Saints or Sinners | {BOOK 3}

6| Dead Psychics, Sam Gets Married, and Maddie Wants to Help

Our next case, Bobby watched the kids while Dean and I went out and investigated. There were mediums dying in Lily Dale, the most psychic town in America. While there, we happened to run into Sam. While he was happy to see me again, he was clearly less pleased to see Dean. After some research, we figured it was a cursed object because both mediums had the same necklace. It turned out to be a ghost.

It turned out to be two sisters. One was giving the mediums visions of their death while the other was the one doing the killing. Anyway, after that was Vegas week, which Dean had to convince me to come to with the kids. I was totally against having them tag along, but he pointed out that Bobby couldn't watch them forever; we actually needed to be around our kids. Especially Zep since he was still impressionable and needed his parents around.

I gave in, but insisted that I was staying in a motel room or someplace with Maddie and Zep while Sam and Dean did their own thing. Everything was fine until Sam texted both me and Dean an address and said to wear our Fed stuff and bring the kids. We both thought it was weird, especially since Sam had ditched out on Vegas which was part of the reason why Dean talked me into coming. When we got to the address, it turned out to be a chapel.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any weirder, we learned we were there for Sam's wedding. To Becky. The insane fangirl who was obsessed with him. Obviously, we figured something was up even though Sam insisted everything was fine. So we tag-teamed watching the kids while working the case. It turned out, there was a demon in town collecting on deals early and he was giving Becky a love potion to drug Sam.

We had a little help from Crowley at the end. He informed us that he'd been telling his mooks to steer clear while we dealt with the Leviathans and so, after he ripped up the contracts of everyone the rogue demon signed with, we handed him over so Crowley could make an example of him. After that we met up with Bobby in an abandoned house in Jersey. Dean was trying to get the lights to work while I sat on the floor with Zep.

"Come here, bud," I cooed. "Come to Mama."

He leaned forward from his sitting position so he was in a stance to start crawling.

"Come here, Zeppelin. Come on," I continued to encourage him.

"You strip enough wire?" Sam asked Dean.

"Yes, I stripped enough wire," Dean growled.

Sam pushed Dean out of the way, attaching cables to the wires in the fuse box and the lights flickered on.

"See, told you," Dean hit Sam.

"Come here, Zep," I cooed again.

Slowly, the eight month old put one hand forward, moving a little closer to me.

"That's it. Come on, buddy. You got it."

I could feel Dean hovering over my shoulder, watching Zeppelin's attempt to crawl, but I remained focused. Bobby entered the room with Maddie a moment later.

"Well, isn't this cozy?" he commented.

Maddie came over and sat next to me while I continued to encourage her brother and Sam and Dean moved to the table to discuss the situation. I knew what it was about. The way we had been living the past few months was definitely less than ideal. Cold showers, cold hot pockets, cold everything. We just couldn't risk staying anywhere else as long as the Leviathan were a threat. The last thing we needed was for a repeat of the Sam and Dean fiasco multiplied tenfold.

"There we go, good boy," I grinned as Zep finally made it over to me. "Want to crawl to big sissy now?"

I moved so I was a little further away from Maddie and positioned Zep in front of me so he could move toward her.

"Come here, Zep," Maddie grinned, eager to have her brother come to her.

Slowly, but faster than he had with me, he crawled toward her, a giant grin on his face. A second later, the lights shut back off and Sam sighed, turning on a battery powered lamp.

"That's just great," Dean grumbled. "This is stupid. Our quality of life is crap. We got Purgatory's least wanted everywhere, and we're on our third 'The World's Screwed' issue in, what, three years? We've steered the bus away from the cliff twice already."

"Someone's got to do it," Sam pointed out.

"What if the bus wants to go over the cliff?"

"You think the world wants to end?"

"I think that if we didn't take its belt and all its pens away each year that, yeah, the whole enchilada woulda offed itself already."

"Stop trying to wrestle with the big picture, son. You're gonna hurt your head," Bobby said.

Dean sighed, grabbing a beer out of a cooler and coming over to take his turn having Zeppelin crawl to him.

"So, what's the guff?" Bobby asked, taking a seat at the table with Sam.

"Well, uh, there've been a rash of sightings all over the southern pine barrens- a strange, fast-moving, human-like creature. Locals even have a name for it."

Sam passed a printout of some research to Bobby to read.

"Maddie, come on," I said, taking Zep from Dean. "Let's go play in the other room for a little while."

"But-" she started to protest.

"Madelaine Rose, listen to your mother," Dean told her.

"Okay."

She reluctantly got up and followed me upstairs so that the boys could discuss the case Sam found further. Since Maddie started asking more questions, we'd been more careful to keep her away from those discussions. Especially since she knew about the Leviathans who pretended to be Sam and Dean.

"Are we going to leave again?" Maddie asked me.

"Yeah, Maddie, we are. Daddy and Uncle Sammy are going to work with Grandpa Bobby on something while we go play somewhere, alright?"

"I don't want to play. I want to help Daddy get rid of the bad guys."

"You're too little, darling. Maybe... maybe when you're older you can help Daddy get rid of the bad guys, okay?"

"No. I want to help Daddy now!"

"Madelaine Rose Winchester," I began sternly, "that is not how you talk to me. I told you no, and I meant no."

"I hate you!"

"Maddie!"

Maddie shoved passed me and stomped down the stairs.

"Maddie!" I tried again, rushing out after her.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Dean asked as Maddie ran into his arms.

"Mommy's being mean. She said I can't help you get rid of the bad guys."

Sam and Bobby looked from me to Dean and back as Dean sighed, also looking over at me.

"Your mom's right, princess," he spoke gently. "You aren't old enough to help, yet."

"But I want to," she insisted stubbornly.

"No, Maddie."

The young girl let go of her father, backing up while shaking her head, tears streaming down her face.

"I hate you, too!" she screamed. "You're the worst person in the whole world!"

"Maddie-" Dean started, but she had run off again.

We all flinched as we heard a door slam seconds later.

"Well, I guess we're dealing with that now," Dean sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"She just needs some time to cool down," Bobby piped up. "It'll be fine."

"Right," I muttered, adjusting Zep on my hip. "So what's the deal with this case?"