clenched his fists, which were secured with hand wrap and gestured for her to make a move, Cordelia on the other hand, was too busy staring at his abdomen.

A cocky smirk pulled at his lips. "My eyes aren't down there, Cordelia," Dean made a mocking disapproving noise, slowly shaking his head as he did so.

Cordelia dumbly looked up at him from her stare and her eyes settled on his face, she glanced at him silently for a moment before a frown settled on her features. "What?"

Dean rolled his eyes playfully and huffed. "Stop perving on me," he tutted teasingly and shook his head. He slowly approached the brunette and lifted a wrapped hand to her cheek before mockingly patting her. "You need to focus."

"We've been here an hour, Dean," Cordelia complained, brushing off the proximity of herself and the Winchester as she batted his hand away. "I'm bored and sweaty and tired, I mean, you woke me up at the crack of satan's ass... I need sleep."

Thankfully, due to the time that Dean had dragged her to the gym ⸻ there weren't many people there, leaving them a wide space in the corner, out of the way.

"No, you need to get some meat on your flimsy little bones," he shook his head, eyes filtering up and down her figure. "A twelve-year-old could beat your ass."

Cordelia gave him a flat look. "Just because I don't drown myself in beer, burgers and pie doesn't mean I'm flimsy," she rolled her eyes. "Can we go now?"

Dean clicked his tongue and gave her a look. "Ten more minutes, okay? Uh, whoever pins who down first wins... what? Twenty bucks?"

"Fifty and you're on," Cordelia said, a cocky smile on her lips.

"Just- just avoid my face, alright? It's my best feature," Dean told her with a sheepish smile, she gave him a flat look in return.

She held his stare for a moment, waiting to see who was going to make the first move.

Taking control of the situation, Cordelia lunged at Dean first ⸻ only for him to grab her forearm, using his grip on her arm he spun her around, her back to his front.

The bare skin of her arm grazed the naked skin of his torso. She could feel the defined muscles from behind her. Cordelia let out a huff of annoyance, she could practically feel the smugness radiating off of his body. She could also feel a large bulge pressing against her ass.

Oh.

"Now you're dead," Dean grunted out, looking up at the ceiling briefly to distract himself from the feeling of her ass on his dick.

Cordelia rolled her eyes and shoved him away, turning around she faced him. She tilted her head and gave him a weird look. "What monster's gonna do that, huh? It wouldn't twirl me around like we're on Dancing with the Stars, it'd rip me to pieces," she stated, tone blunt.

"What if it ain't a monster, huh?" Dean raised his eyebrows with a small shrug. "You need to be prepared for everything."

Cordelia gave him yet another bored look and ran her tongue along the edge of her teeth. "I am prepared, I know what I'm doing, you know?"

"Well, you didn't just then, did you?" Dean mockingly rose his eyebrows.

"No, I knew what I was doing, you're too predictable, Dean," Cordelia lifted her shoulders in a shrug, a small, smug smile pulled at her lips ⸻ though her lips widened into a grin as Dean's face dropped and his eyes narrowed. "Besides, maybe I wanted you close."

A cocky smirk pulled at his lip before a deep chuckle left his mouth. "Well, you coulda' just said that-"

"What? What would you have done, Dean, huh?" Cordelia asked, voice dropping an octave. A sickly sweet tone to her voice was heard as she slowly approached Dean, something in her stomach fluttered at the proximity between them. She shamelessly let her eyes travel back down to Dean's abdomen and she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in appreciation.

But the look on Dean's face alone almost made her laugh. He looked lost, like he didn't know what to do with himself. Using his distracted state, Cordelia's foot shot out and locked behind Dean's ankle, she tugged her foot forward slightly, watching in victory as he fell straight onto his back.

She smiled smugly down at him. "I win. Can we go now?"

♰

    Cordelia smiled in accomplishment, shifting through the dollar notes that sat between her fingers as she sat in the backseat of the Impala. She lifted her head the second she felt the car stop abruptly.

"Alright, I figure we hit Tucumcari by lunch. Then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight," Dean spoke, glancing in the rear-view mirror for a second before he looked over at his brother, who was occupied with something else. Dean pursed his lips at his seemingly uninterested brother. "Sam wears women's underwear."

Cordelia let out a quiet snort at his childish words. "I've been listening, I'm just busy," the younger brother murmured, not looking up from the device held between his fingers as he clicked away.

Dean's brows pulled into a v shape, the confusion apparent on his face. "Busy doing what?" He asked.

"Reading emails," Sam shrugged.

"From who?" Dean wondered as he climbed out of the car, rounding the side of the Impala.

"From my friends at Stanford," Sam bellowed out the window so that Dean could hear him.

"You kiddin'? You still keep in touch with your college buddies?" Dean questioned, giving Sam a weird look as he topped the car up with petrol.

"Why not?" Sam frowned. "Cordelia still talks to them."

Dean's brows furrowed and suddenly, his head popped down by Cordelia's window, startling her. "You too?"

"Yeah," she simply stated. "It keeps me sane. Plus, I've gotta bitch about you two ⸻ if you think about it, that's good for my health because if I didn't, I'd probably kill you."

"What exactly do you tell them?" Dean questioned sceptically.

"That you're insufferable, annoying, gorgeous-"

"-I meant Sam," Dean said before pausing abruptly, a smirk pulled at his lips. "Gorgeous, huh?"

"Dean," Cordelia warned, looking up at him, a wry tone to her voice.

He rolled his eyes and turned back to his brother, "About where you've been? What you've been doing?"

"I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother and Cordy tagged along, I tell them we both need time off after Jess," Sam shrugged, glancing up at Dean, who was leant by the side of the Impala.

"So you lie to them," Dean offered, pursing his lips.

"No, that's not lying it's just... withholding information," Cordelia said as she popped her head between the front seats, she gave Dean a weird look.

"Yeah," Sam nodded in agreement, glancing back at Cordelia briefly before his eyes landed on Dean once again. "We just don't tell them everything."

Dean rolled his lips into his mouth, "Yeah, th-that's called lying. Hey, man, I get it. Telling them the truth is far worse."

Cordelia shook her head before she began to get out of the car. Slamming the door shut behind her, she ignored the glare Dean sent her way at her action.

"Where you going?" Dean called out after her, watching as she began to head towards the gas station. The Moore merely ignored him and continued to walk towards the door, faintly hearing as Dean called out to her, "Get me somethin'!"

Cordelia, once again, ignored him as she pushed open the door to the gas station. As she walked around, grabbing snacks for herself and the boys, her mind began to wonder to her old life and her old friends.

Cordelia missed them, but she also knew at some point in her life, she'd get back into hunting, even if she didn't want to, and unfortunately for her, that's what happened.

After they found Jess' killer, Cordelia was done. She was done with the hunting, the guns, the living off of diners and staying in motel rooms, she was done with it all. She wanted a family, she wanted a house she could call home, hell, she wanted a pet fish or something, and she knew that if she didn't get out soon, she'd be trapped in this same cycle all over again.

She used to think that she and Carter could have that, but she was wrong. Cordelia's father had introduced her to Carter when she was younger, Carter's dad and Cordelia's dad hunted together up until Carter's father died, and that's when Carter took it upon himself to keep the 'family business' going, and slowly it drove the two apart.

Word to the wise, don't date hunters.

As she left the gas station, she walked back towards the Impala, finding Dean leant against the passenger side door. He propped his head down into the open window, reading over Sam's shoulder.

She then overheard their conversation. "I got this email from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine..." Sam trailed off, head bent down as he read the text on the phone.

"Is she hot?" Dean asked predictably. Cordelia rolled her eyes and lifted her hand ⸻ smacking him upside the head. Dean let out an eccentric 'ow!' and lifted his palm to the back of his head before he rose his other hand, catching the bag of M&M's she sent flying his way.

Sam turned and gave his brother an unamused look before he got back onto the subject at hand, "She says Zach's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend-"

"Zach got a girlfriend?" Cordelia asked, getting back into the car, her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Huh, I always thought he was into dudes... I mean, he came shoe shopping with me, we watched Grease together."

Now Cordelia was on the receiving end of Sam's glare, she rolled her lips into her mouth and stayed silent in response, listening as Sam continued. "Rebecca says he didn't do it, but... sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."

"Dude, what kind of people you hanging out with?" Dean furrowed his eyebrows, looking between the pair.

"Zach's a nice guy, Dean, he wouldn't hurt a fly," Cordelia rolled her eyes in response, but a small smile was shown on her face as she thought back to her friends at Stanford. She missed Luis and Brady, and as much as she didn't want to admit it out loud, she missed Carter.

"She's right," Sam nodded in agreement, gesturing towards the back of the car, to where Cordelia sat, "We know Zach, he's no killer."

Dean tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. "Well, maybe you know Zach as well as he knows you," he retorted, talking about the fact that none of Sam's or Cordelia's friends knew about their... job.

"They're in St. Louis, we're going," Sam said, leaving no room for argument.

Dean let out an unamused laugh and slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry about your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem."

"It is our problem, they're our friends," Sam snapped back.

"St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam," Dean argued back with a scoff.

Sam gave him a blank stare in response, Dean rolled his eyes and looked at Cordelia, in the hope that she'd come to some sense, but she merely gave him the same stare that Sam did.

Dean grumbled something under his breath about 'hating them' and how 'goddamn annoying' they are. He stomped over to the driver's side of the car. Cordelia rolled her lips into her mouth to stop herself from laughing as she met Sam's eyes in the rear-view mirror, the pair sharing a look of victory, knowing that they had won.

As Dean got in the car, he slammed the door shut and without giving Cordelia a chance to put her seatbelt on, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and made a dramatic U-turn. Cordelia's side hit the door harshly.

"Watch it!"

♰

Cordelia skipped up the porch as she and the boys reached Rebecca's house. Rebecca was one of her closest friends, besides Luis and Jess. Rebecca always had a bubbly spirit about her, and she was nice as hell, the kind of nice that grated on Cordelia ⸻ but she supposed that's why they were friends, after all, opposites do attract.

As she knocked on the large, mahogany door, Sam and Dean slowly strolled up behind her, hands tucked into their pockets. Not even a minute later, the door swung open.

Dean pulled a face at the squeal that left Cordelia's mouth as she was face to face with the blonde stood by the door. "Oh my god, Cordy!" The blonde exclaimed before the two women were hugging.

Dean gave his brother a nudge in the side and pulled a face at the pair. In the near two months that Cordelia had been travelling with the Winchesters, he had never seen her so... bubbly. It was an odd sight.

As the pair pulled away, Rebecca's eyes flitted over to Sam and she gave him a wide grin. "Sam," she let out, breathless.

"Well, if it isn't little Becky," the youngest Winchester teased with a smile.

"You know what you can do with that 'little Becky' crap?" She raised her eyebrows before pulling him in for a hug, a small chuckle leaving her mouth as she did so.

Cordelia watched on with a grin, but that smile slowly faded and her eyes rolled as she noticed Dean eyeing her friend up and down. Pig. She sent him an elbow to the side and the Winchester winced, turning to look at her with raised eyebrows. She pulled a face and in turn, he pulled a face.

"I got your email," Sam stated as he pulled away, tucking his hands back into his pockets with a small shrug.

"I didn't think that you'd come here," Rebecca told him honestly, but a smile nonetheless sat on her face before she turned to Cordelia. "Especially with Cordy."

Before Cordelia or Sam could respond, Dean shoved his way between his brother and the Moore and stuck a hand out towards Rebecca, giving her his winning smirk. "Dean, older brother."

Rebecca took his hand in her own and shook it, a polite smile on her face, "Hi."

"Hi," he breathed out, a sheepish smile on his face.

Cordelia shook her head as she met Sam's eyes, the two shared a look before the youngest Winchester turned back to his friend, "We're here to help. Whatever we can do."

"Come in," Rebecca said, pulling the door open even wider as an invitation.

As Sam and Rebecca walked ahead, Cordelia hung back, waiting for Dean to shut the door behind them. Once again, she hit him.

"Ow!" The man let out in a hushed tone, nursing his arm. "What was that for?"

"Don't even think about it," she warned him, pointing a finger in his face.

Dean slapped her hand away pettily and pulled a face, "What?!"

"You can't sleep with her Dean," she told him, pulling a face as he tried to open his mouth to argue, but the look she gave him merely shut him up. "I don't want you giving her syphilis or something."

That wasn't the only reason why she didn't want him sleeping with her.

Dean watched as Cordelia walked off towards the kitchen with his mouth hung open in disbelief, "I- I don't have syphilis. Cordelia! I don't have syphilis!"

Though as he walked through the house, the previous conversation at hand, was lost in his mind. He whistled as he glanced around. "Nice place," he said once he had caught up with the others.

"It's my parents', I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened," she told him. "I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zach's free."

"Where are your folks?" Sam inquired with a faint furrow of his brows.

"They live in Paris for half the year. So, they're on their way home now for the trail. Do you guys want a beer or something?"

"Hey-"

"No thanks," Sam cut Dean off with a pointed stare.

Rebecca watched as Cordelia looked around the kitchen, her eyes stopping at the fridge, where a picture was held up by a fridge magnet. Rebecca, Luis, Jess, Sam, Cordelia and Carter were all in it. They were at a bar celebrating Jess' birthday, it was from January, earlier this year.

Rebecca looked back, following Cordelia's eyeline. A small smile tugged at her lips before she met Cordelia's eyes. "You know, I spoke to Carter this morning," Rebecca told the brunette, whose eyes widened at her words. "Said he might come down, be there for Zach during the trial."

"He did?" Cordelia asked dryly. "I hope Zach's not expecting him or anything, knowing him, he won't show up."

Sam's face pulled into one of amusement at the tone of Cordelia's voice. He knew that she didn't hate her ex-boyfriend, but she did resent him. The last time they had spoken, she had given him a choice. Leave hunting behind or stay out of her life, and she knew, maybe giving him a choice wasn't fair ⸻ but it had gotten to the point where she felt no other option.

I guess you know what he picked. She waited for him, she waited hours, hoping that he'd show, and as the next hour went by, she kept making up excuses to Jess ⸻ maybe it's traffic, he'll be here. But there was no traffic, he just didn't show.

Carter didn't go to Stanford with Cordelia, but he still came around to hang with her and to meet her friends, but he was always on the road. She rarely saw him.

"Who's Carter?" Dean asked, angling his head towards the Moore woman with raised eyebrows.

"Cordy's ex," Sam spoke up, after a moment of silence. Maybe Cordelia didn't want to acknowledge that fact, he didn't know, but he could tell that the mention of the Branston man had put a damper on her mood. "So, uh," Sam cleared his throat before continuing to speak, "Tell us what happened."

Rebecca lowered her head, looking to the ground she let out a tentative sigh. "Well, um, Zach, he came home and he found Emily tied to a chair and she was beaten up and bloody and she wasn't breathing. So he- he called nine-one-one," she lifted a hand to wipe underneath her eyes as tears began to burn, Cordelia came to a stand beside her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, Rebecca glanced at her and sent her a small smile. "The police, they showed up, and... and they arrested him. But the thing is, the only way that Zach could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time."

Cordelia's brows crinkled slightly and she met Dean's eyes, the Winchester raised his eyebrows.

"The police have a video, it's from the security tape from across the street and it shows Zach coming home at ten-thirty, now, Emily was killed just after that. But I swear he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight."

"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene, Zach's house," Sam offered, a promising smile on his face.

"We could?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows as he glanced over at his brother with a pointed stare ⸻ the pair had a silent conversation.

"We will," Cordelia said as she rounded the kitchen island, coming to a stand next to Dean, she looked up at him and gave him a tight smile.

"I mean, why? What could you do?" Rebecca questioned, a furrow in her brow and a small sniffle left her nose.

"Well, us, not much," Sam gestured towards himself and Cordelia before looking over at his brother. "But Dean's a cop."

Dean looked sheepish for a moment ⸻ as though he was trying to process the information in his head. He then let out a small chuckle. "A detective, actually," he stated smoothly, a cocky smirk pulling at his lips.

"Detective Winchester at your service," Cordelia sarcastically mocked under her breath, knowing the only reason he was going along with it was because he wanted to impress Rebecca, cue disgusted eye-roll.

Dean sent her a harsh nudge to the ribs.

"Really? Where?" Rebecca asked, raising her eyebrows as hope for her brother glimmered in her eyes.

Dean pursed his lips as he thought and said the first place that came to mind. "Bisbee, Arizona," he nodded along to his own words. "But I'm off duty now."

"You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just, I don't know," Rebecca said, slowly shaking her head as she did so before she let out a sigh of defeat.

"Beck, look. I know Zach didn't do this," Sam mused. "Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent."

Rebecca looked between the three hesitantly, and when she saw the comforting, hopeful smile that sat on Cordelia's lips, she nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna go get my keys."

Sam nodded in answer, watching as she left the room to do just that.

Dean whistled as he rounded the counter to face his brother, "Oh, yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends."

"Look, Zach and Becky need our help-"

Dean lifted his shoulders into a shrug, "I just don't think this is our kind of problem."

"Two places at once, Dean," Cordelia chirped, looking down at her nails as she picked at them. "Could be a shapeshifter. I mean, it won't hurt to look into it."

♰

After some fluttery eyes, arm touching and flirty smiles from Cordelia, Dean had finally given in. Which brought them to where they were now, Zach's house.

As Dean pulled the front door open, Sam went first, ducking under the police tape as he did so, followed by Dean who held it up for Cordelia, the Moore woman let out a small, "thanks," before turning to Rebecca. "Beck?" She asked, pulling the blonde woman's eyes away from the sight in front of her. "You wanna wait outside?"

Rebecca looked around once again, eyes flitting from one crimson splash to the next. It was everywhere, the carpet, the walls, the couch, the broken glass table. It looked like hell in there, Cordelia dreaded to think how Rebecca was feeling.

Rebecca slowly shook her head and let out a shaky breath, "No, I wanna help."

As Sam spoke to Rebecca, Cordelia took it as her chance to look around, humming 'teenage dirtbag' as she did so. Dean looked up at the sound and pulled a face.

Cordelia trailed along into the kitchen, finding another picture hung up on the fridge, one of her, Sam, Rebecca, Zach and Carter. "Eww, look at me in this," Cordelia grimaced, looking towards the doorway where Sam and Dean were walking through.

An amused smile pulled at Sam's lips before it slipped into a soft one as he glanced at the picture, memories from that day flooded his mind.

Dean rose his eyebrows and looked towards Cordelia. "That your little boyfriend?" He mocked, pointing towards Carter.

"Hm," was all she said in response.

Dean, yet again, pulled a face before he clenched his jaw and brought the topic at hand back to the conversation. "So the neighbour's dog went psycho right around the time Zach's girlfriend was killed."

"Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal," Sam nodded along.

"Maybe Fido saw something," Dean shrugged, a cheeky smirk on his face ⸻ just as the dog began to aggressively bark from outside.

Cordelia pulled back the soft, sheer lace curtain and took a peek outside, catching sight of the black dog, who continued to bark at her, slobber leaving its mouth. "Cute dog," she mused.

Dean turned and gave her a funny look, "Go pet it then."

Cordelia angled her head towards him and narrowed her eyes, "Are you kidding? That thing'll bite my hand off."

Dean moved beside her and, too, looked out of the window, eyes on the dog, his eyes flitted over to Cordelia, "It's the size of my foot, you freak. It can hardly hurt you."

Cordelia angled her head up towards him slightly, feeling his soft breaths fanning her face, "Small dogs are worse than big ones, I'm telling you. Back home, Jess had one of those little chihuahua things, feral little bastard it was."

Before Dean could answer, Sam's hands clamped on one of Cordelia's and one of Dean's shoulders, pulling them apart, he popped his head between them. "Case, remember?"

"Not a case, hardly our kind of problem," Dean shook his head and shrugged Sam's hand off of his shoulder. "But we should, uh, look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure."

"Yeah," Sam shrugged light-heartedly, giving his brother a knowing look.

"Yeah," Dean repeated with pursed lips, allowing his eyes to drift back over to Rebecca, who was approaching the three. "So the tape, the, uh, security footage? Think maybe your lawyers could their hands on it? See, I don't have that kind of jurisdiction."

Rebecca rolled her lips into her mouth and looked down at the ground, "Already got it. I didn't wanna say something in front of the cop," she gestured towards Dean, who let out a chuckle. "I, um, I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see for myself."

Cordelia couldn't help but let a proud smile grace her face as she approached her friend, linking her arm in hers as they walked out of Zach's house, "I think that's the first time you've ever stolen something," she said, lowering her voice. "I'm proud."

Rebecca's eyes widened, "Cordy! You can't say that in front of a cop!"

Cordelia scoffed under her breath, "Dean's hardly a cop, more of a... ticket warden."

A soft backhand to the head was what she received in reply from the Winchester, she looked back in offence but he merely shrugged, "Don't disrespect my authority, Cordelia."

Cordelia in turn gave him a weird look, nursing the back of her head with her hand.

"Ow!"

♰

As the four returned to Rebecca's house, they reviewed the security footage that Rebecca had stolen from Zach's lawyer. Cordelia sat on the couch in front of the TV, arm folded on the armrest so that she could place her chin in her palm, Dean sat beside her, thigh brushing her own, Rebecca sat on the armrest beside Dean, whilst Sam stood by the TV, remote in hand as he intensely watched the tape.

"Twenty-two-oh-four, that's just after ten," Dean voiced, looking up at Rebecca. "You said time of death was about ten-thirty."

"Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert," Rebecca spoke softly, not taking her eyes off the screen in front of her. "He says the tape's authentic. It wasn't tampered with."

Sam inhaled deeply, something coming to mind, and he turned to Rebecca, a polite smile on his features, "Hey, Beck, can we take those beers now?"

"Oh, sure," Rebecca answered, getting up from her seat, and moving out of the room to do just that before she paused and looked towards Cordelia, "Vodka and coke, right?"

"You know me too well," Cordelia nodded with a smile, head falling on the back of the chair so that she could look over at Rebecca.

Dean scoffed amusedly at her words, thinking back to the conversation they had that very morning about Sam and Cordelia's friends not knowing them at all.

"Hey, uh, maybe some sandwiches too?" Sam asked, a cheeky smile on his face.

Rebecca let out a laugh and shook her head, "What do you think this is? Hooters?"

Dean let out a laugh as she walked off and muttered, "I wish," under his breath before he got up and came to a stand beside his brother, "What is it?"

"Check this out," Sam urged, turning to Cordelia pointedly, the brunette sighed and begrudgingly got up from her seat and moved closer to the TV. As Sam played the clip back, he slowed it down.

It showed Zach, passing the security cameras, but as he did, he looked right at them for a mere second, Sam paused it just then, and illuminating silver-gold eyes shone from the black and white screen.

Dean shrugged, not understanding, "Maybe it's just a camera flare."

Sam shook his head, "Not like any camera flare I've ever seen. You know, a lot of cultures believe a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul. 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," Cordelia voiced, tucking her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, and tilting her head. "Like a doppelganger, or a, oh, I don't know... shapeshifter."

Sam nodded slowly, "Maybe that'd explain why he was at two places at once."

♰

The next morning, Cordelia was in a mood. She was tired and cold, I mean, it was the end of November, she was freezing her tits off. She wrapped a thin zip-up hoodie around her body and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep herself warm as she got out of the car. But that didn't stop the cold wind from hitting that slit of her stomach that showed.

"Alright, what are we doing here at five-thirty in the morning?" Dean asked the question that was too, playing in Cordelia's mind.

"I realized something," Sam said, looking over at Dean. "The videotape shows the killer going in but not comin' out."

"So he came out the back door?" Dean inquired, about to lift his coffee to his lips before it was snatched out of his hand by Cordelia. Dean lifted his hands in annoyance, watching as she took a sip.

"Thanks," the Moore woman breathed out, handing him the drink back, Dean narrowed his eyes at her as she lent against the hood of his car.

"Right, so there should be a trail to follow," Sam said, trailing over to the large trash can behind Zach's house. "A trail the police would never pursue."

"Cause they think the killer never left, they caught your friend Zach inside," Dean called out to him, leaning against the car before he turned to Cordelia and lowered his voice. "I still don't know what we're doing here at five-thirty in the morning."

All Cordelia could do was hum in agreement, too tired to comment else. Though she seemingly still had enough energy to reach towards Dean's paper cup, he batted her hand away. "Get your own."

"I asked you to get me one and you ignored me," she grumbled, crossing her arms back over her chest, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Probably didn't hear you," Dean shrugged mindlessly, letting his eyes fall back over to his brother.

He watched as Sam trailed over to a transmission pole, eyeing it weirdly before he turned to the pair lent against the Impala. "Blood," Sam voiced. "Somebody came this way."

"Maybe the trail ends. I don't see anything over here," Dean said, looking down at the ground in front of him.

Just then, an ambulance drove past, sirens blaring, it was too loud and too early for this, Cordelia thought with a grimace.

"C'mon," Dean grabbed her forearm and pulled her up from the car, she shot him a dry look but her eyes softened as he handed her his drink.

Slowly, with a small smile painted across her features, she followed the Winchester brothers down the alleyway which led to a crowd of people, an ambulance, around three police cars and cops scattered all over the place.

Sam approached a woman, who looked like she was mid-run and stopped beside her, "What happened?"

She spared him a short glance and peeled her eyes back to the chaos in front of her, "He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her."

"Really?" Dean whistled in surprise, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello," the woman slowly shook her head, watching as the man was being placed in a police car. "He seemed like such a nice guy."

After that, the three wandered around, looking for anything that'd help them, but so far they came up empty. Cordelia followed after Sam sluggishly, watching as he opened up garbage cans, she furrowed her brows and pulled a face.

"What? You think he's gonna be in there?" She mocked, lifting the paper cup to her lips. "Some good detective work over there Mulder."

"Ha, funny," he let out dryly, turning to look back at her as they rounded the back of the house.

"Hey, remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?" Dean asked, approaching the pair.

"Yeah, you only said it about a thousand times," Cordelia grumbled.

Dean shot her a look before he turned to Sam, "Definitely our kind of problem."

"What'd you find out?" Sam questioned.

"I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene and heard this guy, Alex's story, apparently the dude was driving home when his wife was attacked."

"So he was at two places at once?" Cordelia asked, turning around momentarily to shove the empty paper cup into a garbage can outside someone's house.

"Exactly," Dean pointed at her. "Then he sees himself in the house. Police think he's a nutjob."

"Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way," Sam thought out loud, pacing up and down the path as he did so.

"Could be the same thing doing it too," Cordelia added, popping a piece of gum into her mouth as she did so ⸻ coffee breath, yikes. "Like I said, shapeshifter."

"Something that can make itself look like anyone," Sam inquired, raising his eyebrows in contemplation.

"Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore," Dean shrugged in agreement. "Legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."

"Right, Skinwalkers. Werewolves."

"We got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessing we got a shapeshifter problem in the neighbourhood."

"Lemme ask you this," Sam sighed. "In all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?"

Cordelia snorted and shook her head at his words. "They don't fly. Think about it, if I was a shapeshifting, murder-y maniac would I fly and draw attention to myself? No. I'd go where no one can see me," she crouched down to the drain beside her and pointed at it. "This is where I'd go."

Dean and Sam shared a look of realization before the oldest Winchester brother looked at her funny, "You often think about what you'd do if you were a murder-y maniac?"

"When I'm around you two, yeah," she shrugged, Sam let out an amused huff. "I'm gonna go sleep in the car before I pass out from exhaustion, thanks."

Just when she tried to move off towards the car, Dean grabbed her arm, stopping her, "If I have to go down there, so do you."

"I am not going in that... thing."

♰

Cordelia had to hold in a gag as she climbed down the manhole and into the sewer. The second her hands left the ladders, she reached forward and wiped her palms down Sam's jacket ⸻ the brunet spun around ferociously and his mouth gaped open in offence.

"It's gross... I don't want it on my hands," she murmured with a shrug, as though her actions were completely reasonable.

"Well, I don't want it on my jacket!" Sam snapped back in a whisper.

Cordelia only gave him a tight smile in reply, and he rolled his eyes, trudging ahead. As they waltzed around, Cordelia's arms tightened around her body, turning to face Dean she gave him an odd smile.

The man narrowed his eyes at the look on her face, "What?"

"Can I have your jacket? I don't wanna get sewer on me," she grimaced, trying to avoid touching the walls as they followed after Sam.

"What about me?"

"Right now, I don't care about you," she said with a shrug, Dean's eyes narrowed even further. "I'll give you ten bucks."

"What? Ten outta the fifty I gave you this mornin'?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, ten out of the fifty you lost," she corrected. "Plus, I'm freezing my tits off over here."

Before Cordelia could go back and correct her words, knowing that Dean would probably say something childish, he shrugged his navy jacket off with a boyish smirk.

"Can't have that, can we?" He teased, handing her over the jacket, not noticing how her eyes travelled down his body, inspecting the grey t-shirt he had on underneath.

"You disgust me, but thank you," she smiled, pulling the jacket up her arms.

Just then, Sam's voice reverberated throughout the sewers. "I bet this runs by Zach's house too. The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around." He said, stopping in front of Dean.

"I think you're right," the oldest brother commented, eyes on the ground, beside Sam's foot. "Look at that," he murmured, softly pushing past his brother he crouched down and pulled out a pocket knife, unfolding it, he used it to pick up some form of a slimy-goop from the floor.

Cordelia had to hold a gag in.

Sam groaned at the sight but crouched down beside Dean. "Is this from his victims?"

"You know, I just had a sick thought," Dean began, looking between the pair. "When the shapeshifter changes shape, maybe it sheds," he said, throwing the slime to the ground.

"That is sick," Sam voiced, face pulled up in disgust.

Cordelia leant down, frowning at the floor, "Hey, that kinda looks like an ear," she voiced, pointing at part of the slime.

Sam shuddered.

Once they were all back at the car, Dean pulled open the trunk, pulling out his leather jacket, as he shrugged it on his shoulders, he began to ruffle through all the weapons.

"One thing I learnt from Dad, was no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one sure way to kill it," he said, as he began to load his gun with silver bullets.

"Silver bullet to the heart," Sam said with a smirk on his lips, watching as Dean put his gun in the inside pocket of his jacket before handing another gun off to Cordelia, who did the same.

"That's right," Dean nodded, a proud look on his face just as Sam's phone began to ring.

The youngest Winchester pulled away to take the phone, leaving Cordelia and Dean alone. As the Winchester continued to shuffle through the weapons, he looked up at Cordelia for a moment, "That friend of yours, she single?"

"Dean-" Cordelia shot him a dry look, tucking her hands into the pockets, at that action, Dean looked her up and down ⸻ she looked good in his jacket.

"Whaaat?" He drawled, meeting her eye. "I'm just curious."

"No, your dick is curious," she corrected, "Do you always think with your dick on cases, genuine question?"

"Pft, no. I'm a professional," he scoffed weakly, shaking his head as he did so.

"And what exactly is your profession? Trying to bang women in need of help?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Dean mocked offence, holding a hand to his heart, "When have I ever?-"

"Haley and Andrea, there was also that waitress from the diner, the girl in the bar, the woman who said she liked your car when we stopped for gas the other day," she shot back. "And those are ones you've worked with me. God knows how many other poor women-"

"I can tell you one thing, they weren't poor, they had a very, very, very good time," he gave her a suggestive look.

"Are you on Viagra or something?"

"What- No! Are you kidding? I am very... functional down there."

"Oh my God," she breathed out with a grimace, brushing her hair back from her face. "I think I just threw up."

"That's what they all said," Dean smirked, just then his brain caught up and he noticed the perplexed look on her face. "No, wait. The first thing you said... not the- not the throwing up part, they don't throw up... cause that'd be... yeah."

"How you get girls into your little trap, I'll never know," she grumbled. "Just... stop talking."

Though she couldn't deny she was slowly edging towards that trap.

"Yeah, yep, okay-"

She gave him an irritated stare and he rolled his lips into his mouth, closing the trunk as he did so. The pair leant against it, watching as Sam paced back and forth on the phone before he stopped. He pulled the phone away from his ear with a sigh and looked up at the sky.

Dean and Cordelia shared a small glance ⸻ taking a mere guess of who that was.

Rebecca.

The two approached Sam and Dean spoke up. "I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked," he said, also giving Cordelia a pointed stare as it applied to her too. "It's just... it'd be easier if-"

"If I was like you," Sam interrupted, a bitter look on his face.

"Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people," Dean smiled lightly. "But I'll tell you one thing, this whole gig..." he reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a gun. "It ain't without perks."

Sam huffed, he took the gun from his brother and stuffed it into the back of his jeans.

Cordelia stood dumbfounded and watched the pair walk off. "Tell me how exactly crawling into a sewer is so much fun, huh?" She called out after the pair, a deep frown set on her face. "Huh?!"

♰

Cordelia could've jumped in front of a moving truck right about now. Anything, and I mean, anything seemed better than going back down into the sewers.

But unfortunately, God wasn't on her side. They were back in the sewer, and just like earlier on, Cordelia's face screwed up into a grimace as her feet touched the ground with a splash.

"I should've just pretended to be asleep," Cordelia murmured to herself as she trailed after the Winchesters. "Thrown myself down the stairs or something, said I was having girl problems... I don't know."

Dean whirled around to face her and squinted as the bright illumination of her flashlight shone on his face. "Are you talking to yourself?"

Cordelia slowly blinked twice before answering, "No?"

Dean huffed out a laugh and shook his head as he continued walking ahead, "Freak."

"I'm a freak? You hum 'Escape' when you pee," she scoffed, following after him.

"You listen to me piss?" Dean's face screwed up.

"It's hard not to when you get woken up at three in the morning to 'if you like pina coladas,' being hummed by a strangled cat," she rolled her eyes in return. "It's not like I wanna- oh my God-!" Cordelia cut herself off as a rat scuffled along by her feet, she let out a shriek as it passed.

Sam and Dean turned, giving her a dry look. "Really?" Sam raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," she muttered, mostly to herself. Sam shook his head with an eye-roll and continued walking along, followed by Dean and Cordelia.

As they approached a gap between the slab of concrete, Sam crossed first before pausing, holding a hand out to Cordelia, helping her cross it, avoiding the deep sewage water.

The three continued to look around before they turned a corner, Sam had his gun held out in front of him defensively.

"I think we're close to its lair," Dean voiced, raising his eyebrows as he tried to bite back an amused smile.

Cordelia furrowed her brows at his words and looked up at him in confusion, he gestured his head towards the pipe beside Sam's head, which was covered in slime.

Cordelia groaned in disgust.

"Why do you say that?" Sam asked, not moving from his place, though his eyes flickered around in front of him ferociously, trying to find whatever Dean had seen that gave him an indication that they had found the lair.

"Because there's another puke-inducing pile next to your face," Dean said, shining his flashlight over the spot.

Sam turned around with a groan, "Oh, God."

Cordelia pushed past Sam, trying to avoid touching any walls as she spotted something. She held her flashlight towards the ground, finding a pile of clothes covered in shedded skin.

"Looks like it's been here a while," Cordelia voiced, pulling her light away from the pile to look over at the Winchesters. Cordelia's brows furrowed as her flashlight began flickering, she tutted in annoyance and started hitting it, hoping that would work.

"Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with," Sam mused, swallowing roughly.

Cordelia looked up with a proud smile on her face as the light began working once again, though once she did look up, she noticed a figure, who she recognised to be the man who was earlier arrested for attacking his wife, standing behind Dean, eyes illuminating as her flashlight shone against his face.

"Dean!" Sam called out, his older brother spun around in shock.

Too many things happened at once: Cordelia threw her flashlight at the shapeshifter, the shapeshifter backhanded Dean, causing him to hit the metal pipes before he fell to the ground and Sam shot at the supernatural, though he dodged it.

For professionals they weren't very... ready.

Cordelia softly pushed past Sam and made her way over to Dean, glancing up cautiously just in case the shapeshifter came back. Cordelia held a hand out to him, helping him up as he cradled his other arm. "Jesus, are you okay-?"

"Get the son of a bitch!" Dean grumbled in answer.

No one replied as they all bolted after him, but damn was he fast. As he reached the ladders, Sam was the first one there, popping the drain open, he climbed out, and slowly shoved his gun into his jacket, noticing the people walking past ⸻ they were in the middle of a park.

As the other two climbed out, they noticed how the sky had darkened, it was late. They must've been down there for hours. Dean, too, placed his gun back in his jacket before he clenched his jaw and turned to Cordelia.

"Your flashlight? Really?" He raised his eyebrows, shooting her a stern look.

"It was already in my hand," Cordelia whispered harshly, though her voice was high.

"Alright," Sam exhaled deeply, glancing around, "Let's split up."

"Alright, meet around the other side," Dean nodded.

And so the three parted.

Cordelia headed off in a different direction, making her way towards the main streets, her hands stuffed in the pockets of Dean's jacket. She ran up and down the street like crazy, trying to spot him ⸻ but he was nowhere to be found.

As she passed the men who were trying to enjoy their night stroll, she pulled them by their shoulders so that she could see their faces ⸻ and when she found they weren't the man she was looking for she'd push them away carelessly.

As she continued to search, she paused abruptly upon hearing her name, she turned, finding Sam and Dean on the other side of the road. Waiting until she could cross, she ran over and pulled a face. "Anything?"

Both Winchesters shook their heads as Sam called out, "No, he's gone."

Cordelia let out a defeated sigh, "Great."

"C'mon, let's head back to the car."

As the three did just that, Cordelia and Sam failed to notice a particular shift in Dean's eyes.

♰

Cordelia leaned against the side of the car and eyed Dean before she sighed, "You think he found another way underground?"

"Yeah, probably," he shrugged in answer, bracing his hands on the trunk for a second before looking up at her. "You got the keys?"

Cordelia's brows crinkled ever so slightly before she pointed towards the younger Winchester, "Sam's got 'em."

As Sam ruffled around his pocket, he paused and turned to look at his brother, "Hey, didn't dad once face a... a shapeshifter in San Antonio?"

Dean shook his head, "That was Austin, and it turned out not to be a shapeshifter, it was a.. a thought-form, a psychic projection, remember?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "And while I'm loving this sweet historical moment, can someone open the damn car before I freeze to death?"

"Right," Sam exhaled lightly before tossing the keys in Dean's direction. "Here you go."

'Dean' nodded in thanks before opening the trunk.

Just as Cordelia moved to open the car door, Sam rounded the Impala and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She furrowed her brows and was about to speak before he shook his head and his eyes silently slid over to Dean. Her face dropped in realisation. Sam pointed over to the other side of the car, Cordelia nodded and drew her gun before she rounded the car.

Slowly approaching 'Dean' from behind, she raised her gun ⸻ aimed at his heart.

"Don't move!" Sam yelled suddenly, his gun, too, pointed at him. "What have you done with him?!"

'Dean' scoffed. "Dude, chill, it's me, alright? Cordelia, tell him," he turned around to face the woman but rolled his eyes as he saw her gun pointed at him. "You can't be serious, Cordy."

"Knock it off, where's Dean?" She asked, not faltering.

"You're about to shoot him, guys, calm down," he scoffed once again, arms held up in irritation.

"You caught those keys with your left, your shoulder was hurt," Sam argued, tilting his head as he eyed the man in front of him up and down.

"Yeah, it's better," 'Dean' shrugged as though his answer was obvious.

Even if it was better, Cordelia was sure Dean would dramatize it and make a crude comment about how she could nurse him back to health.

She may have only known him for just under two months, but he was predictable.

"Whaddya want me to do? Cry?"

Sam shook his head, "You're not my brother."

"Why don't you pull the trigger then, hm?" 'Dean' asked, looking between the pair. "Because you're not sure," he declared, keeping his eyes on Sam. "Dude, you know me."

Cordelia met Sam's eyes briefly, and her finger lightly pressed against the trigger ⸻ ready to shoot when suddenly, 'Dean' spun around and the next thing she knew, the world went black.

♰

Cordelia's head hurt like a bitch.

Her mind was hazy, she felt like she was spinning around at one hundred miles per hour, her eyes opened as much as they could. Her vision was blurry, but she could still make out the figure in front of her, Sam was tied up to a wooden pole, back down in the sewers. As she leant forward slightly she felt a trickle run down her face, blood.

"Sam," she whispered-shouted, trying to lean forward ⸻ but finding that she was bound to another wooden pole. She turned her head abruptly, wincing as a sharp pain hit her and her breathing was cut off, she tried to shrug herself out of the tight knots, but it was no use, she was bound up tighter than a porn star on a BDSM channel.

There was a rope wrapped around her neck, one around her torso, her hands were tied around the pole and her feet were too bound, just as Sam was.

A dark chuckle was heard as she fought against her restraints, she swallowed roughly and lifted her head, eyes flitting over to the shapeshifter, or as of now, 'Dean'. "What have you done with Dean?!" She spat, making that splitting headache worse as she spoke.

The shapeshifter laughed darkly as she met his eye. They were cold, dark ⸻ and she had to remind herself this was not Dean. "I wouldn't be too worried about him," he shrugged mindlessly, dropping the bunch of ropes he was carrying to the floor as he slowly headed towards her. "I'd be more worried about you. The more I learn about Dean... pft."

"Learn?" Cordelia croaked, searching her mind for any idea of what he was saying, though she came up empty. "Wh.." Cordelia's breathing staggered and a cough erupted from her lips, she breathed heavily and leaned her head back against the wooden pole, angling her face towards 'Dean', she spoke up again, "What do you mean 'learn'?"

'Dean' didn't acknowledge her words for a moment, instead, he picked up a sharp knife from the small, wooden table shoved in the corner and examined it. He briefly glanced over at Sam, who was still unconscious, before pulling his eyes away, and over to the ground.

He winced, screwed his eyes shut and lifted a hand to his face. His head twitched in a distorted manner, and voices flooded through his brain.

He balled his fist and held it to his mouth, though Cordelia could still see the amused smile lines that crept on his face. He slowly pulled his hand away from his face and met her eye. "I almost feel sorry for you, Cordy...  no, sorry," he paused, holding his hands out in front of him. "You told him not to call you that, said you weren't... I mean we weren't close enough for that. But I guess we aren't close, are we, college girl?"

Cordelia's face crinkled at his use of 'I' and 'we', he wasn't Dean, she tried to remind herself once again. But as he trudged over to her, he leant forward, bracing his body weight on the wooden crate she was sat on ⸻ she found it hard to separate this thing from Dean.

"Where... is... Dean?" Cordelia enunciated slowly.

"I'm Dean," he replied, jaw tightening. It was silent for a moment, the two just stared at one another, but a deep pit formed in Cordelia's stomach as a sardonic smile pulled at his lips. "See, deep down... I still don't trust you. You showed up out of nowhere, claiming to be a hunter, but the truth is... you're useless."

Cordelia's face twitched ever so slightly at that word: useless. It was like she could hear her father's voice in her head spitting it at her all over again.

"Hot, but useless," he goaded with a careless tilt of his head, at the unamused, yet hurt glower she sent him, he looked elated. "Don't get me wrong, I have eyes, I do wanna screw you, but..." he patted her cheek mockingly, just as Dean did early on yesterday morning. "That's all it'll ever be, sweetheart, a bang... meaningless sex. I mean, you annoy the crap out of me, and you don't stop freakin' talking."

"Who wants to deal with that, huh?" He pulled a face, as though the words he was saying made sense. "A no good hunter who doesn't stop running her mouth?"

Cordelia leaned forward and brushed away whatever she felt deep down inside her. She locked that slight twinge of hurt away in a box deep down in her heart and pushed it aside. Not taking her eyes away from 'Dean', she spat on him.

The shifter scoffed and lifted a hand to his face, wiping the spit away without a care in the world. Moving away from her, he picked up a dirty, browning sheet and approached her again, he stopped in front of her, an insolent look painted across his features. "But you know who ain't annoying?" Dean laughed darkly, fisting the sheet in his hand. "Little Becky. You know, Dean'd bang her if he got the chance... let's see what happened."

And before she knew it, the world went black again.

♰

After the shifter knocked Cordelia out, it wasn't long before Sam had woken up too ⸻ and he was on the receiving end of 'Dean's' words. After that, the shifter had thrown a sheet over Sam's head, but it wasn't too long before the youngest Winchester managed to ruffle his head out from beneath them.

He let out a heavy breath and slumped against the pole, eyes falling on the figure in front of him. Cordelia was knocked out, and dried blood ran down the side of her face. The sheet the shifter had thrown over her head had fallen to her shoulders.

"Cordy!" Sam whisper-shouted, though she did not reply, only her head twitched aside ever so lightly, Sam let out a small relieved breath ⸻ at least she was still alive. "Cordelia!" He tried to shrug out of his ropes. "Damn it."

Just then, a strained cough had him whirling around, as much as he could, anyway. His brows crinkled.

"That better be you, Sam, and not that freak of nature," Dean's voice was heard from somewhere behind him.

Sam let out a chuckle, "Yeah it's me. He went to Rebecca's... looking like you," his words were strained as he tried to fight out of his restraints.

"Oh, he's not stupid," Dean huffed, a small smirk pulled at his lips. "He picked the handsome one."

Sam's face pulled into one of offence.

"That's the thing, he didn't just look like you. He was you," Sam told his brother, glancing back at him slightly as he did. "Or he was becoming you."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Sam replied. "It's like he was downloading your thoughts and memories."

"You mean like the Vulcan Mind Meld?"

Sam pulled a face but nodded, "Yeah, somethin' like that. I mean, maybe that's why he didn't just kill us."

"Maybe he needs to keep us alive, a psychic connection or something," Dean said as he freed himself from the restraints and made his way over to the two. "You got it?" Dean nodded in the direction of Sam, who nodded in answer, allowing Dean to head to Cordelia. He crouched down in front of her and his eyes skimmed her face, he inhaled a harsh breath at the sight of blood. "Hey, Cordy," he whispered, he lifted a hand and tilted her head upright. "Cordelia, c'mon."

As though she could hear him, her eyes slowly opened. Dean let out a relieved breath and began to pull away the sheet covering her body. "Heyy," he breathed out, lifting a hand to her head, he went to push her hair back, trying to get a better view of the wound ⸻ but she flinched back. Dean's eyes furrowed slightly. "It's me, it's me," he murmured in assurance.

She stared at him but said nothing, so he took it as his opportunity to unite the ropes wrapped around her, starting with her hands. Once he had them undone he began to grab the one wrapped around her torso, and she reached for the one tied around her neck.

"We need to get you to the hospital," he said, voice low, going to move his hand up to her face, but stopped himself upon her last reaction.

"It can wait," she brushed it off, moving to stand up, but as she did, a wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. She stumbled in place, and luckily for her, before she fell to her ass, Dean grabbed her waist, stabilising her.

"Yeah, you definitely need a hospital," Dean sighed, briefly angling his head towards his brother, Sam finally stood, carefully watching Cordelia.

"Uh, I'm fine, just a little dizzy," she said, taking a step back from Dean. "We should go, check on Beck," she spoke gently, though her voice was croaky and her eyes solely on Sam.

Sam nodded in agreement, stretching his limbs, "Yeah, he's probably at Rebecca's already."

The three had found an exit from the sewers, that being the vent on the back of an abandoned building. Sam was first out, breaking the vent as he did so, followed by Dean and a sluggish Cordelia.

"Come on, we gotta find a phone, call the police," Sam panted, grabbing Cordelia's hand to help her out of the vent.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah," Dean grunted out, giving his brother a weird look. "You're gonna put an APB out on me?"

Sam shrugged, "Sorry."

Dean huffed in annoyance before he spun on his feet and headed down the alley, "C'mon, this way."

As the three ran, or two ran, Cordelia looked more as though she was staggering down the street.  After finding a phone, Sam acted as an innocent and made a call informing them about 'Dean'.

After that, they continued to run down to Rebecca's house, but in passing they noticed something in a store window, it was a news report being shown on a display of TVs.

"An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a S.W.A.T team discovered local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home," the reporter on the screen spoke, just as a sketch of Dean appeared on the screen.

"Man, that's not even a good picture," Dean scoffed, frowning at the television, Sam paid no attention to his brother ⸻ instead he looked around cautiously.

Dean glanced at Cordelia briefly, expecting her to make some smart-ass comment, but instead, she didn't, she was looking down at her hands, flexing her sore wrists. Feeling his stare on her, she looked up and gave him a tight, strained smile.

"It's good enough," Sam grumbled, moving to take off in another direction. The other two begrudgingly followed after him.

In all honesty, Cordelia was sick of all this running.

They rounded a corner, into another alleyway and Cordelia couldn't help but huff a laugh as she watched Dean walk straight into a puddle. The Winchester let out an annoyed sound and threw his arms up, "C'mon!"

As they slowed down into a walk, Sam sighed. "They said attempted murder. At least-"

"I didn't kill her," Dean grunted out, irritation lacing his tone.

"I'll check with Rebecca in the morning, see if she's alright," Sam said, not acknowledging Dean's words.

"First I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him," Dean spat, a prominent frown on his face. He was pissed.

Cordelia pursed her lips and gave him a look, "We've got no weapons, Dean, no silver bullets."

Sam nodded in agreement, "Yeah, plus I think Cordy's got concussion or somethin', she can't walk in a straight line for Christ's sake."

"I think I'd know if I had concussion," Cordelia mused, looking up at her friend. "Wouldn't I?"

Is this what concussion felt like? She thought to herself before another thought popped into her head, concussion's such a weird word.

Cordelia frowned and stopped walking, prompting Dean to stop in place. "Sam, the guy's walking 'round with my face, okay? It's a little personal. I wanna find him."

Sam slowly nodded at Dean's words, "Okay. Where do we look."

"We could start with the sewers," Dean suggested with a shrug.

"No weapons," Cordelia told him pointedly.

"He stole our guns, we need more," Sam urged.

"What about the car?" The brunette asked, taking a second to push back the feeling of wanting to throw up. "Probably drove over to Rebecca's."

Sam nodded, "The news said he fled on foot. I bet it's still parked there."

Dean huffed like a child, "The thought of him driving my car."

Sam made a tsk sound with his tongue and shook his head. "Alright, c'mon," he urged, but paused as he noticed Cordelia had yet to move. "You good?"

The woman nodded before shaking her head, "Yeah, no, I'm gonna throw up."

"She gets it," Dean nodded over in her direction, clearly talking about his car.

Cordelia gave him an irritated look, "Forget the damn car. He- oh no, yeah, definitely gonna throw up."

The two brothers groaned as she turned to do just that.

♰

After that little ordeal, the trio found themselves near Rebecca's house, looking for the Impala in yet another, you guessed it.. alleyway!

The two brothers ran ahead whilst Cordelia trudged along behind them, clearly out of breath. Swinging around the corner, a relieved breath left Dean's mouth.

"Ah, look. There she is," he smiled, spotting the Impala underneath a streetlight. "Finally something went right tonight."

As if God wanted to jinx his words, a police siren was heard and a cop car pulled out from behind the garage a little further up the road, it stopped before reversing.

"Fuck me," Cordelia breathed out and turned around, following after the Winchesters as they ran in the opposite direction.

"Woah, woah, woah," Dean held his arm out in front of her, stopping her from going any further as he noticed another police car at the bottom of the street. "This way, this way!"

"You go, we'll hold them off," Sam told his brother, shoving him towards the large wooden fence.

"What you talking about? They'll catch you," Dean's face screwed up at his brother's words, he looked towards Cordelia ⸻ hoping she'd agree, but instead, she shrugged.

"Not like they can hold us," she offered. "Besides, I'll get free medical attention. They carry first aid kits in their cars, right?"

Sam gave her an unamused look before facing his brother. "Just go. Keep out of sight. Meet us at Rebecca's."

As Dean hopped over the fence, Cordelia's jaw clenched and she faced him, "Dean! Stay out of the damn sewers, okay?"

But when he didn't answer, she called out to him once again, "I mean it, Dean!"

Just as he disappeared over the fence, three cops climbed out of their cars, guns pointed towards the two.

"Keep your hands where I can see 'em!" One of them called out.

Cordelia and Sam held their hands up, watching as three approached them from the front, but they could feel a few more behind them.

"Uh, yeah, hi?" Cordelia put on a voice that men would brand 'dumb' and tried to stall them, praying that none of them noticed Dean before he ran off. "I literally just got mugged, and this kind, tall man was just helping me. Nothing dodge' going on here, I promise."

Sam looked ahead dryly at the officers and rolled his lips into an awkward smile, he watched as the cops talked between themselves, and took that as his opportunity to glance down at the woman.

"Nothing 'dodge' going on?" He mocked lowly, giving her a weird look. "How is it you've survived as a hunter this long?"

"Good looks get you a long way, Sammy," she patted his should briefly, though her hand froze mid-air as an officer gave her a look. "Trust me... by the end of the night, they'll be putty in my hands, all men are the same."

♰

    The next morning Sam gave Cordelia an odd look as they walked up the driveway to Rebecca's house. "We get arrested and you walk away with a cop's phone number," he let out a scoff of astonishment.

"Not to mention the free medical attention and ride here," she smiled smugly, knuckle rasping against Rebecca's door. "I'm a girl, Sam, we manipulate men, it's what we're best at."

She all but fluttered her eyelashes at one of the officers and they had dropped her and Sam off on Rebecca's street ⸻ a couple of houses down, not to raise suspicion, of course.

Before Sam could retort something, the door swung open, and Rebecca's face fell flat at the two before her. Before she could either slam the door in their faces, curse at them or tell them to go fuck themselves, Cordelia placed a hand on the door.

"Beck, look, before you slam the door in our faces," Cordelia began to say, Rebecca looked down at the ground at her words ⸻ forgetting how well Cordelia knew her, "I just wanna apologise, okay? For lying to you about who we are... what we... do."

Rebecca let out a sigh and dragged her eyes away from Cordelia, she eyed Sam briefly, who gave her a pleading stare. After a moment, she pulled the door open further, a silent invitation.

Cordelia gave her friend a grateful smile and slipped through the doorway before Rebecca had a chance to change her mind.

So the three went inside and sat down. Sam and Cordelia had spent around half an hour apologising and trying to explain to their friend that what was going on ⸻ wasn't natural and that Dean wasn't some psycho killer.

"So... say this shapeshifter is real," Rebecca began to say from behind Sam, who sat on the couch. After making up, Cordelia ran off to use the bathroom ⸻  she thought it was rude to go off and have a piss mid apology, she was a polite girl, sue her. "By the way, you know, you're crazy. But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?"

Sam glanced back at her briefly as she handed him another beer, he took it in hand and swapped her for his old one. "Thanks," he mumbled with a small nod before averting his eyes to the wall. "Silver bullet to the heart."

Rebecca huffed and said nothing for a moment. "You are crazy," her voice lost all tone, almost sounding nonchalant, before she lifted her hand and whacked Sam across the head with the empty bottle.

He grunted, falling onto the couch. Glass shards scattered across the wooden floor with a clink.

In the bathroom down the hall, Cordelia dropped the towel to the counterside and looked up in the mirror with a sigh. She went to reach for her phone to message Dean, asking where he was, but decided against it.

Lifting her hands to her face, she brushed her hair back. It wasn't so much the comment about her being annoying that got to her, she didn't care about that, Dean called her annoying to her face and she called him a 'self-absorbed ass' in turn. That didn't bother her.

It was the fact that 'Dean' had said he didn't trust her, that she was useless. Now, she knew that the shifter could've just lied to her face, she knew that, she wasn't stupid. But she also knew that there was a chance he was telling the truth, after all, he was in Dean's head, he knew what Dean thought, how he thought.

Maybe it was the fact that after nearly two months of saving his ass, case after case, he didn't trust her. She was with them for one reason and one reason only. Jessica. He shouldn't question her intentions.

But a part of her mind knew that that wasn't the only thing that bothered her. She knew that somewhere deep, deep down, she was hurt by what he had said. How he'd screw, but that's all it'd be.

When it came to men, Cordelia was weak as shit, but at the same time, she could play them just as well. You see, she could meet someone and a week later, she'd be head over heels, but then play the same game that they did so she wouldn't get hurt.

She wasn't planning on getting hurt anytime soon.

So whatever weird, gross feelings she had for Dean, she suppressed them. It was only a mere crush anyway, an attraction if that.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she pulled the door to the bathroom open. As she exited the downstairs toilet, she began to make her way over to the living room.

A frown graced her face as she noticed Sam's limp figure on the couch. "Sam-!"

But before she could do anything, once again, she felt a sharp sensation on the back of her head and the world went black.

This case sucks ass.

It was only a few minutes later and Cordelia woke up again. A cough spluttered from her lips, she let her head fall back, resting against the couch she and Sam were resting against, though once again, they were tied up.

"What are you gonna do to us?" She heard Sam ask, and even though he was sat beside her, he sounded like he was a million miles away.

Dammit, she needed her head checked properly.

Lifting her head as best she could, she glanced over at the figure who paced up and down the room. The shifter had gone back to being 'Dean' ditching Rebecca's appearance.

"I'm not gonna do anything," 'Dean' shrugged as he shifted through the drawers in the kitchen. "Dean will though."

"Well you tell Dean, he can suck my tit," she spat.

She was pissed. This guy had knocked her out, what? Three times now? She'd been arrested and was sure she now had brain damage. Not to mention the fact that she had blood on her top. It was new for Christ's sake!

'Dean' whistled in amusement, "You know, you've got a real attitude on you."

"I hadn't noticed," she grumbled, shifting in place as she tried to work at the ropes that had been tied around her wrists.

"They'll never catch him," Sam coughed out, turning his head towards the shifter.

"Oh, doesn't matter. Murder in the first of his own brother," 'Dean's' eyes flickered momentarily to that illuminating colour. "He'll be hunted for the rest of his life."

As silence arose in the house, Dean slowly made his way over to them, he glanced between them with an eerie look in his eye. "Which one of you goes first, huh?" He slowly crouched down in front of them, eyes flitting between them. "You," he drawled out, looking towards Sam, he tilted his head before shaking it. "Or you."

"You know what they say," Cordelia spoke, throat dry. "Ladies first."

Sam gave her a look that screamed, shut the fuck up.

'Dean' held a mocking hand to his heart, "Well if you insist."

Without saying anything else, the shifter grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her forward. As her back met the floor she groaned.

The shapeshifter ignored Sam's yells of protest and thrashing about as he continued to drag her into the kitchen.

'Dean' then moved over to Sam and did the same thing, pulling him into the kitchen beside Cordelia's laid body.

"I must say," 'Dean' waltzed over to the liquor stand, opening a bottle, he poured a quarter into a glass and slowly made his way back over to the pair, standing over Sam. "I will be sorry to lose this skin. Your brother's got a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do."

He held his glass up in a cheers motion and took a sip before rounding the pool table in the middle of the kitchen. Shifting through the duffle bag sat atop the surface, he pulled out a knife. A sharp one at that.

Fisting it in his hand, his eyes lit up as though he had some kind of sick thought. Oh, hell, Cordelia thought to herself as his eyes flitted over to her lying figure.

He slowly approached her, crouching down beside her. He twisted the knife in his hand and dragged it down her cheek, pursing his lips as a small sliver of blood ran down her face.

Cordelia's breaths were heavy, but she gave no reaction. At that, he shook his head with a drawled, "nah," and rose to his feet. Sticking the knife into the pool table, he shifted around the bag for something else.

Cordelia met Sam's eye for a brief second. She was closer to the shapeshifter whilst Sam was closer to the knife. Sam seemed to understand what she meant and waited for her to make her move.

Suddenly, Cordelia brought her legs up to her chest and kicked back at 'Dean' with all the strength she could muster up, sending him flying across the room.

As he was down, Sam used that opportunity to push his body up and tried to cut himself free with the knife. By the time his hands were free, 'Dean' was up and began swinging at Sam.

The two fought and Cordelia tried to shuffle her body up, looking for a way to untie her bounds.  Luckily for her ( unluckily for Sam ) he dropped the knife to the ground with a clank.

Taking it as her opportunity, she rolled over, trying to reach for it. Finally grasping the knife in her tied hands, she tried to cut herself free of the ropes, but as her hands were tied it deemed it awkward, but she managed it with all but a small cut to her skin.

Sparing a glance over at Sam and the shapeshifter, who were beating the shit out of each other, she untied the ropes around her feet.

Sam's body hit the couch with a groan, and as the shifter had all his attention on the Winchester, Cordelia grabbed the pool cue and hit him over the back of the head.

'Dean' grunted, moving to go for her but Sam sent a punch flying towards him ⸻ but the Winchester was soon kicked into the bookshelf, and all the shelves and books crashed atop of him.

Cordelia swung at 'Dean' with the pool cue again, hitting him in the back of the neck, sending him to the ground. Rounding the pool table she then, with no reluctance, drove the end of the stick into his shoulder.

'Dean' groaned out, and lifted his hands, he tugged the pool cue out of his shoulder and gripped it tight, using it to pull Cordelia to him. Once she had lost hold of it, he swung it at her, hitting her in the side, sending her flying into the pool table.

Okay, maybe Dean was right, she needed to go to the gym more often.

With a groan, she clutched her side, and for that one second she wasn't looking, he body-slammed her into the glass table in the living room.

Ouch.

Cordelia groaned as the shards of glass bit into her skin. Her vision once again, stammered. From all the head injuries she had endured on this case, she was sure she'd need a trip to the hospital, an expensive one at that.

His hands wrapped around her neck tightly, and she felt the ability to breathe slowly fade away. Luckily for her, her knight and shining armour had climbed out from underneath all the clutter and tackled the shapeshifter.

"Fuck me," Cordelia groaned to herself, rolling over so that she could get up, but it seemed her body was too weak.

Okay, yeah, a trip once a week to the gym might've been needed.

The shifter kicked Sam in the chest, sending him flying to the ground, but before he could make a move, a voice boomed out from the doorway.

"Hey!" Dean called out, pulling the shapeshifter's attention away from Sam. Without another second, he shot him.

Thank fucking God for that.

♰

    After that, Rebecca had patched Cordelia up and offered her somewhere to rest ⸻ the Moore woman argued against, saying she didn't need rest, but accepted the coffee and pills that Rebecca practically shoved in her face.

So as Sam and Dean did whatever it was they were doing, Cordelia and Rebecca stood in her kitchen, talking and catching up.

Footfalls reverberated through the kitchen and the pair turned their heads towards the doorway, Dean stood, an awkward smile on his face.

"Hey," he greeted, seemingly not knowing what to do with himself as he shifted from one foot to another. "Can I steal you for a second?"

Cordelia pursed her lips, but nodded, placing her coffee mug on the island, she turned to Rebecca with an apologetic smile and followed after Dean.

Stopping in the hallway, he was silent for a moment, like he was thinking of what to say. He was crap at comforting people, he never knew what to say ⸻ but he figured, she was a chick, he had to think about what he was going to say.

"How do you feel?" He asked lamely.

"Like I got ran over by a truck," Cordelia stated bluntly, tone dry.

Dean let out an awkward chuckle with a nod, "Yeah, kinda stupid to ask, I guess. Uh, look, I just wanna apologise-"

"Why?" Cordelia cut him off, furrowing her brows. "You didn't do anything."

Dean slowly nodded and cleared his throat, "Still... what'd he, uh, say to you? Sam said he was saying some crap to him so... whatever he said to you-"

"It's fine, Dean, nothing to worry your pretty little head about," she smiled, but when he gave her a look she rolled her eyes. "Nothing important."

"Cordy-" He began to say, a tone to his voice that made Cordelia want to throw up. He sounded apologetic. She couldn't hold him accountable for what the shapeshifter did, it wasn't his fault.

"Okay, stop," she sighed, rubbing a hand across her face, puffing her cheeks out she let out a frustrated breath. "If you really want to know, he said you think I'm hot, there, you done with this sappy crap now?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at her, "O-kay, no, wasn't exactly a secret I thought that. Look, whatever he said I..."

She tsked and groaned momentarily. "Are you gonna become loser, pining guy like full time now? Cause, you know, we already have one of those."

"Hey," Sam snapped as he walked down the stairs, duffle bag thrown over his shoulder. He knew she was talking about him, he could feel it. It was as though he had a spidey sense when it came to Cordelia and talking about him.

"He can get away with it. He's tall," she shrugged, gesturing towards the youngest Winchester, ignoring his offended word of protest. "Look at the way clothes hang on him."

"O-kay," Sam muttered to himself as he went unheard, shaking his head he made his way over to the front door.

"Look, Dean, you have nothing to apologise for, chill," she shrugged carelessly.

Dean stared at her silently for a moment before reluctantly nodding. He cleared his throat, "Okay then."

After that, the three made their exit. As they sat in the car, silently, Dean turned to face his brother. "So, what about your friend Zach?"

Sam huffed out a laugh, "Cops are blaming this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder. Found the murder weapon in the guy's lair. Zach's clothes stained with her blood. Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Becca says Zach will be released soon."

Dean's jaw tightened in annoyance at the situation and the smug look on Sam's face. As they sped down the highway, his eyes flickered up into the rear-view mirror, watching the unusually quiet brunette in the back.

Cordelia's head rested on the window of the Impala, watching the herd of sheep in the field and the trees on the road disappear from her eyeline as they sped down the bumpy road. She was so in her own head she didn't even feel Dean's gaze on her.

What she did feel, however, was uneasy. Her head hurt, her back hurt and she was drained. It was like she was being reminded of the full effects of being a hunter. She had gotten so used to not being in this life she had forgotten how it felt after, the rewarding feeling after saving someone didn't feel so rewarding.

Quite frankly, she wanted to jump out of the moving car and run from this 'job', but she had made a promise. A promise to her aunt and uncle that she would find who did this to Jess, so if that meant putting up with this life for a little longer, she'd do it.

But now, she had to be careful. With the vast thought of Dean not trusting her in her mind, she had to think...

Could she trust him?

Author's Note!
cordelia took a couple of hits in this chapter jeeesus, but fuck me it's a long chapter 14k words, i think my fingers are numb

idk if any of you remember, but carter is played by young henry cavil

so when i get to 'bugs' or 'home' im gonna skip one of them, which one should i skip??? or should i do them both??

you might think her fancying him is a bit early, but guys okay she is the kind of girl that likes a guy quick, but she pretends she doesn't okay??? they ain't getting together anytime soon, dont worry. plus its a crush anyway, anyone would have a crush on dean in 2 days nevermind 2 months