Chapter Nine

Like a Virgin

Pandora hadn't heard from the boys in over a week and was starting to get worried. She knew from having dinner with Death a few days ago that Dean had managed to get Death to restore Sam's soul; the cost was being Death for a day. So, she decided to pop in to check on them.

She found herself outside of Bobby's house with no one in sight. She was just about to let herself inside when she heard voices not too far from her. In a snap she popped up where she heard the voices and found Dean and Bobby.

"Hello there," Pandora greeted them cheerfully with a smile.

Taking in her surroundings it looked like Bobby was working on the underside of a vehicle while he and Dean shared a few beers. She was disappointed to see Sam nowhere in sight.

"Pandora," Bobby greeted in his gruff voice.

"Pandora!" Dean greeted her with a large smile before surprising her by gathering her in a hug.

She stood frozen in his embrace. Not really knowing what to do.

"Not that I'm complaining exactly by being in the arms of the deliciously handsome Dean Winchester; but this is not how you normally welcome me." As she finally unfroze and managed to wrap her arms around him in an awkward embrace. He pulled back from her little and was looking down at her still with the large smile on his face. His face was only inches away from her and Pandora bit her bottom lip seductively as she took in his features. She always appreciated a pretty face.

"You are the best!" He told her.

She smiled at him even though she was confused beyond belief.

"Well I'm glad you think so but I'm not quite sure what I'm the best at exactly." She told him looking away from his happy face to Bobby's more indifferent face. "Bobby is he okay? Did he hit his head recently?" She questioned as she stepped out of Dean's arms and put some distance between them.

"Your plan worked. Death got Sammy his soul back. He doesn't remember anything; nothing about hell or even this past year and half he spent soulless. It's amazing." Dean explained to her.

"Oh," Pandora replied dragging out the word slowly. "That's good… I suppose. Shame he doesn't remember all of our soulless bounding time though. But I'm glad everything worked out though."

"Yeah, so don't mention anything to him about that okay?" Dean asked of her.

"My lips are sealed." She told him. "So, are you guys just chilling or do I sense a hunt coming soon?"

"Actually yeah, me and Bobby were going to be heading out soon; checking out a disappearance. Sam's asleep though; he might need to rest up for a couple more days." Dean told her. "You plan on coming?"

"Oh no the last hunt was adventurous enough for me." She told him. Pandora couldn't get the image of Crowley burning out of her mind. "I'll stay with Sam. I can keep an eye on him for you." Pandora offered.

She watched as Bobby and Dean shared a look making her roll her eyes.

"You know I'm slightly offended that you don't trust me. I ruined a perfectly good pair of shoes the last time I saw you Dean." She reminded him. "I promise I'll keep my hands to myself."

In the end Pandora won over them both and had agreed to let her stay with Sam at Bobby's until they got back. She was watching them load up the car when Sam came out of the house. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her standing there.

"Pandora?" He questioned.

"Don't tell me you forgot me Sam." She said. "I mean I hope I left a lasting impression last time we met."

"Yeah, yeah of course, I just wasn't expecting to see you here." He told her. "Have you been helping out a lot?" He asked her.

"Just here and there; sometimes I get bored and Dean has a pretty face." She told with a flirty smile appearing on her face. "I defiantly have missed your pretty face and those muscles. Glad to see everything turned out okay."

"Yeah, me too," Sam agreed with a smile that she had never seen on the soulless Sam. It was genuine and warm.

Pandora found out quickly that something wasn't right between the three hunters. When Sam asked to go with them on the hunt Bobby suddenly remembered he needed to watch the phones. Pandora watched with raised eyebrows as the older hunter quickly got away from Sam. Watching Bobby go back in the house, she decided she would find out what was going on with the old hunter.

"Well boys, be careful, don't die, and call me if you need me." Pandora told them with a smile and wave before disappearing without a trace only to appear in Bobby's office on top of his desk. Bobby was setting behind the desk with his nose in a book.

"So, want to tell me what's going on between you and Sam?" She questioned as she snapped her fingers and a bottle of whiskey appeared with two glasses with ice appeared on his desk. She poured the whiskey over the ice before placing one in front of the hunter. He picked the drink up with a grunt.

"Didn't know you were a whiskey drinker thought you preferred wine." He said taking a long drink while avoiding her question.

"Normally you would be correct but you don't look like a wine drinker and I've seen the type of liquor you keep on hand. It's below bottom shelf quality… no offence." She explained to him. "And I want to have a drink with you as you tell me all about what happened with Sam."

Thankfully it didn't take much persuading for Bobby to tell her. Apparently, Sam tried to make it impossible for his soul to be put back which included killing Bobby. Pandora found out that he almost succeeded if Dean hadn't got there at the last second. She could now see why Bobby wouldn't exactly being ready to sweep everything under the rug like Dean was.

After Bobby finished catching her up, they didn't talk much. Pandora eventually moved from the desk to a small couch in the house where she draped herself across it as she enjoyed more whiskey. Between the two of them the bottle of whiskey didn't stand a chance.

Pandora continued to lay about at Bobby's house content with the older hunter's company. She was in no hurry to leave. Her home felt too lonely and everywhere she looked reminded her of Crowley. She couldn't even enjoy her own bed or bathtub without memories of him haunting her.

She was on his couch with her phone, that Crowley had gifted her, texting her only non-hunter human friend Natalie while Bobby was making himself some type of food that Pandora politely turned down.

She could hear the phone ringing from her spot and listened in when Bobby answered it. She couldn't help but cringe as she heard the topic of discussion; dragons. Apparently, Dean was asking what Bobby knew about them; which was absolutely nothing. Letting out a long sigh she popped into Bobby's kitchen and perched herself on top of one of his counters. Her feet, which were covered in a pair of sparkly black high heels, swayed from left to right as she listened in. Her spot now enabled her to here Dean's side of the conversation.

"They're not like the loss ness monster; dragons aren't real." Bobby told him. Pandora smiled but didn't interrupt. Bobby wasn't even paying her any attention to her.

"Well can you make a few calls?" Dean questioned.

"To who? Hogwarts?" Bobby asked. Pandora blinked in confusion. She didn't know what a Hogwarts was… but she got the feeling that Bobby was being sarcastic. Dean's response telling him to humor him confirmed her suspension. "Fine," he finally agreed.

After asking Dean how Sam was doing which Dean replied he was doing fine Bobby finished the call and hung the phone back up. Pandora watched him shake his head before going back to the stove were a pot of soup was heating.

"You know you guys seem to forget that I've been around for a very, very long time." She commented casually as she made a show of waving her right arm around her dramatically for affect. "I mean technically a lot of that time I wasn't free but still I do know lots of information on lots of different things. During my earlier days I… got around a lot."

That got Bobby's full attention.

"Are you telling me that dragons are real?" Bobby asked her.

"Ready to have your world rocked?" Pandora asked him. "I've personally never seen one but they exist. Or they use to. They haven't been seen in centuries. I do know that they love gold, they inhabit dark, damp places, and lastly, they love a virgin. Which of course can always be fun but typically I like my partner already experienced but to each their own I guess."

"Do you know how to kill them?" Bobby questioned hopeful.

"Hmmm… no." She answered after thinking on it. "Sorry, killing things was never my forte… still isn't." She said feeling a wave of guilt hit her as her mind replayed the scene of Crowley burning.

Thankfully after Bobby had time to think on it, he remembered someone that could possibly help the boys. She didn't hear the name only that she was some type of professor. He called to let them know and Pandora went back to lounging.

The quietness didn't last long before once again Bobby's phone was ringing and this time instead of Dean calling it was Sam. She could see the tension in Bobby's shoulders as he spoke to the younger Winchester. From what she could hear he was trying to get a location on the dragons. It didn't take long for them to figure out that the likeliest places for them to hide out would be sewers. The rest of their conversation was filled with tension as Sam noticed Bobby's attitude and called him out on it. Bobby waved it off before hanging up on the younger hunter.

"Cause hastily hanging up isn't suspicious at all." Pandora commented.

Bobby sent a glare towards her as she once again lounged on his couch.

"Yes, thank you so much for your input." Bobby told her being his usual grouchy self.

"You're welcome," Pandora told him with a large smile.

"I was being sarcastic," he told her. She gave him a careless shrug. "Why do you keep coming here anyway? You have to have something better to do than drink liquor at my house. I mean I would assume you live somewhere right?"

"Would you believe me if I told you this is the high light of my whole week?" she asked.

Bobby huffed at her in disbelief.

"I get why you helped when Lucifer was roaming free but now that he's back in the cage shouldn't you be living your life? You could be doing anything. Instead you've helped those idjits hunt fairies and go after Crowley." At the mention of the former King of Hell Pandora flinched but if Bobby noticed he didn't point it out. "And today you offered to baby sit Sam and instead of going with them you decide to hang back with me. I don't get."

"Sure, I could be doing lots of other things… and doing lots of people right now but what does it all mean? I've been alive for so long that sometimes everything just seems so pointless. My existence has been a long one and mostly a lonely one. Sure, I enjoy alone time in my bathtub or the occasional company in my bed but most people I meet don't really know me. It's all just superficial. I can make a man become a gooey marshmallow but after a while it gets old. I want someone to like me for just me." Pandora explained to him. Bobby looked at her in surprise at her confession.

"While I'm not a fan of you turning me into a 'gooey marshmallow' I do enjoy your company. You're always welcome in my house and I don't extend that invitation to many supernatural beings so count yourself lucky" Bobby told her.

"Awe Bobby, you smooth talker you. I know I made the right choice in naming you my favorite hunter. All those nice words might just make me blush if you don't watch out." She told him with a flirty smile thrown his way as she purposely stretched out her whole body on his sofa making the skirt of dress move further up her thighs. She watched amused as Bobby shook his head at her antics. He cleared his throat as he adjusted the ball cap on his head and looked away from her.

"Do you tease the boys like this too?" Bobby couldn't help to ask.

"Sometimes, but the three of you just don't seem to take the bait. I'm actually a little offended by it. I mean I've heard all kinds of stories of the smooth-talking Dean Winchester." She answered him.

Sam had only had his soul back for little over a week and Pandora could already see that it was going to fall apart and soon. As it turns out she was correct. Sam found out about the past year and half before the two were done with this case thanks to Castiel. When they arrived back, they handed them a book they took from the dragons. Pandora and Bobby looked over it while the brothers went to have a heart to heart.

Between her and Bobby they figured out the book dated back to around the 14th century, written on human skin, and was written in some type of obscure Latin. They relayed their findings to the boys. Bobby setting at his desk with Sam and Dean in front of him with the book in between them and Pandora was perched on the edge of the desk to the left of Bobby.

"Okay so me and Pandora were able to translate this first page fairly well. Basically, it describes this place like the backside of your worst nightmare. It's all blood and bone and darkness; filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty." Bobby explained to them. "According to this it goes by many names. Most of which I can't pronounce."

"But," Pandora interrupted her whole-body tense. "I'm sure you recognize the name Purgatory."

"Purgatory," Dean echoed after her. "Awesome, well that is good to know," he continued as he reached for a bottle of liquor and a glass that was on Bobby's desk. He poured himself a drink before setting on the couch Pandora had been resting on just hours before. "So, you're telling me that these dragon freaks were reading about Purgatory."

"If only it was that simple." Pandora told them. "But it's not. This book is basically an instruction manual. If someone wanted to open a gate to Purgatory this book is your best friend. Unfortunately for us we don't have the whole book. The last page is missing and I'm sure you can guess who has it."

"And it gets worse," Bobby continued. "This isn't talking about just opening a door. This is talking about opening a door and letting something come through. We got a name. It says it a few times actually. Mother… Mother of all."

"And what does that mean exactly?" Sam asked.

"We're working on it." Bobby told them. He looked over at Pandora and took notice of the worried look up on her face and how tense her body was. He had never seen Pandora like that. This book was bad news; Bobby could tell just from how she stared at it lost in thought. He wasn't sure if she knew more than she was letting on but he didn't call her out on it; at least not yet. He trusted her. She hadn't done anything but help them since she got mixed into all this and without them even asking had kept coming back to help.