ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: " Hey, tío. It's me...again."
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VENUS HATED FEELING POWERLESS. She felt it nearly twenty years ago in the months after her family's death. And she felt it now, sitting in the back of the Winchester's Impala, mulling over the fact that they spent a week scouring California for any hints of the demon's whereabouts and came up with jack.

She felt even more powerless watching Sam suffer in silence.

"You okay?" She leaned forward to ask Sam who had just jolted awake from a nightmare.

Sam turned to meet her concerned stare followed by a similar one on Dean's face and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Another nightmare?" Dean spoke this time.

Sam gave no response other than a clench of his jaw.

Venus and Dean locked eyes for a brief moment through the rearview mirror, silently exchanging their concern for the youngest Winchester.

"Wanna drive for a while?" Dean eventually suggested to his brother.

Venus' eyes widened from the backseat at Dean's rarely displayed willingness to let someone else drive his baby.

Sam released a small chuckle and turned to face Dean, "In your whole life, you never once asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to, never mind," Dean immediately shut down.

"Look, I know you guys are worried about me. I get it and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

Venus scoffed from her seat. "My ass," she softly muttered.

Sam rolled his eyes at the girl's quip before reaching for their travel map. "All right, where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Dean answered.

Sam looked closer at the map once more and let a sigh leave his lips. "You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon," he grumbled.

Venus rested a hand on his shoulder soothingly. "'Mano we spent a whole week looking there and came up with nothing,"

Dean chimed in, "If you two wanna find the thing that killed Jessica..."

"...gotta find dad first," Sam continued, already knowing deep down that they were right.

Venus sighed at the notion of relying on John for anything much less finding the demon that killed her best friend, but remained silent otherwise. She thought about calling her uncle and asking for his help, but seeing as her last fifty texts and voicemails went unanswered maybe it wasn't the best course of action.

"Dad will have answers, he'll know what to do," Dean continued.

"Doesn't he always." Venus deadpanned from the backseat, gaining a glare from Dean through his rearview mirror.

"It's weird man," Sam continued to voice his train of thought, "these coordinates he left us, this Black Water Ridge..."

Dean briefly took his eyes off the road to glance over at Sam, "Yeah what about it?"

"There's nothing there. It's just woods," Sam explained, slightly confused, "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Dean clenched his jaw, unable to come up with an answer.

But Venus had a few ideas...then decided to remain quiet rather than upset the man currently behind the wheel of the car she was stuck in for another hour.

-ˋˏ [       ] ˎˊ-

After doing a quick look around the rangers' station, Venus joined Sam's side to survey the 3D display of Black Water Ridge. Her eyes quickly found the notes scattered around the display detailing specifics about the area's landscape.

"So black water ridge is pretty remote," Sam began to explain to his brother who was busy staring at a picture of a hunted bear and its captor, "It's cut off by these canyons here—rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place–".

"Dude check out the size of this friggin bear!"

Sam and Venus slowly turned to look at the photo Dean had been ogling.

Venus raised a brow at the bear in the photo. It really was huge.

"...and a dozen or more grizzlies in the area," Sam finished his explanation, "It's no nature hike, that's for sure."

"You three aren't planning to go out near Black Water Ridge by any chance?"

The three young adults turned to face the new voice in the room, meeting the tired older face of a ranger.

Venus stepped forward and put on her best smile. "Oh no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder. We're just out here working on a paper," the brunette lied seamlessly.

"Recycle, man!" Dean added enthusiastically.

"Bullshit." The ranger quickly saw through them.

Venus' smile dropped instantly. Damn, maybe she was a bit out of practice...

"You're friends with that Hailey girl, right?" the old ranger continued.

"Yes," Dean said after some time, "Yes we are, Ranger...Wilkinson."

"Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her," the ranger addressed the trio with a stern expression, "Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back until the 24th. So it's not exactly a missing person now is it?"

Venus resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the older man. It was logic like this that got innocent people killed in her experience.

"Tell that girl to quit worrying," the ranger continued, "I'm sure her brother's just fine."

Venus sent him a tight-lipped smile and nodded, "We will, sir."

"That Hailey girl's quite a pistol, huh," Dean grinned.

"That is putting it mildly," the ranger quickly agreed.

Dean approached the man, "Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know so she could see her brother's return date."

Venus inwardly applauded Dean's quick thinking. He might be an ass on occasion but he was a damn good partner to have on a hunt.

And so within minutes, they strolled out of the station holding the document they needed, which happened to contain the address to the aforementioned woman's house.

It had become clear to Dean and Venus that this had become a monster hunt in addition to the hunt for John. Sam didn't seem too happy about that change.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" he targeted his older brother.

"What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Black Water Ridge. So what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean...why even talk to this girl?" Sam argued.

Venus furrowed her brows at Sam's surprising lack of empathy. "Oh, I don't know Sam, maybe because she's worried sick about her brother and we might be the only people equipped to actually help her? I wanna find your dad and find the thing that killed..." Venus trailed off at the thought of Jess, taking a deep breath, "...but that doesn't mean I'm gonna turn a blind eye to people who need my help. If John was here then that means that there's some creature here worth investigating."

The air grew tense after the brunette's outburst. Sam swallowed harshly, feeling shame festering within him at his behavior.

Venus held her hands on her hips. "Since when are you all 'Shoot first, ask questions later' anyway?" she questioned, unable to stop her disapproval from showing in her posture.

"Since now," Sam deadpanned before swinging open the passenger door and hopping in the Impala.

Venus stared at his retreating figure with a worried expression while Dean released an impressed "Oh really?"

Anyone with eyes could see that Sam was not in a great place mentally.

-ˋˏ [       ] ˎˊ-

"You must be Hailey Collins. I'm Dean, this is Venus and Sam. We're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over, we wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy?"

Venus stood between the Winchester boys, wearing a pleasant smile, waiting for the woman's response after Dean's thought-out introduction.

"Let me see some ID," Hailey requested.

Venus tugged on Dean's hand before he could pull out his fake National Forest ID with the wrong name and stepped forward with hers, "Of course ma'am, nothing wrong with being safe," she gently spoke, presenting her ID which she told Dean looked way better than his.

After looking at Venus' ID for a few seconds, Hailey opened the screen door and let the group in.

"Thanks," Dean mumbled both to Hailey and Venus.

"That yours?" Hailey suddenly asked Dean gesturing to the parked Impala behind them.

Dean grinned proudly, "Yeah."

"Nice car," Hailey commented, holding Dean's stare for some time before walking back into the house.

Dean made a very satisfied face at his younger brother and Venus causing them to roll their eyes simultaneously.

"Glad to see that thing in your pants still has a bigger brain than you do," Venus muttered under her breath as she stepped into the home.

"Wouldn't you like to know, princess?"

"Bite me, Winchester."

"Only in my dreams," Dean smirked, catching Venus off-guard but only for a second.

Sam couldn't stop the small laugh that left his lips. Three years obviously didn't affect their banter one bit.

Hailey escorted them into the dining room of the house where a younger boy sat. He briefly locked eyes with each of them and then looked back down at his empty plate.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" the taller Winchester questioned Hailey.

"He checks in every day by cell, he emails photos, stupid little videos. But we haven't heard anything in over three days now," Hailey explained while tending to dinner for the seated boy.

"Well maybe he can't get cell reception," Sam opposed.

Hailey shook her head, "He's got a satellite phone too."

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean suggested.

The boy seated at the table dropped his fork, obviously irritated, and decided to speak up. "He wouldn't do that," he loudly expressed before looking away and picking up his fork again.

Hailey returned from the kitchen with a salad bowl. "Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

Venus sent the woman a sad smile, which she returned, thinking about her teen years on the road with Arturo. She still blames herself for the current state of their relationship. Maybe if she hadn't decided to quit hunting and go to college, she'd still have her uncle in her life.

Dean watched Venus closely, noticing her deep in thought, and already knew that she was thinking about her uncle. He gently brushed her elbow, "You okay?" he mouthed.

Venus looked up and sent him a genuine smile, appreciating the check-in, "I'm good," she nodded.

"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam's voice caught their attention.

"Sure," Hailey agreed, walking to the other end of the table where her laptop rested. She quickly logged in and opened an album of pictures, pausing on one of her brother on his trip, "That's Tommy," she then scrolled to a video, "This is his last message."

The group watched and listened to the video intently, waiting for any sign of something abnormal.

Venus caught it first, leaning in and tapping Sam's shoulder who seemed to have caught it too; a quick flash of black in the background behind Tommy. They locked eyes for a moment as ideas began swirling in their minds.

"We'll find your brother," Dean voiced, obviously clueless about what the others caught in the video, "We're heading out to Black Water Ridge first thing."

"Then maybe I'll see you there."

Venus, Sam, and Dean all raised a brow in the woman's direction.

"Look I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guide," Hailey continued, "I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."

Venus applauded her bravery and sisterly instinct, hell, she was sure she'd have done the same. But seeing as the thing in that video looked way faster than a bear, she worried about what Hailey might be getting herself into.

"I think I know how you feel," Dean comforted Hailey, referring to his similar goal of finding his father.

"Hey, you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked after some time.

"Sure," Hailey agreed.

-ˋˏ [         ] ˎˊ-

Venus' thumb hovered over the call button by her uncle's name. She was leaning up against the back wall of the bar, watching Sam and Dean discuss some new info she and Sam had found and printed at a nearby library.

Since leaving Hailey's house, her uncle had weighed heavy on her heart.

And if there's one thing Venus had learned over the years, it was to always trust her heart.

She sighed before pressing the button and bringing the phone up to her ear. The phone rang out for about ten seconds before the familiar automated voicemail message played in her ear. Venus was disappointed but not surprised. She hadn't heard his voice in three years, why'd she think she'd get lucky now?

The brunette waited for the beep and spoke, figuring that leaving yet another voicemail was better than nothing. "Hey, tío. It's me...again. I was hoping I'd get you this time but I always seem to miss you," Venus inwardly scolded herself, she needed to stop stalling, "I'm back on the road again. My best friend Jess, I think I've mentioned her in my other voicemails that I don't even know if you listen to," she trailed off with an awkward laugh, "But, uh, yeah she was killed about a week ago. So I'm with the Winchester boys trying to find John so we can find the thing that did it and ice the son of a bitch. It's weird, actually, it was the same thing that killed their mom. We came out to Colorado following a trail that John left for Dean in some journal and next thing you know we're about to go hunt some monster in the woods. Guess you can say I'm a hunter again. Bet you're grinning on the inside, huh?" she paused, trying to figure out what to say next with her limited time.

"Anyways, I'm hoping you're not dead under a highway or something and some random kid who got a new phone for their birthday isn't getting these messages. Which would be unfortunate cause I've revealed a lot of personal shit in some of these messages. It's just that I heard something today that got me thinking about you and I wanted to say I'm sorry...and I love you, tío. Stay safe."

Venus ended the call with a shaky breath, harshly wiping away a few stray tears she hadn't even noticed fall. She took a few more deep breaths and plastered an unbothered expression on her face before walking over to the table where the boys sat.

"I told you something weird was going on," she heard Dean say as she took her seat on a stool between them.

"Did he answer?" Sam turned and asked Venus.

"How'd you know-"

She stopped mid-sentence to see both boys sending her a "Really?" look.

Venus deflated, "No...got his voicemail again."

Sam reached over and patted her shoulder soothingly. "Sorry, V," he offered her an empathetic smile.

Venus shook her head and put a smile on her face, determined to change the subject, "It's okay, I promise. Did you tell him everything?"

"No, one more thing," Sam turned to Dean, getting back on track, "In '59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid, barely crawled out of the woods alive."

"Is there a name?" Dean asked.

"Yup," Venus nodded, "But I need a shot first," she grinned then hopped off her stool and walked over to the bar.

Sam watched Dean's eyes follow the brunette's every move before trailing further downward. He lightly smacked his brother's arm. "Dude, really?" he whispered.

"What?" Dean shrugged.

Sam sent him a knowing smile.

"Knock it off," Dean now lightly smacked his arm.

"You know, if you're still in love with her, all you gotta do is tell her," Sam teased his older brother.

"In love? Sammy, come on, I'm not 13 anymore," Dean argued.

Sam's grin grew even wider, "Ah so you finally admit you were in love with her?"

Dean remained silent, biting his tongue as he realized he'd never actually told Sam he was in love with Venus.

A triumphant laugh rumbled in Sam's chest at Dean's expression.

"Shut up," Dean said before standing and making his way over to the bar, suddenly in need of a beer.

-ˋˏ [      ] ˎˊ-

"You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."

If Venus had a nickel for every time she'd heard that sentence, she'd be the richest woman in the world.

"Mr. Shaw," she moved to sit down by the sole witness to the creature they were preparing to hunt, "What did you see?" she questioned, her tone soft and genuine.

"Nothing," the older man replied after a few short breaths, "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it though. A roar...like no man or animal I ever heard," At this Venus and Sam shared a glance.

"It came at night? Got inside your tent?" Sam asked.

"It got inside our cabin," Mr. Shaw divulged, "I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window, or break the door...it unlocked it."

Venus' eyebrows shot up in slight surprise while the brothers locked eyes for a moment behind her.

"Do you know of a bear that can do something like that?" the man continued, "I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?"

"Dragged them off into the night. Why it left me alive, I've been asking myself that ever since." He then began shifting his shirt collar to the side, "It did leave me this though," he revealed large claw marks going down his neck, "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon."

Venus nodded in understanding, now having a slightly better idea of what they were going to face the next morning.

And thankfully it wasn't a demon.

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they just go through the walls," Dean spoke as they exited the apartment building.

"So it's probably something else," Sam added.

Venus chimed in, "Something corporeal."

Dean raised a brow in her direction. "Corporeal? Excuse me, professor," he smirked.

"You're excused, dumbass," Venus sent him a plastic smile.

"So what do you think?" Sam asked them both.

Dean shrugged, "The claws, the speed that it moves...could be a skinwalker? Maybe a black dog?"

Venus nodded in agreement, "Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature-"

"-and it's corporeal, which means we can kill it," Dean interrupted smugly.

They soon made it outside to the Impala where Dean and Venus made their way to the trunk. They quickly began to take weapons from both their stocks to use the next morning. 

Dean smiled when he spotted Venus' signature machete (whom she affectionately named Sylvia when they were teens) and silver beretta.

"What are you smiling about?" Venus mumbled after feeling his eyes on her for some time.

"Nothing," Dean looked away for a moment, "Just think you missed hunting a lot more than you thought you did," he commented while checking his sawed-off shotgun.

"Of course I did," Venus furrowed her brows.

Dean paused his movements and met her eyes, "Did you? We've known each other, what, 19 years now? And in all that time you never stopped wishing for a normal life, Venus."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it was easy for me to walk away from this life...from you," Venus took a step closer, "I know I never said anything back then but I really am sorry, Dean," she reached out to touch his hand but felt her heart drop when he flinched away, "I never wanted to be another one of those people who walked out of your life," her voice lowered to a whisper.

"No need to apologize if you're just gonna leave again after you get your revenge for Jess, right?" Dean spoke bitterly.

Their words hung in the air for some time before Dean returned to assembling his weapons. But Venus stopped in thought.

Dean was right, her plan was always to return to college after finding the demon. But being with him, being back on the road...it made her rethink her concept of the 'happiness' she was seeking all those years ago.

Sam approached the trunk soon after. "We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there."

"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? She can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" Dean snickered.

"Yeah," Sam deadpanned.

Venus sent him a look, "Her brother's missing, Sam. It's like she said, she's not gonna just sit around and do nothing."

"Right," Dean agreed, "We go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy little predator friend."

"So finding dad's not enough? Now we gotta babysit too?" Sam snapped, his words echoing with the slam of the trunk.

Venus and Dean stared at Sam in silence. Neither of them said a thing but Sam could feel them judging him. "What?" he blurted.

"Nothing," Dean shrugged while Venus remained quiet. The older Winchester then angrily tossed the bag at Sam's chest before walking to the driver's door and getting in the car.

That left Venus and Sam standing before each other with Sam cowering under her hurt gaze.

"I-" he tried to speak.

Venus put a hand up, silencing him. She was too tired for this shit. "Just get in the damn car, Sam."

-ˋˏ [      ] ˎˊ-

The ride to the motel was plagued with awkward silence.

It grew even more tense when Dean opened the door to the last room available only to be met with two beds and no couch.

Venus sighed as she walked through the threshold. "All right boys you know the deal, rock paper scissors and the winner gets to sleep with me," she spoke recounting the process they used in the past for exact situations like this. Most times it ended with her bunking with Sam, and on some rare occasions it ended with her bunking with Dean.

Tonight was not one of those rare occasions.

The group had showered, slipped into more comfortable clothes, and were now ready to sleep. Dean wasted no time, almost immediately falling asleep once his body hit the sheets.

"V, I can sleep on the floor it's fine-" Sam protested from the edge of the bed.

Venus laid flat on her stomach beneath the comforters with her eyes closed, "Stop being weird and come to bed, Sam," she muttered, her voice drowsy with sleep.

Sam sighed and eventually complied. He got into the bed and lay on his side facing Venus. But the two times he upset her that day weighed on his mind, so he decided to turn away from her.

But before he could turn, Venus opened her eyes and reached out to grab his hand. "I know you've been telling us that you're fine and that everything's okay," she began speaking softly, "But obviously that's bullshit."

"Venus please-"

"Ouch, when did I get demoted to Venus?" she responded with feigned offense.

Sam looked away for a moment, clenching his jaw.

"I'm not saying we have to talk about anything right now," she squeezed his hand, "But know that it's okay to be angry. Just don't lie to yourself and say that you're perfectly fine. I'm here for you, hermano," she finished before leaning in to press a kiss against the top of Sam's head.

Sam sighed and sent her a small smile, "I know."

"And that means I don't love you any less when you piss me off," Venus added.

Sam winced at the memory. "I'm sorry about today," he apologized.

Venus smiled at him. "You're forgiven," she used a hand to ruffle his already messy hair, "Now go to bed. I have a feeling that tomorrow's gonna be a long day."

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A/N: Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate!!

Happy reading pookies! 🫶🏽

Translations:
'Mano (shortened version of Hermano) - Brother
Tío - Uncle

EDIT 01/27/24: Lovely GIF banner up above made by the crazy talented prodigybitxhhh 

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