#blame sam and haley for the lock screen

[missyuta]

the loml @taeminslut tagged me in the thing to post ur lock screen ur home screen and the last song u listened to!

i’m tagging @mbbtual @onewday @hongjoongships and @sunyouls and literally whoever else wants to do it!

[fanfics4all]

Hotchners Are Strong

Request: Yes / No 

Requests are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Team x Fem!Hotcher!Reader

Word count: 2223

Warnings: Haley dying, some cursing, and that should be it. 

Y/N: Your Name 

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! 

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you! 

Masterlist 

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

My older brother Aaron was a big time FBI agent. I also worked for the FBI, but I was in a different area then him. I worked with trying to find children, but I was trained in profiling, Aaron made sure of that. Currently someone was after the team, specifically my brother. If he was after my brother that means he was after me as well. They brought me in on the investigation. 

“Alright, what do we got?” I asked walking into the round room. 

“What are you doing here?” Aaron asked. 

“I was brought in, this guy’s after you which means he’s after me.” I said. 

“I know, but you should be in protection.” He said and I shrugged. 

“You and I both know I would be more useful here.” I said and he sighed. 

“So what do we have?” I asked. 

“We just got approved to go to Foyet’s hideout. We found him.” Rossi said. 

“Great, let’s get this fucker.” I said and walked out of the room. 

We were in the building across the street watching for any movement in Foyet’s apartment. There was nothing. It was annoying, but we needed to wait for Morgan’s call. 

“Swt’s getting antsy.” JJ said coming up to us. 

“I’ll tell them when it’s time to go. Right now we sit tight. Let them know.” Morgan responded and JJ walked back over to them. 

“These guys are trained to move, not just sit around. I can’t really say that I blame them.” He said. 

“He might not even be there anymore.” Spencer said. 

“I know and the longer we sit here, the further away he gets.” Morgan said. 

“You make the best clal you can, kid.” Rossi said. 

“I say we go in.” I said. 

“It could be a trap.” Spencer said. 

“Yeah, but like Morgan said. The longer we sit here the further away he gets.” I said. 

“Alright, this is what we’re gonna do. We’ll send someone with a camera to look under the door and see if he’s there. Undercover.” He said and we nodded. 

“Better than doing nothing.” I said and texted my brother the plan. Him and Emily came up to watch. 

“You getting the signal?” The undercover agent asked. 

“Copy.” Morgan said. 

“No warm bodies. Looks like a kitchen table, chair.” 

“Is that a laptop on the table?” Spencer asked. 

“It could be useful.” Emily said. 

“Is that food?” Morgan asked. 

“Get closer to that.” Rossi said. 

“Wait, go back. What’s that on the floor?” Aaron asked. 

“It’s his mail.” I said. 

“Yeah.” Aaron said and pulled his gun out. We all followed and rushed to the apartment. Swat broke down the door and we rushed inside. 

“What happened?” Emily asked. 

“He’s not coming back here. He left an untouched meal.” Aaron said. 

“You drop your mail like this when you’re startled, when you need to get out of dodge quick.” Rossi said. 

“So something tipped him off. He knew we were coming.” I said. 

“Suitcases are open, some clothes are missing. There’s a safe with a stash of guns in it.” Morgan said. 

“He didn’t even bother to lock them up again.” JJ said. 

“If he’s in a hurry, he’ll make a mistake.” Rossi said. 

“Yeah, but when Foyet gets cornered, he starts killing.” Aaron said and walked off. 

“We’re not gonna let that happen.” Morgan said. 

“We need to get Garcia on this.” Emily said looking at the laptop.

“I’ll talk to my brother.” I said and followed him into the other room. 

“He’s ahead of us…” He said. 

“I know, but you need to focus. Don’t let him get into your head.” I said and he sighed. 

“He’s already in it.” He said and I sighed. 

“Aaron, you’re strong and with two Hotchner’s on this case, We’ll catch him.” I said and he turned to face me. 

“You shouldn’t be on this case at all.” He said and I rolled my eyes.

“You really thought I would be okay with just being on the sidelines with some psycho after my family?” I asked and he sighed. 

“You should know me better than that by now Aaron.” I said and he nodded. 

“I do know you, that’s why you should be in protection.” He said and I shurgged. 

“Well not gonna happen, so get over it.” I said with a smirk and he rolled his eyes. 

“Guys! We got something!” Morgan called and we walked back into the room. 

“He is creepy good.” Garcia said. 

“How good?” Spencer asked. 

“He wiped his hard drive. Might have been in a hurry to leave, but whatever was on there, he did not want us to see it.” She answered. 

“Garcia, tell me that you’re hacked in and that you can rebuild it.” Morgan said. 

“Whatch me work, darling.” She said. 

“Hello.” She said after a moment. 

“What have you got?” Aaron asked. 

“Um, he had an internet alarm on the name Peter Rhea. it alerted him as soon as we ran a check on it.” Garcia said. 

“What else did he wipe?” I asked and pictures started flashing on the screen. 

“Garcia, wait a minute. Freeze it right there.” Morgan said and she did. 

“Oh my God, isn’t that-” JJ cut herself off. 

“That’s the U.S. Marshal assigned to my family.” Aaron said pulling out his phone. 

“Foyet’s been watching him this whole time?” Emily asked. 

“Sam, it’s Aaron. We found Foyet’s location, but he has surveillance photos of you. Call me for a meet location or we’re on our way to you.” He said and hung up. 

“We’re gonna need to deploy another Swat unit.” Morgan said. 

“That’s gonna take another half hour.” JJ said. My brother turned and left the room. 

“Hotch?” Rossi called. 

“Go. Go!” Morgan said. We followed him out. We rushed to the Marshall’s house and Rossi and Hotch went in first. We followed behind. 

“I tried. I’m sorry.” He said.

“What are you sorry for?” Aaron asked. 

“I… I tried.” He said again. 

“Are Jack and Haley safe?” My brother asked. Sam just started breathing havily. 

“Sam, tell me what happened.” He begged. 

“I don’t know how he got in...” Sam said. 

“I need to understand. Does he know where Jack and Haley are?” He asked. 

“I didn’t…” Sam said. 

“What about her phone number? What her safe phone number?” He asked. 

“I didn’t… It won’t matter. ” Sam said. 

“I- It tried, Hotch.” Sam said and the paramedics came. My brother got in the back with them and that was it. My brother called Morgan and told us what was happening. My brother had a car and he knew a location, you didn’t need to be a profiler to know what was happening next. 

“Hotch is calling Foyet.” Garcia said. 

“Damn it Aaron!” I said shaking my head. Garcia put the call on speaker and he was telling him his life story. We were listening in to hear what he was doing. The called ended and we didn’t know where he was, yet. 

“Alright, Foyet has to be in control. He had Haley come to him.” Morgan said. 

“Yeah, but where would he take her?” Spencer asked. 

“He’d want Hotch to find him, to see where he was, to see what he did.” JJ said. 

“Which means he-”

“He said something on that call that tells hotch where to go.” Rossi said cutting Emily off. 

“Reid, what did he say exactly?” Morgan asked. 

“”Haley’s hair looks good dark. She’s lost some weight. It must be because of all the stress you caused her. Where’s the little man? Oh, there he is now. Do you think he likes Captain America because of you? That’s your wife on the other line. Hold, please. 

“Hi. Open the gate and I’ll drive in.” Spencer said quickly. 

“Open the gate?” Rossi said. 

“It would be someplace with the biggest emotional impact for Hotch.” Emily said. 

“And Haley has access to the gate.” Morgan said. 

“He took them to their house. When they lived together.” I said realizing where they were. 

“Of course. Foyet planned this all the way to the end. It’s everything to him.” Emily said. 

“We don’t have time to talk, we need to go.” I said already on my way out. I had my phone out calling my brother. 

“Y/N.” He answered. 

“He’s going to your house.” I said. 

“I know.” He said. 

“Morgan is sending out a full tactical deployment.” I said. 

“Good.” He said. 

“We’re on our way. Don’t do anything stupid big bro.” I said and he hung up. 

“Foyet’s calling Hotch.” Garcia said. 

“Garcia, can you get us on?” Morgan asked. 

“Foyet.” Aaron answered. 

“Aaron?” Haley’s voice rang through. 

“You’re okay?” She asked. 

“I’m fine.” He answered. 

“But… He said that… Oh Aaron.” She said. 

“He can hear us, right?” He asked. 

“Yes. I am so sorry.” She said. 

“Haley, show him no weakness, no fear.” He said. 

“I know. Sam told me all about him. Is he, uh…”

“No, Sam is fine.” Aaron said cutting her off. 

“Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. Is that why your marriage broke up, because you’re a liar?” Foyet asked. 

“Don’t listen to him, Haley.” My brother said. 

“I have Sam’s service phone right here. They sent out a mass text about his death. You can take a look if you want.” Foyet said. 

“He’s trying to scare you.” Aaron said. 

“Did you even tell her what this was about? About the deal?” Foyet asked and I looked at the team confused. 

“He’s just trying to make you angry.” Aaron said. 

“Well, she should be. She’s gonna… D-I-E because of your inflated ego.” Foyet said. 

“Ignore him, Haley.” Aaron said. 

“I’m sure you don’t want her to know this part either. You know, all he had to do was stop looking for me and you wouldn’t be in this mess.” Foyet said. 

“Don’t react.” Aaron said. 

“What is he talking about?” Haley asked. 

“Tell Jack I need him working the case.” Aaron said. 

“What?” She asked. 

“Tell Jack I need him working the case.” He repeated. 

“Jack. Did you hear that?” She asked. 

“Hi, Daddy.” Jack’s voice came through the phone and I felt my heart clench. 

“Hi, buddy.” My brother said choked up. 

“Is George a bad guy?” Jack asked. 

“Yes, he is. Jack, I need you on this case with me. Do you understand? I need you to work the case with me.” Aaron said. 

“Okay, Daddy.” He said and my eyes started watering. 

“Jack, hug your mom for me.” Aaron said.  

“Mommy hug me too tight.” He said. 

“I’m sorry.” She siad. 

“Why are you sad?” He asked. 

“Oh, I just love you so much.” She said. 

“Mommy, I gotta go. I’m working the case.” He said.

“Okay.” She said. 

“He’s so cute. He’s like a little juniot G-man. I’ll be right up, Jackie boy!” Foyet shouted.  

“Is he gone?” Aaron asked. 

“Yes.” She said.

“You’re so strong, Haley. You’re stronger than I ever was.” He said. 

“You’ll hurry, right?” She asked. 

“I know you didn’t sign on for this.” He said. 

“Neither did you.” She said. 

“I’m sorry for everything.” He said. 

“Promise me that you will tell him how we met and how you used to make me laugh.” She said. 

“Haley…” He said. 

“He needs to know that you weren’t always so serious, Aaron. I want him to believe in love, becuase it is the most important thing. But you need to show him. Promise me.” She said. 

“I promise.” He said. I was already in tears, but when I heard those three gunshot go off I broke. We were in the dark now. It was only my brother that could actually do anything… By the time we go there Aaron was beating the shit out of Foyet. Morgan pulled him off him and he was dead. He ran off and I followed him. He ran to his office and opened up a chest that was next to his dead. 

“I work the case Daddy, just like you said.” Jack said and I felt relief flud my vein. 

“You did a great job, buddy.” He said. 

“What happened to you, Daddy?” Jack asked. 

“I’m okay. I want you to go outside with Aunt Y/N okay?” He said and gently pushed him my way. 

“Aunt Y/N!” He said and ran to me. 

“Hey buddy.” I said picking him up. 

“Is Daddy okay?” He asked. 

“Daddy is gonna be fine, how about we go outside and draw. You wanna draw?” I asked. 

“Yeah!” He said with a smile. 

The next day I was brought in to talk about my brother. 

“Do you think Agent Hotchner was in the right mind set?” Strauss asked. 

“No my brother was not in the right mind set. His family was in danger and he would do anything to save them. If he didn’t kill Foyet, I would have.” I said and she looked at me. 

“You would have killed him?” She asked. 

“He was after my family too.” I said and she nodded. 

“That’s all we need to know.” She said and I nodded. I left and I went into the round table room where everyone was watching Jack. I smiled at him smiling, he still didn’t really know what was happening… 

Tag list: @les-bio-lie​ @tashy-bear​ @ashwarren32​ @hollie-blogs​ @schisbro87​ @lover-of-books-and-teas​ @nerdygaloresposts​ @teenwolfbitches2​ @genius2050​ @drw0301bieber​ @softgamerking​ @lady-of-lies​ @simonsbluee​ @ravenmoore14​ @maynardqueen101​ @pettyjayy​

[hopelessromanticspoonie]

Helping Hands - Chapter 4

Series Masterlist here

Chapter Summary: Natasha makes Haley an offer, Haley and Loki share another late-night conversation during a storm, and a plan is formed.

Chapter Warnings: Mention of previous injuries, implications of previous abuse

A/N: I KNOW the gif is our dear Sir Thomas Sharpe. But he has black hair, so just, like, pretend?

“How are you feeling?

Haley squinted and blinked away her slumber, lifting her hand to shield her eyes against the glare of bright, sterile lighting above her. A quick mental check of her body with a few small twists and stretches, and she could fairly confidently answer Nat with a grumbled, “Probably better than you. Healing just as I always do.”

The bed shifted, and Haley finally opened her eyes enough to clearly see the lethal blonde perched on the side of her bed, looking a bit worse for wear with dark circles under her eyes and a gray tinge to her skin. Somehow she was still gorgeous, which was honestly just unfair. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

Color stained her cheeks, and she dropped her eyes to her hands, pleased and confused to see that someone had scrubbed the blood from them while she had been sleeping. Probably the same person who changed her into the itchy, thin gown that scratched against her skin. “It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not. You could have died.” Nat winced a bit when she reached up to brush a bit of hair out of her eyes, dropping her hand to her side. “Once I’m healed up, I want to help you, too. Say a bit of fight training? I don’t want you to ever need it, but in my experience, it… helps.”

She didn’t know Natasha’s past. She didn’t know anything about her besides the fact that she wasn’t gifted any superhuman abilities like her or Loki, or given some sort of serum to make her different, like Bucky and Steve. But there was wisdom in her brown eyes, shadowed with pain and a darkness that worked to pull her full lips into a frown and knit her brow together. Whatever she had faced before living in this tower and fighting for the good of others, it had given her an understanding of the unease that lingered constantly at the back of Haley’s mind. That much was clear. 

“I’d like that, yeah. Thanks.”

Nat nodded her head, standing up slowly and heading toward the door. Just before she left she waved her hand at the bedside table, calling out, “I caught Loki leaving that for you this morning.”

It was a plush black hoodie, the exact same as the one that had been cut from her body the day before, freshly washed and still warm from the dryer. She reached over to hug it to her chest, smiling at the glow that stretched within her at the familiar scent of spice and mint lightly perfuming the fabric. 

She would have known who had gifted it to her even if Nat hadn’t spilled the beans.

~

They were so high in the sky the thunder rattled her teeth just before each blinding flash outside the floor-to-ceiling windows making up an entire wall of her room. The dark sky rolled just beyond her eyes, illuminated with frequent lighting to reveal heavy clouds thick with rain that pelted the glass in fat, heavy drops. It was too much. To go from a life spent underground, rarely seeing the sun, to practically living inside the vicious storm was proving too frightening to handle alone.

And sleep? Out of the question. Not even with the comfort of her hoodie wrapped around her and all of the blankets cocooning her in the middle of her expansive, too soft bed could she keep her eyes closed once the deafening boom and crack of the storm battered against her ears.

She left the solitude of her bedroom, a sliver of hope guiding her to the living area where she yearned to find a distracting companion. If her efforts were futile, at least the space was bigger, and it wouldn’t feel as if she was right in the nasty elements. Her silent prayers, given to any deity that would listen, were answered in the form of Loki, draped across the couch and watching television with concentrated curiosity.

“My brother appears to be quite angry this evening.”

She scurried over to sit beside him, crossing her arms over her stomach and balling her hands up into fists in the fabric of her overly long sleeves. “Thor?”

Loki paused the television, dropping the remote onto his lap before running a hand through the midnight black locks spilling over his shoulders with a nod. “The God of Thunder, as he was known on Asgard, and as some of the ancient Midgardians worshipped him. What became a trip seeking freedom and adventure in our youth accidentally started a bit of a following amongst the Nordic people, centuries ago. Quite fascinating, really.”

She blinked. “So he can’t really control Thunder. It’s just a name.”

“Oh, no, he most certainly can. Lightning is more his forte, though. I am sure if you ask him he would be more than happy to demonstrate for your entertainment,” Loki corrected her with just a hint of bitterness lacing his tone.

“But he can’t do magic like you? He isn’t like you?”

Just then a particularly close bout of thunder shook the tower, and she squeaked, pressing herself further into the back of the couch so that her leg rested along the length of his and the back of her head brushed against his hand. His thigh was warm and firm through the combined layers of fabric of her pajama bottoms and his jeans.

The devilish smirk that he directed her way made her tummy flutter oddly beneath her hands. “No one is like me, little one.”

She didn’t know a man’s voice could go that low and sound with such promise, soothing like cool satin and teasing her skin into tingling goosebumps. Normally, any deep voice she heard was laced with threats and growls, demanding things of her that she didn’t want to give. But, if Loki was seeking something with that heated tone, some instinctual part of her knew that it would be good. His eyes shone as his hand dropped from behind her to curl over her shoulders, his thumb rubbing gentle circles over her arm.

“The storm cannot reach you in this tower,” he assured her, glancing up at the deluge muddling the bright lights of the city that never slept. “You are safe.”

They all kept repeating that: safe. Sometimes it didn’t sound like a word anymore. Like it had lost all meaning from how often it was repeated behind sad smiles and heavy sighs. She knew they meant it, but it didn’t silence the nagging doubt at the back of her mind that couldn’t place Mr. Shaw with the still faces she had climbed over during her escape.

But it was quieted when she was curled up next to Loki beneath the strong weight of his arm, searching his expression for the telltale signs of pity. Pity made her feel weak, like some broken doll with too big brown eyes and full lips that had its hair shorn off by a vengeful toddler who didn’t know how to properly play with the nice things it had stolen. 

But the understanding that permeated his lingering stare?

That made her soft, warm and content and hopeful. For what, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t have a name for the tiniest flicker of longing that itched in her fingertips. Could his silken hair soothe that need?

Where were these thoughts coming from?

She had to blame the reality television Sam and Darcy had insisted she watch - to "teach her the ways of the world", they’d claimed. Or maybe it was the soap operas Nat had suggested.

“I know that you have not seen much of this realm. I was watching a program concerning the Nordic nations I spoke of earlier. Would you care to join me?”

It was better than sitting in the darkness of her room all alone. And Loki wasn’t terrible company, even with the unnameable feelings stirring in the pit of her belly. “Sure.”

He restarted the television before disappearing for a few minutes, leaving her to stare at the lush green fields, black sand beaches, and jagged cliffs cut into mountains of snow and ice that sparkled so brilliantly she thought she’d never seen anything more breathtaking. The din of him rummaging around stopped just before he came back to the couch, settling back against her and handing her a plate of treats and a steaming cup.

“Hot cocoa with miniature marshmallows and whipped cream, and double fudge brownies,” he supplied, taking the plate and balancing it on both of their thighs.

She couldn’t stifle a moan when the sweet sugary dessert melted on her tongue, closing her eyes to savor the taste.

“I thought you might like those,” he mused, taking a bite of his own brownie before turning his attention back to the dancing green and blue lights across the night sky on the screen. “Ah, northern lights.”

“Are they real?”

He smiled gently at the awed expression on her face and gave her a small nod. “They are. I will ensure you see them one day.”

~

“Absolutely not.”

Loki’s rage tensed along his back as he faced down the entire Avengers team.

She had faint memories of brightly colored pictures on a beige wall, young men dressed in outrageous outfits and all posing seriously for the camera, women grouped together and pouting with silver eyeshadow and wavy hair. The Avengers reminded her of those distant images, grouped together with solemn expressions on their faces.

“I gotta side with Loki on this one,” Tony agreed, taking off his glasses and shoving them into the pocket of his jeans, following the fidgeting gesture with both hands so that his shoulders almost touched his ears. “She isn’t bait.”

“It’s the best shot we have of luring that asshole out of hiding. He’s going to want her back.”

She didn’t know anything about the black, eye-patch sporting man separated from the rest of the gang. He had strolled in, called for a meeting, and then waited impatiently for everyone to congregate in the living area. But his voice was hard, his black suit - stark, and his stare - cold. It reminded her too much of her former owner - the topic of their discussion.

“Fury.”

The unknown man - Fury - stood up and leveled Nat with a frigid glare. “Get her ready. We’ll catch this bastard.”

And then he left just as quickly as he’d come, pulling out his phone to make a call, effectively cutting off any further attempt at talking some sense into him.

It was hard to breathe against the terror that seized her like a vice. Nat, Steve, and Tony all approached her at the same time, but it was Loki that turned and reached her first, tugging on her wrist until her trembling frame was tucked securely beneath his arm.

“I won’t let him touch you.”

And somehow, she believed him, mentally holding onto the fervently whispered promise with a death grip that only rivaled that of her fingers clutching at the folds of his shirt. 

~~~

Series taglist: @kneel-before-queen-loki @alexakeyloveloki @from-hel-i-with-love @cleocc @cateyes315 @coldbookworm @rjohnson1280 @bambi-butt @skiddleskaddle​ @myraiswack @ilovetardis @midgardian-mistress​ @lisaspageofstuff​ @lokis-high-priestess @bluestaratsunrise​

Little Bit o’ Loki taglist: @myownviperroom @grahoundart @darealbellabelleoftheball @boubouinscarlet @iamverity @rt8815 @lots-of-loki @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore @ms-cellanies @rosierossette @thathedonistgirl @lokixme

Whole Shebang taglist: @just-the-hiddles @yespolkadotkitty @nonsensicalobsessions @vodka-and-some-sass @he-is-chaotic-she-is-psychotic @myoxisbroken @brokenthelovely @polireader @wiczer @littleredstarfish @the-broken-angel-13 @arch-venus25 @xxloki81xx @jessiejunebug @tinchentitri @sllooney @devilbat @vikkleinpaul @bouquet-o-undercaffeinated-roses @angelus80 @wolfsmom1 @kthemarsian @toozmanykids @claritastantrum @princerowanwhitethorngalathynius @sabine-leo @lovesmesomehiddles @peterman-spideyparker @wegingerangelica @bluefrenchfries604 @catsladen @snoopy3000 @silverswordthekilljoy @villainousshakespeare​

[spn-safeandsound]

02. Saving the Day

Safe and Sound

Dean Winchester x Original Character

Episode: 1x02; Wendigo

Word Count: 8,436

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence and gore

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy! Reblog and like!

Masterlist in Profile Description!

"Dean, please."

"Nope."

"I'll do anything."

"No fucking way, Junior."

"Oh, Dean, come on!" Julia whined, falling back against her seat. "Just one song. You'll like it, I swear."

"I'm not listening to Mariah Carey or Carrie Underwear," Dean scowled at her in the rearview mirror.

"Well, I don't even like country, so..." she shook her head. "And I think you would like Fall Out Boy."

"I think I wouldn't," Dean retorted.

"What about Elton John?" Julia raised her eyebrows at him. "He has older music. My mom loved him."

Dean's face visibly softened when she spoke about her mother. He knew she missed her, especially since the fourth anniversary of her death was coming up. He didn't blame her. Naomi Petersen was a great lady and had treated him and Sam as her own, even though she already had four children to take care of. He could still remember the taste of her famous peach cobbler. He wasn't usually a cobbler man, either, but he couldn't turn down Naomi's food.

"Fine," he gave in reluctantly; Elton John wasn't that bad anyway. "but only one."

The smile that Julia gave him was worth more than one song but he kept quiet, not wanting to give away complete control of his music. If Julia knew that flashing a smile would get her whatever she wanted from him—like it did for the rest of the world—he was done for.

Julia dug her cassette jack that she bought at the last gas station out of her bag and practically climbed over the front seat. She was careful not to hit a sleeping Sam because he really needed the rest; he hadn't been sleeping much since Jess and she spent most of the nights they shared motel rooms making sure he was okay.

She set up the jack and plugged in her iPod, turning it to her mom's favorite song.

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band...

Julia let out a relaxed sigh as she practically melted back into her seat. She smiled softly as she listened to the lyrics, remembering all the times her mom sang this song to her while she was growing up.

Her mom had been a dancer for years in her childhood and well into her adulthood. That was how her parents met, actually. When she was in college, her mom was in a recital that her dad coincidentally went to during one of his earlier hunts. He used to tell Julia that he was mesmerized by her mother and that she really was his tiny dancer.

Hold me closer, tiny dancer...

Dean appreciated the silence that fell over Julia because it seemed like she was always talking. And she was actually staying still, a stark contrast to her chronic fidgeting that drove Sam nuts. What he appreciated more than that was the small and contented smile on her face. It seemed like it was the first time he saw that smile in days; she had been grieving Jess, too, and trying to take care of Sam at the same time.

Despite being two years younger than his little brother, she had always been one of his caretakers.

You had a busy day today...

Dean let her bask in the last few notes of the song and then unplugged the jack, passing it back to her without a word. Julia was just as silent as she took it from him, her lips turning up at the corners when he popped in one of his cassettes.

Sam awoke with a start as the drum beat kicked in. Dean gave him a hesitant look as Julia leaned forward worriedly.

"You okay?" she asked him, trying not to hover as much as she had been the last few days.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam answered groggily, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Another nightmare?" it was Dean who asked this time.

Sam cleared his throat loudly, refusing to answer.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean offered.

Sam laughed in amazement. "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to," Dean shrugged casually. "Never mind."

Sam looked between Dean and Julia; he could easily read the worried look on Julia's face but Dean's was a little bit harder to decipher. "Look, guys, you're worried about me," he acknowledged. "I get and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

Dean hummed doubtfully. Sam looked back at Julia for her reaction but she just smiled sweetly and looked over to Dean, changing the subject as a distraction for Sam.

"You know, I can drive—"

"I don't think so, Julia," Dean cut her off, causing her to pout at him.

"All right," Sam chuckled and looked back at her. "where are we?"

"Um..." she looked at the handheld GPS that she was in charge of while Sam slept and found where they were. "we are just outside of Grand Junction."

Sam sighed and grabbed the GPS so he could look at the location of the coordinates John gave them. "You know what, maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

Dean blinked slowly; Sam always got so depressed when he brought up what happened to Jessica and it was starting to worry him. "Sam, we dug around there for a week and we came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—"

"We gotta find Dad first," Sam finished, having already heard this speech before.

"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence," Dean theorized. "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."

Sam shook his head and focused on the device in his hands. "It's weird, man," he changed the subject and studied the map. "these coordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge..."

"What about it?" Julia spoke up, leaning her chin on the front seat.

"There's nothing there," he informed her and Dean. "It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Dean didn't answer as they drove into the town of Lost Creek. They headed straight to the ranger's station so they could look at a 3-D model of the area around Blackwater Ridge.

"So, Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote," Sam sighed as he pointed at the location on the model. "It's cut off by these canyons here. Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

Though Julia was listening curiously, Dean wasn't paying an ounce of attention. His focus was on the huge taxidermized grizzly bear on display.

"Dude, check out the size of this fucking bear!"

Julia smiled at his childlike amazement and added, "And I'm guessing a couple of grizzlies?"

"A dozen or so," Sam confirmed with a grin as they walked over to stand by Dean. "It's no nature hike, that's for sure."

"You three aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" a ranger walked up to them, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, no, sir," Sam assured him politely. "we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder. We're just working on a paper."

"Recycle, man," Dean held up a supportive fist.

"Bull," the ranger called them out, his eyes flitting to each one of them. "you're friends with that Haley girl, right?"

"Actually, we are," Julia played along, sending him a sweet smile. "Ranger Wilkinson."

The older man looked charmed by her, though not in a way that she considered sexual. Maybe he was just fond of a kind soul now or then.

"Well," Ranger Wilkinson's voice was considerably nicer, causing Sam and Dean to exchange impressed looks. "I will tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying her wouldn't be back from Blackwater Ridge until the twenty-fourth."

Julia nodded understandingly.

"It's not exactly a missing-persons, is it?" Ranger Wilkinson asked rhetorically. "You tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother's just fine."

"We will," Dean promised with a smirk. "Well, that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?"

The ranger nodded in agreement, grabbing his coffee mug off the large front desk. "That is putting it mildly."

"Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit," Dean said casually. "You know, so she could see her brother's return date."

"I'm sure that will calm her down," Julia added.

Dean had to admit it was nice having a pretty girl around to convince people to cooperate with them. Ranger Wilkinson melted at the pleading look Julia sent him and quickly copied the backcountry permit so they could take it to Haley. He gave it to her with a smile and a fond goodbye as they left the station.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam asked Dean as they walked to the Impala.

Dean gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge," Sam pointed out. "so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"

"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Dean said obviously. He gave his brother that had Sam stiffening in irritation.

"What?"

"Since when are you all shoot-first-ask-questions-later, anyway?"

"Since now," Sam's voice went flat.

Dean gave Sam an unimpressed look as he got into the car but before he open his mouth to speak again, Julia cut him off. Sam was delicate right now, no matter how tough he acted, and his emotions were all over the place. She didn't need the brothers to have a big blowout right now.

Dean sighed and got into the car. An hour later—after Dean stopped to make a fake ranger ID—they were knocking on the door of the address they got from Tommy Collins' backcountry permit.

The door opened and a pretty brunette a couple inches taller than Julia greeted them.

"You must be Haley Collins," Dean grinned at her. "I'm Dean and this is Sam and Julia. We're, uh, rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We wanted to ask a few questions about your brother, Tommy."

Haley pressed her lips together as she looked them over. "Let me see some ID."

Dean pulled the fresh ID out of his wallet and presented it to her with a smile. Haley quickly looked it over and opened the screen door to let them into the house.

"Come on in," her eyes swept past Dean and locked on the Impala. "That yours?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"Nice car," she said, impressed. She walked away from the door, leading them through the front room to the dining room. Julia and Sam exchanged eye rolls as Dean gave them a salacious grin, his eyes trailing to Haley's back.

There was a younger kid sitting at the table when they entered the dining room, frowning down at his placemat as he waited for his dinner to be served. He looked up when he heard their arrival and Julia smiled at him in greeting but his eyes quickly avoided her.

"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked Haley as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a hot serving bowl.

"He checks in everyday by cell," Haley brought the bowl to the table. "He emails photos and stupid little videos. We haven't heard anything in over three days now."

"Maybe he can't get cell reception?" Julia suggested.

Haley shook her head. "He's got a satellite phone, too."

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?"

The kid, Ben, looked up in offense at Dean's comment. "He wouldn't do that!"

Ben, who sounded much older than he looked, looked down, ashamed at his outburst. Julia gave him a reassuring smile, hoping that he wasn't feeling uncomfortable in his own home because of them.

"Our parents are gone," Haley informed the three of them. "It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

Julia knew a little of what that was like. Despite her dad being alive, he didn't check in with his children much. So, Julia, her brother, and her sisters all made sure they were okay in the meantime. Levi, the oldest twin and only son, always made sure they were all safe. Bethany, the oldest sister, mothered over Julia and Abby like it was her job. Abby, the middle child and previously the only hunter of the siblings, checked in to make sure everyone was keeping up on their self-defense and protective charms. And Julia did all of the above, just making sure that her siblings knew that she loved them more than anything. They didn't always get along but they were family—who didn't argue with their siblings?

From the look in Dean's eye, Julia knew that he could relate to Haley, too.

Sam nodded understandingly. "Can I see the pictures he sent you?"

"Yeah," Haley pulled out her laptop and pulled up the most recent video that her brother sent. A man a few years older than Haley with the same dark hair as his younger siblings flashed onto the screen. "That's Tommy."

"Hey, Haley," the video played. "Day six. We're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."

Julia caught Sam making an intrigued face and wondered what he saw on the video that she or the others hadn't.

"Well, we'll find your brother," Dean assured Haley. "We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing."

"Then maybe I'll see you there," Haley replied; she saw the look of confusion Dean gave her. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore, so, I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."

"I think I know how you feel," Dean stated seriously.

"Hey," Sam interrupted the intense eye staring going on between Dean and Haley, gesturing toward the laptop. "do you mind forwarding these to me?"

"Sure," Haley agreed easily.

-

The bar they sat in for a late dinner was loud and filled with local college kids on Thanksgiving break. Julia was used to the loud scenery of college bars, though, being a college kid herself, and she had to admit the burgers she and Dean ordered were good. She was just paranoid that someone would catch on to the fact that she was underage—her fake was great but she was always worried every time she walked into a bar.

She didn't drink anything alcoholic just in case. She spent most of her time learning how to research the meticulous way that Sam likes it to be done, both of them searching for any local history of mysterious disappearances having to do with Blackwater Ridge.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic," Sam told Dean as he sat down with a fresh beer. "Local campers, mostly. Still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found."

"Any before that?" Dean asked as Sam opened John's journal.

Julia cleared her throat, looking down at the local newspapers they had collected. "Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. The rangers said it was a grizzly attack."

She slid a newspaper over to Dean, the headline reading, UP TO EIGHT HIKERS VANISH IN LOST CREEK AREA. HIKER'S DISAPPEARANCE BAFFLE AUTHORITIES.

"And again in 1959 and again, before that in 1936," she finished. "Every twenty-three years this happens."

"Like clockwork," Sam commented, opening his laptop now. He moved it so Dean and Julia could see. "Okay, watch this. Here's the clincher. I downloaded that guy, Tommy's, video to the laptop. Check this out."

There was a video on the screen. Sam pressed play, showing a slowed-down version of Tommy's video. Julia's eyes widened in surprise when she saw a shadow move behind the missing man.

Dean blinked. "Do it again."

Sam played the frames again. "That's three frames," he told them. "That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."

Dean excitedly hit Sam in the shoulder, a know-it-all expression on his face. "I told you something weird was going on."

Sam nodded in agreement, only looking a little annoyed by Dean's smugness.

"One more thing," Julia spoke up. "In fifty-nine, one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. It was a kid and he barely made it out alive."

Dean raised one eyebrow. "Is there a name?"

Julia smirked and passed him the newspaper.

-

The next morning, Julia, Dean, and Sam set out to find Haley and Ben before they could go up to Blackwater Ridge on their own. They carried multiple weapons because they weren't exactly sure what they were going up against.

The night before, after leaving the bar, they questioned the witness that Julia discovered. He was an old man now but his memory of the night his parents were killed by whatever was out there was still fresh in his mind. The bear—or what the rangers were calling a bear, anyway—had unlocked the cabin the man was staying at, slaughtering his parents while he was asleep. Dean thought that the creature might be a skinwalker or a black dog but he and Sam both agreed that whatever it was, it was corporeal.

Sam wasn't happy about their babysitting job but Dean wouldn't hear about leaving Haley and Ben to fend for themselves. He was adamant that they continue like any other case while Sam was just gunning to find his dad. Julia, on the other hand, went with the flow, not wanting to get in the middle of one of their notorious arguments.

Dean pulled the Impala up to the trail entrance where Haley, Ben, and an older man were talking. They got out of the car, Julia being the only one actually prepared for a long hike.

"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked Haley as he locked his car.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Haley said skeptically.

"Who are these guys?" the older man looked the three of them over with disdain—especially the duffle bag that Sam was carrying over his shoulder.

"Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue," Haley informed him.

The man raised his eyebrows. "You're rangers?"

"That's right," Dean said confidently.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?"

Julia smirked, having had the same argument with Sam and Dean before they left their motel room, and passed by her to stand with Sam. "I told him the same thing."

"I don't do shorts!" Dean called after her.

The man didn't look impressed with Dean's cocky tone. "Oh, you think this is funny? It's dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt."

Julia turned back to Dean, begging him with her eyes not to lose his temper on the naïve man.

"Believe me, I know how dangerous this could get," Dean stated firmly. "We just wanna help her find her brother, that's all."

The group of them started up the trail, all six of them walking in a single-file line. Roy—the older man—led them with Haley and Dean in front, Julia and Ben in the middle, and Sam bringing up the rear.

As they hiked, Julia shared some of her trail mix with Ben, who was turning out to be a sweet kid. He didn't talk much—he was clearly very worried about his older brother—but he spoke with her a little about how his freshman year of high school was going.

"Roy," Dean spoke up about two hours into the hike. "you said you did a little hunting."

"Yeah," Roy answered reluctantly, clearly not wanting to talk to the younger man. "more than a little."

"Uh-huh," Dean wasn't bothered by the man's grumpiness. "What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear."

Dean sped up, passing Roy in line. "Tell me, did Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?"

Roy didn't answer as he reached forward, grabbing the back of Dean's jacket to stop him from continuing. Julia and Sam stiffened, ready to intervene in case the men got a little violent.

"Whatcha doing, Roy?" Dean asked warningly.

Roy let go of his jacket and bent down, picking a stick up off the forest floor. He held it down to the ground, where there was a freaking bear trap, and pressed the stick into it. It popped up, chopping the stick in half.

Julia's eyes widened; Dean was about to step in that!

"You should watch where you're stepping, Ranger," Roy advised Dean with a knowing smirk.

Dean pressed his lips together and clenched his jaw as Roy walked past him, looking back at the others. "It's a bear trap," he informed them needlessly.

"Yeah," Julia rolled her eyes to hide her worry. "We noticed."

As they hiked on, Haley confronted Dean, severely annoyed, "You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffle bag," she pointed out, grabbing Dean's arm to stop him. "So, who the hell are you?"

Julia didn't envy Dean, who now had to explain to Haley what they were actually doing out here. She smirked at him as she and Ben passed him and Haley. Sam paused a little but when Dean nodded at him to go on, he continued and caught up to Julia and Ben.

"You don't eat the M&Ms first?" Ben asked Julia curiously as she continued munching on her trail mix. "That's what I do."

"Well," Julia handed him a couple of M&Ms, which he threw in his mouth. "They're my favorite part of trail mix and I probably wouldn't eat the stuff if there weren't any in there. I save them for last to make sure I eat the healthy stuff first."

Ben nodded. "That makes sense."

"My best friend here is a health nut," she gestured to Sam, who rolled his eyes. "He likes to keep an eye on me."

"You have an insufferable sweet tooth," Sam interjected.

"Bite me," Julia playfully snapped back at him.

Ben gave them a small smile; Julia was happy that she could help get his mind off of his missing brother.

Only an hour later, they arrived at their destination.

"This is it," Roy declared, looking at his GPS. "Blackwater Ridge."

Sam stepped around him and stopped, looking around at the trees. "What coordinates are we at?"

"Thirty-five and minus one-eleven."

Dean wandered over to Julia and Sam. "You hear that?"

Julia stopped, listened, and nodded; the thing was, there wasn't anything to hear. That was the whole problem. There should be some noise considering the fact that they were in the middle of the woods.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed. "Not even crickets."

"I'm gonna go take a quick look around," Roy told Haley and Ben, causing Julia and the brothers to turn around cautiously.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself," Sam advised, knowing that it was too dangerous for a regular hunter in the woods around here.

"That's sweet," Roy scoffed mockingly and raised the shotgun he had been carrying around. "Don't worry about me."

"Just let him go," Julia grabbed Sam's arm to stop him from following Roy out of the area. "He's an asshole anyway."

Dean made a noise of agreement as Haley and Ben joined them. "All right, everybody stays together. Let's go."

Despite the fact that they all wanted to leave Roy—besides Haley and Ben—they followed the older man anyway. It didn't take long for Roy to find something and when he did, he called for Haley.

She took off at the sound of her name and the rest of them followed her. They came across a campsite that was absolutely ravaged apart. The tents were shredded with some blood on the bigger parts, there was clothing everywhere, and food packages flattened into the muddy ground.

"Oh, my God," Haley breathed.

"Looks like a grizzly," Roy examined the mess.

"Tommy?" Haley called her brother's name, unclipping her backpack. "Tommy!"

"Shh!" Sam hissed at her, jogging over to her side to calm her down.

"Tommy!"

Sam shushed her again and Haley whipped around to face him with an angry stare.

"Why?"

"Something might still be out there," Sam answered.

As Sam and Haley spoke, Dean gently took Julia's arm and pulled her away from Ben. He led her a couple of feet away from the tent, looking at the ground intently. Once he saw what he was looking for, he called his brother's name to get his attention.

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here," Dean explained to Julia as Sam made his way over, pointing to where the tracks stopped. "the tracks just vanish."

"That's weird," Julia wrinkled her nose.

Dean nodded at her. "I'll tell you what, it's no skinwalker or black dog."

Sam nodded in agreement and the three of them wandered back over to Haley, Ben, and Roy. Haley was perched on the ground, holding onto a broken cell phone and crying lightly. Julia guessed that it had been Tommy's.

Dean crouched next to her to offer some comfort. "Hey, he could still be alive."

Haley gave him a look, clearly not believing him.

And then, there was a scream from somewhere in the woods.

"HELP! HELP!"

Dean pulled his gun from his jacket as he, Roy, and Sam took off running toward the voice. Julia, Haley, and Ben followed them at a slightly slower speed, all of them hoping that it was Tommy that was alive and screaming for help.

However, when they came upon a clearing, there was no one there.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley asked, slightly out of breath.

Sam looked around cautiously. "Everybody back to camp."

They ran back to the messy campsite where Sam's duffle bag and Ben, Roy, and Haley's packs were missing.

"Our packs!" Haley groaned.

"So much for my GPS and satellite phone," Roy grumbled.

"What the hell is going on?" Haley turned to Sam and Dean for answers.

"It's smart," Sam said bitterly. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."

"You're saying someone—some nutjob out there just stole all our gear?" Roy's voice was flat as his eyes darted around the trees.

Sam rolled his eyes at the older man and walked over to Dean and Julia, who were each searching the outer rims of the campsite to see if the creature left anything behind.

"I need to speak with you in private," Sam told them quietly, leading them a couple of feet away from the others so they couldn't overhear. "Okay, let me see Dad's journal."

Dean immediately looked to Julia, who pulled off her backpack and unzipped it. She reached in and grabbed the journal from atop the water bottles she packed, handing it to Sam without a word.

Sam flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "All right, check that out," he showed Dean and Julia, pointing out a sketch which looked like a weird stick-figure drawing that reminded Julia of the First Nations.

"Oh, come on," Dean scoffed. "Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or Northern Michigan. I've never heard of one this far west."

"Dad hunted one in North Dakota once," Julia recalled unhelpfully. Her dad hadn't been expecting the creature since they normally didn't pop up west of Minnesota and he had come home from his hunt badly injured. Julia's mom didn't let him out of the house for a whole week.

"Think about it, Dean," Sam tried to convince his brother. "The claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."

"Great," Dean muttered sarcastically, pulling his gun from his jacket. "Well, then this is useless."

"What kills wendigos?" Julia asked them.

"Fire," Dean told her. "Flare gun, flamethrower, torch, Molotov cocktail. Anything that can blow the fucker up."

Julia winced; that sounded like hard work especially since wendigos were apparently lighting speed fast.

"We gotta get these people to safety," Sam declared as he started heading back to the campsite. When they arrived, he got the others' attention. "All right listen up. It's time to go. Things have gotten more complicated."

"What?" Haley looked at him in shock.

Julia put John's journal back in her bag as Roy gave Sam an annoyed look.

"Kid, don't worry," he stated. "Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Sam replied. "If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave, now."

"One, you're talking nonsense," Roy faced Sam head-on. "Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax!" Dean warned him, not liking his tone.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right?" Sam continued, trying to get them to leave. "I'm trying to protect you."

Roy stepped forward, getting in Sam's face. "You protect me?" he laughed mockingly. "I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."

"Hey," Julia snapped at him, bristling at the man's verbal attack. "Back off."

Sam glowered at Roy, losing his temper. "It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here."

"You know you're crazy, right?"

"Yeah?" Sam retorted back. "You ever hunt a wen—"

Dean pushed him away from Roy before he could finish his sentence; Julia grabbed Sam's arm, holding him in place just in case he wanted to beat the shit out of Roy.

"Roy!"

"Chill out!"

"Stop it," Haley protested, stepping in the middle of Sam, Julia, Dean, and Roy. "Everybody just stop. Look, Tommy might still be alive and I'm not leaving here without him."

Dean looked at Julia and Sam before sighing. "It's getting late," he pointed out. "This thing is a good hunter in the day but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?"

Dean held out his hand toward Julia at Haley's question. She gave him a look, annoyed that he just expected her to have his dad's journal out and ready, and pulled the backpack off her shoulders once again. She handed him the journal and pulled out her water bottles, handing three of them to Ben, Haley, and Roy so they could keep hydrated.

Dean flipped through the journal until he got to the pages about the wendigo. He found what he was looking for, a row of protective symbols that would keep the wendigo away from them, and he and Sam got to work on etching them into the dirt around the campsite.

As it got dark, Roy and Ben started a fire so they could keep warm and be able to see who—or what—was around them.

"Okay, so what exactly are these?" Julia asked Dean, hovering behind him as he drew in the dirt with a large stick.

"Anasazi symbols," Dean spoke loud enough so everyone could hear, Julia having told Haley, Ben, and Roy what exactly they were up against. "It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them."

Roy laughed in disbelief, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

Dean gave him an annoyed look. "Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy."

Dean stood up and walked over to where Sam was sitting on a log, a melancholy look on his face. Julia let them have their privacy and went back to join Ben and Haley at the fire.

"So, how do you know about all of this?" Haley asked her quietly.

"Honestly, I'm still training," Julia admitted. "but my family has always been involved and Sam and Dean grew up in this. It's like a family business for all of us."

"Your families do this?"

"My dad and one of my older sisters, yeah," Julia confirmed. "Sam and Dean's dad hunts, too."

"Does it scare you?"

"Yeah, of course," Julia said honestly. "It scares the crap out of me but it's better that I know and help out than other people dying, right?"

Haley nodded and Ben looked thoughtful. Suddenly, a voice—the same voice that called for help earlier—started shouting in the distance. Everyone perked up at the noise, getting to their feet in shock and fear.

Dean pulled his gun out of his jacket while Sam flooded the area in light with his large flashlight.

"He's trying to draw us out," Dean stated, cocking his gun. "Just stay cool and stay put."

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy scoffed, raising his own gun for protection.

Everyone ignored his skepticism as the voice shouted again.

"Okay," Roy admitted. "that's no grizzly."

Ben hurriedly grabbed Haley's hand and burrowed into her, frightened beyond belief. Haley had an equally afraid look on her face and held her little brother tightly so she could protect him.

"It's okay," Julia assured them with a calming smile. "You'll be all right, I promise."

Something rushed past the campsite, too fast for anyone to see. Haley shrieked in fear and Ben squeaked; ignoring her own fear, Julia took a protective step toward them.

"It's here," Sam muttered darkly.

As the wendigo sped past them again, Roy shot his gun. Nothing happened but when he took another shot, it sounded like something took a hit. Whether or not it was the actual wendigo and not a tree, Julia didn't know.

"I hit it!" Roy crowed before rushing out of the protective circle to see just what he shot.

"Roy, no!" Dean called after him. He looked back at Julia, Haley, and Ben and warned them not to move before running in the direction where Roy took off. Sam rushed after him and Julia kept a sharp lookout, flashing her light around every couple of seconds.

They couldn't see what was happening to Roy, Dean, and Sam but they could hear shouting. Dean was calling for Roy and Roy was shouting back but his voice abruptly got cut off, putting them in an uneasy silence.

"Roy?" Dean shouted into the quiet.

Within minutes, the brothers came back without Roy in tow.

-

The night passed slowly with Dean and Sam taking shifts to watch out for the wendigo. Julia mostly sat with Sam—who didn't seem to sleep even when he wasn't on watch—restless from the lack of bed and intense paranoia she was having.

They didn't talk as they sat side-by-side, Julia's head resting on his shoulder. They often had silences like this, it was comfortable and it was sometimes relaxing just to stop talking and get lost in your thoughts—that was Julia's point of view, anyway.

"I don't," Haley spoke up a half-hour after sunrise. Julia and Sam were in the same spot, against a tree trunk, and Sam was playing with his dad's rosary. "I mean, these types of things—they aren't supposed to be real."

"I wish I could tell you differently," Dean sighed.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?"

"We don't but we're safe for now."

"Julia said that you grew up knowing this stuff," Haley said hesitantly; Julia perked up at the mention of her name but laid her head back down on Sam's shoulder once she realized that it was just a passing mention.

"It runs in the family," Dean confirmed.

Sam patted Julia's knee, warning her that he was getting up, and stood up when Julia leaned away from him. Julia hopped to her feet right away, picking up her water bottle to take a sip. They walked over to Dean, Haley, and Ben, who were all in the middle of the protective circle.

"Hey," Sam greeted them; Haley stood up to face him. "So, we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I, for one, want to kill this evil son of a bitch."

"Well, hell, you know I'm in," Dean grinned at his brother. "Give them the rundown, Sammy."

Sam opened up John's journal where he used the rosary as a bookmark and started to explain to Haley and Ben about wendigos. "Wendigo is a Cree Indian word. It means evil that devours."

"They're hundreds of years old," Dean added. "Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian or other times a frontiersman or a miner or a hunter."

"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Haley asked curiously.

"Well, it's always the same," he answered. "During some harsh winter, a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. He becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner party," Ben supplied.

"Exactly," Julia confirmed.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities," Sam continued on with the lesson. "Speed, strength, immortality."

"If you eat enough of it, over the years you become this less-than-human thing," Dean stated. "You're always hungry."

"If that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?"

"You're not gonna like it," Dean sighed, exchanging a hesitant look with Sam before continuing, "More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, stores them so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there."

"And then how do we stop it?"

"Well, guns are useless and so are knives," Dean sighed and picked up a bottle of lighter fluid, a discarded but still intact beer bottle, a white cloth; a homemade Molotov cocktail. "we gotta torch the sucker."

After making a couple of Molotov cocktails, one of which Julia was allowed to hang onto after a stern lecture from an overprotective Dean, they started off in search of the wendigo and whatever cave it was hiding in.

They walked around for a half-hour before Sam spotted some claw marks in the trees, all off them high up and covered in blood. There were a lot of marks, making a circle in the trunks high above their heads.

Julia scrunched her nose; why wouldn't the wendigo cover its tracks? It was like it wanted them to find it.

"Sam, aren't these a little too distinct?" she quietly asked her best friend.

"I was thinking the same thing," he agreed with her. "they're too easy to follow."

A vicious growl came behind their group, causing all of them to whip around. Once they were facing the opposite direction, another screech came from behind them again, moving so fast that the trees rustled like they were in a major storm.

Suddenly, Haley screamed and fell to the ground, looking terrified. Roy's dead body fell right in the spot where she was standing, his neck broken so drastically that his head was almost turned around.

"You okay?" Sam asked her as he helped her to her feet. "You got it?"

"His neck's broken," Dean said needlessly; he stood up and urged them back toward the campsite. "Okay, run, run, run! Go, go, go!"

The five of them took off running, trying to get away from the wendigo as fast as humanly possible. Julia and Ben were at the back and when Ben tripped over an overgrown root in the ground, she accidently dropped her cocktail as she went to help him up.

Sam doubled back to help her and they started running again. They were almost back to the campsite when they heard Haley let out a loud scream. They raced toward the sound, stopping when they didn't see Haley or Dean.

"Shit," Julia sighed anxiously, spotting the Molotov cocktail that Dean had been carrying; it was on the ground, smashed to pieces and very useless. "It took them."

Ben didn't look as panicked as Julia thought he would be since his sister was now missing, as well as his brother. He pulled himself together and clenched his jaw, pushing back his anxiety so he could help find Haley, Dean, and Tommy.

"If it keeps its victims alive why would it kill Roy?" he asked Sam as they continued walking back to the campsite.

"Honestly, I think it's because Roy shot at it and pissed it off," Sam replied; Ben nodded, seeming to accept that answer.

Julia kept her eyes on the ground as she walked, making sure that they wouldn't step in any random bear traps that may be lying around. She gasped excitedly when she saw a large M&M in the mud, more of them following a few inches from each other.

"Look," she pointed them out to Sam and Ben. "Dean's peanut M&Ms."

Sam scoffed in surprise and picked one up. "It's better than breadcrumbs."

They followed the trail of M&Ms to one of the old mines that Sam told her and Dean about the day they got into town. There were signs warning them of intense danger but it was dark and hidden in there; a perfect spot for a wendigo to hide.

Julia, Sam, and Ben stepped through the broken door and made their way further into the mine. Julia pulled out her flashlight the darker it got, illuminating a clear path for them. They heard a growl and hid as the wendigo sped past them, leaving the mine; it was probably searching for them.

Once the wendigo was out of sight, they kept going. Eventually they came upon a larger cave. It was full of old human bones that made Ben flinch in disgust. They also spotted Haley and Ben's hiking gear and in the corner Dean and Haley were hanging up by their arms, both of them unconscious.

Julia sighed in immense relief and sped toward Dean, Sam right on her heels. To be honest, she had been so worried about him and was afraid she might never see him again. If they all got out of this alive, she was going to tease him about being a damsel in distress just to see that annoyed look in his green eyes that she secretly liked.

"Dean!" she exclaimed, reaching for his torso to shake him awake. While she did this, Sam reached up and started cutting at the rope that detained him with one of his knives. "Hey, Dean, wake up. Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

Dean grunted as he slowly blinked. "Shut up."

Julia beamed at him and laughed softly, bracing him against her as his rope finally broke. Sam went to help Ben get Haley down and Julia slowly helped Dean sit down on the stone floor.

"Are you all right?" Julia asked softly as he groaned in pain.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean assured her quickly. "Where is it?"

"It's gone for now," she told him.

Haley stood up when she was freed from her ropes, way better off than Dean was. She gasped when she saw her older brother hung up in another corner. She, Ben, and Sam went over to him, waking him up and freeing him from his bindings.

Dean huffed and looked over at the bags Julia had set him down by, spotting a few flare guns that would really be helpful. He grabbed three of them, giving one to Julia, and slowly and painfully got to his feet.

"Check it out," he walked over to Sam with a slight limp.

"Flare guns," Sam grinned while Dean twirled two of them dramatically. "Those'll work."

They started out of the cave, Julia and Dean in front of the group—helping a man that was almost a foot taller than her walk was actually hard work—with Ben, Haley, and Tommy supporting each other in the middle, and Sam in the back to protect them.

The wendigo growled threateningly as it came back into the mine and Julia figured that it was upset she, Sam, and Ben weren't back at the campsite for it to bring home to dinner.

"Looks like someone's home for supper," Dean spoke quietly.

"We'll never outrun it," Haley said worriedly.

Dean looked back at them, his eyes flitting over everyone in the group. Finally, he pointedly looked at Sam last. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"All right," Dean caught the attention of the Collins siblings. "listen to me. Stay with Julia, she's gonna get you out of here."

"What are you guys going to do?" Julia gave him a concerned look.

Dean gave her a dramatic—and only slightly attractive—wink and pulled away from her. He started running back down the mine with Sam on his heels, both of them screaming for the attention of the wendigo.

"Chow time, you fuckin' bastard!" Dean shouted over Sam's voice. "Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby! I taste good!"

Any other time, Julia would have laughed her ass off at Dean's nonsense. Now, though, she had work to do and innocent people to save—she was kind of like a superhero now, she guessed.

She held up her flare gun in front of her as she continued out of the mine, the Collins siblings right behind her. She checked to see if the coast was clear before urging them to hurry up out of the mine's entrance.

"All right, come on," she said quickly. "Hurry!"

"Hey! You want some white meat, bitch? I'm right here!" they heard Dean shout.

He's having way too much fun with this, she thought.

Just as the siblings started climbing out of the entrance they heard the wendigo growling a little too close for comfort.

"Get out of here," Julia urged them, coming to a quick decision.

"Julia, no!"

"Go, now!"

"Come on, Haley!" Ben begged his older sister, reaching for her and Tommy through the entrance.

Once Haley gave in and she and Tommy left the mine, Julia turned around to head back toward wendigo's growls. When she heard quick footsteps, she hid behind the way and held her flare gun up, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

A low snarl from her left caught her attention; she slowly turned to look and screamed when she came face-to-face with the wendigo. She heard Dean and Sam calling her name as she shot the flare at the ugly bastard but it quickly ran off.

Julia didn't waste any time; she sped toward the entrance, hoping that the wendigo wasn't going after Haley, Ben, and Tommy.

"Julia?"

Julia jumped out of the entrance where the siblings were waiting and quickly slipped Tommy's free arm over her shoulder to help bare his weight. "Come on, go, go, go," she urged them. "Hurry, hurry."

There was another loud snarl and the four of them turned around in horror. Although still in the mine, the wendigo had spotted them. It looked absolutely furious in what little expression it had and it was definitely not going to mess around and keep them for the winter.

"Get behind me," Julia ducked from under Tommy's arm, Haley taking her place, and stepped in front of them.

She stared down the wendigo, fearful for her life. The wendigo snarled angrily as it got closer and closer to the entrance, out for blood. It was only a foot or so away from the broken planks when something caught its attention.

"Hey!" Sam and Dean called from behind it.

When the wendigo turned around, both of them shot their flare guns. Their shots rang true and the wendigo burst into flames. Its body burnt into a crisp as it slowly lowered to the ground, finally dead.

"Holy shit," Julia sighed in relief.

"Not bad, huh?" Dean called over to her with a smirk; Julia let out a breathless laugh as he walked over to her, surprisingly cupping her chin and lifting her head to look for any injuries on her face. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him with a tired smile. "How about you? Did it get some white meat off of ya?"

Dean chuckled. "Oh, it fucking wished, shortcake."

-

Hours later, they had buried the wendigo's corpse so no one could find it, used Tommy's satellite phone to call for medical assistance, and hiked back to the trail entrance. Paramedics, police officers, and park rangers were surrounding the area, offering their assistance immediately.

Tommy went straight into one of the ambulances while Haley and Dean were tended to at the other. Ben and Sam were questioned by a deputy—Sam there in support so Ben would give the officer the correct, but fake, details of what happened—and Julia was questioned by another.

Her questioning was over quickly since she was the only witness the deputy had to talk to, so she quickly took a bottle of water from a helpful park ranger and walked over to the Impala, leaning against the trunk.

She watched as Dean and Haley conversed, likely saying their goodbyes, and smiled when he sent the girl a flirty look and got a kiss on the cheek in return. Same old Dean. Sam and Ben joined them and they quickly said their gracious goodbyes. As the siblings walked toward the ambulance that was bussing their older brother to the hospital, they waved enthusiastically at Julia, who waved back happily.

She was so glad that they had each other and they were all safe. Honestly, she felt great. Despite the fear she had while facing the wendigo, she was pretty proud of herself. She helped save people and it felt damn good.

Sam and Dean walked over to the Impala, their hands in their pockets. Dean leaned against the trunk next to her, sighing heavily.

"Man, I hate camping."

"Me too," Sam agreed.

"Glamping is way better," Julia stated honestly.

Dean gave her a weird look. "What the fuck is glamping?"

"Glamorous camping," she ignored the weird looks the brothers gave her.

Sam's face quickly fell into sadness and Dean gave him a sympathetic look. "Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Sam said sullenly before perking up. "But, in the meantime, I'm driving."

Dean wordlessly tossed him the keys.

"Ooh," Julia squeaked excitedly. "Shotgun."

"I don't think so."

"Fine," she shrugged, unbothered as Dean gently pushed her away from the passenger seat. "At least the driver gets to pick the music."

"Ah, hell, I'm regretting this already."

(Gif is not mine)