Josie had also dozed off once more and opened her eyes at the smell of fresh coffee. Immediately her eyes focused on two curious girls poking Dean's cheeks and giggling excitedly.
"Boo", Josie shouted, and the kids were so startled that they ran shrieking into the kitchen.
The shrieking also woke up Dean and he looked around in panic.
"What was that?", he asked Josie.
"Kids. I just stopped them from sticking their fingers up your nose", she quipped, noticing the pretty woman coming towards them.
"Good morning you two, sorry about the girls", she apologized, setting the tray with the coffee and bagels down on the living room table.
Dean was almost spellbound by the breakfast and reached for it right away.
"Thank you, Miss Rhodes, you shouldn't have. We really didn't want to be any trouble!", replied Dean politely.
"Oh, please, call me Louisa and don't worry you're no trouble, I'm always happy to meet friends of Cliff's", she fended off with a smirk and Dean smiled at the warm welcome.
Josie, however, seemed to have found herself in the wrong movie. In disbelief she stared at the hunter before her. Never before had she seen him so well-mannered. Even his genteel way of eating seemed strange to her.
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"Are you possessed?", she asked him seriously.
"What, why?", he replied, puzzled.
"Sweetheart, we hunters are all good boys who went through the hard school of life. We're perfectly capable of behaving ourselves, but most of the time we just don't want to", Cliff defended him, fatherlyn patting Dean on the shoulder.
"You might expect it of them all the time then", Louisa added with amusement, "We've been married for six years and I'm still learning new sides of him each day, I think once you two have been married that long you won't feel any different."
A surprised cough rang through the room and Dean looked up at Louisa.
"We're not married", Josie clarified to the nice lady.
"You're not? Young man, it's about time then", Cliff admonished the gasping hunter, patting his back helpfully.
"Well, we almost got married, but the registrar was possessed by a ghost and... long story", Josie babbled, "We're really just hunting buddies, if you can call it that."
Dean's eyes shifted from Louisa to Josie. There was clearly something breaking inside him. Hunting buddies. So that was what she continued to see in him.
"Well, I'm going to barge in. The reason I called is because I retired and promised Louisa I wouldn't hunt anymore, for the girls' sake. But I ran into this vicious banshee and I know you guys will take care of that in no time", Cliff explained and Dean looked more than surprised at Cliff's decision.
"You gave up hunting?", summarized Dean in amazement.
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"Yes, but the guilty party is sitting over there", he enthused, looking happily at Louisa, "She turned my head and nine months later the first princess was there. Don't think it was easy for me"
"He sneaked out at night to hunt with his friends and thought I wouldn't notice", Louisa laughed and turned to Josie, "They really think they can trick us don't they?"
Josie said nothing, but smirked meaningfully into her coffee cup.
"Okay enough of the stories", Dean interrupted, "Cliff, do you know where we can find this ghost?"
"Last time she struck was at the hospital, maybe you'll try there," he suggested.
*
Sure enough, the hunters found what they were looking for there and managed to kill the screaming beast. As he said goodbye to Cliff Dean promised that he would rethink the hunter's life all together again. Josie, meanwhile, got some unwanted advice from Louisa and some provisions for the trip back.
"Please don't ever do this to me again," Josie pleaded in the car as Dean started the engine, "I just learned things I never wanted to know"
"Don't panic, next time we'll send Sammy, he's a much better fit for this suburban hell. I can already see him with his Amelia and an Australian Shepherd in one of these houses. And every Sunday they invite us over for a barbecue," the Winchester replied dryly.
"Pretty accurate idea?!" marveled Josie, raising her eyebrows skeptically.
Silence reigned in the Impala for a while, until Dean turned the radio up louder.
"You can rest if you want, I've had more than enough sleep, I'm fit and able to drive," she offered as he yawned profusely.
"I'll be fine," he defended, looking stubbornly at the road.
"Is something wrong?" she wanted to know, eyeing his profile.
"Nope, everythinge is alright," the dark blond lied.
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Cliff's life made it clear to him that it was possible to get out as a hunter after all, even if Cliff wasn't the youngest anymore, it was never too late. But his hopes were dimmed when Josie saw him only as a companion. But then again, how was she supposed to know that he kept fantasizing about a future with her.
"Alright you're right, we should sleep and move on at daybreak" he relented and steered the Chevrolet off the road, "We're in the middle of nowhere here though, there's not a motel for miles."
He knew the area, he passed by here with Sam quite often, but he knew a secluded place. There they could spend the night undisturbed. Josie wasn't surprised that Dean wouldn't let her drive, but she wondered why he was in such a bad mood.
While Dean lit a small campfire, Josie rummaged through the provisions. The hunter took only the whiskey bottle Cliff had given him as a small thank you.
The alcohol should keep him warm enough through the night.
