The Winchesters and Danielle weren't lying when they said that the hunter's life moved at a very fast pace.

Before Juniper knew it, she and the other three were heading off to Milwaukee, Wisconsin just a couple of days after leaving Connecticut, not even making it back to Bobby's for another break in between cases. This time, there was two sets of robberies and suicides from people who were the last suspects of such crimes and deaths. While the boys were out posing as FBI agents to do some more digging on what happened at a jewelry store, the most recent crime scene, the girls stayed behind in their motel room with two boxes of pizza and a small cooler full of beer on the table.

"I don't care what anyone says," Danielle said, reading over one of the case files with a slice of pizza in her hand. "Hawaiian pizza is the best." She looked over at Juniper. "I still can't believe you've never had Hawaiian pizza before."

Juniper shrugged her way as she took a swig from her beer can. "What can I say? I was always into traditional pizza."

"Well, traditional my ass," she replied, throwing down the file on the table. "You needed to be introduced to the best pizza ever at some point."

"And it's definitely changed my life. What would I ever do without you, Dani?"

"You'd be stuck eating boring pepperoni, probably."

Juniper laughed as she worked on the slice she had on her paper plate. She had gone over the case files many times, still not sure what monster could be causing this. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was a demon, but Danielle ruled that out for her, not thinking this was a demon's doing.

The girls both turned their heads as soon as they heard the door unlocked, with Dean and Sam walking in, wearing casual clothes now.

"What took you guys so long?" Danielle asked.

"We went to go talk to Ronald Reznick, the security guard working at the bank when it was robbed," Sam explained, referring to the crime that occurred a month ago.

"Did you find anything there?" Juniper questioned.

"Oh, yeah," Dean chimed in, sitting down and grabbing a piece of pizza from the other box. "What did you tell that poor son of a bitch again, Sammy? 'Remand' the tapes that he copied? 'Classified evidence of an ongoing investigation' or something like that?" He let out a chuckle. "That's messed up."

Sam was inserting a tape into the TV, messing with the remote with the hand that no longer had a cast once he turned it on. "What, are you pissed at me or something?"

"No, I just think it's a little creepy how good of a fed you are."

"Well, I've had a lot of experience with acting," he muttered.

"Okay, back to work, guys," Juniper spoke up, wiping her hands on a napkin. "What did you two find out from the security guard?"

"That he did some pretty good legwork with this," Dean stated. "We could've at least thrown him a bone for it."

Sam chuckled as he turned away from the TV to look at Dean. "Right, for the 'Man-Droid?'"

"Okay, except for the Man-Droid part," Dean agreed. "But I liked him. He's not that different from us. People think we're crazy."

"That's because we are crazy," Juniper pointed out.

"And Ronald Reznick isn't a hunter like us," Sam added. "He's just a guy who stumbled onto something real. If he were to go up against this thing, he'd get torn apart. Better to be in the dark where you stay alive."

"Yeah, I guess," Dean replied, standing up from his chair and heading towards the counter filled with other papers regarding the case.

"So what exactly are we dealing with here?" Danielle asked.

Sam scoffed. "Come see for yourself."

The girls stood up and sat down on the bed next to Sam, looking at the security footage from the bank the night of the robbery. On the screen was a man the two recognized from the case file staring right at the camera with glowing eyes and a sinister smile plastered on his face.

"It's a shapeshifter," Danielle announced.

"Yup," Sam replied, nodding his head as he paused the tape. "Just like back in St. Louis. Same retinal reaction to video."

"Eyes flare at the camera," Dean added. "I hate those freaking things."

"And you think I don't?" Sam retorted.

"Yeah, well, one didn't turn into you and frame you for murder," Dean pointed out.

Juniper remembered reading about shapeshifters in one of the books Bobby had at his house, but she hadn't heard about this story. "Wait, what?" she asked, widening her eyes.

Dean glanced her way. "It's a long story. That damn thing really screwed with me and Sam."

Sam let out a sigh. "Which means if this shifter's anything like the one we killed in Missouri--"

"--then Ronald's right," Dean finished for him, holding up the blueprint of the town for the others to see. "All right, they like to lair up underground, preferably the sewer. All the robberies have been connected to far, right? Through the sewer main layout." With his red marker, he had the jewelry store and bank circled. "There's one more bank lined up on that same sewer main."

"Good, so we know where it's gonna strike next," Danielle stated.

"So what's the plan?" Juniper asked.

Dean and Sam eyed each other for a moment, signaling that they had talked about something before showing up.

"Yeah, Dean and I were talking on the way back and we think it's best if you sit this one out," Sam told her.

Juniper shot Sam a confused look. "What? Why?"

"Because this isn't like some demon or vengeful spirit," Dean spoke up. "A shapeshifter can take the form of anyone, always changing when they get the chance. They're sly sons of bitches and you're not prepared for that yet."

"For once, I have to agree with Dean," Danielle said.

Dean raised his eyebrows towards Daneille. "Wait, can we get that on video real qui--"

"No, shut up," she cut him off, keeping her eyes on Juniper. "Look, shapeshifters are no joke. It's a pain in the ass to single out one of those things in a crowd of people, then trying to kill it before it changes form is a real bitch, too. We gotta get you in better shape as a hunter, anyway."

Nodding her head in understanding, Juniper began to agree with the others and think it was good for her to sit this one out, seeing that she needed more time to rest up from the last couple of months of constantly moving around. In a way, she was starting to feel relieved to be sitting out this time around. Hopefully, this would still be a smooth case to handle, but she kept wondering if dealing with a shapeshifter was as bad as they made it out to be.

They'll be fine without me, Juniper thought. Seriously, what could go wrong if I'm not in the way?

*******

The first place the four of them went to check the next day was the sewers, something Juniper didn't think she'd ever do in her life. Really, she was only down there with the others because she was curious to know what they were up against. She was certain that they'd protest her tagging along, but to her surprise, the trio agreed to let her join them, seeing as she could learn something from the experience. Though, she should've expected the worst by being under the city.

"Ugh, this is disgusting," she stated, treading alongside the boys and Danielle, nose scrunched up from the potent smell.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Dean said. "Besides, you're learning something."

"By walking underground in shitty water?"

"Exactly!" He inhaled a deep breath, then huffed it out in content. "That's the smell of experience."

Juniper glanced at both Danielle and Sam, who gave her odd looks in response. She figured it was best to just accept it and move on.

As the four traveled deeper underground, there was no sign of a shapeshifter, with the sound of water dripping being the only thing they could hear echoing throughout the sewer. Juniper was waiting for something to jump out at them, trying to prepare herself for anything. Of course, she really didn't know what to expect from a shapeshifter, and that made her a little bit nervous.

"Nothing down here so far," Dean stated.

"That doesn't mean there isn't anything down here, though," Sam pointed out.

"Well, if the shifter is down here, then maybe we can go ahead and gank the son of a bitch and not have to worry about it anymore."

Danielle chuckled. "I don't think we'll get that lucky. I'm surprised we haven't found any--"

"Oh my God!" The sound of Juniper's scream cut Danielle off as she almost slipped, dropping her flashlight and grabbing Sam's arm before she could fall, to which he swiftly caught her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Juniper nodded, carefully standing back up straight as she got flustered for a moment. "Yeah, thanks." She looked down at the pink-yellow sticky substances now at the bottom of her shoes, picking up her flashlight with two fingers. "What the hell is this stuff?"

"The old skin of a shifter," he answered. "That's what it looks like after it sheds and takes the form of someone else."

"Gross," she muttered, staring at the slimy old skin of the shapeshifter.

"At least we know it's been down here," Dean added. "This must be where it hunkers down until it changes form again."

"Which is why we should get the hell out of here before it comes back," Danielle spoke up.

Dean scoffed. "And miss the opportunity to gank the bastard?"

"Well, given your track record of shapeshifters not being so great, I say we go back to the motel and actually come up with a plan."

Rolling his eyes, Dean huffed a sigh. "Fine."

So the four headed out of the sewers, which Juniper was happy to inhale the fresh air, despite smelling bad herself. Once they made it back to the motel, everyone freshened up in order to get ready for tonight, with Juniper packing up her things while Danielle got on her outfit for the shifter hunt inside the bank. Once Danielle was done adjusting her high ponytail, she let out a sigh, taking a glance at herself in the bathroom mirror before spinning around to face Juniper.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"You look good," Juniper replied, nodding at the gray pantsuit Danielle was sporting. "Very fitting to wear for monster hunting."

Danielle chuckled in response. "Yeah, well, it's not exactly my first choice, but it won't look as suspicious walking around the bank if I'm dressed like this." She paused, flashing Juniper a small smile. "The shifter won't see me coming."

"And if it does?"

She took a deep breath, grin fading. "Then I'll figure it out. I always do."

Juniper was hoping Danielle's response would give her some relief, but all it did was make her worry about this plan even more.

It remained that way even after they checked out of the motel and drove down to the parking garage not too far from the bank. She tried her best to stay calm in front of Danielle, though she didn't think her fake smile of reassurance was convincing enough. There wasn't much time to think about it more when the Winchesters parked next to the girls, stepping out of the Impala with navy jumpsuits on and carrying toolboxes in their hands.

Danielle scanned the boys up and down, shaking her head as she let out a chuckle. "You two look ridiculous."

"Says you in that weird pantsuit," Dean retorted.

She looked down at her gray outfit, smoothing out her jacket. "It's sophisticated."

"Since when are you sophisticated?"

"Since always."

"You're full of shit, Dani."

"Like you have any room to talk."

"Okay, can you two quit with the bickering long enough to get this job done?" Sam interjected. "Let's just get this over with."

Juniper took a deep breath. "Are you sure you guys will be okay in there?" she asked, finally letting the concern show on her face.

"We'll be fine," Sam assured her. "It's nothing we haven't handled before."

"And you're sure you'll be fine waiting out here?" Danielle questioned Juniper.

Looking around the car garage, Juniper nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm sure. I can do some lore reading to pass the time. I'm really behind on it, anyway. Besides, you'll only be gone for a couple of hours, right?"

Danielle hesitated, glancing at the boys, who were also reluctant to respond.

But Sam then quickly nodded his head. "Yeah, if everything goes to plan."

"Which it will," Dean added. "And we better get going if we wanna get that son of a bitch before it gets away."

Sam and Danielle nodded in agreement, grabbing the small pistols from the trunk of the Impala and loading them with silver bullets.

"So remember to lock the doors when you're in the car," Danielle stated once her pistol was locked and loaded, tucking it behind her back.

Juniper nodded. "Okay."

"And if something happens, then get the hell out of here and wait for one of us to call you."

"Got it." She glanced at the three hunters, sighing. "Be careful, you guys."

"We will," Sam told her. "You be careful, too." He looked over at Dean and Danielle, letting out a sigh. "Let's go."

Juniper watched as Danielle and the Winchesters gave her one last nod before heading towards the stairs. Once they were no longer in sight and the echoes of their footsteps faded, an eerie feeling came over Juniper as she realized that she was completely alone now. She was about to get back into the car when a banging sound was heard from a distance, causing her to spin her head around in a startle. Before she could open the door, the noise rang out in the garage again.

"Hello?" she called out, becoming uneasy as she slowly stepped away from the car. "Anyone there?" Despite her anxious feeling, she made her way down the garage, passing by empty cars and parking spaces and finding no one around. After scanning around for a moment, looking for another person, she had no luck seeing anyone else, which made her turn around to head back to the car, but colliding with another figure in the process, startling her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the man stated, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she quickly said. "I didn't mean to--"

"It's okay," he assured her. "You know, it's not very safe for a girl like you to be walking around here all by yourself. I can walk you back to your car, if you'd like."

Juniper had a difficult time shaking the bad feeling inside her the more she stared at the man, to which she let out a shaky breath. "No, that's okay. I can walk back by myself."

"But I hate for something else to happen to you and I wasn't here to keep you safe." He raised his eyebrows. "Are you parked very far?"

"Uh, no," she replied, slowly moving past him. "Which is why I'll be fine walking back alone. Now if you'll excuse me, I--"

All of sudden, a hand went around her mouth, unable to let out a cry for help. As the man's grip around her got tight, she looked up at the camera in the top corner across from her, noticing the glow in his eyes, which could only mean one thing...

"You're...you're the shif--"

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a blow to the head, with darkness to follow.

*******

A groan escaped her mouth as Juniper started to open her eyes. While her vision was still a bit blurry, she managed to see the blood on her hands, stinging at the sharp pain that came from her head. Juniper's vision was finally clear as she looked down and saw that she was tied to a desk, the ropes so tight she thought her wrists would lose circulation at any moment. She tried to yank on them, but had no luck in doing so, which only frustrated her even more. Unsure how long she had been there, seeing the dried-up blood on the desk made her think it had been a while. And judging by the computer and the paperwork, along with two chairs and other office supplies and money-related items, Juniper came to the conclusion that she was inside the bank, which was the last place she needed to be in.

The last thing she remembered was being in the car garage, seeing the bright eyes of the shifter in the camera. Now, she was like this, scared and helpless of what to do next, as she figured crying out for help would just make things worse. All she could do now was wait for Dean, Sam, or Danielle to find her before someone else did, before the shifter did.

Juniper did her best to not cry, despite the lump forming in her throat. But when she noticed the ring on her finger was gone, she felt her heart drop. It was the one thing of Eric's that still meant a lot to her and knowing that it was lost made her chest ache.

All of a sudden, the door began to slowly open, startling Juniper as she turned her head to see who it was. Her eyes went wide once the door was fully open and the person standing there was her. There was only one explanation: it was the shapeshifter.

"Hi, Juniper," it said, walking inside the office, then closing the door.

Letting out a gasp, Juniper was starting to freak out the more she saw that thing with her face. "You're...you're..."

"You? Yeah, I know. It's weird at first, but you get used to it," the shifter said, shocking Juniper at how it sounded exactly like her.

"Let me guess, you're gonna kill me, aren't you?"

The shifter raised its eyebrows. "Kill you? Hell no." Pausing, it held a guilty expression. "Well, I was going to at first, but then I got a good look inside your head." It let out a chuckle. "I have to say, there's a lot to unpack there, especially in the last few months."

Juniper's breathing became uneasy. "Stay out of my head."

The shifter rolled its eyes. "Come on now, Juniper. Haven't you read the lore? I can take your thoughts and memories as long as you're alive. So be grateful the timeline of your pathetic life that I have is actually saving you right now." The shifter started to walk around the office, getting closer towards Juniper. "Then again, maybe I should kill you, seeing as you're just wasting your time running all over the place, trying to become something you'll never be."

"We don't know what the future holds for me," Juniper retorted.

"For someone like you? Of course we know." Approaching Juniper, the shifter got down on the floor across from Juniper. "You've been in nothing but shambles ever since Eric died, barely holding it together. You were upset when you had to miss Thanksgiving and Christmas, for crying out loud. Face it, Juniper. You don't want any of this, because you know you're doomed to fail at some point. You're just waiting for the moment that something goes to shit and nothing can be done about it. Isn't that how you really want all of this to end?"

Juniper could feel the hot breath of the shifter hit her in the face as it smirked her way. It was at the point where she didn't think there was any way out of the taunting from the shifter. Despite the terrible circumstances that brought Juniper into all of this, she still had hope that there was a light at the end of this tunnel, that something good would come out of road-tripping with Danielle and the Winchesters to solve cases, along with figuring out who she really was meant to be with the abilities she had. Maybe everything did happen for a reason.

With an angry look and dried-up tears on her face, Juniper stared down the shifter, taking a deep breath. "No, I don't." And using all the energy she had, Juniper swung her leg and pushed the shifter away from her, starting back on trying to untie herself from the ropes.

But before she could make any progress, the door flew open again, revealing Sam with a gun in his hand as he spotted Juniper tied up.

"June," he said, sounding relieved.

"Sam, the shifter!" she shouted, motioning towards the monster in the corner.

Turning his head, Sam was about to shoot at it when the shifter quickly stood up and managed to shove its way past Sam and out the door. Instead of going after it, he focused on Juniper and went over to untie her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her injured head. "Your head--"

"I'm fine," she replied, nodding her head. "Where's--"

"They're good," he assured her, knowing who she was referring to. Once she was out of the ropes, Sam helped her up and then reached into his pocket. "Dean wanted me to give this to you."

Juniper's heart skipped a beat when she saw the ring in the palm of his hand. "Thank you," she whispered, taking it out of his hand and slipping it back on her finger.

Suddenly, Danielle came running in, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw Juniper. "Oh my God, you're okay." She threw her arms out and rushed to hug Juniper, squeezing her tight. "I promise you, once I get my hands on that piece of shi--"

"I'll take care of the shifter, Dani," Sam cut her off. "You two just need to get back to the vault with Dean and the others."

Danielle nodded, pulling away from the hug and taking Juniper's hand, leading her out of the office and down the hall. She glanced at the wound on Juniper's head and scoffed. "I can't believe it managed to get you."

"I don't think any of us were expecting it," Juniper added. "I'm glad Sam got to me in time."

"Yeah, good ol' Sam to the rescue. Exactly what you needed."

The two hurriedly walked down the hall, trying to avoid any lights through the window as they swiftly made their way back to the vault with the others. Dean was on the phone when they saw him, his expression distraught. When he locked eyes with Juniper, his face fell, nodding for her to come to him.

Confused, Juniper did so, anyway. "What is it?" she asked.

Sighing, he handed her the phone. "FBI," he responded. "Knows you're here and wants to talk to you."

Nervous and reluctant, Juniper grabbed the phone and pressed it up against her ear as Dean left her alone. "Hello?"

"Juniper Langley," a male voice stated. "This is Special Agent Victor Henriksen. Been looking for you for quite a while now."

"Well, you found me," she replied, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, you wanna tell me what's been up with you these last few months?"

"Um..." She took a moment as she opened her mouth to speak, trying to come up with something to tell him. "It's complicated," she quickly said.

"Complicated enough for you to pack up your things and leave Baltimore with two fugitives?"

"You've done your research."

"I had to know in order to find you, Juniper," the FBI agent explained. "And yet none of the pieces are coming together. You ditch town right after the murder of your fiancé with the two suspects that you so happened to meet just hours before the crime happened. Kind of suspicious, don't you think?" When Juniper didn't respond, he kept going. "I don't know what those Winchesters got you involved in, along with Miss Danielle Ward that's joined up with them again, but I can get you out of this. I can take you back to Maryland right now and you can see your family again. They're worried sick about you. What do you say?"

Juniper couldn't help but scoff. "Come on. It can't be that easy."

"But it is. I don't believe you'd get roped up into something like this willingly."

Puzzled, Juniper furrowed her brows. "So you still think the Winchesters are keeping me hostage."

"Honestly, I don't know what to think," he admitted. "But I have my assumptions. From every petty crime I'm sure their dad taught them, to the murders in St. Louis and in Baltimore, along with you joining them, something ain't right. So I'll say this: If you're an unwilling participant in their schemes, just let me know right now and we can get you out back home."

"'An unwilling participant?'" Juniper repeated. "Listen, you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm..." She trailed off, getting overwhelmed already by this conversation. "I'm better off staying with them."

"Juniper--"

"You don't understand. I'll put everyone I care about in danger if I go back to Maryland." Tears welled up in her eyes, sharply inhaling. "I'm keeping my family safe by staying as far away from them as I can. It's for the best. It will always be for the best."

There was a pause that left Juniper wondering what the agent was about to say next. Nevertheless, Juniper was determined to stand her ground and not leave the bank. She accepted the fact that he and every law enforcement they would encounter along the way will never understand this way of living with what they knew about the world.

"Miss Langley." She knew he was being serious with how he switched to addressing her by her last name. "I'm giving you one last chance to walk away from this without any trouble. After that, you're fair game when me and my guys barge inside that bank, and Dean knows that I will come in there full force if I have to. So, what's it gonna be?"

With a deep breath, Juniper let the last tear shed before saying, "I can't and I won't." She slammed the phone back on the hook, walking back towards Dean and Danielle.

The two shot her sad looks, not saying a word to her. Juniper glanced at both of them and sighed, leaning against the wall.

Before they knew it, Sam came walking down the hall in a rush, almost like he was out of breath. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Dean replied, grabbing the rifle off the table. "We got a bit of a problem outside."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Well, we got a problem in there," he replied, pointing at the vault. "It's the blonde girl."

Dean groaned, shaking his head. "Great. The Feds are about to bust through those doors and we still have this damn thing to kill."

"So what are we gonna do?" Danielle asked. "We've still got hostages inside and I think with Ronald freaking them out to start with--"

"Well, he's dead now, so we have to clean up his mess," Dean snapped.

While Juniper didn't know Ronald, she saw the way Dean's eyes grew sad when he said that about him.

"Look, Dean and I came up with this plan, so we're gonna follow through with it." Sam exhaled loudly, his eyes landing on the girls. "You two need to get out of here."

"What, and leave you two here to deal with this? No way," Danielle protested.

"Dani, if you two stay, then we're all gonna get arrested. And with Junie now a wanted woman, it's best if she's far away from here."

Juniper and Danielle took a moment, both knowing that leaving the boys like this was risky and crazy, looked at each other and slowly agreed that it was better if they were out of the bank by the time the Feds entered.

"Okay," Danielle stated. "Since we're on the subject of splitting up, I think it'll be best if we stay separated for a while. You know, in case any more FBI agents come after us once we're out of here."

Sam nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Dean let out a chuckle. "You know, this kind of sounds like a divorce, don't you think?"

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and go kill this shapeshifter," she retorted. "And be careful."

"You, too," Sam said.

With that, Juniper gave the boys a wave goodbye before she and Danielle sprinted down the hallway and towards the back of the bank.

Maybe it was the adrenaline that pumped through her body that made Juniper feel anticipation and fear at the same time. Or perhaps it was some sort of anger towards the FBI agent she talked to that was still stuck on her mind. Whatever it was, Juniper could only focus on that as she followed Danielle out the back and up the stairs that led them into the car garage. Even when they got in the Honda and locked the doors, the feeling never went away.

As Danielle drove out of the garage and onto the street, the two made sure to keep their heads down as they passed any cops. Once they were in the clear, some relief came over them that they got away, despite the fact that Dean and Sam were still inside with the shapeshifter.

Juniper pulled out her cell phone, seeing the same thing as before: many text messages and missed calls, along with dozens of voicemails. Ignoring all of them, she went back to Eric's last voicemail at the bottom of the screen and listened to it one more time. She tried to take in every word like before so that she could remember his voice and remember him in this way.

Because she wouldn't hear his voice anymore after this.

As they approached a bridge, Juniper looked out the window for a moment before rolling it down. It was at the halfway mark when she looked down at her phone and took a deep breath before smashing it on the edge and then throwing it out into the water. Danielle didn't say a word about it, as if she understood why Juniper did it.

Rolling the window back up, Juniper settled in her seat and looked ahead of her, because looking back was something that wasn't an option anymore, nor did she want to torture herself thinking about it.

~~~~~~~

A/N: OOP, well, the core four is split up as of now (it won't be long, though lol).

Anyway, what do we think?

Special shoutout to harmonyrules for helping me with this chapter at some ungodly hour last night (and so glad you're caught up with this story)! Y'all go follow her and check out her stories!

Comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A