A/N: This is coming along slowly but surely. Thanks for hanging in there. Please review if you are still interested in me continuing this fic. Happy Holidays!

Chapter 5

"And he didn't say anything else?"

"Nope, same old cryptic crap," said Laney, kicking rocks through the motel parking lot.

Gavin sighed. "I wish I'd been there."

Laney snorted. After she'd explained Simon's visit to her brothers, she'd promptly called Gavin. She needed someone outside the family to bounce things off of, and besides, she was really missing him. Going through all her father's belongings really made her reflect on her life.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad you weren't. I'm glad my brothers weren't either."

"What did they say when you told them?"

"Sam just wanted to know if he had any inside news on killing Dean's deal and didn't really seem to care about anything else." Laney sighed heavily, "Dean...Dean was Dean."

"I'll bet," laughed Gavin.

There was a momentary silence. "Seriously though, are you okay?" Gavin asked.

"I'm totally fine. I was more annoyed than anything. I thought that after yellow-eyes, I'd seen the last of him. So, it's annoying knowing he's still out there skulking around."

"You want me to come up, meet you?"

"You've got work," said Laney, even though she would've loved it.

"Yeah, but I'm not too busy for you, you know."

Laney felt her ears redden and blush creep up her cheeks.

"I know, but really, not much you can do here," she said. She noticed Dean peeking out the windows from behind the motel curtains. She waved him off. "Besides, I'm not sure where we're headed next and Sam needs to take it easy for a few days. If anything we should head back to Bobby's."

"Yeah, okay. Well, keep me posted. Let me know if Simon pops back up."

"Sure," she said.

"Are you sure you're sure you're okay?" Gavin asked.

Laney laughed, and it was music to his ears. "I swear I'm fine. It's just…" she sighed, "I'm just tired of all this. You know? All the uncertainty…drives me crazy."

"Oh, I know it does."

Laney stuck her tongue out at the phone. "Anyway, Dean is going to have a heart attack if I don't come back inside, so I'd better get going."

"Yeah, okay," said Gavin. "Take care of yourself."

"You too," said Laney. There was a long moment of silence, before Laney finally ended the call and stuffed her cell in her pocket. No "I love you's" today. They still hadn't talked about it. But she was okay with that. She had a feeling he was letting her take the lead. And she wasn't sure yet where to lead.

She took a deep breath before she walked back inside the motel room.

"How's Gavin?" Dean asked, snottily.

Laney rolled her eyes and walked over and sat down at the table where they were eating a dinner of pizza and other various junk foods.

She picked a pepperoni off a slice and popped it into her mouth. "So, where to next? Bobby's?"

"Bobby's? Why Bobby's?" asked Sam.

"Uh, your shoulder dummy," she retorted. "I thought we'd be up for some downtime."

Dean shook his head. "Your stubborn ass brother thinks we have a case a couple states over."

Sam scowled at his brother.

"Well, tell your stubborn ass brother that he's going to have to run research, because we usually need two arms to go hunting" said Laney.

Sam huffed. "Very funny."

"She's not wrong," said Dean. He threw down his slice of pizza and rubbed a hand tiredly through his hair. Sam getting shot had really rattled him. Hell, the whole experience in Black Rock had rattled him. Dad's super-secret supernatural stash, Bela, the cursed rabbit's foot, and then Simon's visit; he'd had better days.

"This hunt is more brain than brawn," said Sam finally. "So, you'll probably need to sit this one out Dean."

"Oh, aren't you a little bitchy," said Dean, tossing a balled up napkin at his brother.

"Guys, please," said Laney, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of their behavior.

Dean crossed his arms in front of him like a petulant child.

"What's the case?" Laney finally asked.

Sam stewed quietly.

"What's the case?" Laney asked again, kicking his ankle under the table.

"Forget it," he said. "We'll go back to Bobby's. I want to get the Colt anyway."

Dean's ears perked up. "The Colt? Why?"

"Don't get your panties in a knot Dean, I didn't make a deal with a demon. I'd tell you first."

Laney's eyes widened. Ouch. They were really at each other's throats today.

"Fine," Dean said, through gritted teeth, "We're going to Bobby's. First thing in the morning."

"Fine," said Sam.

"Fine," said Dean again. He stood up, stuffed his wallet in his jeans and grabbed his jacket. "I'm going out."

"Of course you are," said Sam.

"Jesus Christ! What is wrong with you two?" Laney snapped.

Dean pointed at his brother. "Ask him," he walked to the door. "Don't wait up," he said, before slamming it shut.

Laney looked at Sam. "Well, what is it? What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing," said Sam.

"Nothing? Really?" Laney snorted.

Sam stood up without a word, grabbed his bag, and went into the bathroom. The sound of the running shower followed a few seconds later.

"Great," Laney sighed. This happened every once in a blue moon. It wasn't hard to get on each other's nerves when sharing space nearly 24/7. But they'd been sparring with each other more often than not since Dean made his deal. Sam was pissed. Dean wasn't sorry. She wasn't sure where she fit in with all of this. She was grateful to have Gavin now. Dean didn't really have anyone else. Sam neither for that matter. Usually, they would come to her as a friendly ear, but that hadn't been happening lately.

Laney felt the throbbing starting to build behind her eyes. Just great, she thought. Another headache. She reached for her bag to find that her bottle of medication was empty. Had she really gone through all that in the last month?

She only used the really good painkillers when it got to be too much and it was rare that she gave in. But Doc Mason had become somewhat of her go to doctor after he fixed her up after the demon Meg had kidnapped her, in Sam's body no less. A couple months earlier he'd actually called to check up and see who she was doing. She mentioned the headaches to him and he'd immediately wanted her to go get a CT scan to make sure all was well in her brain. After all, she'd suffered a traumatic brain injury not even two years earlier. After her father's death, she did her therapy to get walking again, but had shunned all medical intervention since. But Dr. Mason was easy to talk to. He knew about the supernatural. He knew her unique circumstances. She promised she'd eventually get around to the brain scan. So, he'd given her a prescription for a migraine medication that actually worked pretty well. Not that she'd really told Sam or Dean what was going on. She filled the medication when they weren't around and kept it tucked in her bag with the tampons, because she knew Dean would rather die than go digging through that bag.

Sigh. She was out of the meds. She had a prescription on her, so she could go get it filled, but Dean was gone with the car and they were on the outskirts of the city. Sam was clearly in no mood to go out and she wasn't excited about the idea of sitting around all night with a sulking Sam.

Decision made, she grabbed her prescription from her backpack, and pen and paper. She wrote a quick note to Sam letting him know she was out getting supplies and would be back in a while. No need to let him worry, even if he was being a brat. She called a taxi and headed out into the setting sun.

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"How long before it's ready?" Laney asked the pharmacist.

"It's pretty busy this evening, so I'd say at least an hour."

Laney nodded. "Okay, thanks."

She'd taken a taxi the 20 minutes into downtown Buffalo to the pharmacy that was open latest. She hated being there. Buffalo happened at one of the lowest points in her life; the reaper, the Adderall addiction, her gifts becoming a thing. She shivered.

With an hour to kill she started walking to a nearby bookstore to grab a coffee and find something to read to distract her. It was a pleasant late summer evening. Fall was on the horizon and she could feel the change coming in the air. She loved Fall, but every changing season this year was a season closer to losing her big brother to Hell. And she was beginning to really feel like there wasn't anything she could do about it. She understood Sam's fervor to free Dean from his deal, she really did. He felt tremendous guilt that Dean had given his life for him so easily. But she was certain Sam would do something as equally dumb as their brother had and that scared her more than anything. This wasn't about trading one brother for another. There were times now that she felt like she'd lost both and the idea of walking the world without either one was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Hey, Daisy!"

Laney's head snapped up. She spotted a young man, running across the busy street toward her. She kept walking, hugging her bag close to her. She had the gun her brothers had given her for her 18th birthday tucked in there. But that was kind of a last resort weapon, and it was actually filled with consecrated bullets. Sometimes she forgot regular people could be monsters too.

Laney quickened her steps a bit. "Hey Daisy," he repeated as he reached her. Laney slowed her steps, she recognized something about him.

She stopped and turned around, recognition hitting hard. "Tim?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wasn't sure it was you until just now, sorry if I scared you," he said, noticing how tightly she was gripping her bag.

Laney loosened her stance up a bit. Tim had been Darla's boyfriend. The girl she's helped get justice for. The one she'd been linked with during death. "What…uh…how are you doing? I thought you'd gone to Boston."

Tim smiled widely. "I did for a while. It was great too. But…Buffalo is home."

Laney smiled back, his smile was contagious; bright and genuine. "So the job didn't work out?"

"Oh, it worked out just great and your friend Brian was really amazing. Kind of mentored me actually."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"What are you doing in Buffalo? Where are your brothers Bo and Luke?" he asked, with a smirk.

Laney shook her head in amusement. "Around," she said. "We're just passing through."

"Are you going to tell me your real name?" he asked.

Laney chuckled. "Brian didn't tell you?"

"No, he was pretty tight lipped about you guys actually."

"Sort of an occupational hazard giving out our information," she said dryly. "It's Laney," she said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Where are you headed?"

"To the bookstore," Laney said. "You?"

"Well to work actually."

"What are you doing for work?"

"I work down at the homeless shelter for teens. I'm an advocate and shelter monitor. I round up kids on the street that need a place to stay, try and direct them to services, you know…help them out…like you did for me."

Laney felt a lump forming in her throat. It was extremely rare that they ever saw the bright side of anything they did. It was usually, kill the monster, vanquish the ghost or demons, and move on to the next case. People were grateful, but rarely did they get to see impact. This was real and tangible and made things worth it.

"I'm so happy for you."

"Kind of found my calling really. I mean, after Darla, it was rough. But you gave me an opportunity to do something with my life and I did owe it to her to make something of myself."

"Really, that's amazing."

"I can't thank you enough."

"You're welcome. Really. You did all the hard work though."

"You don't give yourself enough credit."

Laney smiled and shifted awkwardly. She wasn't the most socially apt person and this was a lot of socializing with someone who wasn't her family. Or Gavin. Gavin was easy.

"I know you said you're heading to the bookstore, but if you have time, would you be interested in coming down to the shelter and seeing what you helped get started?"

"Uh, well, I don't have a lot of time."

"It's just a couple blocks up the street. Would mean a lot to me."

Laney nodded. "Why not," she said. She had an hour to kill anyway. "Lead the way," she motioned.

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Dean opened the door into the motel room, steps hesitant. He could see Sam seated against the headboard of the bed awash in the glow from the television. He looked relaxed, so at least it seemed he'd taken some meds for his arm.

Dean removed his wallet and dropped his keys on the table with a sigh.

"You're back early," said Sam.

Dean was grateful not to hear any bitterness behind the statement.

"Not really much of a scene around here," he said. Really, he'd had one drink and then decided he'd rather not let this thing between him and Sam stew for too long.

Sam nodded silently. "There's leftover pizza still," he said. This was his peace offering.

"How's the shoulder?"

"Sore, a little stiff, but it's not bad really. A few days I think I'll be fine."

Dean nodded. "If you really want to check out this case in Delaware, it's not a problem."

"I've got someone on it already. Winston was in the area, so…"

"Awesome," said Dean. He walked to the opposite bed and sat down on the edge, facing his brother. "Look Sam, I'm sorry…"

Sam cut him off. "Don't worry about it man. It's been a rough couple days."

"I know, but – "

"Really Dean, it's fine. I was being a jerk too."

Dean nodded in affirmation and Sam snorted.

"Good talk," said Dean, as he leaned back against his own headboard.

Sam chuckled softly.

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Hey, where's Laney?"

"Said she had to run out for supplies," Sam replied.

Dean's lips curled and he shivered. Supplies, was usually code for feminine stuff. He leaned over and snatched the remote from the bedside table and started flipping channels. This was good. Quiet time with the siblings over a night binge drinking and getting laid. It was a nice change.

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Laney followed Tim a couple blocks through the edgier parts of downtown Buffalo. She was accustomed to being in dangerous situations but she that didn't mean she didn't have a sense of self preservation. And also, her brothers were usually with her. But Tim was wholly comfortable and easy-going and it helped to ease her discomfort. They chatted amiably on the walk to the shelter. He pointed out areas that he targeted for his outreach. Areas where teens congregated to do drugs, or generally help each other live on the streets. Many of them waved hello to him and gave Laney a glance or two over. She knew these types of kids didn't take kindly to outsiders.

"It's still a few weeks to fall," said Tim, "So it's harder to get the kids inside the shelter when the weather is nice and the days are longer. We're always busier in the winter. But spring and summer is when they always get in the most trouble."

"What kind of services do you guys provide besides shelter?"

"We have a network of social workers that help them find things like housing, medical care, food pantries, etc. We try to see if we can get them connected to stable family. Get them in GED programs or back in school if we can. A lot of drug treatment as well. It's hard to not end up on drugs when you're living out here."

Laney nodded solemnly. "Does it work?"

Tim sighed and sounded like someone much older than he was. "Not as much as I wish it did. We get a few success stories here and there. But honestly, it's like swimming upstream most of the time. It's really hard to separate them from their street crews. They become family."

"I guess if even one person makes it, then it's worth it," said Laney.

Tim grinned big. "You would know, you made that happen for me."

Laney blushed. "Well, my brothers and I…our work is….uh…different. But we help the way we can."

"What exactly is your work anyway?"

Laney shrugged. "Stuff."

Tim laughed loudly. "Yeah, Brian wouldn't tell me either. I think I have an idea though."

Laney raised an eyebrow at him. "I highly doubt that."

Tim grinned again and stopped in front of a set of double doors. He pulled out a key card and unlocked the door, guiding her inside.

"We keep the building really secure. We have strict no drug policy too. You have to be clean to stay here. No weapons, no alcohol. Sometimes in the winter when it's really bad out, we bend the rules a bit just to keep these kids from starving though. It's better than them ending up at the adult shelters."

Tim proceeded to give her a tour of the facilities. It was a little run down in parts, but very clean and very welcoming. Laney felt a sense of pride that she'd affected someone enough to change their life and then pay it forward. It was a humbling experience and she looked forward to sharing it with Sam and Dean. They could all use a little positive news.

Laney glanced at her watch. The hour was up and her prescription was probably ready. It was fully dark now and time she headed out.

"Thanks for showing me everything," she said. "We should keep in touch."

Tim handed her a card with his phone number and email. "Next time you're passing through, maybe we could hang out a little," he said.

Laney stuttered a bit. "Uh…sure...I don't know that I'll be back anytime soon."

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you have a boyfriend. I wasn't trying to – "

Laney cut him off. "No, no, it's fine," she said as she headed for the doors. "I, uh, keep in touch."

"Wait, let me walk you back to where you were headed."

"Oh, no, I'll be fine," she said, eager to get out of there. She was terrible at talking to boys who showed interest. It wasn't like the comfort she felt with Gavin. Who she was missing acutely at the moment.

"Please," he said. "It can be a little dicey after dark."

Laney saw the dark shadow cross his face and reminded herself that he had lost someone he loved dearly to violence. Someone he had been unable to save and protect.

"Sure," she relented.

He held the door open for her just as an older man was rushing up the steps.

"Hey Tim, I just heard. There's been another attack in the park."

"One of ours?" Tim asked, breathlessly.

"Yeah, Mark Lowry," he said.

"Damn," said Tim. "Is he okay?"

"It's bad."

"What's going on?" asked Laney. "What kind of attack?"

Tim sighed. "Fourth attack this last month. Some kind of wild dog in Anderson Park. Police, animal control, nobody has been able to spot it or track it."

Laney's interest piqued. "Any deaths?"

"No," said Tim, "But the injuries are serious. I guess the victims get really sick, slip into comas. None of them have recovered yet. Some kind of serious infection sets in that they have trouble treating."

Laney pursed her lips. She had a feeling she'd just stumbled on a case. There were two things she could do; call her brothers, even though Sam was incapacitated for the moment and Dean was boozing it up, or she could manage this one on her own. At least for now.

"I'm going to head to the hospital," said Dwayne.

"Yeah, I'll meet you over there in a bit. I'm going to walk my friend home."

Tim was quiet on the short walk back to the pharmacy. He was obviously preoccupied.

"Thanks for making sure I got here safely," she said.

"Of course," he said. "Take care of yourself."

"Will do. You too," Laney gave him a hug. "Keep in touch. I want to know how things work out here."

Tim smiled. "Yeah, I will."

Laney walked into the pharmacy and quickly picked up and paid for her prescription. Once to the curb, she waved down a taxi.

"Where to?" he asked.

Laney took a deep breath. "Anderson Park."

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Dean startled awake. He didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep. The last thing he remembered was settling in and watching an old Western movie on the TV while Sam passed out from the good painkillers. He was snoring obnoxiously in the other bed.

He looked over at the time. He'd only been asleep for a couple of hours, it was only 9pm. He didn't usually knock out so early. He noticed Laney was still absent.

He grabbed his phone worriedly, but there was a text from her to him and Sam.

Found an awesome bookstore. I'm going to hang out here for a while. I'll get a taxi home. Love you!

Dean shook his head. Nerd. He sent a quick text. Call me when you're done. I'll come pick you up.

He got out of bed and gently laid a hand on Sam's forehead to make sure he had no fever. Never could be too careful worrying about infection.

Satisfied Sam was fine. He settled back in to watch a movie, and quickly dozed back off to sleep.

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The taxi driver dropped Laney off just shy of the park entrance. There was still a police presence, but not much of one. She didn't imagine if all the victims were runaway junkie teenagers, they were going to be putting too much manpower into solving a wild dog problem. But she knew the second she stepped out that there was something supernatural at play. She could sense it.

She felt her confidence falter a bit. Maybe it would be better if she called Dean in on this. After all, he'd just texted her that he would pick her up from the bookstore, which meant that he was sober and probably back at the motel already. But Dean would be gone in less than a year. She could not rely on the idea that he would always be there to help her. She needed to get used to doing things without him.

Decision made she walked the perimeter of the police presence. Sensing the evil; the darkness. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. At the same time, it was odd that it didn't kill its victims. What was the point then?

There was a small crowd of onlookers gathered around the yellow tape, mostly teens, probably friends of the latest victim. Just beyond the tape she could make out a large spot of blood, some torn pieces of clothing, but mostly, it was the deep sensation of dark magic at work. It made her skin feel electric and her head buzz. Not demons. Just definitely supernatural.

Laney sighed in frustration. She wished her gifts could be more specific. It was one thing to know evil was afoot, but a whole other not to have a clue what, when, where, why. She moved in closer to the crowd to get a sense of conversation.

"He and Carlos were just hanging out at the benches down by the water when they heard a growl. Then they saw red glowing eyes coming out of the woods…they took off running, Carlos got away but…"

Laney's eyebrows raised. She was pretty sure she knew was she was facing. She pulled out her phone and dialed. It was answered on the first ring.

"Well, hello kiddo."

Laney smiled widely. "Hey Bobby. I need you tell me everything there is to know about Black Dogs."