"Hold on, you blew up a car?"

Juniper laughed at Sam's question, nodding her head and swinging the beer bottle in her hand. "Yeah, I did."

"And it was badass," Danielle added.

"Well, I'm glad you ladies had fun while we were too busy dealing with Duane Tanner's parents," Dean spoke up sarcastically.

"Oh, don't be so upset, Dean. You'll have plenty of opportunities to have some more fun on cases." Danielle smirked his way.

Dean rolled his eyes in response, working on the beer in his hand.

The four, given the limited amount of sleep they got after leaving River Grove, decided to get out and enjoy the sunny day with a beer (Danielle having a cigarette, too), at a nearby point before they hit the road again. It was a peaceful view of the lake, with only the birds chirping around them. Sam and Juniper sat on the low fence, swinging their legs, while Dean and Danielle were leaning along the wood, staring out at the water. With everything that had happened just a few hours ago, Juniper felt some sort of tranquility just sitting there, even if it was just a moment she would only have for right now.

"So, last night..." Sam spoke up, breaking the silence as he turned over towards his brother. "You want to tell me what the hell you were talking about?"

Dean shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Sam raised his eyebrows. "I mean you said you were tired of the job and that it wasn't just because of Dad."

"Wait, you said that?" Danielle intervened, looking at Dean. "If I remember correctly, you're the one that got Sam back into the business. Isn't that right?"

Juniper figured this happened after she and Danielle left the exam room last night, confused at what was said and anything that happened between Danielle and the brothers before Juniper met them.

Dean shook his head. "Just forget it, okay?"

"No, I can't. No way."

"Look, I thought we were all gonna die. You can't hold that over me."

"You can't pull that crap with me, man. You're talking."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking till you do."

With a scoff, Dean turned around so that his back was now leaning against the fence, being in the same direction as Sam. "I don't know. I just think maybe we ought to..." Trailing off, he gave some thought into what he was about to say next. "...go to the Grand Canyon."

Those were the words no one expected Dean to say.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you know, with all this driving back and forth across the country, I've never been to the Grand Canyon." Dean turned to face Juniper. "Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon, June Bug?"

"No, I haven't," she answered, drinking more of her beer.

There were a lot of places she hadn't been to and maybe now was the time she could go and visit those places, despite the situation she was in with Danielle and the Winchesters. Even though they were the last people she expected to be with, especially long-term, the idea of going somewhere such as the Grand Canyon wasn't necessarily a terrible plan. In all honesty, the four of them could use a little fun in between jobs, given how everyone's lives had been going recently.

"It sounds fun, doesn't it?" Dean inquired. "Or we could go to T.J. or Hollywood, see if we could bang Lindsay Lohan."

"Really?" Danielle scoffed at his second statement.

"You're not making any sense," Sam said.

"I just think we should take a break from all this," Dean suggested. "Why do we get stuck with all the responsibility? Why can't we live life a little bit?"

"Why are you saying all of this?" Sam questioned.

Juniper figured there was a reason behind Dean's words, seeming like he was hiding something from all three of them. But when he looked at Sam and made an attempt to tell him whatever secret he had, all that came over him was turning around to head back towards the Impala.

"No, no, no, no, no," Sam said, going after him. "Dean, you're my brother, all right? So whatever weight you're carrying, let me help a little bit."

With some more reluctance, Dean shook his head. "I can't. I promised."

"Who?"

"Dad."

Sam narrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Dean briefly looked over at Danielle, who nodded her head, as if he was asking her for approval for whatever he wanted to say next. "Right before Dad died, he told me something." Pausing, he stared at Sam. "He told me something about you."

"What?" Sam was starting to get concerned. "Dean, what did he tell you?"

The tension around the brothers only grew the longer Dean remained silent. Even Juniper felt her heart beating a little faster as to how anxious she was getting, and Danielle simply looked at Dean as if she was waiting for him to drop a bombshell.

"He said that he...wanted me to watch out for you...take care of you," he said.

"He told you that a million times," Sam pointed out.

"Well, this time was different," Dean explained. "He said that I had to...save you."

"Save me from what?"

"He just said that I had to save you and nothing else mattered and that if I couldn't, I'd..." Dean trailed off, shaking his head as he struggled to say the last part.

"You'd what, Dean?" Sam inquired, almost getting irritated with his brother.

"I'd have to kill you."

Juniper let out a small gasp as the words escaped Dean's lips, watching as Sam's expression turned from confused to angry. This wasn't what she was expecting, but judging how little of a reaction Danielle had, it was obvious that she must have known about this already.

"He said that I might have to kill you, Sammy," Dean added, his tone filled with sadness.

"Kill me?" Sam repeated, a hint of fright in his eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," Dean whispered.

"I mean, he must've had some reason for saying it, right? Did he know the demon's plans for me? Am I supposed to go dark side or something? What else did he say, Dean?"

"Nothing. That's it, I swear."

"How could you not have told me this?"

"Because it was Dad, and he begged me not to."

"Who cares? Take some responsibility for yourself, Dean!"

"Sam, calm down," Danielle interjected, stepping in between the two.

"Did you know about this?" Sam turned towards Danielle.

Danielle opened her mouth, her face becoming sad as the guilt was showing in her eyes. "Sam--"

"Of course you knew," Sam retorted, scoffing. "I shouldn't have put it past our dad to tell you stuff about us."

"It was me that told her, not Dad," Dean protested. "And you can leave her out of this, okay?"

"Why should I? She's just as guilty as you are! You two had no right to keep this from me!" Sam shouted.

"You think I wanted this? Huh?" Dean snapped with resentment in his voice. "I wish to God he'd never open his mouth! Then I wouldn't have to walk around with this screaming in my head all day!"

During the brief pause, Juniper felt herself getting irritated with Dean as well. There were still things he promised to tell her and yet she was still left in the dark about everything. While she thought it was best to keep quiet for now, the frustration of him making excuses was getting very annoying to deal with.

Sam, once he looked more calm, broke the silence. "We've just got to figure out what's going on, then, what the hell all this means."

"We do?" Dean questioned. "I've been thinking about this, man, and I think we should just lay low, you know. At least for a while. It would be safer. That way, I could make sure--"

"What? That I don't turn evil? That June over here doesn't throw a car your way if she ever gets mad at you? That we don't turn into killers?"

"Sam, he never said that," Danielle said.

"Well, if you two aren't careful, then you will have to waste us one day."

"Okay, that's enough," Juniper finally cut in, hopping off the fence and facing Dean. "You keep telling me that you'll fill me in on this crap with the yellow-eyed demon and you still haven't told me a damn thing about it."

"Junie, this is a lot bigger than you even realize," Danielle told her.

"But I'm a part of it!" she yelled. "You can't just leave me in the dust forever. I have to know eventually, especially since I gave up everything, my entire life, to get the truth about who I am and whatever these abilities are."

"That was your choice to leave," Dean pointed out.

"I left because I thought I could trust you."

"You still can. You'll get the truth about all of this."

"Then why won't you just tell me?"

"Because damn it, this whole thing is spinning out of control!" Dean shouted. "You and Sam are immune to some weirdo demonic virus, and I don't even know what the hell anymore." His face looked helpless, because he truly had no clue what else to do regarding Sam and Juniper and Yellow Eyes. "I get you two are pissed at us. That's fine. We deserve it. But we lay low until we figure out our next move, okay?"

"Forget it," Sam angrily spat.

"Sam, please," Dean begged. "Just give me some time. Give me some time to think, okay? I'm begging you here, please. Please..."

In his displeased manner, Sam let out a grunt of defeat and finished off his beer.

Juniper couldn't look Dean or Danielle in the eye for the rest of the time they stayed at the point. Things were still uneasy as she got back in Danielle's car and they were getting back on the main road.

"God, that was intense back there," Danielle commented. "I should've smoked one more before we left." Pausing, then exhaled. "Look, Dean's just trying to keep you safe. We all are."

"By keeping secrets from me," Juniper retorted.

"Well, when you put it that way--"

"I'm a part of this just as much as you and Dean and Sam."

"Nobody ever said you weren't," Danielle reminded her. "But Dean's right. This mess with Yellow Eyes has only gotten crazier, and you bitching about not knowing everything isn't helping."

"I just want answers."

"And you'll get them, like Dean said. Just be patient." Danielle huffed another sigh. "He's got a lot more on his plate now that his dad is gone. It's taking a toll on him."

Juniper didn't respond, wondering if coming here to find some answers was only making things harder on everyone, especially Dean, and that maybe deep down, all of this was just one big mistake.

*******

Things remained tense between the four as a week went on.

None of them had spoken a word to each other, only letting music coming from whatever radio was around looming over them. Really, what else was there to say after their argument in River Grove? Sam and Juniper complied to laying low for the time being, but all it did was give Juniper more time for her questions and anxiety to gnaw at her brain every chance it got, resulting in her sleeping pattern being interrupted.

So one night, while staying at a motel in Wyoming, Juniper had a hard time falling asleep, getting out of bed and heading outside for a moment. As she quietly shut the door, she turned around to find Sam sitting on the sidewalk in front of his room, looking behind him to see Juniper standing there, giving her a weak smile.

"Can't sleep, either?" he asked.

Smiling back, she nodded. "Just got a lot on my mind." She went to sit down next to him, shivering a little from the cold. She noticed the parking spot where the Impala was parked earlier was no longer there.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, same here," he replied, rubbing his hands together. "I'm just...I'm just frustrated with Dean. You know, with all this talk of the yellow-eyed demon, we should be doing something about it. And with other people like us out there..." Trailing off, he sighed. "Have you thought about meeting more of them?"

Juniper was quiet for a moment, but she finally answered. "Yeah, sort of." Truthfully, she had been curious about the other ones with abilities like them. She wondered if any of them knew as much as Sam did, but recalling their first meeting, the answer to that was probably no. "I mean, is there any other way of finding them without having a vision like you did with me?"

Slowly, Sam's expression changed, as if he had a realization come over him. "Actually, there is." Pausing, he turned towards Juniper. "We'd have to leave right now, but there's another way we can find others."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure? You know that Dean and Dani won't be too happy about us leaving in the middle of the night."

"I know, but..." He let out another sigh. "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of desperate at this point, and I think sitting around and waiting for Dean to call the shots on this won't do us any good."

Juniper saw the sadness and desperation in his eyes, being able to relate with how he was feeling. Of course, she was just as frustrated as he was with Dean, along with Danielle, who was taking his side on all of this. There was only so much time she could waste on waiting around for them to make a move on Yellow Eyes, and maybe it was time for her and Sam to go find answers on their own.

Finally, she nodded her head in agreement. "Okay, let's go."

So the two took a few minutes to pack their things and meet up back outside. Juniper was careful to not wake up Danielle, gathering everything in her duffle bag, including Danielle's car keys, before heading out of the room, where Sam was already waiting for her. As they hopped in the car and drove off, Juniper was more nervous than ever.

While this was something she wanted ever since leaving Baltimore, she couldn't help but feel some reluctance, especially now that she and Sam were going behind Dean and Danielle's back, doing the opposite of what they wanted in the first place. Still, if she didn't leave now, then who knew when she'd get another chance at finding the truth.

"Dani's going to kill us when she realizes we're gone with her car," Juniper told him.

"Yeah, well, Dean was probably out for a beer run, so her car was the other best option," he said.

The anticipation of where they were going kept Juniper awake, and as the hours went by, she figured now was a good time to ask questions. "So, you gonna fill me in on everything that's been going on with this yellow-eyed demon you guys have been dealing with?"

Sam sighed, nodding his head. "Yeah, I think it's time you knew everything." He let out a shaky breath before continuing. "You know how we asked you about being in a house fire at six months old?"

Juniper nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, we asked because that's what happened to our family."

Her heart dropped. "What?"

Sam paused before he went on with the story, his eyes focused on the road. "Yellow Eyes was in my room when my mom came in to check on me. My dad found her on the ceiling. Before he knew it, the house was on fire. Dean carried me out while he went back to try and save her. But it was too late. She was gone."

Juniper felt her heart sinking more, her eyes almost welling up with tears. "I'm sorry, Sam."

Nodding, he continued. "That's how my dad started hunting. He trained us like soldiers so that we could follow in his footsteps one day. But his obsession with finding the yellow-eyed demon and killing it was just...it really affected all three of us. When I turned eighteen, I decided that I had enough of this 'family business of hunting' crap. I didn't think it was the life for me. So I left for Stanford, and I made it on my own for those next four years." He chuckled. "Honestly, they were the best four years of my life.

"And then that all changed when Dean showed up after our dad went missing. So I left for a few days, ended up hunting something else entirely, and Dad was nowhere to be found, still. I came back to find Jess dead the same way..." He trailed off, taking a deep breath. "The same way my mom was. Up on the ceiling and the fire spreading around her. I would've stayed inside with her if it wasn't for Dean. Since then, I was determined to find dad and Yellow-Eyes." He let out a scoff before going on. "History really has a funny way of repeating itself."

Juniper felt an aching in her chest after Sam told his story, sympathizing with him regarding his girlfriend Jessica. She felt the same way after finding Eric dead in their apartment, wishing she had gotten there in time before he was killed. Now, she wanted Yellow Eyes dead just as much as the others for what the demon took from them.

"So, your dad..." She started to say.

"We found him and Dani a few months before we came to Baltimore. The four of us had a plan to kill Yellow Eyes, and it resulted in Dani being possessed and Dean almost dying. That was when our dad..." Sam stopped again, his face falling. "That was when he made a deal with Yellow Eyes in order to save Dean, and it cost him his own life."

Juniper let out a small gasp. "Oh my God..."

"Yeah, it's a lot," he told her. "But at least you know now."

To Juniper, it all made sense now. She had a better understanding with how Dean and Sam were about the subject of their dad and Yellow Eyes, and especially how they acted around each other whenever it was brought up to prove a point.

After a moment of silence, Juniper cleared her throat. "So, um, where exactly are we going?"

"Nebraska," he stated. "There's someone that might be able to help us."

"Help us with what?"

"Finding more people like you and me."

Juniper raised her eyebrows. "As in, searching the entire country? Who the hell can do that?"

Sam chuckled. "Trust me, I know a guy."

Before they knew it, the two arrived in Nebraska around the late hours of the morning, and at that point, Dean and Danielle had already called numerous times and left a few colorful voicemails.

Sam pulled into a bar that was located in the middle of nowhere just about. However, there were a few trucks parked out front, so she had hopes that it was a decent place.

"Welcome to Harvelle's Roadhouse," he announced as they got out of the car.

When Sam and Juniper entered inside, all eyes went to them, and the girl was tempted to hide around her tall friend as they walked towards the bar in front of an older woman standing behind the counter, cleaning out a glass in her hand.

"Sam," she said.

"Hey, Ellen," he greeted her, a small smile on his face. "You don't seem that surprised to see me."

Ellen.

Juniper remembered the name from when Sam mentioned her before, along with the way Danielle got uncomfortable hearing him say it.

"Your brother's been callin', worried sick, lookin' for you," she replied, her eyes going to Juniper. "And he told me you'd have a girl tagging along."

Sam nodded his head sheepishly. "Yeah. I figured he might." Pausing, he cleared his throat before continuing. "This is Juniper Langley." He motioned his hands towards the girl, then back at the woman. "June, this is Ellen Harvelle. Another hunter."

"Hi," Juniper spoke up, waving at Ellen with a smile.

Ellen grinned her way. "Nice to meet you, sweetheart. Want a beer?"

"Yeah, thanks," she answered, sitting down at the empty seat in front of her. She was grateful to have anything that would keep her going a bit longer after not getting any sleep.

"I'm sorry you got roped into whatever bullshit Dean and Sam are up to now," Ellen said, handing her a glass full of beer.

Sam scoffed. "Ellen--"

"Seriously, what's going on between you two?"

Sam, with his head down, went to sit at the bar next to Juniper. "So, um...how's Jo?" he inquired, changing the subject.

Jo. It has to be the same Jo from my visions.

Ellen shook her head. "Well, I don't really know."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen her in weeks. She sends a postcard now and again."

"Well, what happened?"

"After she worked that job with you boys, she decided she wanted to keep on huntin'. I said, 'Not under my roof,' and she said, 'Fine.'"

Sam huffed a sigh. "So I'm probably the last person you want to see right now."

Ellen chuckled. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I wish I could blame the hell out of you boys. It'd be easier. Truth is, it's not your fault, Sam. None of it is."

Juniper could see the sadness in her eyes, even though she had no idea what the two were talking about. So she worked on her beer and kept listening.

"I want you to know that I forgave your daddy a long time ago for what happened to my Bill," Ellen assured him. "I just don't think he ever forgave himself." She paused, biting her lip. "I'd say the same goes for Dani, too."

Sam looked at her with confusion. "What does Dani have to do with it?"

Ellen narrowed her eyebrows. "She didn't tell y'all anything about what happened?"

"No," Sam replied. "What did happen?"

It seemed as if Ellen stared off into space for a moment, but then shook her head and came back to reality. "Um, so, why did you come here, sweetie?" she asked him.

"June and I need help," he admitted, his expression becoming desperate. "Is Ash around?"

"In the flesh!" a guy with a mullet haircut wearing a cut-off plaid shirt and old jeans entered from the back, his eyes going to Sam first. "Hey there, Sam."

"Hey, Ash," he replied. "This is Juniper Langley."

Ash turned towards the girl, who gave him a small smile, and nodded her way. "Nice to meet you. It's about damn time Sam got himself a pretty girl."

The two widened their eyes in surprise.

"Oh, no, Ash, we're not--"

"Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, cutting Sam off.

"I need you to find something for me," he said.

"What am I looking for?"

"Other people, other...psychics, like me. As many as possible. I need a nationwide search."

"But I thought there was no way to track 'em all down," Ellen spoke up. "Not all of them had nursery fires like you did."

"I know." Sam looked over at Juniper. "She's one of them."

Ellen glanced at the girl with wide eyes. "What?"

"Yeah, just about how I reacted when I found out," Juniper said, adding a chuckle. "It still almost comes as a shock when I think about it, to be honest."

The woman looked over at Sam. "How did you--"

"A premonition," he quickly said, then focusing back on Ash. "Start with the nursery fires. That's the best lead I got."

So, while rubbing his chin, Ash nodded his head and walked back to what appeared to be the office.

Ellen poured a glass for Sam and slid it his way as Juniper was still working on her own drink and looked at the woman for a moment. She thought Ellen gave off a sense of comfort, like a motherly figure to anyone that needed it. She figured that was one reason why Dean and Sam trusted her so much, but was still curious to know what the deal was between her and Danielle. As for Ash, she wasn't sure what to think of him, but was hoping that he'd actually be able to help out like Sam claimed earlier.

"So..." Ellen began as she stared at Juniper. "You're special like Sam, huh?"

The younger girl nodded her head. "Yeah."

"So you get these visions, too."

"That and I can move things with my mind," she said. "Actually, for now I've just been able to make some lights flicker, and I made a car explode..."

"But you're still working on controlling it," Sam intervened.

"Yeah, sort of," Juniper said. "It's all crazy, I know."

"Hey, we've seen and heard crazier," Ellen stated.

Before they knew it, Ash was walking out of the office with a small piece of paper in his hand. "Done and done."

"That was fast," Sam commented.

"Well, apparently, that's my job," he retorted. "Make the monkey dance."

"Just tell us what you got, Ash," Ellen said.

"Four folks that fit the profile nationwide," he explained. "Born in '83, mother died in a nursery fire, the whole shebang."

"Four? That's it?" Sam didn't bother to hide his disappointment, and in a way, Juniper was kind of disappointed, too.

Ash looked down at the paper. "Sam Winchester from Lawrence, Kansas, Max Miller from Saginaw, Michigan, Andrew Gallagher from Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Scott Carey."

"What? Got an address?"

"Kind of. The Arbor Hills Cemetery in Lafayette, Indiana. Plot 486."

"So he's dead?"

"Killed about a month ago."

"Killed how?"

"Stabbed. Parking lot. Fuzz don't have much. No suspects."

Sam looked over the list again, then sighed and nodded his head. "All right. Thank you." He took one last gulp of his bear and then stood up from his chair. "Come on, June."

"Where are you goin'?" Ellen questioned.

"Indiana," he answered.

She shook her head. "Look, I gotta call Dean and let him know where you two are."

"Ellen, we're trying to find answers about who we are, and my brother and Dani--"

"Wait, Dani's with him, too?" Ellen asked, scoffing. "You know she's just as hot-headed as he is."

"Yeah, and they both mean well, but they can't protect us from this." Sam shot her a begging look. "We're getting closer to the truth. Just...please don't call them."

Showing some reluctance of being stuck with what to do, Ellen eventually let out a sigh and nodded her head.

Sam gave her a grateful look, then turned towards Juniper. "Ready to go?"

"Just give me a minute," Juniper replied, holding up her glass, to which he nodded his head and waved at Ellen and Ash once more before heading out of the bar.

"You okay, darlin'?" Ellen asked.

She looked over at the woman and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, finishing what was left of her beer.

"How long has it been?"

Juniper's expression turned confused. "How long has what been?"

"Since your fiancé died."

The words caused Juniper's heart to sink as she knew it had been a while since she or anyone else had brought up Eric. "How did you--"

"The rock on your finger ain't that hard to miss," she commented, pointing at the ring. "Besides, I know you wouldn't just run off with some people you hardly knew if you had someone waitin' for you at home. Especially if he was handsome like Dean and Sam."

Juniper smiled weakly. "That's a good point." She paused, starting to feel the grief take over like before. "His name was Eric. He was..." She stopped for a moment when the lump in her throat was beginning to form, attempting to swallow it down. "He was killed by a demon."

Ellen shot her a sorrowful look. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry."

The girl sighed and shook her head. "It's been almost two months and it still doesn't feel real sometimes."

"Yeah, I know the feeling, and I wanna say that it gets easier." Ellen began to wipe off the counter with a rag. "But I remember when I finally took off my wedding ring."

"How did it feel?" Juniper asked.

Ellen shrugged. "Hard, like I expected it to be. But I had to accept that my husband was gone and that he wasn't coming back."

"Well, it's a lot easier said than done," Juniper pointed out.

"But not impossible to do," Ellen added. "You won't be sad forever."

"I hope not." Juniper finally stood up, her eyes going back and forth between Ellen and Ash. "It was nice meeting you both. Thank you for everything."

"It was nice to meet you, too, Juniper," Ellen replied, smiling.

"You can call me June," she told her.

"Well, you're welcome here anytime, June. Come back and see us if you're ever passin' by."

Juniper nodded her head. "I will."

With that, she waved goodbye and left the bar, getting inside the car with Sam.

"So, what do you think of Ellen and Ash?" he asked.

"They're nice," she replied.

"Yeah, Ellen's really looked out for us these last few months," he said, then chuckled. "And Ash is a character, isn't he?"

She giggled. "He is." Juniper's mind went back to when he assumed that she and Sam were a couple, but didn't bring it up to avoid any awkwardness around the subject. "He seems to be very smart, though."

"Well, he was at MIT before he got kicked out."

This surprised Juniper as she raised her eyebrows. "Wow. I'm glad he could help us out, then."

Sam nodded his head in agreement. "Me, too."

"You think we'll actually find out anything about Scott Carey?"

He sighed. "This is the first lead I've gotten ever since we found you, so let's hope we get some answers."

Leaning back in her seat, Juniper began to drift off to sleep, as she wanted to have some time to clear her head before they reached Indiana.

*******

It was just about dark by the time Sam and Juniper arrived in Lafayette, Indiana. They stopped at a diner to grab something to eat before checking into a motel. The two decided to get it to-go, as they were exhausted from being on the road all day. When they got to a nearby motel, the two checked into separate rooms. Juniper felt weird using a credit card that wasn't hers, thanks to the scams Dean and Danielle had been teaching her while on the road. However, she knew that she couldn't use her real card, as the last thing she needed was for someone to recognize her name from the news. She was surprised no one already figured out who she was since everything that happened in Baltimore.

That night, not to her surprise, Juniper couldn't sleep, feeling very nervous for tomorrow. She couldn't help but expect disappointment with whatever she and Sam would find here. Of course, she hoped they'd find something, as it was the closest thing they had to a lead, even though Scott Carey wasn't alive. But they risked a lot to be here, and all the two wanted was anything that could keep them in the right direction of Yellow Eyes and the abilities they possessed.

So, when Sam and Juniper stood in front of the house Scott Carey used to live in the next day that early evening, the anxiety only got worse for her. If Eric was able to see past her lies, then she wondered if a complete stranger would fall for whatever story she came up with.

An older man answered the door, looking scruffy and exhausted as he looked at the two young adults in front of him. "Yes?" he asked.

"Mr. Carey?" Sam spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"My name's Colin Banks and this is Penelope Freeman," he lied smoothly. "We went to high school with your son, Scott."

Juniper cleared her throat before speaking up. "We heard about his...passing recently and came to pay our respects," Juniper added, her voice a bit unsteady. "We hate to intrude--"

"No, it's okay," Mr. Carey cut her off. "Come on in."

Relieved, Juniper stepped inside with Sam as Mr. Carey led the two in the living room. The first thing she noticed was the pictures of Scott and a woman she assumed was Mrs. Carey on the table next to his chair, then the empty cigarette packs next to them.

"You said you went to high school with Scott?" the man asked as they all sat down.

"Uh, yes, sir, we did," Sam replied. "We just heard about what happened. We're so sorry."

Mr. Carey had his head down for a moment as he let out a shaky breath. "Scotty was a good boy. He changed a lot since you two knew him."

"What do you mean?" Juniper questioned.

"It started about a year ago with these headaches. Then he got depressed, paranoid-- nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Sam raised his eyebrows. "Um, did he ever talk to you about his nightmares? What he saw?"

Mr. Carey shook his head. "No, no, he closed up on me. I tried to get him help, but nothing took. He'd just...lock himself up in his room for days."

Juniper's heart sank as she saw the sorrowful look on Mr. Carey's face when he talked about what was going on with his son. She remembered how Eric was when she had gone through the headaches and nightmares and anxiety.

"You think maybe we could see his room?" Sam asked carefully.

With some reluctance, the man nodded and showed the two to Scott's bedroom down the hall. When Sam turned on the light, everything seemed to be in place for the most part, with the bed made and old books and magazines on the shelf.

"What do you think we'll find in here?" Juniper asked once it was just the two of them.

"I don't know," Sam answered, looking at the nightstand that had his medications. After looking at the bottles, he took one of them, tucking it inside his jacket.

Juniper looked at the other bottles, tempted to take one for herself. At this point, she was desperate to get more sleep whenever she could, and she had nothing left of her own medication. Her fingers just about danced on the table as they got closer to the pills.

"Hey, June," Sam said from behind her.

Startled, Juniper quickly turned around and saw the closet was open with a light on. "What is it?"

"Come see for yourself."

She stood beside Sam, her eyes going wide at the collage of pictures taped to the wall, pictures of nothing but yellow eyes.

"Shit," Sam muttered, looking just as shocked as Juniper, along with worries in his eyes.

"So he was having nightmares about Yellow Eyes," Juniper said. "Do you think Scott was killed by...it?"

"Maybe," Sam stated. "We'll find out while we're here." He paused, letting out a faint sigh. "Come on."

The two exited Scott's bedroom and bid his father goodbye. They waited to talk any more about what was in the bedroom once they were in the car with the doors shut.

"Okay, not gonna lie, I'm freaked out after seeing those pictures," Juniper admitted.

Sam nodded his head. "Yeah, me, too," he said.

"So what now? Obviously, seeing Scott's bedroom was the closest we could get to him."

Sam scoffed. "Unless we get a Ouija board. Then we could maybe talk to him through that."

Juniper laughed. "That's funny." When she saw him not sharing the amusement, her own smile fell. "Wait, you're being serious?"

"Did you really think Ouija boards didn't work?"

"Well, my cousin and I thought about trying it one time." Juniper remembered the time when she and Christine were teenagers that the idea sounded exciting. Of course, neither one of them had the guts to go purchase a Ouija board to test it out. "Have you used one before?"

Sam opened his mouth, but looked stunned at the question as he took a moment to say anything. "Are you hungry?" he asked, changing the subject altogether.

Juniper couldn't help but grin at him. "Yeah, some food sounds great."

The two got in the car and headed towards a small Chinese joint just down the road from the Carey's house, managing to snag a table near the back after ordering their food. Once they were settled in, the two began to look through their phones, and Juniper saw a few voicemails from Danielle, both of which were not as hostile as the other ones she received when the two ran off in the middle of the night. Still, she felt some guilt hearing them, even a little bit scared as to what would happen once she and Dean found them.

"Everything all right?" Sam asked.

Quickly looking up from her phone, Juniper nodded, putting it away. "Yeah, everything's fine," she lied, opening up her pint of vegetable fried rice. "So, what can you tell me about the other people that Ash found from his list?"

Sam wiped some soy sauce off his face before answering. "Well, Max Miller was the first one Dean and I found almost a year ago. He, uh, was a troubled teenager after being abused as a child."

"Where is he now?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Dead. He killed himself before we could help him."

"Oh." Juniper noticed his uneasiness, so she moved onto the next name. "What about Andrew Gallagher? Got anything about him?"

Sam nodded while swallowing some of his food. "Yeah, he was the next special kid we found. We actually found him right before we found you. He had a twin brother, both had mind control powers and were separated after they were born."

"And are they both...?" Juniper was worried that their fates were the same as Max's.

"What? Oh, no. Not Andy, anyway." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Can't say the same for his brother, Ansem, though."

"What happened?"

"Uh, well, he was killing a bunch of people close to Andy. Then he tried to kill Dean, but Andy stopped him."

Juniper raised her eyebrows. "So they were twins, yet Ash only mentioned one of them."

Sam sighed. "That's because there was no house fire when Ansem was six months old, which means he breaks the pattern of the Special Children like you do."

"And we still don't know why," she added. "Which means Scott Carey is the best lead we've got with any of this."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how much we can find off of a dead guy."

"We're gonna have to try and dig up something," Junier stated, then realized her choice of words. "No pun intended."

Sam looked like he was holding back a grin in response. "Well, let's hope we find something."

As the two went back to eating their lunch, all Juniper could think about was the other Special Children and how they fit the pattern Sam was looking for. Something about it bothered her, knowing that she didn't belong in that group just like Ansem. Why was that the case? Why were they the outliers among people just like them? She wondered if they were just never meant to be Special Children to begin with.

Once Sam and Juniper were done with their food, the two headed out of the restaurant, ready to go back to the motel. They hopped into the car, letting the smell of stale cigarette smoke hit them in the face, something they were already tired of.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah, June?

"Do you think if you had a premonition about Scott, then we could've gotten here and helped him? You know, before he was...?"

Sam was quiet for a moment, then he said, "I don't know. Maybe."

Juniper sighed, leaning her head against the window. "I'm starting to wonder if his death wasn't an accident."

"Yeah, me, too," he agreed. "But you can't save everyone in this business."

If only you could, she thought.

The night had fallen upon them once they made it back to the motel, both feeling the tiredness run through their bodies. While it was a productive day, the two were ready to stop thinking about Scott Carey and anything else related to Yellow Eyes, even if it was just for a few hours. Sam had to park farther from their rooms this time, as there were more cars parked closer to the motel than this afternoon when they left. Juniper was glancing down at her phone again once she got out of the car.

"You okay?" Sam asked her as they made their way back to the motel once it got dark.

Juniper looked up at Sam. "Um, yeah. I just keep thinking about some more voicemails Dani left me today."

Sam nodded his head. "She won't stay mad at us for long if that's what you're worried about."

She scoffed in response. "Yeah, well, you've known her a lot longer than I have."

He chuckled. "I think she and Dean are already developing soft spots for you, which says a lot, in my opinion."

Juniper smiled a little at this. "So none of you are gonna kick me to the curb just yet?"

Sam shrugged in response. "We'll just have to see," he replied in a joking manner, grinning.

The two continued walking down the parking lot of the motel, their feet getting damp from the small puddles they came across. Even though no one was outside on the groggy night, Juniper still had a strange feeling that she and Sam were being watched. Why she all of a sudden felt this way, she had no idea. But it didn't take her long to learn to always go with your gut if something was wrong, and by the looks of Sam next to her, it seemed like he had the same feeling as well.

So when they got closer to their rooms, neither one of them turned around. Sam motioned Juniper to follow him to his room, and right before he could place the key in the lock, he spun around to find a girl standing behind them, to which he grabbed her and pinned her against the wall as she let out a gasp.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"Please!" she pleaded with wide eyes. "You're in danger."

Juniper took a step back as Sam shot the girl a confused look.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," the girl responded, panting as her nervousness was only getting worse.

Sam raised his eyebrows as he softened his face and let go of the brown-haired girl. He looked over at Juniper, then fiddled with his motel key before unlocking the door and signaling the girls to come inside with him.

Juniper walked past Sam and inside his room, heading for the table as she took a seat. Sam shut the door and leaned against the stand where the television was, while the girl stood in the middle of the room, pacing back and forth.

"Okay, so...oh my God, this is gonna sound insane, but...I have...um...these dreams," she explained.

"Dreams?" Juniper repeated.

"Yeah, just random ones about random people." She let out a nervous laugh, then continued. "Do you think it's possible that dreams can actually come true?"

Despite the shared puzzled looks Sam and Juniper had, it was also a clue to what they thought was coming next.

The girl huffed a sigh. "Okay, look, I know how all this sounds, but I am not insane, and I am not on drugs. Okay, I am normal, and this is way, way off the map for me."

"All right, all right, just-- just calm down, okay?" Sam told her. "What's your name?"

"Ava Wilson," she replied.

Sam nodded. "Ava, I'm Sam Winchester. That's Juniper Langley." He pointed towards Juniper, who gave Ava a small smile and wave. "Now, you were telling us about these dreams of yours?"

With some shakiness still in her body language, Ava quickly nodded her head. "Oh, yeah, uh, okay, about a year ago, I started having these, like, headaches, and just...nightmares, I guess..."

Nightmares? Nightmares like mine? Juniper thought, sitting up a bit straighter as she focused more on Ava.

"...and I really didn't think much of it until I had this one dream where I saw this guy get stabbed in a parking lot."

"When was this?" Sam asked.

"Uh, about a month ago," Ava responded. "But, anyway, a couple of days later..." She began to rummage through the purse that hung off her left shoulder, pulling out a small piece of newspaper. "I found this." She held up the newspaper to Sam.

With some reluctance, Sam took it from her hands and read it over. Juniper watched as his eyes widened in realization, which she didn't understand why until he looked up at her and extended the newspaper her way. Grabbing it, she looked at the top of the paper and saw the title of what appeared to be an article:

"LOCAL MAN STABBED TO DEATH IN PARKING LOT"

Shit, Juniper thought.

After skimming the article, she took a glance at the picture of Scott, recognizing his face from the framed photos when she and Sam visited Mr. Carey earlier. "This is--"

"Crazy, I know," Ava cut her off. "I saw this guy die days before it happened. I don't know why. It's just...for some reason, my dreams are coming true, and last night, I had another one." She looked at Sam. "About you."

Sam furrowed his brows. "About me?"

Ava nodded. "I saw you die."

Juniper felt like the day she met the Winchesters was happening all over again just seeing Ava standing there. While there were some differences, it was obvious that she and Ava were so similar, both alike in what affect these nightmares had on them. She just hoped that Ava could handle it better than the way Juniper did when she learned what monsters roamed in the shadows of the world.

"How did you find me?" Sam inquired, not seeming too phased by what she just said about him.

Ava looked around the room for a moment before answering. "Oh, uh, you had motel stationery, and I googled the motel, and it was real, and so I just thought that I should warn you."

Sam let out a faint scoff, shaking his head. "I don't believe this," he muttered.

Ava groaned. "Oh, oh, of course you don't. You two think I'm a total nutjob."

"Wait, no, no, no. I mean..." Sam turned towards Juniper, then back at Ava as he looked a bit more excited. "You must be one of us."

Ava stood still for a second, confused. "Sorry, one of-- one of who?"

"One of the psychics, like me and June. We have visions, too. So the three of us are connected."

All Ava could do was laugh. "Okay, so...you're nuts. That's great."

"No, he's right." Juniper stood up from her seat and placed herself next to Sam. "I went through the same thing a year ago, too."

Ava raised her eyebrows. "Oh, so you really are crazy, too."

"No, okay, okay. Okay, look," Sam chimed back in. "Did your mother happen to die in a house fire?"

"What? No, my mother lives in Palm Beach," Ava answered.

"So you don't fit the pattern, either," he stated.

"It seems like the pattern only fits males, with the exception of Ansem," Juniper pointed out. "Kind of strange, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's weird," he added.

"Does anyone want to tell me what pattern you two are talking about?" Ava intervened.

"It's, uh...it's a long story," Juniper said.

"So what are you gonna do?" she asked. "I mean, Sam, you're not actually thinking about staying, are you?"

Sam sighed. "Look, Ava..."

Ava's eyes went wide. "What? Are you crazy? Why can't you just leave town, please, before you blow up?"

"No, I can't," he told her.

"Oh, God. Why not?"

"Because there's something going on here, Ava, with you, with me, with June. I mean, there are others like us out there, and we're all a part of something, and I gotta figure out what."

Ava, shaking her head, threw her hands in the air out of frustration and defeat. "Okay, you know what? Screw you, buddy! 'Cause I'm a secretary from Peoria, and I'm not part of anything, okay?" She held up her left hand, showing off a ring. "Do you see this? I am getting married in eight weeks. I am supposed to be at home addressing invitations, which I am way behind on, by the way--"

Juniper went to stop her rambling. "Ava--"

"--but instead, I drove out here to save your weirdo ass. But if you just want to stay here and die, fine." She turned towards Juniper. "You're really going to let him do this?"

"It's more complicated than that," Juniper said honestly. "In fact, all of this is bigger than you even know."

Ava nodded her head. "Of course it is. Well, I'm due back on planet Earth, so I hope you two find what you're looking for with whatever time you have left." She spun on her heel and headed for the door.

"Don't you want to know why this is happening?" Sam called out to her, to which she stopped. "I mean, don't these visions scare the hell out of you?" When Ava didn't move or say anything, he continued. "If you walk out that door right now, you might never know the truth."

The way Ava didn't move was a sign that Sam was close to convincing her to stay. Turning around, she blankly stared at Sam, who looked almost desperate for her to not walk out of the motel room. With the reluctance still in her eyes, Juniper stood up and walked towards Ava, willing to make an attempt of persuasion.

"I was in the same position as you, Ava," she said. "Going to college, engaged, living a normal life while trying to deal with these nightmares and the headaches and anxiety that came with it. And when I found out what these nightmares really were, I wanted to know more, because I needed answers."

"So you just packed up and left your fiancé at home for all of this?" Ava asked.

"He..." Juniper felt her chest ache as she opened her mouth to respond. She knew if she told Ava the truth of what really happened to Eric then it would be a deal-breaker for her to stay. "He understands why I had to go."

With her expression turning soft, Ava bit her lip, looking as if she was actually considering the idea of not leaving, which made Juniper hopeful that she might have reached out to her. The two could relate to each other better than anyone else.

After a moment of silence, Ava glanced over at Sam. "You two are really serious about this, aren't you?"

Sam nodded. "And we need your help, Ava."

Ava held her head up a bit higher, taking a deep breath. "Well, what can I do?"

Pausing, Sam reached into his jacket, pulling out the bottle of pills he took from Scott Carey's bedroom, looking down at them for a moment before lifting his head and saying, "I think I've got an idea."

*******

"Okay, that's it. I don't think I can do this."

Sam looked over at Ava, who had a nervous look on her face. "What's wrong?"

Ava widened her eyes. "What's wrong? I'm about to go inside a therapist's office to distract him while you steal a patient's files!" She let out a nervous laugh. "I mean, all of this is insane, not to mention illegal..."

"It'll be fine, Ava," Juniper assured her in an attempt to calm her down.

Ava scoffed. "Easy for you to say. All you have to do is be on the lookout."

Juniper wanted to remind Ava that she agreed to the plan Sam had come up with last night, one that they all agreed to. She thought it was a good plan, but she still had her concerns about getting caught. However, she didn't want to dwell on her worries too much, for she'd rather not cause Ava to panic even more.

But Sam intervened once again, his expression soft as he faced Ava. "Look, all you have to do is distract the therapist long enough for me to sneak inside, steal Scott's files, and get out. I'll be in and out before he realizes I was even there. Trust me, it'll be fine."

Ava was quiet for a moment, as if she was thinking it over, then she took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Okay. Let's do this."

With a small smile, Sam led Ava to the front of the building, and Juniper followed suit. As Ava went inside, the two waited until they could see her through the window of the therapist's office. They were lucky to have Ava get a last-minute appointment by lying her way into it, so Sam knew he only had one shot to get Scott's files from his frequent visits.

"Are you sure this plan will actually work, Sam?" Juniper asked him.

Sam, letting out a sigh as he looked over at Juniper, nodding his head. "Yeah, I'm sure. Aren't you?"

Reluctantly, she opened her mouth to respond. "Totally," she said, quickly nodding her head, hoping it convinced him.

But the chuckle that escaped his lips said otherwise. "She'll be fine, June, and I'll get what we need."

"Do you think Scott's files will tell us anything?"

His face turned serious. "I guess we're about to find out." Pausing, he looked up at the wall and took a deep breath as he began to climb the building.

Juniper felt her heart beat fast the higher Sam got, getting more scared that he would fall. While it wasn't really so far from the ground, the last thing any of them needed was for someone to get hurt, especially if that someone was to be Sam, as he was the one leading this entire case.

When she saw Sam's foot slip, Juniper let out a gasp. "Sam, be careful!" she called out.

"I'm okay!" he assured her.

So for the next ten minutes, Juniper watched Sam sneak inside the building, followed by looking around to make sure that she was still alone. While no one was in sight, she still couldn't help but get the feeling that someone was watching her. Fidgeting with her hands, she tried to not let it bother her, but she still remained anxious.

Finally, Sam climbed out of the window with a file and a tape recorder under his arm as he made his way back down, jumping on the pavement once he was close enough to do so. Some relief came over Juniper as he was now in front of her again, and Ava came out of the building not too long afterwards, to which she looked somewhat calm now that she was out of the office.

The drive back to the motel was quick and quiet. All they could think about was what was in Scott's files. Maybe the answers they had been longing for were there. Sam and Juniper couldn't handle any more dead ends if there was nothing here.

The three entered Sam's motel room through the back door, gathering around the little table in the corner as he placed the file and tape recorder down. Ava was breathing heavily, playing with her hair.

Sam looked up at her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Am I okay?" she repeated. "I just helped you steal some dead guy's confidential psych files." She paused, laughing a little. "I'm awesome!"

Sam chucked at this, while Juniper smiled. If only she got this same feeling during her first case.

The first thing the trio did was look over what Scott's therapist had written down in the file. From what they were reading, it was just like Scott's dad had told them the day before with the headaches and nightmares. Going back to his earlier days, it was confirmed that Scott did survive a nursery fire in 1983, along with his mom perishing in the process.

Next, Sam reached for the tape recorder and took a deep breath before turning it on and letting it play, with Scott's therapist, Dr. Waxler, being the first thing they heard.

"Don't be afraid, Scott. You can tell me anything. You know that. Whatever you say won't leave this room."

There was a pause before Scott began to speak. "It started a little over a year ago. Migraines at first. Then I found I could...do stuff."

"What do you mean, 'do stuff'?" Dr. Waxler asked.

"I have this ability," Scott said. "When I touch something, I can electrocute it if I want."

"Well, that's a new one," Juniper mumbled.

"How do you know?"

"Did it to the neighbor's cat," Scott explained. "Its insides fried up like a hamburger." Another pause. "You don't believe me."

"I believe that you believe it," Dr. Waxler replied.

"Then here. Want to shake on it?"

More silence followed for a moment, then Dr. Waxler continued on. "Why would you want to kill the neighbor's cat, Scott?"

"I don't. He wants me to, and he doesn't want me to stop there."

"Who?"

"The yellow-eyed man," Scott said, to which Sam and Juniper looked at each other. "He comes to me in my dreams. He tells me to do things...awful things...but I tell him no. 'No, I don't want to!' I tell him that and hope he'll leave me alone. But he doesn't."

"What else does the yellow-eyed man tell you?"

"He...he has plans for me."

"What kind of plans?"

"He says there's a war coming, and people like me...we're gonna be the soldiers. Everything is about to change."

Finally, Sam stopped the tape recorder, his expression now distraught after hearing it.

Ava shook her head in disbelief, looking confused. "He's not talking about us, right?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I think he is," Sam said.

Juniper almost wished she hadn't heard the tape now that she knew what Yellow Eyes was up to. She found it hard to believe that she dropped out of graduate school to get some answers only to find out that she was supposed to be a soldier in some war led by a demon. It wasn't what she was expecting, nor was it something that she wanted.

"Well...but how can we turn into that?" Ava asked.

"And why us?" Juniper spoke up. "Why did Yellow Eyes choose us to be his...his soldiers?"

Sam sighed, shaking his head. "I don't--"

Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of gunshots and glass breaking cut him off. Ava was the first to scream as she and Sam ducked under the table. Juniper got to the floor and headed next to Ava, keeping her head down and ears covered in an attempt to block out the loud noise around her. She stayed in that position for what she felt like forever with her head beginning to hurt as her breathing became more uneven.

"June! June!" Sam cried out.

Juniper shot her head up, not even realizing that she was crying until she felt the tears slide down her cheek. "Sam..."

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered, placing his hands on each side of her face. "You can relax now."

"I..." She looked around and saw the lights flickering, knowing that she was causing it, which only made her anxiety go up. "I...I can't calm down..."

"Yes, you can," he said. "What's your favorite color?"

She shot him a confused look. "What?"

"Your favorite color. What is it?"

"Um..." She gave it some thought, then finally replied with, "I like purple."

He nodded. "Okay. When's your birthday?"

"February 8th," she answered, and she felt her breathing getting more stable.

"What's your middle name?"

"Edith." She took one more deep breath and saw that the lights were no longer blinking on and off. Leaning back, she felt the headache subsiding and her body finally relax as she kept her eyes on Sam. "Thank you."

Sam gave her a warm smile. "You're welcome."

"Okay, does anyone want to talk about what just happened?" Ava asked in a frantic voice. "Who the hell was shooting at us?!"

Standing up, Sam looked out of the broken window. "I have no idea." He turned around and helped Juniper up, then glanced at Ava. "Come on."

So the three headed outside and went across the street to the rooftop of an old warehouse. The distance between the warehouse and motel was somewhat far, but the shooter didn't seem to have any issues with them as targets from where they were.

"Wait, I don't understand," Ava said. "Shouldn't we be talking to the cops?"

"Trust me, they wouldn't do us much good," Sam told her. He bent down as he had his eyes focused on the ground, picking up a small round object. "These are .223 Caliber-- subsonic rounds. The guy must have put a suppressor on the rifle."

Ava threw her hands in the air. "Dude, who are you?"

Sam, a bit thrown off by the question, stood up. "Oh, I just, uh...I just watch a lot of T.J. Hooker."

"He sure taught you a lot, didn't he?" Juniper added, grinning at him.

Sam chuckled, taking out his cell phone. "You bet he did." Dialing a number, he then held up the phone to his ear.

"Who you calling?" Ava asked.

"My brother. I think we definitely need help."

Juniper almost forgot about Dean and Danielle. The thought of them coming back made her dread the moment even more when she'd see them again. She wasn't prepared for the lecture she was going to get for sneaking off in the middle of the night and stealing Danielle's car.

"Hello?" the sound of Dean's voice chimed from the phone.

"Dean," Sam replied.

"Sam. Dani and I have been looking for you and June Bug."

"Yeah, look, we're in Lafayette, Indiana," Sam told him.

"We know."

Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "You do?"

"Yeah, I talked to Ellen," Dean said.

"Is Dani okay?" Juniper asked him.

"I'm fine!" her voice spoke up.

"Anyway, Dani and I just got here ourselves," Dean explained. "It's a real funky town." He paused for a moment, then kept going. "You two ditched us."

"And you stole my car!" Danielle shouted.

"Yeah, we're sorry," Sam said. "Look, right now, there's someone after us."

"What? Who?"

"We don't know. That's what we need to find out. Where are you?"

"We're staying at 5637 Monroe Street. Why don't you meet us here?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam stated, although he seemed reluctant to even say it.

"Just so you know, you two are in big trouble for taking my car!" Danielle yelled.

Sam hung up the phone, putting it back in his pocket.

"I'll admit, I'm kind of scared to face Dani now," Juniper said.

"Well, maybe you won't be after this," Sam stated.

"What do you mean?" Juniper asked.

"She and Dean are in trouble. Someone's got a gun on him and Dani."

"What?" Ava chimed in with wide eyes.

"How do you know?" Juniper inquired.

"Dean gave me a code word," he explained, pulling out his notepad and pencil.

"Code word?" Ava repeated.

"Yeah. 'Funky town.'"

Juniper raised her eyebrows. "Out of all the things, that's the best code word you came up with?"

Sam turned her way. "Well, he thought of it. It's kind of a long story."

She made a note to herself to ask about it later once she and Sam were reunited with Dean and Danielle after they would be found alive and safe. Maybe she and Danielle could also have a code word for the future.

"Okay, so what now?" Juniper asked as they got off the roof.

"Well, you're gonna make sure Ava gets home safe," Sam said.

"What about you?" Ava questioned.

"I'm gonna save Dean and Dani."

"Without us?" Juniper protested. "Sam, you're crazy."

"Yeah, I don't think we should leave," Ava added.

"I want both of you out of harm's way," Sam told the girls.

"What about you?" Ava asked.

"Harm's way doesn't really bother me," he replied.

"But it bothers me that you're going wherever with no backup," Juniper stated.

"Not only that, but you are walking right into my vision," Ava reminded him. "I mean, this is how you die!"

Sam sighed. "It doesn't matter. My brother and friend are in trouble."

"Maybe we can help!" Ava suggested with much enthusiasm.

"You've done all you can," Sam said. "June will go with you and make sure you get home safe. I know your fiancé will be happy to see you."

Juniper shook her head. "You can't go into this by yourself, Sam."

"June, I've already put you in enough danger for one day and I don't want anything else happening to you."

She was almost annoyed and frustrated at his explanation. Of course, she also understood his reasoning, as Dean and Danielle would lose their shits if they knew she was with him on this rescue mission. But she couldn't be pushed to the sidelines, not when the bigger picture of what was going on involved her and so many others like her.

"Look, once I get Dean and Dani, I'll call you, okay?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"And what if none of you come back?" Juniper crossed her arms.

"We will. I promise."

Even though she was still unsure about it, Juniper finally exhaled in defeat and headed towards Ava's car, where Ava was already opening the door to the driver's seat and hopping in. Sam got the door for Juniper, still keeping it open once she was inside.

"Sam?" Juniper spoke up.

"Yeah?"

She gave him a desperate look. "Just...bring back Dean and Dani. And don't...well, you know, get killed."

Sam nodded his head, smiling a little. "I'll come back with both of them alive, June. Don't worry."

"And don't forget to call me once you guys are all safe and on the way to get me."

"I won't. See you later."

With that, he closed the door as Ava started the car, to which Juniper looked in the mirror and saw him still standing in the street as he watched them leave.

"He'll be okay, right?" Ava asked. "I mean, what if my vision comes true and he...well..."

"Your vision won't come true, Ava," Juniper assured her. "Sam's smart. He'll be fine."

Ava, her grip on the wheel tight, nodded her head as she kept her eyes on the road. "Well, let's talk about something else. I need a distraction from all of this."

Juniper giggled. "Trust me, you get used to it." She paused for a moment before changing the subject. "So you're engaged. What's your fiancé's name?"

The girl driving smiled a little. "Brady. We met at work. He kept leaving notes at my desk begging me to go out with him until I finally said yes. We've been together ever since. You said you were engaged, too, right? When we were at the motel last night?"

With a sad smile, Juniper nodded her head. "Uh, yeah, I am. His name's Eric. We met in high school." She still couldn't bring herself to tell the truth, no matter how awful it was to act like he was still alive.

"That's so sweet!" Ava exclaimed, beaming.

Juniper laughed a little. "It is. I can't imagine my life without him." She was starting to feel a lump in her throat, quickly turning away so that Ava couldn't see her face in case she broke out in tears.

"So who's worse: his mom or his dad?"

"Oh, definitely his mom." Juniper shuddered a bit just at the thought of Vanessa.

Ava laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, my future mother-in-law is a piece of work, too." She paused, composing herself before speaking again. "Anyway, how did Eric propose? Brady took me to the park where we had our first date."

"He proposed at our college graduation," Juniper explained, letting out a small laugh. "It was raining, actually. We were drenched from head to toe after the ceremony. But that didn't stop him from getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him." She blinked really fast once she felt her eyes watering up.

"It's so exciting, isn't it? Planning the wedding and all," Ava commented, smiling. "I know you're looking forward to getting back home away with Eric. He'll be so happy to see you."

Juniper had to force herself to nod her head. "Yeah, he will be."

"You know, we're really more alike than I realized," Ava stated. "I mean, just look at us. We're like doppelgängers or something."

Juniper merely agreed as she nodded her head again. Looking over at Ava, she couldn't help but be jealous of her. Jealous in the sense that despite all that she knew, she was still able to walk away from all of this. Ava could go back to her normal life and be content with it. Juniper wanted to hate her for having that opportunity, the same one that she never got after meeting Dean and Sam and learning everything about the supernatural and her abilities. But she quickly realized that there was no point in being envious of someone who deserved a happy life, one that was away from the paranormal monsters of the world. Juniper thought she still deserved that life, too.

The two girls were quiet for the next few hours, with the sound of the radio being the only noise between them. Once they arrived in Peoria, Illinois, Ava began to talk again, going on about living in the city and how much she and Brady enjoyed it. Juniper tried to force a smile, though it was a weak one, but Ava didn't seem to notice it. Reaching the small house, the girls got out of the car and headed inside, the warm air giving the two relief from the cold.

"Brady, I'm home!" Ava called out.

"Ava?" a man responded, appearing down the hallway, a smile on his face. "Hey, baby!" he added, arms wide open for her to jump in his arms, to which she happily accepted his embrace. "Who's this?" he asked when he saw Juniper standing by the entrance.

Ava turned her head, motioning it towards the girl. "This is Juniper. We met while I was in Lafayette for work. She needed somewhere to stay while..." She trailed off, trying to come up with something to say, glancing at Juniper with wide eyes for help.

"While my friend was out working," Juniper quickly interjected. "He had a last-minute job to do and he needed the car. We were already planning on heading this way, so Ava offered to just take me here and let me hang out for a few hours until he came to pick me up."

Brady slowly nodded his head. "Oh, okay. Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm sure Ava here will try to convince you to help her with our wedding invitations."

"I'd love to help," Juniper stated.

Ava's smile got wider. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure," she said. "It'll help with passing the time."

"Great! We can work in the kitchen." Ava grabbed Juniper's hand and led her into their small kitchen, where there was a large pile of white envelopes and invitations on the table.

"Wow. You meant it when you said you were way behind on addressing invitations."

"Yeah, it's been a real bitch to get done," Ava said, sitting down in one of the empty chairs. "Which is why I'm ready to start on them."

Letting out a sigh, Juniper sat down across from her, grabbing a pen and getting to work.

While Ava was talking more about her wedding and the guests that she was inviting, Juniper listened attentively, though it made her sad again to hear about something she'd never have with the love of her life. Still, she tried to not let that show in front of Ava, as she didn't want to put a damper on her excitement for the big day.

"So, what have you and Eric decided for your ceremony?"

Juniper lifted her head, swallowing hard. "Um, we haven't decided much on the details yet." She quickly averted her eyes back to the invitations, blinking fast when she felt her eyes burning with tears.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure whatever you two come up with will be beautiful."

Juniper nodded. "Yeah." Sniffling, she went back to writing down addresses on the envelopes, carefully tucking each invitation inside and sealing them tight.

By the time it was dark, Juniper had checked her phone to see that Sam hadn't called or left any messages. She began to worry, as it had been a while since she left with Ava while he went to save Dean and Danielle. Every once in a while, she'd glance down at her phone whenever she felt it vibrate on the table, not wanting to miss any of his calls or texts.

"Still nothing from Sam?" Ava asked.

Juniper shook her head. "No. Maybe I should call him and see if he's okay." Standing up from the table, she grabbed her phone, looking down at it. "I'll be right back." She headed out of the kitchen and back down the hallway, letting the night air hit her in the face as she dialed Sam's number, pacing back and forth while she heard it ring, concerned when all she got was his voicemail.

"Hey, it's Sam. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Uh, hey, Sam, it's Juniper," she said. "I was just calling to see if you and Dean and Dani were okay. It's been a while and I'm kind of starting to worry. So just call me whenever--"

All of a sudden, the sound of crashing and screaming came from inside the house, startling Juniper.

Heart beating fast, she hung up the phone and rushed back inside, lights flickering as she slowly made her way down the hall. Her breathing became more uneven with each step she took. She went back into the kitchen to find Ava no longer at the table, with the envelopes all over the floor.

"Ava?" Juniper called out, her voice shaky. "Brady? Where are you guys?" After getting no response from either one of them, she continued making her way through the house, finding nothing in each room she passed through, which only made her anxiety go up. When she finally got to the bedroom, the breeze coming from the open window and the sight of blood all over the bed and walls made her take a step back and let out a shriek.

"Oh my God," she muttered, covering her mouth, then directed her eyes towards Brady gasping for air on the bed, his shirt soaked with blood, to which she rushed towards him. "Brady!"

"J-J-Juniper..." he managed to spit out.

"What happened?" she asked in a low voice, hands shaking at the sight of him, eyes welling up with tears.

"S-Someone came th-through the wi-wi-window and a-a-a-attacked me," he sputtered out. "Wh-where's Ava? Is sh-she okay?"

Juniper frantically scanned around the room and saw Ava nowhere in sight. "I-I don't see her. Ava?" She hurriedly made it to the open window, looking out at the yard for any sign of her. "Ava!" When she got no response, she got a whiff of the familiar rotten eggs smell, her heart dropping when she glanced down and saw the yellow powder on her fingertips.

Sulfur.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head, breathing heavily. "No, no, no, no." Spinning around, she ran back to Brady, placing her hand on his neck. "Brady, you're gonna be okay. I'm gonna call 911."

"It's n-no use," he protested. "Just f-find Ava and make sure sh-she's okay and t-t-tell her that...that..." His voice began to trail off, along with his breathing slowing down until he finally took one last breath before he went still, no longer feeling a pulse.

"Brady?" Juniper called out, her voice cracking. "Brady!" She felt the tears form in her eyes and fall down her face, watching them land on Brady's shirt. "Oh my God, Brady..." Flashes of when she found Eric looking like this only made her heart ache, feeling like she was reliving the same nightmare.

"Junie?"

She snapped out of her thoughts as a voice called out from the other side of the house, which Juniper recognized as Danielle's.

"Ava?" another voice chimed in, and this time it was Sam's.

"Girls, where are--" Dean was the next to shout, followed by footsteps as he, Sam, and Danielle entered the bedroom, halting in shock with what they found, their mouths hanging open. "Shit," Dean added.

"Oh my God," Sam whispered.

Juniper furiously shook her head, standing up from the bed with her shaky arms out. "It wasn't me, I swear. I didn't...I didn't..."

"Hey, hey, relax." Danielle took a step forward, her eyes going soft. "What happened?"

Juniper continued to cry, panting as she attempted to calm down. "I-I just stepped outside for a minute to call Sam because I was getting worried since I hadn't heard from him in a while. Then I heard screaming coming from the house, so I ran back inside and...and I-I found Ava gone and Brady..." She placed her hand over her mouth, briefly closing her eyes as her body shook with fear. "He was still alive, so I tried to stop some of the bleeding..."

"Oh, Junie..." Danielle said softly, her expression turning sad.

"Hey," Dean said, holding up his hand with a yellow powder on his index finger. "Sulfur. The demon's been here."

"Shit," Danielle mumbled as she looked around the room some more.

"What the..." Sam whispered, bending down to pick up something from the floor. He looked curious for a moment, but his face turned sad when he realized what it was. "Ava..."

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"It's her engagement ring," Sam said, showing it to Dean and Danielle. "You think the demon--"

"Yeah, probably," Dean interrupted his brother, then looked over at Juniper. "Okay, we gotta clean this up before--"

"Dean, just slow down for a minute," Danielle cut him off. "Junie needs a moment."

"We don't have a moment," he retorted.

Sam let out a sigh. "Dean's right," he said. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be caught in this mess before the cops show up, which could be any minute now if any of the neighbors saw something and called it in."

Danielle slowly nodded in agreement, then reverted her attention back to Juniper. "Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up real quick."

The girls headed inside the bathroom, where Danielle turned the water on and helped Juniper wash the blood off her hands. Juniper still felt a tightness in her chest as she saw the red water run down the drain, unable to get the image of Brady lying lifeless on the bed in his own blood that was only just a room away. She didn't think she could glance at him again when she went back in there. Her breathing became more uneven when Dean and Sam walked in.

"How's it going in here?" Sam asked.

"We're almost done," Danielle stated, turning off the sink and grabbing the towel for Juniper.

Dean nodded, glancing towards Juniper. "You doin' okay, June Bug?"

Juniper sniffled, drying her hands off. "It just...it reminded me of when I found Eric like that and..." She trailed off for a moment, crying harder. "When I smelled the sulfur, I knew it was a demon. If only I could've saved them both. I mean, I was right outside..."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Dean cut in, his eyes growing soft. "You didn't know this would happen. And if you had been inside when the demon showed up, then--"

"Dean," Sam stopped him, shaking his head.

"Can you guys leave us alone for a minute?" Danielle asked the two.

The brothers looked at each other before nodding their heads and heading out of the bathroom.

"Dani?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for sneaking off and stealing your car."

Danielle almost laughed at this, but given how distraught the situation was, she wrapped her arms around Juniper instead. "I'm not worried about that right now. I just care that you're safe."

Juniper rested her head on Danielle's shoulder, more tears streaming down her face. "I hate this," she croaked. "I hate all of this."

Danielle inhaled, nodding her head in agreement. "I know, Junie. We all do."

~~~~~~~

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the late update. I was stuck and needed more time.

Comment, vote, more soon!

-A