chapter eighteen

a little death

♰

WARNING SMUT!

CORDELIA SHOT CARTER an irritated look as he gave her that same knowing grin. Carter Branston was nothing but a smug bastard; Cordelia knew she had made a mistake confiding in her ex and Sam about her feelings towards Dean. Neither of them would let it go.

Especially Carter.

Sam had briefly returned to the car to grab some research notes that he had forgotten and Dean was... well, Dean was talking to two women at the bar. Cordelia didn't know if she wanted to throw up or pull her gun out and shoot the girls.

Jealously was a pathetic feeling.

But that's what she was, and Carter knew her too well. He found amusement in the permanent scowl etched onto her delicate features.

Carter tried his hardest to convince her to open up and tell Dean about how she felt, but she declined, simply telling him to "shut the fuck up and mind your own business."

After that, Carter had left it alone. He was in a miserable mood himself and the only way to uplift it was by goading Cordelia about Dean and when she shut him down, he quickly grew bored.

By the time Sam came back, Carter's lips were tightly bound shut, only opening to take the occasional sip of his beer. Cordelia amusedly glanced down at the table which was now strewn with papers, piles and piles of research sat sprawled out in front of the youngest Winchester.

It reminded her of their time at Stanford. How Sam was the same nerdy boy he was back then. "Okay, so, Mark and Ann Telesca of New Paltz, New York were both found dead in their home a few days ago. Throats were slit, there were no prints, no murder weapons, all..." Sam trailed off to take a breath, ignoring the amused smile on the Moore's lips at his rambled words, "All doors and windows locked from the inside."

"Shouldn't Dean be hearin' this too?" Carter asked, lifting his bottle to his mouth once again. Without even looking his way, Cordelia knew he had a small smirk on his lips ⸻ he thought he was being funny, asshole.

"Yeah, where is he, anyway?" Sam questioned, frown pulling at his features. He lifted his head and glanced around the bar, trying to locate his brother.

"Talking to those two lovely blondes at the bar," Carter goaded. Cordelia's tongue ran along her teeth in an attempt to ignore the urge to throttle the boy. He was doing this on purpose. He thought if he could push her far enough, she'd spill her dirty little secret to Dean.

But she wasn't going to. Not anytime soon, anyway.

"Oh," Sam's face fell as he glanced over at his brother and back over to Cordelia. "I'm sorry, Cor."

"Don't know what you're apologising to me for," she shrugged nonchalantly, lifting a dismissive shoulder. "I don't care." At her unconvincing words, Sam and Carter shared a look. Once again, she rolled her eyes. The pair were worse than high schoolers. "Stop looking at me like that," she snapped. "What else have you got?"

Sam hesitated for a moment before he nodded and glanced down at the table.

He pulled a map out from under the pile of research and pointed at the red X that was scribbled onto the parchment, "My dad noted three murders in the same area of upstate New York. The first one here in nineteen-twelve, the second one right here in nineteen-forty five and the third in nineteen-seventy, the same M.O. as the Telescas. Their throats were slit open, doors were locked from the inside. Now, so much time had passed between murders that nobody checked the pattern, except my dad. He kept his eyes peeled for another one."

"And now there's another one," Cordelia continued, earning a nod from Sam. She sighed and picked up a shot of tequila from the table, one of five. She had drunk the others already, hoping the burn in her throat would take away from the burn in her heart every time she glanced over at Dean.

As she downed the last shot, she stood up, chair scraping against the floor. Sam and Carter looked up at the noise and Carter couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips. "Going to see Lover Boy?" He joked, earning a snort from amusement from Sam.

"No," Cordelia snapped, glowering down at the brunet before rolling her eyes. "I'm getting a drink."

Her tone didn't give the effect she had hoped for, it hadn't silenced Carter, it only encouraged him. He leant forward, elbows on the table and lowered his voice teasingly, "You're jealous, admit it."

I will shoot your dick off and shove it down your throat, is what she wanted to say, but she didn't want to appear any more bothered than she already was, so, instead, she gave a wry scoff and looked Sam's way, "We'll check it out in the morning, okay?"

Sam gave a quiet "okay," as he redirected his attention back to the papers in front of him. Cordelia took that as her opportunity to walk off, leaving Carter and his taunting words at the table with Sam.

Cordelia thought it'd be best to head to the other end of the bar, not wanting to interrupt whatever riveting conversation Dean was having with the women. But that idea went out the window as a rough hand latched around her arm and gently tugged her back.

She turned, scowl softening as she faced the eldest Winchester brother. She tried to block out the women who stood a few feet away from them, talking, but her curiosity got the better of her and she briefly glanced their way. "Hey, where you going?" Dean asked, a soft smile on his face.

What Cordelia had not known was that, for once in his life, Dean wasn't chatting a woman up for himself. He was trying to help Sam get a date and when he noticed the blonde woman ( he had no idea of her name ) had a friend, he decided to set Carter up, too.

Sam because he never got any dates and Carter so he could get rid of him for a few hours. Whilst talking to the two blondes, he hadn't failed to notice how Carter was sat close to Cordelia, whispering things to her, she might've been sat with a scowl on her face, but it still sent a burning rage to the pits of his stomach.

"Oh, just grabbing another drink," she sent him that same smile he gave her, gesturing over to the other end of the bar.

A sheepish smile crossed Dean's face as he glanced down at the glass in his hand, coaxing Cordelia to do the same. He had gotten her a drink. She knew it wasn't for him, Dean steered away from anything other than beer ⸻ sometimes he'd have whiskey, but that was it.

He definitely wasn't drinking vodka and orange juice.

"Oh, I, uh, got you one," he released his hand from her arm and lifted it, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Dean was never nervous when it came to talking to women, sure, he said some weird stuff, but usually, he said it with confidence.

For some reason, Cordelia Moore made him nervous. He didn't understand why, I mean, he was only getting her a drink, it wasn't a big deal; they got each other drinks all the time, but this felt different.

Maybe because he wasn't entertaining the thought of another woman. Maybe because for the few hours that they were here, he just wanted to spend them with her.

"Thanks," she grinned, taking the drink from his hand. Her smile calmed the nerves that fluttered through Dean's body. She took a brief glance over at the two blondes and pointed her head in their direction, trying to appear as nonchalant as she could, "Feeling a bit greedy tonight, Dean?"

Dean glanced back at the pair of blondes and snorted before shaking his head. "No, no. Uh," he paused, lowering his voice as he leant down by her ear so that he could be heard properly over the loud music and chatter. Cordelia held her breath as his warm breath hit the shell of her ear, caressing the skin so gently she could've died on the spot. "I'm trying to set Sammy up. Told them we're reality TV scouts and he's the director."

She couldn't help the laugh that spilt from her lips at his words, "Sam can get his own dates, he doesn't need your help."

Dean gave a dramatic eye roll at her words and headed over towards a small table, one by the unoccupied pool table. Neither had realised that they weren't sitting with the other two boys, neither realised that the other two were watching with knowing looks in their eyes.

"I'm just... nudging them in his direction, nothin' wrong with that," he shrugged innocently, taking a seat down by the table.

"You're pimping him out," Cordelia corrected, a teasing smile on her lips that made him smile back at her, that same look of joy on his face. "You're a pimp."

"Don't go playin' the pimp game, you pimp him out too," Dean accused playfully, lifting his beer bottle to his lips to conceal the wide smile that so desperately wanted to show.

"No, I just... gently nudge them in his direction," she mocked, repeating his earlier words, earning a scoff from the dirty blond.

After that, the pair had completely forgotten that Sam and Carter were even there. They hadn't even noticed when Carter disappeared with the girls on his arm and they hadn't noticed Sam slip out of the door, either.

Instead, Cordelia decided to move over to the pool table, cue stick in hand. She'd been playing all of five minutes before Dean spoke up. At first, he was just watching her play, there wasn't an awkward silence between the two, they hadn't run out of anything to say, it was just quiet.

Until, of course, Dean opened his big trap.

"You need to aim more to the left," he told her, taking a sip from his third beer of the night.

"I know how to play, Dean," she sent him an irritated look at his commentary, but the glare she gave him didn't stop the smug grin that plastered on his lips.

"Not very well, clearly," he mocked, getting up from his seat and making his way over to her.

He came up behind her and she tensed at the feel of his front pressing against her back, he bent slightly to match her positioning. His palms closed around hers on the cue stick. She tried to ignore her heart beating loudly in her chest, but that was all she could hear.

That and the sound of his breaths hitting the shell of her ear.

Opening her mouth to protest, Dean cut her off before she could even speak ⸻ knowing she was going to say something argumentative. "Just listen to me for once, yeah?"

Lord help me, the Moore thought to herself. She swallowed roughly as his fingers brushed against hers, he adjusted their positioning, moving more towards the left like he had said.

He drew his arm back, pulling Cordelia's with it before he hit the cue ball. A cocky smile pulled at his lips as the ball rolled into the pocket. He released his arms from around her and took a step back, smile not falling.

Cordelia rolled her eyes as she turned to him, "Okay, so maybe you were right."

"Maybe?" He scoffed. "It's fine to admit that you've lost your touch, sweetheart. I mean, you haven't played in a while, it's bound to happen."

Now that annoyed her. "Or," she drawled, taking a step toward him. "Maybe I pretended to need your help."

Dean gave her an amused look in return. "You're not that good an actor, Cor," his lips pulled into a small smirk.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," she shrugged playfully, a wide smile on her mouth that drew Dean's eyes to her glossed lips. "Guess we'll never know."

"Guess not," Dean replied, forcing his eyes to move away from her lips. Cordelia wasn't blind, she could see his eyes drift down and his face cloud with another expression. She didn't speak on it, she just buried any thoughts she had and a knowing smirk pulled at her lips. Dean, noticing this, cleared his throat and ruffled around in his pockets. Pulling out his keys, he wiggled them in Cordelia's face. "Wanna drive Baby?"

The humoured smirk on her face fell and her eyes widened, "Are you being serious?"

"Yeah, c'mon, it'll be fun," he shrugged carelessly, grin widening at the shock on her face.

Though, Cordelia being the sceptic she was, narrowed her eyes at him, "You're serious? Me... drive your car?"

Hearing the disbelief in her voice, Dean grabbed her hand and laid her palm flat, dropping the keys into her hand. Her eyes lit up in excitement and she had to swallow a squeal of joy.

"So cool," she breathed out, grinning like there was no tomorrow as she headed for the door, leaving before he could change his mind.

♰

Sam slowly made his way over to the Impala, grumbling under his breath. He had spent the night in Carter's truck whilst Carter spent the night with the blondes. Yeah, blondes. Plural. Both of them. Whilst Cordelia and Dean disappeared.

The Impala wasn't hard to find, just a couple blocks away from the bar and Carter's truck. But when he leant down by the window, an amused yet slightly joyful smile pulled at his lips.

The pair were dead asleep. Dean leant by the passenger side door, body slumped up against it whilst a pair of sunglasses sat on his nose. Cordelia, laid beside him, head rested on his biceps whilst cradling a bottle of tequila in her arms, mouth wide open ⸻ hair flailed about.

Sam thought about snapping a quick picture of them. Cordelia sleeping on Dean, his arm wrapped around her, it'd be sweet, well, he'd mostly use it to blackmail them, but still, it was kind of cute.

Instead, he simply made his way to the driver's side, where the window sat open and reached inside, pressing the horn. Cordelia and Dean jumped up in shock at the loud intrusion, the former scrambling to keep the tequila bottle in her arms.

Sam merely laughed at their sheepish behaviour.

"Oh, man, that is so not cool," Dean grumbled, slumping back down into his seat as he swiped a hand over his short hair.

"I hate you," Cordelia muttered under her breath, blinking feverishly in an attempt to get used to the bright sunshine that beamed through the windows. She lifted her hands and ran her palms over her eyes. "I hate you so, so much."

"What the hell were you two doing all night?" Sam couldn't help the amused, delighted grin that pulled at his lips as he climbed into the backseat.

"I drove, we stopped, we drank," she summed the night up in a short sentence, voice low and dry. She squinted her eyes as she placed the bottle of tequila in Dean's limp arms, the sight of it made her want to throw up. She inhaled deeply, "I think I'm gonna die."

"Yeah, of alcohol poisoning," Dean mumbled, not opening his eyes or moving from his place leant against the passenger side door. "You drank more than me and I feel like shit."

"You had the bright idea to get more drinks," she shot back but winced as the sound of her voice sent a sharp pain through her head.

Sam so desperately wanted to tell them that it sounded like a date, but he knew they would deny it. They'd brush it off as friends just 'hanging out', but considering the feelings the pair had for one another, it wasn't simply just that.

So he kept his mouth shut. But he would definitely be telling Carter.

"Why do you look so chirpy?" Cordelia grumbled, lowering her voice as she slid further down her seat, closing her eyes. "And why are you up so early?"

"I just swept the Telesca house with the EMF, it's clean," Sam began to tell them. "And last night, while you two were... on your little date. I checked the history of the house. No hauntings, no violent crimes, nothing strange about the Telescas themselves, either."

Dean yawned loudly before pulling his sunglasses off, "Alright, so if it's not the people, and it's not the house, then maybe it's the contents ⸻ cursed objects or somethin'."

Sam shook his head, "House is clean."

"We know, dumbass, we just heard you say that," Cordelia retorted, moving to sit up properly once the nauseous feeling in her stomach settled.

"No, I mean it's empty. No furniture, nothing."

Dean lifted his head from against the window and frowned, "Where's all their stuff."

"Some of it's been taken to the Blake Auction House, I figured we'd head there first," Sam told them. "Carter's grabbing his truck, he'll meet us there."

"Okay," Cordelia breathed out with a nod of her head before she turned to face Dean. "Can I drive? I mean, I'm already sat here."

That had Dean sitting up properly. "Hell no," he pushed his body up and scooted closer to the wheel, inevitably pushing Cordelia into the door. "One-time deal, sweetheart. Move your ass."

Cordelia scoffed at his words and briefly turned to Sam, "When I get out of this car, your ass better be glued to that seat. For once in my sad, pathetic life, let me sit in the front."

♰

Sam did not let her sit in front.

The second she opened her door, he was already out and in the front seat. For the entire duration of the car journey, she had glared at the back of Sam's head like an angry child shunned to silence in the backseat.

He didn't pay her any mind, he was merely amused with her dramatics.

Carter soon met them in the parking lot of the Daniel Blake Auction House and it wasn't long before they headed inside. The four wandered around, looking especially out of place. Dean in his flannel and navy jacket, Sam in his hoodie, Carter sported a leather jacket and Cordelia wore her Juicy Couture hoodie with a vest top, and low-rise jeans showing off her tramp stamp tattoo.

The Moore pursed her lips, "We are so underdressed."

"Still the best lookin' here," Carter shrugged shamelessly, ignoring the judgmental looks they were receiving. Carter Branston oozed confidence, maybe he was a smug, cocky bastard, but he took it in his stride, sending a wink here and there to women older than Cordelia and Dean combined.

Dean scowled as he looked around, but his face brightened as he eyed some small cocktail sausages on the table of food. He picked a few up and followed after Sam, "Consignment auctions, estate sales. Looks like a garage sale for Wasps if you ask me."

Before anyone could respond, a loud voice spoke up from behind them, causing the four to turn. "Can I help you?" They came face to face with a man in a sharp suit, whose eyes widened at the sight of Dean as he shovelled the small sausages into his mouth.

"I'd like some champagne, please," Dean mocked, putting on a posh voice as he looked the man up and down.

Cordelia snorted at his words only making the man glare at her in return.

Sam sent his brother a strong glare and roughly nudged him, "He's not a waiter."

Dean cocked an eyebrow and did best to hide his amusement.

Sam on the other hand held his hand out to the man, but he just blankly stared down at it before looking back up at the Winchester. Cordelia's face pulled up into a scowl and she muttered, "ass," under her breath.

Sam didn't falter as he stuck his hand back down by his side, "I'm Sam Connors, this is my brother Dean, and that's Cordelia and Carter. We are art dealers with Connors Limited."

"You're art dealers?" The man rose a sceptical eyebrow, eyes flitting between the four of them in judgement.

"That's what he just said. You deaf or somethin'?" Carter asked, giving the man that same judging look.

The man's lips curled up and his eyes narrowed on the Branston before he looked back over at the other three. "I'm Daniel Blake. This is my auction house," he began to tell them, Dean feigned interest as he nodded along with the man's words and looked around. "Now, this is a private showing, and I don't remember seeing you on the guest list."

"We're there, Chuckles. You just need to take another look," Dean told him with a fake smile painted on his lips. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a man walking by, holding a tray of champagne glasses. "Oh, finally," he swiped two glasses from the tray, handing one off to Cordelia before he averted his gaze back over to Blake, he sniffed the glass and raised his eyebrow before walking off.

Cordelia didn't bother to hide the amusement on her face as she followed after the Winchester. "Seriously?" She asked, gesturing towards the drink in hand, but took a sip, nonetheless.

"It'll make you feel better, drink up," he shrugged.

Sam hastily followed after his brother, shooting dirty looks at his retreating figure whilst Carter slowly trailed after them, looking Blake up and down as he did so.

It only took the four a minute to find the Telesca's items, the deceased couple's name neatly written on the tags. Eyeing the items, Cordelia looked around until something caught her eye.

"Oh my god, that thing is creepy," Cordelia mumbled, eyes on a painting. It was of a family, it looked quite old ⸻ sending a chill up her spine.

Her words caused the other three to turn, eyes locking onto the canvas. Before they could comment, a voice spoke up. "A fine example of American primitive, wouldn't you say?"

The four turned to see a classy, very good-looking woman clad in a black dress coming down a spiral staircase. You'd think they had never seen a woman before, hell, even Cordelia was in awe of this mysterious brunette.

A smile twitched on Sam's lips as he fully turned to face her once she reached the bottom step, making her way over to the group. "Well, I'd say it's more Grant Wood than Grandma Moses," Sam spoke and the woman smiled, looking down at the ground. This was nerdy flirting, Cordelia thought in her head but a smile pulled at her lips nonetheless. "But you knew that. You just wanted to see if I did."

A sheepish smile crossed the woman's lips. "Guilty. And clumsy, I apologise. I'm Sarah Blake."

"I'm Sam," he smiled back over at her, gaze lingering just for a moment. "This is my..." he turned to gesture towards Dean but faltered when he noticed the dirty blond stuffing his face with more food. "Brother, Dean. This is Cordelia, that's Carter."

Sparing the two a warm smile, Sarah averted her gaze back to Dean. "Can we get you some more mini quiche?" She asked, amusement evident in her eyes and in the way she tried to suppress a smile.

"Mhm, I'm good," he shook his head, words muffled against the pile of food that was shovelled in his mouth. "Thanks."

With a nod, Sarah pulled her eyes away from the oldest Winchester brother and looked at the youngest. A soft smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she addressed the tall man, "So, can I help you with something?"

After a moment of just silently staring at her with that same smile on his face, Sam snapped out of his daze and nodded. "Yeah, actually," he cleared his throat. "What can you tell us about the Telesca estate?"

Sarah inhaled deeply before answering, "The whole thing's pretty grisly if you ask me... selling their things this soon. But dad's right about one thing, sensationalism brings out the crowds. Even the rich ones."

Dean gave a fake smile in response to her words, mouth puffed out slightly due to more food he had just pushed into it. Carter and Cordelia shared a look, both thinking the same thing. This woman was like a female Sam, I mean, 'sensationalism', years at Stanford and Cordelia would not be able to tell you what that meant.

Sam, on the other hand, just stared at her in awe. That smile crept up on his lips once again before he asked, "Is it possible to see the provenances?"

Cordelia felt a nudge hit her ribs and turned her head, finding Dean watching her, he gestured over to Sam and Sarah who were still sharing smitten smiles and wiggled his eyebrows.

Just when Sarah began to reply, Daniel Blake's jarring voice spoke up once again. "I'm afraid there isn't any chance of that," he told them sternly, Carter outwardly rolled his eyes at the sound of the man's face as he came into view.

"Why's that?" Cordelia asked, cocking an eyebrow at the taller, greying man, who only stared down at her with distaste in his eyes. He didn't bother hiding the judgemental look on his face, she didn't bother hiding repulsion in hers.

"You're not on the guest list," he was quick to say, eyes flitting from hers to the three men stood behind her. "And I think it's time to leave."

"Well, we don't have to be told twice," Dean mocked, once again putting on that same ( downright terrible ) posh voice.

"Apparently you do."

God, even his tone made Cordelia want to tear his eyeballs out with her nails.

"Okay, it's alright," Sam spoke up, tone calm like the mediator he was. "We don't want any trouble, we'll go."

With a small smile flashing in Sarah's direction, Sam took off, Dean and Carter in tow. Cordelia downed the last of her drink and shoved the glass into the man's hand.

"You'd think with all this money you'd get some decent Champagne."

♰

    "Grant Wood, Grandma Moses ⸻ what?" The confusion was clear on Dean's face as he addressed his brother. After pulling up to a new motel, Dean checked them in and secured a room. Now, the four had their bags slung over their shoulders as Dean stood by the room door, key in hand.

"Art history course," Sam shrugged, sending a brief smile over to the cleaning lady in passing. "It's good for meeting girls."

Dean paused and looked towards his brother, eyebrows raised to his forehead. His gaze then slid over to Cordelia, as though he was looking to her for confirmation. She nodded, a sly smile on her face, "Before Jess he was sluttin' it up, hard to imagine, believe me, I know."

"I wasn't sluttin' it up," Sam rolled his eyes at her choice of words. "I went on a few dates here and there."

Dean gave his brother a blank stare. "It's like I don't even know you," he spoke sarcastically, pushing the motel room door open.

The four stood in place as the door swung shut behind them. It was all very Saturday Night Fever. There was a lot of silver, it looked like the seventies threw up and out came their room. A disco ball lampshade hung from the ceiling.

"Funky," Cordelia muttered under her breath as she took it all in.

"Huh." Sam and Dean let out simultaneously as their heads went from one side of the room to the other. Each had a shocked expression on their faces.

"This room makes me wanna kill myself," Carter grumbled to himself before he dropped his bag to the ground, a thud sounded out as he did.

"It's making me dizzy," Cordelia complained, squinting her eyes. After a moment of pursed lips and blank stares, the four moved further into the room.

"What was... providence?" Dean asked, question directed at his brother as he, too, slumped his bag onto the floor, whilst Sam ventured to drop his bag down by the foot of one of the beds ⸻ silently claiming it as his own.

"Provenance," Cordelia quietly corrected him as she walked between the boys, making her way to the coffee machine that was strewn across one of the cabinets.

"It's a certificate of origin," Sam told them. "Like a biography. You know we can use them to check the history of the pieces, see if any of them have a freaky past."

"Oh. Well, we're not getting anything out of Chuckles, but, uh, Sarah..." Dean sent his brother a wink accompanied with a sly smirk.

But Sam didn't quite catch his brother's drift. "Yeah, maybe Carter can take her home, see if he can get anything out of her," Sam grinned, eyes sliding over to Carter, who was slumped up against a wall.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind, but, uh," Carter shrugged, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I have a feelin' she was more into you."

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Sam laughed, shaking his head in argument. "Pick ups are you three, not me."

"It wasn't my ass she was checking out," Cordelia pointed out, eyebrows raised expectantly. Sam blankly turned to face them and his face fell, he rolled his eyes as the three stared back at him ⸻ Cordelia with a hopeful look on her face whilst Carter and Dean looked more teasing.

"In other words, you want me to use her to get information," Sam stated blankly, tone dry.

"Sometimes, you gotta take one for the team," Dean grinned over at his brother before stuffing his hand in his pocket, after ruffling around for a second, he pulled out his phone. "Call her."

♰

    After a little more argument and convincing, Sam called Sarah and got a date. Cordelia felt like a proud mother. Yes, it may have seemed weird. He was with her cousin for eighteen months and she was happy for him. But she knew how Jess worked. She'd want him to be happy. It may have been merely for information, but she'd still want him to take a chance at happiness again.

An hour flew by and everyone was doing their own thing. Dean sat on one of the bed's, sharpening his knives, Carter sat on the sofa, boredly staring up at the ceiling and Cordelia made her way out of the bathroom, clad in fresh clothes. A blue vest top and sweats hung low on her hips, a towel in hand as she bunched at her damp hair.

"This place is my idea of hell," she grumbled with a sigh, eyes shifting over to Carter. "Move your ass, Branston, I need to sleep."

"Hell no, I'm not sharing a bed with one of them," Carter scoffed, eyes briefly moving over to Dean before shifting back to Cordelia, he shrugged. "You share with them, I'm getting my own room tomorrow."

Originally, they had planned on getting two rooms, but the motel clerk had informed them that there wouldn't be a free room until the pending day. So for now, the four were stuffed into this two bed room.

Cordelia pulled a face at his words. "If anyone deserves that room it's me," Cordelia pointed out, eyebrows shooting up. "I mean, if we get lucky, we get two rooms and I never seem to get them."

"It's not my fault you suck at rock-paper-scissors," Carter shrugged nonchalantly, earning a snort of amusement from Dean. His entertainment simmered when Cordelia shot him an irritated look.

"It is your fault because you cheat," she scoffed at his words.

This time, it was Dean who spoke up, "You can't cheat rock-paper-scissors."

Carter's nod of agreement only further irritated her. "Well, you clearly can because Carter keeps doing it," she narrowed her eyes at him and strode over to one of the free beds. "You know what? Dean can share with Sam-"

"-Hell no."

"And for once, I get my own bed," she ignored his words and continued speaking as she pulled back the duvet, and climbed into the bed.

"I'm not sharin' with Sam," Dean protested, putting his knife down. He looked like a stroppy child after being told no, in fact, they all did.

"Well then sleep in the car, I don't know what to tell you Dean," Cordelia muttered under her breath as she shut her eyes, trying to block out the sound of the other two.

"Or," Carter cut in before Dean could reply. "You two just share the bed. I don't see what the big deal is, you guys always share."

That shut them up. It wasn't the fact that she didn't want to share with Dean, I mean, even just last night she was practically on top of him as they slept, but she just wanted one night away from the three animals she was 'living' with.

Spending every minute of every day with them was overwhelming. Sam always woke early to either get a head start on the case or to go for a quick run, and she was a light sleeper so she woke with him. Dean was messy as hell, all of his stuff was scattered everywhere and Carter well, Cordelia had spent enough time with Carter in the past, she could only handle him and his arrogant self for a small amount of time.

So it wasn't the fact she had to share a bed with Dean, hell sometimes she looked forward to it. Unbeknown to them, in their sleep they cuddled up together, she slept better when she was beside him. Her nightmares about Jess' death didn't haunt her, and whilst sometimes they did, when she'd wake in the middle of the night he was there to comfort her.

Dean glanced over at Cordelia in a silent question. She met his eye and gave a small nod. A silent conversation being held that had Carter rolling his eyes.

Those two were starting to get on his nerves.

But he also felt a tinge of guilt. Cordelia was usually so forward when she had feelings for someone, and because of him and his actions, she was more hesitant. Whilst Dean also played a small part in her hesitation, Carter knew it was mainly due to him.

So, from the goodness of his heart, he was on a mission.

'Get Cordy and Dean together' mission, as he named it in his head.

Cordelia might kick him in the ballsack, but hey, she'd thank him in the future.

Just then, the door pushed open and everyone turned to look at Sam who made his way into the room. He flushed at the attention from the three, but soon rolled his eyes at the teasing looks they were giving him.

Eventually, he shrugged his nicest suit jacket off and threw it down onto the bed by Dean before he began to tell them about how it went. In Sam fashion, he sat down by the small table and began sifting through the papers ⸻ already back in hunter mode.

"So, she just handed the providences over to you?" Dean questioned as he took in what Sam had revealed in the last five minutes.

"Provenances," Cordelia corrected quietly as she swung her legs out from under the covers, mirroring Dean as she sat on the edge of the bed.

The Winchester looked towards her and his brows dipped. "Provenances," he repeated quietly under his breath, haltingly.

"Yes, we went back to her place-"

"Oh yeah?" Carter sat up at that, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Sam's words, the Winchester merely shut him down with a hard look.

"I got a copy of the papers," Sam finished.

"Sam Winchester, you dirty dog," Carter grumbled under his breath sarcastically.

"And?" Dean rose his eyebrows at his brother, as though he was waiting for him to continue.

Sam pulled a face and turned to face him. "And nothing. That's it, I left."

"You didn't have to con her or do any..." he took a brief, humoured glance at Cordelia, who was biting the inside of her cheek to supress a smile, "special favours or anythin'?"

Sam huffed and threw his head back in annoyance, "Dean, would you get your mind out of the gutter, please?"

"He can't, his mind is permanently fixated there," Cordelia muttered under her breath.

Dean merely flipped the brunette off before his attention flitted back over to his brother, his tone more sincere, "You know, when this whole thing's done, we could stick around for a little bit."

"Why?" Sam questioned dryly, eyes strictly on the papers in front of him.

"So you could take her out again," Dean shrugged as though his words were clear. "It's obvious you're into her, even I could see that."

Sam and Carter shared a look at his words. Sam merely shook his head and ignored his brother, pulling his attention back over to the papers in his hand. He was silent for a moment before his brows furrowed.

"Hey, alright, I think I've got something here."

Dean got up from his seat on the bed and made his way over to Sam. Cordelia and Carter didn't bother moving from their places, they only turned their heads to watch as Dean stopped behind his brother and Sam silently handed the papers over to him.

"Portrait of Isaiah Merchant's family," Dean recited the words printed on the sheet, "painted nineteen-ten."

"Now compare the names of the owners with dad's journal," Sam instructed, so Dean moved to grab his dad's journal which sat on the table by the rest of the research.

"First purchased in nineteen-twelve to Peter Sims," Dean continued reading from the provenance, Sam then pointed towards his dad's journal.

As Cordelia got up from her place on the bed, she looked over Sam's shoulder, eyes on John Winchester's journal. "Peter Sims murdered, nineteen-twelve," she read the words scribbled messily in John's handwriting.

Dean's brows furrowed as she leant forward, getting a better look at the journal as he compared it to the research notes. "Same thing in nineteen-forty-five. Oh, same thing in nineteen-seventy."

"Then stored, until it was donated to a charity auction last month," Sam told the other three, linking his fingers together as he leant further back into his chair. "Where the Telescas bought it. So what do you think, it's haunted or cursed?"

Dean's lips pulled downward in contemplation before he shrugged. "Either way, it's toast," Dean said as he rose from his seat. "I'm gonna ring one out then we can head out."

Cordelia grimaced at his choice of words but nodded nonetheless. Carter told them he'd wait out by the car so once the door shut behind him, the Moore got up from her place and headed over to Sam.

She took Dean's previous seat beside him and looked at him expectantly, when the youngest Winchester didn't say anything, she rolled her eyes. "So, how was it?" She asked, a teasing smile pulling at her lips.

"I just told you-"

"No, I meant the date, how was the date?" She gave him a pointed stare, hoping he'd talk to her about it.

"It wasn't-"

"It was a date Sam," she interrupted him with a smirk. "C'mon, tell me, I'm your best friend, I have after date gossip privileges."

"If it were a date, yeah, but it wasn't so..." he trailed off before sighing as she gave him another look. "I don't know what to tell you, she's a nice girl."

"Pretty too," Cordelia added slyly.

Sam scoffed and threw a pillow which sat on the small armchair at her, "Get your shoes on, we've gotta go."

Holding her hands up in defeat teasingly, Cordelia stood from her place and headed toward her shoes which were carelessly tossed by the door. "If you're not ready, you're not ready, but for what it's worth? She does like you," she told him as she pulled her shoes on, holding the wall for stability.

"You can't possibly know that," Sam shook his head as he shrugged his jacket on before he threw Cordelia's over to her.

"Yeah, I do know that, actually," she emphasised as she pulled her jacket on. "I have a sixth sense with these kinds of things."

Sam rolled his eyes at her words, and that sixth sense doesn't seem to work when Dean is concerned.

♰

    They arrived back at the Blake Auction House around twenty minutes later. Dean was the first to jump the tall fence, followed by Sam, then Cordelia ( who wasn't as nearly as graceful as the brothers ) and finally Carter.

They ran towards the doors where the alarm system was and the three men stepped aside so Cordelia could get to it. She may have been crappy with computer things, but damn that girl could break into anything. Flashlight held in her mouth, her gloved fingers worked quickly.

Pickpocketing, lock picking, safe cracking ⸻ she was the perfect criminal by the time she was thirteen, and that had nothing to do with hunting, that was a mere rebel against her sheriff father.

Once the alarm was disarmed, she moved over to the door. Whilst the others could pick a lock, Cordelia was quicker, all the years of sneaking out of the house when she was a teenager paid off.

Once inside, the brunette reached into her pockets and handed the others a pair of gloves and they all parted. Cordelia retraced their steps from earlier that day, but the painting had moved since then.

She cursed under her breath as she continued to look around. It was only around thirty seconds later when a short, low whistle was heard. She looked over towards where the sound came from and found Dean stood at the top of the spiral staircase, the painting on a stand beside him.

Carter and Sam slowed to a stop beside Cordelia and watched as Dean placed his flashlight in his mouth and reached into his pocket, pulling his switchblade out. After flicking it open, he cut the painting out from the frame.

They were in and out within a couple of minutes and around ten minutes later they had found the perfect place to burn the painting ⸻ a small clearing in the woods.

Cordelia threw the rolled up painting onto the ground as Carter ruffled around in his pockets. He pulled out a packet of cigarettes and plucked one out, the other three rolled their eyes as he held his finger up in a "one second" motion and grabbed matches out of his other pocket.

"Ugly ass thing," Dean grumbled, staring down at the painting as Carter swiped the match across the box. "If you ask me, we're doing the art world a favour."

"What do you know about art?" Cordelia snickered as Carter threw the match on the painting, watching as it lit up in flames almost immediately.

"Uh probably a helluva' lot more than you do."

"Yeah, okay, Dean."

"You know, I don't like that tone. It's a very condescending tone-"

♰

    The next morning Cordelia got woken up by the sound of shuffling. Her eyes were squinted as she tried to get used to the light that shone in from the windows. She stifled a yawn as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Once she properly opened her eyes, she watched as Sam and Dean spoke in hushed words as the latter frantically looked around the room for something. "What's going on?" Cordelia asked, voice rough due to having just woken up. She lifted her hand and ran her fingers through her hair in attempt to tame the bed-head.

"I can't find my wallet," Dean announced as he threw the pillows off of the couch, hoping he'd find it there, but he came to no avail.

Sam continued to stuff his clothes into his duffle, "How is that my problem?"

Dean gave his brother a flat look, "Cause I think I dropped it in the warehouse last night."

"You're kidding, right?" Sam's face fell, mirroring Dean's.

Dean strode over to the other side of the room and shrugged his jacket on before throwing Cordelia's shoes at her. The brunette ducked in attempt to dodge them. "I mean, it's got my prints, my I.D. ⸻ well, my fake I.D., anyway, but we got to go get it before somebody else finds it. C'mon."

Cordelia groaned as she stumbled out of bed and struggled to put her shoes on. She didn't even have time to grab a jacket before Sam ushered her out of the door. His irritation was clear as he slammed the door shut behind them.

    It wasn't long before they arrived back at the Auction House. In the car, Cordelia had texted Carter to let him know where they were. The Branston boy, before Cordelia was rudely awoken by Dean, had gone off to get them breakfast before Dean had realised he was missing his wallet.

Carter had told her if they didn't return in fifteen minutes, he'd eat all the food.

Asshole.

Dean hurriedly made his way around the auction house, Sam in tow. Cordelia arched a brow as the Winchester lifted the leaves of a plant. "Yeah, because it's gonna be there," the brunette said sarcastically, eyeing the Winchester strangely.

Dean straightened up and sent her a dry look from over his shoulder, "Shut up, Cordelia."

"How do you lose your wallet, Dean?" Sam demanded, frustration dripping from his tongue.

Dean merely threw his hands up in the air and continued to look around, Cordelia, however, answered Sam's question. "Because he's an idiot. An idiot who didn't listen to me when I told him to leave it ba-"

"Yeah, okay, thank you, Cordelia," Dean held a hand up to silence her, her lips only pulled into a small smirk at his quick annoyance.

"You're so easy to piss off," Cordelia chuckled in amusement, but tore her eyes away from him as she continued looking for Dean's wallet.

"Okay, mouthy-"

"Hi guys!" A way too enthusiastic voice called out, startling the trio, causing them to whirl around, coming face to face with Sarah. Sam's eyes widened as he hastily put down the plant pot he was holding.

"Sarah, hey!" Sam breathed out heavily, eyes still bulging out of his head like a maniac, Cordelia stifled a snicker. The other brunette woman took a moment to take the trio in, Sam, not so coolly, rested his arm against one of the artifacts beside the plant pot, Dean cleared his throat as he casually leant against the wall and Cordelia merely crossed her arms over her chest ⸻ only drawing Sarah's eyes to her outfit.

She was in those sweatpants and blue vest top she had put on last night, having had quite literally rolled out of bed, she didn't have time to change.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah questioned, a surprised smile carved on her lips.

"Oh, um..." Sam glanced back at Dean and Cordelia for help, but the pair remained silent, merely shooting him a look of encouragement, when the two said nothing, Sam turned back to Sarah and his words clumsily tumbled out of his mouth. "We, uh, we're... we're leaving town, and we, um, came to say goodbye."

Cordelia didn't miss the disappointed look that crossed Sarah's face at Sam's words.

"What are you talking about, Sam?" Dean feigned confusion as he took a step toward his brother and Sarah. "We're sticking around for at least another day or two."

"We are?" Cordelia's brows furrowed at his words, Dean shot her a look and her mouth formed an 'o' shape. "Oh, yes, yeah, right. We are..." she turned to Sarah with an affirmative, yet unconvincing, nod. "We are. We're sticking 'round. Here. In New York."

Dean gave her a weird look; she was a crappy liar.

"Oh, Sam, by the way, I wanted to give you that twenty bucks I owe you," Dean shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, his teasing grin only widened as he caught the look of realisation on Sam's face. "I always forget, you know," Dean addressed Sarah, hands moving dramatically as he pulled out a twenty.

Sam chuckled dryly and Cordelia lifted a hand to her face, hiding her smile as she nodded along to Dean's words. "He's forgetful like that," she added, eyes on Sarah, whose eyebrows were shot up to her forehead as she watched the scene in front of her.

Dean pointed towards Cordelia in agreement before he handed his brother the cash, a wide smile on his lips, "There you go."

Cordelia didn't think she had ever seen Sam look so grumpy in her few years of knowing him. The Winchester practically snatched the cash out of Dean's hand, a glare directed at the pair as he looked between them.

Dean merely smiled. That conniving, cheeky smile. He looked towards Sarah, "Well, we'll leave you two crazy kids alone," he told her, hands clamping down on Cordelia's shoulders. "We've gotta go get this one some more clothes."

Without another word, Dean steered Cordelia out of the Auction House. When they finally made it outside, Cordelia turned to the Winchester. "You like playing matchmaker, Dean?" A smirk pulled at her lips as he innocently shrugged and headed towards the Impala.

"Hey, maybe you were right. I do pimp him out," he stopped by the car door, resting his forearms on the top of the car as the corner of his mouth pulled into a sly smirk. "But we do really need to get you some clothes, I mean, seriously?" He gestured towards her outfit.

"You rushed me, asshole. I don't know if you noticed, but I quite literally rolled out of bed, you didn't really give me much time to change."

Dean huffed at her words and pursed his lips as he looked her over with a tilted head before pulling a face, "At least you're a hot slob."

Cordelia scoffed, but the amusement was clear. "You're insufferable," she told him, smile only widening as he shrugged coyly.

"Oh, come on, you like it," Dean further teased.

"It's annoying," she countered, but didn't correct him as she pulled open the passenger side door.

The pair climbed in and just then, a frantic Sam made his way out of the Auction House. Cordelia narrowed her eyes and leant forward as the engine of the Impala roared to life. "Is that Sam?" She asked aloud, at her words, Dean halted his actions and caught sight of the tall brunet hurriedly crossing the parking lot.

Dean rolled his eyes and sunk in his seat, "Oh, this better be good."

"Maybe he got nervous," Cordelia offered.

"Nervous my ass," Dean grumbled as Sam finally reached the car, the back door swung open and the youngest Winchester clambered into the backseat.

"The- the painting. It's still there, or back, I guess," Sam blurted out before anyone could question him, frustration clear in his tone. "I don't understand. We burned the damn thing."

"Yeah, thank you, Captain Obvious," Dean shot back, turning to give his brother an incredulous look.

"Okay, so we find another way to get rid of the piece of crap," Cordelia said, looking between the two, her brows furrowed in thought. "Most lore about haunted paintings, it's almost always the painting's subject that haunts them."

"Yeah? Alright. So we need to figure out everything there is to know about that creepy-ass family in that creepy-ass paintin'," Dean let out a sigh before looking back at Sam. "What were their names again?"

♰

    Dust covered books slammed down onto a table and an enthusiastic voice spoke up. "You said the Isaiah Merchant family right?" The Proprietor asked Sam. The three had gone to a second hand book shop in search of any research on the Merchant family, Carter still holed up in the motel.

Bastard was probably having the time of his life, Sam thought bitterly to himself before nodding along to the man's words, a tight smile on his lips. "Yeah, that's right."

Sam turned his head briefly as he felt Cordelia and Dean approach from somewhere behind him. Dean held a gun magazine in hand, flickering through the pages with a smile on his face whilst Cordelia looked over his shoulder.

"That's cute," she stated, pointing at one of the guns printed on the parchment, causing his actions to halt.

Dean looked back at her with a dry look, "Cute, really?"

Before she could defend her choice of words, the older man stood by the books spoke up once again. "I dug up every scrap of local history I could find," he told them, pushing his glasses up his nose, an excited smile pulled at his face, grey beard twitching as his smile grew. "So are you guys crime buffs?"

"This one is," Dean placed the magazine down onto the table and put his hands on Cordelia's shoulders, a teasing smile on his plump lips. "She loves it, all that... crime-y stuff. Why do you ask?"

"Well," the older man trailed off as he lifted a newspaper article, showing it to the three. The lead story on the front page showed the Titanic Sinking, but he pointed towards the smaller story on the side, 'Father Slaughters Family, Kills Himself' it read.

Dean pointed towards it and nodded, "Yes. Yeah, sounds about right."

"The whole family was killed?" Sam's brows screwed together at the new information.

"It seems that Isaiah, he slit his kids' throats, then his wife, then himself. Now, he was a barber by trade. Used a straight razor."

"Why?" Cordelia asked. "Why'd he do it?"

"Well, let's look," the older man flipped the newspaper article over so he could read the small story. "Uh, 'People who knew him describe Isaiah as having a stern and harsh temperament. Controlled his family with an iron fist. Wife, uh, two sons, adopted daughter...' Yeah, yeah, yeah... 'There were whispers that the wife was gonna take the kids and leave.' Which of course you know in that day and age, um... so instead, old man Isaiah... well he gave them all a shave."

He lifted his hand and drew it across his neck, a kkkch sound leaving his mouth as he did so. Cordelia rolled her lips into her mouth to avoid the laugh that so badly wanted to come out, Dean, however, shamelessly laughed at the man's actions... until of course, Sam glared at him, to which he immediately stopped laughing.

"Does it say what happened to the bodies?" Dean pulled away from his brother's gaze and focused his attention on the proprietor.

The man glanced down at the sheet in his hands before nodding, "Just that they were all cremated."

The trio shared a look at the revelation. Sam sighed in defeat and gave the older man a tight smile before asking, "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Actually, I found a picture of the family," the man rounded the table, moving towards the three as he held a large book, he flickered through the first few pages before turning it to them, showing them the portrait of the Merchant family. Cordelia's brows furrowed, the painting had changed.

When she turned to look at Sam, it seemed he too had realised, the pair shared a look before the shorter brunette spoke. "Could we get a copy of this, please?" She asked kindly, a smile on her lips at was hard to say no to.

As suspected, the proprietor smiled back at her with a nod.

"Sure."

♰

    They'd been back at the motel for around twenty minutes now. When they first arrived back, they found Carter lounging on the couch, who had went on to say "I had a great day," the sarcasm was not lost on them.

Cordelia laid on the bed, back pressed up against the headboard, ankles crossed over one another. Carter still lounged on the couch and Sam and Dean sat by the table, the copy of the Merchant family portrait sat in front of them.

They'd spent the last five minutes or so arguing about the fact the painting had changed. Cordelia pursed her lips, eyes on the sparkly disco lampshade. "Dean, I'm telling you, the one at the auction house, the dad was looking down, now he's just creepily staring straight ahead."

Sam gestured towards his best friend in agreement, "The painting has changed, Dean."

Dean nodded as he took in their words. "Alright, so you think that daddy dearest is trapped in the painting, and he's handing out Columbian neckties like he did with his family?"

"Clearly fuckin' sounds like it," Carter grumbled in answer to Dean's question. "Dude was clearly fucked in the head. He must've figured killin' his own family wasn't enough to fill his freaky fuckin' needs."

"Right, but how do we stop him? I mean, he was cremated," Cordelia pointed out from her place on the bed as she fiddled with the string of her sweatpants.

"Alright, well, if Isaiah's position changed, then maybe some other things in the painting changed as well," Dean said as he grasped the picture in hand, staring down at the portrait. "You know, it could give us some clues."

"What? Like a 'Da Vinci Code' deal?" Sam brows furrowed.

Dean gave his brother a blank stare, the confusion clear on his face. " I don't... know, uh, I'm still waiting for the movie on that one," he cleared his throat, coming to a stand. Cordelia's eyes watched as the muscles in his biceps flexed as he used his palms to push himself up. She snapped out of her daze once he spoke, "Anyway, we got to get back in and see that painting, which is a good thing, because you can get more time to crush on your girlfriend."

Carter's booming laugh seemed to bring a smirk onto Dean's face, whilst Sam's eyes narrowed.

"Dude..." Sam trailed off whilst his tone was one of frustration. He eyed his brother as he flopped down beside Cordelia on the bed, mirroring her actions as he crossed his ankle over the other. "Enough already."

"What?" Dean feigned ignorance, but from the corner of her eye, Cordelia could see the small smirk planted on his lips.

"What?" Sam mocked. "Ever since we got here, you've been trying to pimp me out to Sarah."

"Told you were a pimp," Cordelia lowered her voice to a teasing whisper as she slyly looked over at the oldest Winchester brother.

Dean merely gave an arrogant smile in return, when he went to open his mouth to say something, Sam was quick to speak, "Just back off, alright?"

"Well, you like her don't you?" Dean shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Sam rose his arms, eyes to the ceiling. His frustration growing by the second.

"Alright, you like her, she likes you, you're both consenting adults..." Dean trailed off and Sam met Carter's eye, the pair shared a look at his words before Sam redirected his pointed stare onto his brother.

Sam thought Dean was a hypocrite. Dean liked Cordelia. Cordelia liked Dean. Yet the 'advice' Dean was giving his brother didn't seem to apply to him. He encouraged Sam, and yet he wouldn't open himself up to that opportunity.

Sam so badly wanted to mock Dean's words, mumble a retort back, but he couldn't do that without outing Cordelia and if he did that, she would take a knife to his balls.

So instead, he settled on, "What's the point, Dean? We'll just leave, we always leave."

"I don't think he's saying you've gotta marry her," Carter pointed out. "Hang out with her, go on a couple dates while we're still here. When we leave you have her number, call her. Whenever we're near you could come see her. Skip out on a few hunts, let us three handle it."

Sam's frustration finally tipped over boiling point, "You know, I don't get it. What do you care if I hook up?!"

"Cause then maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time," Dean stated calmly, Sam glared over at him, but Dean merely shot his eyebrows up in retaliation.

Sam scoffed and turned away, focusing his gaze on the wall instead.

Dean sat up, eyes on his brother as a more serious look crossed his face, "You know, seriously Sam, this isn't just about hooking up, okay? I mean, I, I think that this Sarah girl could be good for you."

Sam gave his brother a look; those were the exact same words he had said to Dean about Cordelia.

Dean, caught this look, but chose to ignore him and continue, a softer tone to his voice, "And... I don't mean any disrespect but I'm sure this is about Jessica, right?"

After his words, Cordelia's mind went blank at the mention of her cousin. A pang of hurt hit her heart. He continued talking, but she couldn't listen. Her mind merely consumed on Jess.

When Jessica died, Cordelia didn't deal with her emotions properly, she had cried sure, but she hadn't cried. She thought being with Sam and Dean played a part of that, especially since in the beginning, Dean didn't trust her and she didn't really trust him, and while he was Sam's brother, she didn't want to let her guard down ⸻ she didn't want to seem weak.

Snapping her out of her memories of Jess, Dean's hushed voice spoke. "Smooth," he whispered mockingly, nudging Cordelia. It took her a moment to realise what he was talking about.

Sam was on the phone with Sarah, being a gigantic fumbling idiot.

"So, ah, so listen. We're, uh we're... thinking that maybe we'd like to come back in and look at the painting again. I think maybe we are interested in buying it-"

"Seriously? That's what he's going with, the painting?" Cordelia lowered her voice. The three watched Sam's flushed face as he spoke, from the other side of the room, Carter had a grin on his face as he sent the brunet an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"And he wonders why we pimp him out," Dean grumbled in answer, but his tone was light, teasing.

Suddenly, a worried look crossed Sam's face. "Wait, what?" His words were hurried, rushed causing Dean to sit up properly, a frown coaxing his face.

Cordelia's eyes narrowed and she mirrored Dean's actions, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and came to a stand, slowly approaching Sam as his next words left his mouth.

"Who'd you sell it to?"

The four shared a look as Sam rushed to the other side of the room, swiftly grabbing his jacket before heading to the door. The others were quick to follow his actions.

"Sarah I need an address right now."

♰

    The roar of the Impala quietened down as Dean stopped outside a very large house. The woman came from money, Cordelia could tell you that much by merely looking at the exterior and it made sense why the woman had purchased the Merchant family portrait. Money didn't buy taste.

The four jumped out of the car and were welcomed to the sight of Sarah climbing out of her jeep, dressed more casually than the four had seen her. "Sam, what's happening?" Sarah demanded as she followed them up the porch steps.

"I told you you shouldn't have come," Sam told her, ignoring the question as he sped up the steps, Dean, Cordelia, Carter and Sarah in toll.

Dean's knuckles rasped against the door loudly whilst Cordelia tried to peek through the window, but the curtains concealed the inside from her eye. "Hello, anybody home?!" Dean bellowed, but came to no avail.

"You said Evelyn might be in danger. What kind of danger?" Sarah rambled, nerves clear on her face as she addressed Sam.

"I can't knock this sucker down. Cor-"

"Already on it," Cordelia knelt down in front of the door and began picking the lock.

Sarah glanced around frantically. Pulling her eyes away from Cordelia, she looked over at Carter who was banging on the windows and finally, her eyes set on Sam and Dean, "What are you guys, burglars?"

"Pft. I wish, I'd make a hell of a lot more money," Cordelia grumbled, finally getting the door open.

"Look, you should really wait in the car. It's for your own good," Sam told Sarah as he and the others began to make their way inside.

"The hell I will, Evelyn's a friend," Sarah told him sternly, following them inside the house. The door slammed shut behind them and Sarah navigated them through the house she knew well. "Evelyn!"

They entered the lounge, finding Evelyn sat, back facing them. They quietly approached as Sarah softly called out the older woman's name. Cordelia's eyes narrowed in on the painting, the father was now staring at his daughter, rather than straight ahead.

Pulling her eyes away from the painting, she focused on Evelyn's still form. "Evelyn?" Sarah called out hesitantly. "It's Sarah Blake... are you alright?"

Cordelia watched Sarah approach the woman in the corner of her eye and held a hand out to stop her. "Maybe don't," she urged at the same time Sam spoke.

"Sarah, don't."

But the brunette didn't listen, she reached to touch the older woman's shoulder. Evelyn's head tipped back at the action, exposing her deeply slashed throat.

A tore rippled from Sarah's throat, echoing around the large house, though her eyes widened when the father in the picture's head suddenly snapped forward, staring straight ahead once again.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" She breathed out heavily, panic in her tone before Sam wrapped his arms around her and guided her out of the room.

♰

    The next morning Sam paced the length of the room, Carter amusedly followed him with his eyes whilst Cordelia and Dean quietly bickered at the table. The Moore reached for the laptop perched in front of the Winchester with an eye roll, but Dean merely slapped her hand away. Cordelia gasped in offence before slapping his hand back.

"You're a child you know that?" She snapped under her breath, moving to grab the laptop once again, only for Dean to pull it closer to himself.

"I'm a child yet you're the one who can't wait her turn? Yeah, okay," Dean shot her a smug smile in retaliation.

"My turn? Sam gave me the damn thing, you took-"

"I swear, Cordelia, all you do is bitch and moan ⸻ ow!" Dean stopped himself as the brunette's hand collided with the back of his head.

"You're the one that can't admit you're wrong," she snapped back, eyebrows raised pointedly. Dean opened his mouth and went to retort some kind of insult, but his lips pressed into a flatline.

She was right, there was no arguing with that. Not that he'd ever admit it.

She gave a smug look in retaliation when, suddenly, a loud, rushed knock was heard. Dean pulled his scowling face away from Cordelia and looked towards the door, where Sam had practically raced towards.

He stood by the now open door and frowned down at whoever was on the other side. "Hey, you alright?"

At first, Sarah ignored his question and hurriedly rushed into the room. Turning, a scowl sat on her face as she shook her head, "No, actually. I just lied to the cops and told them I went to Evelyn's alone and found her like that."

Dean's face had a smirk on it as he looked between Sam and Sarah. He and Carter shared a quick look that went blind to the youngest Winchester, but not to the Moore girl.

She rolled her eyes. Carter and Dean was a dynamic that scared her ( and weirded her out ).

"Thank you," Sam breathed out, relief spread across his face.

"Don't thank me. I'm about to call them right back if you don't tell me what the hell is going on. Who's killing these people?" Sarah snapped words hard and clear as she waited on an answer.

Dean discreetly nudged Cordelia under the table and when she turned to look at him, he wiggled his brows. She knew what that look meant. He thought Sarah was good for Sam and her walking into the motel room and demanding answers only convinced him she was a better fit for him.

Sam hesitated, he met the eyes of the others, slowly, one by one. Cordelia pursed her lips, Carter shrugged carelessly and Dean only rose his eyebrows in answer. The silent conversation had Sarah's brows furrowed as she couldn't decipher what was being said.

Your choice, the others silently told Sam and with that, he turned back to face the brunette.

"What."

"What?" Sarah echoed, confusion laced her tone with a hint of irritation.

"It's not a who, it's what is killing those people," Sam corrected her, a tentative look on his face, but she merely looked back at him like he was insane, causing him to sigh. "Sarah, you saw that painting move."

A dry chuckle left the Blake's lips, "No. No, I was... I was seeing things."

"What? And we all just happened to see the same thing?" Cordelia spoke up.

"It's impossible," Sarah shook off Cordelia's words.

"Yeah, well, welcome to our world," Dean said, tone dry.

"Sarah, I know this sounds crazy... but we think that painting is haunted."

Tears rested in her eyes whilst an uncomfortable smile sat on her lips. "You're joking." But when she looked between the group, they stared blankly at her, excluding Carter who found it rather amusing. Sarah's smile dropped. "You're not joking. God, the guys I go out with."

"Tell me about it," Cordelia grumbled under her breath, sighing as she placed her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Sarah, think about it. Evelyn, the Telescas ⸻ they both had the painting, and there have been others before that. Wherever this thing goes, people die, and we're just trying to stop it... and that's the truth."

Sarah took a moment to take in what he was saying. She looked around again, eyes flitting from Sam and over to Cordelia. Maybe she was looking for the comfort of another woman, and when Cordelia sent her a small smile in response, she sighed.

"Well, then, I guess you better show me. I'm coming with you," she told him, her tone implying there was no point arguing with her.

Sam's wide eyes followed Sarah as she moved towards the door, "What? No. Sarah, no. You should just go home. This stuff can get dangerous, and... and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Look, you guys are probably crazy-" Cordelia's lips pursed in offence at Sarah's words, but she kind of had a point, "-but if you're right about this when me and my dad sold that painting, we might have got these people killed. Look, I'm not saying I'm not scared, 'cause I am scared as hell, but... I'm not going to run and hide either."

She strode over towards the door and pulled it open, pausing in the doorway as she faced the group, "So are we going or what?"

A look of admiration crossed Dean's face as he watched her walk out, a small grin accompanied his lips as he looked over at his brother.

"Sam... marry that girl."

♰

    Fifteen minutes later, Sam made his way towards the door of Evelyn's house. Dean and Carter trailed behind him, bickering, whilst Cordelia and Sarah stood side-by-side, leant against the fence as the latter nervously glanced around.

"Don't worry, we know what we're doing," Cordelia told Sarah reassuringly, though there was a detect of amusement that slipped her tongue.

"Right," Sarah nodded in an attempt to convince herself of the brunette's words. She swallowed roughly, turning to look at Cordelia. "So, how long have you and Dean been together?" She asked, in hopes of distracting herself from what she was doing.

Cordelia's eyes widened at her words, Carter, who was shamelessly listening in snickered to himself, earning a confused look from both Winchesters, who were too busy arguing over who got to pick the lock.

"Oh, we're not- we're, we're just friends," Cordelia stuttered on her words, a deep flush covered her cheeks at Sarah's words.

"Oh," Sarah's mouth dropped open in visible shock. "Really?"

"Mhm," Cordelia nodded ferociously before clearing her throat, directing her stare over towards the Winchesters. "How you guys doing?"

"Just... a second," Sam murmured under his breath as he worked to pick the lock.

Understanding that the conversation was over, and the subject so desperately needed changing, Sarah, too, looked towards Sam. An anxious look passed her face as she watched him slowly open the door, "Uh... isn't this a crime scene?"

"You've already lied to the cops. What's another infraction?" Dean told the brunette sarcastically, briefly glancing back at her as they began to make their way into Evelyn's house.

Cordelia's hand landed a slap on Dean's shoulder as she gave him a scolding look, "Don't encourage bad behaviour."

Dean scoffed at her words as he cut through the 'DO NOT ENTER, CRIME SCENE' tape placed over the door, "Like you don't."

"I don't," Cordelia shot back as she pushed the large, mahogany doors open, retracing the steps they had walked the previous night.

Once inside, she headed towards the Merchant family portrait and reached for it, pulling it down from the wall. She rested it up against the couch which wasn't laced with Evelyn's blood.

The other hunters came closer, them too closely examining the painting when Sarah spoke up. "Aren't you worried that it's gonna, you know, kill us?" She asked, the nerves clear as she stood tensely, nervously nibbling on her lips as her eyes darted around the bloodied room.

"No, it seems to do its thing at night," Sam told her, sending her a soft look in an attempt to calm her. "I think we're alright in the daylight."

Dean flipped open the book that the proprietor had given them the day before, eyes finding the picture of the painting. His eyes flickered between the smaller version in hand and the larger one perched against the couch. His eyes narrowed down on the razor, and after a second, he nudged Carter, who stood beside him.

"Hey, check it out. The razor, it's closed in this one but open in that one," he spoke, gesturing towards the larger painting.

"What're you guys looking for?"

"If the spirit's changing parts of the paintin', it's doing it for a reason," Carter answered Sarah's question as he lazily threw himself down onto the couch, ignoring Cordelia's scolding eye.

Why was she surrounded by idiots, I mean, who sits on a dead woman's couch?

"Hey, hey, look at this ⸻ the painting in the painting," Sam drew his eyes from the smaller one and over to the larger painting.

"Is that a, uh," Cordelia paused, eyes squinted as she leant closer to get a better look. "A crypt? Uh, what does that say?" Cordelia began mumbling to herself so quietly that the others couldn't hear. "Mer... Mer... Merchant! " She exclaimed, a smile gracing her lips as she turned to the others. "It says Merchant. It's the Merchant mausoleum."

"Yeah, we got that, thank you, Cordelia," Dean teased dryly, causing the brunette's face to fall at his lack of enthusiasm.

Carter turned to Sarah, eyes mockingly flitting between the brunette and Sam. Carter didn't even need to say anything, the look on his face alone was enough to convince the others of his mocking ways.

"Your second date is at a graveyard, how you feel about that?" He asked the woman, who only pursed her lips and stayed silent in answer.

Sam, however, smacked him upside the head in passing as the Winchester grumpily made his way towards the door.

♰

    They had been to three different graveyards so far ⸻ the search for the Merchant mausoleum was tiring everyone out. So much so that Cordelia had to beg Dean to stop at a fast food drive-through so she could have a drink before they headed to the next place.

Dean and Cordelia trailed along in front, Carter behind them and at the back, Sam and Sarah strolled beside one another. The other four missed the extremely sour look on the Branston's face.

"This is the third boneyard we've checked," Dean spoke up, annoyance lacing his tone. "This ghost is jerking us around."

"I'm getting tired of this now," Cordelia told them as she trudged along beside Dean, a sigh left her mouth before she lifted the Diet Coke to her lips.

No one supplied a response, only they kept looking around, bored expressions plastered on their faces. Carter, however, spoke up ⸻ though his words were not relevant to the situation at hand.

"You're tired?" Carter grumbled, eyebrows raised as he looked towards his ex. "I'm tired of fuckin' fifth wheeling all the damn time."

At his words, Sam didn't bother to hide his amusement, but Cordelia and Dean were another story. They glared at him so hard he was surprised his head didn't explode.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Carter defended, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "It's you two that can't admit your feelings for each other."

Immediately after the words had left his mouth, Cordelia and Dean tensed up.

" Dude," Sam scolded, but on the inside, he was happy that someone had made their feelings known.

Carter clearly didn't get the message as he opened his mouth and continued to speak. "I'm sick of you making googly eyes at him and I'm sick of you making googly eyes at her. I can't deal with the moaning and bitchin' from Cordelia. 'Oh no, he doesn't feel the same', " he mocked her voice, speaking in a high-pitched tone before turning to point at Sam. "And I'm sick of listening to him bitch and moan about you bitchin' and moaning about her, grow up and have a conversation, huh?"

The silence was loud, the tension thick. Cordelia prayed to whatever god was above that the ground would just swallow her whole right there and then. Dean was thinking the same, he avoided all eye contact with the Moore girl and instead set his glare on his brother.

His eyes held a thousand words. Ones that Sam couldn't make out but it loosely translated to you were bitching about me to Carter?

Carter sighed and ran his hand down his face in exasperation, "Bad week, my dog ​​died. I just... sorry."

Without another word, the Branston walked ahead. Though the smirk on his lips did little to convince anyone that he was sorry. 

Because deep down, he wasn't sorry. They needed a push, so he pushed them... maybe a little over the edge, but at least their feelings for each other were out there now. If things didn't work out after this then Carter had no choice but to deem them complete and utter fools.

Sam exchanged a look with Sarah before the tall brunet cleared his throat in hopes of clearing out the tense air that seemed to float around the group like a gloomy fog. "Hey, over there," Sam spoke, head gesturing towards a mausoleum that caught his eye.

The five made their way over towards it in an awkward silence. Dean was the first to approach, bolt cutters in hand. He swiftly broke the lock and pushed the door open, an eerie creak followed.

Cordelia grimaced at the sight of the cobwebs that hung around the door. Using the bolt cutters, Dean pushed them aside and made his way into the crypt. Cordelia took the opportunity to punch Carter in the ribs once Sarah and Sam followed Dean into the crypt.

The Branston winced and held a hand to his side, turning to face her with a look mixed with confusion and irritation.

"Ow?"

Cordelia lowered her voice into a harsh whisper, "I'm sorry your dog died, I am, but why the hell are you taking it out on me?"

Cordelia didn't know what she had expected from Carter but it certainly wasn't the grin she received. "You needed a push, I gave you a push. Thank me when you get laid."

" Thank you?" She repeated, stuttering on her words as her jaw dropped open. She stared at him for a quiet moment before grumbling a series of curse words under her breath and pushed passed him, headed inside the mausoleum.

Inside there laid four urns with glass-fronted boxes behind them, inside one of the boxes, stood an old toy doll. The sight had Cordelia cringing, Sarah too as she spoke, "Okay, that right there, is the creepiest thing I've ever seen."

"It was, uh, sort of tradition at the time, whenever a child died, they'd preserve the kid's favourite toy in a glass case, put it next to the headstone in the crypt," Sam told them in his know-it-all fashion.

Carter rolled his eyes at his former best friend's words, "Of course you know that."

"'Course you didn't," Sam shot back in a grumble.

A strong wind blew into the crypt that sent shivers down Cordelia's spine, Dean must've felt it too as he met her eye. "Notice anything strange here?" The Winchester asked, cautiously glancing around.

"Ah... where do I start?" Sarah tried to joke but grimaced as the words left her mouth ⸻ though she still earned a chuckle from Sam which brought a smile to her face.

"No, that's not what I mean. Look at the urns," Dean instructed and the others did as he had said.

"There's four," Cordelia announced, a frown playing at her lips. "There should be five. Daddio's missing."

"So where is he?"

   The four had stopped by the library so that they could check county death certificates, to see if they could figure out what happened to Isaiah Merchant's body. Dean had headed into the library, leaving the four outside, waiting.

They all sat on a small wall, Sarah and Sam sat close together whilst a little further down, Carter sat alone, watching as Cordelia mindlessly paced in front of him. Her rambled words hadn't come to a stop since Dean had walked into the library, she was mainly talking to herself but Carter found amusement in her flustered state.

"Why would you do that?" She asked him, though she wasn't hoping for an answer. "I think I'm having a PTSD-induced panic attack."

"The hell you have PTSD from?" Carter rose his brows at her words, head moving side to side as his eyes followed her fast-paced figure.

"Rejection, Carter. You have subjected me to rejection," she snapped, lowering her voice as she took a cautious glance over at Sam and Sarah, but they were having their own conversation, not even hearing the words she was saying.

Carter rolled his eyes at what he deemed Cordelia's 'dramatics', "He hasn't rejected you, Cor."

"He hasn't said anything either," she shot back, sending him a pointed stare as she nervously pushed her hair back behind her ear, trying to find something for her hands to do. "He knows how I feel now, thanks to your stupid ass and he hasn't said anything."

"You haven't said anything either," Carter pointed out.

The Moore paused at his words and considered them before she nodded, "True."

"What are you so scared about?" Carter frowned, a more serious tone to his voice. He was never good at these kinds of things. He was an awful person to go to for advice, he was awful at giving it. He never said the right thing and he was terrible at being comforting.

But he had to try, for her at least. He did kind of 'drop' them both in this situation. Plus, he was a shitty boyfriend when they were together, he hoped he could make up for it by being a better friend.

"It's one thing liking him, but it's another thing for him to know about it," Cordelia began, a deep breath left her lips as he pacing came to a stop and she sat down on the wall beside Carter. She didn't look up to meet his gaze, instead kept her eyes solely on the ground. "All I'm good for is a one-night stand-"

"Cordelia, we were"

"We were together because our dads wanted us together. We didn't love each other like that. You and I both know that we were always better as friends. We were basically glorified friends with benefits. Even your mom said that, though, that might've been because she hated my guts and thought I was a total slut."

"My mom didn't hate you," Carter tried to defend but his words sounded weak, even though he didn't believe them.

"Right," she snorted sarcastically. "What I'm trying to say is, Dean's not a relationship kind of guy, but I want that. I mean, yeah, sure, I sleep around sometimes. I'm kind of slutty, I'm a slut. But when I like someone, I like them. I can't do friends with benefits with someone I actually have feelings for, no offence."

"None taken," Carter rolled his lips into his mouth before he swallowed roughly and turned to face her. "How do you know he wouldn't want that with you? Maybe with you-"

"Please, I'm not that big of an idiot," she could've laughed herself at what he was trying to say, but the self-pity she felt didn't allow her to do so. She had fully convinced herself that no man would ever change their ways for her. She had been proven wrong twice before.

Her father never changed for her and Carter didn't stop hunting to be with her. So far, she hadn't felt as though she was worthy. She used to be so ready to drop everything for them, but it got her nowhere. She wasn't going to let it happen again. The disappointment wasn't a nice feeling.

As if he could read her mind, Carter's face pulled into a grimace, he awkwardly cleared his throat and cast his eyes towards the ground, "I am sorry, you know, for how everything went down between us. I shouldn't have left that way. We might not have... loved each other like that. But you were still my girlfriend, my friend before that, I owed you a lot more."

Cordelia didn't know how long she had waited for this. An apology from Carter. She didn't know how much she had needed to hear it up until this moment. A weak smile broke on her lips and she reached over, hand grasping his forearm. "Thank you," she told him, after a few seconds, she pulled her hand away and spoke up again, a lighter tone to her voice. "Plus, it's not like I was the best girlfriend, I shouldn't have made you choose between me and hunting."

"You shouldn't have had to," Carter told her, a sad smile on his lips.

She said nothing in reply to his words, only pulled her gaze from Carter and over to Sam and Sarah, a small grin pulled at her lips at the sight. Sam's hand was caressing Sarah's cheek, thumb brushing her skin. He liked her. But she knew Sam all too well, he wouldn't take it any further than whatever was going on between them.

He didn't want to wind up hurt again. She understood that.

Just then, Dean's loud voice was heard. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked, a smug grin on his lips as his eyes flickered between his brother and Sarah. Cordelia didn't think she had ever seen Sam move as fast as he did at that moment, so quickly his hand pulled from Sarah's cheek and fell into his lap.

"No."

"Not at all."

Carter and Cordelia shared a look at Sam and Sarah's hurried words. The pair got up and made their way over to the other three. Dean merely rose an unconvinced brow, "Apparently."

"What'd you find out?" Cordelia asked the Winchester, his eyes pulled over to hers and lingered for a moment.

"Pay dirt," he wiggled an envelope in her face, grinning as he moved it away when she tried to snatch it from his grip. "Apparently, the surviving relatives of the Merchant family were so ashamed of Isaiah that they didn't want him interred with the rest of the family, so they handed him over to the county. The county gave him a pauper's funeral, economy-style. Turns out he wasn't cremated. He was buried in a pine box."

"So there are bones to burn," Carter nodded, a sly smile pulling at his lips.

"There are bones to burn," Dean grinned back over at the brunet, gesturing over towards him with the envelope.

"Tell me you know where."

The smug grin on Dean's lips was all the answer they needed.

♰

    Dean had taken them to the graveyard where Isaiah Merchant was buried. It took them a bit of time to find him, it was an unmarked grave ⸻ no doubt his family were too ashamed to even name him.

Sarah and Cordelia stood side by side, each holding a flashlight in hand, shining them down into the grave as Sam, Dean and Carter continued to dig. By the time they were done digging, from inside the grave, Dean looked up at Cordelia with a blank look, "You know, you could've helped, this would've gone a lot quicker."

"I don't herself know why you're complaining, you're done now," the Moore shrugged, crossing her arm to conceal herself from the cold winds that brushed her skin whilst still holding her flashlight at an angle that shone into the grave. "Plus, I prefer to watch."

Dean let out a sarcastic laugh as the other two climbed out from the grave.

"You guys seem to be uncomfortably comfortable with this," Sarah said as Sam and Carter came to a stand by her side, she swallowed roughly but couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from the grave.

"Well... this isn't exactly the first grave we've dug... still think I'm a catch?" He tried to joke, stuffing his hands into his pockets as a wry smile tugged on his lips. Sarah gave him an amused look in return.

Dean taped his shovel on something, a loud bang echoed and he paused. "Think I've got something," he told them, reaching down he brushed his hands against the hard surface and swept away the layer of dirt, finding the rotted wood of Isaiah's coffin.

He pulled his arm back, shovel in hand and drew it down onto the coffin before repeating the action. The weak wood broke on impact, revealing Isaiah's skeleton.

Dean began to climb out of the grave as Cordelia made her way over to the duffle which was carelessly thrown onto the ground. She ruffled through it, soon finding the salt and kerosene.

The Moore poured the salt all over the body followed by the kerosene. Dean then struck a match. "You've been a real pain in the ass Isaiah. Good riddance," he grumbled before dropping the match down into the grave, watching as the body and the coffin lit up in flames.

Cordelia pulled her hands out of her pockets and held them over the flames, trying to find some warmth. Sarah gave her a weird look.

"What?"

♰

    The five then headed back to Evelyn's house to retrieve the painting. The youngest Winchester opened the passenger side door and paused, turning to face his brother, "Keep the motor running."

"I thought the painting was harmless now," Sarah frowned from the backseat, confusion written clearly across her face.

"Better safe than sorry," Sam told her with a small shrug. "We're gonna bury the sucker."

"I'm gonna come with you," Sarah reached for the door handle, pausing as Sam spoke again.

"You sure?" He asked, meeting Dean's eyes for a moment. Sam looked more hesitant but his brother merely wiggled his eyebrows in a playful manner.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded in answer, not giving Sam a second to deny as she hastily pushed the door open and got out of the car.

"Hey, hey, hey," Dean spoke, voice hushed, grabbing Sam's attention. "We'll stay here. You go make your move." Sam only scoffed at his brother's words, coaxing Dean to speak up. "Sa- Sam, I'm serious!"

But Sam didn't listen, he merely walked away without responding. He only gave his brother a glare as he and Sarah rounded the car. Dean, on the other hand, ignored Sam's look and continued with his mischievous antics.

Reaching forward he turned the dial and the radio blared from the car. A love ballad was heard. Sam and Sarah turned back to face the Winchester, Sarah looked as though she was struggling to hide her amusement, Sam, however, was not amused as he gave his brother a "what the fuck" expression.

Dean raised his hand in an innocent gesture, and a "what?" was mouthed over to the younger brunet.

Cordelia chuckled under her breath at his actions, and for a brief moment, he met her eye in the rear-view mirror. But a second later his attention was dragged back over to his brother as the other Winchester motioned for him to cut off the music, and with a sigh, he did.

Once Sam and Sarah made their way inside, the ruffle of Carter's clothes against the leather seat stole the pair's attention. The Branston shuffled over towards the door and his hand hovered over the handle.

"I'm gonna go... look around," he told them, pursing his lips in thought before he nodded to himself. "Yeah, you know, gotta go... secure the area. You two love birds have fun."

Cordelia opened her mouth to protest, but Carter was quick to throw her a swift wink and climb out of the Impala. Asshole, she thought to herself, anxiously nibbling on her lip as the situation felt all too real.

It was silent for a minute, a tense air clouded over them that felt suffocating. But Dean was the braver of the two and spoke up first.

"Was there, uh," he cleared his throat awkwardly, eyes glued straight ahead as his fingers nervously drummed at the steering wheel. "Was there any truth to what Carter said?"

The Moore swallowed roughly, mentally preparing herself for this talk. "Is this-"

But before she could say any more, the large oak door of the house that once belonged to Evelyn slammed shut on them. The noise reverberated through the car, and the pair's heads whipped around in shock at the sound.

They immediately jumped out of the car, Carter ran down from the side of the house and made his way up the porch as they did. From inside, Sam's voice could be heard. "Dean! Guys, is that you!?"

"Sammy, you alright?" Dean called out as he relentlessly pushed and pulled at the door handle.

When he didn't answer, the feel of Cordelia's phone buzzing in her pocket shook her. She reached for the phone and quickly answered when she spotted Sam's contact name.

"What the fuck Sam-"

"No, it wasn't me, Cor. I think it was the little girl."

"Girl? What-" her brows furrowed before realisation hit her. "The kid from the painting?"

"She's out of the painting. I think it might've been her all along."

"Yeah, no shit," Cordelia snapped, moving toward the window, she leant down a little, trying to get a look inside, Carter cluelessly following after her. "Dean's trying to pick the lock, but it won't budge."

"Then break the damn door down!"

"Oh, yeah, of course. Hold on while I go get my frickin' bulldozer."

"Cordelia, the damn thing is coming."

"Okay, well you're gonna have to just wait a second while we figure something out. Grab some salt and iron."

"What's he sayin'?" Dean asked her as he stopped what he was doing and made his way across the porch, trying to find another way in.

Cordelia brushed him off with a shake of her hand.

"So it's the kid, right?" Carter asked, brows furrowed. "There's nothing left to burn. She'd been cremated."

"Then how's she still around?"

Cordelia thought for a moment, teeth sinking into her bottom lip when her eyes widened and she moved toward the car in a rush. "That creepy ass doll in the mausoleum! That was hers and they used to use, like, I don't fuckin' know, real hair."

"Human remains, same as bones," Sam mumbled from the other end of the phone.

"How you doing in there?" Cordelia asked as she climbed into the car, Dean following as he headed for the driver's side, immediately driving off without another word.

Sam didn't answer her question, instead, he said, "What kind of house doesn't have salt? Low-sodium freaks," attitude lacing his tone.

♰

    In the rush of heading back to the graveyard, Cordelia hadn't realised that Carter wasn't in the car with them until Sam had hung up. Luckily, the adrenaline rid the car of any awkward silences.

Dean was too focused on driving and Cordelia was too focused on not trying to get her best friend killed. The Impala drove straight through the metal gates at the entrance of the graveyard.

The rumble of the car vibrated underneath her and came to a jerky stop. Without hesitation, the pair ran over to the crypt and pulled the doors open, which was luckily still unlocked due to Dean cutting the chain that closed it off.

Once inside, Dean immediately began banging on the strong glass that held the doll, but when the force of his fists meeting the glass didn't do anything, Cordelia looked around, desperately trying to find something strong enough.

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the gun that was shoved in the back of Dean's jeans, she grabbed the weapon and with her free hand, tugged the Winchester backwards, he stumbled back at the shock of her actions, but once he caught sight of his gun in her hand, he understood.

Covering their faces, she pulled the trigger twice, breaking the glass, she then used the butt of the gun to brush away the sharp edges in the way. Once the glass was cleared, Dean reached for the doll and with his other hand, he ruffled around his pockets for his lighter.

But, of course, it wouldn't light.

Cordelia's wide eyes flickered from the lighter to Dean. "Seriously!?" She called out, hastily ruffling around in her own pockets.

"Come on! Come one!" Dean grumbled to himself, "Go, go, go." He told Cordelia, gesturing to the car, and so she did.

She ran over toward the Impala, heading to find another lighter when he called out again. "Wait, wait, I got it! Cor, I got it!"

The Moore stopped in place and spun around, heading back into the crypt, chest heaving up and down from running back and forth. He eyes settled on the burnt doll that was now on the ground, charred and black.

"That must've been one fucked up little girl," Cordelia breathed out, resting her weight on the stone walls of the mausoleum.

"Yeah, thank you, Cordelia," he replied sarcastically as he fished around in his back pocket for his phone, no doubt calling his brother.

Cordelia pursed her lips. "Just saying," she grumbled with a small shrug.

♰

    After they went back to Evelyn's house, they found an exhausted Sarah and Sam. The pair only had a few scratches, Sam may have bruised a few ribs, but they were okay, they were alive.

Once they got back to the motel, Sam walked Sarah back to her car, the brunet insisted on driving back home with her so that he could ensure she was fine and he'd walk back. It was a hell of a walk, but "selfless Sam" as Carter had relentlessly called him, could sleep better knowing that she was at home safely.

Whilst he was out, Carter dropped to bed and fell asleep within ten seconds flat, raggedy shoes still clad on his feet. Dean stayed up, and sat on his bed, cleaning his gun whilst Cordelia, who had finally gotten her own room for the last night, was away.

Dean fidgeted with the gun in hand, mind elsewhere. He thought about how quiet the room was in her absence, how she wasn't humming her "weird" pop songs, how her clothes and makeup weren't scattered around the room so messily that it drove Sam crazy.

Without another thought, the dirty blond rose from the bed and put his gun and cleaning equipment down on the table. He headed for the door and in seconds he was stood outside of Cordelia's room. The wonky number hung on the wood stared down at him mockingly as he hesitated.

He didn't even know what he was doing. He didn't know what he was going to say. He didn't move. He didn't have a game plan, his body just went on its own accord.

Before he could chicken out, he lifted his hand and his knuckle rasped against the door. A few seconds later, it opened slightly.

The brunette on the other side visibly relaxed once she noticed who it was before tensing again. Knowing it was only him at the door was comforting, but after the events that had happened earlier that day, the thought of being alone with him scared her more than she'd like to admit.

Deciding to bite the bullet, she silently pulled the door open. Once inside, Dean took a minute to look around. Her room mirrored his, the only difference was the bed.

The door to the bathroom was slightly open, steam rolling out of it slowly. A damp towel slung on the floor carelessly. The scent of her shampoo floated around the room as though it was mocking him.

The sound of the door clicking shut brought Dean from his daze, he turned around, facing her. She was leant against the door, back pressed against the wood. Her damp hair stuck to her, droplets running down her skin in a way that had his eyes following the movement. She was in another one of her skimpy tank tops that seemed to haunt him and a pair of shorts that sat low on her hip.

The clearing of her throat snapped him out of his daze, he looked back up at her and met her eye. The brunette rose her eyebrows in a silent question, urging him to speak.

"You never answered my question," he began to say, a serious look on his face which had her nervous.

"What question?" She asked, acting oblivious, but she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"About what Carter said being true," he continued, his eyebrows now raised. He knew she knew what he was talking about ⸻ he knew she was trying to avoid it, after what the Branston man had revealed she had tried to avoid being alone with him, and he knew it got to her. He had an assumption as to why, he just needed confirmation.

Cordelia let out a sigh, averting her gaze to the ground, "Does it matter? We want different things, Dean."

"You don't even know what I want," he scoffed.

"You've quite literally told me a thousand times you don't do relationships, Dean," she pointed out, tone dry.

"Look, I didn't come here to argue with you. I just wanted to talk about what he said."

"What's there to talk about?" She lifted a shoulder carelessly. She could feel her walls coming up again. Caging around her heart. Cordelia didn't want to get hurt again, she wouldn't let it happen.

"Uh, a lot?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "You kinda' avoided the hell out of me after that."

"I wasn't avoiding you," she tried to defend, but her words came out weakly.

"Anytime we've had to be alone, you've tried to run away."

"I'm not the one who runs away," she argued, but it was indeed a lie. She did try to avoid being alone with him, she had tried running away. Earlier that night before Sam took Sarah home they were going to pick up food and bring it back to the motel, but Sam, Sarah and Carter were going to get it, and she offered to go within ten seconds of realising that she would've been alone with the Winchester.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean's brows furrowed defensively at her words.

"You flirt and run away."

"Yeah, well, you kiss me and run away," Dean shot back in retaliation, growing irritated.

"Cause you were being a dick," she retorted.

"Yeah, okay," he scoffed.

"Don't 'yeah, okay' me," she snapped. "You were being a dick. I haven't forgotten that. You sure have, clearly."

"Woah, look, let's not forget who said this was forgotten," he reminded, gesturing between the two.

"Because you pushed me away, Dean! I wasn't gonna sit around and fawn over you when you made it clear that that wasn't what you wanted."

"Look, I'm sorry, alright-"

"Is that all you have to say? Sorry? God, you're a bigger ass than I thought," Cordelia continued, voice rising as her frustration with the Winchester grew more prominent.

"What do ya' want me to say, Cordelia?" Dean threw his arms up in exasperation. "Huh? I apologized."

"Anything! Something! Something that lets me know what's going on in your head," she retorted. "Or are you gonna push me away again?" She stated mockingly, her emotions getting the better of her. She didn't know what else she wanted him to say if she was being frank, but she just knew that she needed him to say something.

It was quite hypocritical. She didn't want to spill her guts but she expected him to.

"You're difficult, you know that?" Dean breathed out, making the Moore woman only just realize how close she and Dean were. She didn't even notice that in the few minutes they had been talking he had slowly inched closer towards her.

"Me? I'm the difficult one?" The brunette rose her eyebrows, a scoff leaving her lips. "I'm not the one who kisses somebody, says all this confusing stuff and then basically tells them to get the fuck out of their life."

"I didn't say those exact words," Dean muttered under his breath, only furthering the brunette's anger. "And, uh, you kissed me."

Cordelia inhaled a sharp breath and shook her head before taking a step back, her back uncomfortably meeting the door handle. "You know what? No, I'm not doing this with you-"

A sigh left the Winchester's mouth at her words, he reached a hand out to clamp her wrist before she had the chance to slip away. "No, wait," he shut his eyes briefly and clenched his jaw. "Look, I know it might not mean a lot to you but ⸻ I'm sorry, really. Sam left and I figured you'd do the same so I pushed you away before you even got chance to."

"Well that's stupid 'cause I wasn't even gonna leave," Cordelia retorted, rolling her eyes at his words but her heart couldn't help but race at the feeling of his hand latched around her wrist.

"I know that now," Dean, too, rolled his eyes, It was as though Dean seemed to notice that tiny detail too, he swallowed roughly.

Cordelia's heart only quickened its pace from inside her chest, she could practically feel it racking her rib cage. It was as though she had forgotten why she was even mad in the first place.

Dean's hand snaked down her arm, at the loss of his touch, she felt a chill run through her spine, but that did not last long, his hand settled on the side of her neck, and the pads of his fingers gently skimmed over the skin on her neck.

Cordelia couldn't help herself when her gaze flitted down to his lips. Her heart almost jolted out of her chest as she felt his hand settle on her hip, a familiar feeling brewed in her body at his gentle touch.

"You gonna kiss me or what?" Cordelia breathed out, her breath hitting his lips.

Dean let out a low chuckle from the back of his throat. "Shut up, Cordelia," he spoke before his hand snaked to the back of her head and his fingers entangled in the back of her hair, pulling her lips firmly against his.

Dean hadn't forgotten how soft Cordelia's lips were if he was being honest. Guilty to admit, he had thought of the kiss they shared a lot more than he should've done. He couldn't help himself but deepen the kiss, his tongue parting her lips.

Their chests brushed against one another as Dean's grip on her hip tightened, pulling her closer to him. A half sigh, half groan escaped Cordelia's mouth as his fingers dug deep into her skin.

Cordelia kissed him back desperately as the world around her faded. Kissing Dean felt surreal, the second his lips pressed against hers it was as though she had forgotten herself.

Months of the tension that had pent up began the two began to fade. There was just want, need. Her back pressed harder into the door handle, an uncomfortable groan was swallowed by the Winchester's lips.

His hand slipped from her hair, moving down to the side of her neck whilst his free hand pulled at her hips, tugging her closer towards him. His lips travelled down to her neck, as he ground himself into her, grinding his hardening cock into her core.

"Wait, Dean," Cordelia breathlessly said, forcing herself to pull away from his soft lips. "Are you sure you want this?" She asked nervously.

Dean's hand guided her face up to meet his eye, he looked down at her, a softness in his gaze that she had never seen before, "I want this. I want you."

Without a second to waste, Cordelia pulled his face down to hers as he started to grind against her again. Though she broke the kiss as she felt his hands move from her body, pulling his shirt off.

Cordelia took the opportunity to steal a glance at his naked chest. But she soon got distracted as his hands were grabbing at the skimpy tank top that covered the top half of her body. He pulled it over her head, carelessly throwing it somewhere behind him.

He groaned at the sight of her exposed breasts, nearly dying on the spot at the sight of the metal bars in her nipples. His leg slotted between hers and her hips instinctively began grinding against against him. His hand reached up, pinching at her nipples, playing with the metal bar.

"Dean," she breathed out, words trailing off but he knew what she was asking for.

"I know, I know," he mumbled under his breath as she desperately tugged at his belt. He bit back a groan as his belt slipped from the loops, dropping to the ground with a quiet thud as she moved to unbutton his jeans. "I don't..." he paused, biting back a moan. "I don't have a condom. Are you ⸻ fuck ⸻ are you-"

"Yeah, yes," Cordelia breathed out hurriedly. There was just raw want and need between them, they could do everything else any other time, right now all she wanted, more than anything, was for him to be inside her.

And he knew that as he pushed his jeans and boxers down, then moved to hitch his hands under her thighs, lifting her and she wrapped her legs around him.

Pushing her shorts and underwear to the side, Cordelia let out a jagged moan at the feeling of him entering her, her chest heaved up and down at his size. She gripped onto his shoulders for stability as he pushed completely inside of her.

"Fuck," she drawled under her breath. He didn't move for a minute, allowing her to adjust. "Dean, please, move, god."

A cocky smirk pulled at Dean's lips at her request. "Yeah?" He breathed out before faltering. "Fuck, you feel good."

"Please," she whined. She was thankful he quit the teasing as he complied with her pleas. Her hands ran along his chest, feeling his hot skin under her touch. She swallowed roughly, head tipping backwards, gently colliding with the door as he began to fuck her against it.

Her actions gave him more access to her neck as he rocked into her. His lips trailed from her neck and down to her breasts. Bending his bead, he captured one nipple between his lips, sucking hard enough to draw a breathy moan from the back of her throat. He flickered his tongue over the rigid bud before moving to the other one.

"Harder," she begged and he complied. He lifted his head, meeting her gaze as he thrust inside of her deeper. Slamming in and out, each time harder and faster than the one before. The brunette's eyes rolled to the back of her head, body shuddering against him as she grinded her hips to meet his hard thrusts.

They became deeper and deeper, hitting a different spot each time. Her nails dug into his shoulders, sure to leave marks as his throaty groans hit her ears.

His forehead rested against hers, breathy moans being exchanged as the thrusts grew hard and brutal as he took her roughly. Her eyes fluttered shut, head still leant against the door when he spoke. "Keep your eyes open for me, baby," he told her, and the way the words slipped his tongue may have just changed her thoughts on being called baby.

Suddenly she didn't hate it all that much.

Her chest heaved up and down, more cries leaving her lips that only encouraged him more as he shifted, hitting another spot as he leant forward, meeting her lips again.

Dean groaned against her mouth, swallowing her own moans as his pace increased. "I'm gonna-" she began to say, words faltering as the tension inside of her piled up as he plunged into her.

He watched as she came apart in his arms, legs shaking with pleasure as she came down from her high. His head fell to rest on her shoulder as his pace became more frantic as he chased his own high. A staggered gasp left his mouth before she felt ropes of cum shooting into her.

He kept his head on her chest as they both heavily breathed. "Jesus Christ, Cordelia," he groaned under his breath, bodies pressed up against one another.

With much hesitation, he slowly pulled out of her, a desperate moan left her lips at the loss. And before any insecurity could compute in her head, Dean's lips met hers once again.

Guess I have to thank Carter after all, she thought to herself.

Author's Note! *UNEDITED*
it's been a hot minute since i last wrote smut so bear with me HA

sorry for the long wait lol, they're long chaps so it's kind of like writing 5 4k ones, it takes me a little while lmao plus my brain has been empty, at least we get three lovely chapters of them before a very angsty season 2!!

also, im excited for cordelia's long awaited break down over jess' death woop

dean acc ate cordy up in that "argument" not her trying to get him to say how he feels when she won't say anything