chapter fifteen

walking-talking kebab

♰

THE NEW CASE had taken them to Chicago, Illinois and Cordelia was already over it. She had barely slept last night and didn't know how to function on four hours of sleep, but that was the life of a hunter ⸻ you lived on crappy coffee, greasy diner food and no sleep.

Carter stopped his truck behind the Impala. Yes, Carter was still with them. After the last case, he had decided to stick around for a little while because he wanted to help find Jess' killer, his words were, "Jess was my friend, too," and while Cordelia appreciated the sentiment, she couldn't help but tell him, "Jess hated you, by the way."

While it was fun having him around, she could tell that his main priority was fixing his friendship with Sam. Sam and Carter were good friends when he was with Cordelia; and after they broke up, like any best friend, Sam immediately had it out for him.

Like Cordelia did right now, as she got out of his truck. She scowled at him from beneath the sunglasses that were perched on her nose. Too hungover to even make a quip about the costumes Sam, Dean and Carter were wearing.

As Sam climbed out of the Impala, his eyes immediately fell onto her and a chuckle left his lips. "What's up with you?" He asked her, watching as she lifted a hand and rubbed the side of her head.

"Oh, she had a late night, last night. A reaaal late night," Carter answered before she got a chance to, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Had to go pick her up from some random apartment complex at the crack of Satan's ass."

"Yeah, okay, thank you, Carter," she grumbled, pushing her sunglasses further up her nose to protect her eyes against the blaring sun, and Dean's eyes, which seemed to be glued on her. "Thank you for that... because everyone needs to know about my sex life."

"I'm just saying," he shrugged, voice holding amusement as he tried to defend himself.

"Well, don't. Do me a favour and shut the fuck up," Cordelia grumbled. She had spent the night with the bartender she had met a couple of months ago ⸻ on the Roosevelt Asylum case; it was safe to say it was a disappointing night.

As if she had only just taken note of what the three were wearing, she pushed her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and glanced over at them, "The hell are you wearing?"

"Don't," Dean held a hand up in dismay as he reached for the toolbox in the trunk. As he rounded the car, he glared over at Sam, "You know, I've gotta say dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes. I feel like a... high-school-drama dork," he mumbled before a smile pulled at his lips and a laugh left his mouth. "What- what was that play that you did?"

"You did a play?!" Cordelia asked excitedly as they headed towards the victim's apartment complex, an amused smile pulled at her lips as she looked over at the brunet.

"What was it-? Our Town!" Dean grinned widely at the reminder. "Yeah, you were good, it was cute."

"Aw, Sam!" Cordelia crooned, earning a dry, bored look from the brunet in response.

"Look, you wanna pull this off or not?" Sam retorted, attitude lacing his tone, he was tired of the endless teasing. Dealing with Dean teasing him was one thing, but Cordelia too? the worst.

"I'm just sayin' these outfits cost hard-earned money, 'kay?" Dean grumbled as he uncomfortably pulled at the material of the costume.

"Whose?" Sam shot back, raising an eyebrow at his brother.

"Ours. You think credit card fraud is easy?" Dean retorted, giving his brother a look before his brows furrowed and he grimaced as he pulled at his outfit once again.

"Stop messing with your... jumpsuit," Cordelia chirped, earning a glower from the man at the amusement in her voice.

"Don't you start with me, Cordelia," Dean warned, giving her a playful shove.

"Not starting anything," she held her hands up in defence, eyes flitting between the three, "You guys look cute."

"Oh, bite me."

♰

Once inside, they were led up to Meredith's apartment by the landlady ⸻ who oddly eyed an out-of-uniform Cordelia. Dean glanced back, watching the older woman stare at the hungover brunette.

"Intern," he told the landlady with a tight smile on his lips, she merely nodded at his words.

"Thanks for lettin' us look around," Sam thanked her with his signature sweet smile as she unlocked the door.

"Well, the police said they were done with the place, so..." she trailed off as she led them into the living room; it was a surprisingly neat, aside from the blood that was splattered along the walls and all over the floor, everything else was in place. "You guys said you were with the alarm company?"

"Yes ma'am," Carter nodded over at her with a smile but she just rose a judgemental eyebrow.

"Well no offence, but your alarm is about as useful as boobs on a man."

Carter rolled his lips into his mouth to suppress a smile whilst the other three hunters shared a look ⸻ failing to hide their amusement.

"Well, that's why we're here, to see what went wrong, to stop it from happening again," Dean told the landlady who nodded at his words. The Winchester then averted his gaze to Cordelia, who seemed to be in her own world.

He slapped his hands down on her shoulders, causing her to jump at the action, he smiled widely down at her, eyes flitting between the Moore girl and the landlady. "Thought it'd be a good opportunity to show this one the ropes," he told the woman with a sarcastic smile on his face before turning to Cordelia, a fake enthusiastic look painted across his features. "C'mon, Newbie!"

As the words left Dean's lips, he shoved the toolbox into Cordelia's arms and placed his hands on the back of her shoulders, pushing her further into the room.

"Newbie?" Cordelia scoffed, giving him a shove once they were out of sight. She carelessly dropped the toolbox onto the couch with a scowl.

"Just because you're hungover doesn't mean you get out of the leg work," he told her pointedly as he glanced around the room, eyes flitting from the blood on the carpet to the crimson on the wall.

"No, I think I do," she pondered sarcastically, finger under her chin in fake thought ⸻ earning a dry look from the dirty blond.

"Now, ma'am, you found the body?" Sam's voice got louder as he and the landlady slowly trailed over to the others, stopping Dean before he could comment.

"Yeah."

"Right after it happened?" Sam asked as he walked over to the window, pulling the curtains back he glanced outside.

"No, a few days later," the woman shook her head softly. "Meredith's work called. She hadn't shown up. I knocked on her door, that's when I noticed... the smell."

"Any windows open? Signs of a break-in?" Cordelia asked as her eyes carefully flitted across the room in an attempt to spot something; something to shed light on what had killed Meredith.

"No. Windows were locked, front door was bolted. The chain was on the door, we had to cut it just to get in."

"And the alarm was still on?" Dean gestured around the room as he took a step away from the window and averted his attention over to the woman.

"Like I said, bang-up job your company is doing," she scoffed, a sarcastic tone to her voice.

"Mhm," Dean responded, with a light jerk of his head as he crouched down to take a closer look at the crimson. "You see any overturned furniture, broken glass, signs of a struggle?"

"Everything was in perfect condition," she insisted before her face fell into a saddened frown, "Except Meredith."

That caught their attention.

"What kind of condition was Meredith in?" Carter asked.

"Meredith was all over, in pieces," the landlady grimaced as she pointed to the splotches of blood that tainted the carpet. "The guy who killed her must've been some kind of whack job. But I tell you, if I didn't know any better, I'd have said a wild animal did it."

Dean looked over at the other three at her words, they shared a look ⸻ a silent conversation being held.

"Would you mind if we took some time? Give this place a good look?" Cordelia asked sweetly, a kind smile on her face.

"Go right ahead, knock yourself out," the landlady shrugged before turning to leave, but before exiting, she stopped by the front door, "If y'all need anything, I'll be downstairs."

"Thank you," Cordelia gave her that same sickly sweet smile as she watched her close the door behind her, once the landlady left, her smile dropped and she turned to the others. "Got your cute EMF thing?" She asked Dean.

Dean's face fell flat at her words and he narrowed his eyes at her. "It's not cute, it's homemade" he corrected her with a huff. He then grabbed the toolbox and pulled out an orange cloth, unwrapping it, he carefully held the EMF. "So, killer walks in and out of the apartment, no weapons, no prints, nothing."

"I'm tellin' you, the minute I found that article I knew this was our kind of gig," Sam said, crouching down beside his brother.

"Yeah, I think I agree with you," Dean voiced as he and Cordelia stared down at the EMF meter which began beeping frantically.

"Did you talk to the cops?" Cordelia asked Dean as she began to wander around the apartment, eyes settling on paper scattered along the coffee table.

"Uh, yeah, I spoke to Amy, a, uh, charming, perky officer of the law," Dean announced, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he began wandering the room with his EMF meter in hand.

"What'd you find out?" Sam asked his brother with an eye roll as he, too, moved across the room with his own EMF. Upon passing, the youngest Winchester and Cordelia shared a look at Dean's tone ⸻ Sam's look read seriously? whilst Cordelia's said I know, right?

"Well, she's a Sagittarius, she loves tequila... I mean," he blew out an exaggerated breath, giving the three a smirk as he faced them. "Oh, and she's got this little tattoo-"

"About the case, Dean," Cordelia muttered with an eye roll, successfully cutting him off. Jealously bubbled within her body, but she pushed it down ⸻ they were friends, nothing more, she reminded herself internally, she had no right, nor reason, to be jealous.

Carter's eyes narrowed and they flickered between Cordelia and Dean. No matter how much Cordelia denied it, Carter knew she felt something. He recognised the look in her eye, he knew her tells, ( Dean, on the other hand, was clearly blinder than Carter ).

Carter could also see it in Dean. That look he was giving Cordelia. He looked at her with a glint of vulnerability ⸻ and in the past few weeks, Carter had learnt that Dean wasn't one for vulnerability.

"Yeah, uh, nothing we don't already know," he sheepishly glanced between the three, though when his eyes flitted over to Cordelia; a longing look crossed his features. He quickly cleared his throat and averted his gaze. "Except for the one thing they're keeping out of the papers... Meredith's heart was missing."

"Her heart?" Sam asked, stunned at his brother's words; a frown of confusion was evident on his face.

"Yeah, her heart."

"So, what did you think did it to her?"

"Could be a werewolf?" Cordelia shrugged in answer to Sam's question, but the boy merely shook his head. She sighed and took a seat on the armrest of Meredith's sofa, next to the toolbox.

"No, not a werewolf, the lunar cycle's not right," the youngest Winchester mused. "If it was a creature, it would've left some kinda trace. It's probably a spirit."

Sam looked over at his brother, but Dean didn't pay him any attention ⸻ instead, his eyes were settled on the ground, gaze narrowing in on the splotches of crimson soaked into the rug.

"See if you can find any masking tape around," Dean told them as he continued to stare down at the floor, Cordelia's brows twitched as she tilted her head, settling her eyes on the same thing, though she didn't see anything.

"Cor," Carter called out softly from the kitchen, she turned to him at the sound of her name and he nodded over at her before carefully throwing over some masking tape.

She caught it in her hands and moved over to Dean, handing him the tape. His touch lingered as he reached out to grab it, the pads of his fingers gently grazed her skin.

"Thanks," he breathed out in appreciation, voice lower than intended; his eyes flickered down to meet hers, he held her stare for a moment before his lips pulled into a small smirk as he noticed the fast rise and fall of her chest; how she swallowed roughly.

God, she was killing him, he thought to himself.

He pulled away with a cocky glint in his eyes, but nonetheless, went back to work. He took the tape and crouched down, using it to connect the splotches of blood.

Once he was done, the four stared at the masking tape that formed into a symbol. "Ever see that symbol before?" Carter asked, glancing over at the three.

"Never."

"Nope."

"Me neither."

♰

Cordelia sat with a scowl on her face as she watched Dean flirt with the bartender.

She was sat with Carter and Sam; who had, slowly began to fix their friendship ⸻ if you asked Sam; he'd tell you it certainly wasn't the same, but it was better, he could tolerate Carter more, but they weren't what they used to be.

The only thing that remained the same; they liked to stick their noses into Cordelia's business. Sam's brows furrowed at the weird look in Cordelia's eye, he angled his head behind him, finding what, or rather, who, her eyes were trained on.

He shrugged at the sight of his brother and allowed his gaze to fall back onto the pile of research in front of him, but suddenly, it dawned on him and his eyes widened and fell onto the Moore.

"You like Dean!" He whisper-shouted the accusation over at her so that only she and Carter could hear.

"What? No, I don't," she denied with a shake of her head, taking a sip of her drink in hopes of hiding the flush that spread her cheeks.

"You do, Jesus Christ, Cordelia," Sam almost groaned, grimacing at the thought of his best friend and his brother.

"No, I don't, Sam," she mocked, tone matching the Winchester's.

"You do," he argued back, raising his eyebrows expectantly as if to say, liar.

"She does," Carter agreed as he crossed his arms over his chest, an amused smile sat on his lips as his eyes met his ex-girlfriend's. "She keeps making googly eyes at him, I know that look, she used to look at me like that," he said, rolling his lips into his mouth as she glared over at him, "Now she looks at me like she wants to kill me. You're not very discreet, you know?"

"Shut up, Carter," she grumbled.

"Oh, she's blushing," he teased, a wide smile slipping back on his lips.

"Die."

"What makes you... I mean, how do you, uh... why?" Sam stumbled on his words, a deep frown on his face.

She sighed and thought to herself for a moment. Sam was her best friend, and he could keep his mouth shut, but he was also Dean's brother, so she was hesitant and Carter, Carter knew that if he said anything she'd kick him so hard in the dick that he wouldn't be able to use it anymore.

"Okay, so, at first, I thought it was a small crush, like, nothing, you know?" She leaned in, hands waving about as she spoke, completely flipped. Her words came out in a rush ⸻ she was ranting. "But then, a few months back he saved my ass, like some... badly dressed superhero. I mean, he always did save my ass, but I don't know, it was different. He was badly beat up, but you know the first thing he asked? Are you okay? I mean, he gets beat to a pulp and he asks me if I'm okay, that's, like, substance, right?"

Sam smiled as he listened to her, he smiled when a small smile pulled at her lips, and weirdly enough, he wasn't so grossed out by the idea anymore. Cordelia was a good person, she'd be good for Dean, he thought.

Carter, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and mumbled, "eugh," under his breath, but the Moore girl didn't seem to hear him ⸻ Sam did, however, and kicked the tip of his boot into Carter's shin, causing the Branston boy to grimace.

"Anyway, I've got to kill myself now," she sighed dramatically, placing her chin in her palm, a small pout on her lips as she huffed out a breath. "I swore when I went down this road with Carter, I'd rather be dead than date another hunter. Dean said so himself that he doesn't do... attachments. That he doesn't feel that way about me."

"What? When did he say that?" Sam asked incredulously, eyes squinting as he lifted his beer to his lips.

"When we kissed ⸻ before I left," she shrugged casually, lifting a shot of tequila to her lips.

"Wait, wait, wait. You kissed him?" Sam asked, eyes wide and mouth dropping open in shock.

"Hm?" She furrowed her brows as she placed the glass down. "Yeah. Good kisser."

"I didn't need to know that," Sam grimaced at the thought of his brother.

Carter pursed his lips and looked over at Cordelia. "Better than me?" Carter asked with genuine thought.

Cordelia cringed at the question, "Kissing a frog would be better than you, so yeah."

"Ouch."

"You never said anything," Sam slumped his shoulders defectively.

"Why would I? I mean, what would I've said, I kissed your brother and he rejected me?"

"Yeah," Carter nodded and Sam shot him a disapproving glare.

"Not in those exact words," Sam interjected.

Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, but her attention fell behind Sam. She noticed Dean slowly making his way through the crowd, coming towards them. "He's coming so shut your mouths. Either of you say anything, and so help me God, I will gouge out your eyes with my nails."

Sam eyed her painted nails that drummed against the table before sheepishly nodding, "Yeah, okay."

"My lips are sealed," Carter said before a teasing smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, "Unlike yours, apparently."

Cordelia sent a harsh kick to his shin causing the brunet to grimace and a pained look painted his features as she hit the same area the Winchester did. Sam's lips curled into a smile at the action before he looked back down at the sheets of paper in front of him.

They were like the three naughty children at the back of the school bus.

"I talked to the bartender," Dean announced as he took a seat next to his brother.

"Did you get anything... besides her number?" Sam asked, eyes briefly flickering up to Dean's, sending him a pointed stare as he examined the newspaper clippings.

Dean's face scrunched up in offence. "Dude, I'm a professional. I'm offended that you would think that," Dean scoffed, looking between the three, who all gave him knowing looks. He sighed after a moment and a large, smug grin curled on his lips as he lifted a napkin ⸻ the bartender's name and phone number neatly scribbled down on the tissue, "Alright, yeah."

"You mind doin' a little thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?" Sam said, raising his eyebrows condescendingly.

Dean's face fell flat at the tone in Sam's voice, he was the embodiment of a scolding mother. "There's nothin' to find out," he shrugged. "Meredith worked here. She waited tables. Everyone here is her friend, everyone said she was normal. She didn't do or say anythin' weird before she died, so⸻ what about that symbol, you find anything?"

"It wasn't in your dad's journal or in any of the fifty-million books Sam brought," Cordelia sighed in frustration, lifting her hand to rest her chin in her palm.

"We'll have to dig a little deeper, I guess," Sam added.

"There was a victim before Meredith, wasn't there?" Carter asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leant back in his chair.

"Right, yeah," Sam nodded, fingers skilfully flickering through the articles until they stopped on one, eyes shifting back and forth as he read the information aloud, "His name was, uh ⸻ his name was Ben Swardstorm. Last month he was found mutilated in his townhouse. Same deal. The door was locked. Alarm was on."

"Any connection between him and Meredith?" Cordelia questioned incredulously as she took the clipping from Sam.

"Not that I can tell, I mean, not yet, at least. Ben was a banker, Meredith was a waitress. They never met, never knew anyone in common ⸻ they were practically from different worlds," Sam huffed in his seat.

"So, to recap, the only successful intel we've scored so far is the bartender's phone number," Dean smirked in victory.

Carter wiggled his eyebrows at Cordelia teasingly, sensing her obvious jealousy, but she was not the only one who caught sight of the action.

"What?" Dean asked, brows furrowed.

"Nothing, he's, uh, having... spasms," Cordelia told him, unconvincingly.

Dean's face fell further into confusion as he turned to face Carter; narrowing his eyes at the younger boy who merely shrugged.

Before anyone could question what the hell was going on, Sam suddenly rose from his seat and crossed the bar without another word.

The three all turned around to follow him with their eyes, Cordelia's brows scrunched together, "Uh, rude."

"Oh, he's hugging a chick," Carter announced to the pair, eyebrows shooting up to his forehead in surprise, "She's hot."

"Atta boy," Dean grinned over in the direction of his brother before a sly smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth. "C'mon."

Cordelia and Carter shared a look of amusement as they followed after Dean, heading towards the youngest Winchester and his new blonde friend.

By the time they reached them, they were mid-conversation.

"-I came. I saw, I conquered," the unknown blonde girl said, a wide smile on her face. "Oh, and I met what's his name... something Michael Murray at a bar."

"You met Chad Michael Murray? Oh my god," Cordelia ever-so-rudely interrupted with a wide, elated grin pulling at her lips.

"That's it," the blonde pointed in Cordelia's direction, nodding with a smile on her face.

"Who?" Sam asked in confusion, looking between the girls.

"The other man in my relationship," Carter muttered under his breath. He probably knew more about Chad Michael Murray than he knew about Cordelia ⸻ he was her celebrity crush, and when they were together, she never let him forget it.

"Anyway, the whole scene got old, so I'm living here for a while," the blonde said, focusing her sights on Sam once again.

Dean looked between his brother and the mystery girl and cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to get their attention, but the pair paid no mind to him. Cordelia pursed her lips to hide a smile as Dean pulled a face at being ignored, he shot her a glare once spotting her face in the corner of his eye.

"You're from Chicago?" Sam asked, a furrow in his brow.

"No, Massachusetts ⸻ Andover. Gosh, Sam, what are the odds we'd run into each other?" She smiled sweetly up at him, but something mischievous flitted in her eyes.

To be honest, Cordelia just assumed she was thinking kinky, kinky thoughts.

"Yeah, I know. I thought I'd never see you again," the Winchester replied, a grin settling on his lips.

"Well, I'm glad you were wrong," she replied, holding his stare.

Cordelia and Carter shared a look at the interaction, eyebrows raised impressively.

Dean, however, did not like being ignored, so, once again, he cleared his throat, much louder than before.

"Dude, cover your mouth," the blonde snapped at him, shooting the older Winchester a brief glare.

Cordelia couldn't help herself this time, she laughed loudly and lifted a hand to hide it, disguising it as a cough when Dean nudged her harshly in the ribs.

Sam looked between the pair and rolled his lips into his mouth. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Meg, this is, um ⸻ this is my brother, Dean. That's Carter, and Cordelia," Sam placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder, who waved over at Meg as her eyes fell on the Moore.

"He talked about you a lot," Meg said with a soft smile, eyes on Cordelia before she looked over at Carter, smile faltering. "You, not so much," and finally, her gaze shifted to Dean, her eyes narrowed on the dirty blond. "So you're Dean, huh?"

"So, you've heard of me?" The Winchester asked, a cocky smirk on his lips and a flirtatious tone to his voice.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of you," Meg nodded. "Nice ⸻ the way you treat your brother like luggage."

Cordelia's cheeks puffed out in surprise at the blonde's words. Shit, she thought to herself, eyes flickering between Dean and Meg.

"Sorry?" Dean questioned in confusion, gaze flitting from Sam and back over to Meg, who was practically shooting daggers at Dean.

"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do? Stop dragging him over God's green earth," she snapped, looking him up and down in distaste.

Cordelia's eyes widened at her words, she looked down at the ground ⸻ trying to hide her amusement, as well as shock, but she couldn't help but turn to Dean, trying to gauge his reaction.

The Winchester stood frozen in shock, a puzzled look crossed his features. His gaze was solely on Sam, as though he was looking for some kind of answer to whatever the hell just happened.

"Meg... it's alright," Sam reassured her, an awkward smile on his lips.

Dean pursed his lips before whistling lowly. "Okay, awkward," he scoffed lightly, a sarcastic chuckle left his mouth as he placed his hands on Cordelia's shoulders. "We're gonna get a drink now."

Without another word, Dean steered Cordelia off to the bar, muttering angrily under his breath as he did so. Cordelia could tell he was pissed just by the way his hands were tensing on her shoulders.

"Nice girl," Dean grumbled sarcastically under his breath as they reached the bar ⸻ Carter began following them but got distracted as a girl caught his eye, leaving the pair alone.

"I don't know, I kinda liked her," Cordelia smiled teasingly as she leant against the bar.

Dean gave Cordelia a bitchface and sighed impatiently, "'Course you do, it wasn't you she was chewin' out."

"Your ego's hurt because she wasn't into you," Cordelia pointed out, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

Dean opened his mouth to argue but pursed his lips after a moment of contemplation. "Yeah, okay," he huffed, gesturing for the bartender before he looked back over at Cordelia, a more tentative look in his eyes. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Cordelia asked, smiling over at the bartender as he placed two beers down in front of them.

"That I treat Sammy like luggage," Dean clarified, swallowing roughly as he toyed with the beer bottle.

"No," she shook her head. "Look, don't worry about it, alright? He was probably just bitching 'cause you pissed him off, we all do it."

Dean huffed and lifted his glass to his lips, not believing her. He took a moment to just sit, watching her, as creepy as that sounded.

He watched the way her lips wrapped around the bottle, how when she pulled it away, her tongue ran along her bottom lip. He was in awe of her. But his subtle staring was cut short as he noticed, in the corner of his eye, the bartender shooting her looks every time he passed.

Dean's brows furrowed and his lip curled up in annoyance at the sight. So, he took a step closer, practically standing behind her. Her back brushed his front, and if she noticed, she didn't mention it.

But she did notice it, Cordelia wasn't blind nor stupid. She could see Dean eyeing the bartender as he leered at her; she could see the scowl that formed on his face as he possessively stood closer to her.

It confused her, ultimately. Dean said that they were just friends, but he acted jealous. She couldn't tell if it was just a guy thing or a Dean thing. But she didn't care, and as weird as it sounded, it felt nice.

After all, she liked the attention.

♰

Once Sam finished talking to Meg, Carter stopped flirting with that girl and Cordelia and Dean finished their drinks ⸻ the four headed to the car, where Dean scowled over at his brother.

"Who the hell was she?" He didn't hesitate to ask, distaste clear in his tone.

"I don't really know," Sam shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I only met her once. Meeting up with her again, I don't know, man. It's weird."

"What was she saying ⸻ I treat you like luggage?" Dean asked incredulously. "Were you bitching about me to some chick?"

Sam looked away with a sigh, "Look, I'm sorry, Dean. It was when we had that huge fight when I was in that bus stop in Indiana. But that's not important, listen-"

"Well, is there any truth to what she's saying? I mean, am I keeping you against your will, Sam?" Dean shot back.

Carter watched amusedly, eyes flickering between the pair as he and Cordelia slowly trailed behind them. "Oh, the girls are fighting," Carter muttered under his breath, a wide smile on his lips.

"Shut up, I can't hear them," she nudged him, shooting him a brief look before focusing on the Winchester brothers.

"No, of course not. Now, would you listen?" Sam sighed in irritation, grabbing Dean's arm to stop him in his tracks.

"What?" Dean spun around, tone matching Sam's annoyance.

"I think there's something strange going on here," Sam told them, looking between the three.

"Yeah, isn't that the whole point of us being here? Strange deaths and shit?" Cordelia asked with a frown as she reached into her bag, in search of something.

"No, I think he meant it's strange that she wasn't even into me," Dean countered.

"Yeah, Dean, 'cause that's what I meant," Sam retorted sarcastically. "I mean our kinda strange, like Cordelia said. Like, maybe even a lead."

"Why'd you say that?" Carter asked, crossing his arms over in his chest as he looked up at his former best friend.

"I met Meg weeks ago, literally on the side of the road, and now, I run into her in some random Chicago bar? I mean, the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don't think that's a little weird?"

"I don't know, random coincidence. It happens," Dean shrugged it off.

"Well, yeah, it happens, but not to us," Sam argued, not impressed with Dean's lack of seriousness. "Look, I could be wrong, I'm just sayin' that there's something about this girl that I can't quite put my finger on."

Dean smirked at his brother's words. "But I bet you'd like to," he joked, Sam gave him his famous bitchface at his words and Dean rolled his eyes at his brother's unimpressed stare.

"Okay," Cordelia grumbled under her breath. "Could we get back on topic, please?"

"No, no, maybe she's not a suspect, maybe Sammy here has a thing for her," Dean continued to argue, a playful look on his face. "Maybe you're thinkin' a little too much with your upstairs brain, huh? " He pointed to his head and grinned.

"Do me a favour," Sam began to say, a more serious tone to his voice. "Check and see if there's really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts, and see if you can dig anything up on that symbol on Meredith's floor."

"What are you gonna do?" Carter asked with a frown.

"I'm gonna watch Meg," Sam told them, the other two boys laughed in amusement at his words, but Sam merely rolled his eyes at their childish antics.

"Yeah, you are," Dean joked, nudging Carter amusedly ⸻ Cordelia's eyebrows screwed together at the interaction, what an odd dynamic.

"I just want to see what's what," Sam, once again, gave Dean an unamused bicthface. "Better safe than sorry."

"Little pervy, but okay," Cordelia teased, Sam gave her a dry stare.

"Cor-"

"Okay, we're leaving, c'mon," she grinned, one hand reaching for Dean's wrist and the other reaching for Carter's jacket as she began to pull them away, leaving a very irritated brunet stood alone.

♰

Cordelia and Dean sat at the small table in the motel room, sheets of paper and stacks of books surrounding them, whilst Carter lazily lounged on one of the beds, a book in hand that he deemed he was reading ⸻ but when Cordelia pointed out it was upside down, he stated that it, "helped his mind grow," bullshit for, "I'm not actually reading, I'm just pretending to."

Cordelia stared down at one of the many drawings of a Daeva, no one knew what they looked like ⸻ meaning there were many different images conjured up. So, picking out the ugliest one, she lifted the page and showed it to Dean.

"Oh, look, it's you," she teased, a wide smile on her lips. It wasn't even a funny joke, it was one that you laughed at because it wasn't funny, though Dean didn't get the memo.

"Ha," he let out sarcastically, shooting her a glare. He then picked up his cell and dialled Sam's number. It didn't take too long for the youngest Winchester to answer.

"Hey," Sam answered from his place in the Impala.

"Let me guess," Dean began, "You're lurkin' outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?"

"No," Sam denied, hesitantly looking over at Meg's apartment, "...Yes."

"You got a funny way of showing your affection," Dean teased and Cordelia snorted at his words.

Even though they couldn't see him, the three could just imagine the look written across Sam's face. "You find anything on her or what?" Sam snapped.

"Sorry, man, she checks out. There's a Meg Masters in the Andover phone book. I even pulled up her high school photo," Dean said, and for a second, he was serious ⸻ until he opened his mouth again, "Now, look, why don't you go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is you do, huh?"

"Poetry reading?" Cordelia repeated to herself with a screwed-up face, but Dean caught her words and shrugged, moving the phone away from his ear.

"I don't know what he's into," he defended innocently.

"What about the symbol?" Sam questioned, loud enough to coax Dean to pull the phone back to his ear. "Any luck?"

"Yeah, that I did have some luck with," Dean responded, a proud smile on his face that had Cordelia rolling her eyes ⸻ she had found it. "It's, uh, turns out it's Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It's a sigil for Daeva."

"What's a Daeva?"

"It translates to 'demon of darkness'. Zoroastrian demons, and they're savage, animalistic, you know, nasty attitudes ⸻ kinda like, uh, demonic pit bulls."

Sam sat in shock for a moment, a surprised look pulled at his face, "How'd you figure that out?"

"Give me some credit, man. You don't have a corner on paper chasin' around here," Dean defended, pursing his lips at the look Cordelia was giving him.

"Oh, yeah? Name the last book you read."

"No, uh," Dean cleared his throat and grunted in pain as the Moore girl kicked him in the shin, "Cordelia figured it out, alright? College girl isn't entirely useless," he joked and said girl laughed sarcastically and kicked him again. "Son of a-! Anyway, uh, here's the thing ⸻ these Daevas, they have to be summoned, conjured."

"So, someone's controlling it," Sam concluded.

"Yeah, that's what I'm sayin', and uh, from what I gather, it's pretty risky business, too. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them, and uh, the arms and torsos."

"So, what do they look like?"

"Well, nobody knows, but nobody's seen 'em for a couple of millennia. I mean, summoning a demon that ancient? Someone really knows their stuff. I think we've got a major player in town," Dean told him, but a more teasing tone followed his next words, "Now why don't you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?"

"Bite me."

"No, bite her. Don't leave teeth marks, though," Dean further teased the unamused Winchester.

"Or do, some girls like that," Carter spoke loud enough so that Sam could hear, but his eyes were playfully on Cordelia ⸻ wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Dean narrowed his eyes at the action, failing to grasp that Sam had hung up on him ⸻ he was too busy looking between Cordelia and Carter, watching as she grabbed one of the research books from the table and threw it Carter's way, the brunet lowered his head and moved his body, narrowly dodging the hit.

"Bite me," she shot back, but the look he gave her made her regret her words.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Dean cleared his throat loudly and the two looked over at him. "Got something..." he strained his voice, gesturing towards his throat before shaking his head and quickly saying, "Anyone hungry?"

♰

Cordelia sat at the small table in the motel room, fingers shifting through the piles of research in front of her. Her eyes flickered up to Dean's pacing figure every few seconds.

The door suddenly pushed open and Sam waltzed in, an alarmed look pulled at his face as he searched for his brother, who, upon hearing the door, made his way over to Sam.

"Dude, I gotta talk to you," they rushed out in unison.

Cordelia snorted at the pair ⸻ moments like this made her regret leaving, being with Sam and Dean felt like a front-row seat to the world's best trauma filled comedy.

"You first," Dean pointed at his brother as he walked over to Cordelia, he stood behind her seat and leant forward, grabbing a fry out of her takeout box ⸻ she made a noise of complaint and slapped his hand away. "What? You weren't eatin' it."

"I was gonna," she defended, but after a moment she slid the box over to Dean, who grinned.

Carter rolled his eyes at the looks the pair were exchanging, he was getting sick of this, they needed to tell each other before he took his gun and shot himself.

The Branston boy cleared his throat loudly, pulling Cordelia and Dean's eyes away from each other and over to him, he then pulled his attention to Sam.

"What's up?" He asked the younger brunet.

"Meg is summoning the Daeva, she was using some kind of bowl, it looked like she was talking to it."

"Meg?" Cordelia repeated in shock, frowning at the words that left her best friend's mouth.

"Hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" Dean repeated slowly as he made his way over to his brother.

Cordelia pursed her lips, was 'hot' really necessary in that sentence?

"Looks like she was using that black altar to control the thing," Sam told them.

"So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl," Dean chuckled and Sam rolled his eyes, once again, looking unimpressed with Dean's quips.

"What about the bowl?" Cordelia questioned, rolling her neck back tiredly.

"She was talking into it. The way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with someone."

"With who? The Daeva?" Carter asked.

"No, Dean said those things were savages. No, this was someone different. Someone giving her orders," he paused and inhaled deeply. "Someone... who's coming to that warehouse."

Dean stood for a moment, taking his brother's words in ⸻ and without another word, he strode back over to Cordelia and glanced at the files in front of her, he rested one hand on the back of her chair, holding his weight up as he used his free hand to flicker through the sheets of paper.

"Holy shit."

"What?" Sam questioned.

"What I was gonna tell you earlier ⸻ I pulled a favour with my-" he cut himself off to clear his throat, "Friend, Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victims ⸻ we missed somethin' the first time."

"What?" Sam moved over to the others, him, too, leaning down to get a closer look.

"The, uh, the first victim, the old man ⸻ he spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look where he was born," Dean pointed down at something on the page.

Sam's brows furrowed together as he read it, his face slowly dropped and he took a step back, "Lawrence, Kansas."

"Mhm," Dean nodded, moving to pick up a second file. "Meredith, second victim ⸻ turns out she was adopted, and guess where she's from," he flipped the sheet over, facing it towards Sam, so that he could read the words scribbled across the parchment.

The paper read, "Lawrence, Kansas".

Sam took the seat across from Cordelia, clearly shocked as he took it all in. "Holy shit," he repeated Dean's earlier words.

"Yeah."

"Okay, so, do you think Meg's somehow involved with the demon that killed your mom?" Cordelia asked, looking up at Dean briefly before dragging her eyes over to Sam. "I mean, that's where everything started, it's not a coincidence."

"I think it's a definite possibility, yeah," Dean nodded down at her before moving away to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"But I don't understand. What's the significance of Lawrence? And how do these... Daeva things fit in?"

"Beats me," Dean shrugged. "But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."

"No, we can't," Sam shook his head. "We shouldn't tip her off. We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We've gotta see who, or what, is showin' up to meet her."

"I'll tell you one thing. I don't think we should do this alone."

♰

Whilst Dean called his father, Cordelia rang Lee, who didn't answer, but she wasn't surprised. It was around two in the morning and Lee was a semi-retired hunter, who complained about back problems fifty per cent of the time, she had a feeling he'd be in a deep slumber dreaming about the days his back was in tip-top shape.

She left him a voicemail, but knew it'd be useless ⸻ it was a day's drive from California to Chicago, and he wouldn't make it in time.

She pulled her phone from her ear and placed it in her back pocket just as the door pulled open. She turned around, finding Sam and Carter waltzing in, bickering as they held two bags in each hand.

"You two gonna argue the entire time?" Cordelia griped under her breath, giving them a pointed stare.

"If he's still bein' a dick, yeah," Sam shrugged as he placed the bags down.

Carter rolled his eyes, "You're a child, you know that?"

"O-kay," Cordelia whistled lowly and sighed deeply before lifting her hand to brush her hair away from her face in frustration. "If I have to listen to you two argue any more than I already have, I will shoot myself."

The pair glanced at one another and shared one last stubborn look before Carter slumped his bags down onto the ground and Sam turned his attention to his brother.

"Voicemail?" He asked, gesturing to the dejected look on his brother's face.

"Yeah," Dean nodded without looking at his brother, he sighed deeply and clenched his jaw in irritation. After a moment, he turned around, mouth dropping wide at the sight of the bags. "Jeez, what'd you get?"

"I ransacked that trunk," Sam huffed out a laugh. "Holy water, every weapon that I could think of... exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything, huh?"

Dean nodded and they all silently began loading their guns. Cordelia was feeling jittery about the whole thing, how they might finally get the demon that killed Jess and Mary.

She knew at some point, it'd come to a near end, that they'd find it and kill it ⸻ but she hadn't grasped the fact.

"Big night," Dean spoke up.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, swallowing roughly. "You nervous?"

"No. No..." Dean trailed off. "Are you?"

"No. No way," Sam denied with a shake of his head.

The Moore girl looked between them but didn't say anything ⸻ they both were nervous, hell, all of them were.

"God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing, that demon?" Sam spoke up once again.

Dean shot him a look, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, alright?"

"I know. I'm just sayin'... what if we did? What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month," Sam smiled at the mere thought, coaxing a smile on Cordelia's lips at his words. "Go back to school, just be a person again."

Dean froze in place and looked down at his gun in thought, "You wanna go back to school?"

"Yeah, once we're done huntin' the thing."

"Huh," was all Dean said.

"Why, is there somethin' wrong with that?" Sam asked, almost defensively.

Dean shook his head, "No. No, it's, uh, great. Good for you."

Cordelia and Carter shared a look and stayed silent. She could tell just by how Dean was acting, that regardless of what he was saying, he didn't want Sam to go back ⸻ he wanted them to stay together, how they've been for the last few months.

"I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?" Sam paused his actions and turned his full attention over to his brother.

"It's never gonna be over," Dean said sternly. "There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be somethin' to hunt."

"But there's gotta be somethin' that you want for yourself-" Sam gave his brother a pointed look, eyes sliding over to Cordelia and back to Dean.

Dean frowned at the action but didn't speak of his confusion. Instead, he focused on what his brother did say, "Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam."

Sam's eyes followed his brother's figure as he walked over to the dresser. Cordelia, however, took a step back and remained quietly checking her weapons. She kept her eyes trained on her gun as she loaded it.

Carter got a lucky escape, he silently slid off to the bathroom whilst Cordelia was stuck with the palpable tension that swarmed the air around the brothers.

"Dude, what's your problem?" Sam snapped at his brother, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

Dean was silent for a moment and a sigh slipped past his lips, his hands reached out, grabbing either side of the dresser to stabilise himself.

"Why do you think I drag you everywhere, huh?" He questioned, turning back to Sam. "I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?"

Sam was silent for a moment, gaze softening, "'Cause dad was in trouble. 'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed mom."

"Yes, that, but it's more than that, man," Dean rose his voice lightly and inhaled deeply before he turned back, grabbing the dresser once again. "You and me and dad ⸻ I mean, I want us... I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again."

When he turned around, Cordelia couldn't help but look up and the expression on his face broke her heart. He looked so hopeful. Hopeful that they could be a family.

It was a difficult situation. Sam wanted out, and Dean didn't. From what she had heard, John didn't want out, either, and Dean wouldn't leave his father.

"Dean, we are a family. I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before."

Dean took a moment to speak, a saddened look painted across his features. "Could be," he shrugged lightly, a weak smile on his lips.

"I don't want them to be," Sam shook his head. "I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way."

They stood in silence for a moment before Dean nodded and moved away, focusing his attention on something else.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, and they worked in silence.

Thankfully, Carter popped his head into the room at the right time. "You guys ready?" He asked.

"Yeah," Dean didn't hesitate to say as he threw the last of his weapons into the duffle and trudged out of the room without so much as a breath.

Sam sighed as he watched his brother leave. He wanted to say something but didn't know what. He wanted one thing and Dean wanted the other, it was as simple as that.

Cordelia placed her hand on Sam's shoulder in passing and sent him a reassuring smile. She headed over to the door and pulled it open, standing beside it as she waited for the Winchester.

Sam silently sauntered over to her and shut the door behind him. As they walked down the hall, he glanced down at her, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Cordelia questioned with a frown as her hand grasped the strap of the duffle that was slung over her shoulder.

"If this'll lead us to the thing that killed Jess, if we can finish it. What are you gonna do?"

"I didn't really think that far ahead, to be honest with you," she shrugged and bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "I don't think I could go back... to school, I mean. The only reason I went in the first place was for Jess, it'd be weird without her... I don't know, maybe I'll get a place near Lee's, figure the rest out when it gets to it. Maybe get a cat."

"You don't like cats," Sam pointed out with a frown. "You're a dog person."

"Well, if we survive this ⸻ I'm gonna be a changed woman," she quipped sarcastically.

"Not loving your confidence," Sam muttered under his breath hastily.

♰

When the four arrived at the warehouse, Cordelia was already wishing it to be over. She had said this before, and she'd say it again ⸻ she was lazy for a hunter, and climbing up the elevator gate had just about finished her off.

Once they reached the top, they quickly caught sight of Meg through the metal bars. She was stood at the altar, as Sam had said, and was speaking into a black glass bowl ⸻ an ancient language smoothly slipping past her lips.

Sam shuffled over first, squeezing between the small space between the gate and the wall, firmly planting his feet on the ground, keeping low down. Dean handed his brother a gun before repeating his actions, next was Cordelia, Dean held a hand out to the brunette and helped pull her up, she nodded with a small smile in thanks, not wanting to alert Meg's attention. And finally, Carter followed them up.

Sam slowly came to a stand and raised his gun ⸻ pointing it over at Meg cautiously as the four moved over to hide behind some crates at the back of the room.

As Dean handed his brother a shotgun, Meg's voice spoke up, loud and clear, startling the four, "Guys. Hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?"

"Well, that didn't work out like I planned," Dean grumbled under his breath to the others sarcastically.

"Ya' think?" Cordelia shot back in the same tone.

"Why don't you come on out?" Meg coaxed, the four shared a glance as she turned to face them. Guns raised, slowly the four did as told. "Sam, I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship," Meg quipped as she slowly moved toward them.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam retorted in that same tone, gun not faltering as he aimed it at her.

"So, where's your little Daeva friend?" Dean asked, drawing Meg's attention over to him.

"Around," Meg shrugged lightly, a sly, devious smirk curling at her lips. "And that shotgun's not gonna do much good."

"Oh, don't worry, it's not for the demon," Cordelia retorted sarcastically, matching Meg's sardonic smile as she cocked her gun.

"So, who is it, Meg? Who's coming" Sam asked, a guarded expression glimmered in his eyes. "Who are you waiting for?"

Her smile only grew and her attention slid to the wall, where a large shadow began to form on the wall, she looked back over the four in delight.

"You."

♰

Cordelia rested her head tiredly against the table she was tied up to as she regained consciousness, the first thing she heard was Carter's voice, he complained under his breath how "it was always the hot ones," the Moore couldn't help but roll her eyes at his words.

Carter's priorities were a bit messed up.

The Daeva had attacked them and knocked them all out, Sam sported three large scratch marks down his face, blood trickled down Dean's temple, Cordelia's lip was split, and Carter looked like he had featured in the latest Carrie movie.

Sam and Dean were tied up to two separate posts, Carter on a third, and Cordelia to the table that was bolted to the wall.

She looked down at her twisted arm as a stinging sensation shot through the limb. Her jacket was shredded, crimson coated the material and dripped down onto the ground.

She internally rolled her eyes, she had just got this jacket, damn.

"Hey, Sam, don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend... she's a bitch," Dean spat.

"This, this whole thing was a trap, runnin' into you at the bar, following you here, hearin' what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn't it?" Sam accused, and the smooth chuckle Meg let out was an answer in itself. "And that the victims were from Lawrence?"

"It doesn't mean anything," Meg shrugged smugly, "It was just to draw you in, that's all."

"You killed those people for nothing," Cordelia glared over at her as she uncomfortably tugged at the zip ties around her wrists.

"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less," she shot back.

"You trapped us, good for you, it's Miller time," Dean spoke up, a forced smile on his lips. "But why don't you kill us already?"

"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" An amused smile pulled at her lips as she leant forward, "This trap isn't for you."

The four looked puzzled for a moment before Carter spoke up. "Your dad," he said, realisation dawning on him. "It's a trap for your dad."

"Oh, sweetheart ⸻ you're dumber than you look, 'cause even if dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this," Dean told Meg, glowering over at her. "He's too good."

Meg raised her eyebrows in contemplation. "He is pretty good, I'll give you that," she slid off the edge of the alter and made her way over to Dean, nudging his legs with her foot, she lowered herself and straddled his waist, Dean grimaced at the action.

Cordelia's eyes were trained on Meg, disdain clear on her face.

"But you see, he has one weakness."

"What's that?"

"You," she smiled, shifting on his lip, making Cordelia fight the urge to throw up in her mouth. "He lets his guard down around his boys, lets his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he is in town, and he'll come and try to save you and then the Daevas will kill everybody ⸻ nice and slow... and messy."

Meg spared a glance over at Cordelia, an amused expression painted across her features as she recognised the burning look in her eye. "Those two were just for fun," she goaded, causing Dean to turn to Cordelia, "Plus, Carter's nice to look at."

"Flattered, really," Carter shot back, a sarcastic smile on his lips.

"Well, I got news for 'ya," Dean spoke up, pulling Meg's eyes off of Cordelia. "It's gonna take a lot more than some... shadow to kill him."

"Oh, the Daevas are in the room, here... they're invisible. Their shadows are just the only part you can see."

"Why you doin' this Meg? What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? With who?" Sam inquired, eyes shifting tersely over to the blonde.

"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do," she rose her voice, angling her head to face the brunet. "Loyalty. Love. Like the love you had for Mommy ⸻ and Jess."

"Go to hell," Sam's voice lowered and his jaw tightened as anger burned through his body.

"Baby, I'm already there," a playful grin pulled at her lips as she crawled over to Sam, now straddling his waist. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty," she leant forward to whisper in his ear, "I think we both know how you really feel about me. You know, I saw you watching me ⸻ changing in my apartment. Turned you on, didn't it?"

The other three in the room groaned in unison. "I think I just threw up in my mouth," Cordelia's face pulled into a grimace as she rested her head against the table.

"Get a room, you two," Dean rolled his eyes, but neither of them were listening.

"I didn't mind. I liked that you were watching me. Come on, Sammy. You and I can still have a little dirty fun," she lowered her voice and her nose trailed down his skin as she began peppering kisses along his neck.

"You wanna have fun? Go ahead then. I'm a little tied up, right now," Sam retorted and Cordelia pulled a face as Meg grinned widely.

She felt like she had a front-row seat to a very messed up porno.

"You know, this is sickening," Cordelia spoke up, hoping to take the attention off of Dean as he used his switchblade, which was shoved up the sleeve of his jacket, to cut through the zip ties. "You know, if you let us go... you could have your privacy."

Sam's face fell at her words and he gave her a look that screamed seriously?! Meg turned to face the girl, amusement on her face, but her eyes soon fell on Dean as she noticed the slight movement in his arm.

She got up suddenly and slowly trailed over to the oldest Winchester brother, her eyes narrowed down on him suspiciously. She rounded the post he was tied to and crouched down, prying his hand open, she pulled the switchblade from his palm.

She came to a stand and shook her head, clicking her tongue mockingly. Just as she went to throw it across the room, another idea popped up in her head.

She eyed the blade and turned to face Cordelia. "Oh, hell," the Moore grumbled under her breath as the blonde slowly made her way over to her.

Meg, like she did earlier to Sam and Dean, straddled Cordelia's lap. She lifted the knife and trailed the tip of it over Cordelia, using the sharp end to push the material of her clothes out of her way. The knife trailed down her body as Meg tried to find somewhere that would satisfy her.

"Hey!" Dean called out in an attempt to get Meg's attention, but the blonde's eyes didn't stray from Cordelia's.

The Moore grunted as Meg slowly and agonisingly pushed the blade into the skin of her abdomen. The pain and ringing in her ears drowned out the worried yells coming from the three boys. Cordelia bit her lip to stop the groan from leaving her lips, a short breath left her mouth as Meg leaned in closer.

"Cute piercings," she whispered, lips brushing her ear before her mouth slid down her face and a kiss was planted on her cheek, just as she pulled away. She quickly made her way back over to Sam and did the same, leaning close to his ear she said, "Now, were you trying to distract me, while your brother cuts free?"

"No, no," Sam shook his head as he looked up at her taunting smile. "It's because I have a knife of my own."

Meg's face fell and before she could react, Sam grabbed her by the shoulders and threw his head against hers.

The Winchester groaned in pain as he grasped at his head, but Dean's voice pulled him out of it, "Sam, grab the altar!"

So, he did as told. Hurriedly making his way across the room, he stopped in front of the table and flipped it over, suddenly, the shadow demon appeared and grabbed Meg by the ankle, dragging her across the floor before she went flying through the window, falling to the street below.

Sam didn't waste a moment as he hurriedly rushed over to his brother, grabbing his knife, he cut the zip-tie on the back of Dean's wrists free before moving over to Carter as Dean made a beeline to Cordelia.

"Okay, you okay?" Dean breathed out as he crouched down in front of her, one hand on her shoulder, squeezing her comfortingly.

She nodded tiredly, "Yeah. Just get the damn thing outta me."

Yes, I know, you're not supposed to take the blade out ⸻ but she had no other choice, she wouldn't be able to walk with a big knife protruding out of her stomach.

Dean nodded and shrugged off his jacket, followed by his flannel. "Alright, deep breath," he said before slowly pulling the knife out of her. He rolled his flannel up into a ball and pressed it hard against her stomach, causing a pained groan to slip past her lips. "I know, I know," he muttered, "Alright. You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," she nodded, but a grimace pulled at her face as Dean then leant forward to cut the ties off of her wrist.

It hurt like a bitch.

"Okay," he huffed as he then helped her up, she stumbled lightly, but his hands closed around her waist, careful not to touch the wound. "Think you can hold that?" He nodded down to the flannel held against her stomach as he situated her arm around his shoulder, holding her securely to him.

"Yeah, I got it," she shifted in his arms before looking up at him, meeting his gaze for a moment. She could see the worry in his eyes and her heart swelled.

He carefully guided her to where Sam and Carter stood by the broken window, careful to avoid the broken shards of glass, they leant forward and caught sight of Meg sprawled out on the sidewalk.

"I take it Daevas don't like being bossed around," Carter chirped, raising his eyebrows as he stared at the blonde.

"Guess not," Cordelia replied at a mere mutter under her breath, face pulling into a grimace as her skin pulled.

"Hey, Sam?" Dean spoke, turning to face his brother who looked at him in question. "Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so buckets of crazy, huh?"

Sam sighed at his brother's words, watching as he and Cordelia began to walk out of the room. He stared at their retreating figures and ran to catch up with them.

"You tried to pimp me out," Sam pointed a finger down at Cordelia accusingly.

"I tried to save our asses," Cordelia corrected with a grunt, sending him a brief glance.

"By pimping me out," Sam replied, tone dry as he gave her his bitchface.

"Semantics," she shrugged as best as she could.

"I... you're not even using that word right."

"O-kay, college-boy."

"We went to the same school, Cordelia."

♰

As they walked down the hall, Dean handed his brother the keys ⸻ the second they got out of the car, the oldest Winchester practically jumped up to help her ⸻ Carter had tried his best to patch her up in the backseat during the drive back, but due to Dean's dangerous driving habits, he didn't have much luck.

"Why didn't you just leave that stuff in the car?" Dean asked, gesturing down to the bags slung over Sam's shoulder.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again ⸻ better safe than sorry," Sam grumbled as he unlocked the door, sidestepping out of the way so Cordelia, with Dean's help, could get in.

"You know, I'd like just one day where I don't get stabbed or sliced," Cordelia muttered, "I feel like a walking-talking kebab."

A low chuckle fell from Dean's lips, "Well, you're in the wrong business for that, sweetheart."

"Tell me about it," she huffed out a laugh, opening her mouth to say something, when Dean's voice cut her off.

"Hey!" He called out, voice reverberating throughout the room. His shout caused the others to turn their attention to the man who stood by the window, his back was facing them and they couldn't see his face, only his darkened silhouette.

As the unknown man turned to face them, Dean's hold on Cordelia loosened in shock. Carter, who stood behind the brunette, took a step forward, closer to her ⸻ just in case she lost her balance.

"Dad," Dean's jaw dropped in shock, and a look of relief flashed through his eyes as he set his sights on his father for the first time in months.

Sam, on the other hand, looked hesitant. He hadn't seen John in a long time, and after their last... conversation, he didn't know how to react.

"Hey, boys," John spoke, tears in his eyes as he slowly made his way to Dean, meeting him in the middle as they shared a hug.

Cordelia looked up at Sam, gauging his reaction, and he looked contrite. She squeezed his shoulder in a way of comfort, knowing his mixed emotions when it came to John Winchester.

As Dean and John pulled away, the man looked to his youngest with a small smile, "Hi, Sam."

"Hey, dad," the brunet replied meekly with a soft smile on his lips, though, unlike his brother, Sam did not pull John in for a hug. As he dropped the duffle to the floor, he noticed how his dad's eyes had shifted over to Cordelia ⸻ Sam frowned as he noticed his father practically glaring at her.

But Cordelia knew that look. She could only assume he had met her father once or twice over the years and he had screwed him over, he had done it to many hunters ⸻ she wouldn't be surprised if it happened to John.

"Oh, uh, dad, that's Cordelia my... Jess' cousin," Sam frowned at his words, he went to say his girlfriend's cousin, the introduction too familiar on his lips. He cleared his throat and gestured over to Carter. "That's Carter, a friend of ours."

John's stone-cold expression didn't flit from Cordelia. "You got family in the business?" He asked gruffly, pondering in thought. He recognised her, she looked just like her father ( and if she knew he was even thinking that, the first words out of her mouth would be; ew ). John had only met Edward Moore a few times, and they hadn't exactly been the best.

"Yeah," she furrowed her brows, giving him back the same tone and look ⸻ she didn't like how he was glaring at her, how in the first two seconds of meeting her, he decided he didn't like her.

"Who?" He was quick to ask, her words confirming that she was Edward's daughter.

"Does it matter?" She shot back, grip on her side tightening.

Carter and Sam shared a brief look at her words, the latter inhaled sharply, whilst Carter was trying desperately to stop a smile from pulling at his lips.

"Cor," Dean said in a warning tone, shooting her a look for speaking to his father like that, he turned his attention back to his dad. "Her dad and uncle are in the business." John nodded at his son's words, but his eyes remained on Cordelia as if he was trying to figure her out ( likely trying to figure out if she was just like her father ).

Dean's brows furrowed at his father's actions and he cleared his throat, a protective feeling bubbled in his stomach and he spoke up once again in an attempt to stop his father's stare. "Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know, I'm sorry," he said tentatively.

"It's alright," John's features softened obviously as he looked over at his son. "I thought it might've been."

"Were you there?"

"I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive, she was the bad guy, right?"

"Yes, sir," Sam and Dean replied in union, making Cordelia's stomach churn.

Whose kids talked to them like that?

"Good. Well, it doesn't surprise me," John let out a sigh. "It's tried to stop me before."

Carter paused and took the opportunity to drag Cordelia off towards the kitchen to assist with her wound properly. He silently dropped his duffle onto the side and shuffled through it. He took a glance over at the Winchesters as they spoke.

"You know, to say you have feelings for Dean you didn't make a good impression with his dad," Carter lowered his voice so that the others couldn't hear him.

Cordelia gave him a dry look as she watched him fish through his bag for something. "Yeah, well, I don't really care if he likes me or not."

"You ought to," Carter shot back, raising his eyebrows at her expectantly. "You said Dean looks up to his dad, if John doesn't want you around ⸻ you're gone."

Cordelia pursed her lips, he had a point. She knew that Sam would argue against it, but if John said he didn't want her there ( because of whatever the hell Edward did ), there was a high chance that Dean wouldn't intervene. She didn't expect him to, though. John was his father, Cordelia was just... someone he knew.

She cleared her throat and lifted her shirt so that Carter could get a better look at the wound, which had finally stopped bleeding. "You think it'll need stitches?"

Carter looked down at her due to the sudden change of topic, but didn't push ⸻ he knew how she worked, if she didn't want to talk about it anymore, she wouldn't.

"A few," he told her, moving to grab something. "I'm surprised you haven't passed out yet."

"Trying not to right now," she grimaced as he wiped it clean.

"Go lie down, I'll get the-"

But before Carter could finish his sentence, all hell broke loose.

First, a shadow attacked John, throwing him into the set of cabinets, he hit the ground with a hard thud. Then, Sam's body flung back, scratch marks ran down the other side of his face and he fell to the floor in surprise.

"No!" Dean yelled, moving to rush toward his father before, he too, was tossed in the opposite direction.

Cordelia stood in shock, but before she could make a move, or attempt to make one, an invisible source grabbed her by the ankle and roughly tugged her to the ground, she cried out as her stomach hit the floor.

An agonised scream left her lips as she felt a painful, burning sensation run down her back ⸻ claws digging deep into her skin.

Cordelia, too blinded by her hazy vision, didn't notice when Carter fell to the ground. But she did notice Sam's duffle in the middle of the floor.

She shuffled toward the bag with the little strength she had left and ruffled through it hastily, trying to find something in there that she could use.

Her hand wrapped around a flare in the bag and just then, those same sharp claws embedded into the back of her leg, dragging her backwards on her stomach.

She had never felt so much pain in her life.

She shakily uncapped the flare. "Close your eyes!" She called out, tossing it to the middle of the room.

The room instantly filled with a bright light and smoke emitted the small space. Cordelia placed her head on the ground and screwed her eyes shut.

Coughs reverberated throughout the room and suddenly, Cordelia was rising, two arms wrapped around her and she could only guess it was Carter and Sam.

Her head lolled back as she stumbled to a weak stand. Her leg was limp and she grimaced as pain shot through her entire body.

"You okay?" Sam asked through a splutter of coughs as he and Carter tried to lead her out of the room, using the walls to guide them.

"No, I'm not fucking okay!" She snapped in retort, tears of pain and frustration running down her cheeks as she winced, hobbling alongside the boys. "I'm gonna fuckin' die!"

When the cool air from outside hit, a short breath left her lips and she angled her head best she could behind her ⸻ trying to find Dean. He was behind the three, using his weight to hold his father up.

Once they reached their cars, Dean let go of his father and immediately moved to the trunk, hastily pulling it open, he quickly shuffled through his bag before moving to Cordelia ⸻ two flannels in hand.

"Put pressure on her back," he ordered Carter, handing him one of the flannels. He then lowered himself into a crouching position and held the other to her leg. "You keep goin' through these and I'm gonna have none left."

"Ha," she let out dryly at his attempt at a joke. "I got it, go check on your dad," she told him, reaching down as best she could to hold pressure on the third wound.

"You sure?" Dean hesitantly moved away, worried eyes flickering up and down her body.

"I got it," she nodded weakly, fighting to stay awake as her vision faltered.

It was obvious Dean was tentative to move off, it was in his eyes ⸻ how they scanned her figure, focusing on the crimson that stained her clothes.

He nodded breathlessly to himself before limping over to Sam and John. "You okay?" He asked his father, placing a hand on his shoulder so that he could get a better look at his injuries.

"Alright, come on, we don't have much time," Sam said, chest heaving up and down as he heavily breathed out. He pulled one of the back doors of the Impala open and gestured for John to get in. "As soon as that flare goes out, they'll be back."

"Wait, wait, wait! Sam, wait," Dean ushered, stopping his confused brother in his hurried actions. He met his father's eyes and a contrite look passed their faces. "Dad, you can't come with us."

"What?" Sam and Cordelia spoke in unison, the brunette hunter pushed her body off of Carter's truck, much to the Branston boy's dismay, and sluggishly pulled herself over to the others.

"You just spent the better half of a year looking for him and now he's gotta leave?"

Carter eyed Cordelia's swaying body and took a cautious step forward, he knew she wouldn't want him coddling her ⸻ but he couldn't help it. There was still that part of him that was looking out for her, especially after she got taken a few weeks ago. He felt partially responsible for what had happened.

Sam pointed at Cordelia in agreement before turning to his father and brother, "What? What are you talkin' about?"

"You boys," John began, sighing as he looked between his sons ⸻ exhaustion clear on his face. "You're beat to hell, your friend doesn't look like she's doin' too well."

"We'll be alright," Dean reassured his father, wincing as one of the cuts on his cheek sent a prominent sting down his face.

"Dean, we should stick together. We'll go after those demons-"

"Sam! Listen to me! We almost got dad killed in there," Dean snapped, cutting his brother off. "Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's- he's stronger without us around."

Cordelia tried to focus on Dean's voice, but the conversation was trailing off into an unintelligible blur. Like she was underwater. She blinked a few times in an attempt to get her eyes to focus, but her eyes hooded lightly and a ringing erupted in her ears.

"Dad- no," Sam pleaded, putting a hand on his father's shoulder. "After everything ⸻ after all the time we spent lookin' for you ⸻ please. I gotta be a part of this fight."

As the seconds dragged on, she tried her hardest to concentrate, but it was no use. She swayed aside, Carter quick to catch her. A ragged breath left her lips and her eyes clamped shut for a long second.

When she finally regained the strength to open her eyes, John was looking over at her. "Get your friend to the hospital," he nodded over at her, a solemn look on his face.

And just like that, John Winchester headed back over to his truck without a word. He looked back at them once, a saddened expression painted across his stoic features.

"Be careful," he told them before getting in his truck with a slam of his door and a skid to his tyres as he drove off.

Sam and Dean glanced at one another, a knowing look in their eyes.

"Cute little moment you fuckwits are having but can we get her to a hospital before she bleeds out in the street?!"

Author's Note!
John and Cordy are gonna be beefing everytime they interact and I'm gonna love every second of it

the next one is hell house, so how r the boys gonna prank cordy

13,146 words rip