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Dean pulled her into his arms.
“Ari have you ever had any of your dreams come true. I mean do you think they are visions?”
She moved back to look at him.
“Not that I can remember. So you think maybe the dreams are regular and don’t really mean anything?” she said as she tilted her head to the side as she thought.
“I don’t know. Most dreams have meanings according to Geek boy, Sam.”
“So maybe mine aren’t what they seem. But, what could they mean then? We have been taking them at face value.”
“Right, yeah lets just go back to sleep and tell Sam about them in the morning.”
He held her again as they settled back down to go to sleep. She sighed into his neck as she bit her lip. What is happening to me?
The next morning after Ari’s latest dream Sam suggested for a while they would go meet anyone interested in coming to the place. They would not accept anyone who just showed up at their doorstep. Everyone agreed it was a good idea in their situation.
“So Ari had another dream?” Jo asked as she munched on her toast.
Dean shook his head; they did not want to have the discussion in front of Amber.
“We will talk about it later, okay?” he said as he glared in Jo’s direction.
She slammed the rest of her bread down on the plate before she got up to go to the sink. Sam went up behind Jo to calm her down.
“Jo, relax okay. The little time we have lived here before you arrived; our home was cordial and warm. Since you have been here it has been turmoil…”
“Maybe I should just leave. Hey, you guys are back you don’t need me,” she said as she turned around and ended up in his arms.
Sam searched her eyes; he could tell she was on the verge of tears. He put his hand on her cheek as she looked up.
“You don’t have to leave, Jo. You can stay in my room as long as you want, but please try not to make so many waves with Dean.”
Dean watched Jo and Sam out of the corner of his eye.
“Hey,” Ari said in an attempt to get his attention.
“Sorry,” he said with a smile.
“Looks like Sam may like our little Jo,” Ari teased.
“That is doubtful,,” Dean said as he openly looked at the two of them.
“Can I go outside to play with the puppy?” Amber asked.
Ari looked from Dean to Amber with a smile plastered on her face. No, she was confident that Dean wanted to be with her and not Jo. So why did she suddenly feel sick to her stomach.
“In a second, Honey, Sam said he would go out with you.”
Sam heard them say his name and stepped away from Jo. His facial expression was one of confusion. What was he doing? He liked Paris. Jo was just a kid, but when she looked at him all vulnerable and teary-eyed it touched his heart. He sighed.
“Let’s go Amber,” he said as he looked toward the little girl. He saw Dean look warily at him.
“Okay Sammy,” Amber said as went to him then took his hand.
Her face was aglow with excitement. She loved her puppy but he couldn’t stay inside because of the wards, salt, chalk and other protections around the inside of the house. Outside he had room to roam in the fenced area they had set aside for him. Jo followed the two of them outside.
Ari sighed as she got up to do the dishes while Dean finished his bacon. They had gotten into a morning rhythm that was comfortable. Though Ari knew comfort could be deceiving. Dean needed excitement she felt, she didn’t want to get boring on him. Of course there was only so many ways to have breakfast with others in the house. She didn’t feel Dean as he came up behind her because she was lost in thought.
“A penny for your thoughts,” he said as he put his arms around her waist though her hands were in the sudsy dishwater.
“Um just organizing in my head what we need to get started on getting the things we bought…..”
He kissed her neck before running his nose along her collar bone. She could feel trickles of desire run down her spine. How did he do it? He brought out the passion in her, something she still needed to get accustomed to. He didn’t seem unaffected himself, she would have sworn she felt his heart racing as he leaned against her back.
“Um, and I want you to put the bookshelf together…” she started again.
Dean pushed his hands under her shirt where he unhooked her bra as he nibbled on her ear. His thumbs found her nipples right away and he touched them gently with his fingers, as he created invisible circles.
“Arianna, relax,” he whispered in her ear as his heart raced.
She moaned as she leaned heavily against the cold of the sink. She had to focus. She rinsed her hands before she turned to face him. He grinned at her as she put her arms around his neck so she could kiss him. Her cold wet hands tangled their way into his hair but neither noticed. She pulled back after the kiss to look into his eyes. He smirked at her as she bit her lip.
“Let’s go down stairs and get started,” he said with a grin as he took her hand.
Christening the downstairs flat had not crossed Ari’s mind, but it seemed Dean had considered it more than once. Twenty minutes later they were in the downstairs study on the sofa spooning after they made love. Dean sighed into Ari’s hair. She smiled to herself. She was still surprised her how gentle Dean could be. His ghost hunter problem solving mode was so different then his lover mode. They both knew they should get up to get some work done but the afterglow was too sweet and warm. Then they heard a door open. They jumped up to get dressed as they giggled like two kids caught in the act.
Ari pulled Dean’s boxer’s on as she looked sultrily at him. He grinned as she tucked the sides in, damn, she is even sexy in my underwear.
“You can wear mine,” she teased as she held up the lace panties.
“Maybe next time,” Dean said before he kissed her again.
Ari patted her hair down after she put her shorts on over his, while Dean looked for his shoe. There was a knock on the door before they were ready.
“Yeah?” Dean said.
“I hope you are decent,” Sam said though there was a smile in his voice.
“Give us a minute,” Ari said as Dean tried not to laugh.
When they opened the door Dean had the bookshelf parts all over the floor as though that had been what they had worked on all along. Ari walked out and around Sam, who stood at the door, with a grin on her face.
“Yeah, right, I’m sure that is what you two were working doing,” Sam teased as he walked in to sit on the sofa not far from Dean who sat on the floor.
Sam pulled the panties out of the sofa and looked at them before Dean grabbed them to put in his pocket. Sam didn’t need to know he wasn’t wearing any underwear.
“Don’t ask,” Dean said.
“Oh I wasn’t,” Sam said with a knowing smile.
“So what’s going on with you and Jo?” Dean asked with a small smile though he did not look up at his brother who had begun to fold the blanket he and Ari had used on the sofa.
“Nothing, bro, just being nice, something you might want to try.”
“Well, I am taken, so me being nice they way I saw you being nice this morning would cause world war three,” Dean said with an arched eyebrow as he grinned at Sam.
Sam smiled.
“I have someone I like also, but it won’t hurt me or you to just chill.”
Dean wrangled his eyebrows, he could put up with Jo but only if she stayed out of his way.
“Dean?”
“Dude, stop stressing. You know she is right we are back maybe she should leave.”
“Personally, I think Ari needs some female company right now. For as long as either of us can stand it, okay Dean.”
“Fine but anymore stunts like she pulled with shotgun and she is out.”
Dean stood as he cell rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, its me we got a call on the land line to go meet that hunter. You and Sam want to get him?” Ari asked.
“Oh, yeah, sure we are on the way up.” Dean said before he put his phone away.
Dean and Sam went upstairs to tell the girls they were leaving. Dean hugged Amber and kissed Ari before the went out to the car. Sam winked at Amber who giggled before he gave Jo a nod and a smile before he followed his brother inside.
The Winchesters had taken the precaution of having the hunter meet them in Milwaukee. The place they set up to meet the hunter, Chet, was downtown Milwaukee. The location was at a coffee shop, Java Spot, across from a local bar. Of course, in Milwaukee that type of location was common. Coffee or beer they figured they would give the guy a choice.
“So this guy driver a dark blue F150, right?”
Dean asked as the arrived at their destination.
“Yep, there it is,” Sam said.
They spotted the truck but didn’t see a driver. They decided to park and split up. Sam took the coffee shop, Dean the bar. A few minutes later they met back at the Impala. Both shrugged as they faced the truck to see this time someone was inside.
They walked toward the truck to meet the fellow hunter. From a distance they could see the man. He looked about fiftyish, tall, maybe 5’11, his hair was longish on the sides but shorter on top. He sat straight up in the truck but got out to meet the boys. Half way to Sam he stretched out his hand. His friendly blue eyes lit up as he shook the younger man’s hand.
“Hi, I’m Chet,” he said.
“Nice to meet you,” Sam replied hesitantly.
Something is wrong here, Sam thought.
Dean smiled but seemed anxious to get on the road, he went back toward the car.
“Follow us,” he said before getting inside the Impala.
Sam explained to Chet it was about an hour drive before he started back to the vehicle.
Once he was seated and Dean started down the road Dean looked over at him and saw he didn’t look well.
“Hey, Bro, what’s up?”
“Something isn’t right about this guy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t explain, I didn’t see a vision but it just doesn’t feel right.”
“Good enough for me. Call Jo tell her to put plan A into effect.”
Sam nodded as he dialed.
When the arrived back at the house Sam got out and went around to the trunk. Dean got out and started toward the door but stopped midway and turned back, as though he had forgotten something.
“Go ahead,” he said to Chet.
Chet shrugged before he went to the door. Jo stood on the other side of the door as she waited to open it. Chet grinned at her just before he was sprayed in the face with holy water. Jo could hear the sizzle of his skin as his hands went to his face. Sam heard the scream before he shot Chet full of rock salt. All three saw the black smoke as it streamed from Chet’s mouth. Jo had shut the door before the shots were fired; she listened from the other side of the closed door. Ari who was in the lower flat working when she heard the noise and went to the window to look out.
She didn’t move, she knew the rules the Winchesters had set up for their protection.
1. Stay inside the lines
2. Keep the amulets on
3. If you can’t help stay back
4. Plan A-Holy water test
5. Plan B-Rock salt test
6. Plan C-Silver bullet test-last resort, use only if A & B fail
She saw the black smoke come from the man’s mouth as she covered her mouth with her hands. Oh my God.
After the demon left Chet’s body, Sam and Dean helped him inside the house. They took him to the lower level since it was less stress on the shocked man. Ari opened the door when she saw them outside. While they helped him onto the living room sofa there was a scream from upstairs. Then the sound of shots could be clearly heard.
Dean rushed up the stairs with the gun in his hand. He found Jo with Amber in her arms as blood ran down Amber’s leg.
“What happened?” Dean asked as he took Amber from Jo.
“The puppy attacked her, he was growling as he bore this teeth,” Jo pointed to the open window in Amber’s room.
“It came back through the window and into the dog.”
“Yep,” Jo said as she put medicine on Amber’s leg while Dean held her.
The little girl had not stopped crying the entire time. He held her as he tried to soothe her with soft words.
“It’s okay, Sweetie, but the dog got sick. We can get you another okay?”
Amber looked at him with her eyes full of tears.
“He hurt me,” she said.
“He was sick, Honey, he…is gone now,” Dean said.
Ari walked into the bathroom after she saw the dead dog on the floor. Jo left the room to dispose of the body. Amber went into Ari’s arms.
“Is it over?” Ari asked Dean as she looked up at him with sadness in her eyes.
“Quite possibly, that was the demon that made the deal. We will find out,” he said as he pulled them both into his arms.
Sam and Chet met Jo outside as she salted then burned the puppy’s body.
“Well, maybe Ari can get some peace now,” Jo said.
“Hopefully,” Sam said with a smile.
Chet just watched dumbfounded. He hoped to learn more about ghost hunting from the Winchesters.
TBC