chapter ten

look after you

♰

  CORDELIA SAT DOWN beside Sam with a huff of agitation. It had been just over a week since their case in Oklahoma, one centred around bugs and Cordelia hated it. The case made her skin crawl. Demons, ghosts, werewolves any day, but bugs... she'd run for the hills.

However, it did give her a small peak into a life of normalcy, the apple pie life. She had realised, there might've been nothing in the world she wanted more than that ( other than finding Jess' killer, of course ).

On the case, once again, she and Dean pretended to be in a relationship ⸻ it was never herself and Sam, she thought it weird seeing as he was Jess' boyfriend and her best friend ⸻ she got weirded out, he was like a brother.

It was easier with Dean.

Cordelia glanced over towards the bar, watching as Dean chatted closely with a blonde, and when I say closely, I mean, closely. She was practically sat on him, Cordelia outwardly rolled her eyes at the sight.

Why was she sat so close to him? She was basically on his lap. I mean, there was a seat right there. No need to get that fucking close. It was grating.

Jealously, Cordelia thought to herself bitterly, what a crappy thing to feel.

Why was she jealous? She didn't know. Well, she knew, but at the same time, she questioned herself. Dean was a good-looking guy and he did this all the time ⸻ pick up random girls in bars, that is. But what she didn't understand was why it was now bothering her.

Three months of being his 'wing-woman' and she was suddenly jealous? She didn't like it. But I suppose travelling and sharing the odd bed with someone would muck up the feelings dwelling to a small crush.

Cordelia shook her head and lifted her tequila shot to her lips. Swallowing the bitter liquid, she grimaced before turning to the brunette beside her.

"Feel like making a little money?" Cordelia asked Sam, a sly smile pulling at her lips as her eyes focused on the large group of boys stood by the pool table.

Sam looked between her and the group, an amused laugh left his lips and he silently slid out of the booth, allowing her to get up. "Make me proud," he joked, placing both hands on either side of her shoulders.

She snorted and slapped his hands away, reaching for Sam's untouched shot glass on the table, she lifted it to her lips and downed it, "I'll get the next round with my winnings."

He rolled his eyes at her arrogant words and took a seat as he watched her stalk off towards the pool table. He watched as when she got closer, her body loosened ⸻ she was pretending to be drunk.

All of the boys visibly stopped in place when they realised she was headed their way. She spoke to them for a moment and Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes and huff a laugh at the scene. Cordelia had put this look on her face like she was too drunk to know what she was doing, and the group of boys ( tried to ) discreetly nudge one another, but it didn't go unnoticed by Cordelia or either Winchester brother.

Dean made his way over to Sam, glancing over at Cordelia every few seconds as he did so. As he reached the booth, he took the seat opposite Sam, a beer in hand, he lifted it to his lips before clearing his throat.

"What's she doin'?"

"Wanted to make a little money," Sam answered, pulling his gaze away from his best friend and over to his brother. His brows furrowed at the sceptical look on Dean's face and he thought, for just a moment, that he looked worried or maybe something else. "She'll be fine," Sam assured him. "She's hustled a lot more than we have, she knows what she's doing."

Dean shrugged carelessly, but couldn't help himself as his eyes flitted back over to the pool table. His jaw clenched as he watched one of the boys stand behind her as she bent over to the table to line her shot. However, something inside happened to him as she met his eye from across the room and sent him a devious smile, eyes shining with mischief.

He couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips in return.

It wasn't that much later when he was mid-conversation with Sam and he looked up again. He watched as Cordelia shuffled cash in her hand, as though she was counting it. The two Winchesters looked amused at her triumphant smile, but their faces soon dropped when one of the men ⸻ no, boys ⸻ grabbed a hold of her wrist, tightly.

They were both on their feet before anyone could blink. It wasn't that they needed to go over to protect Cordelia ⸻ Cordelia could protect and defend herself, but it calmed their nerves to know that they were close.

Just in-case.

Cordelia's face had no trace of fear, but annoyance as she glared at him. "What, you gonna cry?" She goaded, a mocking tone to her voice as she tried to shrug out of his hold, but he wouldn't let up.

Cordelia had two options here. A.) Kick his ass and embarrass the hell out of him in front of his friends or B.) Kick his ass and embarrass the hell out of him.

Either option was fine with her.

But before she could do anything, a loud clearing of a throat was heard. Cordelia and the group of boys' attention flitted over to the stoic-looking Winchesters. They looked like pimps, but she couldn't complain, after all, they looked out for her.

It was weird. I mean, I suppose Sam had been saving her ass for the last few years ⸻ whenever she got into crap, which was the majority of the time, he was always there to help her, pick her up if she needed, dry her tears if she cried. He was like an irritating big brother, even though she was technically older.

And Dean? Dean was just... Dean. She didn't know how to explain it. He looked out for her too, and the doubts she had before about him not trusting her were always dismissed in her mind when he acted like this. Not that she needed him to ⸻ but it was nice, nonetheless.

Ultimately, she knew not to go there with him, Dean was the type of guy who didn't do attachments, and Cordelia had a bad habit of getting attached.

Not a very good combination.

Plus, after Carter, Cordelia was steering well away from hunters.

"You mind?" Dean asked rhetorically, nodding his head in a gesture of the hand that was clamped tightly around Cordelia's wrist.

The man in question, clenched his jaw, but there was an obvious look in his eye, one Cordelia easily recognised in a man ⸻ fear. Sam and Dean may have only been two men, but they held a dangerous look in their eyes, and a smart man would take a step back.

Fortunately, for the man, he released her wrist ⸻ though he did it harshly, shoving her aside slightly. Sam took a step forward at that and rose his eyebrows in a silent question, one Cordelia could only assume that meant, do you want me to kick your ass?

The man scoffed under his breath and shook his head before he and his ( as Cordelia would say: loser ) friends walked off, or more stormed off, the Moore girl turned to look between either Winchester with a grin.

"I won us three hundred bucks." Was all she said, smile not faltering before her gaze flitted down to the cash in hand.

Dean's brows furrowed and he glanced over at his brother in confusion before looking back down at her, he rubbed a hand over his jaw in distress before placing it on the Moore girl's shoulder, forcing her to look back up at him, a weird tingle reverberating through her body at his touch.

"I won us three hundred bucks," he mocked, voice squeaky high as though he was impersonating her. "Is that it? Are you good?"

"Oh, that?" Cordelia almost scoffed as she gestured over to the area behind her, a furrow in her brow. "That was nothing. I'm fine."

"It's gonna leave a bruise," Sam stated in an obvious tone as he crossed his arms over his chest ⸻ but the concern on his face was clear.

"A new one to the collection, I guess," Cordelia shrugged. She was quite bruised up from the last case, seeing as she spent the entirety of it running away from little critters and found herself falling often. "It'll fade, it's fine."

Sam and Dean shared a look and the latter opened his mouth to oppose but was cut off as the younger woman spoke up once again. "Can we get outta here? I wanna check into the motel and get something to eat."

Sam and Dean shared a look at her words. Who were the Winchesters to argue against food and a (not-so-comfortable) bed?

Back at the motel, Cordelia and Dean laid out on either bed, their backs pressed against the headboards as they spoke. Sam had gone out to go get their food, deeming that the walk to the diner would do him some good, that it was healthy.

Freak.

"Okay," Cordelia pursed her lips, looking up toward the ceiling as she thought. For the past twenty minutes, she and Dean had been trying to pass the time by asking each other stupid little questions. "How old were you when you had your first kiss?"

"Sixteen," Dean shot back, a cheeky grin on his lips as he, presumably, thought about said event. "You?"

"Like, eleven," Cordelia grinned, glancing over at him, but he gave a dry look in return. "What?"

"Real kiss, Cordelia. I'm talking full-on tongue action-"

"Okay, uh, fifteen. Jeremy Martin, he was my high school boyfriend," she explained, a small smile sat on her lips as she thought to back then, to simpler times.

"Cute. A high school romance," Dean snickered, a mocking tone to his voice which had Cordelia rolling her eyes. "Alright. Favourite movie, go."

A grin pulled at Cordelia's lips and she glanced over at him. "You're gonna hate me, but... any rom-com," at the loud groan of dismay that came from the Winchester, Cordelia couldn't help but smile wider. "But if I had to pick, I'd say How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Can't go wrong with that movie."

"Just when I thought you were alright," Dean tsked and shook his head in mock disappointment.

Cordelia rose her eyebrows at his words, "Just alright? I could happily kick your ass and go watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days on a loop. I'm better than alright, I'm basically fuckin'... Catwoman."

"Freak of freakin' nature," Dean grumbled to himself. "I'm telling you, Cowboys, Westerns... that's where it's at. Oh, or slashers."

"Absolutely not," Cordelia shook her head. "I can't watch them without laughing."

"Because they're funny," Dean said in a tone that insinuated that his words were obvious.

"No, because they're cringy," she corrected with a snort. "Alright. When's your birthday?"

"Why? Planning on savin' the date so you can give me a little birthday surprise?" He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, but at the dry look she gave him in response, he pursed his lips and answered her question. "January twenty-fourth."

"Huh."

"What?"

"It's just... you and Jess have the same birthday, it's weird is all," she said quietly, clearly her mind drifted off to her cousin. However, she spoke up before it could get weird, "Alright, ask me a question, nothing too-"

"Favourite sex position?"

"Why does your brain always go to sex?" Cordelia pulled a face and glanced over at him. "No offence, but you should be sterilized."

"You know as well as I do that hunters need to blow off steam somehow, that's just my preferred method," he stated, sending her a cocky grin as he glanced over at her. "You know... you could always-"

"Whatever's gonna come out of your mouth, no," Cordelia retorted, sending him a pointed look to which he pursed his lips and rolled his eyes at.

Truth be told, whatever he was going to say, if she was a wiser woman, she'd probably agree.

Saving Cordelia from Dean's odd requests and questions, the motel room door flew open, and Sam trailed inside, bags in hand.

Dean practically jumped up from the bed at the sight of his brother, Sam rolled his eyes at the predictability. Of course, he was making a beeline for the food.

As Sam placed the food down on the small table, he shrugged his jacket off and an amused expression was painted across his features as he watched Dean shuffle through the bag, pulling out the food.

His eyes lit up as he saw what he assumed was his wrapped cheeseburger, but that light soon diminished as his eyes caught sight of two chicken salads.

"Rabbit food, seriously?" He pulled a face and glanced between the two brunettes. "Freaks," he scoffed under his breath before grabbing his food as well as Cordelia's salad and a plastic fork that sat in the bottom of the bag.

He handed her the 'meal' and took a seat down on the bed, beside her, allowing Sam to have his bed back. The youngest Winchester merely rolled his eyes at his brother. "It's good for you," Sam argued as he sprawled out on his bed.

"Don't," Dean held up a hand, gesturing for Sam to stop talking, once again, he rolled his eyes.

"You're being a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Sam scoffed, eyes flitting over to Dean.

"Being dramatic- Sammy, I swear-"

"Can we watch The Simple Life?" Cordelia cut in, to what she assumed would become an argument, with a sigh. She only asked because, of course, Dean had the remote held hostage.

"Hell no, let's watch-"

"I'm not watching one of your lame Cowboy movies," she cut in, sending him a pointed look.

Before Dean could argue, or defend his beloved movies, Sam spoke up, "They are pretty lame, even for me."

And so, they spent the whole night bickering over Rabbit food and Dean's crappy taste in television. They didn't get many moments between cases recently, but when they did ⸻ Cordelia almost felt at home. They distracted her and made her forget about the crappiness that was her life, and she did the same for them, though Dean wouldn't admit that.

♰

The next morning started with a bicker between Cordelia and Dean ⸻ she wanted to take the Impala to go get food for them but Dean had ever-so-politely told her to, "Go to Hell."

Plus, he hid the keys.

Asshole.

But, on a brighter note, he did turn into nurse-Dean and he checked on her wrist before she walked to the nearest diner to grab them something to eat.

She grabbed Dean his, black like his soul, coffee and of course, Cordelia and Sam vouched for a vanilla latte.

As Cordelia pushed the door of the room open, she was greeted by Dean's voice. "-And we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas," he began to say to the uninterested brunette that was sat on the bed, scribbling something down on a notepad. Dean glanced up with a small smile as Cordelia handed him a paper cup filled with coffee and something to eat. "Thanks," he murmured before his eyes settled on Sam once again. "Hey!"

As Cordelia made her way over to the bed where Sam was sat, she handed him his drink and a muffin, he gave her a smile in thanks before his confused gaze flitted over to Dean.

"Am I boring you with this hunting-evil stuff?" Dean snapped, raising his eyebrows as he glanced over at Sam, eyes briefly flitting over to Cordelia who took a seat on the edge of Sam's bed.

"No, I'm listening, keep going," Sam said, taking a quick sip of his drink before his attention went back to the notebook in hand.

Dean sighed before looking back down at the laptop in front of him. "And here a Sacramento man shot himself in the head... three times," he looked towards Sam, waiting for him to say something, but when his attention didn't falter, he turned to Cordelia and gave her a look, she shrugged and placed her stuff aside. "Any of these things blowing up your skirt, pal?"

He was met with silence.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Cordelia questioned, leaning over the bed to take a look at whatever had captured Sam's attention, her brows furrowed. He was drawing a tree. "A tree," her voice was flat before she reached out and flipped through the pages of the notebook, finding multiple drawings of that same tree, Sam sighed in annoyance and Cordelia gave him an odd look before pulling away. "Tortured artist is not a good look on you, Sammy."

He did not answer her words, instead, his brows furrowed into a deeper 'v' shape as he stared down at the paper, "Wait, I've seen this."

"Seen what?" Dean questioned boredly, pursing his lips in confusion.

"That tree he's drawn about a thousand times, I'm guessing," Cordelia cut in with a shrug as she took a bite out of her muffin, she grumbled in annoyance as Sam suddenly jumped up from the bed, knocking into her as he did so. "Hey, watch it!"

She could've choked on her damn muffin.

All Sam did in answer was murmur a small "sorry," under his breath as he shuffled through his duffle.

"What are you doing?" Dean questioned in curiosity, his head tilted as he watched his brother grasp their father's journal in hand.

Sam shuffled through the pictures that were placed in the front of the journal, once he found the one he was looking for, he held it beside the drawing.

"Dean, I know where we have to go next," Sam said suddenly, turning around to face his older brother.

"Where?"

"Back home, back to Kansas," Sam stated, swallowing roughly.

Cordelia swallowed her food quietly, hoping to disappear. She knew that home was a touchy subject for both Winchesters, more specifically, Dean. In the past three months she had gotten to know him, he didn't talk about that part of his life. Cordelia didn't pry and he appreciated that.

Dean scoffed and shook his head lightly, "Okay, random. Where'd that come from?"

He tried to keep his facade up, but a pit of dread formed in his stomach.

"Alright, um..." Sam stumbled on his words and drew his gaze to the floor as he awkwardly shuffled his feet before he hastily made his way over to Dean, picture in hand. "This photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The house where Mom died?"

Dean hesitated as he picked up the picture of his parents, himself and Sam, he looked up at Sam tentatively, "Yeah?"

"It didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely. They rebuilt it, right?"

"I guess so, yeah. The Hell are you talking about?"

"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy," Sam said, sparing a glance over at the quiet girl who silently sipped on her latte. "But the people who live in our old house, I think they might be in danger."

Dean furrowed his brows and met Cordelia's eye, they shared a look before the brunette spoke up, voice soft, "Why'd you think that?"

Sam faltered slightly. "Uh... just, um..." he paused before suddenly pacing up and down the length of the small room. "Look, just ⸻ you gotta trust me on this, okay?"

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Trust you?" Dean questioned sceptically, jaw clenched as he got up from his seat.

"Yeah," Sam simply said.

Cordelia pursed her lips at the tense atmosphere and sipped on her drink, wishing to be anywhere but here. She had an urge to run to hide out in the bathroom, but something in her gut told her to stay.

"Come on, man. You've got to give me more than that," Dean grunted as he approached his brother.

"I can't really explain it, is all," Sam said, briefly glancing up at his brother as he hurriedly began packing his bag.

"Well, tough. We're not going anywhere until you do, right Cordelia?"

When she did not answer, Dean cleared his throat louder than necessary.

"Oh, um, yeah, right," Cordelia stumbled out her words, looking back at the pair sheepishly.

Dean gave her a flat look.

Sam sighed in irritation and looked between the two. "I have these nightmares," Sam admitted almost shamefully, he looked down at the ground and Cordelia's heart tightened ⸻ she didn't like seeing him like this.

"I've noticed," Dean nodded, swallowing roughly as he tried to be encouraging, but he just looked uncomfortable.

Truth be told, Cordelia thought he looked constipated.

"And sometimes... they come true."

The two other hunters opened and closed their mouths before they both spoke up at the same time.

"Come again?"

"Sorry, what?"

"Look guys, I..." Sam stopped speaking for a moment, his eyes flitted over to Cordelia, a weird look in them. "I dreamt about Jessica's death for days before it happened."

He looked down at Cordelia as if he was waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. Her brows furrowed and her gaze flitted down to the floor. She didn't know what to say. What do you say when your cousin's ex-boyfriend tells you that he had dreams about her dying? What the hell, dude? Congratulations?

She didn't hear the rest of the conversation, it was as though it all blurred out around her. But her thoughts were reeling. Why didn't he say anything? But then again, why would he? She would've thought he was crazy.

In all honesty, she didn't know what to say, so as they packed up their things, she stayed silent.

What the Hell is going on?

♰

    It was a long trip to Lawrence, and Cordelia slept through most of it ⸻ though her mind was on Jess the whole time. She had been thinking about the night she died, how if she hadn't done that hunt, she could've saved her or if she had been a bit quicker... her mind always went to what ifs.

What if she'd done this... what if she did that?

She knew it was likely to be unhealthy thinking about it so much, after all, the damage was done, and there was nothing she could do now. Somewhere, buried deep down Cordelia knew it wasn't her fault ⸻ but yet, she still blamed herself.

The sound of the engine cutting off brought Cordelia back to reality. Swallowing roughly, she pulled her head from where it was lent against the window and stared over at the house where the Winchesters once lived.

"You gonna be alright, man?" Sam asked his brother, pulling his eyes away from the house and onto the back of Dean's head.

Dean briefly glanced over at his younger brother, "Let me get back to you on that."

Cordelia looked between the brothers and debated on saying something or not ⸻ the Moore girl wasn't exactly the most comforting person. I know, it sounded bizarre considering her job, but with those people, strangers, she could do it. Hell, she had comforted drunk strangers in bars. But people she knew? Something in her couldn't do it.

Maybe it was because she didn't want to sound silly, plus, the Winchesters weren't into the chick-flick moments, as Dean had called them.

As they got out of the Impala, they headed over to the house, as they reached the door ⸻ Cordelia watched the boys, how they tensed slightly and how Dean hesitated to knock.

Before she could do or say anything, the oldest Winchester brother knocked on the door before he chickened out. As they waited, Sam shuffled on his feet nervously. Not even a minute later, the door swung open and a pretty blonde came to sight, she was a little taller than Cordelia, around the same age.

The woman furrowed her eyebrows and looked between the three, confusion written across her delicate features, "Yes?"

Dean cleared his throat and a tight smile pulled at his lips. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the federal-"

As Dean spoke, Cordelia glanced over at Sam to check on him, though her expression matched the woman's as confusion clouded her face. Sam's mouth gaped open as he stared at the blonde, shock evident on his features.

"-I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother Dean," Sam cut his brother off quickly, swallowing roughly. "Um, we used to live here. You know, we were just driving by, and thought we could show our friend," he gestured to Cordelia, who gave a kind smile as the woman glanced her way, "around the old place."

A small smile pulled at the woman's face, "Winchester. That is so funny. You know, I- I think I found some of your photos the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows. His hardened expression cracked ever so slightly.

The woman looked tentative for a moment before she glanced back into the house and took a step back, "Okay, come on in."

The boys took a step back, allowing Cordelia to walk in first. The three followed the blonde, unnamed woman into the house. The Winchesters glanced around, whether they were looking for something supernatural or reminiscing on old memories ⸻ Cordelia didn't know.

As they trudged into the kitchen, Cordelia's eyes fell on the children. A young girl, sat at the table drawing and her little brother stood in a makeshift play area, screaming for juice.

Quite frankly, if Cordelia had her gun on her she would shoot herself ⸻ cute kid, but the screaming and crying? She couldn't cope.

The blonde woman glanced behind her, eyes on her son and a sweet smile pulled at her lips. "That's Richie, he's kind of a juice junkie," she explained as she reached into the fridge, pulling out a small bottle before heading over to the blond boy. "But, hey, at least he won't get scurvy."

She then made her way over to her daughter sat by the table, her hands resting on the back of the wooden chair as she leaned down, "Sari, this is Sam and Dean and their friend..." she trailed off, looking towards Cordelia as she realised she had never gotten her name.

"Cordelia," the Moore girl offered with a small smile as her eyes met the timid ones of Sari.

"Sam and Dean used to live here," her mother explained.

The girl looked up timidly and smiled, "Hi."

Dean waved awkwardly, a weird smile on his lips that caused Cordelia to pull a face. Maybe that was one of the things that drew Cordelia to him. Sure, his constant flirting made a little impact, but it was more so his idiot side. Plus, he was acting as though he didn't know how to be around children ⸻ but Cordelia had seen him with kids, he was a natural.

Sam smiled kindly at the girl, "Hey, Sari."

"So, you just moved in?" Dean asked, dragging his gaze back over to the blonde.

She looked up and smiled over at him. "Uh, yeah, from Wichita."

"You got family here, or...?"

The woman paused for a moment at his question. "No, I just, uh... um, needed a fresh start, that's all," she smiled weakly, clearing her throat before she spoke up again, voice considerably louder. "So, new town, new job ⸻ I mean, as soon as I find one ⸻ new house."

"So, how you likin' it so far?" Sam questioned, trying to keep the conversation going so they could find out if anything weird had been going on ⸻ it was one thing for him to be having dreams about a woman he had never met before, but it was another thing for it to be real.

The woman slowly made her way over to the sink, she leaned her hip against the counter and turned to face the youngest Winchester. "Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home ⸻ I mean, I'm sure you have lots of happy memories here," Dean smiled weakly at her words, "But this place has its issues."

"Issues?" Cordelia spoke up, eyes pulling away from the blonde woman, instead her gaze flitted over to the child in the makeshift play area, who was incessantly waving at her, she gave a small wave back.

Her heart melted.

The woman sighed, "Well, it's just getting old, like, the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly."

"Oh, that's too bad," Dean smiled lightly with a small shrug of his shoulders. "What else?"

"Um, sink's backed up, there's rats in the basement..." she began to say, but trailed off as she saw the look on Dean's face, though she misread it. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

Dean slowly shook his head with a comforting smile, not offended at her words, "No. Have you seen the rats or just heard scratching?"

She paused, fiddling with the tea towel in hand, "Just the scratching, actually."

"Mom?" Sari spoke up, voice quiet as she dropped her crayon onto the table and turned to face her mother. The blonde walked over to her daughter and knelt beside her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

The three hunters shared a look and Sam's brows furrowed. "What, Sari?" He inquired, a comforting tone to his voice so that he wouldn't startle the girl.

"The thing in my closet," Sari whispered in answer and Cordelia's heart broke ⸻ she sounded terrified.

"Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets, right?" She turned to look between Sam and Dean, giving them pointed looks.

"Right. No, no, of course not," Sam assured her.

"She had a nightmare the other night," her mother explained, rubbing a comforting hand down her back.

"I wasn't dreaming, it came into my bedroom, and it was on fire."

The three, once again, shared a look ⸻ and a silent conversation was had.

♰

After they left the woman's house, who they soon found out was called Jenny, Sam and Dean had a small argument about what could be going on and Cordelia guessed the pain of being back here was getting to them.

The three stood by the Impala as Dean grabbed the gas pump and began filling the car.

"We just gotta chill out, that's all," Dean began to say, placing a hand on the roof of Baby as he glanced over at his brother.

Cordelia pursed her lips as she drummed her fingers against the top of the car, Dean shot her a pointed look to which she rolled her eyes at. "Look, don't shoot my head off for saying this, but you guys have gotta treat this like any other kind of case."

Sam nodded silently after a moment and exhaled sharply, "Okay, so if this was any other case we'd... try to figure out what we're dealing with. We'd dig into the history of the house."

"Except this time we already know what happened," Dean sighed, memories of that night flooding his mind.

"Yeah, but how much do we know? How much do you actually remember?" Sam asked, rounding the car so that he could sit on the trunk, in front of Dean, while Cordelia was still stood by her seat.

Dean looked tentatively towards his brother, "About that night, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Not much," Dean shook it off, trying to not think too much about that night. He couldn't let the memories consume him. "I remember the fire... the heat... then I carried you out the front door."

Sam looked surprised at his brother's words, "You did?"

Dean's brows furrowed as he turned to his brother, "Yeah, well, you never knew that?"

Sam softly shook his head, "No."

Dean nodded quietly and looked down at the ground, "Well, you know Dad's story as well as I do ⸻ Mom was... was on the ceiling, and whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her."

"And he never had a theory about what did it?" Sam questioned.

"If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows, we asked him enough times," Dean sighed, taking a seat beside Sam after placing the gas pump back.

"Okay. So, if we're gonna figure out what's going on now, we have to figure out what happened back then, see if it's the same thing," Sam said softly, glancing down at the floor as he shuffled on his feet.

"Yeah," Dean's tone was clipped. "Talk to Dad's friends, neighbours, people who were there at the time."

Sam let out a quiet, humourless laugh, "Does this feel like just another job to you?"

Dean opened and closed his mouth, hesitation on his face, "I'll be right back, I gotta go to the bathroom."

As Dean rounded the car, Cordelia grabbed him by the forearm, stopping him in place, he rose his eyebrows in question and she lowered her voice, "Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah," Dean brushed it off with a small smile, but the pointed look she gave him caused him to roll his eyes. "Don't do that."

At his words, she furrowed her brows in confusion, "What?"

"That face," he thrusted his pointer finger at her face, causing her to slap his hand away. "I know that face, I'm not doing this whole chick-flick moment with you."

"I asked you if you were okay, not to get on your knees and announce every thought and feeling," she teased, a small smile pulling at her lips. "I know you don't do... that. I just wanted to know if you were okay, that's all."

"I'm fine," he nodded, rubbing a hand across his jaw.

"Mhm," was all she said. She didn't believe him, and she knew he knew she didn't believe him, but it was Dean ⸻ that was the most she was going to get out of him, even if it was really nothing at all.

Dean gave her a look before he walked away, leaving Cordelia and Sam alone. The latter looked towards his best friend and pursed his lips, he opened and closed his mouth in contemplation on how to begin.

"Look, Cor, I'm sorry I didn't say anything-"

"I'm not mad at you, Sam," her voice was soft, and her hand reached up to fiddle with her necklace. "I don't expect you to have said anything, I would've thought you were..."

"Crazy?" He offered with a small smile.

"Probably," she shamefully admitted before a sigh slipped past her lips. "So, you saw everything?"

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah, for days and days, it was the same thing. Her on the ceiling, you running in with a gun... I tried to convince myself it wasn't real, so I checked the apartment for the gun, I didn't find anything so I thought... I thought it must've been a dream, some fucked up dream. I was runnin' round for ages, trying to, I don't know, convince myself that it was nothin'."

Cordelia was silent for a moment, "I miss her. I... Sometimes I'll go to text her when I wake up and then I remember-"

"She won't answer," Sam finished quietly as he walked over to her, standing beside her. "I miss her too."

"She'd want you to move on though, she'd want you to be happy," Cordelia said after a moment of silence. "You can't shut yourself out on life, you can't not be happy."

"I know," he sighed, swallowing roughly, he angled his head towards his best friend. "I just don't think I'm there yet."

"And that's fine. You'll know when you are."

Sam was silent for a moment before he continued, "It feels weird being back here, I always figured if I came back to Lawrence it'd be with Jess, showing her the old house... not this."

"Yeah, I know," she replied softly before her smile faltered. "We'll be alright. You'll be alright, I'm here for you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," Sam smiled, craning his head to look over at her. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I've got you."

♰

After Dean returned, the three began making their rounds of people who knew the Winchesters back in the day. They spoke to neighbours and old friends and finally, they made their way to Guenther's Auto Repair shop, where John used to work.

"You and John Winchester, you, uh, used to own this garage together?" Dean questioned, though he knew the answer.

They followed Guenther through the shop, and Cordelia's nose turned up at the strong smell of chemicals.

"Yeah, we used to," he answered, wiping down one of the cars. "Matter of fact, must be twenty years since John disappeared. So, why are the cops interested all of a sudden?"

"We're just looking into some of our unsolved cases," Cordelia explained with a small smile on her face, her eyes drifting off to her reflection in the car window. Cordelia took pride in her appearance ⸻ hunter or not. "The Winchester disappearance is one of them."

"Uh-huh. Huh, what do you wanna know about John?"

"Whatever you remember. You know, whatever sticks out in your mind," Dean answered, sparing a passing glance over to the mechanic on the other side of the garage.

"Well..." the man sighed, placing his hands on his hips as he tried to think back. "He was a stubborn bastard. I remember that."

At his words, Cordelia's eyes flitted between the two brothers, must be where they get it from.

"And, uh, oh, whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know? It was that whole Marine thing, but, uh, well, he sure loved Mary ⸻ and he doted on those kids."

"But that was before the fire," Sam pointed out.

The man nodded solemnly, "That's right."

"He ever talk about that night?"

The man's eyes fell to the floor, "No, not at first. I think he was in shock."

"Right, but eventually what did he say about it?" Sam questioned, stuffing his hands into his pocket.

"Oh, he wasn't thinkin' straight. He said, uh, he said something caused that fire and killed Mary."

"He ever say what did it?" Dean asked.

Guenther furrowed his brows, "Nothing did it. It was an accident. An electrical short in the ceiling or walls or something. I begged him to get some help, but..."

"But what?" Dean asked sharply, causing Cordelia to nudge him in the ribs discreetly.

"Oh, it just got worse and worse."

"How?" Cordelia spoke up softly before Dean had the chance ⸻ he was getting snappy and impatient and snappy and impatient wouldn't get them anywhere.

"Oh, he started reading these strange old books. He started going to see this palm reader in town."

"You have a name?" Cordelia then asked.

The man scoffed, "No."

♰

Cordelia stood by the phone box and flicked through a phonebook. "There's a lot of psychics and palm readers in town," Cordelia stated, brows pulling together. "There's someone called El Divino. There's a Mysterious Mr. Fortinsky." She pulled a teasing face, glancing over at the two amused Winchesters. "Uh, there's Missouri Moseley, and some guy who uses sex things to-"

"Wait, wait," Dean interrupted, pushing his weight off of the Impala, he made his way over to her. "Missouri Moseley?"

"You know that name?"

"That's a psychic?" Dean asked, ignoring her question.

Cordelia looked down at the book and squinted her eyes, "Uh, yeah, I guess."

Dean then made his way over to the back of the car, pulling open the backseat, he shuffled through his and Sam's shared duffle and pulled out John's journal.

"In Dad's journal... come here, look at this." He called out, causing both Sam and Cordelia to make their way over to him. "First page, first sentence. Read that."

"I went to Missouri... and I learned the truth," Sam read aloud, eyebrows shooting up to his forehead.

"I always thought he meant the state," Dean chuckled dryly.

"Why would the truth be in Missouri?" Cordelia asked, dumbfounded, as her brows screwed together.

"I don't know, Cordelia," Dean retorted with a sigh, shooting her a pointed look.

She shot her hands up in defence, "Thought it was a bit random, that's all."

"Get in the car."

"Oh, I love it when you get all authoritative."

"I- uh, what?"

♰

As they sat in the waiting room, Cordelia pursed her lips and glanced over at Dean's thigh, he was drumming his leg up and down and it was driving her insane. She reached out and placed her hand on his leg.

Dean glanced over at her hand and back up to her, though he didn't say anything, he just looked away with a sigh.

"Alright, then, don't you worry about a thing," a soothing voice was heard, the three turned their heads, finding Missouri walking out of her office with a customer. "Your wife is crazy about 'ya."

As she led him to the door, he bid his goodbye and she turned her attention to the three sat on the couch. "Whew! Poor bastard ⸻ his woman is cold-banging the gardener."

At the laugh that fell from Cordelia's lips, Dean spoke up, "Why didn't you tell him?"

"People don't come here for the truth," she spun around to face them, a smile creeping on her lips as she slowly made her way back into her office. "They come for good news. Well? Sam, Dean, Cordelia, come already, I ain't got all day."

The three shared a look at her words but soon followed after her. Pushing past the beads hung along the doorway, they came to a stand in front of her.

"Well, let me look at you," she laughed, glancing between the brothers. "Oh, you boys grew up handsome," she said before pointing at Dean, "And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too."

Sam grinned at her words and Cordelia outright snorted, Dean shot her a dirty look.

"Sam," Missouri smiled sweetly as she took hold of his hand, though her smile faltered. "Oh, honey. I'm sorry about your girlfriend..." she turned to Cordelia. "You share this loss," she stated, a hand reaching out for Cordelia's, the Moore let her take her hand in her own hesitantly. "I'm sorry about your cousin, honey."

Cordelia gave a tight smile in response, Missouri soon released her hand and her eyes drifted over to Dean. "Your father... he's missin'?"

Sam looked alarmed as he spared a glance over at Dean before his eyes settled on Missouri, "How'd you know all that?"

"Well, you were just thinking it, just now," she told them.

Once again, Sam's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"Well, where is he? Is he okay?" Dean questioned, referring to his Dad.

Missouri shook her head, "I don't know."

"Don't know?" Dean questioned, furrowing his brows. "You're supposed to be a psychic, right?"

Missouri's face pulled into one of offence, "Boy, you see me sawing some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts outta thin air. Sit! Please."

Sam and Cordelia couldn't help but grin at the small flash of fear that crossed Dean's face.

As they took a seat, Cordelia was sandwiched between the two brothers. For the love of God, she thought to herself, shuffling slightly to get more comfortable, they need to move their asses so she could sit properly.

"Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, imma' whack you with a spoon!" Missouri pointed over at Dean, a stern look on her face.

Dean's face slowly fell. "I didn't do anything," he argued.

"Well, you were thinking about it," she retorted. "Now move your asses so that poor girl can sit down properly."

Cordelia smiled widely as she sat more comfortably, now that Sam and Dean had moved over a bit. It's like she read my mind, she thought to herself, but the smile on Missouri's lips confirmed that thought.

"Okay, so..." Sam began to speak, sighing heavily. "Our Dad. When did you first meet him?"

"He came for a reading a few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark, I guess you could say I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire?" Dean asked, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. "Do you- do you know about what killed our Mom?"

"A little," Missouri answered. "Your Daddy took me to your house, he was hoping I could... sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."

"And could you?" Sam asked gently.

Missouri slowly shook her head, hesitation clear on her face, "I don't..."

"What was it?"

"I don't know," she exhaled deeply. "But it was evil."

Sam then explained to her how they thought something was in the house, without explaining why he thought that. But for all they knew, she could've heard him think it.

"So, you think something's back in that house?" She had now moved from her seat and was pacing up and down the wooden floors.

Sam nodded, sure of himself and his words, "Definitely."

Missouri clicked her tongue and sighed as she took a seat in front of the three again, "I.. I don't understand."

"What?"

"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keepin' an eye on the place, and... it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it acting up now?"

"I don't know," Sam sighed in dismay, concern clear on his face ⸻ he was worried for the family, he didn't want another family to be torn apart in that house, he didn't want what happened to his family to happen to another. "But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house ⸻ all happening at once, it just feels like somethin's starting."

Dean smiled sarcastically over at his brother and clapped him on the back mockingly, "That's a comforting thought."

Missouri gave Dean a look of pity ⸻ as though she could see through his façade.

♰

    They headed back to the Winchesters' old house and for the entirety of the drive, Missouri gave Cordelia this look. This look that screamed I know about your little crush. Eventually, she gave it up and pulled all her attention onto Dean ⸻ claiming he drove too fast, he cut corners... he grumbled under his breath in response, earning a smack around the back of the head.

What is it with women and smacking him around the head?

As the four got out of the car, they headed over to the door and within a second, Dean's knuckle rasped against the white oak. It was only a minute or so later, that Jenny pulled the door open, Richie in her arms.

"Sam, Dean, Cordelia. What are you doing here?" She questioned, pulling her son closer to her chest, her voice wavering in panic.

"Hey, Jenny," Sam's tone was soft as he smiled at the woman before gesturing over to the older woman with them. "Um, this is our friend Missouri."

"If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the house. You know, for old times' sake," Dean's tone was gentle, but every muscle in his body was tense and Cordelia could see that.

"No, you know, this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy," Jenny stammered out, moving to close the door ⸻ as though she was in a rush.

Dean's face fell flat. "Listen, Jenny, it's important," he began to explain before Missouri's hand, once again, connected with the back of his head. "Ow!" He grunted out, turning to glare at the older woman, Cordelia rolled her lips into her mouth, trying to hide the amused smile that begged to creep on her lips.

"Give the poor girl a break. Can't you see she's upset?" Missouri scolded, shooting him a disapproving glare before her gaze flitted over to the blonde woman, an apologetic look softened on her face. "Forgive this boy. He means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed."

Dean's offended gaze dragged over to his brother and Cordelia. Sam smiled and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, she's not wrong, and Cordelia, Cordelia's eyes were drawn to the floor, her lips pursed as she tried to stop herself from laughing, Dean nudged her harshly and her gaze lifted, meeting his eye she sent him a look.

As if hearing their thoughts, Missouri turned and gave the three disapproving looks before her attention, once again, settled on Jenny. "Hear me out," she asked kindly, a comforting tone to her voice.

"About what?" Jenny scrunched her nose, inhaling deeply as she did so.

"About this house," Missouri gestured toward the building with her head, a knowing look shining in her eye.

Jenny's face seemed to fall at her words, worry glistened in her eyes, but the fear she held, was more prominent, "What are you talking about?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family, am I mistaken?"

"Who are you?" Jenny questioned, voice dropping to a quiet whisper.

"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing, but you're gonna have to trust us just a little," Missouri said. There was something about the woman that was so comforting, something that Cordelia valued ⸻ perhaps because it reminded her of Jess.

Jess was always so comforting, she always knew what to say and how to help people. She was like a shooting star in a thunderstorm, the ray of sunshine amongst chaos. The comforting words she had relayed to Cordelia played in her mind every day, they kept her going, it was what got her up in the morning ⸻ it's what kept her fighting.

Jenny hesitated, opening and closing her mouth as though she was having a debate in her mind. After an internal battle, she pulled the door open wider and sighed, "Alright, come on in."

Once inside, Missouri led the three hunters up to Sari's bedroom. She sighed and looked around meticulously, taking in every small feeling that ran through her bones, "If there's a dark energy around here, this room... should be the centre of it."

Sam's brows furrowed lightly as he turned to face the woman, "Why?"

"This used to be your nursery, Sam," Missouri explained. "This is where it all happened." As the older woman glanced around the room, Dean pulled out his homemade EMF meter from his pocket, catching Missouri's eye. "That EMF?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded lightly, lifting his eyes from the device in hand.

"Amateur," Missouri scoffed with a shake of her head.

Dean looked up and narrowed his eyes in offence, though his gaze flitted away from her as he felt a hand perch on his shoulder briefly ⸻ though the warm, delicate touch was soon gone.

He turned to face Cordelia, and a small smile sat on her lips. "Me and Sam appreciate your busted-up Walkman thing, don't we?"

"Not really, looks like a piece of crap," Sam grumbled, eyes circulating the room as though he was assessing for a threat, like he was waiting for something to pop out.

Cordelia rolled her lips into her mouth at his words and Dean gave her a pointed stare, after a moment she shrugged and moved past him, "'Least he was honest."

Just then, Sam nudged Cordelia in the back, causing her to pull a face. She turned, facing her best friend, and followed his eye line ⸻ the EMF meter buzzed frantically, like the device itself didn't know what to do.

"I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your Mom," Missouri stated, briefly glancing at the Winchesters before her eyes flitted around the room, as though she was taking the energy in ⸻ she inhaled deeply and shut her eyes for a long few seconds.

"Wait, are you sure?" Sam breathed out lowly, earning a confident nod from the woman. "How do you know?"

"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here," Missouri explained carefully, her forehead twitched lightly as her brows scrunched up in concentration. "It's somethin' different."

"What is it?" Dean asked, rubbing a hand against his jaw as he watched the older woman trudge across what was once Sam's room, and headed towards the closet door.

"Not it..." Missouri slowly shook her head. She pulled the door open and made her way into the closet, looking around she clutched the bag that was strewn on her shoulder tighter. "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place."

"What are they doing here?" Dean questioned, shoulders squaring as he tensed. This whole situation made them all uneasy, it was one thing being back in Lawrence, but it was another thing being back in the house.

"They're here because of what happened to your family," Missouri said as she strode out of the closet and made her way over to Dean. "You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds, and sometimes wounds get infected. This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist... a nasty one and it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead."

"You said there was more than one spirit," Cordelia began to say, eyes peering down at the older woman, causing Missouri to look her way. "What is it? What does it want?"

Missouri shook her head lightly and looked back over towards the closet, "I just can't quite make out that one."

"Well, one thing's for damn sure... nobody's dyin' in this house, ever again," Dean stated, tone hard ⸻ a heavyweight sat upon his shoulders. He had gotten used to carrying that burden alone for a long time, after Sam left for Stanford and Dean was left with John, if things went wrong, it was, in John's eyes, Dean's fault. The littlest mistake and everything changed.

"Okay, so, whatever it is, how do we stop it?" Cordelia asked, focusing her attention on Missouri. The woman gave Cordelia a look. "Purifying bags, right?"

Missouri smiled in answer and gestured for them to follow her back downstairs, as they descended the stairs, they made a beeline for the first table in sight.

Missouri carefully emptied her bag and laid out the contents on the table as she set the three to work.

"So, what's all this stuff anyway?" Dean asked as he laid out a thin square of material, reaching back into one of the open pots he picked up some root and sprinkled it down onto the cloth, eyeing it weirdly.

"Angelica root, van van oil, crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends," Missouri listed off, sparing a glance at the eldest Winchester brother.

"Yeah, what are we supposed to do with it?" Dean shrugged in question, dropping a handful of dirt into the makeshift bag.

"We're gonna put them inside the walls, in the North, South, East, West corners on each floor of the house," Missouri answered, taking a seat next to Cordelia by the table.

"Punching holes in the drywall ⸻ Jenny's gonna love that," Dean grumbled dryly under his breath.

"She'll live."

"And this will destroy the spirits?" Sam asked, resting his hands on the back of the free chair by the table.

"It should," Missouri stated simply. "It should purify the house completely. We'll each take a floor, but we work fast..."

As Missouri explained the plan, Cordelia paused her actions and her eyes laid on Dean. She watched him for a moment, not in a creepy way, in a... fascinated way. Cordelia had, honest hand to God, never seen a man quite as pretty as Dean Winchester and his eyes, God, his eyes.

Though her fascination soon dropped as he reached into the glass jar, which was filled with Angelica root. He lifted his hand to his mouth and Cordelia internally sighed.

Really?

Just as Dean was about to lick the root, Cordelia reached across the table and slapped it out of his hand. His head shot up in surprise and he looked sheepish.

"No," she said simply, as though she was talking to a small child.

"I was just curious," Dean said, voice falling to a whisper as he avoided the amused eyes that stared down at him.

"Don't be," Cordelia reached across the table and moved the jar away from him, tilting her head slightly as he gave her a look that said, is that really necessary?

Missouri cleared her throat loudly, drawing their attention back to her. Cordelia and Dean practically shrunk in their seats, it felt like they were being scolded by a parent. "Once the spirits realise what we're up to, things are gonna get bad."

♰

    Cordelia, Sam and Dean stood in the living room, talking things over just as Missouri made her way back into the house, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, Jenny and her kids left. We've got an hour or two to get this done," Missouri told the three hunters, her eyes dragging across the table, where all the purifying bags lay.

"Won't even need it," Dean shrugged and Cordelia's widened eyes moved to look in his direction. "It's an easy job."

The Moore girl slapped him on the arm, Dean let out a yelp and glared over at her, but she paid no mind as she glared back at him in toll. "Don't jinx us!" She snapped. "It's an easy job," she deepened her voice, mocking him. "It's gonna be anything but an easy job now you've said that."

And she was right.

Sam and Cordelia headed upstairs, Dean stayed downstairs and Missouri ventured down to the basement.

Cordelia and Sam went their separate ways, Sam trudged over to the master bedroom with a nod of good luck towards his best friend, whilst Cordelia made her way to Sam's old nursery, Sari's bedroom.

Cordelia pushed the bedroom door open and made her way over to the east side of the room. Without wasting a second, Cordelia lifted the crowbar in hand and went to hit the wall when she felt something.

An eerie chill ran up and down her spine. She glanced around momentarily but when nothing was seen nor heard, she rolled her shoulders in an uncomfortable shudder and forced her attention back to the task at hand.

She swung her arm back and the crowbar collided with the drywall, she bashed the end of it into the wall until it cracked.

Just as she reached for the small bag, the shuffling noise behind her went unheard. Suddenly, the large desk from the other side of the room scraped across the floor at a fast pace and crashed into the back of Cordelia. Splinters of wood cracked away from the desk, hitting the floor with a soft thud at the impact.

A grunt of agony left her mouth as she was painfully and forcefully held against the wall. At the shock of it, she dropped the purifying bag to the ground.

With a pained groan leaving her lips, she tried to reach down for it but came to no avail. Instead, she dropped her crowbar to the ground and flattened her palms against the wall, trying to push against it ⸻ attempting to create some space, but due to the pressure of the force, she was unable to do so.

This is Dean's fault for jinxing it, she thought bitterly to herself as she gritted her teeth. She was sure that her ribs were broken ⸻ or at least heavily bruised.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," she cursed under her breath, stretching out her fingers as she tried to reach for the small bag that lay carelessly out on the ground.

"Okay, okay," she spoke to herself in a whisper before trying to crouch down as far as she could. As she reached out her hands, her fingers brushed against the material of the bag.

With a groan of frustration, her fingers fumbled with the bag and she finally grabbed it. Coming to as much of a stand as she could, she shoved the bag into the hole and sighed, slumping against the wall, forehead resting on the flat surface.

After a few seconds of staying completely still, Cordelia gritted her teeth, and with a clenched jaw she pushed against the wall as something came to mind ⸻ the spirit must be attacking the others, too.

Once she was free, Cordelia held a hand against her ribs and sluggishly ran out of the room, heading to the bedroom where Sam was.

As she approached, she could hear faint grunting. Just when she came a few feet away from the door, a lightbulb above her head popped, she ducked her head, face narrowly avoiding the debris.

As she pushed the bedroom door open, she was welcomed to the sight of Sam laid out on the floor, hopelessly tugging at the cord of a lamp, which had tightly wrapped around his neck, his breathing was rasped.

"Shit, Sam!" She fumbled to get over to him, she scrambled to the floor and tried to tug the cable from around his neck, but like the cabinet that held her down, it was too strong.

Reaching for the bag on the floor, she shuffled against the carpet and just as she was about to shove the bag inside the wall, a glass vase shot her way. She ducked just in time to avoid the impact.

However, she still got drenched with flower water, broken pieces of glass and flowers. She looked like a swamp monster of some kind.

Ignoring the uncomfortable sensation, she shoved the bag into the wall a pulled the cable from around Sam's neck. She sighed beside him and cursed under her breath, listening as he tried to catch his breath.

Just then Dean ran into the room and his eyebrows shot up at the sight of Sam laid out on the floor, gasping for air and Cordelia's wet hair covered in flowers and shards of glass.

He slumped against the wall and a small smirk pulled at his lips, "You two look like you had fun."

"Shut up," Cordelia grumbled with an eye roll, moving to come to a stand.

Dean huffed out air in amusement and neared his brother, offering him a hand up. "You're both okay though, right?" He asked, patting Sam on the back.

"No," the Moore woman grumbled, picking out flowers and pieces of glass from the darkened strands.

Dean rolled his lips into his mouth, suppressing a smile, and moved over to the brunette. He reached out, fingers skimming her skin ever so slightly before he pulled out a small petal from her hair.

Cordelia, besides herself, felt an odd feeling brew in her stomach at the small gesture. He pulled away, a small smirk on his lips like he knew what he was doing.

"We should, uh, check on Missouri," Cordelia voiced, swallowing roughly, fighting off the urge to give into Dean's cheeky smile.

The boys nodded and so the three exited the bedroom, Sam in front. Dean turned back, giving Cordelia one last grin, a cocky look shone in his eyes, and he shook his head momentarily before looking away.

Cordelia inhaled deeply and followed after them. As the trio began to make their way down the stairs, they were welcomed to the sight of Missouri, hands on her hips.

She stared up at them expectantly, a pointed look on her face, silently scolding them.

For what? Cordelia was unsure.

"Have you seen that damn kitchen?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at Dean ⸻ he huffed in answer and followed after her as she trailed in there.

"Nah, too busy trying not to get kebabbed," he pursed his lips and she gave him a stern look in return.

"Oh, wow," Cordelia stopped beside the door, mouth falling open. "Um, yeah, it's.. it's a little messy."

"A little?" Sam scoffed out a laugh, glancing over at her momentarily, an amused smile on his face.

Cordelia pursed her lips and lightly shrugged her shoulders as her eyes skimmed the kitchen. The large wooden table had been flipped on its side with multiple knives sticking out one end of it, glass was scattered all across the floor as well as broken pieces of wood from just about everything ⸻ the cabinets, draws, chairs... shelves were broken, the fridge door was swung open, spilt food and liquids splashed down onto the ground.

In all honesty, it was bad.

"Are you sure this is over?" Sam asked, voice hoarse.

Missouri was silent for a second, she glanced around the kitchen and inhaled deeply before nodding her head. "I'm sure," she stated confidentially before her brows furrowed as she faced the youngest Winchester.  "Why? Why do you ask?"

Sam's face held an unsure look before he softly shook his head. "No, never mind," he sighed. "It's nothin', I guess."

Missouri stared at him for a moment, as though she was waiting to see if he'd say what was on his mind, but when he didn't, she left it. Instead, she turned her attention to Cordelia.

"Okay, honey, why don't you take a seat and I'll get that glass outta' ya hair?" She questioned, though she wasn't expecting any objection as she pulled up one of the tipped-over chairs and sat it upright before patting it.

Cordelia smiled in thanks and moved to take a seat, feeling like a little girl again being sat down so that her Mom could do her hair.

"Dean, why don't you go see if you can find me something to get the glass out?" Missouri asked, yet again, leaving no room for argument.

The Winchester pursed his lips and met Cordelia's eye for a moment, he pulled a face and she chuckled under her breath lightly. As he made his way out of the kitchen, he grumbled under his breath, which did not go unnoticed by Missouri.

She gave his retreating figure a hard stare before she scoffed, she lent down beside Cordelia's ear. "I don't understand why you like that damn boy," she murmured, voice low enough so that Sam was unable to hear.

At that, Cordelia's head snapped around at a wildly unnatural pace. "What- no, I... It's not like that, we're just friends," she argued, voice low, eyes flitting to Sam briefly ⸻ luckily, he was at the other side of the room, putting away the few utensils that were strewn across the floor.

"Sure it ain't," Missouri scoffed under her breath and gave Cordelia yet another look. When the Moore girl opened her mouth to argue, the older woman spoke up once again, "I don't look at my friends like that."

"I don't look at him any type of way," Cordelia tried to defend, moving to run her fingers through her hair ⸻ a nervous habit she had picked up over the years, but as she lifted her arm, she grimaced and stopped herself, feeling the achy pull of the muscles in her back.

"Right," Missouri could've laughed in her face. "Cordelia, you look at him like I looked at my husband."

"No," Cordelia simply said and shook her head before she pulled her gaze away from the woman, Missouri stared at the back of Cordelia's head with a smile playing on her lips.

Just then, Dean waltzed back into the kitchen, the front door slamming behind him. At the loud noise, the three turned their heads towards the doorway. He made his way over to the brunette, her duffle in hand.

"You have, uh, tweezers in your makeup thing, right?" He asked, handing her the duffle. He knew she had tweezers in her makeup bag, but he didn't want to go through her duffle, plus, it was Cordelia, he didn't want to know what freaky things she had hidden away in there.

"Yeah," she answered, voice soft as a small smile pulled at her lips. "Thanks," she said, ruffling around in her bag before she pulled out a pair of tweezers and handed them over to Missouri.

A light in the hall suddenly flickered on and Jenny's voice carried throughout the house. "Hello? We're home," She called out, nearing the kitchen. The blonde's face dropped as she glanced around, eyes flickering from Cordelia's drenched figure to the mess on the floor. "What- What happened?"

"Hi, sorry," Sam smiled sheepishly, an anxious look held on his face. "Um, we'll pay ⸻ we'll pay for all of this."

Dean and Cordelia's heads snapped to him in immediate question. Not with my three hundred bucks, we ain't, Cordelia thought to herself, eyes trained on Sam.

As if feeling the glares coming from his brother and best friend, Sam angled his head towards them and gave them a sheepish smile.

"Don't you worry, Dean's gonna clean up this mess," Missouri said smoothly, smiling towards Jenny. Dean stood in bewilderment, eyebrows furrowing deeply. He stood in place and stared at the older woman. "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop."

Dean's face fell flat as he attempted to hide his irritation, but he obliged, as he turned to walk off, Missouri's voice stopped him.

"And don't cuss at me!"

Laughter slipped past Cordelia and Sam's lips at Missouri's words and the expression on Dean's face. He grumbled under his breath, no doubt cussing her out again as he wandered off to go just that.

"I don't know why you two are laughin', after I get this glass outta ya hair you're helping. You too, Sam."

♰

    A few hours later, Cordelia stared up at the roof of the Impala, she laid out in the back, fighting off sleep. They had dropped Missouri back at her house and soon returned to Jenny's for a stakeout ⸻ it was all too Miami Vice for Cordelia.

Though her mind was occupied with thoughts of what Missouri had said. How she liked Dean. Missouri might've been able to read her thoughts, but she saw it on her face, too. If she saw it, God knows who else did.

It was a mere crush, Cordelia tried to convince herself yet again. It was an attraction. But for some reason, that didn't stick.

She needed someone to talk to and it certainly wasn't going to be Sam.

Suddenly, Cordelia sat up and pulled her jacket off of her body that she was using as a blanket. She shrugged it back on her arms and lent forward, head between the two boys.

"I'll be back in a sec," she said simply, leaving no room for either Winchester to comment before she clambered out of the car.

The two Winchesters shared a look and turned their heads, watching as she wandered a little further down the street before sitting down on the curb. It was dark out, but the streetlights strewn down the road worked well enough for them to keep an eye on her.

The Moore girl held her phone in hand and fiddled with it for a moment before she dialled a number. Holding the phone up to her ear, it wasn't long before a voicemail recording hit her ears.

Jess.

Cordelia was silent for a moment, like she didn't know what to say or where to start, but the truth is, she had rang her cousin at least once a day, just to hear her voice. But it had been around a week since she had last called.

She didn't want to forget it, forget her.

Cordelia's fingers slid up her neck, fiddling with the delicate necklace that sat on her skin. "Hey, Jess," she sighed, feeling ridiculous. "I guess, um, Lee is still paying for your phone bill. I wasn't sure, 'cause, it's been a while since I last called you..."

She exhaled deeply, running a hand through her hair, "I miss you and I, uh, I needed someone to rant to and you always listened to me before, even the stupid shit and this is, well, stupid shit so... you were right, of course, when you said Sam's brother was my type. Well, I've kinda screwed myself over, I think I... I think I like him, wow, that sounds even more gross than it did in my head. I feel like I'm in high school again, Jesus.

"But, this psychic-lady-chick knew because of how I looked... at him? I don't know. He's um, he's a whore so... there's that. He doesn't do relationships, and you know I don't do hunters, anymore... so there's also that. Basically, I'm doomed.

"And I know what you'd say, you'd tell me to go for it, then I'd tell you I'd rather jump into a wood chipper. So, I think I've come to a conclusion. I need to sleep around. I'm talking, have so much sex that I forget he even exists. I need to find a guy, like ten times hotter, so hot that I forget how hot he is," Cordelia rambled, eyes falling onto the Impala, finding Dean staring over at her, a curious look on his face before his gaze flitted back over to the house.

"If he can read lips, I'm so screwed. But no, you know what? Sex. I'll sex him out of my head. Plus, it's a little weird ⸻ him being Sam's brother and all, no, you know what's weird? Me talking to myself. I'm gonna go 'cause I'm starting to go crazy, I think the tiredness is catching up to me. Bye, I love you."

She held the phone up to her ear for a second longer, processing what she had just said. She barely understood what came out of her mouth, but what she did understand was she needed to get him out of her head.

So, as she walked back to the car. She had an internal pep talk with herself.

He's your friend, treat him like a friend.

She pulled the car door open and sighed as she sat down. "Anything?" She asked, glancing between either boy ⸻ trying to stop herself from allowing her gaze to stick on Dean for a second too long.

"No," Dean sighed in answer, pulling his eyes away from the house and over to his brother. "Alright. So, tell me again, what are we still doin' here?"

"Sam has a feeling, remember?" Cordelia voiced from the backseat, head resting against the window. "He's like a girl. He's got a woman's gut feeling. A woman's gut feeling is always right."

"Or, it's just hunter's instinct," Sam butted in with an eye roll as he met her eye in the rear-view mirror.

"It's a woman's gut feeling, trust me," Cordelia continued her argument. "I even have a bad feeling about this place, you know what that is, Sam?"

"Cordy, it's not a-"

"A girl's gut feeling," she continued with a sharp nod of her head. "It's never wrong. I had that same feeling the night Carter left, I had it on the day Jess died, only, I figured it was because of the hunt. Plus I had it in Oklahoma."

"Yeah, I think that was because of the bugs," Dean butted in. "You nearly threw up on me."

"There were just so many of them, I..." she paused, wincing as she thought back to them. "It was gross. Stop talking about it."

"You're the one who brought it up."

"Yeah, but you-"

"Shut up," Sam grumbled from the front seat, him, too, resting his head against the window, only he did it in dismay.

It was silent for a moment before Dean sighed. "Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean. This should be over," he voiced, pulling his gaze away from the house ⸻ he was itching to get out of this town, out of Kansas. He felt fidgety here, like he didn't know what to do with himself or how to act. All the emotions from back then and over the years snuck up on him.

"Yeah, well, probably, but I just wanna make sure, that's all," Sam answered.

"Yeah, well, problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now," Dean retorted, sliding down his seat so that he could rest his head back, his eyes fluttering shut in the process.

"Mhm," Cordelia agreed, pulling her jacket tighter around her body as she huddled up in the corner, trying to get comfortable.

The serene silence in the car, however, lasted all of thirty seconds, when suddenly, Sam called out to the pair in panic. "Guys," he shoved Dean's shoulder and pointed over to the house.

Their eyes found Jenny's, she was stood by her window, banging against the glass and screaming. They jumped out of the car almost immediately and ran over to the house.

"You two grab the kids, I'll get Jenny!" Dean commanded.

No one said anything, but they knew what to do. As Cordelia reached the door, she shuffled with the handle before pushing the door open ⸻  Jenny needed to lock her damn doors, though, right now, that was the least of her worries.

The three ran up the stairs and immediately split up. Dean headed for Jenny's door, Sam headed for Richie's and Cordelia made a beeline for Sari's bedroom.

As the Moore ran down the hall, she heard Sari's cries for help and as she reached the door. Though, at the sight in front of her, she paused. The 'thing' Sari was having nightmares about, stood tall in her room, flames bursting from it.

"Fuck, fuck," Cordelia cursed to herself and ignored the heat radiating off of the invisible force as she made her way into the room, pressing herself up against the wall as she did so.

"Come on," Cordelia said, voice rushed, but still soft as she held her arms out to the girl. Once she had her in her hold, Sari nestled her face into Cordelia's neck. "Good. Don't look, don't look."

Cordelia ran down the stairs, Sari in her arms. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her head swivelled at the sound of her name being called out.

She came to face with Sam, and without a word, he handed Richie over to her, she shuffled them in her arms, trying to balance the two kids in her hold.

"Sam- what?"

"Take the kids and go-" Sam began to say, a flash of panic painted on his features, but before he could continue, an invisible force threw Sam onto the ground, Cordelia's eyes went wide as his body slid across the floor, crashing into the kitchen table they had put back only a few hours ago.

Without another word, or objection, the Moore girl did just what he asked. She needed to get the kids safe, then she could get Sam out. She ran outside, and Jenny and Dean immediately made their way over to them.

Cordelia handed Richie off to Jenny and turned her attention to Dean. "We need to get back in there, something's got Sam." Her words were rushed as she placed Sari on the ground.

Dean's eyes widened at her words and his eyes filled with fear. Just as he moved to run to the front door, it slammed shut loudly. Without another second to waste, Dean ran over to the Impala, pulling out a shotgun and an axe.

"Stay here!" He yelled out at Cordelia in passing, not caring for the crowd of people that had begun to grow outside.

As Dean hacked away at the door with the axe, Cordelia stood, unmoving. Just seeing the fire brought back memories for Cordelia ⸻ memories of Jess being held up against the ceiling.

It was like something had overtaken her, fear. She couldn't budge, her mind was screaming at her to move, to help Dean, but her body wasn't responding.

Sari's cries brought Cordelia back to reality, the young girl gripped her mother's hand tightly, but she was still shaking, and tears ran down her face.

Cordelia came to a crouch and held her other hand tightly in her own. "It'll be okay," Cordelia spoke, her voice coming out as a whisper, her eyes flickered over to the front door and finally, Dean had broken enough of the door to make room for himself to slip in. "It's fine. See, Sam and Dean are, strong, like um, superheroes. You like superheroes?" 

It took Sari a minute, but she finally nodded, a small, "Yeah," slipping past her lips.

"Yeah, me too, and, um, superheroes are always okay, so, they'll be okay, too," Cordelia spoke, though she wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort Sari or herself anymore.

It must've been a long, excruciating two minutes later, but they finally made it out. Cordelia let out a breath of relief and ran over towards the two, her arms flung around either side of their necks.

"Assholes, fucking assholes," she murmured, holding them tight.

They were unsure of why they were assholes, but nonetheless, they ignored it and just let her hug them.

♰

    After last night's events, the three secured the house one last time and allowed Jenny and her kids back into their residence. Sari asked that Cordelia stay with her until she fell asleep, so she did as asked.

Soon after that, they left and checked in at a motel ⸻ using Cordelia's hard-earned money to do so, she wasn't happy about it, but since Sam offered for them to pay for the damages in Jenny's home, they had no choice.

The next morning, they returned to the house, bringing Missouri with them. She was there to ensure that the house was one hundred per cent safe. Turns out, the other spirit that Missouri couldn't work out was Mary, the boys' Mom.

Cordelia dragged her eyes away from the house and focused her attention on the pictures that Dean was shuffling through ⸻ old pictures from his childhood.

"I don't know what Missouri was talking about, you were a cute kid," Cordelia gushed, staring down at a picture of Sam and Dean.

Dean rolled his eyes at her words and turned his attention to Jenny, "Thanks for these."

"Don't thank me, they're yours," Jenny smiled lightly, watching as Dean threw the pictures into an old-looking box before he slammed the lid shut. "Thank you, for... everything."

"No problem," Cordelia smiled, watching as Jenny walked off, heading over towards Sam and Missouri who sat on the porch.

Cordelia took this opportunity to turn around and face Dean, she lent against the trunk and gave him a pointed look.

Dean's eyes flickered up briefly to meet hers before he looked away, only to gouge the look on her face, and he met her eyes again ⸻ an irritated groan left his lips, "What?"

Cordelia drummed her chipped nails against the car and pursed her lips, thinking carefully before she spoke, "I know you don't do-"

"No chick-flick moments, please," he griped, pinching the bridge of his nose in dismay.

Cordelia's foot shot out and kicked him in the shin, he yelped lightly but she glowered over at him. "Don't interrupt me," she scolded and Dean pulled a face, but remained silent, allowing her to continue. "I know you don't do chick-flick moments," she deepened her voice, seemingly mocking him and he had to fight an internal battle not to retort some petty comment. "But when you do need to talk, I'm here for you, you know that, right? I mean, you sit and listen to me talk about Jess, so I'll sit and listen to you talk about whatever you need to-"

"I'm not gonna talk about anything," he shrugged, dragging his eyes away from her. Not used to this conversation, sure, Sam had told him he could talk to him whenever, but Sam was his brother, it was different.

"You don't have to, we could just sit and have a beer. Don't need to talk, but I'll be there if you change your mind."

So that night, once they got back to the motel room and Sam had dropped dead asleep, Cordelia and Dean sat outside in silence, having that beer.

They must've been sat out there for twenty minutes in complete silence, just sipping their beers and listening to the world around them. The sound of the wind hitting the trees, the drag of the leaves as they slid across the concrete, the splash of the rain hitting the ground. It was nice, serene.

Though Dean spoke up, breaking that silence. "I don't think I've ever had a night like this with a girl before," he admitted, Cordelia gave him an eccentric look of disbelief.

"What? You've never sat outside a creepy motel in the rain with a girl before?"

"Never," he answered her sarcastic words honestly, sparing her a quick glance before adding, more quietly, "It's nice."

"Nice, huh?" Cordelia's smile was wide, teasing.

"Shuddup," he grumbled, lifting the bottle of beer to his lips with a small shake of his head. "You know, I'm usually good at reading people... but you," he pointed at her with the empty bottle. "You I can't work out."

A small, mischievous smile pulled at Cordelia's lips, "Good, can't have you figuring me out just yet."

"Oh, I'll work you out," Dean said, sure of himself, a cocky look on his face.

"Looking forward to it," Cordelia said simply, taking a small sip from her beer before placing it down on the concrete beside her.

"C'mon," his hand patted her knee, touch lingering for just a second. Her eyes flickered over to his hand before it moved away, a weird feeling arose in her stomach and her face flushed ⸻ thank God for the lack of street lights, 'cause that would've been embarrassing. "Give me somethin'."

"I thought you said you'd work me out?" She asked, a teasing glint in her eye.

"What? I can't have a hint?" He laughed, a wide smile on his face and honestly, it was refreshing to see.

"Nope. You, Dean Winchester, will have to work me out on your own."

She stared into his eyes, and even in the dark, she could still see the green twinging in the moonlight. They stayed like that, staring into one another's eyes.

Cordelia took one glance at his lips and watched as his tongue swiped over the bottom one, but before anything happened, the slurred drunken shouts of the man who clambered out of his room, snapped them back into reality.

Fuck, Cordelia cursed internally, so much for getting him out of her head.

Author's Note!
ive decided, idk when, but im gonna do a vegas chapter okay, like hangover bc idk it feels like it fits into spn so bad but im gonna do it after john is dead i think but idk where abouts to kind of do it but im excited for it

ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE GUYS what's ur fave rom-com i cant decide between the ugly truth, 27 dresses or how to lose a guy in 10 days.