Spellbound

Shopping with Dean was truly an experience within itself. Carly rarely imagined that Dean would have any fashion sense outside of his traditional jeans, plaid shirts and leather jackets; but he knew what clothing items would look good on her body type, better than herself.

In the back of Carly's throat, a groan escaped when Dean handed her a black striped pants suit, but as she checked herself over in the mirror, she was impressed as to how the material clung to her body in the right spots. The suit made her look taller and slimmer. So, with her purchase in it's bag, and Dean's permission, she purchased a pair of heels that completed her outfit perfectly.

They returned to the hotel before they headed to the crime scene. Carly placed her belongings on the bed and fished around for the makeup she had bought while they were out; when she found what she was looking for, she grabbed everything and headed for the bathroom. She dressed quickly, applied makeup and took her hair from it's loose ponytail, allowing her hair to fall in curls around her face. Satisfied, she smiled at her appearance and stepped out of the bathroom.

Dean caught himself staring, which made her laugh. He shook his head, and stood shoving his hands into his pockets before ushering her out of the room.

When they arrived at the police station, they flashed their badges and were escorted to the Chief's office, where they were offered a seat across the mahogany desk. When the portly man asked why the FBI had any interest in this case, Carly heard Dean exhale and could hear the eye roll; but he recuperated quickly, "Well sir, you'd be surprised with what the FBI keeps tabs on these days."

The man shrugged before handing over the file. Dean quickly skimmed the contents, before handing it over to Carly. Death certificates and arson reports were neatly placed inside the brown folder.

"Doesn't talk much, does she?" The Chief stated, motioning towards Carly. Dean shook his head, "Eh, she doesn't need to. She's very good at her job, and a top analyst with us. Her work speaks for her."

He nodded, and gave her a sideways look, "Well then.. anything else I can help you with?"

"A copy of this file please."


They exited the police station, a copy of the file in hand, "I'm starving, lunch break?" Dean asked, spotting a diner across the street. Carly felt her stomach growl and nodded. They entered the dimly lit restaurant and requested a booth in the back.

"According to this, the fire was estimated to have started around ten o'clock pm. The house was fully extinguished by eleven-thirty.. but the flames were recorded as "ferocious" and more water was used than on a regular house fire. When they entered the house, all the rooms were destroyed except for one. And, oddly enough, if this whole case isn't weird.. there was no detectable point of ignition."

Dean stopped reading the menu, and stared at her, "What type of fire starts without a point of ignition?"

Carly shrugged, "I have no idea. I mean, some chemicals can burn undetected, but that doesn't explain why one room was left completely untouched."

The waitress approached their table, her notepad in hand, ready to take their orders. Carly glanced up at the woman and raised an eyebrow when she noticed her gaze was on Dean. As he ordered, she leaned in closer to him, practically shoving her chest into his face. Carly rolled her eyes and coughed loudly, "Excuse me."

The waitress broke her gaze from Dean's face, and glowered at her, "Can I help you?"

"I don't appreciate you talking to my partner in such a manner. It's one thing to flirt with a man, but to lower your integrity by sticking your chest in his face is saying a lot about yourself. Also, it's a federal offense when you hinder Agents while they are investigating a crime?"

The woman's mouth dropped open and she quickly apologized after taking their orders. As she left the table, Dean shot her a look. Carly rolled her eyes, "Don't you dare take that tone with me. You can flirt all you want, but not while we are on a case. This takes more precedence then you getting laid." She glanced down at the file again, and this time she saw him smiling.

"Jealous." He whispered loud enough for her to hear. Carly looked up from the file and scoffed, "Far from it Winchester."

Their food arrived and they ate in silence. Carly continued to read through the reports until a picture caught her eye, "I've seen this before."

Dean glanced over the top of his burger at her, and raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

She pushed the folder across the table at him. It took a second for Dean to register what he was looking at, before exhaling and placing his burger back onto the plate, "This is serious."

Carly nodded and was interrupted by their waitress, "Can I offer you both some dessert?"

Dean glanced up at her, his eyes sparkling, "What kind of pie do you have?"

Carly shook her head, declining any pie and Dean smiled, "You are the best, Sam would have made me feel like I was wasting precious time on pie. I love me some pie."

After the check was paid, and Dean was full, they began their drive to the hospital. The nurses declined any visitors, but with a little push from Dean, they allowed Carly to go inside the room. She was brought to the ICU where a young boy sat on his hospital bed. His toys were scattered around him, a ragged looking stuffed bear sat next to him, his furry arm bandaged just like the child's to make him feel better.

Carly took a seat on a hard plastic chair next to the bed. The nurses introduced them. "Chance, this is Agent Page," the boy glanced over at Carly and gave her a half smile, before he turned back to his toys, "Miss Page would like to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

The boy simply nodded and placed down the crayon he was using and gave Carly his full attention.

"Chance, what can you tell me about the accident?"

At first the boy frowned, then smiled, "It was hot. I cried for my mom but then I heard someone calling to me that I was okay and would be safe. The voice told me to stay where I was until the man came to help me."

"What man?" Carly asked.

"The man who played with the fire."

Carly was taken-aback by the certainty of the boy. "Do you know what he looked like, or what he called himself?"

Chance shrugged, "Mommy and Daddy never could see him, but he wore a nice jacket and he told me his name was Max." Suddenly, he smiled, "We used to play a lot of games together; he was fun. I miss him."

Carly sat there for a while, until the nurse knocked on the door, signalling the end of her visit time. She nodded and stood from her seat and fished a business card from her pocket, "Chance, this is for you. If you need anything, please call, okay?"

The boy took the card and nodded, "Thank you for playing with me!" Carly gently patted his head before following the nurse out of the room. Dean stood when she rounded the corner and they briskly exited the hospital and across the street before either spoke a word.

"So, what did you find?"

Carly ducked into the Impala and shut the door, waiting for Dean to follow suit. He raised his eyebrows at her when he got in.

"He said he has a real imaginary ghost friend. "Helped" him stay put during the fire, which I'm going to assume he started, and then helped him to safety. Told him to call him Max."

Dean groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know. I'm already pissed that a spirit would use a child to gain power, knowing they have no idea what they are doing. Making him call him by name... when I see him, ugh."

Dean slammed his palm against the steering wheel, causing Carly to jump.

"It still doesn't explain why he helped the boy, unless he needs him to do his bidding.."

Dean turned the key and the engine roared. He they the Impala into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot. Carly never saw Dean that angry and anxiously sat quiet for the ride back to the motel.


Dean was pissed. Everything as slammed around the room. He threw his jacket into the chair and his tie and shirt to the floor. He grabbed his shower bag and slammed the bathroom door shut behind him. Carly stood in the doorway and sighed. She took the jacket off the floor and placed in next to the tie and folded the shirt, placing them on the bed. She scribbled a note, checked her holster and exited the room.

Dean exited the bathroom feeling less angry. He narrowed his eyes when he found Carly was nowhere to be found. The folded clothes on the bed caught his eye, and he sighed. He neared the bed and noticed a slip of paper laying on top of his clothes,

"Ran to the store, be back soon."