Nine – "The World Has Changed, So I Need To."

I know you. I've seen into Sammy's head. You're the girl who burned on the ceiling, just like his mommy. Oh, he can't believe you're alive. You should hear and see the look on his face! Oh, wait, you can't.

Jessica cringed away from the voice in her head. The voice that sounded like 100% Sam Winchester, but not. That wasn't him talking back in Elvinsboro, it was the demon who possessed him. He almost used Sam's body to kill her. She'd almost lost consciousness had it not been for Meg saving her at the last second.

She'd have to thank the demon.

Just as the trip from the bunker to Elvinsboro was long, the trip back was just as grueling. The four women, more so the three human women, felt deflated and defeated. They'd found Sam and Dean all right, just not in the condition they were hoping them to be in. Jessica was definitely not expecting the Winchesters to be possessed.

When the Impala finally rolled up to their destination, the four women exited. Jessica felt numb as she entered the rather warm bunker. She nearly fell down the stairs that led to the war room, she hadn't been paying attention.

"Cas?" Charlie called. "Cas, you here?"

From one of the hallways, the angel in a trenchcoat appeared. His face seemed permanently etched into that concerned look.

"I'm sorry, I was banished from the fight," Cas explained. His eyes fell onto Jo, who was swaying on the spot. "What happened to her?"

"She had a knife through the shoulder, just a flesh wound," Meg explained. Jessica shot the demon a blank look.

Cas went to Jo, covering her wound with his hand. A small white light flashed, and Jo's color looked much improved. She gave Cas a thankful smile, but Jessica noticed that smile disappear awful fast.

"Did you find Sam and Dean?" Cas asked.

"Um, we did," Charlie said, avoiding eye contact with him, "but we've run into a slight hitch. They're possessed, Cas."

"Impossible. They have anti-possession tattoos, I've seen them."

"Well, whoever abducted them must've removed them," said Meg. "And I can't imagine that it was all sunshine and rainbows."

Jessica winced. Tattoo removal in itself sounded painful, but by something that's not human? I'll bet they hurt Sam and Dean. They may look healed because of the demons. She remembered the black eyes Sam had sported. They weren't his.

That wasn't Sam. It wasn't my Sam. She missed her Sam in Heaven, currently. He wasn't ravaged by time and experience, he looked like he had hope in his eyes. The Sam Jessica had just seen was not the one she configured in her heaven.

"Good news is we got Baby," said Charlie, meaning the Impala. "She took some bullets, though. Maybe that'll piss Dean off to fight the demon in him."

"That's a longshot," Jo murmured.

Cas still looked at the women in disbelief. "And you're sure they were possessed?"

"The demon used Dean to use me as target practice." Jo rolled her shoulder. "Thank you, by the way, for that."

"We have to give them their bodies back," Charlie said strongly. "Cas, do you know the exorcism by heart?"

"No, but I know some of the books in the library have it. It's possible they may have recorded it on a tape to use for future hunts, but I don't know."

"If not, we can make them with our phones, it's easy enough." The redhead raised her chin.

"Devil's advocate: what if the demons were smart enough to seal themselves into the boys?" said Meg.

"Can they do that?" asked Jessica.

"They can. Hell, I did it to Sam once."

"Yeah, I remember that," Jo growled.

"Well, I guess we gotta look into that too, just in case," Charlie sighed. "I know it may be a dumb question to ask, Cas, but, are you willing to try and track them again?"

"I am, but if we're on the same mindset, I don't think I'll get anything."

"And if you don't come back with something?" Jessica asked.

"We're back to square one," Jo said.

On that heavy note, the group dispersed. Jessica sauntered through the halls, her mind in search for a weapons room. There's got to be one in this place. If not, she reasoned, she could always check the car—Baby, as Charlie deemed it. The Impala had to have some weapons in there.

Any storage room Jessica found, she practically tore apart. She was tired of being lent weapons from the others; she wanted weapons to call her own, to not have to give back. She seethed inside, hating herself for almost crumbling at the hands of Not Sam. She had to have Meg save her, for God's sake!

Her hands searched through the boxes in the room she was in. She pulled them off shelves, taking out every single piece of content they held. She felt the search festering in her, the need to find something that nobody claimed ownership of.

"Jessica?"

Jessica stopped, nearly tripping over the current box she had on the floor. Jo was in the doorway, a concerned look in her brown eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm browsing." Jessica resumed her search, picking up the box and shelving it. She selected another box before setting it and herself down on the cold floor.

"For...?"

"Something useful."

"Like GPS chips for tracking?"

"Like that's gonna help us when we ran away from them. No. I'm looking for weapons."

"Weapons?"

Jessica paused her search, looking at Jo. "Yes, weapons. You know, the things that you guys have that I don't for some ungodly reason." She growled, picking up the box and rather forcefully shoving it back on the shelf.

"We all had weapons in Elvinsboro."

"That's not what I mean. You guys have your own weapon niche. I don't."

"Okay." Jo stepped into the room. "What's got you rattled?"

Jessica sighed loudly, turning to Jo. "I'm sick and tired of being the weak one. I'm sick of having Meg put me down and constantly try to convince me that I'm no good in this group, that I have no purpose in trying to help save Sam and Dean."

"So...in retaliation you want to try and beat her up? I mean, I won't hold you back from it."

"No." Jessica grabbed at her hair. "I want to contribute. I want to be as important as you, and Charlie, and hell even Meg!"

"Jess—"

"Jo, don't lie to me. I'm useless."

"You're not. You may not see it, but, you've come a long way since Cas brought you out of Heaven. You've embraced this, which is saying a lot about you." Jo looked at her softly. Her eyes shifted to a box. She went to it, rummaging around, before extracting two silver batons.

Jessica's eyes were transfixed on those weapons. They almost called out to her, take me, take me. She flinched, but still managed to catch the batons when Jo threw them at her.

"You want to become a hunter?" asked Jo.

"I don't want to be the useless human anymore. The world has changed, so I need to." Jessica sniffed. "I just need enough to get me by for now. Rescuing Sam and Dean take priority."

Jo nodded. "You and me. Training sessions."

"Um, did you not hear what I just said about the boys?"

"We'll still look for them, but we'll pass that off to Meg, Charlie, and Cas when we're training. You want to be a hunter? Well, I'm the closest thing you got to one. I'm no Sam or Dean, but I can hold my own."

It was still foreign for Jessica to hear Sam associated with hunting the supernatural. Each time, it made her heart hurt. Sam had never told her a lot about his past. Yes, she had questioned why. But she'd overlooked that when they were dating. She'd figured down the road he would open up more and tell her everything.

Was she mad that Sam never mentioned this to her? Absolutely. But she had a hunch as to why he never said anything. He was the only one who could confirm that once he and his brother were found and exorcised.

The more she used supernatural terms, the more she was slowly accepting this crazy new world Castiel had brought her into.