" THE ENCHANTING PRELUDE TO ... "

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"Did you love him?" Cassie's head snaps up, her tightly wound curls, like her nerves, bouncing with her.

"Yes." She says with conviction, but shakes her head slightly after. "But..." She continues. "I didn't want to be a part of his life." Cleo doesn't know what she means by this. She's been watching their interactions since Cassie called them to town, and Cleo can't deny the chemistry between her sister and the eldest Winchester.

"Why?" Cassie laughs softly, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.

"He does dangerous things so no one else has to." Cleo finds this fascinating, enthralled by the idea of adventure. Sitting by her sister as the clouds filter across the sky, she wonders what Dean Winchester does that could be so dangerous her sister, the boldest person she knows, could possibly be scared of.

"And you didn't want to?" Kicking the planks of the dock, Cassie shakes her head.

"I never wanted that kind of life. I like traveling, obviously, but I also like living. He might be dead in a few years, and I never wanted to see that." Her voice cracks near the end, her eyes welling up as a tear slides down her face.

"I'm sorry." Cleo whispers, holding her sister and petting her hair.

"It's not your fault." Cassie snorts, and Cleo guesses she's trying to prevent snot from getting all over her.

"I know. But that doesn't make me any less sorry." Cleo gives her one last secure hug, before pulling away.

"Thanks, Cleo." The youngest Robinson smiles, the tears of her sister over the Winchester seared in her memory. The oldest shakes her head, and wipes away her tears, then composes herself.

"There's something else you should know. We need your help and I wanted to avoid it but... I have to tell you what they do." Cleo straightens up, this was the moment she's been waiting for. All the whispering between Sam, Dean, and Cassie was driving her up the wall.

"So, what do they do?"

"Well," Cassie sighs. "They hunt monsters. And ghosts, and things like that. Dean tried to tell me when we dated, but I didn't believe him, I thought-" She swallows, and Cleo can tell she's starting to get choked up. "I thought he just wanted to leave me. But turns out he, well, was telling the truth. Promise me you won't get mixed up in it. Just for now." Cleo nods.

"'Course. I gotta go do some schoolwork. See you later," She kisses Cassie on the cheek. "I'll be back for dinner."

Cassie watches her sister walk away, her hands deep in her pockets, her mind in the clouds.

They killed- well, obliterated the monster who killed her father. Cleo felt her anger subsiding, but something new was growing inside her. The thrill of it, the exhilaration, and the relief when the ghost became mist and the headlights behind her faded to nothing, well, Cleo wanted more. The next morning, the Winchesters were leaving. Their sleek car was shining in the brief bits of sunlight, and Cleo could feel the heavy air surrounding her sister.

"Cassie, if you need to leave, I've got this." Cassie nods, and gestures to Dean.

"I've gotta talk to Dean, then I'll leave. I just- I really wish he could stay." Cleo hugs Cassie, because what she's planning on doing, she'll want to hug her or she'll regret it.

"I know. Go talk." Cassie turns away, and walks towards the shorter Winchester. Cleo sighs, and shoves her hands in her pockets. She startles as Sam comes up next to her.

"Hey, Sam."
"Hey, Cleo." Sam scratches his neck awkwardly, and they watch their siblings talk.
"I wish they could've worked out."

"Me too. They make each other so happy."
"Yeah. But Cassie told me she could never deal with his lifestyle." Sam nods his head.
"I figured. Dean is kind of reckless." Cleo snorts.
"That's for sure." They pause their conversation as the others walk back.

"Well, Cleo, I'm going to head out. Bye, Dean." Cassie kisses Cleo on the forehead, and later Cleo would wonder if she knew what Cleo would do. The curly haired woman walks away from the three of them, and Cleo watches her leave.

"Bye, Cassie." She whispers and turns to the Winchesters.
"So, you hunt monsters, right?" Dean looks at her, his eyes shimmering, and she can tell he was hurt by whatever her sister said.

"Yes."
"Well... that's it then." Sam says, and Cleo shakes her head, her expression set and her eyes filled with fire.

"That's not it. You're going to teach me how to do it."

"This is Cassie Robinson, leave a message after the tone-"

"Hey Cassie, I'm sorry I didn't get to say good-bye, but I honestly don't think I could say it to your face without crying. I've decided something- I'm going with the Winchester boys. I know you said I should stay out of it, but it just felt- it felt right when I drove down that road with a ghost truck chasing my ass. It sounds crazy. But I know life isn't very exciting, it's happy at times, and sad at others, but generally mundane. I can count the times I've felt my heart jump on my fingers. Doing this, learning what they know, I'll be helping people, and getting a run for my money. You and I both know I wasn't going to graduate, I'm not smart enough to make it where I needed to go. But I'm smart enough for this. I'm smart enough to help all the people I can in the time that I have. Life is long, life is short, either way, I'm going to get so much more out of it with this job than any other. And hey, don't worry about it, I'll make sure Dean doesn't die while I'm at it. Love you Cassie, and I do hope to see you soon."

The red mustang's engine starts up, revving through Cleo's body like the limb she always knew she was missing. Holding the wheel loosely, she slips a cassette tape into the modified stereo system. Rewinding it, she steps out of the car, and faces the last remaining employee at her dad's car dealership.

"Thanks for getting my car all fixed up, this is the only place I trust anyone to do it right." He smiles at her, nodding, and she salutes. Sliding back into the car, her tape begins to screech.

"All right, all right." She presses the glinting stop button, and hovers her finger over "play". She knows this is a new chapter of her life, a new start, a chance at an adventure like the movies. Flashing a small smile, she presses play, and soars out of the garage into the open skies of Missouri and onward.

── YEARS LATER { 2011 } ──

"What the hell? I left you alone with him for a few months, and you've already broke him?" Cleo's throat is closing up, her panic clouding her senses.

"Cleo, he's going to be fine." Dean says with conviction, but Cleo doesn't believe him. She knows things, medically. Technically about animals, but humans are fairly similar. Biting her lip, she shuts her eyes tight, trying to keep in the tears, but she can feel her nose start to run.

"I don't think he will be. Sam is right, we have to prepare for the worst." Dean chuckles dryly, and slams his fist against the wall. The low thud from his fist echoes in Cleo's ears, the reality of it all hitting her so hard she almost feels the breath knocked out of her.

"No, no, we're not just going to give up, that's not what we do." She swallows, and shakes her head disappointedly, sighing out heavily.

"We're not giving up, we're facing reality. It's entirely possible he's not going to make it. We always knew he was going to die at some point. We all are. Sooner than others, because we chose this life." Cleo tucks a strand of hair behind her ear nervously, and faces the eldest Winchester once again.

"I'm going to go see him. I think we should all say- you know... good-bye. Just- just in case." Breathing in through her nose, out through her mouth, she makes her way to Bobby's room. Cleo knocks on the door, the sound echoing through the tiled hallway, beeping and emptiness filling the space she stands.

"Come in. He's not doing great... but there's no change." She smiles sadly at the doctors, and faces the man who helped her figure out the hunting life. The man who took and gave absolutely no shits, who held her when she cried, who taught her how to shoot a gun, and the man who taught her to take a punch and give one. And most of all, the man who taught her that sometimes to save lives, you have to make one for yourself too.

"Thanks." She states softly, not taking her eyes off of Bobby Singer.

"I'll come check on him in a few." One of the doctor opens the heavy door, their pale jacket swishing behind them on the way out. The rest of them follow. The sudden lack of people in the room makes Cleo nervous. Awkwardly, Cleo shoves her hands in her pockets, then decides to sit down next to his bed. He looks so small. That's what everyone says, that they look so innocent, small, broken, in a hospital bed. It's true, Cleo thinks. It's all true. Seeing the grouchy man silent and unresponsive breaks Cleo's heart.

"Hey." She says gently, knowing he won't respond. "I- I, um, just wanted to say thank you. For everything. Everything you've done for me, I know you didn't have to do it, but you did. And I guess I admire you for that. For all you've built out of your grief." She takes his still hand, the cold chilling her fingertips. "And I wanted to thank you for what you've done for the Winchester boys. I know they don't exactly say it, but they love you. They do. And honestly? I do too." The tears she was holding back spill in a steady stream, streaking her dusty face. Thoughts of everything they'd been through flickered through her mind, and she chokes on her shock.

"Please don't go." She whispers into his hand, still entwining her fingers with his. "Please. They- We need you."

"What are we supposed to do now?" Cleo whispers, her face flushed from her tears. Bobby's gone, and now, the Winchesters sit in plastic chairs, the world falling apart around them. Dean's eyes are hard, having gone through the stages of grief rather quickly, skipping to the part where he's so blinded by his desire for revenge he forgets why he was angry in the first place.

"Well, Bobby gave me these numbers...." Sam holds up his hand, permanent marker in Bobby's handwriting scrawled across his palm. Cleo stares at it blankly, her only thought of Bobby as he formed his last words, affectionately directed at the three of them. Refusing to give up or come to terms with him being gone, they all sit in silence.

"I'll stay as long as you need, but... is there anything I can do to help with your... Leviathan situation?" Dean looks up, his head previously facing the tiled floor. He shakes his head and laughs dryly, sighing out. However, Sam's eyes brighten, something going off in his head.

"The main headquarters, you know, it's in Chicago. I- I think if you went undercover there, since they know our face, but not yours... you could give us intel." Cleo raises an eyebrow, in disbelief because she actually kind of likes that idea. Nodding along, she runs her hand through the tips of her hair, thinking.

"I could apply for a job in IT, right? That's simple enough, and since," She lowers her voice. "We forge IDs all the time, I know how to do some other things. Plus, I know more about technology than you old people." She pokes fun at Sam and Dean, and then for the first time after Bobby, Sam gives Cleo a small smile, and she gives him one back. They found a little hope, and just maybe they could figure out a way to take down the biggest Dick in the country.

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