Author's Chapter Notes:
Just a note: When I write in Italics it means its a thought the character is having. I am not sure if that is universal but in my stories that is what it means.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Once they were in Wisconsin, they checked out the homes Sam had seen on the internet. The first one was in Saukville not far from Lake Michigan; it was a two family ranch style home with a porch that was walking distance from the Marina. They looked it over with critical eyes. Dean thought the area was too well populated for their purposes though Amber and Ari loved the idea of the closeness to the water. They decided to discuss it over a meal at a local diner after the realtor left them. He promised to meet up with them again in a couple of hours to show them the other property.
Amber was quiet as she ate her burger and the adults chatted among themselves.
“Amber, what’s wrong?” Sam asked with concern for the little girl.
She only shook her head but continued her meal.
“She loves the water, I am sure she is just disappointed,” Ari said as she rubbed her daughter’s back.
“It’s okay, where ever we live, we will be close enough to visit the lake often, I promise,” Sam said as he got a smile from Amber.
“Promise?”
He nodded as her face brightened.
Dean expressed his concern that the home was in the middle of town; he thought they would draw too much attention with their comings and goings. Besides when word got around that they were a stop off for hunters they would not want any noisy neighbors in their business. It was too dangerous. Sam agreed with him on his opinion and after Ari heard the reasons she believed that they should continue to look also.
Dean watched Ari as she finished her salad. Each time he looked at her since they left Michigan fear clutched in his heart. Am I doing the right thing? She looked at him with a ready smile and he smirked as he bit into his burger. I can do this, I can keep her safe, there is not another option. After the coffees where finished Sam reminded them they had an appointment as they filed out of the booth.
The next house was in Hustisford, a small town about forty-five minutes south of Fond du lac and an almost an hour north of Milwaukee. It was probably the place the expression one-horse town derived from. The homes may not have been mansions but the distant apart from one another was what the Winchesters’ loved from the time they drove into town. The property they surveyed was two acres with a two family house, a barn, a shed and a fenced in area with room for horses. Amber covered her mouth when she had seen a horse a property on the way to the one they were to look at.
“Horsies,” she sighed as she squeezed her mother’s hand.
“Yea honey, they are beautiful,” she said to her daughter as Dean looked approvingly back at them.
When they got out to go inside the realtor droned on about the amenities to Sam as the others simply wondered around. The lower lever was almost identical to the upper flat with three bedrooms and a study or den. It also had two full baths, a modern kitchen, and window seats in most rooms. It was a spacious location and Dean could tell that Ari liked it. He found her in one of the window seats with Amber as they looked out toward the fields of wheat behind the house. They looked peaceful so he decided not to disturb them. He wanted this for them, for all of them. The calm before the storm.
Sam had access to Ari’s funds so he was able to make out a check for the ten percent down, on the spot. The realtor was giddy as she left with a smile and a promise to push through the sale as fast as possible. Sam assured her there was no rush, he didn't want he to get suspicious about their money or potential activities. However, they did want to have a place for the movers to deliver Ari’s car in a few days.
They went to a motel at the edge of town and spent the night with the hope that in a few days they would have place of their own for a while.
“Ari, if you have changed your mind about the money I will understand,” Sam said to Ari as she and Dean sat in front of the television with Amber at their feet. They had become comfortable and looked like a little family that Sam had begun to envy. All three turned around to look at him.
“Why would I do that? “
“I don’t know, I mean the house alone is almost two hundred thousand. Plus the equipment we want to buy for the hunters stop. Then we will have monthly bills to pay to …..”
“Geek boy, put away the figures. It’s cool… relax, Bro.”
Ari smiled at Sam.
“You have no reason to be concerned. I have more than enough. Even is Dean woke up one day and decided he no longer wanted me. The money is still yours, both of you,” she said as she looked in Dean’s eyes.
Dean shook his head, “Good to know,” he teased her,” as Ari got up and Amber did the same as they began to tickle Dean.
They all laughed so hard they did not see the sadness in Sam’s face. He needed to phone Paris. He went outside to make the call.
“Hey Sweets,” he said as she picked up with a smile in her voice.
“I miss you,” she said softly.
Sam leaned against the car as he sighed into the phone.
“I can’t wait until I can see you again.”
“Where are you?”
“Outside the motel by the car.”
“Get in the car.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Oh you are naughty,” he said as he quietly opened the Impala door. Dean would kill him if he knew what he was about to do.
Dean had taken his shower and was drying off when he began to wonder what happened to Sam. He looked out the small bathroom window and could see his brother inside the car; he leaned over a bit but was afraid of getting stuck in the small opening. Then it hit him; Sam had the seat far enough back that Dean could see he was on the phone. Good thing the parking lot was almost empty. Where is his other hand? I am going to kill him. Good grief, he is abusing himself in my car. Then it hit him, maybe he would let his brother slide this time, but he was taking the wipes down that Ari had bought so Sammy could make sure nothing unsightly was left on his seats. He laughed to himself but felt bad for his little brother. Poor Sam, finally found someone he could be with and they had left her behind. He shook his head as he left the bathroom.
Sam sighed as he tried to get his release and catch it before it got onto Dean’s baby car.
“Well?”
“Yeah, it was good but I still wish you were here,” he said as he held the now used napkin in his hand.
“I did too….hold on,” Paris said as Sam could hear her getting up off the bed.
When she returned he could tell she was smiling. It was in was the lightness in her voice. He imagined her eyes were bright and still full of lust.
“I still wish you were here.”
“Me too.”
There was silence. But it was not heavy or tense just a peacefulness that surrounded them both.
“I should get back inside. Call you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be waiting,” she said before she hung up.
Sam looked around the parking lot again before he got out of the car. The night was dark but many stars could be seen as they sparkled in the skies. He loved the open country. The oneness with nature that seemed to engulf him was overwhelming. He would not feel shameful for what he had done because in his heart he hoped he had found someone he could share some time with. The little time that he wasn’t on the hunt.
The red head had lost the scent of the Winchesters when they left Michigan. She had decided to wait for news from others who ran into them. She had also changed bodies and now was inside a blonde woman with blue eyes and a model body. The woman was an accountant at a firm in the same small town. She had received a promotion and was going to move to Chicago in the next few weeks. The demon had high hopes since she knew that Ari had grown up in that area. She would use the body to see what turned up; if nothing significant happened she would just kill the woman and use someone else. It wasn’t a problem; she was an eternal being. She had no time schedule or moral obligations. Her only goal was to get to the woman and extract the payment that was due to her. Two down and two to go, if that foolish man had only paid his debt all the deaths could have been avoided.
It took a month for everything to get settled with the house. They had stayed in several hotels mostly ones north of where they hoped to live. The idea was that they did not want the locals to get familiar with them. Ari, who had not been fond of small town living began to get used to the idea as they waited. Amber helped because her excitement about a house where they maybe could have a horse was contagious.
“I said maybe Sweetie. We have many other things to do you and I.”
“Maybe we can start out with a dog,” Dean said as he came into the room after having listened to their discussion from outside the door.
Amber’s eyes grew bright as she sighed.
“A puppy?” she asked as she ran to hug Dean.
“If you want,’ he said with a smile at the little girl while Sam sauntered in the room.
“Hey, who wants a puppy?” he asked as he pulled a brown and white German Shepherd Collie from behind his back to show her.
“He is pretty,” she said as she took the little puppy in her arms.
“Guys, she is so young,” Ari said hesitantly.
“Amber or the dog?”
“Both,” she laughed as he pulled her into his arms.
“Can we keep it, Mommy, please,” she asked with a pout.
“Sure, just something else for me to clean up after,” she said as she pretended to be upset about the pet.
Dean picked her up to whirl her around the room.
“You won’t be sorry,” he said before he kissed her.
***
“My real name is Katarina Maureen Mayfield,” Ari said in almost a whisper as she lie in Dean’s arms on a night after they had been in the house for a couple of days.
He held her to his side as he listened to her confession. He never has asked her for a lot of details of her past but she wanted him to know more. She went on to tell him she had leave Waukegan, IL for New York, where she attended college. It was during the time after she graduated that she found she could not find a decent job in marketing despite her degree. She surmised it may have been her race or that for some reason she gave bad interviews. Either way that is what led her into being a call girl. The money was what she needed if she wanted to survive on her own. She had never been proud of it and often had continued to job hunt in her chosen field but to no avail.
“It is a sad world when a beautiful woman can’t get a job even with a degree,” Dean said as he ran his finger lightly down her nose.
She ignored him since he knew she was trying to make her feel better.
“Focus please,” she said with a grim smile at him.
She met Amber’s father at a party of a friend of hers named Jackie. Jackie introduced her to this tall Brunette with playful blue eyes. Dean leaned over to kiss her least she think too much about her ex. Ari smiled for him as she continued. Roger was the man who wooed her and sent her flowers while they dated; he was the perfect suitor. But when he found out what she did for a living he left her cold and pregnant.
“What a jerk,” Dean interjected.
“Not everyone is as kind as you, Honey,” she said as she bit her lip.
“Does he know anything about where you are or your new name?”
She shook her head; she had been very careful to leave her old life behind.
“I am also legally dead,” she said as she bit her lip and looked over at him.
“What?”
“Besides, you, mom and Sam, I trusted only one man with my truth. He is the one who handles my money.”
“Good choice.”
“And no, there was no funeral,” she teased.
“But….”
She bit her lip again.
“I did the unthinkable…. I chose the identity of a new born who had died. Filed for a social using her mother’s name, with a different address so it’s all legal. I have given life to someone who never had a chance to live it. And since I left the state it was easier. “A woman after my own heart,” Dean said as he kissed her.
She frowned and told him how she had paid someone to grab Amber’s records from the hospital after her birth. They guy asked no questions and she never heard from him again.
“Maybe Sam can do a delete in the hospital computer system when he gets time just to make things neat and tidy.”
“Okay you are starting to scare me,” he teased.
“I just want her to be safe.”
He pulled her close again before he told her he had been joking. He knew she was sensitive about dishonesty though they both had been in situations where they had to tell a lie or be killed it seemed.
“I’m sorry about last night,” Dean apologized.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said as she pulled him down to her by tangling her hands in his hair.
{Flashback}
Ari and Dean had not made love in several days. Ari kept giving him excuses about Amber and being tired. Sam had gone on a solo hunt right after they moved in and would be back later that night. Dean wanted to get laid pure and simple; so when Ari refused him again he lost it.
“Is this how its going to be? A new city and new rules?”
“Dean I have been cleaning and watching after Amber plus her pet………..Baby, I am just tired. It won’t be this way….”
“Forget it, I can go find someone who is interested,” he said angrily as he went down the stairs and out the door.
He felt like a heel before he was out the door. He looked around and realized they were pretty much in the middle of now where. He didn’t care. Since Ari’s car was the only one available he decided to walk. Though he had no destination he figured if he got lucky he could get a ride back to the area. Ari watched him as he walked a way with tears streaming down her cheeks. What have I done? If he had only given me a chance to explain. She sighed as she lay down in her bed with hopes that he would walk off his anger.
Dean walked a couple of miles and stopped at the nearest bar. It was actually a bar/bowling alley/diner. There were a few people bowling but more at the bar. He strolled in and ordered a beer before taking a stool. He had no real interest in what was going on he just needed time to think. Before his second swig a tall Brunette girl sat down beside him; though he did not consciously notice her. The next thing he knew her hand was on his leg.
“Hey honey, looking for someone?”
He looked up into her round face to see that she had mixed match colored eyes. One was blue the other brown. He shook his head. He knew it was unusual but that wasn’t what turned him off; it was the tight outfit she had squeezed into. The idea seemed to be to push up her breasts; it wasn’t working for him at all. He turned away from her to nurse his beer he figured his lack of a reply would give her his answer. She sat near him for only a moment longer before she walked away.
He took another swig before he put down the beer to rub his temples. He was getting a headache. Stress. I don’t want to be here; why was I so selfish? He knew Ari had worked hard on the house the last few days. With Sam gone, Dean had entertained Amber more than help out. She had transformed the place. It had needed very little work but the hominess that it had now was because of Ari’s effort. More than once he had seen her down on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor or getting stains from the carpet. She had to be sore from that alone. I don’t deserve her. She had scrubbed the windows till they shone, cleaned the toilets that hadn’t been used in who knows how long, put up curtains, vacuumed endlessly, made the kitchen sparkle like new, washed their dirty clothes and other small things he wasn’t even sure about. How could he stress her about sex? She didn’t have energy left for that. Now I have walked off and left her open for attack. Sh*t. He took the last swallow of his beer then headed out the door. He needed to get back, though the house had all the wards, salt, and protections they could think of, something could still happen and he would be devastated.
Ari was sound asleep when he walked in her room. He hesitated at the door, but decided to go in to watch her sleep. For a few minutes, he sat quietly in the corner; amazed that she slept so soundly. Not always a good thing. He stood up to look out her bedside window and he must have jostled the bed because she sighed before she opened her eyes.
“You’re back?”
“I’m sorry, that I am a selfish bastard,” he said before he undressed and got in the bed with her.
“Don’t talk about the man I love that way,” she said with a smile.
He smiled back before he leaned over to take the tip of her breast in his mouth. She scooted closer for a moment before she climb on top of him. He pushed her up so she could situate her crotch over his mouth. Though she wasn’t totally shaved she was trim the way he liked her. She leaned up against the headboard as he lapped her juices as though they were fine cream intermittently he spread her open with his fingers. She had the only kitty he had any interest in. She moaned as he delighted in her sweet scent. He loved the taste of ither. When she felt about to explode, she moved back down his body as she left traces of her smell on him and it excited him. She kissed him passionately; unconcerned with how much of her, she tasted. He leaned up to kiss her again before she pushed his large erection inside her slick opening.
“Um, oh I love they way you fit,” she said with a moan.
She moved against him as he rubbed her firm behind while pushing up to meet her rhythm. The kisses continued until there bodies shone with heat and sweet sweat. Her hands were on the headboard again when he came inside her.
“I guess a nap was all I needed,” she said with a smile as she moved to lie beside him.
He could only laugh. Why would he want a stranger when he had Ari at home?
Neither of them knew that Sam had heard them while they made love. He had gone to his room after he checked on Amber and went to sleep.
{End Flashback}
“Well Sam is back and has told me about a job in the Upper Peninsula that he wants to work with me,” Dean said as he leaned back on the bed.
Ari pursed her lips but did not say anything so he continued.
“So he said it sounds like a vamp and we are leaving tomorrow.”
“That’s fine.”
“You sure?”
“Hey I’ll be fine, besides you have told me what to do and whom to call if I get in a jam. You need to do your work, besides Ellen phoned to say Jo would be visiting in a few days.”
“Jo?”
TBC