Breathe Life Into Me

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I felt like I was back in middle school. When I was still pining for Melissa. Yea, there was really a time where Dean Winchester was the pinnacle of pathetic. She was the only thing I ever thought about, the only thing I ever cared about and a lot of people said I was just going through a phase; that I would move on once she found a boyfriend. But when she did get her boyfriend, her first boyfriend, it just made me want her even more. And when she moved from guy to guy, losing interest quickly, realizing she was eye candy for the entire school and literally could have anyone she wanted (boys and girls) it did something to me. I was suddenly more protective, more observant, and a bit more obsessive. By the time eighth grade had ended I had gotten detention for threatening two guys who just looked at her wrong and I witnessed something I never wanted to ever witness: she was falling in love with someone else

A lot of people can argue that Mel and I never really recognized our true feelings until the later years of high school...and I’ll admit I wasn’t even sure about what I felt for her at first. But looking back on it now, I had a thing for Mel since the day we could talk. It just took me a while to realize it...it took her even longer though. Sure, we fooled around a lot...and I definitely enjoyed it more than I probably should have...more than she ever did...but as soon as Ryan Renolds came around to “sweep her off her feet” all of the fooling came to a complete stop. I saw less of her, we barely talked anymore and I figured it was a good thing. We were going into high school and there were going to be plenty of other girls and she really liked this guy. I wasnt about to be the ass to get in the middle of that...until I heard him in the locker room talking to his buddies about how he was planning on breaking up with her because it was already four months of them being together and she refused to open up her legs for him. He was told to dump her ass and that’s when I lost it. I ripped off his towel, twisted it up and whipped him as hard as I could. I did it a few times, leaving some cuts and slashes all over his legs. His buddies tried taking me down but I tackled Ryan down first and he hit his head on the bench behind him. I didn’t notice the blood at first so I kept swinging my fists like no tomorrow.

If you couldn’t guess, I got suspended. Two weeks. Mel wasn’t too happy about it at first and she even blamed me for breaking them up...which I was okay with. Whatever. As long as they weren’t together. But then she found out the real reason and I think that, maybe, that may have been the first time she realized we were meant to be together. I’m not a surprised violence had turned her on. She wasn’t always such a pacifist and I had become the guy who was not to be messed with and if you did then you were lucky to get out alive. Not the best reputation but I still made a name for myself. And no one even looked at Mel when we walked down the halls together which gave me complete satisfaction.

But Melissa doesn’t remember any of this. She doesn’t remember the guy who she thought was her first love. She doesn’t remember my act of “heroics” and stupidity. She doesn’t remember anything about how I had become the guy she loved and hated all at the same time. So yea, I feel like I’m in middle school all over again because we're back to where we started. But I can’t go through that again: all the fighting for her to notice me, the wishing she would recognize who we really are to each other, hoping she’ll see this should’nt be just a one sided love...even praying to dick angels gone bazerk. When should enough be enough though? When I give up trying to trigger her memory? That’ll never happen. When she gets tired of trying to adjust to this life? I wouldn’t blame her for that. Maybe even when she realizes remembering her past would be a huge hindrance and she never wants to see any of us again. That seems very likely. Or maybe she’ll just give up on me completely...she’ll blame me for trying to drag her back in. That I can handle. I can handle the blame. I’m used to it. Hell, I’d rather she blame me. That would actually mean she had to feel something toward me.

~

Come on, Dean. Bulk up a little. What’s wrong, did you lose your manhood? Go over there and say something. She’s right there. Finally alone. This is it. She wants to try, you heard it yourself. Stop being a damn wuss!

My pep talk wasn’t helping much. But I couldn’t just stand here and avoid her for the rest of my life. So I took a deep breath and went to round the corner only to bump right into her and the popcorn bowl that she was holding.

“Oh uhh sorry...” I started when she looked down at the fallen pieces.

Then, she looked back up at me and smiled. “It’s okay” she laughed and then bent down to pick up the ones that fell. Get down there and help her you idiot!

“So...you just gonna stand there or you gonna help me?” she smiled up at me.

“Oh. Right” I said and quickly crouched down to help pick them up. I suddenly couldn’t breathe and I had lost all of my vocabulary. I couldn’t form a single sentence.

We both stood again and I followed her back into the kitchen to throw away the dirty pieces. When she turned again she jumped at how close we were and I quickly jumped back instinctively. The passed couple weeks she was always so tense around me so I was doing my best to give her space...but now she seemed different. She didn’t mind being around me. This is probably the closest we’ve stood together in weeks. How sad is that....

“So uhh...yea...” she leaned a hand on the counter while holding the bowl in her other hand. She was trying to start a conversation. Think of something to say. Something clever....

“So...you like popcorn...” I gestured to the bowl. Not really clever...but it’s something I guess....

She looked down at it. “Uhh yea...did I not like popcorn before...?”

“Yea, you did but uhh...it’s...umm...” Now what? I’m out of words again!

“I was...just going to go watch a movie...” she started.

“Oh really? Which movie?” I asked, eager to move along. A bit too eager....

“Some kind of hero movie...not really sure which one it is...do I like heroes?”

She was smirking now. She wants to talk to me. She wants to know things about her old self...or she’s just messing with me now. Either way I’ll take it.

“Not usually...I had to make you sit through The Avengers with me...”

She still smiled. “How’d that go?”

“Not too well” I chuckled a the memory.

“Well umm...it’s already half way through...would you want to come watch it with me and maybe explain what’s going on?” She asked suddenly very serious.

Her lips were in a pin straight line and all the emotion left her face. I couldn’t tell if she was inviting me, challenging me, or threatening me. But she was actually giving me the chance to go to her room...last time she let me in her room....

“Umm I uhh...I actually had some work I had to do down here...maybe later...” She kind of looked...disappointed as she nodded and walked around me to head upstairs alone.

After I heard her door shut I threw my fist into the wall and instantly regretted it because I forgot that this place was built to be indestructible. “Hey” I heard Brit come through the front door.

I walked out of the kitchen to see her struggling with the grocery bags in her arms as she tried to shut the door. I rushed over to her to take the bags and she shut the door.

“Thanks” she muttered and I followed her into the kitchen. We both started putting everything away. “Where’s Sam and Mel?” she asked, opening the cupboard while I went to the fridge to put the beer away first.

“Sam’s still sleeping...Mel’s up in her room”

“Doing what?” There was something off about her voice. She was upset...anxious maybe? And they say I don’t notice this stuff.

“Watching a movie...are you okay?” I looked over at her.

She kept her eyes focused on what items went where. “What? Yea, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Just a hunch...” I waited.

“I’m just nervous is all”

“About Sam and Melissa?”

“Sam and Melissa and Kevin and you...” she listed and sighed deeply as if trying to release her stress but it wasn’t working.

I reached out to her to make her stop moving so much. She looked up at me. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. It might actually crush you” I joked.

She just scoffed, rolled her eyes and shoved me away. I laughed. “I know you’re nervous too” she told me.

I gave her a look. “Me? Nervous? Yea, right” I turned my back to her and walked slowly back over to the fridge.

“You’re nervous about Mel’s memory...you worry about this 24/7...” she murmured, staring into space now. “And yet...you still have your feet on the ground. How do you do it? How’d you and Mel do it? You were both always so concerned with me and Sammy...sometimes I felt like you took turns sleeping just to keep an eye on us...” Sometimes we did....

“Hey...what’s going on?” Sam came walking in, yawning.

“Nothing much. How was your nap?” Brit asked, pouring some water in a cup.

“Nap? More like...” I started but as soon as she shot me a glare I shut up.

“Here. Tea. It’ll sooth you...or something...” she offered him the mug.

He smiled tiredly and went to grab the handle but when Brit thought he had a hold on it she let go and his hand jerked close, missing the grip and making the mug fall, shattering to pieces.

“I’m sorry. I uhh...”

“It’s okay. It's not the first time one of us have broken the dishwear around here ” Brit insisted and grabbed a cloth to clean it up.

“That's why we don't have nice things, Sam” I tried but I couldn’t help but notice the dark circles and the hunch back. “You okay?” I eyed him.

“Yea, I’m fine...I’m good...where’s Mel? We should go find Kevin”

“Dressed like that? You’ll freeze”

He looked down at his pajamas. “Look, I've hacked into every security camera around Garth's houseboat, Kevin's hometown, where Mrs. Tran lived...”

“And?"

“Well, nothing so far...”

“Dean, we have to find him”

“And we will, Sam. But right now Garth is out looking for him, we got a hunter APB out on Kevin, we will do what we can from here while you and Melissa get better” Brit chided.

“Why? What’s wrong with Melissa?”

“Same thing that’s wrong with you”

“I’m fine, Brit. I can go out there. I can still hunt”

“Oh really?” I voiced and Brit and I exchanged a look. She nodded so I took him down to the basement where the shooting gallery was. Cool, right? Obviously.

“This is stupid” Sam commented when I fired the gun twice at the targets. Both shots went through the chest.

“Alright. You hit that target, we'll talk about getting you back out there” I told him.

“No problem” he agreed.

I watched him hold up the gun to aim but his whole arm was shaking and wavering side to side. He picked up his other arm and hand to help steady himself. It still didn’t help because he missed completely.

“Look, man, this second trial hit you a lot harder than that first one. I don't know whether it was just more intense or what..."

“Felt the same. Till the next day” he admitted to me.

“So, we're gonna sit tight. Keep an eye out until you get better”

Brit was right. I couldn’t help but stress about this. It was supposed to be me. Just me. They were supposed to get a break.

“Hey, I just got an email from Charlie” Brit came walking in and then we followed her back upstairs. “In the neighborhood, found you guys a case” she read it off.

“Found us a case?” Sam voiced.

“In the neighborhood? How the hell does she know where we are?” I wondered.

“Well, she doesn't. Not exactly, at least. It says she tracked our cells to a twenty mile radius, then the signal went out” Brit explained.

“This place must be in some kinda, like, Bermuda Triangle” Sam added.

“What, are you saying we can make and receive phone calls from here and nobody can track us? Man I love this place” I grinned.

“Who we talking about?” Mel asked as she came down over to us.

“A good friend is stopping by...” Brit spoke cautiously.

“Did I know her?” she asked, genuinely.

“Yea...” Sam nodded.

“She actually has a serious crush on you so try not to...” I started.

“Be myself” she finished and I felt daggers coming from Sam and Brit. “Well, I can’t wait to...see her then” was all she said and walked back into the kitchen. I heard her turn on the sink to wash out the bowl.

“See what I mean?” Brit hissed at me.

“She’s been like that ever since the second trial. What happened when you guys went to Purgatory and Hell?” Her eyes snapped to Sam.

“Well...I guess what Bobby said really got to her. She’s trying as much as we are now to get her memory back. It’s what we wanted...” Sam reminded her.

"You have to seriously stop freaking out every time Mel shows a change in personality" I commented.

"Oh really? Well who was right the first time when she first started showing signs of change? Hmm?" she glared at me.

"Okay, fine, whatever. Point is..."

"Point is...this isn’t going to help her. This isn’t who she is...she’s not...”

“Happy? Genuine?” Sam listed.

“Yea, she’s genuine...depending on your meaning of the word...and happiness...” She scoffed. “Mel was always afraid of having it because she knew it ended in disappointment...” Brit was seriously freaking out right now.

“But, Brittney...we want her to be happy just like we want her to remember. We need to focus on the good right now, rather than just the bad...” Because this might be as good as it gets.

“A happy Mel is better than no Mel at all” I found myself saying.

“Yea...I know...I’m just...”

“Nervous. I know” I offered her a smile but she wasn’t buying it.

I understood where she was coming from even though I didn’t appreciate her being such a downer lately. The old, bitter, blunt, tough as nails Mel was great because it shaped her life and who she had become: strong, independent and feisty, yet lovable, funny and kind. But that Mel was gone. She was left behind in purgatory. This Mel had more of the bland emotions: happiness, sadness, anger. There was no in between. It was either one extreme or the other and some moments she was so neutral I had no idea what she was thinking or feeling. The old Mel was an open book for me. She was easy for me to read. And maybe that’s where we’re going wrong. We’re trying to recreate the person we once knew when we should be focusing on the person standing in front of us.

~

“What’s up, Bitches” Charlie sang as me and Sam walked her into the Bunker and through the living room.

“Ah the queen is upon us” Brit replied with a grin. Charlie did a quick bow before she and Brit hugged. “What are you doing in Kansas?” she asked.

“Uh...a comic convention. In Topeka” she answered matter-of-factly.

“In the middle of the week?”

“Girl's gotta get her collectibles. So...this is the dungeon? More like a castle” she sighed in awe as she looked around. We all looked each other and shrugged, grinning. This place will always be awesome.

“Too bad they got wiped out, though that is what they get for the sexist name”

“I know right. You would think my ancestors would have thought of something better” Brit joked.

“But then again the lineage is just men. You and Mel are the first women” Sam reminded her and she just rolled her eyes at him.

“Speaking of...where is...” Charlie started and I looked around, listening carefully. “Umm I don’t know...” I voiced, looking at Brit as she paced over to the stairs.

“Mel! Charlie is...”

“Coming!” she called back and I heard quick footsteps.

With Charlie standing beside me I could feel her tense up. She was rubbing her fingers together and wiping her palms on her pants. “Geez you’re like a little girl crushing hard core” I teased, earning a glare.

“Shut up” she hissed and I laughed. I loved Charlie. There was something about her that just made her special, she became like the sister I never thought I would want.

“Charlie!” I looked up at Mel as she came skipping down the steps with a grin on her face.

“It’s so nice to see you and I’m so glad you’re here. How’ve you been?” she asked, hugging Charlie tight. She hesitated at first, taken back but quickly responded.

“Dial it back a bit” I whispered to Mel. She pouted a little but smiled again when she backed away.

“Dial back a lot. You don’t have to pretend. The guys told me about your amnesia”

“Awe and I had a whole script memorized” she sighed. “I’m really sorry I can’t...”

“It’s okay. It’s the thought that counts...” she interrupted her. It was really killing her inside...I felt sorry for the kid but if I wasn’t going to get any action from Mel then neither was she...or maybe....

“So what have you been up to?” Brit wondered.

“Um, made a deal with the yesteryear weirdos, we're gonna team up to stomp the shadow orcs. You guys are still coming to the mid-year jubilee, right?”

I watched Mel‘s face stay unphased when she had no clue what Charlie was talking about but she continued to smile. “We wouldn’t miss it” I assured Charlie.

She smiled at me and I got this weird feeling in my chest. I would have never thought that she would become someone I always wanted to protect.

“So what about this case you brought us?” Brit asked and Charlie pulled out her laptop and set it on the table.

“When I was in Topeka, I saw this pop up over the wire. Tom Blake, a checkout clerk in Salina, who went missing on his way home from work. He was found dead yesterday, his insides liquefied. Locals have no idea what happened, they tried to bury the report so people wouldn't freak, but I flagged it. I have eliminated the following things that go bump in the night...”

A list of monsters with red Xs across the pictures popped up. “Wait a second. When did you become such an expert?” Sam asked.

“Well, after you guys left, I dug into all things monsters. I'm a wee bit obsessive. If "wee bit" means completely. I also found this series of books by a Carver Edlund?”

I groaned internally at the mention of it and me, Sam and Brit exchanged a look. I just shook my head. “Wow. That is some meta madness” she commented and then looked to me.

“Thanks for saving the world and stuff...” Her eyes moved to Sam. “Sorry you have zero luck with the ladies” I had to hide my laugh, especially when she looked to Brit and said, “You can do better”.

Sam threw out his arms, exasperated and paced away from us. Brit laughed too and just patted his back as that pouty puppy dog look showed on his face.

“Mind filling me in?” Mel leaned closer to me. I froze from the closeness...I could smell the shampoo in her hair...apples...or pumpkin...? I think I’m just hungry....

“Not really...” I started.

“There’s this series that’s all about your lives. From beginning to end. It’s pretty incredible...” Charlie explained to her.

She looked up at me. “Well...then why havent I ever read them? Maybe they can...”

“Don’t even think about it. No way am I gonna let you read those things”

“But why can’t we just...”

“No, Melissa” I spoke sternly, standing my ground.

“He just doesn’t want to remind you of the kind of guy he was before you two got together” Charlie said simply, keeping her eyes on the computer.

“Shut up, Charlie” I growled through my teeth.

“And what kind of guy was that?” she crossed her arms.

“A whore and an ass...” they all answered together.

“Okay, that’s enough!” I snapped at all of them. I didn’t want to think about the past and that’s all those books were about: how messed up our past was and how our future has been destined from the start.

I saw Mel averted her eyes from mine. I sighed. “They really are stupid books...” I tried to apologize.

“Based on fact. True life” Charlie enforced, making eye contact with Mel.

“Charlie!” I hissed.

“What? Maybe she hasn’t gotten her memory back because you guys keep her in the dark about everything. You gotta be real with her” she pointed out.

“Yea, be real with me” Mel agreed, making Charlie blush.

I looked at Sam. “We need to find every single copy of those books and burn them” was all he said. I nodded and Mel sighed.

“They're online now, so good luck with that” Charlie mentioned.

“Awesome. Well, you crazy kids deal with that, Brit and I will go see if there's anything to this case of yours” I instructed and Brit nodded but, of course, Sam stepped forward.

“I'm coming with you” he stated. I looked him up and down when he staggered toward me, close to falling over. I shook my head.

“Whoa, are you sure you're okay?” Charlie asked quickly.

“Yes"

“No. You're both taking a knee as long as you're off your game”

“What? But there isn’t anything...” Mel tried to object.

I ignored her. “Ready?” I asked Brit. She nodded. “I’ll go with you” Charlie suddenly volunteered.

I eyed her. “No disrespect, okay, but there's a big difference between reading about hunting and actually hunting”

“I'm coming with” she stated. I looked at Brit and she shrugged.

~

“For serious?” Charlie asked as I put a gun in her hand and hit the switch to pull up a new target.

“Okay, now, if you can hit that target then we can talk about you actually...”

Before I could finish she fired twice: both were perfect head-shots. I was shocked. “What?” she acted innocent.

“Someone should probably stay here anyway with weird and weirder upstairs anyway” Brit breathed out as she headed back up.

I know she was stressed about a lot right now but it wasn’t the time to be concerned. I had to stay focused. “Alright, if you're gonna do a ridealong, then...you gotta lose the novelty t-shirts” I told her, eyeing her Lord of the Rings Tee.

“Son of a pantsuit” she cursed and I just smiled.

When we found the best vintage place close by I waited outside the dressing room, handing Charlie different outfits that she had picked herself. She took out her cell phone and started playing 'Walking on Sunshine’ with it on repeat while she tried all of the clothes on, showed me quick and I negated all of them. I had enough of the music so I quickly turned it off and she pouted at me and complained about wanting her own montage. I just handed her the one outfit I picked out, she put it on and showed me. Finally.

“Trials? That's never good” she commented as we checked out and headed back outside to the Impala which I parked down the street.

“Yeah, and our prophet's in the wind” I added.

“What about uhh Castiel? He seems helpful and dreamy"

“He's MIA with a tablet of his own, doing God knows what. To be honest this whole thing is...I mean, Sam's a tough son of a bitch and Mel isn’t much of a hand full lately...but...still...Cas is saying that these trials are messing with them in ways that even he can't heal”

“If it's any consolation, having read your history, there is pretty much nothing you guys can't do if you work together” she winked. I laughed humorlessly.

“Thanks”

“Must be nice having a brother...and a girlfriend...and a best friend...you guys have the life” she joked and I just rolled my eyes at her.

“You did read the books, right?” I joked back.

“Well, yea, that’s my point...it must be nice to always have someone watch your back...” She suddenly seemed different...sad almost....

“Yeah. No brothers or sisters?” I asked as I began to subconsciously feel for my phone.

“Actually I have two. Their names are XBOX and PS3” I eyed her when she answered me taking note of her defensive demeanor.

Something was up with her and she was hiding it from us. I took out my phone and pretended to search for a signal. “Hey, I’m not getting any service. Let me borrow your phone?”

“Uhh yea, sure” she handed it over.

I went through the settings and flipped the GPS switch. I couldn’t shake this weird feeling and I wasn’t about to not listen to it and have Charlie get hurt again because she associated herself with us.

Then I dialed Sam. “Yea?” his voice came through.

“Hey, it's me. You okay?” I asked quickly.

“Yes, Dean” he sighed annoyed. “I'm still fine. Look, I can hunt, I...”

“Well, then let the healing continue. Let me talk to Mel. I’ll check in with you later”

“Mel’s busy...”

“Doing what?”

“Dean?” Brit’s voice. “Mel’s in the shower” Her voice was low and almost unrecognizable.

“Again? But she...”

“Yea, I know...she’s being really hard on herself...”

“What do you mean...”

“No time to explain. Talk later” With that she hung up.

“Everything okay?” Charlie asked.

“I...think...” I sure hope so.

So Charlie’s first hoe-down didn’t go the way she wanted. Fumbling with her badge and holding it upside down wasn’t the best first impression when we talked to the morgue doctor. This lady was a bitch too so she didn’t help much, especially when she refused to let us see the body without “proper paperwork”. Yea, right, like I’ve ever needed proper paperwork for anything. I figured some grub would calm her down a little so we hit the closest fast food joint.

“So why didn’t you want to hang back? Get some Mel-action” I teased her again.

“Ugh dude! Come on!” she complained but her cheeks got red.

“Just tell me! I’m curious!” I laughed. She sighed.

“To be honest...she makes me really nervous. Like...she’s seriously intimidating”

“Ha, yea tell me about it” I shook my head and bit down hard into my burger. Not the best...but they can’t all be winners....

“How’d you do it for so long? How’d you get over the nerves?”

Her questions were genuine...and she was asking for my advice. “Well...to be honest...I never did get over it”

“Seriously?”

“Yea, even when we got together I was still scared like a little baby. She made me so nervous I never thought I would be comfortable around her...”

“But then...”

“But then...the more I hung around her...the more she started to miss a step”

“What do you mean?”

“She started letting her guard down. She wasn’t aware of when she did it but when she wasn’t being a total psycho bitch...she had this warmth about her that was so radiating and hypnotizing...it was like she had this gravitational pull that no one could resist...and I started to see that...really deep, under all the damage and all the hate and paranoia...she was human. Just like me. I realized we were the same. And that I was good for her...maybe not good enough but I was still good...and she was really good for me...”

She put a hand on mine and I realized I had a tear slipping down my cheek while I just stared at the dash blankly. I quickly wiped it with my other hand. “You will always be good enough. Even if Melissa never realizes it again...even if she doesn’t see what’s right in front of her...you will be good enough...”

“Are you trying to cheer me up or are you on the prowl” I tried to joke. She just smiled.

“Hey, can I ask you something else?” she wondered.

“Shoot” I nodded.

“If you really love Melissa...just like the books say you do...” I rolled my eyes. “Then...why...or how can you keep fighting knowing she isn’t able to love you back...?”

I stared at her for a long moment. “I don’t really know” was all I told her. “Maybe...I feel like the old Mel...our Mel...is still buried inside her own body. She’s somewhere...in a kind of comatose state...and she’s fighting just as hard to come back to me. She can hear me trying...fighting for her...and that’s what keeps me going...”

“Because it’s what you believe...that one day your Mel will just wake up from a deep sleep...”

“It’s what I believe” I confirmed.

“What if...you can’t force her to remember but you just have her fall in love with you all over again?” she suggested.

“It would take way too long” I laughed.

“True...it took you forever the first...”

“Lets not bring up the books again, okay?”

“Okay...did you try True Loves Kiss?”

“Now you’re just spurting words”

“I’m brainstorming. Isn’t that how you got her back from Purgatory?”

“Well yea...kind of...I guess...”

“Then why not try to break the curse...” she used air quotes. “Reverse the curse with true loves kiss. It’s the most powerful thing in the world”

“But doesn’t the love have to flow both ways...” Was I really considering this?

“Not necessarily. Not if it’s strong enough...”

“But I already tried to kiss her, she pushed me away...” I admitted still embarrassed about the whole thing. It’s not like I could help it. It was just on impulse.

“She has to at least want it too, Dummy. You can’t just force a kiss on her. What kind of true love is that?” she scoffed.

I eyed her. “You really think it’ll work?”

“Sure, I do! Get close enough...stop being a dick and actually listen to when she talks instead of ignoring her or brushing her off...and then when you see an opportunity then take it!” she was excited now.

“I should be taking notes shouldnt I...”

“Yea, you should! This has to work! It’s the only obvious solution” she grinned at me.

Suddenly the police scanner went off and it told us about another incident on some nearby train tracks. So I started up the car and headed that way. “Maybe you should go first this time” Charlie suggested as we got out of the car. As soon as she saw other authorities she started to panic.

“Nuh-uh. Back on the horse, kiddo, come on” I encouraged.

She took a deep breath and went in. She took out her badge and held it upright this time. “Hey there. I am Special Agent Ripley, this is my partner...” I was so proud.

“Save it. Your other agent’s over there. Never knew the FBI needed so many damn people on one case...” he interrupted her and muttered, walking away. I wanted to hit him. Wait...other agent...?

“Took you guys so long?” Sam asked as he came over alone.

“What the hell are you doing here? And where are the girls” I snapped.

“Working the case, same as you” he gestured over to the body and ignored my second question. “Jake Hill, librarian. Went missing yesterday, no relation to the other vic. Coroner already swooped in and scooped up what was left of him"

“Yeah, we met her, bit of a stickler. Well, if there's not a body, there's nothing else to see here, so why don't you head on home?"

“Still have to talk to the witnesses"

“Well, we can handle that. Charlie, why don't you go talk to the witnesses"

“But I don't wanna miss the broman...”

“Charlie” My voice was stern. She sighed and walked over to the two kids. “Look, man, I know you're frustrated, but you're also sick” I tried to reason with him.

“I'm not leaving, Dean”

“I know you wanna help, I do, but...”

“Dean, you cannot take care of all of us. I need to be out here. Play through the pain, right?"

“Come on man, don't quote me to me” It’s really annoying. “And where are the girls?” I repeated.

“Back at the bunker, Dean. Brit didn’t want me to go but she couldn’t really stop me with Mel...” He stopped short.

“With Mel...what?” I urged. He didn’t answer. “With Mel what, Sam” I demanded. He hung his head.

“So the boys said they noticed something on the body's arm before it covered them in years of future therapy. Said it looked like a blue hand print” Charlie came back over to us.

I never took my eyes off my brother. “Sounds like something you should read about. In a book. At home” I clenched my fists, now getting annoyed, but trying to keep cool.

“I'm not leaving until we find out whatever is doing this” he replied.

“Whatever” I shook my head and stalked away from both of them.

I went right over to the Impala, got in and drove off. I wasn’t really thinking about it, I just did it. I felt bad for leaving Charlie but I just needed to cool off. I hesitated about calling the girls. Did I really want to know what Sam was hiding? Not really. But I had to know. So I tried calling Brit. I called once...twice...even three times...she never picked up.

“Damn it” I cursed and banged my fist on the steering wheel, frustrated.

There was no point in going back. I wouldn’t be of use to them anyway, not if Mel still doesn’t trust me. All I could do is leave it to Brit for now. So I just headed back to the morgue. The sooner we finish this thing up the better. “What took you so long?” Sam asked with him and Charlie already there, waiting.

I could see Charlie fidgeting about the fact that she didn’t have permission to be in here but I think I also saw some kind of adrenalin rush that she was beginning to crave. “I stopped for gas. Shut up. Body's in here” I lead them both through the room right as car headlights flashed through the blinds.

“The hell?” Sam muttered as Charlie went racing out of the room.

“Charlie...Charlie!” I hissed at her, rounding the corner. She stopped and poked her head through the doors at the end of the hallway. “It's the coroner. I got this” she grinned back at me and headed into the office.

I quickly opened up the chamber and slid out the tray but there was no body. “The hell? It's empty”

“Uh...they burned the bodies” he told me, flipping through the report.

“Already?”

“Yeah, they think it's some kinda, like, outbreak scenario. Even got the CDC to sign off on it"

“These folks run a tight ship” I commented.

“So does this mean we need to take Silkwood showers now, or is this still a case?” I wondered, half joking, mostly serious. He took a picture of the files.

“Yeah, something about that mark the kid saw rings a bell. Probably have to check the lore, or maybe Dad's journal” I peered out the room and saw Charlie still stalling the witch of a coroner but I saw she was losing patience.

“Hurry up” I hissed at Sam and then we ditched right as Charlie reached us. She caught up and we raced for the cars.