Our Baggage

Ashley is reading while Sam sits by her on the small, beaten up couch in the main room that joins theirs and Dean's motel rooms, scanning his laptop screen with deep concentration, when suddenly he calls, "Dean!"

His brother runs into the room, and Sam explains that they have to go on a hunt, now.

"What about her?" Dean asks, gesturing to Ashley.

Sam looks at her. "You stay with Cas."

"I want to go with you."

"Ashley, it's not safe. Cas will watch over you."

"I don't care if it's safe."

He fixes her with a sharp glare, his eyes tinged red. He speaks in a measured voice. "Ashley. You will stay here. You will not cause trouble. Stop. Arguing."

She sits back, her stomach twisting with fear and hurt. Sam sighs and pulls her to his side in a hug.

"I just need you to be safe," he says softly into her hair. "I promise, I'll teach you all about this stuff when I have time, okay?"

She nods, telling herself that he won't hurt her, that he is just being protective and she was being unreasonably provocative.

The brothers leave her there, and Cas steps in with the declaration that he'll conjure dinner.

~~~

When Sam and Dean return, Ashley is asleep on the couch. Sam carefully picks her up and carries her to their room, where he sits and strokes her hair for awhile before going to the tiny kitchen area, where Dean is heating up leftovers for the two of them.

"You really got it bad for that girl," he says from where he stands at the microwave.

"Shut up," he says lightly, sitting at the table with a beer.

"You really gonna tell her all about the stuff we fight?"

"Of course. I said I would, so I will. She's going to have to learn what she's involved in anyway, don't you think?"

"I guess."

"I don't want her in the dark, Dean."

"I know, I know, I get it." He drops a paper plate in front of Sam, and sits down with his own. "I'm wondering, though...."

"What?"

"Are you gonna tell her about Ruby? And the demon blood?"

Sam sits in silence for awhile before answering. "I promised to tell her everything."

"Well, maybe you should get on that. Before she finds out some other way."

~~~

At the foot of Sam's bed stands a woman with wavy brown hair and blackness for eyes. She watches the sleeping girl for a long time before disappearing.

~~~

Ashley wakes in the morning to the smell of food drifting under the crack of the door. She gets up and pads across the room, rubbing her eyes, and opens the door. Sam must have heard, because he calls to her to come out for breakfast. She goes to the bathroom and washes her face before going to the kitchen area, where Sam and Dean sit at the wobbly old table. Sam smiles at her.
"Morning."

"Morning," she replies.

"Nice bed-head," Dean teases.

Ashley sticks her tongue out at him and sits down where a third plate awaits her. "Looks good," she says, referring to the food."

"Amazing what a microwave can do," Dean replies.

"Sleep well?" asks Sam.

"Yeah...." She feels his eyes on her. "But I had a weird dream."

"Oh?"

"I don't really remember it very well. I remember blood...and being cold." She shrugs. "Just an ordinary nightmare." Her eyes flick up to Sam to see him nod, though slight unease flickers across his face.

"You guys got a busy day ahead of you," says Dean. "Excited to learn about the world of the supernatural, Ash?"

She nods eagerly. "Yeah! Can't wait."

"Good, good." He finishes his breakfast and tosses the paper plate and plastic utensils in the trash. "I'll see you kids later," he says, leaving the motel.

Sam and Ashley roll their eyes and smile at eachother.

~~~

After they eat, Sam calls someone named Bobby, who comes to get them a half hour later in his truck. He drives them to his house, and Sam leads Ashley to Bobby's library, where they spend the day. By midnight, she is exhausted, and has learned about a third of everything he has to teach her. She jumps when he shuts a book and declares that it is time for bed.

"Bobby said you can stay here tonight. I have to go on a hunt with Dean."

"Alright," she says, not pestering him this time. "You'll be back soon?"

"As soon as we're done, I promise."

For some reason she believes him. Men have never really given her reason to trust them, but she trusts Sam, and she trusts his brother (who has become like a brother to her in the short she's known him) and she trusts Cas. The next day, she will come to feel the same for Bobby Singer, as well.